Yardbarker: Edinson Volquez

2008 All-Star Snubs and Flubs: NL Edition

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:44:12 -0500

Yesterday, Major League Baseball announced its rosters for the 2008 All-Star Game to be played on July 15 at Yankee Stadium. Now, we take a look at the National League roster, to see who doesn't deserve to go and who got shafted. We don't have quite as many problems with the NL Roster as we did with the AL roster; that likely has something - if not everything - to do with the fact that the Yankees and Red Sox aren't in the NL. But the biggest question is, where are all the New York Mets?!?!?.......

ALL STAR RIP-OFF

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:01:50 -0500

Thanks to Dunn & Dunner (dunnanddunner.com) for the heads up on this atrocity... According to the New York Post this evening, Brandon Webb will be starting for the Nat'l League... I'm actually stunned, well, I was for a half a second or so. And then I realized how this works again. And until the All Star Game "elections" are based on true merit and not popularity, nothing will change. While I think that Edinson is higher up on the totem pole than Webb, I have to admit that Lincecum has been the man of the first half for the Nat'l League. .........and then I woke up and realized that I'm not in San Francisco anymore...... Volquez is being robbed... i'm going to post their stats, this is unbelievable. Have a look for yourselves. The asterisk denotes who is ahead in the given category: G Volquez 18 Webb 18 IP Volquez 104.2 Webb 118 * ERA Volquez 2.24 * Webb 3.43 W Volquez 10 Webb 12 * L Volquez 3 * Webb 4 K/9 Volquez 9.72 * Webb 7.63 SO Volquez 113 * Webb 100 OPP AVG Volquez .210 * Webb .238 H ALLOWED Volquez 79 * Webb 106 EARNED RUNS ALLOWED Volquez 26 * Webb 45 HR ALLOWED Volquez 4 * Webb 8 TB ALLOWED Volquez 110 * Webb 152 RBI ALLOWED Volquez 30 * Webb 50 Does anyone with a sane mind really believe that Webb is deserving of starting?

Volquez Won't Start All-Star Game

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 17:30:24 -0500

New York Post: Arizona right-hander Brandon Webb will start for the NL and Cleveland lefty Cliff Lee goes for the AL. Consider me unsurprised. I really would like to hear the reasoning why Webb is getting the start considering he hasn't even been his teams best pitcher so far this year.

MLB: Halfway Hardware

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 10:06:54 -0500

Eighty-one games in the books. Time to do this.

MLB Buy 'n Sell (6/29)

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 08:23:07 -0500

Screaming Sports' Billy Smith break out MLB Buy 'n Sell and runs down a short list of players you should be buying or selling. Matt Garza? Believe it or not, it's time to sell. Robinson Cano? Grab him while he's hot!

Midseason in baseball

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 18:18:17 -0500

It's the halfway point of the baseball season and it's time to hand out some hardware and name some All-Stars. We will start in the American League where the most obvious surprise is the success of the Tampa Bay Rays. They dropped the Devil and it turns out that was the only thing holding them back all of these years. Joe Maddon is a runaway as Manager of the Year early on, and has these guys believing in themselves, no matter who they are playing. My MVP is Josh Hamilton. Hamilton has 19 home runs, 78 RBIs and is batting a nice .309 in 79 games. He is anchoring a solid Texas Rangers' offense that can score runs with the best of them. Hamilton is also one of the best stories in baseball and his turnaround can serve as inspiration to many people. The early season Cy Young would go to Cliff Lee, also a nominee for Comeback Player of the Year. Lee has an ERA under 3, under 2 for most of the season, and is winning everywhere. He is one of the bright spots for the underachieving Indians. The All-Star team should read as follows. C - Joe Mauer 1B - Jason Giambi, Kevin Youkilis (this one is a toss up) 2B - Ian Kinsler 3B - Alex Rodriguez SS - Michael Young OF - Hamilton, Carlos Quentin, Grady Sizemore DH - Milton Bradley SP - Cliff Lee The National League squad looks like this in my opinion C - Brian McCann 1B - Lance Berkman 2B - Chase Utley 3B - Chipper Jones, despite his current injury SS - Hanley Ramirez OF - Ryan Braun, Carlos Lee, Ryan Ludwick SP - Edinson Volquez those are not going to be the starting lineups due to the terrible fan voting, but those are the most deserving players. The National League MVP for the first half is Lance Berkman. He has been consistent, is threatening a triple crown and is a switch-hitter. The guy is just a solid baseball player and hits it wherever it's pitched as well as anyone. Volquez and Brandon Webb are going to battle for the Cy Young all season, in a deep National League. Tim Lincecum, Ben Sheets, Ryan Dempster, and more will make their cases as the season goes on. But Volquez has been the most consistent starter, throwing a quality start just about every night he is out there. This is not as in depth as I usually write, but I am in a bit of hurry. Keep reading and good night.

