Watching the Classic and Prepping the Preview

I know it isn't just me this time.

The World Baseball Classic is rocking this year. 

 The Netherlands beat the Dominicans once. It could have just been seen as an outlier, it could have been seen as a fluke, it could have been seen as an aberration. Sports Illustrated Football writer (and Ohio University alumnus) Peter King even said that if those two teams played 20 times, the Dominicans would win 19. Well, they must have been destined to play 40 times because the Netherlands beat the Dominican Republic TWICE! And eliminated them on the second go-around.

This outcome is incredible for baseball. Not only does it give them a legitimate upset instead of just a fluke. It also brings them the possibility of a baseball powerhouse in Europe. The West and East part of the globe have really embraced baseball. The central part (mainland Europe and Africa) has not. Africa probably will continue to not care for economic reasons. But if we can get the Dutch to become legitimately excited about baseball, we might be able to get something going here.

Then there's the "home team" Not only have the Americans won twice, but they have won convincingly. The Canada game was cathartic to say the least and they absolutely thumped the team that I thought would be the best in the tournament. And the Venezuela win in Pool C keeps my dream of a Venezuelan World Baseball-Ruling class alive. 

The Asian Pool could not have gone better either. Korea and Japan are huge rivals, and we are all lucky that they met in their Pool's final. 1-0 games are a thing of beauty....and very hard to come by in tournaments like this. I have to say, my biggest worry about the WBC is that Baseball itself wasn't conducive to an elimination tournament like this. I always thought that 162 games were the only way to crown a champion in baseball and I was worried the fact that so few games are played in the WBC would cheapen the competition...but it hasn't. This tournament is an absolute thing of beauty so far. 

As far as my pre-tournament predictions go... I have to say, they aren't as bad as I thought they would be.

ROUND ONE PREDICTIONS

POOL A Winner: Japan

POOL A Runner-up: Korea

POOL B Winner: Cuba

POOL B Runner-up: Mexico

POOL C Winner: Venezuela

POOL C Runner-up: Canada

POOL D Winner: Dominican Republic

POOL D Runner-up: Panama

ROUND ONE RESULTS

Pool A Winner - Korea

Pool A Runner-Up - Japan

Pool B Winner - Cuba

Pool B Runner-Up - Mexico

Pool C Winner - Venezuela

Pool C Runner-Up - U.S.A

Pool D Winner - Puerto Rico

Pool D Runner-Up - The Netherlands

I got Pool B exactly right. I got Pool A sort-of right but I mixed up the winner and the runner-up. I guessed the Pool C winner correctly, but the U.S replaced Canada as the runner-up. I must say I am happy to see my home country go on to the next round, regardless of my predictions. But Pool D was an absolute failure on my part. Turns out the U.S wasn't the choke artist this year, it was the D.R. Oh man, the Dominicans blew it. I attribute this completely to the teams lack of Pujols. The best player in the world should be in the ultimate international baseball competition...just saying. I did correctly predict that the tournaments WTF? team would come from Pool D. But I thought it would be Panama instead of the Netherlands. As a matter of fact, I thought the Dutch would be the worst team in the tournament. I guess that's why they call them "upsets."

But enough about the Classic. I have some other business to attend to right now.

I have read a few pieces of sports Journalism that I enjoyed quite a bit this week. I really enjoyed Lee Jenkins piece on Jason Giambi for Sports Illustrated. I finished Moneybal just a couple of months ago and this Billy Beane/Jason Giambi reunion felt like everything was coming full circle for me. Then there was Bud Shaw's story about Omar Vizquel and his art. The Indians are my favorite thing in life and Omar Vizquel was always my favorite player...which I guess makes him my favrite person ever. Plus, some of his art contains nudity. Finally, there is this little bit of epic awesomeness. It is called The Power to Believe and is written by Joe Posnanski. Now, I am new to this whole Journalism thing, but I would like to nominate this for Best Baseball Story of 2009. I said my piece on Albert Pujols a little while back but this says everything I wanted to articulate and then some. Joe Posnanski, I raise my glass to you.

Finally, I would like to talk about my upcoming baseball preview. It is a three-part release spread out over three weeks and the first one is coming up next week. Next week's post will predict the outcomes of all division races in the National League in 2009, as well as include line-ups, rotations, and bullpens for all teams. The following week will be the same for the American League and the first week of April will be devoted the the MLB season as a whole and my predicted playoff bracket.

That's it for now. Come back next week for the event 18 years in the making!

*Saturday Night Update* Wow, it looks like I was wrong about Puerto Rico this year. 11-1 over the U.S. But I was right about Jake Peavy sucking in the WBC. Should the Padres ever make the playoffs (a highly unlikely occurrence) I think we can safely assume that Peavy will tank it Sabathia-style. I'm sorry, CC, you know I still love you. You just suck in the playoffs....and are a freaking Yankee.

Regional Dominance

As I've previously stated, baseball season officially starts for me when the first baseball previews are released. Well, I was flipping threw my spanking new copy of The Sporting News' baseball preview when I noticed something rather peculiar. Ryan Howard and Nate McLouth were on the cover of my Preview. 

It seems the Sporting News made 16 different covers for every region in North America. The Wal Mart in Athens, Ohio for some reason received the "East" edition of the Preview when it clearly should have received the Mideast edition with Cliff Lee and Edinson Volquez. Anyway, I was looking at the all the covers on the inside jacket of the magazine and saw that almost every single edition had two teams gracing the cover, yet their were a few markets that featured one team.

Like most things regarding baseball, that got me thinking. What are the teams in Major League Baseball that don't have to worry about another team cannibalizing their fanbase. Peter Angelos threw a fit when the Expos relocated to Washington D.C and I can understand why. That Baltimore/D.C area belonged to the Orioles. There was no other team in the area to take attention and money away from them. So what teams in baseball are currently like the pre-Nationals Orioles? Who has the most dominance over their region..."Regional Dominance" if you will.

Here is a list of the regional covers for The Sporting News baseball preview. 

SPORTING NEWS BASEBALL REGIONAL COVERS:

Region 1 - New England: Red Sox (Dustin Pedroia & Jacoby Ellsbury)

Region 2 - Canada: Blue Jays (Roy Halladay)

Region 3 - Northeast: Yankees (Alex Rodriguez), Mets (David Wright)

Region 4 - East: Phillies (Ryan Howard), Pirates (Nate McLouth)

Region 5 - Atlantic: Orioles (Aubrey Huff), Nationals (Christian Guzman)

Region 6 - South: Braves (Chipper Jones)

Region 7 - Florida: Rays (Evan Longoria), Marlins (Dan Uggla)

Region 8 - Mideast: Indians (Cliff Lee), Reds (Edinson Volquez)

Region 9 - Midwest: Cubs (Carlos Zambrano), Brewers (Ryan Braun)

Region 10 - North: Tigers (Miguel Cabrera), Twins (Joe Mauer)

Region 11 - Missouri Valley: Cardinals (Albert Pujols), Royals (Zack Greinke)

Region 12 - Midlands: Rockies (Garrett Atkins)

Region 13 - Southwest: Rangers (Josh Hamilton), Astros (Miguel Tejada)

Region 14 - West: Diamondbacks (Dan Haren), Padres (Adrian Gonzalez)

Region 15 - Los Angeles: Angels (Joe Saunders & Ervin Santana), Dodgers (Andre Ethier)

Region 16 - Northwest: Giants (Tim Lincecum), Mariners (Ichiro Suzuki)

I'll have you notice that neither the White Sox nor the Athletics are featured on this list. So I am going to make a few revisions to include all the teams. The White Sox are going to slide into the Midwest region, leaving us with a three-team. The A's are going to the Northwest region which I am renaming to the "Bay Area." Seattle gets to stay in the Northwest all by its lonesome. After all, Seattle is more than a twelve hour drive from Oakland, its closest Major-League city. 

