No special header for this one folks. In fact, you may not see one for sometime. This blog is completely about the fantasy issue. What if I owned this guy? Would I not come in last for once? What if I owned that guy? Would I have a better team. Thats right folks, it's Fantasy Baseball time. With the leagues starting to form, it's only a matter of time before you join one. Lets take a quick glance at who some of the top picks, the no picks and the dark horses should be in this year's fantasy leagues. Ok, for top picks, the obvious choices are Albert Pujols and Ryan Howard. These two were monsters last year, and if Howard can find his Pujols groove (of constant numbers each year), then he'll be up for another MVP award. Sure, he will probably never hit 58 homeruns again, because of the walk treatment, but he'll get you numbers. HR, RBI, Runs and the averages: OB, Slugging and OPS. The same for Pujols. It looks like Pujols and Howard will be the numbers 1 and 2 picks in each draft. just who will be 1 and who will be 2? Other top players are Chris Carpentar, Roy Oswalt, Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, Brandon Webb, Johan Santanna, Joe Maur and Justin Morneau. All of whom will be top picks. Some don't pick these guys: Barry Bonds, JD Drew, Luis Gonzalez, Russell Martin, Geoff Jenkins and Gary Sheffield. Bonds will be injuried a lot this year, if he doesn't get arrested first. Drew, well, he agreed to terms almost two months ago with the Boston Red Sox and his deal hasn't been finalized yet because of an injury during an exam. Gonzalez is old and probably won't play as much as people think. If you want a lot of bases, you might want to take him but only as a late round pick. Martin will NOT be the Martin of last year: fact. Trust me. If you need a catcher, go for Brian McCann (who would be an iffy choice as well) or Maur. Jenkins and Sheffield probably won't see much playing time and haven't done well for a few years. Late picks if you desperately need outfield help. Some dark horses are: Yadier Molina, Anthony Reyes, Kevin Kouzmanoff, Stephen Drew, Carlos Quinten and Sammy Sosa. Molina and Reyes really came into their own during the postseason, most noteably the NLCS (Molina) and the World Series (Reyes). Both should have really good 2007 campaigns. Kouzy is a rookie 3B with a lot of pop. He'll fit into the middle of the young Friar's lineup and should produce 20+ homeruns, a lot of doules and some RBI. the DBack boys, Drew and Quinten, were stellar last year in the MLB debuts. This year looks better. Some starting experience under your belt is very good for young players, and you can bet that these two will have good years. And lastly, Sosa. Sosa was MIA in 2006 and looks to come back in 2007. He'll be playing a lot of DH, so his wear and tear will be low on his body so he MIGHT produce. In a hitter friendly park, his numbers MIGHT be good. See why he's a dark horse candidate? Lots of mights. He's the Frank Thomas of 2007. Injuries hampered him, full time DH. Take a shot if you're willing, but make it late. Thats all folks!
There are some moves the Cardinals need to make for next year. I'll give you a rundown in a second. First off, lets remember not to long ago the Cardinals had an over $90 million payroll. What did that bring? A World Series appearence. What has this $85 million dollar payroll bring? Disaster. There are teams that have upped their payrolls past the Cardinals. Now, the Cardinals can say they don't want to spend to much. However, whats too much? When Scott Rolen, Albert Pujols and Chris Carpenter make over $31 million (for good reason), I think you know that you have to up the payroll. After all, those three make more than a third of the payroll. So here's what the Cardinals need to do: First off, the Cardinals need to up their budget to $100 million. Now, remember that's their budget, not their payroll. You need some flexability, and this is how you start it. Now, you set your sites on a few goals. First and foremost, limit your spending to your own possible free agent players. You don't want to spend too much, but you don't want to spend too little. So, here's what I would do. I would resign Ronnie Belliard to a two year contract worth $6 million, with a club option for a third year worth $4.5 million. Next, trade Ricardo Rincon for a minor league player, outside of the league. This frees up spots for Tyler Johnson and Randy Flores to be the full-time lefties out of the pen. Next comes the tricky part: Jim Edmonds. I would deny his option. Then, try to sign him to a one year deal worth $1 million. If he denys, fine. If he accepts, great. Either way, this