One for Fun

by madhatternalice on Aug 8, 2007 10:10 PM EDT Comment 49 comments

Pick one Major League player (or Minor League, I guess) who you would add to the Orioles roster.

However, you can't pick A-Rod, b/c, quite frankly, he's the best player in baseball.

This is someone that you'd want for awhile. Current contracts and salarys are not an issue. They should fill some sort of hole on the current team.

And please, don't not pick a player b/c you don't like their team. Yes, we need a dependable closer, for example. But don't not choose Mariano simply because he's a Yankee.

My pick? There are so many possibilities; we clearly need a first baseman, and picks like Pujols and Howard are tantalizing. However, I'm going in a completely different direction.

It's clear that Miggy's defense has been slipping, though maybe not his offense. For that reason, I'm picking Hanley Ramirez. He's like a young Juan Pierre, or, if you prefer, a Jose Reyes with power.

I'm not going to yet explain why I wouldn't take other players; I'm curious to see what the CC hive mind has to say...

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Ok, I'll go with

Manny! we need ave.,rbi,hr,obp. Overall I think Manny is under rated for the numbers he put year in and year out. Also I think Fenways hurts his HR totals more then helping. Bring him here and he's in the 40 to 50 hr a year range.

2nd pick would be Tex, home town hero
3rd Bothers BJ and Justin Upton, these guys are going to be scaring pitchers for a long time. Justin is going to beat Arod to 500

by merdon1332000 on Aug 8, 2007 11:00 PM EDT reply actions

and

manny brings great defense and baserunning

Jeremy Guthrie ROCKS! Go to hell Paul Shuey!

by westcoastOfan on Aug 9, 2007 2:47 PM EDT up reply actions

yeah...

as Gary Thorne said... "he's a disaster in left field!"

And when Dempsey has become the voice of reason, we should probably be a little concerned. -Heather @ OM

by dayzd toe on Aug 9, 2007 3:01 PM EDT up reply actions

Ok, I'll go with

2nd pick would be Tex, home town hero
3rd Bothers BJ and Justin Upton, these guys are going to be scaring pitchers for a long time. Justin is going to beat Arod to 500

by merdon1332000 on Aug 8, 2007 11:00 PM EDT reply actions

I want the Dodgers' catcher

Russell Martin - .366 OPS, .462 SLG (for a .828 OPS), .295 AVG at age 24. Yeah, I'll take him.

"Victim is your name and you shall fall..." - James Hetfield

by duck on Aug 8, 2007 11:00 PM EDT reply actions

even

with 2 promising catcher coming through the ranks

by merdon1332000 on Aug 8, 2007 11:03 PM EDT up reply actions

He's solve out batting problem at 5

NOW, not two years from now. Get a proven commodity and let Weiters come up and then trade his ass.

"Victim is your name and you shall fall..." - James Hetfield

by duck on Aug 8, 2007 11:22 PM EDT up reply actions

He'd solve

I REALLY need to learn to type....

"Victim is your name and you shall fall..." - James Hetfield

by duck on Aug 8, 2007 11:22 PM EDT up reply actions

good one

Russell Martin is very, very good.

"I love you guys....I hate you guys." --Eric Cartman

by Dave at Bottomfeeder Baseball on Aug 8, 2007 11:24 PM EDT up reply actions

he's good...this year

but he's got no track record...what if he's this year's adrian beltre?

Pitch fast, throw strikes, change speeds. -Ray Miller

by madhatternalice on Aug 8, 2007 11:39 PM EDT up reply actions

he was really good last year, too.

i dunno, when a catcher starts producing that young, it's gotta be a good sign (see piazza, rodriguez, martiniez).

by jq higgins on Aug 9, 2007 9:07 AM EDT up reply actions

re

over a .900 ops.

In Loving Memory of GWP October 23, 1986 - May 13, 2006

by BPinOK on Aug 10, 2007 2:13 PM EDT up reply actions

ichiro

Jeremy Guthrie ROCKS! Go to hell Paul Shuey!

by westcoastOfan on Aug 8, 2007 11:11 PM EDT reply actions

ichiro?

I shied away from Ichiro for two reasons:

He's 33
He's a contact hitter. A very, very good contact hitter, but a contact hitter nonetheless. Unless you really want to embrace the concept of smallball (which I, personally, have no problems with), I'd want someone with pop...

Pitch fast, throw strikes, change speeds. -Ray Miller

by madhatternalice on Aug 8, 2007 11:38 PM EDT up reply actions

I would like...

Ryan Howard.

Honorable Mentions:
Johan Santana
Jimmy Rollins
Jose Reyes
Carl Crawford

think about Howard lofting easy fly balls over the tall wall...mmm, tasty.

