Time to play ball ...

Jason Shipp, sports editor

April is always an exciting time of the year for baseball fans because everyone has hope for their team.  Fans of teams such as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Kansas City Royals can always show some excitement this time of year.  Unfortunately, that hope won’t last the whole season for some of these teams.  But I’m here to give my opinions and predictions on the upcoming Major League Baseball season.

Let’s start with the National League West.  This is possibly the most winnable division in the league this year, with all four teams posing a legitimate threat to take the division.  The Los Angeles Dodgers won this division last year in a race that came down to the wire with the San Francisco Giants.  The Giants, however, pose the biggest threat in this division.  Barry Bonds has Moises Alou hitting behind him this year, giving Bonds more pitches to see, which could translate into more homeruns for the slugger.  Alou, a free agent signee from the Chicago Cubs, is the best hitter to hit behind Bonds since Jeff Kent departed after the 2002 season. 

The Dodgers will still be in contention after winning the division in 2004.  The Dodgers added the aforementioned Kent to their roster as a free agent in the off-season, giving them some much needed defense in the middle infield.  Kent can also add some firepower with his bat.  Last year with Houston, he hit 27 HR with 107 RBI.

The Padres are the sleeper of this division.  Last year, they finished third, but were only six games back in the standings.  Young shortstop Khalil Green has another year of experience under his belt and will keep the Padres close throughout the year.  I just don’t think it will be enough to hold off the Giants and Dodgers all season.  Do not go to sleep on this team though.

The Diamondbacks lost Randy Johnson through a trade that sent him to the New York Yankees, but did add some big-name free agents.  Troy Glaus, the 2002 World Series MVP, joins the Diamondbacks this year, along with left handed slugger Shawn Green who came over in the Johnson deal.  The Diamondbacks will be considerably better than their dismal 51-111 record of a year ago, but I still think they will finish last in this division.  This team could surprise some people though.

The National League Central is going to be one of the toughest divisions in baseball this year.  This division has three solid teams with the Cardinals, Cubs and Astros.  The Cardinals will be the favorite to win this division this year, just as they did in 2004.  The Cardinals added former Oakland A’s standout pitcher Mark Mulder through a trade, as well as Mark Grudzielanek, who came over through free agency from the Chicago Cubs.  The Cards will have a very potent lineup, with four MVP candidates batting back to back in the lineup with Albert Pujols, Jim Edmonds, Larry Walker and Scott Rolen.  Rolen, Pujols and Edmonds each tallied more than 100 RBI last season, a feat Walker was very capable of doing had it not been for injuries barring him from play the first half of the season a year ago.  

If the Cubs can find a closer early enough in the season, they won’t be far behind the Cardinals, if they’re not ahead of them.  The Cubs field the best pitching staff in the majors, with Kerry Wood, Mark Prior, Greg Maddux, and Carlos Zambrano.  They lost their fifth starter, Matt Clement, to the Red Sox through free agency, but the other four previously mentioned will still be tough for opponents to get many hits.  Sammy Sosa departed Chicago for Baltimore via a trade, but Jerry Hairston Jr., who the Cubs acquired in the trade, will give the team much needed speed on the base paths, as well as a utility player who can play multiple positions.

With the loss of Carlos Beltran to free agency, the Astros will have some holes to fill.  Roger Clemens is returning for another season after winning the NL Cy Young Award in 2004.  Andy Pettite will be back after an injury-plagued season last year, and Roy Oswalt will have another solid year.  I don’t think the Astros will have another miracle season like last year, when they went to the NLCS after being below .500 at the All-Star Break.  Phil Garner, who came on to manager the Astros halfway through last season, will have to work some of his magic again this year if the Astros are going to go back to the playoffs.

The rest of the division is pretty weak, with the Brewers, Pirates and Reds rounding out the division.  The Reds and Brewers will be improved this year, but the Pirates will probably finish at the bottom of the division again this year.

The National League East has taken on a little different look this year.  Pedro Martinez and Beltran each signed with the Mets in the off-season to give them a much needed power pitcher and a slugger in his prime.  Many will look for the Mets to win this division, but I think the Atlanta Braves will once again prevail, winning a 14th consecutive division title.  Atlanta manager Bobby Cox proved he could do it last year by winning the division, and this year they added pitcher Tim Hudson via a trade with Oakland. 

The Florida Marlins will be in the mix in this division as well.  The Marlins added free agent slugger/first baseman Carlos Delgado and also own a very talented pitching staff, led by 2003 World Series MVP Josh Beckett and hard throwing left-hander Dontrelle Willis.

The Phillies will be another legitimate team in the East this year.  Slugging first baseman Jim Thome had an injured finger all last year and still managed to belt 42 homers and knock in 105 runs.  The Phillies beefed up their pitching staff by adding Jon Leiber through free agency and added some speed with the acquisition of Kenny Lofton.  Hard-throwing closer Billy Wagner missed nearly all of last season with injuries, so look for him to have a great season if he stays healthy.

