So why are we still having Winter Meetings?

Well there. That's what I get for my last blog post about how uneventful the offseason has been so far. After a seemingly boring week last week, this week presented us with possibly the most exciting week of baseball without any games played that I can remember. Now with the Winter Meetings starting today, I'll review the major acquisitions of this past week and share my opinion on just a few of them, one of which will undoubtedly be the Mariners signing of Robinson Cano...

Week in Review (major moves):
Seattle Mariners - Signed Robinson Cano to 10 year/$240 million deal.
New York Yankees - Signed Jacoby Ellsbury to 7 year/$153 million deal and Carlos Beltran to 3 year/$45 million deal. Re-signed SP Hiroki Kuroda.
New York Mets - Signed Curtis Granderson to 4 year/$60 million deal.
Miami Marlins - Signed Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Rafael Furcal.
Detroit Tigers - Signed Joe Nathan.
Washington Nationals - Signed Nate McLouth, traded for Doug Fister.
Oakland Athletics - Signed Scott Kazmir, traded for Craig Gentry, Luke Gregerson, and Jim Johnson.
Boston Red Sox - Signed A.J. Pierzynski and Edward Mujica, re-signed Mike Napoli.
Colorado Rockies - Signed Justin Morneau.
Kansas City Royals - Traded for Norichika Aoki.
Tampa Bay Rays - Signed Ryan Hanigan and Heath Bell.
Houston Astros - Signed Scott Feldman and traded for Dexter Fowler.
(source - MLB Trade Rumors)

Wow. Of course the Mariners signing of Cano is the biggest news of the week but there is plenty to digest here. I'll start with a few of the week's biggest winners and losers:

Winners: Robinson Cano, Jay-Z, Oakland Athletics, Washington Nationals, Boston Red Sox

As far as the winners go, I applaud Robinson Cano and his new agent, Jay-Z, for accepting the deal with the Seattle Mariners. Jay-Z said he would get Cano ten years and delivered on that promise with his first MLB player's contract. While the idea of Cano playing for the Mariners takes a little while to get used to, the bottom line is that the Yankees were not offering anywhere near what Cano and Jay-Z were demanding, so I give them a lot of credit for making an unconventional decision and going elsewhere in favor of more money, even if it meant leaving New York.

The Athletics made some great minor moves, filling in a lot of their holes at a low price and gearing up for another AL West pennant chase. The Red Sox were happy to get Mike Napoli back after he helped to fuel a World Series championship run and were also able to add bullpen depth with Mujica and replace the departed Saltalamacchia with A.J. Pierzynski. Not too shabby. And the Nationals swung what may end up being the steal of the offseason, sending Steve Lombardozzi, Ian Krol, and minor-leaguer Robbie Ray to Detroit for Doug Fister, who has quietly become one of the best pitchers in baseball. That coupled with the addition of speedster Nate McLouth has definitely bolstered the Nats roster for this coming season.

Losers: Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets, Tigers in the Doug Fister trade, Royals (with Carlos Beltran signing with the Yankees)

With the flurry of free agent signings and trades, Orioles GM Dan Duquette has repeated over and over again that they are "about to make a move" but yet the Orioles continue to miss on every big free agent. Duquette dealt closer Jim Johnson, he of 101 saves over the past two seasons, for virtually nothing in a panic trade in the middle of the week. Now with most of the top free agents signed, the Orioles still have gaping holes in their rotation, outfield, and now at the back end of their bullpen. We'll see if Duquette can deliver anything to help the Orioles have a chance of competing in the AL East this coming season.

The Tigers have had a solid offseason so far but the Doug Fister trade just doesn't make sense on so many levels. Luckily they signed Joe Nathan to address their biggest need, that of a closer, so things aren't all bad. Still, if I were a Tigers fan I'd be upset at the return that they got on Fister. The Mets also panicked and felt the need to sign a big free agent, also grossly overpaid Curtis Granderson to do so. Finally, Royals fans had to be excited at the idea of seeing Carlos Beltran return but alas, as so many players do, he took a bigger contract with the Yankees.

