I never knew why it was called the Hot Stove, and I suppose in the age of Google and Wikipedia, I could easily find the answer to that question. Ultimately, it does not matter so I will simply continue on in blissful ignorance. Sports has become a 24 hour a day, 365 investment. Baseball is no different. As soon as the season ends, whether your team won or lost the World Series, the question is the same, what about next season? It does not take long before everyone wonders where free agents are going, how much money they are going to get, and who is the favorite next year. The Yankees are already facing questions like, are they going to resign Johnny Damon? What about Matsui? Is Pettite going or coming back? What about Holliday, Bay, and Halladay? I mean this team just won the World Series. I am going to be honest. I do not have any inside information. No one at any of the NL East teams is feeding me information.
Here is what I do know and it has been said by much smarter and more eloquent people than I. You cannot win in the offseason. So let’s take a stab at some of the more popular off season rumors and take the opposite position and see where that gets us.

Popular Theory #1

The Phillies are only looking to add a third baseman and complimentary pieces. Otherwise, they are still the team to beat.

I have to be honest, despite the nausea that ensued from watching the World Series as a Mets fan, I was envious of the way the Phillies were constructed. However, that same World Series exposed a lot of problems that the other NL East teams were not in a position to capitalize on last year. Cole Hamels is a question mark. Can Joe Blanton and J.A. Happ be counted on to perform as well as they did last season? Jayson Werth a 40 HR guy? Did Brad Lidge turn into a pumpkin? The least of the Phillies problems is 3rd base. With the Phillies lineup, they need someone slightly better at the hot corner than, say, Roger Dorn. The Phillies though could use a Randy Wolf type starter or try and catch lightening in a bottle with Eric Bedard. Rafael Soriano is available and if he can stay healthy, he would be a great setup man, push Madson to the 7th inning and also serve as insurance should Brad Lidge regress further into pumpkin pie. (Hope you appreciate the seasonal reference.) I understand that the Phillies will not overspend for John Lackey, but pitching wins. You cannot outslug everyone, especially in the playoffs. The Phillies need to find find a wily veteran to play third base, like the Marlins did with Jorge Cantu, and hope for the best. The rest of whatever money is available should be poured into the starting rotation and the bullpen.

Free Agents to Target: Joe Crede, Marco Scutaro, Rafael Soriano, Ben Sheets, Randy Wolf, Billy Wagner, Melvin Mora, Adam Kennedy, Jason Marquis.

#2

The Braves should look to unload salary by trying to dump Derek Lowe or Javier Vazquez.

I am going to say it, the Braves could be on the short list for the Wild Card next year. Chipper Jones, Yunel Escobar, Adam LaRoche and Brian McCann create a pretty competitive lineup. Lowe, Hudson, Vazquez and Hanson are not a bad front 4. With the Mets and Phillies looking vulnerable, why would the Braves start bailing? While I dont think the Braves should make a run at Holliday or Bay to try and “go for it”, I do think they should look to invest their money. I am thinking Mike Cameron. I think they try to bring in Randy Wolf, or make a trade for Edwin Jackson. Speaking of trades, make an offer for Dan Uggla, I bet it would take less than you would think. The Braves can compete and though Lowe and Vazquez are huge contracts, can you really consider trading them? The Braves knew what they were getting into when they signed Lowe. Might as well make the best of it.

Free Agents to Target: Mike Cameron, Scott Podsednik, Marlon Byrd, Bobby Howry, Octavio Dotel.

#3

The Mets need to sign Matt Holliday and/or Jason Bay and/or John Lackey.

As a Mets fan, it would be great if the team could be run like fantasy baseball team. It cannot. While a left fielder would be great, and the Mets could sorely use the power, this team needs to be more artfully constructed then just plugging in Holliday. Now, the Mets could have a Yankee moment and burn money by signing Lackey and Holliday/Bay and turn the baseball world on its head, but that wont happen. This team needs a more focused approach. The Mets have won before with the likes of Darryl Hamilton, Benny Agbayani and Todd Pratt. The Mets need quality top to bottom. They need a solid rotation. The bench was exposed last season. The Mets should not have players on their team that might appear on a 1998 baseball card. Signing one big free agent will not solve this problem. There is better ways to invest money than in Holliday.

