This week I will give my predictions on how the ALDS will go for the Rangers in all of their 3 possible match-ups, the Yankees, Red Sox, and Rays. My Rangers rotation is just my prediction of what it will be. CJ Wilson is locked into the #1 spot, but after that, numbers 2-4 are up in the air. I decided to go with Harrison at #2, Colby at #3, and Holland at #4. I chose that order because Harrison has the best ERA of the three and has been pitching well of late. Even though he has struggled this year, I still put Colby at #3 just because he was so good in the playoffs last year.
Rangers Playoff Match-Ups:
Rangers vs. Yankees
Game 1: CJ Wilson, TEX vs. CC Sabathia, NYY in New York
RANGERS WIN – CC Sabathia is a very good pitcher, but usually struggles against the Rangers, allowing 13 runs in 19.1 innings against the Rangers this season. In the ALCS last year against the Rangers, CC allowed 7 runs on 17 hits in 10 innings. Meanwhile, in CJ’s only start against the Yankees this year, he allowed only 2 runs and struck out 10 in 8 innings of work.
Game 2: Matt Harrison, TEX vs. Ivan Nova, NYY in New York
YANKEES WIN – I don’t think the Yankees will leave New York down 2 games to nothing. Harrison has had a good year, but so has Ivan Nova. Harrison has a slightly better ERA, but I think the Yankees’ home-field advantage, and their determination after losing Game 1, will just be too much and will help them win in a close one.
Game 3: Colby Lewis, TEX vs. AJ Burnett, NYY in Arlington
RANGERS WIN – While Colby hasn’t pitched very well this year, with a 4.45 ERA, AJ Burnett has been worse, with a 5.28 ERA. The Rangers have all the edges in this game, a better starting pitcher, a better bullpen, home-field advantage, and at worst an even line-up. Also, Colby pitched great last year in the playoffs, going 3-0, with a 1.71 ERA, including 2 wins and a 1.98 ERA against the Yankees.
Game 4: Derek Holland, TEX vs. Freddy Garcia, NYY in Arlington
RANGERS WIN – Freddy Garcia has had a very good year overall for the Yankees, but it the month of September, he has a 7.36 ERA and has a 5.40 ERA in 4 career divisional series starts. Meanwhile, Derek has an ERA of 3.92, including a 1.63 September ERA and didn’t allow a run in 5.2 innings against the Yankees last year in the playoffs. I don’t think this series goes back to New York.
RANGERS WIN 3-1
Rangers vs. Red Sox
Game 1: CJ Wilson, TEX vs. Josh Beckett, BOS in Arlington
RANGERS WIN: Both CJ and Josh have had great years this year, both of them have ERA’s under 3.00, but the difference between the two is that Beckett has a 4.24 September ERA while CJ has a September ERA of 1.27 and has been unhittable. Also, CJ has allowed only 2 earned runs in 12.1 innings against Boston this year, and Boston is falling apart, with a 5-18 record in September.
Game 2: Matt Harrison, TEX vs. Jon Lester, BOS in Arlington
RANGERS WIN: Once again, this is a matchup of two pitchers that have similar numbers on the year, with Lester at a 3.49 ERA and Harrison at a 3.46 ERA. However, once again, they have pitched very differently of late, with Lester at a September ERA of 5.96 and Harrison’s September ERA at 2.92. Lester has just been bombed of late, and all reports say that he just doesn’t have the stuff he did at the beginning of the year.
Game 3: Colby Lewis, TEX vs. John Lackey, BOS in Boston
RANGERS WIN: Colby really hasn’t pitched well this year, with a 4.45 ERA in 194 innings, but he is on a team that is both hitting and playing well right now. The same thing can’t be said for John Lackey, who really needs help, as his season ERA is 6.49, including a 10.70 September ERA. The Red Sox are in bad shape for any game that Lackey starts in.
RANGERS WIN 3-0
Rangers vs. Rays
Game 1: CJ Wilson, TEX vs. James Shields, TB in Arlington
RANGERS WIN: This one might just be 0-0 going into extra innings. Both pitchers have ERAs under 3.00, and have pitched fantastic in September. Also, they have both pitched well against the teams they are facing, as CJ has allowed 5 runs in 21.2 innings against the Rays this year, while Shields has allowed just 1 run in 17 innings against the Rangers this year. In the end, I think this match-up is just so even that I will give it to the home team.
Game 2: Matt Harrison, TEX vs. David Price, TB in Arlington
RAYS WIN: Matt Harrison has had a good year so far, and has pitched well of late, and his numbers might actually be close to David Price’s on the year, but he just isn’t a match for Price. David has pitched well against the Rangers this year, going 15 innings and allowing 5 runs, and has lots of playoff experience.
Game 3: Colby Lewis, TEX vs. Jeremy Hellickson, TB in St. Petersburg
RAYS WIN: Despite pitching lights-out in the playoffs last year, Lewis has struggled so far this year, and the 2011 Lewis is what I think we will see in this year’s playoffs, not the 2010 playoff Colby. Meanwhile, Hellickson has had an amazing year, with a 2.90 ERA, including a 2.28 September ERA and a 2.48 August ERA, so he has been almost unhittable for a couple of months now.
Game 4: Derek Holland, TEX vs. Wade Davis, TB in St. Petersburg
RANGERS WIN: Derek has been lights-out so far in September and he tends to pitch well in big games. He has lowered his ERA down under 4.00 on the year, and I think he would pitch a gem against the weak Rays line-up. Meanwhile, Davis has a 4.45 ERA, and allowed 7 runs on 12 hits in just 2.2 innings in his only start against the Rangers this year.
Game 5: CJ Wilson, TEX vs. James Shields, TB in Arlington
RAYS WIN: I gave the first showdown between these two to CJ, so I’ll give the second one to Shields since they are so evenly matched.
RAYS WIN 3-2
Come back next week for my playoff predictions and my end-of-season awards.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Sunday, September 04, 2011
August Awards
This week I will post my August Awards.
Rangers Awards:
MVP: Michael Young, TEX (.336 AVG, 11 HR, 90 RBI) – Michael leads the team in batting average (2nd in the AL) and RBIs. He has had a fantastic season, and is on pace to get to both 200 hits and 100 RBIs this year.
Runner-up: Josh Hamilton, TEX (.300 AVG, 19 HR, 76 RBI)
Cy Young: CJ Wilson, TEX (14-6, 3.28 ERA, 173 K) – CJ leads the Rangers in wins (14), ERA (3.28), and strikeouts (173), and has pitched well enough this year to be named to the All-Star team. This decision was a no-brainer.
Runner-up: Alexi Ogando, TEX (12-7, 3.68 ERA, 115 K)
Rookie of the Year: Craig Gentry, TEX (.235 AVG, 0 HR, 7 RBI) – Craig won this by process of elimination. He plays great defensively, and has played in the majors. That got him this award.
Runner-up: Leonys Martin, TEX (.500 AVG, 0 HR, 0 RBI)
AL Awards:
MVP: Adrian Gonzalez, BOS (.342 AVG, 23 HR, 103 RBI) – Adrian leads the league in batting average and is 2nd in RBI. He is having a great season, and is making my pre-season prediction of him for MVP look very good.
Runner-up: Curtis Granderson, NYY (.271 AVG, 38 HR, 107 RBI)
Cy Young: Justin Verlander, DET (21-5, 2.34 ERA, 224 K) – You know a pitcher is having an unbelievable season when there is talk about him being MVP. Verlander leads the AL in wins, ERA, and strikeouts, and is on track for the pitching triple crown.
Runner-up: Jered Weaver, LAA (16-7, 2.49 ERA, 176 K)
Rookie of the Year: Jeremy Hellickson, TB (11-10, 3.01 ERA, 106 K) – Jeremy is having a great rookie year, with an ERA just barely above 3.00, and without any really good offensive rookies this year, I think he definitely deserves this year’s ROY.
Runner-up: Mark Trumbo, LAA (.256 AVG, 25 HR, 77 RBI)
NL Awards:
MVP: Matt Kemp, LAD (.320 AVG, 31 HR, 102 RBI) – Despite playing on a very bad team, I still think that Kemp deserves to be the MVP. His numbers this year are incredible, as he is 4th in the NL in average, tied for 4th in home runs, and 3rd in RBI.
Runner-up: Ryan Braun, MIL (.331 AVG, 25 HR, 91 RBI)
Cy Young: Ian Kennedy, ARI (18-4, 2.96 ERA, 167 K) – Kennedy leads the National League in wins with 18, and on top of that, he has an ERA under 3.00 and is right on the verge of 200 innings for the season. Ian has had a great year.
Runner-up: Clayton Kershaw, LAD (17-5, 2.45 ERA, 212 K)
Rookie of the Year: Craig Kimbrel, ATL (42 SV, 1.60 ERA, 112 K) – Craig has already broken the rookie saves record set last year by Neftali Feliz (40), has a good chance at 50 saves on the season, has an ERA well below 2.00, and has a ridiculous 112 strike-outs in 67.2 innings.
Runner-up: Freddie Freeman, ATL (.291 AVG, 18 HR, 64 RBI)
Come back next week for part 3 of my ballpark rankings.
Rangers Awards:
MVP: Michael Young, TEX (.336 AVG, 11 HR, 90 RBI) – Michael leads the team in batting average (2nd in the AL) and RBIs. He has had a fantastic season, and is on pace to get to both 200 hits and 100 RBIs this year.
Runner-up: Josh Hamilton, TEX (.300 AVG, 19 HR, 76 RBI)
Cy Young: CJ Wilson, TEX (14-6, 3.28 ERA, 173 K) – CJ leads the Rangers in wins (14), ERA (3.28), and strikeouts (173), and has pitched well enough this year to be named to the All-Star team. This decision was a no-brainer.
Runner-up: Alexi Ogando, TEX (12-7, 3.68 ERA, 115 K)
Rookie of the Year: Craig Gentry, TEX (.235 AVG, 0 HR, 7 RBI) – Craig won this by process of elimination. He plays great defensively, and has played in the majors. That got him this award.
Runner-up: Leonys Martin, TEX (.500 AVG, 0 HR, 0 RBI)
AL Awards:
MVP: Adrian Gonzalez, BOS (.342 AVG, 23 HR, 103 RBI) – Adrian leads the league in batting average and is 2nd in RBI. He is having a great season, and is making my pre-season prediction of him for MVP look very good.
Runner-up: Curtis Granderson, NYY (.271 AVG, 38 HR, 107 RBI)
Cy Young: Justin Verlander, DET (21-5, 2.34 ERA, 224 K) – You know a pitcher is having an unbelievable season when there is talk about him being MVP. Verlander leads the AL in wins, ERA, and strikeouts, and is on track for the pitching triple crown.
Runner-up: Jered Weaver, LAA (16-7, 2.49 ERA, 176 K)
Rookie of the Year: Jeremy Hellickson, TB (11-10, 3.01 ERA, 106 K) – Jeremy is having a great rookie year, with an ERA just barely above 3.00, and without any really good offensive rookies this year, I think he definitely deserves this year’s ROY.
Runner-up: Mark Trumbo, LAA (.256 AVG, 25 HR, 77 RBI)
NL Awards:
MVP: Matt Kemp, LAD (.320 AVG, 31 HR, 102 RBI) – Despite playing on a very bad team, I still think that Kemp deserves to be the MVP. His numbers this year are incredible, as he is 4th in the NL in average, tied for 4th in home runs, and 3rd in RBI.
Runner-up: Ryan Braun, MIL (.331 AVG, 25 HR, 91 RBI)
Cy Young: Ian Kennedy, ARI (18-4, 2.96 ERA, 167 K) – Kennedy leads the National League in wins with 18, and on top of that, he has an ERA under 3.00 and is right on the verge of 200 innings for the season. Ian has had a great year.
Runner-up: Clayton Kershaw, LAD (17-5, 2.45 ERA, 212 K)
Rookie of the Year: Craig Kimbrel, ATL (42 SV, 1.60 ERA, 112 K) – Craig has already broken the rookie saves record set last year by Neftali Feliz (40), has a good chance at 50 saves on the season, has an ERA well below 2.00, and has a ridiculous 112 strike-outs in 67.2 innings.
Runner-up: Freddie Freeman, ATL (.291 AVG, 18 HR, 64 RBI)
Come back next week for part 3 of my ballpark rankings.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Myrtle Beach Trip Report
After my trip to Phoenix, my dad and I flew up to Myrtle Beach and met up with my mom, sister, grandma, and granddad, at my grandparents’ condo in Myrtle Beach. My family goes up there once every year, and I always really enjoy the trip. This week I have posted my trip report.
Myrtle Beach Pelicans:
A couple of days before the end of our trip, my dad, granddad, and I went to see the Myrtle Beach Pelicans play. The Pelicans are, for the first time, the High-A affiliate of the Rangers this year (in previous years they were a Braves affiliate). We go see a Pelicans game every summer, so I was very excited to see the Rangers’ prospects there.
It ended up being an amazing night.
I had gotten to know Chuck Greenberg, the Pelicans’ owner, from his days with the Rangers last year (my interview with Chuck last August is at http://texasrangerstrades.blogspot.com/2010/08/chuck-greenberg-interview.html). I shot him an e-mail the day before I went to the game to see if he would be there, and while he said no, he wasn’t in town, he did get me in touch with the Pelicans’ GM, Scott Brown. Scott was extremely nice and set me up to be on the Pelicans’ pre-game show on the jumbotron. However, since it was raining that day (causing a 40 minute rain delay), the pre-game show never happened. Instead, I talked with the Pelicans’ radio play-by-play broadcaster, Tyler Maun, who also does the pre-game show, before the game. He told me that he’d like to have me on the radio for part of the game, which is broadcast on the Myrtle Beach ESPN radio station. Obviously, I was excited.
He told me to come up in the bottom of the 2nd, so I watched the first inning from our seats. At the top of the 2nd, we made our way up to the press box and found the radio booth. After the top of the inning, Tyler invited me into the booth, gave me a headset, and started interviewing me when the inning resumed. I was on the air with him through the end of the 3rd inning, so I got to be on the broadcast for an inning and a half. It was so much fun and I really, really enjoyed it. While I was on air, I realized that Tyler Maun was a very good play-by-play guy, with a good voice for it and skilled at providing descriptions of the plays. He is also a very nice person with deep baseball knowledgeable. I think he should be considered for the open broadcasting spot for the Rangers this off-season.
I put a couple of segments of my time on the radio broadcast on YouTube here and here.
A couple of innings after we got back to our seats, Scott Brown (the Pelicans GM) came to our seats to introduce himself. He is really great guy and very friendly. We talked with him for a little while, and then he took me down to the gift shop and gave me a Pelicans t-shirt (actually, a shirt from the Rangers spring training game in the stadium earlier in the year), which was really nice of him.
We also realized that Jon Daniels was at the game, as we saw him sitting a few rows in front of us. I said hello to him and was able to talk with him for a few minutes between innings. He was in the area for a few days, watching Hickory and Myrtle Beach.
It was just an all-around great night. I would like to thank Chuck, Scott, and Tyler for all of their friendliness and hospitality. I was amazed at how generous everyone was.
However, while my night was great, the Pelicans’ night wasn’t so great. The Pelicans lost to the Kinston Indians 9-3, and Kennil Gomez had a very poor start for Myrtle Beach, going 4.2 innings, allowing 7 runs, 4 earned, on 5 hits, 2 walks, and 3 hit batsmen. The offense didn’t do much either, as Vincent DiFazio was the only one who had a good night at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a home run.
If you’re ever in South Carolina, I recommend seeing a Pelicans game. They have a very nice ballpark. It’s one of the better minor league parks I have been to. They have very wide seats there, which is nice. They also have a good amusement area out in left field for small kids, with a bounce house. They have lots of Pelicans history along the concourse, including a spot where they have a plaque for every Pelican who has ever played in the major leagues and banners showing every Opening Day line-up the Pelicans have ever had. It’s always a fun experience.
Putt-Putt:
Every year when we go down to Myrtle Beach, my dad, granddad, and I have a putt-putt competition. Myrtle Beach has what has to be about the best putt-putt in the world. This year we went to 9 different courses, which were:
1. Mutiny Bay – a pirate-themed course with a show in which a pirate ship on the water and a fort shoot cannonballs at each other, making big splashes in the water, and in which the fort eventually gets hit and shoots up fire.
2. Mayday – an airplane-themed course with some very tough holes, and lots of much-needed shade.
3. Dinosaur Adventure – obviously a dinosaur themed course, which really isn’t all that good, as there is no shade, and just a few dinosaurs, only one of which moves.
4. Dragon’s Lair – a medieval times themed course, which is really awesome, as you play in a castle with turrets for some of the holes. There is also a hole with a jester that makes jokes and laughs at you, and there is a show with a dragon.
5. Molten Mountain – this one is volcano-themed, and has half of its holes indoors and air-conditioned, which makes it fantastic.
6. Lost Treasure – in this course you go through ancient ruins and dinosaur fossils and old pirate towns, and kind of follow in an archaeologist’s, named Professor Hacker, footsteps. You start every game by taking a small ride on a mine train through caves, where you see explorers digging for gold. The ride drops you off at the first hole.
7. Captain Hook – a Peter Pan themed course, in which you play holes in the Lost Boys’ cave, or in Captain Hook’s boat (complete with an audio-animatronic Captain Hook and crocodile), or by an audio-animatronic Peter Pan. It is a very neat course. In one cave, you can hear Tinker Bell calling out for help. If you follow the voice, it takes you to Captain Hook’s cabin, where you can see an animated Tinker Bell trapped under glass, asking you to free her.
8. Jurassic Golf – this one is themed after Jurassic Park and is very, very neat, with many moving dinosaurs, and almost every hole is by either water, a dinosaur, or some sort of rock formation.
9. Hawaiian Rumble – another volcano-themed course, but this one only has 18 holes.
The competition was great this year, especially since I won. We use a point system, based on first and second place finishes. I was down by 1 point on my granddad going into the last day, but I had a great putting day to come back and win the tournament for the second straight year.
Other:
When we first arrived, our first meal was Georgio’s Pizza, like it is every year. Georgio’s is probably the best pizza I’ve ever had. I ate sausage and pepperoni pizza.
Staying with food and pizza, we also ate at Ultimate California Pizza on our trip (which is not associated with California Pizza Kitchen). We also go there every year, and their pizza is great, too, although not quite up to Georgio’s caliber. I got the Hollywood, which is a pizza with 4 different meats.
Obviously we went down to the beach every day, since we were staying in Myrtle Beach in a condo with an ocean-view. We normally would do putt-putt in the morning, hang around in the afternoon when the beach was packed and hot, and then go down to the beach in the evening. Most nights when we would go down to the beach, my 6-year-old sister, Kate, and I, would play in the sand, jump waves, and then go into the lazy river before going back up to the room.
One afternoon, my mom, dad, sister, and I went to Pirate’s Voyage, a dinner show where pirates have competitions. Unfortunately, our side lost, but I have a sneaking suspicion that the outcome was decided beforehand. Anyways, the food was good, and my little sister really enjoyed it.
Unfortunately, it was eventually time to come home and start school again. But it was a great way to end the summer.
Come back next week for my August Awards.
Myrtle Beach Pelicans:
A couple of days before the end of our trip, my dad, granddad, and I went to see the Myrtle Beach Pelicans play. The Pelicans are, for the first time, the High-A affiliate of the Rangers this year (in previous years they were a Braves affiliate). We go see a Pelicans game every summer, so I was very excited to see the Rangers’ prospects there.
It ended up being an amazing night.
I had gotten to know Chuck Greenberg, the Pelicans’ owner, from his days with the Rangers last year (my interview with Chuck last August is at http://texasrangerstrades.blogspot.com/2010/08/chuck-greenberg-interview.html). I shot him an e-mail the day before I went to the game to see if he would be there, and while he said no, he wasn’t in town, he did get me in touch with the Pelicans’ GM, Scott Brown. Scott was extremely nice and set me up to be on the Pelicans’ pre-game show on the jumbotron. However, since it was raining that day (causing a 40 minute rain delay), the pre-game show never happened. Instead, I talked with the Pelicans’ radio play-by-play broadcaster, Tyler Maun, who also does the pre-game show, before the game. He told me that he’d like to have me on the radio for part of the game, which is broadcast on the Myrtle Beach ESPN radio station. Obviously, I was excited.
He told me to come up in the bottom of the 2nd, so I watched the first inning from our seats. At the top of the 2nd, we made our way up to the press box and found the radio booth. After the top of the inning, Tyler invited me into the booth, gave me a headset, and started interviewing me when the inning resumed. I was on the air with him through the end of the 3rd inning, so I got to be on the broadcast for an inning and a half. It was so much fun and I really, really enjoyed it. While I was on air, I realized that Tyler Maun was a very good play-by-play guy, with a good voice for it and skilled at providing descriptions of the plays. He is also a very nice person with deep baseball knowledgeable. I think he should be considered for the open broadcasting spot for the Rangers this off-season.
I put a couple of segments of my time on the radio broadcast on YouTube here and here.
A couple of innings after we got back to our seats, Scott Brown (the Pelicans GM) came to our seats to introduce himself. He is really great guy and very friendly. We talked with him for a little while, and then he took me down to the gift shop and gave me a Pelicans t-shirt (actually, a shirt from the Rangers spring training game in the stadium earlier in the year), which was really nice of him.
We also realized that Jon Daniels was at the game, as we saw him sitting a few rows in front of us. I said hello to him and was able to talk with him for a few minutes between innings. He was in the area for a few days, watching Hickory and Myrtle Beach.
It was just an all-around great night. I would like to thank Chuck, Scott, and Tyler for all of their friendliness and hospitality. I was amazed at how generous everyone was.
However, while my night was great, the Pelicans’ night wasn’t so great. The Pelicans lost to the Kinston Indians 9-3, and Kennil Gomez had a very poor start for Myrtle Beach, going 4.2 innings, allowing 7 runs, 4 earned, on 5 hits, 2 walks, and 3 hit batsmen. The offense didn’t do much either, as Vincent DiFazio was the only one who had a good night at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a home run.
If you’re ever in South Carolina, I recommend seeing a Pelicans game. They have a very nice ballpark. It’s one of the better minor league parks I have been to. They have very wide seats there, which is nice. They also have a good amusement area out in left field for small kids, with a bounce house. They have lots of Pelicans history along the concourse, including a spot where they have a plaque for every Pelican who has ever played in the major leagues and banners showing every Opening Day line-up the Pelicans have ever had. It’s always a fun experience.
Putt-Putt:
Every year when we go down to Myrtle Beach, my dad, granddad, and I have a putt-putt competition. Myrtle Beach has what has to be about the best putt-putt in the world. This year we went to 9 different courses, which were:
1. Mutiny Bay – a pirate-themed course with a show in which a pirate ship on the water and a fort shoot cannonballs at each other, making big splashes in the water, and in which the fort eventually gets hit and shoots up fire.
2. Mayday – an airplane-themed course with some very tough holes, and lots of much-needed shade.
3. Dinosaur Adventure – obviously a dinosaur themed course, which really isn’t all that good, as there is no shade, and just a few dinosaurs, only one of which moves.
4. Dragon’s Lair – a medieval times themed course, which is really awesome, as you play in a castle with turrets for some of the holes. There is also a hole with a jester that makes jokes and laughs at you, and there is a show with a dragon.
5. Molten Mountain – this one is volcano-themed, and has half of its holes indoors and air-conditioned, which makes it fantastic.
6. Lost Treasure – in this course you go through ancient ruins and dinosaur fossils and old pirate towns, and kind of follow in an archaeologist’s, named Professor Hacker, footsteps. You start every game by taking a small ride on a mine train through caves, where you see explorers digging for gold. The ride drops you off at the first hole.
7. Captain Hook – a Peter Pan themed course, in which you play holes in the Lost Boys’ cave, or in Captain Hook’s boat (complete with an audio-animatronic Captain Hook and crocodile), or by an audio-animatronic Peter Pan. It is a very neat course. In one cave, you can hear Tinker Bell calling out for help. If you follow the voice, it takes you to Captain Hook’s cabin, where you can see an animated Tinker Bell trapped under glass, asking you to free her.
8. Jurassic Golf – this one is themed after Jurassic Park and is very, very neat, with many moving dinosaurs, and almost every hole is by either water, a dinosaur, or some sort of rock formation.
9. Hawaiian Rumble – another volcano-themed course, but this one only has 18 holes.
The competition was great this year, especially since I won. We use a point system, based on first and second place finishes. I was down by 1 point on my granddad going into the last day, but I had a great putting day to come back and win the tournament for the second straight year.
Other:
When we first arrived, our first meal was Georgio’s Pizza, like it is every year. Georgio’s is probably the best pizza I’ve ever had. I ate sausage and pepperoni pizza.
