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Top Ten Baseball Dreams for 2008 That Probably Won't Come True
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Top Ten Baseball Dreams for 2008 That Probably Won't Come True
by Asher B. Chancey, BaseballEvolution.com
August 15, 2007

The other night, while I was a-sleeping, I had a dream. It was a dream about baseball in the year Two Thousand and Eight (or Twenty-O-Eight for those who prefer it). In that dream, lots of crazy things happened. Things that could never happen.

Or could they?

10. Barry Bonds Returns to Pittsburgh

Bonds left the Pirates after the 1992 season after leading the Pirates to the post-season but failing to take them to the next level. In San Francisco, he had the Giants at the doorstep of a World Championship before the Giants lost the 2002 World Series to the Anaheim Angels. Wouldn't it be fantastic to see Barry return to Pittsburgh – taking a paycut at the same time – to give the Pirates their first excitement since, well, Barry left? With Matt Morris, Tom Gorzelanny, Ian Snell and Paul Maholm working together full time, plus a hopefully resurgent Jason Bay and Adam LaRoche improving their power numbers with Barry in the lineup, it could be the stuff of magic.

9. Alex Rodriguez and Ken Griffey Jr. Return to Seattle

Seriously, what positive things have happened to A-Rod and Griffey since they left the great northwest? Other than getting paid big time, not many. Wouldn't it be fantastic if next season, A-Rod opted out of his contract with the Yanks, saying thanks for the memories, and then signed a below market value deal to rejoin the only team that ever appreciated him, and then Griffey came back to town via trade to the only team he ever had success with? With Ichiro, Kenji Johjima, Griffey, A-Rod, and Raul Ibanez, the offense would be formidable.

8. Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Kansas City Royals Face Off in the ALDS

I mean seriously, don't these fans deserve success at least once a decade?

7. Curt Schilling Gets Busted for Abusing Performance Enhancing Drugs

I am as against lies and secrecy and collusive evasion of the rules as the next guy, so in a way Curt Schilling's harsh words for current and former major leaguers who have used performance enhancing drugs are refreshing, as most major leaguers seem to be more interested in protecting each other than righting any wrongs. At the same time, you get the feeling that Schilling is a real douche-bag the way he is calling guys out. Remember Senator David Vitter, the Senator who came to Congress on a "family values" ticket only to be busted for enlisting the services of prostitutes? I get the same vibe off of Schilling. His moralistic tone and his righteous indignation really make you hope he gets caught in a back alley with a syringe in his arm.

6. Major League Baseball Abandons the Winner of the All-Star Game Home Field Advantage Rule

Some things just make no sense – the amount of money Adam Eaton is making this season, the continued major league career of Jeff Weaver, and this silly All-Star Game rule. Look, if the game is tied and all the pitchers have been used, bring out the bullpen coaches, give each player in each lineup three swings, and whoever has the most homeruns at the end of the game wins the All Star Game. Then, when October rolls around, take the two teams that have made it to the World Series, bring in a team of statisticians from the Elias Sports Bureau, and lock them in a room until they determine which of the two teams had more wins than the other, and that team gets home field advantage in the World Series.

5. No Team Has the Playing Time of its Best Players Determined by Players Chasing Milestones

Watching the Astros bat an aging and punchless Craig Biggio leadoff for half the season to get him to 3,000 hits was depressing, and watching the Giants bench Bonds on the road so that he would hit number 756 at home was embarrassing. An argument can be made that the fates of these two teams were impacted by their players' respective chases. I hope that doesn't happen again next year.

4. The Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, and Texas Rangers Renovate Their Ballparks to Give Their Pitchers a Chance

These new ballparks that these teams have built are swell, really. Fact is, and I think I speak for the fans in each of these respective cities, I am tired of seeing perfectly decent pitchers get beaten up in these tiny stadiums. Learn from the Tigers, Padres, Dodgers, and Marlins – move the fences back, and give your pitchers a chance.

3. Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro, Gary Sheffield, and Barry Bonds Tell Us What Really Happened

We know something went on. Was it innocent? Was it sinister? Without any information from these guys, we are forced to assume the worst. Wouldn't it be great if these guys came clean? Tell us what we need to know – what did you do, when did you start doing it, why did you start doing it, and who else did it.

Why is it that Jose Canseco is treated like a crackpot? Shouldn't we be heaping praise on the only person who has come forward and been honest about his steroid usage?

I would imagine what happened is probably a lot less villainous than what we all think happened. If these guys would just come clean – maybe we could set up an interview with Oprah or Barbara Walters or Anderson Cooper or something – we as a nation would feel a lot better.

2. Peter Angelos Sells the Baltimore Orioles

I don't know why the Orioles have been so snakebitten during Angelos' time with them. Maybe the last ten years would have gone differently if Jeffrey Maier would not have interfered with that fly ball. Who knows?

What I do know is that Angelos' tenure has been a disaster, and all of the moves that have truly gone awry have had his fingerprints on them. I don't know who might buy the Orioles, but hopefully it would either be a baseball man or someone who will let the baseball men do their job.

1. The Chicago Cubs Win the World Series

You don't have to be a Cubs fan to want this to happen. I mean, every baseball fan is happy to witness history, right? The Cubs last World Series victory was in 1908, which would make 2008 the 100th anniversary of that victory. Please, baseball gods, it has been long enough. Whatever we did to you, we are sorry. Whatever curse you have placed on us, please lift it. Just let us have one taste, and then we will be contented.

If that were to happen, then I would know I was dreaming.


Questions? Concerns? Comments? Asher lives in Philadelphia, PA, and can be reached at asher@baseballevolution.com.