The List 39-21

We're getting to the money end of The List now and we're getting into the realms of the best glove men and guys who are at that tell tale part of their career where they establish where they stand in the game...oh and Sean Casey.

39 Victor Martinez, C, Cleveland Indians
Catchers who have the ability to bat in the heart of the order are always intriguing creatures worthy of note and Victor Martinez isn’t far from taking over Mike Piazza’s role as the poster boy for offensive minded catchers (Martinez is probably better defensively but admittedly not great). What’s more intriguing is how he manages to get all that hair into his batting helmet?

38 Sean Casey, 1B, Cincinnati Reds
Much like Mark Grace before him, Sean Casey is forever being told he doesn’t hit for enough power for an every day first baseman but still manages to drive in runs by hitting for average but that’s neither here nor there. The reason Sean Casey is on this list is because he is one of the great characters in baseball. You really won’t hear anyone say a bad thing about ‘The Mayor’ who will talk to all and sundry about all sorts and many wouldn’t be surprised if he ran for public office after he retires (hence the nickname).

There are so many great stories about Casey. Apparently, when he ran for 8th grade school president he planned to hand out a bag of Tootsie Rolls as part of his campaign but they never made it as he scoffed the lot…of course he still won. In fact he’s always had to face doubters and he always rises above them and never quits or loses his enthusiasm.

But perhaps the one play that sums up why Sean Casey is so special was when his manager wanted him to play back and instead Casey decided to hold on Mark McGwire just so he could talk to him.

37 Scott Kazmir, P, Tampa Bay Devil Rays
You often hear people using the word ‘potential’ a lot with young players but the real potential Scott Kazmir has is to make Victor Zambrano infamous as the wrong half of one of the most lopsided trades in history. It still baffles me why the Mets would let go of this guy as any GM will tell you how rare hard throwing lefties are and this guy already has two plus pitches and after a promising rookie campaign that saw him get stronger down the stretch and with all the offensive talent coming through the D-Rays farm system you have to wonder how long it will be till he’s the Frank Robinson to Zambrano’s Milt Papas?

36 Michael Young, SS, Texas Rangers
On the most vaunted infield in baseball Michael Young is the key component both offensively and defensively. He covers the ground to make Hank Blalock’s lack of range a non-factor and gets on base to make Mark Teixeira more dangerous. Everything starts for the Rangers with Michael Young. He is a sparkplug extraordinaire.

35 Marcus Sanders, 2B, San Francisco Giants
This guy is green from the vine and has barely seen anything of pro-baseball but he already excites me more than almost anyone else outside the Majors. Whenever you hear about him the first thing that comes up is speed and the second thing they’ll mention is speed. This kid is stupid fast. But what interests me more is the way he seems to put up impressive walk totals and his OBP as a result. This is a guy who knows what he has and knows what he has to do to make it a factor and then they say he might even develop enough power to keep pitchers honest and that’s when people start comparing him to Rickey (Henderson). He’s got a long way to go and to think he might emulate the best leadoff man of all time might be a stretch but I can’t wait to see how close he gets.

34 Zach Duke, P, Pittsburgh Pirates
Its hard to argue with what Zach Duke did in his abridged rookie campaign. Wonderfully poised and with that wicked hook he won’t get rattled when the inevitable drop off comes (come on, how do you maintain that level?) and he will need that mental fortitude when he hits next season and the scouts have picked him apart. If he can prove he has the endurance to last a full year and that he has the ability to adjust and adapt then there is no telling how far his career can go.

33 Mariano Rivera, P, New York Yankees
Mo Rivera is slowly making me consider placing him ahead of Denis Eckersley in the all time closer stakes. The thing that makes him special is when you get to the really big games and it doesn’t matter if he had an off night the day before or if the stadium is on fire around him, he will go to that mound and pound that strike zone with that cutter and get you those three outs to secure the game. A phenomenal talent.

32 Eric Gagne, P, Los Angeles Dodgers
What puts Gagne ahead of Rivera on this countdown is the pomp and circumstance that surrounds him. Rivera is just meat and potatoes in his approach but Gagne is a regular smorgasbord once the skipper points his finger to the Dodger pen to bring him in. The music blares and across the field ambles the slightly rounded bespectacled figure of Eric Gagne and once the music dies down he’ll whistle a high-90’s fastball by you and then pull the chain with his stupidly slow big hook and in between the two is a whole arsenal of nastiness. Even Los Angeles fans stick around to see him pitch and that says a lot about him.

