The “Too many shadows” Mets Fan.

                

                Ever since the club came into inception in 1962, they’ve been forced to play second fiddle to their well known and much more liked cross-town rival.  Its two meager W.S. championship rings eerily shadowing the “Bronx Bombers” league leading 27.  Despite the teams’ wide-spread differences, they have managed to co-exist in the Big Apple fairly peacefully, seeing as they usually only re-new the Subway Series rivalry once a year, and the last and only time they met on the big stage was just over a decade ago, where the Yanks notched their third-consecutive title in just 5 games.

                In addition to putting up with the overwhelming shadow being casted by the historic “Broadway” franchise, since their last N.L. East division title in 2006, the Mets have seen multiple cross-division opponents cast smaller, more annoying shadows of their own.  I think it all started with the Mets major August/September “meltdown to remember” in 2007, in which they turned over their all but already won division title to the Phils. 

Since then, it seems the Phils have used that comeback to make themselves an elite favorite in the division.  With the Braves history of consistent division contention, the slowly improving nationals, and now the Marlins with their “Million Miami” changes, the Mets are looking at a much tougher and only improving division in the N.L. East.

The question which remains for Mets fans though, “What have we done to improve in an exceedingly progressing division?”  The answer: not much.  Coming of 77-85 season, showing sparks of encouragement and discouragement throughout the trek, the Mets have done little to change the 77 win production scheme.  They did manage to ship off, Jose “I’m goin to Miami” Reyes arguably the leagues best shortstop, to a 5^th place division opponent who had just 5 less wins then the Mets last year.   I’m sure this year Reyes will prove to be worth at least a 5 game swing in the W column for the Fish.

At times the Mets were able to show sparks of competitive light early on in 2011, but that was with their all-star SS and Carlos Beltran still in the line-up.  With no major changes this off-season otherwise, I think the Mets would be very lucky to see 77 wins posted again this season.  Who knows though, If Johan Santana can make a comeback this year, Mets fans might have something to cheer for every 5 games.  

The “Not 100 L’s again” Royals Fan.

After five years of close-encounters with the dreaded 3 digits in the antagonist column, the hard fought battle may be headed back to an old bitter tasting result in 2012.  Measuring the outlook of the rest of the A.L. central is fairly difficult to comprehend right now, but if there was any sure bet I’d take in the division, it would be the over on 90 losses for K.C.

Kansas City fans, having more fun watching their football team give Aaron Rodgers his own “discount double-check” this season, probably have little concern for the team’s interaction this off-season.  Why should they?  With the exception of receiving Jonathan Sanchez and Ryan Verdugo in a trade with the Giants, The Royals have spent most of their time this off-season resigning young homegrown talent in the farm system, which regrettable for Royals fans, won’t have much impact on the 2012 season.

In order for Royals fans to be entertained in 2012, the franchise will have to answer to an overabundance of questions on player performance and team positioning.  I don’t want to delve into them hear because there are way too many, and mainly because 90% are completely irrelevant to the team’s extremely minimal chance of landing the divisional crown.  To put it into a general non-boring perspective, it seems the Royals will be relying on a lot of “well if this happens or if this player…” in 2012, which screams horrifying inconsistency for Royals fans.   

On the bright side of the thrown, the Royals hitting numbers last season were actually commendable, however in order to maintain those numbers they have challenging task of filling the void which Melky “thanks for nothing” Cabrera left behind.  With a stand-still in run production, and the pitching adds from the off-season, the Royals improve their 5% chance of winning the division to 10%.  Until I see some consistent quality starts, I’m not sold on their N.L. central “sleeper” prediction for 2012.  However, if they post a year with less than 90 losses, I may look at them to sneakily slip their cheese on the A.L. central whopper in 2013 or 2014.    

The “Let’s finish climbing our own Mountain before trying the N.L. West’s” Rockies Fan

Rockies fans are itching to see that first N.L. West division title for the franchise, yet they’ve been gridlocked by their team’s inability to decipher its own Rocky Mountain Range.  The team has shown spurts of competitive aptitude throughout its brief existence, but its inconsistency has a strong hold on the team’s ability to “grapple” consecutive productive seasons.

