Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Top 20 Shortstops

In light of Troy Tulowitzki's recent extension to the 2020 season i wanted to see how he stacked up against the rest of the shortstops in the league. I spent several hours pouring over stats and scouting reports to make my list of the top 20 shortstops. I will give in depth analyisis of the top 10 and then just list the bottom ten.

FIRST TEIR


1. Troy Tulowitzki (COL)
I think he has to be the obvious number one choice, Hanley Ramirez was definitely considered but he is more of a hitter than a true shortstop. Tulowitzki has the full package, he can hit for average, power, he has some speed and plays excellent defense. I realize his offensive numbers are slightly skewed due to playing at Coors field (altough not as much as you would think as he still hit .291/.358/.504 on the road) but he is still an outstanding bat at shortstop.

2. Hanley Ramirez (FLA)
In terms of offense he is the best in the league with a career .313/.385/.520 line. But the reason he is number 2 is because is glove is no where near Tulowitzki's, he has a career -39.3 UZR and a career .969 fielding percentage. On the Fans Scouting Report on Fangraphs.com they think Hanley has good speed and a decent first step and arm but he gets low marks for his hands, release, instincts and accuracy. At some point in his career i think he will get moved to third similar to A-Rod becaues his bat will still hold up as a corner infielder. But even with his defensive deficiencies he is still an elite shortstop.

Second Tier

3. Stephen Drew (ARI)
There is a significant drop off after Tulo and Hanley, but Stephen Drew is a solid second tier shortstop. He does not have an elite bat but it is above average for a middle infielder ( career .272/.332/.448 line). He has managed to improve his defense which is really what has pushed him to this level, as he evolved from a 2 win player to a 5 win player last year. His career UZR is not good but he has posted positive UZR's the past 2 season with an 8.7 this year. The fan scouting dosnt suggest that any of his tools are great but he is mediocre across the board.

4. Alexei Ramirez (CWS)
From the minute he burst onto the scene in 2008 he has been an upper level offensive shortstop, hitting for a solid average and providing some pop at a position that tends to lack it. He is not elite in any one category but is above average across the board with a career .283/.321/.430 slash line and averaging over 10 steals a season. His defensive ratings have improved every season as well posting a 10.8 UZR this season. The Fans scouting suggests that he has a good arm and above average speed and first step. His main area of concern in his defense are his hands and his release. Alexei Ramirez is right up there with Stephen Drew in the second tier of shortstops.

5. Jose Reyes (NYM)
He came back from missing most of 2009 to posting solid numbers in 2010. When healthy Reyes provides a leathal combination of contact/speed and power at the top of the Mets lineup. He is at the early part of his prime as well so he has the potential to get back to the upper tier of shortstops. His defense is pretty good as well with a career UZR of 16.6 but he did have a rough season last year dropping to a -5 UZR. The fans scouting report shows he has a good first step with great speed and a great arm. His main weakness is his hands but other than that all of his other areas are rated at least average. Reyes is a young shortstop who has proved he can be elite before and could be again but for now is in the second tier.

Third Tier

6. Yunel Escobar (TOR)
He had a rough year at the plate with the Braves but was much better with the Blue Jays. Even when he is on he is still a third tier shortstop in my mind but he will hit for average (career .289 hitter) and some pop. But he doesnt have the speed of some of the other shortstops ahead of him. He can be a 3-4 win guy and is hitting his prime ages so we could see him possibly move up to the second tier. He also plays solid defense as he has a career 9.6 UZR, the fan scouting shows him to be proficient in almost every category and they rate his arm very highly. Again the only area he really isnt great at is his speed which may hurt his range a little bit. Overall he is an above average player in almost every category but is not great in any category either.

7. Elvis Andrus (TEX)
I know that he may not hit for a great average yet or hit for any power but he does have blazing speed and plays outstanding defense. I would consider his last season a sophmore slump and he still put up a .1 UZR and hit for a .265/.342/.301. He has the potential to be one of the best defensive players in the game with a potential line of .280/.350/.380 with 30-40 SB. The reason he ranks higher than people who may have put up better numbers last season is his age as he is only 22 years old and is already a star. The fan scouting shows he is above average in every category except his accuracy, and has very good instincts, speed and first step. He is one of two really good young shortstops who will likely move to higher tiers as they get older.

