How long before Adam Lind comes up from Triple A and takes over as the bat to replace the Big Hurt ?
Lind played the outfield after four days off with a sore neck.
He's hitting .370 at Syracuse with significant pop.
By the end of the week I suspect.

How long before Frank Thomas finds work as DH after his release from Toronto ?
Don't hold your breath.

It happens every year.
A couple of weeks in and nothing looks like it's supposed to.
The good news for all those with pre season crystal balls is that it also bares almost no resemblance to how it will all end.
So, welcome to every year.

As the weekend started you like I had these teams as your division winners:
Baltimore, Kansas City and Oakland in the American League.

NL WEST - 10 Questions

1 ROCKIES 2 D'BACKS 3 DODGERS 4 PADRES 5 GIANTS

1 Rockies, magic last year or are they the real thing ?
Pitching, pitching, pitching especially terrific 'pen
Jeff Francis, Ubaldo Jimenez, Franklyn Morales, the returning Aaron Cook...
They;ll miss the injured Jason Hirsh because Mark Redman will be a disaster in Coors..

CHICAGO CUBS

Prediction - Division winner

Say Hello to: OF Kosuke Fukudome

Say Goodbye to: OF's Jacque Jones, Cliff Floyd

UP AND COMING - C Geovanny Soto, RP Carlos Marmol

ON THE WAY DOWN - SP Ryan Dempster - can he hang onto spot in rotation ?

HOPES AND DREAMS - OF Felix Pie finally lives up to ecpectations

CINCINATTI REDS

Prediction - 2nd place

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

Prediction - Division winner

Say Hello to: RF Geoff Jenkins after a long career in Milwaukee, 3B Pedro Feliz from the Giants

Say Goodbye to: CF Aaron Rowand, SP Freddy Garcia and RP Antonio Alfonseca

UP AND COMING - Nobody at the moment, just SP Cole Hamels continued rise to stardom

ON THE WAY DOWN - Jamie Moyer is 45 now

The old adage that good pitching will always beat good hitting hasn't changed much over the years.
You still can't win a championship without it.
However, where your pitching strength lies in helping deliver those championships,
now that's a different story.

There are several teams that have the starting pitching to contend.

I wanted so much to leave all the crap behind.
I won't think of the steroid stuff very much while I'm actually enjoying a game this summer.
I really won't.
When some beefy hitter drills an otherworldly fastball nine miles,
I won't sit back and think just how many syringe fulls it might have taken for either pro to deliver the goods.
Am I in denial?
I don't think so.

It's one thing to BE one of baseball's top prospects.
It's quite another to actually have an opneing to play in the majors some time this season.
Ask Phillies star first baseman Ryan Howard who was clearly ready for action at the start of the 2005 season but had to wait for incumbent Jim Thome to get hurt before finally getting the nod.

In 'Damn Yankees', the play turned movie turned back into play, everyman Joe Hardy has had enough.
The Yankees win the world series every year and his Washington team always finishes last.
He pines for a champion, a turnabout from those Damn Yankees.
He eventually sells his soul to the devil for one shot at immortality.

Since the 1994 season was washed away by labor unrest and the seats emptied a bit, Major league baseball has taken few steps backward.
The steroid induced homer barrage that followed brought folks back to the game in record numbers and the coffers have been filling and re-filling since.
Somehow major league baseball has been able to sidestep most of the mess like a tiptoe through a poop field.