FanNation - The Republic of Sport

Nickb23- It's a Girl! said 06/08, 11:55 AM
I have to go with Mark Prior, the gu..... wait, sorry I jumped in the wayback machine for a minute.

My choice is Mark Teixera... we are talking about a switch hitting, gold glove, power hitting all-star first baseman. Outside of his rookie year, in which he got called up in May, he has never hit less than 30 home runs and drove in less than 100 runs. After he got accustomed to the switch from 3rd to 1st, he has never had more than 5 errors.

He is only 28 and he offers outstanding defense. This is a guy you can plug into the 4 hole and he is gonna help you in both aspects of the game. The talent is for real and the risk is low, if any.

Nickb23- It's a Girl! said 06/08, 11:06 PM
So a 28 year old is past his prime. Well I am not a GM, but I have to say that you might be wrong. He is not past his prime, he had a few minor injuries and still battled to have very good seasons.

You bring up a player I was going to....Eric Gagne. He had 152 saves and only 6 blown in a three year span. He was 26 when that started. He was a very similar pitcher to K-Rod filthy stuff, high srikeout, major heater. Not saying he will turn out like Gagne but closer is a position that can be filled much easier than 1st base and also one you don't want massive money tied into.

The worst contracts in baseball generally turn out to be given to pitchers. Why? Because all it takes is one injury to basically change every thing they do well.

The fact is Teixera is still a gold glove first baseman. He is still a 30 homer guy. He is still on pace for yet another 100 RBI season. He can play every night. If he gets hurt, he has shown he is a quick healer who will come back and still produce.

K-Rod is great but do you really want to dump a butload of money into a closer, that could throw out his arm at any minute or a 1st baseman, who can hit in the 4 hole and play great D.

Nickb23- It's a Girl! said 06/09, 04:10 PM
Your first statement did not help your arguement but I will assume you meant it the other way around. Are you really gonna tell me that cleanup hitters that play gold glove defense are easy to find. NO! But more and more colleges are using guys in the closer role exclusively. Teams are taking advantage of that option. It did not take long for Huston Street and Chad Cordero to jump right into that role, don't think more teams wont being going that cheaper route for closer.

You need more examples....I have one that fits this criteria.....BJ Ryan, great pitcher got a FAT contract, had a great year and then missed last season. The fact is pitching is a huge risk, do you really want to pay a guy, a huge salary and if your team can keep things close, he then becomes a big factor, but only then. Then he gets hurt and your screwed.

I am sorry but I am not buying that teams will think Teixera is even close to done. He is gonna be the hottest guy on the market. He is a notorious slow starter, yet is on pace for 116 RBI's this year. I am sorry but a gold glover with great ability to drive in runs from the middle of your lineup does not come on the open market every year.