The park is more of a pitchers park than that of a hitter. With negatives in the singles and doubles area makes it rough for slap hitters. With neutrality in the home run department, players need power. Best bet is that position players would need 70's across the board to do well consistently in hitting. Speed also helps to play small ball. Ground ball strike out pitchers as well as ground ball finesse pitchers should do well here also. Control, splits and pitches are still a concern. However as maybe 70's in control and 65 in splits might do well here they will rarely hold up on the road.
Cather: Both catchers are decent hitters but that is where it ends. Neither really make a good backstop at all as their PC is lacking, especially Saez. Nunez is barely above 50 and defense is weak. Saez is good defensively other than the dismal 40 PC and would be better suited as a weak power DH and emergency catcher. Cairo would be moderately helpful in replacing Saez but his contract is problematic.
1B: None listed as their priority so a player from another position plays here.
2B: Of the three listed, only Trajano has the wherewith all to play the position. His hitting won't be that great. The other two would be best served in LF.
3B: Jacquez plays the position rather well but hitting isn't great but does hit with some power.
SS: Marmol is better suited for 3B than SS and his hitting relatively even suited. Morales could be a GG SS but hitting or lack thereof causes problems. I wouldn't hesitate to use him as the starter though.
LF: Reboulet is listed but rarely plays because of his lack of hitting though it could surprise some people.
CF: Encarnacion is no GG winner but doable for the position. His hitting should be better than his stats indicate if you ask me.
RF: Yoshii needs to play as much as possible so his durability goes up at rollover. I would consider him at 1B. Baez isn't great at the position but I would use him because of that high eye that is needed. Where to Olson becomes problematic as he needs to play also and that bad glove..eek
Pitching: The starters are pretty good and can win anywhere. Lack of offense and no help in the pitch calling business I think hurts quite a bit. The pen isn't great but capable, well we will exclude Chen from that statement as Gilkey might have been a better choice.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
International Market
Tony Martinez was signed by the Mexico City Diablos Rojos for $8.5M. Splits may be a bit on the weak side but control and pitches are not bad if things develop. The good part is all projections could come very close to fruition. If we equate him to the draft, he would be a mid to late first rounder so all is not bad.
Al Nunez was signed by the Little Rock Heads for $10.2M. Okay, so I miss the casting call on this kid as to why he was so expensive. Granted he is about ML ready but little room for advancement, nothing a year in the minors won't fix. Decent eye, splits, power and contact but nothing overwhelming at the plate. Not much speed on the base paths. Listed as a LF but suggests he will be nothing more than a 1B. Equating him to the draft I would say somewhere in the supplemental to second round.
Al Nunez was signed by the Little Rock Heads for $10.2M. Okay, so I miss the casting call on this kid as to why he was so expensive. Granted he is about ML ready but little room for advancement, nothing a year in the minors won't fix. Decent eye, splits, power and contact but nothing overwhelming at the plate. Not much speed on the base paths. Listed as a LF but suggests he will be nothing more than a 1B. Equating him to the draft I would say somewhere in the supplemental to second round.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Commonality
What do the league leaders have in common with each other as the teams head for the turn into the home stretch? After the All-Star break each team played their division rivals and one big curious fact made a leap to the forefront. That and a couple others to be exact.
Each team has a winning record in their respective division. In the NL all four teams are 15-6 which is a bit curious in itself. The AL teams are a bit more demonstrative in this category but still maintain their winning ways. This record is paramount in the event of ties by the way especially when head to head are tied also.
For the most part these teams have an above .500 record in 1-run games and for the most part extra inning games also.
In the NL North, Chicago has won 10 of 14 since the All-Star break but three key losses to Pittsburgh hurt. Those three wins by Pittsburgh enabled them to stay close as they are struggling.
In the NL East, New York is hanging on against the resurgent Phillies. The Phills are actually enjoying a flagrantly easy schedule at this time but will toughen up shortly. The Mets took 2 of 3 Salem, oh joy.
In the NL South, Florida is streaking, call the cops please. Houston remains close but seem to be coasting as they know another 10 to 15 wins will put them in the playoffs.
In the NL West, Salem has almost an insurmountable 30 game lead but barely holds the number 1 seed. Arizona is trying to stay in the final wild card hunt.
In the AL North, Seattle and Minnesota keep duking it out for the top spot. This could take the rest of the season to resolve itself.
In The AL East, Boston has pushed itself into a comfortable lead. Atlanta made a push but has fallen on hard times.
In the AL South, Tampa Bay is slowly asserting itself. Texas is trying to hold on.
In the AL West, San Diego has walked away with the lead. Helena is holding down second and a Wild Card lead, will the meltdown our again this season?
