Results tagged ‘ Colorado Rockies ’
Are the Red-Hot Rockies For Real?
Thanks to a 2-run blast by shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and some great pitching from Jhoulys Chacin, the Colorado Rockies were able to vanquish the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-1, running their winning streak out to 7 games. The offense has been hanging with the highest scoring lineups in the National League, the defense has been much improved thanks to the addition of Tulo and some nice improvements from catcher Wilin Rosario, and most importantly, the pitching staff has become competent.
Can Ubaldo Jimenez be Fixed?
Back in 2010 a pair of big, young, intimidating, and most of all hard-throwing aces were given the honor of starting the All-Star game thanks in part to their superb pitching. On the American League side of things they elected to start David Price, who was an impressive 12-4 with a 2.42 ERA at the time. The National League opted to go with Ubaldo Jimenez, a towering right-hander who had been the talk of baseball during the first half because of his gaudy 15-1 record and 2.20 ERA. Both pitchers would make the most of their chance to start the All-Star game, throwing a pair of shutout innings apiece. Both of these aces also experienced another first at the end of the year, landing in the top 3 of the AL and NL Cy Young vote respectively.
Could 2013′s Surprise Team be Tucked Away in the Rockies?
If recent baseball history has taught us anything, it’s that you can never, under any circumstance, rule any team out. There’s always a surprise team lurking, just waiting to go from worst-to-first. Last year everybody counted the A’s and Orioles among the dead before the season even started and by October those teams got the last laugh. The Diamondbacks followed a similar script in 2011, improving by 29 wins to jump on top of the NL West after finishing in the cellar the year before.
These kind of quick turnarounds are happening more and more often and they seem to be coming from further and further out of left field. Everybody and their mother was picking the A’s to finish near the bottom of not only the AL West but baseball. But some savvy front office moves, some progression from the young players, some big years from rookies, and a few star turns later and the A’s were rocking their way to an AL West title on the final day of the season. Could this worst-to-first team come from out west again? Could the Rockies actually be flying under the radar?
They certainly fit the first part of the profile after finishing 64-98 a year ago. Colorado’s 2012 season was the worst in franchise history. It was one wrought with scary injuries to key players, disjointed pitching, and lackluster management, but 2013 may be different. Here’s a few of reasons that Blake Street may be home to baseball biggest surprise party:
About Those Troy Tulowitzki Rumors
There’s been rumors of some sort going around the interwebs (from notable sources too, including the Rockies beat reporter for the Denver Post, Troy Renck), and basically the gist of them is this: the Rockies are considering/ may have had the drunken idea of moving Troy Tulowitzki off of the shortstop position. Rumors have also been flying around about a potential offseason trade involving Tulo, ideally one which would bring back something resembling a big league starter, because the Rockies currently have absolutely none of those lying around. The second idea isn’t so bad because the Rockies entered the season with Jamie Moyer slated as 3rd in their rotation. He didn’t even make it through the whole season before being handed his release papers. That first idea though? That one’s absolutely nuts, and here’s a couple of excellent reasons why.
Evaluating How Catchers Control the Opposition’s Running Game
One of the toughest things to quantify in all of sports is a catcher’s value on defense. Their are so many responsibilities and subtle nuances that go into being a quality Major League backstop. The best of the best are able to deftly juggle the responsibilities of managing a pitching staff, framing borderline pitches, blocking pitches, holding base runners, throwing said runners out when they attempt to steal, and much, much more. Recently I’ve been doing some research into catching defense and I have been somewhat unsatisfied by both the traditional statistics (caught stealing %, passed balls, and so on) and by the advanced metrics (URZ and defensive runs saved). A few excellent studies in particular have been done to analyze a catcher’s ability to frame pitches, but otherwise most analysis is left to judgment. I’ve been compiling some of my own numbers relating to catchers controlling the base running game in order to gain a better understanding of who the best backstops in baseball really are, and I’d like to share some of my findings today.
