The best seat in the house is the view from the couch

2004-05 Hot Stove winners & losers - Part Two (AL)

So I’ve been asked to give my feelings on the Terrell Owens saga before I finish up my MLB Winners & Losers Part II (click here for part I from last Friday). OK, not a problem. I’ll give you my answer in four words or less. Ready?

He needs to play.

It’s very simple. Terrell Owens constantly griped about playing on a losing team for the first few years of his career; so much so that he was traded out of San Francisco for what has amounted to a bag of peanuts and maybe a few magic beans. Now he’s on the best team in the NFC, and he’s got a broken bone in his leg. An injury that, while painful, is not excruciating to the point of being debilitating. Especially not after six weeks and a surgery to repair it.

Trust me; I know from whence I speak. If it’s a leg injury, I’ve probably done it. I’ve had pins put in each of my legs. I know what the rehab is like. After the first one got put in, it took awhile to get my mobility back. Probably about six months (24 weeks) before I would walk normally again. The second pin cost me another ten weeks before I was back up and walking. And when I had them removed, two years later, it took almost three full weeks to be back to normal. But Terrell Owens is not me; he’s a world-class athlete in the prime of his career. I’m a work-a-day schlub who writes about sports for fun a couple of times a week and plays pickup baseball and football in the summer.

In the NFL, you play to win rings. Simple as that. And while I don’t think that Owens’ presence on the field will necessarily earn Philly a win, it will certainly help them out. Especially if he can’t do anymore damage to the leg than has already been done.

More importantly than all of that, he needs to tell everyone, right now, if he is playing or not. The “will he or won’t he?” saga is not only a huge distraction to his team, but it is just about the most annoying thing about Super Bowl week to date. Seriously, if I were another Eagles Wide receiver and I had to answer questions about T.O. and how my role would be affected if he plays, and whether or not I knew if he was going to play, and so on every day for two weeks, I might just lose it and go on some sort of spree.

He needs to play.

OK, I’m done; let’s finish up the “2004 MLB Hot Stove Winners and Losers”. Last time I reviewed the moves made by the National League (to date) and ranked the five best and worst off-seasons. Before I get into the American League, let me comment on the Sammy Sosa to Baltimore trade (it will come up again later…).

The Cubs screwed the pooch again. Yes, they dealt away Sosa, which they needed to do. But they are now missing a left fielder AND a right fielder. Hairston might play in left, but he’s certainly a downgrade from Moises Alou. And Chicago is now forced to essentially give Jeremy Burnitz anything he wants to fill in out in right. Bad deal.

Alright, for real now, I’m done. Today, the American League.

Top 5 WINNERS

(Honorable Mention 6^th – Oakland. They lost their two best starters, but they got enough in return to contend for another five or six years. Impressive. Not enough to crack this list, but still…

5) Cleveland

I was picking Cleveland to win the Central even before the off-season began. Now, I don’t have much doubt. They’ve got another top of the rotation starter in Millwood (for short money I might add), they kept Bob Wickman to solidify their bullpen, and they added Juan Gonzalez with only a minor league deal, meaning if he flakes out again, they don’t owe him squat. They could still use more bullpen help, but it’s a good start.

4) Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

I had them as high as #2 on this list for awhile; Steve Finley means that much to this team. But then I thought about it – They needed pitching, they didn’t get it. They needed to get healthier in the outfield – Finley is 38 and not getting any younger. They did get younger at third base and closer with Dallas MacPherson taking over for Glaus and K-Rod moving up for Troy Percival. I’m not sure how this season shakes out for them. They’ll win the division or they’ll finish last – everything is going to hinge on Colon, Vlad and Finley, and their respective health.

3) Seattle

Wow. I’d say that’s a pretty good job of replacing what was lost. The only thing Seattle has to worry about is Beltre and Sexson not being able to repeat their breakout numbers from the last year or two. The Mariners stole the heart and soul of the World Champion Red Sox, Pokey Reese and Ricky Gutierrez. Well, not really. But Pokey will be stellar on defense and maybe offer some speed at the bottom of their lineup. Can’t be any worse than the Rich Aurilia debacle last season…

2) Boston Red Sox

I don’t think a defending World Series champion has ever had that much turnover in one off-season. Normally, losing guys like Pedro, Cabrera, and even Lowe would cripple a team for years. Not with Boston’s budget. They replaced the pitching with a couple of solid veterans, they took a chance with a low-cost, short-term contract on Wade Miller (steal of the off-season, by the way), and got one of the top three shortstops in the game. AND resigned their team leader along the way. Not too shabby…

