Tag: Anthony Stalter (Page 7 of 133)

The 2011 MLB All-Prospect Team

June 28, 2011 / Anthony Stalter

The Objective: Compile a MLB roster complete with only the top minor league prospects.

The Rules: As long as they were viewed as a prospect coming into the 2011 season, they can be on this team. Thus, just because guys like Jeremy Hellickson and Eric Hosmer are already contributing at the Major League level, doesn’t mean they can’t be included on this team.

That’s it.

Let’s get nasty, Ricky.

C: Jesus Montero, Yankees
There’s no doubt that Montero is the future at catcher for the Yankees, but he may have some maturity issues to iron out first. He was benched twice earlier this month for showing a lack of energy and apparently loses focus at times. But that doesn’t mean the 21-year-old isn’t a great prospect, which he is. As soon as he shows he has the mental makeup to handle catching a big league staff, he’ll be up. In fact, I have a hard time believing the Bombers won’t recall him at some point in 2011.
Honorable Mention: Gary Sanchez, Yankees; Devin Mesoraco, Reds.

1B: Eric Hosmer, Royals
Hosmer has been slumping recently but he’s still hitting .268 with five home runs and 26 RBI this year for the Royals. Those aren’t terrible stats for a 21-year-old trying to make adjustments to big league pitching. Considered the top first base prospect in baseball, it’ll be interesting to see how he fares throughout a grueling second half.
Honorable Mention: Brandon Belt, Giants; Freddie Freeman, Braves.

2B: Dustin Ackley, Mariners
The M’s called Ackley up in mid-June and already the youngster is hitting over .300. In a recent win over the Marlins, Ackley went 3-for-5 with a double and a triple while scoring the go-ahead run in the 10th on a wild pitch. Once pitchers adjust, his batting average will likely drop but Seattle has to be thrilled so far with his production.
Honorable Mention: Jason Kipnis, Indians.

3B: Mike Moustakas, Royals
Yet another one of the Royals’ young hitters makes this mock roster. Moustakas hit his first big-league homer in just his second game with the Royals earlier this month and has now reached base in seven of his last eight games. Outside of the one home run, his power hasn’t translated to the big leagues so far, but it’s still early. He has a short, compact swing and despite having an aggressive approach, he doesn’t strikeout a lot. He could be a star in Kansas City for years to come.
Honorable Mention: Brett Lawrie, Blue Jays; Lonnie Chisenhall, Indians; Nick Castellanos, Tigers.

External Sports, MLB

Anthony Stalter best mlb prospects Bryce Harper david ackley eric hosmer Jeremy Hellickson Jesus Montero Mike Moustakas mike trout top mlb prospects

Is it time for the Titans to pony up and pay Chris Johnson?

June 24, 2011 / Anthony Stalter

Contract holdouts used to irritate me in professional sports. An athlete and a team come together on a deal with the intentions of honoring said commitment. Then the athlete feels underpaid and holds his team hostage until he gets what he wants. Considering teams can’t ask for their money back when an athlete gives a Barry Zito-type performance year after year, the whole notion of a holdout didn’t sit right with me.

But that was a rather juvenile way of looking at the situation. In the NFL, teams can’t ask for money back but they can cut a player without honoring their commitment, so why shouldn’t athletes bargain for more money when they’ve outperformed their contract? At the end of the day, whether you’re a professional athlete or working out of a cubicle, you use the leverage you have to get as much as you can (within reason, of course) before that team or company decides it’s done with you.

Over the past week, there have been multiple reports that Chris Johnson will not report to training camp without a lucrative new contract. Set to earn just $800,000 this year despite being the NFL’s best back, it’s hard to blame Johnson for forcing the Titans into a corner. He still has two years left on his current deal, but it’s a deal in which he has outperformed.

There are a couple of reasons why the Titans shouldn’t give into Johnson’s demands (assuming he does holdout, that is), starting with the position he plays. Running backs just aren’t as valuable as they were 8-10 years ago. It’s a passing league now and if teams concentrate their efforts into building a decent O-line, they don’t have to break the bank for a top back. And considering the NFL is now a two-back league, committing a bunch of money to that position seems rather unproductive.

