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Baltimore Orioles 2009 Season Preview

April 3, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Leading up to the start of the 2009 Regular Season, Diamond Hoggers will preview each of MLB’s 30 teams. Today’s team is the Baltimore Orioles. This preview completes our full run of MLB’s 30 teams.

You know this is that one review we’ve been dreading to write. We’ve made it through 29 other MLB teams this spring and it’s been an enjoyable exercise for the most part. We like doing these reviews because it forces us to learn about the other teams in the league and we pick up tidbits that we normally would have missed. A key acquisition here, a new position battle there. It’s really good for the die hard baseball fan to do.

Then you get to the Baltimore Orioles. Orioles fans, go out and hang yourself from the birch tree in your backyard. Besides living in a repulsive, STD rampant city; your MLB team is not even relevant in any way shape or form.

Owner Peter Angelos is cancer to his own franchise. Nick Markakis is a nice player. You’d better hope that Matt Wieters is going to come up and be a nice player. Even if he is, look at that division you’re in. Christ you would have better luck in an ass kicking contest with no legs.

We’re not gonna go any further then that. That’s all we’ll cover for this team. The closer George Sherrill is so shitty most people spell his surname like the female name Sherrol. He’s shitty. So have fun this year Orioles. You make it easier on everyone else in the league who’s having a rough year. Always you do.

Filed Under: 2009 Diamond Hoggers Season Previews, Baltimore Orioles

Boston Red Sox 2009 Season Preview

April 2, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Leading up to the start of the 2009 Regular Season, Diamond Hoggers will preview each of MLB’s 30 teams. Today’s team is the Boston Red Sox. Stay tuned as Diamond Hoggers will preview every team division by division until the start of the regular season.

The Boston Red Sox nearly made it back to the World Series last year, and if they had they might of given Philadelphia a better run for their money then the Tampa Bay Rays did. The Red Sox aren’t quite ready for their run at the top to come to an end, but a glance at their roster reveals a veteran heavy squad and few guys on the upswing of their career. It could an interesting year in Boston.

We feel that Terry Francona is one of the finest managers in all of baseball. Francona has won two titles and fell just short last season. Francona is a few more good years away from being a Hall of Fame manager. His in game adjustments are always on point and his players love him. He is the perfect manager for Boston.

The Red Sox lineup will be headed up with young star Jacoby Elsbury. Elsbury is part of that homegrown nucleus in Boston and is a guy who figures to be a major fixture in this organization for the next decade. This year he’ll approach 60 stolen bases and 20 home runs. He reminds us more of Grady Sizemore then any other player in baseball. They are nearly carbon copies o fone another. A 100 run season for Elsbury should be a given. The second hitter is the reigning MVP Dustin Pedroia. David Ortiz hits third in the lineup but without the protection of Manny Ramirez. Ortiz is another year older and while preliminary reports say he’s in great shape, it’s a real question mark year for Ortiz. Kevin Youkilis is approaching icon status in Boston and will hit cleanup. The guy has made himself into a great hitter and run producer. J.D. Drew when healthy is an excellent player still with a good bat. Jason Bay is another guy who quietly fits into the Beantown lineup perfectly. Mike Lowell is back as a fan favorite at the hot corner. Jed Lowrie is a newcomer at shortstop and has the breakout potential that Pedroia did a few years back. The captain Jason Varitek is back behind the plate for another season. Rocco Baldelli was acquired for depth quality and Julio Lugo may be available in trade if Lowry is decent.

The Red Sox added Brad Penny and John Smoltz in the offseason from the NL. Josh Beckett is the Opening Day starter. Beckett has been pretty ordinary for his standards during the regular season the past few years and has had some mileage put on his arm along with injuries. Dice-K Matsuzaka is the two starter. Jon Lester could be the team’s ace by season’s end. Tim Wakefield is back for another year, and he could probably throw for another decade.

Jonathan Papelbon is back as the closer and should be among the game’s elite in 2009. When he comes into a game in the 9th, it’s usually over. Justin Masterson, Hideki Okajima, and Manny Delcarmen are other very good arms in that bullpen that make it one of the toughest in baseball on the rare night that the starting rotation needs bailed out.

We just aren’t high on their lineup. Sure, it is better then 75% of lineups just by showing up because they’re an elite team. But in that division, they don’t stack up that well against the Rays and the Yankees. The pitching and Tito Francona will keep them close, but in the end they are probably going to finish behind a Yankees team that has them out-gunned. Beantown has their work cut out for them in 2009.

Filed Under: 2009 Diamond Hoggers Season Previews, Red Sox

Tampa Bay Rays 2009 Season Preview

April 1, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Leading up to the start of the 2009 Regular Season, Diamond Hoggers will preview each of MLB’s 30 teams. Today’s team is the Tampa Bay Rays. Today’s preview is written by David Chalk who writes for Bugs & Cranks, among other blogs. You simply will not find a better Tampa Bay Rays preview on the interwebs. Stay tuned as Diamond Hoggers will preview every team division by division until the start of the regular season.

