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lay March 27, 1998 The Battalion fik ID D T €t dians class of A.L. Central; Chicago, Detroit jockey for Wild Card i; URTICK rts editor CLEVELAND INDIANS 86-75; 1st in AL Central; Lost World Series to Marlins jhey have done in the last few sca le Indians gave themselves anoth- ^eason face lift. They shipped off an ^p oflAll-Stars and brought in more ice them. kelanjd lost the veteran leadership of /illiams and Orel Hershiser, but one iriginal members of the Indians’ ear rebuilding plan, Kenny Lofton, is om a year in Atlanta, closest thing the Indians have to an Charles Nagy, and with Ben McDon- ing sent back to Milwaukee, Cleve- otation has emerged as its weak spot, and down the order the Indians can t hit. Webster should put this lineup the definition of “baseball’s perfect ; order” in his next edition. They have speed where they need it, power where they need it and smart hitters throughout. Look for newly acquired second base- man Carlos Garcia to have a big year. Ever since his rookie season with Pittsburgh, Gar cia has been expected to carry part of the of fensive load, but now he doesn’t need to worry about it. He might explode this year. They have a great bullpen and one of the better defenses in the league, but the Indi ans will have to get solid seasons from some young arms if they want to repeat as AL Central champions. Important Additions: 3B Travis Fryman; 2B Carlos Garcia; OF Kenny Lofton; RHP Dwight Gooden. Big Losses: LHP Brian Anderson; OF Marquis Grissom; SB Matt Williams; OF Bip Roberts; RHP Orel Hershiser. Projected Record: 89-73; 1st in AL Central. CHICAGO WHITE SOX 80-81; 2nd in AL Central Last year was a fluke. There is no reason for this team not to have been in the play offs. But instead of sucking it up and fight ing through 1997, when, in fact, they were never really getting blown out of contention )98 INDIANS iandy^lomar Jim Tbo'iio CarloS Garcia* Travis Fryman* -OmarVizquel David Justice ; Kenny Lofton* -Manny Ramirez -Brian Giles B-Enrjque Wilson* ircia with Blue Jays; Fryman with Tigers; ton with Braves; Wilson in 5 games with ians W-L 15-11 8-3 8- 9 9- 5 4-7 W-L 4-4 2-5 AVG. HR RBI SB .324 21 83 0 .286 40 102 1 .220 3 23 11 .274 22 102 16 .280 5 49 43 .329 33 101 3 .333 5 48 27 .328 26 88 2 .268 17 61 13 .333 0 1 0 P Charles Nagy P Jaret Wright P Chad Ogea P Dwight Gooden* P Bartolo Colon I: P Jose Mesa^ i\.P Mike Jackson ERA 4.28 4.38 4.99 4.51 5.65 SV 16 15 IP 227 90.1 126.1 106.1 94 ERA 2.40 3.24 aoden with Yankees 1998 WHITE SOX AVG. HR RBI SB C-Charlie O’Brien* .218 4 27 0 1 B-Frank Thomas .347 35 125 1 2B-Ray Durham .271 11 53 33 3B-Robin Ventura .262 6 26 0 SS-Benji Gil* .224 5 31 1 LF-Albert Belle .274 30 116 4 CF-Mike Cameron .259 14 55 23 RF-Magglio Ordonez* .319 4 11 1 DH-Chris Snopek .218 5 38 3 SUB-Mario Valdez* .243 1 13 1 ‘O’Brien with Blue Jays; Gil with Rangers; Ordonez in 21 games with White Sox; Valdez in 54 games in White Sox W-L ERA IP RHP Jaime Navarro 9-14 5.79 209.2 RHP James Baldwin 12-15 5.27 200 RHP Jason Bere* 4-2 4.71 28.2 LHP Scott Eyre* 4-4 5.04 60.1 LHP Mike Sirotka* 3-0 2.25 32 W-L SV ERA RHP Matt Karchner 3-1 15 2.91 RHP Carlos Castillo 2-V 1 4.48 *Bere in 6 games with White Sox; Eyre in 11 games with White Sox; Sirotka in 7 games with White Sox by Cleveland, the White Sox cleaned house and gave up. That move cost them a shot at the playoffs in 1998. Anyone who thinks Albert Belle is going to go through another year like last season better rethink. Robin Ventura is the key to this team and he is healthy this season after suffering a horrendous break to his lower leg last spring. This season baseball will finally get to see what it was expecting last year when Chica go brought in Belle to protect Frank Thomas. They may both hit 50 home runs this season, drive in 130 runs and hit .330, but even that won’t be enough for Chicago to contend. The White Sox really don’t have the de fense to make up for all of the balls that will be drilled to the fielders. Benji Gil, Thomas and Belle are contenders for the worst de fensive players at their respective positions. New Manager Jerry