MLB

1. New York Mets

Pitching: Their rotation is very average and top heavy. Johan Santana is as dominating as ever, having one of the most underrated seasons of any starting pitcher, but after that the drop off is sever.

Mike Pelfrey and John Maine are both young pitchers who project to be middle-of-the-rotation guys with heavy fastballs. Oliver Perez provides a good left-handed change of pace and Livan Hernandez is a good innings eater for the back of the rotation.

(I wrote this last Sunday, and sat on it because everyone was in Citi mode, and I like to hang onto "generic" pieces for when there is nothing going on. I'm releasing it now because Murray Chass just wrote a hatchet piece on Bobby Valentine, and I know how the blogosphere works...)

The forecast is still lousy. There's a 90 percent chance of rain at 5 p.m. and 90 percent at 8 p.m.

As I mentioned in the 5 Reasons Friday's Game Won't Be Rained Out I expect we'll be sitting in our seats tomorrow. 

The reason for this post is because I'm getting asked what will happen if the game isn't played.

Well, Mike Axisa from River Ave. Blues and Rob Neyer think they should. McPherson was released yesterday by the Marlins and could be brought in to play third base.

With Opening Day of the 2009 baseball season just around the corner, it is time for the obligatory comments about how the start of the season is so great, because every team starts at the same place, with a renewed sense of optimism and hope.

The Tampa Bay Rays are coming off their first successful season in the history of the franchise. Finally, they're not considered doormats with no vision of the future. Now the Pirates stand alone there. (Even the Royals are much improved!)

This club is scary in the pool of young talent they already hold, plus more on the way in the minor leagues. The Rays will compete for a very, very long time. But will they be able to withstand the Red Sox and Yankees assault in 2009?

On Sunday I read some comments from David Howard, VP of business operations with the Mets, which got me wondering.

Now that it's official that Daniel Murphy will start Opening Day, it gives the Mets three "homegrown" players on the field (homegrown defined as a player who played their first MLB game in a Mets uniform). This got me thinking about other Opening Day lineups

Major League Baseball is always filled with major questions to be answered.

2009 is no exception.

Here are a few of the biggest questions needing to be answered.

5. Will another team like the Tampa Bay Rays come out of nowhere to make the playoffs?

I give a team like the San Fransisco Giants a good shot at challenging for the NL West title.

They have a fantastic pitching staff.

If their offense shows even decent improvement, the Giants will be contenders sooner rather than later.