March 27, 2000 | Volume 92, Issue 13

New stadium, new manager, new star—it all adds up to a rejuvenated club

OFFENSE [3½ Stars]DEFENSE [2½ Stars]STARTING PITCHING [1½ Stars]BULLPEN [2 Stars]MANAGER [3 Stars]

If nothing else, Rob Fick has a flair for the dramatic. In the eighth inning of the final game at Tiger Stadium last September, the rookie catcher hammered a grand slam that came within a few feet...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Tigers

Hard-hitting young talent can bring this club back from the baseball boondocks

OFFENSE [3½ Stars]DEFENSE [2½ Stars]STARTING PITCHING [1½ Stars]BULLPEN [½ Star]MANAGER [2½ Stars]

When Jay Witasick was acquired from the A's last spring, the Royals stuck him in the bullpen and hoped his above-average fastball and power curve would steady a shaky relief corps. That plan...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Royals

You get what you pay for. With the majors' tiniest payroll, the Twins have no shot

OFFENSE [1 Star]DEFENSE [4 Stars]STARTING PITCHING [2 Stars]BULLPEN [1 Star]MANAGER [3½ Stars]

Plain and simple, third baseman Corey Koskie was overmatched when he was called up to the majors in September 1998. Though he had a .301 average at Triple A Salt Lake City that year, he hit only...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Twins

They're trying on a new look made for their new park—and trying to forget Junior

OFFENSE [4 Stars]DEFENSE [3 Stars]STARTING PITCHING [4 Stars]BULLPEN [2 Stars]MANAGER [4 Stars]

When agent Tony Attanasio heard 32-year-old Japanese righthander Kazuhiro Sasaki was looking for an agent to get him to the majors, he called Mets skipper Bobby Valentine, who once managed against...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Mariners

This free-spirited bunch might just laugh its way into the postseason party

OFFENSE [4½ Stars]DEFENSE [2 Stars]STARTING PITCHING [3 Stars]BULLPEN [3 Stars]MANAGER [4 Stars]

In last September's Triple A World Series, someone told Vancouver's Terrence Long that a minor league official had allegedly said the Canadians didn't have enough hitting to win. Long needed to...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Athletics

The playoff-pitiful Rangers traded power for pitching. But did they get enough?

OFFENSE [3½ Stars]DEFENSE [4 Stars]STARTING PITCHING [3 Stars]BULLPEN [5 Stars]MANAGER [4 Stars]

This is not what the Rangers expected. In December it appeared that free-agent third baseman Todd Zeile would re-sign with Texas, but he suddenly decided he wanted to play for the Mets. Manager...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Rangers

A new attitude and a potent lineup won't make up for an old, flammable staff

OFFENSE [3½ Stars]DEFENSE [4 Stars]STARTING PITCHING [½ Star]BULLPEN [2½ Stars]MANAGER [FIRST YEAR]

Eight years ago, when 17-year-old Bengie Molina was discovered in his hometown of Dorado, Puerto Rico, by an Angels' scout, he was a smooth-fielding, strong-armed shortstop. "I thought of myself...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Angels

Last year's league champs got stronger thanks to three comebacks and a trade

OFFENSE [4 Stars]DEFENSE [5 Stars]STARTING PITCHING [4½ Stars]BULLPEN [4 Stars]MANAGER [5 Stars]

The off-season didn't seem to be a great one for Braves first baseman Randall Simon, who was a) infamously called "a fat monkey" by John Rocker; b) relegated to backup first baseman by the return...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Braves

I would like to get Jim Bowden to negotiate the purchase of my next car.—MIKE TARKETT, Mount Laurel, N.J.

Letters to SPORTS ILLUSTRATED should include the name, address and home telephone number of the writer. They may be mailed to The Editor, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, 135 West 50th Street, New York, N.Y....

Will a new look—more power, less speed and a long-sought ace—produce more wins?

