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Some more good stuff from around the SweetSpot network ...

• Ben Duronio examines Craig Kimbrel's breaking ball. Some label the pitch a slider or slurve, but Kimbrel refers to it as a curveball. Here's all that matters: It's a devastating pitch.
• Value Over Replacement Grit has an in-depth look at the "Three True Outcomes" concept (a batter either hitting a home run, drawing a walk or striking out) and applies it to entire teams. Which teams in history have best emulated a TTO attitude?
• Chip Buck of Fire Brand compares the AL East rotations.
• Alex Gordon may be close to signing a one-year deal with the Royals. Craig Brown of Royals Authority has a reaction and breaks down what a potential long-term deal could look like.
• Camden Depot's Jon Shepherd examines what Manny Ramirez could potentially bring if the Orioles sign him.
• Marlins reliever Steve Cishek flew under the radar as a rookie but posted impressive numbers. Jonathan Mitchell at Marlins Daily asks whether Cishek should be considered for a high-leverage role in the Marlins' bullpen.
• At Baseball Prospectus, Aaron Gleeman reviews the Johan Santana trade between the Mets and Twins. With that article in mind, Bill Baer looks back the deals that brought the Phillies Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt.
• Considering what the Brewers traded to get Zack Greinke -- compared to what the Reds gave up for Mat Latos and the Cubs to acquire Matt Garza -- that deal is looking like a steal for Milwaukee, writes Jack Moore.
• Joey Matschulat opines on Elvis Andrus' three-year extension with the Rangers.
• Chris Quick looks at some of the PECOTA projections for the Giants. (PECOTA is the projection system used by Baseball Prospectus.) What about new outfielder Melky Cabrera? Well ... let's just say the Giants may still struggle to score runs.
• Yes, Cubs fans, you have reasons to be optimistic!
• For my fellow Mariners fans, Brendan Gawlowski has a good look at the Mariners' non-roster invites.

And a few more links from elsewhere ...

• John Sickels of Minor League Ball with a fun look at the top 30 position players in baseball and how they were viewed as prospects. Here does the same thing for the top 25 pitchers.
• ESPNBoston kicks off its "10 Question in 10 Days" series heading into spring training with Gordon Edes' look at Bobby Valentine.
• ESPNNewYork has a similar series with the Yankees and Andrew Marchand writes that Johnny Damon is the right fit for the Yankees' DH slot.
• Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas is going position-by-position with the Rangers and looks at Yu Darvish.
• Mark Saxon says that Vernon Wells -- and not Mike Trout -- will be the Angels' left fielder.
• Dave Cameron of FanGraphs lists his top 10 moves of the offseason ... and his 10 worst.
• Mentioned briefly above, Baseball Prospectus has reintroduced PECOTA, its player projection system. Colin Wyers has the details here.
• George Brett's company is being sued. Wait ... you mean those necklaces don't actually improve athletic performance?

This exercise has no scientific value whatsoever. But it's fun. Let's go position by position and see whether the Texas Rangers or Los Angeles Angels rate higher. For the purpose of this discussion, we'll assume the Rangers will sign Yu Darvish.

Catcher: Mike Napoli vs. Chris Iannetta

Here's the thing about Napoli: He actually hit better on the road in 2011, so his monster season wasn't just a result of changing to a better park. After hitting .187 through May 27, Napoli finished at .232 in the first half and crushed the ball after the All-Star break, hitting .383/.466/.706 (wait, why was he batting eighth in the World Series?). Napoli cut his strikeout rate over 7 percent from 2010 and increased his walk rate. He did have a .344 average on balls in play compared to his career mark of .303, even though his line-drive percentage was only 1 percent higher, so some regression is no doubt in order. Still, his booming bat makes this a clear selection. Advantage: Rangers.

First base: Mitch Moreland vs. Albert Pujols

Moreland had a disappointing sophomore season, although he played through a wrist injury that required surgery in November. He also requires a platoon partner against left-handers. He does, however, ground into fewer double plays than Pujols. OK, I managed to write one paragraph attempting to compare Mitch Moreland to Albert Pujols. Advantage: Angels.

Second base: Ian Kinsler vs. Howie Kendrick

Kinsler hit 32 home runs, stole 30 bases in 34 attempts and turned the double play as pretty as anybody in the game . Kendrick had his best season with that bat and with the glove, with the defensive metrics giving him an outstanding rating. Overall, FanGraphs.com rated Kinsler as the sixth most valuable position player in the majors in 2011, and Kendrick 18th. Now, I don't believe Kinsler is the sixth-best player in baseball and the big argument against that is he hit just .214 on the road and owns a career average 67 points higher at home. It would be interesting to see Kendrick hitting at Rangers Ballpark. Still, Kinsler's power, defense and speed gives him the edge. Advantage: Rangers.

Third base: Adrian Beltre vs. Alberto Callaspo

You could probably dig up enough numbers to make this an interesting argument. For example, Callaspo had the higher on-base percentage in 2011, .366 to .331. Callaspo hit .309/.368/.436 on the road in 2011 while Beltre hit .271/.297/.440. But let's not get too silly here. Advantage: Rangers.

Shortstop: Elvis Andrus vs. Erick Aybar

This is one probably closer than you think. Or maybe not. But it does show Andrus' level of national exposure is pretty high for a guy who hit five home runs and made 25 errors. Andrus led in FanGraphs' WAR, 4.5 to 4.0, while Aybar led in Baseball-Reference WAR, 4.7 to 3.5. Andrus has the better range and on-base skills and is one of the best baserunners in the league, but his lack of power helps tilt the comparison toward Aybar. Andrus did increase his extra-base hits from 18 to 35 and he just turned 23, so maybe that slight increase in doubles power is arriving. Aybar had an excellent 2009, a poor 2010 and a solid 2011. Both are good players. A close call, but I like Andrus' chances of raising his game a bit in 2012. Advantage: Rangers.

Left field: David Murphy vs. Vernon Wells

Murphy wasn't actually very good in 2011. But he was better than Wells. (In fact, for all the talk about the Rangers going after Prince Fielder to upgrade first base, why no talk about upgrading left field?) Of course, they could slide Josh Hamilton to left if Leonys Martin is ready for center, but Martin seems ticketed for at least half a season in Triple-A. Advantage: Rangers.

Center field: Josh Hamilton vs. Peter Bourjos

Here's the deal: If the Rangers called up the Angels and said, "We'll offer you Hamilton for Bourjos," who hangs up first? Certainly, if you consider the contracts of each, the Angels hang up. But what if we ignore the financial circumstances? What do the Angels say? You have a supreme flychaser in Bourjos who had a solid year with the bat in his first full season. Hamilton was awesome in his 2010 MVP season, but his OBP in 2009 was .315 and in 2011 it was .346, hardly sterling figures for playing in a hitter's paradise. And he's injury prone. In fact, both FanGraphs and Baseball-Reference rated Bourjos as the better player in 2011. And, no, that's not because he played more often -- Bourjos only had 14 more plate appearances. Hamilton had only 12 more extra-base hits and drew only seven more walks. He outhit Bourjos .298 to .271. Hamilton was better at the plate, but not by a large margin. Anyway, I give Hamilton the edge since Bourjos has to prove he can do this again and Hamilton's mammoth 2010 still buzzes our memories. Advantage: Rangers

Right field: Nelson Cruz vs. Torii Hunter

Cruz is another example of why the Texas lineup is a bit overrated: He posted a .312 OBP in 2011, which placed him 112th out of 148 regulars with 500 plate appearances. Now, when he gets hot -- as we saw in the ALCS -- he can be unstoppable, but when he's off he'll chase pitchers out of the zone. His career season in 2010 appears fueled by a higher than normal .348 average on balls in play. While he has a strong arm, Rangers fans unfortunately saw his lack of range on display in Game 6 of the World Series. Hunter, on the hand, is getting old and didn't hit right-handers very well in 2011. Still, his .313 OBP against righties was higher than Cruz's season total. Factor in Hunter's durability and defense and Cruz's annual aches and pains, and I'll go Hunter. Advantage: Angels.

Designated hitter: Michael Young vs. Mark Trumbo

Hey, it's 2011's two most overrated players! Advantage: Rangers. Although I'd like to see home many home runs Trumbo could hit in Arlington.

