(OPINIONS OF A FORMER BASEBALL SCOUT)

Bernie Pleskoff was a Professional Scout for the Houston Astros and the Seattle Mariners.  He lives in Cave Creek, Arizona and writes for Rotowire.com

Since I went to Scout School and worked as a professional scout for the Houston Astros and Seattle Mariners, I haven't been able to watch a baseball game without evaluating each and every player.  I don't watch a game the way I did before I worked as a scout.

There are so many nuances and particulars that are of critical importance when evaluating a player.  At Scout School, the score of the ballgame being played didn't matter.  Only the mechanics and tools of the players being observed really counted.  Scouting isn't an exact science.  Scouts form opinions based upon what they see and learn about players.

Why do they make strawberry ice cream?  Because not everyone like vanilla.  Different scouts have different opinions and not all scouts agree on the same player.  Scouts can see the same player on the same day at the same game and have totally different opinions.  If it were easy to predict the success or failure of a baseball player, mistakes wouldn't be made.  That's not the case in the real world.  Mistakes on evaluating baseball players occur all the time.  Reputations and careers are created and destroyed by poor scouting evaluations.

In this blog, I will be sharing my thoughts about players.  I'll share my thoughts about players I like and players I can't quite recommend.  I'll give you the reasons for my final opinion.  Check back each week, as I'll probably post at least once a week.

Be sure to read my weekly column on Rotowire.com to get a lengthy evaluation of minor league players.  I write about a different player every week.  You will also find EXTRA INNINGS at the conclusion of every Rotowire column, just like the conclusion of this blog.

Welcome.  Please feel free to email me at thebigstrawhat@aol.com  I'd like to hear from you.

Below, please find some thumbnail sketches of a few interesting players.  The last line of each evaluation will give you my recommendation from strictly a fantasy point of view.

Brian Matusz-LHP Baltimore Orioles

Matusz has a tremendous future as a starting pitcher.  He is a composed, mature lefty with a repertoire of pitches that includes a plus slider, a very good change-up and a very good fastball.  Matusz has already advanced to AA in the Orioles organization after just one-half season of pitching professionally.  I project Matusz to be a #2 to #4 starter.  He has a tendency to work backwards against hitters, using his slider to set up his fastball.  He has no qualms about using any pitch at any time in the count.  He has good command of all his pitches and along the way he will pick up some strikeouts.  However, I view him more as a pitch to contact pitcher.  He's a keeper.

Matt Brown-1B and 3B Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Brown has been on the radar of the Angels for quite some time.  He was a 10th round selection in the draft out of high school in Maryland.  He has always hit for average and power in the minor leagues.  This year is a bit different, as he's struggling.  Brown could be in the future mix of the Angels at both corner infield positions.  But, the Angels are loaded with infield talent, so Brown's best chance for major league play might be with a different organization.  Stay away until you know for certain his career is advancing.

Brandon Wood-SS and 3B Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Called up to the big club earlier this year, Wood showed the type of inconsistency that has plagued his career.  But to be fair, his playing time was very limited.  To date, Wood has shown that he might be too skilled for AAA and not quite consistent enough for the major leagues.  Time and patience are needed.  He has to become more disciplined at the plate, which he is working on.  He is still very young, but he is prone to chasing pitches down and away.  There are a number of teams that would like to take Brandon Wood off the Angels' hands. He has power and he is learning and growing every day.  He's a keeper.

EXTRA INNINGS

People often ask me about the best baseball players I have ever seen.

Here they are in order:

1-Roberto Clemente-pure poetry in RF for the Pirates.  He could hit for average, hit for power, run, throw with accuracy and with arm strength and field his position better than most right fielders I have ever seen.  The ball jumped off his bat.  He played with flair and the greatest of skill.  There really wasn't anything this man couldn't do on a baseball field.

2-Willie Mays- I would guess Mays is more 1A than a pure #2 on my list.  He changed games with one swing of the bat.  His home runs were majestic.  His game included tremendous offense as well as defense beyond belief.  His basket catch in the 1954 World Series against Cleveland's Vic Wertz may never be duplicated.  Mays was amazing.

