bellyitcher

Well. We've come to the end of the infield. Lil' Davey Eckstein. I said during the roundtable that, "I didn't want to buy into the whole 'you'll love Eck, he's just made for the Cardinals' but I did." (lboros said it better over at Baseball Analysts.) Maybe it was having it rammed down our throats going into the season or being burned by the "short-scrappy-white-guy" thing before. But I don't think there are many doubters now.

ONFIELD

1. Defense
   i. Hustle (10) If he thinks he can get there, he'll try. 9 points.
   ii. Agility (14) Not so bad. 12 points.
   iii. Catcher (5/0) N/A. 0 points.
   iv. Awareness (8) He has to be aware. It's how he does his job. 7 points.
   v. Defensive Stance (8) Except for the fact that he nearly disappears when he bends over, good. 6 points.
   vi. Pitching Face/Post-strike out (5/0) N/A. 0 points.
2. Offense
   i. Hustle (10) It's what he does. 10 points.
   ii. Batting Stance/Face (12) He's all twitchy up there. 8 points.
   iii. Power & Average (12) He set or tied career highs in hits, doubles, triples, home runs, walks, average, OBP, and SLG and tied his previous low for strike outs. 9 points.
   iv. Pitcher's bunting ability (5) N/A. 0 points.
   v. Selflessness (14) Not really on the offensive side, but he went through the pitchers' strengthening regimen to build up his arm. His favorite play is the suicide squeeze. 13 points.
   
3. Dugout/Clubhouse
   i. Press Conferences/Interviews (8) Hearing him makes a lot of his quotes less bland because he's good at interviews. 7 points.
   ii. Quotes (8) Yeah. Bland. 4 points.
   iii. Chatty (8) He's not gregarious. 5 points.
   iv. Fights (6) Eckstein is hardcore, but tiny. 4 points.

OFF FIELD

1. Personal Hygiene (16) His hair is very nearly the same color as his skin. 13 points.
   
2. Commercials (local) (8) For a good cause to boot. 8 points.
   
3. Commercials (national) (10) No. 0 points.
   
4. Commercials (MLB) (10) No. 0 points.
   
5. Dress (10) Untucked polos and jeans. Meh. 7 points.
   
6. Rumors (6) Grudz could never drag him out on the town. But that may have been good thinking on David's part. 0 points.
   
7. Awards (6) First time All-Star this year. 2 points.

124 points. I feel like I should add a "Toughness" category for Eckstein. Yes, he's short. But the kid (he's older than me, yet I persist in thinking of him as "kid") is nails.