Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Who is getting burned by the Hot Stove? Who is getting a good meal?



With this year’s baseball free agency market looking like a pretty good buffet of players to choose from, there are many rumors as to what players will move and to where. This article is my picks as to who is going where.

1. CC Sabathia – it seems like a foregone conclusion that Captain Calorie will be going to the Yankees. Tribe fans have smelled this for a couple years now but never anticipated a detour to Milwaukee along the way. Although, such a detour was beneficial for Chief Cheeseburger because got to play for a playoff team this year, showing the world he can play well for a contender, and also he got to eat a lot of brats. However, Commander Chili proved yet again that he and A-Rod are about as good in October as Rich Rodriguez. But Colonel Chimichanga shouldn’t start backing his bags yet, the word is out that New York City is also called the Big Apple, and there may be serious reservations about him going there as he may accidentally eat a piece of fruit.

2. Mark Teixiera – it sickens me that my first gut reaction is that this guy goes to the Yankees too, so they get the top two free agents this year. But when the Yanks unload Pavano and Giambi, CC and Teixeira seem like good fits for Steinbrenner. Teixeira is a great player to watch. He has a good glove, really good power and a solid hit-getter. If this guy could stay on one team, he could be a franchise player. Im surprised the dodgers aren’t going after him, because losing manny and possibly furcal, they will need him in the lineup. The new rumors are that he’s gonna go to Boston, but the only way that will happen is if they unload Lowell and move the Youk to third for good. Seems reasonable but I think boston needs to spend money on a catcher another starter before they go after infielders. Although, I don’t see any other contenders putting up the bucks for Teixeira and I doubt a mediocre team will land him. I hate to say it but looks like he might be in pinstripes.

3. Ken Griffey Jr. – These rankings are not in any order, so don’t think Griffey is the third best free agent out there. This guy is a definite hall of famer so its sad to see that no one is going to want this guy. He’s just had so many injuries the last few years that no team will really see him as making a big impact. He reminds me of Apollo Creed in Rocky IV, everyone knows he’s way past his prime, but may have that one last jump at glory again. Let’s hope this year goes better for him than Apollo. None of the top contenders are going to eat his contract, so I think that a decent team will hope that he can fill the outfield and put some fans in the seats. It seems likely that a team will scoop him up after they lose a current player to free agency. I’m guessing the Rangers might get him after Milton Bradley leaves; the Rangers are a good team and maybe they’ll think they just need that veteran spark to get them going. Also, its not gonna happen, but I am rooting for the Mariners signing Griffey for his triumphant return to Seattle and then making him a player-manager. I miss player-managers, so cool.

4. Rafael Furcal- I think this guy would be perfect in Cleveland. Move Peralta to third, giving power at the corners, and a solid guy who could lead off with a great glove. By the way, making him leadoff would allow sizemore to hit third, which is inevitable. However, Shapiro inability to spend the big bucks will block this deal from happening. Shapiro is tighter with money right now than Chrysler’s CEO. This guy is only 31 and has a lot of good years ahead of him, which is why I see a team with a lot of talent that didn’t have a good year last year going after this guy. A team that had high expectations and fell on their face could use this guy to really have a comeback season. I think the Cardinals could really use him, making their infield really solid, or the Diamondbacks, or the Braves. Really though, Cleveland makes the most sense. Con sarnit.

5. Derek Lowe- I have to say, this guy exceeded my expectations in LA. He did go 54-48 in LA in four seasons, but his ERA stayed around 3.60, which is better than I thought. I originally thought LA made a huge mistake with him after only having two real solid seasons in boston, but he was a free agent after having a big October and it paid off for him. Now, he’s 35 and a team could get two solid years out of him. Being a good ground ball pitcher, he may get another quality deal and the buzz is that the mets need pitching. With Pedro and Perez probably leaving the Mets, they are going to need lots of starting pitching to back up Johan Santana, and Lowe may be a good fit.

