Jusssst a bit outside: the Boston Red Sox

Duty calls to preview the MLB season, providing up to 30 things somewhat about each of the 30 teams. At bat: the Boston Red Sox.

1. Waiting for lefty: Jon Lester Josh Beckett, Clay Buchholz and John Lackey could all be signed through 2014, leaving one spot open for a left-hander to balance out the group. Paging Cliff Lee ...
   
   
2. Winning with pitching and defence at Fenway? Runs scored across MLB have dropped for four consecutive seasons, so the Sox are following the curve by adding centrefielder Mike Cameron (right in photo) and building an Adrian Beltre-Marco Scutaro-Dustin Pedroia-Kevin Youkilis infield.
   
   
3. Over-under: 94½ wins.
   
   
4. Take the ... Over. It takes 95 wins to make the playoffs in the AL East, but more than that to win the whole shootin' match.
   
   
5. Blatantly obvious: Blowing smoke about Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis. They're good and glorified to death. We get it.
   
   
6. So cute how: How far Boston diehards will go to avoid giving rightfielder J.D. Drew, who puts up a near .900 OPS each season, any credit for their success. Yankees fans have learned to abide that Alex Rodriguez doesn't play more than 140-145 games anymore.
   
   
7. For the record: That line was written before Bill Simmons' better late than never "I like sabermetrics" column. Just look how long it took him to mention you-know-who. (Third paragraph.)
   
   
8. One flaw in Theo's genius: GM Theo Epstein's regime has yet to draft and develop a power hitter (as the Boston Globe noted the other day), but other than Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Jimmie Foxx and Manny Ramirez, the Red Sox have never been known for that sort of thing.
   
   
9. Designated scapegoat in case of struggle: Probably Cameron, on account of coming as a free agent, on account of his .748 on-base-plus-slugging vs. righty pitching last season and the fact it's Boston.
   
   
10. Don't kid yourselves: They're still wicked talented, even if they're still lugging around Jason Varitek.
    
    
11. Needless manufactured drama: Whether Daniel Bard is going to usurp the closer role from Jonathan Papelbon. Just let it happen organically, people.
    
    
12. Trouble spot: Middle relief, but that's every team. It's like 12-man pitching staffs put a strain on every team's depth.
    
    
13. Smoke screen: With respect to Jacoby Ellsbury, there have only been about three players in recent history who could hold down a left-field job without hitting for power. Rickey Henderson, Tim Raines and Carl Crawford actually had power.
    
    
14. Potential deal-breaker: Whether Manny Delcarmen and Ramon Ramirez provide sixth- and seventh-inning relief. Yea to the former and not sure on the latter.
    
    
15. Prediction that may not come true: "With Scutaro batting ninth, he should be able to score at least 100 runs." Yeah, lots of players score 100 runs hitting last in the lineup.
    
    
16. Carbo reload: Everyone has linked to it already, but a should-read is the story about former Sox outfielder Bernie Carbo's journey out of depression and drug abuse.
    
    
17. Just stirring the pot: Manager Terry Francona just can't stop playing Jason Varitek, no matter how little he hits.
    
    
18. FanGraphs notes Boston has gone over slot 16 times in signing draft choices, just in the last three years, proving teams which abide by the slotting system are a bunch of suckers.
    
    
19. Milestone alert: Mike Cameron is 202 strikeouts away from a career 2,000.
    
    
20. Fenway folk hero: With a name like his, Boof Bonser was born to play somewhere where fans still have a capacity for zaniness.
    
    
21. Actual conversation on Toronto subway after Red Sox-Jays game in 2008: "How long has Toronto had a team?" ... "They've won as many World Series as the Sox have since 1920."
    
    
22. How long has Tim Wakefield been pitching? He was on the Pittsburgh Pirates' last winning team.
    
    
23. It is novel their top pitching prospect Casey Kelly (TINSTAAPP notwithstanding) dabbed at shortstop in the minors. It's like how the Jays gave Dave Stieb a chance to try centrefield before he realized where he belonged.
    
    
24. Zing! Ellsbury's entry in Baseball Prospectus 2010 notes, "Jim Rice thinks Ellsbury has Hall of Fame potential, which is true if you work under the assumption that the standards will continue to erode, thanks to the induction of players like Jim Rice."
    
    
25. .328 was also his blood-alcohol level: It has to be an urban legend that Wade Boggs once drank 64 beers on a cross-country flight.
    
    
26. PECOTA says: 95-67, first AL East, 847 runs scored, 696 against.
    
    
27. In English, please: What does contempt breed?
    
    (Why 27? Carlton's Fisk's number.)
    

Jusssst a bit outside: the Tampa Bay Rays

Duty calls to preview the MLB season, providing up to 30 things somewhat about each of the 30 teams, even the sucky ones. At bat: the Tampa Bay Rays.

1. Tremendous upside: The Rays still put runs on the board last season (803) despite centrefielder B.J. Upton and DH Pat Burrell producing very little and Evan Longoria going in the tank for two months in the middle of the season. They are not that far from the top.
   
   
2. They know the odds: Stuart Sternberg (a Jays fan's favourite MLB owner, insofar it's nice to see a team where the owner has a name and a face) also wants a return to a balanced schedule and expanded playoffs. It's worth sharing Stu's sentiments with all the fearless defenders of the status quo who say, "Look what the Rays did." Even the Rays know it can't happen all the time.
   
   
3. Over-under: 89½ wins.
   
   
4. Take the ... Over, slippery slope that is the AL East be damned.
   
   
5. The thinking fan's team: Rays coordinator of baseball operations James Click said last December, "The less sure writers are of their own superiority, the higher up my list they go."
   
   
6. Get your anti-ESPN rants ready: Just in case Longoria has a MVP-worthy season and gets hosed in the balloting due to the influence of the worldwide leader.
   
   
7. A for Awesome, Z for Zobrist: Their best hitter last season, Ben Zobrist,, didn't even have a regular fielding position.
   
   
8. It's called elasticity: The Evil Empires have better starting rotations, but there's a little more deviation in either direction with Tampa Bay's Fab Five of James Shields, Matt Garza, Jeff Niemann, David Price and Wade Davis, who as you know are all between 24-28 years old. They could blow sky-high, or pitch T-Bay to the playoffs.
   
   
9. Possibly encouraging sign: They didn't burn out the bullpen last season despite winning 13 less games than in 2008. That might help with their bounce-back.
   
   
10. Heading to the dark side: Pretty much everyone assumes leftfielder Carl Crawford, a free agent to be will end up with the Yankees. Don't get mad; it's like journalists who jump at the money available in public relations, plus the Double-C could continue abusing Jays pitching.
    
    
11. It's more than a one-year window: The media will probably revive the next-year's-too-late rubric if the Rays are in contention, but they kind of have outfielder Desmond Jennings waiting and four pitchers among the top 40 prospects in the game. That somewhat balances out the belt-tightening that's in store for next season.
    
    
12. Dwelling too much on small things: Closer Rafael Soriano had a lousy spring, but didn't the Rays win the pennant two seasons ago with no regular closer?
    
    
13. Understanding Upton: The centrefielder's home run outburst in the '08 playoffs left everyone salivating, but he's more of that all-around hitter who'll put a few over the fence just by being good. At least that's according to his former youth league coach, Michael Cuddyer (yes, the same one who plays for the Minnesota Twins).
    
    
14. Well, it is Florida: Having Sean Rodriguez and Zobrist rotate at second base is naturally being called a "time share," rather than the traditional platoon.
    
