The deal might be Napoli and Rivera for Wells and Drabek.

 

What. The. ****.

hmmmm, yes, that would seem a lot more odd to me if Drabek went unless Angels are taking either all or near 100% of Wells deal and they demanded a good prospect in return

Edited January 22, 201115 yr by SoxFan562004

hmmmm, yes, that would seem a lot more odd to me if Drabek went unless Angels are taking either all or near 100% of Wells deal and they demanded a good prospect in return

That'd have to be it.

Manny and Damon to Rays pending physicals.

Manny and Damon to Rays pending physicals.

Well, they lose out on defense, but that could well fill the offensive gap from the loss of Crawford and Pena.

Looks like the Vlad and the O's are close to a deal.

 

http://twitter.com/JimBowdenXMFOX/status/28670852690092033

 

They've also had a pretty underrated off-season. Ultimately, their success will depend on many of their young guys. But they've supplemented that youth with quality veterans nicely.

Looks like the Vlad and the O's are close to a deal.

 

http://twitter.com/JimBowdenXMFOX/status/28670852690092033

 

They've also had a pretty underrated off-season. Ultimately, their success will depend on many of their young guys. But they've supplemented that youth with quality veterans nicely.

 

Looks like Luke Scott will be playing LF.

 

That lineup is gonna be pretty damn good.

 

1. Roberts 2B

2. Markakis RF

3. Lee 1B

4. Guerrero DH

5. Scott LF

6. Reynolds 3B

7. Jones CF

8. Wieters C

9. Hardy SS

 

There's not a bad hitter in that lineup.

Looks like Luke Scott will be playing LF.

 

That lineup is gonna be pretty damn good.

 

1. Roberts 2B

2. Markakis RF

3. Lee 1B

4. Guerrero DH

5. Scott LF

6. Reynolds 3B

7. Jones CF

8. Wieters C

9. Hardy SS

 

There's not a bad hitter in that lineup.

 

Yeah, runs scored shouldn't be much of a problem. Especially if Wieters, Jones and Markakis live up to their potential. Runs prevented is going to be quite a different story. That rotation is straight ugly outside of Matuz, who I'm a big fan of. Their bullpen could be decent with Gregg, Gonzalez, Simon and Uhera, though.

Yeah, runs scored shouldn't be much of a problem. Especially if Wieters, Jones and Markakis live up to their potential. Runs prevented is going to be quite a different story. That rotation is straight ugly outside of Matuz, who I'm a big fan of. Their bullpen could be decent with Gregg, Gonzalez, Simon and Uhera, though.

When you look at the AL East this year...it at least tentatively doesn't look as strong as previous years. The Yankees starting rotation is full of holes, their offense is going to get old one of these years (although they do have an incredible bullpen). The Rays bullpen is a gaping hole, they lost their best player, and they're counting on Ramirez and Damon to fill the hole. The Red Sox clearly got an awful lot better, but one can come up with reasons to doubt them if you try.

 

If all their kids came out and hit, that could legitimately be a contender for at least the wild card. If their kids struggle somewhat, then of course they're rebuilding, but that's not a bad starting point.

When you look at the AL East this year...it at least tentatively doesn't look as strong as previous years. The Yankees starting rotation is full of holes, their offense is going to get old one of these years (although they do have an incredible bullpen). The Rays bullpen is a gaping hole, they lost their best player, and they're counting on Ramirez and Damon to fill the hole. The Red Sox clearly got an awful lot better, but one can come up with reasons to doubt them if you try.

 

If all their kids came out and hit, that could legitimately be a contender for at least the wild card. If their kids struggle somewhat, then of course they're rebuilding, but that's not a bad starting point.

 

Whoa there. You're A LOT more optimistic than I am. I had been pimping the O's, along with lostfan, pretty hard in '09 and '10. And even then I never expected anything more than a .500 team. You're talking some 30 games or more improvement. They're going to need 3-5 pitchers, starters and bullpen, to really emerge for that to be remotely possible.

^I'm not sure I could come up with many reasons to doubt the Red Sox (at least on paper) and I hate that team.

 

Boston alone could probably cut their 40-man roster in half, add a few more specs to create 2 25-man rosters, and then run out two separate teams in two separate divisions in baseball and either contend or win in both.

Whoa there. You're A LOT more optimistic than I am. I had been pimping the O's, along with lostfan, pretty hard in '09 and '10. And even then I never expected anything more than a .500 team. You're talking some 30 games or more improvement. They're going to need 3-5 pitchers, starters and bullpen, to really emerge for that to be remotely possible.

