LET'S PLAY SOME FRAKKIN' HARDBALL

after a long and cold winter [although judging from the five inches of snow we got last night], spring is finally here. that means that tomorrow afternoon we'll hear the two most magical words in the english language: play ball!

i really wish i had the day off tomorrow. i would love nothing more than to get a piping hot plate of nachos and tune into ESPN tomorrow at 2pm local time to watch the hated giants travel to chavez ravine to take on the blue. thankfully, i have my xm radio at work and i'll be able to listen to the the games of my choice while i slave away at my cubicle. maybe i'll get some piping hot nachos and bring them back to my desk. that'll show 'em! [i don't know, exactly, what it'll show, but it'll show 'em something!]

as you can see, i'm a huge dodger fan. whenever i give blood the phlebotomist kind of freaks out 'cos my blood is blue. i'm not making that up. i have blue blood! it's part of being a dodger fan. the other part of being a dodger fan is suffering through our post-season ineptitude. since the dodgers won the 1988 world series, we've been to the playoffs a few times and we've only managed to win ONE game. just one. the dodgers are one of the five most storied franchises in baseball history and we've won one playoff game in twenty years. will we do it this year? i dunno, but i have high hopes. after years of hearing about the exemplary dodger farm system, the kids are finally getting a chance to play every day. james loney will finally get a full season at first. matt kemp and andre ethier will get full seasons in the outfield. andy laroche was primed to start the season at third before tearing a few ligaments in his thumb in a freak accident a couple of weeks ago. he'll be back by the end of april, hopefully. the starting rotation looks really, really solid. penny, lowe, kuroda, billingsly and loaiza. loaiza is the only one i'm concerned about. it's only a matter of time, though, until clayton kershaw gets the call from AAA. i've heard scout after scout froth out the mouth about this kid. the dodgers AAA farm team, the las vegas 51's, will be in town week after next for a three game series and i hope i get to see kershaw pitch. in today's exhibition against the red sox, kershaw threw four scoreless innings and struck out five. my money says he'll be in the starting rotation by the all-star game.

so how will the dodgers do? i'm hesitant to say. the dodgers have been a bit schizophrenic the last five years, alternating between good and not-so-good. but the beauty of baseball is the same beauty of spring, for on opening day hope truly does spring eternal.

so, having said that, here are my annual predictions for the upcoming season:

NL West:
1. Dodgers
2. D-Backs*
3. Rockies
4. Padres
5. Giants

NL Central:
1. Cubs
2. Brewers
3. Astros
4. Reds
5. Cardinals
6. Pirates

NL East:
1. Phillies
2. Mets
3. Braves
4. Marlins
5. Nationals

*wildcard

NL Cy Young: Jake Peavy
NL MVP: Chase Utley
NL ROY: Geovany Soto

AL West
1. Mariners
2. Angels
3. A's
4. Rangers

AL Central:
1. Indians
2. Tigers*
3. Twins
4. White Sox
5. Royals

AL East
1. Red Sox
2. Blue Jays
3. Yankees
4. Orioles
4. Rays

*wildcard

AL Cy Young: CC Sabathia
AL MVP: Grady Sizemore
AL ROY: Adam Jones

World Series:

Indians over Cubbies in 6!

you heard it here first. it's the indians' year. i've been a huge indians' fan for years, mostly because of travis hafner. that guy is paul frakkin' bunyan. i love that guy so much i want to marry him. but anyway, when you see all the frontrunners and bandwagoners start wearing cleveland indians gear in november, know that they're a bunch of phony bolognas [just like sox 'fans' who suddenly became 'fans' as soon as the sox won the world series in '04. trust me, they aren't 'fans.']

so there you have it. how will my predictions pan out? check back at the end of the season and find out. until then, kick off your shows, get your hot dog, nachos, and frosty beverage and let the shout go out through out the land: play ball!