Let the Opening Day festivities begin
THINGS TO LOOK FOR IN 2008
By Karl Ravech, ESPN
As we march toward Opening Day in this country, I find that the talk of parity in the major leagues continues to be a theme forwarded by many. Yet as I look at the big leagues this season, I'll be fascinated if a team other than the Red Sox, Yankees, Tigers, Indians, Angels or Mariners makes it to the World Series.
Right now, I believe that six teams out of 14 in the American League have a legitimate shot at winning it all. Less than 50 percent. Is that parity? Is it better than it was before, when the conversation seemed to start with the Yankees and end with the Yankees? Here are story lines to follow as the season unfolds:
AL East
• Do the Red Sox really have a solid starter past Josh Beckett? Is Manny Ramirez about to revert to his late '90s offensive form of 45 home runs with 150 RBIs?
• What is Robinson Cano really capable of? Of all the Yankees, will his numbers be most comparable to A-Rod's when the season ends?
• Is the Blue Jays' rotation really the best in the AL East?
• Who finishes last, the Rays or the Orioles?
AL Central
• Is Justin Verlander ready to win a Cy Young Award? Will the Tigers score 1,000 runs this season? Does anyone know that Placido Polanco hit .341 last season? Has anyone seen the old Dontrelle Willis?
• Can Paul Byrd win 15 games again? Will Joe Borowski save at least 45 games?
At what point in the season will Ozzie Guillen wonder out loud, "Why am I doing this?"
Who finishes last, the Royals or the Twins?
OPENING DAY GAMES ON ESPN |
| • Toronto at NY Yankees, 1:05 ET, ESPN |
| • Milwaukee at Chicago, 2:20 ET, ESPN2 |
| • San Francisco at LA Dodgers, 4:10 ET, ESPN |
| • LA Angels at Minnesota, 7:05 ET, ESPN2 |
| • Houston at San Diego, 10:05 ET, ESPN2 |
| See the entire Opening Day schedule |
AL West
• Carlos Silva is the Mariners' No. 3 starter. How would he look in an Angels rotation lacking John Lackey and Kelvim Escobar?
• Can anyone other than Raul Ibanez drive in more than 100 runs for Seattle this season?
• Can Bobby Crosby and Rich Harden stay healthy for a whole year? If so, will the A's be as bad as many believe?
• How did the Texas Rangers become the most nondescript team in baseball? Is it fair to expect Josh Hamilton to change that?
Two of the National League's three divisions have wire to wire written all over them. Both the East and West feature a total of seven teams that can win titles. Seven teams out of 10 -- now that's parity.
The Central has one team that should win the division: the Cubs. But Chicago has heard that for a long time now. Are the Cubs better than the other powers in the league? It's quite possible this is their year. Good things do come in hundreds, and 1908 won't seem that long ago if they can win the World Series in 2008. Story lines to follow in the National League:
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NL East
• Is there any chance that Johan Santana doesn't win the Cy Young Award this year? How many wins will he have? What will it be like when he takes the ball to start the All-Star Game in Yankee Stadium against Felix Hernandez?
• Why is it you feel compelled to root for Brad Lidge not only to be healthy but also successful? Is it because he is such a stand-up guy? Can the Phillies add Chase Utley's name to their recent run of MVPs?
• Will Jair Jurrjens win more games than any other Braves starter? Can Jeff Francoeur challenge Mark Teixeira for the team lead in home runs? If for some unforeseen reason Atlanta falls out of the race, will Teixeira be moved?
• Between Elijah Dukes and Wily Mo Pena, is there a physically stronger 1-2 pair in the big leagues? Will the pitching be as poor as the offense is exciting?
• In Florida, Hanley Ramirez is now The Man, so who else will step up to the plate? Will Cameron Maybin be called up before September?
NL Central
• How do the Cubs not win this division?
• Who is capable of beating them?
NL West
•
If Randy Johnson resembles at all the pitcher he once was, how good will the D-backs' staff be? Last year pitcher Micah Owings hit .333. His batting average allowed was 80 points lower, and he finished 8-8. If he turns three losses into wins, Arizona wins the division by four games.
