2008 American League Preview

By: Chad Ruter

Good to see Justin write a column last night. He hadn’t in previous days because he locked himself in a dark basement and read The Bill James Handbook cover-to-cover by candlelight…trying to discover and replicate my Jedi-like fantasy baseball abilities. Justin- I acquired The Force by selling my soul to the dark side years ago. And oh-by-the-way…I am your father!

In the order in which I project they’ll finish…

AL WEST-

1. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim:
-They had the opportunity to go after the franchise changing player in Alex Rodriguez, but they let him re-sign with the Yankees. Of course, they would’ve had to dish out $300 million, and paying one player more than 25% of the team’s total payroll is something that owner Art Moreno vowed he would never do. Instead, they burned up $90 million in the horribly over-valued Torii Hunter. This is a guy that has never hit .300, hit 30 homers only once, and has never recorded on OPS of .900 or better – and at this point in his career is only playing a notch above-average defense. They have too many outfielders (Hunter, Vlad Guerrero, Garret Anderson, Reggie Willits, and Gary Matthews Jr.), and a major platoon at SS with the trade of Orlando Cabrera to Chicago for Jon Garland. Nonetheless, their rotation is quite possibly the best in the AL from top-to-bottom, and they still have K-Rod closing games for them, albeit at a price-tag of $10 million. Seattle only got a touch better, so these guys will run away with this division again.

Breakout Player- Jered Weaver – Since most of the players are already developed, it was tough to find a guy on this team that could breakout more than they already have. Weaver, however, will finally get a full season in the Majors where he will be without an innings limit. He could go as many as 200 IP this year, and finish with a sub-3.75 ERA, which puts him in the running for the Cy Young.

Burnout Player- Kelvim Escobar – It’s sad really. At 32 -years-old, injuries will continue to plague him until he retires. He’s been a legit Cy Young candidate three out of the last four years, but he just can’t stay healthy for 35 starts. He’ll be missed badly while he sits out the first few months of the season with shoulder inflammation.

2. Seattle Mariners:
I was completely, and horribly wrong about this team last year. I figured they would challenge for the status of “Worst Team in the AL,” and instead, they turn some heads. Now, they add a second ace to staff in Erik Bedard to compliment young fireballer Felix Hernandez, and hopefully take some of the pressure off him. Unfortunately, they torched their outfield depth to acquire him by trading “Sure Thing” prospect Adam “I’m Not Pac-Man” Jones. With 400+ at-bats, Brad Wilkerson could have finally found a home where he can play everyday in RF, and they’ll need every ounce of offense out of him. Richie Sexson shouldn’t be starting in the major leagues anymore, but since they owe him a lot of money, he’ll play. Adrian Beltre followed up an awful post-contract year with two seasons where he’s hit averaged .270-ish with 25 homers…and he needs to keep the power up to make up for the fact that he never walks. Ichiro is still one of my top-5 favorite players, and at the back end of the bullpen lurks the Major’s second best closer in J.J. Putz.

Breakout Player – Brad Wilkerson – He’ll get a chance to play everyday, and he could be a great steal. He bashed 20 homers in only 338 at-bats last year, and will fit right in with the rest of this lineup in the fact that he strikes out at an alarming rate (had 107 K’s in those same 338 AB’s).

Burnout Player – Raul Ibanez – He turns 36 in June, and I just don’t see him holding up his more-than-adequate .290/25/110 like he has averaged the past two seasons. He gets too many nagging injury, and age will catch up to him in 2008.

3. Texas Rangers:
-They finished last in the West in 2007 after trading away their best player (Mark Teixeira) at the deadline. They have nobody in their lineup with 30-homer potential besides Josh Hamilton, and he’s a recovering drug addict playing in his second full MLB season. You’d love to say that they can rely on their starting pitching, but that isn’t any better. Kevin Millwood and Vicente Padilla can kill you one night, and get killed another, and they have little rotation depth. The good news: they have pitching help that is a year away. The bad news: their bullpen is bad too. The only reason why these guys are ranked third here is because they have Oakland in their division.

Breakout Player – Josh Hamilton – I just want to believe it. The guy has been to hell and back, and really played incredibly well in his 90-game cameo with the Cincinnati Reds in 2007. He has the potential and the game to hit .300 with 35 homers – now you just hope he stays healthy and can stay clean.

Burnout Player – Kevin Millwood – It’s getting to be about time for this former All-Star to hang up the cleats. After his surprise sub-3.00 ERA in 2005 with Cleveland, Millwood’s ERA, walks, and opponents batting average have risen…while his strikeouts and innings pitched have been depleted.

4. Oakland Athletics:-They avoided the cellar by a single game last year, but don’t expect anything like that performance in 2008. In fact, I predict they’ll finish 30+ games out of first place. They traded staff ace Dan Haren to Arizona, and are searching for deals to get rid of inherent ace Joe Blanton. They also purged their best offensive player in Nick Swisher and are annually the biggest DL-users in the Major Leagues. Nobody on this team will approach 30 HR in my opinion, and the only guy that might crack 25 is Jack Cust, and he is your prototypical Three True Outcomes guy (HR, BB, K – the only outcomes where the defense isn’t involved). A miracle situation for Oakland would be for Eric Chavez to play well and be healthy in the first half of ’08 so they can trade him, and keep adding prospects for another run at a division title in 2010 or 2011.

Breakout Player – Daric Barton – The big 1B has been a highly touted prospect, and batted .347 in 18 games with the big club last year. Look for him to supplant Dan Johnson as the everyday 1B, and make a late push for AL Rookie of the Year.

Burnout Player – Bobby Crosby – He hasn’t played more than 100 games in each of the last three seasons, and you can’t expect 2008 to be any different. The only reason why Oakland sticks with him is because they have nobody remotely close to being a decent player that can play shortstop.

AL CENTRAL-

1. Cleveland Indians:
-They won the division by eight games last year, and only had one guy that hit over .300 (Victor Martinez .301). Their two best offensive forces, Travis Hafner and Grady Sizemore had well-below-average seasons. Hafner dropped almost 20 homers, more than 40 BA points, and an alarming .200 OPS points, yet still had a pretty solid year. He recovers this year to be an offensive force once again. Grady Sizemore raised his OBP number, and kept his homers on par, but he hit 20 less doubles than he has in the past. He’ll be back to an MVP-type performance too. Combine the rise of those guys, the solid bats of Casey Blake, Ryan Garko, Martinez and Jhonny Peralta, and the best rotation in baseball, and you’ve got a title contender and a potential 100-game winner. C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona are as good as it gets in the pitching department.

Breakout Player – Ryan Garko – He is just a really good player. If he wasn’t overshadowed by Sizemore, Martinez and Hafner offensively, we’d consider him a top-flight AL player. Instead, we wont get to read about him hitting .290 with 30 homers this season. No biggie – I doubt he cares much as long as they win.

Burnout Player – Paul Byrd – Admitted use of PED’s is going to haunt him. He’s a spiritual guy that battles his mind every time he toes the rubber. I don’t see him staying in that rotation very long this year.

2. Detroit Tigers:
-Have you looked at their roster? Have you seen their projected lineup? Did you know that they are starting players at 7 out of the 9 positions that have played in an All-Star game in the past 3 years? That’s insanity. They had a pretty incredible offense last year, and now they add Miguel Cabrera and Edgar Renteria to the mix, and improving their overall defense by moving Carlos Guillen to 1B. They scored 887 runs last year, and I honestly believe they can reach 1,000. And with the pitching staff they employ…they will have to. They traded Andrew Miller in the Cabrera deal, and gave some depth away in Jair Jurrjens in the Renteria trade. Luckily they received Dontrelle Willis in the Cabrera deal also, but he’s no more than a 4^th or 5^th starter in the AL. He is just a shell of his former self because of the amount of innings he’s thrown, the awful defenses behind him, and his smoke and mirrors pitching motion has flaws and inconsistencies. The rotation only goes five deep at this point, but Justin Verlander at the top has a chance to win 22-23 games this year with that incredible offense. The other guys are all either old or inconsistent. Their bullpen is injury prone too, with Fernando Rodney and Joel Zumaya having trouble staying on the field. Still though…as the Yankees in ’07 proved, a fantastic offense can power a team to the wild card.

Breakout Player – Miguel Cabrera – Tough to find one on this team because everyone has hit their stride…but I think Cabrera could have a monster year that we only see a couple times a century. He has a legitimate shot at the Triple-Crown, and has a legitimate shot at getting his second World Series (yea, he was a rookie when the Marlins won it…that’s crazy)!

Burnout Player – Magglio Ordonez – No way, no how he repeats his ridiculous .363/28/139 numbers from last year. He’s just not that good, and Cabrera will steal numbers from him. I drafted Maggs last year in fantasy baseball, and sold him at a high price mid-season because I needed the roster space. I bet he hits a snag this year.

3. Chicago White Sox:
-It pains me to put them this high, but honestly, who someone has to finish third here. Everyone knows I’m a believer in the law of averages. After the Sox won the World Series in 2005, I predicted they wouldn’t do anything close to that in ’06 because a slew of Sox players played out of their minds during the World Series run (Joe Crede, Jose Contreras, Jermaine Dye, the entire Bullpen). Well the exact opposite will be true for these White Sox. There is no possible way their offense can be as bad as it was last year. I don’t know if they’ll have Crede on their roster to start the season, but I’d keep him if only to build his trade value. You put Josh Fields in left, Nick Swisher in center, Dye in right, and have an infield of Crede, Orlando Cabrera (acquired for Jon Garland), any 2B and Paul Konerko at first to go along with “Punch” AJ catching…that’s a pretty good lineup if everyone plays at their averages. But their rotation is extremely thin and reliant on young pitchers, and their bullpen has been patched with a couple injured/older guys that were overpaid for. Good enough to stay out of the cellar, but they cannot compete with the Top-2.