Staying with food and pizza, we also ate at Ultimate California Pizza on our trip (which is not associated with California Pizza Kitchen). We also go there every year, and their pizza is great, too, although not quite up to Georgio’s caliber. I got the Hollywood, which is a pizza with 4 different meats.
Obviously we went down to the beach every day, since we were staying in Myrtle Beach in a condo with an ocean-view. We normally would do putt-putt in the morning, hang around in the afternoon when the beach was packed and hot, and then go down to the beach in the evening. Most nights when we would go down to the beach, my 6-year-old sister, Kate, and I, would play in the sand, jump waves, and then go into the lazy river before going back up to the room.
One afternoon, my mom, dad, sister, and I went to Pirate’s Voyage, a dinner show where pirates have competitions. Unfortunately, our side lost, but I have a sneaking suspicion that the outcome was decided beforehand. Anyways, the food was good, and my little sister really enjoyed it.
Unfortunately, it was eventually time to come home and start school again. But it was a great way to end the summer.
Come back next week for my August Awards.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Phoenix Trip Report
Last week my dad and I took our annual baseball trip, this time to Phoenix. While there, I got to see games at the Diamondbacks’ stadium (Chase Field) plus a couple of Arizona Rookie League games.
Sunday, August 7th:
My dad and I had an extremely early flight that left at 6:00 in the morning, which forced me to wake up at 3:30 AM, which is always loads of fun. We got to the airport around 4:30, and everything went very smoothly, with no delays or anything. Due to the time difference, we arrived in Phoenix at 6:30am local time but were lucky enough to be able to check into our hotel, Embassy Suites, early. We also got to eat breakfast there, and their breakfast is amazing. They have outstanding omelets, very good bacon and sausage, and good potatoes.
We left the hotel around 10:30am to get to the Diamondbacks stadium when the gates opened at 11:00 for a 1pm game. The D-backs stadium is Chase Field and is very nice. When we got there, we walked around the outside of the stadium to see if there was anything interesting to see. The west side of the stadium has a plaza with a large number of plaques set in the ground detailing big moments in baseball history. There are also a few plaques detailing big moments in Diamondbacks’ history, including their first game, their first win, their first playoff appearance, and their World Series appearance and championship. Personally, I think they should only have their franchise’s history, as it seems a stretch to me to have plaques’ about baseball history that has nothing to do with their team. Also, there are lots of other big Diamondbacks’ moments that they don’t mention, such as their 2002 and 2007 playoff appearances and Randy Johnson’s perfect game and Cy Young awards. I’d rather see that information when outside the D-backs’ stadium than information about Johnny Vander Meer’s back-to-back no-hitters for the Reds, which happened decades before the local team existed. The history is a nice touch, I just think it could have been executed better. Another idea would be to include information about Cactus League spring training history, sort of like the Rays have leading up to their stadium in Tampa.
We went inside when the gates opened. I was very impressed by their ballpark. It was nice and it was air-conditioned, as they have a retractable roof, and has lots of nice little touches. Out in right field, where we came in, they have Uptown, named for their star player, Justin Upton. They have lots of Upton pictures and Uptown signs. As we walked around the outfield we saw the pool in right-center field, and walked behind their ginormous scoreboard, which is out in dead center. Out in left field, they have a burger stand called Fatburger, which is a burger franchise that hasn’t made its way to Dallas yet. We stopped and ate there. My dad and I both agreed that it was a good burger. They also have open concourses, which means you can see the game even when getting concessions, and wide concourses. As we were walking around, we saw a great variety of food, almost all of it good. The ballpark also had a very good old-timey feel to it with the brick walls. When we went to the upper deck, we took a look at the kids play area, which had a wiffle ball park, batting cages, and a couple of other things. Right next to the play area, the Diamondbacks had Baxter’s house. Baxter is the Diamondbacks mascot, a bobcat, and his house was very detailed. They had a hole in the wall for his mouse, a fridge stocked with food, and lots of other small details. There is an area out front for the kids to meet Baxter in.
The team did a good job displaying their playoff appearances and championship. In the entry plaza, there’s a display case where you can see their championship trophy from 2001, along with other memorabilia from those games (jerseys, bats, balls). There’s also a TV above the display case showing highlights from the 2001 World Series. Inside the stadium, their four division championships, their NL pennant, and their championship are prominently displayed and easy to see and read. Compare this to the Rangers ballpark, where the Rangers fly tiny flags for each of their playoff appearances, including an AL championship flag that cannot possibly be read from the stands.
The one thing that I didn’t like about Chase Field was how cavernous it felt. The upper deck probably went up about 50 rows, and it felt a little like a football stadium because of that.
We also got to see a very good game. The Dodgers were in town to play Arizona and the pitching match-up was Clayton Kershaw vs. Ian Kennedy, both teams’ aces. The Diamondbacks scored two runs in the bottom of the first on a Kelly Johnson 2-run home run to take the lead. The 2-0 score stayed that way until the top of the 5th, when a Dodgers solo home run by James Loney cut the lead in half. Kennedy would struggle in the next inning, too, allowing 2 runs, both earned, in the 6th. Ian also pitched the 7th, and his final line was 7 innings, 3 earned runs, 3 K. The Dodgers didn’t hold their 3-run lead long, though, as Cody Ransom hit his 1st home run of the season on a 2-run shot in the bottom of the 7th off of Clayton Kershaw, which sent him to the showers. David Hernandez and JJ Putz each pitched a scoreless inning to finish the game.
With this game, I have now been to 26 of the current 30 major league ballparks (plus a few retired ones). All that I have left are the Marlins, Mariners, A’s, and Giants.
After the game, my dad and I drove to the Pink Pony, a very good steak place in Scottsdale that has some baseball memorabilia. But they were closed on Sundays, which was very disappointing, as we were both looking forward to it. We then ended up eating at the Embassy Suites manager reception, and got a quesadilla, which was mediocre. After dinner, we went and hung out in our hotel room.
Monday, August 8th:
When we woke up on Monday morning, we once again got to eat the awesome Embassy Suites breakfast. They may just have the best breakfast anywhere, and it’s at a hotel.
After we ate, we drove out to Surprise to see an Arizona League Rangers rookie game. It felt like Spring Training, driving up to Surprise and going to the Rangers’ backfields. It was a really fun and very different experience. They played the game at one of the Rangers backfields at their Spring Training complex (Nolan Ryan Field). We were the only fans there. All of the players who weren’t playing in the game were just sitting in the stands watching it. The Rangers won the game 4-3, and the star of the game was definitely Luis Mendez, the Rangers shortstop who not only played great defense, but homered and drove in 3 of the Rangers’ 4 runs. Like Mendez, Jimmy Swift, the second baseman, played outstanding defense in the game. The Rangers’ starter, Abel De Los Santos, also played a very good game, going 5 innings and allowing no runs, while striking out 5.
After the game, we stayed in Surprise to eat lunch at NYPD, New York Pizza Department. We go there every year during Spring Training, and we always love their pizza. Like normal, the pizza there was great, and as always, we ordered pepperoni and sausage.
When we got back to Phoenix, we stayed at the hotel for a couple of hours, and then went to the movie theater to see Captain America, which was great. It was one of the best, if not the best, movie this summer, in my opinion. It was a very old theater and didn’t even have stadium seating, but that didn’t end up mattering, as it was my dad, me, and only one other guy in the theater.
Tuesday, August 9th:
We woke up fairly early on Tuesday morning for a 9:30 AM tour of Chase Field. We got there earlier than we wanted to, which was fine, since we got to watch this neat contraption they had in front of the entrance. It had all sorts of ramps, with lots of balls going around them. Sometimes, the balls would trigger movement, like a circle of fans doing the wave or making a baseball player swing.
Only two people besides us went on the tour. The tour took us around the lower level, up to the club level, which was very nice, into the press box, into a suite, down into the tunnels, and into the dugout. We learned a lot about the ballpark on the tour. It took about an hour and fifteen minutes. After the tour, we ate lunch at Friday’s, which is actually in the ballpark, and got a table overlooking the field. It’s always cool eating at a restaurant that overlooks the ballpark. I wish the Rangers still had one. We just got an appetizer as we weren’t really that hungry.
After we ate, we drove to Goodyear to see an Arizona League Reds game. It was also played on the backfields, but this time the Reds’ ones. My dad and I walked around some, and the Reds have some really nice backfields. We got to the game at about the 4th inning and stayed there until it ended. The Padres beat the Reds, 7-3, with all of the games runs being scored in the 6th inning or later.
Once the game was over, we drove back to the Phoenix area, and after a couple of hours at the hotel, we headed back over to Chase Field for a Diamondbacks game. This time we sat in the club level, and the Diamondbacks have a great one. It is very old-timey looking, with bricks and powdery looking glass windows. It is also very comfortable, with nice furniture and lots of comfortable places to sit and eat. The concourse of the club level is basically a large air conditioned hallway, meaning that it’s always climate controlled, even when the roof is open. They definitely have a better club level than the Rangers.
This time, Arizona hosted the Astros, and had Jason Marquis pitching against Jordan Lyles. This one was a really good game. After the Diamondbacks took a 1-0 lead in the 1st inning, the Astros dominated innings 2-4. They scored 1 in the second, 3 in the third, and 3 in the fourth. JD Martinez and Brian Bogusevic each homered in the 3rd, while Carlos Lee and Humberto Quintero also picked up RBI singles in innings 2-4. Bogusevic also had an RBI double. However, from that point forward, it was almost all Arizona, as they scored 4 in the bottom of the 5th, on a Justin Upton 2-RBI double and a Miguel Montero 2-RBI single. The Diamondbacks also scored 4 runs in the 6th inning, and Upton was a big contributor again, this time with a 2-run homer. Earlier in the inning, Willie Bloomquist had hit a 2-RBI single. The Astros did score a run in the top of the 7th, though, to make it a one-run game on a Jimmy Paredes home run. The Diamondbacks weren’t done scoring runs though, as they scored 2 runs in the 8th inning with RBI doubles from both Ryan Roberts and Kelly Johnson, making the Astros’ lone run in the 9th unimportant. The final score was Diamondbacks 11, Astros 9, and it was tied for the biggest comeback in franchise history.
Wednesday, August 10th:
We once again had a very early flight, this time at around 7:00. We had to wake up at 4:15 and it was too early to enjoy an Embassy Suites breakfast. Once again, the flight went very smoothly. It was a great trip overall.
Come back next week for a Myrtle Beach trip report.
Sunday, August 7th:
My dad and I had an extremely early flight that left at 6:00 in the morning, which forced me to wake up at 3:30 AM, which is always loads of fun. We got to the airport around 4:30, and everything went very smoothly, with no delays or anything. Due to the time difference, we arrived in Phoenix at 6:30am local time but were lucky enough to be able to check into our hotel, Embassy Suites, early. We also got to eat breakfast there, and their breakfast is amazing. They have outstanding omelets, very good bacon and sausage, and good potatoes.
We left the hotel around 10:30am to get to the Diamondbacks stadium when the gates opened at 11:00 for a 1pm game. The D-backs stadium is Chase Field and is very nice. When we got there, we walked around the outside of the stadium to see if there was anything interesting to see. The west side of the stadium has a plaza with a large number of plaques set in the ground detailing big moments in baseball history. There are also a few plaques detailing big moments in Diamondbacks’ history, including their first game, their first win, their first playoff appearance, and their World Series appearance and championship. Personally, I think they should only have their franchise’s history, as it seems a stretch to me to have plaques’ about baseball history that has nothing to do with their team. Also, there are lots of other big Diamondbacks’ moments that they don’t mention, such as their 2002 and 2007 playoff appearances and Randy Johnson’s perfect game and Cy Young awards. I’d rather see that information when outside the D-backs’ stadium than information about Johnny Vander Meer’s back-to-back no-hitters for the Reds, which happened decades before the local team existed. The history is a nice touch, I just think it could have been executed better. Another idea would be to include information about Cactus League spring training history, sort of like the Rays have leading up to their stadium in Tampa.
We went inside when the gates opened. I was very impressed by their ballpark. It was nice and it was air-conditioned, as they have a retractable roof, and has lots of nice little touches. Out in right field, where we came in, they have Uptown, named for their star player, Justin Upton. They have lots of Upton pictures and Uptown signs. As we walked around the outfield we saw the pool in right-center field, and walked behind their ginormous scoreboard, which is out in dead center. Out in left field, they have a burger stand called Fatburger, which is a burger franchise that hasn’t made its way to Dallas yet. We stopped and ate there. My dad and I both agreed that it was a good burger. They also have open concourses, which means you can see the game even when getting concessions, and wide concourses. As we were walking around, we saw a great variety of food, almost all of it good. The ballpark also had a very good old-timey feel to it with the brick walls. When we went to the upper deck, we took a look at the kids play area, which had a wiffle ball park, batting cages, and a couple of other things. Right next to the play area, the Diamondbacks had Baxter’s house. Baxter is the Diamondbacks mascot, a bobcat, and his house was very detailed. They had a hole in the wall for his mouse, a fridge stocked with food, and lots of other small details. There is an area out front for the kids to meet Baxter in.
The team did a good job displaying their playoff appearances and championship. In the entry plaza, there’s a display case where you can see their championship trophy from 2001, along with other memorabilia from those games (jerseys, bats, balls). There’s also a TV above the display case showing highlights from the 2001 World Series. Inside the stadium, their four division championships, their NL pennant, and their championship are prominently displayed and easy to see and read. Compare this to the Rangers ballpark, where the Rangers fly tiny flags for each of their playoff appearances, including an AL championship flag that cannot possibly be read from the stands.
The one thing that I didn’t like about Chase Field was how cavernous it felt. The upper deck probably went up about 50 rows, and it felt a little like a football stadium because of that.
We also got to see a very good game. The Dodgers were in town to play Arizona and the pitching match-up was Clayton Kershaw vs. Ian Kennedy, both teams’ aces. The Diamondbacks scored two runs in the bottom of the first on a Kelly Johnson 2-run home run to take the lead. The 2-0 score stayed that way until the top of the 5th, when a Dodgers solo home run by James Loney cut the lead in half. Kennedy would struggle in the next inning, too, allowing 2 runs, both earned, in the 6th. Ian also pitched the 7th, and his final line was 7 innings, 3 earned runs, 3 K. The Dodgers didn’t hold their 3-run lead long, though, as Cody Ransom hit his 1st home run of the season on a 2-run shot in the bottom of the 7th off of Clayton Kershaw, which sent him to the showers. David Hernandez and JJ Putz each pitched a scoreless inning to finish the game.
With this game, I have now been to 26 of the current 30 major league ballparks (plus a few retired ones). All that I have left are the Marlins, Mariners, A’s, and Giants.
After the game, my dad and I drove to the Pink Pony, a very good steak place in Scottsdale that has some baseball memorabilia. But they were closed on Sundays, which was very disappointing, as we were both looking forward to it. We then ended up eating at the Embassy Suites manager reception, and got a quesadilla, which was mediocre. After dinner, we went and hung out in our hotel room.
Monday, August 8th:
When we woke up on Monday morning, we once again got to eat the awesome Embassy Suites breakfast. They may just have the best breakfast anywhere, and it’s at a hotel.
After we ate, we drove out to Surprise to see an Arizona League Rangers rookie game. It felt like Spring Training, driving up to Surprise and going to the Rangers’ backfields. It was a really fun and very different experience. They played the game at one of the Rangers backfields at their Spring Training complex (Nolan Ryan Field). We were the only fans there. All of the players who weren’t playing in the game were just sitting in the stands watching it. The Rangers won the game 4-3, and the star of the game was definitely Luis Mendez, the Rangers shortstop who not only played great defense, but homered and drove in 3 of the Rangers’ 4 runs. Like Mendez, Jimmy Swift, the second baseman, played outstanding defense in the game. The Rangers’ starter, Abel De Los Santos, also played a very good game, going 5 innings and allowing no runs, while striking out 5.
After the game, we stayed in Surprise to eat lunch at NYPD, New York Pizza Department. We go there every year during Spring Training, and we always love their pizza. Like normal, the pizza there was great, and as always, we ordered pepperoni and sausage.
When we got back to Phoenix, we stayed at the hotel for a couple of hours, and then went to the movie theater to see Captain America, which was great. It was one of the best, if not the best, movie this summer, in my opinion. It was a very old theater and didn’t even have stadium seating, but that didn’t end up mattering, as it was my dad, me, and only one other guy in the theater.
Tuesday, August 9th:
We woke up fairly early on Tuesday morning for a 9:30 AM tour of Chase Field. We got there earlier than we wanted to, which was fine, since we got to watch this neat contraption they had in front of the entrance. It had all sorts of ramps, with lots of balls going around them. Sometimes, the balls would trigger movement, like a circle of fans doing the wave or making a baseball player swing.
Only two people besides us went on the tour. The tour took us around the lower level, up to the club level, which was very nice, into the press box, into a suite, down into the tunnels, and into the dugout. We learned a lot about the ballpark on the tour. It took about an hour and fifteen minutes. After the tour, we ate lunch at Friday’s, which is actually in the ballpark, and got a table overlooking the field. It’s always cool eating at a restaurant that overlooks the ballpark. I wish the Rangers still had one. We just got an appetizer as we weren’t really that hungry.
After we ate, we drove to Goodyear to see an Arizona League Reds game. It was also played on the backfields, but this time the Reds’ ones. My dad and I walked around some, and the Reds have some really nice backfields. We got to the game at about the 4th inning and stayed there until it ended. The Padres beat the Reds, 7-3, with all of the games runs being scored in the 6th inning or later.
Once the game was over, we drove back to the Phoenix area, and after a couple of hours at the hotel, we headed back over to Chase Field for a Diamondbacks game. This time we sat in the club level, and the Diamondbacks have a great one. It is very old-timey looking, with bricks and powdery looking glass windows. It is also very comfortable, with nice furniture and lots of comfortable places to sit and eat. The concourse of the club level is basically a large air conditioned hallway, meaning that it’s always climate controlled, even when the roof is open. They definitely have a better club level than the Rangers.
This time, Arizona hosted the Astros, and had Jason Marquis pitching against Jordan Lyles. This one was a really good game. After the Diamondbacks took a 1-0 lead in the 1st inning, the Astros dominated innings 2-4. They scored 1 in the second, 3 in the third, and 3 in the fourth. JD Martinez and Brian Bogusevic each homered in the 3rd, while Carlos Lee and Humberto Quintero also picked up RBI singles in innings 2-4. Bogusevic also had an RBI double. However, from that point forward, it was almost all Arizona, as they scored 4 in the bottom of the 5th, on a Justin Upton 2-RBI double and a Miguel Montero 2-RBI single. The Diamondbacks also scored 4 runs in the 6th inning, and Upton was a big contributor again, this time with a 2-run homer. Earlier in the inning, Willie Bloomquist had hit a 2-RBI single. The Astros did score a run in the top of the 7th, though, to make it a one-run game on a Jimmy Paredes home run. The Diamondbacks weren’t done scoring runs though, as they scored 2 runs in the 8th inning with RBI doubles from both Ryan Roberts and Kelly Johnson, making the Astros’ lone run in the 9th unimportant. The final score was Diamondbacks 11, Astros 9, and it was tied for the biggest comeback in franchise history.
Wednesday, August 10th:
We once again had a very early flight, this time at around 7:00. We had to wake up at 4:15 and it was too early to enjoy an Embassy Suites breakfast. Once again, the flight went very smoothly. It was a great trip overall.
Come back next week for a Myrtle Beach trip report.
Monday, August 01, 2011
Rangers Trade Analysis - Deadline Deals
This week the Rangers made two trades before the trading deadline, and I will analyze both of them.
On July 30th, the Rangers acquired RP Koji Uehara and cash from the Orioles in exchange for 1B/3B Chris Davis and SP Tommy Hunter.
Evaluation: I really like this trade. Koji Uehara is a fantastic relief pitcher, one of the best in all of baseball, and the Rangers desperately needed relief help. Koji has a 1.72 ERA on the year, following up a good year last year in which he posted a 2.86 ERA. He has also struck out 64 batters in 48 innings this season and has held opponents to a .150 average, which is incredible. He will probably also be a Ranger next year, as his contract vests with about 10 more appearances this year for 2012. He has a 3.01 career ERA.
Meanwhile, the Rangers didn’t have to give up a whole lot to get him. I don’t think Chris Davis would ever have been a consistent role player for the Rangers, and I think if he plays well for the Orioles, it will have happened due to the change of scenery. Chris has a career .247 batting average, but has not had a good year in the majors since his rookie year in 2008 when he hit .285 with 17 home runs and 55 RBIs. In 2009, he hit .238 with 21 homers and 59 RBIs. In 2010, he really struggled, batting .192 with just 1 home run and 4 RBIs in 120 at-bats, and before the trade this year, he was hitting .250 with 3 home runs and 6 RBIs.
Tommy Hunter is a bigger loss than Davis, but I don’t think he will be missed too much. Tommy was a solid pitcher, with a 4.36 career ERA, but I think that he has reached his ceiling. I don’t think he’ll ever be much more than a #4 or #5 pitcher in a rotation, and the Rangers’ starting pitching is really stacked right now. The Rangers have Alexi Ogando, Matt Harrison, Derek Holland, and Neftali Feliz as young pitchers with lots of potential in the majors right now that could be in the rotation next year to go along with Colby Lewis. Also, there is a good chance they re-sign CJ Wilson out of free agency, and they also have Martin Perez, one of the top prospects in baseball in Triple-A right now.
Grade: A+, the Rangers got a lot in this deal, but didn’t have to give up much to get it
On July 31st, the Rangers acquired RP Mike Adams from the Padres in exchange for SP Robbie Erlin and SP Joe Wieland.
Evaluation: I’m not as sure about this trade as I was about the Uehara deal. I really like Mike Adams, and think he is a great addition, but the Rangers gave up two major prospects to get him. However, Mike is arguably the best setup man in baseball, with an unbelievable 1.13 ERA in 48 innings this season. He has struck out 49 batters and held them to a .155 batting average this year. Mike has been dominant each of the past four years, posting ERAs of 2.48, 0.73, 1.76, and 1.13. Also, he has closer stuff and is an obvious candidate to step into Feliz’s closer role if Neftali goes to the rotation next year, as Adams is signed through 2012, which is another key part of this trade.
But while Mike Adams is a big addition, Robbie Erlin and Joe Wieland are very significant losses. At this point Erlin and Wieland were probably the Rangers’ #2 and #3 pitching prospects, and while neither probably will ever be an ace, they are pretty surely going to be very solid #2-4 guys in a good rotation. After a great season in 2010, when Robbie Erlin had an ERA of 2.12 and struck out 125 batters in 114.2 innings, all of them with Low-A Hickory, Robbie started off 2011 with High-A Myrtle Beach. Erlin dominated with the Pelicans, and quickly got called up to Double-A Frisco after just 54.2 innings in which he had a 2.14 ERA. Since the call-up however, Robbie has struggled a bit, with a 4.32 ERA in 66.2 innings with the RoughRiders.
Joe Wieland, on the other hand, has been fantastic ever since he was called up to Frisco earlier this season, with a 1.23 ERA in Double-A before the trade. His last start in the Rangers organization was a no-hitter against the San Antonio Missions. He was called up earlier this year after starting off the season very well with Myrtle Beach, posting a 2.10 ERA in 85.2 innings of work. 2011 was a big improvement from last year for Joe, who pitched well in Low-A Hickory in 2010 with a 3.34 ERA, before struggling in the hitter-friendly California League with High-A Bakersfield, where his ERA spiked to 5.19. With his performance this year, Joe has quickly climbed most prospect rankings.
Grade: B, this was a great deal for the next couple of years, but the Rangers gave up two very good pitching prospects to get this deal done
Come back next week for my July Awards.
On July 30th, the Rangers acquired RP Koji Uehara and cash from the Orioles in exchange for 1B/3B Chris Davis and SP Tommy Hunter.
Evaluation: I really like this trade. Koji Uehara is a fantastic relief pitcher, one of the best in all of baseball, and the Rangers desperately needed relief help. Koji has a 1.72 ERA on the year, following up a good year last year in which he posted a 2.86 ERA. He has also struck out 64 batters in 48 innings this season and has held opponents to a .150 average, which is incredible. He will probably also be a Ranger next year, as his contract vests with about 10 more appearances this year for 2012. He has a 3.01 career ERA.
Meanwhile, the Rangers didn’t have to give up a whole lot to get him. I don’t think Chris Davis would ever have been a consistent role player for the Rangers, and I think if he plays well for the Orioles, it will have happened due to the change of scenery. Chris has a career .247 batting average, but has not had a good year in the majors since his rookie year in 2008 when he hit .285 with 17 home runs and 55 RBIs. In 2009, he hit .238 with 21 homers and 59 RBIs. In 2010, he really struggled, batting .192 with just 1 home run and 4 RBIs in 120 at-bats, and before the trade this year, he was hitting .250 with 3 home runs and 6 RBIs.
