Oh Those Crazy Nationals...

Screech!

By "popular demand" my resurgence of my blog is starting with the Washington Nationals and their silly antics in our nation's capital. Since the rebirth of a franchise in Washington D.C., the Nationals have had a goal of finishing at .500, which they did in their inaugural season of 2005, and almost completed this amazing feat at the end of this season, coming up one game short (80-81). Due to a rained out game with the Dodgers that they never made up, the Nats now think because they finished third, they are what we call "contenders." Now don't get me wrong, I never want to see anybody finish with 59 wins in a season, or constantly be in the cellar of a division, but I don't see it happening this season. As stated in previous blogs, the Miami Marlins are a new force not to be reckoned with, the Phillies are still dominant in pitching and are looking to reclaim the NL East for the 6th strait year, and the Braves are still trying to figure out what they did wrong at the end of last season (I purposely left out the Mets because they care more about rhinoplasty than baseball Nice Nose Niese). What exactly are the Nationals up to? For starters, the Nationals have recently signed a 6-year, $100 million contract extension with third baseman Ryan Zimmerman. The Nationals traded for Gio Gonzalez earlier this off season with the Athletics and make him a dominant pitcher in the rotation. Stephen Strasburg is coming back this season after surgery, and Bryce Harper is said to probably make the team this season. A personal favorite of mine, Tyler Clippard is still on the team, and the Nats added Brad Lidge to their arsenal of bullpen arms. On a side note, the Nationals are trying a new campaign this season called, "Take Back the Park," which is supposed to stop Phillies fans from going to Nationals Park. Good luck with that, because Citizens Bank Park South is certainly a Philly fan favorite. So what are the Nationals going to do this season? I don't know, but what I do know is that the NL East is the division to watch this upcoming 2012 season because there certainly will plenty of surprises.

Welcome to Miami (Bienvenido a Miami)

Well Blog followers, by now you are thinking, is this blog only about the Miami Marlins. It's starting to look that way, but the Marlins are making the biggest "splash" this offseason. But as stated in the title, and elaborately stated by Mr. Will Smith, "Welcome To Miami." Today, approximately 10 minutes ago at 12:15 PM, the Miami Marlins formally announced their signing of Jose Reyes. "The contract is a 6-year, $106MM deal today.  The deal does not include a no-trade clause.  Reyes will receive $102MM over the first six years of his contract, and has a $4MM buyout on a seventh year option worth $22MM." Jeffrey Loria says Jose Reyes will have cut his hair. "everybody has to follow the rules ." This is big for the Marlins because they now need to figure out many problems that can/will pan out during this offseason. The first problem's name is: Hanley Ramirez. The All-Star shortstop is not happy about the Marlins signing Reyes, simple because: it's his position. Ramirez is none too happy about the possibility of relocating to either center field or third base. Ramirez has even been reported saying that he would prefer being traded then moved to third. BUT, BUT, BUT, the Marlins stated today in the press conference that Hanley is now the starting third baseman. 

The second problem the Marlins face are finances. A new stadium, two very big signings worth approximately $133 million, and the other finances that are normally dealt with such as other contracts on the team. Apparently Jeffrey Loria's idol is George Steinbrenner, and Loria wants what Steinbrenner had. He wants championships, he wants money, and he wants to use that money on big names in baseball. But unfortunately, the Marlins are not the Yankees. The Marlins do not quite have the fan base to bring in the money that the Yankees have, but Loria is trying to change all of that with the new image of the "Miami Marlins." And if this doesn't work, the Marlins have a little trick up their sleeve. All of the new contracts and signings they have been offering do not have no-trade clauses. Meaning, if the Marlins are starting to go into the "red" they can trade away Jose Reyes and another team can pay his contract. Genius.

The last problem the Marlins face is Albert Pujols. The fact that the two teams that are leading the way to obtain Albert Pujols are the Marlins and the Cardinals just amazes me. But since both the Yankees and the Red Sox already have great first baseman, I guess the market is a little slim. Pujols has been receiving offers from both the Cardinals and the Marlins that are 10-years and over $200 million. I don't know about you, but having Albert Pujols in the NL East for 10 years really scares me. "The Machine" playing at least 18 games against the Phillies, that's a game changer. If the Marlins do obtain Pujols, their payroll will be enormous, bigger than it has been in years combined. If the Marlins do not obtain Pujols, they will still be in a position where they are lacking some offense. Jose Reyes is a leadoff hitter, not a 3 hole batter, nor a cleanup batter. Plus Reyes is only one person. Can one person make a difference? I think so. Can two players make a difference? Definitely. Good luck Marlins, I'm really excited to see you play in 2012.