8. Derek Jeter (NYY)
 I know i may get some flak for ranking him this high but even in his worst season of his career he was a 2.5 WAR player. His skills are eroding as he is now 36 years old but he still has the ability to hit for a solid average and get on base. He is one of the best shortstops of all time and should get his 3,000th hit next season as he is 74 hits away and is a first ballot hall of famer. The one thing that has always been overrated about Jeter's game is his defense. Looking at his defensive metrics he has been a below average defender his whole career. He has a -42.4 UZR since 2002, posting only 2 postive UZR seasons. He dosnt have the range to really play short anymore but the Yankees dont have to have great defense to succeed so he will likely finish his career there. The only attribute that the fan scouting thinks is above average is his hands which is true as he only made 6 errors last season. If he can get to the ball he will make the play, but its his ability to get to the ball that is in question. That being said he is still in the third tier which is pretty good for his age.

9. Alex Gonzalez (ATL)
If it was not for his resurgent offense last year he would be ranked this high but he managed to put up some stellar offensive numbers for a shortstop last season (hitting 23 home runs and knocking in 88 runs). He doesnt provide much in terms of average or OBP but has good pop and can knock in runs. His best asset is still his defense as he has a career 44.6 UZR since 2002 and had a 5.1 UZR last season. The fan scouting shows that he has above average hands and release but is weak in terms of his first step, speed and arm. I think this ranking is a little bit high but i didnt want to show to much favoritism to the next guy on this list.

10. Starlin Castro (CHC)
Of all of the young shortstops in the majors i would say he has the highest ceiling but even if he doesnt reach that he is already an allstar caliber shortstop. He showed that he can hit for great average putting up a .300/.347/.408 line in his rookie season. He has the potential to be an excellent leadoff hitter who could contend for batting titles and already has such a good approach at the plate. His main issue is inexpierence and immaturity as he is only 20 years old, he will have mental lapses from time to time but thats part of the growth. Also he is no where near his prime years so we may see some inconsistincey at this time in his career. His defense is a work in progress, looking at the fan scouting he has above average speed and first step and has a great arm. But he stuggles with his hands, release and accuracy as he made 27 errors. Unlike Elvis Andrus i think Castro could become a first tier shortstop, his strengths will likely lie in his average but he has power potential in his body. He is the most exciting player on this list in my opinion.

Fourth Tier

11. Cliff Pennington
12. Marco Scutaro
13. Jhonny Peralta
14. Erick Aybar
15. Jason Bartlett
16. Ian Desmond

Fifth Tier

17. Orlando Cabrera
18. Alcides Escobar

BAD

19. Cesar Izturis
20. Yuniesky Betancourt

Monday, November 29, 2010

Top 25 Roundup

We are only a few weeks into the college basketball season and there has already been some crazy good games and upsets. I just wanted to run through the top 25 and look ahead to the big games this week.
1. Duke-
They definitely proved that they are deserving of their #1 ranking with a big win over then #4 Kansas St., and wins over Marquette and Oregon. But the tests are not over for this team as they will play another top 10 team in the form of Michigan State and a rematch of last years championship game at the end of the week.
2. Ohio State-
So far their only real test has been against Florida but they look legit. Unfortunatly the best non-conference game left is against Florida St. so Im sure they will be able to hold on as the #2 for a while.

3. Pittsburgh-
Nothing very exciting this past week for them in terms of matchups (Robert Morris, Penn) and this week does not look much better but the December 11 game against #13 Tennessee should be good.

4. Kansas-
They picked up 3 wins this past week including a good one against Arizona (87-79). This week there is only a game at home against UCLA but next week they should get a real test against # 14 Memphis.

5. Kansas St.-
Not a bad week for Kansas St., they opened with a solid 81-64 win against Gonzaga and won against Texas Southern but did lose to #1 Duke. It's hard to fault Kansas St. for losing to the best team in the country but it does eliminate them from being the #1 team.  

6. Michigan St.-
They had a rough week barely beating Chaminade in the opening round of the Maui Invitational then letting unranked UConn upset them in the second round. But after seeing UConn im pretty sure they are legit, especially after beating Kentucky as well. Michigan St. did get a win against Washington to take the #3 spot in the tournament so the week was not a complete loss. But now they head into what will be thier toughest game of the season agianst #1 ranked Duke. They also have a game against #8 Syracuse next week and #19 Texas at the end of the month. This should benifit them come tournament time so i would not be to worried about the Spartans as they have shown they have a ton of potential.
7. UConn-
This had to be a good week for Jim Calhoun as his Huskies pulled up some major upsets to win the Maui Invitational. They opened the invitational with a win against Wichita State, moving on to face then ranked #2 Michigan State. I got a chance to watch this game (Im a BIG MSU fan) and it was a great one, Kemba Walker continued to dominate scoring 30 points along with big man Alex Oriakhi who had 15 points and 17 rebounds. They managed to pull off a 70-67 upset due to Michigan State blowing multiple chances in the final seconds of the game. They then moved on to play then #8 ranked Kentucky, handing them a 84-67 loss. Again Kemba Walker was outstanding scoring 29 points and dishing out 6 assists. This team looks like the real deal taking down 2 top ten teams. This week they were bumped up to 7th in the AP rankings after being unranked the previous week.
8. Syracuse-
They may be undefeated but i am not sold on this group with all 3 of last weeks games being decided by 4 points or less against the like of William & Mary, Michigan and Georgia Tech. They have a slow week this week with only a game against Cornell. Thier real test comes against #6 Michigan St. next week.
9. Missouri-
This is a team that i has not played a tough team yet but will get tested by #16 Georgetown tomorrow. The only other big non-conference game dosnt come till late December against Illinois.