All-Star Watch: National League
Here are your NL All-Stars up to June 5th. Sorry for the delay, I had some technical difficulties and a fantastically fun cabin trip to attend over the weekend. (more…)
3 Up, 3 Down
3 Up
- The scalding hot St. Louis Cardinals. St. Louis has been red-hot all year and now has the best record in the National League to go along with the best run differential in baseball. New manager Mike Matheny has invigorated the lineup, unleashing the Cardinals on the base paths as well as at the plate. St. Louis is tops in the National League in homeruns, bashing 7 in their last 2 games alone, and is 2nd in the league in steals. Carlos Beltran may be having one the finest seasons of his career, hitting 10 homers and 26 RBI in the first 30 games. Last night he had 2 homers, including a grand slam, to push the Cards to victory. Another recent addition, Rafael Furcal, is also on a tear to begin the season. Furcal has yet to be caught in 6 steal attempts and is hitting .342/.409/.496, scoring 22 runs which is important for a leadoff hitter. Meanwhile the pitching staff hasn’t gotten a single inning out of Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright has an ERA over 5.00, but they rank 2nd in the National League in runs allowed. Jake Westbrook, Kyle Lohse, and Lance Lynn are a combined 14-3. Each pitcher has an ERA under 2.20, with Lohse and Lynn having WHIPs under 1.00. The news keeps getting better in St. Louis because Allen Craig has returned and bashed the ball in his first 6 games, slugging 2 homers and 3 doubles for a .364 batting average. The Cardinals have a lot of depth, both on the mound and in the lineup, and they look to be emerging as the early favorites in a jumbled National League.
- Josh Hamilton’s monster night. Last night in Baltimore Josh Hamilton became the 16th player in history to hit 4 homers in a game, and the first since Carlos Delgado accomplished the feat in 2003. Hamilton’s production also included one double and 8 RBI to cap off a perfect 5-5 night. He totaled up 18 bases for his efforts, 1 shy of Shaun Green’s major league record 19 from a May 2003 game. Hamilton also took over first in baseball in the batting average, slugging %, total bases, and in the home run race after just this one game. And what’s more impressive may be the home runs. Baltimore’s Camden Yards is a hitter neutral park, and 3 of Hamilton’s 4 jacks were to straightaway center, over 400 feet away. The one homer he didn’t hit to centerfield was no cheapie either. Hamilton bombed it to opposite field, for a 380-foot blast. Hamilton is completely locked in at the plate and the rest of the league needs to look out right now.
- Baltimore’s Bullpen. The biggest reason the Orioles are surging right now? Their bullpen has been lights out. When Buck Showalter turns the game over to his bullpen, Baltimore has not let him down. Out of the Orioles 6 most frequently used relievers (all with more than 13 innings pitched), only 1 has allowed more than 3 runs. Closer Jim Johnson and middleman Luis Ayala have yet to allow an earned run over a combined 28 innings. Even the position players are getting in on the act. During Sunday’s 17-inning marathon against the Boston Red Sox, DH Chris Davis was called upon to pitch. He responded by throwing 2 scoreless innings striking out 2, while Adam Jones provided the offensive lift, hitting a 3-run homer. If Baltimore’s firemen continue to pitch this well, the O’s could stay in the race for the long run.
3 Down
- Milwaukee’s infield situation. On Sunday the Brewers lost the 2nd member of their Opening Day infield, when Alex Gonzalez went down with a torn ACL after Mat Gamel had already gone down with a season-ending knee injury. The Brewers have responded by going uber-defensive, starting Cesar Izturis at short and Travis Ishikawa at 1st. Izturis is one of the worst hitters in the majors with a career 64 OPS+ in 4000 at-bats. Ishikawa is also a very light hitting 1st baseman, with 17 career homers in 643 at-bats. Milwaukee will need to find an upgrade if they want to compete for the playoffs this season, because they can’t afford any more light hitting bats. Nyjer Morgan and Rickie Weeks are off to terrible starts, hitting under .200 apiece, and Aramis Ramirez hasn’t been much better, batting only .216. Milwaukee has already fallen into 5th place in the NL Central, 6 behind St. Louis, and they need to get things turned around quickly.
- Colorado’s Starting Pitching Staff. You know its bad when your best pitcher to date has been 49-year-old Jamie Moyer. The Rockies have gotten almost nothing out of their pitching staff, ranking last in the National League in runs allowed, homeruns allowed, hits allowed, and ERA. The aforementioned Moyer is the only Rockie checking in with an ERA+ above league average, and he’s just barely over at 110. The biggest issues so far have been the inability to strike batters out and locating pitches in the strike zone. We knew Moyer would struggle with this, but who would have thought that Jeremey Guthrie would post a 1.8 Ks/9 rate in his first 24 innings? No one on the staff has a K/BB rate better than the league average of 3. The worst perpatrator has been poor Jhoulys Chacin, who has been bombed so far, giving up 7 homers, 31 hits, and 15 walks in just 24.2 innings of work. It’s a shame too, because the Rockies offense is rolling, ranking 2nd in the National League in homeruns and OPS, as well as 3rd in runs scored behind a resurgent Carlos Gonzalez.