The mighty Devil Rays enter the season with few concerns and a fully loaded ballclub. There are no question marks about a team that was the best in baseball in 2008. The only thing that kept them from their first World Series title was Phillies reliever J.C. Romero being given a free pass to play in the postseason despite twice testing positive for banned performance enhancing steroid-type drugs, because MLB placed postponing and muting the PR hit until February above the sanctity of the game. Watch out world, the 2009 Devil Rays should be vastly improved.
They’re fielding great players at virtually every position and they’ve got a s#!t-ton of depth, so other teams won’t never see any weaknesses to exploit.
Centerfielder B.J. Upton, who was hitting postseason home runs at a record pace last fall, will likely move up to leadoff. Upton may miss the first week of the season because he was recovering from offseason shoulder season, but considering how dominant he was last year playing most of the year with a shoulder injury, he should be killing the ball all year. Batting second and playing leftfield, you have two-time All-Star Carl Crawford, the franchise’s Christ Child. No one-two punch in baseball is faster, better, or more powerful.
Batting third and playing first, you have El Gato Del Crimen Carlos Pena. EGDC won his first gold glove last year, and in ‘07 he broke the Devil Rays single-season HR and RBI marks, and won a Silver Slugger and the AL Comeback Of The Year Award. He got off to a slow start last year, but he carried the team down the stretch when Crawford and Longoria were injured. Speaking of your Unanimous 2008 Rookie Of The Year, All-Star Evan Longoria will play third and likely hit cleanup. (Dick Vitale, Devil Ray season ticket holder and G-POPE fan, mentioned before the 2008 season that Reds exec Walt Jocketty told him he got rock hard thinking about how good Longoria is going to be.) Pat “The Bat” Burrell is the newly acquired stud of the lineup, DHing and likely hitting fifth. Behind the plate, another All-Star, The Fat Catcher Dioner Navarro who has shed some pounds and been compared favorably to Johnny Bench. Second baseman Akinori Iwamura deserved a Gold Glove last year in his first year at that position, and should hit more home runs after leading off for the Devil Rays the past two seasons. In right field, you got the super Gabe platoon of Gabe Gross — who played stellar D last year and provided many clutch hits — and newcomer Gabe Kapler. Hitting second leadoff is 2008 team MVP shortstop Jason Bartlett.
The starting rotation is once again loaded. They’ve got a lot of starting pitching. There could easily be three co-aces: Scott Kazmir led the AL in strikeouts in ‘07 and won the All-Star Game in ‘08, The Master Of The Modified Circle Change James Shields tied the franchise record for wins in ‘08, and Matt Garza was the MVP of the 2008 ALCS. Andy Sonnanstine is less flashy but consistently gets the job done.
To begin the year, the fifth spot might belong to Jason Hammel, who filled in admirably last April while Kazmir was on the DL and got a clutch save in Fenway in September. Hammel could be traded, opening the door for rookie Jeff Niemann who also had one good start last year. Although Niemann could also be traded or work out of the bullpen like J.P. Howell did last year. There’s also that David Price fella waiting in the wings, although The Mayor Of Devil Ray Town Cork Gaines of Rays Index says another rookie Wade Davis might get the cal
l first. And Buster Olney recently quoted an AL official as saying Davis was the most impressive minor leaguer he saw this spring.
Returning from last year’s stellar bullpen are J.P. Howell, who some said was the most valuable member of the Devil Rays staff last year, fiery Aussie fireball Grant Balfour, and veteran setup man Dan Wheeler. The Devil Rays also added lefty specialist Brian Shouse this offseason. Submariner Chad Bradford will be on the DL for the first few months, but could contribute.
Last I checked, Troy Percival stands alone at #9 atop the Major League Baseball All-Time Career Saves Leader List. The Devil Rays also added Jason Isringhausen as a little insurance.
AL Manager Of The Year Joe Maddon is a visionary, truly blessed with a fully loaded squad. The smart money is on this team to win it all. If you know baseball, there is no way you can bet against this roster. You just can’t. They have too much in every category to go along with depth, veteran leadership, sex appeal and experience. They’ll be in the playoffs — with a projected 113 wins — and their pitching in a short series will prevail.
The Devil Rays will have a shot at beginning the dynasty that should have started last year. Love them or hate them, they’ll be there for a long time.
Filed Under: Tampa Bay Devil Rays

New York Yankees 2009 Season Preview

March 31, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Leading up to the start of the 2009 Regular Season, Diamond Hoggers will preview each of MLB’s 30 teams. Today’s team is the New York Yankees. Stay tuned as Diamond Hoggers will preview every team division by division until the start of the regular season.

The mighty Yankees enter the season with few concerns and a loaded ballclub. The one question that is being whispered about this ballclub is about their aging lineup. They have a lot of old stars. But they’re fielding great players at virtually every position and one thing about the Yankees is that they’ll go and get what they need, even if it is only for a month that they’ll need that player; they will not stand pat and allow other teams to exploit a weakness. It’s what makes them the team you love to hate.

The newest news is that Derek Jeter will hit shortstop. We have few doubts that he’ll succeed in this role. Jeter gets on base at a frenzied pace. He’ll do that again and probably score a boatload of runs. Johnny Damon will start on most nights in left field and hit second. They have Hideki Matsui to play a little left field and DH as well. Mark Teixeira is the newly acquired stud of the lineup. The first baseman will hit anywhere from 28 to 40 homers and drive in 100 plus. Jorge Posada is the catcher and will hit 5th or 6th. Jorge has become a model of consistency, and a symbol of the Yankees along with Jeter. Xavier Nady was acquired last year and played some of the best baseball of his career in New York. Robinson Cano needs to earn back the Yankee fans’ trust. His .300 average from May onwards last season wasn’t enough. Seems like forever ago that he hit .340 in 2006. Cody Ransom will fill in for Alex Rodriguez until late May, possibly early June. Yankee fans don’t expect much from Ransom, but they didn’t from Cano either. The guy might end up being a pretty good player just from coming up through an organization with great players. A ‘Youkilis effect’ if you will. Brett Gardner has beaten out Melky Cabrera for the starting centerfield job.

