The Phillies can become the first National League team to reach three consecutive World Series since the Cardinals in 1942-44. The defending NL champions made the offseason’s biggest move by trading for righthander Roy Halladay, but two of the three teams with the best chance of unseating Philadelphia in the NL haven’t changed much.
A look at three threats to the Phillies, with analysis from each team’s manager:
Rockies
Last season, no NL club won more after May, and Colorado is likely to get better. The Rockies’ lineup is intact, and lefthanded starter Jeff Francis is healthy after a lost season (shoulder surgery). The club accomplished its No. 1 offseason goal by retaining setup man Rafael Betancourt, whose return assures a deep bullpen with defined roles.
Manager Jim Tracy says: "Depthwise, you feel really, really good about where you’re at. (In keeping Betancourt) you know you’ve made serious progress as a championship-caliber team."
Tony La Russa says he prefers having Brad Penny on his side.
Cardinals
Any team with Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday, Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright has a chance to beat the best. Add righthanded starter Brad Penny, whom pitching guru Dave Duncan has long admired, and that chance improves. By signing Penny, the Cardinals added proven depth to an already formidable rotation.
Manager Tony La Russa says: "Whenever a guy faces you and you’re not happy, you always think, Boy, it would be nice to get him on your side. (Penny is) a guy that we thought would be a real good starter for our side."
Braves
Even after trading righthander Javier Vazquez for center fielder Melky Carbrera, Atlanta’s rotation is deeper than Philadelphia’s. The Braves covet an impact bat, but they scored more runs than the Phillies after the All-Star break last season. Signing Billy Wagner was risky, but Atlanta is convinced he will provide a late-inning upgrade.
Manager Bobby Cox says: "We spent a lot of time with Billy, and he’s excited to do this. (G.M.) Frank (Wren) had the scouts on him when he went to Boston; they had all glowing reports."
Stan McNeal is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at smcneal@sportingnews.com.
This story first appeared in the January 4 edition of Sporting News magazine. If you are not receiving the magazine, subscribe today, or pick up a copy, available at most Barnes & Noble, Borders and Hudson Retail outlets.
The Phillies can become the first National League team to reach three consecutive World Series since the Cardinals in 1942-44. The defending NL champions made the offseason’s biggest move by trading for righthander Roy Halladay, but two of the three teams with the best chance of unseating Philadelphia in the NL haven’t changed much.
A look at three threats to the Phillies, with analysis from each team’s manager:
Rockies
Last season, no NL club won more after May, and Colorado is likely to get better. The Rockies’ lineup is intact, and lefthanded starter Jeff Francis is healthy after a lost season (shoulder surgery). The club accomplished its No. 1 offseason goal by retaining setup man Rafael Betancourt, whose return assures a deep bullpen with defined roles.
Manager Jim Tracy says: "Depthwise, you feel really, really good about where you’re at. (In keeping Betancourt) you know you’ve made serious progress as a championship-caliber team."
Tony La Russa says he prefers having Brad Penny on his side.
Cardinals
Any team with Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday, Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright has a chance to beat the best. Add righthanded starter Brad Penny, whom pitching guru Dave Duncan has long admired, and that chance improves. By signing Penny, the Cardinals added proven depth to an already formidable rotation.
Manager Tony La Russa says: "Whenever a guy faces you and you’re not happy, you always think, Boy, it would be nice to get him on your side. (Penny is) a guy that we thought would be a real good starter for our side."
Braves
Even after trading righthander Javier Vazquez for center fielder Melky Carbrera, Atlanta’s rotation is deeper than Philadelphia’s. The Braves covet an impact bat, but they scored more runs than the Phillies after the All-Star break last season. Signing Billy Wagner was risky, but Atlanta is convinced he will provide a late-inning upgrade.
Manager Bobby Cox says: "We spent a lot of time with Billy, and he’s excited to do this. (G.M.) Frank (Wren) had the scouts on him when he went to Boston; they had all glowing reports."
Stan McNeal is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at smcneal@sportingnews.com.
This story first appeared in the January 4 edition of Sporting News magazine. If you are not receiving the magazine, subscribe today, or pick up a copy, available at most Barnes & Noble, Borders and Hudson Retail outlets.
We might never again see a worst-to-first story comparable to the 2008 Rays (from 96 losses in 2007 to the World Series in ’08), but that doesn’t mean a last-place team can’t grab some headlines for impressive year-to-year improvement. This past season, for example, the Mariners rebounded from a 101-loss disaster to finish eight games above .500. But which last-place team from ’09 will be the most-improved in 2010?
