Lead Me to the Promised Land

Wednesday was an exceptional day for leadoff men. Of all those in the #1 spot that day, only 6 were oh-fers. On the other hand, 13 had multi-hit games. And one of those with one hit made it count by hitting a homerun. The more spectatular performances by leadoff men Wednesday: Furcal 3 for 3 … Continue reading “Lead Me to the Promised Land”

Wednesday was an exceptional day for leadoff men. Of all those in the #1 spot that day, only 6 were oh-fers. On the other hand, 13 had multi-hit games. And one of those with one hit made it count by hitting a homerun.

The more spectatular performances by leadoff men Wednesday:

Furcal 3 for 3
Everett 3 for 4, 2B, HR, 2 runs, 2 rbi
Lawton 3 for 5, rbi
Jeter 2 for 5, run, rbi
Crawford 3 for 6, 2B, 2 runs, 2 rbi
Kotsay, 2 for 4, 3 rbi
Podsednik 3-5, 2 runs

College Baseball- Tough Loss for Illinois

Ooh! This one had to hurt. Illinois had Illinois State down to its last strike with a one-run lead but once again, fielding mishaps proved to be costly. A base hit, a throwing error by the catcher, and a wild pitch pretty much handed the Cardinals the tying run. Another hit and a throwing error … Continue reading “College Baseball- Tough Loss for Illinois”

i.gif Ooh! This one had to hurt. Illinois had Illinois State down to its last strike with a one-run lead but once again, fielding mishaps proved to be costly.

A base hit, a throwing error by the catcher, and a wild pitch pretty much handed the Cardinals the tying run. Another hit and a throwing error put the winning run on second primed for the inevitable game winning hit.

The Illini head to Indiana this weekend for a four-game series.

No More Nomar

Cub fans everywhere let out a collective gasp as Nomar Garciaparra was carried off the field with a groin injury during the third inning of today’s game. To say that Nomar has been slumping, would be a misnomer since he has been off his Wheaties all year. He is hitting .157 with no homeruns and … Continue reading “No More Nomar”

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Cub fans everywhere let out a collective gasp as Nomar Garciaparra was carried off the field with a groin injury during the third inning of today’s game.

To say that Nomar has been slumping, would be a misnomer since he has been off his Wheaties all year. He is hitting .157 with no homeruns and 4 rbis.

At this point, with Todd Walker and now Garciaparra gone, it looks like Jerry Hairston and Neifi Perez will need to step up and fill in at the middle infield positions.

The way Neifi has been hitting
, that can’t be all bad.

The Rest of the Story… Merkle’s Boner

Every fan of baseball history knows the story of Merkle’s Boner. The 19-year kid who failed to touch second base on the game winning hit which forced the one-game playoff between the Cubs and Giants back in 1908. But what is lesser known is that if Merkle had touched second and the Giants had won, … Continue reading “The Rest of the Story… Merkle’s Boner”

Every fan of baseball history knows the story of Merkle’s Boner. The 19-year kid who failed to touch second base on the game winning hit which forced the one-game playoff between the Cubs and Giants back in 1908.

But what is lesser known is that if Merkle had touched second and the Giants had won, that would have given Christy Mathewson the victory. He would have ended up with 374 wins which would have given him sole possesion of 3rd place on the all-time wins list.

As it turned out, he is tied with Grover Alexander with 373.

4/19 Linescore of the Day

Mark Prior, Chicago Cubs 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K I couldn’t resist. As a Cub fan, it pleases me to no end to see Prior come back the way he has. In his 2 starts, he is 2-0 and has yet to give up an earned run. With … Continue reading “4/19 Linescore of the Day”

Mark Prior, Chicago Cubs
7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K

I couldn’t resist. As a Cub fan, it pleases me to no end to see Prior come back the way he has. In his 2 starts, he is 2-0 and has yet to give up an earned run.

With Maddux and Wood pitching the way they are, the Cubs need all the help they can get in this department.

