Ponder the Thought

Baseball 2008

                                    2008 BASEBALL SEASON ARRIVES…   

WITH A LOT OF IF’S

By John Leon             

Ah yes… the change of season, the warm breezes and the first sound of “PLAY BALL!” is here. Baseball season separates itself from all of the other sports with the promise, hopes and dreams of every team. 2008 is no different.

Gone is the everyday soap opera that was Barry Bonds, even to the effect that the Giants, who may be the worst team in the league, have taken down any semblance of his being the new Home Run King*. (Had to put that in there). In its place are the excitement of the season and the possibilities of what may be.

But there’s one word that means so much and can be the heartbreak of all teams….IF. Here then lies one scribes’ predictions, IF, everything goes the right way.

                                    THE AL WEST

SEATTLE- They look to be the favorite here. Plenty of pop, defense and leadership, plus a proven closer in J.J. Putz

IF: Eric Bedard and Felix Hernandez stay healthy

L.A. ANGELS- Great manger in Mike Scoscia, planet of speed and long balls aplenty.

IF: The pitching holds up, they already have 2 guys headed for the DL and they’re not getting any younger. Vlad and Garrett are about 100 years old aren’t they?

OAKLAND- Moneyball strikes again. Once again the smartest GM in baseball has the A’s younger and hungrier and could be a sleeper.

IF: They mature faster than usual and Beane can make another deal (which we all know he will), the A’s will make a run late.

                                    THE AL CENTRAL

CLEVELAND- WOW! What else can you say when they may be the best team in the division and may not even get to the playoffs. This division is brutal and whoever survives may win the whole thing. They’re deep, talented, and fairly young and will be right there.

IF: Closer Joe Borowski doesn’t implode.

DETROIT- The trade that made the Tigers even filthier. The pitching depth is ridiculous and just try and get an out with that lineup. Ivan Rodriguez bats 8^th!

IF: Dontrelle Willis regains his form and the bullpen can get some help for Todd Jones. Injuries here could spell doom, even for this lineup.

WHITE SOX- Five players that can bang 30 or more homers, and Ozzie Guillen. Bobby Jenks is arguably the best closer today.

            IF: They can swing a trade for Paul Konerko, they could make a run…next year.

                                                THE AL EAST

YANKEES- The last year for The Stadium and promises of Kennedy, Chamberlain and Hughes. Cashman had better pray that he made the right move by keeping them instead of the Santana trade. Power, some speed, lefties galore but getting a little long in the tooth.

            IF: Girardi can lead, and the youngsters prove right, they will be right there. Of Course if not, there’s always the Yanks farm team…the Royals

RED SOX- Younger, deeper and Manny’s in his walk year. Look Out!

            IF: The Yanks falter this could get ugly.

BLUE JAYS- Any other year they’d be right there, but not with 1 and 1A in front of them. Alex Rios’s breakout year is now. This is the AL version of the Braves. Keep an eye on them.

            IF: Scott Rolen stays healthy and the top 2 slip, they could steal this. Good balance all the way through

                                                THE NL WEST

D-BACKS- When randy Johnson’s your #3 guy, when your young players have a year under their belt in a race, when you get 20+ homers from Eric Byrnes, why not do it again.

            IF: Brandon Lyon closes like Valverde, if not….

ROCKIES- Did you think they were going away? Last year was not a fluke and they’ll be there again. Good young arms and future HOF shortstop Tulowitzki will keep them there for a long time.

            IF: They can find a 2B with Matsui out

DODGERS- Torre at the helm will be an upgrade, Matt Kemp is a stud and they will be a force.

            IF: Nomar can stay healthy and they can hold leads. Penny will HAVE to stay healthy or they’re done.

                                                THE NL CENTRAL

CUBS- Is this the year? Probably not.. Ridiculously good offensively but they need Brian Roberts at 2B. Unfortunately he plays for the Orioles.

            IF: Wood can stay healthy and close consistently. After Zambrano they need help in the rotation.

BREWERS- The Wallbangers are back, and Ryan Braun may hit 40, which means Fielder hits…60?

            IF: The starters hold up and Eric Gagne returns to his Dodger form closing

REDS – No laughing here, they actually have a shot. Dusty baker will bring a nice change of attitude here and Junior will benefit from it. Francesco Cordero got big bucks to close; they think they can do it too.

