Outfielder Rankings

I totally forgot I had these posts to do, and because I'm lacking in ideas and inspiration to update this thing. I'll keep doing the "postseason" rankings. Outfielders are next, and obviously, I have expanded the size of the list to deal with mas players.

AL
1) Manny Ramirez, Bos - Despire whether or not I'd trade him for Matt Cain(IRL, BTW), Manny is still a top five hitter in the AL.
2) Carl Crawford, TB - I'm still not much of a believer, but he runs at an incredible clip, making him one of the few reliable players that's allowed to steal at will. While I'm not sure I'd personally take him in the first round, he's a definite 2nd round pick.
3) Grady Sizemore, Cle - I originally had Carlos Lee here, but since he's not in the AL and I was going to move Grady up regardless I took him out. Sizemore is probably a top 10 pick if he improves on what he did last year.
4) Vladimir Guerrero, Ana
5) Ichiro Suzuki, Sea
6) Gary Sheffield, Det
7) Vernon Wells, Tor
8) Nick Markakis, Bal
9) Jermaine Dye, ChW - I originally had Dye at 16, and call it blind faith, but I really think he's good. He won't come close to what he did last year, but that was so out of the blue and totally unexpected that I really have no idea what he'll do. If he stays healthy I really think he could be a good 2nd outfielder for a team.
10) Hideki Matsui, NYY
11) Johnny Damon, NYY
12) Rocco Baldelli, TB
13) Bobby Abreu, NYY
14) Delmon Young, TB - He really needs to improve on that patience before I can consider him anything. You can't survive in the majors with a 1/5 bb/k. While I think he's a better hitter than Francoeur, major league pitchers will figure him out.
15) Raul Ibanez, Sea
16) Chone Figgins, Ana - Probably better than 16th because he actually does run, and if he goes to a team with an offense like the White Sox he could top 120 runs, but I just don't target speed in the draft which is why he falls.
17) Nick Swisher, Oak
18) Michael Cuddyer, Min
19) Jason Kubel, Min - If only because he was great in the minors.
20) Ryan Sweeney, Chw - Because I had to take out Carlos Lee and can't think of another outfielder right now. How about Craig Monroe? He's got that big ol' swing.

NL
1) Carlos Beltran, NYM
2) Lance Berkman, Hou
3) Alfonso Soriano, ChC - The newest addition to the Chicago Cubs. Don't expect anything besides a slight drop-off in his numbers. Piniella will let him run when he wants, and because Ronny Cedeno is terrible and Izturis is walking glass, DeRosa might be moved to short and Soriano could, and I stress it for a reason, see time at second. Consider it highly unlikely. Still a great talent, he just doesn't have the skill set I prefer to see in a player for me to consider him great.
4) Jason Bay - The complete opposite of Soriano; patient. Yet, Bay failed to perform at the levels set by everyone going into last year. The next Bobby Abreu everyone said. I think he'll have a great year next year, he just might not possess the speed he showed in 2005.
5) Matt Holliday, Col
6) Carlos Lee, Hou - Those lame ass bleachers in right field might be frieldly to pull-hitting Lee, but as a friend pointed out, he's never posted a .900 OPS in his career, and if he couldn't in Texas, he probably won't in Houston.
7) Andruw Jones, Atl
8) Adam Dunn, Cin
9) J.D. Drew, ?
10) Andre Ethier, LAD
11) Chris Young, Ari - I'm nearly at tears that I'm not writing with Young as the projected CF for the 2007 White Sox, but such is the life of a Ken Williams-run team. Chris Young could be the lead-off hitter for the Diamondbacks next year, with his tremendous speed (100/120, 83% the last 3 years) and because he can draw a walk. Young had 101 RC in 2005 with 26 HRs and 70 BBs. The downside is that he strikes out a hell of a lot, which public opinion frowns upon....unless you're Alfonso Soriano.
12) Jeremy Hermida, Fla - He's got too incredible a track record to not be an amazing major league player. If he doesn't turn into one, it'll be a huge disappointment and what he is to statistical projections and talent evalutation, what Billy Beane is to "classic baseball scouting." I still think Hermida is going to be an incredible outfielder someday.
13) Pat Burrell, Phi - Bad contracts, anyone?
14) Ken Griffey, Jr - I think I'm kidding. These lists are like two months old.
15) Jim Edmonds, StL - Everyone tells me this guy is still productive, but I just don't see it. You can't play like Aaron Rowand (which I'm not suggesting is a good idea) at 36 years old and expect to stay on the field.
16) Mike Cameron, SD
17) Lastings Milledge
18) Brad Hawpe, Col - Admittedly, we could swap Hawpe and Griffey and it'd look just right. I think Hawpe is good, and his patience suggests he's much better than I give him credit for.
19) Carlos Quentin, Ari
20) Ryan Freel, Cin

