http://www.yardbarker.com/content/player/368 Recent articles about Carlos Lee en-us Today we have a player with a .956 success rate on stolen bases, a way to determine when a pitcher with a 5.55 ERA is going to win, a Rule 5 guy on the road to stardom, the schadenfreude of seeing closers on other teams melting down and lots more. Tue, 05 Aug 2008 07:41:01 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/301123 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/301123 The Astros had some high hopes going into this season and have vastly underperformed. While we held high hopes for the team, a look at their payroll allocations should have had us all writing them off from the start. Mon, 21 Jul 2008 11:00:36 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293232 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293232 Foxsports.com fantasy writer Gerritt Ritt's list of the Top 50 fantasy players in MLB. Josh Hamilton leads in RBI and is hitting more than .300 makes him the first half's top fantasy player. These rankings are updated weekly during the MLB season. Sat, 19 Jul 2008 15:50:15 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292595 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292595 This one surprised me, I was expecting to see either Atlanta's 3B Chipper Jones* or CF Josh Hamilton** of the Rangers on top of this list, but instead, we find Houston's 1B Lance Berkman** just edging out Hamilton. In fact, Jones doesn't even make this top 20 list as he has begun to come down to earth. The big difference between Hamilton and Berkman seems to be stolen bases, average and OBP as the differences in runs scored HRs and RBIs seem to offset themselves. Rounding out the remaining top 5 spots are the Ranger's 2B Ian Kinsler*, Phillies 1B Ryan Howard and their 2B Chase Utley**. Please, no booing, he doesn't like it and I can't say that I blame him. Numbers 6 to 20 are as follows: the Marlins SS Hanley Ramirez**, Pirates CF Nate McLouth*, Mets CF Carlos Beltran, White Sox LF Carlos Quentin*, Indians CF Grady Sizemore* and the Mets 3B David Wright*. Then we have the Mets SS Jose Reyes, the Cardinals OF Ryan Ludwick*, Padres 1B Adrian Gonzalez* and Brewers LF Ryan Braun**. Then there were the Cubs 1B Carlos Lee and the Reds 2B Brandon Phillips who are both having All Star type of years, but hey, they can't all play in the game. Returning to the All Star cast is Marlins 2B Dan Uggla* who might have wished that Phillips was selected in his place (his 3 errors in the game set a new All Star game record) and Cubs 3B Aramis Ramirez*. Lastly, we have D'Backs 3B Mark Reynolds. The Fall Guys These are the players in which I expect to fall out of this top 20 list by the end of the season: Lance Berkman**: I may be wrong, he may just slip to the end of this list due to his great first half. I still do not see him maintaining these type of numbers for a whole year, same thing applies to these next four players except that I do not expect to see them on this list at all come October: Nate McLouth*, Carlos Quentin*, Dan Uggla* and Mark Reynolds. The Real Deals These are the players in which I think will either keep up these numbers, fall just shy of them or might even improve upon them. Josh Hamilton** may not hit 40 HRs and knock in 180 RBIs, but he should be good for at least 35 HRs (and may still hit 40) and 120-130 RBIs with a .300+ average and .360+ OBP. I expect Howards' average to climb back to a more respectable figure (like say maybe .250) and Utley* will make a MVP run. Hanley Ramirez** and Grady Sizemore* are right on track to where they should be but I don't think they'll go 40/40, the HRs may not get that high. Beltran, Reyes, Wright*, Phillips, Lee and Aramis Ramirez* should also all stay the course with their current numbers. *All of these players where reserves on the 2008 All Star team. **All of these players where elected or selected starters in the 2008 All Star game. Thu, 17 Jul 2008 12:30:36 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/291708 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/291708 It was announced Friday by NL All Star team manager Clint Hurdle, also the manager of the Colorado Rockies, that New York Mets third baseman David Wright has been named to the all star team as a replacement for injured Cubs' outfielder Alfonso Soriano. This year's MLB All Star Game is being held at Yankee Stadium in New York, the same city in which Wright's Mets play. hmm…. David Wright in no way deserves to be named as an all star. Wright currently ranks 18th in the NL in home runs with 17, tied for third in the league in RBIs with 70, and 26th in the league with a .288 average. Those numbers are fairly impressive, sure, especially his RBIs. But lets take a moment to look at who is ahead of him. Ahead of Wright in RBIs are Ryan Howard (83) and Carlos Lee (72). Howard (27) and Lee (21) are also both ahead of Wright in home runs, as is Pat Burrell with 22. Lee (.293) also has a better batting average than Wright. Most people would assume I think that Howard or Burrell should be named as all stars and since they weren't, that's why I'm ragging on Wright. I do think that Howard and Burrell should have made the all star game, but I also think that Lee should have made it. And I very much think that Wright should not have. I understand that every team sends one player to the Mid Summer Classic (ala Nate McLouth, Pittsburgh) and that means that some deserving players won't get the call. But some players don't, like Ryan Ludwick of the St. Louis Cardinals and Wright. Neither does recently elected Corey Hart, but that has more to do with fan favorites than anything else. The numbers just aren't there for Wright. I could understand if the debate was between Burrell and Wright, their numbers are fairly close and I could see giving Wright the edge because he plays in New York and the All Star game is an exhibition game at heart, regardless of whatever stupid junk Bud Selig adds to it to try and make it more legitimate. But when compared to Howard and Lee, Wright pales in comparison. Wright certainly has a better batting average than Howard, whose average is a dismal .234. But as much as Howard strikes out, his on base percentage (.383) is only .005 percentage points lower than Wright's (.388). And he has 10 more home runs and 13 more RBIs than Wright. Lee has more home runs, RBIs, a better average, and a higher slugging percentage. The point is that David Wright in no way deserves to be on this year's National League All Star team. Fri, 11 Jul 2008 15:42:05 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/289219 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/289219 