Commissioner's Corner

This is the first installment of what I hope to be a weekly address.

I want to start by thanking Chris for all of his help in getting the league up and running smoothly. I would also like to thank Matt and Brad for their creativity and hard work on turning my vision of the KJNL Dynasty Weekly into a reality. I hope this will be an exciting addition to the league.

When I first decided to create this league, I wanted it to reflect what is most important to me, and that's my family. I did this in the league's name - KJNL. Those initials represent the 1st and middle initials of my two sons - Kaleb Joseph and Noah Logan = KJNL. I do not expect, nor do I want, anyone in this league to ever put this above their families - whether it be your wife and kids or your parents and siblings. I then looked at the leagues I was in at the time and tried to decide which features I liked best from those. I wanted to create a league that was fun, but extremely competitive. I liked the idea of having a league website and message board and think we are off to a good start on both. I envision a website that will eventually rival that of the actual MLB site in function and appearance. Once the season starts, you will see updated standings, league leaders, and record setters - as well as being able to view rosters, minor leagues, transactions and more. I would also like to add more graphics to the site in the future. We may need to switch to a monthly fee site, but that's not something we'll need to worry about this season probably. Should we reach that point, the league may decide to accept donations to offset that cost, but strictly on a voluntary, anonymous basis. All things we will discuss should the need arise.

Our first preseason in the KJNL Dynasty Baseball league has gone very smoothly. The one major glitch being the fact that ESPN decided to erase all of the rosters that Matt and I submitted already. I tried to enter complete rosters for teams but got an error when I tried to enter more than one player at a time. This resulted in the need for all managers to pick up their players via the FA route. Sorry for the mix up, but it was quite time consuming to do it once - and I didn't want to have to do it again.

The Free Agent Auction is moving along at a reasonable pace. A few teams appear to be revamping their lineups via this option and it will be interesting to see if their plan results in a playoff appearance. Brad has posted his reviews and predictions for both leagues and has done some great work in doing so. I obviously like his prediction for my team, but that's why they play the games. One can look good on paper and play like the Bad News Bears.

The Weekly will be adding interesting articles and trade reviews along with interviews of the involved GMs for random trades and more. We welcome your comments and hope that you check back daily for breaking news.

Good luck to all,

Mike
KJNL President/Commish
02/25/08

Fukudome Set for major Payday

Fukudome Set for
Major Pay Day
Staff Writer Matt Sanders
Kosuke Fukudome, a former Japanese baseball star, is set for a major payday this winter.
Several teams, mainly the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, and Cleveland Indians, are offering big bucks for the rookie outfielder.
“I already think I am a WS contender. I do think [the potential addition of Fukudome] will help though.” Boston General Manager Chris Senatra said.
Fukudome has offers in the eight million range as of now, a step up from Cleveland’s three million dollar offer only a few days ago.
The Cubs appear to be in the greatest need of an outfielder out of the three potential homes for Fukudome, with Jeremy Hermida, Josh Willingham, and Shane Victorino playing the outfield. The Cubs GM refused to comment.
Chicago, with its cap room and need of outfielders, appears to be the front runner for now, even though Boston has the largest offer on the table, 8.1 million dollars.
But should I a player who hasn’t played an Inning in the Untied States receive so much cash?
“I think the [teams bidding for him] are jumping on the [Japanese player] bandwagon late and are more likely to get the next Irabu rather than the next Ichiro.” Houston GM Brad Atkinson said.
As Atkinson said, the chances of Fukudome spawning the next Ichiro is slim, but big market teams such as Boston and Chicago have room for the risk.

KJNL NL Preview

Staff Writer Brad Atkinson
KJNL Dynasty Baseball League Season Preview – National League

Note: This introduction is the same as the American league one.

**Disclaimer – All thoughts and analysis below are based on the knowledge, opinions and gut instinct of the KJNL Houston Astros GM (sometimes known as Brad Atkinson) and may be biased in many, many ways . . . if you are somehow offended by some of the material below feel free to stuff my e-mail/IM inbox full of hateful messages, but also expect anything you write to be part of future columns . . . bribes are accepted and flattery will get you everywhere, I’m totally for sale J **

Now that the legal jargon is out of the way, let’s get on with the meat shall we?

The preview will go as follows. As based on the rosters posted on kjnlbaseball.tripod.com I will show projected starting lineups (all batting positions, top 4 SP and top 3 RP) for each team, give a few thoughts on the methods the team is building its roster by (or at least how it appears), point out any obvious holes, list briefly any MLB ready MiLB players and give the ability for the team to function in the upcoming FA auction period. Then at the end I will make predictions for the playoff races based on my obviously limited expertise in the dynasty baseball realm. Then everyone will (or should) be able to comment on my comments and we can all get closer and more competitive as a league. Or it will all degenerate into an arguing free for all at which point we will all be happy that we live all across the country because the soaring gas prices make driving and or flying 1000 miles to beat someone’s ass totally stupid economically.

NL East

Atlanta Braves

The Braves drafted their home town team and I would call that team a mixed team more than an expensive team, but it really doesn’t matter because as he told me in the first few weeks of the league “I don’t like to have to count on any one team too heavily, they have a bad week, you have a bad week, it’s not good for winning.” I’m probably paraphrasing of course, since the conversation took place some 4 months ago, but trade he did, a lot and always to his benefit. Preying on the inexperienced owners who weren’t sure of the values of certain draft picks, the Braves amassed all of his MiLB draft picks early and was done picking minor leaguers in the first 4 rounds. His MLB team has few Braves to be found and all of them are either young guys with lots of upside or studs. It’s honestly hard to tell whether many of the players on this solid team were drafted or traded for by just looking.

Projected Lineup


C
Mike Napoli
Los Angeles (AL)
1B
Mark Teixeira
Atlanta
2B
Howie Kendrick
Los Angeles (AL)
SS
Michael Young
Texas
3B
Miguel Cabrera
Detroit
OF
Torii Hunter
Los Angeles (AL)
OF
Vladimir Guerrero
Los Angeles (AL)
OF
Gary Sheffield
Detroit
Util
Andruw Jones
Los Angeles (NL)
SP
Johan Santana
New York (NL)
SP
Tim Hudson
Atlanta
SP
Chad Billingsley
Los Angeles (NL)
SP
Rich Harden
Oakland
RP
Bobby Jenks
Chicago (AL)
RP
BJ Ryan
Toronto
RP
Pat Neshek
Minnesota

Wow!! Comparable to the Mariners lineup in the AL, it looks like the Braves might be the team to beat over here in the NL. Of course I’ll save my actual predictions for after I have reviewed all of the teams. The lineup is All-Star filled and balanced, maybe a bit light on speed, but not by much. Unlike the Mariners however, this team has a bench to match and a MiLB system built to produce players sooner rather than later. Look for the Braves to be making more moves or to be releasing some real quality players come next off-season. Bench players not listed above: Edwin Encarnacion, Lastings Milledge, Yunel Escobar, Wily Mo Pena, Joe Blanton and Jo-Jo Reyes.