Chris Bahr explains why the Diamondbacks should make sizeable gains in the win-loss column, but Stan McNeal says the Nationals will show even more improvement:
Saying the Nationals will be baseball’s most improved last-place team is kind of like telling your mom that she looks pretty nice … for someone her age.
But, hey, a backhanded compliment is better than no compliment. And the Nationals are due some sort of compliment after putting themselves in position to end their streak of 100-loss seasons at two. Don’t expect them to threaten the Phillies or even escape last place, but they should be able to pull off a 10- to 12-game swing in the standings.
Washington’s seven-game winning streak to close out the 2009 season has nothing to do with this thinking. It’s more about what the Nationals have done since June.
They drafted — and signed — Stephen Strasburg. No matter how well the phenom pitches in spring training, he is unlikely to begin the season in the majors. But look for him by summer.
"I had this kind of situation with Kerry Wood in ’98 where he was the most dominant pitcher in the Cactus League and we sent him out," manager Jim Riggleman says. "It was tempting to keep him from Day 1. Now I don’t know if that would have been a bad decision, but he started in the minors and joined us pretty quickly. I hope the same thing happens with Stephen." If it does, Strasburg will have plenty of time to make an impact as a rookie.
Adam Dunn will be better at first than in the outfield.
They moved Adam Dunn where he should be. As much as Dunn fancies himself a left fielder, he isn’t. He is a decent first baseman, though, as he showed once he knew the position was going to be a full-time gig. Josh Willingham hardly is a Gold Glover in left, but Washington’s defense — an MLB-worst 143 errors — is improved with him in the field and Dunn at first.
They have helped themselves this offseason. Signing righthander Jason Marquis "was exactly what we needed," Riggleman says. That is, he is a veteran innings-eater "who gives us a chance to match up against the other club’s higher-end starters."
The bullpen has been bolstered with the additions of Matt Capps, Brian Bruney and Eddie Guardado. "We’ve added three guys who all have pitched late in ballgames," Riggleman says. Pencil Capps in as the closer but have your eraser ready. "I don’t care who gets the save as long as he’s a National," Riggleman says.
Pudge Rodriguez turned 38 in November and hit only .249 last season, but the Nationals were happy to sign him — even if it meant giving him a two-year deal. "He is in great shape and still a good player," Riggleman says. "He’s still hitting line drives. Pudge hit the ball much better last year than his average indicated. By the law of averages, some of those line drives will find holes this year."
If he doesn’t, Elijah Dukes showed enough last year that he might be ready to handle such responsibility. "He drove in 58 runs about 350 at-bats (actually 364), which computes close to an 100-RBI season," Riggleman says. "He’s still a young guy and coming along. He’s coming to that point where it’s time for him to take the next step and become a solid regular player in the big leagues."
That, too, could be interpreted as a backhanded compliment. Guess that’s all the Nationals are warranted. For now, anyway.
Stan McNeal is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at smcneal@sportingnews.com.
We might never again see a worst-to-first story comparable to the 2008 Rays (from 96 losses in 2007 to the World Series in ’08), but that doesn’t mean a last-place team can’t grab some headlines for impressive year-to-year improvement. This past season, for example, the Mariners rebounded from a 101-loss disaster to finish eight games above .500. But which last-place team from ’09 will be the most-improved in 2010?
Chris Bahr explains why the Diamondbacks should make sizeable gains in the win-loss column, but Stan McNeal says the Nationals will show even more improvement:
Saying the Nationals will be baseball’s most improved last-place team is kind of like telling your mom that she looks pretty nice … for someone her age.
But, hey, a backhanded compliment is better than no compliment. And the Nationals are due some sort of compliment after putting themselves in position to end their streak of 100-loss seasons at two. Don’t expect them to threaten the Phillies or even escape last place, but they should be able to pull off a 10- to 12-game swing in the standings.
Washington’s seven-game winning streak to close out the 2009 season has nothing to do with this thinking. It’s more about what the Nationals have done since June.
They drafted — and signed — Stephen Strasburg. No matter how well the phenom pitches in spring training, he is unlikely to begin the season in the majors. But look for him by summer.
"I had this kind of situation with Kerry Wood in ’98 where he was the most dominant pitcher in the Cactus League and we sent him out," manager Jim Riggleman says. "It was tempting to keep him from Day 1. Now I don’t know if that would have been a bad decision, but he started in the minors and joined us pretty quickly. I hope the same thing happens with Stephen." If it does, Strasburg will have plenty of time to make an impact as a rookie.
