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.