Coming off a historic season, Detroit Tigers Miguel Cabrera is clearly the top fantasy third baseman and arguably the top player in fantasy baseball in 2013.
Not only did Miggy set career highs in home runs (44) and runs batted in (139), but he became the first player to win the triple crown since Carl Yastrzemski won it more than 40 years ago. He led all of baseball in homers and RBIs and was second in batting average (.330) behind only San Francisco's Buster Posey, who won the NL batting title with a .336 average.
As a lifetime .318 hitter, Cabrera has hit .320-plus in seven of the past eight seasons with the exception being 2008 when he hit just .292.
With the exception of his rookie season (2003) when he played only 87 games, Cabrera has driven in 100-plus runs every year and has at least 125 RBIs in three of the his five seasons in Detroit. He also has scored at least 109 runs in each of the past three seasons.
While he's unlikely to repeat as a triple crown winner, Cabrera is one of the most dangerous and consistent hitters in the game and should continue to put up MVP-caliber numbers that fantasy owners can take to the bank.
Monster Second Half for Headley
San Diego's Chase Headley has been a consistent source of stolen bases at a position that typically lacks speedsters. With double-digit steals in the past four seasons, Headley tied his career high with 17 steals last year. Of all third base-eligible players, only Hanley Ramirez had more steals (21).
It was Headley's power production, however, that was noteworthy.
Headley, who turns 29 this season, hit nearly as many home runs in 2012 as he had hit in the rest of his career combined. Before last season's career-high 31 home runs, Headley had never hit more than 12 in any season.
In addition to shattering his career high in homers, Headley drove in an NL-high 115 runs, which is more than 50 RBIs higher than his previous career high (64) set in 2009 as well.
While he had a solid first half, Headley was as dominant as any hitter in the second half. In 75 games after the All-Star Break, he hit .308 with 23 home runs and 73 runs batted in.
Can he carry that type of momentum over into the 2013 season?
Breakout Year for Alvarez
After a solid debut for Pittsburgh Pirates third base prospect Pedro Alvarez in 2010, he could not have frustrated fantasy owners much more than he did in 2011.
As a rookie, Alvarez, the second overall pick in the 2008 draft, hit 16 home runs with 64 runs batted in with a fair (but not great) .256 average in 95 games.
Not only did he hit below the Mendoza Line in his second season (.191), but the slugger hit a mere four home runs in 262 big-league at-bats in 2011. He spent 42 games in the minors that season.
From a batting average standpoint, Alvarez hit much better from June to October (.259) last year than he did in March through May (.205).
While he will never win any batting titles, Alvarez had the type of power production last year that many expected in 2011. He finished the year with 30 home runs and 85 runs batted in, both of which were career highs.
Some More Third Basemen Notes:
After an injury-shortened 2011 campaign, New York Mets third baseman David Wright played 156 games and had a strong all-around season in 2012. Hitting above .300 for the first time since 2009, Wright hit 21 home runs, stole 15 bases, scored 91 runs and drove in 93 runs. As much as any other third baseman, he's a strong contributor in all five roto categories.
Baltimore's Manny Machado is one of the game's top young players and won't turn 21 until early July. With tremendous promise, Machado played 51 games last season and should be the Orioles everyday third baseman in 2013. Unless you're in a deep or AL-only league and need to start Machado, he provides plenty of upside as a bench guy.
Tampa Bay third baseman Evan Longoria is my second-ranked third baseman, but the obvious concern is durability with Longoria. Playing a total of only 207 games in the past two years combined, his 162-game pace over that span is for 37.57 home runs and 120.52 runs batted in. Of course, the question is how many of those 162 games will he miss?
In his first season with the Brewers, Aramis Ramirez hit 27 home runs, scored 92 runs to go along with 105 runs batted in, all of which are four-year highs. In addition, he hit .300 for a second consecutive season. After stealing a total of nine bases from 2003 to 2011, Ramirez stole a career-high nine bases last season alone.
