By Terry Mahoney
Cappo, League 13
One of the most popular storylines in the early season has been the emergence of Edinson Volquez of the Cincinnati Reds. He has put up gaudy numbers as one of the few bright spots on a struggling Cincinnati roster. At first, Volquez was overshadowed by the dominance of Johnny Cueto. As Cueto fell off, however, Volquez remained consistent, allowing no one to argue with his performance. Well, maybe no one.
By Terry Mahoney
Cappo, League 13
As baseball season heads out of April and into May, teams are beginning to find themselves. Flash in the pan teams are losing their luster while popular pre-season picks are starting to find themselves.
If baseball’s April 2008 taught the talking heads at ESPN anything, it’s this: they play 162 games for a reason. Remember, in my power rankings, a team must show sustained growth or decline in order to move significantly in the rankings. Where has April taken us?
By Terry Mahoney
Cappo, League 13
Power rankings are a popular way to track team strength throughout a year, and these were constructed to lay out the upcoming 2008 baseball season.
First, I have to start with a disclaimer–these rankings are my subjective opinion. No personal statistical analysis went into the construction of this list. Instead, I have done a fair bit of research in order to help me form my own opinions.
During the season, these rankings will be updated according to past performance–and, mostly, in line with my expectations of future success. For instance, just because they are on a ‘hot’ streak, a flash in the pan team will not jump to number one during a given two or three week period. A team must show sustained growth or decline in order to move significantly in the rankings.
So, who has got the juice this year? Who will win each division? The AL and NL? The World Series?
By Terry Mahoney
Cappo, League 13
2008 marks the one-hundredth year since the Chicago Cubs last won the World Series. Their last World Series appearance was in 1945. With the addition of a Japanese import, and a year of experience, is 2008 finally the year of the Cub?
By Terry Mahoney
League 13
The Chicago White Sox come into the 2008 season hoping to prove that 2007 was an aberration. Mind you, some analysts are suggesting that the Royals will overtake the White Sox in ‘08 … although neither will challenge for the AL Central title.
Will a revamped bullpen and a handful of new names be enough to find success? And more importantly, what can the 2008 White Sox do for your fantasy team?
By Terry Mahoney
It is an annual rite of winter.
Sometime after the last pitch of the Series, we begin anew the Red Sox-Yankees debate. It begins broadly, which team is better? Then takes on the inane, who sells the better dog? Before eventually settling into an endless barrage of ESPN-delivered on-site coverage of every Steinbrenner fire or Epstein hire. And this article is no different! But instead of hot dogs, we are comparing prospects … Clay Buchholz and Joba Chamberlain.