Adam Dunn will be better at first than in the outfield.
They moved Adam Dunn where he should be. As much as Dunn fancies himself a left fielder, he isn’t. He is a decent first baseman, though, as he showed once he knew the position was going to be a full-time gig. Josh Willingham hardly is a Gold Glover in left, but Washington’s defense — an MLB-worst 143 errors — is improved with him in the field and Dunn at first.
They have helped themselves this offseason. Signing righthander Jason Marquis "was exactly what we needed," Riggleman says. That is, he is a veteran innings-eater "who gives us a chance to match up against the other club’s higher-end starters."
The bullpen has been bolstered with the additions of Matt Capps, Brian Bruney and Eddie Guardado. "We’ve added three guys who all have pitched late in ballgames," Riggleman says. Pencil Capps in as the closer but have your eraser ready. "I don’t care who gets the save as long as he’s a National," Riggleman says.
Pudge Rodriguez turned 38 in November and hit only .249 last season, but the Nationals were happy to sign him — even if it meant giving him a two-year deal. "He is in great shape and still a good player," Riggleman says. "He’s still hitting line drives. Pudge hit the ball much better last year than his average indicated. By the law of averages, some of those line drives will find holes this year."
If he doesn’t, Elijah Dukes showed enough last year that he might be ready to handle such responsibility. "He drove in 58 runs about 350 at-bats (actually 364), which computes close to an 100-RBI season," Riggleman says. "He’s still a young guy and coming along. He’s coming to that point where it’s time for him to take the next step and become a solid regular player in the big leagues."
That, too, could be interpreted as a backhanded compliment. Guess that’s all the Nationals are warranted. For now, anyway.
Stan McNeal is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at smcneal@sportingnews.com.
Spitting incident could be reason why Roberto Alomar fell short.
Hall of Fame election results announced Wednesday were as surprising for who didn’t get in as who did. Few figured Andre Dawson would be the only player to gain election, while Roberto Alomar was the candidate most figured would get the call.
Well, Dawson knows where he’ll be July 25: In Cooperstown to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. And Alomar? Maybe next year.
Lessons learned from the announcement:
Patience pays: Dawson made the Hall on his ninth time on the ballot. He said he had a feeling the call would come this year. "It was worth the wait," he said. His numbers in today’s offensive framework don’t look Hall worthy: .279 average, .323 OBP and 438 homers — but Dawson was a dominant player in the 1980s. He also was one of the game’s most respected players by his peers and the fans.
Patience is a must: After falling just five votes short on his 13th try, Bert Blyleven could have cried. Instead, he smiled and actually was upbeat talking to reporters. One reason: He had a bigger jump in support than Dawson, who went from 67 percent to 77.9. Blyleven had an 11.5 percent bump, all the way to 74.2 percent. That number brings us to another reason: After coming so close, he can count on getting the call next year.
The incident was costly: Alomar is widely regarded as the best second baseman since Joe Morgan and one of the best half-dozen or so ever. The only explanation for him falling eight votes short was payback for spitting in the face of umpire John Hirschbeck, even though Hirschbeck forgave him long ago. Another reason Alomar could have fallen short: He did not make any friends with the media for his approach in his two years with the Mets.
Steroids matter: Mark McGwire again failed to garner 25 percent of the votes, the 23.7 percent he received was just slightly more than the 21.9 percent a year ago. Stay tuned next year. McGwire is supposed to talk with the media at some point before he begins his new job as the Cardinals’ batting coach. What he says undoubtedly will have an impact on his support from voters for the Hall of Fame.
DH’s time has not arrived: Edgar Martinez, one of the top hitters of the 1990s, was named on 36.2 percent of the ballots. The Mariners were not expecting him to make it, but he got enough votes for them to continue to work on his case.
Market factors: Barry Larkin was the first shortstop to have a 30-homer, 30-stolen base season. He won an MVP, three Gold Gloves and was among the first shortstops to excel as much on offense as defense. So why didn’t he get more than 51.6 percent of the votes? My reason: He spent his entire career in small-market Cincinnati.
Closer still not that close: Lee Smith was the all-time leader in saves when he retired, and still is No. 3 behind Trevor Hoffman and Mariano Rivera. Yet Smith still hasn’t received 50 percent of the votes in any of his seven times on the ballot. At least he is going in the right direction. His 47.3 percent this time was 2.8 percent better than last year. With such a slow climb, though, Smith needs to be patient. Hey, it worked for Andre Dawson.
