By Dalton Del Don
Is the economy really this bad, or are baseball GMs finally valuing defense properly? Either way, it’s dumbfounding Adam Dunn and Bobby Abreu can’t find work. It’s not like either is asking for some exorbitant contract like Manny Ramirez (who should still be targeted more heavily than he has been). Dunn actually has the highest OPS of any active outfielder less than 32 years old. I get the sneaking suspicion it has more to do with ineptitude than anything, since Jon Garland was just given what essentially amounted to a one-year, $9 million deal.
Looking over some rankings, it’s safe to say I value Jed Lowrie higher than most. Sure, he only hit two homers over 260 at-bats last season, but he played with a small fracture in his wrist since May, which seemingly limited his power. Even playing through the injury, he led all major league shortstops in RBI over a three-month period, as batting in the Red Sox’s lineup has its benefits. So does calling Fenway Park home. He’s not going to be a big help in homers or steals, but there’s a pretty big drop after the top 11 shortstops. I’d take Lowrie over Mike Aviles.
Normally I like securing one of the top tier catchers, but this is a year when it’s fine to wait on the position. Not only is it legitimately deeper than usual, but even guys like Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Kelly Shoppach and Jeff Clement will go undrafted in formats that start just one backstop. There will be plenty of upside readily available off the waiver wire. And others like Chris Iannetta, Mike Napoli and Pablo Sandoval (if eligible) are ready to break out.
Ian Stewart is someone to pay close attention to during spring training. He’ll be eligible at second base in some leagues, so if he can secure the starting left field job, he’ll be a major asset. Stewart strikes out far too often, but before a dreadful final month last season (.139/.184/.250), he had hit .338 during July and August. Remember, this is someone who posted a .979 OPS in Triple-A as a 23-year-old.
How cool is the addition of H-O-R-S-E to the NBA All-Star weekend? Long overdue decision there.
Especially in NL-only formats, I’m targeting Ryan Church this year. He won’t overwhelm in the power/speed departments, but he was batting .310 with nine homers, 31 RBI and 33 runs scored over the first 46 games before a second concussion essentially ruined the rest of his season last year. The Mets’ new stadium sounds as if it’ll be much friendlier to pitchers, but Church is locked in as the team’s starting right fielder and will be hitting in a potent lineup.
Josh Beckett has only reached 180 innings twice during his career, but he’s behind only Tim Lincecum and Johan Santana on my SP board. He’s finished with a WHIP of 1.19 or lower in three of the past four years, and it’s not like his durability is that bad, averaging 190 innings over the past four seasons. Last year’s 5.06:1 K:BB ratio ranked third best in all of baseball, and he obviously has the lineup support to post big win totals. Moreover, Beckett’s 3.35 xFIP last season was behind only Roy Halladay (3.23), meaning his 4.03 ERA was extremely unlucky and points to a possible Cy Young campaign in 2009 if he can manage to stay healthy.
I’m not sure what’s more annoying, the sure to be constant steroid coverage now that Alex Rodriguez’s name is involved, or ARod expecting us to congratulate him for coming clean AFTER he was caught. I’m not judging – if anything, I’m glad he’s been thumbed if only to further take the spotlight off Barry Bonds, and his interview with Peter Gammons was interesting enough the first 28 times I heard it, but this subject is as tiresome as it gets.
So I’ve been told I look like Jay Cutler before, which makes sense considering we are both good looking and all. But it was taken to a new level Monday when I was approached at Honolulu’s airport the day after the Pro Bowl by a sheepish and intimidated Broncos fan asking for my autograph. At first I thought he was just a big fan of my writing, but when he asked if I were Cutler, I’m pretty sure he thought I was just lying when I said no. Sorry Jay, next time I’ll be sure to kindly oblige so I’m not sullying your name.