10. Kentucky-
They looked good in their first two games this week against Oklahoma and Washington but got schooled by Kemba Walker and UConn. This weeks highlight game is against  unranked but dangerous North Carolina, but after that the only other big non-conference is against Notre Dame. This is a nice young group that should get better as the season progresses. 
11. Baylor-
They have not played anybody of substance but this is a talented team with the ever exciting LaceDarius Dunn who had a nice season debut against Lipscomb last week. They have a fairly weak non-conference schedule but the highlight comes against Gonzaga December 18th.

12. Villanova-
They dropped from the #7 spot after a 10 point loss to then #24 Tennessee. They play St. Josephs this week but their highlight non-conference game comes December 30th against Temple. Luckily in the Big East you dont have to have a tough non-conference schedule to build your resume.
13. Tennessee-
A lot of controversey has been circling Bruce Pearl this season but they have played well and upset Villanova last week. They along with seemingly every team not named Michigan St. and Duke has a slow week this week. But they still play 2 top 25 teams in #3 Pittsburgh and #14 Memphis before conference play begins.
14. Memphis-
Josh Pastner has put together a pretty good roster and is continuing the great tradition of Memphis. They had a good week with wins against LSU and UT- Martin but they havnt even gotten into the tough part of thier schedule. They still have games against #4 Kansas, #16 Georgetown and #13 Tennessee.
15. Minnesota-
Another team with a good week with wins over West Virginia and North Dakota St. and games against Virginia and Cornell this week. There really are not any big non-conference games on thier slate, they will have to play well in the Big 10 to move up in the rankings.

16. Georgetown-
Yet another team that hasnt played any top 25 teams with wins over NC State and UNC Asheville this week, but they will play a top 25 team this week against Missouri tomorrow. Plus they still have some big non-conference games against Temple, Memphis and Notre Dame.

17. San Diego St.-
They had a busy week beating IUPUI, Miami (Ohio), and San Diego Christian, so a very exciting week (can you hear the hint of sarcasim in my voice). But they did get a good win against Gonzaga last week (Jeez how many top 25 teans do they play this year). But they do not really have any other big non-conference games unless you count St. Mary's and Wichita St. this week.
18. Florida-
Besides a loss to #2 Ohio St. they have played pretty well. With wins against Morehead, FAU and Florida St. they had a pretty good week. They have some interesting non-conference games #5 Kansas St., Xavier and Rhode Island.

19. Texas-
Like Florida the only blemish on Texas record is a loss to a top 5 team (#3 Pittsburgh) and with a win over #20 Illinois 2 weeks ago and wins against Sam Houston St. and Rice this week they are back on track. They also have some tough games ahead against UNC, #6 Michigan St. and #7 UConn.
20. Illinois-
After a tough OT Loss to Texas two weeks ago they have won their past 3 games against Maryland, Yale and Western Michigan. But they have a tough week ahead as they play the always dangerous UNC Tarheals and at the end of the week Gonzaga. After that they only have one tough non-conference game against #9 Missouri.
21. BYU-
They were another team to play 3 games this past week although they were only against Mississippi Val., South Florida and St. Mary's. The only tough non-conference game for them is their December 11th game agianst Arizona. They will have a hard time moving up as the Mountain West does not provide enough quality opponents to make it to the top 10 without a strong non-conference schedule.
22. Purdue-
They are not the same team without Robbie Hummel and that was proved last week when Richmond upset them 65-54. They are still a quality team but they are not a top 10 team as many people thought in the pre-season. Luckily they have a light non-conference schedule that should pad their record enought to keep them in the top 25.
23. Washington-
Isaiah Thomas can talk as much as he wants but he has yet to back it up. With losses to Kentucky and Michigan St. they dropped ten spots this week. They don't have a tough non-conference schedule either so im not sure if they will be able to rebuild their stock enough to get back to where they were.
24. UNLV-
They have been very impressive, especialy since their upset of Wisconson back on November 20th. They added wins over Tulsa, Murray St. and Virginia Tech last week. Plus they still have a big non-conference game against #4 Kansas St. still ahead. They have the opportunity to really rise through these rankings if they continue to play well.
25. Notre Dame-
They really turned heads this week with big wins over Georgia, California and Wisconson to get into the rankings. Im not sure if this is just luck or if they're the real deal but they kepth their tournament hopes alive with those wins. But they do play in the very tough Big East for basketball and have tough non-conference games against Kentucky and Gonzaga.

