Post by Saitama on Mar 13, 2014 7:27:09 GMT -5
Everyone's favorite David Wright homer weighs in on some of the leagues current issues
1. You finally look like you're going to win your first division title 10 years into the league. Is this a sigh of relief?
Yeah it is a sigh of relief. It's my first division title in any league ever. All my previous postseason appearances were as wild cards. I put in a lot of work with this team and have made so many trades and signings to get to where I'm at right now. It feels nice and I really hope this can continue for another 3-5 seasons at least. I was telling everyone before I was gonna be nice in the latter half of the 2000s decade and so far, it's off to a great start.
2. Quick real life question: Mets GM Sandy Alderson says he thinks the Mets can win 90 this year. Your thoughts on that statement?
The Mets this year can have a winning record. Wheeler, Niese, Gee and Colon are four very solid starters. Once Syndergaard and Rafael Montero come up in the summer, they should be even better. Not having Harvey for the year sucks. They could've been a legitimate postseason contender with him, but I guess that will have to wait another year.
I like the bullpen generally speaking, even though many of the young guys don't have a particularly large amount of major league experience. Parnell could be among the best NL closers this year. Maybe he even goes to the All-Star Game. He would deserve it. Offensively, Wright and Murphy will continue to hit as always. I expect d'Arnaud to hopefully break out and get around 20 homers and 80 RBI. The Mets will need his bat for sure. Granderson won't hit 40+ homers again, but I'll take 25-30 from him any year. Would love to see Lagares develop more as a hitter and for Tejada to actually do something relevant after the shitty season he had last year. I also hope whoever starts between Chris Young and Eric Young Jr. does well because the Mets' outfield was awful in the past few seasons.
All in all, I don't see the Mets winning 90 games this season. 82-85 wins though could definitely happen. If Harvey was healthy though, 90+ wins would be realistic. So more than likely, 82-85 wins and 3rd place this year, followed by 90-95+ wins and the NL East title in 2015. That's the plan.
3. What would you say your biggest weakness is currently on your roster?
I wish I had another great base stealer to be honest. Feliciano and Hart steal a lot, but one more base stealer could definitely lead to a more productive offense. Besides that, maybe another elite starter at the same level as Lackey and Stark. I could always use more pitchers like that. And probably more bullpen depth. I traded some of my younger relievers and now have to rely on more veterans going forward.
But in the future, my two biggest needs are finding one more young outfielder and restocking young bullpen depth.
4. Which GM do you think will compete with you more closely over the next 5 years, Habes or Spencer?
This one could go either way. Spencer is one of, if not the smartest GM I've ever encountered in all the OOTP leagues I've been in. He knows how to put together great teams, make the right trades and manage his finances all very well. He has one of the best pitcher's parks around, which can turn very good pitchers into elite studs. Look at John Smiley's career for proof.
As for the Haberdog, he's got a lot of talent of his own and has made good trades in the past for sure. So to be honest, I don't think one of them will definitely compete closer with me than the other. I still think I've got the team to beat for at least the next few seasons, but they'll be up there. The only difference is that Spencer is obviously closer to competing again than Habes is.
I really thought the Dodgers were about to finally turn the corner after finishing almost .500 in 2004. But they really underachieved last season and still haven't recovered. I don't really know what to make of the Dodgers' and Diamondbacks' futures all that much, but their postseason droughts could very likely continue for quite some time.
5. Jeromy Burnitz is having the best year of his career at 37. Steroids much?
Haha probably. Don't forget the Coors Field factor. Spencer hit the nail in the head when he said that Coors Field can revive the careers of aging hitters. I don't even need to list all the veterans I've had that have raked here because it's all been pretty obvious. Obviously, Burnitz needs to be in a platoon and only hit against righties and he has done just that for the past few years. I hope he can hold up even more in 2007, but it's wishful thinking at this point.
6. Do you have plans to re-sign Juan Gonzalez? What is your outfield plans for the future with it currently being manned by a 36 and 37 year old at the corners?
I'm waiting on Juan intentionally. If he gets a bad PD to his homers (knock on wood it doesn't happen) this season, I won't bring him back. If that doesn't happen, I'll probably try to bring him back for another season.
The future of my outfield will include at least Jesus Feliciano and Magglio Ordonez. I obviously need one more younger guy there in the future. Mamon Tucker has decent potential, but I feel like I can find a better starter than him. Tucker is a solid fourth outfielder though. I'll probably trade for another outfielder either this offseason or sometime in 2007.
