Ahead of the game
Deuces Wild
Harold McIlvain II
Issue date: 1/30/08 Section: Sports
Now that the fall semester has started, and unfortunately the habit of doing school work has reestablished itself as first tests approach, spring season baseball will be upon us before we know it. But let's be good students by getting a head start on the major trades and free-agent signings that have happened in the MLB off season.
There was one block buster trade that you surely heard about. It was the trade that sent Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera to the Tigers, which could be a trade that puts the Tigers over the top in the American League. One could argue now that the Yankees are only second fiddle when it comes to the most explosive line-up from top to bottom.
The trade inserts Cabrera into an already beastly line-up that includs Magglio Ordonez, Gary Sheffield and Carlos Guillen. Also adding to the line-up will be free agent pick up Edgar Renteria, who will be a nice complement to the power bats.
All the offense is nice, but what made the trade a greater value for the Tigers was the addition of a young arm in Willis. He doesn't have to be 'the man' anymore in a rotation that will be led by Justin Verlander and Jeremy Bonderman. It will be interesting to see how this powerful team does as spring training leads into the new season.
Andruw Jones will be finding a new home in L.A. after spending 12 seasons in Atlanta. Jones had his worst year during a contract year, which hurt his value as he only received at two-year deal from the Dodgers. New Manager Joe Torre will want more out of Jones than his 2007 numbers, a .222 average with just 26 homers.
Torii Hunter, a Pine Bluff native, not unlike Jones, will call L.A. home after 11 seasons with the Twins. The Angles hope Hunter will be a key piece to make their line-up more dynamic alongside Vladimir Guerrero.
The Japanese market opened itself up again this year with the big signing of Kosuke Fukudome for the Cubs. The four-year, $48 million outfielder has five-tool type of ability that is being compared to Ichiro. It will be interesting to see if the 30-year-old lefty will be able to put up comparable numbers in the MLB while coming off a right elbow injury that cut his 2007 short.
There was one block buster trade that you surely heard about. It was the trade that sent Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera to the Tigers, which could be a trade that puts the Tigers over the top in the American League. One could argue now that the Yankees are only second fiddle when it comes to the most explosive line-up from top to bottom.
The trade inserts Cabrera into an already beastly line-up that includs Magglio Ordonez, Gary Sheffield and Carlos Guillen. Also adding to the line-up will be free agent pick up Edgar Renteria, who will be a nice complement to the power bats.
All the offense is nice, but what made the trade a greater value for the Tigers was the addition of a young arm in Willis. He doesn't have to be 'the man' anymore in a rotation that will be led by Justin Verlander and Jeremy Bonderman. It will be interesting to see how this powerful team does as spring training leads into the new season.
Andruw Jones will be finding a new home in L.A. after spending 12 seasons in Atlanta. Jones had his worst year during a contract year, which hurt his value as he only received at two-year deal from the Dodgers. New Manager Joe Torre will want more out of Jones than his 2007 numbers, a .222 average with just 26 homers.
Torii Hunter, a Pine Bluff native, not unlike Jones, will call L.A. home after 11 seasons with the Twins. The Angles hope Hunter will be a key piece to make their line-up more dynamic alongside Vladimir Guerrero.
The Japanese market opened itself up again this year with the big signing of Kosuke Fukudome for the Cubs. The four-year, $48 million outfielder has five-tool type of ability that is being compared to Ichiro. It will be interesting to see if the 30-year-old lefty will be able to put up comparable numbers in the MLB while coming off a right elbow injury that cut his 2007 short.
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