Kuzul

The San Francisco Giants should have made five moves this offseason in addition to re-signing free agents Jeremy Affeldt, Angel Pagan and Marco Scutaro, and extending the contract of Santiago Casilla.A big splash for a free agent like Josh Hamilton or Nick Swisher to improve left field would have made sense. However, once the Giants completed the task of bringing back their key free agents, the budget did not allow for another big ticket item.Thus, the additional moves that the Giants should have made are not as exciting as signing a marquee free agent, but they still would have significantly improved the team.Let's take a deeper look at each of the moves the Giants should have made in order of their significance for the 2013 team.(All contractual data in this article is taken from Cot's Contracts and all statistics are from ESPN.)Begin Slideshow

Although the Boston Red Sox are apparently exploring all options in an attempt to find a first baseman for next season, the answer is not aging free agent Bobby Abreu. According to WEEI’s Alex Speier (via a tweet by Venezuelan journalist Rafael Tejera), the Red Sox recently worked out Abreu, an outfielder, in Venezuela. Part of the session included him taking ground balls at first base. Earlier this offseason, the Red Sox agreed to a three-year, $39 million contract with free agent Mike Napoli. However, because of concern over his hip, Boston started renegotiating, so no deal has been finalized. The Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham reported that signing Napoli remains a priority for the Red Sox, but they have also started exploring alternatives. Boston has been in contact with Adam LaRoche, the top remaining first baseman on the free-agent market. However, The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo wrote that the team ...

What had been a dream season for the Los Angeles Dodgers thus far took a major blow on Monday, with news that MVP favorite Matt Kemp would be put on the disabled list because of a strained left hamstring. Going into Tuesday's play, the Dodgers had the best record in baseball at 24-11 and the largest first-place margin among the six division leaders. Perhaps that six-game lead over an increasingly weak-looking NL West is enough of a cushion for the Dodgers to withstand two weeks without their best player.However, even without that cushion, the Dodgers should be able to get by without Kemp in the lineup temporarily. Obviously, they're a lesser team without him, and no club can enjoy sustained success with their best player on the DL. Several things have to go right for the Dodgers to continue winning games while Kemp is out. But these three factors are working in ...

The Los Angeles Angels (6-14) released slumping veteran outfielder Bobby Abreu, opening up a spot in the lineup for 20-year-old prospect Mike Trout.Regardless of how the highly-touted Trout turns out in only his second stint under the bright lights of the big leagues, cutting Abreu will still be the right move.Los Angeles had made attempts to move the 38-year-old before the season began, and after the team's brutal start to the year (the Angels' worst since 2002), Abreu's .208 batting average became a liability.Angels manager Mike Scioscia addressed the club's move Friday night. Via Zack Meisel of MLB.com: Right now, there are some parts of our club that we need to get moving forward. I don't think this is going to be a cure-all, because I think there are things that we definitely need to come into play. [Trout] is a young, exciting player that's going to come up and hopefully ...

As the MLB season heads into the dog days of summer, we all sit in anticipation to see what big names will be moved at the deadline. Will the New York Yankees get their top of the line pitcher? Will the Milwaukee Brewers make another surprising splash like they did in acquiring C.C. Sabathia in 2008? We will find out soon. At this point, we can just sit back and hold out hope that our respective teams can keep winning ballgames—pleading that they are in position to make a bold move at the deadline. On the other hand, it doesn't always work out as planned—as no one wants to be on the losing end of a bad deal. We've seen many lopsided deals over the last 20 years—although in most cases it takes years to determine the winner. Here are the 13 Most Lopsided Deals Since 1990.Begin Slideshow

Jayson Werth became a fan favorite in his four seasons with the Phillies, be it because of his great production on the field, his blue-collar attitude and hard work, or his beard. Werth his 95 home runs, batted in 300 runs, and stole 60 bases. He was the power right-handed bat that balanced a lefty-dominated middle of the lineup. He also was very good defensively, both with his fielding and his arm. He was very productive for the Phillies. So productive, in fact, he became too pricey to keep. A free agent, Werth signed a seven-year, $126 million contract with the Washington Nationals, numbers the Phillies were in no way going to compete with. While the fan base is disappointed they won't be keeping their bearded right-fielder, they must remember that the team has lost fan-favorite outfielders before, replaced them without missing a step, and watched the decline of the by-gone outfielder's career. It all ...

Sunday afternoon's game between the Los Angeles Angels and the Chicago White Sox may have had no bearing on the playoffs, but it was certainly historic in nature. In the first inning, right fielder Bobby Abreu stepped to the plate and hit his 40th double of the season, marking the fifth time in his career that he has surpassed 20 HR, 20 SB, and 40 doubles. No other player in Major League history has reached this trifecta more than three times. It's an extraordinary achievement for Abreu, who continues to provide speed, power, and timely hitting at the age of 36. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough for the Angels, who eventually lost 4-3 to complete the sweep of the weekend series by the White Sox. Halos manager Mike Scioscia started four rookies in this game, who combined for five hits, four strikeouts, and two errors. Both errors were committed by rookie shortstop Andrew Romine, playing ...

In a much publicized battle of the aces, Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Dan Haren matched Seattle Mariners ace Felix Hernandez pitch for pitch. Neither backed down. After the two aces hit the showers, Seattle capitalized, scoring three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to defeat the Angels, 3-1. For seven innings, Haren and Hernandez gave the crowd at Safeco Field an old-fashioned pitcher's duel, tossing goose eggs until both tired after seven innings. Haren scattered seven hits and struck out eight, throwing 110 pitches, while Hernandez threw a gem of his own, giving up just three hits and striking out eight, throwing 103 pitches. In the top of the eighth, the Angels scratched across a run. After Peter Bourjos struck out swinging, Alberto Callaspo doubled to left. Howie Kendrick then laced a double to left field, the ball bouncing into the stands for a ground-rule double, plating Callaspo with the ...

On the homemade page-of-the-day calendar that I made my wife as a Christmas present, today's page reads as follows: "On this date in 2006, Bobby Abreu was traded by the Philadelphia Phillies to the New York Yankees for, well, not much. Although the deal was heavily criticized at the time, the Phillies have since enjoyed the winningest period in their history, winning three division titles, making two trips to the World Series, and winning the 2008 World Championship. "More relevantly, it was the day we moved to Philadelphia." For Philadelphia fans, that day meant the end of the misery known as Bobby Abreu, Philadelphia Phillie. What only fans who watched him day in and day out could appreciate was that Abreu, while accumulating impressive numbers in the home runs, stolen bases, and bases on balls departments, could be a spectacularly bad fielder and could, at times, give the impression of not trying all that ...

This article is a look at the fascinating numbers, unexpected performances, and season projections from the first half of Major League baseball's 109th season.  .454 - Josh Hamilton's batting average in the month of June. 18 - Days the NL West leading San Diego Padres have spent out of first place. Since April 19, they have been in first place for 70 out of 74 days. 82 - The number of All-Stars this season.  .143/.238/.286 - All-Star David Ortiz's batting line in April. Since May 1 it is .297/.420/.630 103 - Projected wins for baseball's top team, the New York Yankees. 52-110 - Win/loss pace of the Baltimore Orioles after they ended the first half on a four game win streak.  17 for 30 - The success rate of Oriole closers this year. 24 - Number of losses separating the Pittsburgh Pirates from their 18th consecutive losing season.  This ...