The Yankess lost in the first round of the playoffs, the Red Sox didn’t even make the playoffs, and the Mets had an epidemic of injuries and didn’t make it to the World Series in a year they were all but crowned the kings of the National League. I think it’s safe to say that we’ll see quite a few movers and shakers in this off season. The Yankees, Mets, and BoSox will likely buy some high priced talent. The Cardinals will likely pull a few arms off the scrap heap for Dave Duncan to restore. The Kansas City Royals will spend little if any money, and none of it wisely. These are things we’ve all come to expect over the years. And, plenty of pundits will give you the inside scoop on what deals are on the horizon, who’s going where and for how much, and which players are staying put. Its all fascinating stuff. But, rather than jump into the middle of the pack, I’ve decided to give you 10 off-season moves that SHOULD but WON’T happen. Here they are:

1. Atlanta Braves re-sign Greg Madux and Tom Glavine - This would reunite the two long time Braves with John Smoltz (now back in the rotation) for what may be Maddux’s last year playing. Also, Glavine is a mere 10 wins away from 300 and he should reach that milestone as a Brave. ESPN is currently reporting that the Mets and Glavine are close to a two year, 25 million dollar contract extension so I feel pretty safe including this as a move that WONT happen.
2. Tony LaRussa retires, Jose Oquendo takes over- LaRussa came to St. Louis with one goal in mind… a championship. In fact, he was so emphatic about that goal that he chose to wear the number 10 as a reminder that he was brought in to lead the Cardinals to their 10th World Series title. With that out of the way, Tony could seize this opportunity to ride off into the sunset. This season was perhaps the most taxing of LaRusa since he joined the Cardinals. His team endured a pair of eight game losing streaks, and a seven game skid in the month of September. They finished with a mere 83 regular season wins and yet, LaRussa managed the team to its first championship in over 20 years. Jose Oquendo has long been dubbed as a future manager and is a fan favorite in St. Louis. Allow GM, Walt Jockety, and LaRussa to shape the team during the off-season, and have Tony hand over the reigns to Oquendo at the start of the regular season. It would be perfect. Instead, Oquendo is interviewing in San Diego this week for their managerial position.
3. ARod traded to the Cardinals - I know, I know, but remember, these are moves that won’t happen right? Arod needs out of New York no matter what his agent or the Yankees say. What better place for an under appreciated star than St. Louis? The fans here give standing ovations for sacrifice bunts! You can be sure ARod wouldn’t be booed for putting up the same type of numbers he did for the Yankees this year. The deal would make great sense for St. Louis as well, filling their need of a big bat to protect Albert Pujols. Now, whether the Yankees would take Rollen, or perhaps one of the Cardinals young pitching stars, Anthony Reyes and Adam Wainwright, in a package deal, I have no idea. Sure the Cardinals would have to give up value to get a player of Arod’s caliber but hey, the deal should happen.
4. The Chicago Cubs sign Barry Zitto and Jason Schmidt - Look, if the past two years have taught us nothing else, we should have learned that solid pitching gets you to the post season, and possibly the World Series. Last year’s NL representative, the Houston Astros, had the potent 1-2-3 punch of Clemens, Oswalt, and Pettitte. This year’s champs won on the arms of Carpenter, Suppan, and a resurrected Jeff Weaver. Pitching is key. The Chicago Cubs have been annually disappointed as their young up-and-comers, Kerry Wood and Mark Prior, have never materialized into the stars they had hoped to see. Carlos Zambrano has been the lone bright spot in the Cubs’ rotation the past few years. Signing both Zito and Schmidt would cost more than a pretty penny but imagine a rotation of Zambrano, Zito, and Schmidt (possibly followed by Prior). That would be a force to be reckoned with. Its time the Cubs opened up their purse strings and made some impact moves for their loyal loser loving fans.
5. Roger Clemens re-signs with the Red Sox - The Sox are certainly going to make some noise this off season but no move they could make, would cause the stir of the Rocket returning to Fenway. Roger is perhaps the best pitcher of his time and should forever be identified with the Boston Red Sox. That’s just the way it should be…. even if it is for only half a year after the All Star Break. Can someone please make this one happen?
