Last week, my mom, my dad, my little sister, my grandma, my granddad, and I took a baseball-centered trip to New York City. This was my second trip to New York. I also went in 2002 when I was 6 and my parents took me to Yankee Stadium, Shea Stadium and Fenway Park. With the opening of the new Yankees and Mets stadiums, it was time to go back. Following is the report on our trip.
Wednesday June 17
We flew out of Dallas at around 10 in the morning and got to New York with no delays. The plane ride went very smoothly, and we landed at LaGuardia Airport right on time. We grabbed a couple of taxis and went to our hotel, getting to experience some gridlock New York traffic on the way. I was in a taxi with my grandparents and one of the traffic delays we experienced was some police officers stopping a car in front of us, placing three people from the car against a wall, and arresting them. Just another day in New York I think. We stayed at the Double Tree Suites right on Times Square, and it was awesome. We had a great view, because right outside of our window was the north end of Times Square, with all of the big screens they have there. My little sister Kate particularly liked the M&M’s World video screen we could see from our room. We got two suites, one for my grandparents, and one for my parents, my sister, and me, and the suites had two rooms each. Since we got connecting rooms, for Kate and me it was like having four rooms and two bathrooms.
Once we checked in to our hotel, my dad, my granddad and I left almost immediately to take the subway to the New Yankee Stadium (the rest of the family came later, closer to game time). The new stadium is amazing. You walk out of the Subway station and it’s right there. The outside is great. They’ve made it look like old Yankee Stadium, before the mid-70’s renovations messed it up. On the side where we came out, the sidewalk right by the stadium is called Babe Ruth Plaza, and it has a bunch of different signs and plaques about the Babe and the things he did. Another cool thing is that old Yankee Stadium is still standing, so we got to see the two stadiums side-by-side.
When you enter the stadium, you’re in the “Great Hall”, which has pictures of all the Yankee greats on huge banners on the wall. We went straight to Monument Park, and the line really wasn’t that bad (at this point it was about 4:30 and game time was 2.5 hours away). But the New York Giants were at that game and decided they wanted to see Monument Park, and so of course nobody could get in until they were done. So we waited for 20 minutes or so for the Giants to be done, and then they crammed in twice as many people into the park as could fit to make up for that. But it was great. They moved all the stuff from the old Yankee Stadium to the new one, so it’s pretty much the same thing (which is a good thing). They have all of the retired numbers, with plaques underneath the numbers about those players. They have the five free-standing monuments (Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, and Miller Huggins). And they have plaques on the wall for other Yankee greats (like Yogi Berra and Reggie Jackson). It’s a great area and we spent a lot of time there reading all of the information. It’s more compact than the Monument Park at the old stadium, where the retired numbers were basically in a walkway leading to a separate area with the monuments and other plaques. Another neat thing is that, when you’re done looking at the plaques and monuments, you can turn around and watch batting practice (Monument Park is located in center field). Basically, it’s one of the neatest areas at any ballpark anywhere.
After Monument Park, we tried to go to the Yankees Museum, a small museum at the ballpark about the Yankees and their history. But there was a huge line to get in and it didn’t seem to be moving. My dad asked an employee what was going on and, guess what, the New York Giants decided they wanted to see the museum too, so again everyone else had to wait for them to be done. Since the museum is open all through the game, we decided to leave and come back later.
We took a walk around the rest of the ballpark. The Yankees have done a great job celebrating their history. For example, as you walk along the main concourse, you see pictures from each of the Yankees’ 26 world championships above the concession stands (in order, basically walking you through their history). And on the mid-level concourse, they have pictures of every Yankee that’s been named AL MVP, from Babe Ruth to A-Rod. Those sorts of things were great touches.
It was around game time, so we headed to our seats. It was tough to get tickets to the game so we had to use StubHub and weren’t able to get great seats or anything. We sat on the second row from the top of the stadium, but we were right behind home plate, so it wasn’t too bad. We got lucky, and we saw the Nationals beat the Yankees 3-2. It was a really good game. Jon Lannan pitched for the Nationals, and did great, going 8 and a third, allowing only two runs on four hits, and improving his record to 4-5 (even though he had a 3.38 ERA). Mike MacDougal got his first save since July 16th, 2006, going two-thirds of an inning, and allowing no runs. Chien-Ming Wang pitched for the Yankees, giving up all three Nationals runs in five innings of work, giving him another loss to make his record 0-5, but lowering his ERA to a mere 12.30. Phil Hughes pitched two good innings after him. Adam Dunn had a solo home run in the 4th to give the Nationals a one-run lead, which they then expanded to 3-0 in the 5th with a 2-run triple by Nick Johnson. But in the bottom of the inning, Robinson Cano hit a solo homer to cut the lead to 3-1. The final run was a solo shot by Johnny Damon in the bottom of the 9th to lead off the inning.
After the game, we went back to the Yankees Museum. It’s smallish but is a nice extra touch to the stadium, especially since there’s no extra charge for admission. It’s just one room. In the middle are hundreds of baseballs signed by various Yankees. Along the walls are a tribute to Babe Ruth, Thurman Munson’s locker, seats from different eras of the old Yankee Stadium, and information and artifacts about each of the Yankees’ World Series championships. They have the championships divided up between what they call the Babe Ruth Era, the Joe DiMaggio Era, the Mickey Mantle Era, the Reggie Jackson Era, and the Derek Jeter Era.
After we were done with the museum, we hit the subway and headed back to the hotel.
Thursday June 18
On Thursday it was rainy, wet, and cold all day, but we still took the subway to Coney Island. It was very disappointing because all the rides were closed. We got to see the Cyclone roller coaster but couldn’t ride it. We went to the aquarium, but a lot of the best stuff (the walruses, sea lions, and penguins) weren’t out because of the rain. But we still had a good time there. After the aquarium, we went to eat lunch at the original Nathan’s Famous (hot dog place), which was excellent. They were definitely some of the best hot dogs I’ve ever had. Even though it wasn’t the perfect Coney Island experience, it was good to see it and we had fun with the things we did.
We were glad that we picked Wednesday to go to the Yankees game. Thursday’s game had a 5.5 hour rain delay. We were a little worried about our Friday Mets game because it was supposed to rain the whole time we were there.
After Coney Island, we hung out at the hotel for a while before walking Times Square and going to the three-story Toys R’ Us they have there. My dad took Kate on the huge Ferris Wheel that goes through all three floors, which she enjoyed.
We ate dinner at the Stardust Diner on 51st Street, where the waiters and waitresses sing songs every few minutes. It was really fun. If you’re ever in New York, I recommend it.
We then went to M&M’s World (a store). It’s actually a good store and isn’t just a bunch of candy or anything. They do have a lot of candy though, including M&M flavors and colors that you can’t get anywhere else.
Friday June 19
We got lucky Friday and the rain held off all day. We went to Central Park, which, amazingly, has no signs except for “Stay off grass”. There are no signs to help you find anything. We pretty much went straight to the Central Park Zoo, and had good timing, as we got there right before the sea lion feeding show. They had the sea lions do tricks for fish. They also had penguins, polar bears, snow leopards, snow monkeys, birds, leaf-cutter ants, tortoises, a red panda (panda-face, lemur-body), and other stuff. Overall, I was amazed by how big and nice Central Park was.
Afterwards we went to eat at Mickey Mantle’s, which is right by Central Park. It was really cool (but really expensive), as it had sports memorabilia all over the place and good food.
After that, we went back to the hotel for a couple of hours before taking the 7 train to the Mets game at their new ballpark, Citi Field.
Citi Field was very nice, although not as good as the Yankees’ new stadium. The outside was based on Ebbets Field, which was a nice touch. They have some banners outside the ballpark with pictures of past Mets greats. Shea Stadium has already been torn down and turned into a parking lot. My dad and I walked to the spot in the parking lot where the field used to be and found plaques marking the former locations of home plate, each base, and the pitchers’ mound. That was a good touch too.
Inside the stadium, the best part is the entryway, called the Jackie Robinson Rotunda. It’s a huge area, all of which is a tribute to Jackie, both as a player and as a person. Walking around the stadium, there’s not too much to see and they didn’t do anywhere near as good a job of celebrating their history as the Yankees did. They had the old apple from Shea and that was about it. Above the old apple are pennants for the Mets’ various playoff appearances and championships but you can’t even see those from the seating area. There’s also a good kids’ play area, which is something that the Yankees didn’t have.
Our seats were in the upper deck, on the third base side. The Mets won the game 5-3 over the Tampa Bay Rays. The Mets took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the second on a Brian Schneider home run, his 1st of the year, to deep right-center. We were glad to see a home run so that we could see the new apple come up. The Mets scored another in the bottom of the 3rd on a David Wright RBI-double to give them a 4-0 lead. BJ Upton scored on a fielder’s choice in the top of the 6th to cut the Mets’ lead to 4-1, and then in the top of the 7th BJ cut the Mets’ lead to 4-3 with a 2-out, 2-RBI double to score Gabe Gross and Jason Bartlett. But Ryan Church put the Rays away in the bottom of the 8th with an RBI single to give the Mets a 5-3 lead, which would end up being the final score. Andy Sonnanstine was the starter for the Rays and got the loss to make him 5-7, as he allowed 4 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks in just 6 innings. Fernando Nieve pitched for the Mets, and he pitched well, going 6 innings, allowing only 1 run and 3 hits. K-ROD recorded his 18th save of the year, pitching a perfect 9th.
After the game, we beat the crowd to the subway and headed back to the hotel.
Saturday June 20
On Saturday morning, my grandparents went to Rockefeller Center while the rest of us went to the World of Disney store, which is really, really cool, and is three floors just like Toys R’ Us. It used to have character appearances, which my little sister would’ve enjoyed, but since they’re about to go out of business they stopped doing those in February. The World of Disney store isn’t like the Disney Stores in the malls. It has merchandise from the theme parks that you can’t get anywhere else. They’re closing sometime next year when their lease expires, which is a shame.
After that we went to the hotel to get ready to go to a Broadway play, The Little Mermaid, which was very good. It was my second Broadway play (we saw The Lion King in 2002) and Kate’s first. The whole family really enjoyed it.
After that, we were supposed to go see the Staten Island Yankees (Short-Season A Yankees minor league team), but the game got rained out at 4:00 PM for a 7:00 PM game. It was good we didn’t take the ferry ride out there just to see that it was cancelled, but I was still really disappointed. Instead, we went around Times Square again, and ate at John’s Pizzeria, which had great food, but the worst service I’ve ever seen (and I’m not exaggerating). We also went to the Hershey Store, which was very disappointing (especially compared to M&M’s World), because there was nothing to it, so we were in and out of there within a few minutes. After picking out some Christmas ornaments, we went back to the hotel, and stayed there for the rest of the night.
Sunday June 21
On Sunday morning, my dad and I took the subway and PATH trains to Hoboken, New Jersey in order to try to find Elysian Fields, the site of the first organized baseball game. When we came up from the train station, we were about 14 blocks from the site, so we got to see a lot of the city walking there and back. Hoboken actually seemed pretty nice, with lots of shops and restaurants along Washington Street (their main street). When we got to the former site of Elysian Fields, they had a plaque marking it as the site of the first organized baseball game in 1846, a baseball painted in the middle of the intersection, and then a marker at each of the four corners of the intersection marking the former location of the bases (home plate, first base, etc.). It was really cool, and they did a really nice job with it. They also had a logo at the Hoboken City Hall declaring Hoboken as the birthplace of baseball. We then walked back to the train station, picking up some hot chocolate at Starbucks along the way (it was cold and raining again), and took the train back to Manhattan.
After that we went to the airport (JFK this time), and got out with just a minor rain delay. It was a great trip and we really got pretty lucky that the rain didn’t impact more of our plans. I’ve now seen games at 29 major league ballparks (23 current, 6 retired) and my dad’s been to 45 (30 current, 15 retired). Minnesota is the next target when they open their new stadium next year.
Results of the last poll:
Of the players numbers 31-35 on my All-Time Rangers List, which one do you think had the best Rangers career?
Hank Blalock – 43%
Bert Blyleven – 43%
Steve Comer – 14%
Jon Matlack – 0%
Doc Medich – 0%
Come back next week for my All-Star Teams through June.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Sunday, June 14, 2009
#31-35 Top 50 All-Time Rangers List
This week the Rangers had an awesome draft. Their first two picks were Matthew Purke in the first round and Tanner Scheppers in the supplemental round. Both were steals. Baseball America had Purke (P) as the #10 talent in the draft, and the Rangers got him with the 14th pick, and Baseball America had Scheppers (P) as the #9 talent in the draft, and the Rangers got him with the 44th pick. It’s fun to watch the Rangers continue to stock the best farm system in baseball. If you want to see full details on the Rangers draft, Eleanor Czajka has the best coverage anywhere on her Minor Details Page at http://www.dickiethon.com/eczajka/draft_2009.htm. Also, if you’re not already reading it, Eleanor has one of the best baseball blogs anywhere (Girls Don’t Know Anything About Baseball) at http://emcmlb.blogspot.com/.
Also, they traded cash for Jason Grilli (majors) and picked up El Duque (minors). Jason had a 6.05 ERA in 19.1 innings this year for the Rockies before he got traded, and has only pitched 3 innings as a Ranger so far. But even though he has struggled so far this year he has done well in the past. Just last year for the Rockies, he had an ERA as low as 2.93 in 61.1 innings pitched, and had a total ERA for the year of 3.00 (he also played for the Tigers last year). Jason has been in the majors off and on since 2000 and has a career ERA of 4.75. In order to make room for Grilli, the Rangers sent Kris Benson to triple-A. I like this move. Grilli has good upside and we didn’t lose anything to get him. If he works out, great. If not, no loss. An added bonus was that it caused them to make a move with Benson, who was really struggling in the long relief role (8.46 ERA). But they kept Benson in the organization and will have him working as a starter in the minors, which gives them extra depth in case they have more injuries in the rotation.
El Duque (or Orlando Hernandez) hasn't played since 2007, but played well in '07, as he had a 3.72 ERA and a 9-5 record in 147.2 innings. He has a career record of 90-65 and a career ERA of 4.13. Since it was a minor league contract, it's a low risk, high reward signing, so I like it.
This week I will give numbers 31-35 on my Top 50 All-Time Rangers List. See my May 9th entry for the previous installment.
Note: stats do not include the Washington Senators, just the Rangers.
35. Bert Blyleven: 11 shut-outs (t-3rd), 2.74 ERA (best, min. 400 IP), 23-23, 326 K, 437 IP,
Even though Bert only spent two seasons as a Ranger, he still pitched 437 innings, had 326 strikeouts (24th in Rangers history), and, most importantly, has the best ERA in Rangers history, at only 2.74. Not to mention that he is tied for 3rd in shutouts with 11 and pitched a no-hitter against the Angels on September 22, 1977.
34. Steve Comer: 3.80 ERA (11th, min .400 IP), .574 W% (3rd, min. 400 IP), 39-29, 205 K, 575.2 IP
Steve has a very good ERA at 3.80, 11th in Rangers history, to go along with a great record at 39-29. Among all Ranger pitchers with at least 400 innings pitched as a Ranger, Steve has the 3rd best winning percentage at .574. But just like Doc Medich, he didn’t strike out very many batters, as his K/9 IP is only about 3.2. But, anyway, his ERA and record pretty much make him a clinch for the list.
33. Hank Blalock: .273 AVG, 140 HR, 499 RBI, All-Star (‘03, ‘04)
Hank is a two-time All-Star, and he’s also a guy with the 9th most home runs in Ranger history and counting. He’s also 10th in Ranger RBI’s. Even though his batting average isn’t too great, all his other stats (in the three major categories) are pretty good, and good enough to get him into the All-Star game twice.
32. Doc Medich: .538 W%, 50-43, 3.95 ERA, 790.1 IP, 322 K
As a Ranger, Doc had a .538 winning percentage with a 50-43 record, and had a pretty good ERA to go with that (3.95 ERA, 16th in Rangers history). He didn’t strike out many people, as he had only 3.7 K’s per 9 innings. But that doesn’t take anything away from his record or his ERA, and so it doesn’t keep him off this list.
31. Jon Matlack: 3.41 ERA (3rd, min. 400 IP), 43-45, 493 K, 915 IP
Even though Jon has a losing record with the Rangers, he’s still on this list. He shouldn’t have a losing record because he has the 3rd best ERA in Rangers history with a minimum of 400 innings pitched at 3.41. In 1978 alone, he had 18 complete games, and has 32 complete games total as a Ranger, 6th in Rangers history. His 493 strikeouts rank 14th in Ranger history and his 915 innings pitched rank 8th. I think all that makes up for the losing record.
Results of last week’s poll:
Which of my MVP’s or MVP Runner-up’s do you think has had the best year so far?
Nelson Cruz – 37%
Evan Longoria – 25%
Raul Ibanez – 18%
Ian Kinsler – 12%
Albert Pujols – 6%
Justin Morneau – 0%
Next week I will be taking a break, so come back in two weeks for my All-Star Teams through June.
Also, they traded cash for Jason Grilli (majors) and picked up El Duque (minors). Jason had a 6.05 ERA in 19.1 innings this year for the Rockies before he got traded, and has only pitched 3 innings as a Ranger so far. But even though he has struggled so far this year he has done well in the past. Just last year for the Rockies, he had an ERA as low as 2.93 in 61.1 innings pitched, and had a total ERA for the year of 3.00 (he also played for the Tigers last year). Jason has been in the majors off and on since 2000 and has a career ERA of 4.75. In order to make room for Grilli, the Rangers sent Kris Benson to triple-A. I like this move. Grilli has good upside and we didn’t lose anything to get him. If he works out, great. If not, no loss. An added bonus was that it caused them to make a move with Benson, who was really struggling in the long relief role (8.46 ERA). But they kept Benson in the organization and will have him working as a starter in the minors, which gives them extra depth in case they have more injuries in the rotation.
El Duque (or Orlando Hernandez) hasn't played since 2007, but played well in '07, as he had a 3.72 ERA and a 9-5 record in 147.2 innings. He has a career record of 90-65 and a career ERA of 4.13. Since it was a minor league contract, it's a low risk, high reward signing, so I like it.
This week I will give numbers 31-35 on my Top 50 All-Time Rangers List. See my May 9th entry for the previous installment.
Note: stats do not include the Washington Senators, just the Rangers.
35. Bert Blyleven: 11 shut-outs (t-3rd), 2.74 ERA (best, min. 400 IP), 23-23, 326 K, 437 IP,
Even though Bert only spent two seasons as a Ranger, he still pitched 437 innings, had 326 strikeouts (24th in Rangers history), and, most importantly, has the best ERA in Rangers history, at only 2.74. Not to mention that he is tied for 3rd in shutouts with 11 and pitched a no-hitter against the Angels on September 22, 1977.
34. Steve Comer: 3.80 ERA (11th, min .400 IP), .574 W% (3rd, min. 400 IP), 39-29, 205 K, 575.2 IP
Steve has a very good ERA at 3.80, 11th in Rangers history, to go along with a great record at 39-29. Among all Ranger pitchers with at least 400 innings pitched as a Ranger, Steve has the 3rd best winning percentage at .574. But just like Doc Medich, he didn’t strike out very many batters, as his K/9 IP is only about 3.2. But, anyway, his ERA and record pretty much make him a clinch for the list.
33. Hank Blalock: .273 AVG, 140 HR, 499 RBI, All-Star (‘03, ‘04)
Hank is a two-time All-Star, and he’s also a guy with the 9th most home runs in Ranger history and counting. He’s also 10th in Ranger RBI’s. Even though his batting average isn’t too great, all his other stats (in the three major categories) are pretty good, and good enough to get him into the All-Star game twice.
32. Doc Medich: .538 W%, 50-43, 3.95 ERA, 790.1 IP, 322 K
As a Ranger, Doc had a .538 winning percentage with a 50-43 record, and had a pretty good ERA to go with that (3.95 ERA, 16th in Rangers history). He didn’t strike out many people, as he had only 3.7 K’s per 9 innings. But that doesn’t take anything away from his record or his ERA, and so it doesn’t keep him off this list.
31. Jon Matlack: 3.41 ERA (3rd, min. 400 IP), 43-45, 493 K, 915 IP
Even though Jon has a losing record with the Rangers, he’s still on this list. He shouldn’t have a losing record because he has the 3rd best ERA in Rangers history with a minimum of 400 innings pitched at 3.41. In 1978 alone, he had 18 complete games, and has 32 complete games total as a Ranger, 6th in Rangers history. His 493 strikeouts rank 14th in Ranger history and his 915 innings pitched rank 8th. I think all that makes up for the losing record.
Results of last week’s poll:
Which of my MVP’s or MVP Runner-up’s do you think has had the best year so far?
Nelson Cruz – 37%
Evan Longoria – 25%
Raul Ibanez – 18%
Ian Kinsler – 12%
Albert Pujols – 6%
Justin Morneau – 0%
Next week I will be taking a break, so come back in two weeks for my All-Star Teams through June.
Saturday, June 06, 2009
May Awards
This week I did my May Awards. These are who I would give my awards to as if the season ended today.
I’d like to wish a speedy recovery to Eric Nadel and Josh Hamilton. Also, I’m interested to see how Padilla responds tomorrow to being putting on waivers and being left unclaimed. I predict a strong game from Padilla.
Rangers:
MVP: Nelson Cruz, TEX (.286 AVG, 16 HR, 41 RBI): Nelson is tied for second in the American League in home runs, and first among Rangers. Also, he has a good batting average and is 9-for-10 on stolen base attempts and has a chance to be in the 30-30 club.
Runner-up: Ian Kinsler, TEX (.281 AVG, 15 HR, 44 RBI)
Cy Young: Kevin Millwood, TEX (5-4, 2.96 ERA, 48 K): Kevin is tied for 7th in the AL in ERA and has a winning record. Not only that, but he has been an innings-eater, throwing the 3rd most innings in the AL.
Runner-up: Scott Feldman, TEX (5-0, 3.79 ERA, 31 K)
Rookie of the Year: Elvis Andrus, TEX (.278 AVG, 3 HR, 12 RBI): His defense has saved so many runs and saved the pitchers so many pitches, he would probably be here if he didn’t even bat at all. The fact that his offense has been above expectations is just a bonus.
Runner-up: Darren O’Day, TEX (2-0, 1.06 ERA, 15 K)
AL:
MVP: Justin Morneau, MIN (.344 AVG, 15 HR, 51 RBI): Justin is tied for 1st in batting average among the top 10 RBI leaders in the AL and is 3rd in RBI’s in the AL. That doesn’t even mention the fact that he is tied for 5th in the AL in home runs with Ian Kinsler.
Runner-up: Evan Longoria, TB (.322 AVG, 13 HR, 55 RBI)
Cy Young: Zach Grienke, KC (8-2, 1.55 ERA, 91 K): Even though Grienke’s ERA has skyrocketed from April, he still leads the majors in ERA by almost half a run per game. He also is 2nd in the American League in strikeouts and is tied for 2nd in wins.
Runner-up: Roy Halladay, TOR (9-1, 2.77 ERA, 82 K)
Rookie of the Year: Rick Porcello, DET (6-4, 3.70 ERA, 34 K): Rick is tied for 18th in the AL in ERA, and has 6 wins on the year. Even though most years that might not be ROY worthy, there is very weak competition this year.
Runner-up: Elvis Andrus, TEX (.278 AVG, 3 HR, 12 RBI)
Comeback Player of the Year: Jason Bartlett, TB (.373 AVG, 7 HR, 30 RBI): After having an on-base percentage of just .329 last year, Bartlett is leading all of baseball in batting average at .373, and has already hit 6 more home runs than last year and is closing in on his RBI total.
