The Weekly Rundown 05.09.08: A Different Look
Posted by A.J. Stevens on 05.09.2008
And now for a different perspective from the Rundown staff, as we slide in with a little changeup this week. Don't worry, these are all the bad baseball puns you're going to get in the article. Honest.
I ain't gonna lie to you: it's been a busy week. Next week's going to be even worse. I'm taking a different approach this week, but first...
LAST WEEK'S NEWS
A Tale of Two or Three Pitchers, or: Are You There, John Gibbons? It's Me, A.J.
White Sox hurler Gavin Floyd has thrown two near no-hitters so far this season, losing them with one out in the eighth and one out in the ninth, respectively. in both cases, after he gave up his hit, he was lifted for a reliever. I talked last week about Roy Halladay pitching four complete games and taking the loss in a spectacular three of them. I think poor Roy could not throw another CG this season and still lead the AL, if not MLB. Wednesday, John Maine took a shutout into the ninth inning, which is all well and good, except that he was pitching with a TWELVE RUN LEAD since the sixth. He wound up throwing 117 pitches. Yikes. Last year, Johan Santana struck out 17 in a game, giving up two hits... and was lifted after the 8th inning by manager Ron Gardenhire. Why? Because he was at 112 pitches, and it was a one-run game (and the closer was the unhittable Joe Nathan). Granted, Halladay threw between 110-117 pitches in those four games, and he's a big boy, but still: you can't overwork your pitchers early in the season and expect them to be effective down the stretch.
Trivia Time: Aubrey Huff, Orioles, 6/29/07
The question to this answer would be, "Who is the last player in MLB to hit for the cycle, and when did they do it?" Well, before Wednesday night that is, when Carlos Gomez of the Twins achieved the "Reverse Natural Cycle," hitting a HR, triple, double, and single in a game against the White Sox. Gomez came over to the Twins from the Mets in the Johan Santana trade. The other story from the game is Livan Hernandez, who threw his 44th career complete game, in a 121-pitch, 13-1 Twins victory. Hey, he only had a 7-0 lead after eight innings though, I can see why interim manager Scott Ullger left him in. Sigh.
Zito not totally baked after all
Barry Zito, who is quickly speeding down the road to being known as "The Worst Free Agent Signing of All Time," was exiled to the Giants bullpen last week after beginning his year apparently having forgotten how to pitch. Surprise, surprise, Giants fan: he's back in the rotation after only a few days of being forced to watch the game from the outfield. He was never even called upon to relieve, which, let's face it, is a good thing. If you were a starting pitcher, would you want 2008 Barry Zito trying to keep your team close? Me neither. The former Cy Young winner pitched... decently... against the Pirates, and walked away with a 3-1 loss, mostly due to RBI leader Xavier Nady's 2-run home run. Random observation: the Pirates had a batting crown winner two years ago, and currently have the RBI leader. It's great that fans have these little things to like about their team, because 15 straight losing seasons is tough on anybody.
HAHHAHAHAHA
I love me some eephus (even though this was actually a knuckle-curve). Papi, however, does not:
The look on his face is awesome. 57 MPH? Genius. Somebody get this guy into a pitching duel with Livo, Contreras, and El Duque.
WALK-OFFS OF THE WEEK
Asdrubal Cabrera, Cleveland, vs. Mariners, 5/1/08
Pat Burrell, Philadelphia, vs. Giants, 5/2/08
Skip Schumaker, St. Louis, vs. Cubs, 5/2/08
Geoff Jenkins, Philadelphia, vs. Giants, 5/4/08
Hunter Pence, Houston, vs. Brewers, 5/4/08 (ANOTHER Gagne BS... heheheh)
Emil Brown, Oakland, vs. Orioles, 5/5/08
Mark Ellis, Oakland, vs. Orioles, 5/7/08
Placido Polanco, Detroit, vs. Red Sox, 5/7/08
Carlos Lee, Houston, vs. Nationals, 5/7/08
Everybody wins this week!
/lazy
WHY I'M A BASEBALL FAN
The other day, I was strolling through the cafeteria at work when something caught my eye. It was a highlight clip of what I think of as the Greatest Home Run of All Time. I remember seeing it when it happened - watching all the chaos, celebration, and depression that followed it. I was in the twilight of my baseball card-collecting career at this point, but my love for the game, while it went on hiatus for a few years, never totally went away. I lived for a few years without a television, yet I remember vividly going over to my friend's place to catch the final pitch of the 2000 World Series. I remember sitting in my car listening to the Marlins (who?) beat the Indians (you're kidding, right?) in the 1997 World Series, wondering if I was listening to actual baseball and not some War of the Worlds-ian broadcast. I remember returning from a short stint overseas and marveling at the Diamondbacks and Angels having won the World Series while I was gone. I haven't really maintained any allegiance to a particular team, as I don't live in a "major league" city, although I did try to watch as many local sports broadcasts as possible, as well as the All-Star Game and its related pageantry, and the playoffs. I was fortunate enough to watch Randy Johnson throw his perfect game. I was even fortunate enough to attend a live baseball game that had all of my favorite ingredients: extra innings, a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th, a legend pitching, and a phenomenal defensive play to save the ball game. Not bad for the first major league game I had been to in over two decades.
But I digress. I was fortunate enough to have parents who recognized my love for baseball and did everything they could to cultivate that. Our family vacations during the summer usually involved catching a baseball game or three. I've seen games in Fenway Park (and caught a foul ball hit by George Brett), Toronto's old Exhibition Stadium, Yankee Stadium, Shea Stadium, Philly's old Veterans Stadium, and Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. While I could have -- and did -- grow up a fan of the Orioles, Yankees, or Mets due to where I lived, I learned to appreciate the finer aspects of the game, and am always more interested in a "good game" than in watching my favorite team win.
As I got older, I began to be appreciative of "perfect" moments in life. It sounds like something you see only in movies like "The Natural," or even "Major League" (contrived as it is). Here is one of those perfect moments:
I've gotten to the point where I almost don't tear up anymore when I watch the video. Having the sound off helps quite a bit with that. Plus, I prefer the radio call of the homer than the TV announcer's call. Absolutely sublime.
On a sartorial note: those uniforms were AWESOME and need to be brought back. I know they've done the road blues as a home alternate this year, but nothing tops those whites with that shade of blue.
CLOSING IT OUT
That's it for me this week, sports fans. Drop me a line at 411baseball@gmail.com to talk some baseball... or as always, you can leave a comment below. I look forward to hearing from you, and we'll pick this one up again next week!
