An opinion or two (ok more than two)

[Jerlins]

Just trying to create some late season discussion. Feel free to comment.

1. I'm thinking we're seeing Ron Guidry all over again in the person of Tim Lincecum.

2. While we're reminiscing, perhaps we are also witnessing the next Eric Davis in Jason Heyward.

3. Speaking of Heyward, remember all the preseason/spring training hype? Meanwhile, Mike Stanton had just as good a spring and few noticed. Now, he's pretty much matched Heyward's season totals in slightly more than half the at bats.

4. Did anyone really think Javier Vazquez was an intelligent decision by the Yankees?

5. A note to Red Sox Nation....Josh Beckett has never been more than a decent #2 pitcher. Quit regarding him as your staff ace and one of the better pitchers in baseball. He's neither of those.

6. Is anyone other than the owners of him in fantasy leagues and Strat keeper leagues shedding a tear for the troubles Jonathan Papelbon is experiencing this year.

7. And at the other end of the spectrum, the continued success of both Jon Lester and Josh Hamilton are heartwarming.

8. Albert Pujols is having a "down" year??????

9. Miguel Cabrera announced he rededicated himself to baseball last winter, and has surely backed it up.

10. 1987 had a great rookie crop, but it pales in comparison to 2010. There are arguably fifteen future high impact players making their debut in 2010. And the September callups haven't even arrived.

11. In the "I'll have what their drinking" category, I give you the names of Martin Prado and Jose Bautista.

12. For those too young to remember, Roy Halladay once got demoted from the majors to A ball.

13. Who will be the two morons that will leave Ichiro off of their HOF ballots in his 1st year of eligibility.

14. Baseball has survived the steroid scandal, but if the name Pujols or Jeter ever pop up on some list, kiss the sport goodbye!

15. In the strange but true department, it would cost me less to go to a Red Sox/Rays game in Tampa, than it would at Fenway, and I live in Rhode Island!

16. Ted Williams is arguably the greatest hitter of all time, but his refusal to swing at anything but "his" pitch leads me to believe he wouldn't be my first choice in a runner at 3rd with less than 2 out scenario.

17. For those that invest in baseball cards, you can purchase 1 Strasburg rookie card, I'll spend the same amount on 20 Stanton rookie cards and we'll compare the total value in 10 years.

18. The #1 reason kids are fat today isn't because of their diets, but the fact is they don't have to run home from school to catch the last 7 innings of a World Series game.

19. And speaking of kids, when was the last time you saw a baseball glove on the handlebars of their bike?

20. The #1 reason for baseball's ills isn't the need for a salary cap as much as the need for a salary floor.

[the splinter]

I sense a man crush on Stanton

I see more Dave Winfield or Dave Parker in JHey...he is only 21 and will out grow the lithe Eric "The Red" Davis

Miguel Cabrera, just turned 27 and a 7 year vet, will establish himself as the hitter of the decade...just watch

I think I might leave Ichiro off my ballot the first year(if he retired tomorrow)...not that he isn't awesome and deserving...I just dont see him as one of the top 10 RF of all time...a singles hitter with great D doesn't blow my skirt ...now if he plays another 5-6 years at this level at his advancing age...thats another story

Cant say I have seen a kid on a bike lately much less one witha ball glove. I live in East Cobb(Atlanta burb). You might recognize it as the #1 hotbed for producing major league talent in the last 15 or so years. Ther are at least 10 active MLB who put in time in East Cobb's program. These kids didn't ride bikes to the park and get together to work on their game...their handlers drove them across city/state to be coached up and developed at a very young age. I doubt this generation of players "love of the game" will be rooted in the same place as the past generations.

You might want to re-examine Prado...his history has been as a solid and consistent hitter(even in the minors)...but injury prone.

[schnoogens]

I don't want it to happen, but I see elbow surgery in Strasburg's future...I've been burned too many times by pitchers with incredible stuff (latest examples are Mark Prior, Kerry Wood, and Francisco Liriano).

I can't remember the last time I saw a baseball glove on a kid's bike. My bike pretty much always had a glove attached to it.

Agree with all of the Red Sox items...

...but I think a salary cap needs to happen first (rather than the problem being no floor).

[keyzick]

I think the jury's still out on Heyward, although I'm rooting for him to become a superstar...the game needs it.

Speaking of Heyward and Stanton...another Under the Radar Rookie has been Brennan Boesch of Detroit (.274, 14 hr, 55 rbi in 386 ab's), numbers similar to Heyward, and until recently, held a .300+ avg.

I'm a Sox fan in CT, I agree 100% on your Beckett assessment. But he's #3 on the Sox staff behind Bucholz and Lester.

Papelbon gives me an ulcer everytime he enters a game

Lester = heartwarming; Hamilton = glad he's turned his life around, but his own self-destruction doesn't compare to Lester fighting back from cancer

Liked your Sox-Rays comparision. Best annual trip my wife and I make is to see the Sox-Orioles at Camden Yards. Primo seats for only $75, and the whole area around the park is awesome.

[MARCPELLETIER]

Eric Davis had a few tremendous Strat cards.

Not sure I understand the Ron Guidry analogy for Lincecum.

[wavygravy2k]

I'm not too familiar with Guidry's careeer. Please explain further. Mike Krukow said on his radio show that he believes it's just mechanics.

[durantjerry]

I think it's because they are both smaller power pitchers.

[Jerlins]

Ron Guidry had a couple of dominant years with the Yankees, but amongst other things, his lack of size and pitch selection over those years led to issues he never overcame. As for the Heyward connection with Davis, I wasn't necessarily comparing skills as much as I was alluding to Davis' unfulfilled projection of greatness due to his constant battles with injuries, be it major or minor. He's had health issues in May, A stint on the DL in late June/July, and now his present injury concern. I compared him to Davis because I think he's a dedicated player who just happens to have a run of bad luck, yet is still willing to attempt to play through his injuries, as opposed to J.D (Nancy) Drew, who takes days off when he has a hangnail.

[Jerlins]

[quote:e5861b9f7c="durantjerry"]I think it's because they are both smaller power pitchers.[/quote:e5861b9f7c]

Bingo!! Give that man a prize!

[Ninersphan]

[quote:4b18210f6b="Schnoogens"]I don't want it to happen, but I see elbow surgery in Strasburg's future...I've been burned too many times by pitchers with incredible stuff (latest examples are Mark Prior, Kerry Wood, and Francisco Liriano).

I can't remember the last time I saw a baseball glove on a kid's bike. My bike pretty much always had a glove attached to it.

Agree with all of the Red Sox items...

...but I think a salary cap needs to happen first (rather than the problem being no floor).[/quote:4b18210f6b]


Funny you should mention this, I just got back from Vacation in Newport RI, ( Sorry I didn't have time to come see you Jerry/Jerlins), and the college friend my family was staying with, introduced me to the manager of the Newport Gulls of the New England College Baseball League ( it's a summer college league similar to the Cape Cod League Keith Law always reports on, at ESPN). This gentlman played minor league ball with Mark Fydrich in Detroit's system, so he knows a thing or two...
Anyway, Strasburg spent a summer on his squad a few years back, and thinks the exact same thing. He also beleives that in order to save the wear and tear on his arm, he should be made into a closer, which is what he was his first year in college. Otherwise he fears he'll be the next Mark Prior/Kerry Wood and flame out real fast. Just some food for thought...