    
15. X factor: Shortstop Jason Bartlett carrying over some of that hitting awesomeness from '09.
    
    
16. CUZ, that's why: Crawford, Upton and Zobrist, if he plays right field most of the time, will need a nickname.
    
    
17. Out on a limb: Peter Gammons is picking Upton to be AL MVP.
    
    
18. The best team no one goes to see: The Rays might not sell out their home opener, thanks in part to a double-digit unemployment rate and having a stadium that is in St. Petersburg, not Tampa. Speaking as an Ottawa resident, is there any other team which refuses to acknowledge the location of its arena or stadium is a problem?
    
    
19. He's hip. He's cool. He's 56: It's passé to point out "look who's using Twitter," but you have to like manager Joe Maddon reviewed a California Pinot Noir by calling it "stupid good."
    
    
20. If you guys could hit a little, it'd help: Their catchers hit .233/.276/.349 last season, which explains picking up Kelly Shoppach to time-share with Dioner Navarro.
    
    
21. Potential drama: What to do if Burrell struggles and one of the younger, inexpensive hitters rates time at DH.
    
    
22. Who knew qualm could be used a verb? Outfielder Fernando Perez is an Ivy League grad (Columbia), describing how the style of glove he was wearing contributed to a wrist injury last season: "I never, ever qualm over equipment."
    
    
23. The endless debate: Whether taking Price over the Orioles' Matt Wieters with the top pick in the 2007 draft was the right move.
    
    
24. Baseball geek brain candy: Noticing Baseball Prospectus 2010 lists Rays farmhand Alex Colome as a left-hander when he's actually a righty. In fairness, he's listed immediately after left-hander Matthew Moore in the prospect ranking, so we're all human.
    
    
25. So God-fearing even Tim Tebow is put off: Zobrist's son is named Zion. As in Zion Zobrist.
    
    Zarley Zalapski would approve.
    
    
26. Taking this third-rail thing a little too far: When asked recently "Leno or Letterman?", owner Sternberg said "Kimmel."
    
    
27. Expos reunion: 1980s-era 'Spos Dave Martinez and Tom Foley are on the coaching staff, which creates nostalgia for those who started following baseball just before Nos Amours vanished from English-language broadcast TV.
    
    
28. Jinx! Sports Illustrated is calling for them to lose to the Phillies in the World Series.
    
    
29. PECOTA says: 92-70, second AL East (wild card), 820 runs scored, 705 runs against.
    
    
30. In English, please: Quoth Bono circa 1992, "We shall continue to abuse our position and fuck up the mainstream."
    

Jusssst a bit outside: the New York Yankees

Duty calls to preview the MLB season, providing up to 30 things somewhat about each of the 30 teams. At bat: the New York Yankees.

1. Shallow men believe in luck: And with that being said, they outperformed their Pythagorean W-L by eight games last season (their run differential factored out to 95 wins, not 103) and
   
   
2. Parks and rant creation: Keep an eye peeled for how many home runs are hit at the new Yankee Stadium, which yielded 237 last season. Small wonder the Yankees have more lefties than the typical Canadian national team.
   
   Jeff Passan termed it the "poke-and-joke show." It bears reiterating that the baseball establishment would scream bloody murder if someone built a park like that in Houston.
   
   
3. Charting their downfall: A.J. Burnett and Javier Vazquez have off-seasons, age starts catching up to Jorge Posada and Derek Jeter and the fielding is only-OK when awesome is needed.
   
   
4. Not to mention: CC Sabathia chucked 266 1/3 innings last season, counting the World Series run.
   
   
5. Perish the thought: Albert Pujols could be a free agent in two seasons. It seems worth mentioning in the Yankees preview.
   
   
6. Over-under: 95½ wins.
   
   
7. Take the ... Under. The East is too tough.
   
   
8. Reasons No. 1 and 1A to hate them: That $1.5-billion stadium they didn't need and the fact any traces of the original Stadium have been wiped away.
   
   
9. Reason No. 1 not to hate them: The way It's About The Money keeps Yankees fans accountable.
   
   
10. Total schaden-fail: Hating on Derek Jeter went out of style around 2005 or '06.
    
    Besides, just ask his closest comp, Robbie Alomar, what happens to 36-year-old middle-infield maestros. That'll be fun to watch. The Captain could play two more seasons, get the 253 hits he needs for 3,000, and head off into the sunset and the inevitable embarrassing public divorce from Minka Kelly. That'll be funner to watch.
    
    
11. Free Joba: If the Yankees are so bent on salting the earth for Joba Chamberlain the Starter, why not deal him while he still has potential to start? One pictures Chamberlain brooding to himself it would all be different if he could have just been drafted by some derelict team that just pockets revenue-sharing cheques.
    
    
12. Missing out on Joe Mauer: Yeah, GM Brian Cashman might hear about that one.
    
    
    
    
    
13. Dumb question answered: Centrefielder Curtis Granderson's fielding overrides his human frailty vs. left-handed pitching. Platooning in centrefield just seems like an overthink.
    
    
14. Really, New York magazine, really? Mariano Rivera's 70-75 innings pitched is more vital to the Yankees than anything the everyday players regulars do?
    
    
15. Granted ... anything to avoid putting Alex Rodriguez first, AMIRITE?
    
    
16. The voters lurve him: AL home run champion Mark Teixeira was runner-up for American League MVP last season, but didn't get a single first-place vote.
    
    
17. How soon they forget: They were just treading water (38-32, six games above .500) as late as the third week of June last season.
    
    
18. Hip hip, Jorge: One or more of Austin Romine, Francisco Cervelli or Jesus Montero is waiting in the wings for when 39-year-old catcher Jorge Posada finally fades to black as an everyday player.
    
    
19. Acronym alert: Second baseman Robinson Cano has a very high BAIR (Big Apple-influenced Reputation). He's a good player, but the Yankee gloss masks a somewhat empty batting average.
    
    
20. Future Hall of Very Gooder: Left-hander Andy Pettitte, possibly in his last go-around, will have a thorny case someday, since he was pretty much forgiven after he 'fessed up to using PEDs. He does score 117 on the HOF Monitor.
    
    
21. Fun Jeter stat: Do people realize only three shortstops are in the 3,000-hit club, and that the only one who was still playing shortstop when he reached that plateau was some guy named Honus Wagner almost a century ago?
    
    
22. Killer line for the captain: Incidentally, Jeff Pearlman once described Jeter as being "as guarded as a Social Security check."
    
    
23. Instant rooting interest: Right-handed reliever Mark Melancon. Explanation for any U.S. readers: Canadians will root for any guy with a French-sounding name.
    
    
24. Maybe John Sterling's head will explode: Rodriguez is 17 homers away from 600 for his career.
    
    
25. Info that could save your life one day (or not): A.J. Burnett is one of 19 major leaguers who goes by his initials.
    
    
26. For anyone wondering: Switch-pitcher Pat Venditte writes with his right hand.
    
    
27. Not a coincidence: All the eras of competitive balance in baseball occurred when the Yankees got tired of meat-and-potatoes pennant-winning and went for a piece of strange. See World War II, the CBS era from 1965-72 (then as now, being owned by a TV network is counter-productive) and that period in the 1980s when George Steinbrenner was certifiably insane.
    
    
28. This explains the sucking up to the Yankees: They can't be all bad if Nick Swisher could tickle Robin Scherbatsky's fancy.
    
    
    
    
29. PECOTA says: 91-71, third AL East, 859 runs scored, 749 against.
    
    
30. In English, please: They still have to play the games, dammit!
    

Jusssst a bit outside: the Philadelphia Phillies

Duty calls to preview the MLB season, providing up to 30 things somewhat about each of the 30 teams, even the sucky ones. At bat: the Philadelphia Phillies.

