$20 Million for Tim Thomas?

By Matt Ingram
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

With the Eastern Conference all but sewn up, the Bruins have decided to lock up their goalie for the foreseeable future as well. The question is, did the Bruins overpay to keep soon-to-be free agent, Tim Thomas? Well, let’s look at the deal.

Reportedly Thomas, 34, will make $6 million in 2009-10 and 2010-11, $5 million in 2011-12, and $3 million in 2012-13. The Bruins were smart enough to have an escape plan. Because Thomas signed the deal before age 35 the Bruins have the right to be able to buy him out at any time, cut their dollar commitment by one-third, and be able to spread the payments over twice the remaining term of the deal. With that clause, the B’s could keep the young Finnish phenom Tuukka Rask and Thomas until Rask is ready for the job full time.

Now, is $6 million to much for a 35-year-old goaltender? I say no. Let’s look at his stats: currently Thomas is the league leader in both goals-against average (2.11) and save percentage (.932). Over the last two regular seasons, no NHL goaltender has posted a better save percentage than Thomas (.927) and only Martin Brodeur (2.21) and Evgeni Nabokov (2.22) have registered better goals against averages than Thomas’ (2.26). The one thing that does bother me about the deal is that this rewards Thomas for his regular-season accomplishments. His postseason stats are inconclusive because of the lack of experience. His one postseason, 7 games last year, Thomas had a .914 save percentage with a 2.65 goals-against average is not good enough to get the job done. Now Brodeur, 36, gets $5.2 million per year although he took a huge home-town discount. Nabokov, 33, makes $5.3 million per year which seems about right for the caliber goalie he is. But, they have something that Thomas doesn't, 18 years combined as starting netminders in the playoffs. With the lack of playoff knowledge, the Bruins must have a good feeling about Thomas for the upcoming postseason to pay him the big bucks before he comes through.

With the numbers Thomas is putting up this season, most likely he will win the Vezina Trophy for best goaltender in the regular season. But if Thomas can steal a series or two, and God help us hoist the Stanley Cup over his head, he’ll be worth every penny they’ll be paying him. If not, I say take advantage of the escape clause and let the Rask era begin in Beantown.

Look for the upcoming Stanley Cup Playoffs preview!

USC Linebackers test positive for steroids!

By Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

According to NFLdraftbible.com, Brian Cushing and Clay Matthews Jr. both tested positive for steroids at the Scouting Combine in February.  Why am I reporting this?  In many mock drafts both linebackers have been slotted to land in New England.  Considering that Clay Matthews Jr. was a 180 lb walk on at USC, this would certainly open up my eyes if I am any NFL team, much less the New England Patriots.  Matthews stock received a huge bump after his impressive performance at the combine.  Personally, I would have been happy with either player coming to New England next season, but have to reconsider now.  

I am not naive enough to think they're the only two in the draft or the NFL using steroids and performance enhancing drugs.  I also know that Luis Castillo didn't lose much ground when he was drafted 28th overall by the San Diego Chargers.  If these allegations are true, the best thing each player can do is to address the situation honestly, and try to move on and show their high level of play is not reliant on steroids.  Maybe their stock will drop out of the first round so the Patriots can take one of these players with a late 2nd rounder.  

Stay tuned for more draft coverage as we get closer to the big weekend!

AL West Preview: Angels once again on top

By Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Despite the fact that I think the Anaheim Angels (yes I know they're not called that anymore) will once again take the division crown, it should be a much closer race this season.  The Oakland Athletics have a good mix of the young and old and should push Angels this season while they are waiting for the return of John Lackey and Ervin Santana.  Until they return, the staff is led by Joe Saunders and Jered Weaver.  Nick Adenhart is finally getting a shot in the rotation and is eager to get the season started as he's impressed for most of the spring.  Look for Brian Fuentes to fill in nicely for Franky Rodriguez.  If, for some reason he fails, they can always turn to Jose Arredondo.  He of the 1.62 ERA in 52 games last season.  The biggest off season addition is Bobby Abreu, and should end up being the biggest value of all free agent signings.  His power and speed numbers are down, but he can still hit, get on base, and drive in runs.  $5 million bucks for a player who drove in 100 RBI two years in a row is a steal in my opinion.  His addition makes a crowded outfield even worse.  Gary Matthews Jr. wants out, and Juan Rivera will have trouble finding at bats even without him.  Kendry Morales takes over at first base now that Mark Texiera is in pinstripes.  He was a highly sought after product from Cuba a few years ago and will finally get a chance for consistent playing time. Vlad Guerrero is getting older and less nimble each year, but should still put up good power numbers if he can spend more time at DH.  

