Are the folks (like me) who picked all four No. 1 seeds to make the Final Four ingenious, or simply lucky?

Admittedly, I take myself out of the running for the “ingenious” category. As I said when I first offered my pick ‘ems, I did not follow all teams as closely as in previous years (though, don’t get it twisted, I watched a good amount of games) before filling out my bracket. Others may not admit to this, but I remain true to my “honesty is the best policy” approach.

The bracket I submitted is only doing well because of those remaining Final Four picks. Other folks in the pool chose more upsets (obviously) and though our pool rewards the upset picks (you get points for the difference in ranks in upsets… 12 defeats 5 gets you 7 extra points), they are reaping what they sowed in the risk they took.

High risk can equal high reward… until it doesn’t.

ESPN’s Andy Katz says the NCAA Selection Committee got it right this year.

That plays right into my question: How you can tell the difference between lucky and ingenious in this situation?

Can you smell that strong, refreshing, good old fashioned new stadium smell?

That, my friends, is the brand spankin’ new workplace of the Washington Nationals.

Tomorrow night, Nationals Park, located on 1500 South Capitol Street in Washington, D.C., opens up for business amid all the fanfare, attention and over-the-top adoration one can expect from the District.

President George W. Bush will throw out the inaugural first pitch. F16s will fly overhead. ESPN will broadcast the event on its nationally-viewed network.

Every bell and whistle is out and in motion, only one thing left — Play Ball!

The tiny liberal arts school from Davidson, North Carolina is impossible to root against.

Ranked No. 10 in the Midwest Region, the Wildcats of Davidson College have now officially upended the No. 7, No. 2 and No. 3 teams en route to an incredible run through the 2008 NCAA Tournament.

After beating Gonzaga* in the first round, Davidson defeated a perennial giant in NCAA hoops, the Georgetown Hoyas, to make the Sweet Sixteen. The excitement spread all the way to the Davidson board of trustees, who offered its student body of 1,700 undergraduates an all-expenses paid trip to the Sweet Sixteen game against Wisconsin in Detroit.

Think the move paid off? Ask the Badgers, whose own championship dreams were squashed by the Wildcats Friday night with a 73-56 win.

At the center of the Davidson run is the thin-framed, baby-faced sharpshooting sophomore, Stephen Curry, son of former NBA player Dell Curry. His 40, 30 and 33 points in the first three rounds, respectively, all managed to come at the perfect time of each game.

Curry has the face of a high schooler, but the jumper of a seasoned vet.

And, despite his small body frame, Curry has managed to carry the Wildcats on his back all the way to the Elite Eight, where they will face the No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks.

Like every other round so far, experts predict Davidson to lose Sunday. But can the Wildcats momentum be stopped?

Or, will they managed yet another amazing upset, silencing doubters and continuing the plight of the small school — a la George Mason — and make it to the Final Four?

Find out tomorrow at 5:05 p.m. EST, when the little team from North Carolina sets their sights on the giant school from Kansas.

How can you not root for the little guy?

*Correction: I mistyped and put Notre Dame here by mistake before. My apologies to the N.D. alums!

After averaging 20 points, 9.8 rebounds and 4 assists per game through his NBA career, Chris Webber is ready to hang ‘em up.

Growing up in the D.C. Metropolitan-area, the main lingering memory I have of C-Webb is when the Washington Bullets mistakingly traded him to Sacramento for Mitch Richmond and Otis Thorpe, instead of Juwan Howard. No disrespect to Howard, who had his best NBA years in D.C., but C-Webb has Hall of Fame numbers and was much more exciting to watch.

Webber, Howard, Gheorge Muresan, Calbert Cheaney and Rod Strickland helped excite the area when intact and healthy. Here was Mike Wilbon talking about those Bullets as they were fixin’ to pick up Webber from Golden State for three 1st-rounders and Tom Gugliotta:

Even before The Trade had been announced or even completed, there was hysteria. The Washington Bullets didn’t have enough people to answer the phones or take the requests. People were walking up to the front door and pulling out checkbooks, credit cards. A guy from Pennsylvania called and bought four full season tickets — that’s all 41 home games. Lawyers and pols and VIPs called wanting in. Maybe USAir Arena isn’t so far after all. More than 500 season-ticket plans had been sold by 9:30 last night. At one point, hours before anyone knew whether Chris Webber would be coming to town, a Bullets sales staffer stood up and said to anyone who could hear above the screaming telephones, “The town’s on fire!”

