Spectating Savant

Tilt your head up in the air. Yeah, right now, sitting at your computer. Lean back, get your nostrils nice and high. Inhale. I mean REALLY inhale. Get the air moving through that shnozz of yours. Do you smell that? No...? Inhale again; with gusto this time! Breathe it in. You smell it now, right? Yeah you do. You smell it. It smells like crisp cut grass and fresh april rain. The scents of pine tar, ash wood, and leather oil surround you. No, you're not in Michael Jackson's bed room. That smell - that glorious aroma - is baseball season.

And you've got to love baseball season.

Every year, 30 teams in 27 cities set out for the ultimate goal of conquering the Major League ranks and winning a World Series. And, unlike the NFL, NBA, and NHL fans, every baseball fan in America is blessed with the delusion that after 162 games, their team could well be the Champion of the World.

Except those in Kansas City.

Take me, for example. I've been a Tribe fan since birth. Baseball and I have been very fond of one another for some time. Sure, she was kind of a tease during my little league, youth league, and high school playing days, but what girls weren't during those years? Well, the sluts weren't, but baseball is no slut. After 150 years, it looks like she's in it for the long haul.

Right now, I'm convinced the Tribe is going to make the playoffs. They won 78 games last year and scored more runs than anyone not playing home games in New York. Their putrid bullpen lost 27 games last year. 27!!! This past offseason, GM Mark Shapiro went to work on the 'pen like Kobe on an Eagle County concierge. The Tribe added Roberto Hernandez, Aaron Fultz, and Joe Borowski to compliment the solid Rafael Betancourt, Matt Miller, Fernando Cabrera, Jason Davis, and Tom Mastny. If the Indians increase their saves from 24 to 40 (very possible considering it would put them only at the league average), that's 16 more victories! 16 + 78 = 94. 94 wins! That's a playoff team!

There are stories like this for every team. This is what makes baseball so great. No matter who you root for, if the chips fall the right way for you this year, you could be watching a lot of baseball come October. Unless you're a Pirates fan...

Let's get to the American League portion of my Baseball Preview:

American League East

Best Offseason:

Boston Red Sox

Best Pitcher:

Roy Halladay, Blue Jays

Best Hitter:

David Ortiz, Red Sox

Best Addition:

Daisuke Matsuzaka, Red Sox

Best Manager:

None

I'm sorry, I just can't give a best manager award to this division. The two best teams in this division have payrolls over $150 million. I have pre-teen cousins that could win pennants with that kind of support. At the end of the day, Joe Torre and Terry Francona are average managers. John Gibbons (Blue Jays), Sam Perlozo (Orioles), and Joe Maddon(Devil Rays) can get consideration when their teams don't reek of incompetence. Gibbons is on his way up, but I'd still pick Leo Mazzone (Orioles pitching coach) and Lou Pinella (former Devil Rays coach, now with the Chicago Cubs) over him.

The Yankees have won this division 9 years in a row. Like the Braves before them, I won't pick against them until they lose. They've got a fearsome lineup with Johnny Damon, Derek Jeter, Bobby Abreu, Jason Giambi, Alex Rodriguez, Robinson Cano, Hideki Matsui, Jorge Posada, and Doug Mientkiewicz. You know what that does to a pitcher? Knowing you're going up against that lineup is like being the groom at Jenna Jameson's wedding - you can't sleep the night before because you know you won't be impressing anyone. The rotation is not as good as Boston's, but it is certainly capable with Chen Mien Wang as the ace and the addition of Andy Pettite. If Carl Pavano is what he should be, there's no reason the Yankees shouldn't take the East in a long season.

The Red Sox will be right there. Their rotation could be as feasome as the Yankees' lineup with Curt Schilling, Josh Beckett, Matsuzaka, Tim Wakefield and cancer survivor Jon Lester. However, their lineup is certainly not what it once was. If Manny and Papi are healthy, they'll score enough runs. I won't pull the trigger on the Sox until they prove they can consistently beat the Yankees. This means no more 5 game sweeps.