Well I'll wrap it up here but I'm sure these upcoming Winter Meetings will give me plenty to write about next week!

All Quiet on the Hot Stove

Another week has passed, this one far less eventful in the MLB offseason than the last one was. This week, however, did feature some incredible sporting events across the NCAA, NFL, NBA, and NHL, perhaps none greater than the instant-classic Auburn vs. Alabama game last night. Usually I am not much of a college football fan but that game plus the dramatic finish to the Ohio State vs. Michigan game have me very tempted to stray and to talk college football for just one week... but alas, I wouldn't want to disappoint all [zero] of my faithful followers! So we press on...

With no new major trades or free agent signings, I will dedicate this post to talking about Major League Baseball's most prized free agent this offseason, New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano. Cano is undoubtedly one of the MLB's best talents, and is hitting the market as a free agent for the first time. Nearly every executive in baseball believes he will end up back with New York, but Cano and his agents are currently very far from each other in the negotiating process. Despite my gut telling me that Cano will remain a Yankee for life, most likely, I will propose three teams that are possible suitors for Cano and could greatly use his service.

1. Los Angeles Dodgers

The simple and honest fact that the Dodgers have money and are not afraid to spend it qualifies them to be in the running for Cano. With baseball's second-highest payroll (only to the Yankees, of course) the Dodgers have deep pockets and a hole at second base with the departure of everyday second baseman Mark Ellis. Cano would be a great fit for an already talent-packed roster, but many believe the Dodgers are saving to shell out massive extensions and maintain the talent that they already have, primarily Clayton Kershaw, who may receive a historic $300+ million deal. If so, the cash to keep Cano and Kershaw on the same team together for 6-8 years just may not be there.

2. Detroit Tigers

This seems like a less-logical landing spot for Cano with the recent acquisition of Ian Kinsler, but hear me out for a second. Kinsler is versatile and could be moved to either third base or first base, with Miguel Cabrera taking the other. Jhonny Peralta has departed but flashy rookie Jose Iglesias did a fine job in his place at shortstop. With Kinsler, Iglesias, and Cabrera penciled in and Kinsler moving positions, Cano could be the puzzle piece that puts this Tigers team over the top. If they are in a win-now mentality, and many people believe they are, the Tigers could be dark horse in the Cano running. They cleared up a ton of salary by dumping Prince Fielder's contract in the Kinsler trade, but most execs feel that the cap space created will go toward extensions for Cabrera and ace pitcher Max Scherzer. We'll see if Cano emerges on the Tigers radar and just how badly they want to win now...

3. Washington Nationals

This is a biased one, but I am a huge Nationals fan and a huge Cano fan, so this would be a match made in heaven for me. I even had a dream about it a few weeks back. Most Nationals people feel that their infield is in place with promising youngster Anthony Rendon, but I vote to trade Rendon while his stock is high and sing Cano to a 7-9 year deal. Cano would make the Nationals lineup terrifying and, with their already star-studded pitching staff, possibly the best team in baseball (for real this time, not like last year).

Well there are just three random thoughts about possible landing spots for Cano - we'll track the negotiations with the Yankees over the next few weeks and see if there is any chance that Robinson is not wearing pinstripes come 2014!

The Stove is Hot

Well, so far we've had an exciting offseason, already highlighted by unexpected trades and free agent signings. Over the past week we've seen quite a few moves, two trades and one free agent signing of which I'll touch on and share my opinion about and declare who I believe (for now) are the winners and losers of the trade. Starting with the biggest shocker of the offseason so far, meaning:

Trade #1: Prince Fielder and cash to the Rangers for Ian Kinsler.

Winners: Everyone. Tigers, Rangers, Scherzer, Cabrera, Dombrowski, Fielder, Profar.

