It's been a few weeks since baseball ended and I think a good time to give a little analysis to some of the recent moves in the MLB. Let's start at the top.....
The Yankees. Out with the old (Torre) and in with the new (Girardi), right? Well, not exactly. The Yankees appear poised to retain all their key pieces from this year. They exercised their option on Abreau for next season and are close to re-signing Mariano Rivera for three years according to ESPN. I'm not sure Rivera has three good years left in him, but he would just look wrong in any other uniform and he can get the job done even though he doesn't have the same stuff he did a decade ago. The Bronx Bombers also re-signed catcher Jorge Posada to a four-year deal. I thought this was ludicrous for a catcher who is 36 years-old already, but a friend pointed out that he always has the ability to DH, and he is coming off of the best batting average season of his career. ( I thought that Posada had signed for four years but the transaction is not listed yet, and his name is not the on the Yankees roster on their website so it appears to still be pending). And finally A-Rod. Here's what I had to say about where he could end up a few weeks ago on this blog:
"After Hank Steinbrenner's comments about anyone not wanting to be a Yankee can get out of town, it wouldn't surprise me to see A-Rod remain in pinstripes. It's New York, words get exchanged. If Girardi is hired on he might be able to convince management and A-Rod to re-sign. If Boras can't find a good enough deal anywhere else, he could try to return to the team with the deepest pockets. I would be shocked if A-Rod can get over $200 million anywhere but New York."
I'd love to sit back and brag about that prediction but being a Sox fan I was really hoping he'd end up somewhere else. Like the Florida Marlins. Alas, he is nearing a $275 million dollar deal with the Pinstripers. All of this means the Yankees will continue to be contenders for at least the next couple years (or decades).
The Red Sox. They re-signed Schilling and Wakefield to one-year deals and made another crucial move in keeping Mike Lowell for three years and nearly $38 million according to espn.com. It's reported that the Phillies and Dodgers offered a fourth year to the third baseman, but he wanted to remain a Red Sox. That doesn't happen enough. A player could have gotten more elsewhere but wanted to remain with an organization he likes. That says a lot about that player. Importantly for the Sox, they don't have to worry as much about an aging third basemen getting a fourth year. By re-signing the key pieces, the Sox have ensured that they should be the pre-season favorites to win it all again. In fact, they have six potential starting pitchers and there is talk about a 6-man rotation.
The Blue Jays. They got IF Marco Scutaro for a couple prospects. That could be key for a team with some aging veterans.
The White Sox and Angels. Jon Garland for Orlando Cabrera? I like it!!!! This is a trade that will benefit both teams, as trades are supposed to do but oftentimes don't. The Angels have super rookie Brandon Wood ready to take over the SS position but he was blocked by an All-Star. So they traded that All-Star for another former All-Star starting pitcher. The White Sox, in turn, got an outstanding offensive and defensive shortstop for a pitcher who struggled a bit last year. The Sox have good, young pitching but did just re-sign SS Juan Uribe which may be a mistake. I assume they will try to trade him. If the Sox get Torii Hunter they should have a much better season in '08 than they did in '07.
The Mets. Well, they were going to sign Rockies backstop Yorvit Torrealba but now that's gone by the wayside. They do have backup Ramon Castro, but I wonder now if they will be forced to try to re-sign Paul Lo Duca. In a way, this is a team that needs to make some moves after a historic collapse last season. In another way, this is a team that should have had the best record in the N.L. minus that late season collapse. My guess is GM Omar Minaya wants to make a decent sized move but with A-Rod off the market and a weak FA class, that may not happen. The club did re-sign 2b Luis Castillo........to a 4-year deal!!!!! Are you kidding me? Now, I absolutely love Castillo but the guy gets hurt more often than Dick Vitale says "diaper dandy." Mark my words, they will regret this decision by the third year.
The Braves. The Boy Is Back In Town! Welcome back Mr. Glavine. Your one-year deal is just what you needed to get rid of that bad taste from your last start with the Mets and just what this Atlanta team may need to get back to the playoffs after a long layoff. (In Atlanta, two-years IS a long layoff.)
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