Yardbarker: Trevor Hoffman

Rockies Throw Changeup

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:35:35 -0500

Unfortunately it wasn't a Trevor Hoffman quality changeup — or even a Jason Hirsh special. All day reports had Jason Hirsh taking the ball for their game in Pittsburgh, but when pitch #1 was thrown, it came from the left arm of 35-year old, Valerio De La Santos. Ha ha, he he, they got us. They [...]

HOORAY FOR SATURDAY!

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 10:51:31 -0500

by Jesus Melendez, Hall of Very Good

A lot of kids growing up get excited for the normal made up holidays…Valentine's Day, Halloween, the last day of school. Me…I always got jazzed up about the day the Hall of Fame announcement was made.

Sure, it doesn't have some fancy name or some wing at the Hallmark store dedicated to it, but it was, for a couple hours in January…my Christmas.

Well, TECHNICALLY, Christmas was Christmas…but you get the idea.

Then, after six months of thinking about it, we get what amounts to New Years Eve, a relative's wedding or basically any other "holiday" where someone stands up and makes some clichéd speech about what an honor it is and how they never thought they would make it.

This weekend, we get the pleasure of hearing what I am sure is going to be another in a long line of self indulgent speeches when Rich "Goose" Gossage takes center stage.

Gossage is a guy who went from 33% of the vote to close to 86% in eight years. Somehow he convinced 300 votes that all of a sudden he was good enough to become the next great reliever to be inducted into the Hall. Apparently he wasn't only a top notch closer…he's a wizard! Heck, he's not even the lone "Goose" to be elected into Baseball's hallowed halls!

In my estimation, he was on the right ballot at the right time.

For some reason, voters don't seem to want to enshrine Jim Rice or Andre Dawson and they live by some wacky code that SOMEONE needs to be voted in. But in an age of "did he" or "didn't he"…the Hall wasn't about to open its doors to the likes of Mark McGwire or Tim Raines. I get it.

Which brings me to what I saw recently on ESPN. Buster Olney and Buck Showalter were given five names of current Major Leaguers and were asked what they thought about their chances.

The names were no-brainers…Mike Mussina, Billy Wagner, Jim Thome, Omar Vizquel and Gary Sheffield. Let's break 'em down.

MIKE MUSSINA

To me, "Moose" is an interesting case. On paper, you see a HUGE winning percentage (.637), a brilliant 263 and 150 record and close to 2800 Ks. His career ERA is 3.69 and one could argue that had he not toiled for more than half of his career in Baltimore…he would be as much of a Hall candidate as Tom Glavine. HOWEVER, Glavine had five seasons with more than 20 wins. Mussina, while he's hit double digits in wins seventeen straight years, has yet to eclipse 20. The Cy Young award has eluded Mussina as well. Unfortunately, six top five finishes and no hardware doesn't make for the best Hall of Fame case. Showalter, said Mussina is a Hall of Famer…Olney disagreed. I'm with Olney on this one. Outside of wins and consistency, and this sounds stupid to say, Mussina just hasn't SHOWN me anything spectacular.

BILLY WAGNER

Wagner should eclipse Eckersley on the all-time saves list this season and enter next year's campaign firmly in fifth place all-time, third on the active list. That being said, he's still WELL behind Trevor Hoffman, Mariano Rivera and Lee Smith AND is a guy who has never led the league in saves. By comparison, Hoffman has only led the National League twice, but he has nine seasons with more than 40 saves. Rivera has led the American League three times and has six seasons with more than 40 saves. Wagner has two. I'm not saying that Wagner isn't a premier closer…I'm just saying that if Lee Smith can't get a sniff at a time when Bruce Sutter, Eckersley and Gossage are…Billy Wagner is going to have a rough time competing for the writer's affection with the likes of Hoffman and Rivera still out there. As for Olney and Showalter…they split again. Showalter was a "maybe", while Olney "agrees" with me.

JIM THOME

I've made the case for Thome and over the last year…he hasn't done anything to make me feel otherwise. He's got 526 home runs and barely 2000 hits. He's going to have to do PLENTY more to sway me. Again, Olney and I are "no" votes…Showalter, predictably, was a "yes".

OMAR VIZQUEL

Again, this is a drum I've beaten before and is one of those guys that I LOVE to bring into the conversation when it presents itself. Not surprisingly, Olney, Showalter and I agree across the board with "Sheik Omar". As much as I would hate to see him hang it up…I think Omar needs to ride off into the sunset before he ruins his storied career.

