HIT 'EM WHERE THEY AINT

Count me among the overwhelming majority of college basketball fans that expected Kansas and Memphis to be spectators at tomorrow nights National Championship game. Who could have expected Memphis to shoot 77 percent for charity when it counted most –other than John Calipari and Mark Cohen? Not to be outdone, the Kansas Jayhawks would open their semifinal with the most dominant onslaught the Final Four has ever seen. With my bracket decimated and my beloved UNC-Wilmington Seahawks nowhere to be found in postseason play, it’s clearly time to jump into the baseball season with both feet.

In light of my failed attempt to put together a winning bracket, I’m going to seek redemption in narrowing down this years top candidates for AL and NL Rookie of the Year. Here are my final four in each division:

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Buchholz vs Chamberlain

Yep, I found a way to work the games oldest rivalry into a ROY preview. For the first time in recent memory the Yankees can make a valid argument for growing as much talent as they buy. The Yanks boast some of the best young arms in all of baseball and Joba is at the top of the list. Both Buchholz and Chamberlain have future ace potential- the difference here is opportunity. Chamberlain could be stuck in a setup role deep into the heart of the summer- and while his peripherals will be nothing short of stellar, relief pitchers simply don't garner ROY votes. Buchholz should be equally impressive while going six or seven innings deep every five days for the chalk of the AL East.

Longoria vs Barton

This matchup is a battle of two vastly different players. Longoria is a freeswinger with monster power potential while Barton takes a decidedly more selective approach at the plate, showing predominantly gap power at this stage of his career. Barton is widely considered to have a much lower ceiling than the likes of Longoria and fellow first basemen Joey Votto and James Loney, but I'm not so quick to write him off for a darkhorse run at ROY. His career .414 OBP over three levels outshines his underwhelming 37 homeruns in 1480 at-bats. Barton is just 22 years old and had more plate dicipline at 18 than Longoria will ever have. He has proven he can hit at every level and left no doubt that he's ready to hit in the big leagues when he posted a .347 batting average in a brief stint with the A's in 07'. The power will inevitably come around, though he's unlikely to ever top 25 HR's in a season. My money is on Barton to hover around the .300 mark all season while adding 70+ walks, 15 home runs and 80 RBI. Not an eye-popping line, but Barton has the potential to really throw himself into contention if he pushes his average to the .310-.320 range by seasons end.

Buchholz vs Barton

In the end, doubles and OBP just aren't sexy enough to outshine Buchholz' 15 wins, 180 strikeouts and sub-4 ERA for the American League Champion Boston Red Sox. The not-so-distant memory of a no-hitter certainly won't hurt his case either. Clay Buchholz is the AL Rookie of the Year.

Daric Barton (1B) Oakland Athletics

Evan Longoria (3B) Tampa Bay Rays