It's almost hard to believe that, after a crazy season that we just finished, that the following offseason hasn't captured the same flair as the months preceding. So, we'll get to what's happened so far, little as it is.
The Florida Marlins seem to be one of the few teams that realize that it's time to wheel and deal now that there are no games to play. They shipped Cameron Maybin and Dan Uggla out to San Diego and Atlanta respectively, and signed ex-Jays catcher John Buck to a 3-year deal. Signing Buck was a big plus for Florida, seeing as they had nothing this season that resembled a reliable starting catcher. Now, John Buck is no Joe Mauer, but after finally having a breakout season last year (his 6th season as a major leaguer), his trade stock rose considerably and the Marlins snatched him up before anyone else could. As far as Maybin goes, he should help the Padres' outfield with his youth (he's 23, going to a team where the average age of an outfielder is 30), but after a moderately disappointing tenure with the Marlins, he's going to have to improve quite a bit to make a splash. I can't see how the Fish benefit at all from losing Uggla; he's 26, never been on the DL, and is the first second baseman in history to reach 4 consecutive 30+ home run seasons. He'll definitely add a lot of depth and power to a Braves lineup that could certainly use it. On the flip side, gaining Omar Infante is not something I would necessarily call positive, but seeing as he's a strong utility player on a team where consistency is not something normally associated with many of the players not named Hanley Ramirez, he may be able to have a bigger effect on Florida's playoff hopes than he did for Atlanta's.
I read on ESPNNewYork.com that Derek Jeter's personal trainer has completely lost touch with reality, in that he believes Jeter could be a viable, worthwhile player for the Yanks until 2017, coincidentally the same year fan favorite Alex Rodriguez's deal expires. Now, as even the casual reader of this blog will know, it's true that 2010 was Jeet's worst statistical year of his career. However, 2009 was one of his best, something not usually said of a 35-year-old shortstop playing every day in a game full of kids half his age. The trainer claims that his client will bounce back and have a remarkable season in 2011, and hopefully beyond. Of course, this is mainly contingent on Jeter and Yanks GM Brian Cashman ever agreeing on his future and what he's worth, but only The Almighty Himself knows when that deal will come to pass.
2 of the big 3 awards have been presented in the time since I last posted: Rookie of the Year and the Cy Young. No surprises in 3 out of 4...Buster Posey won the NL award for rookies, and Neftali Feliz won it in the AL...Roy Halladay won the NL Cy Young, becoming just the 5th pitcher in history to win the award in both leagues...and then, something miraculous happened. Felix Hernandez, a starting pitcher for the Seattle Mariners who went just 13-12 the entire regular season, beat out CC Sabathia, the only pitcher in the AL with 20 or more wins this season, for the AL Cy Young. Apparently, this comes as a shock only to me. Every analyst I've watched or read predicted this would happen. And it makes sense: King Felix led in ERA (2.27) and innings pitched (249.2), and came second in strikeouts (232), trailing the Angels' Jered Weaver by only 1 K. However, it's always been my understanding that all those unimportant stats are thrown out the window come voting time, and that it's all about what you have to show for your efforts: those precious wins. It seems this is no longer the case, and rightfully so. If a pitcher's stats are great, but his win-loss record is not far from south of .500, it reflects more on his team's inability to provide sweet run support to boost him up and away. This is a problem Zack Greinke is far too familiar with. It'd certainly be nice to see both hurlers on teams where they can have a bigger effect in the coming years.
Boy, I wish more trades and signings would happen...is that too much to ask?
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