31 Luis Castillo, 2B, Minnesota Twins
Age might be sapping him of his speed but Castillo is still a tremendous guy to have near the top of the order. A great bunter and almost impossible to strikeout he helps make things happen, especially if he’s batting behind a good lead-off guy. Add that to his ability in the field where he turns the double play as well as anyone and you have a player who’s fundamentals are a good lesson for all would be players.

30 Tim Hudson, P, Atlanta Braves
Tim Hudson is one of those guys who you can’t tell if that’s facial hair or some kind of ink stain he’s marked on his chin (it might just be me who thinks this way). Anyway, he is an outstanding pitcher and his splitter is as good a pitch as anyone has in baseball.

29 Scott Podsednik, LF, Chicago White Sox
You don’t get too many Scott Podsednik’s these days. He really is a throwback to the 80’s when guys like Rickey (Henderson) and Vince Coleman would get on base and then they would run. No situational stuff. No examining the pitcher or waiting for the right pitch to go on. They would get on and they were going to steal a bag and if you want to stop them then you’re welcome to try. Scott Podsednik is like that and its great to see a true base stealer just strike fear into the hearts of a pitcher and his infield. We like Scott Podsednik a lot and he should have been the AL MVP last year.

28 Pedro Martinez, P, New York Mets
People call him flaky or lethargic and apathetic but those people are just deluded enough to think that a modern day pitcher can keep his career ERA under 2.00 for a career which is what Pedro seemed to be aiming at earlier on in his career. Even though he’s lost velocity on his fastball he still has one of the top two change-ups in the game (Hoffman still has a great one but which is better is any ones guess) and is the sort of guy who can shut out any team at any time and gives his team a chance to win every time he takes the mound and all the time he’s having a great time. Pedro is an icon of his era.

27 Rich Harden, P, Oakland A’s
I’ll watch Harden pitch and I’ll think to myself, “Damn this kid is good.” Then I’ll not see much of him or hear much about what’s happening on the west coast for a while and then he’ll show up again and I’ll think to myself, “Damn this kid is really good.” Because he is a tremendous pitcher with as good a fastball as there is at the moment and he just pours it on. The freaky thing is he is still very young and next time I see him I might think he’s really, really good!

26 Ryan Howard, 1B, Philadelphia Phillies
Ryan Howard takes some almighty hacks when he’s at the plate. Just a vicious hitter and I’m waiting for him to emulate The Natural by hitting the ball so hard the cover comes off and there’s nothing but twine left.

25 Andruw Jones, CF, Atlanta Braves
I think most of us get our kicks watching Jones play the outfield just because we all think he’ll drop one of those basket catches one day. Really Andruw is the only guy who can get to the outfield gaps and then snag a line-drive bullet with a basket catch and still find time during that play to read the paper, eat a sandwich and balance out his tax form. An unbelievable fielder and an all or nothing type hitter.

24 Francisco Rodriguez, P, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Do closers these days need to wear glasses as part of the uniform these days or what? K-Rod might have the most electric stuff in the league. His fastball explodes out of his hand and his breaking stuff is hard and cuts at right angles late and leaves hitters swinging at vapours. He still has some maturing to do and its frightening to think what he might do once he hit’s the height of his powers.

23 Bengie Molina, C, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Traditionally you always have your best fielders up the middle as they are the most difficult to play and every now and then you get guys who play those positions so well as to make it almost balletic in the way they effortless move about the field in that position and make plays look simple and effortless. Bengie Molina has such easy catch and throw mechanics that you have to think pitchers are queuing around the block to pitch to him. Add to that the nimbleness of a cat whilst wearing all that armour and you have a truly mesmerising talent.

22 Felix Hernandez, P, Seattle Mariners
Next year Felix Hernandez will be 20 years old and be one of the better pitchers around. By 2010 he will be the best. He has a mid to high 90’s fastball and a truly vicious slider that gets well into the high 80’s and when you consider his age and that most pitchers don’t fill out till they hit their mid 20’s, he might even start throwing a bit harder. What’s more is he also has a very good curve and change and knows how to use all his pitches and knows the importance of keeping the ball down.

It truly is unfair how much potential this kid has. Even if he doesn’t improve on what he’s got know the Mariners have got themselves an ace.

21 David Ortiz, DH, Boston Red Sox
Forget the MVP credentials, the power numbers and the big clutch hits, this guy is one of baseballs true characters and his moniker of Big Papi really suits him. He’s been described as a big teddy bear of a man and its just wonderful to see players truly enjoying themselves at the ballpark and few seem to have more fun or illicit more smiles than Big Papi. He is a treasure.