How many player press conferences have you seen in the past several years called to address a very bad mistake they made? How many major league players have made the rounds with a shocked reaction to a positive drug test? You’ve likely lost count of the minor league players who will be starting the season serving a 50-game suspension after testing positive for PED’s.

There was also a public apology in a press room by then-Phillies (now Astros) pitcher Brett Meyers for a physical altercation with his wife on a street. And, earlier this week, Rangers Josh Hamilton took no questions but gave plenty of answers in a press conference to explain a relapse in a bar.

These are not the days when a player can hide. They can’t get away with trying to get an edge with performance enhancers and if they’re caught, excuses are a waste of time. Should they screw up at all they will be called on to the carpet to explain themselves and be subjected to a social media firestorm.

On one hand, nothing is private even when it should be.  What is so painful can only be more painful with a white-hot spotlight fixed on your fall.

On the other hand, class is in.

That spotlight creates pressure that is unfair, but also helpful. Young players developing in the minors are seeing the exact consequences of developing a nasty habit or if they fail to respect their opportunity.  That spotlight encourages discipline.

Hamilton’s situation encourages something just as important, inspiration. Every step of his recovery process, rise from the ashes, and missteps along the way have been followed, covered, and his success cheered. For any young player struggling with the burden of addiction or tempted by too much partying, they can look into Hamilton’s eyes and see a way out. And, if they fail, they can believe in redemption if they try hard enough to come back.

Prospects are receiving increased exposure with social media, particularly Twitter. There are multiple sites dedicated to prospects and following their careers. Gone are the days when it was harder to connect with the top prospect in your favorite team’s organization. Fans are seeing them in the earliest stages of their professional growth, and even earlier, with college players also joining the ranks & sharing their draft day experience. It’s not a glimpse, but a jumbo screen look at the lives and careers of young players.

All of that attention might seem a bit much on a nineteen-year old kid, but this is the state of the game they’re entering. Many eyes are upon them. And if they’re paying attention to those tense press conferences, they’re learning that no player is protected by a baseball-approved cloak of mystery anymore.

That discipline could make them better players, but more importantly, better men.

Five Questions With…Yankees Austin Krum

Outfielder Austin Krum will enter his fifth year of professional baseball this season and is almost certain to start with the the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees. In 2011 he split time between Double-A Trenton and Triple-A, finishing the year hitting .251, with 43 RBI and 59 walks.

Here’s what he had to say recently:

BD:  Have you had discussions with the Yankees about the new season?

I actually haven’t spoken with the Yankees about any plans or the upcoming season.  They usually stay pretty busy, as you can imagine, but I will absolutely be ready to go whenever they call for me to.

BD: Do you think you’ll start the season back at Trenton or with the SWB Yankees?

If there is one thing I have learned in my baseball life it is to never guess or hypothesize where or when I will be playing anywhere.  While Triple A would be nice to start, I am coming in this spring with zero expectations or assumptions from outside forces.  The only thing I am focusing on is what I expect from myself and my personal aspirations.

I have a very good routine for my off-season training and it is one of the things I pride myself upon.  The one thing, if anything, that I may have done differently this off-season is start hitting much sooner and taking many more reps.  I usually start my speed training and lifting around the same time every year but my hitting did start much sooner and I am taking many more reps than I ever have.  Hopefully it will pay off.

My horse going into the playoffs was the Denver Broncos. I was born and raised in Denver, Colorado and the 303 (area code) will be in my blood for the rest of my life, so naturally, I was pulling for the Broncos.  Once they were eliminated I didn’t really have a favorite but I was rooting for the Giants.  I am glad Eli got a second ring.  And Victor Cruz quickly became one of my favorite players this year.

I change my walkout music every season for a fresh start.  I still haven’t selected one song, but I have a few in mind.

Mickey Mantle was the one before him. The above was said about Mantle many times. Mantle’s power separated him from everyone else in the game. Nobody struck a baseball like Mantle. There may have been better players, but not even Willie Mays could hit a baseball with the sheer force that Mantle did. Today’s game has another player with that type of power. Not since Mantle has a player’s power far surpassed the rest of the league. Now, there is that player who, despite his flaws and constant struggle, continues to draw us in because of his potential to astound us.
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There are times in life when nothing seems to make sense. The very foundation of who you are and what you thought your world would be disappears into the clutches of reality. Life, the thing that happens when you are making plans, working to pay your bills, and hoping to have a better day, has a way of being the ultimate reality check. As sweet as life can be, it can also be ugly. It can be cruel and it can leave you with a feeling of emptiness that you never thought you could feel. It seems that the older we get, we get farther away from the innocent feeling of the days when your parents told you that everything would be alright and that if you worked hard enough, happiness is around the corner.

Then, of course, there is the other side. It is the side that love, success, triumph, and redemption can be found. When we cross to this side–the ideal side–we fight with every fiber of our being to stay there. This side is what makes life worth living.

But, most know that life isn’t the idealized version of what we dreamt at night before waking up to the smell of breakfast cooking and the sound of a house in motion. We all started out that way. Fewer end that way. For some of us, Baseball was one of our great pleasures. It was our outlet and our way of passing the day while dreaming of being the starting shortstop for the New York Yankees. Some of us got to play beyond Little League; even fewer moved on to college. And, that lucky few got to live out the dreams that the billions of us had and probably still hold.

Often, those few are very hard to root for. They complain about the long season and their million dollar contracts. They complain about not being respected as they walk by the six year old seeking a scribble across their baseball card. Reality sometimes stinks.
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There are some, of course, who make it easy to root for. Albert Pujols, Derek Jeter, and host of other genuinely good people make it look easy every day. They rarely say or do anything wrong. They are those few, just like in the real world, who have it. It came to them easily and they have sustained their gifts. Obviously, they’ve worked hard to get to their place in life, but rarely has anything come close to compromising their careers, their baseball lives. They offer the rest of us hope, but in a way that is almost unattainable. They aren’t us. We can admire them (and we should), but they aren’t the same as us.

But, he is. Every time he comes to the plate, he gives us hope that comebacks are possible. He gives us hope that in spite of all of the ugliness and no matter how bad life beats you, you can come back. “He”, of course, is Josh Hamilton, the Most Valuable Player of the 2010 season. He, despite one of the ugliest addictions a person can have, has made it back. He’s made it back to exactly the place that was foretold for him. And, despite recent reports and admissions, he is still right where he belongs.
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Hamilton’s story has been well documented. He was a Baseball prodigy, a teenager who could do anything on the field. He could hit, hit for power, play defense, throw out runners, and run. He was going to be better than Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, and Babe Ruth. He was going to be the one to lead the Tampa Bay Devil Rays out of basement all by himself. He was the first pick of the 1999 draft. He was the number one prospect in Baseball. He was the one.

Then, the addiction took over. It took over in ways that most can’t even imagine. He gave glimpses of his talent, but something was off. He got in trouble, and by 2002, he was out of Baseball. He would serve as the cautionary tale of what happens when an athlete is given too much, too soon. His name would be thrown around as the example of a great player never realizing his talent because he got caught up in drugs. High School coaches all over America lectured their players about the dangers of life and how Josh Hamilton threw it all away. Mantle may have struggled with alcohol and it may have stunted his growth as a player, but it never took him off of the field. Hamilton’s addiction almost cost him everything. Hamilton’s addiction looks like it will always haunt him.
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Some look at addiction as weakness. Addiction has nothing to do with weakness. It is a disease just like other killers–cancer, AIDS, heart disease. Addiction doesn’t kill because people are weak. It kills because there is something inside of a person that controls all rational thought. It controls you. It takes everything in your life and warps it into a quest of self-destruction. It makes you loathe who you are and what you do. Most importantly, it takes away your ability to function with your family and to realize who you are meant to be.
Josh Hamilton was there.

Addiction cost him time. It cost him money. It almost cost him his life. Hamilton describes his struggle quite movingly in his book. He describes his road back in gruesome detail.  While still teetering on the brink, Hamilton, with the support of his wife and family, came back to Baseball. He started his second chance at his professional career right where he began his first one, in upstate New York as a member of the Hudson Valley Renegades, the New York Penn League affiliate of the Tampa Rays. Four years after playing his last game, the 25 year old was back playing in a league consisting of freshly drafted players and players whose careers stalled out before they began. He would only make 55 plate appearances for the Renegades, but he was back in the game when no one thought he was capable of being there.
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I got to witness three of those 55 appearances one night. He looked different than everyone else. He was bigger, his bat speed was quicker, and his presence loomed larger than everyone else’s. He didn’t do anything special that night. He walked, popped out to second, and hit a long flyball out to centerfield. He left the game soon after. There was a buzz in the stands when he came up. It wasn’t that same buzz like the 2008 Homerun Derby or any one of his at bats from the past two seasons. Instead, there were whispers. People felt saddened that a once great talent was trying to come back. He wasted his shot and now he is desperate because he has nothing else in his life. Little did everyone know. In fairness, these comebacks rarely worked out. Great athletes who became addicts or ruined their careers never made it back. The buzz of sadness permeated the crowd even while the Renegades management team was trying to entertain the fans every inning with games, prizes, and contests. He wouldn’t make it.

