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SPORTS
Hope Springs Eternal as the 1998 MLB Season Looms
By Staff Reports
With the regular season
beginning in just a few days,
the addition of the expansion
teams, and Milwaukee and
Kansas City switching
leagues, this MLB season will
piggyback on the success of
last year's. Since there have
been some major changes in
personnel for most teams, it is
anyone's guess who is the best
team in baseball.
AL East: The Yankees will
be closely challenged by the
equally powerful division
champion Orioles while the
Devil Rays begin their
inaugural season. The Yanks,
with new additions 2B Chuck
Knoblauch and DH Chili
Davis, have superior power
and speed from the top of the
lineup to the bottom while the
Orioles have a superior
starting pitching rotation in
Mike Mussina, Doug Drabek,
Scott Kamieniecki, Jimmy Key
and Scott Erickson. The first-
year Devil Rays, however, will
have to rely on their strong
defensive players, the speed of
CF Devon White and the
power of 3B Matt Williams and
rookie IB Travis Lee due to
largely inexperienced pitchers.
AL Central: The Indians
will receive their strongest
competition from the
struggling Chicago White Sox
since the Brewers moved to the
NL Central and their
replacement (Detroit Tigers) is
still rebuilding. The Indians'
average rotation of newcomer
Dwight Gooden, Jaret Wright
and Chad Ogea will get plenty
of run support if they falter.
On the other hand, the White
Sox will have to rely on the
one-two-three punch of Frank
Thomas, Albert Belle and
former Gold Glove 3B Robin
Ventura. The ChiSox staff ace
is Jaime Navarro and it only
gets worse from there i.e.
James Baldwin, Scott Eyre, Bill
Simas and a few other people
that we’ve never heard of.
Newly-signed and admitted
wife beater IB Wilfredo
Cordero might start at IB
moving Frank Thomas to DH
where he can’t make any
fielding errors.
AL West: The pitching-
poor Mariners will have to
fight off the question mark-
filled Angels to repeat as
champions. Randy Johnson
will again pitch too many
innings this year and most
likely will be traded to a team
with prospects and/or big
names and money to spare.
The Mariner middle relief is
just as bad if not worse than
last year's and the longer they
depend on four people
(Johnson, Ken Griffey Jr., Jay
Buhner, Alex Rodriguez), the
longer they will come up short
in tire post-season. The Angels
have taken swan dives the past
couple of years and must
solidify their questionable
middle relief in order to
contend.
NL East: As the best
regular season team in the
league, the Atlanta Braves will
have to match consistent
hitting with great pitching and
find speed on the basepaths in
order to prove that they rule
beyond September. The
rejuvenated Mets will be the
Braves' toughest opposition
now that Florida has
dismantled its championship
powerhouse of a year ago.
Should the Mets acquire
Randy Johnson or another big
arm to put them over the
hump, they will be a force to
reckon with.
NL Central: Milwaukee's
return to the NL puts them in
the thick of a title race between
the Astros and Cardinals.
Houston resigned "Killer B’s"
Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell and
Derek Bell, but lost staff ace
Darryl Kile and starting CF
Luis Gonzalez to free agency.
The Cardinals look promising
with OF Brian Jordan
returning after missing out
most of the 1997 season, but
they will miss the arm of P
Alan Benes. Milwaukee now
will have to contend with NL
pitchers, a smaller strike zone
and no DH rule. They must
make the necessary
adjustments early on in the
season. The Pittsburgh Pirates
will not be a factor as long as
they keep a "league minimum
salary" approach to signing
talent.
NL West: The L.A.
Dodgers should take the
Western division back from
the San Francisco Giants. The
only weak link is SS Jose
Vizcaino and he will put up
good fielding and average
numbers, which is good
enough for skipper Bill
Russell. Otherwise, the
Dodgers have the firepower
and pitching to win. The
defending West Champion
Giants must pick up more
consistent hitters and get
decent production from the
bullpen in order to repeat. The
Arizona Diamondbacks will
have to deal with very little
depth up the middle and
inexperienced relief in their
inaugural season.
More things to look for in
the new season: Randy
Johnson will be traded.
Former Brave Jeff Blauser will
help the Cubs try to become a
legitimate winner. Andres
Gallaraga will drop off in
production in pitcher-friendly
Turner Field and former
Florida ace Kevin Brown will
provide depth to the starting
rotation of the Padres. Lastly,
Kenny Lofton should return to
successful form back in
Cleveland.
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