Kuzul

It’s almost St. Patty’s Day. That means it’s almost time for four-leaf clovers, leprechauns and, of course, the mystical pot of gold.

So what better time to look at some major leaguers whose careers started as cups of coffee at the end of a season and have since blossomed into sheer stardom—pieces of gold in their respective clubs’ pots?

Some players begin their careers with the dawn of a new season. Others get their first call-up midway through the season.

However, there are some who get promoted to the big leagues towards the end of a season, when the parent team is either in the midst of a playoff hunt or has already been eliminated and is holding early auditions for the subsequent season. They get called up for a cup of coffee.

What you are about to see is a list players whose careers started within the last 20 years and fall into the latter category. On September 1, the major league roster limits expand to 40 players, which allows clubs to begin calling up their young prospects to get a taste of the high life. Since their call-ups, these players have gone on to have All-Star, and perhaps even Hall of Fame, careers.

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It’s official—the 2011 Major League Baseball season is right around the corner. Don’t believe me? Just ask the groundhog. Or maybe the fact that the next edition of Major League Baseball video games are primed for release will convince you. No?  Ok, the Super Bowl is over and so is another season of the National Football League. Pitchers and catchers have reported for Spring Training. Yes, the 2011 season is swiftly approaching.

With nearly all of 2011’s top free agents signed, it’s time to evaluate how all 30 big league teams did this offseason, and predict where they will finish in their respective divisions in this rendition of MLB 2011 Predictions. Concluding now with the American League.

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No one said it was easy to get into the Major Leagues.  No one said it was any easier to stay in the Major Leagues.

But it is possible and you are about to see some of the once highly-touted prospects who have made it to the show.  The only problem is that their careers have not exactly blossomed in the fashion that was expected of them when they were first signed.

Jose Bautista was one such player before he exploded for 54 home runs a season ago.  So with that in mind, here are some players who are in dire need of a career turnaround soon, as their value continues to drop—perhaps to the point of no return.

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Playoff and instant replay extension in Major League Baseball will have to wait at least one more season, MLB.com reports.

Commissioner Bud Selig told the website that, while talks have been “fruitful about it, they’re definitely off the table for this year.”

Mr. Selig, I have only two words for you – thank you!

When talking about expanding the playoffs in Major League Baseball, I am forced to ask “why fix something that isn’t broken?”  Sure, more games means more attendance, which means more money in the pockets of the owners.  But right now, baseball has the most exclusive playoff format of all the major sports.

Consider the NHL.  In hockey, in order to make the playoffs, you have to be better than half of the conference (league).  Half!  So where is the glory in making it into the postseason? 

In baseball, only four teams currently make the playoffs from each league.  That’s eight out of 30 teams.  That’s pretty darn special.  But Selig and MLB are proposing adding one more wild card winner to each league, meaning a total of 10 teams would be making it into October baseball (three division winners and two wild card winners from each league). 

Two wild card winners?  Why not just have the last place team make the playoffs too?  Remember a time when there was no wild card team?  Now we want two from each league?  The playoffs would become a joke. 

The two extra teams in 2010 would have been the Boston Red Sox, who finished with less than 90 wins and seven games back of the Yankees in the division (and six games back of the wild card), and the San Diego Padres who lost 10 games in a row during their playoff stretch.

Not to mention, one of the proposed changes to the playoff structure is to have the two wild card teams play in a best-of-three series to see who moves on in the postseason.  This would make a very tight playoff schedule even tighter. 

Granted, MLB has moved the start and end of the season earlier by about a week, which would alleviate teams playing past Halloween.  But still, what’s an already rigid playoff schedule could become even dicier with these proposed changes.

So, Mr. Selig, members of the union, and the rest of MLB – I urge you to reconsider this plan to ruin MLB’s playoff structure.  Worry about instant replay.  Worry about the time of the games.  But leave the postseason alone.  Thank you.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

With all of the hoopla surrounding the Boston Red Sox (Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez, Bobby Jenks), the Washington Nationals (Jayson Werth), the Philadelphia Phillies (Cliff Lee) and the Milwaukee Brewers (Zack Greinke), it seems that the Chicago White Sox have been dismissed as a contender for 2011.

But lost in the free agent frenzy this hot stove season, were the signings of Adam Dunn and Paul Konerko to multi-year contracts.  Together, this duo has hit over 700 home runs during their careers, and with both of them in the fold, the White Sox have one scary lineup. 

