Raise your hand if you had Las Vegas leading the division after seven weeks. No one? Well, here we are. While the Angels have a lead, there are several teams chasing them, and the West is starting to look like it could get very interesting. Here's a look at the biggest needs around the division. Las Vegas Angels The Angels are ahead of schedule on their rebuild, which puts them in an interesting spot. The hitting looks great. The pitching looks...
As we head into May and the divide between contenders and pretenders starts to make itself obvious, let's do a deep dive into team needs. The marketplace is starting to come alive, with people other than Ginter posting team needs and wants for the 19 different teams he's running, so away we go. With no offense meant to the Detroit Tigers or the Baltimore Orioles. New York Mets Sitting at 19-18 after going 2-8 in their last ten games, the Mets...
Washington Senators acquire 3B Ken Caminiti and a 1998 5th-round pick from the Milwaukee Creams for OF Mike Greenwell, OF Jeff Abbott, SP Jim Niedlinger and a 1998 2nd-round pick. The Washington Senators, owners of the second-best record in the league at 16-4, have looked at their roster, looked at their pitching staff, looked at the standings and apparently reached the following conclusion: You know what we're missing? A 35-year-old hitting...
Excellent We can stop playing the season now. Washington is 11-1. Kansas City is 12-3. Baltimore is 2-11. Pedro Martinez has 42 strikeouts. Jeff D. Robinson has a 0.57 ERA. Clearly, we have seen enough. The remaining 150-odd games are just administrative paperwork. There is no reason to continue. Somebody call the commissioner. Tell him to start engraving the trophies. This is particularly important because, as everyone knows, the most...
Well, we're finally here. The 1998 season is about to begin, which means it's time for me to do the thing every sportswriter loves: Pretend I know what's going to happen. Last season, I made a bunch of predictions. I was spectacularly wrong about several of them. So naturally, I've decided the best course of action is to put another eleven opinions in writing where everyone can find them later. You're welcome. Let's get stupid. 1. Boston will...
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...