Whose Ratings Should be Dropped in MLB '09: The Show?

Feature Article

Submitted on: 02/19/2009 by Richard Chavez

Peaks and valleys are a part of life and baseball. With that in mind, some of the guys on the list below are on the normal path of decline, some are young guys with long careers ahead of them, and one is still great, just not as much. However, all five of them deserve at least a slight drop in MLB 09: The Show.

5. Todd Helton - After taking advantage of Coors Field for the past decade or so, eventually Todd Helton was going to cool off. His home run totals have dipped over the years, but his batting average and on-base acumen were more than enough to keep his spot in the lineup. However, last year had to be tough for Helton. He missed half the season due to a back injury, and he only hit .264 when he was active. With a lot of players up in the air and Matt Holliday no longer slugging in Colorado, Helton could go to a team in need of a quick fix. If you try to trade for him in your franchise, be wary of his no-trade clause.

4. Troy Tulowitzki - I made the same mistake many of you did, picking Troy Tulowitzki early in my fantasy baseball league. I won the league, but I could not attribute anything to Tulowitzki. The weekly roster updates in MLB 08 meant you missed Tulo the entire month of May and most of June. When he was in the lineup, he did not fare so well -- his home run totals and average dropped significantly. Still, Rockies fans should not get too depressed because at least Tulowitzki has plenty of time to improve. But I would be a bit worried considering how short the Clint Barmes era was.

3. Brad Penny - After starting in the All-Star game for the National League in 2007, Brad Penny spent a good portion of his 2008 campaign on the disabled list. His ERA doubled and he gave up almost the same amount of hits in less than half of the innings. The Red Sox have a deep rotation at the moment, so it is hard to tell where you will find him in the middle of April. If your MLB 09 franchise is hurting in May, you might be able to pick up Penny for nearly the same price. He will not turn your rotation into a powerhouse, but another live arm can never hurt.

2. Justin Verlander - Miguel Cabrera, Edgar Renteria, Jacque Jones. All three were brought in to compete with the Yankees and Red Sox in the offensive output categories. However, the Tigers pitching let them down. The 2008 Tigers were picked by many to win at least the AL Central. Instead, they finished dead last behind Cleveland and Kansas City. Justin Verlander came off a Cy Young-caliber 2007 with a forgettable 2008. He started one more game and pitched about the same amount of innings so it is hard to say what happened to Verlander in 2008. Either way, if you ever face Detroit online, you will still be hitting against him. The only way your opponents pick Dontrelle Willis is if they think Dontrelle is pitching in the Home Run Derby.

1. Robinson Cano - You could blame Joe Girardi, the makeshift pitching staff, injuries or anything else on the mess that was the 2008 Yankees. Plenty of people in the Bronx would point the finger at Robinson Cano. Cano was being touted as the next big thing in New York City. He hit .342 in 2006 but came down to .271 in 2008. Cano also averaged one walk a week during the season. Some say Larry Bowa leaving for Los Angeles did him in during 2008, others say it was his late nights with Melky Cabrera. While none of those things will affect his virtual self, Robinson Cano should get lower ratings in MLB 09 in 2009. The Yankees did improve on offense, but monster production from their second basemen would make them easily the most used team online.

Someone to Watch For: Jimmy Rollins - I cannot argue with how the Philadelphia Phillies performed in 2008. They should have an even better 2009, but it will be interesting to see where Jimmy Rollins stands in the equation. While some of his numbers did go up (stolen bases and on-base percentage for example), his power numbers dropped quite a bit. His role in the lineup does not call for many home runs, but we will have to find out if the 2009 Jimmy Rollins is closer to last year or his MVP 2007 season. I still would not give him something to hit in MLB 09.

In the future I will be taking a look at the MLB 2K9 ratings and doing a similar article since now the ratings for that game are out in the open.

MLB '09: The Show Videos

Member Comments

# 21 JeterFan02 @ 02/20/09 09:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeRyan33


	A-Roid. Now that everyone has their eyes on him, he might have to think twice before he injects himself. Expect his form to slide considerably.

I think all this attention will affect him but if he has been clean like he says he has with the Yankees then it shouldn't matter quite as much!

# 22 NAFBUC @ 02/20/09 11:58 AM

I have to think that AROD will have a down year. He will be under immense pressure to perform this year. Every road game will be a circus, and you know how the NY tabloids sensationalize ARODs every move.

The new info of a steroid dealer (who has been banned by MLB from all team facilities) has been checked into the same hotel as AROD thru 2007 will open additional questions.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?...=.jsp&c_id=mlb

The book coming out in April by Selena Roberts (according to sources that have seen excerpts of the book) will bring more pressure on AROD.

