The 35 Year Old And Over Team

If I've learned anything from blogging, it's that people love lists. So I'm going to run out some lineups that fall in line with the arbitrary parameters that I have set. Yesterday we looked at the 25-year-old and younger team. Today's lineup consists of players who are 35-years-old or older by April 1st, 2011. The 2011 forecasts are courtesy of Bill James. Now, allow me to present to you the 2011 New York Yankees.

Catcher - Jorge Posada 8/17/1971
2010: 18 HR, .248/.357/.454, .357 wOBA, 2.4 WAR
2011: 16 HR, .260/.363/.454, .375 wOBA

Posada only started 78 games behind the dish in 2010 and will see considerably less time there in 2011 with the signing of Russell Martin and prospect Jesus Montero's already ready bat for the bigs. But my other choices were Rod Barajas and Bengie Molina. And I'd rather play one of those catch screens over Molina both for defense and offense. And base running.

First Base - Paul Konerko 3/5/1976
2010: 39 HR, .312/.393/.548, .425 wOBA, 4.2 WAR
2011: 32 HR, .273/.361/.496, .372 wOBA

Konerko turns 35 just before this season starts and turned in the second best season (per WAR) of his career in 2010. Konerko parlayed that season into a fresh 3-year, $37.5 million contract with the White Sox. I don't have a joke about the White Sox captain so I suggest you follow @OneyGullien for a good laugh.

Had Konerko not barely qualified, Derek Lee would have made the list since we share a birthday. Also born on September 6th, porn star Raven Riley.

Second Base - Adam Kennedy 1/10/1976
2010: 3 HR, .249/.327/.327, .303 wOBA, 1.0 WAR
2011: 4 HR, .264/.334/.354, .307 wOBA

Bill James might be a little generous with his projection here considering Kennedy only signed a minor league contract with the Mariners this off-season. I'll give Kennedy the nod here unless Joe Morgan is looking to fill his newly acquired free time. Kennedy ended up as the everyday second bagger in Washington after the Nats traded Christian Guzman to Texas before the deadline. He would flail away to that .303 wOBA which only Brandon Wood was in awe of.

Others receiving votes include Omar Vizquel (from The Golden Sombrero) and Tony Lazzeri (from our own Derwood). Lazzeri hit .273/.361/.417 in 1935 and I'm starting to think Derwood didn't understand the question.

Short Stop - Derek Jeter 6/26/1974
2009: 18 HR, .334/.406/.465, .390 wOBA, 7.1 WAR
2010: 10 HR, .270/.340/.370, .320 wOBA, 2.5 WAR
2011: 13 HR, .295/.365/.410, .344 wOBA

Jeter followed the second best season of his career in 2009 with his worst season in 2010. That earned him a new 3-year deal worth $51 million. Jeter will make roughly around $33 million more than Evan Longoria will make over the 6-year deal he signed in 2008. That seems just.

If you think I come off as a little bitter towards Jeter for no apparent reason, I present Exhibit A, B and C. I hate that guy.

Third Base - Alex Rodriguez 7/27/1975
2010: 30 HR, .270/.341/.506, .363 wOBA, 3.9 WAR
2011: 35 HR, .284/.381/.530, .393 wOBA

I assume you've heard of A-Rod by now. He's a pretty good baseball player when he's not yelling at cameramen for filming him eating popcorn at the Super Bowl.

The over 35-year-old third base club is pretty impressive with Chipper Jones and Scott Rolen rounding out this particular Hall of Fame bunch.

Right Field - Ichiro 10/22/1973
2010: 6 HR, 42 SB, .315/.359/.394, .338 wOBA, 4.8 WAR
2011: 7 HR, 30 SB, .316/.361/.391, .339 wOBA

Ichiro isn't showing any signs of slowing down as a 37-year-old and, compared to the other outfielders on this list, can still field his position.

Center Field - Torii Hunter 7/18/1973
2010: 23 HR, .281/.354/.464, .350 wOBA, 3.5 WAR
2011: 23 HR, .272/.340/.457, .346 wOBA

Hunter started 97 games in center in 2010 before being jettisoned to right field for Peter Bourjos' plus glove. Hunter could still man center if push came to shove but the Angels crapped on common sense by trading for Vernon Wells who would probably get the first shot at center if Bourjos' bat doesn't play.

