MLB: Two weeks in

Quick little plug for my Presidential Politics blog...Much like Saj and I posting everyday in the month of March with our baseball preview, I am making nine straight days of posts during my April vacation.

Anyway, random thoughts on random teams in baseball.


Arizona - They should be pretty happy with baseball's fourth best record and Randy Johnson not yet with the big club. Brandon Webb is a nice anchor, but to get a quality #2 starter will go a long way into maintaining a solid record. Now we just have to see if Johnson can return to quality.

Atlanta - Funny how much easier things are when your bullpen is three-deep.

Baltimore - I really feel bad for these fans. At 7-6 and a game out, they must be optimistic. But how much longer can Eric Bedard and Daniel Cabrera pitch well?

Cleveland & Seattle - They've played nine and eight games, respectively, which is 50% less than many teams. Not only does this throw them off their rhythm now, but they'll be playing double headers in the dog days.

Kansas City - At 3-10, the worst record in baseball. The more things change...

LA Dodgers - Best record in baseball... and Grady Little in charge come postseason time.

Milwaukee - Awww, these guys are so cute on top of their division.

NY Mets - This lineup is scary and it will come around when the weather warms up. The starting pitching is as eclectic as it gets...we'll see if it can hold together for six months.

NY Yankees - This pitching staff is in shambles. SHAMBLES I TELL YOU! Still, it looks as if there's a chance they can line up both Pettitte and Wang for the weekend's showdown at Fenway.

Boston - Starting pitching looks great. Bullpen has been solid and has yet to be involved in a decision. The offense is consistent. The manager is experienced. This is the best team in baseball.

The Greatest Baseball Preview in America: Los Angeles Dodgers

Quick Giants thought: Has there ever, and I mean EVER, been an athlete with a larger deviation in fan adoration when contrasting home and away games? There is exactly one ballpark that will cheer for Barry Bonds in this, the season he catches Aaron, and that ballpark will love him like a son. All other stadiums will boo him like he just backed over their invalid grandmother. What a guy. I really, really, really hopes he breaks it on the road. In fact, after a successful Sox season, an unsuccessful Yankees season, and Bonds not breaking the record at all, that's what I want most for this upcoming season. Him to break it on the road.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Pitching: The Jason Schmidt signing did more than just give them an ace, though that shouldn't be understated. What it also allowed was every pitcher on that staff to be bumped a down a spot, giving them nice depth for their rotation. Derek Lowe and Brad Penny are both 2 starters, but neither was an ace. Now you have two 2 starters holding down the 2 and 3, with the more than serviceable Randy Wolf at the 4. And assuming young Chad Billingsly improves, he could be bumping one or two of those guys down even more.

Their bullpen is not a strength. Takashi Saito nicely grew into the closers role, and you could probably put him in the top half of stoppers in the league. After that, however, the Dodgers have issues. They either have has-beens or haven't-done-yets. Fortunately, they have five, count 'em five starters that could go 8 innings deep on any given start. This is a team that can and will need to lead the league in quality starts to win the West.

Hitting: A tepid hitting squad. Pierre, Furcal, Nomar, and Kent as a top 4 look a lot better then they are. Andre Either probably takes another step forward, but I'm not nearly as confident in their left field or 3rd base (Is that a Fernando Tatis sighting?!). I do expect Mike Lieberthal to see some time behind the dish, as he could handle a savvy pitching staff very nicely.

Miscellaneous: Grady Little.

Dodger-related Ridiculous Proposition Bet: Line on when Nomar first lands on the disabled list: April 28.



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