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May 14, 2008
It’s no secret, nor should it be one: Major League Baseball is enjoying a boom of young talent, a crop of future stars and franchise players that will push the game forward for years to come. It’s great for the fans, too, and it’s certainly doing plenty for the media, having exhausted an entire generation's worth of storylines about what goes on behind the partition in Derek Jeter’s limousine. But if we could, just for a second, let's set aside Ryan Braun, Troy Tulowitzki, Carlos Gomez, Evan Longoria, Hanley Ramirez and the many others that undoubtedly leap to mind. Yes, offensively speaking, the next decade of Major League Baseball is so bright pitchers have to wear $300 Nike shades, but what about those arms? Just how live are they? Consider this: perhaps the only thing better than a dominant slugger is watching his career unfold through countless battles with an equally dominant hurler. And even though there’s absolutely no way of predicting something like this in the Age of Arbitration, here are a few matchups we could be licking our lips over for many, many summers to come. Ryan Braun, Brewers vs. Adam Wainwright, Cardinals After Braun tagged him twice Monday, Wainwright would probably just as soon have been dealt to Kansas City. Still, as long as they stay with their respective teams in the National League Central, some interesting battles should ensue. And don't sell Wainwright short. He's gotten better with each year, and could soon be more elite than most expected. Edinson Volquez, Reds vs. Nate McClouth, Pirates I’m not sure how many meaningful matchups the Pirates and Reds will have in the next few years, but if there are any worth noting these two could very well be central figures. Not because of any noteworthy past meetings between them, but because both are off to ridiculous starts to this season and have the swagger and style respectively to become big time players. Of course McLouth isn’t a rookie, but he's only now establishing himself as a serious threat in an often anemic lineup. Kyle Kendrick, Phillies vs. David Wright, Mets Forget about Cole Hamels and Jose Reyes. Well, don’t forget about them but put them aside for a second. This Philly/N.Y. thing isn’t likely to go anywhere any time soon, and when they square off in late September with a divisional title on the line, this could be the righty/righty matchup that brings us to the bottom line. Joba Chamberlain, Yankees vs. Grady Sizemore, Indians Sizemore’s talents are hardly news: he’s a well-established superstar that most people are expecting to win an MVP sooner rather than later. As for Chamberlain, he hasn’t been making any friends in Cleveland after last year’s divisional playoff and a recent fist pump following the striking out of David Dellucci. Whether he stays in the bullpen or joins the rotation, the Yankees big arm and Cleveland’s five-tool centre fielder could be dueling in the October for many years to come. Tim Lincecum, Giants vs. Justin Upton, Diamondbacks This matchup pits perhaps the best young pitcher in all of baseball -- certainly the brightest spot on the prehistoric Giants roster --against just one of many talented newcomers on an Arizona team that looks poised to torture staffs in the NL West for years to come. If Upton becomes the superstar that many expect he will, a Lincecum start might be the only thing that can cool him (or Conor Jackson, Mark Reynolds, Chris Young, or Stephen Drew) off.
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