Drinkin' the Kool-Aid

Five of ESPN's 18 "experts" have the same baseball dream: a Cubs-Red Sox World Series. Won't happen; and not just because I've been a Yankee fan my whole life. The Cubs will blow too many games late -- Joe Borowski worked out okay last year, but closers with 90-mph fastballs tend not to last long -- and Clement will not repeat his 2003 results. Combine that with Maddux's questionable ability at this point, Prior's injury and the Cubs will do well to win 90. Last year, that was sufficient to win the NL Central; this year, it won't be. Moreover, the Cubs won their division by one game last year over the Astros; on paper, the 'Stros have improved by a lot more than one game vis-a-vis the Cubs going into '04.

As for the hated Red Sox, it will be very interesting to see if Terry Francona (who looks just like Bruno Kirby, but with lighter hair) can keep that team together. The Red Sox hitters are unlikely to meet their 2003 collective marks that included career years from Nixon, Ortiz, Millar, and Mueller but Foulke and Schilling will eliminate any fall-off. No drop-off for the Red Sox means another 95 wins; that should not be enough to win the AL East but could get them into the AL playoffs. Early bet here, it'll be easier for the Red Sox to make the ALCS than it will for the Cubs to make the playoffs.