The New York Mets are a complete mess, the Washington Nationals are the Nationals, the Florida Marlins spend little to no money, the Atlanta Braves have a new manager for the first time since 1990, and the Philadelphia Phillies are loaded with pitching and tremendous talent. In the words of Soul Asylum, the Philadelphia Phillies will be a "runaway train never coming back".
*Teams listed in order of predicted finish
The Philadelphia Phillies
They are the favorite to win the World Series. They are baseball's fastest growing dynasty. And they will easily take the crown in the NL East for the 5th straight year. The Phillies have been to two of the last three World Series and won it all in 2008. Their starting rotation is elite, and may go down as epic. With the biggest signing in the off season the Phillies added starting pitcher Cliff Lee, to a rotation that already includes 7-time all star and holder of two Cy Young awards, Roy Halladay, 2008 World Series MVP, Cole Hamels, as well as 3-time all star and Gold Medalist, Roy Oswalt.
Phillies shortstop, Jimmy Rollins said he thinks the team will win 100 games and he's probably right. The Phillies won 97 games last season without the services of Cliff Lee and only had Roy Oswalt for half the year. With the exception of Jayson Werth heading to this nation's capital to play for the Wahington Nationals, the Phillies line-up is virtually the same. Each member of their infield has been to an all star game and has won a silver slugger award. Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard have both taken home MVP awards in last five seasons. Critics will argue that this infield core are becoming too old to be effective and are injury prone. In reality, Placido Polanco is the only individual over 32 years old and he has never fallen victim to any sort of significant injury. *knocks on wood*
Jimmy Rollins suffered a strained calf that landed him on the DL for only the second time in his 11 year career. Chase Utley battled a sprained thumb as well as a broken finger and still played in 110 games last season. The truth is these guys are gamers and you can expect to see their names in the line-up more often than not. This team is filled with veteran experience and they posses more awards than a Golden Globes after party. In 2011, the Philadelphia Phillies will look to add more hardware to an already crowded trophy case.
The Atlanta Braves
Replacing him will a be familiar face in Fredi Gonzalez, who was on Cox's coaching staff from 2003-2006 as third base coach, before going on serve as the Flordia Marlins manager for three and a half years until his was fired mid-way through last season after butting heads with Marlins superstar shortstop, Hanley Ramirez. Remember Jerry Sloan? (See article below) It happens in all sports, folks. Gonzalez has gigantic shoes to fill and it won't be easy with a team that will exhibit a rookie first baseman, Freddie Freeman and a rookie closer, Criag Kimbrel.
Obviously, the Braves organization have a great deal of confidence in these young men to name them to these critical roster spots. At 22 years of age, Craig Kimbrel will be asked to finish off opposing teams in the ninth, with the game on the line, all eyes fixated on your every pitch, every movement. That's enormous pressure for even the most tested big leaguer let alone a kid who still gets IDed when purchasing movie tickets for an R rated film.
The Florida Marlins
Despite the fact that the Marlins rarely spend money in free agency and almost never resign big name players, they always seem to be in the mix when September rolls around. They do so through scouting and developing the players from their talent abundant farm system. They have twice shocked the world and won baseball's ultimate prize behind a payroll that wouldn't pay for all of Lil' Wayne's jewelry.
This off season was no different as Marlin fans watched the team trade one of it's best players, second baseman Dan Uggla to the Atlanta Braves, for super utility man, Omar Infante and pitcher Mike Dunn. Unlike most trades Florida's front office makes, this one was justified. They were unable to reach a contract extension with the All Star and instead of letting him walk after the 2011 season and get nothing, the Marlins moved him to Atlanta, picked up Infante, who can play every role from shortstop to left field to nacho vendor. They also freed up some cash, which they later spent on free agent catcher Jon Buck, as well as locking up the ever improving pitcher Ricky Nolasco to a three year deal.
On paper, the Marlins don't look like the most formidable opponents in baseball, but they never do and they always find a way to compete. Teams should never overlook the Marlins, because if they do, they will find this scrappy franchise has them hook, line, and sinker.
The New Mets & The Washington Nationals
The Mets organization is in a state of complete discombobulation. The team may be filing for bankruptcy thanks to their owners possible involvement with the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme. With claims and settlements pending in the amount of $1 billion, the Mets owner may be forced to sell the team and all its assets.
Word is it has cut its vending staff in half and executives are worried the team might not be able to afford player salaries or even conduct day to day baseball operations. And I still think they'll finish with a better record than the Washington Nationals. The Mets front office is a mess, but they have a ton of star power whom can put up giant numbers, as long as they get paid.
The Nationals don't have a whole lot to be excited about either. Their 2010 number one overall draft pick, phenom Stephen Strasburg, will likely miss the entire 2011 season while he recovers from Tommy John surgery, preformed September 3, 2010. They severely overpaid Jayson Werth with a $126 million contract over 7 years. Werth who turns 32 in May, has never had a batting average above .298, has never knocked in 100 runs, has only hit more than 30 home runs once, and has appeared in only one all star game in his 8 year career. With poor investing like that, it will a long time until we see this Nationals team breakout out of the cellar in the NL West.
No comments:
Post a Comment