Outside Oberlin

Even though the World Series is done and there are no more games being played, Major League Baseball is still very much in season. While most players are off in winter ball or just relaxing on the beach somewhere, owners, general managers and agents are just about gearing up for this winter’s hot stove league.

The GMs will be opening their owners’ checkbooks and having long discussions with each other as well as the agents, trying to build up their rosters for 2005 and unseat the world champion Boston Red Sox next October.

Four teams, Seattle, Philadelphia, Arizona and the New York Mets, ended their lackluster 2004 seasons looking to fill managerial vacancies. The Mariners have already named former Indians skipper Mike Hargrove to guide its young players through the rebuilding process. The Diamondbacks, meanwhile, have decided on giving 1986 World Series hero Wally Backman his first big league managing job starting next year. Backman’s former team, the New York Mets, has yet to name a successor for Art Howe. On Wednesday it was announced that ex-Indian’s manager, Charlie Manuel will take the helm for the Phillies.

After flirting with Backman, most reports indicate that current Yankee bench coach Willie Randolph is the front runner for the Mets job. The team is also looking at Texas Rangers hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo and Terry Collins, who managed both the Astros and Angels during the ‘90s.

As of Wednesday, 217 players have filed for free agency and will be permitted to talk with any club about a new contract. The Red Sox lead the league with 17 free agents, so GM Theo Epstein will have some tough decisions to make in his quest to repeat.

The biggest is probably whether or not to re-sign veteran ace Pedro Martinez. While he is a sentimental favorite in Boston, some executives are surely questioning whether he will be worth the price tag since he has proven himself to have a 100-pitch ceiling for any game at this point in his career. With Pedro’s age and the money he will ask for, the only real bidding competition is the Yankees. Owner George Steinbrenner will be desperate to upstage the Sox after his team’s ALCS debacle. But if he can exercise enough restraint, the aging, expensive Pedro will probably end up back in Boston.

Among other notable Boston free agents are catcher Jason Varitek who will almost surely be re-signed and ALCS Game 7 hero Derek Lowe, who Epstein has reportedly indicated will not be back with the team.

Arguably, the best offensive free agent is Houston outfielder Carlos Beltran. His monster postseason combined with his agent, Scott Boras, who has a reputation for demanding exorbitant contracts, will mean that there are very few teams that can afford Beltran’s services. The Yankees may be the only team that can afford what Beltran will be looking for, although once again it is up to Steinbrenner to exercise restraint. Hitting is not a glaring Yankee need, but pitching is and they would be better served investing in some arms.

Chicago White Sox’s Magglio Ordonez is another slugging outfielder on the market, but teams question his health after missing the second half of the season with a knee injury. The Dodgers’ third baseman, Adrian Beltre, is coming off a huge breakout year, and if they think he’s the real deal, the Dodgers would hate to let him get away as they did with Mike Piazza in the ‘90s.

The Cubs would no doubt love to deal Sammy Sosa, mostly because of his giant contract but also because of his supposed bad attitude, although any GM willing to take on Slammin’ Sammy’s millions of owed dollars and slowing bat should have his head examined.

On that front, the Yankees might choose to pursue pitcher Randy Johnson in a trade from Arizona. It is no secret that they have coveted Johnson for some time now, and fell short on their bid to get him during the trading deadline. The biggest obstacle then, as it is now, is that the Yankees are short on young, Major League-ready talent, which is what the D-backs are looking for in return.

Top free agent pitchers who will likely test the open market are the Cubs’ Matt Clement, Florida’s Carl Pavano and the Dodgers’ Odalis Perez - all of whom are relatively young and possess talented arms, but none are proven aces.
NBA season preview: Pupinoski favors Spurs

By Vlado Pupinoski

With the opening tipoff last Tuesday, the NBA landscape is wide open for the first time in several years. Center Shaquille O’Neal’s trade from the Los Angeles Lakers to the Miami Heat has opened the door to several teams on the cusp of the championship. O’Neal is the most dominant force in basketball today and so long as he can run the court his team will be in contention.

While Kobe Bryant did not like being a “sidekick”, it will soon be seen how much Kobe likes being a loser. For the first time in five seasons, the Lakers will be on the playoff bubble and not a favorite to win the championship.