The starting rotation is once again loaded. They’ve got a lot of starting pitching. We actually expect A.J. Burnett to out perform C.C. Sabathia, which is saying something because we think Sabathia will be good. Burnett is going to have one of those years where it all comes together for him. He’s got the stuff, he’ll stay healthy finally and be on a good team for the first time in his career.

From there you have Chien-Ming Wang who is an ace on a lot of teams. Andy Pettite returns for what could be one of his final seasons. Joba Chamberlain is one of the headliners for this team. He puts butts in the seats and figures to be a special player for this franchise for a long time. He could be like a Roger Clemens type in terms of stuff. His velocity was down at press time but he’ll find it. Beyond that, he may end up closing some ballgames if something happens to closer Mariano Rivera.

Damaso Marte is a good lefty specialist. Brian Bruney, Edwar Ramirez, and Dan Giese will get some extended innings out of the pen. Righties Jose Veras (who we like a lot) and Jonathan Albaladejo will also be contributors.

Joe Girardi is blessed with a loaded squad. We don’t buy that their lineup is old. We’ve seen older lineups do damage. The smart money is on this team to win it all. If you know baseball, there is no way you can bet against this roster. You just can’t. They have too much in every category to go along with veteran leadership and experience. They’ll be in the playoffs and their pitching in a short series will probably prevail more often then not. Now, if A-Rod can’t return to form all year, that might throw some snags in the line. But then we know they’ll just go and get someone to fill that void.

The Yankees will have a shot at hanging a special banner in that brand new palace they’re set to open. Love them or hate them, they’ll be there like they usually are.

Filed Under: 2009 Diamond Hoggers Season Previews, Yankees

Toronto Blue Jays 2009 Season Preview

March 31, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Leading up to the start of the 2009 Regular Season, Diamond Hoggers will preview each of MLB’s 30 teams. Today’s team is the Toronto Blue Jays. Stay tuned as Diamond Hoggers will preview every team division by division until the start of the regular season.

Blue Jays fans can finally have something to look forward to this season. They’ve got some really good young prospects like left handed pitcher Ricky Romero and possible American League Rookie of the Year Travis Snider ready to break into the big leagues and make an impact. They also have a nice mix of old stars as well.

The lineup starts off with shortstop Marco Scutaro. Scrappy little ballplayer. Aaron Hill is the second baseman. Alex Rios is the right fielder and will hit in the middle of the order. Vernon Wells is still the headliner but he must stay healthy and have one of those seasons that restores faith and shows people that all of the sustained injuries in past years have not permanently damaged him. A few years ago, Wells was that guy who signed a mega contract that every team in baseball would have scrambled to build around.

Adam Lind revived his career, and this year he could approach 30 home runs as a DH/OF. Scott Rolen is closing out a long career quietly but still has pop. Lyle Overbay will be the first baseman and hit 7th. Travis Snider, as we mentioned before; will possibly be the headliner on this team by next season. The guy is a bulky, muscular kid. Rod Barajas will hit enough to hold down the catching job. Kevin Millar is also available off the bench.

Roy Halladay is the ace of this staff and the franchise’s most recognizable player. There are already rumblings that if this team isn’t a contender in 2009, that he’ll be dangled at the trade deadline. And that’s a damn shame. Guys like Roy Halladay should remain in the same big league city until their arm falls off. Halladay will give the Blue Jays a chance to win every night that he is on the hill and will serve as the rotation’s streak stopper. Jesse Litsch is the #2 starter heading into the season. David Purcey and Casey Janssen follow him. They’re relative unknowns aren’t they? Dustin Mcgowan will be in there somewhere, and he’s been very impressive when he’s been out there for the Jays.

There’s another superstar in the bullpen. Closer BJ Ryan. If he can stay healthy he’ll do his thing and be this era’s Billy Wagner. Brandon League is a good set-up guy. Jesse Carlson, Scott Downs, and Jason Frasor also log innings in this pen.

The manager is Cito Gaston. Cito Gaston! This is good for the nostalgic baseball fan, but Cito’s last tour of duty isn’t with as much talent. He could lose his job pretty easily. They Jays are in a tough division and while they won’t God awful, but they won’t be able to contend for a top spot in this stacked AL East either.

Filed Under: 2009 Diamond Hoggers Season Previews, Toronto Blue Jays

Kansas City Royals 2009 Season Preview

March 28, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Leading up to the start of the 2009 Regular Season, Diamond Hoggers will preview each of MLB’s 30 teams. Today’s team is the Kansas City Royals. Stay tuned as Diamond Hoggers will preview every team division by division until the start of the regular season.

It’s like this. This is a baseball blog and as long as we’re writing about baseball we’re happy. But there are those teams that just aren’t worthy of us talking about. At all. That team or two who you just put off writing the season preview about or really giving any mention to whatsoever.

