Remembering a legend and The Top Ten Second Basemen Today

Before I dive into my list of the top ten second basemen in MLB, I would like to take time out to remember one of the game's giants who sadly lost his battle with brain cancer today. Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter passed away at the age of 57, not long after he made his final public appearance at a PBAU baseball game in Florida. Mets fans remember him as the the man who started the famous '86 World Series Game 6 rally with a two-out base hit in the tenth inning.

While Carter was a popluar figure in Mets history and beloved in New York, he was loved just as much in Montreal, where he spent the first 11 seasons of his career and won two All-Star Game MVPs. He also helped guide the Expos to their first and only postseason appearance in 1981, defeating the Phillies in the first round before falling to the Dodgers in five games in the NLCS. He was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2003, becoming in the process the first player to go in wearing an Expos cap.

Reaction from the two cities where he is remembered the most:
Montreal: Montreal Gazette Obituary, The Kid who made Montreal smile

New York: New York Times Obituary, A Star with a Smile, Forever Kid

MLB Network also reflects on Carter's legendary career:





Carter's final career hit in 1992 before the home crowd in Montreal. Harry Caray and Steve Stone with the call for the Cubs.



Our top ten list for today will be for second basemen...

10.) Omar Infante, Miami Marlins
2011 stats: .276 avg., 7 HRs, 49 RBI, 160 hits, .696 OPS
It's slim pickings at number ten, which shows the dearth of excellent second basemen around the majors. However, Omar Infante is a serviceable piece in the Marlins lineup, finishing third among NL second basemen in hits.



9.) Jemile Weeks, Oakland Athletics
2011 stats (406 ABs): .303 avg., 2 HRs, 36 RBI, 22 SBs, .761 OPS
Rickie Weeks' younger brother Jemile put together the kind of season that has A's fans excited for the future. In just 97 games, Weeks finished third among AL second basemen in steals while being one of only three players at his position to hit .300 in the Junior Circuit. Look for Jemile to ascend in this list in the coming seasons.




8.) Neil Walker, Pittsburgh Pirates
2011 stats: .273 avg., 12 HRs, 83 RBI, .742 OPS
The Pittsburgh native provided a solid bat for the Bucs last year, leading all NL second basemen in RBI and trailing only Dustin Pedroia and Robinson Cano among everyone else at the position. It was the first full season for the 26-year-old, so this year will go a long way in deciding whether or not Walker is here to stay as one of the elite second basemen in the majors.



7.) Dan Uggla, Atlanta Braves
2011 stats: .233 avg., 36 HRs, 82 RBI, .764 OPS
All throughout the spring and even into the summer, Uggla was mired in a rotten hitting funk that saw his average dip to .174 as late as June 16. He ended his slump by going on an impressive 33 game hit streak from July 5 through August 13, hitting .377 with 15 home runs and 32 RBI while recording a sick 1.200 OPS in the process. The hot streak was enough to salvage what could have been a dreadful season for Uggla, even in spite of his 36 homers which led all NL second basemen.

6.) Rickie Weeks, Milwaukee Brewers
2011 stats: .269 avg., 20 HRs, 49 RBI, .818 OPS
If it were not for an ankle injury that hobbled Weeks for much of the second half, he would have easily smashed his numbers from last year (.269 avg., 29 HRs, 83 RBI, .830 OPS). However, he still did a fair amount of damage in 118 games, finishing second among NL second basemen in homers and tied for fourth in doubles with 26.




5.) Howard Kendrick, Los Angeles Angels
2011 stats: .285 avg., 18 HRs, 63 RBI, .802 OPS
Kendrick is an underrated talent who is often  overshadowed by his own teammates, along with the four players ahead of him on this list. A line-drive hitter with a fluid stroke, Kendrick serves as a terrific complimentary piece in a very good Angels lineup, one that will be especially intimidating with the arrival of Albert Pujols and the return of Kendrys Morales. His .802 OPS was the highest of his career and was fourth in the American League, trailing Ian Kinsler, Dustin Pedroia and Robinson Cano. With more big bats in the Angels lineup this year, expect Kendrick's offensive output to improve.



4.) Brandon Phillips, Cincinnati Reds
2011 stats: .300 avg., 18 HRs, 82 RBI, .810 OPS

Phillips is the slickest fielding second baseman in not only the National League, but in all of baseball. He continues to show people just how good of an all-around player he is, and what is even better is that many around baseball are finally noticing. Phillips made his second career All-Star appearance, took home his third Gold Glove Award and surprisingly enough, hit .300 for the first time in his career. His stolen base total has gradually decreased, as the Reds have looked to him to be something of a power bat in their lineup. Even though he does not possess the prodigious power that teammates Jay Bruce and Joey Votto have, he still stands tall among his peers at second, finishing in a tie for third in homers in the NL, along with tying for second in RBI. His OPS total of .810 also ranked second in the NL.

