Marco's Baseball Blog-O-Roonie: HOT STOVE MELTDOWN!

MARCO'S BASEBALL BLOG-O-ROONIE: HOT STOVE MELTDOWN!

Welcome me back after a relaxing month of basking in the glow of my successful prediction that Kansas City would sweep the field and take the World Series. It's so gratifying to be right once in awhile. (Let's not mention my less accurate predictions that the Washington Nats would win the NL East over the Mets, that the Astros would finish last in the AL West, the Twins would finish last in the AL Central...well, just never mind.... how about those Royals!?)

Now it's the silly season for baseball rumor and ballpark innuendo... The Hot Stove Trade/Free Agent Binge wherein all fans worship at the altar of that one perfect player that will suddenly transform their team into a world beater.

It's so funny to listen to GMs and Managers and fans alike all repeating the same mantra for baseball success...

“We're looking for a top-of-the-rotation Starter,

a Power-bat for the middle of the order and some

bullpen help...especially a Leftie. All with controllable contracts. That's really all we need...”

Yeah...right! But if every team is looking for the same thing, how many do you think are actually going to score it? A few of the rich clubs might get hold of what they need...while all the rest go begging and wind up with players like Bartolo Colon in the rotation, Mark Trumbo in the middle of their batting order and leftie Oliver Perez coming out of the pen. And then they talk all positive about how these moves give them a “real shot” at the playoffs this year. Wrongie wrong wrong.

The big name stars of this Hot Stove episode were Aces David Price and Zack Greinke. Everybody was waiting to see where they would go collect their several hundreds of millions first so the rest of the pecking order could proceed in an orderly and predictable fashion. Jordan Zimmerman, Johnny Cueto etc. Then we'd move to the hitters like Chris Davis and Justin Heyward.

Whoops! The Detroit Tigers threw a fly into the ointment when they nabbed Zimmerman early. All the big market clubs were jockeying for position and telling themselves “if we can't get Price or Greinke we'll just pick up Jordan Zimmerman for less money and make HIM our Ace.” But when the Tigres signed Zim for a cool $120 mil or so it scra-zambled the well-laid plans. Next thing you knew, the Bosox grabbed Price by overpaying him $27 million more than runners-up St. Louis were offering (because otherwise Price would have taken $10 million less just to avoid going to his most hated team! But $27 million? “I guess I can stand David Ortiz after all!”)

Now Greinke was looking good and his expected salary ticking upward faster than Facebook stock. The main players were supposed to be the Dodgers and the Giants....NL West rivals who would bid him to the sky to avoid letting the other team have him. In all fairness, Greinke is probably the best bet of the big free agent pitchers of the last few years. He's a control artist....(a 'Rembrandt' if you will, in baseball hip parlance) who paints the corners with breaking pitches and change-ups to set up his sneaky 94mph fastball. Working in that pitcher's park at Chavez Ravine last year, his whip was in the .80s. Unheard of. And even though he's 32, Greinke projects to last a while...ala his doppelganger Greg Maddux.

So who gets him? The Dodgers? The Giants? A sneak attack from the Cubs or Yankees? What??? The Diamondbacks!!!??? Yep. The Arizona Afterthoughts actually outbid the big market clubs and got back on the map with this signing. Now they have a good young club with some up and coming stars like Archie Bradley who can learn from Zack while that good offense raps the ball in Chase Field. Greinke's ERA will go up a run, at least, in that ballpark but he'll still be the Ace they need. Instant relevance! Well done, Diamondhumps!

Now the Dodgers and Giants, both of whom were desperate for a complimentary starter to their Big Guns Kershaw and Bumgarner respectively, are left with only Johnny Cueto to save them. And Johnny was like the little girl with the curl last year. When he was good he was very very good and when he was bad he was horrid. Cueto already said no to a $110 mil offer from Arizona (before they got Greinke) which looks pretty prescient now that's he's the last Ace (or pseudo-Ace) standing. He'll cash in for some National League club...I predict St. Louis, who just lost their most effective starter from last year, John Lackey, to the Cubs. Maybe the Desperate Dodgers.

