In less than one month, on July 4, Major League Baseball will announce the starters for the annual All-Star Game in Anaheim. Voting from the fans has taken place, which leads to many fan favorites starting the game. However, the starters of the All-Star game should be the absolute best that the league has to offer.
Here is a list of nine players who should get an additional look, as well as some more votes, before the rosters get finalized.
We are now about a third of the way through the 2010 baseball season, and the time is ripe for a new awards list.
Many players on this list are the usual suspects, but there are also a few surprises.
Many are clear cut (see above), where other categories, such as NL Comeback player of the Year, have at least a quartet of deserving candidates.
Not all these players will actually win the award at the end of the season, as this list is who I believe should win right here, right now.
The fellow shown above is on verge of an historic season. Will he be able to continue his dominance for the final two-thirds?
Time will tell.
un-her-ald-ded , adjective
appearing without fanfare, publicity, or acclaim; unexpected.
That is exactly the way to describe the hitting coach for the Toronto Blue Jays, who have transformed hitters’ careers around and have put the Jays’ close to an AL Wild Card berth. Not surprising for a guy who has already won a World Series ring (2001 with Arizona).
The Jays lead the MLB in many offensive rankings. First in home runs already with an astonishing total of 89, first in doubles, and first in slugging percentage. I can go on and on.
The main reason, the rebound of Vernon Wells, and the surprise emergence of Jose Bautista, Alex Gonzales, Fred Lewis, and John Buck.
Bautista, is 1st in the AL in HR with 16, and fourth in RBI with 44. Not bad for Bautista, who all of his career has been considered a very effective bench player with his above-average defence at numerous positions, was acquired for Robinson Diaz, a career minor leaguer from Pittsburgh.
The mastermind in his big bat, is not suprisingly Murphy. The Toronto Blue Jays outfielder was getting started too late in the batter’s box, forcing him to use his shoulders rather than his hands when attacking the ball, making his swing long and wild.
Rather than going through the ball, he was going around it, leaving him vulnerable to inside pitches.
Murphy then personally approached Bautista in the Jays’ weight room, gave him a bat, and told him to swing in front of a mirror. Hours of video followed from Murphy, and suddenly you had here an unlikely possible All-Star and even possibly a Home-Run derby hitter.
Meanwhile, Vernon Wells has also done the same sort of thing with Murphy, working on his swing and pulling the ball. Alex Gonzales and John Buck have seem to have adjusted to the Jays’ “See it and Swing it” approach.
Hopefully the Blue Jays’ bats will continue surging, and make that push for the Wild Card.
One thing is for sure, the main protagonist for the Jays’ success, you gotta say Murphy.
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Many of the so called experts predicted the Toronto Blue Jays to end up in the cellar in the AL East.
So far, this hasn’t happened as the Blue Jays have stayed within striking distance in the AL east, and currently own the AL’s third best record.
How have they done this you may ask? Well, it is simple. They currently lead the league in home runs and the pitching staff has stepped up and pitched pretty consistently.
At the plate Vernon Wells is tearing it up. He is second on the team in homers with 11, leads the team with a .301 average, and has batted in 33 runs. This is what many Blue Jays fans have expected from Wells year to year.
Perhaps the surprises of the year have come in journeyman IF/OF Jose Bautista, who leads the team with 14 long balls and 38 ribbies.
Currently his 14 homers leads the AL, which is a surprise for a guy who hadn’t hit 75 in his career going into the season.
Along side Bautista is Alex Gonzalez, who has rocked 10 long balls and knocked in 30. Gonzalez hadn’t hit more than 10 homers all season long since the 2007 season with the Reds.
Edwin Encarnacion has also been a major part of the attack at third base. He has hit 7 long balls and driven in only 16, but is a dangerous addition to the lineup on a daily basis.
While these three have done it at the plate and carried the team, many of the guys thought to have been the main offensive threats heading into the season have struggled.
