What's In a Name: Placido Polanco

Placido Polanco is another one of those guys that if you take away the name and just look at his stats, you would draft him higher. Last year, he had better numbers at the 2B position then Dan Uggla, Kelly Johnson, Robinson Cano, Alexei Ramirez, and many more. Since his numbers are good, that leads me to assume that there is something in the name itself that is having him be over looked round after round. Now Placido translates to 'calm' in English, Polanco is a proper name, no translation. So we're looking at Calm Polanco. Calm? Does the idea of a calm player turn people off? Must be. With guys like 'The Riot' (Ryan Theriot), and Ryan Braun (no clever nick-name needed with a name like Braun) Calm Polanco must not sound like a guy who deserves to make your roster. So Calm Polanco doesn't inspire the aggressiveness you are looking for on your team. But lets look at it in a different way. I take you a classic movie that serves as a guide to all men - 'Top Gun'. How do you pick up women in a bar? - Sing 'You Lost That Lovin Feelin'. Best place to ride a motorcycle? - On a military runway as an F-16 takes off next to you while doing a fist pump. Who was the winner of the Top Gun trophy? - Iceman. Iceman was not the star of the movie, he was calm, collected, and did his job the right way. On the other hand, you have a guy like Maverick. Maverick is more exciting, a risk taker, but he didn't win. But I'm sure that if there was a fantasy Fighter Pilot game Maverick would go several rounds higher then Iceman. I guess there is a lot in a name. My recommendation is to pick up Iceman Polanco. Despite his non-inspiring name, he's in the conversation for top 10 2B. He may be available (as in he was not even drafted in your league at all) or you can pick him up in a trade for just about anyone you have. Yes, you can get a top 10 2B for next to nothing. There may be a lot in a name, but when it comes to fantasy baseball (or fantasy fighter pilots), there is a lot more in the stats. - Scout Monkey (scout_monkey@gmx.com)