Hello Baseball Fans!

I want to thank those of you checked out my first post. It did much better than expected and has made me more excited to move forward with writing. Sorry it’s been over a week since my last post, I went on back to back vacations but I’m back now and hope to get posts out about once a week.

Today I’ll be sharing my thoughts on this offseason’s winners for each league.

NL: San Diego Padres

All bias aside the Padres’ offseason has been an incredible one that has captured the attention of the entire baseball world. First year GM AJ Preller has wasted no time since taking the position in August of last year. As soon as the season finished Preller went to work by taking an offense that ranked last in baseball in runs, batting average, and hits and added Matt Kemp, Justin Upton, Wil Myers, Will Middlebrooks, and Derek Norris. Next, Preller took a pitching staff that ranked 4th in baseball in ERA and made it even better by signing veteran workhorse James Shields to a 4 yr/ $75 million deal. It’s no secret that the Padres want to win and they’ve set themselves up to do that not only this year but for years to come, with Justin Upton being the only new addition set to become a free agent at the end of the 2015 season. It’s also worth noting that all of these players have some type of post-season experience and there’s no doubt that they want to be back in the playoffs sooner rather than later. The San Diego Padres have pulled off an almost impossible offseason and are the clear winners in the National League this winter.

AL: Chicago White Sox

The Chicago White Sox finished at 73-89 last season and knew that it was time to make some changes and Rick Hahn, now in his third year as GM, did just that. Unlike the Padres who were at or near the bottom of every offensive category last season the White Sox were right around the middle. However, when you combine an average offense with bad pitching (with the exception of Chris Sale) and defense you aren’t going to win many games. Luckily, the White Sox decided to bring in veteran hitters Adam LaRoche, Melky Cabrera, Emilio Bonafacio, and Gordon Beckham. While Bonafacio and Beckham really only supply depth, Cabrera is sure to hit for average and get on base, and LaRoche will hit behind Jose Abreu giving Abreu much needed protection that will be sure to make Chicago’s offense a forced to be reckoned with. The Sox didn’t forget about their sub-par pitching either, bringing in relievers Zach Duke and David Robertson off of free agency and trading for dominant starting pitcher Jeff Samardzija. With a revamped offense and arguably two of the best starting pitchers at the front of the White Sox rotation it’s without question that the Chicago White Sox are the offseason winners in the American League.

Both the Padres and the White Sox have done phenomenal jobs to enhance their teams this offseason, but the season isn’t won in winter and it will take a lot more to win in the regular season. These teams have done there best and certainly made their fans, and frankly the rest of baseball, excited to see what they can do. Now all we can do is watch the season unfold.

Thanks for stopping by and make sure you check back to see what else is making its way through the five point five hole.

-Matthew Green