Pitchers and Catchers Set To Report
By Benjy Lipsman in News on Feb 13, 2009 7:40PM
We don't care what that rodent in Pennsylvania says, spring starts as soon as pitchers and catchers report. That means spring is here because the Cubs pitchers and catchers arrive in camp later today, while the White Sox battery mates arrive on Sunday.
The Cubs return to their familiar HoHoKam Park in Mesa, Arizona, but the Sox made the move from Tuscon to Glendale, Arizona this spring. They'll be sharing the brand new Camelback Ranch-Glendale facility (pictured right) with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Among the biggest stories at SoxFest, the new facility is as much resort as training camp -- which should benefit both players and fans. And the Phoenix metro location means less travel during Cactus League play.
While our teams are still sorting out their rosters for the upcoming season, that doesn't mean that predictions for the 2009 season aren't already being made. Baseball Prospectus released their analysis and have the Cubs repeating as NL Central champs, while they foresee the White Sox in the AL Central cellar. BP's formula was developed by Nate Silver of FiveThiryEight fame, and he certainly knows how to crunch numbers -- his analysis for Obama's chances were virtually dead on. But predicting the Sox to finish in last place?
Silver's number crunching has come up short when it comes to the Sox in recent years. While still competative the year after their World Series victory, BP predicted just 72 wins. Were they shooting 2 years out? Because the Sox did have a surprisingly bad '07 campaign with 72 wins. But a prediction for a medioce years last year also missed the mark as the Sox won 89 games and the AL Central title. So a bad prediction means the Sox will be good this year -- right?
Of course it's hard to say how well the Sox can play when they still have a number of questions in their starting rotation and at a number of key positions in the field. As the spring progresses, we'll see whether Jose Contreras or Bartolo Colon can overcome injuries to regain their old form, and we'll find out who wins the battles to play third base, second base and center field. As for the Cubs, Silver rightly predicted the Cubs to run away with the NL Central and he suggests they'll do the same this year. With no major losses and additions like Rich Harden (mid-season acquisition) and Milton Bradley, it's hard to think otherwise.
Image via WhiteSox.com