OFFENSE [4 Stars]DEFENSE [4 Stars]STARTING PITCHING [3½ Stars]BULLPEN [4½ Stars]MANAGER [4 Stars]

His legend was secured against the Braves in Game 6 of the 1999 National League Championship Series. Melvin Mora, an eight-year minor leaguer, had entered as a pinch hitter in the eighth. Two...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Mets

They're young and they're restless, and maybe, just maybe, they're ready

OFFENSE [4 Stars]DEFENSE [4 Stars]STARTING PITCHING [3 Stars]BULLPEN [2½ Stars]MANAGER [3 Stars]

He was the 25th pitcher taken in the 1997 draft, but only two of the pitchers chosen ahead of him—Jim Parque (White Sox) and Ryan Bradley (Yankees)—made it to the majors faster than Randy Wolf....

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Phillies

Reversing their old practice, the Expos spent some bucks in hope of contending

OFFENSE [2 Stars]DEFENSE [1 Star]STARTING PITCHING [2 Stars]BULLPEN [3 Stars]MANAGER [4 Stars]

Righthanded reliever Guillermo Mota says he'd never thrown a pitch in an organized baseball game before the Expos selected him in the Rule 5 minor league draft, in December 1996. At the time he...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Expos

As they stockpile arms for the future, the Marlins have little hope of winning now

OFFENSE [1½ Stars]DEFENSE [2½ Stars]STARTING PITCHING [3½ Stars]BULLPEN [2 Stars]MANAGER [3 Stars]

Third Baseman Mike Lowell believes the surgery and treatment he underwent for testicular cancer have made him a better player. His illness was diagnosed last February following a trade by the...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Marlins

The arrival of Griffey gives Cincinnati the powerful look of a new Big Red Machine

OFFENSE [5 Stars]DEFENSE [4 Stars]STARTING PITCHING [2½ Stars]BULLPEN [5 Stars]MANAGER [3½ Stars]

Say this for Jason LaRue, the Reds' catcher of the future: He sets an inviting target for pitchers. In 35 games last season he caught three one-hitters and four shutouts. A fifth-round draft pick...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Reds

Age and injuries are catching up to the Astros, as is the rest of the division

OFFENSE [4 Stars]DEFENSE [4 Stars]STARTING PITCHING [4 Stars]BULLPEN [3½ Stars]MANAGER [3½ Stars]

There's no question Daryle Ward, the son of former major leaguer Gary Ward, deserves a spot in the lineup. "He's poised and just a really good, strong hitter," says third baseman Ken Caminiti....

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Astros

Even Big Mac knows that it's pitching that wins, so the Cards have re-armed

OFFENSE [3½ Stars]DEFENSE [2½ StarsSTARTING PITCHING [3½ Stars]BULLPEN [2 Stars]MANAGER [3½ Star]

St. Louis has moved former No. 1 pick Rick Ankiel through its system over the past two years as if he were a Ming vase. This year the bubble wrap comes off—very carefully. Ankiel, just 20 years...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Cardinals

The owner has expressed high hopes for his young, improving club. Too high

OFFENSE [3½ Stars]DEFENSE [2 Stars]STARTING PITCHING [3½ Stars]BULLPEN [2½ Stars]MANAGER [3 Stars]

Just 21, Aramis Ramirez was given the third base job this spring when the Pirates let Ed Sprague walk as a free agent. Offensively, the Pirates know Ramirez is ready—he had 21 homers at Triple A...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Pirates

With a proven hand at the helm, better things are in store (knock on Wood)

OFFENSE [3 Stars]DEFENSE [2 Stars]STARTING PITCHING [2 Stars]BULLPEN [2 Stars]MANAGER [4 Stars]

Only two years ago Corey Patterson was playing ball for Harrison High in Kennesaw, Ga., which is why the cautious Cubs didn't intend to invite him to spring training this year—until manager Don...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Cubs

Rebuilding began with a flurry of trades, but none yielded much instant help

OFFENSE [3½ Stars]DEFENSE [2½ Stars]STARTING PITCHING [½ Star]BULLPEN [2 Stars]MANAGER [FIRST YEAR]

