Kuzul

Throughout the entire hot stove season, all that people heard about Cliff Lee was the Yankees and Rangers.

Lee will go to New York because of the money; Lee will stay in Texas because of the familiarity with the organization and how close the state is to Little Rock, AR.

But what about returning to the Phillies?

It was in Philly where the whole Cliff Craze first occurred. When the Phillies acquired Cliff Lee in a trade with the Cleveland Indians for players nobody has ever heard of, no one could talk about him without including World Series and/or free agency.

When you’re a top free agent, you always have the New York Yankees as your de facto top choice. But what happens when you join a team with an already terrifying pitching rotation?

Now with the return of Cliff Lee, the pitching rotation of the Philadelphia Phillies goes from scary to just plain traumatizing.

Opposing teams best bet to beat Philly is to hope for the fifth starter, though even he would essentially be the third starter in 65 percent of the league or to just hope to face the bullpen before the ninth inning.

When faced with an elite closer, like the Phillies have, it becomes an eight-inning game for the other team. With a rotation like the Phillies, the only hope for opponents to score is by luck or shaky bullpen relief.

Just look at the top of the rotation: Roy Halladay pitched the most complete games in the majors last season and Cliff Lee has pitched the second most. Opposing teams are playing zero inning games with Lee and Halladay for sixteen games.

Unlike the Miami Heat of the NBA, Philly’s super-star starting pitchers do not need to learn how to play with each other; they just need to learn how to play with catcher Carlos Ruiz, something that isn’t really a problem.

The New York Mets look like a joke compared to Philly and the major moves of Dan Uggla to the Atlanta Braves, Jayson Werth to the Washington Nationals and Javier Vazquez to the Florida Marlins mean nothing now.

The Philadelphia Phillies will dominate the NL East.

But like the Miami Heat, the Phillies still have to beat the champs. Playing the role of the Boston Celtics of the National League, the San Francisco Giants still have their Fantastic Four of Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez and Madison Bumgarner along with an improved lineup.

This will be great for baseball, as new powerhouse rivals are formed, diverting the attention of the media and fans away from the never-ending rivalry between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees.

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Many names are orbiting the world of baseball. The bigger the names, the faster they go, leaving the smaller names into the dark. But like a used car with enough mileage left in it, those names can make a difference for the teams who choose to take a chance.

Here are 10 free agents that are worth taking a chance on:

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The Florida Marlins still need to fill the void at third base before Matt Dominguez is truly ready. A good, cheap option would be former longtime Baltimore Oriole Melvin Mora. 

Mora started his career with the New York Mets back in 1999. He was then traded to the Orioles one year later. Since then, he has played every position except catcher and pitcher.

His versatility will be a huge help for manager Edwin Rodriguez, who would have other versatile players like Omar Infante and Wes Helms to mix around and tinker with.

His power days are behind him, but the 38-year-old can still hit for contact. Last year, for the Colorado Rockies, he hit .285.

He’ll likely command a one-year deal around the Marlins‘ budget. If they’re smart, they would go get this guy.

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The Washington Nationals made a torpedo like splash when they signed outfielder Jayson Werth to a 7 year $126M deal. 

This shows two things:

1) They got money

2) They are committed to building a winning team ASAP.

That being said there are other fish in the pond worth netting. Werth was the most expensive catch but the others should come with a modest price tag. 

Here are the free agents that the Nationals should sign to fill their holes.

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The Boston Red Sox acquired power-hitting Adrian Gonzalez in a trade with the San Diego Padres for three top prospects. As a result of this trade, Kevin Youkilis will move from first base to third base.

This also means that Adrian Beltre will not play for the Red Sox in 2011.

After a major down year in 2009, Beltre had a bounce-back year in Boston hitting .321, 28 HR and 102 RBI. It was only the second time in his career that he has hit 100 RBI or more.

He has always been a solid to great fielder and is only a shade past 30.

There are many playoff contenders that could use Adrian Beltre and here are some of them.

Chicago White Sox

The Chicago White Sox have already made a splash by signing Adam Dunn and are still looking to sign first baseman Paul Konerko. They should also sign Beltre and solidify the hot corner.

St. Louis Cardinals

Last Year the St. Louis Cardinals were beat out by the Cincinnati Reds for the NL Central crown. I don’t know how committed they are on young David Freese but Adrian Beltre might be the difference between playoffs and couch potato time come October.

LA Angles

The Angles are known to make similar signings in the past and Beltre would be a great complement to Morales. Alberto Callaspo was a good patchwork job for the Angles at the hot corner but he is not at the same level as Beltre.

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I like Derek Jeter, I respect Derek Jeter, but the man is on crack if he doesn’t take the Yankees‘ three-year, $45M offer.

His skills are diminishing, he lacks the range of an elite shortstop, and he is no longer getting it done with the bat. However, he is still a leader and has great charisma.

What I’m saying is Jeter would make one hell of a manager.

A lot of people have been saying that for all Derek Jeter has done for the Yankees during his 15-year career with the Yankees that he deserves to be resigned by the Yankees for whatever amount he wants.

