MLB Off-Season Part 1

This off-season has been full of surprises, and most of them have not been good. I'll start off by talking about things that have already gone down. I am only going to go over some of the big moves so far.

The Moves
There have been many moves that i would will have a large effect on the fantasy baseball world.

Alfonso Soriano signs with the Cubbies. This is a monster move for the Cubs. Having a lineup that has Soriano, Lee, A-Ram is going to be huge. The addition of Soriano will be a great addition to this team. He will solidify this lineup and make sure that guys like Carlos Zambrano don't get too many losses after giving up just 2 runs. It's a good thing that the Cubs decided to increase payroll by a good 30 million this season. They spent a ton of money on Soriano and that is arguably not even their biggest need. They need pitching. As of now they have Zambrano and Hill as sure things in their rotation. Prior is a guy who if healthy will be int he rotation but who knows how long he will last. If they can get a healthy year out of Prior they will be a tough team. Fantasy spin: This shouldn't have too much of an effect negatively on Soriano. Actually he should improve his numbers this season. His steals might be down a little, but his power numbers will still be there. More than likely his Runs will improve as well with guys like Lee and A-Ram batting behind him in the lineup. Look for Soriano to finish with something close to 110-40-100.

Carlos Lee signs in Houston. In my opinion Houston paid way to much for this guy, but he will help them where they need it. With the decline of Jeff Bagwell, Houston has had a horrible time trying to score runs on a consistent basis, except for the few months they had Beltran. Carlos Lee will bat right in the heart of that lineup and with that short porch out in left field, i would think he could top 40 HR this season. I don't really think that he will be enough to get Houston over the hump, especially if The Rocket and Pettitte do not return to the club. In the end Lee got the same amount of money per year as Soriano, but over less years, that may cost the club in the long run, as Lee is obviously not equal to Soriano, but for now it was a move they had to make. Fantasy Spin: For Lee owners in keeper leagues you should probably like this move. He moved from a hitters park in Texas to a hitters park in Houston with a short porch out in left. I don't think his stats will change much overall but id look for his runs to dip as he wont have much behind him to drive him in. Something like 80-38-100 year sounds about right. You can also count on maybe 15 out of this guy.

Juan Pierre signs with the Dodgers. Now this was arguably the biggest mistake of the off-season so far. The Dodgers signed this guy for an average of 9 million a year. That will definitely hurt in the long run. Especially since the Dodgers have a top notch prospect in Matt Kemp who is pretty much ready to play full time. Pierre is a great player in fantasy because of his 50 SB he can get you. Problem is, in real life, those 50 SB are great but they would rather have someone that can get on base with regularity and give the other hitters around them the opportunity to drive in some runs on a more consistent basis. Pierre doesn't draw walks, and doesn't get hits. He is no longer the guy who can hit around 290 to 300. The guy is simply a 260 hitter with speed. Defensively he has good range but a noodle for an arm. Nobody in the league is scared to run on Pierre's arm. Well, maybe the Molina brothers. Fantasy Spin: No matter where Pierre plays he will have some good fantasy value because again, he gets those hard to find stolen bases. The Dodgers are a team that at this point are starved for a power hitter, and with the loss of JD Drew, they are hurting even more. Pierre may not get the usual 100+ runs this season if they cant find a fun producing player to stick in the middle of that lineup. Still count on the 45-50 SB though.

Gary Matthews Jr. signs with the Angels. This was another really really questionable move. The Angels gave this guy 10 million a year. This guy had a 249 career average before this season and had a break out year as a 32 year old. Also the guy is playing in a hitters park in Texas. Odds are that in Anaheim he will not put up similar numbers. The ballpark just doesn't seem to be as helpful to hitters as the one in Texas. I guess i can see why the Angels may have made this move. They needed a good defensive CF so that they could move Figgins to 3b or move him in a deal to get another power hitter. Matthews will provide good defense in CF for the Angels but don't expect a repeat offensively. Fantasy Spin: This is a guy who most people picked up mid season last year because he seems like the hot guy, so you wanted to ride him. He will probably get drafted this year in most leagues. With him in Anaheim, playing under the aggressive Mike Scocia, Matthews might see his stolen bases jump up a few. Here are my projected stats for next season, assuming he bats in the lead off role and figgins is shipped out: 100 - 13 - 70 - 17.

