I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm over hearing about the final, inconsequential free agents scrambling to find a new home before April; I'M READY FOR SOME GAMES. The buildup to this season has been, if possible, even more intense than last year's offseason, and the anticipation has made me antsier than Roger Clemens in Washington. Let's think about some of the things we might see in the near and distant future.
We've got a lot to look forward to this year. We're about to see, quite possibly, the greatest starting rotation in baseball history with the Philadelphia Phillies; the Boston Red Sox promise to be a nearly-unstoppable offensive force; and, of course, the Arizona Diamondbacks are being very cute in pretending like adding near-perfect Armando Galarraga and a slew of other, somehow less effective pitchers and players will help them reach October. We're still wondering (well, some of us are) if Andy Pettitte will finally make a decision to either retire or play another year; Lord knows the Yankees sorely need his expertise...the thought of A. J. Burnett as the number 2 starter sounds like, well, number 2. We're hopeful that the Rangers, who've been busy making quite a lot of noise in signings and soundbites alike, can back up their talk and their recent postseason victories with an impressive season, but since they too missed out on the Cliff Lee Sweepstakes, chances are good Adrian Beltre's bat won't raise their spirits much.
Tampa Bay reunited former "Idiots" Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez on the Rays roster for next season. It's looking like Damon will play some outfield and split time with Ramirez at the DH position. Now, to be honest, I like the Rays. Sure, they knocked my precious Yanks out of the running for the division pretty handily in '10, but that just meant they were a strong team. They lost a lot of vital parts of that championship-caliber team this year, but I like their scrappiness (remember, scrappiness isn't something to turn your nose up at; if it didn't matter, the phrase "San Francisco Giants, the 2010 World Series Champions" wouldn't exist). That being said, what were they thinking? Two players well past their prime won't restore them to recent glory. Sure, both Damon and Ramirez have 2 World Series rings (1 together), but their time is clearly coming to a close. At 37 and 38, it would make more sense if they played a minimalized role and served as mentors to the young core of Rays players, in the interest of passing along knowledge and skills useful in the postseason. But it seems like they've been brought in to seriously try to revitalize this sputtering team. Really? In a game where 19 year olds are viewed as ready for The Show, you expect 2 players twice that age to be as effective as they were 6 years ago? Wishful thinking, Joe Maddon. Wishful thinking indeed.
Yankees GM Brian Cashman recently said that he could see Derek Jeter switching to the outfield before his current 3-year stint is over. Let the scoffing commence.
And now, to the Cardinal-sized elephant in the room: the teensy-weensy matter of St. Louis' dedication to making Albert Pujols a Redbird for the entirety of his career. The Cardinals brass is somewhat uneasy about giving Pujols an A-Rod caliber deal; not because they have any doubt in his ungodly abilities, but their payroll is comparable to that of a high-profile little league team. They've done a lot to put good players (Matt Holliday, Adam Wainwright, Colby Rasmus) in the field and on the mound to support him in taking St. Louis back to the Fall Classic, but with a ton of moolah reserved solely for him, it'll be tough for the Cards to pay any of those players for the chance to continue playing with Big Al, let alone bring in more good players to further that support. Therefore, the most prudent option is the one that nobody, but nobody, wants to happen: Albert Pujols, possibly the greatest overall baseball player of this generation, becomes a free agent and signs with another team. Scary thought, right? Pujols recently stated that he would veto any trade proposals, and talks about how he wants to remain a Cardinal for his whole career, but the facts are unfortunate...if they can't offer him the kind of money he's looking for (and deserves), he'll take his talents elsewhere. There have been frightened whispers he could go to the Cards' longtime "rival", the Chicago Cubs (remember, while they did sign Carlos Pena this offseason, they only signed him to a 1-year deal); this would certainly mix the NL Central division up nicely. Only time will tell what the next phase in this ongoing "will-they-or-won't-they" scenario, since Albert has made it clear that all talks and negotiations stop when spring training starts (in roughly 3 weeks).
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