The Eve of Destruction, aka Baseball Season

It's the final weekend before the baseball season starts and many fans are nervous to see where there team will end up in a few months. Most fans from New York who root for the Mets and Yankees respectively, envision an October in which their team will be playing meaningful games. Many fans also play fantasy baseball which in my opinion is ruining the sport because a lot of people start to tolerate their rival teams superstars because they happen to be on their fantasy team. The start of baseball season usually brings a fresh beginning and a hint of optimism among teams that aren't supposed to be in the playoff hunt as the season winds down. Usually fans pack the stadiums on opening day to catch an early glimpse on what their team or teams will look like as the season progresses. The Mets look to rebound after their awful collapse at seasons end and hope to be representing the National League in the World Series in October. As for the Yankees, they have a new manager in Joe Girardi, their catcher once upon a time. He looks to being back the success that he had as a player and translate it to victories as the manager in hopes of catching the Red Sox. Whatever the outcome of the season is, it will be the last season that we will see baseball at Shea and the current Yankee Stadium because both teams are moving their operations across the street to new facilities and nicer confines. Both stadiums will be sorely missed.

Rangers Can Start Thinking Cup

The New York Rangers recent surge in the past few weeks have allowed players and fans alike to start dreaming big. In the Eastern Conference in which they play in, there has been much parity and not one single team has come out to take a tight grasp on a lead. The Pittsburgh Penguins for example, made a huge splash at the trading deadline, acquiring Marian Hossa from Atlanta but still haven't come away as the front runner in the conference despite the fact that they have the most points in the East going into Friday. The Rangers though, have reeled off eight wins in their past 11 games and have also recorded at least one point in all of those games dating back to February 9th. Since that defeat of of the Flyers, the Rangers have been the hottest team in the conference and currently sit in sole possession of 6th place and remain in striking distance of overtaking a few more teams on their way to closing out the season. With a surge like this, the Rangers can use this as momentum going into the playoffs to be the favorite in the East and possibly emerge as the conference's representative in the Stanley Cup Finals. So why do I think the Rangers can possibly think that they can bring the Stanley Cup back home to New York this spring? Well for one reason, there offense is finally clicking after about two months of futility, their power play and penalty kill is solid as of the moment and that their prized free agents of Scott Gomez, and Chris Drury, are finally playing comfortably. Those acquisitions were key in the off season and they should provide intangibles and experience to a Rangers roster that appears ready for a long post-season run.