Who on your MLB team is Rambo?

Who on your MLB team is
Rambo?

There is no I in team, but there is an I in Win. Even the army had John Rambo! While no one man can single handedly win a baseball season, there is someone who will shoulder the responsibility of your teams success. Let’s see who on your team is most pivotal in drawing First Blood.

AL East.
AL Central
AL West
NL East
NL Central
NL West

AL East

Baltimore Orioles

Brian Roberts
The team is rebuilding and he is their most tradable asset. Management hasn’t made it a secret that they are shopping him around, and if something doesn’t get done before the start of the season it would behoove the organization for Roberts to get off to a quick start. Years from now when Ortiz is getting bionic knee replacements and Jeter is dating girls half his age this may be the trade that paved the way for the Orioles dynasty.

Boston Red Sox

Josh Beckett
The Ace of the staff, Beckett was the MVP of the Sox run to the Series last year. He finished second in the Cy Young voting, and dominated in the playoffs. The Sox offense is good, but streaky, and the only constant is the anchor that is Beckett. Without his rock steady appearances cracks would arise in the façade of the bullpen, and it would crumble. His health and performance are critical.

New York Yankees

Joe Girardi
I know he isn’t a player anymore, but he’ll be the scapegoat or the hero in NY this season. The Yankees already proved last year they can weather injuries and could make the playoffs with two starting pitchers, but Girardi still has a mammoth task at hand, and that is to win a world series. He’ll have to ignite the veterans, teach the rookies, and figure out who is DH’ing every night! Watching him in the booth the past season there is no doubt that Joe knows his baseball, but is he ready for the pressure cooker that is the NY media?

Tampa Bay Rays

Scott Kazmir
The Rays rid themselves of the name Devil, and traded away trouble makers Delmon “Bat meet Face” Young, Elijah “Proud Papa” Dukes, and Josh “I Had a Habit” Hamilton. They pretty much did a Jailblazers to Trailblazers type move in the MLB. They have a solid offensive core and legitimate Ace in Kazmir. Since they can’t hope to match runs with the Sox and Yanks, Kazmir is their equalizer. The Rays season begins and ends with his performance.

Toronto Blue Jays

Vernon Wells
Toronto sported the best ERA in the AL last year even with the barrage of injuries they collectively suffered. Vernon is the guy getting paid on offense to carry them to the next level, and he completely shat the bed last season. He needs to give that boost in the lineup that will drive them all season long. Rios is waiting in the wings should Wells fail, but the responsibility is all Vernon’s.

AL Central

Chicago White Sox

Ozzie Guillen
“If I have to criticize my players and throw them under the bus, then I will. “
Ozzie promises to revert to his old ways of managing, so it’ll be fun for everyone in Chicago again. The team is full of veterans and is caught in between rebuilding and competing, and in a tough division that spells disaster. How Ozzie runs the club, and who he throws under the bus will determine just how far the White Sox go.

Cleveland Indians

Travis Hafner
2006- 454 AB’s 100 R 42 HR .308 AVG.
2007- 545 AB’s 80R 24 HR .266 AVG.

The pitching will be there, but with the offense in the Central the bats will need to back it up. Hafner needs to be that 40 HR threat this year if they are to capture the division. No one else in the lineup has the ability to be the power threat that Pronk is.

Detroit Tigers

Justin Verlander
The offense will chug along at a record setting pace all season, but what about the pitching? Bonderman, Rogers, and Willis either suffered injuries or were just plain awful at times, so I’d call that rotation chalk full of “abysmalities.” Verlander has the stuff to anchor the rotation and the Tigers need him to.

Kansas City Royals

Jose Guillen
Let’s face it the Royals aren’t going to contend this year, but Jose Guillen could help them win in the future with a great season this year. They signed Gil Meche last year, and everyone (including me) thought they were crazy, and now they sign Guillen and people have the same reaction. Well Meche flourished last year and if Guillen does the same other FA’s will take notice. With the young talent and the ability to draw credible free agents they will be contenders soon enough.

Minnesota Twins

Francisco Liriano
Without Johan this team is going nowhere this season, but if Liriano isn’t able to recapture his magic then they aren’t going anywhere for a while.

AL West

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Vladimir Guerrero
He is the strongest presence the Angels have in the lineup. His bat decides games regularly, and without him the Angels would be lost. In a team sport Vlad is truly a one man show. He has cannon for an arm and no pitch is safe when he’s in the batters box.

Oakland Athletics

Billy Beane
He’s completely done a 360 with this team… pieces that were traded for have been traded. He’ll have to live with not capturing a championship with talent like Zito, Mulder, Hudson, Foulke, Haren, Giambi, Swisher and Tejada all leaving town. The remnants of what could have been great are oft injured Eric Chavez, Bobby Crosby, and Rich Harden. Not very encouraging if you’re an A’s fan. Billy boy has a lot more moves in store for the team this year you can be sure about that.