6. Daisuke Matsuzaka signed by anyone but a New York team - We all know George Steinbrenner and Omar Minaya have the money and the motivation to go out and buy the newest Japanese import (pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka), but wouldn’t it be nice to see someone other than a New York team win out on this one? I mean the Yankees bought Abreau at the trade deadline, and the Mets outbid everyone for Beltran a few years ago and Delgado last year. Can’t some highly talented free agent say “You know what, its not about money. I’ve always been a (insert small budget, small market team here) fan, and I want to sign with them.” Sure, in this case Matsuzaka doesn’t have much of a say in which team bids the most for the rights to negotiate with him but that’s not my point. I’d just like to see some team step up and unexpectedly snatch the prized pitcher away from the big money New York teams. (Prediction: the Yankees bid 35 million bucks and blow every other team out of the water on this one)
7. Barry Bonds retires - Every home run hitter in the game is already under intense suspicion because of the steroid erra in baseball. Let’s not have Mark McGwire on the Hall of Fame ballot, AND Barry breaking Hank Aaron’s all time home run mark in the same season how bout it? Barry could retire as a Giant (the only fans in the game who don’t hate him) and the game would be spared another season of will he or won’t he with Barry (will he break the record, will he get indicted, will he test positive). It would be nice if Barry quietly retired and let the game move on without him. However, since Barry’s ego is about the only thing bigger than his chemically enhanced arms (and head for that matter) this is about the least likely move on this list.
8. Ken Griffey Jr. traded to the Tigers - This one is simple. The Tigers need an impact bat. They had to rely on Sean Casey (!?!) this post season. Griffey needs to DH in the AL. The Kid’s swing is as sweet as it ever was but playing the field on a daily basis is something his body simply cannot do anymore. Also, Griffey needs to play on a contending team. I realize he desperately wanted to play for his home town Reds, but hasn’t he paid long enough for that mistake? Come on Cinci, set him free.
9. Soriano signs with the Oakland A’s - The A’s young pitching staff performed better than expected last year, as did the not quite done yet Frank Thomas. However, in the playoffs against the Tigers, it became abundantly clear that the A’s needed more offense. If the A’s can work something out with Thomas to bring him back for another year, placing Soriano in front of Thomas would provide them a New York-esque 1-2 punch in the heart of their order. Simply adding one more intimidating batter can revitalize the entire line up. Batters stop trying to press as hard to create runs and they also see more pitches to hit. Not to mention, Soriano would fit right in, in the young Oakland dugout.
10. Cardinals re-sign Jeff Weaver and Jeff Suppan - sure I’ve been mentioning the Cardinals a lot but hey, the team won the World Series and now has exactly one arm in their rotation (not to mention its my article and I’m a fan). They’re going to have to make some moves. These two guys pitched lights out in the post season and despite Walt Jockety’s well publicized policy of not over paying for October performances, the extra money from the World Series win as well as the new stadium should be put directly back into the team, namely in the persons of Suppan and Weaver. These guys might go on and do well with other teams paying them more, but they’ll be hard pressed to find someone who can continue to tune them the way Dave Duncan has. With a little bit of give on both sides, this move could happen. However, with Yankee money already piling up in front of Suppan, its highly doubtful he’ll be wearing the birds on the bat next season.

Well, I’m sure many of you are going to have feedback on this one so don’t be afraid to leave a comment telling me why I’m wrong. If you’d rather, you can email me at info(at)fanforhire.com. And, in case any of these moves that SHOULD but WON’T happen, actually end up being made… you heard it here first.

I also just discovered a brand new baseball blog. The address is eMeLBe.com (get it M-L-B.com … clever right?). Anyway, it loooks to be pretty cool and I definitely like the author’s take on Gary Sheffield’s latest temper tantrum.

