April 5, 2004 Table Of Contents

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Scorecard Extra

Extreme Dream Casey Wasserman, grandson of a legendary movie mogul, has become a force in action sports

By Franz Lidz

Beyond His Years At 22, forward Landon Donovan has gone from fresh-faced phenom to the grand old man of MLS

By Mark Beech

Sports Illustrated 50th Anniversary: Sports In America

Golden Oldie Once the most important event in boxing, the Chicago Golden Gloves still puts on an entertaining--if smaller- time--show

By Richard Hoffer

Sweet And Sauer There was no thrill like going to Wrigley to watch the original Hammerin' Hank

By William Nack

The Poll Illinoisians weigh in on sports*

Compiled by Bill Syken

Who & Where

Compiled by Bill Syken

Alltime Best For Illinois's top 50 homegrown sports figures, go to SI.com/50

Compiled by Bill Syken

Memorable Quote

Compiled by Bill Syken

Greatest Moment

Compiled by Bill Syken

Numbers

Compiled by Bill Syken

2004 Final Four Preview

Four Cornerstones To win the NCAA championship, each of the remaining teams will require a peak performance from its indispensable player

By Grant Wahl

Baseball Preview 2004

Welcome to the New Age of Information

Baseball's conventional wisdom is taking a beating from a new stat-crazy culture that turns the numbers inside out

By Tom Verducci

A Model of Efficiency Cost-effective and statistically solid, the face of the information age is ... Frank Catalanotto?

By Daniel G. Habib

The Straight Answer on Breaking Balls

By Tom Verducci

Five for the Money These teams made the right moves in their search for affordable additions

By Daniel G. Habib

Smart Stats, Dumb Stats Why OBP and OPS are very hot, and batting average and RBIs are out of style

By Tom Verducci

What's His VORP?

By Daniel G. Habib

Does Clutch Hitting Truly Exist? Not in the stats community--but don't try telling that to the guys on the field

By Tom Verducci

Greatest Hits SI senior writer Tom Verducci picks the top 10 alltime clutch at bats.

By Tom Verducci

No Baseball Experience Required

By Albert Chen

Out on the Data Frontier Where will the numbers game go in the future? Beyond hitting and pitching

By Tom Verducci

This Is the Ultimate? Bull! The skipper of the world champs uses stats, sure, but relies more on his eyes and gut

By Jack McKeon

As so often Happens? A fielder makes a spectacular play and then leads off the next inning. Since the dawn of baseball, it's been a common occurrence. Or has it? A PROFESSOR'S RESEARCH IGNITES LOGISTIC FEUDING OVER ONE LEGENDARY STATISTIC

Scouting Reports

By David Sabino compiled the Projected rosters, In Facts and Player Value Rankings