Well thats a wrap on this weeks Top 25 Roundup.

Chris "da Franchize" Hart

Sunday, November 28, 2010

MLB Offseason Updates

Well after a great thanksgiving break i wanted to update everybody with some MLB Offseason updates. There hasnt been a ton of action this week but a few interesting moves that should keep us busy till the winter meetings. To make this a little more exciting than the last offseason post i'll add some pictures and give their previous years stats and Bill James projections for 2011. ( A side note about Bill James projections if you've never read them, they do tend to be on the optimistic side)

Javier Vazquez-SP- Signed by the Marlins
2010 (NYY)- 157.1 IP  10-10  5.32 ERA  6.92 K/9  3.72 BB/9  -.2 WAR
Bill James- 198 IP  13-9  3.73 ERA  8.32 K/9  2.5 BB/9   

I just heard about this signing about 10 minutes ago but i have heard some of the specifics. Apparently it is a one year deal in the 6-7 million dollar range. Vazquez is looking to rebuild his value after a disappointing season in New York. I wouldn't put to much stock into his bad season last year, he played in the toughest division for a pitcher and with a move to the National League East which he dominated in 2009 he has a chance for a major rebound. On the Marlins end this helps them solidify their rotation with an excellent strikeout pitcher to pair with Josh Johnson. 



Jon Garland-SP- Signed by the Dodgers
2010 (SD)- 200 IP  14-12  3.47 ERA  6.12 K/9  3.92 BB/9  .8 WAR
Bill James- 210 IP  10-14  3.81 ERA  4.84 K/9  2.83 BB/9

I think Jon Garland likes bouncing around this NL West teams, in the past 2 years he has played for the Dodgers, Diamondbacks, and Padres. I understand why he wants to pitch out west as the ballparks definitely favor pitchers. Garland is by no means an ace but he is great as a back of the rotation innings eater. His numbers will decline from last season as he was aided by PETCO Park but Dodger Stadium is still pitcher friendly so he should still be valuable. He helps bolster a dodgers pitching staff that lacked depth the first half of the year. But they have reversed things with Clayton Kershaw and Chad Billingsley at the top and Ted Lilly, Hiroki Kuroda and Jon Garland they have 5 good pitchers. The Dodgers now need to get some more consistency on the offensive side and they should be able to compete with the Padres and Giants. 

Zach Duke-SP- Traded to the Diamondbacks from the Pirates for a player to be named later.
2010 (PIT)- 159 IP  8-15  5.72 ERA  5.43 K/9  2.89 BB/9  .4 WAR
Bill James- 172 IP  7-12  4.92 ERA  4.66 K/9  2.46 BB/9

I will be interested to see Duke on a team that can hit behind him. But even then Duke is not a good pitcher by any means, he is mediocre at best. He is a ground ball pitcher who gives up to many home runs, and to many hits. But if he gets a good defense behind him he could be a solid back of the rotation/innings eater type. Part of the problem in Pittsburgh is that they were relying on him to be the ace, when he is really a 4th or 5th starter type. Not a bad move for Arizona as he is a decent lefty arm and they probably got him for peanuts, but also good for Pittsburgh as it will save them some money. All in all this move is really not that important but I've always like Duke so i thought i would mention it.

Aubrey Huff-1B- Re-signed with the Giants
2010 (SF)- 569 AB  .290/.385/.506  26 HR  86 RBI  6.7 FLD  5.7 WAR
Bill James- 494 AB  .269/.348/.453  19 HR  75 RBI 

Aubrey Huff was one of those really good deals last year and now he is going to be one of the not so good deals. He had a great 2010 and helped lead the Giants to their first world series in San Fransisco but at 34 this was probably his swan song. Luckily for the Giants its only 2 years, but 11 mill a year is a lot for a 34 year old first baseman. Plus the first base market is very deep this year and they could have waited for Huff's value on the market to go down and then re-signed him later. But i guess either way its not a horrible contract that will hinder the Giants chances at protecting their title.  

