The 47 Best Players from the 1998 Chicago Cubs - #6 Rod Beck

6. Rod Beck
I would say Rod Beck is the most universally loved player on this list. I mean, who didn't think Rod Beck was one of the coolest players in baseball? Even when he was with the San Francisco Giants, it was always cool to see this biker-looking dude just throwing heat and overwhelming anyone who stood across from him in a batter's box. That's why I was incredibly excited when the Cubs signed Beck before the 1998 season as he was not only super cool, but the Cubs were desperate for a reliable closer.

Now Rod Beck had an incredible 1998 season, but nothing is more incredible than doing research and finding out Rod Beck's age during that 1998 season. I know there is a picture at the top of the page, but let's give another one and you guess this man's age:

If you're being kind, you're guessing he's 35 years old as a grizzled closer. If you're being honest, you're guessing 48 and wondering how he got such an authentic looking Cubs jersey for his beer league softball game. This man was somehow only 29 years old in 1998. Good lord, this man did some living. I'm not sure how it's possible, but I love it will all of my heart.

I know I have lamented how bad the Cubs bullpen was in 1998, but this excerpt from August 29 of that year really puts things in perspective.

Pen pals: The Cubs have turned over their entire bullpen from Opening Day, with the exception of Rod Beck. They started out with Beck, Terry Adams, Marc Pisciotta, Amaury Telemaco, Ben VanRyn and Bob Patterson. Adams and Pisciotta are now in Class A Iowa, VanRyn was traded to San Diego for Don Wengert and is now playing at Class A Syracuse, Telemaco was waived and is now a starter with Arizona and Patterson was released and is out of baseball.

Rod Beck was incredibly important to this Cubs team as he was the only one who survived the entire season with the team.

Instead of focusing on Rod Beck's triumphs, I decided to see if my memory served me correctly. And the only thing that I can remember that year is that Rod Beck lived that entire season on the edge. If this man came in with a 10 run lead, he would let nine runs score, load the bases with one out, before inducing a double play to close out the game. Most people would generally assume that their closer giving up runs is a bad thing, but not for Rod Beck. The Cubs record in games that Beck gave up runs was an incredible 16-7* (I added the asterisk as it should have been 17-6, but the Brant Brown game turned a win into a loss). And two of those losses were in games where the Cubs had him go more than one inning. He would put the fans as close to a heart attack as possible, and then just up and decide to end the game, Rod Beck pitched to the score, and no one can convince me otherwise.

Because of that, he was super effective. He finished with a 3.02 ERA with a career-best 51 saves. He also led the league in games played for pitchers as the Cubs used him every chance they could, accumulating 80.1 innings pitched.

Unfortunately, the game that I most remember him for is the game he didn't play in. Game 2 of the NLDS against the Braves, the Cubs held a 1-0 lead going into the bottom of the ninth. Instead of bringing in their trusted closer, they kept Kevin Tapani to finish what he started, and he let Javy Lopez tie the game with one swing of the bat. Beck wouldn't even come in extra innings, and the bullpen lost the game for the team in the tenth.

7.80 ERA for the Cubs the following season before being traded to the Boston Red Sox and putting up a 1.93 ERA down the stretch and following up with two more years of quality work before washing out of baseball.

In 2003, he found himself again with the Cubs but this time it was the Iowa Cubs as he was living in an RV right outside the stadium. He would hang out after the games, not only talking with fans but offering them beers as well. Despite putting up a 0.59 ERA for Iowa, the team in Chicago couldn't find room for him so they allowed him to go to the Padres where he had a 1.78 ERA. But the magic finally wore off in 2004 when he had a 6.38 ERA and decided that would be the end of the road for him in baseball.

Sadly, Rod Beck passed away in 2007 at the age of 38. Cocaine and heroin were found in his home but an official reason for death was never released. Rod Beck may have lived a fast life, but he was also generous to friends and helped get toys for needy children. There wasn't anyone who said a bad thing about him, and that's a legacy to be proud of.

