Pinch-hitting is hard enough. Sit on your duff for 7+ innings, get the notice that you are probably going to get at bat if the situation is right, go take a couple swings in the cage behind the dugout, swing the donut a bit, and go out there down by 1 run and 2 runners on and 2 out.
Oh, and you get to face Hank Steinbrenner’s favorite Yankee (but not Erin Andrews), Joba Chamberlain. A single ties the game, but why not over-deliver? Second pitch he sees … ding dong, the pitch is dead.
And while Joba had a bad night last night, “his” team in the HRD, The Joba Rules, is building a nice cushion in our contest. Through May 5th, The Joba Rules had a seven Home Run cushion in the contest and was on the doorstep of breaking 100 Home Runs to date.
I think we might have found a new HRD whipping boy.
I was kind of hoping that Geovany Soto would hit a Home Run last night and end up here to dispell any rumor that I am incapable of honoring a Cub (despite my World Series prediction).
Alas, it was not meant to be, so we turn our attention to a former 40+ Home Run hitter , Adrian Beltre.
If you just look at the final score of last night’s Mariners-Indians game (7-2), you might miss that it was tied going into the ninth 2-2.
Beltre untied it with a 3-run Home Run off of Rafael Betancourt. The Mariners added another 2 run after that for good measure, but that doesn’t take away from Adrian’s clutch performance.
Think of it this way, if they were in Seattle it was a walk off (there’s a movie quote in there somewhere, different locale - any guesses?).
I know it doesn’t take the sting of the bloated contract Beltre signed in 2005, but he actually having a excellent start to the year (.309 BA. .962 OPS) not quite his stats from his last year in LA (.334 BA, 1.017 OPS) but certainly more in line with what was expected from him when the Mariners signed him
Well, for one day anyway, Adrian Beltre you are king of the Home Run.
And that’s five straight painful losses the Indians have given up to the Red Sox. All that was missing was Manny admiring it for a while before trotting to first. But he’s been burned on that a few times already this season.
Manny sure can hit the longball in Cleveland. That was his 132nd Home Run in that ballpark … but ihis first under the name of Progressive Field.
Cleveland - Welcome back, Joe Crede.
Your reward is a Home Run of the Day, nod.
It has been a long road back for Joe since last season’s back surgery limited him to 47 games and a mere four Home Runs in 2007.
The first three games of this season were looking like a slow start for Joe as he entered the 8th inning yesterday at 2 for 11 for the season.
With the score tied 1-1 and the White Sox trying to salvage the last game of the season opening series against the Tribe, Crede spanked a 2-0 pitch from Jake Westbrook on to the concourse in left field.
We’ve analyzed the Senior Circuit’s 2008 trip through the American League … let’s move on to the Junior Circuit’s 2008 Interleague opponents.
Teams from the American League always have a bit of a dilemma for their road Interleague games, because there’s no DH in NL Parks. On top of that, AL pitchers have to hit for themselves, which they don’t do in their other 144 games.
Is it a disadvantage? The AL leads the NL 1,250 to 1,202 in Interleague games over the past ten seasons … so not really. Then again, maybe that Win-Loss Record would be even more in favor of the AL if DH’s could rake against NL Pitchers.
But it still doesn’t sit well with some AL Managers …
We hate it when our pitchers have to start hitting. We have to do a lot of extra work and take a lot of risks for not that many at-bats. Ron Gardenhire, Manager, Minnesota Twins (2005)
Gardy’s gonna dislike it even more this season, without the NL-killing Johan Santana in his rotation anymore.
But when you’re 100-75 in ten years of Interleague Play, you don’t seem to mind …
If we played National League teams, the Central Division, we might win 150 games in that league. Ozzie Guillen, White Sox Manager (2006)
Let’s take a look at the AL Central and see if there’s anyone with an early schedule advantage … on paper. Matched up against the pitching-rich NL West … someone will surely have an advantage if they avoid two of the tops teams.
It was nearly six years ago that there were some unexpected fireworks at Jacobs Field in Cleveland, Ohio.
And not because the Indians slugged some big Home Runs either … these fireworks weren’t the kind to be celebrated.
On June 12, 2002, the Cleveland Indians were hosting the Philadelphia Phillies. Indians’ pitcher Bartolo Colon was on the mound in the top of the ninth, trying to finish a complete game shutout.
Marlon Anderson singled to lead off the inning, with the heart of the Phillie order due up. And then it got interesting - even before Bobby Abreu took a swing …
That huge boom which made Abreu spin out of the batters box and halt play for a moment was courtesy of an idiot who threw a pretty powerful firecracker (possibly a cherry bomb) over the edge of the right field stands towards a smoking section on the lower level.
Two people were injured. A woman suffered leg injuries for which she was hospitalized and a Jacobs Field employee sustained burns to his chest.
Police originally held three men in connection with the crime, but two were later cleared of charges and were awarded $1 Million each for wrongful arrest, but the awards are under appeal. One of the men was recently convicted of “threatening the lives of the judge, prosecutor and lead police investigator in the 2002 case.”
The third man was convicted of throwing the firecracker and sentenced to three years in prison. He was released after serving seven months of the sentence.
Because with 2,430 regular season games every year not to mention all those preseason games and the playoff games … weird-ass crap happens all the time in baseball.
For example …
Randy Johnson beaning a bird
A Home Run bounced off Jose Canseco’s head
The Bugs that pestered Joba Chamberlain in the ALDS
And then there’s Ryan Zimmerman of the Washington Nationals.
June 23, 2007 - Indians vs Nationals at RFK. Top of the second inning, runner on first with two out. Nats’ 3B Zimmerman gets set to field a two-hopper to end the inning … and an ordinary fielding opportunity turns into a clip on a blooper reel …
The 2008 Presidential Primary elections are less than a month away. And everybody needs a guide to the candidates.
Before I get started, I want to say that Home Run Derby will not endorse a candidate for President of the United States. We are a shoddy little baseball website and will not pretend to be a political one.
With that in mind, we’re not above giving you the facts about some of the candidates … when it comes to their baseball allegiances.
Hillary Clinton - Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees
New York Senator Hillary Clinton grew up in Northwest suburban Chicago, which would justify her claims that she was a Cub fan as a youth (there are many pics of her wearing a Cub hat).
But in 1999, when there was talk of her as a candidate for New York Senator in the 2000 elections, Hillary claimed “I’ve always been a Yankee fan.” Her justification was that she needed an American League team to cheer for as well. And the Yankees were the best in the AL.
Mind you, she had never mentioned it before prepping for her Senate run.
Not to mention that whole Greg Maddux farting thing a little while back … you know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a player get caught farting. 
Entries (RSS)
