Which hitter and pitcher on your favorite team really needs to show up this year?

Answer 1

A-Rod and Pavano

I'd like A-Rod to come close to 50HR and Pavano to get 30 starts

leor k, you must be kidding. Melky's stats were slightly above average for a leftfielder batting at the bottom with major talent all around him. Matsui could bat below .250 with 10HR and he would NEVER lose his job to Melky.

Answer 2

My favorite team is the Cubbies....
Pitcher- I go with Rich Hill. Late last season, he really showed that he is ready to start a very rewarding major league career. However, up until August he was very streaky and inconsistent. He had an amazing minor league career, but it doesn't matter til you put up big major league numbers. Obviously Carlos Zambrano is the most important pitcher on the staff, but alot rides on Hill. He has an upside that should be as high as Prior and Wood, and hopefully the same fate that fell on these two doesn't fall on him. If healthy and a decent spring he is basically a write-in to the Cub rotation. If he can match the hype he should be a difference maker for the Cubs.

Offensively- D. Lee. He is the heart and soul of the lineup as eveidence of his absence last season. Taking 100 RBI's, a .300 average, and 30 or 40 some homeruns out of a lineup will take it's toll on any team. He needs to come close to matching his 2004 totals. Ramirez and Soriano were given a buttload of money this off-season, so obviously a lot is expected of them. However, both have been realatively consistent enough the last few years that you can almost assume they'll put up their monster numbers.

Answer 3

Phillies: Offensively, Pat Burrell. For most people, 29 homers and 95 RBI would be a great year, but Burrell is capable of so much more. Even if the home runs stay about the same, he needs to drive in at least 20 more runs than that. Otherwise, Ryan Howard won't see many pitches to hit.

Pitching, I'll go with Ryan Madson. He is a very reluctant reliever, but if he can accept his role and regain his 2004 form, it will help alleviate what is currently the team's top concern.

Answer 4

Im a Reds fan and without a doubt if the Reds want to compete in the Central they need Homer Bailey and Edwin Encarnacion to step up. Harang and Arroyo are pretty solid anchors at the top of the rotation but if Bailey can live up to the hype and take over as a comprable number 1 starter then the Reds have a very dangerous rotation. Offensively, the Reds dont have much behind Griffey and Dunn *shudders* so they need a guy that can hit over .300 and drive in 80-100 runs, i think that can be Encarnacion, but im not sure if hes ready to do it this year.

Answer 5

I'm an A's fan and the pitcher part is easy: Rich Harden. He's now the ace with Zito in Steroid Country, USA. He's coming off an injury-plagued season, but he has to do well for the A's to do well.

As far as the hitter, I would say Eric Chavez. He's a magician at third base, but his batting stats were pathetic last year. He was battling injuries, too.

Answer 6

Jason Giambi - He needs to hit near .300 with 35-40 HR. As the full-time DH, all he has to do is hit. That being said, I see .265 and 30 HR. By the way, gett off A-Rod. He'll be fine. Give the guy a break. Even a lousy season by his standards was better than most 3B in the league. AND quit whining about the money....the Yankees only pay him about $16M, not the $25M you kep hearing about (Texas pays the rest). Where are you going to get a player like A-Rod, and what he's capable of, for $16M? Pitcher - Pettitte needs to return to form, and be the ace. He's young enough, and has the ability. The rest of the staff needs to step up too. We got rid of dead weight (Johnson, Sturtze, et al.) so we need to work on young quality.

The Yankees (and the people who hate them) seem to forget that they won all those rings with young, homegrown talent: Posada, Derek, Bernie, Pettitte, Leyritz, and Mo, and solid veterans: Clemens, O'Neill, Tino, etc. It's time we get back to that.

Answer 7

My team is the Tigers, and I'd pick:

there hitter than needs to show up and prove stuff this year is Sheffield, that's why they picked him up, and he needs to show that he was a good acquisition for the Tigers

and pitcher who needs to is Mike Marroth he needs to pick it up and not lose 20 games again like he did in 03, and play solid if he wants to remain in the Big Leagues for any longer

Answer 8

As an Angels fan the pitcher that nneds to step up is Kelvin Escobar. He is inconsistent, even though he has good stuff. He needs to bring it up to an 18+ win total.
As for hitters, a lot need to step up. The one in particular is 1st baseman Casey Kotchman. Last year the 1st base spot was a disaster, and a 2nd baseman was occupying the spot late in the year.

Answer 9

Yankees-
Carl Pavano has been a huge disappointment and needs to prove he's worth the huge investment that they made in him a few years ago.
The obvious hitter would be Arod, but I'm going to go with Hideki Matsui. We all know he's a good hitter and a decent fielder, but after last year many yankee fans are starting to jump on the Melky bandwagon. If Matsui doesn't have a stellar season he may lose his starting job or at least share it.

Got Melk?

Answer 10

White Sox
Pitcher - Mark Buehrle. He was just awful last year. Beyond bad in some occasions. His change up wound up in the seats more than I can count. For the Sox to return to the World Series, he needs to win 15-20 games again.
Offense - Juan Uribe. He is lazy in the field sometimes. People need to stop with the "he helped us win a World Series" talk and see that last year - he stunk. Cost us games. If he hits a miserable .220 again, then he needs to sit the bench. Alex Cintron is as good a fielder than Uribe is (a weaker arm, but more accurate). He can't be that bad at the plate again. He needs to learn to bunt too.

Answer 11

As a Cubs fan I'm really excited to see Prior back. I really think he needs to step up, have an injury free year and win 12-15 games. As for a hitter I'd say defnitley Derek Lee. I think this year he will have another 2005 year where he will be competing for a Triple Crown.