Tsuyoshi Nishioka-SS/2B- Twins won the bid for his posting fee.
2010 (Japan)- 596 AB  .346 AVG  11 HR  59 RBI  22 SB
Bill James- N/A

Im not sure if everyone is familiar with the Japanese posting process so i will explain it as simply as i can. Basically teams bid for the posting fee which is what the MLB team will pay the Japanese team for the players rights. Once the highest bidder is selected then the MLB team has a window in which they must sign the player, if they do not the posting fee is returned. I believe Nishioka has been playing SS in japan but from what i hear major league scouts see him as a second baseman. He is supposed to be a good defensive player who hits for contact and has some speed (typical Japanese ballplayer) but it is always so hard to know how his skills will transfer to MLB. The power never seems to translate to i will guess he is a single digit home run guy but he may be able to hit for a solid average. The biggest positive is that he is only 26 years old so he hasn't hit his prime yet, but he has struggled with injuries throughout his career. He would fill a void at second now that Orlando Hudson will probably not be re-signed. And he fits the Twins mold for players and i know Ron Gardenhire like to have players that run and are athletic so we may see him steal some bags. Overall not a bad fit, hopefully he will be closer to Ichirio than Fukudome.

That is all the major action from this past week, look forward to more exciting offseason new this week. And on Friday Kevin and I will hopefully be recording our first podcast so look out for that next weekend.

Chris "da Franchize" Hart

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Jumping-the-Gun Only Leads to Injured Foots

                Have you ever witnessed a team, from any sport, struggle in their first couple of games of the season, and say to yourself “Well, they’re done. So much for the hope on this season.” If you have, STOP IT. You may have a serious illness called Jumping-the-Gun syndrome. It’s very dangerous, and very contagious.
                Chances are if you have had thoughts like this, it probably didn’t all stem from you. You probably had some foreign thoughts and opinions sway you into making this egregious statement. But where would such ill-advised thoughts come from? If you guessed the media, you can pat yourself on the back for that answer. The media LOVES to do this. In fact, they make a living by jumping-the-gun. It’s how they get the attention of their viewers/readers. Now I know the media needs to have its followers, but is this really the best way to get them? By making bold, ill-thought out statements? There are other ways.
                Now of course accusations and degrading comments like this need to have proof to go along with it. So may I present you with the New York Jets of 2010: Began the year with a 10-9 loss at home to the Baltimore Ravens. The media jumped on them like a pack of lions do to a sickly prey. Comments were spewed, saying that they were overhyped (possibly), they weren’t going to win the division (see Skip Bayless’ “The Not Yets”), and they would crumble this season and not compete for the playoffs… ALL BECAUSE OF ONE GAME! The very first game even! So after all those bold statements the media gave, let’s look and see how the “The Not Yets” are doing: 8-2 on the season, leading their division (half game over the Patriots), and leading the entire AFC conference (again, half game over the Patriots). Is it panic time, or can they enjoy where they’re at right now?
                It’s not always about teams either. Sometimes, people jump-the-gun over individuals as well. Take Miguel Cabrera in 2010 for example; when it was getting close to the All-Star Break, people were already stamping him to be the next Triple Crown winner. Keep in mind that we haven’t had a Triple Crown winner in 43 years (Carl Yastrzemski), but all of a sudden, we have one before we’ve even hit half way mark? He wasn’t even leading the respective stats at the time! Wait until September at least before you make such statements! At least you look somewhat with it by then…
                But of course, the whole cause of this rant against the media is caused by a more recent incident. It is the outcry against the Miami Heat. The media-claimed “super-team” is currently struggling right now; being 8-6 on the season (will be 8-7 if my prediction comes true by the end of their Orlando Magic game). A coaching funeral is already being set up for Erik Spoelstra, and Heat fans are beginning to worry if their team is really any good at all. News flash people: ITS ONLY 14 GAMES INTO THE SEASON!!! If you do the math, that’s 68 games left for them to figure it out. Of course they were going to struggle in the beginning. It’s a completely new team. The way Miami set up their team this year is like how a college team is set up; new players all around. Everyone knew they weren’t going to win all 82 games this season (much less 72 like owner Pat Riley predicted). But for some reason, no one could figure out that they were going to struggle in the beginning. If it gets to the All-Star Break and they’re close or below .500, then yeah, it’s time to worry. But for now, let’s ease up off the panic button.
                There’s nothing wrong with having opinions, or even strong opinions. But let’s try to keep opinions at least somewhat realistic. Don’t let foreign thoughts completely dictate you into making such bold and thoughtless statements. Otherwise, this might happen to you…


