But you still need to activate your account.
While snow continues to force us to use our new Christmas putters to chip ice off the front steps, the major league baseball season is getting under way this weekend.
The Boston Red Sox have a new look with the addition of such players as slugger Manny Ramirez, infielder Chris Stynes, and veteran pitchers Hideo Nomo, Frank Castillo, and David Cone.
But will they be able to help lead the Red Sox to their first World Series championship since 1918?
Several local sports personalities and longtime high school baseball coaches were asked to assess the Red Sox and their chances. They were also asked to choose their World Series participants and the outcome.
Wayne Harvey, sports director, WLBZ-TV Bangor: “If Carl Everett and Manny Ramirez can co-exist, which could be a problem, they have the offense to really compete. Whether or not they have the pitching is another concern. After Pedro [Martinez], there isn’t much. I think they’ll be the number two team in the East. They will definitely be in the hunt for the wild card. You know you’ve got a win every fifth day with Pedro. And they have the offense, especially when they get [injured shortstop and defending two-time AL batting champ] Nomar Garciaparra back, to win a whole bunch of 12-7 games. But my wild card pick is Kansas City.”
World Series: New York Yankees over Arizona Diamondbacks in five games.
Dale Duff, program director, WZON-AM Bangor: “They will compete for the wild card, but I think the wild card team will come from one of the other two divisions. The biggest reason [they won’t make the playoffs] is no Nomar. On the plus side, because of the unbalanced schedule, they play Baltimore and Tampa Bay more often than some of the other teams, although they haven’t done that well against Tampa Bay. The pitching will be better. Nomo and Castillo are better than the other guys they started with last year. But you can’t replace Nomar. Manny [Ramirez] and [Dante] Bichette are streak hitters. Nomar gets hits almost every day.”
World Series: Yankees over Atlanta Braves in six.
Clem Labree, sportscaster, WZON-AM: “The Red Sox will win the wild card if they have to go without Nomar [for an extended period of time]. With Nomar, they’ll win the [East] division. Carl Everett [and his off-field antics] won’t bother them. It won’t come into play on the field. They are deep enough to pick up the slack [in Garciaparra’s absence].”
World Series: St. Louis Cardinals over Oakland A’s in six.
Steve Tupper, former Searsport High School coach: “They’ve got to make a decision on Nomar’s wrist [surgery] right off quick. If he doesn’t get his wrist taken care of, he could suffer through a tough year. Ramirez will help them out. They’re lacking a good power hitter from that side. Nomar hits for [high] average and hits the ball well, but who knows how he’s going to be with his wrist. The pitching I don’t know about. There’s Pedro and then your guess is as good as mine. [Tim] Wakefield didn’t get the job done this spring. I don’t think they can contend for the title unless they get solid No. 2 and No. 3 starters [behind Martinez]. Good pitching still beats good hitting. They’ll get the wild card, but they can’t win the division without better pitching.”
World Series: Yankees over Los Angeles Dodgers in five.
Robin Weed, Winslow High baseball coach: “They’ll finish second behind the Yankees [in the division], but, if they don’t watch out, they may finish third without another good pitcher. Maybe they’ll make a trade to get a number two. Everett disrupts the whole chemistry of that team. [General manager Dan] Duquette sticks up for him. [Manager Jimy] Williams has no power there. Nomar being out hurts them big-time because he is the pillar that holds up the team. They play well around him. They’ll be better offensively. I don’t like the right side of the infield. I’d like to see [John] Valentin back. He’s a steady guy who hits 20 homers and drives in 80-90 runs. Stynes was a good pickup and I expect to see [Troy] O’Leary come back now that his personal problems are behind him. I’d like to see Trot Nixon bounce back, too. They have a great bullpen, but I don’t know about their frontline pitching. They’ll be in the hunt for the wild card.”
World Series: Yankees over Cardinals in five.
Gene Crockett, Nokomis High baseball coach: “They’ll be the wild card. They’ve got the hitting now to go with Pedro. Nomar being out will certainly hurt a little bit. If they can stay in it early, they’ll be tough down the stretch. They did a pretty good job improving themselves in the offseason. I’m a Yankee fan and their pitching is much better than the Red Sox’s.”
World Series: Yankees over Braves in six.
Nate Long, sports director, WVII-TV Bangor: “I’m as excited as ever to start the spring, but with the way things ended last year, this spring looks a lot similar and that’s not good. If things start off bad and they start booing the highly paid athletes, guys like Manny and Carl aren’t going to want to play in Boston and it will go straight downhill from there. There are a lot of head games in the locker room and if they make the playoffs, Jimy Williams should be the manager of the year. The pitching is iffy. Somebody is going to have to step up like [Paxton] Crawford or [Tomo] Ohka. They won’t make the playoffs.”
World Series: New York Mets over Cleveland Indians in six.
Al Cloutier, Cony High baseball coach: “They’ll win 85 games. Maybe. They seem to have a lot of the same types of players: DHs. They don’t have a lot of speed. If Garciaparra plays, they have to be better offensively with Ramirez. Pitching-wise, I’d like to see them go with young kids. Their bullpen is as good as anybody’s. They’ll be in the thick of the wild card [hunt], but I think Chicago, Oakland, or Seattle will be the wild card.”
World Series: A’s over Cardinals in six.
Jim Churchill, sportscaster, WZON-AM: “The Red Sox will win the division by at least five games. Their pitching will be first or second in the league and the bullpen is the best. They have enough depth in the starting pitching to carry them. Offensively, they had a big problem last year. They lost a lot of one- and two-run games. Even without Nomar, they’ll be among the top four offensively in the league. I expect guys like [Jason] Varitek and Nixon to be improved. Their defense is a little weak.”
World Series: Red Sox over Cardinals in seven.
Dan Hannigan, sportscaster, WZON-AM: “Scoring runs won’t be a problem. The sooner Nomar returns, the better off they’ll be. Ramirez will protect him in the lineup. So will Everett. Pedro is a strength. Defense is their biggest weakness. They’ll be in the [playoff] hunt. It’ll be similar to last year. It’ll come down to the last month. They’re going to have to beat out the Yankees, Cleveland, and Seattle for the division and wild card.”
World Series: Yanks over Cardinals in six.
Tim Throckmorton, sports director, WABI-TV: “I tend to be positive even when the chances aren’t good. This year, the chances are better than usual. I’m feeling pretty good about them. People complain about their pitching, but not many teams have great starters one through five. With Pedro in position, if their No. 2 and No. 3 guys can have decent years, they’ll be in the thick of it. And they have a couple people capable of that. They have always scored a lot of runs, but not many people can tell you who’s going to be starting in the infield and that’s really odd for a contender. The big question is how much offense can they get from their patched-up infield. The outfield will produce plenty, maybe better than any other team. The defense is a question mark without Nomar. They’ve got to get off to a decent start to believe in themselves without Nomar. They’ll make the playoffs.”
World Series: Mets over the Yankees in six.
Comments
comments for this post are closed