The Outfielders

Good evening, from the kitchen table of our house in Douglasville, aka DVille, aka DVegas, aka DMoney. Before I get into my baseball rankings, I would like to touch on one last thing before the NCAA Tournament begins tomorrow afternoon. The tournament does not need to expand by any amount. There are already enough average teams in there that would not win the title anyways, so we do not need any more average teams in the tournament. If we do that it will turn into the NCAA Football bowl system where teams are rewarded for going 6-6. Not every team in the country needs to play in the postseason. I think we are too worried about pleasing as many people as possible, instead of doing the right thing, the tough thing. I like the system Jay Bilas has proposed about doing away with all the automatic bids and just selecting the best 64 teams, but I still like the smaller conference tournaments. The bigger ones have lost some of their luster I think. Just my two cents on that. Now onto baseball. Tonight I will go through the rankings of the outfielders, RF, CF, LF. Parentheses equals age on April 1, 2009.

Right Field
1. Vladimir Guerrero (34)- Los Angeles Angels
2. Magglio Ordonez (35)- Detroit Tigers
3. Ichiro Suzuki (35)- Seattle Mariners
4. Nick Markakis (25)- Baltimore Orioles
5. Brad Hawpe (30)- Colorado Rockies
6. Jermaine Dye (35)- Chicago White Sox
7. Milton Bradley (30)- Chicago Cubs
8. Alex Rios (28)- Toronto Blue Jays
9. Corey Hart (27)- Milwaukee Brewers
10. Hunter Pence (25)- Houston Astros

One thing that has jumped out at me is there are a lot of old geezers at this position. Some of that has to do with that these players are just that good, another thing it tells me is that there are a lot of younger players who have not established themselves as consistent threats. A few names to look out for our Jeff Francouer, Jay Bruce, and Justin Upton. Guerrero has consistently been at the top of his position for most of the decade, while his numbers have slipped recently, he is still a threat. All of the years he spent on the Olympic Stadium turf have really beat up his legs, which has hurt his speed and has led to a lot of times at DH and on the disabled list. Magglio Ordonez has really stepped it up the last couple of seasons for the Tigers. Ichiro is one of the most dynamic players in the game, their is nothing he cannot do on the baseball field. He has the best arm in the game, great range, great base runner, if the two other guys had not put up great numbers the last 2 years he would be number 1. Markakis is one of the few young guys on this list. A really solid player for the Orioles. Him, Hawpe and Dye are in that second tier of RF after the big 3, and ahead of the rest because of their consistency and ability to stay healthy. Bradley is a really good player but he cannot seem to stay on the field. The top 10 is rounded out with some youth. Hart and Pence are both young, fast, dynamic players, who are exciting to watch.

Center Field
1. Carlos Beltran (31)- New York Mets
2. Josh Hamilton (27)- Texas Rangers
3. Grady Sizemore (26)- Cleveland Indians
4. Torii Hunter (33)- Los Angeles Angels
5. Curtis Granderson (28)- Detroit Tigers
6. B.J. Upton (24)- Tampa Bay Rays
7. Shane Victorino (28)- Philadelphia Phillies
8. Vernon Wells (30)- Toronto Blue Jays
9. Nate McLouth (27)- Pittsburgh Pirates
10. Matt Kemp (24)- Los Angeles Dodgers

This position does have some youth and I like it a little bit more than RF. Multiple Gold Glovers on here, a lot of speed and dynamic players as well, headed by switch hitter Carlos Beltran. Consistent power threat and stolen base threat, he helps the Mets offense churn in the heart of their lineup. Josh Hamilton, he is "The Natural, Roy Hobbs" reincarnated. His display at the All-Star Game HR Derby was something to behold. I can only hope he stays healthy and away from the things that have haunted him in the past. He could become the best player in the game today. Sizemore is a helluva athlete and the catalyst for the Indians. A 30-30 guy last season (HR and SB), who also happened to win a Gold Glove, great young player. The next few guys are just a little below the top few, not quite the consistency and explosiveness as the top 3, but still really good players. Hunter, Granderson, Upton, Victorino can all go get it and can all play great defense in center. Upton has the potential to rise if he can regain some of the power he lost last season. McLouth is an outstanding defensive player with good power. Kemp has a lot of potential to great things. I love watching these guys play.

Left Field
1. Manny Ramirez (36)- Los Angeles Dodgers
2. Matt Holliday (29)- Oakland Athletics
3. Ryan Braun (25)- Milwaukee Brewers
4. Alfonso Soriano (33)- Chicago Cubs
5. Carlos Lee (32)- Houston Astros
6. Jason Bay (30)- Boston Red Sox
7. Bob Abreau (35)- Los Angeles Angels
8. Carlos Quentin (26)- Chicago White Sox
9. Raul Ibanez (36)- Philadelphia Phillies
10. Carl Crawford (27)- Tampa Bay Rays

This position is pretty solid, a variety of players on this list, from the pure sluggers to the speedsters to the guys who can do a little of both. Manny despite all of his shenanigans is one of the best hitters to walk the planet Earth. .314 career average, 527 HR, 1725 RBI (12 out of last 14 last seasons over 100 RBI). Holliday and Braun are tremendous offensive players, really exciting to watch. Soriano is one of my least favorite players, what a showboat and "me" guy, but he can hit and he can run. The rest of the guys on the list are really solid offensive players, some players are know for their offense, guys like Crawford known for their speed and defensive ability. Abreau and Lee are really consistent .300-100 RBI guys. Overall solid position.

Hope you enjoyed these latest rankings. Next time you hear from me I will be in the mountains of North Carolina. TTFN. Ta ta for now.

Mb