1 Philadelphia Phillies A stronger bullpen creates pennant possibilities--if cooler heads prevail

By Michael Farber

2 Florida Marlins This time the defending champs have a fighting chance to return to the playoffs

By Michael Farber

3 Atlanta Braves A weakened lineup and a shaky rotation spell the end of a divisional dynasty

By Michael Farber

4 Montreal Expos The franchise may be going places, but one stop won't be the postseason

By Michael Farber

5 New York Mets A club sees the errors of its ways and makes itself stronger up the middle

By Michael Farber

1 Chicago Cubs Fortune will finally smile on a club that made all the right off-season moves

By Albert Chen

2 Houston Astros With a quality rotation in place, the pressure's on the bullpen to hold up its end

By Albert Chen

3 St. Louis Cardinals A loaded lineup won't be enough in the suddenly strong-armed Central

By Alber Chen

4 Cincinnati Reds There's not much hope until boppers like Adam Dunn start to hit for average

By Albert Chen

5 Milwaukee Brewers Not even another successful reclamation project can save this sorry club

By Albert Chen

6 Pittsburgh Pirates For young outfielders, starting roles are abundant (minimal experience needed)

By Albert Chen

1 Arizona Diamondbacks The right mix of sharp veterans and eager Baby Backs signals a playoff return

By Tom Verducci

2 San Francisco Giants In this one-star system the supporting players will make or break the season

By Tom Verducci

3 San Diego Padres Here's what's new: the ballpark and the staff ace, good ol' David Wells

By Tom Verducci

4 Los Angeles Dodgers With a new G.M. and a team in decline, rebuilding plans are in the works

By Tom Verducci

5 Colorado Rockies A converted starter fills the void at closer, but will he get leads to protect?

By Tom Verducci

1 New York Yankees You have to go to the back of the rotation to find a question mark on this club

By Peter King

2 Boston Red Sox All the pieces are in place, so the burden falls on nice guy Terry Francona

By Peter King

3 Toronto Blue Jays Bargains or busts? A season rides on an overhauled pitching staff

By Peter King

4 Baltimore Orioles Javy Lopez adds punch with his bat, but it's how he handles this staff that's key

By Peter King

5 Tampa Bay Devil Rays A longtime doormat builds a formidable lineup, but it's not enough to move up

By Peter King

1 Minnesota Twins Hopes for a division threepeat rest heavily on a new closer's right shoulder

By Daniel G. Habib

2 Chicago White Sox Two huge holes to plug: the top of the order and the top of the rotation

By Daniel G. Habib

3 Kansas City Royals Will Juan Gonzalez be able to put this mostly anonymous team over the top?

By Daniel G. Habib

4 Cleveland Indians Self-made power hitter Jody Gerut puts some muscle in the rebuilding project

By Daniel G. Habib

5 Detroit Tigers The goal of an off-season spending spree? For now, mere respectability

By Daniel G. Habib

1 Oakland Athletics Playoff aspirations could die on the vine if Jermaine Dye doesn't bounce back

By Phil Taylor

2 Anaheim Angels Jose Guillen looks like the bargain on the best team Arte Moreno could buy

By Phil Taylor

3 Seattle Mariners Can Freddy Garcia keep his focus and become the ace this staff needs?

By Phil Taylor

4 Texas Rangers Even if Alfonso Soriano hits like A-Rod, the pitching won't lift them out of last

By Phil Taylor

PVR

Inside

Inside The Week in Sports

Inside College Football

Red Dawn The Bill Callahan era at Nebraska opens with a crash course in passing

By Kelley King

Inside The NBA

No Mo' Mo? Maurice Cheeks is getting signals that the Blazers want him to leave

By Ian Thomsen

Scout's Take On the allure of NCAA tournament stars at draft time:

Inside The NHL

Striking Oil The improbable addition of center Petr Nedved has revived Edmonton

By Stephen Cannella

In The Crease

By Pierre McGuire

A Boone to Baseball

By Rick Reilly

Departments

Leading Off

Letters

In Praise of the Unjuiced

By Steve Rushin

Master Of His Domain? Martha Burk won't be protesting at Augusta National during next week's Masters. But one way or the other, she figures in Hootie Johnson's future

By Alan Shipnuck Edited by Mark Bechtel and Sridhar Pappu

Starving For A Win Ex-athlete with eating disorder successfully sues coach

Edited by Mark Bechtel and Sridhar Pappu

Baseball's Great Cover-up

Edited by Mark Bechtel and Sridhar Pappu

The Beating Goes On Todd Bertuzzi's banishment hasn't slowed down the mayhem in the NHL

By Stephen Cannella Edited by Mark Bechtel and Sridhar Pappu

Go Figure

Edited by Mark Bechtel and Sridhar Pappu

Who Is ... Haruurara?

Edited by Mark Bechtel and Sridhar Pappu

For The Record

Edited by Mark Bechtel and Sridhar Pappu

The Joy Of Six

By E.M. Swift Edited by Mark Bechtel and Sridhar Pappu

Szuminski Watch

Edited by Mark Bechtel and Sridhar Pappu

The Show

By Bill Scheft Edited by Mark Bechtel and Sridhar Pappu

Q+A Buck O'Neil

By Buck O'Neil; Richard Deitsch Edited by Mark Bechtel and Sridhar Pappu

Sports Beat

Edited by Mark Bechtel and Sridhar Pappu

Faces in the Crowd

Edited by Mark Bechtel and Sridhar Pappu