Kuzul

The Boston Red Sox have undergone substantial changes in the offseason. With such an influx of new talent, predicting how well the starting nine will do in 2013 is somewhat daunting.This year, fans can expect a healthy David Ortiz, Will Middlebrooks and Jacoby Ellsbury. They will also welcome newcomers like Shane Victorino, Jonny Gomes and Stephen Drew to the everyday lineup.Suffice to say, things are looking different in Boston these days.With so many happenings in the Hub, trying to pin down exactly how each player will perform in 2013 is extremely difficult.To get the closest and most accurate projections possible, the following statistics were compiled and compared, ultimately creating an equation to help determine how each player will perform in 2013.The stats looked at are basic offensive numbers: games, at-bats, runs, hits, doubles, triples, home runs, RBI, stolen bases and batting average.To reach a conclusion on each stat, players were ...

The Washington Nationals made news today having signed the best free agent pitcher on the market: Rafael Soriano.Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports was the first to report (via Twitter) that the Nationals had reached an agreement with Soriano for two years and $28 million.According to Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports Soriano is now the highest paid relief pitcher in all of baseball. His $14 million average annual salary is second only to Mariano Rivera's $15 million per season from 2010 through 2012.Now with Soriano in the fold the Nationals have arguably the deepest bullpen in all of baseball. The team already had Tyler Clippard (37 saves in 2012) and Drew Storen in line to close out games in 2013.The addition of Soriano gives Washington a man whom had 42 saves last season for the New York Yankees and in his last full season as a closer in 2012, 45 ...

With Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post reporting that the Washington Nationals have reached an agreement to bring back free-agent first baseman Adam LaRoche, it feels like an appropriate time to speculate what the team's next move might be.That move should involve trading Michael Morse to the Seattle Mariners.According to Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal, the Nationals are already speaking to 5-6 teams regarding Morse.Rosenthal points out that Morse will earn $7 million this season and then will be a free agent.While the Mainers could easily begin the season with Justin Smoak at first base, Morse represents a fairly significant upgrade.CBS Sports' Jon Heyman tweeted a list of potential suitors for Morse that includes the Orioles, Rays, Yankees, Rangers, Phillies, Mets and Indians along with the Mariners.Needless to say, there is stiff competition.Rosenthal goes on to report that Morse strongly opposes being a DH wherever he ends up playing.While he is poor ...

Somehow this winter Mike Napoli, a man who has played 511 of his 727 career games as a catcher, is being revered as a free-agent first baseman.Either that is a shining example of how versatile of a player Napoli is, or an indictment on how poor the free-agent market is in terms of first basemen this winter.If you chose the latter, you're correct.The Boston Red Sox have already deemed Napoli worthy of a three-year and $39 million contract. Well, sort of.I should say that they've deemed a healthy Mike Napoli worthy of such a contract.In recent weeks, questions have arisen surrounding the health of his hip, specifically, the pen has yet to meet paper in four weeks because the Red Sox want language in the contract to protect them should Napoli become sidelined due to a preexisting hip injury.While those contract negotiations have been running at a snail's pace, the Red ...

It's the Holiday season and several Major League Baseball teams have been busy shopping.Who made out the best?While Michael Bourn, Kyle Lohse and Rafael Soriano are some of the few lingering free agents on the market who could have a tremendous impact on whichever team they land with, they are all non-factors in this list.Here is a power ranking of players who have been signed so far this winter with a break down of what each team will be getting for their money. * All contracts are given with the buyout year configured in with no mention of any team options. For example, you'll see Hisashi Iwakuma signed for two years at $14 million, which represents two seasons at $6.5 million per with a $1 million buyout.**There is no mention of Mike Napoli and his deal with the Boston Red Sox because the deal has yet to be finalized; therefore, Napoli is ...

The big dogs are finally off the market.That means the rest of the hot stove dominoes will begin to fall. That could be as remaining free-agent signings or via trade for many teams.While we have already witnessed some large trades take place this winter, there is nothing that says the trade market is anywhere near cooling off.Josh Johnson, Jose Reyes and Mark Buehrle are all acclimating to life north of the boarder, having been part of a drastic trade that took place between the Miami Marlins and Toronto Blue Jays earlier this offseason.Longtime Texas Ranger Michael Young, a seven-time All-Star and Gold Glove winner, has found a new home this winter via trade, as has National League Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey.Here is a peak at some other names that may find themselves in new laundry come the 2013 season.Begin Slideshow

Boston Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington has certainly proven himself this winter as being a man of discipline.Well, thus far anyway.In signing David Ross, Jonny Gomes and Mike Napoli there has been one consistent theme: overpay for shorter contracts while filling a need.The Red Sox gave free agent catcher Ross two years and $6.2 million to be a back up; or so it seems.They followed that move up by signing Gomes to a two-year $10 million contract, which had some fans scratching their heads. For all intents and purposes, Gomes will likely be a fourth outfielder. Many fans have been clamoring to Boston sports radio, calling for the team to bring back Cody Ross.Reportedly, Cody Ross is looking for a three-year deal in the ballpark of $25 million—a price the team has yet to cough up for the slugger.By adding Mike Napoli to the mix, once again the team likely overpaid, ...

For 20 seasons in Major League Baseball, Gary Sheffield terrorized opposing pitchers, belting 509 home runs (24th all-time) while driving in 1,676 RBI during his illustrious career.A nine-time All-Star and five-time Silver Slugger Award winner, Sheffield knows what it takes to be successful on the diamond, and with his new consulting firm, he is proving that he knows how to maintain his successful ways outside of the game.Sheffield Sports & Entertainment Management Group is a sports and entertainment consulting firm owned by Gary Sheffield, his wife DeLeon Sheffield and his business partner Xavier D. James.Mr. Sheffield was kind enough to give me a few minutes of his time to discuss his firm, his free agent Jason Grilli, the Hall of Fame and more.Here's what Sheff had to say.Begin Slideshow

In her piece for ESPN.com's Sweet Spot blog, Christina Kahrl makes a compelling case for what the Boston Red Sox need to do this winter to remain contenders in 2013.In general, the theme of the piece focuses on how the team can be competitive next season while not breaking the bank on any one particular free agent. Instead, she outlines five strategic moves that can be made to bolster the team for relatively short money with flexibility in mind.The first move, and likely the biggest signing of the winter as suggested by Kahrl, would be for the Red Sox to sign veteran 1B/DH/OF Lance Berkman to a one-year deal to play first base.Initially, the collective groan of Red Sox Nation could be heard throughout the airwaves in Boston when the team was rumored to be "kicking the tires" on Berkman, as he told the Houston Chronicle.The last thing Red Sox ...

As hard as it may seem, put aside any thoughts you have regarding Melky Cabrera and his PED suspension at the end of the 2012 season.Regardless of his indiscretions, Cabrera is a viable option to play the outfield at Fenway Park.As a reminder, in his 113 games in 2012, Cabrera owned a .346/.390/.516/.906 batting line with 159 hits, 25 doubles, 10 triples, 11 home runs and 60 RBI while walking 36 times versus 63 strikeouts.His power and swing were seemingly built for Fenway. Taking a closer look at his 11 home runs in 2012, eight of them would have been towering shots over the Green Monster onto Lansdowne Street, as reflected on ESPN's Home Run Tracker website.In his career, Cabrera has played in 39 games at Fenway Park, resulting in 141 total at-bats with 42 hits, seven doubles, a home run and 16 RBI while posting a .298/.348/.369/.717 batting line.Additionally, against ...