Stan McNeal is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at smcneal@sportingnews.com.
Spitting incident could be reason why Roberto Alomar fell short.
Hall of Fame election results announced Wednesday were as surprising for who didn’t get in as who did. Few figured Andre Dawson would be the only player to gain election, while Roberto Alomar was the candidate most figured would get the call.
Well, Dawson knows where he’ll be July 25: In Cooperstown to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. And Alomar? Maybe next year.
Lessons learned from the announcement:
Patience pays: Dawson made the Hall on his ninth time on the ballot. He said he had a feeling the call would come this year. "It was worth the wait," he said. His numbers in today’s offensive framework don’t look Hall worthy: .279 average, .323 OBP and 438 homers — but Dawson was a dominant player in the 1980s. He also was one of the game’s most respected players by his peers and the fans.
Patience is a must: After falling just five votes short on his 13th try, Bert Blyleven could have cried. Instead, he smiled and actually was upbeat talking to reporters. One reason: He had a bigger jump in support than Dawson, who went from 67 percent to 77.9. Blyleven had an 11.5 percent bump, all the way to 74.2 percent. That number brings us to another reason: After coming so close, he can count on getting the call next year.
The incident was costly: Alomar is widely regarded as the best second baseman since Joe Morgan and one of the best half-dozen or so ever. The only explanation for him falling eight votes short was payback for spitting in the face of umpire John Hirschbeck, even though Hirschbeck forgave him long ago. Another reason Alomar could have fallen short: He did not make any friends with the media for his approach in his two years with the Mets.
Steroids matter: Mark McGwire again failed to garner 25 percent of the votes, the 23.7 percent he received was just slightly more than the 21.9 percent a year ago. Stay tuned next year. McGwire is supposed to talk with the media at some point before he begins his new job as the Cardinals’ batting coach. What he says undoubtedly will have an impact on his support from voters for the Hall of Fame.
DH’s time has not arrived: Edgar Martinez, one of the top hitters of the 1990s, was named on 36.2 percent of the ballots. The Mariners were not expecting him to make it, but he got enough votes for them to continue to work on his case.
Market factors: Barry Larkin was the first shortstop to have a 30-homer, 30-stolen base season. He won an MVP, three Gold Gloves and was among the first shortstops to excel as much on offense as defense. So why didn’t he get more than 51.6 percent of the votes? My reason: He spent his entire career in small-market Cincinnati.
Closer still not that close: Lee Smith was the all-time leader in saves when he retired, and still is No. 3 behind Trevor Hoffman and Mariano Rivera. Yet Smith still hasn’t received 50 percent of the votes in any of his seven times on the ballot. At least he is going in the right direction. His 47.3 percent this time was 2.8 percent better than last year. With such a slow climb, though, Smith needs to be patient. Hey, it worked for Andre Dawson.
Stan McNeal is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at smcneal@sportingnews.com.
By signing Matt Holliday, the Cardinals:
• Assured themselves of having one of the three best middle-of-the-order attacks in the game (along with the Yankees and Phillies).
• Showed Albert Pujols they are willing to spend.
• Ensured they will enter the season as N.L. Central favorites.
What the Cardinals haven’t done: improve their roster from the end of last season. But this is one time when the status quo could be enough because the rest of the division hasn’t done enough to close the gap on St. Louis.
The moves so far (ranked by strength of moves)
Signing Matt Holliday was important for the Cardinals as they try to hang on to Albert Pujols.
Cardinals. It took awhile and it cost a bunch, but the Cardinals accomplished their No. 1 offseason goal: They signed the top free agent on the market. Holliday should be happy, too. He lands in the best place a hitter could want: the spot behind Pujols. Holliday took advantage last season when he actually outhit Pujols after joining the Cardinals. The club also signed Brad Penny to replace free agent Joel Pineiro in the rotation. Pineiro priced himself out of St. Louis by putting up a 3.49 ERA in 214 innings.
Cubs. General manager Jim Hendry also took care of his No. 1 offseason priority: correcting his No. 1 mistake of last season. Hendry dumped Milton Bradley on the Mariners in exchange for another bad contract in righthander Carlos Silva. Even if Silva doesn’t make the rotation — he is a long shot — the Cubs should benefit because of addition by subtraction. Clubhouse chemistry is not anything they have to worry about with Marlon Byrd, their latest free-agent outfield addition from the Rangers. On the other hand, the Cubs should hope the ivy comes in extra thick this year because Byrd, built like a fullback, goes hard after everything in center field.