Seattle Mariners

Erik Bedard
This one is easy. The Mariners traded away their top talent for him to be the Ace that leads them to the playoffs. Bedard needs to prove he’s the real deal. With the Angels injuries and two non-contenders in a 4 team league, there is no reason for Bedard not to grab the horse by the reigns and bring the Pennant home.

Texas Rangers

Hank Blalock
Was it so long ago that Blalock held all the promise in the world for the Rangers? This team is in the process of rebuilding and Blalock putting it together gives them either a franchise 3B or a valuable trade piece to rebuild with.

NL East

Atlanta Braves

Chipper Jones
Teixera may have more pop in his bat, but Chipper is the MVP of this team. He’s the team leader in the clubhouse as well as in the lineup. He needs to stay on the field for a majority of the season if the Braves have a shot of beating out the Phillies and Mets for the division.

Florida Marlins

Hanley Ramirez
He’s a young SS with power and speed. The Marlins are rebuilding for the future, and if Hanley can repeat or exceed upon his last season, they have a cornerstone for that future.

Philadelphia Phillies

Jimmy Rollins
He’s the complete package; glove, bat, speed, hustle, attitude. You can say he’s sandwiched between two MVP caliber players in Utley and Howard, but he notched over 700 AB’s last season and has been a constant in that lineup for years.

New York Mets

Johan Santana
They were missing a piece last year. Johan is that link that will get them to the playoffs. The most dominating pitcher in the game has arrived in NY to become the ultimate stopper at Shea. He’s a masterful pitcher on a great ball club, and should live up to his expectations.

Washington Nationals

Chad Cordero
Chad Cordero is the only player with individual significance for the Nats this season. Just trade him already!

NL Central

Chicago Cubs

Carlos Zambrano
The offense has produced long enough with injuries every season, but Zambrano has been a workhorse on the mound with five straight seasons of 200+ IP in a Cub uniform. Do Rich Hill and Ted Lilly have enough to hold up the Cubs should Carlos fall? I don’t think so. The Cubs season hinges on Zambrano’s arm.

Cincinnati Reds

Dusty Baker
In his first go around as Reds manager Dusty has a lot of tough choices to make. When/How to implement rookie prospects; Bruce, Votto, Bailey and Volquez? He has the arduous task of not only bringing them into the Bigs, but making sure they gel with veterans enough to compete for the Division.

Houston Astros

Roy Oswalt
I’d like to say Berkman here, because I think he could have an MVP type run in him, but look at this rotation after Oswalt; Wandy Rodriguez, Brandon Backe, Woody Williams, Shawn Chacon. Roy has to be the man in Houston or else they will fail.

Milwaukee Brewers

Ben Sheets
He has the potential to be amongst the top pitchers in the NL, except he keeps getting bitten by the injury bug. Unfortunately for the Brewers the rest of the staff took a step back production wise last year, so he’s still the Ace of the team. He has the ability to anchor the rest of the staff, which will allow the young talented offense to shine. If he falls it will start a domino effect for the rest of the team.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Jason Bay
Once on the verge of superstardom he’s now on the verge of being traded. The Pirates can reclaim a shred of respectability if Bay is able to reclaim his swagger in the batter’s box.

St. Louis Cardinals

Albert Pujols
There is no bigger fish in the entire division. The Cardinals sink or swim with his bat. There is no doubt that Albert can carry a team offensively, and I believe the injury concerns to be insubstantial, but how much of the cross will he be willing to bear on such a lousy team?

NL West

Arizona Diamondbacks

Brandon Webb
Dan Haren will be adjusting to a new league and Randy Johnson is a huge wild card for the Diamondbacks. That means the Ace of the staff will have little room for error. The offense should take a step forward. And if Webb continues on the path he’s started then he should put up a run at the Cy Young award.

Colorado Rockies

Matt Holliday
He’s a pure hit machine, and a legitimate Triple Crown candidate. These Rockies have little to look forward to in terms of Cy Young candidates, so Holliday as the go to guy in the lineup will have to carry this team all season long.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Andruw Jones
He’s the guy they paid all the money to, and he’s the guy causing a log jam in the OF now. The Dodgers are a solid team on both sides of the ball, but Andruw has to legitimize those 50 dingers he hit two seasons ago. If he does then this team will contend for a division title.

San Diego Padres

Jake Peavy
Well it isn’t going to be Jim Edmonds. Peavy is the man in San Diego, and with little help over the off-season he’ll be expected to carry the load again. Padres fans can only hope that he doesn’t catch anything from Mark Prior, and that those 220+ innings pitched from last year don’t catch up to him.

San Francisco Giants

Tim Lincecum
This team is so dreary that only a stellar season from Linc will raise the hearts of Giants fans. Zito may be serviceable, but his days as a Cy Young candidate are over, and while Matt Cain may take a step into all-star status, Tim will be the one everyone is watching. The offense is just another example of an “abysmality.”

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