Here's a quick rundown of all the teams and their prospects:

AL EAST:

BOSTON BOTTOM-FEEDERS: It was probably worth it for the Sox to get Price because without an Ace last year they never matched up with other rotations. Of course, it's doubtful that Price, who is now 30, will last as a winner for the length of this contract. Power pitchers don't usually last into their late thirties (see Verlander,Justin...signed through 2019 and no longer an Ace.) Price is a good citizen who really supports his fellow pitchers on any staff he's been on. This signing gives the Sox a real shot at sending Big Papi out with one more playoff appearance before he makes his last bat flip pose. (Big Papi...the only “Ruthian” player we've had in baseball in many decades. He created legends.) Remember that Boston played very well the last two months of 2014 and their young players Betts and Bogaerts became stars. New closer Craig Kimbrel will also do well in the AL East.

NEW YORK YANK-YER-DOODLE DANDIES: Old. Older. Oldest. I've been saying this for years but even the Yanks themselves now acknowledge that they have to get younger players. I think they may bypass the free agent market and “go bad” for a few years while they retool. Really. Look at the big money DL players they have on their roster! Sabathia, Beltran, Texeira, Gardner (who will be traded), Ellsbury (never the same hitter after shoulder troubles of a few years ago and his speed is waning). When your big offensive star is Aging-ARod? They have a bullpen but with that overpriced, under-productive roster let's just say Girardi must be a genius manager to have gotten them into the wild card last year.

TORONTO ALMOSTS: Well, at least you went for it Blue Jays. You rented David Price for a half season and traded the farm for Troy Tulo. You just couldn't get past those pesky KC Royals. Now you don't have any depth in your farm system, especially pitching, and you are hopeful your starting staff doesn't have injuries, cause if it does you are screwed. You say you're going to bag a free agent pitcher but really, Jay Happ doesn't really count for much, does he? Here is Marco's adage: 'Toronto will never win steadily because no big free agents will sign in Canada with the bad exchange rate, higher taxes and lack of Mexican food.'

BALTIMORE BORE-RIOLES: Can't afford to lose Chris Davis, can't afford to keep him. If they do re-sign him they won't have any money for all the other stuff they need....corner outfielders who can hit, starting pitching, bullpen. They don't have much to trade either. “This is the End....my only friend, The End...of our elaborate plans, The End...”

TAMPA BAY PRE-SCHOOL FOR YOUNG STARTING PITCHERS WHO WILL EITHER BLOW OUT THEIR ACL'S OR BECOME STARS WITH OTHER TEAMS: Nuff Said.

AL CENTRAL:

CLEVELAND POLITICALLY INCORRECTS: Supposed to be on their way into the higher echelons because they have a Met-like collection of young power pitchers maturing fast. Plus Corey Kluber as a veteran Ace. Trouble is, they aren't that good of an offensive club and now their one big star, Michael Brantley, has hurt his shoulder. Have you noticed how many everyday players lose their hitting ability after shoulder injuries? Ellsbury hit thirty homers once, then hurt his shoulder and never regained any power to speak of. Hanley Ramirez was killing the ball last year until he ran into a fence...the rest of the season was nil power-wise. Matt Kemp hit 39 homers for the Dodgers in 2011 (should have been the MVP over steroid Ryan Braun...and no bold typeface for you Ryan)) then hurt his shoulder (and hamstrings) and has hit just 77 in the four years after. So anyway, I think Cleveland is in trouble.

MINNESOTA OVER-ACHIEVING BUNCH OF NICE TWINKIE FELLAS: My new heroes even though they made me look bad last year by winning more than they had any right to. Just a hustling bunch of good players with an inspirational Hall of Fame manager and now a new Korean power threat (Byung-Ho Park)to compliment Sano.

CHICAGO WHITE SUCKS: Really Chisox...get it together. You have one of the best Aces in baseball in Chris Sales but your offense hits like a bunch of wood elves. None of your trades worked out and the whole team except Sales seems to be under achieving. Look at Kansas City winning with bullpen, speed and defense. Hint Hint!

DETROIT ALMOST-EXTINCT TIGERS: It's the last gasp of an almost great club. They lost two World Series in the last decade and won several division titles. Their owner is not afraid to spend his money. They have had four or five of the top pitchers in baseball on their roster...sometimes two or three at once. They have had the preeminent hitter in all of baseball on their team for a while now and some other worthy studs. But they haven't been dealt the hero card yet. They remind me of the Seattle teams of the nineties who had superstars but never won.