Coming off of their, now grown accustomed to, 73-89 “we’ve been headed for subpar since June” season; the Rockies will look to turn the puzzling switch back on in 2012.  Excuses could be granted to looming and unfortunate injuries, streaky run production or the lack of consistency from the starting pitching staff.  The loss of Del Rosa to Tommy John and Jimenez to the Indians managed to ultimately hinder an already thin staff.  Put that together with an ordinary run scoring line-up and you have the formula for inconsistent performance.  Unfortunately for Rockies fans, the mountain doesn’t listen to excuses; it just grows taller each time one is made.   Avoiding the familiar inconsistent outcome this season will be another monumental climb for the Rockies.

The Rox have been trying to orchestrate difference making changes this year in order to make the climb a little more feasible.   The big sign of the off-season, Michael Cuddyer, is the kind of the consistency the Rox need if they’re going to make it to the top.  They also add the a well-known former Hollywood divisional opponent, Casey Blake, which in the eyes of the rest of the MLB, is just one average player moving from one average team to another average team in the same division, most likely producing a similar result.

Although the Rox have found some ways to improve their line-up for the upcoming season, they still haven’t answered the questions most Rox fans are asking, “Where’s the pitching?”   I consider myself a fairly acquainted baseball fan, and I’m having trouble naming 3 pitchers on the team.  The Rox will need a pitcher or four to lift them out of N.L. West disappointment.  Maybe some apt use of Kevin Millwood this season would help them climb out of the “we can only win the wildcard” stage.     

The “Work your magic again, Billy Beane” Athletics Fan.

The Athletics may not have the fat pocket and gratuitous payroll some other lavish A.L. teams have, but they have a talented general manager, who works well with what he’s got.  Not convinced? Just watch Moneyball and you’ll see a depiction of what he’s been working with in Oakland since 1994.  Although the GM has had some success during his tenure in Oakland, he’s yet to pull a W.S. appearance out of his hat.  On top of that, the A’s haven’t seen the playoffs or an over .500 season since 2006.

It seems the diminutive payroll of the A’s has finally caught up with good old Billy over the last 5 years.  Guess it goes to show that even baseball GM’s are struggling in this economy.  It seems every year is starting to feel like a rebuilding year for A’s fans.  They bring in different pieces to try laying a foundation and after they aren’t satisfied with the result, they kick over the structure and start building again. 

The A’s have been one of the loudest teams this winter.   This year the focus has really shifted to laying a solid foundation of young prospects and re-building the franchise from the ground up.  The A’s have been involved in a variety of off-season arrangements, and they are very serious about prospecting, even if it involves giving up team leading players. 

Beane must feel that emptying the pen and letting the bulls run free is the key to successful re-building because he’s been ousting pitchers left and right in December.  First, he shipped off starter Trevor Cahill and steady bullpen contributor, Craig Breslow, to the D-backs for three young players.  Additionally, the team-leading 16 game winner, Gio Gonzalez, will take his talents to Washington, in return for four “promising” prospects.  If losing the two starters who marked the most wins last year wasn’t enough to aggravate A’s fans, losing their All-star closer, Andrew “I look good in Red Sox” Bailey, will certainly boil them over.

Had enough yet, A’s fans?  It’s not all bad.  You just essentially gain 10 prospects in exchange for your entire reliable pitching staff.  It may be a rough 1-3 initial years in Oakland, but after that it’s bound to be nothing but easy riding to the A.L. West promise land.  And, Hey, we still have Josh Willingham to at least make this season bearable. Oh wait…    

The “Let’s try to stay on course here” Reds Fan.

Last year’s season for the Reds seemed to come unexpected from the pleasant surprise Reds fans received in 2010.  Although their 79-83 season may have come unexpected, it was certainly not unfamiliar.  Before the Red’s faced off in a real Red October match-up with the Phillies in 2010, in which they were quietly swept back into the chairs they had been occupying for the previous 15 seasons, they hadn’t seen the post-season since 1995.

