Wow. A few hours after pitching a great game, pitching prospect Nick Adenhart of the Angels passed away in a car accident. Luckily, the culprit was caught, but this is still a saddening story. An already ailing pitching staff for the Angels now lose a young and promising talent. Sadly, the kid was just 22.

 

He had a rough start to his 2008 season as a rookie. In 3 career starts he was 1-0 with a 9 era, only 4k’s and 13 walks, and a Whip of 2.58. Batters were hitting .360 against him. He did start out this year well though, facing Oakland on the night of the accident he pitched 6 innings, gave up 7 hits, had 3 walks and 5 k’s while giving up no runs.

 

Condolences go out to his family, losing someone so young always hurts, but he will be remembered.

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Unlike the NL East and NL Central, the West looks weak. This is going to be a pitchers division with many stud aces taking the mound and very weak lineups following. The Giants and Padres should have the NL’s worst 2 lineups, while the Diamondbacks are young and inexperienced, and the Rockies have lost their best player and the Dodgers had lost their until midway through spring training.. Which lineup will take this division? 

 

Arizona Diamondbacks

 

This team is young, but only missed the playoffs by 2 games last year. They bring back a great starting rotation and a decent lineup, but lack power. They lost Adam Dunn in the offseason and it’s going to take a bite out of their power but they bring back a lot of youngsters in their prime who could make up for that loss.

The lineup will include Felipe Lopez, Chris Snyder, Stephen Drew, Mark Reynolds, Conor Jackson, Chris Young, and Justin Upton. All have the potential to be great players down the line, especially Young, Reynolds, and Upton, but I feel as though they are still a year or 2 away from really putting it together. The pitching staff will have to carry them, the question is, can they?

 

The staff includes All Stars Brandon Webb and Dan Haren. They are followed by Doug Davis, Jon Garland, and Max Scherzer. This is a solid rotation, but the whole division is full of solid rotations. In fact, i’d bet the under for every division matchup in the NL West this year. 

 

The bullpen pretty much consists of Qualls, Rauch and Tony Pena. This should hold over and be a decent bullpen, especially since the starters are good enough to get into the 7th inning consistently.

 

Webb and Haren will be Webb and Haren, even though Webb has struggled since last August, he is still an Ace. Davis, Garland, and Scherzer will be the question marks, and solid performances or a breakout season for Max could mean the D’Backs are playoff bound. They will also have to find some power in the lineup if they are to make a run.

 

Colorado Rockies

 

This team finished 3rd last year and have lost All Star Matt Holliday to the Oakland A’s. Their pitching staff should be a bit better than last year, but will it be enough to boost them into making a playoff run? Remember, they play in a hitter’s ballpark and probably have the weakest rotation in the West.

 

The pitching staff consists of Cook, Jimenez, Marquis, De La Rosa and Franklin Morales. They have lost their clubhouse leader Jeff Francis to injury. Cook is a very overrated pitcher, but the rest of this staff could surprise, especially Ubaldo Jimenez. He has some nasty stuff, and a break out season in this offense starved division isn’t very far fetched.

 

The bullpen consists of newly acquired Huston Street in the Holliday trade, Manny Corpas, and Taylor Buchholz who is on the DL. This is a serviceable bullpen and shouldn’t cause a problem with blowing games as long as the starters give them opportunities.

 

The lineup isn’t that bad, but they will definetely miss Matt Holliday. Iannetta, an aging Helton, Barmes, Tulowitzki, Atkins, Spilborghs, and Hawpe are the main hitters in the lineup, with Ian Stewart coming off the bench. Dexter Fowler is also a very interesting rookie, and should put up some solid numbers, double digit homerun and steal totals are very possible.

 

The Rockies should contend as long as their lineup can contend with the strong pitching staffs of this division. They have the weakest pitching staff, which means they can’t just match their opponents in run support for their pitchers, but will have to surpass them because their staff will not be able to match up with the rest of the West. 

 

Los Angeles Dodgers 

 

The winners of West last year return most of their players. They have a decent lineup with the addition of Orlando Hudson and the resigning of Manny Ramirez. They have a decent yet very young pitching staff, so the hitting, like in the case of many of this division’s teams, will have to carry them.

