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Wednesday, May 22, 2013

"Shining Star, No Matter Who You are"


It’s that time of the year again – time to start considering which players to include in my All-Star Game ballot.  Honestly, this is not a good time for me to ponder such things, as I am currently a very disgruntled Nationals fan.  But since I only planned to include one Nationals player in my ballot anyway, now is as good a time as any.

This baseball season has showcased a lot of talent, especially from veteran players who continue to be consistent.  It’s definitely the year of the hitter, with many players still batting way above .300.  So who did I choose on my ballot?  Well I’m glad you asked!

AMERICAN LEAGUE

First base:  Chris Davis of the Baltimore Orioles is batting .312 with 13 home runs, so I chose him over Prince Fielder.  I’m tired of Prince; he’s not exciting to watch anymore.

Second base:  The Detroit Tigers’ Omar Infante can play a mean second base.  I struggled with this one, because I’ve voted for Robinson Canó in the past and Canó is one of the reasons the Yankees are in first place despite having about 35 players on the Disabled List, but I chose Infante.  He probably won’t get the fan vote, but he’ll likely be asked to play as an alternate.

Shortstop:  Jhonny Peralta, another Tiger, got my vote because Omar Vizquel was not on the ballot.  I could have voted for J.J. Hardy, but I didn’t. 

Third base:  Oh, this was the toughest one of all!  I love Miguel Cabrera and have voted for him for many years in a row.  He will get the starting job at third – after all, he won the Triple Crown last year and is still on a tear, batting .384 with 12 home runs and 42 RBIs.  But there’s this young guy in Baltimore who plays with such drive and has clutch hits in crucial situations – I just couldn’t pass up voting for the Orioles’ Manny Machado!  Not only did he play for a short time here for the Frederick Keys (high A), but my husband and I watched him play once for the Delmarva Shorebirds (low A), so I can’t help but feel like I need to vote for the “hometown hero.”

Catcher:  Carlos Santana is the only Cleveland Indian who was worthy of my vote (sorry, Asdrubal Cabrera!).  He’s batting .290, which, when comparing the stats of all the AL catchers, made me realize that most of them are not batting well this year. 

Designated Hitter:  This (in my opinion) bogus position goes to David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox.  I almost voted for the Texas Rangers’ Lance Berkman, but “Big Papi” is still playing well despite being 37 years old.  Ortiz is the “poster old-man” for those who believe that having a Designated Hitter can prolong a player’s career.  I can’t argue with that one when it comes to Ortiz.  He has 408 career home runs (with 7 so far this season) and does an awful lot of charity work in his native Dominican Republic.

Outfielders:  In the outfield, I picked the Orioles’ Adam Jones (a “tell it like it is” kind of player who always plays intensely; Alex Gordon of the Kansas City Royals (who is originally from Lincoln, Nebraska just like my ex-husband but I voted for him anyway); and Coco Crisp of the Oakland A’s.  Crisp is only 33 – it seems like he’s been around forever and this season has an impressive nine stolen bases so far.

 That’s three Orioles on my AL ballot and no Yankees.  I’m happy with that!

NATIONAL LEAGUE

First base:  I couldn’t find a first baseman that I truly liked and thought was deserving, so I went straight for the guy with the best stats so far.  Paul Goldschmidt of the Arizona Diamondbacks is batting .323 with 12 homers and 36 RBIs, so he got my vote even though I haven’t seen him play yet this season (the D-backs don’t play the Nationals until late June, so I’ll get a glimpse of him then).

Second base:  I chose Marco Scutaro of the San Francisco Giants because I enjoyed watching him play during last year’s World Series.  I really wanted to vote for the Pirates’ Neil Walker, but he has had some injuries and is not playing much this year.  Scutaro is currently batting .337, and he can field his position pretty well.

Shortstop:  I couldn’t convince myself to vote for the Nationals’ Ian Desmond, so I chose Troy Tulowitzki of the Colorado Rockies.  I know I bad-mouthed him in a previous blog because he’s a Jeter lover, but “Tulo” can hit, run, and play shortstop pretty well.  Just keep your mouth shut, Troy!