Left Field - Manny Ramirez 5/30/1972
2010: 9 HR, .298/.409/.460, .382 wOBA, 1.6 WAR
2011: 23 HR, .290/.401/.503, .393 wOBA

Manny only played 46 games in left for the Dodgers in 2010 and will spend most of his time as the designated hitter for the Rays in 2011. But I'd rather deal with his drunken-hobo wandering in the outfield to get his bat in the lineup compared to whatever it is that Bobby Abreu does nowadays.

DH - Jim Thome 8/27/1970
2010: 25 HR, .283/.412/.627, .437 wOBA, 3.6 WAR
2011: 17 HR, .245/.384/.498, .384 wOBA

Every time I look up Thome's career stats, I'm stunned. This guy seems to have hit the quietest 589 home runs, .278 AVG, .404 OBP, .559 SLG, .407 wOBA and 73.5 WAR in baseball history.

My boy Vladimir Guerrero is the other option here but despite his resurgent 2010, he's still crippled from the waist down from playing on the painted concrete in Montreal.

Staff Ace - Chris Carpenter 4/27/1975
2010: 3.22 ERA, 3.69 FIP, 3.84 xFIP, 3.7 WAR
2011: 3.06 ERA, 3.27 FIP

Carpenter missed most of 2002 and then almost all (if not all) of 2003, 2007 and 2008. But when he is pitching, he's been fantastic. Carpenter would have been my pick here even if Andy Pettitte didn't retire. But I was really tempted to put Pettitte here and Scott Brosius at third and Chuck Knoblauch at second.

Closer - Mariano Rivera 11/29/1969
2010: 1.80 ERA, 2.81 FIP, 3.65 xFIP, 1.7 WAR
2011: 1.89 ERA, 2.52 FIP

At this point, I'm convinced that Mo Rivera will outlive us all and still be closing for the Yankees in the 2132 Galactic World Series. Strangely enough, Barry Bonds and Ted Williams' frozen head are also on that Yankee team.

Pirates Can't Do Anything Right

It's only February 9, 2011, but the Pittsburgh Pirates seem to already be looking ahead to 2012. Ross Ohlendorf, who Baseball Reference compares favorably to Buster Narum and Marion Fricano, received a $1.56 million raise when he won his arbitration case earlier today. Now, pitcher wins are probably the last measuring stick of a pitcher's worth, but Ohlendorf still went 1-11 in 2010 when he made $439,000. He also had a 2.0 WAR and was limited to just 21 starts with back and shoulder injuries.

"Give that man a raise!"

- Arbitrator

The 25 Year Old And Under Team

If I've learned anything from blogging, it's that people love lists. And get used to being poor. So I'm going to run out some lineups that fall in line with the arbitrary parameters that I have set. Today's lineup consists of players who are 25-years-old or younger by April 1st, 2011. The 2011 stats are Bill James' forecasts since Baseball Prospectus' pay wall is impossible to navigate around without any cash.

Catcher - Buster Posey 3/27/1987
2010: 18 HR, .305/.357/.505, .368 wOBA, 3.9 WAR
2011: 21 HR, .308/.370/.506, .380 wOBA

When the Giants finally shipped off Bengie Molina's 7 speed on the 20-80 scouting scale, Posey took over the catching duties in San Fran and never looked back. He was the NL ROY and finished 11th in MVP voting while becoming a blog favorite here.

Carlos Santana and Matt Wieters both turn 25 this year and have bright futures, even if Wieters is fantasy kryptonite for me. But Posey is already a star and would be the face of the franchise if it wasn't for that dirty hippy.

First Base - Ike Davis 3/22/1987
2010: 19 HR, .264/.351/.440, .345 wOBA, 3.4 WAR
2011: 23 HR, .283/.374/.488, .377 wOBA

First base was a little tough considering Brandon Belt will probably replace Davis on next year's team. Davis gets the nod here because I wanted to give Mets fans a reason to step back from that ledge for a minute before the season starts. They'll probably be mathematically eliminated from the playoffs in April.

Second Base - Gordon Beckham 9/16/1986
2009: 14 HR, .270/.347/.460, .351 wOBA, 2.2 WAR
2010: 9 HR, .252/.317/.378, .305 wOBA, 0.9 WAR
2011: 15 HR, .273/.343/.436, .338 wOBA

Which Beckham will show up in 2011? The only thing I can guarantee is that it won't be Tim. I still believe in Gordon but that was a disaster of a sophomore campaign. I also considered Sean Rodriguez but I'm still pretty bummed that he was the PTBNL in the Scott Kazmir deal.

