Smile Politely. Speak Directly. A Champaign-Urbana Culture Blog

Thoughts from opening night...

It's 7:21 p.m. CST on Sunday evening and after a long good night from my son, I've planted myself right in front of the television.

The Nationals just officially opened their spacious new park (something great about baseball being back in D.C. these last few years). Looks to be a packed house and Odalis Perez has just fanned Kelly Johnson.

The season is underway!

The Fighting Illini women's softball team was set to welcome the Loyola Ramblers to Champaign-Urbana yesterday, but persistent rains caused Illinois's home-opening doubleheader to be canceled. The game hasn't been rescheduled.

The unranked Illini will have a few days to rest before they march into Columbus to face the 22nd-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes in Sunday's Big Ten opener. The doubleheader will begin at 11 a.m. and will be rebroadcast on the Big Ten Network starting at 5 p.m. Sunday.

Two teams down. Two teams move on. And Wisconsin's Bo Ryan is ready to dance.

By the time this column runs next week, the regular season will be in session, so it’s time to make your predictions for the 2008 American League Central. Take your best shot in the comments below. Here is my blind guess:

1. Detroit Tigers (99-63)
2. Cleveland Indians (98-64)
3. Kansas City Royals (82-80)
4. Minnesota Twins (75-87)
5. Chicago White Sox (70-92)

The Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers, two teams headed in opposite directions, each locked up a player to a long-term contract this past week. The Twins, on the decline after a run of four AL Central titles from 2002 to 2006, signed closer Joe Nathan to a 4 year, $47 million deal. The Tigers, who have had two straight winning seasons (including a World Series trip in 2006) after twelve straight losing seasons (including a 119-loss disaster in 2003), locked up third baseman Miguel Cabrera for $152.3 million over 8 years.

Less that one week to go until Zambrano fires the first pitch of 2008 and as promised, some final spring cleaning before the club breaks north to take on their newest and most legitimate rivals, the Milwaukee Brewers.

As expected…

Kerry Wood was named the closer yesterday. Despite waking up with a sore back last Wednesday, Woody has had a very nice Spring. Big #34 shook off his sore back to make three solid outings later in the week including back-to-back work this weekend.

As I stated last week, I could really care less about spring training. It becomes especially difficult to pay attention to baseball games that don’t count when there’s college basketball games that do count being played for all the marbles. March is for the Butlers, George Masons, Bucknells, Kent States, Vermonts and Virginia Commonwealths. March is for whomever is playing Duke. I could care less who is playing the St. Louis Cardinals.

But for the sake of writing a baseball column amidst the excitement of a college basketball tournament, I’ll attempt to honor college basketball tradition and pick a preseason “all conference” team for the N.L. Central. Like any great preseason team, my picks are based on wild hunches and threads of evidence, and will largely turn out to be wrong come September.

Let's just be absolutely clear: This is not the Big Ten's year. At least, according to some.

It's hard to not assume that the selection committee had made up its mind about that fact long before Purdue dropped a shocker to the Illini or before Blake Hoffarber performed Miracle Number Two for Minnesota on Indiana's dying team. It's hard to believe that the committee would also leave out Thad Matta's Buckeyes but sneak in Arizona, Villanova and Baylor. It's hard to swallow the fact that the Big Ten champion, both regular season and in the tournament, was given a #3 seed despite being ranked in the Top 5 nationally, residing in the Top 12 in the RPI rankings and simply having not lost to anyone except Purdue since December 8.

This is hard to fathom, yet it's all true.

Will Kansas City Royals third baseman Alex Gordon become a star? This is, to me, one of the defining questions for the near to medium future of the American League Central. While the Kansas City Royals are not ready to contend with the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians for Central supremacy in 2008, they have a chance to emerge from the Central cellar for the first time since 2003.

Playing For a Known Winner

The Cubs are 6–12 in March and quite obviously, on their way to a World Series title.

