Nother’ Red Sox fan here. Julio Lugo has been a disappointment. But I actually like Wily Mo. Sure not as an everyday player in the Sox lineup, but he helps to make a great backup. With Hinske, Cora, and Pena I think we have one of the best double header teams in baseball.
I just wanted to bring up the frothing love-hate relationship with Manny Ramirez and the WEEIish fans of Boston. A lot of people love to bitch about his perceived unenthusiasm, but love it when he comes to the plate at a game-on-the-line time.
Catcher Kenji Johjima has been my favorite this year. He’s been batting over .300 most of the season, and has been nice and consistent all around. I also like Willie Bloomquist, just because I’m a fan of utility guys like him who can play just about every position on the field. And he has good speed. I prefer the runners over the sluggers anyway.
Least favorite? Gotta go with Richie Sexson. Not pulling his weight (or his height) this year.
Rabid Cubs fan here and I must say that overall I really like the team they put on the field now. This has very rarely been the case, and it’s even more surprising considering how they’ve underachieved this year.
My current favorite vacillates between Derrick Lee and Aramis Ramirez. Lee gets more of the love since he’s such a damn complete player and class act. But Aramis sort of has a flair for the dramatic and he’s kind of been my pet favorite since back in the Sosa days.
My least favorite is probably Jacques Jones because he’s been such a underwhelming addition for the last couple seasons. He hasn’t done anything to deserve to be disliked and he seems like a nice enough guy who is respected in the clubhouse, but it’d be nice if just once he got a clutch hit.
Considering the previous years where I had guys like Sosa, Hundley, Alou, Borowski, Alfonseca, Farnsworth, Pierre, Patterson and the immortal Neffi Perez to hate, this teams a real refresher.
I’m a Royals fan. Don’t laugh, we’ve come a long way since last year. That said, we still suck.
Least favorite player: Jason Larue. I’ve really got nothing against him personally, but he was signed as a backup catcher and Buddy Bell has been platooning him with the vastly superior John Buck, depriving the latter (who leads the team in HR) of playing time. I cringe every time I see him in the lineup.
Honorable mention to 2003 AL Rookie of the Year and 2004-Present Shitsack Angel Berroa. Mercifully, he’s spent most of the year in AAA Omaha. I have his jersey hanging in my closet. It mocks me.
Favorite: Teahen gets the nod, but Gordon, Butler, and Buck are all likeable guys. Teahen was a solid 3B who got bumped to RF for an unproven rookie, but despite some bizarre lineup decisions (starting at 1B? Really? With Huber and Brazell waiting for a shot in Omaha?) he’s a gamer who plays hard every day.
Current Favorite: It’s hard to go against Jose Reyes: he’s a great talent and has so much joy for the game that he’s a pleasure to watch.
Current Least favorite: Hard to pick someone. Julio Franco probably should be released, but he is an interesting person. Scott Schoenweiss has been ineffective, but he is playing injured. But I guess I’ll go with Adam Sele, who’s taking up a bullpen spot for no particular reason.
All-Time Favorite: Tom Seaver. The Franchise.
All-Time Least Favorite: Dave Kingman. Stupidest man to play MLB; if he ever realized that you were allowed to hit to right field, he’d be in the hall of fame. Lousy hitter when he wasn’t hitting homers (he had the lowest batting average of any HR champ – .204, with a .285 OBP). And, to top it off, he was an asshole off the field.
Favorite: I’d say Gil Meche. The guy has very much lived up to the contract bestowed upon him. A month ago, I might have said John Buck, but he’s slumped recently. Alex Gordon has been good lately as well, but he doesn’t come through in the clutch.
Least favorite: Can I say Buddy Bell? No, it needs to be a player? OK, then - I’ll second the choice of Jason LaRue. Octavio Dotel is probably up there for three recent relief failures, but he’s off the hook for me after winning tonight…lucky for him I saw this thread only after tonight’s game.
Favorite: Scott Rolen. Not having a great offense year, but a stud on D and if a had a child Rolen would be the one I’d want him to emulate.