Adam Lind is only batting .237 and has struck out nearly 50 times. Former all star Aaron Hill is batting below the Mendoza line at .156, and Lyle Overbay has struggled to get going batting just over .200. Just imagine if these guys were hitting like they could?
Where the Jays have really capitalized is at the front and end of the game. Starters have combined to go 19-13 to this point, and several starters have carried no hitters into the late innings.
The Jays are lead by Ricky Romero, who leads the team in ERA, strike-outs, and is tied for the lead in wins.
Also making a splash is former third round pick Shaun Marcum, who is 4-1 with a 2.82 ERA and is showing signs of being a front of the rotation pitcher. Also youngsters such as Brett Cecil, Dana Eveland, Brandon Morrow, and Brian Tallet have been solid contributors.
In the bullpen it makes all the difference in the world when you have a closer.
Kevin Gregg has turned back to his All Star form of 2008 as he has nailed down 12 games in 20+ innings while keeping his ERA under 4.00. Scott Downs, Shawn Camp, Casey Janssen, and Jason Frasor have also been solid working out of the pen, combining for a 7-5 record with an ERA of just over 4.00.
At this point many readers who aren’t Jays fans may be saying,
“So what? They still play in the same division as the Yanks, Rays, and Sox!”
I say, not so fast my friend! Please don’t forget who the manager is on this team.
Cito Gaston has been there and done that. Cito has been to four post seasons in his career, all with the Blue Jays, and won back to back titles in 1992-93. He has a knack for getting the most out of players, and this group has been no exception.
If I were to hire any manager in the game, Cito would be at the top of mine, and most people who know baseball’s list.
The bottom line is do not turn your back on this team. Sure, they have lost two of three against the Rays this season, and five of six against the Sox, but they are still relatively young. This is a team that is learning how to win, and Cito Gaston is the man to teach these young men how to do so.
I am not saying they will win the division, or even make the wild card spot, but I assure you that they will stay in it. Romero and Marcum provide a solid 1-2 punch, while youngster Brett Cecil has showed the promise of a great young pitcher.
Add a lineup that can score at any moment with the long ball and you have something.
Again, I am just saying they will contend at this point. I am not completely on the bandwagon yet. If they can find ways to win series’ against the Yanks, Sox, and Rays on a consistent basis then you had better watch out.
Cito will have these guys playing well above their skill sets all year long, and all I say is if you are a fan of baseball, do not discard the Toronto Blue Jays as the pennant races heat up.
But as always, that’s just my opinion, I could be wrong…..
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In an MLB.com article earlier today, Alden Gonzalez wrote that “one thing was evident when the first batch of American League voting results for the 81st All-Star Game were made public Monday: Winning yields votes.”
On the surface that may appear to be true. If we were to look at the American League voting so far, it rewards teams rather than players. More accurately, it rewards the well-known players on these winning teams, showing that in the American League voting, fans are just voting for popularity.
This is to be expected, given that the fans are voting, but shouldn’t the best players be the ones getting the votes? In some cases they are. There is no question that Robinson Cano is deserving of the starting second baseman job, and Joe Mauer is the obvious choice at catcher
Beyond that, Evan Longoria deserves the third base nod, and Ichiro deserves the top outfielder spot, as usual. Vladimir Guerrero is without question the top DH, as well.
My praise for the voting ends there though.
For as many good choices as there are, there are some that I’m scratching my head at. Yes, I get the players are popular, but they’re really doing that well?
Let’s look back at the designated hitter.
Vlad should be first, but the next four make no sense; we have Hideki Matsui, Ken Griffey, Pat Burrell, and David Ortiz rounding out the top five. Matsui is not playing very well, hitting only .227, and we all know how shoddy Griffey is. Including Ortiz in the discussion is fine.
But Pat Burrell? Really?
Yes, the guy who does not even have a team is fourth in voting.
