Scrappiest bartender in the majors

Fire Joe Morgan acolytes like yours truly often use “scrappy” as short-hand for mocking the sportswriting/announcing establishment, who seem content to defend players who, quite frankly, aren’t very good, but are “scrappy.” You may recognize David Eckstein as god’s own prototype for this breed, at least until another one of their number, Dustin Pedroia, won the MVP last year.

However, there’s no denying despite classical scrappy attributes like getting his uniform dirty, Pedroia is a really good player (and his commercial for The Show is hilarious), which is why I perused with interest this long Boston.com article on Pedroia and the etymology of “scrappy.”

“Scrappy” approached the new century, then, as “the consolation prize of baseball adjectives—like saying a girl has a nice sense of humor,” Thorn says. The model was established by the relentlessly overpraised 5-foot-7 shortstop David Eckstein, who had the good fortune of being a slow, limp-armed, dink-and-dunking mediocrity who was not so bad at the plate as to prevent two of his teams from winning the World Series, and who not incidentally is as white as the fresh-fallen snow. Eckstein remains the sort of guy who makes Fox announcers sound like the front row of a Jonas Brothers show. He even won a World Series MVP with the Cardinals in 2006, mostly on the strength of a few doubles, of which at least one would’ve been caught had the Tigers not penciled in the>moaiof Easter Island in left field. (Poor Craig Monroe is probably still trying to get a read on that line drive.)

And now, in the twilight of Eckstein’s career and at the dawn of the Post-Steroid Era, the mantle has been passed to Pedroia.

Source

Rick Vaughn boston magazine, david eckstein, dustin pedroia

Who doesn't love a knuckleballer?

Well, mostly.

Boston.com reports that the top 4 pitchers for the 2009 Boston Red Sox will be Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Dice-K, and ageless knuckleballer  Tim Wakefield.

After a shaky spring, free agent acquisition Brad Penny has 2 more games to prove himself and earn the #5 slot, which means the role of Clay Bucholz is still up in the air. Justin Masterson will open the season in the pen.

While Boston fans seem to dislike Wakefield, he is my personal hero for being a throwback knuckleballer and also taking up a spot in the rotation that could be used by someone more terrifying.

Source.

Rick Vaughn boston.com, brad penny, clay bucholz, Daisuka Matsuzaka, jon lester, josh beckett, justin masterson, tim wakefield

Beats a picture of Youk.

Dave Cameron over at FanGraphs has put together a super-comprehensive ranking of all 30 MLB teams, rating their franchise using five criteria: Ownership, Front Office, Major League Talent, Minor League Talent and Overall.

Rounding out the top three are the Red Sox at No. 1, with the Yankees and Rays tied for third. Cameron had this to say about the Sox:

Well capitalized owner who wants to win and invests in the product? Check
A cohesive front office that combines scouting and statistical analysis? Check.
A major league team that can win immediately and has pieces to build around? Check.
A minor league farm system that will replenish the major league roster? Check.

The Red Sox are the cream of the crop in baseball right now.

Hard to argue with that, though the AL East certainly remains up for grabs as the Yankees continue to spend and the Rays keep improving their young club.

The worst three franchises are the Nationals, Marlins and Astros. Cameron’s thoughts on the Nats:

It’s impossible to find an organization in worse shape than the Nats. They’re coming off a major league worst 102 loss season and their GM just resigned amidst a scandal over significant issues with their Dominican scouting operations. Rather than hiring a new general manager, the team president is just handling business himself while giving Asst. GM Mike Rizzo some increased authority without a promotion.

Yeesh.

Source.

Joe Blancato astros, dave cameron, fangraphs, marlins, nationals, rankings, rays, redsox, yankees