Tag: Carlos Beltran (Page 3 of 4)

      2010 MLB Preview: NL East

      March 25, 2010 /

      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.

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      MacPhail: MLB buyers and sellers

      July 21, 2009 /

      SI.com’s Andy MacPhail put together a small list of MLB teams that should either buy or sell as the trade deadline nears.

      Of the teams he discussed (which also include the Blue Jays, Mariners, Orioles and Brewers), MacPhail seems to be way off in his assessment of the Mets:

      Mets: SELL
      44-48, 9 games back in East, 6 1/2 games back in wild card.
      The Mets held on as long as they could without Jose Reyes and Carlos Delgado, but once Carlos Beltran joined them on the disabled list, their season was lost. Since all three will not be coming back anytime soon, it’s highly doubtful the Mets will be able to make a legitimate run at the postseason. There may not be much to sell on this team — the core is still very impressive — but dealing prospects or taking on salary with a team going nowhere has burned the Mets before, like in 2005 when they traded stud prospect Scott Kazmir to the Rays for the middling Victor Zambrano.

      Just what do the Mets have to sell with all of their tradable pieces being on the DL? They’re obviously not going to trade David Wright, Johan Santana or Francisco Rodriguez, so who would they be able to offer in a trade – Gary Sheffield? Come on.

      Unfortunately for the Mets, they’re stuck in a holding pattern right now. Reyes, Delgado, Beltran, John Maine, Billy Wagner and J.J. Putz are all currently on the DL with various alignments and with each passing day, they slip further and further out of contention. They’re just going to have to view this season as a wash and regroup for next year.

      One thing is for sure though – they’re not going to be “selling” anything in the next two weeks.

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      National League All-Star voting–who is leading and who should be

      July 4, 2009 /

      Last week we picked apart the American League all-star voting. Well, this week we will look at the National League, and after last night the starters have all been selected (aside from pitchers). You ready?

      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 Rockies      Ibanez 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.

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      Top 10 Active MLB Triples Leaders

      May 2, 2009 /

      To hit home runs and doubles usually requires power, but to hit triples requires a bit of power and a lot of speed. Or sometimes, luck, such as when an outfielder misjudges a ball and lets an otherwise slow runner reach third. But the leaders in MLB in this category are seasoned speedsters, and have mostly done it for several years. Here is the active Top 10 in triples, including only players on active rosters in 2009:

      1. Johnny Damon, New York Yankees (93)—At age 35 and having battled injuries throughout his career, Damon has lost a step or two. But between 1998 and 2002, this sparkplug reached double digits in triples three times.

      2. Jimmy Rollins, Philadelphia Phillies (90)—Rollins is the heart and soul of the Phillies, and is one of the reasons they won a title in 2008. He’s only 30, but has reached double figures in triples five times, including a career high 20 in 2007.

      3. Carl Crawford, Tampa Bay Rays (85)—Crawford is a game-changer, and in his still young career has averaged 15 triples and 53 stolen bases per season.

      4. Cristian Guzman, Washington Nationals (78)—Still a very good hitter, but Guzman isn’t the triples or stolen base threat he was in his earlier days with Minnesota. His career high, like Rollins, was also 20 triples, set in 2000 with the Twins.

      5. Jose Reyes, New York Mets (73)—Arguably one of the two or three fastest players in the game, Jose has averaged 16 triples and 65 steals over the last four seasons. So how in the world do the Mets not score more runs?

      6. Omar Vizquel, Texas Rangers (72)—This one is more about longevity, but Omar did have a career best 10 triples with the Giants in 2006, at the ripe old baseball age of 39.

      7. Juan Pierre, Los Angeles Dodgers (71)—Ol’ Juan has slowed down just a bit too, but he’s hit double digits in triples four times during his career, including three straight times from 2004-2006.

      8. Carlos Beltran, New York Mets (64)—Does anyone remember that Carlos Beltran played seven seasons in Kansas City? I mean, did he really?

      8. Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle Mariners (64)—Ichiro bats for average and steals more bases than he does hit extra base hits. But he’s averaged 8 triples per season during his American big league career.

      10. Derek Jeter, New York Yankees (57)—Jeter is just a true professional and great baseball player, but his career high in triples, 9, came ten seasons ago.

      Source: Baseball Reference

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      2009 MLB Preview: #3 New York Mets

      March 31, 2009 /

      Click Here to see Previews of all 30 MLB Teams

      Offseason Movement: In a major effort to try and bolster their bullet riddled bullpen, the Mets signed top free agent closer Francisco Rodriguez, who saved a record 62-games last season for the Angels. The Mets also acquired reliever J.J. Putz, outfielder Jeremy Reed and RHP Sean Green in a three team swap with the Mariners and Indians. The club signed free agent starter Freddy Garcia, but after he gave up 15 runs in just seven innings this spring, they reassigned him to minor league camp. Livan Hernandez – yet another free agent signing – fared much better and will be the Mets’ fifth starter when the season opens. Casey Fossum, Alex Cora, Darren O’Day, Rocky Cherry, Connor Robertson and Cory Sullivan round out the rest of New York’s offseason additions.

      Top Prospect: Wilmer Flores, SS
      Outfield prospect Fernando Martinez also deserves mention here, but Flores is already showing potential at just 17 years old. Flores is light years away from the big leagues, but he’s already drawing comparisons to Miguel Cabrera in terms of his potential at such a young age. The Mets will likely move Flores along slowly and let him develop his skills. There’s absolutely no need to rush him, but he’ll get his opportunity to shine in the next couple of years.

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