I mean, their headliner is supposed to be Alex Gordon, the top pick from a few years ago. He’s contracted Austin Kearns syndrome. He’s just not that good, yet. This is probably the last year where we can say there’s high expectations from the kid’s talents. If he doesn’t deliver he is going to be known as one of those guys who just isn’t cut out to be a big league star. He also could out of nowhere hit 30 bombs.

Mike Aviles is the three hole hitter. Other noteworthy names include Coco Crisp and David Dejesus. Noteworthy in Kansas Shitty City that is. Mike Jacobs came over from the Marlins. He can hit a little bit. They’ve got Billy Butler and Miguel Olivo. Eh, big deal right? Their lineup is just full of turds.

The pitching staff has a few bright spots. People are calling Zach Greinke and Kyle Davies major sleepers heading into this year. The Royals can perform above expectations if these guys break out. Greinke was good last season but if he continues to develop, they’ll have a valuable commodity. Gil Meche and Brian Bannister are pretty solid starters who know how to pitch without having lights out stuff. Luke Hochevar is a question mark but he was a number one overall draft pick. Royals fans are starting to get nervous if the Royals missed on what should have been a sure fire star, but he’s still young.

The best player on the team might be their closer, Joakim Soria. Kyle Farnsworth, Ron Mahay, Robinson Tejada and Doug Waechter will all see solid innings, probably more then a lot of teams penners do.

We won’t sugarcoat it. The Royals have earned the reputation of being awful for a reason. They’re going to be predicted to be awful until they do something about it on the field like the Rays did last year. Thats just the way it goes. They’ve had some sprinkles of bad luck or no luck at all, that is what seperates them from the Rays (in terms of missing on high draft picks year after year). Thing is, they’re in a division that gives them more of a chance to compete than the AL East at least.

Filed Under: 2009 Diamond Hoggers Season Previews, Alex Gordon, Kansas City Royals, Stink teams

Detroit Tigers 2009 Season Preview

March 27, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Leading up to the start of the 2009 Regular Season, Diamond Hoggers will preview each of MLB’s 30 teams. Today’s team is the Detroit Tigers. Stay tuned as Diamond Hoggers will preview every team division by division until the start of the regular season.

We’re high on the Tigers of 2009. Jimmy Leyland is a great manager, and all great managers have one final run to glory, whether it be a run that ends in a World Series or a playoff run. We aren’t sure how far this run will go, but we are certain it is going to happen in some capacity this upcoming season.

If you are a fan of an American League team, you are damn lucky that these guys don’t play in an offensive park, or they’d cause nightmares over and over for your pitching staff. Curtis Granderson could be the finest leadoff hitter in all of baseball. He’s a threat for insane numbers that not many players in this game can reach. He’s got the pop for 20 homers and the speed for 20 triples. He will score runs at a crazy pace. Placido Polanco doesn’t get enough credit, the guy can bunt and hit .300 and might be the finest 2 hole hitter in baseball. Then comes the pain. Miguel Cabrera is a perrenial MVP candidate this season, and he’s had a year to adjust to AL pitching. Did anyone notice what he did in the second half last season? He raked like he always has. Magglio Ordonez is healthy and ready to be a consistent run producer. Then you’ve still got Gary Sheffield and Carlos Guillen as guys who can both hit. Sheffield has said this will be his final year, so we’ll get 162 games maximum of watching Sheffield whip that bat. If he can stay healthy. Brandon Inge slides over to third full time, he’s another guy who can hit but doesn’t get a lot of hype in a lineup full of studs. Gerald Laird is the catcher, another pretty good hitter from that position. The bottom of the lineup is filled out with shortstop Adam Everett.

The rotation is a real wildcard, but if they can get enough pitching they’re going to be a real force. There’s reason to believe that they might get enough pitching when you look at their personnel. Justin Verlander is the ace, and he’s been getting hit hard for a while now. He must return to be the dominant arm of the staff or at least give them a chance to win on most nights for the Tigers to be a real threat. Jeremy Bonderman is the number two. Bonderman’s time is running out to prove that he’s a top arm. He once had a very high ceiling but now he’s just a guy with a good fastball and they don’t last forever in this game. Young Edwin Jackson was acquired in the offseason from Tampa Bay, he’ll be the three starter. Armando Galaragga will be impressive if he can progress and make a full season of starts. Dontrelle Willis is either going to prove he can still pitch in this league and be a huge shot in the arm and pitch above what a five starter should provide a team or his career could be over. The closer is Brandon Lyon. Could be one of those special years for him, you watch.

And so this is what Jim Leyland is aligned with to do battle with the AL in 2009. The ageless wonder, that Marlboro cowboy. Detroit is a hell of a town when their sports teams are winning. Could this be one of those magical summers? We figure these guys will do battle with the Indians for the division crown. At the very least they will score a lot of runs and be in the thick of things for the wildcard.

Filed Under: 2009 Diamond Hoggers Season Previews, Detroit Tigers

Minnesota Twins 2009 Season Preview

March 26, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Leading up to the start of the 2009 Regular Season, Diamond Hoggers will preview each of MLB’s 30 teams. Today’s team is the Minnesota Twins. Stay tuned as Diamond Hoggers will preview every team division by division until the start of the regular season.

The Twins signify purity in big league baseball. They don’t have a high payroll. They rely on the development of their pitching prospects to get it done so they can compete. They hit the ball off that grocery bag wall in right and run like hell. They play on that old turf. It’s great.

