Is it me or is there a serious lack of depth at the hot corner going into 2009. With Miguel Cabrera no longer eligable nor Ryan Braun, to me it looks like less than a half dozen "studs", several with consistency issues, several with position/role issues, BA issues, injury issues, and MLB performance issues in general.
Anyone can draft ARod, Wright, Longoria, and AmRam without losing too much sleep. But what about Akins? Good (not great) numbers last year overall, but he only hit .265 against RH and hit .233 on the road but with more HR with less extra base hits (talk about your mixed messages). Not even average speed. Third consecutive year with declines on OBP, SLG and BA, too. Makes him a gamble candidate.
Now you are into the Chipper range. He produced last year, but you know he will miss time and how much time will that be.
Huff hit 30 HR for the first time since 2003. Can he do it again and what draft pick makes him a gamble or bargain? Which Cantu will show up this year?
Chris Davis is a hot property for a guy with less than 300 AB at the major league level and never played a game at AAA. Young, good power, right ballpark and 70% contact rate. Can you afford that kind of BA? I wonder if anyone will end up with him and Mark Reynolds on their team. Bleeech! A rich man's Pedro Feliz except that Feliz has a good contact rate and a poor BA!
Encarnacion may have played his way out of Cincy. Zimmerman, Glaus, Lowell, Rolen, and Chavez play from a hospital guerney. Will Gordon hit for average? Is Guillen showing his age? Is Dallas McPherson your sleeper?
We have these questions every year, I know. But there just does not appear to be a real "second tier" amoung third basemen(t). It seems to me you have a thin layer at the top, then you are right down in "CM" territory.
Mike Schmidt...paging Mike Schmidt?
-
Edwards Kings
- Posts: 5909
- Joined: Sun Mar 14, 2004 6:00 pm
- Location: Duluth, Georgia
Mike Schmidt...paging Mike Schmidt?
Baseball is a slow, boring, complex, cerebral game that doesn't lend itself to histrionics. You 'take in' a baseball game, something odd to say about a football or basketball game, with the clock running and the bodies flying.
Charles Krauthammer
Charles Krauthammer
Mike Schmidt...paging Mike Schmidt?
Where do you rank Youkilis?...Figgins?
[ November 14, 2008, 11:50 AM: Message edited by: DOUGHBOYS ]
[ November 14, 2008, 11:50 AM: Message edited by: DOUGHBOYS ]
On my tombstone-
Wait! I never had the perfect draft!
Wait! I never had the perfect draft!
-
Edwards Kings
- Posts: 5909
- Joined: Sun Mar 14, 2004 6:00 pm
- Location: Duluth, Georgia
Mike Schmidt...paging Mike Schmidt?
Originally posted by DOUGHBOYS:
Where do you rank Youkilis?...Figgins? At this stage I would put Youk probably after Ramirez.
Judy Figgins is a bit tougher as elite speed is always of value, but with no HR, no RBI to speak of, not hitting 500 AB over the last two seasons, and an iffy BA at best, I probably have would not have him in my top 10 third basemen, subject of course to change in the draft if I come out of the first few rounds with "feet of stone" big boppers.
The first three mocks had him late 6th, early 7th. That may be too early for me. Lawr Michaels in the Creative Sports mock picked him late in the third when he already had BJ Upton and Crawford. With all due respect, I would not pick him that early nor would I have done it when I already had so much speed. I can only guess he was drafting as if he was in a trading league.
[ November 14, 2008, 01:19 PM: Message edited by: Edwards Kings ]
Where do you rank Youkilis?...Figgins? At this stage I would put Youk probably after Ramirez.
Judy Figgins is a bit tougher as elite speed is always of value, but with no HR, no RBI to speak of, not hitting 500 AB over the last two seasons, and an iffy BA at best, I probably have would not have him in my top 10 third basemen, subject of course to change in the draft if I come out of the first few rounds with "feet of stone" big boppers.
The first three mocks had him late 6th, early 7th. That may be too early for me. Lawr Michaels in the Creative Sports mock picked him late in the third when he already had BJ Upton and Crawford. With all due respect, I would not pick him that early nor would I have done it when I already had so much speed. I can only guess he was drafting as if he was in a trading league.
[ November 14, 2008, 01:19 PM: Message edited by: Edwards Kings ]
Baseball is a slow, boring, complex, cerebral game that doesn't lend itself to histrionics. You 'take in' a baseball game, something odd to say about a football or basketball game, with the clock running and the bodies flying.
Charles Krauthammer
Charles Krauthammer