MLB Picks - Baseball Picks

It has only been about a month since the Los Angeles Dodgers were finally able to get Manny Ramirez sign a two year deal worth $45 million, but now we are already hearing reports that Ramirez would like to play for the Cleveland Indians one more time before retiring.

Not a crazy to say, but not very wise to start a season and after putting the Dodgers through hell before signing the same damn deal he declined all offseason long.

Former teammate Jim Thome also expressed interest in playing Cleveland one more time before calling it quits in baseball. I don't blame Manny for wanting to play for the team that he started with, but he has some pretty terrible timing.

A very bias opinion here, but I am going to say it anyway, the Los Angeles Dodgers will win the NL West and represent the National league in the World Series.

There I said it and I firmly believe it! The Philadelphia Phillies will be tough once again, the Chicago Cubs will be legit contenders and the St. Louis Cardinals are always scary with Albert Pujols, but with Manny Ramirez and a very talented young core of players the Dodgers will be contenders for a long time!

The Giants only have pitching, the Padres have nothing and the Diamondbacks could compete, but won't so the Dodgers are looking good in my book!

All I can say is big surprise!

It is pretty sad that the country that evented the sport and using the slogan America's Pasttime is not the best team in the World Baseball Classic.

Japan were the defending champions and honestly just the all around better team when the two met for the chance to get to the championship game against South Korea.

The sad part is that in this elimination game the Americans weren't even a challenged for the Japanese as they dominated USA and beat them 9-4.

It looks like the US will be have to revamp their national squad like they did with the basketball team in the past Olympics last summer.

The Los Angeles Dodgers may have upgraded their offense by resigning Manny Ramirez and adding Orlando Hudson to the lineup, but their pitching will suffer as a result.

The Dodgers may have an intimidating batting order, but their starting rotation and bullpen look nowhere near the same after losing Derek Lowe, Brad Penny, Takashi Saito and just recently Joe Biemel to free agency.

There are some promising young pitchers in the Dodgers rotation, but no proven pitchers like they had last season. There are rumors swirling around that the Dodgers might be going after Pedro Martinez, but although they are taking a look at him they have said they have made no offers to Martinez just yet.

It took practically the entire offseason, but Manny Ramirez has finally signed the $45 million dollar two year offer from the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Although this was a big pain in the ass for the Dodgers, this was a must sign situation for the Dodgers. Without Manny in their lineup the Dodgers would have been drastically different. Not only does Ramirez improve the batting for the Dodgers, but with he pretty much single handedly makes the Dodgers into contenders in the National League.

The signing of second baseman Orlando Hudson was also huge for the Dodgers, but without Manny the Arizona Diamondbacks might have been the team to come of the NL West.

Who knows, maybe this is the season that Manny's production starts to drop off, but if it doesn't I fully expect the Dodgers to be favorites to be representing the NL in the World Series next season.

The Chicago Cubs and the defending champion Phillies will definitely put up a fight, but I think the Dodgers have all the right pieces to get back on top in the NL again.

Barry Bonds may have broken the all time homerun record not more than a couple years ago, but it all seems like a distant memory now as he struggles to find a team that will take on his steroid baggage and bad press.

No one doubts the fact that Barry Bonds is a great baseball player, but like OJ Simpson, everyone knows he is not telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

As a result of Bonds just seeming like poison to any team in the MLB, he seems to have no interest from any team in baseball these days. With his perjury trial being postponed for quite awhile, Bonds can start to concentrate on baseball again.

With the economy the way it is and the lack of power hitters left on the market, Bonds could have a shot at playing with a very desperate team trying to add some punch to their lineup. Problem is, teams besides the Los Angeles Dodgers aren't even interested in signing a hall of famer slugger like Manny Ramirez right now. It does have a lot to do with his huge demands, but it also has the baggage factor which no other team wants to take on.

Will Barry Bonds play baseball again? Probably, but it won't be for the team he wants to play for.

When I was growing up there were only a handful of players in the MLB that I loved to watch and Ken Griffey Jr. was definitely one of them.

With by far the sweetest swing in baseball Griffey was just perfection with a baseball bat. Every time he stepped into the batter's bat he was a threat to go yard.

Unfortunately, when Griffey went left the Seattle Mariners and went to the Cincinnati Reds he was never the same. The swing was still there and he was still a gold glove caliber centerfielder, but he just couldn't stay healthy and the Reds really suffered.

