Back Again, Differently the Same

Spring training is officially in full swing, and there are a lot of new faces in a lot of new places. Such is the climate every spring, but this particular “hot-stove” league saw a lot of free agent signings and trades of multiple big names that will now be housed in new ballparks.

The following is a veritable who’s who of who’s now where:

The biggest boiling “hot-stove” splash had to be Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford signing multi-year free agent deals with the Boston Red Sox.

The talent that is Gonzalez will instantly remind bean-towners of David Ortiz in his prime, plus gold glove defense at first base. Both the Pesky Pole and the Green Monster now have a new best friend in Gonzalez, as his ability to hit for power to all fields will produce consistent offense from the first day he digs his left foot into the box. Adrian’s success however, will have just as much to do with his professional and conforming personality in the clubhouse as it does his god-given, physical abilities.

Carl Crawford also brings his all-star caliber bat, eyes and cleats to New England. He is the quintessential bridge near the top of the lineup, that just so happens to also be at the peak of his career. There isn’t a better player of his type in the big leagues currently that glues a leadoff hitter with a 3-hole center-piece. The ideal 2-hole threat, his stellar batting average and on-base percentage, along with his range in the outfield, will prove Boston right in the amount they paid to win the sweepstakes for his services.

Look for the 1-2 punch at the top of the Red Sox lineup of Jacoby Ellsbury and Crawford to have racked up at least 100 stolen bases by season’s end. Considering this, as well as a great 3-4 behind them of Kevin Youkilis and Gonzalez, Boston will score a lot of early runs and put a lot of early pressure on opponents in the opening innings of games.

Planet ‘Man-Ram’ will orbit Tampa Bay this season, accompanied by similar newcomer Johnny Damon. It will be interesting to see how these big name veterans will mix with Joe Maddon’s young and impressionable, sabermetric-style clubhouse. While the contact-hitting skills of even an average Manny will give Evan Longoria more protection than the strikeout-cursed windmill that was Carlos Pena did, it will take a lot of overachievement for the Rays to actually matter in the perpetually-stacked American League East.

The defending American League pennant-winning Texas Rangers did not sit on their good fortunes from last season. The additions of long-ball threats Adrian Beltre and Mike Napoli will bode well for an offense that is looking to make up for the loss of Vladimir Guerrero. Big bats go a long way in the tiny band-box that is The Ballpark in Arlington. Beltre will see starts at third base and at designated hitter, while Napoli will rotate at catcher, first base and designated hitter. This means Michael Young might not end up playing everyday, and as we have seen with his recent desire to be traded, that doesn’t sit well with him. The Ranger clubhouse could become combustible with a proven veteran like Young making waves out of character.

The Brew-crew have fortified their pitching staff with former Kansas City Royal and Cy Young award winner Zach Greinke. They also have obtained a solid number three starter in Shawn Marcum, who has improved exponentially over the past two seasons, and will take his turn in the rotation after Greinke and Yovani Gallardo. This upgrade, coupled with an already potent offense featuring Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder and a rejuvenated Rickie Weeks, automatically makes Milwaukee a contender in the fiercely competitive National League Central.

The North-siders signed aforementioned and former Tampa Bay Ray Carlos Pena to play first base due to the departure of prior cornerstone, Derrek Lee. Pena’s average of 33 homeruns over the past three seasons makes him a viable power replacement in the middle of the Chicago lineup. However, his average of 162 strikeouts per season and batting average of .223 over that same three-year span will ultimately do little to reverse the poor fortune of the Cubs.  Go ahead goat, you can keep on chewing on that can for another season.

On the South-side, the acquisition of Adam Dunn will make an already power-packed lineup undoubtedly the biggest lineup of thumpers in the American League Central. With Paul Konerko and Carlos Quentin now becoming the bookends around Dunn in the lineup, this 3-4-5; righty, lefty, righty threesome could hit 100 long-balls alone given the benefit of swinging for the short fences at U.S. Cellular Field. The way general manager Ken Williams has shaped the middle of this lineup may very well return the White Sox to the playoffs, and could also end up earning him general manager of the year honors.

Baltimore is at least trying to keep up with their American League East counterparts, with the signings of: Vladimir Guerrero, Derrick Lee, Mark Reynolds and J.J. Hardy. These additions will help their offense without a doubt, but with no significant additions to the pitching staff, the O’s will lose a lot of 10-7 ballgames. Nothing at it’s core has changed, but hey, you still have something going for you Baltimore – the funnel and crab cakes at Camden Yards are top notch.