Watch for the Devil Rays to pull themselves out of the gutter, and for Orioles fans to start wearing brown paper bags to the ballpark.

Team to watch:

Toronto Blue Jays

Player to watch

Delmon Young, Devil Rays

Predicted Finish:

1. New York Yankees
2. Boston Red Sox
3. Toronto Blue Jays
4. Tampa Bay Devil Rays
5. Baltimore Orioles

American League Central

Best Offseason:

Cleveland Indians

Best Pitcher:

Johan Santana, Twins

Best Hitter:

Travis Hafner, Indians

Best Addition:

Gary Sheffield, Tigers

Best Manager:

Jim Leyland, Tigers

You could throw darts at a board and do an ok job of picking this division. Even the Royals are on the rise! The Kansas City Royals! But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Royals fans should stay in the closet and continue rooting for the Cardinals in public. Yeah, I saw all you "Cardinals fans" at Royals-Indians games last year, you're not fooling me.

The Tribe had the best offseason of the bunch by fixing that terrible bullpen and filling the hole at 2nd by trading for Josh Barfield. The only departures of note for the Tribe are Aaron Boone(hah!) and Kevin Kouzmanoff. Kouz was good, but our minor league outfield is loaded with the likes of Shin Soo Choo, Franklin Gutierrez, and Ben Francisco waiting to come up. Trading from a position of depth for a position of weakness seems like a good practice. Perhaps the other 29 teams in the majors should consider this. The Indians made room for Ryan Garko on the big league team (he only had 45 RBI in 50 games last year). He'll be either a first baseman or a DH on any given day this year. This is what the Tribe looks like on paper:

Lineup

1. Grady Sizemore, CF (Led AL in extra base hits)
2. Jason Michaels/Trot Nixon, LF (High OBP guys)
3. Travis Hafner/Ryan Garko, DH (High Avg, Hr, RBI guys)
4. Victor Martinez/Ryan Garko, C/1B (Martinez high Avg guy)
5. Casey Blake/Ryan Garko, 1B (Casey Blake underrated, great all around athlete)
6. David Delucci/Casey Blake, RF (Dellucci high avg against righties)
7. Jhonny Peralta, SS (Lasik surgery, look for him to be closer to 2005 than 2006)
8. Josh Barfield, 2B (Great rookie season, excellent pedigree with major league Dad)
9. Andy Marte, 3B (Great glove, the bat will come around, won HR Derby in AAA)

Rotation

1. C.C. Sabathia (Potential Cy Young)
2. Jake Westbrook (One of the game's great sinker ballers, needs good defense)
3. Cliff Lee(mark him down for 17 wins)
4. Paul Byrd(Vet w/ something to prove)
5. Jeremy Sowers(Sophmore sensation, the next Greg Maddux)

Add in the afformentioned bullpen, and this team looks really really good. Manager Eric Wedge has the most difficult job in the American League filling out the lineup card everyday, but if he does a good job with it, this is the best team in the AL Central. Adam Miller and Fausto Carmona are big league pitchers waiting in Buffalo for their opportunity, so the rotation can bear injuries. Sabathia is a Cy Young candidate and Hafner is an MVP candidate. Look for Westbrook and Sizemore to finally win the Gold Gloves they've been denied the last two seasons.

With that said, the Tigers are no slouch. They were certainly one of the best teams in the league last year, and things haven't changed much in the offseason. They didn't improve as much as the Tribe, but they could still win this division. Gary Sheffield could add the pop they need to finally get over the hump. Justin Verlander could suffer a sophmore slump, and Kenny Rogers may struggle with injury troubles. But other than that, there's not a lot to hate about the Tigers right now.

