caulfield12

QUOTE (raBBit @ May 15, 2014 -> 09:06 PM) Way too early to be speculating on catchers for next year. Well, then it's way too early to be giving up on Johnson, Semien and Davidson...but that's doesn't mean it won't be speculated about. What have you done for me lately? The fact is, Smith is the best "advanced" catcher in our system after Phegley, and is likely to get a shot next year in the spring, depending on what progress Phegley makes defensively and how Nieto looks offensively. They'll probably want to give Nieto a full year as the starter at Birmingham. Sure, a million things could happen between now and then. Micah Johnson could be in LF or CF. Nobody really knows.

822 OPS for Kevan Smith the last 10 games....around 750 for the season. Will turn 26 in the middle of the year. Has an outside chance to push Phegley for the back-up catcher's spot next season.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ May 15, 2014 -> 08:34 PM) Better than Pacific Rim? If you try to watch Pacific Rim at home, it just doesn't do it justice. That's one of those movies, unless you watch in IMAX/3-D with surround-sound, isn't going to be nearly as enjoyable. With Godzilla, it would be a shocker if China outgrosses the US, because Godzilla's coming out here in the middle of June, and quite a few will have already seen it online...that said, if it's really good, Chinese really love to go see 3-D movies at the theatre. Titanic remake-3D conversion also did better box office here than in the States.

QUOTE (qwerty @ May 13, 2014 -> 11:04 PM) About twelve in the last five days. Too many too mention. Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak from 1988 was one of them... which is their take on Romeo and Juliet. As far as I am concerned it is the best take on Romeo and Juliet I have ever seen. His raw emotions for his "Juliet'' is beyond compare. To say he loved her would be a disgrace to the meaning of the word. The ending? Superbly shot... gut wrenching. Heh. Also, I am sure you being a teacher you love the film ''Like Stars On Earth''? If you did not know, it was a rather personal film to him, and it was his directorial debut. His new film, which he has co-written, Peekay (2014) sounds rather intriguing to me. I'll have to check that out. Where did you even find that old one, from online/streaming or you bought it? Have seen Like Stars on Earth and have shared it with a lot of my classes over the last 2-3 years, especially my lower-level ESL classes that needed some encouragement or hope when things were a bit of a slog. Really a great movie.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/splits/_/id/.../gordon-beckham If Beckham keeps up his 870 OPS from May for the rest of the season, I would be more than happy to give him a 3 year extension. But how likely are those 50+ at-bats to hold up? How many times have we seen this before? Well, he's going to get the benefit of the doubt one way or the other because Semien hasn't come up and taken his position away. And Johnson shouldn't even be a thought until September call-ups, if then.

http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/75214...aseball-america

QUOTE (BigHurt3515 @ May 15, 2014 -> 08:14 PM) Did anyone expect Sanchez to have any pop? That was not and will not ever be his game. He doesn't need to hit home runs to be good for this team. I truly think Davidson thinks he should be in the bigs and it has been messing with his head. I am sure it will get better.. Nobody expected anything from Mitchell this year at all.. Read the post made on futuresox about Beck, a lot of people think he is working on things that is why he doesn't strike a lot out.. Anderson is still figuring things out, he hasn't been horrible, same with Barnum and Hawkins. Barnum and May have been pretty bad....but Anderson hasn't (he's made a lot of errors, but that always happens in A ball) and now it's harder to give a true evaluation of him coming off an injury. We're not going to give up on Davidson after 1 1/2 months, that's crazy. A big part of it probably is psychological with him...whether he had a right to assume he would be on the big league roster based on last year's success (Futures Game, 20 homers combining minors and DBacks) is another question altogether. Hitting with the #3 draft pick will go a long ways. Even though it's obvious, bringing in a possible AL MVP, Eaton and Avisail Garcia in one offseason is huge. Not to mention that Viciedo and Flowers are still "youngish" and might play an important role in the team's future, not to mention Gillaspie. Maybe some of the disappointment also is due to Semien's K ratio, but he was really pushed past AAA and needed more seasoning. At this point, whether his future rests at utility, 2B, SS...is far from determined.

