The 2007 American League Fantasy Baseball Starting Lineup
Topic:  2007 American League Fantasy Baseball Starting Lineup
By: Ryan “I Just Made You Famous” Rage

It’s that time of year, again.  The birds are chirping, the bees are buzzing and the annual MLB mid-season classic approaches. Arguably, the best-of-the-best (even though, I’m not there) play in a game that showcases the finest talent of the current season that each league, National and American, has to offer.  It also marks the mid-season of the fantasy baseball year.  Ah yes, the game many of us love, cyberspace’s second favourite pastime (in case you’re wondering, watching porn is number one). 

As the MLB All Star Game makes its annual round, it got me thinking, “What if there were a Fantasy Major League Baseball All-Star Game, a competition where all the biggest fantasy stars come out to strut their stuff?”  Who would play in such a game?  Unlike the real game, the criteria for this Fantasy Baseball All Star Game aren’t as ambiguous.  After all, we’re dealing with statistics here and nothing else.  No need to bother with flashy personalities or star power and, in most cases, defensive play.  Fantasy baseball is strictly a pitcher’s and offensive categories numbers game.  Most leagues are 5x5 leagues, whether they’re rotisserie or head-to-head.  As fantasy baseball savants know, for offense, the typical categories of competition are runs, home runs, runs batted in, stolen bases, and batting average.  For pitching, it’s usually wins, saves, strikeouts, earned run average and walk plus hits divided by innings pitched.  Those will be the categories; none of those eccentric categories such as outfield assists or holds.  Since this is one game and I’m an American League fan, I’ll be trotting out the guys who have ruled their respective positions in the AL.  That means a catcher, first baseman, second baseman, shortstop, third baseman, three outfielders, one designated hitter (or in fantasy terms, one utility player), one starting pitcher and a relief pitcher.  Let’s play fantasy baseball.

Playing catcher, from the Cleveland Indians, Victor Martinez.  This year, at least for now, has been the year where the 28-year-old has reclaimed his spot as the unquestioned number one offensive catcher in the AL, and perhaps all of Major League Baseball.  He doesn’t offer anything in the stolen bases department, but he’s been solid, if not more, in all of the other categories.  In the AL, Jorge Posada may have an edge in batting average but Martinez has a large gap in RBI’s and homeruns.  They’re basically tied in stolen bases and runs.  Victor Martinez takes his place in the catcher’s box.

Playing at first base, the pride of New Westminster, British Columbia, from the Minnesota Twins, Justin Morneau.  I used to mock the Twins, as I was once a non-believer.  The man was hailed as an offensive juggernaut but I was blind.  When he struggled, I laughed and stroked my beard as I thumbed my nose at the Twins franchise.  I thought I was right, but no.  Now, I can see and I am the fool.  Since this is about statistics, I won’t mention that he’s last year’s reigning MVP.  Oops, I just did.  He’s been looking phenomenal and doesn’t look to be slowing down.  His nickname, Paul Bunyan, sure fits him;  I guess it’s because Bunyan carried a big axe and Morneau carries a big bat.

Playing at second base, from the Baltimore Orioles, Brian Roberts.  B-Rob, as he’s known by whoever the hell calls him that, is quietly putting together a solid fantasy campaign.  He’s got solid numbers in the batting average and stolen bases categories but his RBI and Homerun stats are lacking.  His totals in the stolen bases category is top five for fantasy players.  This was a tough decision to snub Ian Kinsler, but his paltry batting average and bouts of streakiness are hard to overcome.  Kinsler does offer superior power numbers to Brian Roberts, in the Homerun and RBI department.  They’re basically a tie in runs.  I gave the call to the switch-hitting Roberts because I find it easier to come upon solid homerun and RBI production than it is to come upon high average and top-ten stolen base totals.

