Preview your team

[Mogriffjr]

ROTATION
Jon Niese
Matt Harvey
Dillon Gee
Shawn Marcum
Jeremy Hefner
---The rotation took a semi-hit depending on who you ask when Johan Santana re-tore his capsule in his shoulder. Needless to say his Met career and very likely his MLB career is done. But a realistic fan knew that anything you was getting from Santana this year was gravy. The rotation has some huge health questions....whether Marcum can complete a full season (most likely trade bait) and if Gee can come back and continue being a solid pitcher for the Mets. Niese will need to grow up rather quickly for the Mets as some are rather split as to what his ultimate projection will be. Can he be an ace? I tend to believe his ceiling is a #2 type but there's nothing wrong with that. Matt Harvey came on strong last year and the Mets hope he can avoid a sophomore slump as he too, is expected to be a workhorse; he just needs to cut down on the walks. Jeremy Hefner is the usual 5th starter...he'll have some solid game and some stinkers but realistically he's just a placeholder. GRADE- C
HELP IS ON THE WAY- Zach Wheeler, Collin McHugh- Wheeler ultimately will be up this year, barring anything significant like an injury happening to him or the PCL absolutely destroying him. He profiles as an ace type and him combined with Harvey could be the future 1-2 punch for the Mets. McHugh is a solid #4/5 starter, similar in the Dillon Gee mold if all breaks well. He's good young depth.

BULLPEN
Scott Rice
Scott Atchinson
Josh Edgin
Greg Burke
LaTroy Hawkins
Jeurys Familia
Brandon Lyon
Bobby Parnell
---The bullpen received a bit of an overhaul with the only holdovers being Parnell and Edgin (not including Familia, a late season call up). Parnell will finally get a chance to close with Frank Fransisco starting the season on the DL. I feel Parnell hasn't been given a fair shot to close and this is his chance to settle this once and for all. Familia made the bullpen off a strong spring and he has a mid 90's FB and a wipeout slider, which could lead him to some potential high leverage situations down the road. This pen will rely on some veterans, namels LaTroy Hawkins (who struggled mightly this spring but this org has an affinity for bum vets), Greg Burke (re-invented himself as a submariner type), Scott Atchinson (had a nice year for the Red Sox, albeit not high leverage situations) and Brandon Lyon. The lefties here are Josh Edgin (please don't have your left arm destroyed like previous lefties aka Tim Byrdak and Pedro Feliciano) and Scott Rice (nice story, had a solid spring). This pen was BAD last year and a fan just hopes a different group of guys can change the fortune for the pen. GRADE- B-

STARTERS
C John Buck
1B Ike Davis
2B Daniel Murphy
SS Ruben Tejada
3B David Wright
LF Lucas Duda
CF Colin Cowgill
RF Marlon Byrd
BENCH- C Anthony Recker, 2B/OF Jordany Valdespin, INF Zach Lutz, OF Mike Baxter, OF Kirk Niewenhuis,
---The main story here is how potentially BAD the OF can be. I mean the best OF on this roster may very well be Colin Cowgill and by all indications he's on the short side of a platoon with Kirk Niewenhuis and Mike Baxter. Lucas Duda, the Mets hope he can finally tap into that big time power he has but he's a bit of a headcase in terms of his confidence. Marlon Byrd was AWFUL last year and has been damn near guaranteed to start everyday and MAY get time in CF. Ugh. Good news is the infield is pretty good, headlined by captain america aka David Wright. Fresh off a new deal, I expect big things from him, as well as Ike Davis, who is finally healthy. I expect 35 and 100 from Ike. Daniel Murphy is a good .290-.300 hitter but with a new swing designed to hit for more power, I do have concerns as to how that will work out. Ruben Tejada beefed up in the offseason and is hitting well below the mendoza line in ST. I really don't expect much from RT especially coming off a really high BABIP. John Buck is really an upgrade over the very light hitting Josh Thole (now in TOR) and should handle the staff well. (EDIT- COLIN COWGILL HAS WON THE CF SPOT FULL-TIME)
INFIELD- B, OUTFIELD- F