After that season Reds fans had grown pretty accustomed to 70 win seasons, until 2010 and Joey Votto.  His close-encounter performance for the triple-crown earned him the N.L. MVP award, the Reds first playoff appearance in a decade and half, and the temporary delight of a more promising baseball team than football team for the city of Cincinnati.

A glimpse in 2010 is all they would get though.  The team went right back to its familiar middle of the N.L. Central pack and under .500 season in 2011.  Not at the expense of Votto however, who seemed to mount somewhat identical numbers to his MVP season.  Just going to show one player’s impact doesn’t entirely impact the team’s outcome, yet it may have a significant influence.  Something which none of the Reds five starting pitching cast where really able to provide consistently throughout the season.

That could change in 2012 for the Reds though.  Upgrading the starting and supporting pitching cast has been their main focal point this off-season.  With the Padres ace in the hole, Matt “I’m worth every Penny” Latos coming over to join the starting cast, Red fans might see a different influence coming from the pitching staff.  Latos comes at a farm-breaking price, as the Reds had to deal 4 players, including two promising young bucks, to get him.  They’ve also add a viable supporter, Sean Marshall, who carried a 2.26 ERA coming out of their old divisional foe’s Ivy covered bullpen. 

With these pitching cast improvements, another almost triple-crown season from Votto, continued support from Phillips and Bruce, and the lack of Pujols (and possibly Fielder) in the division, look for the Reds to be a sound contender in the N.L. Central in 2012.             

The “This division's not fair” Orioles Fan.

I think at this point the Orioles would sacrifice all of their home games this season to move to any other division in the MLB.  The O’s haven’t had a winning season since the Ripken era circa 1997, where they landed the best record in the league and a swift loss to the Indians in the ALCS.  Other than that season, it’s been over a decade of designated and elongated Yankee and Red Sox beatings, not to mention the occasional annoying Blue Jay chirp in the ear.

The O’s have gradually progressed over the last couple years though, according to Buck Showalter.   If you want to chalk up moving from 64 wins in 2009, to 66 wins in 2010, to 69 wins in 2011, as a reasonable progression; then by all means prance around and jump in joy in your fantasy little league baseball field.  Buck may not know how to win without Cal Ripken’s golden-laced Hall of Fame glove, but he does know why his team can’t keep up with the A.L. East, and the rest of the MLB for that matter.  Pitching. 

With the way the A.L. East is thriving, changing and growing each year, it’s almost impossible to keep up without making substantial off-season changes.  The off-season suddenly becomes a speed chess match for teams trying to upgrade their teams, and the elite A.L. East teams always seem to have their hands in every basket.  The O’s are no different.  Taking the “fell on the floor” cake in team pitching numbers last year, with the league’s worst ERA, quality starts, and WHIP; you bet your keister they’ll be looking for pitching at the winter meetings.  Probably should look for some big swingers too.  And a few bulls for the pen while they’re at it.  Why not?  The Yanks, Sox, Rays, and Jays are doing it.  However, not to burst any O’s fan’s bubble, that’s not going to be enough for the O’s to get back on the pre-millennium saddle.

What would be enough?  An “Angels in the Outfield-esk” miracle, but instead of the Angel, an Oriole would be sent for the MLB Gods’ bidding.  Like I said… a miracle.  Hey, it’s could happen.

The “Cardinals stole our thunder” Giants Fan.

Just like Christmas, October only comes once a year.  And when October comes around it usually plays to the flavor of the month.  This year it was the Cardinals who earned the privilege of putting the star on the tree.  Like the Giants did in 2010, the Cardinals were the hottest team entering the playoffs and used fuel from the end of the regular season to propel them over their sufficient playoff contenders.  Giants fans would have liked to see their team make the same heroic run in 2011, but with the Cardinals being the “lightning thief”, it just wasn’t in the cards for them.