QUOTE (VAfan @ May 15, 2014 -> 07:33 PM) Who hired the new hitting coach? If it's Hahn, that has to be added to the list as a HUGE positive. However, I agree with the person who didn't like the Ventura extension. Living in Virginia, I don't get to see that many games. But in the games I've seen, as often as not I felt Ventura really blew the game management to the point of helping LOSE the game. What's amazing to me is the Hahn has put in place the position players who could compete, with the major need now the revamping of the pitching staff. Since the Sox have tended to be better at developing pitchers than position players, this is an excellent approach. C - Tyler Flowers new hitting success makes him a viable option at catcher. 1B - covered with Abreu for 6 years of his prime. 2B - a possibly rejuvenated Gordon Beckham, and several options nearly ready behind him SS - still have Ramirez, who is experiencing an offensive resurgence. One of the best SS in the game 3B - Conor Gillaspie adds a necessary LH bat, and we have a power hitting righty who is nearly ML ready LF - Dayan Viciedo may have started to figure it out offensively. CF - Eaton, IF he can stay healthy, is a fantastic sparkplug leadoff guy RF - Avisail Garcia is still very young, but has potential to round out a solid outfield DH - Adam Dunn is not as bad as most of us make him out to be. We need a lefty power bat here if Dunn is gone next year. Hahn's additions are: Abreu, Eaton, Avi, Gillaspie, and some depth. The hitting coach gets some credit for the improvement of: Ramirez, Viciedo, Flowers, Beckham, and possibly Dunn. For that, we gave up Peavy, Rios, Santiago, Reed. Konerko came back for a fraction of his prior deal. I guess we can give the Paulino acquisition a thumbs-down, but that was a lot less money wasted than on Downs. Next, Matt Davidson needs to step it up in the next two months though, or the doubters are going to become louder. That said, it's not like Addison Reed on this current team would have meant more than 1 or 2 games. Certainly not enough to keep us at the same pace as the Tigers, who look to run away with the division unless the Royals can somehow get on an extended hot streak. Finally, Rios/L.Garcia, while wise at the time...it's hard to look at that as anything more than a salary dump. It's not like Garcia was ever projected to be a sure-fire starting major league middle infielder due to concerns about his hit tool.

