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I think I've figured out the common thread between the fall and winter traditions around here. Let's see, we have the community projections, the playoff predictions, the season predictions, and the free-agent predictions. They're all bound together by the threads and glue of wrong. It's a leather-bound book of wrong. And I look forward to it every year.
Let's see, before 2011, I predicted Carl Crawford to the Giants. You laugh, but at least I wasn't scout6, who predicted Tsuyoshi Nishioka to the Giants for three years, $21 million. Everyone point and laugh at scout6! What a fool.
Here's the pre-2012 predictions, with Yu Darvish on the Yankees and Prince Fielder on the Rangers. There were also a lot of Carlos Beltran-to-the-Giants picks in the comments. Only because it would have made a ton of sense.
Last year's predictions were, as always, a hot mess. I got four out of 20, and one of them was Jeremy Affeldt. Though I'm sure if the Giants listened to those predictions and signed B.J. Upton and Ichiro, 2013 would have gone much, much better.
Now for this year. I'll use the latest MLB Trade Rumors free-agent power rankings to help with the top 20 and add in Javier Lopez. Here's a blank:
1. Robinson Cano - , years, $ million
2. Jacoby Ellsbury - , years, $ million
3. Shin-Soo Choo - , years, $ million
4. Brian McCann - , years, $ million
5. Masahiro Tanaka - , years, $ million
6. Ervin Santana - , years, $ million
7. Matt Garza - , years, $million
8. Hiroki Kuroda - , years, $ million
9. A.J. Burnett - , years, $ million
10. Mike Napoli - , years, $ million
11. Carlos Beltran - , years, $ million
12. Josh Johnson - , years, $ million
13. Nelson Cruz - , years, $ million
14. Ubaldo Jimenez - , years, $ million
15. Ricky Nolasco - , years, $ million
16. Bartolo Colon - , years $ million
17. Bronson Arroyo - , years, $ million
18. Scott Kazmir - , years, $ million
19. Kendry Morales - , years, $ million
20. Stephen Drew - , years, $ million
21. Mike Morse - Giants, years, $ million
Bonus: Javier Lopez - , years, $ million
And my picks, which are all wrong.
1. Robinson Cano - Yankees, 8 years, $226 million
2. Jacoby Ellsbury - Rangers, 5 years, $112 million
3. Shin-Soo Choo - Tigers, 5 years, $107 million
4. Brian McCann - Dodgers, 4 years, $79 million
5. Masahiro Tanaka - Dodgers, 6 years, $111 million ($83 million posting fee)
6. Ervin Santana - Royals, 4 years, $44 million
7. Matt Garza - Nationals, 4 years, $45 million
8. Hiroki Kuroda - Yankees, 1 year, $17 million
9. A.J. Burnett - Angels, 2 years, $35 million
10. Mike Napoli - Red Sox, 3 years, $36 million
11. Carlos Beltran - Mets, 2 years, $28 million
12. Josh Johnson - Rangers, 2 years, $18 million
13. Nelson Cruz - Mariners, 3 years, $40 million
14. Ubaldo Jimenez - Indians, 2 years, $36 million
15. Ricky Nolasco - Blue Jays, 2 years, $19 million
16. Bartolo Colon - Giants, 1 year, $11 million
17. Bronson Arroyo - Padres, 3 years, $42 million
18. Scott Kazmir - Rays, 1 year, $5 million
19. Kendry Morales - Rangers, 3 years, $26 million
20. Stephen Drew - Red Sox, 3 years, $30 million
21. Mike Morse - Giants, 2 years, $14 million
Bonus: Javier Lopez - Tigers, 3 years, $14 million