AL West Is Now Astro Turf

Last night Major League Baseball Commissioner, Bud Selig, announced that the sale of the Houston Astros from Dayton McClane to a group lead by Houston businessman Jim Crane.

The deal is reportedly for $610 million, which originally was slated to be $680 million, but was discounted because the Astros will be moving to the American League West division starting in 2013.

This takes Texas entirely out of the National League, bringing the Astros into the same division as their state rivals, the Texas Rangers, who play in Arlington. Aside from the elimination of the state of Texas in the National League, this approved sale, and switching of leagues is going to have substantial impact on how the game is both played and managed starting in 2013.

First things first, with Houston joining the American League, that now offers both leagues 15 teams/three 5-team divisions. In having this odd number of teams per league that will force there to be at least one inter-league series going on at a time. There are both pros and cons to this move.

The pros are pretty obvious - you get to expand the audience for every team in Major League Baseball. As a baseball fan, I can personally sit down and watch a game between the Kansas City Royals and Milwaukee Brewers and be perfectly content. Most people can only do that if one of those two teams is their home team. Most, in fact, probably could not name more than 1 or 2 players from teams that they do not see on a regular basis. This is going to change that instantly.

The beautiful thing of this for me, is that while I live in an American League city, people around here are not familiar with truly how good the National League and its players are. There is a sense of superiority in the American League. I mean, it is hard not to think that way with teams like the Yankees and Red Sox in this division.

Now, the spectrum of talent will be eye opening to many. People who have no idea how brilliant players like Justin Upton are, for example, will finally get to see him play, albeit maybe once or twice a season. Those that don't know how Cole Hammels would handle American League batters, be prepared, his day is coming.

The cons - this will force inter-league play every day. To me, I don't see the down side to this. However, there are many American League teams that will feel the pain of it, much like the Boston Red Sox complained about in 2011 - not being able to play their DH in the National League parks. While I think in the long run, Major League Baseball will inevitably turn to the designated hitter across the board, for now, the rules are simple - you play by our rules in our house.

This can lead to the demise of the last of the one-dimensional designated hitters. David Ortiz anyone? Players like Ortiz will have little value in 2013 baseball. He is not the best fielder in the world, so teams would only be looking at him for his bat - something that will only be utilized X amount of times during the season, depending on how many inter-league games are actually played.

This brings back my argument from a week or so ago that the modern DH has to be one of versatility. It is the way baseball is headed, and I think it is the right way to go. While I have a deep appreciation for National League game play, I think that the American League has it right. Let your pitchers worry about pitching, and not being an almost automatic out, and leave the hitting to the position players.

Now, along with the announcement of the sale of the Astros, Selig also announced the addition of 2 wild card teams, starting presumably at the end of the 2012 season. This brings a total of 10 teams into the mix at the end of the season for a shot at going to the World Series. If this isn't incentive for those borderline teams to make moves this off season, I don't know what is.

By all accounts it appears that the 2 wild card teams would have a one game playoff to determine who would move on to play the division champions. This is a fantastic idea. How many times have teams been shafted, specifically in the American League, because one division has been so strong that the wild card gets locked up fairly early on? This gives teams a reason to fight, and I love it.

There we have it folks, Selig changing the game for the better right before our eyes. The landscape is changing. How the game is going to be played is changing. Everything is just going to be getting more and more exciting for the sport of Major League Baseball.

For Whom Heath Bell Tolls

There is a strong possibility Jonathan Papelbon will be closing games for another team next year. Red Sox Nation needs to prepare themselves for this reality. Fear not though faithful freaks of Fenway, Heath Bell could be the simplest solution to this problem.

If Papelbon is truly intent on setting the market for a closing pitcher, Boston can surely afford not paying for his services. It is true, there is some value to be had in having been able to perform well in the pressure cooker known as Boston. However, overpaying for that luxury is not worth it in my opinion.

Let's take a look back at the stat line for both Heath Bell and Jonathan Papelbon over the past 3 seasons. While a majority of his career was as a set-up man, Bell moved into the the closer role in 2009 and has performed admirably in that time frame.

