but am still pretty freaked by the Reed injury. Jeff, you say that Reed'll "heal up and be fine" but couldn't a wrist injury  sap his power for now and thereafter?

Low overall expectations here, too, but Reed was going to be part of two major pleasures I WAS expecting -- the growth of the young players (YuBet, Lopez, Reed, Felix) and the vengeance of last year's "problem" guys (Beltre, Reed, even Ichiro).  So, just from that selfish standpoint, it's disappointing.

Dear, Jeremy, it's possible to be an excellent fielder and still allow your self-preservation gene to kick in out there (See: Ichiro).

I don't really see a huge difference between what the pessimists and the optimists among us are hoping for.  It is more a difference in what is given the most weight: winning or building.  Ideally, the M's can improve to around .500 or so while also continuing to retool and develop guys who will help the team long-term.  Count me as one of the people in the rebuilding camp.  I think that rebuilding the roster for 2007 is more important than the teams record in 2006.  But that doesn't mean that the club shouldn't be trying to win.  Although people tend to pose this issue as a "winning versus rebuilding" question, I don't think that the two are mutually exclusive.  

I am pretty torn about the Reed situation.  On the one hand, I admit that I am excited to see what Borchard can do.  The M's have had a lot of marginal prospects and role players leave the club, and later emerge as very good players (Scott Podsednik, Raul Ibanez, Jose Guillen, etc).  On the other side, we have had a lot of guys crap out when they do arrive (Miguel Olivo, Jeff Cirillo, Ben Davis).  It would be really nice to see the M's pick up a player on the cheap and have him emerge as a very good player for once.  On the other hand, Reed is a young player, and if the club is the big suprise contender of 2006, he is likely to be a major part of it.  

But the point is, developing players is not at all an alternative to winning.  Look at what the guys that the M's let leave did for their respective teams when they did break out.  Podsednik, Ibanez, and Guillen were all major contributors to clubs that were rapidly improving.  

Borchard is the type of player that improving teams can get a huge boost from.  Most teams that improve by 10-15 wins in a given season will have one or two players who come out of nowhere and emerge as starters or even star caliber guys.  

I am just using Borchard as an example here.  I don't really expect him to break out and become an all-star.  But I would much rather see guys like him in the lineup than guys like Carl Everett.  If the M's hadn't wasted money on him, they could have picked up Petagine, Hee Seop Choi, and Carlos Pena, and let them battle it out for the DH job, and spend the remaining 3 million dollars on international free agents.  That alternative would help the team now and in the future.  A pleasant surpise is more likely to emerge from that group and help the club in 2005 than Everett.  

Really, the only situation where I see winning/rebuidling being a real either/or situation is at the trade deadline.  The M's will have to decide whether or not it is in their best interest to trade guys like Guardado, Pineiro and Meche before August 1st.  If they are around .500, that becomes a tough choice.  Hopefully, the M's will have guys like Soriano, Nageotte, Foppert, and Livingston emerge as viable replacements or even upgrades, and the M's will be dealing from a position of strength.  However, with these guys, I would much rather see the M's err on the side of long-term building than going into win-now mode this year.  The M's lack depth, and mid-season trades are a great way to restock the system.  

I would be amazed if the M's are in a position to be legit contenders in June.  But this is something that will likely sort itself out over the course of the next few months.  

It is spring and I am feeling pretty optimistic (for a pessimist).  

Could you imagine how much a breakout, cinderella story season from Borchard would do for the M's.  

The M's have a huge gaping hole at LF/DH right now.  The club also needs a big LF power bat to balance a very mediocre lineup.  The M's could really use a solid hitter for the middle of the lineup.

The M's really really need one player to break out, and start putting up .275/.360/.520 30 HR type numbers.  That is basically Cliff Floyd, Dave Delucci, Hideki Matsui, or Geoff Jenkins-type production.  

I am hoping that Borchard can be that guy.  A full healthy season from Chris Snelling could also qualify.  Shin-Soo Choo is another player who could fill that role.  He has the speed and plate discipline, and just needs to start lifting the ball more.  

I know that it is a total long shot, and that expecting big things from Borchard is just setting yourself up for disappointment.  But watching him yesterday, when he had an uneventful game, you could still see the latent talent there.  He missed an opposite-field grand slam by a few feet.  If he can make decent contact, everything else could fall into place.  

How awesome would it be if he emerges as a legit long-term option in LF?  He would improve the outfield defense as well as provide that one missing piece from the offense.  

David Dellucci is available.  He would be a HUGE improvement over Everett.  

Dellucci 2005:
.251/.367/.513, .880 OPS, with 29 HRs, 76/121 BB/K in 435 ABs

Everett 2005:
.251/.311/.435, .746 OPS, with 23 HRs, 42/99 BB/K in 490 ABs

Salary:
Everett:   3.4 million
Dellucci:  $900,000

Before you dismiss Dellucci's stats as Arlington inflation, he was actually a lot better in away games (.262/.382/.545 with 15 HRs in 202 ABs).  

The Everett signing keeps looking worse and worse.