How Stupid Can You Be?

This post comes to you via Steelers/Ravens rage and MLB idiocy. Let's start with my beloved Red Sox...YOU DON'T TRADE THE FUTURE AWAY W/O A GUARANTEED EXTENSION, NO MATTER WHO YOU'RE SIGNING. Casey Kelly( who will be blanking a scoreboard near you), Anthony Rizzo, Raymond Fuentes, and PTBN have been shipped off to SD to get 1B All-Star Adrian Gonzalez. While San Diego and former Sox staffer turned GM Jed Hoyer pumps their fists for what they got, Red Sox fans should be angry that the team didn't get a guaranteed player to stick around while ushering out the Adrian Beltre era. Will Adrian Gonzalez put up inhuman numbers in Boston? Hell yes, he will. David Ortiz may even see more favorable pitches to him. The Sox address the issue of losing Victor Martinez's power in this deal, but have failed to lock it up much like Jason Bay and V-Mart. Another issue the Sox brass will deal with is the fact that Gonzo has a "surgically repaired" shoulder which in its recent tenure doesn't deal well with such( see Curt Schilling and Jason Bay). Gonzalez seeks a Mark Texiera/Ryan Howard type deal, which if the Sox are continuing to compete at such a high level won't have enough money to stay that competitive by committing such. Should also mean no Carl Crawford which we need another OF because Mike Cameron is so unreliable and the scrubs only provide so much production. In all reality, is the power and money worth it? I think not in the instance the deal was done. Had an extension been met, I'd have been a little less critical, but I'm not buying into the hype to see another great player leave and the Sox wander onto the next hype/high priced investment. The plan of course is to sign him towards the beginning of the season so they won't get hit with the luxury tax.

Did anybody think the Nats had the money to offer and sign Jayson Werth? I sure didn't. I don't think Werth should get $126M either as his production went down considerably this season. The Nats taking the Sox initiative of needing power in the line-up because Josh Willingham and Adam Dunn were just "too expensive". So let me get this straight-- you let two guys go for price cuts to buy some players in the off-season, but spend it all on one guy and still need more players. Seven years? He will be 38 and won't have that kind of power by 34 guaranteed. Way to be Scott Boras, another inflated contract that a player won't live up to.

None of this probably made sense because I'm so flustered and when I get that way I tend to jabber on without much fact-based truths, but here's to a better tomorrow when I don't have to think if I will ever buy a new Gonzalez Red Sox jersey or a Jayson Werth shirt.

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The Things I'll Never Understand

I've had numerous friends come up and bust me about the contract saga with Derek Jeter and the Yankees. I shoot them down by one by one assuring them Jeter will be back in a Yankees uniform, and not a Boston one. After all this is the face of the Yankees. He's what makes us Sox fans jealous. The thought of him leaving the Yanks is just simply un-American! The Yanks have offered Jeter a three year/$46M contract which will roughly pay out to $12M/yr. Not bad for a SS who can still play the game at an above average level when age 36 is considered the decline period. Jeter is looking for six years/$90M. GM Brian Cashman gave Jeter's agent a basic "Go pound sand." Is Jeter worth $90M? I don't think with his diminished power stroke and coming off a down season in production, but should get more money for three years? Yes. Why you ask? He's still an elite SS, which is hard to find this off-season. Do the Yanks have a comparable SS in the wings? Not in my eyes and most certainly not in any Yankees fans eyes. So pony up and offer more money, it's not going to break the bank. Derek bleeds pinstripes and will take a discount if the price is right. He's committed to winning and that's what the Yankees are supposed to be committed to doing. Jeter's batting average and OBP dropped significantly this season, but he's kept pace with the last two seasons in just about every other category. This is your leader, your Mr. Postseason, legend and HOFer. Trying to settle and deal for Jose Reyes doesn't make the team any better. Pony up Steinbrenners, or you'll regret it.

In terms of other large contracts, Adrian Beltre makes me throw up. He's a contract year type of player, nothing else. The year in Boston is no different. Why did he do so well? Contract year and the advantage hitters have in Fenway Park. Don't believe me? Look at his numbers, they consistently go down and then up as a new contract approaches and then right back down once a new contract is signed. The best part is the A's are willing to pay his price and I can guarantee his numbers won't be nearly as good. Someone should give him Jason Bay's number and ask him how things are going in NY. When Boston signed Beltre last season, I can say I was hardly enthused, but got excited when I saw the player give effort. Needless to say, I knew this would be his only season in Fenway because he'd go chasing the money as he nears 35. Good luck Adrian, you'll need it.