Still, no Jose Guillen in there? I guess he’s on the Royals so he doesn’t count. Well, there are few DH playing well this year so I’ll let it slide.
The shortstop position isn’t as bad, but Elvis Andrus is playing well enough that he may well be worthy of the starting bid rather than Derek Jeter. Also, Alex Gonzalez should be third at worst—he’s playing far better than J.J. Hardy and Jason Bartlett, but again, they’re on good teams and that’s all that matters apparently.
I can’t argue with the current outfield of Ichiro, Carl Crawford, and Nelson Cruz. What puzzles me is how Yankees fan have Curtis Granderson ahead of Nick Swisher and Brett Gardner, who are playing far, far better baseball than he is. Still, how Vernon Wells is 11th and losing to Bobby Abreu and B.J. Upton shows what drives fans to vote.
Favorites.
The only position that truly bothers me right now though, and I hope it will be fixed, is first base. Mark Teixiera is first, then Justin Morneau, then Miguel Cabrera.
Mark “.209 average but it’s just a slow start” Teixiera is beating Justin “.383 average and beating you in HR and RBI” Morneau, and Miguel “also beating Teixiera in everything” Cabrera. Even Youkilis is doing better. But again, it’s a popularity contest. That being said, it will be rather hard to add in four first basemen to the roster.
Now, I’m aware that we are in the early stages of voting, and it’s very possible that the bugs, now that people have seen the first round, will fix themselves. The casual fan knows to vote for Morneau right now, though they’ll still vote for Cano, and possibly Jeter and A-Rod.
My problem with the current numbers may mean nothing. If we are just voting the popular ones to the all-star game no matter how badly they play though, then what’s the point? It’s not an honor any more if we do that.
So go vote, and vote for those players you think are most deserving. Don’t stuff your ballot with everyone from your team (come on Yankees fans, even you know Granderson’s not playing like an all-star).
Just go out there and vote smart. Make an informed decision. For it’s not the color of the uniform, but how well they play the game, that makes an all-star.
One last footnote: Taylor Teagarden is fourth in catcher votes. He’s played 10 games with a .037 average and isn’t even the Rangers’ starter now. The guy is fourth and has one hit!
Think about that.
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There are certain players in baseball who have been fantasy studs over the first month and a half of the season that would help any team. At the same time, there are players who have overperformed and are bound to come back to life.
In this list, I will point to five players who have been fantasy stars so far and helped your team win that are not going to be able to hold up this level of production throughout the season. I will also list five players who’s skills at the plate or on the mound does not transition well to the fantasy game. They may be decent fantasy players, but they are better assets to their actual team than your fantasy roster.
Basically, I am listing five players who have been great in fantasy that I would not want on my favorite team. And in contrast, I am listing five players who I would love to have on my favorite team but I would not be upset if they didn’t wind up on my fantasy team.
Enjoy!
David Ortiz may be starting to turn a corner, as he’s hit safely in his last six games and driven in 11 runs over his last nine. Still, it’s a bit early to tell if Big Papi will ultimately prove worth the $12.5 million he’s earning in 2010.
It’s unlikely, for Ortiz hasn’t earned his keep sabermetrically since the 2007 Championship season.
While the Fenway Faithful fight only mildly fight the urge to boo their overpaid, aging slugger, other fan bases around MLB are experiencing quite the opposite sensation:
They aren’t quite sure if they should wholeheartedly cheer their aging, seemingly overpaid, but resurging, stars.
Names like Barry Zito, Carlos Silva, Scott Rolen, and Vernon Wells are on their lips, and they’re shocked to find themselves cheering their once fading heroes.
Here are the top 10 greatest comebacks thus far in 2010.
As I write this, my beloved Toronto Blue Jays are sitting third in the AL East (fourth overall in the AL) with an impressive early record of 16-13. This places us a mere four games behind the Yankees, for the Wild Card spot.
It’s also May 6.
Have a cup of coffee, rummy.
