In less than a week, Major League Baseball’s inaugural pitch will be thrown. After the last one gets caught or smacked out of the ballpark, the winners will be dousing each other with champagne. Here’s a preview of the three best teams in each league.
American League:
- Boston Red Sox
This time a decade ago, fans were yelling epithets about the gross expenditures of the team’s East Division rivals, the New York Yankees. But under the ownership of moneybags Tom Henry, the current installment of the Beantown crew can offer no such cause for gripe. Boston’s overstuffed wallets allowed general manager Theo Epstein to acquire international phenom and last year’s World Baseball Classic’s MVP Daisuke Matsuzaka. Armed with an arsenal of five above-average pitches (not including the mythological “Gyro”), he’ll be slotted in as the third starter behind a pair of World Series MVPs in Curt Schilling and Josh Beckett. Jonathan Papelbon, last year’s rookie-of-the-year candidate, is back in the closing role to top off a strong bullpen that features Manny Delcarmen, Brendan Donnelly, and the ageless Mike Timlin.
Putting up crooked numbers on the scoreboard is never an issue for the Red Sox, with twin mashers David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez. But with the additions of outfielder J.D. Drew and shortstop Julio Lugo, huge hitting improvements over Trot Nixon and Alex Gonzalez, this lineup has one of the strongest 1-6 in the sport.
- Los Angeles Angels
Boasting the most complete rotation west of the Mississippi, the Angels have one of the most consistent, if underappreciated, aces in the game in John Lackey. Behind him are young guns Jared Weaver and Ervin Santana, Kelvim Escobar and 2005 Cy Young winner Bartolo Colon. While Weaver and Colon will most likely start the season on the injury list, they have both been ahead of their training regimens, and should be in the games that count by the end of April. As for the pen, it doesn’t get much better than Scott Shields setting up closer Francisco Rodriguez.
Offensively, the Angels have Vladimir Guerrero, one of the top-tier outfielders in the game, to anchor their lineup. Joining him will be newly-acquired Gary Matthews Jr,, who spun his career-year in Texas into a lucrative contract with Los Angeles. But the two players who will have the most influence on whether the Angels put up some runs will be currently injured speedster Chone Figgins, and the subdued Garret Anderson, whose left leg injury led to one of his worst seasons last year. If the pair can perform up to their pre-injury levels, this team should make off with the West.
- Detroit Tigers
Last year’s AL representative in the World Series had one of the more lacklustre performances on the big stage, a comedy of errors good enough for second place. But with no major shifts in how they got there (even if it was as the wildcard), one must assume that they’ll be able to duplicate last year’s storied season. Now, there is the saying that “assuming makes an ass out of you and me,” but this year’s crew has bountiful, youthful talent. Front-of-the-line starters Jeremy Bonderman and Jason Verlander might be even better this year, and coupled with the ageless Kenny Rogers, who has won 49 games in the last three years, the rotation is solid. Their bullpen is the possibly the most stacked of any team, with setup men extraordinaire Fernando Rodney and Joel Zumaya hedging the way for closer Todd Jones.
And as added spice, the Tigers also procured Gary Sheffield, he with the ever-waving batting stance and evil eye. Cemented in the third spot, his presence in the order should be enough to propel the Tigers past the hard-charging Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Indians.
National League
- Philadelphia Phillies
Usually this spot would be saved for the Atlanta Braves, who had owned the East division for more than a decade. But the boys from Libertyville, with second baseman Chase Utley, shortstop Jimmy Rollins, and reigning league MVP Ryan Howard leading the way, offer the most tantalizing combination of hitting and pitching in the NL.
The aforementioned three are among the best in their positions, but coupled with the big game capability of pitchers Brett Myers, Freddy Garcia and Cole Hamels, this team is young enough to be fearless, and talented enough to pull the carpet out from under every other team in the league. The pen is a bit shaky, as closer Tom Gordon and primary setup man Antonio Alfonseca are old and brittle. If the need should arise, look for right-handed Carlos Carrasco, their prized minor-league pitcher, to come in and prop up the geezers, a la Adam Wainwright of St. Louis’ playoff run last year.
- Chicago Cubs
After an off-season where they dished out the Benjamins for outfielder Alfonso Soriano, third baseman Aramis Ramirez and starter Ted Lilly, the baby bears might be able to sneak off with the NL Central. First baseman Derek Lee is healthy again, and if everything goes according to plan, the best offensive team in the division will continuously launch baseballs over Wrigley Field’s ivy.
Their pitching, however, has issues. Ace Carlos Zambrano will compete for the Cy Young, but formerly heralded throwers Mark Prior and Kerry Wood are damaged goods and can’t be relied on. The season for the Cubs depends on how well Lilly can adapt to the National League. He of the 12-6 curveball had his moments pitching for Toronto, but Lilly’s main faux pas was his panache for serving gopher balls to the stacked lineups of the AL East. If his transition is anything like Bronson Arroyo’s, the Cubs will make do. Especially if their best young pitching talent, Rich Hill, matures into the 200 K specialist he is expected to be.
- Los Angeles Dodgers
Injuries are all that keep the trolley-dodgers from snatching up the NL West. But when you start injury-plagued Nomar Garciaparra at first, 39-year-olds Jeff Kent and Luis Gonzalez at second base and outfield, respectively, and starter Brad Penny (who made 30 starts for the first time in four years last year), it’s a big issue. Bumps and bruises have already gotten to shortstop Rafael Furcal, whose sprained ankle has made him iffy to start the season.
But off-season acquisitions Juan Pierre in the outfield and Jason Schmidt in the rotation are two veterans who should steady the Dodger Blue. A full year of Japan’s Takashi Saito in the closing role should also be a benefit. His 2.07 ERA is an asset in what should be the tightest division in baseball. With the rest of the West offering no pop (outside of Coor’s Field, anyway), and with fingernail-biting finishes in their favour, the Dodgers should scrape by with the division crown.