Manuel has spent the last seven years under the tutelage of Felipe Alou and Jim Leyland. He should be the perfect person to help along Chicago’s budding young stars. He should also help to bring some peace of mind to a thin starting rotation. Important Additions: C Charlie O’Brien. Big Losses: OF Dave Martinez; OF Lyle Mouton. Projected Record: 83-79; 2nd in AL Central. DETROIT TIGERS 79-83; 3rd in AL East The Tigers are dangerously close to be coming a legitimate contender for a Wild Card spot. Buddy Bell did an amazing job last season reviving the worst team in base ball to almost .500. The Tigers probably won’t see the play offs this season, but if Detroit’s manage ment can sign the core of young players to long-term deals, as Cleveland did ear lier this decade, Detroit will be a power house in the new century. The big question in Motor City is the ro tation. Willie Blair is gone and leaves 24- year-old Justin Thompson as the ace. He will be the anchor of a staff which is full of once-predicted All-Stars, like himself, who have been around the block a few times and not had much success. But overall the Tigers are one of the more exciting stories of this season. They should entertain all year with a good combination of speed and power throughout their lineup. If a couple of second-year guys have big seasons, the Tigers might jump ahead of the clock and win the Wild Card. Important Additions: OF Trey Beamon; 1998 TIGERS AVG. HR RBI SB C-Raul Casanova .243 5 24 1 1 B-Tony Clark .276 32 117 1 2B-Damion Easley .264 22 72 28 3B-Joe Randa* .302 7 60 4 SS-Deivi Cruz .241 2 40 3 LF-Luis Gonzalez* .258 10 68 10 CF-Brian Hunter .269 4 45 74 RF-Bobby Higginson .299 27 101 12 DH-Bip Roberts* .271 3 8 3 SUB-Trey Beamon* .277 0 7 1 *Randa with Pirates; Gonzalez with Astros; Roberts in 23 games with Indians; Beamon in 43 games with Padres W-L ERA IP LHP Justin Thompson 15-11 3.02 223.1 RHP Brian Moehler 11-12 4.67 175.1 RHP Scott Sanders* 3-8 5.33 74.1 RHP Frank Castillo* 6-3 5.42 86.1 RHP Tim Worrell* 4-8 5.16 106.1 W-L SV ERA RHP Todd Jones 5-4 31 3.09 RHP Doug Brocail 3-4 2 3.23 ‘Sanders in 14 games with Tigers; Castillo in 14 games with Rockies; Worrell with Padres a team that has the pitching to make it to the playoffs — but don’t count on it. Important Additions: IB JeffConine; IB Hal Morris; SS Orlando Miller. Big Losses: SS Jay Bell; DH Chili Davis. Projected Record: 78-84; 4th in AL Central. OF Luis Gonzalez; 3B Joe Randa; RHP Tim Worrell. Big Losses: 3B Travis Fryman; OF Phil Nevin; OF BubbaTrammell; RHP Donnie Wall. Projected Record: 80-82; 3rd in AL Central. 1998 ROYALS AVG. HR RBI SB C-Mike Sweeney .242 7 31 3 1 B-Jeff King .238 28 112 16 2B-Jose Ofterman .297 2 39 9 3B-Dean Palmer* .278 9 31 1 SS-Felix Martinez* .226 0 3 0 LF-Jeff Conine* .242 17 61 2 CF-Johnny Damon .275 8 48 16 RF-Jermaine Dye .236 7 22 2 DH-Hal Morris* .276 1 33 3 SUB-Jed Hansen* .309 1 14 3 ‘Palmer in 49 games with Royals; Martinez in 16 games with Royals; Conine with Marlins; Morris with Reds; Hansen in 34 games with Royals W-L ERA IP RHP Kevin Appier 9-13 3.40 235.2 RHP Tim Belcher 13-12 5.02 213.1 LHP Jose Rasado 9-12 4.69 203.1 RHP Jim Pittsley 5-8 5.46 112 LHP Chris Hammond* 3-4 5.92 65.1 W-L SV ERA RHP Jeff Montgomery 1-4 14 3.49 LHP Matt Whisenant 1-0 0 2.84 ‘Hammond with Red Sox KANSAS CITY ROYALS 67-94; 5th In AL Central Nothing has worked for Kansas City. It seems that ever since George Brett decided to hang up his spikes, the Royals have lin gered down at the bottom of the no-hope list of American League teams. It’s hard to figure out — the Royals have as much talent as some of the better teams in baseball, but Kansas City has become a black hole for players trying to win a cham pionship. In contrast to a lot of the cellar- dwellers in the AL, Kansas City has actually tried to make some big moves and get back into the race. Maybe this will be the season with Dean Palmer, Jeff Kent, Jermaine Dye and Jeff Co- nine, that they improve on their 12th-place finish in runs and lOth-place finish in home runs they suffered in the 14-team AL in 1997. The pitching is there — Kansas City has a good group of starters