Hall makes a lot of us look like underachievers, haha. Pretty amazing life for only 44 or 45 years old. Ohio University has one of the best, if not the best, sports administration program/s in the country (I went to Georgia Southern for their MS Sport Management program at approximately the same time...one of my best friends from that program is now head of scouting for the Atlanta Hawks after starting as an intern with the Magic and working for nearly a decade with George Karl in Seattle and Milwaukee as well). And it just goes to show that you can start off working for a minor league team (Vero Beach Dodgers) and move up the ranks from there. One of the advantages of Vero Beach (besides living in Florida) is that at the time it was owned by the Dodgers, so he obviously took advantage of the opportunities starting out as an intern to move upwards and jump from the minors to the major league front office. Hall currently serves on 25 boards, including the Arizona Mexico Commission, Great Hearts Academies, Arizona Chamber of Commerce, Greater Phoenix Convention & Visitors Bureau, National Vice President of the Muscular Dystrophy Association, National Advisory Council for Pancreatic Cancer, Stand Up 2 Cancer Melanoma Dream Team Sponsor, US Airways Education Foundation, Make-A-Wish Foundation, and Positive Coaching Alliance. Hall, who is the current Chairman of the Board for the Valley of the Sun United Way, raised $47 million throughout the Phoenix area as the non-profit organization's 2009-10 campaign chairman. He has also raised money by serving as an event chairman for the Prostate On-Site Project (POP) Walk, 75th Anniversary March of Dimes, March for Babies Walk, The Wellness Center, several Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) events, Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center (SARRC), St. Vincent de Paul, Florence Crittenton and the Foundation for Blind Children. Hall, who serves on MLB's diversity committee and the Commissioner's on-field diversity task force, gives numerous keynote speeches to various groups or conventions throughout the country about his unique vision on leadership, customer service and culture. He has spoken to U.S. Air Force Academy cadets at the annual National Leadership and Character Symposium. He donates all speaking engagement fees back to the Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation and other local non-profit organizations he supports. A native of Los Angeles, Hall joined the D-backs in May 2005 as Senior Vice President, Communications and served in numerous capacities prior to being named president in September 2006 and adding the title of CEO in January 2009. Prior to joining the D-backs, Hall made a brief stop as Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications for a Fortune 500 company based in Los Angeles, where he increased brand awareness. He spent parts of 12 seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, joining the organization's Single-A Florida State League affiliate in Vero Beach, Fla. as an intern in 1992 and departing as the club's Senior Vice President, Communications in 2004. In between, he served key roles during three ownership changes with the Dodgers and was recognized for reuniting Fernando Valenzuela with the organization after hiring him as a color analyst for the team's Spanish radio broadcasts in 2003. Hall stepped outside of baseball for employment during the 1999 season, as he hosted a three-hour morning talk show on the Dodgers' flagship station (XTRA 1150 AM) and served as host of the "Dodger Game Day" pre-game radio show when the team played at Dodger Stadium. He also had a stint in front of the camera as a weekend sports anchor at KNBC-TV (Ch. 4) in Los Angeles. He received a bachelor's degree from Arizona State University, where he was named "Man of the Year" in 1991, in broadcasting and journalism and a master's degree from Ohio University in sports administration. In 2012, he received an honorary Doctorate degree from the University of Phoenix. He was inducted into the ASU Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications Alumni Hall of Fame in 2002 and was awarded the ASU Young Alumni Achievement Award in 2003. In 2006, Ohio University's Sports Administration Program recognized Hall as the 25th recipient of the Charles R. Higgins Distinguished Alumnus Award. Hall was the keynote speaker for ASU's Cronkite school convocation in December 2008, becoming the first Cronkite alum to deliver a commencement speech at the school's graduation and also spoke at the W.P. Carey School of Business and the University of Phoenix convocations in 2012. His philanthropic efforts led to Hall being named the APS Peacemaker Award at Valle del Sol's Profiles of Success, the Bill Shover Leadership Award from United Blood Services and the prestigious Phoenix Award by the Phoenix Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) in 2013. He was the inaugural recipient of the Goldwater Community Service Award in 2012 by the Active 20-30 Club of Phoenix. In 2007, he was named to the Phoenix Business Journal's "Forty Under 40" class, was the recipient of the "Community Lifeline Award" from Teen Lifeline and was named the Phoenix Father's Day Council "Father of the Year" to benefit the American Diabetes Association. The SportsBusiness Journal added him to its prestigious "Forty Under 40" class in 2008. The Phoenix Business Journal also named Hall to its inaugural list of "Most Admired CEOs" in 2009. Hall is also a member of the ASU W.P. Carey School of Business "Dean's Council of 100," Young Presidents' Organization and the Thunderbirds. He faced his greatest personal challenge when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in September 2011, just as the team was battling for a division title. Hall immediately went public with the diagnosis in order to encourage other men to get tested after age 40. Following successful surgery to remove his prostate, Hall is now cancer free and has become a tireless advocate of cancer-fighting charities while continuing to speak publicly about the health challenge he faces. In 2014, he will launch his own 501©(3) organization, the Derrick Hall Pro-State Foundation, which is dedicated to serving as a comprehensive tool for those who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer and their families to help them understand the challenges and choices they face and how they can maintain a "pro" state of mind. Hall and his wife, Amy, reside in Paradise Valley with their children Logan, Hayden and Kylie.

Scott Downs looks to be at the end of his rope, but that wasn't a major deal...just more of a misallocation of resources. We've taken lots of shots in the dark (Boggs, Guerra, Francisco, Cleto, Putnam) and some of them have actually worked out, others, not so much. At the end of the year, we'll have a much better idea about the wisdom of retaining the services of Beckham and DeAza. Both have been needed (injuries to Eaton/Garcia/Gillaspie/Semien struggling) but let's see where we are at the end of July with them. Salty has played very well, but so has Flowers, unexpectedly. Of course, they'll both regress and McCann will look decent at some point, but it's not like it's a slam dunk that signing Saltalamacchia would have been the move to turn that position around, either. Abreu and the Sale/Quintana deals are undoubtedly the most important ones...although Quintana has looked more like a 3 than a 2 so far this season. That said, his contract is still quite fair for his production, as long as he stays healthy.

