[MrEndshiftresign]

GM Log - 10/15/10

81-81, .500, 17 GB

This was a good season regardless of what anyone says. My naivete and vet-centric attitude led to failure in the draft, but we've got two compensation picks which we'll most likely be using for college boys who'll be ready to play in a year or two.

Anyway, let's take a look at how we fared so far.

Catchers - We started the season with the venerable Pudge Rodriguez and youngster Jesus Flores, but ended the season with neither man backstopping. Instead we got Mike Napoli via trade (a trade which I didn't approve of), and he gave us a total of 36 homers with two teams. That said, he is not a defensive presence nor does he do those things that don't show up on the stat sheet. He may be up for trade pretty soon.

Infield - This is a position that had undergone a lot of changes all year round. We ended up with 1B Russ Branyan, 2B Ian Desmond, 3B Casey Blake and SS Cristian Guzman. Only Ian and Cristian remain from the opening-day lineup, while Russ and Casey were acquired via trade. This is an area that misses Ryan Zimmerman's power and defense, but I guess he's happy now that the Los Angeles Angels won the World Series. I think I'll trade for another first baseman or an outfielder...Russ didn't really play up to standards. If we get an outfielder, we'll move Adam to first base, where he defensive deficiencies won't show that much.

Outfield - This is another area where we dealt with changes, changes and more changes. CF Nyjer Morgan was the only constant all year long, and his speed and average really helped us. He could cut down on those 28 CS, though. LF Adam Dunn, he of the 44 homers (2nd in the NL) may be moved to 1B, where he spent some time as well. I like his power but hate his lack of defense. RF Josh Willingham was barely over the Mendoza Line at .209, with 17 homers. If I had my way, I would've started either Gary Sheffield or Hideki Matsui, but Jim wants to use them as utility outfielders or pinch hitters. Fair enough, they spent a lot of time at DH in the junior circuit.

Pitchers - Trading for Kerry Wood gave us a tried-and-tested veteran closer, while I think trading for Justin Masterson was a case of too many cooks. I wasn't too pleased with Justin's performance. I couldn't count the number of pitchers who took their turns as starters, but since John Lannan apparently won't be joining us this year, I'd say Justin and Chien-Ming Wang are the only definite returnees in the rotation. Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmermann will need to step it up this year if they don't want to see the minor leagues.

See you on April 2011, with the baseball version of the Over The Hill Gang hopefully complete.