Hot Stove Day 1: Lowe, Sabathia, Santos

• Derek Lowe was traded to the Indians and he might have a few good starts but he will be a 4.70 ERa guy who fills the Indians five slot okay and it wasn’t a bad deal on their part but don’t expect a lot from him, he may improve slightly on last season based on his track record but other than that he’s slowly going to get worse.  The Braves need this, now they have a rotation of Hudson, Hanson, Jurrjens, Minor and Beachy full time with Teheran and Delgado to follow soon and they might be able to sign one more piece to help them make the playoffs.  The Braves also got lefty reliever Chris Jones, who could be a nice piece to their bullpen in a  few seasons.  EDGE: Braves
• CC Sabathia agreed to stay with the Yankees which is a win-win.  Sabathia will do good in New York and the Yankees would be in huge trouble without him.
• The Tigers have outrighted Brad Thomas and Omir Santos, though neither will be missed much the Tigers need a new back-up/emergency catcher, I suggest bringing back Matt Treanor and starting him in AAA.  Thomas may do so-so in a new home but will never be a real good reliever and Santos could be a good backup catcher somewhere.

Tigers Over/Under 2012

I know it’s a bit early but many of these won’t change and with a busy offseason ahead I thought I’d give it to you now

JACKSON: .290 AVG- Over
CABRERA: 35 HR: Over
PERALTA: .300 AVG: Under
MARTINEZ: 20 HR: Under (AVG will stay way up though and probably more than 12 HR)
AVILA: 20 HR: Over
YOUNG: .760 OPS: Over
BOESCH: .275 AVG: Over
VERLANDER: 20 W’s: At but chance over
VERLANDER: 250 K: Over
VERLANDER 2.50 ERA: Under (He won’t stop, he’ just entering his prime)
SCHERZER: 3.75 ERA: Under
FISTER: 3.30 ERA: OVER (Around 3.40)
PORCELLO: 4.00 ERA: Under
VALVERDE: 49 SV: Under
BENOIT: 4.00 ERA IN APRIL: Under

CHANCE CABRERA HITS 40 HR OR MORE: 50%
CABRERA 125 RBI: 85%
CABRERA .350 AVG: 30%
MARTINEZ 110 RBI: 55%
VERLANDER 23 WINS: 40%
VALVERDE 43 SV: 75%

Little Talked About Tigers FA Options: Ted Lilly

WHY?: He’s decent, he’s a left and he’s better than Brad Penny and can still be pretty good especially at Comerica Park and is the perfect five starter and good insurance for Turner, especially if Turner isn’t ready.  Signing a decent five guy is a must at this point for the Tigers and Lilly could improve on last year and pitch more like he did in 2006 and at that point I’d go after him.  I’d say he’d be good for 15-14 wins which is plenty out of the five slot.  Lilly would produce and might give you something extra.  I like him and think he fits in Detroit and would do great in Detroit
WHY NOT?: The Tigers have Turner who looks ready is the main reason I and guess you could ay Lilly isn’t going to do well in 2012, which is unlikely, even if he struggles he should still do well.  Turner may need some seasoning though and with Lilly he could go to the bullpen in that situation nd he’d do fine as a long reliever.
QUESTION: How much better than Penny? A lot
FINAL LINE: Go for him for a year as a five starter or long reliever

Ranking This Years Catchers

A comonation of fanatsy baseballa nd regular eason, these aren’t pre rankings just how each guy did in my opinon.  My pre ranks will come a little later

1. Alex Avila
2. Mike Napoli
3. Brian McCann
4. Carlos Santana
5. Yadier Molina
6. Miguel Montero
7. Matt Wieters
8. JP Arenciba
9. Carlos Ruiz
10. Johnathon Lucroy
11. Joe Mauer (He had a decent presnece when healthy and talent puts him here)
12. Russell Martin
13. Wilson Ramos
14. Geovany Soto
15. Chris Ianetta
16. Miguel Olivo
17. Kurt Suzuki
18. AJ Pierzynski
19. Jarrod Saltalmachhia
20. Ramon Hernandez
21. John Buck
22. John Jaso
23. Nick Hundley
24. Rod Barajas
25. Yorvit Torrelba

My 2011 Season Awards

ALL MLB TEAM
C: Alex Avila
1B: Miguel Cabrera
2B: Robinson Cano
3B: Adrain Beltre
SS: Troy Tulowitzki
LF: Ryan Braun
CF: Matt Kemp
RF: Jacoby Ellsbury
DH: Curti Granderson
SP: Justin Verlander
SP: Clayton Kerhaw
SP: Roy Halladay
SP: James Shields
SP: Cliff Lee
RP: Craig Kimbrel
RP: John Axford
CL: Jose Valverde

SECOND TEAM
C: Mike Napoli
1B: Prince Fielder
2B: Dustin Pedroia
3B: Aramis Ramirez
SS: Jose Reyes
LF: Jose Bautista
CF: Hunter Pence
RF: Justin Upton
DH: Adrian Gonzalez
SP: Jered Weaver
SP: Ian Kennedy
SP: Cole Hamels
SP: CC Sabathia
SP: Matt Cain
RP: Joel Hanrahan
RP: Drew Storen
CL: Mariano Rivera

MLB PLAYER OF THE YEAR: SP Justin Verlander
MLB HITTER OF THE YEAR: OF Matt Kemp
MLB PITCHER OF THE YEAR: SP Justin Verlander
MLB ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: SP Jeremy Hellickson
MLB MANAGER OF THE YEAR: MGR Kirk Gibson
POSTSEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR: OF Nelson Cruz
MLB CLUTCH PLAYER OF THE YEAR: DH Victor Martinez

MiLB PLAYER OF THE YEAR: SP Matt Moore

Do The Rangers Have The Edge?

