Most of you know that OPS is the new era standard for excellence at the plate. Just look at the leaders in the majors and you will see all-stars all over the top 10 (Pujols, Mauer, Ibanez, Fielder, etc). It calculates OBP (how often you get on base) and SLG (how many total bases you produce). What is interesting, though, is looking at the bottom 20 and seeing how many big-time names are there (top 10 round fantasy type players).
We all know the woes of Jeff Francoeur (4th worst at .626 or almost half of Pujols), but what about Jimmy Rollins at .642? Jimmy is well under .100 points of his career OPS, and that includes the 1st 2-3 years of his career where he was below average at the plate. In the bottom tier, you usually see 1 trick pony's like base stealers, catchers, or defensive wizards. But to see what were considered top-tier shortstops like Rollins, Furcal, Cabrera, Hardy, and Eckstein all in the bottom 20 is pretty wild. Also included are all-or-nothing hitters like Chris Davis, Adrien Beltre, Chris Young, and Kevin Kouzmanoff. Former all-stars Magglio Ordonez and Russell Martin are also in the bottom 20.
Number 1 (or last) on the list? Willy Tavares with a .579 OPS and a .031 point lead over Jason Kendall. Turreble.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Thoughts on Prado...
What a season so far for Martin Prado. It is just a shame it took Bobby this long to realize he had an ideal #2 hitter on his bench. Prado has been outstanding since taking over for Kelly Johnson and established himself as the 2-hole hitter. Only 3 players in the majors this season have 200+ plate appearances and fewer than 20 strikeouts (Prado, L.Castillo, Y.Betancourt). Prado is the only one of these 3 with a batting average over .285 (.330 thru Friday). He puts the ball in play, doesn't swing at bad pitches, and has some pop. He reminds me of Placido Polanco of about 4 years ago with more power. If eligible (Prado is currently 61 AB's shy) for the batting average lead, he would be 5th in the NL.
The key to this season may be the emergence of a solid all-around hitter at the top of the Braves order. How many times in the first 2 months of the season did the Braves lose a close game because of an ill-timed strikeout or bad at bat (cough, Francoeur, cough, KJ)? The pitching has been consistent all year (for my money, Jurrjens has been the best) and 1/2 to 1 run more per game would really make this a pretty good team.
I just hope it isn't too late...
The key to this season may be the emergence of a solid all-around hitter at the top of the Braves order. How many times in the first 2 months of the season did the Braves lose a close game because of an ill-timed strikeout or bad at bat (cough, Francoeur, cough, KJ)? The pitching has been consistent all year (for my money, Jurrjens has been the best) and 1/2 to 1 run more per game would really make this a pretty good team.
I just hope it isn't too late...
Friday, July 17, 2009
Weekend Stuff...
As I watch Tiger's meltdown...
The Phillis are pretty hot right now, if they get Halladay it is game over in the NL East...
With every top-tier team in the East improving, the Heat are looking to upgrade as well at the frontcourt spots. With their already being talks of Boozer headed to Miami as well, they could have a pretty good first 5 (if healthy, big if) - Chalmers/Wade/Odom/Boozer/O'Neal
Finally, a video of Pacman Jones "Makin it Rain"
Thomas Brown being healthy in Falcons camp could lead to their already good special teams becoming even better...
According to basketball-reference.com, Antoine Walker made $99,287,540 in his career - how bad of gambling problem do you have if you are almost a million down in the casinos after making that kind of money over a 14 year NBA career?
Speaking of gambling problems, Charles Barkley isn't the only person with a bad swing. Take a look at some of the swings on this site..
Sekou Smith of the AJC tweeted about the Hawks and says they are in the mix for some veteran bigs...can't say the names yet, but good to know they are looking...
It will be interesting to see how the Dolphins use Pat White this year, considering they took him much earlier than most people expected (44th)...
We are a month away from the deadline for MLB draft picks to sign or enroll in school. Stephen Strasburg is getting most of the pub, but lots of top picks have yet to sign, including the Braves top pick Mike Minor. For a list of all picks in the top 10 rounds and who has signed and for how much, click here...
In case you missed, Baseball America released their midseason top 25 prospects in all of the minor leagues. Number 1 on the list? The recently promoted Jason Heyward. Jason is hitting .417 at Mississippi his 1st 10 games there and is .316/11/41 with a .942 OPS this season. Teammate Freddie Freeman checks in at number 11 on the list. Maybe this inept offense won't last too long after all. Pretty good offensive core the next 5-7 years with Heyward, Freeman, Escobar, McLouth, McCann, Prado...
The Phillis are pretty hot right now, if they get Halladay it is game over in the NL East...
