Skip the first inning, Randy Wells

Can we just have a “reverse reliever” in those games that Cubs’ starter Randy Wells pitches?  A pitcher to start the game and get through that first inning?  Seems that Wells is having trouble with that recently.  Today, he got rocked for five runs by the Chicago White Sox with two of them coming in the first frame. 

For the season, Wells has a 10.64 ERA in he first inning.  After the third inning, it dips below 4.50. 

Split G IP ERA
1st inning 12 11.0 10.64
Innings 1-3 12 32.0 5.34
Innings 4-6 10 28.1 4.45
Innings 7-9 6 6.1 4.26
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 6/11/2010.

Soriano did get his tenth homer of the year and his 300th of his career.  He passes Tim Salmon on the all-time list and joins Chuck Klein and teammate Derrek Lee (who hit his 300th on Wednesday) for #125 on the list. 

The Sox won 10-5.

Griffey a rarity in a cynical age

My thoughts on Ken Griffey who retired last week:

As I read through some of articles about Griffey’s retirement, I noticed many had an inset of the top ten homerun hitters of all time.  Griffey lands fifth on that list with 630… a notable accomplishment indeed.  But as I read through the list, it occurred to me how rare Griffey really was.  This top ten list is scandal-ridden.  If some of these players weren’t involved in some scandal or suspected of wrong-doing, others were out-and-out jerks.

Rank Player HR
1 Barry Bonds 762
2 Hank Aaron 755
3 Babe Ruth 714
4 Willie Mays 660
5 Ken Griffey 630
6 Sammy Sosa 609
7 Alex Rodriguez 591
8 Frank Robinson 586
9 Mark McGwire 583
10 Harmon Killebrew 573

 

There are exceptions.  Hank Aaron, of course.  As far as I know, Harmon Killebrew was just guilty of having thick arms.  And Frank Robinson did have the gun thing in 1961 but I think I’ll give him a pass.

True, some players’ “scandals” are pretty minor by today’s standards.  But in the day, MLB took Willie Mays and his casino dealings very seriously.  

And yeah, I’m putting Babe Ruth in the jerk category. 

Point being, there aren’t many players like Ken Griffey Jr let alone players of his caliber.  And when things went a little south for Junior, he didn’t resort to methods outside the game to embellish his talents. 

Indeed, the worst we can say about Griffey is that he took a nap during a game.  Embarrassing.  I submit it is embarrassing certainly not of Griffey but for the media and those who enabled that circus.  For a man who gave his life to the game the way he did, he deserved a few winks. 

I’ll close this out by posting a few quotes about Junior sent to me by dear reader DonS.  These quotes are by respected members of the baseball community who are most qualified to speak on the topic of Ken Griffey Junior. 

“To play with him is a treasure I will keep deep in my heart,  I have played 19 years in professional baseball and I can say he was one of my best teammates and my best friend.”

-Ichiro Suzuki

“It’s like winning the lottery of baseball,  You get to play with one of the greatest.”

-Chone Figgins

“Junior was one of the finest young men I’ve ever had the opportunity to manage,  When we were in Seattle together, I believe he was the best player in baseball and it was truly an honor to be his manager.”

-Lou Piniella

Don’t bother Mr Zito, Tim

Last week, it seems like Barry Zito’s entourage (ie a restaurant manager at an upscale place in San Francisco) was a little hasty when shooing away a scruffy supposed autograph hound…

According to the SF Chronicle:

a long-haired kid dressed in skater garb walked into the formal restaurant and brazenly strolled up to him. Well, almost. A restaurant manager immediately cut off the intruder, saying something along the lines of, "Please don’t bother Mr. Zito. No autographs tonight."

It turned out the “kid” was Tim Lincecum. 

Bryce Harper’s timing is a bit off

Bryce Harper, the 17-year old who is everyone’s pick to go #1 in the MLB draft, is making news.  But maybe not the way he’d want.  He was ejected during a called third strike in a National Junior College World Series game. 

Will it affect his draft order?  Probably not. 

Will the media have a field day with this?

Most definitely.

[Update] I rest my case.

Hat Trick for Big Mac

Mark McGwire’s wife bore him triplets today.

The jokes have already started within my circle… even from Cardinals fans (shame).  But I won’t go there. 

I’ll just wish Mark a happy second fatherhood and hope he makes sure to get them into Little League as soon as possible.  Who knows they could turn out like Eri Yoshida (the Knuckle Princess) and play professionally. 

Where to find info on the MLB Draft

Within a week, the 2010 MLB Draft or as it is officially known, the MLB First-Year Player Draft, will take place.  I’m certainly no expert on the MLB Draft but since I follow college baseball pretty closely, I have an interest in it and hence, have a little knowledge on where to find some good info on the draft. 

MLB’s Draft Central is probably your first stop.  They’ve done a pretty good job year in and year out covering the draft and each year they seem to increase their coverage. 

The Draft Tracker is a must, especially on the draft days. 

Jonathan Mayo covers the minor leagues for mlb.com.  His blog is well worth following throughout the year but during draft time, he’ll have some good nuggets.  

The Hardball Times is a source I trust for many things and prospect scouting is no exception.  A couple days ago, they posted THT’s projected top 40 draftees. 

Mock Drafts are the thing now.  Take a look at mymlbdraft.com or draftsite.com to get a sense of what people are thinking.  I’ll give you a hint… Bryce Harper looks like he’s going #1.  Or heck, just go to dugoutdoctors.com and check out their whole list of mock drafts that are going on. 

If lists aren’t your thing, MLB.com has Ten Names to Watch for 2010 Draft complete with a scouting report for each.  This list is “Bryce-less”, assuming you’ve heard enough of him already ala 2009 Strasburg. 

If history of the draft is your thing, you can try two avenues.  MLB.com has a page dedicated to the “complete draft history”.  For my money, I like browsing through Baseball Reference’s Draft section.  Lots of fun to click around.

If anyone has any other good resources for the MLB Draft, please share them and I’ll add them to the list.