Comeback Kids

Every season a new player will come along and break your heart.Perhaps this player was a perennial all-star who has a bad year. Maybe it’s the young up-and-comer who can’t quite match his previous season. It could be the aging veteran who was being counted on for a stellar year, but just couldn’t produce.

Each year, teams hopes are dashed due to a number of factors. However, a down year by a key cog could spell the end of your season before it begins.

So comes a new year with new aspirations. Who might come back to life after a painful 2007 season? Let’s take a look at players who need a big turnaround for their teams to have a chance.

Carlos Delgado, New York Mets:
Part of the Mets' epic collapse in ’07 was due to a rash of injuries and a terribly timed slump at the end of the year. But a major force behind the fall of the Mets was Carlos Delgado’s poor excuse for a season.

24 home runs and 87 RBI is nothing to shake a stick at. But when you look at the overall body of work from Delgado’s career, it goes down as possibly his worst.

You can blame his performance on a failed recovery from elbow surgery. However, Delgado has missed 18 or more games in five of the last six seasons. Sadly, his time as a prolific slugger may be coming to an end. He ranks 37th on the all-time home run list. While he should hit 30 homers this year, he is quite obviously on the downside of his amazing career. The Mets need him this year, so can he deliver?

Richie Sexson, Seattle Mariners:
For a guy who has five 30-homer seasons under his belt, last year was a sickening season for Sexson.

Hitting .209 with only 21 home runs is terrible on any level, but the frustrating season for Sexson who endured hamstring and hip issues throughout the year.

Seattle is in need of a middle-of-the-order bat to produce big power. Adrian Beltre has not lived up to the hype following his 48 home run season with the Dodgers a few years back, and Raul Ibanez is not a masher, but will knock in runs.

To be a contender, the weight will be on Sexson’s cortinzone-injected shoulder to carry the offensive load. Anything less that 30 bombs will be a disappointment again, and will probably mean the end of the run for this once incredible slugger.


Adam Eaton, Philadelphia Phillies:
Some, including myself, scratched their heads after the Phils gave Eaton a $24 million contract before last season.

Somehow reaching 10 wins in first season with the Phillies, Eaton struggled mightly, yes with injuries, but also with allowing anyone and everyone to hit off of him.

His 6.29 ERA was the worst of any starting pitcher in the big leagues, a sure sign that the Phillies have wasted money.This is a new season, but will Eaton be the same man? A comeback year is one where a player reaches a level he was previously at before his decline. Eaton’s best year came in an abbreviated season where he went 11-5 with a 4.27 ERA, which isn’t anything special.

Even so, the Phillies will gladly take that. They need just about anything they can get from Eaton, realizing that they are short on arms.


Dontrelle Willis, Detroit Tigers:
When you win 22 games in a season and blow people away with unhittable stuff at just 24-years old, people expect you to be the next big thing.

Things went the other direction for Willis the last two seasons after that memorable 2005 campaign when he came in second for the NL Cy Young Award.

Florida cleaned house as they seem to do every few seasons, and Willis was sent to Detroit who believe he still has the tools to become a top-tier starter. After a rough spring, questions are again surfacing on whether or not Willis still has it.

His lack of control and loss of velocity has worried some, and this could be a telling year not only for the Detroit Tigers, but in the career of Dontrelle Willis.

The D-Train needs to get on the track again, and if he does, it could mean huge things for the Tigers.

The Sights and Sounds of Spring Training

Seventy-nine degrees and sunny. Freshly cut grass in a criss-crossing pattern through the outfield. Birds chirping. The chalk laid down the lines. The infield dirt being groomed ever so gently. Click-clack on the pavement as they make their way to the field. Pop in the mitt every few seconds. Crack of the bat.

Stretch it out boys; it’s a new season.

Every year, the same sounds resonate through the states of Florida and Arizona. This is the sound of Spring Training. It’s a new year with new hopes and dreams for baseball players.

Every year, players from all 30 teams make their way to the training complexes in hopes of becoming a champion nine months later.

Every year, February becomes a symbol of the All-American game taking shape for a new season. Major League Baseball is about to begin, and with it comes many questions about the upcoming 2008 season.

