A Brief Exposition Of Random Musings Regarding The 2012-2013 Offseason (Part 2).

As we inch ever closer to that wonderful day when baseball begins anew, here's another quick update of the goings-on in the best sport on earth:

NO, NO, NAPOLI - Over 3 weeks ago, news broke that catcher/first baseman Mike Napoli agreed to a 3-year, $39 million deal with the Red Sox. As it stands today, the deal has still not been officially announced, or even finalized. There is a lot of confusion surrounding what's holding the deal up, but there is major concern that it has something to do with a hip injury of Napoli's that was not previously made apparent. Napoli had a down year in 2012, hitting .227/24/56 with 125 strikeouts in 108 games, a far cry from his 2011 campaign that saw him post a .320/30/75 line with 40 less strikeouts. Still, as the premier catching option on this year's free agent market aside from A.J. Pierzynski (who, in a bit of serendipity, took Napoli's place on the Rangers roster) and his positional flexibility (he can stand in at first base or DH if necessary) managed to garner him interest from a lot of teams before he eventually decided to accept the Sox's offer. However, the deal was never completed, and here we are, nearly a month after the announcement, and Napoli still hasn't been officially introduced as the newest member of the Sox. Recently, there were reports that the Sox were still negotiating with Adam LaRoche, an extremely strange move if they have someone like Napoli, making LaRoche completely expendable were he to sign in Boston. It almost feels like the Sox are just stockpiling players in an attempt to "rebuild" after their (in my opinion, hilarious) collapse in September 2011 that they appear to still be feeling the effects of. They signed Napoli, Shane Victorino, Ryan Dempster, Stephen Drew, and Koji Uehara, among others, to fill in the many holes in their roster that came about as a result of their blockbuster trade with the Dodgers back in August (if you'll remember, Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez, their two big acquisitions in December 2010, didn't last a full 2 seasons in Boston, and Josh Beckett joined them in Los Angeles). But hey, what didn't work over the past 5 years will surely work now, what with all these players on the wrong side of 30, their third manager in as many seasons, and a fanbase desperately seeking their first World Series appearance in the longest 5 years of New England's life (what happened to everything between 1918 and 2004?). It has to. Right?

A ROYAL GAMBLE - The Royals have been the laughingstock of baseball's weakest division for quite some time, and even though their young major leaguers and their stud prospects are starting to come into their own, they still find themselves in the bottom of the division looking up at the White Sox and Tigers. So, in a move of necessity, they sent top hitting prospect Wil Myers and top pitching prospect Jake Odorizzi, along with two slightly less heralded minor leaguers, to the Rays for pitchers James Shields and Wade Davis. It's hard to determine who wins a trade like this, as the transaction doesn't necessarily explain everything. Many are infuriated that the Royals, whose talented minor league system is finally starting to bubble over into the majors, gave up Myers and Odorizzi, as both were considered to be the next George Brett and Bret Saberhagen in terms of importance to this particular franchise, who are currently mired in the longest postseason drought in baseball history, as well as two other talented prospects (third baseman Patrick Leonard and pitcher Mike Montgomery) who might have helped the talented young nucleus of Hosmer, Moustakas, Perez and Butler bring the Commissioner's Trophy back to the Show-Me State. But what Royals fans may forget is that, while the potential and power is starting to show up on the field and at the plate, the mound is seriously lacking in skill. Royals pitchers combined to rank between 23rd and 28th in all defensive stats, and they pitched so poorly that they ranked third to last in quality starts (69, or roughly how many QS Justin Verlander had through the first month of the season) and opponent's batting average (.270). Luis Mendoza had the lowest ERA on the team...and he posted a 4.23. Bruce Chen led the team with 11 wins. Luke Hochevar...let's not even start on Luke Hochevar, we won't know where to stop. Shields, however, gives this recently vaunted rotation (they also acquired Ervin Santana and Jeremy Guthrie for relatively cheap) a real chance, as he's a notorious innings-eater with a high strikeout rate. He also induces ground balls like a mad man (4th in the league in 2012 with 349), and with the defense behind him, that will account for as many runs being saved as a Cubs-Padres doubeheader. As for the Rays...they did all right. Getting the best hitting prospect in baseball to eventually slot behind Evan Longoria and STILL keeping their insanely good pitching? B.J. Upton who?