By now, everyone has seen that Victor Martinez has signed a hefty new deal with the Tigers. Crazy money for a guy who is a dynamite on offense, but middle of the road on defense. As a Sox fan, I was disappointed to see him go offensively, but knew we had to get better defensively. Problem is the catching market is very thin now. Martinez will make the Tigers a much better team in the long run, but I feel the Tigers overpaid by about $10M.

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More off-season cuts

Despite the short amount of time since the end of the World Series, the baseball world is still turning as team's are cutting down their rosters to make a run for the hot stove in December. Here's a few players who survived the first day of cuts, but weren'l so lucky:
Bill Hall, UT; Felipe Lopez, 2B - Red Sox
Kevin Gregg, RP; Miguel Olivo, C - Blue Jays (after he was traded from the Rockies)
Edgar Renteria, SS - Giants - considering retirement.
Scott Podsednik, OF - Dodgers
Jesus Feliciano, OF; Omir Santos, C - Mets
Casey Kotchman, 1B - Mariners
Jeff Francis, P - Rockies

The Red Sox have picked up David Ortiz's option, but Ortiz is less than excited about fearing job security. Also, sub-par reliever Scott Atchinson was retained. The Marlins have offered 2B Dan Uggla a four year contract with the financials undisclosed, but would receive $8M for 2011. Uggla is seeking five years.

Rumors: Juan Uribe and Aubrey Huff may be offered contracts soon from the champion Giants. The Giants aren't sure if they will keep Pat Burrell or Mark DeRosa.
The Yankees and Derek Jeter have begun discussing a new contract.
RP Hasanori Takahashi is looking for a three yr. deal
A few teams are already calling about Brandon Webb.
Lance Berkman "won't be an Astro again" according to GM Ed Wade.

Bring On The Offseason!

The season is over and congrats to the Giants on a well-deserved championship. Now we made it to the exciting part of the season( especially if your team has been sitting for awhile). Before the hot stove heats up, teams are making decisions on whose coming back already. Here's a list of players who aren't returning to their teams currently:
Adam Kennedy, 2B - Nats
Chris Young, P; Jon Garland, P; Yorvit Torrealba, C - Padres
Octavio Dotel, RP; Jeff Francis, P - Rockies
Willy Ayber, UT; Dan Wheeler, RP - Rays
Vladimir Guerrero - Rangers
Adrian Beltre, 3B - Red Sox
Orlando Cabrera, SS; Aaron Harang, P - Reds
Erik Bedard, P; Russell Branyan 1B, 2B Jose Lopez - Mariners
Eric Chavez, 3B; Boof Bonser, RP - A's
Rick Ankiel, OF; Kyle Farnsworth, RP - Braves
Jhonny Peralta, SS - Tigers
Adam LaRoche, 1B - D'Backs
Greg Zaun, C; Trevor Hoffman, RP; Doug Davis, P - Brewers
Mark Hendrickson, P - Orioles

Meanwhile, the Mets exercised Jose Reyes option, the Padres have exercised Adrian Gonzalez's option, The A's have exercised Coco Crisp and Mark Ellis's options, and finally the Reds pick up Bronson Arroyo and Jonny Gomes options. Aramis Ramirez exercised his player option with the Cubs.

End of 2010: Philadelphia Phillies

As I and many others watched the end of game six of the NLCS, the look on the Phillies fans faces said it all leading up to the final nonchalant Ryan Howard strike-out( who amazingly finished second in strike-outs for the team). This was not the same Philadelphia team that thundered into the playoffs pushing the Braves to the brink of play-off elimination touting a formidable pitching rotation. While the rotation did their their job, the offense sputtered through the young, but talented Reds and completely fizzled out against the Giants. Was the writing on the wall it was not to be? Yes, I seen it in game four. J-Roll and Victorino weren't effective as lead-offs in the least. Ross Gload did nothing at the plate and Ryan Howard failed to drive in an RBI. Ruiz gave us what we expected and Jayson Werth gave us one last memorable plate appearance before he rides off into the sunset. Utley had a down post-season, but it would be hard to replicate last year's performance. Ultimately, the Phils relied too much on a strong rotation.

