Top 5 2011 MLB All-Star Snubs
Posted by Anthony Stalter (07/04/2011 @ 12:07 pm)
Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen reacts after he caught a ball hit by New York Mets batter Jason Bay with a runner on base at the fence for the third out of the first inning of their MLB National League baseball game in New York, June 1, 2011. REUTERS/Ray Stubblebine (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT BASEBALL)
Here are five players that deserved a trip to Arizona’s Chase Field next week, but instead will have to watch a couple of less-deserving players take their spot. Now let’s everybody pile on Bruce Bochy like the rest of the Internet world. Just make sure you stretch first.
1. Andrew McCutchen, OF, Pirates
I don’t know who deserves more blame here, the players or Bochy. The players selected the Reds’ Jay Bruce (who has more home runs than McCutchen but is hitting an earth shattering .230) as one of the outfield reserves and Bochy chose the Mets’ Carlos Beltran, another player with a lower batting average and OPS than McCutchen and whose defense is significantly worse. Somehow McCutchen was left off the “Final Man” vote that is decided by the fans, so Major League Baseball deserves a swift kick to the groin here as well. Seeing as how McCutchen and the Pirates are shaping up to be the feel good story of 2011, the players, Bochy, and MLB dropped the ball badly by leaving the sparkplug off the NL roster.
2. Paul Konerko, 1B, White Sox
Apparently the AL players voted in Michael Young as a backup DH. Why would somebody feel as though a backup DH is needed for the American League roster? Outside of pitchers, THE ENTIRE FREAKING TEAM COULD BE DESIGNATED HITTERS. Konerko has a .954 OPS, which is fourth-best in the entire AL, and is among the league leaders in RBI (62, third), home runs (21, fourth) and batting average (.317, fifth). The problem is that teammate Carlos Quentin was a players’ selection and AL skipper Ron Washington needed to use four of his seven spots to ensure that every team was represented. He simply ran out of room for Konerko, which is a shame. But hopefully he’ll win the “Final Vote” and be on his way to Arizona next week anyway.
3. CC Sabathia, SP, Yankees
Seeing as how Sabathia is scheduled to pitch on Sunday, it’s kind of a moot point to discuss in detail how he was screwed. But a snub is a snub. Washington chose his own lefty C.J. Wilson over Sabathia, which isn’t that big of a deal. There’s a strong argument that Wilson should have made the team, but there were others less-deserving that took Sabathia’s spot. (Jose Valverde, anyone?) Again, in the end Sabathia would have been replaced anyway. But he at least deserved to be mentioned.
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Posted in: MLB
Tags: 2011 mlb all-star snubs, Andrew McCutchen, Anthony Stalter, CC Sabathia, Headlines, Jhonny Peralta, Matt Cain, MLB All-Star snubs, Paul Konerko, ryan vogelsong, Tommy Hanson
2010 MLB Preview: NL Central
Posted by Anthony Stalter (03/26/2010 @ 5:00 pm)
In order to help get you ready for the MLB season, we’re doing division-by-division rankings with quick overviews on how each club could fair in 2010. Next to each team, you’ll also find a corresponding number written in parenthesis, which indicates where we believe that club falls in a league-wide power ranking. Be sure to check back throughout the next two weeks leading up to the season, as we will be updating our content daily. Enjoy.
All 2010 MLB Preview Content | AL East Preview | AL Central Preview | AL West Preview | NL East | NL Central | NL West
Next up is the NL Central.
1. St. Louis Cardinals (4)
Albert Pujols, Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright and Matt Holliday could help the Cardinals win this division sauced out of their minds on a nightly basis. That said, would anyone really be surprised if Carpenter’s arm falls off and the starting pitching (which is among the best in the league) suffers? It’s happened before, so if you answered “yes” to the proposed question then you sir or madam, have not been paying attention. Still, the addition of Brad Penny (who pitched well in the second half last year) will strengthen the club’s starting pitching and Kyle Lohse is a fine middle of the rotation guy. Pujols and Holliday will ignite the offense again, although Colby Rasmus might be the key to whether or not this team makes a serious World Series run. Skip Schumaker is a solid table setter, but how Rasmus fairs hitting in front of Pujols and Holliday could be the difference between the Cards winning the NL Central again and playing for a championship. David Freese better produce too or else the club will regret not acquiring a veteran third baseman in the offseason. All in all, the Cardinals are the best the NL Central has to offer and should make another postseason appearance this season. But how far they go beyond that depends on whether or not Carpenter and Wainwright can continue their magic and if Pujols and Holliday receive help from the rest of the lineup.
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Posted in: MLB
Tags: 2010 Chicago Cubs predictions, 2010 Houston Astros predictions, 2010 Milwaukee Brewers predictions, 2010 MLB Predictions, 2010 MLB Preview, 2010 MLB Preview NL Central, 2010 NL Central Predictions, 2010 NL Central Preview, 2010 St. Louis Cardinals predictions, Aaron Harang, Adam Wainwright, Albert Pujols, Alfonso Soriano, Andrew McCutchen, Anthony Stalter, Aramis Ramirez, Aroldis Chapman, Brandon Phillips, Bronson Arroyo, Carlos Lee, Carlos Marmol, Carlos Zambrano, Chicago Cubs, Chris Carpenter, Cincinnati Reds, Colby Rasmus, David Freese, Dusty Baker, Edison Volquez, Geovany Soto, Homer Bailey, Houston Astros, Hunter Pence, Jay Bruce, Jeff Suppan, Joey Votto, Johnny Cueto, Jose Tabata, JR Towles, Kazuo Matsui, Kosuke Fukudome, Lance Berkman, Manny Parra, Mat Gamel, Matt Holliday, Michael Bourn, Milwaukee Brewers, Paul Maholm, Pedro Alvarez, Pedro Feliz, Pittsburgh Pirates, Prince Fielder, Ross Ohlendorf, Ryan Braun, Ryan Dempster, Skip Schumaker, St. Louis Cardinals, Ted Lilly, Tony Sanchez, Yovani Gallardo, Zach Duke
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A’s Bailey, Marlins’ Coghlan voted Rookies of the Year
Posted by Anthony Stalter (11/16/2009 @ 4:54 pm)
A’s closer Andrew Bailey won the American League Rookie of the Year award on Monday, while Marlins’ outfielder Chris Coghlan won the same honors for the National League.
From MLB.com:
Coghlan’s victory continues the Marlins’ streak of three: three winners in club history, with each coming in three-year spans.
It started with Dontrelle Willis winning the Rookie of the Year Award in 2003, continued with Hanley Ramirez – now among the best shortstops in the Major Leagues – claiming the honor in ’06, and now the torch has been passed to Coghlan.
A Palm Harbor, Fla., native, Coghlan beat out loads of promising first-year players in a rookie slate that really had no single favorite this year. On the list of contenders were Braves right-hander Tommy Hanson (11-4 with a 2.89 ERA in 21 starts), Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen (.286 batting average, 54 RBIs and 22 stolen bases), Phillies lefty J.A. Happ (12-4, 2.93 ERA in 35 games), Brewers infielder Casey McGehee (.301 batting average, 16 homers and 66 RBIs) and Cardinals outfielder Colby Rasmus (.251 batting average, 16 homers and 52 RBIs).
Coghlan certainly deserved the award, but I’m a little surprised that Happ or even McCutchen didn’t win the award. Happ came close (he received 94 points compared to Coghlan’s 105), but McCutchen finished behind Hanson.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
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