Finally. After an off-season highlighted by boring labor meetings, a fruitless search for a commissioner and another Buffalo choke, the 1994 baseball season is almost here to save us from the above drudgery. Maybe its still early, but I'm ready to say that this season will be different--a lot different--than previous ones.

Fasten your seat belts, people: the Cleveland Indians will be contenders. Not just pretenders, either. In an AL Central division featuring the lowly likes of the Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, and Kansas City Royals, they are for real.

("If my editor, Kansas native Sean Wissman, reads this, watch for Behind The Mike in next week's Indy.)

With acquisitions like Eddie Murray, Dennis Martinez, and Omar Vizquel, look for the Tribe to give the Chicago White Sox a race to the finish line in the revamped (should I say depleted?) AL Norris, er, Central.

Their chances will be even better if the White Sox's camp turns into a media circus courtesy of Michael Jordan. Face it--with Jordan around, the Sox will be less focused than the Hubble telescope pre-repair. Maybe a few Jack McDowell braking pitches will convince Jordan that hard courts beats hard ball. but still, he may surprise.

But don't bet on him.

And there's more. All right, I admit it: I'm from Baltimore. I can't write a column without mentioning the grate strides the Orioles made in the off-season, so here goes....

In case you don't know, the Orioles were a team whose idea of big signing was Rich Sutcliffe ( in 1992 and Fernando Valenzuela. (in 1993). The last time those two saw post season action, I was learning multiplication table.

Despite the revenue generated by the first season at their new stadium, Camden Yards, the bottom line ruled Oriole front office decision for years. In the past two years, they ran out of peanuts at Camden Yards concession stands because they were using them to buy free agents. They ran a full length feature in the local paper on a Rule V draftee. C-H-E-A-P with a capital dollar-sign.

Shock, shock--those days are gone. New owner Peter Angelos dumped first beseman Glenn "Stiff" Davis (currently in the Mets' system; 'nuff said) and signed Rafael Palmeiro. They inked Sid Fernandez to replace (insert over-the-hill former NL pitcher's name here) and third baseman Chris Sabo.

This year, for the first time in a long time, the Birds have the horses to get to the World Series. And outfielder Jeffrey Hammonds is a strong possibility for AL Rookie of the year.

As for the rest of the AL East, the New York Yankees made a major move in acquiring Terry Mulholland from the Philadephia Phillies. The rotation of Mulholland, Jimmy Key and Jim Abbott will give the Orioles their stiffest competition.

The Boston Red Sox's biggest move was stealing General Manager Dan Duquette from the Montreal Expos. In addition, the signing of outfielder Otis Nixon given the Bosox a potent leadoff hitter. How the new coaching staff and manager Butch Hobson will get along is still a mystery, especially after the unceremonious way his old staff was dumped by Lou Gorman (sort of like the way Gorman was dumped himself).

Up north, the Toronto Blue Jays spent less time deciding not to resign Rickey Henderson than they do in deciding whether or not to retract the roof of the Skydome on rainy nights.

Other than that, their repeated attempts to sign a front line pitcher (most recently,) Pete Harnisch of the Houston Astros) fell through. Give Jays GM Pat Gillick time, though. He always seems to have some major trade his sleeve.