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April 2, 2007 Give or take. There might be less. You do the math. Anyway. Here are approximately 2007 things that will almost certainly happen in 2007. Probably: The New York Yankees will make an early exit from the postseason. Joe Torre will retire before George Steinbrenner gets a chance to fire him... Alex Rodriguez will have a typically solid season with the bat, make 30 errors at third base, feel the pressure as much as anyone to play in the Bronx since Ed Whitson, claim he hopes to be a Yankee forever, and leave the first chance he gets. Mid-November at the latest… Derek Jeter and Nomar Garciaparra will appear on “Saturday Night Live...” Trade rumors swirl around Manny Ramirez, but he’ll remain in Boston once again… Larry Lucchino will become part owner of a team working on a new stadium deal, either in Florida or Minnesota… During his second year in Baltimore, Leo Mazzone’s pitching staff will rock… The American League East will finish this way: Red Sox, Yankees (Wild Card), Blue Jays, Orioles, Devil Rays… Prognosticators who picked the Cleveland Indians to win the American League Central will be disappointed for the second straight year… AL MVP: Gary Sheffield… Southpaw hurlers Kenny Rogers and Jaime Moyer will be referred to as “crafty” on a regular basis. No right-handers will be so labeled even as much as once… AL Central: Tigers, Indians, White Sox, Twins, Royals… Eric Gagne’s numbers: 10 saves, 5.25 ERA and three stints on the disabled list... Bill Stoneman will threaten but fail to trade for a difference-maker in July, and be unmercifully criticized by Angels fans, who will get the last laugh when he’s fired in October… John Lackey will give Johan Santana a run for his money, but finish second to the Twins left-hander in the AL Cy Young Award voting… AL West: Rangers, Athletics, Angels, Mariners… Ryan Howard will become the first legitimate player to challenge Roger Maris’ 61 in ’61, twice… Tom Glavine will be the only Mets starter to win 10 games… Big comeback season for Tim Hudson… A Gold Glove Award winner will lead his position in errors… “Flu-like symptoms” and “strained oblique” will finally pass "five-tool player" on the list of most overused phrases in baseball. “We all have to be on the same page," "anything can happen in a short series," “back in the day,” "intestinal fortitude,” “it is what it is,” “clubhouse cancer” and "it’s only May" round out the top ten… Countless players, play-by-play guys, and color commentators will refer to a just completed game with the word "tonight," even though it was a day game... NL East: Phillies, Braves, Mets, Marlins, Nationals… World Series home field advantage goes to the American League for the final time, as Major League Baseball drops the All-Star Game brainchild and goes back to an every-other-year schedule… NL Cy Young Award: Roy Oswalt… Biggest waste of free agent money: Jason Marquis. Like, duh. Others include Danys Baez, Miguel Batista, J.D. Drew, Aubrey Huff, Julio Lugo, Gary Matthews, Jr., Gil Meche and Ted Lilly… Best free agent bargains: Mark Loretta, Darin Erstad, Mike Piazza and Shannon Stewart… NL MVP: Lance Berkman... With Brad Lidge blowing leads for Roger Clemens three times before being demoted, disabled, traded or institutionalized, 12 wins on the season for the Rocket… Rick Ankiel will retire as an outfielder to concentrate on pitching … Ken Griffey, Jr. will pass Harmon Killebrew with home run number 574, and move into eighth place on the all-time list; sixth, if you don’t count guys in front of him who played under the influence of performance-enhancing drugs… Baseball’s first manager to be fired will be Jerry Narron, who will be replaced by Bucky Dent. Additional managers seeking employment elsewhere will be Buddy Bell, John Gibbons, Mike Hargrove, Sam Perlozzo and Jim Tracy… NL Central: Astros, Brewers, Cubs, Cardinals, Reds, Pirates… Whenever and wherever the Arizona Diamondbacks sweep a series, newspapers in the losing club’s city will run the following headline: “Fill-in-the-blank Snakebit by Diamondbacks… Monster breakout season for Chad Tracy… Randy Johnson’s numbers: 14-10, 3.50 ERA, and 235 strikeouts… Two ex-Dodger catchers and a current one in the All-Star Game. No, not Toby Hall… J.D. Drew will not be missed in Los Angeles, nor in Boston… Contrary to predictions throughout baseball, the Dodgers will finish right smack-dab in the middle of the NL pack in home runs… Chris Young will supplant himself as the ace of the staff in San Diego… A ballpark in San Francisco will be renamed for a telecommunications company… Starting 4 or 5 games per week and pinch hitting often, Barry Bonds will be disabled, indicted or suspended, or a combination of all three, and conclude his career just short of Henry Aaron’s 755. Bonds final line: .295, 20 and 50… NL West: Dodgers, Diamondbacks (Wild Card), Padres, Rockies, Giants… Talkback: Your comments are always encouraged… Remember, glove conquers all….
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