The Weekly MLB Rundown 06.06.08: The Pitching Spectacular
Posted by A.J. Stevens on 06.06.2008
In which yours truly barfs out 1800+ words spread out over 5 pitchers. Plus, I answer your comments and tease next week's column! It's all in today's Rundown!
Welcome back to another exciting edition of the Rundown, fellow baseball junkies. We had a lot of exciting action between the lines this week, and a lot of action outside the lines as well. Let's see what's on the news wire, shall we?
NEWS OF THE WEEK
Tuesday night: a big night for New York baseball fans.
In the American League, Justin "Joba" Chamberlain made his much-heralded first start against the Blue Jays. Michael Kay immediately announced that Joba was on a strict 70 pitch limit, so immediately there was an indication that, unless Joba pulled a Greg Maddux, he wasn't going to be around for long. Turns out, he didn't even make it out of the third inning, and lasted 62 pitches. He was leading 2-1 when he left, but wasn't eligible for the decision. Just so there wasn't any confusion, the Yankees guaranteed a loss by bringing in the horrible Edwar Ramirez to surrender 4 runs without retiring a batter.
Here's the thing: Joba is being touted as the savior of the Yankees. We've heard similar buzz about a couple of pitchers over the past year or two, most notably a certain $28 million dollar man that managed to struggle to a 6-6 record. There were actually supposed to be two saviors this year: Phil Kennedy and Ian Hughes, both on the DL. With their veterans aging and their youngsters injured, the Yankees are going to have a hard time being relevant this year. It's a shame that the older players stink so badly; the Yankees might be able to get some decent prospects in return at the trade deadline. Instead, look forward to another few months of languishing around the middle of the AL East, not really doing anything.
Over in the National League, Pedro Martinez was making his long-awaited return from the disabled list. His opponent: the Giants, with Barry Zito on the mound. This is pretty much the equivalent of Daisuke Matsuzaka making his Red Sox debut last year against the Royals. The only real question was how large the margin of victory was going to be. The Mets' offense made it easy for him, staking him to an 8-run lead after five innings. After the carnage had ended, Pedro went 6, gave up 3, and lowered his ERA from 18.00 to a much more respectable 6.75. Pedro even had two hits and an RBI to help his own cause.
Near the beginning of the game, Keith Hernandez questioned the decision to start Pedro against the Giants. He would have preferred that Pedro make his comeback start against San Diego. With an exterior shot of the fog and the flags whipping in the wind, Hernandez offered that the weather was more predictable in San Diego, thus making it easier to pitch. But you can't fool me, Keith Hernandez. You really meant to say that the Padres are much easier to beat than the Giants.
Randy Johnson takes sole possession of 2nd place on all-time K list, takes the loss against the Brewers.
D-backs D-fense: D-rated. Criminy, these guys are horrible. The Diamondbacks made seven -- SEVEN -- errors in their series against the Brewers. Who's the defense coach in Phoenix, Dick Stuart? To add insult to injury, the Brewers managed to pull off an inside-the-park grand slam on Wednesday. This is not a bad feat considering that Prince Fielder was on second when the ball was hit and has roughly the speed of a disabled aircraft carrier. (And before you e-mail, I know he had an ITPHR of his own last year. He also had to suck on pure oxygen for about 25 minutes after it.)
Returning to the positive half of the headline, Randy Johnson is now second on the list of strikeout leaders. Given that Nolan Ryan, who is superhuman, is cemented in first place with over 5,700 career strikeouts, second place is nothing to sneeze at. It's like those Chuck Norris facts: there's Nolan, and then there's everyone else. Being first out of "everyone else" is impressive. Plus, there's the added comfort that Nolan isn't going to hunt you down and roundhouse kick you down to 15th place or something.
Ozzie Guillen writes new book: Careers for Dummies: Don't Throw Your Boss Under the Bus
Long story short: Ozzie throws massive fit Sunday night threatening action by White Sox GM Kenny Williams before Tuesday's game. Nothing happened on Monday, nothing happened on Tuesday, Ozzie threw the same lineup out there he usually does, and the Sox beat up on their opponent: the Royals. I remember reading an interview with a manager that said good coaching was giving a struggling player a pep talk before he played a team that he was supposed to do well against. Maybe this was Ozzie's way of firing up the Sox before going out and killing the Royals. His methodology, while effective, really irritated (understatement) Kenny Williams, his boss. You don't want to put your boss on the spot like that, especially in public. What would have happened if the change Ozzie called for resulted in him getting a pink slip? Ozzie may be a fan favorite with his loud mouth and his energy, but he needs to place a greater focus on channeling that energy into productive instruction and motivation. The Sox have a good team with a chance to finish at the top of their division; they need as few distractions as possible.
Who will manage the NL in the All-Star Game?