Breakout Player – I see Nick Swisher having a big year moving from the canyon that the A’s play in to the Crackerjack box the Sox play in. He’s a great OBP guy, and he’s going to jump in homers with the park move.

Burnout Player – Time for the Jermaine Dye show to end. He has amazing talent, but it’s about time that injuries derail his career for the second time. I’ll peg him for less than 25 homers this year.

4. Minnesota Twins:
-It’s sad really. Bill Smith trades the franchise player for a group of guys in which a grand total of 0 of them qualified as a “sure thing” prospect. Instead, they will count on a young man named Francisco Liriano to be the ace of the staff, except he’s coming off an arm injury. He proved when healthy, however, that he can be better than Santana himself. Yea, I said it! He can be better! But he can’t pitch everyday, and that rotation behind him is alarmingly thin (they lost Carlos Silva to free agency, and they traded Matt Garza. The back of their bullpen is among the best in the majors with Joe Nathan, Pat Neshek, and Juan Rincon – so that’s a plus. Offensively, they still have Justin Morneau, Joe Mauer and Michael Cuddyer, and they traded for Delmon Young, but they will be starting guys at 2B, SS, 3B, and CF that might not be able to stick it in Triple-A with their bats. They will score very few runs, and the pitching will give up a ton. Thank God for the Royals.

Breakout Player – Mike Lamb – With the 3B job all but his, I’ll be interested to see how he plays when he’s out there everyday. I’m not sure why Houston never gave him a full-time shot – but Minnesota has no other options.

Burnout Player – Michael Cuddyer – Him potentially moving to center field is not a smart decision. That seems to be in the water in Minnesota these days.

5. Kansas City Royals:
-Another season, another 5^th place finish in the Central Division. But I have good news Royal fans: the pain will end sooner rather than later. This team is being built to develop now, and make a run at titles in the 2010-2011-ish. Dayton Moore has done a wonderful job trading for talent and drafting well. Mark Teahan, Alex Gordon, and John Buck are the start of good young positional talent, and the rotation will begin to fill out starting next year. I would get about 95% of experts to argue with me, but Jose Guillen is a great signing. Despite his beleaguered past, he can bring a great offensive game (.295/20/90 –ish) to the table when he gets done with his suspension. They won’t make any noise this year, but they’re certainly headed in the right direction.

Breakout Player – Alex Gordon – Everyone said he’s going to hit in the majors, and that’s exactly what he didn’t do during his rookie campaign of 2007. Look for him to figure things out in 2008. I’d count on him to finish about .290/25/100 this year.

Burnout Player – Gil Meche – I loved it when they signed him last offseason, but I never imagined him being a 3.67 ERA guy. He’s going to be about 4.05 in that department this year. Not quite a burnout, but they don’t have any other players that can really be considered burnouts.

AL EAST:

1. Boston Red Sox:
-Duh. What can you say? They won the title last year, and are the runaway favorites to win it again this year. The Curt Schilling injury has put a scare in the team enough to sign Bartolo Colon to a minor league contract, but I wouldn’t worry if I were a Red Sox fan. You still have Josh Beckett and “Dice-K” Matsuzaka at the top of the rotation, a good-to-great bullpen, and an offense that is as potent as ever. Not to mention one of the best defenses in all of baseball (thankfully Manny has the Green Monster behind him for 81 games). The scary thing is, they can put another potential #1 starter in Clay Buchholtz into the rotation at any time and be even better. Remember, he threw a no-hitter in his second major league start last year. The Yanks will contend, but you can’t put the Yankees above the Red Sox in good conscience. You just can’t.

Breakout Player – Julio Lugo – He will not hit .237 again this year. He’s a much better player than that, and he’ll most likely be back at the top of the lineup again this year. I’ll say he gets back to hitting .286 this year.

Burnout Player – Jason Varitek – The tank has run dry for this former All-Star and current team captain. The Red Sox keep him around because he’s still an OK defender, and he brings leadership and a great veteran presence. But if they see an opportunity to get a mediocre defensive catcher who can hit the ball…they’ll make the move for the future.

2. New York Yankees:
-It actually took me about ten minutes to remember the Yankees nickname because I could’ve sworn they switched it to the New York Jobas late last year. This is the dream season for Brian Cashman. Four awful (EXPIRING!) contracts come off the books with Andy Pettitte, Mike Mussina, Carl Pavano, and Jason Giambi all out next year. Finally, the Yankees will have some financial flexibility (that’s a joke by the way) to go acquire some freaking talent. When was the last time they won a World Series? Wasn’t it 2000? That’s last century baby! Don’t believe me? Look it up. No really, the new centuries and millenniums begin in during the years ending in ‘01! Anyways, the Yankees are making the smart move by putting the legend that is Joba Chamberlain in the bullpen to start the year, then stretching him out in the minors for a couple weeks, to be followed by, as Yankees fans predict, a career filled with 14 Cy Young awards. But how will this Yankees team be with veterans that are starting to show their old age, and a bunch of young pitching? They’ll go out and win 90+ games and be in the hunt for the division and wild card, that’s what they’ll do. Because if they aren’t in the hunt, they’ll buy their way in.

-Breakout Player – Joba Chamberlain – No explanation necessary.

If you’re wondering why I inserted a random picture of Joba, it’s because our audience analysis has revealed that Joba draws readers. People want Joba, so we give people what they want. Plus, the force is strong in him, and he hasn’t sold his soul to the dark side yet, but he will so soon, however! Mwhahaha!

Burnout Player – Jorge Posada – He hit .338/20/90 in 2007. 2007 was also a contract year for him. Need I say more?

3. Toronto Blue Jays:
-They don’t have a shot at winning, or even finishing second in the East. But they will surely play a part in the saga. Good, young rotation led by cagey veteran Roy “Doc” Halladay. A decent bullpen backed by a recovering B.J. Ryan, and a pesky young lineup that could be really good if Vernon Wells can rediscover his sweet swing. At the same time, if their young pitchers don’t perform to the high level they did last year, this team could finish underneath a high rising Tampa Bay Ray team. Now that I think of it, their offense has the potential of really struggling this year as well. Why do I have them this high? I don’t know, because I screwed up so bad with the Mariners last year that I have to believe a few of the experts this year.

Breakout Player – Reed Johnson – He was a really good player two years ago. Last year, he struggled with injuries. He’ll bounce back to be a near .300 hitter on a team that didn’t even have one last year (Alex Rios .297 was the high).

Burnout Player – David Eckstein – He gets nicked up all the time, has no business playing shortstop, and should really avoid Astroturf at all costs. So the only worse place he could’ve gone was Minnesota.

4. Tampa Bay Rays:
- In 2010, this team will be competing for the World Series. You heard it here first. New ownership, new upper management, the Marlin-like talent they have sitting in the minors…it’s a perfect storm that is two years away from blowing in. The trade for Matt Garza, the signing of James Shields, the willingness to get rid of one of their five young outfielders, yes folks; it’s a new regime in Tampa Bay. They don’t have a bullpen yet, but that’s the last piece of a championship puzzle. I like the signing of Cliff Floyd as a veteran leader, and would really love to see this team go after Barry Bonds for the right price. The guy still gets on base at a .480 clip! He would put butts in the seats, and would more than likely keep quiet in the clubhouse because he would be the new guy. Go do it!

Breakout Player – Evan Longoria – Whether it’s right away, or halfway through 2008, he’ll be right there in the Rookie of the Year voting. He’s a great player waiting to happen.

Burnout Player – Carlos Pena – OK, he won’t burnout…but there is 0 chance of him hitting close to the 46 homers he had in 2007. Uh uh, not gonna happen.

5. Baltimore Orioles:
- I have one word for this team: yuck! I think they’ll struggle to win 60 games. They traded Erik Bedard and Miguel Tejada…but they had to. If they don’t make those trades…they don’t get anything for them. For the first time in my life, I’ll admit that Andy MacPhail is doing the right thing. They are in full fledged rebuilding mode.

Breakout Player – Adam Jones – Superstar prospect from Seattle came over in the trade for Bedard. He’ll start right away and play, if nothing else, incredible defense.

Burnout Player – Everyone not named Adam Jones – Because they really suck.

MVP WINNER:
Obvious Pick – Alex Rodriguez
Sneaky Pick – Miguel Cabrera

CY YOUNG:
Obvious Pick – Josh Beckett
Sneaky Pick – Justin Verlander

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR:
Obvious Pick – Evan Longoria
Sneaky Pick – Daric Barton

AL DIVISIONAL ROUND:
Red Sox over Indians
Tigers over Angels

AL CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND:
Red Sox over Tigers

A century for the Cubs

Edit: The following is a column from April, 2005.

By: Justin Jacobs

For Cubs Fans… Love Hurts

As much as I hate the incessant complaining that comes out of Chicago on a regular basis, I still feel sorry for how much Cubs fans have to go through. Labeled, “Lovable Losers,” it is easy for a Cubs fan to become (and I’m copyrighting this one) Lositutionalized. Being Lositutionalized is something like becoming institutionalized, that is, when you are in prison for too long and become dependent on it. Of course I’m ripping off the Shawshank Redemption here, but I needed to use a term that people could identify with.

Cubs fans have been dealing with disappointment for so long now that they are beginning to become numb to the feeling of success. They have built up a sort of level of tolerance to losing and now only feel good when they are able to complain about how bad their Cubbies are. Even when the Cubs are winning, they expect that something will go wrong. And usually… something does go wrong. Prior gets hurt for the season last year and ruins any chance of the Cubs doing any kind of damage. Sosa mistakenly uses a corked “practice bat” and a few weeks later in a twist of karma gets tattooed in the head and is never the same. The Cubs upper management. NOMAR. NOMAR? Are you “bleepn” kidding me?
With a steady dose of loosing like this, it is no wonder why Cubs fans are less lively than a heroin addict in Seattle on a Tuesday. I’m beginning to worry about you guys though. In the past I half-admired your blind optimism. Every year it was the same thing, “maybe next year”. You guys reminded me of Andy Dufresne, always holding onto hope that one day you would make it to the promise land. Of course then there was the Bartman incident a couple of years ago, and it looked like your rock-hammers broke and you would end up spending the rest of your years taking it up the arse by Boggs Diamond.