- Daniel Bard’s balky 2nd inning. Last night in Kansas City Daniel Bard had a little bit of a problem with balking. On his 1st balk, Bard had a runner on 1st and 3rd. He attempted the old fake-to-3rd-throw-to-1st, but never made a legitimate move to the 3rd base bag. Bard attempted to argue, but the umpires made the correct call, because Bard’s foot came up but never got close to moving in the direction of 3rd. The move led to the Royals’ 1st run of the game, and moved the runner on 1st down to 2nd. The 2nd balk was also an easy call the umpires got right, and occurred during the same at-bat 2 pitches later. A pitcher is not allowed to make a move toward a base and not throw the ball and when Bard brought his foot down, then turned to 2nd, he was caught red-handed. It ended up costing Bard and the Red Sox another run when Chris Getz singled home Moustakas. Bard appeared to get a little jumpy with the base runners on, which is interesting because the runner both times was Mike Moustakas, the owner of 3 career steals in nearly 500 at-bats. Moustakas is a very nice looking young hitter, but he’s not exactly Ricky Henderson out there.
April’s All-Stars: National League
Now that we’ve taken a look at the American League’s best, let’s take a look at the best the Senior Circuit has to offer.
Catcher- Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals
Molina gets a slight edge over Buster Posey because he plays the position everyday, rather than playing half his games at 1st base. Molina has been excellent with the bat so far, hitting .316 with 4 homers and 15 RBI. He even has 2 stolen bases so far, half of his entire total from 2011. He has always been the finest of the catching Molina’s with his glove work, and now, in his age-29 season, the bat is starting to catch up.
1st base- Bryan LaHair, Chicago Cubs
LaHair has been given his 1st real shot in the big leagues at 29 and has not disappointed so far. In 20 games he has hit .390/.471/.780 with 5 homers and 14 RBI. Very few players are ever given their first crack at the Major Leagues at 29 and his early success has been one of baseball’s best stories so far. If LaHair could finish around .280 with 20+ homers, numbers that are very realistic, the Cubs will have gotten an absolute steal at 1st base.
2nd base- Jose Altuve, Houston Astros
Another surprise out of the NL Central has been the play of the Astros’ 2nd baseman. Altuve is very green at only 21 years of age, but has been smacking extra-base hits all over the field batting .360/.404/.547 with 11 XBH. The Astros have been surprisingly feisty so far, and Altuve is one of the major reasons why. His speed game is also excellent, having stolen 4 bases without being caught.
Shortstop- Starlin Castro, Chicago Cubs
The 2nd Cub to grace the list, Castro is a singles hitting machine. He led the National League in hits a year ago, and is already back to his old tricks, piling up 30 hits already. He’s added some new moves as well, and has already stolen 10 bases, which puts him on pace to smash his previous career high of 22. Troy Tulowitzki is also playing well, but I’m giving the nod to Castro.
3rd base- David Wright, New York Mets
Wright gets the nod over Pablo Sandoval and David Freese at the National League’s deepest position. Wright leads all of baseball in on-base percentage, at a stellar .494, and is hitting a robust .389. He has been enjoying the moved in fences at Citi Field, bombing 3 homers already, putting him on pace to beat last season’s measly 14. He is also walking more than he is striking out, which is always an excellent sign that a hitter is really locked in at the plate.
Outfield- Matt Kemp, Los Angeles Dodgers
Well, this one’s obvious. Kemp is leading everyone in everything, topping the National League in batting average, OPS, slugging, total bases, runs, hits, homeruns, and RBI. His defense in center has also been excellent, and his batting eye at the plate looks to be improved. He’s got an outside shot at hitting 60 homers, and a really long shot at hitting .400 for the season. This kind of production wins no-doubt-about-it MVPs.
