Friday, May 27, 2005

On the Over-Rated Derek Jeter Given my boredom at work, it is time for me to rant and drop some more baseball opinions.  I continue to be astounded by the baseball pundits who seem to think that Derek Jeter is the best shortstop to ever play the game.  To be honest, the guy playing to his right at third base is statistically and defensively a better shortstop.  Nonetheless, given his preponderance of World Series rings early in his career, he gets much more credit than I believe he deserves.  For one, I think that the defensive plays that folks tend to always bring up about him are somewhat over-rated.  On Wednesday's game, he made a catch while knocking over his second baseman.  That evening and the next day, SportsCenter could not help but make comparisons to other great Derek Jeter plays.  My problem with this is that the play on Wednesday night was not really all that great.  The former baseball player in me sees the collision as a failure of communication.  No one called for the ball, and in Jeter's zeal to make the play he collided with the second baseman.  As the Yankees captain, routine baseball things like that are expected.  Of course, watching the coverage the other evening, the one play they brought up was "The Flip" from the 2001 ALDS.  I still think the umpire made the wrong call here, as he was out of position to make it.  I digress, however, as if Jason Giambi slides, the outcome of the play cannot be questioned.  On offense, Alex Rodriguez was a much better offensive shortstop.  Lately, Miguel Tejada can stake his claim to being a better offensive shortstop as well in recent years.  Looking at the numbers for each player's last year at shorstop: Name Average Home Runs RBI Alex Rodriguez (2003) .298 47 118 Derek Jeter (2004) .292 23 78 Miguel Tejada (2004) .311 34 150 Discounting Tejada, who has come into his own offensively of late, Rodriguez has better offensive numbers hands-down.  Before his injury problems, Nomar Garciaparra also put up rather gaudy offensive numbers as well (.301, 25 HR, and 105 RBI in 2003).  Jeter has solid numbers offensively, but I think he pales in comparison to some of his peers.  I just continue to be annoyed at the preponderance of attention that Jeter gets.  Sure, he won a lot of World Series early in his career.  A lot of the attention, though, I think comes from playing for the New York Yankees in one the largest media markets in the country.  Jeter is good, but he is not the best shortstop to play the game.  I just wish that ESPN would stop feeding me this crap.  I just get to put up with it for the next few days, since it will be all Yanks-Red Sox this weekend on ESPN.  1:37:12 PM    comment []  trackback []

Drink The Kool-Aid To all my fellow juice-drinkers, there is a new place for you to enjoy some Baltimore Blogger Kool-Aid: Blogtimore, Hon.  Given the somewhat somnolent state of the beloved Crablogs, some intrepid folk have offered Blogtimore as a public service for the local blogger community.  This is already in addition to the fine service offered by Supafine (of which I have procrastinated in joining).  Sign up, and drink the Kool-Aid much as I have.  Besides, I need some way to know what to add to my aggregator.  ;-)  P.S. Thanks to DaBrettman, Fool's Fate, seadragon, and eebmore for making sure I drink the Kool-Aid and get others to drink it.  P.P.S. Unlike this guy, I have no problem with the use of "Hon" in the title.  Maybe the masthead guys should comment, perhaps?  P.P.P.S If you have no idea about the Kool-Aid reference, check out this.  12:54:33 PM    comment []  trackback []

Fun with Birthdates I saw this over at Doc Searls' blog.  He was surprised at actually how right on it was, and I have to admit that it is pretty darn close to the mark for me, too.  The link is below, so go have some fun with it.  Your Birthdate: November 3 Being born on the 3rd day of the month is likely to add a good bit of vitality to your life. The energy of 3 allows you bounce back rapidly from setbacks, physical or mental. There is a restlessness in your nature, but you seem to be able to portray an easygoing, "couldn't care less" attitude. You have a natural ability to express yourself in public, and you always make a very good impression. Good with words, you excel in writing, speaking, and possibly singing. You are energetic and always a good conversationalist. You have a keen imagination, but you tend to scatter your energies and become involved with too may superficial matters. You are affectionate and loving, but sometimes too sensitive. You are subject to rapid ups and downs. What Does Your Birth Date Mean? 10:39:39 AM    comment []  trackback []

Dissing on the O's?!?!?! Last night, the O's completed a three-game sweep of the hapless Seattle Mariners.  I would have liked the bats to look a little more alive, but Seattle is a very poor offensive team.  So much for the acquisitions of Richie Sexson and Adrian Beltre.  Some bad news in this series, though, as two Birds who have played a role in the early season success--Javy Lopez and Erik Bedard--are on the disabled list.  Bedard looks like he will only miss two starts, but Lopez will not return until before the All-Star Break.  I must say that it is almost June, and the Orioles are still playing well.  Aside from a poor performance against the Phillies in interleague play last weekend, the Orioles are on the way to their first back-to-back winning months since 1997.  The bats were a little cold against the Mariners, but the pitching was solid.  Lopez looked good the other night.  His fastball was not terribly fast for most of the game, but his other pitches had some nice movement.  Cabrera, on the other hand, had some nasty stuff last night.  If the Orioles can continue to get performances like that from these guys, the two start loss of Bedard should be off-set.  Lopez will be tough to replace, but I like the way Sal Fasano is playing right now.  So, to Siana, I say rest easy.  The Yankees are on an playing some very good baseball of late.  Most of their victories have come against the A's, Mariners, and Tigers on this run.  They face the Red Sox this weekend, so that should be a good test of how they have improved compared to their start.  The Red Sox, on the other hand, appear to be waning as they received more bad news on the return of Curt Schilling.  I promise another post on the Yankees, as I must rant on the over-rated defensive skills of Derek Jeter.  Speaking of the Yankees, I see that they continue to have no respect for the Birds.  I will admit that it is only the end of May, and the Orioles have not played this well for over 7 years. Nonetheless, noted baseball experts Rey "Dirty" Sanchez and Tanyon Sturtze commented on the Orioles unexpected run: "They're not going to last. Something is going to go wrong. Everybody who has been around long enough knows it's going to be the Yankees and the Red Sox." -- Rey "Dirty" Sanchez  "You don't really hear too much about the Orioles, even though they're at the top of our division."  -- Tanyon Sturtze Do I really need to hear comments from a 37-year-old castoff who has played for 8 teams in the last 7 years with a career batting average of .272 and a total of 15 homeruns for his career?  Apparently, we need the expert analysis of a sub-.500 pitcher whose career ERA is 5.18 and has been cast-off such teams as the mighty Tampa Bay Devil Rays.  What kind of name is Tanyon anyway?  Did your parents want a girl named Tanya, but with your arrival they just used a derivative of Tanya for your name?  And how much of an expert on the American League East is a pine-rider who started in the National League and is now sharing time with a minor-league call-up?  Sorry, Tanya and "Dirty" Sanchez, you suck and so does your team.  Behold, the wonders of the current AL East Standings (kindly provided by Major League Baseball).  The Orioles currently have a 4.5 game lead on the Blow Jays and Frankees, and a 5 game lead on the BoSox.  To the Fankees, I say "Read it and weep."  It may be early, but I am enjoying the ride I am getting from the O's thus far.  To quote the slogan of the 1989 Orioles, "Why Not?"  10:25:46 AM    comment []  trackback []