External Sports, NFL

Anthony Stalter Chris Johnson Chris Johnson contract Chris Johnson holdout Tennessee Titans

Twins broadcaster Gladden blames Buster Posey for injury

June 22, 2011 / Anthony Stalter

Do you know that guy that purposely tries to stand out in a debate by stating how he would have done something differently? Mr. Hindsight I like to call him. He’s this guy: “Well, I don’t know why he did it that way – that’s not the way I would have done it. I would have done it correctly…pure, 100% correct is how I would have done it.”

Well meet Twins’ broadcaster Dan Gladden…that guy.

Gladden played for the Giants in the mid-80s before winning a pair of World Series rings with the Twins. With the Twinkies in San Francisco facing the Giants for a three-game series, Gladden went on KNBR 680 radio on Tuesday and flat out blamed catcher Buster Posey for the way he was injured during a collision at the plate with Marlins’ outfielder Scott Cousins.

From CSN BayArea.com:

“Don’t, don’t don’t change any of the rules,” Gladden said when asked about Posey’s collision with Marlins outfielder Scott Cousins. “We’ve been playing this brand of baseball for long time.
“What people don’t talk about — I haven’t heard one person — talk about the bad position that Posey was in when he tried to put that tag down. You don’t put your leg in a position like that to try to block the plate. It was Posey’s fault for getting in a position where he did where he laid that left leg down like that and went about just trying to just kind of block the plate. When I came around third base I looked for contact on every play with the catcher. And I’d keep an eye on his eyes. His eyes would tell me where the ball is. I had run-ins with (Mike) Scioscia, I had run-ins with Dave Valle, all the catchers.”

Can you see me? You can’t see me. I’m rolling my eyes. I’m rolling my eyes at these ridiculous comments.

I wasn’t inside the radio studio when Gladden was on-air but I can picture him sitting there with a puffed-out chest talking about his days as a player. He apparently wanted to remind everyone what a tough-nosed athlete he was back in the day but in doing so, he didn’t bother to get his facts right while describing Posey’s injury.

Posey wasn’t blocking the plate, period – end of story. You can make the argument that he was moving in that direction to seal off Scott Cousins’ lane, but if you actually watched the play then you cannot definitively say that Posey was blocking the plate. So for Gladden to say, “You don’t put your leg in a position like that to try to block the plate,” is ridiculous and it shows how little the broadcaster was paying attention when ESPN showed the replays 72,000 times following the injury.

I love how Gladden says that he hasn’t “heard one person” talk about Posey being in bad position. Is he serious? Has he heard of the internet? Somebody get my man a computer and show him how to Google, because there have been plenty of people who have blamed Posey for the incident – and just like Gladden, they obviously didn’t watch the play. It’s a shame everyone just can’t admit that it was an unfortunate, legal play and move on. Instead, we’re subject to foolish claims by guys like Gladden, who apparently think that just because they played the position they can make up things that didn’t happen in order to talk about themselves.

External Sports, MLB

Anthony Stalter Buster Posey dan gladden dan gladden buster posey twins broadcaster

The top 5 Heisman candidates for the 2011 college football season

June 20, 2011 / Anthony Stalter

The 2011 college football season is still a couple of months away but seeing as how we’ve reached the dead days of the sports calendar, I figured it would be okay if we took a look at this year’s Heisman candidates. Below are five players I believe have the best shot at claiming this year’s Heisman hardware.

1. Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford
What to Like: Barring injury or a Jake Locker-type senior campaign, Luck could run away with this year’s Heisman. He was runner-up for the award in 2010 and was named the Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year. Most pundits believe he’ll be the top signal caller in college football this year and he’s the main reason why Stanford will be rated high in the preseason polls.
What Not to Like: He lost his top two receivers (Doug Baldwin and Ryan Whalen), his head coach (Jim Harbaugh), and his offensive line (which allowed only five sacks last season) is undergoing a reloading phase. Can Luck overcome all that change in one offseason?