So with those revisions in mind, here are the 5 teams that I believe have the least competition for Regional Dominance

5. Colorado Rockies

Who would have figured? The Rockies don't have the largest fan-base in the world, or the best. But there is no one else out there competing for the Rockies' attention. Kansas City is the closest at about 8 hours away. The Rocky Mountains aren't really an environment conducive to good baseball or baseball fans, but tell me: if you are a fan in Colorado/Idaho/Nevada/Wyoming/Utah, who else are you rooting for?

4. Toronto Blue Jays

Now that the Expos are gone (to the Orioles' detriment), the Blue Jays really have no one to worry about...aside from the Maple Leafs of course. Toronto is a hockey-town and always will be. But as long as there are American transplants working in Canada who want to see baseball, the Blue Jays will sell tickets. Lame Toronto sports fans might prefer to root for the Yankees or the Red Sox, but for any Canadian baseball fan that believes in pride in country, the Blue Jays are now the absolute only team to root for.

3. Seattle Mariners

As I've previously stated, the closest team to Seattle is more than 12 hours away. Seattle is now a culture all to itself. There are no other metropolises knocking on the door drawing Mariners' fans away. The only thing that is turning fans away is the team, itself.

2. Boston Red Sox

For starters, the Red Sox have nothing to worry about because they have the largest bandwagon fanbase in the United States. I know people from Cleveland to Phoenix who root for the Red Sox because they are "just like totally cool, bro." But as far as ACTUAL Red Sox fans who ACTUALLY live in New England go....there is not much competition. Sure, there are a few weirdos in Connecticut who insist on rooting for the Yankees but every other inch of New England is officially Red Sox nation. That is 6.5 states, very, very rich states who support the Boston Red Sox.

1. Atlanta Braves

Ladies and gentleman, I present to you: THE JEWEL OF THE SOUTH. Every Confederate state of the South (I am sorry, Southerners, I couldn't resist) calls him or herself a Braves fan. And just think of the impact of that. The American South is one of the biggest baseball factories on the planet. SEC baseball is the only collegiate baseball that draws any fanfare in the country and all the old-timers in the South still loves them some baseball. Now tell me how it is fair that that entire region, which is so baseball centric, only has one team. The Atlanta Braves are not just Georgia's team: they are Alabama's team and South Carolina's team and North Carolina's team and Tennessee's team and Mississippi's team and Arkansas's team and maybe even parts of Kentucky's team.

Of course, there is one other little bit of business to attend to this week before we're done.

Los Angeles signs OF Manny Ramirez to 2 year, $45 million deal

Scott Boras lost. Enough said.

Oh, and if you don't believe me that the WBC matters, then take Tom Verducci's word for it.

World Baseball Classic Preview

I know many of you don't care about the World Baseball Classic and I don't blame you.

For more than 100 years now the "ultimate" in baseball competition has been Major League baseball. The best players come to the United States to participate in the best competition the sport of baseball has to offer. So I can understand if you are leery about anything that detracts from the competition of the Major League Baseball season is just not worth the risk of injury.

I just happen to think differently. Maybe the World Baseball Classic would not have made sense in 1928 when 99.9% of Major League Baseball players came from the United States of America and no other country expressed an earnest interest in the sport. Then, we probably could call the winner of the MLB "World Series Champions" but nowadays, it just doesn't feel right to call the Phillies "World Series Champions" when many successful players come from the Caribbean and Japan has its own successful league.

And that's where I think the World Baseball Classic comes in. How can you not want to know who is truly the best in the World every four years? Admittedly, the presentation is not that impressive yet. Players are still declining invitations (Really, Johan? You had something better to do?) and there are only 16 nations involved. But if baseball truly wants to grow and succeed in this new International community, it is going to want to play up the World Baseball Classic as much as possible. And really, baseball fans, is it going to kill you to watch your team's players compete for their country just one month every four years. I do not think that it is too much to ask, seeing as they play 162 games every year for their employer.

With that in mind, here are my predictions for how the Classic will shake out this year.

16. Netherlands

Rick Vandenhurk, Greg Halman: these are the only Major League ballplayers involved with the Dutch team. Yikes.

15. Republic of South Africa
South Africa, on the other hand actually has 0 Major Leaguers. So, obviously they will finish higher than Netherlands. They don't have to deal with those prima-donnas Vandenhurk and Halman.

14. Italy
The rule that lets players play for a country that one or more of their parents were born in should be called the "Italian" rule. This team is made up of Americans by birth who just happen to come from Italian backgrounds. Whether or not this is fair is up for debate...but what isn't up for debate is that the team is better for it. The "Italians" will finish 14th this year but if an All Star with an Italian-sounding last name comes up in the next four years....watch out.

13. China Tapei
File this one under: gut feeling. I have no idea who is on the Tapei team, I just think they'll finish higher than Italy, Holland and South Africa.

12.Australia
Australia is surprisingly a team that is not completely hopeless. I could see them happening into some pitching this year and upsetting a team or two. In this kind of competition, a good pitching performance can eliminate a giant. But they don't have the talent to finish in the Top Half of the competition.

11. China
China is one to look out for. A nation with more than a billion human beings is bound to have a good athlete or two. Plus, we already know that they get jealous of anything Japan does and Japan currently has the International Baseball scene in a headlock right now.

10. Puerto Rico
Mike Aviles is going to be an excellent addition to this team, but he won't be enough to stop Puerto Rico's inevitable decline into oblivion. It's a shame because Puerto Rico would have done well in the 60s and 70s but they seemed to have missed their opportunity. They clearly have the best Catching in the tournament though (Soto, Pudge and the best Molina brother???)

9. United States of America
That's right, America, we won't even finish in the top half of the tournament this year. Why? We just still don't take this tournament seriously. You'd think we'd learn that you can't just show and win after last year but USA baseball has a bad habit of not learning from mistakes. I just can't believe that Ted Lily or Jeremy Guthrie may take the mound as the "best" the U.S has to offer. Jake Peavy absolutely TANKED three years ago in the tournament and Oswalt is a Classic rookie. So, I ask you: where is the pitching coming from? We are so lucky that Ryan Braun, David Wright and Grady Sizemore (Note: Grady will not play) signed though. If that young core can learn from this tournament, we can establish the best offense for the next two or three Classics. But they won't be able to overcome our poor pitching this year.

8.Panama

Whether it is George Mason in the NCCA Tourney or Ghana in the World Cup, every major sports competition needs a "WTF" team. Panama is the 2009 World Baseball Classic's WTF team. They are not necessarily the worst team in the World (just by their inclusion in the Classic, they are better at baseball than more than 200 other countries), but no one probably expects them to finish higher than 13th....except for me. I can conceivably see Carlos Lee catching fire and hitting homer after homer, striking fear into all opponents hearts.