Free Agents to Target: Austin Kearns, Rich Harden, Adam Kennedy, Jarrod Washburn, Fernando Rodney, Jason Kendall, Jon Garland, Miguel Olivo.

#4

The Nationals should….

Eek. I dont know where to begin. The Nationals need to establish a winning culture. Right now, they are about inspiring as East Germany before the wall fell down. (Again, another culturally relevant point, Google it if you dont know why.) However, there is hope. Adam Dunn and Ryan Zimmerman. Stephen Strasburg. A mildly intriguing starting rotation. The fact is, Washington, right now can neither afford nor attract top talent. So it needs to continue to build like it did when it signed Adam Dunn. In this market, given the fact that bigger teams are reluctant to give up draft picks and pay out top dollar, teams like the Nationals can sign players like Adam Dunn and thereby become competitive.

Free Agents to Target: Orlando Hudson, Justin Duchscherer, Hank Blalock, Ben Sheets, Brett Myers, Carl Pavano, Paul Byrd, Jose Contreras.

#5

Marlins? Marlins? Bueller?

As with the Nationals, the Marlins are a total mystery as to what direction they will take. They are rumored to be looking to move pieces. I just dont know. I dont even know what to say. It wouldnt surprise me if the Marlins found a way to finish below the Nationals next year or if they won the World Series. What I do know is that they have cheerleaders. Yes, you read it correctly. Rivaled only by the Kansas City Chiefs Cheerleaders for “Fewest Fans to Entertain”, the Marlins have decided cheerleaders are a good way to get people to the ballpark. They have been around for a few years and it always surprises me when I see them. Is this the UFL? What happened to this baseball game? How much are they getting paid? How much could a ticket possibly cost to sit directly behind them? Anyway, the Marlins will probably have one signing that makes you go, oh yea, remember when he was good for that one season? The Marlins should give out an award to that guy. Call it, the Ken Bottenfield Award and it should be written into the contract.

Free Agents to Target: Mike Hampton, Vicente Padilla, LaTroy Hawkins, Shawon Dunston, Russell Branyan, Bruce Chen, Eddie Guardado, Rocco Baldelli. (Although to type this list makes me feel like I am wasting my time).

Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see who the teams in the NL East decide to sign and/or trade for, but there are always some surprises.

Entering our final week of the season and recaps..here we go

Raul Ibanez scores in the fifth

Joe Blanton helped the Phillies finally cut some games off their magic number yesterday as he helped them win in Milwaukee 6-5.  Blanton(12-7) did not have one of his best games of the year, but went 5.2 innings and allowed seven hits and five runs on 124 pitches for the win.  Jimmy Rollins led off with a solo home run and Ryan Howard and Shane Victorino had RBI doubles to put the Phils up 4-0 in the second inning.  Ryan Madson got his ninth save of the year but did give up a double to Prince Fielder to make it anothe r stressful game.  Check out Phillies Phandom for more on this game and the Phils march to the postseason.

For a while in this one, it looked like the Brewers might be blown out, but in the sixth, they got a bit closer.  Matt Gamel, the rookie had a three run home run scoring Cameron and Escobar and Ryan Braun later singled home Corey Hart to make it a one run game.  Dave Bush(5-9) was chased after only 4.1 innings of work and giving up nine hits and five runs for the Brewers and taking the loss in this one.

Prado and Chipper score go ahead runs in the tenth

The Braves were looking for a sweep yesterday and some tenth inning heroics helped them get that win 6-3.  Brian McCann grounded out to score Nate McLouth to put them ahead 4-3 and then Omar Infante put the insurance runs on with a two run single scoring Martin Prado and Chipper Jones.  Mike Gonzalez(5-4) got credit for the win as he pitched the ninth giving up only one hit and Rafael Soriano got his 27th save of the season with a perfect bottom of the tenth inning, check out The Braves Baseball Blog for more on this incredible run by the Braves.