QUOTE (flavum @ May 15, 2014 -> 08:29 AM) Rain out possible. http://www.weather.com/weather/hourbyhour/...extbeginIndex=6 Looks like the rain will be bad until between 8 and 9 p.m.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ May 15, 2014 -> 08:00 AM) Brandon Crawford is white (so no relation to Carl or JP), 27, and not that good. And Xander Bogaerts is a way, way better SS prospect and young player in the majors. You make some off the wall posts, but this might be the most off the wall post you've ever made. I should have specified defensively, but how many games have you watched him play this season? Since Iglesias is injured and might never hit over a 675 OPS, you can't argue him either. Crawford is perhaps the most underrated shortstop in all of baseball. His run-producing numbers will never compare to the likes of division rival and fellow Bay Area native Troy Tulowitzki, but he’s a viable big league shortstop who seldom gets the type of attention he deserves, especially on defense. Crawford is arguably the best fielding shortstop in MLB, demonstrating outstanding range and frequently snagging should-be base hits on the infield dirt before pivoting to throw darts toward first base for outs. The 27-year-old shortstop owns a .834 OPS in 29 games of action this season. That figure is 160 points above his final mark in the 2013 season (.674). Crawford’s production at the plate during the second half of 2013 was negatively affected by a hand injury which prevented him from feeling comfortable at the plate. He never made excuses for his struggles, though. At the moment, Crawford owns the fourth-highest OPS among all MLB shortstops. He ranks second in the NL behind just Tulowitzki in that category. After blasting two home runs to aid the Giants in a road sweep of the Atlanta Braves, Crawford now owns a 0.7 WAR to rank among the top 10 shortstops in baseball. Despite being subject to criticism, Crawford is emerging as a high-quality big league shortstop. He will never develop into a prolific power hitter, but his steady development is worth applauding. The Giants would be hard-pressed to replace a player like Crawford who not only helps generate runs at the plate, but also shaves points off the ERA of the pitching staff with his glove. He’s one of the most undervalued players in the game, but will eventually earn the type of recognition he deserves if able to continue wreaking havoc on left-handed pitchers while also recording web gems. http://www.rantsports.com/mlb/2014/05/05/s...ated-shortstop/ http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/batting/_/pos.../OPS/order/true Unless you're going to argue Starlin Castro is better/younger, Peralta/A.Ramirez/Tulowitzki are the only SS's ahead of him OPS-wise. Bogaerts still has a lot to prove offensively at this point. And Crawford's playing half of his games in a pitcher's park, too. He's one of the main reasons they're in first place right now.

Adam Eaton is also expected to play Thursday/Friday and maybe Saturday before rejoining the Sox Sunday against the Astros. The White Sox will update everyone on their next move with Sale after his start. Probably one more rehab start, and then back to the active roster on the 25th. His 2nd start on 4 days' rest would be the 20th, next Tuesday. (Uptown Charlotte, NC) - White Sox LHP Chris Sale, who is 3-0 with a 2.30 ERA in four starts this season for Chicago, is scheduled to make a Major League rehab start for the Charlotte Knights on Thursday, May 15 in Durham, NC. The Knights play the Durham Bulls from Durham Bulls Athletic Park on Thursday with first pitch set for 7:05 p.m. Knights fans interested in following along with the game can tune to ESPN Radio 730 AM and WRHI (1340 AM and 94.3 FM) beginning at 6:50 p.m. for the pre-game show. Fans can also listen to the game online at www.charlotteknights.com as the "Voice of the Charlotte Knights" Matt Swierad will have the call for all of the action. Sale, 25, was placed on the 15-day disabled list by the White Sox back on April 22 (retroactive to April 18) with a flexor muscle strain in his left arm. Thursday's start will be his first rehab appearance of the season as he works his way back to Chicago where he's won 35 games since 2010. In 143 career Major League games, Sale owns a 35-25 record with a 2.93 ERA (63 games started). In 2012, the Florida native compiled a 17-8 record with a 3.05 ERA in 30 games (29 starts). He earned American League Pitcher of the Month honors in May of 2012 after going 4-1 with a 1.71 ERA in six games (five starts). Last season, Sale went 11-14 with a 3.07 ERA in 30 games - all starts for the White Sox. He led the AL in complete games with four and finished sixth in the AL Cy Young Award voting. Originally drafted by the White Sox in the first round of the 2010 draft (13th overall), Sale appeared in seven games for the Knights in 2010 as he made his way through the organization. In 6.1 innings pitched out of the Charlotte bullpen, Sale posted a 0-0 mark with a 2.84 ERA. He struck-out 15 batters over that span. He made his Major League debut on August 6, 2010 at the age of 21 and posted a 2-1 mark with a 1.93 ERA. from charlotteknights.com

