Why Brandon Morrow is a Top Starter

I was looking at some numbers on fan graphs the other day, not looking for anything in particular just looking at pitching stats, surveying the leaderboards. I found something that I thought to be rather interesting. Brandon Morrow is having a sensational 2011 season. However he is not getting any recognition as being a great pitcher, because his greatness goes beyond the basic numbers. Looking at Brandon Morrow’s, 2011 season it seems rather unspectacular. He is 8-6 with a 4.51 era, an ERA+ of 91. He has a WHIP of 1.27 and a K/BB ratio of 3.16. He does lead the league in strikeouts per 9 with 10.5, which is excellent. If you go behind the basic numbers though you can see that he is one of the best pitchers in the league. His FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) is 2.90. Basically what FIP shows is how well a pitcher should be pitching based off what he can control (Ks, BBs, and HRs). His FIP is 14th in the league ahead of top of rotation starters like Felix Hernandez, Josh Becket, and David Price to name a few. That is a pretty compelling number, but the biggest reason that Morrow is one of the best pitchers in the league is his SIERA. SIERA is a new stat created Matt Swartz. It is a very complex statistic. For a full explanation visit the link http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=10027. Matt explains it all in there. SIERA stands for Skill-Interactive Earned Run Average, and it estimates ERA through walk rate, strikeout rate and ground ball rate, eliminating the effects of park, defense and luck. SIERA accounts for how run prevention improves as ground ball rate increases and declines as more whiffs are accrued, while grounders are of more materiality for those who allow a surplus of runners.

SIERA accomplishes the following: (this is taken from the article linked above)

1. Allows for the fact that a high ground-ball rate is more useful to pitchers who walk more batters, due to the potential that double plays wipe away runners.
2. Allows for the fact that a low fly-ball rate (and therefore, a low HR rate) is less useful to pitchers who strike out a lot of batters (e.g. Johan Santana's FIP tends to be higher than his ERA because the former treats all HR the same, even though Santana’s skill set portends this bombs allowed will usually be solo shots).
3. Allows for the fact that adding strikeouts is more useful when you don't strike out many guys to begin with, since more runners get stranded.
4. Allows for the fact that adding ground balls is more useful when you already allow a lot of ground balls because there are frequently runners on first.
5. Corrects for the fact that QERA used GB/BIP instead of GB/PA (e.g. Joel Pineiro is all contact, so increasing his ground-ball rate means more ground balls than if Oliver Perez had done it, given he's not a high contact guy).
6. Corrects for the fact that FIP and xFIP use IP as a denominator which means that luck on balls in play changes one's FIP.

Morrows SIERA is 3.02, which is the 8th in the league and second in the AL to Justin Verlander. This shows how good a pitcher Morrow is, he should have an ERA right around 3.00. Of course immeasurable factors like luck are why his ERA is 4.51, but this is very compelling evidence as to how good Morrow is. The Blue Jays have themselves a very strong young pitcher on their hands. Hopefully the Jays front office realizes this and can get him locked before another teams realizes how great he is and trys to get him.

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Winners and Loser of the Trade Deadline

The non-waiver trade deadline passed at 4 o’clock yesterday afternoon. There were not many trades that went right down to the deadline.  Just minor trades were made. The blockbuster trades as few as there was, were made before July 31. In my previous post I outlined why it was good and bad to be a buyer or a seller. Some teams fell into the trap and make some of the buying mistakes I suggested they should avoid. Other teams make some of the selling mistakes I outlined and that may hurt them in the long run. Now I will outline the winners and losers of the 2011 trade deadline.

Starting with the American League

Winners

Texas Rangers- Their bullpen needed an upgrade after losing Frank Francisco and Naftali Feliz struggling this season. They went out and acquired the help they needed. They traded two prospects Joe Wieland and Robbie Erlin to the Padres for Mike Adams. Adams gives them some stability in the 8th inning and a great bridge to Feliz. They also acquired Koji Uehara from the Orioles for Chris Davis and Tommy Hunter. This was a steep price to pay for another reliever but Texas’ window for winning is right now and they needed to make this move. Overall I felt like they had an excellent deadline acquiring these two arms and feel like they have an even better shot at winning the AL West.