The Giants are coming off of a favorable yet post season-less disappointing 86-76 season.  In MLB history, I’m not entirely sure how often World Serious Champion teams don’t make the playoffs the year following their trophy hoisting ceremony, but I’m going to go out on hunch and assume that it doesn’t happen very often.  It seemed like a definite possibility for the Bay Area Bombers to come out and at least make an appearance in October, seeing as they had virtually the same line-up as they did in 2010.  The Problem was the line-up simply didn’t perform like it did the previous year.  And with the mid-season signing of Carlos “I love playing for Champion teams now” Beltran, who was deemed the final piece to solving the 2011 puzzle, there was a certain expectation of at least viable contention.  But the Diamondbacks had other plans.

With their major off-season signing being the acquisition of the Mets former faithful Angel Pagan, it looks like Giants fans will be relying on Kung Fu Panda to delegate the dreary offense again.  With a healthy Buster Posey, I would expect the Giants to regain control of N.L. west in 2012, pending their offense produces to its proven capacity, Bochy manages with a fiery attitude, and Lincecum doesn’t blow out his arm and/or he continues to shine in ESPN office commercials.     

The “Major League 4: Still in the Majors” Indians Fan.

It doesn’t have to be as serious and inspirational as Moneyball was, just enough to remind the rest of the MLB the Indians are still playing “Major League” ball.  Maybe another movie might light a fire under their teepees.  The Indians should take a note or two from Charlie “The Real Wild Thing” Sheen and try to embrace the “Winning!” attitude this season.  The A.L. central and the Detroit Tigers can both affirm to their struggles with winning since the 2007 season. 

The Indians came out swinging last season and had finally shown some promise since their NLCS brawl with the Red Sox in 2007.  On June 1^st 2011, the Indians led the A.L. central by five games with a 33-20 record, which was also good enough for second best among the entire league. They then proceeded to lose 4 games straight, and over the course of the season, slowly hand the A.L. central jungle back over to its rightful King and owner.   

As baseball fan, it’s definitely exciting to see your team come out of spring training hot and playing great baseball in the early summer months.  But, the length of the season always seems to take its toll on some teams, and 2011’s season’s victim was the Indians finishing with an 80-82 record.  For the past four years, Indians fans haven’t had much to cheer about, but the beginning of last season was certainly a spark in the camp.  It’s just disheartening to get that feeling, only to have it washed away by mediocrity and trip back to the type of season they’d grown used to.

You can blame them for letting go of Cliff Lee, or Jimenez not necessarily performing up to “snuff”, or their lack of a substantial line-up, or the rest of the N.L. central or even LeBron.  But, the fact of the matter is pointing fingers and burning jerseys isn’t going to help the team find the right recipe for winning, which apparently has the main ingredient of “Tiger Blood” now a days. 

The “Let’s try changing cities again.” Nationals Fan.

Not to say that a new city would solve the Nationals “playoff missing” syndrome, but since the move to Washington nothing’s really changed, except their team name and the stadium they play in.  Although, I’m not sure another city change is going to help out the Nationals.  They seem to play the same just about anywhere they go.  It’s not all bad I guess; they did have their best season in six years last year, and were two games away from a winning record.

The last time the Nationals made the playoffs (1981), they were called the Montreal Expos and there were only two divisions in the National League.  This past October they celebrated their 30^th anniversary “we almost never made it” golf outing, and by the outlook of the N.L. East and their team, it looks as if they will be celebrating another year of regular season disappointment.

Surprisingly, things are looking a little more on the bright side for the downtrodden franchise, at least compared to their 102 and 103 loss seasons in 2008 and 2009.  Last year they notched 80 wins and were able to snag third in the N.L. East, something they hadn’t been able to accomplish since adjusting to the new team name and city.  They have been making some moves to gradually improve the team over the past couple years, and I would expect to only see them improve in 2012.

The Nationals have essentially just set their starting rotation for the next 3 or 4 years through a five player deal with the Athletics.  They add the 16 game-winner Gio Gonzalez to their starting rotation in 2012.  Add him to a healthy Steven “let me pitch for a full-year” Strasburg and Jordan “I need runs” Zimmerman, and the Nationals rotation is looking a little more promising than it did in 2008 and 2009. 

