I went on a movie bender the last month or so and have now seen most of the movies from 2010 that I wanted to see, with the notable exception of Scott Pilgrim v. the World and 127 Hours. In my opinion, this was an excellent year for movies and I enjoyed almost everyone I saw. Here are my rankings for the year as well as my Oscar picks;
The King's Speech
True Grit
Black Swan
Kick-Ass
Inception
The Social Network
The Fighter
The Kids Are All Right
How to Train Your Dragon
Toy Story 3
The Crazies
Shutter Island
Easy A
Winter's Bone
Despicable Me
Robin Hood
The Town
The Book of Eli
Salt
The A-Team
The Expendables
Clash of the Titans
The Other Guys
Date Night
Daybreakers
Legion
Saw: The Final Chapter
Alice in Wonderland
Valentine's Day
The Human Centipede (First Sequence)
From Paris With Love
Best Animated Feature: How to Train your Dragon - Toy Story 3 is overrated, and seemed like it wanted to make you cry just for the sake of it. If I go by entertainment alone, Dragon would be my top pick. I did not see the Illusionist.
Best Director: My nominees would be very different from the actual nominees. I would nominate; Christopher Nolan (Inception), Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan), Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass), Joel Coen and Ethan Coen (True Grit), Tom Hooper (The King's Speech). It is hard to argue against Hooper winning since King's Speech will win best picture, but in terms of scope and degree of difficulty, it would have to be Nolan. On a side note, did anyone else notice the Tarantino influence in Kick-Ass, especially in the last scene? It had a definitely Kill Bill feel to it.
Best Supporting Actress: Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit). She was outstanding. Melissa Leo (The Fighter) will win though.
Best Supporting Actor: Matt Damon (True Grit) - He is not even nominated but I am giving him a write-in vote. His character was the best in an otherwise amazing movie and I feel he got robbed in favor of Jeremy Renner. The Town was not very good, or original, and he was not even in the movie very much. If I have to pick one of the nominees, it would be Christian Bale (The Fighter).
Best Actress: Natalie Portman (Black Swan) will and should win. The final scene in Black Swan is one of the most moving I've ever seen.
Best Actor: Colin Firth (The King's Speech) will and should win. Best performance of the year by a long shot.
Best Picture: The King's Speech. I am very surprised that The Social Network was the early favorite. In my opinion, it is not even close. This was the most emotional I was in the theater since Gladiator, which is basically how I judge movies...
It would be pointless to do an Oscar's poll this year since most of the awards are set, but I'd be up for it anyway.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Reason no. 1,436 I am not the Pirates' GM
In continuation to what was said in the comments section;
In my opinion they have no chance this year no matter who they would have signed.
Here is what I would do; Draft Rendon, hope Sanchez and Lambo are ready for 2012, Allie and Taillon are ready for 2013, ditto for Rendon. Move Alvarez to 1B this season to get his defense ready, try out some young guys at 3B, maybe Josh Harrison or Farrell, give Pearce, Doumit, Diaz, Bowker, Presley, Jones, and Clement at bats, to see who, if any, should be starting at RF next season or should stay on our bench. Cut (explitive) Scott Olsen because he is one of the 5 worst starting pitchers over the last 5 years and give Lincoln, Morton, or Crotta a shot out of Spring Training. If they don't pan out, give Owens, Locke, or Watson - whoever has been pitching the best - a shot. They need to weed out some players and figure out the '12 and '13 rotations.
As much as I rag on him, Overbay is not the worst option in the world. I just cannot see any reason whatsoever to sign him in the first place. Why waste the money, even though it is not much, when you aren't going to compete. Does anyone think we can beat the Reds or Cardinals?? There are arguments that 1) he will improve the defense, which we sorely need at 1B, 2) if he plays well we could trade him, and 3) we didn't spend very much to replace Garrett Jones with a better all around player. Those are all fine and good. However, none of those answers the questions of how could Overbay push us over the edge in the short term, or how will he not hurt player development in the long term? He could tutor Alvarez at 1B, but I seem to be the only one considering moving him in the first place.
Again, this is why I am not the GM. If I was, they would probably win 30 games this year while losing another year with McCutchen. I am just hoping to see near .500 in 2012, and playoffs 2013. After that, we lose Cutch and are completely screwed.
In my opinion they have no chance this year no matter who they would have signed.