Monday, July 7th Torii Hunter went 3 for 5 with 2 Runs, 3 HRs, and 3 RBI. Ian Kinsler and Adrian Beltre each banged out 4 Hits. David Wright had 4 RBI. David DeJesus, Mike Aviles, Eric Hinske, Endy Chavez, Damion Easley, Fernando Tatis, Vladimir Guerrero, Blake DeWitt, and Alfredo Amezaga each had 3 Hits. John Buck, Carlos Lee, David Murphy, and Richie Sexson each had 3 RBI. Hiroki Kuroda threw a Complete Game one-hit Shutout with 6 Ks to improve to 5-6 with a 3.39 ERA. He lost his Perfect Game bid in the 8th on a Mark Teixeira Double. Ubaldo Jimenez allowed 3 Hits in 7 scoreless Innings with 7 Ks to improve to 4-8. Daisuke Matsuzaka (7-1/3 scoreless Innings) and Scott Baker (7 scoreless Innings, 7 Ks) got no-decisons in their pitchers' duel. Chad Paronto tossed four Innings of scoreless relief (after the Runelvys Hernandez gave up 10 Runs in 4 Innings). Dustin Nippert gave up 1 Run on 4 Hits in 7 Innings of relief (after Luis Mendoza got shelled for 8 Runs in 1-1/3 Innings. Ricky Nolasco gave up 1 Run on 5 Hits in 8 Innings with 7 Ks to improve to 10-4 with a 3.74 ERA. Greg Maddux gave up 1 Earned Run in 6 Innings, but took the Loss. Tue, 08 Jul 2008 09:15:02 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/287242 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/287242 Grady Sizemore is one of several deserving players who were not chosen to start the All-Star Game, but he's a starter on our Fantasy All-Star team. See who else we think should be in the starting lineup. Mon, 07 Jul 2008 09:31:28 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/286478 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/286478 There has been debate about who should vote for the All-star teams but in the end, the teams usually end up equally, even if the AL team always wins. This year's voting has been filled with late overtakings including the young wiz kid Ryan Braun overtaking Ken Griffey Jr. This year there are two teams tied for most All-stars at seven, one team having a great season and the other having a somewhat disappointing season currently in second place. Sun, 06 Jul 2008 21:15:30 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/286341 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/286341 There has been debate about who should vote for the All-star teams but in the end, the teams usually end up equally, even if the AL team always wins. This year's voting has been filled with late overtakings including the young wiz kid Ryan Braun overtaking Ken Griffey Jr. This year there are two teams tied for most All-stars at seven, one team having a great season and the other having a somewhat disappointing season currently in second place. Sun, 06 Jul 2008 21:15:30 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/286342 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/286342 Everyone loves to quibble about line-ups, so we decided to add some fuel to the fire using the Baseball Musings line-up tool. Wed, 02 Jul 2008 12:02:22 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/285100 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/285100 We take stock of the Astros' present, disect the past, so we can discern what their future might hold. Mon, 30 Jun 2008 11:05:52 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/284176 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/284176 Week 8: New Faces This week's list not only gives us some new faces, but is also giving us some down to earth numbers as well. On top of this list is last year's runner-up to the AL MVP title, Detroit's Magglio Ordonez with a line of 7/3/9/0/.478/.500 (R/HR/RBI/SB/BA/OBP) which just edges out the Phillies Ryan Howard's line of 6/4/9/0/.276/.344 (R/HR/RBI/SB/BA/OBP). Tue, 27 May 2008 16:57:53 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/271497 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/271497 Cole Hamels didn't have his best stuff but the offense did more than enough to carry the day for the Phillies in their 15-6 win over the Astros on Sunday. Hamels only lasted 4 innings and gave up 6 runs, including a 3-run shot by Carlos Lee moments after he hit Umpire Jerry Crawford in the head with his bat. Crawford was taken to the hospital for tests but proved to be fine. Hamels gave up the homer to Lee two pitches after the game was delayed for almost 15 minutes due to the injury. Fortunately, the Phillies offense, which has been stifled the last two days by the Astros, exploded in the 6th and 7th innings. In the 6th, the Phils batted around and picked up 5 runs and in the 7th the Phils added 6 more runs, punctuated by Chase Utley's 15th homer of the season. Utley finished the night with 3 RBIs as did Shane Victorino. Pat Burrell and Geoff Jenkins also hit homers on a day where nearly everyone got in on the action. In fact, every Phillie starter got a hit on the night except for Ryan Howard who went 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts. Click the link for more, including highlights of the umpire getting knocked upside the head and the Chase Utley homer. Sun, 25 May 2008 17:31:54 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/270878 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/270878 An insightful and intelligent look at whether the Astros are the real deal so far. "So here's the quick and dirty of it: This team has been getting the hits that count, when they count, which so long as their plate discipline remains should hold true. Our pitching has been very good with the exception of the long ball, which one has to assume that will even out of the season, leaving just solid pitching. Our gloves have been great; they've been exceptional in some areas, average in others, and just pitiful for Carlos Lee. This looks like a team that is capable of staying the course, they're confident, capable of winning games in any way (just look at the Dodgers series) and if anything, have room for some improvement still. In sum, we look like a contender, which in the end is all we could hope for and more than a lot of us expected." Go read to see why all of that's true. Tue, 13 May 2008 12:15:24 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/266470 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/266470 Now, other than stealing some chicken wings from me at a Las Vegas buffet, I'm not sure what Carlos Lee has done to attract this sort of hate. I mean, I could understand it coming from the Crawford Box's in Houston…being he stole 100 million dollars from them…. Mon, 12 May 2008 13:12:05 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/266092 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/266092