3.) Robinson Cano, New York Yankees
2011 stats: .302 avg., 28 HRs, 118 RBI, .882 OPS
Cano possesses a glove that is nearly on par with Phillips, while carrying a more potent bat. Cano's 118 RBI and .882 OPS led all MLB second basemen while his .302 average was second to only Dustin Pedroia. He also won last year's Home Run Derby and put to rest the notion that the Derby messes up players' swings. Cano hit .309 with 13 homers and 61 RBI in the second half to go along with a .905 OPS, which was 42 points higher than his first-half total. The only reason why I have him third is because of his lack of speed, as he only notched eight steals all year.




2.) Ian Kinsler, Texas Rangers
2011 stats: .255 avg., 32 HRs, 77 RBI, .832 OPS, 30 SBs
Having a 30/30 season and leading all AL second basemen in home runs and steals should get you the number one spot in this list, right? Well this was perhaps my most difficult decision so far in my ranking. The only reason why I have him at number two is because his batting average, OPS and RBI totals are lower than Pedroia's, and there was not a significant enough distance between the two in steals for me to justify placing him at number one. Maybe classifying Kinsler as "1A" instead of number two would sound better. While he was not the scariest bat in the Rangers powerful and downright frightening lineup, he still tied Adrian Beltre for the team lead in home runs with 32, and that was only because Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz were not completely healthy for the entire season. He packs a potent enough punch at the top of the lineup to make pitchers think twice about giving him a steady diet of fastballs like they do with other leadoff hitters.

1.) Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox
2011 stats: .307 avg., 21 HRs, 91 RBI, .861 OPS, 26 SBs
Pedroia displayed more power this year, and had perhaps his best all around year to date for the Red Sox. While all of the finger pointing was going on during the month of October in Beantown regarding who was slurping down beer in between taking chomps of fried chicken, nobody was pointing their finger at Pedroia. He, along with Jacoby Ellsbury were two of the primary reasons why the Red Sox managed to stay afloat as long as they did in September, even while the ship was taking on water at a rapid pace. In the final month, Pedroia hit .304 and had a solid .827 OPS. His 26 steals were the highest total of his career so far, and it can be argued that his performance last year was better than his MVP-winning performance in 2008. While not incredibly spectacular with the glove, Pedroia can still come up with the big play when his team needs it the most. Even in the aftermath of Boston's collapse, Pedroia is slowly emerging as the team's vocal and on-field leader, something that was conspicuously absent from team captain Jason Varitek last year.

The 30 Team/30 Day Report Cards: Day 14- Florida Marlins

Florida Marlins

Record: 80-82 (Third place in NL East, 17 games behind Philadelphia)

Batting Leaders

Batting Average: Hanley Ramirez (.300)

Home Runs: Dan Uggla (33)

RBIs: Dan Uggla (105)

On-base Percentage: Hanley Ramirez (.378)

Pitching Leaders

Wins: Ricky Nolasco (14)

Strikeouts: Josh Johnson (186)

Innings Pitched: Anibal Sanchez (195)

ERA: Josh Johnson (2.30). Bullpen- Clay Hensley (2.16)

WHIP: Josh Johnson (1.11). Bullpen- Brian Sanches (1.10)

Saves: Leo Nunez (30)

Highlight of the Season: Difficult to ascertain, but I would pick their 13-0 victory over the White Sox in Chicago on May 23.

Lowlight of the Season: On May 17, all-star shortstop Hanley Ramirez was benched by then-manager Fredi Gonzalez for not hustling on a play. Ramirez would rip his manager and teammates (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=5197935) after the game, an action that would ultimately result in him being benched the next day. Ramirez would eventually apologize to his teammates before playing again on May 19.

The Lowdown:

If there were a poster child for mediocrity in MLB this year, it would be the Florida Marlins, by far. The Fish seem to be stuck in gear right now; on one hand, they look like they have the talent and the pieces to compete, but on the other hand, they seem to be missing a player or two that would really vault them into serious contention. They featured two anchors in their lineup in 2010, as Hanley Ramirez and Dan Uggla would be the stars of the show once again, while a possible future star emerged in right fielder Mike Stanton. The pitching staff was led by righty Josh Johnson, who featured one of the lowest ERAs in baseball, while he was flanked by Ricky Nolasco and Anibal Sanchez, two pitchers who have the potential to become better, but did not show it this year. With the Phillies becoming stronger with each passing season, the Marlins will likely have to target the NL Wild Card as their ticket for postseason entry for the next few seasons.