            IF: They can find a shortstop, and the farm system helps out. The minors are very deep.

ASTROS- Ed Wade is the GM. enough said.

            And last but not least….

                                                THE NL EAST

METS – Santana will win 20 in the new league, Pedro gets 12-15, and they are still pissed about the el foldo last year. However, after Reyes, Wright and Beltran…..Nobody scares me here.

            IF: HEALTH...that’s all they need because they are not young and Delgado, Martinez and Wagner could all be gone by July.

PHILLIES- They will score about 1,000 runs, that’s a given. But questions abound with Myers returning to the rotation and Lidge being able to bounce back. They have Flash who will close if need be, but can he stay healthy? They won’t miss Rowand as much as I thought.

            IF: Kendrick, Moyer and Eaton give them some innings and 10 wins apiece they take the whole thing. Lidge’s health is the key.

BRAVES- Yeah they’re still hanging around and the top 2 better not sleep on them. They can still hit, they are younger, and they have the best manager in Bobby Cox. But God, do I hate the tomahawk chop!

            IF: Hampton and Glavine have anything left in the tank. Soriano closing is nasty.

NATIONALS & MARLINS- They will give everybody problems, especially Washington. They are getting real close…real fast.

            So there you have it, one man’s opinion as the season kicks off. We’ll see if all of the IF’S play out and then I’ll make my playoff predictions later.

I’m SOOO ready. .

Recruiting

            RECRUITING SPECIAL FOR COACHES TOO

By John Leon                                                                        

            The Holy Spirit Spartans football team had a year for the ages, and the records are well documented. The next question to be answered is what happens to the team now?

            Head Coach Bill Walsh, who is also the Director of Institutional Advancement, had the enviable job of sorting through the multiple offers his team had, and after the smoke cleared, all 23 seniors were accepted at colleges in one form or another.

            “It’s been an interesting process,” he said. “You hear the same theme from all of the schools at all of the levels. The goal is to make sure the kids end up at the right school for them.”

            A perfect example is middle linebacker Chris Mancuso. He will walk on at Rhode Island University for football, but it’s not for lack of effort. His work ethic is legendary at Spirit on and off the field. A 3.66 GPA, high SAT scores and he wants to be a pharmacist. Rhode Island is one of the top pharmacology schools in the country, but because of his height (5’9”) an athletic scholarship was not forthcoming.

            “That will change when they see him and how hard he works, on and off the field,” said Walsh. “But that’s a great example of the process we go through.”

            Many factors play into the process such as geographical, major and then it’s just a matter of the visitation and what kind of financial package that is offered.

            As Walsh learned this year, many of the recruiters do their due diligence in finding out about the players, but more often then not, they don’t.

            “It takes about 5 minutes to see if they’ve done their homework,” he said. “The good schools stop in the Guidance office first, talk to the AD, talk to everybody to find out if the kid is a good student, good person, attendance, good character, etc., then they come talk to me last.”

            Walsh pointed out the Penn State, Michigan, West Chester and Boston College were some of the schools that did it right.

            The volume of schools that came through Spirit was large this year and with some players getting academic scholarships, baseball and wrestling scholarships, it tends to get complicated.

            “It’s important to have someone in the school to help the kids sort out things,” said Walsh. “Some schools just send offers sight unseen, such as Marcus (Witherspoon) had. On National Signing Day he had three full scholarship offers, even though we told everybody he was still going to Michigan. One school never even met him and still sent an offer.”

            It doesn’t stop there, as Walsh pointed out, the school even helped one former player get into TCNJ, even though he had to transfer to another school due to financial reasons.

            “Ibin Miller had to leave Spirit due to financial problems but he was here for 3 years and we helped him get into TCNJ on an EOF scholarship,” he said. “He was a vital part of our family for three years and we got him a State Championship jacket to let him know he is still part of us.”

            It’s been a unique year for Holy Spirit, with a State title in football, the Boys basketball team reaching the South Jersey finals, and the baseball team is ranked very highly as well. All the stars have aligned, but the real stars are the kids that are going to college, proving that it’s not only great when you win, but doing something with that success is an even bigger victory.

                       Their hard work has paid off and the future looks very bright.