1. Philibustering: The question is really what would keep the Roy Halladay-reinforced Phils from being the first team to win three consecutive NL pennants since 1942-44 Cardinals, who did it when the high-end talent of the day was fighting in World War II.
   
   
2. What can stop Halladay? Nothing, apparently. Every projection forecasts a big season for him. The last seven AL Cy Young winners to switch leagues combined for a 2.91 ERA after going to the National.
   
   
3. On borrowed time (not really): They have had a great run of good fortune with player health, plus their bullpen and bench strength are dodgy. They punted on getting power from at least one infield corner by placing Placido Polanco at third base (Chase Utley hits a like a third baseman anyways). And so on.
   
   That's pretty thin gruel if you're arguing why they won't be back in the Series. That said, three regular pitchers are already on the disabled list, which feeds the fear-mongering even if one of them is Brad Lidge.
   
   
4. Over-under: 92½ wins.
   
   
5. Take the ... Over, just to be on the sunny side of the majority.
   
   
6. All your bills come due: They already have $113 million committed to 17 players for next season (Bill Baer, The Hardball Times), so the party could be coming to an end.
   
   
7. Howard's end: First baseman Ryan Howard puts up ill-ish home run and RBI totals every season, although there's some argument the Phillies should sell high on him.
   
   
8. Bounce-back candidate: Shortstop Jimmy Rollins' sub-.300 on-base percentage last season raised the question of whether he was simply hit-unlucky (.251 batting average on balls in play). His line-drive rate was about the same as it was in his 2007 MVP season.
   
   
9. The secret: The Phillies are smart-aggressive at running the bases, which helps optimize their production.
   
   
10. Captain Obvious point: Much depends on whether No. 2 starter Cole Hamels recovers his 2008 form, meaning five out of seven starts in a post-season series will be accounted for. People get too hung up on the third, fourth and fifth starter slots, since 80% of teams just tread water with those roles.
    
    
11. Revving up the revisionism (in case of Phail): Are people forgetting they only won the division by a game in both 2007 and '08, or that those two five-game series wins over the L.A. Dodgers both involved a Game 4 comeback against Jonathan Broxton?
    
    
12. No one would believe it, but: Since 2005, The Beep has lefty-swinging second baseman Chase Utley as the second-best player in the game after that Pujols fellow on St. Louis.
    
    
13. For what it's Werth: Rightfielder Jayson Werth, who hit .268/.373/.506 last season with 36 home runs, will get his chance to hit higher in the lineup once he goes free agent.
    
    
14. CanCon: The Cliff Lee trade netted both centrefielder Tyson Gillies (a B.C. native to ballyhoo) and budding closer Phillippe Aumont (a Hull, Que., product to hyperbolize).
    
    Don't get too caught up in the numbers with Gillies, since he's going from the California League (everyone hits there) to the stingy Double-A Eastern League. He'll earn his keep as a defensive centrefielder.
    
    
15. Seriously: Does Utley get visitation rights with Howard's and Rollins' MVP plaques?
    
    
16. Fair or foul: Is joking, "Bet he wishes he was on steroids now" allowed if veteran leftfielder Raúl Ibáñez's tanks this season?
    
    
17. Major downer: Former Phillies outfielder Doug Glanville has proven incisive and insightful as an op-ed columnist for The New York Times, so cross your fingers that he won't get dumbed-down by ESPN.
    
    
18. Get ready to hear this 1,000 times come October: Howard struck out 13 times in 23 plate appearances in the '09 World Series.
    
    
19. Who says there are no good nicknames: Between Whole Camels and the Flyin' Hawaiian (Shane Victorino in centrefield), the Phillies put the lie to that crusty sportswriting trope.
    
    
20. Mike Schmidt's number!
    
    
21. Keep an eye on: How well Canadian reliever Scott Mathieson (two years out from Tommy John surgery) progresses this season in the farm system.
    
    
22. No sense of history: Jamie Moyer, the 47-year-old lefty, beat the Phillies and Hall of Famer Steve Carlton in his major-league debut 24 seasons ago. It would have been more theatrical if that had been Carlton's last start for the Phils, but he had to make one more before getting released.
    
    
23. Pre-emptive anger: You already know that when Halladay comes to Toronto with the Phillies in June, someone at Rogers Centre will wonder aloud why he's wearing No. 34 instead of the 32 he wore with the Jays. And you will try not to link such ignorance to why Doc left.
    
    
24. Blogospheric whipping boy: That would be righty Kyle Kendrick.
    
    
25. Fun bet: Who has more strikeouts at the end of the season, Halladay or Howard.
    
    
26. Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Conway Twitty: The legendary country singer was scouted by the Phillies in the 1950s.
    
    
27. PECOTA says: 90-72, first NL East, 774 runs scored, 682 against.
    
    
28. In English, please: It's enough to make you cheer for Atlanta.
    
    
29. Why 29? In honour of former first baseman John Kruk, who took those digits after giving up No. 28 at the behest of Mitch Williams, whose significant other had a bunch of No. 28 jewelry. Williams' relationship fell apart and as Joe Carter could tell you, his mechanics did not long after.
    

Type rest of the post here

Jussst a bit outside: the Chicago White Sox preview

Duty calls to preview the MLB season, providing up to 30 superficial, fairly obvious observations sort of about each of the 30 teams. At bat: the Chicago White Sox.

1. Buerhle and Peavy, how can they lose? There is no guarantee they'll come together. Former Cy Young winner (NL Cy Young winner) Jake Peavy was hit hard in the fake games, for what it is worth.
   
   
2. Worth noting: There's a reason the percentage of its run a team scores via home runs is called the Guillen number; the White Sox are not exactly deep in sluggers. The Sox slumped to 184 homers last season. Granted, that was with outfielder Carlos Quentin being limited to about 400 times at bat.
   
   
3. Over-under: 82½ wins.
   
   
4. Take the ... Under.
   
   
5. Just sayin': A lot of perfect game pitcher Mark Buehrle's comps did not withstand the test of time after reaching their early 30s.
   
   
6. Watch out for that boomerang: Buehrle and left-hander John Danks are good, but both were a little run-lucky in 2009. Buehrle and Danks were right up there when it came to a bad ERA-FIP difference.
   
   
7. Actually, August is the cruelest month: Tom Tango of The Book fame recently wrote that August is the month where correlates the most with overall success. The Sox have had four losing Augusts in manager Ozzie Guillen's six seasons, just sayin'.
   
   
8. Turn it like BeckRam: As in second baseman Gordon Beckham and shortstop Alexei Ramirez. That nickname is trademarked, by the way.
   
   
9. For what's it worth: The Sox' 22 homers during exhibition season was a franchise low since they moved their spring training to Arizona.
   
   
10. Always recycle — to the extreme: See Rios, Alex; Jones, Andruw; Pierre, Juan. Unproductive outfielders don't fade away, they just end up with the Southsiders.
    
    
11. No. 2 with a bullet: Beckham is going to be awesome, but he's never going to create brand awareness with that surname. This jokes hinges on the average American's awareness of soccer.
    
    
12. A very quick moment of silence: Roy Halladay going to the other league means reduces the occurrence of he and Buehrle hooking up for a one-hour, 55-minute game. Those who believe a nine-inning game should be over in 2½ hours are having trouble getting over that one.
    
    (That being said, the NFL is the real offender when it comes to stretched-out games.)
    
    
13. Captain Obvious says: Guillen probably has hit a point of diminishing returns after six seasons.
    
    
14. The rough equivalent of taking the Barney-guarding job at Moe's: Playing outfielder Mark Kotsay at first base on occasion.
    
