No high marks for these teams
Posted: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 1:50 PM
With the start of spring training just around the corner, here’s a scorecard on some clubs that have left me wondering about their approach to the coming season.
ANGELS: They lost Mark Teixeira, the bat they hoped would make a difference in October. Kendry Morales, a Cuban defector who has a career .245 average in 377 major-league at bats, will get a shot at first base. The Angels say he is ready, especially after hitting .341 in Triple-A last season and .404 in the Dominican league this winter.
Also gone is Garret Anderson, a veteran run producer. Juan Rivera was re-signed to a three-year, $12.75 million contract and figures to get a lot of playing time between left field and designated hitter.
The Angels were never a serious bidder for Manny Ramirez, but free-agent outfielder Bobby Abreu could be signed (probably to a one-year deal) before spring training begins.
Francisco Rodriguez will now be closing games for the Mets. Enter his replacement, Brian Fuentes, who at one point, lost his job finishing games in Colorado.
The Angels have spent money on free agents in the past, but this offseason they pretty much stayed within the organization to fill holes. This team has proudly built a heralded farm system and now appears to be the time for that farm system to produce.
BREWERS: No fault to ownership here. Brewers owner Mark Attanasio went for the big prize in 2008 in dealing for CC Sabathia, much to the delight of fans starved for wins. Now the Brewers pay the price. They had no chance to sign Sabathia, and stalwart Ben Sheets is gone as well. They resisted the temptation to move Prince Fielder or Mike Cameron, thus the lineup is intact. But can they win with Dave Bush, Jeff Suppan, Yovani Gallardo and Brandon Looper heading the rotation?
CARDINALS: Perception is not reality here. The Cardinals are not cheap, a $99 million payroll in 2008 is proof of that. But St. Louis is a top-heavy team with big dollars invested in newly injured (Troy Glaus) and oft-injured (Chris Carpenter). The infield is unsettled after the release of second baseman Adam Kennedy. Plus, the Cardinals need starters at second and third. There is no established closer, thus it's hard to see the Cardinals challenging the Cubs.
Then there were the inert teams:
NATIONALS: They talked about Mark Teixeira but he headed for the Bronx. Big additions are Josh Willingham, Scott Olsen and Daniel Cabrera. A huge fan base greeted this team five years ago. Can the Nationals stop that fan base from further deteriorating?
MARINERS: They have a new general manager (Jack Zduriencik) and manager (Don Wakamatsu), but not much of a change on the field. A three-way December trade brought in outfielder Franklin Gutierrez at the cost of closer J.J. Putz. Nothing else is new in the lineup, although there has to be some improvement from a 2008 in which everything went wrong.
And the gamblers:
DODGERS: Bringing back Casey Blake and Rafael Furcal is good. Dispatching Andruw Jones was the definition of addition by subtraction. But unless they sign Manny Ramirez, it will still be a lost winter in SoCal.
RED SOX: They came within one win of the World Series without Manny Ramirez last season, but the Yankees are stronger. Tampa Bay has quietly made some additions while the Red Sox have not touched their lineup. Is David Ortiz healthy? And what impact will no Ramirez have on Ortiz over 162 games?
TWINS: They were also inert, but are gambling on the same team that reached a one-game playoff for the postseason last year. No major changes. In fact, the biggest move was resigning Nick Punto. Stability has been a hallmark in Minnesota and the Twins’ success should be a model for teams lacking major resources. A healthy year from Michael Cuddyer would help the Twins battle within what could be baseball’s most balanced division.
