ESPN MLB Analysts Offer 20 Insights Heading Into Network’s 20th Season
ESPN’s 20th season of Major League Baseball telecasts will begin with Opening Night Sunday, April 5, when the defending World Champion Philadelphia Phillies host the Atlanta Braves at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN2 HD, ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes, ESPN360.com and ESPN Mobile TV. The telecast will mark the debut of the new Sunday Night Baseball commentator team of Jon Miller and analysts Joe Morgan and Steve Phillips. Miller and Morgan have worked together in the Sunday Night booth since 1990, with the addition of Phillips creating the first three-man booth in the history of the SNB franchise.
Four ESPN commentators recently provided a total of 20 pieces of analysis heading into the 2009 season, including: Morgan’s top five contenders; Phillips’ top five impact players; Baseball Tonight host Karl Ravech’s top five storylines; and Baseball Tonight analyst Chris Singleton’s five fearless predictions.
Joe Morgan’s Top Five Contenders
Hall of Famer Joe Morgan has been a Sunday Night Baseball analyst since its inaugural season in 1990. This season, he will team with play-by-play commentator Jon Miller and analyst Steve Phillips in the SNB booth. He recently predicted the top contenders heading into the 2009 season:
#1) Boston Red Sox
Morgan – “A healthy David Ortiz is going to be a big impact player. They also added pitching depth to their rotation.”
#2) Tampa Bay Rays
Morgan – “The Rays proved they could win with pitching, speed and power. It puts a lot of pressure on other teams when your offense can manufacture runs. Pat Burrell adds a veteran presence. Being in this situation now, he will prosper and the team will benefit from his bat. I expect B.J. Upton to have a breakout season, if he stays healthy, and Evan Longoria to improve. They have a lot of potentially great players on that ball club.”
#3) New York Yankees
Morgan – “They straightened out their biggest weakness – starting pitching. C.C. Sabathia is one of the top three pitchers in all of baseball, if not the best. Alex Rodriguez’s injury allowed the Red Sox and Rays to pass the Yankees. We’ll have to see how A-Rod’s link to performance enhancers impacts the team. They’ve already dealt with Jason Giambi and Andy Pettitte being the focal point during steroid investigations. They’re a veteran team, so they should be able to get past it.”
#4) Chicago Cubs
Morgan – “They are one of the most talented teams in baseball and they improved themselves with the addition of Milton Bradley. One of their weaknesses last year was a fifth or sixth place hitter behind Aramis Ramirez. Now they’ve added a really strong switch hitter, so the lineup is set.
“They’ve lost some pitching. Kerry Wood was important. I think Carlos Marmol will be great in the closer role. The Cubs are definitely the team to beat in the National League, but they were also the best last year when they were swept in the first round.”
#5) New York Mets or Philadelphia Phillies
Morgan – “You have to give the Phillies their due because they won the world championship. Cole Hamels was awesome in the postseason. The Phillies will miss Pat Burrell though. The Mets should have won the division last year. They had the lead, but didn’t have anybody to close out games. They have that now. The Mets will have to get another great season out of Carlos Delgado.”
Additional perspective
Morgan – “Any one of those five (or six) teams can win the World Series, but the one thing we’ve seen is teams can come out of nowhere and get hot, stay hot, as the Rays did last year. The Rays offer hope to teams who can’t spend the money others can to add players to their team.”
Steve Phillips’ Top Five Impact Players
ESPN baseball analyst Steve Phillips will join the Sunday Night Baseball booth, working alongside Jon Miller and Joe Morgan, this season. Additionally, he will continue to call Monday Night Baseball games and provide studio analysis on Baseball Tonight. He recently projected the top five impact players to watch this season:
#1) David Ortiz
Phillips – “David Ortiz is coming back from a down year in which he was hampered by wrist problems. The Red Sox need his power production, especially with questions of health for Mike Lowell and J.D. Drew, and a full season without Manny Ramirez.”
#2) Vladimir Guerrero
Phillips – “The L.A. Angels already lacked power and their offense got thinner with the losses of Garrett Anderson and Mark Teixeira. Vladimir Guerrero must stay healthy and productive or the Angels may not have enough offense to support their usual deep pitching.”