The Twins will lead off their lineup with Carlos Gomez, the speedy centerfielder acquired from the New York Mets before last season for Johan Santana. Gomez could have a season in which he steals 40 bases and gets on base at a nice clip which would serve his role well in Minnesota. If he struggles, Denard Span could take away playing time. Alexi Casilla is the second baseman and will hit second on most nights. Joe Mauer, the Golden boy of Minnesota will hit third and catch. Justin Morneau (pictured above) is the quiet superstar, and should be a threat to once again hit 40 home runs and drive in well over 100. Micheal Cuddyer will hit 5th on many nights and be in right field. This is also a make or break year for Delmon Young, who will play left field and hit 6th to begin the season; or 5th if he can be a consistent run producer. Jason Kubel will be the DH. Infielders Nick Punto and Brendan Harris round out the lineup.

The rotation and possibly this team will go as far as Francisco “Lights Out” Liriano can carry them. He is the ace of the staff and had to be shut down for the year last year coming off major arm surgery. Scott Baker seems pretty ordinary to us but the Twins locked him up to a multi-year deal so they must see something we don’t about this kid. He’s been a fixture in the rotation and innings eater the past few years, always a plus. Kevin Slowey is the third starter. Nick Blackburn and Glen Perkins will round out the rotation. We are high on Blackburn.

The bullpen is headlined by one of the cadillac’s of closers in all of baseball, Joe Nathan. Nathan is piling up some milestones in this quiet baseball city. Jesse Crain is the fireballer setup man. Matt Guerrier, Craig Breslow and Phil Humber are the guys who will be looked to for innings in the rest of the pen.

You have to give the angry troll Ron Gardenhire credit. The guy simply gets results, as evidenced by this team earning a 1 game playoff last year with the White Sox to see who advanced to the postseason. This team had no business being in that position. While they’ll definitely play above expectations, it might be a rough year for the Twins. We like every team but the Royals better on paper then Minnesota. Mauer and Liriano are question marks health-wise, so that isn’t in their favor.

Filed Under: 2009 Diamond Hoggers Season Previews, Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins

Chicago White Sox 2009 Season Preview

March 25, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Leading up to the start of the 2009 Regular Season, Diamond Hoggers will preview each of MLB’s 30 teams. Today’s team is the Chicago White Sox. Stay tuned as Diamond Hoggers will preview every team division by division until the start of the regular season.

Baseball is a funny game. Who would have thought that Carlos Quentin could have gone from heap prospect to AL MVP candidate in one short year? The guy is the headliner of the entire organization now. The White Sox found their gem in the rough. He will be the centerpiece of their lineup this upcoming season and possibly for the next decade.

Leading off will be center fielder, and scrappy player Jerry Owens. Alexei Ramirez is considered to be a super prospect, bet expect some growing pains before he’s able to put up superstar numbers. It won’t happen overnight like many are expecting. We think he’s a year away at least. Ageless Jim Thome will follow Quentin as the cleanup hitter, and if his back can hold together he’ll hit his 30 homers. Jermaine Dye follows up Thome in the lineup and it really is amazing what he’s been able to sustain despite approaching his upper 30′s. One of these years Dye will break down. Will it be this year? Paul Konerko is another aging slugger who can hit if he can stay healthy. The biggest dick in all of baseball is A.J. Pierzynski. The guy gets big hits at clutch times and is a player that you love to hate no matter who you’re a fan of. Josh Fields is a sleeper at third base. Chris Getz should win the second base job out of camp. Wilson Betemit and Brian Anderson will provide depth from the bench.

The rotation is a real toss up and will determine (along with player health) if this team can make a run for the division title again. They have the firepower to do so. Mark Buerhle is the #1 by definition while Gavin Floyd is filed as another gem in the rough find. He’ll be the number two. John Danks and Bartolo Colon (who is probably 46 now) follow him up. The fifth starter is likely to be Clayton Richard.

The bullpen is highlighted by a dominant closer in Bobby Jenks. When he comes into a ballgame it is usually over. Octavio Dotel, Scott Linebrink and D.J. Carrasco are other penners that should have success.

Ozzie Guillen is a snotty little prick of a manager. There’s nothing we’d like to see more then Ozzie get himself into some hot water by losing too many games. Unfortunately, it probably won’t be this year. As long as they finish 3rd, we’ll be happy.

Filed Under: 2009 Diamond Hoggers Season Previews, Chicago White Sox

Cleveland Indians 2009 Season Preview

March 25, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Leading up to the start of the 2009 Regular Season, Diamond Hoggers will preview each of MLB’s 30 teams. Today’s team is the Cleveland Indians. Stay tuned as Diamond Hoggers will preview every team division by division until the start of the regular season.

The Cleveland Indians can finally say one thing, they will have the most exciting and intriguing player in the entire game in 2009. Grady Sizemore has blossomed into a do it all superstar and a guy who will get this team back into the postseason due to his talent alone. When I see Sizemore, I see a guy who is not only physically gifted but has all the qualities of a “watch how I do it” leader who makes his teammates better. Guys will play harder for just being on the same roster as Grady. He went 30/30 last year, and this year he’ll make a push at 40/40. Fans of baseball need to sit back and appreciate this guy; he’s 26 years of age and a breath of fresh air for the game. He isn’t a pure power hitter, just a ballplayer who can really make exciting things happen in centerfield, on the basepaths and at the plate. He should be hitting third but Eric Wedge’s inability to change things will limit Sizemore’s RBI numbers. It still doesn’t matter as Cleveland will be the Sizemore show in 2009. Sizemore will make a run for his first MVP award this upcoming season.

