Sunday, May 31, 2009

Hughes Struggles; Wang Continues Resurrection

Phil Hughes pitched well for four innings, but one bad one cost him and the Yankees a shot at winning game three of four against the Indians. Luckily Carl Pavano did not get the win, though he did pitch well enough to get it, because as a Yankee fan that's just too much to take.

While Hughes' start was far from what you would call good, it still contained signs of good things to come for his future at least. He was touching 94 with his fastball and averaging almost 93 for the game. Like Joba, Hughes needs to be more economical with his pitches as he topped 20 pitches on three of the five times he went to the mound.

At only 22, Hughes still has a long way to go with his development, but during this most recent stint with the Yankees we have seen what the young righty can do. Sure he had his ugly starts but spliced in between those were a few decent starts and one great start. He still has some growing to do and the reality is that growing can't really happen at the Triple-A level, but away he will probably go especially in light of Chien-Ming Wang's three solid innings in relief.

Wang's velocity has gone way up since his return to the big league squad. He was consistently hitting 92 during the game and looked much better than his April version. This latest appearance and Hughes' substandard performance is the likely the transition Cashman and Girardi have been looking for. Wang would be lined up for Hughes' turn and the Yanks don't need to deal with sending down a dominant Phil Hughes for a suspect Wang.

If Wang can be the pitcher the Yankees were expecting in the beginning of the season, and really there is no reason to expect he wont be in the long run, then the Yankee rotation may be much more consistent for the remainder of the season. His return will also ease the load on a weak bullpen that needs to be protected by starters that can go deep into games.

A turnaround for Wang would give the Yankees the deepest rotation in the game.

Saturday, May 30, 2009

CC Returns to His Old Stomping Grounds

Tonight's storyline is CC Sabathia's return to Progressive Field after his trade to the Brewers and subsequent free agent signing with the Yanks. As a Yankee fan I feel like it's a bit over blown since CC went to the Brewers before he became a Yankee. You would think that would ease the blow to Indians fans, but of course that's easy for me to say being a Yankee fan.

Sabathia will be facing the man who was his compatriot during the Indians run to the ALCS in 2007, Fausto Carmona. Carmona has yet to regain any of his 2007 magic, going 10-11 in 32 starts since the start of the 2008 season. Walks have been his achilles heal this season, as Carmona as a BB:K ratio of 35:32. Those 35 walks are good enough for a share of the major league lead in free passes.

Carmona wasn't awful when he faced the Yanks earlier this season, but he wasn't good. He got the win but mostly because his opposing starter was the imploding Chien-Ming Wang who started a game that saw Yankee pitchers allow 22 runs.

Sabathia wasn't great either, but he has found his stride now, so look for the Yankees to work the count on Carmona and try to work a lot of walks.

Here's tonight's lineup via Pete Abraham:

Jeter SS
Damon LF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Cano 2B
Posada C
Matsui DH
Swisher RF
Gardner CF

It is the same lineup as last night which is a bit of a surprise when you take into consideration the fact that Sabathia's best numbers have come with Fransisco Cervelli behind the plate.

Enjoy the game tonight. Hopefully the Yankees put some distance between them, the Sox and the Jays.

Wakefield Blows Up

The knuckleball is a fickle mistress. Wakefield was cruising along for 4 innings just fine then the Jays hit double after double in the fifth, scoring 5 runs in the frame. It must have been the powder blue uni's.

At least we got to see youngster Daniel Bard, and he was quite impressive. Not only did he keep the Jays from scoring and keep the Red Sox in the game, but he struck out 7 in just 2 1/3 innings. His fast ball topped out at 97-98 mph and threw what appeared to be a slider in the upper 80's. I hope he gets more opportunities this year. His stuff looks filthy.

Friday, May 29, 2009

A Look at the Future After Jorge

Jorge Posada will be coming off the disabled list tonight the Yankees will get another big piece of the puzzle back into their lineup. But how long he stays there depends on if his aging body can continue to take the riggers of everyday catching.

And I think the answer to that question is a resounding no. Posada is on his way out and everyone can clearly see it. He might have another year behind the plate but in all likelihood he wont be the full time catcher beyond next season.

So that begs the question who will replace him in? Francisco Cervelli is a nice player and could be a decent backup next season and for his career, but he doesn't have the stick for a full-time gig. Kevin Cash is, well, Kevin Cash and there isn't much at Triple-A or even Double-A for that matter.