Here is what I would do; Draft Rendon, hope Sanchez and Lambo are ready for 2012, Allie and Taillon are ready for 2013, ditto for Rendon. Move Alvarez to 1B this season to get his defense ready, try out some young guys at 3B, maybe Josh Harrison or Farrell, give Pearce, Doumit, Diaz, Bowker, Presley, Jones, and Clement at bats, to see who, if any, should be starting at RF next season or should stay on our bench. Cut (explitive) Scott Olsen because he is one of the 5 worst starting pitchers over the last 5 years and give Lincoln, Morton, or Crotta a shot out of Spring Training. If they don't pan out, give Owens, Locke, or Watson - whoever has been pitching the best - a shot. They need to weed out some players and figure out the '12 and '13 rotations.
As much as I rag on him, Overbay is not the worst option in the world. I just cannot see any reason whatsoever to sign him in the first place. Why waste the money, even though it is not much, when you aren't going to compete. Does anyone think we can beat the Reds or Cardinals?? There are arguments that 1) he will improve the defense, which we sorely need at 1B, 2) if he plays well we could trade him, and 3) we didn't spend very much to replace Garrett Jones with a better all around player. Those are all fine and good. However, none of those answers the questions of how could Overbay push us over the edge in the short term, or how will he not hurt player development in the long term? He could tutor Alvarez at 1B, but I seem to be the only one considering moving him in the first place.
Again, this is why I am not the GM. If I was, they would probably win 30 games this year while losing another year with McCutchen. I am just hoping to see near .500 in 2012, and playoffs 2013. After that, we lose Cutch and are completely screwed.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Too early for preseason rankings?
To hell with it. Here goes;
1. Boston Red Sox: Another year under the belts of Buchholz and Lester should give the Red Sox the top rotation in the AL. They still have vets Beckett, Lackey, and Matsuzaka to provide supporting roles, and no way Beckett can be as bad as last season, right? I think their offense is upgraded with the additions of Gonzalez and Crawford, even though they lost Beltre and V. Mart. These guys are a shoe-in for the playoffs, it is just a matter of how far they go.
2. Philadelphia Phillies: The best rotation in history? Maybe. Definitely the best that I can remember. How good is it? Their 5th starter, Joe Blanton, would be the Pirates' ace. Their offense is getting old though and will need to score some runs, but with these pitchers 4 RPG might win 100 games...
3. St. Louis Cardinals: Solid offense, solid pitching. Same old story for the Cards. Berkman and Theriot are upgrades so they may have the legs to overtake the Reds this year.
4. Chicago White Sox: I think Adam Dunn will make a big difference as he finally gets a chance to play for a winning team. Peavy will improve, and as long as their young guys progress (Beckham, Morel, Sale), the Sox should run away with the Central division.
5. Texas Rangers: They lost Lee, but they still have a pretty good pitching corps. If Webb can get them 30 starts AND be healthy for the playoffs, and Hamilton doesn't break down, they could make another run. Having Michael Young as your 4th best infielder is a nice luxury to have.
6. San Francisco Giants: They beat the Rangers in the World Series, but are below them in the power rankings? Well, they obviously overachieved last season and making a similar run will be damn near impossible.
7. Cincinnati Reds: Same team as last season, so not much should change. They have a lot of young starting pitching so they could be inconsistent, but should again challenge the Cards for NL Central supremacy.
8. Atlanta Braves: No way Nate McLouth hits as poorly as he did last season, and, if given a chance, I think he will be a decent starter this year. They need a proven first baseman and a closer, but I think they are close. Who knows what will happen in the first year in franchise history without Bobby Cox.
9. New York Yankees: They are running out of time to win with this group. Pettitte will probably come back later in the year, but with Jeter, Posada, and ARod all in the twilight of their careers, they are going to need big efforts from the supporting cast to sneak into the postseason. Shouldn't be too difficult considering who their supporting cast is.
10. Tampa Bay Rays: They just lost way too much. A tough offseason for the Rays as it looks like last season was their best chance to win in the next couple years. Jennings, Hellickson, Wade Davis, Birgnac, and Sean Rodriguez are all budding stars, but it will be too much for the young guys to shoulder this season to make the playoffs.
11. Minnesota Twins: No way Carl Pavano puts up the numbers he did last season, especially after signing a contart. Mauer, Morneau, and Liriano are good, but nothing better than mediocre after them. But, they always seem to overachieve so they could make another late season run.