The bench is comprised of my favorite Met bursting on the scene in Valdespin, who if not for some man-love from the FO to Marlon Byrd, would be starting (has been hitting the cover off the ball in ST). The rest is just bench fodder. Recker is an improvement over past reincarnations of backup catchers the Mets been trotting out there while Kirk should be in AAA trying to hone his game. Mike Baxter is your essential bench bat/5th OF type while Lutz has a good bat, nice for pinch hitting but has no glove. BENCH- C-

HELP IS ON THE WAY- 2B/3B Wilmer Flores, C Travis d'Arnaud- Wilmer Flores showed that he MAY be able to play a passable 2B and considering the Mets really had Murph learn the position on the fly during the season the past few years, I don't see a reason to do the same with Flores. His bat will really play up at 2B, where iMO he has the potential to be a .300 hitter with 15-20 HR's. Travis d'Arnaud was the prized piece in the R.A. Dickey deal and he'll be down in Vegas until he gets past the super 2 date. He was coming on strong late in ST and iMO would have broken camp with the Mets had it not been for said Super 2.

I think the Mets made some key strides toward the future and this is what Sandy Alderson has been brought in to do, fix the financial mess of this team and build it for the future. He's brought in Zach Wheeler and Travis d'Arnaud as well as some other fine prospects and has the Mets farm system in the mid teens now. The bullpen iMO will be improved just because it can't get worse than last year out there. The OF though is a mess and whiffing on their targets didn't help at all. Not looking to bring in any help off the waiver wire just sucks as well. Only reason to get up to see this team is to see David Wright be Wright, Ike blossom into one of the NL's top 1B, Harvey, Niese and the promotion of Wheeler and d'Arnaud. This will be another long year. RECORD- 74-88

[Yawkey Way]

Boston Red Sox

C. Jarrod Saltalamacchia will most likely be the starter, which means one thing: Strikeouts. Last year, Salty struck out 31% of the time he was at the plate. Of course, he also hit 25 homers and posted a .232 ISO, so not all was bad at the catching position. This past winter, Ben Cherington went out and got an actual backup catcher who I believe will actually threaten to start by years end, David Ross. Ross also strikes out a lot, 30% of the time, but can hit for better average and provide much more consistency than Salty. Ross also offers better defense behind the plate. He hasn't played more than 62 games since 2007 when he played in 112 games for the Reds and hit only .203, so perhaps a backup role will ultimately suit him better and keep Salty fresher down the stretch.

1B. As most of you now, Mike Napoli signed in Boston this winter. Thankfully he's got a bum hip (or maybe two) and only signed for 1 year/5M, as his previous agreed upon deal of 3/39M would've smelled bad from the start. Napoli's hit 54 homers the past two seasons, and in 2011 hit .320, posted a 1.046 OPS, and a .312 ISO. Now do I believe that's sustainable? Probably not. He strikes out a decent amount, but has a swing tailored to Fenway Park and has killed the Red Sox throughout his career. I think Napoli will fill the middle of the order admirably, and at least gives Boston another consistent power threat outside of Ortiz. Other options at first include a player who only learned how to play the position this spring (Daniel Nava) and Mike Carp. So Mike Napoli, please work out.

2B. Dustin Pedroia will command second again this year, surprising no one. Pedroia's statline a year ago was slightly below his career average, posting a .290/.347/.449. Obviously it'd be difficult for Pedroia to live up to his 7.6 win season of 2011, so regression was expected. Pedroia scares me. He'll turn 30 this year and obviously isn't built to last, especially the way he plays. He's supposed to be the emotional leader of the Red Sox, yet nagging injuries may continue to be a problem for Pedroia. If he can't stay on the field, and injuries start to break him down, he could fall off quicker rather than slower. Super utility/Yankee killer/player who Red Sox Nation thinks is a lot better than he actually is Pedro Ciriaco will most likely spell Pedroia at 2nd.

