Baseball Off-Season Winners and Losers

This baseball off-season has certainly had its share of winners and losers. From the Santana sweepstakes to the Mitchell Report, this off-season has stirred up more controversy and created more headlines than any other professional sport. Here is a quick run down of the who sh-t the bed and who f-cked the prom queen:

Winners:

1) Detroit Tigers--Big trade for the wildcats! They picked up future Hall of Famer Miguel Cabrera and pitcher Dontrelle Willis in exchange for 5 minor leaguers. Cabrera is under contract for the next two seasons and makes the Tigers lineup downright scary. Willis has gotten progrssively worse since his 22 win campaign in 2005. The potential is still there, but the Marlins' firesale tendencies appear to have taken their toll. Look for the D-Train to rebound as a 3rd starter for Detroit with plenty of run support. Although the Tigers traded top prospects Andrew Miller and Cameron Maybin, there is no guarantee with those players. The Tigers have put themselves in contention with the Yankees and Red Sox for the AL pennant.

2) Washington Nationals-- Credit Jim Bowden, GM for the Nationals, who practically stole Lastings Milledge from the Mets and left nothing but a 'late pass' behind. Milledge is a 5 tool outfielder who is only 22 years old. He has potential all-star written all over him. Meanwhile, in return, the Mets received Brian Schneider, a 32 year old defensive catcher whose skills are declined and is owed about $10 million for the next two seasons. Although Schneider's defense is an upgrade over LoDuca, the jump is not worth the organization's best prospect. Last off-season, Minaya could have traded Milledge for A's pitcher Joe Blanton. Instead, Minaya ended up with a 32 year old catcher whose best seasons are behind him. In addition, Bowden also picked up low risk-high reward Devil Rays outfielder Elijah Dukes, a problem child with potential. An outfield of Kearns, Milledge, Willy Mo Pena and Dukes could be a factor for the Nats for years to come.

3) Los Angeles Dodgers-- The boys in blue jumped on Manager Joe Torre the second he was was insulted with a one year deal by the Yankees. Although Torre may not have the same caliber of player he had in New York, he is a good fit for a big market club who will take off all the media pressure and teach the players how to win together. In addition, the Dodgers stole Andruw Jones for a two year $38 million deal. Jones is only 31 and will play a quality centerfield as he seeks to re-establish his ability and get a new contract.

4) Minnesota Twins--The Twinkies have yet to trade Santana, but they have still had a great off-season simply with their trade for Delmon Young. A former #1 pick, Young had over 90 RBI's as a rookie and has the potential for multiple all-star apperances down the road. Although the Twins gave up Garza and Bartlett, those players lack the potential impact of Young. I hear whispers of Frank Robinson for Milt Pappas. The trade of Bartlett was easily replaced with the signing of defensive whiz Adam Everett from Houston.

Losers:

1) San Francisco Giants: Although they did the right thing in letting Barry Bonds walk and saving themselves his $20 million salary, the Giants have done very little this offseason to get better. The team has pitching potential in Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum, but lacks a proven run producer. To solve this dilemma, the team decided to throw $60 million at free agent Aaron Rowand. Rowand is a solid player and "good clubhouse guy," but is unlikely to hit more than 25 home runs next season. Moreover, the five year commitment is a big long for a guy whose first healthy season was last year. The Giants would have been better off signing Andruw Jones instead.

2) Seattle Mariners: In a bare market for free agents, the Mariners rewarded starting pitcher Carlos Silva to a 4-year $48 million contract. This pitcher has had a losing record the last two season and an average ERA of about 5!! Clearly, the Seattle brass appreciated Silva's ability as a innings-soaker. The guy can give you 200 innings. Whether those innings are quality is anyone's guess. Seattle might as well have retained Horacio Ramirez to soak up the innings, and spent their money on some offense. In addition, the M's declined Jose Guillen's option of $9 million so he could sign with the Royals for $36 million. The M's should have picked up the option and then traded Guillen to a team like the Royals to net some prospects, like the Yankees did with Sheffield a year ago. Instead, Guillen gets $36 million and the M's got zip.

3) New York Mets--The off-season is almost over and the Mets have done nothing to make themselves a better team that was one win away from the post-season last year. They traded away Milledge and signed 2B Luis Castillo to a 4-year contract. Neither of those moves are likely to make an impact and instead make the Mets older and more obligated to declining players. Without the propects to go after Santana or Haren, the Mets are left to lean on an ailing Pedro Martinez as their number one starter.

4) Cincinnati Reds--The Reds have too many outfielders and first basemen with Adam Dunn, Scott Hattenberg, Ken Griffey, Josh Hamilton, Ryan Freel, Jay Bruce, Joey Votto all capable. They seem ripe to a big trade to land a quality player like Cabrera or Santana. Instead, they sit tight and spend $46 million on closer Francisco Cordero. Although he had a great season last year, he is far from dominant and even had only less blown save than incumbent Dave Weathers. What a waste!

