Tagged: Volquez

Please remove the Comments from MLB.com team pages!

Names have been removed to protect the ignorant.

I hate “Comments” on web stories and blogs.  I say that as somebody who enjoys commenting on web stories and blogs.  Comments are a way for the little guy (often literally a 12-year-old with too much free time) to see his own words in permanent ‘ink’ on a legitimate multi-national web site.
You have several different types of posters.  Below are actual posts taken from MLB.com, faithfully copied-and-pasted in unaltered Arial font.
The Grammasite:
Grammasites are parasites that suck the punctuation, capitalization, and tenses out of a sentence to render it completely devoid of meaning.  
Example:  “Berkman wont do anything the marlins are going to wreak the astros its going to be a blow out”
Grammasite commentors possibly provide the least value to a Comment Board.  They are hard to understand, there is no statistical argument, they are not even entertaining in a vaguely crude way.
The Rambler:
Ramblers begin their comment on topic and rapidly diverge off on a wild tangent that has nothing to do with anything in the article, or anything that anybody else has previously posted about.
Example:  “Well, now I guess we know where [Volquez’] 21-8 record came from. The temptation to cheat for someone starting out must be immense. It is the difference between washing cars in your uncle’s car wash or getting paid millions a year. The players who got huge contracts based on their Roid usage should give back the money if they are truly sorry. Jason Giambi is the best case of this. He defrauded the Yankees and then said sorry but never made amends. I have no respect for him as a man or as an athlete. He is a liar and a thief. He also stole from the pitchers he belted all those Roid-Runs off … He should also give back the MVP trophy.”
Somehow in this example, the Rambler has turned Volquez’ 50-game PED suspension into what he/she believes is a valid argument for Giambi to give back his MVP trophy.  Somewhere, sadly, this makes sense to somebody.
The Flamer:
The Flamer lives for taking people down a few pegs, deserved or not.  His mission in life is to make up for his own dorkitude by showing everybody how cool he is in the classic schoolyard playground method:  slinging mud.
Example:  “You’re an idiot, Marinersfan. That’s all I’ve got.”
This commenter may be entirely correct.  That doesn’t make him any less stupid for wasting time out of his day to make this post.  Would it have killed him to ignore?  If you are a Flamer, then yes, it likely would.
The Repeater:
The Repeater thinks that what he has to say is so stinking funny/insightful that he has to post it multiple times.  Sometimes the Repeater submits twice because he just plain fails at the internet, but oftentimes this is the obnoxious kid that says things over and over until somebody acknowledges his existence with either a half-hearted chuckle or a punch in the face.
Example: “I hope in the coming years he does not Choo. LOL (4/20/2010 4:11:15 PM)
I hope in the coming years he does not Choo. LOL (4/20/2010 4:10:39 PM)
I hope in the coming years he does not Choo. LOL (4/20/2010 4:10:10 PM)
I hope in the coming years he does not Choo. LOL (4/20/2010 4:08:56 PM)
I hope in the coming years he does not Choo. LOL (4/20/2010 4:05:17 PM)
I hope in the coming years he does not Choo. LOL (4/20/2010 4:04:04 PM)
I hope in the coming years he does not Choo. LOL (4/20/2010 4:03:20 PM)”
There is no cure for being a Repeater, other than to be repeatedly punched in the face.
The Know-it-All:
The know it all uses what he perceives to be his superior grasp of strategy, knowledge, linguistic skills, and relativistic quantum theory to enlighten the masses of people who are craving for him to explain Life, the Universe, and Everything, so that it all becomes clear in one blinding flash of insight encapsulated in a lengthy message board comment on a public web site.