Mariners- I felt like they had a solid deadline. They were obviously sellers after losing 17 games in a row. They did what I suggested sellers should do, they got prospects for their veterans and cashed in on career years from a guy like Doug Fister.   

White Sox- They acquired Jason Frasor and Zach Stewart from the Jays for Edwin Jackson and Mark Teahen. The White Sox did a good job getting salary relief, getting a very good reliever in Frasor and a good prospect in Stewart. This trade is able to help them this season and in future seasons.  

Blue Jays- They made what I felt like to be one of the best trades of this deadline. They aquried Jackson and Teahen as stated above. They then traded Jackson along with Marc Rzepczynski, Octavio Dotel, and Corey Patterson to the Cardinals for Colby Rasmus, Trever Miller, Brian Tallet, and P.J. Walters. The Jays gave up very little in this deal and acquired a very talented young player in Rasmus. They were able to make this trade because Rasmus had fallen out of favour with manager Tony LaRussa. This was a great trade for young GM Alex Anthopolous who is starting to become a bit of a legend.   

Orioles- Did an excellent job getting two MLB players in Tommy Hunter and Chris Davis for middle reliever Koji Uehara. Davis made Derek Lee expendable and the Orioles did a good job flipping Lee to the Pirates for Aaron Baker.

Losers

Athletics- They did do a good job of aquireing Brandon Allen and Jordan Norberto from the Diamondbacks for Brad Ziegler, but overall they were losers. I though Oakland would have been much busier this deadline as they had so many veteran player. Josh Willingham, Hideki Matsui, and other relievers should have been moved for prospects. But I guess Billy Beane feels the potential draft picks will be worth more than the prospects.  

Indians- They illustrated my point perfectly on why it’s bad to be a buyer. The first trade they made was a perfect one for a surprise contender. They traded Abner Abreu and Carlton Smith for Kosuke Fukudome. This was a good trade that helped the MLB team without risking their future. The Indians also traded Orlando Cabrera to the Giants for Thomas Neal. This was another good trade they got a solid AAA player for a veteran who no longer was needed. Those two trades would have made the Indians winners but they made one blockbuster trade that makes them a loser. They acquired Ubaldo Jimenez from the Rockies for Joe Gardner, Alex White, Matt Mcbride and a play to be named later. The PTBNL is going to be top pitching prospect Drew Pomeranz who will be dealt when he is eligible in August. The Indians did get an ace pitcher on a team friendly contract, but Ubaldo has pitched in high altitude his whole career. He is very likely going to get hurt very soon, there was too much risk involved in this trade which is why the Indians are losers this year. They should not have risked the future for a chance to win now.     

Red Sox- Only acquired Eric Bedard who probably isn’t going to be a fit there. He is a left handed oft injured pitcher who is bound to get hurt again. The Red Sox needed rotation depth but should have looked at more established starters. We will have to see what they do in August before we can say the Red Sox are true losers, but as of right now with that trade they were a loser at the trade deadline.

The Angels, Rays, and Yankees, are all contending teams who didn’t make any moves and I consider them all to be losers. Honestly I don’t feel any team is that complete that no trades were needed. Every team has some hole, which should be addressed at the deadline.    

The Twins were a team who are not contending and didn’t make any moves. If your team is out of the race and no veterans were traded that is not good. Then only reason to keep these players is if the GM wants the draft picks at the end of the season if they leave via free agency. There are many risky variables that could result in not getting the picks so I would take my chances and trade the player for a prospect further developed.

