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Ryan Howard gets paid …. way too much

Apr 26, 2010 By 1 Comment

Holy cow did Ryan Howard get paid.  The Phillies just locked him up to a 5 year, $125 million dollar deal.  For those struggling with the math that’s 25 MILLION per year.  That’s crazy.

Am I the only one that thinks this is insanely overpaid?  Especially when you consider Utley is making roughly $12 million per year and I think he is a far superior player.

I am not trying to say I don’t think Howard is a great player, but wow, he shouldn’t be up in the A-Rod range.  How much do you think Pujols is gonna get?  The Cardinals have to be crying in the front office right now.

My quess is that this means the Phillies will not be able to resign Jason Werth next season when he goes free-agent and as a Mets fan I love that.  Werth is very much part of the gritty heart and sould of the Phils and I will love to see him gone.  It also probably means Rollins is gone, but truthfully he seems pretty close to done anyways.

This deal would pay Howard $25 million per year until Howard is 36 years old, that just seems crazy to me.  He’s a big dude, I gotta imagine he starts to break down at some point.  The fate of the Phils could very well be determined by this contract in the coming years.  Wow I just really hate this deal and think it will cripple the Phils eventually, nice!

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Mets Projected Lineup

Apr 2, 2010 By 3 Comments

Well with a few days left we are looking at the projected lineup for the 2010 New York Mets.  I am looking at the opening day lineup and also next week when Reyes comes back, I will also give my two cents on a lineup and hopefully if I did it right will have a poll for you as well.  Here we go:

1. CF Angel Pagan

2. 2B Luis Castillo

3. 3B David Wright

4. 1B Mike Jacobs

5. LF Jason Bay

6. RF Jeff Francouer

7. C Rod Barajas

8. SS Alex Cora

9. P Johan Santana

Well obviously Reyes will be at the top of the order when he come back, basically my biggest gripe is Jacobs batting fourth.  yes he has a big bat but also has the penchant for hitting .220.  Now with Wright, Jacobs, Bay & Frenchy you are looking at a good 400 K’s.  But at least with Wright & Bay you have .300 hitters.  Really there is no reason that Bay shouldn’t be protecting Wright or the other way around.  When Beltran comes back you know he slides into the 4 hole, and that could be a great 1-2-3 punch.  Personally when Beltran comes back I would do this:

1. SS Jose Reyes

2. CF Carlos Beltran

3. 3B David Wright

4. LF Jason Bay

5. RF Jeff Francouer

6. 1B Mike Jacobs

7. C Rod Barajas

8. 2B Luis Castillo

Now I know there is talk about lefty, righty matchups but I say screw that.  get your best hitters up there and let them have at it.  Let’s be honest I don’t think the Mets are going to be in too many 1-0 ballgames.  And the reason for batting Beltran second he can utilize his speed and not ask him to do too much in the power department.  Let him move Reyes over and he has a real patient eye and gives Reyes time to reek havoc and it will also give Beltran good pitches to hit with Reyes on the pitchers mind and Wright & Bay behind him.  So basically it’s my call to Jerry, take Jacobs out of the four hole right about nowish.

[polldaddy poll=2998767]

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NL East Preview 2010: Atlanta Braves

Mar 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment

 In 2009, the Atlanta Braves finished in 3rd place, 7 games behind Philly and 1 game behind Florida with a 86-76 record. The Braves got very hot at the end of the season and really pushed the Phils at the end of the season. I think with a full season and some good luck health-wise, the Bravos could ascend to their first division title since 2005.

The Met-Brave rivalry really has faded over the last couple of seasons. Part of it has to do with both teams not being great at the same time since ’06. Also my perception of the Braves is even though I don’t like them, I respect them. They go about their business with class. I think they go out to win regardless of who they play. I think other teams in the division really dislike the Mets and play harder against them show everyone that they deserve to play with the big boys with the big payroll from the big city. I think Atlanta does not feel that they need to show anyone anything after winning all of those consecutive titles in a row.