Runner-up: Victor Martinez, CLE (.344 AVG, 9 HR, 40 RBI)
Manager of the Year: Ron Washington, TEX (32-22, 1st place): The Rangers are tied for the best record in the American League and lead their division, and with the Rangers having a losing record last year, that should get him the award.
Runner-up: Terry Francona, BOS (32-23, 2nd place)
NL:
MVP: Raul Ibanez, PHI (.332 AVG, 19 HR, 54 RBI): Raul is dominating National League pitching, as he is well over the century mark in batting average at .332, is leading the NL in RBI’s, and is 2nd in the NL in home runs.
Runner-up: Albert Pujols, STL (.344 AVG, 18 HR, 49 RBI)
Cy Young: Matt Cain, SF (7-1, 2.27 ERA, 53 K): Matt is 7-1, and is tied with four other pitchers for the National League lead in wins, but among that group, Cain has the least amount of losses. Plus, Matt is 2nd in the NL in ERA, behind only Johan Santana of the Mets.
Runner-up: Johan Santana, NYM (7-3, 2.00 ERA, 89 K)
Rookie of the Year: Chris Volstad, FLA (4-5, 3.65 ERA, 59 K): Don’t let the record betray you. Volstad has done great this season and just hasn’t gotten the run support. When you have a 3.65 ERA, you shouldn’t have a losing record.
Runner-up: Dexter Fowler, COL (.256 AVG, 3 HR, 12 RBI, 11 SB, Terrible Competition)
Comeback Player of the Year: Nick Johnson, WAS (.323 AVG, 4 HR, 27 RBI): After injuries held Johnson to just 109 at-bats last season, where he hit just .220, Johnson has been able to stay healthy so far this year, and is hitting .323.
Runner-up: Michael Bourn, HOU (.302 AVG, 1 HR, 13 RBI)
Manager of the Year: Ken Macha, MIL (32-23, 1st place): It’s pretty amazing that the Brewers are in first place in their division with their pitching staff. Really, I would’ve been less surprised if they were in last place at this point, so I think that Macha deserves this award.
Runner-up: Joe Torre, LAD (38-19, 1st place)
Come back next week for numbers 31 through 35 on my Top 50 All-Time Rangers list.
I’d like to wish a speedy recovery to Eric Nadel and Josh Hamilton. Also, I’m interested to see how Padilla responds tomorrow to being putting on waivers and being left unclaimed. I predict a strong game from Padilla.
Rangers:
MVP: Nelson Cruz, TEX (.286 AVG, 16 HR, 41 RBI): Nelson is tied for second in the American League in home runs, and first among Rangers. Also, he has a good batting average and is 9-for-10 on stolen base attempts and has a chance to be in the 30-30 club.
Runner-up: Ian Kinsler, TEX (.281 AVG, 15 HR, 44 RBI)
Cy Young: Kevin Millwood, TEX (5-4, 2.96 ERA, 48 K): Kevin is tied for 7th in the AL in ERA and has a winning record. Not only that, but he has been an innings-eater, throwing the 3rd most innings in the AL.
Runner-up: Scott Feldman, TEX (5-0, 3.79 ERA, 31 K)
Rookie of the Year: Elvis Andrus, TEX (.278 AVG, 3 HR, 12 RBI): His defense has saved so many runs and saved the pitchers so many pitches, he would probably be here if he didn’t even bat at all. The fact that his offense has been above expectations is just a bonus.
Runner-up: Darren O’Day, TEX (2-0, 1.06 ERA, 15 K)
AL:
MVP: Justin Morneau, MIN (.344 AVG, 15 HR, 51 RBI): Justin is tied for 1st in batting average among the top 10 RBI leaders in the AL and is 3rd in RBI’s in the AL. That doesn’t even mention the fact that he is tied for 5th in the AL in home runs with Ian Kinsler.
Runner-up: Evan Longoria, TB (.322 AVG, 13 HR, 55 RBI)
Cy Young: Zach Grienke, KC (8-2, 1.55 ERA, 91 K): Even though Grienke’s ERA has skyrocketed from April, he still leads the majors in ERA by almost half a run per game. He also is 2nd in the American League in strikeouts and is tied for 2nd in wins.
Runner-up: Roy Halladay, TOR (9-1, 2.77 ERA, 82 K)
Rookie of the Year: Rick Porcello, DET (6-4, 3.70 ERA, 34 K): Rick is tied for 18th in the AL in ERA, and has 6 wins on the year. Even though most years that might not be ROY worthy, there is very weak competition this year.
Runner-up: Elvis Andrus, TEX (.278 AVG, 3 HR, 12 RBI)
Comeback Player of the Year: Jason Bartlett, TB (.373 AVG, 7 HR, 30 RBI): After having an on-base percentage of just .329 last year, Bartlett is leading all of baseball in batting average at .373, and has already hit 6 more home runs than last year and is closing in on his RBI total.
Runner-up: Victor Martinez, CLE (.344 AVG, 9 HR, 40 RBI)
Manager of the Year: Ron Washington, TEX (32-22, 1st place): The Rangers are tied for the best record in the American League and lead their division, and with the Rangers having a losing record last year, that should get him the award.
Runner-up: Terry Francona, BOS (32-23, 2nd place)
NL:
MVP: Raul Ibanez, PHI (.332 AVG, 19 HR, 54 RBI): Raul is dominating National League pitching, as he is well over the century mark in batting average at .332, is leading the NL in RBI’s, and is 2nd in the NL in home runs.
Runner-up: Albert Pujols, STL (.344 AVG, 18 HR, 49 RBI)
Cy Young: Matt Cain, SF (7-1, 2.27 ERA, 53 K): Matt is 7-1, and is tied with four other pitchers for the National League lead in wins, but among that group, Cain has the least amount of losses. Plus, Matt is 2nd in the NL in ERA, behind only Johan Santana of the Mets.
Runner-up: Johan Santana, NYM (7-3, 2.00 ERA, 89 K)
Rookie of the Year: Chris Volstad, FLA (4-5, 3.65 ERA, 59 K): Don’t let the record betray you. Volstad has done great this season and just hasn’t gotten the run support. When you have a 3.65 ERA, you shouldn’t have a losing record.
Runner-up: Dexter Fowler, COL (.256 AVG, 3 HR, 12 RBI, 11 SB, Terrible Competition)
Comeback Player of the Year: Nick Johnson, WAS (.323 AVG, 4 HR, 27 RBI): After injuries held Johnson to just 109 at-bats last season, where he hit just .220, Johnson has been able to stay healthy so far this year, and is hitting .323.
Runner-up: Michael Bourn, HOU (.302 AVG, 1 HR, 13 RBI)
Manager of the Year: Ken Macha, MIL (32-23, 1st place): It’s pretty amazing that the Brewers are in first place in their division with their pitching staff. Really, I would’ve been less surprised if they were in last place at this point, so I think that Macha deserves this award.
Runner-up: Joe Torre, LAD (38-19, 1st place)
Come back next week for numbers 31 through 35 on my Top 50 All-Time Rangers list.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Michael Young Interview
This week, I interviewed 5-time All-Star Michael Young. I would like to thank Michael for doing the interview and his wife, Cristina Barbosa-Young, for working with me to set up the interview.
Me: Which one means more: the batting title, the multiple 200-hit seasons, the All-Star game MVP, or the Gold Glove? Why?
Michael: That’s a good question. I think the one that means the most to me is the multiple 200-hit seasons because I think that the really good players mostly are the ones that do it year in and year out. I think that only one middle-infielder had done that before and one right-handed hitter had ever done that before besides me, so that means a lot. But the Gold Glove isn’t too far behind.
Me: What was the key to your success in 2003 when you hit .306 (starting your string of 200-hit seasons) after hitting .262 the season before?
Michael: I think 2003 was the year where I kind of figured myself out a little more. I don’t think there’ll ever be a day where I have the major leagues completely figured out, but that was the year where I knew myself a little bit more. I knew what my strengths were. I knew what my weaknesses were. I got into a routine that allowed me to have success for a whole season. And I was surrounded by a bunch of great players. That was the first year where I actually felt completely comfortable and confident in what I was able to do at the plate.
Me: What was your reasoning for not signing with the Orioles when they drafted you in 1994?
Michael: For one, I wanted to go to college. When I was in high school, it was a huge priority for me to make sure I could go to college and finish my education. And from a baseball standpoint, I wasn’t ready physically. There’s no way I would have been productive in the minor leagues coming straight out of high school. I just wasn’t ready.
Me: Why?
Michael: Well, I was young. I was only 17 years old. Physically I was still really really skinny. I grew a lot in college. And going from a metal bat to a wood bat at that point in my life wouldn’t have worked. Emotionally I was still a little immature. I was just a boy. I think that when you play professional sports, it takes a certain maturity to be able to handle yourself and I just wasn’t ready to do that.
Me: Did you work on something specific over the 2007-2008 offseason to make you a better base-stealer in 2008, when you went 10-for-10 in stolen base attempts?
Michael: No, I still think of that as a big weakness in my game actually. It’s something that I’m still trying to make better. I know that I have the speed to steal bases but I think stealing bases has been a weakness in my game. I think I’m a good base runner but when it comes to base stealing, I’m still trying to get better at that every day. You know, pick the spots where I know I can make it. The last thing I want to do is get thrown out a lot because I know I have good hitters behind me. But I also want to make sure I’m aggressive and I give our team a chance to score runs so it’s still something I’m trying to get better at.
Me: What’s the major difference between base running and base stealing?
Michael: There are so many things involved in base running – you know, going from first to third on base hits and going from first to home on balls in the gap, knowing when to be aggressive and when to stay put, knowing what the situation is in the game. Whereas base stealing is going from bag to bag. There are a lot of things involved in base running that people don’t understand. It’s a big, big part of the game.
Me: What was the key for your power numbers jumping up so much in 2004 (22 home runs) and 2005 (24 home runs)?
Michael: I think I’ve always been capable of hitting for power but I don’t consider myself a power hitter. I think power hitters are the guys who go out and hit 30 home runs consistently every year. I’m a line drive hitter and my job is to hit balls as hard as I possibly can all the time. I might run through stretches of my career where those balls just get up a little more. I think those two years and this year too, my swing is such that the balls are getting up in the air a little more often than they did in the past. I don’t really know the explanation. It’s not something I try to work on specifically. Like I said, my only goal when I go to hit is to hit the ball as hard as I possibly can, and if it stays up a little longer, then great.
Me: What were some of the things that factored into your decision to sign a long-term deal with the Rangers?
Michael: Well, this is the only team in the major leagues that I’ve ever known. I’ve only been a Ranger since I’ve been in the major leagues. And I wanted to stay here. My family’s comfortable here, my son was born here, we live here year-round, this is the place where we were going to be and I felt like our team was headed in the right direction where we can have the chance to have a lot of long-term success. That was the primary reason. We made a couple of trades after that that were kind of shocking at first but they’ve turned out to be great for the team. I’m glad I’m here. I don’t ever want to leave.
Me: Which trades are you talking about?
Michael: Well, Mark Teixeira was my long-time teammate and friend and I was really surprised to see him traded. But through time, I think we’ve all seen that Tex is in a place where he’s happy and our team got some really great young players for him, so I think it’s a situation that really worked out well for everybody. Like I said, right after I signed my contract, to see a guy who I considered to be one of my favorite teammates and a friend of mind get traded, it was a little shocking.
Me: What was your initial reaction when you heard about the A-Rod/Soriano trade?
Michael: I wasn’t too shocked at the time because Alex had already been rumored to be traded to the Red Sox. So when he was traded to the Yankees, I wasn’t shocked at all. At that point, it was just a matter of thinking about what position I was going to play. The team at the time said that they were going to give Soriano a shot to play shortstop and me as well, and they were going to do a thing in spring training where we both played both spots. They were going to use all of spring training that year to figure out what was going to work best. Well, I knew that heading into that season, if I was going to be playing shortstop, I wanted all the work I could possibly get in spring training in order to get ready for the season. I didn’t want to just be there half the time because I knew that would affect my play once the season started. So, my biggest thing was to let the team know that I’d do it and they could go ahead and leave Sori at second base. That way I could put all my work in in spring training and make sure I’m ready to play once the season starts.
Me: Is there any specific thing you worked on in the off-season to get ready to play third base, and if so, what was it?
Michael: No, not really. I did my offseason program like I usually do and when I got to spring training, I just went to work. My biggest thing was making sure I trusted my eyes and trusted my instincts and kind of went at my own pace. You know, spring training was a little different. It was a completely different position, a different angle, but toward the last week of spring training or so, I really started to settle in and get more comfortable. I feel very comfortable over there right now. I still think I can get a lot better at it, but I feel real comfortable right now.
Me: What has been the most surprising thing about moving to third?
Michael: To be honest with you, I haven’t really been surprised by anything. Everything at third base has pretty much gone exactly as I thought it would. There haven’t been many things that are shocking to me at all. Everything that I thought would happen has happened and there haven’t been too many surprises.
Me: They call third base the hot corner – how much harder is the ball actually hit to third than short?
Michael: You get smashes hit to you at both spots but at third obviously you have less time to react to it. I think the biggest thing that I was able to realize is that those hard hit smashes, you can’t really prepare for. They just happen. The ball’s hit and all of the sudden you’re diving and the ball’s in your glove. I really wanted to make sure I focused on those plays that are similar to shortstop, those routine ground balls. I wanted to gobble all those up, make all those plays. And the really tough plays on those hard hit smashes are going to take care of themselves. That’s pretty much the way it’s happened so far.
Me: Who are your three favorite teammates since you joined the Rangers organization and why?
Michael: Wow, that’s a good question. Ian Kinsler. Mark DeRosa. And Mark Teixeira.
Me: What’s been the best game so far of your professional career and why?
Michael: Wow, that’s a good one. I think in my second year in the league, in 2002, I went 5-for-5 with two home runs in Houston. That was probably the best game of my career.
Me: Speaking of good games, what did it feel like hitting a walk-off homer earlier this year?
Michael: It felt good. That was the first time I ever had a walk-off home run. I had some walk-off hits but I’d never had a walk-off home run. When you have your teammates waiting for you at home plate, it’s a really exciting feeling. At the time, the Royals had just beaten us two in a row, so we really needed to get that win the last game of the series so it felt really, really good.
Me: How much more exciting is it to get a walk-off homer than a walk-off hit?
Michael: Oh, it’s way more exciting because you’re on your way to home plate and you’ve got your teammates waiting for you at home plate ready to jump on you, punch you, hug you, and give you high-fives. It’s a pretty cool feeling.
Me: Out of all the minor league stadiums you’ve played in (both Rangers and Blue Jays), what were your favorite and least favorite and why?
Michael: My favorites were Oklahoma and Knoxville, Tennessee. Those were my two favorites stadiums. They’re brand new parks and the people there are really cool. My least favorites are just the ones that are really old. My first year I went to St. Catherines in Canada and my second year I was in Hagerstown, Maryland. Looking back, they were just old ballparks but the cool thing about it was I didn’t know any better. Those were the first two parks I played in. I just thought they were great because I was playing pro baseball so I was just excited to be playing at the time. But looking back, those were probably the two toughest parks, just because they were the oldest.
Me: What ballpark is your favorite to play in throughout the majors and why (not including the Rangers)?
Michael: My favorite ballpark is Fenway Park in Boston for a lot of reasons. The fans are just really intense and enthusiastic and they have a lot of energy and passion for the game. Obviously there’s a ton of history in that ballpark. That park’s been there for almost a hundred years. It’s old and it’s beat up and it’s run down, but the people still make it really exciting to play there. And the Red Sox are always a really good team so there are really competitive games every time I play there. I think it’s a fun place to play just because of the history.
Me: I went there a few years ago and it was really cool.
Michael: Yeah, I’m sure it’s a great place to watch a game too.
Me: What sports did you play growing up and which were you best at?
Michael: Growing up, I played all the sports that most kids play. I played baseball, my first love. I played basketball, I played football, I played soccer. I would say that basketball was my second favorite sport. When I got to high school, I was playing a ton of baseball at the time and I was hoping to play baseball and basketball. Basketball didn’t work out as well as I thought it would. I played baseball pretty much year-round by the time I got into high school. I still love all sports. I love watching football and basketball on TV and obviously I’m a baseball junky.
Me: What was your favorite team growing up and why?
Michael: My favorite baseball team was the New York Mets. I was growing up in LA and I think I was the only Mets fan out there. Everyone was a huge Dodgers fan in LA. By the time I really started to love baseball, I was around 8, 9, 10 years old. By the time I was 8 years old, I already knew how to fish around the sports page, look at every box score. And right when I was around 8 years old is when Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden were just getting to the Mets and they generated just tons of excitement. The Mets were really starting to become a fun team to watch so I kind of just gravitated towards them. And that was the team I loved actually until I signed. I was still a huge Mets fan.
Me: What was it about the Dodgers that made you not want for them to be your favorite team?
Michael: I still like the Dodgers too. I love the Dodgers. I used to go to Dodger games all the time. Loved to go to Dodgers games. The Mets were just my favorite. The Dodgers were in second but the Mets were my favorite.
Me: What is the toughest thing about major league life and why?
Michael: The toughest thing about major league life is the travel because I have a family. I have a wife and a little boy and I miss them when I’m gone. We have a six month season so for three months, I’m in a hotel somewhere else. That’s a lot of time away from my family. That’s by far the most difficult part about playing in the major leagues.
Me: Do they go with you sometimes and if so, how often?
Michael: Yeah, they do, they travel. Every now and then, we’ll pick a couple of cities. It depends on how my son’s school schedule works out. We set some time aside where they can come on a trip and we can have some fun and relax. Usually it’s at a place where they have a swimming pool at the hotel and the weather’s going to be nice. We try to plan it around those kinds of things.
Me: What was the worst injury you’ve ever had and why?
Michael: The worst injury I’ve ever had was probably last year when I broke two fingers during the season. It’s one thing to break one but I broke two. That was difficult. I’ve been really fortunate. I’ve been really, really lucky to not have any serious injuries. I haven’t spent one day on the disabled list so I’m really lucky to have stayed away from that. I’ve been really lucky never to have had any serious injuries so, as far as my career goes, that’s probably the one thing I’ve been the most happy with.
Me: I would consider breaking two fingers pretty serious.
Michael: Yeah but it didn’t cost me any time on the disabled list. It wasn’t bad enough that I had to really miss any time. It hurt to play but I knew it wasn’t going to be a situation where I had to miss any games. I didn’t miss many games at all. I still played I think 155 games last year and I was really happy with that, considering that I did have two broken fingers for four months out of the year.
Me: Thanks again for doing the interview.
Michael: Alright. You’re welcome.
I would like to thank Michael and Mrs. Young once again for being so nice about this whole interview and making it happen. I really appreciate the time they gave me.
Come back next week for my May Awards.
Me: Which one means more: the batting title, the multiple 200-hit seasons, the All-Star game MVP, or the Gold Glove? Why?
Michael: That’s a good question. I think the one that means the most to me is the multiple 200-hit seasons because I think that the really good players mostly are the ones that do it year in and year out. I think that only one middle-infielder had done that before and one right-handed hitter had ever done that before besides me, so that means a lot. But the Gold Glove isn’t too far behind.
Me: What was the key to your success in 2003 when you hit .306 (starting your string of 200-hit seasons) after hitting .262 the season before?
Michael: I think 2003 was the year where I kind of figured myself out a little more. I don’t think there’ll ever be a day where I have the major leagues completely figured out, but that was the year where I knew myself a little bit more. I knew what my strengths were. I knew what my weaknesses were. I got into a routine that allowed me to have success for a whole season. And I was surrounded by a bunch of great players. That was the first year where I actually felt completely comfortable and confident in what I was able to do at the plate.
Me: What was your reasoning for not signing with the Orioles when they drafted you in 1994?
Michael: For one, I wanted to go to college. When I was in high school, it was a huge priority for me to make sure I could go to college and finish my education. And from a baseball standpoint, I wasn’t ready physically. There’s no way I would have been productive in the minor leagues coming straight out of high school. I just wasn’t ready.
Me: Why?
Michael: Well, I was young. I was only 17 years old. Physically I was still really really skinny. I grew a lot in college. And going from a metal bat to a wood bat at that point in my life wouldn’t have worked. Emotionally I was still a little immature. I was just a boy. I think that when you play professional sports, it takes a certain maturity to be able to handle yourself and I just wasn’t ready to do that.
Me: Did you work on something specific over the 2007-2008 offseason to make you a better base-stealer in 2008, when you went 10-for-10 in stolen base attempts?
Michael: No, I still think of that as a big weakness in my game actually. It’s something that I’m still trying to make better. I know that I have the speed to steal bases but I think stealing bases has been a weakness in my game. I think I’m a good base runner but when it comes to base stealing, I’m still trying to get better at that every day. You know, pick the spots where I know I can make it. The last thing I want to do is get thrown out a lot because I know I have good hitters behind me. But I also want to make sure I’m aggressive and I give our team a chance to score runs so it’s still something I’m trying to get better at.
Me: What’s the major difference between base running and base stealing?
Michael: There are so many things involved in base running – you know, going from first to third on base hits and going from first to home on balls in the gap, knowing when to be aggressive and when to stay put, knowing what the situation is in the game. Whereas base stealing is going from bag to bag. There are a lot of things involved in base running that people don’t understand. It’s a big, big part of the game.
Me: What was the key for your power numbers jumping up so much in 2004 (22 home runs) and 2005 (24 home runs)?
Michael: I think I’ve always been capable of hitting for power but I don’t consider myself a power hitter. I think power hitters are the guys who go out and hit 30 home runs consistently every year. I’m a line drive hitter and my job is to hit balls as hard as I possibly can all the time. I might run through stretches of my career where those balls just get up a little more. I think those two years and this year too, my swing is such that the balls are getting up in the air a little more often than they did in the past. I don’t really know the explanation. It’s not something I try to work on specifically. Like I said, my only goal when I go to hit is to hit the ball as hard as I possibly can, and if it stays up a little longer, then great.
Me: What were some of the things that factored into your decision to sign a long-term deal with the Rangers?
Michael: Well, this is the only team in the major leagues that I’ve ever known. I’ve only been a Ranger since I’ve been in the major leagues. And I wanted to stay here. My family’s comfortable here, my son was born here, we live here year-round, this is the place where we were going to be and I felt like our team was headed in the right direction where we can have the chance to have a lot of long-term success. That was the primary reason. We made a couple of trades after that that were kind of shocking at first but they’ve turned out to be great for the team. I’m glad I’m here. I don’t ever want to leave.
Me: Which trades are you talking about?
Michael: Well, Mark Teixeira was my long-time teammate and friend and I was really surprised to see him traded. But through time, I think we’ve all seen that Tex is in a place where he’s happy and our team got some really great young players for him, so I think it’s a situation that really worked out well for everybody. Like I said, right after I signed my contract, to see a guy who I considered to be one of my favorite teammates and a friend of mind get traded, it was a little shocking.
Me: What was your initial reaction when you heard about the A-Rod/Soriano trade?
Michael: I wasn’t too shocked at the time because Alex had already been rumored to be traded to the Red Sox. So when he was traded to the Yankees, I wasn’t shocked at all. At that point, it was just a matter of thinking about what position I was going to play. The team at the time said that they were going to give Soriano a shot to play shortstop and me as well, and they were going to do a thing in spring training where we both played both spots. They were going to use all of spring training that year to figure out what was going to work best. Well, I knew that heading into that season, if I was going to be playing shortstop, I wanted all the work I could possibly get in spring training in order to get ready for the season. I didn’t want to just be there half the time because I knew that would affect my play once the season started. So, my biggest thing was to let the team know that I’d do it and they could go ahead and leave Sori at second base. That way I could put all my work in in spring training and make sure I’m ready to play once the season starts.
