The sports calendar works in funny ways. College footballs bowl season gives way to the NFL playoffs, which in turn give way to the basketball conference tournaments and the Big Dance. For these brief weeks after the NCAA tournament concludes and before the NBA and NHL playoffs kick into high gear, we're entertained not by the successes of the best teams, but by the hopes and dreams of the worst. Baseball season has begun.
No other sport's opening can match the excitement and passion of baseball's opening day. Maybe it's the freshness of the spring air. Something about this time of year makes every fan believe their team can do the impossible.
Of course, recent history doesn't hurt that notion. Nobody would have predicted the first three World Series champions of the millennium would be the Arizona Diamondbacks, Anaheim Angels and Florida Marlins.
Even Boston Red Sox fans, the most pessimistic, compulsive, self-loathing group of fans in the world, seem to think their team can reverse the Curse of the Bambino this year. After all, Aaron "F-ing" Boone won't be around to squash Boston's hopes this year.
Nope, in possibly the greatest upgrade in baseball history, the Yankees replaced Boone with Alex Rodriguez. With A-Rod, slugger Gary Sheffield and aging pitcher Kevin Brown all added to a star-laden roster, the Yanks are, as always, the team to beat.
However, they're hardly the only team to bulk up in the off-season. The Baltimore Orioles revamped their lineup, while the Houston Astros upgraded their pitching rotation. The Chicago Cubs added Greg Maddux to a great young pitching staff, and the Angels added Vlad Guerrero to one of the most potent lineups in the league.
Aside from the Yankees-Red Sox blood feud, the tightest pennant race should come from the Cubs and Astros in the National League Central this year. Houston's aging lineup can slug the ball, but Chicago's has a knack for clutch hits. I think the Cubs will take the division.
Meanwhile, the NL East has a three-team battle brewing, between the Atlanta Braves, Marlins and Philadelphia Phillies. Atlanta lost a lot of talent this winter and looks ripe for the picking. The Phillies have the firepower to knock the Braves off the top and outlast Florida for the division title. However, the Marlins should take the wild card in a tough race with Houston.
The San Diego Padres, led by old man David Wells and young man Jake Peavy, should make a run at the title. But Barry Bonds will lead the San Francisco Giants past the Padres, and back into the playoffs for the fourth time in five years.
In the American League East, the biggest story of the year will be the Sox versus the Yanks. Both teams are incredibly strong, but the Yanks suffer fewer letdowns against lesser teams. I'm going with the Yanks to win the division and the Sox to take the wild card.
The weak AL Central is the Kansas City Royals' to lose. Expect Carlos Beltran and Juan Gonzalez to lead the Royals into the playoffs for the first time since 1985.
Finally, the AL West features three strong teams and the Texas Rangers. The Seattle Mariners are too old, and the Oakland A's lost team leader Miguel Tejada in the off-season. With Vlad Guerrero added to a lineup that features Troy Glaus, Garrett Anderson and Adam Kennedy, the Angels will run over this division to the playoffs.
In the NL playoffs, look for the Cubs to knock out the Marlins in the first round, before beating the Phillies in the NL Championship Series. Curse or no curse, the Cubs have the best rotation in baseball.
Everybody wants and expects the AL playoffs to lead to a Boston-New York showdown. Sorry to ruin it for you, but the Angels will make sure that doesn't happen, defeating both the Sox and Yanks to cruise to the World Series.
Finally, after suffering the longest championship drought in baseball, the Cubs will ... have to wait one more year. They say good pitching trumps good hitting, and Chicago has the best pitching. But Anaheim has the best lineup in the league with several clutch pitchers and no Curse of the Billy Goat. The Angels should bash their way through the playoffs, just as they did in 2002, en route to another championship banner.
