Pujols v.s. Ramirez (and Other Fantasy Updates)

We are nearly a month into the 2009 MLB season, meaning players are pretty much up to speed on things while others are already nursing injuries, some worse than others. All you fantasy baseball players are probably looking for that waiver wire gem and/or contemplating a few trades, blockbuster or not. Power or speed? Consistency or scattered power outages? Wins or saves? These are all questions that enter the fantasy owner's mind at all hours of the day. What you want in a player is, quite obviously, consistence. Surprises usually aren't welcome in the fantasy world, especially since most surprises aren't necessarily good ones. Not only that, but you want a player that you can count on, and it sure doesn't hurt to know exactly what to expect from this player each and ever day.

For these reasons, Albert Pujols should have been the number one player taken in the draft this year (and every other year of his illustrous career, for that matter). Pujols is the definition of consistency. Since entering the league in '01, Pujols has put up 30 or more home runs (HR's) with over 100 runs batted in (RBI's) and, yes, he has even had a .300 or better batting average (BA) in all eight of those seasons. Don't underestimate his ability to steal a base or two, either. In '05, he stole a career-high 16 bases and has four so far this season. At age 29, Pujols will have 500 career home runs in no time and if he can keep this extraordinary pace, may even contend with the home run record in his later years.

Why draft Hanley Ramirez with the first overall pick, when you can snag Pujols? Yes, Ramirez's track record looks pretty good too, but he doesn't have it all like the St. Louis Cardinals' first baseman, Pujols. Ramirez has played three full major league seasons in the Florida Marlins organization as a shortstop, but hasn't quite shown the consistency and reliability you want in your top fantasy player. When he has a good day, yeah he's good, but the fact that he has never recorded over 100 RBI's, and his batting average has been a little off-beat (.292, .332, .301) at times, tells me that he has some weaknesses. Whether it be an inability to hit with runners in scoring position, or lagging injuries, there are holes on Ramirez's stat sheet.

Pujols v.s. Ramirez (so far in '09)

Pujols (24 games; 87 at bats): .356 BA, 9 HR's, 29 RBI's, 4 SB, 25 runs, 18 BB's, 8 K's, .724 SLG

Ramirez (21 games; 81 at bats): .272 BA, 2 HR's, 12 RBI's, 3 SB, 9 runs, 7 BB's, 13 K's, .432 SLG

Final Word: After taking a look at the two's numbers after the first twenty games, I am sticking with my Pujols over Ramirez verdict. El Hombre, as they call him in St. Louis, is leading every major category over the speedy Hanley. Pujols, one of the best all-around players in the game today, attracts more walks than most other players, therefore he produces a lot of runs for his ball club and has more chances at stealing bases. All of these reasons lead me to believe that he is not only a great player for your fantasy team, but does a lot to help his team win games. St. Louis would not be nearly as good a team without him.

As for the rest of the fantasy baseball world? Well, here is my list of six current hot and cold players (as of Monday, May 4th):

Hot

Carlos Pena, 1B, TB..In the past three or four games no one has been hotter at the plate than this slugging infielder. In his team's four-game series against the Red Sox this weekend, Pena was 6 for 14 with two home runs and four runs batted in. He is hitting just .269 this season, but I expect his power surge (11 HR's, 27 RBI's in '09) to continue through October, maybe November.

Zack Greinke, SP, KC..Yes, the Kansas City Royals (14-11) are in first place, and it is mainly because of this young man. Greinke has posted a 5-0 mark, and a 0.50 earned run average (ERA) in his first five starts this season. He has recorded two complete games with 10+ K's in late April, and has straight dominated opposing batters. His only two earned runs of the season came on the 29th of April against the Detroit Tigers. Greinke is, without a doubt, the hottest pitcher in baseball right now. He will make his sixth start of the season tomorrow against the Chicago White Sox.

Adrian Gonzalez, 1B, SD..Gonzalez has seemed to have gotten overlooked by the other stars of the game, but Gonzalez has hit nine home runs (tied for third most in the league), and has had just three games without a hit in his team's 25 games this season. He has put up a solid .318 average, and has driven in 20 runs. His team hit a bit of a cold streak during their series against the Dodgers this past weekend, but I expect him to continue his successes throughout the season.