The 2011 Phils will be much different as Domonic Brown will replace Jayson Werth and platoon with Ben Francisco(should he be offered a contract). There is also a possibility Jose Contreras will cost the Phils too much. Jamie Moyer, Mike Sweeney, J.C. Romero and Greg Dobbs will almost certainly be axed and Kyle Kendrick maybe non-tendered. In oder to remain competitive, Howard should take a pay-cut and free up some money to retain talent. Another scenario brought up a few ago, is if the Phils could trade Joe Blanton and Raul Ibanez and make a pass for Cliff Lee. Still won't solve their offensive woes, but will help buy someone to fix such.

This will conclude my 2010 season writings, but be on the look-out for the 2010-11 off-season posts.

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End of 2010: Boston Red Sox

It didn't take us Sox fans long to bang our heads. Mike Cameron provided plenty of that before the Sox had lost most of its guts by mid-summer. Then the drama with Jacoby Ellsbury took the rest of the summer along with the losses of Youk and Pedey. Josh Beckett was barely on the mound and when he was, wasn't very effective. John Lackey was the biggest bust the Sox have spent on in years(even despite the wasted signing of Carlos Delgado who never saw the light of the majors). Dice-K continued his streak of inconsistency( please trade him) from the 2008-2009-2010 season. I'm still unsure if I should hate Bill Hall, but it's looking like he won't be back next season from the rumblings I've heard. We saw the end of a fine career by "Iron" Mike Lowell and quite possibly the final time for Jason Varitek. I don't even wanna talk about Paps, let's just leave it at that.

The silver lining is in all..could you ask for better performances by Jon Lester(who should be the AL Cy Young winner) or Clay Buchholz? Everytime they took the mound, RSN smiled with joy and on the offensive side hoped to see Beltre or a revived Ortiz go long over the Monstah. Marco Scutaro wasn't bad either(which I had really doubted him along with Lackey). The cast of characters in the OF (Nava, McDonald, Kalish, Drew) gave us a break when we we're hurting and helped us win some games. Best of all though, we gave the Yankees and Rays a run for their money until the bitter end.

2011 will be much different. Catcher has yet to be decided with Victor Martinez seemingly inching closer to FA, Varitek may not be back and Saltamacchia was just re0signed to a minor league deal. The power will return to the Sox line-up with healthy Ellsbury's, Youk's, and Pedroia's. Missing from this maybe Adrian Beltre who hits the open market and will sign somewhere else. Who knows though? Werth or Crawford could be in the cards for us. The Sox will need to re-build the bullpen, which was a glaring weakness and decide if Jonathan Papelbon can be trusted to close em out. Here's to 2011!

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End of 2010: New York Mets

It's now a reality the Mets will once again be looking to a new season for redemption. While many fans gave up weeks ago, the reality is today is the final day of 2010 regular season and yet another Mets loss 2-1 to the Nats. The Mets really never got off the ground losing Johan Santana, trading away a re-surgent Jeff Francoeur, the K-Rod "incident", endless Oliver Perez incidents, What is Jerry Manuel thinking?, and the is Mike Pelfrey for real? Carlos Beltran came back after what seemed like a decade out of the line-up. However, the rumor is that he and two other members of the team are causing trouble in the clubhouse.

The Mets did have some bright spots though mainly on the pitching side. R.A. Dickey turned out to be one of the biggest bargains of the year and Jon Niese was another stand-out. The Mets can hope they re-sign Hasanori Takahashi, who pitched admirably this season. Jose Reyes provided some flash in hopes of receiving a new contract and David Wright was the offensive MVP.

The future is uncertain at this time. Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel(possibly) won't be back. Rumored by the great Peter Gammons, the Red Sox maybe interested in trading Daisuke Matsuzaka for Carlos Beltran. Jose Reyes's future is undetermined until a new GM is installed, despite desiring a long-term deal. Pedro Feliciano has a potential for a new home, as well as K-Rod. More on this as it unfolds and be on the look-out next for the Red Sox 2010 wrap-up.