http://www.yardbarker.com/content/player/21 Recent articles about Brad Ausmus en-us I challenge all yardbarkers and sports blogosphere officianados to find a better Brad Ausmus gaining 2nd Base eligibility in fantasy leagues movie montage anywhere! Gross. Who greenlights these things? Wed, 07 May 2008 16:46:00 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/264464 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/264464 It's roughly 9:30pm Eastern time and the Phillies/Astros game is heading into the bottom of the 9th with the Phils down 3-nuttin'. I ponder turning off the tv and catching some early z's, but I resist the temptation of sleep and decide to stick around to watch the finale of this lousy game. It has been a lousy game to this point too, the Phils offense is nonexistent, Adam Eaton & Co. pitched well but all for naught, and Jimmy Rollins is still out of the lineup. I was already to go off on one of my patented tirades and rip this team a new one, then the bottom of the 9th begins and I think my eyes are deceiving me as what happens next is more like a hazy dream than harsh reality... *Aussie Chris Snelling pinch-hits and takes Astros closer Jose Valverde deep...this can't be real, guess he ate his Vegemite. Phils down 3-1, no outs, none on. *Chase Utley gets plunked, like that never happens. No outs, 1 on. *Ryan Howard strike outs, this is bound to happen 200+ time this season with the way that schmuck is hacking haphazardly. 1 out, 1 on. *I turn to my wife and say, "My boy Burrell is going deep to show Howard how a real man gets the job done.". Sure enough, yack 'em jack 'em, Burrell 2-run opposite field roundtripper. Score 3-3, 1 out, no on. *Brett Favre steps up to the plate to attempt a last second Hail Marry to win the game, but strikes out flailing. Luckily the pitch escapes catcher Brad Ausmus and Jenkins scampers down to 1st. 1 out, 1 on. *Our Swing-happy 3rd baseman Pedro comes up and Feliz Navidads a double down the line while Jenkins runs through the stop sign to slide in victoriously safe at the plate on a bang-bang play...Phils win 4-3. ___________________________________ Do Work Son!: *Hat tip to Adam Eaton for proving many wrong through 3 starts. Here at WSBGM's have predicted a return to career norms, so we'll take partial credit for Eaton's "success" thus far. Each time Adam has taken the mound, he's gone at least 6 innings and given up 3 runs; that my friends is a quality start (4.12 era, 1.32 whip). *The bullpen, also a grave concern of many, has been a shining component of the Phils this season. Chad Durbin (0.75 era) eats innings in middle relief like Rosie O'Donnell woofs cheeseburgers. Rudy Seanez has yet to surrender a hit, and he, Brad Lidge, and JC Romero still have sparkling ZERO eras. *The City of Philly is known for their blue collar work ethic and appreciate their athletes to have the same gumption. Pat Burrell is embodying that blue collar mentality and winning over the hearts of Phans with his performance (.349 avg, 9 r, 5 hr, 15 rbi, 2 more walks than k's, and a 1.273 OPS). Way to get the job done Pat. You're my boy Burrell, you're my boy! Wed, 16 Apr 2008 06:26:21 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/238855 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/238855 I'm almost finished with my divisional rankings of the 2008 catchers. This post includes the backstops from the NL Central. Mon, 03 Dec 2007 17:02:27 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/40271 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/40271 The MLB free agency period has officially began. Fifty-seven players filed papers to become free agents Monday. Big names on the list include: Barry Bonds, Torii Hunter, Alex Rodriguez, Mariano Rivera, Kerry Wood, Trot Nixon, Shawn Green, Paul Lo Duca, and Shannon Stewart. Check out the entire list. Tue, 30 Oct 2007 04:54:29 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/33508 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/33508 Reports say that the Houston Astros are bringing back catcher Brad Ausmus to help mentor J.R. Towles Fri, 05 Oct 2007 19:20:48 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/29880 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/29880 