Poor Washington

Its one step forward and two steps back for the Washington Nationals right now.

Positives:
Strasburg is back from Tommy John surgery and is still lights out
Bryce Harper is playing well and has not been rattled by the media or the major leagues
They have the lowest starting pitching ERA in all of baseball
ESPN was in town last night to broadcast their game in prime time

Negatives:
Ryan Zimmerman has been on the DL
Michael Morse has yet to play in a game this season due to injury. He was arguably their best hitter last year.
Jayson Werth broke his left wrist last night and there is no timetable for his return
Although they were playing in prime time last night, the Phillies reigned supreme
Adam LaRoche has missed three of the last four games with injury

The Washington Nationals looked to be the real deal and it appeared to be their year to possibly make a run at the division title with the Phillies having injury problems of their own. Now both the Phils and Nats are both dealing with major injuries. Maybe the Nationals need to hire a new trainer.

The Top 10

The list of the top 10 players in the league has been release, according to ESPN. This list is composed of five pitchers and five batters. There are two Detroit Tigers in the top four (Miguel Cabrera and Justin Verlander). The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim picked up the number one player in the league today in this past free agency, Albert Pujols.

Pujols is very consistant and is very rarely injured. The guy hits the ball with great power, but he also hits for a very high average. That is what separates him from a player like Ryan Howard. Howard hits just as many, if not more, home runs that Pujols. The strike out totals and terrible batting average is what holds the Phillies first basemen back.

Clayton Kershaw is ranked at number seven and has the potential to rise to the top spot. When he first came in to the league, he immediately drew comparisons to the great Sandy Koufax. His curveball is devastating and his numbers from this past season are remarkable. Its no wonder why he has won his first Cy Young at the age of 23.

I believe Robinson Cano should be ranked a little higher than 10. The guy hits for average, power, drives in runs, and is very good defensively. He is the best second baseman in the game today.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7769773/ranking-top-500-major-league-baseball-players-2012-nos-1-10

The number one player in Major League Baseball, Albert Pujols.



More player rankings

There are 7 players, on this list of 15, that play for the Yankees, Red Sox, and Phillies. That is the reason why those three teams combined for a record of 289 - 197 in the 2011 season. The majority of the hitters on this list hit a lot of home runs.

In the list, there is a comment about Mariano Rivera and it basically says that he should not be ranked 12th and that the list must be a lifetime achievement award. Whoever said something so irrational, knows nothing about baseball. The guy has made himself a hall of fame career by using one pitch. Plus, the consistency you get from him is second to none. In my opinion, he is still the best closer in the game today.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7740099/ranking-top-500-major-league-baseball-players-2012-nos-11-25

Mariano Rivera.



Players 26 - 50

Matt Cain has got to be one of the most underrated players in the league. I had no idea that he had a sub 3.00 ERA this past season. He also racked up a good amount of strikeouts, 179 in total. Carlos Gonzalez of the Colorado Rockies is ranked at 46 and I see no reason why he isn't inside the top 25. He is a legitimate 30 - 30 threat that plays great defense. Cargo, as they call him, is one of the few players that is a true five tool player. Jose Reyes, the new shortstop of the Miami Marlins, is ranked 26th. When healthy, he is fully deserving of this ranking, if not a higher one. But health is half the battle.

Players ranked from 11 - 25 come out later today. Then on Tuesday, April 3, ESPN will release their top 10 players in the game today.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7735379/ranking-top-500-major-league-baseball-players-2012-nos-26-50



Derek Jeter Not in Top 100

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7734671/ranking-top-500-major-league-baseball-players-2012-nos-101-150

ESPN chose not to put Yankee short stop Derek Jeter in the top 100 players in the major leagues. He was ranked as the 115 best player today. The superstar is now 38 years old and that has to be why he is ranked that low. Jason Heyward does not deserve his ranking in my opinion. He has done nothing to deserve it and hit below .250 last season. Justin Masterson is ranked 148 and could rise into the top 100 in the next few seasons easily.

I was at a minor league game in Harrisburg one time and he was the pitcher for the opposing Portland Sea Dogs. This was when he was still in the Red Sox minor leagues before being traded to the Cleveland Indians. I was able to get close to the bull-pen while he was warming up and talk to the catcher. I remember what he said because it was so true and accurate. This is what he said to me, "This guy is the real deal. He will be in the majors in no time." Now, a few years later, he is the number one starter for the Indians and is ranked 148 in all of baseball and is still very young.

Justin Masterson as a member of the Portland Sea Dogs.



Opening Day (Technically) and player rankings

Here is your list of players from 151 - 200.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7740507/ranking-top-500-major-league-baseball-players-2012-nos-151-200

Who do you think will come in at number one? Or are there any suprises on this list? Bryce Harper is ranked at 190 and hasn't played in the major leagues. Fair or foul?

On a real baseball note, today is Opening Day! Kind of. The Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners played the first game of the season over in Japan today. Ichiro went 4 - 5 with an RBI in the game. Not a bad start for the Japanese player. Felix Hernandez was strong in his first outing. He threw eight innings while allowing only five hits. He struck out six and allowed one earned run. They went on to win the game in 11 innings thanks to Dustin Ackley. The final score was 3 -1.

Ichiro in Japan.



201 - 250

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7728604/ranking-top-500-major-league-baseball-players-2012-nos-201-250

Just a continuation of ESPN's list of the top 500 players in the major leagues today. What are the odds? There are three Toronto Blue Jay players in a right. Francisco Cordero comes in at 201, Colby Rasmus comes in at 202, and then Yunel Escobar comes in at 203. Young prospect Brandon Beachy of the Atlanta Braves is two spots ahead of Johan Santana who is recovering from surgery to repair a torn anterior capsule in his shoulder. Good luck trying to explain this one to me. Yoenis Cespedes is ranked at 223 when he hasn't even played a single inning in the big leagues. That is ridiculous. So therefore, we will end today on that note. You have seen my view on today's list. Feel free to let me hear your point of view.



Down to number 301

ESPN has already released their third list of players on their countdown of the top 500 players in the game today. Here is the link:

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7709474/mlb-ranking-top-500-major-league-baseball-players-2012-nos-301-350

If you have any objections or find that they did a good job compiling this list, feel free to let me know. The next list will be put out later today with players ranked 251 - 300. Then, after that, the list will pick back up on Monday, March 26 with players from 201 - 250.



Player rankings

ESPN took 34 of their experts and they set out to rank the top 500 players in the major leagues today. I thought this list and whole idea seemed pretty cool and wanted to share it with all of you. All credit goes to ESPN here, I did not come up with this list.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7687515/mlb-ranking-top-500-major-league-baseball-players-2012-nos-401-500