I decided that instead of boring you with the news you already now and lets face it alls been quiet on the baseball front. So I have compiled my Overrated team consisting of current major league players. Now keep in mind that this is just one mans opinion and is certainly open for debate.
SP-Barry Zito-Has been a complete flop and to think it would be easier to suceed in a pitcher friendly NL.
SP-Mike Hampton-For the amount of money this guy stole its amazing he not only got a major league contract but is making well above the league minimum.
SP-Carl Pavano-See Mike Hampton, not to mention the Yanks shelled out big bucks for a guy that only had a couple of solid seasons.
SP-Brad Penny-Is trying to push David Wells as the fattest pitcher in baseball. To think that this guy actually dated the likes of Alyssa Milano and Eliza Dushku.
RP-Ryan Madson-Ive got to see him first hand and for relievers ERA's can be decieving. For me I look at a relievers inherited runners that score percentage and Madson is just god awful.
RP-Kyle Farnsworth- Every year somebody is trying to trade for Farnsworth, outside of one maybe two decent seasons this guy hasnt done nothing yet is one of the top paid middle relievers in the game.
RP-LaTroy Hawkins-See above.
CL-Jose Valverde-This guy is a ticking timebomb and a complete mental case. Another classic case of one very good year and everbody wants to throw millions at him.
1B- Todd Helton-Ever since the steriod talk began this guy cant hit a homer to save his life and he still playin at Coors Field.
2B-Brian Roberts-Another of a suspected steriod user a guy of his stature popping something like 28-30 homers in a season. Despite a career year last year my belief is that he has peaked and has always had durability issues.
3B- Alex Rodriguez- For the amount of money this guy has been making for as long as he has been making it shouldnt he have won like three triple crowns by now. In his defense I believe it is impossible to live up to those expectations.
SS-Jimmy Rollins-A great defensive player but lacks the bat and patience to bat in the leadoff hole would probably be a better fit in the 6th or 7th slot in the lineup. The only reason he set the ML atbat record in his MVP season is because he walked like only 49 times.
OF-Shane Victorino- Is nothing more than a marginal player. Is prone to making baserunning blunders that leave you scratching your head.
OF-JD Drew-Can you believe this guy actually told the the Phillies "dont draft me because you cant afford me". Now you guys know why they throw batteries at him when he makes his rare Philly appearence.
OF-Carlos Beltran-If you ask me the Mets should call the cops because they got robbed. They are still waiting for the player that was advertised to show up.
C-Ramon Hernandez- Another case of a multi milionaire for having a couple of solid seasons, not to mention Ive got underwear thats lasted longer than this this guy.
For the money they are paying him I dont feel the mets have gotten their bang for the buck. For a guy making in the area of 20mil he should be atleast be a .300 hitter or have power numbers of a Ryan Howard or drive in runs like a Manny Ramirez. I think the Mets could replace him with a player making half the money and not miss a beat.
Exactly what are you basing this on salary or performance, because you seem to flip between the two with no discretion.
Also I'm not so sure if putting two Phillies is the most logical of choices. The two guys you had listed helped propel that team and offense to a World Series title. Not sure how that's being overated.
What I tried to do with most players was compare them to their peers who were in the same monetary area, i.e.: Carlos Beltran is consistent to Manny Ramirez but doesnt seem to be the same player offensively. Manny hits for average and power while Beltrans best season in N.Y. was .284 and Im sure the Mets arent paying this guy 20 million for defense. He may be the best centerfielder in the NL now but I predict by seasons end that nod will go to Cameron Maybin. Also I believe that Grady Sizemore is the best centerfielder in baseball. As far as Rollins and Victorino go I get to see these guys on a daliy basis and in my eyes they are overrated, Rollins maybe not so much as Victorino, Victorino will never be better than a .270 lifetime hitter and the general public is starting to see this guy as the superstar he is not. So to really answer your question it was more of performance based on salary. If you go back and look at the September boxscores it was Ryan Howard who carried the team offensivley not to mention the pitching staff, if not for Howard the Phillies wouldnt have been in a postseason to win the World Series. There were also other Phillies I could have added to the list but didnt want it to be primarily Phillies, i.e.: Brett Myers and Chad Durbin.