Here are my third basemen rankings for the 2013 fantasy baseball season (based on Yahoo! eligibility):
1. Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers
2. Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays
3. David Wright, New York Mets
4. Hanley Ramirez, Los Angeles Dodgers
5. Adrian Beltre, Texas Rangers
6. Ryan Zimmerman, Washington Nationals
7. Chase Headley, San Diego Padres
8. Aramis Ramirez, Milwaukee Brewers
9. Brett Lawrie, Toronto Blue Jays
10. Pablo Sandoval, San Francisco Giants
11. Mark Trumbo, Los Angeles Angels
12. David Freese, St. Louis Cardinals
13. Martin Prado, Arizona Diamondbacks
14. Pedro Alvarez, Pittsburgh Pirates
15. Will Middlebrooks, Boston Red Sox
16. Mike Moustakas, Kansas City Royals
17. Kyle Seager, Seattle Mariners
18. Manny Machado, Baltimore Orioles
19. Todd Frazier, Cincinnati Reds
20. Marco Scutaro, San Francisco Giants
For a second opinion, check out Duncan Sanford's third basemen rankings. (Or view our consensus third basemen rankings here.)
Other positions: C - 1B - 2B - 3B - SS - OF - SP - RP
To keep track of our updates, follow us on Twitter @EDSBaseball, LIKE us on Facebook and/or add us to your Google+ circle.
Showing posts with label Evan Longoria. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Evan Longoria. Show all posts
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
(Updated) 2012 Fantasy Baseball Preseason Rankings: Top 25 Third Basemen
After missing 20 games in 2010, Miami's Hanley Ramirez missed many more games (70) last year and was one of the biggest disappointments in all of fantasy baseball.
Not only did Ramirez miss almost half of the season, but he struggled when he was on the field. HanRam hit a career-low .243 and it was the first time since 2006 that he hit below .300. Several months into the season (June 20th), Ramirez was hitting only .200.
Now there is plenty of change in Miami.
The team is no longer called the Florida Marlins, Ozzie Guillen is the team's new manager and the addition of free-agent shortstop Jose Reyes means that Ramirez will shift to third.
Believed to not be thrilled about the move, Ramirez has recently said the right things about the transition.
“I never said I’m not going to do it,” Ramirez said, per Tom D'Angelo of the Palm Beach Post. “I’m just happy to be here, be back in the spring with my guys, my teammates, everybody’s happy. That’s what we need. We got to stay together through the year. We’re looking good. This is the best team I have been in six years with the Marlins.”
Although he's not initially eligible at third base, Ramirez will be eligible at both shortstop and third base by the middle of April.
Here are some notes on third basemen:
- Despite being walked 100-plus times in each of the past two seasons, Toronto's Jose Bautista has hit 97 home runs during that span and has led the majors in the statistic each season. In fact, there have been only four 40-homer seasons over the past two years and Bautista has two of them. Over the past two seasons, Bautista also has 100-plus runs, 100-plus RBIs and nine steals each season.
- Arizona's Ryan Roberts, who is eligible at second as well as third base, fell just shy of a 20-15 season. Roberts finished the season with 19 home runs and 18 stolen bases, both of which were career highs. Roberts also set career highs in runs scored (86) and runs batted in (65).
- Although he missed almost 30 games and hit a career-low .244, Tampa's Evan Longoria hit 31 home runs, only two shy of his career best set in 2009. Longoria finished last season much better than he started it. Over the past two months, he hit 17 home runs and drove in 46 runs in 55 games.
- Mets third baseman David Wright hit a career-low .255 last year and played his fewest games (102) since his rookie campaign. After five straight seasons hitting .300 or better, Wright has had back-to-back sub-.300 batting averages. Since the Mets moved to Citi Field three seasons ago, Wright has hit a total of only 55 home runs, which works out to one homer in every 27.5 at-bats. While the numbers are bad at Citi Field (32.4 at-bats per HR), they're not great on the road (24.2/HR) during that span either.
- San Francisco's Pablo Sandoval played in only 117 games last year, but he still managed to hit 23 homers, only two shy of the career high he set back in 2009, and drove in 70 runs. After the All-Star break, KungFu Panda hit .325 with 15 home runs and 41 runs batted in over 67 games. Not only is Sandoval eligible at third base, but he is first base eligible as well.
- With Baltimore's Mark Reynolds, you know exactly what you're getting. He's going to simultaneously help you (home runs) and hurt you (batting average). Since 2008, only four players have hit more home runs than Reynolds (141): Albert Pujols (163), Ryan Howard (157), Prince Fielder (150) and Mark Teixeira (144). However, no player has struck out more than Reynolds (834) during that span.
- In his 43 games last year, Toronto's Brett Lawrie gave fantasy owners a sample of what he can do -- hit for power and average and steal bases. The former first-round pick (2008) hit .293 with nine home runs, 25 runs batted in and seven steals.
- Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez has not played more than 138 games in any of the past four seasons and played his fewest (99 games) last year since 1995. It was also the first time that A-Rod failed to reach 30 home runs or 100 runs batted in since 1995. Considering he turns 37 in July, it's risky to bank on Rodriguez staying healthy enough to reach 140 games for the first time since 2007.
Here are our top 25 third basemen for the 2012 season:
1. Jose Bautista, Blue Jays
2. Evan Longoria, Rays
3. David Wright, Mets
4. Adrian Beltre, Rangers
5. Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals
6. Brett Lawrie, Blue Jays
7. Pablo Sandoval, Giants
8. Alex Rodriguez, Yankees
9. Kevin Youkilis, Red Sox
10. Michael Young, Rangers
11. Aramis Ramirez, Brewers
12. David Freese, Cardinals
13. Ryan Roberts, Diamondbacks
14. Mark Reynolds, Orioles
15. Martin Prado, Braves
16. Mike Moustakas, Royals
17. Lonnie Chisenhall, Indians
18. Pedro Alvarez, Pirates
19. Emilio Bonifacio, Marlins
20. Chase Headley, Padres
21. Chipper Jones, Braves
22. Edwin Encarnacion, Blue Jays
23. Daniel Murphy, Mets
24. Danny Valencia, Twins
25. Placido Polanco, Phillies
Other Positions: C - 1B - 2B - 3B - SS - OF - SP - RP
To keep track of our updates, follow us on Twitter @EDSBaseball and/or LIKE us on Facebook.
Not only did Ramirez miss almost half of the season, but he struggled when he was on the field. HanRam hit a career-low .243 and it was the first time since 2006 that he hit below .300. Several months into the season (June 20th), Ramirez was hitting only .200.
Now there is plenty of change in Miami.
The team is no longer called the Florida Marlins, Ozzie Guillen is the team's new manager and the addition of free-agent shortstop Jose Reyes means that Ramirez will shift to third.
Believed to not be thrilled about the move, Ramirez has recently said the right things about the transition.
“I never said I’m not going to do it,” Ramirez said, per Tom D'Angelo of the Palm Beach Post. “I’m just happy to be here, be back in the spring with my guys, my teammates, everybody’s happy. That’s what we need. We got to stay together through the year. We’re looking good. This is the best team I have been in six years with the Marlins.”
Although he's not initially eligible at third base, Ramirez will be eligible at both shortstop and third base by the middle of April.
Here are some notes on third basemen:
- Despite being walked 100-plus times in each of the past two seasons, Toronto's Jose Bautista has hit 97 home runs during that span and has led the majors in the statistic each season. In fact, there have been only four 40-homer seasons over the past two years and Bautista has two of them. Over the past two seasons, Bautista also has 100-plus runs, 100-plus RBIs and nine steals each season.
- Arizona's Ryan Roberts, who is eligible at second as well as third base, fell just shy of a 20-15 season. Roberts finished the season with 19 home runs and 18 stolen bases, both of which were career highs. Roberts also set career highs in runs scored (86) and runs batted in (65).
- Although he missed almost 30 games and hit a career-low .244, Tampa's Evan Longoria hit 31 home runs, only two shy of his career best set in 2009. Longoria finished last season much better than he started it. Over the past two months, he hit 17 home runs and drove in 46 runs in 55 games.
- Mets third baseman David Wright hit a career-low .255 last year and played his fewest games (102) since his rookie campaign. After five straight seasons hitting .300 or better, Wright has had back-to-back sub-.300 batting averages. Since the Mets moved to Citi Field three seasons ago, Wright has hit a total of only 55 home runs, which works out to one homer in every 27.5 at-bats. While the numbers are bad at Citi Field (32.4 at-bats per HR), they're not great on the road (24.2/HR) during that span either.
- San Francisco's Pablo Sandoval played in only 117 games last year, but he still managed to hit 23 homers, only two shy of the career high he set back in 2009, and drove in 70 runs. After the All-Star break, KungFu Panda hit .325 with 15 home runs and 41 runs batted in over 67 games. Not only is Sandoval eligible at third base, but he is first base eligible as well.
- With Baltimore's Mark Reynolds, you know exactly what you're getting. He's going to simultaneously help you (home runs) and hurt you (batting average). Since 2008, only four players have hit more home runs than Reynolds (141): Albert Pujols (163), Ryan Howard (157), Prince Fielder (150) and Mark Teixeira (144). However, no player has struck out more than Reynolds (834) during that span.
