NFBuck;1439246; said:
Okay, with spring training winding down, here's a few thoughts...
- Pronk is done :(. I know they say he's still getting his timing back and whatnot, but he just seems to be sapped of his once prodigious power. Is the shoulder fully healed? Is it still mental? I don't know, but the best I'm hoping for out of him at this point is something a little less than his mediocre '07 season. At worst, he's done.
- I like that a lot of the youngsters were given significant time and looked pretty good. I think LaPorta will be ready by midseason. Doesn't mean he'll be called on at that point, but he'll be ready. If Francisco falls back to earth (appears quite possible after his late season swoon, though he looks good this spring), LaPorta should get the call IMO. I really like Brantley as a future top-of-the-order hitter. We definately got the best of that Sabathia deal now (well, not definately, but it looks good). Crowe looked decent and may contribute at some point this season. Hodges was OK, but doesn't appear ready. That's not as big a deal with DeRosa on board now though.
- Looks like the Andy Marte experiment may finally be over. Thank God. What a fiasco.
- Jhonny was hitting the cover off the ball. Hope it continues into the regular season. I was all for trading him at one point last season, but if he can give good production for the SS position, he's a major asset.
- I'm excited about "Big League" Choo in RF. He didn't look great it the WBC, but supposedly had some nagging injuries. If he's healed up, he could be a major sleeper. He even got some love on ESPN's fantasy baseball special. He was a monster over the last two months last year.
- Victor looks like he got his power back, remains to be seen how he handles playing 1B sometimes. Shoppach is still hitting relatively well, as is Garko.
- Asdrubal looks solid again after bouncing back late in the season and I like the versatility Carroll provides in the infield.
- Grady is Grady, which is to say a stud. He's one of the top 3 or 4 young guys I'd want to build a team around in all of baseball.
- Cliff has looked awful this spring. I mean awful. I don't think anybody in their right mind expects another season like last, but hopfully the dropoff isn't too drastic. He has really looked bad. Shapiro isn't willing to negotiate an extension at this point, so hopefully he uses that as motivation to get things going.
- Fausto has looked good for the most part, but still seems to be having control issues which concerns me some.
- Reyes has looked good and could be a real find as the #5.
- Pavano...meh. I don't expect much. If he's not on the DL in May, it's a bonus.
- Please God, please let Kerry Wood stay healthy. At least Jensen Lewis looked pretty good last year in the Closer role last season and we don't have Borowski raising my blood pressure anymore.
- The bullpen still looks iffy, but it can't possibly be as bad as last year. Can it?
All in all, I'm cautiously optimistic heading into the year. A lot will hinge on the bullpen improving, the rotation coming together (Cliff has to be somewhere between his '04-'06 self and last season and Fausto
needs to bounce back). I think anything from Pronk is a bonus at this point, but we need Victor back to his old self. There's still too many questions to expect much going in, but it's an odd year, so we have that going for us.
1. if hafner can give cleveland '07 production, they should be happy.
2. brantley and laporta may both see some time in the show this year, especially if cleveland tanks early and starts playing youngsters
3. marte lived off of potential for as long as he could. thankfully that's over.
4. peralta is erratic at times, but he's defensively not as bad as people make him out to be, and a + offensive player for his position.
5. will he fall back to earth, or was that the choo that we will see going forward?
6. playing victor at 1st on occassion can only help him in the long run of the season.
7. if cleveland can get an entire season of that kind of production from ascab, he'll be really valuable.
8. yes.
9. i'd take a slightly improved version of the '05 cliff lee, where he throws a lot of innings, puts up an era of about 4.00, and wins 15. that's not great from your #2, but cleveland should be happy with it. and, you never extend a pitcher after he's had an outlier career-year. it's bad business. in fact, i'd exercise his option year and deal him next season.
10. it's the nature of his style. in order to get the movement he does, he's going to sacrifice some degree of control. it's finding the balance that's important. hitters have adjusted to him. they make him throw his sinker for strikes more often now.
11. if he stays healthy
12. i always figured the goal with pavano was to have him give what he can and hope that he lasts until westbrook returns.
13-14. there are a lot of quality arms in the pen, both with the big club and in AAA. They will find 7 guys that can get it done, but it is all dependent on wood staying off the DL, and setting the rotation back from him. hopefully sipp can keep it going and take a spot in the pen as well.
