Looking at the Game of Baseball from all ends of the Spectrum
Felipe Lopez, Cincinnati Reds 2 for 5, HR, 2 runs, 6 rbis Felipe Lopez, the leadoff man, nonetheless managed to drive in six runs in the 10-1 drubbbing of the Orioles. Up until 2005, Lopez has batted .235 and 22 homers in 4 seasons but somehow has found his stroke and is hitting .307 with … Continue reading “6/11 Linescore of the Day”
Felipe Lopez, Cincinnati Reds
2 for 5, HR, 2 runs, 6 rbis
Felipe Lopez, the leadoff man, nonetheless managed to drive in six runs in the 10-1 drubbbing of the Orioles.
Up until 2005, Lopez has batted .235 and 22 homers in 4 seasons but somehow has found his stroke and is hitting .307 with 10 homeruns.
In Sunday’s paper, I read that Illini firstbaseman Dusty Bensko, who was not picked in last week’s MLB draft, was signed by the Minnesota Twins. He joins Toby Gardenhire, who was drafted by the Twins organization. Congratulations, Dusty!
In Sunday’s paper, I read that Illini firstbaseman Dusty Bensko, who was not picked in last week’s MLB draft, was signed by the Minnesota Twins.
He joins Toby Gardenhire, who was drafted by the Twins organization.
Congratulations, Dusty!
Zach Greinke, Kansas City Royals 4 1/3 IP, 15 H, 11 R, 11 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 3 HR Greinke was one of the hottest rookie pitchers to come out of last season. So much so, a lot was expected from him this year. I know in our APBA league, he was the first … Continue reading “6/10 Linescore of the Day”
Zach Greinke, Kansas City Royals
4 1/3 IP, 15 H, 11 R, 11 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 3 HR
Greinke was one of the hottest rookie pitchers to come out of last season. So much so, a lot was expected from him this year. I know in our APBA league, he was the first pick in our rookie draft.
Well, after this outing, his ERA is now at 6.01.
The ironic thing is that he did not get the loss as KC came back to force the game to go to extras.
Mark Teixeira, Texas Rangers 3 for 4, 2B, 2 HR, 3 runs, 5 rbis Teixeira’s five ribbies via a double and 2 dingers helped Texas to a 10-8 victory over Philadelphia.
Mark Teixeira, Texas Rangers
3 for 4, 2B, 2 HR, 3 runs, 5 rbis
Teixeira’s five ribbies via a double and 2 dingers helped Texas to a 10-8 victory over Philadelphia.
TBZ commentor ylees wonders why Illini firstbaseman Dusty Bensko wasn’t drafted this week in the MLB draft. I have to say, that question crosses my mind, too.
He led the team in homers with 16 and hit .317.
I contacted the News-Gazette sports department for their take on it and they were kind enough to respond with an opinion. Jeff Huth, sportswriter, and resident baseball expert says:
“I’m puzzled about Bensko. All I can think of is that he did scuffle a bit toward the end of the season, although, given his stats, I suspect teams really tried to pitch around him. Wouldn’t be surprised if some team signs him as an undrafted free agent after it determines which drafted players it can and will sign.”
I hope for Dusty’s sake that he’s right.
Well, it turns out Colorado shortstop Clint Barmes wasn’t carrying groceries when he tripped on the stairs and broke his collarbone as previously reported. It was a package of deer meat he got from buddy Todd Helton after they tooled around on ATVs all day according to today’s stories. But don’t even think that Barmes’ … Continue reading “Barmes Changes his Story”
Well, it turns out Colorado shortstop Clint Barmes wasn’t carrying groceries when he tripped on the stairs and broke his collarbone as previously reported.
It was a package of deer meat he got from buddy Todd Helton after they tooled around on ATVs all day according to today’s stories.
But don’t even think that Barmes’ injury had anything to do with his ATV riding. Not a bit. Because Todd Helton says so:
“I cannot say it strongly enough — he did not get hurt riding an ATV,” Helton told the newspaper.
Hmm… it’s one of those times when it wouldn’t have crossed my mind except for the fact that he’s so vehement about convincing us it isn’t true.
Barmes only has good intentions…
“I just didn’t think it was right to bring Todd Helton into something like this,” Barmes was quoted as saying.
Nicely kept secret, Clint.
Followup: I caught this on an article on ESPN’s site.
Helton said he, Barmes and rookie teammate Brad Hawpe were riding about 5 mph.
That made me chuckle… I envisioned Barmes, Hawpe, and Helton puttering about in their ATV’s going about 5 mph.
Good grief, Helton. If you’re going to tell a story, make it believable.
A little about me. I live in Urbana, Illinois and am a husband and father of two children (5 and 8). I work as a network administrator at the University of Illinois. I have followed baseball for as long as I can remember. One of my first baseball memories was seeing Ernie Banks hit a … Continue reading “About”
A little about me. I live in Urbana, Illinois and am a husband and father of two children (5 and 8). I work as a network administrator at the University of Illinois.
