MLB early season observations
By Brad Halfond
Wagerweb.com Contributing Writer
Is there a more dominant threat to opposing pitchers in the National League than Albert Pujols?
The monster slugger has lit up scoreboards early in the season and sent several managers home wondering why they ever challenged the 26-year-old future Hall of Famer.
Pujols’ nine dingers lead the league and this guy must be now considered, along with Alex Rodriquez, one of the best players in baseball. Pujols clearly leads the list of standout individual performances as the 2006 baseball season gets underway.
Other players making an early impact in the senior circuit include David Wright, the steady third baseman on the resurgent New York Mets, and Ryan Langerhans of the Atlanta Braves. Both of those teams should stay in the hunt for the NL East title as the Mets will try to break the stranglehold on the division that Bobby Cox and Atlanta have maintained for more than eleven years.
But back to Pujols. We kind of had a hint that this would be his year from the way he ended the 2005 season with that massive blast that gave the Redbirds a victory over Houston in game five of last year’s NLCS.
Now Pujols has a new stadium to play in, fans who love and adore him, and the serious potential to reach 60 home runs this season. The only thing that Pujols needs is for his Cardinals to reach the heights that the White Sox did last year and win their first World Series title since 1982.
A few hundred miles to the north is the sleeping giant known as the Milwaukee Brewers. This is a team that has already surprised some with its ability to come back; if they can get their bats heated up with the weather, they could challenge for a wild card berth.
Overall, the early theme of the 2006 season might be parity. The Cardinals lost pitching and won’t be as dominant this year, while the NL West should continue to be mired in mediocrity. Unless the New York Mets can keep up their hot start and add an arm or two in mid-season, this league is definitely up for grabs.
It’s still too early to tell what will happen in the American League, but the usual contenders are starting to emerge. The Red Sox have their energetic new pitcher, Josh Beckett, and Curt Schilling appears to be at full strength, while the Yankees are going to rely on the older arms of Mussina and Johnson. Boston has more speed in 2006, while New York’s bullpen is practically brand new.
If you’re looking for early season surprises in the American League, that honor goes to Chris Shelton of the Detroit Tigers. This kid might revitalize the entire city of Detroit and bring baseball back to a somewhat competitive level. It is very uncommon for an unknown player like Shelton to be hitting with such power. Shelton had hit only 19 home runs in his previous 434 at-bats and now he is leading the league in long balls. Shelton is doing all this from the sixth position, but expect him to move up to the cleanup spot eventually.
The team to watch in the AL is Oakland, with its fearsome trio of Chavez, Thomas, and Bradley. If those guys stay hot and the young arms produce, Oakland will have a great chance to top Anaheim and win the West. The White Sox also have a good chance of repeating, but for the sake of our sanity, I would rather listen to Metallica than Ozzie Guillen any day.
What would the early season be without a mention of Barry Bonds? The Giants slugger has been getting more publicity off the field lately and maybe that is why his hitting and home runs (none yet) are starting to suffer. The other explanation is that Barry is just getting old and all of his various injuries have added up to Bonds becoming not quite the player he used to be. In the end, I’m going to say Barry hits about 25–30 home runs and retires after the season but before he has a chance to pass Hank Aaron for the all-time lead. Would that make Commissioner Selig happy?
Here are some of my observations on the opening weeks of the season around baseball.
New Busch Stadium – I can see the Arch more clearly, but did they even try to make it look different than old Busch stadium?
Giants’ outfield – Pass the Geritol. If these guys last the entire season then McCovey Cove will freeze over.
Pedro – The guy has nerves of steel and will continue to be successful unless a manager steps up and throws a ball near his head. He takes way too many liberties with players, with fewer consequences than any other pitcher I've ever seen.
Soriano – Shhhh …. They don’t want you to play 2B because they have an all-star there already and somebody in management must have watched a film of you bobbling balls in the Bronx for two seasons.
Marlins – and this hasn’t moved yet because….
Upcoming Devil Rays’ name change suggestion – Flounders
Beckett – Okay, we get it, you’re excited and happy that you struck somebody out. Bring that act to the Bronx and see what kind of reaction you will get.
Jeter – How come this guy doesn’t have a bubble gum endorsement contract yet? Hubba Bubba, are you listening?