Dustin Ackley and Jean Segura aren't that far away from bumping Beckham from his starting gig on this team though.

Short Stop - Starlin Castro 3/24/1990
2010: 3 HR, .300/.347/.408, .325 wOBA, 2.0 WAR
2011: 4 HR, .310/.359/.428, .343 wOBA

Considering Castro won't turn 21 until March, it looks like he has all of the goods to be a perennial All Star. That's the good news for Cubs fans. The bad news is they couldn't move Alfonso Soriano's chubby contract to the Angels. Yet.

Third Base - Evan Longoria 10/7/1985
2010: 22 HR, .294/.372/.507, .376 wOBA, 6.9 WAR
2011: 31 HR, .295/.379/.537, .397 wOBA

Not only is Longoria still just 25, he might already be the best player at his position in baseball. He's my way too early pick for AL MVP. Plus, he's signed to the most team friendly contract in the recent history of MLB. Add all of that together and you can see why stat super nerd Dave Cameron named Longoria the most (trade) valuable player in all the land.

Right Field - Jason Heyward 8/9/1989
2010: 18 HR, .277/.393/.456, .376 wOBA, 5.0 WAR
2011: 22 HR, .295/.411/.493, .395 wOBA

Heyward arrived with a massive cloud of hype surrounding him and didn't disappoint. Heyward finished in the top ten in OBP while playing the majority of the season as a 20-year-old rookie. The force is strong with this one. And to get on my good side, he even recorded a Platinum Sombrero on June 5th.

Remember Justin Upton? Yeah, me neither.

Center Field - Andrew McCutchen 10/10/1986
2010: 16 HR, 33 SB, .286/.365/.449, .363 wOBA, 3.3 WAR
2011: 16 HR, 33 SB, .287/.364/.445, .359 wOBA

Center field was a little tricky for me because I really like Colby Rasmus. But Tony LaRussa will find a way to play the corpse of Jim Edmonds or Jon Jay or a traffic cone in center instead of giving Rasmus the full time gig. McCutchen is also a lot of fun to watch which isn't something routinely said about the Pirates.

Left Field - Carlos Gonzalez 10/17/1985
2010: 34 HR, 26 SB, .336/.376/.598, .416 wOBA, 6.0 WAR
2011: 28 HR, 22 SB, .308/.357/.545, .390 wOBA

I slid CarGo into left because he did start 51 games there and posted his best UZR there compared to the other outfield spots. Sure his home-road splits hurt my feelings but he still had an amazing season in 2010 and crashed Albert Pujols' and Joey Votto's little Triple Crown race.

DH - Billy Butler 4/18/1986
2010: 15 HR, .318/.388/.469, .372 wOBA, 3.4 WAR
2011: 18 HR, .307/.377/.476, .373 wOBA

Butler is one of those players who seems like he should be much better than he is. He doesn't really have a position so his lack of power is disconcerting for a DH or even a first baseman. Unless you're the Angels. But he hits the gaps (6th in doubles in 2010) and has a solid OBP.

Staff Ace - Felix Hernandez 4/8/1986
2010: 2.27 ERA, 3.04 FIP, 3.26 xFIP, 6.2 WAR
2011: 3.31 ERA, 3.30 FIP

King Felix won his first Cy Young in his 6th year in the bigs as a 24-year-old. If he was on a different MLB team (not talking about you, Pittsburgh), we might be looking at the next/last pitcher who could get to 300 wins. At least voters are now looking past pitcher wins so Felix should be able to score a few more trophies. By trophies, I mean Cy Youngs just in case anybody confused the Mariners as a playoff team for the foreseeable future.

Closer - Neftali Feliz 5/2/1988
2010: 2.73 ERA, .2.96 FIP, 3.68 xFIP, 1.7 WAR
2011: 2.66 ERA, .2.97 FIP

I'm still in the "make Feliz a starter" camp but the Rangers don't reply to my emails and it seems like they're going to leave him in the closer role. He is fantastic there but they just lose too much value keeping him in the pen if he can start.

