- Some personal notes: I graduated! I own a BS in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University. I am working for a water treatment company and traveling a lot. Hopefully I'll get to see some baseball in there too.
- I'm having troubles coming to terms with my thoughts on the WBC. My initial thought is it's a great opportunity to spread baseball and to demonstrate the passion America has for the game. Especially in the wake of sagging ratings for just about every other baseball event. The timing is terrible though. The majority of the best players are not playing. We have a team from South Africa in the tournament (is there even a South African MLB player?). And the notion of "spreading baseball" is such a sham when the teams in the tournament are renowned for baseball (America's pastime, Cuba's history, Japan's leagues, etc). There has to be a solution. My initial feeling is the tournament would be better if it were held in November rather than March. Sure the weather is iffy, but most of the games are in domes or warm weather sites anyway. The players would be better conditioned for the tournament. I wonder if injuries wouldn't be cut significantly. Maybe I'm missing something.
- The free agency period was peculiar and most of it is attributed to the economy collapse. baseball has withstood other such depressions and thrived. My guess is, yes, some teams are cutting back on costs, but teams are also becoming much more intelligent and informed. We think Bobby Abreu's defense has slipped and now we can find stats to back that up. Does his OBP offset the defensive liablity? That's not for me to say but if I have a guy in Triple A who can give me a good OBP and not cost me runs in the field, I'm going with the cheaper minor leaguer. There has also been an influx of young talent in recent years and some of the older guys are losing jobs. I don't think there were many jobs open for the free agents. Yes, some guys, like Juan Cruz, should have been signed long ago because of the advantage he provides in a bullpen. But, overall, I think a lot of teams went into the offseason a little more set than in past years.
- Speaking of free agency, I know the Dodgers got the Manny deal done, but I can't help but think they botched it to a certain degree. Who were they bidding against? Who else is going to spend $20M on a 37 year old DH? Why rush to sign him when he has no leverage? The Giants seemed to be the only other team to show any interest (I'm definitely not an insider so maybe I'm wrong) and they denied it. No one else was in on Manny and the Dodgers still made a huge offer. Yes he makes your team better. But at some point doesn't he have to come off of his $25M per year demands and accept $18-20M when he doesn't have any other offers.
- Names I'm intrigued by:
- Matt Wieters, C, Baltimore- Can he live up to the hype?
- David Price, P, Tampa Bay- He was great out of the pen for a couple innings. Now he needs to show it over a season
- Milton Bradley, OF, Chicago Cubs- If he's healthy for the full season the Cubs are clearly the class of the Central if not all of the NL. If he's hurt, the Cubs are behind the Mets and Phillies and may be pushed by St. Louis.
- Chris Carpenter, P, St. Louis- Speaking of the Cardinals, I think Carpenter is the key. If he bounces back from (another) surgery and Wainwright comes back and pitches well, the Cards could push the Cubs for the division and at least stay in the Wild Card race.
- Stephen Strasburg, P, San Diego State- So I probably won't be able to see him pitch but I would love to. The stats this kid is putting up at the start of the season are unreal.
- Teams I think may surprise this year:
- Washington Nationals- So they may not surprise in the "We're contenders" way but I think they'll definitely be better than they have been. There's some offensive potential in the outfield. Now they just need some up the middle help. And a pitching staff
- Oakland A's- The big question for the A's is whether the young pitching talent they've acquired can step up and be big this season or if they need more development.
- Texas Rangers- They're almost always have a huge offense as a result of their home park but they've acquired some young arms that may start showing up this year. If they can get some pitching they could be dangerous in one of the more open divisions.
That's all for now. I'll get back soon
