A graveyard is also a garden.
And every spring........

What better way to start off March than a post about baseball. This space has been conspicuously vacant for the past month or so. No excuses needed, its the dead of winter, and college basketball is much too exciting. Thanks to the couple of people who wrote in to ask what was up. Basically to check to see if I was still alive. Which I am. Much to the chagrin of A-Rod, my elderly neighbors, and the U.S. Government

Back when John convinced me to start doing this, I didn't really expect this
site to be alive a full year later. But even during the offseason when there wasn't anything new here, the number of people stopping by tells me that its at least worth it for me to keep writing down my semi-sober rants. This confuses me somewhat, but I like it, thanks to everyone. The writing is sure to pick up in the next few weeks with spring training starting, and we might witness the re-birth of John, so keep checking in.

This will be our second season, and during the first, the Red Sox won the World Series.

Coincidence?

I don't care if it is, I'm not going to take the chance and stop now. And so, to get the second season started, here are a couple of fearless predictions I dare anyone to bet against,

• The Milwaukee Brewers will not win the World Series.
• Pedro Martinez will rip both the fans and media in Boston.
• Neifi Perez will lose the batting title race.
• Shawn Estes will not win a Cy Young.
• Red Sox fans will be disappointed in 2005.
• I will not pay face value for any tickets to Fenway this year.
• For that matter, neither will you.
• I will threaten to kill ESPN executives after the two weeks of over-hype leading up to the Cubs-Red Sox series in Wrigley.
• The steroid scandal will not go away.
• Neither will Barry Bonds
• Neither will the Yankees.

I'd be willing to bet my life savings on any of those (and now that I've got a real job, that savings is almost in four-figures).

Here's a couple others that I wont bet it all on, but I feel pretty confident on my large stable limb,

• The AL East will be a two team race by May.
• Pedro Martinez will finish in the top 3 for NL Cy Young.
• So will Tim Hudson.
• Randy Johnson will have a lower ERA that Curt Schilling.
• Curt Schilling will have more wins.
• My east coast bias will only grow larger.
• The Padres and Indians will be in the playoff race the entire year.
• The Tigers will not.
• Scott Kazmir will be more valuable than Victor "The Wrong" Zambrano.
• Mets fans everywhere will be heard whining about their misfortune.
• The Nationals will suck, change their name to the Grays, Jim Bowden will move the team to Cuba and lead a revolution from the mountains, bringing the tenets of OBP to the Cuban National team.

Okay, I lost you on that last one. Enjoy March Madness, remember its only good because baseball is in the back of your mind, and go Illini.
Curt  ¶ 8:12 AM