Arlington, TX -

The ALCS will take place tonight in the SBS between the Texas Rangers and the Toronto Blue Jays. These two teams had the top two records in the AL this year, but that is where the similarities end. The Rangers are looking to make the World Series in the first postseason trip in their 35 year existence, while the Blue Jays are looking to create a dynasty by adding a 3rd ring in 4 seasons (and making the playoffs in 5 of the last 6 complete seasons). However, the beauty of baseball is that the past doesn't always matter, and anything can happen in a seven game series. Let's take a look at the rosters of each team and see what we all have in store for us:

Catcher: The Rangers' Ivan Rodriguez is a manager's dream behind the dish. He can hit for average (.330 BA), he can hit for power (32 HR, .556 SLG), and he can field his position (+4.6 ZR and 41.8 Runners Caught Stealing). Rodriguez is young, and the complete package behind the plate. The Blue Jays rely on mid-season acquisition B.J. Surhoff, a solid, yet unspectacular player who definitely provided an upgrade over current backup Greg Myers. Big edge to the Rangers here, but this has much more to do with what Rodriguez can do than what Surhoff can't.

First Base: Mike Stanley's stats for year scream "meh." He didn't hit particularly well (.249 BA), hit for some power (18 HR), but not as much as you would hope for from 1B. He is also a bit below average defensively. The Blue Jays counter with John Olerud, who had a solid season. He doesn't have great numbers (.274 BA, 13 HR), but holds an edge over Stanley with his excellent glove and his ability to get on base (.412 OBP). Advantage Blue Jays.

Second Base: "Sweet Lou" Whitaker returns to the post-season for the first time in eight seasons with the Rangers. In Detroit (which Whitaker had called home since his big-league debut in 1977), Whitaker put together a solid campaign, but since moving to Texas, he has been a shell of his former self. He still possesses plus power for a 2B (20 HR), but the consistency that had been his trademark for over a decade appears to be on the wain. For Toronto, Jeff Kent excels in almost every aspect game: he hits for average and power, is an excellent defender and is also developing an eye at the plate. Big edge to the Blue Jays here, unless Whitaker can find a time machine befores the series start (now watch Sweet Lou hit .450 with 4 bombs in the series while capturing the ALCS MVP).

Shortstop: Rookie Michael Young has become the starter out of necessity for the Rangers, following Jose Hernandez' horrific season. Young will be a nice player eventually and has done all that can be expected of him, but at this point he is not the type of player you expect to see starting on a playoff team. He batting average is not terrible (.251), but over 4 of his 50 big league hits thus far have not been singles (4 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR). Young is average in the field. Alex Gonzalez of the Blue Jays won't be making an All-Star anytime soon, but he does have some pop (18 HR), provides speed on the base paths (23 SB), and is an above average defender at a premium defensively postion. Advantage Blue Jays here, although this position is not really a strength for either team.

Third Base: It's all about the long ball here. Dean Palmer mans the hot corner for Rangers, and hits for nice power (37 HR) while displaying nice patience at the plate (78 BB). Palmer doesn't hit for a great average though, and is a butcher in the field (37 errors and a .909 fielding percentage). At 3B, the Blue Jays turn to another mid-season acquisition in Gary Sheffield. Sheffield moved from RF to 3B upon his arrival in Toronto, and he has led the charge for the Blue Jays offensively since (to the tune of a 1.002 OPS since the trade). Once again, the advantage goes to the Blue Jays, but either player is capable of playing a role in the outcome of this series.

Left Field: If you ask scouts, they will tell you that the Rangers' Juan Gonzalez is vastly superior to Glenallen Hill of the Blue Jays. However, their stats for season make them pretty comparable players. Both hit for power and drive in runs (43 HR and 117 RBI for Gonzalez, 38 HR and 129 RBI for Hill) and both players are below average fielders. Gonzalez does have an advantage in OBP, so for that and his reputation, the edge goes to the Rangers.

