‘Baseball Fever’hi
The symptoms are all there.
Sore throat. Throbbing
headache. Achy body. High tem
perature.
It can only mean one thing to
me...
Baseball season has arrived!
At this very second that you
read this, I’m at home. In bed.
Cold towel over my forehead. And
plenty of baseball on the tube.
I’m bed-stricken with the same
sickness so many Americans
share with me on this day of all
days: Baseball Fever.
Ever since fourth grade, I have
mysteriously come down with
some type of illness that forces me
to stay home on Opening Day.
(Sorry Mom, but you have to
admit, I always had you fooled.)
Today is shaping up to be One
of the best ones yet.
A total of seven games will be
on either ESPN or ESPN2 from
10:05 a.m. to 10:35 p.m.
Some of the more intriguing
matchups include Ken Griffey Jr.’s
debut as a Red against the Brew
ers, and Sammy Sosa (a.k.a the
Cubs) vs. Mark McGwire (a.k.a
the Cardinals) game.
And of course, there’s the meet
ing between country superstar
Garth Brooks’ two teams, the
Padres and the Mets.
To top it all off, sports junkies
also get an added treat in the
NCAA Championship game at
6:30 p.m,.
But this day is all about baseball.
Opening Day always marks the
beginning of the best time of the
year — spring and summer.
Is there really a better feeling
than walking around Eugene in
the spring?
Maybe the only feeling that tops
it is watching your favorite team
play for the first time of the season.
And with that, let me look deep
into my crystal ball and give you
my predictions for the 2000 base
ball season.
NL West
Everybody is expecting Ari
zona to repeat as division cham
pions after making no real
changes to their roster. But what
you have to remember is that
many Diamondbacks had “career
years.” The team to watch may be
the Giants. With the fancy new
Pacific Bell Park — and its 307
foot right field porch — Barry
Bonds and company may make
some noise. And you can’t count
out the Padres, who added Ryan
Klesko, Bret Boone and Al Mar
tin. The only problem for San
Diego is that their pitching is as
thin as can be. Notice which high
profile team I haven’t mentioned?
That’s right. The Dodgers will
once again prove that money
(read: Kevin Brown) does not buy
championships.
NL Central
Home run central will attract
plenty of attention, but the key to
which team comes out on top will
be the pitching. Expect St. Louis to
edge out the Reds thanks to the ad
dition of right-handers Darryl Kile
and Pat Hentgen. The acquisition
or Jim Ed
mond gives
the Cards an
added
edge... and
much opti
mism for the
postseason.
Pitching will
once again
be the
downfall for
the Cubbies,
and Hous
ton will
sorely miss
Mike Hampton’s left arm.
NLEast
The team to watch in this tal
ented division is the Phillies. The
starting rotation was bolstered
with the addition of Andy Ashby,
who should provide a devastating
one-two punch with Curt
Schilling. With that said, howev
er, expect Atlanta to again grab
the division crown with a healthy
Andres Galarraga in the mix. The
Mets will find that the loss of John
Olerud will have a dramatic ef
fect, and should they trade away
Rickey Henderson, third place
would be all theirs.
ALWest
Yo, Junior! I thought you want
ed some pitching. Well, the
Mariners have finally answered
your request and they won’t need
you to win games. Olerud will
provide a consistent bat, and
Aaron Sele, Freddy Garcia and
Brett Tomko will anchor a much
improved starting rotation. The
Oakland A’s will surely provide
stiff competition. But as it is with
most teams these days, the pitch
ing will not be enough to capture
the division. Anaheim will also
be in the race in this wide-open
division, but the loss of Edmonds
hurts.
AL Central
Somewhere, Drew Carey is
smiling. His Cleveland team is
loaded and ready for a lengthy
playoff run. How stacked is
Cleveland on the offensive side?
Tennis
continued from page 9
March, when it hosted them in
nonconference matchups.
Oregon was hoping for revenge
against the schools after a 7-2
drubbing at the hands of the
Huskies and a heartbreaking
come-from behind-loss to Wash
ington State.
Revenge was not in store though
as Oregon lost to both Washington
schools and fell to 6-12, and 1-7 in
the Pac-10.
On Friday, Oregon took on
Washington State in Pullman. At
the No. 1 spot, Senior Alina
Wygonowska defeated the
Cougars’ Patrycja Gajdzik to start
the match. Janice Nyland and
freshman Jeanette Mattsson also
won in singles play. The Cougars
took the remaining singles match
es, tying the contest at 3-3.
Doubles play, which was Ore
gon’s downfall in the earlier
matchup, decided the match. The
teams split the top two doubles,
putting the burden on sopho
mores Adeline Arnaud and Va
lerie Young. The duo battled
Moniek Van de Ven and Kathleen
Pienaar to a 8-8 tie, setting up a
tiebreaker that would decide the
match. But the ball bounced
Washington State’s way.
The Ducks had to put the loss be
hind them and travel to Seattle on
Sunday to face No. 34 Washington.
Freshman Monika Geiczys and
sophomore Janice Nyland led the
Ducks. Nyland upended her first
ranked opponent of the season,
upsetting No. 88 Zuzana Stunova,
7-6, 6-1. No. 58 Geiczys disposed
of Ilona Kordonskava in three sets.
The team of Wygonowska and
sophomore Adeline Arnaud de
feated Kordonskaya and Stunova
in doubles play. But it wasn’t
enough as the Huskies won the re
maining matches to win, 6-3.
ts again
Big-boppers David Justice and
Travis Fryman, who would both
be the main weapons in most
lineups, are practically forgotten.
Leadoff man Kenny Lofton will
miss the first month or so recover
ing from a dislocated shoulder.
But when he returns, watch out.
The only team that has a realis
tic shot at competing with Cleve
land is Chicago. But although the
White Sox have talent, they lack
that all-so important veteran lead
ership.
AL East
I hate to write this. Please, don’t
make me write this. All right, all
right, I’ll concede it. The “Damn
Yankees” will once again capture
the East, but don’t expect them to
three-peat ala the NBA’s Chicago
Bulls as World Series Champions.
The Yankees need to improve
their bench, acquire a decent No.
5 starter and find that necessary
“home run threat.”
And the winner is...
Cleveland. Drew Carey will
have plenty of reason to celebrate
in October. The Cardinals’
bullpen is their major weakness
and the potent Cleveland lineup
will capitalize.
There you go folks, the 2000
baseball season is here. Enjoy
every bit of it.
And don’t forget the magical
words of James Earl Jones (as Ter
rance Mann) to Kevin Costner (as
Ray Kinsella) in the classic movie
“Field of Dreams.”
“The one constant through all
the years, Ray, has been baseball.
America has rolled by like an
army of steamrollers. It’s been
erased like a blackboard, rebuilt,
and erased again. But baseball has
marked the time. This field, this
game, is a part of our past, Ray. It
reminds us of all that once was
good, and that could be again. Oh,
people will come, Ray. People
will most definitely come.”
Amen, and play ball!
Jeff Smith is a sports reporter for the
Emerald. He can be reached via e-mail
atsmittside@aol.com
r
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