Wow!!! After posting the idea of winning a $25 Gift Card to Best Buy for the first entry that lists all 30 players and ranks them correctly yesterday, my e-mail was flooded by you guys. So good news/bad news out of that. The bad news is, instead of you ranking the Short Stops, you'll be ranking the Catchers. This was done because some of you said you'd already started with the Short Stops, this will make the contest a little more interesting. The good news is, you get to do some research on Catchers, and still have a chance to win the $25 Gift Card. The first e-mail I receive that is the closest to my rankings will win!!! Sat, 23 Jun 2007 13:17:35 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/17129 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/17129 We were looking at the N.L.'s leader board today and one category jumped out as us, San Diego Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez is leading the league in RBI with 26. Gonzalez set the franchise record with 25 for the month of April and at just 24-years-old looks to be a cornerstone of the franchise for years to come. That got us wondering: why on earth did the Rangers get rid of him? To be fair, the Rangers have Mark Teixeira at first base, and he's a perennial All-Star, but still you figure they could have found a place for Gonzalez, a former No. 1 overall pick in the Draft. Instead they sent him to the Padres in one of the more lopsided deals in recent memory. And it was one of the many times Padres general manager Kevin Towers has absolutely raped another team ... Wed, 02 May 2007 21:27:47 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/13368 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/13368 The last player that Houston went to arbitration with was Daryl Kile in 1997. Linked are the 2007 salaries for the entire Astros lineup. They are weighing in at a hefty $93.257 Million heading into the upcoming season. Mon, 29 Jan 2007 22:44:32 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/9175 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/9175 For the Sabermetric crowd, a cost-benefit ratio to measure run producers since 1946. "The idea behind this that I recall reading online some place (where, I don't know), is that if a batter has alot of RBIs, it's partly because he has lots of opportunities. Of course, he then has more chances to ground into double plays (the GIPDs). So if he has a high RBI-to-GIDP ratio, it means he is able to drive in alot of runs while not hurting his teams with double plays. It is kind of like a cost-benefit ratio. If you drive in runs you are providing your team with benefits. But if you hit into double plays, your team incurs a cost. By bringing both stats together, I partly offset the opportunity issue in judging the meaning of these two stats. It certainly is not a complete picture of hitting, since getting on base is not well incorporated (and you can drive in runs in non-GIDP situations). But the rankings turned up some interesting surprises, so it was fun to work on." Fri, 08 Sep 2006 01:24:41 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/2130 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/2130 In just 24 days baseball will give us the 77th Midsummer Classic. That's right, the MLB All-Star game is less than a month away. I for one am looking forward to watching the best players in the game come together and do battle. However, as it stands right now, there will be some dominant players missing in the starting lineups for both the National and American Leagues when the first pitch is thrown on July 11th in PNC Park in Pittsburgh and that just doesn't sit right with me. Here are the top 5 vote getters per position (top 15 OF) as of June 13 (American League) and June 12 (National League) according to MLB.com. After each grouping I will offer some comments, who I voted for and who the fans are overlooking. AMERICAN LEAGUE: First Base: 1. David Ortiz (BOS) 915,362 2. Jason Giambi (NYY) 626,289 3. Paul Konerko (CWS) 429,572 4. Travis Hafner (CLE) 364,246 5. Chris Shelton (DET) 274,730 Comments: Ortiz has the most homers and RBI's of the first basemen on the ballot. I really don't have a problem with him starting as he is deserving. Giambi also has