Pitchers and catchers report for spring training today. Whoohoo! 
Two American League teams made moves over the off-season that could make this a very interesting year:
- In the AL West, the Angels spent a TON of money and signed Vladimir Guererro, Bartolo Colon, Jose Guillen and Kelvim Escobar. Assuming they can keep everyone healthy, they might be better than my Mariners this year, and the A’s are going to rely on their pitching more than ever. It could be a tight three team race.
- The Orioles broke the bank as well, signing Miguel Tejada, Javy Lopez, Rafael Palmeiro and Sydney Ponson. They won’t contend in a division with the Yankees and Red Sox, but they won’t be the cream-puffs they have been in recent seasons. The Blue Jays should also be improved, leaving the Devil Rays as the only automatic win in the AL East.
Last season, the AL East was basically assured of the Wild Card (a rant for another day) with the Red Sox/Yankees stacked at the top and the unbalanced schedule feeding them a succulent diet of Orioles and Devil Rays. The AL Central should still belong to the Twins (even with the roster changes they made), but we might see a 5 or 6 teams (A’s, Angels, Blue Jays?, Mariners, Yankees, Red Sox) fighting for the other 3 playoff spots.
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Geof adds this Comment:
I just hope the Angels realize that Erstad’s worth more money in CF, even if he injures himself, than he is at 1B. He hasn’t enough offensive value to be at 1B.
February 14th, 2004 at 11:24 am
Alex adds this Comment:
I’m of two minds on this one. I agree that Erstad is a blow average first baseman offensively, but if you’re going to play Anderson and Erstad full time anyway, I’d rather keep them both healthy. Having Erstad at first it more likely to keep him healthy.
Now if you want to argue Jeff DaVanon should be getting some PT instead of Erstad, that is another matter entirely.
February 14th, 2004 at 11:51 am