First baseman Kevin Barker is the rarest of breeds in the Brewers' clubhouse: a homegrown product who rocketed through the system. A third-round draft choice out of Virginia Tech in 1996, Barker...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Brewers

Can last season's bevy of career years be duplicated? The D-backs say no problem

OFFENSE [4½ Stars]DEFENSE [3 Stars]STARTING PITCHING [5 Stars]BULLPEN [3 Stars]MANAGER [5 Stars]

After pitcher Byung-Hyun Kim got the first save of his major league career against the Mets last May, Diamondbacks manager Buck Showalter actually bowed to his pitcher. This season Showalter...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Diamondbacks

Fans, lots of them, will enjoy the new yard, but they'll be seeing the same old team

OFFENSE [4 Stars]DEFENSE [3 Stars]STARTING PITCHING [3½ Stars]BULLPEN [3 Stars]MANAGER [5 Stars]

Back in 1995 insiders said Calvin Murray, then 23 years old and one of the Giants' hottest prospects, would be San Francisco's centerfielder for years to come. Well, five years have come and gone,...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Giants

Having added a touch of Green, L.A. believes it has chased away the blues

OFFENSE [3 Stars]DEFENSE [2 Stars]STARTING PITCHING [3½ Stars]BULLPEN [3 Stars]MANAGER [3½ Stars]

Manager Davey Johnson calls 24-year-old Eric Gagne "the best French-speaking pitcher I've ever seen." The Dodgers found Gagne (pronounced gahn-YAY) in high school in Montreal, where he grew up...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Dodgers

Last year's cellar-dwellers have a slew of new faces and a fresh style of play

OFFENSE [3½ Stars]DEFENSE [3½ Stars]STARTING PITCHING [3 Stars]BULLPEN [2½ Stars]MANAGER [3 Stars]

Thinking the day's workout was over, Ben Petrick turned his back on the field and started to put his catcher's gear in his equipment bag one afternoon this spring. That's when teammate Darren...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Rockies

Trades have beefed up the batting order, but the rotation remains weak

OFFENSE [2 Stars]DEFENSE [2½ Stars]STARTING PITCHING [2 Stars]BULLPEN [4 Stars]MANAGER [4 Stars]

As a Rookie last season catcher Ben Davis was razzed by his fellow Padres about his clothes (he rarely wore a suit), his appearance ("Cut like a weightlifter, looks like a movie actor," says...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Padres

We ranked the position players in the major leagues from I (the best) to 425, and the pitchers from 1 to 400, based on our projections of their statistical production this season. The categories...

THE NBA

Up, Up and...?The Raptors want to believe Tracy McGrady won't fly the coop

Allen Iverson continues to drive 76ers coach Larry Brown batty by minimizing the importance of things like shootarounds, one of which Iverson skipped last week because, he said, he had a headache....

Austin Croshere has recast himself into a frontline player for the Pacers

Punched Out?The feeling is growing in the league that fighting should be put to an end

TOM BARRASSOG SENATORSHe was acquired from the Penguins at the trade deadline because he has won two Cups and, at 34, remains a daunting postseason presence. With Pittsburgh this season he had a...

One reason the Lightning has played better down the stretch is the trade that sent unpopular captain Chris Gratton to the Sabres on March 10. Tampa Bay players say Gratton always absolved himself...

The Rap Against Jr.Floyd Mayweather Jr. kept his title but is losing his sweet reputation outside the ring

If congress is really serious about banning betting on college sports in Nevada, it'll mean war with Chili. Now going on his 30th hour without sleep, Chili, 27, is wedged against a rail at the...

At SPORTS ILLUSTRATED pictures and words have gone hand in mitt since Eddie Mathews's swing-for-the-fences cover shot drew readers to our first issue nearly 46 years ago. "We're the bait," says...

September 7, 1970

Highlights

CART's season-opening Marlboro Grand Prix begins at 2 p.m. on Sunday, but ESPN will telecast it on tape delay at 4:30 p.m. Why? Well, the network also has the rights to the NASCAR Food City 500,...