Where the Yanks are stacked is Single-A Tampa. Down there the future looks bright for the Yankees with two catchers who could feasibly take on the starting job for the Yankees by mid-2011: Jesus Montero and Austin Romine.

Montero is who the Yankees go to sleep dreaming about. The kid is a beast. At 6'4 225 he has the body to mash with the bat and it shows. At Tampa in the Florida State League Montero is tied for fourth in batting average, second in slugging percentage and first in total bases. It is abundantly evident that he can hit and scouts agree that his bat is the indisputable aspect of his game. Its his fielding that comes into question. Most think he will eventually have to move from behind the plate (where he would go now that Teixeira is at first for the foreseeable future who knows) because of his lack of mobility behind the plate.





But that's something I don't think the Yankees will ever seriously consider moving him from behind the dish. The bat plays up big time at catcher and the reality is you can live with substandard defense behind the plate if that catcher is jacking the ball out 35 times a season just look at Mike Piazza, Victor Martinez and, of course, Posada.

Now Austin Romine is a bit of a different story. He is more of a complete package. He is better behind the plate, but he is obviously not the same kind of bat as Montero though, he isn't an empty batter's box. He is capable with the stick though his BB:K (5:27) doesn't give a lot of faith in his eye at the plate. What helps the lack of walks is he is a doubles machine, hitting 13 in 161 at bats. Scouts aren't down on Romine, they just aren't as high on the second round pick from 2007, but he could become a solid regular at the big league level.

Obviously both of these guys are a long ways away from being in a position to help the Yankees and a lot can happen along the way. For now though, the Yanks have some options coming up the line.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Matsui on the Rise

Well A.J. Burnett got his first win last night since April 14 (that's a 3-5 count against Pavano now) and the Yankees moved into a tie with the Sox for first after Boston pitchers forgot they to throw the ball to their catcher. But I think the biggest thing to come out Texas for the Yanks is Hideki Matsui finding his stroke again.

As he gets older, Matsui has become much more streaky at the plate. There are times when he is the most dangerous hitter on the Yankees and others when he just looks completely done. He had been pretty spotty for about a week, but after a RBI double that hit the top of the wall on Tuesday, and a two-home run night yesterday, he is starting to look a little like his old self.

Matsui needs to find his stroke if he plans on getting continued at bats. With Posada coming back at on Friday and Xavier Nady looking to rejoin the team soon, the DH spot will need to get spread around for other players who are just as incapable of contributing on the field.

With a healthy Matsui swinging the bat well though, the Yankees will be able to put together what is likely to be their best lineup this season when they arrive in Cleveland, and with Xavier Nady coming back soon as well, they will have a strong bench as well.

Now if only they would finally cut Jose Veras and Angel Berroa...

Red Sox Wild in Latest Lost

Six wild pitches?! C'mon man. Can anyone explain to me what Diasuke is afraid of. He looks scared to pitch to contact and just nibbles the Red Sox to death. If I were Jason Varitek (who didn't catch last night), I would only call fast balls. In, out, up, down. Just locate the fast ball and pound the strike zone. Daisuke (I'm not using Dice-K anymore until he learns how to pitch) has too much going on with his pitches. Because he works on so many, none of them are spectacular and none of them are an 'out' pitch that he can go to.

This crumby performance by Matsuzaka plus the fact that Jon Lester doesn't look right is very disturbing. Josh Beckett hasn't performed great either to be honest. People keep talking about the Red Sox pitching depth, but it doesn't count if everyone is mediocre.

Friday, May 22, 2009

Here Comes the NL East

So tonight both the Yankees and the Red Sox take on an NL East foe. For some reason it will be the Sox hosting the Mets and Yanks hosting the Phillies and not the other way around.

Because of my finals I let interleague play sneak up on me, but both Dan and I have had several discussion about the worthlessness of interleague play. Now, I'll admit that I do enjoy some of interleague play. Anytime the Mets take on the Yankees the series has a feel to it reminiscent of a Sox-Yanks game. Beyond that I couldn't care less if the Yankees get to take on the Rockies or the Marlins. Not to mention that having three or four series against teams you only play once a season really makes scheduling difficult especially if rain decides to show up for a weekend or two. And don't even get me started on competitive balance.