Offense:

The Fish finished 15^th in runs scored this year (719), along with tying for 14^th in home runs (152), which further lends credibility to the argument that the Marlins are the poster child for “average” in baseball. However, the bats in the middle of their infield were anything but average, as Hanley Ramirez and Dan Uggla supplied the power in the middle of the order once again in South Florida. Ramirez had a typical All-Star year, finishing with a .300 average, 21 home runs, 76 RBIs, 32 steals, and a solid on-base percentage of .378. Even though his home run total dipped a bit, he still proved to be a threat in the middle of the Marlins lineup.

Uggla, however, is beginning to enter rarified air among second baseman not only in baseball today, but in baseball history. He recorded his fourth consecutive 30-plus home run season this year, bashing 33 while driving in 105. You generally do not expect Uggla to hit for a high average, but he even improved in that category, increasing his hitting by 43 points up to .287 this year, a career high. There aren’t too many second basemen in baseball history who can claim four consecutive 30-plus home run seasons, but Dan Uggla is beginning to write his name into the record books at that position, which typically doesn’t feature power hitters.

Also looking to enter into the realm of greatness is highly touted prospect outfielder Mike Stanton. The 21-year-old made his major league debut on June 8, and he would end up featuring solid power numbers in his rookie campaign, cranking out 22 home runs while driving in 59 in just 100 games. Despite his high strikeout total (123 in just 359 at-bats), Stanton should be capable of filling the power void left by Dan Uggla, who was recently traded to the Atlanta Braves.

Along with finishing in the middle of the road in home runs and runs scored, the Marlins finished 18^th in batting average (.254), 20^th in on-base percentage (.321) and 15^th in slugging (.403). They weren’t overwhelming offensively, but they were just good enough to give good teams some trouble.

Final Grade: C+

Pitching:

The potential for greatness is present within the starting rotation, but it doesn’t seem like it has come to fruition just yet. Collectively, the Marlins finished 16^th in ERA (4.08), 19^th in “batting average against” (.261), 28^th in home runs surrendered (134) and 20^th in quality starts (85). Much like their offense, the Fish seem to be in the middle of the road with most of the aforementioned pitching categories. However, there’s nothing mediocre about staff ace Josh Johnson. The big right hander finished first in the NL in ERA at 2.30 this year, along with recording a WHIP of 1.11, good for seventh in the Senior Circuit. His 11-6 record notwithstanding, Johnson has placed himself among the elite starters in the National League with his dominant performance this year.

Behind him was Ricky Nolasco, who would end up pacing the team in wins (14) and Anibal Sanchez, who led the team in innings (195). The two were solid complimentary pieces to Johnson, but they would not finish with his sparkling ERA, as Nolasco recorded a 4.51 ERA, while Sanchez finished with an ERA of 3.55. Also backing up this pitching triumvirate was Chris Volstad, who went a solid 12-9 with two complete games and an ERA of 4.58.

While the rotation appears to be stable, the bullpen looks like it could use an extra hand. Even though the Marlins finished 17^th in bullpen ERA at 4.01, a few more stable arms could see this team vault into serious contention. Leo Nunez had a fine year in the closer’s role, recording 30 saves with an ERA of 3.46, but the real star of the ‘pen was 31-year-old right hander Clay Hensley. The pride of Tomball, Texas had a rock solid year in the set-up role, recording a team-high 22 holds, along with a fantastic WHIP of 1.11 and an ERA of 2.16.

Much like the offense, the Marlins’ pitching wasn’t outstanding, but you can really see how just one or two more pieces can make this team a legitimate contender.

Final Grade: C+

Wild Card: Josh Johnson

As mentioned earlier, Johnson established himself among the premier pitchers in the National League with his fantastic season this year. Had the team finished with a better record this year, he would have likely garnered some votes for the NL Cy Young Award. Even though he was a tough luck 1-0 loser in Roy Halladay’s perfect game on May 29, he would spin more magnificent performances that saw him on the winning side of the scoreboard, including a 12 strikeout, one walk, complete game performance against the San Diego Padres on April 26, a game which Florida won 10-1. He’s still just 26 years old, meaning if he stays healthy, his best years are yet to come.

Final Grade: A+

Overall:

The Marlins have the potential to become better, they really do. Since they cannot go after any big time position players, perhaps they should go after some under-the-radar relievers to shore up their bullpen. They can ask their American League rivals to the north how much difference a better bullpen can make for a team’s postseason hopes.

Final Grade: C+

Check back soon for the report card on the Detroit Tigers!