and an excellent closer but hasn’t gotten the run support it needs to win close ballgames. With the right breaks and good years from some key power hitters, Kansas City is MINNESOTA TWINS 68-94; 4th in AL Central What’s wrong with the Twins? After winning a World Series in 1987, they fell to last place by 1990, but rebounded again to win the Series in 1991. Since then, however, it’s been one blow after another for Minnesota that has kept them down and led to five consecutive losing seasons. The big news out of Minnesota this spring was the trade of Chuck Knoblauch, the Twins’ best player, to the Yankees. But there are a few other disturbing things making their way out of Twins camp. Paul Molitor, one of the most respected players in the game, has said this is the worst attitude he has witnessed from a team in his career. Molitor seriously con sidered retirement simply because the game just wasn’t fun in Minnesota. But Manager Tom Kelly talked him into staying, grooming him for a managerial position he should take in the near future. Please see Furtick on Page 6. You’ll really like us More than 90% of our students were recornnnended by a friend. I Class time that counts V We spend more time in class to make sure we ^ cover the exam exhaustively. You won't have to spend hours working on your own. V Personal Attention '~j Our classes are small (maximum 15 students) ^ so that you can move at a pace most effec tive for you. Dynamic Instructors Our instructors have not only acheived high ^ scores on the GMAX but they have also excelled in our rigorous training program. They all know what it takes to bring out the best in fl their students. IJ . - , We know the CAT We publish more CATs than anyone other than | ETS itself. When the NY State Legislature needed to consult experts in the field of computer testing, they called us. jL We re way smarter Our student's improve on average 80 points.* And they significantly out-score students who take other courses. There are Few guarantees in life... We're one of them. If you're not happy with your score, we'll continue to work with you - at no additional charge. Score improvement based on 1997 ICR study. The Princeton Review is not associated Do you need to take the GMAT this Spring? Here are / reasons why you should take our GMAT course. All GMAT courses are not created equal. Courses start Saturday, March 28 th . THE PRINCETON REVIEW 409.696.9099 iwww.review.com with Princeton University nor ETS. T/flarcA 2.8 Shakespeare Day at Barnes & Noble 1-3 p.m. Performances by the ENGL412H Shakespeare class! Drawings for books and t-shirts! Free coffee and refreshments! tCfttnday, 'yhd.rck 2rf Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet with lecture by Dr. Paul Parrish 2 p.m. Biochemistry Building Room 107 'T/ftonAdy, SO Did Shakespeare really write Shakespeare? lecture by Joseph Sobran, author of Alias Shakespeare 7 p.m. Rudder Theater ^ttcsAdy/ 7/Hdrcfi 3/ Second Folio Tour 3 p.m. 204B Evans Library Printing Press Tour 3:45 p.m. 210 Evans Library (Cushing) Shakespeare = Shakespeare The Other Side of the Authorship Issue lecture by Dr. Earl Dachslager, University of Houston 7 p.m. Rudder Theater Comedy of Errors A stage reading by the Aggie Players 8:30 p.m. Sweet Eugene’s All events are free! Door prizes at every program! Call 845-1515 for more information. y/^eAne&Ady/ / World Shakespeare Bibliography Tour 2nd floor Blocker 2 p.m. The Director and The Dream: A Stage of History of A Midsummer Night’s Dream lecture by Dr. Michael Greenwald 7 p.m. Rudder 707 Macbeth A stage reading by the Aggie Players 8:30 p.m. Sweet Eugene’s ~EAnrsAdy, ylprU 2 Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead with lecture by Dr. Kate Kelly 7 p.m. Biochemistry Building Room 107 ^rtAdy/ S Second Folio Tour 12:30 p.m. 204B Evans Library Printing Press Tour 1:15 p.m. 210 Evans Library (Cushing) King Lear, Royal Authority, and Single Parenting lecture by Dr. Douglas Brooks 6 p.m. MSG Flagroom All Lear's Children: A Parody of King Lear presented by Aggie Players 7 p.m. MSC Flagroom ^ydturAdy, ylfirU *£ Acting Workshop presented by Aggie Players 2-5 p.m. MSC 027