2008 Woodie Awards
Storylines for the N.L.
Jay Gagliardi
Issue date: 3/29/07 Section: Sports
- Page 1 of 1
I have to admit, this season, the National League will be host to many intriguing storylines, such as, will Ryan Howard recapture the home run title this season?
Howard became a household name for all baseball fans last year as he led the league in homers with 58. The 27-year old, Phillies first baseman has only been in the league for three years but doesn't seem to be leaving Philly any time soon. In Howard' s short but monstrous career he has a batting average of .304, a slugging percentage of .624, and 149 of his 217 RBI's came last season.
Storyline two is Barry Bonds. Lately the Giants slugger has been in the news for the wrong reasons, but let's focus on what's at hand for the season. The 21-year veteran will begin this season with 734 home runs and needs only 22 on the year to become the all-time leader.
Storyline three is pitching. There were five pitchers with 16 wins in the national league last year. The consistency here shouldn't surprise anyone and the same thing should be expected for the 2007 season.
Roy Oswalt led the National League last year with an ERA of 2.98, which fell just short of the Major League leader, Johan Santana. Some other pitchers to keep your eye on in the national league are Chris Carpenter, Barry Ztio, Brandon Webb, John Smoltz, and Carlos Zambrano. They all racked up 16 wins as well.
Last year the World Series champion came out of the national league as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Tigers in five games behind the familiarized pitcher, Carpenter.
With Carpenter returning the Cardinals should be back in the thick of things as a team that could recapture another ring.
If we are going to talk about teams with a viable chance at winning a championship, let's travel to the Big Apple. No, no, I'm not talking about the Yankees. I'm talking about their cross-town rival, the New York Mets.
With a stellar offense that can put up runs, the Mets will be focusing on the bats of Jose Reyes, David Wright, Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran.The Mets made the playoffs last year for the first time in three years and look to find itself in that similar situation again this year.
With the Cardinals representing the N.L. Central, the Mets representing the N.L. East, we have two spots left for the 2007 playoffs. Perhaps the division with the most parody this season will be the N.L. West. The Padres acquired pitcher Greg Maddux a former Dodgers pitcher, from free agency. However, the Dodgers couldn't let a big name pitcher get away without acquiring their own. After spending six years in San Francisco, Jason Schmidt will be a Dodger this season.
With the two remaining spots for the playoffs being filled by two teams in the same division in 2006, the 2007 N.L. West will be an interesting division.
Another headline acquisition that took place during the off-season that could prove to be extremely beneficial involve the Chicago Cubs. who spent $300 million in the off-season bringing in a new manager and all-star outfielder Alfonso Soriano.
Howard became a household name for all baseball fans last year as he led the league in homers with 58. The 27-year old, Phillies first baseman has only been in the league for three years but doesn't seem to be leaving Philly any time soon. In Howard' s short but monstrous career he has a batting average of .304, a slugging percentage of .624, and 149 of his 217 RBI's came last season.
Storyline two is Barry Bonds. Lately the Giants slugger has been in the news for the wrong reasons, but let's focus on what's at hand for the season. The 21-year veteran will begin this season with 734 home runs and needs only 22 on the year to become the all-time leader.
Storyline three is pitching. There were five pitchers with 16 wins in the national league last year. The consistency here shouldn't surprise anyone and the same thing should be expected for the 2007 season.
Roy Oswalt led the National League last year with an ERA of 2.98, which fell just short of the Major League leader, Johan Santana. Some other pitchers to keep your eye on in the national league are Chris Carpenter, Barry Ztio, Brandon Webb, John Smoltz, and Carlos Zambrano. They all racked up 16 wins as well.
Last year the World Series champion came out of the national league as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Tigers in five games behind the familiarized pitcher, Carpenter.
With Carpenter returning the Cardinals should be back in the thick of things as a team that could recapture another ring.
If we are going to talk about teams with a viable chance at winning a championship, let's travel to the Big Apple. No, no, I'm not talking about the Yankees. I'm talking about their cross-town rival, the New York Mets.
With a stellar offense that can put up runs, the Mets will be focusing on the bats of Jose Reyes, David Wright, Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran.The Mets made the playoffs last year for the first time in three years and look to find itself in that similar situation again this year.
With the Cardinals representing the N.L. Central, the Mets representing the N.L. East, we have two spots left for the 2007 playoffs. Perhaps the division with the most parody this season will be the N.L. West. The Padres acquired pitcher Greg Maddux a former Dodgers pitcher, from free agency. However, the Dodgers couldn't let a big name pitcher get away without acquiring their own. After spending six years in San Francisco, Jason Schmidt will be a Dodger this season.
With the two remaining spots for the playoffs being filled by two teams in the same division in 2006, the 2007 N.L. West will be an interesting division.
Another headline acquisition that took place during the off-season that could prove to be extremely beneficial involve the Chicago Cubs. who spent $300 million in the off-season bringing in a new manager and all-star outfielder Alfonso Soriano.
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