12. Los Angeles Angels: Not sure why they didn't push harder for Beltre, Crawford, and Soriano since those are the team's biggest 3 needs and they have a lot of money to play with, but they didn't and now have to ride their injury prone pitching staff this season. It is a big IF, but if the pitching stays healthy, and Kazmir gets back to pitching like he used to, they might give Texas something to think about.
13. Detroit Tigers: It seems like Magglio Ordonez has been around forever. I remember when I used to confuse him with Rey Ordonez. That was a long time ago... He is going to give it another go though, and with a good combination of veterans and youth, the Tigers could compete with the White Sox and Twins.
14. Chicago Cubs: They traded away Gorzelanny so they woudl have a spot for Carlos Silva? I don't get it. Carlos Pena helps a little, as does Matt Garza, but this team has the potential to fall quickly in the rankings.
15. Milwaukee Brewers: Greinke makes them better, and re-signing Fielder was big (ha), but I still think they are a pitcher short to make a run. If they are still hanging around in the NL central in July they could make a move for a big name pitcher and make a run like they did a few years ago.
16. Los Angeles Dodgers: They needed to get a star LF to help Kemp and Ethier, so they got Marcus Thames. Good choice. Kershaw, Billingsley, and co. will keep them in contention but they will need to get a big bat if they want to get over the hump.
17. Florida Marlins: A good, young rotation surrounded by a young, talented offense. They will be inconsistent but could potentially move much higher in the rankings as the season progresses.
18. Oakland Athletics: Have the best young rotation in the league, but no offense to back it up. Even Godzilla cannot save them.
19. Colorado Rockies: They have 3 stars, but other than that it is mediocrity. Todd Helton is the only starting 1B I'd want to have less than Overbay. He needs to get his hands on some Deer Antler PEDs. Ray Lewis knows where to get them.
20. Toronto Blue Jays: My adopted team still has a long way to go to catch the Rays and Yankees, but they are on the right track. Their minor league teams are loaded, they have 5 quality, young starting pitchers, and Lyle Overbay is off of their roster. Not that the Adam Lind/Travis Snider/Edwin Encarnacion combo is much better, but their pitching alone will give them hope of leaping Tampa and New York in the next few years.
21. New York Mets: Not sure why I have them this high considering Santana is out until May or so, but their offense is potentially good barring injuries. That is the best I can say about them...
22. Baltimore Orioles: Maybe I was too generous with this team's ranking last year, but they still have a decent offense especially after adding Reynolds and Hardy. The pitching though, is one of the worst in the league.
23. San Diego Padres: They lost Gonzalez and Garland and think they could be better than the overachieving team of last season? Not likely. Mat Latos, all missing T's of him, is a legitimate ace.
24. Cleveland Indians: Take a look at Grady Sizemore's career numbers and try to tell me he is not the most overrated player of all time. These guys don't have enough pitching to contend, but Carlos Santana, Michael Brantley, and Choo are reasons to get excited.
25. Washington Nationals: They have like 12 #4 starters and zero 1-3 pitchers. Not a recipe for success. At least Adam LaRoche adds another team to his list for his bid to play on all 30 teams.
26. Arizona D'Backs: Did anyone else notice the ungodly numbers Daniel Hudson put up last season after he was trade to Arizona? Is it fitting that the last pitcher to put up those kind of numbers in the second half of the season during their rookie campaign just got traded to them? Let's hope he doesn't follow the example set.
27. Houston Astros: This team just needs to scrap the roster and start over. Is there a less exciting roster than the Astros'? I say no. "Oooo Hunter Pence just hit a wicked double." Do they say wicked in Houston? Whatever, they suck.
28. Kansas City Royals: Losing Greinke means they have no shot to contend this year. However, the pieces are definitely there for this franchise to move on up the Central Division in the coming years, especially with the Tigers and Twins getting older, and the Indians... well.. they are the Indians.
29. Seattle Mariners: Poor Jack Wilson. One terrible franchise to the next... Felix Hernandez, God-Like as he is, cannot do it alone. Hell, even having Cliff Lee didn't help. Neither does having Franklin Gutierrez as your second best hitter.
30. Pittsburgh Pirates: OVERBAY! OVERBAY! OVERBAY! Sorry guys, the Pirates are terrible. In 2 more years though...
That was a lot of rambling... Let me know what ya'll think.
1. Boston Red Sox: Another year under the belts of Buchholz and Lester should give the Red Sox the top rotation in the AL. They still have vets Beckett, Lackey, and Matsuzaka to provide supporting roles, and no way Beckett can be as bad as last season, right? I think their offense is upgraded with the additions of Gonzalez and Crawford, even though they lost Beltre and V. Mart. These guys are a shoe-in for the playoffs, it is just a matter of how far they go.