7. Mexico
Oh Lord, am I afraid of Adrian Gonzalez! We already know he performs better for teams he has a personal connection to (he is a San Diego native as well) and I can just see him exploding in this tournament. The Mexican pitching staff is fairly underrated too. I know I wouldn't want to be trailing them, knowing that Joakim Soria is waiting for me in that bullpen.

6. Korea
I really don't know what Korea's strengths and weaknesses are as a team, but I do know that they are a TEAM. Screw Japan and Cuba, Korea was the best overall team three years ago. They would be World Champs if they didn't run into the Dice-K buzz saw. I know a lot can change in three years and the competition is certainly tougher this year but not enough changed for Korea to fall out of the Top 6.

5. Canada
God, what a horrifying offense. Jason Bay, Justin Morneau, Joey Votto and Russell Martin are going to tear International pitching up. I see them cutting a swath through the earlier rounds before running into a good pitcher or two in the later rounds, slowing them down and eliminating them.

4. Dominican Republic
The Dominicans ran into many of the same problems the Americans did three years ago. They had all the talent you could ever ask for but they were too old and didn't take things seriously. I think they run into the same problems this year. They are still a little on the elderly side but I like their pitching a lot more than I did three years ago. If Ubaldo Jiminez, Edinson Volquez and Johnny Cueto can put something together, they should be alright. But you can't tell me they won't miss the best player on Earth(don't kid yourself, you know who he is). I know their line-up looks like Murderer's Row as well, but again: it is too old, too right-handed and too powerful. Solo home-runs are not going to win the World Baseball Classic. They will make the Final Four on sheer talent alone.

3. Cuba
Cuba is the one team that lives for a competition like this. Their players are not allowed to partake in the MLB so this is truly their World Championship. They want this and they will be one of the most competitive teams in the world for as long as the World Baseball Classic exists. Since they aren't allowed to play in the MLB, I don't know anything about the players...but that means no one else in the tournament does either. There aren't many scouting reports you can find for the Cuban team. So they can take people by surprise and win it all. Man, would I like to see Yulieski Gourriel in an Indians' jersey.

2. Japan
Your 2006 World Champs will be the 2009 Runners-up. All I can say for the competition in 2009 is: watch out for the two-headed monster. Yu Darvish and Daisuke Matsuzake possess the potential to absolutely carve hitters up throughout the tournament. And having two of the best pitchers in the Classic is a horrifying proposition for the competition when 3-man rotations are the norm. And the line-up isn't anything to sleep on. They are the anti-Dominicans. A small, athletic fast line-up that can terrorize teams on the base-paths. The only bad thing I can think about this team is that I don't know too much about their bullpen and Kenji Johjima is somehow involved in the proceedings. Great team, and there is really only one better.

1. Venezuela
I have had a bit of a crush on Venezuelan ballplayers for quite some time now. I believe they possess the talent and potential to become to International Baseball what Argentina is for International Futbol. They are a young, athletic and exciting team that plays the game the right way. Had Johan Santana been involved, I would have proposed that Baseball just cancel the tournament and hand them the trophy now. But I still think they can finish first with the talent they have. Carlos Zambrano, Felix Hernandez and Armando Galaraga can truly shut teams down. It really only takes 3 good pitchers to win this thing and the Venezuelans have that, with K-Rod thrown in the 9th inning for good measure. Bobby Abreu and Magglio Ordonez will be at the top of their game; they are the type of players who I suspect would step it up for their country. I am not quite as sure as Miguel Cabrera. But if he gives a crap....or anything resembling a crap for that matter, he could be one of the better hitters in the Classic. The only thing holding them back might be the bad karma of Omar Vizquel's absence on the team.

Round 1

POOL A Winner: Japan

POOL A Runner-up: Korea

POOL B Winner: Cuba

POOL B Runner-up: Mexico

POOL C Winner: Venezuela

POOL C Runner-up: Canada

POOL D Winner: Dominican Republic

POOL D Runner-up: Panama

Round 2

Japan and Cuba advance

Dominican Republic and Venezuela advance

Round 3

Japan beats Cuba

Venezuela beats Dominican Republic

Finals

Venezuela beats Japan

That's it for this week. Come back next week, by which time Manny Ramirez will probably have turned down a 4 year, $99.9 million offer from the Dodgers.

Players Start to Speak Out and I Grade the AL Off-season

Before we begin today, I would like to draw everyone's attention to a crucially important web article. I basically live and die by the Baseball Prospectus and a couple of weeks ago they released their predictions for how the divisions would shake out for each division in baseball including Wins and Losses. It is a fantastic list and Baseball Preview but I debated on whether or not I should link it. 

Problem is, my Baseball Preview is going to resemble their's quite a bit. I have been working on this preview and thinking about these baseball team's diligently since the Phils won Game 5 of the World Series. But unfortunately mine is now going to resemble a lot of other source's Previews now. It is a fundamental question any baseball writer faces. Do I attempt to be on the cutting edge by releasing my Baseball Preview early or do I wait for most of the free agents to sign. I opted for Decision 2 this year and depending on how it goes, I might change my mind for next year.

Before I get to my grades of the AL Off-season, there are three, count 'em, three things I want to address about baseball this week.

First off, Tim Kirkjian secured an interview with Albert Pujols about the A-Rod scandal. I am SO glad that someone (especially a good writer) had the presence of mind to ask Albert Pujols how he felt about steroids. Pujols handled the interview like a champ, talking about children and admiring the game and being fair. But really what this interview was all about was taking the Crown off of A-Rod's head and placing it onto Albert Pujols's head as Best Player in the World. For the record, that is where the Crown belongs and that is where the Crown has always belonged.

Next, there was Adrian Beltre' speaking up. Look, I do not romanticize baseball as much as I used to. I have the mind of the G.M-all these players are just pieces that can be moved and added and subtracted and altered....not human beings. But Adrian Beltre' actually made me think about the human aspect a little more this week. The G.M in me knows that the Mariners need to dump anyone and everyone that they can from their failing team. Beltre' tells us, however, that it isn't always that easy and that Mariners players will miss Raul Ibanez contributions on and off the field quite a bit. Right on, Adrian, right on.

Then there is the news of two re-signings from struggling NL Central teams. The fact that the Pirates signed their semi-young CF Nate McLouth (a.k.a Jody Gerut 2.0) to 3 years, $15 million and the Reds signed their semi-young 3B Edwin Encarnacion to a 2 year, $7.6 million deal. Ladies and gentlemen, I can now safely say the Reds will climb out of the cellar far sooner than the Pirates.

Now here are the AL Off-season grades. Just like the NL Off-season grades, I will only take into account players that were added to or subtracted from the 25-man roster and I will not be counting re-signings. Enjoy reading!

Baltimore Orioles

Additions - Koji Uehara, Rich Hill, Felix Pie, Cesar Izturis, Ryan Freel, Greg Zaun
Subtractions - Ramon Hernandez, Daniel Cabrera, Garrett Olson
Result - B- The Orioles seem to have a decent core in place for the future so they seemed to keep that in mind for this off-season. No adding any high-priced free agents and looking for the bargain bin. I like the additions of Rich Hill and Felix Pie a lot. Hill could start every 5th day for them and Pie brings some nice up-side and could be a part of the potential core. The Uehara signing was fairly...interesting and Cesar Izturis was a decent, cheap option. I think Daniel Cabrera should have been re-signed. Not a slam dunk of an off-season by any means, but at least the O's didn't screw up too much or get in their own way. 