And the National League

Winners

Giants- The Giants made one of the biggest trades of the deadline. They traded Zack Wheeler who was their top pitching prospect for the best hitter on the market Carlos Beltran. This is exactly why it’s good to be a buyer. The Giants are in win now mode and have to make these types of trades. They needed to add to their offence and they were able to do just that with the Beltran trade. They also acquired a good veteran player with playoff experience in Orlando Cabrera. He will bring leadership to that team. These trades along with the stellar Giants rotation makes this team look awfully strong with a good chance to repeat as world champs.  

Diamondbacks- They had a pretty good deadline from my perspective. They currently sit just 2 games back of the Giants in the NL West and 3.5 back of the Braves for the wildcard. They went out and acquired Brad Ziegler who helps their bullpen.  They also acquired rotation depth in the form of Jason Marquies who they acquired from the Nationals for prospect Zach Walters.

Rockies- They are winners because they were able to get 4 top prospects for Ubaldo Jimenez who is destined to break down shortly. It may not be this season but very soon I wouldn’t be surprised to Ubaldo go down with a significant arm injury.

Astros- Yes this is surprising but I’m putting the Astros as winners because I feel like they are rebuilding the right way. They traded Hunter Pence and Michael Bourn and got back 7 prospects to help them in the future. The one fault in the Bourn trade was they did not get one of the Braves four pitching prospects. I feel like one of those four would have been nice but the Astros did a solid job for the time that they had, and it’s a lot better to make this trade now, rather than keep Bourn  and have him leave via FA after 2012.

Cardinals- The Cardinals had a good deadline in my perspective. They had a need at SS and went out and got Furcal from the Dodgers.  They had a whole in their bullpen and went out and got Zep, and Dotel. They had a hole in their rotation and they went out and got Jackson. It was a steep price to pay for zap, Dotel and Jackson in Rasmus but LaRussa didn’t want him and he was losing playing time anyway.

Pirates- The Pirates did an excellent job to improve their team without risking the future. Exactly what I suggested a team in their position do. The picked up Ryan Ludwick for a PTBNL, and they got Derek Lee for minor leaguer Aaron Baker. These were two nice additions that will help upgrade the Pirates offence.  

Phillies- They are another one of those teams in win now mode. They already have a very strong team that needed little improvement. So what did they do they went out and got the second best hitter on the market Hunter Pence. They did give up top prospects to get Pence but it is worth it for the Phillies who have a chance at the title this season.

Braves- Much like the Phillies they are in win now mode as well. The acquired another great hitter in Bourn. The Braves did exceptionally well not to give up any of their top 4 pitching prospects in the deal.

Mets- Another seller who did a good job at the deadline. They got the Giants top pitching prospect Zach Wheeler, for Beltran. They also rid themselves that was the mess of Frankie Rodriguez. I would have liked to have seen a guy like Scott Hairston go but he wouldent have brought back a whole lot anyway.

Losers

Dodgers- For a bankrupt team you would have thought more deals would have been made trying to shed payroll. They really only traded Rafael Furcal to the Cardinals for 2.5mil and Alex Castellanos. This was a solid trade but I would have liked to have seen more moves made by them.

Padres- I put the Padres here for similar reasons as the why the Dodgers are here. Not enough trades were made. The Padres had 3 relievers (Heath Bell, Mike Adams, and Chad Qualls) who I thought should have been traded. They did a good job getting Joe Wieland and Robbie Erlin for Adams, but they have gotten more prospects. The Padres did a have a good run last season but they need to go young and the best way to do that is to trade veteran players for prospects. That’s something they didn’t do and they are a trade deadline loser for that.  

Brewers- They went into the deadline looking for left side of the infield help. They came out of it with Jerry Hairston Jr. and Felipe Lopez, and that pretty much explains why they are losers. The Brew Crew currently sit 2.5 games up on the Cards for first in the NL central and they need to make a move to greater improve their team. Yes I know they are short on prospects after gutting their system for Zach Greinke and Shaun Marcum in separate trades this past off season. Even someone cheap like Orlando Cabrera would have been an upgrade over what they have. Currently they have  Yuniesky Betancourt as their everyday shortstop. He is considered to be one of the worst everyday players in the game. The Brewers are not going to go far with Betancourt as their SS, they needed to improve on that and they didn’t.  