Papelbon's Dog Eats World Series Ball

According to HattiesburgAmerican.com, Red Sox star Jonathan Papelbon's dog has taken a large bite out of the ball from the last out of the 2007 World Series.

After Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Jonathan Papelbon struck out Colorado Rockie Seth Smith for the final out of the 2007 World Series, Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek gave Papelbon the baseball. Papelbon's agent later said that his client didn't have the ball.

It puzzled some in Boston, as the team had trouble getting the final baseball of the 2004 World Series, too, which the Red Sox also won. Well, the 2007 mystery is now solved. The World Series baseball is in Hattiesburg. At least what is left of it is.

"My dog ate it," said Papelbon, who has a home in the Canebrake subdivision. "He plays with baseballs like they are his toys. His name is Boss. He jumped up one day on the counter and snatched it. He likes rawhide. He tore that thing to pieces. Nobody knows that. I'll keep what's left of it."

We wonder if the dog's name was Mientkiewicz.

The Worst Fantasy Football Finals Ever!!

Hard to believe. The fantasy football finals are here, and you would not believe the names that are finding their way into the starting lineups for teams that have endured a long season and made it to the final round.

Sage Rosenfels, Shaun Hill, Aaron Stecker, Kolby Smith, Shaun McDonald, Anthony Gonzalez...

Ladies and Gentleman, I give you the starting squad that is going to take home the championship this weekend.

Forget the Tom Bradys, Tony Romos, and Terrell Owenses...If you had them last week, you season is officially done....

This year, more than any other, has been the year of the injury. The Tampa Bay Bucs are on their 3rd running back, the Niners are on the 4th QB, and the Panthers brought 1986 first round pick Vinny Testeverde to lead the squad after Delhomme and Carr could not last through the season. Fantasy stars Steven Jackson, Larry Johnson, Reggie Bush, Deuce McAllister, Marvin Harrison, Shaun Alexander, Rudi Johnson, Donovan McNabb, and Marc Bulger were all hit by the injury bug. Let's not also forget Deion Branch, Terry Glenn, Anquan Boldin, Matt Schaub, Chad Pennington, Alex Smith, Roy Williams, Steve McNair, and Jeremy Shockey who all starting positions due to injury.

The key this year was to be flexible and attack the waiver wire. The key this year was not to have Reggie Bush, but to pick up Earnest Graham. So next year as you contemplate spending all your budget on uberstars like Ladanian Tomlinson and Adrian Peterson, remember that the key to winning is flexibility.

How to Get to the World Series

How does a team construct the right roster to get to the World Series? I'll give you a clue. It doesn't require A-Rod or Santana.

Whether you are the big pocket Yankees or the lowly Nationals, there is only one way to get to a World Series: You need a roster of hungry players who are playing for their next contract and who want to win.

Nothing is a larger motivating factor than money and providing for our families. To professional athletes, especially in the early years, winning is great and alot of fun, but it doesn't put food on the table. Let's be clear. The minimum salary for a professional athlete is well within the top 1% in the nation, so no one will be seeing these atheltes on the soup line. But, if you are an athlete, your goal since you were young was to make it to the big leagues and to set up your family for life. That is why they play. They pay their dues in the minors and are looking for that one big payday. Because of injuries, many hard-working athletes never get to see that day. So for those who are fortunate and have positioned themselves correctly, this is their chance.

How often are you likely to find a player on a long-term contract have a career season?? Very rarely. Most players, like ourselves, get comfortable at our jobs and will not push ourselves harder unless there is some reward on the other end. Motivation has been replaced by long guaranteed contracts. Is it really a surprise that some of the best players this year put up their best seasons in the final year of their contracts? A-Rod (Opt out clause), Jorge Posada, Torii Hunter, and Aaron Rowand were all playing for their next contract. Meanwhile, players who just received big contracts and are less motivated had off-years. See Alfonso Soriano, Gary Matthews, Jonny Damon, Vernon Wells, and Barry Zito.

The other players who put in on the line this year were the young stars who are playing for their first or next big contract. See Hanley Ramirez, David Wright, Jose Reyes, Victor Martinez, Grady Sizemore, Dan Haren, Prince Fielder, Justin Morneau, and C.C. Sabathia. These players are hungry and seek to increase their future pay day.

Agreeably, some players, despite their salaries, still put forth a great effort on the field. Those are players like Derek Jeter, Albert Pujols, Vlad Guerrero, Chase Utley, and David Ortiz. But these players are few and far between. Most players are just like us. They play harder when they know there is financial security on the line.

So, the trick to fielding a World Series winning team is to gather young hungry players who are playing for their next contract. That means that signing players like A-Rod and Johan Santana to 10 year contracts will not guarantee you a ring. When was the last time A-Rod or Santana appeared in the World Series???