Tagged: Manny Ramirez
Fantasy Baseball- Outfielders- Andre Ethier
Andre Ethier
Even though Andre Ethier has proven that he can hit for power, contact, and in the clutch many fantasy baseball owners don’t pay serious consideration when it comes to drafting Andre. Why? Well he shares and outfield with Manny who will always be Manny and Matt Kemp who has become a superstar since he started dating singer, Rihanna. Yet, Andre is the best player out of those three.
Andre Ethier is one of the rare types of players I call a “six tool” player. Andre is fast, has a good arm, is a great fielder, can it for power and contact, and can hit in the clutch. When players hit in the clutch that generally means they will get a few extra home runs and or RBIs.
Fantasy wise though you get a .290 average, 100 runs, 100 RBIs, 30-35 home runs, 5-7 stolen bases, and an OBP of .375 ish. With Andre you will not get the number of stolen bases other guys could probably get with his speed because he is not the best base stealer. However, just like Ellsbury, Andre can still turn a double into a single any day of the week.
Andre is one of the safest bets out there. His numbers have all gone up with the exception of OBP and SLG, since his rookie year. Matt Kemp is a little bit riskier as some analysts think he might let the fame go to his head. Manny, well . . . he is probably one of the most risky outfielders to draft. However, Manny is a high risk- high reward type player.
When it comes to Nelson Cruz, Josh Hamilton, and Hunter Pence (who will be talked about in a little) all three are very risky. All three of them need to prove they are not “one year wonders,” and Hamilton, so far has not done the best job with that.
Ok so you might not be so sold yet on Andre. Well are you sold on Nelson Cruz, Josh Hamilton, or Hunter Pence? Ok you probably aren’t but just pretend you are. Andre Ethier is A LOT better then them. While Cruz and Pence are five tool players just like Ethier is classified as, Hamilton is not the fastest guy but has more pop in his bat obviously meaning he is not a five tool player.
I mean, the stats prove that Ethier is obviously better then Cruz, Hamilton, and Pence but because Hamilton, Cruz, and Pence are more well know Ethier will most likely get overlooked for the third straight year. But there is not way he should I mean, just look at what MLB predicts the stats for Either, Cruz, Hamilton, and Pence will look like.
AVG R HR RBIs SB OBP SLG OPS
Ethier .289 92 27 101 5 .377 .501 .878
Cruz .272 88 35 96 22 .345 .533 .878
Hamilton .291 77 25 92 10 .356 .504 .860
Pence .297 88 28 87 14 .357 .493 .850
So actually Ethier is tied with Cruz followed by Pence. But when you compare only Ethier’s and Cruz’s projected stats Ethier is the winner.
AVG R HR RBIs SB OBP SLG OPS
Ethier .289 92 27 101 5 .377 .501 .878
Cruz .272 88 35 96
22 .345 .533 .878
22 .345 .533 .878
Ethier wins four categories plus the tie in OPS while Cruz wins three plus the tie in OPS. Another thing to take not of is that most leagues do not use OBP, SLG, or OPS. Meaning that Ethier would win three categories to two if you don’t factor in OBP, SLG, or OPS.
Andre will not be in your draft in the seventh round so I would plan on trying to get him with a late fourth pick to a late sixth round pick. I would tell you my plans to get him but well, I do not want anyone knowing my plans this year.
Ethier is a safe bet who has no injury history and will get more pitches to hit with Manny and Matt Kemp on a balanced team who will most likely win the National League West again.
Photo Credits
Fantasy Baseball- Outfielders- Jacoby Ellsbury
When it comes to fantasy baseball outfielders are more likely to be the diamond in the rough. Guys like Josh Hamilton, Carlos Quentin, and Shane Victorino have all become diamonds the last few seasons. However, I don’t see any outfielders becoming diamonds this year. That said you can still get many great players in the later rounds.
Jacoby Ellsbury
Unless you have a fantasy team owner who looks at every single players stats Jacoby Ellsbury will probably not seriously be looked at. Why? Well because outfielders tend to be power hitters and well Jacoby Ellsbury is not a power hitter. But with a guy like Jacoby he makes up almost all the steals you will need along with a .300 average, 100 runs, 60+ RBI’s, and 10 home runs. How good is Ellsbury? Well he is ranked the number one fantasy player on the Boston Red Sox on MLB.com, ahead of Jon Lester, Josh Beckett, Victor Martinez, John Lackey, Kevin Youkilis, Jonathan Papelbon, Dustin Pedroia, and Adrian Beltre to name a few.