SS. Here's a position which actually offers some #debate. The Red Sox signed Stephen Drew to presumably start this year, mainly because Jose Iglesias has yet to show he can actually hit at any professional level. Iglesias hit .118 in 77 plate appearances a year ago. In my opinion, the Red Sox rushed him to the majors way too quickly, getting limited time in both 2011 and 2012 despite being only 23 years old. He's a silky smooth fielder and a lot of fun to watch with the glove, and from all accounts his #SpringTrainingStatsThatMatter were encouraging. To help his case, Drew will start the year on the 7-day Concussion DL. If Iglesias wants to win this job he has to hit out of the gates. If not, he'll most likely go back to AAA to get regular AB's. Drew's an interesting case in Boston mainly because he's already looked at cynically due to his last name. Seeing as he's only played in 165 games combined the past two years, what does he really have to offer? Is he the player who hit .278 with 15 homers in 2010 in an every-day role for Arizona, or is he the guy who hit .223 a year ago and struck out 23.2% of the time? The talent is there, but I don't know if we'll get to consistently see it.

3B: Will Middlebrooks is healthy and will start the year for the Red Sox, making it his first Opening Day with the team. I'm a huge Will Middlebrooks fan. He puts together solid AB's and plays a decent 3B, but the potential at the plate is incredible. Unfortunately after his quick start a year ago a fractured wrist ended his season after 75 games. Ideally you'd like to see Middlebrooks show more patience at the plate as he walked only 13 times compared to 70 strikeouts. The power was there at first but tailed off as pitchers got to know him better. Hopefully a full winter/spring has matured Middlebrooks as a hitter, and we'll see more of the talent which solidified him as one of the youngest every day players in Boston. Wonder-kid Pedro Ciraco will back him up as well.

OF. JACKIE BRADLEY JR JACKIE BRADLEY JR. Guys, Jackie Bradley Jr. The hottest prospect in Boston's organization made the Opening Day Roster and will presumably start in Left Field for at least the first month of the season. Seeing as he's never played above AA, I can only offer his spring training stats, where he hit .441/.521/.644 with a 1.165 OPS and 2 dingers in 71 AB's. He also walked as much as he struck out, an encouraging sign from such a young player. As much as I want him to succeed, I question whether he'll last the entire year in Boston. He obviously has the talent but is he mentally mature enough to handle the rigors of MLB pitching, especially when they know how to pitch him? Once David Ortiz comes back, JBJ could be on his way to AAA. Jacoby Ellsbury is the most important part of this team. If the Red Sox actually think they'll make a run at the playoffs, they need 2011 Jacoby Ellsbury, the guy who hit .321/.376/.552 with 32 homers and 119 runs. Last year, a year basically lost due to injuries, saw Ellsbury post a .271/.313/.370 line. He needs to be better. Rounding out the outfield is the worst free agent signing of the entire off-season, Shane Victorino. The Red Sox invested $39 million in an aging Victorino, mainly because he's consistently average and a real "standup guy." Victorino, who never hit below .280 from 2006-09, hit .279 in 2011 while sandwiching that year with 2 sub-.260 batting averages. His power is declining, his other tools soon to follow. Not much confidence in my friend Shane.

DH. Ortiz will miss at least the first month recovering from an achilles injury he should have already healed from had he not rushed back a year ago amid accusations from his manager that he should be playing. Now, at 37 years old, we're supposed to expect Big Papi to return to midseason form following a serious injury, and anchor the middle of the order? Sure thing, Ben. I expect major regression from Ortiz this year, although he's improved consistently since falling off the table severely in 2009. While Ortiz is out, we'll most likely see Jonny Gomes fill at DH.

Bench. For at least the first month, Gomes will split time between DH and the bench. When Ortiz returns, Gomes figures to platoon in left field. In in the interim, Mike Carp, Pedro Ciriaco, David Ross, and Daniel Nava will most likely fill out the bench. FUN.

SP. This is by far the biggest question mark on the team. Jon Lester figures to anchor the staff, with Clay Buchholz coming behind him. If those two can pitch to their potential on a consistent basis, I don't see why the Red Sox can't have one of the better pitching staffs in the AL, if not baseball. Of course, the challenge for John Farrell is rehabbing Jon Lester to the pitcher who never posted an ERA over 3.5 once he cracked the starting rotation. I'm actually fairly confident in Buchholz to pitch strongly, the challenge being he stays healthy. Ryan Dempster, John Lackey, and Felix Doubront follow. Dempster is a middle of the rotation innings-eater who will be incredibly average. Thankfully, I didn't have to watch Lackey a year ago. Hopefully after returning from TJ-surgery last year, Lackey can offer decent innings at the back. Doubront has the ability to miss bats, something the majority of the starting rotation couldn't do last year. If he can control his walks, he may turn into the 3rd best pitcher on the team.

