By Adam Settle

Maroon-News Staff

I am actually not too excited about the regular season right now, to tell you the truth. As a Phillies fan, anything less than another trip to the World Series and another parade down Broad Street would be a disappointment. All that has happened since my Phillies locked down one of the greatest rotations in baseball is their future all-star right-fielder, their future Hall of Fame second baseman and their trusted (sometimes) closer have gone on the disabled list. What is hap­pening to my 100-win team? In the mean time, I am excited to kick back and watch greatness toeing the rubber for the Phils every night this season. And yes, I am in­cluding Kentucky’s finest, Joe Blanton, in the conversation (he of the home run in Game 4 of the 2008 World Series). Otherwise, just wake me in October.

By Jordan Plaut

National Sports Editor

Now that Opening Day is finally upon us, the main question on my mind and the minds of many is if the San Francisco Giants can repeat their incredible 2010 season and make a run at another title. I admit that as a Giants fan, I am biased towards believing my team has the abil­ity to come through and go deep into the post-season. However, Major League Baseball is not limited to the Giants and I have to consider other teams and play­ers around the league that will spark my interest during the season. This may sur­prise some people, but I’m really looking forward to seeing how the season pans out for the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Giants and Brewers have shared a bit of bad blood over the past two years, stemming from a Prince Fielder walk-off home run incident, but that does not take away from the fact that this team re­ally has a chance to challenge in the NL Central. With a combination of reliable hitting and pitching, led by new number one Zach Grienke and the power-hitting combination of Fielder and Ryan Braun, respectively, the Brewers have the compo­nents to make the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals sweat.

Fielder and Braun have the firepower to carry this team a long way. The big lefty will have to prove himself in his contract year after hitting just .261 last season with his lowest slugging percent­age and RBI since his first full season in 2006. I think he can step up to the chal­lenge and really put the team on his back, even when facing some of the hardest competiton in the league. Braun, on the other hand, had a fairly typical year in 2010 by hitting .304 with 25 homeruns and 103 RBI. As his OPS of .918 indi­cates, Braun gets on base often and hits for power (he had 45 doubles last year). The left fielder might make some noise in the NL MVP race and unseat Pujols in the Central (alright, that won’t happen).

Despite all of my Brewers praise, I am still a Giants fan, of course, and wish nothing but bad luck on Milwaukee this season (at least once they make the playoffs or play the Giants). The Giants won the World Series last year and have only improved during the off-season, so they are still clearly the team to beat. Tim Lincecum, Brian Wilson and Buster Posey are all I need to be happy. Still, I believe that the Brewers’ success this sea­son is fairly likely and I’d rather be pre­pared for it early on before they sneak up on the National League in September. The bottom line is that baseball season is here. Get excited.