LF – Juan Pierre

SS – Alexi Ramirez

1B – Paul Konerko

DH – Adam Dunn

RF – Carlos Quentin

CF – Alex Rios

C – A.J. Pierzynski

2B – Gordon Beckham

3B – Mark Teahen/Brent Morel

This lineup is balanced and full of power.  It’s unlikely that the ChiSox will be in on free agent third baseman Adrian Beltre, but Pedro Feliz could be a nice fit at the hot corner.

And as scary as this lineup is, the pitching staff has to be considered one of the best in the league.

Mark Buehrle, John Danks, Gavin Floyd and Edwin Jackson comprise what is already a formidable staff.  Jake Peavy is recovering from a detached latissimus dorsi in his right shoulder, which was sustained last July.  Peavy is due back towards the end of May, at the latest and should provide this already stacked rotation with quite a boost.

While Peavy is out, rookie Chris Sale could be called upon to man the fifth spot in the rotation.  Sale was drafted by the Sox in the first round of last year’s draft.  He played 11 games in the farm system for the South Siders, and made his MLB debut on August 6.  In limited action in Chicago, Sale went 2-1 with a 1.93 ERA and a 3.20 K/BB ratio.

Once Peavy is back, Sale could very well become the team’s new closer – a position vacated when Bobby Jenks signed with the Sox of a different color.  And all that would do is fortify what is already a deep bullpen.

Despite going with a “closer-by-committee”, the White Sox have a very solid relief core.  They just inked righty Jesse Crain to a new three-year deal.  He joins lefty Matt Thornton and hard-thrower Tony Pena as part of this strong back-end.

And who knows, there are still closers available on the market.  Kevin Gregg, Octavio Dotel, Brian Fuentes, and of course Rafael Soriano all have extensive ninth inning experience under their belts.

This team is well balanced and well versed.  They are solid defensively.  They have a bunch of thump in their lineup.  And their pitching staff is among the best in the game.  And as unconventional as he is, Ozzie Guillen has proved that he knows how to manage a ball club.  I see no reason why the Chicago White Sox should not win the AL Central crown in 2011.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Washington Nationals signed Jayson Werth to a seven-year, $126 million contract. I have one question…why?

I mean, if you’re going to dish out that type of a contract to an outfielder, why not give it to a younger and more athletic Carl Crawford?

Werth will be knocking on the door of the 40-year-old club when this contract is up, and he’s had one really good season (in 2009) and two good seasons (2008 and 2010).

In fact, prior to 2008, Werth had only played in 100 games once (102 in 2005 with the Dodgers).

Sure, Werth helped the Philadelphia Phillies to a 2008 World Series championship, and yes, he did hit 36 home runs in his first All-Star season in ’09. But has he really shown that he’s worth (no pun intended) $126 million at age 31?

The Nationals are a team that is looking to finally gain some respect in the league. Since the team came to Washington from Montreal, it has finished higher than fifth in the NL East once…fourth in 2007. 

But they now have a core group of young players, highlighted of course by third baseman Ryan Zimmerman. Phenom Stephen Strasburg underwent Tommy John Surgery late last season, but his return will only make the Nats more fearsome. Bryce Harper will be in the big leagues in no time. Ian Desmond is blossoming into a star shortstop.

They are now a team to be reckoned with, and Werth will certainly add some pop to that lineup. 

But I do believe that Crawford would have been a much better fit, for probably around the same number of dollars.

It is possible that Crawford did not wish to sign with the Nationals, but I would hope the Nats at least kicked his tires before handing out such a large contract to Werth.

MLB.com reported that the Mets’ new GM Sandy Alderson is just as shocked as I am. 

“It makes some of our contracts look pretty good,” Alderson quipped. “I thought they were trying to reduce the deficit in Washington.”

Granted, the Mets dished out a large contract to Jason Bay in last year’s offseason, and he had a dismal 2010. But if anything, that only proves the point of handling free agents with caution.

Winning is the name of the game, but this is by far the largest contract, both in years and dollars, that the Nationals have ever given out, and I just hope for their sake they didn’t give it to the wrong outfielder.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

It’s not often you will read an article that’s primary focus is on utility player who has never been an All-Star, has one season of 30-plus home runs, and has seen his playing time consistently dwindle.  This, however, is one of those articles.

If Sandy Alderson and the rest of the New York Mets’ brass are reading this, I suggest they pay close attention. 

I proclaim that Bill Hall would be a perfect fit for the 2011 New York Mets.

There is no doubt in my mind that the Mets are in need of a utility player—a guy that can play virtually anywhere on the diamond.  While they have had plenty of these types of players in the past (Joe McEwing, Edgardo Alfonzo, Fernando Tatis, etc.), they lacked that versatility in 2010, and seem poised to do so again in 2011.