Both Dan and I have come up with the idea that you can still have interleague play while avoiding these ridiculous schedules and maintaining fan interest. Why not limit interleague to simple "rivalry" or "grudge match" series?

It would be tough and some teams would have to be rotated because of Selig's ill-designed 16-14 split of the NL and AL. But look at it this way. You match teams together based on either geographical or historical rivalry. Dodgers vs Angels, Giants vs A's, Phillies vs Blue Jays, Yanks vs Mets and Sox vs. Braves. Sure you would have stretch some of them, but even if it's a stretch to start it wont take long for a rivalry to build.

Interleague has been fun, but right now I think more fans look at it as a nuisance than something entertaining. Let the teams play the games against teams that make a difference.

That's One Way to Limit Joba's Innings

The Yankee fans have been worrying all season about what the Yankees will do to limit Joba's innings load for the season. You want him to stay healthy simply because you want him to be the ace of this staff in a couple of season but you can't afford to lump 180-200 innings on an arm that has yet to see 150.

Last night the Yanks were given some unintentional help in that department by a line drive off the bat of Adam Jones. Lucky Joba's knee appears to be fine and he swears he'll make his next start, but I'm inclined to believe that the Yankees will need that knee to be absolutely perfect before they let him loose again. Problems with your legs lead to problems your arm as you try to compensate, so I'd imagine the Yanks take extra care with the bruised knee.

With a creative pitch count during Wang's rehab start tonight, the Yankees could skip Joba and use Wang on Tuesday in Texas. It's probably something Cashman wouldn't want to do since you would want to ease Wang back into the bigs rather than throw him at such a dynamic offense in a park designed for homers.

If anything, last night proved how valuable Alfredo Aceves can be for the Yankees. Aceves looks like the exact kind of pitcher the Yankees had when Ramiro Mendoza was the long man out of the pen. He is the long man the Yanks have needed for a couple of seasons, and his ability to come out and throw up two or three innings of quality relief will be invaluable for a bullpen that is still searching for reliable arms.

As the season progresses Cashman and Girardi will slowly need to rebuild the bullpen from what little bit carried over from last season. Right now they have four arms that can be trusted: Aceves, Brian Bruney, Phil Coke and Mariano Rivera. I'm of the mind that Jose Veras is a lost cause and that Brett Tomko will eventually be Brett Tomko again. Hopefully David Robertson or Mark Melancon steps up to fill the void, or perhaps Damaso Marte remembers why the Yanks gave him a three-year deal.

There are options out there, and slowly but surely the Yanks are starting to piece together the rest of the arms needed to compliment all the bats they have.

Boston Gives Jays The Blues

Jon Lester overcame a shaky start by getting out of a couple of jams, then settled down to beat the Blue Jays and complete a three game sweep by the Red Sox. He pitched 6 1/3 and gave up only one earned run. All the innings he pitched last season may be a factor this season, but Lester is a big, strong guy and should be able to work his way through some trouble spots.

So much for first place Toronto. Granted, the Sox avoided facing Roy Halladay, but if all the Jays have to throw out there other than him are these milquetoast rookies, it doesn't matter. The Sox feasted on the youngsters all series. On the other side, the only one I fear in the Toronto line up is Vernon Wells, who seems to smack Boston around every time they face each other. Sorry my Canadian friends. It will probably come down to Yanks/Sox/Rays again this season.

Jason Bay is emerging as an early MVP candidate. He hit yet another dinger last night. Sorry to be all on his jock again, but his last 11 home runs have been with ducks on the pond. That's the way to man-up, folks.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Peavy Coming to Chi-town - But Not the One You Think

ESPN's Peter Gammons are reporting the White Sox are close to a deal that will net the NL ace. There's no word yet what the Sox are going to give up on the deal and of course Peavy could always veto the deal with his no-trade clause.

If Peavy was smart I think he would do what he could to stay in the NL. I envision that first Josh Beckett like year of adjustment for him. It could be messy until he figures out AL lineups.

Ortiz Off The Schneid

I was happy to have been watching the game last night when Big Papi finally went yard in the Sox 8-3 win over the Jays. The Sox beat up the Jays young pitching in the fifth scoring six runs and hitting four homers. Jason Bay, Mike Lowell, and Jason Varitek (who had two HR's on the day) all tagged up Brett Cecil in the inning. Brad Penny scattered some hits and only gave up two runs. He seems to be hitting his stride the past two outings.