Outfield- Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers
Outside of Matt Kemp, there are plenty of deserving candidates, and Ryan Braun is my first. Braun had been having a somewhat slow start to his MVP defense until last nights 3 homer, 1 triple, 6 RBI outburst. He’s now all the way up to 3rd in OPS for National League outfielders, and also has 7 homers total. He’s also showing last seasons 33 steals weren’t a fluke, as Braun has swiped 3 bases in 4 attempts.
Outfield- Carlos Gonzalez, Colorado Rockies
Gonzalez snaps up the last of the available outfield spots, because of his all-around play. He’s 6th out of NL outfielders in OPS, 13th in steals, 8th in homers, and 4th in RBI. His batting line: .303/.376/.539 with 4 homers, 4 steals, and 18 RBI. Other deserving candidates include: Andrew McCutchen, Michael Bourne, Carlos Beltran, Jay Bruce, and Chris Young, who was having a monster season before hitting the DL. If Young comes back and plays as well as he had been, the All-Star spot is his.
Right-handed Pitcher- Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals
The ace of the best pitching staff in baseball so far has lived up to all the hype. Strasburg has pitched 5 games, compiling 32 innings and has struck out 34 while allowing 6 walks, 22 hits, and only 4 runs, giving him an ERA of 1.13. Hitters have looked overmatched against his powerful fastball and wipeout curveball. Strasburg is a legitimate Cy Young candidate if his team doesn’t shut him down first.
Left-handed Pitcher- Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers
For as dominant as Strasburg has been from the right side, Kershaw has been nearly as dominant from the left. He has a 1.78 ERA in 30.1 innings and has already struck out 28 batters to begin his Cy Young defense. His WHIP sits under 1.00 once again and he has only allowed 1 homer so far, which was his biggest weakness a season ago. If Strasburg is shut down, look for Kershaw to reap the rewards.
Relief Pitcher- Jonathan Paplebon, Philadelphia Phillies
Without the excellent rotation put together in Philly, the team would already be sunk. They spend a fortune for Paplebon to close the door on teams, and he has gotten the job done so far this year. Paplebon is striking out 1 batter per innings, has a tidy .90 WHIP, and a miniscule .90 ERA as well.
Pittsburgh’s No Good, Very Bad Offense
As I sit in my living room watching the 2nd game of a doubleheader between the Rockies and Pirates, I’m left to think, where has all the offense gone? Seriously, the Pirates score less frequently than a high school nerd with a bad haircut. It also makes me wonder whether the trend of teams scoring less and less is just being carried out to the extreme in the Steel City, or if the Pirates are just simply a case of poor management putting together a lousy roster. Honestly, its probably a little of both, and I am starting to get to the point where I am genuinely surprised when Pittsburgh is hitting and the ball leaves the infield.
In the 1st game of the doubleheader, the Rockies won 2-1, despite mustering only 3 hits, one of which was an infield single. The Pirates put up 9 hits, with their lone run on a solo shot by Pedro Alvarez. In the 2nd game between Colorado and Pittsburgh, the 4th inning has just completed and only 5 more hits have been put up on the board, with neither team scoring a run. If Pittsburgh and Colorado continue to hit this anemically, the Pirates will set a new, interesting, and maybe dubious Major League record.
The Pirates have started the young season out by playing mediocre 7-10 baseball. The pitching staff has been excellent, ranking 2nd in baseball in runs allowed, just a hair behind Washington’s. In the 1st game of the doubleheader, James McDonald took a no-hitter into the 7th inning, where it was broken up on an infield hit. McDonald pitched excellently, striking out 8 batters in 7 innings, only allowing the 1 measly hit and scattering 3 walks. But as the story of Pittsburgh season has gone, he would not factor in the decision, because his own offense was in the middle of stabbing him in the back. The Pirates would score a run, immediately concede another after watching Eric Young Jr. run wild, and go on to lose 2-1. Pittsburgh even had their chances but made 3 outs running the bases, with 2 of those being caught stealings. The Pirates really never threatened to hit the ball hard, outside of Alvarez’s homer, with 3 infield singles out of their 9 total hits. It was another typical game in an interesting season for Pittsburgh.
Lets look at some amazing facts:
-Pittsburgh has now scored 36 runs in 17 games, for a measly average of 2.1 runs per game. The worst offense ever in the Wild Card era was the 2010 Seattle Mariners, who averaged a full run more per game than the Pirates currently do. Seattle scored a paltry 513 runs and lost 101 games. If Pittsburgh continues with this woeful offensive production, they stand a good chance to be worse than the 2010 Mariners.
