Nothing much but take a look at who is the second loser of the offseason.

 

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BY MIKE PHILLIPS

mphillips@herald.com

 

 

A guy goes to the doctor and finds he has six months to live.

 

The doctor suggests: ``There's one thing you could do. You could become a baseball fan and move to Detroit.''

 

``Why?''

 

``Trust me. If you do that, it'll be the longest six months of your life.''

 

Ivan Rodriguez has gone to Detroit.

 

Billy Wagner is in Philadelphia, Juan Gonzalez is in Kansas City and Roberto Alomar is in Arizona -- and these deals were but minor headlines in a baseball offseason that had more shocking moves than a Super Bowl halftime show.

 

The past two players to win the American League MVP award have moved, and the pitcher who defined Atlanta's dynasty is back in Chicago, a city he never wanted to leave.

 

Vladimir Guerrero was going to be a Met, going to be this and going to be that, and there even was some erroneous speculation that Guerrero might become a Marlin -- all before he became an Angel in the outfield.

 

Roger Clemens retired from New York, then un-retired to pitch at home, and Alex Rodriguez was with the Rangers, then the Red Sox, then the Rangers again. Finally, just a month after the Rangers announced to season-ticket holders that A-Rod would be with the team this year, he escaped to the Yankees.

 

The A-Rod deal overshadowed an offseason that has produced a number of notable scenarios.

 

Did anyone notice that . . .

 

? The Phillies all but clinched the National League East in December -- two months ahead of the Yankees' World Series celebration last week?

 

? There's nothing left for Eric Gagne to save in Los Angeles, or for John Smoltz to save in Atlanta?

 

? There still is an NL team playing in New York? The Mets' biggest offseason news was not signing Guerrero, but they did manage to sign Japanese shortstop Kazuo Matsui, who is the third-best shortstop in New York and only the second-best Matsui.

 

It was that kind of winter, driven by Yankee dollars and an odd scenario in which the players' association told Rodriguez and the Red Sox they couldn't restructure the biggest contract in sports -- even though A-Rod, the 2002 AL MVP, was willing to take less money.

 

The offseason always features winners and losers, but this winter the winners seemed to win greatly and the losers seemed to pay dearly.

 

OFFSEASON WINNERS

 

? 1. Yankees: Unbelievably, the Sheffield signing almost gets lost amid the spending spree that again makes the Yankees the most-decorated team -- and perhaps the most-hated outside New York.

 

But as important as the A-Rod and Sheffield deals were, the real question is how much Kevin Brown and Javier Vazquez can help a pitching staff that lost Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte and David Wells.

 

? 2. Red Sox: The headline in The Boston Globe read ''Say it Ain't So'' when Rodriguez became a Yankee.

 

First there was Ruth. Now A-Rod.

 

But the Red Sox suffering could be over because the addition of Curt Schilling not only gives Boston a better rotation than the Yankees, but it could combine with Pedro Rodriguez to provide a 1-2 punch in the postseason -- when it counts the most. (Just look at Josh Beckett-Brad Penny of last season and Randy Johnson-Schilling from 2001.)

 

? 3. Cubs: The words ''best rotation in baseball'' and ''Chicago Cubs'' haven't appeared in the same sentence since Mordecai ''Three Finger'' Brown was hurling for the 1908 world champions.

 

But that's what the addition of Greg Maddux could mean for Chicago.

 

And it helps that the infield was vastly improved with the addition of Gold Glove winner Derrek Lee. The former Marlin should help the Cubs in other ways, too: Lee could hit 40 home runs this year if all those long flyouts in Pro Player Stadium become homers bouncing off buildings along Waveland and Sheffield Avenues in Wrigleyville.

 

If you are looking for an early long shot to win the NL MVP, take Lee. He could win another Gold Glove, steal 20 bases and put up big power numbers.

 

? 4. Astros: How do you land Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte and steal Nolan Ryan from the Rangers' front office in the same offseason?

 

And even after all that, Roy Oswalt probably remains the best pitcher on this staff. That's how deep this rotation is -- deep enough to afford the loss of closer Billy Wagner.

 

The Astros and Cubs are so loaded now that everyone in the NL East and West has to play for the division title, because the wild card is coming from the NL Central, where either Houston or Chicago should finish second with 95 wins.

 

? 5. Phillies: Over the past two years, no team has filled in the missing pieces as efficiently as the Phillies, who picked up starter Eric Milton and could win the NL East with the addition of Wagner as their closer.

 

Now, if they can just find a way to get Admin Bowa to relax.

 

? 6. Angels: One reason this team is now a threat to win the AL pennant: Vladimir Guerrero. Throw in Bartolo Colon and you have plenty of reason to get out those Thunderstix again.

 

? 7. Orioles: They won't win anything, but signing 2003 MVP Miguel Tejeda and Javy Lopez are the two best moves the O's have made in years.

 

OFFSEASON LOSERS

 

? 1. Braves: John Smoltz and Chipper Jones will look around the diamond this year and wonder what happened.

 

It is finally over.

 

Tom Glavine left last year, and now Maddux is gone, leaving only Smoltz from that incredible three-man force that dominated the NL East for more than a decade.

 

The losses of Sheffield and Lopez hit the Braves hard, and the addition of J.D. Drew feels like a brief moment of comic relief before the curtain draws on the end of this dynasty.

 

? 2. Ivan Rodriguez: Perhaps the biggest loser of all was Rodriguz for walking away from the Marlins after his magical postseason.

 

Rodriguez, who joined a worse team for more money in the same offseason A-Rod sought a pay cut to join a better team, signed a four-year, $40 million contract with the last-place Tigers. Had he stayed, he would have been one of South Florida's most beloved stars, and he might never be revered anywhere else the way he was here.

EXACTLY

 

the guy was amazing it just seems sometimes players out think themselves listening to these money grubbing agents instead of doing the "right" thing...

But the Red Sox suffering could be over because the addition of Curt Schilling not only gives Boston a better rotation than the Yankees, but it could combine with Pedro Rodriguez to provide a 1-2 punch in the postseason -- when it counts the most. (Just look at Josh Beckett-Brad Penny of last season and Randy Johnson-Schilling from 2001.)

 

 

OMG THAT IS SO FUNNY! Pedro Rodriguez. Psht. :lol

OMG THAT IS SO FUNNY! Pedro Rodriguez. Psht.

 

I am sorry, but Schilling will kick Pedro's ass...Go CURT

And if Curt can straighten out my boy Finger Flipper Kim, I'll be happy

2. Ivan Rodriguez: Perhaps the biggest loser of all was Rodriguz for walking away from the Marlins after his magical postseason.

 

Rodriguez, who joined a worse team for more money in the same offseason A-Rod sought a pay cut to join a better team, signed a four-year, $40 million contract with the last-place Tigers. Had he stayed, he would have been one of South Florida's most beloved stars, and he might never be revered anywhere else the way he was here

HAHAHAHA ... i liked the fact that they talk about teams all throughout the article, and they dont mention detroit, they go straight for the killing.

 

 

... Pedro Martinez ... that dude is fearsome