But before you decide to jump off the Sears Tower, take this into account. The Red Sox were Lositutionalized too and looked what happened to them. Sure they went completely crazy, stopped shaving/showering and stopped playing nice. But that worked for them. This was a team that looked more cursed than any other team in sports history. Just think Bill “Bleepn” Buckner for God’s sake. Yet in their complete oblivious psychosis they were able to do the unthinkable, come back from a 0-3 deficit (to the Yankees no less) and go on to win the World Series. To do something unthinkable, you have to stop thinking. Stop thinking about how Nomar being out is going to hurt your chances of making the playoffs, stop thinking about Priors’ Pitching status and start believing. God said that with a little faith you can move a mountain, and with a lot of faith you can win a World Series. That’s what Red Sox fans did, and they are still celebrating like the incoherently drunken idiots that they are. I would like to think that God is more of a Cubs fan than a Red Sox fan, because Red Sox fans put their faith in a midget. So for God’s sake BELIEVE!!! And stop being Lovable Losers, that title make you sound like you are a bunch of “bleepn” Care Bears!

And when you do finally make it to the promise land, don’t act like a Red Sox fan. In my little Shawshank analogy they are definitely Brooks Hatlen. They made it out of jail and didn’t know what the hell to do with themselves so they killed themselves (In the Court of public opinion that is). Instead act a little more like Red, take it all in, enjoy the moment and come see me down in Mexico (we’ll do lunch).

AND FOR GOD’S SAKE (AND MINE)

PLEASE STOP COMPLAINING!!!

………………

That was three years ago, 97 years from the last time the Cubs won a World Series. Since then the White Sox have finally gotten off the wagon, figuratively and literally. The Cardinals, much to the chagrin of Northsiders everywhere, won one too. Hell, the Red Sox won another World Series in that time. Bleeping Red Sox! Yet the Cubs are still looking to shake that goat curse and win the big one. Since I wrote that column three years ago a lot has changed. Upper management finally wised up and spent some money on quality players like: Alfanso Soraino, Carlos Zambrano, Aramis Ramirez and Japanese sensation Kosuke Fukudome. They also brought a respectable manager in, if Lou Piniella can’t get you up for a game you might as well pack it in because you are probably dead. Cutting ties with Mark Prior was also a big step for the Cubs, it wasn’t working out, and in letting him move on they were saying that they were ready to move on. Hell, word is they are even going to sell the naming rights to Wrigley Field.

These are all good things.

With a number like 100 years out there it’s easy to become intoxicated by words like destiny and fate. I mean just look at that line-up Chad went through, and with the possible acquisition of a second baseman like Brian Roberts, wow, color me impressed. I know Cub fans are excited, not because they are being chatty about the upcoming season, but because they are deathly silent. Besides Chad (who can’t shut-up about sports god bless him) I haven’t heard a single Cub fan brag about their team. You want to know why? Because they are nervous. They know this is probably the best team they have ever had. They know that the NL is up for grabs yet again this year. They know that the Cubs are long overdue for a date with destiny, and they definitely know that there is no better time than now. No more talk about next year on the north side. Now that the Cubs fans have seen their team go from frequent cellar dwellers to on the cusp of winning it all, you can start to see that killer look in Cub fans’ eyes. They know how close they are.

So am I ready to proclaim that this year is the end of the Cubs long and storied championship drought? Have I drank the blue and red Kool-Aid? Do I have the Cub Fever and the only prescription is more championship?

No

No

A thousand times no!

Listen, I like the Cubs this year for all the reasons I’ve listed above, but I don’t love this Cubs team. Not to spoil my MLB preview, but the Cubs are not my favorites to win the World Series. I’m not even sure the Cubs are one of the five best teams in baseball. They are probably the second best team in the NL. I think with the addition of Johan, the Mets are the best in the NL and I doubt they will have a monumental collapse two years in a row. Then there’s the AL, which is kind of the like the Western Conference in the NBA, any one of the teams in the AL playoffs would probably be favorites over any NL team. I mean you have Detroit with the addition of Miguel Cabrera, Boston with it’s youth movement, and Cleveland with perhaps the best one/two punch of starting pitchers in the bigs. There’s also this other team out of New York, but I’ll get into that later. So does that mean the Cubs can’t win the World Series? Not necessarily. A pretty average Cardinals team won the World Series a couple of years ago, and no one saw the White Sox winning it all in 05′, except maybe Ozzie Guillen, but that just adds to his mystique.

There may be a day when I decide the Cubs are the favorites to win a World Series, and that day may even be sooner than later, but it’s not this day. Not this year. There are still too many questions. We still don’t know who there closer is going to be, and if said closer can handle the responsibility. We still don’t know where Alfonso Soriano fits into this team or how well Fukudome’s game will translate to the MLB. Which means we don’t know that much about the Cubs’ outfield. We still don’t know if the Cubs have any big-time playoff pitching, which is really everything when it comes down to deciding the favorites.

I’m sorry Cub fans, but there are still just too many questions, and here’s one more…. Maybe next year?

Is 3-Digits a Charm?

By Chad Ruter:

(Editors Note: I apologize for the links not going any farther than the starting lineup for the Cubs. My computer kept timing out the links, and I got frustrated)

Despite Ryan Dempster killing my Cubs mojo for a week by predicting a title, I’ve made a full recovery and am prepared to dish out my 2008 Cubs preview. After a 2007 season that saw early ups-and-downs, the trading of Michael “The Uncatcher” Barrett, and a wonderful September only to be followed by a painful three game sweep at the hands of the Snakes, I’m finally ready for the season to begin. OK, that’s a lie. I’ve been ready for 2008 baseball to begin since four days after the 2007 season ended. That time-frame is when the burners on the hot-stove aren’t flipped on yet. Anyways…here it is…my 2008 Chicago Cubs (100 Years of Misery) preview:

1B: Derrek Lee – DLee is the only “You know what you’re going to get” player the Cubs have. He’s going to hit between .295 and .330 with 20+ homers with a .400ish OBP – barring injuries of course. Two years ago, Lee broke his wrist, which forced him to miss 2/3 of the season. Last year, it seemed like he was still recovering from it. The ball just wasn’t flying off his bat like it had been in the past. He played through it though, and was still successful because he is a line drive hitter. He will never have the season he had in 2005 when he hit 46 homers and batted .335 – but he surely won’t just hit 22 homers again this year like he did in ‘07. He’s going to play Gold-Glove caliber defense and compliment that with a .315/32/100 (AVG/HR/RBI) season. Lou Piniella is going to either hit him in the 3rd of 4th spot in the lineup depending on what he wants to do with Kosuke Fukudome. My humble opinion (which includes Soriano NOT leading off) has Lee hitting 2nd in the order to maximize the amount of at-bats he gets in a season.

2B: Mark DeRosa – DeRosa skipping a beat (literally) has me worried for a couple reasons. Number one: Heart conditions are rarely ever not serious. Number two: He was the Cubs most valuable player in 2007. He hit the ball better than I imagined, and he played all over the place. Without him, the team is undoubtedly weaker. Maybe this will get management to pull the trigger on the Brian Roberts deal. He could come to Chicago, leadoff, play 2B, and allow DeRosa to move around the diamond and give everyone a day off when necessary. He’d also bat against every lefty, and he had a career year two years ago when he served the same purpose for the Texas Rangers. If healthy, he plays solid D at second, and will post ..285/15/65 season with an OBP around .360. The Cubs desparately need him…because God knows the next guy on this list can’t play a full season.

3B: Aramis Ramirez – I love him, I really do, but he guarantees you three things every year and not all of them are good. He’s going to hit homers without striking out much, he’s going to be the streakiest hitter you have, and he’s going to hit the 15-day DL atleast once. That’s why DeRosa is so important. He is the only other guy above the age of 19 in the Cubs organization that can legitimately play at 3B if necessary. Rammy is due to hit the DL this year around June 8th, but will still hit his usual .300/31/115. He only mashed 26 homers last year, the first time in three years he hadn’t hit atleast 30, but I see him bouncing back with a little more pop and balance to the lineup. He may wind up hitting 5th if Fukudome hits in the three spot. I’d rather see Rammy hit four behind Fukudome, and Lee in front of the import. Once again…maximize the plate appearances for the best players. Did I mention that if David Wright gets hurt that Ramirez will win the Gold Glove? He’s truly become a phenomenal defensive 3B. And to think…scouts were saying that he would have to change positions because he was such a butcher when he was traded to Chicago.

SS: Ryan Theriot – Every Cubs fan that reads this will probably slay me, but it has to be said. Yes, he has a great nickname (The Riot). Yes, he is a scrappy player. Yes, he steals bases. Yes, he plays to the maximum of his ability. Yes, he takes a lot of pitches and draws walks. But as I mentioned a month or two ago, only a few Major League regulars had a lower OPS than Theriot did last year, and you just can’t have that unless you’re making it up defensively. Although he’s a solid defensive SS, he doesn’t make up for the offensive black hole he is in the lineup. If he plays everyday then he’s going to be a .275/5/40 type of player that just kind of holds things together. I’d love to see the Cubbies upgrade here, but I dont think they have the bullets to get a bonafide guy to play in the hole. If he gets hurt, I’d really like to see what Ronny Cedeno can do for more than 20 games.

LF: Alfonso Soriano – The Cubs need to find a leadoff guy, and find one fast! Soriano being at the top of the lineup is a complete waste of his largest strength – his power. OK, so he can steal bases, but you can do that damn near anywhere in the lineup. What you can’t do is have the majority of your homers being solo bombs. If a pitcher gives up a leadoff homer to Soriano, they shrug it off and say, “Ah well, atleast nobody was on base.” You need a guy in the leadoff spot that can get on-base at a better clip then the .337 Soriano posted in ‘07. He better be stealing 40 bags again to make his paultry ability to get on-base worth being at the top of the lineup. I’ll say .290/35/75 with 30 steals is reasonable.