So we thought…
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He did make it back. First, he was a member of the Cincinnati Reds. He appeared in just 90 games that season as a 26 year old rookie, playing back up to Ken Griffey, Adam Dunn, Jeff Conine, Norris Hopper, and Ryan Freel. In those 90 games, he gave an indication that he belonged, belting 17 doubles and 19 homeruns in 298 at bats. He hit .292/.368/.544 and yet all we thought was “at least he made it back”. He was good, but he probably wouldn’t get to where he was supposed to be. Nobody believed that.

Jon Daniels believed in him. He believed in him so much that he sent promising young right hander Edinson Volquez to the Reds for Hamilton. At the time, Daniels was questioned because the Rangers always had offense and always lacked pitching. It seemed to be the exact opposite of what they really needed. Everyone couldn’t believe that Daniels was giving away a young pitcher for a 27 year old with a checkered past, a terrible addiction, and seemingly little prime left. But, Daniels knew that he was getting a special player who had made the real, necessary adjustments in his life.

2008 was the season Hamilton had promised 10 years before. He played in 156 games and batted .304/.372/.530 with 35 doubles, 5 triples, 32 homeruns, and 130 RBI. There was that July night in Yankee Stadium where New Yorkers were chanting his name as he hit homerun after homerun. Then came the book, all of the brutal honesty, and all of the hope he offered people.

2009 almost ruined all of that. Hamilton struggled to stay healthy and played in just 89 games, struggling to a .741 OPS. Everyone had an opinion. His addiction had broken his body. He would be tragic. He would be like everyone else who struggles to realize his dream. He would meet everyone else in the pool of disappointment, broken dreams, and a fractured reality. Once again, we had nobody to turn to.
Like the phoenix, Hamilton had another rebirth in him. This time, he came back with every bit of promise he exuded as a teenager. He finally became Mickey Mantle. The MVP hit .359/.411/.633. He pounded 40 doubles, 32 homeruns, and 100 RBI. Like Mantle, Hamilton is that someone who commands our attention every time he is in the batter’s box. We wait for Hamilton to hit that prodigious shot. We wait for him to hit a ball harder than we ever saw hit. We wait for him to amaze. This year, he delivered that to us. Also like Mantle, Hamilton’s domination was challenged by injury, this time cracked ribs. But, like everything else, Hamilton came back.

He struggled in the Division Series after playing just three games in the final weekend of the regular season. He played in just five games in the final month of the season. But, the 2010 ALCS gave Hamilton the stage that Mantle had so many times in his tortured career. Hamilton hit 4 homeruns, drove in 7 runs, and has even stole 3 bases. That series encapsulated all that Hamilton had become. He is the batter that the all teams fear. He is the batter that continues to swat homeruns against all pitchers. He was the best player in that series. That is saying something considering he shared the field with more than a few future Hall of Famers.

The battle and climb continued for Hamilton in 2011. He again struggled with injuries, separating his shoulder on Opening Day. He would play in just 123 games, but he would hit .298/.346/.536 with 31 doubles, 5 triples, 25 homeruns, 94 RBI, and 8 stolen bases. He would struggle in the playoffs, but injuries had clearly taken their toll on Hamilton. But, he never missed a game and clearly played in pain.
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Most of the talk this offseason related about Hamilton’s future in Texas. How much would Texas invest in their star player? Would they be willing to make a commitment? As Yu Darvish signed with the Rangers and as Prince Fielder did not, the Hamilton extension was clearly the next big issue for Daniels and the Rangers. Then the news broke about Hamilton drinking last week. Now, there is a certain amount of uncertainty about the Rangers signing their best hitter to a long term deal. That talk seems premature. Yes, Hamilton drank. No, he should not have. Yes, it looks bad. But, he has been so open about his struggle that any slip seems like the end. It isn’t. He may have hit a bump, but it doesn’t mean the end. Other players who have hid their addictions continue to struggle in private. Hamilton’s struggle has been in the public. His inevitable troubles will seem larger than they really are. The latest incident should have no bearing on whether or not the Rangers sign him to a long-term contract.

At 29 years old, Josh Hamilton has found the place where he seemed destined to be a decade ago. Not many get a second chance. Even fewer find the path that they were once on. Redemption isn’t found all that often. Usually, people get stuck in their failed lives; they become the ones who didn’t come close to matching the once optimistic expectations that emanated from childhood. We normal people can get trapped; that’s why we fear failure so much. We know that redemption isn’t easy. But, every time Josh Hamilton digs into the box, he reminds us of the possibility for each of us. Maybe, just maybe, we can dig ourselves out and get back to where we belong. He did it against great odds. Now, he is one of the few special players in the game.
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He still battles his addiction; he won’t even participate in champagne celebrations. He continues to battle as last week showed. But, he took responsibility and has been quite open with his struggles. In that, he has separated himself from Mantle, whose addiction wasn’t really revealed until the end of his life. Hamilton is living it every day. Now, we watch his every move as he amazes us with his superior skills. Sometimes reality isn’t permanent. Josh Hamilton changed his reality even when every urge in him tells him otherwise. This generation’s Mantle shows us that even though there is a dark side to life, a person can overcome it with the proper support and determination.

Life may not always be ideal, but it can still be good. Despite Hamilton’s addiction and recent struggle with alcohol, it is important to keep in perspective just how much he has overcome.

New York Yankees at Boston, not suprisingly, accounts for two of those, on April 22 and July 8, from Fenway Park.  The Yankees have one other Sunday Night appearance, April 15 vs. the Angels.  The two-time defending American League Champion Texas Rangers host Chicago in the April 8 SNB opener.

The World Series Champion Cardinals also have three appearances (May 20 and July 15, in addition to Opening Night April 4).

ESPN’s first seven Sunday Night games will feature at least one playoff team and several of MLB’s biggest stars will be on display, including the Angels’ Pujols; the Yankees’ Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Cano; Boston’s Adrian Gonzalez, Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury; Texas’ Josh Hamilton; Tampa Bay’s Evan Longoria; Philadelphia’s Ryan Howard and Chase Utley; St. Louis’ Matt Holliday and Lance Berkman; Dodgers slugger Matt Kemp; Atlanta’s Chipper Jones and Brian McCann; Chicago’s Paul Konerko; and Washington’s Ryan Zimmerman.

This season will also mark the debut of analyst Terry Francona, who joins play-by-play commentator Dan Shulman and analyst Orel Hershiser in the Sunday Night Baseball booth. Sunday Night games are also available via ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes, ESPN3 and ESPN Mobile TV.

ESPN Radio’s Sunday Night Baseball broadcast team will again be play-by-play commentator Jon Sciambi and analyst Chris Singleton.  ESPN Radio, entering its 15th season of MLB coverage, will also broadcast a game of the week each Saturday during the regular season, the State Farm Home Run Derby and All-Star Game, and every Division Series, League Championship Series and World Series game.

The Sunday Night Baseball schedule as selected to date follows (all telecasts begin at 8 p.m. ET).  Game selections for the remainder of the season will be made three weeks (June and July 1, 22 and 29) or two weeks (August and September) in advance.

ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball Schedule
Date     Teams (all telecasts at 8 p.m. ET)
April 8     Chicago White Sox at Texas
April 15     L.A. Angels at N.Y. Yankees
April 22     Yankees at Boston
April 29     Tampa Bay at Texas
May 6     Philadelphia at Washington
May 13     Angels at Texas
May 20     St. Louis at L.A. Dodgers
May 27     Washington at Atlanta
June 3-July 1     TBD
July 8     Yankees at Boston
July 15     St. Louis at Cincinnati
July 22-Sept 23     TBD

Due to overwhelming response, here is an extended list, 11-20 top MILB players to follow.

A few things. A lot of these guys were considered for the top ten. The selection process is difficult because, whether you know it or not, there are numerous minor league players using Twitter. That led to adding an Honorable Ten list.

Reminder about how this was decided: frequency, interaction, humor, overall just compelling feed. Interacting with their fans/followers was big in deciding. Tweet frequency counted a lot as well. Humor matters. Every single guy that made these lists had a way with a joke or making fun of themselves. When their personalities shine through, the flow of the content is fun and interesting to read. For guys trying to make it to the big leagues, they experience a lot of transition and adversity. Every player named in the Twitter Ten and Next Ten shares a fascinating look into the unique life of baseball.

