Home Run Derby

Unfortunately, it was in a losing effort for the Cubs, but nothing anyone else hit yesterday can beat Kosuke Fukudome’s game-tying Home Run in the bottom of the ninth inning against the Brewers.

I was at the Cubs’ home opener yesterday and Fukudome’s eye at the plate is everything it was advertised to be.  The first pitch he saw he hammered for a double, followed by a walk, a single and that blast.

By the way, Brent Musburger did a fine job announcing baseball.

Thanks to Awful Announcing for the original clip … which MLB already took down.  I replaced it with a view from the section next to mine.

Everyone’s been talking about Alex Rodriguez this spring.  But Chipper Jones is a Man on Fire.

Jones started the season off mediocre by batting .269 and slugging a paltry .308 with zero Home Runs and only one Extra-Base Hit in his first 7 games.

But since then, he’s the hottest slugger in the Major Leagues.

In his 19 Games since April 11, Chipper Jones has …

• .333 Batting Average
• .821 Slugging Percentage (2nd best in MLB)
• 1.243 OPS 
• 10 Home Runs (best in MLB)
• 7.80 AB/HR Ratio (2nd best in MLB)
• 20 RBI (2nd best in MLB)
• 17 Extra-Base Hits (best in MLB)

And he’s really on fire the past two nights vs the Phillies - going 4 for 7 with 3 Home Runs.

Any wonder why the El Guapos are on top of our Home Run Derby Standings?

In Spring Training - people had written this guy off for Dead after a couple injuries.

Grady Sizemore started the season off hot with four HR in his first six games, and then fell off the Derby map for two full weeks.

But last night, seemingly just for Derby veteran Gluck Fu!, he got back on the Home Run Derby board with Gluck’s favorite Baseball Play - The Inside the Park Home Run.

Standings have been updated.

Prince Fielder sure likes taking the drive South on I-94 to get to Wrigley Field to play the Cubs …

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Through twelve career games at Wrigley Field, Fielder has hit seven (7!) Home Runs with a 6.43 AB/HR Ratio. His seven Home Runs are the second most ever hit by a Brewer at Wrigley (tied with Bill Hall and Richie Sexson).

That’s the best AB/HR for a Brewer ever at Wrigley. And that includes Cub Killers like Jeromy Burnitz, Richie Sexson, and Carlos Lee when the played with the Brew Crew.

And they seem to come in bunches. Fielder has three multi-homer games at Wrigley in his short career. In fact, his only single-HR game at the Friendly Confines came last night. In two games at Wrigley this season, he’s got three Home Runs and a wicked 3.67 AB/HR ratio.

Hey Pinella - walk the big guy this afternoon.

Time for the annual Derby breakdown of player picks.  Interesting trends this season …

Group A is really top heavy this season with at least one of the three big guns (Pujols, Ortiz, Howard) on all but one roster.  Seventeen rosters have all three.  Curious that last season’s HR leader only tied for the 6th most picked player in the Derby.

Group B has a similar trend with three big names before the dropoff.  Adam Dunn finally gets some respect in this Derby.  This Group also holds the Derby’s only orphan - Jason Giambi. 

Group C is much more competitively distributed and could easily be the tipping point for the winners this season.  This was a really tough group to just choose three guys.

Group D is ruled by Derrek Lee who probably was Group C material in his comeback bid.  Miguel Cabrera was also a value pick here too.  But I should not have elevated Matsui and Griffey Jr. to this group.

Group E is always my favorite.  A few picks that I expected due to their hype in the SportsMedia and Fantasy Baseball communities (Fielder, Atkins, Sizemore, and Wright) offset by the ones that come in out of left field like Teahen, Markais and Hawpe.

Sammy Sosa – 14 HR, 27.14 AB/HR, 102 G

The HR’s this guy is hitting in spring training are earning frequent flyer miles, and he looks as ripped as he was in his 1998 66 HR season where he battled McGwire to the final weekend. Sammy has a lot to prove coming back to the majors. With a contract filled with a lot of incentives based on AB’s, he plans on earning his money. Having already been added to the 40-man roster, he is well on his way to earning the primary DH spot, batting fifth in the lineup at Arlington.

Mike Piazza – 22 HR, 18.13 AB/HR, 126 G

The only question that one should have for Piazza is how long will his adjustment period to the AL take. He is a veteran hitter, and a workhorse on and off the field. Although he is getting up there in age, playing DH with a lineup that carries some decent power might give Piazza the edge he needs to return to his 30+ HR seasons. He also has “got more to play for,” with the recent birth of his first daughter with former Playboy Playmate, Alicia Rickter.

David Wright– 26 HR, 22.38 AB/HR, 154 G.

After blasting 16 HR’s in round one of the 2006 MLB HR Derby, David Wright has shown us what kind of power he possesses. He is he Mets new poster boy, and rumored to be a hit in the clubhouse as well, he hit .311 with 26 homers, and 116 RBI in 2006 and his numbers are only expected to get better. Everyone out there should have this guy as a potential final choice for Group E.

Grady Sizemore 28 HR, 23.39 AB/HR, 162 G.