saves $6-7 million. After this, I would resign Jeff Suppan, who has probably been the number two pitchers the past three years. I would definently resign Preston Wilson. This gives the Cardinals a lot of insurance. If they can't sign a big time outfielder, at least they have a fall back plan. Now, the expensive part: Mark Mulder. I would definently try to work out a deal with Mulder. Sure, he's been a little inconsistent, but everyone knows the capability this guy has. I would try to sign him to a five year contract worth between $48 and $55 million dollars. Why so high? The money we would get back on Mulder and the money we save on Edmonds would cover the first year of the contract, and it still gives us $2-3 million to play with.....along with $13.5 million dollars. Ah ha, think of that. Sounds bad, but when you break it down, it's huge. We have about $28 million to spend in the offseason. We have an open outfield spot for a big time signee and a set rotation (Carpenter, Mulder, Suppan, Anthony Reyes and Adam Wainwright). Also, look at the bullpen: Flores, Johnson, Brad Thompson, Josh Hancock, Jorge Sosa, Braden Looper and Jason Isringhausen. Plus, after a big offseason signee of an outfielder, we can add a few arms to the bullpen, if we want. Now, lets move on to the free agent market. Now, the free agent market is going to be a huge part of the Cardinals offseason. On the shopping list is: a backup catcher, a utility infielder, a big outfield bat and maybe some bullpen pitchers. First target: outfield. The Cardinals outfield (assuming Edmonds resigns) will be pretty crowded. The following are the names of the outfielders on the roster (* means they are starting): Edmonds, Wilson, Chris Duncan*, Juan Encarnacion* and So Taguchi. So, backup outfielders are not necessary. Now, lets go shopping. Down the fvie tool isle, we see Alfonso Soriano (2B/LF). Soriano comes with great speed, an even better bat and a better than average throwing arm. He converted to the outfield in Washington. With St. Louis, he's still an outfielder. Soriano will cost a lot, but guess what? We got close to $30 million to spend. So, lets try to pick him up. Soriano wants a no-trade clause, and plenty of teams are going to try for his services. Here's a few: New York Yankees, New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, San Diego Padres. Like I said, just a few. So, the Cardinals need to blow Soriano away with an offer. Here's my offer layed out over the period of years the contract states: Year 1 - $12.5 million Year 2 - $13 million Year 3 - $13 million Year 4 - $16 million Year 5 - $18 million (club option; buyout: $3.5 million) Yeah, thats a big contract, but for a good reason. Soriano is worth the money. He can hit fourth in the order with Scott Rolen batting after him, followed by Duncan and Encarnacion. This gives the Cardinals a batting order of five guys that can hit for 20+ homeruns. Thats worth $54.5 million over four years. Next isle: Carlos Lee. This cat is worth the dough, but not as much as Soriano. Lee has great power and the ability to hit for a high average and score a lot of runs. He's basically a Panama version of Albert Pujols. What I would do with him is lay out another four year contract with a fifth year option, but not as much money: Year 1 - $11 million Year 2 - $11 million Year 3 - $13 million Year 4 - $14 million Year 5 - $16 million (club option; buyout: $3 million) Soriano's contract can be worth either $72.5 million or $58 million. Lee's can be worth $65 million or $52 million. It's significantly less money, but beings Soriano has more abilitys than Lee, it's actually pretty reasonable. Now, notice what I'm doing here with Lee and Soriano. I'm looking for guys who can hit 40+ homeruns and drive in over 100 runs. Why do that when I have Pujols? Here's a question to your question: why have Manny Ramirez bat after David Ortiz? You have two guys who hit over 80 homeruns and drive in over 270 runs a year (between the two). This gives the Cardinals an even more dangerous middle of the order and it takes a little pressure off Rolen to always come through. The bench can be easily addressed. We bascially only need two players for the bench. We have Micheal Hernandez at Triple A right now, and we can always resign Jose Vizcaino. So, no big deals there. The bullpen, yes it could always use an extra arm (e####ally after watching it this year). So, basically, whoever becomes available, we go after. After all these moves, we should have about $12 million left over for jus in case moves, and to carry over and pay for some salaries of guys' contracts that grow. Now, how can you argue with that?