    
15. Future Hall of Very Gooder: Omar Vizquel, still playing at age 43, is bound to have a populist groundswell on account of those 11 Gold Gloves, but it's pretty hard to get in just for fielding wizardry.
    
    
16. Yeah, same guy: The Sergio Santos in their bullpen is the same one who was supposed to be the Next Big Thing as a slugging shortstop with the Arizona Diamondbacks a few years ago, until it was discovered he couldn't slug, or play shortstop.
    
    
17. If you believe in the lucky birthday theory: No. 3 starter Gavin Floyd did turn 27 on Jan. 27 and Quentin turns 28 on Aug. 28.
    
    
18. The trades that sticks in memory: The White Sox trading away Mike Cameron for Paul Konerko back in 1998 still gets revisited from time to time, since Konerko is winding down and the Chisox have a recycled Andruw Jones in centre field.
    
    
19. Retroactive Seamhead puzzler: Luke Appling played 20 seasons, had a .310 batting average and yet did not get to 3,000 hits (he was on base 4,062 times, though).
    
    
20. Least self-aware statement of the year: "Chicago baseball fans are not fans of failure and do not accept mediocrity when it comes to their baseball teams." They were awfully accepting of it from about 1920 through 2004.
    
    
21. Way on South Side of Chicago: Sing!
    
    
    
    (That was a total cheat.)
    
    
22. PECOTA says: 79-83, tied-second AL Central, 747 runs scored, 768 against.
    
    
23. In English, please: They're second favourite in probably the second-worst division.
    
    (Twenty-three. That's kind of an iconic number in Chicago sports.)
    

Jusssst a bit outside: the Chicago Cubs preview

Duty calls to preview the MLB season, providing up to 30 things somewhat about each of the 30 teams. At bat: the Chicago Cubs.

1. More contemptible than the Yankees, in some respects: The late, great Bill Hicks' rhetorical question, "When did mediocrity and banality become something to aspire to?" resonates whenever people get rhapsodic about Wrigley Field.
   
   OK, so people head to the friendly confines to drink and score a phone number. You can basically do the same thing on Craigslist without getting sunburned.
   
   
2. Filling their niche: You probably know teams with a payroll in the top 10 per cent of MLB make the playoffs 80% of the time. The Cubs recognize it's on them to fill out the other 20%.
   
   
3. Over-under: 82½ wins
   
   
4. Take the ... Over, since Lou Piniella is not a quitter.
   
   
5. Getting creeky: The only regulars still in their 20s, catcher Geovany Soto and infielder Mike Fontenot, will likely hit seventh and eighth in the lineup.
   
   
6. Trending: No. 1 starter Carlos Zambrano threw almost 40 fewer innings last season than he did in 2007.
   
   
7. The Leafs of baseball: It's not so much having a captive market (even with a second team in town), it's that like the Leafs of a few seasons ago, they were tied up with a lot of dispensable players, such as starting pitchers Ryan Dempster and Randy Wells.
   
   (Actually, the old ownership owed as much to the ramshackle Harold Ballard-era Leafs as it did to MLSEL.)
   
   
8. Charting their downfall: They won't score enough runs, even in their piddly penny-ante division.
   
   
9. New meaning to ringside seats: Apparently, it's a rarity for a Cubs-White Sox interleague game to be played at night, since evening games bring out a different class of drinker. They're playing at night on June 26, though.
   
   
10. Canadian connection: Former pitcher Steve (Slapper) Wilson, a Vancouver native, is the Pacific Rim scout who was responsible for signing Cubs shortstop of the future Hak-Ju Lee (picture Derek Jeter, except he hits left-handed and is Korean).
    
    
11. The whole hope is eternal deal: Between Lee and Starlin Castro, the Cubs have two up-and-coming shortstops in the minors who each turn 20 years old this year.
    
    
12. The need to know: That's not a slump their hitters are in; it's more like water finding its own level.
    
    
13. The lesson of Milton Bradley: Bringing a DH over from the American League and expecting him to field a position works almost never.
    
    
14. Ryne on time: Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg is managing the Cubs' Triple-A team, so the clamour for him to take over the big club is inevitable.
    
    
15. Outside shot: They have a 27% chance of making the playoffs by Diamond Mind's figuring.
    
    
16. But they don't stay long: They've been swept 3-0 three of the four times they've made the playoffs in the wild-card era.
    
    
17. Case of the Rick Mondays: You could look it up; the last homegrown Cubs outfielder who had any sustained success was Billy Williams, who played so long ago that he's getting a statue outside Wrigley.
    
    
18. New rule: Predicting a team will finish with 85 wins is code for not being ready to admit they're going to suck out loud this season.
    
    
19. What's Japanese for 'tweener: Kosuke Fukudome hits like a centrefielder but can't actually play centre.
    
    
20. Future Hall of Very Gooder: It's tempting to say Alfonso Soriano, but it's not clear if he even met the criteria of being very good.
    
    
21. PECOTA says: 78-84, tied-third NL Central, 715 runs scored, 742 against.
    
    
22. In English, please: 102 years and counting.
    
    (Why 22? It was 22 years ago that the Cubs put in lights at Wrigley and expected to be congratulated for only being a half-century behind the rest of the baseball world.)
    

Jusssst a bit outside: the Cleveland Indians preview

Duty calls to preview the MLB season, providing up to 30 things somewhat about each of the 30 teams, even the sucky ones. At bat: the Cleveland Indians.

1. Tarnished genius in trying circumstances, or collective underachievement: Cleveland always grades out well when the organization is evaluated, but, uh yeah, people like to see results. They did get to Game 7 of the American League championship series (or as it's said in less pretentious sports, "final") in 2007.
   
   
2. The cynic's cynical choice for Central champion: Grady Sizemore is back after a lost 2009, rightfielder Shin-Soo Choo (.300/.394/.489 last season) can rake and manager Manny Acta deserves something good after escaping from the Washington Nationals. There's a rooting interest in these guys, plus they can play the LeBron-likely-leaving card for beaucoup sympathy points.
   
   
3. For what it's worth: Former ace Fausto Carmona was sharp during the fake games. He throws a lot of ground balls, which is very democratic.
   
   
4. Over-under: 74½ wins.
   
   
5. Take the ... Over. It's in keeping with the irrational hope four teams tie for first in the AL Central with 80-82 records. Under if you doubt their pitching.
   
   
6. That damn P-word again: Notice how teams such as Baltimore, Cincinnati, Cleveland get some preseason optimism invested in them, and then we recall their starting pitchers had a 5.30 ERA last season?
   
   
7. Core strength: Catcher Carlos Santana is tearing through the minors, a little hope has been invested in shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera and there's Sizemore in centre.
   
   
8. A possible outlier: Cleveland had lights-out relief pitching during its last two good seasons (the near pennant in 2007, a 93-win second-place team in '05). It's been lousy (historically so) in other seasons, but Chris Perez, Raffy Perez and Jensen Lewis are the makings of a decent bullpen.
   
   
9. The double edge to that: Choo and Cabrera will each go to arbitration after this season. Three guesses which agent Choo is retaining, first two don't count. (Answer: Scott Boras.)
   
   
10. Actual attempt at analysis: "There are a lot of ifs, but the Indians could surprise if Travis Hafner and Jake Westbrook return to their former selves." (National Post.) Staking it on a 33-year-old DH with old-player skills and a right-hander who had Tommy John elbow surgery and hip procedure done less than two years ago is always a good idea.
    
