When your ballclub is in financial ruins because you mistakenly invested a significant amount of coin in what turned out to be a Ponzi scheme, naturally the next step is to criticize your own players when speaking to the media.

That’s exactly what Mets owner Fred Wilbon did when he spoke with The New Yorker’s Jeffery Toobin for a story about the impact of the Bernie Madoff investment scandal. In Wilbon’s crosshairs were Jose Reyes, David Wright and Carlos Beltran.

Shortstop Jose Reyes and his contractual future:
“He thinks he’s going to get Carl Crawford ($142 million) money. .. He’s had everything wrong with him physically). He won’t get it.”

David Wright and his rough start this season:
“He’s pressing. … A really good kid. A very good player. Not a superstar.”

Carlos Beltran and the current $119 million contract Wilpon, himself, handed out:
“We had some schmuck in New York who paid him based on one (postseason) series. … He’s 65 to 75 % of what he was.”

There will be some Mets and non-Mets fans that will say Wilbon spoke the truth. And maybe he did. Maybe he’s right when he says Reyes is delusional about wanting Carl Crawford-type money, that Wright isn’t a superstar despite being viewed publicly as one of the best at his position, and that Beltran is a shell of his former self.

But whether or not you agree with what he said, he still shouldn’t have said it. It does him, nor the Mets organization any good to dog the club’s three best players. What will these comments say to future free agents? Hey, come sign with the Mets and you not only can play for a crap team, but maybe one day you’ll get slammed by the owner as well! It’s a riot!

There was nothing, and I mean nothing, constructive about Wilpon’s comments. If you’re an owner, you just don’t say what he did, regardless of whether or not you’re just “speaking the truth.” He’s running a professional baseball organization for cribs’ sake – it’s never a good time for an owner to slam his players unless he’s trying to motivate them. And even then: Shut your mouth and let your baseball people handle the baseball operations.

I don’t follow the Mets 24/7 so if I’m wrong with what I’m about to say, someone please tell me. But as far as I can tell, Wright, Reyes and Beltran have been nothing but professional when it comes to the Mets and the media. They would never say anything about their owner like what Wilpon said about them. And to Wright’s credit, he e-mailed Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal saying: “Fred is a good man and is obviously going through some difficult times. There is nothing more productive that I can say at this time.”

The key word there is “productive.” There was nothing productive about Wilpon’s comments and it’s nice to see that in the wake of being dumped on by his owner, Wright stayed classy.

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 East.

1. Philadelphia Phillies (2)
Much like the Yankees in the American League, it’s hard to find bad things to say about the Phillies. They’re the three-time defending NL East champions and considering they’re ready to bring back the same core of players that got them to the World Series the past two years, there’s no reason to doubt them. Oh, and they added Roy Halladay. Roy, I’m going to dominate your face for nine innings, Halladay. If Cole Hamels rebounds and J.A. Happ’s 2009 wasn’t a fluke, the Phillies won’t suffer a setback this season. In fact, the pitching doesn’t even have to be that great with the likes of Jimmy Rollins, Placido Polanco, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth and Raul Ibanez taking up the first six spots in the order. The problem, however, is that Hamels might not bounce back and Happ’s ’09 season may have been a fluke. There’s also that nagging Brad Lidge closer issue that could haunt this club as well. That said, odds are that the Fighting Phils will be right back at the top of the NL East again this season. They’re too good, too talented and too experienced to fold and they have a great chance to reclaim their title back from the Yankees.

2. Atlanta Braves (11)
A lot of pundits are high on the Braves this year – and for good reason. In Jair Jurrjens, Tommy Hanson, Tim Hudson, Derek Lowe and Kenshin Kawakami, their starting rotation is one of the best in the National League. Atlanta has the starting pitching to go toe to toe with the Phillies in the division, but the real question is whether or not they have enough offense. Top prospect Jason Heyward looks as good as advertised, but if he’s not ready to produce then Atlanta’s corner outfield situation is questionable at best. This club has a nice blend of young and veteran hitters, including Heyward, Brian McCann, Nate McLouth, Chipper Jones, Yunel Escobar, Martin Prado and Troy Glaus, but they’re one or two big injuries away from falling to the middle of the pack in the National League. This club has more than enough talent to push the Phillies in the division and as of now, are the early favorites to win the NL Wild Card. But players like Jones, Glaus and Billy Wagner have to stay healthy and produce or else the Braves will fail to live up to expectations this season.