I would say yes, their offense and ability to win trumps the fact that they’re on the road, but the Cardinals still have a decent shot, fi I were to put a percentage on it, I would say 33%.  If the Rangers win i think Adrian Beltre, Mike Napoli and Josh Hamilton will be the big offensive leaders but Albert Pujols should really help his team out here, along with Freese, Holliday and Berkman.  Right now I would say that this is the Rangers series to lose.  They can hit Garcia, though it won’t be real easy, they can get a couple runs off of him.  The Rangers have Colby Lewis going and he;’s clutch and if the Cards beat him, they will have an easier time beating Harrison, but beating Harrison won’t be easy.  Lohse or Jackson would get the nod for the Cards and the Rangers can score more off of either of them, Lohse especially and could help Harrison out a lot.  It will be hard for the Cards to pull off two wins, but they are the right team to do this.  The Rangers are a really good team and will be tough to beat, especially on the road.  The Rangers have an equal chance to win wither game, and their chance is, of course, a bit better than the Cardinals chance.

RANKING THE REMAINING STARTERS IN THIS SERIES

1. Colby Lewis
2. Jamie Garcia
3. Edwin Jackson
4. Matt Harrison
5. Kyle Lohse

Giving The Tigers Pitchers A Grade

Justin Verlander: A+
Doug Fister: A
Max Shcerzer: C-
Rick Porcello: D+
Brad Penny: C
Jose Valverde: A+
Joaquin Benoit: A-
Al Alberquerque: A-
David Pauley: C-
David Purcey: D-
Ryan Perry: C
Daniel Schlereth: B-
Phil Coke: C+
Duane Below: B
Charlie Furbush: B
Brayan Villarreal: D+
Adam Wilk: C

Giving All The Tigers Hitters Grades for 2011

Miguel Cabrera: A
Victor Martinez: A-
Alex Avila: A-
Jhonny Peralta: A-
Ryan Raburn; C-
Austin Jackson: D
Brandon Inge: D-
Wilson Betemit: B-
Delmon Young: B+
Brennan Boesch: B+
Ramon Santiago: B
Andy Dirks: C+
Don Kelly: B-
Danny Worth: C
Omir Snatos: INC
Casper Wells: C-
Carlos Guillen: D+
Will Rhymes: D-
Scott Sizmore: F

A Look Ahead: World Series

CAN THE RANGERS COMEBACK: Tomorrow is a must win and if they get that game I believe Texas will wint his series, they need their pitching to come alive as it did against the Tigers and their hitting to step up just a little more.  Nelson Cruz hit a homer today and they need that but more from Beltre, Young, and Hamilton.
PUJOLS: Pujols will keep this kind of work up and he might even surprise you on defense, there is no walking him and he’s the best hitter in the MLB so Wash should use his walk Cabrera strategy on him or else we will see a few more bombs and some good play, he won;t repeat this again though.
PITCHING: The Rangers have Derek Holland up against Edwin Jackson tomorrow, Holland I’ll give a slight edge too though Jackson could be lights out, I see another high scoring affair but with the Rangers winning and taking advantage of their ballpark.  Game 5 is Wilson against Carpenter which is a toss-up, but if Wilson isn’t touched within three innings the Rangers will get just enough offense to beat Carpenter
STEP UP; that’s what the Cards bullpen has done and should continue too but Ogando needs to do better along with the other relievers like Feldman but the Rangers pitchers that start need to go at least six so then it goes Ogando-Adams-Feliz.  Dotel is an amazing reliever and will keep it up
I WILL STICK WITH RANGERS IN 6

Whos Has The Edge In The World Series?

I say the Rangers have a huge edge.  They stole one in St. Louis so if they win two of three at home, just like i think they will, they will defiantly win this series because they are better than the Cards and can win on the road.  Look for the Texas offense to breakout soon too and they can really start to make the Cardinals bullpen not be as good.  Nelson Cruz could breakout back at home too and with a DH it will help this Ranger line-up, but it will also help the Cardinal line-up too with Craig in right a better bat than any pitcher and a better fielder than Berkman who will make an okay DH.  The Cardinals can be tough but they can win on the road and can still win this series, the key for them is to have their starters match-up with the Rangers.  If Pujols becomes big with the bat the Cards are in shape.  If the Cards lose Game 3, they’re in serous trouble and will probably lose the series.  Watch out for Wilson to be rocky and these Cardinals can come up big agin, easy so it’s far from over but the Rangers should still win.