Opening Day is supposed to be about hope. Hope that your offseason worked. Hope that your prospects break out. Hope that this is finally your year. Unless you're a fan of the Boston Red Sox or the Baltimore Orioles. Then your franchise has spent the entire offseason trying to convince you that losing is actually a long-term investment. The GOPI rankings don't just think these teams will be bad. They think these teams have a legitimate chance to...
For God's sake. Here I am on my "league-mandated vacation," and somehow I'm still being asked to write about...the Top 20 list. Because apparently nothing screams "quality offseason content" quite like owners arguing over whether Player A should be 14th instead of 17th. Fine. Here goes. Another season begins, and right on cue, the annual obsession with the Top 20 list is back. Among the hitters, only one player debuts with a new team: Barry...
As we inch toward the start of the 1998 season, one thing is becoming abundantly clear: We have no shortage of teams aiming for the bottom. The Baltimore Orioles have stripped the roster down to the studs while the league searches for new ownership. The reward? A clean slate and a collection of first-round picks that now rivals some teams' entire farm systems. The Boston Red Sox, apparently offended by the possibility that Baltimore might...
The first domino of free agency isn't a slugger. It isn't a closer. It isn't even the annual 36-year-old reliever who somehow talks a general manager into a multi-year deal. It's Fumiya Nishiguchi. At 25 years old, he's comfortably the best starting pitcher on the market and, by extension, the player most likely to cash in. He's not an ace, but in a free-agent class this light on frontline talent, a durable No. 2 starter with years of team...
Welcome to the hitter's market, where one team's "impact bat" is another team's "solid platoon option." This class is... underwhelming. There are a few genuinely useful players, but if you're looking for a franchise-changing superstar, you're about two years too late. Most contenders will be shopping for complementary pieces, while rebuilding clubs will convince themselves that "veteran leadership" was the plan all along. In other words, it's...