What I'm saying is the way your using the measure these players in inconsistent.
Being overpaid versus having less talent then you are preceived as having are two different things.
What if you have a guy with less talent then preceived by the general public, but he's underpaid?
Where does he fall?
Depending on which criteria you've chosen to judge players on he could fall into either overated or underated.
Point being you can't change the criteria you are using to rate players for this list for each individual player.
You've clearly done that in examples like Barry Zito, where is unquestionably overpaid, but nobody is making the argument he is a top of the line starter, versus a guy like Brian Roberts who you say isn't as good as he appears, but I don't think anyone would be making the argument he is being overpaid.
You also say he isn't very durable even though Roberts has played in at least 150 the last two years, and his career high in homers is 18, not 28-30 as you say.
Anyone who changes the criteria on which they judge players on for a list like this I would say is making a very biased argument, and considering about half your list are guys from either Philly, Baltimore, or New York I don't think I'm that far off.
If you read before I listed the players I stated that these were my opinions, I'm not trying to start a arguement. You were right about Roberts, for some reason I thought he hit 28 and not 18 that was erroneous on my part I should have atleast looked him up first. But when I did you have to admit that the 1 season really stands out more than the others. As far as most players being from the 3 cities you mentioned is coincedential, actually 6 of the 18 are from there and I will admit that I didnt look at a thing and came up with them off the top of my head but are my honest opinions. If I see a player that I feel is overrated that doenst mean I'm wrong its just my opinion and the last time I checked I was entitled to my opinion right. However I would like to know your reasons as to why a Carlos Beltran in your eyes is not. In my opinion with the protection he has in the Mets lineup he should have sick offensive numbers but instead his best season in NY is .16 points under .300. This guy should be 30/30 potential.
i disagree with roberts, victorino, and rollins. if u ask me these 3 are underrated. nobody looks at roberts as the best 2nd baseman in the league yet he'll hit 20 homers with .300 average. victorino is underrated because he hits for a high average, steals bases and scores runs. thats all u can ask from a centerfielder. then i can see where your goin with rollins, but i dont like him in there cuz i have a much better ss to put there: derek jeter.
Jimmy Rollins isn't underated he isn't overrated either he is well known and a great baseball player remember he did win MVP. Shane Victorino doesn't get the credit he deserves, he is a really good player and you'll see that later this year.
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I think that Jimmy Hendrix was the best guitarist in the world
As a Cubs fan, I completely agree with LaTroy Hawkins. He was a solid set-up man for the Twins and the Cubs. Then the Cubs moved him to closer and I broke atleast three TV remotes by throwing them across my room in frustration with the guy. He was like a walking blown save.
But also as a Cubs fan, I'm gonna have to disagree with you on farnsworth. To say he's done nothing is wrong. He has done something I have never seen any other pitcher do. In a game in 03 against the Reds, he hit one of the Reds players. The player took one step out of the box towards Farnsworth. Farnsworth took off towards the guy and speared him into the ground. He is the only pitcher I have ever seen charge the plate. And he will forever be known as amazing in my book because of it.
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The Cubbies got me, got me questioning, where are the runs??
Not really, I root for the team good or bad. The thing about a "typical" Philly fan is you could have the worst record in the league and 90% will tell you were still the best. If you dont play the game the right way we'll let you know about it, but on the flip side we'll let you know as well. Pat Burrell caught alot of grief in most of his time here. When the Phillies hosted the Rays this spring Burrell was welcomed with a standing O. The reason for this is because no matter how hard the media or fans were on him he never cried about it, he was a true class act. The Phillies play the Rays in their last 2 exibition games here in Philly and Burrell with recieve a huge ovation. Bob the thing that I think Seattle might lack is the passion for the game. This team has been here forever, the Phillies have been in the same place with the same name longer than any other MLB franchise.
Yes, yes they do, the passion in Seattle is for the Seahawks and so much more of that passion was for the Sonics. Seattle just added the Sounders FC and they're is like no one going to them.
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I think that Jimmy Hendrix was the best guitarist in the world