There are other questions for the Indians. Travis Hafner’s return to health will be a really big factor as to what kind of lineup they will have (as well as Victor Martinez returning to be effective offensively). Shin-Soo Choo is going to possibly hit in the middle of that lineup. I’ve heard he’s got a lot of pop but I don’t know how I feel about him as a middle of the lineup run producer. He’s a huge wildcard. Reports say Jhonny Peralta ripped the cover off the ball all spring. The guy can just hit. Mark DeRosa is a great addition as the 2nd hitter in the lineup. They have some deceiving pop in this lineup. Garko was a guy who always should have hit a ton but took a step back last season. Kelly Shoppach can hit. Asdrubal Cabrera is a dangerous 9 hole.

Then you have the rotation that trots out a Cy Young winner in Cliff Lee. Fausto Carmona has had a great spring, and you can look for him to rebound from last year to maybe being the finest pitcher on the staff. The wildcard in this rotation is Carl Pavano, who is pitching for a contract. Last time he had to do that he went wild. Then he went to New York and fans wanted to kick him in the nuts and harass his girlfriend. Pavano won’t be treated much better in Cleveland if he doesn’t deliver but we like the move. We feel Pavano could also approach his old form when he was dominant. When guys are money motivated, they do funny things. Anthony Reyes and Aaron Laffey are likely to round out the rotation.

The bullpen is a very strong one. Cleveland went out and acquired Kerry Wood to be the closer. Indians fans are excited about the move but this isn’t Kerry Wood from five years ago. He is succeptible to injury and breakdown. If he can stay healthy he’ll compile 40 saves. If not, it’s going to be Jensen Lewis, and that isn’t a bad thing. We think Lewis is ready to be a big league stopper right now. He’ll begin the year in the set-up role. Rafael Perez is one of the nastiest lefties in baseball when he’s on. Rafael Betancourt is a dominant reliever when he is going right. Masahide Kobayashi had his life ruined by Adam Dunn last year to the tune of a walk-off grand slam but he’s very good when he’s not asked to close out ballgames.

Look, this is a likable team. They aren’t going to blow away the American League but based on amounts of talent and character, they’re going to probably be tough. Eric Wedge is far from perfect but the guy knows how to win ballgames, even if it is in a questionable manner. This is an important year for him. If the Indians stay healthy, 90 wins is realistic. That win total would equal a division title, or at the very least a wildcard berth if something weird happens and a second team in the division can win more then 90.

Filed Under: 2009 Diamond Hoggers Season Previews, Sizemore, Tribe

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 2009 Season Preview

March 24, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Leading up to the start of the 2009 Regular Season, Diamond Hoggers will preview each of MLB’s 30 teams. Today’s team is the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Stay tuned as Diamond Hoggers will preview every team division by division until the start of the regular season.

This Angels team will be the odds on favorite to win the AL West in 2009 and we have seen some projections where they actually represent the AL in the World Series. They’re an experienced team with a great manager (perhaps the next Hall of Fame manager) and they’re the best team in the division on paper. But they’re not impressive enough to call a World Series team, and some people might have them slipping up and finishing second in the division, although it is unlikely. The smart money is for them to win another division title.

The team’s headliner has to be Ervin Santana, finally coming off a season in which he delivered on what was just known as potential before last season. John Lackey is probably still going to hold down the #1 spot in the rotation but Santana is the ace because he has streak stopping potential and nasty stuff. Joe Saunders, Jered Weaver, and Dustin Moseley finish out what is one of the better starting rotations in the American League. Saunders was an All Star last season, Weaver is going to win 20 games some season soon, and Moseley is another darkhorse pick for a big time breakout season.

Anaheim lost their record breaking closer Francisco Rodriguez to the Mets in free agency, but picked up another guy who could put up astonishing numbers. If we had to pick a closer who could possibly enter the elite in all of baseball it would be Brian Fuentes. Call it a hunch. From there the Angels have Jose Arredondo, Scot Shields, Darren Oliver, and Kevin Jepsen rounding out a nice bullpen.

The lineup is a playoff caliber unit. Chone Figgins is one of the most versatile players in baseball and he’ll lead off and play third base on most nights. Howie Kendrick is spectacularly solid in the 2 hole. Bobby Abreu was picked up in free agency to hit in the 3 spot, and he’s a guy who historically just puts up numbers and drives in runners. He’s a perfect fit for this veteran team. Vladimir Guerrero has a lot of mileage on him, but he’s probably got one more 40 homer, 130 RBI season with an average in the .320s left in him. It could be this year. Torii Hunter, Juan Rivera, and Kendry Morales follow Guerrero in the lineup. Mike Napoli, the catcher; and Erick Aybar/Macier Itzturis combination round out the bottom of this unit.

You have to think they’ve got enough experience, starting pitching, and manager prestige to hold off the Rangers don’t you? Stranger things have happened, but unless this team gets hit with a rash of injuries they should be strong enough to get back to the postseason.