In case you missed it:
Introduction
#47 - Matt Karchner
#46 - Jose Nieves
#45 - Rodney Myers
#44 - Justin Speier
#43 - Tony Fossas
#42 - Kennie Steenstra
#41 - Chris Haney
#40 - Bob Patterson
#39 - Pedro Valdes
#38 - Derrick White
#37 - Ben Van Ryn
#36 - Terrell Lowery
#35 - Don Wengert
#34 - Kurt Miller
#33 - Jason Maxwell
#32 - Kevin Foster
#31 - Mike Morgan
#30 - Felix Heredia 
#29 - Jeff Blauser
#28 - Jason Hardtke
#27 - Dave Stevens
#26 - Manny Alexander
#25 - Marc Pisciotta
#24 - Kevin Orie
#23 - Sandy Martinez
#22 - Terry Adams
#21 - Matt Mieske
#20 - Amaury Telemaco
#19 - Tyler Houston
#18 - Geremi Gonzalez
#17 - Orlando Merced
#16 - Scott Servais
#15 - Mark Clark
#14 - Lance Johnson
#13 - Brant Brown
#12 - Jose Hernandez
#11 - Steve Trachsel
#10 - Henry Rodriguez
#9 - Kevin Tapani
#8 - Mickey Morandini
#7 - Gary Gaetti

The 47 Best Players from the 1998 Chicago Cubs - #18 Geremi Gonzalez

18. Geremi Gonzalez
Geremi, or Jeremi, Gonzalez depending on who you ask was a hot young pitcher for the Cubs in the late 1990s. He made his debut in 1997 and won 11 games while posting a very respectable 4.25 ERA. Hopes were high going into 1998 as him repeating that performance would turn him into a reliable part of the rotation, and considering his youth, there was plenty of opportunity for improvement.

Things did not start well for Gonzalez. In his first start of the season, he faced seven batters, and all seven of them reached base, with four walks and three hits, including a home run from Gary Sheffield. The only good news is that Amaury Telemaco only let two of the three inherited runners score.

After that, Gonzalez turned things around as his ERA dropped in each of his next six starts. During that span, he struck out 10 Dodgers in seven innings and ended that streak with a complete game shutout of the San Francisco Giants. His ERA was at a respectable 4.38, and it looked like he might be ready to take that step forward this year.

He would give up 8 runs in his next start which lasted all of 1.2 innings, and his ERA would remain in the fives for the rest of the season. He managed to stay in the rotation until the end of July before the Cubs were forced to make a change. None of those changes really worked out either, but it was change for the sake of change at that point. Gonzalez ended the season with 20 starts, 110 innings, a 5.32 ERA, but with a 4.60 FIP so he was slightly unlucky in his results.

Despite being just 23 years old in 1998, he would not pitch in the majors for the Cubs again, and due to injuries, it took him until 2003, with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, to reappear at the major league level. He put up an ERA under 4.00 while starting 25 games, but those were his last moments of glory as he struggled tremendously after that year with the Rays, followed by stints with the Red Sox, Mets, and Brewers. The Cubs only knew him as Jeremi, because he didn't tell anyone that the proper spelling of his name was Geremi until he was with the Brewers in 2006.

His life ended tragically in 2008 when he was struck by lightning on a beach in his home country of Venezuela. He was just 33 years old. Geremi Gonzalez didn't have a huge impact on the Cubs, but he was a big deal at the time. The Cubs simply didn't have real pitching prospects for the 12 years between Greg Maddux's and Kerry Wood's debut. The most exciting guys are probably Shawn Boskie, Kevin Foster, and Gonzalez. He was young, promising, and gave hope during a hopeless time. No, due to command issues, he wasn't great in 1998, but I will always think of him in a fonder way than any statistics could justify, and unjustified love is probably the best thing about sports.

In case you missed it:
Introduction
#47 - Matt Karchner
#46 - Jose Nieves
#45 - Rodney Myers
#44 - Justin Speier
#43 - Tony Fossas
#42 - Kennie Steenstra
#41 - Chris Haney
#40 - Bob Patterson
#39 - Pedro Valdes
#38 - Derrick White
#37 - Ben Van Ryn
#36 - Terrell Lowery
#35 - Don Wengert
#34 - Kurt Miller
#33 - Jason Maxwell
#32 - Kevin Foster
#31 - Mike Morgan
#30 - Felix Heredia 
#29 - Jeff Blauser
#28 - Jason Hardtke
#27 - Dave Stevens
#26 - Manny Alexander
#25 - Marc Pisciotta
#24 - Kevin Orie
#23 - Sandy Martinez
#22 - Terry Adams
#21 - Matt Mieske
#20 - Amaury Telemaco
#19 - Tyler Houston

The 47 Best Players from the 1998 Chicago Cubs - #23 Sandy Martinez

23. Sandy Martinez
Sandy Martinez never really hit the ball. His best year going up through the minors was back in 1993 in low-A where he put up a .263/.313/.396 line which is usually a line that gets you released. His numbers were worse the next year, and he was rewarded by being named the 77th best prospect by Baseball America. Vladimir Guerrero was eight spots lower despite having a OPS that was more than 250 points better than Martinez.

