Light the Hot Stove fires

If Gary Matthews leaves Texas he will revert to the .240 hitter he was before he got there. Caveat Emptor, bitches.

 

what about the phillies? i hear soriano's nam being discussed. also can anyone please just take pat burrell please? the phils need a 5 hole hitter to protect howard. aramis ramirez would fit the bill and fill in at 3rd nicely. we got about 40 million coming off the books this year (bell, liebrathal, wolf, abreu, thome) and gillick says the payroll will be around the same next year. our to do list
1. ryan howard protection
2. bullpen
3. third baseman
our starters are fine. one of the best staffs in the NL. think about it. myers, hamels, moyer, lieber, and 5th starter (possibly wolf). only the cardinals at this exact moment can claim a better staff without argument.

 

They'd have to get rid of Andy Van Slyke first.

 

Very good point. I had forgotten about that issue.

 

So true. Matthews is 31 years old and has had exactly one good year. He seems like a free agent bust waiting to happen.

 

Which means he'll be patrolling CF at Wrigley for the second time in his career next year.

 

You might be overrating that rotation a little. The Phillies' starters always tend to look better on paper than they actually do on the mound. Myers still hasn't put it together for a full season, Hamels is certainly promising but still unproven, Moyer's past his prime and Lieber's a nice No. 3 starter. They still don't have a guy who can be considered a solid No. 1.

 

Two things:
1. How can the Cardinals claim they have a better staff without argument? Jeff Weaver will most likely not pitch as good as he did in the postseason next year and after Chris Carpenter, there are questions up and down that rotation.
2. Am I the only one that is shocked the Phillies signed Moyer to a two-year deal?

 

- Anybody want Jose Castillo (Mets)?

- What would it take to sign Jeff Suppan, post-WS?

- Put Gil Meche in the NL, he'll win 15 games with a sub-3.60 ERA next season.

- Would Tampa Bay put B.J. Upton on the block?

- Any chance Aramis Ramirez opts for free agency?

 

The Red Sox picked up Wakefield's option, hopefully they will now pick up Mirabelli's.

 

That's my guess. The Brewers will make a "changes of scenery" trade with someone...take on roughly equal salary for an equally disappointing player.

 

Right now, the Cardinals rotation for next year is Chris Carpenter, Anthony Reyes and Adam Wainwright.

Mark Mulder, Jeff Suppan, Jeff Weaver and Jason Marquis are all free agents.

Someone, maybe the Cardinals, will sign Mulder knowing that he's damaged goods and may not be able to pitch for a while. Suppan and Weaver both made some money in the playoffs, but will flop if they leave St. Louis. Nobody wanted Weaver last offseason, but he ended up getting an $8 million one-year deal with the Angels and was later sent to the minors.

Marquis has piled up wins since he was traded from Atlanta to St. Louis, but he was so up and down this season he was left off the postseason roster for a team that won 83 games in the regular season.