Ill touch on some more signings later but for now ill move on to some of the rumors from around the league.

Boston Red Sox
These guys seem to be the most active team on the market right now. At least with the big named players. The biggest news, as I'm sure most of you have heard on SC, is that the Sox seem intent on dealing Manny this year. Other than that horrible decision, the Red Sox seem to be close to signing JD Drew (MISTAKE!) and Julio Lugo. Although i think signing Lugo will be good for the team, as I feel he plays a good defensive SS, and i think he will be a good lead off man for this team. The ability he has to steal bases will be important for this team next year. In general the Sox are a conservative team on the base paths, however if Manny is gone and the team is counting on Papi (who will never get the chance to hit without Manny's protection) and JD Drew, they will need Lugo to get himself into scoring position frequently.

Los Angeles Angels
This team is on the market for a big bat. Although i am not a big fan of JD Drew, he might be a good fit for this team. Problem is, the Red Sox seem to be the most willing to over pay this guy to have him play on their squad. This leaves the Angels looking in other directions for a power bat. Rumors have been swirling for over a year, that the Angels were pursuing Miguel Tejada or Manny Ramirez, and just recently they have seen rumors of Vernon Wells arise. Problem is, none of these deals seem likely. The Red Sox want Scott Shields, and the Angels seem unwilling to deal him. Who knows what the Orioles are thinking (turned down Ervin Santana and Erik Aybar around the deadline last year). Toronto is trying to make a run at the playoffs this year, and dealing Wells would not put them on the right path to reach that goal. The newest rumor has the Angels sending Figgins and Santana to the White Sox for Joe Crede and Freddy Garcia. In my opinion this deal doesnt make sense for the Angels. Although Crede has more power than Figgins, it really doesn't improve their power enough to see me trading Santana. One suggestion i had come up with was a possible trade with the Yankees. The Angels deal Casey Kotchman (a good defensive 1b with a great bat, who struggled in his first opportunity), Ervin Santana (the young stud the Yankees need desperately), and Chone Figgins (who can play 3b for the Yanks). I would also throw in a middle reliever such as JC Romero, Brandon Donnelly, or Hector Carrasco...except for Romero, those guys would be upgrades to that horrible middle relief core. In return the Angels get Alex Rodriguez. This would give the Angels the big bat they need for the middle of their lineup, and they have enough depth in the rotation to hold up without Santana. They just signed Speier, so they have a little more depth to be able to afford the loss of one of those other relievers. Having Kendry Morales who can play 1b with Kotchman out of the way also helps. For the Yankees, i think this fills all their needs. Kotchman plays 1b moving Giambi back to his natural DH position. Figgins fills in at 3b and can be a fill in guy when the older guys on the team need a day off. Santana becomes the future ace of the staff and would probably benefit from learning from RJ and Mussina. Then there is the RP the Angels give, well with how bad the Yanks pen is, any quality arm will help, and that's what they get.

Stay tuned for more news later in the week. hope you enjoyed.

Listen up! Ya might learn something!

Joining the Fantasy Man Show

I just found this website and emailed the man to try and join his team. Well here I am and here is my first post. I think this website is going to be a great service to those of us who cant afford to pay for good fantasy advice. I know that I am here to provide the best information I can. My goal is to give good answers to any type of question that my readers have. I will talk about all things fantasy. In my next post i will go over the Off-Season in Major League Baseball so far. I will go over some of the good moves and some of the bad moves. Along with some of the rumors I have heard as well as some of the deals i think should go down.

So Listen up! Ya might learn something.