Cold

Mark Teixeira, 1B, NYY..Expected to make an immediate impact in his new home in New York, Teixeira has been a bust already (in some people's minds). The slugging first baseman has his just .182 with three home runs and 10 runs batted in while in pin stripes. In his past 12 games, Teixeira has had six hit-less games (a combined 8 for 46 with zero home runs and three runs batted in). Not exactly what New York fans, and fantasy owners, were expecting 20 games into the season. Get it in gear, Mark!

David Ortiz, DH, BOS..U-G-L-Y! It appears as though Ortiz's best fantasy days are behind him. The "former" slugger is hitting .215 with zero homers in 93 at bats. As a matter of fact, Ortiz hasn't hit safely since April 29 against the Cleveland Indians (went 1 for 5), meaning he went 0 for 11 in Boston's four-game weekend series with the Rays, as his Sox dropped three of the four games.

Josh Hamilton, OF, TEX..Hamilton has been a big disappointment to both baseball fans and fantasy owners. Much was expected from him this season after his monster year in '08, but he was recently placed on the 15-day disabled list by Texas after he sustained a strained rib cage muscle. In the 18 games he played in before his DL stint, Hamilton was hitting a rather low .242 average with just two home runs and 10 runs batted in. You may see him again towards the middle to end of the month, but most likely not before then.

MLB Winter Meetings: Who's Dealing?

The Major League Baseball offseason is well underway by now, and we're just getting into the climax of the winter meetings. A couple of teams have been steady making deals while others are sitting back and watching the action from their chairs.

For one, the New York Yankees are dealing for starting pitching after Mike Mussina's retirement earlier in the offseason. Chien Ming-Wang has been surrounded by injuries the past year of two, so the Steinbremmers must think it's time to go all out. The Yanks have already pretty much wrapped the C.C. Sabathia deal up and put a bow on it for Christmas. But, they have reportedly offered A.J. Burnett a contract as well.

New York's inter-division rivals, the Baltimore Orioles, have also shown that they are ready to step their game up after dealing veteran catcher Ramon Hernandez to the Cincinnati Reds for OF Ryan Freel and two prospects. This shows that Peter Angelos is ready for the younger guys to step up. Getting rid of the 32-year old catcher makes room for the young AA-er, Matt Wieters, who was this past seasons Minor League Player of the Year winner. The 22-year old catcher, a two-time All-American at Georgia Tech, has a great mixture of power and average on both sides of the plate while his big frame (6 foot 5, 230 pounds) makes him an easy target behind the plate.

Believe it or not, this isn't the only move Baltimore has made this offseason. The front office is close to completing a two-year, $6 million deal with former Blue Jay, Dodger, Cub, Pirate and Cardinal shortstop Cesar Izturis. The O's have had major issues at the shortstop position since the end of the Miguel Tejada era. Izturis does not have much power, or even all that much consistency in his eight seasons, but he does have a great glove. That is what they are looking for as of this point. Just someone who can hold the spot and get the job done. Izturis' career fielding percentage (.979) is better than Tejada's MLB career and, like most middle infielders, Izturis has speed.

I'm still not done with the O's. Angelos also finds himself in the middle of the Mark Teixeira talks. He may actually be in the lead, as of right now. They have reportedly offered Teixeira a seven-year, $150 million contract. The O's, as a matter of fact, are also said to be one of the four remaining teams going after Teixeira. The other three teams; Angels, Nationals, Red Sox.

Jake Peavy is not packing for Chicago after all. The Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres have called off the deal that would have sent the NL Cy Young winner, Peavy, to Chicago. The multi-player deal was reportedly called-off by Chicago GM Jim Hendry.

2009 MLB Hall of Fame Ballot Out: Henderson's Year?

It's about that time...

Yes, the 2009 MLB Hall of Fame ballot is now out, and tons of the 23 candidates are first-timers. The most notable first-timer though, is stolen base king Rickey Henderson. Henderson played an astounding 25 seasons for ten different teams while getting selected to ten all-star teams, winning two World Series and winning the AL MVP award in 1990. Henderson, by far, is the most qualified player on the long list of candidates.

((FYI: In order to get into the Hall, a player must receive at least 75% of the votes)).

