Brain Drain

In which we turn on the tap and empty the mind of all those random thoughts that have been floating around in there for a while.

One thing that was proven last weekend: The Yankees are the best team in baseball and should win the World Series (I hope by saying that I jinxed them). The $200 million they spent last winter is paying off. They can score runs at will. Their pitching is good and most of their older players have not become liabilities unlike some other team. We can only hope that after paying some sign maker to change all those 26s to 27s they will save money by staying out of next year’s free agent market. What do they need, anyway?

By the way, the same thing happened the last time the Yankees moved into a new ballpark. In 1975 the Yankees played in Shea Stadium while Yankee Stadium was being renovated and finished third. Moving back to the new old Yankee Stadium in 1976 the won the AL East. It didn’t hurt that some smart trades over the winter brought them Mickey Rivers, Willie Randolph, Oscar Gamble, Ed Figueroa and Dock Ellis.

Since today is the first day of school in Leicester, Massachusetts, here is a pop quiz in math.
(1) A train leaves Denver heading east at 12 noon. A plane leaves Toledo heading west at 9:30 AM. When will they meet?
(2) a) From June 6 to August 23, a total of 67 games, a baseball player had hit 19 home runs and knocked in 45 runs. If he had the same rate of home runs and RBIs over 162 games, what would his stats be? b) Who is the baseball player in question? (answers below)

John Smoltz, Pedro Martinez, Derek Lowe, Bronson Arroyo and Justin Masterson all got wins in the past week. Brad Penny did not.

Speaking of Smoltz, the evidence this season is that he, like many others, is a creation of the National League game, where the lineups are less deep and easier to get through. His fellow Cardinal Joel Piniero is the same. In the National League, the worst regular hitter bats eighth and a worthless hitter bats ninth. So the pitcher is basically looking at a seven player lineup to get through. In the American League, the worst hitter bats ninth so the pitcher has to work a lot harder. Plus, in the National League the chances are greater that the lineup will turn over at the start of an inning with nobody on base. In the American League, those #8 and #9 hitters tend to get on base, prolong an inning and let the top of the order hit with runners on.

The Orioles are having a tough season, but they are doing the right thing by bringing up all those rookie pitchers and letting them learn at the major league level. It’s the same thing the Tigers did in 2003, when they lost 119 games. They brought a bunch of young pitchers like Jeremy Bonderman and Mike Maroth who took their licks but came back the next year as polished major leaguers. The Orioles youngsters like Brad Bergeson and Jason Berken are getting the chance to pitch. Bergeson is even having a good year, 7-5 3.43 ERA for a bad team. Baltimore is like the Rays were a few years back. They have the hitters, but they need the pitching. The pitching staff is developing right before their eyes. Look out for the Orioles next season.

If there is one team that is more disappointing than the Red Sox this season it’s the New York Mets. Racked by injuries to key players like Carlos Delgado and Jose Reyes and setup guy J.J. Putz, the Mets fell behind fast in the National League East and lost their last game on an unassisted triple play in the ninth inning. Now Gary Sheffield, who was given a home in New York last spring when Detroit released him, has decided that he wants the Mets to release him so he can play for a contender the rest of the season. What a class act.

Quiz answers
(1) They will never meet as the train is on the ground and the plane is in the air. Read the questions carefully!
(2) a) 45 home runs and 130 RBIs. b) David Ortiz