Where the Nationals will rise or fall in the N.L. East standings is in run production.  Besides Michael Morse, no one in their line-up really contributed much of anything when it comes down to providing run support.  Perhaps the biggest bust in the line-up was the 125 million dollar acquisition of Jayson “so far worthless” Werth last year.  The team doesn’t lose much with Hairston Jr. and Nix leaving, but they still can’t piece three competent hitters together in their line-up.   If they don’t find some hitting this season, they’ll be carrying on their annual October golf tournament again this year.

The “When are they remaking the Nintendo version of Ken Griffey Baseball” Mariners Fan.

Seriously though, when are they going to?  That game was, and is to this day, the greatest baseball video game ever made.  It’s unfortunate for Mariner’s fans that Ken Griffey can’t just pop off the cover and revitalize their woeful team.  That or a series of miracle off-season signings are what it’s going to take for the Mariners to get back into contention. 

Poor Ichiro Suzuki.  The dude’s been through more depressing seasons than the writers of Intervention.  I don’t even want to begin to think where their 30^th overall 556 runs scored, 30^th overall .233 batting average, 30^th overall .292 on-base percentage, and 30^th overall .348 slugging percentage would be without him.  The pitching stats look like a Willy Wonka Golden Ticket compared to the batting stats.  They did have 94 quality starts last year, which is good for 7^th best around the league, and a WHIP of 1.26 good for 8^th best in the league.  With some decent hitting provided, those quality starts might have a chance to turn into quality wins.

From the looks of the Mariner’s off-season interaction, there haven’t been many plans to improve the frightening batting numbers.  It seems the Rangers aren’t interested in giving up the crown to the division anytime soon, and the Angels are making enough off-season interactions for the entire division collectively.   I don’t see the Mariners having a much different outcome this season than the one they’ve grown familiar with over the last seven years.

The Mariners haven’t seen the playoffs since they set the A.L.  Record for most regular season wins in 2001.  And if they don’t start making serious moves, I could see them losing 116 games this season, sadly.  Sorry Mariners fans.  Maybe you should ask Ichiro if he has any offspring or siblings you can claim the contractual bidding rights to.

The “Pour me another Pint” Brewers Fan.

                Pull up a chair and have a pint or four, Brewers fans, it’s going to be a long 2012.  The Brewers coming fresh off an unexpected yet promising playoff run are now experiencing the harshest winter of them all.  The end to their Cinderella like season abruptly halted by their division rival World Champion Cardinals in the NLCS, and now the reality of the off-season practically tarnishing their hopes of possibly making a run at the title in 2012.

                Brewers fans, used to misery, modesty, and irrelevance in the N.L. central, were surprisingly rewarded for their heartened devotion and commitment last year.  The Brew Crew posted a franchise record 96 wins, capturing only their second N.L. central title in franchise history, and making just their third playoff appearance in franchise history.  Cheers to that!  Other than their wildcard gulp in 2008, the Brewers haven’t tasted playoff glory since 1982; the last and only time they popped the real bubbly.

                Unfortunately, their champagne has gone luke warm since their NLCS trip.  A bitter tasting loss to the Cardinals put that fresh cheap beer right back into Brewers fans familiar can shaped hands.  To make matters worse, Brewers fans won’t be seeing the same team which accumulated the most wins in franchise history next year. 

They’ve literally been rattled at the core.  Prince “In Albert’s Shoes” Fielder is looking to sign his own monstrous franchise contract, and he’s not particularly interested in working at the brewery anymore.  On top of that, the recently named NL MVP, Ryan Braun, has been reportedly engaging in the MLB’s most unspeakable crime, performance enhancing drugs.  A situation no club wants to be involved in, especially a club in a six team division with hopes and dreams of kick-starting consecutive playoff runs.

Take a previous MVP and a HR and RBI machine out your line-up and I’m sure you’d ask for another round too.   Just a shame these off-season woes had to occur after a record setting season in Milwaukee.  It’s hard to believe the Brewers will be popping any champagne this upcoming season, but the N.L. central is always a cesspool of inconsistency, so who really knows.  Celebrate in style while it lasts Brewers fans because you might be drinking the old familiar bitter beer in 2012.