 

The rotation is led by ace, and yes he’s an ace, Chad Billingsley. It will be followed by Kuroda, Wolf, and youngsters Clayton Kershaw and James McDonald. Besides Billingsley, the rotation has some question marks. I feel as though Kershaw is a year away from being dominant and McDonald 2 or 3 years away. Of course Jason ‘waste of money’ Schmidt is on the DL yet again.

 

The bullpen consists of Broxton, Kuo, Mota, and newly acquired Will Ohman. Claudio Vargas is also on the DL. This bullpen should be able to hold up and compete with the rest of the division. 

 

The lineup is great. Russell Martin, Loney, Hudson, Furcal, Casey Blake, Manny, Kemp, and Ethier are dangerous from 1-8. They are also a lot better than the other lineups in this division, especially if Manny goes off again, like he’s know to do. They also have some depth at all positions with Ausmus, Mientkiewicz, DeWitt, Delwyn Young, and Juan Pierre coming off the bench.

 

The Dodgers can repeat, but they will need Manny to be Manny, and they will need the young pitchers to come through. 

 

 

 

The aces I am referring to are Jake Peavy and Chris Young. They both had healthy issues last year and will need to be workhorses in order to help the Padres compete this year. Walter Silva is also a nice prospect, only time will tell if he pans out.

 

They have lost their all time saves leader in Trevor Hoffman to the Milwaukee Brewers. This leaves Heath Bell to closing duties, and he’s a beast. The rest of the bullpen isn’t up to par and contains Cla Meredith and Duaner Sanchez.

 

The lineup consists of Nick Hundley, Eckstein, Kouzmanoff, Headley, Gerut, Brian Giles, and Adrian ‘Gonzo’ Gonzalez. Gonzo seems like he could be on his way down, while Headley has much upside but hasn’t reached his potential yet. Cliff Floyd of course is on the DL.

 

For the Padres to compete, Peavy and Young will need to pitch all year. The run support is going to be slim, but that should be the case for all these teams. Walter Silva will need to be decent as well.

 

San Francisco Giants 

 

This team had 72 wins last year, 12 behind the leading Dodgers. I feel like they may close the gap this year with a dominant pitching staff. However, they do have the worst lineup in the NL according to many experts. Will there be enough run support?

 

This lineup lacks power from top to bottom. Their cleanup hitter is 16 hr hitting Bengie Molina. No one understands why Ishikawa has gotten the start at 1b over Nate Schierholtz. The rest of the lineup consists of Renteria, Sandoval, Fred Lewis, Rowand, and Randy Winn.

 

The pitching staff is full of guys that can just make people miss. They will contend to be the top strikeout staff in the majors with Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum leading the way for Matt Cain, Randy Johnson, Jonathan Sanchez, and Barry Zito (yuck!).

 

The bullpen consists of Bow Howry and Jeremy Affeldt. The closer will be a very underrated Brian Wilson who recently hit 100 mph with a fastball, in the first game of the season for the Giants.

 

The Giants will compete, and should improve on the pitching end. The worst lineup in the NL will hurt though. I can see them sneaking in to be the division winners, and wouldn’t consider it a longshot, but would consider it unlikely.

 

Projected Finish

Dodgers

Giants

Diamondbacks

Rockies

Padres

 

The Dodgers are the only team that has a potent offense in this pitching dominated division. Their pitchers are good enough to compete and their lineup will propel them to another division title. I think the Giants and Diamondbacks have very dominant pitching staffs, but will fall short due to a lack of run support.

 

Running up the rear will be the Rockies who have lost thier best player and have some aging players. Their pitching staff is also not up to par with the rest of the division. Their youngsters though will propel them over the Padres who have nothing going for them except for Peavy, Young, and Gonzo. 3 players that, in my mind, won’t be able to avoid a last place finish.

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I took a look at the NL East last, now it’s time to take a look at a much weaker NL Central. Not quite as much parity in this division, but considering there are 6 teams, there could be some surprise finishes. Now, i’m a Pirates fan, so lets hope they can weasel their way into a top 3 spot for the first time in ages. And as I stated before in part 1, I think the Mets will win the wild card, and if they don’t it will be the Phillies, leaving only 1 playoff spot for the 6 teams in the Central. Who will emerge as the NL Central champion?

 

Chicago Cubs

 

Winners of the division last year, they boast just as good if not a better lineup as well as starting rotation. The bullpen is solid with Chad Gaudin, Kevin Gregg and Carlos Marmol (possibly the best setup man in the game).