Carlos Lee was involved in the biggest blockbuster deal of the summer. Danys Baez was traded to the Atlanta Braves. Both of these moves were great moves. The Milwaukee Brewers added yet another setup man in Francisco Cordero, he might even close if Turnbow continues his struggles and a new left fielder in Kevin Mench. The Braves added a utility infielder in Willy Aybar and a setup man in Baez for only Wilson Betemit. This is good news for the Braves, great news for the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Braves finally have a guy to pitch the eigth and get the ball to new closer Bob Wickman. The great upside for the Dodgers is, they have a future third baseman in Betemit and they can move Cesar Izturis to second base. The Texas Rangers have enough money to retain Lee, if they so choose. With the newly aquired outfiled prospect Nelson Cruz, they could devide to let Lee walk and save some money. No matter what happens, the Rangers added a huge bat for the middle of the struggling order and they didn't trade any of their prospects for Lee. Why is that good? They can now go out and maybe add a starting pitcher. Say, Livan Hernandez? No matter who they want, they can more than likely add a starting pitcher.
Sammy Sosa says he would like to come back to Major League Baseball. Maybe the Washington Nationals? With all the trade rumors floating around, the Nationals may need a guy that can play the outfield for them. If they trade Alfonso Soriano and Jose Guillen, they can use Marlon Byrd and Ryan Church, but the Nationals haven't showed strong intrest in those two players this year. Maybe they can sign Sosa to a one year contract. It won't spark a huge comeback, but it could help them with the outfield situation after the deadline. Sosa is aging a little, but that's ok. He has a lot of experience in his career and if he comes back, he can continue his pursuit of 600 career homeruns. Austin Kearns will be in right field for the Nationals, so Sosa can play left until the Nationals feel they have a younger guy that can everyday for them in left. Sosa would be a good short term signee for the Nationals. E####ally with all these trade tumors swirling around.
Dayton Moore was hired as the new Kansas City Royals General Manager. He has taken many steps to turning this franchise around. In fact, the Royals might have an outside shot of being 20 games under .500 or better. Now, that doesn't sound big, but it is. It really is for the Royals. Moore traded off for a very good center fielder that never got a shot in Tampa Bay. His name: Joey Gathright. That move bumped David DeJesus over to left field. Do you know what this means? They have two center fielders in their outfield. <km> Here's another step the Royals and Moore need to take. There is no way they will make the playoffs with the Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, Oakland Athletics, Texas Rangers and the LA Angels battling for the division titles and Wild Card. So, this season is a lost cause. Or is it? Who says it has to be a complete lost cause? Sure they can't get to the playoffs, but they can give the young guys of the future a look. They have some trade bait. Reggie Sanders, Matt Stairs, Mark Redman, Mark Grudzielanek, Scott Elarton, Tony Graffanino and Doug Mientkiewicz. They can trade these guys off within the next two weeks. They have a solid back of the bullpen to build on (Mike MacDougal and Ambiorix Burgos) and a good farm system. They can trade Mientkiewicz and Redman off for some young pitching to go along with Jimmy Gobble, Bobby Keppel (at Triple-A) and Zach Grienke (if he ever comes back). Also, if the Royals can sign their first overall pick, Luke Hochevar, that makes a fourth possible starter. Then if they can add another starter or two in some trades, they're in good shape. They also have Mike Wood. The depth is getting bigger. Basically, what I'm saying is, the Royals have a great farm system. They just never tapped into it. Now, they have to. Mark Teahen can move from third base to the designated hitters role. This opens a spot for Alex Gordon. They can also trade Sanders, opening a spot for Billy Butler. Another move, already stated, is to trade Mientkiewicz to open a spot for Justin Huber. Donnie Murphy, Angel Sanchez and Andres Blanco are waiting for Gurdzielanek and Graffanino to leave town so they can come up. Something else they could think of doing is adding a young catcher in a trade. See, when you think about it, the Royals aren't in horrible shape. They look like it, but with Moore running the show now, you'll see the Royals in contention in 2008 or 2009...maybe even 2007. People said the Florida Marlins wouldn't be in contention, but look at them.
Welcome to the first of eight special edition Sunday Shakedowns. Can you believe it? We've reached this point, only a few days before pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training. In these special Sunday Shakedowns, I'll give you the predictions of the West, Central and East in their respective leagues, AL first. After the East in each league, I'll do the Wild Card/the league's playoffs. Then, on Feb. 26 (the day after the NL Wild Card), I'll give the full predictions, every division, Wild Card, playoffs AND the World Champions. Enjoy!