-In today’s game, the Pirates batted Pedro Alvarez sixth and Clint Barmes seventh. Alvarez is the definition of a black hole hitting a puny .122 after his homerun in today’s game. He now has 4 hits on the season in 42 at-bats, with the only good news being that 3 of the hits have left the park. Not to be outdone, Barmes is hitting an atrocious .154 in 57 at-bats and is due 5 million this year and next.
-The Pirates rank last in the National League in runs, hits, walks drawn, on-base percentage, slugging, and total bases. Pittsburgh ranks 2nd to last in batting average and homeruns as well.
-The Pirates are 1st in baseball in one offensive category: infield hits. By racking up 3 more today, the Pirates now have 21 on the year, 3 more than the Houston Astros.
-They only have 1 remotely productive hitter on the team in Andrew McCutchen, who may already be regretting inking a 6-year deal. McCutchen is hitting .333 and is single handedly keeping the Pirates above the Mendoza line (Pittsburgh’s team average is .211). If you take McCutchen’s contributions out of the lineup, the rest of the lineup is only hitting for a combined .193!!
-Where you wondering about that interesting/dubious record I was talking about? Well if the 2nd game of the doubleheader between against the Rockies plays out similarly to the 1st, and we end up with a low scoring game, Pittsburgh will set a record for most consecutive games played without either team scoring more than 5 runs.
-So who’s record did the Buccos tie in the early game today? That would be the 1943 Detroit Tigers, who played during World War II, when run scoring was way down throughout the league, because many of the best hitters left to fight fascism.
-The pitching rotation has done a standup job, despite the offense, carrying the Pirates by ranking 2nd in baseball in runs allowed. After this afternoon’s game, the Pirates now allow a hair under 3 runs per game, an outstanding number.
So, do the Pirates have any chances of turning this around, or are they going to become the low point for offensive baseball in the Wild Card era?
Unless a major midseason overhaul takes place, Pittsburgh’s offense will almost assuredly finish in the bottom 3 of baseball, which is a near guarantee to finish with a losing record. Its possible to finish around .500 with lousy offense and great pitching (see San Francisco:2011), but the Pirates just don’t have that caliber of pitching, even if Bedard and Burnett continue to rebound nicely from moving out of the AL East. On offense, Andrew McCutchen is one of the most talented, hard-working players in the game but, outside of maybe 1 other player, none of the Pirates would be starting for any of the other 29 Major League teams. Both Alvarez and Tabata have failed to live up to the early promise they showed, Barmes never has been even a contributing player on a winning team, and only Neil Walker appears capable of stepping up to help McCutchen get Pittsburgh to .500. The rest of the offense is going nowhere and will have to be overhauled before the Buccos see better days.
The Return of the Era of the Shortstop
Exactly 10 years ago the shortstop position was going through a golden age. Five different shortstops, A-Rod, Jeter, Garciaparra, Tejada, and Vizquel, would all be named to the AL All-Star team. One of those players, Miguel Tejada, would take the award over another, Alex Rodriguez. The position was one of incredible depth, and the common notion of the era was that it took a good shortstop to win the World Series. 10 years later, there are once again All-Star caliber shortstops popping up in cities everywhere, playing great defense, hitting for average, and hitting for power. The position has been on fire this season, with many players posting elite numbers currently. Let’s take a look at a few.
Troy Tulowitzki
Tulowitzki has held the unofficial title of best shortstop alive for the past 3 seasons running. In the National League, he has monopolized the awards circuit, winning the past 2 Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers. Tulo is once again off to a solid start, hitting .295/.390/.500, while drawing walks in a career-best 15% of his at-bats. Tulowitzki also has the ability to drive the ball like few others at short can, blasting a position-leading 89 homers over the past 3 seasons. The defensive metrics are also very pro-Tulo, ranking him near the top of almost everyone. Shortstops with this combination of power, average, and defense are absurdly rare, and Colorado was wise to lock him up for the next decade.