Key additions: Melky Cabrera, Troy Glaus, Eric Hinske, Takashi Saito, Billy Wagner

Key losses: Garrett Anderson, Jorge Campillo, Ryan Church, Mike Gonzalez, Kelly Johnson, Adam LaRoche, Rafael Soriano, Javier Vasquez

Strengths:  Starting Pitching! They will miss Vazquez but unfortunately cannot afford to keep a lot of high priced talent and couldn’t find a suitor for Derek Lowe. However, they pack one of the best 1-2′s in young starting pitching in Tommy Hanson and Jair Jurrjens. Jurrjens is a Met killer already and Hanson looks like the second coming of Roy Halladay. These two are going to be very good for a very long time and going to be a major headache for the Mets. The Braves also have a very veteran presence with Tim Hudson and Derek Lowe. If Hudson is healthy and Lowe has can stay durable you are talking about the Braves having a great chance to win most nights they hit the field.

Weaknesses: Rolling the dice on health. Like the Mets, the Braves have a lot of what ifs??? Hudson, Glaus, Chipper, Wagner, Saito. These are all great players but they will need luck for all of them to put in big seasons to compete. They really have rolled the dice by choosing Saito and Wagner to be the mainstays of the ‘pen. If these two falter or get injured, the Braves will struggle mightily to close out games.

My opinion:

Offense: Chipper can still rake if healthy, and we haven’t seen much from Glaus in years. Prado and Escobar up the middle are formidablebut nothing special. McClouth was steal but they now have nothing to show for Francoeur. Heyward and the combination of Diaz and Cabrera form the rest of the outfield. Heyward is coming up with a lot of hope is the key for their offense, if the rookie can do what is expected that will help big. McCann is one the best catchers around and is def a guy I would love to have on my team. Overall, a good offense but I’d rank them below both the Mets and Phils.

Pitching: Starters are very solid, bullpen will be shaky. Again, the bullpen must stay healthy and Wagner and Saito must return to 07′-’08 form if they have any chance.

My prediction:

I loved these guys at the end of ’09, they were playing so very well. They really had to have the Phils starting to think a bit. I really thought when I started these previews that I would be bold and put the Braves in first place but after doing my research  I think they have just as many questions as the Mets with less talent. They are definitely going to miss Soriano, Gonzalez and Vazquez.I cannot believe all of these things go right and again, I feel the pen and injuries will most likely kill them. I will change my opinion and grudgingly put the Phils back into first and slide the Braves all the way to fourth place.

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Rumor: Pujols for Howard trade

Mar 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

And no I am not talking about in my fantasy baseball league.

Rumors coming out of ESPN are that several sources are saying there may be talk between the Philadelphia Phillies and the St Louis Cardinals about a potential swap of the prolific sluggers.

Both sides have flatly denied the rumors and say no talks have taken place nor will they.

The reason the discussion is even taking place is due to the fact that the Cardinals have been unable to lock up Pujols to a long term extension and general opinion is that he will be looking for a mega-deal in the Alex Rodriguez category.  Some wonder if St Louis can afford Prince Albert and so perhaps they would entertain a deal like this.

I don’t really understand it myself.  St Louis is a great baseball market and a storied franchise, it’s not like they are a poor team.  And maybe if they had worries they couldn’t afford keeping their own star player, why would they have spent so damn much for Holliday?  Trades like this rarely ever take place, especially straight up like this.  I know Howard is a St. Louis guy and considered a local hero there, but I think this is just reaching too far.

I was surprised when I looked at it that Howard is actually older then Pujols too.  Just shows you how young Pujols was when he started to tear up the league, I thought he was several years older.

Buster Olney explains several good reasons a deal might make sense, but I just don’t see it happening.  It’s interesting stuff to talk about but I’d have serious doubts it would ever happen.