Tommy Hunter is a bigger loss than Davis, but I don’t think he will be missed too much. Tommy was a solid pitcher, with a 4.36 career ERA, but I think that he has reached his ceiling. I don’t think he’ll ever be much more than a #4 or #5 pitcher in a rotation, and the Rangers’ starting pitching is really stacked right now. The Rangers have Alexi Ogando, Matt Harrison, Derek Holland, and Neftali Feliz as young pitchers with lots of potential in the majors right now that could be in the rotation next year to go along with Colby Lewis. Also, there is a good chance they re-sign CJ Wilson out of free agency, and they also have Martin Perez, one of the top prospects in baseball in Triple-A right now.
Grade: A+, the Rangers got a lot in this deal, but didn’t have to give up much to get it
On July 31st, the Rangers acquired RP Mike Adams from the Padres in exchange for SP Robbie Erlin and SP Joe Wieland.
Evaluation: I’m not as sure about this trade as I was about the Uehara deal. I really like Mike Adams, and think he is a great addition, but the Rangers gave up two major prospects to get him. However, Mike is arguably the best setup man in baseball, with an unbelievable 1.13 ERA in 48 innings this season. He has struck out 49 batters and held them to a .155 batting average this year. Mike has been dominant each of the past four years, posting ERAs of 2.48, 0.73, 1.76, and 1.13. Also, he has closer stuff and is an obvious candidate to step into Feliz’s closer role if Neftali goes to the rotation next year, as Adams is signed through 2012, which is another key part of this trade.
But while Mike Adams is a big addition, Robbie Erlin and Joe Wieland are very significant losses. At this point Erlin and Wieland were probably the Rangers’ #2 and #3 pitching prospects, and while neither probably will ever be an ace, they are pretty surely going to be very solid #2-4 guys in a good rotation. After a great season in 2010, when Robbie Erlin had an ERA of 2.12 and struck out 125 batters in 114.2 innings, all of them with Low-A Hickory, Robbie started off 2011 with High-A Myrtle Beach. Erlin dominated with the Pelicans, and quickly got called up to Double-A Frisco after just 54.2 innings in which he had a 2.14 ERA. Since the call-up however, Robbie has struggled a bit, with a 4.32 ERA in 66.2 innings with the RoughRiders.
Joe Wieland, on the other hand, has been fantastic ever since he was called up to Frisco earlier this season, with a 1.23 ERA in Double-A before the trade. His last start in the Rangers organization was a no-hitter against the San Antonio Missions. He was called up earlier this year after starting off the season very well with Myrtle Beach, posting a 2.10 ERA in 85.2 innings of work. 2011 was a big improvement from last year for Joe, who pitched well in Low-A Hickory in 2010 with a 3.34 ERA, before struggling in the hitter-friendly California League with High-A Bakersfield, where his ERA spiked to 5.19. With his performance this year, Joe has quickly climbed most prospect rankings.
Grade: B, this was a great deal for the next couple of years, but the Rangers gave up two very good pitching prospects to get this deal done
Come back next week for my July Awards.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Newberg Night Report
Last night was Newberg Report Night at the ballpark. As always, it was lots of fun and Jamey did a good job of putting it together. I would like to thank Jamey Newberg and Eleanor Czajka for making it happen, and Jason Parks, Kevin Goldstein, Thad Levine, and Jon Daniels for doing the Q&A sessions.
he Q&A sessions were held in the Rangers Hall of Fame’s theater like usual. We got there at about 2:35 and went on up to the theatre, which was already almost completely full, even though the doors had just opened at 2:30. Jason Parks and Kevin Goldstein were the first Q&A session, which started at 3:30. They both did a great job, and it was Jason’s first year to be at the event. Here are a couple of the questions and answers:
Q: How would you rank the American League West farm systems?
A: (Kevin) I think you would have to rank the Rangers first right now. The Rangers are the best team in the West and also have the best system in the West, not only to bring people up, but to use another purpose of a prospect, which is being an asset to bring something in a trade. Those are equally important things. That said, Oakland and the Angels both have a very good farm system, and have things coming, and are not going to go away and start handing the Rangers division titles for the next decade. It’s going to be tough. Seattle’s system is just so-so. It’s not horrible, it’s just so-so, but at the same time, Seattle just called up Michael Pineda this year, who is pretty darn good, and Dustin Ackley this year is pretty darn good, so they’ve added an above-average position player and a potential stud starting pitcher. Their system’s done its job for a while, and even if it’s down a little bit, that’s ok. The Rangers still have a good system that’s one of the better ones in baseball, and while it’s not the best, it’s one of the better ones. They do a good job drafting and a crazy good job internationally.
Q: Where do you think Jurickson Profar will be in the next couple of years and who is he comparable to?
A: (Kevin) As young as he is, I think we’ll see him in High-A next year and Double-A in 2013, I don’t think he should have a big league timetable now. This kid is so young and is really, really good, and you look at what he’s doing in Low-A. Everyone always talks about how young Bryce Harper is, and Profar is six months younger than him. And he’s playing an elite, up-the middle position very well, hitting, stealing bases. I think he has the potential to be a shortstop who hits .280-.300 with 15-20 home runs, and 15-20 stolen bases, and that’s a massive talent, which is a $15-20 million dollars on the free agent market.
(Jason) This is a guy who I think could be at Double-A right now. He could handle Double-A. Profar adjusts to the level he’s on well, which is why he was able to handle this advanced assignment to start the season, and that’s why he could handle an advanced assignment next season. He could start at Double-A next year, I wouldn’t be surprised, and could handle the major leagues by the time he’s 20.
After the Goldstein/Parks Q&A session, an auction was held that raised over $15,000 for the Shannon Stone Memorial Foundation. Following the auction was the main event, the Jon Daniels Q&A. Assistant GM Thad Levine was there as well and also answered a few questions. As usual, Jon did a great job, taking questions for more than 90 minutes. Here are some excerpts from the Q&A.
Q: How much of an information gap is there between the players that you have and the players that other teams have, as far as scouting goes?
A: We’ve tried to do as much as possible to narrow that gap. We don’t really talk about that, but at the end of the day that is our goal with our pro scouting. We scout their personal history, and that kind of stuff to try to help us know everything possible about players on other teams.
Q: (me) When you are working with agents on contracts, what are some of your biggest pet peeves?
A: (Jon) When they open their mouths.
(Thad) I think that one thing that we’ve done since we’ve been here is really try to forge relationships with everybody in the industry, whether it’s other GMs, other team’s scouts, agents, so I think for the most part we have done just that. We have pretty good relationships with agents. I think the biggest issue I have when you’re negotiating a player’s contract is when there is an early impass, when somebody says, ‘We’re at an impasse, there’s no way we’re gonna get a deal done’, and there’s no creativity in the flow of conversations. But beyond that, I think we’ve learned if you have the relationships beforehand and you treat each of these negotiations as the next building block of the relationship, then there’s no reason you can’t come to an agreement. It’s when they treat it as one isolated event instead of as a building block to a relationship; otherwise there’s nothing stopping you from getting a deal done.
Q: Do you enjoy the trading deadline or free agency period more?
A: Definitely the trading deadline, no doubt. What we do now is going to have an immediate impact on a pennant race. In November, what you do isn’t going to do anything to help your team win for a few months.
Q: What are some teams that you like and don’t like doing business with?
A: I can’t name specific teams, but there are teams that we casually keep in touch with year-round for no trade reasons or anything else, but just to catch up with, and there are some organizations that we don’t do that with.
Q: Is there a plan among MLB to improve the umpiring?
A: They changed the leadership on the baseball operations side this year to Joe Torre, who is in charge of all of baseball ops. He hired two vice presidents, who both have extensive experience working for clubs. It’s one of those deals where they’re not going to tell us specifically, or publicize, their specific training or repercussions for umpires, but I know they are pretty confident. You saw them change one of the umpiring groups recently and that made the news a little bit before the All-Star break. I think they’re going to be a little more proactive in addressing some of this stuff. One of the suggestions that Buck Showalter made was that they should take former ballplayers that want to stay in the game (RA Dickey was his example) and put them in an umpiring school to get them into the system.
Q: Is there any developmental difference between Bakersfield and Myrtle Beach?
A: It is such a better environment for developing players in Myrtle Beach. We’re thrilled going over there. It doesn’t change a guy’s developmental plan. We understand that a guy’s number in the California League are going to be different than the numbers in the Carolina League, but it doesn’t change how we approach certain guys, with the exception that we may be willing to keep a guy there a little longer, where otherwise we would have felt it may hurt a guy negatively staying in a bad environment.
A couple of additional interesting comments from Jon:
- They were looking for a way to bring Chris Davis up even before Beltre got hurt. He said that long-term, Chris could be a corner utility guy, as he can play 1B, 3B, LF, and RF.
- He doesn’t believe in giving free agent relievers big, long contracts (which I totally agree with). He said that it was risky, and that while it works out in some cases, it’s normally not worth the risk.
Like usual, Jon did a great job answering the questions and I would like to thank him for giving us so much of his time.
After the Daniels Q&A, we went to our seats for the game. The Rangers lost to the Blue Jays 3-0, and only got 6 baserunners in a complete game shutout for the Blue Jays’ Brett Cecil. Alexi Ogando started for the Rangers and was doing great until a 3-run 6th inning when Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, and Travis Snider each drove in a run. Offensively, Craig Gentry was the only Ranger to have multiple hits.
Once again, I would like to thank everyone that made this happen.
Come back next week for trade analyses or my July awards. Also, be sure to check out the Newberg Report minor league recaps this weekend. I’ll be filling in for Scott Lucas’ this Friday through Sunday.
he Q&A sessions were held in the Rangers Hall of Fame’s theater like usual. We got there at about 2:35 and went on up to the theatre, which was already almost completely full, even though the doors had just opened at 2:30. Jason Parks and Kevin Goldstein were the first Q&A session, which started at 3:30. They both did a great job, and it was Jason’s first year to be at the event. Here are a couple of the questions and answers:
Q: How would you rank the American League West farm systems?
A: (Kevin) I think you would have to rank the Rangers first right now. The Rangers are the best team in the West and also have the best system in the West, not only to bring people up, but to use another purpose of a prospect, which is being an asset to bring something in a trade. Those are equally important things. That said, Oakland and the Angels both have a very good farm system, and have things coming, and are not going to go away and start handing the Rangers division titles for the next decade. It’s going to be tough. Seattle’s system is just so-so. It’s not horrible, it’s just so-so, but at the same time, Seattle just called up Michael Pineda this year, who is pretty darn good, and Dustin Ackley this year is pretty darn good, so they’ve added an above-average position player and a potential stud starting pitcher. Their system’s done its job for a while, and even if it’s down a little bit, that’s ok. The Rangers still have a good system that’s one of the better ones in baseball, and while it’s not the best, it’s one of the better ones. They do a good job drafting and a crazy good job internationally.
Q: Where do you think Jurickson Profar will be in the next couple of years and who is he comparable to?
A: (Kevin) As young as he is, I think we’ll see him in High-A next year and Double-A in 2013, I don’t think he should have a big league timetable now. This kid is so young and is really, really good, and you look at what he’s doing in Low-A. Everyone always talks about how young Bryce Harper is, and Profar is six months younger than him. And he’s playing an elite, up-the middle position very well, hitting, stealing bases. I think he has the potential to be a shortstop who hits .280-.300 with 15-20 home runs, and 15-20 stolen bases, and that’s a massive talent, which is a $15-20 million dollars on the free agent market.
(Jason) This is a guy who I think could be at Double-A right now. He could handle Double-A. Profar adjusts to the level he’s on well, which is why he was able to handle this advanced assignment to start the season, and that’s why he could handle an advanced assignment next season. He could start at Double-A next year, I wouldn’t be surprised, and could handle the major leagues by the time he’s 20.
After the Goldstein/Parks Q&A session, an auction was held that raised over $15,000 for the Shannon Stone Memorial Foundation. Following the auction was the main event, the Jon Daniels Q&A. Assistant GM Thad Levine was there as well and also answered a few questions. As usual, Jon did a great job, taking questions for more than 90 minutes. Here are some excerpts from the Q&A.
Q: How much of an information gap is there between the players that you have and the players that other teams have, as far as scouting goes?
A: We’ve tried to do as much as possible to narrow that gap. We don’t really talk about that, but at the end of the day that is our goal with our pro scouting. We scout their personal history, and that kind of stuff to try to help us know everything possible about players on other teams.
Q: (me) When you are working with agents on contracts, what are some of your biggest pet peeves?
A: (Jon) When they open their mouths.
(Thad) I think that one thing that we’ve done since we’ve been here is really try to forge relationships with everybody in the industry, whether it’s other GMs, other team’s scouts, agents, so I think for the most part we have done just that. We have pretty good relationships with agents. I think the biggest issue I have when you’re negotiating a player’s contract is when there is an early impass, when somebody says, ‘We’re at an impasse, there’s no way we’re gonna get a deal done’, and there’s no creativity in the flow of conversations. But beyond that, I think we’ve learned if you have the relationships beforehand and you treat each of these negotiations as the next building block of the relationship, then there’s no reason you can’t come to an agreement. It’s when they treat it as one isolated event instead of as a building block to a relationship; otherwise there’s nothing stopping you from getting a deal done.
Q: Do you enjoy the trading deadline or free agency period more?
A: Definitely the trading deadline, no doubt. What we do now is going to have an immediate impact on a pennant race. In November, what you do isn’t going to do anything to help your team win for a few months.
Q: What are some teams that you like and don’t like doing business with?
A: I can’t name specific teams, but there are teams that we casually keep in touch with year-round for no trade reasons or anything else, but just to catch up with, and there are some organizations that we don’t do that with.
Q: Is there a plan among MLB to improve the umpiring?
A: They changed the leadership on the baseball operations side this year to Joe Torre, who is in charge of all of baseball ops. He hired two vice presidents, who both have extensive experience working for clubs. It’s one of those deals where they’re not going to tell us specifically, or publicize, their specific training or repercussions for umpires, but I know they are pretty confident. You saw them change one of the umpiring groups recently and that made the news a little bit before the All-Star break. I think they’re going to be a little more proactive in addressing some of this stuff. One of the suggestions that Buck Showalter made was that they should take former ballplayers that want to stay in the game (RA Dickey was his example) and put them in an umpiring school to get them into the system.
Q: Is there any developmental difference between Bakersfield and Myrtle Beach?
A: It is such a better environment for developing players in Myrtle Beach. We’re thrilled going over there. It doesn’t change a guy’s developmental plan. We understand that a guy’s number in the California League are going to be different than the numbers in the Carolina League, but it doesn’t change how we approach certain guys, with the exception that we may be willing to keep a guy there a little longer, where otherwise we would have felt it may hurt a guy negatively staying in a bad environment.
A couple of additional interesting comments from Jon:
- They were looking for a way to bring Chris Davis up even before Beltre got hurt. He said that long-term, Chris could be a corner utility guy, as he can play 1B, 3B, LF, and RF.
- He doesn’t believe in giving free agent relievers big, long contracts (which I totally agree with). He said that it was risky, and that while it works out in some cases, it’s normally not worth the risk.
Like usual, Jon did a great job answering the questions and I would like to thank him for giving us so much of his time.
After the Daniels Q&A, we went to our seats for the game. The Rangers lost to the Blue Jays 3-0, and only got 6 baserunners in a complete game shutout for the Blue Jays’ Brett Cecil. Alexi Ogando started for the Rangers and was doing great until a 3-run 6th inning when Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, and Travis Snider each drove in a run. Offensively, Craig Gentry was the only Ranger to have multiple hits.
Once again, I would like to thank everyone that made this happen.
Come back next week for trade analyses or my July awards. Also, be sure to check out the Newberg Report minor league recaps this weekend. I’ll be filling in for Scott Lucas’ this Friday through Sunday.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Rangers Notes
I will be posting a short blog this week, as I have spent the last three days playing baseball in a tournament up in Stillwater. My team played very well, and although we lost all four games, they were all close, and we were facing some of the best 16-year-old teams in the country, and my team is only 15. My dad and I drove up to Stillwater Thursday morning for our first game, which was at Guthrie High School, and their field was extremely cool. The center field fence was 702 feet from home plate, as the baseball and football fields were connected there, and right field had a hill going up to the fence, like at old Crosley Field. On Friday, we got to play at Oklahoma State’s field which was awesome, and we even got to hang out in the clubhouse before the game. It was a very fun trip. We even got to eat at Eskimo Joe’s.
I am very excited about the All-Star Game on Tuesday, as the Rangers will have five players in Phoenix (Josh Hamilton, CJ Wilson, Adrian Beltre, Alexi Ogando, and Michael Young), including two starters (Hamilton and Beltre). Beltre was moved into the starting role when A-ROD was removed from the roster due to injury, and Ogando replaced James Shields, who pitched on the Sunday before the All-Star Game, making him ineligible. 5 All-Stars is tied for the second most in franchise history with 2004 when the Rangers had Francisco Cordero, Michael Young, Alfonso Soriano, Kenny Rogers, and Hank Blalock, and is only behind 2010, when they had Cliff Lee, Ian Kinsler, Josh Hamilton, Vladimir Guerrero, Neftali Feliz, and Elvis Andrus. It is also a very fun game to watch, especially when your team has a lot of players in the game. Out of the five Rangers All-Stars this year, Josh Hamilton is probably the least deserving, as he has been injured for a large portion of the season, and has missed too much time to be a deserving All-Star, in my opinion. The two pitchers, CJ Wilson and Alexi Ogando, are both deserving with 9-3 records and very solid ERAs. Obviously Michael Young should be an All-Star, as he has an average well over .300 with plenty of RBIs. The main reason Adrian Beltre is on the roster is because of his power, as he is tied for 8th in the American League in home runs with 18, and is 2nd in RBIs, to go along with a decent .272 average.
Another good thing that has happened recently is how well the Rangers have been doing in the international free agent market. The Rangers have signed OF Nomar Mazara, who is supposed to have incredible power, for $5 million, OF Ronald Guzman, one of the most sought after international players, to $3.5 million, and SP Pedro Payano to $600 thousand. Also, they are close to signing SP Yohander Mendez, a Venzuelan lefty who Baseball America projected to be one of the top 20 international prospects in terms of signing bonuses, to more than $1 million. It is very exciting to see the new ownership group being willing to spend so much money on prospects, and I can’t wait to see these guys in Frisco and, hopefully, in Arlington.
Also, while I was in Stillwater, I was very sad to hear the news about Shannon Stone, the Rangers fan who fell over the left field fence at the ballpark and passed away. This is a terrible thing to have happened, and I hope this kind of thing never happens again.
Come back next week for the third edition of my ballpark rankings.
I am very excited about the All-Star Game on Tuesday, as the Rangers will have five players in Phoenix (Josh Hamilton, CJ Wilson, Adrian Beltre, Alexi Ogando, and Michael Young), including two starters (Hamilton and Beltre). Beltre was moved into the starting role when A-ROD was removed from the roster due to injury, and Ogando replaced James Shields, who pitched on the Sunday before the All-Star Game, making him ineligible. 5 All-Stars is tied for the second most in franchise history with 2004 when the Rangers had Francisco Cordero, Michael Young, Alfonso Soriano, Kenny Rogers, and Hank Blalock, and is only behind 2010, when they had Cliff Lee, Ian Kinsler, Josh Hamilton, Vladimir Guerrero, Neftali Feliz, and Elvis Andrus. It is also a very fun game to watch, especially when your team has a lot of players in the game. Out of the five Rangers All-Stars this year, Josh Hamilton is probably the least deserving, as he has been injured for a large portion of the season, and has missed too much time to be a deserving All-Star, in my opinion. The two pitchers, CJ Wilson and Alexi Ogando, are both deserving with 9-3 records and very solid ERAs. Obviously Michael Young should be an All-Star, as he has an average well over .300 with plenty of RBIs. The main reason Adrian Beltre is on the roster is because of his power, as he is tied for 8th in the American League in home runs with 18, and is 2nd in RBIs, to go along with a decent .272 average.
Another good thing that has happened recently is how well the Rangers have been doing in the international free agent market. The Rangers have signed OF Nomar Mazara, who is supposed to have incredible power, for $5 million, OF Ronald Guzman, one of the most sought after international players, to $3.5 million, and SP Pedro Payano to $600 thousand. Also, they are close to signing SP Yohander Mendez, a Venzuelan lefty who Baseball America projected to be one of the top 20 international prospects in terms of signing bonuses, to more than $1 million. It is very exciting to see the new ownership group being willing to spend so much money on prospects, and I can’t wait to see these guys in Frisco and, hopefully, in Arlington.
Also, while I was in Stillwater, I was very sad to hear the news about Shannon Stone, the Rangers fan who fell over the left field fence at the ballpark and passed away. This is a terrible thing to have happened, and I hope this kind of thing never happens again.
Come back next week for the third edition of my ballpark rankings.
Sunday, July 03, 2011
June Awards
This week I will post my June Awards. The stats are as of Friday, July 3rd.
My dad, granddad, and I have been to three Rangers games in the last couple weeks, and have managed to see Derek Holland pitch in all of them, including the 5-runs-in-2/3-inning game against Florida. I think that they should give Derek one more start, and if that doesn’t go well, they should move Derek to the bullpen and Tommy Hunter into the starting rotation. Holland has an ERA over 5.00 and that is extremely poor, especially for someone with so much talent.
Also, Darren O’Day didn’t looked too good in his first game back from the DL, which worries me that the Rangers can’t count on him to be their bullpen help. Jon Daniels definitely still needs to trade for some relievers, and the sooner the better.
Rangers Awards:
Rangers MVP: Michael Young, TEX (.318 AVG, 7 HR, 53 RBI) – Michael has had a great year, with a batting average well above .300 and a very good number of RBIs, which was good enough to get him on the All-Star team.
Runner-up: Adrian Beltre, TEX (.259 AVG, 14 HR, 57 RBI)
Rangers Cy Young: CJ Wilson, TEX (8-3, 3.14 ERA, 100 K) – CJ has been extremely consistent this season, as I can’t remember the last time he had a bad start, and certainly deserved the All-Star selection that he got.
Runner-up: Alexi Ogando, TEX (7-3, 2.87 ERA, 65 K)
Rangers Rookie of the Year: Craig Gentry, TEX (.258 AVG, 0 HR, 6 RBI) – The Rangers have not had a whole lot of rookies contribute this year, so while Gentry hasn’t done much, he’s done more than any other Rangers rookie.
Runner-up: Yoshinori Tateyama, TEX (1-0, 1 SV, 3.71 ERA, 14 K)
AL Awards:
AL MVP: Adrian Gonzalez, BOS (.352 AVG, 16 HR, 71 RBI) – Adrian may not have crazy home run totals, but he leads the AL in RBIs and batting average.
Runner-up: Paul Konerko, CWS (.321 AVG, 21 HR, 61 RBI)
AL Cy Young: Jered Weaver, LAA (9-4, 1.97 ERA, 106 K) – Jered has 9 wins, which is towards the tops of the American League, along with an ERA that is sub-2.00.
Runner-up: Justin Verlander, DET (11-3, 2.32 ERA, 130 K)
AL Rookie of the Year: Michael Pineda, SEA (7-5, 2.65 ERA, 99 K) – Michael Pineda, as a rookie, was a possibility to make the AL All-Star team with a winning record, 99 K’s and an ERA below 3.00.
Runner-up: Jeremy Hellickson, TB (7-7, 3.18 ERA, 66 K)
AL Manager of the Year: Manny Acta, CLE (42-37, 2nd place) – The Indians were supposed to be a bad team this year, and I predicted them to be in last place, but they just keep hanging around and are in second place right now.
Runner-up: Jim Leyland, DET (44-38, 1st place)
NL Awards:
NL MVP: Matt Kemp, LAD (.331 AVG, 22 HR, 63 RBI, 22 SB) – Matt has incredible numbers, with a batting average way over .300, great power numbers, and 22 stolen bases.
Runner-up: Prince Fielder, MIL (.302 AVG, 21 HR, 69 RBI)
NL Cy Young: Roy Halladay, PHI (10-3, 2.40 ERA, 123 K) – Roy is tied for the NL lead in wins, and has an ERA well under 3.00. However, the thing that puts him ahead of Jair Jurrjens in my opinion, is his 123 strikeouts compared to Jair’s 55.
Runner-up: Jair Jurrjens, ATL (10-3, 2.07 ERA, 55 K)
NL Rookie of the Year: Craig Kimbrel, ATL (23 SV, 2.63 ERA, 65 K) – Craig has had a fantastic season, with 23 saves a very good ERA and an unbelievable 65 strikeouts in 41 innings pitched.
