Lyle Overbay Clone Fools Noone

Have you ever seen a human clone?

Are you sure?

Perhaps you should go to your t.v. and find the Jays game. Playing first base for the Jays this year is a familiar face - the face of fan favourite Lyle Overbay.

But make NO MISTAKE - this man is an imposter, a clone of the man who once a doubles machine with emerging home run power, a great eye at the plate and a slick golve in the field.

The sort of player that seemed to embody the growing trend towards the smarter, more patient hitter. See more pitches, work more walks, tire out the pitcher, and get into their bullpen as quickly as possible. That's the place teams hide, as Brian Cashman said recently "failed starters", and it makes sense that those would be the guys you'd like to face.

Turning the page on the Carlos Delgado era, this was the sort of player that could keep the fans eyes towards the future. The potential to be the prototype for the first baseman of tomorrow.

It didn't turn out that way. A pitch on the back of the hand in a 2008 game broke bones, and shelved him for much of the season. And robbed him of his rythem, his timing and worst of all his power. It would be well into the next season before the confidence seemed to return but it never came all the way back. And the emerging power was now a lack of power.

Meanwhile, the first baseman of tomorrow was starting his career in Boston, turns out he can play third base too. In Toronto they were left with the sort of player that would bridge the gap until the real 1st baseman since Delgado would arrive. And that sort of player wasn't all bad.

The walks were still there, the occassional glimpses of power, and the solid, if unspectacular, defense made him the perfect bridge to tomorrow. But something has happened to that man. He may need our help.

In his place is a clone, or more specifically, proof - that a clone can never be as good as a man, and appearantly can't hit over .100. Can't lay off a ball in the dirt, inside, outside or up. Can't Hit ANYTHING. After swinging the bat so much and making so little contact there is little, appearently, for a clone to do - than watch strike three and hope it's a ball. Plenty of time to take disintrested hacks next time up.

I'm pretty sure this is some kind of terrorism. I have seen very little in the first two weeks of the season that terrifies me more than watching Lyle's imposter stroll to the plate.

It is also possible, I suppose, that this is actually Lyle Overbay. That there is simply something still wrong with his hand, or perhaps he just wants to be anywhere else in the world than in Toronto, another year behind the Yankees and Red Sox, another year closer to Brett Wallces' arrival from the minors.

I still can't see the real Overbay throwing in the towel like this, no matter how much sense a conspiracy theory might make, it just dosn't pass muster if it's reliant on a working man having no pride. Now, clones on the other hand? I think I've proved my point. Just make sure you act fast if you're hoping to get a glimpse of this thing, this truley can't go on much longer. And if you do know the whereabouts of the real Lyle Overbay don't just stand there. Help him. He is in trouble.

How to catch a Knuckle baller

Victor Martinez caught Tim Wakefield today and made a lot of catchers look pretty foolish. Remember the series against the yankees a few years back - when the red sox traded with San Diego to get Bard back because Wakefield was on the mound, the Yankees were in town, and Varitek could'nt catch the knuckleball? It was a great story - how he was given a police escort from the airport to the ballpark and arrived just in time for first pitch

On Thursday, martinez caught Wakefield with no problem . His solution to this age old problem? He caught with a first basemans glove. When you hear it it seems pretty damn obvious dosn't it?

I've never tried to catch a knuckleball so maybe I just don't know. Maybe this is what lots of people have always done, but then why have we heard so little of it? Has anyone else ever heard of this?

Playing the Right Way?

Watching the Sunday night game between the Brewers and Cardinals there was an interesting play in the middle of the game where the St. Louis pitcher bounced a ball in the dirt that subsequently hit Prince Fielder in the leg. What was interesting was his reaction: he pretended the ball didn't hit him. He got back in the box and waited for the next pitch. It didn't work, the umpire saw him get hit. Joe Morgan enjoyed the situation and commented that FIelder wanted to hit.

It was a good moment to be a baseball fan. The reason it's fun to cheer for the players, not the jerseys they wear.

On Tuesday night the White Sox were in Toronto. A.J. Pierznski was at the plate. Romero was on the mound and he bounced a pitch in the dirt. This time it avoided the hitter and bounced to the backstop. Not according to A.J. however, who took the opportunity to hop around on one leg and do what he could to convince the ump he had been hit. It worked, and he was awarded his free pass to first.

The situations were different. The Sox were behind 4-0 and were being no hit. The Brewers were up 7-1. Rios folowed aj to the plate and ended the no hitter with a 2 run homer slicing the lead in half. Although they went on to lose by that score. The Cardinals actually managed to come back in their game to tied it at 7-7 in the ninth, before tlosing in extras.

