First to Worst, then Back to First? (A. Littlefield)

Rusney Castillo, and a bunch of other reasons the Sox will be at the top of the AL East next year

Call this piece a wish list, a dream, anything really. This is my list of optimistic, idealistic reasons, why the Red Sox will be in the hunt for another title next year. To address some of the questions that may arise: No, I have not been drinking. Yes, I really think some of this might happen. Castillo is awesome; we might as well go all in on some pitching and a trade for Stanton.

1.       Tampa doesn’t have David Price anymore. That’s kind of a big deal. He’s a perennial Cy Young contender and now he’s in a different division. That’s a gift from god. Boston is about the only team that can hit him regularly so it’s nice to see his 18-ish wins elsewhere.

2.       The Yankees suck. Like bad. Like name someone outside of their outfield not named Derek Jeter.  And chances are you can only name one of the three outfield starters. Right now they have Stephen Drew on second(Offense isn’t important, defense wins championships, like, duh), Chase Headley on third(one good year does not a superstar make), Teixeira on first(he’s going downhill faster than Picabo Street), and McCann is hanging out behind the plate being totally average. Let’s go BoSox, we got this next year.

3.       Jon Lester wants to come back. The letters, the leaks, as long as ownership doesn’t go all Ebenezer Scrooge on the first offer, he’ll be back here. And even more importantly, we need him. We’re about to be incredibly young, and crazy athletic. I’m going to readdress this later. Because bet on it now, he’s coming back.

4.       We can now package Jackie Bradley Jr. who still has crazy upside with possibly Mookie Betts and Alan Webster (maybe) for Giancarlo Stanton. We can also throw in Allen Craig and Will Middlebrooks (since he married Jenny Dell I’ve been hoping they send him to the North Korean League). Miami likes young guys and they aren’t even close to willing to pay Stanton what he’s worth. This prospect brings me back to #3…

5.       (Actually 3b.) Lester is coming back. He would be pitching with an outfield that has two uber-athletic Cuban defectors and Stanton. All three play defense and two out of the three have hit balls that are somewhere between Mars and Jupiter by now. We’re going to have offense. Try to figure out how you put together a lineup that includes Pedroia, Cespedes, Napoli, Ortiz, Bogaerts(If he performs as expected), and Stanton. Correct answer: Pick names out of a hat and watch the offense destroy opposing pitching. What pitcher would look forward to that line-up?

6.       Castillo, where this all began. We gave him 72.5 for 7 years. By comparison we gave Stephen Drew 10 for 1 year and we knew he didn’t have any upside. Castillo is 27, the same age Abreu was this year, and he’s already polished as a defensive and offensive player. He can play short, he’s best in center, and he’s filthy good. The hype is that he looks like Puig or Andrew McCutchen… yeah, they compared him to Cutch. We’re about to see one hell of an outfield.

7.       Boston is an Irish town, so we’ll end on lucky number seven. Cespedes’ Arm, nuff said. If you don’t know what I’m talking about you should watch this, or this, or this… or this if you need to be reminded of his 2013 Home Run Derby performance. He crushes dreams with his arm, crushes balls with his bat.

It’s Boston; we’ll sign some people, trade some people, and be back in it next year. This isn’t the mid-late 90’s, this is post-curse baseball. 2015 is going to be a great year. Worst to first to worst to first… it can and will be done.

Offseason Necessities for the Rockies (By: M. Lessard)

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Considering they have debatably the most prolific offense in the entire MLB, the Colorado Rockies have put forth a rather underwhelming season.  The Rockies currently lead the MLB in batting average (.277) and rank second in runs (592), only behind the Oakland Athletics (Baseball-Referance.com).  One would assume that with commendable offensive statistics like these, the corresponding team would not only be atop their respective division, but also the entire MLB.  However,  the Rockies currently sit at the basement of the NL West with a 50-76 record (Baseball-Reference.com).  When seeing their position in the standing, in combination with their offensive prowess, one would immediately look to blame the teams pitching for the lack of wins.  Pitching is the main symptom for the Rockies lackluster record.  They have the right concoction of inexperienced youth, injuries, and mediocre veterans that precipitates an ailing staff.  As a team, the Rockies have an astronomical ERA of 4.99, meaning they surrender roughly 5 runs per game, on average.  I firmly believe that with some adjustments this Rockies team could easily go from worst-to-first.  Thus, I dedicate this post to highlighting some transactions that are imperative to execute, if the Rockies want to be successful next season.

1)  Re-Sign Michael Cuddyer-  Sure Cuddyer is getting up there in age, however, his production has been as good as it has ever been during the longevity of his career.  In 2013, Cuddyer was the NL batting champ and even his statistics for this season have been good, despite his ailing hamstring and frequent trips to the DL.  I do not believe that his current injury will be long-lived, thus it should not be a impediment when considering re-signing him.  However, if he asks either for too much money or an absurd length for the contract, the Rockies should not fret, for their current outfield of Dickerson-Stubbs-Blackmon is outstanding.  "What about CarGo?" You might be asking yourself.  Well, the re-signing of Cuddyer would open up a very profitable avenue for the Rockies, which I will elaborate in the next point.

2)  Trade CarGo-  Yes, I said it.  Despite being one of the top players for this Rockies squad, I believe that Carlos Gonzalez is not part of the formula for a winning team in Colorado.  I recommend trading Carlos Gonzalez, in order to gain some prospects or productive veterans (Pitching and Infield).  Trading Gonzalez could help free up salary room, which could in turn be utilized in the signing of some free agent arms.  I comprehend that Gonzalez has been injury plagued this season and that his trade value may have deteriorated as a result, but the Rockies could still gain some integral pieces via trading him.

3)  Sign Free Agent SP-  The upcoming 2015 class of MLB free agents, in terms of pitching, yields a decent crop headlined by Max Scherzer, James Shields, and Jon Lester.  However, I do not think any of the aforementioned three pitchers are optimal fits for the Rox, fiscally speaking.  I believe that the Rox would receive optimal value from players like Paul Maholm or Francisco Liriano, who have high GO/AO ratings (Ground out to Air out ratio).  The reason being anything hit in the Denver air is going to carry, so I am thinking eliminate the problem at the source.  If you have more pitchers who are inclined to induce ground balls, you should in turn have less balls carrying out of the field or into the deep, outfield gaps.

4)  Exercise the Club Option for Brett Anderson-  Considering the abysmal year the Rockies pitching staff is having, one bright spot was the performance of Anderson.  Anderson had amassed respectable statistics prior to succumbing to a back injury earlier this season.  He totes a great career GO/AO ratio, which is conducive and imperative to pitcher success in Coors Field.

Lastly, I would just like to provide some insight and suggestions for the future of the Rockies franchise player.  Troy Tulowitzki has proven that he is a consummate professional and will persistently be atop the league statistically, when healthy.  With that being said, Tulo does seem to be rather injury prone.  Considering this information,  I believe that the Rockies should, not immediately, but rather eventually consider a move to the right side of the diamond (A less active position) for Tulo.  If they wish to see him continue to be a top-of-the-league offensive performer, they should start being more apprehensive about his health and rate of injury.