Cubs- They had some good players who could have been moved for solid prospects. But Kerry Wood and Aramis Ramirez had no-trade clauses and both said they did not want to leave. The veterans they did have, they didn’t move like Carlos Pena and Marlon Byrd. They are a prime example on why it’s bad to be a seller. They held on to all of their veterans and that is not the right way to rebuild. The Cubs did aquire 2 prospects from the Indians for Kosuke Fukudome, but they need more, so they can go young and build around young budding SS Starlin Castro.

The Reds fall into the same category as the Rays, Angels and Yankees stated above.

The Marlins really didn`t do anything this deadline as they are keeping this team together for when they open their new stadium. I don’t mind them staying pat as they have a good core they just need them not to struggle like they have this year.

This turned out to be a very exciting trade deadline, with lots of trades and rumours swirlling around.

Comments are appreciated, let me know how I'm doing and what I can improve on. Thanks

The Good and Bad for Buyers and Sellers at the Trade Deadline

The trade deadline is one of the best times in the baseball calendar. Whether a team is a buyer or a seller, the trade deadline is essential to teams’ success. Obviously teams would like to be buyers because that means you in playoff contention, but being a seller isn’t all bad. It actually can be quite good for a struggling franchise. With that here are the reasons its good (and bad) to be a buyer or a seller.

Buyer

Why it’s good – If a team is a buyer that means that they are in a playoff race. Those teams are looking for that one piece to complete the team or that piece to push a border line team over the top. There are usually not that one huge superstar like Carlos Beltran on the market. When there is a superstar that is acquired it have a huge impact on the playoff race. One of the best examples of this being CC Sabathia in 2008 with the Brewers. CC carried the Brewers going 11-2 with a 1.65 ERA and 7 complete games in 17 starts down the stretch. Teams like the Yankees, Red Sox, and Phillies can make these types of trades because one they have the money needed to pay the big contracts; and two have the top prospects needed to acquire these stars. These teams are willing to risk their future because those teams want to win now. All they want is the World Series title and will risk potential superstars to get a current one.

Why it’s bad – The worst thing the front office of a buying team can do is not acquire anyone. This is bad because every team has holes. Very very few teams have ever been built to perfection. GM’s are always looking to make their team better. Now not making any trades is bad it can prevent much worse things from happening. Not making trades prevents teams from trading top prospects for a 2 month rental. Trading top prospects is fine for teams that are in win now mode but for surprise teams like the Pirates or Indians it can be devastating. Both the Pirates and Indians were not expected to contend for another couple of seasons. Risking future contention for one year is the wrong move. It is not going to help the future of the franchise to trade 6 years of a potential superstar for 2 months of a current one. Teams in these situations should hold their prospects and wait for them to develop. Then when those prospects reach the majors and the team is contending, that is when the team should go out and acquire that piece to complete the team. Until then just keep your prospects.

piece to complete the team. Until then just keep your prospects.

Seller

Why it’s bad – Clearly if a team is a seller that means they are doing poorly. Whether that was expected or if the team underperformed, either way it’s not the best position to be in as a GM. When a team is selling that means they are trying to trade their veteran players who usually will be free agents at the end of the season. The immediate impact of this is that the team, already underperforming will in most cases get worse. Doing worse yes is bad but it can be tolerated if a good prospect or two can be acquired. Getting a good prospect can be a very difficult task for a GM. Every team has a value that they put on their players and players in other organizations. Knowing that selling teams have to try and make teams overpay for their players. This is now just simple economics, the more teams that are interested the higher the price will be. This is very difficult to do because if other players that are out there that are better than your player then the price will be lower. If enough alternatives are available then teams may be stuck with that veteran who will leave at seasons end.