GARY SHEFFIELD

Now…here's a guy who, in all honesty, deserves his own column. Does he pass the smell test? Not sure…he plays alongside some FANTASTIC players. Matter of fact, he's been overshadowed by plenty of them, but has put up some amazing numbers. A .294 career average, 2570 hits, 487 home runs and 1600 RBI puts him in a similar league as Willie McCovey, Mike Schmidt, Willie Stargell and Ernie Banks. HOWEVER…that's where some of the similarities end unfortunately since each of the afore mentioned have bettered Sheff's three top five MVP finishes by taking home the award at least once. I could go on and on about Sheffield (and I might just do that in the near future), but it is interesting to note that the nine time All-Star only once led the league in a major statistical category…he batted an NL best .330 in 1992. So…what did the ESPN experts think? Olney said "yes" and Showalter, for some reason, disagreed. Me? I agree with Buster…not Buck.

So what about you? I'll put each up for vote over at the Hall…and you tell me what you think!

Fantasy Strategy: Avoid the Elite Closers!

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 07:00:35 -0500

Stay away from Mariano Rivera, Jonathan Papelbon, and Frankie Rodriguez. In fact, stay away from all the great closers - they just aren't worth it.

MLB Busts of the Week - Week 13

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 08:34:45 -0500

Which fantasy studs dropped the ball last week? And which "sleepers" fell short of their hyped billing? Screaming Sports' Andrew Thibodeau runs down a seven-player list of fantasy bombs.

MLB Stock Market - June 26th Edition

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 09:11:08 -0500

Screaming Sports' Phil Yoon runs down several baseball Bulls and several baseball Bears in the latest edition of Stock Market. Prince Fielder? Oh yea, he's definitely a bull. Erik Bedard? Ehhhh ... not so much.

Fantasy Baseball Hall of Fame - Closers Get the Snub

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 14:41:46 -0500

FBHOF.com and Razzball.com complete the inductions of the best players of the fantasy era by completely ignoring the closers. They simply aren't great assets to a Fantasy Baseball team. Found out why and who the best closers of the fantasy era were, even though they miss out on the plaque.

AccuScore Closer Report - 6/17

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 13:42:29 -0500

Injuries have created new ninth inning situations in both Seattle and Atlanta. Brandon Morrow steps in for the Mariners while the Braves welcome back an old face who should step right into the closer role. Also, there is a shake-up at the top of the rankings in this week's Closer Report.

AccuScore Closer Report - 6/3

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 14:07:07 -0500

John Smoltz lasted just one game before electing to undergo season-ending surgery. Rafael Soriano, coming off his own injury, takes over for the Braves who also await the return of Mike Gonzalez. Most other bullpen situations have stabilized for now, but some players will be prime candidates to be traded to contenders very soon. Find out who in this week's Closer Report plus rankings for middle relievers.

Top 10 Most Disappointing Players in 2008

Thu, 29 May 2008 23:10:20 -0500

Good list of top 10 guys who aren't earning their paychecks this year. Andruw Jones, Travis Hafner, Robinson Cano...you're not only killing your teams, you're killing many fantasy teams out there as well!

AccuScore Closer Report - 5/28

Thu, 29 May 2008 15:19:18 -0500

Joe Borowski makes his return to the Cleveland bullpen, and Salomon Torres has taken control of the situation in Milwaukee. Old stand-bys Trevor Hoffman, Billy Wagner, and Mariano Rivera are proving they still have it and John Smotlz could be poised to make his return as well. All that plus more in this week's Closer Report.

MLB Stock Market - May 28th Edition

Thu, 29 May 2008 05:19:31 -0500

Screaming Sports' Phil Yoon runs down several baseball Bulls and several baseball Bears in the latest edition of Stock Market. Shawn Chacon? Oh yea, he's definitely a bull. Melky Cabrera? Ehhhh ... not so much.

How the NL West Imploded This Season

Thu, 22 May 2008 14:33:05 -0500

The NL West figured to be the best division in baseball this year. Two months later, Tracy Ringolsby says it might just be the worst.

AccuScore Closer Report - 5/12

Tue, 13 May 2008 17:17:41 -0500

There are new closer situations in St.Louis and Milwaukee, and a pitcher in Philadelphia returns to the ranks of the elite. Get the lowdown on all the bullpen situations including new middle reliever rankings in this week's edition of the AccuScore Closer Report.

Sizzlers and Fizzlers, Weeks 4 and 5

Fri, 09 May 2008 00:36:33 -0500

Who's hot, who's not in Major League Baseball? We'll get you started with a sizzler named Mike Cameron. After being suspended for the first 25 games, Cameron is back, and has a starting job (as he should). For those owners (like myself) who took a chance on Cameron, knowing that he was suspended and might risk losing a job, should be quite pleased. He's showing a few signs of rust, but he has already posted a HR, 3 RBI, 4 R, and 3 BB's. The stolen bases should come too. Considering how lethal the Milwaukee Brewers lineup is, Cameron should get plenty of RBI opportunities. Add Cameron to NL-only teams, and if he heats up, you can add him in all leagues because of his power/speed abilities.

AccuScore: MLB Closer Report

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 12:13:12 -0500

Big name struggles and injury concerns are creating bullpen issues for several major league teams. AccuScore analyst Jonathan Lee has it all sorted out for you in this week's Closer Report.