Billy Beane always finds a way to put a competitive team on the field.  This years edition of the Oakland Athletics should be no exception.  Matt Holiday is a very good addition, but don't expect the same level of output now that half of his games won't be played in Coors Field.  He's a career .280 hitter outside of Coors Field, and has only 44 of his 124 career home runs outside of Colorado.  I would still expect him to put up around .300, with 25 HR and 100 RBI.  Jason Giambi has been brought back, but is seriously struggling (.149 avg) this spring.  I can't wait to see how much he cuts loose now that he can grow his hair out and get nice scraggly beard back.  I can already imagine the nasty sweat pouring off him.  Daric Barton should get most of the time at first while Giambi and Jack Cust split time at designated hitter.  The A's should be solid up the middle with Kurt Suziki behind the plate, Mark Ellis (a nice, underrated player) and newly acquired Orlando Cabrera at short.  The rotation is littered with young prospects looking to make a name for themselves.  Dana Eveland, Shawn Gallagher, Dallas Braden and Bret Anderson (all under the age of 26) are in the rotation.  Justin Duscherer leads the staff, but is out at least a month while recovering from arthroscopic surgery on his elbow.  The bullpen seems to be deep once again.  They have two closer candidates in Brad Ziegler and Joey Devine.  Devine had won the job, but will miss a few weeks due to an elbow injury.  Ziegler, who set the major league record for the most scoreless innings pitched to start a career last season, will step in and start the season as the closer.  Keep a close eye on that situation as it should be in flux all season.

The Seattle Mariners are somewhat of an enigma to me.  If you put a gun to my head I would say they are a sub .500 team, but I have a suspicion they could surprise you this season.  Can Felix Hernandez take the next step and show some consistency this year?  At times Felix the Cat can be electric, but he's never been able to keep on track for an entire season. Of course his injury history doesn't help, but he only turns 23 next week and has plenty of time to mature.  I may be wrong, but I firmly believe that Erik Bedard is a comeback player of the year candidate.  He was only able to start 15 games last season going 6-4 with a 3.67 ERA.  I know it's a big if, but if he stays healthy, I would expect at least 14 wins this season.  The rest of the rotation is virtually a disaster.  Carlos Silva and Jarrod Washburn went a combined 9-29 last year.  Ouch! That's just awful.  The Mariners made a terrible mistake last season by not getting a bag of balls from the Yankees when they were interested in Washburn.  Brandon Morrow should do a very good job replacing J.J. Putz.  Adrian Beltre is entering a contract year so he's assured to hit 25+ homers and 90+ RBI.  He won't come close to the .348, 48 HR and 122 RBI he put up with the Dodgers in 2004, but he is great when his money is on the line.  I do have a feeling that many of the 2004 numbers were driven through the miracle of performance enhancing drugs.  Ichiro will be his usual self and Jose Lopez, coming off a hitting clinic in the WBC, is no fluke.  He is one of the better hitting 2nd basemen in the game.  If Ken Griffey Jr. can be the primary DH it will give him a chance to stay healthy and put up good numbers.  I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see him hit .270, 30 HR, 110 RBI if that's the case.  I like the addition of Franklin Gutierrez.  He's a solid defender, has a little pop, but will never be a star.  The Mariners might be Russell Branyon's 43rd team, 9 teams actually, and looks like a strong spring (.314, 7 HR, 17 RBI) have won him the 1st baseman's job.  He'll strike out at least 150 times, but knows how to hit the long ball.  

The Texas Rangers once again have the makings of a terrific offense, but will end up in the cellar again for one reason. Lack of pitching.  It seems like the Rangers can never get anything close to a solid pitching staff.  Kris Benson is slated as their #3 starter.  That's all I really have to say about their staff.  Kevin Millwood is once again the staff ace, yikes!, and there's not much of anything behind him.  Vincente Padilla did go 14-8 last season, but had a 4.76 ERA.  The rotation rounds out with perpetual underachiever Brandon McCarthy and the intriguing Matt Harrison.  Frank Francisco enters the season as a sleeper closer.  He has the arm, 83 K's in 63.1 IP last season, and the mentality to be successful in the role.  On offense, they enter the year with a deep lineup.  Michael Young has been moved to 3rd base to make room for Elvis Andrus.  Andrus is a slick defender, but should suffer from growing pains at the plate during his rookie year.  Ian Kinsler is coming off a breakout year in 2008 and looks to play in more than 135 games for the first time in his career.  Chris Davis should be a 30+ HR, 100+ RBI man now that he's a full time starter.  Josh Hamilton is a beast and one of the games best young players.  It's hard to believe he's still only 27 after all he's been through.  This is a make or break year for Hank Blalock.  He's only played in 123 games the past two season combined.  Moving to DH should help him stay healthy, and he's shown that no matter what he can still hit.  All in all, they'll be a fun team to watch because they score so many runs, but until they can get more pitching, they'll never compete for a division title. 

Prediction:

1. Angels

2. Athletics

3. Mariners

4. Rangers

(Coming tomorrow: AL East preview by Chad Garner)