Boston Red Sox

Additions - John Smoltz, Rocco Baldelli, Brad Penny, Ramom Ramirez, Josh Bard, Junichi Tazawa
Subtractions - Coco Crisp, Alan Embree, Paul Byrd
Result - A This is a deceptively excellent off-season. The Sox turned a player they didn't need into a player they did need (Crisp to Ramirez). And then they got a sure-fire Hall-of-Famer, a former top prospect and a perennial All-Star, all for about 1/12 of what the Yankees will be paying Mark Teixeira. That's not even to mention the fact that they brought in a young Japanese fireballer who came on the cheap because of his age. It still shocks me that teams will overpay for the Igawa's, Uehara's and Kawakami's of the world when presumably the Nippon League has plenty of talented players in their mid-20s who want to come America. You have scouts...USE THEM. Don't wait 10 years of a player's career in Japan before you decide if he is good or not. As far as I can tell, the Red Sox's only issue this off-season was missing out on an above-average Catcher. Other than that....perfecto.

New York Yankees

Additions - Nick Swisher, CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira, A.J Burnett,
Subtractions - Ivan Rodriguez, Wilson Betemit, Kyle Farnsworth, Mike Mussina, Scott Proctor, Carl Pavano, Jason Giambi
Result - B+ I've said it before and I will say it again: when talking about the Yankees, you have to throw words like "affordability" out the window. The Yankees could afford CC and Teixeira and wisely signed them. I think those are A+ deals and do not really mind the dollar amounts involved. There is one deal, however, that I cannot condone. I don't care if the Yankees have Infinity Dollars, signing A.J Burnett any longer than 2 years and for any more than $10 million a year is a M-I-S-T-A-K-E. What an awful deal. The other smaller moves the Yanks made seem to have worked out in their favor. Swisher can still produce and will at the very least get them a prospect or two should they choose to trade him and they can re-sign Pudge anytime they'd like. Good off-season.

Tampa Bay Rays

Additions - Pat Burrell, Matt Joyce, Joe Nelson
Subtractions - Edwin Jackson, Gabe Gross, Cliff Floyd
Results - B- The Burrell signing was a coup and I cannot argue with going out and getting another reliever. Take it from an Indians' fan: "you must always fortify the bullpen." Losing Cliff Floyd is fine and Gabe Gross won't be missed. This is the model of a small-market team off-season...until you get to the Edwin Jackson deal. I firmly believe that the Rays could have gotten more and should have gotten more for Edwin Jackson. 

Toronto Blue Jays

Additions - Michael Barrett
Subtractions -
Result - C- Do I really even need to write about this?

Chicago White Sox

Additions - Bartolo Colon, Dayan Viciedo, Wilson Betemit
Subtractions - Joe Crede, Javier Vazquez, Nick Swisher, Boone Logan, Ken Griffey Jr., Juan Uribe, Toby Hall, Horacio Ramirez, Orlando Cabrera
Result - D+ Sometimes I just think that Kenny Williams gets bored. Here is/are the addition(s) that I like: Dayan Viciedo. Here are the additions I don't like: Colon and Betemit (a.k.a everyone else). Why get rid of Swisher? Why get rid of Boone Logan in addition to Javier Vazquez....as a matter of fact, why get rid of Vazquez in the first place. I understand that Ozzie had problems with him, but is that really worth making yourself a worse club in 2009? The Sox actually had to give up TWO good players (Vazquez and Cabrera) just because they couldn't mesh with Ozzie. You say you want to get faster and more atheltic....and then you promptly get rid of your only lead-off option and dynamite Shortstop. The Sox may have positioned themselves for 2010 but they did not make their 25-man roster any better for this year and under these rules, that is an atrocious off-season.

Cleveland Indians 

Additions - Mark DeRosa, Carl Pavano, Kerry Wood, Joe Smith,
Subtractions - Franklin Gutierrez, Tom Mastny, Sal Fasano
Result - A- Call me biased, I don't care. The Indians had the best off-season of any team in baseball this year under a $100 million payroll. Look at the guys they lost....inconsequential (aside from Gutierrez who is an excellent fielder). Now look at the guys they added......fantastic. They got a Major League reliever in return for Gutierrez(remember what I said about fortifying that bullpen?), they got a potential All-Star Closer (probably the most purely talented relief pitcher in Cleveland since Jose Mesa) and they stole away one of the best role-players in baseball from the Cubs. Instead of overpaying for Casey Blake, they found a better version of Casey Blake and for less money and fewer years. That is just a masterstroke of a move, friends. The Pavano signing is fairly meaningless and Wood may have been a touch overpaid, but the Indians did very well for themselves this off-season.

Detroit Tigers

Additions - Gerald Laird, Adam Everett, Edwin Jackson, Brandon Lyon, Matt Treanor
Subtractions - Todd Jones, Matt Joyce, Edgar Rentaria, Kenny Rogers
Result - B The Tigers had the right idea this year. They opted to go for smaller deals for Defense (Laird, Everett) and pitching (Jackson) instead of pulling off a big blockbuster like the Cabrera-Willis deal. I have to say, they won't miss anybody that they lost and everybody that they picked up will help, if only a little. Laird, and Everett's contribution won't be massive but it will exist. Jackson is their best pick-up of the off-season. My only problem with the Tigers off-season is that they didn't do enough to help the bullpen. Lyon is alright, but he isn't worth what they paid him and there is no guarantee he will be closer material.

Kansas City Royals

Additions - Coco Crisp, Willie Bloomquist, Mike Jacobs, Horacio Ramirez, Kyle Farnsworth
Subtractions - Leo Nunez, Mike Grudzilanek, Joey Gathright, Ramon Ramirez
Result - C+ I really like the Coco pick-up and the Mike Jacobs pick-up...I just find it bizarre that it cost exactly one reliever in each deal. They weren't necessarily reliever-rich to begin with but I think Jacobs and Crisp were too good to pass-up. Farnsworth was probably a reaction to that and it was a fair deal for a fair pitcher. They can find someone to replace Grudzilanek and for less dough and Gathright probably won't be missed (especially when they already have 4 outfielders) My two big beefs with the Royals off-season are that they subtracted from the bullpen when they really needed to add and they made the maddeningly insane decision to sign Willie Bloomquist. That was probably the second worst deal of the off-season. Behind only Edgar Rentaria for 2 years, $18 million.

Minnesota Twins 

Additions - R.A Dickey, Luis Ayala
Subtractions - Adam Everett, Dennys Reyes, Eddie Guardado
Result - C The Twins were not really in a position to add much or subtract much. You knew at the end of the season that their team was going to remain fairly static and it did. Their team looks pretty good as is but I have to say I would be nervous if I were a Twins' fan right now. Can you really remember the last time a team did not make a single significant change in the off-season and made it deep into the playoffs? I don't think I can.

