Kuzul

The MLB off-season can set up a player for success or disaster. Some teams made a big splash, while others are still looking for a solution. Each team has the potential of making 2011 a season to remember, but which players are looking to take the fantasy scene by storm?

Postion changes or calling a new town home can be just the spark a player needed to become an elite fantasy option. Understanding exactly which off-season moves impacted which players is the key to a successful 2011 fantasy baseball campaign.

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You read who I thought were the 10 best hitters in baseball entering the 2011 season, and now here’s a list of the 10 best pitchers in baseball.

This is a very tough list to make because there is so much good pitching these days, but these 10 stand out above all. You could have made a ranking of the top four pitchers in the game and listed every Phillies starter but that would’ve been too easy.

Which pitchers are the most dominant, who you always expect to carry their team to a win when they take the mound? Here’s a list of the 10 best pitchers in baseball, with nine of them being starters.

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As the title says, this is my second annual bucket list—Phillies style. I hate the redundancy of writing a totally self-explanatory title and then reaffirming the topic in my first sentence but with those darn search engines constantly looking for articles with relevance, I’m already at a disadvantage.

When it comes to blogging about baseball, I’m the master at having nothing relevant to say.

And I’ve proved that for two whole paragraphs.

First, I should let you know that unlike most bucket lists, mine isn’t composed of death-defying acts of irrationality like white water rafting. Hell, if I wanted to be tossed about by a current I’d call my husband in on the waterbed. Besides, I don’t need to do something daring—I got married. I don’t need another adventure to end with, “What the hell was I thinking?”

Now, on my first bucket list, I gave considerable thought to the organization—I thought about bullets or numbers or an alphabetical arrangement. I even tried little Shane Victorino silhouettes but I couldn’t get them to stand still. So eventually I settled for the rant. Not only is it my favorite form of communication, it’s the least effective one.

Anyway, I’m hoping you enjoy this more than your annual pap smear or your prostate check (although I might be discriminating against single people when I say that).

Here goes:

Until the day I die, I pledge to boldly go where middle-aged women have all gone before—into the pants of major league players. And to the dismay of many, the thoughts in my mind will flow senselessly through my computer keypad.

Yes, I still use a pc. No, I don’t have an iPad. That’s what I do to my bra.

I give a whole new meaning to the question, “Are those really yours?”

Sorry, I got off track.

Let’s try again:

I want a bladder that doesn’t leak when I sneeze.

I want a wrinkle cream that makes me look like a Hollywood hottie but not someone Hugh Hefner would boink.

I want Philly weather to go straight from fall to spring.

I want my cat to puke in a designated area.

I want my dog to find a way to tend to his genitalia before he comes to bed.

I want my husband to find a way to do that too.

I want to prove that Shane Victorino is a descendant of the Mexican jumping bean.

I want someone to find a way to keep Justin Bieber cute and little, just like a kitten.

I want the next Phillies charity event to have a Raul Ibanez kissing booth.

I want a Cliff Lee blowup doll giveaway at Citizens Bank Park (anatomically correct, of course).

I want spell check to be nominated for sainthood.

I want Carlos Ruiz to catch the next perfect game.

I want my husband to stop telling people that my remorse over Jayson Werth leaving is a passing phase.

I want to outlaw pimples, menstrual cramps, puking on people at games, throwing stuff at each other and mean people.

I want a Phillies t-shirt with built in boobs. They could come in three sizes: small ball, pitcher’s mound and grand slam.

I want sex to come in different sizes too.

Wait, it already does.

I want hair styles to come in a spray can.

I want Brad Lidge to pitch a slider so nasty they call it “The Bitch.”

I want to be carded again.

I want chocolate to be declared a food group. I also want someone to make it the official food group of the Phillies. Then I want it nominated for sainthood.

I want Charlie Manuel to live forever.

I want it to snow only when it’s convenient for me—like in a snow globe.

I want people to quit wondering who the fifth man in the rotation will be. Like at my house, we’ll just call him, “Pizza Night.”

I want people to stop thinking I’m making a funny face when I’m not.

I want forms to stop asking me if I’m male or female and I want traffic cops to stop that too.

And now that Cliff Lee is back I want to act like a typical woman and find something else to whine about.

That might take some time. Then again, maybe not. Like I often say to my husband, “I thought that would take longer.”