2. Philadelphia Phillies: The best rotation in history? Maybe. Definitely the best that I can remember. How good is it? Their 5th starter, Joe Blanton, would be the Pirates' ace. Their offense is getting old though and will need to score some runs, but with these pitchers 4 RPG might win 100 games...
3. St. Louis Cardinals: Solid offense, solid pitching. Same old story for the Cards. Berkman and Theriot are upgrades so they may have the legs to overtake the Reds this year.
4. Chicago White Sox: I think Adam Dunn will make a big difference as he finally gets a chance to play for a winning team. Peavy will improve, and as long as their young guys progress (Beckham, Morel, Sale), the Sox should run away with the Central division.
5. Texas Rangers: They lost Lee, but they still have a pretty good pitching corps. If Webb can get them 30 starts AND be healthy for the playoffs, and Hamilton doesn't break down, they could make another run. Having Michael Young as your 4th best infielder is a nice luxury to have.
6. San Francisco Giants: They beat the Rangers in the World Series, but are below them in the power rankings? Well, they obviously overachieved last season and making a similar run will be damn near impossible.
7. Cincinnati Reds: Same team as last season, so not much should change. They have a lot of young starting pitching so they could be inconsistent, but should again challenge the Cards for NL Central supremacy.
8. Atlanta Braves: No way Nate McLouth hits as poorly as he did last season, and, if given a chance, I think he will be a decent starter this year. They need a proven first baseman and a closer, but I think they are close. Who knows what will happen in the first year in franchise history without Bobby Cox.
9. New York Yankees: They are running out of time to win with this group. Pettitte will probably come back later in the year, but with Jeter, Posada, and ARod all in the twilight of their careers, they are going to need big efforts from the supporting cast to sneak into the postseason. Shouldn't be too difficult considering who their supporting cast is.
10. Tampa Bay Rays: They just lost way too much. A tough offseason for the Rays as it looks like last season was their best chance to win in the next couple years. Jennings, Hellickson, Wade Davis, Birgnac, and Sean Rodriguez are all budding stars, but it will be too much for the young guys to shoulder this season to make the playoffs.
11. Minnesota Twins: No way Carl Pavano puts up the numbers he did last season, especially after signing a contart. Mauer, Morneau, and Liriano are good, but nothing better than mediocre after them. But, they always seem to overachieve so they could make another late season run.
12. Los Angeles Angels: Not sure why they didn't push harder for Beltre, Crawford, and Soriano since those are the team's biggest 3 needs and they have a lot of money to play with, but they didn't and now have to ride their injury prone pitching staff this season. It is a big IF, but if the pitching stays healthy, and Kazmir gets back to pitching like he used to, they might give Texas something to think about.
13. Detroit Tigers: It seems like Magglio Ordonez has been around forever. I remember when I used to confuse him with Rey Ordonez. That was a long time ago... He is going to give it another go though, and with a good combination of veterans and youth, the Tigers could compete with the White Sox and Twins.
14. Chicago Cubs: They traded away Gorzelanny so they woudl have a spot for Carlos Silva? I don't get it. Carlos Pena helps a little, as does Matt Garza, but this team has the potential to fall quickly in the rankings.
15. Milwaukee Brewers: Greinke makes them better, and re-signing Fielder was big (ha), but I still think they are a pitcher short to make a run. If they are still hanging around in the NL central in July they could make a move for a big name pitcher and make a run like they did a few years ago.
16. Los Angeles Dodgers: They needed to get a star LF to help Kemp and Ethier, so they got Marcus Thames. Good choice. Kershaw, Billingsley, and co. will keep them in contention but they will need to get a big bat if they want to get over the hump.
17. Florida Marlins: A good, young rotation surrounded by a young, talented offense. They will be inconsistent but could potentially move much higher in the rankings as the season progresses.
18. Oakland Athletics: Have the best young rotation in the league, but no offense to back it up. Even Godzilla cannot save them.
19. Colorado Rockies: They have 3 stars, but other than that it is mediocrity. Todd Helton is the only starting 1B I'd want to have less than Overbay. He needs to get his hands on some Deer Antler PEDs. Ray Lewis knows where to get them.
