Whether you're a Jets or a Bears fan, or just not a front-running Steelers fan, you can still take solace in the fact baseball season is dawning. In just three short weeks, pitchers and catchers will report to Spring Training, marking the close of the long winter offseason. All 30 teams are finalizing who will be competing for jobs this spring and completing last-minute adjustments to their offseason accomplishments - or defeats, if you are a Mets fan like me. Nevertheless, with a new season comes a 30-way tie for the best record in baseball, and anything can happen from there.
The goal of general managers across the league is to use the winter and spring months to put together the best team possible, one that can hopefully compete through August, September and October. Of course at this point, some teams are in better positions than others, and it is worth noting who has had the best and worst offseasons.
The big market teams always make the most headlines, and this year has been no exception. The biggest move of the offseason came in mid-December when southpaw ace Cliff Lee signed with Philadelphia to reunite with the four-time defending National League East Champions. The Lee signing heavily outweighs the loss of slugging outfielder Jayson Werth to the Washington Nationals.\nLee and the rest of the Philly starting rotation make up a staff where four of the five pitchers would likely be the No. 1 player on almost any other team. Had Lee signed with the Yankees or Rangers as expected, Philadelphia would not have had such an impressive offseason - the Phillys have also failed to strengthen a fairly unstable bullpen, but as any general manager would tell you, that is probably the most difficult part of the job.
Meanwhile, in the American League East, another team has received many dividends for its hard work this winter, and it is not the Yankees. The Boston Red Sox gained two key additions to their lineup in first baseman Adrian Gonzalez and outfielder Carl Crawford. Within two days Boston had dealt San Diego a few prospects with limited major league experience in exchange for Gonzalez, the face of their franchise for the past five years, and had inked Crawford to a seven-year, $142 million contract. Neither player is even 30 years old yet - they are just entering the prime of their careers at 28 and 29, respectively. No changes were made to the rotation, which consists of four pitchers who have combined to win World Series Championships. Their only major loss was third baseman Adrian Beltre, but that should not significant, as Kevin Youkilis likely will move to the hot corner to make room for Gonzalez at first.
The big winner this winter is GM Doug Melvin of the Milwaukee Brewers, who looks to lead the Brew Crew to their second playoff appearance since 1982. At the start of the offseason, it was a sure thing Milwaukee would eventually trade slugging first baseman Prince Fielder, who is about to enter the final year of his contract. But to Melvin that meant it was time to win. Just last week, Fielder became the highest paid player in franchise history when he was awarded a $5 million raise to avoid salary arbitration. Despite not trading Fielder, the Brewers acquired the much-needed starting pitching to compete with the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds in the competitive National League Central.
To supplement its powerful lineup, Milwaukee first dealt a minor league player for Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Shaun Marcum in early December. Macrum, 28, had an impressive 2010 with the Blue Jays, tallying 195 1/3 innings with a 3.64 ERA and 13 wins, helping to guide Toronto to an above .500 season. This trade would not have been so impressive without the blockbuster deal that occurred just two weeks later, sending a bunch of no-names to Kansas City for the decent bat and average glove of shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt and 2009 AL Cy Young award winner Zach Greinke. Greinke has had by far the nastiest "swing-and-miss" pitches in all of baseball during the past three years with 606 strikeouts during that time, 242 of them coming in his Cy Young season. These moves are sure to make for an exciting three-team race in the NL Central Division, which could end up producing two playoff teams.
Not every club has seen such promise for their 2011 campaign. Despite being the favorite, the Yankees failed to sign Cliff Lee, and they have not been able to bolster a shallow rotation or bullpen. The loss of setup man Kerry Wood will hurt the Yanks in the eighth inning while the bullpen attempts to bridge to aging closer Mariano Rivera. Even with the signing of reliever Rafael Soriano, the Yankees have a shaky bullpen at best. The Bombers' problems were clarified when it was revealed that GM Brian Cashman was against the Soriano deal and is tired of being labeled the "checkbook GM." This recent drama was nothing new for the Yankees, whose contract negotiations with Derek Jeter went horribly for both sides late last year. Eventually the aging all-star short stop was granted a three-year deal after the front office "dared" him to test free agency. It is worth noting Jeter is coming off of the worst offensive year in his career.
Of course nothing can really be said about all these offseason moves until the players and managers show up in April and the 162-game season begins.
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