Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Surprise Surprise
Good morning everybody!
Well, the Twins had an off day last night. Tonight, they start a three game set at home against the Red Sox.
I thought it would be interesting for me to check out the stats pages for each of the other major league teams and see if I could find a player from each team with surprising numbers, positive or negative. I think sometimes I get a little Twins-Centric. Not that that is a bad thing, but I do like to have an eye on the rest of the baseball world too. So, I hope you enjoy today's posting, and if you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me or leave Comments below.
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim - Orlando Cabrera - SS
Cabrera has not had a good offensive year since 2003 back in Montreal. As of now, he is hitting .303/.362/.441 with 19 doubles, four homers and 37 RBI. He also has been successful in nine out of 10 stolen base attempts. Jeff Weaver is 3-9 with a 6.15 ERA. Brother Jered is 3-0 with a 1.86 ERA. Guess which one will be demoted when Bartolo Colon comes off the Disabled List.
Houston Astros - Brad Lidge - Closer
There was a lot of talk early in the year about how poorly Lidge was doing. To me, he is a Top 5 closer in all of baseball. In 31 games he has thrown 29.1 innings and struck out 40. Those are usual numbers for him. The problem, however, is the 19 walks. He is 0-2 with a 4.85 ERA. He has saved 16 of his 19 chances.
Oakland Athletics - Frank Thomas - DH
I will admit to partly being wrong. For the A's, Thomas has played in 53 games and has 179 at bats. He is hitting .235/.352/.525 with four doubles, 16 homers and 38 RBI. He has been a good bat in the A's lineup. However, I will still contend that he would not have been a good fit for the Twins. Not now. There is no way that he would have stayed healthy playing half of his games on the Metrodome turf.
Toronto Blue Jays - Alexis Rios - OF
I think that the numbers that Rios is putting up this season are what I thought he would do last year. I really thought that he would add power and then add some average. Well, this year he is doing it all. Heading into last night's game, he was hitting .338/.379/.600 with 19 doubles, two triples, 12 homers and 45 RBI. Then last night he hit two more homers. He is really putting it all together this year. Also, Shea Hillenbrand gets bashed a lot by stat-head types, but I think it is time to recognize that he is a very good hitter! Finally, Roy Halladay is 7-1 with a 2.93 ERA. In 86 innings, he has just 43 strikeouts!
Atlanta Braves - Edgar Renteria - SS
I think we all knew he was a little better than he was with the Red Sox last year. I think that that Red Sox got a good deal in acquiring Andy Marte for him though. Well, I think that Renteria has exceeded expectations so far. He is hitting .327/.403/.491 with 12 doubles and eight homers. Also, in 272 plate appearances, Jeff Francoeur has just four walks, and one of those was intentional. He has been hit by three pitches. Set up man Oscar Villareal is this year's best Vulture. He is 7-0, but his ERA is at 4.99!
Milwaukee Brewers - Prince Fielder - 1B
I don't know if his numbers are so surprising. To me, the fact that he is performing up to the hype is impressive. So far this year, he is hitting .300/.352/.527 with 19 doubles, 11 homers and 37 RBI. The preseason favorite for NL Rookie of the Year has to still be the favorite. Carlos Lee has 21 homers, but that's not a big surprise. The fact that Billy Hall has a .605 Slugging Percentage is impressive. His 58 strikeouts in 205 at bats is not a surprise though.
St. Louis Cardinals - David Eckstein - SS
Eckstein is so overrated, that he might be a bit underrated. Yeah, he hustles and works hard, and he is little, so it makes for a good story. But, when the guy is also hitting .329/.392/.389, that is not bad. I like the on-base percentage. More walks than strikeouts. It's hard not to be a fan of his. But then again, I also am a big fan of Derek Jeter, the definition of 'so overrated he is underrated.' In 25.1 innings, Jason Isringhausen has struck out 24 and walked 23!
Chicago Cubs - Ronny Cedeno - SS
Cedeno was really just a light-hitting shortstop throughout his minor league career. This spring, he was basically given the Cubs starting shortstop (what a strange concept, huh?). Anyway, he has hit .301/.328/.402 with eight doubles, four triples and two homers. I certainly don't see him as a .300 hitter, but to this point, he does deserve mention.
Tampa Bay Devil Rays - Scott Kazmir - LHP
OK, he's not a new name to anyone. But Kazmir is putting together a very solid season in obscurity in Tampa. He is 7-4 with a 3.38 ERA. In 82.2 innings, he has 83 strikeouts. He is the best pitcher on the Rays, and an argument could be made that he is the best pitcher in the AL East. And, he is just 22 years old.
Arizona Diamondbacks - Eric Byrnes - OF
Where did this come from? He was horrible for three teams last season. I thought the Diamondbacks were crazy to sign him this spring when they have so many quality prospects. But he has started this season terrifically! He has played in 59 games and is hitting .313/.370/.433 with 14 doubles, 10 homers and 24 RBI. He also is 7/7 in stolen base attempts. Johnny Estrada is hitting .311/.337/.473 in 50 games. Brandon Webb might be one of the best pitchers in baseball. He is 8-1 with a 2.06 ERA. He is back to his groundball ways, averaging just over 3.6 grounders per flyout.
Los Angeles Dodgers - The Youth
The Dodgers are contending AND they are starting a youth movement... at the same time! What a concept! So far, they are getting excellent contributions from those young players. Catcher Russell Martin came up and in 31 games, he is hitting .294/.371/.505 with seven doubles, two triples, four homers and 24 RBI. In 35 games, OF Andre Ethier has hit .315/.385/.522 with five doubles and four homers. In 30 games, 3B Willy Aybar has hit .303/.404/.472 with nine doubles, two homers and 18 RBI. Matt Kemp has only played in 13 games, but he is hitting .366/.400/.829 with four doubles, six homers and 15 RBI. Oh, and I was wrong about Nomar Garciaparra. He is hitting .358/.420/.607 with 20 doubles, seven homers and 41 RBI.
Monday SethSpeaks Player of the Day - Brock Peterson, Ft. Myers Miracle
Monday SethSpeaks Pitcher of the Day - Kevin Slowey, Ft. Myers Miracle
Here are the weekend updates. If you have any thoughts on the Twins system, please e-mail me.
ROCHESTER REPORT
Monday - Red Wings 3, Scranton/Wilkes Barre 4 - Nine different Red Wings hitters had at least one hit, but it wasn't enough. Chris Heintz was the only hitter with two hits. Jason Bartlett went 1-2 with two walks. Peter Munro took the loss to even his record at 5-5. In six innings, he gave up four runs (3 earned) on eight hits. He didn't walk any, and he struck out six.
NEW BRITAIN NEWS
Monday - Rockcats – No Game Scheduled.
FT MYERS MEMOS
Monday - Miracle/Lakeland – Rained Out. We certainly wish the best for those in Florida currently being affected by the tropical storm down there.
BELOIT BITS
Monday - Snappers 2, South Bend 1 – Kyle Waldrop continues his hot streak with another strong start! In six innings, he gave up one run on seven hits and a walk. He struck out two. He is now 6-2 with a 3.29 ERA. Next in what Alexander Smit and he returned to the form we saw from him in E-Town last year. He struck out five in two perfect innings. Finally, Yohan Pino came in and got the save with two strikeouts in one innings. The Snappers managed just four hits in the game. Daniel Berg had two of them. Eli Tintor was the hero though as he knocked his third homer of the year, a two run shot that accounted for the team's runs.
Thanks again for stopping by this site. If you have any questions, comments or ideas for future postings, please e-mail me.
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