Sure, it's only the third week of the season. But thus far, there have been quite a few surprises that have made some of the naysayers look a bit foolish. However, as I've hammered into your head many times, it's a looooooonnnnnnggggg season, so most of those naysayers are going to have their day sooner or later. In the meantime, let's see what they've said (I'm paraphrasing here) that's been completely blown out of the water:

"The LA Dodgers will underachieve this season" - I'll be the first to say I told you so. I don't think the Dodgers will last this long as the most dominant team in baseball, but nobody gave them a chance. Everybody gave the division to the old guys with walkers over in San Francisco. Look at what they've got: very solid starting pitchers (there's no "ace", but Odalis Perez, Jeff Weaver and Derek Lowe are a nice set of #2's).Their lineup isn't totally formidable, but Milton Bradley looks as if the anger management has helped him greatly.  And they don't even have Eric Gagne to close things out! So I have to puff my chest out a bit and say that I was one of the only believers in this team.

"Nomahhhh is far from Chicago's savoir" - Right before the muscle in his groin ripped off the bone (OWWWWWWWWW...), I was going to debunk this one. He got off to a terrible start and the grumbles began. The team hasn't looked completely overpowering, and frankly, it might have taken Garciaparra a while before he got into the groove at Wrigley. So maybe he needs a couple of months off to get healthy again and join a team that could be in the thick of a pennant race in June. Nobody needs a groin injury, but sometimes if you start off badly, a break is necessary.

"The Yankees suck" - I'm getting rid of this thought right away for anyone who actually believes it. I mean, yes, I do say it and try to deny the fact that the Yanks will win yet another AL East title. But come on! The Big Unit will get on track. Carl Pavano will settle down. The bats will wake up (as they did the other night). And Mo Rivera will save another 45-50. It disheartens me to write all that, but as a impartial judge of the game, it's true.

"Steroids will be the main focus of the 2005 season" - So far, not so much. I thought the Alex Sanchez suspension would start a whole bunch of columns saying, "The floodgates have opened." But there really hasn't been much of that. Three suspensions to mostly marginal players isn't making headlines and changing the game. I'm still waiting for that big star to get busted and that's when this statement will come true. Otherwise, it's been a great start to the season with a couple of small incidents. I think the crackdown from MLB (and the government) has worked well.

"Richie Sexson = tainted goods" - Not so far...

"The ChiSox can't pitch to their potential" - Oh boy. That one's being debunked quickly.

"The Nats are just the Expos in Washington" - I think having tens of thousands of more fans at the ballpark will absolutely affect your attitude and team morale. It's paying off thus far, though I don't know how long it will last. Speaking of which, I may make it out to RFK next weekend for a matchup against the Mets...stay tuned.

And finally, I wanted to respond to Wendy, who has been a great fan and supporter of the Bleacher Bums. Wendy, in response to my doormen column, said, "I honestly think that people who are PRIVILAGED enough to have doormen, shouldn't fucking complain about some doorman who doesn't see eye with you about baseball teams!"

Wendy - I agree 100%...if I had said that I disagree with my doormen. These are guys who are my friends and who I trust more than some of the other so-called baseball experts walking around this fine city. I am certainly privileged to have a building with doormen, but my point was to call them pundits, which they most certainly are. And I'm not being sarcastic when I say this, but other readers should check out Wendy's blog - it's one of the more interesting and unique blogs on the internet today.

Keep coming back, Dwellers...

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