Runner-up: Dillon Gee, NYM (8-1, 3.32 ERA, 51 K)
NL Manager of the Year: Clint Hurdle, PIT (41-39, 3rd place) – Clint has come to a team in the Pirates that has been awful for years, was predicted to be in last place, and has them in 3rd with a winning record. He has done a great job.
Runner-up: Kirk Gibson, ARI (44-38, 2nd place)
Come back next week for the third edition of my ballpark rankings.
My dad, granddad, and I have been to three Rangers games in the last couple weeks, and have managed to see Derek Holland pitch in all of them, including the 5-runs-in-2/3-inning game against Florida. I think that they should give Derek one more start, and if that doesn’t go well, they should move Derek to the bullpen and Tommy Hunter into the starting rotation. Holland has an ERA over 5.00 and that is extremely poor, especially for someone with so much talent.
Also, Darren O’Day didn’t looked too good in his first game back from the DL, which worries me that the Rangers can’t count on him to be their bullpen help. Jon Daniels definitely still needs to trade for some relievers, and the sooner the better.
Rangers Awards:
Rangers MVP: Michael Young, TEX (.318 AVG, 7 HR, 53 RBI) – Michael has had a great year, with a batting average well above .300 and a very good number of RBIs, which was good enough to get him on the All-Star team.
Runner-up: Adrian Beltre, TEX (.259 AVG, 14 HR, 57 RBI)
Rangers Cy Young: CJ Wilson, TEX (8-3, 3.14 ERA, 100 K) – CJ has been extremely consistent this season, as I can’t remember the last time he had a bad start, and certainly deserved the All-Star selection that he got.
Runner-up: Alexi Ogando, TEX (7-3, 2.87 ERA, 65 K)
Rangers Rookie of the Year: Craig Gentry, TEX (.258 AVG, 0 HR, 6 RBI) – The Rangers have not had a whole lot of rookies contribute this year, so while Gentry hasn’t done much, he’s done more than any other Rangers rookie.
Runner-up: Yoshinori Tateyama, TEX (1-0, 1 SV, 3.71 ERA, 14 K)
AL Awards:
AL MVP: Adrian Gonzalez, BOS (.352 AVG, 16 HR, 71 RBI) – Adrian may not have crazy home run totals, but he leads the AL in RBIs and batting average.
Runner-up: Paul Konerko, CWS (.321 AVG, 21 HR, 61 RBI)
AL Cy Young: Jered Weaver, LAA (9-4, 1.97 ERA, 106 K) – Jered has 9 wins, which is towards the tops of the American League, along with an ERA that is sub-2.00.
Runner-up: Justin Verlander, DET (11-3, 2.32 ERA, 130 K)
AL Rookie of the Year: Michael Pineda, SEA (7-5, 2.65 ERA, 99 K) – Michael Pineda, as a rookie, was a possibility to make the AL All-Star team with a winning record, 99 K’s and an ERA below 3.00.
Runner-up: Jeremy Hellickson, TB (7-7, 3.18 ERA, 66 K)
AL Manager of the Year: Manny Acta, CLE (42-37, 2nd place) – The Indians were supposed to be a bad team this year, and I predicted them to be in last place, but they just keep hanging around and are in second place right now.
Runner-up: Jim Leyland, DET (44-38, 1st place)
NL Awards:
NL MVP: Matt Kemp, LAD (.331 AVG, 22 HR, 63 RBI, 22 SB) – Matt has incredible numbers, with a batting average way over .300, great power numbers, and 22 stolen bases.
Runner-up: Prince Fielder, MIL (.302 AVG, 21 HR, 69 RBI)
NL Cy Young: Roy Halladay, PHI (10-3, 2.40 ERA, 123 K) – Roy is tied for the NL lead in wins, and has an ERA well under 3.00. However, the thing that puts him ahead of Jair Jurrjens in my opinion, is his 123 strikeouts compared to Jair’s 55.
Runner-up: Jair Jurrjens, ATL (10-3, 2.07 ERA, 55 K)
NL Rookie of the Year: Craig Kimbrel, ATL (23 SV, 2.63 ERA, 65 K) – Craig has had a fantastic season, with 23 saves a very good ERA and an unbelievable 65 strikeouts in 41 innings pitched.
Runner-up: Dillon Gee, NYM (8-1, 3.32 ERA, 51 K)
NL Manager of the Year: Clint Hurdle, PIT (41-39, 3rd place) – Clint has come to a team in the Pirates that has been awful for years, was predicted to be in last place, and has them in 3rd with a winning record. He has done a great job.
Runner-up: Kirk Gibson, ARI (44-38, 2nd place)
Come back next week for the third edition of my ballpark rankings.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
June All-Stars
This week I will give my AL and NL All-Star teams. These are as if the All-Star game was today, and who I think should be on the team.
AL Starters:
Catcher: Alex Avila, DET (.305 AVG, 9 HR, 41 RBI) – Alex is having a great year for the Tigers, and leads American League catchers in both batting average and RBIs.
First Base: Adrian Gonzalez, BOS (.348 AVG, 15 HR, 64 RBI) – Adrian was an easy choice here, as his batting average is outstanding and he has great power numbers to go along with it.
Second Base: Robinson Cano, NYY (.292 AVG, 14 HR, 46 RBI) – Cano has by far the most home runs and most RBIs among American League second basemen, and has one of the better batting averages, too.
Shortstop: Asdrubal Cabrera, CLE (.296 AVG, 12 HR, 43 RBI) – There are many good shortstops in the American League this year, but Asdrubal barely beat out Jhonny Peralta for the starting spot, with slightly better power numbers.
Third Base: Alex Rodriguez, NYY (.289 AVG, 13 HR, 43 RBI) – This year, the American League third basemen as a whole are performing horrendously, and A-ROD is the starter with numbers that aren’t starter worthy.
Designated Hitter: David Ortiz, BOS (.320 AVG, 17 HR, 46 RBI) – Big Papi has 9 home runs more than anybody else at DH, and also has more RBIs than anybody else.
Outfield: Curtis Granderson, NYY (.283 AVG, 21 HR, 54 RBI) – Granderson has a solid batting average, but a crazy amount of home runs, which are what got him to be a starter.
Outfield: Jose Bautista, TOR (.336 AVG, 21 HR, 46 RBI) – Bautista has had a fantastic year, and has good, if not great, numbers in batting average, home runs, and RBIs.
Outfield: Jacoby Ellsbury, BOS (.312 AVG, 8 HR, 36 RBI, 24 SB) – Jacoby has a very solid batting average, decent power numbers, but a very high stolen base total, and that is what puts him ahead of the other outfielders in the AL.
Starting Pitcher: Josh Beckett, BOS (6-2, 1.86 ERA, 79 K) – Beckett’s 6 wins and 72 strikeouts aren’t all that impressive, but is 1.86 ERA leads the American League by a pretty wide margin and is outstanding.
AL Reserves:
C: AJ Pierzynski, CWS (.282 AVG, 2 HR 22 RBI)
1B: Adam Lind, TOR (.331 AVG, 15 HR, 44 RBI)
Paul Konerko, CWS (.327 AVG, 19 HR, 56 RBI)
Miguel Cabrera, DET (.328 AVG, 14 HR, 48 RBI)
2B: Howie Kendrick, LAA (.301 AVG, 7 HR, 23 RBI)
SS: Elvis Andrus, TEX (.280 AVG, 3 HR, 29 RBI, 21 SB)
Jhonny Peralta, DET (.303 AVG, 11 HR, 40 RBI)
JJ Hardy, BAL (.293 AVG, 8 HR, 24 RBI)
3B: Adrian Beltre, TEX (.260 AVG, 12 HR, 51 RBI)
Kevin Youkilis, BOS (.261 AVG, 11 HR, 50 RBI)
DH: Jason Kubel, MIN (.310 AVG, 5 HR, 30 RBI)
Victor Martinez, DET (.329 AVG, 6 HR, 39 RBI)
OF: Alex Gordon, KC (.281 AVG, 8 HR, 41 RBI)
Adam Jones, BAL (.295 AVG, 10 HR, 38 RBI)
Matt Joyce, TB (.312 AVG, 10 HR, 36 RBI)
SP: Jered Weaver, LAA (8-4, 2.06 ERA, 96 K)
James Shields, TB (7-4, 2.40 ERA, 108 K)
Justin Verlander, DET (9-3, 2.54 ERA, 110 K)
Michael Pineda, SEA (7-4, 2.64 ERA, 85 K)
Alexi Ogando, TEX (7-2, 2.66 ERA, 64 K)
Gio Gonzalez, OAK (6-5, 2.69 ERA, 82 K)
Phillip Humber, CWS (7-3, 2.90 ERA, 55 K)
CJ Wilson, TEX (7-3, 3.03 ERA, 93 K)
RP: Brandon League, SEA (20 SV, 3.90 ERA, 20 K)
Chris Perez, CLE (17 SV, 2.39 ERA, 18 K)
Mariano Rivera, NYY (17 SV, 1.98 ERA, 20 K)
Kyle Farnsworth, TB (15 SV, 1.69 ERA, 18 K)
Neftali Feliz, TEX (14 SV, 2.13 ERA, 17 K)
Players per Team:
Boston Red Sox – 5 (4)
Detroit Tigers – 5 (1)
Texas Rangers – 5
New York Yankees – 4 (3)
Chicago White Sox – 3
Tampa Bay Rays – 3
Cleveland Indians – 2 (1)
Toronto Blue Jays – 2 (1)
Baltimore Orioles - 2
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – 2
Seattle Mariners – 2
Kansas City Royals – 1
Minnesota Twins – 1
Oakland Athletics – 1
NL Starters:
Catcher: Brian McCann, ATL (.297 AVG, 11 HR, 39 RBI) – Brian has the best power numbers among NL catchers, and a batting average near .300 to go along with it.
First Base: Prince Fielder, MIL (.301 AVG, 20 HR, 61 RBI) – Prince definitely deserves to be the starting first basemen, with a .301 average and an incredible amount of home runs and RBIs.
Second Base: Rickie Weeks, MIL (.288 AVG, 14 HR, 32 RBI) – Second base does not have a whole lot of good players in the NL this year, but Rickie has had a very good season and doesn’t have much competition.
Shortstop: Jose Reyes, NYM (.341 AVG, 3 HR, 29 RBI, 26 SB) – This was one of the easiest selections, as Reyes has an incredible batting average and has stolen 26 bases.
Third Base: Placido Polanco, PHI (.295 AVG, 4 HR, 38 RBI) – Not only in the AL, but in the NL, not a whole lot of third basemen are playing well, and Polanco got to be the starting third basemen by process of elimination.
Designated Hitter: Lance Berkman, STL (.308 AVG, 17 HR, 51 RBI) – Lance did not have good enough numbers to be a starting outfielder, but was starter worthy and ended up being the NL starting DH.
Outfield: Matt Kemp, LAD (.328 AVG, 20 HR, 57 RBI, 17 SB) – Kemp has had an incredible year for the Dodgers, and every single one of his numbers is impressive.
Outfield: Ryan Braun, MIL (.310 AVG, 15 HR, 51 RBI, 16 SB) – Braun, like Kemp, has had a great year, although not quite as good, as he has shown power, speed, and the ability to hit for a high average.
Outfield: Michael Morse, WAS (.309 AVG, 13 HR, 43 RBI) – Morse has come out of nowhere and went from not being on my May All-Star team to starting in my June All-Star team.
Starting Pitcher: Jair Jurrjens, ATL (9-3, 2.11 ERA, 53 K) – Jurrjens, like Beckett in the AL, doesn’t have a whole lot of strikeouts, but Jair has a high number in the win column, and leads the NL in ERA.
NL Reserves:
C: Yadier Molina, STL (.297 AVG, 4 HR, 28 RBI)
Miguel Montero, ARI (.279 AVG, 8 HR, 37 RBI)
1B: Joey Votto, CIN (.327 AVG, 9 HR, 43 RBI)
Gaby Sanchez, FLA (.309 AVG, 12 HR, 44 RBI)
Todd Helton, COL (.308 AVG, 9 HR, 30 RBI)
2B: Brandon Phillips, CIN (.276 AVG, 5 HR, 36 RBI)
Neil Walker, PIT (.260 AVG, 8 HR, 46 RBI)
SS: Starlin Castro, CHC (.315 AVG, 1 HR, 32 RBI)
Troy Tulowitzki, COL (.276 AVG, 13 HR, 46 RBI)
3B: Chase Headley, SD (.286 AVG, 2 HR, 26 RBI)
Aramis Ramirez, CHC (.285 AVG, 5 HR, 32 RBI)
OF: Jay Bruce, CIN (.285 AVG, 17 HR, 48 RBI)
Justin Upton, ARI (.302 AVG, 12 HR, 38 RBI, 13 SB)
Hunter Pence, HOU (.321 AVG, 9 HR, 51 RBI)
Matt Holliday, STL (.347 AVG, 8 HR, 35 RBI)
SP: Tommy Hanson, ATL (8-4, 2.48 ERA, 89 K)
Cole Hamels, PHI (9-3, 2.51 ERA, 103 K)
Roy Halladay, PHI (9-3, 2.56 ERA, 114 K)
Jhoulys Chacin, COL (8-4, 2.81 ERA, 81 K)
Shawn Marcum, MIL (7-2, 2.85 ERA, 84 K)
Kyle Lohse, STL (7-3, 2.88 ERA, 56 K)
Ian Kennedy, ARI (7-2, 2.98 ERA, 85 K)
RP: Brian Wilson, SF (20 SV, 2.53 ERA, 33 K)
John Axford, MIL (19 SV, 2.78 ERA, 44 K)
Joel Hanrahan, PIT (19 SV, 1.39 ERA, 29 K)
Heath Bell, SD (18 SV, 2.79 ERA, 23 K)
Drew Storen, WAS (17 SV, 2.41 ERA, 29 K)
Players per Team:
Milwaukee Brewers – 5 (3)
St. Louis Cardinals – 4 (1)
Atlanta Braves – 3 (2)
Philadelphia Phillies – 3 (1)
Arizona Diamondbacks – 3
Cincinnati Reds – 3
Colorado Rockies - 3
Washington Nationals – 2 (1)
Chicago Cubs – 2
Pittsburgh Pirates – 2
San Diego Padres – 2
Los Angeles Dodgers – 1 (1)
New York Mets – 1 (1)
Florida Marlins – 1
Houston Astros – 1
San Francisco Giants – 1
Come back next week for my June Awards.
AL Starters:
Catcher: Alex Avila, DET (.305 AVG, 9 HR, 41 RBI) – Alex is having a great year for the Tigers, and leads American League catchers in both batting average and RBIs.
First Base: Adrian Gonzalez, BOS (.348 AVG, 15 HR, 64 RBI) – Adrian was an easy choice here, as his batting average is outstanding and he has great power numbers to go along with it.
Second Base: Robinson Cano, NYY (.292 AVG, 14 HR, 46 RBI) – Cano has by far the most home runs and most RBIs among American League second basemen, and has one of the better batting averages, too.
Shortstop: Asdrubal Cabrera, CLE (.296 AVG, 12 HR, 43 RBI) – There are many good shortstops in the American League this year, but Asdrubal barely beat out Jhonny Peralta for the starting spot, with slightly better power numbers.
Third Base: Alex Rodriguez, NYY (.289 AVG, 13 HR, 43 RBI) – This year, the American League third basemen as a whole are performing horrendously, and A-ROD is the starter with numbers that aren’t starter worthy.
Designated Hitter: David Ortiz, BOS (.320 AVG, 17 HR, 46 RBI) – Big Papi has 9 home runs more than anybody else at DH, and also has more RBIs than anybody else.
Outfield: Curtis Granderson, NYY (.283 AVG, 21 HR, 54 RBI) – Granderson has a solid batting average, but a crazy amount of home runs, which are what got him to be a starter.
Outfield: Jose Bautista, TOR (.336 AVG, 21 HR, 46 RBI) – Bautista has had a fantastic year, and has good, if not great, numbers in batting average, home runs, and RBIs.
Outfield: Jacoby Ellsbury, BOS (.312 AVG, 8 HR, 36 RBI, 24 SB) – Jacoby has a very solid batting average, decent power numbers, but a very high stolen base total, and that is what puts him ahead of the other outfielders in the AL.
Starting Pitcher: Josh Beckett, BOS (6-2, 1.86 ERA, 79 K) – Beckett’s 6 wins and 72 strikeouts aren’t all that impressive, but is 1.86 ERA leads the American League by a pretty wide margin and is outstanding.
AL Reserves:
C: AJ Pierzynski, CWS (.282 AVG, 2 HR 22 RBI)
1B: Adam Lind, TOR (.331 AVG, 15 HR, 44 RBI)
Paul Konerko, CWS (.327 AVG, 19 HR, 56 RBI)
Miguel Cabrera, DET (.328 AVG, 14 HR, 48 RBI)
2B: Howie Kendrick, LAA (.301 AVG, 7 HR, 23 RBI)
SS: Elvis Andrus, TEX (.280 AVG, 3 HR, 29 RBI, 21 SB)
Jhonny Peralta, DET (.303 AVG, 11 HR, 40 RBI)
JJ Hardy, BAL (.293 AVG, 8 HR, 24 RBI)
3B: Adrian Beltre, TEX (.260 AVG, 12 HR, 51 RBI)
Kevin Youkilis, BOS (.261 AVG, 11 HR, 50 RBI)
DH: Jason Kubel, MIN (.310 AVG, 5 HR, 30 RBI)
Victor Martinez, DET (.329 AVG, 6 HR, 39 RBI)
OF: Alex Gordon, KC (.281 AVG, 8 HR, 41 RBI)
Adam Jones, BAL (.295 AVG, 10 HR, 38 RBI)
Matt Joyce, TB (.312 AVG, 10 HR, 36 RBI)
SP: Jered Weaver, LAA (8-4, 2.06 ERA, 96 K)
James Shields, TB (7-4, 2.40 ERA, 108 K)
Justin Verlander, DET (9-3, 2.54 ERA, 110 K)
Michael Pineda, SEA (7-4, 2.64 ERA, 85 K)
Alexi Ogando, TEX (7-2, 2.66 ERA, 64 K)
Gio Gonzalez, OAK (6-5, 2.69 ERA, 82 K)
Phillip Humber, CWS (7-3, 2.90 ERA, 55 K)
CJ Wilson, TEX (7-3, 3.03 ERA, 93 K)
RP: Brandon League, SEA (20 SV, 3.90 ERA, 20 K)
Chris Perez, CLE (17 SV, 2.39 ERA, 18 K)
Mariano Rivera, NYY (17 SV, 1.98 ERA, 20 K)
Kyle Farnsworth, TB (15 SV, 1.69 ERA, 18 K)
Neftali Feliz, TEX (14 SV, 2.13 ERA, 17 K)
Players per Team:
Boston Red Sox – 5 (4)
Detroit Tigers – 5 (1)
Texas Rangers – 5
New York Yankees – 4 (3)
Chicago White Sox – 3
Tampa Bay Rays – 3
Cleveland Indians – 2 (1)
Toronto Blue Jays – 2 (1)
Baltimore Orioles - 2
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – 2
Seattle Mariners – 2
Kansas City Royals – 1
Minnesota Twins – 1
Oakland Athletics – 1
NL Starters:
Catcher: Brian McCann, ATL (.297 AVG, 11 HR, 39 RBI) – Brian has the best power numbers among NL catchers, and a batting average near .300 to go along with it.
First Base: Prince Fielder, MIL (.301 AVG, 20 HR, 61 RBI) – Prince definitely deserves to be the starting first basemen, with a .301 average and an incredible amount of home runs and RBIs.
Second Base: Rickie Weeks, MIL (.288 AVG, 14 HR, 32 RBI) – Second base does not have a whole lot of good players in the NL this year, but Rickie has had a very good season and doesn’t have much competition.
Shortstop: Jose Reyes, NYM (.341 AVG, 3 HR, 29 RBI, 26 SB) – This was one of the easiest selections, as Reyes has an incredible batting average and has stolen 26 bases.
Third Base: Placido Polanco, PHI (.295 AVG, 4 HR, 38 RBI) – Not only in the AL, but in the NL, not a whole lot of third basemen are playing well, and Polanco got to be the starting third basemen by process of elimination.
Designated Hitter: Lance Berkman, STL (.308 AVG, 17 HR, 51 RBI) – Lance did not have good enough numbers to be a starting outfielder, but was starter worthy and ended up being the NL starting DH.
Outfield: Matt Kemp, LAD (.328 AVG, 20 HR, 57 RBI, 17 SB) – Kemp has had an incredible year for the Dodgers, and every single one of his numbers is impressive.
Outfield: Ryan Braun, MIL (.310 AVG, 15 HR, 51 RBI, 16 SB) – Braun, like Kemp, has had a great year, although not quite as good, as he has shown power, speed, and the ability to hit for a high average.
Outfield: Michael Morse, WAS (.309 AVG, 13 HR, 43 RBI) – Morse has come out of nowhere and went from not being on my May All-Star team to starting in my June All-Star team.
Starting Pitcher: Jair Jurrjens, ATL (9-3, 2.11 ERA, 53 K) – Jurrjens, like Beckett in the AL, doesn’t have a whole lot of strikeouts, but Jair has a high number in the win column, and leads the NL in ERA.
NL Reserves:
C: Yadier Molina, STL (.297 AVG, 4 HR, 28 RBI)
Miguel Montero, ARI (.279 AVG, 8 HR, 37 RBI)
1B: Joey Votto, CIN (.327 AVG, 9 HR, 43 RBI)
Gaby Sanchez, FLA (.309 AVG, 12 HR, 44 RBI)
Todd Helton, COL (.308 AVG, 9 HR, 30 RBI)
2B: Brandon Phillips, CIN (.276 AVG, 5 HR, 36 RBI)
Neil Walker, PIT (.260 AVG, 8 HR, 46 RBI)
SS: Starlin Castro, CHC (.315 AVG, 1 HR, 32 RBI)
Troy Tulowitzki, COL (.276 AVG, 13 HR, 46 RBI)
3B: Chase Headley, SD (.286 AVG, 2 HR, 26 RBI)
Aramis Ramirez, CHC (.285 AVG, 5 HR, 32 RBI)
OF: Jay Bruce, CIN (.285 AVG, 17 HR, 48 RBI)
Justin Upton, ARI (.302 AVG, 12 HR, 38 RBI, 13 SB)
Hunter Pence, HOU (.321 AVG, 9 HR, 51 RBI)
Matt Holliday, STL (.347 AVG, 8 HR, 35 RBI)
SP: Tommy Hanson, ATL (8-4, 2.48 ERA, 89 K)
Cole Hamels, PHI (9-3, 2.51 ERA, 103 K)
Roy Halladay, PHI (9-3, 2.56 ERA, 114 K)
Jhoulys Chacin, COL (8-4, 2.81 ERA, 81 K)
Shawn Marcum, MIL (7-2, 2.85 ERA, 84 K)
Kyle Lohse, STL (7-3, 2.88 ERA, 56 K)
Ian Kennedy, ARI (7-2, 2.98 ERA, 85 K)
RP: Brian Wilson, SF (20 SV, 2.53 ERA, 33 K)
John Axford, MIL (19 SV, 2.78 ERA, 44 K)
Joel Hanrahan, PIT (19 SV, 1.39 ERA, 29 K)
Heath Bell, SD (18 SV, 2.79 ERA, 23 K)
Drew Storen, WAS (17 SV, 2.41 ERA, 29 K)
Players per Team:
Milwaukee Brewers – 5 (3)
St. Louis Cardinals – 4 (1)
Atlanta Braves – 3 (2)
Philadelphia Phillies – 3 (1)
Arizona Diamondbacks – 3
Cincinnati Reds – 3
Colorado Rockies - 3
Washington Nationals – 2 (1)
Chicago Cubs – 2
Pittsburgh Pirates – 2
San Diego Padres – 2
Los Angeles Dodgers – 1 (1)
New York Mets – 1 (1)
Florida Marlins – 1
Houston Astros – 1
San Francisco Giants – 1
Come back next week for my June Awards.
Saturday, June 04, 2011
May Awards
This week I will post my May Awards.
Before getting to them, though, I want to mention my great baseball weekend over Memorial Day. I got to see three levels of the Rangers’ system in four days. On Friday night, we went to the RoughRiders game and on Sunday afternoon, we were at the Rangers game, where we got to see Mike Napoli’s walkoff slide. Then on Memorial Day, I went down to Round Rock to see the Express play against the Iowa Cubs. It was my first trip to Dell Diamond and it was a very fun experience. The Express have a great ballpark. I probably like the RedHawks’ old park better, because it’s in a downtown setting and has more history and character, but that’s nothing against Dell Diamond. Pros for Dell Diamond were the covered concourse that provided a lot of shade on a hot day, the Nolan Ryan grill area that is nicely covered and provides picnic tables for eating, a restaurant on the suite level, and rocking chairs (also in the shade) that you can reserve for the game on a first-come, first-served basis. I’m too old for it but they also had a great kids’ area with rock climbing, a basketball court, and bungee trampolines. One negative is that the seats are very narrow. Before the game, we walked over to the Salt Lick Barbeque, which is right next door.