KEEP YOUR RIVALS CLOSE, KEEP YOUR DIVISION RIVALS CLOSER - The Angels need pitching. The Mariners need hitting. The Angels need a pitcher who can eat up innings while still providing high strikeout numbers. The Mariners need a proven, powerful batter who can play first base or outfield. Angel Stadium is a notorious pitcher's park, so they need a hurler who can induce fly balls for Mike Trout to leap 15 feet into the air to catch. Safeco Field just had its fences moved in, meaning that sluggers, especially a switch hitter who can take advantage of damn near anything, will be enticed to join the club. I'd say this swap makes perfect sense. The Angels recently acquired Jason Vargas from the Mariners in exchange for Kendrys Morales, and as you can see, it immediately improves both clubs in areas they were previously less than stellar in. Vargas joins a rotation that sees holdovers Jered Weaver and C.J. Wilson welcoming newcomers Tommy Hanson (acquired from the Braves for Jordan Walden in a move that simply solidifies Atlanta's bullpen as the best in the game) and Joe Blanton (you may have forgotten, but he was the 5th man in the best 4-man rotation ever assembled by the Phillies 2 years ago), all in a meager attempt to replace Zack Greinke, who signed with the crosstown rival Dodgers not too long ago. With the Angels' corresponding signing of Josh Hamilton (who was also being courted by the new-and-not-really-improved Mariners), they found themselves with a wonderful problem to have: they had too many outfielders, first basemen and DHs. Hamilton joined Trout and Peter Bourjos in the outfield, relegating Vernon Wells to DH duty (something that a player who hasn't posted a positive defensive WAR since 2007 should have already been doing). Albert Pujols will be manning first base in Anaheim for another 9 years (immediately, the sounds of Angels fans gnashing their teeth in anticipation overwhelms my ears), putting Mark Trumbo at third. And Morales? Well...Seattle. He joins Raul "Yankee Clipper" Ibanez (now in his third stint with the club) as the Mariners' greatest offseason conquests to date. They could still be in play for Michael Bourn, and if they can get him, they should. The Mariners, unsurprisingly, were dead last in every offensive stat in 2012, rising only to 27th in runs scored (619). Not only do they need all the offense they can get, they need players like Justin Smoak and Kyle Seager to pull a Trout and provide them with stellar batting averages and fantastic home run/RBI totals. Otherwise, it'll be a long 2013 in Seattle...how long until Tim Lincecum's ready to come home and throw behind Felix Hernandez?

THE KNEE-BUCKLING KNUCKLER'S A CANUCK - If you had to guess, how often do you think a pitcher wins 20 games, leads his league in strikeouts, innings pitched, and dozens of other stats, wins the Cy Young award, then gets traded, all within 6 months? If you guessed 6, then a few weeks ago you would have been right. Now, there's a 7th. After a 2012 that saw him come almost entirely out of nowhere to confuse and astound players and fans alike by that pitch nobody will ever fully comprehend, R.A. Dickey became one of the top pitchers in the game, and his devastating knuckleball is already drawing him comparisons to Phil Niekro and Tim Wakefield. He won 20 games for a Mets team that only won 74 games, making Dickey responsible for 27 percent of the team's wins on his own. Dickey wanted to remain a Met, and made as much clear to GM Sandy Alderson. In response, Alderson picked up Dickey's 2013 option (which looks like an absolute steal at $5 million), told Dickey he wanted to keep him in Queens, then did everything in his power to force the knuckler out of town. R.A. wanted 2 extra years at $26 million, still far under market value for a pitcher of his caliber. The Mets wouldn't budge from their 2 year/$20 million offer. Realizing they wouldn't find any common ground (the number 23 appears to not exist anymore), they shipped him off to the Blue Jays with a few bit players, and received power-hitting catcher Travis d'Arnaud and several other prospects in return. While Dickey's value has never been higher, the Mets may end up regretting this one. d'Arnaud has an outrageous level of potential, and his minor league stats show that he may be ready to handle one of the most difficult positions on the diamond at the major league level at the age of 24. Noah Syndergaard, one of the pitching prospects the Amazin's got, also projects to be a solid number 3 starter at some point. But you don't ship a Cy Young winner out of town and feel great about it. Knuckleballers historically last far longer in the majors than their hard-throwing contemporaries, and Dickey's only 38, meaning that he theoretically still have 7 or 8 more acceptable playing years left in him. Dickey also has the amazing distinction of being born without an ulnar collateral ligament, meaning he'll never be injured in a way that would require him to undergo Tommy John surgery. That's not just valuable, that's a medical marvel. While this move only serves to make a busy Blue Jays club even better, the Mets may end up being just fine with d'Arnaud behind the plate.

Los Angeles State Of Mind.

Many baseball fans tend to scream endlessly about a perceived "East Coast bias" amongst baseball analysts. They claim that experts and insiders tend to extol the virtues of teams like the Yankees, Red Sox and Phillies while ignoring most franchises west of the Mississippi River. Considering that the last 3 World Series winners and losers were all from MLB's Central or West divisions, it's admittedly getting harder and harder to ignore these teams, but none have stood out more over the last calendar year than the two teams in Los Angeles. Both the Angels and the Dodgers have made waves for various signings and acquisitions, but when each one signs the best available free agent in their respective fields, it signals that it's time to take baseball seriously in California once more.

It's not every day that a franchise signs a Cy Young winner...to be their #2 starter.