There are definitely jerks on both sides of the Sox/Yanks rivalry, but I firmly believe that Oritz would've been booed out of town had he been a Yankee. The Sox fans have stuck with him and cheered him on, even when he was flailing at 89 mph fastballs a mile out of the strike zone. I hope this blast is a harbinger of things to come.

On that note, I don't think Ortiz is out of the woods yet. One homer does not a season make. This boost of confidence may get him through the next week, but then what? Perhaps this will flip a switch, and Papi will be some semblance of his former self for the rest of the year. Or maybe he hasn't really figured anything out and was just able to take advantage of a 22-year-old's garbage pitching. At the very least, David doesn't have to worry about that first HR anymore. That will help him relax and just hit.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Lucky Number Seven

Well it looks like Sabathia is fully past his early season woes and is ready to be the ace the Yanks need him to be the rest of the season. Another start where he goes seven and gives up fewer than two runs spells his third consecutive victory in the month of May. The continued revival of Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez meant that Sabathia got all the run support he needed and the Yankees walk away with their seventh consecutive victory.

This was supposed to be the strength of the Yankees coming into the season. The rotation was going to keep the Yankees in every game and give the offense time to explode. That's exactly what happened last night.

There isn't much to say about the offense. Mark Teixeira has gone crazy since A-Rod took the weight of the offense off of his back and all the role players are contributing at a level that is probably a little over their heads.

A-Rod is jacking out home runs and that's nice to see, but he isn't fully back yet. He is still pulling everything and you can definitely see that on a few swings where he rolls over a soft grounder to the left side or a lazy fly to center when he would normally shoot that ball into the right-center field gap.

Tonight they look to Phil Hughes. In all likelihood this is Hughes final start before he heads back to Scranton to make room for Chien-Ming Wang. His return is inevitable, but it would do good for Hughes' confidence to give the Yankees pause when filling out the paperwork. He faces an O's offense that demolished him in Baltimore the last time they met.

Hopefully the kid has watched some tape and taken a lesson or two into today.

Wakefield Pitches Gem

In a fast moving game, the Red Sox bats got Tim Wakefield just enough run support to defeat the front running Blue Jays 2-1. It will be interesting to see what happens to the Jays now that they are going to get into the meat of their AL East schedule.

It was crazy to see the way Wake induced fly ball after fly ball. Many never left the infield. He was super-efficient throwing less than 100 pitches over eight innings, giving up five hits. The Jays never got any real rally going, and their only run came on Kevin Millar's solo homer.

Finally, Kevin Youkilis will be coming back. It seems like he's been gone forever. Though Papi is still struggling, Youk's addition to the line up with hot hitters like Jacoby Ellsbury, Jason Bay, and J.D. Drew should keep the offense rolling along.

I thought Papi was seeing things better after he drew a walk in his first at bat. But then, later in the game with runners in scoring position, he was over-anxious and struck out on a ball in the dirt. It's a long season, as everyone says, but I don't have a good feeling about this.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Gutless in Seattle

West coast trips are often tough for the Sox. Losing 2 of 3 to the Angels is no big deal, but I figured that they would be able to handle the toothless Mariners and win that series. Alas, Jon Lester gave up a four run lead in game two, and yesterday Nick Green botched a difficult but makeable throw with two out in the bottom of the ninth to extend the inning for Seattle. After intentionally walking Ichiro, Ramon Ramirez gave up the game winning single.

Unbelievably, the Red Sox will not have to travel to the west coast for the remainder of the season. It's good to get that out of the way this early in the year. Now comes my least favorite part of the season, interleague play. I've promised myself I won't rant and complain about that this season, but it's a promise I am likely to break. I'm convinced MLB keeps it around just so we have something to rant and complain about.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Yankees on the Rebound

I'll be honest. I didn't watch the game last night until the encore presentation this morning because of the two-hour Lost season finale. As great as it would have been to see a Yankee win finally, that finale was amazing, but I digress.

You can't really blame the Yanks for losing to Roy Halladay Tuesday night, I mean it's Roy Halladay. The guy is a beast, and though you would like to see a better effort from Burnett, I don't think anyone expected him to measure up to one of the Gold Standard pitchers in the game.

For once the Yanks scored the majority of their runs without the benefit of the long ball. Although they have put up a ton of runs this season, I think that their inability to hit with men in scoring position has seriously curtailed their ability to win close games, the few they have had.