Ok, so spring records don't mean that much. But I have been curious: why is it bothering Lou so much? Like so many of us sports nuts out there, when he says he doesn’t care that much about winning, he is lying. The truth is that it simply bugs the hell out him, even when it doesn’t matter. Lou can't just sit back and watch poor play.

"I wish we had more players like Micah Hoffpauir," he chides to the media.

I’m in the minority among baseball fans: I don’t find spring training to be all that interesting. Sure, it’s exciting to know that baseball games that actually count are right around the corner, but as for devouring the ins and outs of spring training games and studying the myriad competitions for precious roster spots that ensue, I could care less. So and so is mowing down the organization’s soon-to-be Double-Aers in batting practice? So and so is 16 for 40 and leading the team in RBIs? So what!

I’d like to report to you that we are looking at a conference tournament that was going to be chock full of surprises. I’d like to tell you that, with the right wins, the Big Ten will be sending six or even seven teams to the Big Dance. I’d like to say that the teams playing this Sunday in the final contest of the Big Ten season are going to be fighting for a number one seed two hours later on the Selection Sunday special on CBS.

I would like to tell you all these things. But let’s face it, the Big Ten Conference this year is just like the economy: in a recession.

After last week's column went up, I realized that I had done White Sox fans a huge disservice. Even though Chicago is definitely one of the blandest teams around, I totally disregarded the fact that they traded for outfielder Nick Swisher, one of the most colorful players in the game, over the winter. So, to let you Sox fans know just what you're getting, here's some fast facts on Swish:

1. He seems to be totally unable to appear in a photograph where he does not look completely goofy. His official photo on MLB.com last year is a classic, and he had the misfortune to get this picture taken during what I hope was a rookie hazing stunt.

Last week I mentioned that I thought the bullpen would be a strength for this team. Barring injuries (which have already plagued the Cubs’ position players this spring), it should be. In 2007, the Cubs bullpen was seventh in all of baseball with a 3.76 ERA. Looking at the cast of characters for 2008, there shouldn’t be much change and there is talent to move forward.

Let's take a closer look at who I like and who I don't like warming up along the left field box seats.

A recent happening best characterizes my uncomfortable settlement into my thirties. Like most Americans, I should exercise more often. While I haven’t run frequently for over a decade, I decided this past Sunday to take advantage of the unseasonably warm weather, get off my lazy ass, forsake the gym membership and hit the pavement for an afternoon jog. Four blocks into my run — well before the frightful sucking sounds had a chance to kick in — I turned a corner and while transitioning from the sidewalk to the street, I planted my foot in a muddy, slick stretch of grass. I slid just enough to unsettle my balance, then roll my ankle. Some jog.

I'm going to level with you. I'm a Twins fan, so if you're looking for fair and balanced AL Central reports, you may want to move along, dear reader.

If you have room, however, for just one more baseball column in your weekly surf, I hope that I can earn your trust and loyalty. I have no idea what sort of sports coverage you are looking for — after all, this is a primarily local arts and entertainment website — but please, use the comments section to subtly nudge my attention in the right direction.

On Sunday afternoon, Dan Dakich said the right things, politically.

"They played great and we did not and that's my fault," Dakich said. "If I'm going to be the guy that everybody pats on the back when things go well, then I'm going to be the guy that accepts it when things don't."

Bold words for a new coach that has been thrust into center court for what might become the greatest challenge in the history of college basketball: reviving the Indiana Hoosiers from their darkest hour.

OK. Let's talk about the throwers.

Locks

Here are three pitchers that you may as well ink on paper as being in the starting five come opening day.

Carlos Zambrano. Put him down for 15 wins, minimum. As I’ve said before, he’ll have his up and downs and will jump up and down on the mound a time or two, but if you're a Cubs fan, you love that about him. Big Z is a consummate number one and took less than market value to stay with the team that he’s been with since he was 16 years old.