The first statistic people tend to look at for a closer is the number of saves he provided for his team. Let's get that out of the way. In 2009 Heath Bell had 42 saves (4th in all of MLB) while Papelbon had 38 saves (6th in all of MLB.) In 2010 Heath Bell had 47 saves (2nd in all of MLB) while Papelbon had 37 saves (9th in all of MLB.) Lastly, in 2011 Heath Bell had 43 saves (6th in all of MLB) while Papelbon had 31 saves (18th in all of MLB.) There, the arbitrary number of saves is out of the way. Obviously Heath Bell had more saves in that time frame, but that is not what I am basing my argument on.

I like to look at both WHIP and ERA to examine the true measure of a pitcher. To know how many walks and hits a pitcher gives up per inning pitched is really the nitty gritty of the position. When examining these two pitchers Heath Bell holds the advantage over Papelbon in 2 of the 3 years examined. In 2009 Bell posted a 1.120 WHIP while Papelbon posted a 1.147. Hardly much of a difference just eyeballing it, however, in all of Major League Baseball, Bell finished with the 58th best WHIP among pitchers, Papelbon with the 76th.

In 2010 Bell posted a WHIP of 1.200 and Papelbon posted a 1.269. Again, both numbers seem reasonable for a closer. Again, in all of MLB, Bell finished with a ranking of 130 and Papelbon a ranking of 179 overall. It's crucial to remind you here, these were two of the best closing pitchers in the game.

2011 was the year of Jonathan Papelbon. Sure, he only saved 31 games, but he also did not have that many save opportunities. This is a perfect example as to why I think WHIP is a far better statistic in determining your closer than saves. In 2011 Bell posted a 1.149 while Papelbon put up a .933. Bell finished 127th overall while Papelbon finished 32nd. Lights out.

The last statistic I like to look at is ERA. Of those players that made it on base against these guys, how many crossed the plate? Heath Bell's three years looked like this: 2009/2.71, 2010/1.93, and 2011/2.44. Papelbon's seasons looked like this: 2009/1.85, 2010/3.90, and 2011/2.94.

"Wait a minute... I thought Papelbon was 'Lights Out' in 2011. How come his ERA is higher?"

This is where the complexities of baseball come forth. Papelbon rarely let people on base in 2011, but if runners got on base, they had a pretty good chance of scoring. You can chalk that up to defensive ineptitude if you'd like, though both Boston and San Diego were "middle of the pack" defensively. What this tells me is that once Bell allows runners on, he keeps them from crossing home plate.

The other advantage to selecting Bell as your next closer, he is going to be a hell of a lot cheaper than Papelbon. In 2011, Cinco Ocho commanded $12million in arbitration. He will surely be looking to get a minimum of $15million per year. Heath Bell made $7.5million in 2011. The Red Sox could literally sign up for 4 years of Heath Bell at$30million versus 2 years of Papelbon for the same $30million.

In my eyes, it is a pretty easy decision.

A Couple of Noteworthy Bits

Okay, I usually don't react to baseball news on a dime, but I have come across a couple of things tonight while trolling Twitter that has prompted me to react. First of which being the fact that, according to ESPN Chicago as well as several other sources, new President of Baseball Operations for the Chicago Cubs Theo Epstein gave a "courtesy" call to Ryne Sandberg today to inform him that he was NOT a candidate for the Cubs vacant managerial position.

That is shocking to me.

Ryne, RYNO, Sandberg, one of the greatest Cubs in their storied history is being told to eff off. That is unreal to me and goes against everything I thought Theo & Co. would do. Ryne Sandberg has not been the Hall of Famer banking on getting a managerial position solely on his namesake.

Sandberg has been paying his dues and cutting his teeth managing the Peoria Chiefs in the Midwest League, The Tennessee Smokies in the Southern League, The Iowa Cubs in the Pacific Coast League and most recently the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs. The man is (next to Ernie Banks) Mr. Cub! I guess Epstein is looking to rid the Cubs of all their history, not just the bad. This was shocking to me.

The other bit of news I found interesting involves free agent slugger David Ortiz. He was on 93.7 WEEI sounding off about not having received an offer from the Boston Red Sox yet, saying "I know everybody has priorities, and to be honest with you, I thought I was one of them."

Really, Papi? Really?

It is time to get over yourself. Yes, you are a good hitter. You spent a good portion of the 2011 campaign being more of a distraction to this team than a positive force in the clubhouse and you're surprised less than 24 hours removed from becoming a free agent you haven't received an offer yet? Get over yourself!

