Thoughts on the Sports World

Been a crazy few weeks (will get into the details in a later post). Sorry for the delay, but here we go again.

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I cannot believe I am writing this, but I actually like what the Pittsburgh Pirates are doing these days. Namely, I love the Freddy Sanchez for Tim Alderson deal. This team is not going to win this year or next, but the only way to win in the future is to plan for the future. I finally think they are doing that. (Full disclosure: I did not like the Nate McLouth deal at all, but once that move was made, the series of moves that have followed make sense.)

In other words, the Pirates are acting just like the Kansas City Royals ... except the exact opposite. Right now, the Royals are a joke of a franchise that seem to repeatedly stumble upon poor decision-makers.

Let this be my first official push for the general managerial post of the Royals.

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Getting back to the Alderson deal, what were the Giants thinking here? I know Sanchez has been an All Star three times, but those appearances should be accompanied with a Barry Bonds-sized asterisk. Every team needs to have at least one All Star each year. If that requirement didn't exist, would Sanchez really have qualified three times?

In this day and age, if you are going to trade one of your organization's top five prospects (especially if that prospect makes his living on the mound), you ABSOLUTELY MUST get a surefire performer in return. I'm not sure Sanchez qualifies.

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In another wise move out of the city of Pittsburgh, the Steelers signed Heath Miller to a six-year extension.

This kills me, more so now than it did in 2005 when I was working for the Mike and Mike Sports Talk Show. If you remember, the New York Jets traded their first round pick (number 26 overall) to the Oakland Raiders for TE Doug Jolley and a second round pick which eventually was used on K Mike Nugent. At the time, I expressed my displeasure on the air calling for the Jets to just draft Miller instead. Jolley and Nugent were busts, and Miller is now the third-highest paid tight end in football.

I'm counting on you Dustin Keller to make us all forget this fiasco.

Side note: If anyone has the archived tapes of the MMSTS, please let me know.

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After stealing, err, dealing for Cliff Lee, I'm almost afraid to type this because I don't want Ruben Amaro to read this (yes, he's a regular around these parts). If they traded Kyle Drabeck, JA Happ and a few other prospects to Toronto for Roy Halladay, wouldn't they be World Series favorites this year and next year?

The only thing worse than seeing the Phils win the WS once would be seeing them win three times in a row.

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If someone is creating a college fantasy football league, please invite me.

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Omar Minaya should be fired.

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Two Deals That Make Sense:

*Marlins trade Mike Stanton to the Indians for Kerry Wood and Victor Martinez. Indians get one of the top five prospects in baseball and payroll relief. Marlins get an offensive beast and bullpen help. The city of Miami gets excited about baseball.... well, let's not get that crazy.

*Blue Jays trade Roy Halladay to the Dodgers for the entire Albuquerque Isotopes roster. The Dodgers are not built to last. They have to make a run now.

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All the talk about Kyle Drabeck has reminded me of Doug Drabeck which reminds me of how ugly Zane Smith was. Six degrees of separation or something like that. Good times all around.

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Hopefully, my next absence will be for a much shorter period of time.

Separated at Birth?

Toronto Blue Jays LHP Brian Tallet and former Philadelphia Phillies LHP Mitch Williams

MLB - Win Totals

Vegas has set the win over / under lines for the 2009 MLB season. Here are my picks.

Best Bets
Arizona- 86.5 Under: How is this team going to score enough runs to win? Brandon Webb and Dan Haren can only do so much.

Cleveland- 83 Over: As mentioned here, I think they are on their way to the World Series.

Florida- 75.5 Over: The Fish won 84 games last season, lost no primetime players (Mike Jacobs, Josh Willingham, Scott Olsen are all replaceable) and their pitchers now have some experience.

LA Dodgers- 84.5 Over: Once they sign Manny, this number will jump to 88.

Oakland- 81.5 Over: One arm away from 90 wins.

Philadelphia- 87.5 Over: No respect. Not sure why.