My dad, granddad, and I saw Seth McClung pitch in Round Rock, and he got pounded, giving up 7 runs on 10 hits in only 4 innings. Justin Miller then came in and did a very good job, as he threw three shutout innings. Hitting wise, there wasn’t much for the Express, but they did have three players with two hits a piece (Matt Kata, Doug Deeds, and Luis Cruz). Doug Deeds also had two RBIs in the game. Iowa beat the Express 8-6 in the game.
Rangers Awards:
MVP: Michael Young, TEX (.329 AVG, 3 HR, 37 RBI) – Michael is second on the team in RBIs and leads the team in batting average. He is having a fantastic year.
Runner-up: Mitch Moreland, TEX (.310 AVG, 7 HR, 18 RBI)
Cy Young: Alexi Ogando, TEX (6-0, 2.20 ERA, 53 K) – Alexi is my runner-up for my AL Cy Young, so he is definitely my Rangers Cy Young. He is undefeated and has an ERA of 2.20.
Runner-up: CJ Wilson, TEX (5-3, 3.32 ERA, 75 K)
Rookie of the Year: Craig Gentry, TEX (.225 AVG, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 5 SB) – Craig was my Rangers Rookie of the Month by using the process of elimination. The Rangers hardly have any rookies this year.
Runner-up: Yoshinori Tateyama, TEX (0-0, 3.00 ERA, 5 K)
AL Awards:
MVP: Jose Bautista, TOR (.360 AVG, 20 HR, 40 RBI) – Jose leads all of baseball in average and home runs, and is one of the top RBI men in the American League.
Runner-up: Adrian Gonzalez, BOS (.335 AVG, 10 HR, 47 RBI)
Cy Young: Josh Beckett, BOS (4-2, 1.80 ERA, 63 K) – Josh might not have the best record, but that isn’t his fault, as he leads the American League in ERA.
Runner-up: Alexi Ogando, TEX (6-0, 2.20 ERA, 53 K)
Rookie of the Year: Michael Pineda, SEA (6-2, 2.30 ERA, 73 K) – Michael was a Cy Young candidate and you hardly ever see that from a rookie. He has a very bright future.
Runner-up: Jeremy Hellickson, TB (6-3, 2.80 ERA, 46 K)
Manager of the Year: Manny Acta, CLE (33-22, 1st place) – The Indians were expected to be in last place (that’s where I predicted them), but Manny has the Indians in first place.
Runner-up: Eric Wedge, SEA (30-27, 2nd place)
NL Awards:
MVP: Ryan Braun, MIL (.309 AVG, 13 HR, 42 RBI, .405 OBP) – Ryan has a batting average above .300 (11th in NL), 13 HR (t-2nd in NL) and 42 RBI (t-4th in NL). He may not be the leader of anything, but he has had a very good all-around year.
Runner-up: Jay Bruce, CIN (.294 AVG, 17 HR, 46 RBI)
Cy Young: Jair Jurrjens, ATL (7-1, 1.51 ERA, 38 K) – Jair Jurrjens is tied for second in the NL in wins, and has the best ERA in baseball. He is the obvious choice for the NL Cy Young.
Runner-up: Kyle Lohse, STL (7-2, 2.13 ERA, 47 K)
Rookie of the Year: Craig Kimbrel, ATL (17 SV, 2.79 ERA, 43 K) – Craig is the Braves closer and has had a very good year with 17 saves and an ERA under 3.00.
Runner-up: Freddie Freeman, ATL (.278 AVG, 5 HR, 21 RBI)
Manager of the Year: Kirk Gibson, ARI (32-26, 2nd place) – After a bad start to a season expected to be terrible, the Diamondbacks have gone on a run and are now half a game out of first place.
Runner-up: Edwin Rodriguez, FLA (31-24, 2nd place)
Come back next week for the third edition of my ballpark rankings.
Before getting to them, though, I want to mention my great baseball weekend over Memorial Day. I got to see three levels of the Rangers’ system in four days. On Friday night, we went to the RoughRiders game and on Sunday afternoon, we were at the Rangers game, where we got to see Mike Napoli’s walkoff slide. Then on Memorial Day, I went down to Round Rock to see the Express play against the Iowa Cubs. It was my first trip to Dell Diamond and it was a very fun experience. The Express have a great ballpark. I probably like the RedHawks’ old park better, because it’s in a downtown setting and has more history and character, but that’s nothing against Dell Diamond. Pros for Dell Diamond were the covered concourse that provided a lot of shade on a hot day, the Nolan Ryan grill area that is nicely covered and provides picnic tables for eating, a restaurant on the suite level, and rocking chairs (also in the shade) that you can reserve for the game on a first-come, first-served basis. I’m too old for it but they also had a great kids’ area with rock climbing, a basketball court, and bungee trampolines. One negative is that the seats are very narrow. Before the game, we walked over to the Salt Lick Barbeque, which is right next door.
My dad, granddad, and I saw Seth McClung pitch in Round Rock, and he got pounded, giving up 7 runs on 10 hits in only 4 innings. Justin Miller then came in and did a very good job, as he threw three shutout innings. Hitting wise, there wasn’t much for the Express, but they did have three players with two hits a piece (Matt Kata, Doug Deeds, and Luis Cruz). Doug Deeds also had two RBIs in the game. Iowa beat the Express 8-6 in the game.
Rangers Awards:
MVP: Michael Young, TEX (.329 AVG, 3 HR, 37 RBI) – Michael is second on the team in RBIs and leads the team in batting average. He is having a fantastic year.
Runner-up: Mitch Moreland, TEX (.310 AVG, 7 HR, 18 RBI)
Cy Young: Alexi Ogando, TEX (6-0, 2.20 ERA, 53 K) – Alexi is my runner-up for my AL Cy Young, so he is definitely my Rangers Cy Young. He is undefeated and has an ERA of 2.20.
Runner-up: CJ Wilson, TEX (5-3, 3.32 ERA, 75 K)
Rookie of the Year: Craig Gentry, TEX (.225 AVG, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 5 SB) – Craig was my Rangers Rookie of the Month by using the process of elimination. The Rangers hardly have any rookies this year.
Runner-up: Yoshinori Tateyama, TEX (0-0, 3.00 ERA, 5 K)
AL Awards:
MVP: Jose Bautista, TOR (.360 AVG, 20 HR, 40 RBI) – Jose leads all of baseball in average and home runs, and is one of the top RBI men in the American League.
Runner-up: Adrian Gonzalez, BOS (.335 AVG, 10 HR, 47 RBI)
Cy Young: Josh Beckett, BOS (4-2, 1.80 ERA, 63 K) – Josh might not have the best record, but that isn’t his fault, as he leads the American League in ERA.
Runner-up: Alexi Ogando, TEX (6-0, 2.20 ERA, 53 K)
Rookie of the Year: Michael Pineda, SEA (6-2, 2.30 ERA, 73 K) – Michael was a Cy Young candidate and you hardly ever see that from a rookie. He has a very bright future.
Runner-up: Jeremy Hellickson, TB (6-3, 2.80 ERA, 46 K)
Manager of the Year: Manny Acta, CLE (33-22, 1st place) – The Indians were expected to be in last place (that’s where I predicted them), but Manny has the Indians in first place.
Runner-up: Eric Wedge, SEA (30-27, 2nd place)
NL Awards:
MVP: Ryan Braun, MIL (.309 AVG, 13 HR, 42 RBI, .405 OBP) – Ryan has a batting average above .300 (11th in NL), 13 HR (t-2nd in NL) and 42 RBI (t-4th in NL). He may not be the leader of anything, but he has had a very good all-around year.
Runner-up: Jay Bruce, CIN (.294 AVG, 17 HR, 46 RBI)
Cy Young: Jair Jurrjens, ATL (7-1, 1.51 ERA, 38 K) – Jair Jurrjens is tied for second in the NL in wins, and has the best ERA in baseball. He is the obvious choice for the NL Cy Young.
Runner-up: Kyle Lohse, STL (7-2, 2.13 ERA, 47 K)
Rookie of the Year: Craig Kimbrel, ATL (17 SV, 2.79 ERA, 43 K) – Craig is the Braves closer and has had a very good year with 17 saves and an ERA under 3.00.
Runner-up: Freddie Freeman, ATL (.278 AVG, 5 HR, 21 RBI)
Manager of the Year: Kirk Gibson, ARI (32-26, 2nd place) – After a bad start to a season expected to be terrible, the Diamondbacks have gone on a run and are now half a game out of first place.
Runner-up: Edwin Rodriguez, FLA (31-24, 2nd place)
Come back next week for the third edition of my ballpark rankings.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
May All-Stars
This week I will give my AL and NL All-Star teams. These are as if the All-Star game was today, and who I think it should be (which is completely hypothetical, since with the fan vote there will be about 8 Yankees starting, and possibly one player from a team outside the Bronx).
American League:
Starters:
Catcher: Alex Avila, DET (.290 AVG, 6 HR, 24 RBI) – Alex leads all American League catchers on the ballot in batting average, and has very solid power numbers to go along with that.
First Base: Adrian Gonzalez, BOS (.328 AVG, 9 HR, 41 RBI) – Adrian leads all of baseball with 41 RBIs, has a very respectable 9 home runs to go along with that, and has a batting average over .300.
Second Base: Howie Kendrick, LAA (.322 AVG, 7 HR, 18 RBI) – Howie is having a fantastic season. He is one of the leaders among AL second basemen in average, homers, and RBIs.
Third Base: Kevin Youkilis, BOS (.280 AVG, 8 HR, 30 RBI) – Most years, Kevin’s numbers would not be starting caliber, but this year, they are, as AL third basemen are doing horrible.
Shortstop: Jhonny Peralta, DET (.289 AVG, 6 HR, 23 RBI) – Jhonny is having a great year, and has a batting average near .300 and very solid power numbers.
Outfield: Jose Bautista, TOR (.364 AVG, 18 HR, 31 RBI) – Jose leads all of baseball with a .364 batting average and 18 home runs, and also has 31 RBIs, which is very good.
Outfield: Matt Joyce, TB (.358 AVG, 7 HR, 23 RBI) – Matt is second in baseball with a .358 batting average, and his power numbers are pretty good.
Outfield: Curtis Granderson, NYY (.263 AVG, 15 HR, 33 RBI) – While Curtis’ batting average isn’t to the level of Jose Bautista or Matt Joyce, his power numbers definitely are worthy of starting.
Designated Hitter: Michael Young, TEX (.341 AVG, 2 HR, 31 RBI) – Michael has a fantastic batting average at .341, and while he only has two home runs, his RBI numbers are still very high.
Starting Pitcher: Trevor Cahill, OAK (6-1, 1.79 ERA, 52 K) – Trevor is tied for the American League lead with 6 wins, and is second in the AL in ERA, behind Josh Beckett.
Reserves:
C: Russell Martin, NYY (.271 AVG, 8 HR, 24 RBI)
1B: Adam Lind, TOR (.313 AVG, 7 HR, 27 RBI)
Paul Konerko, CWS (.306 AVG, 10 HR, 35 RBI)
Miguel Cabrera, DET (.314 AVG, 8 HR, 30 RBI)
2B: Robinson Cano, NYY (.275 AVG, 9 HR, 27 RBI)
Ben Zobrist, TB (.260 AVG, 8 HR, 28 RBI)
3B: Adrian Beltre, TEX (.254 AVG, 10 HR, 37 RBI)
Alex Rodriguez, NYY (.267 AVG, 9 HR, 25 RBI)
SS: Erick Aybar, LAA (.314 AVG, 2 HR, 14 RBI)
Asdrubel Cabrera, CLE (.282 AVG, 7 HR, 27 RBI)
OF: Jacoby Ellsbury, BOS (.296 AVG, 4 HR, 22 RBI, 15 SB)
Adam Jones, BAL (.296 AVG, 5 HR, 24 RBI)
Jeff Francoeur, KC (.282 AVG, 8 HR, 27 RBI)
DH: Travis Hafner, CLE (.345 AVG, 5 HR, 22 RBI)
Jason Kubel, MIN (.319 AVG, 5 HR, 24 RBI)
SP: Josh Beckett, BOS (3-1, 1.73 ERA, 52 K)
Dan Haren, LAA (4-2, 1.84 ERA, 66 K)
Alexi Ogando, TEX (4-0, 2.13 ERA, 37 K)
Zach Britton, BAL (5-2, 2.14 ERA, 33 K)
Michael Pineda, SEA (6-2, 2.16 ERA, 61 K)
James Shields, TB (4-2, 2.26 ERA, 60 K)
Josh Tomlin, CLE (6-1, 2.41 ERA, 30 K)
RP: Mariano Rivera, NYY (13 SV, 1.80 ERA, 16 K)
Chris Perez, CLE (12 SV, 2.84 ERA, 12 K)
Jose Valverde, DET (10 SV, 2.84 ERA, 20 K)
Kyle Farnsworth, TB (9 SV, 1.76 ERA, 9 K)
Neftali Feliz, TEX (8 SV, 1.26 ERA, 8 K)
Players per Team (starters in parentheses):
Tampa Bay Rays – 4 (1)
New York Yankees – 5 (1)
Boston Red Sox – 4 (2)
Toronto Blue Jays – 2 (1)
Baltimore Orioles – 2
Cleveland Indians – 4
Detroit Tigers – 4 (2)
Kansas City Royals – 1
Chicago White Sox – 1
Minnesota Twins – 1
Texas Rangers – 4 (1)
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – 3 (1)
Oakland Athletics – 1 (1)
Seattle Mariners – 1
National League:
Starters:
Catcher: Ramon Hernandez, CIN (.337 AVG, 6 HR, 15 RBI) – Ramon leads all National League catchers in both batting average and home runs. That is definitely worthy of being a starter.
First Base: Joey Votto, CIN (.331 AVG, 5 HR, 26 RBI) – Joey Votto has the best all-around numbers of all NL first basemen, even though Prince Fielder has better power numbers.
Second Base: Brandon Phillips, CIN (.323 AVG, 5 HR, 26 RBI) – Brandon is the third Red to be a starter here, and is well deserving, with good power numbers and a .323 batting average.
Third Base: Placido Polanco, PHI (.337 AVG, 2 HR, 25 RBI) – Placido has a terrific batting average, and while he doesn’t hit many homers, he still has plenty of RBIs.
Shortstop: Jose Reyes, NYM (.318 AVG, 1 HR, 15 RBI, 17 SB) – Jose has stayed healthy. That is a miracle. On top of that, he is hitting .318 and has 17 stolen bases.
Outfield: Matt Kemp, LAD (.324 AVG, 10 HR, 32 RBI, 12 SB) – Matt Kemp also has a lot of stolen bases, although not as many as Reyes, but Kemp does have better hitting numbers.
Outfield: Ryan Braun, MIL (.301 AVG, 12 HR, 35 RBI, 10 SB) – Once again, Ryan Braun is having an amazing year. This guy is too good.
Outfield: Matt Holliday, STL (.356 AVG, 6 HR, 30 RBI) – It looks like Matt might do something that I never thought would happen. He may very well be the only Cardinals’ 3 or 4 hitter (he hits 4, Pujols hits 3) to make the All-Star team, as he is on mine.
Designated Hitter: Lance Berkman, STL (.349 AVG, 11 HR, 35 RBI) – Lance is having a terrific start to the season. I still don’t think he will be able to keep it up, though.
Starting Pitcher: Jaime Garcia, STL (5-0, 1.64 ERA, 53 K) – Jaime is tied for the lead in baseball with a 1.64 ERA, has a good amount of strikeouts, and is tied for 5th in the NL in wins. That is a good year.
Reserves:
C: Jonathon Lucroy, MIL (.320 AVG, 4 HR, 18 RBI)
1B: Ike Davis, NYM (.302 AVG, 7 HR, 25 RBI)
Prince Fielder, MIL (.287 AVG, 10 HR, 36 RBI)
Gaby Sanchez, FLA (.311 AVG, 7 HR, 27 RBI)
Todd Helton, COL (.323 AVG, 6 HR, 20 RBI)
2B: Neil Walker, PIT (.283 AVG, 6 HR, 30 RBI)
Rickie Weeks, MIL (.292 AVG, 7 HR, 14 RBI)
3B: Pablo Sandoval, SF (.313 AVG, 5 HR, 14 RBI)
Chipper Jones, ATL (.262 AVG, 4 HR, 27 RBI)
SS: Stephen Drew, ARI (.271 AVG, 3 HR, 27 RBI)
Starlin Castro, CHC (.324 AVG, 1 HR, 21 RBI)
OF: Carlos Beltran, NYM (.281 AVG, 8 HR, 25 RBI)
Andre Ethier, LAD (.311 AVG, 4 HR, 21 RBI)
Hunter Pence, HOU (.293 AVG, 5 HR, 33 RBI)
Jay Bruce, CIN (.265 AVG, 10 HR, 26 RBI)
SP: Josh Johnson, FLA (3-1, 1.64 ERA, 56 K)
Jair Jurrjens, ATL (5-1, 1.80 ERA, 29 K)
Tim Lincecum, SF (4-4, 2.06 ERA, 75 K)
Kyle Lohse, STL (5-2, 2.17 ERA, 36 K)
Roy Halladay, PHI (6-3, 2.21 ERA, 80 K)
Shaun Marcum, MIL (6-1, 2.37 ERA, 62 K)
Charlie Morton, PIT (5-1, 2.62 ERA, 29 K)
RP: Leo Nunez, FLA (17 SV, 2.66 ERA, 24 K)
Francisco Rodriguez, NYM (15 SV, 0.76 ERA, 25 K)
Joel Hanrahan, PIT (13 SV, 1.66 ERA, 16 K)
Heath Bell, SD (9 SV, 1.13 ERA, 12 K)
Drew Storen, WAS (9 SV, 0.38 ERA, 19 K)
Players per Team:
Philadelphia Phillies – 2 (1)
Atlanta Braves – 2
Florida Marlins – 2
New York Mets – 4 (1)
Washington Nationals – 1
St. Louis Cardinals – 4 (3)
Cincinnati Reds – 4 (3)
Chicago Cubs – 1
Milwaukee Brewers – 5 (1)
Pittsburgh Pirates – 3
Houston Astros – 1
Colorado Rockies – 1
Los Angeles Dodgers – 2 (1)
San Francisco Giants – 2
San Diego Padres – 0
Arizona Diamondbacks – 1
Come back next week for my May Awards.
American League:
Starters:
Catcher: Alex Avila, DET (.290 AVG, 6 HR, 24 RBI) – Alex leads all American League catchers on the ballot in batting average, and has very solid power numbers to go along with that.
First Base: Adrian Gonzalez, BOS (.328 AVG, 9 HR, 41 RBI) – Adrian leads all of baseball with 41 RBIs, has a very respectable 9 home runs to go along with that, and has a batting average over .300.
Second Base: Howie Kendrick, LAA (.322 AVG, 7 HR, 18 RBI) – Howie is having a fantastic season. He is one of the leaders among AL second basemen in average, homers, and RBIs.
Third Base: Kevin Youkilis, BOS (.280 AVG, 8 HR, 30 RBI) – Most years, Kevin’s numbers would not be starting caliber, but this year, they are, as AL third basemen are doing horrible.
Shortstop: Jhonny Peralta, DET (.289 AVG, 6 HR, 23 RBI) – Jhonny is having a great year, and has a batting average near .300 and very solid power numbers.
Outfield: Jose Bautista, TOR (.364 AVG, 18 HR, 31 RBI) – Jose leads all of baseball with a .364 batting average and 18 home runs, and also has 31 RBIs, which is very good.
Outfield: Matt Joyce, TB (.358 AVG, 7 HR, 23 RBI) – Matt is second in baseball with a .358 batting average, and his power numbers are pretty good.
Outfield: Curtis Granderson, NYY (.263 AVG, 15 HR, 33 RBI) – While Curtis’ batting average isn’t to the level of Jose Bautista or Matt Joyce, his power numbers definitely are worthy of starting.
Designated Hitter: Michael Young, TEX (.341 AVG, 2 HR, 31 RBI) – Michael has a fantastic batting average at .341, and while he only has two home runs, his RBI numbers are still very high.
Starting Pitcher: Trevor Cahill, OAK (6-1, 1.79 ERA, 52 K) – Trevor is tied for the American League lead with 6 wins, and is second in the AL in ERA, behind Josh Beckett.
Reserves:
C: Russell Martin, NYY (.271 AVG, 8 HR, 24 RBI)
1B: Adam Lind, TOR (.313 AVG, 7 HR, 27 RBI)
Paul Konerko, CWS (.306 AVG, 10 HR, 35 RBI)
Miguel Cabrera, DET (.314 AVG, 8 HR, 30 RBI)
2B: Robinson Cano, NYY (.275 AVG, 9 HR, 27 RBI)
Ben Zobrist, TB (.260 AVG, 8 HR, 28 RBI)
3B: Adrian Beltre, TEX (.254 AVG, 10 HR, 37 RBI)
Alex Rodriguez, NYY (.267 AVG, 9 HR, 25 RBI)
SS: Erick Aybar, LAA (.314 AVG, 2 HR, 14 RBI)
Asdrubel Cabrera, CLE (.282 AVG, 7 HR, 27 RBI)
OF: Jacoby Ellsbury, BOS (.296 AVG, 4 HR, 22 RBI, 15 SB)
Adam Jones, BAL (.296 AVG, 5 HR, 24 RBI)
Jeff Francoeur, KC (.282 AVG, 8 HR, 27 RBI)
DH: Travis Hafner, CLE (.345 AVG, 5 HR, 22 RBI)
Jason Kubel, MIN (.319 AVG, 5 HR, 24 RBI)
SP: Josh Beckett, BOS (3-1, 1.73 ERA, 52 K)
Dan Haren, LAA (4-2, 1.84 ERA, 66 K)
Alexi Ogando, TEX (4-0, 2.13 ERA, 37 K)
Zach Britton, BAL (5-2, 2.14 ERA, 33 K)
Michael Pineda, SEA (6-2, 2.16 ERA, 61 K)
James Shields, TB (4-2, 2.26 ERA, 60 K)
Josh Tomlin, CLE (6-1, 2.41 ERA, 30 K)
RP: Mariano Rivera, NYY (13 SV, 1.80 ERA, 16 K)
Chris Perez, CLE (12 SV, 2.84 ERA, 12 K)
Jose Valverde, DET (10 SV, 2.84 ERA, 20 K)
Kyle Farnsworth, TB (9 SV, 1.76 ERA, 9 K)
Neftali Feliz, TEX (8 SV, 1.26 ERA, 8 K)
Players per Team (starters in parentheses):
Tampa Bay Rays – 4 (1)
New York Yankees – 5 (1)
Boston Red Sox – 4 (2)
Toronto Blue Jays – 2 (1)
Baltimore Orioles – 2
Cleveland Indians – 4
Detroit Tigers – 4 (2)
Kansas City Royals – 1
Chicago White Sox – 1
Minnesota Twins – 1
Texas Rangers – 4 (1)
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – 3 (1)
Oakland Athletics – 1 (1)
Seattle Mariners – 1
National League:
Starters:
Catcher: Ramon Hernandez, CIN (.337 AVG, 6 HR, 15 RBI) – Ramon leads all National League catchers in both batting average and home runs. That is definitely worthy of being a starter.
First Base: Joey Votto, CIN (.331 AVG, 5 HR, 26 RBI) – Joey Votto has the best all-around numbers of all NL first basemen, even though Prince Fielder has better power numbers.
Second Base: Brandon Phillips, CIN (.323 AVG, 5 HR, 26 RBI) – Brandon is the third Red to be a starter here, and is well deserving, with good power numbers and a .323 batting average.
Third Base: Placido Polanco, PHI (.337 AVG, 2 HR, 25 RBI) – Placido has a terrific batting average, and while he doesn’t hit many homers, he still has plenty of RBIs.
Shortstop: Jose Reyes, NYM (.318 AVG, 1 HR, 15 RBI, 17 SB) – Jose has stayed healthy. That is a miracle. On top of that, he is hitting .318 and has 17 stolen bases.
Outfield: Matt Kemp, LAD (.324 AVG, 10 HR, 32 RBI, 12 SB) – Matt Kemp also has a lot of stolen bases, although not as many as Reyes, but Kemp does have better hitting numbers.