QUOTE (Bigsoxhurt35 @ May 14, 2014 -> 10:22 PM) I'm hoping for Kolek or Hoffman. I've only read a small amount about the top prospects. Will dig in as we get closer to the draft. What's the overall census on who we get/should take at #3? Kind of seems all over the place right now. You mean Hoffman in the 2nd round? No way they're going to take a pitcher on the shelf with TJ surgery for 12-18 months with the #3.

QUOTE (Bigsoxhurt35 @ May 14, 2014 -> 10:15 PM) This is just so disappointing. Thank god Gillaspie is solid this year. Davidsons still young enough. Hope he turns it around. Can't wait to follow Micah at AAA. So is Danish a AAA promotion candidate or will they take their time with him? Danish is unlikely to be in AAA until late next year or early 2016. Unless they push him up quickly as a reliever/closer, which is pretty unlikely at this juncture. They're going to give him all the time in the world to prove he can stick as a starter first.

QUOTE (JPN366 @ May 14, 2014 -> 08:50 PM) So, now he will sign with Oakland/Boston/St. Louis, hit .330 and end up the World Series MVP? Probably the Twins, where he will play like Lew Ford or Denny Hocking against us. He can take the place of Andy Gonzalez, if Andy's still on the major league roster.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 14, 2014 -> 07:53 PM) I like Anderson and think he has potential, but jeez, it's too bad JP Crawford didn't fall one more spot. He's getting a ton of praise. It's getting confusing now. After Tulo, the Giants' Crawford might be the best young SS in the game today. Then you've got Carl in LA.

IN THE AFTERMATH, the players remembered how Masahiro Tanaka flinched, ducking as if someone had rifled a ball at his face. It was early evening in a late-April game at Fenway, and Tanaka had carried a 4-0 lead into the fourth. He'd fallen behind 3 and 1 to David Ortiz and, to keep from walking him, challenged the slugger with a fastball. Pitching 101. Ortiz anticipated the fastball -- Hitting 101 -- and destroyed the pitch, a massive, fully leveraged hack. That was when Tanaka ducked his chin into his shoulder, as if the contact unnerved him. Then he watched as the ball soared high above, landing in a spot in center where Ortiz had never before driven it, some 482 feet away. As Ortiz's teammate Jonny Gomes later said, "I bet nobody has ever hit a ball that hard against him." That is, until the next batter. Tanaka, on a 1-1 count to Mike Napoli, fired another fastball. Napoli blistered a home run 405 feet toward the Massachusetts Turnpike, and Tanaka flinched even worse. His hands flashed upward and his body rippled, like someone taking a punch to the chin. He was now faced with baseball's truest test: responding to the failure inherent in the game. Would Tanaka, the 25-year-old beneficiary of a $175 million investment -- the most the Yankees had ever spent on any free agent pitcher -- crack and begin to falter as New York's other Asian pitchers had? (Most notable was Kei Igawa, who played so poorly the Yankees benefited more from keeping him in the minors than calling him up.) Or would he live up to his 24-0 record with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles last year, which presaged the offseason bidding war in which Tanaka became the most hotly pursued Japanese pitcher in history? Tanaka waited for Napoli to round the bases and stared as Gomes dug in. His body language betrayed nothing; he showed no sign of panic. His face looked determined, if flushed with anger. Two pitches into the at-bat he got Gomes to fly out. But then A.J. Pierzynski doubled off the Monster -- Another crack? The makings of a Red Sox rout? Tanaka snatched the ball but remained otherwise serene. He promptly struck out Xander Bogaerts to end the inning. That night Tanaka faced 12 more hitters, and none advanced beyond second base. The next day, chatting in the batting cage, Red Sox hitters would marvel at how he seemed to throw harder as the game progressed, nicking the edges of the strike zone, his split-fingered fastball fooling hitter after hitter as it sank out of sight at the plate. Tanaka pitched 7 innings, picking up the 9-3 win, and stayed perfect on the year at 3-0. As Yankees catcher Brian McCann says, "He knows when to go to max effort." buster olney/espn.com