Greatest Yankees 3B Ever To Play In 1998 World Series To Coach USA Baseball

I like to take every opportunity to mention Scott Brosius, not because I'm Vinny in Jersey and I think he should've been the Yankees' third baseman instead of Alex Rodriguez, or that he helped evoke some kind of fat-drunkman-ghost's-magical-powers in the 2001 WS, but because I appreciate his effort during the 1998 WS and I think he's a good guy.

Well, the good guy just got a big break. The former WS MVP was named the new head coach of the USA Baseball 18-under National Team, which will compete in the COPABE Pan American Baseball Championships in September. Brosius, who is in his fourth season coaching his alma mater Linfield College (Oregon), and is 100-38 with two conference and regional titles, will coach a team picked from the Tournament of the Stars competition at the USA Baseball national training complex, June 22-26.

One of Brosius' assistant coaches will be Brian McRae, son of former Royals manager, Hal. That gives us a great opportunity to show this video from Hal's managerial days.



This post may have just been an excuse to show that video.

Jim Edmonds Delays His Hall Of Fame Argument

Thanks to Twitter and Fangraphs, one of the most popular things for baseball fans to is argue over a player's Hall of Fame candidacy years and years before said player appears on a ballot. After some careful research, I've concluded everyone is always wrong about everything. No matter how much time is spent on analysis, there is going to be some yahoo who still thinks pitcher wins and RBI determine the greatness of a player. We might as well just open the Hall of Debate.

For Jim Edmonds though, it looks like his five year countdown to gracing a ballot won't start for another year. Edmonds recently inked a minor league deal with the Cardinals that included an invitation to Spring Training...

Where Edmonds fits into the Cardinals' roster is unclear.

The team Will Carry several bench/outfielders into spring training, including Allen Craig and Jon Jay. Craig, a righthanded hitter, will also get playing time at third base. Jay, a lefthanded batter, can play all three outfield positions. Jay not only is the incumbent for the role that Edmonds could ostensibly take, Jay also has Edmonds' signature No. 15.

The 40-year-old missed all of the 2009 season and spent time with the Brewers and Reds in 2010. In 272 plate appearances, Edmonds hit 11 home runs and a .276/.342/.504 line. His 2.8 WAR was over a win more than Jay and Craig combined. I always liked Edmonds and was sad to see him leave Anaheim. But Adam Kennedy was a beast in that 2002 run to the championship.

It's never too early, right? If Edmonds were to retire today, would his resume pass the Hall of Fame eyeball test?

Jim Edmonds
393 HR, .284 AVG, .376 OBP, .537 SLG, .383 wOBA, 68.1 WAR

He has a case. But if Tim Raines can't get in, I wouldn't start writing a speech just yet. Baseball-Reference lists Ellis Burks, Duke Snider and Andruw Jones as Edmonds' closest comps. And of course, here is their cumulative WAR Grid by age.


Snider is in the Hall. Burks debuted and fell off of the ballot in 2010. Edmonds and Jones will have some pretty interesting cases. Jones was really, really good before mysteriously and completely falling apart. I did see him a little too often at the Pink Pony in Atlanta now that I think about it.

I'd have to think long and hard about giving Edmonds my imaginary vote but right now I'm leaning Hall of Famer. Plus, who knows what metrics we'll be using in five or six years or if we'll be enslaved by robots by then.

Time for Some Links

In between viewing tapes from the 1998 ALCS and the time in 1991 when he singled off one of the kids who had already grown facial hair (shaky camera work by Aunt Jo), Derwood will provide some links from around the baseball blogosphere. We call it Links From Around The Baseball Blogosphere.


The American Folklore Baseball League is a simulated league that includes the Bad News Bears and the Springfield Isotopes. How is Kelly Leak only hitting .279 for Chico's Bail Bonds? (AFBL)

Bruce Markusen at Hardball Times has a great piece on the new voice of black baseball, suggesting Mudcat Grant to take over for Buck O'Neil, who died in 2006. (Replacing Buck's Voice)

Funnybaseballcards.com presents the third round of its Nerdy Glasses and Mustaches collection. Three horrible Yankees included; just had another bad flashback. (Funny Baseball Cards)

The Caribbean World Series is underway. (Caribbean WS)

River Avenue Blues does fine work on the Yankees and here they take a peak at three starting pitching options for NY with Spring Training right around the corner. (Pitching proposals)

On the other coast, the guys at Duck Snorts do a great job blogging the Padres. Here they look at the 13 players who collected one hit in a San Diego uniform. This is the definitive John Roskos piece. (One-hit Wonders)

Andy Hangin' 'Em Up

After an off-season of speculation on whether he had pitched his last game in a big league uniform, Andy Pettitte will officially announce his retirement later today. Pettitte broke in in 1995 and was a big part of the Yankees dynasty in the late-1990s. I sat in the right field bleachers at old Fulton County Stadium and watched Pettitte shut out the Braves in game five of the 1996 World Series. One of my two greatest live moments as a Yankees fan. He went to Houston from 2004-2006, or what I like to call The Three Years I Spent Mumbling In The Attic, and finally returned to the Yankees before the 2007 season.