Example:  “CH Park was exempted when S. Korea Won in Bangkok 12 yrs ago and I am sure Dodgers fans loved it when that happened. In Asian game, there will be about 8 teams participate in Baseball BUT Only 3 teams has realistic shot of winning the gold.. Japan, Korea, Taiwan.. However even Korea don’t win the gold, I have feeling that Choo will get exempted for service and do other things to replace that service.. It is not common for healthy Koreans to get these previllage treatment BUT gov’t don’t want to get in to heated argument with citizens as well.. Usually Koreans treat this issue very harshly and there is no way out HOWEVER Choo situation is different, He already won 2nd place in WBC (1st WBC, all players got exempted with advance to Semi).. and latest poll suggested overwhelming people support Choo’s exemption which is very uncommon things.. Some said they will replace him and go to Military one more and Some said he can get US Citizen and noone should blame for that…”
About two sentences in, most readers have already moved on.  The Know-It-All is sadly unaware that nobody reads his crap, and those who do are Flamers looking for an easy target, or quadriplegics with their eyeballs taped open in front of their screen in some cruel psychology experiment measuring the effect of obnoxious people on captive audiences.
The Harbinger:
The Harbinger (of Doom) is the commentor who wants everybody to know exactly how bleak the situation is for their own team.  There is no hope in this person’s life, everything is a dull, dark, throbbing ache of despair.  They relieve pressure on this well of glumness like a fart in a crowded elevator.
Example:  “The Indians can’t win; either they sign choo and he becomes another Hafner contract that they can’t afford or get rid of, or they don’t sign him and he goes on to rake elsewhere (thome, manny, belle, etc.)”
The Harbinger usually forgets his own predictions when things do not turn out quite as dismally as feared.
The Comedian:
The comedian really isn’t funny.  Who ever really i
s, when the end-all-be-all of their existence is to comment on a story by the associated press and think anybody cares?  They do try their hardest though.
Example:  “I would trade [Dave Trembley] for vagisil, toothpicks, a rib eye steak, and a pair od BG’s moms fat pants.“
For the record, nobody responded to this particular example, nor should they.  Besides, if you got a Rib Eye for Trembley, you’re getting a bargain.  Can’t beat a good steak.  And BG’s mom isn’t that fat.
The Statwhore:
The Statwhore is a god of baseball.  A titan among lesser men.  He will blind (or confuse) you with stats the HE AND NOBODY ELSE knows (except for Baseball Reference, MLB.com, Baseball Prospectus, Wikipedia, etc.). 
Example:  “Remember Izturis’s Contract, i don’t believe he is going anywhere. I hope i am wrong. I agree with belanger7, and u too Talent. It would be a shame to see Andino go:(4/2/2010 5:34:39 PM – Andino, .969 career fielding%, career 213 hitter, .264OBP. Yup! Glad he’s still around! In AAA he’s hitting 268 with no walks. Izzy, .980 Career fielding%, career 259 hitter, 298OBP 14HR & 262RBI-Yup! Andino can’t hit as well in AAA or field as well in AAA but let’s get rid of the better player & keep the worse player. Didn’t u say in one of ur posts just the opposite, play the best players?”
What, oh what, I cry to the heavens, will I have done had I lived my life without knowledge of Andino’s career fielding percentage?  Thankfully, Statwhores sometimes spontaneously combust from their own perceived awesomeness.  Statwhores are usually also Know-It-Alls, but the reverse is not always true.
—–
Indignant commentors may ask me (or comment) what right a blogger (using the term very loosely in my case as I suck at it and rarely post) has to criticize them.  The answer is, “Absolutely none!” but luckily, I don’t care what you think, because now my blog has given you something new to comment on and thus fulfill your useless life with an outlet for what you crave:  attention.