Obvious holes: Mike Napoli, C, is still projected to platoon for the Angels. Jeff Clement is in the minors here for the Braves, but word out of Seattle is that with Kenji Johjima in the starting role, Jamie Burke as a solid back-up and Jose Vidro slotted in at DH that Clement is looking at another year in AAA, barring injuries. SP depth is slightly limited, but I am being nitpicky here.

MLB ready MiLB: This system is full of them thanks to early MiLB draft picks. Brandon Jones and Jordan Schafer were said to be in the CF mix in Atlanta before the Kotsay signing. Jay Bruce will have a shot at CF in Cincy against Freel and Hopper. Brandon Wood could get a shot on the left side of the infield for the Angels. Adam Jones will start in the OF for Baltimore barring an injury or a complete meltdown. Clement was discussed above and could push his way for AB’s. Daric Barton will be given the 1B opening day nod in Oakland. Johnny Cueto will spend the spring battling for a 5th rotation spot in Cincy and Matt Antonelli is looking good for taking over 2B in San Diego.

FA Projection: without a lot of holes to fill and $7.5M in cap room to work with look for the Braves to either go after filling that catcher hole with one big bid . . . more likely though is to wait until the season starts and go his favorite route of the trade for a hot Catcher.

Chicago Cubs

The Cubs went the cheap team route in the team draft, but there are few cheap teams out there with top end talent like the Florida Marlins. They traded away Dontrelle and Miggy Cabrera, just like the real Marlins did and while I like the Dontrelle move I am not as big on the Cabrera one. The Cubs also drafted veteran studs to fill in lineup holes and took a chance on Alex Gordon.

Projected Lineup


C
Bengie Molina
San Francisco
1B
Justin Morneau
Minnesota
2B
Dan Uggla
Florida
SS
Hanley Ramirez
Florida
3B
Alex Gordon
Florida
OF
Johnny Damon
New York (AL)
OF
Shane Victorino
Philadelphia
OF
Josh Willingham
Florida
Util
Jeremy Hermida
Florida
SP
Justin Verlander
Detroit
SP
John Lackey
Los Angeles (AL)
SP
Chris Young
San Diego
SP
Mark Buehrle
Chicago (AL)
RP
Chad Cordero
Washington
RP
Kevin Gregg
Florida
RP
Brad Hennessey
San Francisco

Great starting rotation, Buehrle is coming off an off year, but the rest are studs. The bullpen is solid, two closers and some holds guys . . . but there are questions about every one of them and their roles in 2008. The batting lineup will go the way that the youth does. Hermida, Uggla, Ramirez, Willingham and Gordon are all prone to the streakiness and inconsistency of youth and there isn’t a whole lot in the way of backup if they go down . . . on the other hand the veterans are as solid as they come . . . Morneau, Damon and Molina should all be 500 AB, average year for each of them . . . just like they have been for the last 3 years.

Obvious holes: No real holes here, just a lot of dependence on young players.

MLB ready MiLB: There are some possible contributors ready here. Soria should close in KC. Bourn will start in center for Houston and if he does what they think he can he may lead the league in SB and runs. Erick Aybar is set to compete with Cesar Izturis and Brandon Wood for the Angels SS job and Elijah Dukes may finally get his shot with Washington.

FA Prediction: The Cubs have some $31M in cap room and some depth holes to fill. If there were any FA’s out there that were high on their list I feel confident that they would have drafted them, they could make some rumblings, but they might be confident to stand pat too.

St. Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals took the hometown team, who I think can officially be described as an expensive team, most of their young, cheap talent can still be put under the heading of unproven, and their mainstays are mostly over $8M per player with the exception of David Eckstein. They have supplemented the Cardinals draft pick with draftees that are mid-range to cheap on salary and long on talent. I think the Cardinals have only executed a few trades.

Projected Lineup


C
Yadier Molina
St. Louis
1B
Albert Pujols
St.Louis
2B
Placido Polanco
Detroit
SS
David Eckstein
Toronto
3B
Scott Rolen
Toronto
OF
Aaron Rowand
San Francisco
OF
Jose Guillen
Kansas City
OF
MHM
??
Util
MHM
??
SP
Felix Hernandez
Seattle
SP
Jered Weaver
Los Angeles (AL)
SP
Adam Wainwright
St. Louis
SP
Mulder/Carpenter
St. Louis
RP
Jason Isringhausen
St. Louis
RP
Huston Street
Oakland
RP
MHM
??

The MHM’s on this team are mostly there because I am not as familiar with the St. Louis lineup as I should be. All four of the Cardinals young OF are here on the roster and so is Cameron Maybin. One of them will fill in the 3rd OF and another in the Util slot. The MHM in the RP slot is because of the possibility of some holds guys being there, but no one that jumps out at me. The bats outside of the MHM’s are veteran and solid, but there is no real speed there. The starters have high ceilings but may not reach them this year, or they may all explode and have great years. Two solid closers combined with Pujols, Rowand, Rolen, Polanco and Guillen are the heart of this team.

Obvious holes: Yadier Molina is a defensive specialist at catcher, as is Eckstein at SS. Rolen’s glove has never been questioned but injuries have de-railed him of late. The same with Mulder and Carpenter, Carpenter won’t be back until August at the earliest. In my opinion, this team needs a fantasy style catcher, a fantasy style SS and a good, veteran starter.

MLB ready MiLB: Brandon Morrow and Luke Hochevar should both have roles on their respective teams, Morrow most likely in his set-up role from last year (settling the MHM there) and Hochevar in the KC rotation. The rest are probably at least a year away, though Wladimir Balentien could get a look in Seattle with Adam Jones gone to Baltimore if one of the three starters out west (Ibanez, Ichiro, Wilkerson) goes down.

FA Projection: The Cards have some $16M+ of bidding power . . . I expect them to use it to fill the holes as stated above.

