Another Friday morning means an update to my pre-season MLB power rankings. With the plethora of trades and free agent signings, these rankings have slightly changed from 2 weeks ago. Needless to say, Shane and Dews wont be happy.
1 (1). Boston Red Sox- Nothing has changed. They have the best rotation, bullpen, and closer in baseball. There lineup is second to only Detroit
2 (2) Detroit Tigers- Again, no significant moves. They have the best lineup in the game and a solid rotation. Willis's contract extension could motivate him to be the pitcher he was in 2006
3 (3) New York Yankees- The trade rumors involving Santana heating up again.
4.(4) LA Dodgers- Rumor has it they are in the hunt for Tony Clark. Yeh, THE Tony Clark. They need to focus on filling some holes in the infield and add some depth. They do have an amazing bullpen and quality starters. I still have them at 4 because they added talent without losing talent.
5 (6)Chicago Cubs- The addition of Fukudome balances out their outfield. I think they overspent to get him but it is the Cubs. Looks like they are prepared to sell the team to Mark Cuban with that add.
6 (5) LA Angels- They could fall further if they trade Casey Kotchman (Which is rumored). They have a very solid lineup but no depth.
7 (9) San Diego Padres- They continue to acquire talent. The additions of Jim Edmonds and Tad Iguchi filled crucial holes.
8 (7) Cleveland Indians- No news is good news
9 (13) Arizona Diamondbacks- Dan Haren is that good and will thrive in the NL West. Arizona has a damn good 1-2 punch with him added into the mix. Whats funny is that they didnt lose much in terms of minor league talent. The A's got no quality prospects in this deal. But there is always a method to Beane's madness.
10 (9) Colorado Rockies- They lost Matsui and failed to snag Iguchi. They have no definitive 2b and nobody in the minors that is good enough to fill in. BUT, All is still good when you have Hawpe, Holliday, and Helton at Coors.
11(10) Minnesota Twins- They could easily lose this generous spot. Like I said before tho, Pedro Liriano is healthy again.
12 (11) Philadelphia Philly’s- The loss of Rowand will haunt this team but they have enough talent to KINDA make up for it. Remember, Rowand is a road warrior!
13 (22) Houston Astros- Sure Tejada might have been juiced during his MVP days, but he was as solid as a 161 games played SS is. He will VASTLY improve this team offensively and with the glove. They also traded for a solid closer in Valverde. Lidge who?? Well done Houston.
14 (13) New York Mets- Im begging to move this team further down on the power rankings. But they havent really lost anyone without finding replacements, i.e. Schnieder for LoDuca. Plus Pedro will be healthy. Oh, and there is always a Rickey factor.
15 (14) Milwaukee Brewers- No changes yet. Jenkins is replaceable in there lineup.
16 (16) Tampa Bay Rays- They are still my shock pick. Yes they moved up only because of Seattle's future regretful FA acquisition
17 (15) Seattle Mariners- Yes, they lost a spot. Have they not learned from there mistakes with Jeff Weaver??? Carlos Siva is now a 10 million dollar pitcher and for what reason?? He is average at best and I think will make this team worse. Stupid Stupid!! Other than that crap move, they havent done much in terms of depth.
18 (17) Atlanta Braves- It will be tough to figure out which Brave team will take the field; Atlanta or Richmond. But Hudson, Smoltz, and Glavine always gives them hope.
19 (23) Washington Nationals- Why the huge move up? They signed talented ex-Braves in Willie Harris and Pete Orr. I do think those moves are THAT significant. Word also has it that their ace John Patterson is healthy. Michael O'Connor (who was released) resigned with the team so that gives them a solid left handed SP. Well played Nats.
20(18) Toronto Bluejays- Not to shabby grabbing David Eckstein.
21(25) San Francisco Giants- YES, WE DID SOMETHING. Aaron Rowand is a huge add for a team with no power and he is a road warrior. Something the Giants have lacked for a few years. Rowand, Winn, and Roberts gives us an air tight OF. We may get a boost of offense here and the best part is that our pitching remains in tact. If Zito can regain his cy young status, we could earn a wild card. Its a HUGE IF though. Rumor has it that Konerko is on the trading block and SF Giants are a contendor. Not sure if we need another salary leach though
22 (20) Chicago Whitesox- WAKE UP!!! Still a solid rotation and bullpen.
23 (24) Cincinnati Reds- They gain spots only because they didnt pull off absolute stupid trades.
24 (21) St Louis Cardinals- Not sure why they traded Edmonds but they also lost Eckstein. What the hell are you thinking??? 2 fan favorites
25 (26) Texas Rangers- Again, you gain spots for not making bonehead trades.
26 (29) Pittsburgh Pirates- No moron trades here, and yes, you have a better team now than the A's and Orioles. Rumors are flying about Bay getting traded. No better time than now I say
27 (19) Oakland A's- Where to begin. You trade your best pitcher, your ace hasnt pitched more than 10 games in 2 straight seasons and you still have no offense. You got very little in return, at least no impact players for 2008 and 2009. You beat out Baltimore only by a thread and that the O's are in a much tough division. But when its all said and done, the biggest enemy in Oaktown will be the injury bug
28 (27) Baltimore Orioles- Stupid Stupid Stupid!!! You traded Tejada away for practically nothing. Who will fill in at SS now, Cal Ripkin Jr might still be the best SS in Baltimore. Do the right thing and keep Bedard!!