-Kevin (Erp)

The Next Generation

Every decade or so a new "Generation" of baseball players seem to arise and make it to the big leagues. Some are larger, some are more talented but each generation of ball players seems to have its own personality. But i do not think there has ever been such a large or more talented crop of athletes in baseball that than the ones that have arrived or coming soon (currently in the minors). Today i wanted to take a look at the different generations of ball players (in the modern era) and analyze their characteristics and compare them to this next crop of young players. With the older generations I'm just going to list really the top players that came up at that time and hit right away. (If a player came up at the time but was not an immediate success he does not qualify for this)

1950's
The 50's was an exciting time with a very diverse crop of players coming up. Some of the greatest players to play the game came up at this time including, Willy Mays, Ernie Banks, Hank Aaron, Frank Robinson, Orlando Cepeda, Willie Mccovey, Jim Perry, Don Drysdale, Eddie Mathews and Al Kaline. Many of these ball players had to deal with the hardships of the racism at the time but managed to push through it to become some of the most respected names in the game. I think this was a time when the game seemed very pure and the players still seemed like legends living amongst us mere mortals. But as the times changed so did the stars and players in later decades just dont seem quite as iconic as the players from the 50's and earlier.

1960's
 The 60's were filled with many blossoming stars, many more than in the 50's but none of these players seem as iconic as the previous generation. Still some great baseball was played by the likes of Juan Marichal, Billy Williams, Catfish Hunter, Willie Stargell, Frank Howard, Carl Yasterzemski, Johnny Bench, Jim Palmer, Joe Morgan, Gaylord Perry, Fergie Jenkins, Rod Carew, Tom Seaver, Reggie Jackson, Steve Carlton, Pete Rose and Don Sutton to name a few. I think overall a lot more young players put up numbers that look good to todays standards, i think the 3 players from the Big Red Machine highlight the list (Pete Rose, Johnny Bench and Joe Morgan).

1970's
I find this generation to be very similar to the one before it in both size and talent. But again as they years go on the players seem more and more human, but again there were some great ballplayers to come up during this time. Carlton Fisk, Gary Matthews, Andre Dawson, Eddie Murray, Rick Sutcliffe, George Brett, Dave Winfield, Ozzie Smith, Gary Carter, Paul Molitor, Dennis Eckersley, Bruce Sutter, Jim Rice, Ron Cey and Bill Madlock all were young stars at this time. To me in terms of legendary status George Brett stands out with both his talent and the infamous pine tar incident. As i said before i think this generation was very similar to the previous one in pretty much every category.

1980's
This may be one of the best decades in terms of raw talent coming up to the big leagues. Two of the best all time baseball talents, Barry Bonds and Ken Griffey Jr. came up in the 80's. But when looking at numbers you have to also remember a lot of these guys used steroids so they are inflated, but the sheer number of talented players seemed to sky rocket at this time. Some of the players include, Ricky Henderson, Kirby Puckett, Ryne Sandberg, Wade Boggs, Cal Ripken, Tony Gwynn, Leon Durham, Fernando Valenzuela, Tim Raines, George Bell, Gary Gaetti, Kent Hrbek, Darryl Strawberry, Dwight Gooden, Orel Hershiser, Roger Clemens, Vince Coleman, Ozzie Guillen, Will Clark, Jose Cansenco, Danny Tartabull, Ruben Sierra, Benito Santiago, Mark McGwire, Mark Grace, Roberto Alomar and Kevin Brown. As i said the steroid cloud looms over many of these players but its also hard to deny that this was a time when a lot of very talented players came up including some of the all time greats.

1990's
If the guys who came up in the 80's had the cloud of steroids around them the 90's had it even more. The best player of this generation (Alex Rodriguez) used them which hurts this group a lot. Like the 80's group there are a plethora of talented players who came up at this time but not quite as strong as before. Some of the better players of this generation include, David Justice, Kevin Appier, John Olerud, Robin Ventura, Jeff Bagwell, Chuck Knoblauch, Ivan Rodriguez, Kenny Lofton, Eric Karros, Moises Alou, Mike Piazza, Tim Salmon, Pedro Martinez, Raul Mondesi, Ryan Klesko, Javy Lopez, Manny Ramirez, Jim Edmonds, Chipper Jones, Hideo Nomo, Andy Pettite, Edgar Renteria, Jermaine Dye, Derek Jeter, Scott Rolen, Andruw Jones, Vladimir Guerrero, Nomar Garciaparra, Kerry Wood, Todd Helton, Magglio Ordonez, Carlos Beltran, Tim Hudson, and Carlos Lee. There are some great players in here that are Hall of Fame bound but the majority of them are just good ball players. And as i said before the player that really stood out from this generation, Alex Rodriguez admitted to using steroids which discredits his achievements.

