[Xero]

Sorry for the delay, but this was really hard to write in a short time. Posts will be more frequent from now on. So here is the breakdown of our team. I feel we got a good team, but too many decent players. I simmed up tell opening day and I let my manager take over spring training.


Starting Pitchers

#1 LHP C. C. Sabathia
Last Year Stat: 12-11 192.2 IP 3.22 ERA 1.17 WHIP .325 BABIP
Contract: 2 year 17,750,000 (8,750,000 9,000,000)
My Opinion: This guy is simply the sabbatical of our pitching staff. With good stuff, good movement and great control, C. C. is easily one of the best southpaws in the game. We’re expecting great things from C. C. as he tries to live up to his real life counterpart and win a Cy Young Award. Looking at his contract only makes me smile more. I will try to extend this guys contract as early as this year.

#2 RHP Fausto Carmona
Last Year Stat: 1-10 74.2 IP 5.42 ERA 1.59 WHIP .335 BABIP
Contract: 1-year 387,000*
My Opinion: If C. C. is our ace, then Faust is a very close second. This 24-year old is a very well rounded and could be the ace in a lot of other pitching staffs. He had a really bad rookie season last year, but we’re expecting Faust to have lot of success this year. In a couple of year this guy might be our ace.

#3 LHP Dontrelle “D-Train” Willits
Last Year Stat (with Florida): 12-12 223.1 IP 3.87 ERA 1.42 WHIP .320 BABIP
Contract: 1-year 6,450,000**
My Opinion: Right now, Don is a decent pitcher with some good movement, but he has the tools to be really good starter. He had a good season last year as the Marlins ace, now I want to see if this guy can pitch in a competitive market. His contract is a bit much, but I expect it to go down this season. Still, this guy could move to another team if there’s enough interest.

#4 LHP Scott Olsen
Last Year Stat (with Florida): 12-10 180.1 IP 4.04 ERA 1.30 WHIP .313
Contract: 1-year 380,000*
My Opinion: A lefty with good stuff. Scott is only 22 and he could defiantly be a cheap opinion as an inning eater in the back of our rotation. I would really like to see Scotty-O improve and be a dominant pitch in the majors.

#5 RHP Tim Hudson
Last Year Stat (with Atlanta): 13-12 218.1 IP 4.86 ERA 1.44 WHIP .320 BABIP
Contract: 3-year 32,000,000 (6,000,000 13,000,000 13,000,000)
My Opinion: Uh oh! Timmy is still an Indian on Opening Day since no sane AI manager would take this guy’s contract. Did I screw the team up with the Braves trade? This guy is a must go as he is way too overpaid to be sitting at the bottom of our rotation and his contract only gets worse after this season. I hoping this guy show signs that he is a former all-star and that there is enough interest in him so that I can move him.

Overall Feel: I really like our one-two punch up to in our rotation. I am a bit worried about our 3,4,5 guys. I think they are adequate to keep us in ball games, but won’t do much else.

Relievers

CL RHP Rafael Betancourt
Last Year Stat: 3-4 3 SV 56.2 IP 3.81 ERA 1.11 WHIP .281 BABIP
Contract: 1-year 840,000**
My Opinion: A good closer, but not an elite one. Bent has great control so he’s not going to pitch himself into trouble in the ninth inning. We see him as a guy who can go out game-in, game-our and just do his job. I might want to sign Bent to an extension if I don’t want him to go to Arbitration.

SU1 LHP Aaron Fultz
Last Year Stat (with Philadelphia): 3-1 71.1 IP 4.54 ERA 1.51 WHIP .335 BABIP
Contract: 1-year 1,650,000
My Opinion: Not exactly the best setup man in the league. Actually Aaron might be close to being one of the worst setup man in the league. But he is our setup man and we are going to entrust him with the role of being the bridge to Bent. An upgrade would be really nice.

