2008 Woodie Awards
Fitzsimmons Files: Six Burning Questions for 2006 MLB season
Brian Fitzsimmons
Issue date: 3/2/06 Section: Sports
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The off-season should be used by general managers to re-evaluate the state of their teams, and how they can improve them. The Toronto Blue Jays did just that, and went out to improve their pitching and middle of the order hitting. Their ace Roy Halladay has never had a potent supporting cast pitching behind him, but that excuse can't be used this season. J.P. Ricciardi practically emptied his wallet to ink A.J. Burnett and B.J. Ryan to help bolster the rotation and bullpen; he also traded for third basemen slugger Troy Glaus. First baseman Lyle Overbay came over from the Brewers, and catcher Bengie Molina , who was the most desired name on the free agent list for catchers, signed a deal. This team should compete with the Yankees and Red Sox through September, and could surprise some people by going further than that. The Milwaukee Brewers and New York Mets also attacked holes in their lineup, and both could make some serious noise in their respective standings.
Will Barry Bonds catch Hank Aaron and break the all-time home run record?
No, but he will come close. Bonds, who will begin the season with 708 career bombs, needs 47 to tie Hank Aaron's record 755, and 48 to break it. Reports have shown that Bonds showed up to spring training slightly overweight, and no one knows how well his knee has recovered from the surgery that forced him to miss almost all of 2005. Pencil him in to miss some time due to various injuries, which will leave him with about 450 at-bats, and 30 to 35 homeruns isn't a stretch. He claims he will call it quits after this year, but if he has about 15 homeruns to achieve the record, he will come back for his final curtain call.
Can the White Sox repeat?
They sure could repeat, but guaranteeing a fall classic win would be jumping the gun. They acquired Jim Thome, and if he stays healthy, he and Konerko back-to-back could be dangerous. Picking up Javier Vasquez and developing Brandon McCarthy even further gives them the deepest pitching staff in the league, which is a crucial ingredient to winning in October. They will be in the playoffs, but there are too many good teams in the A.L. to already label them as repeat shoe-ins.