Ellsbury though is a better choice then guys like Carlos Lee, Adam Dunn, and Manny Ramirez because Ellsbury can turn a single into a double, a double into a triple, and even a triple into a home run. If Lee, Dunn, or Manny tried to do that they would turn a single into an out. Sure Lee, Dunn, and Manny will hit 25+ home runs and drive in 90+ but when you look at the numbers it makes Ellsbury look better.
MLB predicts that Ellsbury will steal 67, drive in 63, score 106 times, and hit nine home runs, meaning that if your league does not facto in batting average, OBP, or slugging percentage and each stat counts as one point Ellsbury will get you 245 points. Manny will get you 202 points, Dunn will get you 229 points, and Lee will get you 213 points if MLB’s predictions are right which well you can make you own thoughts about that.
Due up next: Andre Ethier, Marlon Byrd, Shin-Soo Choo, and The Entire Kansas City Royals Outfield
Photo Credits- <http://www.sawxblog.com/2008/08/youth-group-jacoby-ellsbury-and-jed-lowrie-lead-way-for-sox.html>
P.S. Sorry for well not blogging since October
The Fightin’ Phillies Finish It
I must say I had the Dodgers winning this one. The Phillies did exactly what they needed to to win this series, that was to shut Manny down and hit the LA pitchers. Kershaw got hit, Kuroda got hit, Broxton got hit, and that is all they needed to win. However the Phillies pitching was outstanding. Cliff Lee was a force. Lidge closed out the ninth. Hamels got the job done. Blanton did okay. Even Pedro joined in with the fun.
This whole series came down to pitching. Even though guys like Ryan Howard, Jaso Werth, Jimmy Rollins, Raul Ibanez, and Pedro Feliez hit the you know what out of the ball. Ryan Howard also ended up winning NLCS MVP.
For me the turning point for this series was game three when the Philllies won 11 to nothing against starter Hiroki Kuroda. Kuroda pitched 1.1 innings in which he gave up six hits, six runs (all earned),struck out one, and gave up one home run.
Why did the Dodgers lose that game? Not because of Kuroda but because of this man . . .
Yep Joe Torre is the reason they lost that series. Torre decided to start Kuroda over all-star Chad Billingsley. Billingsley pitched out of the bullpen that game but he did not do so hot either. In 3.1 innings he gave up two hits, two earned runs, and two walks. However, Billingsley did give up no home runs and struck out three.
In Billingsley’s case you have to give the man some credit because he did not go through the normal routine that a starter would go through. I think if Billingsley did go through his regular routine and started he would have pitched 6.2 innings giving up 2 runs, six hits, two walks, five strikeouts, and one home run.
(Bilingsley on left Kuroda on right)
In all fairness though the Dodgers got killed by Cliff Lee who gave up no runs , and just three hits, along with no walks while striking out ten. So it is not entirely Torre’s or Kuroda’s fault.
But lets talk abut those Dodger bats for a second. The Dodgers got out scored 35 to 16. Manny Ramirez batted .263 with five hits, three runs, two RBIs, one home run, and an OBP of .300. I think it is fair to say that Manny got shutdown this series.
Another guy the Phillies kept under control was Matt Kemp who batted .250 with five hits, one home run, just two RBIs, and an OBP of .286 in twenty at bats. Kemp to me at times has either been underrated or overrated. I believe this whole playoffs he has been overrated.
However on Dodger’s outfielder who did pretty good was Andre Ethier. Ethier hit .263 with five hits, one home run, three RBIs, two runs, two walks, and an OBP of .333 in nineteen at bats. Ethier was the most clutch hitter in baseball however he did not always get the job done. He did though get the walk which gave the Dodgers I believe the lead in game two.
The Phillies did not win the World Series the Dodgers lost it. Joe Torre did a terrible job managing this series. I know you need to take risks sometimes but Torre might need to learn about a new thing, common since. I don’t care if Ronnie Belliard had a hot bat. Orlando Hudson is the better option every day.
Having a starter pitch out of the bullpen is a mistake unless they are young and have had pitched out of the pen in say the last four years. Otherwise it messes up all kinds of stuff. cough*cough*Chad Billingsley*cough*cough.
If it was not for Torre’s elite stats I would fire him. No joke. If this was Manny Acta or Bob Melvin or Cecil Cooper he would be fired by me. Maybe that is why I am not going to be a general manager or owner though.
Yet Torre would have a great replacement in his bench coach, Don Mattingly who should have been manager in New York after Torre left. Mattingly is not one of my favorite players as he was a long time Yankee but I believe he would be an amazing manager and I am surprised he did not talk with the Astros or Indians.