This is all just a way of saying that this was a man who was valued strictly for his defense. The Cubs traded a minor league pitcher to the Blue Jays to acquire Martinez before the 1998 season. When you have the chance to get a guy who put up a .304 slugging percentage at Triple-A the previous season, you have to find a way to get that guy on your roster.

When you hit very little and are mostly known for defense, there isn't a lot of room for memorable moments, but Martinez was involved in possibly the most memorable moment of the season as he was Kerry Wood's catcher when Wood struck out 20 batters in one game. As good of a game as I'm sure Martinez called, I'm going to have to give slightly more credit to Wood so you'll have to wait to read about that game.

And he did manage his best offensive season for the Cubs that year, managing a .264/.363/.391 line. That is a shockingly good on-base percentage. I know he nearly exclusively batted eighth, but what kind of pitcher is walking Sandy Martinez and his sub-400 slugging percentage, especially if it meant having to face Kerry Wood in the lineup.

Martinez's offensive prowess carried over to the playoffs. In Game 3 of the NLDS, the Cubs entered the eighth inning down just 1-0. Greg Maddux was pitching a gem for the bad guys. Still, Jose Hernandez led off with a single. Sandy Martinez, who had just entered as a defensive replacement, came through in the clutch and also hit a single. Then, Lance Johnson hit a single to load up the bases with no outs. The Braves took Maddux out of the game, and Mickey Morandini got the Cubs first run across with a sacrifice fly. Sammy Sosa struck out, but Mark Grace managed to hit a single and bring in Martinez for what should have been the go-ahead run. Unfortunately, this all took place in the bottom of the eighth after the Braves had put up five runs in the top of the eighth, so instead of the Cubs taking a 2-1 lead, it just brought the Cubs to 6-2. They did not win this game, but Martinez had a perfect batting average in the playoffs.

The Cubs kept him around for 1999 but Martinez hit .167 in just 30 at bats that year. He would then bounce around to the Marlins, Expos, Indians, and Red Sox before his career was over. Sandy Martinez was never going to light the world on fire with his bat, but he did as well as anyone could have expected in 1998, was involved in the most memorable regular season game of the year, and managed to come through in the clutch in his one playoff at bat. There may not be much to get excited about Sandy Martinez, but there is nothing to fault him for either. That's about as impressive as it gets for a third catcher.

In case you missed it:
Introduction
#47 - Matt Karchner
#46 - Jose Nieves
#45 - Rodney Myers
#44 - Justin Speier
#43 - Tony Fossas
#42 - Kennie Steenstra
#41 - Chris Haney
#40 - Bob Patterson
#39 - Pedro Valdes
#38 - Derrick White
#37 - Ben Van Ryn
#36 - Terrell Lowery
#35 - Don Wengert
#34 - Kurt Miller
#33 - Jason Maxwell
#32 - Kevin Foster
#31 - Mike Morgan
#30 - Felix Heredia 
#29 - Jeff Blauser
#28 - Jason Hardtke
#27 - Dave Stevens
#26 - Manny Alexander
#25 - Marc Pisciotta
#24 - Kevin Orie

2017 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers - AL East

Although baseball season is still a few weeks away, fantasy baseball season is here as draft rooms are opening and people are spending fake auction dollars on their favorite players. Everybody knows about the Mike Trouts and Clayton Kershaws of the world, so what you need to do stand out is find those hidden gems on each roster to propel yourself to fantasy greatness. I am going to go through each MLB roster to find at least one underrated player who will have you looking like a genius at the end of the season.

Today, after going with the less sexy divisions in the American League, we go with the most talked about division in all the land, the AL East.

Baltimore Orioles - Dylan Bundy
I've been all-in on Dylan Bundy since he was drafted in 2012, so the fact that I can still buy low on him excites me. He's probably not going to be the game changing pitcher I expected when he was blowing through every minor leaguer that stood in front of him. Due to injuries, he's a different pitcher, but he's still shown that he could be a very good pitcher. Even though he struggled more as a starter in the second half, he was still striking out over a batter an inning, and he's still building up his strength after coming back from injuries. Right now, he's a ranked as a late round flyer, but I think he can produce a mid 3 ERA with a strikeout per inning which wouldn't be a bad haul for a final round pick.