David Wright can only play third base.  Jose Reyes is a shortstop.  Ike Davis is stuck at first. And aside from Angel Pagan, the Mets’ outfielders are pretty much entrenched in their respective positions.  It makes it very difficult to give anyone a day off or make defensive switches when you don’t have many players that can play multiple positions.

But, adding a guy like Bill Hall could help solve all of that.  In 2010 while playing for the Red Sox, Hall played at least one inning at every position aside from first base and catcher (yes, he even pitched a scoreless inning for them). 

And, while being Mr. Utility—Hall was an offensive threat as well.  He hit 18 home runs, his highest total since his breakout season in 2006 when he smacked 35 long balls. He also showed decent speed, stealing nine bases in 10 attempts.

He’s still only 31 years old, and the veteran knows how to play the game.  He could be a great addition to a jubilant clubhouse.  And as a utility man, he could come rather cheap.  Coming off that remarkable ’06 season, the Brewers signed him to a four year, $24 million contract in 2007.  Hall, now a free agent for the first time in his career, could be worth a one or two year deal, about $4 or $5 million per.

He was a valuable asset for the Red Sox in 2010, and could prove just as, if not more, valuable to the Mets in 2011.

Other versatile players the Mets could target include: Willie Bloomquist, Jerry Hairston Jr., Julio Lugo, and Miguel Cairo.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The 2010 baseball season has come and gone.  To those who won your fantasy leagues, congratulations.  And to those who did not win, well, there’s always next year, right?

If you are part of that latter group, you may want to pay close attention here.  The following slides should give you a leg up on the rest of the competition.  

Sleeper picks are always handy to have in your back pocket because you can pull them out at just about any time in your draft, leaving the rest of the league thinking “Aw man, I forgot about him!”  Sleeper picks can be comprised of players who were injured for the majority of the previous season, or just had an off year and will likely fall down the ranks of many fantasy leagues while looking for a bounce-back season.

So here are my 2011 Fantasy Baseball sleeper picks.

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The New York Mets finally have a new general manager. Sandy Alderson was announced on Thursday as the replacement for Omar Minaya.

It appears Mets fans may be able to breath a sigh of relief and have reason to believe again in their orange and blue squad.

But in case Alderson—who has a history of building championship teams—needs a hand, I have come up with some ways to help improve the Mets, both short-term and for the long haul.

First of all, what is this I hear about how the Mets should explore trading the likes of David Wright, Jose Reyes and/or Johan Santana? There are so many things wrong with that philosophy that I don’t even know where to begin.

Wright is the Mets’ version of Derek Jeter or Tony Gwynn. He’s the face of the franchise and should be for at least the next 10 years. Trading him away would only drive fans AWAY from Citi Field, not into it.

Reyes brings so much to the Mets team that trading him would be a detriment. On the field, he’s one of the most feared leadoff hitters in today’s game. When he gets on base, the opposing pitcher and defense is automatically put into panic mode. What he can do with his bat and his legs (and his arm at shortstop) is hard to replace.

However, what may be even more difficult to replace is the spark and energy he provides the team. Even in times when he is hurt or not in the lineup, he is a real factor in that clubhouse.

Santana is a future Hall of Famer. Although his win-loss record hasn’t been pretty since joining the Queens crew, you can hardly blame it on the left-hander. Since being traded to the Mets prior to the 2008 season, Santana has a mark of 40-25, and his ERA is a crisp 2.85. But in 2010, the Mets scored two or fewer runs for him in 14 out of 29 starts. In those games, Santana went 1-7 with a 2.91 ERA.

So we have covered what Alderson should NOT do as new GM. But what moves should he make that will help this ball club get back to a level of respectability?

First, it’s time to take out the trash. Luis Castillo, Oliver Perez and John Maine should no longer be with the team come 2011. They are producing far too little for what they are getting paid. In particular, Castillo’s and Perez’s contracts should never have even been signed.

Should these contracts somehow come off the books earlier than scheduled, the Mets would need a second baseman and two pitchers replace them.

For second base, the Mets have some options. They could go the cheap route and give Ruben Tejada the everyday job at second base should they feel he is ready.

However, looking at the free agent market, one would have to expect the Mets to make yet another push for Orlando Hudson. Though Hudson is slightly older now than Castillo was when the Mets signed him, they have been after O-Dog’s services for years now, and giving him a one-year contract seems to make some sense.

The rest of the starting eight needs no altering in my opinion. Ike Davis is going to be the next Keith Hernandez. Josh Thole seems ready to take on full-time catching duties. One would have to expect Jason Bay to return to normal form. Angel Pagan is coming off a breakout season.

