Archive for category Off-season
AFC, NFC Championship Game, Fantasy Rankings and more…
Posted by Monty in Baseball, Fantasy, Football, Miscellaneous, Off-season, Podcast on January 21, 2010
Cwik and I talked about the following topics on our latest podcast…
1.AFC/NFC Championship preview. Who is the most important person in Saints-Vikings game
2.Padilla/Blanton/Piniero sign, any of these significant?
3.Matt Forte has surgury. How much did injuries factor in his season?
4. Conan O’Brien offered to play for Washington Generals. Would you watch?
5.Mock Draft notes and thoughts
6.Pop culture notes. I have a great movie suggestion and Chris picked up a new album.
NFL Playoffs, HOF and Bears Firings
Posted by Monty in Baseball, Fantasy, Football, Miscellaneous, Off-season, Podcast on January 9, 2010
After our extended break, Chris and I return for our 6th Podcast to preview the NFL playoffs, as well as some baseball topics…
Here is our rundown of topics
1. Quick recap of Texas-Alabama Championship Game
2. NFL Wild Card playoff preview
3. Bears Fire Ron Turner. What’s next for Bears Coaching Staff?
4. MLB HOF inductee Andre Dawson. Who else deserved to get in?
5. Matt Holliday given $120 million dollars by STL. Was this a good move?
6. Fantasy Baseball Projections
7. Jersey Shore thoughts and Jay Leno taking over his Tonight Show slot?
Monty’s Off-Season Opinions
Posted by Monty in Baseball, Off-season on December 20, 2009
I think Adrian Gonzalez will stay in sunny San Diego
Adrian Gonzalez to Boston?- I didn’t buy into this rumor at the trade deadline and don’t this off-season. I know the new Padres GM Jed Hoyer was a former Red Sox executive, but his asking price is so ridiculously high. Gonzalez is in his prime at a market-friendly contract, so trading him would be really tough for SD. I doubt Boston, let alone anyone, will pay the rate SD is asking for at this time. Also, ESPN’s Jayson Stark is also telling people not to buy this rumor…
Monty’s Thought: Gonzo to stay in SD
Matt Holliday- Is anyone going to come to St. Louis’ suspected 5 year, 17-18 million dollars per year offer to Holliday? Reports are that the Yankees and Red Sox aren’t interested. The Orioles pulled out after finding out Holliday’s quote and the Mets seem to be keen on Jason Bay. At this point, I have to imagine, barring a surprise, that Holliday will be a Cardinal for years to come
Monty’s Thought: Holliday to come back to St. Louis Read the rest of this entry »
So Many Baseball Trades…So Little Time
Posted by Chris Cwik in Baseball, Off-season on December 16, 2009
Jays Fans...Not Too Happy About This
Despite the avalanche of trades and signings in the MLB the past two days, you may have noticed a lack of posts around here. Well, I just flew back to wonderful Wisconsin last night and was surprised to hear about what I have missed. Consider this a recap of some of the most important signings and trades this week. Sorry for the lack of posts, but I’m back for now. Having said that, how about that Roy Halladay trade?
Who Loves The Hot Stove?
Posted by Chris Cwik in Baseball, Off-season on December 9, 2009
No One Is Getting Barry Zito Money This Year
The MLB off-season is arguably the most exciting off-season of all the major sports. There, I said it! Aside from free agency, the MLB is probably the most active league when it comes to trades. Although this off-season was supposed to feature one of the weaker free agent classes in recent memory, I’m finding it far more entertaining than I had expected. What other sports league holds an event like the Winter Meetings, where they get all the GMs together in an attempt to encourage trades/conversations. Think about any fantasy league you have been a part of, most of the deals happen when a few of the owners get together and discuss their league/team/players. This is exactly what happens every MLB off-season. While the free agency class isn’t that strong, there are a number of important story lines that, although they haven’t been discussed in detail, have been carrying the MLB off-season thus far.
Yankees Get Their Man
Posted by Chris Cwik in Baseball, Off-season on December 8, 2009
Granderson Will Shore Up the Yankees Outfield
Finally, the first big blockbuster of the MLB off-season has taken place. The rich get richer, the poor get poorer, and the Tigers shed some payroll. In a three team trade, the Yankees have acquired Curtis Granderson to shore up their outfield. Meanwhile, the Tigers managed to acquire Max Scherzer, and a bevy of prospects for Edwin Jackson. The Diamondbacks come out of the deal with Jackson and Ian Kennedy. While many analysts were quick to jump on the Yankees bandwagon, I think the AL Central just got a lot more interesting.
