Baseball is back and is in full swing. Baltimore and Kansas City are undefeated, but don’t get too excited yet, it’s only been one game and they should be out of the division penthouse and back in their familiar places in last place by the end of the week. The 2003 season presents an interesting scenario. It is a case of some teams having a chance and some not. There is no middle ground, no major surprises and no major upsets. Truly, it is a tale of two American Leagues. There are the big guns: Yankees, Red Sox, Twins and Athletics, but then there are also the embarrassments: Orioles, Royals and Tigers. Half the league knows they have no shot before they even put on their uniforms for the first time.
AL EAST It appears as though the rich got richer as the Yankees opened up their wallets once again this past winter. The signing of pitcher Jose Contreras (snatched away from the Red Sox) and Hideki Matsui have opened the doors for international players to be welcomed to the majors. The Yanks’ lineup is filled with sluggers, however, their rotation is filled with aging veterans close to the end of their careers. They have a new bullpen that needs to prove itself to manager Joe Torre. Health will certainly be a key. Besides age concerns, the Yankees have lost setup man Steve Karsay and closer Mariano Rivera for a few weeks, and suffered a big blow when their most consistent player and leader Derek Jeter dislocated his shoulder in the season opener against Toronto. There is no doubt that this team is stacked and should capture another division title, however, they thought they were in good shape last year when they got embarrassed by the Champion Anaheim Angels.
The Red Sox should be in the hunt for most of the year and will only be as good as their pitching. They have bolstered their bullpen with the acquisition of Ramiro Mendoza but missed out on starting pitchers Contreras and Bartolo Colon. They have an above average lineup, highlighted by Manny Ramirez, Nomar Garciaparra and up-and-coming Shea Hillenbrand. The acquisitions of Bill Mueller, Todd Walker and Jeremy Giambi are not necessarily something to get too excited about. Pedro has not shown any reason for health concerns, but the starters behind him in the rotation must step up big time. Derek Lowe is not likely to repeat his stellar 2002; Tim Wakefield and John Burkett are average at best, while Casey Fossum had a horrible spring.
The Toronto Blue Jays are one of the few teams in the ‘rebuilding’ stages that are actually doing a great job at it. They are going to be a competitive team in a couple of years, however, Carlos Delgado’s salary, which is a third of the team’s payroll, is weighing them down.
The young Tampa Bay Devil Rays are likely to spend another season out of contention. It will be interesting to see which number is higher by the end of the year: the number of Tampa losses or how many bases get thrown by manager Lou Piniella. The Orioles? Poor team, poor farm system, poor management.
AL CENTRAL Going into the off season, the Minnesota Twins seemed poised to be the favorites to return in 2003 season as division champs. They have locked up an important part of their future by signing center fielder Torii Hunter to a long-term deal. The team signed veteran Kenny Rogers after losing Eric Milton for half the season. They have a strong pitching staff with a fundamentally sound defense and offense.
The idea that the Twins would run away with the division changed after the Chicago White Sox acquired pitcher Bartolo Colon from the Expos. Along with closer Billy Koch, the White Sox should give the Twins a good challenge. The White Sox have a couple of good starters in the front of the rotation, but tail off after that. They have an explosive offense with a shaky defense. This team could be playoff-bound if they beat up on the rest of their weak division.
The Cleveland Indians were the dominating central team in the 1990s, however, aging veterans, lack of pitching and a move to bring in youngsters have made them an average team who will not make the playoffs. They may lose some fans without slugger Jim Thome, who signed with Philadelphia in the off-season. The Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers: seriously, are they even trying anymore?
AL WEST The west proves to be the most competitive division in the league. The Oakland A’s have been knocked out of the playoffs in a Game 5 Division Series game for the last three seasons. This might be their last chance to finally get the job done. They were a strong team last year, winning the division and 103 games, but the team has already announced that it will not re-sign MVP shortstop Miguel Tejada at the end of the season. Their pitching staff is amazing with the top three of Barry Zito, Mark Mulder and Tim Hudson.
The World Champion Angels are back with mostly the same cast that brought them to their first title last year. The Angels will bring their get ’em on, get ’em over, get ’em in attitude to 2003, but aren’t being given a chance to come out and win it again by most people. This is a solid team that needs to stay healthy to have a year like last season.
‘Sweet Lou’ is actually out of Seattle and the Mariners are going to try and ‘bounce back’ from their 93-win season. This is going to be a good team, but the top two are just going to be a bit better. Alex Rodriguez is sure to have another unbelievable season this year, however, the Texas Rangers will not. Catcher Ivan Rodriguez is gone and new manager Buck Showalter is in. If they succeed in building the team around A-Rod, this could be a fantastic team in a few years.
It should be a great season well, for fans of half the teams. Hopefully there will be some fun races, and we will end up with another dramatic World Series for the third straight year. While I believe that the races will be tight at the top, I think the Yankees, Twins, Athletics and Angels will make it to the postseason. Of course, anything can happen, and if this season lives up to the hype, it’s going to be a fun year.