3. Florida Marlins (18)
The Marlins are usually pretty easy to project nowadays. They’re always slightly better than what you think they’ll be, but just not as good to rank ahead of some of the more talented teams in the National League. Hanley Ramirez continues to be one of the best players in the game and his supporting cast (Josh Johnson, Chris Coghlan, Dan Uggla and Ricky Nolasco) isn’t bad either. In fact, Ramirez and Johnson are reason alone to go to the ballpark on a weekly basis. But unless players like Cameron Maybin, Jorge Cantu, Emilio Bonifacio (who was confused for Ricky Henderson for about three games at the start of last season) and prospect Logan Morrison produce, then the Marlins will fall to the middle of the pack this year in the NL. Still, while they’re not as talented as the Mets, over the last seven years they’ve won more games and have spent nearly $600 million less over that span. For whatever reason, Florida always finds a way to be competitive with their young roster and while I don’t think they have enough to succeed in the end, I wouldn’t be shocked if they made a run at the Wild Card again like they did last year.

4. New York Mets (20)
If I were a Mets fan, I would have tried to take a bath with one of my kitchen appliances by now. I don’t mean any disrespect – I’m just concerned with their well being after watching this team underachieve over and over and over again. Every year this club has talent and every year they find a way – whether it be through poor managing, injuries or what have you – to screw it up. The Mets have enough star power in David Wright, Jose Reyes (when healthy), Jason Bay, Johan Santana, Francisco Rodriguez and Carlos Beltran to succeed, but bad luck, incompetence in the front office and poor fundamental play always sinks this club. Then again, bad luck won’t have anything to do with why the Mets will fail this year. Simply put, they don’t have enough starting pitching to succeed. There’s no guarantee that Santana will be 100% all season and after him, the rest of the rotation is under whelming to say the least. Sorry Met fans, but the torture looks like it’ll continue for at least another year.

5. Washington Nationals (29)
There are plenty of people high on the Nationals this season, but I’m having a hard time taking a leap of faith. I realize the additions of Jason Marquis, Brian Bruney, Matt Capps and Ivan Rodriguez filled needs, but let’s not confuse these players with Catfish Hunter, Johnny Sain, Dennis Eckersley and, well, Ivan Rodriguez in their primes. I think this club has improved, but some publications believe they’ll finish third in the division and I just don’t see it. Stephen Strasburg isn’t quite ready to save the day yet and therefore the rotation is still similar to the one that allowed 874 runs last year. Marquis should help, but the end of the rotation is scary and Capps might be the only reliever that winds up with a sub 4.00 ERA by the end of the year. While there is hope on the horizon in the form of Strasburg, the Nats just don’t have enough overall talent to get out of the basement of the NL East.

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]]> http://www.scoresreport.com/2010/03/25/2010-mlb-preview-nl-east/feed/ 0 http://www.scoresreport.com/2010/03/07/2010-fantasy-baseball-rankings-third-basemen/ http://www.scoresreport.com/2010/03/07/2010-fantasy-baseball-rankings-third-basemen/#comments Mon, 08 Mar 2010 03:08:23 +0000 Anthony Stalter http://www.scoresreport.com/?p=35877

All 2010 Fantasy Articles | 2010 Position Rankings

Savvy fantasy drafters realize that the pool for third basemen this year isn’t as shallow as catchers and shortstops, but it isn’t as deep as second basemen either (which may sound surprising to some owners).

What does that mean to you? Well, if you don’t grab one of the top seven or eight third basemen in your draft, then good luck trying to figure out which player after that will exceed expectations.

Drafting third basemen is pretty cut and dry. If you don’t land one of the top 3 (Alex Rodriguez, Evan Longoria or David Wright), then focus on drafting one of the next five 3B’s available or you better hope that Gordon Beckham or Ian Stewart are the ultimate sleepers this season. We don’t need to sell you on why you should take A-Rod, Longoria or Wright, so we’re going to concentrate on the next five rated players on our list, which we’ve highlighted for you below.

Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals
There’s a good chance that Zimmerman will plateau at around 30 home runs (which is nothing to scoff at), but it’s hard to argue with what he’ll bring to the table in terms of production across the board. He should hit around .300 (or maybe a little south of that number), with 100-plus runs and RBI, all while stealing 5-10 bases and hitting the aforementioned 25-30 home runs. That’s solid production for your third base position if you happen to miss out on one of the top three guys.

