February 4...I blame it on the weather

Unfortunately I have missed some days on the blog, but don't think I don't know what is going on around the league.  There has been some good activity going on and some of the moves will have an impact this season.  Looks like teams are avoiding arbitration with players which is great and that is always good because arbitration is no good for either party.  The big news that excited me today was seeing a fellow Texan retire after a great last season and and unbelievable career; Andy Pettite.  He decided to call it quits and I think he made the right call.  I understand when a veteran player is at the end and still has the urge and desire to compete but sometimes you just need to finish on a high note.  Brett Favre is an example of a player that wanted to compete and did very well, but just did not know when to end it.  I think the injuries and the end of consecutive starts ultimately ended it for him, but its sad because he did so well last year.  Pettite made the right move because of what he was going to be given this year.

The Yankees already look bad for this next season.  All they can really do now is hope that Burnett steps it up and that they are close enough to make a move at the all-star break.  Pettite saw the lack of moves NY made and knew that coming back would just be a disaster for him, because he would have alot of pressure on him to be the number 2 or 3 guy.  NY is just going to have to expect alot out of their aging team and how they can survive the season to possibly get the wild card berth.

Hot Stove mentioned some teams to look at that I think are interesting topics to address and feedback would be great.  They talked about the Buccos, Brew Crew, and the Rays.  The Brewers look good, with Greinke coming in, I believe they will compete especially with the sluggers they have on their team: Fielder, Hart, McGhee, and Braun.  Their starting pitchers are good and I think they should give them some long outings.  Their problem is their bullpen.  They do not have a closer (didn't really have one last year, and did not address that problem in the off season) and they have signed Kameron Loe fresh out of the Korean league.  Sorry but he does nothing for a pitching staff.  Starters cannot win it all, the pen really has to finish it off and that is where the Brewers will struggle.

The Buccos best move this year was hiring Clint Hurdle to be their head coach.  Hurdle has been on two WS teams, once as the manager (Rockies) and once as the hitting coach (Rangers).  He seems like a loose and friendly coach, and that is really what you want in pro manager.  He should be able to helps those players and with some of the tools they have on the team, Hurdle couldn't possibly make them any worse.  I like their offseason because of the balance they seem to have; both power and speed.  The power bats I like are Jones, Doumit, Tabata, and the new additions: Overbay and Snyder.  All those guys can rake at times and with Hurdle's patient hitting instructions, I believe alot of bombers will be hit at PNC.  The speedy guys needed in a lineup are McCutchen, Cedeno, and Diaz (if needed) will be able to be in the top and bottom of a lineup to make things happen.  Pitching on the other hand is just going to have to come some time.  Their bullpen isn't horrible but their rotation isn't great.  They should be able to pitch decent and they are just going to have to wait for that fellow Texan stud prospect (Jameson Taillon) to make his way through the system.  To be hopeful, I'd love to see him in the bigs at the end of 2012, fingers crossed.

Finally, the Rays.  They made some good moves to help their holes in the lineup.  I think that Manny is a great DH and Damon will hit really well, but TB can only hope that Brignac and Johnson's bats come around more often than last year.  Maybe the fact that they will most likely be the starters and will be able to play everyday could be exactly what they need but only time will tell.  The good thing is that Desmond Jennings is a good player and can play anywhere in the outfield is their is an injury (Damon is old).  I also think that maybe the Rays should think about trying Matt Joyce at first base.  They are pretty thin in that area and Joyce is a good size to play that position, just a thought.  Starting pitching looks good, I think they should be able to continue well without Garza even though his departure is a huge blow.  Their bullpen though is weak.  They are really in trouble in that area.  Adding Farnsworth was nice but they better pray that J. P. Howell stays healthy or they are SOL.

Those are my thoughts at 3 am, hopefully I will stop slacking and keep up with my baseball updates.  Please feel free to critique any of my ideas and add or ask anything you'd like to post as well.  Talk to y'all later.