What a deal. No one expected the Tigers to deal Fielder, but GM Dave Dombrowski had to make a decision as to the future of the team. It's no secret that the Tigers owner wants to win - and now - hoping to see a World Series championship before the end of his life. I suppose Dombrowski decided that the best way to do that was to dump Fielder's massive contract (just signed two years ago) to clear up cap space which he can use to lock up Max Scherzer and Miguel Cabrera in long-term deals. In doing so, he also managed to snag an all-star second basemen, addressing one of the Tigers' biggest needs with Omar Infante departing. In my opinion, the Tigers did an excellent job and are big winners in this deal. The Rangers, on the other hand, will also win - it's no secret that they don't care much about spending money, and putting a 29-year old Fielder hitting his prime in a great hitters park is a great upgrade. Fielder should have great seasons ahead of him in Arlington, and with a few more additions may see them back in the World Series in the near future. The departing of Kinsler also pencils in young phenom Jurickson Profar to a starting spot in the infield. We'll see how he can do with regular playing time, but many project him to be a star.


Trade #2: David Freese and Fernando Salas to the Angels for Peter Bourjos and an OF prospect.

Winner: Cardinals, Bourjos.

The Cardinals do it again, pulling off a trade that looks like it will work out ridiculously well in their favor. Dumping the declining David Freese for the speedy Bourjos fills a hole in the defending NL champions outfield with Carlos Beltran departing. Bourjos provides excellent speed and defense and will benefit greatly from regular playing time, which the Angels were unable to give him in a crowded outfield. Freese and Salas are great candidates for regression, especially with the horribly mis-managed Angels. I see this deal working out great for the Cardinals, now with a starting outfield of Holliday-Jay-Bourjos.


Free agent signing #1: Brian McCann to the Yankees, 5 year/$85 million deal

I've just got a short reaction to this one, I'm not too surprised that the Yankees aggressively pursued a catcher, fulfilling one of their biggest needs. McCann is an excellent sign and his offensive numbers should increase in the hitter-friendly Yankee Stadium. I am, however, a little suspicious of giving McCann five years. I know that was his asking price but I don't see McCann being worth $17 million a year three, four, five years from now. I know the Yankees have the money to spend but only time will tell if this was a good long-term decision.


Stay tuned next week for more analysis of the exciting MLB offseason!

Comeback Blog - Awards and all

Well with the MLB season having been over for three weeks now, it seems like a good time to reflect back upon this past season and prepare for what looks like it might be a wild off-season. The Boston Red Sox closed the World Series out at home in Boston in Game 6, with a fairly boring, standard victory. I did not watch games 5 and 6 after an exciting games 3 and 4 but the best team won, and congratulations to the Red Sox and to the city of Boston.

Since that time, all major awards have been handed out to deserving players and hot stove rumors have begun to swirl. I'd like to weigh in on a few of the more heavily-debated awards and then (in future posts) take a look ahead at what the off-season has in store for us.

Rookie of the Year: I was extremely relieved to hear Jose Fernandez's name called as the NL Rookie of the Year. After all the hype surrounding Yasiel Puig, the right player absolutely won the award, as Fernandez would even have gotten stronger consideration for Cy Young if it wasn't for a certain one of Puig's Dodger teammates that had an unbelievable season. Wil Myers on the American League side was a less obvious choice. The Rays had a pair of deserving teammates (Myers and pitcher Chris Archer) but Myers took it home in a very weak class of AL rookies. Would've liked to see Archer win but no major complaints here.

Cy Young: Can't make any legitimate arguments against Kershaw and Scherzer winning here except that I would've liked to see them both a little more unanimous. Both had incredible seasons.