Bench: Yorvit Torrealba/Craig Gentry/Julio Borbon vs. Hank Conger/Maicer Izturis/Bobby Abreu/Kendrys Morales

Big edge here to the Angels. And while the Rangers have Martin on the horizon, the Angels can counter with Mike Trout. Advantage: Angels.

No. 1 starter: Yu Darvish vs. Jered Weaver

Weaver has been one of baseball's top 10 starters the past two seasons. Darvish may be good, but as good as Weaver? That's expecting a lot. Advantage: Angels.

No. 2 starter: Matt Harrison vs. Dan Haren

The ERA difference between the two was small -- Harrison's 3.39 versus Haren's 3.17, and once you factor in the home parks, Harrison actually had the better adjusted ERA. On the other hand, Haren had a 192/33 strikeout/walk ratio compared to Harrison's 126/57. While he benefits from being in the perfect park for him, we have to go with Haren's proven record of success and durability. Advantage: Angels.

No. 3 starter: Derek Holland vs. C.J. Wilson

Wilson had a 2.31 ERA on the road in 2011. Don't be surprised if he contends for the Cy Young Award in 2012. Advantage: Angels.

No. 4 starter: Colby Lewis vs. Ervin Santana

Unlike Haren, as a flyball pitcher Lewis is probably in the worst park for him. He gave up 35 home runs in 2011, and 23 of those came at home. On the road, he went 9-5 with a 3.43 ERA. The underlying results of the two are pretty similar, although Santana has better stuff. I get the feeling that if you switched parks, they'd post each other's numbers. Advantage: Draw.

No. 5 starter: Neftali Feliz vs. Jerome Williams

In his first promotion to the majors in 2009, Feliz averaged 11.3 K's per nine with a 4.9 strikeout-to-walk ratio. In 2010, those numbers fell to 9.2 and 3.94. In 2011, they fell again, to 7.8 and 4.3. Why is he getting worse? Will a move to the rotation help? Did he throw his fastball too much? Will he recover from blowing the clinching game of the World Series? All intriguing questions without answers to be determined. Jerome Williams -- yes, the kid who came up with the Giants in 2003 when he was just 21 -- is still just 30 years old. He made it back to the majors after beginning the year in independent ball. Advantage: Rangers.

Closer: Joe Nathan vs. Jordan Walden

From June 28 on, Nathan pitched 28 innings, allowed a .190 average and struck out 28 batters with just five walks. You can't read too much into 28 innings, but it's a good sign that it just took him some time to recover from Tommy John surgery. Walden led the majors with 10 blown saves, but his underlying numbers were all strong. I love his power fastball and with a little better command, he should be dynamite. Advantage: Angels.

Bullpen: Alexi Ogando/Mike Adams/Koji Uehara/Scott Feldman/Mark Lowe vs. Scott Downs/LaTroy Hawkins/Hisanori Takayashi/Rich Thompson/Bobby Cassevah

With Ogando apparently slated to move back to the pen and a full season from Adams, the Rangers' pen looks deep although it currently lacks a reliable left-hander. Advantage: Rangers.

Manager: Ron Washington vs. Mike Scioscia

It's hard to give Washington the edge after his postseason performance. On the other hand, Scioscia gave Wells 500 at-bats. Advantage: Draw.

The final score: Rangers win 9-7 with two draws. But if the Angels do the same thing and ignore Wells' fat salary and play Mike Trout in left field, that would give them the edge there and even our score at 8-8. In other words, how many days until Opening Day?

ST. LOUIS -- You fight through the monotony of fielding practice in spring training. The sore elbows, the back pain, the starts when you leave your fastball in the bullpen, and maybe a surgery or two at some point in your career.

Chris Carpenter missed an entire season with shoulder surgery. He missed another season after injuring his elbow on Opening Day and undergoing Tommy John surgery. When the St. Louis Cardinals reached the World Series in 2004, he couldn’t pitch due to nerve problem in his right biceps.

A couple days ago, Tony La Russa wasn’t sure if Carpenter would be able to pitch Game 7. For one thing, the Cardinals had to win Game 6. La Russa and pitching coach Dave Duncan didn’t officially decide to go with Carpenter until Friday, going with their staff ace on three days’ rest.

There was a time, of course, when that wouldn’t have been a big deal. Christy Mathewson once tossed three shutouts in the World Series over a six-day span. Sandy Koufax pitched a three-hit shutout in 1965 on two days’ rest. Jack Morris’ famous 10-inning shutout in 1991 came on three days’ rest.

But Carpenter had only done that once before in his career -- three weeks ago, in Game 2 of the Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. He lasted three innings. It wasn’t pretty. He said he’d learned a few things from that experience. La Russa made the call: Go with the big guy, the 6-foot-6, 36-year-old veteran from New Hampshire with a scruffy growth of beard, and on this day, in the biggest game of his career, a toolbox full of pitches.

The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Texas Rangers 6-2 in a Game 7 of the World Series that couldn’t match the impossible drama and excitement of Game 6. The Rangers played hard, but their pitching staff simply ran out of gas, exemplified by the Cardinals’ fifth inning, when they scored two runs without getting the ball out of the infield -- without even getting a hit. Rangers pitchers walked three batters and hit two more, turning a 3-2 game into a 5-2 deficit. Critics will put a lot of blame on manager Ron Washington for the Rangers’ defeat, and deservedly so, but in the end the Rangers simply couldn’t throw enough strikes and couldn’t get the final out they needed in Game 6.

On this night, however, the Cardinals made the big plays: David Freese with another clutch hit, a two-out stinging double into the gap in left-center to score two runs in the first (giving the World Series MVP a postseason record 21 RBIs); Allen Craig with a go-ahead home run in the third, fighting back from a 1-2 count to hit a 3-2 Matt Harrison fastball into the St. Louis bullpen in right-center; Craig later robbing Nelson Cruz of a home run.

But the key was Carpenter. "Dave had a real heart-to-heart with him to gauge just how ready he was to pitch just physically, not mentally, but physically," La Russa said before the game. He then added, "The last thing is ... what he means to our club. I think our guys feel better about him starting than anybody."

Carpenter pitched into the seventh and became the first pitcher to win two do-or-die games in one postseason, after also winning Game 5 of the division series. No, it won't quite go down alongside Mathewson and Koufax and Morris, but it was a terrific effort, especially since he almost didn’t get out of the first inning. The first four batters all reached base as Carpenter fell behind each hitter. But Ian Kinsler slipped while taking an aggressive secondary lead and Yadier Molina picked him off. The play proved enormously costly when Elvis Andrus walked and Josh Hamilton and Michael Young doubled to right field. Carpenter struck out Adrian Beltre and got Cruz to ground, maybe the two key at-bats of the game.

From there, the St. Louis' bullpen mowed down the Rangers, Busch Stadium getting louder and louder with each out, erupting when Arthur Rhodes retired Yorvit Torrealba and Octavio Dotel struck out Kinsler, raising the decibel level when Lance Lynn fanned Beltre to end the eighth, the anticipation building into a loud chant of "Let's Go Cards!" in the ninth and the crowd releasing into a deafening explosion of joy as Jason Motte recorded the final out on a fly ball to left field.

Maybe Game 7 was over as soon Freese hit his home run onto the grass in Game 6. Many people said it was. I didn't think that was the case; I thought the Rangers had a chance. You make your own breaks, but the Rangers sure didn't catch any: Craig steps in for the injured Matt Holliday and has a great game; that 3-2 pitch to Molina with the bases loaded in the fifth could have been called a strike and changed the momentum of the game.

But give credit to Chris Carpenter and the St. Louis Cardinals, a team that could have given up in early September. A team that made the playoffs on the final day of the regular season, that needed to beat Roy Halladay just to reach the National League Championship Series, that was down to its final strike twice in Game 6, and figured out how to win the World Series. A worthy champion and one to be remembered.

* * * *

Of course, this World Series will also be remembered for the many questionable decisions by Washington, moves that led to the Rangers suffering one of the most painful defeats in World Series history. Before we get to that, keep this in mind: Rangers pitchers walked 41 batters, a World Series record worst. They walked six more in Game 7. Too many walks, too many walks.

