Olde Man’s Tavern: Power!

Before the Tavern opens today, I’d like to comment on the new home. Like it. I thought there could be an issue, but whatever it is/was, I think I can deal with it. Yes, it’s only one and when you get older, you will definitely understand.

Now that I’ve kissed enough tail…

Usually, the Tavern will feature a prominent individual from a major league team and I present my views of that individual. I actually had two different ones all set for this week. Yes, two! Then, I saw something over on another FanSided baseball blog, Frisco Fastball, that grabbed my attention.

It was a post about how San Francisco Giants ace Tim Lincecumwas #94 on a list called “The Power 100″. Unfamiliar with The Power 100? I was a bit, too. So, as my mind always does (and it can prove to be a bit of a ride), I went sprawling all over these interwebs in search of some education.

Here’s how The Power 100 works (via Bloomberg Businessweek):

"For the Power Sports 100, Bloomberg Business Week worked with CSE, formerly known as Career Sports & Entertainment, and Businessweek.com columnist and Bloomberg TV contributor Rick Horrow of Horrow Sports Ventures to determine the 100 most powerful athletes on and off the field. No coaches, owners, managers, executives or retired athletes were considered. Off-field metrics included the results of polls on individual athletes by E-Poll Market Research and estimated endorsement dollars. On-field metrics were tallied on those who outscored, out-tackled, or outskated the competition during 2009 and 2010. Sports were weighted according to their popularity in the U.S."

Not too hard to comprehend, is it? To get the full explanation on thow this was derived. There’s a link on that page that encompasses the entire process. That in itself is a pretty good read.

Anyway, my attention was focused primarily on baseball players. After scouring this, I came away with a few observations.

1. There are 23 baseball players listed. Of those 23, only 10 were on The Power 100 for 2010. Seven players from 2010 did not make 2011′s Power 100. That means 13 MLB players are different from last year.

2. Seven players from 2010 did not make 2011. Of those seven, only one did not suffer some form of injury and miss significant time or end his season, Ichiro Suzuki. He was #77 for 2010. This shocked me. Ichiro is coming off a season where he once again had 200+ hits, won a Gold Glove and was elected to the All-Star Game. Maybe it was because the Mariners were thought of as a contender entering 2010 and the wheels fell off that wagon.

3. Of the 13 newbies, the highest rated was Roy Halladay at #30. File this under location, location, location. After years in Toronto, Halladay is traded to the Phillies and finds a home in one of America’s top 10 markets. Playing a team that’s perceived as being better also gets you more airtime during the regular season. That’s why Doc’s on this list. And yes, the no-hitter against the Reds in the NLDS didn’t hurt either.

4. Of the ten players that were on the list for 2010, only one saw his ranking go up, Derek Jeter. This almost goes without saying. It’s Derek Freakin’ Jeter.

5. The New York Yankees has five players listed. What’s that tell you about market size? Aside from Jeter (at #26), there was Robinson Cano (#54), Mark Teixeira (#69), Alex Rodriguez (#81) and CC Sabathia (#95). Cano’s the newbie of the bunch.

On a down note, Sabathia “suffered” the second biggest “fall” going from #32 in 2010 to his position of #95 in 2011.

6. The biggest fall? That would be Joe Mauer of the Twins. Mauer was #19 in 2010. For 2011, he’s #89. Not sure how I follow this unless his reduction in homers has anything to do with this. He’s young and I’m sure there are many in Minnesota that love this guy. Why doesn’t he have a deal with Gillette?

7. There are no relief pitchers. No Mo Rivera. I thought with the Taco Bell deal, he’d at least be in the 90′s. Or maybe closers just aren’t marketable.

8. Of the four major award winners (AL MVP and Cy Young, NL MVP and Cy Young), all four are listed. We already covered Halladay who rests at #30. His AL Cy Young counterpart, Felix Hernandez came in at #85. AL MVP Josh Hamilton takes the #41 spot. NL MVP Joey Votto came in at #57.

9. Only one MLB player was in the top 10, Albert Pujols at #9. He was at #4 for 2010. Pujols has emerged as a face for the sport. Regardless of what ensues in his contract talks with St. Louis, he still will be a face for baseball no matter what 2012 holds for him.

10. Some notable surprises. Miguel Cabrera at #44. Once again, edged by Josh Hamilton (#41). Adam Wainwright at #52. I thought he could be on this, but I would have thought lower. Then I thought again. This guy could have two Cy Youngs if not for Lincecum and Halladay. In fact, three St. Louis Cardinals are on here. Matt Holliday is your #100.

Here’s the one that blew me away…#75 is David Ortiz.

While Big Papi bounced back to have a very good 2010 season, we must remember that stats account for only 50% of an athlete’s “place”. Correct me if I’m wrong here, but was it not just a couple years ago when his name was linked to that now ever pesky list of those that failed a drug test? Yes, I am fully aware that is was a “survey”, but he got pulled into that mess along with Manny Ramirez.

I’m left with two thoughts. One is Big Papi got through that debacle pretty much unscathed. He did handle it pretty damn well. It all just washed away. Even his “rant” from the previous spring was brought into play when he said those that test positive now should be booted from the game. According to Big Papi, he was never informed of what provided the failed test. After that, it all somehow went away. That leads me in to my next point.

Maybe baseball fans really developing an immunity to all this PED crap now. Are we saying, “Look, I know some these guys were juicing, but that’s in the past. Let’s just play some ball!”?