The wonderful sport of baseball is about to start again. There's less than a week left until the preseason starts. All the broken dreams of the 2008 season are past us now.
Bert Blyleven picks the AL pennant. AL pennant to be won by the Angels.
Boston - East
Twins - Central
Angels - West
Yankees - Wild Card
The Angels won 100 games last season, but over the winter they lost Mark Teixeira, Francisco Rodriguez, Jon Garland and Garret Anderson. They did add Brian Fuentes and Bobby Abreu, and they remain not only the class of the AL West, but also my pick to make it to the World Series.
Under manager Mike Scioscia, the Angels are so fundamentally sound, and that leads to victories. They are division favorites because even with the departure of Teixeira, they will win with solid pitching, dependable fielding and a productive enough offense.
Abreu in left field makes their lineup look even better. Offensively, they are a very solid club, especially in the middle of the order, with Scioscia most likely hitting Abreu second, Vladimir Guerrero third and Torii Hunter fourth.
Their starting rotation is impressive, especially the top three. Ace John Lackey has become one of the league’s elite pitchers. Joe Saunders won 17 games last season, and he can do that again. Ervin Santana is growing in wisdom as a pitcher, and at times, there is no touching his stuff. Jered Weaver is the fourth starter, and Dustin Moseley appears to have the leg up on a wide-open battle for the fifth spot.
Fuentes is not K-Rod, but he has 30 or more saves in three of his past four seasons in Colorado. Scot Shields and Jose Arredondo are in setup roles, and Shields is an unsung hero for all the quality work he gives the Angels out of the bullpen.
It would be surprising if the A's — even with Matt Holliday and Jason Giambi – make a run at the Angels. Texas might contend in 2010 or 2011, and Seattle is rebuilding.
The Angels won the 2002 World Series, but outside of that, they haven’t had any postseason success, despite being in the playoffs in five of the past seven years. There are other AL teams being more highly touted, but sometimes as a former player, your gut just tells you good fortune is going to shine on a certain team in a certain season. That’s how I feel about the Angels this season.
Yankees won’t cash in with a division title
Even though the Yankees spent $423 million this offseason on free agents CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and A.J. Burnett, the Red Sox, who made some low-risk moves that could yield high rewards, will win the AL East.
The Red Sox starting rotation is a big plus. And it’s not just Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Tim Wakefield. The free-agent signings of Brad Penny (one year, $5 million), and John Smoltz (one year, $5.5 million, with a possible added $5 million in performance bonuses) could be huge positives.
Penny, 30, struggled with tendinitis in his throwing shoulder last season, making only 17 starts for the Dodgers. He was on the disabled list three times in 2008, and wound up with a 6-9 record and a 6.27 ERA. Last season was embarrassing to Penny, and he’s driven to prove he can still be the dominating pitcher he was before his shoulder woes.
Smoltz is recovering from major shoulder surgery, and will turn 42 in May. The plan is to not have him pitch until June — 12 months after the operation. If he comes back effective, what a boost he would be to Boston late in the season, and in the playoffs.
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/29243109/
I'm a Minnesota Twins fan. Bert Blyleven is one of the Twins announcers and a respected ex-baseball player.
Are you guys ready? What are your hopes and teams for the 2009 season?
Bert Blyleven picks the AL pennant. AL pennant to be won by the Angels.
Boston - East
Twins - Central
Angels - West
Yankees - Wild Card
The Angels won 100 games last season, but over the winter they lost Mark Teixeira, Francisco Rodriguez, Jon Garland and Garret Anderson. They did add Brian Fuentes and Bobby Abreu, and they remain not only the class of the AL West, but also my pick to make it to the World Series.
Under manager Mike Scioscia, the Angels are so fundamentally sound, and that leads to victories. They are division favorites because even with the departure of Teixeira, they will win with solid pitching, dependable fielding and a productive enough offense.
Abreu in left field makes their lineup look even better. Offensively, they are a very solid club, especially in the middle of the order, with Scioscia most likely hitting Abreu second, Vladimir Guerrero third and Torii Hunter fourth.
Their starting rotation is impressive, especially the top three. Ace John Lackey has become one of the league’s elite pitchers. Joe Saunders won 17 games last season, and he can do that again. Ervin Santana is growing in wisdom as a pitcher, and at times, there is no touching his stuff. Jered Weaver is the fourth starter, and Dustin Moseley appears to have the leg up on a wide-open battle for the fifth spot.
Fuentes is not K-Rod, but he has 30 or more saves in three of his past four seasons in Colorado. Scot Shields and Jose Arredondo are in setup roles, and Shields is an unsung hero for all the quality work he gives the Angels out of the bullpen.
It would be surprising if the A's — even with Matt Holliday and Jason Giambi – make a run at the Angels. Texas might contend in 2010 or 2011, and Seattle is rebuilding.
The Angels won the 2002 World Series, but outside of that, they haven’t had any postseason success, despite being in the playoffs in five of the past seven years. There are other AL teams being more highly touted, but sometimes as a former player, your gut just tells you good fortune is going to shine on a certain team in a certain season. That’s how I feel about the Angels this season.
Yankees won’t cash in with a division title
Even though the Yankees spent $423 million this offseason on free agents CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and A.J. Burnett, the Red Sox, who made some low-risk moves that could yield high rewards, will win the AL East.
The Red Sox starting rotation is a big plus. And it’s not just Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Tim Wakefield. The free-agent signings of Brad Penny (one year, $5 million), and John Smoltz (one year, $5.5 million, with a possible added $5 million in performance bonuses) could be huge positives.
Penny, 30, struggled with tendinitis in his throwing shoulder last season, making only 17 starts for the Dodgers. He was on the disabled list three times in 2008, and wound up with a 6-9 record and a 6.27 ERA. Last season was embarrassing to Penny, and he’s driven to prove he can still be the dominating pitcher he was before his shoulder woes.
Smoltz is recovering from major shoulder surgery, and will turn 42 in May. The plan is to not have him pitch until June — 12 months after the operation. If he comes back effective, what a boost he would be to Boston late in the season, and in the playoffs.
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/29243109/
I'm a Minnesota Twins fan. Bert Blyleven is one of the Twins announcers and a respected ex-baseball player.
Are you guys ready? What are your hopes and teams for the 2009 season?