• Washington didn't help matters by issuing another ill-timed intentional walk. I said it all series long: the intentional walks were going to come back to haunt the Rangers. A free pass to Lance Berkman hurt the Rangers in Game 6. In Game 7, Washington walked Freese with runners on second and third, which was followed by Scott Feldman's walk to Molina and then C.J. Wilson hitting Rafael Furcal to force in another run.
• I didn't necessarily have a problem with using Feldman to start the fifth. The best option might have been Mike Adams, but Washington hasn't shown a lot of confidence in Adams' ability to go more than three outs. He was hoping Feldman could get him a couple innings. (Needless to say, using Alexi Ogando would have been a likely disaster).
• Washington's decision to have Andrus bunt in the top of the fifth after Kinsler's leadoff single was odd. Down by one on the road, top of the order, giving up an out? Play for one, get none. Carpenter got Hamilton to pop out to third on a 3-1 fastball -- Freese made a nice catch as he leaned over the dugout railing and stumbled to the ground -- and struck out Young on a 1-2 cut fastball.
• In the bottom of the fourth, St. Louis up 3-2, Molina and Furcal singled with one out, bringing up Skip Schumaker and Carpenter. Washington had Feldman warming up, but it made sense to leave in Harrison at that point since Schumaker is a career .210 hitter against left-handers. Schumaker grounded out to first to move up the runners, leaving La Russa with a choice: Hit for Carpenter? There were calls on Twitter to do so. At that point he’d thrown 63 pitches, 34 for strikes, but had retired 11 of the previous 14 Rangers hitters. I thought it was too early remove Carpenter, who had settled down, and especially considering La Russa's own bullpen didn't have a lot of pitches left in it.
• In the seventh inning, Albert Pujols came up for maybe the final at-bat of his Cardinals career. Oddly, there was no chant, no standing ovation, just a bunch of flashes going off as he struck out. The crowd did stand and applaud as he walked back to the dugout after striking out.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Well, Alexi Ogando did finally get Allen Craig out.

He did not, however, retire Albert Pujols.

Neither did Mike Gonzalez and Darren Oliver.

Pujols had perhaps the greatest single-game performance by a hitter in World Series history in leading the St. Louis Cardinals to a 16-7 victory over the Texas Rangers in Game 3, a performance so impressive that when he clocked his third home run of the game in the ninth inning, even Rangers fans had no choice but to stand and applaud.

"I see him on TV," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "But I tell you, tonight was something special."

Pujols joined Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson as the only players to hit three home runs in a World Series game. He joined Paul Molitor as the only player with five hits. He tied Bobby Richardson and Hideki Matsui with a record six RBIs. There is no cheering in the press box, but I do believe that looks of awe are allowed.

His first home run was the most impressive. Officially, Pujols’ mammoth blast in the sixth inning was measured at 423 feet, although I think they forgot to measure the second half of it. The ball bounced of the facing of the club level in left field, where 15 home runs have been hit at Rangers Ballpark since it opened in 1994. Fifteen reached the second deck? When did they move home plate farther away from the left-field fence?

The Cardinals led 8-6 and had two runners on with one out when Pujols stepped in after Ogando had struck out Craig on a 2-2, 97-mph fastball after setting him up with four sliders. Ogando tried to fire a 1-1 four-seam heater past Pujols, but he missed the target; instead of low and away, it was high and down the middle. Boom.

Here, some of the comments from our online chat:

Drew: 423, but the facing of the second deck got in the way.

Scott: This just in ... NASA reporting that the Pujols home run ball just hit the falling satellite, modifying its course and saving the planet.

Jim Caple: Paging Albert Pujols to the interview room. Pujols to the interview room.

Or, as former Rangers pitcher Brandon McCarthy tweeted, "My heavens -- I've tested the limits of that ballpark but I don't know that I've ever seen one like that."

It was a monumental blast, which Pujols followed up the next inning with another long home run to center field, off a high Mike Gonzalez fastball. With that home run he became just the seventh player to record at least three runs, four hits and five RBIs in a postseason game. Wait, make the six different players: He just did it against the Brewers in Game 2 of the NLCS.

And then in the ninth he tagged Oliver, to join Ruth, who hit three home runs in 1926 and 1928, and Reggie, who did it in the clinching Game 6 of 1977. He set a World Series record with 14 total bases. Since 1920, only 16 times has a player had five hits, three home runs and six RBIs in a game. And Pujols did it in the World Series.

When asked how it feels to join Ruth and Jackson, Pujols said, "Those guys are great players, and to do it at that level and on this stage is amazing. ... At the same time I didn’t walk into the ballpark today thinking that I was going to have a night like this. I walked to the ballpark with the attitude that I have every day: to help this ballclub to win."

It was a typical Pujols response. Matter of fact and not all that interesting. "To tell you the truth, I won't lie, I concentrate on numbers," he said. "This is not an individual game; this is a team effort. ... Hopefully at the end of my career I can look back and say, wow, what a game it was in Game 3 in 2011."

Pujols may want to wait, but we don't have to: Wow, what a game.

* * * *

The final score of 16-7 and Pujols’ theatrics will relegate to the history books the top of the fourth, when the Cardinals scored four runs to take a 5-1 lead. Rangers fans won’t forget, however, and they’ll argue the game turned ugly only after first-base umpire Ron Kulpa missed a call on a double-play ball, when Mike Napoli tagged Matt Holliday on the back of the neck.

Yes, Kulpa missed the call. But it took the extra slo-mo replay to determine that. Washington wasn’t about to blame Kulpa either. “We had a chance to get out of that inning with just one run. We threw the ball around,” he said. Still, it was the wrong call. Holliday was out. Cue up the instant replay debate yet again. But consider the mistakes the Rangers made that inning:

• Ian Kinsler failed to turn what should have been an easy 6-4-3 double play. So easy that Pujols had peeled out of the baseline. Kinsler makes that throw 99 times out of 100 and he’ll be the first to tell you that you can’t expect the umpire to bail you out.
• Napoli then played first base like a catcher when he threw away Jon Jay’s chopper, allowing two runs to score instead of getting an easy force at home. This isn’t exactly a surprising development considering Napoli is a catcher playing first base, and you certainly question Washington's decision to have Michael Young DH (or just keep Napoli behind the plate with Mitch Moreland at first base).
• Finally, while Matt Harrison certainly deserved better, he gave up three hits in the inning with two strikes; he couldn’t put batters away when he most needed.

It was an ugly inning, but the Rangers played a terrible game. Kinsler's bad throw wasn't ruled an error, since you can't "assume" a double play, but Kinsler and Elvis Andrus -- so terrific in Game 2 -- both booted routine grounders, giving Texas three errors. The one big defensive play in the game came in the bottom of the fourth from Cardinals left fielder Matt Holliday, who fired a perfect throw from near the foul line in medium-deep left field to nail Napoli at the plate trying to score on a fly ball. Perhaps Napoli could have slid to the outside part of the plate, but as he showed in the top of the inning, he isn't the most athletic of guys around. Holliday's throw preserved a 5-3 lead at the time.

A few other notes:

• Ogando has to be considered a big concern now. After giving up the big hits to Craig in the first two games, he struggled for 35 pitches in Game 3, giving up three hits, two walks and four runs. Washington will undoubtedly go back to him, but with that pitch count he's unlikely to be available for more than an inning in Game 4.
• Tony La Russa may have an issue with his own long man of choice, Fernando Salas. After throwing 68 games in the regular season and 9.2 innings in the first two rounds, Salas may be a little gassed. He gave up four hits and three runs while getting three outs in relief of Kyle Lohse.
• Josh Hamilton hit one hard foul ball down the line in his first at-bat and lined to Pujols in the third, but did not look good running the bases. He singled in the fifth but later gingerly rounded third base, unable to score on a Young double down the line.
• Considering Young and Napoli have both had misplays at first base, don't be surprised to see Moreland in the starting lineup for Game 4, with Napoli back behind the plate.

According to the Defensive Runs Saved metric from Baseball Info Solutions that we've been using all season at ESPN, the Texas Rangers ranked fourth in the majors with 45 runs saved on defense compared to the average team. The Cardinals ranked 20th at minus-13.