7. Why is Chris Reitsma not starting? E duration be damned he's great. At least better than Washburn.
I had Reitsma in my rotation for a few seasons and he just didn't live up to my expectations. Then his duration took a random hit in either the 2004 or 2005 spring training and his duration went down to E. After that, I figured it was time to try him in the bullpen. And he has been better in the bullpen generally speaking. I really like him as a current set-up man and future closer. And yes, as you know, I do not like E duration because an overworked bullpen is the very last thing I want to see with my pitching staff.
8. Will you finally admit that Armando Benitez isn't a stud?
I think some of us have different definitions of what a "stud" player is. Is it all about the ratings? The stats? The potential? There are so many factors and variables to consider.
Is Benitez a top 5 closer in the NL? Absolutely. Is he the best closer around? No. But he's become a dependable veteran and has been a big part to my success. I hope he lasts a few more seasons. He would be tough to replace. He's having a great season right now and barely missed getting to the All-Star Game.
9. Which team do you think will win the AL Central?
After the big moves he made to improve both his pitching and lineup, I'm sticking with my Indians pick. DRowe had a great deadline. He lost Helton, but gained another slugger in Konerko. The duo of Dunn and Konerko should be one that AL pitchers everywhere will fear while on the mound. The potential there is very high. He also added Colbrunn who is somehow having a career season at 37 years old. Hopefully for DRowe he can hold up through 2007 as well, but right now, the Indians' lineup looks solid from top to bottom. It's full of power, speed and will score a lot of runs.
On the pitching side, DRowe already had Balfour and Noel anchoring his rotation. The addition of Blevins though makes the Indians' top 3 one of the best in the AL. He needed to make it happen too because he's about to lose Pedro to free agency. Cliff Lee is a solid fourth starter and DRowe improved his bullpen as well. Time will tell how long Joe Roa lasts, but he definitely improved the bullpen depth for the future.
10. Does Montreal still stand a chance in the NL Wildcard?
The Expos might gain some ground, but they'll probably still finish second to the Pirates. Kobe made a lot of moves, but injuries and underachieving have significantly lowered his chances of making the postseason. We all knew the Marlins were going to be much better this season, but I certainly didn't see the Expos getting worse at this point. They can still bounce back for a few seasons, but the Expos' infield aside from Helton looks awful. Kobe seriously needs to address second base, shortstop and third base more than anything this offseason.
11. Which teams do you think will drop in picks this year?
I actually don't think any picks will drop this season. The Diamondbacks haven't lost more than 100 games since 2003. The Phillies look to be in good shape right now, as do the Red Sox, Twins and Dodgers. The White Sox, Angels, Rangers and Padres are all coming off winning records in 2005 so they are fine.
The only team I think that has even a decent possibility of dropping would be the Braves. They lost 113 games in 2004 and 101 games in 2005. At 44-75 currently, there is definitely a chance they could lose another 25+ games in the remaining 43 games. I'll be very surprised if any other teams end up dropping.
12. Predict the year Stutter wins an NL Central title.
2020? 2100? 2500? 3000? I have no clue hahaha. Poor Stutter. The Reds' problems are just so extensive. His offense has been awful since 1999. He still needs more pitching depth in the future. His market is awful. He most likely has the worst market of any team. Probably even worse than the Brewers' market. He usually doesn't have a ton of board cash on him. He's very low on in-game cash. It's just a mess to say the least.
The big thing for Stutter is that he has so many needs and not enough of assets of his own in order to trade for some of these potential improvements. If anyone thinks that Stutter completely doesn't give a shit though, I have to say that such thoughts are wrong. Stutter and I talk about his team all the time.
At least once in every sim month, he'll try something new with his lineup. He'll try different players from the minors as backups or mop-up pitchers. He thinks about his team more than many of you think he would. He just hasn't found the right solution yet. He changed his stadium dimensions, but that didn't make his team significantly better just yet. But he's always thinking about how to make things better. Not all of his own ideas have obviously ended up working, but he makes his efforts for sure.
As for when he will win a division title here, I really have no clue. The Cubs and Pirates are both elite teams with a lot of young depth and they'll both compete for a very long time. The Cardinals recently have stayed in the hunt, but always fall short of the postseason. Steve has yet to find a legit direction for the Brewers to go in and the Astros have their own long list of problems to deal with. Unfortunately for the Astros, it seems like Bohs is gone so they will need a new GM soon.
That being said, the Reds' future currently looks better than that of the Astros and maybe even the Brewers as well. But the Cubs, Pirates and Cardinals are all clearly at another level and a lot of things will have to work out for Stutter if his Reds will ever make the postseason any time soon.