around the majors around the blogs around and around
and around. i did some surfing today and i thought i'd tell you about it. which means of course that i'm gonna do a lot of hatin. you should take that cane, and beat whoever gave you that coat with it.

the first post i'm gonna talk about is on raystalk. and i'm not gonna hate on it. it's about the trade of danys baez for edwin jackson. lance carter also moved, as did chuck tiffany. sam (the poster) says it's good because the rays got something for two guys they didn't need. i wholeheartedly agree. he also says what they got is pretty good. i agree with that too. and he says the guys they traded were overrated. again, i agree.

agree agree agree. isn't that nice? but the thing i don't exactly agree on is which of the two prospects is the better grab. sam says they're both good, but seems to like jackson more. i say chuch tiffany is by far the better prospect. he's something to get excited about, whereas jackson seems to have lost the ability to throw strikes.

i'll post the stats after i finish this article.

the next article is also about the rays. apparently they're planning on changing their name, colors, and uniforms for 2007.

they shouldn't do it. the name is fine, and they're already establishing some tradition with it. yeah it's a losing tradition, but the way to fix that is to win. the colors and uniforms are pretty bad but they should keep those too. once they start winning everything will be fine. they will start winning, btw.

the next post is about the royals, and their prospects for future success. he says the royals could maybe possibly contend in 2007. it's nice to see that optimism, but there's no way the royals will contend in 2007. i haven't really studied the issue, but there's no way the royals will contend in 2007.

the article is good, though. it's about starting pitching. it's a realistic assessment of the state of the staff, with some names of possible prospects. maybe i'll run their stats at some point. do some comments. yeah.

the next thing is there's a new blog about the reds' minor leagues. i'm always interested in minor leaguers. i'm always interested in prospects. found the link on redleg nation.

then we have a philly fan's predictions on the nl east. according to pat gillick, the goal is to win five more games than last year. the marlins should take care of that. but blogger jane conroy correctly asserts that five more games won't be enough.

jane's list:

1. braves
2. phillies
3. mets
4. nationals
5. marlins

i agree that the braves are the favorite. the losses of rafael furcal and leo mazzone will hurt, but likely improvements in the corner outfield, first base, second base, and catcher spots will pick up the slack. marcus giles turns 28 this year, and he's a good bet to have a career season. also, one of last year's rookies will break out. as could adam laroche.

i disagree, though, on the next two rankings. jane admits that the choice is colored by partisanship, but i think you gotta go with the mets at number 2. the phillies have a questionable rotation. brett myers is talented, but he's young, and young players sometimes have difficulty. beyond that there's not much talent. jon lieber, corey lidle, randy wolf . . . there's just not much there that will provide significant gains above the margin. and the rookies that pitched last year are not a good bet to succeed. gavin floyd, maybe, could be something.

the lineup, too, has problems. there just isn't a difference maker. chase utley, maybe. chase utley is probably a difference maker. and bobby abreu is borderline. jimmy rollins is good. but pat burrell has significant problems, ryan howard could be a total bust, and david bell just can't hit. add in an aging catcher and it doesn't look good. aaron rowand should be solid in center.

there are just too many problems.

the mets, on the other hand, have fixed their problems. they finally got a closer. he used to be on the phillies. he could be a difference maker this year. he's billy wagner, of course. they've got a difference maker in the rotation. and they've got two difference makers in the field.

no, i didn't forget about carlos delgado. he's just not a difference maker. he's a strong contributor. jose reyes could also have a strong year.

why won't the mets beat the braves? two (related) reasons: 1. the braves have more youth. 2. the braves have more depth in the minor leagues. we saw last year how much that helps. and the value of youth is they do things that are unexpected. they make improvements. sometimes big improvements. they win world series.

nationals and marlins at 4 and 5 should be right. the nationals are bad, but the marlins will be worse. both should provide significant padding for the records of the top three teams. frank robinson, though, is a good manager. i don't know what he might do, but he might do something.

that's good for now. i'll do the rest of this shit later. no, i should be positive.

more exciting news to come!
- posted by julien @ 10:35 PM