Defensive obviously played a crucial factor in the Game 2 win for Texas: the diving stop and flip by Elvis Andrus, the sweet double play turned by Andrus and Ian Kinsler. Meanwhile, we've seen three plays that David Freese failed to make at third base that Adrian Beltre would likely have made (there's a reason Tony La Russa takes out Freese for defensive purposes late in the game) and Jon Jay's poor throw from center field in the ninth inning helped lead to Albert Pujols' error. Considering Pujols and Yadier Molina are the two clear defensive advantages for St. Louis, it was ironic that the go-ahead rally was set up by a stolen base (although Kinsler stole that off Jason Motte, not Molina) and Pujols' miscue.

The key to the Texas defense is the middle infield duo. As one Rangers fan said in our postgame chat about Andrus' flip, "I've seen Elvis make those plays all season." Asked if that play was good as he's seen from Andrus, Kinsler said, "There's a couple that come to mind, but yeah, the situation I was in and being that it was a World Series game and just a run-saving play, the play was ridiculous. It was probably one of the best I've seen, not just him."

According to DRS, Andrus ranked third among major league shortstops at +13, trailing only the Mariners' Brendan Ryan and the Braves' Alex Gonzalez. Overall, the Rangers' middle infield also ranked third, behind Tampa Bay and Seattle.

The Cardinals will play Allen Craig in right field in Game 3, with Lance Berkman moving to DH, but that's really only a minor upgrade. La Russa could have elected to use Daniel Descalso at third and move Freese to DH, and thus not have to worry about losing Freese's bat late in the game; I wouldn't be surprised to see that alignment at some point in these three games, especially if Berkman doesn't start producing more at the plate.

So as you watch Game 3, keep a close eye on the defense and those plays made and not made. It could be a subtle key to deciding the outcome.

* * * *

By the way, here are the regular-season DRS totals for the World Series teams since 2003:

2010: Giants + 54, Rangers 0 (winner: Giants)
2009: Phillies +16, Yankees +2 (winner: Yankees)
2008: Phillies +79, Rays +26 (winner: Phillies)
2007: Rockies +46, Red Sox -1 (winner: Red Sox)
2006: Tigers +57, Cardinals +54 (winner: Cardinals)
2005: Astros +64, White Sox +44 (winner: White Sox)
2004: Cardinals +57, Red Sox -4 (winner: Red Sox)
2003: Marlins -7, Yankees -27 (winner: Marlins)

ST. LOUIS -- A famous philosopher named Joaquin Andujar who resided in St. Louis once uttered the classic phrase, “You never know.”

On this night, never was that statement more true.

Game 2 of the World Series belonged to the St. Louis Cardinals. Allen Craig had won the sequel over Alexi Ogando. Jaime Garcia had pitched a brilliant game. It was 1-0 in the ninth inning, the team’s Rivera-esque closer was coming in to lock it down and Busch Stadium was rocking in anticipation of its beloved Cards taking a commanding lead in the World Series.

But this is baseball. Postseason baseball. You never know.

Instead, the Texas Rangers snatched a stunning victory, the first team to win a World Series game after trailing through the eighth inning since the Arizona Diamondbacks won Game 7 in 2001. They became just the third team to win a World Series game after trailing 1-0 entering the ninth. As Rafael Furcal's fly ball fell quietly toward Nelson Cruz’s glove for the final out of the game, the crowd had already started turning for the aisles. Cruz pumped his fist, the Rangers celebrated their 2-1 victory, the Cardinals retreated to the clubhouse and suddenly we have the makings of a classic World Series.

The ninth inning of Game 2. Keep this one in mind. It could be the inning that turns around this World Series, 21 pitches of agony for the Cardinals, 21 pitches of ecstasy for the Rangers.

True story: I had lunch Thursday at a famous St. Louis barbecue joint called Pappy’s Smokehouse. As I got there, Cardinals closer Jason Motte sat in his big white Ford pickup, talking with a local television camera crew (which actually was there trying to find some Rangers fans to interview). As the interview ended and Motte started up his engine, a fan yelled out, “Save another one, Jason!” Motte responded, “Yes, sir!”

When he strolled to the mound for the ninth, Motte had allowed one baserunner all postseason. That’s not runs; that’s baserunners. He’d faced 28 batters and retired 27 of them. Yes, sir ... it seemed inevitable. He'd come in and finish up a 1-0 pitchers' duel.

Ian Kinsler hit a 2-2 pitch to center for a leadoff single. Elvis Andrus tried to bunt initially, and took a ball, a strike and then another strike, with Kinsler stealing and beating the throw. After two foul balls sandwiched around another ball, Andrus lined a hit to center, Kinsler taking a wide turn and holding. But Albert Pujols failed to cut off the throw, and Andrus expertly dashed in to second. Three huge plays: the steal, the failed cut-off play, the extra base by Andrus.

Plus a little luck. That, too, is baseball. Rangers manager Ron Washington was willing to give up the out with Andrus. "I had Elvis bunting, just trying to get the run over to second base and give the middle of the order a chance to at least give us a run and stay in the ballgame," Washington said afterward. "But it all worked out."

Indeed.

Tony La Russa brought in 41-year-old Arthur Rhodes to face the lefty-swinging Josh Hamilton, who is battling a groin injury. He’d looked bad all night, unable to generate any power from his lower half. Maybe La Russa should have left in Motte, with his high-90s fastball; in his postgame news conference, the Cardinals' manager said he went with Rhodes because Hamilton is a good fastball hitter, that his main goal was to keep the go-ahead at second base.

Hamilton flew out to right, deep enough to advance both runners, and then Michael Young hit a fly to center off Lance Lynn, scoring Andrus with the winning run. Not sexy, but it got the job done. On Wednesday night, La Russa got all the praise for his moves; on Thursday night, he faced the questions of why he brought in Rhodes -- a 41-year-old guy over a reliever who had been basically untouchable all postseason. He says he still has confidence in Motte: "I know that if we get the lead on Saturday, he'll be 100 percent ready to go. He caught a tough break, which is baseball."

See? La Russa understands: You never know.

* * * *

It looked like Allen Craig would be the hero with his seventh-inning RBI single.

For the second night in a row, Nick Punto got on base with two outs to keep an inning going. On this night, he fell behind the count two strikes, fouled off a fastball, then hit a hard grounder toward first base. Young should have made the play -- a tough play perhaps, but there is no margin for error in the World Series. It bounded off his glove into right field for a base hit, knocking Colby Lewis from the game.

Setting the stage for the second night in a row: Craig versus the flame-throwing fastball machine Alexi Ogando.

First pitch: a 98 mph fastball fouled off.

Second pitch: a 96 mph fastball in a good location, low and away. But not low enough and definitely not away enough. Craig saw this pitch in Game 1. He’d seen nothing but fastballs. Ogando and catcher Mike Napoli kept his slider in their back pocket. And just like in Game 1, Craig lined a single into right field, David Freese scored, Busch Stadium erupted into a temporary madhouse and Craig had put the Rangers into a heap of trouble.

• It was a brilliant pitchers’ duel, and it appeared we'd get the first 1-0 World Series game since Game 4 of the 2005 Series, the clinching victory for the White Sox over the Astros (Freddy Garcia versus Brandon Backe, the winning run scoring in the eighth inning). There have been just three 1-0 games since Jack Morris’ legendary 10-inning shutout in Game 7 of 1991.
• Jaime Garcia is a joy to watch when he’s on. He rarely cracks 90 on his fastball, content and confident enough to get ahead of hitters with 88 mph two-seamers and 86 mph cutters, but everything he throws has movement and he usually keeps the ball down in the zone. He’ll mix in a curveball, and his changeup has become his big out pitch. In at-bats ending with his changeup this season, right-handers hit just .151 off it. And he has the moxie to throw it nearly 20 percent of the time. Just a brilliant effort on this night. Other than two hard lineouts by Napoli and a hard shot by Nelson Cruz that landed a few feet foul in the second inning, nobody hit him hard.
• In his pregame news conference, Washington firmly said Hamilton is his No. 3 hitter, despite Hamilton’s lingering groin injury. “Even if Hamilton doesn’t do anything, he makes a difference just with his presence in our lineup, and I want his presence in it, and it’s in there tonight,” he said. Hamilton did get the sac fly, but his health remains a big issue as the series moves to Texas.
• Two key plays in the game: a beautiful 6-4-3 double play by Andrus and Kinsler in the fourth inning on Matt Holliday, with Andrus ranging wide to his left and Kinsler bare-handing the toss and executing a lightning-quick turn, backing up his credentials as one of the best pivotmen in the majors. Later, Andrus made one of the sweetest plays you'll ever see, a diving stop of Rafael Furcal's liner up the middle with two runners on in the fifth, with a brilliant glove flip of the ball to Kinsler. Those plays will be lost in the midst of the ninth-inning dramatics, but without them, the game might not have been 1-0 at that time.