Why it’s good – Being a seller is very good for a struggling club. As said in the bad it is quite difficult to get a good prospect if other better players are available. But if a team is lucky enough to possess the best player on the market than maximum value can be gotten fairly easily. Majority of buying teams will trade 1-2 top prospects for a rental. Prospects are very important for a rebuilding team. Not all prospects will succeed, but the more you have the more likely that one will succeed in the Majors. The higher the prospect is rated the likelier he is to have MLB success. The best way to acquire these prospects is to trade veterans at the deadline. The best thing about trading for a prospect is that they are much closer to the big leagues than say a top draftee. When a player is drafted it may take 4-5 years before he makes the majors. When a prospect is acquired via trade he is further along in his development and much closer to majors. In some case the player may be MLB ready or only 1 year away. These players will be able help the team much quicker than a drafted player.

In conclusion being a buyer and a seller can be both and bad, the best thing a team can do evaluate the position they are in and make proper decisions that will help the franchise in both the short term and the long term.

Comments are appreciated let me know how I’m doing and what I can improve on. Thanks   

Second Half Story Lines

The second half is about a week old, and with the first half gone most teams understand their potential playoff chances. Teams like the Yankees and Red Sox know that they have a good chance of making the playoffs, while teams like the Royals know that they have no realistic shot of playing in October. And of course you have teams that are stuck in the middle like the Twins. Even if your team isn’t going to make the playoffs that doesn’t mean you should stop watching them and stop following the MLB. With that here are my top 2 story lines to follow for the second half.

1.       Will Pittsburgh and Cleveland maintain their strong first halves and make the playoffs.

These teams had 105 and 93 losses respectively last season. These teams have suffered for more than their fair share. Pittsburgh has had 18 straight losing seasons. Cleveland hasn’t won the World Series in 62 years.  With a strong first half the Pirates (50-44 1st in the NL Central) and Indians (55-44 1st in the AL Central) have shown that they are not a flash in the pan are the real deal. The fun now begins for the fans of these teams. Both teams are in tight divisional races and both are buyers at the deadline this year. They are both looking for the piece the will help them down the stretch. It’s going to be a great finish in the Centrals this year, and I’m sure the fans are excited.

2.       The MVP races.

In the NL Prince Fielder has a strong case to be made as the MVP, but what’s really intriguing is where Andrew McCutchen finishes. He is having a strong year (.279/.379/.448) and is widely regarded as one of the best if not the best defensive center fielder in the game. He is the star of a very surprising Pirates team that is right in the thick of the NL central race. He is definitely valuable to the Pirates. Without him they are not in first place fighting for a playoff spot. It will be really interesting to see how many MVP votes he gets. Another player to follow this second half is Matt Kemp. He is having his best season of his career, this after his worst season worst season as a big leaguer last season. He has 24 homeruns and 27 stolen bases in 97 games.  He is on pace for 41 HR and 46 SB which would make him the fifth player ever to have a 40-40 season, and the first since Alfonzo Soriano in 2006. If Kemp has this historical season shouldn’t he be the MVP. Many fans will say yes, but the voters will look to the fact that the Dodgers are 4th place in the NL West. That shouldn’t matter but it does in the eyes of the voters, making the MVP race one to follow in the second half.

In the AL the MVP race is much closer than the NL race. But that doesn’t mean it won’t still be interesting to follow. The clear leader statistically is Jose Bautista with a .332/.465/.691 slash line. That OBP and SLG are both league leading. He has 31 HR and 75 walks, both of which are also currently leading the league. The argument against Bautista is the same one as with Kemp. Bautista plays for a 4th place Jays team that has no shot of making the playoffs. Voters will likely lead towards Adrian Gonzalez who leads the league in batting average (.337), hits (130), and RBI’s (78). He trails Bautista in OBP .465-.400 and SLG .691-.513. Clearly based on pure numbers Bautista is having a far better season but Gonzalez is more “valuable” in the eyes of the voters, making the AL MVP race an intriguing one to follow this second half.      