CF: Felix Pie/Sam Fuld – Who’s it going to be? The superstar/hotshot prospect that struggled in the majors in a small sample size but dominated in the minors, or the relative nobody who made a spectacular catch to save the back of Scotty Eyre, and who came out of nowhere to win the AFL MVP award during the winter? My personal choice is to let Pie go out there and work things out. He tore up Triple-A last year, and just needs to get in the box and take his hacks in The Show. He more than makes up for his lack of offensive ability with his defense and cannon for an arm. His speed is incredible as well. I think he brings too much to the table to see him ride the pine. I like Fuld, don’t get me wrong, but I think you have to let Pie work things out in center. If you’re lineup has firepower at nearly every other position, you can afford to let him grow. The organization is just deathly afraid of a Corey Patterson repeat.

RF: Kosuke Fukudome - The enigma of it all. Superb numbers in Japan will hopefully translate well to the majors like they have for the other great Japanese hitters that scouts say he’s a cross of (Hideki Matsui and Ichiro Suzuki). He can steal bases, hit homers, draw walks, and drive the ball the other way. Being a lefty is a real key here, because he breaks up the power hitting righthanders the Cubs have been trying to offset for years with below average rightfielders (see Jeromy Burnitz and Jacque “Strap” Jones). He was hurt for much of ‘07, but has recovered fully from his ailments. I see him posting .295/18/80 in the middle of the Cubs order. Most importantly, Cubs brass hopes he brings that career .392 OBP into the Windy City, but they’ll have to settle for about .370 here in America. The best thing about Fukudome is that if neither Fuld or Pie can lock up the CF job, he can move over there, allowing either Matt Murton, Daryle Ward, or Mark DeRosa more time in RF.

C: Geovany Soto – In just 18 games for the Cubs down the stretch in 2007, Soto hit 3 bombs to go along with a .389 AVG. Not bad for a rookie. He sorta came out of nowhere in ‘07. The Cubs asked him to drop weight before the season. So what did he do? Dropped nearly 20 pounds and went out to win the Pacific Coast League MVP award. He dominated in Iowa last year, and is being handed the reigns of this fragile Cubs pitching staff. He can more than handle those duties. He’s an above average receiver who always had problems with the bat. He’s not going to tear it up in 2008, but I imagine the rookie could pull down a more-than-reasonable .275/18/65 for the Cubs. Those numbers would be phenomenal out of a position that brought nearly 0 offense to the table last year.

Bench: Daryl Ward, Matt Murton, Ronny Cedeno, Henry Blanco, Sam Fuld, Mike Fontenot/Eric Patterson. Let me just say- I love this group! Ward is an awesome pinch-hitter who can start for a week if you need him too, and the rest of the bunch is a ragtag group of speedsters and multi-positional guys. OK, Blanco doesn’t fit either of those definitions, but what catcher does? Fuld, Patterson, Cedeno, and Fontenot are all vying for the two bench spots not filled by Murt-Dog, DWard and Blanco, and all those guys can make this team. They are a scrappy bunch, and there is no better attitude to have as a bench guy then what those guys bring to the table.

Starting Pitchers: Carlos Zambrano is the #1, Ted Lilly is the #2, Rich Hill is the #4, and the other three spots are TBA. The group shooting for those spots includes Jon Lieber, Jason Marquis, Ryan Dempster, Sean Marshall, and Sean Gallagher. My prediction is that Lieber will take the three spot, and Dempster makes a surprise run and wins the #5 role. He’s always had that starting pitcher’s demeanor (and control) and should thrive in that role once again. I think Gallagher ends up throwing in Triple-A for awhile, and gets the starts when someone goes down. I think Marquis is destined for long relief, and Sean Marshall is not a MLB starting pitcher. Zambrano is going to be streaky again this year, and you’ll always be able to tell in the first inning whether or not he’s going to get rocked. It’s all about arm angle with him. If it’s up, he dominates, if it’s down, he suffocates. Simple as that.

Relievers: Let’s just stick to what we know. Eyre is the only legit lefty we have (which is fine) and the three horse race for the closer spot already has its 1/4 pole leader in Bob Howry, despite the fact we haven’t seen a pitch thrown in Spring Training games. He’s going to be the guy. Kerry Wood is said to be throwing darts out there, but he’s a touch too inconsistent for my taste in the 9th inning role. I love Carlos Marmol, and I don’t think you mess with a good thing with him. Keep him pitching in the 7th or 8th inning opposite Wood. If these guys stay healthy, they could be an extremely scary group for a full season.

Manager: Sweet Lou Piniella – Regarded as one of the five best managers in the game. I can’t disagree. He knows how and when to take pressure off his team and throw it on himself, and he’s always trying to find the right lineup that fits his team. He handles players and pitchers extremely well, and knows how to talk an umpire right to the edge. I consider there to be 10 MLB managers that can lead a team to a championship, and thank God the Cubs have one of those guys in Piniella.

Minor Leagues: Keep an eye on Angel Guzman. I think he makes the full-time switch to reliever and really comes into his own this year. He won’t start in the majors, but he’ll be up with the big club at some point. Look for Jake Fox to have a monster year in Triple-A Iowa as well. Jeff Samardzja is going to struggle in Double-A this year. He’s been rushed a bit, and the Cubs were foolish to sign him to a major league contract right out of Notre Dame.

I think this Cubs team is 3 wins better than they were in 2007, and I think they’ll have to be. The Brewers will have Ryan Braun for a full season, and the Reds are starting to look like an actual ballclub. For the season, I’ll peg Chicago at 88-74 and their first back-to-back division champioship in God knows how long.

Projected Lineup:
1. LF Alfonso Soriano
2. SS Ryan Theriot
3. RF Kosuke Fukudome
4. 1B Derrek Lee
5. 3B Aramis Ramirez
6. 2B Mark DeRosa
7. C Geovany Soto
8. CF Felix Pie
9. P (Carlos Zambrano)

Bench:
1. OF/1B Daryle Ward
2. SS/CF Ronny Cedeno
3. RF/LF Matt Murton
4. C Henry Blanco
5. 2B/LF Mike Fontenot

Projected Rotation:
1. RHP Carlos Zambrano
2. LHP Ted Lilly
3. RHP Jon Lieber
4. LHP Rich Hill
5. RHP Ryan Dempster

Bullpen:
1. CL Bob Howry
2. RHP Kerry Wood
3. RHP Carlos Marmol
4. LHP Scott Eyre
5. RHP Michael Wurtz
6. RHP Kevin Hart
7. RHP Jason Marquis

Is next year finally here? God I hope so!

Blockbusters Galore

By: Chad Ruter

With the occasional big name changing teams via the trade during the summer months and the NBA draft, teams don’t often make trades because it’s a long a tedious process. Not only do you have to find talented players on another team that you want, and find talented players (or the overvalued ones) on your team to part with, you also have to match salaries when it comes to NBA trades. With that in mind…following the trade of Pau Gasol to the Lakers for a some pieces of paper and a few worthless late-round draft picks, it sent in motion a flurry of movement that has made the best teams better, and the worst teams at the same level they were. If you’re an NBA fan, you have to love the wheeling and dealing that has gone on. So let’s rank all the trades in the last three weeks in the order of who came out smelling like roses.

1. LAKERS RECEIVE: Pau Gasol & a 2010 Second Round Pick. GRIZZLIES RECEIVE: Kwame Brown (’s expiring contract), Aaron McKie (who was coaching in Philadelphia but signed a contract with the Lakers so the salaries would match), Javaris Crittenton, draft rights to Mark Gasol (Pau’s younger brother) & First-Round Picks in 2008 & 2010.

-Kobe isn’t going anywhere ladies and gentlemen. In Gasol, the Lake Show acquired a 27-year-old 7′0” center that averaged 19 pts and 9 reb on an awful team. He came to Los Angeles and instantly clicked with Kobe. He is the low-post scorer #24 has been missing since The Big Aristotle (Shaq) was traded a few years ago. And when Andrew Bynum comes back, the Lakers could put the tallest starting five on the floor with no guy playing a position they can’t handle. Imagine a starting five with Bynum playing center, Gasol at the four, Lamar Odom (who can play 3 positions) at the three, Kobe at the two, and Derek Fischer running the point. That team is phenomenal! Possibly the most dynamic in the league. They will never have problems scoring, and Gasol, Bynum, Odom, and Kobe are all above-average defenders at their position (Kobe being an all-NBA defender). This deal started a mind-boggling domino effect across the league.

2. JAZZ RECEIVE: Kyle Korver. 76ERS RECEIVE: Gordan Giricek & a future protected First-Round Pick.

-This trade flew well under the radar, but the Jazz are 19-3 after this trade was made! 19 and friggin 3! Before that trade, they were on a 3-11 stretch! The reason: the Jazz didn’t have a kickout guy to stand on the elbow extended while Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer run the screen-and-roll. Jeff Hornacek thrived in that role for years, and Korver will now do the same. He can just sit out there and bury open jumpers. Mehmet Okur also could do that, but he’s also dang near 7-feet tall, and they need him down floating in the post too. Giricek wasn’t doing much for the Jazz this year, and that first-round pick is going to be so low that it is meaningless to the Jazz. Korver has been a God-send to the Mormons, and this team is dan-ger-ous. Watch out!

3. CAVALIERS RECEIVE: Ben Wallace, Joe Smith, Delonte West, Wally Szczerbiak & Chicago’s 2009 Second-Round Pick. BULLS RECEIVE: Larry Hughes, Drew Gooden, Shannon Brown & Cedric Simmons. SONICS RECEIVE: Adrian Griffin, Donyell Marshall & Ira Newble.