Here are the Rangers' nine regular hitters, ranked by regular-season wOBA, with their postseason OPS in parenthesis:

1. Mike Napoli, .444 (.776)
2. Adrian Beltre, .379 (.813)
3. Josh Hamilton, .371 (.726)
4. Ian Kinsler, .370 (.846)
5. Michael Young, .360 (.593)
6. Nelson Cruz, .352 (1.084)
7. David Murphy vs. RH, .350 (1.047)
8. Elvis Andrus, .323 (.531)
9. Mitch Moreland, .317 (.490)

You see the issue here, right? Andrus hits second even though he's clearly one of least valuable hitters on the team. He's also struggling in the postseason, with a .205 average. Hamilton, batting a groin injury is hitting .293 -- but an empty .293, with no home runs and just two walks in 10 games. Cleanup hitter Michael Young is hitting .209, with most of that damage coming in the ALCS Game 6 blowout.

The problem is Ron Washington is hitting Beltre, Cruz and Napoli -- arguably his three best hitters right now -- in the 5, 6 and 7 spots in the order. Studies have shown that an optimal order has your best hitters batting 1, 2 and 4. In Game 1, Andrus batted four times, while Napoli batted just three times. It's a minor thing, but possibly an important thing. Of the course of the series, Andrus may get four or five extra plate appearances over Napoli.

There isn't much Washington can do about Hamilton. Before Game 2, Napoli said, "We want Josh to be 100 percent, but I'm pretty sure there are a lot of guys in that clubhouse fighting injuries. ... But he'll find a way, we're confident of that." Washington said Hamilton has been battling the injury for a month and a half. Hamilton did hit six home runs in September, but he's now gone 62 at-bats without a home run. Jeff Caplan of ESPN Dallas asks "How bad is Hamilton hurt?"

Washington's lineup for Game 2 sticks with the status quo (with Craig Gentry hitting eighth and playing for Murphy with left-hander Jaime Garcia on the mound); that's no surprise, since it's the lineup that got him here. Asked if he'd considered sitting Hamilton, Washington said no. "Hamilton has been sitting in the third spot all year," he said in his pregame media conference. "He'll figure it out. ... He's a big part of our lineup sitting right where he is. I can't afford to take him out. Even if he doesn't do anything, he gives us a presence."

It's easy to criticize Washington; I think the most egregious move is leaving Andrus in the No. 2 spot. But Washington believes in his players, and that belief is no doubt part of the reason for the Rangers' success. He even issued a warning about Hamilton Thursday:

"Don't be surprised if he comes up big, because I certainly won't."

Follow David Schoenfield on Twitter @dschoenfield.

I always find it interesting to see how the World Series teams constructed their rosters. The Rangers were built in a rather unique way: Not a single player on their likely 25-man roster was drafted by the Rangers in the first four rounds (not counting Colby Lewis, originally drafted by the Rangers, but later signed as a free agent after he went to Japan). Not a single player was a Latin American amateur free agent originally signed by the Rangers. And Adrian Beltre is the only big-money free agent on the roster.

Instead, the Rangers were built through low-round draft picks, astute trades and some in-season acquisitions to build bullpen depth. It's a credit to GM Jon Daniels (who assumed the reins before the 2006 season) and his scouting department (plus the previous regime who acquired Michael Young and drafted Ian Kinsler).

Texas Rangers: World Series roster

Catcher: Mike Napoli. Acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays for Frank Francisco and cash. Last offseason, for some reason the Angels decided they wanted Vernon Wells. It was a move that would eventually cost GM Tony Reagins his job, as Wells was horrible for the Angels, but to make matters worse, he included Napoli in the deal in order to shed some salary. In need of bullpen help, the Jays flipped Napoli and his $5.8 million salary to the Rangers for Francisco and his $4 million salary. Napoli was coming off his worst season in 2010, but it was an inspired move by Daniels, trading a decent-but-replaceable middle reliever for a catcher who can hit the snot out of the ball.

Catcher: Yorvit Torrealba. Signed a two-year, $6.25 million deal as a free agent. After a good season with the Padres in 2010, Torrealba reverted back to his career norms, but after finishing 28th in catcher OPS in 2010, the Rangers finished first in 2011.

First base: Mitch Moreland. 17th-round pick, 2007, Mississippi State. Moreland had hit .343 with 10 home runs as a junior.

Second base: Kinsler. 17th-round pick, 2007, Missouri. Yes, the 17th round has been kind to the Rangers. Kinsler played at three different colleges and became a prospect after a strength program following his first year in the minors helped him develop power.

Third base: Beltre. Signed a five-year, $80 million contract as a free agent this past offseason.

Shortstop: Elvis Andrus. He was a top prospect still in Class A with the Braves when he was acquired with Neftali Feliz, Matt Harrison and Jarrod Saltalamacchia for Mark Teixeira (who had been a first-round pick of the Rangers in 2001).

Outfield: Josh Hamilton. Acquired in trade with the Reds for Edinson Volquez.

Outfield: Nelson Cruz. Acquired in trade with Carlos Lee from the Brewers for Francisco Cordero, Laynce Nix and Kevin Mench in 2006. However, Cruz was actually designated for assignment at the start of the 2008 season. Any team could have picked him up off waivers. Yes, sometimes being a little lucky makes you smart.

Outfield: David Murphy. Acquired from Boston in 2007 for Eric Gagne.

Outfield: Craig Gentry. 10th-round pick, 2006, Arkansas.

Outfield: Endy Chavez. Free-agent signing.

Designated hitter: Young. Originally drafted by the Blue Jays, he was a Grade B prospect acquired back in 2000 for Esteban Loaiza.

Infielder: Esteban German. Free-agent signing.

Pitcher: C.J. Wilson. 5th-round pick, 2001, Loyola Marymount. While he was a starter in the minors, Wilson spent his first six major league seasons in the bullpen.

Pitcher: Derek Holland. 25th-round pick, 2006, Wallace State (Ala.) CC. Fastball exploded after signing.

Pitcher: Lewis. Free agent, Japan. Originally drafted by the Rangers with the 38th overall pick in 1999, Lewis floundered badly in his first major league stints (6.83 in 176 innings from 2002-2004). He eventually went to Japan and the Rangers signed him last season to a two-year, $5 million deal, with a $3.25 million club option for 2012.

Pitcher: Harrison. Part of the Teixeira haul.

Pitcher: Alexi Ogando. Originally signed by Oakland as an outfielder, the Rangers took him in the December 2005 Rule 5 draft and converted him to pitcher. That spring, however, Ogando was denied a visa to the U.S. when he admitted being involved in a human trafficking ring (minor league players were marrying women who had been previously denied visas). He wasn't allowed to enter the U.S. again until 2010. Converted to rotation late in spring training this year.

Pitcher: Feliz. Part of the Teixeira haul. Another scouting coup for the Rangers, as Feliz was pitching in the Appalachian League at the time of the deal.

Pitcher: Scott Feldman. 30th-round pick, 2003, College of San Mateo (Calif.). Despite his low-round status, reached the majors in 2005 as a reliever. Had never started a game above rookie ball when the Rangers converted him to starter in the majors in 2008.

Pitcher: Mike Adams. Acquired in July from the Padres for prospects Joseph Weiland and Robbie Erlin. Weiland had been a fourth-round pick in 2008, Erlin a third-rounder in 2009.

Pitcher: Koji Uehara. Acquired in July from the Orioles for Chris Davis (fifth-rounder in 2006) and Tommy Hunter (first-round supplemental, 54th overall, in 2007).

Pitcher: Darren Oliver. Signed in 2010 to two-year, $6.25 million contract.