Starting with #11, a player whose use of Twitter gives him an important connection to fans. After being so protected by his team, that connection has been meaningful.

11. Bryce Harper @BHarper3407 – Washington Nationals
12. Cody Decker @Decker6 – San Diego Padres
13. Tyson Gillies @TysonGillies21 – Philadephia Phillies
14. Thomas Neal @TdaddyNeal – Cleveland Indians
15. Will Middlebrooks @16WMBrooks- Boston Red Sox
16. Mike Trout @Trouty20 – Anaheim Angels
17. LV Ware @LV_Ware – Atlanta Braves
18. Deck McGuire @deckmcguire – Toronto Blue Jays
19. Ryan Tatusko @RyanTatusko – Nationals
20. Michael Crouse @_crouse_ – Blue Jays

Honorable Ten Mentions:

1.Bryan Harper @BHarp45 – Nationals
2. Chris Swauger @cswag8 – St. Louis Cardinals
3. Matt den Dekker @UpperDekker – New York Mets
4. Bryan Longpre @BryanLongpre- Blue Jays
5. Jack Murphy @JackMurphy219 – Blue Jays
6. Justin Fitgerald @jfitgerald31 – Giants
7. Trent Mummey @trentmummey7 – Baltimore Orioles
8. C.J. Cron @CCron24 – Angels
9. Jordan Comadena @Funky2414 – Houston Astros
10. Kellin Deglan @keldegs – Texas Rangers

The Rangers’ bid is a desperation move for a team that won two straight American League pennants, but failed to capture their first World Championship. They lost Cliff Lee, one of the top five pitchers in all of baseball, to free agency after the 2010 season, and this year lost one of the top free agent prizes in fellow left-hander C.J. Wilson. The Rangers signed closer Joe Nathan earlier this month and plan to move current closer Neftali Feliz into the starting rotation. Texas’ plans for Feliz are not expected to change if they ink Darvish to a deal.

Texas’ bid also shows that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Baseball fans constantly hear owners bemoaning the fact that they are losing money, that there are haves and have-nots, that the Yankees are spending like crazy, and teams need to tighten their purse strings.  While the true small market teams (Pittsburgh, KC) tend not to spend money earned from the luxury tax, there are plenty of other teams, not just the Yankees, who are more than willing to open their checkbooks.

With bad feelings still lingering from the 1994 player’s strike, Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf infuriated most of his fellow owners when he signed then free agent Albert Belle to a five year, $55MM deal in November, 1996. At the time, the contract was the first to average more than $10MM per season.

Things have escalated since then; Alex Rodriguez signed not one, but two outrageous contracts in excess of $250MM. The first was with the Texas Rangers in December, 2000, and then A-Rod topped that with a new deal with the New York Yankees seven years later. Since 2000, more than 30 contracts have been signed in excess of $100MM in total. Boston used to consider itself a small market team, but it can no longer say that after the franchise doled out $142MM to free agent Carl Crawford last off-season and gave trade acquisition Adrian Gonzalez a $154MM extension.  One year earlier they shelled out $82.5MM for John Lackey, whose best days were behind him.

Miami Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria cried poverty, but got a new stadium and suddenly had the cash to pay out over $191MM this off-season for free agents Heath Bell, Jose Reyes, and Mark Buehrle. Angels owner Arte Moreno did not land Crawford in 2010 as many expected him to, but perhaps he was waiting to reel in the biggest catch this off-season. Albert Pujols pulled in the second richest contract – $254MM - in baseball history when he signed with the Angels earlier this month. He was joined by Wilson, who bolted the Rangers for a five year deal in excess of $77MM.

There is still one more large payout to be handed out this winter, to free agent 1st baseman Prince Fielder. The Rangers are among those expected to court the Milwaukee Brewers’ standout. A team that was on the verge of bankruptcy a short time ago could very well join the nearly dozen teams with a $100MM or greater payroll. And as the salaries go up, so do the tickets, hot dogs, parking, and beer.

Considering that Matt Kemp, Matt Cain, Zack Greinke, James Loney, Howie Kendrick, Josh Hamilton, and Andre Ethier are among next year’s potential free agents, the “spend trend” will certainly continue.

Update – As a reader astutely pointed out, Matt Kemp recently signed a new mega deal. One must be careful when mixing cold medicine and writing.

Drew Sarver is a senior writer  for BaseballDigest.com.  You can also read his work at his blog, My Pinstripes. He can be contacted at mypinstripes@gmail.com and can be followed on Twitter at @BD_Sarver and @MyPinstripes.

Our featured bloggers that provided us with the in depth Report Card series that has just concluded are back to give everyone an in depth look at what the off season holds for the major league teams they cover.  A look at what each team needs, what each team has already gained and lost, and some of the youth in each team’s system will be examined in these articles.  You can find all of the author’s information at the bottom of the article.

The Rangers are in the enviable position of being back-to-back defending American League champions, and having most players locked up for next season.  However, despite their current strengths, they still have work to do to continue their impressive run.

Position Players
I am part of the camp that believes signing Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder would be a great move for Texas.  The only true positional weakness on the Rangers roster is at first base, and adding an elite player could have a huge impact.  Furthermore, despite having a top ranked farm system, the Texas minor league system is bereft of Major League quality talent at first base – easily the weakest position in the organization.

Rookie and Cuban defector Leonys Martin should see the majority of playing time in centerfield and move Josh Hamilton to leftfield on a full-time basis.  The addition of Martin should add depth to the outfield and leave the positions all but finalized.

Pitching
The Rangers broke news by signing former Twins closer Joe Nathan on November 21st, and committing to move Neftali Feliz to the rotation.  At first blush, most observers believed this meant that Texas will let C.J. Wilson walk, and stand pat with the current rotation.  I don’t believe this to be the case, and expect general manager Jon Daniels to make a move either through free agency or trade to bolster the rotation.

The rotation currently stands as:

Derek Holland
Colby Lewis
Matt Harrison
Alexi Ogando
Neftali Feliz

I believe one of the above five will be dealt before the 2012 season begins.  Possible targets include Wilson, Japanese starter Yu Darvish, James Shields, and Matt Garza.  Home run-happy Colby Lewis could be attractive to other teams with large ballparks and small budgets.  Lewis is under contract for only $3.25 million in 2012.

Bullpen
Few championship teams maintain a static bullpen from start to finish, and I expect the same from Texas.  Jon Daniels has said that the bullpen is a top priority, and began his quest for improvement by signing Nathan.  However, Nathan’s addition was combined with a Feliz subtraction, so more tinkering should be on the horizon.

Mid-season trade acquisition Koji Uehara struggled mightily after coming to Texas.  He has a solid track record as a late inning reliever and is under control for next year.  He might need a change of scenery and could make an attractive trade target for other teams willing to swap pitchers while looking for relief help.

Possible targets include DFW native Kerry Wood and Milwaukee’s LaTroy Hawkins.

Dan is a Texas Rangers blogger , and can be found on Twitter and Facebook.

These report cards were written by twenty nine talented individuals across the internet that keep a close eye on the team they cover.  It was the first of our “Featured Blogger” series.  The second part, an Off-Season Outlook, will be brought to you the remainder of this week.  The same writers will return in the Spring to provide a 2012 Season Preview about the teams.

This year’s Featured Bloggers are listed below along with their website and the link to their Report Card:

American League East
Baltimore Orioles - Austin Gisriel, Seamheads
Boston Red Sox – Michael Lynch, Seamheads
New York Yankees – William Tasker, The Flagrant Fan
Tampa Bay Rays – Yossi Feins, The Rays Rant
Toronto Blue Jays – Peter DeMarco, Some Thoughts On Baseball

American League Central
Chicago White Sox – Terry Keshner, Planet Back
Cleveland Indians – David Henderson, Tribe Cards
Detroit Tigers – Nick Waddell, Seamheads
Kansas City Royals – Todd Fertig, I-70 Baseball
Minnesota Twins – Von Hendry, Seamheads

American League West
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – Bryan Grosnick, Roto Hardball
Oakland As – Jason Leary, Junk Ball
Seattle Mariners – Nick Waddell, Seamheads
Texas Rangers – Dan Edmonson, Chicken Fried Baseball

National League East
Atlanta Braves – Andrew Martin, Baseball Historian
Florida Marlins – Eddie Gilley, Eddie Gilley Blogspot
New York Mets – AC Wayne, Mets Public Record
Philadelphia Phillies – Matthew Buesing, Fire And Ice Sports
Washington Nationals – Aaron Somers , District On Deck

National League Central
Chicago Cubs – Robert Harris, Blue Batting Helmet
Cincinnati Reds – Gary Schatz, Full Of Schatz
Houston Astros – Michael Barr, Fan Graphs
Milwaukee Brewers – Paul Heinz, Paul Heinz.com
Pittsburgh Pirates – Ryan Sendek, Analysis Around The Horn
St. Louis Cardinals – Daniel Shoptaw , C70 At The Bat

National League West
Arizona Diamondbacks – Patrick Lagreid, Baseball On My Brain
Colorado Rockies – Michelle Hoag, Rockies Woman
Los Angeles Dodgers – Paul F Sullivan, Sully Baseball
San Diego Padres – Michael Metzger, Padres Trail
San Francisco Giants – Julian Levine, Giants Nirvana

Bill Ivie is the Assignment Editor for BaseballDigest.com and the founder of i70baseball.com, an official Baseball Digest website covering the Cardinals and Royals.

