Home Run Derby

There have two bold predictions bandied about by a couple National League ballplayers so far this offseason …

• Chicago Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster has already told us that he thinks the Cubs will win the 2008 World Series
• Philadelphia Phillies SS Jimmy Rollins told us back in November that he thinks the Phillies will win 100 games in 2008.

Personally, I have no problem with players thinking their teams will succeed before the season starts.  I wouldn’t want a player on my team that thought ”Damn, we’re gonna get our asses handed to us this season.” 

But I present the counter argument to Dempster and Rollins.   One of the American League’s most dominant pitchers is no longer pitching in the AL.  Johan Santana is now pitching for the New York Mets.

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About a year ago, Jon Lieber’s truck was the talk of the Phillies’ Spring Training. 

It wasn’t just a pickup truck.  It was a ginormous beast that most people thought could have turned into Optimus Prime in its spare time.

Let’s remember … it was a tricked-out Ford F-650 SuperTruck with six doors, 45-inch wheels, a customized leather interior with seating for seven.  It held 200 gallons of gas (four 50-gallon tanks) and had a fricking satellite dish.  It set Lieber back $211,000.

Well, Chicago White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle, fresh off his camouflage jersey victory will roll into Arizona with a ride that might hold up well against Lieber’s wheels.

Behold … Mark Buehrle’s Canyonero. 

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In advance of the Mitchell Report being published, there was a lot of talk this offseason about teams possibly shying away from players who had been associated with performance enhancing drugs.

Don’t count the Milwaukee Brewers among them.

Because with the Brewers’ signing of free agent outfielder Mike Cameron last week, the Brewers have acquired three players (since November 2007) who have either tested positive for PED’s or have been alleged to have purchased them.

Let’s take a look …

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I love Minor League Baseball …

You get to see washed up pros, creative hecklers, vicious bench clearing fights, smokin hot Mexican cheerleaders, and … oh, maybe some baseball, too.

There’s also a lot of players who will NEVER make it to the Show.

Let’s go to the Atlantic League (indepedent high-AA baseball) and see one of the worst pitching performances ever thrown in the history of baseball. I don’t think I’m exaggerating either.

July 2, 2007. Newly acquired Lance Odom is pitching for the Lancaster (Pa) Barnstormers against the Somerset Patriots. Bottom of the 12th inning. Game tied 6-6.

• Odom hits the leadoff man, former Met 2B Danny Garcia.
• Odom commits an error on a pickoff attempt; Garcia advances to second base.
• Sacrifice bunt; Garcia advances to third base.

And with one out and a runner on third, the fun begins. Watch as Odom tries to intentionally walk the next two batters in order to load the bases …

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Sept 3, 2004

Fenway Park, Boston.
Red Sox lead the Rangers 2-0. 
Ninth inning. 
Two Out. 
One Ball, Two Strikes. 
Runner on second base.

Watch as Red Sox relief pitcher Keith Foulke throws a pitch to Kevin Mench. 

You know … Foulke might have been juust a bit distracted on that pitch.   

Miss it? 

Front row - girl on the cell phone to the left of the umpire.  Gives the ol’ one-boob salute to Foulke.

Mench grounded out on the next pitch to end the ballgame, so it’s unlikely that she was thrown out of the stands.

I wonder if she was talking to “Johnny from Burger King.” 

CC Sabathia won the American League Cy Young last month and became the heaviest AL Cy Young award winner ever … at a weight of 290 pounds.  He unseated Bartolo Colon’s then-record Cy Young scale-tipping weight (a listed 245 pounds) in 2005. 

Hold on a minute.  There’s a standing rule at Home Run Derby … if you talk about two overweight pitchers in a post …  THROWDOWN !!

Who would win in a fight between Bartolo Colon and C.C. Sabathia?

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Major League Baseball’s Posteason awards are the the ultimate in recognition for a ballplayer.  To be named your League’s best pitcher or Most Valuable Player does wonders for an already inflated ego.

Not to mention your wallet getting fatter from the contract incentives for winning one.

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Nobody asked me, but I’m 100% sure that San Diego’s Jake Peavy will be announced as the National League Cy Young Award Winner later this afternoon.

I’m 100% sure of that.  Why?  Because Peavy won the Triple Crown in the National League this season with 19 Wins, a 2.54 ERA and 240 Strikeouts.

Since the inception of the Award in 1956, every pitcher to capture a Triple Crown has won the Cy Young. 

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Recently, Construda found a sick wiffle ball pitcher over on the YouTubes.

When this guy throws, the ball dances all over the place before hitting the strike zone almost every time. I’d say it was unhittable.

Here’s the clip.

Videos like this always make me (and others) wonder if a Major League player would stand a chance against a guy who can hurl this kind of pitch. Especially a decent hitter, say one who has a bit of pedigree in the bigs.

Heck, let just dream about a league batting champion stepping inside the box against a wiffle baller. That would be sweet. I wonder what would happen …

Wonder no more …

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