20. Toronto Blue Jays: My adopted team still has a long way to go to catch the Rays and Yankees, but they are on the right track. Their minor league teams are loaded, they have 5 quality, young starting pitchers, and Lyle Overbay is off of their roster. Not that the Adam Lind/Travis Snider/Edwin Encarnacion combo is much better, but their pitching alone will give them hope of leaping Tampa and New York in the next few years.
21. New York Mets: Not sure why I have them this high considering Santana is out until May or so, but their offense is potentially good barring injuries. That is the best I can say about them...
22. Baltimore Orioles: Maybe I was too generous with this team's ranking last year, but they still have a decent offense especially after adding Reynolds and Hardy. The pitching though, is one of the worst in the league.
23. San Diego Padres: They lost Gonzalez and Garland and think they could be better than the overachieving team of last season? Not likely. Mat Latos, all missing T's of him, is a legitimate ace.
24. Cleveland Indians: Take a look at Grady Sizemore's career numbers and try to tell me he is not the most overrated player of all time. These guys don't have enough pitching to contend, but Carlos Santana, Michael Brantley, and Choo are reasons to get excited.
25. Washington Nationals: They have like 12 #4 starters and zero 1-3 pitchers. Not a recipe for success. At least Adam LaRoche adds another team to his list for his bid to play on all 30 teams.
26. Arizona D'Backs: Did anyone else notice the ungodly numbers Daniel Hudson put up last season after he was trade to Arizona? Is it fitting that the last pitcher to put up those kind of numbers in the second half of the season during their rookie campaign just got traded to them? Let's hope he doesn't follow the example set.
27. Houston Astros: This team just needs to scrap the roster and start over. Is there a less exciting roster than the Astros'? I say no. "Oooo Hunter Pence just hit a wicked double." Do they say wicked in Houston? Whatever, they suck.
28. Kansas City Royals: Losing Greinke means they have no shot to contend this year. However, the pieces are definitely there for this franchise to move on up the Central Division in the coming years, especially with the Tigers and Twins getting older, and the Indians... well.. they are the Indians.
29. Seattle Mariners: Poor Jack Wilson. One terrible franchise to the next... Felix Hernandez, God-Like as he is, cannot do it alone. Hell, even having Cliff Lee didn't help. Neither does having Franklin Gutierrez as your second best hitter.
30. Pittsburgh Pirates: OVERBAY! OVERBAY! OVERBAY! Sorry guys, the Pirates are terrible. In 2 more years though...
That was a lot of rambling... Let me know what ya'll think.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Here's your 1st base platoon Offord
The Pirates have signed Garrett Atkins. The same player who averaged 25 home runs and 110 RBI's from 2006-2008, not to mention a rookie year in 2005 where he hit .287 with 13 Hr's and 89 RBI's. Of course, this was in the thin air of Coors Field with (the future hall of famer?) Todd Helton and Matt Holliday hitting around him, which is the equivalent of a Kevin Stevens scoring 50 goals from playing with Lemieux and Jagr...anyone read me? Imler?
Anyway, it looks like the Pearce discussion is out the window; if Atkins makes this team and proves he can come close to the production he enjoyed with Colorado (under clint hurdle by the way), he will prove an adequate bat off the bench and a nice replacement from time to time for Offord's most wanted Lyle Overbay and our future Prince Fielder; Pedro Alvarez, when we face off against a lefty that will no doubt be better than ours.
Anyway, it looks like the Pearce discussion is out the window; if Atkins makes this team and proves he can come close to the production he enjoyed with Colorado (under clint hurdle by the way), he will prove an adequate bat off the bench and a nice replacement from time to time for Offord's most wanted Lyle Overbay and our future Prince Fielder; Pedro Alvarez, when we face off against a lefty that will no doubt be better than ours.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Godawful
I just had to post my digust with the Lyle Overbay signing. We seriously gave this guy 5MILLION DOLLARS!! It is and has been for a couple of years my opinion that he the worst everyday first baseman to ever start in the MLB. Unbelievable. And for what? Another left handed hitting first baseman?? WTF!!!
It takes a lot to get me angry about the Pirates at this point but this is probably the worst signing I've seen since Kevin Young.. At least the other ones made SOME sense.
At least I have a new "Sean Burnett".
(OK after looking at the numbers he actually had a better season that Garrett Jones last year, so he is not the WORST first baseman in the league, but he did have the lowest RBI total for all 1B with over 500 ABs)
It takes a lot to get me angry about the Pirates at this point but this is probably the worst signing I've seen since Kevin Young.. At least the other ones made SOME sense.
At least I have a new "Sean Burnett".
