Turn Back the Clock: Third Base

Today I’m going to discuss the third base position as I continue to review my predictions for the top-10 at the position to see how they panned out (the following list is taken from the 2009 Fanball Annual Guide that was on newsstands prior to the start of the 2009 season).

To read previous positional reviews click on the following link:

CATCHERS

FIRST BASE

SECOND BASE

1. Alex Rodriguez

2. David Wright

3. Aramis Ramirez

4. Evan Longoria

5. Chippers Jones

6. Garrett Atkins

7. Chone Figgins

8. Aubrey Huff

9. Kevin Youkilis

10. Alex Gordon

A-Rod rebounded from hip surgery and missing a month of action to record yet another 30-HR, 100-RBI season. That’s 12-straight years of that type of effort to tie the all-time record previously held by Jimmie Foxx. Yeah, he really slowed down didn’t he?

Wright hit .307, two points below his career mark, got on base at a .390 clip (career .389) and stole 27 bases. Yet his season was a failure. Why? A five year low in runs (88) and RBI (72) was distressing, but his simply atrocious total of 10 homers, after 26 or more the previous four seasons, rendered his ’09 after an abysmal outing for a player who wasn’t hurt.

Ramirez injured his shoulder which limited him to a mere 82 games played. Still, in half a season of games he hit .319 with a .905 OPS as he hit 15 long balls and 65 RBI putting his production slightly ahead of the levels we have come to expect.

Longoria had only 58 RBI over his last 105 games, but with 55 in his first 51 his overall mark of 113 was the best at the position. Evan also went deep 33 times, was one of only three third sackers to score 100 runs (100 exactly), and hit a solid .281 with a .889 OPS. Not a bad second season in the league wouldn’t you say?

Jones hit at least .324 from 2006-08, but at 37 years of age expecting a repeat was asking too much (he hit just .264). Why was he ranked fifth on my list then if I already had lower expectations for his ’09 outlook? Bottom line was that the third base position just wasn’t that deep heading into last season (and still isn’t in 2010).

Atkins was abysmal. Period. You can read all about the performance in my recent Five Questions piece.

Figgins had a terrific season and it will make him a lot of money this offseason. Chone led the position with 114 runs and 42 steals, while hitting .298 with a .395 OBP. By thaw way, he was second in the AL in runs scored (Dustin Pedroia crossed the plate 115 times).

Huff failed, miserably, to repeat his tremendous 2008 effort (.304-32-108) turning out a .241-15-85 line in a season split with the Orioles and Tigers. He didn’t play a single game at third instead seeing time exclusively at first base (93 games) and DH.

Youkilis was much more productive than I thought he would be. He failed to match his ’08 numbers (.312-29-115-91), but was pretty darn close across the board (.306-27-94-99).

Gordon was injured, had hip surgery, spent time at Triple-A and all-around was a huge disappointment. He hit only .232 with a .703 OPS in 49 games, and in the offseason the Royals brought in Josh Fields to possibly challenge Gordon for starts at third in the coming campaign.

By Ray Flowers

Player Movement Thoughts

Finally, we’ve got some baseball news that doesn’t pertain to the World Series. With organizations analyzing where there team stand and what needs to be done to improve their outlook for 2010, here are some of the stories that are currently making the rounds.

The Royals made the odd decision to bring in Josh Fields in a trade with the White Sox despite the fact that they already have a third basemen in Alex Gordon. Does this move signify that the Royals have given up on their former first round draft pick? Apparently not. The team appears set to open the year with Gordon at third base and Fields possibly in the outfield. For more information on the deal that brought Fields to town, given Kyle Elfrink’s blog Royals with Cheese a read.

Curtis Granderson might be available in a trade according to reports. Curtis struggled to his worst performance in the batting average category at .249 in 2009, largely because of an extreme inability to his left-handed pitching (.183 in 180 ABs). Still, the dude has produced an average of 25 homers, 70 RBI, 108 runs and 19 steals the past three years. If you ask me he is totally miscast as a leadoff man but he would profile as a terrific #5 option. Owed “only” $26 million the next three years, one would think he would bring a lot in a deal if the Tigers do indeed decide to move him.

Ken Griffey Jr. will return for one more year with the Mariners after signing an incentive laden one year deal. Griffey, who turns 40 later this month, is coming off an abysmal season of a .214 average, but he did sock 19 homers in 387 ABs. In addition, after striking out 40 times in 230 ABs in the first half he slumped to 40 in 157 ABs after the All-Star break. I hope that the guy has one final season of productivity in that bat of his, but the data seems to suggest otherwise.

