fat EMO kid baseball blog

The title says it all, Sergio Meat-tray is very frustrating to watch. This guy has great stuff, just doesn’t seem to have any idea where it’s going. Maybe he should talk to the opposing hitters, they seem to be figuring it out just fine. Oh, and these fans dressed up like umpires, again? It was funny for about 5 minutes. I’m just glad I didn’t pay $2500 for the seats behind them.

The Yankees need another starter – I am now officially the last person on earth to write about this. Names to keep in mind? Not much. Jon Garland, Doug Davis, Livan Hernandez? Who knows, suddenly the Yankees are payroll-conscious, so maybe we wont get to enjoy this year’s version of Cecil Fielder or Jose Canseco.

Another big Boston/New York series this weekend. If you need a cheap win for your fantasy team, I recommend you pick up John Smoltz, who I’m sure will have no trouble striking out about 12 Yanks, in a 13-4. Or so it seems to go this season.

I didn’t post at the trade deadline because, well, if you are reading my blog for your trade deadline news, then it might be time to turn off the PC. Anyway, still trying to make sense out of this Scott Rolen to the Reds trade. I have never liked Edwin Encarnacion, but getting him and two other young guys? You have to like this from the Blue Jays side, considering Rolen didn’t want to be there anyway. Encarnacion is a bum, but still, he might be somebody someday.

Finally, since I promised I would…

You may or may not have seen the news recently about the disasterous train wreck in Indiana. In case you missed it,
here is an image that describes the horror much better than words ever could.

Congratulations Artie Lange, I think the torch has been passed.

Tomorrow is the annual induction ceremony at Baseball’s Hall of Fame and it got me to thinking about who we’d see making speeches on this weekend ten years from now.  Aside from the obvious suspects, Albert Pujols, Derek Jeter, A-Rod (Steroid Argument Aside), this generation of stat-inflated players may produce a surprisingly small amount of hall-of-famers.  Being as objective as possible, I took a quick look at each AL team’s current roster for possible HOF candidates.   If I care enough (doubtful) I’ll do the NL Teams in an upcoming post. 

Baltimore – Baltimore has assembled a nice group of young hitters, Nick Markakis is putting up nice numbers, maybe a few batting championships would help his case but right now he’s a younger Paul O’Neill.  Adam Jones is a great young center fielder, but it’s just too early to tell.  The hype would have had you believe the Matt Wieters was a lock, but check back in five years.  Who’s In?  none.

Boston Red Sox:   A roster full of solid hitters, but none of Hall Of Fame cailber.  You could make an argument for Ortiz, but his peak was relatively short, and he has the disadvantage of being a full-time DH.  On the pitching side, John Smoltz should be a lock at this point with over 200 wins and over 150 career saves.  Josh Becket has had a nice career, and is still young, but will have to put together a really good next 10 years.  Who’s in?  Smoltz

Toronto Blue Jays:  Halladay seems like a potential hall of famer, but a look at the numbers shows he is 32 and hasn’t reached 150 wins yet.  He could easily reach 250 if he stays healthy, but as of now, he’s not in.  No one on the offensive side has a shot, unles Aaron Hill keeps putting up huge numbers at second base.  Who’s In?  None

Tampa Bay Rays:  A roster full of nice young talent and guys like Evan Longoria and David Price who could be great for a long time, but as of right now it’s too early to tell. Carl Crawford has put up some nice stats and is still only 27, but we’ll see what he looks like when the legs start to go.  Who’s In?  None

New York Yankees:  A few locks here, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, and A-Rod.  Some other still-young guys who have a chance at their current pace include Texeira and C.C. Sabathia, but neither has been the best in the league at their position for more than one season.  Jorge Posada is borderline, and still putting up solid stats at the catcher position.  He will end up with 250 HRs and over 1,000 RBIs and was a plus defender during his prime.  Missing most of last season hurt his cause, and he’s no longer a 6 game a week guy.   He will probably be on the ballot for a few years, but ultimately fall short.  Who’s In?  Jeter, Rivera, A-Rod.

Cleveland Indians – At one time I would have told you Kerry Wood was a lock, but injuries killed his chances.  Grady Sizemore should have a nice career, but not HOF-worthy.  Who’s In?  None

Chicago White Sox – Mark Buehrle has a nice Tom Glavine – like career, and should end up with 200 wins, along with having both a perfect game and no-hitter on his resume.  If Mike Mussina doesn’t make it, he shouldn’t, but at least deserves to be in the conversation.  500 Homers should be a lock, but Jim Thome has two early strikes – he played during the steroid era, and played lots of DH in his career.  He is still productive and could end up with 600 HRS, he’s at 558 today.  I say he’s in.  Who’s In?  Thome

Kansas City Royals – Not Worth Mentioning

Minnesota Twins – Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau both have a great chance.  Barring injury, Mauer should be a lock.  Morneau has to keep it up for 10 more years, but he is putting up Mattingly-like numbers (yes, I said it).  Who’s In?  Mauer

Detroit Tigers  – Magglio Ordonez has had a nice career, but doesn’t make the cut.  Justin Verlander has HOF-type stuff but will need another century of seasons like this one.  Miguel Cabrera is only 26 and already on the verge of 200 HRs.  He’s not been injury prone and his numbers have been scarily consistent.  The only question for him seems to be if he cares enough to play another 10 years.  Who’s In?  None. 

Oakland A’s – Lots of good young talent here, check back in 10 years.  Sorry Nomar, 10 years ago I would have called you a lock. 