Cincinnati Reds

The Reds selected the Blue Jays out of the team draft. I would qualify that as a mixed pick . . . Glaus, Ryan, Wells, Halladay and Burnett are expensive while McGowan, Accardo, Hill, Rios and Lind are not. The Reds have gone through a recent ownership change and the two managing styles seem to prefer the trade to the draft . . . although realistically, the latest management team didn’t really get that chance.

Projected Lineup


C
Josh Bard
San Diego
1B
Kevin Youkilis
Boston
2B
Aaron Hill
Toronto
SS
Orlando Cabrera
Chicago (AL)
3B
David Wright
New York (NL)
OF
Vernon Wells
Toronto
OF
Adam Dunn
Cincinnati
OF
MHM
??
Util
Chipper Jones
Atlanta
SP
Roy Halladay
Toronto
SP
Brett Myers
Philadelphia
SP
Aaron Harang
Cincinnati
SP
??
??
RP
Brad Lidge
Philadelphia
RP
Todd Jones
Detroit
RP
Cla Meredith
San Diego

The MHM at the 3rd OF spot is not a particularly skilled one . . . Reed Johnson back off a big injury along side the constant platoons of Matt Stairs and Ross Gload. I can’t find a 4 SP on the roster, Chad Durbin and Josh Towers are both candidates, but they aren’t on their listed team’s depth charts. The three that are there are among the most solid in the league, if Myers turns back to form. The bullpen is solid with two save guys and two holds guys, but no real depth behind them. Overall this roster seems short and may be incomplete.

Obvious holes: Starting pitching, the three that are here are wonderful, but they may not be enough to contend with other teams rotating at least 5 starters. 3rd OF is a major weakness anytime you are hoping that Gload, Stairs or Reed Johnson can become a solid fantasy contributor day in and day out.

MLB ready MiLB: Burton, O’Flaherty and Logan provide even more bullpen depth for a team where this is already a strength. Abreu will be on the MLB roster out of spring training, but may not have a spot except on the bench. Bobby Livingston got a lot of experience in 10 starts last year, but his name is not among those competing for the rotation in Cincinnati.

FA Projection: With $12M to bid with I am not sure that the Reds can fill the holes they need to fill unless they spend very wisely . . . depending on how the new GM wants to handle it they will either be big and splashy or quiet, but effective.

Bold NL East Prediction:

This is a one team race . . . the Braves. The Cubs can challenge the Braves if ALL of their youth comes through with solid years, the numbers that the Cub youngsters put up will determine whether the Cubs are challenging the Braves, competing for a wild card spot or out of it all together.

NL West

Colorado Rockies

The Rockies had a simple strategy . . . take the World Champs (a mixed team believe it or not, with the emergence of Pedroia, Youkilis, Ellsbury and Papelbon on the cheap side), draft cheap, young and talented and only make a deal when it obviously benefits your team. Simple and effective, expect nothing less from the Commish.

Projected Lineup


C
Dioner Navarro
Tampa Bay
1B
Lance Berkman
Houston
2B
Dustin Pedroia
Boston
SS
Troy Tulowitzki
Colorado
3B
Mike Lowell
Boston
OF
Manny Ramirez
Boston
OF
Travis Buck
Oakland
OF
Jacoby Ellsbury
Boston
Util
David Ortiz
Boston
SP
Josh Beckett
Boston
SP
Diasuke Matsuzaka
Boston
SP
Jeremy Guthrie
Baltimore
SP
Francisco Liriano
Minnesota
RP
Jonathan Papelbon
Boston
RP
Hideki Okajima
Boston
RP
Johnathan Broxton
Los Angeles (NL)

A strong young lineup peppered slightly with older power punchers, whether that be on the pitching side or on the hitting side. There are a few question marks surrounding the lineup. Can many of these 2007 rookies build on their performances into 2008? That’s the main question. Berkman, Lowell, ManRam and Big Papi should combine for 375 runs, 130 HR and nearly 500 RBI easily . . . and that’s a hell of a total to build your team around. The bullpen is guaranteed to get the saves out of Boston, and a lot of holds this year. Honestly, this team COULD contend now, but it’s really built to dominate the future.

Obvious holes: A little weak in saves, until Saito retires of course and at catcher. Dioner Navarro is now 24 years old and is reaching that “put up or shut up” time in his career when his batting problems can no longer be excused because of his age.

MLB ready MiLB: Joey Votto and Homer Bailey should both have starting jobs in Cincy this year, but there are question marks around them. Meloan could contribute out of the Dodger bullpen, but odds are that he will get another September callup this year.

FA Projection: Not sure if any catchers are out there, or closers as these are the holes that the Rockies have, but $21M in cap room either means a good look at the FA market or more likely, saving room to pay these young studs as they grow up and begin to dominate the league.

Houston Astros

The Astros also drafted their home town team, a sort of a theme in the NL it seems, and I would call that an expensive draft choice. All of their quality players (and there are not very many of them) are fairly expensive to deal with. The Astros then went on a trading frenzy that hasn’t stopped yet with two more trades in the last two days. In the drafts they tend to focus on mid-range to cheap salary players that are talented.

Projected Lineup


C
Brian McCann
Atlanta
1B
James Loney
Los Angeles (NL)
2B
Kazuo Matsui
Houston
SS
Miguel Tejada
Houston
3B
Ty Wigginton
Houston
OF
Eric Byrnes
Arizona
OF
Hunter Pence
Houston
OF
Josh Hamilton
Houston
Util
MHM
??
SP
Roy Oswalt
Houston
SP
AJ Burnett
Toronto
SP
Ted Lilly
Chicago (NL)
SP
Brandon Backe
Houston
RP
Trevor Hoffman
San Diego
RP
Joe Borowski
Cleveland
RP
Heath Bell
San Diego

A solid team and one of the rare instances in the KJNL league where the MHM is not a burden, but a boon. Included at the DH MHM are Frank Thomas, Randy Winn, Michael Cuddyer and Lyle Overbay . . . all quality players and they show the depth of bats in this organization. Oswalt is the obvious ace here, while Burnett and Lilly are solid but not spectacular. Backe has some injury questions surrounding him, but Brian Bannister and Wandy Rodriguez can fill the hole if need be. One of the strongest bullpens in the league as Jon Rauch and Chad Qualls are also on the roster, the Astros can shift between holds and saves depending on where they need to compete on a week to week basis.

Obvious holes: 2B, Matsui had a decent year for the Rockies this year and the Astros are counting on that again in a similar lineup. If Matsui goes down then Ty Wigginton’s 2B eligibility can come in handy if a replacement 3B is found. Back of the rotation is a little weak with Backe coming off Tommy John, Bannister entering his second year and the Jekyll and Hyde show that is Wandy Rodriguez.