- In his 43 games last year, Toronto's Brett Lawrie gave fantasy owners a sample of what he can do -- hit for power and average and steal bases. The former first-round pick (2008) hit .293 with nine home runs, 25 runs batted in and seven steals.
- Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez has not played more than 138 games in any of the past four seasons and played his fewest (99 games) last year since 1995. It was also the first time that A-Rod failed to reach 30 home runs or 100 runs batted in since 1995. Considering he turns 37 in July, it's risky to bank on Rodriguez staying healthy enough to reach 140 games for the first time since 2007.
Here are our top 25 third basemen for the 2012 season:
1. Jose Bautista, Blue Jays
2. Evan Longoria, Rays
3. David Wright, Mets
4. Adrian Beltre, Rangers
5. Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals
6. Brett Lawrie, Blue Jays
7. Pablo Sandoval, Giants
8. Alex Rodriguez, Yankees
9. Kevin Youkilis, Red Sox
10. Michael Young, Rangers
11. Aramis Ramirez, Brewers
12. David Freese, Cardinals
13. Ryan Roberts, Diamondbacks
14. Mark Reynolds, Orioles
15. Martin Prado, Braves
16. Mike Moustakas, Royals
17. Lonnie Chisenhall, Indians
18. Pedro Alvarez, Pirates
19. Emilio Bonifacio, Marlins
20. Chase Headley, Padres
21. Chipper Jones, Braves
22. Edwin Encarnacion, Blue Jays
23. Daniel Murphy, Mets
24. Danny Valencia, Twins
25. Placido Polanco, Phillies
Other Positions: C - 1B - 2B - 3B - SS - OF - SP - RP
To keep track of our updates, follow us on Twitter @EDSBaseball and/or LIKE us on Facebook.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Ryan Zimmerman to go on the 15-day disabled list
The Washington Nationals will place third baseman Ryan Zimmerman on the 15-day disabled list (DL), per Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.
Zimmerman, who strained his oblique on Saturday, sat out of Sunday's game and would be eligible to return as early as April 24th.
However, Kilgore notes that the Nationals "hope" that Zimmerman will be able to return in three weeks.
With Zimmerman out, Alex Cora, who started Saturday, and Jerry Hairston will split time at third base. Meanwhile, Jayson Werth is expected to move into Zimmerman's third spot within the batting order.
In the three seasons from 2008 to 2010, Zimmerman missed a combined total of 81 games.
With two of the top three fantasy third basemen (Zimmerman and Tampa Bay's Evan Longoria) on the DL, one player to consider adding is Detroit's Jhonny Peralta, who's eligible at third base and shortstop.
Through nine games, Peralta is hitting .379, but he's a career .264 hitter that hit above .276 only once.
That said, Peralta, who is owned in only 30 percent of Yahoo! leagues and 46 percent of ESPN leagues, has driven in 80-plus runs in each of the past three seasons.
Zimmerman, who strained his oblique on Saturday, sat out of Sunday's game and would be eligible to return as early as April 24th.
However, Kilgore notes that the Nationals "hope" that Zimmerman will be able to return in three weeks.
With Zimmerman out, Alex Cora, who started Saturday, and Jerry Hairston will split time at third base. Meanwhile, Jayson Werth is expected to move into Zimmerman's third spot within the batting order.
In the three seasons from 2008 to 2010, Zimmerman missed a combined total of 81 games.
With two of the top three fantasy third basemen (Zimmerman and Tampa Bay's Evan Longoria) on the DL, one player to consider adding is Detroit's Jhonny Peralta, who's eligible at third base and shortstop.
Through nine games, Peralta is hitting .379, but he's a career .264 hitter that hit above .276 only once.
That said, Peralta, who is owned in only 30 percent of Yahoo! leagues and 46 percent of ESPN leagues, has driven in 80-plus runs in each of the past three seasons.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Evan Longoria lands on 15-day DL
Earlier today, we noted that Rays third baseman Evan Longoria did not expect to miss more than a week due to his strained oblique.
He was wrong.
The Rays have placed Longoria on the 15-day disabled list and infielder Felipe Lopez will join the Rays from Triple-A Durham, per Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times.
"It's just unfortunate," [manager Joe] Maddon said. "We're having a hard time scoring runs out of the chute. He's probably our best run producer and now we don't have him. We're just going to have to make some adjustments and keep playing.''
In today's game against the Orioles, Ben Zobrist is hitting in Longoria's No. 3 spot and Sean Rodriguez is playing third base, as expected.
