213 Miles From Shea

(From the NY Daily News)

(From the NY Post)

The beginning of April is generally the most optimistic time of the year. Anything is possible because everyone is on the same page and everyone is starting at the same point. While the injury to Murphy is a bummer, I really think the media now is over playing this. Look at the covers above. They are so overwhelmingly negative.

Case and Point: 3-4 weeks ago, Reyes wasn't even supposed to start the season! In fact he could have missed the majority of May. Its good news that we know he will back soon. Yes its sad that he won't be ready for Opening Day, but it does not warrant the cover the Post is presenting today. Murphy was struggling all Spring (and I feel like I can criticize here because if you know me, you know that I am one of the biggest Murphy fans that exist). Of course I am “sad” that he can't start the season but he isn't a key to this offense!

If the media wants something to make negative, how about this:

All in all. This is a positive time of the year, not a negative one. Its hard because we live in a domain dominated by the media and the 4th branch (which I guess technically I am a part of). We all need to make are own opinions about the recent injury moves, and see the larger picture here.

We have finally reached my two favorite divisions to preview, the AL East and the NL East (and really these are my favorite because I know the most about east coast teams as opposed to west coast teams). Last year the Yankees dominated this division on their way to the World Series. I won't lie, at the beginning of the season last year the Yankees really surprised me. I didn't think that CC and Burnett would work out as well as they did and overall the team would be plagued with aging issues. That wasn't a problem at all last year, which is why I feel that the Yankees will avoid it this year as well. Here's a rundown of the division:

1. Yankees: The Yanks will probably repeat a division title. Their rotation remains intact and the lineup is basically the same, except now they have Granderson (a general upgrade for this team). As long as they avoid aging issues, this team will probably win again because of stellar pitching from the start of the game to the end of the game and a lineup that is pretty much fantastic from start to end. However, the Yankees now do not resemble Murderers Row, and can be taken down by a strong effort by the Red Sox.

2. Red Sox: Lackey was a good signing for this team, who now has a more dominant rotation than they did last season. The key for the Red Sox is a good rotation once again and also a bounce back year for Ortiz. Their lineup is also pretty fantastic. They will miss Bay to a degree, but Cameron is a nice addition to this lineup (a player who knows how to play in a big market). The combination of Ellsbury, Pedroia and Youkillis is also pretty threatning. Obvious statement: The Red Sox have the best chance to upseat the Yankees.

3. Tampa: I struggled decided whether the Rays would finish in front of the Orioles or after the Orioles this year. It came down to pitching, where the Rays have better pitching than the Orioles. The lineup is also pretty good in Tampa but something really special has to happen for them to finish above the Yankees or the Red Sox.

4. Baltimore: This is a big year for the Orioles. Their offense is going to really start to bloom this year with an outfield of Jones, Markakis and Reimold. This could also be a big year for Weiters as well. Most people do not realize how well the Orioles do and will hit the ball. The problem is they really don't have pitching, meaning a lot will be riding on prospects Matusz and Tillman.

5. Toronto: Caught in the crossroads in a hard division to play in.

An interesting player in the Yankee's farm system pitched in a Spring Training game yesterday. He's a righty. He's a lefty. Thats right folks, he's a “switch” pitcher. Sportscenter rolled a clip where this pitcher, Pat Venditte, as a Staten Island Yankee pitching against a Brooklyn Cyclone's switch hitter. This caused umpires to actually create rules about how many times a batter and pitcher can switch throwing hands or side of the bat (because the two in the clip went back and forth).

Update: Here's the Video:

In order to switch pitch really effecitively, Pat uses a special 6 finger glove. This glove allows him to switch the hand that the glove will go on while on the mound (in other eliminating the need for two gloves). I couldn't find a picture of his exact six finger glove, but I was able to find another example:

(From http://jaspry.blogspot.com/)

The obvious question is, how did Pat do? Here's his line from yesterday:

So he wasn't lights out, and he had some control issues however he didn't implode and he had a better day than Oliver Perez (zing). His pitching display was interesting to watch, and surprisingly did not feel like a gimick because this is Pat's skill and talent. Honestly, I hope he makes the majors one day, and other ambidextrous pitchers as well. Being an ambidextrous pitcher has to be hard, especially when looking at all of the training and mechanics have to be mastered twice. If an ambidextrous pitcher can master pitching with both arms, that player would become a tremendous assesst in the bullpen.

Today was (not surprisingly) a busy day for the Mets as they had Santana and Perez pitching today (Santana in a minor league game) and also the return of Reyes in a minor league game. Here's the good for today:

Sadly however, the “bad” for today really outweighed the good. Here's a rundown:

So yes, today wasn't exactly world's greatest day for the Mets. Initially I was concerned with the injuries. I'm not really concerened with Santana, because he is Santana however Perez is now starting to concern me quite a bit. I really hope he can turn that around. Anyway, here's hoping that tomorrow is a better day.

