Let's just go down the list: CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett, a healthy Chien Ming Wang followed by Andy Pettite and Joba Chamberlain will take this team back to the playoffs and into the World Series. Jorge Posada is healthy again and will catch 110-120 games and Hideki Matsui is back from an injury-plagued year and he'll be playing for a contract next year. 2B Robinson Cano has a lot to prove and will do so. Mark Teixera brings professional, tremendous presence at the plate and a gold glove first baseman. Add a the ageless future Hall of Famer, Mariano Rivera, bullpen depth and SP Phil Hughes waiting for his turn to make believers out of the Yankee brass and this team is stacked. We didn't even mention the games second best player coming back in May or June, Alex Rodriguez.
Worst Team in AL ? Seattle Mariners
Bringing back homegrown kid Ken Griffey Jr. notwithstanding, the Mariners appear poised to struggle this season. First year manager Don Wakamatsu and Jack Zduriencik's inaugural season as General Manager will try to take steps toward forgetting their 100-loss season last year. Losing Raul Ibanez (23 HR, 110 RBI) wont help that cause. Not improving the offense substantially will be their downfall. The top of the rotation with Felix Hernandez (an elite starter) and Erik Bedard hopefully healthy is a strongpoint.? Brandon Morrow is a talent and will be given a shot to close. Overall I don't see where the runs will come from this year and because of that I think they're in for a tough season.
Biggest Turnaround Team ? Oakland A's
The A's lost 86 games last year for the second year in a row so GM Billy Beane went to work retooling this team. Acquiring SS Orlando Cabrera will provide consistency at the position. DH Jason Giambi hit 32 homers last year in a down year and should add some veteran leadership not to mention significant pop to this offense. Perhaps the biggest addition is one of the best players in the game in Matt Holliday. He hits, scores runs, hits for average and runs the bases along with a good outfield. Those things and a (hopefully) healthy 3B Eric Chavez will drastically improve one the major's worst offenses. Pitching will be the yearlong question mark as they have lots of young arms that need to be developed.
Team to Watch ? Cleveland Indians This is a team that could make some noise in the AL Central division. CF Grady Sizemore is one of the most talented players in baseball as there's nothing he can't do. Adding Kerry Wood as closer will help change a team's league worst bullpen ERA in 2008. Starting pitchers Cliff Lee and Fausto Carmona lead the top end of the rotation. Carl Pavano will be given a chance to recover from the disaster that was his Yankee career. If a pitcher is needed down the line there is some depth in the farm system to go out and get help. DH Travis Hafner is back healthy and mashing the ball and expect big things out of Mark DeRosa who can play several positions. SS Johhny Peralta is very underrated and he shouldn't be. Watch this team, closely.
Top 5 Young Players To watch:
Matt Wieters, C ? Baltimore Orioles
Wieters is a switch-hitting catcher, drafted in 2007 out of Georgia Tech. He's widely considered to be baseballs top prospect. Already considered a take-charge leader of the rotation he's also expected to be able to handle the bat. Although he'll start the year in Triple A, there's no doubt he'll be called up at some point. This way the Orioles can delay his free agency, isn't it funny how it always comes down to business?
David Price, P ? Tampa Bay Rays
You might remember the dominating performance Price displayed in last years postseason, earning his first win and save in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series. The Rays will start him off in the minors to monitor his workload and pitch count. Watch out for his emergence in the second half of the season. The 2007 No.1 draft pick will be heard from before the end of the 2009-10 campaign.
Elvis Andrus, SS ? Texas Rangers
This guy can play defense at a high level right now and that will be what he's expected to do right away. The 20yr old is part of a talented infield in Arlington with 3B Michael Young, Ian Kinsler manning second and Chris Davis expected to be one of the better young players this year as well. Andrus is also an automatic base stealing threat. Look for 25 steals or more from this guy.
Matt LaPorta, LF ? Cleveland Indians
Right now he's known as the guy that the Indians got in return in the CC Sabathia trade with Milwaukee. His bat is his strength as he can hit for power to all sides of the field. His defense is coming along and he can also step in at first base. Think of him as a young Travis Hafner who he'll certainly replace if Hafner has an injury again. They might bring him up anyway because of his potential.
Travis Snider, RF ? Toronto Blue Jays
Hard worker and will be in the lineup from day one for the Blue Jays. Good power, hits to all fields and went through three levels of the minor leagues last season. He should be one of a few stars in the Blue Jays farm system.
Best Manager- Ron Gardenhire, Minnesota Twins
Entering his eighth season at the helm of the Twins, Gardenhire finished second in Manager of the year voting in four out the last seven years and rightfully so. Some would argue that it's one thing to win consistently with a payroll that approaches $300million but it's entirely different to do with a limited budget, a keen scouting eye, young players a few stars. Gardenhire leads a team that relies on scouting and player development. This year expect the Twins to contend once again for a playoff berth despite C Joe Mauers back problems, a shaky bullpen leading up to closer Joe Nathan and too many guys in the outfield. You can thank Gardenhire for that.
Manager On The Molten-Lava Hot Seat:
Joe Girardi ? NY Yankees
Girardi played for the NY Yankees so he knew what he was getting himself into when taking the job. In 1998, with Joe Torre managing and Girardi the primary catcher, the Yankees started the year 1-4 and were under fire despite winning it all two years prior. Long story short, the Yankees ended up winning over 100 games that season including the World Series. The Yankees are expected to win. PERIOD.