The Washington Bullets have a superstar. Someone to put on posters and billboards, someone whose jersey fanatic teenagers will want, someone whom people will happily pay to see, someone who looks at Shaq and Barkley and Kemp and Pippen without blinking, a legitimate all-star prospect who can take a team deep, deep into the NBA playoffs. You think Washington is just a Redskins town? It isn’t. It’s a town long suffering for a Young Hoop God. It’s a town where people will write a check for two seats at $1,200 each to see Chris Webber in uniform, or even at a news conference.

The gang, along with Webber and his hysteria, took the Bullets to the playoffs after a nine-year drought. They fell short of championship dreams thanks to some guy named Michael Jordan. (Who hasn’t MJ made “fall short” at some point during his run?)

As mentioned above, Webber was traded away from Washington in ‘98 after the team decided he was too much trouble and needed to be split from Howard, who was his close buddy at the time.

I reiterate: Washington traded the wrong guy. Case-in-point can be seen by the career-setting stats C-Webb put up in Sacramento:

When Webber arrived, the Kings also signed center Vlade Divac and drafted point guard Jason Williams. In his first year with the Kings (the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season), Webber won the rebounding title averaging a league high 13.0 rebounds per game. The surprising Kings team made the playoffs, almost upsetting the veteran Utah Jazz. In years to come, Webber and the Kings became arguably the most exciting team in the league, and NBA title contenders. He was named to the All-Star team again in 2000 and 2001 while cementing his status as one of the premier power forwards in the NBA. Webber peaked in the 2000-01 season where he averaged a career-high 27.1 points. He also averaged 11.1 rebounds and was 4th in MVP voting. Webber was an All-NBA player five years in a row as a Sacramento King (1999-2003), making the 1st team in 2001 for the only time in his career.

On July 27, 2001 Webber signed a $127 million, seven-year contract with the Kings. In the 2001-02 NBA season, Webber led the Kings to a franchise record 61-21. He also made his fourth All-Star team and they made it to the Western Conference Finals, against the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers. The Kings lost in 7 games.

Webber went on to play for the 76ers, Pistons and a very brief stint with the Golden State Warriors (again). His numbers, as they sit, are Hall of Fame worthy.

(Flickr Image / Vedia)

Webber first stepped into infamy as the lead member of Michigan’s “Fab Five” team — Webber, Juwan Howard, Jalen Rose, Jimmy King, and Ray Jackson — who went to two straight NCAA finals in ‘92 and ‘93 but lost both times. The second loss made C-Webb famous for all the wrong reasons when he called a time-out Michigan did not have with 11 seconds left against North Carolina with his team down 2 at the time. The ensuing two free throws helped UNC seal the victory. Many folks still blame Webber for that loss but I hold to what a coach told me long ago: “No one play determines 40-minute-long games.”

I am not a member of the “sound bite” decision-makers of America club, but those who are will only remember Webber for his last NCAA game. Following the political theater taking place with pundits and opponents jumping on Senator Barack Obama for words of those around him, earlier today on The Starting Five’s message board, I pondered whether C-Webb could coach without having to pop young hoopster knuckleheads upside the head for talking trash about “the time-out incident.”

There are too many persons in the world who, unfortunately, would judge both Obama and C-Webb by one decision of their entire lifetimes.

C-Webb does great work in the community and from everything I’ve read about him is an all-around great person. (I say that from my outsider’s perspective in mind, of course). I hope he keeps up with the charity work and doesn’t fall out of the spotlight. Even during his “get high” days in D.C., C-Webb still smiled, signed autographs and did all the other good stuff for the community.

I respect the socially conscious athlete and hold him in high regard for being one.

Maybe he will push past doubters and become a coach down the road. He will just have to keep in mind that, because of either haters or jokesters, whenever he calls a time-out he had better be ready to pop a couple folks upside the head!