Boston Red Sox - Eduardo Rodriguez
It's damn near impossible to find an underrated Red Sox player. I mean, even Pablo Sandoval made the top 300. Hanley Ramirez ranked 69 which is nice. Maybe I could take a flyer on their top prospect, Andrew Benitendi, but he's already ranked ahead one of the greatest hitters ever, Albert Pujols, so yeah, I can't really say he's underrated. Let's go with Rodriguez who struggled at the beginning of the year but basically pitched like a number two starter in the second half of the season. I doubt he'll be quite that good, but if he gets anything close to that, then he'll be worth it.

New York Yankees - Gary Sanchez
I know this isn't a deep sleeper or anything, but it was the only way I could avoid recommending Chris Carter (I always recommend Chris Carter). I know he's ranked as the second best catcher, but he was only at 113 overall, and that seems at least 30 spots too low. I don't think he's Catcher Babe Ruth, but he's still damn good, and considering the lack of options at catcher, he's worth going above his ranking to go out and secure his services for the year.

Tampa Bay Rays - Jake Odorizzi
Odorizzi's only real issue last year was health, and before that, he had proved to be rather durable. The split may put some extra strain on his arm, but considering the strong track record, he's a pitcher I'd like to have this year. Computer projections continue to love the Rays, so eventually they're going to have to be right...right?

Toronto Blue Jays - Troy Tulowitzki
Making a case with my head for Tulowitzki isn't the easiest. He has been a disappointment since getting traded from Colorado to Toronto. Still, he wasn't too bad last year as he hit 24 home runs, and had he had a better BABIP, he could have easily raised his batting average 20 points. That's what I see happening this year as a little better luck gets him closer to his former glory although not quite all the way there. Is this my head talking? No, but the heart wants what the heart wants. 

A Cardinals Fan, a Cubs Fan, a Red Sox Fan, and a Tigers Fan Walk Into a Bar

...they all walk in at different times, and take seats at the bar.

The Cubs, Red Sox, and Tigers fan start conversing at the bar. The Cubs/Cardinals game is on, and even though the conversation starts on baseball, the fans of their respective teams also converse on Arkansas, Michigan, and Iowa football. Laughs are shared by all, and they are the life of the party.

The Cardinals fan sits quietly on his laptop and stays away from any and all conversation. To call him a party pooper would be an insult to shit.

The three baseball fans marvel at the skills of Jake Arrieta, because even though he didn't have his best outing, he has been on an incredible run in the second half of the season.

The Cardinals fan gets incredibly bitter at the mere mention of Jake Arrieta, because Cubs fans think he's so great. Uh, yeah dude. The reason Cubs fans are like that is because he is pretty great.

The three baseball fans continue to commiserate over sushi and beers.

The Cardinals fan gets a club sandwich (the #1 sandwich for children) and white wine, because of course the white wine pairs perfectly with the Hellman's Mayo on his sandwich.

The three baseball fans all agree that the Cubs are the team to root for in these playoffs.

And worst of all, the Cardinals fan roots for the Cardinals. He was the worst.

To be fair, this all happened for game three. For the final game of the series, I was at a sports bar and sat next to a totally pleasant, female, Cardinals fan. I don't even think she ate any mayonnaise.

Jose Canseco Is Clearly Trolling All Of Us

Jose Canseco may show the greatest use of 140 characters in Twitter history. He has amused the masses for years, and he is showing no signs of slowing down. But sometimes, I have to stop and think, "Is Jose Canseco too good at Twitter?" Are these really his thoughts, or is he just trolling us to make the masses go insane at his tweets? After this weekend, I think we need to all at least open up to the possibility that he is trolling us. Let's look at his latest tweets:

great to be back in the bay area. lots of good memories here. wish i couldve been at the red sox 100 aniversary
— Jose Canseco (@JoseCanseco) April 13, 2012

Now this seems sincere. I have no doubt that Jose would very much like to be invited to any sort of celebration, especially a baseball celebration. But let's be real here, if I'm willing to pay for hotel and airfare, he would probably be pretty pumped about coming to my birthday party this year. And if you're reading this Jose, hit me up, we can make that happen.

but maybe the invite went to my california home and i moved. havent updated address yet with postal office
— Jose Canseco (@JoseCanseco) April 13, 2012

There is no way Jose believes this. Every single day, he talks about how he is unfairly blackballed from the game he loves for trying to save it by exposing the world to the steroid problem. Every single day this happens. So why would he not be invited to the Red Sox 100th Anniversary? Oh, because he hasn't updated his address, so his invite just sits at his old California home.

He's got to be fucking with us, right? I sure hope so, but let's see what else is on his mind.

