Seventh Inning

Stretch

 

 

 

 

 

Special Edition of                                   

FROM THE BULLPEN          

Official Publication of the Hot Stove League                     

Eastern Nebraska Division                                    

Guest Editor:  Jon "Stretch" Blongewicz                        

 

2005 Season                             Edition No. 22                              August 9, 2005


Greetings:

THE TRIP

My team is in the toilet; injuries and ineptitude abound; the free-agent wire is a bleak assortment of .220 hitters and 5.35 ERA pitchers; the Royals’ losing streak hits 10 games; it is hotter than a blast furnace; I am being forcefully ejected from my office to an even higher rent due to a plague of mold spores infecting every nook and cranny of my humble office; and yet, my one and only consuming thought is how the hell I got a kitchen pass for Philadelphia, when a number of others who I have admired for years for their capacity for drink, merriment and baseball have been unable to get some starch in their jockey shorts and come with us to watch a couple of baseball games. I must admit that I have heard a couple of legitimate excuses from Ted and Mitch (congrats on your daughter attending Rockhurst. If she ever needs anything, let me know and I am here in town to assist.) However, the silence from our league-leading manager is deafening. I hear rumors of an August golf trip to Arizona. Now that sounds like a brilliant idea, leave the scorching Midwest for the one spot in the continental United States that is actually hotter. My assessment of the intelligence of the Skipjacks' manager must undergo a total re-examination and the likely conclusion is that aside from being an idiot savant in the world of fantasy baseball, where all managerial moves are flawless, but in all other things....well.... we just have to say...August.....Arizona......golf. (Hey, get it together and get to Philly.)

THE BLUES

Of course, the likely reason that we can’t get more managers to attend the trip is also they want to avoid the extreme whining, moaning and bitching that will go on between Chuck, Big Guy and myself as we find ourselves near the league bottom. (Ernie will be along to catch an earful of stories about how the Blues have simply fallen off the map. After having the highest point total for the league just 3 weeks ago, they have fallen out of contention with just a pitiful attempt and barely enough players to field a team. I can’t remember when I have seen so many negative numbers, I am considering a name change to the Royal Order of the Minuses.) However, I will spare you all my tales of woe.

Instead, I will simply inform you that, aside from the Blues, I am completing one of the best summers since I was 13 years old and the notion of work was far away. While, if one hopes to compete in the highly competitive Hot Stove League, one should not take a total of three weeks off, with no access to computers or box scores. Nonetheless, I would not trade a second Hot Stove League championship for the three weeks I have shared with my son, first a week sailing and snorkeling in the Bahamas and then 12 days of backpacking at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. I lost 12 pounds, feel great, acquired a goofy looking beard and rediscovered a love of the mountains. On top of it all I was able to share it with my 14 year-old son, who I do not think will soon forget the summer of ’05. There is indeed more to life than baseball.

THE 'ROIDS

I did promise Bob, I would try to put together some cogent thoughts on the raging subject, and I have thought about it a lot. I have failed to come up with any new slants on the subject and would merely echo those that have been expressed by various league members on the Message Board and Tom Boswell in the fine article Ernie pointed out to us. However, it is either my legal training or my firm belief that there is a principle of America that is too deeply ingrained and that is: “innocent until proven guilty.” Palmeiro, no matter how difficult this is for me to say, has been proven guilty, by an accepted, objective test. Giambi has admitted his guilt, as has Canseco. McGwire, Bonds, Sosa, no matter the anecdotal evidence of hat sizes etc, have not been proven guilty. I, for one, lacking that, will not be clamoring for the expungement of their records, nor their exclusion from the HOF, even though I am not a real big fan of any of them, especially Bonds. (He is simply one of the all-time jerks in sports.)

I truly wish we could end this talk about ’roids, as I am so tired of it. I turn off the Dan Patrick show or Sports Center, whenever another round of discussion comes up. (Although I am not so naive to think that it will go away.) I am simply tired of it. I am hopeful that with testing, the players will wise-up and it will fade from the forefront and we can focus on the game.

THE MISCELLANEOUS

I know you all have your nominations, but a strong, strong candidate for “Most Disappointing” player of ’05: Scott Rolen. Geesh. The guy has been on the field for about 12 games and has done nothing in between stints on the DL.

Really enjoyed the HOF speech of Ryno. He is admittedly no great orator, but he said some important things that needed to be said; was appropriately humble and praised his teammates, especially Andre Dawson and even slipped in a plug for Santo for the HOF.