RP. The Sox traded for Joel Hanrahan over the winter in an attempt to find a bona-fide closer to anchor the 9th. Hanrahan regressed in 2011, but has the ability to generate the strikeout. Andrew Bailey figures to pitch the 8th, assuming he can stay healthy. Bailey had a very strong spring and missed the majority of last season with a thumb injury. Junichi Tazawa quietly pitched very well down the stretch of last season and will be rewarded with a bigger role in the bullpen, sharing the 7th/8th inning duty with Koji Uehara. Andrew Miller, Franklin Morales, Craig Breslow, and Alfredo Aceves all figure into the equation in some respect. If they can stay healthy, the Red Sox bullpen may quietly be their best aspect.

EDIT: I guess I'm supposed to now give my prediction? Well I think the Red Sox will win the World Series.

Hey, who let Warner on my account?

Anyways, I think the Red Sox will hover around .500, but have the potential to backdoor into the AL play-in game.

[Goober]

Travis d'Arnaud was the prized piece in the R.A. Dickey deal and he'll be down in Vegas until he gets past the super 2 date. He was coming on strong late in ST and iMO would have broken camp with the Mets had it not been for said Super 2.

What the fuck are you talking about? While the Mets will save a few bucks if he doesn't get a fourth arbitration year, it doesn't really matter. That's not the reason he's not in the majors.

[EmpireWF]

What the fuck are you talking about? While the Mets will save a few bucks if he doesn't get a fourth arbitration year, it doesn't really matter. That's not the reason he's not in the majors.

John Buck is making $6M for the time being, he's the guy. Plus, saving some money is also part of the equation.

FWIW, (unlike Wheeler) Alderson has said if Buck were to get hurt, D'Arnaud is the guy.

[Woy]

St. Louis Cardinals

CATCHERS
With all due respect to reigning NL MVP Buster Posey, Yadier Molina might be baseball's best catcher. He already holds that title defensively, but his continued improvement with the bat (.315/.373/.501 with 22 HRs) puts him near the top of that list. I don't expect a repeat of 2012 with the bat, but rather a season like his 2011 campaign (14 HRs, .305/.349/.465), which most teams will take from their backstop any day. Tony Cruz won't wow anyone with his bat, but he's solid defensively and makes for a capable back-up.

INFIELDERS
Allen Craig hasn't made Cardinal fans completely forget about Albert Pujols, but he has emerged as one of the better first basemen in the NL. He was recently given a 5 year / $31 million extension, and if he can shed the so-called "injury prone" label (which is unfair, considering the knee injury from 2012 resulted from a freak play the season before in Houston), then he'll make that deal look like an absolute steal. After an impressive spring, Matt Carpenter will transition from his John Mabry role to starting second baseman. His bat is welcomed there, as the Cardinals have recently trotted out offensive black holes such as Skip Schumaker, Daniel Descalso and Nick Punto. The question will be if his glove can play there. Because of the injury to Rafael Furcal, Pete Kozma will start at shortstop by default. Already a folk hero because of his unbelievable post-season, Kozma will look to continue to build off that and shed the "bust" label that was rightly given to him following his poor play in the minors. Expect this position to be addressed via trade quickly if/when Kozma falters. David Freese, unlike Craig, rightly deserves the "injury-prone" label with his glass ankles. However, when healthy, we've all seen what he can do.

OUTFIELDERS
Matt Holliday is as consistent as they come. If health permits, he's a lock for 20+ homers, a slugging percentage in the .500 range, and a batting average around .300. He's an adventure in the field, but that's not as much of a concern anymore due to Jon Jay's continued improvement. Once thought to be just a fourth outfielder, Jay has proven to be much more than that, consistently hitting .300 while providing Gold Glove-caliber defense in center. There's a reason why John Mozeliak hasn't shipped him off to another team to open up a spot for Oscar Taveras. Carlos Beltran helped ease the loss of Pujols with a fine first season in Cardinal red and white, but his knees will ultimately decide whether he has a repeat of 2012 or if Oscar Taveras starts his major league career midway through the year.

