For baseball fans spring means more than just trading in your snow shovel for a lawnmower — it means hundreds of people, none of which you’ve ever met, are slowly making their way down to Florida or Arizona to start playing catch in tight pants.
Yes, for baseball purists (read: junkies), Spring Training marks the beginning of a new season for America’s pastime; a time of hope, anticipation and four-hour games which seem to drag on for days.
For Yankees fans, these days are met with surprise when they’re informed that Hank Steinbrenner bought the Dominican Republic over the off-season, marking the first time a sovereign nation has become a minor league affiliate for a professional sports team. For the rest of us, however, a new baseball season is akin to a new lease on life. In April, all 29 teams are on equal footing to lose to Yankees Inc., and there seems no better way to prepare than by flying south and participating in charity golf tournaments.
Each new season also brings with it another tradition: the annual “Alex is bored in class and as such ranked all 30 teams from top to bottom-athon”. This year you, the reader, will have the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to gain insight into my picks for the upcoming year, which will likely be as accurate as a freshman’s memory after Floralia. Watch out, David Letterman; because here is the new Top Ten list—Alex Martland’s Preseason Power Rankings.
#1: Coming in at the top spot for the upcoming season is a team with which I would be perfectly content were they to be exiled to Siberia: the New York Yankees. After storming through the 2009 season with the best team money could buy, the Yankees added Curtis Granderson to the middle of their lineup this year, in a three-team trade which saw them part with Austin Jackson, Phil Coke, Ian Kennedy, and the remainder of George’s soul. Also, any time Andy Pettitte is your fourth starter, you’re a team to be reckoned with.
#2: The Phillies could arguably make a claim for the top spot in these rankings, but narrowly miss out due to the fact that Raul Ibanez is ugly as sin and their mascot makes absolutely no sense. Philly’s top two in Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels ranks are strong as any other pair in the league, and they boast a lineup who’s only real hole is Carlos Ruiz. Look for the Phillies to capitalize on the inevitable collapse by the Mets at the end of the season.
#3: Call me a homer if you want, but the Red Sox deserve to take third position going into the 2010 season. A particularly active off-season by GM Theo Epstein retooled a lacking Boston lineup, landing the biggest free-agent starter in this year’s class (John Lackey) while also providing a two-year solution at shortstop in Marco Scutaro as Jose Iglesias, who appears to be Ozzie Smith incarnate, matures in the minors. Questions abound about the team’s offensive capabilities, but Fenway Park’s cozy dimensions should help remedy those concerns.
#4: The Saint Louis Cardinals made a splash this winter, engaging in what appeared to be a fierce bidding war against only themselves as they fought (again, themselves) to re-sign Matt Holliday. Potentially handcuffing them long-term (Albert Pujols will be a free agent after next year and should command upwards of $200 million), the Cards are looking to cash in sooner rather than later with their available talent. The major question coming into camp surrounds whether closer Ryan Franklin can repeat his impressive 2009 campaign.
#5: The Tampa Bay Rays, the small-market enigma of Major League Baseball, have one of the most fearsome lineups in the game. Studded with young talent like Evan Longoria and B.J. Upton, the Rays will look to prove that their 2008 pennant run wasn’t a fluke as they battle it out in the hotly-contested AL East.
#6: The messy divorce proceedings between Jamie and Frank McCourt prevented the Los Angeles Dodgers from spending the money they would have liked on big-name free agents, but doesn’t change the fact that Joe Torre’s team combines a young nucleolus with potentially dominating pitching, headlined by Clayton Kershaw and Chad Billingsley. The Dodgers should run through a relatively weak NL West to make a run into October.
#7: San Francisco could be a big sleeper team in 2010, and the Giants pose the biggest hurdle for the Dodgers to win the West outright. Tim Lincecum is perhaps the most dominating pitcher under 130 pounds to ever play the game, and if Pablo Sandoval can repeat any kind of performance that he did last year, the Giants should remain relevant well into the dog days of summer.
#8: The Detroit Tigers have to be placed in the top ten, but don’t be surprised if they show signs of struggle early and often. Much of the pressure will be placed squarely on the shoulders of the front of the rotation, and if 2nd year pitcher Rick Porcello falls off at all from a blistering rookie campaign, the Tigers will be in serious trouble. Also, it would be in Detroit’s best interests to make sure that Miguel Cabrera came to the games sober this year.
#9: New GM Jeff Zduriencik, apart from having the most ridiculous name in the world, orchestrated a series of trades and signings this past winter which turned the Seattle Mariners into legitimate contenders. Swapping minor leaguers for Cliff Lee gives Seattle two true Cy Young contenders as their top starters (the other in Felix Hernandez), and signing former Angels third basemen Chone Figgins helps an offensively challenged lineup.
#10: The Chicago Cubs should make a push for the NL Central crown this year, but that’s all dependent on whether or not Lou Pinella decides to throw a tantrum and try to eat second base again this year.
Well, there you have it. For all those who disagree with this list (namely Yankee fans somehow wanting them to be ranked even higher than number one) feel free to leave your own projections at www.thecollegevoice.org in the comments section.