    
11. They have an Alomar again: Sandy, Sr., is on the coaching staff, for what that is worth.
    
    
12. Misplaced sympathy: Da'Sean Butler, a forward on West Virginia's Final Four team, wears a Cleveland cap because "I always root for the underdog, no matter what. Any team having like a 10-102 season, I like them."
    
    Come on, the Indians have had bad records, but not quite that bad.
    
    
13. Bonus points for any play-by-play announcer who says: "(Player's name) shuts the door on Cleveland and LaPorta."
    
    
14. Hence the term Shapiro-esque: Santana, Sizemore, Choo and Cabrera were all acquired from other organizations. Cleveland GM Mark Shapiro tends to be all-or-nothing with his trades, though.
    
    
15. Kudos for not playing to stereotype: Thanks to Ichiro, it seems like every Asian position player who comes to the majors is expected to be some line drive-hittin', table-settin', on-base machine, but Cleveland was smart enough to see that Choo should hit third, not second.
    
    
16. Fame and obscurity: Right-hander Anthony Reyes, who's rehabbing a sore right elbow, stands as the most obscure pitcher to ever start and win Game 1 of a World Series. For that reason alone, one would hope he makes it back.
    
    
17. Wait until LeBron signs with the Knicks: Why would a Cleveland Plain Dealer blog link to a Tom Verducci article on the Top 10 teams of all time, which was half made up of past New York Yankees teams? Talk about a serious New York complex.
    
    Speaking of which, there is no point to those greatest team of all time articles. The selector(s) invariably will put the wrong Yankee team of yore first (1939 should go ahead of '27), mistakenly include the '61 Mantle-Maris team who had no pitching depth and a mediocre top of the lineup.
    
    
18. Prospect to suspect: Canadian outfielder-first baseman Nick Weglarz, one would hope, is not one of those players with advanced plate discipline who plateaus because he lacks that home-run stroke. Triple-A ball is full of those guys.
    
    
19. This is how fragile pitchers are: Cleveland has a minor leaguer, Adam Miller, whose "only baseball activity is walking around camp squeezing a baseball with his right hand ... (h)e is trying to break the adhesions on the scar tissue in his right middle finger." Remember Al Leiter losing four seasons to blisters?
    
    
20. Name game: Is anyone else confused by the fact the International League's Indianapolis Indians are not Cleveland's Triple-A club?
    
    
21. Still the best line from Major League: "Don't forget, folks, Tuesday is Die Hard Night. Free admission for anyone who was actually alive the last time the Indians won the pennant." They did win two in three seasons a few years after that movie, but are into their seventh decade since beating Boston in the 1948 World Series.
    
    
22. PECOTA says: 79-83, tied-2nd AL Central, 767 runs scored, 792 against.
    
    
23. In English please: A worst-to-first story would go down even better than a Burning River Pale Ale.
    
    Or -- or -- they'll be good again right after Ted Mosby meets the Mother.

Jusssst a bit outside: the Houston Astros preview

Duty calls to preview the MLB season, providing up to 30 things somewhat about each of the 30 teams, even the sucky ones. At bat: the Houston Astros.

1. Presenting the 2006-07 Leafs, in spikes: They were 13th in runs scored and 14th in runs against in a 16-team league last season, which makes them a diamond equivalent to the John Ferguson Jr.-era Toronto Maple Leafs. Granted, even JFJ would have jettisoned Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman by this point.
   
   
2. You know what you're getting: Jonah Keri summed it up well: "Owner Drayton McLane has passed down the same philosophy for as long as he's owned the team: Never sell off your stars, and never rebuild."
   
   
3. Why you hear Drayton McLane and just picture the Rich Texan from The Simpsons: The Baseball Prospectus 2010 chapter on the Astros notes they were second-last in Payroll Efficiency Rating (the other PER) from 2006-09. Does that make leftfielder Carlos "RBI and Little Else" Lee the equivalent to the world's fattest racehorse?
   
   The Seattle Mariners were worst, for what it is worth. The most efficient teams were the Rays and Blue Jays. Please keep this on file in case Seattle ever gets close to winning something.
   
   
4. Over-under: 73½ wins.
   
   
5. Take the ... Over. The NL Central is so frustertaining (a word used when a division is entertaining since almost every team is frustrating is follow) that the 'Stros should stumble into 75 wins.
   
   
6. Starting to slide: Long-time first baseman Lance Berkman starting the season on the DL has led to speculation his days are numbered with Houston, even though the Astros like to hang on to big names long after they've surpassed their usefulness, like NBC or the late-1980s New York Islanders.
   
   
7. Long in the tooth: Roy Oswalt, only 32 years old, is already talking about retiring.
   
   
8. Weighty moral questions: Root for prospect Koby Clemens to carve out his own niche as a corner infielder or hope he fails since it would be another burn on his old man?
   
   
9. Magic Wandy: Left-hander Wandy Rodriguez has found that strata where he is as good a No. 2 starter as you'll find, until you put him on your fantasy team.
   
   
10. The shame of it all: FanGraphs listed the Astros dead last in their organizational rankings. That's what a combo of big contracts, precious little player development (the main prospect of note is 19-year-old right-hander Jason Lyles) and next-to-no scouting outside of the U.S. will do for a ballclub.
    
    
11. In case you weren't outraged: Minor-league players can barely afford to eat, but Carlos Lee is due $19 million this season.
    
    
12. Bound to get a lot of hype: Shortstop Tommy Manzella, who is not so young at age 27, will fill out the "wheel" on The Score with some fielding gems.
    
    
13. Now why is this good to know? The franchise has never lost 100 games in a season (it's lost 97 twice).
    
    
14. Long-shot bet: Closer Matt Lindstrom becomes Houston's all-star representative since last few spots can be filled almost randomly with middling-to-good pitchers.
    
    
15. Really: The damn hill in centrefield. At least it could have been named after Terry Puhl.
    
    
16. Only in Texas ... Could Nolan Ryan be part of the ownership group for the Texas Rangers and the ownership group of the Astros' Triple-A affiliate, the Round Rock Express.
    
    
17. PECOTA says: 78-84, tied-third NL Central, 697 runs scored, 723 runs allowed. (Subject to change slightly before the season starts.)
    
    
18. In English, please: This team can't even bottom out properly.
    
    (Why only 18? In honour of their win in the longest post-season game ever against the Braves in 2005. It only feels like it was 20 years ago.)
    

Jusssst a bit outside: the Milwaukee Brewers preview

Duty calls to preview the MLB season with up to 30 things somewhat about each of the 30 teams. At bat: the Milwaukee Brewers.

1. Hittin' a hundred: Everyone says Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder are capable of combining for 85-100 home runs. They probably are the NL's best 1-2 punch next to "Chase Utley and Ryan Howard" and "The guy who bats before Albert Pujols and Albert Pujols."
   
   
2. Which is balanced out by: A pitching staff which allowed 207 home runs last season. Righty Yovani Gallardo (3.73 ERA in 185.2 innings) was a full run and a half per game than anyone else who made at least six starts.
   
   
3. Over-under: 80½ wins
   
   
4. Take the ... Over. The pitching staff should improve since it's just impossible to stay that bad.
   
   
5. One team not liking the early spring: The rotation is a shambles after Gallardo, lefty Randy Wolf, mushballer Doug Davis and Dave Bush. Unfortunately, Milwaukee having a dome means they can't go with a three-man rotation and hope they're snowed out on the other days until May 1.
   
   
6. Lacking in depth: What best illustrates the Brewers' offensive problems. Their No. 5 hitters scored only 80 runs last season, 10 less than the league champion Phillies got from the No. 6 slot. That's where the struggles of Corey Hart and now departed J.J. Hardy and Bill Hall really hurt.
   