Me: Is there any specific thing you worked on in the off-season to get ready to play third base, and if so, what was it?
Michael: No, not really. I did my offseason program like I usually do and when I got to spring training, I just went to work. My biggest thing was making sure I trusted my eyes and trusted my instincts and kind of went at my own pace. You know, spring training was a little different. It was a completely different position, a different angle, but toward the last week of spring training or so, I really started to settle in and get more comfortable. I feel very comfortable over there right now. I still think I can get a lot better at it, but I feel real comfortable right now.
Me: What has been the most surprising thing about moving to third?
Michael: To be honest with you, I haven’t really been surprised by anything. Everything at third base has pretty much gone exactly as I thought it would. There haven’t been many things that are shocking to me at all. Everything that I thought would happen has happened and there haven’t been too many surprises.
Me: They call third base the hot corner – how much harder is the ball actually hit to third than short?
Michael: You get smashes hit to you at both spots but at third obviously you have less time to react to it. I think the biggest thing that I was able to realize is that those hard hit smashes, you can’t really prepare for. They just happen. The ball’s hit and all of the sudden you’re diving and the ball’s in your glove. I really wanted to make sure I focused on those plays that are similar to shortstop, those routine ground balls. I wanted to gobble all those up, make all those plays. And the really tough plays on those hard hit smashes are going to take care of themselves. That’s pretty much the way it’s happened so far.
Me: Who are your three favorite teammates since you joined the Rangers organization and why?
Michael: Wow, that’s a good question. Ian Kinsler. Mark DeRosa. And Mark Teixeira.
Me: What’s been the best game so far of your professional career and why?
Michael: Wow, that’s a good one. I think in my second year in the league, in 2002, I went 5-for-5 with two home runs in Houston. That was probably the best game of my career.
Me: Speaking of good games, what did it feel like hitting a walk-off homer earlier this year?
Michael: It felt good. That was the first time I ever had a walk-off home run. I had some walk-off hits but I’d never had a walk-off home run. When you have your teammates waiting for you at home plate, it’s a really exciting feeling. At the time, the Royals had just beaten us two in a row, so we really needed to get that win the last game of the series so it felt really, really good.
Me: How much more exciting is it to get a walk-off homer than a walk-off hit?
Michael: Oh, it’s way more exciting because you’re on your way to home plate and you’ve got your teammates waiting for you at home plate ready to jump on you, punch you, hug you, and give you high-fives. It’s a pretty cool feeling.
Me: Out of all the minor league stadiums you’ve played in (both Rangers and Blue Jays), what were your favorite and least favorite and why?
Michael: My favorites were Oklahoma and Knoxville, Tennessee. Those were my two favorites stadiums. They’re brand new parks and the people there are really cool. My least favorites are just the ones that are really old. My first year I went to St. Catherines in Canada and my second year I was in Hagerstown, Maryland. Looking back, they were just old ballparks but the cool thing about it was I didn’t know any better. Those were the first two parks I played in. I just thought they were great because I was playing pro baseball so I was just excited to be playing at the time. But looking back, those were probably the two toughest parks, just because they were the oldest.
Me: What ballpark is your favorite to play in throughout the majors and why (not including the Rangers)?
Michael: My favorite ballpark is Fenway Park in Boston for a lot of reasons. The fans are just really intense and enthusiastic and they have a lot of energy and passion for the game. Obviously there’s a ton of history in that ballpark. That park’s been there for almost a hundred years. It’s old and it’s beat up and it’s run down, but the people still make it really exciting to play there. And the Red Sox are always a really good team so there are really competitive games every time I play there. I think it’s a fun place to play just because of the history.
Me: I went there a few years ago and it was really cool.
Michael: Yeah, I’m sure it’s a great place to watch a game too.
Me: What sports did you play growing up and which were you best at?
Michael: Growing up, I played all the sports that most kids play. I played baseball, my first love. I played basketball, I played football, I played soccer. I would say that basketball was my second favorite sport. When I got to high school, I was playing a ton of baseball at the time and I was hoping to play baseball and basketball. Basketball didn’t work out as well as I thought it would. I played baseball pretty much year-round by the time I got into high school. I still love all sports. I love watching football and basketball on TV and obviously I’m a baseball junky.
Me: What was your favorite team growing up and why?
Michael: My favorite baseball team was the New York Mets. I was growing up in LA and I think I was the only Mets fan out there. Everyone was a huge Dodgers fan in LA. By the time I really started to love baseball, I was around 8, 9, 10 years old. By the time I was 8 years old, I already knew how to fish around the sports page, look at every box score. And right when I was around 8 years old is when Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden were just getting to the Mets and they generated just tons of excitement. The Mets were really starting to become a fun team to watch so I kind of just gravitated towards them. And that was the team I loved actually until I signed. I was still a huge Mets fan.
Me: What was it about the Dodgers that made you not want for them to be your favorite team?
Michael: I still like the Dodgers too. I love the Dodgers. I used to go to Dodger games all the time. Loved to go to Dodgers games. The Mets were just my favorite. The Dodgers were in second but the Mets were my favorite.
Me: What is the toughest thing about major league life and why?
Michael: The toughest thing about major league life is the travel because I have a family. I have a wife and a little boy and I miss them when I’m gone. We have a six month season so for three months, I’m in a hotel somewhere else. That’s a lot of time away from my family. That’s by far the most difficult part about playing in the major leagues.
Me: Do they go with you sometimes and if so, how often?
Michael: Yeah, they do, they travel. Every now and then, we’ll pick a couple of cities. It depends on how my son’s school schedule works out. We set some time aside where they can come on a trip and we can have some fun and relax. Usually it’s at a place where they have a swimming pool at the hotel and the weather’s going to be nice. We try to plan it around those kinds of things.
Me: What was the worst injury you’ve ever had and why?
Michael: The worst injury I’ve ever had was probably last year when I broke two fingers during the season. It’s one thing to break one but I broke two. That was difficult. I’ve been really fortunate. I’ve been really, really lucky to not have any serious injuries. I haven’t spent one day on the disabled list so I’m really lucky to have stayed away from that. I’ve been really lucky never to have had any serious injuries so, as far as my career goes, that’s probably the one thing I’ve been the most happy with.
Me: I would consider breaking two fingers pretty serious.
Michael: Yeah but it didn’t cost me any time on the disabled list. It wasn’t bad enough that I had to really miss any time. It hurt to play but I knew it wasn’t going to be a situation where I had to miss any games. I didn’t miss many games at all. I still played I think 155 games last year and I was really happy with that, considering that I did have two broken fingers for four months out of the year.
Me: Thanks again for doing the interview.
Michael: Alright. You’re welcome.
I would like to thank Michael and Mrs. Young once again for being so nice about this whole interview and making it happen. I really appreciate the time they gave me.
Come back next week for my May Awards.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
All-Star Teams for May
This week I determined my All-Star teams through May for both the AL and the NL. The AL stats are as of May 22nd and the NL stats are as of May 23rd.
AL All-Star Team:
Starters:
1B: Miguel Cabrera, DET (.381 AVG, 8 HR, 32 RBI): Cabrera is tied for the 4th most RBI’s among all AL first basemen on the ballot. And he has the highest batting average of AL first basemen on the ballot with at least 100 at-bats. The only stat that isn’t in the top five is home runs, where he is tied for 7th. Also, he is one of only three 1st basemen with at least one stolen base this year. Justin Morneau is really his only competition.
2B: Aaron Hill, TOR (.351 AVG, 11 HR, 35 RBI): Aaron Hill has been by far the most dominant second baseman this year in batting average, hitting .351, with the second highest one on the ballot being .327, 24 points lower than Hill’s. And he hasn’t stopped at average; he has shown good power, too, tied for the AL 2nd base lead in home runs with Ian Kinsler with 11, and leading all AL second basemen in RBI’s with 35.
SS: Jason Bartlett, TB (.376 AVG, 6 HR, 23 RBI): Bartlett leads all AL shortstops on the ballot in batting average by 65 points. And he leads them in home runs. And in RBI’s. And in stolen bases with 12. That’s pretty good, and a pretty good sign that he deserves to start at short. When you lead in the all three triple crown categories at your position, you deserve to start.
3B: Evan Longoria, TB (.329 AVG, 11 HR, 46 RBI): Longoria leads all of baseball in RBI’s, and isn’t too shabby at either batting average or home runs, as he is doing well in both those categories. When you lead the major leagues in RBI’s you should be an All-Star starter unless you’re hitting under .200, but when you have an average over .300 and lead the majors in RBI’s, you’re an automatic starter, in my opinion.
C: Victor Martinez, CLE (.400 AVG, 7 HR, 30 RBI): Victor is having a great comeback year, hitting .400, with 7 HR’s (tied for second most among AL catchers) and 30 RBI’s (most among AL catchers). It’s hard to argue with those numbers. When you hit .400 and have the power, it makes you an All-Star starter. Easily.
OF: Jason Bay, BOS (.295 AVG, 13 HR, 44 RBI): Jason is 2nd among all major league hitters in RBI’s, behind only Evan Longoria of the Rays. He is also 2nd among all hitters in the American League in home runs, behind only Carlos Pena in that category. And his batting average isn’t letting him down, as he is hitting .301 so far this year and that stat pretty much solidifies his spot in the starting line-up for the All-Star game.
OF: Adam Jones, BAL (.372 AVG, 9 HR, 30 RBI): Even though Adam doesn’t lead AL outfielders in RBI’s or home runs, he does lead them in batting average and is tied for 5th in AL outfielders in home runs and is 5th in RBI’s.
OF: Nick Markakis, BAL (.315 AVG, 7 HR, 35 RBI): Nick is second among all the AL outfielders on the All-Star ballot in RBI’s, and he isn’t letting down in the two other major categories, as he is batting over .300 so far this season, and has a decent amount of home runs. In my opinion, he should be a pretty obvious choice for a starter as of right now.
SP: Zack Grienke, KC (7-1, 0.82 ERA, 73 K): Zack Grienke has dominated so far this year. He is second in the major leagues in wins (behind Roy Halladay), he leads the major leagues in ERA, and his 0.82 ERA is the highest it’s been all year by far, and he is second in the American League in strikeouts (tied for third overall). I don’t see how anybody could argue with him.
Reserves:
1B: Justin Morneau, MIN (.327 AVG, 12 HR, 33 RBI)
Russell Branyan, SEA (.308 AVG, 10 HR, 20 RBI)
2B: Ian Kinsler, TEX (.295 AVG, 11 HR, 32 RBI)
SS: Marco Scutaro, TOR (.280 AVG, 5 HR, 20 RBI)
3B: Brandon Inge, DET (.280 AVG, 11 HR, 29 RBI)
Michael Young, TEX (.335 AVG, 7 HR, 17 RBI)
C: Joe Mauer, MIN (.417 AVG, 8 HR, 24 RBI)
Rod Barajas, TOR (.309 AVG, 3 HR, 23 RBI)
OF: Michael Cuddyer, MIN (.291 AVG, 7 HR, 30 RBI)
Torii Hunter, LAA (.305 AVG, 9 HR, 31 RBI)
Carl Crawford, TB (.322 AVG, 1 HR, 20 RBI, 25 SB)
Matt Holliday, OAK (.270 AVG, 6 HR, 27 RBI)
P: Roy Halladay, TOR (8-1, 2.78 ERA, 57 K)
Mark Buehrle, CWS (6-1, 2.77 ERA, 33 K)
Kevin Millwood, TEX (4-4, 3.12 ERA, 35 K)
Edwin Jackson, DET (4-2, 2.55 ERA, 48 K)
Joe Saunders, LAA (6-2, 3.17 ERA, 29 K)
Jonathon Papelbon, BOS (0.95 ERA, 11 SV, 21 K)
Brian Fuentes, LAA (4.30 ERA, 11 SV, 19 K)
Frank Francisco, TEX (0.00 ERA, 9 SV, 13 K)
Bobby Jenks, CWS (2.57 ERA, 9 SV, 13 K)
Mariano Rivera, NYY (2.89 ERA, 9 SV, 23 K)
Francisco Rodney, DET (3.50 ERA, 8 SV, 13 K)
Players per Team:
Texas Rangers – 4
Detroit Tigers – 4
Toronto Blue Jays – 4
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – 3
Minnesota Twins – 3
Tampa Bay Rays – 3
Baltimore Orioles – 2
Boston Red Sox – 2
Chicago White Sox – 2
Cleveland Indians – 1
Kansas City Royals – 1
New York Yankees – 1
Oakland Athletics – 1
Seattle Mariners – 1
NL All-Star Team:
Starters:
1B: Albert Pujols, STL (.329 AVG, 14 HR, 38 RBI): Even though Pujols is only 4th in NL first basemen in batting average, and doesn’t lead them in either homers or RBI’s (Adrian Gonzalez has 16 home runs and Prince Fielder has 39 RBI’s), the people ahead of him in each of those three categories don’t have the consistency throughout all their stats like Pujols does.
2B: Chase Utley, PHI (.293 AVG, 11 HR, 31 RBI): Even though Utley is only tied for 4th in batting average among NL second basemen on the ballot, he leads them in home runs and is 2nd in RBI’s behind only Brandon Phillips of the Reds. In my opinion, when you have a solid batting average and the best power numbers at your position in your league, you deserve to start in the All-Star game.
SS: Hanley Ramirez, FLA (.325 AVG, 8 HR, 22 RBI): Even though Ramirez is leading in only one of the three major hitting categories among shortstops, nobody else is better than that. He is tied for second in batting average, 1st in home runs, and 3rd in RBI’s although only two RBI’s away from the NL shortstop leader, Miguel Tejada, in that category.
3B: Ryan Zimmerman, WAS (.348 AVG, 11 HR, 34 RBI): Amazingly, Ryan’s .348 batting average is only second among NL third basemen on the ballot with at least 100 at-bats for the season. He is also second in home runs and first in RBI’s. And it’s pretty hard not to make the All-Star team when you’ve had as long a hitting streak as Ryan Zimmerman has.
C: Bengie Molina, SF (.276 AVG, 8 HR, 30 RBI): Out of all the catchers on the NL All-Star ballot, Molina is tied for 1st in batting average with his brother, Yadier Molina, at .276. Not to mention the fact that he leads all NL catchers on the ballot in both home runs and RBI’s. That’s All-Star starter worthy.
OF: Raul Ibanez, PHI (.353 AVG, 16 HR, 41 RBI): Ibanez is tied for the major league lead in home runs with 16, and he leads all NL outfielders in RBI’s with 41. That doesn’t even say the fact that he is hitting over .350, more than 50 points higher than the century mark.
OF: Carlos Beltran, NYM (.367 AVG, 6 HR, 29 RBI): Carlos is leading all NL outfielders in batting average, and that’s dropped 48 points since the last time I did this. He’s also got pretty decent power numbers, with almost 30 RBI’s.
OF: Brad Hawpe, COL (.336 AVG, 6 HR, 34 RBI): Brad has dominated the National League pitching so far this year, as he is 4th among National League outfielders on the ballot with at least 100 at-bats in batting average at .336. He also is second in RBI’s in that category.
SP: Johan Santana, NYM (6-2, 1.50 ERA, 75 K): Johan Santana leads the National League pitchers in ERA with just a 1.50 ERA, and he leads them in wins alongside Bronson Arroyo of Cincinnati and Chad Billingsley of Los Angeles with 6 of them. That doesn’t even mention that he is 3rd in the NL in strikeouts with 75. When you’re in the top three in each of the three major pitching categories, you deserve to be the starting pitcher for your league.
Reserves:
1B: Adrian Gonzalez, SD (.280 AVG, 16 HR, 30 RBI)
Joey Votto, CIN (.366 AVG, 5 HR, 27 RBI)
2B: Orlando Hudson, LAD (.343 AVG, 3 HR, 27 RBI)
Brandon Phillips, CIN (.269 AVG, 7 HR, 34 RBI)
SS: Miguel Tejada, HOU (.325 AVG, 4 HR, 24 RBI)
3B: David Wright, NYM (.362 AVG, 3 HR, 29 RBI)
C: Pudge Rodriguez, HOU (.270 AVG, 5 HR, 19 RBI)
OF: Ryan Braun, MIL (.331 AVG, 8 HR, 31 RBI)
Carlos Lee, HOU (.327 AVG, 8 HR, 29 RBI)
Justin Upton, ARI (.304 AVG, 9 HR, 26 RBI)
Nate McLouth, PIT (.277 AVG, 7 HR, 29 RBI)
P: Jair Jurrjens, ATL (4-2, 1.96 ERA, 32 K)
Wandy Rodriguez, HOU (5-2, 1.83 ERA, 53 K)
Johnny Cueto, CIN (4-2, 2.35 ERA, 40 K)
Chad Billingsley, LAD (6-1, 2.51 ERA, 63 K)
Ted Lilly, CHC (5-3, 3.35 ERA, 43 K)
Heath Bell, SD (0.49 ERA, 12 SV, 23 K)
Francisco Rodriguez, NYM (0.87 ERA, 12 SV, 20 K)
Jonathon Broxton, LAD (1.29 ERA, 11 SV, 32 K)
Francisco Cordero, CIN (2.00 ERA, 11 SV, 20 K)
Ryan Franklin, STL (1.53 ERA, 11 SV, 15 K)
Chad Qualls, ARI (2.50 ERA, 10 SV, 22 K)
Players per Team:
Cincinnati Reds – 4
Houston Astros – 4
New York Mets – 4
Los Angeles Dodgers – 3
Arizona Diamondbacks – 2
Philadelphia Phillies – 2
San Diego Padres – 2
St. Louis Cardinals – 2
Atlanta Braves – 1
Chicago Cubs – 1
Colorado Rockies – 1
Florida Marlins – 1
Milwaukee Brewers – 1
Pittsburgh Pirates – 1
San Francisco Giants – 1
Washington Nationals – 1
Results of last week’s poll:
Which AL 1st place team do you think has had the best year so far?
Texas – 72%
Toronto – 28%
Detroit – 0%
Come back next week for my May Awards.
AL All-Star Team:
Starters:
1B: Miguel Cabrera, DET (.381 AVG, 8 HR, 32 RBI): Cabrera is tied for the 4th most RBI’s among all AL first basemen on the ballot. And he has the highest batting average of AL first basemen on the ballot with at least 100 at-bats. The only stat that isn’t in the top five is home runs, where he is tied for 7th. Also, he is one of only three 1st basemen with at least one stolen base this year. Justin Morneau is really his only competition.
2B: Aaron Hill, TOR (.351 AVG, 11 HR, 35 RBI): Aaron Hill has been by far the most dominant second baseman this year in batting average, hitting .351, with the second highest one on the ballot being .327, 24 points lower than Hill’s. And he hasn’t stopped at average; he has shown good power, too, tied for the AL 2nd base lead in home runs with Ian Kinsler with 11, and leading all AL second basemen in RBI’s with 35.
SS: Jason Bartlett, TB (.376 AVG, 6 HR, 23 RBI): Bartlett leads all AL shortstops on the ballot in batting average by 65 points. And he leads them in home runs. And in RBI’s. And in stolen bases with 12. That’s pretty good, and a pretty good sign that he deserves to start at short. When you lead in the all three triple crown categories at your position, you deserve to start.
3B: Evan Longoria, TB (.329 AVG, 11 HR, 46 RBI): Longoria leads all of baseball in RBI’s, and isn’t too shabby at either batting average or home runs, as he is doing well in both those categories. When you lead the major leagues in RBI’s you should be an All-Star starter unless you’re hitting under .200, but when you have an average over .300 and lead the majors in RBI’s, you’re an automatic starter, in my opinion.
C: Victor Martinez, CLE (.400 AVG, 7 HR, 30 RBI): Victor is having a great comeback year, hitting .400, with 7 HR’s (tied for second most among AL catchers) and 30 RBI’s (most among AL catchers). It’s hard to argue with those numbers. When you hit .400 and have the power, it makes you an All-Star starter. Easily.
OF: Jason Bay, BOS (.295 AVG, 13 HR, 44 RBI): Jason is 2nd among all major league hitters in RBI’s, behind only Evan Longoria of the Rays. He is also 2nd among all hitters in the American League in home runs, behind only Carlos Pena in that category. And his batting average isn’t letting him down, as he is hitting .301 so far this year and that stat pretty much solidifies his spot in the starting line-up for the All-Star game.
OF: Adam Jones, BAL (.372 AVG, 9 HR, 30 RBI): Even though Adam doesn’t lead AL outfielders in RBI’s or home runs, he does lead them in batting average and is tied for 5th in AL outfielders in home runs and is 5th in RBI’s.
OF: Nick Markakis, BAL (.315 AVG, 7 HR, 35 RBI): Nick is second among all the AL outfielders on the All-Star ballot in RBI’s, and he isn’t letting down in the two other major categories, as he is batting over .300 so far this season, and has a decent amount of home runs. In my opinion, he should be a pretty obvious choice for a starter as of right now.
SP: Zack Grienke, KC (7-1, 0.82 ERA, 73 K): Zack Grienke has dominated so far this year. He is second in the major leagues in wins (behind Roy Halladay), he leads the major leagues in ERA, and his 0.82 ERA is the highest it’s been all year by far, and he is second in the American League in strikeouts (tied for third overall). I don’t see how anybody could argue with him.
Reserves:
1B: Justin Morneau, MIN (.327 AVG, 12 HR, 33 RBI)
Russell Branyan, SEA (.308 AVG, 10 HR, 20 RBI)
2B: Ian Kinsler, TEX (.295 AVG, 11 HR, 32 RBI)
SS: Marco Scutaro, TOR (.280 AVG, 5 HR, 20 RBI)
3B: Brandon Inge, DET (.280 AVG, 11 HR, 29 RBI)
Michael Young, TEX (.335 AVG, 7 HR, 17 RBI)
C: Joe Mauer, MIN (.417 AVG, 8 HR, 24 RBI)
Rod Barajas, TOR (.309 AVG, 3 HR, 23 RBI)
OF: Michael Cuddyer, MIN (.291 AVG, 7 HR, 30 RBI)
Torii Hunter, LAA (.305 AVG, 9 HR, 31 RBI)
Carl Crawford, TB (.322 AVG, 1 HR, 20 RBI, 25 SB)
Matt Holliday, OAK (.270 AVG, 6 HR, 27 RBI)
P: Roy Halladay, TOR (8-1, 2.78 ERA, 57 K)
Mark Buehrle, CWS (6-1, 2.77 ERA, 33 K)
Kevin Millwood, TEX (4-4, 3.12 ERA, 35 K)
Edwin Jackson, DET (4-2, 2.55 ERA, 48 K)
Joe Saunders, LAA (6-2, 3.17 ERA, 29 K)
Jonathon Papelbon, BOS (0.95 ERA, 11 SV, 21 K)
Brian Fuentes, LAA (4.30 ERA, 11 SV, 19 K)
Frank Francisco, TEX (0.00 ERA, 9 SV, 13 K)
Bobby Jenks, CWS (2.57 ERA, 9 SV, 13 K)
Mariano Rivera, NYY (2.89 ERA, 9 SV, 23 K)
Francisco Rodney, DET (3.50 ERA, 8 SV, 13 K)
Players per Team:
Texas Rangers – 4
Detroit Tigers – 4
Toronto Blue Jays – 4
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – 3
Minnesota Twins – 3
Tampa Bay Rays – 3
Baltimore Orioles – 2
Boston Red Sox – 2
Chicago White Sox – 2
Cleveland Indians – 1
Kansas City Royals – 1
New York Yankees – 1
Oakland Athletics – 1
Seattle Mariners – 1
NL All-Star Team:
Starters:
1B: Albert Pujols, STL (.329 AVG, 14 HR, 38 RBI): Even though Pujols is only 4th in NL first basemen in batting average, and doesn’t lead them in either homers or RBI’s (Adrian Gonzalez has 16 home runs and Prince Fielder has 39 RBI’s), the people ahead of him in each of those three categories don’t have the consistency throughout all their stats like Pujols does.