But the fact of the matter is that the Major Leagues is in the realm of “in the now”  and Jeter was paid for his work in the form of roughly $200M.

So they give him a three-year, $45M contract, what’s wrong with that? For some reason, Jeter and his agents act like it was an insult and demand a contract reportedly worth six years for $150 million, but have adjusted it to around $23 million-$24 million annually for four or five years.

Maybe for Tulo, but sure as hell not for Derek Jeter in his late 30’s.

If you look at the stats, Jeter right now is an older, more famous version of Stephen Drew, and Drew would be lucky to make $45M within a decade.

The Yankees should re-sign Jeter because there are no better free agent options at shortstop. The next best option is Orlando Cabrera.

Don’t forget who needs who.

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This year’s Cy Young award winner is a pitcher with a:

2.27 ERA (best in baseball) 

249.2 innings (best in the American league)

6 complete games (second in the American League)

232 strikeouts (second in the American League by 1)

1.06 WHIP (second in the American League)

34 games started (best in the American League)

This pitcher’s name is Felix Hernandez of the last place Seattle Mariners and is the 2010 Cy Young award winner with 13-12 record, lowest among Cy Young winners.

Is this a trend?

A lot of people in the media will tell you that.

“Starting in 2011, people will be able to cite historical evidence as to why wins should not be considered in the Cy Young discussion. ‘Hernandez won it in 2010,’ they will say. ‘And he didn’t even win 14 games.’ They will be right, and the Cy Young award will begin to have meaning.” (Jess K. Coleman, featured columnist)

I don’t agree with Jess. I’m still a believer in wins being important for pitchers because it’s important in games, it’s important for quarterbacks and it’s important for goalies—both soccer and hockey.

“Ultimately, you look at how guys are able to win games,” says National League Cy Young award winner, Roy Halladay.

Now what does that mean for King Felix? Is he the start of a now wins needed trend? No, he’s the exception.

He has dominated David Price from Tampa and C.C. Sabathia from New York in every stat but wins.

Congrats for Felix Hernandez but don’t expect the same to happen in the future.

However, I will say this, wins are significant but wins alone will no longer grant Cy Young victory. High wins total will now need to be backed up with an ERA in the two’s and a high strikeout total.

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The Florida Marlins have just traded power hitting second baseman Dan Uggla to the rival Atlanta Braves for versatile infielder Omar Infante and reliever Micheal Dunn.

The Marlins have been making strides in their transition to the pitching & defense formula that got them a World Series trophy in 2003. They have made three trades in less than a week and has gotten at least one reliever in return. With four relievers coming from some of the top bullpens in baseball, it looks like the Marlins’ bullpen is repaired.

Former ROY winner Chris Coghlan will move back to second base, giving the Marlins an improved glove. Omar Infante has hit .321 in 2010 and the addition will solidify the hot corner. Originally Coghlan was going to move to third base but with Infante’s ability to play utility, that option is still possible if needed.

Veteran Catcher John Buck should be an asset for the Fish with his power bat and his command of the pitching staff. His presence was a benefit to the Toronto pitching staff during his lone year north of the border.

Right now the Marlins have a balanced lineup, but they are now done yet.

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According to reports and sources, the Florida Marlins are close to finalizing a three-year deal with free-agent catcher John Buck that can be worth up to $18M.

Buck is a veteran catcher who had a career year in Toronto hitting .281 with 20HR and 66RBI. He will help out the Marlins pitching staff and provide some pop in the lineup.

Most importantly, it fills the need for a catcher. Now if the Marlins want to trade Dan Uggla, they focus on trying to get a top arm or top third baseman rather than a package with a catcher. If the Marlins get a third baseman, Chris Coghlan could go back to his natural position at second.

It will be interesting to see where the Marlins go from here.

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With teams like the Yankees, Cubs, and Red Sox, we fans simply assume that their means to improving the ball club is to sign pricey veteran players. However, the Red Sox are looking to trade for younger right fielder Justin Upton of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Red Sox have had to deal with many injuries during the 2010 season and it cost them the playoffs. They have been looking at free agents Carl Crawford and Jason Werth. Crawford makes sense if they’re going to keep Jacoby Ellsbury and have a speedy outfield. Werth, .296BA 27HR 85RBI, you have to sign him to make your team better by default. But it also makes sense to sign Justin Upton as well.

Last year, Justin Upton hits .273 with 17HR and 69RBI. Their current right fielder, JD Drew hits .255 with 22HR and 69RBI. Here’s the difference. Justin Upton has stolen 18 bases and is 23 years old with a lot of upside. JD Drew has stolen 3 bases and is 34 years old, slowly passing his prime. Upton was paid $.7M, Drew was paid $14M.

It makes perfect sense to trade for Upton. It makes even makes more sense to sign Crawford and cut ties with Mike Cameron and JD Drew.

But the Red Sox are going to have to give up a package for Upton. My guess is it’s going to cost Boston two good, young, major league ready arms and a bat.

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