Yeah, me too. I don't have a lot of Red Wings paraphernalia, but I do travel to Detroit every year for at least two regular season games.
If Cris Carpenter comes back healthy, what's the feeling in Cardinal land about how the team will fare this upcoming season? They did add Greene at SS, who should improve upon last year's dreadful season.
Hopefully it means less playing time for Cust in some way. Giambi could be a good tutor for some of the young hitters. They still have holes at SS and maybe even 3B if Chavez can't stay healthy. He's been declining anyway over the years quickly. The starting pitching is a whole other problem. Their young pitchers, albeit really talented, aren't ready yet. 2010 is a more feasible competing year. All they need to do to compete is close the gap with the Angels, which they have done.
So after they signed KRod and traded for Putz, all is quiet in the Mets land. A lowball offer to Lowe, another offer to Redding, and nothing for Manny... Apparently Mets brass think all it takes to get to the playoffs is upgrading the Pen. Whatever.
What? The Mets spend money like crazy. Didn't they just get Santana for about a BILLION last offseason? Their problem is not spending money... It's spending money wisely. I don't think they need Manny. They do however need more pitching. If they were smart they'd go after Peavy. Great pitcher and very affordable for years to come. Dude it could be worse. Take me for example... I'm a Padres fan. Do you realize the world of hurt that is headed our way? LOL. We're going to be fielding a bunch of AA guys. AAA if we're lucky! LOL.
Mets do need Manny if they are serious about winning it all in 2009. Delgado is another year older, Castillo is injury prone and impossible to trade away (I'd like to see Hudson at 2B), and platoon of Murphy/Tatis won't scare anybody. Year after year Mets always do one, maybe two moves and then do nothing else. And year after year they are always a few games short of making the playoffs (or going to WS like in 06). I want the Mets to stop playing around and be serious about making this team the best it can be. Getting Lowe and another starter isn't enough to put this team over the top imo, not with Phillies in the same division as them. I do feel bad for Padres fans. Just a couple of seasons ago they were making waves with Peavy and Young pitching like Cy Young candidates and the future seemed bright, now the team is old and in need of a overhaul. I think Peavy can still be traded but Padres GM should lower his asking price if he wants to complete the trade somehow. After the Santana trade Mets have no good trade baits left for Peavy. Would love to see him in the #2 spot after Santana though.
Yeah the Padres seemed to be up and comers but then boom!! Season like last totally deraills them. Now the owner is forced to dramatically reduce payroll and sell the team due to a messy divorse. It sucks. But that's baseball. I still don't think the Mets need Manny. Can they really afford EVERYTHING Manny brings to a team? Yeah he can produce runs but at what cost? I think they'd be better off with a guy with better character. Someone like I don't know who. LOL. Hey but if they do go the Manny route then maybe the Mets can sign him to a contract filled with incentives. That ought to keep him motivated and playing his best. But if all else fails there's always Andru Jones..
Kickback's second line describes JC Romero perfectly RIP Carl Pohlad. I was critical of him at times but he is the only reason the Twins are still in Minnesota and that they got that new stadium. Too bad he didn't hang on to see them play in it. His management type decisions over the years have all been really great. From making sure Pucket stayed a Twin forever to hiring Andy McPhail and Terry Ryan as well as being instrumental in keeping folks like Tom Kelly invovled with the team. Forcing the team to be fiscally responsible has really worked in the teams favor as well, forcing the team to develop star after star while keeping the team in contention for most of the last decade. Two world series titles as an owner ain't bad. RIP.
John Smoltz as a Red Sox? So strange. If he's healthy, he can still contribute, but that's a gigantic if in his case. Baldelli too? That's a great 4th outfielder. Perhaps they can somehow swing that trade to re-acquire Hanley Ramirez? (Yeah, right, the Marlins would be foolish to do so!)
I think the Dodgers are still the favorites to land Manny. I'm glad they dumped Jones....well, at least broke up what he's owed this year over many years so its not as bad.
That will never happen. The Marlins have a good young team and a new stadium on the horizon in a couple of years. Not that the Red Sox moves are bad or anything, but they wreak of desperation to keep up with the Yankees.
See, this is an interesting take. One of the baseball writers on ESPN wrote about Pohlad's death, and he offers a completely different take. There's no question he was cheap, and he was the owner who volunteered to contract years ago along with the Expos. The least he could have done for Twins fans in Minneapolis/St. Paul is pay for a roof for that new stadium, which he coerced taxpayers to pay for. How many fans are going to make it to a ballgame up there in April? He can't take his money with him.
Many feel that way about him. Carl admitted the contraction situation was a bluff to attempt to get a new stadium built. He said he'd never let the team leave Minnesota, and this was way before his new stadium was ever approved. Some don't believe his words, but I do. As for him running his team like a business. Why not? He is frugal but would spend for the right player. Pucket became the highest paid player in baseball twice. Guys like Hunter, Radke and Santana did get big money, long term deals with the Twins right at the top of the pay scale about five years back. He offered to make Santana the highest paid pitcher per season in baseball last off season. That wasn't good enough for Johan, but no matter how much the Twins offered somebody else would have offered more. It was a no win situation. As for the stadium, I wonder how many owners actually pay of their buildings? My guess is not many. To the dome, the people of Minnesota in every single poll I've seen said they wanted an outdoor stadium, period. Yes, the weather might not be great in April, but then its not in Cleveland and Chicago either. The stadium certainly doesn't cater to the out of town fan like myself who has to drive 8 hours to go to a game, but the people in Minnesota didn't want one with a roof. A retractable roof kinda almost doubled the price of the building, but I hate retractable roofs so I'm biased as well. They look ugly and really don't make you feel like your outside. Just in a fish bowl. This new stadium is going to have an outfield overlooking downtown Minneapolis and looks really, really nice. And its worked in so many other cities so why not Minneapolis? That would conclude my statement said ESPN writer. Mostly in Minnesota I read about spoiled fans and sports writers upset because the Twins wont spend big money to compete with the Yankees and Redsox. Who can? Maybe if the Twins spent big money like Detroit did they would be better......wait where did Detroit finish up last season again? LOL Teams like the Twins, Oakland, Cleveland and others have the right formula. You can't compete with a blank check so don't bother to try. There is more than one way to make the playoffs..........
White Sox reportedley sign Bartolo Colon to a one-year deal. No details regarding money. If its low-based salary with incentives, I'm all for it. Kudos Kenny Williams.