(Mattingly, left; Torre, right)
blogs.laweekly.com
That
though makes one of two points. One, that he likes LA a lot and does not want to leave. Or two, he needs more ‘training from Torre’. I think it is number one yet I think number two might come into play a little bit.
though makes one of two points. One, that he likes LA a lot and does not want to leave. Or two, he needs more ‘training from Torre’. I think it is number one yet I think number two might come into play a little bit.
I think though we also have to mention that this was the second time in two years that these teams have faced off in the NLCS. Yet the Dodgers never had to face Raul Ibanez or Cliff Lee. The Phillies though never faced nearly half of the Dodger bullpen, Orlando Hudson, Ronnie Belliard, Randy Wolf, and Vicente Padilla among other guys in 2008.
The Dodgers had NO excuse to lose to the Phillies. Yet, they did.
But now lets look at what the Phillies did.
The Phillies won. The Dodgers had home field advantage and the Phillies won. The Dodgers had an all-star closer and the Phillies won. The Dodgers had the best clutch player in baseball and the Phillies won. The Dodgers had four five tool players (Kemp, Ethier, Martin, Hudson) and the Phillies won. The Dodgers had a manager with four World Series rings and the Phillies won. The Dodgers were a better team and the Phillies . . . won.
Now I am sure the Dodgers are/were upset but think about it this way in third grade my little league team won the wild card and went to the playoffs. First round we beat the best team. I had a friend on that team told me that he would cheer for us because he could say he lost to the champions. And for the record he could as we won the championship! (YAAAAAAAAAH!)
Anyway if the Phillies win the World Series the Dodgers should not be upset. Then they would have lost to the championship.
However it seems one Dodger executive was not so happy as Dodger owner, Frank McCourt fired his wife from CEO of the team. However the twist that most people do not know is that they are divorcing. So it is a little different.
At first when I heard about this I thought, wow and laughed a little. It was not till writing this article that I learned that they were getting a divorce. I really think this was just a way to get his anger out about LA but he claims it was just business.
Again though maybe that is why I won’t be an executive.
I’m Back . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
I am not just saying that because well I am back. But that is not the main reason. I am saying it because I am super mad. Why? Because of MANNY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I HATE MANNY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry I just had to. Like I said before at the trading deadline last year I did not think he would be traded. And after he was I hated him but he still had a spot in my heart. When it was found that he took steroids it took that spot away. Now that spot has become a black hole.
Some baseball fans are just stupid. How is Manny fourth in all-star voting! He has only played twenty-seven games this year. And no offense Dodger fans are stupid. Why would you vote for a guy who took steroids and not a guy like Andre Ethier. Ethier is eleventh on the list for outfielders. Andre is one of my favorite players and is still underrated.
I really do not want to talk about Manny any more because well the whole thing gives me a headache. And I am already sick. I stayed home from school today on the last day of school.
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Anyway the thing about all-star voting for batters it is all a popularity contest. With online voting it is even more of a popularity contest. For the Brewers that could not be better. Last year the Brew Crew had three all-stars after Corey Hart won the All-Star final vote. This year the Brewers have a chance to have seven or more players named to the team. It would be eight but Rickie Weeks is out for the season.
The Brewers have never had the fan clubs like the Red Sox and the Yankees but that could be changing. As last year they made the postseason by winning the N.L. Wild Card primarily due to the trade of C.C. Sabathia.
The only thing about the Brewers is that only two of those players are leading at their position. And well only five of their players deserve to even be in contention. I mean Jason Kendell is only batting .206 with no home runs, fifteen RBI’s, and only fifteen runs. Kendell is a pretty good fielder but he does not deserve to be second. Players Russell Martin and Brian McCann are fourth and fifth respectively on the list.
Another guy who does not deserve to be second in his position is Bill Hall. Hall is a veteran who moved to third base a few seasons ago if I remember correctly. Hall is batting .223 with four home runs, fourteen RBI’s, and just eleven runs. Hall is currently beating out Chipper Jones and Ryan Zimmerman to name a few.
One guy who could go either way is Corey Hart. Like mentioned before Hart won the All-Star Final Vote Last Year. Hart is batting .243 with four home runs, eighteen RBI’s, and 29 runs.` I would vote for Hart due to his twenty-nine runs and his 41 hits.
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In the American League the fans got it right. Youk is leading at first. Youk is having a great player and is batting .375! Second at first is Miguel Cabrera and then Mark Teixeira followed by Justin Morneau and Chris Davis.
At second Ian Kinsler is leading Dustin Pedroia by just 88,518 votes. Kinsler and Pedroia have been longtime rivals leading back to college. So this is some what fitting. Third on the list is Aaron Hill followed by Robinson Cano and Brian Roberts.
