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MLB Season

The times have changed for the San Francisco Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals.
At one time the San Francisco Giants were a contender because of one name-Barry Bonds. Bonds is gone now and the Giants have to figure out what to do with the team. The Giants started by signing Aaron Rowand to a five year $60 million contract. Rowand is the opposite of Bonds, he is a locker room guy who gives everything he has every game. He is famous for running into walls at will for outs instead of waiting for the ball to bounce off the padding for a single.
He is also not the answer. Rowand had a career year last season batting .309 and hitting 27 home runs, but he is 30 and his career will likely reflect his seasons batting in the .270s and struggling to hit 20 home runs. He may look like a monster, but his big swing often whiffs. He is more of a threat to K 100 times rather than drive in 100 runs, a number he has never reached.
The St. Louis Cardinals are in a peculiar position. Two years ago they won the World Series, but last season they could not even win 80 games. The club is trying to refit the club to create the magic of 2006, but this season looks like it will be a dud. Adam Wainwright was the bright spot for 2007. He emerged as the ace of the staff after Mark Mulder went down with a season ending injury after just three starts. Mulder is back, but the rest of the staff is made up of converted closers.
The team also released Scott Rolen and fan favorite Jim Edmonds. It may have been Edmonds time to go, but Rolen is being replaced by Troy Glaus at third. Glaus has been in a steady decline for the last few seasons and the Cardinals are hoping that he just needs a new home to reawaken the bat that terrorized teams not too long ago. This season is the beginning of a rebuilding process for the team; they just aren’t telling the fans that.
The Arizona Diamondbacks have come through their rebuilding program and graduated early. The team was not supposed to be on the radar until this season, but they finished 2007 off strong and made it to the NL Championship Series. The front office took that as a sign and traded six prospects for Dan Haren. Haren, the Oakland A’s phenom starter joins Cy Young contender Brandon Webb and the hard throwing Randy Johnson in the rotation. The end of the rotation will need to go grow up quick, but if last year is a sign, that will not e a problem.
The offense desperately needs to improve. The club won the division despite being outscored. There are plenty of young players to name who could jump start the offense, but only time will tell if the team can keep up and improve on last year’s performance.
The New York Mets are hoping to play like last season too, but the part of the season before the end of the year collapse that lost the NL East title. The club lost Tom Glavine to the Braves over the winter, but signed Johan Santana to replace him. The rotation will need to rally around Santana as the ace to win the East this season. Other than Santana, the important parts are all back. David Wright could contend for the MVP this year if the Mets win like last season, Carlos Beltran continues to be a force in center, and the many veterans on the club are still possible of producing enough hits and homeruns to take the division.