-A lot of people are questioning this trade from all angles. As a Bulls fan, I don’t know that this trade does anything for them. And I know that for the Sonics, they just dropped a bomb of a contract on the Cavaliers and have plenty of cap-space for the future. But in my mind, the Cavaliers got almost exactly what they needed to get to the Finals. With the additions of Ben Wallace and Joe Smith, they have a front line rotation that pairs a big-man scorer with a big-man defender for all 48 minutes. Big-Z and Ben Wallace can start (with a regressing Ben Wallace playing better with a guy across from him that can score), while Anderson Varejao and Joe Smith can be the defender/rebounder and the scorer respectively coming off the bench. Not only that, but LeBron James get’s a knockdown shooter in Wally Szczerbiak, and a useful backup PG in Delonte West. You think Cavaliers coach Mike Brown asked LeBron if it was ok to do this deal? I’d say the answer is about 95% yes. For the Bulls, this trade sheds the Wallace baggage and salary, but they take on an awful contract in Hughes, and it doesn’t make them better now. I think the Bulls made the trade just so they can say they pulled the trigger and tried. Talk about bad timing. Kudos to the Cavs for taking a risk, and giving LeBron some pieces to work with.

4. SUNS RECEIVE: Shaquille O’Neal. HEAT RECEIVE: Marcus Banks & Shawn Marion.

-In his first year as GM of the Suns, legendary player/announcer Steve Kerr pulled the trigger on a trade to bring Shaq back to the West. He did give up Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks, but Marion was going to opt-out of his contract at years end, and Banks was the third-string PG. In return, they got the most dominant center in the last 20 years, albeit, well past his prime. The reason why this may work is because following the Gasol trade, if you want to be competitive out West, you need not just one, but two quality big men. This gives the Suns the offensive big man (Amare Stoudamire) and the defensive enforcer (Shaq…sortof) that you need to win the Western Conference. Although Shaq doesn’t fit the run-and-gun, seven seconds or less offense that Mike D’Antoni implented in Phoenix nearly five years ago, he gives them a different dynamic. He can be a guy they go to when a team slows them to a half-court pace. For the Heat, they shed the gargantuan $20 million per season owed to Shaq for two more years, and got a possibly expiring contract in Marion, and a PG that is young and could easily put Jason Williams on the bench next year. The Suns are pushing all their chips in, and you can’t hardly blame them.

5. SPURS RECEIVE: Kurt Thomas. SONICS RECEIVE: Brent Barry, Francisco Elson & a 2009 First-Round Pick.

-Another quiet trade that addresses the new need in the Western Conference – two above-average/great tall guys. Ever since the retirement of “The Admiral” David Robinson, Tim Duncan has had a no-namer standing next to him in the front-court. This trade brings an old, yet still productive Thomas (7.5 pts 8.8 reb) to the Spurs to compliment Duncan, and in return the Spurs gave up a big man that was worthless, and the sharp-shooting Brent Barry. The loss of Barry will hurt the Spurs more than they think, but the acquisition of Thomas was a must to compete in the paint. The Sonics, again, are collecting draft picks and cap-room for the future. Man, doesn’t it seem like they are taking after Portland in the “How to build a franchise” mode?

6. MAVERICKS RECEIVE: Jason Kidd, Antoine Wright & Malik Allen. NETS RECEIVE: Devean Harris, Maurice Ager, Desagana Diop, (the previous retired) Keith Van Horn, Trenton Hassell, First-Round Picks in 2008 & 2010, and $3 million cash.

-We saw three different versions of this deal, and in the end, the Mavericks had to kick in nearly $11 million dollars to Van Horn and the luxury tax to get it done. Statistically, this trade doesn’t seem to benefit the Mavericks at all. The Nets shed a huge contract, get younger, and get a statistically better PG in Devean Harris, but the Mavericks get an on-the-court leader they’ve lacked since Steve Nash left. Dirk Nowitzki can’t lead a team, but Jason Kidd can. He gives them “The Pair” that the team clearly lacked when they were shockingly upset in the first round of the 2007 Playoffs. Similarly to the Suns, Mark Cuban realized that the window to win a title is closing, and Devean Harris really wasn’t the guy that was going to lead them to a championship. Another good move for both teams, despite its long-term implications to the Mavs.

7. HORNETS RECEIVE: Mike James & Bonzi Wells. ROCKETS RECEIVE: Bobby Jackson & Adam Haluska. GRIZZLIES RECEIVE: Draft rights to a pair of Rockets no-namers.

-The deal is pretty basic. The Rockets are going to get shuffled out of contention because they don’t have solid players around Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady, but this deal signals to the fans that they tried. For the Hornets, they strengthen their back-court shooting depth a little bit. They didn’t need the low-post help in the starting lineup because they already have David West and Tyson Chandler (it pains me to say it, but Chandler is a Top-10 center in the NBA). Good move for the Hornets to get a bit deeper.

8. HAWKS RECEIVE: Mike Bibby. KINGS RECEIVE: Anthony Johnson, Tyronn Lue, Lorenzen Wright & Shelden Williams.

-To put it simply, the Kings get three expiring contracts and a decent forward in Williams, and the Hawks finally get a point guard while not breaking up their core talent. I’m won’t spend anymore time on this trade because neither team has a winning record….and I require that for a full breakdown.

After the dust settles…my NBA Finals prediction is Cavaliers and Lakers, to provide us a series and a Superstar matchup that will be remembered for generations. Boston fans…can you say O-ver-a-ted!

Harry, Moose, and Superman

By: Chad Ruter

Ten years ago today ranked as one of the saddest days of my childhood. I was only 11 at the time, and we had only had cable television for about two years, but in that time frame I had watched enough Cubs games on WGN to realize that Harry Caray was the coolest guy on the face of the earth. And on February 18th, 1998 the man who belted out the seventh-inning stretch at thousands of Cubs games in his career finally succombed to the harsh life he put his body through. But man, what a life it was.

He drank more beer than Norm in Cheers, smoked more cigars than Micheal Jordan, and had more fun than anyone could have at a ballpark. Hell, while the Cubs were awful for the majority of the ’90’s, people tuned in just to listen to him talk. He loved baseball, loved announcing, and loved the Cubs.

The timing of his death was the toughest part for everyone to swallow. Not only was he getting ready for a season in which the Cubs had a pretty good shot at making the playoffs, he was also scheduled to slide over a chair to make room for his grandson, Chip Caray, to take over the play-by-play duties. Imagine a broadcast team comprised of Chip Caray, a marginal to good broadcaster who would’ve blossomed with with grandfather Harry, along with the best baseball analyst in the past two decades in Steve Stone. I wouldn’t have missed a game that season!

Imagine Harry broadcasting the plentiful amount of memorable moments the 1998 season contained. Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire pushed each other in the chase for 61. Kerry Wood K’d 20 Astros on a day where Eric Gregg had a strikezone that Harry would have described as gargantuan in size. Brant Brown dropped a fly ball with four days left in the season that seemingly demolished any momentum Chicago had. And the Cubs reached the playoffs via a one-game playoff started by Steve Trachsel, and won by Gary Gaetti hitting a 3-run bomb against the Giants. So what if the Braves swept them out of the playoffs, 1998 was the year I watched baseball on a full-time basis again. And it’s sad to think we had to watch it without Harry.
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3 years ago, the signing of Muhsin Muhammed at 12:01 a.m. on the first day of free agency stunned not only Bears fans, but the entire football world. Chicago announced that they wouldn’t be pushed around anymore when it came to big name free agents avoiding the Windy City. Muhammed consistenly beat double teams in Carolina the year before to become one of the elite NFL receivers – yet expendable because Steve Smith was on his way back from injury. I loved the signing at the time, but was afraid the length of the deal (5 years) would never be fulfilled. Today, the Bears ended their three-year relationship with the man Bears fans lovingly called “Moose,” because his age had caught up to him in a hurry. He was a great buy during his first year in Chicago, but became the second, and sometimes the third option in Chicago during the past two campaigns. He had clearly lost a step from his dominating 2004 season, and also had lost his reputation for being a sure-handed target.

His release is a sign that the Bears are going to begin purging the age that quickly caught up with them less than a year after they reached the Super Bowl, and the decision couldn’t come soon enough. The Bears need to focus on signing their young talent (Bernard Berrian and Lance Briggs) to long-term deals, but I have a feeling they are going keep the wallets closed on the big names available in an effort to get even younger and quicker. Ya know…talking about the Bears is really making me sad. I’m actually starting to get a little irritated. SUBJECT CHANGE!
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If you didn’t watch the NBA Dunk Contest, then watch those YouTube clips that Justin embedded, because they’re a masterpiece. I also have it on tape for the 16 people in America outside of my family that still owns a VHS machine. For the first time since Vince Carter stuck his arm through the hoop, we saw imagination, creativity, and charisma from the contestant. A year ago, Dwight Howard got overlooked because people didn’t appreciate how high he could reach on the backboard. So to combat that, he performed four dunks that only a man with his combination of height and leaping ability could do. I’m convinced that the behind the backboard dunk was one of the best dunks of all time. To go along with that, his Superman “dunk” is even more amazing because he wasn’t even close to the hoop. Do you know how high you have to be to do that with a basketball? Incredible!

Programming Note: Coming later this week, my 2008 Chicago Cubs preview. I just can’t hold out anymore. Also, we are now in desparation mode to fill our Fantasy Baseball League. If you are willing to put forth the effort all year long, and pony up 20 bones for a head-to-head baseball league, then get in contact with either Justin or myself – or leave a comment on this post with information to contact you at. Thanks!

Dwight Howard makes All-Star weekend Super

By: Justin Jacobs

I’ll be the first to admit that the NBA Dunk Contest has stunk the last couple of years. It felt like we had gotten to a point where we had seen just about everything. Especially after the year when Vince Carter put on that air show back in 2000. However, as a creature of habit I grabbed a beer on Saturday and sat down to watch another dunk contest in hopes that I may see something completely new and cool.