6. Jason Giambi-Honestly, I couldn’t give a crap where he goes. I feel like the media gave him a pass for all his steroid issues, and I cant figure out why. He is just as culpable as Bonds and somehow came out like Teflon, maybe it has something to do with playing in new york (take that MJ). But im certain that some team will pick him up despite being 38 when the season starts and having that weird child molester mustache. He did get 32 homers, but he also had as many strikeouts as he had hits, which is just awesome. Since he’s gonna have to play DH, he may go to Baltimore or Toronto, and moving in the division would not have good results for him. I could see teams like Detroit or Chicago wanting his bat, but they already have professional DHs in Sheffield and Thome respectively. I guess he could go to Oakland and fill the void left by Frank Thomas, if anyone in Oakland notices such a void, I doubt it.

7. K-Rod. This guy is awesome, not doubt about it. He wants a championship, nothing else. He was on the Angels when they won it all in 2002, but was a rookie and only played 5 games that season, but turned the world series into his coming out party. Now, he has the hunger for more championships. I really think that the Cardinals should push for this guy. They need a solid closer to compete with the Cubs and to round out their pitching staff. Isringhausen is not it and Ryan Franklin is a question mark. It seems to me like all the other major contenders have established closers, so the cards would be my best guess. Unless the Cubs give up on Wood and try to woo K-Rod, but I don’t see that happening, yet….

8. A.J. Burnett – This guy went 10-8, then 10-8, then 18-10 in Toronto in 3 seasons, he is a hard throwing guy with good stuff, but I don’t see him being an Ace anywhere or getting Ace money. He’s a solid #2 starter, and a team like the Astros should really go after him. Him and Oswalt would be a great 1-2 combo, and in the NL central, they are going to need consistent pitching to be competitive. Otherwise, I see a team getting desperate and throwing a lot of money at this guy because their pitching stuff laid a big goose egg last year, like the Tigers and trying to make him into the second coming to save the franchise. I don’t think that will work and I think he’ll fail in a place like that. Also, don’t count out the Dodgers, because they are losing Lowe and Penny, he may fill in as the # 2 behind Billingsley, but with all the Manny-Money, they may not be able to afford him.

9. Manny Ramirez- Oh man-ram, will you ever find happiness? This guy is in my opinion the greatest pure hitter in the last thirty years. No one since Willie Mays or Hank Aaron is more solid of a hitter in terms of balancing average and power. I would guess that barring him doing something stupid, he has at least five years of good hitting left and could really end up with nearly 700 home runs. However, he is just so dumb, and just does whatever he can to give the media an F.U. There’s something about red sox outfielders and getting on the media’s bad side that just haunts them (e.g. Ted Williams, Jim Rice). Manny just seems like iconic clown for baseball, kind the equivalent of Tom Green for Hollywood. He makes you laugh and you enjoy him, but you just can’t stop commenting about how there are just too many screws loose to really enjoy his presence, and you are just waiting for the other shoe to drop on his insanity. But manny has cooler hair. I also see Manny as one of those guys who would take celebrating trophies or achievements way too far. For example, if Manny ever won a gold glove, I can foresee him making the award into a hat and wearing it everywhere, or better yet, making a WWF-style belt that says “Left Field Champion” and wearing it during batting practices and lineup introductions. So anyway, he needs a team.
I honestly don’t know what teams are equipped to deal with his personality. I foresee only big markets wanting him and vice-versa. I really feel like Atlanta is a serious possibility, that maybe they’ve been balking on all the Peavy-trade talks so they can invest in manny. Atlanta’s outfield has really been quite awful since Andrew Jones left, but their pitching staff, even though aging, has been pretty solid. While putting Smoltz, Manny, and Chipper Jones on the same field would essentially make them even more decrepit than the Baltimore Ravens (or Ivan’s fantasy team), it may not be a bad move to build for the future.

10. Ben Sheets – This guy is a great pitcher with bad luck. He spents eight years in Milwaukee, slowly making a name for himself around the league and he finally gets on a winning team that has a chance at making the playoffs and he gets hurt. He has been a solid pitcher and had he been healthy, the brewers may have made it further, no probably not. Anyway, this guy has a lot of good stuff, and there are plenty of teams out there that would really benefit from him. He may go to the Mets to fill their pitching disasters, or he may go to the white sox to fill the void by Loizia and they never filled the void left by Garland leaving, so this may help them out.

Well, that’s ten rumors with answers, BAM! Also, this just in, Coco Crisp was traded to Kansas City for a reliever. This is bad for Coco. That team already has no power whatsoever, and its going to take a lot to get them out of the basement.

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