Filed Under: 2009 Diamond Hoggers Season Previews, Anaheim Angels

Texas Rangers 2009 Season Preview

March 23, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Leading up to the start of the 2009 Regular Season, Diamond Hoggers will preview each of MLB’s 30 teams. Today’s team is the Texas Rangers. Stay tuned as Diamond Hoggers will preview every team division by division until the start of the regular season.

When the Rangers acquired Josh Hamilton from the Reds, we knew they were getting a once in a lifetime player and person that would serve as their centerpiece for the next decade. It makes you wonder why you’d ever trade a guy like that. As painful as it is, we’re extremely happy for Hamilton and proud to say we saw the glimmer on his star before it shined bright last year.

If this team had anything in the way of starting pitching, they’d be our darkhorse pick possibly in the entire AL. They have a lineup that will perhaps lead all of baseball in runs scored. It gets as hot as anywhere in the summer at the Ballpark in Arlington, and the ball flys in rapid succession on those hot summer days. Rangers fans no longer have to long for the days of Mickey Tettleton, Juan Gonzalez in his prime, and Pudge Rodriguez. These Rangers are even more heavily loaded. They’re a fantasy baseball owner’s dream come true.

Ian Kinsler will hit leadoff, coming off a great season in which he didn’t really finish strong. When Kinsler gets hot, home runs and extra base hits come in bunches. Micheal Young moves over to third base and is a consistent offensive player who collects hits like its his hobby. Then you’ve got Hamilton, coming off his explosive season in which he was an RBI machine he should see no shortage of preseason MVP picks. We’d list Miguel Cabrera and Grady Sizemore there as well, but Hamilton could easily reach that milestone this season.

Nelson Cruz is a sleeper to do something big in 2009 as the Rangers everyday right fielder and cleanup man. The Rangers always saw him as a middle-of-the-order hitter, but every time they gave him a chance, he gave them no reason to keep him in the majors. He hit .342 in the minors last year, so expect that to translate to some good things at the big league level this season.

Hank Blalock will be back as the designated hitter, and we’ve complete given up on this guy ever amounting to anything. He’s fallen apart. He is Hillbilly Eric Chavez. He is a trainwreck. Blalock will eventually find himself out of baseball like Billy Ashley did back in the day. The guy is just too inconsistent in a number of areas, mainly health.

Chris Davis is a guy who at 23 could be another 30 homer, 100 RBI guy. He burst on the scene last season and hit like a madman at points. He’ll be the Rangers next big power star. It doesn’t end there. Jarrod Saltalamacchia will be the everyday catcher this year, after splitting some time with Gerald Laird initially last year. Salty will also breakout someday soon with big time power numbers. David Murphy has some pop in left field, but is more of a base hit guy. Elvis Andrus could cause problems as double leadoff man in the nine hole, and look for him to push towards 20 stolen bases. What a lineup.

The starting rotation honestly isn’t even worth talking about. Kevin Millwood is the ace. Then you’ve got Vicente Padilla, Kason Gabbard, Brandon Mccarthy and Scott Feldman surrouding him. They’re gonna hit hard. They’re gonna give up runs. They also added Ben Sheets but he’s a relative wildcard seemingly getting hurt each and every year.

The closer role will be split between Frank Francisco and CJ Wilson, with one emerging by midseason as the fulltime guy. Warner Madrigal, Dustin Nippert and Derek Turnbow are others who will be dependable in the pen.

These guys will make some noise, when the lineup gets hot they’ll win a horde of games and if they can get any pitching at all they’ll hang onto the top spot in the AL West for a bit. They’re at worst probably a second place team in the division, but at best that is probably their highest spot. They’ve got to get some pitching that will keep them in ballgames. Still, an 85 win season would provide a lot of enjoyment for those Cowboys who follow this team down in Texas.

Filed Under: 2009 Diamond Hoggers Season Previews, Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers

Oakland A's 2009 Season Preview

March 23, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Leading up to the start of the 2009 Regular Season, Diamond Hoggers will preview each of MLB’s 30 teams. Today’s team is the Oakland Athletics. Stay tuned as Diamond Hoggers will preview every team division by division until the start of the regular season.

Billy Beane has went from one of the best GM’s in baseball to a gay mad scientist. Remember when the Oakland A’s were built with young talent, and great young arms? The A’s were able to compete and were considered the model small/mid-market organization in all of baseball. Well Beane has now traded away a lot of that very youth foundation in some head scratching moves.

Beane shipped out the most dominant closer the A’s have seen since Dennis Eckersley, and in return got exactly the kind of player he covets. In one of the biggest trades of the off-season, Beane did the appropriate amount of wheeling and dealing to land Colorado’s superstar outfielder Matt Holliday. Now this move is only surprising because not only did the A’s send Street but also Carlos Gonzalez, who was one of their finest offensive prospects. A friend of ours was talking to the assistant GM of the Rockies in Vegas this offseason and the Rockies are thrilled about Gonzalez coming over in the deal, they feel he’ll be a star. Beane gets a great player in Holliday but he’s close to being able to walk in free agency and command a mega deal. We thought the move was poor.

The A’s also rescued Jason Giambi from the Bronx and brought him back to Oakland. Giambi will close out his career most likely in Oakland and has proven he’s not all that bad of a player minus the steroids.