Major League All-Stars, Presented by Fantasy Baseball Dugout

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 07:51:46 -0500

It's midseason in the world of fantasy baseball, and Fantasy Baseball Dugout has released their All-Star team for 2008. Unlike the real leagues, FBD doesn't care about petty things like having one player from every Major League team on our roster - we only reward the best. Our All-Star lineup was created with the parameters of a typical fantasy baseball starting lineup (1 each 0f the infield positions, 3 outfielders, 1 DH/utility, 2 starting pitchers, 2 closers, 3 utility pitchers) in a standard, 5x5 league. Do you agree with who we chose?

2008 Fantasy All Stars

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 14:23:03 -0500

While the AL is trouncing the NL in interleague play yet again, the NL has emerged as the Talent League, with the majority of elite fantasy players residing in the Senior of the two circuits. The Fantasy Baseball Hall of Fame takes a step back at the virtual midpoint of the season to construct All Star rosters in each league and to ask where are all the great players dead, in the heart or in the head?

AL Cy Young Talk in June

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 21:27:59 -0500

We're coming up on the halfway point of the 2008 MLB Season. Which means you're going to have to endure countless meaningless mid-season lists put together by amateurs who have nothing better to talk about. So without further ado...

AL Cy Young

1. Joe Saunders (LAA), 11-3, 3.03 ERA, 49 K's, 101 IP
The obvious question - can Saunders keep it up? I don't see why not. It's not like he's been fooling hitters with nasty stuff, or blowing anything past them. He's just a solid pitcher who attacks the strike zone and pitches to contact. Plus, he's got arguably the best defense in baseball behind him. He may not even break 100 K's this year, but he's got a real shot at 20 W's.

2. Justin Duchscherer (OAK), 8-4, 1.99 ERA, 51 K's, 77 IP
Duchsch is another guy who came out of virtually nowhere. He was best known for his exceptional work out of the Oakland bullpen, and received the occasional spot start. But an 8-4 record with an ERA below 2 suggests he's more than a spot-starter. Is he legit?

3. Cliff Lee (CLE), 10-1, 2.45 ERA, 79 K's, 95.2 IP
Everyone knows about Cliff Lee, after he put together a 5-0 April with a 0.96 ERA. But things are slowing down a bit ERA-wise, posting a 4.18 ERA in June. Still, he's sporting an impressive 2.45 ERA, and the 10-1 record doesn't leave a whole lot to be desired. I just can't get past Lee's earlier seasons where he was anywhere from mediocre to terrible.

4. Roy Halladay (TOR), 8-6, 2.90 ERA, 93 K's, 114.2 IP
This dude is a workhorse. The record is solid, nothing great - but it's the IP that make Halladay so valuable for the Blue Jays. In fact, all you really need to know is that he's on pace for 10 complete games this year.