(OK after looking at the numbers he actually had a better season that Garrett Jones last year, so he is not the WORST first baseman in the league, but he did have the lowest RBI total for all 1B with over 500 ABs)
Friday, October 1, 2010
Pirates in 2012
Does anyone still read this blog anymore? Oh well, I need something to share my opinions so I guess this is it...
Now that the Pirates have the #1 pick (Anthony Rendon), Pedro Alvarez proved he is not a major league third basemen, and 2011 will be another wasted season, here is what we could possibly see in 2012:
LF Tabata
RF Marte
CF McCutchen
1B Alvarez
3B Rendon
2B Walker
C Sanchez
SS Free Agent, Trade, Ciricao, D-Arnaud, or someone else
I'm sure they can sign a SS, but that looks like a damn fine lineup. Lambo and Grossman (trade chips?) are in the mix for that RF spot as well. It's not the Yankees, but I think it could compete with anyone in the Central.
Pitching... that's another story. Ohlendorf and McDonald could become 2-3 pitchers, then we need one or two of the "Altoona Guys" to step up (Owens, Watson, Locke, Morris, Wilson). Of them, I think only Morris has the upside to be a 2-4 pitcher. Lincoln could probably sneak in as a no. 5, but we would still lack a #1 until Allie or Taillon come up. So.. we sign a decent SP and try to get a SS and we have a "potential" division winning team. Of course, there are a lot of ifs... Rendon has to be MLB ready in 2 years (which I think is possible), the defense needs to improve, Marte and Sanchez need to continue developing at the pace they are now, injuries need to be avoided, and management's pockets need to loosen up. But.. there is more hope now than there has been in 18 years. Right??
Now that the Pirates have the #1 pick (Anthony Rendon), Pedro Alvarez proved he is not a major league third basemen, and 2011 will be another wasted season, here is what we could possibly see in 2012:
LF Tabata
RF Marte
CF McCutchen
1B Alvarez
3B Rendon
2B Walker
C Sanchez
SS Free Agent, Trade, Ciricao, D-Arnaud, or someone else
I'm sure they can sign a SS, but that looks like a damn fine lineup. Lambo and Grossman (trade chips?) are in the mix for that RF spot as well. It's not the Yankees, but I think it could compete with anyone in the Central.
Pitching... that's another story. Ohlendorf and McDonald could become 2-3 pitchers, then we need one or two of the "Altoona Guys" to step up (Owens, Watson, Locke, Morris, Wilson). Of them, I think only Morris has the upside to be a 2-4 pitcher. Lincoln could probably sneak in as a no. 5, but we would still lack a #1 until Allie or Taillon come up. So.. we sign a decent SP and try to get a SS and we have a "potential" division winning team. Of course, there are a lot of ifs... Rendon has to be MLB ready in 2 years (which I think is possible), the defense needs to improve, Marte and Sanchez need to continue developing at the pace they are now, injuries need to be avoided, and management's pockets need to loosen up. But.. there is more hope now than there has been in 18 years. Right??
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
I like the Blue Jays
Would anyone like to jump on the Blue Jays bandwagon with me for 2011? Unless the Pirates sign some of the players I mentioned in an earlier post, they have no shot of even .500 next season. So, why not root for an underdog who may have the chance to compete with the Yankees and Red Sox in '11?
Their top 4 pitchers in the rotation are very promising. Brendon Morrow and Brett Cecil are having great second halves, and Marcum and Romero are steady, quality young starters. Their minor leagues are loaded with pitching talent with Kyle Drabeck and Zach Stewart to name a few. They could sign an experienced arm to bolster the staff and help the new guys out, but they have enough internal options that they will probably spend their money elsewhere.
Offensively, they have most of their positions set:
C John Buck
1B ?
2B Aaron Hill
SS Yunel Escobar
3B ?
LF Fred Lewis
CF Vernon Wells
RF Jose Batista
DH Adam Lind
They have Brett Wallace waiting in the wings to play 1B or take over the DH spot, and Travis Snider available if one of the outfielders comes back down to earth next season (ahem.. cough cough Jose Batista cough). They also have 3 nice catching prospects as well as Jose Molina to back up Buck, so they are good there. If they are going to spend money I think it should be to acquire a decent 1B and or/ 3B. Guys like Paul Konerko, Carlos Pena, Ty Wiggington, Jorge Cantu, Troy Glaus, Aubrey Huff, Adam Dunn, and Brandon Inge are some options. I think Konerko will stay with the Sox, and Dunn is probaly out of their price range. I think Wiggington or Cantu would be a decent addition for their versatility, and maybe they could get Pena to play 1B/DH. That would make for a fairly formidable lineup. Yes, they would be old, but they have plenty of talent waiting to take their place.