The 2009 Yankees at Half-Price!

The Yankees’ spending has been subject of ire for baseball fans nationwide, particularly this offseason as the global economy has declined.  Companies all over the world are trimming payrolls, laying off skilled employees, restructuring, and instituting payroll and hiring freezes.  Meanwhile, the Yankees , who already boasted an MLB-high 2008 payroll of $209,081,577 (thanks to Cot’s Baseball Contracts for the figures in this article), awarded Alex Rodriguez $275 million over 10 years in 2008 and in 2009 awarded CC Sabathia $161 million over 7 years, Mark Teixeira $180 million over 8 years, and A.J. Burnett $82.5 million over 5 years.   Those last 3 players rank as the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th highest-paid players on the Yankees payroll, and they were signed while a severe economic depression was in full-swing.  Scandalous!

Armed with that eyebrow-raising information, I have built a team of Anti-Yankees – that is to say a team that I feel can score the same number of runs as the 2009 New York Yankees, but for less than half the yearly price.

Here are the rules I played by:

1.       Salary figures are 2009 figures, where available.

2.       Lineup and Rotation/Bullpen spots will line up as closely as possible between existing Yankee and proposed Anti-Yankee.

3.       Players selected for Anti-Yankees club must have been available, either through trade or free-agency, at some point during their career.  Therefore, players under control of the team they were drafted by (such as Tim Lincecum), and players that have never hit free agency (such as Lance Berkman) are ineligible

4.       Total 2009 payroll must be less than half the Yankees’ 2009 Payroll

5.       Team stats must line up as closely as possible.

6.       If a player (Yankee or otherwise) missed significant time in 2008, his stats from his most recent complete season were used.

7.       Average age off the team  must be EQUAL

8.       Stats for Anti-Yankee team will be adjusted proportionally to match the number of At-Bats achieved by Yankee Lineup counterpart.

The 2009 Yankees (my projected batting order and rotation)

Average Age = 31

Batting Lineup:

1.       LF Johnny Damon ($13,000,000.00)

2.       SS Derek Jeter ($20,000,000.00)

3.       1B Mark Teixeira ($20,000,000.00)

4.       3B Alex Rodriguez ($32,000,000.00)

5.       DH Hideki Matsui ($13,000,000.00)

6.       RF Xavier Nady ($6,550,000.00)

7.       C Jorge Posada ($13,100,000.00)

8.       CF Nick Swisher ($5,300,000.00)*

9.       2B Robinson Cano ($6,000,000.00)

Pitching Rotation:

1.       CC Sabathia ($14,000,000.00)

2.       A.J. Burnett ($16,500,000.00)

3.       Chien-Ming Wang ($5,000,000.00)

4.       Andy Pettitte ($5,500,000.00)

5.       Joba Chamberlain ($390,000.00)

Bullpen:

1.       Closer Mariano Rivera ($15,000,000.00)

2.       Set-Up Damaso Marte ($3,750,000.00)

TOTAL 2009 SALARY OF SELECTED PLAYERS = $189,090,000.00

*Yes , I am aware the Yankees have not settled on an every-day CF, but it would be a mistake to not give every-day at-bats to Swisher.  He gets on base, he hits for power, and is relatively young.  At worst he needs the at-bats to showcase his talent for a midseason trade.

 

THE ANTI-YANKEES

Lineup Spot #1:  Leadoff

Yankee:
LF Johnny Damon, Age 35. ($13,000,000.00)
2008
Stats (AB: 555) (R: 95) (H:168) (HR: 17) (RBI: 71) (SB: 29) (OBP: 0.375) (SLG: 0.461) (AVG: 0.303)

Anti -Yankee:
CF Shane Victorino, Age 28. ($3,125,000.00)
2008 Stats Adjusted for 555 AB:
Stats (AB: 555) (R: 99) (H:163) (HR: 14) (RBI: 56) (SB: 35) (OBP: 0.352) (SLG: 0.447) (AVG: 0.293)

Lineup Spot #2

Yankee:
SS Derek Jeter, Age 34. ($20,000,000.00)
2008
Stats (AB: 596) (R:88) (H: 179)(HR: 11) (RBI: 69) (SB: 11) (OBP: 0.363) (SLG: 0.408) (AVG: 0.300)

Anti-Yankee:
RF Randy Wynn, Age 34. ($8,875,000.00)
2008 Stats Adjusted for 596 AB:
Stats: (AB; 596) (R: 84) (H: 182) (HR: 10) (RBI: 64) (SB: 25) (OBP: 0.363) (SLG: 0.426) (AVG: 0.306)
**Note:  How many die-hard Yankee fans will scream upon learning that offensively, Derek Jeter was worse in 2008 than Randy Wynn?  Ouch!