Changing the All Star Game

There is quite a bit wrong with the All Star game. As I was watching the game on TV I grew so tired of the announcers saying that Bruce Bochy was going to play match ups and focus really hard on trying to win, because as you know this one counts. But really this game doesn’t count. Yes it decides home field advantage for the World Series, but do you really think the players care about that. Do you believe that a guy like Jose Bautista is going to go out there and kill himself trying to win this game. His Blue Jays are in fourth place and have no shot of going to the World Series. I grew so tired of the announcers saying how intense this game was.  This game was not intense at all; look at what Heath Bell did when he came into the game. He sprinted in from the bullpen and slid into the mound. That was just hilarious and showed how little intensity there was in this game. If this was a regular season game he would not have done that players take season games seriously, Bell showed us what this game is supposed to be about fun. With that here are my ways to fix the all-star game.

Get rid of the stupid this game counts

Home field advantage in the World Series should not be decided by a meaningless game in July. Home field advantage should go to the team with the best record in the regular season. Now people say this is unfair since teams don’t play the same schedule and all that stuff, but it’s probably the fairest way to do it. It’s rewarding the team who played the best over the entire season. It’s also better than the previous way home field advantage was decided before it was decide by the All Star game. Previously it just alternated each year back and forth, the American League was in odd years and the National League was the even years. That way was fine but really the team with more wins should get home field advantage.

Change the Homerun Derby

The homerun derby needs to be changed. The derby is great, I enjoy it but more players need to be involved. I don’t think that more players should be added to the derby, but what I would like to see done is have more skills competitions other than just the derby. First I think the derby needs to be shortened so we can have more competitions. I feel that players in the derby should be cut in half so we have 4 players two from the AL and two from the NL. Also there needs to be less outs, 10 are far too many, it should be cut down to 5. With only four competitors the derby would only be 2 rounds. Of the four who are involved the top two obviously move on and the winner of that round is the homerun derby champion.

New Skills Competitions are needed.   

It would be great to see some other skills showcased other than just power. I would like to see a competition in involving defence and speed. For a defence competition, you have a fast runner on second (like a Matt Kemp) and you then have a player with a cannon of an arm in right field (like Bautista). You than have a coach hit the ball out to right field and the fielder has to try to throw out the runner coming home. If the runner is out a point is scored for the defence and if the runner beats the throw there league gets a point.

This would be exciting and fun to watch because what’s more exciting than a play at the plate not much in my opinion. Of course safety precautions would need to be taken, tell the runners not to collide with the catcher and tell the catchers not to block the plate. Overall I feel like this would be great to see.

If more events are being added there must be some form of speed event. Something like a race around the bases or a race to first base, something that all the players could compete in. It could be done by positions to keep it fair. There also could be a stolen base event. Have the catchers see if they can try and throw out some of the games fastest players. The stolen base is another very exciting play that I feel people would enjoy watching during an all-star skills competition.

There has been no talk about this actually happening but still I feel some changes are need to the all-star game and the homerun derby, and who knows maybe Bud Selig has something up his sleeve for next season.

Comments are appreciated; let me know how I’m doing and what I can improve on. Thanks.

Fixing the Jays Second Base Issue

I really don’t like Aaron Hill. He just isn’t any good in my opinion. He did have a great year in 2009 when he hit 36 homeruns drove in 108, hit .286, slugged .499, but even with all that he only had an on-base percentage of .330. That is not great but acceptable when you’re hitting with the type of power Hill showed. The next season Hill regressed badly he slumped to a .205/.271/.394 and this season so far though July 7^th it’s not looking much better (.242/.281/.341). I really think that Hill needs to be replaced in the Jays line-up. There is one players that I would really like to see get a shot at the second base. That guy is Mike McCoy. Now before you all go nuts saying I’m crazy let’s have a look at some numbers: (Stats through July 7).

