2008 Part 1

Well, well, well... it's March, which can only mean that baseball is just around the corner! As with most seasons, many new faces look to be coming to Syracuse this year, while many others have said goodbye. I figured I would throw some odds and ends to whoever happens to stumble upon this blog, and maybe we can decipher what the team is going to look like this year.

I'll start with a few Chiefs who have said goodbye to the Toronto organization over the Winter season.

• Outfielder John Ford Griffin is now in the Los Angeles Dodgers system. He signed a minor league contract in mid-December. It was tough to see him go, but hopefully a change in scenery can bring him back to the potential he had shown in previous years.
• Shortstop Ray Olmedo made a couple trips over the Winter. He was first claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Pirates in early February. However, as he was placed on waivers at the end of February, he was picked up by his current team, the Philadelphia Phillies. I thought Olmedo would have been a better bet than keeping Sergio Santos in the system, but I guess that's not how the Blue Jays see it.
• Within the past couple days, John Hattig was signed into the Mets organization. How ironic would it be to have him back next year, if the Mets were to come to Syracuse.
• First baseman and popular blog topic, Kevin Barker was signed into the Cincinnati Reds organization. I will be very interested to see what response he gets during the opening series, if he ends up on the Louisville Bats.
• Moving on to some pitchers, Lee Gronkiewicz signed with the Red Sox.
• Scott Sauerbeck and Justin James may also be around for the opening series, as Cincinnati picked Sauerbeck up, while trading for James during the offseason.
• In the "Wow, That's Corny" category, Ryan Houston was picked up by.....Houston.

I am sure I am missing one or two players, but that's a good gist of what has happened over break.

Within the short future, I will discuss the signings that happened over the Winter, and what I would project the Chiefs lineup to look like as we start the 2008 season. One thing for sure, they will be led by the same managers, as Toronto has decided to bring back the same core...led by Doug Davis. Yes, we can all rest easy now....

Before I go, since I have not run this blog over the Winter, I would like to be serious for a moment and give my belated condolences to the family and friends of ex-Chiefs pitcher Joe Kennedy, who was taken way too soon. Tragedies like this make it easy to realize that there are things much more important than this game.

Until next time, stay safe everyone.