In what may be a growing theme for this season, or a clear sign that my baseball knowledge on the West Coast is waning, the NL West looks to be an open division this year as well. I guess I should preface this with going into this season, the AL Central, AL West, and NL West are all divisions without clear winners, which is due to mediocrity and generally even teams. When I say not clear winners, these divisions have 3 to 4 teams each who could seriously win the divison, but (unlike the NL East for example) not in a convincing fashion. Anyway, this division had two teams last year in the playoffs as the Dodgers almost lost their division title, which they had comfortably in the beggining of the season, to the surging Rockies, who settled for a Wild Card Spot. Anyway here is the division breakdown:

1. Rockies: At the end of the season last year, the Rockies showed that they could be a strong team basically due to a few items. Their rotation, is strong, and generally, getting stronger with age. Their lineup is strong, and with the exception of a few players, is also getting stronger. This combination on a team that didn't lose any key pieces is dangerous in this division where the Dodgers have a lot of questions among other teams.

2. Dodgers: Generally the Dodgers are a lock to win this division, but this year, the Hollywood boys will need to work for it. The offense is still ready to go, so thats not the problem. The question is the rotation. They have a lot of talent, but losing Wolf could but a lot of burden on a rotation which can be lights out or lit up.

3. Giants: This team is basically the opposite of the Giants. The rotation is not the issue with the Giants, their issue is their offense again. They have a few players that look like they will be able to score for the Giants, but on the whole, they will need some bigger bats and some players to have a big season to make a run (but also remember, this division is potentially wide open).

4. Dbacks: Another team that has a chance making a run. Their offense is there and could be a threat in this division. For the Dbacks the entire season is based on Webb. He is going to miss all of April, depending on how he comes back in May will depend on where this team goes. With strong pitching, they will be closer to the top of this division, without, 4th place is looking pretty good.

5. Padres: No brainer. Rebuilding time.

The AL West will most likely be a wide open division this season. In years past the Angels pretty much just run away with the division but they lost a lot key pieces this year, and few other teams gained pieces to make the entire division a lot closer. Because of that I am going to take a stab at predicting them, but really it will just be a preview of what to expect from these four teams. Here are my projections:

The Mariners are the most improved team in this division by far. Adding Lee makes this probably the most dangerous rotation in the league with Felix, which is why I have them ranked the highest. Also adding Figgins really increases the style of play the Mariners hope to achieve on the bases. In other words, the Mariners had an idea of the type of team they wanted to design, and went ahead and did it.

The Angels would have been first, but they didn't do much to replace what they loss during the last two seasons, while other teams were working hard on improving. Still, with good management, this team will make the division and interesting race all the way to the end of the season.

The Rangers have a fantastic offense, but questionable pitching. Short and simple.

Oakland made a lot of interesting moves this offseason, like Ben Sheets. Because of this, they can be surprising and do really well in this division, like the rest of these teams. Seriously, this division feels pretty wide open.

The Mets are on the verge of making a huge mistake with the bullpen. Yesterday the Mets told Parnell and Green that both of them will not be making the major league roster for the start of the season. They both struggled this Spring so that is alright. This also means that Figueroa and Takahashi will be traveling North with the team, which is also alright.

The problem is with the final bullpen spot. These two going down to the Minor League side mean that Meij can still make the major league roster.  That is a major mistake. The Amazin's should not promoting Mejia right now because up in Queens he will have to learn to be a set-up guy, and honestly he has the skills to be such, but he also has a the ability to be a starter, and the Mets need to be looking at their future.

This team is notorious for making bad roster decisions (which is why I will be pleasently surprised if Figueroa makes the team). This is a decision they cannot afford to make. Please Mets, do not promote Meija just yet. He needs more time and as an organziation, we need him to be a starter.

IMPORTANT CORRECTION FROM COMMENTS:
I got a few things mixed up in my morning notes, mainly being the source of the information for this article. It was Rubin who reported Green and Parnell will be demoted, not the team itself. So it is very possible that this entire article can be made obsolete.

The AL Central ended up being one of the more exciting races last year, where the Tigers were leading it the majority of the season. Around September, it turned into a three team race between the Tigers, the White Sox and the Twins. At the very end of the season, the Twins were able to force a one game playoff for the division crown in Minnesota. In game 163, in the 13th inning, the Twins were able to take the division title. Anyway here is the breakdown for this upcoming season:

1. Twins: I have a feeling they will repeat as their rotation is looking good, their lineup is slightly better than it was last year, and their bench is a lot better (key bat additions to the roster Thome, Hudson, and Hardy). Of course, the Twins recently lost one of their best pieces in Nathan and now will be closing by committee. Before the injury the Twins were a lock to win this division, but now that they have a weakness, they can be taken over. In the end, I still believe the Twins come out on top.

