This Week in Baseball 5/21 - 5/27

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

So it looks like Roger Clemens will be making his season debut next Monday against the Blue Jays instead of the first week of June against the Red Sox.

 

Perhaps even more interesting is that his last minor league start will be this Wednesday against the Sox' AA squad. Who will be matched up against Clemens... Boston uber-prospect Clay Buchholz.

[Craig Th 0]

Thank God this game is on ESPN tonight.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Has anyone read any good baseball books lately? I need a couple to pass the summer months.

Either of Peter Morris's two book series, "A Game of Inches." The first volume covers on the field developments, and the second deals with the game behind the scenes. I picked up the second book and I'm enjoying it immensely.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

So anyway, the Cubs look like a pile of crap right now. First, Dempster says he's going to start, then Hendry comes and says he's not. Whatever, guys.

 

Al, what's your take on Carlos Zambrano? Injury or tankjob?

Probably an injury. There's no reason for a guy like that to suddenly lose his stuff otherwise.

 

So it looks like Roger Clemens will be making his season debut next Monday against the Blue Jays instead of the first week of June against the Red Sox.

 

Perhaps even more interesting is that his last minor league start will be this Wednesday against the Sox' AA squad. Who will be matched up against Clemens... Boston uber-prospect Clay Buchholz.

Which means he's not coming to Scranton. I am terribly disappointed. And by disappointed, I mean elated by the thought of the disappointed mini-Yankee fans.

[Slayer 0]

Man, the audio I had in my head when Czech first told me about Ozzie's tirade left me rather disappointed when I heard the real deal

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

ESPN asks who was the greatest latino right fielder, among Roberto Clemente, Vlad Guerrero and Sammy Sosa. Clemente is the popular choice, but has Vlad Guerrero eclipsed him as a better player?

 

It's difficult to compare them offensively, since Clemente had a full career and Vlad is at the midpoint of his. Clemente had his best years after 30 so comparing Vlad to the early half of Clemente's career doesn't work well either. As a compromise, we'll compare Vlad to Clemente's best years. Vlad is at .325/.391/.584 for his career. In Clemente's eight best years (1964-71), he hit .334/.383/.514. When I first started this, I had no idea Clemente's peak compared that well. Clemente spent five years in the majors where he was subpar to average, and that hurt his career percentages (Clemente was a Rule V pick). Consider that Vlad played in a great offensive era and Clemente played in a poor offensive era, and their peaks as hitters are very close.

 

Before I began, I was ready to say that Clemente's defense couldn't possibly make up for Vlad's offensive edge. Now I'm not sure. Vlad at his peak has bested Clemente at a similar age. Clemente really turned it on in his 30s however. If Vlad is going to overtake Clemente, he's going to need to keep going for several years at his peak. In any case, it should be fun to watch. Vlad's been flying under the radar in Anaheim, but he's still one of the best in baseball.

[Craig Th 0]

Ugh, Wakefield got lit up.

[devo 0]

After being down 6-0 in the second inning, the Reds have come all the way back in the bottom of the eighth to take the lead 8-7 on a two-run Javier Valentin home run. This after Arroyo got knocked out of the game after a couple innings, leaving Cincinnati's notoriously terrible bullpen to keep the game manageable. Go figure.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Ugh, Wakefield got lit up.

That's the thing with the knuckleball. There are days when he just can't locate it at all.

 

Can't Rick Sutcliffe assault Erin Andrews at an Outback or something so I don't have to hear him anymore? He was absolutely brutal tonight.

[Brett Favre 0]

Al, where would Vladimir Guerrero and Roberto Clemente rank among all-time right fielders? It's tough to have better numbers than those two, especially to go along with their defense.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Al, where would Vladimir Guerrero and Roberto Clemente rank among all-time right fielders? It's tough to have better numbers than those two, especially to go along with their defense.

Top 20. Specifically it's hard to say without putting a lot more effort into it. Clemente is probably top 10.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

Os beat the Blue Jays 13-7 in the HOF game..

 

Huff hit a 3 Run HR and minor league catcher Brian Bock had 2 HR and 5 RBI

 

Erbe apparently looked good too, 4 IP 4 H 6 Ks

 

now they can go back to scoring 3 runs a game in games that do count.

