There is nothing more intimidating for a hitter than being stared down by a power pitcher who can blow a fastball right by them. Fans also get excited as these pitchers light up the radar gun and rack up the strikeouts.
The rankings on this list will be determined by a combination of the pitchers’ talents, stats and their ability to bring the heat.
There were a number of big-time moves made this offseason that will affect the baseball landscape going forward. The Boston Red Sox were very aggressive through free agency in their pursuit to try and get back to the playoffs to win another World Series.
While the Red Sox were aggressive, there were teams that were exactly the opposite, such as the Minnesota Twins, who pretty much stood pat with their roster besides losing a few players here and there.
There is still time for players to be signed, traded for and released before spring training gets underway. But the following five teams have pretty much finished up their offseason, so you can expect them to take the players they have to spring training without any significant moves.
MLB Free Agency has started to quiet down somewhat as most of the bigger names have moved on to greener pastures and spring training is almost a month away.
But there are still some big names and great players who can be had now for a bargain price, or at least a lower price in January.
Names like Rafael Soriano, Andy Pettitte and others are still unsigned and looking for a home for next season. Although there have been rumors involving some of these players, nothing has been made official yet.
So here’s where the top 10 free agents remaining will land.
MLB trade rumors never go away, even when things on the baseball front quiet down around the holidays, as is usually the case.
We’ve seen some pretty big free agent signings this offseason, chief among them being Carl Crawford and Cliff Lee. There have also been some big trades, such as the Adrian Gonzalez and Zack Greinke deals.
But spring training is still many moons away and there is still plenty of time for GMs around baseball to work out some last-minute deals.
With that in mind, here are 15 players who could be dealt before spring training starts.
The baseball writers made him wait far too long, but Bert Blyleven has finally gotten what he long deserved: He and Roberto Alomar became the newest members of the Baseball Hall of Fame on Wednesday.
This was Blyleven’s 14th time on the ballot, and though he came exceptionally close to being elected last season, he had surely begun to wonder if he would ever reach the promised land. Some rather cynical writers held his longevity against him; others insisted he lacked some intangible quality that a true Hall of Fame hurler ought to possess. It was all patently foolish, but it kept him out of Cooperstown for a decade and a half. No more. Read on for 10 reasons Blyleven deserves this honor.
It’s the ultimate variable in sports. It’s the frustration of every fan when one man makes a blind call. It’s simple, however: Umpires are the last true holders of sports destiny.
The NBA and NFL can pause everything and revert to replays. Baseball can do the same, but only in very specific instances. Even though home-runs can now be replayed, it’s only a recent development. Umpires can make a pitchers life hell on every single pitch. They can aggregate an entire city on what they consider to be a strike.
All in all, Umpires may have the hardest job in my humble opinion. That doesn’t mean that they don’t blow it twice as much as any other sport.
Let us take a fun look at the 5 worst calls in baseball history. For sake of this list, they have to have video proof. Little League, as you will see, is certainly not barred from the terrible umpire association.
Cliff Lee signed with the Philadelphia Phillies, Brandon Webb went to the Texas Rangers, and the Milwaukee Brewers managed to acquire Zack Greinke from the Royals in a trade.
So, with most of the big name pitchers off the market, teams are looking to fill their rotation spots with middle-of-the-road guys.
The remaining class of free agent pitchers features some older veterans like Jeff Suppan, some high-risk, high-reward guys like Ben Sheets and some solid, but not spectacular, pitchers like Carl Pavano.
Here’s a list of the 10 best free agent starting pitchers who have yet to be signed.
After the Milwaukee Brewers acquired Zack Greinke, it became much more unlikely that they will look to trade All-Star first baseman Prince Fielder. However, there is a chance he still could be had for the right price, since he is slated to become a free agent after this season.
Fielder could serve as a piece to bring in more players to build around for the future. If the Brewers are not in contention at the trade deadline, they could focus on acquiring players to help them in 2012 and beyond.
This off-season has already seen the three biggest free agents switch teams for the lure of a nine-figure contract, and two of the biggest names in the game traded to title contenders.
As more and more free agents agree to terms, we begin to see a clearer picture of what to expect next season.
Pitchers and catchers will begin reporting in less than two months and opening day is just over three months away.
With next season rapidly approaching, let’s take a moment to stare into my crystal ball and examine 50 bold predictions for the upcoming year.
The 2010 MLB postseason has hit it’s stride and players are being snatched up like sugar-free doughnuts at a weight watchers meeting.
Many teams look to be left in the dust, I’m looking at you New York teams, and have done little this post-season to improve their teams from a year ago.
They have missed the boat, as they say, and are more or less treading water at this point, signing bench guys and stretching for bullpen help, but gaining no greatly effective players in the process.
Not to worry, however, because that doesn’t mean your team can’t improve between now and 2011’s All-Star break, there is still a trade market that is likely to stay hot all season long.
So, here is a player at each position that is likely to be dealt at some point during the season, and can help a team struggling to grab a wild card spot, or possibly put a team over the top and drive them deep into the playoffs.
All of this is dependent on a team’s season projections (as I see them), so this could all be crap if a team starts hot and decides that buying is more important than selling this season.