MLB

The other day I was sitting around talking to my buddies, and we were talking about the whole Alex Rodriguez hip injury situation.

It was then that one of my friends said to me how convenient it was for A-Rod, with all of the controversy, to miss the first two months of the season.

And then we thought, "No way...could it be? Could A-Rod have tested positive in the offseason, and this is baseball's way of covering it up?"

Some Bud Selig lovers would say, "No Way!"

Until opening day, in celebration of the coming 2009 baseball season, we will be previewing all 30 teams over the next few weeks. 

With team-by-team divisional breakdowns, season projections, and playoff predictions, come October we'll all look back fondly and laugh wholeheartedly how wrong and how off-base our prognostications.

National League East—Philadelphia Phillies

In the interest of full disclosure, Justin Verlander and Gary Sheffield destroyed my fantasy team last year. Verlander was the second pitcher I drafted (after Aaron Harang—ouch), and all I needed from Sheff was one decent run at the end of the season to take my opening round playoff series. Swing and a miss on both counts.

Consequently, the residual bitterness may creep into this preview of the 2009 Detroit Tigers. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Robinson Cano and Damaso Marte returned to Yankee camp from the World Baseball Classic. Both are nursing injuries. They are supposed to be minor, but both players will see the doctor tomorrow.

Looking through my TV Guide, I found out that the Yankees and Red Sox game tonight will be aired on NESN (Red Sox TV).  However, when I looked at Peter Abraham's blog, it said:

(Photo by Steven Senne / AP)

...but that was awesome.

I can't help but applaud the Red Sox' oft-moronic version of Michael Flatley for his comments about Manny Ramirez in his interview with the April edition of Esquire magazine:

It’s amazing what one week can do. Seven simple days and it seems like half of the Rockies' fan-base jumped off the bandwagon after a winless first week in Tucson.

The defeats can be looked at one of two ways:

Derek Jeter has been one of the most beloved professional athletes in New York’s illustrious sports history.

He has also been one of the most respected athletes in the history of sports in general.

Michael Bourn was acquired to be the leadoff hitter to replace legendary Craig Biggio. Ed Wade envisioned Bourn as the next "Killer B," a speedy youngster who could be a defensive gem in Minute Maid Park's cavernous center field and could be devastating as a top of the order threat both at the plate and on the base paths.

Bourn was devastating, but only to the Astros offense. In his first full year as a starter and first in Astros Red and Black, Bourn posted only a .229 average and a miserable .288 on-base percentage. 

Puerto Rico remains undefeated through the first round of the World Baseball Classic. I must say, I'm very impressed with their team unity and great play so far. 

I say so far because we were all stunned when the Netherlands defeated the heavily favored Dominican Republic (TWICE, actually), and we may be in for another upset in the later rounds.