Each team has a winning record in their respective division. In the NL all four teams are 15-6 which is a bit curious in itself. The AL teams are a bit more demonstrative in this category but still maintain their winning ways. This record is paramount in the event of ties by the way especially when head to head are tied also.
For the most part these teams have an above .500 record in 1-run games and for the most part extra inning games also.
In the NL North, Chicago has won 10 of 14 since the All-Star break but three key losses to Pittsburgh hurt. Those three wins by Pittsburgh enabled them to stay close as they are struggling.
In the NL East, New York is hanging on against the resurgent Phillies. The Phills are actually enjoying a flagrantly easy schedule at this time but will toughen up shortly. The Mets took 2 of 3 Salem, oh joy.
In the NL South, Florida is streaking, call the cops please. Houston remains close but seem to be coasting as they know another 10 to 15 wins will put them in the playoffs.
In the NL West, Salem has almost an insurmountable 30 game lead but barely holds the number 1 seed. Arizona is trying to stay in the final wild card hunt.
In the AL North, Seattle and Minnesota keep duking it out for the top spot. This could take the rest of the season to resolve itself.
In The AL East, Boston has pushed itself into a comfortable lead. Atlanta made a push but has fallen on hard times.
In the AL South, Tampa Bay is slowly asserting itself. Texas is trying to hold on.
In the AL West, San Diego has walked away with the lead. Helena is holding down second and a Wild Card lead, will the meltdown our again this season?
Broken Records
There will be some records broken by the end of the year as the record watches are on tap in several cities. The Vinny Post injury kinda hastened this little article a bit.
Vinny currently holds the ErrfDogg Saves record with 523. He played all 14 major league seasons with the Houston organization. Vinny will probably end his career with an injury while playing in the minors for Toronto. The irony is Pascual Solano of Toronto needs nine more to tie Vinny and 10 to eclipse this all time record. Pascual is only 34 and may have another year or two left but is starting to show heavy signs of age and being at the end of his contract could be the end of another HOF career at the ML level.
Zeus Singleton has passed Mitchell Ray, who should be in the Hall mind you, for third on the list. Zeus currently has 460 and at the young age of 32 could easily overtake both for first before his playing time is over.
Dwight Hall currently 5th all time needs 1 more save to reach the 400 barrier. However, holding on to that 5th spot will be short lived as Dom Tabaka is only 10 behind in the chase.
Future HOF, Omar Elcano currently holds the win record with 326. Having a so-so season Philly hasn't really upped his game much but does look to have another season left if he can squeeze out some more big bucks. Britt Swindell was hoping to see some ML action so he could tie or go ahead of Yamil Pulido for second all time. It doesn't look likely but one never knows.
Donald Satou was also hoping to have one last great season in Salem so he could also pass Yamil. He has lost a little too much and is having trouble getting to the 5th inning.
Ivan Johnson on the other hand is moving quickly up the list and only needs 5 more wins to slide into second on the list. He is still young at 30 and should easily catch Omar before his career is over. One would think however that a big asterisk be put by his name in the Hall for having all of those wins and never started a game. Such a beast, no wonder he is called Ivan the Terrible.
Vinny currently holds the ErrfDogg Saves record with 523. He played all 14 major league seasons with the Houston organization. Vinny will probably end his career with an injury while playing in the minors for Toronto. The irony is Pascual Solano of Toronto needs nine more to tie Vinny and 10 to eclipse this all time record. Pascual is only 34 and may have another year or two left but is starting to show heavy signs of age and being at the end of his contract could be the end of another HOF career at the ML level.
Zeus Singleton has passed Mitchell Ray, who should be in the Hall mind you, for third on the list. Zeus currently has 460 and at the young age of 32 could easily overtake both for first before his playing time is over.
Dwight Hall currently 5th all time needs 1 more save to reach the 400 barrier. However, holding on to that 5th spot will be short lived as Dom Tabaka is only 10 behind in the chase.
Future HOF, Omar Elcano currently holds the win record with 326. Having a so-so season Philly hasn't really upped his game much but does look to have another season left if he can squeeze out some more big bucks. Britt Swindell was hoping to see some ML action so he could tie or go ahead of Yamil Pulido for second all time. It doesn't look likely but one never knows.
Donald Satou was also hoping to have one last great season in Salem so he could also pass Yamil. He has lost a little too much and is having trouble getting to the 5th inning.