• Does Matt Holliday remember sliding across home in the one-game playoff against the Padres? Has he forgotten the World Series? Will this Rockies organization be really good for a couple of years now? Is theirs the best bullpen in the league?
• Dodgers scouting director Logan White says Hiroki Kuroda is the real deal. White is rarely wrong and if he's right about Kuroda, Joe Torre will own both coasts. What will L.A. get from Andruw Jones?
• Adrian Gonzalez was the Padres' version of Carlos Pena. Can he deliver another 30 HR, 100 RBI season? Beyond Jake Peavy and Chris Young, can any other starter win 15 games?
• How bad will it be in San Francisco this year? Is it possible to suggest the past couple of years have been any more enjoyable? No.
BBTN ON THE AIR: MONDAY
| TIME | WHO'S ON? |
| 12 p.m. ET ESPN |
Host: Karl Ravech Analysts: John Kruk, Eric Young |
| 5 p.m. ET ESPN2 |
Host: Karl Ravech Analysts: Buster Olney, Eric Young |
| 1 a.m. ET ESPN |
Host: Steve Berthiaume Analysts: Buster Olney, Eric Young |
BASEBALL TONIGHT MINUTE
OPENING DAY III
We've had Opening Day parts I and II, but the season really gets kicking on Monday, as the rest of the majors joins the Red Sox, Athletics, Nationals and Braves in playing games that will be meaningful all the way through October. There are so many story lines, with new faces in new places trying to make big, immediate impacts. In the case of Torii Hunter, he's a new face for the Angels, but is starting in the same old place (center field in the Metrodome). His former teammate, Johan Santana, also tries to kick-start his team's season, in unfamiliar territory against the Marlins, while a veteran manager with long-ago ties to the Mets (Joe Torre) starts anew with the Dodgers against the Giants.
The Yankees begin the closing of Yankee Stadium, where they've been basically unbeatable on Opening Day recently. And the Cubs try to begin the end of a 99-year drought we'll talk about all season. There's plenty to look forward to on Opening Day, where all teams are optimistic that this can be their magical season.| Notable 2008 Opening Day Nuggets |
| • The Dodgers and Rangers have the longest Opening Day losing streaks in the majors: four games. They had been tied with the Nationals, who won Sunday to take themselves off the list. Los Angeles gets to start Brad Penny, who had a fantastic spring (0.95 ERA) against the Giants and struggling Barry Zito. Joe Torre, who debuts as Dodgers manager, is 4-0 in debuts with new teams. |
 • The Yankees have won the past nine times that they've played an Opening Day game at Yankee Stadium. The last time they lost an opener in the Bronx was in 1982. They may need something from Alex Rodriguez, whose March numbers aren't good: three hits in 25 pre-April at-bats. |
| • The Mets have never won an Opening Day game started by a pitcher who had never pitched for the team previously. In other words, Johan Santana will try to do what the likes of Tom Glavine and Pedro Martinez could not. |
 • Gil Meche will try to be a giant killer again, against Tigers starter Justin Verlander. Meche beat Curt Schilling on Opening Day last season. Verlander is a career 6-0 against the Royals; he owns the best unbeaten record for any active pitcher against Kansas City. |
| • The Twins face the Angels at home, a familiar place to start for Angels center fielder Torii Hunter. He'll be backing up Jered Weaver, who must come through for an Angels staff decimated by injuries. Weaver did come through big-time in the spring, as the majors' winningest pitcher, going 5-0. |
Inside Edge: Three Things To Watch
1. Will Zito's turnaround start today?Is the huge contract affecting his head? What's the deal with his fastball? Why is he throwing fewer of his knee-buckling curveballs? Those are questions that have dogged Giants pitcher Barry Zito all offseason. After signing the largest pitcher contract in baseball history (seven years, $126 million) in December 2006, the former Oakland phenom looked much less phenomenal than the numbers on his contract. … Zito's struggles began on the first pitch of at-bats, when he threw 68 percent fastballs and just 15 percent curveballs. That first-pitch fastball-curveball ratio was drastically different than the 57-27 percent split he employed during his 2002 Cy Young season. And although he leaned to the more controllable pitch (fastball) to start hitters off, Zito's overall first-pitch strike percentage of 56 percent last year fell short of the MLB average, 58 percent. ... Check out more from Inside Edge