hit the long ball well. Personally, I don't think he deserves being the starter because others are more worthy. Konerko got my vote as he has the highest batting average (.317) on the ballot (much higher than Ortiz and Giambi) and only has 2 less homers and 7 less RBI's than Ortiz. Hafner would have been my second choice. Shelton has cooled off a lot after that amazing red hot start. Second Base: 1. Robinson Cano (NYY) 602,637 2. Mark Loretta (BOS) 535,043 3. Tadahito Iguchi (CWS) 499,643 4. Placido Polanco (DET) 268,728 5. Jose Lopez (SEA) 265,692 Comments: I think the choice here has to be Cano. He's who I voted for. He sports a .332 average with some home run power. Loretta is nipping at Cano's heels and he is not as deserving. The remaining three on the list are all very good players but have not put together a solid enough season to deserve the All-Star start. Us Yardbarkers need to mobilize and get out the vote for Cano. Third Base: 1. Alex Rodriguez (NYY) 1,067,369 2. Mike Lowell (BOS) 468,031 3. Joe Crede (CWS) 341,224 4. Troy Glaus (TOR) 338,899 5. Eric Chavez (OAK) 311,301 Comments: I fear it is already too late as AROD has undeservingly begun to run away with the starting spot. Sure, he has 15 homers and 49 RBI's. But remember, he's hitting a mere mortal .278. I think Lowell, Crede and Glaus call can make a case for the starting gig. Chavez is not deserving. But my vote went to someone not in the top 5. I voted for Hank Blalock (TEX). He has hit for a solid average, displayed good power and has driven in runs. So when you vote please don't vote for AROD. Shortstop: 1. Derek Jeter (NYY) 1,121,712 2. Miguel Tejada (BALT) 776,442 3. Michael Young (TEX) 293,249 4. Alex Gonzalez (BOS) 249,094 5. Juan Uribe (CWS) 232,635 Comments: Here there really are two players worthy of starting. Jeter and Tejada both have had fine seasons. I voted for Tejada. Both sport high batting averages and RBI totals. Jeter has 13 steals compared to Tejada's 4 and Tejada has 16 homers with Jeter having 5. I chose power over base path speed. I think Young is in the correct spot in the voting. Gonzalez and Uribe both don't deserve to be anywhere near the top 5. Catcher: 1. Jason Varitek (BOS) 630,657 2. Ivan Rodriguez (DET) 595,132 3. Jorge Posada (NYY) 489,480 4. A.J. Pierzynski (CWS) 370,020 5. Victor Martinez (CLE) 324,575 Comments: What the Hell is wrong with the fans of today? I guess a league-leading .380 batting average only matters if you are in one of the larger markets like New York or Boston or Chicago. I mean seriously, how can people be overlooking Mauer? He's the clear top catcher in baseball and he doesn't break the top 5?!?!?! Unbelievable! And Varitek the top vote getter with that .258 average?!?!?! Pudge Rodriguez should be in the top 5, but the No. 4 or 5 spot is much more appropriate. V-Mart should be in the top 3. This is a travesty! We must mobilize and get everyone we know to vote 25 times for Mauer this week. Outfielders: 1. Vladimir Guerrero (LAA) 1,115,476 2. Manny Ramirez (BOS) 1,080,426 3. Johnny Damon (NYY) 754,396 4. Ichiro Suzuki (SEA) 677,392 5. Vernon Wells (TOR) 554,409 6. Gary Sheffield (NYY) 466,520 7. Jermaine Dye (CWS) 407,162 8. Scott Podsednik (CWS) 384,119 9. Hideki Matsui (NYY) 362,289 10. Coco Crisp (BOS) 354,181 11. Torii Hunter (MIN) 349,262 12. Trot Nixon (BOS) 323,813 13. Magglio Ordonez (DET) 315,390 14. Grady Sizemore (CLE) 288,314 15. Jonny Gomes (TB) 225,432 Comments: I'm going to start off by saying I voted for Wells (AVG,HR,RBI), Dye (AVG,HR,RBI) and Suzuki (AVG,SB). I am not going to get all upset over who is listed at outfield as there is a lot of good quality talent here but I think Wells and Suzuki's numbers eclipse those of the top three, but VLAD, Manic Manny and Jesus (Damon…my buddies' wife called him that because of his beard in Boston) all play in big markets and benefit from larger fan bases voting for them. NATIONAL LEAGUE: First Base: 1. Albert Pujols (STL) 1,442,273 2. Carlos Delgado (NYM) 443,747 3. Ryan Howard (PHI) 352,555 4. Nomar Garciaparra (LAD) 332,668 5. Lance Berkman (HOU) 316,477 Comments: Pujols has already pretty much guaranteed a starting All-Star spot if healthy. He received my vote. All the players in the top five have performed