Now they traded Price cause they knew they couldn't sign him, just like Scherzer before him. So they got Zimmerman, who is good, to help what's left of Justin Verlander. They got KRod to be their closer, but the bullpen is still weak. Their two top hitters, Cabrera and Victor Martinez, should both be DHs now. (Even with that they'll hurt themselves just running the bases.) All those great young pitchers they got from Toronto in the Price trade aren't quite ready but if one or two of them step up... I think they have one more run in them. Go Tigers.

KANSAS CITY KING-FOR-A-DAY ROYALS: It seems a shame that they can't keep the old ball team together. What a glorious year they had! But that's the Hideous Reality of small market clubs...no way Jose can you keep them down on the farm after they've smelled the millions waiting for them in free agency. Bye Bye Big Homer guy Alex Gordon. Bye Bye Ace-for-a-day Johnny Cueto. But they still have the core and they have the bullpen and they have speed, defense and confidence. Let's see how far that gets them in 2016. I say probably to the top of the division again at least.

AL WEST IS THE BEST:

HOUSTON IMPOSTROS: Imposters because these can't be the Astros we all knew and loathed as existential losers for all these bitter teasing years? They took us from dubious (“They can't be this good...they're just on a hot streak and they'll fold”) to hope (“Wow! Maybe a team that strikes out 14 times a game can win anyway!”) to euphoria (“Now that Chris Correa is the new Willie Mays how can we lose?”) to dashed dreams (“I knew they'd do this to me! Why Oh Why did I buy in again?”)

They've dumped Scott Kazmir who was a dud for them. Also “Let-me-hit-solo-homers-only-and-strike-out-anytime-guys-are-on-base Carter. But something has changed in Houston. They have good young players all over the place and solid pitching. The bullpen has been addressed with new closer-type Giles coming over from Philly via trade. (The Astros were prospect rich but have spent their dime). I pick them to win the West so far...

TEXAS REVENGE-OF-THE STRANGERS: Another surprise. The Rangers showed some real grit and clung to life for another run at post season glory. Even though they had an ugly meltdown in Toronto to end the season, they made a good noise. If big Yu Darvish comes back strong to go along with Cole Hamels they have a one-two to match Keuchel and McHugh down in Houston. Should be a great battle this year.

LOS ANGELES FALLEN ANGELS: “First we had to eat dirt from the Oakland A's and Texas for a few years. Then we went out and got Pujols and found a diamond in the draft in Young Trout. We traded for Josh Hamilton to put us over the top and he smoked crack until we gave him back at our expense. Now Pujols has a hurt foot and our erstwhile Ace Weaver is washed up (and how) and we got beat by Houston of all people and even got nudged by what's left of Texas. Our defense is shaky so we got Andrelton Simmons from the Braves. So can we please win?”

Nope. They called your number a few years ago Angels, and you forgot to step to the front of the line. Welcome to Hell.

SEATTLE RHYME-OF-THE-ANCIENT MARINERS: They must have screwed up and killed an albatross to incur this much decades-long bad fortune. They hocked their future payroll to get Robbie Cano and he (predictably) wasn't the same hitter in that lousy home ballpark that he was in Yankee Stadium where his pop flys were all homers. They never got pitchers who could compliment the Great Felix Hernandez and they don't seem to realize that outside of Nelson Cruz nobody is going to be a fearsome slugger in Safeco. If they paid any attention they would realize that teams in big ballparks have to win with pitching, defense and team speed ala the Royals. Wake up Seattle!

OAKLAND TRADING-BEANEHEAD IDIOTS: Billy Beane: You used to be a genius and they made a movie out of your brilliant career and you don't even look like Brad Pitt. So now you think any trade you make is just groovy. What? Did Josh Donaldson break your daughter's heart or something? Who'd you get for him again? Three guys in A ball?

SENIOR CIRCUIT: Where people applaud pitchers who manage to hit a ground ball the other way instead of striking out. Oh God, the purity of it all! Well, was baseball pure back in 1912 when they used one mashed up spit upon blackened baseball per full game and everybody bunted every other at bat? Sure it was. Let's not change for God's sake! It might disrupt the boring purity of it all!

NL EAST COAST BIAS:

NEW YORK METROSEXUALS: (I don't know why I call them that. Maybe it's all the long hair?) This is what is wrong with baseball in the free agent era. The Mets came blasting out of the pack and knocked off the favorite Nationals and then steamed through the playoffs and into the World Series largely because two hitters...first Cespedes and then Murphy...got insanely hot at crucial times and carried their otherwise pathetic offense. Now the Mets don't expect to keep either one of them. Loyalty is a dollar bill in this era.