MVP: I love Andrew McCutchen and am glad that he took home the hardware from a tough NL field, but the real deabte is on the American League side here. I won't focus much on the NL side of this, although arguments could be made, but I love McCutchen and completely agree. However, everyone seems to have an opinion on the American League side of this debate, in what is becoming the yearly "Cabrera vs. Trout" debate, which pits traditional baseball thinkers against the new-age statisical-minded analysts. By all account, sabremetrics and other advanced statistics show that Mike Trout is the most valuable player in the American League. But at what point do you draw the line between being statistically "valuable" and having intangible values in leading your team to victories (and ultimately, the playoffs). One can argue that if you traded Cabrera and Trout, would the Angels be as good as the Tigers and go to the playoffs? Probably not. Would the Tigers still go to the playoffs with either Trout or Cabrera? Probably. So how does one decide the true "value" of one player leading a team of 25 players? I don't know enough about this all yet to make a valid argument but what I do know is that I seem to be taking a more traditional position in this debate and agree that Miguel Cabrera should be the MVP. His offensive numbers are off the chart, and he has become one of the best hitters of all time. Is baseball only played on offense? Of course not. Is Trout more valuable in the field and on the basepaths? Absolutely. If Trout's team had better pitching and offense and went to the playoffs would he be the MVP? Probably. But this is all part of the debate, which I will come back to in future posts, but for now, I agree with the voters and believe that Miguel Cabrera is the American League's Most Valuable Player.

Next post: Hot Stove Report! Stay tuned.

October comes to an end, my love for the World Series returns

With just a few days remaining in my favorite month of the year, it's time to reflect back on what is typically my favorite month and look ahead to see what the rest of this year has in store for us. October presented me with (for the most part) great weather, decent grades, a great month of work at the MTC, a whole lot of wedding planning, a wonderful weekend trip to California, and of course, the MLB playoffs. It's been a great month, with the exception of the playoffs that had, up until now, had my interest in them die. But with the wild finishes of the last two games, the (potentially) final three World Series games will be can't-miss television.

After the first game of the World Series (which I did not watch, along with all 12 NLCS/ALCS games minus the last three innings to Game 1 of the ALCS but only because the Tigers had a no-hitter going), I was ready to throw in the towel. I was ready to give up on a baseball season that had so much promise going in to it's final month for fans like me that love to root for the underdog teams (Orioles, Royals, Pirates, Athletics, etc.), especially with the Yankees not making the playoffs. The underdogs all fell short and baseball's two superpowers this season, the Red Sox and Cardinals, were the last teams standing. I was ready to half-heartedly congratulate whoever won and get ready for next season, with plenty of football and basketball in between (especially with a huge Redskins victory over the Bears last week). But the wildly unpredictable finishes to Games 3 and 4 of the World Series have sucked me back in to the sport I love so much and, combined with the most depressing Redskins loss I've seen in a long time, thrust me back into baseball for a few more days. 

I had planned to blog about the upcoming NBA season tonight. To make predictions and to get exciting for opening night here in just two short days. However, there are still a few more baseball games to be played, and from the way this series has gone so far, I'm betting we'll see three of them. After rookie Kolten Wong got picked off with one of the best postseason hitters in baseball history (Carlos Beltran) standing in the batter's box with two outs in the bottom of the 9th inning, the Red Sox escaped Game 4 and tied up the series at two games apiece, with one more game left to be played in St. Louis. Originally I picked the Cardinals in 6, but with the way things are going I am no longer sticking to that prediction (I'll stay close to it though). With Game 3 ending on a wild obstruction call awarding Allen Craig and the Cardinals the victory and Game 4 ending on a pickoff, we have no idea what to expect from Game 5. What we do know is this: it will tomorrow night in St. Louis at 6:30 PM (local time) and that Adam Wainwright will start at home for the Cardinals against Jon Lester of the Red Sox. We know that in Game 1 Lester tossed 7 2/3 shutout innings against a powerful Cardinals offense and that Wainwright had possibly his worst career postseason start (although he did last longer and give up fewer runs than he did in Game 5 of last year's NLDS against the Nationals). We know that Wainwright will be pitching with a chip on his shoulder to bounce back after putting the Cards in an early hole in Game 1, and we know that Lester has dominated this Cardinals offense so far in the World Series. I see a pitching duel for the ages, possibly with both throwing near-complete games and possibly a 1-0, 2-0, or 2-1 game. I'm going with Wainwright and the Cards in Game 5 and then the Sox in Game 6.