As far as the pitching staff, I feel the Mets should avoid going after Cliff Lee, who will for sure be the most sought-after arm on the market. He will demand far too much money, causing the Mets to do what they did last year with Bay—land one big-name free agent, sacrificing the rest of the budget in the process.

In contrast, the Mets can stick to what they have (Santana, Mike Pelfrey, Jon Niese, R.A. Dickey and perhaps Jenrry Mejia or Dillon Gee), which on paper doesn’t look all too bad. Or they could go after one or two middle-of-the-road pitchers who are dependable, consistent and more cost-efficient, someone like a Jake Westbrook or Vicente Padilla.

Then there is the bullpen. Somehow, Francisco Rodriguez remains the Mets closer for 2011, which means they won’t need to shop for a stopper in the offseason. But Pedro Feliciano is a free agent, and he’s been the Mets’ workhorse out of the ‘pen for the last three years (he led all of baseball in appearances each season since 2008). Should they be unable to re-sign him, they will be without a dominating left-handed specialist.

Aside from Feliciano, the Mets could check in on Jeremy Affeldt, J.C. Romero or Joe Beimel to fill that role. This becomes even more pressing if they aren’t able to keep Hisanori Takahashi as well.

Aside from that, the Mets’ bullpen seems to be in order. It was one aspect of the team that was actually fairly solid in 2010. Bobby Parnell and company should be strong enough to bridge the starters to K-Rod.

The last piece to address would be the bench. One flaw that I noticed last year was the Mets’ one-dimensionality. They had very few players that could play more than one position.

If they go after someone like Willie Bloomquist or Jerry Hairston Jr., their roster would be much more flexible. Guys that can play all over the diamond are vital to a team’s success, I believe, and both of those guys can play in the outfield as well as the infield.

Of course, Alderson also has the simple task of finding a manager to actually lead this ball club. Current rumored candidates include Wally Backman, Bobby Valentine, Bob Melvin, Don Wakamatsu and Chip Hale among others. Clearly, playing in New York, the Mets need someone who is able to work under a microscope and handle the Big Apple media and lifestyle.

Backman played for the Mets for nine seasons and was a winner with them. Valentine was the last man to get the Mets to the World Series and has a history of being a player-friendly manager. To me, either one would be a sufficient replacement for the dismissed Jerry Manuel.

Mr. Alderson, you have a team to save and plenty of options at your disposal. It’s up to you now to make the right decisions for this ball club and to get the Mets back to the playoffs for the first time since 2006. Good luck!

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It took a little over three years, but Trevor Hoffman reached yet another plateau in his already Hall of Fame career on Tuesday: his 600th career save.

On June 6, 2007, Hoffman recorded his 500th career save as the San Diego Padres defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers. That save put Hoffman into uncharted territory. Never before had any man recorded 500 saves.

Though many believe that Mariano Rivera is the best closer of all time, Hoffman will always be the man who got to 500 before anyone else.

Well, after Tuesday, he will also be known as the man who got to 600 saves before anyone as well. Hoffman, now closing games (albeit part-time) with the Milwaukee Brewers, recorded his 600th career save against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Arguments have been made that the save is an “overrated stat.” Granted, the save is a relatively new statistic to the game of baseball—it was introduced to the game during the late ’60s.

To put it into perspective, Lee Smith ended his career with 478 saves, good for third all-time. But in 18 seasons, which is how long Hoffman’s career has been, Smith threw roughly 200 more innings than Hoffman.

In 1991, Smith led all of baseball with 47 saves. In that season, he logged 73 innings pitched. In 1998, Hoffman led all of baseball with 53 saves, and he too pitched 73 innings.

But regardless of how “meaningless” the stat may be, Hoffman has reached a milestone; a benchmark that no one in the long and glorious history of baseball has ever reached. That feat alone should already cause Cooperstown to begin clearing room for his plaque.

Of his now 600 saves, the majority came while he was a member of the Padres. While playing in San Diego, Hoffman closed out 552 games. He began his career as a Florida Marlin and saved two games for them. Hoffman has saved 46 games since joining the Brew Crew prior to the 2009 season.

Now that he is almost 43-years old, Hoffman has seen his productivity decline and is now sharing the closing duties with the up-and-coming John Axford. 

Hoffman is the all-time leader in saves. He has cleared hurdle after hurdle and has built himself quite a career. Of course, he is still missing that mystical World Series ring.

So will this be his last season? Is recording 600 saves enough for the right-hander? Or does he have the hunger to keep going?

Either way, rest assured that Hoffman will soon be joining Rollie Fingers, Dennis Eckersley, Goose Gossage, and Bruce Sutter as closers enshrined in the Hall of Fame.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com