There was a little light at the end of the tunnel for Griffey recently as he was shipped to a contender in the Chicago White Sox. The Sox couldn't make a championship ending for Griffey, but it did give the future hall of famer a chance to go elsewhere in the offseason. His options were limited, but he did have a chance to go back the Seattle Mariners where he started his career.

The Atlanta Braves looked like they were going to be the team to sign Ken Griffey Jr., but at the final moment Griffey decided to go back to where he became one of the best baseball players of all time.

 I figured this would come out sooner of later. A-Rod has admitted to using steroids when he played with the Texas Rangers.

How is steroid use not obvious anymore? One minute they are physically fit baseball players, the next minute it looks like they are bodybuilders. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that it is because of steroids.

If you look at Barry Bonds back when he played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, he was as skinny as A-Rod when he was with the Seattle Mariners back in the day.

If you put the two pictures side to side of both A-Roid now and Alex Rodriguez back with the Mariners it is obvious that he took something. Even more so in Bonds case, even one of his ex teammates from Pittsburgh said the same thing.

I am glad the A-Rod admitted to using though. The statement the truth will set you free is absolutely right on the money because everyone else that has denied has been thrown under the bus. Just look at all the players who have denied it: Roger Clemens, Mark McGuire and Barry Bonds. Eveyone of those guys have had their legacies tarnished and will probably never make the hall of fame. As for the rest of the guys that have already admitted they took something like: Andy Pettite, Jason Giambi and now Alex Rodriguez.

Even though the verdict isn't really out on A-Rod just yet in terms of career affects and how the fans handle it, the players in the past that just admitted it and went on with their lives continued their careers as if nothing happened and the fans respected them for it.

As one of the most dominant hitters in baseball history, Manny Ramirez is about as intimidating a player there is in the MLB today. He rarely strikes out and has the unique ability to go yard consistently, there is just no other hitter like him in baseball.

After Manny was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers by the Boston Red Sox, Ramirez started playing like an MVP by leading his new team to the post season and their first playoff series victory in 20 years. Now that is saying something! Not only was Manny the key cog in getting the Dodgers as far as they did, but Ramirez was unbelievable with his play at the plate hitting homerun after homerun and quickly becoming a big fan favorite in Los Angeles.

During the off season in baseball so far we have seen some historic free agent signing by the New York Yankees with the Bronx Bombers snatching three of the biggest free agents off the market with big time money. With CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett and Mark Teixeira all making making new homes in New York, Manny Ramirez is the last of the big time free agents left on the market.

The Dodgers did offer the future hall of famer a pretty big contract for $45 million over two years with $25 third year insentive, but Manny and his agent Scott Boras decided to test the market, which may have been a really bad idea as no other team has made another other.

Well, now time is ticking for Ramirez as spring training is just around the corner. The Dodgers still want the slugger, but they are not up to signing him for more than two years due to him being 36 years old. The New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals and Dodgers arch rival San Francisco Giants are the only other teams to express some interest in signing Ramirez, but they still have yet to make an offer.

Nothing worse could happen to the Milwaukee Brewers if Prince Fielder chose to go elsewhere when his contract is finally up, but he decided to sign a two year deal with the Brewers for about $18 million to stay in Milwaukee for a little bit longer.

The Brewers were hit with a pretty big blow earlier in the off season when their pitching ace CC Sabathia decided to go for the big money with the New York Yankees signing an unbelievable $161 million dollar contract over the next seven years.With  Sabathia's contract is the he is officially the highest paid pitcher of all-time.

CC Sabathia singled handedly lead the Brewers in the post season and could have lead them as far as the World Series if it weren't for the Philadelphia Phillies getting the best of him.

Believe it or not, Prince Fielder on the other hand was only making about $670,000 last season, so he was due for a big pay raise for his amazing play over the past couple of seasons as the Brewers hard hitting first baseman. Hitters like Fielder are usually the most desirable in the league and don't stay on the market long if their current team doesn't lock them down quickly with a lucrative deal. The Brewers may have kept their team in contention for the forseable future keeping Fielder happy for the next couple years in Milwaukee where most prime time players don't want to play due to a poor market.

Although Fielder didn't have the breakout year that he did back in 2007 where he became the youngest player (24) ever to hit 50 homeruns, but he has proved that it wasn't just a fluke as he was able to hit 34 homeruns and 102 RBIs with a batting average of .276. The last season proved to be their most successful yet lead by Fielder and Sabathia as they reached the post season for the first time way in 1982.