2 White Sox: The Sox really did nothing this winter, but what they did in the middle of last season (Rios, Peavy) could really make an impact in this division. In fact its their lineup that I am really intrgued by. Beckam at third could be trouble for opposing teams, while Alexi Ramiez has the potential to be dangerous. Juan Pierre, a move this offseason that was overlooked by a lot of people (including myself) could be the key to this team (really). If Ozzy runs this team like how he wants to, Pierre could have a monster season and so could the White Sox.

3. Tigers: Detriot has some big pieces in Verlander and Miguel, but unloading Granderson will hurt, especially when in general they needed to unload payroll in general this year. If their pitching can get it together, and this lineup can score runs (which is very possible) then this team can finish better than third.

4. Cleveland: The Indians are in a rebuilding mode just like the probable 5th place Royals. The reason they will finish above the Royals is because of the lineup. The Indians have a lot of interesting players that will score a good amount of runs for a team in a rebuilding year. While they shouldn't expect anything big, they shouldn't be in the cellar.

5. Royals: Kansas City didn't make any big moves but they made a lot of investment for their future (looking at you Arguelles). While not much will materialize this year, this was a good step for this franchise.

With Spring Training wrapping up this week, its time to start looking at the upcoming season, the surprises, the disappointments and of course, the division champions. We start out this season's preview series by looking the the division which should have a run-away winner. Last year the NL Central, the largest division in the major leagues, had only two teams finish above .500. There were the Cubs, who barely finished above .500 and then there were the Cards who ran away with the division. Here is how I see this season breaking down:

1. Cardinals: Honestly, probably the easiest division champion to crown in the preseason. If they didn't resign Holliday, they probably still would have won this division. The fact that they have right now Pujols and Holliday hitting back to back will make hitters around them better (like Rasmus, who I have picked in several fantasy leagues simply because of the lineup he hits in). Of course in a few years, this tandem will not be as effecitive as Holliday gets old, but right now it works. They also have one of the best pitchers in the National League (Carpenter) and one of the best pitching coaches. The signing of Felipe Lopez for next to nothing will also have a very positive prescence for this lineup.

2. Brewers: The Brew Crew almost finished above .500 last season, and this season, they have the tools to make it above .500. Their main struggle last season was their starting pitching, which was decimated with injuries. The rotation comes back with a new addition (Wolf) and actually a good amount of starters that are effecitive and can pitch in the rotation. In fact they now have too many, so one of them will have to go to the pen. However the pitchers will be the key for their season. It is very plausible that none of them improved which will spell disaster to this team. The reason I still have them ranked here is they remind me of the Phillies of a few years ago, which struggled with pitching but have a monster lineup. Fielder, Weeks and Braun if all healthy will carry this lineup in a lot of games, and (what is probably due to a biassed opinion) Gomez will add some diversity to this lineup.

3. Cubs: If they want to make the playoffs, their rope is starting to get shorter. Their amazing lineup of the last few years is starting to show its age and is starting to slowdown. While they have some bright spots in the rotation (Wells), they will need a lot of help in order to make a run for the playoffs. Mainly, their bullpen needs to be on point and their lineup will need to work. Soriano, Ramierez, Lee and Fukudome could be a fantastic lineup if they are healthy and if they all have good season. The problem is that is a lot of iffs, which is why they are ranked here.

4. Reds: The Reds should be ranked 5 in the list, however their are two many sleepers on this team to ignore. Their offense is littered in players (Votto, Bruce) who could potentially click and then blow away the compeition. Their bullpen is strong so it all comes down to their rotation. The problem with the Brewers is their rotation is average. If Arroyo and Harang have big years, Bailey becomes the star he is supposed to and Chapman fans hitter this could be a sleeper team that is not only ranked 4th, but could go higher.

5. Astros: The 'stros have one of the better rotations in this division, but their bullpen is weak and their lineup is really weak. They will need some offense to get out of the bottom of this division, especially when the rest of the division is really offensively relevant. Generally pitching is better than hitting, but the Astros hitting is so poor, it will really hurt this team.

6. Pirates: Sadly things don't look good again for the Pirates. However, this year the Pirates played the offseason right signing players that will start to allow this team to rebuild. This team has talent in the farm system that is going to shine through eventually. They just need more time, and management that doesn't seem to botch it every year.

Something unexpected happened today.

Really unexpected.

Take a look.