So that leaves a Game 7 in Fenway.

A Game 7 in Fenway Park on October 31st, All Hallow's Eve - a night where anything can happen, a night that can be the only night of the 365-day calendar year in which there are MLB, NBA, and NFL games all played on the same night. A night that can go down into history as one of the best endings to a World Series in baseball history. I'm not going to make any specific predictions - I don't think anything can be predicted this series - but what I will say is that deep down I feel like the Red Sox will pull it out, but that's not what I will predict. Cardinals win the game 3-0 on the third-ever postseason no-hitter and the first to ever clinch a World Series, by Joe Kelly.

Because hey, the way this World Series is going, why the heck not?

World Series here we come

Since my last post, a lot has developed in the MLB playoffs, including something quite unexpected - my loss of interest in them. I told a few people when the playoffs began that there were just two teams that I would not like to win the World Series - the Boston Red Sox and the St. Louis Cardinals. And alas, here we sit on October 20th, and the two remaining teams that will play for the Championship in Major League Baseball's 109th World Series.

The Red Sox beat the Tigers in an apparently classic (I hardly caught any of it) ALCS which featured them scoring over half of their runs in the series on two Grand Slam swings, with Shane Victorino's 7th inning slam in Game 6 giving them the lead for good in that series-ending game. The Cardinals managed to beat Clayton Kershaw twice en route to a six-game victory over the Dodgers in the NLCS. Despite the fact that I can't stand either team and that both have two World Series championships within the last 10 years, you have to give credit to the Red Sox and Cardinals for such tremendous seasons. Historically the Red Sox and Cardinals are two of baseball's best organizations, with the Cardinals owners of 11 World Series championships, second only to the New York Yankees. The Red Sox, winners in 2004 and 2007, have seven World Series Championships, which is fourth behind the Yankees, Cardinals, and Athletics.

The entire season comes down to the next seven (maximum) games, and I honestly don't know who to pick. The Red Sox have displayed the best offense in baseball all season long, but it was their pitching that helped them beat Detroit and advance to the World Series. However, the Cardinals may be baseball's best all-around team, and with so much postseason experience on their roster, I'm picking the St. Louis Cardinals in 6 games to hoist the trophy and win the 109th MLB World Series.

Here we go - Postseason 2013 off and running

Despite the fact that the League Division Series' officially started yesterday, I needed to get on and make my predictions as to what the first round may entail. After the one-game playoffs Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights, the field of the final eight MLB teams standings is finally set. As I accurately predicted, David Price led Tampa Bay to a win over Texas Monday night in Arlington, eliminating the Rangers from postseason contention. I also correctly called the outcome of Tuesday night's game in Pittsburgh, as the Pirates ousted the Reds and moved on to match up with the Cardinals in the NLDS. Wednesday night, however, was a different story, as the Indians failed to cash in on a number of great opportunities and were ultimately shut out by Alex Cobb and the Rays, eliminating Cleveland and advancing Tampa Bay to play the Boston Red Sox in the ALDS. So for the one-game playoffs I went 2/3, not too bad! Let's see how I can do in the Divison Series round.

ALDS - Tampa Bay Rays at Boston Red Sox
This has been a great battle all season long between two division rivals, which saw the Red Sox win 12 out of the 19 games in which these teams faced each other during the regular seasons. Of course October is always a different story, as teams will just have five games to fight it out in the ALDS. The Rays pitching has carried the team through the season's final month and first two playoff games, and the Red Sox hitting has been the best in baseball. This series poises to be a classic matchup of great hitting versus great pitching. The old adage in baseball is that pitching will always win in the end, but I give the advantage in this series to the Red Sox, with how dominant their bats have been and how well they've handled the Rays. It will definitely be close, but my prediction is that the series goes back to Fenway Park for Game 5 and the Red Sox win on their home field. Red Sox in 5.