It is worth noting that the Red Sox have yet to offer free agent reliever Jonathan Papelbon anything yet either. Papelbon, by many accounts, is a much more sought after free agent this season.

I hate the attitude out of Ortiz this year. Listen, I get it - you want to stay in Boston, but you also want a big contract. Time to pick one. The Red Sox are far better off paying "Ortiz Money" to a guy like Jason Kubel to come in here and DH. He's younger, more versatile, and put up similar numbers to Ortiz in 2011.

I love the Hot Stove - time to see where this all goes!

The Next Manager of the Boston Red Sox

With the World Series now over, at 12:01am tomorrow, the Hot Stove season officially begins. While many people will be speculating on what players will sign where, I want to take a more concerted approach at the vacancy in Boston. The one with pretty big shoes left to fill.

There have been dozens of names floated around regarding the next manager for the Boston Red Sox. What I wanted to do was take a look at all of them and quickly write off a few, then examine my top 5 candidates for the position.

Having said that, really easily here - Joe Torre and Bobby Valentine are not going to be the next manager. Torre has far too cushy of a job working for MLB and Valentine both has a great gig going for ESPN, but also would not fit in with the Sox mentality. There are three more candidates that are pretty easy to write off as well, Bud Black, manager of the Padres, Eric Wedge, manager of the Mariners and finally Brad Mills, manager of the Astros. All of them are already managing ball clubs and it is highly unlikely that their respective ownerships would allow them lateral moves.

Now, after that list comes the herd of solid leaders, but guys that would not fit properly for Boston. First - Demarlo Hale - Red Sox bench coach. I think it is fairly obvious that the brass is moving away from the management team that was in place here. Though Hale is an excellent coach, his name is tied to all of the drama and the collapse of the 2011 team. He very well may be a manager some day, just not in Boston.

Torey Luvollo, the first base coach for the Toronto Blue Jays has been the hot rumor this week. The problem is, Buster Olney has reported that his sources indicate Luvollo is not going anywhere. I trust Olney. I think he knows what he's talking about and really, the only manager the Sox wanted from the Jays was John Farrell - and that door was slammed shut.

Dale Sveum, the Brewers hitting coach, Tim Walloch, the Dodgers 3rd base coach, Joey Cora, the Marlins bench coach, Don Wakamatsu, the Blue Jays bench coach and Trey Hillman, the Dodgers bench coach all suffer from the same issue - none of them are a "high profile" candidate. What I mean by that is, though they have all either played the game or have been in baseball for quite some time, they just all seem to lack that special something that a manager needs here in Boston.

When I think of a successful coach in Boston, especially on the heels of the September to forget, I think that the Sox need a manager who is either a player/manager - someone of elite playing status in his day OR perhaps a coach that has presence about them. Here are my top 5 candidates, in descending order.

5) Mike Maddux/Texas Rangers Pitching Coach

Aside from being the older brother of the great Greg Maddux, Mike Maddux spent 15 seasons in Major League Baseball, two of which were spent in Boston. It is worth noting that his only post season playing experience came while in Boston in 1995. What Maddux brings is his pitching knowledge and discipline, which clearly has been working in Texas. They just keep churning out great pitcher after great pitcher. Maddux has been to the World Series with the Rangers two years running now and seems to have great composure, I just worry about how his demeanor would fare in Boston.

4)Pete Mackanin/Philadelphia Phillies Bench Coach

Mackanin's name has been floating around since the day Terry Francona rode out of town. Mackanin has the experience of dealing with egos as well as great pitchers in a high profile sports town like Philadelphia. The problem I see with him is his age. I hate to say that, but I do think its true. He is the oldest candidate being mentioned. That can work for him, garnering instant respect, or against him. I think he is an excellent coach - I just don't have that feeling about him. I know it isn't a very good explanation, but its what I've got to go on, my gut.

3) Ryne Sandberg/Philadelphia Phillies Triple A Manager

Sandberg is my personal favorite horse in this race. However, I think that Theo Epstein would be stupid not to bring Sandberg back to Chicago and win the fans over instantly. The fans already look to Theo as their savior, what better way to earn him instant credibility than to bring a Cub legend in to be the face of this new generation of Chicago Cubs?