Pitcher: Mike Gonzalez. Acquired in August from Orioles for pitcher Pedro Strop.

Pitcher: Yoshinori Tateyama. Veteran Japanese reliever signed as free agent.

Totals
Via trade: 11.
Draft pick: 6.
Free agent: 7.
Rule 5 picK: 1.

Follow David Schoenfield on Twitter @dschoenfield.

While doing research for today’s piece on Ron Roenicke, a few fun items came my way that weren’t Brewers- or postseason-centric. Thanks to Doug Kern and the gang at Stats & Info, I was given a leaderboard for which position players have been bunting the most, how many of them have led to base hits, and even who has the most sac bunt RBIs this season.

Keep in mind, this is sorted by bunt attempts, not successful sac bunts, so the nine guys who have attempted to bunt the most often are not always the same guys who lead the league in successful sac hits.

The other thing to remember is that the tally of plate appearances where a hitter has laid one down include bunting for base hits and bunting to advance runners, so when you see that Juan Pierre’s 16-for-32, that means he has 16 bunt singles, but doesn’t necessarily mean he was trying to bunt for a hit 32 times. And because this was fairly quick and dirty, we didn’t tease out ROE results. However gritty the info, it’s interesting for the sense it gives us of which players are dropping one down most frequently, and what this also tells us about the managers they play for.

Looking at the top nine of baseball’s bunting fiends, we lead off with the White Sox’s Pierre, just like they do. Looking at these totals, he’s clearly the class of the little man’s game when it comes to placing pitches up the lines and around the mound. It has always been a centerpiece of his game, with the attending results in base hits, runs driven in and what some refer to as productive outs.

It’s worth noting that Pierre doesn’t just lead all position players in sac bunts, but all the pitchers as well. You can take that as a reminder of one of those pesky facts that NL-brand fans don’t often care to cite -- that you’ll usually find AL managers bunting more often with the people who can actually hit for a living, and not just with pitchers because what else can you do with them? This year’s team that has gotten the most sac bunts from its hitters? Ned Yost’s Royals squad. Between his fellow former Brewer Alcides Escobar (with a remarkable 17 sacrifices in 21 attempts) and Getz, it’s enough to make you wonder if Yost misses managing in Milwaukee.

Between Pierre and Getz you’ve got a group of guys who actively attempt to bunt for base hits: The Marlins’ Emilio Bonifacio and the Angels’ infield assault duo of Eric Aybar and Peter Bourjos. You can probably also put the token Twin on the list, Alexi Casilla, in this category as well. Ron Gardenhire might not have Nick Punto, and whatever value designated bench bunter Matt Tolbert has seems to have dried up after 2009, but Gardenhire's past fascination with the bunt still found an outlet with Casilla this season.

The pair of playoff-bound bunters should get some additional attention, despite the tactic’s associations with White Sox and Royals and Twins. The Yankees’ Gardner isn’t just an OBP hero and everybody’s favorite underrated Yankee (if that isn’t automatically oxymoronic), he’s also someone equally adept at pushing bunts for base hits or to move runners up. That’s something he has in common with Rangers speedster Elvis Andrus; if you remember the impact Andrus had within last year’s ALCS on both sides of the ball, this is just one piece of his value as far as being able to push sac bunts and base hits and exploit his speed to good effect.

For the curious, the best bunting pitchers in terms of raw numbers are the Phillies’ Roy Halladay and the Nats’ Livan Hernandez. Where Doc’s really only had two years to work on his craft, he’s already come fairly far as a pitcher capable of helping his own cause, ripping his first two career extra-base hits when he isn’t laying one down. Livan owns a career .528 OPS as a hitter (probably good enough to put him in the Twins’ infield), but bunting’s just another component in his batsmanship.

Christina Kahrl covers baseball for ESPN.com. You can follow her on Twitter.

I wrote last week that very few of the game's top players were acquired as prospects in deadline deals (about 4 percent of the top 200 players). Of course, that doesn't means some deals turn to gems. Here are 10 in-season prospect trades that general managers of selling teams dream to make.

1. John Smoltz for Doyle Alexander. (Braves/Tigers, 1987.)

Alexander did go 9-0, 1.53 to help the Tigers win the AL East. Smoltz had a 5.86 ERA in Double-A at the time of the trade with an 86/81 SO/BB ratio, but he was in the majors a year later and an All-Star by 1989.

2. Jeff Bagwell for Larry Andersen. (Astros/Red Sox, 1990.)

Like the Smoltz/Alexander trade, this was actually an August deal. Bagwell hit .333 but with just four home runs in Double-A. But he actually had the second-best OPS in the Eastern League. A year later, he was the NL Rookie of the Year.

3. Randy Johnson, Brian Holman and Gene Harris for Mark Langston. (Mariners/Expos, 1989.)

The Mariners deal Langston in late May, knowing they wouldn't be able to sign him as a free agent. He went 12-9, 2.39 for the Expos, but they fell out of the pennant race.

4. Grady Sizemore, Cliff Lee and Brandon Phillips for Bartolo Colon. (Indians/Expos, 2002.)

Another Expos disaster, a desperate move by Omar Minaya made on June 27 when Montreal was 6.5 games out of first place and 5 games out of the wild card. (By the way, earlier in the year Minaya had traded minor leaguer Jason Bay to the Mets for Lou Collier.)

5. Jay Buhner for Ken Phelps. (Mariners/Yankees, 1988.)

Buhner hit 301 home runs for the Mariners. Phelps hit 17 for the Yankees.

6. Freddy Garcia, Carlos Guillen and John Halama for Randy Johnson. (Mariners/Astros, 1998.)

Garcia, Guillen and Halama were all key contributors to the Mariners' playoff teams in 2000 and 2001. As you can see, that original Mark Langston draft pick turned into immense value for the Mariners. Unfortunately, the chain was broken when they traded Garcia for Jeremy Reed (and Mike Morse and Miguel Olivo, although those two didn't do anything for Seattle) and Guillen for Ramon Santiago.

7. Derek Lowe and Jason Varitek for Heathcliff Slocumb. (Red Sox/Mariners, 1997.)

Made minutes before the deadline buzzer, Slocumb wasn't even that good of a reliever.

8. Kevin Tapani, Rick Aguilera and David West for Frank Viola. (Twins/Mets, 1989.)

Aguilera was a proven major leaguer, but Tapani developed into one of the big three Twins' starters (along with Jack Morris and Scott Erickson) on the 1991 World Series champs.

9. Michael Young for Esteban Loaiza. (Rangers/Blue Jays, 2000.)

Nearly 2,000 hits and seven All-Star appearances later, the Rangers are still reaping the rewards of this deal.

10. Elvis Andrus, Neftali Feliz, Matt Harrison and Jarrod Saltalamacchia for Mark Teixeira. (Rangers/Braves, 2007.)

The Rangers decided to deal Teixeira a year-and-a-half before he hit free agency, and dug into the lower levels of the Atlanta system.

There are certainly some recent deals to keep an eye on; I have a feeling Carlos Santana-for-Casey Blake will eventually enter lists like this one.

Baseball fans are more hyped up this time of year than a bunch of 6-year-olds chewing down an endless supply of Skittles.

If your team is a contender, you hope your general manager can find that missing piece of the puzzle (but not give away anything of value). If your team is out of it, you hope your general manager can make a move for the future. You're buzzed on trade rumors and prospects.

But how many of those prospects actually turn into stars?

I did a quick search of the best players in baseball to see how many were once acquired at the trade deadline while prospects. I looked at 124 hitters and 70 pitchers -- any players with 5.0 or more WAR (wins above replacement) from Baseball-Reference.com.

