Tidbits as another week of MLB action winds up:
- The Mets just refuse to admit that Jose Reyes is done for the year. The guy's had one long string of setbacks in his rehab from a hamstrong tendon injury. The latest news was that he has significant scar tissue and inflammation behind his right knee. I don't know about you, but if I'm in charge of a team that's 8 games under .500 and my top speedster had a knee that's messier than a GM bankruptcy, I'd tell him to prop himself up on the couch and watch MLB Network for a few months.
- Remember when Matt Cain couldn't buy a win for all the metal at the San Francisco mint? What a difference a year makes. He's going for win number 13 Sunday. The Giants have a better record than the Cardinals or Rays, and just a game worse than the World Champion Phillies, yet they're getting absolutely no love right now. Maybe it's because no one can name a hitter on their team not named 'Sandoval'.
- Albert Pujols drove in run number 100 on the season Saturday night in Pittsburgh. The hitting machine is now the ONLY player in MLB history to start his career with nine straight 30 HR, 100 RBI seasons. That's right, the ONLY one. Ruth, Gehrig, Williams, Aaron, Bonds, Mario Mendoza... none of them have done what Pujols has done through nine years in the bigs. Could we, one day, be talking about Albert as the best hitter that ever lived?
- My wife reminded me the other day that Kendry Morales was responsible for both of us getting a free taco from Del Taco. It was a promotion the night we saw the Angels during our California ballpark tour back in June. Kendry hit a homer, and a few hours later, we were in some small California town sinking our teeth into pure Del Taco goodness. If I could put a Del Taco in our living room, I'd do it today!
- The Nationals have won seven straight games. No, you haven't entered into some strange parallel alter-universe... the Nats haven't lost a game in a week. Washington even beat Dan Haren Saturday night. That's the good news - here's the bad... you know it's been a bad season when seven straight Ws gives you 39 for the season. And it's almost mid-August. Two more wins and the '62 Mets' record for futility is safe for another year.
- Guess which player belongs to this line: .289-35-79 with 74 runs scored and 20 steals to boot. Vlad Guerrero in his stealing prime? Barry Bonds before his hat size got bigger than Shrek's? Nope... the proud owner of those numbers through Sunday is Mark Reynolds. That's right, the Human Air Conditioner can fill out the rest of a stat line too. Is he fantasy's Non-Pujols Offensive MVP?
- Here's an eerie thought... Josh Beckett and Adam Wainwright each have 13 wins. No one else has more than 12. Could this be a season without a single 20-game winner? And how incredible is it to think the Orioles had four 20-game winners on one team in the early 70s? Where have you gone, Mike Cuellar?
Still taking ideas on how to drum up some sponsorship for the big baseball trip in 2010. Comment away!
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While Pujols is a monster and (thank god for this because baseball couldn't survive it) he hasn't been linked to 'roids. I do truly believe baseball would crumble under that revelation. It would still exist but for a good long time it would become less interesting than the NHL.
ReplyDeleteHowever he will, as will many great players, be forever associated with this era. Before you start whining this isn't fair, remember who created this problem. It was the very players and league that is complaining about it now.
Boo hoo, "it isn't fair" they cry. "it was supposed to be anonymous" they say. Think about that for a second when you defend them. They are actually saying, "we cheated but it isn't fair that you are telling everybody". How in God's name is that tolerated? Well I didn't hear them whining when they were hitting 1 home run for every 2 million earned. Pujols will forever be thought of after the legendary greats simply because of this. Now if he were to become an advocate against the union and the league speaking out against 'roids and for tougher testing and actually put his money where his mouth is he might be able to do something about this... otherwise he will always be that great player who didn't get caught (like Schilling).
Great point, and very telling for the baseball era we live in. These days, a guy can't have a great week without fans wondering if it wasn't "aided".
ReplyDeleteWe've wondered about every great (or even good) player of the last 15 years. And maybe for good reason. MLB Network just played Games 6 and 7 of the 1991 World Series, and every one of those players (even massive-at-the-time Kent Hrbek) look like twigs compared to today's bulked-up boys of summer.
Don't get me wrong... I still think a high percentage of today's players are just lifting weights and eating better (nutrition has made some major advances in the last generation). But there will always be a shadow of doubt. And sadly, players like Pujols get penalized because baseball's just keeping its eyes closed until the Steroid Era is well behind us.
I still think more love needs to be given to guys like Pudge who make what might be the only more ridiculous comment than the now commonplace "it was a GNC product that had a banned substance in it" line. Pudge recently said when asked about the report, "Only God knows if I am in there". Ummmmm, really? If you hadn't done steroids ever then guess who would also know they weren't in that report... YOU JACKASS! If you are going to say something so stupid as, "well gee officer if I breath into that breathalyzer only God knows how it is going to come out" don't you think you deserve some time in the stupid box?
ReplyDeletePudge... would that be the same guy that showed up to spring training 25 pounds slimmer a couple of years ago and said it was because of "laying off the hamburgers" in the offseason?
ReplyDeleteKevin... people lose weight all the time. Just because a steroid user stops taking steroids it doesn't mean that is why he lost the weight. Just saying if that was the case every fat chick out there would take a cycle and then stop. So stop blaming steroids for his weight loss. Sure stopped using steroids at the same time but I think the two things are unrelated.
ReplyDeleteI just checked and sure enough, scientific studies show absolutely no connection between steroids and a fluctuation in weight.
ReplyDeleteThose studies went on to say that Barry Bonds actually tried the 'Supersize Me' diet for 6 months in his mid 30s, which actually caused his cranium to swell to twice its normal size.
Mystery solved. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some leftover Andro I need to ingest. I mean, leftover Arby's. I said Arby's!!!!!