The Field of Dreams
baseball team got a lot better around 5:30pm EST Saturday. I don’t think ‘The
Man’ ever got his due… listen to some of
this… from 1949-1954, he hit .340/.437/.599 with 596 walks and 214 strikeouts…
in 1943, Musial led the league with 700 PAs and struck out just 18 times. He
had one multi-strikeout game, and that went 11 innings… he led his league in
Runs Created 9 times, same number as Ted Williams, Babe
Ruth, Barry Bonds… had 1,815 hits at home, 1,815 on road… (Preacher Roe's strategy for pitching to Musial:
"I throw him four wide ones, then I try to pick him off first base.'')… 3
MVPs. 24-time All Star. 7 batting titles. 3630 career hits. 475 homers &
6th-most RBI ever… finished 3rd in batting, 2nd in OBP, 9th in OPS+, and 10th
in slugging...at age 41… in 1948, Musial hit .376/.450/.702. Even through the
Steroid Era, his 429 total bases remains the highest total of the last 80 years…
he slugged .559 for his career. He struck out 696 times & drew 1,599 walks…
played 2 seasons vs the Mets-- he had a .still-best vs. them 515 OBP in 101 PA
... at ages 41/42… a 24-time All-Star... married to his wife for over 70 years…
That’s a first vote Hall of Famer.
We’re going to keep the
journey at looking a little deeper at the Class of 2012 by focusing this time
on the 10th pick out of the University of San Diego, relief pitcher Paul Sewald. Sewald came out of Bishop Gorman HS in
Las Vegas and then took his game west, ending in the 2012 season with a stat
line of 15-G, 14-starts, 8-4, 3.09, 84.1-IP, 75-K, 27-BB. He couldn’t crack the
overstocked Cyclone rotation so he took his talents to the pen and put up an
impressive beginning to a pro career:
16-G, 0-2, 1.86, 0.97, 10.99-SO9, 28.2-IP, 35-K2-BB. Yes, that’s right…
only two walks. Seward is a finesse pitcher, topping off around 91, but his
go-to is his pinpoint slider that is unhittable when it makes its mark on both
sides of the plate. Normally, I would hold back someone who only had 16
appearances, but Sewald came to the Mets after four years in college and he
needs to get going. Sadly, I can’t see him getting past all the rotational
talent that will pitch both Savannah and St. Lucie this spring. Look for him,
hopefully, in the St. Lucie pen on opening day.
BNS came out with their version of the
Mets Top 10 prospects. I will say this… this team always looks deeper when you
read about the guys in the system. We know some guys just don’t reach their
potential… we wrote about Lance Powell the past two days… but still, the future
does look brighter when you read it this way. Regarding this particular
ranking, I don’t agree that Jeurys Familia is
still a top 10 prospect. I have seen very little consistency out of him for the
past two seasons and, in my opinion, he may have to take the same path anther
fallen prospect starter (Robert Carson)had to do
to get to Queens. Surprisingly missing from this list was SP Noah Syndergaard, which, I assume, was a ‘my bad’ by
the writer. The guys to target here
are both 22 and both working on secondary pitchers that will hopefully keep
them out of the pen. Forget the level they will play… both will be ready to
graduate to Queens (24-years old) in 2014 and you add Luis
Mateo and Rafael Montero to the current
rotation, followed by Michael Fulmer and
Syndergaard the following year, and who cares about outfielders?
The name of Michael Bourn reared its ugly head again. If you’re a
long time reader you will remember how high I was on him (and Brian McCann) a year ago. I wanted this guy in
Flushing; however, I have changed my mind. Too many downside items here. Over
30… bats left-handed… little pop… Boras agent… long term contract demands… and
the loss of a first round pick. The
first round pick would mean even more if Alderson actually drafted an impact
player with his first pick (IMO he hasn’t so far with his 2011 and 2012 pick).
Still, the luck of the draw says the third year might be the charm. No, I’ll
pass here.
7 comments:
Those Stan Musial stats are unbelievable.
Also, the BNS link has Noah listed at #3.
Mack,
You are spot on with Stan the Man. This guy was a HOF on and off the field. This is a HOF baseball player that used to go play his harmonica for folks in old homes. It is often said, but he man really be the last of his kind...I don't know if it is even possible to be a guy like him in the modern world.
I contacted BNS and was told that ranking Synder in the top 10 was not done because he was "too young".
I reminded them the age of Michael Fulmer.
They must have revised the list
I wonder if I'm the only one on this blog who saw Stan the Man in his prime. My very first MLB game was in 1947, Cards vs. Dodgers at Ebbetts Field, and I can still picture Musial at the plate with his unique stance. Legs close together, bent at the knees in a slight crouch, he looked like a tightly coiled letter "S" at the plate. He doubled off the scoreboard in RF, as he so often did. His lifetime OPS at Ebbets Field was 1.108, highest of any ballpark he played in. During his prime he was far and away the best player in the NL, and it wasn't until the mid 1950's that Willie Mays may have overtaken him, but only because he had reached middle age for a ballplayer. (35) IMO, only Ted Williams was a better pure hitter than Stan the Man.
I've been watching Sewald since the middle of his short season stint at Brooklyn last year. He is really impressive. An extreme ground ball pitcher, it wasn't until he gave up HRs in back to back games at the end of the season that he was dented, ballooning his ERA from 0.00 after his first 12 appearances (20.2 IP) to a meager 1.88 at season's end.
I wonder if he will bust his way into a starting rotation on his way up, or he will wind up closing games. Either way, it can't be bad. Hope he keeps up the good work.
Bourn is an interesting case. I was strongly against signing him when the talk was 5 years/$90-$100 million, because of the loss of the pick. If his price comes down, however, and Sandy can sign him for say 3 years/$40-$45 million, he might be worth losing the pick. He shouldn't lose a step at age 32 when the contract is done, and that #11 pick is still a crap shoot.
With the acquisition of a RH hitting OF next off season, (or if Duda breaks out) and a rotation of Niese, Harvey, Wheeler, and Gee/Mateo/Montero (or a FA starter signing) for the last 2 spots, we could be a strong competitor for a playoff berth in 2014 and 2015. With a couple of strategic acquisitions before ST we could even be competitive this year with Bourn leading off. I guess I have changed my opinion too. I'm in.
I was born in 1947 so you have me beat Herb
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