Friday Morning Closer

So, here’s my five-pitch outing for the day:

Derek Jeter, Overrated!?  Please.

Players voted Derek Jeter as the most overrated player in baseball in a Sports Illustrated poll.

Please.

Jeter, while getting paid millions, is a solid player who delivers for his team day in and day out.  He plays hard, will often play with injuries during the playoffs so that he can continue to help the team.  He’s a good fielder, an excellent batter, and a capable leader.  Just because he gets paid millions doesn’t mean he’s overrated.  It just mean’s he’s well paid. 

So who is overrated?

Here’s a quick list:

Carlos Beltran – Great complementary player, but not a superstar.  #### You Scott Boras.

Chipper Jones – A solid third baseman and a great team player.  But not as dangerous as people have made him out to be.

Barry Zito – A great starter, but gets way to much pub because of his Cy Young win.  Is likely only a number two starter at best.

Eric Gagne – Was a crappy starter, then suddenly became lights out as a closer before going down with injury and now is fostering rumors of possible steroid use.

Josh Beckett – Had that great World Series in 2003, then became a non-factor in the Marlins rotation since.  However, this may be because the Marlins rushed his #### to the majors too quickly. 

Another Lame Trade Deadline Lies Ahead…

Ah, another crappy trade deadline period looms.  Because of the fact that most of the superstars are locked up and so many teams are going to be remaining competitive until August or so, you’ll probably see a run on complementary players, bench players, and replacement players at the break.  Stars get hurt all the time.  There’s nothing that can be done about it.  And those teams that are so close to contending will raid other non-contenders or teams with excess players in order to get themselves.

So who could we see become a suddenly hot property if a star goes down with a season ending injury?  Here’s a rough guess:

Craig Wilson (Pittsburgh Pirates) – Plays first base and the outfield.  He’s also got some nice pop to his bad and is a good defender as well.  Also has an expiring contract, so he would be under no obligation to stay.

Tony Womack (Free Agent) – Will get a call if something happens to someone’s second baseman.  Not what he once was, but he’s got good speed and can be decent at the infield.  He can’t hit anymore, so it’s likely that he’d be better off in the American League, where he could be hidden in the 9^th spot, something that can’t be done in the National League.

Steve Finley (San Francisco Giants) – An old player, but could be good as a fourth outfielder in some American League clubs.  He’s still speedy on the bases, which is a plus.

Mark Bellhorn (San Diego Padres) – Is a strikeout machine, but Bellhorn can still adequately play second and possibly some other infield position. He’s still got some pop to his bat, which is a definite plus.

Chris Burke (Houston Astros) – Is good enough to play second base on a regular basis, but is blocked by Craig Biggio.  Still, he’s being groomed as their second baseman of the future.  He can also play the outfield and is a great defender.  Also can hit the ball hard and consistently. 

Bill Hall (Milwaukee Brewers) – Still can produce, but he’s no longer a starter.  A great utility player, Hall can still produce good numbers, but doesn’t draw walks consistently.  Also strikes out a lot.

Reggie Sanders (Kansas City Royals) – Can still hit the long ball and plays a great right field.  His contract will turn off some teams, but Sanders is a great pickup for those teams that need another power bat in the lineup. 

Nationals Finally Have An Owner

Well, the Nats finally have an owner after the team was bought in 2002 from Jeffery Loria.  The team has been to a group headed by Ted Lerner, sold for the cool price of $450 million, which will equate to about $15.5 million dollars for each of the 29 teams.  The team was largely dealt a bad hand by baseball as a whole.  There was too little money given to the team (the most example was in 2003, when baseball refused to give the Expos $50,000 to call up minor leaguers to help them compete for a playoffs) and at times thought to be undercut by competitors.

The new management has a tough road ahead.  First off, they must market the team in a town that has long been dominated by Peter Angelos and the Orioles.  They’ll have to ensure that their television contract is adequate, that they are able to mend fences with the DC City Council, which is miffed that Lerner does not more minority owners in his group and is still angry at Baseball over the fight for the stadium-financing plan.

Second, the team has a weak farm system.  Terrible drafts and trades have severely weakened the system, which has some talent down in the High Class A and a couple in Triple AAA, but most of the major league ready talent that the Nats could have called up has been.  While they’ll likely be in position to draft well for the next couple of years and possibly bring in a few free agents that could make a difference, the bread and butter of a team is always the farm.  Still, I have high hopes for the Nationals  as they will begin to start rebuilding the right way, without the rest of the 29 teams butting in.  The best thing about all of this is that the Nats are finally self sufficient and have an owner that is willing to not only put in money into the team, but seems to be well grounded and has Stan Kasten, who will keep the team on course.   Things might be rough in the short term, but the future is bring in Washington.

The Most Valuable Royals Card Ever!!!!!!!

For those people who used to collect baseball cards, this story is for you.

The hottest baseball card in all of baseball isn’t of Nolan Ryan, Babe Ruth, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, even Derek Jeter.

It’s of Kansas City Royal prospect Alex Gordon, who has yet to play in the major leagues. 

Why is his rookie card so hot, selling for as much as $2,550 in recent weeks?

For those that follow the hobby, the MLB Players Association ruled that card manufacturers could only make rookie cards of players who either made the 25 man roster or played in a major league game the season before.  Gordon does qualify, as he didn’t sign his contract until late last September.  Topps realized at the last minute, destroyed the cards already produced and the production plate themselves.  But some cards did make it into circulation at some Wal-Marts in the earliest production runs only.  A fan named Jeremy Troutman pulled five of Gordon's cards and sold all five of them to different collectors for a total of $5,761.79.  Other copies are circulating eBay, including other variants of the card.

The last major error of this magnitude in the trading card industry happened in 1989, when a Fleer card featuring Billy Ripken was released.  According to legend, Billy’s big brother Cal wrote the words #### Face on the knob of the bat that Ripken used in the picture.  Fleer noticed the error and produced more than six versions of that card, but the original remained the hottest property, selling for hundreds of dollars at the time. Today, that card can be had for $5. 

Will I buy it?  Probably not.  But it’s just part of the fun of collecting baseball cards.

Genius!

Yesterday it was announced that the Team USA bus would be unmarked during the FIFA World Cup in Germany.  The reason being is so that terrorists would not be able to tell which bus was the American’s bus while traveling or while parked.  All the other buses will be marked with their Flags, leaving Team USA’s bus as the only blue one in the parking lot.

Right….