Someone has said it before, but it was amazing how Boggs got a free ride for all his crap, Margo etc. Amazing how a HOF induction is able to clean his slate.

Chris Carpenter. Wow. Who da thunk it.

I am not saying that the Skipjacks have it sown up, but they look awfully tough to beat. It’s the most competitive year in recent memory.

Ted has made a strong run, after a poor start. Good work from the Wahoos’ head man. And it was more than mere reversion to the mean.

The Blues are in 11th place, after a hot start (gosh that sounds a lot like last year). But I will not give up and will fight until the end. Just wish I had some ammunition.

See you in Philly......or the Winter meetings.                           McBlunder

 

SKIP'S BLIPS

**

Although Tirebiter’s Redbirds started off Week 18 white-hot, they cooled off a bit during the latter part of the week to finish with a more than respectable point total (404), but not the jaw-dropping week that Jimmy was hoping for to significantly close the gap with the Skipjacks.  The Skipjacks still lead the Redbirds by a healthy cushion (238.5 points) through 18 weeks, but it would be well for Itchie to take notice (not that he hasn’t) that his projected total margin is only 64 points.  Has Itchie forgotten the painful lesson that he learned in 2004, when his lead on the field absolutely evaporated once the point limits started taking effect during the last two weeks of the season?  Don’t be surprised to see a flurry of panicked trade proposals being floated by our boy Itchie in the coming weeks, as well as some Possum-like whining about the unfairness of point caps.  I see a Mr. Cranky (shown here) in his future as well as his past. 

 

 

**

While we’re on the subject of Itchie, only he could work the whip on John Patterson so expertly to convert this heretofore nag to a Kentucky Derby contender.  This past week, Itchie used his Midas touch to produce a 40-point (yes, 40) outing from Patterson in the Nationals’ 4-0 whitewashing of the Dodgers, featuring the Senators’ own Brad Penny on the hill for the men from L.A.  Bear in mind that this free agent pickup of Itchie (April 18) had a career ERA of 5.03 entering the 2005 season.  This year, under Itchie’s nurturing touch, Patterson has an ERA of 2.52 and a won-loss record of 6-3.

 

 

**

Is there a more amazing athlete competing today in sports than Roger Clemens?  On Sunday night, he got his 11th win, throwing 7 innings of 6-hit ball and giving up not a single earned run.  This lowered his already obscene ERA to 1.38, which is Bob Gibson territory.  Moreover, it should be noted that when Bob Gibson had his historic 1.12 ERA in 1967 (3rd lowest for a season in the modern era), he was pitching off of a mound that was about 8 inches taller than today’s hills.

Clemens turned 43 last week, and it could be argued that he is having his best year ever.  He has made 23 starts for the Astros, and he has had quality starts in 21 out of those 23.  In the other two, he had one game in which he left after five innings because of a groin injury, ahead 2-0 before Lidge set himself ablaze in the 9th.  In the other, he gave up 4 earned runs in six innings of work against the Cubs, but managed to get the win.  His whip is sub-1.0, and if not for several blown saves and a lack of run support, it wouldn’t be hard to imagine him having a won-loss record of something like 16- or 17-and-2 instead of 11-and-4.  Do you think Roger owes it all to steroids like his contemporary Palmeiro, or do you suppose that his legendary work ethic has more to do with it? 

 

 

**

Given the level that he is pitching at, and the physical condition he is in, one has to wonder how many more years Clemens might continue pitching.  If memory serves, Nolan Ryan pitched until he was 47, and I believe that Gaylord Perry lasted about as long.  If Clemens continues to pitch beyond this year, he has a chance to move up the all-time wins list past some of the biggest names in the game.  He is currently at 339 wins, 9th place on the all-time list, just three behind Tim Keefe who sits in 8th at 342.  If Clemens was to get five more wins this year, he would end the season with 344.  If he was to win 15 games next year, this would then put him at 359, still in 8th place, but only two behind Kid Nichols (361), four behind Warren Spahn (363), and five behind Pud Galvin (364).  If he was to come back and win 15 more in 2007, this would put him at 374, slipping him past Grover Cleveland Alexander and Christie Mathewson, who are both tied at 373.  Could it happen?  Never count the Rocketman out.  You can bet he’s given this some thought.

 

 

**

The forgotten man in all of this is Greg Maddux, who continues to plug away in Chicago and add numbers to his mounting list of career wins, currently totaling 313.  However, with his current record for this season standing at 8 and 9, and the Cubs playing like crap behind him, Maddux’s 17-year skein of 15-win seasons may be in jeopardy. 