Ivan Johnson on the other hand is moving quickly up the list and only needs 5 more wins to slide into second on the list. He is still young at 30 and should easily catch Omar before his career is over. One would think however that a big asterisk be put by his name in the Hall for having all of those wins and never started a game. Such a beast, no wonder he is called Ivan the Terrible.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Disaster on the Diamond
The injury to Charlie Stone is devastating and could be career ending at his age. What is the truth, can you handle the truth? Well for starters he is out for a year with a cost of $16.6M, that is first hard thing to swallow. Secondly, he took some hard hits to his range, health and speed. The bright spot here is he can go on the 60 day DL where he will recover some of it at the end of the season. After rollover he can be put on the DL again and have a second recovery. Third problem is his age, will he suck up some more losses or will they be retained is a question I don't have an answer for.
Could this be the worst contract of all time? It could be in the end or maybe not. Right at the moment I still vote for the Tuck Buck contracts as the worstest. His contracts over the years equated to about $1M per win and $78,000 per loss. You have to remember in his big contract years he only had 134 wins and was paid well over $146M with signing bonuses even if I remember right. Couple that with his 115 losses, made him the costly player of all time with not so great production. He did get to pitch twice in the playoffs with KC early in his career also, one a 7 inning no decision then later a 4 inning loss.
Could this be the worst contract of all time? It could be in the end or maybe not. Right at the moment I still vote for the Tuck Buck contracts as the worstest. His contracts over the years equated to about $1M per win and $78,000 per loss. You have to remember in his big contract years he only had 134 wins and was paid well over $146M with signing bonuses even if I remember right. Couple that with his 115 losses, made him the costly player of all time with not so great production. He did get to pitch twice in the playoffs with KC early in his career also, one a 7 inning no decision then later a 4 inning loss.
All-Star Break
It is time for teams to recharge a little before making the turn to the home stretch. It has been a rather weird season so far if you ask me. Here is how things are shaping up.
NL North
The Cubs have had to work lately to stay in first place as the Pirates have caught up and passed them at one point. It could be a race to the end between these two. The Brewers on the other hand is suffering from Bart Bart envy. Playing 1B no less, no errors and no minus plays as of yet, but how many has he caused is a question I have? As good as the Reds look on paper, the weakness of the pitching staff is evident.
NL East
The Indians are a bit of a surprise but can they keep it up? The Mets are challenging but are a mystery to themselves. In the beginning the pitching was good when the good hitting finally started the pitching stopped. The Phillies had a horrible start then got mildly hot then once upon a disaster, do we rule them out now? In Louisville the Colonels wings are the thing but on the road Buffalo gets all the credit. Isn't Buffalo south of something?
NL South
Houston more or less willed Florida into the lead. But don't fret none one or the other will win the division in the end as both are already printing playoff tickets. Mexico City is still in the playoff hunt, not surprising. St Louis didn't have much to start with and an overactive owner hasn't helped. Not to be feckless there, given time and understanding I think molineknight can rebuild the team if he is willing to stick with it.
NL West
Salem is fast approaching super stardom once again but holding that trophy is already playoff wins away. How many seasons did it take jsholmes to build a winner? "7" Things were going great for the D'Backs but something has gone suddenly wrong. The Dodgers has had their share of problems also and 37 inning 3 game series in New York provided consort to fatigue. Then we have the rebuilding Giants bringing up the rear, lookout because things are shaping up taking guidance from Salem's book.
AL North
Mariners and Twins, it was hard predicting at the beginning and at the break it remains the same. Last man standing in the end is the best guess. The Blue Jays and Tigs are just trying to get through a rebuilding season.
AL East
The Red Sox has bolted to a lead but the Braves haven't given up. Are the Sox that lucky or will they get scalped before it is over? Washington and Dover are good teams but just find ways to lose, reminds me of my Indian teams.
AL South
Little Rock looked unstoppable early but the correction to the mean occurred or is that just a mean correction? Since things have stabled a bit Tampa Bay and Texas has stoked up their fight for dominance. KC on the other hand got rid of Black Bart envy and has started playing ball.
AL West
The Padres has streaked out of the gates preaching their gospel. It is paying off as they are the front runner for the number 1 seed in the AL at the moment. They aren't into printing their tickets just yet but if they keep going it won't be a problem. Will Helena remain a contender or will the meltdown occur, maybe they should change their name to the Mount St Helens Volcanos. After a horrible start, the Slobs are on a roll and can't be ruled out. Anaheim just keeps fluttering along. Just like last year, this division could really end up in a tied mess.
In the NL three teams in all likelyhood have already secured playoff spots. Meanwhile six teams and could be 7, are fighting for the remaining three slots. The AL on the other hand is not quite so settled. With the proclivity that exists here, the Padres and Red Sox are not sure things which still leaves 10 or more teams viable for the playoffs.
