ECHO l Thursday, May 14, 2009
Major League baseball is back
By JON WHEEL
It may seem like just yester-
day that your Philadelphia
Phillies won the World Series,
but the 2009 season has ar-
rived. So stack your fantasy
teams, buy yourself some tick-
ets, and enjoy another season
of Major League Baseball.
Some of you may not know,
but there are 29 other teams in
the league! So for Phillies fans
that expect a repeat, don’t get
your hopes up. The National
League East is looking better
than ever. The Mets finally got
a closer with Francisco Rodri-
guez, the Nationals got some
power in their lineup with
Adam Dunn, and the Marlins
have an amazing shortstop in
Hanley Ramírez and solid
pitching with Josh Johnson and
Ricky Nolasco. The rest of the
National League has strength-
ened as well. The Dodgers are
entering their first full season
with Manny Ramírez, the Dia-
mondbacks have one of the
best pitching staffs in the
league, and the Brewers have
some of the best young hitters
in the game.
In the NL East, the Mets will
come out on top, with the
Phillies coming in a not-so-
close second. The Cubs will
once again embarrass the rest
of the NL Central. In the West,
the Dodgers will take it again.
But here’s my overall predic-
tion: the New York Mets will
win the National League pen-
nant. No, I’m not kidding. The
Mets have always had the hit-
ting to get themselves to the
postseason, and now they have
a quality closer to put it all to-
gether. So where will your
Phillies end up? Well, I believe
they will lock up a Wild Card
spot in the NL, but will lose in
the first round to the Cubs.
Recently, the American
League has been the more
competitive league. Last year,
the Angels and Rays battled for
months for the best record in
the MLB, the White Sox need-
ed every game to beat the
Twins in the AL Central, and
the Rays and Red Sox fought
each other (literally) for the
top spot in the East. I believe
the Rays will win the East
again. I also think that the Tig-
Page 5
ers will fulfill their high expec-
tations and win the Central.
The Angels will win the West
with no competition. In the al-
ways-heated Wild Card race, I
think the White Sox will once
again come out on top of the
Twins. Here’s my overall pre-
diction for the AL: the Rays.
This year, the Tampa Bay Rays
will prove that last year wasn’t
just a fluke, and that they can
win it all. They have shown ma-
turity and the ability to beat
any team.
In another World Series
matchup between eastern
teams, I believe the Rays will
come out on top. The Mets are
known for their monumental
collapses, and this time it will
cost them the championship. I
feel that the Rays’ starters
(James Shields, Matt Garza,
Scott Kazmir) and defense are
top notch, and their young
hitters (Evan Longoria, BJ
Upton) are starting to blossom
into stars. Their talent through-
out the lineup will earn them
their first ever World Series
title.
But I’m no expert. There’s al-
ways some Cinderella team
that shocks us all, and nobody
can predict who it will be.
There will be 2,430 games this
year, so there’s bound to be
some surprises.
After the first two weeks of
the season, there are already
some surprises, some things we
expected, and a few, almost
out-of-nowhere teams that are
Cappies celebrate acting
Cappies, continued
from Page 4
Phoenixville Area High School
, Twelfth Night
Ensemble in a Play
Feste Ensemble , Phoenix-
ville Area High School ,
Twelfth Night
Comic Actress in a Play
Kelsey Hodgkiss , Phoenix-
ville Area High School ,
Twelfth Night
Featured Actress in a Play
Rebecca Wise , Phoenixville
getting a chance in the spot-
light. Perhaps a 2009 Cinderel-
la team could be the Orioles.
They did not welcome C.C. Sa-
bathia, taking two out of three
from the Yankees. They also
took two out of three from the
AL champion Rays. The O’s
also have some bright, young
See MLB, Page 6
Area High School , Twelfth
Night
Featured Actor in a Play
Owen Howson , Phoenixville
Area High School , Twelfth
Night
Lead Actress in a Play
Alex Babinchek , Phoenix-
ville Area High School ,
Twelfth Night
Lead Actor in a Play
Michael Zolovich , Phoenix-
ville Area High School ,
Twelfth Night
Play
Twelfth Night , Phoenixville
Area High School