Brewers. They needed to upgrade their rotation and did so by signing lefthander Randy Wolf. But that is like adding one coat of white paint over a black wall that needs three coats. Reliever LaTroy Hawkins could prove just as important if he can match his ’09 numbers with the Astros (2.13 ERA in 65 appearances). Milwaukee’s lineup will include two newcomers: Carlos Gomez in center and Gregg Zaun behind the plate. Replacing Jason Kendall with Zaun is more or less a wash. Gomez, however, is worth watching. He has plenty of talent but often annoyed manager Ron Gardenhire in Minnesota with an approach best described as erratic.
Astros. Pedro Feliz will fit in at third base, and the bullpen shouldn’t miss Jose Valverde after adding Matt Lindstrom and Brandon Lyon. Houston also has given former Red Sox bench coach Brad Mills his first managing job. But all the Astros have done to address their biggest need — starting pitching — is sign Gustavo Chacin to a minor league deal. He hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2007.
Pirates. New second baseman Akinori Iwamura is a solid defender, carries a capable bat (.354 OBP in three seasons) and should ease the pain of last year’s loss of Freddy Sanchez. As the team’s highest-paid player ($4.85 million), he had better. The Pirates’ other notable additions — oft-injured infielder Bobby Crosby and lefthanded relievers Jack Taschner and Javier Lopez — do little to improve the odds of the club ending its 17-season losing streak.
Reds. They made a nice move in restructuring Scott Rolen’s contract to give them financial flexibility for 2010. What they do with that flexibility remains to be seen.
To-do lists (ranked by moves still needed)
Reds. They could use a shortstop and a veteran bat for the outfield. To get one, they could trade veteran starter Aaron Harang, who was part of the winter-meetings rumor mill. But don’t be surprised if the Reds you see now are the Reds you see when the team reports to its new spring training home in Arizona.
Astros. With Lance Berkman, Roy Oswalt, Wandy Rodriguez and a strong outfield, the Astros have a chance to be good. Don’t count on improvement, though, unless they pick up a couple of starting pitchers. Plenty of veterans remain and the prices should not go up as the offseason continues. The Astros also need a shortstop to replace Miguel Tejada.
Pirates. They still need a first baseman. Hank Blalock still needs a job. He might not have any better opportunities.
Cubs. They found out last season that Mike Fontenot should not be an everyday second baseman on a contending team. So why haven’t they signed Orlando Hudson? They could try him in their leadoff role and fill two needs with one player.
Brewers. They aren’t done shopping for starting pitchers. Mark Mulder has been linked to them in large part because he had his greatest success when he worked in Oakland with Milwaukee’s new pitching coach, Rick Peterson. Mulder is expected to begin throwing for teams in the coming weeks. Of course, he has been saying as much for months.
Cardinals. With Holliday finally on board, the Cardinals can focus on their remaining needs: third base, No. 5 starter and bullpen depth. They are in a good position because they have youngsters for all three spots. Tejada would be an ideal fit at third if his price falls. If it doesn’t, look for the Cardinals to go after a discount starter.
Sizing up 2010
If the Cardinals hadn’t kept Holliday, choosing a division favorite would have been difficult. His return makes them an easy pick to repeat. Expect the Cubs to be much improved for no other reason than better health; they suffered more than their share of injuries in 2009. One more reliable starter could go a long way in helping the Brewers contend because their already formidable lineup will benefit from another year of growing up and the return of Rickie Weeks. The battle for fourth place between the Astros and Reds should come down to the development of Cincinnati’s young hitters vs. the improvement in Houston’s rotation. The Pirates still look like a lock for last.
Stan McNeal is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at smcneal@sportingnews.com.
By signing Matt Holliday, the Cardinals:
• Assured themselves of having one of the three best middle-of-the-order attacks in the game (along with the Yankees and Phillies).
• Showed Albert Pujols they are willing to spend.
• Ensured they will enter the season as N.L. Central favorites.
What the Cardinals haven’t done: improve their roster from the end of last season. But this is one time when the status quo could be enough because the rest of the division hasn’t done enough to close the gap on St. Louis.
The moves so far (ranked by strength of moves)
Signing Matt Holliday was important for the Cardinals as they try to hang on to Albert Pujols.
