Max wrote:

APRTW wrote:

tkihshbt wrote:

That's probably a good contract for the Braves. Uggla will eventually have to be moved off second base.

I think it's weird that Cardinals fans were wanting Uggla, since he has all the warts Colby Rasmus has, minus the annoying father.

Werth got way more then he should have and I think Cardinal fans dixation with Uggla has to do as much with the crappy production we have seen out of seconds base over the past few years as it does with Uggla.  That and our weak ass lineup.

Uggla had 58 HR after his 2nd season playing 2B, Colby has 39 after two years in CF.  Money aside, the offense would probably be better with Schu in CF and Uggla at 2B, than Rasmus in CF and Schu at 2B. 

We are all waiting on pins and needles for Rasmus to start putting up Uggla-like numbers.

I wouldnt say that Skip/Uggla is better then Rasmus/Skip.  Uggla doesnt play second base much better then Skip and he strikes out alot.

APRTW wrote:

Max wrote:

APRTW wrote:

Werth got way more then he should have and I think Cardinal fans dixation with Uggla has to do as much with the crappy production we have seen out of seconds base over the past few years as it does with Uggla.  That and our weak ass lineup.

Uggla had 58 HR after his 2nd season playing 2B, Colby has 39 after two years in CF.  Money aside, the offense would probably be better with Schu in CF and Uggla at 2B, than Rasmus in CF and Schu at 2B. 

We are all waiting on pins and needles for Rasmus to start putting up Uggla-like numbers.

I wouldnt say that Skip/Uggla is better then Rasmus/Skip.  Uggla doesnt play second base much better then Skip and he strikes out alot.

Are you trying to be funny?

2010
Rasmus 148/464 = .319 K/AB
Uggla 149/589 = .253 K/AB

tkihshbt wrote:

Max wrote:

We are all waiting on pins and needles for Rasmus to start putting up Uggla-like numbers.

So 30 home runs excuses nearly a strikeout a game, a .260 batting average and bad defense?

Note that I'm not disagreeing with you. I'm just trying to figure out where the goalposts are.

Read: "Money aside, the offense would probably be better with Schu in CF and Uggla at 2B, than Rasmus in CF and Schu at 2B. "

1. this was restricted to offense, as a way of supporting APs response

2. the comparison is limited to Uggla vs. Rasmus, which you started, and Rasmus strikes out A LOT more than Uggla.

I don't have a bone in this either way, other than to sit back and chat about baseball, because it's clear that Uggla-sized money wasn't in consideration for Moz this year.

APRTW wrote:

Max wrote:

Are you trying to be funny?

2010
Rasmus 148/464 = .319 K/AB
Uggla 149/589 = .253 K/AB

Yeah Rasmus strikes out alot to but he is young enough to improve.  Uggla just had a career year and I wouldnt expect him to bat .290 in 2011.  Twice in his career he has batted below .250.  I would take Rasmus, his great glove and higher BA over Uggla poor fielding, low BA and need to move to another position.

I'm not disagreeing.  Rasmus is cheaper and most everyone feels his upside is worth waiting around for.  Now let's hope he can start putting up Uggla-like numbers on offense. 

FWIW, their career BA are identical: .263

Uggla is a bit higher in OBP: .349 vs. .334
Uggla is a bit higher in SLG: .488 vs. .452
add them together and Uggla is appreciably better in OPS: .837 vs. .786

Last edited by Max (1/06/2011 12:07 pm)

Never mind on the first point.

tkihshbt wrote:

Max wrote:

Read: "Money aside, the offense would probably be better with Schu in CF and Uggla at 2B, than Rasmus in CF and Schu at 2B. "

In what context? For the Yankees? Sure. For a team with a $100 million budget? No.

2. the comparison is limited to Uggla vs. Rasmus, which you started, and Rasmus strikes out A LOT more than Uggla.

Please define A LOT more. By my count, Uggla strikes out once every 4.4 plate appearances, compared to Colby's 3.8.

Either way, it doesn't change the fact that Uggla strikes out a lot.

The question was why would fans want Dan Uggla, who has all the same warts as Colby Rasmus, without the annoying father.

I think AP answered that.  Production from 2B has been weak.  Many people blame poor offensive output for last season's failure to make the playoffs.