"I love you guys....I hate you guys." --Eric Cartman

by Dave at Bottomfeeder Baseball on Aug 8, 2007 11:24 PM EDT reply actions

Another Marlin

I would take Miguel Cabrera. At 24, he is the youngest premier hitter in baseball, and by premier hitter, I mean a guy that hits for average and power and has a superior batting eye. Cabrera is the type of guy you build a lineup around, because he does everything. He provides more power than Hanley Ramirez and fits a position that is more pressing than shortstop for the Orioles right now. I believe that if you threw Cabrera on this roster right now, they would rally to win 80+ games this season, and contend next year. I think Cabrera has the potential to be one of the greatest hitters of this generation, whereas Martin and Ramirez are just good players. Cabrera's only pitfall is his weight, which is something that could be dealt with.

by nittany lion on Aug 9, 2007 12:09 AM EDT reply actions

Isn't he eating his way out of baseball

within 5 years? Kid's ballooned up like a pig with enchephylitis.

"Victim is your name and you shall fall..." - James Hetfield

by duck on Aug 11, 2007 7:14 PM EDT up reply actions

Pujols

Miguel Cabrera is a close second. If Cabrera's work attitude wasn't absymal, I would pick him. But Pujols is still young and a beast.

by birdman on Aug 9, 2007 12:14 AM EDT reply actions

cabrera

Cabrera is also, like, 380 pounds now, and it ain't all muscle...

Pitch fast, throw strikes, change speeds. -Ray Miller

by madhatternalice on Aug 9, 2007 12:51 AM EDT up reply actions

RE:

As Beane said in Moneyball: "We're not selling jeans here".

"Hey Yankees... you can take your apology and your trophy and shove 'em straight up your ass!" --Tanner Boyle

by BirdFanInPhilly on Aug 9, 2007 9:41 AM EDT up reply actions

"Cabrera is also, like, 380 pounds now"

And rising!

by birdman on Aug 9, 2007 11:30 AM EDT up reply actions

Miguel Cabrera for me too

by punkrawka on Aug 9, 2007 6:12 AM EDT reply actions

Hanley Ramirez is a butcher at short

I've read him called the worst defensive SS in the majors.

I'll take Reyes or Sizemore. Reyes, I think.

by pipkin on Aug 9, 2007 7:02 AM EDT reply actions

ramirez

*ramirez leads all SS in ops

*ramirez in 2nd in the league in OBP, .002 behind jeter

*while it's true that he has 16 errors, he's on pace to lower that number from last year, his first in the league. (by comparison, in his first full season, cal had 25 errors. 2nd season, 26).

Reyes is good, but he just gets on base. That's why I picked Ramirez; the pop. (8 HRs-20).

Pitch fast, throw strikes, change speeds. -Ray Miller

by madhatternalice on Aug 9, 2007 11:18 AM EDT up reply actions

Reyes "just gets on base"

is a very poor characterization. He's slugging .456 with 25 doubles and hit 19 home runs last year.

by Awesome Mike Awesome on Aug 9, 2007 1:19 PM EDT up reply actions

you know what's funny?

Reyes FRAA this year: -13
Ramirez FRAA this year: -12

They're also similar in RF/g (according to br)

So, I'd have to agree. I'll take Ramirez. Though his lower walk rate might spell trouble if he ever loses a step at the plate.

by pipkin on Aug 9, 2007 3:40 PM EDT up reply actions

What's FRAA?

We all love Kevin Millar. Let's all stop acting like everyone here doesn't know that Millar is the shit. He is. He is the shit. Millar is our boy. -SC

by Stacey on Aug 9, 2007 3:45 PM EDT up reply actions

Fielding Runs Above Average

Basically, how many runs the player saves above the average fielder at his position.

Don't ask me the formula, I'm sure it's complex and possibly even subjective. I believe in using as many fielding measures as possible, because they're all unreliable on their own.

by pipkin on Aug 9, 2007 4:20 PM EDT up reply actions

RE:

I could be wrong, but I think Fielding Runs is proprietary

"Hey Yankees... you can take your apology and your trophy and shove 'em straight up your ass!" --Tanner Boyle

by BirdFanInPhilly on Aug 9, 2007 4:22 PM EDT up reply actions

RE:

And I believe it's essentially based on Range Factor, but it's normalized for league, pitchers GB/FB, park, LH/RH hitter, LH/RH pitcher, and probably 72 other things.

"Hey Yankees... you can take your apology and your trophy and shove 'em straight up your ass!" --Tanner Boyle

by BirdFanInPhilly on Aug 9, 2007 4:24 PM EDT up reply actions

BR has a FR formula

Dunno if its the "official" one or not, but they've got it.

by pipkin on Aug 9, 2007 7:30 PM EDT up reply actions

Miguel Cabrera

by Jonnypops on Aug 9, 2007 9:18 AM EDT reply actions

If we didn't have BRob

I would probably go Utley; but as it stands Cabrera.

