Team notes
Baseball is a simple game. Pitching, defense and power. That's what we have, with emphasis on the first two. First, our rotation boasts two of the three greatest pitchers of all-time at the top (Young, Alexander) in front of two of the top power right-handers ever (Seaver and Feller) and perhaps the greatest left-handed pitcher in baseball history (Santana) when all is said and done. We complemented our strong staff with flawless defense up the middle, combining Berra's baseball sense, Ozzie's wizardry and Snider’s range with Brooks Robinson's sheer brilliance at the hot corner.
Our bullpen features two left-handers in Franco and Guidry, a crafty contact pitcher (Tekulve), two guys withfunky deliveries (Eckersley and Lincecum) and two of the greatest out-pitches of all-time (Sutter's split and Guidry's slider). Our staff as a whole has a high strikeout rate and features at least four of the greatest control men in history.
When we need offense, we will turn to perhaps the greatest 1-2 lineup combo ever assembled. Sorry, Manny and Papi, but Aaron and Ruth offer almost 1,500 career homers. They anchor a lineup which is alternated lefty-righty and contains two switch-hitters, the second of whom, Ozzie Smith, leads a speedy 9-1-2 trio that can create runs. The lineup is also balanced; pairing patient gap hitters (Rose, Morgan) with the aforementioned power guys. Snider is dropped lower in the order to maintain the lineup's alternation and separate the team's two worst men at the dish.
The reserves include a switch-hitter (Chipper), a defensive replacement (Yount), a power threat (Wilson), a team-first guy (Munson) and one of the great pure hitters of all-time (Carew). We can count our cancerous clubhouse guys on Jim Abbott's right hand and, with Munson and Rose, have two of baseball's great teammates.
Plus, Yogi is funny.
Lineup
1B Pete Rose - all-time leader in games played, plate appearances, at-bats and hits.
2B Joe Morgan - two-time NL MVP, two-time NL leader in OPS, .392 career OBP despite .271 BA, 689 career steals and a player who prided himself on handling the bat well and creating runs for a loaded lineup -- perfect No. 2 hitter for this team.
RF Hank Aaron - perhaps the most consistent player of all-time, he is baseball's all-time leader in RBI and total bases. Oh, by the way, his 755 career homers ranks second all-time, overshadowing his 3,771 career hits.
DH Babe Ruth - The. best. ever. All-time leader in OPS, OPS-plus and slugging. His 714 career blasts rank third all-time, and a .342 career BA pales in comparison to a cartoonish .474 career OBP. But don't walk him, next is ...
LF Frank Robinson - Winner of 2 league MVPS -- one in each league -- 1 WS MVP, 1 All-Star MVP, 1 Gold Glove, 1 batting crown and 1 Triple Crown. Led the league many times in OPS, OBP, runs scored and, well, you get the picture.
C Yogi Berra - As Joba Chamberlain once said, “Yogi is barely taller than this police cruiser, officer." As Yogi once said, "Joba, get somebody out." OK, the last one wasn't true, but here's what is -- this midget could mash.
3B Brooks Robinson – Ummm, did I mention he has 16 Gold Gloves?
CF Duke Snider - Simply, a solid player, especially in the eight-hole. He brings power to the bottom of the order, and an OPS-plus of 140.
SS Ozzie Smith -- Speedy guy to make trio of stolen base threats in the 9-1-2 triumvirate. Also, did I mention he was a really, really good defensive player as well?
Bench
C Thurman Munson -- A cold-blooded, late-game RBI man, Munson can be counted both offensively and defensively if inserted in the twilight of the game.
3B Chipper Jones -- Larry can switch hit, has power and can get on base. Most importantly, he can do what starting third baseman Brooks Robinson cannot.
SS-CF Robin Yount -- Yount can play multiple positions, run, field and has some pop. A great all-purpose guy to have on your bench.
OF Hack Wilson -- A one-swing-can-tie-the-game power guy who once had 191 RBI in a season, a MLB record.
2B Rod Carew It never hurts to have one of the best pure hitters in the history of the game on the pine if you need a baserunner. He simply hits the ball where it was pitched, allowing him success against any type of pitcher.
Rotation
RHP Cy Young -- The all-time leader in wins, losses, shutouts and innings pitched. The era in which he pitched as well as Young's workhouse mentality make his total of wins (511) and innings (7,354) nearly untouchable. His ERA-plus of 138, though, compares him favorably with those of any era.
RHP Pete Alexander - Grover Cleveland was a three-time 30-game winner and a Philadelphia postseason hero -- two rare commodities. Most impressive, however, were his three NL pitching Triple Crowns.
RHP Tom Seaver -- Tall, sturdy and right-handed, Seaver was your prototypical power pitcher. A standard bearer for pitchers of that ilk, Seaver set the bar high by combining impeccable control with his swing-and-miss stuff. He led the NL in SOs five times and SO/BB ratio three times.