Player A vs. RHP- .232/.340/.351 in 228 At Bats

Player B vs. RHP- .233/.340/.372 in 43 At Bats

Yes player A has far more at AB’s but the way I look at it player A is probably not going to change a whole lot. That’s the player they are going to be the whole season. Player B on the other hand may not have peaked and with more AB’s may have a chance to be even better.  

Which player would you take? Too close to call let’s look at some more numbers.

Player A Salary for 2011- 5.5 million

Player B Salary for 2011- 422,300

If I was a general manager based of those numbers and salary numbers I would take player B. He does have less AB’s but has performed to basically the same batting line vs. RHP (the majority of the pitcher in the league are right handed) for 5 million dollars less.

Player A is Dustin Pedroia and Player B is Mike McCoy.

I bet that shocked a few of you. Yes Pedroia has far more at bats but still Mike McCoy has basically the same batting line versus righty pitching as Dustin Pedroia. This is quite telling, Pedroia is widely considered one of the best second basemen in the league. Yet the Jays can get similar production from a guy nobody has heard of. The Blue Jays should realize that they have a pretty good player on their hands in McCoy. He should be the starter over Hill. The Jays should see what McCoy can do if given the everyday job, at worst he can’t be much worse than Hill. I don’t want McCoy to come in here and be the leadoff guy, I want him to come in and be the second leadoff hitter in the nine spot. The Jays have multiple players who do the same thing as Hill which is low average and no on base skills, most notably Edwin Encarnacion (.240/.270/.395) and JP Arencibia (.212/.278/.428). McCoy gives them the chance to have someone who will take a walk and get on base a decent clip. Batting him ninth would allow him to get on base and help the set the table for the top of the line-up. The Jays more than likely are not going to do this but really there is no risk involved and they might as well try something as they don’t have hope of making the playoffs, so really why not? You could have a hidden gem.

Comments are appreciated let me know what you think, and how I can improve, thanks.   

Yunel Escobar should be an All-Star

The All-Star teams we announced on Sunday. As expected Yunel Escobar did not make it. I feel that he should have made it. Yunel Escobar is the short-stop for the Toronto Blue Jays for those of you who don’t follow baseball up here in Canada. He is an exceptional baseball player having a great season for the Blue Jays. I fully believe that he should be an all-star this season but he was snubbed. The two SS that did make it were Derek Jeter, and Asdrubal Cabrera. Escobar is a better player than both of these guys yet even if one of them can’t play in the All-Star game, for whatever reason, he won’t even be picked as a replacement because people feel that Johnny Peralta deserves it.  Escobar has a .363 on-base percentage which is second among AL SS by .002 to the Tigers Peralta.  He’s fourth in hits with 86, 1 behind Peralta and 14 behind the leader Cabrera.  He leads AL SS with 35 walks, 12 ahead of Jeter and Peralta, and 15 ahead of Cabrera.  What Escobar loses in hits he makes up for with his walks. This is a homer post as I have had the pleasure of watching Yunel every day, the numbers show that he may not be the best SS in the AL as I had thought but he is still one of the best and destroys Jeter in everything. I don’t want this to turn into a Jeter bashing post but I really think that Escobar should be their over Jeter. Heck Peralta should be there over Jeter. I don’t like this life time all-star crap, like if we wanted life time all-stars then why don’t we bring in Hank Aaron or another life time all-star and have them play. I also don’t like the “this is who the fans want to see.” Really when it comes down to it only Yankee fans want to see Jeter. Every team’s fans wants to see their guy in the game. Jeter only makes it because New York is so populated that they can out vote other teams fans. If this game is supposed to “count” I don’t want Derek Jeter and his .236/.320/.320 on my team. I have to believe that Ron Washington the manager of the AL squad feels the same way. If I’m picking a team of all-stars and I’m trying to win I’m taking Escobar, but if I want lots of fans to be happy I’m taking Jeter. And clearly MLB is taking the latter and going with the fans, and this should not be in a game that should “count.”

Comments are appreciated. Let me know how I’m doing, what I can improve on, thanks.