Most years it feels as if not much happens the first week after the World Series. But not this year.
First off, the Phillies declined their option on Pedro Feliz. Feliz is not a spectacular irreplaceable player. But in the "don't fix what ain't broke" category, I think this was a mistake. He was a bargain at $5.5 milllion, providing excellent defense and average offense for a team whose problems weren't offensive related. Philadelphia isn't in the position to splurge in free agency either, needing to lock up Cliff Lee. Third base options include Chone Figgins (probably too expensive), Adrian Beltre (hard to gauge his free agency value), Melvin Mora (not as good as Feliz), and Mark DeRosa (probably too costly as well).
Minnesota acquired J.J. Hardy for Carlos Gomez in what might be a win-win trade. Gomez has shown improvement, albeit gradually, and might be able to put all his tools together and become more than just the raw talent he's shown in the MLB thusfar. Plus he's cheap, and Hardy was expendable with Alcides Escober waiting in the wings. And Gomez was expendable in the Twins outfield, which is full with Delmon Young, Denard Span, Michael Cuddyer, and Jason Kubel among others.
The Pirates acquired Akinori Iwamura for an average relief pitcher (Jesse Chavez). Rays shed money, which is a plus for them, and Iwamura immediately becomes the highest paid player on the Pirates with a salary just under $5 million.
And in what seems to be becoming a yearly tradition for the Red Sox, they acquired a former top outfield prospect (Jeremy Hermida) from a Florida franchise that can't afford him, don't have a spot for him, and are trying to get back what little value the player still has. If B.J. Upton has another poor showing this year, could he be next?
Monday, November 9, 2009
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Thoughts on What We Learned This Year
Now that the Yankees have won the World Series, let's take a look back at what we've learned looking back at the entire year.
1.) Money is a huge advantage in the game right now. In a year where dozens of teams expressed concern over the economy, the Yankees spent, spent, spent. They acquired the best starting pitcher, the best hitter, and the 2nd best starting pitcher in last year's free agent market (although A.J. Burnett isn't exactly a stellar pitcher. He's good, but he was closer to the rest of the pack of free agent hurlers then he was to CC Sabathia).
2.) Logic and reason have very little place in predicting how the baseball season plays out. Logic said the Rockies were the best team entering the NL playoffs. Huston Street turns into Luis Ayala, and all of a sudden the Rockies lose to the Phillies. Logic said the Cubs were virtually the same team as last year, and then everyone except Derrek Lee essentially forgot how to hit. The Mets fix the one reason they fell short the year before, by adding not one, but two closers, and then end up with almost the entire payroll on the disabled list. The Tampa Bay Rays change almost nothing from the year before, where they were clearly the most talented team in the league, but their pitching is surprisingly inconsistent all year and they fail to get back to the playoffs.
3.) Jeffrey Loria's an idiot. Joe Girardi is a terriffic manager, and Loria should be kicking himself for firing him. All of his teams overachieve. This Yankees team did not have the best starting pitchers, it didn't have the best bullpen (Rivera's only one guy), and their offensive dominance was clearly a result of the field they played on. He got the Yankees to play loose (Nick Swisher might be team MVP there, and A.J. Burnett also helped in that department). Hell he even got A-Rod playing like Alex Rodriguez in the postseason.
4.) Cliff Lee might be the best pitcher in baseball. Or at least top 5.
5.) Mark Teixeira is an incredible player. Bobby Cox didn't like him. Mike Scioscia didn't like him. Thought he was more a stat machine than an impact player. Good thing the Steinbrenners didn't listen.
6.) The Phillies aren't built to beat AL teams. They wouldn't win any of AL divisions. They don't play NL ball, evident from everything from their inability to steal beyond two guys, their lack of depth, their poor bullpen, their starting pitchers not having great raw stuff (Cliff Lee being the exception, and Hamels is ordinary with out the curve), and their necessity to play on raw emotion. They play AL ball in a league which they can easily beat up on weaker clubs. But in the end, they don't match up well with the great NL teams. The should have lost to the Rockies, and they would have lost to the Cardinals, they luckily got to face a Dodgers team that wasn't that good, and when they ran out of luck against the Yankees, well we all saw what happened.
7.) The Pirates have no idea how to win. They just don't know what they're doing. They've successfully gathered many of the best prospects from 2006, ones that haven't exactly made a big splash in the bigs thus far.
8.) Mets fans are destined to suffer.
9.) Say what you want about Jeter's fielding, but he doesn't let that carry over to his hitting.
