I'm glad to see Harris in the lineup. He was really coming on strong at the end of spring and can be more hazardous on the bases than Uribe. Of course he has to get on base first. Willie seems to be excited to be named opening day starter. Hopefully, it will help boost his confidence and get him going this year.
Royals
Good luck this year McCarthy!
I'll definitely be paying more attention to the sox minor leagues than ever before due to my discovery of Soxtalk and Future Sox and now White Sox Central. I look forward to hearing what you guys have to say throughout the season.
I think Paulie is in for a big change this year. I don't know what it is but my guess is that he converts to Buddhism.
By doing this Paulie will change his whole lifestyle. He'll change what he eats, what he wears, what he buys, etc.
I don't know if this was already done and I missed it but here are my predictions for the 2004 baseball season.
Also, I put this in the Sports Bar cause I wasn't sure if it would be considered as "sox talk" but if any mods feel the need to move it please do.
AL East
1st-Yankees
2nd-Red Sox
3rd-Blue Jays
4th-Devil Rays
5th-Orioles
AL Central
1st-White Sox
2nd-Twins
3rd-Royals
4th-Indians
5th-Tigers
AL West
1st-Angels
2nd-Atheletics*
3rd-Mariners
4th-Rangers
*=wild card
AL MVP: Magglio Ordonez
AL Cy Young: Javier Vasquez
NL East
1st-Phillies
2nd-Marlins*
3rd-Braves
4th-Expos
5th-Mets
NL Central
1st-Astros
2nd-Cubs
3rd-Cardinals
4th-Pirates
5th-Reds
6th-Brewers
NL West
1st-Giants
2nd-Diamondbacks
3rd-Dodgers
4th-Padres
5th-Rockies
NL MVP: Jim Thome
NL Cy Young: Jason Schmidt
Playoffs
ALDS
Atheletics over Yankees 3-2
Angels over White Sox 3-1
ALCS
Angels over Atheletics 4-2
NLDS
Marlins over Astros 3-2
Phillies over Giants 3-1
NLCS
Marlins over Phillies 4-3
World Series
Marlins over Angels 4-3
I'm thinking 90-95 wins if Ozzie can keep them consistent and not playing down to their opponent. None of these long slumps or 1 run games against the Tigers.
However, they could just as easily finish with 80-85 wins with this tough interleague schedule against the top 4 teams in the NL East. The interleague could be what makes or breaks us this year.
Either way I think we stay in the race until September with Ozzie's intensity.
best: this brewers one, tigers, pirates, new padres
worst: royals, all the ones that are circles (a's, mariners, etc.)
most like a hockey logo: blue jays