BENCH
The biggest weakness on the Cardinals bench last season was the lack of a right-handed power bat. Enter Ty Wigginton. On a two-year deal. Really. The signing of Wigginton might be the worst free agency move of the off-season, because not only does he not have pop anymore, but he slots in as the third guy at first base and third base. One of those guys ahead of Wigginton at first is Matt Adams, who could end up being a valuable trade chip in July. He's a power-hitter who has hit at every minor league stop and would fit perfect on an AL roster as a DH. Daniel Descalso is very good defensively at both second and third base, and mediocre at shortstop. He's a strange case at the plate, as he was atrocious last season against RHP (.200/.275/.289), surprisingly good against LHP (.309/.387/.426), and had a big NLDS against the Nationals. Ryan Jackson will start the season on the 25-man roster with David Freese on the DL. He holds a quarantine label for whatever reason, as he saw virtually no playing time during September call-ups while Pete Kozma received the majority of ABs at shortstop. If given the chance (and if Kozma reverted back to his minor league numbers), he'd be the Cardinals starting shorstop, as his glove is the organization's best. Oscar Taveras needs no explanation.

STARTING ROTATION
Fresh off his 5 year / $97.5 million extension that will keep him a Cardinal for life, Adam Wainwright will officially become the veteran of the rotation with Chris Carpenter's career (unofficially) coming to a close. Wainwright struggled during the first half of the year as he recovered from Tommy John surgery, but ultimately showed the same kind of stuff that made him one of the NL's best pitchers before the operation. Speaking of surgery, Jaime Garcia avoided it with his ailing shoulder and will be thrust into the top of the rotation with the losses of Carpenter and Kyle Lohse. Garcia's extreme home/away splits will need to balance out if the Cardinals want to win the division, but his stuff is as good as anyone's when he's on. Jake Westbrook is your typical 4.00 ERA, groundball inducing right-hander, while Lance Lynn was an all-star in his first full major league season. After a rough end to last year, Lynn dropped a lot of weight in the off-season and has been working on some new pitches in spring training. Shelby Miller gets his first crack at the Cardinals rotation. The organization's consensus top prospect before Taveras's season in Springfield, Miller was more than impressive in his only major league start last year (6 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 7 K) against the Reds' starters.

BULLPEN
The bullpen has been the weakest part of the team in the first half of both last season and 2011, but a move in July (Rzepczynski/Dotel in 2011, Mujica in 2012) helped solidify it. This year the pen comes in as a strength, with the 7/8/9 unit of Edward Mujica, Mitchell Boggs, and Jason Motte leading the way. (Motte, however, will start the season on the DL, and Boggs will move to closer.) Trevor Rosenthal was must-see TV in the post-season, rifling off triple-digit fastballs with ease. He'll be used as the "fireman" and will be given a chance to win a rotation spot again next season. Joe Kelly, who also lost in the battle for the 5th spot in the rotation, will be used as a long-relief man - a spot where he excelled at last year. Free-agent acquisition Randy Choate will be the club's primary LOOGY, while 2011 acquisition Mark Rzepczynski will be right behind him in that department. Fernando Salas starts the season in the pen while Motte's out, while Sam Freeman will be up as a power-throwing LHP in case Rzepczynski falters.

OVERALL
This team suffered through a lot of bad luck last year (88-74) between injuries, bullpen issues, and inexperienced managing, and finished five games behind their Pythagorean W-L record (93-69; in comparison, Cincinnati outperformed their Pythag by six games [91-71]). That luck should even itself out a bit in 2013. Even with some of the uncertainties in the rotation, this team is too talented that they should compete for a playoff spot. If the offense doesn't disappear in stretches like it did last year, and the young guys continue to impress, then this team can win the NL Central.

[Lanteri]

I think I'll be a little less kind in evaluating the Sox..

