SB Nation User Blog: mhirsch

Hanley: Biggest fish in baseball

mhirsch — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 17:42:41 -0000

From the current issue of Sports Illustrated: A survey of 20 baseball GM's, assistant GM's, scouting directors and scouts, looking for the one player they would want to build a team around. Here are the top results, followed by the number of first-place votes for each player:

Hanley Ramirez (5)
Alex Rodriguez (3)
Chase Utley (1)
Felix Hernandez (3)
Joe Mauer (1)
Grady Sizemore (1)
Josh Beckett (1)
Albert Pujols (1)

A bunch of other players made the list but didn't receive first-place votes – like Evan Longoria, Joba Chamberlain and Edinson Volquez. One player with no major league experience made the list, the Rays' David Price. No other Marlin appears on the list, though there is a former Marlins prospect, Adrian Gonzalez.

Jayson Stark: a Marlins booster? Please.

mhirsch — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 02:56:42 -0000

ESPN's Jayson Stark hosted a debate with fans today to try and predict the team that will win the NL East. I didn't participate, but I looked at the Web page. Can't really help myself when it looks like ESPN is actually going to write something about the Marlins. But was Jayson Stark's feature about the NL East really coverage of the Marlins? That's debatable.

To start, Jayson laid out the case for the Phillies, then the Mets, then the Marlins. Then, he issued a verdict that failed to mention the Marlins at all. And he picked the Phillies to win the division. Gutsy pick, Jayson.

But wait, it gets better. About halfway through the so-called debate, someone pointed out that there's been no talk of the Marlins. In a comparison of position players, nobody even mentioned Hanley Ramirez or Dan Uggla.

This is where Jayson really put his foot in his mouth. I'll let his words speak for themselves:

You're right. It's time to introduce the Marlins into this discussion. I can't give them Uggla over Utley because of defense, although it's close. I obviously give them 2B over the Mets. I agree at shortstop, although again, the perception that Reyes hasn't had a good year doesn't match reality. Check his numbers again. Right now, you'd give the Marlins the edge in both corners over the Mets but in neither corner over the Phillies. If Church returns, that's a different story. The question is how we evalutate their pitching. I've been a bigger Marlins booster than just about anybody you'll find in the national media. But depending on young pitching, especially when it's this inexperienced, this time of year is too dangerous to make them the favorites. Nevertheless, you make a good point that their position players line up better against the Mets than the world seems to realize.

I couldn't help putting the 'Marlins booster' comment in bold. What a joke. The guy disses the team, then he calls himself a booster.

I'll let you sift through the rest of the debate transcript if you want to see Jayson's other misguided thoughts about the Marlins. Like his assessment of Jorge Cantu. Not as good as Pedro Feliz? Really?

...

Reading Jayson Stark's debate about the NL East makes me think Ralph Nader should have been a baseball player. Because it's pretty hard to get elected president when the big boys don't let you into the debates. But you can still win in baseball -- even if ESPN columnists aren't smart enough to give you their vote.

Dump Hendrickson

mhirsch — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 04:04:12 -0000

The Marlins squeezed all the juice out of Mark Hendrickson in the month of May. It's time to cut him loose, or at least get him out of the rotation.

Since Hendrickson's last win on May 25, a game he didn't exactly deserve to win, the dude has given up 37 runs over 34 innings. That averages out to 1.09 runs per inning. By contrast, Hendrickson gave up 0.41 runs per inning during his first ten starts. Hendrickson was 6-2 during those first ten starts. Since then, he's 1-5.

The Marlins knew what they were getting when they signed Hendrickson. He had a losing record three of the last four years, and he has a career ERA over 5. What's especially troubling, though, is that Hendrickson is on pace to shatter his records for most home runs allowed and walks allowed in a season. And at this pace, he could easily surpass his record for losses in a season (15).

Burke Badenhop, workin' hard in the bullpen. I think he's trying to negotiate with the A's security...

mhirsch — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 19:18:32 -0000

Burke Badenhop, workin' hard in the bullpen. I think he's trying to negotiate with the A's security guard: a package of sunflower seeds in exchange for Rich Harden's pitching signals.

Someone's pointing the finger at Logan Kensing. (That is Logan, right?)

mhirsch — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 19:09:53 -0000

Someone's pointing the finger at Logan Kensing. (That is Logan, right?)

Reynel Pinto rocks.

mhirsch — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 19:07:54 -0000

Reynel Pinto rocks.

Joe Nelson. He had a great view of Friday's game against the A's -- until he got up to the mound in...

mhirsch — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 19:04:34 -0000

Joe Nelson. He had a great view of Friday's game against the A's -- until he got up to the mound in the 8th inning and blew a save!

Matt Lindstrom, smile for the camera! Ok, don't smile.

mhirsch — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 18:26:44 -0000

Matt Lindstrom, smile for the camera! Ok, don't smile.