I started watching the New York Mets in 1968. I became a Mets fan because I loved baseball, 68 was the year we got cable TV and our cable provider gave us WWOR at that time the home of the Mets. The 68 Mets weren’t that good. They would only win 73 games but they had potential. They had these three pitchers named Seaver, Koosman and Ryan. They also had a great broadcasting team of Ralph Kiner, Bob Murphy and Lindsey Nelson. They were fun to watch.
With the first exhibition game less than three weeks away, we will be interviewing bloggers for each team to get their perspective on the biggest stories surrounding their team heading into spring training and the 2012 season.
First up is Daniel Shoptaw from the St Louis Cardinals blog C70 At The Bat. My gratitude to Daniuel for taking the time to answer my questions:
Q. It has been an unusual offseason for the defending champions, with several important pieces leaving. What do you think is the team’s biggest story heading into spring training?
Opening day is only a Joe DiMaggio hitting streak away, and heading into Spring Training these are some of the question that need to be answered:
Will Albert Pujols Live Up To His New Contract?
The best player in baseball signed a massive 10-year, $240-million deal with the Angels this offseason. The big question is how long will it take Pujols to adjust to American League pitchers and ballparks? How quickly he adjusts will have a huge impact for both the 2012 AL West race and the Angels’ future.
Can Yu Darvish Live Up To The Hype?
The Texas Rangers basically decided that they were better off with Darvish than C.J. Wilson, letting Wilson go to a division rival. It’s a $100 million gamble by the Rangers. How will Darvish do facing MLB batters, in a hitters ballpark, in the heat of Texas?
While the Los Angeles Dodgers ownership issue remains a mystery as to who exactly will fill the vacancy left by the McCourts, there is nothing but the utmost certitude when it comes to Clayton Kershaw being the Dodgers’ ace of the pitching staff.
And when you are an ace in the majors, especially one that is coming off of a Cy Young award-winning campaign, you know you’re going to get paid. That’s why the Dodgers awarded the left-handed Kershaw with a two-year deal worth $19 million.
The 23-year-old Kershaw, the youngest pitcher to take the NL honor since 20-year-old Dwight Gooden of the New York Mets in 1985, was given a deal similar to that of San Francisco‘s Tim Lincecum, who in his first time eligible for arbitration two years ago agreed to a $23 million, two-year deal.
The Baltimore Orioles have had “exploratory talks” with free-agent slugger Manny Ramirez’s agent, executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette said on Monday.
Duquette confirmed the Orioles‘ long-rumored interest in Ramirez and said that the team had watched him work out.
“We are still considering the composition of this club, and some of the challenges of integrating a player like Manny into our ballclub and market,” said Duquette, who as general manager of the Red Sox signed Ramirez to an eight-year, $160 million contract in December 2000.
Ramirez will not be an immediate help for any team as he will face a 50-game ban when he signs due to his suspension for a second violation of Major League Baseball’s drug policy.
Red Sox DH David “Big Papi” Ortiz said he wants to sign a multi-year deal and avoid salary arbitration for next season.
“We are working on that right now,” Ortiz said at a banquet for the participants in Major League Baseball’s Venezuela-Dominican Showcase. “Hopefully, we will get to an agreement so we don’t have to go in front of the judge.”
The Red Sox have offered a $12.65 million salary to Ortiz, but he has asked for $16.5 million. Ortiz, who hit .309 with 29 home runs and 96 RBIs for Boston last season, wants to come to an agreement soon.
I would like to,” Ortiz said. “I asked a long time ago and they didn’t get to an agreement. My agents are working on it and hopefully, things go good.”
Matt Garza agreed to a new one-year contract with the Chicago Cubs worth about $9.5 million, avoiding arbitration and keeping him in Chicago for now.
Garza had asked for $12.5 million, and the Cubs countered with $7.95 million. Garza made $5.95 million in 2011 where he was 10-10 with a 3.32 ERA in 31 starts last season after coming to the Cubs from the Tampa Bay Rays in an eight-player trade. Garza led the Cubs in strikeouts with 197 (198 innings pitched) and allowed only 14 home runs. His ERA after the All-Star break was 2.45 in 15 starts, seventh-best in the majors for starters.
MLB.com analysts Jeff Nelson and Richard Justice discuss the deal between the Cubs and Garza and whether he will spend the 2012 season in Chicago or get traded.
We love to see our heros fall. And even as they get tripped up, we almost gloat with a sense of pride in capturing their collapse.
Sports stars are no different. Neither is Josh Hamilton.
The Texas Rangers‘ outfielder and a recovering addict was spotted drinking alcohol at a Dallas area bar Monday night, according to the Dallas Morning News. According to individuals who saw Hamilton, teammate Ian Kinsler also showed up at the bar for what appeared to be an attempt to convince Hamilton to return to his home in Westlake.
And so the feeding frenzy begins.
Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports is just one of many writers who unloaded on Hamilton as soon as the story broke.
Boston Red Sox right-hander Josh Beckett appeared on MLB Network’s Intentional Talk on Thursday and spoke about Bobby Valentine and what went on in the Red Sox clubhouse last season.
Beckett mentioned that he met with Bobby Valentine, on New Year’s Day and Beckett said the meeting went well.
“I don’t think we really got specific with anything. Bobby came to my house and we had a great talk,” Beckett said. “He seems like he’s really excited about this. I think the first thing I said to him was, ‘Hey, congratulations,’ because I don’t think anybody’s ever been handed something like the Boston Red Sox. The Boston Red Sox, not only the organization, but the team that we have right now is so talented and he even said, ‘Yeah, I know exactly what you’re talking about. We had a little talk about [the ESPN commentary] and I think it was initiated just as a kind of conversation starter. It wasn’t really anything too detailed. I think it was one of those deals where he felt bad because somebody else told him he should feel bad about it, but it wasn’t anything for me.”
The San Diego Padres have added some pitching depth by signing former Arizona Diamondbacks starter Micah Owings to a one-year deal worth $1 million.
“Micah will compete for a spot on our staff,” said executive vice president/general manager Josh Byrnes. “He is a proven contributor as a starter and as a reliever. Micah’s character and versatility made him a priority for us as we looked to add depth to our pitching staff.”
Owings finished the 2011 campaign perfect, going 8-0 and compiling a career- best 3.57 earned run average in 33 games (four starts) for Arizona. A third-round draft pick in 2005, Owings has played five seasons with the Diamondbacks (2007-08, 2011) and Reds (2009-10), appearing in 132 games (68 starts) with a 32-31 record and a 4.91 ERA.
