In an attempt to do more thought/argument provoking posts rather than game recaps (as I sadly seem to fall into quite often), and to cure my December 29 hankering for some baseball, I thought I'd explore which LSF MLB team is in the best spot for the 2011 season if it started today. I don't pretend to be an expert in any teams other than my own, so I'm sure the comments will be flying on this one, but let's see what we can come up with.
Andrew's Toronto Blue Jays
Record last season: 85-77
Place last season: 4th in AL East, 11 GB.
Last season's best: Jose Bautista
Last season's worst: Brian Tallet
Subtractions: Kevin "Big Ticket" Gregg, John Buck, Scott Downs, Lyle Overbay, Shaun Marcum.
Additions: Octavio Dotel, Miguel Olivo, Rajai Davis, Brett Lawrie, Corey Patterson, Carlos Villanueva.
The thing about last season: In GM (Greek Manager) Alex Anthropoulos' first year on the job, the Jays did as well as anyone would expect. Finishing 8 games over .500 would make most fans happy, but in the AL East it's nothing more than a distant fourth place finish. In a season where Robby Alomar had his number retired, the Jays put up a +27 run differential, a 54 jack bomber in Jose Bautista, and four pitchers with double digit wins. Even with the complete zero chance of making the playoffs, if I were a fan, I'd be at least somewhat happy.
The outlook for next season: Probably the easiest of the three teams to predict, you'd have to agree that the Jays will finish 4th again in 2011 (I'll say 3rd is the best case scenario). They might be over .500, they might be below .500, they might be giants. But they aren't going to win the division. No way, no how. I'd hope that Blue Jay fans of the 21st century have come to terms with that by now. How does 83-79 sound?
Brandon and Jon's Los Angeles Dodgers
Record last season: 80-82
Place last season: 4th in NL West, 12 GB.
Last season's best: Clayton Kershaw
Last season's worst: Charlie Haeger
Subtractions: Scottie "Too Hottie" Podsednik, Brad Ausmus, Jay Gibbons, Reed Johnson, Ryan Theriot, Jeff Weaver.
Additions: Jon Garland, Juan Uribe, Blake Hawksworth, Tony Gwynn Jr, Dioner Navarro, Matt Guerrier.
The thing about last season: The Doyers didn't really live up to expectations last year, and it seemed like quite the frustrating campaign for their fans. A run differential of -25, a stall out when it seemed the division was in reach, and a divorce court case that seemed to grab infinitely more headlines that the actual team. From the season opening blowout loss at the hands of the Pirates to Andre Ethier's pinkie, it was definitely a down year. Of course, there were bright spots. A walk off Matt Kemp 10th inning jack in that pitching duel between then-non-Angel Dan Haren and John Ely, the acquisition of Ted Lilly and the Quiet Riot, and a memorable 15-9 offensive explosion against Philly. All in all though, it was a disappointing year for the Blue Crew.
The outlook for next season: Wow. Picking a winner in the NL West may be one of the most difficult tasks in all of 2011 baseball prognostication. The Giants would have to have everything go perfectly to have a repeat division championship. Despite what Buddy Black says, the Padres seem to have given up all hope 3 months before the season even starts. I'm pretty sure the Diamondbacks still suck (sorry, Saunders). If I had to put my actual, hard earned money on it, I think I'd probably go with the Colorado Rockies. Is that crazy? As for the Dodgers, they have pretty much just as good of a chance of any of the other aforementioned squads, in my humble opinion. How about 88-74? Is that too good?
Tommy's Los Angeles Angels
Record last season: 80-82
Place last season: #3 in AL West, 10 GB.
Last season's best: Jered Weaver
Last season's worst: Brandon Wood
Subtractions: Hideki Matsui and Scot Shields.
Additions: Hisanori Takahashi and Scott Downs.
The thing about last season: I've talked a whole heck of a lot about last season, so you know how I feel. I, probably more than most "real" Angel fans, held out hope that they would stage some kind of crazy comeback last season. I held out that hope, even when it was pretty clear that they had no chance. What was I thinking? A -21 run differential was pretty awful, but despite that, we still held the 2nd best attendance in the entire American League. It was a season that went from an opening day win, to all of the horrible outings by Scott Kazmir, to the failure that is known as Brandon Wood, to the pleasant surprise of Peter Bourjos, to the end of Fuentes and fear of Rodney as his replacement. Dan Haren came aboard and pitched well with no run support. Paul McAnulty hit a home run in his first AB with the team, and then showed his true colors as a fat dummy. What a roller coaster of a season. But, I don't think I'd find any disagreement when I say that the Angels had a bad, bad season.
The outlook for next season: Maybe when I said that the NL West was the most difficult to predict, I should have thought about the AL West. Let's be honest. The Mariners are going to suck again, no matter what ESPN declares before the season starts. However, I think the "real" media is going to be all over the A's. Oakland has made some "key" acquisitions, but really they haven't picked up anybody that good. Hideki Matsui, Rich Harden, etc aren't going to do very much. But just watch, ESPN will pick them...I can feel it. The Rangers would be the obvious choice, but I feel the same about them as I do about San Francisco. In fact, if the Rangers go ahead and sign Adrian Beltre, I think that will seal the deal that they won't win the division. So, where does that leave the Angels? Even being the die hard fan that I am, I don't really see anything better than 82-82.
There you have my reviews, previews, and free views. I know it wasn't like me, not having very many stats, but I hope it provokes some kind of argument or conversation.
I apologize for developing a really bad habit of not wanting to proofread. I hope to make that my "blogging New Year's resolution" (because I know I'll be sure to break it).
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
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