Since we're not discussing his time with the Astros-I'm down to just one patio chair and I need it for possum surveillance-his best season as a Yankee was 2007 when the lefty had a 7.6 WAR, 2.88 ERA and helped lead NY to the playoffs. One of his best years was in 2010 (1.27 WHIP, 3.28 ERA), which turned out to be his last.

I know the Pettitte-for-HOF discussions have already started, and despite my love for No. 46, I think he may fall a little short. A 50.2 career WAR is really good, but I don't think it's hall worthy. Still, as a Yankees fan I remember a lot of HOF Pettitte moments in the post-season. To name a few: 1998 division series; '98 World Series clincher in San Diego; '03 division series with NY down 1-0. He was fantastic in the 2003 World Series, which was canceled right before it ended; no winner declared. Pettitte won all three clinching games in the 2009 World Series run, and he was excellent in the final two post-season starts of his career (four ER in 14 innings against the Twins and Rangers last fall).

And I'm not sure if you heard, but the Yankees rotation has a bunch of question marks heading into the 2011 season. Mainly

1. Sergio Mitre?

Pettitte going one more season would've calmed Anthony in Poughkeepsie's nerves a little bit, yet for Pettitte's sake it's probably a good time to call it a career. 38-years old, 16 seasons, over 3,000 innings, and that left elbow seemed ready to explode. The wear and tear takes its toll on a player. I should know: I played one season on the JV team at age 15 and retired before the next season's try outs when Coach Smith pretended to speak Spanish and sprayed me with a house.

Pettitte will go down as the second-greatest left-hander in Yankees history, behind Whitey Ford and just ahead of Ron Guidry. Not bad for a 22nd-round draft pick.

More Mustache Silhouette T-Shirts Please

This could be the greatest line of MLB T-shirts I've ever seen. I'm more of a beard guy than a mustache guy but I can't deny the awesomeness of these shirts. The shirts feature the silhouettes of famous mustachioed players from the 1970s, 80s and 90s. You can find the 13 shirt collection under Nike's Cooperstown Heritage line for $20 a pop. If there was a Vlad Guerrero Angels version, I would have already been out $20.

Instead, this is the order that I plan on purchasing my private collection.

1. Michael Jack Schmidt

I lived in Marlton, New Jersey for six years growing up. Philadelphia was basically the next town over. We took a field trip to the Vet when I was a youngster and I'm pretty sure running on that turf ruined my little league career. My knees were never the same.

2. Roland Glen Fingers

This probably would have been cooler as an Oakland shirt but the old school Brewers logo and colors were pretty sweet. Plus that is the only facial hair I've never sported out of this collection. I'm not proud of any part of that last sentence.

3. Oswaldo José Guillén Barrios

Provided that is Ozzie Gullien. I can't be completely sure since Nike didn't label any of these and it gets a little tricky in some places. Maybe my boy Mike at The Golden Sombrero can give me an educated guess.

3A. Johan Alexander Santana Araque

Um, that's is Johan, right? Dave Brown was guessing Kirby Puckett but that has to be Johan. Definitely Johan. Probably. It's Johan. Maybe. (UPDATE: Nike says it's Kirby)

3B. Jeffrey Robert Bagwell and Kenneth Gene Caminiti combo

Hey Jeff and Ken, if this is modeled after you, please raise your hand. Bagwell it is. Too soon? Lighten up, people. (UPDATE: It's Jeff)

Derwood's Birthday Present, Don Mattingly

If that's not Mattingly, I'm going to get an earful tomorrow. If it is Mattingly, I'm not sure I can afford the $20 for the shirt anyway. It turns out the financial foundation of this site is tied up in some ponzi scheme litigation. (UPDATE: It's Don)

[hat tips to Big League Stew and Chitwood & Hobbs]