A nationwide network of eager (and unpaid) correspondents puts high school sports on-line

When mount Saint Helens blew its top in 1980, the eruption caught the citizenry of the state of Washington off-guard. This Sunday at 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time there will be an implosion, of the...

"Does the NBA realize how many exhibitionists there are in the locker rooms around the league? Is that what we want America, along with the rest of the world, tuning in for? I'm sorry, did I miss...

NCAA tournament TV coverage mixes the obvious, the disingenuous and the irrelevant

Why not ban NHL fisticuffs? Because fans love a good fight

He said his troops weren't distracted, but Bob Knight's Hoosiers sure seemed out of it as Pepperdine dismantled Indiana 77-57 in the first round. Knight's motivational ploys were under scrutiny...

$120 millionPrice Renault paid for the Benetton F/1 team, $24 million more than the top bid recently for the Kansas City Royals.

The Season of ForgivenessThe victim of a famous on-court assault embraces his attackers

Losing Touch•Norway's Rune Gjeldnes and Torry Larsen, who are skiing from Russia to Canada via the North Pole, and Jo Le Guen of France, who's rowing across the Pacific. They'll soon lose their...

Upon taking the mound for his first appearance in a spring training game, Braves reliever John Rocker received a standing ovation from the Kissimmee, Fla., crowd.

DON NELSONMavericks coach, on Sean Elliott's return to the Spurs after his life-saving kidney transplant: "I love the guy to death."

During Stanford's NCAA tournament games in Birmingham, Cardinal yell leader Joe Cavanaugh sat near one corner of the court—except when an opposing player went to shoot a free throw. Then Cavanaugh...

Seilala Sua, Fort LauderdaleTrack and FieldSua, a senior and four-time All-America at UCLA, won the shot put at the NCAA indoor championships with a heave of 56'8" to lead the Bruins to the...

A paucity of upsets and an undercurrent of turmoil combined to crush the storybook feeling of the opening rounds of the NCAAs

Jaguars wideout Jimmy Smith, having rekindled a career that was near extinction, has developed into a receiver nonpareil

March into the madness. Catch the latest NCAA tournament news, scores, statistical matchups and exclusive on-the-scene reports from SI's experts at cnnsi.com/college/basketball.

Godlike in the eyes of heartened Red Sox fans, Pedro Martinez uses an astonishing mastery of four pitches and a ferocious will to win—not to mention that smile—to fuel Boston's fever for a World...

In nine innings of Yankees-killing last year, Martinez created a masterpiece

Thank you very mulchReds second baseman Chris Sexton gets a face full of blades diving for a single off the bat of Red Sox first baseman Brian Daubach in a Grapefruit League game.

The Martinez brothers are the key to an Octoberfest in Beantown

After waiting 82 years, New Englanders are going to find a Red Sox World Series win isn't all it was cracked up to be

Every spring, the game is riddled with unknowns. Can he hit? Is his arm healthy? Who's the third baseman? On the following pages are five questions that most piqued our interest. Of course, there...

Each of these rookie stadiums has its charms—but you just can't beat waterfront property

Once they figure out where he'll play, the Phillies hope to ride into contention on the booming belts of potent phenom-in-waiting Pat (Don't Call Him the Bat) Burrell

Because it plummets as it reaches the plate, the split-fingered fastball is as brutal on befuddled batters as on the elbows of pitchers who dare to throw it

Short hours, guaranteed employment, big bucks (though the tips aren't so great)—ah, to be a backup catcher!

