Cast, Kwan, Conan and Coco

After a fair amount of researching (and downloading all 86 of their songs from ctrax) I have concluded that Appleseed Cast is the best band. Ever.

Monday is shaping up as the antithesis of a great day in sports. There is no NFL, NBA, NHL, or Wake games, and Spring Training has yet to start either. I'm left with... figure skating. And eye candy Michelle Kwan (right) isn't even around this time. Woe is me.

Oh yeah. The Olympics are still keeping Conan off-the-air. Feb 27th can't come soon enough.

Now, on to my preview for the 2006 MLB season. Anyone not interested in pointless over-analysis of baseball can pretty much leave now (Karen). For baseball fans (David), this might be slightly worth-while. Maybe.

And yes, I'm pretty sure Karen and David are my only readers. Quality over quantity?

The Red Sox (and other AL East contenders)

After looking for a few preview articles, the chic pick for the AL East seems to be Yanks, Jays, Sox. After all, the Jays made some big additions, the Yanks signed Johnny Damon (who is suddenly treated as The Greatest Lead-Off Hitter Ever) and the Sox have five new hitters in their batting order. But lets think about this a bit.

Let's remember that Sox and Yanks finished tied for the division last year. This all despite...

1. Curt Schilling had the worst season of his career.
2. Keith Foulke had the worst season of his career.
3. Edgar Renteria had the worst season of his career.

And remember the Yanks pulled Aaron Freaking Small (10-0!!!) and Shawn Chacon (2.85 ERA!!!) completely out of thin air to save their rotation and their season. So, in my view at least, the Sox still finished tied with the Yanks despite getting the raw end of the luck department.

It's easy to look at the Yankees' first six batters (Damon, Jeter, A-Rod, Sheffield, Giambi, Matsui) and say they can't be beaten, no matter their pitching issues. Try telling this to the Texas Rangers. There is no way Chacon and Small are being that good again, so they'll have rely on the aging Johnson and Mussina to carry the pitching. I'm telling you, this will be a big issue for New York in the upcoming season.

For the Red Sox, I have a lot of confidence in this new look team. We won't miss Damon at all. Having both Loretta and Crisp will more than make up for his offense. As long as Lowell can just put up Millar-like numbers (not that tall a task) and Theo politely reminds Francona to play on-base machine Youkilis, this offense is primed for another great season. Will we lead the league in runs scored again? Not with Alex Gonzalez playing every day at short. But I severely doubt that scoring runs will be much of an issue.

Now, I've always maintained that having a great bullpen and great defense makes teams better than you'd think. How do you think Minnesota was able to win so many divisions? In these two areas, I dare say Boston is looking great. I realize having Foulke at closer is a big risk, but even if he blows up again, using Timlin to close with Riske, Tavarez and Papbelbon (also a closing option) setting up is a pretty sweet pen. If Foulke returns to his old dominant form, we'll have the best pen in baseball.

As for defense, Boston improved by leaps and bounds this winter. We have a gold glover available at third, short, catcher and first (Snow off the bench). Along with the solid D of Loretta, Crisp and Nixon; this will also be an area of strength in '06.

And I haven't even mentioned getting one of the best young pitchers out there (Josh Beckett, above) and a healthy Schilling to anchor the rotation.

Also, I still have doubts about the Jays. While the starting pitching will be one of the best in the league, a middle-of-the-order of Wells/Glaus/Overbay is only okay, and the bullpen still is full of questions. Ryan is electric as a reliever, but still unproven as a closer.

So, I'm liking the Sox, Yanks and Jays. In that order. This seems to be going against the grain, but the way I see it an improved bullpen, rotation and defense will more than make up for a small dip in offense.

The Other Ones

I like the Athletics, Indians, Sox and Yanks (wildcard) coming out of the AL and the Padres, Cardinals, Mets and Braves (wildcard) in the NL. Yes, that's right, I'm picking Atlanta to lose the division. I mean if the Mets lose again, wow. They probably had the best off season, adding a big bat (Delgado) and dominant closer (Wagner). The Braves can't win forever can they?

Go ahead and call me out on not doing anything about fantasy baseball. I'm paranoid about my strategies. Sorry.

Oh Sweet Joy of Life, Thy Name is Baseball

It has returned. After 110 agonizing days (yes, I counted), baseball has officially sprung back into life. Pitchers and catchers of eight teams are reporting to their respective camps this fine spring day. All will report within the next four days, including my beloved Red Sox on the 18th. Before too long, I plan on posting a preview for the upcoming 2006 season. I will at least give my thoughts on the new look Red Sox, and may even divulge into making post-season predictions and some fantasy baseball tips.

I Gotta Call Lewis or Daggett. Stat.

3:45pm on Sunday, February 5th, 2006. I received quite possibly the strangest call of my life. It was an officer from the Winston-Salem Police Department. I forget his exact words, but the executive summary is that I was being investigated for dangerous and reckless driving on University Parkway on Friday, Feb 3rd.

Initially and naturally, panic set in. I know I have a habit of driving "aggressively," but I hadn't done anything recently that would warrant someone actually reporting me.

Immediately after, full relief came when the officer said "GMC Envoy." I don't drive an Envoy. I am the proud driver of "Barbara," my '99 Explorer. The last time I drove an Envoy was in my mom's several months ago. The officer kept talking to me, I'm sure in an effort to make me slip up something. He warned me that should I be found as "The Driver," I would face charges of delaying a police investigation. My response was, in essence, "whatever."

I informed him that my mom does drive a Envoy, so he called her, and proceeded to scare her half to death by starting the conversation with "Hello this is such-and-such with the Winston-Salem Police Department." My mom said that frightened her so much (thinking that I had been arrested, robbed, murdered, etc) she was generally flustered for the rest of the conversation, but she was coherent enough to say that the Envoy never left the garage on Friday, and the last time she drove it in Winston was last weekend. The officer also told her the reason I/her was being investigated was because the witness said the license plate on the Envoy was indeed what my mom's is, so I have to guess it was an out-of-state one or a slight variation. The witness also said the driver had a mohawk hair cut. That one made me laugh.

But, all in all, it looks like I'm in the clear. Not only would I need to be picked out of a lineup, the PD would have to figure out how I managed to make the hour drive to Mooresville, give myself a mohawk, get in the Envoy, drive to W-S, run someone off the road, drive back, de-mohawk myself, and drive to Wake all while my friends, who were with me almost all day, weren't looking. If this were the case, I'd turn myself in. That'd be one hell of an accomplishment.