RSSAsk Daily: Sox, Rays and Next Season’s Best
Nov 26
Sports baseball, MLB, Red Sox Comments Off
Question: Who is the team to beat in Major League Baseball next season? Any chance we see Tampa Bay and/or the Phillies back in the playoffs?
Answer: The team to beat in Major League Baseball is, at this moment, the Philadelphia Phillies. But, the good news for those of us outside Pennsylvania is that the label applies to the World Series champion only during the time between the final out of the Series and first major player acquisition of the winter hot stove season. It’s like the title “Most Powerful Man in the World.” It only applies to the President of the United States while in office. After that, all bets are off.
And here’s the real story -- We’ll get a real and true “team to beat” for 2009 over the next 6 weeks. By the time the ball drops on Times Square, most trades and signings of significance will be done and we’ll have a sense of which rosters got better, which got worse, and which don’t matter at all.
But, if I could look into my crystal ball, I’d say that by spring training we’ll be talking about the New York Yankees having completely restocked their big league roster with trades and signings. Going into their new stadium, they’ll spare no expense. So, just like every year since the mid-1990′s, experts will predict the Yankees to return to form and claim the AL East -- and trendy followers will believe the Rays will duplicate their magical 2008 and either take the East or get the Wild Card.
Realistically, as the season actually gets played, we’ll also be talking about the Red Sox, Angels, and Cubs. In short -- the “teams to beat” will really be the same ones we always think are the teams to beat. Those teams will have the most impressive rosters on paper and the most experience navigating the treacherous attrition of the 162 game season. Them and one or two shocking teams that made a big signing or two (Kansas City Royals in ’09!!!).
And when it all shakes out, the Rays will be a big disappointment, the Red Sox and Angels will irritate everyone by continuing to win, and the Mets will lose their final 25 games in a row and finish one game out of the Wild Card, with newly signed outfielder Manny Ramirez tripping on his shoelace in the 9th inning, allowing both the tying and winning runs to score.