C - Salty and Ross. Actually, not a particularly bad tandem. Salty can, y'know, sort of hit right handed pitching. I suppose he only appears passable vs. RHP because he's simply that awful against LHP. (.230/.299/.480) vs. (.170/.211./.283). Decent pop, but an astronomical K rate and inability to get on base with any kind of frequency pretty much makes me sour on him. Nothing to write home about defensively either. Ross was certainly a valuable pickup and probably the only offseason move the Sox made that I like. I would expect pretty much a full out platoon with Ross starting against lefties. Wouldn't surprise me if he started 50-60 games, and frankly it would be a good thing for the Sox if he did.

1B - Mike Napoli. Man oh man did I really hate this signing. Guy with no hips trying to be a full time first baseman. Riiiighttttt. I guess that's what you get stuck with when you inexplicably push the panic button and ship off Adrian Gonzalez, cause you know the Sox are too poor to afford Crawford and Beckett. Anyway, glad they managed to get him on a 1-year deal. I have extremely low expectations for him, and I would bet the farm on him never ever coming anywhere close to that ridiculous 2011 season he put up again. In fact, I wouldn't expect him to put up anything nearing his '08 or '09 seasons either. I'm sure the line will look a lot like last year or 2010. Sure, Fenway seems like a good fit for him, but when he only plays 110 games with a good majority of that likely battling hip problems, it's not going to translate into much.

2B - Dustin Pedroia for my money still a top 5 2nd baseman in the game. I definitely think his injury problems have been overstated. Pretty much the only player on the Sox that really gave any kind of a shit last year and as such still garners my respect. I have to expect the standard somewhere around .800-.850 OPS with above average defense from Pedey once again.

SS Stephen Drew - I liked this signing. So I kind of lied earlier when I said Ross was the only one I liked. Low risk/high reward for sure. When healthy, he's a bit above average as a hitter, good gap power, decent eye, average to slightly above fielder. Not much to dislike about him, besides his health, much like J.D. Never hurts to take a flyer on a guy who I'm sure wants to play his way into a long term contract with someone. Jose Iglesias will be starting on opening day as Drew is hurt. Iglesias at this point can't hit his weight, which is pretty sad since he's a (very generous) 175 lbs, but he'll provide some slick fielding.

LF - Jackie Bradley Jr. will be starting on opening day, I want to say solely due to the Ortiz injury. It's highly unlikely that he will remain in the bigs regardless of performance should Ortiz return in April. It was a good spring story, but it's hard to bank on a guy having success at the ML level that hasn't played above AA. As Yawk said he did show good plate instincts in the spring and drew his fair share of walks, but I can definitely see him being overmatched at the major league level at this point in his career. Jonny Gomes will be the starting LFer upon Ortiz's return. I didn't like this signing much as they paid him well over what he's worth. As a platoon hitter I love him, but as a full-time starter, no thank you. Mashes lefties. Crap against righties.

CF The injury prone Jacoby Ellsbury of course will man CF. When healthy, he can be one of the, if not the best all-around center fielder in baseball as demonstrated in his remarkable 2011 season. The problem is he has only managed 3 full seasons out of 5. Not the best injury history. The Sox absolutely need a healthy Ellsbury to have any hope of a productive offense.

RF Another signing that made absolutely no sense to me and that I hate, hate, hate, Shane Victorino. Victorino hasn't hit right handed pitching effectively in years, yet is penciled in as the #2 hitter in the lineup at this point. There's surefire success right there. He'll bring speed and above average defense in right, but is likely to be a fairly useless bat against RHP. He does, however, hit lefties quite well and he along with Gomes will be the reason this team should mash left handed pitching.

Bench - Nothing remarkable here. Ciriaco is the prototypical lanky slap hitting utility infielder that swings at pretty much everything and is a junky fielder at whatever position the Sox want to use him for on the INF. Nava is just okay and only against RHP. Very good plate discipline, awful fielder, no pop whatsoever. And well, Carp is just..yeah.