Other Overs
Atlanta- 84.5
Baltimore- 74.5
Chicago White Sox- 76.5
Cincinnati- 76.5
Detroit- 79.5
Kansas City- 75.5
Minnesota- 79.5
NY Mets- 90.5
NY Yankees- 96
Pittsburgh- 66.5
San Francisco- 77.5
Seattle- 72.5
St. Louis- 83.5
Tampa Bay- 89.5
Texas- 81.5


Other Unders
Boston- 94.5
Chicago Cubs- 94.5
Colorado- 76.5
Houston- 74.5
LA Angels- 87.5
Milwaukee- 85.5
San Diego- 67.5
Toronto- 81.5
Washington- 68.5

Heyman and I Don't See Eye-to-Eye

It has become pretty evident that Jon Heyman and I agree on very few issues. In a recent article, he graded each team's winter moves. I have a few bones to pick.

Heyman's Top 10 "Winners"

Phillies (1): As Heyman alludes to, the Phillies signed Cole Hamels and Ryan Howard to long-term deals. However, barring a trade, these two had no way out of Philadelphia as the team controlled their arbitration years anyway. They weren't going anywhere. The Phils other "big move" - signing 36-year old Raul Ibanez to a three-year, $30 million deal - now looks laughable. This team did not improve that much to warrant the #1 ranking. Ruben Amaro gets a B from me in his first winter as GM.

Mets (2): Sure, the Mets added K-Rod and JJ Putz to help mend a shredded bullpen, but they failed to add any difference-making starters. No, Tim Redding and Freddy Garcia do not qualify. I won't even get started on the ageless Livan Hernandez signing. They also did not address the hole at second base. Luis Castillo will not cut it. Omar Minaya gets a B- from me.

Yankees (3): Any of these lists that does not have the Yankees at the top should be discarded immediately. CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett, and Mark Teixeira in one winter? Unreal. Brian Cashman gets an A+ here.

A's (4): I've detailed Oakland's moves ad nauseam in past posts, but I love the Holliday deal. Billy Beane gets an A.

Diamondbacks (5): Arizona lost Adam Dunn, Orlando Hudson, and Brandon Lyon and will probably watch Juan Cruz depart via free agency. They must have signed someone or many someones to compensate, right? Heyman ranks the D'backs this high because, "Jon Garland gives them a solid No. 3 starter." Is this some sort of joke? How does that equation yield a positive result? Aside from the fact that Garland has a career WHIP around 1.4 and averages about 4.5 K's/9, the team failed to add anyone else of note. Josh Byrnes gets a D from me.

Rays (6): No arguments here as they added Pat Burrell at a reasonable price and did not lose anyone of note. Andrew Friedman gets a B-.

Giants (7): Stop me when you hear the name of an impact player: Juan Uribe, Rich Aurilia, Edgar Renteria (I said impact not intact), Bobby Howry, Jeremy Affeldt, Randy Johnson. I heard crickets until RJ's name and he'll be 45 years old on Opening Day. Brian Sabean gets a C-, and that's only because he didn't trade Tim Lincecum.

Braves (8): They overspent for Derek Lowe but traded no Major League-ready prospects for Javier Vazquez. Frank Wren gets a B.

Red Sox (9): Again, no arguments as they signed Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis to long-term deals and bought a number of low-risk, high-reward free agents. Theo Epstein gets a B-.

White Sox (10): They lost Vazquez, Nick Swisher and Orlando Cabrera and added no one of note. Kenny Williams gets a C.


Banter's Top 10 "Winners"

1. Yankees
2. A's
3. Braves
4. Cubs: Added Milton Bradley and Kevin Gregg.
5. Indians: Added Kerry Wood, Mark DeRosa and took a flier on Carl Pavano.
6. Orioles: Locked up Nick Markakis and Brian Roberts to long-term deals. Dished out no palm-to-the-forehead deals which means a lot in Baltimore.
7. Mariners: Improved the defense and lost Type A free agent Ibanez meaning they get a first round pick as compensation.
8. Phillies
9. Rockies: They can't afford Holliday so getting Huston Street, Greg Smith and Carlos Gonzalez is a decent return.
10. Mets