2B: Chase Utley, PHI (.293 AVG, 11 HR, 31 RBI): Even though Utley is only tied for 4th in batting average among NL second basemen on the ballot, he leads them in home runs and is 2nd in RBI’s behind only Brandon Phillips of the Reds. In my opinion, when you have a solid batting average and the best power numbers at your position in your league, you deserve to start in the All-Star game.
SS: Hanley Ramirez, FLA (.325 AVG, 8 HR, 22 RBI): Even though Ramirez is leading in only one of the three major hitting categories among shortstops, nobody else is better than that. He is tied for second in batting average, 1st in home runs, and 3rd in RBI’s although only two RBI’s away from the NL shortstop leader, Miguel Tejada, in that category.
3B: Ryan Zimmerman, WAS (.348 AVG, 11 HR, 34 RBI): Amazingly, Ryan’s .348 batting average is only second among NL third basemen on the ballot with at least 100 at-bats for the season. He is also second in home runs and first in RBI’s. And it’s pretty hard not to make the All-Star team when you’ve had as long a hitting streak as Ryan Zimmerman has.
C: Bengie Molina, SF (.276 AVG, 8 HR, 30 RBI): Out of all the catchers on the NL All-Star ballot, Molina is tied for 1st in batting average with his brother, Yadier Molina, at .276. Not to mention the fact that he leads all NL catchers on the ballot in both home runs and RBI’s. That’s All-Star starter worthy.
OF: Raul Ibanez, PHI (.353 AVG, 16 HR, 41 RBI): Ibanez is tied for the major league lead in home runs with 16, and he leads all NL outfielders in RBI’s with 41. That doesn’t even say the fact that he is hitting over .350, more than 50 points higher than the century mark.
OF: Carlos Beltran, NYM (.367 AVG, 6 HR, 29 RBI): Carlos is leading all NL outfielders in batting average, and that’s dropped 48 points since the last time I did this. He’s also got pretty decent power numbers, with almost 30 RBI’s.
OF: Brad Hawpe, COL (.336 AVG, 6 HR, 34 RBI): Brad has dominated the National League pitching so far this year, as he is 4th among National League outfielders on the ballot with at least 100 at-bats in batting average at .336. He also is second in RBI’s in that category.
SP: Johan Santana, NYM (6-2, 1.50 ERA, 75 K): Johan Santana leads the National League pitchers in ERA with just a 1.50 ERA, and he leads them in wins alongside Bronson Arroyo of Cincinnati and Chad Billingsley of Los Angeles with 6 of them. That doesn’t even mention that he is 3rd in the NL in strikeouts with 75. When you’re in the top three in each of the three major pitching categories, you deserve to be the starting pitcher for your league.
Reserves:
1B: Adrian Gonzalez, SD (.280 AVG, 16 HR, 30 RBI)
Joey Votto, CIN (.366 AVG, 5 HR, 27 RBI)
2B: Orlando Hudson, LAD (.343 AVG, 3 HR, 27 RBI)
Brandon Phillips, CIN (.269 AVG, 7 HR, 34 RBI)
SS: Miguel Tejada, HOU (.325 AVG, 4 HR, 24 RBI)
3B: David Wright, NYM (.362 AVG, 3 HR, 29 RBI)
C: Pudge Rodriguez, HOU (.270 AVG, 5 HR, 19 RBI)
OF: Ryan Braun, MIL (.331 AVG, 8 HR, 31 RBI)
Carlos Lee, HOU (.327 AVG, 8 HR, 29 RBI)
Justin Upton, ARI (.304 AVG, 9 HR, 26 RBI)
Nate McLouth, PIT (.277 AVG, 7 HR, 29 RBI)
P: Jair Jurrjens, ATL (4-2, 1.96 ERA, 32 K)
Wandy Rodriguez, HOU (5-2, 1.83 ERA, 53 K)
Johnny Cueto, CIN (4-2, 2.35 ERA, 40 K)
Chad Billingsley, LAD (6-1, 2.51 ERA, 63 K)
Ted Lilly, CHC (5-3, 3.35 ERA, 43 K)
Heath Bell, SD (0.49 ERA, 12 SV, 23 K)
Francisco Rodriguez, NYM (0.87 ERA, 12 SV, 20 K)
Jonathon Broxton, LAD (1.29 ERA, 11 SV, 32 K)
Francisco Cordero, CIN (2.00 ERA, 11 SV, 20 K)
Ryan Franklin, STL (1.53 ERA, 11 SV, 15 K)
Chad Qualls, ARI (2.50 ERA, 10 SV, 22 K)
Players per Team:
Cincinnati Reds – 4
Houston Astros – 4
New York Mets – 4
Los Angeles Dodgers – 3
Arizona Diamondbacks – 2
Philadelphia Phillies – 2
San Diego Padres – 2
St. Louis Cardinals – 2
Atlanta Braves – 1
Chicago Cubs – 1
Colorado Rockies – 1
Florida Marlins – 1
Milwaukee Brewers – 1
Pittsburgh Pirates – 1
San Francisco Giants – 1
Washington Nationals – 1
Results of last week’s poll:
Which AL 1st place team do you think has had the best year so far?
Texas – 72%
Toronto – 28%
Detroit – 0%
Come back next week for my May Awards.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Standings and Placement Analysis
This week I will cover all the teams in the AL and where they are in the division and analyze why they are there.
AL East:
1. Toronto Blue Jays (25-14) – The reason the Blue Jays are doing so well right now is pretty much everything. They have the 2nd best ERA in the AL (3.97) behind the Kansas City Royals, and they have scored the most runs in the AL (223), by 17. Also, they’re tied for the 3rd least amount of errors in the AL (19) with Texas, behind only Detroit (18) and Minnesota (13). They have dominated in close games, too, as they are 8-3 in 1-run games, and against righties, as they are 17-8 against them. When you put all that together, that’s a first place team.
2. Boston Red Sox (22-15) – The reasons for the Red Sox not being in first are:
#1: David Ortiz, he is hitting .208 with no home runs, only 15 RBI’s, and is only hitting .136 when leading off an inning, and only .163 in the month of May.
#2: Their pitching is 9th in the AL with a 4.82 ERA, and they have walked the 3rd most amount of batters in the AL with 146 walks this year.
#3: Their fielding, as they are tied for the 3rd most errors in the American League with 24, behind only Oakland (26) and Seattle (31).
The reasons that the Red Sox aren’t farther down that 2nd:
#1: Jason Bay, he is hitting .305 with 11 home runs and 40 RBI’s. The 40 RBI’s is 2nd in the majors behind only Evan Longoria.
#2: Their offense, the Red Sox are tied for 2nd in the AL with the Rangers in runs scored with 206 of them.
#3: Their home record is 13-4, more than making up for their 9-11 road record.
3. New York Yankees (19-17) – They are 7-12 against the East, and have allowed 15 more runs than they have scored, and have the 3rd highest ERA in the American League at 5.41, so they really should not have a winning record, or be 3rd in their division.
4. Tampa Bay Rays (18-20) – Unlike the Yankees, the Rays should not have a losing record, as they have scored 14 more runs than they have allowed, are 12-10 against the East, and are 15-11 vs. Righties. It’s been the lefties that have killed them, though, as they are 3-9 against them.
5. Baltimore Orioles (16-21) – They have the 2nd highest ERA in the AL at 5.43, and haven’t done that well on offense or defense to make up for that.
AL Central:
1. Detroit Tigers (19-16) – The Tigers haven’t hit terrifically, just solid, as they are 7th in the AL in runs and home runs and 10th in the AL in batting average. But their pitching and defense have been terrific. Their pitchers have a 4.07 ERA, 3rd in the AL, and their defense has made only 18 errors, 2nd least in the AL, and has a .986 fielding percentage, tied for 3rd best in the AL. Also, the Tigers pitching has the 2nd lowest batting average against in the AL, and future phenom Rick Porcello has pitched well with a 3.86 ERA and a 4-3 record in his rookie season.
2. Kansas City Royals (19-18) – The Royals have had the best pitching by far so far this year in the entire major leagues, with a 3.63 ERA, the next lowest anywhere at 3.75 (Dodgers) and the next lowest in the AL at 3.97 (Blue Jays). That’s a pretty big difference. They have the 2nd most quality starts in the AL with 20 (in just 37 games) and have allowed the least amount of runs and earned runs in the AL. The only reason they aren’t in first is their hitting. They have scored the 4th fewest amount of runs in the AL, and have the 4th lowest batting average in the AL, due in large part to Alex Gordon being put on the DL after just 7 games. If it weren’t for Zach Grienke’s seven wins and 0.60 ERA, this team would probably have a losing record because of their hitting.
3. Minnesota Twins (18-19) – The Twins are only 4-10 on the road, and even though they’ve been great at home (14-9), that still doesn’t even make up for it enough to get them to even .500. The road record is the only reason they aren’t doing better this season.
4. Chicago White Sox (15-20) – The White Sox have scored the least amount of runs in baseball. It’s pretty much impossible to win when you’re doing that.
5. Cleveland Indians (14-24) – The Indians have the worst record in the AL, and are tied for the most runs allowed in the AL. They are actually 5-4 against lefties, but the 9-20 record against righties more than cancels that out. Also, they’re almost as bad at home (7-11) as they are on the road (7-13). Those are all signs of losing teams, and that’s why they are one.
AL West:
1. Texas Rangers (22-14) – The Rangers have been good just about everywhere so far this year. Here is their good list:
#1: They are 6th in the AL with a 4.66 ERA.
#2: They are tied for the 2nd most amount of runs scored in the AL with 206.
#3: They have the 3rd highest batting average in the AL.
#4: They have hit the most home runs (62) in all of baseball by 8. They have 43 more home runs than the Oakland Athletics.
#5: They are tied for the 3rd least amount of errors in the AL with 19.
#6: They are tied for the 3rd highest fielding percentage in the AL with the Tigers at .986.
#7: They have three of the top seven AL home run leaders (Ian Kinsler, Hank Blalock, and Chris Davis).
#8: Kevin Millwood has turned it on with a 2.93 ERA this year, which is 5th in the AL and better than Roy Halladay (2.95).
Here is their bad list:
#1: Brandon McCarthy has a 5.92 ERA.
#2: Frankie Francisco is on the DL.
That is why they are a first place team, the good outweighs the bad 8 to 2.
2. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (18-17) – Here is the Angels starting pitching so far this year:
John Lackey – On the DL, then got thrown out of his 1st game after two pitches.
Kelvim Escobar – On the DL.
Ervin Santana – On the DL.
Dustin Moseley – On the DL.
Shane Loux – 5.40 ERA.
Anthony Ortega – 0-2 with a 9.24 ERA.
When you add that to a 6-9 road record, being outscored, and a 5-8 record in the West, the Angels are lucky to have a winning record.
3. Seattle Mariners (17-20) – The Mariners started off the season great, but are 4-12 in their last 16 games.
4. Oakland Athletics (13-20) – The A’s have scored the 2nd fewest runs in the AL, and are just 8-10 at home, 5-10 on the road, 3-11 vs. lefties, and 2-7 in one-run games.
Results of last week’s poll:
Which of these five players do you think had the best Rangers career?
Jeff Burroughs – 66%
Aaron Sele – 25%
Steve Foucault – 8%
Mickey Rivers – 0%
Bump Wills – 0%
Come back next week for my All-Star teams through May.
AL East:
1. Toronto Blue Jays (25-14) – The reason the Blue Jays are doing so well right now is pretty much everything. They have the 2nd best ERA in the AL (3.97) behind the Kansas City Royals, and they have scored the most runs in the AL (223), by 17. Also, they’re tied for the 3rd least amount of errors in the AL (19) with Texas, behind only Detroit (18) and Minnesota (13). They have dominated in close games, too, as they are 8-3 in 1-run games, and against righties, as they are 17-8 against them. When you put all that together, that’s a first place team.
2. Boston Red Sox (22-15) – The reasons for the Red Sox not being in first are:
#1: David Ortiz, he is hitting .208 with no home runs, only 15 RBI’s, and is only hitting .136 when leading off an inning, and only .163 in the month of May.
#2: Their pitching is 9th in the AL with a 4.82 ERA, and they have walked the 3rd most amount of batters in the AL with 146 walks this year.
#3: Their fielding, as they are tied for the 3rd most errors in the American League with 24, behind only Oakland (26) and Seattle (31).
The reasons that the Red Sox aren’t farther down that 2nd:
#1: Jason Bay, he is hitting .305 with 11 home runs and 40 RBI’s. The 40 RBI’s is 2nd in the majors behind only Evan Longoria.
#2: Their offense, the Red Sox are tied for 2nd in the AL with the Rangers in runs scored with 206 of them.
#3: Their home record is 13-4, more than making up for their 9-11 road record.
3. New York Yankees (19-17) – They are 7-12 against the East, and have allowed 15 more runs than they have scored, and have the 3rd highest ERA in the American League at 5.41, so they really should not have a winning record, or be 3rd in their division.
4. Tampa Bay Rays (18-20) – Unlike the Yankees, the Rays should not have a losing record, as they have scored 14 more runs than they have allowed, are 12-10 against the East, and are 15-11 vs. Righties. It’s been the lefties that have killed them, though, as they are 3-9 against them.
5. Baltimore Orioles (16-21) – They have the 2nd highest ERA in the AL at 5.43, and haven’t done that well on offense or defense to make up for that.
AL Central:
1. Detroit Tigers (19-16) – The Tigers haven’t hit terrifically, just solid, as they are 7th in the AL in runs and home runs and 10th in the AL in batting average. But their pitching and defense have been terrific. Their pitchers have a 4.07 ERA, 3rd in the AL, and their defense has made only 18 errors, 2nd least in the AL, and has a .986 fielding percentage, tied for 3rd best in the AL. Also, the Tigers pitching has the 2nd lowest batting average against in the AL, and future phenom Rick Porcello has pitched well with a 3.86 ERA and a 4-3 record in his rookie season.
2. Kansas City Royals (19-18) – The Royals have had the best pitching by far so far this year in the entire major leagues, with a 3.63 ERA, the next lowest anywhere at 3.75 (Dodgers) and the next lowest in the AL at 3.97 (Blue Jays). That’s a pretty big difference. They have the 2nd most quality starts in the AL with 20 (in just 37 games) and have allowed the least amount of runs and earned runs in the AL. The only reason they aren’t in first is their hitting. They have scored the 4th fewest amount of runs in the AL, and have the 4th lowest batting average in the AL, due in large part to Alex Gordon being put on the DL after just 7 games. If it weren’t for Zach Grienke’s seven wins and 0.60 ERA, this team would probably have a losing record because of their hitting.
3. Minnesota Twins (18-19) – The Twins are only 4-10 on the road, and even though they’ve been great at home (14-9), that still doesn’t even make up for it enough to get them to even .500. The road record is the only reason they aren’t doing better this season.
4. Chicago White Sox (15-20) – The White Sox have scored the least amount of runs in baseball. It’s pretty much impossible to win when you’re doing that.
5. Cleveland Indians (14-24) – The Indians have the worst record in the AL, and are tied for the most runs allowed in the AL. They are actually 5-4 against lefties, but the 9-20 record against righties more than cancels that out. Also, they’re almost as bad at home (7-11) as they are on the road (7-13). Those are all signs of losing teams, and that’s why they are one.
AL West:
1. Texas Rangers (22-14) – The Rangers have been good just about everywhere so far this year. Here is their good list:
#1: They are 6th in the AL with a 4.66 ERA.
#2: They are tied for the 2nd most amount of runs scored in the AL with 206.
#3: They have the 3rd highest batting average in the AL.
#4: They have hit the most home runs (62) in all of baseball by 8. They have 43 more home runs than the Oakland Athletics.
#5: They are tied for the 3rd least amount of errors in the AL with 19.
#6: They are tied for the 3rd highest fielding percentage in the AL with the Tigers at .986.
#7: They have three of the top seven AL home run leaders (Ian Kinsler, Hank Blalock, and Chris Davis).
#8: Kevin Millwood has turned it on with a 2.93 ERA this year, which is 5th in the AL and better than Roy Halladay (2.95).
Here is their bad list:
#1: Brandon McCarthy has a 5.92 ERA.
#2: Frankie Francisco is on the DL.
That is why they are a first place team, the good outweighs the bad 8 to 2.
2. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (18-17) – Here is the Angels starting pitching so far this year:
John Lackey – On the DL, then got thrown out of his 1st game after two pitches.
Kelvim Escobar – On the DL.
Ervin Santana – On the DL.
Dustin Moseley – On the DL.
Shane Loux – 5.40 ERA.
Anthony Ortega – 0-2 with a 9.24 ERA.
When you add that to a 6-9 road record, being outscored, and a 5-8 record in the West, the Angels are lucky to have a winning record.
3. Seattle Mariners (17-20) – The Mariners started off the season great, but are 4-12 in their last 16 games.
4. Oakland Athletics (13-20) – The A’s have scored the 2nd fewest runs in the AL, and are just 8-10 at home, 5-10 on the road, 3-11 vs. lefties, and 2-7 in one-run games.
Results of last week’s poll:
Which of these five players do you think had the best Rangers career?
Jeff Burroughs – 66%
Aaron Sele – 25%
Steve Foucault – 8%
Mickey Rivers – 0%
Bump Wills – 0%
Come back next week for my All-Star teams through May.
Saturday, May 09, 2009
#36-40 Top 50 All-Time Rangers List
The Rangers are in first place by 1.5 games and are 7-3 in their last 10 games. I can’t wait for them to get back in town next week. I was at the game last Sunday at the ballpark, when the Rangers beat the White Sox 5-1, behind 5 solid innings from Matt Harrison plus a 2-for-3 performance by Elvis Andrus. My grandparents own a condo in Myrtle Beach and we go there every year in the summer. The Braves Low-A affiliate, the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, play there, and we always see them play while we’re there. A couple years ago when we saw them play, they had a young shortstop that we were very impressed with, as he made about five jumping or diving plays in just that one game. That shortstop was Elvis Andrus. I also got an autograph from a young pitcher before that game. That pitcher was Matt Harrison. It was pretty cool watching those same two players play a big part in a big win for the Rangers on national television here in Arlington a couple of years later.
This week I will give numbers 36-40 on my Top 50 All-Time Rangers List. It’s been a while since I last posted on this. See my Jan 3rd and 10th entries for the first two parts.
40. Jeff Burroughs: .255 AVG, 108 HR, 412 RBI, MVP (‘74), All-Star (‘74), RBI Leader (‘74),
Jeff Burroughs is 16th in home runs in Rangers history, with 108 of them. He’s also 16th in RBI’s with 412. But even though he’s so high on those lists, his batting average is holding him back, as he only hit .255 as a Ranger. And that’s with a .301 batting average in 1974 when he hit 25 home runs and 118 RBI’s, making him the MVP, AL RBI Leader, and an All-Star in ’74. He played a big role on Billy Martin’s 1974 team, the first Rangers team to contend for a playoff spot (finishing 84-76, 5 games back). Really, if it wasn’t for that one year, he wouldn’t be anywhere on this list.
39. Steve Foucault: 35 saves, 26-25, 3.22 ERA, 231 K, 382.2 IP,
Steve is 10th in Rangers history in saves, with 35 of them. He also had 26 wins and a pretty good ERA (3.22) to go with that. He also had plenty of innings pitched for a relief pitcher, as he has 382.2 innings pitched in a Ranger uniform, and made 206 appearances for them, all of them in relief. All of these reasons earned Steve Foucault a spot on this list.
38. Aaron Sele: .649 Winning % (1st, min. 400 IP), 37-20, 4.50 ERA, 417.2 IP, 353 K, All-Star (‘98),
Aaron Sele leads all Rangers pitchers in winning percentage with a minimum of 400 innings pitched, with a .649 winning percentage and a 37-20 record. He has a solid ERA at 4.50 in 417.2 innings pitched. He also had 353 strikeouts in those 417.2 innings. A 19-11 record and a 4.23 ERA in 1998 earned him a spot on the American League All-Star team. He was only on the team for two years (’98 and ’99) but they were both good years, in terms of both individual performance and team performance (the Rangers won their division both years), and all that puts him on this list.
37. Mickey Rivers: .303 AVG, 22 HR, 168 RBI, 200-Hit (80),
Even though Mickey only played in 521 games as a Ranger, he still hit .303 and had a 200-hit season in 1980. He hit .333 that year. His main problem in 1980 was that his OBP was only 20 points higher than his batting average, as he only walked 20 times in 630 at-bats. He also had almost no power, as he didn’t have any year where he hit more than 7 home runs in a season as a Ranger.
36. Bump Wills: 161 SB (Rangers record), .265 AVG, 30 HR, 264 RBI,
Bump is the franchise leader in stolen bases with 161. The reason he isn’t higher up is because he only hit .265, and didn’t have much power numbers. His slugging percentage as a Ranger was only .357, which is terrible. Also, only 160 of his 2611 Rangers at-bats went for extra bases. The speed might get you on this list, but it won’t get you too high up on it.
Come back next week for #31-35 on my All-Time Rangers List.
This week I will give numbers 36-40 on my Top 50 All-Time Rangers List. It’s been a while since I last posted on this. See my Jan 3rd and 10th entries for the first two parts.
40. Jeff Burroughs: .255 AVG, 108 HR, 412 RBI, MVP (‘74), All-Star (‘74), RBI Leader (‘74),
Jeff Burroughs is 16th in home runs in Rangers history, with 108 of them. He’s also 16th in RBI’s with 412. But even though he’s so high on those lists, his batting average is holding him back, as he only hit .255 as a Ranger. And that’s with a .301 batting average in 1974 when he hit 25 home runs and 118 RBI’s, making him the MVP, AL RBI Leader, and an All-Star in ’74. He played a big role on Billy Martin’s 1974 team, the first Rangers team to contend for a playoff spot (finishing 84-76, 5 games back). Really, if it wasn’t for that one year, he wouldn’t be anywhere on this list.
39. Steve Foucault: 35 saves, 26-25, 3.22 ERA, 231 K, 382.2 IP,
Steve is 10th in Rangers history in saves, with 35 of them. He also had 26 wins and a pretty good ERA (3.22) to go with that. He also had plenty of innings pitched for a relief pitcher, as he has 382.2 innings pitched in a Ranger uniform, and made 206 appearances for them, all of them in relief. All of these reasons earned Steve Foucault a spot on this list.
38. Aaron Sele: .649 Winning % (1st, min. 400 IP), 37-20, 4.50 ERA, 417.2 IP, 353 K, All-Star (‘98),
Aaron Sele leads all Rangers pitchers in winning percentage with a minimum of 400 innings pitched, with a .649 winning percentage and a 37-20 record. He has a solid ERA at 4.50 in 417.2 innings pitched. He also had 353 strikeouts in those 417.2 innings. A 19-11 record and a 4.23 ERA in 1998 earned him a spot on the American League All-Star team. He was only on the team for two years (’98 and ’99) but they were both good years, in terms of both individual performance and team performance (the Rangers won their division both years), and all that puts him on this list.
37. Mickey Rivers: .303 AVG, 22 HR, 168 RBI, 200-Hit (80),
Even though Mickey only played in 521 games as a Ranger, he still hit .303 and had a 200-hit season in 1980. He hit .333 that year. His main problem in 1980 was that his OBP was only 20 points higher than his batting average, as he only walked 20 times in 630 at-bats. He also had almost no power, as he didn’t have any year where he hit more than 7 home runs in a season as a Ranger.