Most preseason experts have selected the Detroit Pistons to repeat as champions, even though the Pistons lack a great player. Not to take away from their accomplishments last year, but the Pistons ran through a relatively weak East and met a Lakers team that was torn apart by a pouting superstar. Kobe’s inability to play a team game and forward Karl Malone’s injured knee clearly assisted the Pistons in grabbing their first championship since the bad boys’ days over a decade ago. Now the Pistons are a marked target in the NBA. Every team is gunning for them and the pressure has mounted.

Immediate focus must be placed on Rasheed Wallace, who is no longer playing as the new kid on a winning team during a contract year, but rather, playing with the security of a new six-year contract with the Pistons. THE EAST

Shaq’s arrival immediately changes the dynamics of the Eastern Conference. Miami has replaced the former Eastern power of New Jersey to join the upper echelon of the East along with Detroit and Indiana.

New Jersey’s demise started when Jason Kidd injured his knee and continued with the exodus of Kenyon Martin. A healthy Kidd may still be enough to get the Nets to the playoffs, but that will be an achievement in and of itself.

The Orlando Magic could be the one surprise team in the East. The Magic traded 25 point per game scorer and defensive liability Tracy McGrady for Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley, both of whom are starters who averaged over 40 points combined for the Houston Rockets in recent seasons. Add in number one pick Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson, a possibly healthy Grant Hill (who dropped 20 the other night) and several free agent signings and the Magic have a formidable lineup.

However, the power of the East remains in three teams. The Indiana Pacers had the best record in the NBA last season and are led by all-star forward Jermaine O’Neal. O’Neal’s supporting cast, though, is anything but scary. Reggie Miller can still hit a three but is a shadow of the player he once was. The Pacers lack a real center and continue to use a point guard-by-committee approach.

Shaq and rising star Dwyane Wade lead the Heat. In an Olympics full of American disappointments, Wade was the one bright spot. This duo will immediately jump to the front of the pack as the best one-two punch in the league.

The Pistons play a great team game and even better defense. Their ability to follow Coach Larry Brown’s plan and execute will surely lead the Pistons far this season.THE WEST

The East has slowly caught up to the West, so the three best teams in the East could all be contenders in the West. However, the West is 12 teams deep, four of which have a legitimate shot at reaching the finals.

On the bubble looking in sits the improved Golden State Warriors and the Phoenix Suns. Both have added talent including new point guards Derrick Fisher and Steve Nash, respectively. However, both will be competing for that final spot in the West against the likes of the Lakers and Trailblazers.

In the middle of the pack sit the Dallas Mavericks, Sacramento Kings, Memphis Grizzles and Utah Jazz. The Mavs lost Nash but added Eric Dampier, the best big man on the market this summer. However, that says more about the summer market than about Dampier, who has small hands and problems catching the ball. Losing their starting point guard Nash and bench energizer Eduardo Najera will hurt the Mavs as well.

The Kings have their two best players feuding, and as seen with the Lakers last season, that can’t be a good sign. And neither Chris Webber nor Peja Stojokavic has ever shined in the postseason. Until Webber decides to go down and bang, the Kings will remain fun to watch in the regular season and a disappointment in the post-season.

The Grizzlies are on the up but lack the star player to carry them to the championship. Paul Gasol, their best player, is still a level below the best power forwards in the West, which includes Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and Dirk Nowitzki.

The Jazz have improved more than any other team in the West this year. They added Carlos Boozer, who has mimicked his game after Malone. Memet Okur also joins the mix adding size and a jump shot to the front line. Carlos Arroyo is fresh off his dissection of the American Olympic team in Athens, looking to show off his newly polished game. However, the Jazz are still a few years away from competing for the championship.

The Lakers, who have dominated the West over the past five seasons, return with an almost entirely new roster. Fisher joined the Warriors, Shaq joined the Heat, point guard Gary Payton is in Boston and Malone isn’t sure if he will play. What is left is a fast break team that should close in on 45 wins during the regular season and a quick exit in the post season. This Lakers squad, which currently starts Lamar Odem at the power forward, does not have the half court game or size to survive against any of the playoff teams.

The top four teams in the West are the Minnesota Timberwolves, San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets and Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets and Houston are new to the top four spots in the West. Both moved up with the best two summer acquisitions.

The Nuggets added all-star forward Kenyon Martin to their front line, now one of the best in the league. Furthermore, the Nuggets will improve as Carmelo Anthony improves. Going into his second year, Anthony should look to step up and become one of the top 10 players in the league. If Anthony can put the marijuana arrest and Olympic pouting behind him, look for Anthony to outshine Lebron James this season.

