DODGERTOWN, Fla. — On the first pitch he saw in his first game back since leaving his first game as a Marlin with a hamstring injury, Cameron Maybin roped a single.
And so continues a minor subplot around baseball this spring.
The arrival of the Center Fielders, Class of ‘05.
Maybin, taken 10th overall in 2005 draft, was the first of six center fielders taken in that first round, several of whom could be the opening day starters for their teams less than three years later. (USA Today had a comprehensive rundown on the four highest-touted of the six pack earlier this week.)
Maybin was one of Detroit’s top prospects before being dealt to Florida in the Miguel Cabrera-Dontrelle Willis deal. Now he’s a candidate to be the Marlins starting center fielder. But he’s far from alone. He’s got a peer just on the other side of the Jupiter complex. He calls him “Johnny Cash.”
You know him as Colby Rasmus.
“He’s a real smooth guy,” Maybin said of Rasmus, whom he’s known as prospects of this ilk know one another. They’ve hung out a bit. They played in the Midwest League a bit together; they bumped into each other at the recent rookie summit held by Major League Baseball. “He’s real laid back. He’s kind of a cool dude. Pretty mellow. … Obviously he’s doing what he needs to do. From what I’ve seen, he definitely has a great makeup to be really good.”
Batting second and starting in center field for Friday’s game at Dodgertown, Rasmus hit his second home run of spring and went 1-for-5, striking out three times. His average sank to .222, but that’s a hollow number when a few columns over he has a .391 on-base percentage and a .611 slugging percentage.
Consider the class (number of pick; high school or college):
- 10. CAMERON MAYBIN, FLA (High School) … The former batboy.
- 11. ANDREW McCUTCHEN, PIT (High School) … Top prospect is getting ample at-bats in spring (22 so far), but is third-man in derby for center field job.
- 12. JAY BRUCE, CIN (High School) … He’s no Griffey, but can he beat out Cory Patterson?
- 14. TREVOR CROWE, CLE (Arizona) … Next in the line of young, talented Tribe outfielders.
- 23. JACOBY ELLSBURY, BOS (Oregon State) … Already has a .438 career average in the World Series and a ring and still has a shot at the rookie of the year award. He also maybe the fastest player in Red Sox history.
- 28. COLBY RASMUS, STL (High School) … Already has his own bobblehead night, though he could be two levels up by then.
***
Remember the story on how the Cardinals wanted Jay Bruce but knew they couldn’t get him in 2005, so they went after somebody who could be Jay Bruce and found Rasmus. Well, imagine that anecdote becoming a cage match. That’s what note minor-league pundit John Sickels did in a “Prospect Smackdown”.
***
For a starting middle infield that wasn’t expected to — how to put this? — do much to light up the daily box score but keep the errors down and occassionally stock the bases, these are still some alarming averages for the Cardinals’ preferred starting two:
- SS Cesar Izturis … .111 average … after 0-for-4 on a good hitting day at Holman Stadium … “Hit the ball hard today,” manager Tony La Russa said.
- 2B Adam Kennedy … .176 average … after an 0-for-3 that included a second at-bat he acknowledged was ugly he rolled over on a breaking ball and grounded meekly to first. … “Not that good. Not that good at all,” Kennedy said.
***
Two of the Cardinals’ pitchers, including the one making his first start Friday, share a Cooperstown connection. There name is the Hall of Fame. It’s even on the same ball. Back in 2003 with Seattle, Ryan Franklin and Joel Pineiro were part of a five-man staff that did not have a member miss a turn. It was the first time since 1966, when the Dodgers did it, that the five starters who began the season in the rotation stayed in the rotation and finished the season in the rotation without another pitcher making a start.
Franklin said toward the end he had a strain in his back but peer pressure pushed him out there. “We were like, ‘Don’t let us down, Frankie,’” Pineiro said. At the end of the season, the Hall asked all five starters to sign a baseball and send it east.