First, the Dodgers have been hemorrhaging money since the team was sold by Frank McCourt to Magic Johnson and Stan Kasten, but there have yet to be many negative consequences. They started off by trading for several All-Stars before the deadline this past season, getting Hanley Ramirez, Shane Victorino, Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett, Brandon League and others fitted for Dodger blue before the end of August. Then, they resigned League and won the negotiating rights to Korean hurler Hyun-Jin Ryu, who they also signed to a contract. But undoubtedly the biggest deal of all came just a few days ago, when Zack Greinke, the best starter in this year's market, agreed to a 6-year, $147 million contract that will give him the highest annual salary for a pitcher in baseball history ($24.5 million per year, as opposed to the Yankees' C.C. Sabathia's $24.4 million). With the signing of Greinke, the Dodgers immediately piece together a rotation that will certainly strike fear into the hearts of everyone around the league, as Zack will be the number 2 guy behind fellow Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw. When your top two guys are two of the scariest, most dominant pitchers in the game, having one of Korea's top throwers slotted in at number 3 is really just icing on the cake. Throw in a lineup that still contains Ramirez, Gonzalez, Crawford, Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier, and the Dodgers have the capacity to beat opponents handily with their stellar pitching and equally intimidating offense.

This might be a difficult image for Rangers fans to accept.

Second, but most certainly not last, the Angels have taught us one very important lesson that we must take to heart and keep in mind in future offseasons: whenever you don't hear or see the Angels as a bidder for one of the top free agents, it means they've already signed him to a massive contract that will shock the baseball world. They've now done it three times in the past year, signing Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson to multi-million dollar pacts last December, and putting a nice little bow on Josh Hamilton to put under the proverbial Christmas tree this year. The thing that all three had in common was that next to nobody expected them to spend the next 5-10 years in Anaheim, but the Angels swooped in on every single one of them and made it happen. Hamilton joins a lineup that contains Pujols and reigning Rookie of the Year Mike Trout, and the fans in Los Angeles are already extremely optimistic that Josh will help them achieve what everyone thought was rightfully theirs this time 12 months ago: the pennant in 2013, and quite possibly a World Series win to go along with that. The 3-4 punch of Pujols and Hamilton (it remains to be seen, but it's likely that Sir Albert will hit 3rd while Hambone hits cleanup) immediately rivals Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder of the Tigers in the "Which AL Team Has The Scariest Heart Of The Lineup?" contest, but seeing as both are on the wrong side of 30 and, in Hamilton's case, have somewhat troubling pasts with injuries, there's no guarantee either will replicate their previous MVP-caliber production. Still, with the greatest player of the last decade batting behind a rookie sensation and in front of their newly-minted coworker, it's gotta give Angels fans a thrill to think about the next 3 years...if not the 2-7 after that.

So both teams in L.A. have, on paper, become the two best teams in baseball, almost overnight. But does that guarantee a championship for either team in 2013 and beyond, much less a playoff appearance period?

Sure, the Dodgers seem to have more money than the World Bank (they'll open 2013 with a $230 million payroll, the highest in baseball history and the first National League team ever to have a payroll over $200 million), and the Angels have two of the best, purest hitters of the past 15 years. But both teams missed the playoffs last year, and had to watch their crosstown rival Giants win their second title in three years behind a supporting cast of Marco Scutaro, Angel Pagan and Barry Zito. The Angels in particular should understand that being the best team in December rarely translates into hoisting the Commissioner's Trophy the following October, as they remained out of playoff contention most of the 2012 season. Both teams should take a page from the Yankees, who are beginning to pinch pennies like it's going out of style (and in anticipation of getting their payroll under $189 million before 2014 to avoid the luxury tax). In some ways, though, these massive contracts and marquee signings are imperative to the long-term success of these two teams, as the Dodgers have very little in the way of promising youngsters in the minor leagues, and the Angels have even less. Just like the Phillies in the past 5 years and the Rangers of the past 3, the window may be closing rapidly on Los Angeles' chance to dominate either league, if it hasn't already started shrinking. Just because it's becoming more and more fashionable for players to sign with teams in the West (even a few outside of California), it's not immediately indicative of an internal power shift. While the Angels may enjoy a little more success, having stolen away a huge threat from the Rangers, they still must contend with a surprising Athletics team (lest we forget, they're the reigning AL West champs), a Mariners team with nothing to lose (and the best pitcher in the division in Felix Hernandez), and the crew in Texas that's still hungry for a World Series title after missing out 2 of the last 3 years. The Dodgers have even more to worry about: the Rockies may be in for a rough couple of seasons, but the Diamondbacks are sticking with Justin Upton and signed Brandon McCarthy to help shore up the rotation, the Padres are starting to show signs of life with Chase Headley leading the way, and the Giants are powered in part by a regular season MVP in Buster Posey (who will only be 26 on Opening Day 2013) and a World Series MVP in Pablo Sandoval. Even gambling men like Magic Johnson and Arte Moreno would be advised that the team that spends the most money in the offseason does not automatically cruise through the season to a title. Just ask the 2011 Boston Red Sox, if and when they come out of hiding.

If either of Los Angeles' teams don't win the World Series in the next half-decade, things could turn ugly out in the Golden State. But one thing's for sure: while the East Coast bias may or may not actually exist, it's a beautiful thing to turn to the West and see a chance at great baseball.