Tagged: ian kinsler
It is Part of the Game
When a pitcher is throwing at a batter, there’s usually good reason to it. Throwing at batters is part of the game (just not at the head, i.e. Hiroki Kuroda to Shane Victorino). But really, anything below the shoulders is fair game.
So why is Bobby Jenks being penalized? No, not because of his weird bleached blonde gotee. Jenks is being fined x dollars for throwing behind Ian Kinsler the other night. Now, of course, I don’t want Kinsler injured because he’s on my fantasy team, but throwing at batters is just part of the game. If a pitch doesn’t even hit the batter, then why even penalize the pitcher? Why even penalize the pitcher anyways?
I can’t say it enough, It is part of the game.
For further words on my opinion of this, I have post on this a ways back about the nonsense Josh Beckett incident in LA a few weeks back. But all of you are most likely too lazy to look that up. So here are some of my former words from that post:
Throughout baseball history, there have been many players that return the “favor” to the teams and players that deserve it. Roger Clemens is one of the most recent to throw up and in. When he nailed Mike Piazza once he said after the game, “I pitch the way I pitch.” Clemens has plunked 159 batters in his career. Ironically enough, Beckett’s idol growing up was Roger Clemens.
The most notable pitcher to drill batters is Bob Gibson. The hall of famer was fiery pitcher who loved to knock down batters. Hitting 102 batters in his career, it’s said that they lowered the height of the mound for Gibson.
A current pitcher that has been known to to brushback hitters in his presumable hall of fame career is southpaw Randy Johnson. The Big Unit leads all active players with hit by pitches with 188 and is in third place all-time, trailing HOFers Eddie Plank (196) and Walter Johnson (203).
It’s part of the game, and some of the best pitchers of all-time are on the leaderboard for career hit batsmen. So even if it was intentional, it’s justifiable by the unwritten rules of the game.
Yea.
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WERTH IT
In hopes of ending a string of bad play, the Phils beat out the Manny-less Dodgers tonight. Jayson Werth stole home, after stealing second once and third twice! Wow, wish I could have seen it live. Me and a couple of my buddies went down to The Park tonight for dollar dogs in hopes that we would be able to get some standing room only tickets (because all the seats were sold out).
Well, as we’re driving down I-95, I call the ticket office (for the second time, because they couldn’t answer my question the first time). I ask (again) if they still have standing room only tickets left (which go on sale at 4pm before the game). This time, the person on the other side of the line says “We are completely sold out.” I reiterate the question, hoping he heard me wrong. He didn’t. “We are completely sold out.”
So we’re in South Philly and we’re hungry. We ended up going to Chickie’s and Pete’s to watch the game and we had some amazing crab fries and awesome cheesesteaks. It was Werth it. Ha.
I’m going to Thursday’s game (already have tickets for it, so there will be no dilemma).
All Star Game Voting (5/1)
It may be too early to vote, but I got to show appreciation to the guys off to the hot starts so I voted. Here are my all stars as of today. I’ll just give you the starters and then I’ll do a complete all star roster (my opinion) when the full rosters are revealed.
American League
1B Kevin Youkilis
.395 5 HR 15 RBI 1 SB
2B Ian Kinsler
.322 7 HR 20 RBI 7 SB
SS Marco Scutaro
.281 5 HR 15 RBI 1 SB
3B Evan Longoria
.369 6 HR 24 RBI 1 SB
C Victor Martinez
.386 5 HR 11 RBI
OF Jason Bay
.324 5 HR 19 RBI 2 SB
OF Torii Hunter
.325 8 HR 16 RBI 1 SB
OF Nick Markakis
.381 2 HR 22 RBI
National League
1B Albert Pujols
.337 8 HR 28 RBI 4 SB
2B Chase Utley
.342 7 HR 20 RBI 2 SB
SS Hanley Ramirez
.289 2 HR 12 RBI 3 SB
3B Ryan Zimmerman
.289 5 HR 16 RBI
C Bengie Molina
.329 4 HR 18 RBI
OF Andre Ethier
.306 5 HR 22 RBI 1 SB
OF Raul Ibanez
.359 7 HR 17 RBI 3 SB
OF Manny Ramirez
.372 5 HR 15 RBI
Fantasy Team
We just had our fantasy draft. There are 16 teams in our league and I had the 11th pick. There are 25 spots on each roster. Before I list my team, here are the categories that we have in our league:
Hitting categories: R, H, HR, RBI, SB, AVG, OPS
Pitching categories: W, CG, SHO, SV, K, HLD, ERA, WHIP
Round 1: Ian Kinsler 2B – Kinsler does it all and even drives in runs out of the leadoff spot (71 RBIs last season). He hits for a high average and steals bases.