36. Bump Wills: 161 SB (Rangers record), .265 AVG, 30 HR, 264 RBI,
Bump is the franchise leader in stolen bases with 161. The reason he isn’t higher up is because he only hit .265, and didn’t have much power numbers. His slugging percentage as a Ranger was only .357, which is terrible. Also, only 160 of his 2611 Rangers at-bats went for extra bases. The speed might get you on this list, but it won’t get you too high up on it.
Come back next week for #31-35 on my All-Time Rangers List.
Saturday, May 02, 2009
April Awards
This week I will give my April Awards. These are as if the season ended today, so the games on May 1st do count.
Rangers Awards:
MVP: Ian Kinsler, TEX (.323 AVG, 8 HR, 22 RBI): Ian is the runner-up for my AL MVP, and the person above him isn’t a Ranger, so that makes him my Rangers MVP. He has a very good batting average, is tied for second in the AL in home runs, and is tied for 5th in the AL in RBI’s.
Runner-up: Michael Young, TEX (.315 AVG, 6 HR, 13 RBI)
Cy Young: Kevin Millwood, TEX (2-2, 2.13 ERA, 22 K): Kevin is 4th in the league in ERA, and 1st on the Rangers starting pitching rotation, so he is the obvious choice here.
Runner-up: Brandon McCarthy, TEX (2-0, 5.32 ERA, 15 K)
Rookie of the Year: Elvis Andrus, TEX (.254 AVG, 1 HR, 4 RBI): Once again, Elvis was runner-up in my AL Rookie of the Year, and the person above him wasn’t a Ranger. He doesn’t have great stats, but he’s about the only rookie on the team so far this year that has played a lot. He’s doing a good job adjusting to the major leagues and showing us the potential that made him the Rangers’ new shortstop.
Runner-up: Derek Holland, TEX (0-1, 2.84 ERA, 4 K)
Reliever of the Year: Frank Francisco, TEX (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 6 SV): He is my AL Reliever of the Year, so obviously he is my Rangers Reliever of the Year.
Runner-up: Jason Jennings, TEX (0-1, 4.26 ERA, 9 K)
AL Awards:
MVP: Evan Longoria, TB (.368 AVG, 7 HR, 28 RBI): Evan has a batting average over .365, 8th in the AL, has 7 home runs, tied for 5th in the AL, and 28 RBI’s, 1st in the AL and 2nd in the entire major leagues. That is pretty good, and, in my opinion, he was the best player in April.
Runner-up: Ian Kinsler, TEX (.323 AVG, 8 HR, 22 RBI)
Cy Young: Zach Grienke, KC (5-0, 0.50 ERA, 44 K): He is the obvious choice for Cy Young so far. He is tied for the major league lead in wins, hasn’t lost a game, has allowed two earned runs in 36 innings pitched, and already has two complete games and one shutout.
Runner-up: Felix Hernandez, SEA (4-0, 2.38 ERA, 36 K)
Rookie of the Year: Koji Uehara, BAL (2-2, 4.50 ERA, 19 K): Normally he would not be the rookie of the year, but this year the competition is so weak, he is the ROY.
Runner-up: Elvis Andrus, TEX (.254 AVG, 1 HR, 4 RBI)
Reliever of the Year: Frank Francisco, TEX (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 6 SV): Frankie is tied for the league lead in saves, hasn’t blown a save, and hasn’t allowed a run yet this season. Plus, Francisco is fun to say.
Runner-up: Jonathon Papelbon, BOS (0-0, 1.74 ERA, 6 SV)
Manager of the Year: Cito Gaston, TOR (16-9, 1st place): Almost every player on his team is playing well and that is a pretty good sign.
Runner-up: Don Wakamatsu, SEA (14-9, 1st place): In his first year with the team, Don has the Mariners in first place even though they do not have much talent on their team.
NL Awards:
MVP: Albert Pujols, STL (.356 AVG, 9 HR, 29 RBI): Albert has a very good batting average, leads the NL in home runs, and leads the NL in RBI’s by 5. He is way out in front of everybody else, and he is an easy choice to make here.
Runner-up: Jorge Cantu, FLA (.358 AVG, 7 HR, 24 RBI)
Cy Young: Chad Billingsley, LAD (4-0, 2.14 ERA, 34 K): Chad is tied for the NL lead in wins, but he’s the only 4-game winner in the NL not to have lost a game. He also has a very good ERA and a good amount of strikeouts.
Runner-up: Kyle Lohse, STL (3-0, 1.97 ERA, 19 K)
Rookie of the Year: Joe Thurston, STL (.279 AVG, 1 HR, 12 RBI): Once again, there is just a lack of competition, and so that’s what got him ROY in my opinion. Even though Joe only has 1 HR, he is still in the top 50 in the NL in RBI’s.
Runner-up: Dexter Fowler, COL (.288 AVG, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 9 SB)
Reliever of the Year: Jonathon Broxton, LAD (3-0, 0.75 ERA, 7 SV): When you have seven saves and three wins as a closer in one month, that pretty much makes you a lock.
Runner-up: Heath Bell, SD (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 8 SV)
Manager of the Year: Joe Torre, LAD (16-8, 1st place): The Dodgers have a 3 and a half game lead in the division, the second best record in baseball, and an 8-0 record at home.
Runner-up: Tony LaRussa, STL (17-8, 1st place)
Come back next week for numbers 36-40 on my Top 50 All-Time Rangers List.
Rangers Awards:
MVP: Ian Kinsler, TEX (.323 AVG, 8 HR, 22 RBI): Ian is the runner-up for my AL MVP, and the person above him isn’t a Ranger, so that makes him my Rangers MVP. He has a very good batting average, is tied for second in the AL in home runs, and is tied for 5th in the AL in RBI’s.
Runner-up: Michael Young, TEX (.315 AVG, 6 HR, 13 RBI)
Cy Young: Kevin Millwood, TEX (2-2, 2.13 ERA, 22 K): Kevin is 4th in the league in ERA, and 1st on the Rangers starting pitching rotation, so he is the obvious choice here.
Runner-up: Brandon McCarthy, TEX (2-0, 5.32 ERA, 15 K)
Rookie of the Year: Elvis Andrus, TEX (.254 AVG, 1 HR, 4 RBI): Once again, Elvis was runner-up in my AL Rookie of the Year, and the person above him wasn’t a Ranger. He doesn’t have great stats, but he’s about the only rookie on the team so far this year that has played a lot. He’s doing a good job adjusting to the major leagues and showing us the potential that made him the Rangers’ new shortstop.
Runner-up: Derek Holland, TEX (0-1, 2.84 ERA, 4 K)
Reliever of the Year: Frank Francisco, TEX (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 6 SV): He is my AL Reliever of the Year, so obviously he is my Rangers Reliever of the Year.
Runner-up: Jason Jennings, TEX (0-1, 4.26 ERA, 9 K)
AL Awards:
MVP: Evan Longoria, TB (.368 AVG, 7 HR, 28 RBI): Evan has a batting average over .365, 8th in the AL, has 7 home runs, tied for 5th in the AL, and 28 RBI’s, 1st in the AL and 2nd in the entire major leagues. That is pretty good, and, in my opinion, he was the best player in April.
Runner-up: Ian Kinsler, TEX (.323 AVG, 8 HR, 22 RBI)
Cy Young: Zach Grienke, KC (5-0, 0.50 ERA, 44 K): He is the obvious choice for Cy Young so far. He is tied for the major league lead in wins, hasn’t lost a game, has allowed two earned runs in 36 innings pitched, and already has two complete games and one shutout.
Runner-up: Felix Hernandez, SEA (4-0, 2.38 ERA, 36 K)
Rookie of the Year: Koji Uehara, BAL (2-2, 4.50 ERA, 19 K): Normally he would not be the rookie of the year, but this year the competition is so weak, he is the ROY.
Runner-up: Elvis Andrus, TEX (.254 AVG, 1 HR, 4 RBI)
Reliever of the Year: Frank Francisco, TEX (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 6 SV): Frankie is tied for the league lead in saves, hasn’t blown a save, and hasn’t allowed a run yet this season. Plus, Francisco is fun to say.
Runner-up: Jonathon Papelbon, BOS (0-0, 1.74 ERA, 6 SV)
Manager of the Year: Cito Gaston, TOR (16-9, 1st place): Almost every player on his team is playing well and that is a pretty good sign.
Runner-up: Don Wakamatsu, SEA (14-9, 1st place): In his first year with the team, Don has the Mariners in first place even though they do not have much talent on their team.
NL Awards:
MVP: Albert Pujols, STL (.356 AVG, 9 HR, 29 RBI): Albert has a very good batting average, leads the NL in home runs, and leads the NL in RBI’s by 5. He is way out in front of everybody else, and he is an easy choice to make here.
Runner-up: Jorge Cantu, FLA (.358 AVG, 7 HR, 24 RBI)
Cy Young: Chad Billingsley, LAD (4-0, 2.14 ERA, 34 K): Chad is tied for the NL lead in wins, but he’s the only 4-game winner in the NL not to have lost a game. He also has a very good ERA and a good amount of strikeouts.
Runner-up: Kyle Lohse, STL (3-0, 1.97 ERA, 19 K)
Rookie of the Year: Joe Thurston, STL (.279 AVG, 1 HR, 12 RBI): Once again, there is just a lack of competition, and so that’s what got him ROY in my opinion. Even though Joe only has 1 HR, he is still in the top 50 in the NL in RBI’s.
Runner-up: Dexter Fowler, COL (.288 AVG, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 9 SB)
Reliever of the Year: Jonathon Broxton, LAD (3-0, 0.75 ERA, 7 SV): When you have seven saves and three wins as a closer in one month, that pretty much makes you a lock.
Runner-up: Heath Bell, SD (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 8 SV)
Manager of the Year: Joe Torre, LAD (16-8, 1st place): The Dodgers have a 3 and a half game lead in the division, the second best record in baseball, and an 8-0 record at home.
Runner-up: Tony LaRussa, STL (17-8, 1st place)
Come back next week for numbers 36-40 on my Top 50 All-Time Rangers List.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
All-Star Teams for April
I think that it is crazy that the All-Star ballots are already out there. There is no way to be able to choose the best players of the first half this early. I’ll vote, but I think that it’s just completely lame for the MLB to do this and to almost make sure that nobody that’s not a big name is starting.
Also, Michael Young is on pace to hit just over 50 home runs this year. I’m sure it won’t happen, but that’s a pretty good pace.
Since the All-Star ballots are available, this week I decided to determine who should be in the All-Star game, based purely on how they’re doing so far this season (they have to be on the ballot). The AL stats are as of April 25th and the NL stats are as of April 26th.
AL:
Starters:
1B: Carlos Pena, TB (.254 AVG, 8 HR, 21 RBI): Even though he is only batting .254, his power numbers make up for that, as he leads the majors in home runs with 8, and he also has 21 RBI’s.
2B: Ian Kinsler, TEX (.382 AVG, 5 HR, 17 RBI): Aaron Hill has 1 more RBI than Kinsler….But Kinsler has a higher batting average and 6 more stolen bases. They are probably the top two second basemen in the AL so far.
SS: Derek Jeter, NYY (.290 AVG, 4 HR, 11 RBI): He is tied for the lead in AL shortstops in both home runs and RBI’s, but has a higher batting average than Marco Scutaro, the one who he is tied with in both those categories.
3B: Evan Longoria, TB (.377 AVG, 5 HR, 16 RBI): Evan has a great batting average, a lot of home runs, and 16 RBI’s. He has the highest batting average of the AL third basemen, and he is tied for the most RBI’s of the AL third basemen.
C: Victor Martinez, CLE (.386 AVG, 5 HR, 9 RBI): Martinez is in the top 5 in the major leagues in batting average. He has the most home runs of AL catchers. And, he should be an All-Star starter, in my opinion.
OF: Nelson Cruz, TEX (.295 AVG, 6 HR, 15 RBI): Nelson is 3rd in AL outfielders in RBI’s, and he is tied for 2nd in AL outfielders in home runs. And out of the three people that are ahead of him in those categories, only one of them has a better batting average.
OF: Carlos Quentin, CWS (.250 AVG, 7 HR, 14 RBI): If it weren’t for his awful batting average, he would be a no-brainer to start, but with it, he just barely edges out Nick Markakis of the Orioles for that start.
OF: Grady Sizemore, CLE (.271 AVG, 6 HR, 18 RBI): Grady Sizemore has great power numbers, and even though his batting average is kind of low, his 6 home runs and 18 RBI’s more than make up for that.
SP: Zach Grienke, KC (4-0, 0.00 ERA, 36 K): He is tied for the major league lead in wins. He is 2nd in the major leagues in strikeouts. He leads the major leagues in ERA. He has not allowed an earned run the whole year, and that’s pretty amazing. He is the obvious choice here.
Reserves:
1B: Kevin Youkilis, BOS (.433 AVG, 5 HR, 13 RBI)
Miguel Cabrera, DET (.410 AVG, 4 HR, 13 RBI)
2B: Aaron Hill, TOR (.373 AVG, 5 HR, 18 RBI)
Robinson Cano, NYY (.354 AVG, 3 HR, 10 RBI)
SS: Jason Bartlett, TB (.390 AVG, 2 HR, 5 RBI)
3B: Brandon Inge, DET (.304 AVG, 6 HR, 15 RBI)
Michael Young, TEX (.308 AVG, 5 HR, 11 RBI)
C: Jorge Posada, NYY (.283 AVG, 3 HR, 12 RBI)
OF: Nick Markakis, BAL (.385 AVG, 2 HR, 19 RBI)
Torii Hunter, LAA (.327 AVG, 6 HR, 11 RBI)
Adam Jones, BAL (.333 AVG, 2 HR, 12 RBI)
Jason Bay, BOS (.288 AVG, 4 HR, 13 RBI)
P: Jon Danks, CWS (2-0, 0.95 ERA, 16 K)
Jarrod Washburn, SEA (3-0, 1.71 ERA, 17 K)
Glenn Perkins, MIN (1-1, 1.50 ERA, 12 K)
Armando Galarraga, DET (2-0, 1.96 ERA, 17 K)
Andrew Bailey, OAK (2-0, 0.79 ERA, 13 K)
Erik Bedard, SEA (2-1, 2.08 ERA, 29 K)
Joakim Soria, KC (1.80 ERA, 5 SV)
Brandon Morrow, SEA (4.05 ERA, 5 SV)
Jonathon Papelbon, BOS (1.23 ERA, 4 SV)
Frank Francisco, TEX (0.00 ERA, 3 SV)
Mariano Rivera, NYY (2.16 ERA, 4 SV)
Players per Team:
Texas Rangers – 4
New York Yankees – 4
Tampa Bay Rays – 3
Boston Red Sox – 3
Detroit Tigers – 3
Seattle Mariners – 3
Cleveland Indians – 2
Chicago White Sox – 2
Kansas City Royals – 2
Baltimore Orioles – 2
Toronto Blue Jays – 1
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – 1
Minnesota Twins – 1
Oakland Athletics – 1
NL:
Starters:
1B: Albert Pujols, STL (.348 AVG, 7 HR, 25 RBI): Even with Albert leading all NL first basemen in both home runs and RBI’s, that’s still not it. He leads all NL first basemen in stolen bases also, with three. He has been dominant this year and should be a starter.
2B: Chase Utley, PHI (.322 AVG, 5 HR, 14 RBI): Even though Dan Uggla has two more RBI’s than Utley, he is only hitting .213 compared to Chase Utley’s .322. That’s too big of a difference.
SS: Ryan Theriot, CHC (.344 AVG, 0 HR, 6 RBI): Ryan has a very good batting average, the highest among all NL shortstops (on the ballot) and even though his power numbers aren’t that good, nobody has good power numbers at that position in the NL, so that’s not a big problem.
3B: Aramis Ramirez, CHC (.358 AVG, 3 HR, 14 RBI): Ramirez leads NL third basemen in batting average and RBI’s and the only person who has hit more home runs than him has a .228 batting average. There is almost no competition, so he is the obvious choice.
C: Bengie Molina, SF (.328 AVG, 3 HR, 13 RBI): He has the best power numbers of all NL catchers, and he has one of the best batting averages, also. His brother, Yadier Molina, is the only one who gave him in competition, and, in my opinion, he isn’t playing as well as Bengie.
OF: Ryan Ludwick, STL (.356 AVG, 5 HR, 19 RBI): Ryan has good power numbers and a good batting average. He is one of the top players in the major leagues in home runs, and has a good amount of RBI’s. That should get you in.
OF: Andre Ethier, LAD (.308 AVG, 5 HR, 20 RBI): Andre is hitting over .300, and he has great power numbers. Even though the outfield has about 10 all-stars in it, he is one of the top ones.
OF: Ryan Braun, MIL (.359 AVG, 4 HR, 13 RBI): Ryan is hitting over .300, has 13 RBI’s, and 4 HR’s. The power numbers are decent, but his average is what got him a starting job on my NL All-Star team.
SP: Johan Santana, NYM (3-1, 0.70 ERA, 37 K): Even though Johan has a loss, he leads all of baseball in strikeouts, has an ERA under 1.00, and still has three wins. Even though Chad Billingsley is 4-0, he is 2nd to Santana.
Reserves:
1B: Joey Votto, CIN (.358 AVG, 3 HR, 16 RBI)
Adrian Gonzalez, SD (.306 AVG, 6 HR, 13 RBI)
2B: Orlando Hudson, LAD (.370 AVG, 2 HR, 8 RBI)
SS: Hanley Ramirez, FLA (.292 AVG, 2 HR, 11 RBI)
3B: Chipper Jones, ATL (.298 AVG, 2 HR, 8 RBI)
C: Yadier Molina, STL (.333 AVG, 1 HR, 10 RBI)
Jeff Baker, FLA (.306 AVG, 1 HR, 9 RBI)
OF: Carlos Beltran, NYM (.415 AVG, 2 HR, 14 RBI)
Kosuke Fukudome, CHC (.345 AVG, 3 HR, 10 RBI)
Brad Hawpe, COL (.308 AVG, 2 HR, 13 RBI)
Adam Dunn, WSH (.302 AVG, 4 HR, 12 RBI)
P: Chad Billingsley, LAD (4-0, 2.05 ERA, 26 K)
Paul Maholm, PIT (3-0, 2.03 ERA, 10 K)
Wandy Rodriguez, HOU (1-2, 1.80 ERA, 22 K)
Jair Jurrjens, ATL (2-1, 1.42 ERA, 14 K)
Dan Haren, ARI (1-3, 1.38 ERA, 26 K)
Aaron Harang, CIN (2-2, 2.00 ERA, 19 K)
Heath Bell, SD (0.00 ERA, 7 SV)
Jonathon Broxton, LAD (0.96 ERA, 6 SV)
Francisco Cordero, CIN (1.29 ERA, 6 SV)
Matt Capps, PIT (1.42 ERA, 5 SV)
Ryan Franklin, STL (0.00 ERA, 5 SV)
Brian Wilson, SF (1.17 ERA, 3 SV)
Players per Team:
Los Angeles Dodgers – 4
St. Louis Cardinals – 4
Chicago Cubs – 3
Cincinnati Reds – 3
San Francisco Giants – 2
New York Mets – 2
San Diego Padres – 2
Florida Marlins – 2
Atlanta Braves – 2
Pittsburgh Pirates – 2
Philadelphia Phillies – 1
Milwaukee Brewers – 1
Washington Nationals – 1
Houston Astros – 1
Arizona Diamondbacks – 1
Colorado Rockies – 1
Results of last week’s poll:
Which of my playoff teams do you think has the best shot at winning the World Series?
Rangers – 35%
Rays – 21%
Cubs – 14%
Marlins – 10%
Yankees – 7%
Twins – 3%
Giants – 3%
Phillies – 3%
Come back next week for my April Awards.
Also, Michael Young is on pace to hit just over 50 home runs this year. I’m sure it won’t happen, but that’s a pretty good pace.
Since the All-Star ballots are available, this week I decided to determine who should be in the All-Star game, based purely on how they’re doing so far this season (they have to be on the ballot). The AL stats are as of April 25th and the NL stats are as of April 26th.
AL:
Starters:
1B: Carlos Pena, TB (.254 AVG, 8 HR, 21 RBI): Even though he is only batting .254, his power numbers make up for that, as he leads the majors in home runs with 8, and he also has 21 RBI’s.
2B: Ian Kinsler, TEX (.382 AVG, 5 HR, 17 RBI): Aaron Hill has 1 more RBI than Kinsler….But Kinsler has a higher batting average and 6 more stolen bases. They are probably the top two second basemen in the AL so far.
SS: Derek Jeter, NYY (.290 AVG, 4 HR, 11 RBI): He is tied for the lead in AL shortstops in both home runs and RBI’s, but has a higher batting average than Marco Scutaro, the one who he is tied with in both those categories.
3B: Evan Longoria, TB (.377 AVG, 5 HR, 16 RBI): Evan has a great batting average, a lot of home runs, and 16 RBI’s. He has the highest batting average of the AL third basemen, and he is tied for the most RBI’s of the AL third basemen.
C: Victor Martinez, CLE (.386 AVG, 5 HR, 9 RBI): Martinez is in the top 5 in the major leagues in batting average. He has the most home runs of AL catchers. And, he should be an All-Star starter, in my opinion.
OF: Nelson Cruz, TEX (.295 AVG, 6 HR, 15 RBI): Nelson is 3rd in AL outfielders in RBI’s, and he is tied for 2nd in AL outfielders in home runs. And out of the three people that are ahead of him in those categories, only one of them has a better batting average.
OF: Carlos Quentin, CWS (.250 AVG, 7 HR, 14 RBI): If it weren’t for his awful batting average, he would be a no-brainer to start, but with it, he just barely edges out Nick Markakis of the Orioles for that start.
OF: Grady Sizemore, CLE (.271 AVG, 6 HR, 18 RBI): Grady Sizemore has great power numbers, and even though his batting average is kind of low, his 6 home runs and 18 RBI’s more than make up for that.
SP: Zach Grienke, KC (4-0, 0.00 ERA, 36 K): He is tied for the major league lead in wins. He is 2nd in the major leagues in strikeouts. He leads the major leagues in ERA. He has not allowed an earned run the whole year, and that’s pretty amazing. He is the obvious choice here.
Reserves:
1B: Kevin Youkilis, BOS (.433 AVG, 5 HR, 13 RBI)
Miguel Cabrera, DET (.410 AVG, 4 HR, 13 RBI)
2B: Aaron Hill, TOR (.373 AVG, 5 HR, 18 RBI)
Robinson Cano, NYY (.354 AVG, 3 HR, 10 RBI)
SS: Jason Bartlett, TB (.390 AVG, 2 HR, 5 RBI)
3B: Brandon Inge, DET (.304 AVG, 6 HR, 15 RBI)
Michael Young, TEX (.308 AVG, 5 HR, 11 RBI)
C: Jorge Posada, NYY (.283 AVG, 3 HR, 12 RBI)
OF: Nick Markakis, BAL (.385 AVG, 2 HR, 19 RBI)
Torii Hunter, LAA (.327 AVG, 6 HR, 11 RBI)
Adam Jones, BAL (.333 AVG, 2 HR, 12 RBI)
Jason Bay, BOS (.288 AVG, 4 HR, 13 RBI)
P: Jon Danks, CWS (2-0, 0.95 ERA, 16 K)
Jarrod Washburn, SEA (3-0, 1.71 ERA, 17 K)
Glenn Perkins, MIN (1-1, 1.50 ERA, 12 K)
Armando Galarraga, DET (2-0, 1.96 ERA, 17 K)
Andrew Bailey, OAK (2-0, 0.79 ERA, 13 K)
Erik Bedard, SEA (2-1, 2.08 ERA, 29 K)
Joakim Soria, KC (1.80 ERA, 5 SV)
Brandon Morrow, SEA (4.05 ERA, 5 SV)
Jonathon Papelbon, BOS (1.23 ERA, 4 SV)
Frank Francisco, TEX (0.00 ERA, 3 SV)
Mariano Rivera, NYY (2.16 ERA, 4 SV)
Players per Team:
Texas Rangers – 4
New York Yankees – 4
Tampa Bay Rays – 3
Boston Red Sox – 3
Detroit Tigers – 3
Seattle Mariners – 3
Cleveland Indians – 2
Chicago White Sox – 2
Kansas City Royals – 2
Baltimore Orioles – 2
Toronto Blue Jays – 1
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – 1
Minnesota Twins – 1
Oakland Athletics – 1
NL:
Starters:
1B: Albert Pujols, STL (.348 AVG, 7 HR, 25 RBI): Even with Albert leading all NL first basemen in both home runs and RBI’s, that’s still not it. He leads all NL first basemen in stolen bases also, with three. He has been dominant this year and should be a starter.