What I didn’t expect to see was a seven footer saving the Dunk Contest from mediocrity. You see people over seven feet don’t have a problem dunking obviously, but they do however have trouble hanging in the air for any length of time and doing something that looks graceful. I guess that’s what makes Dwight Howard special. Here are some highlights if you missed out on the festivities.

It’s always amazing, and a little unnerving, to see a seven foot tall man leap into the air like he was Spud Webb. The thing that really makes Dwight Howard’s performance stand out in my mind was personality.

For the most part if you are over seven feet all and in the NBA, you just don’t have much of a personality much in the same way an android does not have much personality. Take Tim Duncan for instance, is he a human or cybernetic robot sent from the future to destroy us? You just can’t tell because he shows no emotion… ever. Tim Duncan would make one hell of a poker player. The exception to this rule has always been Shaq. When the Big Diesel came into the NBA he was a rapping, break-dancing, (bad) acting seven footer who also happened to play basketball. You won’t find the big guy break dancing anymore but he is still one of the coolest guys in the league.

Lately however we’ve started to see an influx of big guys in the NBA who also seem to be pretty cool dudes. Chris Bosh plays center for the Toronto Raptors. One of the side effects of playing sports in Canada is that no one in or outside of Canada will actually care about you, as an athlete and as a human being. Now I’ve been told that Chris Bosh is a pretty good basketball player, but it was only when I saw this youtube clip that Chris Bosh became an actually person I should take note of instead of a mythical Canadian creature that also happened to play basketball.

Too add to the ever increasing list of bigs in the NBA who compare favorably to Hillary Clinton in the personality department, there is Greg Oden, the number one pick in last years NBA draft. Greg suffered a season ending injury… before the season actually started (bummer), but that didn’t stop him from showing the world he could be a star.

Now what does this mean in the grand scheme of things? Probably nothing. I just find is reassuring that some of the league’s best, young, talent actually have winning personalities. As David Stern kept mentioning over the All-Star weekend, the league is in great shape. I couldn’t agree more. Just don’t tell Tim Duncan, or you may be TERMINATED!

Clemens in DC, Kidd to Dallas, and Sampson to Podunk!

By: Justin Jacobs and Chad Ruter

Chad: Justin, do you know the last time we played a game of beer pong as teammates?

Justin: Why that would be weeks ago. If my memory serves me right, we lost. Then I beat you in a game of 1-on-1.

Chad: I’m not sure about that. I think you’re misremembering the situation.

Justin: Maybe so… anyhow, I assume you’re trying to get somewhere with this bit, but I may need a map to find out.

Chad: Well, maybe if you’re going to go in front of Congress, you should pull out a dictionary and make sure you know the boundaries of the language you’re speaking.

Justin: Ah… Congress. Takes me back to the days when our buddy Joe almost got arrested at the Capitol for showing off his guns. But that’s a different column, hell a different column altogether.

Chad: True story. I know you watched the coverage of Clemens and McNamee on Capitol Hill today, and I saw some of it as well. Did anybody win here?

Justin: Alright. You got me. We’ll talk about Roger Clemens. As far as who “won” between Roger and Brian McNamee, well I guess that’s up for interpretation. I think the most important bit of information we got out of the whole circus, besides how split Democrats (pro-McNamee) and Republicans (pro-Clemens) are, was that Andy Pettitte told Congress that Roger did in fact use performance enhancing substances. Everything else was just a bunch of non-sense, I believe one Senator asked what jersey the Rocket was going to wear into the Hall of Fame. Ah yes, another fine example of our tax dollars at work.

Chad: Hell, even the guy that asked what jersey he was going to wear was wrong. They wear hats in Cooperstown – not jerseys. So do you believe Clemens is guilty?

Justin: Well I know we’re not completely on the same page on this one. I think the Rocket is guilty for these reasons. In the Mitchell Report McNamee names three people who he injected with performance enhancing drugs: Andy Pettitte, Chuck Knoblauch and Roger Clemens. Both Pettitte and Knoblauch have admitted that McNamee did in fact juice them up, Roger is the only one who continues to deny these allegations. That for me is the damning fact when it comes to Roger’s innocence.

Chad: I understand where you’re coming from, but is that enough to call him guilty? The motto for the court of public opinion during this internet generation is “Guilty Until Proven Innocent.” I cannot blame Roger Clemens for anything that he has done in trying to convince the world he’s innocent. If he is truly not guilty, then why in the world wouldn’t he do everything in his power to prove his innocence? Pettitte and McNamee are sources of information, but how credible are they? Pettitte may have a solid track record, but McNamee tells the truth when it’s convenient and when it feels right to him. Using a most extreme comparison, this is a murder investigation where Clemens is the alleged murderer, but the only evidence prosecutors have is a guy that said he did it, and a guy that heard the gunshot – nothing physical. At this point in time – I really can’t call Clemens guilty. I need hard evidence. If the gauze isn’t bloody, your evidence is muddy!

Justin: Good point. McNamee isn’t a very “credible” witness, but while we’re on the analogy express, try this one on for size. Clemens is like a mob boss. Someone who is almost impossible to get to. You have to start at the bottom and work you’re way up if you want to get to a guy like Clemens. Most of the time you have to start with the petty drug dealer, hey isn’t that a convenient analogy for McNamee to get to one of the Boss’s friends… hello Andy, to get to the big kahuna… aloha Roger. If it weren’t for scumbags like McNamee, none of the major people in crime would ever come to justice. Of course then you have to have physical evidence, which would be the needles that McNamee kept in a beer can for seven years (weird), I’m not sure if they will be admissible in a court of law, but if the DNA fits, you cannot acquit!

Chad: And another scenario that jumps in my brain is that if Clemens is innocent, then what the hell is McNamee doing? Is he being blackmailed by someone? Is someone offering him up money under-the-table for doing this? It’s possible that something that we don’t even know about is affecting this case. If he isn’t telling the truth, then he needs to get out now – the stakes have gotten to high. And you’re right…storing needles with beer cans is crazy, and really creepy.

Justin: Hm… maybe Oliver Stone will make a movie about this, but probably not. Another area of contention is why would Clemens keep McNamee around after he injected his wife with HGH, unbeknownst to Clemens? Or what about the time McNamee used Clemens image without the Rocket knowing about it? There are all these reasons that Clemens should have fired McNamee but he never did. Curious…

Chad: Oliver Stone…nahhh, you absolutely have to Tarantino this one. Maybe the fact that he didn’t have a PhD would be a cause for concern? Isn’t this something you would check up on?

Justin: One would hope so. Then again, how many athletes could tell you whether or not their trainer has a PhD? How many athletes even know what a PhD is, or know what the heck their trainers are sticking them with? Scary. Anyways let’s broaden this conversation, what does having the greatest pitcher and hitter of our era being accused of using steroids mean in the grand scheme of things?

Chad: That they won’t be a part of the Hall of Fame. That baseball writers will have a topic to write about for another 50 years. That Bud Selig will be viewed as a commissioner that couldn’t control the game he was in charge of when he knew what was going on. The list is endless, but its effect on the game and on Johnny Fan is utterly meaningless. Tell me, are you going to stop watching baseball because the greatest pitcher of this era, who even pitched for your favorite team may be a cheater? I doubt it.

Justin: Not at all and I’ll give you two reasons why I don’t care. 1. At this point I just assume that their were a large number of people using steroids in the 90’s and in the early part of this decade. As much as people hate to admit it, it was a bunch of roided up monsters that brought the masses back to baseball after the ‘94 strike. I’m not mad that Roger Clemens may have used steroids, I’m pissed that he insists he is innocent even though there are multiple people claiming he isn’t. 2. I didn’t even start watching baseball until the 04 season, so all Roger is to me is a 25 milliion dollar investment we made last year that ended up being a horrible decision. If anything else, last year made me loathe Roger Clemens, and made me negatively bias in this whole ordeal.

Chad: That overtone really doesn’t show (laughing).

Justin: What can I say, I’m a true Yankee fan. What have you done for me lately Roger? But damnit, if he would have led us to a World Series in 2007, I would have been at the front of the picket line in DC marching for his innocence!

Chad: Have you had enough Roger for one night?

Justin: Wow. That’s what she said! Anyone? No? Alright then, I guess it’s time to move on.

Chad: Actually…that’s what he said…but that’s beside the point and wayyyy off topic. For the third time in a two week span, we’ve seen a blockbuster trade in the NBA that strengthens top teams in the Western Conference. Today, it was Jason Kidd (along with Malik Allen, Antoine Wright and a 2^nd round pick) going to the Mavericks for Devin Harris, Jerry Stackhouse, three expiring contracts (DeSagana Diop, Maurice Ager, and Devean George), along with two first-round picks and the NBA max $3 million in cash. Think the Mavs could throw in a convertible with that deal?

Justin: What I’m wondering is where they fit all these people on their roster? It’s going to be the size of a high school football team. Let’s be real here though, the pincipals in this trade were Kidd (ofcourse), Harris, Stackhouse and the two first rounders. What do you think Chad, are the Mavericks just reaching here in light of all the moves made recently out west?

BREAKING NEWS (Courtesy of espn.com and my friend Dan G.): Devean George has exercised his right to block the trade involving Jason Kidd going to the Mavericks for Devin Harris, Jerry Stackhouse and two first-round picks.

Chad: Well sonofagun…I guess Mark Cuban will be throwing in that convertible after all!

Justin: Wow… you can’t make this stuff up.

Chad: Well, I could. But I just don’t have that good of an imagination.

Justin: More importantly, how the hell did Devean George get a no-trade clause in his contract?

Chad: They submitted the contract one night that Cube got completely wasted, and he didn’t read the fine print!

Justin: Actually I’m surprised that doesn’t happen more often.

Chad: Me too – especially when you have owners like Mark Cuban, Jerry Buss, and the Maloof Brothers looking over contracts with showgirls around. Since we can’t assume this trade will happen now, that kind of kills this subject. To conclude tonight, what are your initial thoughts on the allegations of rule violations by Kelvin Sampson at Indiana?