3-Albert Pujols-We are witnessing one of the greatest all around players ever.  Is there anything he can't do?  Is there any pitch he can't hit?  Pujols sets up pitchers rather than the other way around. He may swing and miss a couple of times just to test a certain pitch.  The pitch comes again and... Bam!  Ask Brad Lidge. He hits for power, hits for average, can run, can throw, and plays tremendous first base.  Year in and year out, where would the Cardinals be without Albert?  What a player.  I'm just thrilled to get to watch him.

4-Mickey Mantle- What could he have been if he had two sound legs?  He was hurt much of his career.  What made him so great was his ability to hit equally well from both sides of the plate.  He was his best during the post-season when the stage was the greatest and the pressure the highest.  He was a fantastic center fielder and a game breaker.

5-Henry Aaron- It was no fluke that balls just kept carrying and carrying off Hammerin' Hank's bat.  He was a wrist hitter with superb hitting mechanics that relied upon technique as opposed to pure strength and power to get results.  His bat speed as well as his selectivity and discipline at the plate set him apart.

6-Ted Williams-I did get to see Williams play at the end of his career.  He had a tremendous, very disciplined swing.  He was the supreme contact hitter with power.  Bat speed and selectivity were the keys to his success.  He got just enough loft in that swing to carry the ball over the fence.  He is best known as a great hitter, but he could really do it all.

7-Barry Bonds-Personality and demeanor aside, Barry Bonds' skills can not be denied.  He was hitting home runs and playing world-class baseball for years before any controversy regarding the off the field choices he made came to light.  Bonds had a classic swing using what appeared to be a very short bat.  Pitchers began to pitch around Bonds or intentionally walk him at the end of his career.  Who knows how much better Bonds' stats could have been if he had hitting protection in the Giants lineup?

8-Stan Musial- "The Man" had outstanding ability to use the entire field and wear out pitchers.  He took pitches where they were thrown.  He didn't try to drive everything out of the park.  Rather, he was very happy to beat the opponent with his hitting skills and overall baseball abilities and instincts.  He was very, very consistent.

9-Pete Rose- This one pains me more than anything.  To think that such a hustler became such a "hustler" is beyond belief.  The man could just flat out hit.  The man could run.  I really loved to watch him go from first to third or second to home with total, all out energy.  He never worried about his own body or the body of others when he ran.  Ask Ray Fosse.  He would get on base with a single or double then run until he found a way to score.  He was a hitting machine with great mechanics and outstanding instincts and plate disicpline.

10-Ricky Henderson- Not only did he steal more bases than anyone else, he hit lead off home runs and scored runs in bunches.  He set the table and kept his teams in games.  Henderson had superb bat control.  He had a great stroke, patience at the plate and an ability to get on base day after day, game after game.  He found a way to beat the opposition.  He was not only fast, but he was quick.  There's a difference.  His first step from first to second was the key to his success.  He was a pure joy to watch play the game.

11-Omar Vizquel- No list of mine can be complete without the name of this great defensive shortstop.  He could make plays other middle infielders only dreamed of.  My favorite?  Scooping a ball up bare handed, planting his feet and just getting the runner at first by a step.  Or how about going to the hole, planting his feet and barely getting the runner with the gun he called an arm.  And how about the way he could smoothly glide behind the second base bag and without planting his feet fire a strike to first to get the runner!  He did the same thing day after day, game after game.  Simply the best!  (Note:  Alcides Escobar of the Milwaukee organization is showing some of the same defensive qualities as Omar.  While I doubt lightning can strike again, he could be a very good shortstop).

Honorable Mention:

Johnny Bench, Rod Carew, Harmon Killebrew, Joe Morgan, Duke Snider, Yogi Berra, Al Kaline, Willie McCovey and Mike Schmidt.

Next Blog:  The best pitchers I ever saw.

Write me at thebigstrawhat@aol.com