After missing the playoffs for the first time in 13 years in Girardi's first year as manager he cannot afford to get off to a slow start or miss the playoffs for the second year in a row. With a new sparkling ballpark opening and all the talent in the world including a mercurial superstar named A-rod there are no excuses. He must win, NOW.
About a month ago this might have been a closer call as the Boston Celtics would have been in the mix. But with Kevin Garnett's knee injury apparently keeping him from missing not only one game but also perhaps the entire playoff season it's an easy choice. The Cavs have the second best player on the planet in Lebron James, who I think should be this year's MVP winner. Anytime you lead your team in so many categories and average 28 ppg., seven rebounds and seven assists along with first team All-NBA caliber defense you are special and that's what he did this year. Kobe Bryant is still in my opinion the best pure player in the league but Lebron was the best player this season.
PG Mo Williams has brought a tremendous dimension to this team as well running the show, finishing plays at times and allowing Lebron to be that much more of a multidimensional threat. The addition of Joe Smith is an underrated component come playoff time as is the interior defense and overall toughness of veteran big man Ben Wallace.
This team has depth, chemistry and focus coming into the playoffs. Combine that with home advantage throughout the playoffs and I don't see how this team doesn't get the NBA Finals.
Team most worthy of not being in the Playoffs ? Philadelphia 76ers
This might be an unpopular pick in the Delaware Valley however having watched this team play on several occasions throughout the year I feel comfortable making this choice. PG Andre Miller is one of the most underrated players in the league, getting it done in the most understated way you can imagine. After losing big free agent pickup Elton Brand early in the season the Sixers found a way to stay competitive in the Easter Conference and make the playoffs for the second consecutive year. But C Samuel Dalambert is a liability on the floor most nights, lost on offense and plagued with fouls or just plain out of position on too many nights. $80 million man Andre Iguadala has talent and I think he's still finding his way in this league but is a terrific scorer in the open court. Thaddeus Young is in my mind a more fluid Iguadala and seems to grow leaps and bounds every time he steps on the floor.
The fact that there are virtually no consistent outside scoring threats on this squad will hurt them. Looking at the matchups in the first round series against the Magic is a microcosm of my overall point about the Sixers. They are a slight disadvantage in several key position matchups and don't quite have the overall pieces in place to win against a balanced playoff type team. They'll play hard in round one, but it won't be enough.
Upset Special ? Hawks over the Heat
When you look at the seedings you might not think a number four (Hawks) beating the Heat at Number five is an upset. But I think when you look at the Heat and the guy they will be counting on to carry them in All-world guard Dwayne Wade it's natural to assume the Heat should pull this out. Wade made a strong case for MVP this season, his bounce back campaign. With multiple 40 and 50 point games this year, Wade simply took his team from winning 15 total games last year to a solid playoff team this year. The Heat have that bonafide star on their side.
However when you look at the overall matchups between these two teams, this is a series the Hawks have an excellent chance of pulling out. Check the stats and you'll see the Hawks have played very well defensively against Wade this year. This is a team that took Boston to a Game seven in last year's playoffs. F Al Horford will make his presence known in this series and watch out for G Joe Johnson, one of the most underrated stars in this league. He'll have a say in who wins this series without questions. The Hawks do a great job of switching and creating confusion on the defensive side of the ball and with long, athletic bodies like Josh Smith, Horford and even Marvin Williams will help disrupt drives to the basket by Wade.
I'm going with Atlanta in this series.
Most Important ?X? Factor in playoffs ? Ben Wallace
He only played in 56 games this year, missing significant time with a broken leg. He's never been much of a scorer or playmaker but he's always had a presence in this league. Playoff basketball means defense, rebounding, half court execution and making it difficult to score for your opponent. Having won a title in Detroit, Wallace has been a master at all of those things for a long time. Don't look at the box score to understand his impact on the game. He'll bump you, block shots, rebound, start the break and just make you work for everything you get. This is his time of year.
Team to make it to the Finals ? Cleveland Cavaliers
For all the reasons stated above combined with the loss of Kevin Garnett to the Celtics makes the path to the Finals pretty much a guarantee for the Cavs. Garnett is the most indispensable player on the Celtics as he provided leadership particularly on defense. The Celts are still a tough team but with Cleveland playing the way they are at home this year and what should be the league's MVP on their side I don't see how they don't play themselves into the Finals.
Finals Pick ? Cavs vs. Lakers
I usually try to go against conventional wisdom when the opportunity arises but I've stated my reasons for why the Cavs should absolutely play for a title this year. The Lakers will have a slightly more difficult path in my opinion but the addition of C Andrew Bynum in this year's playoffs make the Lakers too deep, too talented and my favorite to get past the powers in the Western Conference. Kobe had his typical remarkable year statistically and improved in the leadership category. Pau Gasol is an All-Star and F Lamar Odom is one of the best, most versatile guys coming off the bench in the league. Look for the league's best individual rivalry (Kobe vs. Lebron) to highlight the 2009 Finals.
Greg Cee has sinced written about articles on various topics from Recreation and Sports. James "Big Game Jay" is a regular contributor to. Greg Cee's top article generates over 2400 views. to your Favourites.