Round 2: Lance Berkman 1B – He’s got a great bat as he can hit over .300 and get you over 100 RBIs and possibly 30 homeruns.
Round 3: Roy Halladay SP – The first starting pitcher I took. All the other studs were gone. I thought getting him was a bargain in the third round due to the fact our league uses complete games and shutouts as a category.
Round 4: Joe Mauer C – Catcher is a thin position. So I went with Mauer. Despite injury potential, you cannot argue with over a .300 batting average.
Round 5: Chris Davis 1B/3B – If you read my blog, you know that I’m all about this kid. He’s a big lefty and can hit and he had a great half a season last year. And especially in this lineup, he will drive in runs.
Round 6: Joakim Soria RP – I seemed to be at the end of the stud closer run and Soria was the last one left. I’m just hoping he can reproduce his 2008 totals.
Round 7: Rich Harden SP
Round 8: Chris Young OF – Young has that rare combo of power and speed.
Round 9: Mike Aviles SS – I’m hoping Aviles can build upon the great rookie campaign he had in Kansas City. (.325/10HR/51RBI)
Round 10: Josh Johnson SP – Did a nice job last season in his 14 starts (7-1).
Round 11: Clayton Kershaw SP – Would this be considered taking a gamble?
Round 12: Mike Gonzalez RP
Round 13: Adam Lind OF – This is another one of those players that, if you follow my blog, you know I like them. I assume he will be in the middle of this Blue Jays lineup this year.
Round 14: Joey Devine RP – Now, I’m hoping that Devine wins the closer job. Even if he doesn’t, we get points for holds — so I can’t be too concerned. I was suprised Devine went this late as well. Ziegler was drafted only a few picks before this.
Round 15: Jack Cust OF – I follow up one Oakland A with another. I needed some more power and production (even if Cust doesn’t post the average).
Round 16: Chris Dickerson OF – I’m hoping Dickerson will get at least some starts. He can steal and has been doing well this spring.
Round 17: Chase Headley 3B/OF
Round 18: Matt Thornton RP – He should help in the hold category (although I think the hold is a rediculous statistic — it exists).
Round 19: Casey Kotchman 1B
Round 20: Matt LaPorta 1B/OF – With so many roster spots — why not?
Round 21: Ryan Madson RP – The “bridge to Lidge” should get me some holds.
Round 22: Elvis Andrus SS
Round 23: Mark Teahen 1B/3B/OF – He’s eligible all over.
Round 24: Seth Smith OF – He probably isn’t drafted in some leagues but I like him.
Round 25: Josh Willingham OF – Finish this team off with “the hammer.”
I feel pretty good about my team considering the fact there are sixteen teams in the league. Last year I won, so let’s see if I can repeat.
Top Lineup in League Resides in Arlington
Season Preview: Texas Rangers
Projected MLB Rank: 20th — AL Rank: 8th — AL West Rank: 3rd — Record: (77-85)
It’s hard to argue with the most runs per game (5.56) and the highest team average (.283) in the league as not the best lineup. So I won’t, because I do believe that this is the best lineup in the league.
Secondbaseman Ian Kinsler is a star in the league and he got things started for this lineup last year. He was sidelined last year for the end of the season and still drove home 71 runs from the leadoff spot. He has the rare combo of power and speed and should bat leadoff again for Texas if rookie phenom Elvis Andrus doesn’t. Andrus hasn’t yet played a game in the majors, but will start the season as the the shortstop for this club. He may not have the average for the leadoff spot, but he definately has the speed. He should have 30 or more steals by season’s end.
Andrus’ welcome to majors included moving regular shortstop, Michael Young, to third base. Last year, Young drove home 82 while posting a .339 OBP. Expect big numbers from Josh Hamilton again. He dropped off after the all star break last year but I expect him to do the same thing he did last year (.304/32/130). Firstbaseman Chris Davis should have a huge year after he hit 17 homeruns and drove in 55 runs in only half a season last year. The big lefty also slugged .549.
I would also expect Nelson Cruz to continue hitting well after he hit .330 last season in a short-term with the club. The other corner outfielder, David Murphy should also continue to produce no matter where he is put in the order. Also, keep an eye on the competition at catcher between youngsters Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Taylor Teagarden. I expect a platoon between the two going into the season.
If only they could get some pitching help. Kevin Millwood is their ace. Uh oh. He went 9-10 last year with a 5.07 ERA and isn’t exactly getting younger. Same case with the number two starter Vicente Padilla, 14-8 with a 4.74 ERA. Lefty Matt Harrison is a quality starter, but first we need to see how he does for a full season. The injury-happy Brandon McCarthy still has yet to prove himself. Then there’s righty Jason Jennings. I’ll leave it at that.