He was wrong.
The Rays have placed Longoria on the 15-day disabled list and infielder Felipe Lopez will join the Rays from Triple-A Durham, per Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times.
"It's just unfortunate," [manager Joe] Maddon said. "We're having a hard time scoring runs out of the chute. He's probably our best run producer and now we don't have him. We're just going to have to make some adjustments and keep playing.''
In today's game against the Orioles, Ben Zobrist is hitting in Longoria's No. 3 spot and Sean Rodriguez is playing third base, as expected.
Evan Longoria to miss a week (or more?)
If you were fortunate enough to land the consensus top third baseman in fantasy baseball, that was the good news.
The bad news is he's expected to miss a week and there's a chance he'll land on the disabled list (DL).
Rays third baseman Evan Longoria left Saturday night's game with a sore left oblique and he will be evaluated further on Sunday.
That said, Longoria doesn't expect to miss more than a week.
"It doesn't feel like something that's going to keep me off the field for a long time," Longoria said, per Tony Fabrizio of The Tampa Tribune. "I've never had an oblique (injury), so I don't know what a real serious one is supposed to (feel like)."
Manager Joe Maddon has not ruled out Longoria landing on the disabled list by saying "we have to get him evaluated and then make a determination."
With Longoria out, Sean Rodriguez will start at third base.
The bad news is he's expected to miss a week and there's a chance he'll land on the disabled list (DL).
Rays third baseman Evan Longoria left Saturday night's game with a sore left oblique and he will be evaluated further on Sunday.
That said, Longoria doesn't expect to miss more than a week.
"It doesn't feel like something that's going to keep me off the field for a long time," Longoria said, per Tony Fabrizio of The Tampa Tribune. "I've never had an oblique (injury), so I don't know what a real serious one is supposed to (feel like)."
Manager Joe Maddon has not ruled out Longoria landing on the disabled list by saying "we have to get him evaluated and then make a determination."
With Longoria out, Sean Rodriguez will start at third base.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Who stole Evan Longoria's AK-47?
With the departure of Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena and Jason Bartlett in the off-season, the Tampa Bay Rays lost a lot of (proverbial) firepower.
Apparently, Evan Longoria, the team's biggest star, lost some firepower, literally. Well, technically, he didn't lose it.
It was stolen.
When the house that Longoria, David Price and Reid Brignac were renting was robbed over the weekend, one of the items stolen was Longoria's AK-47.
"It's a personal item," Longoria said, per Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times. "Obviously they're going to say things that are taken. I think everything within the house is personal and we'll just leave it at that."
According to Topkin, the sheriff's department says the rifle is "perfectly legal" so it doesn't appear that Longoria will be in any legal trouble.
Longoria, who is the consensus top third baseman in fantasy baseball, hit .294 with 22 homers, 104 runs batted in and 15 steals in 2010.
Apparently, Evan Longoria, the team's biggest star, lost some firepower, literally. Well, technically, he didn't lose it.
It was stolen.
When the house that Longoria, David Price and Reid Brignac were renting was robbed over the weekend, one of the items stolen was Longoria's AK-47.
"It's a personal item," Longoria said, per Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times. "Obviously they're going to say things that are taken. I think everything within the house is personal and we'll just leave it at that."
According to Topkin, the sheriff's department says the rifle is "perfectly legal" so it doesn't appear that Longoria will be in any legal trouble.
Longoria, who is the consensus top third baseman in fantasy baseball, hit .294 with 22 homers, 104 runs batted in and 15 steals in 2010.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Mid-season Awards: A.L. MVP
In what was intended to be a weekend worth of mid-season picks for major MLB awards, my laziness has stretched to three weeks.
That being said, I'm ready to post my selection for the A.L. MVP as the Cubs and Cardinals play us into this year's All-Star break.
For N.L. MVP, there was no uncertainty. Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols was the obvious choice. The A.L. MVP isn't nearly as obvious.
A.L. MVP: Joe Mauer, Twins - Ernie Lombardi (1942) was the last catcher to win a battle before Joe Mauer. Since Lombardi, Mauer has won two batting titles. Despite having his worst game of the season (0-for-5 with four strikeouts) today, Mauer is hitting .373 heading into the All-Star break and leading the A.L. in batting average.
What's different in 2009 for the career .324 hitter is his increase in power. Mauer has hit 15 home runs at the midway point even though he missed the first month of the season. And before this year, his career high was 13 home runs.
