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"FacebookPinterestGetty Images\n\nI said that the Yankees would begin the season with a winning streak, but that I was worried about middle relief. Well, sadly for the Yanks, I was right. Their middle relief has been horrible. Terrible. And it's only because they're so strong in other departments that I think they're going to kill against Boston. And it helps that the Yankees put Granderson in center field. He's one of the fastest guys in the league. It's important that they've also strengthened themselves at first base with Nick Johnson\u2014who's also a great DH\u2014and Robinson Cano on second. In the inevitable Yankees-Red Sox playoff showdown, if New York loses, it'll be New York losing it. Not Boston winning it. I do give Red Sox Manager Terry Francona a little credit, though. He won a World Series in Boston, so he must have done something right. Here's another thing: Jonathan Papelbon is a kid on the team who's a good strong closer. Hope that stops you commenters from crying \"bias.\"\n\nBut let us look westward! I'm excited about the look of things in the American League West. First and foremost, I think we're going to get a big surprise out of the Oakland A's team effort. They've got strong pitching this season and I think it'll catch other teams off guard. If I had to look into the tea leaves and make a blanket prediction, I'd tell you that the California Angels are going to finish third, with Oakland and the Texas Rangers ahead of them. I came into this season with a lot of faith in Texas and they haven't given me any reason not to be impressed. I just don't see that the Angels are going to have a good year. The atmosphere isn't looking right. They're sloppy on defense. They haven't made any advantageous trades. They've had a lot of chances the last couple of years to improve, and the way I see it, they still can't get it right. On the contrary, I believe Rangers and Oakland have strengthened their teams, and they'll be rewarded for it in spades.\n\nAnd to shift our attention to the West in the National League, I think that with all the improvements the Giants and the Colorado Rockies have made, those teams will sail past the Dodgers early this season. From everything I've seen and everything I know, I just don't think the Dodgers are strong enough. I guess the best word is \"overrated.\" And however the Dodgers screw up, it's not going to be because of their hitting coach Don Mattingly. Now, Don Mattingly, who's a great guy, a great player, and a good old friend of mine, deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. He's one of those players who would have broken every record if he didn't have an injury\u2014in his case a bad back. The Dodgers have decent starting pitching, they have some strong arms, I just don't think it jells. I think the Giants are stronger, and Colorado looks like a real threat.\n\nSo while the Dodgers will be spotty, I have reason to believe we'll see some real disappointments. Namely, the Padres. They're a doormat. Everybody steps on them. The team has gone in the wrong direction. They have a great manager in Bud Black, but they're not giving him much to work with. On the other hand, the Giants have Bruce Bochy managing them, and a great pitching coach in Dave Righetti. Rags is truly a tremendous pitching coach. He comes from experience\u2014when he played ball, he was as good a starter as he was a reliever. And as I can attest, the older and grayer you get standing out there on the diamond, the more you know."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.gq.com/story/former-major-league-umpire-ken-kaiser-on-the-first-week-of-the-season>