QUOTE (flavum @ May 14, 2014 -> 08:12 PM) Tanaka CG shutout. Has the Chicago media even mentioned he's pitching here twice next week? What bodes well for him is his amount of success pitching in the low 90's, rather than the advertised 94-95 MPH. Verlander and Scherzer have also been very good this year (K's are down, righties are hitting Verlander more than ever before but he seems to be conserving his arm more than at any point in his career) pitching at much lower velocities. They can still dial it up for big at-bats, in the 96-97 range.

QUOTE (flavum @ May 14, 2014 -> 06:52 PM) I know Tim Anderson is coming off an injury, but he needs to get it cranked up. 13 errors too. Anderson is always going to be one of those players who won't look great statistically in the minors...but the hope is one day that the whole athletic package will just click in terms of baseball skills/performance/results. (Yes, it seems like we've been saying that for decades now about numerous hitting prospects). I wouldn't worry about error totals until AA. If they have to move him off SS (to 2B, 3B or OF), that's when we can start to worry a bit. Actually, if he could translate his speed into steals (which he hasn't done at a high clip like Johnson), he could be a Chone Figgins "jack of all trades" type with more power and a bit less speed who could play all over the field like a Zobrist. I'm sure that's not the preferable outcome, though, for the front office.

http://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2014/5/14/5...saddest-mention At least the White Sox tweeting about the situation is getting national press for the team. Probably not what Hahn would have preferred, but at least he's owning this one instead of just hoping it goes away.

Except OPS-wise, Beckham's been in the bottom quartile from 2010-2013. At best, he's in the 3rd quartile or PERHAPS average if everything goes perfectly with his defensive metrics (which have eroded recently). But the Sox could also create space if they chose to move a prospect, perhaps Johnson, to the outfield. Asked Wednesday after Jeff Keppinger was designated for assignment if any of his infield prospects could be moved to the outfield, general manager Rick Hahn said nothing is currently planned. [MORE: White Sox designate Jeff Keppinger with future in mind] But, those plans could change. “It’s conceivable down the road that we start exploring other options with these guys, but right now, we want to put them in the best possible situation to continue their development, and changing too much on them at once is not a real sound method, in our opinion, to get them to maximize their ability,” Hahn said. “You move a guy to a new level, let’s get him comfortable at that level at the position he’s used to. Eventually if he gets to the point where we start trying new positions, it’s probably going to be after we feel he’s acclimated to the life and certainly offensively at that level. I’m not ruling anything out, but right now it’s not part of our plan.” Last offseason one scout suggested Johnson could handle the switch to center field if he didn’t stick at second base, where the team has plenty of options. A move to the outfield might be necessary to get Johnson’s bat in the White Sox major league lineup faster. www.csnchicago.com

QUOTE (juddling @ May 14, 2014 -> 09:52 AM) Hell of a good season ender for Person of Interest........SHIELD was pretty good too. Going to be a long summer. Flower Girl/Reina and Amy Acker should have their own show together.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ May 14, 2014 -> 07:39 AM) If you want to go Friday against SD and The Carlos Quentin, here's a deal, and it's fireworks night, which means either, A. watch the surprisingly nice show, or B. Quick getaway. Get Lower Box tickets for $25 ($40 value) or snag seats in Outfield Reserved for only $12 ($22 value). Bleachers and Upper Box tickets are available for just $10/per ticket on this exciting day ($15-$20 value). Your special offer code is ACADEMY. Quentin's actually not hurt again and going to play?

Might as well give him a long-term contract extension. We give the same type of money to Downs for being broken-down, DeAza for not wanting to play CF/hit leadoff/practice the mere fundamentals of baserunning and Keppinger for being half of a platoon spot at age 30+. Beckham's worth $6-8 million per year in comparison for being in the prime of his career and the best defensive 2B since Bill Mazeroski or Roberto Alomar. In fact, his range and defensive metrics just keep increasing by the minute. Plus, his cockiness alone is worth $1-2 million per year.