2. Landry Jones, QB, Oklahoma
What to Like: Jones led the nation in completions last season and put up monstrous numbers in Oklahoma’s pass-happy offense. He completed 65% of his passes while racking up 4,700-plus yards and 38 touchdowns. With WR Ryan Broyles and nearly all five starters on his offensive line returning, Jones shouldn’t miss a beat.
What Not to Like: Losing all-purpose back DeMarco Murray hurts, but the biggest worry with Jones is whether or not he can handle the expectations of Oklahoma being the top-ranked team at the start of the season. All eyes will be on the Sooners every week and just one slip up could cost OU a national title berth and Jones a shot at the Heisman.

3. Marcus Lattimore, RB, South Carolina
What to Like: After rushing for 1,197 yards and 17 touchdowns as a freshman, South Carolina fans can’t wait to see what Lattimore will do for an encore. His performance last year placed him among the nine SEC players who have rushed for at least 1,000 yards as a freshman, which is a list that also includes Georgia’s Herschel Walker and Florida’s Emmitt Smith. With Lattimore set to again be the workhorse in Steve Spurrier’s offense, you can expect big things out of this sophomore in 2011.
What Not to Like: Quarterback Stephen Garcia is one jaywalking charge away from being kicked off the team for good. If Garcia flubs up again or can’t beat out sophomore Connor Shaw for the starting job this summer, then Lattimore might have too much pressure on his shoulders this season. If SC becomes too one-dimensional, Lattimore’s production will likely suffer.

College Football, External Sports

Andrew Luck Anthony Stalter Denard Robinson Heisman Trophy candidates LaMichael James Landry Jones Marcus Lattimore

Chris Johnson to holdout once lockout lifts?

June 19, 2011 / Anthony Stalter

Jim Wyatt of the Nashville Tennessean does not expect Titans running back Chris Johnson to report to training camp without a new contract once the lockout is lifted.

Last year Johnson received what amounted to a $1.5 million raise. The Titans moved money he’d earned in escalators from 2012 to 2010, and added some incentives. When he finally reported for training camp, Johnson – who had $30 million guaranteed in mind — said it wouldn’t happen again. And I believe him.
Indications are Johnson’s not going to budge this time. I’ve heard it from too many sources to think otherwise. And after three straight Pro Bowl seasons and the most yardage of any back in the NFL during that time, it’s not hard to understand why.
Right now, the Titans can’t do anything about his deal. When the lockout is lifted, it’s going to be interesting to see if the Titans will budge this time around, because I don’t get the sense Johnson will.

If Wyatt’s projections turn out to be correct, then the Titans might as well break out a huge pros vs. cons list and make a decision about this situation once and for all. Because they can’t keep doing this dance with Johnson every offseason.

If there were one player to break the bank on, Johnson would be it. He’s far and away the Titans best player and the team will need him when they usher in the Jake Locker era either this season or next. Thirty million is a lot but it’s not like Johnson is in the twilight of his career. He’s 25 and barring injury, he has plenty of productive seasons ahead of him.

On the flip side, no team wants to set a precedent for allowing players to holdout in order to receive a new contract – even if it’s their best player. Plus, what happens the next time Johnson thinks he has outperformed his deal? Will he force the Titans’ hand again? If the team gives in now, what’s stopping Johnson from holding out again down the road if he wants even more? Besides, Johnson still has two years left on his current deal and he just received a $1.5 million raise last season. The Titans aren’t financially obligated to give him anything more than what he previously signed for.

Again, the Titans will eventually have to choose the lesser of two evils and make a decision once and for all. Either give into Johnson, forego the huge distraction that a holdout would cause and reap the benefits of having a happy CJ on the field, or stand firm, don’t award players for holding out and risk not having their best performer on the field come September. No matter how you slice it, Johnson is putting the Titans in a tough spot and I’m glad I’m not the one who has to make any decisions on this issue. But Tennessee will have to settle on something at some point.

As Wyatt points out in his report, this situation could get messy when training camp begins.

External Sports, NFL

Anthony Stalter Chris Johnson Chris Johnson contract Chris Johnson holdout Chris Johnson rumors Tennessee Titans

Tag: Anthony Stalter (Page 7 of 133)

The 2011 MLB All-Prospect Team

Is it time for the Titans to pony up and pay Chris Johnson?

Twins broadcaster Gladden blames Buster Posey for injury

The top 5 Heisman candidates for the 2011 college football season

Chris Johnson to holdout once lockout lifts?

FOLLOW US!

CATEGORIES

Pages