Most of all I want a guaranteed World Series win. I want to parade down Broad Street, I want Chase Utley to throw the f-bomb to fire up all those hypocrites who use it but don’t want their kids to hear it from someone else, and I still want Kevin Costner to give me a long, slow, deep, soft, wet kiss that lasts three days.

With those new stalker laws that last one might be tough. I sure hope they’re lenient on stalkers in heaven because when I die, I’m hunting down Harry Kalas and Robin Roberts. That might entail a small chase and some jail time but sooner or later they’ll have to talk to me. It’s not like we won’t have eternity.

Hey, is it a copyright infringement to have Chase Utley’s butt engraved on your tombstone? And is it a violation to spy on the Phillies locker room when you’re a ghost? It won’t be near as haunting as seeing me in person.

Well, that’s my bucket list. You might be thinking it more closely resembles the one they give you when you’re about to puke; you also might say exactly what my husband says—she might look funny but she’s not. But you can’t argue that the 2011 Phillies’ rotation will be an amazing fan experience. It might not be the best rotation ever but it’s here and it’s now.

And to the dismay of many, so am I.

See you at the ballpark.

Copyright 2011 Flattish Poe all rights reserved

Stalk me on Twitter.

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The only big difference between these two starting pitchers is their throwing arm.

They each throw four plus pitches, all for strikes and on both sides of the plate; two-seam fastball, cutter, curveball, sinker and changeup.

Philosophically, they both approach pitching the same way. 

They don’t get flustered, and they want the ball.

So, I had to pick someone, and I’d rather take Halladay.

Here’s ten reasons why…..

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The Philadelphia Phillies have re-raised the bar for their own expectations in the coming 2011 season.  As if expectations hadn’t already been sky high over the past few years, 2011 may be the most hyped season in team history.  

With the signing of yet another ace in Cliff Lee, it’s safe to say that the Phillies are the “paper champs.”   But where does this get them ultimately you ask?  Nowhere.  There’s still 162 games to play and a lot is able to happen during that six-month window.  Then of course, you can include the playoffs, which the Phillies are a shoo in for at this point. 

Roy Halladay was OUTSIDE! running on Monday in shorts and a tee-shirt in NINE degree weather at Citizens Bank Park.  Does that make you believe in how much this team wants this?  

They have a plethora of talent on offense too which people tend to forget.  It’s rather been their “Fab Four” pitching rotation that’s gotten a bulk of the credit and deservedly so.  But don’t discount this offense.  When they turn it on, they can hit with anyone in the league.  Consider 2010 a collective slump and floundering for the offense.  Now a bounce-back 2011, as a whole offensively, could be instrumental to the team’s success.  

Ladies and gentlemen, the 2011 Philadelphia Phillies.  

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The topic of trades has been a hot debate in Philadelphia Phillies fan circles, ever since the Phillies traded Cliff Lee away to the Seattle Mariners for Philippe Aumont, Tyson Gillies and J.C. Ramirez. 

But, the Cliff Lee trade a year later may turn out to be one of the more underrated deals in Philadelphia Phillies history.  The challenges of a general manager are many, and may not be the very obvious things that a fan wants to see or hear. 

But in the end, the success of the general manager depends on how the trade has worked out long term. 

Here is a list of the 10 most underrated Phillies trades in the recent era.

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Pitching is a vital part of the game, and with the Phillies rotation we are expecting a few World Series championships.

With Cliff Lee going along with Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels, we are all expecting the greatest starting rotation of the decade, or even of our lives!

This has sparked a lot of historical comparisons, to the Braves of old and to others.  This got me thinking, “Who are the best pitchers in Phillies’ history?”  This slideshow is devoted to just that.  Covering 3 centuries (19th, 20th and 21st) of Phillies’ history, here are the top 25 pitchers of the franchise.

3 Things To Remember:

1. All stats are with team unless specified otherwise.

2. Some of these players are very old and there are not many if any pictures of them.

3. Some rankings had to be adjusted according to era..

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Offseason transactions through the history of baseball has often caused a hype for a team’s favor before the season even starts.

Sometimes this hype over a team is created by these transactions, and sometimes this hype can come just from the team’s performance the year before. Sometime it is the combination of both these factors that lead to a mania in favor of one team winning the World Series. We have seen that beginning this year with the 2011 Philadelphia Phillies who acquired Cliff Lee this offseason.