Third base has a few mess ups. Even Longoria is the leader which is 100% not a mess up. Michael Young is a tiny bit of a surprise as this is his first season at third base. Young though is a great clutch player and the past couple seasons Young has showed that in the all-star game. Third on the list A-Rod who should be fifth. Fourth is Scott Rolen who has been having a good year under the radar. Fifth is Mike Lowell who should be third. Not only has Lowell recovered nicely from his hip injury about
At shortstop it is kind of messed up but it does not matter. I think it is obvious who will start, Derek Jeter. I mean Jed Lowrie is hurt and Julio Lugo sucks. Jeter leads all American Leaguers with 664,630 votes.
At catcher is none other then Joe Mauer. Which I can understand I do not get though how Victor Martinez is second. Varitek is having a fantastic year coming of one of the worse years of his carer. He should be second by a billion votes.
In the outfield votes messed up a little. Jason Bay in the outfield make perfect since. I mean he is having a fantastic year! Josh Hamilton does not surprise me but Ichiro should not be third. Ken Griffey Jr. is fourth which just proves more points that it is a popularity contest. Nick Markakis should be third even though I love to make fun of the Orioles.
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So how do you solve the popularity contest for batters? Well actually it is quite simple. Let the fans vote for batters and pitchers. Let the players, coaches, G.M.’s, etc. vote. Then let all the baseball writer people vote. Obviously each “section” would count for one third of the final vote.
Now the thing about the players and to some point the writers is that there would have to be some restrictions.
There are a two ways that I can think of that can solve that. The first possibility is to make it so you can not vote for yourself. The second possibility is to make it so you can not vote for your teammates. If I was Bud Selig or whoever I would do the second one along with all the other changes.
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Also like Julia and many others I am starting two campaigns. The first one is called, CALL UP CLAY! The Second one is called, Vote Andre!
So for Mister Epstein this is for you
And remember to do this for Andre . . .
A Bad Day In Baseball
First off I am sorry I have not been blogging lately. This whole week I have had drama practice along with a baseball game on Tuesday and on Thursday I had my drama show. In case you were wondering we did Peter Pan and I was John, the kid with the glasses. Friday I went to the Astros game because my godmother’s husband is the announcer for the San Diego Padres. Sunday I will get to go up into the booth and I will show you pictures of both games.
Wow lots of steroid news lately. Ugh . . . Can we just ban steroids from the USA or something. Well I guess that would not even work because the Blue Jays are in Canada and many players come from outside of the USA. But until someone solves this problem you will be seeing posts like these.
Manny, Manny, Manny. Wow, I really did not expect this. I mean I usually say my least favorite players (A-Rod, Jeter, etc.) took steroids but most of the time I joke around about that stuff. Well when the news about A-Rod happened then I would joke around that I was right.
However I never would have thought Manny would have done this. Believe it or not I fell sorry for Manny. Even though Manny did do something illegal he should not be suspended for 50 games. He did not do HGH or something like that. It is pretty strange what he took but he did not make him self stronger with the drug. If I was Bud Selig I would have suspended him for 30 games. I know rules are rules but they need to make it so if you take illegal substances besides steroids suspended you for 30 games and HGH and other steroids suspended you for 50 games.
Believe it or not Manny is still one of my favorite players. I have never been mad at him just very . . . very irritated. I do not believe in all that junk people said about Manny and why he left Boston. If it was not for Manny the Red Sox would not have won the 2004 World Series and maybe not the 2007 World Series. Sure he was a terrible fielder but up until the end he was a good person in the clubhouse.
The one problem is the facts are not all right. Just read what Manny had to say.
“Recently I saw a physician for a personal health issue. He gave me a medication, not a steroid, which he thought was OK to give me. Unfortunately, the medication was banned under our drug policy. Under the policy that mistake is now my responsibility. I have been advised not to say anything more for now. I do want to say one other thing; I’ve taken and passed about 15 drug tests over the past five seasons. I want to apologize to Mr. McCourt, Mrs. McCourt, Mr. Torre, my teammates, the Dodger organization, and to the Dodger fans. LA is a special place to me and I know everybody is disappointed. So am I. I’m sorry about this whole situation.”
Why did the doctor not know that it was banned. Was the doctor a Padres, Giant, or Angel fan? Just kidding If he did know about that and he was a fan of another team well can I just say jerk! If When I play in the MLB I am going to ask if this medicine or whatever is legal before I eat it or whatever.
The Dodgers should somewhat be thankful. What if MLB suspended Manny in September. Then LA would lost him for the postseason. Every one said who ever got Manny would win the west well I think it nows relies on another Dodger. More on him in the next few days though. But whoever guess correct will get a prize. Manny will come back sometime around July third which is better then October third.