LHP Johan Santana -- Santana throws crisp 92-94 MPH cheese -- which is tough from the left side -- but his change-up is most impressive. He has used it en route to two CY Young Awards and 122 wins by the age of 30.
RHP Bob Feller -- Rapid Robert led the league in wins six times, including 1951, when he tallied 22 of them at the age of 33. Feller's career would have been more impressive had he not sacrificed some prime years to the war.
Bullpen
RHP -- Dennis Eckersley (closer) -- A team's closer must do two things: 1. Not be afraid to fail, and 2. Not walk people. Eck did both naturally. He walked only three batters in 57.7 innings in 1989, four batters in 73.3 innings in 1990 and nine batters in 76 innings in 1991. In his 1990 season, Eckersley became the only relief pitcher in baseball history to have more saves than baserunners allowed.
His mentality? Well, he allowed one of the most famous home runs in baseball history and followed that by posting three of the best seasons for a closer in the annals of the game.
RHP Bruce Sutter (Setup) -- His peak was impressive, but a drop-off late in his career allowed his ERA-plus to fall to 136. However, he was slotted in this role for what he can do best -- and what a team needs best in the late innings -- make people either swing and miss or hit into DPs with a nasty split finger. Sutter, actually, introduced the pitch and ushered in a new era of pitching in the process
LHP Ron Guidry -- The Gator, it can be argued, could be one of the most dominant left-handed specialists of all-time. His slider was devastating. His numbers don't lend him to be a starter on an all-time team, but those who faced him in his prime still have nightmares.
LHP John Franco -- A Brooklyn native with a New Yorker's toughness. Franco's stuff wasn't as overpowering as others on the staff, but the guy had heart. 424 saves and a 2.89 ERA for his 21-season career, which also saw him yield just three earned runs in 14.1 postseason innings, is impressive. But more than anything, he's a great teammate and, hell, I'd like to sit next to him in the pen.
RHP Kent Tekulve -- It can be argued that Tekulve has the most impressive resume in the pen. He has 94 wins, 184 saves and a 2.85 ERA in 16 seasons. Versatile and smart, he pitched to contact and had success doing so.
RHP Tim Lincecum -- Every pen needs a swing man -- a guy with the stuff to close, setup, spot start or be a long man. In fact, this freak's stuff is good enough to do anything. With most of his career in front of him, this 25-year-old with a funky delivery has 40 wins, one Cy Young and a 150 ERA-plus in just three seasons.
Manager -- I hate to have managers overlap, but Earl Weaver also will be leading my bunch. We have a lot of good guys who play hard, so no personality clashes with the mercurial skipper. Earl also will sit back and wait for the three-run homer, the smartest thing to do with this lineup. He won't let little-ball get in the way of what's most effective in this instance. So, Tommy Lasorda, you also are funny, but you will not be cussing anyone out on my team. Earl, you, no doubt, will.
Captain -- Thurman Munson. Without laying the Yankees stuff on too thick, Munson made George Steinbrenner erase the unwritten rule that Lou Gehrig would be the last captain of the storied franchise. He was hard-nosed on the field and off -- not afraid to get into Mr. October's face after the game or Carlton Fisk's during it. So, despite the good guys on the team, there will be the element of getting these all-time superstars to mesh into one harmonious clubhouse. If Munson could handle the Bronx Zoo, this is nothing.
Park -- Our games will take place at San Diego's Petco Park for two reasons. 1. The weather is amazing 2. It is an extreme pitchers' park, which will further enhance our strong staff. Also, if anyone’s hitters can maintain their power in this cavernous outpost, it's Ruth, Aaron and Robinson.
And now as is customary, a little bit from me...
- Anthony took some real defensive specialists on the left side of the infield. I respect Smith and Robinson a ton, but I can't help but wonder if, when drafting an all-time team, there might have been guys out there who were spectacular glove men, but also hit some...Ron Santo and Arky Vaughan for example....
- With Young and Alexander at the front of the rotation, Anthony clearly has the best front-end starting pitching, and the rest of his staff is not too shabby either.
- Unlike some of the other pens we have seen, Anthony's guys do not boast eye-popping career numbers, several of them were dominant for stretches but also had significant portions of their career where they were merely good.
- Anthony's best pick in my opinion was Frank Robinson. Like many of the players who are just below the super-duper-stars, but obvious all-time greats, Robinson occasionally gets forgotten a bit, but he had a truly fantastic career.
- Anthony's worst pick to me was probably Pete Rose for first base. There were, in my opinion, better players on the board long after Rose was taken, particularly Johnny Mize and Jeff Bagwell.
No comments:
Post a Comment