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NL East Preview 2010: Philadelphia Phillies

Mar 11, 2010 By 2 Comments

With four weeks remaining until Opening Day, I figured once a week we will preview a Mets National East rival. Yes, I know what you are saying that Philly makes you wanna puke, yeah I know. Let’s take look if Met fans can truly believe they can overcome the critics and take the division crown back from their hated rivals.

Unless you have been hiding under a rock for the last three seasons, you know the Mets and Philadelphia Phillies have developed quite the bitter rivalry. Unfortunately, we have been on the wrong end of the stick over that time as the Phillies come into the 2010 season as the three-time defending division champion.

After the Mets cruised to the division title in ’06 the Mets were the smart pick to win back to back division titles in ’07. Big mouth Jimmy Rollins felt otherwise and instead of showing respect to the division champs, he decided to rile things up. This talk ended up starting a battle of the words over the course of the following seasons. However, at this point their is not much to say and I think the Mets have taken a classier approach then the Phils and have only congratulated the Phils, whereas the Phils look to take shots at the Mets at all costs.

Well since we are hoping the wheels fall off for the Phils this season, lets see if it even possible.

Key additions: Roy Halladay-P, Placido Polanco-3B, Jose Contreras-P, Danys Baez- P, Ross Gload-1B, Juan Castro-Util., Brian Schneider-C

Key subtractions: Brett Myers-P, Cliff Lee-P, Pedro Feliz-3B, Chan Ho Park-P, Eric Bruntlett-Util., Clay Condrey-P

Strengths: OFFENSE, OFFENSE, OFFENSE. This team plays in a bandbox and has formed their team to make this a strength. This team has a great lineup, as many would say an American League type lineup. This team can also run and field the ball. They also now have one of the top 5 starters and most durable pitchers in the game spearheading their pitching staff.

Weaknesses: Bullpen. For those of you that think Ollie is a headcase, you must also admit Lidge is just as big a headcase. Funny they both had “knee injuries” as well last season. Madson doesn’t scare me either as a closer, and who even knew Baez was still around. I also feel that after Halladay they have questions just like the Mets. If Hamels can rebound they should be fine, but he had an embarrassing post season to go with his not so stellar season. Happ and Blanton are mediocre at best and I love seeing Jamie Moyer throw his 68 MPH heat. If the Phils are to falter this year it will be due to pitching, not offense.

My opinion:

Hitters: You are not going to find a better duo in the infield then Howard and Utley. The key is Rollins, if he can bat near .300 this offense will even be better then last year. Polanco will have a big season in that bandbox, you’re looking at another 20+ homer hitter. It could be possible that all 4 infielders hit plus-20 jacks. The outfield last season had a great year but Ibanez looked done by the end of the year and Werth had a career year. Look for these two to have down years. Victorino is the player I hate most, he can do it all good but not outstanding in my opinion. I think his numbers are also due to decrease. Ruiz  is decent backstop and can hit for power, I also bet Schneider has a decent year just to stick it to us.

Pitchers: Halladay will have a good year but not as good as Santana, that ballpark will kill him occassionally. I repeatedly saw this guy throw complete games and give up 4,5 runs. Yeah its nice to throw CG’s but at 4-5 runs, he will lose some of those. They will need to pinch hit for him and that will decrease his CG numbers. A good year for Halladay but no Cy for him. Already, told you I’m not scared of anyone else on this staff and the pen cannot match up with the Mets.

2010 Prediction: These guys just got way too lucky last year. As a Mets fan, I know pitching is very important. I don’t care how good their lineup is. If Lidge and others continue to falter this team will blow a close division this year. I think they too have alot of “ifs” and need things to go their way again. In my opinion, things will not go their way this season. If they wanted to go for the kill they should have kept Lee and this move alone will be the reason they cannot compete with the big boys again this season. These guys will probably earn a playoff spot but don’t look for them to dominate the NL again. My prediction is a 2nd place finish for Philadelphia, but cross those fingers an injury to Howard, Utley or Halladay will end their playoff hopes.

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