It could be said that A.J. did everyhting he could to get on base, to help his team score and he did, but for me it wasn't a great baseball moment. It made me think about cheering for the jersey instead of the player - even if you're a Sox fan, how could you like a cheater?

Or maybe it could be said that Feilder was acting selfishly, placing his desire to hit above what was in the best interst of the team.It didn't feel that way at the time, but in retrospect it could be argued. I guess thats what makes baseball such a great game. Everything is relevant. Everything you do matters. Thats the appeal of the players that "play the game the right way" but in this case I'm not sure which way that is.

A Zingerless Future?

Here's whats interesting - watching a ball game on television when a couple of the hometown hecklers are at the top of their game and you can pretty much hear them slinging their razor sharp reparte throughout the evening - my favorite from the White Sox game at Cellular Field tonight - "Hey Sizemore, my sister says you suck!!" - Sizemore hit a double in the 11th to put the Sox up by 2 runs - a small, but boisterous crowd, chanted "Cleveland sucks!"

With the price of beer at the ballpark going up every year and the drink sales stopping in the 7th inning at a lot of places, not to mention the crazy amount of security at just about any event these days, there may be coming a day when the screaming drunk fan is more a memory than a reality. Or, perhaps I'm overvalueing the teetotaler, perhaps it is the truley insane individual that provides us with some of our favorite slings and slurs - and it is probably true that we will always have crazy people in our midst.

Just in case, I'd like to try to document some of the best insults hurled at players this year. I'll keep my ears open, you do the same. And send your best here. The best insults at the end of the year will be given the Bradley Bird, an imaginary trophy of some variety, that we can imagine is shaped like Milton Bradley's middle digit and perhaps has a cuckoo bird that shoots out of the tip of the finger every hour on the hour screaming insults. Or someone out there with too much time on their hands can make that and we'll give it to the best entry or series of entries. Ok, get to work losers!!!!

The Anti - Mauer Deal

If Joe Mauers deal litterally scared the bejesus out of me, by demonstrating how difficult and expensive it might be for the small market teams of the future to hold onto their homegrown talent, then the just announced Adam Lind deal has litterally scared the bejesus back in to me.

At 4 years for 15.4 million and an additional 3 club option years at 7 -8 mil. per year, Toronto has locked up their best hitter for a substantial amount of time at an amazing value. When compared to Justin Uptons' rescent deal it looks like pure robbery.

Of course its all about projections with a player as unproven as Lind - will he continue to develop or fall of the face of the earth, but in order for Toronto, a small market team, to be able to compete, they have to project correctly and more importantly, spend accordingly - even if you're wrong you havn't wasted so much money that you handcuff yourself, and you can still move the player if the situation is right.

When you sign players to the Joe Mauer or Vernon Wells deals a wrong assesment can cripple your club and put such high expectations on a player that it is almost unrealistic to expect a correct return on the investment - the player has to be incredible and anything short of that makes them overpaid.

If Toronto can show the same sort of proactivity with other up and coming stars, and the young players continue to show a desire to play there, despite a rescent lack of playoff appearences and, more importantly, fans, then the model of how a small market team can survive, and save baseball will truley be on display.

Pitch Hitting

Heres whats interesting - there may be nothing more painful to watch in the sport of baseball than a pitcher with a bat in his hands - yet the fact that the pitchers are so bad at the plate is exactly what makes asking them to hit so great for the game.

Say what you want about how ridiculous it is forcing each team to have a virtual black hole at the end of their lineup, how its generally accepted that the pinch hitter has one of the toughest jobs in the game, coming in cold in the middle of a contest, or the amount of games where a pitcher gets pulled in the middle of a dazzling outing simply because his utter uselessness at the dish is surpassed, however feebley, by a washed up veteran who gets 10 ABs a week.

It is exactly the ineptitude of the hitters occupying the pitchers spot in the lineup that makes the NL game fascinating. The pinch hitting with a man on second and two outs in the sixth and the pitcher due up, the double switch , and the pinch running if the vet gets to first (because he may not be able to hit very much anymore, but he sure as hell can't run to second) with a young speedster, who either way will have to be replaced when its his turn to hit because that's not what he's here for - he's here to run for the guy who hit for the guy who can't hit - thank god for the double switch!

It's not every sport that turns its inane ideas into compelling theatre , but in this case there is no way baseball would be the same without it. In fact it would be very much like the AL , where the teams are better for a reason. THIS REASON. There's no dwarf star floating around your lineup constantly destroying your teams chances to field the most competetive team. And there's nowhere for the pitchers to hide and so only the best survive and grow stronger due to their competition. But that dosn't matter, there is nothing to manage. No wonder the bullpens grow more relevant by the day - in the NL you need them because you're pulling your pitcher every time he has to hit - in the AL you're trying to find something to do.