Center Field: Playing CF for the Rangers is Sammy Sosa, yet another power hitter (41 HR and a .553 slugging percentage). Derek Bell patrols CF for the Blue Jays, and has provided a steady top of the order presence (.315 BA, .378 OBP, 17 HR). Both players are a threat to swipe the occasional base (24 SB for Bell, 15 SB for Sosa), and neither player is considered a true CF (which viewers will quickly see once the series starts). All in all, both players have provided similar value to their teams in very different ways. In the end though, the edge goes to the Rangers, as in a short series Sosa's bat seems more likely to make a difference than Bell's.

Right Field: The Rangers' RF Ruben Sierra enjoyed a nice comeback season that saw him hit 33 HR from the nine hole for Texas (the fact that the Rangers nine hitter has 33 HR tells you plenty about the fire power they possess). Sierra posted a solid .889 OPS on the season, but his work in the field this year left something to be desired (which is surprising, as up to this point Sierra had been a solid defender in his career). Right Field for Toronto is the domain of the odds-on favorite for AL Rookie of the Year, Shawn Green. Green trumped Sierra's power output for the season (.589 to .537 in SLG) while posting a .313 average and playing excellent defense in RF. Although it's tough to rely on rookies on the big stage like this, you have to give the edge to the Blue Jays here.

Designated Hitter: Rusty "the Red Baron" Greer is the Rangers DH and leadoff hitter. Greer does a little bit of everything, hitting for average (.301 BA), getting on base (.396 OPB), stealing bases (16 SB), and hitting for power (although with "only" 23 HR, I'm not sure that counts for power in Texas). Toronto's DH is the Crime Dog, Fred McGriff. When he's not pimping Tom Emanski's Instructional Video, McGriff is a nice middle of the order bat for the Blue Jays. Although McGriff is a solid player, Greer's all around ability give the advantage to the Rangers.

Starting Pitching: The Rangers rotation is headed by Kevin Brown, Bobby Witt and Brian Bohanon. Brown a true ace, a flame-throwing workhorse (19 W, 248.2 IP, 3.04 ERA). Witt and Bohanon are both solid pitchers who posted sub-4.00 ERAs, which is not easy to do in the bandbox known as The Ballpark in Arlington. If the Rangers deviate from their 3 man rotation, Kenny Rogers would get the calls as the number 4 starter. Toronto looks like they will enter the series with a 4 man rotation that includes Todd Stottlemyre, David Wells, Pat Hentgen, and Jaime Navarro. Stottlemyre is the ace for the Blue Jays, but did not have quite as good a season as Brown thus far. Wells is a decent pitcher with a nice win total (16), but his secondary stats indicate that he did not have a great year. Hentgen and Navarro are solid, but unspectacular. Another factor to consider is that the Rangers swept the Brewers in the ALDS, while the Blue Jays were taken to the limit by the Indians in their divisional series. This means that Stottlemyre would have to start on short rest to go Game 1, or the Blue Jays will have to turn to Navarro or Hentgen. In the end, the top of the Rangers rotation is stronger, and is better setup for the series (Brown can go up to three times in the series), so they have the edge here.

Bullpen: The Ranger bullpen is flithy. Closer Tom Henke has experience and is one of the most respected closers in the game, and Matt Whiteside, Robb Nen and Darren Oliver have all had excellent season. This is especially important if Texas continues with their three man rotation, as starters pitching on short rest tend to not go as deep into the game. The Blue Jays boast a solid relief core as well, with Closer Mike Timlin headlining. Other relievers of not are Xavier Hernandez, David Weathers and Tim Crabtree. These units are pretty close to one another, but Henke's ability and experience puts the Rangers over the top here.

The Verdict: As you can see, these are two great, even matched teams. The Blue Jays have a big edge in the infield, while Rangers outfield and pitching seem to have the edge. The mid-season reinforcement will provide a boost to the Blue Jays, but the prediction here is that the Rangers prevail in seven games and head to their first World Series. Good luck to both teams!

