As you all know, the Major League Baseball schedule has begun. There are a number of names and issues headlining the papers, including Alex Rodriguez hitting a number of homers, the potential sale of the Chicago Cubs, and the pitching of Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka.
The fans in New York have certainly been brutal to A-Rod, without question. Here is a guy who has put up some incredible numbers already in his career, yet the baseball fans in the Bronx are booing this guy if he doesn’t get a hit during an at-bat. Hell, we all are geared to be impressed when a guy can hit .300! The problem is that Yankee fans wanted to see Rodriguez take care of business during the playoffs, and he didn’t really do so, as the Yanks have failed to win a World series now for the last few years. People are wondering if Alex is a guy who only posts number when the pressure is on. So, while he continues to prominently bare his wares during the season, the real test will be in September, when the postseason cranks.
Meanwhile, the Chicago Cubs have been sold by the Tribune Co. to billionaire Sam Zell, who has said he intends to partition them off himself. There should be a number of bidders wanting to own the Cubs, or at least a piece of them, and some of those names will be prominent. It should turn into a huge auction, for all intents.
All this for a franchise that hasn’t won a World Series in 99 years.
In Boston, the media frenzy over Daisuke Matsuzaka is coming primarily from the Japanese contingent, which is following every step the guys takes and every move he makes! He was a solid celebrity pitcher in Japan the last few years, so coming over to the USA was a big deal, and going to Boston made it that much bigger of a deal. His first few starts have been quite strong, to say the least, and it should be interesting to see how his season continues to progress for the Sox, who are wanting some good pitching out of a guy they’ve invested $103 million in.
We also are seeing that snow can hamper a game from being played, as was the case in Cleveland in particular. It forced the Indians to move their home series with the Angels to Milwaukee. The freakish weather that covered a majority of the United States laid down about a foot of the white stuff on Jacobs Field, which is the home of the Indians. It forced them to postpone an entire series with the Mariners. Some are saying the baseball season continues to start to early, while others are wondering why games simply cannot start in warmer climates, like Miami (Marlins), Tampa (Devil Rays), and Los Angeles (Dodgers and Angels).
And of course we simply cannot forget the home run chase Barry Bonds is continuing. Every game and every at-bat is monitored and scrutinized while this guy continues to pursue Hank Aaron’s record of 755. I believe he will break it sometime in July, and maybe even as early as June. He seems to be swinging the bat real well. It’s also interesting to me how the discussion over his steroids controversy has died down a tad in the last month or so.
As I’ve said before, I realize there aren’t a lot of hockey fans in this town. Hell, I’d bet some of you didn’t even KNOW hockey was a sport! Nonetheless, the NHL playoffs are cranking up, as the true race for the Stanley Cup begins.
In the Eastern Conference, the Buffalo Sabres cranked out the best record and will hold the #1 seed. While they have a very good team with good depth and good goaltending, they should be leery of the New Jersey Devils, who are a talented, veteran group of guys very capable of upending the path of the Sabres to the Finals.
In the Western Conference, the Detroit Red Wings garnered the #1 slot with a gritty, veteran lineup that is very capable of going all the way, which the Detroit fans would love. They need to be careful of the Anaheim Ducks, who don’t sound like a tough team, but they led the NHL in penalty minutes this season and can put a hurtin’ on their opponents.
These playoffs should be fun to watch as they progress, and we’ll see who shows up in the end.
Tom Weppel talks trash with Greg Larson, Ron Duguay, and Lonnie Marts on SportsAvengers.com 24/7.
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