One of MLB’s most talented rising stars. He is a gifted center fielder, with plenty of left handed power to hit the fences in Jacobs field, combined with some nice protection in the line-up. Last year, at the age of 24, he connected for 28 homers and 53 doubles while batting .290 and leading the AL in runs scored at 134. Can you imagine what this guy will be doing when he is in his prime the next few years?

Prince Fielder – 28 HR, 20.32 AB/HR, 157 G.

Part of an intriguing mix of young talent up in Milwaukee, Prince Fielder has had a lifetime a hitting lessons coming from “Big Daddy” Cecil. He has .300-30-100-100 potential hitting in the number 3 spot in the lineup. Now, if Brewer’s Management can get him on whatever diet Big Papi went on during the off-season, there is no telling how many he can belt out this year…

Chris Duncan – 22 HR, 12.72AB/HR, 90 G.

This guy is not one to be taken lightly. He did not get much playing time in 2006 due to his poor defense in the outfield, but when he did, he made it count. He had 280 AB with 22 HR’s (12.72 AB/HR WOW!) and is expected to be a regular starter in left field this season. Batting second with a veteran group of sluggers behind him, he has extensive potential. Taking off-season batting practice with Mark McGwire cannot hurt his hopes at hitting the long balls either.

Hank Blalock – 16 HR, 36.93 AB/HR, 152 G

Once thought to be the future of the Texas Rangers, the youngest player in the majors when he made his debut in 2002 has shown some serious slumping in his batting. Can his off-season shoulder surgery get him back to his All-Star credentials (2004 season 32/110/.276), or will he have another season batting .216 against lefties?

Jonny Gomes – 20HR, 19.25 AB/HR, 117 G

Funny Name? He’s not laughing. He opened the 2006 season with 11 HR’s in April, but shoulder troubles got the worst of his season, leading to season ending surgery in September. He seems to be coming back strong, losing some of his gut and gaining some upper body strength, and will likely anchor a strong young lineup at DH.

J.D. Drew – 20 HR, 24.70 AB/HR, 146G

Are we starting to see a shoulder injury, coming back healthy trend here??? A change into the lineup out in Boston, with a favorable porch for Left Handed batters and the protection of Manny and Papi in the lineup may be just what J.D. Drew needs for another big season. $9.4 Million in the bank doesn’t hurt either.

Garrett Atkins - 29 HR, 20.75 AB/HR, 157 G

A powerful player coming into his prime at age 27, batting in the bandbox that is Coors Field, many projections for 2007 have him as a .300/30/110 batter this year. His solid start this year in Spring Training may just show his monster season last year (.329/29/120) was no fluke. He has the potential of taking Todd Helton’s #3 spot in the lineup, protected by Matt Holliday and Helton behind him.

Barry Bonds – 26 HR, 14.12 AB/HR, 130 G

Excuse me Paula, but your arms seem excessively huge. This guy is on a mission to break Hank Aaron’s HR Record this year. With players like Howard, Pujols, and A-Rod also eying that mark in their futures, he doesn’t want to pass it, but demolish it. Are pitchers going to give him the chance, or will it be another Major-League record year for walks in 2007? He is absolutely crushing the ball this Spring, but is definitely and injury risk at 42 years old.

Jeff Francoeur – 29 HR, 22.45 AB/HR, 162G

Young and healthy, he played all 162 games last season in ATL, consistently improving throughout the season. With only 23 walks in 651 at bats in 2006, he must learn some patience to see the HR pitches. Improvements made in the off-season are shining through in Spring training, batting over .390 with 3 HR and 8 RBI.

Sammy Sosa’s 2007 Spring Training to date:  4 Games; 12 At-Bats; 5 Hits; 2 Home Runs; 6.00 AB/HR; 4 Strikeouts. 

Sammy crushed one 450 feet yesterday, but it was against the D-Backs’ Livan Hernandez, who’s kinda like Sosa’s BP pitcher – he’s got an 8.17 AB/HR ratio against his buddy from the Dominican.  The 33% K rate and no walks makes me think that he’s probably swinging at everything right now.  He’s obviously still got his power stroke.  Perfect for the Texas DH spot.

The early returns would imply the Rangers signed themselves a bargain in Sosa, who at this point is guaranteed $500,000 with incentives (based mostly on AB) which could pay him $2.2 million more.  But there’s a lot of Spring left, and Spring Training success doesn’t always translate into Regular Season heroics.  More on that in coming days … 

Sosa began his MLB career in Texas before being traded to the White Sox and then the Cubs and Orioles.  It took me a while, but I finally found a picture of Sosa back in 1989 in his first go-round with the Rangers.  Then and Now …

Here’s an infuriating tidbit from a Peter Gammons post over on ESPN.com regarding Alex Rodriguez during the World Baseball Classic (link requires registration)  

Team USA players like to tell the story of (Jeff) Francoeur confronting Alex Rodriguez during the WBC for trashing a clubhouse kid who brought him the wrong sandwich.

This scumbag gets paid millions of dollars a year and feels he has to berate some kid (who is probably earning next to nothing if not just the chance to be in the Clubhouse with the USA players) because he brought him the wrong free sandwich? 

What a spoiled $20 million jerk.

And if this story is true, Jeff Francoeur is immediately added to my list of favorite MLB players.  Even if he plays for the Braves. 

A-Rod has apparently been hanging around Steinbrenner too much.  The Boss once fired a secretary who brought him the wrong sandwich.