2B: Chase Utley, PHI (.322 AVG, 5 HR, 14 RBI): Even though Dan Uggla has two more RBI’s than Utley, he is only hitting .213 compared to Chase Utley’s .322. That’s too big of a difference.
SS: Ryan Theriot, CHC (.344 AVG, 0 HR, 6 RBI): Ryan has a very good batting average, the highest among all NL shortstops (on the ballot) and even though his power numbers aren’t that good, nobody has good power numbers at that position in the NL, so that’s not a big problem.
3B: Aramis Ramirez, CHC (.358 AVG, 3 HR, 14 RBI): Ramirez leads NL third basemen in batting average and RBI’s and the only person who has hit more home runs than him has a .228 batting average. There is almost no competition, so he is the obvious choice.
C: Bengie Molina, SF (.328 AVG, 3 HR, 13 RBI): He has the best power numbers of all NL catchers, and he has one of the best batting averages, also. His brother, Yadier Molina, is the only one who gave him in competition, and, in my opinion, he isn’t playing as well as Bengie.
OF: Ryan Ludwick, STL (.356 AVG, 5 HR, 19 RBI): Ryan has good power numbers and a good batting average. He is one of the top players in the major leagues in home runs, and has a good amount of RBI’s. That should get you in.
OF: Andre Ethier, LAD (.308 AVG, 5 HR, 20 RBI): Andre is hitting over .300, and he has great power numbers. Even though the outfield has about 10 all-stars in it, he is one of the top ones.
OF: Ryan Braun, MIL (.359 AVG, 4 HR, 13 RBI): Ryan is hitting over .300, has 13 RBI’s, and 4 HR’s. The power numbers are decent, but his average is what got him a starting job on my NL All-Star team.
SP: Johan Santana, NYM (3-1, 0.70 ERA, 37 K): Even though Johan has a loss, he leads all of baseball in strikeouts, has an ERA under 1.00, and still has three wins. Even though Chad Billingsley is 4-0, he is 2nd to Santana.
Reserves:
1B: Joey Votto, CIN (.358 AVG, 3 HR, 16 RBI)
Adrian Gonzalez, SD (.306 AVG, 6 HR, 13 RBI)
2B: Orlando Hudson, LAD (.370 AVG, 2 HR, 8 RBI)
SS: Hanley Ramirez, FLA (.292 AVG, 2 HR, 11 RBI)
3B: Chipper Jones, ATL (.298 AVG, 2 HR, 8 RBI)
C: Yadier Molina, STL (.333 AVG, 1 HR, 10 RBI)
Jeff Baker, FLA (.306 AVG, 1 HR, 9 RBI)
OF: Carlos Beltran, NYM (.415 AVG, 2 HR, 14 RBI)
Kosuke Fukudome, CHC (.345 AVG, 3 HR, 10 RBI)
Brad Hawpe, COL (.308 AVG, 2 HR, 13 RBI)
Adam Dunn, WSH (.302 AVG, 4 HR, 12 RBI)
P: Chad Billingsley, LAD (4-0, 2.05 ERA, 26 K)
Paul Maholm, PIT (3-0, 2.03 ERA, 10 K)
Wandy Rodriguez, HOU (1-2, 1.80 ERA, 22 K)
Jair Jurrjens, ATL (2-1, 1.42 ERA, 14 K)
Dan Haren, ARI (1-3, 1.38 ERA, 26 K)
Aaron Harang, CIN (2-2, 2.00 ERA, 19 K)
Heath Bell, SD (0.00 ERA, 7 SV)
Jonathon Broxton, LAD (0.96 ERA, 6 SV)
Francisco Cordero, CIN (1.29 ERA, 6 SV)
Matt Capps, PIT (1.42 ERA, 5 SV)
Ryan Franklin, STL (0.00 ERA, 5 SV)
Brian Wilson, SF (1.17 ERA, 3 SV)
Players per Team:
Los Angeles Dodgers – 4
St. Louis Cardinals – 4
Chicago Cubs – 3
Cincinnati Reds – 3
San Francisco Giants – 2
New York Mets – 2
San Diego Padres – 2
Florida Marlins – 2
Atlanta Braves – 2
Pittsburgh Pirates – 2
Philadelphia Phillies – 1
Milwaukee Brewers – 1
Washington Nationals – 1
Houston Astros – 1
Arizona Diamondbacks – 1
Colorado Rockies – 1
Results of last week’s poll:
Which of my playoff teams do you think has the best shot at winning the World Series?
Rangers – 35%
Rays – 21%
Cubs – 14%
Marlins – 10%
Yankees – 7%
Twins – 3%
Giants – 3%
Phillies – 3%
Come back next week for my April Awards.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Tim Murphy Interview
A couple of weeks ago, I interviewed Rangers pitching prospect Tim Murphy. Tim began his pro career in 2008 after being drafted by the Rangers. After a successful year, with time spent in both Spokane and Clinton, Tim opened this season in Bakersfield. I spoke with him as he was wrapping up spring training in Arizona.
Me: Do you enjoy hitting or pitching more?
Tim: It’s tough to say. I grew up as a hitter and I consider myself to be an athletic guy. I got drafted out of high school as an outfielder by the Angels and, once I got to UCLA, I didn’t pitch during my freshman year. But it turned out that pitching was going to be my future and that’s where I ended up today. It’s tough to say. They’re two totally different sides of the game and I enjoy doing them both. But realistically, my future’s on the mound so I’m going to stick with that and that’s where I’m at right now.
Me: Do you prefer starting or relieving?
Tim: I’ve had the privilege to do both. At UCLA, I was fortunate enough to be a starter my sophomore year and going into my junior year. But also in midweek games I had the opportunity to close some weeks. They’re totally different mindsets in my opinion and if I had it my way I’d like to stay as a starter. Either way’s fine with me but I’d prefer starting over relieving.
Me: Did you enjoy playing football or baseball more?
Tim: Definitely baseball. I grew up playing all different sports – basketball, soccer, hockey - you name it, I probably played it. Football was fun for me but it was more something to pass time. It was something I enjoyed and I was somewhat successful at it, but baseball was one of the things I’ve played since I was five years old. It’s my true love and I definitely have more of a passion for baseball than I ever had for football or any other sport. It’s stuck with me since and I still love going out there every day and playing the game.
Me: What position did you play in football?
Tim: My freshman year in high school I played quarterback, and then my sophomore year I got called up to varsity and they were looking at me as a quarterback. But we had a couple of older guys who ended up stepping up. I was converted to defensive back and ended up playing safety. I played safety my sophomore and junior year. I also played a little wide receiver my junior year. I ended up giving up football my senior year so I could concentrate on baseball. I felt like that’s where my future was and I really didn’t want to jeopardize anything with an injury or anything like that. I knew baseball was my future and it wasn’t going to be football, so I ended up sticking with baseball and it got me here today so I can’t complain.
Me: What was your reasoning for not signing with the Angels when they drafted you in 2005 as an outfielder out of Rancho Buena Vista High School?
Tim: There were a couple of different reasons. Obviously I had committed to UCLA and I had an opportunity there to go with a pretty successful coach who had a pretty good background with developing players in the past. There were a couple of different situations that went into it. The situation obviously wasn’t right. The Angels had a couple of guys they had to sign before me before they could offer me money, since they had drafted me in the later rounds. It was going to take above slot money to sign me and take me away from my commitment to UCLA. So that was probably one of the main factors, which was that everything didn’t really line up at the time. If it had, I could have been with the Angels today. But the way I look at it is that everything happens for a reason. I couldn’t see myself as a professional hitter. I don’t know if I ever would have made it to the big leagues as a hitter. Pitching’s kind of where everything worked out. Definitely I feel like I can be a successful pitcher and I have the chance to make it to the big leagues and hopefully have a very successful career and a long one as well.
Me: Well I’m glad you’re here and not with the Angels.
Tim: Yeah me too. Actually I’ve been very happy with the Texas Rangers organization. They’ve been really good to me so far and I couldn’t ask for anything more. I could be with other teams that are going to the free agency market but the Rangers are promoting guys from within. There’s definitely an opportunity here for homegrown talent and they’ve proven that with their track record the last few years. I definitely feel with the Rangers that there’s a pretty good opportunity here in front of me.
Me: Which stat means more to you: having the lowest ERA on UCLA, or having the fourth lowest ERA in the whole Pac-10 conference?
Tim: That’s a tough one. Obviously you want to be in a class by yourself as a leader on the field and obviously you want to start with your own team first. That’s what you look at on an individual basis. Individual statistics are good and are something that comes along with team success. Without the team I wouldn’t have had the lowest ERA with UCLA. There’re a lot of things that go into that. But the Pac-10 is a highly touted conference and there are a lot of guys that have come out of that conference and have had successful major league careers. I didn’t even know that I had the fourth lowest ERA until you told me just now. So that’s a tough one but I’d probably go with the Pac-10 on that one because it’s kind of a nice individual honor. But like I said, it goes into the team success as well. Guys have to play behind you with defense and you have to get run support, so it wasn’t all on my own but I guess I did have a little bit to do with it.
Me: So, do you not ever pay attention to your stats?
Tim: There are different stats you look at so you can see where you’re at in the season and what you need to work on. But the stats that are more important to me are ball-to-strike ratios. After a certain outing I’ll go back and look at our pitch chart to see how many first-pitch strikes I threw, how many guys I threw strikes to on the first 2 out of 3 pitches, quality pitches, fly balls, ground balls. Those are the stats I pay more attention to. The other stats are ones that you might look back on at the end of the season and take some pride in but during the season you don’t really focus too much on ERA or strikeouts. Those things kind of just happen but if you take care of the prime ones that people don’t look at so much that don’t show up in the box scores, then the ones that do show up in the box scores take care of themselves.
Me: Was it frustrating for you to go 5-6 even though you had the team’s lowest ERA in 2008?
Tim: Yeah, I guess you could say that. Obviously you’d like to have more wins. You always feel like you could do better. But like I said earlier, the Pac-10 was a difficult conference. I was throwing against people that were just as good or even better than me. It comes with the territory. I tried to go out there every Friday night and give my team a chance to win and sometimes you fall on the short end of the stick. That’s baseball. It’s a really weird game. You never know what’s going to happen. We had guys with higher ERAs who had pretty successful seasons. I guess you could say it’s disappointing, but in the long run it really didn’t matter too much. We ended up making the playoffs and had a pretty good run. We fell a little bit short and didn’t meet our main goal, which was obviously a national championship for UCLA, but you can’t look too far into that in my eyes.
Me: What 2008 accomplishment means more to you: leading the Pac-10 in strikeouts with 111 or being named Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week three times?
Tim: Probably in the long run I’d have to say leading the Pac-10 in strikeouts. It’s a tough one to say, too, because the Pac-10 pitcher of the week honors go with the team. You can go out and throw a shutout, but the team still has to put up that one run and play defense behind you, so I feel like the Pac-10 ones are not so individually based. But definitely the Pac-10 strikeout leader I can look back on 40 to 50 years from now and tell my grandchildren that I led the Pac-10 in strikeouts in 2008. I think that’s something that I’ll cherish a little bit more once my baseball career is over and I look back on things. That’s probably something that I’ll remember forever.
Me: As a pitcher, as the season goes along, would you rather throw more strikeouts or less walks?
Tim: Obviously less walks. At any level of the game, you can’t give away free bases. Once you start giving away free bases, that’s when bad things start to happen. If I had zero strikeouts and zero walks in a game versus seven strikeouts and three walks in a game, I’d take the zero and zero, just for the fact that there are other ways to get a guy out than strikeouts and you can’t strike a guy out on one pitch. Strikeouts can lead to high pitch counts. I’d definitely take the fewer walks than strikeouts.
Me: When your coach at UCLA, John Savage, had you throw 144 pitches in an 8-0 win, what were some of the thoughts that went through your head?
Tim: If I remember correctly, that was against Berkeley, and we were a bubble team going to the playoffs. We weren’t a shoe-in for the playoffs yet, so, if I remember correctly, it was a game up there that we kind of needed to win and it was late in the season. It was the last start of the regular season for me and pitch count by then is individual based. People talk about 100 pitches being the highest that someone can go, but it’s something that Nolan Ryan’s gone into here with the Rangers in that it’s kind of individually based. You have to push your limits, I feel, and some guys are capable of doing that. And if you can, then why not? I think our pitch counts here this year with the Rangers are going to get more stretched out. If I remember correctly, I threw those 144 pitches and then came back the next Friday and had a pretty successful game against Virginia. So it’s all individually based in my opinion. If a guy can handle it then a guy can handle it. It didn’t have any negative effect on me and it was a big game for UCLA to get us into the playoffs. Sometimes you have to do what you have to do. It’s one of those things I did for the team. We made it to the regionals and it didn’t have any long-lasting effects on me.
Me: What adjustments did you make between 2007 and 2008 that helped you lower your ERA from 5.68 to 3.34 and lower your opponent’s batting average from .278 to .227?
Tim: 2007 was really my first full year of pitching, especially at a higher level. I pitched a little bit in high school. I was still pretty new to pitching in 2007. I was a guy who had a decent arm that was more of a thrower than a pitcher. I feel like probably the biggest difference between 2007 and 2008 was that I made the transition into a pitcher, refined my command with fastballs, my curveball got a little better, experience, all sorts of stuff contributed to the switch between the two seasons. It was more experience and being out there more and more. Like anything else in life, the more and more you do something the better and better you’ll become at it in my opinion.
Me: In both ’07 and ’08 you allowed more unearned runs than earned runs. What were your first thoughts whenever one of your teammates would make an error behind you?
Tim: Everyone makes mistakes. Physical errors are going to happen. Guys are going to bobble a ground ball or drop a fly ball. It’s the mental errors that will get to you. But if a guy makes an error behind you, that’s going to happen. It’s no different than me leaving an 0-2 pitch over the middle of the plate that wasn’t supposed to be there and the guy hits a home run. You don’t have eight guys behind you bickering at you when you make a mistake on the mound, so if a guy makes an error behind you, you’ve got to go on and pick him up. If anything, you want to get the next ball right back to him. You want to give him another chance. You want him to be able to redeem himself. He feels just as bad. It’s not like he did it intentionally. You need to move on to the next guy, take it one pitch at a time, clear your mind and go to the next pitch - challenge the next guy even more. I never have a negative feeling towards a player when an error happens or anything like that.
Me: Did you notice a big difference when you got to the minor leagues in the defense behind you?
Tim: The biggest difference I noticed from college to professional baseball is that, especially in the lower levels, guys are a little bit more raw. In college, you see guys that are a little more average across the board with everything they do. Once I got to pro ball, you could make some mistakes and get away with them and then make another mistake and the guy hits a 500-foot home run. That’s probably the biggest difference. And then obviously everyone here got drafted for a reason so most of the guys have some tools. You see guys with more ability here in pro ball. They might not be as consistent with their ability yet but that’s part of the minor leagues and developing, as opposed to college where you see more guys with average tools who make the routine plays and not make the spectacular ones. Up here in the minors, you’ll see some guys make some unbelievable plays that you’re awed by and then see them boot or misplay a ball on a play that they should make. That’s probably the biggest difference – it’s a little more up-and-down in the minor leagues and it was a little more even-keeled in college ball.
Me: Who are your three favorite teammates since you joined the Rangers organization and why?
Tim: I’d probably have to say Matt West. He was my roommate in Spokane and he was one of the first guys I met with the Rangers. He had been with the Rangers a year, so he kind of showed me the ropes of professional baseball, some of the little things I didn’t know. He was my roomie so I spent a lot of time with him in Spokane. Another guy would probably be Corey Young. We hit it off. He has some of the same interests as me. He’s from New Jersey but you’d never know it. You’d think he was a California kid. We clicked right away. The third guy would probably be Corey Ragsdale. He’s an older guy. I met him later in the year in Spokane when he got transitioned from shortstop to the mound. When he came down, he kind of gave me a new perspective on baseball. Well, not just in baseball. He’s a more mature guy and we had some heart-to-heart talks. I felt like he helped me grow up a little bit, I guess would be the best way to describe it. I feel I’d have to attribute some of my success in Spokane to him and some of the talks we had and trying to get more out of my ability.
Me: Who are the three toughest hitters you’ve faced and why?
Tim: Probably the toughest guy, and he was left-handed too, was Brett Wallace. He probably has a shot at being in the big leagues this year. He was just one of those guys that I always had trouble with in college. Two other guys? I don’t know. It’s tough to say. I wouldn’t consider myself an average pitcher. I kind of do things a little bit differently. I kind of still have a position player’s mentality. I really don’t remember too much.
Me: Well, that’s a good sign if you can’t think of tough hitters.
Tim: Yeah, I only remember certain things. It’s weird. Like, I’ll remember how to pitch certain guys, or a weakness, or I’ll remember how a guy’s really fast and liable to bunt anytime during a game, or that sort of thing. But hitters-wise, you could say that if a guy has success off of me or I have a bad outing, it’s one of those things where I just want to move on to the next start as soon as possible. You just kind of forget about those negative moments. You take them and learn from them but you don’t dwell on them. That’s the biggest reason why I don’t remember the toughest hitters. Like I said, Brett was my toughest guy.
Me: What is your best pitch and how was it developed?
Tim: I’d have to say that it’s definitely going to have to be my fastball. I live off my fastball. Anyone you ask, a scout or anyone in the organization, the fastball is my number one pitch and I think it should be for every single pitcher. You have to have a fastball and you have to establish it early in the game. If you don’t have a fastball then, in my eyes, you’re going up the creek the wrong way. Probably the thing I’ve developed the most is being able to locate it better and have better command. Going into this year, I’ve been trying to keep the ball down, especially out here in spring training, and it’s something that I’ll carry over into the season. I’ve had pretty good success out here so far in spring training. I’ve been able to refine my command of that and I’ve been able to put it where I want more often.
Me: What’s been the best game so far of your professional career and why?
Tim: I don’t know about best game but the most memorable game came up in Washington. There was a promotion called ‘10 K’s for $10,000’, so if the whole Spokane pitching staff combined had 10 strikeouts in 9 innings, then one of the fans would win $10,000. Matt Matt Nevarez started the game and I think he went around 4 innings with 6 strikeouts, and I came in around the 5th and got one strikeout that inning. By the end of my outing, I had about 2 or 3 innings and I got that 10th strikeout. So, I think in the 7th inning, we had 10 combined strikeouts and we actually won a fan $10,000. So that was probably the most memorable moment just because it was something cool and probably something I’ll never see again.
Me: That must have been fun for the fan.
Tim: Yeah, I’m sure they were pretty happy. I don’t know too many people who wouldn’t take $10,000.
Me: What was your favorite team growing up?
Tim: I grew up in San Diego, so obviously the Padres. It was the Padres and then my favorite player growing up was Steve Finley. He kind of bounced around from team to team, so I followed whatever team he was on pretty closely. But I followed the Padres most as a kid.
Me: I went to Petco Park the year it opened. I guess you’ve been to Petco, right?
Tim: Oh yeah, I’ve been to Petco for many games. My dad’s a firefighter so he goes in every year and gets a season ticket package and splits it with the others. They each get about five games apiece. My parents have had season tickets there for the last four or five years. So I definitely got my fair share of games in. It still looks brand new and it’s probably the most clean stadium I’ve ever been in. It’s a pretty nice place.
Me: It’s much nicer than Jack Murphy.
Tim: Yeah, way better than Qualcomm.
Me: What sports did you play growing up and which were you best at?
Tim: I started playing baseball when I was 5. I played t-ball every year and never skipped a year on that. I played soccer for 2-3 years. I played hockey for a year or a year and a half. I played basketball in middle school for a year. Then it was on to football in high school. I really like football. It was really fun to me. It’s a lot more of an athletic game. You can be a good athlete and you can get away with a lot in that sport, as opposed to baseball where I feel you need to be athletic but there’s a lot of stuff that goes on behind the scenes, especially mentally. I feel like I was probably the best at baseball. I’m still playing baseball now so I can’t say I wasn’t the best at baseball.
Me: What’s the worst injury you’ve ever had to deal with?
Tim: Hands-down it was when I broke my jaw my junior year of high school. I got hit by a baseball and broke my jaw in two spots. I think it was 2 or 3 weeks before the season and I had to have it wired shut for six weeks. It was definitely, easily, without a doubt the worst injury I’ve had. I ended up losing 17 pounds from it. I couldn’t eat. The thing I survived on was taking hot pockets and putting them in a blender and adding either chicken or beef broth to liquefy them even more and then I’d suck them down with a straw because I couldn’t chew or move my jaw. It’s something I’ll never forget and hopefully never have to go through again. I hope no one has to go through that actually.
Me: That must have hurt.
Tim: Yeah, it was pretty painful too. The initial contact and injury didn’t hurt. But the surgery and the first week were unbearable. You wanted to rip the wires and metal out of your mouth but it was just something you had to go through.
Me: What are your hobbies?
Tim: I like movies and hanging out with my friends during the offseason. I go to the beach a lot. Those are probably my biggest hobbies. I love the beach. You’ll always find me at the beach during the offseason. I don’t think I’ll ever move from southern California. It’s probably somewhere I’ll always be during the offseason.
Me: Well, that’s all the questions I have. Thank you so much for doing the interview.
Tim: No worries. If you ever have any other questions or ever need anything, just give me a call. It was good hearing from you again.
I would like to thank Tim for taking so much time to talk with me for this interview and wish him the best of luck in Bakersfield this season. We should be seeing him in Frisco soon. I got to meet Tim in January at the Rangers Winter awards ceremony. Tim sat at our table for dinner. I also talked with him a few times in Surprise in March when I was up there for spring training. Tim is a great guy and always very friendly. I really appreciate him taking time out of his schedule for this interview.
Come back next week for numbers 36-40 on my Top 50 All-Time Rangers List.
Me: Do you enjoy hitting or pitching more?
Tim: It’s tough to say. I grew up as a hitter and I consider myself to be an athletic guy. I got drafted out of high school as an outfielder by the Angels and, once I got to UCLA, I didn’t pitch during my freshman year. But it turned out that pitching was going to be my future and that’s where I ended up today. It’s tough to say. They’re two totally different sides of the game and I enjoy doing them both. But realistically, my future’s on the mound so I’m going to stick with that and that’s where I’m at right now.
Me: Do you prefer starting or relieving?
Tim: I’ve had the privilege to do both. At UCLA, I was fortunate enough to be a starter my sophomore year and going into my junior year. But also in midweek games I had the opportunity to close some weeks. They’re totally different mindsets in my opinion and if I had it my way I’d like to stay as a starter. Either way’s fine with me but I’d prefer starting over relieving.
Me: Did you enjoy playing football or baseball more?
