March 26, 2001 Table Of Contents

Author:
SI Staff

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By Alexander Wolff

Soft? Who're You Calling Soft? The Smack- ...er, Pac-10 took great pride in muscling four teams into the Sweet 16

By Grant Wahl

Pro Football

Cold Shoulder Even with a Super Bowl win on his resume, Trent Dilfer is not getting a warm reception on the free-agent market

By Michael Silver

Baseball 2001 Preview

The Sweet Science Of Baseball

Pivot Physics To solve the problem of turning two, a middle infielder must study the aerodynamics of the toss, the mass of the incoming runner and the angles at which to cross the bag

By Tom Verducci

The Catalyst For the first man up in baseball's nuclear age, the prevailing theory is, Don't run your team out of a big inning. The objective is to get on base and wait for the big bang

By Jeff Pearlman

Motion Theory Velocity is only one factor in the formula for success on the base paths--a bold nature and a keen observation of outfield tendencies are just as important

By Stephen Cannella

Launchpad An out-of-this-world outfield arm is more than a matter of anatomy: Positioning and range, velocity and accuracy must all coalesce to intercept the moving target

By Jeff Pearlman

Throwing Good Money After Bad Teams are frantically bidding up the market for pitching--but their own research reveals how they should limit their largesse

By Tom Verducci; David Sabino

Worth The Wait? If former underachiever Darren Dreifort's midseason mound turnaround proves to be permanent, the Dodgers may have gotten a steal when they signed him for $55 million

By Michael Bamberger

Scouting Reports

By Projected rosters and Player Value Rankings compiled by David Sabino

1 New York Yankees An unmatched quartet of starters will bring New York another Octoberfest

By Tom Verducci

2 Boston Red Sox The rotation is rearmed and dangerous--but to opponents or themselves?

By Tom Verducci

3 Toronto Blue Jays The new skipper comes from TV land. He may find his pitching hard to watch

By Stephen Cannella

4 Tampa Bay Devil Rays Help is on the way from the farm system, but it won't arrive soon enough

By Stephen Cannella

5 Baltimore Orioles They've vowed to rebuild, which is good, because this franchise is in ruins

By Stephen Cannella

1 Cleveland Indians As usual, precarious pitching will be saved by hitting, which may be even better

By Mark Bechtel

2 Chicago White Sox A proven postseason pitcher joins a powerful lineup for a playoff push

By Mark Bechtel

3 Kansas City Royals Runs will be scored, and at last there's a bullpen to make them stand up

By Jeff Pearlman

4 Detroit Tigers Another change in philosophy for a team that can't afford a turn for the worse

By Marty Burns

5 Minnesota Twins Their young, spunky lineup returns mostly intact. Is that a good thing?

By Mark Bechtel

1 Oakland Athletics Watch out, world: The A's are even better than last year. Just ask them

By Tom Verducci

2 Seattle Mariners Without A-Rod--or any other slugger--it will all come down to pitching

By Tom Verducci

3 Texas Rangers A-Rod gives them marquee value, but how many 10-9 games can a team win?

By Stephen Cannella

4 Anaheim Angels A strong bullpen, a weak rotation and a big-bang offense add up to mediocrity

By Stephen Cannella

1 Atlanta Braves With Atlanta's Mr. October back on the mound, who needs free agents?

By Tom Verducci

2 New York Mets They can still pitch, but let's face it: The reshuffled rotation is minus an ace

By Jeff Pearlman

3 Florida Marlins A fresh battery provides a powerful charge for a fast-rising franchise

By Michael Farber

4 Philadelphia Phillies Can overpriced free agents improve a bullpen that has nowhere to go but up?

By Jeff Pearlman

5 Montreal Expos Some promising arms and the league's best young player, but not a lot more

By Michael Farber

1 St. Louis Cardinals Is a World Series in the Cards? Only if Big Mac gets back, back, back to form

By Jeffri Chadiha

2 Houston Astros Will Enron Field be the same house of horrors it was in 2000? No way, Jose!

By Jeffri Chadiha

3 Cincinnati Reds If the starting pitchers don't fade, you can color this team a contender

By Jeff Pearlman

4 Milwaukee Brewers An iffy rotation and lackluster defense need more than some comic relief

By Jeff Pearlman

5 Pittsburgh Pirates A fast start by Adrian Brown will boost his confidence--and the team's

By Jeff Pearlman

6 Chicago Cubs An anemic offense may get well if Rondell White can figure out how to stay well

By Jeff Pearlman

1 San Francisco Giants Think the division champs didn't make a big off-season move? Think again

By Josh Elliott

2 Los Angeles Dodgers A lot of quality pitchers, but good karma seems to be in short supply

By Stephen Cannella

3 Colorado Rockies Two more big-ticket pitchers believe they can conquer Coors. They may be right

By Josh Elliott

4 Arizona Diamondbacks They have a healthy new attitude, but can their old guys avoid injuries?

By Josh Elliott

5 San Diego Padres An emerging rotation hopes for an end to the defense's reign of error

By Josh Elliott

PVR PLAYER VALUE RANKINGS

Inside

Inside THE WEEK IN SPORTS

Inside College Football

Inside College Football

By Ivan Maisel

Inside The NBA

Inside The NBA

By Ian Thomsen

Limited Release After too many missed shots, Denver's James Posey is loath to let fly

By Chris Ballard

Inside The NHL

Inside The NHL

By Kostya Kennedy

In The Crease

By Pierre McGuire

As Different As Knight and Davis

By Rick Reilly

Departments

Having a Ball Grown men become giddy schoolboys in these baseball portraits shot by SI staff photographer V.J. Lovero, whose infectious enthusiasm--for baseball and life--is reflected in the joy exuded by his subjects

Letters

Scorecard

By Jack McCallum; Tom Verducci Edited by Albert Kim and Mark Mravic

Ask The Coach Guidance for those lost in sports

Edited by Albert Kim and Mark Mravic

Faces in the Crowd

Edited by Albert Kim and Mark Mravic

Golf Plus

Catching Up With...

Si View

Ncaa Tournament

Pro Football

Baseball 2001 Preview

Inside

Inside College Football

Inside The NBA

Inside The NHL

Departments