They somehow screwed Pittsburgh out of Neil Walker and also got Asdrubal (strangest name in baseball) Cabrera. That gives them an impressive keystone combo. Too bad they're too cheap to keep Cespedes. (Rumors of a trade for the Rockies' Carlos Gonzalez. Do it Mets!)

WASHINGTON UNMENTIONABLES: What terrible team chemistry! Maybe the new manager Dusty Baker can get these bozos on the same page. Papelbon actually choked Brash Boy Bryce in the dugout. Harper is a prodigy, but they need some kind of veteran on that club that Bryce will respect and listen to so he matures just a little. The Nats have lost about half of the team. They lost half of their pitchers including Zimmerman, Thornton, Jannsen and Fister. The starting shortstop Desmond is gone and the center fielder and leadoff hitter Denard Span. Werth, Ryan Zimmerman and Rendon are all coming off serious injuries. Their once vaunted rotation is now suspect after Scherzer. They'll sign somebody I guess but that's a lot of holes. Baker, remember, absolutely ruined the careers of his two Chicago Cubs stud pitchers Kerry Wood and Mark Prior with high pitch counts. Prior was averaging 126 pitches a game from September 2003 through the playoffs and was never the same.

Get ready for trouble if he pulls that with Strasburg.

ATLANTA DISMANTLERS: What the fuck are they doing? Rebuilding is one thing, but trading every decent player they have for prospects that need 2-3 years to mature? They trade Andrelton Simmons, the best fielding shortstop in baseball? They traded Kimbrel? Justin Heyward for Shelby Miller and now they trade Miller? They got some real good prospects from Arizona but they better hope those prospects include some Mike Trout, Bryce Harper type stars or they'll lose their fan base. Would you buy a season ticket to see what's left of that roster?

PHILADELPHIA DECONSTRUCTORS: Cliff Lee is coming back. One of my favorite players but he's 37 and his arm is glass. Hell, maybe they can do an arm transplant on Roy Halladay and re-trade for Utley and Rollins. Give Mike Schmidt some Viagra and haul his ass out to third base. I bet they'd draw fans. I hear Steve Carlton isn't busy. Anybody got Greg Luzinski's number?

MIAMI (OR SHOULD WE BE FLORIDA THIS YEAR?) SCHIZOPHRENICS:

Ugga wugga! Me start ball team in Florida! Me build shitty ballpark! Me sign Giancarlo to lifetime contract and promise pennant push! Me get new GM and manager every other year! Me hire Barry Bonds to create new era of good feeling and lovie dovie public relations. Now me trade all other stars. Listen to deals on Dee Gordon and Jose Fernandez and Ozuna. Me still got Ichiro so what problem is? Me go back to crooked Jai-Alai games!

NL CENTRALIA:

PITTSBURGH-THE-ACCURSED: The Buccos can't catch a break. They are the ultimate fan tease, playing great all year and roaring into the playoffs but only as a wild card. Then one hot pitcher shuts them out for two years in a row. The apocalypse is coming in the form of free agency for Andrew McCutcheon and others. They'll have to start trading people before they all walk away. Really a shame. They were out of it for what, thirty years? I think they have to break through this year or forget it but now they have the Cubs to deal with as well as the Cardinals.

Pirates, I suggest you buy a few pitchers, don't trade Neil Walker and make sure you replace Alvarez with a good hitter...it may be awhile before you pass this way again.

(*New Development...the Pirates just traded Neil Walker to the Mets for spare change. Bad move...he had one more year before free agency and the Bucs could have used him to try to win once before the apocalypse. Walker was killer in the clutch for them last year.)

CHICAGO CUDDLIES: Finally, a team that seems to know what it's doing! Epstein and friends have guessed right on a bunch of young players who are now productive and exciting. They made that great trade that got them Arietta and he turned into Sandy Koufax. They went out and signed John Lackey which helps them back-up Jake and John Lester while simultaneously damaging St. Louis by taking away the man who was their number one starter by the end of last season.

They signed Ben Zobrist to (probably) play mostly second base for them and they traded Starlin Castro who has been behaving himself lately but has been a real attitude problem in the past. They will still likely add pitching and a center fielder but it all seems well thought out and it seems like they are getting the right kind of players to go with their very young team. Seasoned vets who want to win. I'm pickin' 'em this year.. (for the NL Central at least!)