Lineup Spot #3

Yankee:
1B Mark Teixeira, Age 28 ($20,000,000.00)
2008
Stats: (AB: 574) (R: 102) (H: 177) (HR: 33) (SB: 2) (OBP: 0.410) (SLG: 0.552) (AVG: 0.308)

Anti-Yankee:
LF Josh Hamilton, Age 27. ($396,830.00)**
2008 Stats Adjusted for 574 AB:
Stats: (AB: 574) (R:90) (H: 175) (HR: 29) (SB: 8) (OBP: 0.371) (SLG: 0.530) (AVG: 0.304)
**Hamilton is due for a hefty pay raise, but nothing approaching Teix’ $20M, and he’s only 1 year younger.

Lineup Spot #4: Cleanup

Yankee:
3B Alex Rodriguez, Age 33. ($32,000,000.00)
2008
Stats: (AB : 510) (R: 104) (H: 154) (HR: 35) (RBI: 103) (SB: 18) (OBP: 0.392) (SLG: 0.573) (AVG: 0.302)

Anti-Yankee:
DH Ryan Ludwick, Age 30. ($4,250,000.00 – Player Arbitration Figure)**
2008 Stats adjusted for 510 AB:
Stats: (AB: 510) (R: 99) (H: 153) (HR: 35) (RBI: 107) (SB: 4) (OBP: 0.375) (SLG: 0.591) (AVG: 0.299)
**Holy guacamole!  Averaged out, Ryan Ludwick had as good a 2008 as A-Rod, for $25M less cost!

Lineup Spot #5:

Yankee:
DH Hideki Matsui, Age 33. ($13,000,000.00)
2007**
Stats: (AB: 547) (R: 100) (H: 156) (HR: 25) (RBI: 103) (SB: 4) (OBP: 0.367) (SLG: 0.488) (AV: 0.285)
**Matsui spent most of 2008 injured

Anti-Yankee:
1B Aubrey Huff, Age 34. ($8,000,000.00)
2008 Stats adjusted to 510 AB.
Stats: (AB: 510) (R: 82) (H: 155) (HR: 27) (RBI: 92) (SB: 3) (OBP: 0.360) (SLG: 0.552) (AVG: 0.304)

Lineup Spot #6:

Yankee:
RF Xavier Nady, Age 30 ($6,550,000.00)
2008
Stats: (AB:555) (R: 76) (H: 169) (HR: 25) (RBI: 97) (SB: 2) (OBP: 0.357) (SLG: 0.510) (AVG: 0.305)

Anti-Yankee:
3B Troy Glaus, Age 32 ($9,000,000.00)
2008 Stats adjusted for 555 AB.
Stats (AB: 555) (R: 70) (H: 150) (HR: 28) (RBI: 101) (SB: 0) (OBP: 0.372) (SLG: (0.483) (AVG: 0.270)

Lineup Spot #7:

Yankee:
C Jorge Posada, Age 37. ($13,100,000.00)
2006**
Stats (AB: 465) (R: 65) (H: 129) (HR: 23) (RBI: 93) (SB: 3) (OBP: 0.374) (SLG: 0.492) (AVG: 0.277)
**Posada was injured during 2008, and 2007 stats are hugely out of line with career averages.

Anti-Yankee:
2B Alexei Ramirez, Age 27 ($1,100,000.00)**
2008 Stats adjusted to 465 AB.
Stats (AB: 465) (R: 69) (H: 147) (HR: 22) (RBI: 81) (SB: 14) (OBP: 0.317) (SLG: 0.475) (AVG: 0.290)
**There is a slight drop-off in production here, but the increase in base-running and AVG make up for shortcomings in OBP

Lineup Spot #8:

Yankee:
CF Nick Swisher, Age 28. ($5,300,000.00)
2007 Stats**
Stats (AB: 539) (R: 84) (H: 141) (HR:22) (RBI: 78) (SB: 3) (OBP:  0.381) (SLG: 0.455) (AVG 0.262)
**In 2008, Swisher was often used out of position and in a lineup spot he did not seem entirely comfortable in.  2007 stats are more in line with his career averages.