   
7. Too bad there's no U30 division: Perhaps the Brewers and Oakland Athletics need to make like some of the smaller national football federation which focus on the U20 World Cup. Seven of their eight regulars are under 30.
   
   
8. Good luck with that: Brewers catchers threw out only 20% of would-be basestealers last season, which was the exact same rate new No. 1 catcher Gregg Zaun had last season in the other league.
   
   
9. Prince too rich for their blood: It's just a matter of when Fielder will no longer be a Brewer. Small wonder Brewers owner Mark Attanasio has sounded the gong about having a salary cap, even if he only said it after his franchise lost out on a couple free agents.
   
   
10. Maybe sportscasters making references to a lousy '80s pop singer is the problem: The most vexing concern among Brewers bloggers and message boards is figuring out what the hell happened to Corey Hart, who has produced less than league-average numbers by rightfielder standards the past two seasons. Some are even suggesting he go for Lasix surgery.
    
    Seriously, no more references to the other Corey Hart.
    
    
11. Blind pig, acorn: Someone somewhere is making shortstop Alcides Escobar their Rookie of the Year pick.
    
    
12. They have the Internet on computers now: Brewers fans have a tradition of camping outside Miller Park in cardboard shanties to buy tickets. Chalk it up as an entirely too subtle comparison on the limited effectiveness of StubHub.
    
    
13. You can set your watch to: Trevor Hoffman getting his 600th career save (he is nine away) and some angry young man ranting about how it's a celebration of a near-meaningless statement.
    
    
14. It's like they're sensitive about their proximity to the Cubbies: The ivy has been removed from the outfield fence at Miller Park.
    
    
15. Future Hall of Very Gooder: Outfielder Jim Edmonds is a nice comeback story, making the team at age 39 after a season away.
    
    He is an eight-time Gold Glove winner, just like the only player who was elected to Cooperstown this year. He also has a higher career OPS+ than Andre Dawson.
    
    
16. The ex-Jay factor: Former Bluebird Joe Inglett, who can stand in at six positions, made the team along with former catcher Gregg Zaun. Throw in pitcher David Bush, assistant GM Gord Ash, who answers to a Canadian, Doug Melvin, and the Brewers are one of the more hoser-friendly hardball concerns going.
    
    
17. All the John Axford news that's fit to print: The pride of Port Dover, Ont. (just 66 kilometres southwest of Hamilton) is starting the season in Triple-A Nashville, but the 27-year-old righty reliever possesses a "snapdragon curve." The Brewers have a few more relievers kicking around than starting candidates, just like about every team.
    
    
18. And don't forget: Backup catcher George Kottaras of Scarborough!
    
    
19. Bet on Brett: Second baseman Brett Lawrie is starting the season in Double-A, which is heady for a 20-year-old Canadian middle infielder. He hit .274/.348/.454 in High-A before moving up.
    
    
20. J.P. Ricciardi was strung up by his thumbs for less: The Brewers are generally considered a smart organization, but right-hander Jeff Suppan (on the disabled list) could collect $14.5 million US between Opening Day and when he's bought out after this season.
    
    
21. Excellence in editing: Axford's name was misspelled "Acford" in a recent Brantford Expositor headline. It's only his hometown paper!
    
    
22. Stuff your face, Milwaukee: Food Network-branded fare is now being served in the suites at Miller Park.
    
    
23. Total reference moratorium: Yes, Hart shares a name with a crappy 1980s Canadian pop singer and Fielder's daddy was a famous ballplayer. Let us never speak of it again.
    
    
24. PECOTA says: 78-84, tied-third NL Central, 734 runs scored, 766 against.
    
    
25. In English, please: Milwaukee remains a drinking town with a baseball problem.
    
    Why 25? Milwaukee has to make a playoff run to earn the other five.

Jusssst a bit outside: the Baltimore Orioles preview

Duty calls to preview the MLB season with up to 30 things somewhat about each of the 30 teams. At bat: the Baltimore Orioles.

1. What would Wieters do: A .500 record might not be in the offing for the O's, so the main question is what switch-hitting catcher Matt Wieters will do in his first full season after hitting .288/.340/.412 as a rookie.
   
   
2. Over-under on wins: 74½
   
   
3. Take the ... Over. They'll clean out enough bad teams to override suspect pitching (MLB-worst 5.15 ERA last season). An 11-win improvement is scalable.
   
   
4. Good young pitching, but they've been burned before: Rookie left-hander Brian Matusz represents hope the way Daniel Cabrera and Adam Loewen did for a time.
   
   
5. A fair shot: Oriole Post also wants a balanced schedule (like the one that existed from 1983-93 when the Blue Jays were winning. FanGraphs also summed up how hard it is for a non-Evil Empire team (or the Rebel Alliance down in St. Petersburg, Fla.) to make the playoffs out of the AL East:
   

   "(Baltimore GM Andy) MacPhail needs to continue to hit home runs on trades, have every draft pick pan out, and they need to stay completely healthy – if all those things happen, they could challenge for the AL East crown in a year or two, until their core gets so expensive that they’ll struggle to surround them with enough quality players to keep up.
   
   "It’s the crappiest situation in baseball, outside of Toronto, anyway."
   

   (Thanks.)
   
   
6. Another comparison of an ornithological variety: Twenty-eight of their first 35 games are against teams which finished above .500 last season, including 12 in a row vs. the Yankees or Red Sox. So, expect a season arc that resembles the 2008 Blue Jays, but without the manager getting replaced by the guy who was around in the glory days. That being said, a hologram of Earl Weaver in the dugout would be cool.
   
   
7. Working class zeroes: Somewhere, late Chicago Blackhawks owner Bill Wirtz is smiling, since a dispute between telecoms means basic cable subscribers have to go to the ballpark if they want to watch the Orioles live.
   
8. Feb. 8, 2008: The day GM Andy McPhail traded Erik Bedard to Seattle. Including subsequent flips, netted the Orioles the good Adam Jones, a third baseman in waiting in Josh Bell and some potential arms in Kam Mickolio and Steve Johnson.
   
   
9. That ... that doesn't make any sense: Aging Miguel Tejada is hitting cleanup in a lineup that includes DH Luke Scott (115 OPS+ last season) and the young turks, Nick Markakis (109), Nolan Reimold (117) and Jones (106).
   
   
10. The 40-25 club: Markakis (finally learned to spell it!) is in select company, since the list of players who have had 40 doubles in a season by age 25 includes Albert Pujols and Carl Yastrzemski.
    
    
11. Checking out: The Orioles are 25-59 after Sept. 1 during Dave Trembley's tenure. It's like they figure the Triple-A season ends on Labour Day, so theirs should too.
    
    
12. A biography yet unwritten: Their Triple-A affiliate in Norfolk, Va., has a 78-year-old general manager, Dave Rosenfield. His first GM job was in 1956.
    
    
13. Priced to move: Scott gets lumped in with the Orioles' young core, but he turns 32 this summer. Some NL team would love his right-handed bat.
    
    
14. The method to the badness: The Orioles' sub-mediocrity has kept leadoff man Brian Roberts from being that pesky, scrappy, gritty white dude that broadcasters extol endlessly until you just wish Joe Buck was dead. It's nice to just get to appreciate Roberts as an overachiever.
    
    
15. The law of diminishing returns: It seems to be kicking in with de facto No. 1 starter Jeremy Guthrie, who throws hard but oh-so-straight.
    