Los Angeles Angels 

Additions - Brian Fuentes, Bobby Abreu
Subtractions - Mark Teixeira, Francisco Rodriguez, Jon Garland, Garet Anderson
Result - D+ If there were one team that could NOT afford to lose its free agent in this off-season in was the Angels. Teixeira absolutely had to be on this team. The difference with him in the line-up vs. him out of the line-up will be shocking. They didn't get better by losing Francisco Rodriguez but it wasn't as bad as losing Teixeira. Garland certainly won't be missed in that awesome rotation and Bobby Abreu is a huge upgrade over Garet Anderson. That team is just getting older and worse by the day (for the record, Angels fans, I predicted the Angels would be the best team in baseball last year) and they had to get Teixeira to switch up their whole offensive identity.

Oakland Athletics

Additions - Jason Giambi, Matt Holliday, Russ Springer, Michael Wuertz
Subtractions - Carlos Gonzalez, Greg Smith, Huston Street, Matt Murton, Kirk Saarloos
Result - C+ This is technically an above average off-season, just a very confusing one. Matt Murton and Kirk Saarloos are gone and I don't care. Russ Springer and Michael Wuertz are added and I don't care. The only two deals I am looking at are the Giambi signing and the Holliday deal. The Jason Giambi deal made all kinds of sense. He has the left-handed power that the A's need and he is in the perfect stage of his career for an Oakland reunion. The Holliday deal made a little less sense. You can't argue that he doesn't make them a better team, but I think they gave up quite a bit for him. It is perfectly clear that they can't afford to resign him either so this will be a 1-year deal or he will be traded at the deadline for significantly less than what they traded for him.

Seattle Mariners 

Additions - Russell Branyan, Franklin Gutierrez, Endy Chavez, Garrett Olson, Tyler Walker, Ronny Cedeno, Ken Griffey Jr. 
Subtractions - J.J Putz, Sean Green, Jose Vidro, Willie Bloomquist, Raul Ibanez, R.A Dickey, Aaron Heilman
Result - D- I really don't think the Mariners get it. They are in the worst position of all the teams in baseball. They are spending more than $100 million....and they are not winning any games. It's barn-burning time. EVERYONE NEEDS TO GO. And they have the balls to slap their fans in the face with a Russell Branyan signing? Endy Chavez should not be on this team either, of the entire Mets-Indians-M's deal, Seattle should have said "Look, we are willing to give up Putz and Green and Luis Valbuena and the absolute ONLY Major League player we want in return is Franklin Gutierrez (he is going to fit that team's short-term needs like a glove)....as for everyone else: PROSPECTS, PROSPECTS, PROSPECTS. High-ceiling Low-A to Double-A players and absolutely nothing more. Kudos, to getting rid of Putz, Green, Vidro (extra kudos for getting rid of this corpse), Bloomquist, Ibanez and Dickey. But still: they should have gotten rid of so much more. Don't be gentle about it, Seattle, just blow the whole damn thing up. It is rebuilding time, and it is much harder to build a new building when the old one is standing in the way. Well, then there's Junior. Who could have a problem with that?

Texas Rangers

Additions -Jason Jennings, Eddie Guardado, Omar Vizquel
Subtractions - Gerald Laird, Milton Bradley
Result - C For all intents and purposes, the Rangers are set regarding half of their team. Their hitting and their bullpen are both fine. That leaves fielding and starting pitching as the problem areas. The Rangers seem to understand their fielding problems and have made numerous moves internally to solve the problem. Blalock is now a full-time DH, Michael Young is moving to 3B to make room for either the best fielding shortstop of all time (OOOOOMAAAAR!) or mega-prospect, Elvis Andrus. Texas has also expressed an interest in moving Josh Hamilton to RF and I expect that they will find someone competent to play CF. Hell, even their manager is a former infield coach. That leaves the off-season to solve the starting pitching problem. Did they? Absolutely not. Jason Jennings is just a flat-out waste of money. I am so glad that they got two competent prospects in exchange for Gerald Laird but they could have gotten another prospect or even a Major-League ready pitcher for Jarrod Saltalamacchia or Max Ramirez. The Rangers may have the starting pitcher to compete in 2010, but it isn't going to be there yet again for 2009.

That's a wrap on the MLB Off-season as far as I am concerned. 

Special thanks go out to regular reader Lianna this week for crafting a new header for this blog. I hope everyone enjoys it!

A-Rod Screws Up and I Grade the NL Off-season

Yesterday, was a HUGE day for me. Everyone has their own definition of when the baseball season starts. Some say it isn't until the first pitch of Opening Day, some people say it is when Pitchers and Catchers report to Spring Training, and some people say that the baseball season starts when there isn't any snow left on the ground. But for me, the baseball season officially starts when I hold the first official Baseball Season Preview in my hands.

I now hold The Sporting News 2009 Baseball Preview in my hands and it is beautiful. Spring is officially here and I am endlessly happy. Over the next couple of months I will spend about $50 indulging my baseball addiction. I still have to buy the Beckett Baseball Preview (awesome despite its dozens of spelling and grammatical errors), the ESPN Magazine baseball Preview, the 2009 Baseball Prospectus, the Regional Baseball Preview and the Sports Illustrated Baseball Preview. I can't wait! Now onto the other thing I know you want to hear about.

I hate talking about steroids so I will be brief.

Alex Rodriguez took anabolic steroids. I am admittedly fairly surprised but I am not upset. Many people have said throughout the week that they wouldn't be surprised if anyone's name came up. But I was. 

I have a hard time being outraged when it is clear that steroids are a prevalent part of global sports everywhere you look. I suppose I should be upset that the Home-run record will be "tainted" for the foreseeable future but I am not. Records have been "tainted" for as long as records have existed. Everybody changes and everybody cheats: athletes, accountants, journalists, managers, construction workers, priests, everybody.

There hasn't been an untainted record in baseball since the game was invented. Ruth played in an era in which only white men could play. Maris played in an era in which seasons were longer. Aaron played in an era where the nature of hitting was inherently changing. And now Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez are playing in an era where performance enhancing drugs are prevalent, accepted by the culture of baseball and easy to obtain.

In a way, Alex Rodriguez and Barry Bonds are the absolute poster children to represent this era of baseball in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Who better to represent the Steroid Era of baseball than steroid users themselves? Baseball cannot deny that it happened, especially since it did nothing to prevent it.

But Alex Rodriguez and Barry Bonds probably won't make the Hall of Fame and I just can't help but think that is a little backwards.

Now onto happier things.

Here is my final review of the entire NL off-season. Obviously, there are still a lot of players yet to be signed. But I am tired of letting the poor economy effect timing of this blog post. So here it is in all its glory. I listed only the additions and subtractions to and from the 25-man rosters and did not record any re-signings that teams made. The result may not be COMPLETE, but I like to think that it is fairly accurate.

Atlanta Braves

Additions - Derek Lowe, Kenshin Kawakami, David Ross, Javier Vazquez
Subtractions - John Smoltz, Mike Hampton
Result - D The Braves have had a turbulent off-season, so much so that I was surprised to see that they had only added 4 to their Major League players to their rosters. In the end, Atlanta added some talent to their Starting Rotation about B- to B talent-wise but the money that it took to get that talent was about Quadruple F-.

