SimonOnSports

Last offseason the Cavs had a few options, they could either A) go for it in 09-10 and try to convince Lebron that they were doing whatever they could to get him a championship or they could have B) not so discretely told Lebron that they were going to build a roster in 09-10 that would allow him to pick from the litter of free agent buddies that he might want to bring with him to Cleveland. I wrote about this exact issue last June and stated that of the two B was vastly more important than option A. Unfortunately for Cavaliers fans, they went with option A and came up well short of an NBA title. Let's just rewind and look at some of the decisions which are forcing the Cavs to bank on hometown loyalty and not "Opportunity to Win". Last year the Cavs biggest offseason decision was what to do with free agent Anderson Varejao. They could let him go and save the cap room or they could keep him on the roster to appease Lebron, they chose to sign him to a 6 year deal. Wh...

The MLB season is just around the corner, thank god, and now is as good as any to look at the remaining free agents so here's one sentence for each of the remaining 35+. Felipe Lopez, 2B - Lopez was actually pretty excellent last season, too bad his agent was a greedy bastard and couldn't get him a contract. Pedro Martinez, SP - I doubt he wants or could pitch an entire year, he'll get signed mid-May. Carlos Delgado, 1B - Delgado just seems like he wants to be lazy and only play half a season, why the Mets didn't resign him is anyones idea. Jarrod Washburn, SP - Basically one of the few left over starters worth a look, he should get a contract within the week. John Smoltz, SP - The Old man still wants to go, but nobody seems to want him. Gary Sheffield, LF - Sheffield asshole-ish attitude is finally catching up with him. Russ Springer, RP - Not exactly sure who Russ Springer is. Alan Embree, RP - The fact that Alan Embree is still in this league ...

Vince Wilfork is a very very very large man. I don't think I would want to run into Wilfork in a dark alley when he is at his most pleasant mood so today is not a day you want to say something to piss off Wilfork. See today the Patriots decided to give Wilfork the franchise tag and judging by what he said a month ago, I doubt that's done anything but made him very very angry. [The franchise tag] is decent money for most people out there. What I do, it's OK. But I don't look at myself as an OK player. ... It's just basically a slap in my face and an insult to me to basically tell me I'm an OK player." "I want a long-term deal or I want to be free. Point blank." ESPN The Patriots pretty much did what they had to do. Wilfork is an invaluable asset on defense that they really shouldn't gamble on losing. In all likelihood he had to know this was coming but even with that expectation, I doubt Vince Wilfork is a man you want to piss off righ...

Now that the offseason outfield moves have concluded and Curtis Granderson and Johnny Damon have flip flopped places it's time to take a look at which squad was the winner and which was the loser. Age The biggest Granderson advantage is the fact that he is 7 1/2 years younger than Damon and much less likely to see a steep decline in production over the next few seasons. Contract Granderson is set to make 23.75$ million over the next three seasons with an option of $13 million in year 4 or a 2$ million buyout. Damon is set to make 8$ million over one season. Both of these contracts are extremely manageable for the production that the two are expected to produce. Fielding Damon has become a poor fielder. His speed is no longer what made him a solid centerfielder and his arm strength is as embarrassing as ever. Granderson's fielding isn't the greatest in the league but he is certainly an upgrade over Damon.

The Free Agent Signings are beginning to wind down this offseason and just a few names remain, two of these names are future Hall of Famers looking for one more chance. So of the two if you had to choose one are you putting your eggs in the Pedro Martinez or John Smoltz basket? In 2009 Pedro Martinez spent the first few months of the season chilling on the bench getting ready for his phone to ring. When his phone did ring Pedro was up to the task. In 9 starts last year Pedro pitched to a 3.63 ERA with a few stellar starts. Pedro even pitched pretty well in his three playoff starts. The problem with Pedro is the fact that he's still very fragile. The Phillies made sure last season to give him ample time off in between starts to alleviate the risk of the injuries that made his Mets career a very short one. So if you sign Pedro, how many starts do you think you can possibly get? In 2009 John Smoltz was coming off major surgery and clearly was not ready at the start of the...