    
16. Mispronunciation-based pun alert: Outfielder Félix Pié's name is not said the way you might think.
    
    
17. More proof the medium is out of control: Reading a MLBTR post asking if the Orioles should give 23-year-old catcher Wieters a contract on the order of the deal Joe Mauer got from the Minnesota Twins. It is only Wieters' second season, can't that question wait?
    
    
18. Take out that Moeller: Cutting backup catcher Chad Moeller (which has raised a ruckus) leaves the Orioles with Wieters and Craig Tatum, who have a combined 122 games' MLB experience.
    
    
19. A story that writes itself: Discussing whether super-ute Ty Wigginton can be a power hitter again. Short answer: He's never been that good.
    
    
20. Fondly remembered: The Orioles' first two World Series titles included the irrepressible Moe Drabowsky, who was known to slip a goldfish into the opposing team's water cooler.
    
    
21. OK, why is Peter Angelos going to hell: He's the owner who didn't want Jon Miller as his announcer or Davey Johnson as his manager.
    
    
22. Would you believe: Right-hander Kevin Millwood has an ERA+ of 108 for his career, which is similar to the 109 Jack Morris had at the same age, 34.
    
    Please use this next January when people make the same thin Hall of Fame case for Jack Morris.
    
    
23. June 14, 1987: Yes, that's the date Newman references in the Seinfeld episode with Keith Hernandez, but it lives infamy in Orioles-Jays history. That was the date when Baltimore's present-day pitching coach Dave Schmidt, then a pitcher, threw seven-plus innings to help snap the Jays' franchise-record 11-game win streak.
    
    
24. Small world: Manager Dave Trembley once played senior baseball for the Kingston Ponies. The coach of that team was Toronto Sun baseball writer Bob Elliott. True story.
    
    
25. Not a coincidence: One of their celebrity fans is Joan Jett, who like her favourite team rocked in the late 1970s and early '80s and has kind of been a memory ever since.
    
    
26. PECOTA says: 78-84, fourth AL East, 797 runs scored, 831 against.
    
    
27. In English please: They are the No. 1 seed in an imaginary tournament between all the fourth-place teams.
    

Why only 27? Time is running out and it's been 27 years since their last pennant.

Jusssst a bit outside: the New York Mets preview

Duty calls to preview the MLB season with 30 things somewhat about each of the 30 teams. At bat: the New York Mets.

1. Kicking them while they're down: The Mets play in the world's media capital and its its former financial capital. That built-in economic advantage has given them is a lousy four World Series appearances in almost 50 seasons.
   
   The perpetually cash-poor Oakland Athletics have won six pennants in the same stretch.
   
   
2. All part of the plan: Tom Seaver won two of his three Cy Young Awards on 82-win Mets teams in the 1970s. The idea must be to make the National League's best left-hander, Johan Santana, really earn it.
   
   
3. Over-under on wins: 80½
   
   
4. Take the ... Under, on general principle.
   
   
5. Wright can't stay wrong: Every projection has third baseman David Wright finding his old form after a nightmarish 2009.
   
   
6. In a sentence: The main question coming into the season is whether GM Omar Minaya or field manager Jerry Manuel gets fired first. It's that grim.
   
   
7. Santana spelled with a K: The difference between Johan Santana being his old Cy Young self and a JAGOV (Just Another Guy of Value) is his strikeout rate, which has been 7.9 the past two seasons after six years in a row of 9-plus.
   
   
8. One cool part about the Mets: Left-hander Hisanori Takahaski throws six pitches since he came over from Japan, where having only 12 major-league teams means pitchers need a deeper catalog. Just to spoil it for us, the Mets likely will make him a reliever, so he won't be able to run through his full repertoire in one- or two-inning relief stints. Why can't mediocre teams just make moves in the interest of obsessive fans?
   
   
9. Worth repeating without commentary: From The New York Times last week: "Minaya said the Mets should slug better this season after signing Jason Bay. He also said Bay would help the defense in left field, and Daniel Murphy would improve at first base." It's long been known the key to winning is always fielding and that two spots on the low end of the defensive spectrum.
   
   
10. You can freak out a Mets fan just saying "injuries": Their run production will rise on fall of how quick leadoff man José Reyes and centrefielder Carlos Beltrán, whose awesomeness is masking by park factors, make it back into the lineup.
    
    
11. Kept at Bay: Citi Field surrendered the fifth-fewest homers in the majors, which raises the question why Jason Bay (pictured) and his bad knees signed up for 81 games a season there in a league with no DH.
    
    
12. Isn't that the definition of irony: GM Omar Minaya's big off-season move was to sign Bay, who he traded away several years ago when he mortgaging the Expos/Nationals' future to make himself look good for a new job.
    
    
13. This was Lee Mazzilli's number. And Dave Magadan's.
    
    
14. The next ones: Credit where credit is due, outfielder Fernando Martinez, shortstop Wilmer Flores, first baseman Ike Davis and righty starter Jenrry Mejia are in the pipeline for a franchise which isn't exactly famous for homegrown talent. Some want Mejia in the majors now since hey, the 20-year-old's career well-being pales next to fans' impulsiveness.
    
    Why should the Mets worry about the future when theirs is so murky and uncertain?
    
    
15. Kid, because you love: You would think the Mets would get a sympathetic treatment, on account of their owner getting ripped off by Bernie Madoff and, on a bajillion-times-smaller scale, this site riffing on Gary Carter several times.
    
    
16. When in doubt: Blame the Mets' decline on former assistant GM Tony Bernazard, the big brain who was behind developing a lineup of push hitters, which is basically what he was during a pretty ennnnh career.
    
    
17. Better know a prospect: They wouldn't do something stupid and trade away one of their young hopes such as Mejia or Flores?
    
    
18. That's why there's a paywall: Competing headlines on the same day from The Times and Newsday, which charges for content: Reyes Feels Ready to Play, but Mets Are in No Rush (Times) and Reyes' target is Opening Day, but Mets won't rush him (Newsday).
    
    
19. This almost makes up for missing the playoffs on the last day of the season ... twice: The iconic home run apple has been moved to a more prominent position, outside of Citi Field.
    
    
20. No Mets preview is complete without ... digging up Steve Rushin's poem about Mets third basemen:

    Sandy Alomar
    Made like Alydar
    And sired a couple of studs
    But he was more awful
    Than day-old falafel
    Before long the job was Joel Youngblood's.

21. Auspicious debut: Never forget that the first batter in the first game at Citi Field, Jody Gerut, hit a home run. Bring that up every time you're lashing out at this franchise, just because.
    
    
22. The Ex-Jay Factor: Frank Catalanotto earning a roster spot would make for a trio of ex-Torontonians, along with catcher Rod Barajas and injured pitcher Kelvim Escobar. Let's be totally axiomatic and say having three former Jays will prevent any serious run. It wouldn't have anything to do with having Fernando Tatis batting in the middle of the order.
    
    
23. Amazingly true stat: Tatis actually played two games at shortstop last season, a position he hadn't played in the majors in 11 years.
    
    
24. Fun bet: Pretty please with sugar on top, may Jeff Francoeur join the exclusive "more home runs than walks" club? He almost did it last year (10 homers, 11 bases on balls).
    
    
25. The original Hot Tub Time Machine: Their 2009 home run totals -- hitting just 95, with Daniel Murphy leading the team with 12 -- were straight out of 1986.
    
    That's what happens when you deprive players of their pregame uppers. Thanks a lot, Bud Selig.
    
    
26. Future Hall of Very Gooder: Erstwhile first baseman Carlos Delgado, 27 homers short of the once-magic 500, wasn't retained by the Mets. His biggest comp during his last three seasons with the Mets was another former Blue Jays first baseman, Fred McGriff, who also has a very long road to Cooperstown.
    