It was a good win against a pitcher the Yankees need to beat with a lineup that was below its normal strength with Derek Jeter and Hideki Matsui sitting on the bench with nagging injuries. We will know if Matsui's hamstring is really bad tonight if he sits against Blue Jay starter Brian Tallet. The hobbled DH is 6-9 off of the lefty with four extra base hits.

FYI... Brett Gardner has more homers in fewer at bats this season than David Ortiz. Kinda puts the size of Big Papi's slump is into perspective.

Go West Young Man

I hate these West Coast swings by the Sox. It's hard for me to comment on anything because the games start when I'm going to bed. The only saving thing is that today's game against the Angels starts at 3:35 Eastern so I'll be able to watch some by the time I get home from work. As always, I'll be ecstatic if the Sox return home a West Coast trip at .500.

An interesting story from this game is that Angels winning pitcher from last night, Matt Palmer, a 30-year old, career minor leaguer, is 4-0 this season. Those are the only victories of his major league career. He was 0-2 with the Giants last season.

Monday, May 11, 2009

Bay Beats Rays

At least we won't have to deal with the Rays again until August. It has been a little rough against them this season, a continuance from last year. The Sox have played the Rays 10 times already going 4-6. Finally, the Boston hitters got to Matt Garza a little bit. They didn't blow him up or anything, but he actually had to work somewhat this time out.

Once again Jason Bay delivered with the game on the line. His second double of the game drove in the winning run. He's really been picking up the slack with Youkilis out of the line up. The double he hit in the first was a result of pure hustle. Some other left fielders would have been thrown out admiring it leave the yard only to find it carom back into play. Jason Bay is a tremendous fit for this team.

Beckett still is not the dominant force I want him to be. But he pitched decently, going six and giving up three runs.

Pedrioa left the game early with a strained groin. I certainly hope that's not serious.

Friday, May 8, 2009

The Return of A-Rod

Tonight A-Rod rejoins the Yankees and a huge piece of the puzzle falls into place. The Yankees have been bad without A-Rod. They haven't hit with runners in scoring position and to many rallies have ended because pitchers have reached the underbelly of the Yankee lineup that had the likes of Ramiro Pena and Jose Molina. Tonight's lineup looks closer to what it idealy would look like. Here it is courtesy of Pete Abraham:

Jeter SS
Damon LF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui DH
Swisher RF
Cano 2B
Cabrera CF
Cervelli C

That lineup is deeper and more dangerous than anything they have thrown out there this season.

But problems remain. With Molina hitting the DL they Yankees find themselves devoid of almost any catching that could play everyday. Aside from the offensive hole left when Posada went down (Molina never hit much anyway), not having either of those guys means that the two new catchers, Kevin Cash and Fransisco Cervelli, have little to no experience catching any of the Yankees pitchers.

That is a huge problem as the Yankees need their pitching to turn into the dominant force it was suppose to be or the return of A-Rod will be bittersweet.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Manny Joins A-Rod

This just in from the LA Times.

You can check it on SportsCenter too.

Update: Manny is claiming the positive result is from a prescription he received from his doctor. I'm inclined to not believe any excuse by any player nowadays and I'm sure this wasn't the first time Manny used. I know some players were clean during that era of baseball but this just solidifies the fact that even the best of the best were probably juicing.

At least this takes some heat off of A-Rod as he returns tomorrow. Many of those national media guys will have their hands tied with Manny stories. I'm sure they will still come after him but the more names that come out the more the heat on A-Rod will come down.

Update: Seems like Manny may not have used steroids or HGH but a sexual performance enhancer. I don't know what he would prefer we thought about him: cheater or ...you know. Embarrassing.

Get Well Remy

Color commentator for NESN Jerry Remy is taking a leave of absence to get well from set backs following cancer treatment. I personally love Remy and Don Orsillo from NESN. Boston fans, unlike their Yankee counterparts, revere their broadcast team instead of regarding them with contempt. Although, we will have to deal with Dennis Eckersly for a while, and he can be a little tough to take. Occasionally he says something insightful, but mostly he's kind of a know it all loud mouth. Anyway, feel better Rem-Dawg!