Justin: I have to admit I wasn’t too keen on the subject of Kelvin Sampson and his recruiting violations, but again I always just assumed that this kind of stuff is going on. Maybe I’ve seen the movie Blue Chips one too many times, but in this day and age isn’t something like this expected?

Chad: Blue Chips – great movie. Nick Nolte was great, and we get to see Shaq and Penny when they were in their respective primes. This seems like a case of, “I told ya so!” to Indiana Athletic Director Rick Greenspan. He knew that Sampson had problems with that sticky cell phone and office phone when he coached at Oklahoma, and even put provisions in Sampson’s contract denying him bonus money if he even dialed wrong. DUH! If you have to include clauses like this in someone’s contract, aren’t you just asking for a problem?

Justin: You bet. What I can’t wait for are all the Illini fans eventually talking about Sampson doing shady things to get Gordon to play for Indiana. I’m also wondering if Indiana will lose their playoff eligibility because of this, something that Michigan has had to deal with because of the Fab 5 scandal. Then again, maybe this is just me trying to blame everything on Chris Webber. Welcome back to the league Chris, no one missed you.

Chad: The only way I see this affecting their postseason play is if they choose it as a self-imposed penalty. Since none of the players that are playing are ineligible – I don’t see it happening. What I do see happening is that Kelvin Sampson is coaching his last season in Division-I basketball. You can’t even risk keeping him if you’re Greenspan. Cut the cord, and go get a guy that knows Indiana basketball. Hey, I think Bobby Knight’s available!

Thinking Spring

By: Chad Ruter

Since I vowed to myself I wouldn’t give the time of day to the pre-deposition involving Roger Clemens, my article tonight will bounce around a couple different places.

- I really can’t blame Justin for becoming a Yankees fan when he started watching baseball. It’s like a kid near Philadelphia not liking any sports, then all of the sudden gets into them because it was the next best thing to finding a girlfriend. If he’s smart, he sure as hell wouldn’t attach himself to the local Philly teams, considering none of them have won a title since the Dr. J and Moses Malone 76ers team back in 1983. In hindsight, maybe being a sports fan my entire life is what killed me? Nobody in my family liked sports, but I ended up a die-hard fan of all teams Chicago (all Cubs, little White Sox) because those were the only teams on TV growing up (yes, I was one of those kids that grew up with 5 channels until I was 9). But if I didn’t become a Cubs fan, I might have never found fantasy baseball to keep me sane during the grueling six-month campaign. Being a Bears fan forced me to seek out other quarterbacks not named Krenzel, Burris, Stewart, Quinn, and McNown through fantasy football. Hell, the post 3-peat (times two) Bulls teams drove even the craziest of Bulls fans to the bottle, and me to fantasy basketball. Justin and I took opposite paths to becocming fans of the teams we adore, and the fantasy sports we couldn’t live without. But I never regret becoming a Chicago sports fan. Although I will try my damnest to get my kids to cheer for someone else if we can’t get a championship between now and then!

-I tell ya, I picked one helluva year to move into Chicago. A city where everyone owns 2-wheel-drive cars in a region in the country that averages between four and ten feet of snow. Driving home after 3 inches a snow more than doubles my normal drive-time because people slip/slide around all over the place with a few idiot drivers causing problems for everyone on the road. I need sunshine and heat worse than Shaq needs Nutri Systems. And despite the four inches of snow we received today – I’m ecstatic. Reason being: Justin reminded me that pitchers and catchers report tomorrow morning for my Chicago Cubs!! Let the games begin people! We get to enter a spring training where we have no reliance on Mark Prior and Kerry Wood to be 200 inning contributors, and our bin of potential starting pitchers is 8-deep.

- While we’re on the subject, prepare for Cubs pre-reporting-pre-spring-training rant in 3, 2, 1…

The back end of our bullpen looks to be our strength, with Wood, Carlos Marmol and Bob Howry all throwing 90+ with control and moxy. Carlos Zambrano should bounce back slightly with no contract to worry about or outrageous personal goal-setting to live up to. Ted Lilly and Rich Hill are locked into rotation spots, while Jon Lieber, Ryan Dempster, Sean Marshall, Sean Gallagher, and Jason Marquis have plentiful competition to see who fills spots four and five.

Catching wise, we no longer have to put up with the horrible game-calling, awful defense, or lack of interpersonal skills shown by Michael Barrett. Nor do we have to endure the escapades of the light-hitting, powerless, armless shell of his once All-Star self in Jason Kendall. Instead we hand over the reins to the young Geovanny Soto, who won the Pacific Cost League MVP award, and provided some much needed offense during the late September playoff push. He could have a breakout season this year, but I still remain a bit skeptical because he was never considered a top prospect until he finally started hitting last year. The ray of hope: his jump in production coincided with a loss of weight the Cubs asked him to get rid of. Henry Blanco returns to fulfill the final year of his contract as the backup catcher – primarily providing a spell for Soto once a week while providing great defense off the bench. Koyie Hill will bounce back and forth to the Majors as needed as well.

Shoot…that’s just a pre-reporting day special…just wait until we get some spring training games under our belts!

- Talks have been quiet for awhile, but now that the Erik Bedard deal has been completed, I would love to see the Orioles take the next logical step and trade speedy 2B Brian Roberts – to the Cubs. It would be wonderful if he could move over and play SS, but my guess would be that he would play 2B everyday, take the leadoff spot to allow Soriano to move down, and turn Mark DeRosa into a super-utility guy that plays 5 out of every 7 days with no drop in production wherever he plays. Heck, if either Sam Fuld or Felix Pie work out, you could put DeRosa in RF, and move Fukudome to CF. You’d see a slight drop in defense, but a dramatic upgrade in offensive production.

- I was a bit off on my prediction for the legend known as Joba. I was correct in my assesment that he should start in the bullpen, go to AAA to stretch his arm out, and then jump into the Yanks rotation. I was incorrect in the amount of innings he’d throw. I thought he only threw 80 innings last year. Instead, he pitched 100+ innings at four levels in 2007 – making the leap to 140 innings a very smart maneuver by the Yankees. Expect him to do that this year (barring injury of course), and to expand that number to the 180-190 range in 2009, and then letting him throw as many as he can starting in 2010. Brian Cashman continues to run the Yankees beautifully. If George Steinbrenner didn’t go over his head to make a couple brash moves a few years ago…the Yankees might be in an even better position.

- The thing that has me aching the most for spring though….golf baby. The Masters music was playing on a commerical during an ESPN broadcast, and my excitement level hit the apex. Only 4 more weeks till we go to Augusta! Get your four-irons and wedges ready!

-CR

A modest proposal

By: Justin Jacobs

In the last 100 years the New York Yankees have won 26 world championships.

Or to put it another way….

In the last 100 years the Chicago Cubs have won one world championship.

That’s right on this day in 1909 Cub fans were actually getting ready for a year in which they would have a chance to repeat as world champions, something the Yankees have done 11 times. I have to admit that it was the Yankees prestigious history that made enticed me to abandon any notion of becoming a Cubs fan. My logic was why root for Mark Grace and Sammy Sosa when you could root for Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera. To be fair I didn’t take up baseball until my senior year of high school when Chad invited me to play fantasy baseball. As with my other favorite teams in sports (Lakers and 49ers) I went with the team that I thought would have the best chance of winning. Does that make me a bandwagon jumper?

Yes.

Does that mean I sold my sole to George Steinbrenner?

Yes.

Do I feel even remotely bad about it?

Hell no!

Here’s the deal. I’ve been around Cub fans my whole life and my god are they a sad group of individuals. For years I’ve tried to figure out why so many people would be so loyal to such a terrible franchise. I kept asking myself, “Does being a Cub fan drive you insane, or are all Cubs fans inherently insane?’

Well I’ve thought about this a lot and I think I’ve come to some conclusions.

Bare with me here.

I definitely think being a Cub fan will drive you insane. How a team can go a lifetime without winning a championship in a major market is insanity in and of itself. Some kids don’t have a choice in the matter because their parents dress them in Cubs’ gear from the moment they come out of the womb. These poor souls get socialized in an losing environment and will eventually adopt their parents losing mentality, I consider this child abuse at its worst. All I can think of are those late night commercials where someone with an English accent tells us how we need to send money to the starving children in Africa. I can hear that voice right now, “Thousands of perfectly normal babies are being brought up in a Cub friendly environment as we speak, and for only a dollar a day you can you can make a difference in these kids lives. Do the right thing, our operators are standing by”

Of course there are some who do actually chose to become Cub fans. At least they think they are choosing, but really they aren’t. I came to this realization the day my car wouldn’t start on a morning where the temperature was 20 degrees below zero. All I could think about was Spring, for the weather to change and how pleasant things would be. It’s so simple, the people who choose to become Cubs fans aren’t really rooting for the players on the Cubs they are rooting for an idea. They are rooting for hope. It’s really quite a disgusting concept to me. People root for the Cubs because they know how sweet it is when winter turns to spring. In the winter us northerners become bonded by the bad weather. We get into a, we’re all in this together mentality, and cheering for the Cubs is just an extension of that.

Every March, around the time old man winter unwraps his icy hands from around our necks, the Cubs are in Spring training, and Cubs fans are inordinately cheery. The happiest you will probably find any person from northern Illinois is during the start of the baseball season, wether they are a Cubs fan or not. Now think about October when the Cubs have either been eliminated or are on the verge of being eliminated. This is the time of year where you will find us at our lowest, again wether we are Cubs fans or not. .I really think that being a Cub fan can be an extension of the way we cope with the climate we live in. You could have said the same thing about White Sox fans until recently, when Ozzy Guillen lead his team to the promise land behind one timeless saying, “Fung is winning and winning is fung.” Wise words from a man who’s blood is so warm the winter has no effect on him. Thus his ability to shake the mid-west winter funk and win championships.