#3) J.J. Putz and Francisco Rodriguez
Phillips – “The New York Mets blew 29 saves last year, second most in the N.L., which certainly played a role in finishing three games behind the Phillies. J.J. Putz and Francisco Rodriguez have the potential to shorten the game for Jerry Manuel, which is important since his starting pitching doesn’t go deep into the game.”
#4) Travis Hafner
Phillips – “The Indians made some great acquisitions in Kerry Wood and Mark DeRosa, but Travis Hafner is the key to their success. The Indians need Hafner’s home run power. They won’t win if their leadoff man Grady Sizemore leads the team in homers again.”
#5) Chris Carpenter
Phillips – “The Cardinals won an amazing 86 games last year without a single win from Chris Carpenter. A healthy Carpenter, along with a healthy Adam Wainwright gives the Cards a dynamic 1-2 punch and makes them a legitimate threat to the Chicago Cubs.”
Karl Ravech’s Top Five Storylines
Karl Ravech joined ESPN in 1993 and is entering his 15th season as host of the Sports Emmy Award-winning Baseball Tonight. He has hosted ESPN’s coverage of the Major League Baseball playoffs and World Series since 1995.
#1) The Economy
Ravech – “No question, there will be an impact on the game – whether it involves ticket sales or player movement in the middle of the season, when a team realizes they are no longer in a race and try to trade a would-be, high-priced free agent. If things really deteriorate, will we once again hear talk of contraction?”
#2) The List
Ravech – “The story that won’t go away, and it will stay on the front pages as long as the list of those who tested positive for using performance-enhancing substances remains a secret. With Alex Rodriguez having admitted to using steroids, many seem eager to uncover the names of the other 103 people on the list.”
#3) The Division Races
Ravech – “Every division has at least two teams, in most cases three, that will contend. In the A.L. Central, four teams could compete for the division title. While the A.L. East has three of the top four teams in the league, each division is competitive. Can the A’s compete with the Angels? Yes, but they would likely get buried in the A.L. East.”
#4) The Yankees
Ravech – “There are too many reasons to list why they remain the most interesting, relative and important team in the Major Leagues.”
#5) The Cubs
Ravech – “Chicago won 97 games in the regular season last year and fell flat against Manny Ramirez and the Dodgers in the playoffs. There has been a lot of turnover for a team that seemed to have nearly every ingredient. You wonder if losing Kerry Wood and Mark DeRosa will really hurt. The Cubs appear to be head and shoulders above the rest of its division, but that’s been said before and the Cardinals and Astros always seem to make it close.”
Chris Singleton’s Five Fearless Predictions
Chris Singleton joined ESPN as a Baseball Tonight analyst in 2008. He has contributed to Baseball Tonight’s season-long coverage, including shows from the World Series, while also participating in this year’s ESPN The Weekend at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
#1) Heartbreak in the A.L. East
Singleton – “There will be three teams that win 90-plus games, but one will go home on October 5. The Red Sox will be good, but the question marks of health amongst Mike Lowell, David Ortiz, J.D. Drew, John Smoltz and Brad Penny will make them the odd team out.”
#2) The Florida Marlins will compete for the Wild Card
Singleton – “The Florida Marlins will seriously vie for the N.L. Wild Card behind pitchers Ricky Nolasco and Josh Johnson, along with franchise player Hanley Ramirez. The Marlins have looked to the left in the state of Florida and realize all things are possible to those that believe.”
#3) The Minnesota Twins will win the A.L. Central
Singleton – “Losing out to the Chicago White Sox in that one-game playoff will add weight to the chip on the shoulder of that blue-collar team. Great competition in the outfield will keep the starters aggressive and focused to maximize their playing time.”
#4) Atlanta’s Jeff Francoeur will bounce back
Singleton – “Jeff Francoeur will bounce back from a disastrous 2008 and start to show why he drew so many comparisons to former Braves great Dale Murphy early on. He’s the big bat the Braves were window shopping for this offseason.”
#5) The Subway Series will return
Singleton – “The World Series will be a Subway Series between the New York Yankees and Mets. Both teams have something to prove. The Mets will prove they won’t fold up the last two weeks of the regular season and the Yankees have no excuses after getting everything on their Christmas list this offseason.”
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