# 23 teebee @ 02/21/09 02:49 PM

Tulo shouldn't be on that list, sure technically his #'s were down last year but he had a bad injury out off spring then broke a bat and stabbed himself in the hand, pretty freak accidenty if you axe me.

Tulo is as sure a thing at SS as you can have, don't let fantasy drafts affect real life logic, the main reason i don't play fantasy (geeky game for bored white people)

# 24 royals_fan_16 @ 02/21/09 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jdurg


	I have trouble seeing how it's going to matter since his last injection was in 2003..........................

You have to take that with a grain of salt.

# 25 dave_sz @ 02/21/09 09:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jdurg


	If a pitcher doesn't have as sharp a break on his breaking ball, or much movement on his fastball, by putting junk on the ball he can give it enough extra/late movement to put the ball in a slightly different spot on the hitter's bat. As a result, what would have been a homerun or a sharply hit ground ball becomes a fly ball to the warning track or soft grounder to an infielder. So what should have been basehits against the pitcher become outs.

but the "juiced" ball doesn't affect what the batter sees. when the average player hits the ball 2.6 times out of 10, it's pretty clear that luck is a big part of it. So whether the ball break more or less, sooner or later is still only half the equation. The batter, his thinking, what he is expecting, is the other half. Actually, roids for pitchers would be the same effect. As far as i'm concerned, pitchers can take all the roids and shrooms and pills and what not as much as they want. I lost my train of thought in there somewhere...

# 26 SoxFan01605 @ 02/21/09 09:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dave_sz


	but the "juiced" ball doesn't affect what the batter sees. when the average player hits the ball 2.6 times out of 10, it's pretty clear that luck is a big part of it. So whether the ball break more or less, sooner or later is still only half the equation. The batter, his thinking, what he is expecting, is the other half. Actually, roids for pitchers would be the same effect. As far as i'm concerned, pitchers can take all the roids and shrooms and pills and what not as much as they want. I lost my train of thought in there somewhere...

lol

I think the biggest issue with steroids, HGH, etc. is more about longevity in performance rather than enhanced performance itself. The recovery of fatigue, energy boost, sped up healing (and at times, masking) of injuries, allow for longer stretches at peak performance.

Bonds, for example, was a HOF caliber player anyway. His steroid use allowed him to to play at max strength with considerably less performance drop. This would be a bigger contribution to him hitting 73 HRs than just increased strength or a flyball "stretching out," IMO. It's a more spread out and indirect effect in that sense.

It's why you won't see a scrub turn into a star, but you might see a mid-level guy turn into a star for a time. Brady Anderson was a solid enough player. A little steroids on an "up" year (I don't believe the spike was 100% attributed to "juice") and he has 50 HRs. Not saying it's all as black and white as that, but that's the premise, IMO.

All that said, how did all this get started in a "ratings drop" thread?...lol. I must have blacked out for a few pages

# 27 NikSaban @ 02/21/09 09:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jdurg


	Lol. Yup. But with a hitter using "roids", the common argument is that the flyball they normally would have hit would now be going over the wall for a homerun turning an out into a hit. Again, it's the EXACT SAME THING that a pitcher gets when they doctor the ball, and a LOT of pitchers do that. Not as infamously as Gaylord Perry, but subtley by having their catcher scuff up a ball for them, or using their nails to put a little groove in the ball. Again, it's blatant cheating but the media/public seem to accept that.

You know, I always wondered why Maddon didn't have the umps check Blanton's cap. Didn't it look like pine tar or some substance to you guys? Before every pitch he rubbed his right hand on the same spot. Dirt my @ss. LOL!

# 28 NikSaban @ 02/21/09 09:44 PM

Back on topic, lol. After seeing David Wright's ratings, some needs tweaking.

# 29 mfbball04 @ 02/21/09 10:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NikSaban


	Back on topic, lol. After seeing David Wright's ratings, some needs tweaking.

yeah but you have to realize, David Wright plays in NY alot of major market teams have alot of overrated players in baseball video games games.. just like real life, example.....ESPN thank god i have MLB Tv and NBA Tv, i can actually see Bucks/Brewers Highlights on those channels...

# 30 EnigmaNemesis @ 02/22/09 05:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jdurg


	I have trouble seeing how it's going to matter since his last injection was in 2003..........................

There are new reports that came out saying he may have used as recently as the 07 and 08 seasons.

