Thursday, October 23, 2008

Benchwarmer: Cleveland Edition Revisited

Remember my blog post about Dennis Pratt ? I said don't worry about Pratt cause he'll still end up batting .280 and finish with around 150 RBI. Well guess what, since my posting he has found his grove... he is now hitting .276, OPS'ing .996 and currently has 132 RBI with 18 games to play.

Monday, October 13, 2008

My Favorite Player: Rob Benson

Ron Benson
Jackson
War Dogs
Age: 29B/T: S/L
Born: Nampa, ID
Position(s): 1B/LF/DH
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My favorite player? Easy, its “Psyco” Rob Bensen. When you look at Rob’s ratings, nothing pops out with a “wow” factor, except maybe his ability to hit right handers. However, if there was a rating for clutch hitting, he would be 100. I can’t count how many times he has driven in the winning run, or made that key late inning hit to start a rally. Plus, just look at him: the guy is crazy. You want a player that will sacrifice his body by crashing into the catcher at a play at the plate, he is your guy. Throw in the fact he is a left-handed first baseman, a switch hitter, and has already won one gold glove, and you can see why he is my favorite.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

My Favorite Player: Timo Collins

I've been trying to convince a friend of mine to try Hardball Dynasty. He's never played WIS, and is thrown off by the idea of not playing with real players.

"I understand," I told him. "But after a while they kind of become real."

Which may have made him even more skeptical.

But I'm sure you guys get it. After 6 seasons in Feller, there are players which hold some kind of unquantifiable hold over you. So this is my attempt to quantify...to expose my unbounded sports nerd-dom. Maybe we can make it into some sort of ongoing column.

My favorite player is Timo Collins.

Timo Collins
Portland
Tall Firs
Age: 24B/T: S/R
Born: Portland, OR
Position(s): LF/RF
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First, Timo Collins was my first high 1st round draft pick...the 9th overall pick back in Season 2. He's a good (not great) hitter. He's fast. Decent defensively with a respectable arm for a right-fielder.

Those are the numbers, and they're convincing enough. But the real reason Timo Collins is my favorite player in Feller are these:

1) He has a cool name. Timo Collins. Like some sort of Irish-Finnish combination...only in a black guy.

2) He has a soul-patch and he smiles. His face sort of says, "Don't worry, Coach, I'm not a locker-room cancer, and I won't let you down at the plate."

3) He's a hometown boy. I'm a Portlander, and my team is based in Portland. I imagine, if the fans mattered in this game, he'd be a fan favorite...kind of like Damon Stoudamire, but without the getting-caught-with-weed-wrapped-in-tin foil-at-the-airport.

(Which, for most Blazer fans, wasn't that big of a deal compared to all the other crap we put up with for years.)

Anyway, that's why I wouldn't trade Timo Collins...not even for a package of Dennis Pratt and Endy Ramsey.

Okay, maybe for those guys...but it would hurt.

Who's you favorite player?

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

The NL West

I don't think I'm going too far out on a limb by saying the NL West is the National League's premier division.

Salem and Las Vegas are perennial powers, Honolulu is decent, and my team, the Portland Tall Firs, seems to make some kind of run every season.

So what's happening right now? We've been in a freefall over the last 10 games, going 16-24. It's not as if the competition has been fierce...Portland is 1-5 against the Cincinnati Nuxhalls, Salem dropped its last two to the New York Evil Empire, and, as doontristy puts it, Las Vegas is showing no heart.

I'm not sure how my team was leading this division in the first place, but I've watched as that lead has dwindled away to a near three-way tie, and I don't see myself pulling out of this nosedive. And I know I play in a pitcher's park, but a .239 team BA at home? Doesn't home field advantage play in at some point?

I appreciate the opportunity to whine to you all.