(Getty Images Photo / Junko Kimura)

The Oakland Athletics became the first round of victims to the defending MLB champion Boston Red Sox’s attempt at their third title in five years. BoSox slugger Manny Ramirez took little time stepping back into the driver’s seat of his team, delivering the go-ahead double in the 10th inning of a 6-5 win in Tokyo, Japan.

I’d like to overstate the obvious by pointing out that the BoSox are projected to go 162-0 at the moment, and the A’s 0-162, both MLB records.

A’s fans: be afraid, be very, very afraid!

Yankees fans: be terrified, put a wall up around the city, “The BoSox are coming! The BoSox are coming!”
A few suggestions to enhance an 0-162 A’s team:

• Sign Jose Canseco — No one would sit next to him on the bench or on the bus, because “Jose can you sing” is always wired for sound, needing a new quote for his next book. This would convert the team into the 1st openly run sting operation in MLB history. And for entertainment purposes, there’s a 1 in 10 chance another baseball will bounce off Canseco’s head again.
• Sign Rickey Henderson — What’s a Canseco book without a few quotes from the oldest strongman in America who loves to speak in the third person? Rickey would be more than willing to sit next to Canseco in the dugout and on the bus; in fact, Rickey will sit next to anybody, anytime so long as he can talk about himself. Just think, somewhere, at this very moment, Rickey is talking the ear off someone — possibly in a Used Car lot — and loving every minute of it.
• Hire Isaiah Thomas as GM — That should get the media swarming the dugout! He would at least find a way to get rid of those pesky dollars laying around in Oakland. Does Allan Houston play baseball? Marbury? Got a pen, fellas?

UNC’s Quentin Thomas was always better than Bobby Frasor, but never better than Raymond Felton and Ty Lawson. With injuries to Lawson this year, Thomas’s playing time increased to a respectable level, and he can proudly say he contributed to getting the Tarheels into the Sweet Sixteen.

His years at UNC were filled with lots of injuries, bench-warming and one National Championship in 2005. Lots of stories for Thomas, but I was happy to see ESPN’s Heather Dinich write a piece on his role through the years at UNC.Everyone knows the bigger names like Tyler Hansborough (who looks like Hacksaw Jim Duggin) and Ty Lawson (one of the top PGs in the nation). Every once in a while it’s great to peek down the bench and see the story of the kid waiting in the wings.

No amount of Old Spice, Axe body spray or visits to a local confessional will overcome the guilty pleasure that is enjoying NCAA March Madness “one-tourney stand” games.

Also known as “one-and-done theater,” games where freshman superstars are forced to play one year of college basketball before reaching full eligibility to play in the National Basketball Association are wrong on nearly all accounts - the one exception, of course, is their extremely high entertainment value.

Those freshman phenomenon players help fill the NCAA courts with a much-needed excitement-boost, overshadowing most upperclassmen (*insert Tyler Hansborough of North Carolina adoration and fan love notes here as an exception to this rule*) in popularity, talent and, according to many NBA scouts, professional potential (I shall call it “pro-po” from this point forward for no reason other than to mock the lazy “American way” of abbreviating everything, at every opportunity)

There is no mistake in the tremendous draw of watching freshman phenoms with plenty of pro-po to go around, O.J. Mayo of the University of Southern California and Michael Beasley of Kansas State, face one-another head-to-head in the NCAA tournament. Both players were highly recruited coming out of high school, so much that had NBA league commissioner David Stern not implemented a critical change to the collective bargaining agreement between the NBA and the National Basketball Players’ Association in 2005, both would be earning millions among the professional ranks.

Instead, Mayo, Beasley, Derrick Rose of Memphis, Eric Gordon of Indiana and Kevin Love of UCLA, play one year of what amounts to a college fundraising tour of sorts, earning money for everyone around them - college teams, divisions, coaches and sponsors - but receiving very little to keep in their own pocket.

In these “one-tourney stand” cases, the argument that the fabulous freshman are “rewarded with a free education” is null and void because even as much as sticking around their temporary college of choice may be appealing, passing up the chance to step into the pro ranks and immediately make millions is a temptation few can pass on.

