Seattle M's, Colorado Rockies, and Detroit Tigers Rewrite Rulebook On Rebounding

As the leaves change color and the weather slowly but surely cools down, emotions are running high in major league baseball

About ten teams have their eyes set on October, dreaming of the glory that could be. Quite a few teams are going through the motions, having been out of it for months and never having a real shot in the first place.

And for some teams, late September is rough. The burdens of missed opportunities and lost seasons weigh heaviest right now. For fans of teams like the Mets, the Cubs, the Indians, the Rays, it's hard to have hope.

A year ago, that was me, as my Tigers were coming off the most disappointing season in their one-hundred plus year history. I was holding out no hope for that team, even for a fresh start in 2010, and I know some fans in Denver and Seattle felt the same way about their Rockies and Mariners.

These were three of the most disappointing teams in baseball in 2008, and not one of them entered the off season with much cash to spend to throw at their problems. Clearly, Jack Zduriencik, Dan O'Dowd, and Dave Dombrowski were going to have to get creative.

And so, as the Yankees spent half a billion dollars to sign CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira, and AJ Burnett, the Mets worked to fix their bullpen by acquiring Francisco Rodriguez and JJ Putz, and the Dodgers took all winter to resign Manny Ramirez, these three GMs worked under the radar to resurrect their clubs.

None of these teams were picked to make much noise in 2009, most experts picking them all to finish last or second-to-last.

As two of the three would make the playoffs if they started today, and the other one has well surpassed their 2008 win total, it's fair to say their moves worked out. And they all rebuilt themselves a similar way. Their success proves the point that if you make the right moves, flashy or not, unlikely as it may be, you can rebound.

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