It's Baseball Time

Each sport has its own signals. Basketball, the smell of gyms, the sounds of rubber streaking across smooth wood. Football, the loudest cheers and cries when people kill each other in an organized fashion. Hockey, the carving of the skates into the ice. But there is not a single sport with the distinct signals of baseball. The smell of freshly cut grass in spring. The silence before a loud thwack and cheers of fans screaming with joy of a walk-off victory. The taste of a juicy hot dog that only the best pall parks can serve. The stinging sensation of catching a ball in your bare hand. Simply put, it's in the air.

There are a lot of things that baseball has brought to the forefront in the past few years. Without doubt, steroids are near the top of that list. Whenever the MLB is featured on a sports show or casual conversation, it is nearly a guarantee that some humorous comment pertaining to the era of performance-enhancing drugs (or fertility drugs, pending personal preference). That said, I cannot comprehend why we continue to talk about it. Take the Barry Bonds trial for example. We know he did it. He knows he did it. Who cares about the developments of his federal case? Tell me when an actual decision has been made. By continuously making him the main topic of discussion, the media is now poisoning the game more than he poisoned himself. Even at this point, the case will speak more about the federal judicial system than it will about baseball. Let him be, and let us baseball fans be. There are so many great things that are happening currently in baseball, and from now on, that is what I am going to focus on. Each division this year (some more than others) has a shot at the ultimate prize.

PREDICTIONS!!!

NL West Champion: San Fransisco Giants

NL West Flop: San Diego Padres

NL Central Champion: St. Louis Cardinals

NL Central Flop: Pittsburgh Pirates

NL East Champion: Philadelphia Phillies

NL East Flop: New York Mets

AL West Champion: Texas Rangers

AL West Flop: Oakland Athletics

AL Central Champion: Chicago White Sox

AL Central Flop: Cleveland Indians

AL East Champion: New York Yankees

AL East Flop: Baltimore Orioles