5. Felix Hernandez (SEA), 6-5, 2.87 ERA, 91 K's, 103.1 IP
The record isn't all that great, but it's not his fault the Mariners have no offense. Everything else about King Felix looks great - the 2.87 ERA, and 91 K's. He's had some lingering health issues, though, including a collision at the plate today.

6. Ervin Santana (LAA), 9-3, 3.17 ERA, 91 K's, 102.1 IP
Ervin's finally tapped into some of that magic, the magic that had fans and scouts drooling over the young righthander. Despite struggling for a couple years, Santana has done more than hold his own in the Angels rotation. Can he keep it up? He's got nasty stuff, so I say he does.

7. Shaun Marcum (TOR), 5-4, 2.65 ERA, 86 K's, 98.2 IP
Another "out-of-nowhere" guy, Marcum is arguably the best pitcher on the Blue Jay's staff in 2008. The record isn't all that great, but if he can keep his ERA around where it is and continue to strike guys out at his current rate, he should see upwards of 14 or 15 wins if the Jays can get their bats going.

8. John Danks (CHW), 4-4, 2.80 ERA, 66 K's, 86.2 IP
Here's another guy that won't win the Cy Young because of his record. But the ERA is great, and the K's are solid. Above all, though, I need to mention that the Rangers had him. And traded him. Just like they did with Chris Young to the Padres, and Edinson Volquez to the Reds. And, yet, the Texas rotation is led by Vincente Padilla. (In fact, Danks probably belongs in the "honorable mentions" below, but I couldn't help but take a cheap shot at the Rangers.)

For one reason or another, these guys don't make the Cy Young list - mostly because of missed time due to injury. Still, they deserve notice: Scott Kazmir (6-3, 2.03 ERA, 68 K's, 62 IP), C.C. Sabathia (5-8, 4.06 ERA, 107 K's, 106.1 IP), John Lackey (4-1, 1.73 ERA, 39 K's, 52 IP), Rich Harden (4-0, 2.44 ERA, 72 K's, 59 IP)

Putting together these lists takes more time and effort than I thought, so I'll leave the MVP, Rookie of the Year, and Closer awards, as well as all the NL awards, for another time.

Edinson Volquez: All-Star Starter?

Sat, 21 Jun 2008 16:30:05 -0500

Why Edinson Volquez should be the NL All-Star starter. Name who you think should start...

The Untouchables

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 17:29:49 -0500

Today on a radio interview Reds GM Walt Jocketty named 5 untouchables. * Johnny Cueto * Joey Votto * Jay Bruce * Edinson Volquez * Edwin Encarnacion Ill post more on then tonight when I have a chance. To listen to the interview click here. Its about 24 minutes into the clip labeled "Lance 6/17 Hour 1"

Red Sox Weekend Recap: Sox take 2 of 3 from Reds

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 07:28:04 -0500

The offense kept clicking for the Red Sox over the weekend as they took 2 of 3 from the Reds. Get a recap of the series and other Red Sox news at the Bottom Line blog.

Comeback Kids: Rangers Rally Late To Knock Off Royals, 6-5

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 14:36:29 -0500

Down to their last four outs and trailing by a 5-1 margin, the Texas Rangers pulled off an improbable late-inning comeback to overtake the struggling Kansas City Royals on Tuesday evening; updates from the Rangers' draft haul; a final update on the Sidney Ponson debacle.

Fantasy Update: A True Trade & Triple Crowns

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 13:08:43 -0500

The Cincinnati Reds/Texas Rangers offseason trade of two highly touted studs, Josh Hamilton & Edinson Volquez, is paying dividends for both teams in the form of triple crown performances.

Fantasy Baseball's All-Value Team

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 06:37:20 -0500

This is a team made up of all those guys who have surprised us with their sterling starts to the season. They may have been early draft picks or late draft picks – the one common denominator is that they have all out performed what most of us mortals expected. So please, sit back, grab a cold beer, and enjoy my all value team for the 2008 season so far…