Futon Report: National League All-Star Watch, Pt. I
Published May 19, 2005
It comes as no shock I have a lot of time on my hands, until the naive corporate man decides to pay me a yearly salary for no good reason.
So I spend some caffeinated nights on this laptop looking up baseball stats, wondering who deserves to play in the All-Star game in Detroit this July.
I haven't ruled out going to it, since it's just an hour drive. Of course, the Futon Report would be more like a Bleacher Report if that happened. I still wouldn't interview anyone, though. People scare me.
And since it's only May and the ballot results are comparable to a larva, here's a rundown of my highly accurate* power charts by position. Notable stats are in parentheses. "OPS" is a weird stat: on-base percentage plus slugging percentage. It's not a ratio that can be put into words, but it's a good revealing stat that measures one's offensive output.
Here's the National League rankings. American League will come later, because my battery is starting to quickly dwindle.
Catcher:
1. Paul Lo Duca, Marlins (.336 BA, 2 HR, 15 RBI)
2. Mike Piazza, Mets (.242 BA, 6 HR, 22 RBI)
3. Ramon Hernandez, Padres (.304 BA, 4 HR, 20 RBI)
4. Mike Matheny, Giants (.252 BA, 4 HR, 19 RBI)
5. Michael Barrett, Cubs (.278 BA, 4 HR, 18 RBI)
First Base:
1. Derrek Lee, Cubs (.362 BA, 12 HR, 37 RBI, 1.156 OPS)
2. Albert Pujols, Cardinals (.331 BA, 10 HR, 33 RBI, 27 runs)
3. Todd Helton, Rockies (.323 BA, 5 HR, 19 RBI, .993 OPS)
4. Nick Johnson, Nationals (.321 BA, 6 HR, 24 RBI)
5. Lyle Overbay, Brewers (.313 BA, 7 HR, 26 RBI, 31 walks)
Second Base:
1. Mark Grudzielanek , Cardinals (.338 BA, 3 HR, 15 RBI)
2. Jeff Kent, Dodgers (.298 BA, 8 HR, 32 RBI, 1.000 fielding pct)
3. Craig Biggio, Astros (.298 BA, 7 HR, 22 RBI)
4. Craig Counsell, Diamondbacks (.294 BA, 1 HR, 9 RBI, .423 OBP)
5. Mark Loretta, Padres (.300 BA, 0 HR, 13 RBI)
Third Base:
1. Chipper Jones, Braves (.333 BA, 7 HR, 22 RBI, .1.094 OPS)
2. Troy Glaus, Diamondbacks (.281 BA, 12 HR, 31 RBI, 1.020 OPS)
3. Morgan Ensberg, Astros (.317 BA, 7 HR, 18 RBI, .421 OBP)
4. Vinny Castilla, Nationals (.301 BA, 4 HR, 23 RBI)
5. David Wright, Mets (.275 BA, 7 HR, 21 RBI)
Matt Sussman is the former sports editor of BC Magazine and also writes for Deadspin, SPORTSbyBROOKS, The Futon Report, and the Toledo Free Press. Catch him with Tuffy on Treehouse Fort, the official show of BC Sports. Feed the feedback back to matt.sussman@blogcritics.org.
- Futon Report: National League All-Star Watch, Pt. I
- Published: May 19, 2005
- Type: Opinion
- Section: Sports
- Part of a feature: MLB Report
- Writer: Matthew T. Sussman
- Matthew T. Sussman's BC Writer page
- Matthew T. Sussman's personal site
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Comments on this articleComments
Small error: John Smoltz doesn't have a 3-0 record, it's really 3-3.
It must have been mighty tough ranking Lee ahead of Pujols at the 1st base rankings. My guess is Pujols will end up with the most votes come July. Too bad, Lee is very underrated.
I have to disagree with the 2nd base call. Grudzielanek has been good, but Kent has blew everyone's expectations away. Even though his bat has cooled, for a 37-year old 2nd baseman who supposedly on a decline, he has been tearing it up.
And hoorah for Abreu, the man finally gets his due respect for being a 5x5 tool player.
Temple, I appreciate the dedicated following in this segment's prenatal stages. It's hard to disagree with stats, but lists like these are easy to spark debate, as Tan showed us.
First base sure was hard. I couldn't give it to Pujols yet, but yes I agree he'll probably wind up with better numbers come July.
Same with Kent and second base. Right now I just think Grudzy has played better ball, although I'm sure a lot of people will disagree with me. That's why lists are fun!
Finally Abreu does have the best numbers for outfielders when you factor in stolen bases, and keep in mind he is doing this all for a last place team.
And Griffey is probably on the bubble for outfielders. A .267 average, 6 HR and 24 RBi is good, but there are just 10 better players. He has picked it up as of late, however, so I will keep my good eye on him.
Oh, and I will try to get the American League rankings out sometime late tonight. It's hard to say, but that's the super amazing goal set by my own remarkably high standards.
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No Griffey?
Actually, this is a really good post (lin it again cloer to the July thing. I favorably read these baseball reports of yours, I just don't have much to say about them. My expertise on baseball is waaaaay down here.