 

 

**

Clemens will go down in history as one of the most dominating pitchers in history, while Maddux will go down as one of the smartest, and perhaps as well as the best fielding pitcher of all time.  Consider this:  Through the end of the 2004 season, Maddux had played in 608 games, made 477 put-outs (line drives, popups, tag-outs), 985 assists, 74 double plays, while making 46 errors, for a .969 fielding percentage.  In 640 games, 42 more than Maddux, Clemens made only 304 put-outs, had only 509 assists, and participated in only 25 double plays.  While he had only half as many errors, 23, and a slightly higher fielding percentage, .972, this probably reflects mostly upon his lack of range.  There is a reason that Maddux has 14 gold gloves. 

 

 

**

To put Maddux’s performance in historical perspective, many people consider Jim “Kitty” Kaat as the best fielding pitcher of his era, if not all-time.  And he was a great one, no question about that.  Kaat won 16 consecutive gold gloves for fielding his position, both in the American League and in the National League.  However, in a career in which he went 283-and-237, Kaat played in an eye-popping total of 898 games, made 262 put-outs, had 744 assists, committed 56 errors, and contributed to 65 double plays, with a career fielding average of .947.  The numbers do not lie.  Maddux has Kaat in the fielding department, hands down. 

 

 

**

RIP to Gene Mauch, who passed away on Monday, August 8, at the age of 79.  Mauch managed for a total of 26 years, with the Philadelphia Phillies, Montreal Expos, Minnesota Twins and California Angels, compiling a career won-loss record of 1902-2037, for a won-loss percentage of .483.  Two of his Angel teams won their divisions, but both lost in the ALCS, and he never piloted a team to the World Series.  He is probably the most famous (or infamous) for being the skipper at the helm of the dramatic collapse of the 1964 Philadelphia Phillies, who led the National League by ten games in late September before dropping ten straight from September 21 to September 30 while the Cardinals won eight in a row to pass them for the right to go to the World Series.  Maybe Gene now understands why this had to happen under his watch.   

 

WEEK 18 STANDINGS

Upper Division

1.

Skipjacks

6839.0

2.

Redbirds

6600.5

3.

Senators

6250.5

4.

Chiefs

6188.0

5.

Bombers

6175.5

6.

Reds

6167.0

Lower Division

7.

Wahoos

6065.5

8.

Tigers

5972.5

9.

Irates

5928.0

10.

Cubs*

5879.5

11.

Blues

5854.0

12.

Tribe

5620.5

 

WEEK 18 POINT TOTALS

1.

Reds

438.0

2.

Senators

418.0

3.

Bombers

415.5

4.

Wahoos

414.5

5.

Redbirds

404.0

6.

Tigers

385.0

7.

Skipjacks

383.5

8.

Chiefs

346.5

9.

Cubs*

346.5

10.

Tribe

306.5

11.

Irates

235.5

12.

Blues

208.0

 

 

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

 

HITTERS

1.

Derrek Lee

553.0

 

2.

Albert Pujols

549.0

 

3.

Alex Rodriguez

507.0

 

4.

Miguel Cabrera

506.0

 

5.

Brian Roberts

484.0

 

6.

Manny Ramirez

483.0

 

(T)

Michael Young

483.0

 

8.

Miguel Tejada

482.0

 

9.

Alfonso Soriano

476.0

 

10.

David Ortiz

467.0

 

11.

Andruw Jones

464.0

 

12.

Mark Teixeira

463.0

 

13.

Adam Dunn

452.0

 

14.

Gary Sheffield

450.0

 

(T)

Morgan Ensberg

450.0

 

 

 

 

 

PITCHERS

1.

Chris Carpenter

497.0

 

2.

Roger Clemens

473.0

 

3.

Pedro Martinez

446.0

 

4.

Chad Cordero

426.5

 

5.

Roy Oswalt

418.0

 

6.

John Smoltz

389.0

 

7.

Mariano Rivera

388.5

 

8.

Roy Halladay

383.0

 

9.

Mark Buehrle

381.0

 

10.

Jake Peavy

380.0

 

11.

Dontrelle Willis

374.0

 

12.

Billy Wagner

366.5

 

13.

Scot Shields

365.0

 

14.

Johan Santana

353.0

 

15.

Jon Garland

349.0

 

 

 

 
 
 

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