Yankees set to win AL title again

Whatdayamean it’s 37 degrees? Play ball!

The answers are: 1. No, 2.Yes, 3. Yes.

The questions are: 1. Will the Sox win the pennant? 2. Will the Yankees win the pennant? 3. Aren’t you tired of picking the Yankees to win the American League for the past 9,000 years when you are a Red Sox fan?

These are the facts. There are 30 horses in this race. Nineteen have a broken leg. Four have hairline fractures or worse. Six are good enough to be playing in late October. One floats on a magic carpet propelled by Jeter jets.

Compare the Red Sox lineup and rotation with that of the Yankees’. Enough said. Add the unhappy Pedro Martinez, who wants a new deal and wants it now, and this could be a long summer for Sox fans.

We will see if the Sox hiring baseball statistician Bill James (who says a bullpen by committee is the answer) to work in the front office can overcome what the Yankees have – talent.

Minnesota and Chicago are the best of the Central. Oakland and Seattle will rule in the West. Anaheim rode its own magic carpet last year. They will not make the playoffs this year. The West gets the wild-card team and the Yankees move on.

Keep an eye on Rocco Baldelli, the rookie center fielder for the Devil Rays. He is really good on a really bad team. One manager who saw Baldelli in a few games this spring said, “He plays with the grace of DiMaggio and hits the ball just as hard.”

The National League East will be tough to win. Atlanta’s pitching is less without three of last year’s starters, including Tom Glavine, and with three of its bullpen mainstays having to be replaced.

Philadelphia has a vastly improved lineup that features former Indian Jim Thome, but its pitching is suspect. The Mets are a lineup of question marks. Roberto Alomar, Mo Vaughn, Jeromy Bernitz and Cliff Floyd are big bats who must prove themselves. Philly wins it.

The NL Central is weak. St. Louis and Houston have the advantage by default. The healthier team wins.

Arizona still has Randy Johnson and Curt Shilling. Until someone can hit them on even an irregular basis, they win. The lineup isn’t bad either. Look for Luis Gonzalez to have a whopper year. He’s angry about the injuries that took much of last year away from him and intends to make up for it in 2003.

Will it really be the Yankees and Arizona in the World Series again?

My pick are the “DLs.”

Around the horn we have Corey Koskie, Tyler Houston, Pablo Ozuna and Phil Nevin. The outfield, left to right, is Jeoff Jenkins, Chris Singleton, and Carlos Beltran. The rotation features Aaron Sele, Eric Milton, Orlando Hernandez, A.J. Burnett and Kevin Walker. In the pen are Mariano Rivera, Trevor Hoffman, Jay Witasick, and Kevin Jarvis.

We moved a couple of players’ positions around and need a catcher, but hey, at least one rookie deserves a chance here.

Yes, these are all injured players who are scheduled to start the season on the DL. The Sox should have this team.

Old Town native Gary Thorne is an ESPN and NBC sportscaster.