The Yankees actually tried to play ‘under-the-radar’ this off-season, as seemingly for the past decade, they have spent every off-season signing the biggest prize in the hopes of the biggest reward. This season they add Russell Martin, formerly of the Dodgers, to bat at the end of their lineup and play what general manager Brian Cashman hopes is gold-glove defense behind the plate. They also supplemented their bullpen with Tampa Bay’s closer from last year, Rafael Soriano, as he now becomes the most expensive setup man in the game. Don’t be quick to underestimate this move at all, because with Mariano Rivera in the 9th, and now, Soriano in the 8th, the Yanks have essentially stemmed each contest into seven innings.

Contrary to the judgemental local belief of hardcore fans, the Dodgers have indeed improved, if even in the slightest amount. Not only are their young stars a year more seasoned and matured from their off-the-field pit-falls, they also filled some of their big-bat needs with the signing of Juan Uribe. Formerly of the World Champion San Francisco Giants, Uribe will only bat around .250, but how he improves the bums will be the 20 or more homeruns he will put over the left field wall into what was formerly “Mannywood.”  The Uribe signing will bring forth a vast offensive improvement at second base. Who Uribe is replacing, Ryan Theriot, was also only a .250 hitter, but would hit you no more than five homeruns in five hundred at-bats.  Get up to speed with your managerial skills fast, Don Mattingly.  Your players are going to need your consistency as a leader from the get-go, given the loss of Joe Torre.

The remaining senior circut shuffling of note has to undoubtedly be Jason Werth signing a seven-year, 126 million-dollar contract with the Washington Nationals. This was contended as the largest big money contract concieved during the “hot-stove” period, that may end up seeing the least amount of results for the money invested. Werth is going from a lineup of all-stars in Philadelphia to being thrown in the middle of a lineup who’s only significant threat is Ryan Zimmerman. Werth will see significantly less pitches to hit than he has ever benefitted from seeing before. These truths, coupled with the fact that he is going from hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park to the cavernous Nationals Ballpark , expect to see no more than a 20 homerun, 20 stolen base, 80 runs scored, 80 runs batted-in output from Werth.  That’s what 18 million a year gets you now-a-days?  Might as well be petroleum, Jason.

The only other newsworthy move by a major player in the junior circut was Angels general manager Tony Reagins trading with Toronto for veteran outfielder Vernon Wells. Angel-fans showed a lot of frustration this off-season, as owner Arte Moreno swore he would compete with the American League elite as far as the money needed to sign top-level free agents was concerned. The “hot-stove” season came and went, and the only notable signing the Angels made was for a situational lefty out of the bullpen named Scott Downs.

Soon thereafter, in what was roundly viewed as a desperation play for the approval of their ever-growing, South-land fan base, Reagins traded for Wells.  Popular criticism instantly reacted that Reagins paid too much for Wells. Yes, Wells hit 31 homeruns last season, but he hit only 15 the season before and is now 32 years old. He is also owed 23 million dollars this season, as well as 21 million per year over the next three years remaining on his contract after this season.  Does anyone else see a 35 year-old designated hitter, only batting .250 with 19 homeruns and 69 RBI, making 21 million in 2014? However predictable, whether or not this was the best option the Angels had to improve from last season’s disappointment is yet to be seen.

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There is one everlasting truth about Major League Baseball – no matter who ends up going where season to season, every season will, at it’s central attraction, ultimately end up being the same. No matter what talents end up changing colors, the bottom line of success and winning will always have to do with how well these viral names end up becoming a part of something greater than themselves.

This is the way it is at any level of the game.  Go to a little league contest.  Check out a high school matchup.  Stop by a college display.  Go watch a minor league game, and if you aren’t distracted by the publicity stunts between innings, you’ll see the same thing.  This is the same way it was at the inception of Major League Baseball in the nineteenth century, and this is the same way it is now in the twenty-first.  It is the inherent beauty of the game, the ability to have its core values ring true at any level.

So bring it on, sneeze of the pollen and the smell of the freshly-cut grass. It seems every year April can never get here soon enough. It has always been that way and I am sure it always will be. As much as public belief today seems to be aging the relavency of baseball, the value of it’s justice and consistency is one fabric of our lives that will never grow old, no matter how many times it gets put through the wash.