Playing shortstop, from the Detroit Tigers, Carlos Guillen.  If he keeps up at his current pace, he will have raised his batting average in seven straight seasons.  He has the most RBI’s at the shortstop position in the majors.  He’s sixth in homeruns by shortstops in the Majors, albeit he’s one behind a two-way tie for 4th and 2 behind a two-way tie for 2nd.  He’s sixth for batting average for MLB shortstops……He’s this…..He’s that.  I could go on and on about his life or tell you his middle name is Alfonso but why waste my time and yours.  The numbers don’t lie and he’s worthy of starting Shortstop on the Junior Circuit side in this year’s fantasy baseball all-star game.

Playing third base,(time for the Michael Buffer voice) the undisputed, the uncontested, the best fantasy player in the world, from the New York Yankees, Alex Rodriguez.  He has been an absolute dynamo.  His numbers have been phenomenal; he lead the majors in homeruns, runs, and RBIs.  Let’s not forget his over .320 batting average and solid stolen base totals.  Whatever his nickname is, be it A-Rod, Stray-Rod, ####-Rod, etc., add another one to the list.  A-Rod’s ‘Mr. Fantasy Baseball 2007’ (at least up to this point in the season).

Occupying 1 of the 3 outfield spots, from the Detroit Tigers, Magglio Ordóñez.  The man, who harbours no discrimination to any part of the field, makes his living hitting to all parts of the field.  This year’s performance, quite possibly his best, has put his name in to the ring for the unofficial mid-season MVP honours.  For outfielders who have more than 200 at-bats, “Maggs” has the best AVG, third highest run totals and RBI totals, and has a top-20 HR total in all of Major League Baseball.  Sound impressive?  You bet your #### it is. 

Occupying the 2nd of three outfield spots, from the Cleveland Indians, Grady Sizemore.  Fantasy baseball’s “It” girl (Well, it should be ‘ballplayer’ instead of ‘girl’ but that doesn’t have the same chime to it) is having an exceptional year in both the real and the fantasy baseball world.  The former Montreal Expos draft choice is yielding a mighty return for the Indians, who obtained him as part of the package they received when they shipped off Bartolo Colon.  He’s also yielding a mighty return for his fantasy baseball owners who drafted or traded for him.  Those who dared to release him to the free agent/waiver wire shall incur the wrath of the fantasy gods.

Occupying the 3rd and final outfield spot, from the Minnesota Twins, Torii Hunter.  The 32-year-old Gold Glove center fielder is on pace to have his best offensive season.  After this season, Torii is certain to be highly coveted on the free agent market.  He’s also vastly boosted his value as both a MLB baseball player and fantasy baseball pawn.  Sure there are arguments to be made that other outfielders are more deserving of this spot.  However, Torii boasts a complete package of solid totals across the board where as others lack in certain categories.  For example, Vlad Guerrero boasts higher average and RBI totals but Torii has the edge in runs, homeruns and stolen bases.  Ichiro may have higher steal, batting average, and stolen bases totals but the gap between him and Torii in homeruns and RBIs is too great.  Torii holds onto this spot for now but it may change by the end of the year.

In the utility spot, from the Detroit Tigers, Gary Sheffield.  Now he may not have made the 2007 American League All-Star team (as of right now), but he makes this 2007 Fantasy Baseball All-Star Team.  I love it that he’s having a great year and it’s not in a Yankees uniform.  Think it’s time to fire Brian Cashman?  Where’s the Steinbrenner we’d come to know?  The answer to the first question is ‘Yes’ and to the second is ‘I dunno’.  No need to get sidetracked;  this section should be about Gary Sheffield and his magnificent fantasy baseball feats, and not about how god-awful the Yankees are and not about how moronic Brian Cashman is.  To Gary Sheffield, the fantasy sports world salutes you for your accomplishments at the midway point of the fantasy baseball season.