Outfield: Ryan Braun, MIL (.301 AVG, 12 HR, 35 RBI, 10 SB) – Once again, Ryan Braun is having an amazing year. This guy is too good.
Outfield: Matt Holliday, STL (.356 AVG, 6 HR, 30 RBI) – It looks like Matt might do something that I never thought would happen. He may very well be the only Cardinals’ 3 or 4 hitter (he hits 4, Pujols hits 3) to make the All-Star team, as he is on mine.
Designated Hitter: Lance Berkman, STL (.349 AVG, 11 HR, 35 RBI) – Lance is having a terrific start to the season. I still don’t think he will be able to keep it up, though.
Starting Pitcher: Jaime Garcia, STL (5-0, 1.64 ERA, 53 K) – Jaime is tied for the lead in baseball with a 1.64 ERA, has a good amount of strikeouts, and is tied for 5th in the NL in wins. That is a good year.
Reserves:
C: Jonathon Lucroy, MIL (.320 AVG, 4 HR, 18 RBI)
1B: Ike Davis, NYM (.302 AVG, 7 HR, 25 RBI)
Prince Fielder, MIL (.287 AVG, 10 HR, 36 RBI)
Gaby Sanchez, FLA (.311 AVG, 7 HR, 27 RBI)
Todd Helton, COL (.323 AVG, 6 HR, 20 RBI)
2B: Neil Walker, PIT (.283 AVG, 6 HR, 30 RBI)
Rickie Weeks, MIL (.292 AVG, 7 HR, 14 RBI)
3B: Pablo Sandoval, SF (.313 AVG, 5 HR, 14 RBI)
Chipper Jones, ATL (.262 AVG, 4 HR, 27 RBI)
SS: Stephen Drew, ARI (.271 AVG, 3 HR, 27 RBI)
Starlin Castro, CHC (.324 AVG, 1 HR, 21 RBI)
OF: Carlos Beltran, NYM (.281 AVG, 8 HR, 25 RBI)
Andre Ethier, LAD (.311 AVG, 4 HR, 21 RBI)
Hunter Pence, HOU (.293 AVG, 5 HR, 33 RBI)
Jay Bruce, CIN (.265 AVG, 10 HR, 26 RBI)
SP: Josh Johnson, FLA (3-1, 1.64 ERA, 56 K)
Jair Jurrjens, ATL (5-1, 1.80 ERA, 29 K)
Tim Lincecum, SF (4-4, 2.06 ERA, 75 K)
Kyle Lohse, STL (5-2, 2.17 ERA, 36 K)
Roy Halladay, PHI (6-3, 2.21 ERA, 80 K)
Shaun Marcum, MIL (6-1, 2.37 ERA, 62 K)
Charlie Morton, PIT (5-1, 2.62 ERA, 29 K)
RP: Leo Nunez, FLA (17 SV, 2.66 ERA, 24 K)
Francisco Rodriguez, NYM (15 SV, 0.76 ERA, 25 K)
Joel Hanrahan, PIT (13 SV, 1.66 ERA, 16 K)
Heath Bell, SD (9 SV, 1.13 ERA, 12 K)
Drew Storen, WAS (9 SV, 0.38 ERA, 19 K)
Players per Team:
Philadelphia Phillies – 2 (1)
Atlanta Braves – 2
Florida Marlins – 2
New York Mets – 4 (1)
Washington Nationals – 1
St. Louis Cardinals – 4 (3)
Cincinnati Reds – 4 (3)
Chicago Cubs – 1
Milwaukee Brewers – 5 (1)
Pittsburgh Pirates – 3
Houston Astros – 1
Colorado Rockies – 1
Los Angeles Dodgers – 2 (1)
San Francisco Giants – 2
San Diego Padres – 0
Arizona Diamondbacks – 1
Come back next week for my May Awards.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Ballpark Rankings Part 2
This week I will post the second entry of my ballpark rankings. Last week I rated the ballparks of the Red Sox, Reds, Orioles, Indians, and Braves. This week I have the Cubs, White Sox, Rockies, Tigers, and Astros. The ballparks will be ranked with a point system with three categories: personality, which is basically a ballpark’s signature features, history, and game experience. Each category will be rated from 1 to 10, with 10 being the best.
Chicago Cubs (Wrigley Field)
Personality: 10, Wrigley obviously has lots of personality, from its ivy walls to the big red board outside the ballpark. Wrigley also has a great old-fashioned scoreboard in center field. It was built in 1914 and this also adds personality to the park. The neighborhood feel of the whole Wrigleyville are adds to the personality as well.
History: 6, while the stadium is history itself, the Cubs haven’t put a whole lot of history into it. They have statues of Harry Caray and Ernie Banks outside the stadium. They also have pennants and retired numbers.
Game Experience: 10, it feels like you are watching the game a long time ago, as there is an old-time feel. They have a celebrity lead the singing of Take Me Out to the Ballgame each game, which is a nice touch. But basically this park gets a 10 because you’re in an authentic old-time baseball setting. There’s no match for the feel of a game at Wrigley or Fenway.
Total: 26
Chicago White Sox (US Cellular Field)
Personality: 2, the personality at US Cellular Field stinks. They basically don’t have a personality. This stadium is a real yawner. The only thing that the White Sox have are big pinwheels on top of the scoreboard. Although they’ve made some attempts to improve it over the last ten years, it’s still just a big dull and sterile stadium. They built this park just before Camden Yards started the trend of building new old-timey classic ballparks with lots of character. So the White Sox are stuck with a stadium that looks like it was built during the cookie-cutter era of ballparks.
History: 8, the White Sox have at least done a solid job on history, most of which has been added over the last few years. They have a home plate marker for old Comiskey Park in the parking lot, and they have a gift shop that also contains a mini-White Sox museum. But the best things they have are all of their statues in the outfield concourse. They have Charles Comiskey, Minnie Minoso, Carlton Fisk, Nellie Fox, Luis Aparicio, Billy Pierce, Harold Baines, and will have Frank Thomas on July 31st of this year. These are all recent additions. And like most teams, you can see their pennants and retired numbers.
Game Experience: 1, not only is the ballpark lousy, but if you have seats to the middle or upper decks, you aren’t even allowed to walk around the lower level concourses. That is a stupid rule, especially since the stadium stinks, anyways.
Total: 11
Colorado Rockies (Coors Field)
Personality: 8, Coors Field is a very nice stadium. They have a nice entrance at home plate and you can also see the Rocky Mountains from inside the ballpark.
History: 3, the Rockies really don’t have much history at all in their stadium, and that is probably because they haven’t been around very long. They do have a statue of Branch Rickey outside the ballpark, but I don’t know why, as he has nothing to do with the Rockies.
Game Experience: 7, Coors Field does not have a big scoreboard, and that really detracts, but other than that, I have no problems with it.
Total: 18
Detroit Tigers (Comerica Park)
Personality: 7, the Tigers ballpark is certainly not the best, but it does have a solid personality with Tigers on top of the scoreboard, a carousel, and a ferris wheel.
History: 9, Comerica Park has plenty of history, with statues in center field representing the players whose numbers have been retired, including Ty Cobb, Hank Greenberg, Charlie Gehringer, Willie Horton, Al Kaline, and Hal Newhouser. They also have Tigers history all along the lower concourse.
Game Experience: 4, Comerica Park doesn’t have a good feel to it. There’s not any particular beef that I have with it, aside from their terrible scoreboard, but I just don’t like it.
Total: 20
Houston Astros (Minute Maid Park)
Personality: 9, Minute Maid Park has plenty of personality. The coolest thing there is the train above the left field seats that goes across the track whenever the Astros hit a home run. They also have a good kids play area, and a neat area on the field in center field where they have Crosley Field’s incline and a flag pole like Forbes Field on the field of play.
History: 8, while the Astros don’t have a museum, they still found ways to incorporate history. Outside of the ballpark, the Astros have a mini-field with statues of Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio, plaques from every playoff appearance, and other parts of Astros history. On the inside, they also have banners along a concourse with all of the Astros home run leaders. Also, the team’s pennants and retired numbers are displayed where they can be easily seen and read from just about anywhere in the stadium.
Game Experience: 9, the Astros park has a good feel to it. It is always in good weather, as they have a retractable roof (why don’t the Rangers have one?). The Astros’ park includes a fantastic club level, too. The open concourses on the lower level are great and allow you to see the game as you walk around. Also, just this year they added a very large scoreboard in center field called El Grande.
Total: 26
Rankings so Far:
1. Fenway Park (Boston Red Sox) – 29
2. Camden Yards at Oriole Park (Baltimore Orioles) – 27
3. Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs) – 26
3. Minute Maid Park (Houston Astros) – 26
5. Great American Ballpark (Cincinnati Reds) – 25
6. Turner Field (Atlanta Braves) – 24
7. Progressive Field (Cleveland Indians) – 21
8. Comerica Park (Detroit Tigers) – 20
9. Coors Field (Colorado Rockies) – 18
10. US Cellular Field (Chicago White Sox) – 11
Come back next week for my May All-Stars.
Chicago Cubs (Wrigley Field)
Personality: 10, Wrigley obviously has lots of personality, from its ivy walls to the big red board outside the ballpark. Wrigley also has a great old-fashioned scoreboard in center field. It was built in 1914 and this also adds personality to the park. The neighborhood feel of the whole Wrigleyville are adds to the personality as well.
History: 6, while the stadium is history itself, the Cubs haven’t put a whole lot of history into it. They have statues of Harry Caray and Ernie Banks outside the stadium. They also have pennants and retired numbers.
Game Experience: 10, it feels like you are watching the game a long time ago, as there is an old-time feel. They have a celebrity lead the singing of Take Me Out to the Ballgame each game, which is a nice touch. But basically this park gets a 10 because you’re in an authentic old-time baseball setting. There’s no match for the feel of a game at Wrigley or Fenway.
Total: 26
Chicago White Sox (US Cellular Field)
Personality: 2, the personality at US Cellular Field stinks. They basically don’t have a personality. This stadium is a real yawner. The only thing that the White Sox have are big pinwheels on top of the scoreboard. Although they’ve made some attempts to improve it over the last ten years, it’s still just a big dull and sterile stadium. They built this park just before Camden Yards started the trend of building new old-timey classic ballparks with lots of character. So the White Sox are stuck with a stadium that looks like it was built during the cookie-cutter era of ballparks.
History: 8, the White Sox have at least done a solid job on history, most of which has been added over the last few years. They have a home plate marker for old Comiskey Park in the parking lot, and they have a gift shop that also contains a mini-White Sox museum. But the best things they have are all of their statues in the outfield concourse. They have Charles Comiskey, Minnie Minoso, Carlton Fisk, Nellie Fox, Luis Aparicio, Billy Pierce, Harold Baines, and will have Frank Thomas on July 31st of this year. These are all recent additions. And like most teams, you can see their pennants and retired numbers.
Game Experience: 1, not only is the ballpark lousy, but if you have seats to the middle or upper decks, you aren’t even allowed to walk around the lower level concourses. That is a stupid rule, especially since the stadium stinks, anyways.
Total: 11
Colorado Rockies (Coors Field)
Personality: 8, Coors Field is a very nice stadium. They have a nice entrance at home plate and you can also see the Rocky Mountains from inside the ballpark.
History: 3, the Rockies really don’t have much history at all in their stadium, and that is probably because they haven’t been around very long. They do have a statue of Branch Rickey outside the ballpark, but I don’t know why, as he has nothing to do with the Rockies.
Game Experience: 7, Coors Field does not have a big scoreboard, and that really detracts, but other than that, I have no problems with it.
Total: 18
Detroit Tigers (Comerica Park)
Personality: 7, the Tigers ballpark is certainly not the best, but it does have a solid personality with Tigers on top of the scoreboard, a carousel, and a ferris wheel.
History: 9, Comerica Park has plenty of history, with statues in center field representing the players whose numbers have been retired, including Ty Cobb, Hank Greenberg, Charlie Gehringer, Willie Horton, Al Kaline, and Hal Newhouser. They also have Tigers history all along the lower concourse.
Game Experience: 4, Comerica Park doesn’t have a good feel to it. There’s not any particular beef that I have with it, aside from their terrible scoreboard, but I just don’t like it.
Total: 20
Houston Astros (Minute Maid Park)
Personality: 9, Minute Maid Park has plenty of personality. The coolest thing there is the train above the left field seats that goes across the track whenever the Astros hit a home run. They also have a good kids play area, and a neat area on the field in center field where they have Crosley Field’s incline and a flag pole like Forbes Field on the field of play.
History: 8, while the Astros don’t have a museum, they still found ways to incorporate history. Outside of the ballpark, the Astros have a mini-field with statues of Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio, plaques from every playoff appearance, and other parts of Astros history. On the inside, they also have banners along a concourse with all of the Astros home run leaders. Also, the team’s pennants and retired numbers are displayed where they can be easily seen and read from just about anywhere in the stadium.
Game Experience: 9, the Astros park has a good feel to it. It is always in good weather, as they have a retractable roof (why don’t the Rangers have one?). The Astros’ park includes a fantastic club level, too. The open concourses on the lower level are great and allow you to see the game as you walk around. Also, just this year they added a very large scoreboard in center field called El Grande.
Total: 26
Rankings so Far:
1. Fenway Park (Boston Red Sox) – 29
2. Camden Yards at Oriole Park (Baltimore Orioles) – 27
3. Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs) – 26
3. Minute Maid Park (Houston Astros) – 26
5. Great American Ballpark (Cincinnati Reds) – 25
6. Turner Field (Atlanta Braves) – 24
7. Progressive Field (Cleveland Indians) – 21
8. Comerica Park (Detroit Tigers) – 20
9. Coors Field (Colorado Rockies) – 18
10. US Cellular Field (Chicago White Sox) – 11
Come back next week for my May All-Stars.
Saturday, May 07, 2011
Ballpark Rankings Part 1
This week I will start my ballpark rankings. I will only rank the ballparks I have been, too (which is 25 of the 30 current ballparks), and the ballparks will be ranked by a point system. There will be three categories: personality, which is basically a ballpark’s signature features, history, and game experience. Each category will be rated from 1 to 10, with 10 being the best.
Atlanta Braves (Turner Field)
Personality: 6, the Braves did a pretty good job as far as giving their stadium some personality. The open concourses that they have always help the personality, and the Coca-Cola Sky Field is cool. You can also see downtown Atlanta from a lot of the seats. However, they don’t have any signature features that are special just to their park.
History: 10, the Braves have their history all over the place. They have a Braves museum inside the stadium, they have a plaza outside the stadium with statues and retired numbers, and they did a good job of displaying their banners for when they won the division, NL, or World Series, as the banners are legible.
Game Experience: 8, Turner Field is a great place to see a game. As far as I could tell, there is not a bad seat in the house and the atmosphere is good. I also like the tomahawk chop, as that is a purely Braves thing. The Braves also have a nice, big scoreboard and a really good sound system.
Overall Score: 24
Baltimore Orioles (Oriole Park at Camden Yards)
Personality: 10, the Orioles could not have done much better with the personality at their ballpark. The warehouse is great for the personality and the whole look and feel of the ballpark is fantastic. You can also see downtown Baltimore from inside the stadium.
History: 10, the Orioles did a very good job displaying history. One of my favorites is the fact that they have placed plaques on the ground marking every home run ball that has ever landed on Eutaw Street out in right field. There are probably about 100 of them out there, and it is very neat. Eutaw Street also has a Orioles Hall of Fame wall, with plaques for each member. They also have statues of the Orioles’ retired numbers just outside the ballpark, along with a statue of Babe Ruth (who was born in Baltimore). To top it off, there is the Sports Legends Museum just outside the ballpark, which contains the official Orioles Hall of Fame along with other Oriole exhibits. And a short distance from there is the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum, which you can find by following 60 baseballs that are set into the sidewalks.
Game Experience: 7, the Orioles stadium is a nice place to see a game, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not the best, either. Baltimore has a small scoreboard and if you sit at the bottom of the upper deck, you can hardly see because of all the bars in your way. Also, they do not have open concourses and that always hurts, because you can’t see the game as you walk around the concourse.
Overall Score: 27
Boston Red Sox (Fenway Park)
Personality: 10, Fenway is full of personality. They have the Green Monster, Pesky Pole, a very good all-around green color scheme which includes the advertisements, and, on top of that, it was built in 1912.
History: 9, the Red Sox did a good job of displaying their franchise’s history. They have statues outside the ballpark of Ted Williams (twice), Bobby Doerr, Johnny Pesky, and Dom DiMaggio. Also, they have a Hall of Fame with plaques of former Red Sox greats and do a great job of displaying all of their pennants, championships, etc.
Game Experience: 10, Fenway is a fantastic place to see a game. It doesn’t have many seats, so that makes it feel more intimate, and the fans and atmosphere are just great. They also have a nice new big scoreboard this year, and that helps, too.
Overall Score: 29
Cincinnati Reds (Great American Ballpark)
Personality: 8, the Reds really did a good job of giving their ballpark some personality. First off, they have it located right by the Ohio River. Unfortunately, they built it where you can only see the river from a very small number of seats. Also they have a boat out in center field, with smokestacks out in right-center. The smokestacks shoot fireworks when a Reds player hits a home run.
History: 10, the Reds have what is probably the best museum of any team right outside of their ballpark. It is very, very large, and is all about the Reds, including their official Hall of Fame. The Reds did a fantastic job with this, and are deserving of a 10 out of 10 with that museum. On top of that, the Reds have statues of Joe Nuxhall, Ernie Lombardi, Ted Kluszewski, and Frank Robinson outside the ballpark and have also put some of their history all along the concourses.
Game Experience: 7, the Reds have a nice big scoreboard and that is always a good thing for the game experience. They also have a very, very nice club level, which is air conditioned and is much nicer than the Rangers’.
Overall Score: 25
Cleveland Indians (Progressive Field)
Personality: 5, the Indians don’t necessarily have a bunch of signature features. They have a big wall out in left field, and you can see downtown from many of the seats.
History: 9, the Indians recently added a great new feature to their ballpark. They added Heritage Park in 2007, which is located out in center field and has plaques of all the former Cleveland greats and other bits of Cleveland baseball history. There’s also a statue of Bob Feller outside the gates and the Indians do a nice job of displaying their pennants.
Game Experience: 7, there is nothing wrong with the game experience at an Indians game, but there’s nothing special, either. The Indians also have a nice, big, new scoreboard in left field, and there are open concourses, which always help the experience as you don’t have to miss any of the game while ordering food.
Overall Score: 21
Rankings so Far:
1. Fenway Park (Boston Red Sox) – 29
2. Camden Yards at Oriole Park (Baltimore Orioles) – 27
3. Great American Ballpark (Cincinnati Reds) – 25
4. Turner Field (Atlanta Braves) – 24
5. Progressive Field (Cleveland Indians) – 21
Come back next week for my second edition of my ballpark rankings.
Atlanta Braves (Turner Field)
Personality: 6, the Braves did a pretty good job as far as giving their stadium some personality. The open concourses that they have always help the personality, and the Coca-Cola Sky Field is cool. You can also see downtown Atlanta from a lot of the seats. However, they don’t have any signature features that are special just to their park.
History: 10, the Braves have their history all over the place. They have a Braves museum inside the stadium, they have a plaza outside the stadium with statues and retired numbers, and they did a good job of displaying their banners for when they won the division, NL, or World Series, as the banners are legible.
Game Experience: 8, Turner Field is a great place to see a game. As far as I could tell, there is not a bad seat in the house and the atmosphere is good. I also like the tomahawk chop, as that is a purely Braves thing. The Braves also have a nice, big scoreboard and a really good sound system.
Overall Score: 24
Baltimore Orioles (Oriole Park at Camden Yards)
Personality: 10, the Orioles could not have done much better with the personality at their ballpark. The warehouse is great for the personality and the whole look and feel of the ballpark is fantastic. You can also see downtown Baltimore from inside the stadium.
History: 10, the Orioles did a very good job displaying history. One of my favorites is the fact that they have placed plaques on the ground marking every home run ball that has ever landed on Eutaw Street out in right field. There are probably about 100 of them out there, and it is very neat. Eutaw Street also has a Orioles Hall of Fame wall, with plaques for each member. They also have statues of the Orioles’ retired numbers just outside the ballpark, along with a statue of Babe Ruth (who was born in Baltimore). To top it off, there is the Sports Legends Museum just outside the ballpark, which contains the official Orioles Hall of Fame along with other Oriole exhibits. And a short distance from there is the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum, which you can find by following 60 baseballs that are set into the sidewalks.
Game Experience: 7, the Orioles stadium is a nice place to see a game, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not the best, either. Baltimore has a small scoreboard and if you sit at the bottom of the upper deck, you can hardly see because of all the bars in your way. Also, they do not have open concourses and that always hurts, because you can’t see the game as you walk around the concourse.
Overall Score: 27
Boston Red Sox (Fenway Park)
Personality: 10, Fenway is full of personality. They have the Green Monster, Pesky Pole, a very good all-around green color scheme which includes the advertisements, and, on top of that, it was built in 1912.
History: 9, the Red Sox did a good job of displaying their franchise’s history. They have statues outside the ballpark of Ted Williams (twice), Bobby Doerr, Johnny Pesky, and Dom DiMaggio. Also, they have a Hall of Fame with plaques of former Red Sox greats and do a great job of displaying all of their pennants, championships, etc.
Game Experience: 10, Fenway is a fantastic place to see a game. It doesn’t have many seats, so that makes it feel more intimate, and the fans and atmosphere are just great. They also have a nice new big scoreboard this year, and that helps, too.
Overall Score: 29
Cincinnati Reds (Great American Ballpark)
Personality: 8, the Reds really did a good job of giving their ballpark some personality. First off, they have it located right by the Ohio River. Unfortunately, they built it where you can only see the river from a very small number of seats. Also they have a boat out in center field, with smokestacks out in right-center. The smokestacks shoot fireworks when a Reds player hits a home run.
History: 10, the Reds have what is probably the best museum of any team right outside of their ballpark. It is very, very large, and is all about the Reds, including their official Hall of Fame. The Reds did a fantastic job with this, and are deserving of a 10 out of 10 with that museum. On top of that, the Reds have statues of Joe Nuxhall, Ernie Lombardi, Ted Kluszewski, and Frank Robinson outside the ballpark and have also put some of their history all along the concourses.
Game Experience: 7, the Reds have a nice big scoreboard and that is always a good thing for the game experience. They also have a very, very nice club level, which is air conditioned and is much nicer than the Rangers’.
Overall Score: 25
Cleveland Indians (Progressive Field)
Personality: 5, the Indians don’t necessarily have a bunch of signature features. They have a big wall out in left field, and you can see downtown from many of the seats.
History: 9, the Indians recently added a great new feature to their ballpark. They added Heritage Park in 2007, which is located out in center field and has plaques of all the former Cleveland greats and other bits of Cleveland baseball history. There’s also a statue of Bob Feller outside the gates and the Indians do a nice job of displaying their pennants.
Game Experience: 7, there is nothing wrong with the game experience at an Indians game, but there’s nothing special, either. The Indians also have a nice, big, new scoreboard in left field, and there are open concourses, which always help the experience as you don’t have to miss any of the game while ordering food.
Overall Score: 21
Rankings so Far:
1. Fenway Park (Boston Red Sox) – 29
2. Camden Yards at Oriole Park (Baltimore Orioles) – 27
3. Great American Ballpark (Cincinnati Reds) – 25
4. Turner Field (Atlanta Braves) – 24
5. Progressive Field (Cleveland Indians) – 21
Come back next week for my second edition of my ballpark rankings.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
April Awards
This week I will give my April Awards. The awards are as if the season ended today.
Rangers:
MVP: Adrian Beltre, TEX (.263 AVG, 7 HR, 21 RBI) – Adrian leads the team in both home runs and RBIs, and his batting average is just good enough to allow him to be team MVP.
Runner-up: Michael Young, TEX (.340 AVG, 0 HR, 17 RBI)
Cy Young: Alexi Ogando, TEX (3-0, 2.30 ERA, 21 K) – Alexi is tied for the team lead in wins, and has the best ERA of any Rangers starter, making him the Rangers Cy Young for the month of April.
Runner-up: CJ Wilson, TEX (3-1, 3.35 ERA, 34 K)
Rookie of the Year: Pedro Strop, TEX (1.17 ERA, 9 K, 7.2 IP) – As there are no rookies that have had an at-bat, and only two rookies have pitched 5 innings or more (one of them with a 6.75 ERA), this award became more a process of elimination than anything else.
Runner-up: Cody Eppley, TEX (1-0, 1.93 ERA, 4.2 IP)
AL:
MVP: Robinson Cano, NYY (.319 AVG, 8 HR, 21 RBI) – Cano is tenth in batting average in the American League, second in home runs, and tied for second in RBIs, and, while he may not be the best at anything so far, he is the best all-around player to this point.