• Shin-Soo Choo, Indians. Acquired in 2006 from the Mariners for Ben Broussard. Baseball America's No. 51 prospect before 2005 (and Seattle's No. 7 prospect entering 2006), Choo was hitting .323/.394/.499 at Triple-A Tacoma.
• Ben Zobrist, Rays. Acquired in 2006 (with Mitch Talbot) from Astros for Aubrey Huff. Never rated as a prospect, but was hitting .327/.434/.473 at Double-A, although he was 25.
• Nelson Cruz, Rangers. Acquired in 2006 (with Carlos Lee) from Brewers for Francisco Cordero, Kevin Mench and Laynce Nix. The Brewers were already Cruz's third organization. Like Zobrist, he was 25 but was hitting .302 with 20 home runs at Triple-A.
• Asdrubal Cabrera, Indians. Acquired in 2006 from the Mariners for Eduardo Perez. This trade actually happened in late June, before the Choo trade. Not a good summer for former Seattle GM Bill Bavasi. Cabrera was Seattle's No. 6 prospect entering the season and was hitting .236 at Triple-A. BUT ... he had skipped Double-A and was just 20 years old. An unbelievably bad deal considering Perez was nothing more than a platoon first baseman/DH. (He hit .195 with one homer for the Mariners and then retired.)
• Michael Young, Rangers. Acquired in 2000 from the Blue Jays for Esteban Loaiza. Young was 23, playing second base in Double-A and hitting .275/.340/.426. He certainly wouldn't have projected as a future seven-time All-Star.
• Elvis Andrus, Rangers. Part of the haul in 2007 from the Braves for Mark Teixeira, he was Baseball America's No. 65 prospect before the season, and would be No. 19 before the 2008 season.
• Daniel Hudson, Diamondbacks. Acquired in 2010 from the White Sox for Edwin Jackson. BA's No. 66 prospect before 2010, he had made five big league starts when traded.
• Cliff Lee and Brandon Phillips. The Indians acquired Lee and Phillips and Grady Sizemore from the Expos for Bartolo Colon in 2002, although they eventually traded Phillips to the Reds for Jeff Stevens.

So that's nine out of 214 players -- about 4 percent. We could also include Carlos Santana, Neftali Feliz and Wilson Ramos, who haven't been around long but I would argue are among the top 214 players in baseball. You could also include Justin Masterson, although he was already an established major leaguer when traded for Victor Martinez.

For the sake of comparison, by my count 89 of the 214 players are still with the team that originally drafted or signed them -- 42 percent. (Note that a few other top players were acquired in the offseason while still prospects, including Jair Jurrjens and Michael Bourn.)

The important note from above is that several of the guys who did develop were older guys -- Zobrist and Cruz were 25; Choo and Young were 23. Hudson was considered more of a fifth-starter type. None of those guys were elite prospects when dealt. Certainly, Andrus, Santana and Feliz would fit that billing of "elite" when traded. Santana had come out of nowhere for the Dodgers in 2008 to put up monster numbers at Class A. Cleveland stole him for Casey Blake. Andrus and Feliz were very young but scouts loved the raw talent.

Add it all up and as you see all the names being moved over the next 10 days, the odds are that most of the prospects traded won't develop into anything.

But it's that lure and small chance of acquiring the next Choo or Santana that makes this time of year tastier than a bag of Skittles.

Follow David Schoenfield on Twitter @dschoenfield.

On July 31, 2007, only four and a half games stood between the Atlanta Braves and first place. After sitting out baseball’s October tournament for the first time in 14 years, the Braves were desperate to make up the deficit and clinch another ticket to the postseason. Needing offensive firepower in general, Braves general manager John Schuerholz had a tough decision to make.

Seven-hundred ninety-nine miles away, the Texas Rangers owned one of baseball’s worst records. Before the non-waiver trading deadline passed, GM Jon Daniels and his front office decided to rebuild. With star slugger Mark Teixeira drawing suitors from every division, Daniels’ decision looked easy, if not inevitable.

Schuerholz pulled the trigger on the now-infamous deal, and almost four years later, the Braves got to see up close what could have been. They surrendered five prospects in the deal for Teixeira, and they saw two of them play for the Rangers on Friday: Elvis Andrus and Neftali Feliz. A third, Matt Harrison, will start against them Saturday.

“We’ve got the team to win the World Series,” Brian McCann declared when Teixeira joined the Braves. That assurance aside, Atlanta failed to make the postseason in 2007, and same story in 2008. Teixeira wasn’t to blame, hitting 37 homers in his 157 games with Atlanta before getting dealt to the Angels at the deadline in 2008.

Perhaps the most ironic thing about the Braves’ trade with the Rangers is this nugget from the original news release: “The Braves sent rookie catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia and four minor leaguers to Texas for the powerful, switch-hitting Teixeira.” Four minor leaguers? At the time, that was true, but everyone in the know recognized they were giving up top prospects in Feliz and Andrus. It’s easy to forget that Saltalamacchia, handily replaced in Texas with the likes of Bengie Molina and Matt Treanor, was even part of the deal.

Had Daniels not made that fateful decision to rebuild, it’s safe to say that neither team would be the same today. For reference, Jordan Schafer hit leadoff for the Braves on Friday. He has a career .325 OBP in the minors and has never stolen more than 23 bases in a season. Granted, Andrus has posted an OBP of only .334 throughout his career, but he already has 19 stolen bases to his name this season. Andrus in the leadoff spot undoubtedly would be an upgrade over the combination of Schafer and the injured Martin Prado.

The Braves already boast one of the best bullpens in the majors, led by young flamethrower Craig Kimbrel and dominant lefty Jonny Venters. The dynamic duo lead all relievers in WAR, Venters with a 1.4 and Kimbrel right behind him at 1.2. Now, imagine that crew with the addition of Feliz. It’s not unlikely that Atlanta would have spread the embarrassment of that wealth in talent and let Feliz start instead, as the Rangers might eventually do. That would give them a remarkable young core at the front of the rotation, starting with Tommy Hanson and Feliz.

The Rangers' story is widely known by now, as they won a pennant last year. It still seems remarkable that this team made the World Series in 2010 after trading such big-name talent as Adrian Gonzalez, John Danks and, yes, Teixeira.

It’s easy to criticize the Braves’ front office for making the trade. In fact, it’s easy to call the trade one of the worst recent deals pulled off at the deadline. But that’s also easy to say four years later. It’s just as easy to get inside Schuerholz’s head and understand why he made the deal, getting Teixeira for part of 2007 and potentially for all of 2008. His club had just seen its streak of postseason appearances broken. The offense was sputtering, and Andruw Jones was hitting only 20 points over the Mendoza Line. It looked like the club had its catcher of the future in McCann. Perhaps Saltalamacchia could have been converted to first base, but at the end of the day, he was blocked by McCann. The same could be said about Andrus, who looked disposable with Yunel Escobar showing flashes of greatness. Harrison is a back-end rotation starter, hardly a loss for a team with a strong starting rotation as it stood then (or is now). Feliz was the real key in the deal, and while many scouts praised his pure stuff, there were skeptics as well. Many questioned his small frame, claiming he would easily break down.

Schuerholz took a gamble, a gamble that he would eventually lose. But that’s the point of a gamble: You lose as many as you win. And at the end of the day, Teixeira has a ring, while Andrus and Feliz were two wins away from rings of their own. The Braves? Well, they’re still working at it. Just ask McCann, who had to watch Joe Mather swing through a Feliz heater to end the game.

PHOTO OF THE DAY
Alex Convery writes for Fire Brand of the American League, the Red Sox affiliate of the SweetSpot network. You can follow him on Twitter.

OK, we had so much fun with the first round of the mock "franchise player draft" that we decided to conduct a second round -- primarily because we were shocked that Miguel Cabrera went unselected.

So we decided to see who the next 30 players might be. Now, the owners below didn't draft the players, but we included the names since the first-round pick may have affected the second-round pick. Dave went first and made all the odd picks, while Eric made the even selections.

31. Doug Glanville (Wilson Ramos): Miguel Cabrera -- Best hitter on the board, could have easily gone in the top 10. Not much defensively or in the car, but he can rake.

32. Tristan H. Cockcroft (Justin Upton): Adrian Gonzalez -- How are these great offensive monsters slipping so far? Tristan would have his 3-4 hitters for a while.

33. Barry Larkin (Roy Halladay): Jay Bruce -- Roy says he wants a big power bat for the middle of the order. And Bruce is a solid defender as well and just 24.

34. Buster Olney (Michael Pineda): Ryan Zimmerman -– It’s good to have strong defense at the hot corner, and Zimmerman brings that. Hopefully he brings more health, but he’s only 26.

