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.