Arlington, TX -

The Texas Rangers won the inaugural AL West Division pennant the old fashioned way: pitching and home runs.
Texas pitchers paced the league with 3.71 ERA despite a pedestrian defense. Texas relievers as well as starters led the league, while the defense allowed a mid-pack .308 batting average on ball in play. Strikeouts were a feature of the Rangers pitching attack, but it was stopping the long ball that converted a third place in hits allowed to a first in ERA.

On the other side of the plate it was the home run that propelled the offense.
Texas led the AL with 256 HRs, but Texas hitters finished in the bottom half in every offensive statistic that does not factor in home runs, including a 14th in stolen bases and an 11th in AVG. Unsurprisingly, for a team maximizing power and minimizing small ball, the Rangers finished middle of the pack in runs scored.

The Rangers twice attempted to remedy their lack of small ball capabilities with trades, bringing in Lou Whitaker and Mike Kingery midseason.
Both trades have to be called failures for the Rangers. Whitaker immediately adopted his predecessors methods at the plate batting a mere .209 and losing over 100 points in SLG after the trade.
Likewise Kingery, brought in to back-up the powerful but thin outfield corps, hit much less than expected. A solid .280 hitter in Kansas City Kingery dropped to .230 in what was an unexpectedly curtailed role as no significant injuries took major time from Rangers this year.

Playoff hopes are high. The Rangers were 4-2 in the regular season against the wild-card Brewers who feature a much more balanced team approach than the long-ball and pitching oriented Rangers.

Kansas City, MO -

The 1995 season was a season of change in Kansas City. Following an exciting 1994 season that saw our hometown team just three games out of the postseason, fans were hopeful that the 1995 edition of the Royals would break through and end a nine year postseason drought. However, the baseball gods had other ideas, and the team’s hopes faded with David Cone’s torn back muscle in Spring Training.

Despite the injury, team brass stayed the course, and the team hovered around the .500. It quickly became apparent that the team was not going to reach the postseason, as strong starts by the Indians and Brewers left Kansas City in the dust. It looked like another ho-hum summer until July 1, when team ownership announced the firing of GM Herk Robinson and Manager Hal McRae. The following day, the team installed an unknown scout from the Brewers organization, Andy Williams, as the new General Manager. Williams did not mince words in his introductory press conference.

“Kansas City is a great baseball town that has not had a great baseball team in far too long. The guys we have now are giving it their best, but it looks like their best will give us 80-80 wins, which will not cut it in this division. If Cone were healthy, that may be different, but that ship has sailed. As long as I am in charge, this team will not be chasing 82 wins. If we are not able to compete for a playoff berth, we will reload for the future.”

Reading between the lines, it became clear that some changes were in order. Many key pieces of the Royals roster were free agents to be, and some (Cone, Sean Berry, Tom Gordon) indicated that they would not be signing extensions. Williams began working the phones, hoping to move the malcontents to contenders for prospects. What happened next was a mass exodus that is mirrored only by the Padres fire sale of 1993. The carnage is outlined below:

Out: In:
SP Kevin Appier SP Francisco Cordova
SP David Cone SP Ted Lilly
SP Bret Saberhagen SP Esteban Loiaza
RP Brian Bevil SP Ramon Ortiz
RP Tom Gordon SP Aaron Sele
C Mike McFarlane RP Rocky Biddle
1B Kevin Seitzer RP Joe Hudson
3B Sean Berry RP Jonathan Johnson
CF Mike Kingery RP Paul Shuey
CF Brian McRae 1B Jason Giambi
SS Jay Bell
3B Geoff Blum
RF Moises Alou
RF Jose Herrera

Fans have needed a scorecard to keep track of who is playing for their Royals, so let’s take a look at the new look at the Kansas City roster:

Catcher: Brent Mayne, Mike Sweeney

Brent Mayne took over catching duties at the trade deadline after putting up solid numbers at AAA. He has struggled since returning to the bigs, but Williams expects him to improve on his performance. Top prospect (#33 according to Baseball America) Mike Sweeney is waiting in the wings and is expected to make his debut in September. If Sweeney proves he can handle the job, expect him to start with the big club in 1996. Mike McFarlane was having a solid year, but Williams moved him and his salary to clear the way for Sweeney. Mayne will help mentor the young backstop. Production at this spot will suffer a dip in the short term, but eventuall Sweeney should be able to dwarf McFarlane’s production.

