[Drbio]

From Jamey Newberg....this is really a good read so I thought I would post it here. I hope he won't mind, but it is such a good read that I couldn't resist. Again...all props and credit to Jamey.

THE NEWBERG REPORT

No full report today. Here's the off-season blueprint I've been promising.

1. Sign John Thomson, assuming Atlanta pays a $500,000 buyout rather than
$4.75 million to keep him. He'll cost less than the Richard Hidalgo
contract that comes off the books.

2. One of two things:

a. Sign A.J. Burnett. Overpay him, because you'll have to. Four years, $40
million, and you might have to add a fifth year on a club option that
guarantees Burnett a couple million on a buyout.

Signing Thomson first gives Burnett one extra reason to sign here.

b. Alternative: Offer Kevin Mench, Adrian Gonzalez, and a minor league
pitcher other than John Danks, Edison Volquez, Thomas Diamond, or Eric
Hurley to San Francisco for Jason Schmidt, whose 2006 option calls for $10
million.

You do this only if Dom Chiti and Bob Johnson (or whoever has seen Schmidt
pitch this season )is sold on the soundness of his arm, and only if Keith
Meister sees the medical and blesses the deal.

3. Trade Alfonso Soriano for one pitching prospect, the best one you can
get. I don't want two second-tier pitchers. One Guy. Francisco Liriano.
Chad Billingsley or Jonathan Broxton. Philip Hughes. Jon Papelbon or
Anibel Sanchez or Jon Lester. Rich Hill. Yusmeiro Petit.

Give Ian Kinsler the job at second base and understand there will be rough
spots for a year. Hope that Burnett, a groundball pitcher, is comfortable
with that idea. For that matter, hope that the Rangers' core veterans are
OK with it.

Moving Soriano and adding Burnett or Schmidt is close to a financial wash
for 2006. A little in the Rangers' favor in the case of Schmidt since
Mench's arbitration-driven contract would come off the books.

4. Say goodbye to Rod Barajas. Sandy Alomar, Jr. backs up Gerald Laird.
Make sure there's a Mike DiFelice or Chris Widger type in Oklahoma.

5. Trade Phil Nevin if you can. There will be a number of teams needing a
first baseman this winter, and only one can sign Paul Konerko. The rest can
fight over Scott Hatteberg, Kevin Millar, and Erubiel Durazo, or come to
Texas for Nevin, whose contract I bet the club would help subsidize a bit.
Ease Jason Botts into the DH role, protecting him with David Dellucci and
Gary Matthews Jr., each of whom also figures into the outfield mix along
with Laynce Nix, though not all three start. (More on that shortly.)

Incidentally, T.R. Sullivan notes in today's Fort Worth Star-Telegram that
Texas could trade Nevin this month. (He'll undoubtedly make it through
Major League waivers if he hasn't already -- and if he doesn't, even better.
He's a guy that I bet Texas would just stick the claiming team with, much
like Atlanta stuck San Diego with Randy Myers in 1998. If the Rangers trade
Nevin, they'd probably have to put major cash in the deal; if one of the 21
teams to whom he can't block a trade himself places a waiver claim on him,
Texas can wash its hands of Nevin's 2006 commitment entirely.)

6. Let Carlos Almanzar go. I give Jose Veras or Matt Roney as good a chance
of helping a big league club in 2006.

7. Kenny Rogers doesn't want to go anywhere. In other words, team leverage.
If he plays hardball, after all that's happened in 2005, see how badly he
wants to live elsewhere. Sign him to a team-friendly contract, or don't
sign him.

8. Here's the one that might make you think I'm crazy. Sign outfielder
Brian Giles to a four-year deal and make him your leadoff hitter.

Leadoff?

Look it up.

Would he agree to sign here under those conditions?

Highly doubtful.

Pipe dream?

Probably.

9. Sign one veteran righthander and one veteran lefthander to pitch in the
bullpen. Lots of candidates. No Wagner or Hoffman or Dotel or anyone like
that. Just a couple sturdy lunchpail types. Just to have some fun, in
conjunction with number 8, we'll make the southpaw Ricardo Rincon. With six
weeks to go, I suppose Steve Karsay could actually make himself an option as
the righthander, but he'll have to be a lot more effective than he has been
so far.

10. After all this is done, ask Mark Teixeira to consider a seven-year deal,
one that would expire when he's 32, allowing him one more monster contract
after that. Teixeira doesn't command the $100 million deal that Albert
Pujols got for the seven years beginning with his first arbitration-eligible
season, but it's still going to cost a whole lot of money.

So: A rotation of Burnett/Schmidt, Thomson, Chris Young, Juan Dominguez, and
either Kenny Rogers or Ricardo Rodriguez. Joaquin Benoit and Kameron Loe in
the pen. Rodriguez in the pen if he's not in the rotation. Frankie
Francisco in the pen by summertime. Two free agent relievers helping set up
Francisco Cordero.

You replace Soriano offensively with Giles. Two very different players.

Danks, Volquez, and Diamond in Oklahoma City, possibly along with the
pitcher you get for Soriano (unless it's Hughes, for instance, who would be
in Frisco). With your DiFelice or Widger type helping with finishing
school.

You probably want a veteran to round out that RedHawk rotation (a John
Wasdin or R.A. Dickey type), which calls into question what you do with Josh
Rupe and John Hudgins, but that's a secondary issue to tackle.

It's naïve to think this can all happen, because there are 29 other teams
who are going to have some of the same guys at the top of their list, and
because there are timing factors that will work against it all falling into
place.

But play along, and commence ripping me.