Home Site Info On to the off-season

On to the off-season

by Matt Smith

They are probably still cleaning up the champagne stains in the visitors’ clubhouse at Coors Field, but already the sobering thought has hit me: no more baseball for the best part of six months.

A year in MLB is an odd mix of feast and famine. 2430 games are crammed into six months, followed by the drama of postseason play in October, and suddenly it stops. We have to wait until next March before we can get worked up about meaningless Spring Training games. Until then, it’s cold turkey.

Ultimately, it works. An MLB season is a marathon, with every day producing numerous story lines, and as we move into November, the opportunity to sit back and take stock is actually welcome. The 2007 season was arguably one of the most exciting we’ve had for years, with some classic games, a great play-off race in September, the emergence of some fantastic young players, and more record-breaking feats than we’ve probably ever seen before in a six-month period.

So from the blogging perspective, the lack of games certainly doesn’t equate to a lack of material. There’s plenty to look back on from the 2007 season as well as even more to look forward to in 2008.

The off-season promises to be full of crazy free agent signings and trade rumours. The Tigers have already fired the first shot, trading for Edgar Renteria in the hope that his 2005 season with the Red Sox was a blip rather than evidence that he’s a National League player. That deal also takes one team out of the A-Rod auction. To nobody’s surprise, he opted out of his contract with the Yankees and his agent, Scott Boras, clearly expects someone to offer them a staggering amount of money. The Tigers were a possibility (they’ve dealt with Boras before and needed a shortstop – I guess it’s possible that A-Rod may switch back to his old position), but the Renteria deal knocks that one on the head. There are a few obvious candidates (Angels, Cubs, Dodgers, Giants), but the Rangers surprised everyone by signing him in 2001 and it’s possible someone else could play that role this time around (perhaps it’s best not to get your hopes up though, Pirates fans).

And don’t forget there’s a certain Mr Barry Bonds on the look out for a new team. Bonds and A-Rod were two of the fifty-seven players who filed for free agency yesterday and they are far from the only big names out there(Hunter, Jones, Colon etc) or the only people who will make a lot of money (probably pretty much all of them, whether they are ‘worth’ it or not). That second point, supported by the spending in 2007, has made several commentators suggest that the trade market will be more active than normal as well. Expect plenty of players to be wearing new uniforms in 2008 as a result.

So this is certainly not the start of a six-month hiatus for BaseballGB. Far from it. Along with the reviews of 2007 and keeping track of the rumours/signings, no doubt there will be plenty of news to discuss from MLB (managerial changes for one) as well as news from around the baseball world. And this off-season will see the development of various “resources” to accompany the normal blog posts, plus a possible general re-design.

The baseball may be over for another year, but there’s still lots to look forward to.

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