1. Do whatever it takes to sign Mark Buehrle. I think he is the best free agent pitcher. He would help us immediately. He is a lefty with over 150 wins, is only 32, and has a World Series, Perfect Game and No-hitter. He would take the pressure off of Jordan Zimmermann and Stephen Strasburg to be an ace. He would be the ace we could trot out if we magically made the playoffs. He fields his position very well. There is no downside to this. Sign him!
2. Stay away from Jose Reyes. I know he is very fast, and very impressive when he is healthy. But he gets injured, and will cost a ton. We could fill a bunch of other needs with the money we would spend on him. Some like the idea of getting him, then trading Ian Desmond and some prospects for BJ Upton. But there is no guarantee of that happening, and the Rays might want a prospect we are not willing to give up. I say we let Ian and Danny Espinosa each have another season to grow and develop, and then go after BJ Upton when he is a free agent if we want him that bad.
3. Bring back Rick Ankiel. He has the best outfield arm in the majors, and plays plus defense. He has power. He has timely power as well. I think he would be ideal off the bench or starting in CF at the beginning of the year.
4. Make a decision on Roger Bernadina. I want to keep him. I want his speed in my lineup, plus the pop he brings. He makes highlight plays on defense also. He just needs to be more consistent at the plate. If we can't find a place for him, I would try to package him in a deal to make our team better. But it is hard to dump a guy that can do this-
5. Dump Adam LaRoche. It didn't work. It was a mistake. Somehow move him. Michael Morse or Chris Marrero should play 1B. Our lineup at the end of the year worked. Morse needs to play every day, and Marrero did very well for a September call up.
6. Keep Bryce Harper down until at least June, possibly September. We have a lot of outfielders, and Harper is still 18. There is no rush to get him here. If we are contending for a wild card spot, then bring him up to infuse some energy into the lineup.
7. Do not touch Clip n' Store. Tyler Clippard and Drew Storen were the best part of our team. Leave them be and let them develop even more into the best lights out set up- closer combo in the NL.
So, our lineup to start the season would be similar to last years. Here is how I see it Opening Day:
1. Ian Desmond, SS
2. Rick Ankiel, CF
3. Ryan Zimmerman, 3B
4. Michael Morse, LF
5. Jayson Werth, RF
6. Danny Espinosa, 2B
7. Chris Marrero, 1B
8. Wilson Ramos, C
9. Mark Beuhrle, P
Our rotation, assuming it is a 5 man would be:
1. Mark Beuhrle, LHP
2. Jordan Zimmermann, RHP
3. Stephen Strasburg, RHP
4. John Lannan, LHP
5. Chien-Ming Wang, RHP
We would still have some great pitchers that we could bring up, namely Ross Detweiler, Tommy Milone and Brad Peacock. We have depth at the position, but Beuhrle would bring the experience.
Here are my non-roster fixes
8. LET TEDDY WIN! This is a joke. He would easily win. It is historically innacurate. We won't be a winning franchise until Teddy wins. It is a curse. Do it!
9. Bring 5 Guys back. I had Shake Shack, and it was ok. Five Guys was better, and it is local. Northern VA's own. Come on!
10. Bring back the fireworks. Even if it is just for the end of a game and not for a home run. But the wins last year missed a little bit of pop. Also, we need a better victory song than "Raise Your Glass". We don't want to be wrong in all the right ways. We want to be right, and never lose.
That is my plan for right now. And I think it would work wonderfully.
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