Chicago and Minnesota both had horizontal offseasons. The White Sox are getting older every year. Their youngest asset is closer Bobby Jenks, and that's the position where experience is the most important. Kansas City is at least a few years away. If your GM has a good couple of years, you Royals fans can take the bags off your heads in 2009. The Twins will need a lot of help from their young pitchers because Johan Santana is the only show in town. They will also need Mauer and Morneau playing above their abilities again. I don't see them both having career years again.

Team to Watch:

Cleveland Indians

Player to Watch:

Josh Barfield, Indians

Predicted Finish

1. Cleveland Indians
2. Detroit Tigers
3. Minnesota Twins
4. Chicago White Sox
5. Kansas City Royals

Note: I will never pick agains the Tribe if there's any type of argument for them to win the division. However, until the city of Cleveland gets over the Curse of Jim Brown and somebody wins a championship, don't look for me to pick them to win it all either.

AL West

Best Offseason:

Los Angeles Angels

Best Pitcher:

Francisco Rodriguez, Angels

Best Hitter:

Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners

Best Addition:

Gary Matthews Jr., Angels

Best Manager:

Mike Scioscia, Angels

The AL West gets to be the YAWN division of baseball this year. I blame ESPN. All the way over there in Bristol, they seem to care more about the fact that Alex Rodriguez prefers cherry flavored jock straps to chocolate than the fact that the 120 lb Ichiro can hold a bat in his mouth and hit it 450 feet.

The Angels had the best off season with the aquisition of Gary Matthews Jr. They will lead the pack in a division which doesn't really have much of an identity. Texas has an excellent offense, despite the departure of Matthews Jr., and the A's always move in right direction.

You've got to take the Angels in this division. Despite the A's making an excellent addition in Mike Piazza as their DH, their pitching has become questionable with the departure of Barry Zito - their most dependable starter this decade. If Rich Harden and Danny Haren are healthy, the A's will contend. However, if Jered Weaver gets and stays healthy and K-Rod is K-Rod, the Angels will run away with this division. An outfield of Garret Anderson, Vlad Guerrero, and Matthews is a force to be reckoned with.

Team to Watch:

Texas Rangers

Player to Watch:

Jered Weaver, Angels

Predicted Finish

1. Los Angeles Angels
2. Oakland Athletics
3. Texas Rangers
4. Seattle Mariners

American League Wild Card Winner:

Boston Red Sox

American League Playoffs

Divisonal Series

Cleveland Indians over New York Yankees

Boston Red Sox over Los Angeles Angels

American League Championship Series

Boston Red Sox over Cleveland Indians

The Tribe will probably limp into the playoffs in a strong central division which will undoubtedly cannibalize itself. This would match them up against the Yankees whom they'll beat with better pitching in a short series.

The Red Sox will beat the Angels of Anaheim because the AL West representative will probably be the 6th best team in the league.

I like the Sox experience and pitching in a series against Cleveland, which will probably be happy just to be there. Plus, I expect 4 of these games to be in Fenway. Hafner will probably hit 12 doubles off the monster, but the Red Sox will win in the end. You can bet I'll be rooting otherwise.

Awards

American League Most Valuable Player:

Travis Hafner

American League Cy Young:

Roy Halladay

Rookie of the Year:

Daisuke Matsuzaka

Manager of the Year:

Eric Wedge

American League Golden Gloves

• P, Jake Westbrook, Indians (should have won last two years)
• C, Ivan Rodriguez, Tigers
• 1B, Mark Teixera, Rangers
• 2B, Josh Barfield, Indians
• SS, Derek Jeter, Yankees
• 3B, Mark Lowell, Red Sox
• LF, Carl Crawford, Devil Rays
• CF, Grady Sizemore, Indians (See above)
• RF, Delmon Young, Devil Rays

The American League is definitely the more powerful of the two leagues. While the National League has made strides to bring parity, and the Cardinals won the World Series (mostly because the Tigers had their hands around their throats), the American League remains more talented then the Senior Circuit.

Tomorrow I will try to get around to the National League, but you really don't care about the National League, do you?

Tschüs!