Kuzul

Between 1990-2008, baseball was dominated by the long ball. Slugger after slugger became the face of baseball. Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire captivated the entire nation during the summer of 1998. The following year, Barry Bonds broke McGwire’s home run record. In 2007, Bonds controversially broke Hank Aaron’s all-time home run record.

While Americans everywhere clambered to bleacher seats to nab a souvenir ball, Congress and the Baseball Commissioner began working to make players accountable for their unsavory actions.

Franchise players were called to Washington D.C. Under oath these players began showing fans everywhere the truth about performance enhancing drugs in America’s favorite past time.

It is no exaggeration that the selfish actions of a few of the players, led to tarnish the image of the sport. A permanent suspicion was created of anyone able to smack more than 40 home runs in a season. The public felt betrayed and rightfully so.

In steps 2010; the year of the pitcher. Hurlers stepped up to the mound and pitched multiple no-hitters and perfect games over the course of the season. Roy Halladay’s stellar no hitter in the postseason made him a household name everywhere. With fastballs and curveballs enamoring fans everywhere, the public needs a hitter to look up to and usher in a new era of baseball.

Joe Mauer steps in as the perfect candidate. He is already established as a fan favorite in Minnesota for his hometown qualities and community conscious actions. His sweet swinging abilities and low power averages (he current only averages 12.5 home runs a season with only one big season) make him the perfect anti-steroid candidate.

His stat lines draw comparisons to all-time greats Pete Rose and Wade Boggs. His ability to command the game and pitcher likens him to the catching great Johnny Bench. Mauer shows America that this is a game still built on hard work and natural talent, not an injection.

He already ranks in the top five for most recognizable and liked players from polls by Sports Illustrated. Playstation 3 has given him back to back covers of their highly popular video game, MLB The Show. They even pump dollars into ad campaigns for commercials with Mauer in them.

The bottom line is that Joe Mauer is a player everyone can like and relate to. His hard work and talent make him a fan favorite. His game play and clean record make him an America’s favorite. Mauer is what baseball needs to help re-establish credibility from a sport plagued with allegations and litigation.

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Billy Butler was supposed to be on the verge of breaking out for an awe-inspiring amount of home runs last year. Finishing the year at 15 was obviously extremely low compared to the hopes and expectations the Kansas City Royal fans had.

His numbers on the season stayed within a respectable range as he tallied up 78 RBI with a .318 average. He crossed the plate 77 times and hit a precipitous 45 doubles. His on-base percentage crept up further last year hitting .388, making him a patient hitter as well as a solid hitter

The question then stands: Will he finally break out for power this year?

The answer to this question is tricky. Many believe the reason for his lack of numbers is the basic overall play of the Royals. If they were able to get on base more often, then Butler would have more RBI at the end of the season.

This idea is misleading. One statistic that is very concerning for Butler is that he happened to hit into 32 double-plays last season.

Most double-plays occur from lack of base running skills and speed by the man on first. In Butler’s circumstance, he was hitting behind both Scott Podsednik and Jason Kendall. Podsednik has built his career around his ability to steal bases, while Kendall has been noted throughout his career as a heads-up base runner.

With two capable base runners on base in front of him, Butler still managed to ground out into 32 double-plays. Also, almost half of the double-plays (15) came with a runner in scoring position. This gives concern for his future numbers.

These statistics do not mean that Butler will be an MLB failure. His previous three seasons have already proven he is a success. All these statistics mean is that he has a slight concern when in the spot for run production.

Look for an interesting season out of Butler. While his doubles predict a high home run rate, his GDP shows a decrease in RBI production.

Only time will tell what Butler will do.

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Over the past, decade many moments have been shared by White Sox fans on the South Side.

A World Series has been won, playoffs have been made, and records have been broken.

Baseball legends have graced the turf of U.S. Cellular Field.

Defensive giants Omar Vizquel and Andruw Jones, home run sluggers Manny Ramirez and Frank Thomas, and all-time greats Jim Thome and Ken Griffey Jr. have all donned the White Sox jersey.

The question with all of this is, “What are the top ten events from U.S. Cellular Field to occur in the past decade?”

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Do strikeouts really matter with a big time slugger? Many fans groan and complain about the strikeout rates. Players like Carlos Pena, Adam Dunn, Dan Uggla and Mark Reynolds have made this statistic very visible year after year. It appears Mark Reynolds can out do himself for the single season strikeout record on an annual basis.

This article is going to focus on Dunn and Pena in specific. The main reason for this is to remove the variable of stolen bases and speed. The fact that Reynolds can steal 20 bases a season varies the results. The assumption of this article is that Dunn and Pena will rely on others to knock them in from first base.

I took a look at the benefits of these sluggers taking a walk versus striking out. In 648 plate appearances, Dunn walked 77 times. In 582 plate appearances Pena walked 87 times. How beneficial were these walks to the team? I went through the game logs and highlighted any games where one run made a difference in either a loss or a win. It turns out in 23 games won or loss by a run, Pena drew a walk which resulted in a run only four times. Two of these were wins. Out of 71 games where Pena drew a walk, only two wins were decided by the resulting run. On the other hand, Dunn scored after walking in eight of 18 games decided by one run. Only three of those eight games were victories. So Dunn drawing a walk only helped his team win three times. These figures show that walks do not make a significant impact on their team by the slugger.

Couple these figures with the fact that the two players likely to hit behind Pena this year combined to hit into 22 double plays. This year Dunn will have two players who combined to hit into 37 double plays, hitting behind him.

This article obviously does not adjust for the variable effects of players keeping a rally alive or killing it.