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BaseballDigest.com aims to keep up that tradition.  This season, we bring you a Report Card on each team in Major League Baseball from writers that cover that team directly.  At the bottom of each write up, you will find the writer’s name, website, and any other pertinent information.  

Well, despite the unfortunate finale, the Rangers season can be given no grade other than A+.  After all, they had a 96% chance of winning the World Series at two separate points in game six of the World Series.  I give the team an A+ as a whole despite the offense the offense being the only component to earn the mark by itself.  The 2011 Rangers were a very deep and well balanced team, and the lack of holes contributed to their overall success.

Offense – A+
It’s not earth-shattering news that the Rangers had a great offense.  The Texas offense ranked third in the Majors in runs scored – only 20 runs from first, and 68 from fourth.  They did this despite injuries to several key hitters, as Josh Hamilton, Adrian Beltre, Nelson Cruz, and Mike Napoli each failed to appear in 125 games.  While Hamilton and Cruz have consistently hit the DL throughout their careers, it’s fun to dream about what the lineup would have been capable had everyone stayed healthy.

Defense – B+
An impressive thing happened in the postseason.  National commentators recognized the quality of the team’s defense.  While this may not be surprising to readers of this column, opponent broadcasts derided the Texas D all year long for its high error totals.  I’m not sure if this was due to an advanced understanding of both defensive metrics and scouting, or just puffing, but they got it right.  The Rangers featured a rangy, athletic infield, and finished second in the Majors in Defensive Efficiency.  That said, the error totals were too high, and kept me from giving a higher grade.  Elvis Andrus ranked third in the AL in Defensive Runs Saved, but first in errors at 25.  Gold Glover Adrian Beltre also committed an unusually high total of 11 errors.  Andrus has at times lost focus and made errant throws on simple plays.

Starting Rotation – B+
The Rangers rotation faltered in October, but was a strength throughout the regular season.  This could be the partially due to their youth and the fact that each starter other than Colby Lewis pitched well beyond their previous career high number of innings.  The rotation was third in the AL with a 3.65 ERA, led the league in shutouts with 19, and was second in strikeouts with 798.  They lacked a true “ace”, but more than made up for it in depth.

Bullpen – B
The bullpen grade is a composite covering the full season.  If I were to grade by “semester”, the bullpen would have squeaked by with a C- in the first half, only to recover for an A+ after the break.  Early in the season, the bullpen represented the team’s only true weakness.  Neftali Feliz was inconsistent and made a trip to the DL along with Darren O’Day, and Texas was forced to rely on Darren Oliver to close out games at times.  Things changed in the season’s second half.  General Manager Jon Daniels traded for Mike Adams and Koji Uehara at the trade deadline, and Feliz returned to his 2010 form.

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Dan Edmonson authors Chicken Fried Baseball, a Texas Rangers blog, and can be found on Twitter.

Arizona Fall League play concluded on Thursday, ending what was a high quality showcase of talent.

Hardest to ignore was nineteen-year old Bryce Harper. Putting the capper on his first pro season, the Nationals top prospect came out swinging a hot bat for most of the schedule. He finished hitting .333 with six home runs in 93 at-bats.

The Nationals plans are still up in the air, but a stint at Triple-A, which he’s yet to experience, would give him more time to improve  defensive weaknesses. Harper’s acclimation to Double-A last season was impressive for several reasons. While he displayed the power that was expected of him, he showed an ability to bounce back from frustrating moments and consistently proved he could handle the burn of the national spotlight on him.

His participation in the Arizona Fall League gave him extra at-bats, allowing him to further prove his readiness to the Nationals brass. All eyes will be on him to have a strong spring, but the Nationals don’t appear to be hasty in putting their star prospect in a major league uniform before they feel he’s absolutely ready. Whether the Nationals are motivated to delay Harper’s arbitration clock remains to be seen. It wouldn’t be a shock to see him get some time in Triple-A, considering how protective the team has been of the teenager. A player that young, and with that much pressure on him, requires a tremendous amount of patience.

Here are a few thoughts on Harper, and other Nationals standouts in the AFL, by Nationals blogger David Huzzard:

On Harper:

“The expectations are so high it is hard to be impressed with a double, RBI single, and a walk, but Harper looks like he has filled out his frame.”

“His defense still needs work as he took a bad route on a fly ball that went just over his outstretched glove for a double, and had communication issues with his centerfielder in a different game. He continues to show great range and has the athletic ability to play outfield but needs to hone his instincts.”

“All the reports on [Matt] Purke were that he had lost velocity on the fastball, but when I saw him he sat around 94-95 and touched 97 once. He had trouble controlling his breaking pitch and was constantly missing low. He did have a good 15 MPH differential between the fastball and change, and he looked composed and confident on the mound and retired all three batters he faced despite control issues.”

On Derek Norris: He continues to show great plate discipline and power and has improved defensively. He did have a defensive miscue in the game I saw him in when he threw a ball into centerfield trying to throw out a base stealer. Other than that he called a good game and had no issue blocking balls in the dirt.

You can follow David at @Evolution33 and read his work by clicking here.

TOP PLAYERS IN AFL: Rangers prospect Mike Olt (Surprise Saguaros) led the the league in RBI (43) and home runs (14). Miguel De Los Santos led in wins (5, the only pitcher to do so) and strikeouts (40).

RULE 5 DEADLINE
The deadline has come and gone for teams to protect their players by adding them to the 40-man roster. One notable Yankees name now eligible to be Rule 5 drafted is switch pitcher Pat Venditte. Venditte pitched 90 innings for Double-A Trenton in 2011 and finished the season with a 3.40 ERA. But he’s up against a lot at this point, and that includes his age. At 26 the reliever has never played above Double-A, after being drafted by the Yankees in 2008.

While his velocity is better on his right side (88-90), his fastball velocity is not a strength and that likely hurt his chances of getting a chance to contribute at the big league level. Still, his curveball is effective on both sides. Teams are always looking for guys to bring up from the farm to add arms to the bullpen late in the season, so his value is there. A break from the Yankees is likely best;  a solid minor league career could increase his chances of getting selected by another team.

Epstein fired manager Mike Quade on Wednesday after just a little over one season in Chicago. The Sun-Times has the story.

Dodgers fans are ecstatic that the McCourts are selling. The LA Times has the full story.

I am all grown up now and sit in my very own big boy chair to watch the games these days.  Tears have been replaced by held breath and fear of a heart attack.  As game six of the 2011 World Series played out before my eyes, the story I was to write today changed rapidly.

There was a play at first base early on that involved Rangers starter Colby Lewis missing the bag.  At full speed, it almost seemed that the Cardinals received a call very similar to the one that Don Denkinger made in favor of the Royals in 1985.  In fact, Lewis missed the bag and the correct call was made.  The image it created in my mind made the night feel a little more magical already.

As the game came to the end of the ninth inning, I have to admit, I lost faith in my team.  I have never left a game early nor do I turn the television off, but the discussion that I had was centered around whether or not we could bare to watch the Rangers celebrate at Busch Stadium.  I wanted to continue watching, interested to see how Albert Pujols would handle walking off the field for possibly the final time as a Cardinal.  Interested as a baseball fan to see who would be named the World Series Most Valuable Player.  Willing to agonize that it was not my team, because I love this game.

Since the end of August, fans of the Cardinals have learned that this team simply will not die.  However, there has been this consistent uneasy feeling that the wheels could fall off of this thing at any given time.  It simply feels like the team is playing with fire, and the old adage goes, you’re going to get burned.  The Rangers took the lead in the 10th inning and the Cardinals came back to the plate.  More specifically, the Cardinals would send Daniel Descalso, Jon Jay, and the pitcher’s spot to the plate.  The situation was bleak.

But Descalso beat one out in the infield and Jay delivered his first hit in the World Series, allowing Kyle Lohse to approach the plate and bunt the runners over.  A run scoring ground out by Theriot yielded my immediate response “Albert is about to be walked”.  In baseball, if the other team’s best player wins the game, someone got out-managed.  If the guy behind him wins the game, that’s part of the game.