 

The rotation also has immense amounts of potential, and if they fail to be superb, they will be average at worse. Z, Carlos Zambrano will be the opening day starter. He will be followed by an ace in the making in Ryan Dempster, a consistent pitcher in Ted Lilly, and a former ace in Rich Harden. In a 7 game series, if Harden is healthy this would be a deadly rotation to face. Sean Marshall is no pushover as the 5th starter either.

 

The lineup is just as good as last year. Soto, Derek Lee, Aramis Ramirez, Alfonso Soriano, and Fukudome bring speed and power back this year. Fukudome is the biggest question mark, but with the addition of an inconsistent Milton Bradley (no not the board game, the hot head), Fukudome is their 6th best hitter. Not much to worry about there.

 

If Harden and Bradley can stay healthy, there is no stopping this club from breaking the longest World Series drought in baseball.

 

Cincinnati Reds

 

This team finished 2nd to last in the standing last year only in front of the abysmal Pittsburgh Pirates. They have lost a power bat in Adam Dunn this offseason as well. Can they improve?

 

I think they will be a little bit on the decline, but not by much. Their rotation has potential to win some games without offense, and their offense has potential to win some games without pitching, but I don’t see the 2 clicking together into a playoff contender.

 

The pitching is young, very young, with Harang leading 2nd year guys Edinson Volquez and Johnny Cueto. Arroyo, Owings, and Bailey are all also young and can be studs, but mostly likely won’t. Arroyo has seen that boat sail, and Bailey still has a year or 2 before he matures. Same can be said about Cueto and his inconsistencies.

 

The bullpen is weak with Fransisco Cordero as the closer. The lineup, like the pitching staff is young but has potential. Votto, Bruce and Phillips can be the best at their position, but the team around them is a bunch of question marks. Taveras, Encarnacion, Alex Gonzalez, and Ramon Hernandez bring some pop to the lineup, but their averages are nothing to look twice at.

 

Houston Astros

 

The fact that Pudge is the backstop for this team is telling. I can see this team slipping from their 3rd place finish last year. Their whole team is full of aging former all stars. We should see dips in all of the production across the board.

 

Roy Oswalt is their only legitimate pitcher, unless you count Wandy Rodriguez at home. Jose Valverde is the closer, their bullpen has no depth beyond that. Their lineup is full of players that have done it before, but are now on the way down.

 

Ivan Pudge Rodriguez and Miguel Tejada are way past their prime and are a part of the steroid scandals. Berkman is a beast but he’s not getting any younger either. Pence and Bourn are young, but have been on and off. Carlos Lee is their only staple and even he saw a bit of a drop off last year. 

 

 

The all time saves leader Trevor Hoffman is the anchor of the bullpen. And really the only threat from the starting rotation is Yovani Gallardo, who I think will put up great numbers.

 

Most of the lineup is back, with Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun leading the charge. Kendall, Weeks, JJ Hardy, Bill Hall, Mike Cameron, and Corey Hart make this a decent lineup in the Central. But someone remind me why this team is carrying 4 catchers again?

 

Pittsburgh Pirates

 

Ah, my favorite team. I miss those days of Barry Bonds (the skinny version), Bobby Bonilla and Andy Van Slyke. Well, back to reality. Last place last year, and not looking much better in the majors this year. Although, their AAA outfielders might be the best out there.

 

The Bucs pen is one that won’t falter, when they get the opportunity that is. Yates and Grabow will lead into the 9th where Matt Capps should be 1 of the best closers again this year. The rotation is full of talent, but just like the other rotations mentioned so far (minus the Cubbies), it is full of ‘what ifs’. Malholm is solid, followed by potential ace Ian Snell, Duke, Ohlendorf, Dumatrait, and/or Karstens.

 

The lineup is weak once again. Doumit at catcher and McClouth in the outfield are studs. We’re still awaiting the debut of McCutchen from AAA to round out the outfield with McClouth and Brandon Moss with Steve Pearce waiting in the wings. This should be one of the best outfields in the near future in the NL.

 

Aside from that, Freddy Sanchez bring consistency and leadership, while Andy LaRoche is a stud in the making. Unfortunately, this lineup is set to do well in 2011 or 2012, not now. Eric Hinske is also a sleeper as he produced Jay Bruce like numbers last year, but is obviously not as reliable and will have to pass Morgan in the LF depth chart.