35. Jonah Keri (Jose Bautista): Jered Weaver -- This team is in win-now mode with Bautista, so we’ll go with Jered Weaver, the best ace left on the board.

36. Tim Kurkjian (Clayton Kershaw): Tommy Hanson -- Why stop with one ace? Timmy would have the best one-two rotation punch in baseball!

37. Jayson Stark (Carlos Gonzalez): Jose Reyes -- We thought about the appropriately named Jayson Nix, but we’ll take a 28-year shortstop having his best season.

38. Rick Sutcliffe (Neftali Feliz): Elvis Andrus -- One Texas Ranger isn’t enough, and while Reyes is terrific, Andrus is 22 and has a lot of growing to do. Someday soon, he could be Reyes.

39. Kevin Goldstein (Stephen Strasburg): Eric Hosmer -- KG is a prospect hound so let’s give him Hosmer, who could be the best hitter in the game in a couple of years ... and the next decade after that.

40. Mark Mulder (Mike Stanton): Cole Hamels -- Gotta love the lefties! You say Weaver is the best ace on the board … I beg to differ!

41. Matt Meyers (Hanley Ramirez): Andrew McCutchen -- At least Eric didn’t give Mulder Ryan Howard. I’ll take the five-tool center fielder to go with our five-tool shortstop.

42. Jerry Crasnick (Starlin Castro): Matt Kemp -- Well, I had McCutchen all ready to go there, but Jerry profiled Matt Kemp back in March, and I got the feeling he believed a rebound season was coming. Kemp is, after all, only 26.

43. Christina Kahrl (Buster Posey): Colby Rasmus -- You can have Kemp. I'll take the center fielder with good on-base skills, power, good defense and is two years younger.

44. Jason Churchill (Carlos Santana): Jeremy Hellickson -- Jason’s catcher needs someone to throw to him. Hellickson might end up the AL Rookie of the Year, and there’s no reason he can’t keep improving.

45. Steve Berthiaume (Justin Verlander): Dustin Pedroia -- Off to a slow start, but he's a good hitter and fielder at a premium position. Plus, Steve is a big Sox fan.

46. Jim Caple (Joe Mauer): Prince Fielder -– At least one of Caple’s players should be durable and possess power. Fielder certainly can hit home runs. And when he moves Mauer from behind the plate, it wouldn’t be to first base, anyway!

47. Aaron Boone (Robinson Cano): CC Sabathia -- With Cano on board, Boone wants to win now, so it's the big, workhorse lefty who still has 7-8 more good years in. Or maybe 15 if he goes to Bartolo Colon's doctor.

48. Jim Bowden (David Price): Manny Machado –- Jim does love the prospects, and why do I (Bryce Harper) and Jason Grey (Mike Trout) get all the fun of choosing minor leaguers? Machado is an easily projectable shortstop and I’m sure Jim would agree he is worth waiting until 2013 for.

49. Jason Grey (Mike Trout): Brett Anderson: Jason is crushed by the Machado pick, but Anderson is a nice consolation prize.

50. Orel Hershiser (Jon Lester): Brian McCann -- I knew Grey would have wanted Machado! Orel probably scoffed at that and myriad other picks. He wants to win right now. McCann is arguably the best offensive catcher (with power) in the game, and he’s 27. Orel would love this pick!

51. Mark Simon (Ryan Braun): Drew Stubbs -- Mets fan Simon can't pull the trigger on David Wright and takes Stubbs and his 30/30 potential and terrific range in center.

52. Eric Karabell (Bryce Harper): Mat Latos -- Hey, it’s actually my pick! I’d better get my ace here. I considered Zack Greinke, but Latos is four years younger, and even if my home ballpark is small, I think Latos could overcome it. Plus, I’ll get him more run support.

53. Enrique Rojas (Albert Pujols): Carl Crawford -- Obviously, we're banking on both Pujols and Crawford just having slow starts. They'll bounce back ... right???

54. Jorge Arangure Jr. (Jason Heyward): Matt Wieters -- Jorge said he chose Heyward because he wanted a gifted offensive force for another 15 years. Enter Wieters, who will hit and head to many All-Star games.

55. Chris Singleton (Josh Johnson): Asdrubal Cabrera -- Nice grab on Wieters there, EK. I'm a believer in Cabrera, who is just 25 and pounding the ball so far this season. Even if he fades, we're talking about a switch-hitting shortstop with 15-20 homers and solid D.

56. Amy Nelson (Tim Lincecum): Logan Morrison -- Amy has her freaky ace, now she gets a young on-base machine developing power quicker than most thought. Plus, Amy and Logan will be Tweeting about their franchise 24/7. It’s a win-win.

58. David Schoenfield (Felix Hernandez): Pepe Frias -- HA! I control Schoenfield’s pick here! He gets the late-1970s shortstop that slugged .290 in his career, with one home run (off John Candelaria, no less) and he’s 62 years old. OK, he can have Shin-Soo Choo. We know he’s got power and good years left.

59. Keith Law (Evan Longoria): Brian Matusz. C'mon, EK, you know I'd take Terry Harmon over Pepe Frias. Give Klaw Matusz, a future Cy Young winner ... with the Yankees.

60. Karl Ravech (Troy Tulowitzki): Mark Teixeira -- All the things that Karl mentioned on his first overall pick make sense here. Consistent power, contract is set, winning organization ... Karl’s gonna score some runs! Plus, with the 61st pick in the franchise draft, he could always get some pitching ... wanna keep going?

In 1980, Robin Yount, then 24, had his first big season for the Brewers, hitting .293 with 82 extra-base hits and scoring 121 runs. The same year, 22-year-old Alan Trammell hit .300, scored 107 runs and won a Gold Glove for the Tigers. In 1982, a rookie third baseman named Cal Ripken would slide over to shortstop for the Orioles.

And so began a long run of the American League at the shortstop position. From 1980 through 2006, there were 115 shortstop seasons in the majors of 4.0 WAR or higher, from Baseball-Reference; 75 of those were from AL shortstops, 39 from NL shortstops (and one who split time in both leagues). The top 15 seasons were all from AL players and 27 of the top 30 were from AL players.

Now, that's not surprising when you see the list of shortstops with the most 4.0 WAR seasons during that span:

Cal Ripken 10
Barry Larkin 9
Ozzie Smith 9
Derek Jeter 8
Alex Rodriguez 8
Alan Trammell 8
Miguel Tejada 6
Nomar Garciaparra 5
Robin Yount 5
John Valentin 3

Larkin and Ozzie were NLers, but the rest were all ALers, and the AL guys put up a lot of monster numbers. The list doesn't even include Omar Vizquel, who had just one 4.0 WAR season. Since 2007, however, the tide has swung -- of the 18 shortstop seasons of 4.0 WAR or better, only five have come from AL players: two from Jeter and one apiece from Marco Scutaro, Erick Aybar and Jason Bartlett.

But with Jeter in decline, Aybar unable to replicate his fine 2009 and Bartlett now with the Padres, the American League seems devoid of a topflight shortstop. In 2010, the only two with a WAR of 3.0 or higher were Cliff Pennington and Alexei Ramirez. This season's group isn't doing much better, unless you count Jed Lowrie and Maicer Izturis, two utility guys who have filled in at short (or, in the case of Lowrie, potentially winning the job from Scutaro).

Maybe Jeter and Ramirez will start hitting. Maybe Toronto's Yunel Escobar will regain his 2009 batting stroke. There's not even an obvious Gold Glove candidate -- Jeter has won the last two as much by default as skill. So who is the best right now? Place your vote!

Follow David Schoenfield on Twitter at @dschoenfield. Follow the SweetSpot blog at @espn_sweet_spot.

Eric Karabell and Keith Law are joined by yours truly on Wednesday's Baseball Today podcast . Topics include:

• Red Sox lose another game, which isn't a big worry, but Josh Beckett's conditioning may be.
• Kudos to Yovani Gallardo.
• Anything to read into Chris Young's performance with the Mets.
• Michael Pineda and Alexi Ogando both look good in the Mariners-Rangers game.
• Thoughts on Jordan Walden taking over as Angels closer.
• A sad situation in Cleveland with a lack of fan support.
• Use of stats analysis in MLB, Phil Hughes, Elvis Andrus, Mike Minor, Tim Stauffer and more.