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Poll: Mets’ Next General Manager

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After a first round of interviews, the Mets have narrowed their general manager search down to two candidates: Sandy Alderson and Josh Byrnes. Both have experience running a team, Alderson with the A's (1983-1997) and Byrnes with the Diamondbacks (2005-2010), and both surely have different strengths and weaknesses. Byrnes gives them a younger exec perhaps more well-versed in today's game, Alderson a veteran front office presence with deep roots in the game.

Both Alderson and Byrnes will interview for the second time this week, and a decision will presumably be made shortly thereafter. Time for the poll…

Who should the Mets hire to be their next GM?

Click here to vote, and here to see the results. 

Poll: Baseball’s Model Franchise

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Rangers managing partner Chuck Greenberg told Marc Narducci of the Philadelphia Inquirer that he considers the Red Sox, Angels and Phillies three of baseball's model franchises. The Rangers do a lot of things right themselves and the Twins, Rockies and Rays win consistently without the benefit of massive payrolls. We can't ignore the Cardinals and Braves, who always seem to contend or the defending World Champions. You could make a case for a number of teams and you can vote for all 30 of them in today's poll:

Which team is baseball's model franchise?

Click here to vote and here to view the results.

Poll: Would The Yankees Do Burnett Deal Again?

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In December of 2008, the Yankees signed righthander A.J. Burnett to a five-year, $82.5MM deal mere days after signing C.C. Sabathia to an even heftier deal.   Their respective performances in the last two games of the ALCS have been microcosms of their performances this season.  Today, Sabathia allowed two runs and fanned seven batters across six innings of work.  Meanwhile, Burnett surrendered five runs in six innings last night, putting the Yankees on the brink of elimination. 

Burnett has turned in a 5.26 ERA this season, the worst of his career along with a 7.0 K/9 ratio, his lowest since 2001.  While the Yankees won a World Series with Burnett, they are now saddled with paying him roughly $50MM over the final three years of his contract.

Given the opportunity, would the Yankees make the same deal with Burnett again?

Click here to take the poll, and here to view the results.

Poll: Who Will Win The NLCS?

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The ALCS started off with a bang last night, just a few hours after MLBTR readers voted to almost a 50-50 split about who they thought would win the series. The NLCS kicks off later tonight with a pitching matchup that's as good as it gets: Tim Lincecum vs. Roy Halladay. If that's not enough, we'll get Jonathan Sanchez vs. Roy Oswalt in Game Two, and then Matt Cain vs. Cole Hamels in Game Three. What more could baseball fans ask for?

The Phillies certainly have the advantage on paper, but anything can happen in short series.

Who will win the NLCS?

Click here to vote, and here to see the results.

Poll: Who Will Win The ALCS?

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The Yankees, winners of 40 American League pennants, take on the Rangers, a team trying to win its first, in the ALCS tonight. The storylines are compelling: Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira return to Texas and Cliff Lee takes on the team that nearly acquired him a few months ago and figures to bid aggressively on him this winter.

But those stories are secondary to the right to represent the Junior Circuit in the World Series, so it's time to make some predictions…

Who will win the ALCS?

Click here to vote and here to view the results.

Poll: Will The Reds Pick Up Cabrera’s Option?

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Last winter the Reds signed Orlando Cabrera to a one-year deal in part because of his leadership abilities and playoff experience.  The veteran earned $2.02MM in 2010 with a $4MM mutual option for 2011.  If Cincinnati declines the option, the buyout will be for $1MM and if Cabrera declines, it will be for $500K.

While Mark Sheldon of MLB.com writes that Cabrera delivered on the leadership, his offensive numbers slipped in 2010.  The soon-to-be 36-year-old hit .263/.303/.354 in 123 games while playing above-average (5.3 UZR/150) defense.  Meanwhile, Paul Janish improved his offensive production, posting a slash line of .260/.338/.385 in 82 games while also playing a solid shortstop (2.2 UZR/150) in a limited role.  Janish also did a solid job of filling in for Cabrera when he was injured for critical games in August.

