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So far in the young 2006 season, Alfonso Soriano has given the Washington Nationals a legitimite power threat in the middle of the line-up even playing in the spacious RFK stadium. Soriano has played decently in LF, so far he hasn’t been a liability and with time he should be pretty decent in the outfield. He’s already a better fielder than Manny Ramirez, so as long as Soriano hits, the defense should suffice. The player they traded to acquire Soriano, Texas Rangers LF Brad Wilkerson has struggled striking out an American League-leading 23 times. The trade though did leave a void in the lead-off spot for the Nationals. Rookie Brandon Watson has already been demoted back to the minors, and the team has recalled Ryan Church to replace him.
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Albert Pujols Hits Three Homers in One Game
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: Athletes, Editorial, Kudos, MLB,
Move over Barry Bonds, you are undeniably no longer the best hitter in baseball (steroids or not). Welcome, Albert Pujols, to your rightful place. On a lazy Sunday afternoon, Pujols was anything but against the Cincinnati Reds as he went 3-for-4 with one walk, 5 RBI, and of course three dingers off of three different pitchers because Pujols didn’t want anyone to feel left out of the hit parade. The third one off of Reds reliever, David Weathers, was a two-run shot that won the game for the Cardinals. Sooner or later, pitchers are going to pitch to Pujols the way they pitched to Bonds when Bonds was healthy. That is to say, they will intentionally walk him every chance they get OR throw nothing but junk at Pujols. A career .332 hitter with a 1.039 OPS in just over five seasons, Pujols is simply the biggest threat in the batter’s box today. At only 26 years of age, he hasn’t even hit his prime yet, which usually starts at 27 years old, going well into the early 30’s. There’s a reason that most in the media call Pujols, “King Albert.”
A Couple Of Noteworthy Pitching Performances
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: Athletes, Editorial, MLB,
Newly acquired starting pitcher Chris Young pitched well for the San Diego Padres in a win over the rebuilding Florida Marlins on Wednesday afternoon. Young went six innings, allowing only a double to Hanley Ramirez in the third inning, striking out six hitters and walking three. Young is a great candidate to step up his game this season after toiling in the hitter’s haven known as Ameriquest Field for his first two seasons, where surprisingly he didn’t do that badly in. Now that he’s pitching in the very spacious Petco Park and doesn’t have to face a designated hitter, Young and his flyball tendencies should do very well, especially considering his ability to make batters miss.
Baltimore Orioles pitching coach, Leo Mazzone, was supposed to bring his pitching magic that he worked so well in Atlanta for over a decade and help the young Orioles staff. The primary pitcher many thought he could help tremendously is the very talented and raw Daniel Cabrera. If you bring the meat, he’ll have the sauce as Cabrera is highly effective in whiffing batters. Case in point of his potential was today’s game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Cabrera went five frames and struck out an amazing 10 hitters, giving up only three hits and one run. However, Cabrera also surrendered a whopping nine walks as well. NINE! Photo (at right) symbolizes Cabrera’s K/BB performance. Thus far, he is leading the Majors in walks allowed as Mazzone is leading in aspirins taken.
This may very well be the year the Chicago Cubs turn the NL Central into a two team race. For the last couple years, the St. Louis Cardinals have dominated the division, making the old rivalry a one-sided affair. Yesterday’s game the Cubs made their comeback in the eighth inning, and did most of their damage by Michael Barrett’s grand-slam off of closer Jason Isringhausen. This is what is great about baseball, with the power of hindsight, we can second guess Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa, and ask why wasn’t Braden Looper or a different reliever wasn’t in the game to start the eighth inning? Isringhausen was not close to the plate the entire outing but was expected to record a six-out save. Izzy though was well rested having not pitched the last couple of days.
Battle of the Sophomore Pitchers: Blanton VS. King Felix
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: MLB, Scoreboard,
Two of the better rookie pitchers from the 2005 MLB season matched up on Friday night at Safeco Field. Pitching phenom, “King” Felix Hernandez and the Seattle Mariners played host to the Oakland Athletics and opposing pitcher, Joe Blanton. This matchup of very good young pitchers did not disappoint as King Felix went five innings, giving up a paltry two hits and one run while walking and striking out four. Due to a strict pitch count for the youngster, Hernandez did not go further than the fifth inning after which he totaled 100 pitches. Blanton however, not only pitched three more innings, but he threw less total pitches. Blanton went eight frames, throwing a total of 98 pitches, giving up only two hits, one walk, and six punchouts. The Athletics won the game 5-0 as Hernandez’ replacement, Julio Mateo gave up four earned runs in 2.1 IP. Look for this matchup between the youngsters to continue in the next few seasons, which is only enhanced by the fact that the A’s and Mariners are in the same division.