We are currently immersed in a steroids scandal that now has Washington involved. Yet, with the negatives surrounding the game, there are still positives.

The biggest acquisition of the off-season is Johan Santana. Can he make New York forget about the epic collapse suffered in the final weeks of last season? He makes the Mets a legitimate contender right away.

Will the Oakland Athletics, and their “Moneyball” philosophy, be able to tread water this season, having traded away several key assets? Nick Swisher, Dan Haren, and Mark Kotsay have all gone elsewhere, leaving the A’s short of an identity.

Can the Boston Red Sox repeat as champions? They are loaded throughout the roster with talent, including a great infusion of youngsters like Clay Buchholz and Jacoby Ellsbury. However, with arm problems surrounding Curt Schilling, are the Sox deep enough?

The Colorado Rockies had a most improbable season in 2007. Can they prepare themselves for another run at the World Series?

Will the Philadelphia Phillies use the momentum from last year’s great run in the NL East to reach the playoffs for consecutive seasons? It’s been since the early ‘80’s, so the Fightin’s Faithful sure hopes so.

The New York Yankees have the league's highest payroll again this season. But will that mean the end of the World Series drought that has plagued George Steinbrenner and the evil empire since the beginning of this decade?

Or is there another team out there looking to create a story-book ending?

Perhaps a young Diamondbacks squad that made the NLCS in ’07? Maybe a Chicago Cubs franchise that has been without a title for nearly an entire century? How about a talented Cleveland Indians team that nearly shocked baseball last year, before bowing out to the eventual champion Red Sox?

The questions put forth will be followed by answers in the upcoming days, weeks, and months. This is what we look forward to as fans of a great sport. We follow along all year to have our respective teams take us along on a journey of fun throughout the summer. We long to be part of the story of a magical season.

So as the sights and sounds begin to take shape during this spring training season, we will all be watching. Watching and waiting for one final moment.

The final pitch. The cheer of the crowd. The hugs. Screaming fans embracing each other.

The lift of the trophy.

Dosage of Phils

Pedro Feliz Signs With the Phils:
-Not a bad move for the Fightin's, bringing in a 6th or 7th man in the order to take over at hot corner. He's 32 but can hit for some pop. He had a down year last year, but brining him in at a modest 2 years with an option for a 3rd is not a bad idea. I feel like we could see another David Bell, however, the Phils left themselves flexible in the situation by giving up only $8.5 million over those two years. If he can just make contact with the ball and put it in play, the Phillies will get what they paid for. Somewhere around 84-88 rbi would be about right, and he should hit about .275-.280 in the ballpark and lineup. However what overshadowed that move for the Phils was the news that...

Johan Santana Shipped to New York:
-The Mets won the ultimate prize of the 2008 offseason, by acquiring 2-time Cy Young winner Johan Santana. They gave up a package of 4 decent prospects, but it was nothing that the Mets could not handle. However, does this outright make them better than the Phillies? As a Philadelphia fan, it's hard to come at this question with a clear mind, but we can break it down.

The starting pitching is still relatively equal. As much as the Phils back end of the rotation is shaky, so is the Mets. Both teams have two great pitchers at the top of the rotation. I believe they are about even however, because we do not know what to expect from Pedro. However, the Phillies do not have a 2-time Cy on their team. That can make a huge difference. EDGE METS

The lineup for the Phillies has a definite advantage though, especially brining in Pedro Feliz and Geoff Jenkins. The Phillies will strike out a ton, yet they get on base so much that it nearly negates the fact that they whiff so damn much. The Phillies bench is also stronger than the Mets in nearly every aspect. Defense within the starting lineup is also just about equal. We'll give the lineup/bench to Philadelphia. EDGE PHILLIES

The bullpens for both teams, as for all teams, can and will be an issue at some point in the season. However, the Phillie seem to have plug the holes by getting Brad Lidge and re-signing JC Romero. Aaron Heilman is a decent reliver for the Mets, but the Phillies just have more power at the back end. EDGE PHILLIES.

This will be close in the end, there is no doubt about it. It always comes down to the pitching in the end. The Mets have the starters and the Phils have the relivers. Both have great lineups. Everyone, start getting excited for the '08 season. Should be a hell of a ride in the NL East.