MLB ready MiLB: JR Towles should be the starting Catcher in Houston this year and provides great McCann insurance. Brian Wilson is supposed to be the closer in San Francisco this year if he doesn’t have a meltdown in spring training . . . like he did last year. Troy Patton, Juan Gutierrez, Felipe Paulino and Kevin Slowey will all compete for starting jobs this year . . . though only Patton and Slowey are expected to have a good chance. Josh Anderson might have an outside shot at getting CF or a 4th OF spot with Atlanta if he keeps up his hot hitting ways from September.

FA Prediction: The Astros have around $7M in cap room according to the site . . . look for them to make one big signing, and maybe a couple of very small ones to fill holes.

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers drafted a cheap team with a couple of expensive players in the Indians. They haven’t made a lot of trades and have been content to draft quality and some fairly expensive players in building their roster. They aren’t carrying very many pitchers at all.

Projected Lineup


C
Victor Martinez
Cleveland
1B
Paul Konerko
Chicago (AL)
2B
Ian Kinsler
Texas
SS
Johnny Peralta
Cleveland
3B
Hank Blalock
Texas
OF
Grady Sizemore
Cleveland
OF
Ichiro Suzuki
Seattle
OF
Jermaine Dye
Chicago (AL)
Util
Travis Hafner
Cleveland
SP
CC Sabathia
Cleveland
SP
Fausto Carmona
Cleveland
SP
Javier Vasquez
Chicago (AL)
SP
Scott Baker
Minnesota
RP
Jose Valverde
Houston
RP
Rafael Betancourt
Cleveland
RP
Joaquin Benoit
Texas

A very solid, balanced lineup . . . power and speed . . . all of them except Ichiro should go for 20 HR and three of them should steal at least 25 bases. The starting pitching has a few question marks behind Sabathia. How will the youngsters fare? Who is in line behind the people listed above? The pitching bench is woefully short. The trade of Lincecum for Valverde filled a glaring need, but created a gaping hole in the lineup. The acquisition today of Borowski for Chris Ray solved the same problem without creating the same need. The starting pitching on this team must stay healthy because there is no depth to fill it in.

Obvious holes: Pitching depth in general, though the last couple of days have seen bullpen holes filled. If any of their pitchers gets hurt, even on the short term . . . it could be a bad week for the Dodgers.

MLB ready MiLB: Asdrubal Cabrera was the starting 2B for the Indians the latter part of the year and Shin Soo Choo was getting some regular AB’s as well . . . both figure to return to those roles.

FA projection: with $15M in cap room and a need for starting pitching, the Dodgers will do just that . . . go and get it.

San Francisco Giants

The Giants took the cheapest, most talented team out there, made a couple of trades and made their draft picks and really haven’t done a whole lot besides that. I am not sure that they even know that the FA auction has begun.

Projected Lineup


C
Kenji Johjima
Seattle
1B
Carlos Pena
Tampa Bay
2B
BJ Upton
Tampa Bay
SS
Harris/Frandsen
TB/SF
3B
Akinori Iwamura
Tampa Bay
OF
Carl Crawford
Tampa Bay
OF
Delmon Young
Minnesota
OF
Luke Scott
Baltimore
Util
Joe Mauer
Minnesota
SP
Scott Kazmir
Tampa Bay
SP
Jamie Shields
Tampa Bay
SP
Noah Lowry
San Francisco
SP
Shawn Hill
Washington
RP
Al Reyes
Tampa Bay
RP
Dan Wheeler
Tampa Bay
RP
Randy Messenger
San Francisco

A good lineup, but honestly . . . you get what you pay for. There are some stars here, but they all have huge question marks around them with the exception of Crawford, Mauer and Kazmir. When your payroll is only $29M and the salary cap is $100M, your lineup will show its deficiencies. Relying on Luke Scott, Shawn Hill and Dan Wheeler to be solid fantasy contributors on a week to week basis seems like a scary proposition to me . . . but those players should be getting regular chances and some of them for the first time in their careers . . . maybe it will boom for the Giants, I rather think it’s more likely to bust.

Obvious holes: SS, general pitching depth. There are only 3 relievers on the whole roster. Frandsen could be a solid fantasy contributor, but he is not guaranteed a job and Harris is iffy at best.

MLB ready MiLB: Evan Longoria and not much else. The Rays dealt Delmon Young to give Upton a spot in the OF, letting Iwamura move to 2B and giving Longoria the job at 3B he deserves. When/if all of these players get eligible at these positions, it could solve some of the Giants OF problems.

FA projection: The Giants have more than $70M to spend on free agents, but they haven’t logged in to the message board since February 18th . . . they are missing out, but look for them to be active once they figure out what they are missing.

Bold NL West Prediction

This division should be the most hotly contested one out of the four. All of the teams have solid lineups and all of the teams have questions surrounding that solid lineup. The team with the least questions is the Astros. The team with the highest upside if everyone plays to expected levels is the Rockies. The Dodgers and Giants can compete on the offensive side of the game, but their pitching depth leaves them vulnerable to the length of the season. In a race too close to call (because the youngsters on the Rockies can go in any direction) The Rockies or the Astros should win this division. I will say officially that it will be the Rockies so that I am not called biased.

Bold National League Prediction

I have the Braves winning the East and the Rockies/Astros winning the West.

The other team of the Rockies and Astros should be a wild card team while the final spot comes down to a race between the three teams left in the NL East . . . I really think that the Giants and Dodgers are going to struggle with their pitching depth. I give the race for the last wild card spot to the Cubs. I believe their youth will come through.

Predicted NL Playoff Seeds:
#1 Braves
#2 Rockies
#3 Cubs
#4 Astros

Major Move for Tribe

Thursday, February 21, 2008
By Staff Writer Matt Sanders

CLEVELAND, OH - The Cleveland Indians completed a major deall Thursday sending closer Jose Valverde to the Los Angeles Dodgers for starting pitcher Tim Lincecum.
“[We’re] thrilled to welcome Tim Lincecum into the fold.” Cleveland General Manager Al said. “We believe we’ve added a “third ace” here today with Tim.”
Cleveland looks to have some of the best starting pitching in the game with the addition of Lincecum, who will pitch behind established stars Brandon Webb, Chien-Ming Wang, and Jake Peavy.
However the loss of Valverde could really dent Cleveland’s title hopes. The move leaves Cleveland with Tony Pena as their best arm out of the bullpen. If they can’t sign a free agent such as George Sherrill or Troy Percival, Pena will be one of their only relievers.
“Losing a top closer like Valverde hurts, but since coming under new management, the Indians organization has been committed to bringing in young, cheap talent and putting them in a position to succeed for years.” Al said.
The addition of Valverde to Los Angeles’s bullpen helps what is an injury shaken bunch. Former closer Chris Ray is out for the season with an elbow injury.
The Dodgers GM was not available for comment.

