H4TV Article- Are the Indians ready to take over the AL Central?

The Indians have had a major roster turnover this off-season, and many are wondering if they are ready to become a threat again in the American League Central. They certainly have tough competition between the Tigers, White Sox, and possibly even the Royals. Winning the American League Central won't be an easy feat, but Cleveland certainly has the talent to pose a threat. 

Asdrubal Cabrera is the team's best offensive player, and, despite the trade rumors, he will be in Cleveland for the long-run. He is getting better with each passing season, and should continue his fine production in 2013. Carlos Santana has some flaws in his game, but will be the team's backstop for the next couple of years. There is no question that Santana has incredible power, however, his strike-out rate is very alarming. Over at first base the Indians finally have a decent player, and that is Mark Reynolds. Reynolds came over to Cleveland on a one year deal, and will certainly see a lot of playing time in 2013. His strike-out numbers concern me, as well as pretty much every other fan in the game, so that could end up hurting the Indians. It is home run or bust with Reynolds, and I wouldn't be thrilled with having a player like that.

Trust me I'm not going to completely bash the Indians offense, because there are a few other bright spots. Jason Kipnis has the potential to be one of the best second-baseman in the game, and could find himself being a 20-20 or even a 30-30 player within the next couple of years. Lonnie Chisenhall has yet to break out at the big league level, but I like his potential and hope that he stays healthy so he can prove himself. The outfield is extremely solid,  especially with the most recent addition : Michael Bourn. Bourn will immediately provide Cleveland with an above-average lead-off hitter. He is a huge upgrade over Drew Stubbs, who may find himself as trade bait now. Nick Swisher, another key addition, will give the Indians power in the middle of the lineup, and should make the departure of Shin-Soo Choo seem slightly less painful. Finally, Michael Brantley has had mixed results at the big league level, but will get another year of every-day playing time in 2013, only this time he will be the left-fielder.

The biggest thing that will hold Cleveland back is going to be their pitching. They haven't really made drastic changes to their rotation, and that certainly concerns me. In my mind, Justin Masterson will need to find some consistency to become a true ace, and Ubaldo Jimenez is going have to return to his 2010 form to become a valuable asset. I don't mind the addition of Brett Myers, as he will bring a veteran presence to the rotation, and should be able to eat up some innings. Trevor Bauer is a nice pickup given his high potential, but I get this strange feeling that Arizona knew something about him, therefore prompting him to be included in the Shin-Soo Choo deal. Bauer will need to face American League hitting, and I am not sure how he will fare in 2013. The addition of Daisuke Matsuzaka is definitely a questionable one, considering that it seems like he has completely lost the ability to have success at the big league level. However, it is a low-risk, moderate reward pickup, and Cleveland could use all of the arms that they can get.  Finally, Zack McAllister, Carlos Carrasco and Corey Kluber are all number 5 pitchers at best, and I don't expect them to give serious contributions to the team.

Luckily Cleveland's bullpen is one of the best in the game. Despite several trade rumors, Chris Perez stayed put this off-season, and will most likely remain the team's closer. Perez is going to need to have a serious bounce-back season before his job gets taken away from him. I really like Vinnie Pestano, and I believe that he would be the one to take Perez's job. The rest of the bullpen is filled with several under-the-radar arms, such as Joe Smith, Matt Capps and Matt Albers.

I am trying not to be a downer on the Indians for next season, but in my mind I just see too many question marks regarding this team. The offense is slightly above-average, but the pitching rotation is a complete mess. Guys like Justin Masterson, Ubaldo Jimenez, and others are going to need to have huge years in order to keep the Tribe in reaching distance for the division. I like the idea of bringing in Terry Francona to manage the ball-club, considering his past success with the Red Sox and former ties with some of Cleveland's current players. However, I am just not fully convinced that this team is ready to compete in 2013, despite all of the additions.

(H4TV) Where is Michael Bourn going to land?

Pitchers and Catchers are going to report in about a month, and there are several big name free agents out there who still remain unsigned. Michael Bourn is one of them. Bourn began the off-season with many suitors, but interest in him quickly faded away after those teams acquired different players via trade. Bourn also declined the qualifying offer that Atlanta offered him, so he will now be linked to draft compensation. Therefore, many teams are very reluctant to sign him, but Bourn is going to have to sign somewhere soon before his value goes down. So, here are his top 5 suitors as of January 13, 2013.

5. New York Yankees

Lemme start out by saying that the Yankees want to get their payroll lower. With that being said, they could trade Curtis Granderson and his contract to an opposing team and sign Michael Bourn to a cheaper deal. We all know that Granderson's numbers are currently being inflated by Yankee Stadium's hitter-friendly dimensions, and I personally don't think that he is worth $15 million. Michael Bourn would be a good fit for the Yankees, and it wouldn't cost a huge multiyear commitment to bring him in.

