JAN

02

Rays Have Two of the Top 15 Third-Baseman? Here is one of the latest articles circulating around the Blogosphere from Crooked Pitch. ... the ranking list of American League third basemen for 2008. Alex Rodriguez | New York Yankees Miguel Cabrera | Detroit Tigers Mike Lowell | Boston Red Sox Chone Figgins | Los Angeles Angels Adrian Beltre | Seattle Mariners Troy Glaus | Toronto Blue Jays Josh Fields | Chicago White Sox Alex Gordon | Kansas City Royals Hank Blalock | Texas Rangers Evan Longoria | Tampa Bay Rays Eric Chavez | Oakland Athletics Melvin Mora | Baltimore Orioles Casey Blake | Cleveland Indians Mike Lamb | Minnesota Twins Akinora Iwamura | Tampa Bay Rays Brandon Inge | Detroit Tigers Joe Crede | Chicago White Sox Brandon Wood | Los Angeles Angels -- I was quite surprised to find two of the Tampa Bay Rays' athletes on this list. As I carefully dissected these rankings, I found several notable errors which could easily be revised. I would like to make it clear, however, that I am not criticizing the incredible content of this fellow blog, or the respectable blogger, but rather analyzing the players selected relative to their ranking on this memorable list. For the most part, I approve of the upper part of these rankings, obviously notching Alex Rodriguez and Miguel Cabrera at the top of this third-base hierarchy. But, Hank Blalock sticks out like a sore thumb. He knocked in 33 runs and hit 10 homeruns in only 58 games last season - which is quite remarkable. There is a large possibility that this upcoming season could be a rebound-season for the Texas-slugger, but that would be a bold prediction since nothing is insured and he could be injured once again. However, the selection of Evan Longoria at #10 shocks me even more. Evan Longoria, a promising prospect in the Rays' farm system, has not yet seen a pitch in the Major Leagues. The 22-year old third-baseman has played two years in the minors, compiling a .304 career-batting average and 153 career-RBIs. L...

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