Runner-up: Jose Bautista, TOR (.372 AVG, 9 HR, 15 RBI)
Cy Young: Jered Weaver, LAA (6-0, 0.99 ERA, 49 K) – Weaver is a no-brainer. He leads the majors in wins, ERA, strikeouts, and innings pitched, all outright. This guy is ridiculous.
Runner-up: Dan Haren, LAA (4-1, 1.23 ERA, 38 K)
Rookie of the Year: Michael Pineda, SEA (4-1, 2.01 ERA, 30 K) – Pineda has four wins in one month while pitching for the Mariners. That automatically means you get some sort of award, and his 2.01 ERA doesn’t hurt, either.
Runner-up: Zach Britton, BAL (4-1, 2.84 ERA, 19 K)
Manager of the Year: Manny Acta, CLE (17-8, 1st place) – The Indians are a very, very bad team, but right now Manny Acta has gotten the Indians to the best record in the AL.
Runner-up: Joe Maddon, TB (15-12, 2nd place)
NL:
MVP: Lance Berkman, STL (.402 AVG, 8 HR, 22 RBI) – As much as it pains me to say it, Lance Berkman is having a decent year. Okay, he’s having a great year, with an average above .400 and great power numbers.
Runner-up: Ryan Braun, MIL (.362 AVG, 10 HR, 23 RBI)
Cy Young: Josh Johnson, FLA (3-0, 1.06 ERA, 33 K) – Like Jered Weaver in the AL, Josh Johnson is an obvious choice for NL Cy Young at this point. He leads the league in ERA by almost 0.60, which is a huge margin, and is undefeated.
Runner-up: Kyle Lohse, STL (4-1, 1.64 ERA, 24 K)
Rookie of the Year: Darwin Barney, CHC (.321 AVG, 1 HR, 13 RBI) – Barney has had the best season among all National League rookies, and not just because of his name, although I’m sure it plays a part in it. Barney (I love typing his name) is hitting over .300 with a good amount of RBIs.
Runner-up: Craig Kimbrel, ATL (6 SV, 1.59 ERA, 14 K)
Manager of the Year: Edwin Rodriguez, FLA (16-8, 2nd place) – Edwin has the Marlins only one game out of first place and playing above expectations.
Runner-up: Jim Tracy, COL (16-8, 1st place)
Come back next week for part one of my ballpark rankings.
Rangers:
MVP: Adrian Beltre, TEX (.263 AVG, 7 HR, 21 RBI) – Adrian leads the team in both home runs and RBIs, and his batting average is just good enough to allow him to be team MVP.
Runner-up: Michael Young, TEX (.340 AVG, 0 HR, 17 RBI)
Cy Young: Alexi Ogando, TEX (3-0, 2.30 ERA, 21 K) – Alexi is tied for the team lead in wins, and has the best ERA of any Rangers starter, making him the Rangers Cy Young for the month of April.
Runner-up: CJ Wilson, TEX (3-1, 3.35 ERA, 34 K)
Rookie of the Year: Pedro Strop, TEX (1.17 ERA, 9 K, 7.2 IP) – As there are no rookies that have had an at-bat, and only two rookies have pitched 5 innings or more (one of them with a 6.75 ERA), this award became more a process of elimination than anything else.
Runner-up: Cody Eppley, TEX (1-0, 1.93 ERA, 4.2 IP)
AL:
MVP: Robinson Cano, NYY (.319 AVG, 8 HR, 21 RBI) – Cano is tenth in batting average in the American League, second in home runs, and tied for second in RBIs, and, while he may not be the best at anything so far, he is the best all-around player to this point.
Runner-up: Jose Bautista, TOR (.372 AVG, 9 HR, 15 RBI)
Cy Young: Jered Weaver, LAA (6-0, 0.99 ERA, 49 K) – Weaver is a no-brainer. He leads the majors in wins, ERA, strikeouts, and innings pitched, all outright. This guy is ridiculous.
Runner-up: Dan Haren, LAA (4-1, 1.23 ERA, 38 K)
Rookie of the Year: Michael Pineda, SEA (4-1, 2.01 ERA, 30 K) – Pineda has four wins in one month while pitching for the Mariners. That automatically means you get some sort of award, and his 2.01 ERA doesn’t hurt, either.
Runner-up: Zach Britton, BAL (4-1, 2.84 ERA, 19 K)
Manager of the Year: Manny Acta, CLE (17-8, 1st place) – The Indians are a very, very bad team, but right now Manny Acta has gotten the Indians to the best record in the AL.
Runner-up: Joe Maddon, TB (15-12, 2nd place)
NL:
MVP: Lance Berkman, STL (.402 AVG, 8 HR, 22 RBI) – As much as it pains me to say it, Lance Berkman is having a decent year. Okay, he’s having a great year, with an average above .400 and great power numbers.
Runner-up: Ryan Braun, MIL (.362 AVG, 10 HR, 23 RBI)
Cy Young: Josh Johnson, FLA (3-0, 1.06 ERA, 33 K) – Like Jered Weaver in the AL, Josh Johnson is an obvious choice for NL Cy Young at this point. He leads the league in ERA by almost 0.60, which is a huge margin, and is undefeated.
Runner-up: Kyle Lohse, STL (4-1, 1.64 ERA, 24 K)
Rookie of the Year: Darwin Barney, CHC (.321 AVG, 1 HR, 13 RBI) – Barney has had the best season among all National League rookies, and not just because of his name, although I’m sure it plays a part in it. Barney (I love typing his name) is hitting over .300 with a good amount of RBIs.
Runner-up: Craig Kimbrel, ATL (6 SV, 1.59 ERA, 14 K)
Manager of the Year: Edwin Rodriguez, FLA (16-8, 2nd place) – Edwin has the Marlins only one game out of first place and playing above expectations.
Runner-up: Jim Tracy, COL (16-8, 1st place)
Come back next week for part one of my ballpark rankings.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
April All-Stars
This week I will give my All-Star teams for the season to date.
AL:
Starters:
Catcher: Russell Martin, NYY (.314 AVG, 4 HR, 11 RBI) – Russell leads all catchers with his 4 home runs and is tied for the lead with 11 RBIs. He also has a batting average above .300, so it was a no-brainer to have him as the starting catcher.
First Base: Paul Konerko, CWS (.329 AVG, 5 HR, 16 RBI) – Paul’s power numbers are one of the tops at first base, as he is tied for the position lead in RBIs and is tied for 2nd in home runs. His .329 batting average doesn’t hurt, either, and that is what makes him deserving all-around of a starting spot.
Second Base: Robinson Cano, NYY (.303 AVG, 4 HR, 13 RBI) – While Brian Roberts (also an All-Star) has more RBIs than Cano, Robinson has more home runs and a much higher batting average than Roberts, and therefore gets the edge.
Third Base: Alex Rodriguez, NYY (.366 AVG, 4 HR, 10 RBI) – A-Fraud has solid power numbers, but his batting average puts him above all other AL third basemen. A .366 batting average is fantastic, and definitely makes him deserving of the starting 3B spot.
Shortstop: Jed Lowrie, BOS (.426 AVG, 3 HR, 12 RBI) – While Jed will not hit .400 for the year, it is still impressive that he has done it three weeks into the season, and he also has good power numbers, especially for a shortstop.
Outfield: Jeff Francoeur, KC (.329 AVG, 3 HR, 17 RBI) – Jeff leads all American League outfielders in RBIs, has hit a decent amount of home runs, and has a batting average well over .300 as well.
Outfield: Alex Gordon, KC (.361 AVG, 1 HR, 14 RBI) – Gordon’s average is fantastic at .361 and is the second Royals outfielder to earn a starting position. Also, despite his one home run, he has a high RBI total at 14.
Outfield: Carlos Quentin, CWS (.320 AVG, 6 HR, 16 RBI) – Carlos Quentin leads all American League outfielders with 6 home runs and has a good number of RBIs to go with it. He also has a very high batting average.
Designated Hitter: Travis Hafner, CLE (.344 AVG, 4 HR, 10 RBI) – Hafner is having a great April and if he can keep it up, he would be Comeback Player of the Year, no question. He is hitting .344, and has very good power numbers.
Pitcher: Jered Weaver, LAA (5-0, 1.23 ERA, 39 K) – This guy is amazing. He leads the majors in wins and strikeouts and leads the American League in ERA. There is no doubt that this guy should be the starting pitcher at this point.
Reserves:
C: Alex Avila, DET (.292 AVG, 3 HR, 11 RBI)
1B: Miguel Cabrera, DET (.333 AVG, 5 HR, 14 RBI)
Mitch Moreland, TEX (.314 AVG, 2 HR, 8 RBI)
2B: Brian Roberts, BAL (.280 AVG, 3 HR, 14 RBI)
Dustin Pedroia, BOS (.314 AVG, 2 HR, 6 RBI)
3B: Adrian Beltre, TEX (.263 AVG, 6 HR, 18 RBI)
Wilson Betemit, KC (.383 AVG, 1 HR, 11 RBI)
Alberto Callaspo, LAA (.303 AVG, 2 HR, 7 RBI)
SS: Asdrubal Cabrera, CLE (.269 AVG, 4 HR, 14 RBI)
Maicer Izturis, LAA (.355 AVG, 2 HR, 9 RBI)
OF: Brandon Boesch, DET (.339 AVG, 1 HR, 12 RBI)
Jose Bautista, TOR (.339 AVG, 5 HR, 8 RBI)
Sam Fuld, TB (.366 AVG, 1 HR, 8 RBI)
DH: Billy Butler, KC (.352 AVG, 2 HR, 9 RBI)
Michael Young, TEX (.359 AVG, 0 HR, 11 RBI)
SP: Dan Haren, LAA (4-1, 1.46 ERA, 33 K)
Justin Masterson, CLE (4-0, 1.71 ERA, 15 K)
Matt Harrison, TEX (3-1, 1.88 ERA, 19 K)
Josh Beckett, BOS (2-1, 1.93 ERA, 28 K)
Gio Gonzalez, OAK (2-1, 1.80 ERA, 23 K)
Michael Pineda, SEA (3-1, 1.78 ERA, 21 K)
Scott Baker, MIN (1-2, 3.24 ERA, 24 K)
RP: Mariano Rivera, NYY (7 SV, 1.93 ERA, 7 K)
Chris Perez, CLE (6 SV, 2.25 ERA, 4 K)
Neftali Feliz, TEX (5 SV, 1.08 ERA, 6 K)
Jose Valverde, DET (4 SV, 1.04 ERA, 9 K)
Jonathon Papelbon, BOS (5 SV, 2.16 ERA, 11 K)
Players per Team:
Texas Rangers – 5
Boston Red Sox – 4 (1 starter)
Cleveland Indians – 4 (1 starter)
Detroit Tigers – 4
Kansas City Royals – 4 (2 starters)
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – 4 (1 starter)
New York Yankees – 4 (3 starters)
Chicago White Sox – 2 (2 starters)
Baltimore Orioles – 1
Minnesota Twins – 1
Oakland Athletics – 1
Seattle Mariners – 1
Tampa Bay Rays – 1
Toronto Blue Jays – 1
NL:
Starters:
Catcher: Ramon Hernandez, CIN (.325 AVG, 2 HR, 9 RBI) – Ramon has one of the best batting averages and some of the best power numbers among all NL catchers, and has had the best all-around season among that group.
First Base: Joey Votto, CIN (.394 AVG, 3 HR, 10 RBI, .500 OBP) – Joey has had an incredible season, even though his power numbers aren’t outstanding. He has an OBP of .500 and an average near .400.
Second Base: Brandon Phillips, CIN (.354 AVG, 2 HR, 7 RBI) – Phillips missed a week, but his stats are still good enough to make him the best second baseman so far in the National League. He has decent power numbers for a second baseman, and an outstanding average.
Third Base: Placido Polanco, PHI (.359 AVG, 2 HR, 15 RBI) – Polanco has a lot of RBIs and a really high batting average. While he may not have the best number in the home run column, he still has more RBIs than any other third baseman, and when it really comes down to it, RBIs are more important than HRs.
Shortstop: Troy Tulowitzki, COL (.329 AVG, 7 HR, 14 RBI) – Troy has started off the season hot, and leads all of baseball in home runs. That, especially at the shortstop position, pretty much guarantees a spot on the starting squad.
Outfield: Lance Berkman, STL (.349 AVG, 6 HR, 15 RBI) – Lance said that last year the Rangers caught lightning in a bottle, but really, that’s what he’s done the first month of the season. I don’t think he will end up being an All-Star, and I think his final stats won’t be too good, but his April is good enough to make him a starting outfielder at this point.
Outfield: Ryan Braun, MIL (.382 AVG, 6 HR, 15 RBI) – Braun has identical power numbers with Lance Berkman, but a better average, making his season better than Lance’s (take that, Rangers hater!). There is no doubt in my mind that he deserved this starting spot.
Outfield: Matt Kemp, LAD (.403 AVG, 4 HR, 15 RBI, 8 SB) – While Berkman and Braun have had good years, Kemp has probably had the best, with a batting average over .400, and the same number of RBIs as both of the other starting outfielders with 15. And while he may have less homers than both of them, he does have 8 stolen bases to his credit, while the others have a total of…..0.
Designated Hitter: Prince Fielder, MIL (.352 AVG, 3 HR, 19 RBI) – Prince leads all of baseball in RBIs with 19, but is still not having the best year among National League first baseman, as Prince’s average and OBP just don’t compare to that of Joey Votto.
Pitcher: Josh Johnson, FLA (3-0, 1.00 ERA, 27 K) – Josh Johnson has had four starts so far this season, and has almost thrown a no-hitter in three of them. The dude is amazing, and has the best ERA in all of baseball at 1.00.
Reserves
C: Brian McCann, ATL (.319 AVG, 2 HR, 10 RBI)
Nick Hundley, SD (.317 AVG, 3 HR, 9 RBI)
1B: Ryan Howard, PHI (.278 AVG, 3 HR, 17 RBI)
Ike Davis, NYM (.290 AVG, 3 HR, 16 RBI)
2B: Danny Espinosa, WAS (.273 AVG, 2 HR, 15 RBI)
Jeff Baker, CHC (.355 AVG, 1 HR, 6 RBI)
3B: Pablo Sandoval, SF (.328 AVG, 5 HR, 13 RBI)
Ryan Roberts, ARI (.349 AVG, 4 HR, 11 RBI)
David Freese, STL (.339 AVG, 2 HR, 10 RBI)
SS: Starlin Castro, CHC (.369 AVG, 1 HR, 7 RBI)
OF: Matt Holliday, STL (.447 AVG, 2 HR, 11 RBI)
Logan Morrison, FLA (.327 AVG, 4 HR, 11 RBI)
Andre Ethier, LAD (.388 AVG, 2 HR, 10 RBI)
Drew Stubbs, CIN (.284 AVG, 4 HR, 11 RBI, 6 SB)
SP: Aaron Harang, SD (4-0, 1.88 ERA, 21 K)
Jaime Garcia, STL (3-0, 1.44 ERA, 24 K)
Kevin Correia, PIT (3-1, 2.48 ERA, 12 K)
Roy Oswalt, PHI (3-0, 1.88 ERA, 21 K)
Shaun Marcum, MIL (2-1, 1.90 ERA, 20 K)
Tim Lincecum, SF (2-1, 1.67 ERA, 32 K)
Brett Myers, HOU (1-0, 2.39 ERA, 14 K)
RP: Logan Ondrusek, CIN (2-1, 0.77 ERA, 13 K)
Heath Bell, SD (5 SV, 1.13 ERA, 5 K)
Jose Contreras, PHI (5 SV, 0.00 ERA, 9 K)
Craig Kimbrel, ATL (5 SV, 1.00 ERA, 14 K)
JJ Putz, ARI (5 SV, 1.13 ERA, 10 K)
Players per Team:
Cincinnati Reds – 5 (3 starters)
St. Louis Cardinals – 5 (1 starter)
Philadelphia Phillies – 4 (1 starter)
Milwaukee Brewers – 3 (2 starters)
San Diego Padres – 3
Arizona Diamondbacks – 2
Atlanta Braves – 2
Chicago Cubs – 2
Florida Marlins – 2 (1 starter)
Los Angeles Dodgers – 2 (1 starter)
San Francisco Giants – 2
Colorado Rockies – 1 (1 starter)
Houston Astros – 1
New York Mets – 1
Pittsburgh Pirates – 1
Washington Nationals – 1
Come back next week for my April Awards.
AL:
Starters:
Catcher: Russell Martin, NYY (.314 AVG, 4 HR, 11 RBI) – Russell leads all catchers with his 4 home runs and is tied for the lead with 11 RBIs. He also has a batting average above .300, so it was a no-brainer to have him as the starting catcher.
First Base: Paul Konerko, CWS (.329 AVG, 5 HR, 16 RBI) – Paul’s power numbers are one of the tops at first base, as he is tied for the position lead in RBIs and is tied for 2nd in home runs. His .329 batting average doesn’t hurt, either, and that is what makes him deserving all-around of a starting spot.
Second Base: Robinson Cano, NYY (.303 AVG, 4 HR, 13 RBI) – While Brian Roberts (also an All-Star) has more RBIs than Cano, Robinson has more home runs and a much higher batting average than Roberts, and therefore gets the edge.
Third Base: Alex Rodriguez, NYY (.366 AVG, 4 HR, 10 RBI) – A-Fraud has solid power numbers, but his batting average puts him above all other AL third basemen. A .366 batting average is fantastic, and definitely makes him deserving of the starting 3B spot.
Shortstop: Jed Lowrie, BOS (.426 AVG, 3 HR, 12 RBI) – While Jed will not hit .400 for the year, it is still impressive that he has done it three weeks into the season, and he also has good power numbers, especially for a shortstop.
Outfield: Jeff Francoeur, KC (.329 AVG, 3 HR, 17 RBI) – Jeff leads all American League outfielders in RBIs, has hit a decent amount of home runs, and has a batting average well over .300 as well.
Outfield: Alex Gordon, KC (.361 AVG, 1 HR, 14 RBI) – Gordon’s average is fantastic at .361 and is the second Royals outfielder to earn a starting position. Also, despite his one home run, he has a high RBI total at 14.
Outfield: Carlos Quentin, CWS (.320 AVG, 6 HR, 16 RBI) – Carlos Quentin leads all American League outfielders with 6 home runs and has a good number of RBIs to go with it. He also has a very high batting average.
Designated Hitter: Travis Hafner, CLE (.344 AVG, 4 HR, 10 RBI) – Hafner is having a great April and if he can keep it up, he would be Comeback Player of the Year, no question. He is hitting .344, and has very good power numbers.
Pitcher: Jered Weaver, LAA (5-0, 1.23 ERA, 39 K) – This guy is amazing. He leads the majors in wins and strikeouts and leads the American League in ERA. There is no doubt that this guy should be the starting pitcher at this point.
Reserves:
C: Alex Avila, DET (.292 AVG, 3 HR, 11 RBI)
1B: Miguel Cabrera, DET (.333 AVG, 5 HR, 14 RBI)
Mitch Moreland, TEX (.314 AVG, 2 HR, 8 RBI)
2B: Brian Roberts, BAL (.280 AVG, 3 HR, 14 RBI)
Dustin Pedroia, BOS (.314 AVG, 2 HR, 6 RBI)
3B: Adrian Beltre, TEX (.263 AVG, 6 HR, 18 RBI)
Wilson Betemit, KC (.383 AVG, 1 HR, 11 RBI)
Alberto Callaspo, LAA (.303 AVG, 2 HR, 7 RBI)
SS: Asdrubal Cabrera, CLE (.269 AVG, 4 HR, 14 RBI)
Maicer Izturis, LAA (.355 AVG, 2 HR, 9 RBI)
OF: Brandon Boesch, DET (.339 AVG, 1 HR, 12 RBI)
Jose Bautista, TOR (.339 AVG, 5 HR, 8 RBI)
Sam Fuld, TB (.366 AVG, 1 HR, 8 RBI)
DH: Billy Butler, KC (.352 AVG, 2 HR, 9 RBI)
Michael Young, TEX (.359 AVG, 0 HR, 11 RBI)
SP: Dan Haren, LAA (4-1, 1.46 ERA, 33 K)
Justin Masterson, CLE (4-0, 1.71 ERA, 15 K)
Matt Harrison, TEX (3-1, 1.88 ERA, 19 K)
Josh Beckett, BOS (2-1, 1.93 ERA, 28 K)
Gio Gonzalez, OAK (2-1, 1.80 ERA, 23 K)
Michael Pineda, SEA (3-1, 1.78 ERA, 21 K)
Scott Baker, MIN (1-2, 3.24 ERA, 24 K)
RP: Mariano Rivera, NYY (7 SV, 1.93 ERA, 7 K)
Chris Perez, CLE (6 SV, 2.25 ERA, 4 K)
Neftali Feliz, TEX (5 SV, 1.08 ERA, 6 K)
Jose Valverde, DET (4 SV, 1.04 ERA, 9 K)
Jonathon Papelbon, BOS (5 SV, 2.16 ERA, 11 K)
Players per Team:
Texas Rangers – 5
Boston Red Sox – 4 (1 starter)
Cleveland Indians – 4 (1 starter)
Detroit Tigers – 4
Kansas City Royals – 4 (2 starters)
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – 4 (1 starter)
New York Yankees – 4 (3 starters)
Chicago White Sox – 2 (2 starters)
Baltimore Orioles – 1
Minnesota Twins – 1
Oakland Athletics – 1
Seattle Mariners – 1
Tampa Bay Rays – 1
Toronto Blue Jays – 1
NL:
Starters:
Catcher: Ramon Hernandez, CIN (.325 AVG, 2 HR, 9 RBI) – Ramon has one of the best batting averages and some of the best power numbers among all NL catchers, and has had the best all-around season among that group.
First Base: Joey Votto, CIN (.394 AVG, 3 HR, 10 RBI, .500 OBP) – Joey has had an incredible season, even though his power numbers aren’t outstanding. He has an OBP of .500 and an average near .400.
Second Base: Brandon Phillips, CIN (.354 AVG, 2 HR, 7 RBI) – Phillips missed a week, but his stats are still good enough to make him the best second baseman so far in the National League. He has decent power numbers for a second baseman, and an outstanding average.
Third Base: Placido Polanco, PHI (.359 AVG, 2 HR, 15 RBI) – Polanco has a lot of RBIs and a really high batting average. While he may not have the best number in the home run column, he still has more RBIs than any other third baseman, and when it really comes down to it, RBIs are more important than HRs.
Shortstop: Troy Tulowitzki, COL (.329 AVG, 7 HR, 14 RBI) – Troy has started off the season hot, and leads all of baseball in home runs. That, especially at the shortstop position, pretty much guarantees a spot on the starting squad.
Outfield: Lance Berkman, STL (.349 AVG, 6 HR, 15 RBI) – Lance said that last year the Rangers caught lightning in a bottle, but really, that’s what he’s done the first month of the season. I don’t think he will end up being an All-Star, and I think his final stats won’t be too good, but his April is good enough to make him a starting outfielder at this point.
Outfield: Ryan Braun, MIL (.382 AVG, 6 HR, 15 RBI) – Braun has identical power numbers with Lance Berkman, but a better average, making his season better than Lance’s (take that, Rangers hater!). There is no doubt in my mind that he deserved this starting spot.
Outfield: Matt Kemp, LAD (.403 AVG, 4 HR, 15 RBI, 8 SB) – While Berkman and Braun have had good years, Kemp has probably had the best, with a batting average over .400, and the same number of RBIs as both of the other starting outfielders with 15. And while he may have less homers than both of them, he does have 8 stolen bases to his credit, while the others have a total of…..0.
Designated Hitter: Prince Fielder, MIL (.352 AVG, 3 HR, 19 RBI) – Prince leads all of baseball in RBIs with 19, but is still not having the best year among National League first baseman, as Prince’s average and OBP just don’t compare to that of Joey Votto.
Pitcher: Josh Johnson, FLA (3-0, 1.00 ERA, 27 K) – Josh Johnson has had four starts so far this season, and has almost thrown a no-hitter in three of them. The dude is amazing, and has the best ERA in all of baseball at 1.00.