Back to the Marlins: Part II

A bit of my own "creativity

There have been many rumors about the Miami Marlins in the past few weeks. It was November 11th when they became the Miami Marlins and things have been heating up in the recently nicknamed: "The City of the Future." So what have those crazy fish from the south been up to? Yesterday the Marlins officially signed closer Heath Bell to a 3-year $27 million contract with a fourth year vesting option wroth $9 million. The Marlins front office stated they wanted a dominant closer, a pitcher (so that Josh Johnson isn't their only hope), and new offensive power. Well, they can check one of those off! Bell has made the All Star team the past three years and had at least 42 saves each season since 2009. That kind of pitching dominance in the 9th inning will really help the Marlins win more games! As a Phillies fan, I don't want to see them win too many games, but finishing last is something that no team wants to do. Moving towards the pitching end of the spectrum, the Marlins are still "fishing" around for CJ Wilson, but NL East rival Washington Nationals are also pursuing the left-hander. Mark Buehrle has also been linked to the Marlins, but nothing has come from that. Last but not least: Jose Reyes. Apparently the market for Reyes is not as open as many would thought it would be. So far the Mets and the Marlins are the frontrunners for Reyes, but the Tigers and Brewers appear to be "iffy" in the market. The only thing that would really stop Reyes from not signing with the Mets is that they refuse to offer a 6th year. The Marlins on the other hand, are offering a 6th year, but initially offered less money. The Marlins are willing to bump it up a bit, but who knows? But it does appear that it will be very unlikely that Reyes leaves the NL East. I heard of rumors that Jose Reyes was seen in Philadelphia, but what are the chances the Phillies will sign Reyes? Highly unlikely. Would I love to see it? Yes. (Back to the Marlins: Part III soon to come, as soon as something happens)

Bobby Valentine: No Longer Giving Obvious Statements on BBTN

Don't get me wrong, I love Bobby Valentine. I find him to be a very likable guy, he's comical, and has been involved with MLB for quite some time now. But I have to say, he gives the most obvious statements on television ever. Things along the lines of, "If you want to win games, you have to score runs." Well, Duh! So now Bobby V. is in the AL East, one of the most competitive divisions in baseball. Going against some serious managing like: Buck Showalter, Joe Maddon, Joe Girardi, and that Canadian guy (John Farrell). Taking on a team that is similar to last year's squad (without Papelbon and possibly without Ortiz), Valentine will hopefully take the Red Sox to a new level. Or at least make sure they can into the playoffs. Boston was tied with the 8th best record in baseball in the 2011 season which is nothing to shake a stick at, but they still ended up losing the last game of the season to the Orioles to allow the Rays into the playoffs. In the end, it really doesn't matter because the Cardinals won anyway.... But back to my original point, Bobby Valentine will give the AL East a bit of a shakeup. With a stacked team, Valentine will look to enhance his lifetime managing record of 1117-1072, a .510 winning percentage, and one pennant. I mean he doesn't have the winning percentage of Girardi, the hair of Maddon, the Canadian-ness of Farrell(?), and the true character of Buck Showalter. But he does have a good smile, so good luck Bobby V!

Justin Verlander: Legend Amongst Men

To do what Justin Verlander has accomplished in the 2011 season is just amazing. Verlander was a sure lock-in for the AL Cy Young award but there was still speculation of who would win the AL MVP. The last pitcher to win the MVP award was in 1992, and the last starting pitcher to win was Rodger Clemens in 1986. It can be difficult to comprehend just what Verlander has done. He doesn't believe it himself: "If you had told me at the beginning of the year I would be a shoo-in for the Cy Young, I would have been excited and ecstatic. I would've never even thought about the MVP." Statistically, Justin Verlander was 24-5, and in a 162 game season, Verlander won 25% of the Tigers 95 wins. In other words, Wow. It's simply amazing in that Verlander can make such an impact on his team that he beat Jacoby Ellsbury, Jose Bautista, and Curtis Granderson. In my opinion, I was pulling for either Ellsbury or Granderson because of their surges in homerun hitting, but unfortunately, I don't get to vote for such things. I could continue to give stats about Verlander's 2011 season but I feel as though that it is simply redundant. The man won both the Cy Young and the AL MVP. It's simply amazing.

