Another Friday brings me to the Tavern. The most obvious of “headlines” would be to point to a certain player and rehash is history. Not going there as I do not feel it’s appropriate. Plus, I’m sure there’s been anough written on that as it is. It’s really not in my nature to go down that road.
No, instead today I’m taking the task of selecting a few guys to watch for the 2011 season. Five guys that lost times during the 2010 season that can help propel their team to bigger and better things…hopefully.
I’m looking at six guys today. Five of those lost more than half the season (or in one case, the whole season) due to injury and another looking to right the path.
Starting off, I’m looking to Boston and second baseman Dustin Pedroia. He only played in 75 games last season. His numbers were not on the level of his MVP season of ’08 (how could they be?) or even of ’09. But the bigger way to measure Pedroia’s impact came in trying to replace his glove and leadership. And neither could be replaced in 2010.
Red Sox skipper Terry Francona tried his best to replace Pedroia, but can you really do that? Francona used mostly Bill Hall (gone via free agency to Houston) and gave time to Jed Lowrie. Francona even tried switching Marco Scutaro to second and playing Lowrie at short. That shows you how much Pedroia means to Boston.
The Sawx kept it close for a while last year, but with a healthy Pedroia back this season, it almost seems like a foregone conclusion that the Red Sox should win the AL East. Sure the Red SOx had more than their fair share of injuries last season, but Pedroia’s absence was felt the strongest.
Next, how about going to St. Louis? Don’t even think I’m bringing up the obvious because I’m not. I’m talking about third baseman David Freese. Like Pedroia, Freese missed significant time last season due to injury. He played in even less games, 70. And similar to the situation in Boston with Pedroia, the exact same could be said about Freese and the Cards.
When Freese went down on June 27, the Cards were only a half game behind the Cincinnati Reds. The final margin was five games. The Cards were unable to replace Freese and used the likes of Felipe Lopez, Aaron Miles and Pedro Feliz in an attempt to fill the void. Never happened.
Going to Los Angeles…or is it Anaheim…to check in with Angels first baseman Kendry Morales. Of all the ways to lose your season due to injury, Morales has to own the freakiest manner in which to do so. Celebrating a game winning grand slam, ready to pounce on the plate with his teammates surrounding, a high leap into the air….and…knee gone. What made the Angels 2010 future even more bleak after Morales’ injury was the numbers from ’09 they were potentially missing.
The Angels weren’t really in contention at the time of the Morales injury. They would go on to claim the division lead a few days later (June 7). That would be the only day the Angels led the division last year. In fact, of the three players I have listed thus far, Morales played the least number of games (51), but had the highest number of players (9) used to “replace” him. Morales played the second highest number of games at the position, but Mike Napoli (67) played the most games at first.
Yes, Morales means that much to the Angels.
To the Twin Cities and Justin Morneau and Joe Nathan.
Even though Morneau missed half the season after suffering a concussion, the Twins still went on to win the AL Central last year. They were also short the most consistent closer in the game in Joe Nathan. How amazing is that? I feel that was why Ron Gardenhire finally received respect as a manager and was awarded the Manager of the Year, a long overdue honor.
When Nathan went down in spring training, Twins fans were wondering who would step up and try to fill Nathan’s cleats. Jon Rauch went first and was successful for a while. When it appeared Rauch was perhaps tiring, Minnesota went out and acquired closer Matt Capps from the Washington Nationals. That left some scratching their heads as the Twins sent catching prospect Wilson Ramos as part of the deal.
The move almost proved to be worth it as Capps provided the Twins a true closer and with Ruach still on board, provided even more bullpen depth. As Nathan returns, Capps, who was signed for another year, will slide to a setup role. But the Twins have him if need be. May still not be a popular deal as Capps wil make over $7 million this season.
The Twins had a piece to replace Morneau by utilizing the versatile Michael Cuddyer to fill in at first. No need to make a deal there. Plus, the Twins had already been down that road before and were prepared (somewhat) for Morneau’s loss.
The one player that must get things going in the right direction is another closer, Francisco Rodriguez. Talk about finishing a season on a bad note. K-Rod was arrested for assaulting his girl friend’s father, suspended by the Mets and the Mets even tried to “un-guarantee” his contract. A money saving step, for sure. The MLBPA challenged the Mets move and was successful in K-Rod’s favor.
Still, you have to wonder if all that is truly past Rodriguez. Sure, it’s been over six months, but that New York media can be brutal unless your name is Rex Ryan. Many people already have the Mets somewhat written off. I’m not writing K-Rod off yet. Still, too much talent there to do so.
I do expect each of these players to return to their pre-injury (or pre-conflict) form and have a tremendous impact on his team. Maybe, just maybe, All-Star seasons for all.
Next week, the Tavern will look at some possible breakout players for the 2011 season.