First Base: With Seitzer’s trade to Montreal, Jason Giambi has stepped in as the everyday 1B. Giambi (#32 BA prospect) has only hit .227 since his call-up, but Williams believes that he can eventually turn into an anchor in the middle of the batting order who can get on base and hit for power. For now, Giambi will cut his teeth in the 6 hole. This is another position where there should be short-term struggles, but long-term potential.

Second Base: Jay Bell came over in the David Cone trade and immediately replaced David Howard at 2B. Bell is a solid, unspectacular veteran that has stabilized his position. Not an all-star by any means, but a big upgrade over what the team had. Bell is also capable of playing an above average SS defensively, which gives the team added flexibility going forward. At 2B, Bell is keeping the position warm for 1995 1st round pick Orlando Hudson. Hudson (#84 BA prospect) is probably 2-3 years away from the bigs at a minimum, but he projects as a solid leadoff or number 2 hitter with excellent speed.

Shortstop: The most unexpected feel good story of the season has been the surprising play of Mendy Lopez. Lopez struggled at AAA and was called up in desperation due to the play of Edgar Caceres. Lopez has been solid offensively (sporting a .740 OPS and 9.8 VORP) while showing excellent range in the field. There are still skeptics in the organization about whether he can sustain his production, but he has put himself in the future plans of the organization regardless, which is a good thing, as there are no young, can’t miss shortstops in the minors. David Howard is on hand to back-up both middle infield positions.

Third Base: Out goes All-Star Sean Berry, and in comes 25 year old Joe Randa. Randa is not a top prospect like Sweeney or Giambi, but looks to be an above average player in all facets of the game. In fact, some scouts argue that his prowess in the field and on the base paths may make him a better player than Berry at some point. Not a superstar by any means, but certainly the type of player a contender needs.

Left Field: Left field is home to one of the last veteran standing from the start of the year in Jeff Conine. Conine has not had a good year, but Williams is hopeful he can return to form in 1996. The most bloated contract on the roster (under contract for 5 more seasons at $37.5 million), Williams had better hope so, otherwise this contract has the makings of an albatross. Jose Herrera backs up at all 3 OF positions, and Jeremy Giambi (Jason’s brother) and Mark Quinn are corner OF prospects down on the farm.

Center Field: After trading mainstay Brian McRae in the midst of a career year, rookie sensation Johnny Damon (#10 BA prospect) has stepped in without missing a beat. Damon, sporting an .868 OPS at the big league level as a 21 year old, looks as though he can penciled into the leadoff spot for years to come. His bat, speed, and defense provide the Royals with possibly their biggest building block for the future.

Right Field: Young Jon Nunnally has enjoyed a break-out year, and is anchoring the Kansas City offense from the clean-up spot. The 23 year old Nunnally is another player who will play a big part in any future Royal resurgence. Watching to see if he can eclipse the 30 homer mark will be one of the other reasons for Royals fans to come out in September.

Designated Hitter: Moises Alou, one of the players traded for fan favorite Kevin Appier, has provided a nice upgrade over 34 year old Mike Kingery, who was traded to the Rangers at the trade deadline. Alou is in his prime, and Williams believes he is capable of hitting .300 with 30 homers and providing a steady source of offense while the teams prospects develop.

