Sunday Baseball Notes
1) Jason Giambi caused quite a stir on Saturday when the Daily News reported that he often wears a gold thong under his uniform pants when trying to snap out of a slump. "I was blown away," Yankees broadcaster David Cone said with a smile. "You've got to be pretty confident in yourself to let that one out." Several teammates have acknowledged they've tried wearing it too, including Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon. In fact, before yesterday's game against the Mets, a sign on Mike Mussina's locker read: "Pitchers need thongs too." Stange superstitions are nothing new in baseball. Hall of Famer Wade Boggs ate chicken before every game. Nomar Garciaparra fidgets with his batting gloves after each pitch and sidles down the dugout steps two feet at a time. But in my opinion, the golden thong tops them all.
2) The first round of interleague play ends today, and one main message has been surging through baseball: wow, look at the National League. The N.L. suddenly carries greater offensive clout, scoring more runs per game and having fifteen of the top sixteen home run hitters in baseball. Joel Sherman of the Post has a theory for this: we have morphed from the Steroid Era to the Age of the Rat. In other words, the A.L. has been slumping because of trainers, ex-wives, doctors, and even family members that are coming to the forefront of the baseball world and telling all they know about players' use of drugs. And historically, A.L. teams go after older, stronger veterans than their N.L. counterparts. The A.L. has dominated interleague play through the years, going a staggering 100 games over .500 in the past four seasons alone. But that might be about to change. For two decades starting in the early 1960s, the N.L. dominated the A.L. in the All-Star Game because they were quicker to fully integrate players of color. Now they might be on the brink of this turnaround because of a quicker devotion to younger players in the Age of the Rat.
3) Damn, I am glad I drafted Brandon Webb in my fantasy draft. For him, it's another year and another record run. When Webb won his ninth consecutive start in an 8-5 victory over Colorado on Thursday, he became just the fifth pitcher since 1920 to win his first nine starts. Last season, he threw 42 consecutive scoreless innings, which tied with Rube Foster for 12th place on the all time list. "It's pretty amazing," Webb said of his current run. "Things are just happening. Almost every time I've been out there, they've gotten me a lead."
4) Mets manager Willie Randolph called a closed-door meeting in response to the latest remarks by closer Billy Wagner, who said Friday he was being critical of the media, not his teammates. When asked about the meeting, Randolph said, "I don't try to insulate them. I don't care that they know that my head's on the block or something like that. I mean, that shouldn't be their concern." Then, Wagner, in response to questions about his comments, said that, "Whoever wrote that I pointed out Delgado and was calling guys out is wrong. I don't call out anybody. We get along good around here. We lost a tough game and we're a little frustrated." For all the hoopla that's going on in Metsland, they still have a better record than the Yankees do.
5) Let's look at some league leaders around baseball. Chipper Jones continues to lead baseball with a stunning .412 average. Lance Berkman, who is having a phenomenal season so far, is second with a .399 clip. Berkman leads the majors with 16 home runs, while Chase Utley, Dan Uggla, and Nate McLouth round out the top 4 with 14,13, and 12 home runs respectively. Josh Hamilton of Texas continues to lead baseball with 49 RBI's, which means he is on pace to break Hack Wilson's single season record of 191 RBI's. On the pitching side, Brandon Webb leads all pitchers with nine wins, and Daisuke Matsuzaka and Joe Saunders are each tied for second place with seven wins. Tim Lincecum has 63 strikeouts, tops in baseball, and Jake Peavy and Javier Vasquez are just behind. The top 5 in ERA are just absurd: Cliff Lee (0.67), Edinson Volquez (1.12), Tim Lincecum (1.92), Zack Greinke (1.93), and Daisuke Matsuzaka (2.15). Remember, the all-time record for ERA is 1.12, by Bob Gibson.
Who's Hot: Derek Jeter, Mike Mussina, Jason Giambi, Robinson Cano, Chien-Ming Wang
Who's Not: Ian Kennedy, Jose Molina, Kyle Farnsworth, Shelley Duncan
Quote of the Week: "I was trying to speed up the game." -- Lyle Overbay, after lining out to Asdrubal Cabrera, who turned the 14th unassisted triple play in history.
Link of the Week: Click here
Standings
Tampa Bay 25-18
Boston 26-19
Baltimore 23-19
Toronto 22-23
New York 20-23