Anti-Yankee:
SS Carlos Guillen, Age 33 ($10,000,000.00)
2007 Stats adjusted for 539 AB
Stats: (AB: 539) (R: 82) (HR: 20) (RBI: 97) (SB: 12) (OBP: 0.322) (SLG: 0.445) (AVG: 0.292)

Lineup Spot #9

Yankee
2B Robinson Cano, Age 26. ($6,000,000.00)
2008
Stats: (AB: 597) (R: 70) (H: 162) (HR: 14) (RBI: 72) (SB: 2) (OBP: 0.305) (SLG: 0.410) (AVG: 0.271)

Anti- Yankee
C Bengie Molina, Age 34 ($6,000,000.00)
2008 Stats adjusted for 597 AB
Stats: (AB: 597) (R: 52) (H: 175) (HR: 18) (RBI: 107) (SB: 0) (OBP: 0.322) (SLG: 0.445) (AVG: 0.292)

Rotation Spot #1

Yankee
SP CC Sabathia, Age 28. ($14,000,000.00)
2007**
Stats (IP: 241) (ERA: 3.21) (H: 241) (BB: 37) (K: 209)
**2008 stats way out of line with career averages

Anti-Yankee
SP Erik Bedard, Age 29 ($7,750,000.00)
2007 stats adjusted for 241 IP
Stats (IP: 241) (ERA: 3.16) (H: 187) (BB: 75) (K: 293)

Rotation Spot #2

Yankee
SP A.J. Burnett, Age 32. ($16,500,000.00)
2008
Stats (IP: 221.1) (ERA: 4.07) (H: 238) (BB: 86) (K: 231)

Anti-Yankee
SP Jaime Moyer, Age 46 ($6,500,000.00)
2008 Stats adjusted for 221.1 IP
Stats: (IP: 221.1) (ERA: 3.71) (H: 224) (BB: 70) (K: 139)

Rotation Spot #3

Yankee
SP Chien-Ming Wang, Age 28. ($5,000,000.00)
2007**
Stats: (IP: 199.1) (ERA: 3.70) (H: 199) (BB: 70) (K: 104)
**Wang was injured most off 2008

Anti-Yankee
SP Justin Duchscherer, Age 31. ($4,600,000.00)
2008 Stats adjusted for 199.1 IP
Stats: (IP: 199.1) (ERA: 2.54) (H: 151) (BB: 48) (K: 134)

Rotation Spot #4

Yankee
SP Andy Pettitte, Age 36 ($5,500,000.00)
2008
Stats: (IP: 204) (ERA: 4.54) (H: 233) (BB: 55) (K: 158)

Anti-Yankee
SP Edwin Jackson, Age 32 ($2,200,000.00)
2008 Stats adjusted for 204 IP
Stats: (IP: 204) (ERA: 4.42) (H: 222) (BB: 86) (K: 120)

Rotation Spot #5

Yankee
SP Joba Chamberlain, Age 23 ($390,000.00)
2008
Stats: (IP: 100.1) (ERA: 2.60) (H: 87) (BB: 39) (K: 118)

Anti-Yankee
SP Edinson Volquez, Age 28 ($392,500.00)
2008 Stats adjusted for 100.1 IP
Stats: (IP: 100.1) (ERA: 3.21) (H: 85) (BB: 47) (K: 105)

Set-Up Man

Yankee
RP Damaso Marte, Age 33 ($3,750,000.00)
2008
Stats: (IP: 65) (ERA: 4.02) (H: 52) (BB: 26) (K: 71)

Anti-Yankee
RP Taylor Buchholz, Age 27 ($1,055,000.00)
2008 Stats adjusted for 65 IP
Stats: (IP: 65) (ERA: 2.17) (H: 44) (BB: 18) (K: 55)

Closer

Yankee
RP Mariano Rivera, Age 39 ($15,000,000.00)
2008
Stats: (IP: 70.2) (ERA: 1.40) (H: 41) (BB: 6) (K: 71) (SV: 39)

Anti-Yankee
RP Brad Lidge, Age 32 ($11,500,000.00)
2008 Stats adjusted for 70.2 IP
Stats: (IP: 70.2) (ERA: 2.17) (H: 51) (BB: 36) (K: 93) (SV: 41)

So, my 2009 Anti-Yankee team consists of the following:

Average Age = 31

Batting Lineup:

  1. CF Shane Victorino ($3,125,000.00)
  2. RF Randy Wynn ($8,875,000.00)
  3. LF Josh Hamilton ($396,830.00)
  4. DH Ryan Ludwick ($4,250,000.00)
  5. 1B Aubrey Huff ($8,000,000.00)
  6. 3B Troy Glaus ($9,000,000.00)
  7. 2B Alexei Ramirez ($1,100,000.00)
  8. SS Carlos Guillen ($10,000,000.00)
  9. C Bengie Molina ($6,000,000.00)

 

Pitching Rotation:

 

  1. Erik Bedard ($7,750,000.00)
  2. Jamie Moyer ($6,500,000.00)
  3. Justin Duchscherer ($4,600,000.00)
  4. Edwin Jackson ($2,200,000.00)
  5. Edinson Volquez ($392,500.00)

 

Bullpen:

 

  1. CL Brad Lidge ($11,500,000.00)
  2. SU Taylor Buchholz ($1,055,000.00)

 

TOTAL SALARY OF SELECTED PLAYERS = $84,744,330.00 (45% of Yankees’ Salary above)

 

TEAM STATS:

Yankees
BAT: (R: 784) (HR: 205) (RBI: 807) (AVG OBP: 0.369) (AVG SLG: 0.483) (AVG AVG: 0.291)
PITCH: (H: 1061) (ER: 440) (BB: 308) (K: 968)

 

Anti-Yankees
BAT: (R: 727) (HR: 203) (RBI: 826) (AVG OBP: 0.354) (AVG SLG: 0.494) (AVG AVG: 0.295)
PITCH:  (H: 1101) (ER: 399) (BB:380) (K: 939)

 

The point is, despite the hype of the big-spending teams like the Yankees, a lower-budget club with a good talent-recognition program such as the Brewers, A’s, or Rays, will always be able to compete.  Overpaid veterans are nice if you have a few of them, but building an entire team of such players is a complete waste of resources.

 

This is as good a reason as any why a salary cap is NOT needed in Major League Baseball.  Every team has their own tactic to success.  Perhaps unsuccessful franchises (I’m looking at you, Pittsburgh and Washington and Baltimore) should consider applying a different strategy to their organization, because success in MLB will always be attainable if you have a good front office.

 

Anti-Yankees.xls

 

1st Quarter All-Rookie Team

Part of what makes baseball such a fun sport to track is keeping tabs on the future superstars of the game.  No other sport develops their own players the way MLB does.  Football and Basketball grab their players straight out of college and give them an immediate shot.  MLB player development is one of growth, often from High School, through a tiered system of successively more competitive environments.

So far this year, several MLB rookies have been identified as potential super-stars, based on their current production and reasonable expected growth over the next few years. 

And so we have the 2008 1st-Quarter All-Rookie Team!

C:  Geovany Soto (131 AB, 0.321 BA, 18 R, 7 HR, 29 RBI, 1.018 OPS)

There really is no contest here.  Not only is Soto the best performing rookie catcher this year, but he is the best hitting catcher in baseball, period.

1B: Joey Votto (116 AB, 0.276 BA, 21 R, 8 HR, 20 RBI, 1 SB, 0.887 OPS)

Despite the best efforts of Reds Manager Dusty Baker to hold him back by platooning him with uninteresting veteran Scott Hatteberg, Votto has established himself as the best young 1B of this year’s rookie class to date.  1B is actually very deep this season, with Daric Barton and John Bowker qualifying, among others.

2B:  Eugenio Velez (118 AB, 0.212 BA, 11 R, 0 HR, 8 RBI, 8 SB, 0.581 OPS)

There are not many rookie second basement this season, and if it were not for Velez’ baserunning abilities, this space would need to be left blank.  If he raises that average and learns how to draw a walk, Velez could be a decent top-of-the-lineup guy.  Some day.

3B:  Blake DeWitt (103 AB, 0.320 BA, 19 R, 3 HR, 16 RBI, 3 SB, 0.892 OPS)

Let the masses cry, “We want Evan Longoria!” but it has actually been DeWitt with the numbers at third this year.  Despite jumping unprepared into the bigs due to injuries to Andy LaRoche and Nomar Garciaparra, DeWitt looks like he belongs, swinging his bat better than almost all of his established Dodger teammates.