Free Agency Is Upon Us…
Posted by Monty in Baseball, MLB Postseason, Off-season on December 7, 2009
Placido Polanco has returned to Philadelphia after some time in Detroit
And the big names, Holliday, Bay, and Lackey haven’t found a new home yet, but Chone Figgins, Placido Polanco and Marco Scutaro are now off the market.
Let me say, as a White Sox fan, I’m glad Placido Polanco is out of the division, as well as AL, because it seemed like he killed the White Sox every time he was at the plate. His .319/.361/.434 in 79 games vs. the Sox was better than his career .303/.348/.414 splits, not to mention his gold glove in 2007. So I’m not shedding any tears for him leaving Detroit.
Top 10 Baseball Non-Steriod Controversies Of Past Decade
Posted by Monty in Baseball, MLB Postseason, Miscellaneous, Off-season on November 28, 2009
The World Baseball Classic is my #1 non-steriod controversy.
Several media outlets are releasing their “Best Of’s” lists for the past year and decade. Yahoo! Sports has released a couple already, but one I wanted to comment on was their “Top 10 Baseball Non-Steroid Controversies”.
Here is my list
1. World Baseball Classic
2. Bartman
3. ASG Tie
4. Grady Leaving Pedro In
5. Umpiring Meltdowns/Instant Replay
6. Torre Leaves Yankees
7. Schilling’s Bloody Sock
8. Contraction Threats
9. Sosa Corked Bat
10. Pierzynski Reaches
Here is my reasoning…
1. WBC. This has driven owners, agents and everyone in baseball except Bud Selig nuts. The premise to make the game more “global” is a myth, and the WBC is something that Selig cites as an “accomplishment” during his time as Commissioner. The issue nearly everyone has with it is the injury risk for players that are away from their teams during spring training. MLB teams are spending more money than ever on players and the last thing they want to see is an injury or ineffectiveness from their multimillion dollar asset. Finally, the best players from each respective county haven’t played in these games, so the WBC hasn’t really proven anything, except a giant waste.
Posnanski’s Future Hall Of Famers
Posted by Chris Cwik in Baseball, Off-season on November 26, 2009
If Pujols Quit Now, He Might Get In...He's That Good
I consider Joe Posnanski to be a pretty smart guy. Having said that, anytime you rank the top 10 players under 30 who will make it to the Hall Of Fame, you take some big risks. Posnanski recognizes the risks right away, when he admits that if he made this list in 1985, only 4 of his 10 would currently be in the HOF. Obviously, many factors come into play when you make this type of list. Injuries, ineffectiveness, inability to live up to the hype, and other external factors can derail the careers of some of the best players in the league. Even within the article, Posnanski compares Hanley Ramirez to Nomar Garciaparra and Derek Jeter, two players who probably would have made this same list 10 years ago. You already know the rest of the story, Jeter is still a lock, while Nomar continues to sign one year deals as a super-sub. These were two of the most dynamic players in all of baseball a few years ago…and only one of them is still considered a lock for the Hall. The point is, it’s really hard to be a top player in the MLB for an extended period of time. While Posnanski makes some very good selections, its just as likely that only 4 out of 10 actually make it to the Hall. I can’t stress this enough, Posnanski picks some of the best players in the game right now…and many of them will not go on to the HOF. That’s crazy! Posnanski makes this point when he lists would-be choices from 1985, so while guys on his 2009 list all look like good selections, it’s likely that only half of the players on that list make it to the Hall. Don’t believe me? Let’s take a closer look.
Holy Crap! Voters Choose Greinke!
Posted by Chris Cwik in Baseball, Off-season on November 17, 2009
Greinke Was The Right Choice
In what could be considered a shocker, the best pitcher in the AL actually won the AL Cy Young. It was announced earlier today that Kansas City Royals ace, Zack Greinke, despite only winning 16 games, was named the AL Cy Young. In the past, the pitcher with the highest number of wins in the league would win the Cy Young Award. Despite a tremendous season, Greinke ranked 7th among AL pitchers with 16 wins. Now that the voters actually got it right, what exactly does this mean for the future of the MLB Post-season awards?
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