(*New Development...the Cubs seem to be challenging St. Louis to get Justin Heyward. The Angels are in it too. Wouldn't it be devious of Epstein to not only take Lackey away from their Central rivals, but Heyward too? It would be even smarter if they were trying to bid St. Louis up and bleed them of extra money.)

ST.LOUIS DISABLEDS: Wow! The Cards must be thinking ...Holy Shit! We lose half the team to injury and still kick ass the whole season and win the division going away before what's left of our starting staff disintegrates and we can't put it away. AAAAARGGHHH! Now, as usual, the Cards retool and get what they need via a combo of great minor league call-ups, shrewd trades and an endless supply of good arms. They have two new outfielders (Randall Grichuk and Stephen Piscotty) who look pretty good. If they sign Chris Davis to play first base and hit homers and the young outfielders are good enough to make people forget Justin Heyward they'll probably contend again...although Pittsburgh and especially Chicago have closed the gap. At least, St. Louis is a welcome anomaly in this era because they are a (very) small market club who has expanded their fan base with good public relations, a winning attitude and consistently competitive teams. Thank God for the Cardinals.

By the way, not resigning Heyward is a wise decision. His asking price is in the $200 million range. For what? A great fielding right fielder (note that last: RIGHT FIELDER...the next to last most crucial fielding position.)

Right fielders don't change the whole team with their defense, they only get about 3 or 4 plays a game...once a week they have to make a sliding catch. Twice a week they have to make a strong throw. That's not enough to justify a huge contract for somebody who can't hit for power. Okay, he's a good base runner. That's worth $200 million?

(WHAT USED TO BE)CINCINNATI REDS: The Reds probably wish they could just swallow a handful of reds and sleep through the next few years and wake up with a good team again. They are in serious trouble. They have no money to fix it and nobody they can trade. (Vuotto loves The Natti and refuses to leave...and his contract lasts forever so even though he's good, he's gonna play out his career on a loser. Why couldn't he allow himself to be traded to Boston say, where the Sox would gladly give up 3 or 4 hot young prospects to get Vuotto and his huge contract and his high on-base percentage? Which always gives the Red Sox a hard on.)

MILWAUKEE WHY-BOTHERS: Brewers...you don't realize it but you are cursed. As long as Ryan Braun is your big star you won't win. Why? Because he has angered the Baseball Gods and he must ATONE! You shouldn't be able to cheat your way to an MVP. (Wonder where Sammy Sosa is right now?) Trade Braun instead of Lucroy. Then we'll talk. Seen any pictures of Braun with his arm around Robin Yount or Paul Molitor or any of the other Brewer greats of the past? Didn't think so. He is shunned by all true baseball fans, as is Barry Bonds and the other Mega-Cheaters of the medicinal era.

NL WESTERLIES:

L.A. WE'RE DOING-YOU-A-FAVOR-BY-LETTING-YOU-BE-IN-THIS-LEAGUE-WITH-US DODGEHEADS: Oh you handsome Dodger Devils you! How could anybody have the nerve to turn down your dollars? You decided Greinke wasn't worth an extra year and a few extra million on his contract and let Arizona steal him. Your payroll was already an absurd $240 million and you have the money and Greinke was going to get paid one way or another anyway and you needed him bad. Greinke was almost a sure thing every game out last year. There is no replacement for him. Hope you enjoyed saving your money. Maybe you can spend it on Hyun-Jin Ryu's next arm surgery.

I often mention the Philadelphia Phillies' huge mistake of a few years ago when they signed Roy Halladay but traded Cliff Lee at the same time to “rebuild their minor league system”. So instead of keeping two Aces for long enough to win a couple of titles, they remained just good enough to lose out on a couple.

You got your foot in the door Dodgers...do you have the guts to close the deal?

SAN FRANCISCO IF-IT'S-AN-EVEN-YEAR-WE-WON'T-STINK GIGANTES:

They need a true power hitter. They really, really need a number two starter behind Bumgarner, yet they won't re-sign Leake... who everybody else seems to covet... but hang on to Peavy at $9 million a year and pay $10 mil a year for Samardzija (He of the 4.99 ERA last year!)

