The Cut-Off Man
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Today, with one out in the eighth, Kerry Wood was brought into the game to face Chicago White Sox outfielder Dayan Viciedo. Viciedo would be the only batter Wood would face, as he was taken out after a three pitch strikeout. On his way back to the dugout, Wood was cheered by all of the Chicago fans as he was to retire at the end of the game. It was a move by the North-Siders that deserves a standing ovation of its own from the baseball community.
Hit the jump for the rest of Christian’s piece…
Posted in Chicago Cubs | Leave a comment
It is said that baseball is as American as apple pie. As the American pastime, certain players and moments seem to live on in popular memory.
Almost everybody has heard of Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, The Shot Heard Round the World, The Catch, Fenway Park, Yogi Berra and the list goes on and on.
As I grew up, I learned about all of these moments that are in the past as a definition of baseball history.
However, now that I am 20 years old, a few of the moments that I have witnessed within my lifetime are becoming pieces of baseball history. A few of them that stand out in my mind are the Joe Carter home run, Ken Griffey Jr., the Arizona Diamondbacks defeating the New York Yankees and the Mark McGwire-Sammy Sosa home run race.
However, the last one on that list is interesting, and it is also why I worry about my lifetime so far becoming a glossed over time in baseball history.
Why do I worry about that?
Throughout my lifetime, some of the greatest moments in baseball history were performed by men who have been enveloped in the performance-enhancing drug debate. Mark McGwire becoming the home run king was definitely historic, and I remember all of the excitement that surrounded that race.
With all of that excitement, it seems natural that in that race should be embedded in the baseball archives.
To be fair, people will remember that race. However, there always be that shadow hanging over it, and this isn’t the only situation where that applies.
It seems as if anyone who hit for power in the 1990s is automatically doubted. Look at Jeff Bagwell. That man should have been a first ballot Hall of Famer, but many journalists will not vote for him simply because of the era that he played in. He never tested positive for steroids and should be considered innocent until proven guilty. I don’t understand how you can presume a crime without any proof other than the fact that other power hitters used steroids around the same time.
However, I do worry that that is going to be the legacy of my generation of baseball when we look back on it 50 years from now, and I have to admit that that is pretty sad. We know that certain players did use steroids, and that controversy won’t die anytime soon. However, that shadow should not cover over everything that happened in the 1990s.
A lot of good baseball moments did actually occur, so I hope that we don’t forget the good simply because we like to get wrapped up in the drama of the bad that happened.
Posted in Columns | Leave a comment
1. Texas Rangers (23-12) (Last Week: 1)
In the past week, Josh Hamilton has hit more home runs than Miguel Cabrera, Albert Pujols and Jose Bautista combined. Nine home runs, 18 RBI and a .467 average. Let that sink in. We, as baseball fans, will rarely, if ever see a week like that in the rest of out lives. He, along with Matt Kemp earlier in the season, have breathed some life into the sport after being buried by the NBA playoffs. But let’s not forget the rest of the team. Yu Darvish continues to have impressive starts, they hold the lowest team ERA in the American League and their .296 average is the best in the majors. Karl Ravech tweeted that an AL manager sees them as “light years” better than any other team in baseball and I find it hard to argue otherwise.
(Upcoming Schedule: Kansas City 2, Oakland 2, at Houston 3)
2. Atlanta Braves (22-13) (Last Week: 6)
Sweeping St. Louis was one of many statements made in the baseball world this week. This sweep made the Braves the team to beat in the National League and displayed all of the strengths a contender needs. They outgritted the Cards in 12 innings with four scoreless bullpen innings after a blown hold by Jonny Venters on Friday. On Saturday, their starting pitching shined as Brandon Beachy held St. Louis to one run over six innings with six strikeouts in a 7-2 victory. And the offense shined the entire series as they never scored less than seven runs on a strong Cardinals rotation. While much of the attention may be shined upon Bryce Harper and the upstart Nationals, the NL East in currently in control of the Atlanta Braves and they don’t seem to be slowing up any time soon.