Joe Mauer and the Twins have begun the difficult task of working out a contract extension. Mauer has one year left on a deal that will pay him $12.5 million in 2010. The question with Mauer has nothing to do with his skills but whether or not a small market club like the Twins can afford to pay their catcher more than $15 million a year. In fact, it wouldn’t be shocking if Mauer’s representatives started with something like a 5-year, $100 million deal as a jumping off point. Is a catcher worth that amount of loot?

While the Giants would like to bring back Juan Uribe after he hit .289 with 16 homers for the club in under 400-ABs, he could price himself out of the Giants comfort zone with a desire for a big ticket, multi-year deal. As a result, the Giants are in the market for an infielder with some pop. According to Fox Sports they have been in contact with the Marlins about second baseman Dan Uggla who the Marlins appear desperate to move considering that he is on his way to a big pay day in arbitration (possibly upwards of $8-9 million). The Giants already have Freddy Sanchez at second so if they do acquire Uggla it would appear that the team would potentially move Dan to third base resulting in Pablo Sandoval moving across the diamond to first base (the team could also go with Uggla at first and leave Pablo at third). Uggla is a whiff machine, 150 or more the past three years, but he also has gone deep at least 30-times in each of the past three seasons. Do you know how many second baseman in history have hit at least 30-homers 3-straight years? Uggla is the only one. Moreover, Uggla has hit 27 homers with a least 88 RBI and 84 runs in each of his four big league seasons, and no other second baseman in history has accomplished that feat either. In truth, there were only three third basemen in 2009 that went 27-88-84 and they were Evan Longoria, Mark Reynolds and Ryan Zimmerman.

By Ray Flowers

AFL Impressions

As I sit here in the airport eating a rather bland turkey sandwich, I had a few moments in which to detail a few of the more interesting tidbits that I was exposed to while in Arizona for the yearly Arizona Fall League.

The biggest disappointment of the trip was not getting a chance to see Stephen Strasburg throw a couple of innings. He was supposed to pitch in the Rising Stars Game, but he came up with some mysterious neck issue that kept him out of the contest (he should return to action before the AFL season ends). Maybe he hurt himself getting a tan at the pool.

I could work with one of the best crews in the business if you just read their work. When you get a chance to spend time with them, you realize that not only are they braniacs in the world of sports, they are great people as well. Good stuff.

Jemile Weeks is listed at 5’10″. He is lucky if he is 5’8″. Reminds me a lot of Chone Figgins with his size and approach.

I know they say Buster Posey is old enough to drink, but I swear the guy looks like he could be the kid in the Jerry Maguire movie – minus the glasses of course.

Grant Desme may have set the AFL on fire with his stretch of 10 bombs in 10 games, but he didn’t impress me at all at the dish. Gotta say as well that his arm is a mystery. On Friday he two-hopped the infielders on a couple of throws, though on Saturday night at the Stars’ game he unleashed a powerful toss to nail a runner that had me second guessing my initial impression.

Domonic Brown has got that tall lanky body that will lend itself to comparisons with a guy like Chris Young. While he may have that kind of all-around talent, he needs to add about 20 pounds to his frame while at the same time learning to keep his balance at the dish. He was all over the place with his cuts.

Tanner Scheppers brings the cheese. He has an odd set position on the mound where he starts in almost a sprinters type setup in the blocks in the 100-meter dash. No matter how he starts out, that is one electric arm.

Mike Moustakas has what was called by fellow Fanball employee Ted Carlson a “Royals’ body.” It worked out for Billy Butler, but for a guy who was drafted as a shortstop I just don’t get it. That lower half of his is straight out of the catcher’s handbook. He didn’t impress me at all.

Josh Fields doesn’t cast a large shadow with his size, but he looked pretty darn sharp attacking hitters in the contest.

Ike Davis may be a first round pick, but he has a long ways to go. He drops his hands about 12 inches as he enters the “launch position” which would seem to leave him terribly vulnerable to high heat and anything off-speed. He also has an odd throwing motion, albeit a smooth one, where he hooks his hand as he takes it back ala Barry Zito.

Dustin Ackley didn’t make much of an impression, but he clearly has the look of a big leaguer – sooner rather than later.

And finally, the future might be bright for the Reds. Chris Heisey looked sharp while Yonder Alfonso was hitting like it was an arcade game.

No telling just how many of these fellas will make their mark in the bigs, but it was nice to see the young talent that will likely be gracing ball fields in the majors for years to come.

By Ray Flowers