Now I know what you’re thinking. “Justin, you’re not a Cub fan, what gives” Well like I said, I only recently began following baseball. I think something very important happened to me that allowed me to see past the lie that is the Chicago Cubs… I started drinking. Once a person starts to drink getting through the winter gets a little bit easier thus making the return of spring a little less sweet. Although this year the winter has been so brutal that I’m probably more excited about spring/the Cubs then I have ever been in my life. Hell, it was either that or become a full blown alcoholic, and I really can’t afford that much alcohol. Fortunately, I’ve already made the decision to be a Yankees fan, and over the years baseball has become my favorite sport. So in another hundred years when the Yankees have won another 26 championships and Chad’s grandchildren are being perpetually disappointed by the Cubs, my grandchildren will have me thank for their happiness.

Me… and Jack Daniels.

-JJ

Editor’s Note: Barring any major set-backs from ESPN, Chad and I will be signing up for fantasy baseball. I have already ordered Baseball Prospectus and have started preparing for this years draft. Yes… I am sick like that. It’s pretty safe to say you can expect a column about fantasy baseball sometime this week, besides that, you’re guess is as good as mine as to what we will be writing about this week. I guess you’ll have to stay tuned in order to find out.

Gimme That Trophy

By: Chad Ruter

-Before I get to the real point of this post, I’d like to share this article with you. Now I’ve heard people compare players to Michael Jordan (which I did once, and will never pull that kind of blasphemy again), but I have never heard a tandem comparison involving Jordan AND Scottie Pippen. Ludicrous I tell you!!

-Also, congratulations to my good friend Luke G. You guys know the process of why this keeps happening, right? Haha, just kidding! Buying a minivan puzzled me a bit…but now all the pieces make sense. You don’t have to send me your man card in the mail anymore.

Now for the real thing.

Everyone has thought about it. You’ve either been lounging on the couch, naked, eating Cheetos, driving alone for endless hours through the cornfields of Illinois, or sitting on the thinking chair in the bathroom and thought about creating the ultimate baseball team. Or maybe that’s just me? Anyways, if you were given an endless amount of money, and every player in Major League Baseball were available in free agency, what would your team look like? I would hope it looks a lot like this

Position Players: (In the order they would bat).

1. SS Jose Reyes (S) – A lot of people are down on Reyes a bit after the collapse he and the Mets had in September. Despite his tendency to be streaky, there is no other player in the Majors that I would rather have playing shortstop and leading off then this guy. He’s the best defender in the game at the position, he gets on base, can hit a homer if the situation warrants, and can steal tons of bases. The impact that Reyes has when he’s on the basepaths is incredibly underrated. Why do you think the 3-4-5 hitters get the grooved pitches that they do? It’s because the pitcher has got one eye on Reyes. (Sorry Justin…your man crush didn’t qualify).

2. CF Ichiro Suzuki (L)- He won’t make this list in a year or two because of his age (35), but he sure doesn’t play that old. He does a great job as a leadoff hitter for the Seattle Mariners, but he would be a perfect #2 hitter. He’s left-handed, slaps the ball all-around and can bunt for a hit while simultaneously moving a man over. Not only is this former Rookie of the Year and MVP award winner a premier hitter, but he also is the best outfielder in the game. He’s fast, gets great jumps, takes perfect angles, and has a rocket attached to the right side of his body. He played 3B in Japan, RF to begin his American career, and has now moved to CF to fill a team need. What player moves to CF from RF when getting older? Only this man. (The good news here Justin – Johnny Damon can grow a better beard).

3. 1B Albert Pujols (R)- Did you know his real name is Jose, and his middle name is Albert? Me either. 2007 was a down year for Pujols at the age of (27). Yea, he only hit .327/32/103 with a .997 OPS. If that’s an off year for someone, then God knows what would happen if he had an MVP season (which amazingly, he only has one of [2005]). Not only is he the most dangerous power hitter in baseball, but he’s turned himself into a Gold Glove first baseman. Pujols used to bounce around playing four positions during his first couple seasons. While many consider Alex Rodriguez the best player in the game, I’d take Pujols before him any day and twice on Sunday. (Do the Yanks have a 1B Justin?).

4. DH David Ortiz (L) – I used to despise the designated hitter rule until I was reading Keith Law’s chat recap one day, and someone asked him if he liked the DH rule. He said he did without a doubt, because you get to watch a professional hitter take a whack at the pitcher rather than a guy that will hit .175. Never thought of it like that. I do enjoy the intricacies of managing a National League game, but if we didn’t have the designated hitter, David Ortiz would’ve never played in The Show. He plays the game incredibly hard, and even though the word “clutch” is quantitatively indescribable, he comes up with the big knocks when his team needs it. He had another “down” season with only 35 homers – well off his 40’s and 50’s he had been posting, but he did record his highest career OBP at .445 in 2007. (Jason Giambi’s on the phone Justin…he claims he took steroids to get rid of that tape-worm. By the way…wanna guess what game this picture came from?).

5. 3B Alex Rodriguez – If there’s anything I hate more than talking about the Yankees, I surely haven’t found it. But sometimes you just have to give a guy whats due to him. Rodriguez has won multiple MVP’s, played two premium positions in the Majors, debuted at age 18 and was a regular by age 20, and at 32 years old just signed his second record-breaking contract in professional sports. His defense over at third base worries me a bit, but he also gets to more balls than a majority of guys – resulting in more chances for errors. With a lineup like I have surrounding Rodriguez, his atrocious playoff record doesn’t scare me. I ain’t never skerd! (Oh Justin. Gotta love the fact that one of the two Yankees I do put on this list happens to include the one you loathe!).

6. 2B Chase Utley (L) – Simply the best player at a position that receives little to no fanfare. It doesn’t help that some consider him the third best hitter on his own team (Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins). He hits for power, he has pretty good speed, and plays above-average defense. Nobody is in the same dimension as him offensively at second base, and that doesn’t look like it’s going to change for quite some time. The best part about Utley is that he plays at 100% at all times. He’s Mr. Hustle on a team built around playing the game hard – making him a perfect fit for my team. (Robinson Cano is good, Justin, but you’d have to double his numbers to get to Utley).

7. C Russell Martin (R) – Many of the other positions are no-brainers, but this isn’t one of them. Three guys could be considered for this spot, but I chose Martin over the likes of Joe Mauer and Victor Martinez because he’s durable (unlike Mauer) and he’s a perfect defender (unlike Martinez). He is one of the few catchers in the league that could go out and play all 162 games if he was asked to (played 151 last year), and at age 24 is just going to get better. He’ll have to move positions late in his career to preserve his bat, but he’ll stay behind the dish for another 10-12 years, and be the best in the National League the entire time. (Well Justin, if Jorge Posada wasn’t 976 years old with an awful 4-year contract, I might consider him…hip hip, Jorge!!)

8. LF Carl Crawford (L) – If there is a player in Major League Baseball that is talked about more in trade discussions than this guy, I’d love to know. He leads off in Tampa Bay out of necessity, but would be better suited to either hit 2nd or 6th. Not enough power for the middle, and not enough OBP for the top, but he mixes and matches his skills to succeed. He’s really not a great defender, but his speed makes up for a lot of his mistakes. He’s going to get paid big bucks this winter, and deserves every penny for what he’s had to put up with in Tampa Bay. (The only way Hideki Matsui would qualify here is if I trade him to Justin in fantasy baseball, and then play Justin’s team every week of the season).

9. RF Alex Rios (R) – Entering his fifth season in Toronto, Rios is being relied upon to spark an offense that lacks power. Rios himself won’t hit for many home runs himself, but the little things he does is what will make that team go. He makes my list because RF is really a down position for younger players. There are a lot of older guys like Bobby Abreu, Jermaine Dye, and Ken Griffey Jr. that I’d love to put here, but they are all starting to break down physically. (Plus, Abreu plays for the Yankees).

Starting Rotation:

1. Johan Santana (LHP)- Simply unstoppable – except for the 2nd half of 2007. Still has the best change-up in the biz.

2. Josh Beckett (RHP)- Have you seen his curveball? No? Don’t feel bad, neither do the batters.

3. C.C. Sabathia (LHP)- Pin-point control to go with a mid-90’s fastball. You have to love his guile too.

4. Jake Peavy (RHP)- Stats are a bit inflated due to Petco Park being as large as a canyon, but he’s got the stuff too.

5. John Lackey (RHP)- Nobody knows about him because he plays on the left coast. Quietly has finished towards the top of the Cy Young voting for a couple years now.

Bullpen: (Back three guys only)

Setup: Joba Chamberlain (RHP)- (Pronounced Job-uh) Thank God the Yankees used him as a setup man so I could put him here. High 90’s fastball, high 80’s slider with knee-buckling two-plane break and a devastating change-up that still isn’t fully developed. He only needs the first two to succeed, and if the Yankees are smart, they will keep Chamberlain in the bullpen for the first couple months of the season to keep his innings down. Look for him to go for about 120 IP in 2008.

Setup: Jaime Walker (LHP) – A lefty that can get both righties and lefties out is becoming a rare thing in the Majors, but Walker has been good for years. He’s very old (37), but will see continued success because he doesn’t rely on throwing it by guys to get them out. Deception is Walker’s calling card, and guys have a tough time picking up the baseball. He’d make my team.

Closer: Jonathon Papelbon (RHP) – It pains me to leave off guys like Joe Nathan and Francisco “K-Rod” Rodriguez, but Papelbon is the guy. He just flat out dominates an opponent. He should be a starting pitcher with all the pitches and talent that he has, but closing games in the northeast is an incredibly publicized position, and can only be handled physically and mentally by a select few. Papelbon has had just one season of professional baseball with an ERA over 3.00, and that was his first year playing in the low-A New York Penn League. He has the perfect closer’s mentality, and if he sticks with it, could be the most devastating and dominating closer in the history of baseball. (Sorry Mariano – but you’re on the back end of your career, and despite being a great closer, blew a lot of memorable games too).

Manager – Joe Girardi
Pitching Coach – Leo Mazzone
Hitting Coach – Jeff Pentland

If you think you can beat that team – good luck.