Florida Marlins

Additions - Leo Nunez, Emilio Bonafacio, Scott Proctor
Subtractions - Scott Olsen, Mike Jacobs, Josh Willingham, Joe Nelson
Result - B Marlins off-seasons must always be looked at through different lenses than every  other team. They are in a perpetual state of payroll reduction and they did a fairly decent job of pruning the areas they could while keeping the essentials and even adding to their bullpen at the end of the day. Marlins fans should be hoping that Emilio Bonafacio starts at 2B, pushing Uggla to 1B and Cantu to 3B.

New York Mets

Additions - Tim Redding, Freddy Garcia, Francisco Rodriguez, J.J Putz, Alex Cora, Sean Green, Jeremy Reed
Subtractions - Scott Schoeneweis, Joe Smith, Endy Chavez, Aaron Heilman, Pedro Martinez
Result - A-  Everybody and their mother knew the Mets needed to revamp their bullpen. They may have technically overpaid for Francisco Rodriguez but the market for closers has been inflated for a while now. It seems questionable to dump Schoeneweis, Smith and Heilman but I respect Omar Minaya's decision to go with a completely clean slate. Green, Putz and K-Rod are more than capable of holding down the late innings. Redding and Garcia were good bargains and the Mets get a high grade because Ollie Perez's deal doesn't factor into my rankings because he is technically a re-sign by the Mets. The Mets are lucky he was or their grade from me would have been significantly lower.

Philadelphia Phillies

Additions - Raul Ibanez, Chan Ho Park, Ronny Paulino
Subtractions - J.C Romero (Kind of), Pat Burrell
Result - C+ Can you believe how ridiculous $33 million for Raul Ibanez looks now. I'd take Burrell or Dunn instead any day of the week for less money. Not having Romero for 50 games is going to hurt more than they think. The defending World Champs spent most of the off-season locking down their core and there is nothing wrong with that, but defending World Champs or not, they had flaws and they did not fix them all this off-season.

Washington Nationals

Additions - Scott Olsen, Josh Willingham, Daniel Cabrera, Adam Dunn
Subtractions - Chad Cordero, Emilio Bonafacio, John Patterson, Tim Redding, Aaron Boone
Result - B I am surprised how little they had to give up for Olsen and Willingham. With Olsen and Daniel Cabrera, you have to be reasonably satisfied with the additions to the rotation, Lord knows they needed them. They obviously over-paid for Adam Dunn, but hey, they're the Nationals. Sometimes they have to overpay. Plus, Adam Dunn rocks! Losing everyone they lost (aside form Bonafacio) really won't hurt them.

Chicago Cubs

Additions - Aaron Miles, Milton Bradley, Aaron Heilman, Luiz Vizcaino, Kevin Gregg
Subtractions - Kerry Wood, Bob Howry, Jason Marquis, Mark DeRosa, Jim Edmonds
Result - D+ What were they doing? It's not that the Cubs off-season was TERRIBLE, it was just confusing. They moved parts that they didn't need to move (DeRosa) and completely revamped the most successful aspect of their team (bullpen). And everyone in the world but Jim Hendry knows that Milton Bradley was a bad signing. I just don't understand what they were trying to do this off-season. 

Cincinatti Reds 

Additions -Ramon Hernandez, Willy Taveras
Subtractions - Ryan Freel, Jeremy Affeldt
Result - C- Speaking of confusing...why give up Affeldt over $4 million a year? Why overpay for Taveras when you had a better version in Freel. Actually, why give up Freel in the first place? When the Orioles don't want Ramon Hernandez, you shouldn't either. The Reds get a slightly higher grade than the Cubs because they didn't dismantle a successful team for no reason. They merely tried to improve their team and just happened to do a poor job of it.

Houston Astros

Additions - Mike Hampton, Aaron Boone, Jason Michaels
Subtractions - Ty Wigginton, Reggie Abercrombie
Result- C- Ewwwww. Their is not one Astros fan who can be happy about "getting" Aaron Boone and Jason Michaels. Take it from an Indians' fan: "J-Mike" and "Booney" are not worth the roster spots in a weak economy. Hampton could actually end up being a shrewd signing though. Wigginton is alright, but if the Astros had to pay him, they made the right choice in letting him skip town.

Milwaukee Brewers

Additions - Jorge Julio, Trevor Hoffman, Braden Looper
Subtractions - CC Sabathia, Ben Sheets, Eric Gagne, Salomon Torres, Guillermo Mota
Result - F+ Oh God, what is Doug Melvin doing. You can't fault them for losing out on the CC sweepstakes. No one but the Yankees really had a shot in this economy and the Brew Crew knew they really only had about a 5% shot of re-signing him. Gagne and Mota won't be missed but Torres will be...not that the Brewers made that decision. Here is what I don't understand though: if you have $100 million to throw down for CC, why don't you have $15-30 million to resign lifetime Brewer Ben Sheets. Jorge Julio and Trevor Hoffman were AWFUL signings. The Brewers might not actually be terrible in '09 (I think their rotation can certainly sneak up on people) but their off-season was terrible, regardless of a last minute Braden Looper signing or not.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Additions - Eric Hinske
Subtractions - Ronny Paulino
Result - C They signed Eric Hinske and traded Ronny Paulino. It is even worth the time to write about this off-season? The better question is: will anyone in Pittsburgh actually pay to see this team in 2009?

St. Louis Cardinals 

Additions -Khalil Greene, Royce Ring
Subtractions - Aaron Miles, Cesar Izturis, Tyler Johnson, Braden Looper, Russ Springer, Adam Kennedy
Result - D+ I am a big supporter of trimming the fat off the roster, but I think the Cards dropped some good players while doing so...and some how also manage to add some (figurative, of course) fat to the roster. Why axe your entire middle-infield if it means you have to trade for Khalil Greene? Aaron Miles and Cesar Izturis weren't hurting anybody. Brian Fuentes would have been an excellent fit...Royce Ring isn't. Among Tyler Johnson, Braden Looper and Russ Springer, you have to keep one of those guys.  

Arizona Diamondbacks

Additions - Tom Gordon, Jon Garland, Scott Schoeneweis, Felipe Lopez
Subtractions - Orlando Hudson, Randy Johnson, Adam Dunn
Result - C- It is tought to criticize the D-Backs too hard because it is clear they are undergoing financial issues...but I am going to do so anyway. Jon Garland was a good pick-up and losing Randy Johnson isn't going to hurt but my God, how can you lose Adam Dunn and Orlando Hudson when the only other lefty in the line-up is Stephen Drew? Dunn signed for $20 million and if O-Dawg signs for $10 million or less, Arizona should be kicking themselves. Not spending money when you don't have it isn't a crime, but the Diamondbacks can't expect to seriously compete in 2009 if their only hope is that the young talent develops.

Colorado Rockies 

Additions - Carlos Gonzalez, Alan Embree, Greg Smith, Matt Murton, Huston Street, Jason Marquis
Subtractions - Matt Holliday, Luiz Vizcaino
Result - A- I am still shocked that Colorado got what they did for Holliday when everyone already knew that the Rockies had to get rid of him regardless. Billy Beane was in a generous mood. The object for a small-market team is always to get younger and cheaper. I think the Rox did that and did it in a way so that they can still compete in 2009. I am still not sure why they thought they had to have Jason Marquis though.

