The baseball season is finally upon us, and what a great feeling it is once again. Baseball's opening day is different from those of the three other major sports. For starters, it comes at a time in the year when the days are getting longer and warmer, not shorter and colder.
There is a certain sense of optimism that surrounds all the teams and their fans. Its cause is hard to pinpoint. After all, no team with a payroll under $60 million has a chance at the pennant. Plus the Red Sox and Cubs are continually destined to, at the very most, suffer horrible end of the year collapses.
Perhaps the hope and levity that a baseball fan feels for himself and his team at the beginning of the year are born from the same natural force that produces the bright blues and greens of spring.
Now that I have gotten sufficiently sappy, let's talk a little about the National League teams whose reasons for being optimistic extend beyond the esoteric. Where better to start than with the team that made the most noise in the off-season, the team that I had the fortune of seeing in person on Monday, the New York Mets.
The Mets had the worst offense in the National League last year. It was a tribute to their pitching that despite scoring the least amount of runs, they managed to finish over .500. In the winter, General Manager Steve Phillips used trades and free agency to rectify his power problem.
By far the biggest move made by Phillips over the winter was the trade that brought Roberto Alomar to New York. Simply put, Alomar is one of the best second baseman in the history of the game.
He brings power, speed and instincts to a team that sorely missed all three last year. In addition to the perennial gold glove winner, the Mets added Mo Vaughn and John Valentin and brought back Jeromy Burnitz and Roger Cedeno.
There is no question that the Mets should be one of the top offensive teams in baseball this year.
However, their pitching is suspect. Gone are Rick Reed (who was traded at the end of last year) and Kevin Appier- two workhorses, always certain to provide quality outings. To fill the void, Phillips brought in Pedro Astacio, Jeff D'Amico, and Shawn Estes. All three of these pitchers have the potential to make the All-Star Team. But they are equal as likely to make the injured reserve list.
The bottom line for the Mets is that if their pitching stays completely healthy, they can win 100 games.
But anyone who follows baseball knows that a pitching staff is never completely healthy, and Manager Bobby Valentine may, at some point, have to stitch a patchwork rotation together to make the playoffs.
The Mets' main competitor will again be the Atlanta Braves. The Braves, who have unbelievably won ten consecutive division titles, were relatively quiet during the off-season. Quiet, that is, with one very notable exception.
Atlanta acquired the potent Gary Sheffield in exchange for the clutch Brian Jordan. While Jordan won a lot of big games for the Braves in the past, there is no denying the major impact that Sheffield will have on this team.
He is a true right-handed slugger to compliment Chipper Jones, and chemistry problems are no problem at all when you are hitting 40 homeruns for a winner, which is what the Braves usually are. Of course, complementing the tuned up offense is the ageless pitching staff, which still features Maddox, Glavine and Smoltz. Until the Braves show a true chink in the armor, they remain the favorites for the division.
The St. Louis Cardinals are poised to capture the Central division. The off-season saw the Cards go from good to great with the addition of Tino Martinez at first base. Tino is a proven winner with the Yankees, and he is replacing Mark McGuire, who was not able to give St. Louis much at all in his final year, due to a nagging injury.
The Red Birds will have stiff competition from the Cubs and the Astros. Chicago got a lot better when they signed Moises Alou, one of the most underrated players in baseball. The Astros are the defending division champs and could be extremely difficult if their talented young arms hold up. However, in the end, it will be St. Louis flying to the title behind a pitching staff fortified by newly acquired Jason Isringhousen and lead by Matt Morris.
The West is the toughest division to analyze. Of course, the discussion starts with the defending world champion Arizona Diamondbacks. While their lineup is not the crime of the division, their pitching is just that. No team in baseball can match the dominance of Johnson and Schilling. At full health, both pitchers have the potential to win over 20 games. History has proven that production like that, combined with timely hitting, can be enough to win a division.
Behind the snakes are the Giants and Dodgers. San Francisco will be hurt by the loss of Jeff Kent, for however long his absence lasts. (Who knows, he might want to "clean his truck" again before coming off the DL.)
But MVP Barry Bonds and Rich Aurelia can keep them in the race. The Dodgers added some pitching in bringing in Omar Daal and bringing back Hideo Nomo, but they lost some hitting with the departure of Sheffield. Both L.A. and S.F. have a good chance to dethrone the D-Backs.
The Colorado Rockies will once again be good at home and bad on the road, although they may challenge early in the season. San Diego has a promising lineup with young guns that could definitely make some noise around the league. They don't have enough pitching to seriously compete, but don't be surprised if they end up close to .500.
So now, without further ado, here is my official prediction for the 2002 National League.
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