 

St. Louis Cardinals

 

The Cardinals contended with the bats of the Astros, and the star studded teams of the Brew crew and Cubbies last year, all without their ace Chris Carpenter. They did it with grit, the same grit that won them a recent World Series. They look for players with heart like Jim Edmonds and David Eckstein. How much heart do they have this year?

 

When I think heart, I think Rick Ankiel. When I think MVP, I think Albert Pujols. These 2 will lead a lineup that consists of Ryan Ludwick, Yadier Molina, Khalil Greene, Troy Glaus, and the very underrated Skip Schumaker. In fact, this whole team may be underrated and underestimated till September.

 

The Cards also get their ace back in Chris Carpenter (who I hate so much), while keeping an ace in the making in Adam Wainwright. Todd Wellenmeyer also has the potential to be an ace. Kyle Lohse and Joel Pineiro round out a very dangerous rotation that could contend with the Cubs. 

 

Projected Finish

Cubs

Cardinals

Brewers

Reds

Pirates

Astros

 

While the Cardinals can contend with the Cubs and will keep it very close, the difference top to bottom in the lineups tells me that Cubs will repeat. The Cardinals will also contend with the Mets and Phillies for the wild card, and if I had to pick a team to pass 1 of the powerhouses, I would go with St. Louis. Unfortunately, I think they will come up just short.

 

 

As for the Brewers and Reds, they lack a few things. The Brewers a legit pitching staff, and the Reds experience. This will have them a few games back of the Cards, each contending for 3rd right around .500. The Pirates will improve but still haven’t caught up with the rest of the division. And the Astros, well, like their ‘studs’ they’re on the way down.

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Let’s take a look at the NL East, where anyone, well almost anyone can emerge as the winner. I’ll take a look at the teams in alphabetical order, saving the Nats for last, where they belong. The Marlins, Mets, Phillies, and Braves will all be contending this year, with question marks on every team. Who will emerge the NL East champion?

 

Atlanta Braves

Last year the Braves finished in 4th place leap years behind the 3rd place Marlins. They are now younger, stronger, faster. They have also padded their pitching rotation with savvy vets Derek Lowe and Javier Vasquez. They will anchor a rotation that includes Kenshin Kawakami and Jair Jurrjens. The lineup will include McCann a power hitting catcher. Besides that, there are a lot of questions marks. Kotchman, Kelly Johnson, Garret Anderson and Escobar are all great role players, but there are too many of those on this team. Schafer is a steoroid using question mark, and Jeff Francouer has to prove himself once again. The rotation is decent, especially once they call up phenom Tommy Hanson from AAA. They also have a decent bullpen with Rafael Soriano and Mike Gonzalez. The depth on offense isn’t legit though.

 

Florida Marlins

This team contended with the Mets and Phillies down to the wire last year. I think they’ll be right behind those 2 teams once again. They boast a young beastly pitching staff, which many consider the best in the NL East. Nolasco, Josh Johnson, Volstad,  Anibal Sanchez, and Andrew Miller have a lot to learn though. They can all strike out the best of them, but we all saw what happened to Dontrelle Willis. Is that the fate of the Marlins pitching staff? Or will they be the best indeed? The lineup is also young, and there aren’t many studs besides Hanley Ramirez. Uggla can hit for power, but hits around .240, while Maybin, Hermida, Baker, and Cantu can turn into studs, but haven’t yet. The bullpen is weak with Matt Lindstrom as the closer.

 

New York Mets

The Mets failed to make the playoffs with their 2nd collapse in a row last year. It won’t happen again this year. Their biggest question mark is their pitching staff, and suprisingly its not the bullpen. They had the worst bullpen of all the major contenders last year, but shored it up with the acquisitions of JJ Putz and FRod. Long relief may still be an issue though. But if the starters can get to the 7th, you can pretty much wrap up the game. The question is, can the starters get to the 7th? Santana is a stud, but there have been talks about cutting down his workload. The rest of the staff is full of question marks. Maine, Oliver Perez, and Mike Pelfrey have to step up and get it done in order for this team to make the playoffs. Having an offense like the one the Mets do, does help the staff a bit. This lineup boasts power and speed with Carlos Delgado, David Wright, Jose Reyes, and Carlos Beltran. Daniel Murphy may be a nice surprise in left field.