After everything is said and done, these statistics tell me walks don’t win games for these two slow moving sluggers. So the next time you feel like groaning about another strikeout, don’t. The free pass probably wouldn’t have mattered anyways.

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Shortstop is a perennial black hole in fantasy baseball.

If you are not lucky enough to have one of the Top Five picks, then you will miss out on Hanley Ramirez and Troy Tulowitzki in most leagues. These two are certifiable fantasy studs and they play shortstop on top of that. After these two players go, the position thins out and becomes an uncertain abyss.

Most fantasy owners have a hard time turning this position into a strength in category leagues. This can be done by careful planning and consideration. In certain situations, drafting is about getting the biggest bang for your buck.

The next three shortstops ranked on many sites and magazines are Jose Reyes, Derek Jeter and Jimmy Rollins. All of these players are clear risks but are still going in the Top Five rounds.

In those same rounds, players like Jayson Werth, Nelson Cruz and Matt Kemp are being drafted. These outfielders produce significant results in every category. All three players can hit 20 home runs, steal 20 bases, score 80 RBI and cross the plate 80 times.

As a baseline projection, these statistics are more helpful to a team than any of the stats that three shortstops should put up.

Risks are always taken in fantasy baseball but are not always necessary. If you forego one of the over-valued shortstops, you can fortify your lineup else where and minimize the risk.

To take Reyes, Jeter or Rollins is to risk injury, age and/or regression.

Elvis Andrus is a fine selection at short stop. Most fantasy players have been overlooking his value. He can still produce a .260 with 30 stolen bases and 90 runs even when he is not hitting well. Taken before the fifth round can be a miscalculation but after that could be a major steal. As a fantasy player, he provides a solid two-dimensional impact through runs and stolen bases.

Later in the draft, you can spend a pick on players like Asdrubal Cabrera, Ryan Theriot and Erick Aybar. These players will be eligible at shortstop and are a “solid” run scoring option at the elusive shortstop position. Each can produce between 80 to 100 runs scored. If guys like this are available late in the draft, why not select a five-tool outfielder high in the draft and then select a solid one-dimensional shortstop later on?

This is how to turn the shortstop position into a strength. Develop a draft strategy to work with your weakness and not fall into the trap of over valuing players.

It can be easy to jump the gun on a Derek Jeter early on, but relax your trigger finger and allow someone else to make the mistake.

Evaluate your needs!

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One of the largest position battles out of the White Sox spring training camp is the starting third base job. Mark Teahen manned the hot corner for a majority of the season last year for the South Siders. He is no slouch defensively and has shown he can handle a bat. Through five seasons in Kansas City, he hit an overall .270 and 12 home runs a season.

The problem is Brent Morel. He is a 22-year-old who came up late last season and showed fans his above-average defense. His bat followed suit to his glove with three home runs in limited play and has given the White Sox a pleasant dilemma this spring.

The job was all but thought to be officially given to Morel this spring. Teahen has come on strong to show why it wasn’t just handed over. To date, Teahen is hitting .474 with one home run and six RBI. The most important part is he is seeing the ball tremendously, accumulating seven walks to his three strikeouts.

Morel has shown his ability and deserves a starting job; however, Teahen should not be left to collect dust on the bench. Many teams are or will be in the market for an everyday third basemen or super utility man.

Teahen fits this bill. He has proven he can handle left field, right field, third base, first base and, in a pinch, can man second base adequately. Add in the fact that he makes roughly $5 million in each of the next two seasons and Teahen appears quite able to be moved.

Just like in Kansas City with Alex Gordon, Teahen sees himself odd man out to a rookie third basemen. If he can not wrestle the starting job from Morel, see Teahen as possibly being the first White Sox player to be moved this season.

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Going into the 2011 season, the White Sox have been recognized as strong contenders for the postseason. Most analysts see them in contention for the AL Central title. While they will face tough opponents in the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins, the biggest questions to success remain within the organization.

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As sure as the ivy grows in Wrigley Field every summer, so do the Chicago Cubs in finding themselves the odd men out in October.

With more than 100 years of misplayed balls and missed home runs, this should be the year it changes. This should be the year they break the “Cubbie” curse and learn the magic of October glory—but they won’t.

The Cubs are walking into this season as underdogs with all the right tools. Their lineup still consists of a power-slugging duo manning the No. 3/No. 4 spots, a solid average with explosive speed in the No. 1/No. 2 holes and a front end of the rotation that rivals any other in the NL Central.

Even with all these tools though, the Cubs are still seen as pure mediocrity amongst a division of contenders.

The pressure is off for the boys in blue this year. Analysts are predicting a fourth-place finish, trailing the Cardinals, Brewers and Reds. The organization sees Mike Quade as more of an interim manager than a solid addition to the coaching staff.

With no outside pressure or expectations, the team should be primed for success. A jovial atmosphere could pave the way for players to find their roles and thrive.

That won’t happen this year though.

The team has put too much pressure on themselves internally. Between Quade’s position battle and discipline mishap, he has set a volatile atmosphere for the team. Combine this atmosphere with the three powder kegs of pitchers (Zambrano, Garza and Silva), and you are one round of boo birds away from an explosion to level the century-old stadium.

Carlos Silva has already given us a small taste of this event to come, during this preseason. After several errors made on the field and a long ball to spike his ERA, Silva took the pressure out on his underperforming teammates.

With Derek Lee gone, it appears the Cubs are without their clubhouse leader. If no one brings them together and takes the pressure off, this ugly occurrence will surely be repeated later this season.

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