Just from their lineup, is there any spot where you can't reasonably say that they have the ability to have improved by 2 wins over last year? Mark Reynolds versus the .670 OPS they got from Tejada. Cesar Izturis to JJ Hardy would be 3 wins or more if Hardy stayed healthy the whole year. They were missing Brian Roberts for >1/2 the year last year. From Ty Wiggington to last year's Derek Lee is 2 wins, any better than that is 3+ wins. Nick Markakis was a 6 WAR player a couple years ago and a 2.8 WAR player last year. Adam Jones isn't at his ceiling yet. Matt Weiters could be anywhere.

 

In terms of WAR, you could legitimately be starting with 10+ extra wins with no additional development from Jones, Weiters, or Markakis.

^I'm not sure I could come up with many reasons to doubt the Red Sox (at least on paper) and I hate that team.

 

Boston alone could probably cut their 40-man roster in half, add a few more specs to create 2 25-man rosters, and then run out two separate teams in two separate divisions in baseball and either contend or win in both.

Beckett's injury history. Papelbon and Jenks in the bullpen are both iffy right now. They lost Adrian Beltre who gave them a spectacular season last year, and they have to move Youkilis back to 3b to put Gonzalez into their lineup. They lost a lot of production from Victor Martinez, and Saltalamacchia/Varitek is a very weak catching combo. They got about 1 1/2 of a full season out of their 3 starting OF's last year; they added Crawford to that mix, but Ellsbury, Cameron, and Drew don't exactly have spectacular records of health. Lackey and Matsuzaka are at worst worrisome right now. David Ortiz's slow starts and weight issues.

 

They ought to win that division and should do so easily, but this is baseball...one wrong injury combined with a couple players struggling is what killed the Red Sox last year.

Just from their lineup, is there any spot where you can't reasonably say that they have the ability to have improved by 2 wins over last year? Mark Reynolds versus the .670 OPS they got from Tejada. Cesar Izturis to JJ Hardy would be 3 wins or more if Hardy stayed healthy the whole year. They were missing Brian Roberts for >1/2 the year last year. From Ty Wiggington to last year's Derek Lee is 2 wins, any better than that is 3+ wins. Nick Markakis was a 6 WAR player a couple years ago and a 2.8 WAR player last year. Adam Jones isn't at his ceiling yet. Matt Weiters could be anywhere.

 

In terms of WAR, you could legitimately be starting with 10+ extra wins with no additional development from Jones, Weiters, or Markakis.

Their pitching still sucks though. Gotta admit that they did one hell of a job improving their lineup, but there's no chance they're competing for a playoff spot just yet.

Beckett's injury history. Papelbon and Jenks in the bullpen are both iffy right now. They lost Adrian Beltre who gave them a spectacular season last year, and they have to move Youkilis back to 3b to put Gonzalez into their lineup. They lost a lot of production from Victor Martinez, and Saltalamacchia/Varitek is a very weak catching combo. They got about 1 1/2 of a full season out of their 3 starting OF's last year; they added Crawford to that mix, but Ellsbury, Cameron, and Drew don't exactly have spectacular records of health. Lackey and Matsuzaka are at worst worrisome right now. David Ortiz's slow starts and weight issues.

 

They ought to win that division and should do so easily, but this is baseball...one wrong injury combined with a couple players struggling is what killed the Red Sox last year.

 

They still have plenty of depth in both their rotation and bullpen though. The Adrian Beltre knock is a legitimate one, but Gonzalez and Crawford should more than make up for that. They have 4 outfielders who would start pretty much anywhere else in the league, so even if you want to argue that Ellsbury, Cameron, and Drew are injury prone - there's no way I'd make that argument - they have the depth to overcome one injury, and they almost certainly can replace another one with a replacement level player from the minors. Lackey should be better this year, but he will still give about 200 innings of good pitching. I don't think they are counting on anything from Daisuke other than being a capable 5th starter.

 

They also didn't have one wrong injury and a couple players struggling...they had about a million significant injuries last year. If they stay healthy - big if - they should run away with that division.

Their pitching still sucks though. Gotta admit that they did one hell of a job improving their lineup, but there's no chance they're competing for a playoff spot just yet.

