Jan
31
2011

Sherman’s Offseason Report Card

An article by Craig Lerner

Joel Sherman if the NY Post ranked each MLB team based on who he thought had the most successful offseason. He listed the Blue Jays as his best team and rounds out his top five with the Red Sox, Phillies, A’s and Rays.

In the bottom he ranked the Angels as the worst which was kind of odd to me.

30. ANGELS

This was a setback not only of player personnel, but perception. Owner Arte Moreno began the offseason vowing to spend what was necessary to return the Angels to the top of the AL West, and then lost out on main targets Beltre and Crawford. Then the Angels seemed out of the baseball mainstream by not understanding just how much Toronto would do to unburden itself of as much of Wells’ contract as possible. The Angels did not get Toronto to eat Scott Kazmir’s odious contract or a lot more future dollars for Wells. They also included Mike Napoli in the trade to get Wells when they should have used him in a separate trade (consider that Toronto immediately traded Napoli to Texas for reliever Frank Francisco).

It’s no secret Sherman hated the Wells trade, ranking the Blue Jays 1st and the Angels 30th in his offseason rankings. But how about some objectivity Joel?

He lists the Angels as his worst team because they vowed to spend whatever it took to add a slugger and didn’t, and in the same breath he pounds them for spending too much on Vernon Wells, who by the way is a slugger. Which one is it?

Sure they overspent on Wells, but they added a player who had 78 extra-base hits last season with an .847 OPS. He was in the top ten in doubles, home runs, slugging percentage and OPS in 2010. Plus, it’s the Angels who are one of the most richest franchises in the game.

Even more egregious is the fact he doesn’t even mention that the Angels aggressively addressed last season’s disastrous bullpen by signing top reliever Scott Downs to a 3-year deal and adding the versatile Hisanori Takahashi to bolster the bullpen.

Come on Joel, you’re better than this.

My worst team this offseason would have been tied between the Pirates and the Indians who sucked big time and didn’t do anything to change their predicament.

Sherman ranked the Mets 23rd which I guess is about where they should be mostly because many of their signings are high risk in terms of the probability of getting a full season out of some of them.

23. METS

They probably made the right choice to try to fix at the margins with Chris Capuano, Chris Young, D.J. Carrasco and Ronnie Paulino while hoping stars such as Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, Francisco Rodriguez and Jason Bay get healthy and productive. But as the Wilpons’ revelation that they are seeking limited partners revealed, the organization also is hurting financially. In addition, does Terry Collins really have the stature and temperament to be a successful manager in New York, or was the first major move of the Sandy Alderson administration a dud?

The season hasn’t even begun yet and he’s already speculating that Terry Collins could be a dud?

I can already tell that it’s gonna be a long season.

About the Author: Craig Lerner

I'm a data analyst and researcher for a leading news agency who loves life and is hooked on the Mets. I love following the Amateur Draft and have a particular fondness for the Mets Minor Leagues who I follow each day. Give me a cold beer, a summer day, and a Mets game, and I'm good to go.

8 Comments + Add Comment

Mr North Jersey January 31, 2011 at 11:03 am

Can Colllins really be that much more worse the Manuel was?

I am hoping not.
86mets January 31, 2011 at 11:05 am

Joel Sherman is being, well, Joel Sherman. What qualifies him to be a better judge of who should manage the Mets than Sandy Alderson? Does being a member of the NY Post and sports journalist give him more credibility than a veteran Major League GM? I think not. Even if Sherman’s prediction is right, it won’t be because he knows something Alderson does not. C’mon Joel, don’t you think Alderson has a handle on whether or not Collins can handle NY or not? If he didn’t he wouldn’t have hired him in the first place.
- Mr North Jersey January 31, 2011 at 11:09 am
  
  “What qualifies him to be a better judge of who should manage the Mets than Sandy Alderson?”
  
  You hit the nail on the head right there. That is why no one should really get too bothered over these type of articles.
Sach C. January 31, 2011 at 12:38 pm

Umm, While I don’t think the Angels were the worst offseason, they really might be close to the bottom. There are very few redeeming features in the Vernon Wells trade. They just picked up $81 million in future payroll, for a player who could easily regress to 2007-09 level futility.
francis January 31, 2011 at 1:08 pm

i hope this guy stops rating offseasons if the angels win their division.
alwaysnextyear January 31, 2011 at 1:12 pm

I actually think the phillies are rated too high.

they made 2 big moves (the rest being shuffling stiffs on the bench and in the pen). They signed Lee to a huge deal (remember, he is 32, and has had some back issues), which has to be considered the same way Wells deal is factored in.

They also let Werth walk, which IMO is much more significant than many people are thinking. The guy had, by far, the highest OPS on the team, and was the primary RH threat in the middle of the order. I believe he was also in the top 10 in MVP voting. And they are replacing him with a raw rookie and a journeyman.

considering it was the offense, not the pitching, that tanked them in the playoffs, and that they already have some question marks positionally, it could make a huge difference, especially now that howard may not see a pitch to hit all season.

Yes, Lee could make the rotation studly. But, it was going to be pretty damned good already without him.

I actually think these off season rankings weigh too heavily on the inflow, and ignore the outflow. Like with the Nats, there is all the talk about werth coming in, but often overlooked is the fact that they lost Dunn.
- XtreemIcon January 31, 2011 at 1:15 pm
  
  Jayson Werth is in the unique situation of his trasnaction crippling two teams. Usually the new team profits from a big free agent signing, but this deal has the overwhelming potential for ruining both franchises for several years.
  - alwaysnextyear January 31, 2011 at 1:30 pm
    
    given that they are both in the NL East, and neither is the Mets, can we consider this a Win-Win?

Need Tickets To The Mets Game?

Check Out These Great MLB Links!

For wholesale prices on New York Mets gifts and equipment, check these stores out!
Mets Autograph Signings
Mets Fan Apparel
Mets Autographed Baseballs
Baseball Card Supplies
Baseball Equipment

For the best seats and lowest MLB ticket prices, go to PurchaseSeats.com. Get your Mets Tickets now and follow them on the road with Yankees Tickets, Phillies Tickets, Nationals Tickets and Braves Tickets!