well enough to be deserving to be there. Second Base: 1. Chase Utley (PHI) 732,592 2. Craig Biggio (HOU) 581,079 3. Jose Castillo (PIT) 284,886 4. Marcus Giles (ATL) 283,313 5. Jeff Kent (LAD) 280,128 Comments: Utley got my vote but it was a tough decision. Ironically, the other guy I was considering heavily was Uggla from Florida and he isn't in the top 5 vote getters. They both have had very similar seasons. Biggio and Kent are classic examples of fans voting for the names they recognize from past seasons and not based off how a player has performed this season. Weeks and Vidro deserve to be in the top 5. Third Base: 1. David Wright (NYM) 661,184 2. Scott Rolen (STL) 664,412 3. Morgan Ensberg (HOU) 375,651 4. Miguel Cabrera (FLA) 352,951 5. Chipper Jones (ATL) 347,546 Comments: Wright and Cabrera both have had awesome seasons, but Wright got my vote because he has hit more homes and stolen more bases than Cabrera while hitting for a high average. Cabrera's .346 average really should have him No. 2 on this list. I can understand Rolen being No. 2 and Morgan Ensberg being on the list but I feel Atkins deserves to be in the top 5 more than Jones does. Shortstop: 1. David Eckstein (STL) 540,237 2. Jose Reyes (NYM) 489,781 3. Edgar Renteria (ATL) 483,639 4. Jimmy Rollins (PHI) 426,532 5. Omar Vizquel (SF) 293, 628 Comments: I was surprised to see Eckstein leading the voting. Don't get me wrong, he has hit for a strong average. But when you compare his other numbers up against some of the other guys he just doesn't deserve to be the starter. I can understand Reyes and Renteria being in the top 3 and No. 5 is a good spot for Vizquel. But Rollins average is not high enough to warrant him being in the top 5. The guy I voted for was Lopez (CIN). He has hit for solid average (.281) and power (7) and has stolen quite a few bags (20). I think his all-around offensive game makes him deserving of the top spot….or….at the very least….a top 5 spot. Catcher: 1. Paul Lo Duca (NYM) 631,896 2. Mike Piazza (SD) 528,110 3. Yadier Molina (STL) 450,995 4. Brad Ausmus (HOU) 360,412 5. Brian McCann (ATL) 321,463 Comments: People seriously need to open their eyes. McCann is hitting .352 and has displayed some power. I voted for him and others should as well. He is clearly the most deserving guy. Lo Duca has been a solid catcher, but is not deserving of the starting spot. Sure, Piazza has hit 8 dingers, but what else has he done? HELLO. WAKE UP PEOPLE. Molina is hitting a paltry .214. Ausmus has had a good season. This one is fixable. Lets get the vote out for McCann. Outfielders: 1. Andrew Jones (ATL) 813,990 2. Ken Griffey Jr. (CIN) 761,091 3. Carlos Beltran (NYM) 737,830 4. Alfonso Soriano (WAS) 736,907 5. Jim Edmonds (STL) 574,133 6. Jason Bay (PIT) 555,764 7. Bobby Abreu (PHI) 527,356 8. Barry Bonds (SF) 408,579 9. Aaron Rowand (PHI) 401,802 10. Carlos Lee (MIL) 401,503 11. Adam Dunn (CIN) 304,364 12. Pat Burrell (PHI) 261,501 13. So Taguchi (STL) 250,433 14. Jeff Francoeur (ATL) 250,375 15. Xavier Nady (NYM) 246,067 Comments: I voted for Soriano, Holliday and Bay. Holliday deserves to go as he is hitting .347 with 14 homers and 49 RBI's. But he is getting no respect by not even cracking the top 15. Jones is not hitting for a high enough average to be a starter. The same can be said about Griffey Jr. Soriano's 24 homers and 17 stolen bases to go along with a solid .289 batting average make him deserving of a starting spot. Bay has 19 homers to go along with a .299 average and that is enough to make him a good top 3 choice and it would be nice for him to start in front of his home crowd. MY FINAL PLEA: I ask everyone here at Yardbarker to mobilize as a group and to get as many people as possible to vote 25 times for the following players: Cano (2B), Mauer (C), Suzuki (OF), Wells (OF), McCann (C), Soriano (OF) and Bay (OF). Also, I want to hear your thoughts on all of this. So, as always, feel free to reply with your comments. Lets get a discussion going on this that hopefully will be entertaining up until the All-Star game. Remember, you have until June 29th to vote! Sun, 18 Jun 2006 08:26:33 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/348 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/348