Not all 23 players are deserving of the Hall, by my standards anyway. While Greg Vaughn hit 355 homeruns in his 15 seasons and 1,731 games, Vaughn's lifetime batting average of .242 is holding him back. His 1,513 career strikeouts isn't that appealing to the eye, either. This tells me he his an all-or-nothing player and I believe well-roundedness and consistency is what gets you into the Hall (just look at last year's class of Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr.).

Five-time All-Star and one-time World Series champion third baseman, Matt Williams, another first-timer, is certainly more qualified than both Vaughn family members (Greg's cousin, Mo, is also eligible for the first time this year and was included on the ballot). Williams played for three different teams from 1987 to 2003; San Francisco Giants, Cleveland Indians and Arizona Diamondbacks. Williams may have been more known for his glove while playing the 'hot corner' also known as third base. Williams was a well-rounded ballplayer, winning both four gold gloves and four silver sluggers.

Alleged "cheater" Mark McGwire remains on the list of candidates after receiving just 23% of votes last year. The whole steroid topic is what has and will continue to keep McGwire out of the Hall.

This will be the year Bert Blyleven finally gets in. Bert pitched for 22 seasons, allowing him to win two World Series and record 3,701 K's which is good enough for fifth all-time. His 60 shutouts is 9th all-time and his 287 wins is 27th all-time. If all that isn't enough to convince you he belongs in the HOF, then I don't know what will.

Tommy John's 26-year pitching career with 288 wins, 2,245 career strikeouts and his 3.34 career ERA should be enough for his entrance into the HOF. But, I think it would be his impressive, prolonged career which gets him over the hump and into the Hall.

Of course we can't forget the long-time New York Yankee, Don Mattingly, who played in pinstripes for 14 seasons. Mattingly's #23 was retired thanks to his nine gold gloves (first baseman) and his six all-star selections. The 1985 AL MVP wasn't able to capture a World Series title during his playing days, but registered a career batting average of .307 with just 444 strikeouts.

The 2009 MLB Hall of Fame inductees will be announced on January 12th, 2009.

Minor League Report: Bowie Baysox Pushing for Playoffs

Earlier today, Lou Montanez hit his first major league home run with the Baltimore Orioles. What is so miraculous about it is that he jumped from Double-A baseball to the majors. Today was his second game with the Orioles, he was in Bowie for the Bowie Baysox Double-A game against the New York Mets’ farm team from Binghamton, the Binghamton Mets.

I attended game one of Bowie’s three-game series with the Mets on Monday, at Prince George’s Stadium in Bowie, MD. The game didn’t end until the Baysox committed two errors in the top half of the 12 inning, and gave up three runs. The Mets ended up winning by the score of 6-3. Matt Wieters, the Orioles’ top draft pick in last year’s draft, hit his seventh home run with the ‘Sox. The 6-5, 230-pound catcher is expected to be the next guy called up to the majors this year, although Montanez, and Wieters aren’t the only double-A ballplayers to impress. In 23 starts, hard-throwing righty, Chris Tillman, has a record of 7-3, with an ERA of 3.63, and 112 strikeouts, second-most on the team. Tillman’s numbers aren’t what have impressed me, though his .700 winning percentage is third-highest on Bowie’s roster. Tillman has a 94 MPH fastball, which has fooled many double-A hitters. Tillman didn’t earn the win, but he went six strong innings, allowing 4 hits, and two earned runs on Monday. He also struck out an amazing 11 Mets. I expect Tillman to be called up within the next few weeks.Bowie dropped two of three against Binghamton, but are still alive in the playoff hunt. They are currently just two games behind the first-place Akron Aeros in the Eastern League’s Southern Division, with a 68-51 record. Unfortunately, we will not get to witness another series between Bowie, and Akron. But, expect lots of excitement in the last 23 games of the season.

Third Baseman Jeff Nettles leads Bowie in homeruns with 22, and RBI’s with 68. But, Nettles also leads the team in at bats (427), and has a very low batting average of .248. So, despite his power, Nettles won’t be called up anytime soon. Binghamton’s 6-2, 238-pound right fielder Caleb Stewart impressed during the three-game series. Stewart went 6 for 12 with 2 HR’s, and 5 RBI’s in those three games.

