*In the next couple weeks, our website will be continuing to add new writers and material*
Road Map to The Baseball Nation
3.1.2009
On behalf of the founding fathers of The Baseball Nation, I
would like to welcome you to baseball country. We are excited to have a second chance to share our
knowledge, passion, opinions, and insight into the game we all love with fans
just like us.
Analyzing everything from fantasy baseball, player
development, media coverage, public perception, history, and trends within the
game, The Baseball Nation will deal with all of the things that make baseball
the best game in the world.
In addition to kicking off our regular coverage, the coming
days will see the writers on this site share a more personal look into their
baseball consciousness with essays and specific stories explaining how we got
to The Baseball Nation.
For my part, I sat down several days ago to begin writing
about the route I took to get here.
I quickly realized that, due to the depth of my love for this game (and
some might say my verbose nature), a short essay would not be an option. Instead, this is merely a preface, not
only for The Baseball Nation as a whole, but also for my look at how I arrived
here.
It is my sincere hope that we can play some part in serving
the baseball community by virtue of our love for, and experiences with, this
wonderful game of baseball.
Let's finish this up
with the AL MVP and Cy Young.
First up we'll
examine the Cy Young. It has to be Roy Halladay. He's been in
the top three for as far back as I can remember; the definition of a perennial
contender for the title. He's efficient,
only breaking 120 pitches twice all year while leading the league with 9
complete games. While he did benefit
from a good defense, there's almost a full point between his ERA and DERA, and he
was still better than Cliff Lee. He'll
sit around 165 SO again this year and he'll have a GB% above 50% again. The defense shouldn't be that much worse, but
he still isn't in line for a whole lot of offensive support. But without a viable front-runner for the Cy
in the AL, there is room for him to take his second Cy Young award. CONTINUE>>>
Brett Cecil was the
38th overall pick in 2007, signing for $810,000 out of the
University of Maryland, where he was the team's closer.Cecil's repertoire features a low 90s sinking
fastball and a plus slider, while his changeup and curve are still works in
progress.His arsenal has generated
plenty of groundballs (59% in AA, 69% in AAA) and strikeouts so far in his career.In his 2007 professional debut in Low A,
Cecil posted a 2.33 FIP in 49.2 IP with 56 Ks, allowing only 36 hits and 11
walks.CONTINUE>>>
Well, this week I'm going to shake
it up a little bit. Instead of giving you guys an issue piece I'm
going to give you some hard analysis. And make some projections, MVP
and Cy Young for each league. I'll even throw in a sleeper for each
award.
Let's start with the NL MVP. I absolutely hate to pick
a back to back winner, so I won't. Just know that Albert Pujols is
going to be dangerous again this year, probably worthy of a sleeper
pick for MVP if I wasn't worried that the whole world would laugh at me
for calling Albert Pujols a sleeper. Without further fanfare my pick
for NL MVP 2009 is: CONTINUE>>>
Daryl Jones wasn'teven
included on BA's 2008 Top 30 Cardinals Prospect list, so one could argue that
he has already made quite a move (he's #4 on BP's 2009 Top 11).Jones, a 3rd Rd HS pick by the Cards
in 2005 (who was also a highly recruited as a football WR), has always been a
speedy, athletic prospect.In 2007, some
scouts likened him to a young Kenny Lofton, citing great speed and range, with
a slightly below average arm in the OF.In his 2007 full season debut, Daryl struggled to a .217/.303/.296/.599
line, well deserving of the precipitous drop in his prospect status.However, given his scouting report, perhaps
it was a bit premature to forget about him.CONTINUE>>> (Prospect Spotlight II will be coming in the next week)
Well the Classic is over and I
have to say that I'm a little disappointed.Not so much that the USA
team didn't go to the finals, but in the way that they didn't go to the
finals.I have now come to the
conclusion that we're still about two WBCs away from actually caring as a
nation.CONTINUE>>>
Okay.Okay.I will admit it.I am TERRIBLE at
judging how old people of different races are.I mean God-awful.Asians,
African-Americans, Hispanics, etc...If
you're not white, I just can't tell how old you are (Forgive me, please, as
most parts of Indiana
are sorely lacking in diversity). And
mostly, I probably can't tell how old most White folk are despite my stunning
accuracy on guessing while watching 10 Years Younger (don't judge).So I guess I could understand how
occasionally a GM could mistake the age of a player.CONTINUE>>>
For
the last couple of days I have been taking in the spectacle that is the
World Baseball Classic. It has been a lot of fun. The Dominican
Republic was upset by the Netherlands, the U.S. has something to prove,
and Japan is dismantling teams. It's almost like real baseball. Bud
Selig likes it and the players seem to enjoy it. The fans are even
getting into it. The managers and owners may have a problem with it,
but as the nuts and bolts hammer out over the years I think we'll see
their problems evaporate. CONTINUE>>>
Everybody loves top
prospect lists, and I'm no exception.While I've constructed loose lists of names in the past, this is my
first endeavor of this depth and quality.My Top 100 list includes reasoning for the rankings along with player
capsules.The rankings do have a slight
5x5 fantasy tilt, and do not incorporate defensive value quite as much as other
places.While defense is not ignored,
guys like Jesus Montero will get a bit of a boost, while guys like Alcides
Escobar and Buster Posey will be a bit lower. CONTINUE>>>
Everybody loves top prospect lists, and I'm no
exception.While I've constructed loose
lists of names in the past, this is my first endeavor of this depth and
quality.My Top 100 list includes
reasoning for the rankings along with player capsules.The rankings do have a slight 5x5 fantasy
tilt, and do not incorporate defensive value quite as much as other places.While defense is not ignored, guys like Jesus
Montero will get a bit of a boost, while guys like Alcides Escobar and Buster
Posey will be a bit lower.CONTINUE>>>
Manny Being Manny, Boras Being Boras, The System Being Broken - Ryan Lazenby 3.4.09
Hello there folks. We here at The Baseball Nation pride ourselves
on objectively reviewing the facts. If
you've heard that before from other outlets (you know who you are), then you
know it's almost never true.So let me
say this: I am always going to be on the
fans' side. I'm going to consistently
make the argument that benefits the people that watch baseball. So anyway, I'm here, and you're here, and
together we're going to take a look into the dark, foreboding expanse that is
the Manny Ramirez contract negotiations (if you're a mild to very attractive
female, feel free to hold onto me if you get scared). CONTINUE>>>
SP Class 4.09.09 CONTINUE>>> Outfield Class 3.26.09CONTINUE>>> Hanley Ramirez, 1st Selection in any 09 Draft 3.20.09 CONTINUE>>> Wright Tops A-Rod Even Before Injury
3.16.09CONTINUE>>> Mc"Cann," In Fact, Do It All 3.12.09 CONTINUE>>>
