Windy City baseball could see a brightside this year

The first official day of baseball does not always come in a positive package for the city of Chicago, where the White Sox have run into trouble with divisional rivals Minnesota and Cleveland and the Cubs have not won the Pennant since 1989.

But, this could be the year for change in the Windy City. Despite the notorious decades long World Series drought, the glass is half full. The White Sox are attempting to add more pitching to a potent offense with the acquisitions of Bartolo Colon and Billy Koch. Meanwhile, the Cubs are playing under the guidance of new manager Dusty Baker, who led the San Francisco Giants to last year's World Series.

If the White Sox play solid all-around baseball, the team has a strong chance of dethroning last year's AL Central champion Minnesota Twins. This could, however, prove difficult if Minnesota has a repeat of last year's 50-25 divisional record. But, if Frank Thomas can up his average, and the White Sox pitching comes through, Chicago's South Siders could be a tough team to beat.

Both Chicago teams have a favorable schedule to open up their seasons. The Sox have a cushy first 22 games, playing only Kansas City, Detroit, Cleveland and Baltimore until April 25. Of these teams, only Cleveland won more than 70 games (74) last year, and all finished below .500. The Indians also finished the highest in its division out of any of these teams at third place.

The Cubs have yet to prove themselves offensively, but face fellow rebuilding conference opponents Cincinnati and Pittsburgh for 13 of the team's first 18 games. Other contests include New York and Montreal. The Expos are the only Cub opponent above .500 until April 29, when they take on the San Francisco Giants.

The biggest reason for improvement on the North Side will not be taking the field at all, but will be standing in the corner of the Cubs dugout. The Cubs aggressively pursued the number one manager available on 2003's MLB market in Dusty Baker. Baker, who led the Giants to the World Series in his 10th season, will bring a much more positive air to baseball on the North Side. He will also bring something that has been missing a long time: a winning attitude.

The Cubs strong suit will continue to be pitching. Of the starting rotation, only one pitcher posts an ERA above 3.98, newcomer Shawn Estes from Cincinnati. Kerry Wood and Mark Prior will be the youngsters that dominate this rotation if both their arms can stay healthy.

But none of the pitching will matter if the Cubs do not learn to score some runs. Someone other than home run king Sammy Sosa will need to step up. Moises Alou will need to prove himself after a mediocre 2002. Cub farm products Hee Seop Choi, Bobby Hill and Corey Patterson will also need to produce. But this is where skipper Dusty Baker comes into play for motivation.

For the first time in a while, the glass is half full on both sides of town. Now it just remains to be seen how these teams will finish.