Seattle Mariners – Regardless of long Griffey feels he needs to stick around, he’s a lock.  At his current pace it doesn’t look like he’ll get to 650 HRs (621 currently) but he’s only 1 RBI away from 1800.  It’s all gravy now.  Ichiro is an interesting case, being that his career will be relatively short, but you can’t ignore the .332 career average, and 300 career steals.  Last year he showed signs of slowing down – just ask my fantasy team – but he’s back on track this year. I say he’s in.  Who’s In?  Ichiro, Griffey

Texas Rangers – Omar Vizquel has an outside shot in an Ozzie Smith kind of way, but I’m going to say no.  Had the Rangers had betters teams in recent years, we might think more highly of Michael Young and Ian Kinsler who put up nice numbers at middle infield spots.  Who’s In?  None

LA Angels – Vlad Guerrero has deterorated, but is already close to 400 HRS, and is only 34.  It doesn’t appear he will ever be “Vlad” again, otherwise he’d be up for discussion.  Torii Hunter has made some great catches over the years and will end up with close to 300 HR’s…but just not going to make it. Who’s In?  None

Nice, short, week in Fantasy Land.  The acquisitions of Soriano and Lackey (and Aaron Cook) proved to be huge.  I am up 9-1 as I write this, thanks to Bobby Abreu’s HR in the tenth after 9 shutout innings from Lackey.  Looking forward to trying to upgrade the catcher position, and move one of my extra hitters for someone I can use more frequently. 

Random Thoughts:

• Finally get wins from Hamels and Halladay in the same week.
• I Wish I could have kept Dallas Braden, somone got a gift from me
• If Carlos Pena could hit his body weight, he’d be a very good fantasy player
• Leo Nunez looks pretty solid, he could be the Marlins closer for a while
• If Ian Stewart gets his average up to .250, I’ll write a thank you note to the Colorado coaches for letting him play enough games at 2B to be eligible.

In other news, the Yankees swept the Tigers, who have nice pitching, but little else.  I expect that whoever wins the AL Central will be making a quick exit from the playoffs.  The Yankees got great pitching all weekend, the best news being the solid start from Joba today, and more dominance from Phil Hughes, who, as long as he can throw his fastball 90% of the time, can’t be touched.  Translation:  KEEP HIM IN THE PEN. 

The best news of all was Boston losing two in a row to Toronto, letting the Yanks get to within one game of first place.  Toronto seems like they want to win enough games to make it tough to trade Halladay.  

Speaking of Halladay, I saw that Phillies scouts were at his start today against Boston, making it even more likely that the Phils are the front-runner in the trade sweepstakes right now….only 12 days til the trading deadline, it’s like counting down to Christmas.

Thoughts on last night’s game

• Rain at a Yankee game….again….
• Looks like we have to live with Texeira’s streakiness
• A-Rod is back in midseason form
• Phil Hughes is as good as anyone right now…6 K’s…and really 7 as he threw a perfect pitch to Brian Anderson that was called a ball
• You never know what to expect from Burnett
• Unless they are playing Boston or Anaheim, you really get the feeling this team can come back in any game
• Hey did anyone else notice that the Yanks actually beat a starter they had never seen before?
• The Tigers have a decent team, but this is the class of the AL Central?  There is a major gap between the AL East and the other divisions.

So they are saying it will take at least two “A” level prospects…and probably an agreement to take on Vernon Wells ridiculous salary..to land Roy Halladay.  Right off the bat that eliminates most teams, leaving the usual suspects like Boston and NY, the Phillies, possibly the Cubs and Angels, and probably a few darkhorses that no one has mentioned yet.  So, if you were a GM (and obviously we all think we could be GMs – “I thought of a way to get Griffey and Bonds in the same outfield, and we wouldn’t have to give up that much) would you make a move to try and get Roy on your team?

I would, and since you asked, now I will tell you why.  How many of these “can’t miss” prospects really turn out to be any better than the guys they could be traded for?  Remember when the Yankees wouldn’t part with any of their young trio of pitchers (Joba, Ian Kennedy, and Phil Hughes) in a deal to land Johan Santana a few years back?  Johan is exactly the kind of proven ace the Yanks needed, and ended up shelling out $200 million for a year later.  Meanwhile, of the prospects deemed too good to give up, only Phil Hughes is currently contributing for the Yankees, and even that has only come after being moved to a setup role.  Joba has been oridinary as a starter, and Ian Kennedy may never see the light of NY again.   Quick, name the propsects the Yankees gave up for Chuck Knoblauch (Eric Milton – but come on, seriously)?  How about Denny Neagle?  Even Bobby Abreu?  Got Nothing?  All those guys were contributers during the real Yankees run, and the guys they traded haven’t amounted to a whole lot.  This isn’t just a NY thing, there are stories like this all over the league. 

The bottom line is why keep guys who might be good…someday….instead of getting a guy who is already great…and has at least 4-5 years ahead of him.  Even if one of those two “A” level prospects turns out to be a star, what are the odds that he’s be any better than Halladay is now? 

If the Blue Jays are dumb enough to trade him within the AL East, the Yankees better do whatever it takes to get him.  Joba?  TAKE HIM.  Hughes?  eh, we’d rather not, but go ahead.  Melky?  Sure.  And you’ll give us a halfway decent CF back?  OK.  Come on Brian Cashman, don’t let this turn into Johan Santana part duex.   You’d better make this happen, because I know about 50,000 people who can do your job better than you.