 

Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies astonishingly came back to win the division last year. Can they do it again? They have the studs to get it done. Cole Hamels leads a staff that is a bit better than the Mets staff, but has the same amount of questions marks. If Oliver Perez breaks out, why can’t Brett Myers round back into form? What if John Maine and Joe Blanton are just good #4 pitchers, but can’t get it done higher up in the rotation come September? The Phillies, just like the Mets have a robust lineup that doesn’t lack power or speed, trust me, they won’t miss Pat Burrell much. Howard, Utley, Rollins, Ibanez, Victorino, and Werth have the Phillies thinking repeat. The rotation along with Hamels, includes, Myers, Jamie Moyer, and Blanton. There aren’t many concerns with the bullpen that includes Lidge, Madson, JC Romero, Durbin, and Eyre. They don’t matchup with the Mets here, but they have more depth in the pen and the lineup.

 

Washington Nationals

The reason why baseball doesn’t have much parity is because of teams like this. If anyone thinks that this team will contend, they need to lay off the Melatonin. The lineup has some power with Nick Johnson, Adam Dunn, and Ryan Zimmerman, but has more questions than answers. Milledge and Dukes have potential to be all stars, personally, I don’t think either ever gets there. There is some good depth with Willingham, Dmitry Young, Bard, Belliard, Kearns and Patterson being added. Their pitching staff is also full of question marks. I’ll admit it looks better than recent years with Lanna, Scott Olsen, Daniel Cabrera and rookie sensation Jordan Zimmerman, but it won’t matchup well with any of the other East teams. Joel Hanrahan is a decent closer but won’t be getting many save chances in this loaded division.

 

Projected Finish

Phillies

Mets

Marlins

Braves

Nationals

 

I know, it looks a lot like last year. But the top 4 teams will be closer than last, and the Nats may add a few wins to last year’s total. I still think due to the Mets and Phillies being powerhouses, and the Marlins with a great pitching staff, the Braves will once again find themselves in 4th place. Only this time it won’t be 13 games behind Florida. This will be a good race for 3rd, I think the Marlins will edge them by only a few games, with both teams only being no more than 10 back of the Mets and Phillies. The Nationals will once again be in last, and contend for worst record in the NL, if not the majors, but they have made some strides in the right direction. They just play in a very competetive division. I don’t think that Maine, Perez, and Pelfrey get it done for the Mets, but their offense will carry them to a wild card. Phillies have the pieces to get it done again, matching the Mets stride for stride. The only reason i’ll take the Phillies to take the division, is because I don’t want to be wrong when the Mets blow another late September lead.