A LOT is relative.  If I had to pay 38 cents for a piece of candy or 44 cents for the same piece of candy, my reactions would "pffft" if anything.  If one guy struck out 38 times in a season and another struck 44 times, I might say, "eh?".  But a star goes to the plate 550-650 times a season.  Rasmus strikes out almost 32% of PA, as opposed about 25% for Uggla.  With 600 PA, that's 191.4 K's for Rasmus and 151.8 for Uggla, of basically 40 more K's per season: Rasmus would have 26% more K's than Uggla.  Sounds like a lot to me. 

2010
Rasmus 148/464 = .319 K/AB
Uggla 149/589 = .253 K/AB

Last edited by Max (1/06/2011 12:49 pm)

Also, Rasmus struck out in 20 percent of his plate appearances in 2009. So his career totals are right in line with the world's most perfect second baseman.

Max wrote:

We all know you have a man-crush on Colby Rasmus.  No need to get sensitive if we tease you a bit about it from time to time, TK.

Listen, I am as convinced as anybody that Rasmus is a first-ballot HOF-er.  But since you brought up the comparison with Uggla, I just thought I would remind people that within the Universal Colby Rasmus fan club, there is a small minority of us who would still like to see him put up Uggla-like offensive numbers every now and then on his way to Cooperstown.

I would like to see him put up 2010 Uggla numbers.  I however wouldnt like to see him become a below average fielder at his position and bat .240.

APRTW wrote:

VEB gives great rundown of NL central

Starting with the bastards that beat us last year, here we go.

Cincinnati Reds

2010 Record: 91-71 (1st place)

Pythagorean Record: 92-70

Notable Comings: Dontrelle Willis LHP, Jeremy Hermida OF

Notable Goings: Arthur Rhodes LHP, Orlando Cabrera SS (remains unsigned; could be back)

Outlook: The Reds are a pretty good team. They won the division last season, and they look as if they could very well repeat again this season. They have a solid young core of talent (including the newly extended Jay Bruce), and Walt Jocketty did a nice job filling in the margins of the team last year.

All that being said, the Reds did overachieve in 2010, and I expect them to come back a bit in the coming season. They were right in line with their Pythagorean record, so there doesn't appear to be any wackiness going on with run distribution, but most of their roster hit their highest projections, and I don't expect that to happen again.

Scott Rolen will be another year older, and his career renaissance following his shoulder woes can't last forever. The loss of Arthur Rhodes may hurt more than you think, seeing as Rhodes was one of the most effective relievers in the majors last year.

On the upside, Aroldis Chapman will likely be in the big leagues the whole season, which could be very bad news for the rest of the NL Central. (Or, he could blow out his arm as many of us believe will happen. Time will tell.) Mike Leake will have an entire season under his belt. Joey Votto, whether he's an annual MVP candidate or not, is a beast in the middle of the Cincinnati lineup. Personally, I think Drew Stubbs is going to be a quality player for the Reds for a long time to come.

On top of their quality big-league roster, the Reds still have plenty of quality in their minor league system. The aforementioned Chapman is the jewel of the system, but players like Yonder Alonso and Devin Mesoraco offer future upside as well. Oddly enough, the Reds' seem to have a bunch of big-bat, limited-position guys at the moment in the upper ranges of the minors.

Bottom line, the Reds are a very good team. They'll likely fall back a bit in 2011 thanks to some players not hitting their most positive projections, but Chapman alone could offset a fair amount of that. I think the Cardinals are a little bit better team, but not much. Then again, this is a team which just signed Dontrelle Willis, so, um, whatever.

Milwaukee Brewers

2010 Record: 77-85 (3rd place)

Pythagorean Record: 76-86

Notable Comings: Zack Greinke RHP, Shaun Marcum RHP, Takashi Saito RHP, Yuniesky Betancourt SS

Notable Goings: Alcides Escobar SS, Lorenzo Cain OF, Carlos Villanueva RHP

Outlook: Can I tell you how terrified I am of the Milwaukee Brewers this year? The last few seasons we've seen them score runs in big bunches, but struggle to hold the opposition down. They made a nice run with CC Sabathia a couple years back, but for the most part it's been the same old story for the Brew Crew in recent years. Sure, they're going to knock your pitchers around, but they can't stop you from doing the same.