With every top-tier team in the East improving, the Heat are looking to upgrade as well at the frontcourt spots. With their already being talks of Boozer headed to Miami as well, they could have a pretty good first 5 (if healthy, big if) - Chalmers/Wade/Odom/Boozer/O'Neal
Finally, a video of Pacman Jones "Makin it Rain"
Thomas Brown being healthy in Falcons camp could lead to their already good special teams becoming even better...
According to basketball-reference.com, Antoine Walker made $99,287,540 in his career - how bad of gambling problem do you have if you are almost a million down in the casinos after making that kind of money over a 14 year NBA career?
Speaking of gambling problems, Charles Barkley isn't the only person with a bad swing. Take a look at some of the swings on this site..
Sekou Smith of the AJC tweeted about the Hawks and says they are in the mix for some veteran bigs...can't say the names yet, but good to know they are looking...
It will be interesting to see how the Dolphins use Pat White this year, considering they took him much earlier than most people expected (44th)...
We are a month away from the deadline for MLB draft picks to sign or enroll in school. Stephen Strasburg is getting most of the pub, but lots of top picks have yet to sign, including the Braves top pick Mike Minor. For a list of all picks in the top 10 rounds and who has signed and for how much, click here...
In case you missed, Baseball America released their midseason top 25 prospects in all of the minor leagues. Number 1 on the list? The recently promoted Jason Heyward. Jason is hitting .417 at Mississippi his 1st 10 games there and is .316/11/41 with a .942 OPS this season. Teammate Freddie Freeman checks in at number 11 on the list. Maybe this inept offense won't last too long after all. Pretty good offensive core the next 5-7 years with Heyward, Freeman, Escobar, McLouth, McCann, Prado...
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
College Football Talk...
Looks like the concensus is that Florida will win their 3rd title in 4 years. Hard to believe that just 2 years ago, no team had won 2 BCS titles and now UF may be looking at 3. Their schedule sure works out, with them only MSU, ARK, and LSU from the West and avoiding Bama and Auburn. The LSU game is on the road and their most likely loss. I would like to think UGA has a shot in Jax, but it will take a '97 type performance to knock off the powerful Gators.
Just take a quick look at the talent UF has. Now, I think the Percy Harvin loss will hurt more than people think. However, with 3 potential top 15 players on defense (Dunlap, Spikes, Haden), Tebow, the speedsters in the backfield (Demps, Rainey), and depth/experience, UF looks like a clear favorite. The only thing that could potentially derail UF, just like the past 2 years, is a Tebow injury. When he was hurt in 2007, the Gators went 9-4. When healthy, they look pretty dang unstoppable. Tebow's backup is John Brantley, who has little experience, and the 3rd stringer is punter Chas Henry.
The most likely contenders besides UF are the Red-River Shootout winner, USC, and the Ohio St/Penn St winner. Virginia Tech may be a sleeper pick if Taylor becomes a better all-around QB and another team I like is Cal. If they can beat USC, Cal has a chance to be in the mix in December. They have the best QB in the Pac-10 (Riley), the best RB in the Pac-10 (Best), and a solid D with playmakers (Mike Mohamed and Syd'Quan Thompson).
The weekly top 25 polls will start September 6th, but as for pre-season polls, the 1st edition will be on here by August 15. As for now, an early look at who I like to win Conference Championships.
ACC - VT
SEC - UF
Big 12 - Texas
Big 10 - Penn St
Big East - USF
Pac-10 - Cal
C-USA - USM
WAC - Boise St
MW - TCU
MAC - Akron
Sun Belt - Troy
British Open pick - Ian Poulter
Just take a quick look at the talent UF has. Now, I think the Percy Harvin loss will hurt more than people think. However, with 3 potential top 15 players on defense (Dunlap, Spikes, Haden), Tebow, the speedsters in the backfield (Demps, Rainey), and depth/experience, UF looks like a clear favorite. The only thing that could potentially derail UF, just like the past 2 years, is a Tebow injury. When he was hurt in 2007, the Gators went 9-4. When healthy, they look pretty dang unstoppable. Tebow's backup is John Brantley, who has little experience, and the 3rd stringer is punter Chas Henry.
The most likely contenders besides UF are the Red-River Shootout winner, USC, and the Ohio St/Penn St winner. Virginia Tech may be a sleeper pick if Taylor becomes a better all-around QB and another team I like is Cal. If they can beat USC, Cal has a chance to be in the mix in December. They have the best QB in the Pac-10 (Riley), the best RB in the Pac-10 (Best), and a solid D with playmakers (Mike Mohamed and Syd'Quan Thompson).
The weekly top 25 polls will start September 6th, but as for pre-season polls, the 1st edition will be on here by August 15. As for now, an early look at who I like to win Conference Championships.
ACC - VT
SEC - UF
Big 12 - Texas
Big 10 - Penn St
Big East - USF
Pac-10 - Cal
C-USA - USM
WAC - Boise St
MW - TCU
MAC - Akron
Sun Belt - Troy
British Open pick - Ian Poulter
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Tuesday Observations...