As Lance Berkman came to the plate, I honestly had hope.  At the same time, the discussion in the house turned to comments like “I really can’t say that I hate the Rangers” and “if you were going to lose, I cannot think of a better team to lose to.”  Ranger manager Ron Washington employed a “no doubles defense” for the Berkman at bat ensuring that a bloop single would tie the game.  Berkman delivered just that.  As Joe Buck stated about the Cardinals “they just won’t. Go. Away.”

Jake Westbrook put the Cardinals in line to win the ballgame by holding the Rangers scoreless in the eleventh inning.  It set the stage for David Freese to work his own brand of magic.  A hometown kid that grew up in St. Louis and had once walked away from the game completely stood in front of 50,000+ screaming fans with the opportunity to do something very special.  Then he did.

Magic led to more magic.  As the ball cleared the center field fence, goosebumps coming to surface all over my body, I heard Joe Buck channel his father.  In 1991, Kirby Pucket hit a walk off home run in game six of the World Series in front of the hometown Minnesota crowd.  Jack would make the call that day in an excited but deliberate delivery, “We will see you tomorrow night”.  Twenty years later, one day removed from the anniversary of that call, Joe Buck sat next to the same man who was in the booth for his father’s moment and delivered the exact same line.

As game six came to a close, David Freese touched home plate and was mobbed by his teammates.  I sat on the couch, unable to speak.  The only sound in the house came from the television.  The only words I could mutter for more than a few minutes were “one more game”.  It seemed to be the way most fans felt about the entire 2011 season.  One More Game.

As Joe Buck’s iconic call echoed through my mind, as I realized the historic moment I just witnessed, I sat speechless.

Just like that little kid in 1985, a tear rolled down my cheek.

Bill Ivie is the Assignment Editor for BaseballDigest.com and the founder of i70baseball.com, an official Baseball Digest website covering the Cardinals and Royals.

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With two teams stacked with pitching and offense, the World Series has offered one of the most compelling match ups in recent years.  Aside from the lopsided 16-7 score of Game 3, the two teams remaining have combined for a total of 18 runs in the other 4 games of the series.  Much of this can be attributed to the great pitching that has kept both of these teams in the series.  There are a pair of players, one of each team, that emphasis the importance and evolution of pitching, and they’ve played for both teams during their careers.

Darren Oliver has held the middle innings together for the Texas Rangers all season long.  Oliver’s dominance in the middle innings was not an overnight discovery, and his career is a terrific example of how the Rangers have evolved over the years.  When Darren Oliver’s career began in Texas during the early 1990′s, he was inserted into the rotation and had moderate success. Like many of the Texas Rangers rotations during the 1990′s, Oliver filled the role as an adequate innings eater supporting an offensive juggernaut that had lineups that included Ivan Rodriguez, Juan Gonzalez and Dean Palmer.  In his(and the franchise’s) first postseason appearance, he threw 8 innings of 3 run ball in an ALDS loss to the New York Yankees in 1996.

In a July 2004 article in Baseball Digest, Troy Renck of the Denver Post wrote about pitchers like Darren Oliver reviving their careers by adding to their pitching repertoire. Click here to check it out!

Within two years of the postseason appearance, Oliver’s ERA rose to 6.73 during the 1998 season and he was shipped off to the St. Louis Cardinals, which started an seven team(eight, if you include his second tour in Texas) odyssey that lasted a decade and included missing the entire 2005 season. Upon his return to the big leagues in 2006, Oliver became a full time reliever and immediately became a huge component to bullpens in New York and Anaheim.  After three seasons in the Angels bullpen, Oliver joined the Rangers for his third tour. His season ERA has remained below 3.00 during his first two years in Texas, and for the last four years straight.

Darren Oliver’s transformation from mid-rotation starter to bullpen ace has played a role in shedding the long held theory that pitchers can’t succeed in the Texas heat. Despite giving up a home run during Game 3, Oliver remains a key factor in the series. For a half-season Cliff Lee continued to dispel the theory of pitching in Texas as well, helping the Rangers in 2010 to their first World Series berth. Despite Lee’s departure for Philadelphia, C.J. Wilson anchors a new era of pitchers who are defying the Texas heat and pushing the Rangers to the brink of their first title. Derek Holland, Colby Lewis and Alexi Ogando rounded out the rotation with regular season ERAs that sank below 4.00.

The St. Louis Cardinals know all to well about the importance of the relief pitcher, especially with Tony LaRussa at the helm. Aside from his Game 5 bullpen issue involving reliever Jason Motte, LaRussa has mixed and matched his bullpen like he has for his entire career, arguably being the first manager to make a bullpen a focal point of his roster.  One such key component of LaRussa’s bullpen is a player who has been around nearly as long as LaRussa, 42 year old Arthur Rhodes.

Rhodes was a long time member of the Baltimore Orioles and Seattle Mariners before becoming a journeyman reliever, logging time with 7 different teams over the last 8 years which included missing the entire 2007 season due to Tommy John surgery. Though he has spent 2 decades in the big leagues and reached the postseason four times before joining the St. Louis Cardinals, the 2011 World Series is a career first for the well traveled lefty.

In a June 2001 issue of Baseball Digest, Bob Finnigan of the Seattle Times wrote about pitchers like Arthur Rhodes dealing with injuries and playing through pain.  Click here to check it out!

His 2011 season may prove to be the most fascinating of his career. He began the season as a member of the Texas Rangers, and struggled mightily in July. He was put on waivers and passed through in mid-August. Just days later, the St. Louis Cardinals scooped up the veteran, who rebounded with a strong finish in August and September. He has seen action just twice, but has rose to the occasion for both batters he faced.  Tony LaRussa has used Rhodes primarily as a left handed specialist since he was acquired, and the choice has paid off nearly perfectly.

With Game 6 pushed back a day, there is little doubt that both Arthur Rhodes and Darren Oliver could see action as the Texas Rangers try to seal their first franchise championship against the St. Louis Cardinals, a team that looks to even the series and prove the pre-season critics wrong in the best way possible, by extending the season by one more game.

Michael Maher is a senior writer for BaseballDigest.com.  He can be reached at MinorLeagueSpotlight@Gmail.com. You can follow him on Twitter @BD_Maher and check out his blog.

Napoli’s tomahawk in Game 4 of the World Series would make any Atlanta Braves or Florida St. Seminoles fan proud. Bat crushed ball on the first pitch Napoli saw from Cardinals’ reliever Mitchell Boggs and turned a 1-0 cliffhanger in a 4-0, 6th inning lead that would hold up. Monday night saw another nail biter, with the teams tied at two apiece in the 8th inning. That’s when Napoli came to bat with the bases loaded against reliever Mike Rzepczynski. With the hometown fans chanting “Nap-oli”, the guy who looks like a slow pitch softball player, hit a rope up the alley in right-center for a 2-run double and a 4-2 Rangers’ lead. It was the eighth and ninth RBI of the series for the former 17th round draft pick (2000) out of Charles Flanagan High School in Pembrook Pines, Florida.

The Rangers at one time hated Mike Napoli. Now they can’t live without him. Click here to read Stephen Hawkins’ article about Texas’ new favorite teammate.

Napoli hasn’t just done it with his bat though. His defense, which was maligned at times in LA, was a key to a Game 5 victory. Having already thrown out Allen Craig attempting to steal second earlier in the game, Napoli repeated the feat in the top of the 9th inning. With Albert Pujols representing the tying run, Tony LaRussa made the decision to run Craig on a 3-2 count despite being down two. The move backfired as Pujols whiffed at Neftali Feliz’s pitch and Napoli fired a strike to Ian Kinsler to nail Craig for the double play.

The team that selected him probably wishes they had Napoli back since Wells produced a paltry .660 OPS for the Angels while their former player produced career highs in home runs (30), RBI (75), and OPS (1.046). Napoli also helped eliminate his former team from a chance at the post-season with a pair of back to back two-home run games against Los Angeles on the season’s final weekend.

He may not be thinking about it right now, but Napoli should be in for a fine payday this winter after he avoided arbitration prior to the season by signing a one year, $5.8MM deal.  Based on both his regular and post-seasons, Napoli will be looking for a good bump up and a multi-year deal, though he doesn’t have the power of free agency.  Napoli can point not only to his World Series production, but his ALDS numbers as well.  The six year veteran posted a .971 OPS with a home run and four RBI in Texas’ first round knock out of the Tampa Bay Rays. Though Napoli’s catching was limited to 61 regular season games, he was ranked in the upper echelon in the American League by a number of defensive metric gurus.

No matter how much he makes, you can bet the fans in Arlington, Texas will be singing out for Napoli.