Free Agent Tracker-2/21/08

2008 KJNL Free Agent Tracker
Thursday February 21
Troy Percival

Teams Interested
-St. Louis
-Cincinnati
-Cleveland
Cincinnati has seemed to take control of all talks with Percival as of now. While Seattle and St. Louis offered minor contracts, all under a million dollars significantly, Cincy offered a million plus deal that seemed to stall all talks. Cleveland jumped in talks with Percival as well but the Reds look like the frontrunner for the time being.
Jon Garland

Teams Interested-
-Seattle
-Cincinnati
Garland is looking to be the next Seattle Mariner if Cincinnati doesn’t up its offer to match six million dollars, the current offer from Seattle.
George Sherrill

Teams Interested
-Los Angeles
-Cleveland
-St. Louis
-Chicago Cubs Now that Cincinnati has taken control of all talks with Troy Percival, Cleveland and St. Louis find themselves chasing Sherrill.
Sean Marshall

Teams Interested
-Cincinnati
-Boston
-Los Angeles
Marshall, a hot option due to his low asking price, visited three cities today. Cincinnati seems to have the best offer on the table as of now.
Adrian Beltre

Teams Interested-
-Seattle
-St. Louis
-Houston
Beltre, one of the best free agents out there, is entertaining offers from Seattle, Houston, and St. Louis.

Free Agent Primer

Staff Writer Matt Sanders
KJNL Dynasty Baseball Weekly


As free agency approaches, who exactly is out there? In this first addition of the Weekly we’re going to take a look at the big time free agents, the sleepers, and the people you should probably stay away from.

Matt’s Top 10:

1) Bobby Abreu-OF-NYY-Abreu doesn’t put up dazzling stats; however he’s a great number two or number three OF. He hit just under .290 on the season with 16 HR, 101 RBI, and 25 SB to go along with 125 R. However he’s 33, so teams going the younger route may want to stay away from him, and his salary is going to base at 7.5 million dollars, so he’s not exactly cheap.
2) Adrian Beltre-3B-SEA- Beltre has a good combination of speed and power, and is younger than Abreu at 28. He had 26 HR, 15 SB, 99 RBI, 87 R, and a .276 avg. in 2007. He’s going to cost you though at a base of 5,750,000 dollars.
3) Jon Garland-SP-LAA-Garland was the victim of bad run support last season with a 10-13 record. He had a 4.23 ERA, the third best of his career in 2007 with Chicago before he was traded. In LA Garland will have plenty of run support and a solid bull-pen, an attractive situation. He’s only 28 and has twice won 18 games, plus he’s won at least 10 starts every season since 2002. His ERA has never been above 4.90 with the exception of his rookie season. Garland will come in at a base of five million.
4) Jim Thome-DH-CWS-Thome is 37 and comes in at a base of seven million dollars, but trust me, he’s worth it. At his age he hit a team leading 37 HR, along with 100 RBI and a .275 avg. He’s a great Utill option, especially because all those numbers were with limited playing time at DH, think what he could do if he gets more time this season. I wouldn’t bid to high on him because of his age, but if you need an utill, Thome is the way to go.
5) Eric Chavez-3B-OAK-Chavez saw his season cut short last season by an injury, however he still put up good numbers with 15 HR. If you need batting average, Chavez is not the way to go, he has a lifetime .269 avg. But if you’re looking for power out of third base he’s a good option. In 2006 he hit 22 homers. In 2005, his last full season, he hit 27 along with 101 RBI. He’s a bit of an injury risk, but puts up consistent power and will come cheaper than Beltre at a base of 4.5 million.
6) Akinori Otsuka-RP-TEX- Since he joined the league in 2004 he’s never posted an ERA above 3.00, which should be reason enough to look at him. He had a 2.51 ERA in 2007 along with a 1.08 WHIP. He was 2-1 with 4 saves and 11 holds in relief work. Will Eric Gange gone for good expect plenty of holds and even some saves from Otsuka in the future. However he’s 36.
7) Joe Crede-3B-CWS- Crede had an awful season in 2007 that was injury plagued. However in 2006 he had 30 HR and a .286 avg. He’s the final 3B in the “Big Three” of Beltre, Chavez, and of course Crede. With Swisher and Cabrera in his line-up now we should see a jolt in offensive production, and he’s only 29. Plus he’s cheap for a potently good year at 2.47 million dollars base.
8) Greg Maddux-SP-SD-Maddux is old but puts up solid numbers every season. Last year he turned in a 4.14 ERA, not bad at all for a third or fourth pitcher in your rotation. That came along with 14 wins. San Diego’s strong bull pen should help him some more.
9) Carlos Delgado-1B-NYM-Delgado had an off year in 2007 and costs a lot of money, but he could bounce back in 2008 and is the top 1B free agent. Delgado is a power hitter and hit 24 bombs in ’07, but his .254 avg. scares some owners away.
10)Jason Varitek-C-BOS-The best catcher in this season’s free agent pool has to be Varitek. He hit .255 with 17 HR as the Red Sox’s captain in 2007.

Other Free Agents to Take a Look At:
Jeff Kent-2B-LAD
Garret Anderson-OF-LAA
Ramon Hernandez-C-Bal
Jake Westbrook-SP-Cle
Pedro Martinez-SP-NYM
Troy Percival-RP-TB

My Top 3 Free Agents to Avoid-

1) Barry Bonds-OF-FA-Bond’s may not ever play again, he’ll cost around ten million base, and that’s too big a risk for me especially since he’s in his mid-forty’s.
2) Roger Clemens-SP-NYY-See Barry Bonds
3) Tim Wakefield-SP-BOS-Wakefield had a good year last season but will most likely lose an everyday slot to younger guys like Bucholtz and Lester.

American League Preview

American League
Staff Writer Brad Atkinson
KJNL Dynasty Baseball League Season Preview – American League

**Disclaimer – All thoughts and analysis below are based on the knowledge, opinions and gut instinct of the KJNL Houston Astros GM (sometimes known as Brad Atkinson) and may be biased in many, many ways . . . if you are somehow offended by some of the material below feel free to stuff my e-mail/IM inbox full of hateful messages, but also expect anything you write to be part of future columns . . . bribes are accepted and flattery will get you everywhere, I’m totally for sale J **

Now that the legal jargon is out of the way, let’s get on with the meat shall we?

