The day after the end of the baseball season is always a sad one for me. Though I couldn't play the game worth a damn, it's a lifelong love of mine and big link to my grandpa - I still feel like I'm watching with him every time I see a game though he has been gone for 15 years.
There's always a silver lining for me in the day, and it's the hope that springs eternal. A disappointing season ends, and it's never too early to start thinking about the coming year. The hot stove is a lot of fun for that reason alone.
My early Crew wish list for '11.
1) Give me a leader at manager, and a guy who's familar with the NL. I've always thought Bobby Valentine would be a good fit, but it's too small a pond for him. Fredi Gonzalez and Pat Listach would be on my short list, too, if I were Doug Melvin. Gonzalez got a raw deal in Florida, and Listach is one of the hottest up and comers in the business. I'd take Listach in a heartbeat.
2) Can we get Mike Maddux back, now that Texas canned him? Please?
3) Prince has to be traded, and you're not getting two front-line starting candidates for him. If you can get one quality starter and a projectable infield bat for him, then I say pull the trigger. Boston always has seemed like an ideal counter party, with Papi getting on in years and a glut of quality young pitching. Since I'm playing GM, here, give me Casey Kelly and Yamaico Navarro and I pull the trigger.
4) Now, we need to deal with SP. I've got my #1 in Gallardo. Wolf had a decent second half, suggesting that he might make good on being my #3 or #4 guy next year. I've also got two left handed candidates for the #5 spot in-house - Cappy gets a modest two year deal; along with Narveson, I've got one #5 starter and a quality long lefty in the pen. That means I've got to get a #4 and a #2. Based on what I saw out of Rogers in September, I'm giving him the #4 spot and hoping he can be more than that. Throw the idea of Cliff Lee out the window - too much dough. I would think long and hard about Brandon Webb, but the shoulder injury gives me the willies. Still, if he's healthy, I might throw $12-$14 million per at him if I'm convinced that he's good. My FA shopping list would go in this order:
a1) Brandon Webb - If he's right and in the FA market, he's a potential co-#1 with Yo. Problem is, I probably need to go 5 years on him, which leaves him pretty old at contract's end.
a2) Jeff Francis - Likely the odd man out in Colorado. Going to be pricy, but his peripherals have always been better than Coors Field would let show and he's young enough to give me a solid R-L 1-2 punch for a long time. Again, shoulder issue has me worried.
c) Brad Penny - See Webb, above, but I can likely get him for a shorter contract.
d) Javier Vazquez - Always has been a better NL arm than AL, and I can get him on a shorter contract than Webb or Francis
I also make a run at another injured righty - Justin Duchsherer out of Oakland. He's an asset in the pen or at the back of the rotation, and it's a hip, not an arm. I also pray that my farmhands come along, most notably Kyle Heckathorn, who had a fine first minor league campaign. I send Jeffress to AAA to stretch out and hope he can become a starter and stay off the dank.
5) With Prince gone, there's a huge left-handed hole in the lineup. While Mat Gamel seems like a logical move to 1B, and might be the cheapest route to go, I might make a run at a quality veteran 1B if I think I can get it done next year and can get my pitching settled without breaking the bank. Say I've spent $17 million of my #30-$35 or so that I'll have available on SPs. I've always loved Victor Martinez, and he's a FA in Boston. If I can ship Prince there, I might just get a shot at Martinez. He's a leader, a quality vet, and a switch hitting bat that should be at least as good as Prince was defensively at 1B. If I want to stay cheap and fill holes elsewhere, I go with Gamel, but I think long and hard if I can make a run at V-Mart, who may also give me 25 or so games behind the dish if I need him, and can be a huge asset if I want max lefty bats against a quality RHP by plugging Gamel at 1B.
6) Gamel is the future at 1B. He gets reps there all off-season to improve defensively as well as reps at 3rd to spell McGehee and give me a lefty option in the outfield or at 3B.
7) I also need to make sure my bullpen is good, and this is where I let youth be served to save $.
So, my lineup and 25-man:
CF Lorenzo Cain
2B Ricky Weeks
1B Victor Martinez (4 years, $52 million - $13 million per)
LF Ryan Braun
RF Corey Hart
3B Casey McGehee
C Jonathan LuCroy
SS Alcides Escobar
SP
RHP Gallardo
LHP Francis (5 Years, $65 million - $13 million per)
LHP Wolf
RHP Rogers
LHP Capuano
RP
LHP Narveson
LHP Braddock
LHP Parra
RHP Villaneuva
RHP Loe
RHP Coffey
RHP Axford
Bench
C Kottaras (L)
OF Dickerson (L)
OF Gomez (R)
IF Gamel (L)
IF Cruz (R) -or- FA signee (i.e. Akinori Iwamura/Ramon Vazquez) (R)
McClendon is my swingman in the bullpen, and I also try to unload Gomez for a useful RH infield bat. I spend $13 million on Francis, $13 million on V-mart, $3 million on Duchscherer, and $6 million to get Weeks extended and Coffey tendered. Should give me a payroll of $70-$75 million.