1) New York Yankees

These are the things that only three teams in all of Major League Baseball can do… The Yankees, Red Sox and Mets are the only teams with payrolls that allow them to resign only a couple of their free agents, yet still seem to get better each year (maybe not the Mets…). The Yankees lost 3/5 of their starting rotation in Loaiza/Hernandez, Vasquez and Lieber. So, they sign Wright and Pavano, and trade for the best left-handed starter of the last 30 years, if not ever. They still need to find something to do with Jason Giambi, although I can’t wait for the first time he plays in Fenway…

Top 5 LOSERS

(Honorable Mention 6^th – Chicago White Sox. In a year when the AL Central is essentially up for grabs, you’re pinning your hopes on A.J. Pierzynski, Jermaine Dye and the rusted-out shell of Orlando Hernandez. Enjoy.)

5) Minnesota Twins

Not a horrible off-season, by any stretch. At least not until the arbitration number for Johan Santana comes in and the Twins’ front office lays an egg. But they did lose the entire starting left side of their infield, with very little to replace them. Keeping Brad Radke as a #2 behind Santana was their #1 priority, and they accomplished it. But they did so at the cost of improving anywhere else…

4) Kansas City Royals

It’s not like Kansas City fans expect their team to break the bank in the off-season. They, much like Pittsburgh, wait out the big names and make a living off the lower-level free agents – signing them to short term deals, then dealing them away for prospects. Sooner or later, both teams will field winners. But this off-season, they had a shot to land Sammy Sosa, which would have at least given fans a reason to go to games. Who are they going to pay to go see now? Angel Berroa?

3) Texas Rangers

Another team that really only had one need and they’ve failed to address it. Texas needed arms, period. And while they resigned “Way Back” Wasdin, and reliever Doug Brocail, they did NOTHING to improve their rotation or bullpen. Does anyone really think Kenny Rogers is going to be the #1 starter for long? And if so, are you insane?

2) Houston Astros

That’s an awful short list up there, on both sides. Not exactly a bad thing, but this was supposed to be the off-season that Detroit opened up their wallets and became an ATM. Instead, they overpaid for an aging closer and added a reserve middle infielder. They missed out on every big free agent they had targeted: Pavano, Delgado, Lowe, Beltran, etc. Jut imagine what next off-season will be like if owner Mike Ilitch, who also owns the NHL’s Red Wings, decides to refocus on hockey… Wait, what’s hockey again?

1) Baltimore Orioles

Another team that got stepped on and over by just about every free agent they pursued. They needed to upgrade their pitching staff; instead they resigned one aging outfielder and traded for another. Steve Kline is about the only signing that will really help this team, giving them a very good bullpen arm. But if the Orioles haven’t learned yet that they need pitching to compete with the Red Sox and Yankees, then they never will. Their best hope would be to flip Sosa and a top prospect to Arizona for Javier Vasquez and Shawn Green, which I don’t see happening. OF course, the best trade here would have been Sammy to Arizona, Vasquez to Baltimore, and Green to Chicago. That would have given Arizona the pop they need and a new face for the franchise, Chicago gets some pop in the outfield and sheds Sosa, and Baltimore gets a good starter. But what do I know, right?

So that’s how I see it. As usual, Boston and New York look like the AL favorites, with Oakland as a dark horse. Sound familiar? And, also as usual, Baltimore, Detroit, KC, etc. have absolutely no shot, and Spring Training hasn’t even opened yet.

And lastly, the Quote Of The Week:

From an e-mail exchange I had with my friend Frank. He’s a big NY Giants / NY Yankees fan (a member of the Jersey Crew), and was upset that I sent an e-mail to a bunch of friends, along with this attached photo, something I had created in Photoshop for use as a computer background. He fired back an angry e-mail that read:

D, don’t ever send me stupid f***ing Boston s**t like that again.

I will torch your entire house.

-Bag

To which, my natural response e-mail was:

What? Not a big fan?

Glad to see you're actually alive though, since I haven't heard from you in like five months. Are you guys planning any trips up here anytime soon? I was thinking like around April 11th – you know, the day that the soon to be World Champion New England Patriots will throw out the first pitch to the reigning World Champion Boston Red Sox, then watch as the Sox get their rings and unfurl the World Series banner... all while the Yankees are sulking in the other dugout...

Any chance you'll be in town then?

Guess it’s a good thing I have fire insurance on my house.

-- D

I’m going to relish having the ability to do things like that for another ten months…

Super Bowl pick later this week.

posted by Big D @ 1:54 PM