ALDS - Detroit Tigers at Oakland Athletics
A rematch of last year's ALDS pits the low-budget Athletics against the star-studded Tigers. The story of the season has been the dominance of the Tigers pitching, but the Athletics suprised many by winning a second consecutive division title. Last year's ALDS was full of drama, with both teams winning walk-off games and the series ultimately coming down to a decisive Game 5, with Justin Verlander shutting down the A's bats and leading Detroit to the ALCS. Despite the Tigers tremendous pitching, and Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder leading the offense, I believe that this has been and will continue to be a special season for the Athletics. With Verlander and the AL wins leader Max Scherzer scheduled to pitch the first two games for the Tigers in Oakland, I see the A's splitting the first two in Oakland, splitting two in Detroit, and coming home for a Game 5 for the ages and winning it in front of their home crowd. Athletics in 5, setting up a Red Sox-Athletics ALCS.

NLDS - Los Angeles Dodgers at Atlanta Braves
The Dodgers were a great story of 2013, coming back from a 9-game deficit in the NL West to win the division by 10 games. Carried by fantastic rookie seasons from the electric Yasiel Puig and Hyun-Jin Ryu, an incredible offensive comeback season by Hanley Ramirez, and Clayton Kershaw having one of the greatest pitching seasons in recent memory, the Dodgers are ready and loaded for playoff baseball. However, the Braves stand in their way, who exepectedly cruised to an easy division title in the NL East and have home-field advantage against LA. The Braves have had incredibly solid team play all season, with no real stars, other than the emerging Freddie Freeman and baseball's most dominanat closer, Craig Kimbrel. Despite the Braves having home field advantage, the Dodgers pitching staff led by Kershaw and Zach Greinke will be a nightmare for a team to beat in a 5 game series. Depending on how Don Mattingly sets up his rotation, in order to win you will have to beat Kershaw/Greinke at least once and possiby twice to win the series. I don't see that happening. Dodgers take care of business and send the Braves on a long flight home to Atlanta from L.A. after Game 4. Dodgers in 4.

NLDS - Pittsburgh Pirates at St. Louis Cardinals
This sets up to be, in my opinion, the most interesting of the first-round series. The Pirates and Cardinals battled for the division title all season long, with the Cardinals ultimately coming out on top of the division despite the Pirates edging them in the season series 10-9. The Pirates unexpected season has been led by NL MVP-favorite Andrew McCutchen, slugging from NL home-run leader Pedro Alvarez, and great pitching performances, especially in the back end of the bullpen (aka the "Shark Tank"). The Cardinals continue their winning ways, as they put together one of baseball's most well-rounded teams season after season. The Pirates are back in the postseason for the first time in 21 years, and the city of Pittsburgh couldn't be more excited. Tuesday night's Wild Card game against the Reds was highlighted by an absolutely packed PNC Park decked out in black and loud as can be, which many believe got inside the heads of Johnny Cueto and other players on the Reds. If the Buccos can manage to split the first two games in Busch Stadium, I believe the atmosphere and momentum that they carry back to the 'Burgh just might be enough to pull off the upset at home. A packed PNC Park and the Pirates in 4, setting up a Dodgers-Pirates NLCS.


The picks are in. Now let's PLAY BALL!

(author's note: This post was written after the first 2 games of the NLDS series' and the first game of each ALDS series, however, all of my predictions were my original predictions from before the games began. Both NLDS series' are tied up, I picked the Cards and Pirates to split but did not think the Braves would beat Greinke, so that series definitely has a chance for an upset. I'm worried about the Athletics after a game one loss, they desperately need to beat Verlander tomorrow to stand a chance. The Red Sox look well on their way towards winning the series after a game one beatdown, they could easily do it in less games than my predicted 5. We'll see!!)