Drew Sarver is a senior writer  for BaseballDigest.com.  You can also read his work at his blog, My Pinstripes. He can be contacted at mypinstripes@gmail.com and can be followed on Twitter at @BD_Sarver and @MyPinstripes.

Holland had shown glimpses of star potential in his three year Major League career- he threw three complete game shutouts in July- but had come up small in the playoffs thus far. His last two starts came in the ALCS vs. Detroit and lasted only a combined 7.1 innings with seven earned runs allowed. So there was no reason for Texas fans, or Ron Washington for that matter, to have a lot of confidence in their 25-yr old left-hander.

But after a couple of pep talks from Washington, Holland went out and threw the game of his life. Eight and one-third innings of shutout baseball to enable the Rangers to even the series at two games apiece. It was only fitting that Holland’s battery mate, Mike Napoli, provided the big blow on offense with a 3-run home run.

Texas had plenty of opportunities off of Cardinals starter Edwin Jackson, who walked seven hitters in 5.1 innings, but could only manage one run through the first five innings. You had the feeling that at any moment the Cardinals would break through with a run or two and the Rangers would be in trouble. But just the opposite happened. Holland allowed just two hits on the night, and after Lance Berkman’s double in the 2nd inning, didn’t allow another Cardinals’ base runner to reach second base.

Jackson’s walks eventually caught up to him when his final free passes put two aboard in the 6th and Napoli smashed reliever Mitchell Boggs’ first pitch into the left field seats for a back breaking home run. The Cardinals mounted a minor threat in the 9th with walks off Holland and closer Neftali Feliz, but the hard throwing right-hander struck out Matt Holliday on a 3-2 fastball to end the game.

If Derek Holland were 13 and Jewish, he would be told, “Today you are a man.” Well, at least he has the mustache of a 13-yr old and a game he’ll never forget. Should a Game 7 occur in this World Series, Holland will be the man on the mound in St. Louis and the Texas faithful will have a renewed faith in him.

Drew Sarver is a senior writer  for BaseballDigest.com.  You can also read his work at his blog, My Pinstripes. He can be contacted at mypinstripes@gmail.com and can be followed on Twitter at @BD_Sarver and @MyPinstripes.

While rumors persist that the Rangers will throw a boatload of money at CC Sabathia, if the pitcher opts out of his current deal witht the New York Yankees, and the team already is loaded with hitters, they could go after Pujols. Texas’ principle owner Nolan Ryan surely had to be wishing Pujols was on his side as he watched the St. Louis Cardinals destroy his team in Game 3 of the World Series last night. Pujols had five hits, three home runs, and six RBI to help boost the Cards to a 16-7 win and a two games to one advantage over the Rangers.

Pujols is in the final year of an eight year, $116MM contract, with deferred money, that makes him only the 35th highest paid player in baseball. The Cardinals offered the 11 year veteran a nine year, $195MM deal last winter, but, to no surprise, Pujols turned it down. He is said to be looking for a deal similar to that of Alex Rodriguez (10 years, $275) and Joe Mauer (10 years, $230). But can the Cardinals pony up the money, and if not, who can?

The number of teams that can fulfill Pujols’ wishes are limited. The Yankees, always players for big time players, should not be involved. The Angels are always mentioned when it comes to high salaried players, everyone was sure that they would sign Carl Crawford last off-season, but the Angels haven’t been throwing money around lately for outside free agents. The Red Sox saw this season (Crawford, Lackey, Gonzalez) that big money moves doesn’t even translate to a playoff spot. Other teams you will surely hear mentioned are the SF Giants, Chicago Cubs, and Washington Nationals.

The Rangers 2011 salary was $91,885,265, the 13th highest total in all of baseball. The Rangers top priority will be to bring back their #1 starter, C.J. Wilson, who will be a free agent after the World Series. If Ryan is able to accomplish that feat, and unable to bring in Sabathia (there are no other top-line starting pitchers available via free agency), the Rangers should be able to add a Pujols type contract to their payroll.

The Rangers added Adrian Beltre to any already strong lineup last off-season and Texas scored the third highest total runs scored (855) in all of baseball, but imagine what they could do with Pujols? Even more protection for Josh Hamilton, Nelson Cruz, and Beltre. It would also free them up to deal Mitch Moreland and prospects for pitching. The downside of signing Pujols would be that Michael Young could be the odd man out, just as he nearly was this season.

You Better Be Better, You Bet

Derek Holland needs to pitch the game of his life in Sunday night’s Game 4 of the World Series. It’s the pivotal game of the series with Texas either tying things up at two games apiece or the Cardinals just one game away from their 11th title. Holland has struggled in his three playoff starts, particularly his two ALCS appearances against the Detroit Tigers. Holland lasted just 7.1 innings in his two starts and allowed seven earned runs. He appeared in two World Series games last season and allowed three earned runs in one inning.

Pujols Makes History

Pujols’ three home run night was the second of this post-season, joining Nelson Cruz who had a hat trick in the ALCS. Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson are the only other players to hit three home runs in a single World Series game.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, last night was just the second time in WS history that players from both team had at least four hits in the same game. Pujols and Beltre were the first players since Enos Slaughter, Whitey Kurowski and Joe Garagiola of St. Louis had four hits for the victorious Cardinals in Game 4 of the ’46 Series, while Wally Moses had four for the Boston Red Sox.

Drew Sarver is a senior writer  for BaseballDigest.com.  You can also read his work at his blog, My Pinstripes. He can be contacted at mypinstripes@gmail.com and can be followed on Twitter at @BD_Sarver and @MyPinstripes.

That is the slogan that Major League Baseball has used through most of the postseason.  Commercials that recount no hitters, hitting performances, great plays and moments that echo through baseball fans’ memories for all their lives.  It was a marketing ploy inspired by Cliff Lee’s dominant performance in the 2010 postseason.  Network broadcasters FOX and TBS were hoping to catch lightning in a bottle and, to most, they found their thunder strike during game three of the World Series.

For those of you that are living under a rock and have no idea what happened in game three, Albert Pujols stepped onto baseball’s greatest stage and wrote himself into the game’s lore.  The run down of his single game:

• Five Hits (ties Paul Molitor for most hits in a World Series Game)
• Three Home Runs (ties Reggie Jackson and Babe Ruth, who did it twice)
• Six Runs Batted In (sets a World Series Record)
• Fourteen Total Bases (sets a World Series Record)
• Totaled line is considered the greatest offensive performance in the history of the Fall Classic

Legends are born in October.

Are they, though?  For eleven years, Albert Pujols has defied logic.  His career has been littered with “first player ever to…” footnotes.  The Cardinal first baseman has become known around the league, nation, and possibly world as the “best player in the game”.  Many have questioned if his career is on the decline after the 2011 season closed.  The slugger produced career lows in runs batted in, triples, doubles, hits, walks, on base percentage, total bases, and slugging percentage.  His home run total was the third worst season he has produced.  He grounded into a league high 29 double plays.  All of that considered, he was still one of the best players in the league.  If his 2011 stats are a player on the decline, it simply reveals just how high he has set the bar.

Albert Pujols may be the only player in Major League Baseball, possibly in the history of the game, that could take the field and have a game similar to the performance he turned in during game three of the World Series and not become a legend.

Legends are made in October.

Albert Pujols was a legend before he even took the field this October.  On October 22, 2011, he simply reminded the world that he was still here and still a force to be reckoned with.

Rounding Up Game Three
Some of our favorite blogs and sites were eager to write about the man that MLB.com has dubbed “Mr. Octo-bert”.

Former Baseball Digest Content Editor Aaron Hooks weighs in here.
Friend of the site Mike Metzger checks in on his site, Stan Musial’s Stance.  Read it here.
The St. Louis Post Dispatch caught up with Reggie Jackson, who says he is honored to be mentioned in the same sentence as Pujols.  Read the thoughts of the original Mr. October and about the conversation he had with Pujols by clicking here.

Series Far From Over: Game Four Lies Ahead
Game three was far from a must-win game for either team in this series and a two-games-to-one  series lead hardly buries one team or the other.

The Cardinals will send trade deadline pickup Edwin Jackson to the hill to face off with Rangers lefty Derek Holland.  Jackson is regarded as a fly ball pitcher and if game three was any indication, that could mean another high scoring affair and a struggle to keep the ball inside one of the most hitter friendly parks in the game today.  Neither pitcher has faced the opposing team in his career.

Bill Ivie is the Assignment Editor for BaseballDigest.com and the founder of i70baseball.com, an official Baseball Digest website covering the Cardinals and Royals.