(Upcoming Schedule: Cincinnati 2, Miami 2, at Tampa Bay 3)
3. Los Angeles Dodgers (23-11) (Last Week: 3)
On Sunday, the Dodgers lost Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier after two and three at-bats after an injury and ejection. Did that matter to the Dodgers? Apparently not, because after Ethier’s ejection in the fifth, the Dodgers went on to score six more runs add cushion in a 11-5 victory over the Colorado Rockies. Though the Dodgers should be concerned about Kemp’s hamstring and Ethier’s ejection, they should be relieved that an offense sans their two best players can put up some offense. Unheralded catcher A.J. Ellis has an OPS of .974 and appears to have a good amount of pop in his bat after riding the pine for the past three seasons. In the rotation, Chris Capuano has been nothing short of spectacular with a 2.06 ERA and 1.03 WHIP, making the Dodgers’ cheap free agent acquisition quite the shrewd signing.
(Upcoming Schedule: Arizona 2, at San Diego 2, St. Louis 3)
Hit the jump for the rest of Christian’s power rankings…
Posted in Power Rankings | Leave a comment
By now, all of you have undoubtedly read and heard more than you ever wanted to about Cole Hamels and Bryce Harper. You probably have heard people saying that Hamels is a vicious monster, and you have heard people say that Hamels is simply a throwback to the era of Bob Gibson and shouldn’t be afraid of establishing himself as the veteran in this situation.
People are obviously concerned and have quite a few strong opinions about this issue.
Because of that, I was hesitant to write another article. You might think that everything that could possibly be said about this topic has already been said.
However, I needed to write just one more thing on this topic.
I find it incredibly interesting how almost none of this hoopla would have occurred if Cole Hamels would not have opened his mouth.
Hit the jump for the rest of Zak’s piece…
Posted in Columns, Philadelphia Phillies, Washington Nationals | Tagged Bryce Harper, Cole Hamels | Leave a comment
Matt Kemp and the Los Angeles Dodgers have been the main story of the baseball season to this point. With Los Angeles hero Magic Johnson becoming a co-owner of the team, Kemp getting off to a tremendous start and the entire team producing at a unexpected level, L.A. baseball is nationally relevant again and it’s not because of Albert Pujols.
But while the Dodgers have been busy grabbing the headlines, the Texas Rangers have been busy playing what has become their typical elite baseball and Josh Hamilton has emerged as the top hitter in the league. The best part of the Rangers hot start has been their incredible record on the road. Texas is 12-5 on the road this season and that includes trips to Detroit, Boston, Toronto, Cleveland and Baltimore. The Rangers are currently up 2-0 in their three game series with the surprising Orioles and they’ve outscored them 24-6 in the first two games. And last night Josh Hamilton put on a historic performance against the Orioles, one that firmly stated the Rangers’ dominance as a team and Hamilton’s place at the top of the hitting pyramid.
Pardon my LeBron James impersonation but Hamilton belted not one, not two, not three but four homers last night, becoming the 16th player in MLB history to have a four homer performance. Hamilton also had a double in third at-bat of the game, which helped him set the record for most total bases by an American League player with 18. Shortstop Elvis Andrus was Hamilton’s good luck charm on the evening, getting on base before each of Hamilton’s four two-run homeruns. Who knows, had Andrus gotten on-base instead of flying out in the fifth inning, perhaps Hamilton would have had five homeruns instead of four and a double.
Hamilton’s historic night will bring him and the Rangers back into the limelight for at least a day. But this isn’t a team that should only be occasionally grabbing headlines. The shiny new contenders like the Dodgers and Nationals are great stories and deserve attention, but the Rangers are clearly the best team in baseball and that should be forgotten. Oh, and Josh Hamilton is a really good hitter, too, and even though he’s been an MVP in the past, even by his standards the start he is off to is incredible. Kemp may be lighting up the National League but Hamilton has a .406/.458/.840 slash line with 14 homers and 36 RBIs against the league’s 10th best schedule. Hamilton is always a bit of a health risk, but if he can put together the 156 game season that he told Ron Washington he’d like to, a triple crown could be in his future.
Posted in Columns, Texas Rangers | Leave a commentBut The Game Is On Sports Network
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