The long awaited winter meetings have wrapped up and the clear winner is the Red Sox. They walk away with Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford. All I can say is wow, that is going to be some lineup. They now will have have 4 guys in the prime of their career in that lineup with Pedroia, Yuk, Gonzalez, and Crawford. Sprinkle in a healthy Ellsbury, Drew, and Papi and man, that it is one lineup that is going to be hell to deal with. Unlike the Yankees, all of their core long term players will be in their late 20's - early 30's with perhaps their best years ahead. To me, if this team stays healthy they will be the favorites in the American league next year.
As far as my beloved Orioles go, I have to say that I like the deals they made. They aquired two players and lost little. Hernandez may end up being a stud, but only if he develops a good secondary pitch. He should do well in the division he is in. I hope "Dandy Andy" (credit Mass for the nickname) can fill the void at first and add a veteran starter along with a few arms for the bullpen and the Orioles could have an decent product on the field. If only they were not in the AL East.
Going back to the heated debate that went on last year with the Commish, which team now has more promise, the Nats or the O's. The Nats have just wasted 130 plus million on Jayson Werth who I will go on record now and say this, during his time with the Nats, he will never hit more than 30 hr's, never bat above .300, and maybe one year out of 7 he will knock in 100. They would have been better off to cut the deal in half and keep Dunn. Steven the Great is out for the year and they think so highly of their good young SS Ian Desmond that they were open to trading him this winter. So Commish, do you still feel the same way about the Nat's?
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no doubt about it Frank, the "Hot Stove" league has been heated this year for a few teams....i agree, the Red Sox did well adding Crawford and Gonzalez. The only thing is I think they probably over paid for Crawford. He did hit .307 last year with 47 stolen bases, 90 rbi, and 19hrs. I think I heard on Dan Patrick he got the highest contract ever for a player to never hit 20 or more homers in a year......Gonzalez worries me coming from the National League and I always worry about Latin players....I still think the Sox need to address some pitching.
ReplyDeleteI hope the Yanks get Cliff Lee. At his age he still wants a 7 year deal! How don't care how well he has pitched in the post season, that's a long contract on the books for a guy in his mid 30's.
Now to the O's......I like getting JJ Hardy for SS. He's a former All-Star. He didn't se the world on fire last year but a little better than Izturis. Hardy last year hit .268 6 hrs with 38rbi. Only 1 stolen base. OBP was .320. Izturis hit .230 with 1hr 28rbi and 11 stolen bases.
Mark Reynolds adds pop at 3rd....32 hrs last with 85 rbi's. However, he only hit .198 with 211 strikeouts. OUCH! That worries me.... For his career he averages .244, 30hrs, 86.5rbi, .334 OBP and 192 strikeouts a year. He is only 27 yrs old...
Now, I'm watching and see what the O's do at 1st base. Right now, it looks like Buck might try and just use Luke Scott there...... I hope we get somebody else.
and Frank....the O's put Reimold on the block the same as the Nats put Desmond....it's a business.... i think the Nats have definitely downgraded themselves without Dunn at 1st. I'm not a big Werth fan.
Definitely looking forward to seeing the rest of the moves the O's will complete, as I think there are a few more low-key moves to be made. I think Derrick Lee will be the best choice for them for 1st, unless Dandy Andy can work his trading magic and obtain Fielder in a package not including Matusz Arrieta or Britton. Need a #3 hitter to plug in their lineup, which doesn't look too bad, unless you compare it to Boston. But as always, it depends on how guys progress. A healthy Roberts, a normal Markakis, and progress from Jones, Wieters, Pie and/or Reimold, and this could be a really good and diverse offense with a mix of speed and power. Here's how I look at it: Things have to go the O's way some year......Right?
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