The preview will go as follows. As based on the rosters posted on kjnlbaseball.tripod.com I will show projected starting lineups (all batting positions, top 4 SP and top 3 RP) for each team, give a few thoughts on the methods the team is building its roster by (or at least how it appears), point out any obvious holes, list briefly any MLB ready MiLB players and give the ability for the team to function in the upcoming FA auction period. Then at the end I will make predictions for the playoff races based on my obviously limited expertise in the dynasty baseball realm. Then everyone will (or should) be able to comment on my comments and we can all get closer and more competitive as a league. Or it will all degenerate into an arguing free for all at which point we will all be happy that we live all across the country because the soaring gas prices make driving and or flying 1000 miles to beat someone’s ass totally stupid economically.

AL EAST

Boston Red Sox:

The Red Sox went with a quality, cheap team in the team draft and have supplemented with quality, cheap draft picks after that point, not a lot of trades, but one blockbuster with the Astros which the jury is still out on. They seem unable to settle on a SS as they have traded away both Tulowitzki and Tejada and currently have Renteria on the roster. It looks like he’ll be sticking.

Projected Lineup


C
Chris Iannetta
Colorado
1B
Adrian Gonzalez
San Diego
2B
Brian Roberts
Baltimore
SS
Edgar Renteria
Detroit
3B
Garrett Atkins
Colorado
OF
Matt Holliday
Colorado
OF
Brad Hawpe
Colorado
OF
Curtis Granderson
Detroit
Util
Gary Matthews Jr.
LA Angels
SP
Jeff Francis
Colorado
SP
Dan Haren
Arizona
SP
Bronson Arroyo
Cincinnati
SP
Derek Lowe
LA Dodgers
RP
Joe Nathan
Minnesota
RP
Closer
Colorado
RP
Bobby Howry
Chicago

Fuentes and Corpas are both on the roster, so the saves and holds for the Rockies are locked up here and Howry will definitely have some role in the back of the bullpen for Chicago. The lineup is impressive with many 5-6 category scorers. Solid veteran SP too, Haren could be an ace with his new team.

Obvious holes: Catcher!!! ½ of a platoon is what it looks like here, and the 2nd half at that. Back of the rotation has good pitchers coming off of questionable years.

MLB ready MiLB: Gio Gonzalez may contribute for Oakland this year and Pridie should finally get his shot with Minnesota, but I am not sure either cracks the lineup on this team.

FA Projection: a total team salary of less than $60M means that the Red Sox poised to spend to acquire talent available in the FA market here in a couple of weeks. There are no huge holes to fill outside of catcher but this team COULD fill holes anywhere. The only limitation will be the talent available and the willingness of the GM to type in those big numbers.

Detroit Tigers:

The Tigers drafted the most expensive team out there kept their most quality bats and let the expensive pitching go with the exception of Mariano Rivera. Then to supplement that the GM decided to go the cheap, young player route, ending up with an eclectic mix of old Yankees with some young stars and developing players. I think that gives the team the boom or bust potential that is always associated with depending on youth.

Projected Lineup


C
Jorge Posada
New York (AL)
1B
Nick Swisher
Chicago (AL)
2B
Robinson Cano
New York (AL)
SS
Derek Jeter
New York (AL)
3B
Alex Rodriguez
New York (AL)
OF
Hideki Matsui
New York (AL)
OF
Nick Markakis
Baltimore
OF
Matt Kemp
Los Angeles (NL)
Util
MHM
??
SP
Eric Bedard
Seattle
SP
Matt Garza
Minnesota
SP
Micah Owings
Arizona
SP
MHM
??
RP
Mariano Rivera
New York (AL)
RP
Scott Shields
Los Angeles (AL)
RP
Joba Chamberlain
New York (AL)

The first appearance of the dreaded MHM, which stands for Many-Headed Monster is here with the Tigers. It is a little term I coined when there are 2 or more talented players set up for the same starting position and weekly match-ups or hot hands will be played. The MHM at Util consists of wonderkids Jason Kubel, Josh Fields, Casey Kotchmann and Carlos Quentin. I personally give the edge to Kubel . . . of course this supposes that Kemp is an everyday OF so that Swisher can be moved to 1B allowing Kotchmann to drop back into MHM status. The pitching MHM is Phillip Hughes, Ian Kennedy and Adam Loewen . . . all should have starting jobs, but performances will vary. Joba starts off in the bullpen racking up holds.

Obvious Holes: Starting pitching behind Bedard, a true #1 and then a bunch of young question marks that go back about 6 pitchers deep. Everything else is solid through and through.

MLB ready MiLB: LaRoche could finally step up and take the Dodgers 3B job, but that would simply add to the MHM problem at Util for this team . . . everyone else should be a year or more away.

FA projection: $1.4M in cap room left and 80%+ of it devoted to 5 players. This team is a FA non-factor and it’s too bad, because they could use a good #2 SP.


Cleveland Indians:

The Indians went the Red Sox route . . . draft a young, cheap team with great talent and then trade the older players and draft to fill need. The Indians didn’t shy away from drafting/trading for the expensive players and then dealing them again. They are also putting out a lot of cap money in cash deals and coverage for 2008 so though their team salary is comparable to the Red Sox, their cap room is far less.

Projected Lineup


C
Jarrod Saltalamacchia
Texas
1B
Conor Jackson
Arizona
2B
Kelly Johnson
Atlanta
SS
Rafael Furcal
Los Angeles (NL)
3B
Mark Reynolds
Arizona
OF
Melky Cabrera
New York (AL)
OF
Chris Young
Arizona
OF
Justin Upton
Arizona
Util
Orlando Hudson
Arizona
SP
Brandon Webb
Arizona
SP
Chien Ming-Wang
New York (AL)
SP
Jake Peavy
San Diego
SP
Doug Davis
Arizona
RP
Jose Valverde
Houston
RP
Closer
Arizona
RP
Akinori Otsuka
Texas

This is a STRONG SP lineup. The Indians have 3 undisputed #1’s and Doug Davis who is an innings eater good for 10-12 wins and 150K’s. Both Lyon and Pena are on the roster so unless recently acquired Chad Qualls really impresses, saves and holds for Arizona are on board. The lineup is full of young, unproven players or old veterans with big question marks.