Derek Jeter
The shortstop currently hitting the best in all of baseball is one of the oldest at the position. Jeter is a rare bird at age-37, providing offensive production that has never been seen before at his age. His currently batting line: .366/.395/.610 with 2 homers and 4 doubles. Jeter has shown more pop in his bat during the first 2 weeks of 2012, than at any point in the last 2 seasons, and he’s doing this out of the leadoff spot. His production over the years is legendary, as he has racked up 7 top-10 MVP finishes, 5 Gold Gloves, 4 Silver Sluggers, and 12 All-Star appearances. He was one of the 3 best shortstops in the league a decade ago, and has maintained his skills in a way that none of the other players could. Jeter is a surefire, 1st ballot Hall of Famer with 5 World Series rings as well, more than any other current player outside of his teammate Mariano Rivera.
Starlin Castro
From shortstop past to shortstop future, Castro is a precocious 22-year-old, who has a seemingly endless supply of talent. The Cubbie is crushing opposing pitchers this year, to the tune of a .359/.395/.436 slash. He is also a demon on the base paths; ranking 2nd in baseball in steals with 6 without being caught. He is a career .306 hitter in around 1200 career at-bats, which is elite for a shortstop. He needs to work on his ability to draw walks and his defense however. He is a bit sloppy in the field leading the NL already in 2012, after leading the league a year ago. But he has excellent range and quickness, which allows him to cover a large area. As he cuts his errors down with experience look for Gold Gloves in his future.
Ian Desmond
The Washington Nationals’ shortstop came into spring fighting for his position, after an abysmal 2011 that saw his numbers drop across the board. Desmond, like the rest of the list, is tearing the cover off the ball so far in 2012. He’s hitting .354/.380/.479, and his defense is looking much improved. His range has never been in question, as he has ranked in the top-5 in the league each year in assists, but he has been error prone in the past. At age-26, he seems to have finally calmed down in the field, and is making both the routine plays and the spectacular ones. If Desmond continues to play at a high level the Nationals will be for real this year.
Jimmy Rollins
At age-33, Rollins is now one of the more senior shortstops in baseball. He has struggled with injury the past couple of seasons, but is still capable of putting up a huge year. Rollins is a 3-time Gold Glove winner, a former MVP, and a World Series winner. So far in the young season he’s hitting .351/.368/.378 with 2 steals. His power may be drying up, seeing that he only has 2 extra-base hits, but in the Phillies current lineup, Rollins has very little protection, so pitchers are staying away from the middle of the plate. When Utley and Howard return, expect an uptick in his production.
Asdrubal Cabrera
Asdrubal had his coming out party in 2011, crushing the ball to the tune of a .273/.332/.460 slash with 25 homers. He was named to his first All-Star team, and took home the Silver Slugger award for his efforts. Cabrera has power to all fields, is an excellent gap hitter, and has the ability to successfully steal bases. Much of Cabrera’s value also lies in his fantastic range in the field. He can frequently be seen making some of the flashiest plays in baseball, diving, flipping the ball behind his back, and more. At age-26 he is just entering his prime and should be an All-Star for years to come. Cabrera has had a good start to his 2012 campaign, hitting .282/.333/.513 with 2 homers and 3 doubles.
JJ Hardy
JJ Hardy was finally able to stay on the field in 2011, hitting a massive 30 homers and 27 doubles. Hardy has been cursed with the injury bug for most of his career, after beginning it with such promise. During 2007 and 2008 he hit a combined 50 homers and 61 doubles for the Brewers, making 1 All-Star team. Hardy has struggled out of the gate this year, but should be expected to top 25 homers and hit around .265 again, which are excellent numbers up the middle. Hardy is also an excellent defender with great instincts. His throwing arm is strong, and he is excellent on relays and balls hit in the hole. If the Orioles could put together a decent team, Hardy would probably be a lead competitor to win the Gold Glove award.
There are plenty of other young, talented shortstops on their way up as well. Down in Miami they have Jose Reyes, a premier offensive talent with blazing speed. The Dodgers speedster Dee Gordon is fun to watch and leads the National League in steals with 7 in 10 games. Zach Cozart is only 26 and has been hitting the ball hard every time at-bat for Cincinnati. Rafael Furcal may be in the midst of a renaissance season in St. Louis, hitting .292 and swiping 2 bags already after years of injury sapped his speed. And Elvis Andrus is still just 23 and has already swiped 30+ bases in 3 seasons. Baseball is always better when the shortstop position is deep, and this may be one of the most talented groups of players since the Holy Grail a decade ago.