Manager Brad Komminsk looks to have a great stretch ahead of him. Don’t worry, Bowie will be in the playoffs come September.

Bowie will start a four-game series with the New Britain Rock Cats (Minnesota Twins Double-A team) tomorrow at Prince George’s Stadium. First pitch will be 7:05 PM ET.

Hamilton Breaks HR Derby Record; Morneau Takes Home Hardware

To my surprise, I logged in today and saw that nobody, that's right nobody has written an article about last night's historic homerun derby in Yankee Stadium. The derby was the very first, and very last HR derby to take place in the historic confines of Yankee Stadium, and it was surrounded by many stories.

First of all, the favorite, Josh Hamilton, set a record for most homers in a single round with 28 in round one. No, that was not a typo. Hamilton, who had to beat a drug and alcohol addiction just to get back to playing baseball, shattered Bobby Abreu's record of 24 in a single round, Abreu set the mark in 2005 in Detroit.

Hamilton had a dream of coming to Yankee Stadium and doing this, and he was just a few long shots short of the HR Derby title. Minnesota's Justin Morneau took home the hardware with his five third-round homers. Hamilton chose his 71-year old American Legion Baseball coach, Clabon Counsil, to throw to him during the derby. I guess his arm got pretty numb when he was done, especially after that dragged out first round.

Hamilton was, without a doubt the center of attention last night in NY, and deservingly so. I expect more of the same atmosphere for tonight's All-Star game as we say goodbye to Yankee Stadium.

Who gets YOUR Final Vote???

Well, earlier today was MLB All-Star Selection show on TBS, which means that All-Star voting is offcially closed. Wait a second...There still is one more spot on both the AL, and NL rosters. The last spot will go to one of five players nominated, and you as fans can vote for that one last All-Star. So, I ask you; Who will YOU vote for???

If it helps any, here are the nominated Players, and who I will be voting for...

American League (stats as of yesterday):

Jermaine Dye, CWS OF- .308 BA, 19 HR's, 52 RBI's, 3 SB in 312 at bats

Jose Guillen, KC OF- .274 BA, 13 HR's, 64 RBI's, 1 SB in 343 at bats

Jason Giambi, NYY 1B- .259 BA, 18 HR's, 53 RBI's, 2 SB in 243 at bats

Brian Roberts, BAL 2B- .293 BA, 6 HR's, 31 RBI's, 22 SB in 334 at bats

Evan Longoria, TB 3B- .281 BA, 15 HR's, 50 RBI's, 6 SB in 278 at bats

My Pick: Evan Longoria

Longoria has had a monster first half, totally exceeding any, and all expectations the Rays had when they called him up. Evan is part of the reason the Rays have the best record in Baseball, at 55-32. (and an astonishing 36-13 home record). Evan certainly gets my vote, he is very deserving of his first ever Big League All-Star appearance.

National League (stats as of yesterday):

Pat Burrell, PHI OF- .278 BA, 21 HR's, 53 RBI's, 0 SB in 284 at bats

Corey Hart, MIL OF- .294 BA, 14 HR's, 53 RBI's, 12 SB in 330 at bats

Carlos Lee, HOU OF- .293 BA, 19 HR's, 66 RBI's, 4 SB in 328 at bats

Aaron Rowand, SF OF- .303 BA, 8 HR's, 47 RBI's, 1 SB in 304 at bats

David Wright, NYM 3B- .288 BA, 16 HR's, 66 RBI's, 9 SB in 333 at bats

My Pick: Pat "The Bat" Burrell

Pat's bat certainly has shut up his critics so far this season with his 21 round-trippers (sixth most in the NL). He has hit those 21 homers in just 284 at bats with Philadelphia in the first half this year. Pat's bat may have finally landed him an All-Star selection.

My only beef on this year's rosters is with the AL's...Why the hell is Derek Jeter still a starter on the AL roster. His All-Star days should be about over. His numbers are in no way up to par with Michael Young's. Young is hitting .292 in 356 at bats, while DJ is ten points lower in just 323 at bats. Young also has three more homers, and ten more RBI's than Jeter, while their baserunning skills are about even (just five stolen bases each).

I am glad Young made the team. But, I just feel he deserves the chance to experience the game as the starter, he certainly deserves it.

That's all I've got...