"Baseball Becomes Dull only to Dull Minds." - Red Smith, New York Times
The Fox pregame for the Red Sox and the Yankees really makes this game feel like an event. When the Red Sox and the Yankees play, it's always a big game atmosphere but today feels especially like a Big Event. Kudos for Fox for promoting that feel.
Raffy just picked up his 3,000 hit. A one out RBI ( double (13th all time in doubles) down the left field line - vcrsus Joel Pinerio. Joining Aaron, Robinson and Mays in the 500 - 3,000 club.
The Nat's just took a loss due to a balk call. The call was terriable - the common balks are:
Just took my man Livian deep to tie the game at 3, after 8 full innings. Now Derek Turnbow is in for the Brewers. If the Expos can hold on for another inning or 2, I think they can win the battle of bullpen attrition as the Expos pen is deeper than the Brewers, but Turnbow might be the toughest guy out of either teams pen.
Surprise Team (the good): St. Louis - how often is a 100 win team a suprise? Well if you read the season previews you would understand.
With the Sox Yankees game out of reach early I've had a chance to flip over to the Nats - Brewers game to watch what I thought looked on paper to be the game of the day.
I'm not sure the last time a pitcher disappointed me as much as Ryan Wagner. I really expected great things from him. Instead he has been terrible - I thought as a 20 year old he was going to be an ace reliever. That was now 3 years ago and he hasn't pitched as well as he did the year he was drafted.
Adam Greenberg appeared in one game, and an OBP or 1.ooo - with no hits and no walks. I'd guess that’s a hit by pitch. Anyway for those who aren't familiar with Greenberg he's a slap hitting CF'er the word pesky comes to mind. The Cubs seem to be pretty high on him because he moved very fast through the system in 2004. He's smart player, takes a walk good percentage base stealer, and can motor. The Scouting report I say he's a bit of a ball hawk in center. Not sure if he will develop enough power or hit for a high enough average to be a regular, but certainly has enough play to be a 4th outfielder in the Orlando Palmerio mode. Of course that won't happen with Baker at the helm, as Greenberg is only 24.
Surprise Team (the good): White Sox
Rich Harden threw the best game of his brief MLB career last night with a complete game shutout versus the Rangers. He struck out 8, allowed 2 hits and walked none.
While in Cooperstown this week working on my latest research project, I stumbled across a very interesting Rogers Hornsby story, which I thought I would share.
The Rajah made his debut in September of 1915, at the ripe old age of 19, while tipping the scales at a whopping 135 lbs. He appeared in 18 games that September playing his natural SS position. While at the plate, he was swinging a Fred Clarke (a prodigious slugger from the turn of the centaury who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1945) model bat, which was notorious at the time for both its size and weight. At manager Miller Huggins suggestion, Rajah choked up “almost to the trade mark”, to help him get the club around on “the hard ones”, compensating for his slight build.
As the season wrapped up the Huggins took Hornsby aside, and expressed his concern about Hornsby slight build, informing him that he would have to “farm him out next year on account of your size.”
According to Rajah, he really though that Huggins was going to send him to an actual farm next season. No one ever accused Rajah of being the brightest build in the plant, but he certainly was determined to make his mark. Trying to beat the manager to the punch he spent the off-season at an aunt and uncles farm where he “just about ate them out of house and home”. He worked hard around the farm, and when he reported for camp the next year, he weighted in 35 pounds heavier, a solid 160 lbs.
You heard it hear first, the steroids of the day where fried chicken, biscuits and milk.
"He went from being a good ball player to great ball player faster than anyone I have ever seen".
Tiger Wang isn't as good a pitcher, as he has looked so far. Make no mistake though, he has pitched like a champ. It's a shame that the couldn't stay healthy, but it's not a huge surprise as he has had injury problems throughout his pro career.
Another victim in the year of the DFA. With the emergence of Scott Olsen the Marlins decided to stop wasting innings on the Washed up future Governor of New York.
I don't really know what the Rangers are doing with their pitching staff. I can't even remotely fathom what they are trying to do. We know this - Kenny Rogers and Chris Young are carrying the rotation and Frankie Cordero is carrying the pen. After that I sure don't get what they are trying to do. They have tried to slip their best pitcher last season through waiver in Ryan Drese only to have him picked up by a first place team, and instantly turn his season around. A legit third starter would go along way to the Rangers playoff hopes. Instead of trying to find that starter they are jerking around with Chan Ho Park, who has been surprisingly solid, the immortal Way Back Wasdin, and Ricardo Rodriguez.
Schilling will be used out of the pen as he apparently hasn't recovered enough from his ankle injury to start. The Sox definitely need bullpen help, and to straighten out the mess that is currently their bullpen they are going to need a god's intervention. Coincidentally some people think of Schilling as a god.
I understand why Bradford is going to the Sox, as their bullpen is bad. Not mediocre, not OK, not even serviceable - but bad (a constant them of mid season Theo Epstein Red Sox).
A good trade for the Rox. Two in one day, that maybe be one more good trade than they have made in two years.
The guy doesn't have anything left. He can't pitch with runners on base, as he hasn't met an inherited runner he doesn't love. Now for some pitchers that is not the biggest deal, since you can just use them to start off innings, rather than being used to pitch out of jams. Unfortunately, that is if they want to use Mike Stanton optimally, but fortunately because they have some nice relievers. The Nats bullpen is structured in such a way that the only role that makes any sense is Stanton as a Loogey. With Cordero, Ayala, Majewski, and Carrasco around he isn't going to be used a pure 7th or 8th inning guy and Eischen is likely going to be the first lefty out of the pen... so it will be pretty interesting to see how Frank uses him.
I like the trade for the Rox. Day has some upside, not as much as I though 2 years ago but certainly some. He's best pitch is a power sinker which he has trouble commanding. He also throws a slider and a change – both are average pitches.
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