GatewayRedbirds.com

Grinders ... guys that seem to give 101% 100% of the time. Who is your team.

LF - Juan Pierre
CF - Shane Victorino
RF - Hunter Pence
3B - Scott Rolen
SS - Clint Barmes
2B - Ian Kinsler
1B - Albert Pujols
C - Mike Napoli
P - Chris Carpenter

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"Boy, that was exciting. I always say it ain't over til it's over, but that one should've been over a while ago." ~ Yogi Berra

Can you really put Albert on that list? He jogs out every infield hit, if he hits a pop fly he watches it like he hit it to the next county. No doubt he plays hard when he has to, but the all hard hat lunch pail team? nah no way.

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Tonight this fool's halfway to heaven and just a mile outta hell, And I feel like I'm comin' home

http://www.infinite-garage.com

Odd as it sounds, I may take Yadi over Napoli.

And you need a reliever - Mariano Rivera.

Where's Skip?

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"You have to be concerned about the future, but you also have to be more concerned about the present. If you have to give up two or three young kids - who may not be able to play for several years - to get help for your team now, you have to do it." - Bing Devine, 1999

"They call baseball a game because it's too screwed up to be a business." - Jim Bouton, 1971.

"Big deal. Anyone can win games when the other team doesn't score any runs." - Curt Flood to Bob Gibson, circa 1968

Rick Burleson on the all time team

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Let us not forget Lord Scrapford von Grit.

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"Gee, Paul, if I'd a-known you was gonna throw a no-hitter, I'd a-thrown one too!"
-Dizzy Dean

I don't know if I'd change your list much at all. Here are a few more I would nominate, but I'm not sure if any of them would bump anyone from your list:

C - Pierzynski*
2B - Cano
3B - Inge
OF - Ichiro
OF - Granderson
SP - Verlander
SP - Lincecum

* Actually, I think there are probably about 5-6 catchers you could nominate. I think it goes with the position. Napoli, Yadi, Posey, etc.

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I know Yadi jogs out grounders and flyballs, but on defense I don't know if there's a harder grinder than him. He knows how to take a hit in a collision at home plate as well as anybody. Last year only Montero and Avila were behind the plate for more innings, and he's easily better defensively than those two, though he did play the same amount of innings as Wieters, who I could see an argument for being as good defensively.

Is Napoli only being considered because he about broke his ankle in the world series but kept playing, or is he known as a tough SOB?

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I don't disagree too much with many other choices. Skip could be our hard hat lunch pail team utility guy. And pitching I overlooked the most obvious choice - maybe captain of this team - Jake Peavey. He's a bulldog and i pull for him as much as any individual in baseball today. I love Inge at 3B, but Rolen is my poster child for how a baseball player is supposed to play the game.

Also I probably should have put in this group Marlon Byrd. He's a very high IQ player that plays hard, but I just don't know if I could put him in over the 3 I have out. It also pisses me off to no end to have a Cub mentioned in this group, but I do like how he plays the game.

I'm not convinced Yadi is in this group, he can get lazy in back of the plate. As far as Pujols, I'm not sure there is a harder working guy in the game even jogging the grounders out.

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"Boy, that was exciting. I always say it ain't over til it's over, but that one should've been over a while ago." ~ Yogi Berra

Sexy Rex Hudler deserves at least an honorable mention.

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Silence is golden.