NL Central Breakout Stars
The National League Central has been a battle between the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, and Milwaukee Brewers over the last few years. The Houston Astros always seem to make a run. The Cincinnati Reds have improved and are hoping to compete in 2010. The Pittsburgh Pirates always hope to play well but they field a team of young talent that every team hopes to make a trade for. Every veteran team needs young talent to win. The Brewers have become successful with the infusion of Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, and Corey Hart. The Cardinals have seen Yadier Molina become the best catcher in the game. The Cubs may have a double-play combination of Ryan Theriot and Mike Fontenot (who played together at LSU). The Reds have Cuban phenom pitcher Aroldis Chapman to go with Dominican hurlers Edison Volquez and Johnny Cueto and Homer Bailey. Every year the Pirates have new talent to throw into the fire with last year bringing up outfielders Andrew McCutchen and Garrett Jones. Who will have a breakout year in 2010? Let’s take a look.
Colby Rasmus, St. Louis Cardinals (CF): Rasmus was the best player in the disappointing three game sweep at the hands of the LA Dodgers in the National League Division Series. He doubled three times and reached base six times, which was a resurgence for the outfielder who struggled in the second half. However the sky is the limit for Rasmus.
“I think Colby was, overall, remarkable,” manager Tony LaRussa said. “He had to live up to the expectations of fans. The organization has hyped him. He had to earn the job on a club that had a chance to win.” These expectations came with the honor of being named the Cardinals number 1 prospect and a preseason candidate for Rookie of the Year.
Heading into the 2009 spring training, Rasmus lifted weights to hopefully add more power to his well-rounded game. However he dealt with injuries and illness in the second half that saw him hit just .216 with 5 homeruns and 18 RBIs. Overall he hit .261 with 25 doubles, two triples, 16 homeruns, and 52 RBIs. So this offseason he focused more on endurance that will keep him effective for six or seven months. The key for Rasmus is to expand his 2009 first-half numbers (.278 average) over an entire season.
Rasmus believes a year of experience will help him live up to the expectations. “I feel more relaxed,” Rasmus said. “I kind of know that to expect going in.” The club will be counting on Rasmus at the top of the order and one of their only left-handed bats. He will need to improve his on-base percentage if Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday, and Ryan Ludwick want to put up huge RBI numbers. When Skip Schumaker is in the lineup, Rasmus will probably bat further down in the order. He does not feel entitlement to the centerfield job. He knows he needs to work just as hard to help the Cardinals win. So far this spring training, Rasmus is 4-for-7 with zero strikeouts.
Casey McGehee, Milwaukee Brewers (3B): In 2009, McGehee was slated for a utility role (though he was a long shot to even make the club out of spring training), but he became an everyday player with a .368 average and 5 homeruns in June. He cooled off in mid-summer but finished strong in September with a .337 average and 5 homeruns. Only Philadelphia’s Ryan Howard had more RBIs in September than McGehee (27 to 26). His performance made Bill Hall expendable.
Brewers GM Doug Melvin has compared McGehee to the LA Dodgers Casey Blake, in that Blake developed late. The big question is whether or not McGehee can carry his stellar rookie season over to 2010. If not, the 27 year old could give up at-bats to prospect Mat Gamel. McGehee played 2009 on a bum knee but had surgery to clean out loose bodies, though the problem could persist. However McGehee proved he can push and perform through the pain. “I think there’s a huge difference between being injured and being hurt. If you can get out there and play, you should get out there when you’re called upon,” McGehee said. McGehee is 2-for-7 so far in spring training. Look for McGehee to give Prince Fielder protection in the order throughout the 2010 season.











This season, like every other postseason, there have been disappointments. First have been the first two opponents of the NY Yankees: the Minnesota Twins and the LA Angels. Both teams were lacking the fundamentals and is the main reason they are home and the Yankees are in the World Series. Both teams were victimized by fielding errors, baserunning blunders, and too many walks by the pitching staffs. The Twins made 2 errors in the Yankees three-game sweep. Poor baserunning plagued the Twins in the three games, like Nick Punto’s base running gaffe of trailing too far away from third base (and getting thrown out). The Twins combined to walk 9 batters in the ALDS. The Angels made 5 errors combined in Games 1 and 2, costing them both games in NY. They also had 2 errors in the 8th inning of Game 6. In the two games the Angels won, they committed zero errors. The Angels also had a few baserunning blunders, including Vladimir Guerrero getting picked off of first on a shallow pop fly to right field and Bobby Abreu rounding second base too far. The Angels pitchers also walked too many, including the nine in the deciding Game 6. The Angels pitchers combined to walk 38 batters in the ALCS. The St. Louis Cardinals also had their problems: Matt Holliday’s error (dropping a fly ball to left) in Game 2 of the NLDS, which led to the Dodgers comeback win; 11 walks by Cardinals pitchers in 3 games; and the Cardinals inability to come up with a clutch hit.
Second, the Angels offense in the ALCS against the Yankees was meager. Except for Guerrero, Jeff Mathis (who didn’t play in every game), Erick Aybar, Howie Kendrick (who also didn’t play in every game), and Torii Hunter, the offense was nonexistent. The top of the order (Chone Figgins and Bobby Abreu) combined to hit around .146 with just 3 RBI and 4 runs scored. They also struck out 11 times. If the top of the order is not getting on base, the middle of the order (Guerrero and Hunter) will not have anyone to drive in. When the Angels did get men on base, like in Game 2 of the ALCS, they could not drive them in, stranding 16 runners in Game 2 alone.
Third, most of the closers throughout the postseason have been disappointing. Despite the Holliday miscue in left, Cardinals closer Ryan Franklin still had 2 outs with just one runner on base in Game 2 of the NLDS. He could not get the job done, resulting in a blown save and loss. Joe Nathan of the Twins came in the bottom of the 9th in Game 2 of the ALDS and imploded, giving up a game-tying 2-run homerun to Alex Rodriguez. The game went into extra innings and the Twins lost a game they seemed to have in the bag going into the 9th inning. In both Games 3 and 4 of the NLDS, Colorado Rockies closer Huston Street could not finish the game. In Game 3 of a tie game, Ryan Howard hit a sacrifice fly to give the Philadelphia Phillies a 6-5 lead. In Game 4 and handed a 4-2 lead in the 9th, Street gave up a Howard 2-run double to tie the game and a bloop single to Jayson Werth to give the Phillies a 5-4 lead, sending the Phillies to the NLCS. In Game 3 of the ALCS, Red Sox closer Jonathon Papelbon was handed a 6-4 lead in LA. However, he could not get the third out without giving up the lead, sending the Angels to the ALCS. After the Angels had taken the lead in 11th inning of Game 2 of the ALCS, Angels closer Brian Fuentes quickly gave up the lead as A-Rod homered off of him to tie the game at 3-3 and sending the game to further extra innings…a game later won by the Yankees.
The final disappointment so far has been the offense from the Yankees’ Mark Teixeira and Nick Swisher. Yes the two have been playing great defense at first base and right field, respectively. Teixeira has saved many errors with his stretching for throws at first base and Swisher has made some diving catches, even doubling off the Angels Guerrero at first base. The offense from the two, especially in the ALCS, has been virtually nonexistent. Teixeira was 6-for-27 with 4 RBI, 3 of which came in Game 5 on a 3-run double. Teixeira also struck out 8 times. Swisher had just 3 hits in 20 at-bats and 0 RBI, along with 7 strikeouts. Swisher had been so clutch for the Yankees all season but has not been able to come up with a big hit in the postseason. These two guys will be needed if the Yankees are to win another World Series title.
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