Reserves
C: Brian McCann, ATL (.319 AVG, 2 HR, 10 RBI)
Nick Hundley, SD (.317 AVG, 3 HR, 9 RBI)
1B: Ryan Howard, PHI (.278 AVG, 3 HR, 17 RBI)
Ike Davis, NYM (.290 AVG, 3 HR, 16 RBI)
2B: Danny Espinosa, WAS (.273 AVG, 2 HR, 15 RBI)
Jeff Baker, CHC (.355 AVG, 1 HR, 6 RBI)
3B: Pablo Sandoval, SF (.328 AVG, 5 HR, 13 RBI)
Ryan Roberts, ARI (.349 AVG, 4 HR, 11 RBI)
David Freese, STL (.339 AVG, 2 HR, 10 RBI)
SS: Starlin Castro, CHC (.369 AVG, 1 HR, 7 RBI)
OF: Matt Holliday, STL (.447 AVG, 2 HR, 11 RBI)
Logan Morrison, FLA (.327 AVG, 4 HR, 11 RBI)
Andre Ethier, LAD (.388 AVG, 2 HR, 10 RBI)
Drew Stubbs, CIN (.284 AVG, 4 HR, 11 RBI, 6 SB)
SP: Aaron Harang, SD (4-0, 1.88 ERA, 21 K)
Jaime Garcia, STL (3-0, 1.44 ERA, 24 K)
Kevin Correia, PIT (3-1, 2.48 ERA, 12 K)
Roy Oswalt, PHI (3-0, 1.88 ERA, 21 K)
Shaun Marcum, MIL (2-1, 1.90 ERA, 20 K)
Tim Lincecum, SF (2-1, 1.67 ERA, 32 K)
Brett Myers, HOU (1-0, 2.39 ERA, 14 K)
RP: Logan Ondrusek, CIN (2-1, 0.77 ERA, 13 K)
Heath Bell, SD (5 SV, 1.13 ERA, 5 K)
Jose Contreras, PHI (5 SV, 0.00 ERA, 9 K)
Craig Kimbrel, ATL (5 SV, 1.00 ERA, 14 K)
JJ Putz, ARI (5 SV, 1.13 ERA, 10 K)
Players per Team:
Cincinnati Reds – 5 (3 starters)
St. Louis Cardinals – 5 (1 starter)
Philadelphia Phillies – 4 (1 starter)
Milwaukee Brewers – 3 (2 starters)
San Diego Padres – 3
Arizona Diamondbacks – 2
Atlanta Braves – 2
Chicago Cubs – 2
Florida Marlins – 2 (1 starter)
Los Angeles Dodgers – 2 (1 starter)
San Francisco Giants – 2
Colorado Rockies – 1 (1 starter)
Houston Astros – 1
New York Mets – 1
Pittsburgh Pirates – 1
Washington Nationals – 1
Come back next week for my April Awards.
Saturday, April 09, 2011
Elvis Andrus Interview
Before the season started, I was able to conduct a brief interview with Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus.
Me: Is there anything specific you’ve been working on in the off-season and, if so, what is it?
Elvis: My body. I want to be in shape the whole season.
Me: What is the biggest adjustment you had to make when you started facing major-league pitchers?
Elvis: Trying to swing at strikes and be ready.
Me: Out of all the minor league stadiums you’ve played in, what was your favorite and why?
Elvis: Myrtle Beach because it’s pretty all around.
Me: What ballpark is your favorite to play in throughout the majors and why (not including the Rangers)?
Elvis: Fenway Park for the history of the ballpark.
Me: What were your favorite parts of the All-Star game and the activities around the game last year?
Elvis: I think the red carpet. You felt like a movie star (laughs).
Me: In 2009, when you were named to the Sally League All-Star team, were you happy to be on the team, or would you rather have had the days off?
Elvis: You’re always happy when you get the call for an All-Star game.
Me: Which Futures Game did you enjoy more, 2007 or 2008, and why?
Elvis: 2008 because it was the last year of the old Yankee Stadium.
Me: Do you think being so young made it harder or easier to adjust to major league life?
Elvis: It depends. For me, it was easy because all my teammates and family helped me out every day.
Me: What is the Arizona Fall League like? Are there many fans? What’s the overall experience like?
Elvis: It’s a great league to grow as a player. Nope, there's no fans and the whole experience is great.
Me: Who are the three toughest pitchers you’ve faced and why?
Elvis: Felix Hernandez, Tim Lincecum and Erik Bedard, because they’re tough.
Me: Who are your three favorite teammates since you joined the Rangers organization and why?
Elvis: Ian (Kinsler), Michael (Young) and Nelson (Cruz) because they helped me out every day and they’re always there for me.
Me: What adjustments did you make in 2007 after you were traded, as you hit .244 before the trade, and .300 after it?
Elvis: I think the desire to play soon in the bigs.
Me: What’s been the best game so far of your professional career and why?
Elvis: Game 5 against Tampa Bay because it was the key game for the team.
Me: What is the toughest thing about major league life and why?
Elvis: The consistence every day on and off the field.
Me: What is the worst injury you’ve ever had and why?
Elvis: I broke my finger in Double-A Frisco. Because I love to play, not to watch.
Me: What sports did you play growing up and which were you best at?
Elvis: Soccer. I just love it.
Me: What was your favorite team growing up and why?
Elvis: The Indians because my idol was there - Omar Vizquel.
Me: What are your hobbies?
Elvis: Music and keeping myself happy.
I would like to thank Elvis for giving me some of his time and agreeing to do this interview.
Me: Is there anything specific you’ve been working on in the off-season and, if so, what is it?
Elvis: My body. I want to be in shape the whole season.
Me: What is the biggest adjustment you had to make when you started facing major-league pitchers?
Elvis: Trying to swing at strikes and be ready.
Me: Out of all the minor league stadiums you’ve played in, what was your favorite and why?
Elvis: Myrtle Beach because it’s pretty all around.
Me: What ballpark is your favorite to play in throughout the majors and why (not including the Rangers)?
Elvis: Fenway Park for the history of the ballpark.
Me: What were your favorite parts of the All-Star game and the activities around the game last year?
Elvis: I think the red carpet. You felt like a movie star (laughs).
Me: In 2009, when you were named to the Sally League All-Star team, were you happy to be on the team, or would you rather have had the days off?
Elvis: You’re always happy when you get the call for an All-Star game.
Me: Which Futures Game did you enjoy more, 2007 or 2008, and why?
Elvis: 2008 because it was the last year of the old Yankee Stadium.
Me: Do you think being so young made it harder or easier to adjust to major league life?
Elvis: It depends. For me, it was easy because all my teammates and family helped me out every day.
Me: What is the Arizona Fall League like? Are there many fans? What’s the overall experience like?
Elvis: It’s a great league to grow as a player. Nope, there's no fans and the whole experience is great.
Me: Who are the three toughest pitchers you’ve faced and why?
Elvis: Felix Hernandez, Tim Lincecum and Erik Bedard, because they’re tough.
Me: Who are your three favorite teammates since you joined the Rangers organization and why?
Elvis: Ian (Kinsler), Michael (Young) and Nelson (Cruz) because they helped me out every day and they’re always there for me.
Me: What adjustments did you make in 2007 after you were traded, as you hit .244 before the trade, and .300 after it?
Elvis: I think the desire to play soon in the bigs.
Me: What’s been the best game so far of your professional career and why?
Elvis: Game 5 against Tampa Bay because it was the key game for the team.
Me: What is the toughest thing about major league life and why?
Elvis: The consistence every day on and off the field.
Me: What is the worst injury you’ve ever had and why?
Elvis: I broke my finger in Double-A Frisco. Because I love to play, not to watch.
Me: What sports did you play growing up and which were you best at?
Elvis: Soccer. I just love it.
Me: What was your favorite team growing up and why?
Elvis: The Indians because my idol was there - Omar Vizquel.
Me: What are your hobbies?
Elvis: Music and keeping myself happy.
I would like to thank Elvis for giving me some of his time and agreeing to do this interview.
Sunday, April 03, 2011
Season Predictions
This week, I’ll provide my predictions for the 2011 season.
AL East:
1. Boston Red Sox – I really like Lester and Buchholz at the top of the Red Sox rotation, but, at least in my opinion, it gets shaky after that. It’s a good thing their line-up is so good.
2. New York Yankees – The Yankees starting pitching is very thin, but you can get away with that in the regular season if you have the offense that the Yankees have. However, that does not bode well for the playoffs.
3. Toronto Blue Jays – The Blue Jays have loads of young talent on their team, with Ricky Romero and Kyle Drabek in their rotation, JP Arencibia behind the plate, and Travis Snider in left field. I think that the Jays have a bright future, but as far as 2011 goes, ‘future’ is the key word in that statement.
4. Tampa Bay Rays – I really don’t like anything about this Rays team. After David Price, their rotation is very questionable, their bullpen is awful, and, with their lineup, they will probably average about a run per game. They are better than the Orioles, though.
5. Baltimore Orioles – The O’s added come nice pieces this offseason, like Vladimir Guerrero, Mark Reynolds, Kevin Gregg, JJ Hardy, Derrek Lee, and Justin Duchscherer. They also have plenty of young prospects on the team. Despite their improvement and youth, however, they still will struggle, especially in this division.
AL Central:
1. Minnesota Twins – While the Twins don’t have an ace, their entire rotation is composed of solid pitchers, with Pavano, Liriano, Blackburn, Baker, and Duensing, and solid pitching is all you need to make it through the regular season.
2. Chicago White Sox – The White Sox could very possibly have an amazing rotation, but it is just as possible that it will be very mediocre. Buehrle and Danks are going to be very good pitchers as always, but then there is Edwin Jackson, who could be amazing, or could be mediocre, at #4 there is Gavin Floyd, and he is another guy who could be awesome or could struggle. And then who knows if Jake Peavy will stay healthy.
3. Detroit Tigers – The Tigers made a couple of big moves this offseason, signing Victor Martinez and Joaquin Benoit. But they didn’t do anything to help their starting rotation, which is what needed the most help. After Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, the Tigers have Rick Porcello, who has loads of talent and had a very good rookie season in 2009, but then followed that year up with an ERA near 5.00 in 2010. They finish out the rotation with Brad Penny and Phil Coke, which is a very uninspiring 4 and 5.
4. Kansas City Royals – The Royals are not a good team. The average baseball fan could probably name about …… 0 players on the Royals roster. After Billy Butler, their second best hitter is probably Jeff Francoeur, and on most teams he would be a 4th outfielder. Their Opening Day starter had a 4.81 ERA last year. This team is bad.
5. Cleveland Indians – As bad as the Royals are, the Indians are worse. Their infield looks like a Triple-A squad, and their starting rotation is terrible. They have some good pieces, with Shin-Soo Choo and Carlos Santana, but those are about their only good pieces.
AL West:
1. Texas Rangers – The Rangers can hit like crazy. The line-up contains 5 players that hit 20+ home runs last year (Josh Hamilton, Adrian Beltre, Michael Young, Nelson Cruz, and Mike Napoli), and another guy who has hit as many as 31 homers in a season (Ian Kinsler). The starting rotation may not be great, but it is good enough to get the Rangers their second straight division title.
2. Oakland Athletics – The A’s have fantastic young pitching. They have a good bullpen. Their overall pitching is phenomenal. But they have absolutely no hitting. Nobody on their team hit more than 21 home runs last year. However, since they have no power, they make up for it with their lack of contact and their mediocre speed.
3. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – The Angels rotation could be very, very good, but I wouldn’t count on it. Jered Weaver will be an ace, but Dan Haren is getting older and struggled last year, Ervin Santana is extremely inconsistent, and Scott Kazmir seems to have lost it. And, on top of that, their lineup consists of old men on the downside of their careers.
4. Seattle Mariners – The Mariners have the reigning Cy Young winner in Felix Hernandez. They have one of the best hitters in baseball in Ichiro Suzuki. And that’s about it. Aside from those two players, there is no way to put it other than this: They’re a bad team.
AL MVP: Adrian Gonzalez, BOS
Runner-up: Robinson Cano, NYY
AL Cy Young: Clay Buchholz, BOS
Runner-up: CC Sabathia, NYY
AL Rookie of the Year: JP Arencibia, TOR
Runner-up: Brent Morel, CWS
NL East:
1. Philadelphia Phillies – With the signing of Cliff Lee, no one has a better starting rotation than the Phillies. They are far and away better than anyone else in that category. But once you get past their rotation, they are shaky. Their bullpen isn’t very good, and they will struggle to score.
2. Atlanta Braves – The Braves have a very good rotation, with Tim Hudson, Tommy Hanson, Derek Lowe, Jair Jurrjens, Brandon Beachy (who had a 0.90 ERA this spring), and have some good hitters in a solid lineup, even if it doesn’t blow you away.
3. Florida Marlins – It seems like every year, I pick the Marlins as a surprise team. Well, they never come through for me, and I am done picking them. I like their rotation, and I think their offense has potential, but I’ve learned my lesson. They’re underperformers.
4. New York Mets – The Mets are awful. Their rotation stinks, their offense is old, slow, and injury-prone, and their only good bullpen pitcher beat up his girlfriend’s dad. This franchise has many more bad years in its future.
5. Washington Nationals – Livan Hernandez was the Opening Day starter. Ian Desmond is leading off. I think that says enough. They’ll be doing well if they win 50 games this year.
NL Central:
1. Cincinnati Reds – Even though they have no ace, the Reds probably have the deepest rotation in baseball, with 6 proven big league starters in Edinson Volquez, Bronson Arroyo, Travis Wood, Johnny Cueto, Homer Bailey, and Mike Leake. Oh, and by the way, they also have one of the best lineups in all of baseball.
2. Milwaukee Brewers – Yes, they can hit. Yes, the top three in their rotation are very, very good. But they still have one of the worst bullpens in baseball, and that is why I don’t think they are good enough to be a playoff team.
3. St. Louis Cardinals – I don’t think the Cards would have won with Wainwright, but without him, they don’t have much of a chance. Their lineup has a total of two good hitters, and their rotation without Wainwright isn’t very good.
4. Chicago Cubs – Come on, it’s the Cubs. They’re old. They underperform. They’re hotheads. And they lose. The rotation could be good, but it won’t be. The offense could be good, but it won’t be. That’s the way the Cubs work, and that’s the way it will go in 2011.
5. Houston Astros – The Astros are terrible. It’s a good thing they have a good farm system. Oh, wait, they don’t have that either. It’s a good thing they’re in a good ownership situation. Oh, wait, that’s wrong. Well, there’s always 20 years from now, Houston.
6. Pittsburgh Pirates – The team slogan for the year for the Pirates is: ‘Pride. Passion. Pittsburgh Pirates.’ There is nothing for this team to be proud about, as their #1 starter had a 5.31 ERA last year, and they don’t hit the ball well.
NL West:
1. Los Angeles Dodgers – I really like this Dodgers team. They have a deep rotation like the Reds, but unlike the Reds, they have an ace. They have six starting pitchers who have proven they can pitch well in the majors in Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, Ted Lilly, Hiroki Kuroda, Jon Garland, and Vicente Padilla. And while they won’t score too many runs, they’re offense is good enough to win ballgames.
2. San Francisco Giants – The Giants still have a great rotation, but I think that their hitting will be even worse than last year, and I just don’t see them going back to the playoffs, as while their rotation is very good, it’s not all that deep, and an injury would be terrible for this team.
3. Colorado Rockies – This Rockies team will hit the ball, but I think that they will get hit hard as well. After Ubaldo Jimenez, I’m not a big fan of their rotation, and I just don’t think that they are good enough to be ahead of either the Dodgers or the Giants.
4. San Diego Padres – I said this last year and it was wrong, so maybe it will be wrong this year, too, but the Padres have a bad team. They have okay pitching, and they will struggle to score runs offensively.
5. Arizona Diamondbacks – Every time I see their roster, I am surprised at how bad it is. Aside from Justin Upton and Chris Young, they don’t hit well, and there is not one pitcher in their rotation that you can count on to be good this year. This team has last place written all over it.
NL MVP: Ryan Braun, MIL
Runner-up: Jay Bruce, CIN
NL Cy Young: Roy Halladay, PHI
Runner-up: Cliff Lee, PHI
NL Rookie of the Year: Freddie Freeman, ATL
Runner-up: Brandon Belt, SF
ALDS:
Boston Red Sox over Minnesota Twins
Texas Rangers over New York Yankees
NLDS:
Philadelphia Phillies over Los Angeles Dodgers
Cincinnati Reds over Atlanta Braves
ALCS:
Boston Red Sox over Texas Rangers
NLCS:
Philadelphia Phillies over Cincinnati Reds
World Series:
Philadelphia Phillies over Boston Red Sox
Come back next week for a brief interview with Elvis Andrus
AL East:
1. Boston Red Sox – I really like Lester and Buchholz at the top of the Red Sox rotation, but, at least in my opinion, it gets shaky after that. It’s a good thing their line-up is so good.
2. New York Yankees – The Yankees starting pitching is very thin, but you can get away with that in the regular season if you have the offense that the Yankees have. However, that does not bode well for the playoffs.
3. Toronto Blue Jays – The Blue Jays have loads of young talent on their team, with Ricky Romero and Kyle Drabek in their rotation, JP Arencibia behind the plate, and Travis Snider in left field. I think that the Jays have a bright future, but as far as 2011 goes, ‘future’ is the key word in that statement.
4. Tampa Bay Rays – I really don’t like anything about this Rays team. After David Price, their rotation is very questionable, their bullpen is awful, and, with their lineup, they will probably average about a run per game. They are better than the Orioles, though.
5. Baltimore Orioles – The O’s added come nice pieces this offseason, like Vladimir Guerrero, Mark Reynolds, Kevin Gregg, JJ Hardy, Derrek Lee, and Justin Duchscherer. They also have plenty of young prospects on the team. Despite their improvement and youth, however, they still will struggle, especially in this division.
AL Central:
1. Minnesota Twins – While the Twins don’t have an ace, their entire rotation is composed of solid pitchers, with Pavano, Liriano, Blackburn, Baker, and Duensing, and solid pitching is all you need to make it through the regular season.
2. Chicago White Sox – The White Sox could very possibly have an amazing rotation, but it is just as possible that it will be very mediocre. Buehrle and Danks are going to be very good pitchers as always, but then there is Edwin Jackson, who could be amazing, or could be mediocre, at #4 there is Gavin Floyd, and he is another guy who could be awesome or could struggle. And then who knows if Jake Peavy will stay healthy.
3. Detroit Tigers – The Tigers made a couple of big moves this offseason, signing Victor Martinez and Joaquin Benoit. But they didn’t do anything to help their starting rotation, which is what needed the most help. After Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, the Tigers have Rick Porcello, who has loads of talent and had a very good rookie season in 2009, but then followed that year up with an ERA near 5.00 in 2010. They finish out the rotation with Brad Penny and Phil Coke, which is a very uninspiring 4 and 5.
4. Kansas City Royals – The Royals are not a good team. The average baseball fan could probably name about …… 0 players on the Royals roster. After Billy Butler, their second best hitter is probably Jeff Francoeur, and on most teams he would be a 4th outfielder. Their Opening Day starter had a 4.81 ERA last year. This team is bad.
5. Cleveland Indians – As bad as the Royals are, the Indians are worse. Their infield looks like a Triple-A squad, and their starting rotation is terrible. They have some good pieces, with Shin-Soo Choo and Carlos Santana, but those are about their only good pieces.
AL West:
1. Texas Rangers – The Rangers can hit like crazy. The line-up contains 5 players that hit 20+ home runs last year (Josh Hamilton, Adrian Beltre, Michael Young, Nelson Cruz, and Mike Napoli), and another guy who has hit as many as 31 homers in a season (Ian Kinsler). The starting rotation may not be great, but it is good enough to get the Rangers their second straight division title.
2. Oakland Athletics – The A’s have fantastic young pitching. They have a good bullpen. Their overall pitching is phenomenal. But they have absolutely no hitting. Nobody on their team hit more than 21 home runs last year. However, since they have no power, they make up for it with their lack of contact and their mediocre speed.
3. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – The Angels rotation could be very, very good, but I wouldn’t count on it. Jered Weaver will be an ace, but Dan Haren is getting older and struggled last year, Ervin Santana is extremely inconsistent, and Scott Kazmir seems to have lost it. And, on top of that, their lineup consists of old men on the downside of their careers.
4. Seattle Mariners – The Mariners have the reigning Cy Young winner in Felix Hernandez. They have one of the best hitters in baseball in Ichiro Suzuki. And that’s about it. Aside from those two players, there is no way to put it other than this: They’re a bad team.
AL MVP: Adrian Gonzalez, BOS
Runner-up: Robinson Cano, NYY
AL Cy Young: Clay Buchholz, BOS
Runner-up: CC Sabathia, NYY
AL Rookie of the Year: JP Arencibia, TOR
Runner-up: Brent Morel, CWS
NL East:
1. Philadelphia Phillies – With the signing of Cliff Lee, no one has a better starting rotation than the Phillies. They are far and away better than anyone else in that category. But once you get past their rotation, they are shaky. Their bullpen isn’t very good, and they will struggle to score.
2. Atlanta Braves – The Braves have a very good rotation, with Tim Hudson, Tommy Hanson, Derek Lowe, Jair Jurrjens, Brandon Beachy (who had a 0.90 ERA this spring), and have some good hitters in a solid lineup, even if it doesn’t blow you away.
3. Florida Marlins – It seems like every year, I pick the Marlins as a surprise team. Well, they never come through for me, and I am done picking them. I like their rotation, and I think their offense has potential, but I’ve learned my lesson. They’re underperformers.
4. New York Mets – The Mets are awful. Their rotation stinks, their offense is old, slow, and injury-prone, and their only good bullpen pitcher beat up his girlfriend’s dad. This franchise has many more bad years in its future.
5. Washington Nationals – Livan Hernandez was the Opening Day starter. Ian Desmond is leading off. I think that says enough. They’ll be doing well if they win 50 games this year.
NL Central:
1. Cincinnati Reds – Even though they have no ace, the Reds probably have the deepest rotation in baseball, with 6 proven big league starters in Edinson Volquez, Bronson Arroyo, Travis Wood, Johnny Cueto, Homer Bailey, and Mike Leake. Oh, and by the way, they also have one of the best lineups in all of baseball.
2. Milwaukee Brewers – Yes, they can hit. Yes, the top three in their rotation are very, very good. But they still have one of the worst bullpens in baseball, and that is why I don’t think they are good enough to be a playoff team.
3. St. Louis Cardinals – I don’t think the Cards would have won with Wainwright, but without him, they don’t have much of a chance. Their lineup has a total of two good hitters, and their rotation without Wainwright isn’t very good.
4. Chicago Cubs – Come on, it’s the Cubs. They’re old. They underperform. They’re hotheads. And they lose. The rotation could be good, but it won’t be. The offense could be good, but it won’t be. That’s the way the Cubs work, and that’s the way it will go in 2011.
5. Houston Astros – The Astros are terrible. It’s a good thing they have a good farm system. Oh, wait, they don’t have that either. It’s a good thing they’re in a good ownership situation. Oh, wait, that’s wrong. Well, there’s always 20 years from now, Houston.
6. Pittsburgh Pirates – The team slogan for the year for the Pirates is: ‘Pride. Passion. Pittsburgh Pirates.’ There is nothing for this team to be proud about, as their #1 starter had a 5.31 ERA last year, and they don’t hit the ball well.
NL West:
1. Los Angeles Dodgers – I really like this Dodgers team. They have a deep rotation like the Reds, but unlike the Reds, they have an ace. They have six starting pitchers who have proven they can pitch well in the majors in Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, Ted Lilly, Hiroki Kuroda, Jon Garland, and Vicente Padilla. And while they won’t score too many runs, they’re offense is good enough to win ballgames.
2. San Francisco Giants – The Giants still have a great rotation, but I think that their hitting will be even worse than last year, and I just don’t see them going back to the playoffs, as while their rotation is very good, it’s not all that deep, and an injury would be terrible for this team.
3. Colorado Rockies – This Rockies team will hit the ball, but I think that they will get hit hard as well. After Ubaldo Jimenez, I’m not a big fan of their rotation, and I just don’t think that they are good enough to be ahead of either the Dodgers or the Giants.
4. San Diego Padres – I said this last year and it was wrong, so maybe it will be wrong this year, too, but the Padres have a bad team. They have okay pitching, and they will struggle to score runs offensively.
5. Arizona Diamondbacks – Every time I see their roster, I am surprised at how bad it is. Aside from Justin Upton and Chris Young, they don’t hit well, and there is not one pitcher in their rotation that you can count on to be good this year. This team has last place written all over it.
NL MVP: Ryan Braun, MIL
Runner-up: Jay Bruce, CIN
NL Cy Young: Roy Halladay, PHI
Runner-up: Cliff Lee, PHI
NL Rookie of the Year: Freddie Freeman, ATL
Runner-up: Brandon Belt, SF
ALDS:
Boston Red Sox over Minnesota Twins
Texas Rangers over New York Yankees
NLDS:
Philadelphia Phillies over Los Angeles Dodgers
Cincinnati Reds over Atlanta Braves
ALCS:
Boston Red Sox over Texas Rangers
NLCS:
Philadelphia Phillies over Cincinnati Reds
World Series:
Philadelphia Phillies over Boston Red Sox
Come back next week for a brief interview with Elvis Andrus
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