Tim: Definitely baseball. I grew up playing all different sports – basketball, soccer, hockey - you name it, I probably played it. Football was fun for me but it was more something to pass time. It was something I enjoyed and I was somewhat successful at it, but baseball was one of the things I’ve played since I was five years old. It’s my true love and I definitely have more of a passion for baseball than I ever had for football or any other sport. It’s stuck with me since and I still love going out there every day and playing the game.
Me: What position did you play in football?
Tim: My freshman year in high school I played quarterback, and then my sophomore year I got called up to varsity and they were looking at me as a quarterback. But we had a couple of older guys who ended up stepping up. I was converted to defensive back and ended up playing safety. I played safety my sophomore and junior year. I also played a little wide receiver my junior year. I ended up giving up football my senior year so I could concentrate on baseball. I felt like that’s where my future was and I really didn’t want to jeopardize anything with an injury or anything like that. I knew baseball was my future and it wasn’t going to be football, so I ended up sticking with baseball and it got me here today so I can’t complain.
Me: What was your reasoning for not signing with the Angels when they drafted you in 2005 as an outfielder out of Rancho Buena Vista High School?
Tim: There were a couple of different reasons. Obviously I had committed to UCLA and I had an opportunity there to go with a pretty successful coach who had a pretty good background with developing players in the past. There were a couple of different situations that went into it. The situation obviously wasn’t right. The Angels had a couple of guys they had to sign before me before they could offer me money, since they had drafted me in the later rounds. It was going to take above slot money to sign me and take me away from my commitment to UCLA. So that was probably one of the main factors, which was that everything didn’t really line up at the time. If it had, I could have been with the Angels today. But the way I look at it is that everything happens for a reason. I couldn’t see myself as a professional hitter. I don’t know if I ever would have made it to the big leagues as a hitter. Pitching’s kind of where everything worked out. Definitely I feel like I can be a successful pitcher and I have the chance to make it to the big leagues and hopefully have a very successful career and a long one as well.
Me: Well I’m glad you’re here and not with the Angels.
Tim: Yeah me too. Actually I’ve been very happy with the Texas Rangers organization. They’ve been really good to me so far and I couldn’t ask for anything more. I could be with other teams that are going to the free agency market but the Rangers are promoting guys from within. There’s definitely an opportunity here for homegrown talent and they’ve proven that with their track record the last few years. I definitely feel with the Rangers that there’s a pretty good opportunity here in front of me.
Me: Which stat means more to you: having the lowest ERA on UCLA, or having the fourth lowest ERA in the whole Pac-10 conference?
Tim: That’s a tough one. Obviously you want to be in a class by yourself as a leader on the field and obviously you want to start with your own team first. That’s what you look at on an individual basis. Individual statistics are good and are something that comes along with team success. Without the team I wouldn’t have had the lowest ERA with UCLA. There’re a lot of things that go into that. But the Pac-10 is a highly touted conference and there are a lot of guys that have come out of that conference and have had successful major league careers. I didn’t even know that I had the fourth lowest ERA until you told me just now. So that’s a tough one but I’d probably go with the Pac-10 on that one because it’s kind of a nice individual honor. But like I said, it goes into the team success as well. Guys have to play behind you with defense and you have to get run support, so it wasn’t all on my own but I guess I did have a little bit to do with it.
Me: So, do you not ever pay attention to your stats?
Tim: There are different stats you look at so you can see where you’re at in the season and what you need to work on. But the stats that are more important to me are ball-to-strike ratios. After a certain outing I’ll go back and look at our pitch chart to see how many first-pitch strikes I threw, how many guys I threw strikes to on the first 2 out of 3 pitches, quality pitches, fly balls, ground balls. Those are the stats I pay more attention to. The other stats are ones that you might look back on at the end of the season and take some pride in but during the season you don’t really focus too much on ERA or strikeouts. Those things kind of just happen but if you take care of the prime ones that people don’t look at so much that don’t show up in the box scores, then the ones that do show up in the box scores take care of themselves.
Me: Was it frustrating for you to go 5-6 even though you had the team’s lowest ERA in 2008?
Tim: Yeah, I guess you could say that. Obviously you’d like to have more wins. You always feel like you could do better. But like I said earlier, the Pac-10 was a difficult conference. I was throwing against people that were just as good or even better than me. It comes with the territory. I tried to go out there every Friday night and give my team a chance to win and sometimes you fall on the short end of the stick. That’s baseball. It’s a really weird game. You never know what’s going to happen. We had guys with higher ERAs who had pretty successful seasons. I guess you could say it’s disappointing, but in the long run it really didn’t matter too much. We ended up making the playoffs and had a pretty good run. We fell a little bit short and didn’t meet our main goal, which was obviously a national championship for UCLA, but you can’t look too far into that in my eyes.
Me: What 2008 accomplishment means more to you: leading the Pac-10 in strikeouts with 111 or being named Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week three times?
Tim: Probably in the long run I’d have to say leading the Pac-10 in strikeouts. It’s a tough one to say, too, because the Pac-10 pitcher of the week honors go with the team. You can go out and throw a shutout, but the team still has to put up that one run and play defense behind you, so I feel like the Pac-10 ones are not so individually based. But definitely the Pac-10 strikeout leader I can look back on 40 to 50 years from now and tell my grandchildren that I led the Pac-10 in strikeouts in 2008. I think that’s something that I’ll cherish a little bit more once my baseball career is over and I look back on things. That’s probably something that I’ll remember forever.
Me: As a pitcher, as the season goes along, would you rather throw more strikeouts or less walks?
Tim: Obviously less walks. At any level of the game, you can’t give away free bases. Once you start giving away free bases, that’s when bad things start to happen. If I had zero strikeouts and zero walks in a game versus seven strikeouts and three walks in a game, I’d take the zero and zero, just for the fact that there are other ways to get a guy out than strikeouts and you can’t strike a guy out on one pitch. Strikeouts can lead to high pitch counts. I’d definitely take the fewer walks than strikeouts.
Me: When your coach at UCLA, John Savage, had you throw 144 pitches in an 8-0 win, what were some of the thoughts that went through your head?
Tim: If I remember correctly, that was against Berkeley, and we were a bubble team going to the playoffs. We weren’t a shoe-in for the playoffs yet, so, if I remember correctly, it was a game up there that we kind of needed to win and it was late in the season. It was the last start of the regular season for me and pitch count by then is individual based. People talk about 100 pitches being the highest that someone can go, but it’s something that Nolan Ryan’s gone into here with the Rangers in that it’s kind of individually based. You have to push your limits, I feel, and some guys are capable of doing that. And if you can, then why not? I think our pitch counts here this year with the Rangers are going to get more stretched out. If I remember correctly, I threw those 144 pitches and then came back the next Friday and had a pretty successful game against Virginia. So it’s all individually based in my opinion. If a guy can handle it then a guy can handle it. It didn’t have any negative effect on me and it was a big game for UCLA to get us into the playoffs. Sometimes you have to do what you have to do. It’s one of those things I did for the team. We made it to the regionals and it didn’t have any long-lasting effects on me.
Me: What adjustments did you make between 2007 and 2008 that helped you lower your ERA from 5.68 to 3.34 and lower your opponent’s batting average from .278 to .227?
Tim: 2007 was really my first full year of pitching, especially at a higher level. I pitched a little bit in high school. I was still pretty new to pitching in 2007. I was a guy who had a decent arm that was more of a thrower than a pitcher. I feel like probably the biggest difference between 2007 and 2008 was that I made the transition into a pitcher, refined my command with fastballs, my curveball got a little better, experience, all sorts of stuff contributed to the switch between the two seasons. It was more experience and being out there more and more. Like anything else in life, the more and more you do something the better and better you’ll become at it in my opinion.
Me: In both ’07 and ’08 you allowed more unearned runs than earned runs. What were your first thoughts whenever one of your teammates would make an error behind you?
Tim: Everyone makes mistakes. Physical errors are going to happen. Guys are going to bobble a ground ball or drop a fly ball. It’s the mental errors that will get to you. But if a guy makes an error behind you, that’s going to happen. It’s no different than me leaving an 0-2 pitch over the middle of the plate that wasn’t supposed to be there and the guy hits a home run. You don’t have eight guys behind you bickering at you when you make a mistake on the mound, so if a guy makes an error behind you, you’ve got to go on and pick him up. If anything, you want to get the next ball right back to him. You want to give him another chance. You want him to be able to redeem himself. He feels just as bad. It’s not like he did it intentionally. You need to move on to the next guy, take it one pitch at a time, clear your mind and go to the next pitch - challenge the next guy even more. I never have a negative feeling towards a player when an error happens or anything like that.
Me: Did you notice a big difference when you got to the minor leagues in the defense behind you?
Tim: The biggest difference I noticed from college to professional baseball is that, especially in the lower levels, guys are a little bit more raw. In college, you see guys that are a little more average across the board with everything they do. Once I got to pro ball, you could make some mistakes and get away with them and then make another mistake and the guy hits a 500-foot home run. That’s probably the biggest difference. And then obviously everyone here got drafted for a reason so most of the guys have some tools. You see guys with more ability here in pro ball. They might not be as consistent with their ability yet but that’s part of the minor leagues and developing, as opposed to college where you see more guys with average tools who make the routine plays and not make the spectacular ones. Up here in the minors, you’ll see some guys make some unbelievable plays that you’re awed by and then see them boot or misplay a ball on a play that they should make. That’s probably the biggest difference – it’s a little more up-and-down in the minor leagues and it was a little more even-keeled in college ball.
Me: Who are your three favorite teammates since you joined the Rangers organization and why?
Tim: I’d probably have to say Matt West. He was my roommate in Spokane and he was one of the first guys I met with the Rangers. He had been with the Rangers a year, so he kind of showed me the ropes of professional baseball, some of the little things I didn’t know. He was my roomie so I spent a lot of time with him in Spokane. Another guy would probably be Corey Young. We hit it off. He has some of the same interests as me. He’s from New Jersey but you’d never know it. You’d think he was a California kid. We clicked right away. The third guy would probably be Corey Ragsdale. He’s an older guy. I met him later in the year in Spokane when he got transitioned from shortstop to the mound. When he came down, he kind of gave me a new perspective on baseball. Well, not just in baseball. He’s a more mature guy and we had some heart-to-heart talks. I felt like he helped me grow up a little bit, I guess would be the best way to describe it. I feel I’d have to attribute some of my success in Spokane to him and some of the talks we had and trying to get more out of my ability.
Me: Who are the three toughest hitters you’ve faced and why?
Tim: Probably the toughest guy, and he was left-handed too, was Brett Wallace. He probably has a shot at being in the big leagues this year. He was just one of those guys that I always had trouble with in college. Two other guys? I don’t know. It’s tough to say. I wouldn’t consider myself an average pitcher. I kind of do things a little bit differently. I kind of still have a position player’s mentality. I really don’t remember too much.
Me: Well, that’s a good sign if you can’t think of tough hitters.
Tim: Yeah, I only remember certain things. It’s weird. Like, I’ll remember how to pitch certain guys, or a weakness, or I’ll remember how a guy’s really fast and liable to bunt anytime during a game, or that sort of thing. But hitters-wise, you could say that if a guy has success off of me or I have a bad outing, it’s one of those things where I just want to move on to the next start as soon as possible. You just kind of forget about those negative moments. You take them and learn from them but you don’t dwell on them. That’s the biggest reason why I don’t remember the toughest hitters. Like I said, Brett was my toughest guy.
Me: What is your best pitch and how was it developed?
Tim: I’d have to say that it’s definitely going to have to be my fastball. I live off my fastball. Anyone you ask, a scout or anyone in the organization, the fastball is my number one pitch and I think it should be for every single pitcher. You have to have a fastball and you have to establish it early in the game. If you don’t have a fastball then, in my eyes, you’re going up the creek the wrong way. Probably the thing I’ve developed the most is being able to locate it better and have better command. Going into this year, I’ve been trying to keep the ball down, especially out here in spring training, and it’s something that I’ll carry over into the season. I’ve had pretty good success out here so far in spring training. I’ve been able to refine my command of that and I’ve been able to put it where I want more often.
Me: What’s been the best game so far of your professional career and why?
Tim: I don’t know about best game but the most memorable game came up in Washington. There was a promotion called ‘10 K’s for $10,000’, so if the whole Spokane pitching staff combined had 10 strikeouts in 9 innings, then one of the fans would win $10,000. Matt Matt Nevarez started the game and I think he went around 4 innings with 6 strikeouts, and I came in around the 5th and got one strikeout that inning. By the end of my outing, I had about 2 or 3 innings and I got that 10th strikeout. So, I think in the 7th inning, we had 10 combined strikeouts and we actually won a fan $10,000. So that was probably the most memorable moment just because it was something cool and probably something I’ll never see again.
Me: That must have been fun for the fan.
Tim: Yeah, I’m sure they were pretty happy. I don’t know too many people who wouldn’t take $10,000.
Me: What was your favorite team growing up?
Tim: I grew up in San Diego, so obviously the Padres. It was the Padres and then my favorite player growing up was Steve Finley. He kind of bounced around from team to team, so I followed whatever team he was on pretty closely. But I followed the Padres most as a kid.
Me: I went to Petco Park the year it opened. I guess you’ve been to Petco, right?
Tim: Oh yeah, I’ve been to Petco for many games. My dad’s a firefighter so he goes in every year and gets a season ticket package and splits it with the others. They each get about five games apiece. My parents have had season tickets there for the last four or five years. So I definitely got my fair share of games in. It still looks brand new and it’s probably the most clean stadium I’ve ever been in. It’s a pretty nice place.
Me: It’s much nicer than Jack Murphy.
Tim: Yeah, way better than Qualcomm.
Me: What sports did you play growing up and which were you best at?
Tim: I started playing baseball when I was 5. I played t-ball every year and never skipped a year on that. I played soccer for 2-3 years. I played hockey for a year or a year and a half. I played basketball in middle school for a year. Then it was on to football in high school. I really like football. It was really fun to me. It’s a lot more of an athletic game. You can be a good athlete and you can get away with a lot in that sport, as opposed to baseball where I feel you need to be athletic but there’s a lot of stuff that goes on behind the scenes, especially mentally. I feel like I was probably the best at baseball. I’m still playing baseball now so I can’t say I wasn’t the best at baseball.
Me: What’s the worst injury you’ve ever had to deal with?
Tim: Hands-down it was when I broke my jaw my junior year of high school. I got hit by a baseball and broke my jaw in two spots. I think it was 2 or 3 weeks before the season and I had to have it wired shut for six weeks. It was definitely, easily, without a doubt the worst injury I’ve had. I ended up losing 17 pounds from it. I couldn’t eat. The thing I survived on was taking hot pockets and putting them in a blender and adding either chicken or beef broth to liquefy them even more and then I’d suck them down with a straw because I couldn’t chew or move my jaw. It’s something I’ll never forget and hopefully never have to go through again. I hope no one has to go through that actually.
Me: That must have hurt.
Tim: Yeah, it was pretty painful too. The initial contact and injury didn’t hurt. But the surgery and the first week were unbearable. You wanted to rip the wires and metal out of your mouth but it was just something you had to go through.
Me: What are your hobbies?
Tim: I like movies and hanging out with my friends during the offseason. I go to the beach a lot. Those are probably my biggest hobbies. I love the beach. You’ll always find me at the beach during the offseason. I don’t think I’ll ever move from southern California. It’s probably somewhere I’ll always be during the offseason.
Me: Well, that’s all the questions I have. Thank you so much for doing the interview.
Tim: No worries. If you ever have any other questions or ever need anything, just give me a call. It was good hearing from you again.
I would like to thank Tim for taking so much time to talk with me for this interview and wish him the best of luck in Bakersfield this season. We should be seeing him in Frisco soon. I got to meet Tim in January at the Rangers Winter awards ceremony. Tim sat at our table for dinner. I also talked with him a few times in Surprise in March when I was up there for spring training. Tim is a great guy and always very friendly. I really appreciate him taking time out of his schedule for this interview.
Come back next week for numbers 36-40 on my Top 50 All-Time Rangers List.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
AL Season Predictions and Playoff Predictions
This past week I went to Opening Day and got to see the Rangers light Cliff Lee up and Kevin Millwood shut the Indians down. The Rangers’ new ribbon scoreboards and out-of-town scoreboard look very nice. They’re big improvements that have been needed for a while. They make the ballpark look much more modern. I also like the new brick wall that lines the infield and the fact that they replaced the cupholder at our seats that’s been missing for two years. It was a great day. The weather was great, the game was great, and we really didn’t have any problems dealing with the big crowds. It was also good seeing and talking to usher Ron, who’s a very nice guy.
I would like to congratulate Jeff Zimmerman for his minor league deal with the Mariners and wish him good luck. I’m looking forward to seeing him back in the majors.
This week I will provide my AL season predictions. I will predict the standings and the awards, plus the playoffs. Records in parentheses are as of April 11.
AL East:
1. Tampa Bay Rays (2-3) – The Rays made it to the World Series last year as a young team, and now they’re just one year older and one year better. They have a really good line-up with Carlos Pena, Evan Longoria, and Pat Burrell taking up the middle and Carl Crawford starting it off. The Rays also have great defense, as only three American League teams made less errors than the Tampa Bay Rays last year. They have great pitching with James Shields, Scott Kazmir, and Matt Garza as the 1-2-3 guys, when Garza would be the #2 guy in most places, and in some, the #1, and Kazmir would be the #1 starter for many teams. Andy Sonnanstine went 13-9 last year and is their #4 starter. In my opinion, they have the best team because they can run (they had the most stolen bases out of anyone last year), they can hit for power (they had the 5th most home runs in the AL last year, they even have a back-up who hit 10 home runs last year), they can field, and they can pitch (they had the 3rd lowest ERA in the majors last year).
2. New York Yankees (3-2) (my wild card winner) – The Yankees rotation has injury issues. Chein-Ming Wang was out most of last season due to injury, AJ Burnett is incredibly injury-prone, and CC Sabathia has had oblique problems in the past. Pettitte had a 4.54 ERA last year and Joba Chamberlain only pitched past the 6th inning three times last year and only finished seven innings once. They have a very good top of the rotation when healthy, but I don’t think they’ll be healthy very long and I think that they will struggle because of that. They have a decent offense, but it doesn’t have much depth (at the moment) with Cody Ransom at third (for now), Brett Gardner at center, and almost nobody on the bench that could step up and be a solid starter. They also have a tough schedule the second half of the season, as they play playoff teams (from last year) 9 times starting July 27th. I think the Yankees can afford to lose one of their top three pitchers due to injury and still be the Wild Card, but if they lose two or three, I don’t think they’ll make the playoffs.
3. Boston Red Sox (2-3) – The Red Sox went to the ALCS last year, but I don’t think they will do it this year. They depend too much on David Ortiz, even though he only hit .264 last year in the regular season, and .186 in the playoffs last year. Mike Lowell is injury-prone and Jason Varitek is not very good. Jed Lowrie only hit .258 last season and he is their starting shortstop. Youkilis, Pedroia, Bay, and Ellsbury are all good, but JD Drew almost surely will get injured soon (probably very soon), and then they’ll lose him again. Beckett and Lester are a good 1-2 punch, but Beckett is injury-prone, and after that it’s too inconsistent. Dice-K is usually good, but he has a few too many bad outings to be an ace, and he has very high pitch counts, so he doesn’t go very far into the games. Wakefield went 10-11 last year and then Brad Penny is coming off an injury and might have some issues. I think in most divisions they would be in 1st, but in this one I think they are in 3rd.
4. Toronto Blue Jays (5-1) – The Blue Jays have a very good team, but it’s not as good as the Rays, Yankees, or Red Sox. Lyle Overbay, Aaron Hill, Marco Scutaro, and Scott Rolen (Blue Jays infield) don’t match Carlos Pena, Akinori Iwamura, Jason Bartlett, and Evan Longoria (Rays infield), or Mark Teixeira, Robinson Cano, Derek Jeter, and soon-to-be A-ROD (Yankees infield), or Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia, Jed Lowrie, and Mike Lowell (Red Sox infield). But the Blue Jays outfield has a very good upside with Alex Rios, Vernon Wells, and Travis Snider. They each have 30-home run potential. Roy Halladay is a workhorse and has pitched at least 220 innings each of the last three seasons. Jesse Litsch had a 3.58 ERA last year to go along with 13 wins and he is pretty good. David Purcey is in his second big league season this year, and he should do better this year. Both of the 4-5 starters are rookies this year, and so I think that that will also hold the Blue Jays back and that it will make them pretty easily the 4th place team instead of the 2nd or 3rd.
5. Baltimore Orioles (4-1) – The Orioles have one good starter, Jeremy Guthrie. He had a 3.63 ERA last year even though he only had a 10-12 record. Their second pitcher is a rookie. Their second pitcher. That pretty much sums up the rest of the rotation, a pitching staff that had the second worst ERA in the AL last year. Aubrey Huff is good at first base, though, as he hit .304 with 32 HR’s and 108 RBI’s last year and Brian Roberts covers second, so that position’s covered. Melvin Mora had a big improvement last year from 2007 as he hit .285 with 23 HR’s and 104 RBI’s, and he’s a pretty good third baseman. Nick Markakis in right is the face of the franchise, as he deserves to be. Last year he hit .306 with 20 HR’s and 87 RBI’s, and it was a down year power-number-wise. That’s really saying something. Speedy center fielder Adam Jones is a very good center fielder and is a pretty good hitter, but after those five players, there’s not much, and so I think that they will be last in the division.
AL Central:
1. Minnesota Twins (3-3) – This depends on how long it takes Joe Mauer to get back from his injury. Mike Redmond is just not the same as the 2006 AL Batting Champion Joe Mauer. Justin Morneau can make up for him and keep them in contention for a little bit, but he can’t do it for too long. They will need their rotation to really do well until he can come back. Francisco Liriano is incredible and I think he’ll improve on his 3.20 career ERA. After him, they’ve got solid young pitchers that can get the job done. I think that the Twins will be the team with the worst record that makes the playoffs.
2. Chicago White Sox (2-3) – The White Sox are an old team that keeps getting older. Jose Contreras, Bartolo Colon, Jim Thome, Jermaine Dye, Paul Konerko, and AJ Pierzynski are all old in baseball terms. Josh Fields is a work-in-progress after having just 32 at-bats last year. Chris Gentz is a rookie and will probably go through some growing pains and Carlos Quentin is coming back from injury. The White Sox are a good team, but they have too many question marks to win the division.
3. Kansas City Royals (2-3) – The Royals are a very underrated team. They have good pitching with Gil Meche and Zach Grienke at the top of the rotation. Kyle Davies, who had a great Spring Training, is the #3 guy, and Sidney Ponson and Horacio Ramirez finish off the rotation. Mike Jacobs and Alex Gordon can hit for power and Mike Aviles, Coco Crisp, and David DeJesus all can have good batting averages. When Jose Guillen gets back, he’ll just bring more power into the line-up, and if the Royals can get a lead into the late innings, they probably won’t lose it with Joakim Soria as their closer. He saved 42 games last year for the Royals. Don’t be surprised if they make the playoffs this year.
4. Cleveland Indians (0-5) – Here’s the Indians rotation:
1. Cliff Lee (who had a 12.46 ERA in 21.2 Spring Training innings this year)
2. Fausto Carmona (who had a 5.44 ERA last year)
3. Carl Pavano (who allowed 9 runs against the Rangers in 1 IP in his first start this year)
4. Scott Lewis (who only pitched 24 innings last year)
5. Anthony Reyes (who had a 6.04 ERA in 2007)
If Cliff Lee pitches like he did in Spring Training this year, then the Indians’ rotation has two #5 starters and three minor leaguers. That is not good at all. Even if Travis Hafner, Grady Sizemore, and Victor Martinez all hit 40 home runs this year, they still probably wouldn’t win the division with that rotation. You just can’t do that.