Starting Pitching - Wide range of possibilities here. This staff could be quite good, or quite awful. Since I'm a pessimist I lean toward the awful side. Jon Lester needs a big bounce back season if the rotation has any chance of success. When he's right he's one of the best left handed pitchers in the game, and a bonafide ace. When he's like last year, it's trouble for the Sox. Clay Buchholz has struggled off and on his whole career with his health. For the most part he's a very good #2 option, but he's very inconsistent and is prone to the "big inning". Ryan Desmpter is yet another signing that I hate tremendously. He pitched quite poorly for Texas in his brief AL stint, and I see no reason for that to change. Felix Doubront is yet another maddeningly inconsistent from inning-to-inning performer. He rarely gets deep into games due to control issues and concentration issues. Has the stuff to be a quality #3 or #4 pitcher, but the mental makeup is lacking. And of course there's John Lackey. He's just plain bad. There's no hope for him.

Relief Pitching - In my opinion, the strongest part of the team heading into the season. Hanrahan was a good pickup despite his control issues last year, but my favorite pickup of the offseason was Koji Uehara. Guy is just plain filthy and has some of the most ridiculous K:BB numbers I've seen. Junichi Tazawa put up equally impressive numbers pitching for the Sox last year. [B]Miller/B] dominates left handed pitching despite his control issues. Alfredo Aceves is a bonafide psychopath, and Clayton Mortensen is a changeup artist that overachieved very much last season. Andrew Bailey runs out the pen. The former closer struggled to recovery from injury last season, so who knows what you'll get him from him this year.

Best case scenario I can see the Sox somehow sneaking into a wildcard spot. The more likely scenario, of course, would be a last place finish in the superpowered AL east.

[shag773]

Philadelphia Phillies

C Carlos Ruiz was a lone bright spot in an otherwise brutal year last year. After his suspension, he could be the right handed five hole hitter the Phillies have needed behind Howard. Eric Kratz has gotten good reviews on his defense and pitch calling, and also brings a little pop to the plate. But his production fell off mightily after a hot start at the plate last year.

1B Ryan Howard has been a hot topic of conversation both in Philly and in this forum. Coming off the injury last year, his BA was down and SO's were up, but his power numbers were still there. Watching him in Spring Training, he seems to me to have a better approach at the plate with two strikes and trying to make more contact. I have a feeling he'll have a bounce back season this year.

2B He seems to be 100% going into the season for the first time since 2010. He's running the bases well and driving the ball. He's in the last year of his contract and wants to prove he can still play. If he can stay healthy I think he can put up 15-20 HRs and drive in 75-80.

SS Jimmy will start off the year as the two hole hitter, which may be a better fit for him at this stage of his career. He's always been a dead fastball hitter. Hopefully Revere will improve his OBP (.368 in Spring) so Jimmy will get pitched to with Utley and Howard behind him.

3B Michael Young could potentially give the Phillies something they have severely lacked in this lineup sinced they had a healthy Polanco. That's a professional hitter who's a good situational hitter who will come up with timely hits and will put the bat on the ball. The problem is, he does not upgrade the horrid defense we saw last year at 3B with Wiggington and Frandsen, and he is coming off a sub par year at the plate. He needs to get somewhat close to his gold glove form and show last year was an aberration at the plate for the Phils to be in contention.

Utility Inf Kevin Frandsen batted .338 last year and can play 2nd and 3rd, but poorly. Charlie Manuel said Freddy Galvis could get 400 ABs this year. He's a plus defender at 2nd and SS, and will also play some 3rd (will most likely be a late inning replacement for Young). He'll be counted on to be productive while giving Rollins and Utley days off.

OF This is the weakest part of the roster. Ben Revere will be the new CF and lead off hitter. He's a regular web gem contributor and is one of the most exciting players in the league running the base paths. But his low OBP is a concern. The corner spots are a huge concern. Dominic Brown RF had a huge Spring, but has not broken out in the regular season. Also questionable in the field. A left field platoon of John Mayberry and Lance Nix doesn't scare anyone. Delmon Young is supposed to debut by the end of April. Ender Inciarte is a rule 5 pick who has never played above A ball, so Im not sure why he is on the roster. If the Phillies are in striking distance of a playoff spot at the deadline, I see them making a move to add to their OF.

SP Cole Hamels has emerged as the ace of this staff. Cliff Lee had a good year statistically outside of wins. If he pitches somewhere between what he did last year and 2011 when he had 17 wins, he'll be fine. Roy Halladay is the huge question mark in this staff. His fastball is topping out at 87. He has had control issues, and he can not keep the ball down. If Roy can't make adjustments, it will be tough for the Phillies to overcome.

