Big arms in new places- Santana to the Mets, Bedard to the Mariners, and Haren to the Diamondbacks are just a few high caliber pitchers to change uniforms in the offseason. It will be interesting to see what type of impact these players will have for their new teams. How big of an impact can one player have on a team? Well, if that player happens to be a great pitcher, he can make a difference of about 20 wins. You can never have enough pitching, especially come playoff time.
How good will the Tigers be?- The Tigers surprised everyone this winter by trading a boat load of prospects to Florida for Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis. Cabrera brings a lifetime .313 batting average and four straight 100+ RBI seasons to an already potent offense. Wills had an off year last season but is still capable of winning 20 games. His addition gives the Tigers a great pitching staff. On paper, it looks like the Tigers have the best team in baseball. Only time will tell if they'll live up to the hype.
Who will be this years Cinderella?- No one in their right mind would have predicted the Colorado Rockies to go on that improbable run last season. Let's face it, there's always one or two teams a season that shocks us by achieving beyond anyone's expectations. Just look at what the Oakland A's have done the past ten years. It's pretty much guaranteed that some small market team, with players that no one knows will turn some heads. It's pretty tough to guarantee who that team will be though.
New Brass in the Bronx- Joe Torre is out, Joe Girardi is in. George Steinbrenner is out, Hank Steinbrenner is in. Girardi has already proven he has what it takes to manage in the big leagues when he won the National League Manager of the year in 2006. It will be interesting to see how he handles the ego's in the locker room, and how the players respond to a guy that some of them actually played with and against. As for Hank, he's already done a great job of making his presence felt by running his mouth for the entire winter. It should be fun hearing him blast off like a crazy jackass all season long.
Is Barry Bonds done?- The guy still wants to play, and he still can play. The past two seasons he's hit over .270 with 23 and 28 home runs respectively. Plus he can get on base as he's averaged a .434 on base percentage over the last three seasons. Don't be surprised to see Bonds pull a Roger Clemens and end up debuting somewhere in July. Bonds would make a great DH, it's just a matter if anyone wants to take the enormous baggage that comes with his services.
-Joe Osborne
