Right now the Major League Baseball off-season is going through it’s usual “nothing’s going on right now go watch the playoffs” phase. Right now there are only arbitration avoiding one year deals going on and every now and then a player retires. the next ten players to be on the move might just be during the deadline when teams, though thought they can contend for the playoff spot end up out the race early. It’s never too early to predict.
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MLB Predictions: Picking the Division Winners for the 2011 Season
New year. New upcoming season. New hope. New glory. New failure. Everything is all new in this wonderful month. But will the playoff predictions be any different?
Here is Tony Capobianco’s 2011 playoff predictions. I will probably hear it from pissed off fans from about twenty two different fan bases.
MLB Hall Of Fame: Tony Capobianco’s Ballot (If He Had One)
In wake of the upcoming Hall of Fame elections, I have decided to cast an unofficial ballot.
John Franco: The all-time leader in saves for a left-handed closer.
Lee Smith: Was Trevor Hoffman before Trevor Hoffman.
Fred McGriff: 493 homers… close enough
Roberto Alomar: One of, if not the best second baseman of all time.
Bert Blyleven: Bert is the pitching version of Fred McGriff. Didn’t get 300 wins, but was very close.
Rafael Palmeiro: I don’t care about controversy—500 home runs and 3,000 hits is Hall worthy.
Mark McGwire: His impact of the game during his career in St. Louis was vital… 500 homers help too.
Tim Rains: Next best thing to Ricky Henderson.
Juan Gonzalez: Growing up, Gonzo was my favorite player.
Barry Larkin: Mr. Red is one of the most complete shortstops in the game of baseball.
Larry Walker: Three batting titles, Canada’s prototype star and a cornerstone for two franchises.
Jeff Bagwell: Both he and Craig Biggio belong in the Hall of Fame.
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MLB Free Agency: 10 Teams Who Should Take One Final Risk on Manny Ramirez
When you see a hitter hit long balls year after year after year, you tend to evaluate the hitter’s value based only on his power numbers.
Based on Manny’s injury-riddled 2010 season with only nine home runs and 42 RBI’s, many have wondered if he has anything left in the tank. I think people may have overlooked his .298 batting average, which, to me, shows that he may not have his pop anymore, but he is still a very smart hitter. If he is placed in the proper position in the lineup as a DH, he will get on base and drive in runners.
Believe it or not there are 10 teams who need to give Manny another chance.
2011 MLB Preview: Barry Zito Is The X-Factor In The Giants-Phillies Pitching War
In 2010, the San Francisco Giants won the World Series with a top-of-the-line rotation featuring four great starting pitchers, including two-time Cy Young-winner “big time Timmy Jim” Lincecum and his 231 strikeouts.
Each member of the Giants fab four have an ERA in the threes with Lincecum and Sanchez recording over 200 strikeouts.
Madison Bumgarner has emerged as the Cole Hamels of their staff with a 3.00 ERA in 18 starts.
Speaking of Cole Hamels, the Philadelphia Phillies have become a force in the National League with their version of the fab four, just with bigger names: Roy Halladay vs. Tim Lincecum, Cliff Lee vs. Matt Cain, Roy Oswalt vs. Jonathan Sanchez and Cole Hamels vs. Madison Bumgarner.
That leaves former ace Barry Zito.
Zito’s move to the National League hasn’t been good for him lately and he hasn’t matched his 16-win total that he had in his last year in the American League with the Oakland Athletics. He did, however, post a decent first half which had many believe that he was back to his old self.
But sadly, things went completely south in the second half, in which he won one start after the All-Star break.
But there is still hope for Zito. Being in the fifth spot will only benefit him. And he will have to be somewhat close to his old ace self if the Giants are to have an advantage over the Philadelphia Phillies.
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Tampa Bay Rays Should Use Six-Man Rotation In Order To Contend
The Tampa Bay Rays have shown that they don’t have the cash to splash in the hot-stove season, which is why they were forced to let Carl Crawford sign a mega-deal with the Boston Red Sox, Carlos Pena sign $10 million single-year deal with the Chicago Cubs and trade Jason Bartlett to the San Diego Padres for next to nobody.
The only unit that the Rays have intact is their starting rotation, and that can go a long way for a playoff contender.
Right now they have six good-to-great starting pitchers in their roster. The usual rotation consist of five starters, having each starter go every fifth day.
The Rays will need to maximize their strength and use a six-man rotation. That will give each stater an extra day of rest and will keep them rested and fresh in nearly every game of the season.
Each starter had at least 12 wins or more in 2010. Three of those starters pitched 200 innings or more. Three starters had an ERA less than four and two starters had at least 180 strikeouts.
By using all six of their starters, including young phenom Jeremy Hellickson, the Rays, along with a small-ball, athletic offense anchored by Evan Longoria, can still contend and still be the wedge between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox in the AL East.
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MLB Free Agency: Power Ranking the 10 Most Shocking Moves of the Offseason
A lot of people thought they had MLB free agency all figured out.
They’re pretty much wrong.
A lot of players went on to sign with different teams. Teams who looked to be major players turned out not to be and small market teams who figured to be silent turn into major players and future contenders.
In honor of the surprising off season I bring you this brand new power ranking list.
HERE WE GO!
Zack Greinke Traded to Brewers: Power Ranking the 10 Best NL Pitchers in 2011
With Zack Greinke going to the Brewers, it now looks like the National League is now the pitching power of the majors. The American League took a hit when Cliff Lee went to the Phillies and now Greinke is a Brewer, there’s no telling whether or not Carl Pavano is going to the National League as well.
With that in mind, it’s only fitting to rank the Top 10 best pitchers of the National League. Which I’m sure will include Greinke.
Manny Ramirez: Should the Tampa Bay Rays Sign Him as DH?
When you see a hitter hit long balls year after year after year, you tend to evaluate the hitter’s value based only on his power numbers.
Based on Manny’s injury-riddled 2010 season with only nine home runs and 42 RBI, many have wondered if he has anything left in the tank. I think people may have overlooked his .298 batting average, which, to me, shows that he may not have his pop anymore, but he is still a very smart hitter and if he is placed in the proper position in the lineup as a DH, he will get on base and drive in runners.
The Tampa Bay Rays will need another star to team with Evan Longoria in an effort to spike up the ticket sales. My guess is that he’ll come cheap and will be very productive for the Rays, a team who despite losing a lot of players still has one of the best rotations intact.
Here’s hoping Rays fans.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com
MLB Trade Rumors: 10 Near-Deals That Teams Will Regret Not Making
A wise man once said that when your team sucked last year, change the roster. That man was so wise that he didn’t tell me his name.
But fogetaboutit.
The point is that when teams suck and no top-tier free agent wants to go to a losing team—probably because they have already played on a losing team for most of their career—they then need to make trades so that they start winning again.
But for some reason the trades that need to happen sometimes never do, for one reason or another.