Could that team compete with the AL East big dogs? Maybe, but I think they are at least going to be in the conversation. So, who's with me?
Their top 4 pitchers in the rotation are very promising. Brendon Morrow and Brett Cecil are having great second halves, and Marcum and Romero are steady, quality young starters. Their minor leagues are loaded with pitching talent with Kyle Drabeck and Zach Stewart to name a few. They could sign an experienced arm to bolster the staff and help the new guys out, but they have enough internal options that they will probably spend their money elsewhere.
Offensively, they have most of their positions set:
C John Buck
1B ?
2B Aaron Hill
SS Yunel Escobar
3B ?
LF Fred Lewis
CF Vernon Wells
RF Jose Batista
DH Adam Lind
They have Brett Wallace waiting in the wings to play 1B or take over the DH spot, and Travis Snider available if one of the outfielders comes back down to earth next season (ahem.. cough cough Jose Batista cough). They also have 3 nice catching prospects as well as Jose Molina to back up Buck, so they are good there. If they are going to spend money I think it should be to acquire a decent 1B and or/ 3B. Guys like Paul Konerko, Carlos Pena, Ty Wiggington, Jorge Cantu, Troy Glaus, Aubrey Huff, Adam Dunn, and Brandon Inge are some options. I think Konerko will stay with the Sox, and Dunn is probaly out of their price range. I think Wiggington or Cantu would be a decent addition for their versatility, and maybe they could get Pena to play 1B/DH. That would make for a fairly formidable lineup. Yes, they would be old, but they have plenty of talent waiting to take their place.
Could that team compete with the AL East big dogs? Maybe, but I think they are at least going to be in the conversation. So, who's with me?
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Thursday, July 22, 2010
If I could be commissioner for a day...
Since I've already solved the Pirates problems, now I have to solve the leagues. Just kidding, but have you ever wondered why baseball not only has less teams than the 3 other major sports, but also has 2 fewer teams in the AL? Expansion might not happen for a while just because it is so hard to fill the seats for as long of a season as it is, but adding 2 more teams might help with parity, plus will even out the leagues and allow for a restructing of divisions. The biggest problem with having 4 divisions like in football is that it would add one more round to the playoffs, which already extend to the beginning of November. They could just start a week earlier?
AL East
New York Yankees
Boston Red Sox
Baltimore Orioles
Toronto Blue Jays
AL North
Minnesota Twins
Detroit Tigers
Chicago White Sox
Cleveland Indians
AL South
Texas Rangers
Tampa Rays
Memphis Wildcats*
Kansas City Royals
AL West
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How much fun would it be for the Pirates to be in a division with the Mets, Phils, and Nats???
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How much fun would it be for the Pirates to be in a division with the Mets, Phils, and Nats???
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
My plan for the 2011 Pittsburgh Pirates
If I could be GM for a day…
The Bucs’ Brass have said they would spend up to 50M on the MLB roster if the prospects were ready and they felt they had a core that could win. Well, I think it is safe to say that they will be ready next year. So, here is what I would do:
Not going to get much in a trade for Church, Duke or Dotel, so give them away for cash considerations. Duke makes about 4.5M, Church 1.5M, and Dotel about 3.5M. I think you could get 5M back from that bunch.
Release Andy LaRoche, Jason Jaramillo, Ryan Church, Brendon Donnelly, Bobby Crosby at end of the season.
Sign Jayson Werth to a 5 year deal for 45M. He currently makes 7.5M/year and I imagine he is in for a raise at least to 9M per, especially if he decides to come to the Pirates who would have to overpay.
Sign Brandon Webb to a 3 year deal for 21M. He currently makes 8.5 so I think we could get him for 7M/year with incentives, following his injury year.
Sign Javier Vazquez to a 3 year 33M deal. He currently makes 11.5M but with his age I bet we could get him for 11M per year plus incentives.
Sign Eric Hinske to a 1 year, 1M deal. He always plays for winners, at least in the second half of the seasons. Can play multiple positions and can pinch hit.
Sign David Ross to backup Doumit for a 1 year, 1.5M deal.
Trade for Ryan Theriot. He makes a very affordable 2.6M this season, so we could probably trade a prospect and cash to the Cubs to attain him. I’ll project spending 3M for him.