29 (28) Kansas City Royals- You snagged a decent Relief pitcher from Atlanta, still not enough to salvage a season here. I could be wrong though
30 (30) Florida Marlins- The city of Miami is used to a last place team so this should come as no shock.
11 comments:
People thought we were crazy when we gave up the Big 3, and it worked. Eventually you naysayers will begin to believe
Very true, but of all the great pitchers the A's have traded or let go via Free agency, Haren may be the most complete.
Time will tell...
Actually the Tejada deal brought in a couple of pretty decent pitching prospects including a solid, hopefully, RP which they are in desperate need of. Also if the O's can't reach a deal with Bedard which they are currently having troubles doing, he might be worth more than he ever will be right now. I like Bedard a lot and I would love to keep him.. I just don't see him as an Oriole next year.. If they are gonna trade away Tejada and put Roberts on the Block as well.. they might as well get rid of people like Bedard and hope for some top level talent to emerge in the next few years.
I dont think the Tejada deal filled any short term needs. As for pitching, other than Bedard, the O's have had very little luck grooming young pitchers. I think they could have traded him for much more.
Brian Roberts is on the trading block, The Chicago Cubs are drooling over him. I think its a mistake trading him as well, regardless of what "Prospect" youll get. They need to hold onto young talent with experience if they want to compete. Other than Bedard and Roberts, who do the O's have to count on??
I agree, I do think that Bedard is hands down one of the top 5 best pitchers in all of baseball. Why let go of that kind of gold.
I agree with keep Roberts.. not only because he's very talented and he's a great person to have in the club house but he's one of my favorites.. The only person from the cubs I would be almost happy with from dealing Roberts would be Pie.. but I doubt the Cubs would go 1 for 1 with those two. The only reason I think they should trade Bedard is the fact he's only gonna be there another year or two at most if they can't work out an extention.. and from rumors and what Bedard has said he has little interest in being an Oriole after his contract has expired.
Also if your the Orioles right now you have to be thinking more long term than short term. The Red Sox are gonna be very good for the next 4-5 years at least and the Yankees are still the Yankees.. So I have no problem trading away Bedard for some pitching and perhaps Adam Jones if the Seattle deal follows through.. Either way the O's are looking at a 90 loss season with or without Bedard next year.
Of course if it were up to me I would have Angelos gone in a matter of seconds.. I honestly can't picture this team winning as long as he is there owner.
The Orioles need to stay competitive, especially in the East. So why trade key elements for another future project. The last time the O's took a Cubs CF was Corey Patterson so I would be alittle hesitant there. Pie reminds me of another CP.
But you have a point; If Bedard wants out then the best thing to do is trade him, but do it the right way. Look at Minnesota; they wont budge unless they get "The Guy" in return fpr Santana. Angelos and his flock of GM's do not have the negotiating skills to deal a prize pitcher in Bedard. They will trade him and get nothing in return, just like every other star player they have delt in the past 10 years.
Oh, good call on Angelo's. He is a cancer that keeps growing.
And yet sadly Angelos doesn't actually HAVE cancer
the point in dealing a star that won't resign is not to throw up your hands and say "well we've never done this right so why bother", it has to be that it is a smart baseball decision to do so.
Its not like every other team in baseball doesn't have horrible trade pasts (what was that catcher's name again SayHey that made you guys lose Nathan, Liriano and Bonser? :) ), its just that you have to keep moving on and hope that it works out.
The O's are not built to be competitive by a certain date, so blowing the whole thing up with a competent GM for once may actually get them on the right track for 4-5 years from now. Keeping Roberts or Bedard puts them well in their 30's for that time period, or it lets them deal them for talent that may be matured by then.
Just simple baseball economics really. Take a chance, hope for the best.
Yes, we made a moron trade by acquiring AJ, but we made alot of good ones during that time. Name one other trade that we have made that sunk our team??
What have the O's done recently? Jaret Wright, Kris Benson, Steve Trachsel, Millar?? These are just a sample of moron moves that the O's front office have recently made
The O's may not have much of a shot to compete, but they can at least try make an effort to get better each year. I think the number 1 goal right now for Baltmore is to NOT have fans walk out during a home game.
you don't know Angelos very well then, we've been walking out for years now and it hasn't effected him one bit. He got a sweet deal in the cable company deal with MASN, he has no incentive to make the team immediately competitive.
Andy MacPhail is supposed to be part of the solution, thus those trades or signings can't be attributed to him. He is supposedly tasked with rebuilding this organization, though it will take time to see whether Angelos will really let him do his job or meddle as per his usual.
Its been a shitshow ever since Angelos ran Pat Gillick, Davey Johnson, and Jon Miller out of town in the late 90's. Whats a few more years for us long-suffering O's fans, if we actually let a baseball man make some decisions on some long term stability?
Well, not being an O's fan I guess your entitled to be miserable for years to come.
I do know Angelo's and the fact that he is a cheap bastard is due in part by Albert Belle. After Belle was diagnosed with an arthritic hip in his 2nd year (of a 5 year deal), he refused to retire and he collected HUGE paychecks. Since then, Angelo's GM's have never had the balls to sign anyone of significance.
All I know is that if Peter McGowan treated the Giants like Angelo's treats the O's, id be one pissed off fan.
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