Baseball's Big Boys Have Tipped The Scale In Favor Of The American League

If you take at baseball's top performers from last season, you'll notice a few of the guys in the National League stat section won't be there

I'm looking at the National League leaders from last season where names like Matt Kemp, Ryan Braun, Ryan Howard, Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols pop up in the top five nearly every offensive statistic. Fielder and Pujols are about to find themselves in a different column all together after a wild off-season sent the heavy hitters to the American League, changing the MLB landscape.

Aside from the money (both Fielder and Pujols signed multi-year contracts worth over $200 million… yes, 200 MILLION DOLLARS), it shouldn't come as a shock that guys hitting 37 and 38 home runs (Pujols and Fielder, respectively) are leaving the NL for, home of the designated hitter. Between Fielder's weight (275 lbs. on a 5'11 frame) and Pujols' age (32), it would make sense for both guys to make the switch to full-time batter within the next few years.

I don't understand why baseball has allowed each league to have different rules, especially considering it was not always that way. I love to see pitchers at the plate. Even though most pitchers stink at hitting, I think there is something to be said for every single man on the roster being responsible for throwing and hitting the ball at some point in every game. I find it fascinating watching a pitcher pitch to his fellow hurler, and when a pitcher does get a hit (or a home run, which I watched my hometown Dodgers fall victim to four times last season), the reaction of his teammates and fans is usually priceless.

On the other hand, I get that a guy hitting 30-something home runs in a season is much more exciting. Despite his struggles in the first few months of the last few seasons, the roar of the Fenway Park crowd each time David Ortiz takes the plate is something special. Sure, Big Papi was instrumental in Boston's World Series titles, but there's just something about a big guy like that at bat. No need to worry about him trying to catch a runner in the outfield, or make a big play at third, just enjoy him doing what he does best.

The designated hitter position has required the AL stack the deck with the best pitchers in the game, although the top five guys in each league were all spectacular last season.

If Justin Verlander, CC Sabathia , Jered Weaver and James Shields thought they had their work cut out for them last season staring down the likes of Miguel Cabrera, Jose Bautista, Adrian Gonzalez, Curtis Granderson and a slew of others, now they get to add Fielder and Pujols to that list. YIKES.

The AL West alone looks ridiculous! The two-time World Series runner-up Texas Rangers added Yu Darvish to the lineup and the the new-look Pujols-infused Anaheim Angeles should improve mightily on top of already owning a fantastic pitching staff.

In the AL Central, the division-winning Detroit Tigers will only get better, now with Fielder, Cabrera and Peralta in the same lineup.

As further evidence of a power swing, I just typed an entire blog about the AL without mentioning the Yankees or Red Sox. Saying nothing about New York or Boston says a lot about the direction in which the American League is heading.

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MLB continues a very hot winter

California Spending -

Albert Pujols to a 10-year 254million dollar deal. As if that wasn’t enough to spit out your chai latte the Angels reached back into their briefcase, pulled out another pen and then inked the best available starter, CJ Wilson, a former nemesis with Texas, to a 5-year 77million dollar deal and just like that by the time most Southern Californians were leaving their morning yoga class their baseball team was the best in the league and very uncharacteristically were not only aggressive but free spending in the Winter, placing themselves in third place all-time behind two Yankees clubs as the most ever in the off season. With these additions to a club that was a “pothole cover in the middle of the line-up” away from going deep into October these moves will not only fill the ditch but give the Angels arguably the best rotation in Baseball:

Jared Weaver (18-8) 2.41
Dan Haren (16-10) 3.17
CJ Wilson (16-7) 2.94
Ervin Santana (11-12 with no-no) 3.38

So now the immediate question is what will be the immediate fate of the gamble? Will they go the way of the Yankees who are still waiting for the dividend check to arrive for the ARod, CC, etc. spending spree or the Giants that squeezed every last penny of the checks they cut and wound up with a ring that should pacify that city another 50 years. Only time will tell, but before we go there keep in mind there is still plenty of time before spring training so don’t put it past the newly found intestinal fortitude of the LAA they may be going for number one on the list and tis’ the season.