The “We can’t figure out the Rangers” Rays fan.

                Refer back to my post on Dec. 16^th, and you will find a sorrowful description of the Rangers prison like conditions they experienced over the last two years.  The Rays have been subjected to imprisonment of their own, and their “division series” sized cell is engulfed in the corner of the much larger “World Series” sized cell inhabited by the Rangers.  And with the Rangers bullishly flaunting their recent bid approval for the international Japanese phenomenon, Yu Darvish; Rays fans could be looking at another year of divisional imprisonment.  

                It’s a shame the Rays couldn’t exercise the same wildcard attitude and mentality the Cardinals were able to implement during the post-season.  By the gut wrenching way the Rays closed out the regular season, in what proved to be yet another thrilling A.L. East glorified wildcard battle, where only a self-destruction could have hindered the Red Sox;  it certainly appeared as if the Rays were going to cause some serious damage in the post-season.  But the Rangers, particularly Adrian Beltre and Mike Napoli, had different plans for the culmination of the Rays season.

                The Rays have been among the quietest of teams this off-season in player acquisition.  Their mix of players both young and experienced has proved as a formula for turning the team into a regular season winner over the last four seasons.  Can’t leave out credit where credit is due, and a good deal of credit needs to go to Joe ‘turn around” Maddon for getting the team to the A.L. playoff picture three out of the last four years.

                 So what’s the problem, Rays fans?  Damon, Joyce, Kotchman, Zobrist, Upton, and Longoria are all competent hitters.  Throw in some proficient pitching in Shields, Hellickson, and Price, what’s not to like?  The Rays have the tools to be in contention in the A.L. this year, but unfortunately a 162 game season doesn’t reward teams for being just a contender.  Subtle moves, like signing Peralta to a one-year deal, are not going to assist the Rays in breaking out of their divisional prison.  It’s certainly not impossible for the Rays to make a run in 2012, but with the noise the rest of the A.L. is making in free agency, their hopes of hunting further into October becomes more and more difficult if they don’t consider upgrading their armory. 

The “Hey! What about us!?” Dodgers Fan.

I didn’t think it was possible for there to be a neglected professional sports team in L.A., but following the Cities’ lavish and blockbuster teams has proved NEARLY as difficult as tolerating an episode of Keeping up with the Kardashians.  With the start of the NBA right around the Christmas corner, most of the media’s and the sporting world’s attention has been devoted to the cities’ “who can sign the bigger superstar” basketball teams.  In addition, the Angels have found a way to covet most of the meek attention left to focus on MLB off-season maneuvers.  They may be dodging the mainstream attention in L.A., but the Dodgers off-season has been modestly eventful.

The Dodgers must be planning two new seasons of their hit show, “Mediocrity in the N.L. West” because the last four players they have signed this year have all been signed to two year contracts, all of whom will fit right into their supporting roles on the recurring show.  I guess the show will be up for re-evaluation after a two year trial period, in which they’ll probably look to add a cheaper supporting cast because of their never ending financial debacle.  However, the two stars of the show are reliable driving points for the franchise’s opportunity to grow out of the exhausted title. 

The recent “young” award winning Clayton Kershaw seems to have a knack for exceptional and consistent notable performances, regardless of the show’s quality and overall rating.  Meanwhile the newly re-signed, “should-be award winning” Co-Star of the show, Mr. Kemp, has fully committed himself to ensuring the show makes it to the big time, even if he does get “Kanyed” out of the MVP award.  With these two piloting the show, and the right supporting cast, the Dodgers should have a chance at dodging a third consecutive October filled with surfing and golf.

Instead of being mesmerized by the red carpet strut being made by the Angels on the American stage this season, the Dodgers will have the responsibility of providing some consistency and difficulty to the easiest and most inconsistent division in the National League.  Dodger’s fans can look forward to another year of great performances by their stars, N.L. West inconsistency, paying old looming debts to former players, and scarfing down top ramen during the seventh-inning stretch.