Light up the Hot Stove!

What is a Hot Stove? Well regardless of what it is, it's heating up! Once again those foolish fish from Florida are offering Albert Pujols a 9-year $225 million contract. Good luck with that one! Pujols turned down deals from the Cardinals before the 2011 season started and they were around 9 years, and over $225 million, so why would Pujols agree to this deal? Pujols toured the Marlins new ballpark and was reported to have had a good trip. It wasn't a great trip, it wasn't a fantastic trip, it was a good trip. Albert has no affiliations with the Marlins, and he just won a World Series Title with the Cardinals, so in my opinion, I do not see him signing with the Marlins. The other big, literally, first baseman free agent this off season is Prince Fielder. Fielder is the pride and joy of Milwaukee, but where will he go? How many games do you think Prince Fielder has missed in the past 6 seasons? Well, one season in 162 games, and with days given off and all that stuff, one would expect somewhere along the lines of 60 games? That's 10 games a season, which is relatively low. He's missed 13 games in SIX SEASONS! WOW. Wherever Fielder goes, that team will know that they get durability and their money's worth with this contract. Fielder will want somewhere along the lines of a "Ryan Howard contract" but he's thrown out a number like $180 million. The teams that can afford that, like the Red Sox or Yankees, already have first baseman. Teams being thrown around for possible fits for Fielder are the Dodgers, Angels, Rangers, and there are preliminary talks with the Brewers as of this week. These two first baseman free agents are the biggest of the big, and will shape the offseason into something truly special.

Oh and Justin Verlander won the AL Cy Young in unanimous vote.

Miami Marlins: Who the Hell do they think they are?

Yes ladies and gentleman, the blog is back for the offseason. I know that I stated before that I would bring it back during the summer, but I feel as though I am only giving game recaps that you can easily watch on ESPN or Baseball Tonight at 30 second intervals. Who likes reading anyway? But in this time of NBA lockouts, college football, the NFL, and the NHL, all dominating the airwaves, baseball is somewhat on the back burner. But let's get down to business. On Friday November 11, 2011 a "new" team was unveiled and they are known as the "Miami Marlins." They used to be the Florida Marlins, but bygone there is another team in Florida! Floridians don't seem to know this because no one goes to the games, and they have to give out free tickets, but there are the Tampa Bay Rays! (I think they may have been in the playoffs the past few years?) Anyway, there are some new things that come with the Miami Marlins: a new stadium, new uniforms, and a new mentality(?). And on a sidenote, it's about time the Marlins got a new stadium, and one with a retractable roof? That means no more rain delays! Woo!

It appears that Jeffrey Loria is trying to get fans in the seats by possibly getting big ticket free agents like: Albert Pujols, Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, and Ryan Madson. Why don't they try to get Prince Fielder while they are at it, Pujols can play 3B. If they get Jose Reyes so what? He's been in the division for years. Plus Hanley Ramirez has stated that he does not want to move his position of SS to CF, and where does that leave the Marlins? Plus they only offered Reyes a 6-year $90 million contract. Reyes wants a guaranteed $100 million. But with this, you must realize the Marlins history. They won a World Series in their 5th season as an MLB team in 1997, and then again in 2003! But afterwards it was: scrap all players, save on payroll, see what happens. The Marlins highest payroll was just over $66 million, and now they want to offer Jose Reyes money? What about Albert Pujols? He wants $30 million a year! The Marlins have stated that they have $35 million just lying around and that money is burning a hole in their pocket. Let's see what happens in the end. I'm sorry to say Marlins fans, but I highly doubt that the Marlins will win the NL East, mainly because they have never done it before. Both times they won the World Series, they did it as the NL Wildcard team. In my opinion, I say good luck to the Marlins.

PS. I like the new look and the new logo. Tell me what you think.