Diamond Gems - musings on baseball both locally and nationally
Just returned from Spring Training in the Valley of the Sun in Phoenix, Arizona. At the Brewers game against the Colorado Rockies something happened I never would have anticipated. The game was called early, because of rain and HAIL. I went to Arizona to avoid that!
Saturday was an eventful day. Bud Selig, the commissioner of Major League Baseball, visited the press box. Kevin Towers, the general manager of the Padres, was hit in the mouth by a baseball that went through the protective netting behind home plate. I also had the privilege of meeting Brewers general manager Doug Melvin.
Western Division
1. San Diego Padres (Greg Maddux's experience puts them over the top)
2. Los Angeles Dodgers (has a shot at the Wild Card)
3. Arizona Diamondbacks (team on the rise but a year away)
4. San Francisco Giants (Bonds hits home run 756 to become the all-time leader; the exact same number of fans are happy about that fact)
5. Colorado Rockies (good young talent, just not enough of it)
Central Division
1. Milwaukee Brewers (everything finally falls into place for the BrewCrew, which is led by former Huntsville Stars Ben Sheets, JJ Hardy, Prince Fielder and Rickie Weeks)
2. Cincinnati Reds (Nasty Boys II in the bullpen? Homer Bailey is in the rotation by the all-star break)
3. St. Louis Cardinals (World Series champion lost too much in its pitching staff)
4. Houston Astros (Carlos Lee hits 50 home runs and misplays 50 balls in left)
5. Chicago Cubs (100 million and this is all we got?)
6. Pittsburgh Pirates (extend their record streak of losing seasons)
Eastern Division
1. Philadelphia Phillies (could be World Series team)
2. Atlanta Braves (will improve from last season but fall short)
3. New York Mets (could contend for first or drop to fourth)
4. Florida Marlins (a sophomore slump is inevitable with all of last season's rookies)
5. Washington Nationals (should be the worst team in baseball)
Jim Sandoval can be reached at casandman@aol.com