TEAM NAME RECORD GB Texas Rangers 93-69 -- Oakland Athletics 92-70 1 LA Angels of Anaheim 91-71 2 Seattle Mariners 71-91 22
TEXAS RANGERS
The Rangers have done a lot to improve their team this offseason. In 2 trades, and one free agent signing, they added an awesome setup man and the 1-2-3 starters for their newly rebuilt rotation. They added a leadoff man/center fielder in Brad Wilkerson. Their team is just so improved, it's unbelieveable. The Rangers are a force this year and will win the AL West, but not hands down. It'll be a challenge.
Oakland Athletics
The Athletics improved their pitching for the 2005 season, and those pitchers proved their talent. This year, all theose young pitchers are older and more experienced, giving the A's one of the best rotations in baseball, complete from 1 to 5. Their bullpen is imrpoved, but not setup for the early innings if needed, though, Joe Kennedy is a key long reliever and sixth starter. Their closer's great, but how will he fare in a full season? Their offense has improved, but still lack an onbase threat (if Frank Thomas is healthy, he should fill this void). Bobby Crosby is good, but they need someone else to help out. Eric Chavez is a hot/cold hitter, Milton Bradley has anger issues and isn't a 30+ homerun guy and Thomas needs to be healthy. Too many question marks, but will end up one game short of the title.
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
The Angels have lost more than what they have gained. They traded Steve Finley for Edgardo Alphonso (why?). He'll serve as a utility infielder. They moved Darrin Erstad back to center, a good move, but now they lack a proven first baseman. Their offense has taken a beating, and will use Chone Figgins as their leadoff man and third baseman. Their team hasn't been improved, as they lost Paul Byrd to the Indians and Bengie Molina to the Blue Jays. Their starting pitching is falling, as is their catching. They've placed third and two games out. Next year, if they fail to do anything once again in the next offseason, Seattle might pass them.
Seattle Mariners
The Mariners added a japanesse exchange student, Kenji Johamma, to help make Ichiro feel more at home. His bat will fall of against Major League pitching, preventing any huge shift in the forces. They did improve their pitching, and in 2007, if they can add another quality pitcher, their staff will be complete. However, not this year. Their team is improved, but they'll have to wait a year for the team to get any better and have any chance of making the playoffs.
Hoped you enjoyed, and I'll see you Tuesday on SS.
I'm 18 and I enjoy baseball, as I'll only write about baseball. I'm a business major at Illinois State and I plan on going into baseball for a career. Hopefully one day, beating Theo Epstein's record as the youngest GM ever. My dream job is being the GM of the St. Louis Cardinals.
give you a rundown in a second. First off, lets remember not to long ago the Cardinals had an over $90 million payroll. What did that bring? A World Series appearence. What has this $85 million dollar payroll bring? Disaster. There are teams that have upped their payrolls past the Cardinals. Now, the Cardinals can say they don't want to spend to much. However, whats too much? When Scott Rolen, Albert Pujols and Chris Carpenter make over $31 million (for good reason), I think you know that you have to up the payroll. After all, those three make more than a third of the payroll. So here's what the Cardinals need to do:
and this is how you start it. Now, you set your sites on a few goals. First and foremost, limit your spending to your own possible free agent players. You don't want to spend too much, but you don't want to spend too little. So, here's what I would do. I would resign Ronnie Belliard to a two year contract worth $6 million, with a club option for a third year worth $4.5
million. Next, trade Ricardo Rincon for a minor league player, outside of the league. This frees up spots for Tyler Johnson and Randy Flores to be the full-time lefties out of the pen. Next comes the tricky part: Jim Edmonds. I would deny his option. Then, try to sign him to a one year deal worth $1 million. If he denys, fine. If he accepts, great. Either way, this saves $6-7 million. After this, I would resign Jeff Suppan, who has probably been the number two pitchers the past three years. I would definently resign Preston Wilson. This gives the Cardinals a lot of insurance. If they can't sign a big time outfielder, at least they have 
a fall back plan. Now, the expensive part: Mark Mulder. I would definently try to work out a deal with Mulder. Sure, he's been a little inconsistent, but everyone knows the capability this guy has. I would try to sign him to a five year contract worth between $48 and $55 million dollars. Why so high? The money we would get back on Mulder and the money we save on Edmonds would cover the first year of the contract, and it still gives us $2-3 million to play with.....along with $13.5 million dollars. Ah ha, think of that. Sounds bad, but when you break it down, it's huge. We have about $28 million to spend in the offseason. We have an open outfield spot for a big time signee and a set rotation (Carpenter, Mulder, Suppan, Anthony Reyes and Adam Wainwright). Also, look at the bullpen: Flores, Johnson, Brad Thompson, Josh Hancock, Jorge Sosa, Braden Looper and Jason Isringhausen. Plus, after a big offseason signee of an outfielder, we can add a few arms to the bullpen, if we want. Now, lets move on to the free agent market.
