footballstu

This football season has been somewhat painful to watch. The playoffs even more so as the top teams that ought to have knocked the Patriots off kept falling before getting the chance. Between the Cowboys, Packers, and Colts, the Patriots didn't face any of the other three top four teams during the playoffs. On top of that, the Chargers faced the Patriots without their two biggest weapons being at full strength.

Knowing that we'd face the second most obnoxious fan base in sports talking about their two titles in MLB and football back-to-back for the next 9 months if the Giants didn't knock them off, I was rooting hard for the Giants, despite not being a Giants fan.

How nice it is to see this team go on to victory, or more importantly, to see Tom Brady and the Patriots lose. I don't often root for other teams to lose, but in this case, I did. And am I ever glad they won.

In this new world, 14-6 is greater than 18-1. Thank you Eli Manning and Plaxico Burress for a great evening of football!

Unfortunately, Troy Tulowitzki turned 23 in October, which is a bit of a bummer.  He'd clearly be #1.  Regardless, there are some good prospects at this premium defensive position.  There's even a Royal here!

1. Reid Brignac, Rays, 1/16/1986

Brignac has most everything you'd want from a shortstop prospect.  He hasn't shown the plate discipline he had in the low minors though since he moved up to AA.  He may need another couple years in the minors to complete his development, but his power and speed is already present.

527 AB, .260/.328/.433 17 HR, 15 SB, 5 CS

2. Mike Moustakas, Royals, 9/11/1988

Amazingly, the Royals actually drafted this guy.  Even more amazingly, they signed this guy.  He was the top hitter in last year's draft, and set the California record for home runs with 52 in his HS career.  The guy's even a good pitcher, so his arm will play well at short.  He's a bit stocky and may need to move off of short, but I actually think he's got a chance to stick there.  He was great in his pro debut, and should move quickly, seeing the majors sometime in 2010.

Rookie stats: 41 AB, .293/.383/.439

3. Elvis Andrus, Rangers, 8/26/1988

A defense-first shortstop, Andrus should be a nice player.  He's never going to hit for power, though, so he's going to need to improve his plate discipline.  His .338 obp from last season isn't going to cut it.

HiA Stats: .257/.338/.343, 40 SB, 15 CS


4. Carlos Triunfel, Mariners, 2/27/1990

He was only 17 in his debut, so it's hard to say how much of what he did last year will stick with him as he develops.  Still, he showed no power, no patience, and got caught stealing more times than he stole bases.  He's a good prospect, but he's so far away and hasn't shown enough to warrant his promotion to HiA.

HiA stats:  371 AB,.296/.333/367 17 BB, 57 SO, 7 SB, 12 CS