Photo: Getty Images - Ezra Shaw
- Adam Parker
The 2007 Major League Baseball Season.
The Boston Red Sox walked away with their second World Series Title in four seasons after sweeping the Colorado Rockies 4-0.
New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez -- who finished with an astounding 54 home runs and 156 RBI's -- took home American League MVP honors, while Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins became the National League MVP.
Barry Bonds surpassed the great Hank Aaron on the All-Time Home Runs list.
Houston Astros second baseman Craig Biggio joined the 3,000 hit club.
And, most relevant to this article -- then San Diego Padres ace Jake Peavy, arguably one of the top five pitchers in baseball at the time, won the Cy Young Award in the National League.
Jump to now and the Red Sox are in complete disarray, A-Rod and J-Roll haven't come close to their MVP numbers, Bonds' ball might as well be tagged with an asterisk and Biggio has hung up the cleats.
Peavy, on the other hand, is hoping that 2012 might finally be the year that he rights the ship and gets his career on track.
2007 was the first of what we as baseball fans thought would be many dominant seasons from Peavy, but recently Peavy's career has turned in utter disappointment. The former Cy Young winner has spent far more time on the disabled list or going under the knife than schooling batters on the mound in the last four seasons.
But could the 2012 season finally be the year that Peavy turns it around and returns to the Peavy of '07?
I don't want to get ahead of myself, but Peavy is off to a pretty convincing hot start.
As of now, he is currently looking like the best pitcher in the White Sox' rotation with a (3-0) record and 1.88 ERA.
Peavy's most recent trip to the mound ended not with manager Robin Ventura pulling him from the contest prematurely because of injury issues or roughing up from opposing hitters, but with a complete game shutout of the Oakland A's.
Pretty impressive stuff.
By no means are the Athletics the cream of the crop offensively by any stretch of the imagination. A young Johnny Damon and Jason Giambi aren't walking through that door anytime soon to bolster the middle of that lineup despite the endless prayers of general manager Billy Beane.
But still, Peavy looked great out there. And probably more importantly, the 2012 Peavy finally has the self-confidence back that helped him earn the Triple Crown of pitching (led or tied for tops in the NL in wins with 19, strikeouts with 240 and ERA with a mark of 2.54) back in '07.
Yankees great and Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra once said, "Baseball is 90 percent mental; the other half is physical."
There's an old baseball adage that pitching is 90 percent of the game.
If those statements hold true and Peavy really does have his confidence back, it could mean big things for he and the White Sox moving foward.
A confident Jake Peavy is as dangerous a pitcher as you'll face in the Major Leagues.
I'm not saying Peavy is going to win the Cy Young or anything this season (though it's not completely out of the realm of possibility), but this sizzling start is definitely a step in the right direction.
Good luck, Jake.
I hope this season marks the return of the old you.