RP This is one area the Phillies addressed from last year. The 8th inning set up role was brutal. It seemed like they could not hold a lead to get to Papelbon. They signed Mike Adams, who looks strong coming off offseason surgery. Phillipe Aumont could be huge as well. He's a hard throwing RH with lots of movement on his 2 seamer. Problem is, there is too much movement at times when he has control issues. Jeremy Horst has been very effective as a LH specialist.

Final Analysis There are too many question marks on this team for me call them a contender. They have the talent to contend, but they are an older team that has a mix of injury issues and declining skill. Also, the one constant from the Phillies teams in the past has been defense, which has declined significantly. Couple that with going from 4 aces to 2.5, even a healthy Howard and Utley may not be enough to make the playoffs. Especially when they share a division with Washington and Atlanta.

[Warner2BruceTD]

I like Inciarte. I can see why they took him in the Rule 5, plucky little ballplayer.

[shag773]

I like Inciarte. I can see why they took him in the Rule 5, plucky little ballplayer.

I like what I've seen in the field, I'm just skeptical about how he'll be at the plate while never seeing pitching above high A. With Darrin Ruf struggling both at the dish and in the field this Spring, it opened up a spot to at least give him a look.

[Warner2BruceTD]

Mat Latos, who many thought would suffer pitching half of his games in GAB as opposed to Petco, bounced back from a brutal April and posted an identical ERA as he did in 2011. He is a potential future ace, and a Cy Young darkhorse.

You might be wearing a tux, but with a comment like this, you look more like Lloyd Christmas, not Don Draper.

I really don't get your hate for Latos, but then I remember that you are gob and you think every player sucks, and then I get it.

"With that fly ball rate, he'll suck in GAB!"

(puts up nearly identical numbers across the board, has solid season)

"Middle rotation shitbum" - gob last month

http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=pit&lg=nl&qual=y&type=8&season=2013&month=0&season1=2013&ind=0&team=0&rost=&age=&filter=&players=

"Middle of the rotation shitbum" - gob

[Warner2BruceTD]

In addition to being a Cy Young darkhorse as a I predicted, I should also note that Latos is still quite young. He's only about a year older than Matt Harvey, but made the majors three years earlier, has 42 more wins, nearly 600 more innings pitched, and 500 more strikeouts. Latos is also only 3 months older than Kershaw.

So there is nothing unfair about "potential future ace", either.

[Goober]

http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.asp...lter=&players=

"Middle of the rotation shitbum" - gob

I don't know what they're writing in Cincinnati (but then again those writers think Brandon Phillips is an MVP candidate), but I haven't heard Latos' name mentioned in the Cy Young conversation at all this year. He's clearly in a class below Harvey, Kershaw and Wainwright.

[Warner2BruceTD]

I don't know what they're writing in Cincinnati (but then again those writers think Brandon Phillips is an MVP candidate), but I haven't heard Latos' name mentioned in the Cy Young conversation at all this year. He's clearly in a class below Harvey, Kershaw and Wainwright.

hey look, gob still doesn't know what 'darkhorse' means


also, not that this has anything to do with anything, but I haven't seen a single writer suggest Philips is MVP

[Goober]

hey look, gob still doesn't know what 'darkhorse' means


also, not that this has anything to do with anything, but I haven't seen a single writer suggest Philips is MVP

[Warner2BruceTD]

That's not a writer supporting Phillips for league MVP, that's a dumb tabloid narrative for TEAM MVP used to sell papers.

Obviously there are fans who overvalue the RBI, this isn't news. And Votto is hated among a subset of Reds "fans" because he isn't "aggressive" enough for their tastes at the plate. So it;s a newspaper gimmick thing.

Anyway, don't derail. Harvey hurt. If Latos finishes strong, and he has pitched very well the last month, as good as anybody, he is a lock for top 5 and will probably finish top 3. He has good peripherals, he is 4th in fWAR, and also has the stellar W/L record the older writers will look for.

We can quibble over what "darkhorse" means, but I know he's closer to being an ace than he is to being a "mid rotation shitbum". Please concede this one. Thanks.