That season Pineiro made 32 starts and pitched 211 2/3 innings. Cards could use that.
***
With Ron Villone sliding out of the long relief spot and into a lefty specialist spot, there does appear to be a vacancy in the bullpen and there are several directions the Cardinals could go with the role. Perhaps it’s a chance for an apprenticeship (ala Adam Wainwright). Think Kyle McClellan – who worked two innings today and held the Dodgers to one run off three hits, whil striking out one and walking another — or Mike Parisi. Or, the are a few power arms still around in early March that La Russa called “highlight of the day” on Friday.
They were Chris Perez and (closer?) Jason Motte.
In a bit of a role reversal for the two righthanders, Perez set Motte up for Friday’s save against the Dodgers. Perez wourled a spotless eighth, striking out a batter and delighting the radar gun. Motte followed with a scoreless ninth, striking out a batter and delighting the radar gun. Both righthanders can hit the upper-90s when at their best, but usually it’s Perez doing the closing. Motte had 11 saves last season, split over two levels, and spent the rest of his time bridging leads to guys like Perez.
“Last year I’m doing pretty much seting up stuff like that,” Motte said. “It was a little different (Friday). But I got into it.”
***
Pitching coach Dave Duncan recently on Perez, the top-five prospect: “He’s got a legitimate arm. And he showed a legitimate breaking ball (his previous time out) — which he hasn’t been able to get to because his delivery has been out of control.”
***
Cliff Politte, a St. Louis native, made his first game appearance of spring and had to get five outs to get out of his inning. He allowed three hits and on run while striking out one and allowing a homer to Andre Ethier. His fastball clocked in at 88 mph, and he had better success with his necessary changeup.
***
The logos around Holman Stadium and available on t-shirts at the fan store tell you this is the 60th Annivesary of Dodgertown. It’s the crowds that tell it’s the last anniversary of Dodgertown. The average attendance has been 5,412 this spring (6,789 came Friday), and it is clearly full of baseball pilgrims making a final journey.
***
The general manager who brought a title back to Green Bay said he did so because he built around one quarterback. Ron Wolf, a regular around Cardinals’ spring training and a card-carrying FOT (Friend of Tony’s), said he was surprised by Brett Favre’s retirement this week but understood it.
“I never thought, particularly after the year he had last year, he’d hang them up,” Wolf said walking into the ballpark this week. ”To me, he’s always played with a great deal of passion. If he no longer has that passion, then it is probably a good thing that he’s retiring.”
Asked how Favre revitalized Green Bay while becoming the face of the franchise, and even, in some corners, the (grizzled) face of football.
“He meant everthing. He’s the identity,” Favre said. “He started the win streak, and he never missed a game the whole time he was there. And now they’re talking about him being in the citadel of professional football — the greatest player ever to play for that team. That’s amazing.”
***
When the news broke, I was just glad I took my Cheesehead father to Lambeau Field for the first time this year.
***
Several Cardinals related news in the national papers today. Probably already saw Bob Nightengale’s tremendously reported article about Scott Spiezio in USA Today. The Cardinals sure did. Players were leafing through the story in the clubhouse this morning and on the bus to Vero Beach. One said it only confirmed the worries he had about his former teammate. … The Wall Street Journal wonders if the Cardinals are the first team to offer its fans a chance to scout for the next draft pick. Wrote a little bit about that last week here in the blog. Perhaps this is the case, especially with a prize on the line. But a few other teams I know of have used folks that you’d have to consider “fans” to bird dog players. … And then there is this entirely unrelated and self-promoting item in The Palm Beach Post: I have arrived as a full-fledged member of spring training. I’ve done a 60-second interview. Joe Strauss was astonished, said he couldn’t believe I didn’t try to stretch it into a 120-second monology. “To blog, or not to blog. That is the question. Whether ’tis nobler in the grind … “.
Bernie Miklasz has not chimed in with a comment. But no doubt will …
-30-