The Washington Nationals, formerly the Montreal Expos, will be beefed up this year as well, having added outfielder Jose Guillen, a guy capable of hitting 30 homers and driving in more than 100 runs.  The Nationals won’t have what it takes to compete with the Braves, Mets, Marlins, or Phillies but they will be better.  The team will be much happier this year with a permanent home.  During the last two years as the Montreal Expos, they were splitting their home games between Montreal and Puerto Rico. 

The American League West is going to be wide open as well.  The Anaheim Angels are going to be the favorites.  Vladimir Guerrero, the 2004 AL MVP, returns for another season with the Angels after hitting 39 homers and knocking in 126 runs last year.  The Angels will field a solid defense, led by second baseman Adam Kennedy.  The Angels have a rookie stepping in at third base that they have been high on for some time, and he’s finally getting his shot this year.  All eyes will be on Dallas McPherson since the Angels let Glaus go so he could come up to the majors.

The Texas Rangers will look to improve on their stellar 2004 season.  The Rangers went 89-73 last season in what was supposed to be a “rebuilding” year.  The Rangers field the best infield in the division, possibly in the entire league, with Hank Blalock at third, Michael Young at shortstop, Alfonso Soriano at second and Mark Teixiera at first.  Teixiera will look to have a stellar season after a break-out second half last year.  He hit for the cycle last season in a game, and almost repeated the feat a week later. The Rangers also have the reigning AL Manager of the Year in Buck Showalter. 

The Oakland A’s won’t be the A’s of old after breaking up their “big three,” after sending Mulder to the Cardinals and Hudson to the Braves.  Barry Zito will carry the brunt of the load this year, and newcomer Dan Haren will contribute as well.  The A’s have another pitcher that did well last year in Rich Harden and will still field a solid team. 

The Seattle Mariners will look to improve on their horrible 63-99 record, the second worst record in the league last season.  They did add some offensive power with the free agent signings of Richie Sexon and Adrian Beltre, but will still have the worst pitching staff in the division.  Despite all the offensive explosiveness, the Mariners will still probably finish last in this division again.

The American League Central will feature another close divisional race.  The Twins won the division last year, and will look to repeat this year.  The Twins will have the reigning AL Cy Young winner in Johan Santana, who posted an amazing 2.61 ERA last season.  Jacque Jones, Shannon Stewart, and Tori Hunter will be the best defensive outfield in the American League, and each can hit for power and average.

The White Sox finished second in the division last year and will probably do so again this year.  Second-year manager Ozzie Guillen knows what he’s doing and will field a pretty solid team. 

The sleeper of this division is going to be the Cleveland Indians.  The Indians have a powerful offense featuring Travis Hafner and Grady Sizemore.  They added free agent pitcher Kevin Millwood to complement 2004 All-Star C.C. Sebathia.  Their defense will be solid as well, with the addition of Aaron Boone of Yankee fame, who will play third base, 2004 All-Star second baseman Ronnie Belliard and Ben Broussard at first.  The Indians also have one of the best young catchers in the league with Victor Martinez.  This team will be solid and will compete the whole season.  Do not be surprised if you see this team win this division.

The Tigers will be improved as well.  They added free agent closer Troy Percival from the Angels and field a pretty good defense led by catcher Ivan Rodriguez.

The Royals will once again finish at the bottom of this division.  The Royals will be good in time, but this year is still too early.  The Royals have one of the best pitching prospects in the game with 21-year-old Zack Grienke, who was called up last year in the middle of the season and will look to complete his first full season of major league service this year.

The AL East is home to the mother of all rivalries with the Yankees and Red Sox.  The Yankees have won the division every year since 1995.  They have added Johnson from the Diamondbacks, Carl Pavano from the Marlins, and Jared Wright from the Braves to give some depth to a pitching staff that could have desperately used some last year.  The Yankees field a former all star at every position except second and will have a very potent offense.  The Yankees will probably once again take this division this year.  But right now, in Spring Training, it’s too close to call.

The team that has finished behind the Yankees every season since 1995 is the Boston Red Sox.  The Sox finally got the monkey off their back last year after winning the World Series for the first time in 86 years.  The Sox will field another strong team this year, led by team captain Jason Veritek.  Although they lost Martinez through free agency to the Mets, they did add Clement, former Astro Wade Miller, and David Wells from the Padres.  The Sox will probably once again take the Wild Card in the AL, but once the postseason begins, David Ortiz, Johnny Damon, and Curt Schilling will turn it up a notch again.

The Devil Rays and the Baltimore Orioles will round out the bottom of this division, probably with the Rays finishing last.  The Devil Rays have some great young talent in BJ Upton and Rocco Baldelli, but it will be a while before they are ready to compete in this division.

The Orioles added slugger Sammy Sosa to their lineup this year, giving them two guys with more than 500 homeruns in the same lineup with him and Rafael Palmeiro.  The O’s will still be lacking, however, as their best pitcher will be Sidney Ponson, who posted a 5.30 ERA last season, a number well above average for someone tabbed the “ace” of a staff.

That rounds out the outlook of the 2005 baseball season.  I hope you will enjoy it as much as I will.