Pablo Sandoval, Giants
There are some experts that are worried that Sandoval’s average will eventually fall off a cliff after he hit .330 in 2009. But we actually think the fun loving Panda can hit upwards of .320 again and finish with roughly the same amount of home runs (25) and RBI (90) as he did last season. Don’t confuse him with a true home run hitter, because he’ll probably top out at 25-30. But also don’t fall into the trap that some are in thinking that Sandoval was just a one-year wonder. We think he’s the real deal and his fantasy production will be there in the end.

Mark Reynolds, Diamondbacks
Reynolds’ breakout 2009 campaign brought a smile to fantasy owners’ faces that snagged him late in their drafts last season. He finished with 44 home runs, 102 RBI, 98 runs scored and even swiped 24 bases. The problem is that Reynolds will probably come off the board sooner then he should. And it’s important to remember that he only hit .187 in September last year and stuck out a whopping 223 times. If he goes in the first four rounds, don’t fret because it’s clear that Reynolds was overrated by whoever drafted him. But if he falls to the middle of your draft, then snag him and reap the rewards of his power production.

Kevin Youkilis, Red Sox
Youkilis is about as reliable as they come in terms of predicting what you’ll get from him. He finished with similar numbers the past two years, so it’s safe to say that you can bank on another .305/28/95/100/5 season out of Youk. And assuming he stays healthy, there’s a possibility that he could even improve on some of those areas, especially average, home runs and RBI. He also carries some extra value because he’s eligible at both corner positions in the infield.

Chone Figgins, Mariners
If you wind up with Figgins, hopefully you drafted power in the earlier rounds because you won’t get it here. He’ll hit for average, score 95-100 runs and steal 35-plus bases, but don’t expect anything in the home run or RBI department.

Below is our official ranking of third basemen. As we previously mentioned, we highly recommend snagging one of the top 8 players as your starter. But if you aren’t able to, there are a couple of players ranked lower that have upside, namely Beckham and Stewart. (If he can stay healthy, Aramis Ramirez wouldn’t be a bad consolation prize either.)

1. Alex Rodriguez, NYY
2. Evan Longoria, TB
3. David Wright, NYM
4. Ryan Zimmerman, WAS
5. Pablo Sandoval, SF
6. Mark Reynolds, ARZ
7. Kevin Youkilis, BOS
8. Chone Figgins, SEA
9. Aramis Ramirez, CHC
10. Gordan Beckham, CHW
11. Michael Young, TEX
12. Ian Stewart, COL
13. Chipper Jones, ATL
14. Adrian Beltre, BOS
15. Jorge Cantu, FLA
16. Chris Davis, TEX (May not be eligible for 3B in some leagues)
17. Jake Fox, OAK
18. Alex Gordon, KC (Out a month with a broken thumb)
19. Brandon Wood, LAA
20. Casey Blake, LAD

Photo from fOTOGLIF

Even though Ryan Church is now a member of the Braves, he’s still reminded of how frustrating it was to play for the Mets and manager Jerry Manuel.

When Church’s former teammate David Wright suffered a concussion after he was hit in the head with a fastball by Giants starter Matt Cain in a game last weekend, Manuel said Wright was a “different animal” than Church when it comes to missing time due to a concussion. (Church missed much of last season after suffering two concussions.)

According to a report by ESPN.com, Church was upset with Manuel’s “different animal” comment.

“It just felt like a low blow,” Church said. “I saw it. I wasn’t happy. If he had a problem with me or anything like that, you’d think he’d tell it to my face. I had plenty of opportunity to talk while I was wearing that uniform. It just was like, all right, now that I’m wearing another one, why would he come out and say that?”

When he met with reporters before Tuesday night’s series opener against the Braves, Manuel was told that Church called the comments a “cheap shot.”

But Manuel said he meant no disrespect. He said he was simply trying to explain that the players involved were different, just like the concussions.

“There’s no ill intent,” Manuel said. “I don’t mean to take a shot at him. If that’s how he felt, I apologize to him. I like Ryan Church.”

Manuel and Church had bad blood before this incident and I don’t blame Church for feeling like Manuel took a cheap shot. Manuel wasn’t sensitive to Church’s injuries last year (the entire Mets’ staff mismanaged Church’s two concussions by making him available to pinch hitting him two days after the first injury and then putting him on a freaking plane to Colorado with post-concussion symptoms shorty after that) and isn’t being sensitive now in his comments. Because Church is in Atlanta now, Manuel probably feels as though he can take swipes at his former player without facing any repercussions.

