Chapter 77.7: Bobby Murcer, One of the Good Yankees

In my family, being a Yankee fan has never been an option. I've heard from my brothers that they rooted for Mickey Mantle, but not for the Yankees per se. Indeed, by the time the Miracle Mets won it all in 1969, we were already a family of Mets fans and I never knew anything but rooting for the Mets, despite the terrible teams of the late 70s.

Around the time the Mets were stinking up the National League and I was collecting baseball cards, Bobby Murcer was moving toward the tail end of his career. I remember watching Murcer play against the Mets when he was a member of the Cubs, and my older brothers told me about how he was always their favorite Yankee after Mantle retired after the 1968 season.

When he returned to the Yankees, I was able to watch him a little more regularly. (Just because I hated the Yankees didn't mean I wouldn't watch them. It was baseball, after all. I rooted for their opponents.) But it was always hard to root against Bobby Murcer.

I was rooting for him to beat the cancer in his brain, but I think any fan knew it was not quite the same as when he stood at the plate during the game after he'd delivered the eulogy for his close friend Thurman Munson. Murcer hit a homer and drove in the winning run that day. Yesterday, Murcer succumbed to the disease.

I'm a Mets fan and a Yankee hater, but there is always room on a team for a player like Bobby Murcer. He was known for his class and wit. I believe that most non-Yankee fans regarded Murcer as one of the good guys. My thoughts go out to his family.

Chapter 75.2: Are You Ready for Some Baseball?!

It’s that time again. Baseball season!

There are several enticing stories surrounding this season, not the least of which is that it’s the one hundredth anniversary of the last time the Chicago Cubs have won the World Series. My White Sox fan friends in Chicago notwithstanding, I think most baseball people would be pleasantly surprised to see them at least make the Series if not actually win it. Personally, I believe they lost their chance in 2003 – though I don’t blame Bartman, I blame their pitching and inept fielding.

Anyway, I open this season as I’ve opened each season since I started this blog: My annual predictions. Since it takes too long to actually report on every single team, I’m going to give more general statements.

NL East: As usual, I hesitate to predict the Mets will take the division because – as they proved last year – it’s always within their capacity to screw things up and steal defeat from the jaws of victory. That said, I believe the Mets pitching staff is much better than it was last year. Johan Santana is quite possibly the best pitcher in the game today, and by placing him the admittedly weaker National League, he should be able to dominate. I’m looking for an excellent season and the first Met Cy Young Award winner in more than twenty years (Dwight Gooden, 1985). Mets to take the division. Their competition will be Atlanta and Philadelphia. I have no faith in Washington or Florida.

NL Central: This division will be fun to watch. It’ll be either Chicago or Milwaukee, both of which are fun to watch. I can’t trust Milwaukee’s pitching however. Even their ace, Ben Sheets, is a risk given his injury history, though Jeff Suppan is usually steady. After them, their current staff is Dave Bush, Carlos Villanueva, and Manny Parra – not exactly John Maine, Oliver Perez, and El Duque. Plus their bullpen has more questions than a four-year old. They can hit, and it should be fun to watch Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun lead their offense. The Cubs have a better pitching staff going in: Carlos Zambrano and Ted Lilly are fairly solid. Jason Marquis, Ryan Dempster, and Jon Lieber seem like the likely other starters if Rich Hill isn’t able to hold onto his spot in the rotation.

The other possibility in this division are the Reds, though I honestly don’t expect them to do much of anything. The rest of the division has become pretty much a joke. It’s hard to believe that the Astros were in the 2005 World Series and the Cardinals won it all in 2006. Like most teams these days, they don’t have enough pitching. Pittsburgh doesn’t count. Cubs to take the division.

NL West: This division is a crap shoot because there are several teams with enough talent to win. The worst of the west, the Giants, actually have pretty decent pitching – and if Barry Zito can return to his old Cy Young form, they may actually be able to find enough offense to contend. But I doubt it. Coming from the West are the NL Champion Colorado Rockies as well as the resurgent Dodgers, the much improved Diamondbacks, and last year’s second worst chokers, the Padres – all of which have the ability to sneak out with at least the Wild Card. I think we’re going to see the baby snakes prove themselves. Diamondbacks to take the division, Rockies take the Wild Card.

AL East: This remains a Red Sox and Yankees division, but the Blue Jays are ready to surprise people. Their pitching staff sports former Cy Young Award winner Roy Halladay as well as Dustin McGowan and A.J. Burnett. Their bullpen is a little sketchy, but should be ok, especially if BJ Ryan returns with anywhere near his past accomplishments. Both the Yankees and Red Sox remain quite well stocked, however, so anything less than second place for either must be viewed as a terrible failure. The Rays (formerly from hell, but now simply hailing from Tampa) have greatly improved but won’t reach 75 wins. Baltimore will probably find themselves in the basement of the division. Red Sox take the division.

AL Central: The Tigers are scary! They have pitching, they have "mad offense," and they have one of the game’s best managers. I expect great things from them. The Indians will be strong again as well, though I would be impressed if C.C. Sabathia can retain his Cy Young form in his walk year and especially if Fausto Carmona can match his accomplishments from last year. The White Sox should be improved, and if the Royals can pitch at all, they may surprise people; they’ve got some great young hitters like Billy Butler and Alex Gordon, who had a strong second half last year after an awful beginning. I don’t think the Twins can compete with these guys, though they always play hard and have lots of talent still. Tigers take the division, Indians win Wild Card.

