Sports

For diehard fans, 2009 MLB season will be a treat

In print | April 9, 2009

I had the pleasure of going to the Phillies’ season opener on Sunday night, the first game of the 2009 Major League season. It was a dual celebration: rejoicing in the 2008 World Series victory as well as the start of 2009.

While it was exhilarating to be there when the defending champions were introduced, the game left a lot to be desired, as the champs fell behind early and never really mustered any sort of offense.

In fact, by the second inning (that is, two innings after the Phillies won the World Series), the fans were booing.

Brett Myers was harangued with the usual spousal abuse jeers as he surrendered homer after homer, Ryan Howard’s new supersized contract was mocked as he struck out twice, and there were a lot of anguished faces in the seats around me.

I really thought that winning a World Series would win at least a week, perhaps a month, of mercy for the Phils.

Even in a city that cherishes its reputation for giving athletes a tough time, I expected the championship to alter the dynamic a bit, at least for a little while.

Shows what I know.

Beer is still beer, and the Eagles still haven’t won a Super Bowl, so I guess it’s safe to assume that Philadelphia fans will continue to be generally pissed off and vocal about it.

But for me, even that cipher of a game couldn’t blot out the wonderful truth: baseball is back.

There’s nothing better than being a baseball fan. For seven months, there’s daily drama.

While football fans stew over their games for a whole week (sometimes two), baseball fans only have to wait for the next day.

When your team suffers a devastating loss, the next game can’t come soon enough.

When they pull out a good win, you want nothing more than to see them back out there again. Baseball indulges that impatience.

Here are some key storylines that should be fun to watch unfold over the next seven months, one day at a time.

Beasts in the East

In both the American and National Leagues, the East divisions are deep and potentially dominant. In the AL, this is old news to some degree.

The Yankees and Red Sox have long been two of the best teams in baseball. But the emergence of the Rays and the quiet competence of the Blue Jays make this one of the best divisions we’ve ever seen.

Throw in the Orioles’ impressive crop of rising stars, and the AL East is downright scary. Ultimately, it’s hard to imagine the Orioles or Blue Jays factoring into the playoff picture, but watching the other three powers duke it out could be quite a show come late summer.

The NL East has been all about Mets-Phillies the last three years, but the recharged Braves, though overlooked, could disrupt that storyline in 2009. The Braves’ revamped rotation, the Mets’ greatly improved bullpen, the Phillies’ beautiful new banner and the Marlins’ Hanley Ramirez should provide great drama through September.

Surprises out West

In both leagues, Los Angeles is the too-easy pick to win the division (Angels in the AL, Dodgers in the NL). Both of those teams are stacked with names you know, but their rivals, filled with names you don’t know, may make those surefire division picks backfire.

The A’s have a well-documented ability to develop young talent and shape it into a pennant contender.

Well, they look ready to pull the trick again, as they reap the benefits of trading Rich Harden, Joe Blanton, Dan Haren and Huston Street for good prospects over the past few years.

Another team the Angels have to worry about is the Rangers, who probably have the best farm system in all of baseball right now.

Their upper minor leagues are stacked with power arms and impact bats, and they should very soon be the new power out West.

It may be a bit early, but 2009 could be the beginning of the Rangers’ reign.

In the NL, the Dodgers need to look out for the Diamondbacks, whose group of young hitters has been ready to explode for two years.

If Chris Young, Mark Reynolds, Stephen Drew and friends put it together, they could dominate that division.

There are also some fun microplots. After an inspiring second half of 2008 with the Brewers, C.C. Sabathia is now the latest installment of the Yankees’ search for a true ace.

The Mets are trying to erase an embarrassing September. Again. The Giants’ rotation may feature Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner at some point this season, all of whom are under 25 and possess ace potential.

We’ll see if anything can stop Manny Ramirez from hitting. Hanley Ramirez and Albert Pujols, all-world superstars, will try to pull their teams into relevance despite subpar supporting casts. The list goes on.

I’ll make no predictions on any of these things, because only fools put that stuff in writing.

But one thing I’m sure of is that, like every other baseball season before it, 2009 will be a lot of fun.