# 31 JoeRyan33 @ 02/22/09 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeterFan02


	I think all this attention will affect him but if he has been clean like he says he has with the Yankees then it shouldn't matter quite as much!

I don't believe any of his three steroid stories. I'd imagine he's been juicing his whole career.

To the fella that mentioned there being no spike in his career stats, what exactly does that prove? Really very little, and maybe it shows that he's been consistent in his steroid use over a long period of time. I tend to believe he was on the stuff from day one, and the murmurs from his high school days would seem to suggest there's a certain element of doubt about him as far back as then.

If you want to focus on a Sammy Sosa, he was never actually caught or directly linked to anything, never failed a test that we know of. Do I think he was juicing? Having watched him as a Cub fan for years, yes. But you can't put the two of them in the same boat yet. You have to deal with the evidence before you, and the evidence is a failed a test for Primobolan and synthetic testosterone, a few different admissions of guilt, and evidence of a Union warning from Fehr prior to a 2004 test (while he was a Yankee and testing was enforced).

The thread is a little off topic, but I do genuinely believe Alex Rodriguez will slip dramatically in the next few years, especially in his ability to hit for average (which was never really his strong point anyway), as this has long been the trend for the steroid users. This suffers more than the HR/AB numbers. His obvious mental frailties may also hasten his decline.

# 32 TwinsTerritory @ 02/22/09 11:46 AM

This is more on teams, but the Minnesota Twins just signed Joe Crede, and it looks like they could get Type-A free agent Juan Cruz. Would they move up on overall rankings with these?

# 33 NAFBUC @ 02/22/09 01:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TwinsTerritory


	This is more on teams, but the Minnesota Twins just signed Joe Crede, and it looks like they could get Type-A free agent Juan Cruz. Would they move up on overall rankings with these?

I really like the Joe Crede signing TT. The Twins have won 4 divisional tiltes since 2002!

# 34 Rod_Carew29 @ 02/22/09 02:15 PM

I'll say it one mo' time

EVERYONE'S!

# 35 hiphopgamer26 @ 02/22/09 03:43 PM

D.Wright's 99 LT contact

# 36 EnigmaNemesis @ 02/23/09 09:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jdurg


	BTW, the same trainer that A-Rod was linked to who has been known to give Steroids has also been heavily tied to David Ortiz. So if you believe guilt by association, then David Ortiz is a steroid user. So yes. Let's all use facts before we start jumping to conclusions. All this "it's been said" or "it's been rumored" is all a bunch of hocus-pocus that no-name ******s come up with to try and make a name for themselves. As much as everyone would like to believe that the best player on their rival team is a juicer, until there is evidence of it, it's heresay. What we know with A-Rod is that he used steroids in 2003 according to the tests. There is no evidence at all that it was used at any other time. Only heresay. If you believe that you can convict someone without any evidence, then please get the hell out of my country because I don't EVER want you to have the right to throw someone in jail because they "seemed" guilty. Also, I think that this talk should go to the regular sports forum and out of the videogames forums. I won't make any more comments on it. I would suggest that the mods clean some of this out of the thread here as it does nothing to contribute to the game.

Great sensational words. HEAVILY?

On the rest, I agree, but fool me one, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.

MLB should be ashamed, and their fraternity of BS needs to stop. Release everyone's names, and stop sweeping superstars and saviors under the radar. They know who is doing and who is not.

# 37 GoBucs09 @ 02/23/09 05:46 PM

I blame Bud Selig and the lack of a Team Salary Cap for the Steroids issues facing baseball today.

My top 5 culprits for the current steroid problems today.

#5. The Players, cheating is cheating, have respect for yourself and the game you play, although making hundreds of millions of dollars would tempt me to cheat too.
#4. The Media, way to ignore things for so long until you realized you could make some money off it.
#3. The Owners, for not holding players to higher standards and leading the way for standard drug testing and a team salary cap.
#2. Lack of a salary cap, if the most any player could make was say 10 or 15 million a year then maybe players wouldn’t be tempted to try anything to get rich quick. If there wasn't that temptation and they still cheated then the players would deserve far more blame. Seriously though there are people who do a lot worse in this world than cheat at a game for a hell of a lot less then these guys make.
#1. Bud Selig, this guy had every opportunity to do something back in the 90's but sat on it. Everything that has happened this decade is his doing and rests solely on his shoulders.

Notice how the owners, Selig and the media kinda play it off and try to get the fans attention on the players and whether there should be a * next to their stats or if they should get into the hall of fame?

# 38 careyevan @ 02/23/09 08:29 PM

after looking at the top LFers in the game ALOU needs to really be dropped.

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