Wagerweb.com Contributing Writer
Is there a more dominant threat to opposing pitchers in the National League than Albert Pujols?
The monster slugger has lit up scoreboards early in the season and sent several managers home wondering why they ever challenged the 26-year-old future Hall of Famer.
Pujols’ nine dingers lead the league and this guy must be now considered, along with Alex Rodriquez, one of the best players in baseball. Pujols clearly leads the list of standout individual performances as the 2006 baseball season gets underway.
Other players making an early impact in the senior circuit include David Wright, the steady third baseman on the resurgent New York Mets, and Ryan Langerhans of the Atlanta Braves. Both of those teams should stay in the hunt for the NL East title as the Mets will try to break the stranglehold on the division that Bobby Cox and Atlanta have maintained for more than eleven years.
But back to Pujols. We kind of had a hint that this would be his year from the way he ended the 2005 season with that massive blast that gave the Redbirds a victory over Houston in game five of last year’s NLCS.
Now Pujols has a new stadium to play in, fans who love and adore him, and the serious potential to reach 60 home runs this season. The only thing that Pujols needs is for his Cardinals to reach the heights that the White Sox did last year and win their first World Series title since 1982.
A few hundred miles to the north is the sleeping giant known as the Milwaukee Brewers. This is a team that has already surprised some with its ability to come back; if they can get their bats heated up with the weather, they could challenge for a wild card berth.
Overall, the early theme of the 2006 season might be parity. The Cardinals lost pitching and won’t be as dominant this year, while the NL West should continue to be mired in mediocrity. Unless the New York Mets can keep up their hot start and add an arm or two in mid-season, this league is definitely up for grabs.
It’s still too early to tell what will happen in the American League, but the usual contenders are starting to emerge. The Red Sox have their energetic new pitcher, Josh Beckett, and Curt Schilling appears to be at full strength, while the Yankees are going to rely on the older arms of Mussina and Johnson. Boston has more speed in 2006, while New York’s bullpen is practically brand new.
If you’re looking for early season surprises in the American League, that honor goes to Chris Shelton of the Detroit Tigers. This kid might revitalize the entire city of Detroit and bring baseball back to a somewhat competitive level. It is very uncommon for an unknown player like Shelton to be hitting with such power. Shelton had hit only 19 home runs in his previous 434 at-bats and now he is leading the league in long balls. Shelton is doing all this from the sixth position, but expect him to move up to the cleanup spot eventually.
The team to watch in the AL is Oakland, with its fearsome trio of Chavez, Thomas, and Bradley. If those guys stay hot and the young arms produce, Oakland will have a great chance to top Anaheim and win the West. The White Sox also have a good chance of repeating, but for the sake of our sanity, I would rather listen to Metallica than Ozzie Guillen any day.
What would the early season be without a mention of Barry Bonds? The Giants slugger has been getting more publicity off the field lately and maybe that is why his hitting and home runs (none yet) are starting to suffer. The other explanation is that Barry is just getting old and all of his various injuries have added up to Bonds becoming not quite the player he used to be. In the end, I’m going to say Barry hits about 25–30 home runs and retires after the season but before he has a chance to pass Hank Aaron for the all-time lead. Would that make Commissioner Selig happy?
Here are some of my observations on the opening weeks of the season around baseball.
New Busch Stadium – I can see the Arch more clearly, but did they even try to make it look different than old Busch stadium?
Giants’ outfield – Pass the Geritol. If these guys last the entire season then McCovey Cove will freeze over.
Pedro – The guy has nerves of steel and will continue to be successful unless a manager steps up and throws a ball near his head. He takes way too many liberties with players, with fewer consequences than any other pitcher I've ever seen.
Soriano – Shhhh …. They don’t want you to play 2B because they have an all-star there already and somebody in management must have watched a film of you bobbling balls in the Bronx for two seasons.
Marlins – and this hasn’t moved yet because….
Upcoming Devil Rays’ name change suggestion – Flounders
Beckett – Okay, we get it, you’re excited and happy that you struck somebody out. Bring that act to the Bronx and see what kind of reaction you will get.
Jeter – How come this guy doesn’t have a bubble gum endorsement contract yet? Hubba Bubba, are you listening?
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