2000's
I am only including part of this decade because the latter half of the decade is what i consider to be the next generation of players. So this group can almost be considered a part of the previous but they are a little bit different. From a pitching standpoint there are not many great pitchers in this group with the exception of CC Sabathia and Roy Oswalt. But it does feature on of the greatest hitters of all time who does not have any steroid allegations looming over him and could finish as the greatest all around ball player ever in Albert Pujols. Some other players in this group include, Pat Burrell, Juan Pierre, Bengie Molina, Barry Zito, Adam Dunn, Ichiro Suzuki, Alfonso Soriano, Jimmy Rollins, John Lackey, Miguel Cabrera, Jose Reyes, Hideki Matsui, Mark Teixeira, Jason Bay, Matt Holliday, Ryan Howard, Robinson Cano, Nick Swisher, Houston Street, Hanley Ramirez, Ryan Zimmerman, Josh Johnson, Andre Ethier, Justin Verlander, Nick Markakis, Jered Weaver, Ian Kinsler, Jonathan Papelbon, Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, Troy Tulowitzki, Chris Young, Hunter Pence, Dustin Pedroia, Zack Grienke and Joakim Soria. There are a lot of great players in here but many of them are still fairly young and have a lot more work to do in their careers before any analysis can be made. Overall I think this generation fall somewhere between the 80's and the 90's generation.

 The Next Generation
This next crop of players looks to be one of if not the best generation of ballplayers the game has ever seen. With teams looking more and more to their farm systems young players are getting a chance at much younger ages, similar to how it was long ago. Over the past few years we have seen more and more talented young players come up through the system and over seas and make an impact right away. Some of these young stars include, David Price, Jason Heyward, Madison Bumgarner, Neftali Feliz, Colby Rasmus, Andrew McCutchen, Buster Posey, Brian Matusz, Elvis Andrus, Tommy Hanson, Mike Stanton, Austin Jackson, Wade Davis, Jeremy Hellickson, Stephen Strasburg, Pedro Alvarez, Carlos Santana, Starlin Castro, Tyler Colvin, Drew Storen, Jhoulys Chacin, Travis Wood, Mike Leake, Gaby Sanchez, Ian Desmond, Ike Davis, Neil Walker, Jose Tabata, Rick Porcello, Chris Coghlan, Logan Morrison, Jamie Garcia, Daniel Hudson, Kyle Drabik, Andrew Bailey, Evan Longoria, Geovany Soto, Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jair Jurrjens, Alexi Ramirez, and in the near future Bryce Harper. These are just a few of the many up and coming players in the league, which won will become the next Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey Jr. or Albert Pujols? Who knows but this is looking to be an excellent generation of ball players and i cant wait to watch them turn into superstars.

Hopefully the next great Cubs player.

Chris "da Franchize" Hart

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Detroits Aggresive Offseason

Well im sure you have heard the news by now that Victor Martinez has signed roughly a 4 year 50 million dollar contract with the Tigers. This is yet another major signing that the Tigers have made this offseason. With the re-signing of Johnny Peralta and Brandon Inge, the free agent signing of Joaquin Benoit and now Victor Martinez the Tigers are trying to surpass the Twins as the dominant team in the division. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Tigers add another free agent or two as well. The balance of power is slowly shifting to the Tigers but we'll have to wait and see what the Twins response is. Now lets take a look at what Detroits lineup should look like next year.

C-Victor Martinez/Alex Avila
1B-Miguel Cabrera
2B- Scott Sizemore/Will Ryhmes
SS-Johnny Peralta
3B-Brandon Inge
LF-Ryan Raburn
CF-Austin Jackson
RF-Brennan Boesch
DH-Carlos Guillen/Victor Martinez

They now have added some protection for Miggy, i still think they could use another bat but the AL Central is a weak division and could be won with this offense. The pitching staff is solid at the top with Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and Rick Porcello and Phil Coke and Armando Galarraga at that back end isnt horrible. The bullpen should be good with Valverde closing and if Joaquin Benoit is healthy they will have a solid set up man. They have some depth to with Daniel Schlereth and Ryan Perry as well so it should be equal to if not better than last years pen. I am not saying they are better than the Twins but the Tigers definitely took a giant step today with the signing of V-Mart.