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Darren Oliver was almost out of Baseball for good at the end of the 2004 season. He was coming off of his fourth of five consecutive seasons that he posted an ERA over 5.00, two of which were over 6. After 229 Major League starts, Oliver found himself in the Minor Leagues in 2005. He appeared in just 7 games for two organizations–all at Triple-A–that season. The Cubs and Diamonbacks both gave Oliver a chance; a left handed starter will always get another chance. In 7 triple-A starts, Oliver was 1-3 with a 9.38 ERA. In 31.2 innings, he allowed 61 hits. It appeared that it was all over.

If it were over, there would be worse careers. He had lasted 12 seasons, compiling an 82-77 record with a 5.11 ERA over those 229 starts. In 1,303 innings, he allowed 1,488 hits, 518 walks, and elicited 747 strikeouts. He was nearly a league average pitcher over a dozen seasons. Certainly, lasting 12 seasons in the Major Leagues is something that many fail to accomplish. The life span of a Major Leaguer, especially an average Major Leaguer, is short. Oliver showed enough for the Rangers to continue to believe in their third round pick of the 1988 draft. He showed enough for the St. Louis Cardinals to acquire him. He showed enough for the Rangers to re-aquire him. Even the Red Sox, Marlins, and Astros all gave him chances to finally harness his stuff to become a solid Major League starter. Then that final season came when the Cubs and Diamondbacks gave him last chances.

At 34 years old, Oliver could’ve began a second act as a Pitching Coach in some organization. He could’ve retired much in the way that many retire; he could’ve said that his stuff just wasn’t there anymore. In a moment, he could’ve altered his life in numerous ways. He certainly could’ve caught on as a coach considering his career and his lineage. He did spend 12 years as a Major League pitcher. He is the son of former Major Leaguer Bob Oliver. But, he decided to give it one last chance, this time signing a Minor League contract with the Mets with an invitation to Spring Training.

It was a decision that led to that defining moment. The last ditch effort at a Major League career turned out to be exactly where Darren Oliver needed to be. Oliver would put himself into the hands of Rick Peterson, the Mets’ Pitching Coach at the time. Peterson had long had the reputation for being the type of coach who could maximize a pitcher’s performance, health, and value. For Oliver, it was his last chance.

That moment put him in the hands of Peterson, whose father played with Oliver’s father for the Pirates in the 1960′s. It set the foundation for a relationship between coach and pitcher to develop quickly. “It’s a bit ironic that his dad played with my father. For whatever reason, he (Bob Oliver) took a liking to me when I was kid. Then, having been in Oakland while Darren was in Texas, we would get to talk sometimes in the outfield,” said Rick Peterson. There wasn’t the type of “getting to know you” period between Peterson and Oliver which allowed the two to work quickly.

“I said to him early on, ‘If you don’t mind me saying, there’s a couple of things that we can work on right away.’ Darren was open to it and we went to work on his delivery,” said Peterson.

The work involved some adjustments in Oliver’s delivery. Peterson describes it as timing. The timing of Oliver’s delivery was stopping him from putting the baseball in a place where he could be successful. “Whenever you begin to work with a pitcher, you look at data. You see where he is successful. Darren was successful when he pitched low in the strike zone. But, he wasn’t throwing pitches in that part of the zone enough. Then, you look at the delivery and adjust from there,” describes Peterson.

The changes worked instantly as Oliver was able to put the baseball lower in the strike zone. The changes also had a great impact on his secondary pitches. Peterson saw the change in stuff quickly, “his breaking ball was deeper and his cutter was under control more. It was all because Darren was open and receptive to changing something he had done his whole life.”

The final adjustment for Oliver was to become a successful reliever. During his career as a starter, Oliver was actually the opposite of a typical left hander. He had success against right handed batters and struggled against left handers. “Left handers hit over .300 against him up until that point. That had to change if he was going to be a reliever, especially with how bullpens are comprised today,” stated Peterson. That season, Oliver limited left handers to a .208 batting average. After a one year absence, a re-tooled Darren Oliver emerged with the New York Mets.

That work resulted in season that saw him make 45 appearances. He pitched 81 innings, allowed 70 hits, walked just 21, and struck out 60. That one season earned him, at the age of 36, a three year contract with the Los Angeles Angels. Since his days with Peterson, Oliver has been one of the most reliable relievers in the sport. Since working with Peterson that Spring, Oliver has appeared in 348 games. He has pitched 403 innings, allowed 356 hits, 108 walks, and has struck out 333 batters. His 2.97 ERA and 1.151 WHIP, and 150 ERA+ are indicative of an above average reliever. Although he is 40 years old, Oliver still hasn’t become a left handed specialist that many become as they advance. Oliver held left handed batters to a batting line of .227/.269/.306 this season. He held right handed batters to a .243/.288/.306 slash line. At this point, Oliver is still an effective reliever no matter the circumstance.

This second act as a reliever has led to two consecutive trips to the World Series with the Rangers, who acquired him a third time. He threw 2.2 scoreless innings to help the Rangers beat the Tigers to get back to the World Series. He hasn’t appeared in the first two games of the World Series, but Ron Washington doesn’t have a problem putting Oliver in almost any situation. For Oliver, there isn’t a scenario that would freeze him. He has already experienced failure. He’s already stared down the end of his Major League career. Nothing is more frightening to an elite athlete than having an unfulfilled end come premature. Darren Oliver already went through that and has made good on that second chance during the second act of his now 18 year Major League career.

Now, Oliver has his best chance at getting the one thing all players long for, a World Series ring. With the series tied at 1, Oliver and the Rangers head home for the next three games as the heavy favorite to win the Series. For Oliver, it would be the crowning achievement for a man who was out of the Major Leagues just seven years ago. If the Rangers can win the World Series it would be another defining moment in the professional life of Darren Oliver. It would make him a World Series champion and give him a World Series ring that so few players ever get a chance to wear.

It is funny how a moment can change a life. One moment, he was almost out of baseball. Because he chose to sign with the Mets, he worked with Peterson and emerged as a quality reliever. Now, he’s in his second World Series. His resiliency and his openness to change under Peterson led him to this moment–back with his original team and trying to win the organization’s first World Series title. What a moment that would be.

Prior to the series Washington admitted he couldn’t match wits with his counterpart, Tony LaRussa. That may be the understatement of the year.

The Cards had jumped out a 2-0 lead on Lance Berkman’s single in the 4th, but Rangers’ catcher Mike Napoli tied the game with a 2-run shot off of Cardinals’ starter Chris Carpenter in the top of the 5th. St. Louis took the lead again when pinch-hitter Alan Craig, whose been clutch all season, stroked an RBI double in the 6th, just out of the reach of right fielder Nelson Cruz.

Texas once again had a chance to answer right back when they put two aboard in the 7th with just one away. But that’s where Washington’s decision making came into question. With lefty David Murphy due up and the pitcher’s spot to follow, LaRussa went to the pen for left-hander Mike Rzepczynski. Washington had four right handed bats on the bench- Yorvit Torrealba, Craig Gentry, Matt  Treanor, and Estaban German. None are stellar, but Torrealba is the best of them.

Washington went for a straight outfielder for outfielder switch instead and chose to send up the light-hitting Gentry. He struck out looking. The inning was still salvageable had Washington gone with Torrealba to bat for pitcher Alexi Ogando, but once again Washington defied logic and batted German. The veteran utility man had not swung a bat in a big league game since September 25 and had only 11 MLB at-bats all season. German at least swung the bat when he struck out. Never mind that the pitch was in the dirt.

Texas has plenty of talent to win the World Series, but if the series comes down to a chess match, LaRussa will be the only playing the role of Bobby Fischer.

Replay, Replay

Had last night’s game been in Texas, a chant may have gone up from the crowd for a change to instant replay. With one out in the top of the 9th and his team trailing by one, Texas’ Adrian Beltre fouled a ball off the front of his shoe and immediately got knocked off balance. The ball bounced to third baseman Daniel Descalso, who threw across the diamond to easily record the second out of the inning. Beltre stood in the batter’s box in amazement until Washington came out of the dugout to argue to no avail.

Once again, Major League umpires failed on baseball’s biggest stage. We see it year after year in the post-season, from phantom tags to fair balls called foul. There’s no saying that Beltre would have done anything positive with his at-bat, but home plate ump Jerry Layne, and the other members of the crew in the infield, Greg Gibson, Alfonso Marquez, and Ron Kulpa made sure he didn’t get the chance.

Lewis and Start

Colby Lewis will try to even the series tonight when he face’s St. Louis’ Jaime Garcia. Lewis was outstanding in the division series when he limited Tampa Bay to one hit over six innings in the Rangers 4-3 win. He came back down to earth though in Game 3 of the ALCS when he allowed four runs in 5.2 innings in a 5-2 Tigers’ victory.

Lewis has faced the Cardinals just once, and it was a relief appearance he’d like to forget. While a member of the Oakland A’s in 2007, Lewis gave up four runs on four hits in one inning, including a 3-run home run to then Cardinal Ryan Ludwick, and was the losing pitcher.