NL North
The Cubs have had to work lately to stay in first place as the Pirates have caught up and passed them at one point. It could be a race to the end between these two. The Brewers on the other hand is suffering from Bart Bart envy. Playing 1B no less, no errors and no minus plays as of yet, but how many has he caused is a question I have? As good as the Reds look on paper, the weakness of the pitching staff is evident.
NL East
The Indians are a bit of a surprise but can they keep it up? The Mets are challenging but are a mystery to themselves. In the beginning the pitching was good when the good hitting finally started the pitching stopped. The Phillies had a horrible start then got mildly hot then once upon a disaster, do we rule them out now? In Louisville the Colonels wings are the thing but on the road Buffalo gets all the credit. Isn't Buffalo south of something?
NL South
Houston more or less willed Florida into the lead. But don't fret none one or the other will win the division in the end as both are already printing playoff tickets. Mexico City is still in the playoff hunt, not surprising. St Louis didn't have much to start with and an overactive owner hasn't helped. Not to be feckless there, given time and understanding I think molineknight can rebuild the team if he is willing to stick with it.
NL West
Salem is fast approaching super stardom once again but holding that trophy is already playoff wins away. How many seasons did it take jsholmes to build a winner? "7" Things were going great for the D'Backs but something has gone suddenly wrong. The Dodgers has had their share of problems also and 37 inning 3 game series in New York provided consort to fatigue. Then we have the rebuilding Giants bringing up the rear, lookout because things are shaping up taking guidance from Salem's book.
AL North
Mariners and Twins, it was hard predicting at the beginning and at the break it remains the same. Last man standing in the end is the best guess. The Blue Jays and Tigs are just trying to get through a rebuilding season.
AL East
The Red Sox has bolted to a lead but the Braves haven't given up. Are the Sox that lucky or will they get scalped before it is over? Washington and Dover are good teams but just find ways to lose, reminds me of my Indian teams.
AL South
Little Rock looked unstoppable early but the correction to the mean occurred or is that just a mean correction? Since things have stabled a bit Tampa Bay and Texas has stoked up their fight for dominance. KC on the other hand got rid of Black Bart envy and has started playing ball.
AL West
The Padres has streaked out of the gates preaching their gospel. It is paying off as they are the front runner for the number 1 seed in the AL at the moment. They aren't into printing their tickets just yet but if they keep going it won't be a problem. Will Helena remain a contender or will the meltdown occur, maybe they should change their name to the Mount St Helens Volcanos. After a horrible start, the Slobs are on a roll and can't be ruled out. Anaheim just keeps fluttering along. Just like last year, this division could really end up in a tied mess.
In the NL three teams in all likelyhood have already secured playoff spots. Meanwhile six teams and could be 7, are fighting for the remaining three slots. The AL on the other hand is not quite so settled. With the proclivity that exists here, the Padres and Red Sox are not sure things which still leaves 10 or more teams viable for the playoffs.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Top Players in the Draft
This is what I feel is the best 10 from the Season 22 draft, yeah you all can agree to disagree. After the top 7 it got a little tough mind you. How many of these will become stars remains to be seen as a sure thing may become an after thought at any time. Many of those not selected can have great careers and could exceed the selected 10 even, as it can be a crap shoot.
1. Landon Jones, P , San Francisco Giants. Drafted 1
2. Ray Shunick, P, Washington D.C. Senators. Drafted 3
3. Claude Chatwood, CF, Chicago Cubs. Drafted 5
4. Rick Ramsay, RF, Detroit Tigers. Drafted 9
5. Andrew Robinson, P, Cleveland Indians. Drafted 6
6. Kiki Bennett, 2B, Little Rock Heads. Drafted 10
7. Derek Rodgers, 2B, Toronto Blue Jays. Drafted 20
8. Joshua Burns, 1B, Dover Dung Beetles. Drafted 13
9. Darrell Gardner, 2B, Tampa Bay Rays. Drafted 28
10. Douglas Perez, SS, Seattle Mariners. Drafted 30
1. Landon Jones, P , San Francisco Giants. Drafted 1
2. Ray Shunick, P, Washington D.C. Senators. Drafted 3
3. Claude Chatwood, CF, Chicago Cubs. Drafted 5
4. Rick Ramsay, RF, Detroit Tigers. Drafted 9
5. Andrew Robinson, P, Cleveland Indians. Drafted 6
6. Kiki Bennett, 2B, Little Rock Heads. Drafted 10
7. Derek Rodgers, 2B, Toronto Blue Jays. Drafted 20
8. Joshua Burns, 1B, Dover Dung Beetles. Drafted 13
9. Darrell Gardner, 2B, Tampa Bay Rays. Drafted 28
10. Douglas Perez, SS, Seattle Mariners. Drafted 30
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