Spring Break
Opening day optimism
Terry Horstman
Issue date: 4/7/09 Section: Sports
Baseball's most optimistic day is finally here. Opening day 2009 is off to a great start, as for one day, and one day only, everyone has the same record and the same goal.
Opening day is one of the most fun days on the sports calendar. Baseball has been on hiatus for a few months now, and if opening day isn't a day of excitement for you, then it's impossible for you to call yourself a baseball fan.
2009 is looking to be another year of exciting Major League Baseball. The offseason was filled with huge headliners and big-time acquisitions, so naturally the first day of the season is as good a day as any for a World Series prediction.
The defending champions, the Philadelphia Phillies, will again be a tough team to beat, but the city of Philadelphia went 25 years without a world champion before last October, so I don't think we'll see a repeat champion this year.
A trendy pick this year yet again is the New York Yankees, who, as usual, went on a shopping spree of trillion-dollar players this winter in hope of winning their first World Series in almost a decade. There's no denying the Yanks have the most high-priced talent in baseball this year, but in 2009 that talent will only be good enough for second place in the AL East. No first place does not belong to the Boston Red Sox.
The young and hungry Tampa Bay Rays are once again my pick to rule the stacked AL East this year. The Rays' World Series team of a year ago is returning nearly every key piece and will be looking to prove that 2008 was no fluke.
However, the real reason the Rays are so appealing is Carl Crawford, their superstar outfielder. At only 27 years old, Crawford took his place among baseball's elite last season and will be looking to build upon his stud 2008 year that was cut short by injury.
If Crawford can stay healthy, he will be the best player in the AL East and will help the Rays to their first back-to-back division crowns in franchise history.
The National League is a little tougher to predict as it seems every team is just about dead even in terms of talent. So for the sake of argument, my favorite to win the NL is the very same team that won the Manny sweepstakes: the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Opening day is one of the most fun days on the sports calendar. Baseball has been on hiatus for a few months now, and if opening day isn't a day of excitement for you, then it's impossible for you to call yourself a baseball fan.
2009 is looking to be another year of exciting Major League Baseball. The offseason was filled with huge headliners and big-time acquisitions, so naturally the first day of the season is as good a day as any for a World Series prediction.
The defending champions, the Philadelphia Phillies, will again be a tough team to beat, but the city of Philadelphia went 25 years without a world champion before last October, so I don't think we'll see a repeat champion this year.
A trendy pick this year yet again is the New York Yankees, who, as usual, went on a shopping spree of trillion-dollar players this winter in hope of winning their first World Series in almost a decade. There's no denying the Yanks have the most high-priced talent in baseball this year, but in 2009 that talent will only be good enough for second place in the AL East. No first place does not belong to the Boston Red Sox.
The young and hungry Tampa Bay Rays are once again my pick to rule the stacked AL East this year. The Rays' World Series team of a year ago is returning nearly every key piece and will be looking to prove that 2008 was no fluke.
However, the real reason the Rays are so appealing is Carl Crawford, their superstar outfielder. At only 27 years old, Crawford took his place among baseball's elite last season and will be looking to build upon his stud 2008 year that was cut short by injury.
If Crawford can stay healthy, he will be the best player in the AL East and will help the Rays to their first back-to-back division crowns in franchise history.
The National League is a little tougher to predict as it seems every team is just about dead even in terms of talent. So for the sake of argument, my favorite to win the NL is the very same team that won the Manny sweepstakes: the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Note: writers will not reply to comments.
Be the first to comment on this story
Comments by registered users are approved by default.