I dunno, they "could" be better than we think. Matusz, Arrietta, and Tillman all are up and in have some big league work, Guthrie isn't bad...it's not the Red Sox...but compared to the Yankees...if you drop Captain Cheeseburger, it's not all that different.

I dunno, they "could" be better than we think. Matusz, Arrietta, and Tillman all are up and in have some big league work, Guthrie isn't bad...it's not the Red Sox...but compared to the Yankees...if you drop Captain Cheeseburger, it's not all that different.

 

Cervelli/Martin vs Wieters is probably advantage Wieters

Teixeira vs Lee is advantage Teix

Cano vs Roberts is advantage Cano

Jeter vs Hardy is probably leaning towards Hardy right now, but I'd say this is a toss up

Rodriguez vs Reynolds is advantage Rodriguez

Gardner vs Scott is probably advantage Gardner because of the defense assuming they sign Vlad, and it's clearly Gardner over Pie/Reimold

Granderson vs Jones is advantage Jones

Swisher vs Markakis is advantage Swisher (though Markakis obviously has the ability to improve quite a bit)

Posada vs either Scott or Vlad is probably advantage Yankees

 

The Orioles have a lineup that could put up some runs, but let's not get carried away and say that they are anywhere near the Yankees. There is a reason that the Yankees 30 more games last year and it wasn't because of CC Sabathia, and 3-4 smaller improvements to the Orioles lineup isn't going to change that dramatically either.

The Orioles have a lineup that could put up some runs, but let's not get carried away and say that they are anywhere near the Yankees. There is a reason that the Yankees 30 more games last year and it wasn't because of CC Sabathia, and 3-4 smaller improvements to the Orioles lineup isn't going to change that dramatically either.

Really, go look at their lineup statistics last year. Their lineup was an abject disaster. This was the 2nd worst offense in the AL last year and the 2nd worst pitching staff last year. I don't think they're near the Yankees without a few rotation miracles, but this isnt' a few smaller improvements to the Oriole's lineup; this is a complete overhaul. They removed the guys who weren't long-term solutions, they kept all of their young talent, and they surrounded them with short-term option guys who they can either hold onto if they make a real run or they can trade away easily.

Really, go look at their lineup statistics last year. Their lineup was an abject disaster. This was the 2nd worst offense in the AL last year and the 2nd worst pitching staff last year. I don't think they're near the Yankees without a few rotation miracles, but this isnt' a few smaller improvements to the Oriole's lineup; this is a complete overhaul. They removed the guys who weren't long-term solutions, they kept all of their young talent, and they surrounded them with short-term option guys who they can either hold onto if they make a real run or they can trade away easily.

 

Lee and Vlad are both old players who almost certainly won't be with the team beyond 2011 (and may change uniforms during the season), JJ Hardy may or may not sign an extension, and Mark Reynolds, though intriguing, isn't exactly the type of player who is a cornerstone. They haven't really done anything this offseason to improve their team in the long-run. Part of the goal is simply getting better and making improvements where you can, and I can appreciate and respect that, but if they are anything better than an average offense, I will be extremely surprised.

 

I will agree that there is upside and that, even in that division, there is a good chance that they won't lose 90 games next year.

Just thought I'd re-post my very drunken mass text that I sent out last night, since it has to do with baseball.....

 

"Minnesora gwins are like yhe kids tgar eat crayons thei whole life and tgen get in to harvard"

Just thought I'd re-post my very drunken mass text that I sent out last night, since it has to do with baseball.....

 

"Minnesora gwins are like yhe kids tgar eat crayons thei whole life and tgen get in to harvard"

 

 

 

"Got my drunk text on"

Reds sign Johnny Cueto to 4 year, $27 million dollar deal. Buying out all of his remaining arbitration years and 1 FA year. The Reds aren't really 'locking' their young studs up by true definition [aside from Bruce], but they're possibly saving themselves quite a bit of money in the long run.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=6055534

 

How is Morneau still in the recovery phase? It's been what now, 7 or 8 months?

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=6055534

 

How is Morneau still in the recovery phase? It's been what now, 7 or 8 months?

This isn't his first concussion, and frankly, some guys never recover from them.

 

This is why the NFL is correctly making a big deal of it this year.

This isn't his first concussion, and frankly, some guys never recover from them.

 

This is why the NFL is correctly making a big deal of it this year.

 

Yeah, didn't they say he suffered from concussion as a teenager from hockey or something?

Jeter may move to the outfield in the next few season, where he will most likely continue to win gold gloves....