The following are the names of the outfielders on the roster (* means they are starting): Edmonds, Wilson, Chris Duncan*, Juan Encarnacion* and So Taguchi. So, backup outfielders are not necessary. Now, lets go shopping. Down the fvie tool isle, we see Alfonso Soriano (2B/LF). Soriano comes with great speed, an even better bat and a better than average throwing arm. He converted to the outfield in Washington. With St. Louis, he's still an outfielder. Soriano will cost a lot, but guess what? We got close to $30 million to spend. So, lets try to pick him up. Soriano wants a no-trade clause, and plenty of teams are going to try for his services. Here's a few: New York Yankees, New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, San Diego Padres. Like I said, just a few. So, the Cardinals need
to blow Soriano away with an offer. Here's my offer layed out over the period of years the contract states:
I would do with him is lay out another four year contract with a fifth year option, but not as much money:
homeruns and drive in over 270 runs a year (between the two). This gives the Cardinals an even more dangerous middle of the order and it takes a little pressure off Rolen to always come through.
Betemit. This is good news for the Braves, great news for the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Braves finally have a guy to pitch the eigth and get the ball to new closer Bob Wickman. The great upside for the Dodgers is, they have a future third baseman in Betemit and they can move Cesar Izturis to second base.
Lee, if they so choose. With the newly aquired outfiled prospect Nelson Cruz, they could devide to let Lee walk and save some money. No matter what happens, the Rangers added a huge bat for the middle of the struggling order and they didn't trade any of their prospects for Lee. Why is that good? They can now go out and maybe add a starting pitcher. Say, Livan Hernandez? No matter who they want, they can more than likely add a starting pitcher.
Baseball. Maybe the Washington Nationals? With all the trade rumors floating around, the Nationals may need a guy that can play the outfield for them. If they trade Alfonso Soriano and Jose Guillen, they can use Marlon Byrd and Ryan Church, but the Nationals haven't showed strong intrest in those two players this year. Maybe they
can sign Sosa to a one year contract. It won't spark a huge comeback, but it could help them with the outfield situation after the deadline.
taken many steps to turning this franchise around. In fact, the Royals might have an outside shot of being 20 games under .500 or better. Now, that doesn't sound big, but it is. It really is for the Royals. Moore traded off for a very good center fielder that never got a shot in Tampa Bay. His name: Joey Gathright. That move bumped David DeJesus over to left field. Do you know what this means? They have two center fielders in their outfield. <km>
Sure they can't get to the playoffs, but they can give the young guys of the future a look. They have some trade bait. Reggie Sanders, Matt Stairs, Mark Redman, Mark Grudzielanek, Scott Elarton, Tony Graffanino and Doug Mientkiewicz. They can trade these guys off within the next two weeks. They have a solid back of the bullpen to build on (Mike MacDougal and Ambiorix Burgos) and a good farm system. They can trade Mientkiewicz and Redman off for some young pitching to go along with Jimmy Gobble, Bobby Keppel (at Triple-A) and Zach Grienke (if he ever comes back). Also, if the Royals can sign their first overall pick, Luke Hochevar, that makes a fourth possible starter. Then if they can add another starter or two 
in some trades, they're in good shape. They also have Mike Wood. The depth is getting bigger.
TEXAS RANGERS
Oakland Athletics
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Seattle Mariners