If one of the main goals in attending college is to absorb enough smarts to venture into the working world and make good money, why would any government constantly promoting a system where individual wealth is celebrated deny any citizen their right to earn a living working legally?

Some of these young players use their wealth to turn their lives around after growing up in poverty. Families and friends are given a ladder to escape a debt and disparity. Some invest back into the economy, give back to the communities they either grew up in, or moved into by way of their work or travels and but are inspired to help (Warrick Dunn, anyone?).

Of course, there are those who blow millions-on-end on trips to Las Vegas, gambling and acting a fool (Charles Barkley, anyone?) as some young adults with more money than brains quite often do.

Who are we to judge how people spend their money?

Sure, M.C. Hammer went bankrupt after a few years on top of the world. If we had the chance to go back in time, should he not have been eligible to be a professional entertainer?

What about the participants who were victims of the Dot Com bust? Many made money quick but invested and spent poorly, and the floor fell from beneath them. Would an age-restriction have protected young, talented techies from falling flat on their face?

I say let the pennies fall, or grow, as they may.

Adults in America are responsible for their own actions. For every story of difficulty and downfall, we have others filled with hope and happiness. Aren’t most other career choices in life filled with the same?

Yes, there will be cases where some kid athletes are over-hyped coming out of high school and eventually fall flat on their face in the pros.

Isn’t the nature of investing in Wall Street similar? Invest your life savings! High risk, high reward! Lost it all? Ah, that’s the nature of the biz! Get up, dust yourself off, and get back on that horse!

Yes, there will be those same over-hyped kids who declare their eligibility for the NBA Draft, accept money and gifts from anyone ranging from sports agents to the tooth fairy, and end up hearing their name called in the draft the same number of times I hear mine every year - zero.

Aren’t college admission processes similar to this very situation?

The way to correct the problem is not to penalize the kid who will fall victim to over-hype - be it inflicted by their community, school, family or even their own - but rather, instead of clipping wings and revoking college eligibility if mistakes are made, leagues and colleges need to allow more flexibility.

Much too often in society too much focus is paid to penalization, when the world would be better off if more focus was spent on rehabilitation.

Many kids deserve a second-chance; maybe some do not. Sometimes falling flat often leads to a more “enlightened” point-of-view on life and its many opportunities.

Some people will receive lemons from life and turn them into projectile devices; some will make lemonade.

There are many excuses and conspiracy theories as to why the NBA and NFL have their age-restriction rules - league racial discrimination, protecting the youth from themselves, protecting the jobs of older leage players - and I “reject and denounce” them all:

League Racism
The majority of high school kids affected by the age-limit restriction rules are African-Americans. The majority of NBA and NFL players are African-American. The majority of players both affected and protected by this rule are of the same racial background, so…

Youth Protection
Some young persons who get rich quick are not quite mature enough to be responsible adults. Do we restrict lottery winners by age, too? Does Wall Street have an age-restriction? Where does the over-regulation of self start and end? As I said before, the best way to protect the youthful athletes is to pick them up if they fall. Rehabilitation over penalization.

Protect. Those. Vets.
Kids these days are bigger, stronger and faster. Call it a change in the tide, or a shot to the buttocks (speculate at your own leisure, folks!) but these days talent floods the streets similar to odors in New York City. Leave it to teams to determine whether they should keep veteran players around or draft “The Next…” Though I cannot imagine the scenario, I would only question teams if they started picking up youthful players in order to save money - similar to how some companies either hire migrant workers or export their jobs to places like India.

Whether or not the NBA and NFL have good intentions or not makes no difference. Citizens of this free nation have the right to earn a living working legally, and the two leagues are in violation with the Constitution and the aim of this free nation by holding those young players back from going pro after high school.

As an avid hoops fan, I benefit quite a bit — though nowhere near as much as colleges and conferences — from the restrictions Stern implemented. Because of the rule, this year I was able to watch Derrick Rose and Kevin Love carry their respective teams into the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament. Without the rule, I may have only seen the two get a handful of minutes as they played for horrible NBA teams, and never had a reason to be excited about watching them play. It is a great feeling watching highly-skilled college games, filled with NBA-talented kids competing where they have no business playing if they would rather be elsewhere - especially in the pros. A great feeling that feels so good, yet so wrong.