Taking the mound, from the Oakland Athletics, Dan Haren.  This was the toughest position to choose a player to represent; after all of the contemplation, Dan Haren gets the nod.  He owns outstanding numbers all across the board (except for saves).  He has the fourth most wins in the American League.  He’s eighth in the AL in strkeouts and 12th in MLB.  ERA and WHIP are what make Dan Haren stand out.  For pitchers who have pitched 80 innings or more, his WHIP is second in the Majors and Haren has the lowest ERA in the AL and ranks fourth in MLB.  Surprisingly, Haren “only” has 10 wins.  In both of his losses, he’s given up a single earned run and the opposing team has scored 4 unearned runs.  In 18 starts, the opposing team has only scored 4 runs or more twice…Yada, yada, yada.  He may be well on his way to his first Cy Young award but for now he holds the distinction of being the American League starter in the 2007 Fantasy Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

Working out of the bullpen, relief pitcher and closer for the Seattle Mariners, J.J. Putz.  He’s been dominant, he’s been filthy, and without a question he’s been the best.  Who’s the man with 39 innings pitched and has only allowed 4 earned runs? It’s J.J. Who’s the man with a microscopic ERA of 0.92 and 23 saves?  It’s J.J.  43 strikeouts in 39 are just gravy on top of the mashed potatoes.  Who doesn’t like a man who has a 0.59 WHIP?  Opposing batters?  His accomplishments deserve the highest of praises from all fantasy baseball pros, professors and pundits.  Three cheers for J.J.  Hip-Hip Hooray!  Hip-Hip Hooray!  Hip-Hip Hooray!

So there you have it, the 2007 American League Fantasy Baseball All-Star starters.  I now leave you with a spoof of the Take Me Out to the Ball Game chorus:
Take me out to the fantasy game.  Take me out to the site.  As the page loads, I’ll be watching porn.  This is what I do in my own home.  Let’s root, root, root for that batter.  A homer puts me in first.  Oh no! It’s one, two, three strikes you’re out at the old fantasy game.

Video Games, Mostly Of The Sports Variety, Have Taught Me Alot
Topic: What Sports Video Games Offer/The Knowledge A Video Game Can Teach
By: Ryan "I Just Made You Famous" Rage

Whenever something goes awry with teens these days, the usual suspects come into play. Music, television/movies, drugs, alcohol and video games are usual the ones most often brought up to explain why some teenager has just gone loco at his school or wherever it may be. What happened to the good old days when these bad seeds, who ruin the fun for others, had to face bear the brunt of the blame without being able to give the notion that, “Those [insert usual suspect] made me do it.” To them I say, “Poppycock.” I’m not trying to say that video games never have a bad effect on a person; I’ve smashed a few controllers over several interceptions in Madden and a couple over terrible one-touch football in Fifa. I just find it absolutely ludicrous that many tend to view video games and other things, such as television, music, etc. as the only culprits whenever someone with not enough sense goes out and does something stupid. (To the few that read, you’re probably wondering what this has to do with sports; I’ll get to that shortly.) Everyone seems to forget about those who do have sense and do not do those stupid acts. Does playing Grand Theft Auto make you a car jacking hooligan or does playing Zelda make you a sword wielding maniac? Not necessarily. In fact, video games, in my case, have been both beneficial and have improved my life. What have video games done for me? Well, they’ve made me a cool guy; Ok, maybe not. However, they have taught me a lot and a lot about my one true love. My one true love is not a woman, as sad as it sounds. This love that video games has taught me so much about is sports. Yes, video games have taught me about sports and lots about it.

One of the most influential sports games that has impacted my knowledge of a particular sport is Major League Baseball Featuring Ken Griffey, Jr. for the Nintendo 64. Where o where do I begin? Besides the endless hours of pleasure that it gave me, (no not a sexual type of pleasure. I did not have the rumble pack, which makes the controller shake ferociously.) the game taught me a lot about the sport itself. Let me take a trip down memory lane. Bottom of the ninth inning and down one run with a man on second, my hitter, Bobby Higginson, is up to the plate. The pitchers throws his pitch and “Wham”. It is laced into the centre-right gap; the ball takes one hop and over the fence. I, not knowing better, thought it was a homer run, as I had never seen such a play. I thought I had won the game; sadly, the game doesn’t cut to a scene of celebration that occurs at the end of a team’s win. I am back at the plate. I am holding my controller befuddled. That play that just occurred was a ‘ground-rule double’ and that’s how I learned about it. Another moment of learning through video games occurred in a bases loaded, zero-out situation as I was pitching. Talk about a sticky situation. To my luck, the batter at the plate strikes one of my pitches for an infield pop-fly. A voice then quickly says, “Infield fly” indicating that the ‘infield-fly rule’ was in effect. At this time, I had no clue what “infield fly” meant. I thought I had struck gold; I would let the ball drop and, hopefully, turn my first triple play. I let it drop, then threw to third then second and then first. I was baffled. I only recorded one out. Something clicked in my brain and I came to a conclusion about what “Infield fly” meant. On the plus side, I did get out of the inning unscathed. That game taught me a lot and much more than just those two stories, like the devastation of a Randy Johnson slider when your anticipating a heater or just how effective a Tim Wakefield knuckleball can be when it’s really working. However, no pitch, like Tim Wakefield’s knuckleball, can be that dominant. Can it? I rarely got more than five hits against the man and almost never got a run or two.