I am willing to concede that the Giants front office is smarter than me. They have a winning track record (in even years) to prove it...I guess. You got to like their shortstop/second base combo of Crawford and Panik. But this team is injured and stays injured. Almost every star is down for significant time every season. They're always plugging holes with a Blanco or some other non-hitter. And Bumgarner is pitching too many innings. I know he's a Bear but preserve him just a little bit, Bruce Bochy!

ARIZONA COMPRESSED-COAL-INTO-DIAMOND BACKS: The Dodgers and Giants better get serious 'cause the Humps are coming! Tony LaRussa and Dave Stewart are making a splash in Phoenix. The Greinke deal was awesome for their morale and even though they gave up a lot in that trade for Shelby Miller, they needed starters to be relevant and they have to win now while they still have Goldschmidt and Pollock signed. (What are those guys going to bring in free agency?)

The thing I like about the Diamondhumps is their cool names. Tuffy Gosewisch, Socrates Brito, Gabby Guerrero, Yasmany Tomas... If they win they'll be a publicist's dream...and they just might win this year.

SAN DIEGO DEFROCKED PADRES: How can a team makeover fail so spectacularly? Well, your three big gets last year were Justin Upton, Matt Kemp and Will Myers. Trouble was, all of them had to play in the outfield and they couldn't hack it. You need a speedy center fielder out there to cover for the slow guys in that huge ballpark. So they had 3 slow guys and they got burned.

Also, Matt Kemp had a pretty good year statistically by the end, but started off so cold that they never recovered. The Padres were buried by May and it didn't matter what Kemp was hitting anymore.

Myers failed to launch. Upton was pretty solid all year but his power was also muted by Petco. Will Middlebrooks was a disaster at third...they had to flat out release him. They will lose Upton to free agency. They traded Kimbrel for prospects so they now suck in the bullpen. Their starters might have done well if they had some defense behind them but the Padres tried to win without a shortstop. They still need one.

Even with a new manager, this team is adrift on a Sea of Pain.

COLORADO ROCKY MOUNTAIN DUDS: Boy, this is getting to be a sorry excuse for a franchise. No matter how much they freeze the baseballs, they still can't get anybody who can pitch to play for this team. And they don't have enough offense to compensate and outscore people. Dozens of Rockies get hurt every year. Watch out or they'll move this franchise to San Antonio. (Hey! Good idea!)

Let's think of something nice to say about the Rockballs. Oh Yeah, Nolan Arenado can really play.

Thus ends my acid-tongued thesis on the state of baseball here on the last day of winter meetings. If I seem to be remarkably sour on the prospects of so many teams, it's because I get frustrated by the constant moving of players and the imbalance between large and small market clubs and the seeming impossibility of anybody keeping any kind of team together for more than a year.

It was a different era in my youth. Every year you knew who the Dodgers were going to be...Duke Snider, Gil Hodges, Jackie Robinson, Carl Furillo, Roy Campanella, Pee Wee Reese...maybe they'd get a new left fielder once in a while. The Yankees would have Mickey and Yogi and Whitey...the Braves would have Aaron, Mathews and Spahn.

Yeah, I know...the teams stayed consistent because of the reserve clause forbidding players from being free agents and letting teams bid for their services and that wasn't fair...but free agency has cost us the pleasure of consistent rosters of stars staying with teams so the fans could really take them to heart. That aspect of the modern game depresses me.

What could possibly cheer me up? How about a Stan Musial story? That always seems to work...

Stan had the habit of always signing his contract before the Cardinals entered a dollar figure. (I know...hard to imagine today!) He said he trusted the front office to pay him what he was worth. He was always one of the highest paid players in baseball and was the first $100,000 a year player.

Stan had his first ever bad year in 1959, hitting .255 while playing hurt in only 115 games. (This after 16 years of hitting around.350 every year with 30 dingers and 100+ RBIs). So in 1960 Stan signs his blank contract and the Cardinals give it back with the salary line filled out with the same amount he got the year before...$100,000.

Stan tells management that he'd been overpaid in 1957 and 1958 and his salary should be based on what he did in 1959. (In 1957 his stats were .351/29/102 with an on-base of .422 while slugging .612. He finished second in the MVP voting that year. In '58 he only batted .337)

Stan crosses out the $100,000... and puts in $80,000.

Then he goes on a fitness program and by 1963 he's back up to hitting .330.

Thank you God, I just want to play baseball in the sun.

“Those were the days my friends...we thought they'd never end...”

Happy Holidays!---Marco