| Baseball in 2K3 |
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Baseball is America's Pastime, but it is being threatened by Football for that honorable title. Due to recent Labor issues and various challenges to the integrity of the game, most Americans would prefer to settle dowm and watch a football game on Sunday than a baseball game. With the Yankees spending every dime on players and other owners taking all the money and making a team compete without any "star" players. Everyone is blaming the Yankees, but should they be blamed? It is up to the owners of teams such as the Twins and Royals to step up and invest in their own teams like Steinbrenner...
Now that the new season is about to start, predictions start flowing in. I beleive that all the annual contenders will be around for the ride, but new faces may begin to appear. My AL surprise team of 2K3 , The WhiteSox, have made a name for themselves, trading for Colon and Koch, as well as signing boatloads of proven winners. Look for the best homegrown staff east of oakland to step up. With Buerle, Wright, Raunch, and Garland all avereging less than 25 is age, this is a staff thay will be around for quite a while. They have one of the best 1-2 punches and have a very potent offense. Look for Buerle to have another 20+ win season along with Colon, and the Ordonez/Konerko/Thomas offensive trio to step up. Magglio can put up another MVP type season and Thomas got hot in September and can have another .300/30/100 season. Konerko, who will probaly be sandwiched in between the two will have plenty of RBI chances and look for another great season. In my book, look for the 'Sox to step up and make a valid Wild Card claim.... The Mets will have a season similar to the one they had in 2000. They have the offense and players who had horrific years in 2002 will improve. Mike Piazza has fianlly got some protection in Cliff Floyd and look for Alomar, Mo, and Burnitz to have better seasons. The major questions are at 3rd base and Center field. Ty Wigginton is the starter, but this will be his first full season in the majors. Will he be able to perfrom consistently? Cedeno is even worse...Not only did his offense drop, but so did his defense. He has a speed, but getting on base and catching flyballs have become difficulties. Will he have what it takes to survive another year in the Big Apple if he hes another sub-par season? The Mets pitching is definitly an improvement ove rlast year, but there are a couple of question marks. In the bullpen Benitez is horrific in the clutch while Franco is coming of an injury plagued season. The Mike Stanton signing will really help, but the SP is still a mystery. The Mets signed a soon to be 40 yr old pitcher to a fairly long contract, this will end in disaster. Astacio is coming of a rotator cuff injury and Steve Trachsel is about as predictable as the weather. Trachsel's notoriously slow pace has really hurt him in the past few years and he will need to speed up his delivery for success... |
The Houston Astros are my NL surprise team of 2K3 . Everyone has been talking about the Mets, Phillies, and Cubs who have spent the offseason signing big names, but the 'Stros have a great staff and lineup without needing to change anything. They have all the tools neccessary to dominate a division. They have great, young starting pitching in Oswalt/Miller/Redding and some more prominsing pitchers on the horizon. They have a graet bullpen feat. closer Wagner and Dotel, who has become one of the premier setup men in the majors (don't the mets feel dumb?). And to top that off they have the next-gen Killer B (Berkman) to go along with the other two (Bagwell and Biggio). They have superprospect Lane on the horizon and the traded Daryl Ward, freeing up room for a battle over left field between Lane and Hidalgo. Kent was a huge offensive pickup during the offense and will probably bat 5th, behing Bagwell and Berkman. Kent also balances out the middle of the lineup (R/L/R). Look for the 'Stros to battle all season and give the Cubbies and Reds a hard time in the NL Central.
My pick for the 2003 World Series champs has got to be the A's. Their staff is arguably the best in the majors and with a lineup of Tejada, Dye, Chavez, and Durazo, they are an offensive force to be reckoned with. The offseason addition of Singleton will move Terrence Long to bavk to left field, his natural position. Defensively, the A's have never been better. With Durazo and Gold Glove candidate Chavez at third, Tejada and Ellis up the middle, this is one of the best infields in the majors. In the outfield, Dye has a cannon for an arm, Singleton has renowned speed and a decent arm, and with Long back in left, look for his, and the overall defense to improve. Zito, Hudson, and Mulder are annual Cy Young Competitors and look for big seasons from all 3. They are the next gen. Maddux/Smoltz/Glavine and the best part is that they're all homegrown! The A's alos play in a "pitcher's park" and as Mulder, Hudson, and Zito mature, look for them to take advantage of this. If you havent been to ESPN lately, Peter Gammon's article (see the links above) on the A's focus and determination to win it all in 2003...
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