There is no sense in players being forced into college for a year and given restrictions on receiving benefits and gifts, while their schools and conference divisions reap millions worth of rewards as the over-hyped phenoms continue to put fannies into arena seats. What is the lesson learned here?

Many mocked the way Mayo recruited himself to USC because the way he went the process was so far-fetched, hilarious and absurdly “Outer Limits” - where down is up, up is down, and players recruit themselves to college and not the reverse, as tradition set - we cannot help but tune in.

What’s one more delectable, despicable, enjoyable, guilty pleasure to go around?

With the excitement of the NCAA March Madness Tournament in full swing, I figured it best to drop in and wish everyone much luck in your bracket pools. Well, as it goes, this only applies to those outside of my own; if you are in my pool, just to let you know, Kent State lost already so you’re toast.

And as keeper of the faith and all that is good in American society, I must add a few tips to the degenerate gamblers out there: please avoid gambling away anything other than your hair, ham sandwiches, haircuts, ham sandwiches and firstborns (Rumpelstiltskin, anyone?).

My bracket this year is my safest ever (check it out on ESPN’s Tourney Challenge, Username: MECTimHops) and I am a little disappointed in it, because I typically take pride in following random teams throughout the year and picking (50-50 on the success rate, admittedly) an out-of-nowhere (to others) upset.

Full disclosure: I do root for the University of North Carolina, and have since I was a wee one. They are the consensus #1 coming into the tourney, so picking them worked out quite fine. After watching their resiliency in the Clemson game (the Tigers’ Booker is an animal — he just swatted my last sentence into the stands just now) and throughout the ACC tourney, I think they have the right amount of things working in their favor. Although, if the East part of my bracket works out like it should (because of my amazing, safe pick ‘em skillz), then Indiana will take on UNC for a very tough match-up, though I favor the ‘heels by way of their much-superior coach. With that said, I do believe in jinxes, so I apologize to other ‘heels fans out there, because I may have just ruined their chances!

Stuck at work late, I’m exercising my after-hours right to peruse the CBS website and watch these games online.

Happy Tourney Day, to all!*

*I told you folks in my tourney pools I wish nothing but ill wishes and sour dreams for your brackets!

Sure, Yao Ming is good for a laugh or two in credit card commercials. But where was the Chinese giant when his team needed him most?

Or, maybe, Yao was just where he needed to be - safely injured on the sidelines - in order for the Rockets to find the inspiration to catapult to the top of the West.

A more superstitious man may call Yao’s injury good luck. With the smoke cleared and history the Rockets’ streak officially halted at 22-straight wins, second-best in NBA history, maybe the Rockets will admit the same - Yao’s injury was more of a blessing than a curse.

To the practical mind, no injury can be unlucky. But the superstitions mind works differently - bear in mind quite a few professional athletes are extremely superstitious - and they would be more eager to entertain and more than likely embrace the idea of a “fortunate injury” to a degree.

Take a look at the turn of events:

When Yao was around to help, Houston played fairly well, but remained outside of the playoff picture.

When the Chinese import fell to injury, the team proceeded to be great - at a level of historic proportions - and managed to obtain the top spot in the West.

Of course, like all good things, the streak eventually had to come to an end.

Houston’s cause wasn’t helped out by running into the “green monster” of the league, the Boston Celtics, even as they too were short-staffed.

(Side note: As if their 50-total-win mark did not make it clear enough, Boston made a statement last night by beating a very good team despite their best shooter, Ray Allen, sitting out with a minor injury. They are as deep a team as the league has.)

To be fair, the Rockets were assisted by many factors throughout their historic streak. They were fortunate enough to play Dallas while Dirk Nowitzki was sidelined; and the Lakers sans Paol Gasol. Ideally, Ray Allen missing from the Boston game would have been helpful, but at that point the streak had ran its course.

Retrospectively, Houston’s 22-game winning streak is as amazing as they come; maybe even more so than previous streaks, considering Houston’s largest piece (literally) was missing in action throughout the majority of the run.

The ‘72 Los Angeles Lakers rallied around one of the greatest centers ever, Wilt Chamberlain, en route to their record 33-game win streak.