Baseball’s Hot Stove continues to radiate during the winter meetings in Dallas and the Miami Marlins are the team mixing up something special! If you’re a baseball fan in South Florida, how can you not get excited about what’s owner Jeffrey Loria has cooking? First he goes out and gets Ozzie Guillen to manage his club. Guillen of Latin decent will go over very well in South Beach. Fans will understand him and the players will have no choice but to follow his lead. Guillen has a world title to his credit and the respect of both management and players because he’s a no-nonsense guy. While they bowed out of the Albert Pujols sweepstakes, they’ve still put together quite a roster in the off-season. Adding shortstop Jose Reyes to the left-side of the infield for 106-million bucks over six-years while moving Hanley Ramirez to third could be incredible. Despite Ramirez reluctance to change positions, you know Guillen will get the job done and Ramirez will be a very productive part of the line-up. Needing a solid closer for a pitching staff that was one real legit arm away from being very imposing, the Marlins thru out a line to Heath Bell that he took hook line and sinker for 27 million over three years. So with Bell dropping fastballs to close out the ninth inning, who could they go get to not only be the staff ace but lead by example to the youngsters? Enter lefthander Mark Buehrle. The deal for five years at 58-million reunites the ace and Guillen once again after a long stint in Chicago with the White Sox. But wait, the prep work is not done. Since the didn’t land Pujols the money allocated his way will most likely be split up between two players. Buehrle was one and the other could be Texas Rangers free-agent lefty C.J. Wilson. The fish have offered a six-year deal that might make Wilson reconsider signing with his home-town team the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He’s expected to make his decision today. If that isn’t enough to get excited about in South Beach were there definitely is plenty to get hot and bothered over, have we mentioned the new ballpark? That’s what it’s called right now, New Marlins Ballpark, no kidding. So they may not have a title sponsor yet in these tough economic times but who cares? The state of the art facility is located on the old Orange Bowl site in the little Havana section of Miami, only two miles from downtown. Forget the days of sweltering heat and rain delays or rain outs. The retractable roof makes everyday a game day at 75 degrees inside. The stadium is made for baseball only and holds 37-thousand seats with sightlines that are reportedly perfect for fans of the great American pastime. You have to give Luria a lot of credit. Not only did he decide to make the commitment to satisfy his fans off the field he has also backed it up on the field with the team’s off-season acquisitions. If South Florida baseball fans aren’t hungry yet, they never will be because dinner has been served in Miami.

Thanksgiving Comes Early at Chavez Ravine

We just hit November 2nd but the Thanksgiving turkey has already been shot, plucked and carved up at Chavez Ravine. Tuesday Night’s announcement from the Dodgers and Major League Baseball that owner Frank McCourt would agree to sell the team thru a court-supervised process, has Dodger fans all over the country giving thanks that the nightmare of the McCourt era is ending and there is hope for the 2012 season!

Although the courts will decide who gets to join baseball’s elite owners club, it’s up to Commissioner Bud Selig to make sure the next man or men who run one of sports most storied franchises; has A, the money to do it; and B, runs the franchise correctly. The Commish is almost just as much at fault for the fiasco the Dodgers have endured this past season as much as Frank and Jamie McCourt themselves. This, want to be power couple from Boston should have never been allowed to purchases the club in 2004, for 421 million when they didn’t have the necessary financing to do so comfortable. But in his haste to get the Dodgers away from a previous bad ownership group in Fox, Selig made another judgment in error.

How bad was that error? Let us count the ways. On the field the Blue- Crew reached back to back National League Championship Series. Now for some teams that would be considered an accomplishment but for the Dodgers and their history of titles, it was a shortcoming. All that was needed to put this group over the top was a solid veteran number one ace pitcher, who McCourt never purchased. What he did purchase off the field however, is the main reason he won’t be the owner on opening day in 2012. The couple allegedly purged 189 million of Dodgers money, to spend on houses, jets, swimming pools and other luxuries while the needs of the team and franchise were ignored. The only reason the imposters were caught is because neither was smart enough to figure out all their financial holdings and expenditures would come into public record during their divorce. Frank’s accusation that wife Jamie was nailing the body guard or chauffer, whoever it was blew the lid off the entire spending spree at the expense of the organization and it’s product on the field. From there the end was in sight. The franchise filed for bankruptcy in a Delaware court. Upon receiving the information, even the loyalist of Dodgers fans boycotted the Ravine. Empty seats took over the historic stadium, as did the gangster element in the pavilion seats due to a lack of security. The Dodgers failed to break the three-million mark in attendance for the first time in over a decade and the franchise received a black eye when San Francisco Giants fan Brian Stow was beat nearly to death in one of the dark parking lots after leaving the rivalry game on opening day with little security in the vicinity. Once the reputation of the franchise and McCourt’s integrity came into play, he tried to sell the television rights in a multi-billion dollar deal to ease he financial worries. But Selig and baseball blocked the move, stating McBroke would just use the funds for his personnel debts including the divorce cost and payoff. After this ruling was upheld it was game over for the fraud.

McCourt will sell the franchise for around one billion dollars. Hard to believe after all the mismanagement he’ll still make a stiff profit off the sale. But there is justice in his debt that needs to be paid off which is mounting and stands in the hundreds of millions of dollars. All in all McCourt won’t be broke, but he’ll leave Los Angeles stripped of his dignity, celebrity status, and team which is the most important thing for the City of Angels. Dodgers fans can once again root for their team proudly, feel good about spending money on the franchise, knowing the best interest of the club is at heart of whomever the owner ends up being. There is a lot to be thankful for this November, after one of the roughest rides in the storied history of The Los Angeles Dodgers.