Update: Poster Yaz-Tex meets Tito on a plane! See comments.
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Anyone sick of the media gushing over lil' David Eckstein?
The undoubtedly-now-completely-insane people over at Fire Joe Morgan sure are. Click here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and (this one is out of chronological order, but I wanted to save it for last) HERE.
Ken Tremendous also pretty much destroys any defense of Jeter winning the Aaron Award for the best offensive performance.
I won't click on those links, but I hope they included that idiot Griffin who writes for the Toronto Star. The headline was something like "Gritty Little Eckstein Proves 'We Believed In Ourselves'".
ReplyDelete[gag]
Granted, It is a little sickening , all the gritty talk. But I would take him on the sox anyday. He will always give you .280 and also plays a solid short. And a bargain at 3 mil a year....
ReplyDeleteGriffin is in there!
ReplyDeleteHere is Eckstein's OPS+ for every season of his career:
84, 103, 79, 77, 98, 81.
Career: 88.
100 is league average -- and this is what he managed to do from age 26 to 31 -- traditionally thought of as a player's peak years. Several of the FJM posts discuss how wildly overrated he is.
I'd waste a bench spot for him, but that's it.
Then again, Alex Gonzalez (77 in 2006 and 78 for his career) is worse. In only 2 of his 9 seasons has he had an OPS+ over 85. Jesus, that is BAD! But he can field.
Players like Gritty McWhitehair are a dime a dozen.
He maybe a dime a dozen.....and also a great bench player...The guy averages 150 hits a season. Thats all. Gonzalez did that once...I f we have resorted to slick fielding shortstop with no bat then we keep Gonzalez.....Or do what Theo wants to do and throw 7 million at Julio Lugo....Yippee ....I will save you the time his OPS+ is 92. Or we could sign someone who used to play shortstop a very long time ago his OPS+ is 130.
ReplyDeleteYT, what a great and illuminating and engrossing piece. Tito comes across as such a nice guy, and your personal encounter just confirms that view. Thank you so very much. I was enthralled.
ReplyDeleteAs an 11-year old who didn't make Little League for 'being too small', I'm supposed to like gritty little guys. I don't, and Eckstein is the poster boy for why not.
ReplyDeleteNow, can we see a series of articles about what downtown Detroit is really like?
BTW, Yaz-tex, great take. Somehow, Tito incognito (another good one) doesn't surprise me. Although neither would Youks carrying his baggage.
Great stuff Yaz. I was joking about Nomar. Overrated is another subjective arguement. I tend to see overated in Baseball as money such as the Mussina's and Giambi"S
ReplyDeleteof the world at 3.3 million I see Eckstein as a bargain.
Great post, Y-T. Too bad your dinner plans fell through. You missed the big question: What blogs does he read?
ReplyDeleteIf the Sox go after Sheffield, I will seriously question Theo's sanity.
Does anyone see the Sox re-signing any of the early Sox free agents? Nixon: no. Kaplar: I hope no. Mirabelli: maybe.
I know Belly's a folk hero and all -- and he's got the cushiest job since Ringo -- but he flat-out sucks as a hitter. In 2006, he recalled the glory days of Marc "Nepotism" Sullivan. We can do better than that.
I know Belly's a folk hero and all -- and he's got the cushiest job since Ringo -- but he flat-out sucks as a hitter.
ReplyDeleteHe flat-out sucks as an anything. He must be the Sox's most replaceable player. The fans will learn to live without him.
Now, can we see a series of articles about what downtown Detroit is really like?
ReplyDeleteIt's not a bad city, as far as the US Midwest goes. It has its good points.
But I'm sure you know, never look to baseball announcers to know anything about a city. They never see anything more than the park and the hotel.
Announcers always gush about how Camden Yards and the Jake revitalized Baltimore and Cleveland. Lots of national chains around the ballpark, then you walk two blocks away, and it's the same old unemployment and run-down stores you see everywhere.
Nice writing, Yaz.
ReplyDeleteThe last Eckstein piece was a genuine laugh-out-loud experience.
Sox re-resignings? 'Belli--in the name of anything that's holy, please, NO! How about a real backup catcher? Barajas, maybe?
ReplyDeleteNixon and Kapler are part of the same outfield quandary. NO to both of them, but how to replace is the problem. Think of A's having 3 CF's in the OF, then think of Sox OF defense. Not pretty. Both Coco and WMP seem to have terrible first-steps on some fly balls (and not just getting fooled on over-swings, which happens to lots of OFers). I heard McAdam say last night that he doubted Manny would go anywhere because Sox wouldn't get value. Poor old Sean actually sounded disappointed. WMP needs to play every day to fulfill that great potential. I hate baling on Coco cuz of the injuries (don't forget the kidney stones), but getting good value for him may be the key. Dazed and confused here.
I thought the Cla-Bard trade was a panic move, and it may well go down as the reverse equivilent of Slocum for Lowe/Tek.
ReplyDeleteTheo has pretty much admitted it was a panic move.
I don't see the deal being that bad. Can Bard become another Varitek? I doubt it. ... Then again, does The Cla Face exist?