Cardinals. It took awhile and it cost a bunch, but the Cardinals accomplished their No. 1 offseason goal: They signed the top free agent on the market. Holliday should be happy, too. He lands in the best place a hitter could want: the spot behind Pujols. Holliday took advantage last season when he actually outhit Pujols after joining the Cardinals. The club also signed Brad Penny to replace free agent Joel Pineiro in the rotation. Pineiro priced himself out of St. Louis by putting up a 3.49 ERA in 214 innings.
Cubs. General manager Jim Hendry also took care of his No. 1 offseason priority: correcting his No. 1 mistake of last season. Hendry dumped Milton Bradley on the Mariners in exchange for another bad contract in righthander Carlos Silva. Even if Silva doesn’t make the rotation — he is a long shot — the Cubs should benefit because of addition by subtraction. Clubhouse chemistry is not anything they have to worry about with Marlon Byrd, their latest free-agent outfield addition from the Rangers. On the other hand, the Cubs should hope the ivy comes in extra thick this year because Byrd, built like a fullback, goes hard after everything in center field.
Brewers. They needed to upgrade their rotation and did so by signing lefthander Randy Wolf. But that is like adding one coat of white paint over a black wall that needs three coats. Reliever LaTroy Hawkins could prove just as important if he can match his ’09 numbers with the Astros (2.13 ERA in 65 appearances). Milwaukee’s lineup will include two newcomers: Carlos Gomez in center and Gregg Zaun behind the plate. Replacing Jason Kendall with Zaun is more or less a wash. Gomez, however, is worth watching. He has plenty of talent but often annoyed manager Ron Gardenhire in Minnesota with an approach best described as erratic.
Astros. Pedro Feliz will fit in at third base, and the bullpen shouldn’t miss Jose Valverde after adding Matt Lindstrom and Brandon Lyon. Houston also has given former Red Sox bench coach Brad Mills his first managing job. But all the Astros have done to address their biggest need — starting pitching — is sign Gustavo Chacin to a minor league deal. He hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2007.
Pirates. New second baseman Akinori Iwamura is a solid defender, carries a capable bat (.354 OBP in three seasons) and should ease the pain of last year’s loss of Freddy Sanchez. As the team’s highest-paid player ($4.85 million), he had better. The Pirates’ other notable additions — oft-injured infielder Bobby Crosby and lefthanded relievers Jack Taschner and Javier Lopez — do little to improve the odds of the club ending its 17-season losing streak.
Reds. They made a nice move in restructuring Scott Rolen’s contract to give them financial flexibility for 2010. What they do with that flexibility remains to be seen.
To-do lists (ranked by moves still needed)
Reds. They could use a shortstop and a veteran bat for the outfield. To get one, they could trade veteran starter Aaron Harang, who was part of the winter-meetings rumor mill. But don’t be surprised if the Reds you see now are the Reds you see when the team reports to its new spring training home in Arizona.
Astros. With Lance Berkman, Roy Oswalt, Wandy Rodriguez and a strong outfield, the Astros have a chance to be good. Don’t count on improvement, though, unless they pick up a couple of starting pitchers. Plenty of veterans remain and the prices should not go up as the offseason continues. The Astros also need a shortstop to replace Miguel Tejada.
Pirates. They still need a first baseman. Hank Blalock still needs a job. He might not have any better opportunities.
Cubs. They found out last season that Mike Fontenot should not be an everyday second baseman on a contending team. So why haven’t they signed Orlando Hudson? They could try him in their leadoff role and fill two needs with one player.
Brewers. They aren’t done shopping for starting pitchers. Mark Mulder has been linked to them in large part because he had his greatest success when he worked in Oakland with Milwaukee’s new pitching coach, Rick Peterson. Mulder is expected to begin throwing for teams in the coming weeks. Of course, he has been saying as much for months.
Cardinals. With Holliday finally on board, the Cardinals can focus on their remaining needs: third base, No. 5 starter and bullpen depth. They are in a good position because they have youngsters for all three spots. Tejada would be an ideal fit at third if his price falls. If it doesn’t, look for the Cardinals to go after a discount starter.
Sizing up 2010
If the Cardinals hadn’t kept Holliday, choosing a division favorite would have been difficult. His return makes them an easy pick to repeat. Expect the Cubs to be much improved for no other reason than better health; they suffered more than their share of injuries in 2009. One more reliable starter could go a long way in helping the Brewers contend because their already formidable lineup will benefit from another year of growing up and the return of Rickie Weeks. The battle for fourth place between the Astros and Reds should come down to the development of Cincinnati’s young hitters vs. the improvement in Houston’s rotation. The Pirates still look like a lock for last.
Stan McNeal is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at smcneal@sportingnews.com.
