Tag: Florida Marlins (Page 5 of 8)

      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.

      Barstool Debates, Bullz-Eye Sports Channel, Fantasy Baseball, Happy Hour, MLB

      Hanley Ramirez to play through pain

      June 2, 2009 /

      According to a report by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez is playing hurt right now, but but doesn’t plan on missing any time.

      “I don’t want to sit on the bench,” said Ramirez, who went 3 for 5 and scored his 400th career run. “I want to be out there trying to help my team win. I talked to [manager Fredi Gonzalez] and told him let’s see how it is every day. I want to play and I’ll be out there tomorrow, too.”

      Give Ramirez credit for realizing he’s better at 70 or 80 percent than anyone the Marlins could replace him with at 100 percent. Whether to play hurt is always a tough call for an athlete. Ramirez may not be stealing any bases for a while, but he sees the standings and knows the Marlins can’t afford to drop much further below the .500 mark and stay in the National League East mix.

      This might not be a significant story to some, but don’t forget about a month ago that some within the Marlins organization were upset with Ramirez’s hustle (or lack thereof). Him playing through pain shows his dedication to his team and speaks volumes for his mental toughness.

      Fantasy spin: If Ramirez is playing hurt, it certainly hasn’t showed in his stats line. He went 3 for 5 on Monday, driving in a run and scoring twice. He has now had back-to-back three-hit games and has eight hits in his last three contests.

      Fantasy Baseball, MLB

      Giants interested in Marlins’ Dan Uggla

      May 26, 2009 /

      Apparently the near-Jake Peavy deal between the Padres and White Sox woke up other general managers in baseball, because trade rumors are starting to kick up around the league.

      One of the bigger rumors is that the Giants are interested in Marlins’ second baseman Dan Uggla. According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the offense-needy Giants would have to give up a young starter to swing a deal for Uggla, and both Matt Cain and Jonathan Sanchez’s names were brought up in the report.

      Even though San Fran has one of the worst offenses in baseball (they currently rank dead last in the NL in runs scored, on base percentage and slugging percentage), Giants’ GM Brian Sabean should be kicked repeatedly in the stones if he trades Cain for Uggla straight up.

      Cain is pitching in his fourth year already and he’s only 24. His career record of 35-44 suggests he’s light years away from becoming a productive pitcher, but his career ERA of 3.63 paints a better picture. He’s a pitcher that has been cursed with poor run support over his career, but that has changed this season and he’s now finally getting the attention he deserves while posting a 5-1 record and 2.40 ERA so far in ’09.

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      MLB, Rumors & Gossip

      Fan catches Chris Coghlan’s first home run. Fan receives arm, demands leg.

      May 17, 2009 /

      SPORTSbyBROOKS has a great piece up about Nick Yohanek and his adventures with the Florida Marlins’ Chris Coghlan. Apparently, there’s a great start-up business here: Selling home run balls back to the guys who hit them out. After Coghlan hit his first in the majors, he was approached by Yohanek (who had caught the ball) after the game. Upon giving the fan a signed game bat and photo-op, Coghlan was surprised to learn that that just wouldn’t be enough to get Yohanek to fork over his ball (the identity of the preceding pronoun is anybody’s guess). Let’s hear from Yohanek and Brooks now:

      Yohanek, not surprisingly, has a different view of things. We’re a little more suspicious of his version of the facts, mainly because he’s got far more reason to lie and even in his quotes, he comes off as an unholy prick:

      “I explained that ballhawking is my hobby and that what I was asking in return was fair,” Yohanek said Thursday, in an e-mail to the Associated Press. “I told him I make $50,000 a year working in law enforcement and that I didn’t feel like I was asking for too much. He responded, ‘Good for you.’ Real classy. Way to respect law enforcement. Way to respect a fan.”

      Yes, exactly. Clearly his tone was indicative of a disrespect for law enforcement and fans, and in no way affected by annoyance when a grown man makes demands for what should be a treasured keepsake. Real classy, Yohanek.

      I can’t help but agree with my esteemed colleague on this one. While it is true that modern athletes make an exorbitant amount of money, it’s simply a matter of capitalism: if someone’s willing to pay that amount, then make them pay it, right? Supply and demand and such…Wait a sec, I may have just agreed with Yohanek here.

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      Bullz-Eye Sports Channel, Fantasy Baseball, General Sports, Humor, MLB, Rumors & Gossip

      Marlins option Cameron Maybin Triple A

      May 11, 2009 /

      The Marlins optioned potential five-tool outfielder Cameron Maybin to Triple-A New Orleans.

      Maybin, the Opening Day center fielder, was out of the starting lineup for the third straight day on Sunday. He came in during the ninth inning as a pinch-runner and got caught in a rundown, punctuating a difficult start to the season. His .202 average is the primary reason he’s going to the Minors.

      “I’ve got some things I’ve got to go work on,” Maybin said, “and I’m going to try to get back as fast as possible.”

      Maybin has said he doesn’t feel any pressure to perform because of who the Marlins traded away to get him in a six-player deal in December 2007 — franchise cornerstones Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis.

      Instead, he noted another Tigers player, center fielder Curtis Granderson, who led the American League in strikeouts during his first full season in 2006.

      “Look at what he’s doing now,” Maybin said.

      Hopefully Maybin can build his confidence in the minors, because he has the potential to be the next Granderson (maybe even better) if he can work out the kinks. The Marlins have no need to rush him, although chances are he’ll be back up at some point this season.

      MLB

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