Category: MLB

As the snow finally melts and we move ever closer to another wonderful year of baseball, there remains an alarming number of players who are not given the proper respect, by fans and the media alike, outside of their home markets. For some of these players, it is the simple misfortune of playing for small-market teams which fail to generate sufficient interest in their star players. Still, others seem to have an uncanny knack for flying under the radar year after year.

Here is a breakdown of some of the more under appreciated players in the league and how they stack up against some of their more well-known counterparts.

The real boys of summer are emerging from winter hibernation all across America, pounding their fists into stiff baseball gloves and asking dad to take them to the batting cage. Soon they will dot fields that are not yet green, laughing easily amidst the clink of aluminum and the smack of leather, creating a genuine American symphony. This is the sound we should pipe into outer space to explain America to anyone who might be listening.

The sound that came from yesterday’s hearings on steroid use in baseball was quite different. That sound–voices of denial, self-importance, and sadness– was not about baseball, but a cacaphony of distortion. This act has been in the making for some time, since steroids first became part of baseball’s tapestry, as unbreakable records were broken and re-broken. It grew on the fuel of rumor and tell-all books, but it still needed the grandiosity of ponderous government types to reach it’s final, absurd culmination.

The biggest mistake Jason Giambi ever made has nothing to do with The Cream or The Clear. Or his inject-by-numbers approach to the anabolic cocktails that undoubtedly manifested into the vast array of internal bodily malfunctions incurred by the slugger throughout his tenure in pinstripes.

I may or may not be the same person who fiercely argued that A-Rod swat was actually part of the natural running motion. And I may have also adamantly contended that the Ken Jennings fiasco was a scam ABC pulled to get their ratings up. And lastly, there’s a possibility I wrote a college paper asserting that Lord of the Flies was really about materialism and society’s preoccupation with real estate and property. (Why else would they be always fighting over that damn conch shell?)

So I have admittedly made a few bad calls. And with that kind of track record, some could think it impossible for me to craft a convincing case for not hating the Yankees, especially since I am usually not slowed by logic. But convincing a college English professor of ridiculous literary themes is one thing. I can sure as hell sway the imbeciles who haven’t caught on that it’s perennially maddening to root against a team that wins more than they lose.

NL West Projected Standings

NL Central Projected Standings

by Trevor Freeman

The AL West should be a season long roller coaster ride.  It would not surprise me if all four teams in this division finish with between 79 and 94 wins.  There were a lot of comings and goings with this group.  We said “So long” to Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder, Troy Glaus and Troy Percival while waiving “hello” to Adrian Beltre, Jason Kendall, and Steve Finley.  How will it all shake out?  Here is a summary of each team with our projected order of finish at the bottom of the page.