Los Angeles Dodgers 

Additions - Guillermo Mota, Mark Loretta, Randy Wolf
Subtractions- Manny Ramirez, Takashi Saito, Brad Penny, Derek Lowe, Andruw Jones
Result - C- Most of the Dodgers big moves were re-signees so they don't factor into their grade. The Dodgers didn't shock the world with any other their signings, but they didn't hurt their team either. I think the only one they are going to regret is Mark Loretta (Seriously, why sign Casey Blake-lite when you already have Casey Blake?). You can't fault them for saying goodbye to Saito, Lowe and Jones but I am flabbergasted that they didn't give Brad Penny another go if all it took was a 1 year, incentive-laden deal. If the Dodgers get Manny for anything less than the 1 year, $25 million they offered than their grade will dramatically go up.

San Diego Padres

Additions - David Eckstein, Cliff Floyd
Subtractions - Josh Bard, Khalil Greene, Trevor Hoffman, Michael Barrett, Randy Wolf
Result - D "SELL, SELL, SELL, SELL, SELL, SELL" These words should be posted all over Petco Park and the Padres executive facilities. This team is terrible and it isn't getting better any time soon. Got rid of Bard? Good. Got rid of Greene? Good. Got rid of Hoffman? Good. Got rid of Barrett? Good. Got rid of Wolf? Good. Signed David Eckstein and Cliff Floyd? OH MY GOD, WHAT IS KEVIN TOWERS FREAKING DOING?

San Francisco Giants

Additions - Edgar Rentaria, Randy Johnson, Bob Howry, Jeremy Affeldt
Subtractions - Rich Aurilia
Result - B+ This was an absolute gem of an off-season...until Edgar Rentaria came in and ruined everything. I wouldn't sign Edgar Rentaria for half a year at the veteran minimum, and Brian Sabean thought he was worth two full years and $18 million. Booooo!

Well, that is the NL. Congratulations to Adam Dunn on getting $20 million when I thought he was destined for one year, $8 0r 9 million.

The Action Slows to a Crawl and Manny gets Greedy

This is the week I phone one in.

Next week is all the exciting recap of the off-season action and just a couple weeks after that we have the World Baseball Classic Preview and following a few weeks after that you will witness the greatest Major League Baseball Preview these internets have ever seen. I have a pretty extensive vision for a 3-part Preview in mind, but if anybody has any suggestions now, just start pouring them in. I will be much-obliged to take in any more information. These an event years in the making.

But enough about the future, what do we have this week?

Answer: not a hell of a lot of anything. I would like to get the one big move out of the way.

New York (NL) signs SP Oliver Perez to 3 year, $36 million deal

Wow, just wow....leave it to the Mets to drop my jaw. Oliver Perez hadn't signed for three months. He seemed to be yet another victim of the failing economy. I figured Boras and Ollie would hedge their bets, sign a 1 year, $10 million deal and pray for a stronger economy in 2010. But the Mets were in a charitable mood this week, apparently. 3 years and $36 million cannot be described as anything but charity. The Mets didn't just overpay, they over-committed. 3 years for Oliver Perez? I know he isn't that old, but you can't say he isn't a huge-calculated risk. This is the same guy who looked like a world-beater for a year in Pittsburgh, then looked like a #5 AAA starter the next, then looked excellent for the Mets, then turned in the first pitching performance in NLCS history, then fall back down to Earth and pitched like a mediocre #3 pitcher last year. So if his career has fluctuated for the last 5 years of his career, why would the Mets feel like he will be consistent enough from now on to warrant a 3 year deal? What an insanely generous deal. One more thing about the M'azings. In the ESPN article announcing the Mets' casual decision to make the worst deal of the year, the article also referenced that the Mets had signed Freddy Garcia somewhere in the distant past of this off-season. Where was that press release? I think the odds that Garcia is a better pitcher than Perez are 2 to 1.

Then there's Jason Varitek. Oh Tek. What does it say about the Red Sox when their "Captain", presumably the intellectual and emotionally level-headed one, turns down $10 million in arbitration in a weak economy and then cashes in for HALF OF THAT, with his tail between his legs. And for the record, Jason Varitek is not worth more than 1 year, $1 million this year. That extra $4 million is as much a gift from the Red Sox as Oliver Perez's gift of a deal. Boston probably just wanted to put a band-aid on Tek's bruised pride. 

Of course, there is another Boras client who is making poor decisions this week. I think 1 year, $25 million is the absolutely perfect deal for Manny Ramirez. He could earn the second biggest salary in the league this year, win the NL MVP, then cash in next year for a 3-year, $80 million deal. Apparently, Boras and Manny thought differently. I just pray that the Dodgers do not reward him for greed. There is NO ONE, literally no one out there who will sign Manny for more. The Giants are the only other team in the sport who are interested and they would only him if they can get him less than the Dodgers are willing to pay. The Dodgers can't give in and give him more money. They would just be negotiating against themselves...and unlike the Yankees, they can't afford to do that.

This just in, Barry Bonds did steroids!

And I still don't care. Barry Bonds is a jerk, a cheater and a potential prisoner in the future. But he is also a first ballot Hall-of-Famer. Even if you can prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt that he did steroids (and you probably can at this point), you still have to realize that a sizable chunk of his competition was as well. The Hall of Fame exists to document greatness throughout baseball history, not to selectively pick the nice gentlemen from each era. Barry Bonds is an ass but he is still one of the most prolific players to ever pick up a bat and he is the very icon of the Steroid Era. And Major League Baseball can close their eyes and pretend that the Steroid Era never happened all they want, but it did happen and you can't ignore it. Barry Bonds was the best player of his era, and he belongs in the Hall. There don't need to be any asterisks. History will know of the unfair things he and many others did, and history will judge them accordingly. But he still belongs in the Hall, even if he is sitting in his cell when his name appears on the ballot.

That is pretty much all that happened this week. There is just one tiny personal thing left. 

I finally read Moneyball, and it is the best sports-book I have ever read in my life. It is pretty much all I have been able to think about for the past four days since I finished it. Just a masterpiece, absolute masterpiece. Billy Beane immediately jumps to the front of the list of my baseball heroes, and my faith in Mark Shapiro is forever rewarded for turning Bartolo Colon into Grady Sizemore and Cliff Lee and not Cory Lidle and Carlos Pena, like Billy Beane tried to get him to do.

To those of you who have read Moneyball.....doesn't it rock?

To those of you who haven't read Moneyball....read it and thank me next week. 

Joe Torre Strikes Back at the Empire and the Cubs Change Their Mind

I have decided to include the word "and" in every one of my Post titles now. I don't know why but it makes me chuckle and lest you forget, this entire blog revolves around what makes me chuckle.

If you need an example, here you go: Joe Torre says Yankees players call Alex Rodriguez "A-Fraud." How is it that baseball fans, people who are among the most intelligent, creative and crass human beings on the planet could not realize that "Rod" rhymes with "Fraud" while Pin-stripe-wearing morons like Jason Giambi, Johnny Damon and Jorge Posada (for the record, I don't know if those three are morons. They are just the first three that came to my mind) hatched one of the best sports-related nicknames of all time?

For shame, Major League Baseball fans, for shame.

