I just learned where the term "hot stove league" might've come from. During the winter, baseball fans warm themselves around a hot stove and discuss off-season wheelings and dealings. Sounds like good ol' Depression-era fun!
Anyway, I've already lost track of who's going where, and by spring I'll be completely lost. I'm usually sorted out by May, but for the first few weeks of the season I'm always surprised to see certain men wearing a new team's uniform. "He plays for THEM now?" "Why isn't what's-his-face in the line-up, or on the roster... oh, he's in a different league now." Etc.
So in an effort to keep myself sorted out, I'll gloss over some so-far transactions. While warming myself by a hot stove.
Apparently Eric Gagne is going to Milwaukee. This'll be good for him both in effectiveness and in self-esteem (as he's fairly hated in Boston right now). He did well with Texas earlier in 2007, and he should fare even better back in the National League. He also seems to do well when he's the team's go-to closer instead of the set-up man and back-up closer roles he dismly served with the Red Sox.
But don't the Brewers already have closers? Francisco Cordero, who had 44 saves in 2007, is now a Red (thanks to free agency), and Derrick Turnbow, who saved 63 games in 2005 and 2006 combined before becoming Cordero's set-up man, isn't wholly reliable.
I don't expect Gagne to continue sucking as much as he did with Boston, and so I'm not terribly anxious to have him pitch all those games against the Cardinals in the 2008 season. But we'll see how he turns out.
More Brewer happenings...
Milwauke gets Salomon Torres. Pittsburgh get pitching prospects Marino Salas and Kevin Roberts. Torres is a lot like Gumby, in that he's very flexible. Middle relief, a closed ballgame here and there... he's even good to start. The Pirates liked him so much that they used him in over half their games between 2004 and 2006. This might explain his inflamed elbow (and his subsequently poor season) in 2007, but the Brewers should get good use out of him.
As for Salas and Roberts, the Pirates could use all the pitching help they can get. Salas is a decent prospect who put up so-so AAA numbers in 2007, but he still might get the call in 2008. Roberts still needs a couple years of work, and I don't know if he'll ever make any impact in the major leagues. But again, Pirate pitching is crummy, so who knows.
The Brewers also signed relief pitcher David Riske. Milwaukee's pitching was shoddy in 2007, and they're obviously trying to do something about it. Do you hear that, St. Louis? Making bad pitching good again?
Aaron Boone, one year contract, Washington Nationals.
...Will remain inconspicuous.
Andruw Jones is a Dodger now. Two years for $36 million dollars? Shoot, I'll strike out a bunch of times and hit .220 for free! But he can still field, and the Dodgers will probably boot Juan Pierre to left (formerly occupied by Luis Gonzalez, who's now a free agent), keep Jones in center, and make Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp fistfight for rightfield rights.
Honestly, though, I don't anticipate Jones performing as craptacularly with his bat as he did in 2007. Just because.
I'm a little bit excited to see Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera in Detroit uniforms next season, mostly because I like the Tigers a lot more than I like the Marlins. Florida, in turn, gets six players.
Breakdown time. First the trimmings.
The Marlins now own:
Cameron Maybin - He's been tearing up the minors with his bat, but he also strikes out a whole lot. He was unimpressive during his 2007 big league cup of coffee, but his future looks bright, especially with Florida.
Mike Rabelo - In Florida he'll either start or platoon or third-string or do something. I don't really care. I'm more interested in who the new back-up catcher in Detroit will be. In 2007 it was all Ivan Rodriguez and Rabelo. Pudge sure ain't gonna catch 162 games, and the organization's minor league catchers are all "all field, no hit" (although Nick Trzesniak down in Erie looks promising). Brandon Inge caught for a few seasons before moving to third base, but he's paid too much to be strictly backup. Maybe the Tigers can deal for Crash Davis or something.
Andrew Miller - The Marlins are getting a fine young pitcher. A lefty, too. Maybe he'll be the next Dontrelle?
Dallas Trahern - Pretty good minor league numbers. He'll probably help the Marlins win another World Series in two years.
Eulogio De La Cruz - Best. Name. Ever.
Burke Badenhop - Great minor league numbers. The Tigers weren't just trading away fillers.
The Tigers now have:
Dontrelle Willis - In Detroit his D-train moniker works doubly well. Last season was no good for Willis, but he was also pitching for a last-place team. Hopefully with the Tigers as 2008 contenders Dontrelle will once again excel.
Miguel Cabrera - People make fun of Cabrera because he's chubby/fat (and it should be noted that his listed weight at baseball-reference.com is off by about eighty pounds -- no joke). Whatever. We can address the weight issue when he's not hitting .320, when he's not hitting 30 home runs, and when he's not knocking in a hundred (plus a dozen) RBIs. Besides, doesn't the extra girth help him smother the ball at third base? No? Oh.
Good players at both ends of the deal. But whereas the Marlins are looking at world domination down the road, the Tigers are planing for victory NOW.
Moving on...
Outfielder Jose Guillen, like in 2007, is capable of good seasons. But, like in 2006, he's also susceptible to bad ones. Which Jose Guillen did the Royals just acquire? Kansas City also has a lot of young talent in the outfield (now that the old man talent, Reggie Sanders, is a free agent), so I'm not sure how they're going to sort that all out.
Sure, Elijah Dukes isn't going to get in any trouble in WASHING-freaking-TON D.C.
(Off-field problems + area of high crime = fun times for all)
Randy Wolf is pretty good when he's healthy, but he's hurt all the dang time. Even so, the Padres have a spot for him now that David Wells is a free agent. But due to Wolf's tendency to not pitch all the time they may want to pick up/call up another starting pitcher.
I know David Eckstein will probably sign with another team, but couldn't the Cardinals find somebody better? Instead of somebody worse? Instead of Cesar Izturis? Fortunately it's just a one-year deal, and he's not a bad fielder (Gold Glove in 2004), but I'm sure the Cards could do better. The Angels have a ton of shorstops, maybe they can spare Cesar's brother.
The Mets acquired catcher Brian Schneider and outfielder Ryan Church from the Nationals in exchange for Lastings Milledge. Let's break this one down into chunks.
Schneider to the Mets... but what about Paul Lo Duca? He's talking with Toronto now, which is weird because he'd have to split time with Gregg Zaun. Lo Duca is more valuable than Schneider both in ability and moneys, but maybe the Mets are looking to free up some bucks. Or maybe Schneider was just part of the deal. I don't know.
I don't know about Ryan Church either. The Mets' outfield is stacked full of Beltrans and Greens and Alous and Reyeses and Chavezes. If there was no room for Milledge than there's really no room for Church.
I don't even know why this deal even happened as it doesn't appear that the Mets will be benefitting from any of this.
Not only do the Rays need a reliable closer, they need reliable middle relief, set-up men, starters, everything. Troy Percival, one of the few bright spots in the Cardinals pitching staff (of course they're letting him go), will be good for Tampa Bay.
The Astros signed Kaz Matsui to a three-year, $15 million deal. His bat loved Colorado (and bitterly broke up with New York after starting off so well), but I imagine it'll "just be friends" with Houston. Matsui is replacing the retired Biggio at second, so he's got some pretty scrappy shoes to fill.
I've got things to do, so I'm going to shelve the rest of this for a Part Two.
And I'm sure between now and then everybody else will switch teams and I'll have to do the whole thing over.
