Most of you may not realize it, but there are other teams in Major League Baseball besides the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees. In fact, there's a whole other league of teams. They play in the National League. Say it with me everyone: Nash-a-null. Very good.
And there's been a pretty busy winter of free agency in the NL this off-season. Let's start out west. The NL West.
After finishing a league worst 51-111, the Arizona Diamondbacks decided that perhaps they should make some changes to their team. The first change came at the helm. The Diamondbacks originally gave the job to former New York Mets third baseman Wally Backman.
However Backman was fired only four days later after failing to inform the D'Backs of a DUI conviction as well as charges surrounding spousal abuse. The D'Backs then gave the job to former Seattle Mariners skipper Bob Melvin. Since then, the Diamondbacks traded Randy Johnson to the Dark Side for Javier Vazquez and let go of Shea Hillenbrand and Richie Sexson.
Besides bringing in Vazquez, the D'Backs have signed pitchers Shawn Estes and Russ Ortiz, third baseman Troy Glaus and first baseman Shawn Green, making themselves contenders overnight.
The division winning Los Angeles Dodgers also were major players in the free agent market after losing at least seven key contributors, most notably MVP candidate third baseman Adrian Beltre to the Mariners and Green to the D'Backs. Los Angeles is the new home of Derek Lowe (you thought he'd be with the BoSox forever?) as well as second baseman Jeff Kent and outfielder J.D. Drew. Jose Valentin will replace Alex Cora at short.
The San Francisco Giants added centerfielder Moises Alou, shortstop Omar Vizquel, catcher Mike Matheny, and closer Armando Benitez after losing catcher A.J. Pierzynski and pitchers Robb Nen and Dustin Hermanson. The San Diego Padres remain closely intact after losing pitcher David Wells to Boston and bringing in pitcher Woody Williams. And the Colorado Rockies find themselves on the losing end having watched third baseman Vinny Castilla, outfielder Jeromy Burnitz, and Estes all leave town.
In the NL Central, the Houston Astros were the center of activity for the past few months as the front office tried to keep centerfielder Carlos Beltran as a member of the Killer B's. Yet Houston watched Beltran and Kent (LA) leave while pitcher Wade Miller signed with Boston. However the Astros signed reliever John Franco, and convinced the Rocket (Roger Clemens) to return for another season. Houston will also have lefthander Andy Pettitte back from injury next season.
The St. Louis Cardinals, the defending National League Champs, lost Matheny, second baseman Tony Womack, shortstop Edgar Renteria, and pitcher Woody Williams and so far, have brought in David Eckstein to play short and Mark Grudzielanek to play second. Their rivals, the Chicago Cubs lost not only Alou, but also pitchers Matt Clement and Kent Mercker.
The bottom feeders: the Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Milwaukee Brewers made moves, but nothing major. The Reds brought in big-name pitcher Eric Milton and signed veterans shortstop Rich Aurilia and third baseman Joe Randa. The Brew Crew brought in pitcher Ricky Bottalico and catcher Damian Miller. And the Pirates at least made an attempt as they signed veteran catcher Benito Santiago and pitcher Todd Ritchie.
But the biggest offseason winners reside in the NL East. Let's start with New York Mets. They signed Pedro Martinez (the Red Sox ace pitcher - for those of you who live in a coma here in Beantown) and landed Beltran,
considered the prize of the free agency scramble this winter. Besides those two, the Mets traded for first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz (looking for some Boston magic perhaps?) and brought in second baseman Miguel Cairo, resigned pitcher Kris Benson, and signed reliever Felix Heredia.
So we all know the Mets spent some dough ($194 million on Pedro, Beltran, and Benson alone), but did they come out on top? They lost pitchers Al Leiter, Franco, and Mike Stanton and replaced them with ... Pedro. He's in the twilight of his career and his velocity, durability, and effectiveness have all been called into question the last two years.
Meanwhile, we have yet to see if Beltran can hit for average (career .284). He's also in a high-pressure situation and will not be surrounded by great hitters like Jeff Bagwell, Lance Berkman, Kent, and Craig Biggio like in Houston last season, where he was bound to see some good pitches. This may not turn into the Mo Vaughn-Jeromy Burnitz-Pedro Astacio-Shawn Estes-debacle that was the 2002 Mets. But if Beltran and Pedro don't produce, it could get ugly.
Elsewhere, the twelve-time division winning Atlanta Braves lost Drew, outfielder Eli Marrero, closer Antonio Alfonseca, and pitchers Ortiz, Jaret Wright, and Paul Byrd. But they're the Braves. And Atlanta is that magical town where whoever arrives suddenly has a career year. Enter A's pitcher Tim Hudson, Kolb, and outfielders Raul Mondesi and Brian Jordan to give them a shot at 90 wins by August.
The Florida Marlins made their own splash (sorry) in the free agent market, landing a big fish (oh man), first baseman Carlos Delgado, and another great catch (geez, they keep coming) in Leiter. They also will have Alfonseca in the late innings. The newest edition to Major League Baseball, the Washington Nationals will add third baseman Castilla, shortstop Cristian Guzman, and former Yankee pitcher Esteban Loiaza to their lineup.
And we always save the best for last, the Philadelphia Phillies. The front office gave Larry Bowa's job to (drum roll please) ... Charlie Manuel. He's not much, but slugger Jim Thome likes the former Cleveland skipper. The Phils added pitcher Jon Lieber and watched starters Eric Milton and Kevin Millwood leave. They also added outfielder Kenny Lofton and infielder Jose Offerman. We're not impressed.
And that's the free agent market from the National League, for better or worse.
