- Did you realize that Carlos Ruiz had six stolen bases last year? That's a little against type.
- I don't mean to make these blog posts a constant Mariner-bash, it just turns out that way sometimes. They only had three players with 50 or more walks (Jose Vidro - 63; Raul Ibanez - 53; Richie Sexson - 51), with three regulars with 20 or fewer walks (Jose Lopez - 20; Kenjii Johjima - 15; Yuniesky Betancourt - 15). That makes them so dependent on batting average to score runs, which is an awfully difficult way to build an offense. Yes, they hit .287 as a team, second in the majors, but converted that into only 794 runs, 7th in the AL and 12th in the majors.
- Chase Headley will be one of my under-the-radar ROY candidates this year. I think he's going to get a ton of playing time, probably in left field, with some at third base as well.
- I'm of mixed opinion on the Miguel Tejada trade for the O's - the timing was right, if not overdue, but instead of settling for a package of "B" and "C" prospects, I would have instead gone after one upper-tier prospect, if possible. But I think that the bigger problem is that the O's don't have anybody in the system who's an adequate shortstop, assuming that Bill Rowell eventually moves to third, and that they didn't get a shortstop prospect back in the deal. To that end, the Angels (as far back as 18 months ago, but even now) were a better match for them.
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I might have been a little hasty in suggesting that the Mets don't have another big trade left in them to address their pitching needs. I'm reasonably optimistic about the futures of Carlos Gomez and Fernando Martinez - in fact, Gomez might be really good this year, if he gets the chance. Still, I don't like the Milledge deal at all. I guess it's a reflection of the high price of adequate catching right now.
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