20 questions heading into the baseball season

By John Gottlieb
The Phanatic Magazine

Here is the second half of a two-part series on the most pressing questions heading into Opening Day on Sunday.

11) Will Roger Clemens be the difference maker after the All-Star break for the Red Sox, Yanks or Astros?
He’ll be a difference maker, but to who is the question. Carlos Lee has added offense to the Astros, who have been anemic in the Rocket’s starts. Clemens’ best friend, Andy Pettitte, is in New York. Then there is Boston. Does Roger want to go back where it all began? Clemens is a guy that cares what people think of him. If he goes to Boston then the people in New York will despise him. If he goes to the Big Apple then the fans in Houston and Boston will hate him. But if he goes to the Astros then he’s pretty much in the clear. Houston has to be the odds-on favorite to land the Rocket even though the Red Sox and Yankees give him a better chance at a title.

12) Are the Tigers a one-year wonder in the stacked AL Central division?
Definitely not. The Tigers came out of nowhere in 2006 but they will not sneak up on teams in 2007. Jim Leyland is one of the most highly respected managers in the game. The Tigers have outstanding, young pitching in the rotation and in the bullpen and have one of the deepest lineups in the big leagues. The addition of Gary Sheffield provides a much-need dose of power. If anyone can reach the deep alleys in Comerica its Sheffield.

13) Will we see a postseason Freeway Series?
It’s entirely possible. The Angels added Gary Matthews, Jr., Shea Hillenbrand and Justin Speier, while the Dodgers coughed up more than $125 million on Juan Pierre, Luis Gonzalez, Jason Schmidt, Randy Wolf, and Mike Lieberthal. Schmidt is a question mark at this point in his career, and Wolf looked decent after coming back from arm surgery last season. The Dodgers spent too much money on Pierre, but at least he’s a consistent hitter. The Angels wrote Matthews a huge check and he’s had one good season. That and who knows what he’s been getting in the mail. The Angels are so deep that they don’t have to rush Bartolo Colon back after rotator cuff surgery last year. Both teams have deep bullpens and scary lineups. They should play deep into October.

14) Can Fredi Gonzalez get as much out of the Marlins as Joe Girardi?
It seems hard to believe that one year you’re the Manager of the Year and the next you’re broadcasting games on the YES Network, but that is the life of Joe Girardi. Gonzalez took his place to lead an overachieving team that won 78 games last year. It’ll be tough for Gonzalez to match that. The starting pitching was better than anyone expected, but Josh Johnson is out for the first month and Anibal Sanchez had arm problems over the winter. Dontrelle Willis went from 22 wins in 2005 to 12 in 2006. Teams are salivating at the chance to acquire the southpaw. Miguel Cabrera is a great hitter and a steal at $7.4 million. A huge payday is coming soon. However, with a suspect bullpen Florida won’t be as good as it was last year.

15) Will the additions of Bud Black, Greg Maddux, and Marcus Giles push the Padres to the top of the NL West for the third year in a row?
How many of you even knew that the Padres had won three straight division titles? Bud Black finally gets his chance to manage and has a strong pitching staff to work with. While Jake Peavy and Chris Young are the aces of the staff, Greg Maddux was a good signing. The addition of David Wells is a plus, but how much does he have left in the tank? Hopefully, Marcus and Brian Giles can push each other to play better in their hometown. Kevin Kouzmanoff is a star in the making at third base. The lack of a proven leadoff and cleanup hitter is something that Black will have to deal with, but this team is poised for a fourth straight NL West title.

16) Who are the Brewers?
Milwaukee is a contender in the NL Central, which needed only 83 wins to crown a champion. The Brew Crew has a pitching rotation to compete with anyone in the division as long as Ben Sheets can stay healthy. Francisco Cordero regained his closer form from a few years ago and took Derrick Turnbow’s job. Bill Hall is emerging as a star and will get the chance to start in the outfield. There’s no reason to think that this club can’t make a run. The Brewers can use Geoff Jenkins as a piece to trade if they need to improve their pitching come the trading deadline. Milwaukee has a lot of talented, young players in the outfield. They could be one of the great surprises of the season.

17) Does the return on Randy Johnson make the D’backs NL West contenders?
Here is another team, much like the Brewers, that should come out and compete for a playoff berth. Other than getting back the Big Unit and a pair of pitchers from Milwaukee, Arizona was relatively quiet this offseason. Luis Gonzalez, Craig Counsell, and Miguel Batista are all gone to make way for the continuing youth movement. Homegrown talents Chris Young, Carlos Quentin, Stephen Drew, and Conor Jackson will keep this team in contention. NL Cy Young Award winner Brandon Webb is joined by Johnson, Livan Hernandez, and Doug Davis for a powerful rotation. Johnson should enjoy being back close to home in the desert, where there isn’t as much scrutiny and he can be as surly as he wants. His dominant days are done but he can still win 16-17 games a year. He’ll become one of the last 300-game winners sometime next year. The bullpen is the weak link for the Diamondbacks.

18) How will the A’s respond after losing their best pitcher, best hitter and manager?
Oakland lost Frank Thomas, Barry Zito, and Ken Macha, and will respond by keeping things interesting for the Angels in the AL West. Nobody is sure how they've done it, but they've made the playoffs in five of the last seven campaigns. The A’s will go on their annual 15-game winning streak and be in thick of things. This will be the year that Rich Harden stays healthy and dominates the league. Oakland has a good, young pitching staff and a fabulous closer. Eric Chavez must rebound after a subpar 2006. Bobby Crosby must prove that he can stay on the field and play at least 145 games, which is something he’s only done once.

19) Has the NL narrowed the gap with the AL?
The Senior Circuit has slowly gained some ground on the American League, but the AL is still stronger. There are at least six teams (Yankees, Red Sox, White Sox, Twins, Tigers, Angels) that no one would be surprised if they won the World Series, while there are maybe three in the NL. Everyone was shocked that the Cardinals hoisted the trophy last season, but they got hot at the right time and used surprisingly good starting pitching to beat the Tigers. There hasn’t been a repeat winner since the Yankees in 1999 and 2000, so the odds of the Redbirds doing it are highly unlikely. The two biggest contenders from the NL have to be the Mets and the Dodgers. The AL, which has won 10 of the last 15 World Series and 16 of the last 19 All Star games, is still the dominant league and should prevail in the Fall Classic.

20) Who are next year’s big free agents?
Ichiro Suzuki, Andruw Jones, Torii Hunter, Carlos Guillen, Jermaine Dye, Carlos Zambrano, Mark Buehrle, Mariano Rivera, and Freddy Garcia will all be free to shop their services. Adam Dunn, Bobby Abreu, Jason Isringhausen, and Jorge Posada have club options, while A-Rod has an opt-out clause.