Another sports video game which has affected me immensely is Madden ’95 for the Super Nintendo. An oldie but a goody; it was the first sports video game that I ever played. At least that’s what I remember and it depends on whether you count pro wrestling games as sports games. (I like to think of pro wrestling as its own genre.) I learned about what a safety is in football; not the position safety but the scoring play. During a blowout throttling that I was giving the opposition, I was growing tired of my dominance. As I looked at the screen, I wondered, “What would happen if I went into my own end zone? Would I score some points for my side?” I didn’t know better; I did what I was contemplating. I ended up losing possession and giving the other team two points. I learned many things about the game, certain plays, and ‘what not. Of course, I learned about the I-formation and what it meant to do a wide receiver curl, but amongst that I furthered my vocabulary. When throwing a pass and the other team catches the ball instead of the intended receiver, I learned that play meant that I was intercepted. Whenever that play occurred or something in real life similar to that situation happens, I no longer say, “took-ed” or always say, “steal”. I, once in a while, crack out the mental thesaurus stored in my brain and say, “Interception”. One of these days when a friend’s plans are ruined when his girlfriend is whisked away by her friends, I’m going to say, “Intercepted.” I also learned the word encroachment. I came upon it when I was trying to gain an upper hand on the opposition as I played on the defensive side of the ball. I already knew about offsides, but I thought I’d give it a try. I wasn’t surprised by being penalized; however, I wasn’t called for ‘offsides’. I was called for encroachment. After a few other plays which involved either ‘encroachment’ or ‘offsides’, I was able to distinguish the difference. From that moment on, I knew the meaning of encroachment. I plan on using that word when someone is being too chummy with one of my “many” women. “Listen up, homie! I don’t like you encroaching on my woman!” Thank you, Madden ’95.

NBA Shootout ’98 for the Playstation was a terrible game. Bad controls, bad graphics, and bad entertainment value. However, it still managed to teach me several valuable nuggets about the NBA and its rules. Rule number one that it taught me, ‘back court violation’ aka ‘over and back’. This happens when an offensive team crosses the half court line into the front court and then goes back into the back court. It’s a shame that I learned this in a tight game when I was trying to run down the clock. Rule number two that it taught me, the ‘five second in-bound’ rule. As I tried to shave seconds off of the clock, in yet another close game, I violated the five second in-bound rule with about 2 minutes and 30 seconds left. I was livid, to say the least. I could go on and on about the rules that I learned about, which oddly seem to occur at the most inopportune times, but they all seem to follow the same plot from beginning to end. I’m in a tight situation in a tight game…I use a strategy that is the product of my “ingenuity”…turns out my strategy wasn’t so ingenious and it fails miserably…I learn something new and add another line to the book of knowledge that is my brain. Besides, I’ve proven the gist of my point; I learned a lot about basketball from this video game. Too bad the game sucked. Why’d they have to make performing a slam dunk so hard? I could never do one.