Who, exactly, did the ‘08 Rockets have to rally around?

With most teams honing in on the Rockets’ lone superstar left standing, Tracy McGrady, offering double- and triple teams at times, the onus fell on Rafer Alston, Shane Battier, Dikembe Mutombo and the rest of the gang to pick up the leftover slack needed to outlast their opponents.

No single player necessarily stood out as the catalyst of their historic streak. However, ESPN did a great job Sunday night, highlighting one of the major keys to the streak - Shane Battier’s lockdown defense. Against Kobe Bryant, literally, on nearly every shot, Battier conducted a game of “peek-a-boo” with #24.

Everyone who ever endured painfully long hoops practices has heard the term “get a hand in his face!” repeated on every level, from every coach. A longtime defensive guru, Battier actually listened and gave a perfect example of to execute the “hand in the face” effectively. The Houston team helped out when needed, but their defense proved to be their best asset.

Mind you, the “hand in the face” method will not always shut down the best shooter in the game; I am looking forward to the next time the Lakers take on the Rockets, and Kobe plays with an extra chip on his shoulder. But as was clear through the last seven weeks, the Rockets constantly had luck/karma/fresh h2o on their side.

And as each teammate picked up the slack from their missing-in-action anchor, playing great defense and finding good shooting fortune throughout, the feat became all the more spectacular.

Even as the Rockets remain atop the Western conference, no one knows their true identity. Are they the Houston team before the streak, who stood on the outside of playoff contention looking in? Or are they the Houston team that won 22-straight games, managing to win even as they were under-staffed and under-appreciated?

This Houston team has the resolve to succeed without their anchor; they just need to keep the faith.

Team by Team Analysis and Predictions: AL East

Overview: Tampa Bay Rays

Tampa Bay put up a mark of 66-69, and the franchise continues to be a lesson in futility for baseball enthusiasts, worldwide.

The Rays (Atheism=wins?) spent their offseason jettisoning misogynist Elijah Dukes (Nationals), and Umpire Association devotee Delmon Young (Twins). They also added some promising talent in SS Jason Bartlett and P Matt Garza (Both from Twins), and some decrepit stiffs in Cliff Floyd (FA) and Troy Percival (FA).

The Rays outfield, when healthy, ranks among the most athletic and talented in the league. Carl Crawford and BJ Upton blur when they walk, and have the hitting skills to match. Rocco Baldelli, well, I’m just going to assume he’ll be injured by May, which leaves the once great Cliff Floyd (play Ken Griffey Jr. Baseball for SNES if you don’t believe me) and strikeout machine Jonny Gomes to man right.

The infield will feature stud prospect Evan Longoria at third, defensively minded Jason Bartlett at short, converted 2b Akinori Iwamura, and last year’s surprise, Carlos Pena at first.

Dioner Navarro mans home, and should continue to be adequate at keeping runners honest, but his offensive numbers lead me to predict he won’t be playing the role of base runner very often, himself.

The Tampa Bay pitching staff looks promising at the top, as studs Scott Kazmir and James Shields return. Matt Garza and former Dodger prospect Edwin Jackson lead a pack of contenders for the final 3 rotation spots. In all likelihood, this rotation won’t have a reliable 4^th or 5^th starter, which will prove problematic for their bullpen.

Troy Percival was one of the feel-good stories of the 2007 season, and there are few in this league as experienced in closing out games. That said, he will turn 39 this year, was forced to retire due to arm troubles, and will likely not be available in back to back games this year. Throw in 37 yr old Al Reyes, and the unreliable Dan Wheeler, and you’ve got big trouble in little Chinatown.

Prediction:

Tampa Bay is explosive on offense and has a good 1-2 punch in their pitching rotation. There still remains many questions to be answered, and the overall stigma of (Devil) Rays baseball, but I see a team on the cusp of success, and I will predict them to finish 3^rd in the AL East. Much can go wrong, particularly in such a competitive division, but they are already better than the Orioles, and I think if a few things go the Rays’ way, they’ll perform better than the Blue Jays.