Not Meant To Be

Consider this scenario: The traditional favorites New York Yankees are facing the the lowly Tampa Bay Devil Rays at Yankee Stadium. Going for the Yanks is future Hall of Famer Randy Johnson. Pitching for Tampa Bay? Hideo Nomo whose ERA is higher than the sun and just gave up 8 runs in 2 innings in … Continue reading “Not Meant To Be”

Consider this scenario: The traditional favorites New York Yankees are facing the the lowly Tampa Bay Devil Rays at Yankee Stadium. Going for the Yanks is future Hall of Famer Randy Johnson. Pitching for Tampa Bay? Hideo Nomo whose ERA is higher than the sun and just gave up 8 runs in 2 innings in his last start. To top it off, New York is just coming off a huge 19-8 defeat of Tampa Bay the day before.

A certain recipe for victory for NY?

Wrong!

Hideo managed to hold the Yanks to one run in 5 2/3 innings for his second win of the season. Johnson, on the other hand, was lit up for 6 runs in 7 1/3 innings thanks in part to Eduardo Perez’ 2 HRs.

After his fantastic night, ARod was 0 for 4 with 3 LOB.

Who knows? I may be wrong about Nomo. This is his second start this season where he’s only given up one run.

Sox fans missing Mags

I have a friend who attended the White Sox/Mariners game on Sunday. Here’s his take on Sox fans’ appraisal of their right field situation. I was sitting in RF yesterday, 6th row to see Jermaine Dye drop the ball & give the game away. Needless to say, he was heckled for the rest of the … Continue reading “Sox fans missing Mags”

I have a friend who attended the White Sox/Mariners game on Sunday. Here’s his take on Sox fans’ appraisal of their right field situation.

I was sitting in RF yesterday, 6th row to see Jermaine Dye drop the ball & give the game away. Needless to say, he was heckled for the rest of the game. Sox fans are understandable ticked off that Magglio Ordonez is gone.

Give ’em time. Sox fans are known for being hard asses who can’t let go of a grudge forgiving fans who are willing to give someone a second chance.

Day-by-Day Database online at Baseball Musings

There’s a new baseball database online that’s quite extensive and powerful. You can access daily hitting and pitching logs as well as compare them to other players. You can sort by home-road, by park, vs. team etc. It uses data from Retrosheet and uses an engine designed by Statguru over at Baseball Musings. Click here … Continue reading “Day-by-Day Database online at Baseball Musings”

There’s a new baseball database online that’s quite extensive and powerful. You can access daily hitting and pitching logs as well as compare them to other players. You can sort by home-road, by park, vs. team etc.

It uses data from Retrosheet and uses an engine designed by Statguru over at Baseball Musings.

Click here for the database entry point.

F Robbie not keen on ESPN coverage

Frank Robinson doesn’t seem to happy with the coverage the Nats are getting on ESPN. This comes to a head after he watched SportsCenter Monday night after their 7-3 come-from-behind victory. I guess he expected more than the “one-swing” coverage his team got. ESPN spokesperson assured him that the Nat’s coverage is consistent with what … Continue reading “F Robbie not keen on ESPN coverage”

Frank Robinson doesn’t seem to happy with the coverage the Nats are getting on ESPN. This comes to a head after he watched SportsCenter Monday night after their 7-3 come-from-behind victory.

I guess he expected more than the “one-swing” coverage his team got. ESPN spokesperson assured him that the Nat’s coverage is consistent with what other teams are getting. She ended with:

“We’re glad that Frank tunes to ESPN for his baseball news,”

Ooh! I bet Robinson’s canceling his ESPN channel after that one.

4/18 Linescore of the Day

It’s a tie today. And it’s not a coincidence that they occurred in the same game. The Good: Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees 5-6, 2 2B, 2 HR, 5 runs, 6 rbis. The Bad: Rob Bell, Tampa Bay 1 1/3 IP, 9 H, 10 R, 10 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 1 HR The Boss’ … Continue reading “4/18 Linescore of the Day”

It’s a tie today. And it’s not a coincidence that they occurred in the same game.

The Good:
Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees
5-6, 2 2B, 2 HR, 5 runs, 6 rbis.

The Bad:
Rob Bell, Tampa Bay
1 1/3 IP, 9 H, 10 R, 10 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 1 HR

The Boss’ little “pep talk” must have done some good. The Yanks scored a total of 13 in the 2nd inning. ARod had a double and homer in that inning alone. Sweet Lou must have had a long leash on Bell to let him go as long as he did.

Final score: NY 19 TB 8