Mauer leads the A.L. in OBS (1.090). He and Tampa Bay's Ben Zobrist are the only two A.L. players with an OBS of 1.000 or greater heading into Sunday's games.
His 49 runs scored and 49 RBIs put him on pace to surpass 100 of each.
Runner-up: Justin Morneau, Twins - Morneau has put up strong numbers across the board and you could easily make the case that Mauer and Morneau should swap positions.
At the break, Morneau is batting .311 with 21 home runs and 70 RBI. He's second in the A.L. in RBI and tied for fourth place in home runs.
Mauer and Morneau have a nearly identical AB:HR ratio. Mauer has hit one home run per 16.07 at bats while Morneau has hit one home run per 15.9 at bats.
Honorable Mention: Ichiro Suzuki (Seattle), Jason Bay (Boston), Mark Teixeira (NY Yankees), Evan Longoria (Tampa Bay), Ben Zobrist (Tampa Bay), Torii Hunter (LA Angels)
See Cy Young picks: American League and National League.
That being said, I'm ready to post my selection for the A.L. MVP as the Cubs and Cardinals play us into this year's All-Star break.
For N.L. MVP, there was no uncertainty. Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols was the obvious choice. The A.L. MVP isn't nearly as obvious.
A.L. MVP: Joe Mauer, Twins - Ernie Lombardi (1942) was the last catcher to win a battle before Joe Mauer. Since Lombardi, Mauer has won two batting titles. Despite having his worst game of the season (0-for-5 with four strikeouts) today, Mauer is hitting .373 heading into the All-Star break and leading the A.L. in batting average.
What's different in 2009 for the career .324 hitter is his increase in power. Mauer has hit 15 home runs at the midway point even though he missed the first month of the season. And before this year, his career high was 13 home runs.
Mauer leads the A.L. in OBS (1.090). He and Tampa Bay's Ben Zobrist are the only two A.L. players with an OBS of 1.000 or greater heading into Sunday's games.
His 49 runs scored and 49 RBIs put him on pace to surpass 100 of each.
Runner-up: Justin Morneau, Twins - Morneau has put up strong numbers across the board and you could easily make the case that Mauer and Morneau should swap positions.
At the break, Morneau is batting .311 with 21 home runs and 70 RBI. He's second in the A.L. in RBI and tied for fourth place in home runs.
Mauer and Morneau have a nearly identical AB:HR ratio. Mauer has hit one home run per 16.07 at bats while Morneau has hit one home run per 15.9 at bats.
Honorable Mention: Ichiro Suzuki (Seattle), Jason Bay (Boston), Mark Teixeira (NY Yankees), Evan Longoria (Tampa Bay), Ben Zobrist (Tampa Bay), Torii Hunter (LA Angels)
See Cy Young picks: American League and National League.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Andy Sonnanstine, designated hitter?
Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon meant for Evan Longoria to DH while Ben Zobrist plays third base.
However, on the official sheet provided to the umpire before the game, Maddon listed both Zobrist and Longoria at third base.
That meant that Longoria wouldn't be allowed to DH and Rays pitcher Andy Sonnanstine would hit instead. Not only would Sonnanstine hit, but he had to bat third (where Longoria was intended to hit).
Although Sonnanstine recorded his first career extra-base hit during his second at-bat, I'm sure Maddon will be more careful next time.
However, on the official sheet provided to the umpire before the game, Maddon listed both Zobrist and Longoria at third base.
That meant that Longoria wouldn't be allowed to DH and Rays pitcher Andy Sonnanstine would hit instead. Not only would Sonnanstine hit, but he had to bat third (where Longoria was intended to hit).
Although Sonnanstine recorded his first career extra-base hit during his second at-bat, I'm sure Maddon will be more careful next time.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Evan Longoria to miss next two games
Per ESPN, Tampa Bay Rays slugger Evan Longoria will miss the Rays' next two games to head to California for a death in the family.
The most important thing is that he's there for his family.
But the second-year player isn't suffering a sophomore jinx. In fact, he has hit safely in all eight of his games while leading baseball in HRs (5) and batting (.441 average).
Willie Aybar will start in his place until Longoria returns Friday for the White Sox game.
The most important thing is that he's there for his family.
But the second-year player isn't suffering a sophomore jinx. In fact, he has hit safely in all eight of his games while leading baseball in HRs (5) and batting (.441 average).
Willie Aybar will start in his place until Longoria returns Friday for the White Sox game.
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