Anyway, I will eventually blog again but for now, I figured you might as well catch some cool new sites that I found.

Hey, remember that guy Carlos Beltran? You know, the guy who hit like 24 home runs against us in the post season two years ago? Yeah, the guy who made $25 million off his amazing post-season performance. Yeah, him. Well, in case you need a refresher… DON’T PITCH TO HIM! Yes I realize that he now has Carlos Delgado batting behind him. But for the love of everything sacred don’t pitch him middle in. He’s gonna hit it out of the flipping park. Don’t believe me? Fine. Go ahead… try it. What’s that? He hit a 2 run bomb to break open a scoreless game? Yeah, that seems about right. If you need me I’ll be in the corner…

The Boss has bought himself a few more players it appears. Bobby Abreu and Cory Lidle have been traded from the Phillies for two minor league prospects, a draft pick and reliever Matt Smith. This is basically a contract dump for the Phils who are ridding themselves of Abreu, who is due roughly $37 million and Lidle who is making $3.3 million this year. The Yankees are getting another power bat and a mediocre pitcher. The Yanks have been looking for offense since the injuries to Matsui and Sheffield.

This seems to be quite the deal for the Yankees who get to hang on to their prized prospect Phillip Hughes. Hughes was pretty much the only other bargaining chip the Yankees had aside from cash and it had seemed as though Cashman and Steinbrenner weren’t being able to simply buy the players on their deadline wish list. However, the Phils apparently decided this was the best deal they’d get with the trade deadline fast approaching.

Abreu is yet one more bat that the Cardinals have lost out on in their attempt to bolster their lineup. Jockety has repeatedly proclaimed that he would not trade either of the promising young pitchers, Reyes and Wainwright, that come up in most trade discussions. I’m all for not needlessly mortgaging the future but I think its obvious that some sort of move needs to be made. Lets hope Walt pulls off another late July miracle trade.

And unfortunately not to the Cardinals. Apparently the Brewers are sending a package of Lee, Nelson Cruz, and the proverbial player to be named later to the Texas Rangers for Francisco Cordero, Kevin Mench, and Laynce Nix. On the surface it looks like a pretty decent deal for both teams. Personally I’d rather be on Texas’ end than the Brewers but with Lee getting ready to bolt in the offseason they didn’t have a whole lot of choices. I just wish the Cards could have put together an offer to bring Lee to St. Louis.

The deal also no doubt increases the trade value of Alfonso Soriano. I’d expect all the teams who missed out on Lee to jam the Washington Nationals’ phone lines this morning. I figure a team with a loaded farm system, such as the Angles, will end up blinking first and giving the Nationals their outlandish asking price. Soriano’s been on fire lately and he’d be a great addition to any team. We’ll keep an eye on all the trades as they happen so check back often.

Wow…. where does the time go? I can’t believe I went this long without blogging. Well to make up for it I will do a fast-forward version of recent events (forgive me if they are out of order… this is more of a stream of consciousness type thing). Here we go:

• Mark Prior, Kerry Wood and Wade Miller are all starting the season on the DL. (Saying I told you so would be overkill here I think…. I told you so!)
• The Cubs’ projected opening day starter is from DOUBLE A. You may now laugh and point.
• Pujols hit three home runs against the Mets this past week. One against Pedro and two against Victor Zambrano… back to back MVP? I think so.
• It looks like Hector Luna might not even make the ball club. That would be a shame what with his incredible skill and natural ability.
• Aaron Miles seems to have won the starting second base job at least for now. At least thats what Stltoday says. (click the picture on the right for the full story)
• Sidney Ponson will be the Cardinals 5th starter and Reyes has been optioned back down to Tripple A. This will allow Reyes to continue get the innings in he needs to progress. (as mentioned earlier on this blog, I’d be surprised if we don’t see Jockety deal from our depth at starting pitching.)
• Adam Wainright will pitch out of the bullpen as a long reliever. I have no idea whether that means he gets the first shot as a backup starter or not. I kind of doubt it but hey, at least Wainright is healthy enough to make the club. (I think AW would be one of the first names mentioned in any significant trade made by the Cardinals. Keeping him in the majors most likely ups his value.)
• John Rodriquez looked to have the starting LF job sewn up until injuring his shoulder yesterday. No word yet on who will start opening day. (again, click the picture on the left for the full story).
• There appears to be little truth to the rumor that the Cardinals were trying to trade for former Redbird, Miquel Cairo.
• All of ESPN.com’s experts are predicting the Cardinals will win the Central this year… I’m not sure I like that.
• Both Jim Hendry and Dusty Baker are entering the last year on their contracts. Somehow I don’t think having Wood, Prior and Miller on the shelf to start will help either of them much.
• I predict there are exactly 153 days until Carlos Zambrano’s arm falls off while he is standing on the mound. It will replay on Sports Center rought 4,305 times and each time roughly 3 million Cubs fans will curse the name of Dusty Baker.
• Bud Selig has started an independent investigation into the steroids problem. This book was apparently the straw that broke the camel’s back…. I guess the other 3,478 pieces of evidence could have all been a coincidence but this… this must be legit… we should investigate. (Bud continues to miss the point and only respond when the fans are outraged enough to force his hand. Keep protecting that legacy, Bud, its not like the game will suffer.)

Ex-commissioner Fay Vincent thinks Bonds should be investigated and he called his successor (Selig) to pass along the suggestion. At this point, I think Selig has to do SOMETHING on this issue or he risks losing any credibility he has left. In my mind, Vincent’s tenure was defined by the way he dealt with Pete Rose. In much the same way, I believe Selig’s will be remembered by what he does on the steroid issue. I think Selig and the rest of baseball took a pretty big hit with the congressional hearing. I mean they had to be threatened with legal action before they did anything about the issue. Anyway, I am getting a bit off track. Back to Bonds…

I have read a few different articles about Bonds and people saying that he merely exploited loopholes in the system. Um, sorry, but isnt doing illegal drugs against MLB’s rules? Sure, Bonds says he never “knowingly” did roids… yeah, and I never knowingly sped but I still have the tickets that say its against the law. Ignorance is NOT an excuse and he should be treated as any other criminal who happens to play a sport. Now, I don’t think Selig has the guts to go into the record books as I feel needs to happen, but I HOPE he has the guts to stop a cheater and a criminal from breaking one of the greatest records in the game. Now, if they throw “track and field” type testing at Bonds and he turns up clean (somehow) and he faces whatever kind of discipline needed for the criminal stuff, then let him play. Personally I would like to see players who get caught doping banned for a year and a second time they are out of baseball. That would make sure everyone, including Bonds, knew exactly what was going into their bodies. Anyway, I am sure this issue isn’t finished but I think thats all I’ve got on it for now.

EDIT: I just read an article on Bonds that I think is a MUST READ on the subject. Here’s the link: Skip Bayless’ Bonds Article.

Team USA needed a win against the underdog South African team to move into the next round of the World Baseball Classic… boy did they get one. Roger Clemens tossed a one hitter, Ken Griffey Jr. homered twice and drove in seven runs. First baseman Derrek Lee also helped the cause with a home run and four runs batted in. The game got so out of hand (the final score was 17-0) that the mercy rule was invoked, ending the game after only 5 innings. It looks to me like Junior’s comeback year last year was no fluke. I hope he can stay healthy enough to show fans his silky smooth home run swing 30 or 40 times this year. With so much being made about Bonds (I’m going to post on this in a little while) and all the uproar about steroids, its nice to see players like Griffey hammer the ball. Power hitters like Lee, Griffey, Pujols, and A-Rod are exactly what baseball needs right now. When Griffey hits one out, the first thought through my head isnt “I wonder if he’s on the juice.” To me, thats baseball like it oughta be.