The NL Central promises to be one good race. Everyone is picking the Cardinals, I disagree. They look too good on paper. Their rotation is suspect. Matt Morris is a 20 game winner, after that anyhting can happen. Woody
Williams, Darryl Kile, Bud Smith and Andy Benes can all have major off seasons. [Read more →]

BY ALAN GOLDFARB

Opening Day.

The phrase is so beautiful that they spell each word with a capital letter. It is such a distinct phrase, we know they’re not talking about football. There’s Election Day. Sadie Hawkins Day. And Canada and England have something called Boxing Day. [Read more →]

Let’s take a look at the NL West. This division can be counted on year in and year out for a good old fahioned pennant chase. [Read more →]

This was the windiest spring in Arizona in recent memory. Earned run averages were very high, fly balls turned into home runs almost every day. [Read more →]

A great baseball book has hit the market once again. “The Lords of Baseball”, written by Harold Parrott, has been republished through the efforts of his four sons. [Read more →]

The National League Central has some other interesting players facing rebound years and youngsters trying to prove that last year was no fluke. [Read more →]

Where, oh where, is El Duque going to pitch in 2002? His brother Livan Hernandez claims El Duque is on his way to San Francisco to join him. The only question is how soon the elder Hernandez will join his slimmed down sibling in the Giants rotation. [Read more →]

There is nothing like the excitement and hope that spring training brings to baseball fans. It’s important to keep things in perspective when evaluating the performances in the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues. [Read more →]

February 14, 2002

As the days slowly get longer, if one listens carefully the sound of the bat hitting the ball is heard in the distance. Once the Super Bowl is put to bed, balance is once again restored to the universe. The Super Bowl has always been welcomed by any true baseball fan as the first sign that the pitchers and catchers are reporting to the sunshine, beginning that long journey which they hope will culminate deep in October in the World Series.

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Over the next few days, I’ll take a look at the races in baseball for the 2002 season.

The NL East will be one heckuva race all year. It was last year and I think everyone got a little better including the soon to be former Montreal Expos. [Read more →]