SS:  Brian Bixler (65 AB, 0.169 BA, 11 R, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0.450 OPS)

Brian who?  There are no Rookie starting short stops this season, to my knowledge.  So this guy with his “gosh I hope he gets better” stats gets the nod.

OF:  Jacoby Ellsbury (117 AB, 0.282 BA, 31 R 3 HR, 13 RBI, 15 SB, 0.783 OPS)

We all knew this kid was good after the 2007 World Series, but who can honestly say they saw 15 Stolen Bases in less than 120 At-Bats around the corner?  Now if only the Sox could ship off Coco Crisp, and we could REALLY see what Ellsbury can do.

OF:  Carlos Gomez (147 AB, 0.272 BA, 22 R, 3 HR, 14 RBI, 16 SB, 0.709 OPS)

The Twins fants can not complain TOO much about trading away Johan Santana after watching Gomez play center field.  It seems like every few days a note pops up saying “Gomez leads the league in stolen bases”, and after a rocky start, he has begun to cut down on the strikeouts and has raised his average 70 points.  If he learns how to walk, and dings 15 homers a year, Gomez could be Carl Crawford – Lite.

OF:  Justin Upton (138 AB, 0.326 BA, 23 R, 6 HR, 19 RBI, 0.936)

MLB’s next perennial superstar has made a huge leap from his abysmal batting average last season to become one of the sparks for the best team in baseball.  His power has eased off a little from the start of the season, but he hasn’t stopped hitting.  And hitting.  And hitting.  At 20 years old, this guy will be scary good some day.

Bench:

Michael Bourn, OF – Despite a miserable BA, Bourn shows signs that he can walk and hit, and nobody questions his base running.  17 steals in 17 tries is impressive for anybody.

John Bowker, 1B/OF – Bowker is less-heralded than neighbor Daric Barton, but his numbers are more impressive in fewer at-bats.  With more playing time, he can be a solid player

Evan Longoria, 3B – Nobody brought up from the minors has been more heralded.  Get out the streamers and the confetti, it’s time for a ticker-tape parade.  Oh wait, he’s batting .216.  Still, the overall numbers are not bad.

Kosuke Fukudome, OF – Lots of runs scored, which means he gets on base. 

David Murphy, OF – Who?  Murphy has quietly been one of the best rookies all season, and is playing full-time.

Starting Rotation:

Edinson Volquez – 48.1 innings pitched, 6 earned runs, 10.61 strikeouts per nine innings.  Ridiculous.

Jair Jurrjens – 3.10 ERA over 49.1 innings, this kid is the only reason the Braves pitching staff is not a complete joke this year.

Greg Smith – Greg Who?  Smith has been the A’s best pitcher this season…and all of them have been pretty good so far.

Armando Galarraga – Galaladoaigawhatever has also been Detroit’s best starter.  Yes, Detroit.  How the mighty have fallen.  Still, a WHIP under 1.00 for a rookie starter is excellent.

Dana Eveland – Oakland’s other surprise star.  Eveland has very very quietly been one of the most consistent pitchers in all of baseball this season.  Not overwhelming, but with an ERA of 3.07 and a whip of 1.25, there is no reason to expect that he can not keep it up.

Relievers:

Joey Devine – 3.05 ERA 15 IP

Leo Nunez – 1.62 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, 16.2 IP

Jesse Carlson – 2.12 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 9.53 K/9, 17 IP

Aquilino Lpez – 2.01 ERA 22.1 IP

Masa Kobayashi – 1.93 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 18.2 IP and possibly Cleveland’s new closer

Aaron Laffey – Technically a starter, I have him tagged for long relief.  1.83 ERA in 19.2 IP

Wesley Wright – 21 year old Rule-5 pick dominating lefties, has 3 wins in 14 IP.

To put this team in perspective, this all-rookie team would have 233 runs scored and 95 runs given up.  That would put them SECOND in runs scored in all of MLB behind only the Chicago Cubs, and FIRST place in Earned Runs by thirty-seven over the Cleveland Indians!