2008 Oakland A’s
February 19, 2008
In 2007 the Oakland Athletics came into the season as defending AL West champions, and a playoff team five out of the last seven seasons. But in 2007 they fell all the way to third place in the division with a 76 – 86 record and were only one game ahead the last place Texas Rangers. The team traded away almost all of its veteran talent by the end of the season, and even more of them were traded this past off-season. The biggest names to go were P Dan Haren, OF Nick Swisher, and OF Mark Kotsay....
2008 Texas Rangers
February 19, 2008
At the end of last year the Texas Rangers showed great signs of improvement. At the end of May the Rangers were tied with Kansas City for the worst record in baseball at 19 – 35, but finished the season strong going 4 games over .500 for the remainder of the season. One of the big reasons for the turnaround was when the team traded away P Eric Gagne, 1B Mark Teixeira, and P Ron Mahay for eight prospects. A few of these prospects are expected to start and play big roles in 2008. Manager Ron Washington...
2008 Seattle Mariners
February 19, 2008
The Seattle Mariners were the leaders of the AL Wild Card on Aug. 27th, but they crumbled down the stretch to miss out on the playoffs. While the team had to deal with the departure of manager Mike Hargrove in the middle of the season, pitching was the main reason they team was unable to perform down the stretch. New manager John McLaren should have a much better chance of not letting that happen in 2008, as the Mariners have recently acquired Baltimore Orioles ace pitcher Erik Bedard. The team...
2008 Los Angeles Angels
February 19, 2008
The Angels have turned into the power of the AL West winning the division three of the past four years. They have the third most wins in the AL over the past five years. While the team won the World Series back in 2002, fans are expecting the team to reach the World Series each year. The Angels have a great mix as they have a very productive offense, a solid rotation, and a reliable bullpen. The team will look a little different in 2008, as they signed big time free agent Tori Hunter and traded...
2008 Cincinnati Reds
February 18, 2008
The 2008 Cincinnati Reds will hope the addition of new manager Dusty Baker can bring the team back to its winning ways. The team capped off their seventh straight losing season last year when they finished fifth in the NL Central at 72 – 90. While the offense is loaded with great talent, the pitching staff isn’t much to speak of after the top two. So it might be tough for Baker to make an immediate impact the team is heading in the right direction. Pitching: Aaron Harang is one of the best-kept...
2008 Pittsburgh Pirates
February 18, 2008
The Pirates have become so use to winning that it has been 15 seasons since the last time they had a winning year. The team will most likely tie the record of 16 straight losing seasons set by the Phillies back in the 30s and 40s. For a team that finished last in the NL with 68 -94 record didn’t do much at all to improve or shake up their roster. The team did bring in a Neal Huntington as the new GM and John Russell as the team’s new manager. The team does have a lot of young talent, and it...
2008 Houston Astros
February 18, 2008
In 2007 the Houston Astros said good-bye to one of the greatest to put on an Astros uniform in Craig Biggio. Biggio’s last season wasn’t a storybook ending for the team as they finished with a 73-89 record for fourth in the NL Central, though he did reach the 3,000 hit milestone before he hung them up. The team will keep bench coach Cecil Cooper as the manager of the team, after he replaced the fired Phil Garner late last season. While the team seemed to address the needs on the offense end,...
2008 Milwaukee Brewers
February 18, 2008
The Milwaukee Brewers were one of the surprise teams of 2007 leading the National League Central for pretty much the whole year before letting the Cubs squeeze by late. The Brewers had their first winning season since 1992 going 83 -79. The team is full of young talent let by corner infielders 1B Prince Fielder and NL Rookie of the Year Ryan Braun. The team added some veteran leadership when they signed catcher Jason Kendall. The team also added some age in CF Mike Cameron. The addition in Cameron...
2008 St. Louis Cardinals
February 17, 2008
The St. Louis Cardinals come in to 2008 with a roster that barely resembles that of the team that won the World Series just two year ago. While injuries didn’t help their chances of repeating in 2007, they still managed to finish third in the Central. The Cardinals are trying to ease into a transition of bringing in young talent to get rid of the old. They traded away CF Jim Edmonds to the Padres and 3B Scott Rolen to Toronto. The team also lost their spark plug in SS David Eckstein who will play...
2008 Minnesota Twins
February 17, 2008
Last year Minnesota Twins fans were hoping for another division title after they took the Central title in 2006. That didn’t happen, as the Twins just couldn’t seem to get things rolling. They ended up finishing 4th in the division and only winning 79 games. Manager Ron Gardenhire will have a tough road ahead of him in 2008. The Twins lost the best pitcher in baseball in Johan Santana and one of their best offense and defensive players in Tori Hunter. What you have to remember is that the...