There's always a silver lining for me in the day, and it's the hope that springs eternal. A disappointing season ends, and it's never too early to start thinking about the coming year. The hot stove is a lot of fun for that reason alone.
My early Crew wish list for '11.
1) Give me a leader at manager, and a guy who's familar with the NL. I've always thought Bobby Valentine would be a good fit, but it's too small a pond for him. Fredi Gonzalez and Pat Listach would be on my short list, too, if I were Doug Melvin. Gonzalez got a raw deal in Florida, and Listach is one of the hottest up and comers in the business. I'd take Listach in a heartbeat.
2) Can we get Mike Maddux back, now that Texas canned him? Please?
3) Prince has to be traded, and you're not getting two front-line starting candidates for him. If you can get one quality starter and a projectable infield bat for him, then I say pull the trigger. Boston always has seemed like an ideal counter party, with Papi getting on in years and a glut of quality young pitching. Since I'm playing GM, here, give me Casey Kelly and Yamaico Navarro and I pull the trigger.
4) Now, we need to deal with SP. I've got my #1 in Gallardo. Wolf had a decent second half, suggesting that he might make good on being my #3 or #4 guy next year. I've also got two left handed candidates for the #5 spot in-house - Cappy gets a modest two year deal; along with Narveson, I've got one #5 starter and a quality long lefty in the pen. That means I've got to get a #4 and a #2. Based on what I saw out of Rogers in September, I'm giving him the #4 spot and hoping he can be more than that. Throw the idea of Cliff Lee out the window - too much dough. I would think long and hard about Brandon Webb, but the shoulder injury gives me the willies. Still, if he's healthy, I might throw $12-$14 million per at him if I'm convinced that he's good. My FA shopping list would go in this order:
a1) Brandon Webb - If he's right and in the FA market, he's a potential co-#1 with Yo. Problem is, I probably need to go 5 years on him, which leaves him pretty old at contract's end.
a2) Jeff Francis - Likely the odd man out in Colorado. Going to be pricy, but his peripherals have always been better than Coors Field would let show and he's young enough to give me a solid R-L 1-2 punch for a long time. Again, shoulder issue has me worried.
c) Brad Penny - See Webb, above, but I can likely get him for a shorter contract.
d) Javier Vazquez - Always has been a better NL arm than AL, and I can get him on a shorter contract than Webb or Francis
I also make a run at another injured righty - Justin Duchsherer out of Oakland. He's an asset in the pen or at the back of the rotation, and it's a hip, not an arm. I also pray that my farmhands come along, most notably Kyle Heckathorn, who had a fine first minor league campaign. I send Jeffress to AAA to stretch out and hope he can become a starter and stay off the dank.
5) With Prince gone, there's a huge left-handed hole in the lineup. While Mat Gamel seems like a logical move to 1B, and might be the cheapest route to go, I might make a run at a quality veteran 1B if I think I can get it done next year and can get my pitching settled without breaking the bank. Say I've spent $17 million of my #30-$35 or so that I'll have available on SPs. I've always loved Victor Martinez, and he's a FA in Boston. If I can ship Prince there, I might just get a shot at Martinez. He's a leader, a quality vet, and a switch hitting bat that should be at least as good as Prince was defensively at 1B. If I want to stay cheap and fill holes elsewhere, I go with Gamel, but I think long and hard if I can make a run at V-Mart, who may also give me 25 or so games behind the dish if I need him, and can be a huge asset if I want max lefty bats against a quality RHP by plugging Gamel at 1B.
6) Gamel is the future at 1B. He gets reps there all off-season to improve defensively as well as reps at 3rd to spell McGehee and give me a lefty option in the outfield or at 3B.
7) I also need to make sure my bullpen is good, and this is where I let youth be served to save $.
So, my lineup and 25-man:
CF Lorenzo Cain
2B Ricky Weeks
1B Victor Martinez (4 years, $52 million - $13 million per)
LF Ryan Braun
RF Corey Hart
3B Casey McGehee
C Jonathan LuCroy
SS Alcides Escobar
SP
RHP Gallardo
LHP Francis (5 Years, $65 million - $13 million per)
LHP Wolf
RHP Rogers
LHP Capuano
RP
LHP Narveson
LHP Braddock
LHP Parra
RHP Villaneuva
RHP Loe
RHP Coffey
RHP Axford
Bench
C Kottaras (L)
OF Dickerson (L)
OF Gomez (R)
IF Gamel (L)
IF Cruz (R) -or- FA signee (i.e. Akinori Iwamura/Ramon Vazquez) (R)
McClendon is my swingman in the bullpen, and I also try to unload Gomez for a useful RH infield bat. I spend $13 million on Francis, $13 million on V-mart, $3 million on Duchscherer, and $6 million to get Weeks extended and Coffey tendered. Should give me a payroll of $70-$75 million.