He’s faced five members of the current Cardinals team with mixed results- Lance Berkman (0-7) and Nick Punto (0-1) are hitless, while Albert Pujols (1-1) and Ryan Theriot (2-2) are batting 1.000. Cardinals back up catcher Gerald Laird has just one at-bat in two games this post-season, but is 4-8 lifetime against Lewis with a home run and four RBI.

Drew Sarver is a senior writer  for BaseballDigest.com.  You can also read his work at his blog, My Pinstripes. He can be contacted at mypinstripes@gmail.com and can be followed on Twitter at @BD_Sarver and @MyPinstripes.

There was never any doubt about Nelson Cruz’s talent. Talent always gets second, third, and even fourth chances. It took some time for Cruz to realize his potential, but his eight year Minor League odyssey has led him to being one of the most feared hitters of this post season. His career didn’t come easy; turning his raw power into consistent power was even harder. It took him four full seasons to realize the importance of on base percentage. It then took him another four seasons to become a full time Major League player. The last three seasons have been a microcosm of his entire career. He’s shown flashes of dominance and has displayed awe-inspiring power yet there has always been something that has held him back from the mainstream consciousness. Instead of needing to fine tune his swing and approach, Cruz has been hampered by injuries as he’s played in just 128, 104, and 124 games in each of the past three seasons. He’ll never be a patient hitter and he’ll always strike out a bunch, but Nelson Cruz is one of the few legitimate power hitters in the game. The 2011 Post Season has given him a national stage to finally show that to the rest of the world.

The Divisional round didn’t start so well for Cruz as he would get just 1 hit in 15 at bats while striking out 5 times. But, short series usually cloud the reality of a player. No player should be judged on 15 at bats. Fortunately, Cruz had already showed he could perform on the big stage with his 2010 post season performance during which he hit 6 homeruns and 7 doubles in 16 playoff games. Given his powerful 2011 regular season that saw him hit .263/.312/.509 with 28 doubles, 1 triple, 29 homeruns and 87 RBI in just 475 at bats, there was no doubt that a healthy Nelson Cruz was still dangerous.

That was precisely the problem as Cruz played in just 11 September games due to a hamstring injury. When he returned, he simply didn’t hit as he struggled to a .190/.205/.286 slash line with just 2 extra base hits. The injury came at the worst possible time for Cruz as he finished August with 6 doubles and 5 homeruns in 97 at bats. In his final 12 at bats in August, he had 8 hits–2 doubles and 2 homeruns–along with 6 RBI. His first round performance was just a continuation of a really poor September.

But, Nelson Cruz has dealt with that kind of adversity for his entire career. He’s been traded twice because of his inconsistency and lack of plate discipline. But, when he’s locked in, few can match his power. Something changed in the American League Championship Series against the Detroit Tigers. As much as Cruz looked lost in round one, he looked focused and the single best hitter on the field. In 6 games, Cruz would bang out 8 hits in 22 at bats. “Bang out” isn’t some baseball expression. Cruz literally banged out 8 hits as all of them were extra base hits. His two doubles and 6 homeruns led to 7 runs and 13 RBI. In one series, Cruz became a historic figure in the post season.

The 6 homeruns and 13 RBI are the most by any player in any post season series. Nelson Cruz out-slugged everyone, including legendary post season performers such as Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth, and anyone else who has ever stepped foot on a post season field. Counting last year’s 6 homeruns, Cruz’s two year total is also the most in Baseball history in consecutive post seasons. Furthering the growing legend of Cruz, the sixth place hitter for the Rangers in the opening World Series game, is the fact that 8 of his 12 homeruns have been hit in the seventh inning or later. That is just one homerun behind the all-time leader, Bernie Williams. His .753 career post season slugging percentage is second all-time. He is ahead of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. His 8.08 HR/AB rate is also second all-time.

Cruz’s historic production in the post season is befitting of his profile. He was long a power hitting prospect who couldn’t quite put it all together. He finally hit with enough power after three full Minor League seasons. It then took him awhile to match his Major League results to his Minor League production. Texas was the best environment for him. He’s never had to carry them and he was never the focus of the offense. But, since 2009, he has been one of the more feared power hitters in the game. He’s streaky because of his lack of plate discipline and unwillingness to take a walk, but that power is very real.

The post season was made for someone like Nelson Cruz. His ability to get hot and dominate for periods of time allows for a post season legend to be born. For the past two years, Cruz has been the Rangers’ best hitter in the playoffs. That will never be the case during the regular season because of the streakiness. But, the short post season allows him to mask his shortcomings and to have his strengths dominate. Nelson Cruz has done just that. He’s gone from an amateur free agent signee by the Mets to traded twice for such names like Jorge Velandia and Keith Ginter. Finally, he was an afterthought in the Carlos Lee trade at the trade deadline in 2006. He then went from interesting talent who may be a 4-A type player to someone who has become the premier power hitter on a two-time American League Champion.

It has been quite a journey for the now 31 year old outfielder from the Dominican Republic. It is journey that only Baseball can provide an athlete. It is a journey that Nelson Cruz withstood. It is a journey that some coaches saw something special in that swing and began to tinker with it rather than just give up on an impatient hitter with so many raw skills. That journey has led Nelson Cruz to becoming a power hitting Major League outfielder who plays his best baseball in October. That journey has resulted in Nelson Cruz becoming a record setting post season performer. That journey looks as if it will continue to lead to more post season appearances considering the state of the Texas Rangers. More appearances  mean more opportunities for Cruz to add to his records. That journey may just lead to being the best power hitter in post season history. He’ll have  to have more opportunities to prove it, but Nelson Cruz has already proved so much. Hitting in the post season is almost easy compared to all of that.

Wednesday night the Rangers face the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 1 of the World Series. It’s Texas’ second straight trip to the final series, which makes them just the third team (joining the Yankees of 1998-2001 and Philadelphia Phillies of 2008-2009) since 2000 to make back to back series appearances.  The Yankees mini-dynasty at the turn of the decade, the ’76-’78 Bronx Bombers, the ’72-’74 and ’88-’90 A’s, and the ’69-’71 Orioles are the only teams in the last 42 years to win three consecutive pennants. To put it simply, Texas needs to take advantage of their opportunity, because you never know when you’ll get another chance.

The Rangers won 96 regular season games despite the loss of ace Cliff Lee to free agency. They have a #1 starter who is really a #2  in C.J. Wilson, an adequate remaining rotation, a dynamite bullpen, and a fearsome lineup. Their manager, Ron Washington, can be both a plus and minus. He makes some of the oddest in-game decisions, but his team loves him and will do anything for him. Can they win him a World Series? That remains to be seen.

Last year the Rangers were considered a Cinderella team. A team that won despite financial issues and an on-going sale. This year the team with the glass slippers are the St. Louis Cardinals, the NL representatives who should not have even been in the playoffs. At least that’s the way it looked on September 1 when Atlanta had a huge lead in the NL wild card only to see it evaporate on the final day of the regular season. The Cardinals have taken full advantage of their place in history, beating the league’s winningest team in Philadelphia and the NL Central champion Milwaukee Brewers. Like the Rangers, their starting rotation has not been superior (outside of ace Chris Carpenter), but the bullpen, defense, and lineup has gotten the job done.

In other words, both teams are vulnerable. The Rangers take a lead and their bullpen says, “game over”. The Cardinals never say die and fight to the final out.

So what do the Rangers have to do to win?

1. Get much better starts out of Wilson; the left-hander has allowed 14 earned runs in 15.2 post-season innings thus far. Washington needs his top starter to step up since Derek Holland has made it through the fifth inning in only one of his three starts and Matt Harrison has only worked five in each of his two starts. The bullpen has been fantastic for Texas, but you can’t keep taxing it.

2. Keep the top of the Cardinals order off base so Albert Pujols comes up with no one on. After a slow start to the season, Pujols is tearing things up again and can single-handedly man handle any opponent. Don’t let the big man beat ya.

3. Keep scoring. Sounds silly; okay, really silly. The Rangers lineup can make up for any mishaps that occur during a game. They averaged 5.3 runs per game in the division series and 6.5 in the ALCS (4.8 in games other than Game 6).

4. Don’t overtax Neftali Feliz. The second year closer is outstanding, but is still learning the ropes and can be shaky times. Washington should limit Feliz to one inning saves.

5. Wednesday, 8:05 ET in St. Louis. Show up.

Drew Sarver is a senior writer  for BaseballDigest.com.  You can also read his work at his blog, My Pinstripes. He can be contacted at mypinstripes@gmail.com and can be followed on Twitter at @BD_Sarver and @MyPinstripes.