Fantasy Island

Dave Paisley

For the first time in several years we, my better half and I, decided to skip spring training this year. The fact that the Mariners spring sojourn would be a mere two weeks in Arizona had something to do with the decision. What we didn't know back in January was that the US would invade Iraq right in the middle of spring training, leading to the season opening trip to Japan being canceled. So instead of a long weekend in Arizona, we ended up with ten days in Hawaii instead. Tough luck, huh?

It was kind of strange, being away for the start of the baseball season. Being as far west as Hawaii is odd, because east coast afternoon games start at 7 am over there. Once daylight savings kicks in (which Hawaii chooses not to bother with) even west coast night games are over by 7 pm. Given the hectic vacation schedule of sunning, tanning, snorkeling, reading and generally lazing around, it was hard to find any time to watch what little baseball was available. Fortunately there was CNN Headline News, so we could keep up with the Iraq situation (USA 110, Iraq 0.25) as well as the day?s baseball scores. I believe the NHL may be having some playoffs or something, but in Hawaii the only ice I was interested in was the stuff in my Mai Tai.

As much fun as it is lounging around doing next to nothing, it is nice to get back to the old stomping grounds and back into the old routine. Besides, my fantasy baseball team was dying, as I had Randy Johnson and Greg Maddux stinking up the joint, and two thirds of my outfield was on the DL (Ken Griffey Jr. and Brian Giles). I needed to get back just to get that sorted out. At least my team was still doing better than the Detroit Tigers.

Getting back also meant having access to all the little background info that I?m used to. I hadn?t really been keeping up with standings, so that was the first thing I looked at.

In the AL East ? Yankees, Red Sox leading, Blue Jays, Devil rays and Orioles sucking ?check.

AL Central ? White Sox, Twins average, Indians off a bit, Tigers suck ? check. But wait ? what?s that Royals team doing in first place? More on that later.

AL West ? dogfight between A?s, Angels and Mariners ? check. Texas sucking again ? check.

NL East ? Philly on top, Braves, Marlins average ? check. Mets sucking ? hmm. And the Expos up there on top with the Phils. Man, that Omar Minaya?s got some nice job coming after this gig.

NL Central ? everybody mediocre except the Reds and Brewers sinking to the bottom ? check.

NL West ? Giants mashing the opposition ? check. Rockies second ? huh? Padres struggling ? check. Dodgers struggling ? not surprised. D?backs sucking ? hmmm, what happened to the pitching?

So not too many surprises. Now, about those Royals.

The secret to their success has been the unbelievably low ERA of 2.91 as of Monday. The offense currently ranks 4th in the AL with 5.45 runs per game, but that hides the fact that prior to Monday?s 12 run outburst, they were 10th. It reminds me of the Pirates last year. (Check out the old archive at http://www.strikethree.com/02/05/01/dave.shtml)

The Royals pitching has been uniformly spectacular so far, and collectively they make about three bucks and change. Mainstay of the rotation is Runelvys Hernandez with his prior 74 innings of major league experience and an ERA of 4.36. So all I?m saying is, don?t expect that 0.45 ERA to last. Chris George, same deal. 101 innings of prior experience with an ERA over 5.00, so the 2.25 won?t last either.

In fact, the similarities to last year?s Pirates are remarkable, with the possible exception of the Royals offense being OK rather than truly woeful. Still, I don?t see Raul Ibanez and Joe Randa keeping their OPS? over 1.000, so there?s plenty of room for a drop off there. Still, they don?t come much cheaper than this lineup, so I can?t begrudge Royals fans getting a little bit giddy. Oh, and let?s not forget that they?ve done all this against the mighty White Sox, Tigers and Indians. Wait till they hit some actual speed bumps.

One final thought ? if you haven?t checked out the MLB online packages yet, it?s worth a look. As a season ticket holder with the Mariners, I was given a free subscription through the end of April, so I checked out a couple of features. The condensed game feature is pretty slick ? the final pitch of every at bat condensed together. I watched a couple of Mariner games in about 15 minutes each and the experience was pretty good with a broadband connection. I?ll check it out further and provide a more comprehensive review soon.

about the author

Fresh back from vacation, Dave Paisley wants to know what you think of the start of the season at drdjp@strikethree.com.