Opening Night!

Fenway Park 2000 prior to a game with Toronto.

The start of the 2010 Major League Baseball Season gives hope to every fan, young and old. Whether you cheer for the defending champions New York Yankees or the Chicago Cubs who haven't won a World Title since 1908, today all fans can say, "this will be the year." From Kansas City to Pittsburgh Spring brings hope.

Force fed to us by ESPN comes a long-time rivalry to open the season in Fenway Park, the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. And as the curtain opens on the season here comes my prediction for the 2010 season:

Amercian League:                                 National League

• East--New York Yankees              East--Philadelphia Phillies
• Central--Chicago White Sox           Central--St. Louis Cardinals
• West--L.A. Angels of Anaheim       West--San Francisco Giants
• WCard--Detroit Tigers                    WCard--Chicago Cubs

ALCS: Yankees over Tigers                      NLCS: Cardinals over Cubs
World Series Champion: St. Louis Cardinals

General thoughts: The Yankees will continue their championship ways. I don't feel the Red Sox have done enough to win the East, or win the Wild Card. Look for the Rays to finish second in the division. Since the Twins have lost their closer, Joe Nathan, for the year, they will lose close games down the stretch. The White Sox have the talent to win the division, it will come down to whether or not they have the winning mentality to take it. Jim Leyland will find a way for the Tigers to be successful. In the West, the Angels may have obstacles along the way, but will find themselves atop the division at the end of the year. As long as the Mariners have Milton Bradley, success will escape them.
In the National League East, the Phillies continue to be the dominant team. Bobby Cox's Atlanta Braves team will play hard for him in his last year, but they don't have the talent to match up with the Phillies. The Mets will struggle along with the Marlins and Nationals. The Cardinals will be tough to beat in the Central, but this Cubs team will be better than many expect. It will be a two team race down the stretch, with the Cardinals winning it in the last five days. The San Francisco Giants have a underrated manager and played strong down the stretch in 2009.
The Yankees are the best in the American League while the best playoff series will be in the National League. The Cubs finally find a way to win a post-season series, but will lose to the Cardinals in six. In what will be one of the better World Series in years, the Cardinals will win it at home in 7.

View of the Green Monster from RF.

 

Sittin' In the Prinicpal's Office

Spring Training was everything I was hoping for it to be. I enjoyed weeing major league teams as up close and personal as I would their minor league affiliates. And although this Cub fan enjoyed watching his team train in Arizona like my father had always wanted to do, a favorite memory is watching the Dodgers play the Angels. Two Southern California teams re-igniting a freeway rivalry creating an opportunity that doesn't come often for this Midwesterner....As you can see from the adjacent picture, there is nothing like a Father and Son attending a baseball game together.....Of course Ronnie Woo Woo finds his way to HoHoKam. I have pictures of that as well......Growing up in Iowa and cheering for both the Hawkeyes and Drake Bulldogs the Northern Iowa Panthers has never been a team I've had a liking for. But how could any Iowan not be excited for what the basketball team did recently in upsetting number one ranked Kansas Jayhawks. The Missouri Valley has always been an underrated basketball conference. No matter if it has been Indiana State, Bradley, Southern Illinois, Creighton and most recently Drake, the conference has provided some very memorable games. While labled a "mid-major," there is nothing minor about the quality and consistency of play in the MVC.....

Spring Break - Dodgers v Angels

After the weekend in Vegas, the Cactus League was our next destination. First up was the "Freeway Series" of the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Los Angeles Angeles of Anaheim. This rivalry has taken on different meaning as this is the second year the Dodgers have trained in the Cactus League, allowing fans of the team to easily make the trip to Arizona for Spring Training rather than trekking across the country to Florida.

Tempe's Diablo Stadium was the home for this battle. Although been around since the early 90s, it recently finished a renovation project that brings the entire Angel Spring Training operations to Tempe, rather than splitting them with Mesa. A little closer to home, the Angels' single A franchise is the Cedar Rapids Kernels.
Since it is closer to Los Angeles, fans are now able to follow their team. Here they surround the Dodger dugout looking for a photo, autograph, or just a closer look to their favorite players.

Spring Training games have a different feel to them. Starters are routinely taken out after playing a few innings. But one difference between these exhibition games and the regular season is the structure. Above Dodger Manager Joe Torre meets with Angel Manager and former Dodger, Mike Scioscia. This meeting wasn't prior to first pitch, but in the middle of the first. This is when Joe made it to Tempe Diablo Stadium. Joe walked in from the right field fence with another of the team's coaches and stopped to meet with the Angels manager on the way to his dugout.

Scouts are plentiful at Spring Training games. This is an opportunity to watch many of the opposing team's entire roster. Not only can they acquire information for future scouting reports, but also evaluate talent for future trades.

Tempe Diablo Stadium is nestled into the hills. It is only a few minutes from downtown Tempe as well as Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport.

As the game worked its way into the later innings, some names began to sound familiar from their playing days for the Cedar Rapids Kernels. Here former Kernel Freddy Sandeval steps up to the plate.

This game brought out the best of Angels and Dodgers fans. Although there were more Angel fans, the Dodger fans made more noise.

Indianola native, Casey Blake warms up prior to taking his turn in the box.

The newest Angel is Hideki Matsui. Matsui was picked up in the off-season after spending his entire MLB career with the New York Yankees. Against the Dodgers Matsui was the DH, where he most likely will fit into this team.

Also making an appearance is Ivan DeJesus. I am unaware of the relationship to former Chicago Cub SS, Ivan DeJesus.

A prominent figure sitting alongside the Angel dugout and right behind manager Mike Scioscia is team owner Arthur Moreno. The franchise has progressed well since he took over.

At the completion of the game members of the media took to the field to interview.