2) Sandy Alomar, Jr./Cleveland Indians First Base Coach

Alomar lost out the managerial job with the Blue Jays to John Farrell. He has been coaching ever since his 20 year career ended in 2007 with the New York Mets. The man is a multiple time all-star and borderline Hall of Fame catcher. He has a high baseball IQ and knows pitchers. I love the idea of having Alomar come in here and taking the reigns. I think the players would respond to him immediately.

1) Dave Martinez/Tampa Bay Rays Bench Coach

This job is Martinez's to lose. Would the Red Sox love to have Joe Madden here? Absolutely. That isn't happening, so why not go after Madden's protege? Martinez spent 15 years playing in the big leagues, but more importantly, he has spent 4 seasons (since 2007) learning the Joe Madden brand of baseball in Tampa Bay - something that John Henry would love to see in Boston, for sure.

Dave Martinez is exactly what Boston needs right now. He is young, sure footed and has been around baseball for a long time. He can relate to the players on this roster and lead them as he has learned to under the tutelage of Joe Madden, a manager many consider to be the best in the game today.

The Time Has Come

Dustin Pedroia has to emerge as the true leader of the Boston Red Sox. There is no room for debate. From the reports circulating now regarding the true downfall of the 2011 Boston Red Sox, Pedroia is one of only a small handful of players that look to be a bright spot on the organization. Heavy is the head that wears the crown.

In this mornings Boston Globe, Bob Hohler unveiled details surrounding the firing of Terry Francona, drinking in the clubhouse and the general malaise of the Red Sox late in the season. There was no leadership on this team. Those that in the past stepped up for their team sat idly by while disorder and disunion overran the clubhouse.

As a fan, there are many players that I am ashamed of after having read this article. Though I was never a fan of John Lackey, I now have reason to dislike he, Josh Beckett and Jon Lester. As it has been reported previously, questions of drinking in the clubhouse had arisen after the collapse. Now, names are being given. Apparently, Lackey, Lester and Beckett had a habbit of drinking beer, ordering fast-food fried chicken and biscuits, and playing video games during games. They became fat and lazy.

There are no rules against drinking beer, ordering food, or even playing video games in the Red Sox clubhouse. What the trio (occasionally joined by Clay Buchholz) did was violate an unwritten rule of not just baseball, but all competitive team sports: Support your teammates; especially in times of crisis. According to Hohler and his sources, the trio started this routine in late 2010 and on top of continuing this trend in 2011, they also cut back on their exercise regimentation despite appeals from the teams strength and conditioning coach Dave Page.

The one thing I will not agree with or endorse in his article is what Hohler writes about Francona. I believe the air is clear for him. Dealing with players that in essence just gave up on you is by no means an easy task and I feel that part of this article can be taken as kicking the man while he's walking out of town. Terry Francona brought this city two World Series championships and dealt with personalities like no other manager has had to overcome, (insert random Manny Ramirez joke here) while pushing his players forward.

This team needs to be looked at from the top to the bottom and players need to be set free, or traded. There are only four players that I feel entirely comfortable bringing back after having read this article. Jacoby Ellsbury, Alfredo Aceves, Jonathan Papelbon and Dustin Pedroia. Take the "C" off of Jason Varitek's chest. He no longer deserves it. He failed to step up and be the captain. He brushed aside his leadership role and became an observer. As did David Ortiz and Kevin Youkilis. Those three men were all players that I thought very highly of, whose character is now definitely in question in my book.

Speaking of leadership, where was Adrian Gonzalez in all of this? The new poster-child for the Boston Red Sox came off as productive, bust soft. In this market you cannot be soft. Complaining about playing five Sunday night games will not win you over with the Boston fans or media. Sure, you may not have much time invested in this team, but you just got a huge contract and were pretty much granted a key to the city of Boston. You need to be a leader on this team and talk sense into these players that think they can do whatever they want. Not in my city. Not on the team I love.

It is time for Dustin Pedroia to become the official Captain of the Boston Red Sox. Give him the "C" on his chest. Pedroia is quoted as saying, "I just know that playing in Boston, you're required to play your tail off every day to try to win ballgames for this city. That's what hurt so much as a player, that we not only let each other down in the clubhouse but we let the city down." Pedroia gets it. His time has come to be the unenviable voice of the Boston Red Sox. Heavy is the head that wears the crown.