Third base:  Since the Nationals’ Ryan Zimmerman has committed nine errors so far at third base, he was out of the running for me despite seeming like a totally nice guy.  I had to opt for “Kung Fu Panda,” the Giants’ Pablo Sandoval.  He’s batting .308 with 8 home runs and 34 RBIs, and like David Ortiz, he’s one of those guys whose smile just lights up a ball park.

Catcher:  Posey or Molina?  Definitely Yadier Molina!  Yes, he has ugly neck tattoos.  Yes, he plays for the St. Louis Cardinals (who eliminated the Nationals in last year’s playoffs).  And yes, he’s just flat out unattractive.  But “Yadi” has a career success rate of 44% getting runners out trying to steal a base, and that’s pretty darn good (my pal, Iván Rodriguez, ended his career with a 46%).  Posey is good and all, but Yadier having a better season so far.

Outfield:  This was the easiest one.  Bryce Harper (Washington Nationals), Andrew McCutchen (Pittsburgh Pirates), and Carlos Beltrán (St. Louis Cardinals).  I almost didn’t vote for Harper for fear that he’d hurt himself during the All-Star Game, but he deserves to be there.  All three players are having good seasons (even the 36-year-old Beltrán, who many thought was “washed out” is hitting consistently and fielding very well.

No Phillies players on my NL ballot – no shocker there!

So there you have it – my All-Star Game ballot, which I like to think was well thought-out.  I don’t just vote for the cute ones (have you SEEN McCutchen?) or the skinny ones (hello, Sandoval!); I like to think that I vote for those who play well, play consistently, and play hard.  Let’s see if the rest of America agrees with me. 

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Play Hard, Play Smart


Before I get into my topic du jour, I want to give a shout-out to the Cleveland Indians.  The team that should be managed by Sandy Alomar, Jr. (but is not!) is only half a game out of first place in the AL Central behind the Detroit Tigers, and have a record of 7-3 in their last 10 games.  No, this is not the team of years past, with stars like Kenny Lofton, Carlos Baerga, and Jim Thome, but they have Asdrubal Cabrera at shortstop and rightie Justin Masterson (6-2, 3.14 ERA) on the mound, and they mean business.  Now, please don’t get TOO good, because we’re going to a game at Jacob’s Field in August, and I don’t want tickets to be too hard to get!

OK, so now that I got that out of the way, let’s talk about this Bryce Harper kid who keeps bashing himself into outfield walls.  I know I’ve said this before, but Harper has to be one of the most intense baseball players I’ve ever seen.  He looks and acts like he should be playing rugby or ice hockey or participating in one of those “Strong Man” competitions.  Not that Bryce could pull a bus with his teeth, but he is all-in, all the time.  This kid sprints to first base after every at-bat, even if he just hits a dribbler to the pitcher.  He will try to stretch a single into a double if the ball is hit deep enough.  He will dive headfirst into home plate even when it’s not a close play.  In one year in the Majors, Harper has stolen home off the Phillies’ Cole Hamels, hit 32 doubles, and 10 triples.  He is so competitive, he doesn’t know when to ease up.

So here’s where the big debate is:  If your team is leading 6-0 in the fifth inning and your pitcher is throwing heat, do you risk your body to try to catch a fly ball?  This was the scenario in Monday night’s game between the Nationals and the Los Angeles Dodgers, where Bryce Harper slammed into the outfield wall and ended up leaving the game and requiring 11 stitches to his chin.  Some seem to think that Harper should have taken the ball after it bounced off the wall – he could have dislocated his collarbone, gotten a concussion, or sprained his shoulder and would have to be out for at least four to six weeks (and they don’t call that strip of dirt out there the “warning track” for no reason!).  Others believe that Harper is Harper, and he would have done the same thing whether the Nationals were losing by five runs or leading by twenty.  This is the way Bryce has always played, and he’s not about to bring his intensity down a notch.

