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.