Well, one goo thing in this game was Zimmerman and Willingham hitting back to back home runs in the first inning to put the Nats up early, unfortunately the lead didn’t last.  Livan Hernandez pitched 6.1 innings allowing three runs on six hits for a solid Livan type start, but MacDougal couldn’t hold the tie for the Nats.  MacDougal(1-1) gave up two hits and three runs in his one inning of work, sending the Nats to the sweep, check out Centerfield Gate for more.

Misch with a CG shutout..wow

Pat Misch helped the Mets extract a bit of revenge on the pesky Marlins yesterday, winning 4-0.  Pat Misch(2-4) went a full nine innings allowing eight hits and three walks , but no runs as the Mets eliminated the Marlins from the Playoffs, as was done to them the past two seasons.  Jeff Francouer continued a solid half season as a Met going 2-5 with two runs scored and a two run home run as well.  Check out The Real Dirty Mets Blog for insight on the Mets offseason plans or what they should do at least.

Chris Volstad definitely lost his good stuff this year, and needs to find it in the offense.  Volstad(9-13) went only four innings and allowed five hits and three runs with the big blow being the home run to Francouer.  Even worse, the Marlins could not manage a run in the game, with Coghlan and Maybin leading the way with two hits, check out FishGuts for the latest on the Marlins.

Utley with the eventual winner

Chase Utley and the Phillies were able to get back in the win column on Saturday with a 4-1 victory at Citi Field, ruining the Mets ’69 World Series celebration.  After being shut out for five innings, Chase Utley got to the Mets relief pitchers with a two run home run, and the Phillies needed no more.  Starter J.A. Happ(10-2) gave up one run over seven innings scattering eight hits and got his 10th win of the season, to continue leading all rookies.  Brad Lidge got his 24th save of the season and Carlos Ruiz and Pedro Feliz added RBI’s for the Phillies, Phillies Phandom will have more information on the Phillies.

Tim Redding started the game for the Mets after Livan Hernandez was released and pitched five shutout, one hit innings before giving way to the relief corp.  Pat Misch(0-1) came in to start the sixth after being recalled and walked Victorino and gave up the two run shot to Utley immediately afterwards, taking the loss.  The Mets only recorded a run on a single by Omir Santos in the second which scored Jeff Francouer from third.  The Real Dirty Mets Blog will have more on the Mets loss.

Hanson keeps winning

Two home runs and four runs in the first inning yesterday proved to be all the offense Atlanta would get, but more importantly, all they would need in a 4-3 victory.  Omar Infante led off the game with a home run for the Braves, LaRoche added an RBI single and finally Yunel Escobar capped the inning with a two run blast scoring LaRoche, and Hanson cruised.  Tommy Hanson(9-2) went seven innings giving up three runs on four hits while striking out seven in keeping the Braves playoff hopes alive.  Rafael Soriano worked the ninth to get his 19th save of the season.  The Braves Baseball Blog has more.

Chris Volstad(9-10) only got through four innings of work, but except for a bad blemish in the first, had a pretty solid start.  Volstad was charged with four runs on six hits and all four runs coming in the first inning, but the Marlins offense could not get him off the hook.  The Marlins got their three runs in the fifth on a double by Wes Helms and then a two run single by Jorge Cantu.  The Marlins looks to take the series today in Atlanta, but FishGuts has more on the team.

How silly does this look?

The Milwaukee Brewers appear to have found the Nationals of early season, as they took their second in a row by a score of 11-9 on Saturday.  Ths win did not come easy though, after being up 7-0 going to the bottom of the second, Mike Burns and the Brewers relief let the Nats right back in the game.  Casey McGehee went 2-5 for the Brewers but drove in the eventual winning run, and Mike Cameron contributed four hits and three runs and three RBI including a home run during the victory.  Chris Narverson(1-0) picked up the win as he pitched 2.2 scoreless innings of relief and Trevor Hoffman got his 27th save of the season in this game.

John Lannan may have had his worst start of the year in this one, going only 1.2 innings and allowing seven earned runs and putting the Nats in an early hole.  Luckily, they got him off the hook, but still lost the game.  Ronnie Belliard produced the biggest blow with a grand slam home run in the third and had two other hits and a total of two runs scored.  Jason Bergmann(2-2) took the loss as he worked one inning giving up two hits and a run.  CenterfieldGate has more on the Nationals latest losing streak.