Wow,
what
a
week
we
had
in
baseball!
We
get
our
first
manager
firing
of
the
young
season,
Bob
Melvin
of
the
Diamondbacks.
We
have
Toronto,
Kansas
City,
and
Texas
leading
their
respective
divisions.
A-Rod
returns
from
hip
surgery
and
hits
a
home
run
on
the
first
pitch
in
his
first
at
bat,
and
Manny
is
banned
for
50
games.
The
debate
has
already
started
on
Manny
and
the
use
of
female
fertility
drugs,
but
doesn’t
it
raise
the
question
of
who’s
next?
I’m
sure
we
are
all
tired
of
hearing
about
players
using
a
banned
substance
by
now,
but
are
we
at
the
point
where
we
all
question
any
player
over
30
who
has
a
great
year
whether
he
is a
“user”
or
not?
Does
it
taint
this
era
we
so
fondly
love
or
do
we
still
make
excuses
for
them?
Do
we
blame
the
players
or
the
owners?
Did
any
of
us
have
our
personal
performance
improve
in
anything
we
do
after
the
age
of
35?
Should
we
have
taken
performance
enhancing
drugs
to
improve
our
lot
in
life?
But
I
will
not
let
this
one
negative
event
overshadow
a
great
week
five
in
the
Hot
Stove
League!!
Standings
Through
Week
Five
|
1. |
Tribe |
2549.30 |
|
2. |
Monarchs |
2402.90 |
|
3. |
Chiefs |
2321.30 |
|
4. |
Skipjacks |
2310.80 |
|
5. |
Wahoos |
2281.80 |
|
6. |
Blues |
2253.20 |
|
7. |
Bombers |
2244.70 |
|
8. |
Tigers |
2196.40 |
|
9. |
Bears |
2170.00 |
|
10. |
Redbirds |
2095.10 |
|
11. |
Cubs |
2079.50 |
|
12. |
Highlanders |
1986.10 |
|
13. |
Senators |
1881.90 |
Week
Five
Points
|
1. |
Monarchs |
634.60 |
|
2. |
Chiefs |
557.90 |
|
3. |
Redbirds |
551.30 |
|
4. |
Tigers |
537.10 |
|
5. |
Bombers |
521.30 |
|
6. |
Cubs |
509.80 |
|
7. |
Highlanders |
493.20 |
|
8. |
Skipjacks |
492.90 |
|
9. |
Bears |
454.60 |
|
10. |
Tribe |
454.30 |
|
11. |
Blues |
445.50 |
|
12. |
Wahoos |
405.70 |
|
13. |
Senators |
400.00 |
Geez,
400
points
scores
you
last
place
for
the
week!
What
a
week
it
was!
The
top
six
teams
score
over
500
points
this
week
and
the
Monarchs
put
up
634.60!
Contrast
that
with
week
four
when
the
Blues
were
the
high
point
team
with
490
points.
Top
Ten
Hitters
Through
Week
Five
|
1. |
Evan Longoria |
203.60 |
Bombers |
3rd round |
|
2. |
Albert Pujols |
191.90 |
Blues |
1st round |
|
3. |
Jason Bay |
191.80 |
Tigers |
3rd round |
|
4. |
Aaron Hill |
172.60 |
Tribe |
18th round |
|
5. |
Nick Markakis |
169.30 |
Tribe |
3rd round |
|
6. |
Ian Kinsler |
169.10 |
Tribe |
1st round |
|
7. |
Ryan Braun |
163.60 |
Skipjacks |
1st round |
|
8. |
Victor Martinez |
162.50 |
Tigers |
6th round |
|
9. |
Marco Scutaro |
161.10 |
Highlanders |
24th round |
|
10. |
Adam Jones |
160.30 |
Monarchs |
13th round |
So
you
can
see,
some
proven
performers
and
some
“lightning
in a
bottle”
performers.
My
bet
is
that
Aaron
Hill
and
Marco
Scutaro
don’t
carry
the
Bluejays
all
year.
And
will
the
Tribe
have
three
of
the
top
ten
hitters
at
year
end?
Top
Ten
Pitchers
Through
Week
Five
|
1. |
Zack Greinke |
245.00 |
Redbirds |
6th round |
|
2. |
Dan Haren |
191.00 |
Wahoos |
3rd round |
|
3. |
Chad Billingsley |
184.00 |
Blues |
5th round |
|
4. |
Johann Santana |
184.00 |
Cubs |
2nd round |
|
5. |
Josh Johnson |
178.00 |
Chiefs |
14th round |
|
6. |
Roy Halladay |
174.00 |
Highlanders |
3rd round |
|
7. |
Yovani Gallardo |
165.00 |
Monarchs |
8th round |
|
8. |
Wandy Rodriquez |
161.00 |
Tribe |
20th round |
|
9. |
Tim Lincecum |
158.00 |
Tigers |
1st round |
|
10. |
Javier Vazquez |
147.00 |
Tribe |
8th round |
Pitching
seems
to
be a
little
more
true
to
form,
but
Wandy
in
the
20th
and
Johnson
in
the
14th
sure
look
like
small
miracles.
And
I’m
sure
the
Redbirds,
like
all
the
rest
of
us
who
passed
on
Greinke,
were
counting
on
him
being
the
highest
point
getter
in
the
HSL!
The
Trip
1.
Kitchen
pass
secured
–
check
2.
Airline
tickets
purchased
–
check
3.
Thursday
night
Hotel
in
Times
Square
booked
–check
4.
Tickets
for
Yankees
game
purchased
–
check
5.
Transportation
to
Cooperstown
–
working
on
6.
Friday
night
Hotel
in
Cooperstown
booked
–
check
7.
Tickets
for
Mets
game
purchased
–
check
8.
Saturday
night
Hotel
by
Citi
Field
booked
–
check
9.
Yager
bombs
aplenty
–
check
10.
25
years
of
Hot
Stove
League
–
priceless
Mouse’s
Minute
Is
it
ironic
or
poetic
justice
that
the
day
I
sit
down
to
scribe
this
Bullpen,
I
get
an
email
that
Steiner
Sports
will
start
selling
memorabilia
from
old
Yankee
Stadium
today.
Everything
from
Joe
Torre’s
old
locker,
to
the
bench
Mariano
sat
on
in
the
bullpen,
to
bricks
from
Monument
Park,
and
tufts
of
grass
from
the
field.
I
will
be
curious
what
it
all
brings.
I am
also
curious
which
of
our
current
front
runners
will
be
leaving
the
“Sacred
Club”
at
the
end
of
the
year.
Will
it
be
the
long
time
President,
or
the
newest
foot
soldier?
We
must
remember,
this
is a
marathon
and
we
have
only
passed
the
five
mile
marker.
So
Teixeira
still
has
time
to
reward
me
for
making
him
my
first
pick!
See
you
in
the
Big
Apple,
Mouse
