Let’s get to the questions for this latest installment of mailbag. Sorry we didn’t get to them all, but keep the questions coming in, and we’ll try and answer as many as we can! 

Question from Mark: Now that Johan Santana has been traded to the Mets, what do you guys think will happen to guys like Kyle Lohse and Livan Hernandez? Where do you expect them to end up?

Old Navy King responds: Now that Johan has *finally* been completed, we can move on to the remaining “big” free agent pitchers, huh? In regards to Kyle Lohse, Boras needs to lower his ridiculous contract demands. If he keeps asking for 4+ years and close to double-digits per year in salary, he may never sign! ha  And even though there is word out there that the Phillies spent their remaining budget on Pedro Feliz, I can’t help but think they might get involved here. Lohse would be a nice upgrade over Adam Eaton, no question. But they would likely only sign him to a 2-3 year deal, at around $6 million per, I feel. As for a darkhorse team, I wouldn’t totally rule out Tom Hicks and the Texas Rangers.

Livan is a different story. Call me crazy, but I think he winds up back in Washington with the Nats. Him publicly announcing an offer from the Nationals makes me think nobody else is really biting. Other teams will offer him less money, but it then becomes a question of wanting to contend, or going where the money is. I think he ends up with the Nats. 

Question from Sean: Despite the “Angelos Factor”, I believe Tom Hicks should go to Angelos and find common ground to make a deal for Bedard. With newfound depth of the Rangers system, what kind of offer should Jon Daniels give to Hicks to present? Maybe the Orioles, Rangers and Cubs can put together a three-way MEGADEAL that encompasses ALL of these rumors among those three teams and more.

McFleece responds: Well, it looks like Bedard is almost certain to end up in Seattle, but I’ll play along with this one anyway because I love trades. I would bet that the Rangers would have to include prized shortstop prospect Elvis Andrus in such a deal with Baltimore, as well as another top prospect (Michael Main? Eric Hurley?) to pry Baltimore away from the Adam Jones package.  And I’m not sure Texas GM Jon Daniels would entertain that idea even for a pitcher of Bedard’s ilk.  Andrus, acquired in the Mark Teixeira trade, comes very highly regarded, drawing comparisons to Edgar Renteria.  He should be MLB ready by 2010.

As for a 3 way deal (just for fun), how about Bedard to Texas; Brian Roberts to the Cubs; and Andrus, Micheal Main, Felix Pie, Sean Gallagher and perhaps a lesser prospect from Texas to Baltimore? What do you think? Too much of a fleece?

Question from Eric: I know they are lesser commodities at this point, but where do you see outfielders Kenny Lofton and Corey Patterson ending up?

McFleece responds: Patterson fleeced himself by waiting so long to sign with a team. I think he figured he’d wait until the first tier of CF’s signed (Andruw Jones, Torii Hunter, Aaron Rowand), and then he’d get his cheddar from a desperate team. But, unfortunately for him, he didn’t factor into his decision the fact that he stinks.  Now there isn’t any team out there that is desperate for a CF. Teams like the White Sox, Padres, Rangers, Braves and Giants showed interest early, but they’ve filled their CF hole by now. So Patterson may be looking at a 4th OF role on perhaps the Padres, Cardinals, Twins, or even the Orioles again.

As for Lofton, he still thinks it’s 1999. He needs to realize he is not an everyday player anymore. As a 4th OF on a competitive team, however, he’s a perfect fit. He brings speed, average and decent defense off the bench. He was ideal for Cleveland last year in that role, and I think he’d do the same for a team like Milwaukee.

Question from AzFan37: What color fleece do you think looks best? And pullover or full zipper variety?

Old Navy King responds: I was wondering how long it would take for a question such as this to come! Nice ball. Anyway, this is clearly a question of preference. I am a fan of either the navy blue fleece, or maybe even a maroon-like color. Bright orange is good, too. Stands out. I would rock any of them comfortably. And you gotta go with the full-zip fleece, it’s a must! All the way zipped up too. Need to make that fleece stand-out.

As for the individual person, going with the color of your favorite baseball team would never be a bad option.

Of course, the ultimate fleece is the GOLDEN one!

Question from Gary B: Where do you think Barry Bonds* ends up playing next season, or will he just end up doing us all a favor and retiring?

Old Navy King responds: This is a tough one. There are many teams that would welcome his bat in their respective lineups, but the circus that having Barry in your clubhouse creates just isn’t worth it to them, it seems. And can you blame them? In addition, he still faces charges of perjury and obstruction of justice. Personally, I think he makes good sense for a team in a smaller media market, for the afrorementioned reasons. As noted here at Fleece Factor yesterday, the Padres and Rangers would seem to fit the mold. They could both use a OF/DH (DH for Rangers, obviously) too. I just don’t know if anyone will pull the trigger though. My guess remains that Bonds will be forced to start the season off any MLB roster.

Thanks again for all the great questions everyone!  You can send future questions to MLBFleeceFactor@Gmail.com.

Filed under: _Mailbag