The leadoff guy should be centerfielder Ryan Sweeney, a relative unknown. Second baseman Mark Ellis will precede Holliday and Giambi in the middle of the lineup. Eric Chavez is back once again, and it seems like its been forever since Chavez was able to log a full season of at bats. If he can stay healthy enough to get back in the box for 500 at bats he could have a 30 homer season. The odds are against that happening, as Chavez is coming off shoulder surgery in the offseason. Jack Cust is a pure power guy. He could hit 25-30 homers or he could struggle to hold an everyday job as the rightfielder. Daric Barton is back as the first baseman. He’s nothing special offensively from that position but you wonder: does Oakland know something we don’t about the guy? Every year they seemingly have someone put up numbers that wasn’t expected to. They’re going to hit on some of these young players. Kurt Suzuki is the catcher and will hit 8th. Bobby Crosby is back as the shortstop, and you wonder if he’ll ever reach the mountain-like ceiling he was once projected to reach. It isn’t looking like it.

While there are decent arms waiting in the minors, the starting rotation is virtually anonymous. Justin Duchsherer was anonymous a year ago but made Rich Harden expendable. We still didn’t like the move to trade Harden, who will have a Cy Young when its said and done. After Duchsherer, Oakland trots out three lefties in Dana Eveland, Dallas Braden, and Gio Gonzalez. We like Braden the best out of those three. Sean Gallagher is the only other righty in the rotation. Your best is as good as ours about these guys after the immensely solid Duchsherer. You have to figure Oakland knows something we don’t, as they have in the past.

The closer will either be Joey Devine or Brad Ziegler. Ziegler is a valuable bullpen arm because he has good stuff and can go more than one inning if needed. Russ Springer and newly acquired Micheal Wuertz are the next most reliable arms out of the pen. Jerry Blevins and Josh outman are the lefty specialists. Santiago Casilla may also get the opportunity to log some innings.

Overall, this should be a rebuilding year for the A’s, which makes the move to acquire Holiday all that much more puzzling to us. Either Oakland sees something before the rest of us or they’re headed for a last place finish in the AL West. When healthy their lineup will be able to get guys on base and cause a lot of problems. If not, they’re going to be a station to station ballclub.

Filed Under: 2009 Diamond Hoggers Season Previews, Matt Holliday, Oakland A's

Seattle Mariners 2009 Season Preview

March 22, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Leading up to the start of the 2009 Regular Season, Diamond Hoggers will preview each of MLB’s 30 teams. Today’s team is the Seattle Mariners. Stay tuned as Diamond Hoggers will preview every team division by division until the start of the regular season.

Junior is back in Seattle for a nostalgic run that doesn’t make a ton of sense to those inside baseball circles. Sometimes, you have to give back to the fans. For that, we tip our cap to the Mariners. We also tip our cap to Junior. He’s really never going to win that World Series that he probably deserves. He’s never even going to play in one. But like when Micheal Jordan came back and nearly took the Wizards to the playoffs at the very end of his career, Griffey has a chance to be the tutor to many a young Mariner and be remembered like a legend in Seattle one more time. This team making the playoffs in any of the next couple years would be similar to a World Series run for many other franchises, because of the unlikelihood of that event occurring.

These guys aren’t going to be all that bad. The AL west is nothing special and is as open for the taking as it’s been in perhaps the last decade. The Mariners must just get strong starting pitching and their youngsters need to grow up fast. They have some pieces in place that could make this an exciting season.

The first of that is King Felix Hernandez, the ace of the pitching staff. One of these years this guy is going to come out and win a Cy Young before anyone predicts it. His stuff is just that good. Look for him to have his best season yet and post an ERA under 3.00, you heard it here first.

Erik Bedard’s return to help as the #2 starter will go a long ways for this team as well. In reality the Mariners thought the lefty would serve as a second ace, but Bedard only was the pitcher of record in 10 games last season. If Bedard can return to form and just make all of his starts it will be a tremendous shot in the arm for this young club. From there, Jarrod Washburn (on his last legs), Carlos Silva, and Brandon Morrow will fill out the rotation.

The lineup is not intimidating. You can shut this team down. Their ballpark is spacious and doesn’t allow a lot of home runs. Ichiro Suzuki will continue doing what Hall of Famers in the making do; he is a known commodity. From there, Yunkiesky Betancourt and Adrian Beltre are solid righthanded bats. Russell Branyan and Griffey should hit in the 4th and 5th spots. Griffey will be the DH around half the time and play some left field other nights.

Jose Lopez is a nice little offensive player as the second baseman. He could be hitting near the top of the order by season’s end. Kenji Johjima, Franklin Gutierrez, and Endy Chavez will round out the bottom of the order. Jeff Clement will see significant time as a reserve.

The closer spot is up in the air. The Mariners traded J.J. Putz (15 saves) to the New York Mets and have no clear solution providing Morrow (10 saves last season) makes the rotation.
Candidates include Mark Lowe, who pitched strong the final month of last season after a rough start, and Roy Corcoran, who had three saves and a 3.22 ERA last year. Newly acquired Tyler Walker has 34 career saves in seven big league seasons. Look for Lowe to get his shot.

This team isn’t going to be world beaters. An 80 win season would be monumental, but fans should enjoy the reality that is Ichiro and Griffey; two Seattle legends, in the same lineup for as many nights as they can. Any baseball fan should appreciate that.

Filed Under: 2009 Diamond Hoggers Season Previews, Griffey, Seattle Mariners
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