After having right elbow surgery last year that effectively ended his 2005 season, Los Angeles Dodgers closer, Eric Gagne, is scheduled to go under the knife again on Friday to remove a nerve just under the skin on the same elbow, which happens to be his pitching elbow. Never a good thing. There is no timetable as to when Gagne will return, and he will be out indefinitely. Once thought of as the most intimidating closer in all of baseball, Gagne has definitely lost some of that luster thanks to his recent injury woes the past couple of seasons. Who knows if he’ll ever be the same again. Just like L.L. Cool J said back in the day - “Don’t call it a comeback!” At least for now.
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| Forbes
WFAN 660 AM is one of the two major sports talk radio stations here in New York City along with 1050 ESPN Radio. Self-proclaimed Mets fan and radio-host Joe Benigno was harshly critical of the Mets loss last night to the Washington Nationals. It is only the second and third game of the 2006 season, and he was already in pessimistic mood. As a knowledgeable fan, he knows that the baseball season is long, and as long as you keep winning series at home and stay around .500 on the road, your team will do fine. Benigno’s tirade was about Billy Wagner’s blown save and the Metallica song Enter Sandman controversy. Benigno is saying Wagner doesn’t deserve to have that song as his theme music if he keeps blowing saves, and that Mariano Rivera already has that song. Wrong! Billy Wagner already had those particular song years before Mariano Rivera, when he was on the Houston Astros. It’s only one blown save, I’d rather have one loss in early April than a blown save in the middle of September against the Atlanta Braves in extra innings fighting for the division. Another topic is the constant booing of Carols Beltran by fans, which he encourages. How can a player possibly perform up to expectations if he is constantly being harassed by the home fans? I took the sane approach and turned off the radio, that is the only way to get these pompous personalities off the air, generating low ratings.
Chicks Dig The Long Ball…And Apparently So Does Dickey
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: Editorial, MLB,
Remember that Nike commercial from what seems like a decade ago that ends with Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine saying - “Chicks dig the long ball” after watching a power display by an alleged ‘roid user who will go unmentioned as not to give him any publicity. Well, Texas Rangers pitcher R.A. Dickey must have because he sure gave up a lot of them tonight against the Detroit Tigers. Okay, saying Dickey “dug” all those dingers would be presumptious in that Dickey is a masochist, but you have to admit, throwing knuckleballs in a cigar box like Ameriquest Field in Arlington AKA Coors Field South might not be a good idea if the pitch isn’t effective. Brandon Inge homering on the second pitch of the game should have made Dickey raise his eyebrow just a little bit. Magglio Ordonez hitting one out three batters later should have made Dickey raise his eyebrow like he was The Rock because he should have “sa-sa-sa-sa-smellllllled… what the Tigers… were… cooking” - a whole lot of dingers. In the end, Dickey tied a post-1900 MLB record for most home runs given up in a game, surrending six altogether. He tied the record with yet another knuckleballer, the Boston Red Sox Tim Wakefield, who achieved the feat during the 2004 season. Guess who the team was…that’s right, the Mighty Detroit Tigers. So, we learned two things from tonight’s event: one, if you like throwing knucklers, take the night off if you’re playing the Tigers. And, two, Inge, Ordonez, Chris Shelton (who homered twice!), Craig Monroe, and Marcus Thames should be some very happy men tonight if, in fact, chicks do indeed dig the long ball.
Oh man, there is nothing more entertaining than watching celebrities and athletes falling from grace. The thing that people most will remember Derek Lowe for is celebrating after his Game 5 save in the 2003 ALDS series and making a grabbing the crotch gesture and his affair with Fox Sports reporter Carolyn Hughes that went public. Now Lowe takes another low blow with the addiction stigma as reports indicate he has been taking ritalin for his attention deficit disorder. Manager Grady Little is going to have a fun time in Dodger land this season, with Nomar Garciaparra going on the DL and Eric Gagne not at full strength - and now this.
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When I first read the headline, I thought Jesse Jackson was talking about getting a good hitter in the order behind Barry Bonds, so he doesn’t get walked all the time. He was referring to Bonds getting a syringe thrown in his direction the other day in San Diego and the police and MLB not doing anything about it. When I first heard news of that, I thought it was a fairly amusing joke, but after some time to digest the situation, it is heading in the wrong direction. Sure it is fun to boo the guy, but when it gets to the point, where Bonds is afraid of his personal safety, that is just wrong. After the Ron Artest/ Auburn Hills melee, we as a society should get our act together. Despite dressing up as Paula Abdul, Bonds has not endeared himself to the fans. Where did it all go wrong for Bonds and baseball fans? Bonds’ life sure has had better days, to top it off it was recently reported that his aunt was severely injured in a car collision. Usually when athletes get older, they learn from their mistakes from their youth. I would say America started officially hating Bonds for good after fighting in the dugout with ex-teammate Jeff Kent. I hope the fans are smart enough not to do something stupid to the Bonds, like pick a fight with him over a foul ball in the left field seats. If such an event should occur, I would like to say now that the media should not throw Bonds under the bus for his behavior, if the situation were to present itself.
Read More | Seattle PI
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