Name, WAR, weight, WPP ("Wins Per Pound")

Sorted by WAR:

"Albert Pujols",9.0,230,0.0391
"Chase Utley",8.2,200,0.0410
"Chipper Jones",7.6,210,0.0362
"Hanley Ramirez",7.3,200,0.0365
"David Wright",7.2,217,0.0332
"Grady Sizemore",7.0,200,0.0350
"Lance Berkman",7.0,220,0.0318
"Mark Teixeira",6.8,220,0.0309
"Dustin Pedroia",6.6,180,0.0367
"Manny Ramirez",6.5,200,0.0325

Sorted by WPP:

"Chase Utley",8.2,200,0.0410
"Albert Pujols",9.0,230,0.0391
"Dustin Pedroia",6.6,180,0.0367
"Hanley Ramirez",7.3,200,0.0365
"Chipper Jones",7.6,210,0.0362
"Grady Sizemore",7.0,200,0.0350
"David Wright",7.2,217,0.0332
"Manny Ramirez",6.5,200,0.0325
"Lance Berkman",7.0,220,0.0318
"Mark Teixeira",6.8,220,0.0309

WAR and weight provided by Fangraphs.  This is science at its best, folks!

first, a disclaimer: i understand that individual comments posted by BCB members do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the masses, the site, or anyone other than those who made he the actual post.  that being said, i'm surprised to commonly see a particular breed of negative comments surround ankiel around here.

he received HGH in 2004.  he received it via doctor's prescription.  he was given the prescription to expedite his recovery from tommy john surgery, as a pitcher.  at the time he received them, the substance was not banned by major league baseball.  he personally admitted to all of these things, and it was concluded that he should not be punished.

now don't get me wrong, i'm not even an ankiel fanboy or apologist.  i think drugs are bad, mmkay.  don't like any kind of PEDs, legal or not.  i naturally question to what degree his prescription was sought, and what percentage had to do with recovery and what had to do with enhancement.  but even if i attempt to keep an objective skeptic's hat on my skull, though, i'm pressed to see how a straight line can be drawn from point A - 2004, pitcher - to point B - 2007, hitter.

Just pissed MR. HGH won it for them.

HGH Ankiel will swing and miss at high fastballs until the cows come home

Ankiel really makes me mad. ESPN praises the guy and his “Cinderella” story. This guy would not be in the league if it weren’t for the use of HGH.

Wow.  That was frightening, but ends up an HGH-powered foul.

HGH at the plate

Fuck….HGH wins it with the hit

and that's just from skimming the two most recent threads for today's (7/5) game.

if this is mostly hyperbole, fun, trash talk, whatever i get that i guess.  i'm suspecting that some are honestly upset about this, though, and honestly think that what we know - HGH legally taken by prescription for a pitcher's elbow surgery - is fully responsible for his existence as a 122 OPS+ CF in 2008's major league.  keep in mind that he pitched five (5) games in 2004, has 85 games as a minor league hitter in 2005, and zero (0) in 2006 - knee surgery and recovery.

the guy didn't pitch like clemens, and doesn't hit like bonds.  maybe i'm just saying to those like i quoted above, your material is both thin and old.  might i suggest something like his plate discipline?  you could even have fun with clutch stats, if you're a believer in those - check out his innings 7-9, or 2 outs with RISP, or late & close!

per this recent baltimore sun report the O's are in talks with toronto to cheaply acquire eckstein for partial filling of the void tejada left them at SS.  their interest in shoring up on infielders would seem to indicate that a roberts trade is even less likely as well.

eckstein's career slash stats are .285/.352/.361.  this year he's putting up .273/.360/.348, a reduction in AVG but an improvement in OBP which also increases his hit/walk differential.  this could indicate increased plate discipline, and his pitches per plate appearance for 2008 stand at 3.9 so far.  for some historical record, he has been 3.8, 4.0, 3.8, and 3.6 across the last four years.  i take 3.9 as a good sign, especially compared to last year, and his plate discipline stats at fangraphs look well within career levels so i think it might be chalked up to simply working counts better.

eckstein is remarkably balanced against RHP and LHP with a respective career .350 and .355 OBP against.  miles is .318 and .352, kennedy is .334 and .307  miles is doing well this year, but i don't think we're going to see him every day.  the platoon should persist, i'm sure at least partially because neither option we currently have is considered to be a complete player.

if we did get eckstein for a bargain-basement rate i think he would start every day.  i would expect his overall defense to improve at this position as well, with reduced critical emphasis on range as well as a shorter throwing distance to 1B.  at his age, i simply think 2B seems like a more natural position for him wherever he might play.

i find it hard to holistically compare -defense and +offense between eckstein and kennedy, but for what it's worth i'd gladly accept kennedy off the 40-man roster, miles retaining utility status, and eckstein starting every day.  i'm sure STL fans in general would love it too, but there's the whole personal issue of him being jacked around - especially since he'll be a free agent again at the end of this season.  for practical reasons such as that and 2009's sunk cost on kennedy i don't think any of this is likely to be seriously considered, but it was at least fun for me to think about it.