Strange number to start you off with...How many pitchers that have started an All-Star Game have also pitched in a major league game this year (not including this year's starters)?
9
Doesn't that seem a little low? Injuries have gotten a few (Schmidt, Sheets, Mulder, Pedro), age a few more (Clemens, Glavine, Maddux, Schilling, Rodgers, Wells), and 1 is just so friggin random (Loaiza). Feel free to use this as a trivia question...The 9 are Lowe, Carpenter, Buehrle, Haren, Lee, Penny, Peavy, R. Johnson, Smoltz)
Speaking of Mulder, who could have seen his career go up in smoke the way it did? After being the #2 overall pick out of Michigan State, he soared up to the bigs and went 81-42 with Oakland in 5 years before being traded for Dan Haren. Then, a 16-8 season with St Louis showed he was in his prime. His numbers since that 16-8 season in 2005? 6-10, 106 IP, 150 Hits, 91 ER, 44 BB, 55 K - an ERA of 8.15...
More trivia for today...The 5 players who have won a Home Run Derby and an All-Star game MVP? Answer below...
Is the stolen base making a minor comeback? After hearing for years that stolen bases were declining due to the hundreds of home runs teams were hitting, there is a bit of running going on this year. In fact, Carl Crawford's 44 at the ASB is 3 more than Alfonso Soriano had in 2002 when he led the league for the entire year.
Crawford is on pace for 81, Ellsbury for 76, and Bourn/Upton for 60. In this decade, the only players to eclipse 65 in a season are Podsednik (70 in 2004), Reyes (78 in 2007), and Tavaras (68 in 2008). After 3 in 10 years, there could be 4 in 2009...
Where will Ichiro rank on the greatest hitters of all-time list? He should reach 2000 hits by September, which would also give him his 9th straight 200 hit season. His .332 career average is 30th all-time, but 3rd in the last 50 years (Gwynn .338 and Pujols .334). An all-star every year and an MVP as a rookie. My guess is he will be viewed as a better version of Wade Boggs with speed.
Hawks have had a decent off-season and Marvin Williams looks to be close to re-signing. J-Chillz is headed back to Greece, so nothing will be happening with him for at least another year. I think the Hawks are a solid big man away from being a 50 win team. I think McDyess would have been a good fit, but as a consolation prize I would take Joe Smith. A 6'10 34 year old veteran that can still score and rebound while blocking a shot or 2 would be a good fit.
Is this a 50 win team and can they get to the Eastern Conference Finals (franchise has never been to this point, not getting greedy yet)?
Bibby/Teague
Johnson/Crawford/West
Marvin/Evans
Josh Smith/Joe Smith
Horford/ZaZa/Morris
We should have a good idea of what the Braves are going to do in the next 10 days. Trim their defecit from 6 to 3, and look for them to acquire a reliever and/or hitter. Go from 6 to 9, say bye to Gonzo/Soriano/Vazquez...
HRD and ASG MVP's? Dave Parker, Garrett Anderson, Ken Griffey Jr, Cal Ripken Jr, and Miguel Tejada
9
Doesn't that seem a little low? Injuries have gotten a few (Schmidt, Sheets, Mulder, Pedro), age a few more (Clemens, Glavine, Maddux, Schilling, Rodgers, Wells), and 1 is just so friggin random (Loaiza). Feel free to use this as a trivia question...The 9 are Lowe, Carpenter, Buehrle, Haren, Lee, Penny, Peavy, R. Johnson, Smoltz)
Speaking of Mulder, who could have seen his career go up in smoke the way it did? After being the #2 overall pick out of Michigan State, he soared up to the bigs and went 81-42 with Oakland in 5 years before being traded for Dan Haren. Then, a 16-8 season with St Louis showed he was in his prime. His numbers since that 16-8 season in 2005? 6-10, 106 IP, 150 Hits, 91 ER, 44 BB, 55 K - an ERA of 8.15...
More trivia for today...The 5 players who have won a Home Run Derby and an All-Star game MVP? Answer below...
Is the stolen base making a minor comeback? After hearing for years that stolen bases were declining due to the hundreds of home runs teams were hitting, there is a bit of running going on this year. In fact, Carl Crawford's 44 at the ASB is 3 more than Alfonso Soriano had in 2002 when he led the league for the entire year.
Crawford is on pace for 81, Ellsbury for 76, and Bourn/Upton for 60. In this decade, the only players to eclipse 65 in a season are Podsednik (70 in 2004), Reyes (78 in 2007), and Tavaras (68 in 2008). After 3 in 10 years, there could be 4 in 2009...