Will the Reds pick up their end of Cabrera's option?

Click here to take the poll, and here to view the results.

Poll: Which Player Will Improve His Stock The Most?

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When Cliff Lee shut down the Rays in Game One of the ALDS, SI.com's Jon Heyman tweeted that the Rangers' ace may have earned himself an extra $10-20MM in free agency. While one game shouldn't sway a player's value quite that much, the difference between a successful postseason run and an unsuccessful one can certainly be significant for free-agents-to-be.

With many of this winter's most intriguing potential free agents still in action, it will be interesting to see which of them come up big for their respective teams over the next few weeks. Lee got off to an excellent start, while players like Carl Crawford and Rafael Soriano are already just one game from elimination. There's still a lot of baseball left to play, however, and if the Rays can stage a comeback against Texas, Crawford and Soriano should play a major role.

These guys are going to be paid handsomely no matter where they sign or how they perform in October, but this is tonight's poll question:

Which potential free agent will improve his stock the most in the 2010 postseason?

Click here to vote, and click here to view the results.

Poll: Which Team Will Win The World Series?

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It's taken years of trades, signings and draft picks for the 2010 playoff teams to get this far. A month from now, one of them will make baseball history and win it all. The Rays or Rangers could win that elusive first World Championship; the Yankees could win yet another one; the Braves could send Bobby Cox to retirement in style. At this point it's nearly impossible to predict who will win it all, but let's not let that stop us from trying.

Who will win the 2010 World Series?

Click here to vote and here to view the results.

Poll: Will The Jays Re-Sign Buck?

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This season, John Buck was afforded a fresh start in Toronto and churned out his best offensive season to date.  The 30-year-old catcher hit .281/.314/.489 with 20 homers in 118 games.  After being non-tendered by the Royals in 2009, Buck made his first All-Star team in 2010.  All in all, a solid year for a guy making $2MM on a one year deal.

However, with J.P Arencibia waiting in the wings, some have wondered if there's room for Buck on the Blue Jays in 2011.  Toronto GM Alex Anthopoulos said that while he will explore bringing back Buck, the veteran backstop has earned a long-term contract and a starting job.  The question is: Will Buck get that opportunity in Toronto?  Arencibia had a stellar year in Triple-A, posting a slash line of .301/.359/.626 with 32 homers in 104 games.  With numbers like those, one has to wonder if the 24-year-old's learning curve will be steep enough to justify retaining a player who is six years his senior.

Will the Blue Jays re-sign Buck?

Click here to take the poll, and here to view the results.

Poll: The Mets’ Next General Manager

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Yesterday we learned that the Mets would not retain GM Omar Minaya and manager Jerry Manuel beyond this season, unsurprising moves to say the least. Joel Sherman of The New York Post reports that Minaya was told of his fate yesterday, but he wonders if owners Fred and Jeff Wilpon are willing to hire someone that will be brutally honest in his assessments and give him autonomy.

Former Indians and Rangers GM John Hart has been mentioned as a possible replacement for Minaya, and he of course has an impressive track record of rebuilding teams from the ground up through the farm system. Former Met pitcher Jerry Dipoto has also been mentioned as a candidate after losing out on the Diamondbacks job. Sherman also says former Athletics GM Sandy Alderson and current Rays senior vice president of baseball operations Gerry Hunsicker are strong candidates.

Whoever the Mets hire will have their work cut out for them. Manuel and presumably his coaching staff will need to be replaced, and a team that has gone 148-174 over the last two seasons despite over $275MM in combined payroll will need an overhaul. Johan Santana will miss at least part of 2011 after shoulder surgery, and the contracts of Carlos Beltran, Francisco Rodriguez, Luis Castillo, and Oliver Perez ($48MM in salary next year) could prove to be untradeable. Time to vote…

Who should the Mets hire as their next GM?

Click here to vote in the poll, and here to see the results.

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