http://www.yardbarker.com/users/ProspectGuy Recent Yardbarker Articles: ProspectGuy en-us Matt Stairs surpassed some Canadian slugger whom I had never heard of (Terry Puhl) last night for second all-time on the games played list with 1532. Believe it or not, Matt Stairs is in his 15th season. A professional hitter, which evidently means he's played 100+ games in 11 seasons, also a Canadian record, Stairs will now try to pass Larry Walker as the greatest Canadian in MLB history. Here's to one of the greatest looking athletes of our time, Matt Stairs. Go get'em buddy! Thu, 20 Sep 2007 18:28:08 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/27936 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/27936 Here's another quality article from Beyond the Boxscore that demystifies the 100 RBI season. And for those not in the know, VORP stands for value over replacement player. Tue, 11 Sep 2007 18:19:25 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/26767 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/26767 I was reading Mopupduty's recent post on Ankiel's 3-run bomb last night. It's an incredible story. Ankiel, one of the best pitching prospects of our generation was forced to transition to a position player because of his well documented problems getting the ball over the plate. Only he and the Cardinals thought he could do it and he finally has. Josh Hamilton, the #1 overall pick had his career sidelined because of injuries and drugs. He heads to Cincinnati and resurrects his career, despite having been written off by many years ago. What's the better MLB story of 2007? I think I'm going with Hamilton because his struggles weren't limited just to the baseball field, but it's close. What do you think? Fri, 10 Aug 2007 18:26:56 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/23056 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/23056 After a year that included multiple suspensions, former 6 day manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Wally Backman resigned from South Georgia Peanuts coaching duties on Tuesday. As the Lion in Oil chronicles, his productive tenure wasn't without incident. It would have been fun to have him around a big league club for a season or two. Soundbite heaven. Fri, 10 Aug 2007 18:06:13 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/23052 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/23052 Days after Verlander threw his No-No against the Brew crew, word comes from Florida that Anibal Sanchez is flying out to see the MLB Doctor of Death, James Andrews. Sanchez threw a no-hitter last year and was probably way overworked on a whole. He's been banged up this season and now we may know why. On a side note, the Tigers were very careful with Verlander last year. They gave him extra days rest and even skipped him on occasion to keep him fresh. I know he's got a year of major league service under his belt, but it would be in Detroit's best interest to handle him just as cautiously this year as they did last. Thu, 14 Jun 2007 18:03:36 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/16255 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/16255 If you need info on Seattle, the USS Mariner is the place to go. Batters are hitting .364 this season off of Felix through his first 25 pitches of every game. "Attention Rafael Chaves - for the love of God, please stop having Felix establish the fastball in the first inning by throwing 92-97 MPH heaters on every single pitch to the first 4 to 5 batters of the game." It's always going to be a trade-off with Hernandez. Throw more fastballs that teams can tee off on, but decrease the chances he gets hurt or let him use his full array of pitches and hope his arm does Kerry Wood its way to the DL. Tough call. Fri, 08 Jun 2007 18:40:21 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/15739 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/15739 Tough times for Rangers bloggers. The team has the worst record in the bigs at 18-32. That's right, worse than the Devil Rays (21-28), Nationals (21-30) and Royals (19-33). The Ranger Rundown has a breakdown on the 57 teams since 1900 that started off the season at 18-32. What can we expect from the Rangers for the rest of 2007? Well, this should tell you... "Coming soon: A Brief History of 18-33 Teams." Tue, 29 May 2007 21:36:56 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/14977 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/14977 Depending on your fantasy league, middle relievers may or may not have that much value. But if you read between the lines, there are plenty of fantasy implications here. - Starters for these teams are losing out on wins because of below average bullpens - Closers are losing out on save situation because middle releivers aren't handing over the game to them with a lead. Wed, 23 May 2007 19:44:43 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/14613 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/14613 The Braves top rated prospect the last two years is off to a hot start in the minors and looks to have to put last year's struggles behind him. The 6-4, switch-hitting catcher is batting .380 and working on a 9 game hit streak. My guess is that he'll spend the majority of the year at Double-A. Barring a season ending injury to Brian McCann, we probably won't see Salty until 2008. Atlanta can afford to be patient with him as long as McCann's on the roster. It won't be long though until the Braves have one of the best catching duos in recent memory. Thu, 26 Apr 2007 17:47:01 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/12987 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/12987 John Sickels compares the two best 3B prospects in the game. Most agree that both will be studs, but after Braun's big 2006 and even bigger spring, hes gained ground on Wood and may have even passed him as a prospect. Who do you think will have the better career? I'm saying Wood. Offensively, Wood will probably always struggle to hit for a quality average, but should provide high-end power the moment he enters the league. Braun will be solid, but not spectacular in any one category. Furthermore, Braun's defense is already problematic enough that it might affect his offense. If he can't cut it at the hot corner, he'll be forced to move to the outfield, a position switch that will knock some of the luster off of his prospect status. Wed, 18 Apr 2007 18:16:53 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/12491 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/12491 The Cubbies called up Felix Pie to replace Alfonso Soriano in the lineup. He's going to be a good one, although I'm surprised, even despite an injury, that he's up this early. He's a toolsy prospect and the word was that he wasn't going to be called upon until the team was sure he was ready to succeed at the major league level. The feeling was that they rushed Corey Patterson too quickly through the system, never giving him the time to fully develop. Add him to the glut of OF's Chicago already has and there's good reason to believe he'll be sent down in a few weeks. He may start hot, but I don't think he'll play at a high enough level just yet to stay with the team for the rest of the season. He was hitting .444 (16-36) in 11 games at Iowa and has 20/20 potential the moment he puts on a big league uniform. Tue, 17 Apr 2007 22:51:29 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/12455 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/12455 Michael Garciaparra has a solid OBP and isn't known for ripping his groin apart every other week like his older brother, but he doesn't do much else. He'll probably see some action with the big league club at some point as a utility guy, but that's about it. Thu, 12 Apr 2007 18:33:09 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/12237 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/12237 His name is Pat Venditte and he's a pitcher for Creighton University. He's the only known ambidextrous pitcher playing baseball at the Division I level. He's an overpowering righty when facing right-handed hitters and a sidearmed lefty when taking on Southpaws. When you're done reading the article, check out the video on the left. I would love to see this guy in the majors. Sun, 08 Apr 2007 22:20:36 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/12066 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/12066 "The average I-A football team earns about $15 million a year in revenue; the average N.F.L. team earns about $160 million. How can a college coach create as much value as an N.F.L. coach?" yet many college coaches are the highest paid employee in their respective states. The Sports Economist suggests how to fix the problem. Thu, 05 Apr 2007 19:40:31 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/11965 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/11965 Someone get me some "Oops, I just crapped my Pants" diapers. There's no reason to get overly nervous about this development, but remember, up until recently Chris Carpenter had a long history of injuries. Why do you think the Blue Jays let him go in the first place? An elbow problem is never a good thing. Even if it turns out to be just one missed start, he'll probably much less effective in April than he normally would have been. Tue, 03 Apr 2007 22:47:38 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/11874 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/11874