Friday, February 5, 2010
AL West
Key losses- Vladimir Guerrero, John Lackey, Chone Figgins, Darren Oliver
Key additions- Hideki Matsui, Joel Piniero, Fernando Rodney
Off-season grade- C
Justification- Losing Lackey hurts, but if Piniero can pitch like he did in 2009 he’s a better pitcher and cost less than Lackey. Matsui is a good choice to take over the DH spot. They did overpay for Fernando Rodney. They now have two highly priced relievers in Fuentes and Rodney. They lost one of the better defensive third basemen in Chone Figgins and have not adequately replaced him. They also lost a key piece in their bullpen last year in Darren Oliver.
Key losses- Bobby Crosby, Scott Hairston, Adam Kennedy
Key additions- Jack Cust (re-signed), Coco Crisp, Justin Duchscherer, Jake Fox, Kevin Kouzmanoff
Off-season grade – C+
Justification-I don’t know if they did enough to win the AL West, but I think they did improve their team. They upgraded their defense with the acquisitions of Kouzmanoff and Crisp.
Key losses- Adrian Beltre, Erik Bedard, Russell Branyan, Carlos Silva
Key additions- Cliff Lee, Chone Figgins, Milton Bradley, Casey Kotchman
Off-season grade- A
Justification- They acquired one of the better pitchers in the game in Cliff Lee. Pairing Lee with Felix Hernandez gives the Mariners a nice 1-2 punch. They improved at third base with the signing of Figgins. They upgraded defensively at first base with Casey Kotchman coming over from the Red Sox. They already had the best defense last year and it only got better this off-season. If Milton Bradley can put 2009 behind him he can be the middle of the order bat that Seattle needs.
Key losses- Marlon Byrd, Ivan Rodriguez, Andruw Jones, Hank Blalock, Kevin Millwood
Key additions- Rich Harden, Darren Oliver, Khalil Greene, Vladimir Guerrero
Off-season grade- B-
Justification- They upgraded the bullpen with Darren Oliver. They took a chance on the talented yet oft-injured Rich Harden. They upgraded the DH spot with Guerrero.
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Rick Mell is a graduate of Northern Illinois University with a BA in Communications with an emphasis in Media Studies. He is a diehard Cubs fan and even went as far as to get the Cubs logo tattooed on his arm. He also keeps up to date on the other 29 team...[Continue Reading]
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