The next game that taught me a lot about sports and one sport in particular is NHL ’98 for the Playstation. From the first moment I first played it, I knew I was in love. Peter Forsberg graced the cover of this; like him, it was amazing. The one-timer was virtually unstoppable and I’d never seen bone crunching hits like this in a video game before. I wasn’t too familiar with the players, since I wasn’t a complete sports nut at this time; this game did familiarize me with them. It taught me a lot about many players; Adam Oates was a really great passer, Chris Chelios was a dominant defenseman for the Chicago Blackhawks and the list goes on and on. Not only did it teach me about which players were good and who were better, it taught me the rules. ‘Icing’ was a rule that I had no previous knowledge of. ‘Offside’ was another rule that I had no previous knowledge of; when I learned about it and after numerous infractions that I’d commit, I turned that rule off in the ‘Options’ menu. It’s not like I cherry-picked in the offensive zone; I just had no patience waiting for my players to get onside. I also learned about the ‘two-line pass offside’ rule; I thought it served no good, so I turned that rule off in the game. You’re probably thinking, “This guy is a cheat” or “What a cheap player!” To you I say, “I’m just playing the cards that the game dealt me. If the game makes it possible to do certain things then I will utilize the tools that are at my disposal.” How else could I have beaten Street Fighter II: The World Warrior for The Super Nintendo? I put the difficulty setting to its lowest level, after trying endlessly to defeat the game on its normal setting. It sure sounds like I’ve nullified a lot of rules, or at least most of them, in the game or any other video games. I do make sure to keep one rule; the rule being “I always win.”

Where would I be without Mario Tennis? I’d be without a ton of knowledge that pertains to the sport that is tennis. I’m not the biggest fan of tennis but Super Mario seems to make everything more fun and this video game was no exception, for me. Running away from ghosts with your life on the line? Super Mario makes that terrifying activity fun. Swimming away from killer fishes? Mario makes that hardly enjoyable activity into a joyous occasion. Mario made a sport that I hardly enjoyed or respected into a sport that I enjoy and now respect. I learned what made this game so great. The intense rallies and the hitting of an ace that screams, “In your face!” I learned a lot about the rules of tennis from this game. I learned what “15-love” meant, although I don’t know why that term was coined. I learned what the term ‘advantage’ meant in tennis and a whole lot of other interesting bits. This game, like many other video games, served as one which provided a learning experience.

Video games don’t always create negative effects and most of the time they don’t. All this negativity that is bestowed upon them is often unwarranted. Look at what video games have done for myself; they are a drop of the water that has carved the grand canyon that is me. Depending on whether you see that as a positive or a negative, that’s your call. However, video games always have something great to offer. In my case, they’ve taught me a lot about the sports that I mentioned before and others that I haven’t discussed, such as rugby and soccer. I won’t go into “How Ea Sports Rugby taught me certain rules” or “How Fifa ’98 taught me certain rules.” Video games somehow get a fairly bad rap. It’s not like gamers are rotting away their minds. Whether it be Grand Theft Auto or Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling , they are all intended to be fun and a lesson or two can be learned from them. Most of all, people need to be more responsible and people need to quit placing blame on video games, television, etc. because of some dummy acting out in a stupid/idiotic manner.

Make or Break
Topic: NBA and NHL Trade Deadline
By: Ryan "I Just Made You Famous" Rage

                My Christmas and sports fan alike. This time of year, February and March,
brings about dreams of last ditch playoff pushes and hopes of championship glory.   It’s all exciting, both giving and taking.  Like Christmas, there are literally groves upon groves of followers anticipating. Trade deadline time is just the same, except followers are shaking the proverbial boxes, as they refresh their browser page or check the ticker at the bottom of the screen hoping to get hints on the latest breaking news.  As in the same case as Christmas, spenders are either breaking the bank or playing it wise, either having bought early, finding a steal or waiting it out, knowing that prices can become more advantageous after the aforementioned dates.

