Alright well before all the fun starts with GMs throwing money around, I'll list my free agent predicitons. Obviously 90% of these guys are going to get overpaid (can you say Carlos Silva?) but thats free agency.
Pitchers
CC Sabathia- NY Yankees, obviously. $150m+, obviously
AJ Burnett- NY Yankees, unfortunately. when will his for DL stint be? may or june?
Derek Lowe- Texas Rangers, maybe a sinker-baller in that stadium will work?
Ben Sheets- Houston Astros, 3yrs/$24m w/ incentives
Brad Penny- St. Louis Cardinals, 1yr $7m with team option
Oliver Perez- Atlanta Braves, he'll get too much money
Jon Garland- Cincinnati Reds, 2yrs/$14m
Ryan Dempster- LA Dodgers
Francisco Rodriguez- Angels, not the 5yrs $75m he wants, but 4yrs/$48m
Brian Fuentes- NY Mets 3yrs/$33m
Juan Cruz- NY Mets 3yrs/$15m
Kerry Wood- Chicago Cubs
Andy Pettite- NY Yankees, 1yr deal
Mike Mussina- I think he'll retire, deserves to be in the HoF
Hitters
Manny Ramirez- Dodgers, he won't get that offer anywhere else
Mark Teixeira- Yankees, obviously. $180+, obviously
Adam Dunn- Seattle Mariners? Surprise.
Rafael Furcal- Baltimore Orioles, 2yr/$14m
Orlando Cabrera- Oakland Athletics, 2yr deal
Bobby Abreu- Chicago Cubs, 2yrs/$20m.
Milton Bradley- Toronto Blue Jays, 3years/$30m
Joe Crede- San Francisco Giants. 3yrs/$24m
Pat Burrel- no clue
Raul Ibanez- Atlanta Braves, 2years/$20m
Juan Rivera- Mets, 3yrs/$20m
Jim Edmonds- Yankees, 1yr deal
Trades
Jake Peavy to the Cubs
Matt Holliday to the Phillies
Mets trade for a starting pitcher; dont know who but not a #1, just a 3-4 starter guy
So the 50 game mark is hit for the majors so I'll pause and take a look at the suprises for the AL, NL will come later this week.
Top 5 Suprises for the AL
5. Seattle Mariners - They just look like they're searching for answers and aren't getting them, shown by Richie Sexson's ridiculous actions. Remember when Escobar and Lackey went on the DL everyone said Seattle would get the division? yeah....
4. Cliff Lee - No explanation here, had a good season two years ago, disappear last year and showed up with the best stuff of his career.
3. Mike Mussina - Call it a homer pick if you want, but Cliff Lee was a 18-game winner two years ago and everyone was writing off Mussina and said he was done so I give Moose the edge. And as of today he has 6 more wins the Verlander, more wins the Beckett and is tied at #2 in wins in the AL with 7 and has been the Yankees only consistant starter besides Wang.
2. Josh Hamilton - Great player on a horrible team, and with the major sluggers in the AL starting slow (Ortiz, ARod, Vlad) he has a legitament shot at the Triple Crown. Plus he's the only one of my fantasy team that's doing anything, hopefully he plays 160games this year.
1. Detroit Tigers - They've played great the past few games but come on, they've added players and got worse. Don't need to point out their flaws but I love their $30million long reliever, imagine if the Yanks made that move?