I have followed baseball for as long as I can remember. One of my first baseball memories was seeing Ernie Banks hit a grand slam at Wrigley Field when I was about 5 years old. I’ve been a Cub fan since.
My baseball interests?
Aside from following current baseball, I enjoy baseball history a great deal. (By the way, read The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract if you get a chance. You don’t have to agree with him to enjoy his stuff). I’ve been to the Baseball Hall of Fame four times. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Ernie Banks, Bench, Yaz, Mathews inducted in the Hall. If you are a baseball fan and have never been to Cooperstown, make plans now. It’s well worth the trip.
I am a stat freak to a point. I enjoy crunching baseball numbers but am still getting used to some the new stat categories being thrown about by SABR-types and quite frankly find some of them useless and confusing.
I am an avid player of APBA baseball, a baseball simulation game. I am a manager of the Twin Cities Thunderchickens in the Illowa APBA League, a continuous ownership league which has been around for 30 years.
So am I an expert in all things baseball? I wouldn’t say that. I have many friends who are probably more solid in their analysis. I do have a good knack for finding information (and hopefully passing it on).
The purpose of the Zealot is not necessarily to report on every single baseball news item out there. The major news outlets do a good job of that already (well, usually). The Zealot is here just draw attention to baseball goings-on that I might interesting, thought-provoking, maddening, or just strange. I also like to throw-in a few obscure, off-the-wall stuff to make the site that much more interesting. Finally, if there is a baseball resource out there on the web that not everyone may be aware of, I like to bring up front. Keep in mind, the target audience of the The Baseball Zealot is not just the seasoned veteran of baseball blogs but also those baseball fans out there finding their way around the Internet.
Enjoy the site,
Tom
Barry Bonds is in the news again and it doesn’t have to do with his knees, his homeruns or even steroids. It does show, however that his reputation with the media may be justified. A quick summary of the story: Ron Kittle, former outfielder, has claimed in a tell-all book that Bonds once denied him … Continue reading “Bonds and the Media”
Barry Bonds is in the news again and it doesn’t have to do with his knees, his homeruns or even steroids. It does show, however that his reputation with the media may be justified.
A quick summary of the story:
Ron Kittle, former outfielder, has claimed in a tell-all book that Bonds once denied him an autograph back in 1991 because “I don’t sign for white people”.
Now I’m not going to get into whether this is true or not. I have my doubts, though with Barry, anything is possible.
However, consider the following comment to the media by Bonds in response to Kittle’s book:
“Who is Kittle? How long did he play? He played in our league?”
Ok, call me a baseball purist but the fact that he doesn’t remember or know of Ron Kittle, a former rookie of the year who hit 176 homers in his career, bothers me. Jeez, they both played together in the majors for 6 years.
Or worse, he’s feigning ignorance with a macho in-your-face attitude.
Get a clue, Barry.
As for Kittle (emphasis mine):
“It’s the truth. I don’t lie,” Kittle told The Associated Press in a phone interview Tuesday. “I tell it as it is. It’s unfortunate it happened. And I didn’t bring it up to sell the books.“
Riiight.
Sergio Mitre, Chicago Cubs 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K 1 for 2, 2B, run, rbi Sergio pretty much did it all in the 2-0 win over the Blue Jays. He pitched a flawless 7 innings as well as driving in one run and scoring another. Sergio 2 Blue … Continue reading “6/8 Linescore of the Day”
Sergio Mitre, Chicago Cubs
7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
1 for 2, 2B, run, rbi
Sergio pretty much did it all in the 2-0 win over the Blue Jays. He pitched a flawless 7 innings as well as driving in one run and scoring another.
Sergio 2 Blue Jays 0
A-Rod became the first player to reach the 400 mark in homeruns before the age of thirty. These tidbits from Jayson Stark at ESPN help put that in perspective: • That’s two years and three months younger than Aaron was when he hit No. 400. • It’s almost two and a half years younger than … Continue reading “A-Rod and 400”
A-Rod became the first player to reach the 400 mark in homeruns before the age of thirty. These tidbits from Jayson Stark at ESPN help put that in perspective:
• That’s two years and three months younger than Aaron was when he hit No. 400.
• It’s almost two and a half years younger than Willie Mays was when he hit No. 400.
• It’s four years and two months younger than Bonds was when he hit No. 400.
• It’s four years and seven months younger than Mark McGwire was when he hit No. 400.
Rodriguez was helped by the fact that he came up at the age of 18 and began playing full time by the age of 20. That and he didn’t have an aversion to the long ball. In roughly 10 full seasons, he hit 40 dingers. It’s not hard to do the math.
Ironically, Stark throws doubt on whether A-Rod can reach Aaron giving examples such as Ken Griffey Jr and Jimmie Foxx who both petered out as age crept up on them.