First allow me to preface the remaining article with the following: You will be hard pressed to find a more devoted Blue Jay fan than I. However, I’m also a strict realist who deals in honest, factual reasoning and absolutely does not suffer fools. I’m a shotgun diplomat who leaves the platitudes for the horde of Pavlov’s Dogs that seem to inhabit the sporting news blogosphere.
As for the Jays, sometimes you just need to tell your girlfriend “yes honey, you do look fat in that dress.”
At first glance a 16-13 record looks fairly impressive for a team that was supposed to be a bottom feeder this year. However, when you dig a little deeper you’ll notice that it just isn’t the case.
We’ve played four of nine series’ against teams with winning records last year, Boston, Los Angeles, Tampa, and Texas. Our record stands at 3-9 in those games, including 1-6 against AL East teams
We have yet to play New York, Detroit, Minnesota, or Seattle and we still have 16 games left to play against Tampa and Boston. That leaves 99 games left against winning teams from ’09—not including 12 games against the Rockies, Giants, Cards and Phillies, all winning teams from the NL.
At our current pace we are looking at a record of 33-66 against the winning teams in the AL. Lets say we run just over .500 during Inter-league games at 8-7, that leaves us at 41-73.
48 games left to play against the worst of the AL.
Lets be optimistic here and say we have a .700 record against these teams and end up 34-14. That gives us a record of 75-87.
Coincidentally, that was our record last year. Good enough for 4th in the AL East, a full 28 games back of New York.
Now for some sobering reality about our roster:
Alex Gonzales’ best year offensively was in 2004 with the Marlins when he hit .232/23/79.
To illustrate how much of an anomaly that is, his career per season numbers are .248/10/45. Of his eleven other seasons, only in three of them did he eclipse 10 home runs and 55 RBI. His pace so far projects to .278/45/123. Needless to say you can cut those power numbers in half and knock off 30 average points. More than expected yes, but Alex Rodriguez, he is not.
John Buck is hitting very well of late (though his avg/OBP are putrid as expected).
However, in four of his six years in Kansas City, when he was the clear starter, Buck had never hit more than 18 HR or 50 RBI. His current pace of 27/76 (based on 135 games) simply cannot be sustained.
As advertised, Brandon Morrow has been a strikeout machine.
But with a K:BB ratio of 10:5, we can expect his ERA to stay at around 5.00. Control is a skill that is slow to develop and expecting Morrow to “figure it out” and start shutting teams down in the next couple of weeks, or even months, just isn’t reasonable. Also, as long as he’s averaging five innings per start, he’s going to decimate the arms in our bullpen.
Now lets quickly discuss Vernon Wells.
He’s also on pace for a 45/120 season although at a significantly higher average than Alex Gonzalez. Also just like A-Gon, he will not maintain that pace.
That’s not a bad thing either.
His bloated contract puts him squarely in the cross hairs of both media and fans alike.
However, over the course of his career Vernon has proven to be a very respectable .280/25/90 hitter to go along with great defense in center field. I think we need to stop blaming him for the contract J.P. Ricciardi signed him to and realize that he just isn’t the .310/35/115 guy we all want him to be.
Jays fans need get off the road to Jonestown this season.
We are not winning any divisions or wild cards. We are, as expected, a middling team just trying to stay relevant in the cutthroat A.L. East.
Lets just sit back and enjoy the emergence of some great young talent like Brett Cecil, Ricky Romero, and Travis Snider. I suspect that fairly soon Brett Wallace will be here and we should catch a glimpse of J.P. Arencibia and Kyle Drabek come September.
Now take a cold shower and get ready for more kool-aid.
NHL offseason starts in July!
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This is an All-Star starting lineup, as would be voted by the fans (if the fans actually knew what they were doing), plus a starting rotation and one relief pitcher.
But this is one fan’s opinion: mine. It was an easy exercise. There were several somewhat close calls, but nothing which I had to wring my hands over.