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The Phillies free-agent signing of starting pitcher Cliff Lee sent shockwaves throughout the country.  Lee was supposed to bolt to the Yankees or stay with the Rangers.  In the biggest swerve of the offseason, Lee decided to return to the City of Brotherly Love.

Philadelphia already had the Big Three of Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt.  Now it’s the Big Four, or whatever moniker you desire, with the addition of Lee. 

So now, the expectations are through the roof.  Many questions have been proposed.  Can each individual pitcher win 20-plus games?  Who’s better, Lee or Halladay?   

Only three pitchers in baseball had over 20 wins last year: Roy Halladay (21-10), CC Sabathia (21-7) and Adam Wainright (20-11).  In 1969, the “Year of the Pitcher,” 15 pitchers had 20-plus wins. 

It’s a different era now.  Roy Halladay led baseball with 250.2 innings pitched in the regular season.  In 1969, Gaylord Perry led baseball with 325.1 innings pitched.

Can they be one the greatest staffs of all time? Up there with the Braves trio of Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz of the 90s.  The Jim Palmer lead Orioles of the late 60’s and into the 70s. Sandy Koufax and
Don Drysdale on the Dodger staffs of the 1960s. The Mets duo of Dwight Gooden and Ron Darling led the way for the Mets in the 1980s.

Another tidbit to put out there.  The top three WHIP leaders from last season are in the “Big Four”: Cliff Lee (1.00), Roy Oswalt (1.03) and Roy Halladay (1.04).  Cole Hamels, the other entity of the “Big Four,” had a 1.18 WHIP. 

It’ll be interesting to see how this staff gets recognized from a statistical standpoint in the all-time ranks as the season progresses.

Now it’s time to see what this potentially, all-time, dominant staff can do out on the field.  That’s the biggest question of them all.  Can they bring home another World Series crown?

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It’s hard to believe, with all the snow we’ve gotten here in the Northeast, that spring training is just a few weeks away. As a fan of the New York Yankees, this hasn’t been the best of offseasons, so I would like nothing more than to fast forward to mid-February to see how the team is going to answer all of the questions that haunt them right now.

Before we get to February though, here is the first segment of posts regarding the direction of the Yankees, both on and off the field. I will pose questions that need to be answered before the season begins, starting with what I believe to be the most important question that still needs to be addressed.

1. What is going on with the rotation?

Almost all offseason, many have wondered what the Yankees are planning on doing with the No. 4 and No. 5 spots in the starting rotation, in the wake of Cliff Lee signing with Philadelphia, and Andy Pettitte acting like he’s not playing in 2011. What people really ought to be wondering about is the status of the Yankees rotation as a whole, because it’s not pretty.

To me, the Yankees starting rotation is an obvious weakness. CC Sabathia is the only pitcher in the rotation who can be counted on for 200 injury free innings. He is the clear ace of the staff, and should contend for the AL Cy Young award, yet again.

2010 AL All-Star Phil Hughes provided the Yankees with hope. He won 18 games last season and he threw a career-high 176.1 innings last year. However, he threw just 86 innings in 2009 and before last year he hadn’t topped 120 innings since throwing 146 way back in 2006, when he split time between Single A and Double A. A big jump in innings pitched from one year to the next can sometimes lead to injuries, or ineffectiveness, and Hughes has a bit of an injury history already.

Speaking of injuries, one of the knocks on A.J. Burnett when he signed with the Yankees prior to the 2009 season was that he was injury-prone. He’s now had three straight seasons with at least 33 starts.

So, a glass-half-full kind of person would believe that Burnett has turned a corner and is a healthy, durable pitcher as he enters his mid-30s. A glass-half-empty person would believe that Burnett, following a career-worst 2010 season (10-15, 5.26 ERA), will be on the disabled list a few times in 2011. I fall in the durable veteran pitcher camp when it comes to Burnett, but his lack of consistency is a huge problem for the Yankees.

Healthy or not, they don’t know what to expect from Burnett.

So, the Yankees rotation, as of right now, consists of one pitcher they can truly count on (Sabathia), two spots that are completely up for grabs (No. 4 and No. 5 spots), and two pitchers with question marks (Hughes and Burnett).

This is not a World Series caliber starting rotation, to say the least.

Coming soon: Question two in the series.

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