Starting Pitching: The team’s rotation has undergone a massive facelift. Gone are preseason 1-3 starters in Appier, Cone, and Bret Saberhagen. The current rotation is filled with a mix of prospects, innings eaters and reclamation projects. The brightest spot in the rotation is rookie Esteban Loaiza (BA #46 prospect), who is 8-7 with a 3.65 ERA on the season. Not Appier numbers by any stretch, but a solid number 1 starter on a rebuilding team. Francisco Cordova (BA # 22 prospect), another young arm acquired in the Appier trade, is poised to make his MLB debut in September. Cordova is more raw than Loaiza, but projects to have a bit more upside. Either way, Williams hopes the two young hurlers provide a solid 1-2 punch for years to come. Mark Gubicza, a veteran, league average innings eater, fills the number three spot in the rotation. Aaron Sele and Melido Perez (reclamation projects mentioned above) will be given opportunities the rest of the way, but must improve if they wish to keep their jobs. Down on the farm, help is on the way, but it’s a ways off. Ted Lilly, Glendon Rusch, and Jose Rosado are all top 100 prospects playing A ball. Ramon Ortiz could also be a difference maker down the line. Overall, an area that lacks depth at the big league level now, but hope abounds for the future.

Bullpen: What a mess. Outside of closer Hipolito Pichardo, there is no one in the pen that is not disposable. Mark Lee, Dilson Torres and possibly Joe Hudson look to be in the plans for 1996, but there are holes to be filled here. The good news is that the problems in the pen have expiring contracts, so making upgrades here should be too difficult. The best looking bullpen arm in the minors is AA reliever Paul Shuey, but there are number of players at Class A Burlington that could have big league futures.

There you have it. More than you probably ever wanted to know your new Royals. Although fans may be disappointed about seeing so many familiar faces go, at least they can see that the new management team has plan. Whether that plan will lead to a return to the post season remains to be seen.

Chicago, IL -

If you want to see a cursed team, look no further than the Chicago Cubs. It's pretty easy to just say, "Oh that's hocus pocus. There is no such thing as curses." In less than 500 hundred words I will prove it to you.

There have been two teams in the last six real MLB seasons that have compiled a worse 1-run record than the Cubs this year in the SBS. Currently the Cubs sit at an awful 12-27 in one run games. Only the Braves in 2008 and the Orioles and 2007 have done worse since 2004.

What can we credit the 1-run loss to? One might blame the bullpen typically but in the Cubs case, you cannot..for the most part. The bullpen ERA is the best in the NL and one of the best in the Majors. There may lie individual blame beyond the three Sub-2.00 ERA pitchers. Bob Scanlan and Turk Wendell have appeared in over 30 games this season and have ERA's over 3.00. Ah-ha! Well, too bad they haven't blown a save yet this year. They typically the field when the game is already over, apparently. Wendell has pitched in zero games in the last 10 that the Cubs won and Scanlan has pitched in one game in the last 10 where the Cubs won. The problem doesn't lie in the bullpen.

The starting pitchers could be the problem. They have the 7th best ERA in the NL which basically puts them in the middle of the pack. But in comparison to the offense, the pitching staff has given up over 90 runs LESS (458) than the offense has scored (547) and that includes a recent 12-0 walloping handed out by Atlanta last week and the next day a 9-3 defeat.
Where is the problem coming from? The hitting in innings 7-9 are slightly below average with Grace hitting near .200 and he's our 3 hitter setting up for Bichette who's batting over .320 in the same innings. Perhaps it's time to shift the order around based on who can hit in the late innings since our bullpen is surely not going to give up many runs and the offense needs to do something differently in those very important innings.

But that's not good enough to say the Cubs are not cursed. Let's go one more step.. INJURIES. The Cubs two best offensive players are out with injuries for the next four to six weeks; possibly more if they don't bounce back quickly. Quilvio Veras and Dante Bichette have both suffered injuries within the last two days. Bichette will be a loss but can be replaced with Derrick May and Walton who's production has been only slightly below Bichettes. The major problem is going to replace Veras with ... Augie Ojeda?

Perhaps Mike Lowell is ready for the show.

Bring back the goat!

Arlington, TX -

Lou Whitaker arrived here today in time to take infield practice with the team who has placed its hopes squarely on his narrow shoulders. Whitaker should not only anchor the key-stone, but will be expected provide the offensive spark without which the Rangers offense has failed to truly ignite.