1.) Money is a huge advantage in the game right now. In a year where dozens of teams expressed concern over the economy, the Yankees spent, spent, spent. They acquired the best starting pitcher, the best hitter, and the 2nd best starting pitcher in last year's free agent market (although A.J. Burnett isn't exactly a stellar pitcher. He's good, but he was closer to the rest of the pack of free agent hurlers then he was to CC Sabathia).
2.) Logic and reason have very little place in predicting how the baseball season plays out. Logic said the Rockies were the best team entering the NL playoffs. Huston Street turns into Luis Ayala, and all of a sudden the Rockies lose to the Phillies. Logic said the Cubs were virtually the same team as last year, and then everyone except Derrek Lee essentially forgot how to hit. The Mets fix the one reason they fell short the year before, by adding not one, but two closers, and then end up with almost the entire payroll on the disabled list. The Tampa Bay Rays change almost nothing from the year before, where they were clearly the most talented team in the league, but their pitching is surprisingly inconsistent all year and they fail to get back to the playoffs.
3.) Jeffrey Loria's an idiot. Joe Girardi is a terriffic manager, and Loria should be kicking himself for firing him. All of his teams overachieve. This Yankees team did not have the best starting pitchers, it didn't have the best bullpen (Rivera's only one guy), and their offensive dominance was clearly a result of the field they played on. He got the Yankees to play loose (Nick Swisher might be team MVP there, and A.J. Burnett also helped in that department). Hell he even got A-Rod playing like Alex Rodriguez in the postseason.
4.) Cliff Lee might be the best pitcher in baseball. Or at least top 5.
5.) Mark Teixeira is an incredible player. Bobby Cox didn't like him. Mike Scioscia didn't like him. Thought he was more a stat machine than an impact player. Good thing the Steinbrenners didn't listen.
6.) The Phillies aren't built to beat AL teams. They wouldn't win any of AL divisions. They don't play NL ball, evident from everything from their inability to steal beyond two guys, their lack of depth, their poor bullpen, their starting pitchers not having great raw stuff (Cliff Lee being the exception, and Hamels is ordinary with out the curve), and their necessity to play on raw emotion. They play AL ball in a league which they can easily beat up on weaker clubs. But in the end, they don't match up well with the great NL teams. The should have lost to the Rockies, and they would have lost to the Cardinals, they luckily got to face a Dodgers team that wasn't that good, and when they ran out of luck against the Yankees, well we all saw what happened.
7.) The Pirates have no idea how to win. They just don't know what they're doing. They've successfully gathered many of the best prospects from 2006, ones that haven't exactly made a big splash in the bigs thus far.
8.) Mets fans are destined to suffer.
9.) Say what you want about Jeter's fielding, but he doesn't let that carry over to his hitting.
Thoughts on Iwamura Deal
Earlier today, a trade of Tampa Bay's Akinori Iwamura to the Pirates for Jesse Chavez was announced. This is a great move for both teams for a variety of reasons.
Iwamura is affordable and good - two things that the Pirates love. Iwamura is set to earn just under $5 million this year, and is good value at that price. He's one of the better fielding Second Basemen in the game, is able to hit second (where the Pirates plan to bat him) and moves Delwyn Young back to the bench. Plus, his money immediately comes off the books after this year, and god forbid the Pirates spend too much.
On the Rays' side, Chavez might not be an immediate help at the big league level, but Ben Zobrist's breakout season had made Iwamura quite expendable, and Chavez had a decent rookie season for the Pirates. No, he probably won't be a key cog in the bullpen, but the cash strapped Rays just freed up $5 million, which should help them not have to trade Upton and/or Crawford this offseason, and Chavez is affordable and controllable for awhile.
There aren't many win-win deals. But here's proof they do exist.
Iwamura is affordable and good - two things that the Pirates love. Iwamura is set to earn just under $5 million this year, and is good value at that price. He's one of the better fielding Second Basemen in the game, is able to hit second (where the Pirates plan to bat him) and moves Delwyn Young back to the bench. Plus, his money immediately comes off the books after this year, and god forbid the Pirates spend too much.
On the Rays' side, Chavez might not be an immediate help at the big league level, but Ben Zobrist's breakout season had made Iwamura quite expendable, and Chavez had a decent rookie season for the Pirates. No, he probably won't be a key cog in the bullpen, but the cash strapped Rays just freed up $5 million, which should help them not have to trade Upton and/or Crawford this offseason, and Chavez is affordable and controllable for awhile.
There aren't many win-win deals. But here's proof they do exist.
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