"Hey Yankees... you can take your apology and your trophy and shove 'em straight up your ass!" --Tanner Boyle

by BirdFanInPhilly on Aug 9, 2007 9:43 AM EDT reply actions

For Fun...

I want Grady freakin Sizemore... have you seen the plays that guy can make, and I'm not even talking about the doubles, triples, and multiple RBI's he's taken from Scorey this year.

And when Dempsey has become the voice of reason, we should probably be a little concerned. -Heather @ OM

by dayzd toe on Aug 9, 2007 11:53 AM EDT reply actions

Best in baseball?

I'll take Pujols. He's having an off year and will still end up with 35-40 HR and 110 RBI. He's still young, and he's a character guy.

"Every time I fail to smoke a cigarette between innings, the opposition will score." ~Earl Weaver~

by dmouthhog on Aug 9, 2007 12:24 PM EDT reply actions

Still Young?

No way he's under 32 in reality.

"Victim is your name and you shall fall..." - James Hetfield

by duck on Aug 11, 2007 7:15 PM EDT up reply actions

If I can't take A-Rod . . .

I want Albert Pujols. He's the best right-handed hitter in baseball not named A-Rod, hits for power, and plays first base. That's three things the Orioles could use right thtere

by yurizanow on Aug 9, 2007 1:15 PM EDT reply actions

Ryan Howard...

Young, slugging first baseman? Gimme!

by RobG on Aug 9, 2007 1:38 PM EDT reply actions

re:

He's not much younger than Pujols, and his, um, weight issues will eventually be a problem. I can't in any world conceive taking Howard over Pujols.

by SC on Aug 9, 2007 7:03 PM EDT up reply actions

er

He's not younger than Pujols, period. I thought Howard was born in '81 -- that's not right, obviously. He was born in '79, Pujols in '80. Pujols is a much better player.

by SC on Aug 9, 2007 7:04 PM EDT up reply actions

Geez...

I thought Howard was like 23 or 24.

by RobG on Aug 10, 2007 10:58 AM EDT up reply actions

re

I like Tex over both of these guys. I don't know how the stats compare but I am partial to 1B that can actually field and run a little bit. I know that is wrong and I probably just made Calvin Pickering cry...again.

In Loving Memory of GWP October 23, 1986 - May 13, 2006

by BPinOK on Aug 10, 2007 2:16 PM EDT up reply actions

You really believe

Pujols was born in '80? I've got a bridge in Brooklyn to sell ya...

"Victim is your name and you shall fall..." - James Hetfield

by duck on Aug 11, 2007 7:16 PM EDT up reply actions

Howards

Done in 5 years tops

by merdon1332000 on Aug 9, 2007 8:44 PM EDT up reply actions

Husky Fellas Like Howard

Usually don't last that long. See Frank Howard, Boog Powell, Cecil Fielder, Mo Vaughn, et al.

by yurizanow on Aug 9, 2007 11:08 PM EDT up reply actions

That's what I'm saying!

most of those guys don't age well and or lose bat speed earlier then the smaller guys.

by merdon1332000 on Aug 10, 2007 5:48 AM EDT up reply actions

Cabrera

I'd almost certainly take Miguel Cabrera. So long as he can keep his hands off the donuts, that guy should be legendary.

If not him: Utley, Sizemore, Reyes/H. Ramirez (I think you can't go wrong with either one).

Sentimentally: Nick Markickass.

by KenDixonFanClub on Aug 9, 2007 3:08 PM EDT reply actions

the other thing to consider

a lot of people are jumping on the Pujols and/or Howard bandwagon. But remember, the challenge was "with the current team."

I can't see anyteam, worth their salt, who would pitch to someone like Pujols in our lineup. I just can't.

"Oh my, let's pitch to the ONE guy who can hit a home run off of us!"

Sorry...not buying it. It's the same way in that I still don't understand why teams still pitch to BB. "Oh no! If we walk him, we'd have to pitch to...Randy Winn! Nooo!"

Pitch fast, throw strikes, change speeds. -Ray Miller

by madhatternalice on Aug 9, 2007 11:46 PM EDT reply actions

This is fallacious reasoning

They won't pitch to Pujols? Good, his OBP will be all that higher for all the intentional walks.

Barry Bonds "only" hit 45 home runs in 2004, but he walked 232 times because everybody was afraid to pitch to him. His OBP was over .600 thanks to 120 IBB. His WARP was 14.0.

Obviously, Bonds is a special case any year, especially that one. Still, the point is all those baserunners add up, and I'd be happy to have Pujols or Howard or whoever get walked a ton. The more guys you get on base the better your chances are.

by pipkin on Aug 10, 2007 10:48 AM EDT up reply actions