4. Chicago Cubs

The Cubs are supposed to be rebuilding, but they have come out this off-season and made some decent signings (Scott Baker, Scott Feldman, Nate Schierholtz, etc.) They have shown that they are willing to spend money to upgrade the organization, and Bourn may find the money he desires from Theo Epstein and Co. If Bourn signs a deal with Chicago, he would probably slide in as the team's lead-off hitter, with All-Star shortstop Starlin Castro hitting in the 2 hole.

3. Atlanta Braves

When the Braves signed B.J. Upton, many of us thought that they were going to quit their pursuit of Michael Bourn. However, they are still having conversations with him, and want him to be their left-fielder in 2013. I don't know if Bourn would be content with settling in that role, but it definitely seems like the Braves want him back.

2. Seattle Mariners

The Mariners have been interested in just about every free agent out there this off-season, and they would like to continue to upgrade their offense. They acquired Mike Morse and Kendrys Morales, but are still looking for a center-fielder, and have been involved heavily in the Michael Bourn pursuit ever since the season ended last fall. The Mariners are going to be willing to give Bourn a multi-year deal, and I wouldn't be surprised if they quietly snag him.

1. Texas Rangers

The Rangers have had an interesting off-season, to say the least. They lost out on the Josh Hamilton sweepstakes, leaving a huge hole in center-field. They still have an above-average lineup,  particularly because of the addition of A.J. Pierzynski. The Rangers have shown interest in Bourn throughout the entire off-season, and it seems likely that they overpay for him. Additionally, Bourn would probably want to join Texas because the hitter-friendly confines of Rangers Ballpark would certainly inflate his numbers.

First article with H4TV

I recently became a partner with H4TV, and I will be writing articles for them as well as on here. I will focus on strictly the Mets here, whereas on H4TV I am going to be writing about all 32 MLB teams. I am going to still publish my other articles on here in case you want to check them out, so here is my first article. (By the way I am going to organize these in a folder to make it easier to access.) 

Was signing Lance Berkman the right move for the Rangers?

When Josh Hamilton signed with the Angels, many knew that the Rangers would attempt to bring in one (or several) players to replace his production. Hamilton was an icon in Texas, and the Rangers’ front office knew letting him leave, especially to the division rival Angels, was not going to be taken well by the fans. Texas also traded away franchise icon Michael Young to the Phillies, a move that was questioned by many including myself. The Rangers went from arguably the most dominant team in the American League to a possible 2nd place team in the American League West. They have actually made a few low risk signings this off-season, like picking up Joakim Soria, A.J. Pierzynski, and others. Well, today, they signed another free agent whose value is dead at the moment. That player is Lance Berkman, and they gave him quite a bit of money to play in Arlington next season. They signed him to a one year deal worth $10 million with a vesting option for the 2014 season. It is a risky signing, considering the injury issues from the past, and Berkman’s desire to play the game right now, or lack thereof.

I’m not saying that Berkman isn’t motivated at this stage of his career, but he has contemplated retirement for many months now, and I am wondering how many more years he has left in him. That is why I believe the Rangers completely overpaid for Berkman here, and that this move may not pan out. A move like this just seems like a desperate one from my view, and I believe that plenty of Rangers fans out there would agree with me. Now, if it was a one year deal worth let’s say, $3-4 million, I’d say that the risk is worth it, but at $10 million I just feel like the Rangers are wasting their money.

I know that we all said Berkman was done after the 2010 season, but he then went on to have an incredible season with the 2011 World Series Champion Cardinals, so perhaps it is not time to write him off just yet. I think that it is a great move from Berkman’s standpoint, because like I mentioned before hitting in Texas will definitely boost your numbers, and value for that matter.

I wonder what this means for Mike Olt, the highly coveted corner infielder/outfielder prospect who is borderline major league ready. He has put up respectable minor league numbers, and the organization thinks very highly of him, and I would imagine that Berkman would block him on the depth chart if he ends up at first base. From what I hear, Olt is a below-average defender out in the outfielder, and with Nelson Cruz in right and David Murphy in left, perhaps the outfield is not the right career choice right now. The whole reason as to why I bring up Olt here really is because I think this will hold back his development by another year at least, and for a team who just lost a huge piece of their lineup, I don’t know if that is the right thing to do.

To conclude all of this, I hope that Berkman has success with the Rangers in 2013, but the reality is he is breaking down physically and got drastically overpaid here. Could he still have a rebound season? Of-course, that is why there is the Comeback Player of the Year award. However, at this stage in his career, it is likely that he does not live up to the money he is making.