All numbers displayed are from the month of April only, and nothing these players did in the first couple of games in May had any impact.
One thing I wanted to do was to actually have a real, live designated hitter (DH) as the team’s DH, not just put any hitter who didn’t make the cut at this position.
While most positions had dominating first months, the DH position did not.
Adam Lind of the Toronto Blue Jays and Vladimir Guerrero of the Texas Rangers are having decent, but not great starts.
So I chose one of the “losers” from the other positions, as there were many deserving players from that second status list, and with better productivity than the real, live DH’s.
If this team played in the real, live 2010 All-Star game, the manager would be Joe Girardi, last season’s World Series manager. But for a couple of reasons, I am picking Joe Maddon of the Tampa Bay Rays as my American League manager.
First, his 2010 team has the major league’s best overall record, and second, he and I shared a drink and half hour conversation during the 2008 Winter Meetings in Las Vegas.
He also coaches his players to play the game hard all the time, even in Spring Training.
I like the guy.
He was funny, direct and open to every part of the conversation, even about the recently completed World Series.
Maddon is my manager…and now for the team.
It is no surprise that 2010 is a going to be a struggle for the Jays. It is also no surprise that attendance is at an all-time low.
Alex Anthopolous made changes during the offseason that ultimately set the tone for this year, and more than likely the next two as well; rebuilding.
When fans hear the word rebuild, success is years away, and in a city where attendance has struggled to climb the ranks as results of intermediate play, it gives you an idea about where the club’s focus is—rekindling the fan’s interest with a young, successful product.
With the witness of a cellar-dweller Tampa Bay Rays team that has seemingly figured out how to succeed in the ultra competitive American League East, enthusiastic Toronto fans, appear to be far and few between. As early as it is in the season, 2010 has been as bad to Jays as it has been good.
A veteran Jay is having a rebirth of sorts.
Vernon Wells has, for now, returned to his All-Star caliber-self, leading the Jays early on with 8 home runs, driving in 17 RBI, slugging a staggering .688, while on pace to a career high in OBP at .388.
Yet the pitching staff, no doubt missing perennial Cy Young candidate Roy Halladay, is now being led by the 26-year-old “wily veteran,” Ricky Romero.
Romero, who has a career 3.95 ERA, in 34 career starts, has been plagued by issuing too many walks in his appearances. More specifically, nearly four base on balls per game, limiting Romero to six innings or less.
Apparently, Romero has turned the page.
Reducing his walks by nearly one per game, inducing more than twice as many ground balls than fly balls, and limiting batters to a .168 batting average, spells nothing but success for the new ace of the Jays staff.
With all the positives, the Jays are still outgunned by at least three other members of the AL East, and with a recent 3-7 skid, the Jays have fallen four games out of the division lead and wild card race.
Again, attendance will be the measuring stick of their season; success equals results and results equal more fans through the turnstile.
In the meantime, how can the Jays peak the interest of the fans?
Take advantage of possibly the biggest media trendsetter in recent memory: Twitter.
On April 27 against the Boston Red Sox, the Jays introduced “Tweeting Tuesdays.”
According to the Jays website , Blue Jay Twitter followers had the opportunity to interact with the club and other followers during the game.
“We recognize that fans appreciate both the entertainment and social aspects of coming to a live Blue Jays game.” said Anthony Partipilo, VP of Blue Jays Marketing and Merchandising.
“We are constantly looking for new ways to embrace social technology, and to further enhance that experience. We are always looking for ways to make coming to a Jays game an even better place to connect with family, friends, and like minded Jays Fans.”
It may not be going the Blue Jays way on the field, however, this game is also a business, and when your product may not be the best it can, you must credit them for thinking outside of the box, attempting to gain interest in an unconventional, yet, in this day in age, very familiar way.
To become a part of “Twittering Tuesdays”, go to twitter.com/bluejays
This article can also be found on The GM’s Perspective
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