Overview: Baltimore Orioles

Baltimore finished the 2007 season with a mark of 69-93, good enough to tie Kansas City for the third worst record in the league.

The Orioles approached the offseason with an ‘addition by subtraction’ mentality. Gone are budding star Erik Bedard, all steroid shortstop and monumental disappointment Miguel Tejada, speed demon and sub-.300 OBP outfielder Corey Patterson. Additionally, the rumors point to second baseman Brian Roberts exiting stage left, as well.

Baltimore’s most promising offseason acquisition comes in the form of uber-prospect Adam Jones, who will likely man center. He is joined in the outfield by the underpaid Nick Markakis and a smorgasbord of bums in left that include the recently acquired Luke Scott, the aging Tike Redman, the even further decayed Jay Payton, and the roidless Jay Gibbons.

The infield will feature the steadily declining Melvin Mora at third, young defensive savant Luis Hernandez at short, stud second baseman Brian Roberts (at least for the time being), and a revolving door of defensively and offensively inadequate first basemen/designated hitters (K. Millar, A. Huff).

Ramon Hernandez remains behind the dish, which means old women, paraplegics, and tumbleweed caught in a light breeze should have a high success rate at stealing bases.

The Baltimore pitching staff is young, talented, and promising, which, in all likelihood, probably means a team ERA over 5.00. Ace and free pass specialist, Daniel Cabrera returns, along with the still developing Jeremy Guthrie, Adam Loewen, and Hayden Penn.

With the season ending injuries to closer Chris Ray and deputy closer Danys Baez, the bullpen enters 2008 plagued by question marks. Newly acquired lefty George Sherrill is the popular choice for the closing role, however, Jamie Walker and Greg Acquino, both have experience at failing miserably in the role.

Prediction:

Baltimore’s 2 best players left town this winter, and that only means so much to a team that narrowly missed finishing in the cellar last season. The Orioles will definitely finish there this season, and just may prove to be the worst team in the league.

Overview: Toronto Blue Jays

Toronto finished last season with an 83-79 mark, which was good enough for 3^rd in the AL East, but proved to be disappointing for a team that many predicted to compete for a playoff spot.

The Blue Jays did not help themselves very much this winter, as they traded the often injured Troy Glaus to St. Louis for the often injured Scott Rolen. Rolen is a stud with the glove, but provides no more security at the position. They also signed the undersized David Eckstein to play SS, who has made a career out of proving the critics wrong, and will need to go a long way to vindicate this signing when the rest of the league sees him as a second baseman.

The Blue Jays’ outfield is stocked with talent and features burgeoning star Alex Rios, the recently underperforming Vernon Wells, Reed Johnson, and professional hitter Matt Stairs.

The infield features gold glover Scott Rolen and his replacement upon injury Marco Scutaro at third, Eckstein at short, promising Aaron Hill at second, and the always streaky Lyle Overbay at first.

Gregg Zaun and Rod Barajas will split time behind the dish. Zaun will turn 37 in April and the crime rate skyrockets on the base paths when he’s the receiver. Barajas is younger (32) and is much more efficient at throwing at would-be base stealers, but he’s never been an everyday player, so expect this time share to remain all year.

Roy Halladay, despite the decreased K-rate, is among the best in the business, and A.J. Burnett is absolutely electric when he’s healthy. Dustin McGowan, Shaun Marcum, and Gustavo Chacin round out the rotation and should all be considered breathing stiffs.

The health of mega closer BJ Ryan (Tommy John surgery) has stirred much debate, and it remains to be seen whether he is healthy enough to return to that role. In the meantime, Jeremy Accardo pitched fantastically in that capacity last season, finishing with 30 saves and a 1.11 WHIP.

Prediction:

The Blue Jays have a few solid elements on the both sides of the ball, but I don’t see them as any more than a mediocre team, and that won’t get them far in the AL East. Look for Toronto to have an up and down season, but ultimately being outpaced by Tampa Bay and finishing in 4^th place.

Overview: New York Yankees

The Yanks posted a 94-68 mark and made it into the playoffs, yet again, only to lose to Cleveland in the AL Division series, yet again.