AL West: Like its NL cousin, I expect this division to be fairly tight most of the season. But I don’t think it’ll be for the same reasons. The Angels could have run away with the division, but they’re already struggling with their pitching, which has been hit by injuries. John Lackey – out. Kelvim Escobar – out, possibly for the full season. Jon Garland is toward the top of the rotation now. He should be stronger than he was in hitter-friendly US Cellular in Chicago, but he’s got to prove himself again. The Mariners have replenished their rotation with young stud Erik Bedard, who along with Felix Hernandez, Jarrod Washburn, Miguel Batista, and newcomer Carlos Silva should make the Mariners the biggest unexpected surprise of the year. The Angels could still squeak it out if they get their pitching back, but I’m going to go out on a limb. Mariners take the division.

I’ll update these predictions after I’m proven wrong. But with these eight teams, I’m making the following predictions. NL playoffs: Mets defeat Rockies, Diamondbacks defeat Cubs. Mets defeat Diamondbacks. AL playoffs, Tigers defeat Mariners, Red Sox defeat Indians. Tigers defeat Red Sox. Tigers beat Mets in World Series.

Chapter 68.6: Philly Phlop!

Yes, the Mets could have done just as bad as this -- perhaps even worse. In fact, the way they ended the year, they did perform even worse. But I didn't expect the Rockies to sweep the Phillies. And with the Diamondbacks doing the same to the Cubs (any team can have a bad century!), we are facing baseball's first All-Mountain Time Zone championship series.

The Red Sox have just a couple outs to go before their sweep. And, God willing, we'll have a clean sweep after tonight.

Funny, I thought I wouldn't really enjoy this post-season.

Chapter 68: Playoff Predictions

Not much time this morning, so I'll be quick:

Red Sox vs. Angels: From what I've read, the Angels have lost their center fielder, Gary Matthews, for the playoffs as well as Bartolo Colon -- who really wasn't much of a factor this year, so I don't think that's too significant. More important are the question marks about Vladimir Guererro. If he's out or not up to snuff, the Angels are done already. The Red Sox have too much talent to lose in the short series. My prediction: Red Sox in 4.

Indians vs. Yankees: I hate to say it, but I think the Yankees will advance to the ALCS. They've dominated the Indians this year (6-0) and in the short series, they have a distinct advantage. But the Indians have a strong 1-2 punch, so the Yankee hater in me has hope. I think this will be a hard-fought series, but if the Indians can't win with Cy Young candidate C.C. Sabathia, they've got little hope. My prediction: Yankees in 5.

Rockies vs. Phillies: This could be the most exciting series of the early round. The Rockies went 14-1 over the last few weeks of the season and won an exciting playoff game against the Padres to qualify for their second-ever post-season berth. While the Phils' pitching is decidedly mediocre, they've been doing well lately. I think some folks will be surprised to see more scoring in Philadelphia's stadium than in Coors Field, which may actually give the Rockies a slight advantage. I'd love to be wishy-washy and call this a pick 'em series, but I'll go out on a limb. My prediction: Rockies in 5.

Diamondbacks vs. Cubs: I'd love to see the Cubs advance, and they very well might. But this team had the worst record of all post-season qualifiers. While the Diamondbacks scored relatively few runs (less than they allowed -- not a good sign, especially when you have a stud like reigning Cy Young Award winner Brandon Webb), their pitching staff includes battle-tested Livan Hernandez. Again, this is a tough series to gauge. My prediction: Cubs in 5.

Chapter 58.1: Dice-K and Other Baseball Questions

As I shiver to generate a little warmth in my body, I'm thinking about how this baseball season might evolve. Will the Mets pitching staff show its old age, or will it demonstrate the revitalizing power of youth? In other words, is this the year either or both Tom Glavine and El Duque fall on their baseball-old butts, or will young pitchers like Mike Pelfrey or Philip Humber or even John Maine or Oliver Perez light a fire under everyone's ass and lead the team to the division title once again?

Will headline writers start calling Japanese import Diasuke Matsuzaka "Dice Clay" instead of "Dice K" -- meaning, will he have legs of clay that can't stand up to the rigors of major league baseball. My prediction: he'll start the season 7-2 or 8-1 and make the All-Star team -- possibly even start it -- but in the second half, hitters will figure him out and he'll struggle.

Will there be love in Pittsburgh? Isn't it time for the baseball gods to be kind to this decrepit franchise? This city supports the Penguins because they keep trying, but that club might end up in Las Vegas. If the Pirates can put together an early winning streak, the city might get over the changes in its financial leadership (as Mellon Bank merges with the Bank of New York) and pay attention to a team that could surprise people.

How long will Lou Piniella last? I think he's got a season and a half -- tops! Assuming that they don't make the playoffs this year after spending oodles of cash for stars like Alfonso Soriano, Piniella will get a month or two into next season -- the official century mark since the team's last World Series victory -- before he'll be summarily bounced. Good luck, Lou. Chicago's a wonderful city, and you'd make a pretty strong Hall of Fame candidate if you could win your second championship as a manager there.

Chapter 55.9: Cliff Notes

Cliff Floyd has gone home to play with the Chicago Cubs. I enjoyed his efforts with the Mets, particularly his strong season in 2005. It's too bad his injuries got in the way of him playing much (or well) this past season. Good luck to you, Cliff. And if the Mets don't win the World Series, I hope you help lead the Cubbies to their first championship since 1908.