Houston added McGrady to the mix and the improvement should be felt immediately. While McGrady’s scoring average is sure to dip, his assists should rise as he plays into Jeff Van Gundy’s pass-to-Yao Ming offense. The shot differential between McGrady and his counterparts in the trade, Mobley and Francis, should lead to an extra 5 to 10 touches per game for Yao. Look for Houston to quickly grab the best one-two punch in the West now that Shaq has moved East.

The T-Wolves return the same cast that had a successful playoff run last season. With MVP Garnett, the T-Wolves should be a favorite to win it all. However, the key will be Sam Cassell’s back. If he stays healthy through the regular season and is able to put up similar numbers from last year, the T-Wolves are sure to go far. If Cassell’s back fails, the T-Wolves will exit the playoffs in the second round.

The Spurs are now the class of the West. With the addition of three-point sharpshooter Brent Barry, the maturation of Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili and the leadership of Duncan, the Spurs are looking for their third championship in the last seven years.NBA CHAMPIONS

While it is hard to go against the defending champion Pistons, my pick is that San Antonio will beat Miami in six games.
World Sports Roundup: Soccer, Skiing, Tennis

By Vlado Pupinoski

SOCCER NEWS

Romanian striker Adrian Mutu has been banned for seven months after the FA found him guilty of taking a banned substance. Chelsea sacked the 25-year-old last Friday for cocaine use and the FA announced its punishment after Mutu attended a disciplinary hearing on Thursday.

Mutu was also fined £20,000 and will be subject to target testing throughout the period of suspension.

His suspension includes the period already served under an interim suspension order, beginning Oct. 25, and will run until May 18, 2005.

His seven-month suspension will apply worldwide provided it is endorsed by world ruling body FIFA, which usually requires a minimum six-month suspension for such offense.ALPINE SKIING

Bode Miller’s quest to become the first American in more than two decades to win the World Cup overall title got off to the perfect start. Miller captured the season-opening giant slalom by more than a second Sunday, reasserting his dominance of the discipline he won last season.

“It’s the first race of season, and you never know how the others are skiing,’’ Miller said.

“It’s a challenging hill and I almost went down couple of times in the second run, so when I got across the finish line I was already excited, never mind the time difference.’’

No American has won the overall title since Phil Mahre in 1983, but Miller believes he is ready to break that drought. He finished fourth overall last season. The victory was the 13th of Miller’s career, including seven in giant slalom. He also has three slalom wins and three in combined events. By winning in Soelden for the second straight season, the defending World Cup giant slalom champion helped cap an embarrassing weekend for the Austrians — who were kept off the podium on home snow in women’s and men’s races. Miller reached the bottom of the steep Rettenbach Gletscher course in a two-run time of 2 minutes, 16.44 seconds, a whopping 1.17 seconds ahead of Italy’s Massimiliano Blardone. TENNIS NEWS

Top-seeded Andy Roddick and defending champion Tim Henman were upset in the third round of the Paris Masters on Thursday. Roddick lost 7-6 (2), 6-2 to qualifier Max Mirnyi, while Henman was beaten 7-5, 6-1 by unseeded Mikhail Youzhny. Roddick lost his composure in a second set riddled with errors and marked by a running feud with umpire Lars Graff. Roddick said after that he was “more mad at myself’’ than at the official and praised Mirnyi’s performance, “Max played well. He always serves good and didn’t miss many volleys,’’ Roddick said.

“Sometimes you don’t feel you’re on the court against him. It can go by so quickly. It’s hard to find a rhythm.’’

Henman, meanwhile, lost his last five service games.

“I wasn’t sharp and my movement was sluggish,’’ the third-seeded Henman said.

“I couldn’t dictate the rallies as I would have liked.’’

Youzhny, who recently won his second career title at St. Petersburg, faces a quarterfinal against Radek Stepanek, a 6-2, 6-3 winner over No. 17 Vince Spadea. In other action, second-seeded Lleyton Hewitt reached the quarterfinals when No. 14 Nicolas Massu quit with a thigh injury while trailing 4-3 in the first set, No. 13 Guillermo Canas beat Tommy Haas 7-6 (4), 6-2, and Feliciano Lopez defeated No. 11 Andrei Pavel 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. Pavel was last year’s runner-up. Hewitt’s next opponent is No. 6 Marat Safin, who beat Jurgen Melzer 6-2, 7-5.