The offseason proved to be more hype than substance, as New York was involved in a potential trade for P Johan Santana. The Yankees were able to bolster their bullpen with the addition of LaTroy Hawkins, and also added 3b Morgan Ensberg, who doesn’t have a position with Alex Rodriguez at 3^rd and a log jam of veterans vying for DH time.

Important departures include the much embattled Roger Clemens and defensive specialist Doug Mientkiewicz.

The Yankee outfield is deep and talented with reformed caveman Johnny Damon, developing star Melky Cabrera, and the recently inconsistent Bobby Abreu penciled in to start. Hideki Matsui and Shelley Duncan will also figure into the mix.

The infield is as good as they come, with A-Rod at the 3-bagger, uber-athlete Derek Jeter at short, Robinson Cano at the 2-bagger, and the much maligned Jason Giambi at first.

Jorge Posada and Jose Molina will split time behind the dish. Posada will turn 37 this season, and while still a potent offensive force his defensive numbers are steadily decreasing. Molina, however, is a strong defensive backstop, but can’t hit a lick.

The Yankee rotation features ace sinker baller Chien-Ming Wang, ageless wonders Andy Pettitte and Mike Mussina, and young guns Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes. At some point in the season, Joba Chamberlain is expected to join the rotation, as well. Wang should post excellent numbers, but Pettitte and Mussina, health pending, are no sure thing. Kennedy and Hughes are as promising as they come, and they are being counted upon to perform.

The bullpen is led by the always reliable Mariano Rivera, whom I’m convinced will be the Yankees closer in 2020. Chamberlain will begin the season in a set up role, thus limiting the damage the catcher’s hand will take to the 8^th inning, only. Then we have Kyle Farnsworth and LaTroy Hawkins. Both failed closers and gopher ball specialists, whom will provide much needed depth to a strong pen.

Prediction:

The Yankees are the epitome of the ‘haves’ in the baseball world, and I expect (as George did) them to perform accordingly. Their offense is top notch and their pitching staff has the potential to be elite, as well. I think another playoff appearance is eminent, but I think it will be as a wild card, again. The Yankees may even challenge the 100 win mark, but I don’t think they will overtake the Red Sox at the top of the AL East.

Overview: Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox, as you know, posted a 96-66 mark on their way to defeating the Colorado Rockies in the World Series.

The offseason was relatively quiet for the Red Sox, as they too were involved in the endless trade negotiations for P Johan Santana. Declining relievers Brendan Donnelly and Eric Gagne have left town and the awkward swinging Sean Casey has signed up.

The Boston outfield is loaded and features Manny “Trade Me” Ramirez in left, Coco “My mother hated me” Crisp and developing stud Jacoby Ellsbury in center, and monumental bust JD Drew in right.

The infield features the resurging Mike Lowell at third, the speedy Julio Lugo at short, 2007 ROTY Dustin Pedroia, and Kevin “YooooK” Youkilis at first. David “Big Papi” Ortiz will, of course, occupy the DH role.

Team captain, Jason Varitek, will man the dish. Look for him to remain adequate on both sides of the ball.

Josh Beckett narrowly missed winning the ALCY last year, and returns to a rotation that includes Daisuke Matsuzaka, the injured Curt Schilling, knuckleballer Tim Wakefield, cancer survivor Jon Lester, and developing stud Clay Buchholz. The health of Beckett and Curt Schilling will play hugely into the Red Sox season.

The Red Sox bullpen features automatic closer, Jonathan Papelbon, as well as Julian Tavarez, Mike Timlin, and Japanese wonder Hideki Okajima. Tavarez and Timlin are not spring chickens, so health is a concern, and Okajima ran into some trouble down the stretch in 2007, but if they can manage to get to Papelbon, this should prove to be a strong bullpen.

Prediction:

The Red Sox are as dangerous as they come, and feature a good mix of proven veterans and promising talent. Health is the only thief that can steal a successful 2008 season from this team. Beckett has been nicked up in spring training and Schilling’s shoulder will be an issue all year (if he pitches at all). The offense is strong enough to drive this team, but they will need their pitching to stay healthy if they hope to surmount the NY Yankees. I expect the Red Sox to win 100 games, win the AL East, and be the favorites to represent the AL in the World Series, again.