Now one of the big questions that pops up is how will this effect his Hall of Fame voting. This one is very, very hard. He did not use HGH but many Hall of Fame voters want to be consistent. If they did not vote for McGwire they will probably not vote for Bonds or Clemens. However I would vote for Manny if I could vote. It might take longer then say Ted Williams but I think it will take him six to nine years for him to get in.
The problem is though I wonder how kids fell. No I do not mean me I mean little kids in say first grade. The probably do not understand all of the steroid stuff. So what do the parents say to them. Do they tell them Manny got hurt or do they say he took HGH and not the real stuff he took. I do not know since well I am not a parent but if you are I would like to know what you would say if your kid was around seven.
The problem is though Manny just added to the list of Red Sox juicers. Now I doubt he took them with Boston but what about Roger Clemens and many say Mo Vaughn took steroids. A few people at school say Big Papi took steroids and one person told me Jon Lester took legal steroids when recovering from cancer. I could care less about Lester taking steroids because if he did they where legal. Now maybe I am just over reacting but maybe I should be worried. I mean the Yankees only player I can think of that took steroids was A-Rod.
Speaking of A-Rod what was that !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Why did he have to do that! What about karma! Was being out for the season it! I do not care if he hits home runs but on his first at bat! I would have loved him to strike out. I mean kids know he took steroids. I some ways he is “telling” kids that steroids make you hit home runs. They somewhat do but think of all the bad things they do. It is gross and disturbing.
I do not want to go to much into A-Rod because that really is old news but before I go I would like to send my thoughts and prayers to the families of Dom DiMaggio and former Detroit Piston’s coach Chuck Daly.
Papi Problems And A Little NBA Talk
I am sure you know it by now. Chan Ho Park has more home runs then David Ortiz. Big Papi is batting .208 with no home runs and just twelve RBI’s in 96 at bats.
Now the reason for the problem is unknown. It may be because of his wrist injury suffered last year. However watching him swing it does not look like he is in pain. It looks like he is trying to swing for the fences.
Let me just say trying to hit a home run is not a good idea. When I try to hit a home run I strikeout most of the time. When I try to hit a triple I groundout. When I try to hit a double I get a single most of the time. When I just focus to get on base and try to drive in the runner on second or third. I get on base and drive in the run.
Big Papi does not have the kind of power he had in 2006. Yes he is only like 33 but we have seen it with a ton of players. For example look at Eric Gange. Of corse it is believed that when he stopped using steroids he started doing bad.
I honestly could care less about home runs. If Big Papi doesn’t hit a single home run this season I would not care. As long as he drives in 100+ and bats .300+ I will be happy. Home runs are nothing. No one in baseball has the job of hitting home runs. If you hit a home run awesome if you do not who cares. As long as you do not strikeout looking I will be fine.
Big Papi may not have the protection with Manny in the lineup because well Manny is Manny. Manny could strikeout every time this season but pitchers would treat him like he is the guy who hit 500 home runs. Kevin Youkilis could do better but pitchers would still be afraid of Manny more then Youk.
So either until Big Papi finds his stroke or starts driving in runs and getting doubles. Here is what my line up would lock like.
1- Jacoby Ellsbury
2- Dustin Pedroia
3- Jason Bay
4- Kevin Youkilis
5- J.D. Drew
6- Mike Lowell
7- David Ortiz
8- Jason Varitek
9- Julio Lugo
Now I would rather have Jason Bay then say J.D. Drew in the third spot because I think J-Bay is just underrated. He will hit around 30 home runs a year but I love guys who can hit doubles of the Green Monster. Even though J.D. Drew has eight doubles and Bay has only five Bay also is A.) a little faster and B.) is kind of hot. He is not the hottest player but still I like J-Bay and he is still getting better.
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Now for some talk about the NBA. As many of you probably know my Boston Celtics are facing the Orlando Magic in the second round of the playoffs today.
Many say that the Magic will go on to the next round however I say it will be the Celtics. So far in the game we are down by 19 but I have faith in my team. The reason for many predicting the Magic over the Celtics is because we don’t have one of our best players, Kevin Garnett (note that I didn’t say KG is our best player).
Many believe that that is why we went to seven games against the Chicago Bulls. That is 100% not true. We didn’t go to seven games because Garnett was not on the court but rather the fact that he was on the bench. KG was a distraction to the team. I mean just imagine one of the greatest players of all-time not playing.
*Update we are now down by 14*
But we should not have went to seven games. Garnett is our best defensive player, Ray Allen is our best shooter, and Paul Pierce is the best all around player and the best player on the Boston Celtics. But even with KG on the bench we still have a big three.
Rajon Rondo has made a name for himself this season. He was nearly an all-star and turned the Big Three into the Fab Four. However many treat the team like we only have two all-stars, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett.