MLB
1) Carlos Beltran, NYM
2) Lance Berkman, Hou
3) Alfonso Soriano, ChC
4) Grady Sizemore, Cle
5) Manny Ramirez, Bos
6) Carl Crawford, TB
7) Jason Bay, Pit
8) Vladimir Guerrero, Ana
9) Matt Holliday, Col
10) Carlos Lee, Hou
11) Andruw Jones, Atl
12) Ichiro Suziki, Sea
13) Gary Sheffield, Det
14) Adam Dunn, Cin
15) Vernon Wells, Tor
16) Jermaine Dye, ChW
17) Nick Markakis, Bal
18) Hideki Matsui, NYY
19) J.D. Drew, ?
20) Johnny Peralta, Cle
21) Andre Ethier, LAD
22) Jeremy Hermida, Fla
23) Bobby Abreu, NYY
24) Chris Young, Ari
25) Delmon Young, TB
26) Raul Ibanez, Sea
27) Chone Figgins, Ana
28) Nick Swisher, Oak
29) Michael Cuddyer, Min - He probably deserves to be way higher. SRY CUDDYER.
30) Carlos Quentin, Ari

OH, HEY.

A formal apology is due for my neglect of this blog. My finals just ended a week ago, and I also started a new job this month, so I've been a bit swamped. I haven't totally fo'got about this shit. I'll write as ideas come to me, but that usually happens in class. A few general thoughts about contracts;

Alfonso Soriano to the Chicago Cubs for 8yrs/136mil - If the Cubs weren't a team with the potential for 100mil+ contract, this would rank with the all-time worsts. A few that immediately coming to mind; Todd Helton 9yr/141mil, Mike Hampton 8yr/121mil, Alex Rodriguez 10yr/252mil. But because the Cubs can take a financial blow, whether it be taking on a contract or paying out a retarded one of their own, this shouldn't hinder them too much to make deals in the future. Soriano at 39, likely getting 22mil+ (considering the deal is backloaded), won't stop them from competing like it would the A's or Indians. Given his career .325 OBP going to a team that finished dead last in OBP last year at .319, and the value the Cubs expect to get from him simply doesn't add up. He'll hit a few more home runs, but he really won't improve this team as much as his contract might suggest he should. He's not Carlos Beltran, he's not even Chase Utley, and he's getting paid like a offensive juggernaut.

Carlos Less to the Houston Astros for 6yrs/100mil - This isn't as bad as the Soriano deal, but it's still not pretty. The only thing that makes it more attractive is that it's for six years and not eight. Granted, Lee will probably be in terrible shape by the end of his deal and won't be able to hit like he did at 28. I can see him making good for the first three, maybe four years of the contract. Lets put it this way; Pujols signed a 100mil contract for seven years and is twice the player, offensively and defensively Lee is.

Aramis Ramirez to the Chicago Cubs for 5yrs/73mil - A good deal considering the market, given his age and ability. If he misses out on injuries for the next five years and ages relatively well into his mid 30s, the deal will be great for the Cubbies.

Juan Pierre to the Los Angeles Dodgers for 5yrs/44mil - He'll be 29, has a rag arm, and a career 73% SB success rate. Not to mention he's hit 12 HRs TOTAL in his career. HRs. As has been echoed throughout media halls, this may be the worst deal in the majors this year. I won't say in recent history because signing Russ Ortiz to ANY contract is a mistake in itself, but good lord, if the Dodgers want to throw money at people at least wait until there are guys valuable enough to spend it on.

Gary Matthews Jr to the Anaheim Angels for 5yrs/50mil - Oh good-fucking god, the Angels couldn't to anything else to make me hate this team more than I already do. First Darin Erstad for 4yrs/32mil, then Orlando Cabrera for 4yrs/40mil and Steve Finley for 2yrs, coupled with their stupidity and refusal to play prospects, or at the very least project for their arrival (i.e. Brandon Wood blocked by Cabrera and potentially and 3B they're so adamantly pursuing this offseason, Kotchman, for a time being, blocked by their pursuit of Paul Konerko. Obviously neither have happened [in one case, at least not yet] the thought that they're waste their time with it is beyond me). GMJ is just the icing on the cake. His peripherals were all out of wack last year, and the guy will be 32 at the start of the deal. If you're going to throw money around, do it with reason and intelligence not blind faith.

Moises Alou to the New York Mets for 1yr/8.5mil - Now that I look at it, 8.5mil is a lot of money for an oldy like Alou, but initally hearing it I was in love with the deal. 8.5 is next to nothing for the Mets, and filling a corner outfield position with a bat like Alou's is huge. Throughout his career he's raked, but in five of the last seven years, he's failed to top 136 games. If he can stay healthy for the Mets in 2007, he should prove to be an extremely valuable pick up.

There's a pretty large number of foolish contracts already this off-season; DeRosa for 3yrs/13mil, Catalonatto for 3yrs/13mil, Henry Blanco 2yrs/5.25mil. And the potentially foolish; Jason Schmidt for 5+yrs at 34 years old, Barry Zito for 70+mil, and paying Neifi Perez anything to provid negative win shares. It's gotten a little too nuts for my approval of anything, really, regardless of the players talent level. I just hope this forces the trade market to be a bit more interesting because where there's prospects involved it gets a lot more interesting.

(Progeria League)

Those that came looking for Progeria League related material can now go here:

http://progerialeague.blogspot.com

for all the necessary information. I just didn't want this getting too crowded here.