    
27. A PhD thesis to be named later: Some pop culture nerd could write about American sitcom characters' baseball allegiances, positing that the best ones gravitate toward the Yankees and recoil from the Mets.
    
    Seinfeld was filled with Mets references in its critically acclaimed but less watched early seasons, but aligned itself with the 1990s Yankees as the series progressed. The episode where the gang gets kicked out of Yankee Stadium after Elaine refuses to take off her Orioles cap even predated the Keith Hernandez "second spitter" episode.
    
    How I Met Your Mother has worked in the Yankees at myriad times through the years, but the series' only Mets reference ever was a portent of doom. In the show's fourth season, it becomes clear Ted Mosby's latest relationship was doomed when it's pointed out, "Stella's a Mets fan."
    
    King of Queens and Everybody Loves Raymond professed a clear Mets rooting interest, but both of those shows sucked.
    
    
28. Yep, they're radioactive: Keith Olbermann said once, "Revoke the Mets franchise before it achieves nuclear capability."
    
    
29. PECOTA says: 78-84, fourth NL East, 743 runs scored, 781 against.
    
    
30. In English, please: Paraphrasing Mexism No. 224, it's going to "HORRIBLY exciting."
    

Jusssst a bit outside: the Los Angeles Angels preview

Duty calls to preview the MLB season, 30 things somewhat about each of the 30 teams. At bat: the L.A. Angels.

1. If these trends continue: The Angels have outperformed their Pythagorean record for six years in a row, winning 29 more games than their run differential would suggest they should have. The bills for that must come due eventually, right? Right?!
   
   
2. Not so fast: A lineup with a Bobby Abreu-Torii Hunter-Hideki Matsui-Kendry Morales-Juan Rivera core (the 2 through 6 spots) is good by the standards of five out of the six divisions.
   
   Throw in forever underappreciated Mike Napoli jacking 25 homers from the bottom of the lineup and the Angels do not lack for empty spots in the lineup.
   
   
3. Although: Erick Aybar in the leadoff spot. Really?
   
   
4. Over-under on wins: 83½
   
   
5. Take the ... Over. They at least stay above .500. Manager Mike Scioscia typically seems to find enough pitching. There is a risk of taking their ability to adjust for granted.
   
   
6. Middlemen: The Angels are a June-July juggernaut, or have been the past two seasons. They played .704 ball from June 1 to July 31 last season (.546 before and after) and won at a .686 clip in 2008 (.586 before and after). Of course that's also the portion of the season that includes interleague play.
   
   
7. Why they're being written off again: They bid adieu to two No. 1s, leadoff man extraordinaire Chone Figgins and his .395 on-base and top starting pitcher John Lackey. It need not be reiterated this is one of the game's solid franchises, and it's hilarious that they've completely knocked the dysfunctional Dodgers off their perch in SoCal.
   
   
8. The other reason: Turning over late-inning leads to Fernando Rodney and Brian Fuentes with Abreu covering scarcely little ground in right field is dangerous. Given the Angels' stability since 2004, it calls to mind the Cheers episode when Frasier Crane started running with scissors to prove he could be a bad boy.
   
   
9. The purgatory rotation: The initial reaction to a group of Jered Weaver, Scott Kazmir, Ervin Santana, Joe Saunders and Joel Piñeiro is "not bad, but not great."
   
   
10. Suck on it, left coast: The Yankees will get their 2009 World Series rings on April 13 while playing the Angels, one of the teams they beat in the playoffs.
    
    
11. In other words: They could have traded for Roy Halladay if (a) they weren't paying Torii Hunter so damn much and (b) they had prospects to offer.
    
    
12. They have karma: Owner Arte Moreno has nearly tripled the value of his franchise over what he paid for it without jacking up ticket prices or holding out for a new stadium when the old one didn't need to be replaced. He's also rarely quoted in the media, which is a breath of fresh air from the perspective of someone in a sports market where the NHL team's owner can't shut his yap.
    
    
13. Free Napster: It's always tempting to think what power numbers Mike Napoli would put up if he wasn't catching and could get 550 at-bats in a season.
    
    
14. Waiting in the wings: Catching prospect Hank Conger will be along sooner or later to break up the Napoli-Jeff Mathis job share behind the plate.
    
    
15. Epigraph for the erratic one: Scott Kazmir has a lot of great three- to four-inning runs, but still hits 100 pitches by the sixth inning.
    
    
16. Paging Joe Crede: Their third-base options include Brandon Wood, who's getting a little old to be a prospect (26), and Maicer Izturis, who is a space-filler.
    
    
17. Modest nickname suggestion: In honour of a recent headline, minor-league lefty Trevor Reckling shall henceforth be known as Precocious Reckling. No one colourful has ever been named Trevor.
    
    
18. Try not to look so shocked: Fuentes is guaranteed his 2011 contract if he finishes 55 games this season, so if at some point Rodney will be promoted to the closer's role. Better yet, there's the younger option, Kevin Jepsen.
    
    
19. History might be repeating itself: The Angels had a run of good teams in the 1980s followed by some lean years since they focused on free agents and trades. In 2010, they're coming into a somewhat shaky season. Their only representation among Baseball Prospectus' top 50 prospects is 18-year-old outfielder Mike Trout, who is starting the season in single-A (which is actually amazing for someone who graduated high school less than 12 months ago).
    
    
20. Slight revision: Second baseman Howie Kendrick is still a batting title waiting to happen. It would just have to be a National League batting title with a team which is too bad to care about secondary skills like bases on ball or power. It's too bad for him the Pittsburgh Pirates are trying to be all serious.
    
    
21. Next year could be too late: The regulars include 36-year-old Abreu, Matsui (36 in June) and Hunter (35 in July). Only one of them is signed past 2011.
    
    
22. Why articles with question marks should be banned: An ESPNLosAngeles writer actually typed an article titled "Are the Angels missing Matthews?" as in Gary Matthews Jr., who had MLB's worst contract west of Vernon Wells until he was traded to the Mets. The Angels are paying $10 million of Matthews' $11-million salary, so there's your answer. Thanks for comin' out.
    
    
23. For those still into arbitrary round numbers: August 4 marks the silver anniversary of former Angel Rod Carew's 3,000th career hit.
    
    
24. Shouldn't he throw out the second pitch? Former outfielder Tim Salmon (he was in the California/Anaheim era) is throwing out the first ball on Opening Day. He is second on the Angels' all-time list in on-base percentage and slugging percentage behind a couple guys named Carew and Guerrero.
    
    
25. Nothing beats a good hate-on: Angels fans hate going to Dodger Stadium more than Ottawa Senators fans hate having Leafs and Canadiens fans take over Scotiabank Place.
    
    
26. The other oldish ballplayer from New Brunswick: Former Angels all-star pitcher Jason Dickson is making a comeback in the New Brunswick Senior Baseball League. He's actually five years younger than fellow New Brunswickian Matt Stairs.
    
    
27. What are these bases on balls you speak of? The Angels drew just 547 walks last season, 101 from the departed Figgins. The rub is most of their hitters aren't necessarily undisciplined, they just don't earn many walks.
    
    
28. A sad statement about our society: Former Angels pitcher Frank Tanana's Wikipedia page includes the groaner of a nickname Chris Berman gave him 20-some years ago. Who needed to know that? It is not nostalgic when it is best left forgotten.
    
    
29. PECOTA says: 78-84, fourth AL West, 796 runs scored, 835 against.
    
    
30. In English, please: Short-term dip ahead.