Well those people must have an IQ of 1. Ray Allen is the best shooter of all-time. He is second on the all-time carer three pointers made and still has a ton of years left. I read an article in SI a while ago and it said that Pierce’s 34 and Garnett’s 5 would soon be up in the rafters. Well Ray Allen’s 20 and Rajon Rondo’s 9 will be up there soon.
*Update at the end of the third quarter we are down by 16*
*Update after checking my e-mail we are down by ten! I can smell the comeback!!!!!!!!!*
My second topic is the MVP voting. Today LeBron James won the MVP award. Unlike the MLB the NBA does not give awards out for both leagues.
LeBron James like Derek Jeter can be described in one word, OVERRATED! Tons of people say he is the best player on the planet. I say nice joke. Lets compare stats to Paul Pierce, Dwyane Wade, Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, Chauncey Billups and Kobe Bryant.
ASSIST PER GAME POINTS PER GAME REBOUNDS PER GAME
James- 7.5 (2) James- 32 (1) James- 11.3 (2)
Pierce- 2 (6) Pierce- 23.1 (6) Pierce- 6.9 (3)
Wade- 5.5 (5) Wade- 28.8 (2) Wade- 5.3 (4)
Howard- 1 (7) Howard- 24 (4) Howard- 15.8 (1)
Paul- 10.4 (1) Paul- 16.6 (7) Paul- 4.4 (6)
Billups- 7.4 (3) Billups- 22.6 (5) Billups- 4 (7)
Bryant- 5.6 (4) Bryant- 27.4 (3) Bryant- 5 (5)
So Based on my awesome, crazy formulas based on just stats the voting should have looked like this . . .
1.) James
2.) Wade
3.) Howard
3.) Bryant
5.) Paul
6.) Billups
6.) Pierce
and not this . . .
1.) James
2.) Bryant
3.) Wade
4.) Howard
5.) Paul
6.) Billups
7.) Pierce
The one problem is an MVP has to have more then stats. For example Chauncey Billups turned the Denver Nuggets around so he might be fifth and not sixth. So really I would have voted like this . . .
1.) James
2.) Wade
3.) Howard
4.) Billups
5.) Bryant
6.) Pierce
7.) Paul
Okay well I have a confession to make that may kill me. Don’t worry I have already written my will so here I go. LeBron James is the best player on Earth.
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RIP
Bob 🙂
The Other Manny And Boston’s Bullpen
Manny Delcarmen began his carer in the shadows of a position player. This year he is starting the season in Jonathan Papelbon, Justin Masterson, and Hideki Okajima’s shadows. But this year he is going to put those guys in his shadows.
Most people when you say Manny they think of Manny Ramirez but trust me they should be thinking Manny Delcarmen. Delcarmen could be a closer on some teams like the Mariners or the Cardinals. He has a fantastic twelve to six curveball along with a mid 90’s fastball and a decent change up. His control is okay but could use some work on it.
What the Red Sox are doing is somewhat of a crime. Besides Papelbon Boston has three guys that could be closers, Delcarmen, Okajima, and Takashi Saito. Along with Justin Masterson who would start on most teams.
The first series that Jason Bay was in a Red Sox uniform they gave out these signs for free.
Sorry I could not find a good picture of them but they are the signs that say Manny Who? When I was at these games I was waving the sign around and stuff. We had seats right by the Pesky Pole and in the game I pointed the sign to the bullpen. I then noticed Manny Delcarmen. I am not sure how he felt but if I was him I would have felt like garbage.
Delcarmen has a 0.00 ERA so far this year in 2.2 innings of work and he has only given up one hit. The only bad this is he has walked three already. Papelbon, Okajima, and Saito have worked 4.2 combined innings in which they have given up six earned runs.
I am not saying that Delcarmen should be the closer because at the end of the day Jonathan Papelbon is better. However Delcarmen should be Boston’s number one set up man snd not Okajima. Saito is fine but needs to learn how the Red Sox roll. The reason Ramon Ramirez or Javier Lopez are not is because Delcarmen is just better then them.
Now one problem in Boston’s bullpen and rotation is what will Jon Smoltz do once he comes back. He could join the bullpen or fill in for an injury or work in the rotation. If I am Terry Francona I would really consider having a six man rotation.
Not many teams get the chance to have a six man rotation because they do not have enough pitching. If anything it would be a gift to have a six man rotation. Each starter gets an extra day of rest and they are less likely to get hurt if the go out there once every six days rather then once every five days.