Chris "da Franchize" Hart

MLB Offseason/Trade Reviews

As many of you will soon get to know i am a baseball guy, i eat, drink, and breath baseball. This provides a nice balance between me and Kevin as he is more of a football guy. Now that's not to say that i don't know anything about football, i just like baseball more. Now to circle back to the point of my article, as you know it is the MLB Off season. Which for many casual fans means the end of baseball, when in fact some of the most interesting things about baseball are taking place. The Arizona Fall League just concluded but it is any excellent place to view some of baseballs best young talent as the future stars of MLB face off in a short season. Then we have the Winter Meetings where a lot of significant trades and free agent signings are orchestrated. You can also watch many other winter ball leagues in the Dominican and many other Caribbean and South American Leagues. But my main reason for loving the offseason is that it is a time to watch championship teams be constructed, bad franchises turn it around or good franchises fall apart. What happens during the season is in a large part due to what is achieved in the offseason. Now there has already been some major activity this offseason and will only get busier as the winter drags on, so i thought we should take a look at some of the major moves that have been made before it gets to hectic.

Cameron Maybin Traded to San Diego for Ryan Webb and Edward Mujica
Hiroki Kuroda re-signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers
Dan Uggla Traded to Atlanta for Omar Infante and Michael Dunn
Rajai Davis Traded to Toronto for Trystan Magnuson & Dan Farquhar
Clint Barmes Traded to Houston for Felipe Paulino
John Buck signed with Florida
Joaquin Benoit signed with Detroit
Geoff Blum signed with Arizona
Jake Westbrook re-signed with St. Louis

Not really a ton of big moves have happened but still some interesting moves. I'm not sure Cameron Maybin moving to the biggest pitchers park is great for him but still maybe a change of scenery will be good and the Padres gave up replaceable relievers for him so i think they win that trade. The Braves got a huge win in the Uggla trade, Omar Infante overproduced last year, he is a glorified utility player and Michael Dunn is a decent reliever but neither equals Uggla's value. I know the Marlins initially asked for Martin Prado but the Braves balked at that. I guess the Marlins just wanted to trade him at all costs but i still feel they could have gotten a better package than Infante and Dunn. Rajai Davis is intriguing and could prove to be a useful lead off hitter for Toronto but its a very minor trade that has little impact on either team. The same goes for the Barmes, Paulino trade as neither should have a significant impact for their teams although i do like Clint Barmes. Looking at the free agent signings Detroit over payed for Benoit, Florida over payed for John Buck, the rest of the contracts were decent. But outside of the Dan Uggla trade none of these moves were "Impact" moves. I cant wait to see what else happens and to keep updated you should check out mlbtraderumors.com as they are an excellent source for baseball trade and free agent updates.

Chris "da Franchize" Hart 

Monday, November 22, 2010

Greetings

Hello sports fans. Well, like Chris said, we are starting something awesome on the internet world. We will be having our own sports show that will be comprised of a 2-a-week podcast show and a 'round-the-clock blog setup to discuss what is going on in the sporting world. We will be providing news in the sporting world and our opinions and analysis of such news. We will also be covering some games (yes, of ALL sports) and give an analysis of these games. I look forward to the greatness that can come out of this and the excitement that will be spawned by this. I would like to thank my friend Chris for this oppertunity, and it means a lot to me that he wants to do this with me. But remember, it's not all about us. It's also about YOU. We want to hear from you fans out there listening as well. We know that when it comes to sports, people have opinions like NO other topic out there (besides maybe politics... But really, who wants to talk about that?). So e-mail us your opinions/questions/responses to our work, and we will discuss them as well (as Chris has discussed). So remember, while this show/blog was created by Chris and me, it's NOT for us. It's for you guys/girls out there who enjoy sports and watching sports as much as we do. So please, if you want your opinions heard, we're all ears!
This idea is a work in progress right now... Help us make it into a success for YOU! Thank you!
-Kevin (Erp)

Start of Something Cool

I wanted to start off this blog by just discussing a little bit about what we are trying to do. I am Chris by the way, i have been writing a blog for cbssports.com for nearly a year and a half now and have gotten a lot of views on my posts so i wanted to move up a little bit. So in collaboration with my friend Kevin (who will also write on here) we started this blog. The idea is to analyze whats going on in sports today and just have some honest discussion. We are also working on a podcast show that will be featured on here in the next few weeks and eventually may do some video shows.We would love to have some reader input as well so please feel free to comment on our posts and give us advice(we are thinking about having a section of our podcasts where we answer reader questions). I am very excited to get this started and hope you are to.

Chris "da Franchize" Hart