I honestly can't tell which league I prefer, or if I support correcting a flaw, no matter how entertaining it might be. Imagine making your punter be the QB, your worst shooter throw all your free throws, or your goalie take your teams shootout attempts, even just once a game. That would be great, but would never happen because it's way too stupid. For now, I guess we just sit back and enjoy it for what it is and hope noone notices that it's completely ridiculous.

Minor Blip: Fantasy Forecast

This is the time of year when dreams get shattered. Not just for the up and coming superstars who are called into the managers office to find out their torrid springs aren't worthy of a spot on the big league roster, but instead a little more seasoning in the minors, but for the many fantasy owners who get the harsh news that they've wasted a spot on their rosters for a player who seemingly will be of no help to their teams this year.

Will these players be able to help your team this year? Who's worth waiting on and who should you cut bait and run on, now, before that handful of helpful players are snapped up from the waiver wire while you try to decide what move to make next.

It goes without saying you're an injury away from being wrong no matter what you decide to do next. Injuries not withstanding here's 5 players you need to be patient with and 5 players you should leave for someone else to fret about.

Be patient with:

Pedro Alvarez (Pit.) - think Ryan Braun, a masher whose callup a couple months into the season wins you your league

Eric Young jr. (Col.) - speed demon who is currently blocked by the extremely inconsistent Clint Barmes, a chance to tear up the bases at the top of a very powerful lineup WHEN Barmes falters

Michael Taylor (Oak.) -it might be hard to believe but Billy Beane has to be feeling the pressure to field a competetive team again and soon, Taylor's just the guy to help do that, 20 steals and 20 homer projection still looks fine when pro-rated over a half season

Stephen Strasburg (Was.) - it dosnt really matter what he does, the whole world will be watching and he'll be yours, and if you don't like what you see there will be someone else in your league really wishing he was theirs

Aroldis Chapman (Cin.) - see Strasburg

Pass on:

Brett Wallace (Tor.) - being virtually assured of a long and prosperous career dosn't garauntee you'll be able to avoid another year in the minors, too many options in Toronto, and too many losses projected make leaving Wallace in AAA too real a possibility for non keeper league managers to waste a spot on

Kyle Drabek (Tor.) - big time prospect still needs to play above AA ball before a move to the majors, and as is the case with most young pitchers, is unlikely to help your team right out of the gate either way

Desmond Jennings (T.B.) - even if the Rays decide to move Carl Crawford at the deadline, 5 tool players like Jennings usually take longer to put it all together on the big league stage

Domenic Brown (Phi.) - one of the few players the Phillies were unwilling to move in an effort to win now, there simply isn't any room for him on the big league roster, seems likely to replace Jayson Werth if the Phils are unable to resign him this offseason

Buster Posey (S.F.) - it dosn't really matter how great Buster is going to be, and it looks like he'll be pretty great, his power dosn't project too high, and it won't be helped by AT&T Park, and his manager, Bruce Bochey, is an ex catcher who seems to be a big fan of Bengie Molina, as evidenced by Poseys lack of playing time in S.F. last september - wait 'til next year

Slip Sliding Away: Francisco Liriano

Whats the deal with Fransisco Liriano? How can a pitcher that was so dominant in 2006 be so bad in 2009? We know about the tommy john surgery that ruined his 2007. His subsequent slow recovery. His horrible start to 2008, demotion to the minors. His terrrific numbers in the minors that season and his callup at the end of the year and the solid starts that followed.

Everything we know told us 2009 was going to be his return to form. He should have been recovered from his surgery, still young, still gifted with the sort of stuff that you could only describe as nasty. There was little to doubt about his 2009 performance. Liriano was back and it was going to be 2006 all over again. But on the way to garuanteed super-stardom something happened, but what?

The problem, it seems, was Lirianos' fear of commiting to the slider. His fastball seemed to be back to pre injury form, as was his ability to locate, but his slider lacked the late movement that had so confused hitters in his first go around the league.

Well Lirianos' slider is back, or that is to say, his fear of throwing that devastating slider is gone, and if his arm can hold up against the strain of that motion all year, then Liriano circa 2006 is back. And therein lies the question. Can he snap the elbow on that pitch for the next 6 months? The next 6 years? Or is it only a matter of time before the ligament snaps back? Either way it's been great watching him baffle hitters again this spring. Here's hoping his elbow can handle it.