If he goes to the bullpen I just do not see how he fits there. The long relief pitcher is Justin Masterson. The closer is Jonathan Papelbon. Setup man belongs to Saito, Okajima, and Delcarmen. Then Ramon Ramirez and Javier Lopez are just the regular relief pitchers with out roles. I guess you could make Somaltz the second long relief pitcher but I would not do that. I would have just one long relief pitcher.
if he fills in for someone it would most likely be due to injury. However he could fill in for a suspension (see Josh Beckett) but more on Beckett possibly tomorrow. Brad Penny has a little gut of an injury history but I do not see him getting hurt this year.
In the playoffs however I would move Tim Wakefield to the bullpen and have Smaoltz start. Smoltz has been there before a ton of times and has amazed hitters. I know Wakefield has the second most experience but hitters are figuring out how to hit the knuckleball so I would move Wakefield to the bullpen.
One last problem Boston has is that they have three setup men. I my opinion you only need two setup men. Saito, Okajima, and Delcarmen are all great choices. However Saito can only pitch one inning, Okajima does not have the stamina to pitch three innings, but Delcarmen can. So if Boston does make the move Delcarmen’s role will be reduced. However I do not think that will change. If it does change teams have ways to slowly cut their work down so no one notices except the team.
All these problems are not really problems if anything it is a good thing. Boston has an over talented bullpen but with that comes some flaws.
PHOTO CREDITS
1-bostonsports.mlblogs.com
2-projo.com
3-boston.com
4-daylife.com
The Obvious Finally Happens
Stumped you guys yet again. The question was Who was the first major leaguer to leave 12 runners on base in one game? The answer was Glenn Beckert. Today’s question is below.
***************************************************************************************************Yes, this long standoff between Manny Ramirez and the Los Angeles Dodgers has finally ended. Manny signed a two year $45 million dollar deal. The deal includes a player option for 2010. This was a win a lose for Manny. The win was that he had a player option. If say next year the economy gets better and teams get their trust in him back he could go out and sign a HUGE deal with a team. The lose for Manny is the fact that it took so long and he is getting paid a lot less then he originally wanted. The I guess shocking part of this whole deal is if Manny had not acted up and faking injuries he would have resigned with the Red Sox and Boston would have never seen Jason Bay. Manny did act up and thats life. No one fan can control the fact that he is selfish, greedy, and a loser. He also chose another greedy guy as his agent, Scott Boras. Boras is the greediest guy you will ever hear about. The worst part about that is most players have Boras as their agent. Boras just has the magic evil touch. If your worth ten million dollars and you want fifteen million dollars 99% of the time he will get you that fifteen million. Manny will be the sixth highest payed player ever. Only Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez, C.C. Sabathia, Johan Santana, and Mark Teixeira have agreed to high contracts. A-Roid has signed the second and third highest paid contracts while Manny is also ninth on the list. Manny will lead a talented Dodger outfield in left with Matt Kemp in center, Andre Ethier in right, and Juan Pierre as the forth outfielder. Last season Manny batted .332 with 37 home runs, 121 RBI’s, 74 hits, and had three stolen bases. Manny also had a .979 fielding percentage with only three errors. Do not worry that surprised me to. Manny also has good carer stats. He has hit .314 with 527 home runs, 2,392 hits, 1,725 RBI’s, and 37 stolen bases. Manny is a twelve time all-star who has also won nine Silver Sluggers, two Hank Aaron awards, a two time World Series champion, and in 2004 was the World Series MVP. It is amazing how time can change. Like I said before if Manny had not acted up and faked injuries he would have resigned with the Red Sox. Now win he was with the Red Sox he was my favorite player. He was so awesome. I mean the dreadlocks and all. He seemed he would hit a home runs every time I watched a game. In 2004 I was ecstatic for him almost as much as I was ecstatic for David Ortiz that season. In 2007 he was not my favorite Red Sox player (Big Papi became my first) but he rocked. Then in 2008 he still was awesome. When he started acting up and stuff I kept saying to myself everything is fine. Then when the trade rumors popped up I said their just saying that so Manny might stop. Right before Manny was traded I had bought a new Manny Ramirez T-shirt. I only wore it once and since then I have never worn it again. Manny used to be my idol now he is kind of my enemy.
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All right today’s question is Which pitcher holds the major league record for most grad slams allowed (10)?
Hint- This player played for the Mets and is still involved in baseball today
Photos
1- allposters.com
2- vault.sportsillustartated.com
3- vault.sportsillustarted.com
And I Thought The Yankees Were Stupid and Greedy!
