Fausto is back? How about Cole?

Very rarely does a guy go from a record of 1-10 in a season to having a Cy Young type season the following year and putting up a record of 19-8. That is what happened to Fausto Carmona in 2006-2007. Since that time he has been up and down, actually a lot more down. Maybe 2010 is the year he will get it back together. He certainly pitched well in game #1 of the season allowing just the one hit over six innings. Unfortunately he gave up six walks, so maybe we shouldn't be too optimistic.

Optimism is something I have for another guy who struggled last year Cole Hamels. I remember well watching this phenom come to the big leagues. His numbers were crazy, crazy good in the minors. In 2006 he had three starts in AAA and went 2-0 and struck out 36 in 23 innings. He was hyped by all the sports writers and deservedly so. After being called up he went 9-8 and then in 2007 he improved to 15-5 and was dominant again.

Then came last year and he struggled greatly. One game he was great and the next he couldn't make the pitches he needed and his record of 10-11 was mediocre at best on a dominant team. I have a feeling his numbers will go way up this year. The main reason I sense that is because of the influence of Roy Halladay. I think he will learn about the strong work ethic required and the way to really pitch. He will become a pitcher and not just a hard thrower. With his first victory he now has 49 career wins.

On the hitting side of things it was nice to see Chipper Jones attack the ball and hit HR #427 of his career and hit #2408. I hope he can stay healthy and productive so he could get 500 HR and 3000 hits before he hangs em up.

Vlad Guerrero is one of the guys I really like to watch hit. His numbers are impressive but not quite as great as Chippers. He took one deep for #408 of his career and hit # 2253. I think a more realistic amount for him will be 450 HR and 2500 hits. I enjoy following players that play for years and are still productive.

How about you, who do you like to follow?