                In the NBA, this year was no different. The anticipation, the hope, and the dreams were all there. Sadly, to the chagrin of most fans, nothing happened. It’s the same feeling a boy gets when he receives a pair of Puma runners instead of those Nikes, which are all the rage; to top it all off, the pair of shoes the kid gets are girl shoes. This trade deadline, had a feeling reminiscent o####irl who sees the big box thinking it’s a Barbie dream house, like were heard names of Ray Allen, Pau Gasol, and Jason Kidd floating around. Instead, she opens up the box and begins to get teary eyed as she gazes upon a new suitcase. Can you believe it a suitcase? That’s like us finding out Alan Henderson and Anthony Johnson were traded, during this year’s trade deadline, and most of us are saying to ourselves, “Who?” No, it’s not a Mike Jones rap song featuring his catchphrase “Who”; we actually don’t know who these guys are. We’ve all had one of those disappointing Christmas’, if we celebrate the holiday. This year fans were treated to Juan Dixon going to the Raptors and in return the Trail Blazers obtained Fred Jones, the most noteworthy deal experienced. Let’s not forget the other two deadline day deals involved second round picks. Maybe one of them will turn out to be the next East Coast Assassin, Gilbert Arenas; don’t hold your breath though or else your lungs will burst. Yes, it may not be a PS3 but we should still be thankful for what we got.

                   The NHL trade deadline has been a bit different. It’s had the feelings of anticipation and hope, as well as dreams which have come to fruition. This may be the one area where the NHL leads all other North American sports and that’s the trade deadline activity. Fans are always in for a treat. Of course, it can either be sour or sweet. Teams either rob, get pilfered, or have an equal exchange. Just like Christmas, the exchange of gifts either yields something of equal, lesser or greater value, and sometimes absolutely nothing. Even though it has slowed a bit, trade deadline activity is always pretty intense. Witnessing massive trades greater than Ruben Studdard’s left breast is no myth at all, as hard as it may be to believe. Tons of high end picks, prospects and high profile players change teams. 2007 has already seen superstar Peter Forsberg leave Broad Street for the country music capital of the world in exchange for Scottie Upshall, Ryan Parent, and a first and third round picks. Speculating and witnessing, overpaying and underpaying, expecting and analyzing occur the most at NHL trade deadlines. Will Ladislav Nagy prove worthy of the first round pick the Dallas Stars gave up in order to get him? Will the Atlanta Thrashers regret giving up a promising mobile-defenseman in Braydon Coburn in order to acquire a more defensive minded veteran in Alexei Zhitnik from the Flyers?

                With tons of opinions, no one knows exactly what will happen when the dust settles and the smoke is cleared and that’s what makes this process such an enjoyable one. Like parades, everyone loves trades. Well not always. There’s rarely ever an “even” trade, if there is such a thing; Dany Heatley for Marian Hossa and Greg DeVries comes to mind, but the jury will be out until they retire. There are winners and losers, and someone always gets hurt, be it fans, owners, players, or whoever it may be. The ramifications of these deals impact everything associated. Reputations are built and ruined, which make General Managers weary of dealing. So many areas of the game affect trade occurrences, which include both the game aspect and the business side; taking into account salary caps, the idea of trading a player who fills the seats i.e. the “Big Ticket” Kevin Garnett, unstable team ownership situations i.e. the Seattle Supersonics, etc. affect how trades are done.

                For those who wail and cry about lack of trade activity, such as myself, one point can answer why trades don’t happen as often as we’d like. It may seem patronizing of me and in all likelihood everyone knows the answer. A trade takes a minimum of two brains in order to deal an asset of theirs. What makes it so difficult is that both participants, or more, want to make a deal which they feel will be most beneficial to them. A hard process indeed; Jenna Jameson would be awestruck. So the dance begins and offers, counters-offers, and deals are made or not made after all the activity. If it’s not there it’s not there and if it is then there’s cause for celebration, or regret if the trigger hasn’t been pulled.

                League rosters also have an affect on trades. The two most active leagues in trading are arguably the MLB and NHL, more so than the NBA and NFL. There’s probably no clear cut answer, but it wouldn’t be totally false to say that it has something to do with the involvement of established minor league systems and the NBDL is not one of them. With a minor league system players and prospects can be stashed away until needed. In the NBA and NFL, you’re basically either on the team or not. Minor Leagues make players more readily available to fill in gaps on rosters or in trades. An NBA team or NFL team making a deal is faced with greater difficulty on replacing talent when a trade is made at a deadline. We know another major factor is that salary caps have been implemented in to the NFL and NBA long enough to have great effects on trades. The NHL has just started to use one a few seasons ago and still have remnants of the same mentality, when it comes to player transactions, from the pre-lockout era. The MLB is free of the constraints that come from a salary cap.