The bullpen, anchored by closer Frank Francisco, is subpar. CJ Wilson’s ERA last season was over 6.00. Eddie Guardado is 38 years old. Then, there’s Derrick Turnbow, shall I go on?
I am a firm believer in pitching, pitching, pitching. The best offense in the league last year could only muster up 79 wins. So until the pitching decides to show up, expect more of the same from the Rangers.
Tough Division Won’t Treat Orioles Well
Season Preview: Baltimore Orioles
Projected MLB Rank: 28th — AL Rank: 13th — AL East Rank: 5th — Record: (67-95)
Playing the Red Sox, Rays, Yankees, and Blue Jays for a majority of your schedule, wouldn’t play in your favor. Well being the weakest team in the division, that’s the position the Orioles are put into this season. Prior to last season, they had the [Devil] Rays to take the bottom spot and share the woes in the AL East. But now the young Rays have proved they are an elite team in the league, winning the AL East last season.
However, if you take a look at the Rays, they came out of no where last season. So the good news for the O’s is that anything is possible and everyone’s records start at 0-0 when the first pitch of the year is thrown. Plus, they remodeled the bird this year. The Rays changed their look last year and Orioles do it this year.
This year’s Orioles possess some elite talents and some developing players. Brian Roberts has become one of the best second baseman in the game today behind Chase Utley, Ian Kinsler, and fellow AL East-er Dustin Pedrioa. The switch hitter is a career .284 hitter and scores runs and steals bases at the top of the order and gives Nick Markakis, Aubrey Huff, and Melvin Mora many chances to put runs on the board. Markakis is becoming an elite outfielder and he just signed a big contract this past offseason. Fellow outfielder, Adam Jones had a good rookie campaign while battling an injury and should continue to develop this season.
Huff quietly had a great 2008. He batted .304 with 32 homeruns and 108 RBIs. He is coming into his tenth big league season and should get his chances to produce once again in the hitter friendly Camden Yards. The two weak spots in the lineup are shortstop Cesar Izturis and catcher Gregg Zaun. Izturis is an awful hitter but will be starting at short most likely and Zaun will probably start the season as the starting catcher, barring how the highly regarded prospect Matt Wieters does in spring training. Once Wieters becomes the starting catcher and develops into the hitter they hope him to be, this lineup will become so much better.
Jeremy Guthrie leads the rotation and had a pretty good 2008 with a 3.63 ERA while going 10-12 in 30 starts. “Rookie” Koji Uehara is 33 years old and from what I hear, is past his prime but will be a solid starter for Baltimore. Lefty Chris Waters in coming into his second year. He started 11 games and went 3-5 with a 5.01 ERA so don’t expect big things. Another southpaw, Rich Hill, will hopefully be healthy this year. Radhames Liz will hope to make the rotation but needs to find his control first. Once he does that, he will become a much better pitcher because he throws hard and has a great breaking ball.
The closer’s job looks like it will be going to George Sherrill to start the year but if Chris Ray, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery, shows he can handle the closer’s job again, expect him to take the job because of Sherrill’s walk ratio. Overall, the rest of the bullpen is subpar, especially in this tough division.
Now, I wouldn’t rule out fourth place this year for the Orioles, or maybe even a Raysesque run. Most likely not (hence why I have ranked them at 28) but don’t rule out Baltimore.
2009 Breakout Players: Chris Davis
With pitchers and catchers reporting in less than three days to Florida and Arizona, I’ll be writing about some of the players I think will breakout this season.
1B Chris Davis Texas Rangers
This 6 foot 4 first baseman had a productive rookie campaign. He had 17 homeruns and 55 RBIs in 80 games with a .285 average. He slugged .549 which was higher than teammates Ian Kinsler, Michael Young, and Josh Hamilton. 
When the season starts he will be 23. In the minors in 2007 he totaled 36 homeruns and 118 RBIs with the single-A Bakersfield Blaze and the double-A Frisco RoughRiders. Last season with Frisco and the Oklahoma RedHawks he hit 23 homeruns and had 73 RBIs before getting called up to the big leagues.
A majority of his at-bats were in the seven or eight spot in the lineup and I imagine he would move up in the lineup this season. Maybe to the six spot in the lineup pending where fellow lefties Hank Blalock and David Murphy are placed. Hamilton will likely bat third or fourth. It all depends on where phenom shortstop Elvis Andrus is placed in the lineup (I imagine leadoff or 2). Kinsler will bat wherever Andrus doesn’t. Young could bat third with Hamilton fourth. With all those great hitters in front of him, Davis will get a lot of chances to produce for the Rangers. Unless the others drive home the men on base first. Either way, we will hear good things about Chris Davis in 2009.
Twelve Six Curve 