SU2 RHP Travis Minix
Last Year Stat (with Scranton-Wilkes Barre): No ML Stat
Contract: 1-year 500,000
My Opinion: A cheap opinion who can do a decent job out of the pen. Like most of my bullpen, he’s not great or overly bad, but just a decent reliever.

MR1 RHP Jason Davis
Last Year Stat: 3-2 55.1 IP 3.74 ERA 1.46 WHIP .293 BABIP
Contract: 1-year 670,000**
My Opinion: I thought this guy is going to be our setup man. Apparently he had a bad Spring Training (not that I would know) and got demoted to middle reliever. JD has good control and movement and might be one of the few members of the bullpen that will comeback next year.

MR2 RHP Steve Langone
Last Year Stat (with AA Reading): No ML Stat
Contract: 1-year 500,000
My Opinion: Another cheap free agent signing by yours truly. We’re hoping that this guy isn’t like his last name and the pitches he throws won’t be long gone. Still he has a history of giving up too many long balls in the minors.

MR3/LR LHP Macay McBride
Last Year Stat (with AAA Richmond & AA Mississippi): No ML Stat
Contract: 1-year 380,000*
My Opinion: Pretty much a guy who is going to be in during blowouts. M&M can pitch a good 3 or 4 innings when one of our starters has a bad outing. Got some replacements for this guy in the minors so I may bail on him at the first sign of trouble.

Overall Feel: Not the best bullpen in the league, but not the worst either. I will probably try to get a proven setup man if we are in a playoff race.

Batting Order RHP/LHP

1/1 CF LHB Grady “Spiderman” Sizemore
Last Year Stat: .290 .375 28 HR 76 RBI 22 SB
Contract: 5-years 21,450,000 (750,000 3,000,000 4,600,000 5,600,000 7,500,000)
My Opinion: Grady can do it all. From making contact to hitting the ball to the gaps, to driving the ball out of the park and combine that with great speed on the base pads and a knack for climbing the wall to make unbelievable plays (hence the nickname) and you have yourself a five-tool player. I really think he is underrated, as I believe Grady can hit .300 along with 30 long ones a season. I would actually much rather have him bat 3rd in the order and use his abilities to drive in runs than leading off, but I have no other suitable lead off hitter. His contract is not great since I could have signed him to a better one. He is going to start a lot of games, since no one else can play center on our roster.

2/9 RF LHB Trot Nixon
Last Year Stat (with Boston): .268 .373 8 HR 52 RBI
Contract: 1-year 3,000,000
My Opinion: The first of my many decent hitters. Trot has a very good eye and can hit balls to the gap. He is also solid defensively. He wants a lot of money to resign so all signs are pointing to a one year stay at Cleveland for Nixon.

3/3 C SHB Victor Martinez
Last Year Stat: .313 .392 16 HR 93 RBI
Contract: 3-year 12,950,000 (3,000,000 4,250,000 5,700,000)
My Opinion: V-Mart is a borderline elite hitter. I’m expecting him to hit over .300 with 20 HR and 90+RBIs. He is also a converted catcher so he is not where we want him to be defensively. Also I would like to compliment the previous GM for signing one of the better offensive catchers in the game to a very nice contract.

4/4 DH LHB Travis Hafner
Last Year Stat: .308 .439 42 HR 117 RBI
Contract: 1-year 3,750,000**
My Opinion: The prototypical number 4 hitter. Hafy has got power to all fields with a very good eye and can hit for a very nice average in the process. We're expecting 35+ HR and 110+ RBI and a boatload more of walks. I also feel that Hafy’s ability to make contact is underrated since he’s hit over .300 the last three seasons. Avoiding the strikeout is a problem for his as it is for most of my team and most power hitters. I really don’t like the fact that he is up for arbitration this year. Re-signing Hafy to a manageable contract is a priority.

