Creepy Cardinal Nation (CCN) is back!
So I was reading FJM's pretty funny reaction to a Toronto Star beat writer's overreaction to an innocent question. I of course read the comments to this mailbag and stumbled across the best defense of David Eckstein I have read on the internet. CCN back at it again.
Most rational humans (non-CCN) see Eckstein for what he is - an average shortstop with little power with decent (not great) OBP throughout his career. This guy....not so much.
The full comment below (I've broken in up into paragraphs to make it easier to read) - my favorite parts in bold.
I have been following Eckstein since 2002 no matter what team he his on. I will grant that Eckstein may not provide as strong as arm as most shortstops and make the defensive stops that Ozzie did, but he is one solid player and has proven his defensive and offensive ability.
Why have a SS that has a stronger arm less offensive output when Eck might make 3 less outs per 100 attempts? He does not make mental miscues and gives 110% ever day he is out there. Look at his work ethic. Toronto fans will have an opportunity to watch him on a daily basis.
He is one of the first at the park to prepare and will work harder than most if not all of the other players. This is the reason for his success. He has been on successful teams whereever he has gone. Most people cite is stature and say he "has just enough" That is crazy. He has more than most. He has shown he has the talent to be there (two World Championships and 1 World Series MVP).
Some would say he is lucky. I would say they don't know what they are talking about. If you follow him daily has I do (and as you all will have the chance to), you will find out why the Blue Jays have opted to have Eckstein. I will enoy watching him bring the Blue Birds to the post season as he was a major factor for the Red Birds.
I'm tempted to think that this is simply a FJM reader having a little fun with the comments section, but because of the terrible logic and utter disregard for any sort of proper grammar (like TYI) - all signs point to a native of both Missouri and CCN.
Thoughts?
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
11 comments:
Sounds like a non violent civil war amongst baseball fans....In one corner number crunchers and in the other flesh and blooders. I don't understand the schism. We kind of stand in a good place in 2008 because we can consult so many variables when assessing players and teams...
Eckstein can only help the Blue Jays, but it does make some sort of sense to find a way for MacDonald to be out at short when groundball pitchers are on the mound....McDonald is something else...
Hey, I wanted to ask your opinion about Yost mentioning the other day that he plans on NOT assigning specific roles to bulpen pitchers. I like his forward thinking....I hope the day comes when managers insert their closer earlier during a game like when for example, a 7th inning threat needs to be extinguished. Then, a Turnbow can come in and start the eighth....I guess, we would need two or three guys to come in and inherit runners...I like Riske in this role and I hope Yost shuffles them in and out of pressure situations depending on what kind of hitter is up.....
I'm still looking for one of those delicious Mancino's sandwiches...
Is a Macino sandwich a grinder sandwich? Would a banana and peanut butter sandwich count?
Roughly 40 cents and provider of enough energy to take an extra base and plow over a catcher..
Gabe Kapler
Who the fuck cares about McDonald? Eckstein is a little turd out there. Put Marco "The Rabbit" Scutaro out there. He mashes. JP Ricciardi will figure it out. The Rabbit is way too good to be on the bench. Remember when he hit that bomb off Mariano Rivera during last year's opening day? Proof in the pudding. Best clutch player after Ortiz.
I missed out on the Scutaro thing....but will check him out now that you put him in the same clutch league as Ortiz.
Man I miss Sparky Anderson's annual opening week crystal ball comments like ..."Chris Shelton...Amazing..He'll be a hall of famer."
Dave - Marcus Scutaro....really?
I know wikipedia is a wealth of only correct knowledge so I'm quoting the Scutaro page: "Since the 2004 season, the only player with more game-ending hits than Scutaro is Ortiz." Impressive stats, didn't spend the time to check if they are correct but I'm okay with that. If someone made it up, alright.
TYI, does BP have a nice little chart on game ending hits? Does the fact that Scutaro is average at best but gets hits in the cluth, does that mean that clutch isn't a myth?
Letter and name ways Scutaro is topps over Eckstein and Macdonald...and when you consider the lonely and angry Japanese married man who flees spousal demands to cheer on his Heinshuu Dragons as a member of the collective cheering section that travels on road games, what the Sarnia, Ontario heckish am I talking about.....too much whiskey and beer and Jason Bergman.....I got high hopes for Bergman...When they asked him what he expected from 2008....He said real quickly...12-9 with a 3.89 ERA or something like that..
Scutaro has a Wikipedia page?
Impressive.
Eckstein is just a terrible baseball player.
1. He has very little fielding range.
2. Horrible arm strength (I love when he throws the ball, he kind of shot puts it. hilarious)
3. he's an okay hitter with no power and not much speed.
4. he is 5'6" 1/2 (doesn't really have anything to do with anything but pretty funny how short that is. how tall do you have to be to ride a rollercoaster?)
5. His career OBP is .351 which could be worse.
He's the least likable person ever. i can't believe that asshole makes 4.5 mil this year.
kerry wood just blew a save. that asshole. ruining my fantasy week.
and marco scutaro has a better name and is "clutch" even though that term doesn't really mean anything.
Good question about roller coaster height requirements....but Eckstein strikes me as more of a lollipop and cotton candy kind of guy than a demon spinner roller coaster dude.....
Nobody will be wearing Eckstein costumes for Halloween...Such a shame to not like the milk drinking boy Mrs. Cleaver raised.
Post a Comment