The Dodgers signed second baseman Orlando Hudson to a one year, $3.38 million dollar contract pending a physical. If Hudson reaches all of incentives he could get an extra $4.6 million. In High School he was a three sport standout in baseball, basketball, and football. Hudson attended the Spartanburgh Methodist college where he played baseball. He was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 43 round in 1997. He made his major league debut on July 24, 2002. He played with the Blue Jays till 2005 when Hudson won his first of three Golden Gloves. In the 2005 offseason Hudson was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks for pitcher Miguel Batista, third basemen Troy Glaus, and prospect Sergio Santos. 2005 was Hudson’s best year. He set a carer high in batting average with a .287 batting average. He also set carer highs in home runs with 15, RBI’s with 67, runs with 87, games with 157, at bats with 579, hits with 166, doubles with 34, triples with nine, total bases with 263, walks with 66, stolen bases, on base percentage with .354, and slugging percentage with .454. All of them are still carer highs except for walks, stolen bases, and on base percentage. He never got any MVP votes that year though as Ryan Howard won it. Hudson became the sixth infielder to win a Golden Glove in both leagues on November 3, 2006. In 2007 he made his first all-star game. He had a walk and a strikeout. That year the Diamondbacks made the playoffs but Hudson didn’t play a single game and as of today has never had an at-bat in the postseason. Later that year the “O-Dog” won yet another Golden Glove stretching his streak to three consecutive Golden Gloves at shortstop. In 2008 Hudson missed about fifty games due to a dislocated left wrist. Due to the injury he did not win a Golden Glove and lost out to Brandon Phillips of the Reds. This deal means a couple of things first he will have big holes to fill. Hudson is replacing future hall of famer Jeff Kent who retired this offseason. Kent has hit the most home runs in baseball by any second basemen. Second, Manny Ramirez is less likely to sign with the Dodgers and Manny Ramirez will get a lot less then he wants. The Dodgers just spent three million on a with a great glove. The Dodgers don’t need Manny and the Hudson deal sends that message to him. Third, the Dodgers are greedy. This signing was a total waste of money the Dodgers already have a great second baseman in Blake DeWitt aka the future Dustin Pedroia. This deal really hurts the development of him and this could be bad for DeWitt and the Dodgers. The also already have three good outfielders in Juan Pierre, Matt Kemp, and rising star Andre Ethier. Why need Manny? Sure he is a force in the lineup but having Pierre a guy who could start on most teams in stupid. Lastly the most obvious one Blake DeWitt is the new utility infielder. So having Mark Loretta was not enough for a utility guy? At least they have depth. Now before I end I want to say I am fine having Hudson start over a older guy but not a rising prospect. So now when I say stupid Dodgers I really mean it and I don’t care that the Dodgers are my third favorite team they are greedy, stupid, and idiots for wanting Manny.
Photos
1- upi.com
2- sportshubla.com
3- latimes.com
Hey I just thought of something. Manny Ramirez is greedy, the Dodgers are greedy, and Scott Boras is greedy obviously greedy does not work with greedy. Maybe That is why Manny is taking so long.
Boston Has its ‘Tek Back
Jason Varitek resigned with the Red Sox on a $5 million, one year deal with a club option for 2010 worth $3 million. In 2010 he could also earn an extra $2 million if he gets all of his incentives completed. The deal isn’t official yet though and we all remember what Rafael Furcal did this offseason, but I don’t think Varitek would do that. Varitek turns 37 in April. In twelve major league season, all with the Red Sox he has batted .263, with 161 home runs, 654 RBI’s, 1,156 hits, and 25 stolen bases. He is an excellent fielder with a carer .993 fielding percentage and the 2005 Golden Glove award for catchers. He also works very well with pitchers. He has caught four no-hitters in his carer. In 2008 Varitek had a down year batting .220, with 13 home runs, 43 RBI’s, zero stolen bases, and 93 hits. Varitek did however get voted in to his third all-star game as back up to Twins catcher Joe Mauer. Varitek is also a decent hitter. He won the 2005 Silver Sluggers for catchers. Varitek has won two World Series, 2004 and 2007. His postseason stats consist of a .237 batting average, eleven home runs, 33 RBI’s, 54 hits, and zero stolen bases. Varitek has been the Red Sox captain since the 2004 offseason. This is a fantastic move by the Red Sox. Varitek is the heart of Red Sox Nation in the best of times and the worst of times as William Shakespeare would say. Varitek is a Red Sox legend and soon to be a baseball legend. I mean he is the only player ever to catch four no-hitters! While Varitek wasn’t the best slugger he was awesome. Am I saying Varitek will go into the baseball hall of fame? Maybe, I don’t know. I would probably say no but he would come very close. The next thing on the Red Sox to do list is win the 2009 World Series but a few things could be added before that happens, like sighing or trading for a young catcher or trading some guy who “forces” the Red Sox to trade him. cough *** cough *** Manny Ramirez *** cough *** cough
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