Least favorite:Jim Edmonds. I don’t know him personally, but he has always come off as a douche-bag. And while he has a flair for the dramatic I think most of his dives could have been avoided if he just made a better run at the ball.
For favorite, I’ll have to go with Grady Sizemore too. I don’t care what the ladies think, but Grady plays the game the right way. He legs out every ground ball or pop up, and he sacrifices his body out there in centerfield to make the catch.
For least favorite, I’d have to go with Trot Nixon. I’m sure he’s a great guy, but he is not producing this year at all. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him DFA’d in the next few weeks.
Favorite player – Mark Kotsay. Not spectacular, but does everything right. It’s a rare day when he doesn’t deliver a good at bat, get the runner over, etc., and he’s a good guy to have up there if you need a clutch hit with two outs and a runner in scoring position. Plus he’s money in the field–great jump on every ball, makes all the plays he needs to, throws guys out on the bases. A team of nine Kotsays would add up to way more than the sum of its parts.
Honorable mention to Dan Haren, who has grown tremendously as a pitcher in only a couple of seasons, to where he’s now a legitimate number one starter. And, when you hear him interviewed, you can tell his head’s on straight, very down to earth, solid all the way.
Least favorite player – Eric Chavez. Where to begin? First, all due credit, he’s been a terrific defensive player for several seasons now. However, one of the reasons that guys like Giambi and Tejada were allowed to walk as free agents was that, according to the club, Chavez would be “the guy”; he was the one with the monster potential, the player who’d blossom into one of the premier offensive players in the league, etc. Not only hasn’t he reached those heights, but as a hitter, he’s never gotten any better. In fact, he’s probably a worse hitter now than he was in his, say for example, third season in the bigs. He’s still Eric “FPPU” Chavez (First Pitch Pop Up). He makes no adjustments, just hacks at whatever the pitcher throws up there. And the word is he doesn’t really work at his offense, doesn’t take much hitting instruction, despite the fact he obviously needs it. This is the franchise cornerstone? Hardly. I’d take a few less Gold Gloves for a guy who will put up decent numbers, make the simple plays, and show some upside.
Giants fan. Sigh…it’s all too depressing. I rooted for Mays, Marichal & McCovey – I find it hard to get excited about the past few years revolving door of retreads, has-beens & never-wases.
But favorite: probably Matt Cain, out of pity. With any run support he’d be an All-Star.
Least favorite: was Armando Benitez, but now he’s somebody else’s problem. But then, there’s always Barry.
(I don’t fault the steroid use. Barry’s just the poster boy for a problem that was pervasive throughout baseball and that no one wanted to address. But on top of that – the guy is just a complete dick.)
Favorite: Jason Varitek. He’s the captain for a reason: attitude, leadership, looks absolutely awesome in his uniform. The way he calls pitches and manages the pitchers during the game–I’m thankful he’s our catcher! So professional and competent no matter the circumstance; not a slouch at the plate, either. (I will not go into the wonders that are his thighs in order to keep this strictly baseball-related.)
Runners up: Youkilis, Okajima, Papelbon.
Least favorite: Believe it or not, David Ortiz. I’ve just never gotten on the Big Papi love train. I think he’s overrated, strikes out or grounds out to the deep right infield most of his at-bats, looks shitty in his uniform with those pants down under his heels, can barely play the field during interleague play. Yeah, he’s hit some walk-off homers that bring me to my feet, but I can’t summon much optimism when he comes up (especially lately).
Bernie Williams was my favorite everyday player before this year. Now I have to go with Jeter, I love his competitiveness and leadership skills. Also Mariano Rivera.
Least favorite? Giambi. Fat steroid-addled load doesn’t hit for average, isn’t great in the clutch, is a defensive liability and is a human roadblock on the basepaths. He’s a disgrace to his uniform and MLB and if he never plays again I would be perfectly happy. Pavano does give him a run for his money though.
Favorite all time Yankee? Too many to mention, but probably Lou Gherig and Thurman Munson.
Least favorite, all time? Ed Whitson? Doyle Alexander?
Up till a month ago it was Jeff Weaver, 15 ERA and couldn’t throw a ball threw a wet paper bag. He’s been pitching great since he came off the DL though.