Season Preview: For What It's Worth: Part II

National League Central Division

Top of the Heap: This year the Milwaukee Brewers will finish the job and the win the division they led most of the 2007 season, only to crumble and allow the Chicago Cubs to steal the pennant. The Cubbies, however, will make things close. Neither team has an outstanding starting rotation, but both teams have an incredible pitcher on the staff. Carlos Zambrano will take the mound opening day for Chicago, and hopefully, he'll be able to get along with his teammates this season. Milwaukee's Ben Sheets has Cy Young worthy stuff, but if Cy Young were injured half as much as Sheets, the coveted pitching award would have another namesake. The Brewers need Sheets to be at full strength to anchor the pitching staff. In the bullpen, Milwaukee picked up some interesting additions, including the once-fantasy-king-Canadian-closer, Eric Gagne. Back in the day (you know, before all of this steroid testing stuff), this guy was breaking the century mark with his fastball. But he's also had some injury issues, and may have lost his "mojo."

The Brewers' lineup looks to be the toughest 1-8 in the Central Division, again followed closely by the Cubs. The question will be whether the young talent in Milwaukee, like Ryan Braun (NL Rookie of the Year, .324 BA) and Price Fielder (119 RBI, 50 HR) can top or even match what they were able to do in 2007. If they can, they should be able to top the Cubs in the Central Division.

Better Luck Next Year: If Zach Duke and the rest of the Pittsburgh Pirates proletarian pitching personnel are able to perform to their potential, this prediction may prove perfunctory. In other words, there's a chance the Pirates don't finish at the bottom of the Central Division barrel, but only if their pitching can produce. Even then, I don't think they can really contend. Pittsburgh's front office believes their position players all simultaneously under-performed, and so, saw no reason to make waves in the off-season to bolster their lineup. They could be right, then again, so could I.

Extra, Extra, Read All About It: Here's an early peek at the biggest headline of 2008 for the NL Central. Kosuke Fukudome wins the title of best "rookie" in the National League. I might be way off base on this, but I look for this Japanese power hitter to continue his offensive prowess here in the Big Leagues. He may be a veteran, but since it's his first year in Major League baseball, he'll be eligible for Rookie of the Year. About the only thing that may happen in the Central Division that could top this is the reemergence of a dominant pitching staff in St. Louis. Both Chris Carpenter and Mark Moulder are scheduled to return from injury and/or surgery mid-season. If they are able to recapture their past glory, they could help the Cardinals make a strong push for the division.

Season Preview: For What It's Worth: Part I

National League West Division

Best in the West: The Arizona Diamondbacks held off the surging Colorado Rockies to close out their western division pennant in 2007, finishing 90-72 on the season. This year, their staff ace, sinker-baller Brandon Webb, will be complemented by Danny Haren, who was acquired from the Oakland A's in the off-season. Webb and Haren give the D-Backs the best top-of-the-rotation combination in the division, and perhaps in the entire National League. Any team that faces the Diamondbacks in a three-game series and draws these two right-handers will have a difficult time winning two out of three. And just imagine if Randy Johnson is anywhere close to being the Big Unit he was prior to injury trouble. Combine the pitching staff with young offensive talent on this squad, including Mark Reynolds, Eric Byrnes, Justin Upton, Stephen Drew, and Eric Young, and this team looks tough to top in the West.

Cellar Dweller: Are you looking for a punch-less line-up? I can save you the time and tell you that the San Francisco Giants are about as weak offensively as any team in the league. Barry Bonds (bless his heart) is gone. Pedro Feliz left and signed with the Phillies. Although they acquired Aaron Rowand in the off-season, I don't buy the idea that he can carry a team offensively. His numbers last year (309 BA, .374 OBP, .515 SLG, 27 HR, 89 RBI) came on a team with Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, and Ryan Howard in the batting order. Opposing teams pitched around Bonds for years, and held the Giants at bay. If Rowand is their only offensive punch, look for him to rack up the walks this year, as the Giants fail to rise from the bottom of the National League West. Their lone bright spot, and perhaps saving grace, could be their young, talented rotation. Barry Zito simply wasn't Barry Zito last season, and the Giants paid a good sum of money for Barry Zito last year. I'm sure they have had a talk with whoever it was that was pitching all of those games for him in route to 11-13, with a 4.53 ERA, and demanded that he get out of Dodge, so to speak, and to tell Barry to come back and pitch. Noah Lowry, Matt Cain, and Tim Linecum are other young pitchers that could be the key to a better finish for the Giants than they had in 2007.

Story of 2008: Although I stick with my prediction that Arizona will claim the Division Pennant in the end, there looks to be three serious contenders, and the winning this division may prove to big a dog-fight (but not one where any animals are actually injured, and sports superstars end up in the slammer). The biggest story of 2008 for the National League West will be the fierce competition between the D-Backs, the Rockies, and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Rockies seem to have all of the key pieces from last season's amazing run back on the board, and the Dodgers made some interesting moves this off-season. Namely, the future hall of fame manager Joe Torre is now calling the shots in LA, and Andruw Jones will be patrolling center field at Dodger stadium. If these two in particular make the impact the Dodgers are hoping for, they might be able to pull of the upset and take the pennant.

Royals Fan Fest

Kids love seeing their favorite athletes and getting their autographs. As it turns out, so do many adults. The Royals held their first ever Fan Fest this year and Brooke and I were lucky enough to attend. We took our Flip Video along with us to capture all the fun to be had. Unfortunately, it took a long time to be seated when we went to dinner, and by the time we arrived at the Overland Park Convention Center, it was nearly closing time for the festival. Johnny was signing autographs near the entrance when we got our tickets. We talked with him for about fifteen minutes, which left another fifteen minutes for us to go to the Fan Fest. So, we ran through the exhibits uninhibited by the long lines that others had experienced earlier that day. As you can see from our videos, it was a great event for Royals fans of all ages. Maybe next year we'll schedule enough time to enjoy it a little more.

Arriving at the Royals Fan Fest.

Sluggerr, the Royals' mascot.

More to do and see.

These speed pitch things never work.

On our way out at closing time.