In all seriousness, I try to not bite on big "national media" gossipy type stories that involve big market teams but this one is just too fun to ignore. The truth is always hard to come by in professional sports. We all suspected that the Yankees's locker-room in the Torre era was probably a freak show but now, thanks to Joe Torre himself, we know it for a fact. The big thing that I take away from this story is not anything about the Steinbrenner's and Brian Cashman's villainy and it is not anything about Joe Torre upending clubhouse folkways. What I take away from this story is that Alex Rodriguez really is as strange as we think he is.

If A-Rod weren't making $30 million a year, the scenario would even seem kind of sad. Here he is, perhaps one of the most talented and wealthy athletes of his day, yet he wants nothing more than to be the Hometown Hero that Derek Jeter is. Torre's comments seem to indicate that Alex followed Jeter around like a sad puppy, trying to be everything he was. A-Rod has all the money, all the success, all the talent and all the Madonnas in the world, but he doesn't have the respect that Derek Jeter has. Poor guy...he is probably out there right now riding down a chocolate waterfall in his $239,000,000 mansion bawling his eyes out.

Elsewhere in Major League Baseball-land, there was a development that may interest only me. The Kansas City Royals signed their 25-year-old gem of a right-hander, Zack Greinke, to a 4 year, $38 million deal. I am not really surprised about the length or value of this deal. 4 years seems fair for a 25 year old pitcher who has never had significant physical issues and his mental issues even seem to finally be behind him as well. As far as cash goes, you can't tell me that you wouldn't pay a guy who had a 3.47 ERA in 2008 and still has his best years ahead of him less than $10 million a year in a world where Andy Pettite is getting $10 million. So the deal doesn't surprise me. What surprises me is the team who made the deal.

The Royals? The Kanas City Royals? This is the same team last year who were in a constant debate of whether they should trade Greinke for more parts to start over. But they didn't, and now they have a potential Ace in the fold for the next four years, Gil Meche for two more years, Brian Bannister and a combo of youngsters and veterans with something to prove to fill the #4 and #5 spots. The Royals finally seem to be sick of losing. They are adding instead of subtracting and if everything falls into place (a big IF) the Royals just might crawl out of the AL Central cellar in 2009 and finish higher than 4th or 5th for the first time since 2003. And if the Royals can finally reclaim an air of respectability, the AL Central may eclipse the NL West as the most competitive Division in baseball. Read Tim Kurkjian's latest article over at ESPN if you don't believe me.

Detroit signs RP Brandon Lyon to 1 year, $4.25 million deal

This is a deal for Tigers fans to feel rather lukewarm about. Brandon Lyon is not a bad pitcher, but I wouldn't pay $4.25 million for his services. I think there is just as good a chance that someone from AAA Toledo or from the dregs from their bullpen could have turned in similar production to Lyon, but for about $3 million less. Ultimately, the bullpen is marginally better with Brandon Lyon than without him but making only one move for that beleaguered bullpen is nowhere near enough to make Jim Leyland confident beyond the 6th inning. The Tigers defense and starting pitching is going to be slightly improved, but their bullpen might still end up being their undoing two years in a row.

New York (AL) signs SP Andy Pettite to 1 year, $10 milion deal

If Indians G.M Mark Shapiro made this deal, I would slap him across his pretty face. But this is Yankee-land and in Yankee-land, things run a bit differently. In Yankee-land, $10 million for a 36-year old coming off an uneven season may seem like a bargain, but to every one else, that just seems a little crazy. Oh well, the Yanks could have done a lot worse. Take it from someone whose team was nearly mowed down by Pettite in the 2007 ALDS: Pettite can still chuck it on occasion. This deal is far more reasonable than A.J Burnett's, considering that Pettite has no significant injury history, is comfortable playing for the Yankees and is only on a one year commitment. $10 million may seem like a lot to pay for a #4 or #5 pitcher, but Andy Pettite is at the very least a good #4 or #5 and the Yankees are clearly comfortable spending that money. More power to ya, New York.

Chicago trades SP Garrett Olson and IF Ronny Cedeno to Seattle for RP Aaron Heilman

I am really not sure what the Cubs are trying to do this off-season. What is their plan? How are they trying to get better? It seems like they have made a lot of moves, but I don't know if a single one made them better. The Cubs had one of the best bullpens in all of Major League Baseball last year....so obviously, the immediately dismantled it in the off-season. Kerry Wood? Off to Cleveland? Scott Eyre? Off to Philadelphia (in the interest of full disclosure, that actually happened last season). Bob Howry? Off to San Francisco. In order to remake the bullpen, they traded 22-year-old prospect Jose Ceda to Florida for Kevin Gregg. They traded their #5 starter Jason Marquis for journeyman Relief Pitcher Luis Vizcaino. And they traded Mark DeRosa for RP Jeff Stevens and two other prospects. Their bullpen looks about as good this year as it does last year with Carlos Marmol closing along with Stevens, Gregg, Vizcaino and Jeff Samardzija setting him up. Now they have traded a young and useful (albeit with limited potential) middle infielder and the potential #5 starting pitcher, that they had to trade Felix Pie to get, to receive yet ANOTHER  bullpen piece. The Cubs seem to be obsessed with fortifying a bullpen that needed absolutely no fortifying whatsoever. Yes, Lou Pineilla will have plenty of options for the later innings, but look what it cost them. Kerry Wood, Bob Howry, Jose Ceda, Felix Pie, Garrett Olson, Ronny Cedeno, Scott Eyre, Mark DeRosa, Jason Marquis: it should not cost 9 players to craft an above average bullpen. You throw the Milton Bradley signing in there and you might have the worst off-season in baseball this year. As far as the Mariners are concerned: jackpot. The Mariners are going nowhere this year. Just get younger, get cheaper and cut away all the fat you possibly can. Garrett Olson and Ronny Cedeno will not bring the M's any closer to a Division win but at least they will be losing with young, cheap position players with slight upside and not with relatively expensive 30-year-old bullpen pitchers.

Arizona signs SP Jon Garland to $8.5 million deal

Jon Garland is a Javier Vazquez, Livan Hernandez-type inning eater pitcher. He is consistently healthy and you can practically pencil him in for 200 innings right now. The problem is what he does in those 200 innings is consistently mediocre. His K/BB ratio is not very impressive. He pretty much gives up a hit an inning year after year and his career ERA is an uninspiring 4.47, which is already diminished by an outlier-like season of 3.50. You have to appreciate his consistency but for $8.5 million you would probably want a little more pop. Strangely enough, Jon Garland would have been the type of pitcher you would want to sign to a longer 2 or 3 year deal if it meant driving down the price. I think something like a 2 year, $12 million deal would have made far more sense for a guy who doesn't have much upside, but who also has a consistent track record and who isn't 30 years old yet. I can confidently say that I would prefer Brad Penny for 1 year and $5 million than Jon Garland for 1 year, $8 million.

Now that this Blog is done, I would like to let you in on the preliminary schedule for the rest of our Saturdays up to Opening Day. Here are some big Post ideas that I have tentatively scheduled for certain dates. If a date has nothing listed, than it will be a by-the-seat-of-my-pants blog entry like the one you are currently reading.

2/14/09 - NL Offseason Review

2/21/09 - AL Offseason Review

2/28/09 - World Baseball Classic Preview

3/21/09 NL Season Preview

3/38/09 AL Season Preview

4/4/09 MLB Season Preview

Well, those are the big ones. Come back next week for another obligatory and unsatisfactory entry!