Again, everyone will be chasing Big Mac—with Junior getting a boost from his new surroundings

The Yankees and the Braves have more talent, but at playoff time the Red Sox will have the right ingredients to beat them both

They may be getting long in the tooth, but these Bombers still have their bite

OFFENSE [4½ Stras]DEFENSE [3½ Stras]STARTING PITCHING [5 Stras]BULLPEN [5 Stras]MANAGER [5 Stras]

"Don't take this the wrong way," Yankees pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre told lefthanded pitcher Ed Yarnall this spring, "but you remind me of Sid Fernandez in a lot of ways." Like Fernandez, whom...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Yankees

Next year? Wait till this year, say the Sox, who are seriously thinking Series

OFFENSE [4½ Stars]DEFENSE [3 Stars]STARTING PITCHING [4 Stars]BULLPEN [3½ Stars]MANAGER [4½ Stars]

The two big league starts Juan Peña made last May did not represent your typical cup of coffee. Call it a double shot of espresso: He beat the Angels and the Blue Jays, giving up only one run and...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Red Sox

If the mercurial Mondesi is set to explode, the Blue Jays hope it's only at the plate

OFFENSE [3½ Stars]DEFENSE [3½ Stars]STARTING PITCHING [3½ Stars]BULLPEN [3 Stars]MANAGER [4 Stars]

He has been called "a strikeout pitcher" for as long as he can remember. That's what happens when you're a high school mound legend with a nifty nickname (Doc), as Roy Halladay was while growing...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Blue Jays

III-spent dough and chemistry woes spell another bleak year for the aging O's

OFFENSE [3 Stars]DEFENSE [3½ Stars]STARTING PITCHING [3½ Stars]BULLPEN [2 Stars]MANAGER [3½ Stars]

Just how young is Jerry Hairston Jr.? The Orioles second baseman fondly recalls scavenging through the White Sox clubhouse as a grade-schooler in the early 1980s, when his dad was a Chicago...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Orioles

With off-season acquisitions, they'll at least be more fun to watch than last year

OFFENSE [3½ Stars]DEFENSE [2½ Stars]STARTING PITCHING [2½ Stars]BULLPEN [2½ Stars]MANAGER [3 Stars]

When he arrived at the Devil Rays' spring training camp last year, wearing a goofy smile and uniform number 78, righthander Ryan Rupe's expectations were minimal: Get a tan, throw well, have fun....

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Devil Rays

An upbeat skipper and a Yankee-killing ace bring a whole new vibe to the Tribe

OFFENSE [5 Stars]DEFENSE [4½ Stars]STARTING PITCHING [3½ Stars]BULLPEN [2½ Stars]MANAGER [FIRST YEAR]

There are certainly better places than Cleveland for a young, power-hitting outfielder such as Jacob Cruz to crack a lineup. "This club is not designed for prospects right now," says general...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Indians

The promising young Sox are poised to start putting the hurt on their opponents

OFFENSE [2½ Stars]DEFENSE [1½ Stars]STARTING PITCHING [2 Stars]BULLPEN [2½ Stars]MANAGER [3 Stars]

The compliment came last March, after the kid had just blown away the Rockies in a spring training game. "[Then Colorado manager] Jim Leyland came up to me and said that Kip Wells had the best...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the White Sox

James Stanofski, Pinebluff, N.C.James, 18, was named player of the year in the Nike Winternational Junior Series for the fourth straight year. James won four of eight events—including the...

The pressure of a PGA Tour event is nothing compared with Mr. Palmer's Shootout at Bay Hill

MS hasn't stopped Paul Willey from becoming the Tiger Woods of virtual golf

British Open in Trevino's Plans

•(Same Old) Love StoryDavis must be wondering, Who does Tiger think he is, Fred Couples?

His win at Bay Hill showed that Tiger Woods is at his best when he's boring

The LPGA has been running a good-natured television promotion showing its two leading stars, Karrie Webb and Annika Sorenstam, one-upping each other. At the end, as they walk away, there is a KICK...

What do these players have in common?

Do you agree with a U.S. Court of Appeals' allowing Casey Martin to continue riding a cart on Tour?

SYNONYMS for the RANGEBP, divot-watching detail, Maniac Hill, blister box, boneyard, library, rock pile, salt mines, Vijay's Place.

The winning streaks may be over, but history will still be made this season. In the last 40 years only two professional golfers, Kathy Whitworth and Mickey Wright, have won 10 or more official...