Posts Tagged ‘May’
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May-jor League Thoughts.May 30th, 2008
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The Indians are um, not good right now. So, instead of saying things like, “they need to make a trade (or four),” I have no confidence in any player unless they have an ‘SP’ in front of their name (besides Paul Byrd),” and “five of the worst fifteen (qualifying) batting averages in the American League belong to Indians hitters,” I decided to provide some miscellaneous thoughts from around the league from May. Also, a seriously-too-long rant in the middle that really gets me worked up:
There’s no way this and that aren’t related. In case you are too lazy to click, the first is a story about the government trying to subpoena 104 MLB players that tested positive for steroids in 2003. The second is a fantasy analysis on the state of relief pitchers in baseball, namely closers and their inability to, um, not suck. Hey, here’s a question: why are a lot fewer relievers throwing 95-100 mph? Everybody seems to be in the 88-95 mph range these days. Plus, they aren’t as effective as they once were, like 5 years ago. Also, on a completely different topic, over 100 players tested positive for steroids in 2003. That’s over 3 players per team. And that doesn’t even account for HGH. Must be a coincidence. Read more
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Seriously, what’s wrong with Eric Byrnes?May 17th, 2008
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So, after hiccups against the Mets and Cubs, the Diamonbacks are once again in cruise control. Brandon Webb can’t be beat, Dan Haren looks as good as promised, and the kids — especially Chris Young, Stephen Drew, Justin Upton, Conor Jackson, Micah Owings and Matt Scherzer — are playing great, solid ball, and look to be forming the core of a perrenial contender.
But unless you live in the Grand Canyon state or have this man on your fantasy team, you might have noticed that Eric Byrnes is having a tough time of it. Actually, he’s been terrible. He’s been so bad, that it’s been hard to fathom.
And the proof is in the pudding. The numbers aren’t just ugly, they’re horrifying. Through 38 games and 157 at bats: a batting average of .223. 4 home runs. 17 RBI, and a measly .665 OPS.
It has been well documented that Byrnes started off slowly. But in the second and third weeks of the season, his production picked up, and it looked like he was returning to the form that made him All-Star snub number 1 last year. In fact, he was up to a .267 average with a .776 OPS. Not great, but certainly better than where he had been.
But those days are long gone. In the month of May, that average is just .102. His OPS is .224, a figure so low it’s absurd. He hadn’t driven in a single run until last night against Detroit, he’s only hit safely five times, and he’s started to become a near sure thing to ground into a double play when all he needs to do is put the ball over the shortstop’s head. Or walk. Or even strike out.
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Happy May Day!May 2nd, 2008
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Happy May Day! In all honesty, I have no idea what May Day is really about. It has something to do with a pole, maybe? Regardless, I am celebrating all the same. You see, there’s something happening in Philadelphia today that baseball fans haven’t seen in quite some time. The Philies –wait for it- have actually managed to finish an April with a wining record. In the immortal words of Dizzy Dean, “Who’d have thunk it?”
You might ask why I’m excited over a team posting a 16-13 record in one month of a marathon season. I’ll give you that, on paper, 16-13 is not the most impressive baseball a team can play. However, in light of seasons past and a plethora of injuries, question marks, and slow starts, the Phillies have accomplished something here, if only psychologically, that could reverberate through the entire season.
As it stands of this writing, the Phillies are a half-game ahead of the second place Florida Marlins. Considering the Marlins are in fact the Marlins and will certainly fall off the pace at some point, lets celebrate the Philies sole possession of first-place in the NL East. They are a full game up on the Mets and three ahead of Atlanta. While both teams still pose serious threats, a lead is a lead is a lead. Perhaps most impressive of all though, the Phillies have managed all this despite both predictive and situational odds.