                This time comes around once a year and it never ceases to amaze; yes it still amazes, even if trades haven’t gone through, since it makes us think about what happened or didn’t. As I write my letter to General Managers, I wish for trades and dream of success for my favourite teams. Fans dream of a Rasheed Wallace or Ray Bourque deadline deal which brings a championship or, in Cavaliers fashion in 2003 for Lebron, trading everything insight for a lottery chance at the next superstar. Every deal will either make or break a team and makes professional sports oh-so special.

The Next Big Contract
Topic: Johan Santana's Next Contract
By: Ryan "I Just Made You Famous" Rage

With no cap there really is no limit. A ton of massive contracts were doled out this off-season including the fifth and sixth largest contracts in Major League Baseball history. The fifth largest, valued at $136 million over 8 years, was given to outfielder/second baseman Alfonso Soriano now of the Chicago Cubs. Blue Jays centre fielder Vernon Wells and newly acquired San Francisco Giants pitcher Barry Zito received 126 million over 7 years; Vernon’s contract is the biggest given to a player with less than six years of service time and Zito’s is the largest given to a pitcher. This trend is likely to continue once the best pitcher in the league, Johan Santana, hits the market after the 2008 season when his current 4 year $40 million contract expires. I may be jumping the gun a tad bit but one has to wonder what the ramifications of this off season will have on future ones.

If Barry Zito can get the largest contract for a pitcher, who’s to say that Santana won’t exceed that mark? After all, Barry Zito over the past several years, since his Cy Young Award, has not necessarily been the type of ace which commands the contract which he received. In fact, Carlos Zambrano has given the Cubs who have already spent tons of cash quite possibly the ultimate ultimatum; either sign me to Barry Zito-money or I’ll test free agency at season’s end. The trend will continue.

If these guys are worth this type of money then a dangerous precedent will be set. Before it seemed that the players which garnered the mega-sized contracts were the marquee names who put up the monstrous numbers. Not that it hasn’t occurred before, but now it has become more rampant that the recipients of large contracts are not-so-much deserving of them. Think of Gil Meche who received $57 million over 5 years from the Kansas City Royals and Ted Lilly who got $44 million over 4 years from the Cubs during this past off-season. Mind boggling signings like this make it hard for some to fathom. If this is the price for potential and mediocrity then what is the price for a proven commodity? What is the price for the best player at the most important position? What is the price for quite possibly the best player in the league? Johan Santana fits all these criteria and much more; he has more than just those few points, but if I listed all of his accomplishments then it would just be redundant since we all get the point. After his 2006 campaign, Santana won the Cy Young award for the second time while winning the pitching Triple Crown for all of Major League Baseball. He solidified his status as the premier pitcher and will likely garner a gigantic contract.

Of course this does not bode well for his current team the Minnesota Twins. Known for their conservative spending sprees due to the constraints of a penny-pinching owner, the Twins will be in tough trying to bid for his services, let alone signing him. The topic of trading him has come up, which may be the best thing to do. A guy such as Santana will command a lot. We’re talking about top-notch prospects, all-star players, and any valuable part that can be thought of. If the Twins fall in to a pit in the 2007 season be on the lookout for teams circling like vultures with the most attractive meal being Santana.

If anyone thought Alex Rodriguez’s 10-year $250 million contract was the largest that would be seen in Major League Baseball, they may be surprised. It’s almost unfathomable that someone would make that type of commitment and give that much cash to another player. This however is not just another player. We are talking about the best pitcher so far for this century and likely the best pitcher in the Majors. Johan Santana will be 28 when he hits the market and in his prime, and it looks like he’s got greatness ahead of him. If we’ve learned anything from this off season, it’s that Johan Santana will get a very rich contract barring any injuries.