Now, though, look at that rotation. Zack Greinke, Yovani Gallardo, Shaun Marcum, and Randy Wolf. I don't care who exactly they throw out there as a fifth starter, there's no way in hell I want to see that rotation for eighteen games a season.  In fact, if I'm completely honest with myself, I think that rotation may be better than the four the Cardinals can field. I could be wrong and just playing Chicken Little, but damn. That's intimidating.

Their bullpen may be pretty solid as well. John Axford looked like an emerging force at times last season, and the ageless Takashi Saito should lend a steadying hand setting up. Possibly worst of all, the Cardinals will no longer have the luxury of Carlos Villanueva pissing our players off and sending them into Super Saiyan mode.

The Brewer offense is as intimidating as ever, with Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks, and Ryan Braun all offer tremendous production (though Braun did have an off year in terms of power in 2010), and nighttime sunglass/Camaro enthusiast Corey Hart turned in a monster performance last year. I don't expect him to be as good in 2011 as he was in 2010, but I also wouldn't bet against him continuing his Jayson Werth impression.

I'm just going to come out and say it. Get it over with as quickly as possible.

I think the Brewers may be the best team in the division.

Ugh, I know. Jesus, that's nasty. I can taste it in the back of my throat. And it isn't as if I think they're markedly better than the rest. But still, I look at that rotation, and I look at that offense, and I have to admit to being more than a little bit afraid of the boys from the good land. How many games could the Brewers legitimately improve from 2010? I don't know exactly, but when you replace Chris Narveson with Zack Greinke, that's a pretty good upgrade.

Chicago Cubs

2010 Record: 75-87 (5th place)

Pythagorean Record: 73-89

Notable Comings: Kerry Wood RHP, Carlos Pena 1B

Notable Goings: None

Outlook: Let's face it: the Cubs are kind of a mess. They were a bad team in 2010, and they aren't going to be a whole lot better in 2011. If it were a different team with a different roster, you might think of them as a team in transition, a rebuilding team even. When you look at where the money actually goes for the Cubs, though, they just don't have the look of a transitional team. Case in point: the signing of Carlos Pena. I actually think Pena is a pretty good pickup for the Northsiders, given the one-year length of the deal, but is he a stopgap? Is he auditioning for a future role? It just seems like too many things are in flux for Chicago right now.

There is some hope in the youth here; Tyler Colvin certainly showed some surprising pop in his rookie season. Geovany Soto had a nice bounceback campaign, and Starling Castro came to the big leagues and hit the ground running. He didn't look like the future gold glover he was advertised as, at least not to me, but small sample sizes and all that.

Aramis Ramirez is still the biggest bat here, but he's moving into decline territory. Alfonso Soriano fell off a cliff, and I'm not sure he's coming back. The pitching is weak, with Carlos Zambrano still the ace of this staff. He's still solid, but between the mileage on his arm and the insanity, Big Z is always a risk to do as much harm as good.

The Cubbies have been pushing to try and deal for Matt Garza; a move for someone like that would certainly improve their chances. Even so, I still they would be a bit short. It would, however, make the NL Central overall dynamic verrry interesting, as suddenly you would have some of the most terrifying pitching in all of baseball concentrated in the low-rent district.

The Cubs are probably not going to compete this season. Their bullpen will be very good, with Kerry Wood rejoining Carlos Marmol at the back end. Sean Marshall will be an interesting wildcard; the decision to either keep him in relief or try him once again in the rotation should make for plenty of blog fodder. Overall, though, this is a team with too many declining players and not enough power. The NL Central will be much improved in 2011, methinks; the Cubs, not so much.

Houston Astros

2010 Record: 76-86 (4th place)

Pythagorean Record: 68-94

Notable Comings: Bill Hall UTI, Clint Barmes SS/2B

Notable Goings: Matt Lindstrom RHP, Hope

Outlook: Remember just above this, when I said the Cubs were kind of a mess? Well, remove the kind of, and you've got the Houston Astros. Honestly, I find myself continually aghast at just how poorly this franchise has been handled the past several years. Think back to 2004 and that brilliant, all-time great NLCS series. Honestly, I think I enjoyed the 2004 NLCS more than any other postseason series I've ever seen (possible exception: 2001 NLDS vs. Arizona), and that includes the World Series we actually won. Now look at where the Astros are. They outperformed their Pythagorean record by a freakish eight games, and that still didn't get them even close to .500. This is a bad team, and the people running it should be ashamed of themselves for robbing Houston fans of their baseball team.