What do I think?  I love Harper and the way he hustles (the fact that he’s not cute and gets bad haircuts does not affect how I feel about his playing ability).  I love his drive, his determination, and his work ethic.  He’s part Rose, part Clemente, part Dykstra (without the potty mouth and jail time) and part Griffey (junior).  If more guys played baseball like Bryce does, it would be a more interesting game to watch.  But then again, he’s only 20.  His body is not always going to be so forgiving when he slams into a wall ten or fifteen years from now (wait until he plays at Wrigley Field, where the outfield wall is solid brick!).  Harper grew up as a catcher, and the Nationals switched him to the outfield so he wouldn’t suffer so much wear and tear and get so beat up.  If they really want to keep him bubble-wrapped, then perhaps they can move him to the bullpen and have him pitch one or two innings every couple of days.  J 

For now, I don’t think you can tell Bryce Harper to ease up and hold back a little.  After all, the kid makes over $1 million a year, so he’s going to earn his paycheck and give fans their money’s-worth.  Let’s just hope the Nationals’ athletic training staff has enough bandages and Steri Strips to keep Bryce Harper put together for years to come. 

Friday, May 3, 2013

I Guess the Rules Don't Apply if You're a Yankee!

Ask a non-baseball fan to come up with the name of a current New York Yankees player and you will likely get Derek Jeter as an answer.  Jeter has to be one of the most recognizable athletes in recent history - he is known as the "Captain" of the Yankees, his 3,304 career hits rank tenth on the all-time list, and he's Cal Ripken's favorite current player.  But guess what?  Derek Jeter has not played a single game this season due to a nagging ankle injury that just isn't getting better.  

Despite Jeter's absence from the baseball diamond this season, there are some idiots out there (who apparently smoke way too much crack) who believe that despite being on the Disabled List all season, Jeter deserves to be in this season's All-Star Game.  Are you SERIOUS?  That's one of the dumbest things I've ever heard (next to Ted Williams claiming he was Hispanic, but I already ranted about that on a previous post). Tracy Ringolsby, a cowboy-hat-wearing blogger for MLB.com, says that Jeter is worthy because "He's been an All-Star 13 times, the same as Ken Griffey Jr., Joe DiMaggio and George Brett, and he has hit .440 in the midsummer event, tied with Griffey for the eighth-highest average in All-Star history."  So?  Is he playing right now?  NO!  Can he field a ball or run around the bases?  NO!  Hey, you know what?  I haven't been able to play Major League Baseball this season either - can the fans vote for ME?  Oh, that's right; I'm not a Yankee.  And Yankees are entitled to everything wonderful in life.  I was telling a co-worker that when I get to Heaven, I'm going to have to wait in line and wait for all the Yankees to go in ahead of me.  He reassured me by saying that Yankees don't go to Heaven, so I have no reason to worry.

Here is what Colorado Rockies' shortstop Troy Tulowitski said about the matter:"He has meant a lot to the game, and at the end of the day, [the All-Star Game] is a fans' game and they should recognize the players they want. If there is one guy who didn't have to play to be elected, it would be him."  Sorry, my man; if we break the rules for Jeter, we have to break the rules for someone else.  Yes, they broke the rules and elected Roberto Clemente into the National Baseball Hall of Fame right away instead of waiting for Clemente to become eligible after 5 years of retirement - but Clemente was DEAD!  If, God forbid, Derek Jeter happens to die, then they can break the rules and make him a shortstop emeritus or something like that.  But if you have a pulse but aren't able to play because of an injury, then your name should not even be on the ballot.  How about the Yankees' current shortstop, Eduardo Nuñez?  I bet he feels like chopped liver right now, having played 24 games this season and not even having his name on the ballot!

Don't get me wrong; I actually like Derek Jeter.  I think he is the face of baseball today, and his generosity and philanthropy are to be admired.  I especially liked him in the movie "The Other Guys" and in the "Seinfeld" episode where George Constanza is giving batting advice to Jeter and teammate Bernie Williams.  He will deservedly be in the Hall of Fame and will have his number 2 retired (currently the only single-digit number not previously retired by the Yankees).  But how about the Detroit Tigers' Jhonny Peralta?  He's batting .295 with a bunch of RBIs.  Or Alexei Ramirez of the Chicago White Sox, who is batting .292?  Even the Orioles' J.J. Hardy, whose batting average sucks but at least he plays every day!  Really, people - let's find someone else to vote for who can actually show up on that day and play!