Obvious holes: Catcher, the talent is there in Salty, but how many AB’s will he get with Laird’s defense being a priority and his new idea to ignore 1B. It’s gutsy by the Indians to carry him as the only catcher in your whole system (Ramirez is behind Salty, Laird and Teagarden to get PT) when he might start the year at AAA. OF #3 – Justin Upton and Reggie Willits are not guaranteed AB’s this upcoming year. Also, Orlando Hudson is in the Util hole without much backup . . . Mike Lamb could be a significant contributor in this fantasy lineup . . . and that’s NOT a desirable situation outside of 20+ team leagues.

MLB Ready MiLB: Callaspo is now in KC I believe and may have a shot at a spot in the lineup, Tillman might factor into Baltimore’s suddenly goofy pitching situation.

FA projection: with nearly $28M in cap room and some big batting holes to fill look for the Indians to be MAJOR players in the FA market on the offensive side.

Toronto Blue Jays:

The Blue Jays are another of the “take a young, talented team” group paying their stars minimal salaries. They have supplemented their drafted team with quality, cheap player draftees and kept the core of the Brewers intact . . . I can’t name a single quality Brewers player that’s not still on the roster.

Projected Lineup


C
Johnny Estrada
Washington
1B
Prince Fielder
Milwaukee
2B
Rickie Weeks
Milwaukee
SS
JJ Hardy
Milwaukee
3B
Ryan Braun
Milwaukee
OF
Jeff Francoeur
Atlanta
OF
Bill Hall
Milwaukee
OF
Corey Hart
Milwaukee
Util
MHM
??
SP
Ben Sheets
Milwaukee
SP
Matt Cain
San Francisco
SP
Gil Meche
Kansas City
SP
Yovani Gallardo
Milwaukee
RP
Francisco Cordero
Cincinnati
RP
JJ Putz
Seattle
RP
Derrick Turnbow
Milwaukee

The MHM at Util consists of Dmitri Young, Jack Cust, Estrada and Corey Patterson. Estrada could be sharing time with LoDuca in Wash and Dmitri has to compete for playing time with a newly healthy Nick Johnson. Jack Cust has the biggest upside of these guys, but will it be another 350 AB season for him or will he get 500-550? In comparison though . . . for an MHM . . . that’s a pretty good selection of bats. This is a STRONG bullpen with CJ Wilson and Scott Linebrink also waiting in the wings. If Ben Sheets stays healthy this team could really contend, but if they lose him, I don’t see another #1 starter stepping up and his loss in numbers will truly hurt. Kind of sounds like the real Brewers!!

Obvious holes: Catcher, the LoDuca injury is promising for Estrada, but depending on injuries to fill starting spots is not a good way to manage a team, though Kurt Suzuki looks like a solid fill-in if promoted. Otherwise this is a SOLID team with mediocre SP depth behind injury prone starters.

MLB ready MiLB: Jair Jurrjens could crack the Atlanta starting rotation out of Spring Training and Rhadames Liz figure to contribute in Baltimore sometime this year. Kurt Suzuki will be the starting C in Oakland this year and has 200+ MLB AB . . . he should be on the MLB roster and would fill the one hole that this team has.

FA Projection: $37M in cap room but not many holes to fill. The Blue Jays might pick up a SP or a high quality Util bat, but mostly I would bet that they hold on to that cap room to pay those young Brewer bats as their salaries start to increase in the coming years

Bold AL East Prediction

I see this division as a race between the Red Sox and the Blue Jays. The Tigers have severe SP issues behind Bedard and no cap room to address them, while the Indians just have too many lineup holes. Both of the contenders still have major dollars to spend but the Blue Jays lineup is already set without spending those dollars (assuming Suzuki up from the minors and into the lineup for Estrada) so I think that they will win the division while the Red Sox should be a solid Wild Card team. The Tigers may have a shot at the Wild Card too.


AL WEST

Chicago White Sox:

The White Sox drafted an expensive team that has both young, cheap talent and the old, expensive kind too and kept a little of both. They seem to trade for quality and veterans despite costs and their cap room shows it.

Projected Lineup


C
Ramon Castro
New York (NL)
1B
Carlos Guillen
Detroit
2B
Ryan Theriot
Chicago (NL)
SS
Jose Reyes
New York (NL)
3B
Ryan Zimmerman
Washington
OF
Carlos Beltran
New York (NL)
OF
Pat Burrell
Philadelphia
OF
Juan Pierre
Los Angeles (NL)
Util
Troy Glaus
St. Louis
SP
Dontrelle Willis
Detroit
SP
Oliver Perez
New York (NL)
SP
Dustin McGowan
Toronto
SP
Kyle Kendrick
Philadelphia
RP
Billy Wagner
New York (NL)
RP
Takashi Saito
Los Angeles (NL)
RP
MHM
??

A solid lineup top to bottom for the White Sox is shown here. Dontrelle Willis going to Detroit hurts in the ERA, WHIP and K categories, but helps with Wins. And SP off the bench is solid with Kyle Lohse and Zack Grienke ready for this year and Josh Johnson for next year. The RP has two top closers at the top and a MHM at the holds position, which will be hard to predict, but should keep the numbers there solid. The ChiSox also have great speed/power combo bats in their lineup . . . David Wright would have fit great in this strategy, it’s hard to figure out why he isn’t still here.

Obvious Holes: Catcher, how many ABs will Castro lose to Schneider, that’s a big question for the only C in the whole organization. OF #3, Juan Pierre is not guaranteed a starting/non-platoon job with Andre Either pushing him for PT and all there is at OF to back him up is NO ONE.

MLB ready MiLB: Carlos Gomez should get a starting gig in Minnesota filling the above hole at 4th OF and taking DL bound Josh Johnson’s roster spot.

FA Projection: $6M in cap room should by them the C they need, if they bid judiciously. But they will not be a big player on the market.

Kansas City Royals:

The Royals took a cheap team, didn’t trade very much and supplemented with expensive talents through the draft. The first of the teams reviewed that took this tactic, at first glance it looks like it might work out very well.