Granted, the Mets have suffered an unusual amount of injuries this season, which have nothing to do with Manuel. But that doesn’t mean he deserves a mulligan for what has transpired this season. He’s a lousy manager and I would be shocked if the Mets didn’t fire him in the offseason.

Wright was diagnosed with post-concussion symptoms on Sunday and was released from the hospital. The Mets may be forced to put him on the DL, which would be yet another blow in an already frustrating season for New York.

As expected, Mets fans were incredibly upset and booed Cain every time he stepped onto the mound, into the batters box and blinked. But there was no way that was an intentional act by Cain, who had an 0-2 count on Wright in a scoreless game and a runner on first. It’s common sense that Cain wouldn’t want to hit Wright in that situation and it’s not like Cain has a history of headhunting. (Wright was only the second batter Cain has hit all season.)

Cain was clearly upset after the incident and concerned for Wright’s health, although people were irked by Cain’s hat-tipping motion when he was pulled in the 8th. Some, including the broadcast team who were announcing the game on TV, say that Cain was sarcastically mocking Met fans that had booed him, although he says he was just adjusting his cap.

Considering Cain has always shown professionalism throughout his young career, I believe him when he says he was just adjusting his cap. Besides, why would he show compassion for Wright’s health only to mock the situation four innings later? It doesn’t make sense and it’s not like the Giants and Mets have had a history of bad blood. If Brian Wilson hit Casey Blake in the head in L.A. and then tipped his cap, then someone would have an argument. But not here – not with a stand up guy like Cain, who wouldn’t put his team in a bad situation considering the Giants still have two more games in New York.

Here’s hoping Wright is okay and he returns to action this season. He’s a tremendous player who makes the game of baseball better when he’s on the field. Hopefully he’ll be back soon.

First base
Leader: Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
Mike’s pick: Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals. Well, this one is a no-brainer. Is it possible that Albert gets better with age? Yes, and his numbers border on staggering. 81 games in, he’s batting .336 with 31 homers and 82 RBI and a slugging percentage of .748. That projects to 62 homers and 164 runs batted in. What’s more, dude has a .993 fielding percentage. There is little doubt Pujols is the best player in the game, and he gets to flaunt it in front of his hometown crowd a week from Tuesday.

Second base
Leader: Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies
Mike’s pick: Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies. This one is also a no-brainer that the voters got correct, though as a Mets fan it pains me to say that. Utley has 17 homers, 54 RBI, he’s batting .303 with 16 doubles and a .980 OPS—all unbelievable numbers for a second baseman. This guy is a gamer.

Shortstop
Leader: Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins
Mike’s pick: Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins. This is getting to be a trend, but the numbers in the National League don’t seem to lie, do they? Hanley is batting .344 with 13 homers and 58 RBI, 26 doubles, 12 stolen bases and a .972 OPS. By comparison, he is hitting 119 points higher than JJ Hardy and 132 points higher than the slumping Jimmy Rollins. Case closed.

Third base
Leader: David Wright, New York Mets
Mike’s pick: Mark Reynolds, Arizona Diamondbacks. Wright was leading the league in batting for quite a while, and he’s currently hitting .333 but with just 5 homers and 42 RBI. By comparison, Reynolds has clubbed 22 home runs with 57 RBI while batting a respectable .271. At a power position, I’m giving the nod to the guy barely anyone gets to see play.

Catcher:
Leader: Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals
Mike’s pick: Brian McCann, Atlanta Braves. This is close, because Yadier’s brother Bengie has 10 homers and 46 RBI for the Giants, but McCann is batting .311 with 8 home runs and 33 driven in, with 15 doubles and a respectable .988 fielding percentage.

Outfield
Leaders: Raul Ibanez, Philadelphia Phillies
Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers
Carlos Beltran, New York Mets
Mike’s picks: Raul Ibanez, Philadelphia Phillies
Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers
Brad Hawpe, Colorado RockiesIbanez is having a career season, batting .312 with 22 homers and 59 RBI, and Braun just continues to rake, with 16 home runs, 58 driven in and a .326 average. But Beltran, while he plays in the biggest media market and makes mega-bucks, is not going to get my all-star nod over Brad Hawpe. Beltran is hitting .336, but has just 8 homers and 40 RBI. Hawpe is hitting .328 with 13 homers and 56 runs batted in, 25 doubles and a stunning .993 OPS. If Manny Ramirez was playing most of the season, he’d probably be on this list, but I can’t consider a guy who’s only played 28 games, regardless of why he missed all that time.