5/8 1B LHB Mike Jacobs
Last Year Stat (with Florida): .262 .325 20 HR 77 RBI 3 SB
Contract: 1-year 380,000*
My Opinion: I feel a lot better having MJ starting at first and hitting behind Pronk. With MJ you know your going to get 20 HR and a boatload of doubles every season. Scouts say he can develop 30 HR power in the future. His defense can be problematic. Wait, did I say problematic? I actually meant his defense is downright awful. Not making a lot of money which is great news for me. He is in a similar situation as Grady since we got no back-up first basemen other than our DH Hafy.

6/6 LF LHB David Dellucci
Last Year Stat (with Philadelphia): .292 .369 13 HR 39 RBI 1 SB
Contract: 3-year 11,500,000 (3,750,000 3,750,000 4,000,000)
My Opinion: Another decent hitter, D&D combines decent power with some decent defensive abilities at left and he is equally effective hitting lefty and righties. His contract is not great, but manageable. Strikes out too much though.

7/5 3B RHB Casey Blake
Last Year Stat: .282 .356 19 HR 68 RBI 6 SB
Contract: 1-year 3,750,000
My Opinion: This guy is basically the right-handed version of David. Last year of his contract and unless things change, I will let Casey walk. Plays 1st, 3rd and (surprisingly) right.

8/2 SS RHB Edgar Renteria
Last Year Stat (with Atlanta): .293 .361 14 HR 74 RBI 17 SB
Contract : 2-year 18,000,000 (9,000,000 9,000,000)
My Opinion: Is this guy overpaid? Sure, but I really did not want Hector to be our starting shortstop. As a hitter ER is good at everything except hitting the ball out of the park. Again, another decent defender. Apparently can steal some bases despite not having any speed.

9/7 2B RHB Josh Barfield
Last Year Stat (with San Diego): .280 .318 13 HR 58 RBI 21 SB
Contract: 1-year 395,800
My Opinion: A well-rounded hitter. A decent defender. Just the same old, same old for Barf.

Bench

C RHB Matt Treanor
Last Year Stat (with Florida): .229 .328 2 HR 14 RBI
Contract: 1-year 380,000*
My Opinion: Matt is basically our back-up catcher until one of our prospects can take over. There is no other reason he is on the roster except to back up V-Mart

2B/3B LHB Pete Orr
Last Year Stat (with Atlanta): .253 .277 1 HR 8 RBI 2 SB
Contract: 1-year 400,000*
My Opinion: The lone Canadian content in our line-up. Pete brings a very underrated left-handed bat with some decent pop, plays two positions and also has speed. If this guy stays cheap, we’ll keep him.

SS RHB Jhonny Peralta
Last Year Stat: .257 .323 13 HR 68 RBI
Contract: 4-year 11,000,000 (750,000 1,250,000 3,400,000 4,600,000)
My Opinion: Seriously, what idiot gave this guy a 11 million dollar contract? JP is a career back up and he is going to be paid like a starter in two seasons. Another must move.

LF SHB Trevor Crowe
Last Year Stat (with AA Arkansas & A Kingston): No ML Stat
Contract: 1-year 350,000*
My Opinion: Trevor is the top player prospect in our organization. He is already a gold-glove caliber left fielder with a lot of speed. Our scouts predict he will be able to hit .300, drive balls to gaps with ease and walk a ton. He also hits switch which is another plus. Trev is probably still a couple of years away from being able to start.

RF RHB Ben Francisco
Last Year Stat (with AAA Buffalo): No ML Stat
Contract: 1-year 350,000*
My Opinion: The lefty specialist on the bench. Not a lot of teams need a lefty specialist, but we’re one of them. Decent all around hitter and has a great arm on the field. Is already well developed so he is most likely our starting right fielder next season, should Trot leave.

Overall Feel: Some good power all around is something that I like. We don’t have any really weak hitters in our line-up which is another plus. Avoiding the K is a problem with this team. I can see myself getting another lead-off man, but that’s pretty much all that’s going to change this season. Too many left handed batters in the top of the other though, I predict we’re going to struggle against lefties.