Much has gone down since our last show, including some big baseball signings in the Big Apple. While the Mets made an early splash with K-Rod, the seemingly recession-proof Yanks landed C.C., A.J., and - oh yeah - a first baseman by the name of Teixeira. Was it money well-spent? What's up with Andy Pettitte? Is the Met bullpen good to go? Will the Phillies miss Pat the Bat? Does Smoltz have anything left? And just where will Manny end up after all? As the tempature keeps dropping, let's keep the stove burning!
3 comments:
Why wasn't Burnett one of my options?
I voted for Tex, with a caveat, mostly because I think his contract was the most reasonable of the Yankees' big signings. I love Sabathia, but it's hard to imagine that he's going to be worth that contract all the way through to the end.
I thought the Red Sox did exactly the right thing in signing Smoltz and Lowe. I don't know if either of them will really help, but it's easy to imagine the two of them putting Boston over the top in September and October if they can stay in contention that long.
Ramirez is the big question mark. Depending on who signs him, and on what terms, he might be the best deal of the bunch. It's just too early to know. If a contender in a smallish market gets him for 1-2 years, I would expect him to be an MVP candidate. Perceived slights seem to help him focus, and I think he's more comfortable out of the spotlight. But it won't end well if one of the New York or Chicago teams signs him to a long term contract.
What does everybody think of the Hall of Fame vote?
If Jim Rice is a HOFer, isn't Joey/Albert Belle? i.e., Rice isn't really, is he? Was Rice really a better left fielder than Raines? A better LF than Trammell was a SS, Santo was a 3B, or Blyleven was a pitcher?
That last one really pisses me off, by the way. How is Blyleven not a Hall of Fame pitcher? His ERA was good, he was 3d all time in strikeouts when he retired, and he "only" had 288 wins. Cmon...
First off, for fear that Burnett becomes the next Pavano I left the former off the list in the hope that he surprises me. How's that for sports psychology? Also, just to clarify, whereas Smoltz did sign with the BoSox, Lowe signed with the Braves.
As for the HoF, great comparison between Rice and Belle. I always have a hard time judging guys who played a good part of their career before my time, so I'm not sure what to say about Rice. He was really on the backside of his career by the time I saw him. As for Belle, I would say no, but then looking at the numbers you'd have to say no to Rice as well. Interesting. . . .
As for Blyleven, I agree. He's a HoFer (and I'm not even a Twins fan!).
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