5. Detroit Tigers (3-3) – The Tigers have a bunch of over-paid, under-achieving players. Justin Verlander and Armando Galarraga are the only pitchers you can count on, and that’s not enough. They should have a good offense, but even if they do, if they have another 4.90 ERA like last year, that’s not going to do a whole lot of good. And with Francisco Rodney being their closer, you don’t have much faith in the bullpen, either. I think that they either are in 4th or 5th place, but I don’t see them being anywhere else.
AL West:
1. Texas Rangers (3-2) – They’re wearing red. The last time that happened they made the playoffs three out of four years. Chris Davis, Nelson Cruz, and Josh Hamilton all have 30 home-run power, maybe even 40. Michael Young is one of the best third basemen in baseball and Elvis Andrus is speedy, and a great defensive player. It will be nice to have Andrus’ speed on the basepaths this year, as he had 54 stolen bases in Frisco last year. Ian Kinsler is one of the best lead-off hitters in baseball, as he hit .319 last year with 18 HR’s and 71 RBI’s. Salty should also make a big improvement this year, and even if he doesn’t, they’ve got Taylor Teagarden right there to take his place. David Murphy and Marlon Byrd are a pretty good platoon, as they combined for 25 HR’s and 127 RBI’s last year and neither one of them hit below .275. Both Millwood and Padilla are in contract years this season and last time that happened, Millwood was the AL ERA Champion, and Padilla went 15-10 and pitched 200 innings. Once they replace Kris Benson with Scott Feldman, they’ll have a consistently good starting pitcher in Feldman. Brandon McCarthy looked good in Spring Training and Matt Harrison won 9 games in just 15 appearances last year and will hopefully just get better. If the starters can get you into the 8th with the lead, then it’s pretty much as good as a win, with CJ there to shut down whoever comes up in the 8th and Frankie Francisco there to get the save in the 9th.
2. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2-3) – The Angels could have some serious problems this year, as John Lackey, Ervin Santana, and Kelvim Escobar, their three top pitchers are injured. And, sadly, Nick Adenhart is gone, leaving an empty spot in the rotation. For now, they have Joe Saunders at the #1 spot, which isn’t bad, but after that they have Jered Weaver at #2, and he took a step backwards last season with his 4.33 ERA. Dustin Moseley had a 6.79 ERA last year, and yet somehow he is third in the rotation. Shane Loux is next and he’s in his rookie season, so he could have some issues this year. The outfield is very old, with 35-year-old Bobby Abreu, 33-year-old Torii Hunter, and 34-year-old Vladimir Guerrero, and they are all past their prime. Juan Rivera is their DH, despite only hitting .246 last year in 256 at-bats. His OBP was only .282. Kendry Morales, the Angels’ starting first baseman, hit .213 in 61 at-bats last year, and in the year with his most at-bats, 2006, he only hit .234 in his 197 AB’s. Howie Kendrick is good at second, but this will be his first year as a full-time starter, and he has no power whatsoever, and he barely takes any walks, as he only has 31 career walks and 968 career at-bats. Erick Aybar is also in his first full-time starting job and he will be their starting shortstop even though he only hit .277 with a .314 OBP along with only 3 HR’s and 39 RBI’s in 346 AB’s last season. 31-year-old third baseman Chone Figgins had a big decline last year and hit only .276 with 1 HR and 22 RBI’s in 453 at-bats. From 2007, Figgins’ only numbers that went up were games (by 1), at-bats (by 11), walks (by 11), and caught stealing (by 1, even though he had 6 less attempts than ’07). Mike Napoli has good power from behind the plate (20 HR’s and 49 RBI’s in just 227 at-bats last year), but he strikes out too many times, as he struck out 70 times last year, which equaled just about 31% of his at-bats. Their bullpen isn’t as good anymore, either, as Brian Fuentes just doesn’t match K-Rod, although he is still good. I think that the Angels will need some serious trade deadline help to get into the playoffs this year.
3. Oakland Athletics (2-3) – Last year the A’s scored the least amount of runs in the AL by 15 and had the worst batting average in all of baseball (.242). Their starting first baseman (Jason Giambi) had a .247 average last year, the 2B (Mark Ellis) had a .233 average, the 3B (Eric Chavez) hit .247, the SS (Orlando Cabrera) hit .281, the three outfielders (Matt Holliday, Ryan Sweeney, and Travis Buck) hit .321, .286, and .226, the DH (Jack Cust) hit .231, and the catcher (Kurt Suzuki) hit .271. The A’s have only one starter that hit .300 last year (Matt Holliday), and then nobody else even hit .290. That’s not enough offense. Their #1 starter (while Justin Duchscherer is injured), Dallas Braden, has only 150 innings of major league experience. The #2 starter has 5 innings of major league experience, the #3 starter has 238.1 innings of major league experience, the #4 starter has 6 innings of major league experience, and the #5 starter has 30 innings of major league experience. The pitcher with the most major league experience has less innings pitched in his career than Roy Halladay had last year. This team will be good, but it will take a couple years to get all of the pitchers developed.
4. Seattle Mariners (4-2) – Here are the Mariner players that had good years last year: Felix Hernandez and Jose Lopez. Here are the Mariner players I think will have good seasons this year: Felix Hernandez and Jose Lopez. And possibly Erik Bedard. Here are the players on this team that would be starters for the Rangers: Felix Hernandez and Erik Bedard. That pretty much sums up their whole team. Not very good. Last year the only AL team that scored less runs than the Mariners was the A’s. Last year the Mariners had the fourth highest ERA in the AL. They can’t hit and they can’t pitch. That’s not a very good combination.
AL Awards:
AL MVP: Josh Hamilton, TEX – If the Rangers win the division (like I think they will), I think that he will be the obvious choice, especially if he hits 40 HR’s and gets 125 RBI’s (like I think he will).
Cy Young Award: Kyle Davies, KC – Kyle had a great Spring Training and I don’t think he will stop. He has had the potential for a while, but I think that this will be the year that he breaks through.
Rookie of the Year: Elvis Andrus, TEX – He can run, he can field, he can hit. There isn’t too much competition this year that are starters at the beginning of the year, so I think that will help him win.
Playoffs:
AL Round 1:
Minnesota Twins over New York Yankees:
I think that the injury bug will hit the Yankees hard and the Twins will be able to take advantage of it. The Yankees are an older team and will be tiring towards the end of the season, while the Twins are a younger team and should still have plenty of energy for the playoffs.
Tampa Bay Rays over Texas Rangers:
Pitching wins championships. The Rays have the better pitching here, although by 2010 it will be different, but for this year, it’s the Rays.
NL Round 1:
Florida Marlins over Chicago Cubs:
I think that this will be the pattern in the series: Emilio Bonifacio using his speed to get into scoring position, Hanley Ramirez driving him in. I think the Cubs need to go into the playoffs hot if they are going to win this series.
Philadelphia Phillies over San Francisco Giants:
The Phillies have much more playoff experience than the Giants, and I think that will pay off. The Giants don’t have much offense, and Randy Johnson would be the only pitcher in the playoff rotation with playoff experience, and if he was in his prime, they might still have a chance, but Randy Johnson is not in his prime, so I just don’t see it.
ALCS:
Tampa Bay Rays over Minnesota Twins:
The Rays have a deeper rotation than the Twins, even though Liriano might be better than all three of them. But the Twins will need some trade deadline help to make it to the World Series, in my opinion.
NLCS:
Florida Marlins over Philadelphia Phillies:
They will both know each other pretty well from being in the same division and I think that will help the Marlins more than the Phillies. If Josh Johnson and Anibal Sanchez return to form after injuries, which I think they will, the Marlins will have the better rotation and I would give them the edge in the series.
World Series:
Florida Marlins over Tampa Bay Rays:
I think that it will be a terrific pitching match-up in every single game of this all-Florida World Series, and the games would most likely all be low-scoring. I think that the Marlins will be able to put together a very good offensive output, though, if they could go into the series with a hot Hanley Ramirez and a hot Dan Uggla. If they can get that, then I think they will win the series.
Results of last week’s poll:
Who do you think will win the NL East?
Phillies – 37%
Mets – 25%
Braves – 18%
Marlins – 12%
Nationals – 6%
Come back next week for an interview with Rangers pitching prospect Tim Murphy.
I would like to congratulate Jeff Zimmerman for his minor league deal with the Mariners and wish him good luck. I’m looking forward to seeing him back in the majors.
This week I will provide my AL season predictions. I will predict the standings and the awards, plus the playoffs. Records in parentheses are as of April 11.
AL East:
1. Tampa Bay Rays (2-3) – The Rays made it to the World Series last year as a young team, and now they’re just one year older and one year better. They have a really good line-up with Carlos Pena, Evan Longoria, and Pat Burrell taking up the middle and Carl Crawford starting it off. The Rays also have great defense, as only three American League teams made less errors than the Tampa Bay Rays last year. They have great pitching with James Shields, Scott Kazmir, and Matt Garza as the 1-2-3 guys, when Garza would be the #2 guy in most places, and in some, the #1, and Kazmir would be the #1 starter for many teams. Andy Sonnanstine went 13-9 last year and is their #4 starter. In my opinion, they have the best team because they can run (they had the most stolen bases out of anyone last year), they can hit for power (they had the 5th most home runs in the AL last year, they even have a back-up who hit 10 home runs last year), they can field, and they can pitch (they had the 3rd lowest ERA in the majors last year).
2. New York Yankees (3-2) (my wild card winner) – The Yankees rotation has injury issues. Chein-Ming Wang was out most of last season due to injury, AJ Burnett is incredibly injury-prone, and CC Sabathia has had oblique problems in the past. Pettitte had a 4.54 ERA last year and Joba Chamberlain only pitched past the 6th inning three times last year and only finished seven innings once. They have a very good top of the rotation when healthy, but I don’t think they’ll be healthy very long and I think that they will struggle because of that. They have a decent offense, but it doesn’t have much depth (at the moment) with Cody Ransom at third (for now), Brett Gardner at center, and almost nobody on the bench that could step up and be a solid starter. They also have a tough schedule the second half of the season, as they play playoff teams (from last year) 9 times starting July 27th. I think the Yankees can afford to lose one of their top three pitchers due to injury and still be the Wild Card, but if they lose two or three, I don’t think they’ll make the playoffs.
3. Boston Red Sox (2-3) – The Red Sox went to the ALCS last year, but I don’t think they will do it this year. They depend too much on David Ortiz, even though he only hit .264 last year in the regular season, and .186 in the playoffs last year. Mike Lowell is injury-prone and Jason Varitek is not very good. Jed Lowrie only hit .258 last season and he is their starting shortstop. Youkilis, Pedroia, Bay, and Ellsbury are all good, but JD Drew almost surely will get injured soon (probably very soon), and then they’ll lose him again. Beckett and Lester are a good 1-2 punch, but Beckett is injury-prone, and after that it’s too inconsistent. Dice-K is usually good, but he has a few too many bad outings to be an ace, and he has very high pitch counts, so he doesn’t go very far into the games. Wakefield went 10-11 last year and then Brad Penny is coming off an injury and might have some issues. I think in most divisions they would be in 1st, but in this one I think they are in 3rd.
4. Toronto Blue Jays (5-1) – The Blue Jays have a very good team, but it’s not as good as the Rays, Yankees, or Red Sox. Lyle Overbay, Aaron Hill, Marco Scutaro, and Scott Rolen (Blue Jays infield) don’t match Carlos Pena, Akinori Iwamura, Jason Bartlett, and Evan Longoria (Rays infield), or Mark Teixeira, Robinson Cano, Derek Jeter, and soon-to-be A-ROD (Yankees infield), or Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia, Jed Lowrie, and Mike Lowell (Red Sox infield). But the Blue Jays outfield has a very good upside with Alex Rios, Vernon Wells, and Travis Snider. They each have 30-home run potential. Roy Halladay is a workhorse and has pitched at least 220 innings each of the last three seasons. Jesse Litsch had a 3.58 ERA last year to go along with 13 wins and he is pretty good. David Purcey is in his second big league season this year, and he should do better this year. Both of the 4-5 starters are rookies this year, and so I think that that will also hold the Blue Jays back and that it will make them pretty easily the 4th place team instead of the 2nd or 3rd.
5. Baltimore Orioles (4-1) – The Orioles have one good starter, Jeremy Guthrie. He had a 3.63 ERA last year even though he only had a 10-12 record. Their second pitcher is a rookie. Their second pitcher. That pretty much sums up the rest of the rotation, a pitching staff that had the second worst ERA in the AL last year. Aubrey Huff is good at first base, though, as he hit .304 with 32 HR’s and 108 RBI’s last year and Brian Roberts covers second, so that position’s covered. Melvin Mora had a big improvement last year from 2007 as he hit .285 with 23 HR’s and 104 RBI’s, and he’s a pretty good third baseman. Nick Markakis in right is the face of the franchise, as he deserves to be. Last year he hit .306 with 20 HR’s and 87 RBI’s, and it was a down year power-number-wise. That’s really saying something. Speedy center fielder Adam Jones is a very good center fielder and is a pretty good hitter, but after those five players, there’s not much, and so I think that they will be last in the division.
AL Central:
1. Minnesota Twins (3-3) – This depends on how long it takes Joe Mauer to get back from his injury. Mike Redmond is just not the same as the 2006 AL Batting Champion Joe Mauer. Justin Morneau can make up for him and keep them in contention for a little bit, but he can’t do it for too long. They will need their rotation to really do well until he can come back. Francisco Liriano is incredible and I think he’ll improve on his 3.20 career ERA. After him, they’ve got solid young pitchers that can get the job done. I think that the Twins will be the team with the worst record that makes the playoffs.
2. Chicago White Sox (2-3) – The White Sox are an old team that keeps getting older. Jose Contreras, Bartolo Colon, Jim Thome, Jermaine Dye, Paul Konerko, and AJ Pierzynski are all old in baseball terms. Josh Fields is a work-in-progress after having just 32 at-bats last year. Chris Gentz is a rookie and will probably go through some growing pains and Carlos Quentin is coming back from injury. The White Sox are a good team, but they have too many question marks to win the division.
3. Kansas City Royals (2-3) – The Royals are a very underrated team. They have good pitching with Gil Meche and Zach Grienke at the top of the rotation. Kyle Davies, who had a great Spring Training, is the #3 guy, and Sidney Ponson and Horacio Ramirez finish off the rotation. Mike Jacobs and Alex Gordon can hit for power and Mike Aviles, Coco Crisp, and David DeJesus all can have good batting averages. When Jose Guillen gets back, he’ll just bring more power into the line-up, and if the Royals can get a lead into the late innings, they probably won’t lose it with Joakim Soria as their closer. He saved 42 games last year for the Royals. Don’t be surprised if they make the playoffs this year.
4. Cleveland Indians (0-5) – Here’s the Indians rotation:
1. Cliff Lee (who had a 12.46 ERA in 21.2 Spring Training innings this year)
2. Fausto Carmona (who had a 5.44 ERA last year)
3. Carl Pavano (who allowed 9 runs against the Rangers in 1 IP in his first start this year)
4. Scott Lewis (who only pitched 24 innings last year)
5. Anthony Reyes (who had a 6.04 ERA in 2007)
If Cliff Lee pitches like he did in Spring Training this year, then the Indians’ rotation has two #5 starters and three minor leaguers. That is not good at all. Even if Travis Hafner, Grady Sizemore, and Victor Martinez all hit 40 home runs this year, they still probably wouldn’t win the division with that rotation. You just can’t do that.
5. Detroit Tigers (3-3) – The Tigers have a bunch of over-paid, under-achieving players. Justin Verlander and Armando Galarraga are the only pitchers you can count on, and that’s not enough. They should have a good offense, but even if they do, if they have another 4.90 ERA like last year, that’s not going to do a whole lot of good. And with Francisco Rodney being their closer, you don’t have much faith in the bullpen, either. I think that they either are in 4th or 5th place, but I don’t see them being anywhere else.
AL West:
1. Texas Rangers (3-2) – They’re wearing red. The last time that happened they made the playoffs three out of four years. Chris Davis, Nelson Cruz, and Josh Hamilton all have 30 home-run power, maybe even 40. Michael Young is one of the best third basemen in baseball and Elvis Andrus is speedy, and a great defensive player. It will be nice to have Andrus’ speed on the basepaths this year, as he had 54 stolen bases in Frisco last year. Ian Kinsler is one of the best lead-off hitters in baseball, as he hit .319 last year with 18 HR’s and 71 RBI’s. Salty should also make a big improvement this year, and even if he doesn’t, they’ve got Taylor Teagarden right there to take his place. David Murphy and Marlon Byrd are a pretty good platoon, as they combined for 25 HR’s and 127 RBI’s last year and neither one of them hit below .275. Both Millwood and Padilla are in contract years this season and last time that happened, Millwood was the AL ERA Champion, and Padilla went 15-10 and pitched 200 innings. Once they replace Kris Benson with Scott Feldman, they’ll have a consistently good starting pitcher in Feldman. Brandon McCarthy looked good in Spring Training and Matt Harrison won 9 games in just 15 appearances last year and will hopefully just get better. If the starters can get you into the 8th with the lead, then it’s pretty much as good as a win, with CJ there to shut down whoever comes up in the 8th and Frankie Francisco there to get the save in the 9th.
2. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2-3) – The Angels could have some serious problems this year, as John Lackey, Ervin Santana, and Kelvim Escobar, their three top pitchers are injured. And, sadly, Nick Adenhart is gone, leaving an empty spot in the rotation. For now, they have Joe Saunders at the #1 spot, which isn’t bad, but after that they have Jered Weaver at #2, and he took a step backwards last season with his 4.33 ERA. Dustin Moseley had a 6.79 ERA last year, and yet somehow he is third in the rotation. Shane Loux is next and he’s in his rookie season, so he could have some issues this year. The outfield is very old, with 35-year-old Bobby Abreu, 33-year-old Torii Hunter, and 34-year-old Vladimir Guerrero, and they are all past their prime. Juan Rivera is their DH, despite only hitting .246 last year in 256 at-bats. His OBP was only .282. Kendry Morales, the Angels’ starting first baseman, hit .213 in 61 at-bats last year, and in the year with his most at-bats, 2006, he only hit .234 in his 197 AB’s. Howie Kendrick is good at second, but this will be his first year as a full-time starter, and he has no power whatsoever, and he barely takes any walks, as he only has 31 career walks and 968 career at-bats. Erick Aybar is also in his first full-time starting job and he will be their starting shortstop even though he only hit .277 with a .314 OBP along with only 3 HR’s and 39 RBI’s in 346 AB’s last season. 31-year-old third baseman Chone Figgins had a big decline last year and hit only .276 with 1 HR and 22 RBI’s in 453 at-bats. From 2007, Figgins’ only numbers that went up were games (by 1), at-bats (by 11), walks (by 11), and caught stealing (by 1, even though he had 6 less attempts than ’07). Mike Napoli has good power from behind the plate (20 HR’s and 49 RBI’s in just 227 at-bats last year), but he strikes out too many times, as he struck out 70 times last year, which equaled just about 31% of his at-bats. Their bullpen isn’t as good anymore, either, as Brian Fuentes just doesn’t match K-Rod, although he is still good. I think that the Angels will need some serious trade deadline help to get into the playoffs this year.
3. Oakland Athletics (2-3) – Last year the A’s scored the least amount of runs in the AL by 15 and had the worst batting average in all of baseball (.242). Their starting first baseman (Jason Giambi) had a .247 average last year, the 2B (Mark Ellis) had a .233 average, the 3B (Eric Chavez) hit .247, the SS (Orlando Cabrera) hit .281, the three outfielders (Matt Holliday, Ryan Sweeney, and Travis Buck) hit .321, .286, and .226, the DH (Jack Cust) hit .231, and the catcher (Kurt Suzuki) hit .271. The A’s have only one starter that hit .300 last year (Matt Holliday), and then nobody else even hit .290. That’s not enough offense. Their #1 starter (while Justin Duchscherer is injured), Dallas Braden, has only 150 innings of major league experience. The #2 starter has 5 innings of major league experience, the #3 starter has 238.1 innings of major league experience, the #4 starter has 6 innings of major league experience, and the #5 starter has 30 innings of major league experience. The pitcher with the most major league experience has less innings pitched in his career than Roy Halladay had last year. This team will be good, but it will take a couple years to get all of the pitchers developed.
4. Seattle Mariners (4-2) – Here are the Mariner players that had good years last year: Felix Hernandez and Jose Lopez. Here are the Mariner players I think will have good seasons this year: Felix Hernandez and Jose Lopez. And possibly Erik Bedard. Here are the players on this team that would be starters for the Rangers: Felix Hernandez and Erik Bedard. That pretty much sums up their whole team. Not very good. Last year the only AL team that scored less runs than the Mariners was the A’s. Last year the Mariners had the fourth highest ERA in the AL. They can’t hit and they can’t pitch. That’s not a very good combination.
AL Awards:
AL MVP: Josh Hamilton, TEX – If the Rangers win the division (like I think they will), I think that he will be the obvious choice, especially if he hits 40 HR’s and gets 125 RBI’s (like I think he will).
Cy Young Award: Kyle Davies, KC – Kyle had a great Spring Training and I don’t think he will stop. He has had the potential for a while, but I think that this will be the year that he breaks through.
Rookie of the Year: Elvis Andrus, TEX – He can run, he can field, he can hit. There isn’t too much competition this year that are starters at the beginning of the year, so I think that will help him win.
Playoffs:
AL Round 1:
Minnesota Twins over New York Yankees:
I think that the injury bug will hit the Yankees hard and the Twins will be able to take advantage of it. The Yankees are an older team and will be tiring towards the end of the season, while the Twins are a younger team and should still have plenty of energy for the playoffs.
Tampa Bay Rays over Texas Rangers:
Pitching wins championships. The Rays have the better pitching here, although by 2010 it will be different, but for this year, it’s the Rays.
NL Round 1:
Florida Marlins over Chicago Cubs:
I think that this will be the pattern in the series: Emilio Bonifacio using his speed to get into scoring position, Hanley Ramirez driving him in. I think the Cubs need to go into the playoffs hot if they are going to win this series.
Philadelphia Phillies over San Francisco Giants:
The Phillies have much more playoff experience than the Giants, and I think that will pay off. The Giants don’t have much offense, and Randy Johnson would be the only pitcher in the playoff rotation with playoff experience, and if he was in his prime, they might still have a chance, but Randy Johnson is not in his prime, so I just don’t see it.
ALCS:
Tampa Bay Rays over Minnesota Twins:
The Rays have a deeper rotation than the Twins, even though Liriano might be better than all three of them. But the Twins will need some trade deadline help to make it to the World Series, in my opinion.
NLCS:
Florida Marlins over Philadelphia Phillies:
They will both know each other pretty well from being in the same division and I think that will help the Marlins more than the Phillies. If Josh Johnson and Anibal Sanchez return to form after injuries, which I think they will, the Marlins will have the better rotation and I would give them the edge in the series.
World Series:
Florida Marlins over Tampa Bay Rays:
I think that it will be a terrific pitching match-up in every single game of this all-Florida World Series, and the games would most likely all be low-scoring. I think that the Marlins will be able to put together a very good offensive output, though, if they could go into the series with a hot Hanley Ramirez and a hot Dan Uggla. If they can get that, then I think they will win the series.
Results of last week’s poll:
Who do you think will win the NL East?
Phillies – 37%
Mets – 25%
Braves – 18%
Marlins – 12%
Nationals – 6%
Come back next week for an interview with Rangers pitching prospect Tim Murphy.
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