Titanic 100 years wOw. Global warming couldve saved titanic. Sad to say
— Jose Canseco (@JoseCanseco) April 15, 2012

Okay, he's definitely trolling. And on top of that, this tweet makes me sad, because despite this being such an inane idea, I knew exactly what he was talking about. Global warming makes the world warmer, so it should have melted the iceberg that The Titanic hit, and therefore it would have had a safe maiden voyage. I have clearly been writing about Jose too much.

Titanic reminds me of the days I had two yachts in Miami but no icicles
— Jose Canseco (@JoseCanseco) April 15, 2012

While most people would look at this tweet as further evidence of trolling, I do a complete 180 on my trolling accusations. Yes, he is talking about having not one, but two yachts, but that is not the important thing to focus on in this tweet. He thinks the Titanic hit an icicle. Not an iceberg, an icicle. Let me show you a couple pictures to demonstrate my point.

Here is an iceberg:

Yeah, that thing could totally take out a large boat. It's huge. I have no doubt an iceberg like this took out The Titanic. Now here is a second picture, this time of an icicle:

This is what Jose Canseco thought sank The Titanic. It's not that Jose is trolling us; it is just Jose being Jose.

Slap the haters. Hugs for you, Jose.

Moneyball 2 Is Going To Be Awesome

As I am sure a lot of you know, Moneyball got six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actor (Brad Pitt), and Best Supporting Actor (Jonah Hill). Was it worthy of these nominations? That’s debatable, but certainly not in my mind as somehow the Academy overlooked the contributions of everyone involved in Fast Five.

Moneyball was a solid movie, but it is going to pale in comparison to Moneyball 2. Michael Lewis has not written that book, but the story started to unfold a couple days ago with one innocent tweet.

JoseCanseco Jose Canseco 

 

Billy is probably as good looking as brad pitt
Oh, yes, this is starting off better than I could have hoped. Way to butter him up, Jose. Now, let's follow it up with something casual.

JoseCanseco Jose Canseco 

 

I am going to play this year
Excellent. Let the world know of your intentions. Now it's time to go for the kill.

JoseCanseco Jose Canseco 

 

Billy beane call me would love to dh for you just give me a tryout that's all I ask
YES! Billy Beane and I both know that aging slugger/former steroid user/reality TV star is the newest market inefficiency in baseball. Some scouts overrate players who look good in jeans. Have you seen Jose Canseco move lately? He can probably barely put on jeans. Does that matter? Hell no! We're talking about the man who led the Yuma Scorpions in Home Runs last year...with 8. Get this man signed immediately.

JoseCanseco Jose Canseco 

 

Baseball hates bill James but the Boston red sox hired him .that's from the movie money ball .baseball hates me maybe they can hire me
This may be the most underrated tweet in the history of Twitter. Its simplicity is what makes it so beautiful. Jose Canseco is nearly 50 years old, but looking at this tweet, you would guess the age of the Tweeter to be somewhere between 5-7. It sounds like he is doing show-and-tell for his Kindergarten class, and he is explaining how this one guy overcame odds, so I will also overcome odds, and it will be great. It’s also sad, because everyone just wants to push this kid out of the way, because the kid coming up next brought in his pet turtle.

JoseCanseco Jose Canseco 

Fenway 350 lifetime batting average 1 hr per every 9 at bats .I am ready to play for Boston give me a tryout
Then Jose got to thinking. If Boston hired Bill James, maybe they will hire Jose Canseco. What is Moneyball about? Stats, so Jose Canseco shows off his inner-sabermatrician, and drops home runs per at bat in a specific ballpark. Is Jose hinting that the new market inefficiency might be nerds? Look how well Ivy League graduate Sam Fuld did last year…for the first two months of the season. Another benefit is that Jose showed off his Scott Boras side to create a BIDDING WAR. How high will they go?

JoseCanseco Jose Canseco 

I guess murderers and child molestors get more chances than I do
Don’t worry, Jose. Your time will come. You are a better man than James Early Ray and Jerry Sandusky combined…wait a minute, that combination would just create a racist, molesting murderer, so yes, you are totally better than that combination. Please, Oakland or Boston, make this happen. If the World Series Ring isn’t sweet enough, how does hundreds of millions of dollars in movie revenue sound? Plus, I’ve already got a great tagline.

“He’s not a murderer, he’s not a rapist, he’s Jose Canseco, and he’s finally getting a second chance…Moneyball 2.”

My only question is: Great idea or greatest idea ever?

I’m going with the latter.