Where will Ichiro rank on the greatest hitters of all-time list? He should reach 2000 hits by September, which would also give him his 9th straight 200 hit season. His .332 career average is 30th all-time, but 3rd in the last 50 years (Gwynn .338 and Pujols .334). An all-star every year and an MVP as a rookie. My guess is he will be viewed as a better version of Wade Boggs with speed.
Hawks have had a decent off-season and Marvin Williams looks to be close to re-signing. J-Chillz is headed back to Greece, so nothing will be happening with him for at least another year. I think the Hawks are a solid big man away from being a 50 win team. I think McDyess would have been a good fit, but as a consolation prize I would take Joe Smith. A 6'10 34 year old veteran that can still score and rebound while blocking a shot or 2 would be a good fit.
Is this a 50 win team and can they get to the Eastern Conference Finals (franchise has never been to this point, not getting greedy yet)?
Bibby/Teague
Johnson/Crawford/West
Marvin/Evans
Josh Smith/Joe Smith
Horford/ZaZa/Morris
We should have a good idea of what the Braves are going to do in the next 10 days. Trim their defecit from 6 to 3, and look for them to acquire a reliever and/or hitter. Go from 6 to 9, say bye to Gonzo/Soriano/Vazquez...
HRD and ASG MVP's? Dave Parker, Garrett Anderson, Ken Griffey Jr, Cal Ripken Jr, and Miguel Tejada
Monday, July 6, 2009
Quick Braves Update...
Now, according to MLB.com, Yunel Escobar is unlikely to be moved. I understand why, considering his talent and salary. I am sure Cox and company are frustrated like I am with Escobar's antics and egocentric attitudes. However, it will be hard to move him and get equal value in return when considering he makes under 500K per year and we are a bit cash strapped.
Now, the trade that seems most likely to move the Braves into the NL's elite would be Vazquez-for-Outfielder. So, who would fit the bill? A team with pitching needs and an outfielder (preferrably a right handed hitter) that they could do without. I keep going back to Matt Holliday as the guy, but I think Javy is worth more than him. Maybe Atlanta can get Holliday and Brad Ziegler for Vazquez? Ziegler is a right-handed reliever with a 3.22 ERA in 33 games so far this year and 6 saves. Wouldn't hurt to have another solid reliever in the bullpen.
Now, the trade that seems most likely to move the Braves into the NL's elite would be Vazquez-for-Outfielder. So, who would fit the bill? A team with pitching needs and an outfielder (preferrably a right handed hitter) that they could do without. I keep going back to Matt Holliday as the guy, but I think Javy is worth more than him. Maybe Atlanta can get Holliday and Brad Ziegler for Vazquez? Ziegler is a right-handed reliever with a 3.22 ERA in 33 games so far this year and 6 saves. Wouldn't hurt to have another solid reliever in the bullpen.
Braves Rumors...
Buster Olney has a new blog up about the Braves and mentions some possible trading partners. The Red Sox really like Escobar, but would Jacoby Ellsbury and Julio Lugo be enough? I am not buying...The A's like Yunel too and could give Cabrera and Matt Holliday for just Escobar or maybe a prospect or 2...Intriguing. Another suitor for Escobar according to Olney and the AJC is the Royals. Mark Teahan would be interesting in return, but the Royals would have to give more and there is not a SS replacement that fits.
Dangling Vazquez is something I think the Braves will have to do if they are serious about making a run this year. The only assets that Atlanta has a surplus of is starting pitching, and Jurrjens and Hanson are untouchable. Kawakami and Lowe, in the 1st year of their contracts, are unlikely to move. Hudson is coming off Tommy John Surgery and would not command as much as Vazquez would. I am not interested in Corey Hart in Milwaukee. To move Javy, the Braves would have to get a big-time bat in return. I say trade Yunel for an outfielder, like Ellsbury. Then, trade Vazquez for a SS, like Miguel Tejada. Only if Hudson is ready to go, of course. How about this lineup?
Ellsbury
McLouth
Jones
McCann
Tejada
Anderson
Prado
Kotchman
Hudson
Hanson
Lowe
Kawakami
Jurrjens
Stay tuned...
Dangling Vazquez is something I think the Braves will have to do if they are serious about making a run this year. The only assets that Atlanta has a surplus of is starting pitching, and Jurrjens and Hanson are untouchable. Kawakami and Lowe, in the 1st year of their contracts, are unlikely to move. Hudson is coming off Tommy John Surgery and would not command as much as Vazquez would. I am not interested in Corey Hart in Milwaukee. To move Javy, the Braves would have to get a big-time bat in return. I say trade Yunel for an outfielder, like Ellsbury. Then, trade Vazquez for a SS, like Miguel Tejada. Only if Hudson is ready to go, of course. How about this lineup?
Ellsbury
McLouth
Jones
McCann
Tejada
Anderson
Prado
Kotchman
Hudson
Hanson
Lowe
Kawakami
Jurrjens
Stay tuned...
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