Saturday, March 11, 2006
MLB QUICK HITTERS
By Dean Swanton
-I like what the Los Angeles Dodgers have done this off season. Ned Colletti has done an admirable job of assembling a team that should be able to compete in the weak NL West. The Dodgers have a loaded farm system which is soon going to start paying dividends at the major league level.
-The Toronto Blue Jays must be extremely excited to get the season started to see if the changes they have made will have them competing with the Yankees and Red Sox. It is still hard to believe that Benjie Molina, Lyle Overbay, Troy Glaus, A.J. Burnett and B.J. Ryan are all Blue Jays. If the Blue Jays pitching staff stays healthy this team could very easily win the AL East.
-Credit to the White Sox for going out and improving after winning the World Series. If Jim Thome stays off the disabled list he will put up huge numbers back in the American League. Adding Javier Vazques to the rotation didn't hurt either.
-The Cleveland Indians feel like they will be contenders this season but I fail to buy into the belief that they will be better in 2006. The Indians failed to address their weak spots in rightfield and at first base and I don't see how Bob Wickman repeats his performance from last season. This is a team with some exciting young players but with holes that General Manager Mark Shapiro can't fill because of lack of financial commitment from ownership.
-I wish Barry Bonds would just go away. It would be nice to see him not pass Babe Ruth or Hank Aaron on the all time home run list. Bonds and other suspected steroid users have made a mockery of the record book and that is a shame. I am tired of watching Barry Bonds interviews where he bullies the press and blames everybody else for the predicament he is in. Barry Bonds' head barely fits on the front cover of this week's Sports Illustrated magazine. That's all the evidence I need to suspect him of cheating.
The World Baseball Classic is a great idea that is just never going to work. There will never be enough participation from all the greatest players from around the world to make it a truly classic event. Can you really blame a team like the Mariners for not allowing phenom Felix Hernandez to pitch in the event. There is just never going to be a right time of the year to hold the event. There is no way that mlb would ever shut down the season for a couple of weeks in the middle of summer for the tournament to be played. We would end up with the World Series winner being decided in November. Too bad, because if everybody could participate it would be a true World Series. I've always wondered why teams from North America that play in leagues in North America call themselves "World Champions" when they win a title.
-It is hard to believe that Kirby Puckett is no longer with us. Despite some serious allegations made about him a few years back I choose to remember him as a great player who was fiercely loyal to the Minnesota Twins. His career ended to soon and sadly so did his life.
posted by Dean Swanton 7:05 PM
