For most baseball fans, the Super Bowl, the Stanley Cup, and March Madness are just distractions until the baseball season's Opening Day. But now, "The boys of summer" are back and the tune of "Take me out to the ball game" can be heard loud and clear in stadiums throughout the USA. And already, the young season has provided an array of stories out of the American League.
Will the aging New York Yankees take home their fourth World Series title in the past five years? The Yankees are known in the Major Leagues for having one of the highest payrolls, but they also have the second highest average age in the American League (30.5; second only to the Seattle Mariners, 31.2) and Clemens, in particular, is no "spring chicken." But age did not seem to be a factor in the 38-year-old Clemens opening day start against the Kansas City Royals, when he struck out five in the 7-3 Yankees victory, passing Walter Johnson on the all-time American League strikeout list.
While his eyes may be going (last year, during the World Series, Clemens mistook a bat end for a baseball and launched it towards Mets' catcher Mike Piazza), the Yankee starter suffered another physical setback in his Opening Day start. A sharp come backer by Carlos Febles hit Clemens on the wrist on Opening Day, and due to soreness on Wednesday, the "Rocket" will push back his next start from Saturday to Sunday.
Another key to the Yankees' success this season will come in the form of $88.5 million acquisition Mike Mussina, who did not receive much run support yesterday, but did pitch seven and two thirds innings of scoreless ball in a 1-0 victory. Off to a 3-0 start, the Yankees seem to have left their Spring Training mediocrity behind, and the return of Derek Jeter to the lineup this weekend does not bode well for the rest of the League.
If any team can knock the Yankees off their American League throne, it's the Oakland Athletics. Last season, the low-budget Oakland team won the AL West by a half game, and in recent months, the Athletics have been continuously compared to the Yankees in terms of skill level. As opposed to the Yankees, however, the Athletics have one of the lowest payrolls in the major leagues, as well as the second-youngest average age in the American League at 27.7 (second only to Kansas City's 27.6). The team has worked hard to ascend the standings of the American League West, playing in front of home crowds that fill up less than half of the football stadium in which it plays. The Giambi brothers are proving to be a tough duo on the field and at the plate. The elder, Jason Giambi, not only emerged as the Athletics' clubhouse leader, but has also led the team in virtually every offensive category. Last season, he helped carry Oakland to the American League West pennant, setting a single-season Oakland record with 137 RBI and wining the AL MVP for his performance.
Jeremy Giambi, 'Little G', was acquired just before Spring Training last year. He possesses Jason's genetically quick bat, and battled it out this Spring for a position in right field. So far, the Athletics are 1-2, and have struggled against the Seattle Mariners. The Giambi brothers were a combined 4-15 (.267) with only one RBI in the opening three games, stats which will need to improve if their youthful team hopes to make a trip to the World Series.
The Cleveland Indians, once the laughing stocks of the American League (remember Major League) have become a powerhouse in the AL Central since their trip to the World Series in 1995. For the past half a dozen years, the Tribe has lingered near the top of its division, but has yet to bring home a ring. Losing its big gun, Manny Ramirez, may have taken some punch out of the lineup, but Cleveland was quick to acquire Juan Gonzalez to fill the hole. Cleveland split the opening two games with the division rival Chicago White Sox, who won the AL Central last year. Gonzalez has already belted two home runs. Meanwhile, Manny (hitting .167) and the Red Sox have struggled offensively.
