2009: The Outfield

So I wanted to write a piece just on Colby Rasmus, but I think everybody has mixed feelings about him being on the Opening Day roster and where he should be at this point of Spring Training. My main focus right now is on our outfield, but I will get to that in a bit. I believe that he (Rasmus) is really pressing and that "heart-to-heart" that TLR had with him might do the trick to let him break out of his shell and to just relax. I hear nothing but great things about this kid so I hope that he has a breakout year with us in 2009. A little while back Keith Law compared him to Grady Sizemore with better defense and more if not the same amount of power.The speed, defense and power are there, but I am left to wonder what his ceiling is at the major league level? I have never seen him play, but I am not sure if bringing him up right now is the best decision. His teammate, or competition for lack of a better word, Chris Duncan seems like he is really turning things around. It seems like his power is back with 2 home runs thus far in Spring Training with a two run dinger today against the Tigers. I hope Duncan turns things around because he was such a force (offensively) ever since his rookie year. As for his defense, well, a work in progress I guess you could say. Do you remember him in the second half of the regular season in 2006? And in the playoffs? An absolute masher with no fear. I think that if Rasmus doesnt get the call this time around its due to Tree Trunk Dunc's improved play. But the thing is they are both playing very well.

Chris Duncan is a proven player at the Major League Level and even though he is Dave's son, I doubt nepotism is playing a big role in regards to him being on the Opening Day roster despite his injury riddled 2008 season. On one hand, I want Rasmus to be on the Opening Day roster and I want to see him hit that first bomb deep into the rightfield bleachers and get the first of many curtain calls of his career while wearing the birds on the bat. But on the other I also want Duncan to be on there too because we know what he can do. Does Duncan have to prove himself to us in order to obtain our acceptance, again? Would having both of them be a bit much?

I think that I am very excited just about our overall team this year, except the second base predicament (see the previous post). I havent felt like this since the 2005 season. We have one of if not the best outfields in all of baseball. Look at who we have out there, well potentially have out there. In left we potentially have a tandom of Rasmus and Duncan. We know Duncan is good for 25+ hr's and has the potential to be a run producing machine, if he stays healthy and thats a BIG IF, I know. Rasmus, well we don't know yet, so that is a wait and see situation. Then in center we got Ankiel who we all know is good for another 25+ hr's. Lastly in right field we have Ryan Ludwick who hit 37 bombs last year. A lot of people out there are very skeptical about Ludwick due to his history of injuries, but I believe that he will have another monster year since his coming out party a year and a half ago. Then, we have Joe "Joey Bombs" Mather in right or left, if/when he is not playing third base. You could also throw in Skip Schumaker if the let's-convert-him-to-second-base project doesnt work. I would like us to look into making some trades due to our surplus of outfielders, but the question is: Who? We dont know what a full season of Mather is capable of and we need him to man the third base position while Glaus is gone. Personally, I would not trade Mather. The player most likely to be traded is Ankiel which I dont like, but I know we have to look into trading him at the July trade deadline, rather than letting him hit the open market after this year. (Side Note: On mlbtraderumors.com, Tim Dierkes said that Ankiel is second behind Roy Halladay for the most intriguing trade deadline name). No way we will trade Ludwick or Rasmus. So there are two possible trade candidates with the other one being Schumaker, but what about second base? As of right now, everybody is saying he is our Opening Day second baseman. So what do we do? We will have to wait and see as the season continues I guess. There could be injuries and/or there could be disappointment which could lead to the departure of one and the entering of another, but either way, we are in a good position.