Starting pitcher
As you all know, pitchers are chosen by the managers and will be announced this Sunday.
Mike’s pick: Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants. Last year’s NL Cy Young winner got off to a slow start, but has been mowing hitters down lately, to the tune of 8-2 with a 2.37 ERA and league-leading 132 strikeouts with just 28 walks in 114 innings. Arizona’s Dan Haren is a close runner-up, with a 7-5 record for a crappy D-Backs’ team, and a league low 2.19 ERA with 113 K’s and 0.81 WHIP.

Relief pitcher
Mike’s pick: Heath Bell, San Diego Padres. When this former Met helped christen Citi Field by mowing down his ex-teammates in April, I thought it was just a phase. But dude leads the NL in saves with 22, and is 3-1 with a 1.34 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 33 innings of work. And here’s the best stat of all—Bell has saved or won 74% of his team’s wins. If he keeps that up, Bell will contend for the NL Cy Young and even garner some MVP votes.

First base
Leader: Mark Teixeira, New York Yankees
Mike’s pick: Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins. It’s kind of hard to argue with Teixeira’s numbers, short porch in right or not. He’s got 20 homers, 57 RBI, 20 doubles, and a .280 average (and in the field, zero errors). You can make a case for Carlos Pena (22 homers), but he’s batting .236. Morneau is batting .315, and has 16 homers (let’s say he’d have 20 if he played in Yankee Stadium), and more RBI than Teixeira (58). And he’s only made one error.

Second base
Leader: Ian Kinsler, Texas Rangers
Mike’s pick: Aaron Hill, Toronto Blue Jays. I love a good comeback story, and this is it. Hill doesn’t have as many homers as Kinsler (17 to Kinsler’s 18), but he is hitting for a higher average (.306 to .268) with more RBI (52 to 49). Sure, Kinsler has 16 steals to 2 for Hill, but I’m sticking with my comeback story.

Shortstop
Leader: Derek Jeter, New York Yankees
Mike’s pick: Jason Bartlett, Tampa Bay Rays. Jeter’s having a good season, but Bartlett is leading the American League in batting with a sick .363 average. Even after spending some time on the DL, Bartlett still has 7 homers, 35 RBI, 13 doubles, 3 triples and 15 steals…..pretty awesome numbers for a shortstop.

Third base
Leader: Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays
Mike’s pick: Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays. With a nod to Chone Figgins and his .325 average with 23 stolen bases, Longoria has delivered at a power position with 16 home runs, 62 RBI, 24 doubles and a .312 batting average.

Catcher:
Leader: Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins
Mike’s pick: Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins. Hey, these voters aren’t doing a bad job after all! This is an easy one, though. Mauer is batting almost .400 (.396) with 14 homers and 43 RBI, and a staggering .695 slugging percentage that leads the American League.

Outfield
Leaders: Jason Bay, Boston Red Sox
Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle Mariners
Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers
Mike’s picks: Jason Bay, Boston Red Sox—It’s hard to argue with 19 homers, 69 driven in (leads the AL) and a respectable .278 average, especially when Big Papi has struggled. Manny who?
Torii Hunter, Los Angeles Angels—He’s currently fourth in the voting, but he should be higher. 17 dingers, 56 RBI, and he’s batting .309 with 12 stolen bases.
Carl Crawford, Tampa Bay Rays—The Rays are running on everyone, and this guy leads them and the world with 38 stolen bases. He’s also batting .314 with 6 homers and 35 RBI.

Starting pitcher
As you all know, pitchers are chosen by the managers and announced shortly before the all-star break.
Mike’s pick: Zach Greinke, Kansas City Royals. The guy got off to a blistering start, when the Royals stunned everyone by spending more than a few days in first place. He’s cooled off, but Greinke is still 9-3 on a team that’s 31-41, he has a stellar 1.90 ERA, and he’s second in the AL with 111 strikeouts to just 18 walks in 109 innings.

Relief pitcher
Mike’s pick: Jonathan Papelbon, Boston Red Sox. Okay, so he’s not leading the league in saves (he has 17 and the Angels’ Brian Fuentes has 20). But Papelbon sports a 1.97 ERA and 33 K’s in 32 innings. And he just has that sick “you can’t hit me” demeanor.

Source: Baseball Reference