Despite a seemingly formidable middle of the order and a truly unique talent behind the plate, the Rangers offense has so far refused to fire. While Sierra and I.Rodriguez have hit over .300, and combined with Juan Gonzalez and Sammy Sosa for 62 HR already this season, the infield has been nothing but a drag on an offense that currently ranks 12th in batting average. Cornermen Stanley and Palmer have provided potent, if inconsistent power, but Hernandez, Frye, Frias, and Gil have seemingly been absent ( 83/405 combined). Rangers batters rank second in slugging and lead the league in home runs.

Denver, CO -

A tale of two Roys. Faced with a decision that could influence the future success - or failure - of his organization more than any other, Rockies GM Brian Bakic selected hometown hero Roy "Doc" Halladay with the first pick in the 1995 Amateur Draft.

Born and raised in Colorado, Halladay will pass up a baseball scholarship from the University of Arizona to pitch for the Rockies. The 6'5'', 225 lb. righty already features 93-95 MPH velocity, complete game stamina, and gold glove defense; however, the Rockies felt his potential pinpoint control would be most valuable in the thin air of Coors Field.

Fans and analysts were undecided whether the Rockies should take Halladay, or another Roy - SP Roy Oswalt out of Kosciusko, Mississippi. Oswalt doesn't have Halladay's command or stamina, and is a slight step down in velocity. However, scouts favor his secondary pitches and believe his mechanics and conditioning make an injury extremely unlikely.

The Florida Marlins, with the second pick in the draft, are rumored to still be holding internal discussions over which player to select. In addition to Oswalt, the Marlins are considering power arms Kerry Wood and A.J. Burnett. Wood and Burnett both feature significantly better stuff and velocity than the Roys, but they have already demonstrated poor control even against high school hitters.

A pair of seventeen year-old center fielders are getting all of the attention on the position player side. Carlos Beltran is a five-tool switch hitter from Puerto Rico, while Andruw Jones is a power hitter who scouts have labeled "the next Griffey". Jones won't hit for average like Beltran, but some scouts project him to be ready to play in the majors with gold glove defense and an above-average bat as early as next season.

Most of the other teenagers in this draft won't be ready for the majors for several years, and GM's like Bakic will be applauded or second-guessed for their decisions in retrospect. But all eyes are tuned in as teams write out a new first chapter for the always unpredictable drama that is Major League Baseball.

Washington, DC -

Major League Baseball owners today accepted the players' offer to return to work, ending the longest work stoppage in professional sports history.

The owners' decision, announced after a four-hour meeting between all 28 teams, ended the players' work stoppage after six months. The longest previous work stoppage was the 50-day baseball strike in 1981. The National Hockey League locked out its players for 103 days at the start of this season, but the baseball players had been on strike longer by the time that dispute ended.

Owners initially declared an impasse in bargaining on Dec. 23, and implemented the salary cap system they had been demanding for more than two years. Three days later, they unilaterally eliminated free-agent bidding and salary arbitration, and withheld $7.8 million they were required to pay to the players' pension and benefit plans per previous agreement.

The National Labor Relations Board issued an "unfair labor practices" charge, accusing management of illegally implementing the cap and sought an injunction to restore free-agent bidding, salary arbitration, and the anti-collusion provisions of baseball's expired collective bargaining agreement.

Owners voted 26-2 last month to authorize the use of replacement players. However, five bills aimed at ending the strike were introduced into Congress on Jan. 1, and President Clinton ordered players and owners to resume bargaining on Jan. 26.

Under the new agreement, there will be a $125 million salary cap. Media revenues, local and national, will be shared equally amongst all 28 teams. A new luxury tax will cost teams an additional 50% of the amount they exceed the average payroll by 125%. The minimum Major League salary was increased to $400,000, and Minor League free agency has been terminated.

Players can begin reporting to Spring Training on Thursday on a voluntary basis, with the mandatory reporting date coming Monday. The season will begin as scheduled on Monday, April 3, as teams and players look to revitalize a sport that last year lost its signature season-ending World Series for the first time in 90 years.