[CanadianChris 0]

So we're not going to see the Brooklyn Cyclones when we're in New York. We are, however, going to see the Orioles when we're in Washington. Nice upgrade for me, especially since they're playing the Twins and I might get lucky and see Santana pitch.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

Well, looks like the Brewers have figured out how to win again. They beat the Dodgers 9-5 last night. Prince Fielder hit two homers. Rickie Weeks is back and went 4-for-5 as well.

 

Oh, and for fun, here are the current NL home run standings (everyone with more than 10):

 

Prince Fielder - 14

JJ Hardy - 14

Chipper Jones - 12

Barry Bonds - 11

Adam Dunn - 11

Aramis Ramirez - 11

[snuffbox 0]

Those Prince Fielder homeruns were HUGE.

[The Man in Blak 0]

So anyway, the Cubs look like a pile of crap right now. First, Dempster says he's going to start, then Hendry comes and says he's not. Whatever, guys.

 

Al, what's your take on Carlos Zambrano? Injury or tankjob?

Probably an injury. There's no reason for a guy like that to suddenly lose his stuff otherwise.

 

The Hardball Times recently posted an article dissecting some of Zambrano's mechanics that's worth reading, if you're concerned about his performance going forward.

[Hawk 34 0]

So what was in Josh Hamilton's stomach?

 

Gastroenteritis. He lands on the 15 day DL. This must upset all the radio land idiots that were convinced he relapsed.

[Longdogger_Pete 0]

So what was in Josh Hamilton's stomach?

 

The possible answers to this question could form their own thread.

[Guest Smues]

Kyle Davies hit a three-run shot to dead center. That was awesome.

[Boon 0]

Tavarez outpitches Mussina and the Sox take the second game. Julian really pitching for a job, it seems.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Tavarez outpitches Mussina and the Sox take the second game. Julian really pitching for a job, it seems.

Julian Tavarez can start, he does it every year in winter league. People just assume that the only baseball occurs in the majors.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Tavarez outpitches Mussina and the Sox take the second game. Julian really pitching for a job, it seems.

Julian Tavarez can start, he does it every year in winter league. People just assume that the only baseball occurs in the majors.

No one said he couldn't start. It's just that he generally sucks when he does.

[Boon 0]

Tavarez outpitches Mussina and the Sox take the second game. Julian really pitching for a job, it seems.

Julian Tavarez can start, he does it every year in winter league. People just assume that the only baseball occurs in the majors.

No one said he couldn't start. It's just that he generally sucks when he does.

Exactly.

[CanadianChris 0]

I made the mistake of watching Sox/Yanks on the NESN HD feed. Julian Tavarez in HD is not a pleasant experience.

[TheDevilAndGodAreRagingInsideMe 0]

Melky had a really good AB pinch hitting in the 9th inning, but ended up being struck out by Papsmear. Him along with Phelps autta get some playing time over the inept Mientkiewicz (the supposedly "platoon" where Mz gets roughly 90% of the at bats) and the uninspired Abreu. It's just painful right now.

[Open the Muggy Gate 0]

I know it's coming from a Sox fan, so I'm a bit bias, but I find it somewhat irritating anytime the Yankees get a 2 game winning streak going or something it's "HERE COME THE YANKEES". They were giving them some love cause they went 2-1 the last three games on ESPN. Heh.

 

Sosa hits #598 today. The question. Does anyone really care about this?

[vivalaultra 0]

I care. I'm sure that Sosa is just as 'unclean' as Barry Bonds, but I've always found him to be a more engaging character than Bonds.

[TheDevilAndGodAreRagingInsideMe 0]

Funny because I find all the ESPN bias leans towards the Sawx side of things.

[Open the Muggy Gate 0]

Funny because I find all the ESPN bias leans towards the Sawx side of things.

 

I saw it yesterday after the Sawx win. They were hyping the 2-1 in the last three games Yankees. I just found it humorous.

[TheDevilAndGodAreRagingInsideMe 0]

I think this time I've finally given up on that network, and most/all national sports coverage for good now. It's just plain awful.