Fifth Starter Battles

All across baseball there are teams with undecided fifth starters. I’m going to give a rundown of the battles to keep an eye on.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Last year’s NL West champs have a bunch of guys fighting for a spot in the rotation. Eric Stults, Charlie Haeger and Carlos Monasterios all pitched in the spring opener, [...]

2010 Offseason Review: AL West

AL West
Los Angeles Angels
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. [...]

Sheets to Oakland

The Oakland Athletics signed former Brewers pitcher Ben Sheets to a one-year, $8 million contract. This is a surprising move by Billy Beane considering he likes to sign players on the cheap and this signing is anything but cheap.
All things considered I really like this signing for them. I know a lot of people will [...]

Oakland A’s Top Ten Propsects 2010

1) Michael Taylor-OF
Pretty much the prototype of the Billy Beane era. Came over from the Phillies and should fit in nicely within the scheme of the organization.
2) Grant Green-SS
All star like tools. It’s a matter of executing with this guy. Could be the regular as soon as this year.
3) Chris Carter-1B
I must admit- I’m a [...]

Talks Heating Up With Sheets

It was reported recently that the Chicago Cubs had put Ben Sheets on the back-burner, despite mutual interest.
Well, today Jim Bowden tweets “Ben Sheets negotiations, according to reliable sources, are heating up with teams most interested … the Rangers, Mets, Mariners, A’s and Cubs.”
Also, on MLB Live with Bowden and Joe Castellano, Bowden reported that [...]

West Coast Shakeup

Well, the hot stove has been awfully lukewarm thus far this winter, but the Roy Halladay three-team deal brought some much-anticipated heat. It also brought what could figure to be the first step in the changing of the guard in the AL West, as according to the dynamics of the deal so far, Cliff Lee [...]