A-Rod's Impact

[PHILLYQ]

MY TWO CENTS

There are plenty of question marks on both teams. Will Kevin Brown be healthy & effective? Will the(ahem) newly slimmed Giambi be as productive & will his knee hold up under a full season? Is Jon Leiber healthy and ready to pitch well? How much will Lofton whine when he's benched? There's probably plenty of other questions that just don't come to mind right now.

For the Bosox, will Schilling be as effective switching leagues? Will Pedro go on the disabled list this year, and for how long? Will Manny Ramirez, who has never been known as an enthusiastic player, spend the season sulking because he was trade bait for so long? Will Nomar be physically healthy and not of wounded psyche?

If the two teams meet in the playoffs, will A-Rod get the hit that bounces the Bosox? The irony in that would be utterly cruel but not unusual. Stay tuned, it should be an interesting ride this year.

[ghost of miles]

In other baseball news--this from liberal blogger Daily Kos (but it's not a political post!):

  Quote

Why I am a Cub fan

by kos

Tue Feb 24th, 2004 at 01:54:49 GMT

Baseball Day (my made-up holiday to celebrate Opening Day) is fast approaching, and as a Cub fan, this season couldn't start soon enough.

Being a Cub fan is unlike anything else. Like being a Red Sox fan, but worse. And last season was the most painful of my life. But things like this remind me why I'd rather root for Cubbie Blue than the Yankees.

In the final months leading up to its execution, the condemned has been talked about ceaselessly, gawked at shamelessly, photographed excessively and guarded in a manner befitting royalty.

The last days of a young but illustrious life will be spent mostly in seclusion, though the final 24 hours will include a whirlwind tour of the city, a national television appearance, an overnight stay in the sumptuous suite of a luxury hotel and, yes, a final meal of steak and lobster.

The end will come in spectacular, undoubtedly pyrotechnic fashion at precisely 7:31 p.m. Thursday, before a local throng and a global gallery, many of whom will celebrate what they believe in all their hearts to be the death of a curse and the exorcism of demons that have haunted this city for decades.

So who's being executed? The Bartman Ball. At 7:31 p.m. (CST) Thursday. Live, on MSNBC, CNN and ESPN.

Meanwhile, in a secured room in Hollywood, Lantieri has been feverishly and secretively devising the method of execution. The Evanston-born, Los Angeles-bred Cubs fans won an Academy Award for his work on "Jurassic Park" and has coordinated special effects for such films as "Minority Report," "The Hulk" and "Back to the Future," so he knows his business [...]

And so, in this case, does the condemned, visited Friday by Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who has not indicated plans to stay the execution.

In its last 24 hours, the ball's schedule calls for a trip—by armored car, of course—to Wrigley Field "just to say goodbye," DePorter said. Then it's on to the Amalfi Hotel Chicago, where a fluffed pillow, luxury suite and even a masseuse will await.

A server from Harry Caray's will present the last meal of steak, lobster and a Budweiser, all of which will be on roped-off display to the public—"kind of like Lincoln's Bedroom," DePorter said.

Yet another reason why I love this game!