I wonder if it's a coincidence that the National League All-Star team manager and coaching staff are all under fire? Clint Hurdle named the Mets' Willie Randolph and Padres' Bud Black as his coaches for the midsummer classic exhibition. With all three teams floundering way below expectations, these managers might not be around for the All-Star game. While Rockies leadership has expressed confidence in Hurdle, the same cannot be said for Black, and especially not for Randolph. It will be interesting to see how this plays out over the next couple of weeks, as I cannot see any GM keeping his manager on the payroll specifically to manage an exhibition game. Who knows - maybe all of this is happening because of the questionable and inexplicable decision to exclude the Diamondbacks' Bob Melvin from the staff. You might have heard of Melvin - he won National League Manager of the Year last year, and is managing one if the better teams this year, too.
Pitching shorts
John Smoltz done for season
Well, there goes my hopes of a Glavine-Smoltz-Maddux reunion in Atlanta. Not that that would have been a good idea for the Braves, as they would have had to give up prospects to get Maddux (have I mentioned recently that the Padres are horrible this year?). Smoltz hopes to pitch again in 2009, but with this being the likely last seasons for former teammates and future HOFers Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux, it would be nice to see Smoltzie gracefully bow out and go into the Hall with his longtime teammates. John, you've got over 200 wins and over 150 saves. That's something that will never, ever be accomplished again. You've had a great career, and I understand the desier to compete, but don't end your career after a failed comeback from the DL.
Mike Hampton takes small step to recovery
Apparently he threw 25 times off a bullpen mound, and will increase his pitch count gradually. He estimates it will be at least a month before he is ready to pitch in the big leagues. Hey Mike, we've been waiting since 2005 for you to pitch in the big leagues. A good friend of mine, who didn't like baseball at all, saw you pitch against RJ when he threw his perfecto. She thought you were a good pitcher. As the season unfolded, she would catch Braves games on TBS whenever possible, in hopes that you would make an appearance. Now she thinks you're worthless.
Mark Prior has season-ending shoulder surgery
Shouldn't a season have technically started before one has "season-ending" surgery?
Prior and Hampton have turned into huge money sinks for their teams. Maybe they should try new careers that have less potential for injury, like, oh, I dunno. Flowerpot, or something.
WALKOFFS OF THE WEEK
* 5/30/08
** Cliff Floyd, Rays, vs. Chicago (AL)
** Brandon Phillips, Reds, vs. Atlanta (walk-off error -- does that count?)
* 5/31/08
** Juan Rivera, Angels, vs. Toronto
** Jay Bruce, Reds, vs. Atlanta
* 6/1/08
** Gabe Gross, Rays, vs. Chicago (AL)
** Maicer Izturis, Angels, vs. Toronto (preceded by bases-loaded HBP)
** Jose Castillo, Giants, vs. San Diego
* 6/2/08
** Bobby Crosby, A's, vs. Detroit
** Yunel Escobar, Braves, vs. Florida
* 6/3/08
** Jack Cust, A's, vs. Detroit
* 6/4/08
** Paul Konerko, White Sox, vs. Kansas City, in 15 innings. Apparently Konerko was 5-6 with 4 HR against Jimmy Gobble, the Royals pitcher when he came up to bat. Thank goodness, and the Sox appeared to have forgotten what good baserunning was.
YOU SPOKE, WE LISTENED
Jimmy says: why do i have a weird feeling we are going to see an all chicago world series this year?
and i'm not even from chicago!
Jimmy: I think the White Sox need to step it up a bit before they can be considered anything other than a flash in the pan. Their first place status is basically a side effect of the Tigers woeful beginnings. I think with the Tigers down, the Sox, Minnesota, and Cleveland all have a shot at the AL Central crown. All three teams will have to come up with some lights-out bullpen work in order to cement their place in the playoffs, though.
LatinoMeat wrote in: I don't like the Pirates, but it pains me to see so many guys out there playing great ball, only to be at the bottom of their division.
Meat: Yeah, this is their 16th straight losing season. If you don't like the Pirates and feel that way, imagine the feelings of the people who are devoted fans.
Here's how you tell if someone is a true Pirates fan. Walk up to anyone in a Pirates hat, and say "Sid Bream." Watch their reaction. (Don't try this with Chuck D., though.)
And finally, Hank sends in: Go Florida all the way.
Rays vs. Marlins
That would be a great series to watch. A great World Series? No. Tampa Bay has the backstory to provide a compelling World Series run, like last year's Rockies did. However, with the fickle viewership that is made up of casual baseball fans, an all-Florida World Series wouldn't draw a dime. Plus, FOX would have to do something weird with the start times so all the seniors in Florida could still catch the game and be home in time for 5:45 shuffleboard.
Tampa Bay vs. Chicago, Philadelphia, New York, or Los Angeles: Ratings
Tampa Bay vs. Florida or Arizona: Nobody watches (unfortunately)
CLOSING IT OUT
A lot of good games this week, folks. There were a lot of blowouts, too, as balls seemed to be rattling in and out of the park all weekend long. It was a good week to be a baseball fan: something for everybody. Next week we'll take a look at what each team needs to do to get their ship righted for the playoffs, and also list which teams should go ahead and abandon ship already.
If you have a comment, or just want to talk some baseball, leave a comment below, or shoot me an e-mail at 411baseball@gmail.com. Thanks for reading, and we'll be back next week!
