Published: April 04, 2009 09:07 pm      

The Cubs win the World Series? It will happen — finally — in 2009

In a perfect world (for me), the World Series in October would feature my two favorite teams, the Toronto Blue Jays and Cincinnati Reds.

Unfortunately, the chances of that happening are about as good as the Yankees not spending millions on free agents, or the Pirates not finishing with a losing record.

There was a time when baseball’s first game was always in Cincinnati. Those days ended long ago, but at least Reds will host the first game on “Opening Day” on Monday against the Mets.

“Opening Night” — which simply doesn’t have the same ring to it — is tonight with the Phillies hosting the Braves.

Cincinnati does it right. The home of baseball’s first professional team way back in 1969, the Queen City practically closes down for the day. I splurged on tickets a few years ago — paying for tickets to games I had no intention to attend — just to have the chance to see the morning parade, and then attended the first game — in my mind — of the season.

Now, baseball does what ESPN or Fox or any other television network wants. They want the season to start on Sunday night, it starts on Sunday night. At least that’s better last year when our so-called national pastime began its campaign in Japan.

Another baseball season has arrived. There’s no more exciting time to me. When it’s freezing and snowing later this week — and it will be — at least the arrival baseball means spring can’t be too far behind. Can it?

What awaits baseball fans in 2009? It will be more than Yankees-Red Sox, Manny mania and continuous episodes of “As A-Rod turns.”

The biggest question is who will be this season’s Tampa Bay Rays? After finishing last in the American League East in nine of the team’s first 10 seasons in existence — with that one exception being fourth place — the Rays rose in 2008, going all the way to the World Series.

Many observers are picking the Royals, Indians, A’s, Cardinals and even the Reds to be that team in ‘09.

Yet, my pick for the Rays in ‘09 is...the Rays.

No one is giving Tampa Bay a chance to do it again. Not with the Yankees spending a mint on a trio of free agents, and the Red Sox returning plenty of parts, including a healthy David Ortiz, and a pitching rotation so deep that John Smoltz isn’t even among the top five.

Tampa Bay won’t sneak up on anyone this year, but that doesn’t mean the Rays are going away. I wish they would because they’re forcing my Jays further down the standings.

Is it too late for realignment, or can we move Toronto to another division before Roy Halladay’s arm wears out?

The most popular pick to win the World Series is the Yankees. I have my doubts. New York has spent like this before and it hasn’t worked. When the Yankees won three straight titles in 1998-2000, they weren’t as talented as they are now, but they had great team chemistry. They knew how to win.

That remains to be seen with this edition of the Yankees. Taking this much talent and making it into a cohesive unit will be a challenge for manager Joe Girardi. He’s got 162 games to get it done, but by then they might be looking up at the Rays and Red Sox.

Boston has great pitching, but they’re getting older — much like the Yankees — at key positions, and if Ortiz doesn’t return to past form, the Red Sox could sink like the Yankees.

There’s something to be said for youth. The Rays have it. They’ve proven they can hold up over a long season. Can they do it again? Absolutely.

Here are my picks for the ‘09 season:

American League: East—Tampa Bay; Central—Cleveland; West—Los Angeles. Wildcard—New York over Boston (playoff). Sleeper—Detroit.

Champion: New York. (OK, I like the Rays, but the Yankees get hot at the right time).

MVP—Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay; Cy Young—Zach Greinke, Kansas City; Manager of Year—Eric Wedge, Cleveland; Rookie of Year—Kendry Morales, Los Angeles; Breakout Player—Ryan Garko, Cleveland.

National League: East—New York; Central—Chicago; West—Los Angeles. Wildcard—Philadelphia. Sleeper—San Francisco.

Champion: Chicago (First trip to World Series since 1945).

MVP—Manny Ramirez, Los Angeles; Cy Young—Johan Santana, New York; Manager of Year—Bruce Bochy, San Francisco; Rookie of Year—Brandon Moss, Pittsburgh; Breakout Player—Huroki Kuroda, Los Angeles.

World Series: The “Evil Empire” vs. the “Lovable Losers”. Not the perfect matchup for me, but it is for a sport struggling for some positive attention.

Champion: Chicago. The Cubs won consecutive World Series in 1907-08. They’re still waiting for the next one. Chicago is 0-for-6 since then, but haven’t been since ‘45.

Forget goats, curses and Bartman. The Cubs will be World Champions. The world as we know it...will still exist. Just maybe not in Chicago.

Brian Woodson is the sports editor at the Daily Telegraph. Contact him at bwoodson@bdtonline.com