Call up Danny Moskos and Chris Jakubauskas (who deserves a second chance after the head plunking he took) and pay them league minimum.
Adding the current salaries, plus the 5M in cash we could get, plus the new salaries, the Pirates would be spending only about 45M on their 2011 roster. That still puts them second to last in the league in team salary, and gives them 5M leeway to spend at the trade deadline if they are actually in contention. My 2011 roster would look like this:
Starting Lineup:
CF Andrew McCutchen
LF Jose Tabata
RF Jayson Werth
1B Garrett Jones
3B Pedro Alvarez
2B Neil Walker
C Ryan Doumit
SS Ryan Theriot
Bench:
2B/OF Delwyn Young
IF/OF Eric Hinske
C David Ross
SS Ronnie Cedeno
OF Lastings Milledge
Pitchers
SP Brandon Webb
SP Javier Vazquez
SP Paul Maholm
SP Ross Ohlendorf
SP Brad Lincoln
RP Jeff Karstens
RP Chris Jakubauskas
RP Joel Hanrahan
RP DJ Carrasco
LP Javier Lopez
LP Danny Moskos
CL Evan Meek
There it is. I didn’t fact check on the 2011 salaries of the current players, but rather went with their salaries for 2010. Therefore, the final number might rise slightly but I doubt it would pass 50M. Seems like it would be relatively easy to do, and who wouldn’t like that 25-man roster? Especially in the NL Central?
But…alas.. I am not the Pirates GM. Thoughts?
The Bucs’ Brass have said they would spend up to 50M on the MLB roster if the prospects were ready and they felt they had a core that could win. Well, I think it is safe to say that they will be ready next year. So, here is what I would do:
Not going to get much in a trade for Church, Duke or Dotel, so give them away for cash considerations. Duke makes about 4.5M, Church 1.5M, and Dotel about 3.5M. I think you could get 5M back from that bunch.
Release Andy LaRoche, Jason Jaramillo, Ryan Church, Brendon Donnelly, Bobby Crosby at end of the season.
Sign Jayson Werth to a 5 year deal for 45M. He currently makes 7.5M/year and I imagine he is in for a raise at least to 9M per, especially if he decides to come to the Pirates who would have to overpay.
Sign Brandon Webb to a 3 year deal for 21M. He currently makes 8.5 so I think we could get him for 7M/year with incentives, following his injury year.
Sign Javier Vazquez to a 3 year 33M deal. He currently makes 11.5M but with his age I bet we could get him for 11M per year plus incentives.
Sign Eric Hinske to a 1 year, 1M deal. He always plays for winners, at least in the second half of the seasons. Can play multiple positions and can pinch hit.
Sign David Ross to backup Doumit for a 1 year, 1.5M deal.
Trade for Ryan Theriot. He makes a very affordable 2.6M this season, so we could probably trade a prospect and cash to the Cubs to attain him. I’ll project spending 3M for him.
Call up Danny Moskos and Chris Jakubauskas (who deserves a second chance after the head plunking he took) and pay them league minimum.
Adding the current salaries, plus the 5M in cash we could get, plus the new salaries, the Pirates would be spending only about 45M on their 2011 roster. That still puts them second to last in the league in team salary, and gives them 5M leeway to spend at the trade deadline if they are actually in contention. My 2011 roster would look like this:
Starting Lineup:
CF Andrew McCutchen
LF Jose Tabata
RF Jayson Werth
1B Garrett Jones
3B Pedro Alvarez
2B Neil Walker
C Ryan Doumit
SS Ryan Theriot
Bench:
2B/OF Delwyn Young
IF/OF Eric Hinske
C David Ross
SS Ronnie Cedeno
OF Lastings Milledge
Pitchers
SP Brandon Webb
SP Javier Vazquez
SP Paul Maholm
SP Ross Ohlendorf
SP Brad Lincoln
RP Jeff Karstens
RP Chris Jakubauskas
RP Joel Hanrahan
RP DJ Carrasco
LP Javier Lopez
LP Danny Moskos
CL Evan Meek
There it is. I didn’t fact check on the 2011 salaries of the current players, but rather went with their salaries for 2010. Therefore, the final number might rise slightly but I doubt it would pass 50M. Seems like it would be relatively easy to do, and who wouldn’t like that 25-man roster? Especially in the NL Central?
But…alas.. I am not the Pirates GM. Thoughts?
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