Expatriate Magazine (13)

SP O R T S
ESPN AM E R I C A
As the weather warms up and summer settles in, the baseball season heats up along with the thermometer. And as the
pages of the calendar continue to turn, it starts to get time to think about a return to the gridirons as well.
hings around the diamond are settling in nicely But the AL East is the best in baseball, and Boston,
T
after the early stages of the season. Unfortunately, Toronto and Tampa Bay all have the talent to stay in the
for the game and its fans, things started oﬀ with hunt. With so many big egos and even bigger expectations
more bad news from the steroid front. from fans in the Bronx paying top dollar to watch their
After Alex Rodriguez was exposed before the season team play, the Yankees will have to prove they can hold it
began for failing a drug test back in 2005, the baseball world together to be playing baseball in October once again.
absorbed yet another blow as Dodgers outﬁ elder Manny In the AL West, the Texas Rangers have turned some
Ramirez was suspended 50 games for violating the league’s heads with a prodigious oﬀ ense and just enough pitching
substance abuse policy. The hope was that the performance to get by. Ian Kinsler, Nelson Cruz, Chris Davis, Hank
enhancing clouds were breaking, but suddenly two more of Blalock and Josh Hamilton are proving to be one of the
the game’s greatest players had again tainted the game. most potent batting orders in baseball. The question now
But the game goes on, and Commissioner Bud Selig is whether they can sustain the pace over the long haul, and
stated that the Ramirez situation pointed to the fact the whether the pitching will hold up well enough to get them
new tough testing measures instituted by baseball are past the ﬁ nish line.
working. Maybe so. With young players such as Evan The AL Central looks like a race between Detroit,
Longoria and Joe Mauer putting up what are assumed to be Minnesota and Kansas City, while over in the National
big clean numbers this season, perhaps baseball can begin League, the Central and East divisions appear wide open.
to move on. At least until the next superstar fails a test. In the NL East, the Mets and Phillies can’t seem to
The Dodgers got oﬀ to a historic start as they won their pull away from the Braves and Marlins, while the Brewers,
ﬁ rst 13 home games to set a Major League record. With Cubs, Cardinals and Reds look set to battle it out all season
Manny’s bat suddenly out of the lineup until July, many long in the Central.
feared the worst for the ‘Boys in Blue.’ But the Dodgers This could be one of the best pennant races ever, as
proved they are more than just Manny’s team and barely so many teams battle not just for their division crowns, but
missed a beat as they continue to pull away from the ﬁ eld also for the Wild Card. In fact, more teams should be in the
in the National League West. With third baseman Casey race than out of it come September. Don’t be surprised if
Blake and outﬁ elder Juan Pierre having comeback years and this season’s races come down to the ﬁ nal day.
youngsters like James Loney and Matt Kemp continuing As the new National Football League season looms
to develop, the Dodgers look to be the team to beat out on the horizon, several high-proﬁ le quarterback stories are
West. And with Manny’s bat returning to the lineup for the rising to the fore.
second half of the season, things look promising in L.A. For the ninth time in the last 12 NFL Drafts, a
While the Dodgers look hard to catch, the other quarterback was taken with the ﬁ rst pick. Matthew
divisions appear to be more contentious. A-Rod returned Staﬀ ord was ﬁ rst out of the pool of college talent and has
from hip surgery and the shadow of his drug test revelations the diﬃ cult task of turning around the worst team in the
and came out swinging, cracking a home run in his ﬁ rst at history of the league.
bat of the season on May 8, and knocking seven balls out of The Detroit Lions became the ﬁ rst team ever to ﬁ nish
the park in his ﬁ rst 15 games back. a season 0-16 to earn the ﬁ rst pick, and they hope that
That production corresponded with a turn in the Staﬀ ord is the man to lead them back to respectability.
Yankees’ fortunes as well. After moving into a brand new Staﬀ ord’s bank account won’t be hurting, anyway, as
billion-dollar stadium and spending a fortune to bring in he inked a six-year deal worth a minimum of $41.7 million
free agents CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Mark Teixeira, that could see him pocket a total of $78 million if he stays
the Yanks stumbled out of the gate. But within three weeks healthy and produces.
of A-Rod’s return, they had surged to the top of the division Those are heady numbers for a 21-year-old, but
on the back of a 9-game winning streak. the challenge he faces is as monumental as his contract.
44 EX P A T R I A T E
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