Projected Lineup


C
Ivan Rodriguez
Detroit
1B
Adam LaRoche
Pittsburgh
2B
Freddy Sanchez
Pittsburgh
SS
Jack Wilson
Pittsburgh
3B
Jose Bautista
Pittsburgh
OF
Magglio Ordonez
Detroit
OF
Jason Bay
Pittsburgh
OF
Ken Griffey Jr.
Cincinnati
Util
Xavier Nady
Pittsburgh
SP
Barry Zito
San Francisco
SP
Ian Snell
Pittsburgh
SP
Tom Gorzelanny
Pittsburgh
SP
Ervin Santana
Los Angeles (AL)
RP
Francisco Rodriguez
Los Angeles (AL)
RP
Matt Capps
Pittsburgh
RP
Eric Gagne
Milwaukee

Nice bats, though most of them are getting old and expensive and the young ones aren’t that great with the exception of Jason Bay. The pitching has a chance to be excellent if Zito and Santana can bounce back from off years. The bullpen is amazing . . . but there is no one here to get any holds, not in the lineup and not on the bench. Depth is a MAJOR concern for this team, they are deep at the Catcher spot (Pudge, Ronny Paulino and C/OF Ryan Doutmit) and that’s about it. The bats off the bench are lead by Cesar Izturis and Nate McLouth, both of which may or may not have jobs. The Royals are also carrying the barest minimum of pitchers. 9 starting spots, 10 pitchers on the roster and one of them out for most of the year (Zumaya)

Obvious Holes: SS, Jack Wilson and Cesar Izturis are not exactly a confidence inspiring tandem. Overall MLB depth, if any of their big starting players are hurt, this team is going to FEEL IT!!

MLB ready MiLB: Nyjer Morgan, Brian Bixler, Chase Headley and Delwyn Young should all be given chances to be in the starting lineups on opening day, but not all of them are going to make it. Pearce is projected (I believe) for one more year in the minors before he is ready. Maybe this is where the Royals GM is counting on his depth coming from . . . pitching is still going to be a problem though.

FA Projection: This team has $7M in cap room and needs a major upgrade in pitching depth. I think it would behoove them to be FA players . . . I’m just not sure they can be outside of one semi-big signing.

Minnesota Twins:

The Twins drafted a mixed team much like the White Sox did. There is some young, cheap talent, some older and expensive. They supplemented their team with cheap bats and expensive pitching. They made very few trades, but were solid in the ones they did make.

Projected Lineup


C
Geovany Soto
Chicago (NL)
1B
Derrick Lee
Chicago (NL)
2B
Brandon Phillips
Cincinnati
SS
Khalil Greene
San Diego
3B
Aramis Ramirez
Chicago (NL)
OF
Alfonso Soriano
Chicago (NL)
OF
Ryan Church
New York (NL)
OF
MHM
??
Util
MHM
??
SP
Carlos Zambrano
Chicago (NL)
SP
John Smoltz
Atlanta
SP
Kelvim Escobar
Los Angeles (AL)
SP
Rich Hill
Chicago (NL)
RP
Carlos Marmol
Chicago (NL)
RP
Kerry Wood
Chicago (NL)
RP
Chris Sampson
Houston

Great bats are on this team until you get to the MHM’s. On OF #3 there could be Jacque Jones, Felix Pie or Andre Ethier, it all depends on who wins a full-time job coming out of spring. At Util add any 2nd place finisher for the OF spot to Kouzmanoff, and Mark DeRosa, though one of those two are probably the best bets since they should have full-time gigs. The starting staff on this team is amazing, besides the four listed above; Jeremy Bonderman, Jason Marquis and Joe Saunders are also on board as depth. Good thing too, with Escobar ailing and unsure of his availability for the first month of the season. The bullpen is questionable after Marmol. How will Wood fare? There are a lot of guys on this team that are competing for back end of the rotation spots and that may land in the bullpen, but those guys usually don’t rack up the holds or the saves.

Obvious Holes: Catcher, strong rookie, but no contingencies if he fails. Bullpen depth as stated above.

MLB ready MiLB: All of the players listed on the KJNL site are a ways away from being MLB ready . . . don’t look for any of them in 2008.

FA Projection: With $5.5M in cap room and a need for a good 3rd OF and bullpen help look for them to be selective on which players they bid on, and not to go too high when they do.


Seattle Mariners:

Another mixed team in this division, a well rounded some cheap, some expensive, all talented team was drafted and filled out with several trades and a couple of expensive draft picks. The MiLB system shown here is truly short, if it’s not a misprint then it’s obvious that this team dealt the future for the now . . . and their lineup proves that.

Projected Lineup


C
Russell Martin
Los Angeles (NL)
1B
Ryan Howard
Philadelphia
2B
Chase Utley
Philadelphia
SS
Jimmy Rollins
Philadelphia
3B
Chone Figgins
Los Angeles (AL)
OF
Carlos Lee
Houston
OF
Alex Rios
Toronto
OF
Raul Ibanez
Seattle
Util
Todd Helton
Colorado
SP
Brad Penny
Los Angeles (NL)
SP
Cole Hamels
Philadelphia
SP
John Maine
New York (NL)
SP
Jamie Moyer
Philadelphia
RP
Rafael Soriano
Atlanta
RP
Jeremy Accardo
Toronto
RP
Casey Janssen
Toronto

This team reads like a 10-team redraft league lineup rather than a 16-team dynasty league lineup. They are a little short in the depth department . . . Mark Teahen is the only bench bat, Accardo and Janssen will BOTH be set-up men behind BJ Ryan again this year and after Shawn Marcum I don’t see another starter to fill holes with. If this team stays healthy it should dominate the AL, if some injuries persist, there could be trouble . . . especially in the middle of the field, SP, 2B, SS, C.

Obvious holes: The Mariners bench could be better, but not many holes here.

MLB ready MiLB: Brian Wilson should be the closer in SF, solving the bullpen depth problem described above. Maloney and Sarfate both have a shot at making MLB lineups, one as a 5th starter in Cincy and the other as a bullpen guy in Baltimore. The rest are at least a year away.

FA Projection: The Mariners only have $6.5M in cap room, but I look for them to cut dead weight like Tom Gordon, Jose Mesa and Antonio Alfonseca and apply that additional $10M to some FA bench strength . . . especially in the batting category.


Bold AL West Prediction:

The Mariners should crush this division if they stay healthy and/or pick up some bench players. That’s all that needs to be said here.


Bold Overall AL Prediction:

The Mariners and the Blue Jays or Red Sox should win their divisions.

The other team of the Blue Jays and Red Sox should be a Wild Card with the last spot going to a race between the Tigers, White Sox and Twins. Mostly the Tigers and White Sox . . . and I see the White Sox pulling it out.

Predicted AL Playoff Seeds
#1 Mariners – Easily best in the league now, but using their strategy, how long can they maintain it?
#2 Blue Jays
#3 Red Sox
#4 White Sox