Lets start with the Delivery Man of the Year. Ok this one’s self explanatory, it goes to the best reliever in baseball. Wait I hit a hiccup already, KRod or Lidge?
AL – Fransisco Rodriguez, Anaheim Angels. Well he went 2-3, with 62 saves and 77 strikeouts in 68 innings. 2.24 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 60 out of 69 converted.
NL – Brad Lidge, Philadelphia Phillies. 2-0, 41 saves and 92 k’s. 41 of 41 in opportunities, 69 innings, 1.23 WHIP.
I know everyone’s picking F-Rod and his 62 saves, but Lidge was better in every category. Not his fault the Phillies didn’t give him save opportunities. I have to go with Lidge here.
Honorable Mentions: Fransisco Rodriguez, Brad Zeigler
Hank Aaron Award to the best offensive player in the AL and NL.
So many to choose from, but these can be guys that aren’t even on winning teams.
But when its all said and done, offense isn’t just homeruns, and the best 5-tool player out there and my winner in the NL is Hanley Ramirez. This guys does it all. 125 runs, 177 hits, 33 homeruns, and 35 steals, all while hitting .300.
Honorable mention: Albert Pujols.
For the AL it’s a lot harder, Grady Sizemore takes the trophy as he matched Hanley everywhere except in average, but had 90 rbi’s to make up for it.
Honorable mention: Josh Hamilton
Manager of the Year.
The NL is plain and simple. Who made it work, with a lower payroll than anyone else. Unfortunately, he was fired, but Ned Yost made it happen. There are no honorable mentions. Torre didn’t do anything, Manny did it for him. Arizona collapsed. The Phillies and Cubs have too high of a payroll and too much talent. And we all know what happened to the lowly Mets.
The AL, I would have to go with Ron Gardenhire of the Minnesota Twins. Lowest payroll, loses Santana, and still ties for the division. A division where the Indians and Tigers were supposed to stomp on them. A division where a rising Royals team was supposed to pass them. A division that was theirs, until Armando Galarraga single handedly blew it for them.
Honorable mention: Joe Maddon, Devil Rays. He finally made all those first overall draft picks work. P.S. I hate Ozzie Guillen, so we won’t even go there.
Rookie of the Year.
NL – Geovany Soto. Walked in, and made them forget about Michael Barret, real quick.
Honorable mention: Jair Jurrjens.
AL – Evan Longoria. Evan Longoria. Evan Longoria.
Honorable mentions: Jacoby Ellsbury, Armando Galarraga, Brad Zeigler.
MVP –
Oh, how I hate this award. Players that deserve it never win it. Your team has to be a winner. What if your team is already a winner and you’re a staff stuff (ARod, MayRod)? And what if your team is in the middle of the pack at .500, but without you, theyd be cellar dwellers.
NL – Ryan Braun. Well, its going to be no fun for me to tell you why, the stats are already there, but why not anyone else? Well Wright and Delgado had a monumental collapse, while having a good lineup surrounding them and some good pitching. Pujols was hurt, otherwise this is his. Holliday has way too much talent in that lineup of his. Any Cubs, no. Howard was batting under the Mendoza line for half of the season, I know, he was on my fantasy team. Manny came in halfway.
Honorable mention: Albert Pujols
AL – Justin Morneau. Rays have talent everywhere, no one stood out except Longoria. But they won without him too. Bay came in too late. As for Pedroia, he’s just no Justin Morneau. No one on the White Sox stood out, except Ozzie Guillen and his motor mouth of course. Angels have too many MVPs. Manny left to early! Josh Hamilton got hurt. Ian Kinsler got hurt.
Honorable mention: Josh Hamilton, Ian Kinsler.
Cy Young -
Oh the dreaded Cy Young. Historically, having wins equals having a Cy Young. Completely bogus. Of course the trend will follow this year. Here’s who really deserves it.
NL – Tim Lincecum. Despite his measly 18 wins, he only has 5 losses. His 2.62 ERA tops CC Sabathia, Brandon Webb, and Cole Hamels. There were a lot of good pitchers in the NL this year. Sabathia, Lincecum, Santana, Harden, Hamels, Dempster, Haren, Webb, Sheets, Peavy, Lowe, wow, the list goes on. The AL is a different story. But Sabathia and Harden came into the league too late, Dempsters numbers aren’t as good as Lincecum’s numbers, Peavy and Sheets had injury problems, Lowe wasn’t consistent till a little into the season. Santana, Hamels, Lincecum, and Webb were in the running until late. Now Webb was the front runner due to his 22 wins, but if he gets it with a 3.30 ERA, theres something wrong. Hamels, thought dominant, also has an ERA over 3. Here’s the big one. Johan Santana has 17 wins, just 1 less than Lincecum, a lower ERA (barely), a lower WHIP (barely), and just 2 more losses. What separates the two? Well every pitcher I named has been dominant, or the ability to be dominant, except maybe Dempster and Lowe. Santana may be a step above. But Lincecum has 265 strikeouts in less innings than Santana, and Santana only pulled off 206. That’s dominant on another level. He also has only 265 total bases allowed this season. Only Harden had less. That’s minimizing damage. And of course, can’t end without mentioning that he pitches for the San Francisco Midgets. 18 wins on a horrific team! What do you call a pitcher with an ERA in the mid 2’s, a WHIP near 1.15, the most strikeouts, a damage control freak, that gets almost 22 wins except on a really really really bad team? You call him the next Cy Young!
Honorable mention – Johan Santana (now only if he could pitch passed the 6th inning)
AL – Cliff Lee. Much easier, much less of a race. I love Roy Halladay, but Lee only lost 3 times this year. Now I know I wins and losses are just luck, hence my pick of Lincecum above, but some pitchers are just clutch. And this was Cliff Lee’s year. Halladay is a much better pitcher, and who knows what Lee will pitch like next year, but we’re playing for this year, and he was 1 step ahead. 3 losses on an Indian’s team that didn’t win many games is pretty impressive. Enjoy it while you can Cliff, before you fall off of one.