Honestly, I don't really know where to start with the 'Stros. The combination of J.A. Happ and Wandy Rodriguez is a pretty good place to begin building from, I suppose. The unaccountable brilliance of Brett Myers last season led Houston to sign him to an extension, but I just can't believe a rational, sane universe could possibly allow that douchebag to have another good year. Beyond Myers, names like Bud Norris and Felipe Paulino start cropping up. 'Nuff said.

I will say this: I would have gladly taken Matt Lindstrom off the Astros' hands any time they liked. Brandon Lyon, um, not so much.

Michael Bourn established himself as a better player than a lot of us thought in 2010, though that isn't exactly high praise. Hunter Pence has gone the other way in a big hurry, after looking so promising early in his career. Chris Johnson, the young third baseman, turned in a solid campaign, but he's going to have to prove he can make it with an almost nonexistent walk rate before I buy into him being a big-league player.

Honestly, the most interesting storyline surrounding Houston this year for me will be what kind of performance we see from Brett Wallace. I still believe he can find a way to be successful, probably in a very Daric Barton-ish sort of way.

Astros fans deserve better. Unfortunately, I'm not sure it's going to get much better any time soon.

Pittsburgh Pirates

2010 Record: 57-105

Pythagorean Record: 53-109

Notable Comings: Kevin Correia RHP, Scott Olson LHP

Notable Goings: Just Hope (Okay, Zach Duke too)

Outlook: A little earlier this offseason, my compatriot Dan had what I think was one of the best lines of the offseason. He said (paraphrasing), "The best way to make the Pirates an 85 win team would be to trade Andrew McCutcheon to an 83 win team and rename them the Pirates." I think that really pretty much says it all.

Honestly, I don't have much to say about the Pirates. Each year we look and think there's a glimmer of life in Pittsburgh, and each year they end up losing 95+ games in spite of the occasional flash of life. What would make anyone think this year should be different?

To be fair, the Pirates do have a couple of talented young players who could offer hope for the future. McCutcheon is fantastic, and Pedro Alvarez looks like the real deal. (He does not, however, look like a third baseman.) Neil Walker and Jose Tabata are both intriguing, though we've seen this story before. I'm going to have to see more from both before I get too excited about their futures. Unfortunately for Pittsburgh, Garrett Jones turned back into a pumpkin, Lastings Milledge is still a better rapper than a ballplayer (and he's an awful, awful rapper), and there isn't a whole lot of immediate help on the horizon.

Pittsburgh is a non-factor. Again. However, I fully expect them to take three of four from the Cardinals in a critical August series and ruin our season.

Again.

If you asked me right now to rate the teams in the NL Central, I believe it would go thusly:

1. St. Louis Cardinals

1A. Milwaukee Brewers

1B. Cincinnati Reds

4. Chicago Cubs

5. Grandview High School

6. Houston Astros

7. Pittsburgh Pirates

Did I miss the Cardinals in all that, somehow?

APRTW wrote:

Ryan signed a 2 years 2.75million deal.

That's about what we pay for one year of Skip, I believe.

But for those of us who are fans of him, that alone is not reason enough to let door hit him on the ass on his way out.  Lots of people experience the growing pains one place, and then move on to success at the next.  My recollection is that Jim Edmonds was considered to be something of a problem by the Angels, and that's part of why we got him rather cheaply.  If you had asked for a collection to get rid of Rasmus, there might have been some money in the jar.

forsberg_us wrote:

Tigers sign Penny.  1 year, $3M with $3M in incentives.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=6011015

Man I wish I could pitch 10 games a year.

Me too!  I could live happily on that 3 million for the rest of my life! (cute)

Suppan signed a minor league deal with the Gaints.  You would have thought Wellemeyer would have taught them something.

Also Jorge Cantu signed a one year deal with the Padres for only 850,000.  I think it is a poor move by the Cardinals not to have been interested in him for that price.  He would have added depth at thrid and second as well as pop off the bench.


http://chickenfriars.com/2011/01/25/padres-sign-jorge-cantu-to-1-year-deal/

Last edited by APRTW (1/25/2011 10:44 am)