Trivia Update--
Question: Who are the only two players in MLB history with a stolen base in four different decades? Dennis, you are correct. The first was pretty obvious. It had to be Rickey Henderson. The other was Ted Williams. He only had 24 career steals, but he had two in 1939 and one in 1960 to go along with 21 others in the '40's and '50's.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Joba Nasty in the First, Exceptional After

Joba Chamberlain was just about every bit of the ace the Yankees think he will be last night. He torched the Red Sox for 12 strike outs in only 5.2 innings including a stretch with 8 consecutive outs recording by strike out to end his start. But as good as he was after the first inning was surpassed by how bad he was in the first. The first five Red Sox reached base and the first four of them scored. Joba is 23 and will have games like this as he matures. He'll dazzle you and then crush you. The same can be said for Phil Hughes. This is the normal maturation process for young pitchers. Look at Zack Grienke who is finally fulfilling his potential at age 25. It's just that Yankee fans aren't used to these growing pains because it has been so long since young players, especially pitchers, have been allowed to grow and develop for them. The Yankees lost last night, but Joba showed why he belongs in the rotation and how great he can be. As a Yankee fan you can take solace in that.

It's amazing how close the Yankees have been to winning about four of their five match ups with the Sox. Last night they let yet another game slide through their fingers as they had numerous opportunities to tie or go ahead of the Red Sox but in each instance the lack of depth shined brightly and reserve players failed to come through.

Injuries have hurt the Yankees badly, but it's their lack of depth that has killed them in these games. You can't blame Ramiro Pena or Jose Molina for not getting the big hit against Beckett last night because the fact of the matter is neither should even be hitting in that situation. The Yankees had no choice. With Nady, Posada and A-Rod on the DL they've been forced to dive into a well that is just about empty in terms of bats they can bring up.

Cashman has done a good job with drafting pitchers as we have seen with Chamberlain and Hughes. There are talented arms down on the farm. Where they have failed so far is position players. They have next to nothing in terms of impact bats down in the minors. And right now that lack of depth is why they are 0-5 vs. the Sox.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Two Ships Passing in the Night

The Sox took the first meeting in a brief two game visit to Yankee Stadium. You would think that MLB would schedule the first series between these two at the new stadium on a weekend or something and make a big deal out of it. Anyway, the game was delayed two hours then played in windy, rainy mess. Somehow five home runs were hit. Somehow it was played in under four hours. Somehow, some Yankee fans were told the game was rained out then were denied re-entry into the game. It could be rainy again tonight. We'll see what happens.

Trivia question: Who are the only two players to steal a base in four different decades. Hint: one played for the Yanks, one played for the Sawks.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Brad Penny Listens; Red Sox Lose

It appears that Brad Penny read my blog from last week and took it to heart.  He went 6 innings today striking out eight and allowing only three runs.  That's the kind of production one would hope for from him.  He doesn't have to be great, just decent.  And if not for two fluke hits in the fifth and a botched double play by Julio Lugo (God, I despise that wife beating, butterfingers, no offense bastard), the game would have been tied 1-1 going into the later innings.  So all things considered it wasn't a bad day for Penny.

The main reason for the Red Sox loss was that Carl Crawford stole six bases, six bases!  I've never seen anything like it.  The Rays had a total of eight steals.  One of those steals, by Jason Bartlett in the eighth, lead to Tampa Bay's insurance run after the Red Sox had closed within a run.

Just as I was about to start singing his praises, Manny Delcarmen pitches an awful seventh plunking two batters in the process.  I've never seen a pitcher hit a batter to load the bases, then hit the next batter to force home a run on consecutive pitches.  I think he is finally coming around to be the set up guy I thought he could be, today was not his day.  Without that gaffe, Youkilis' home run the following inning would've tied the game. That would've changed the complexion of things.

In other disturbing and depressing news, David Ortiz continues to swing like a rusty gate.  He's never had the prettiest swing, but now that he's whiffing on a constant basis, it's pretty painful to watch.  He's just a big dead spot in the line up right now, and I wish Francona would move him around or something, just for the sake of a change.

Friday, May 1, 2009

Trivia Answer

The Question: Name the 6 active players with 2000 career hits and .300 career average.

You guys did pretty well. Here is the total list: Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Vladimir Guerrero, Manny Ramirez, Chipper Jones, and the one you didn't get... Ivan Rodriguez. Barring injury Todd Helton and Ichiro will join this list this season. Ivan Rodriguez has the most hits of the group, Guerrero the highest average.

I hope to make this trivia segment a fairly regular feature. I think I'll have another one for you by next week.