Tag: Carlos Lee

Slow Starters: NL edition

A couple days ago, I posted my list of slow starters in the AL.  Now it’s the NL’s turn. 

Stats as of 4/27.

 

Dan Uggla, Atl .188, 8 rbis Those eight rbis come on 5 HR.  I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or bad thing.
Geovany Soto, Chi .227, 1 HR I’m thinking that unless Geo starts shaping up, his time is running out with the Cubs.
Ryan Dempster, Chi 1-2, 7.63 ERA Eight HR in 30 2/3 IP.  Yikes!
Hanley Ramirez, Fla .211, 3 SB hitting the same as John Buck
Carlos Lee, Hou .207 …but does have 13 rbis
J.A. Happ, Hou 1-3, 6.94 ERA lack of control isn’t helping
Jonathon Niese, NY 1-3, 5.10 ERA workhorse is leading Mets in IP, though
Albert Pujols, StL .250, 8 EBH I know he’s got 17 rbis but have you noticed?  He’s got more Ks than walks so far.
Madison Bumgarner, SF 0-3, 7.79 ERA I think a lot was expected from this Giant hurler

Where Have All the Nicknames Gone?

mudcat grantRecently Hideki Matsui, known as Godzilla in Japan, appeared on the cover of a national magazine with the caption, Shemp, along with a picture of his counterpart from The Three Stooges.  The funny thing is that his manager DonS in the Illowa APBA League has been calling him that for years.  It got me thinking about nicknames and I found myself  wondering, where have all the nicknames gone?

Of course a few players today are known by their nicknames, like ARod & JRoll, but those are more abbreviations than true nicknames.  Then there’s B.J. Upton, an abbreviation again, but this time it’s for Bossman Junior, his dad was known as Bossman, that’s a little better, but still not quite there.

Back in the day, players were known as Ernie “The Schnoz” Lombardi and Ken “Hawk” Harrelson for the size of their beaks.  Then there were players with nicknames Jim “Mudcat” Grant, John “Blue Moon” Odom, and Dennis “Oil Can” Boyd.  One of the best nicknames was Jim “Catfish” Hunter, made up by the colorful Oakland A’s owner Charlie Finley.  Hawk Harrelson dubbed Frank “The Big Hurt” Thomas and Carlos Lee as El Caballo.  Dennis Martinez was a Nicaraguan, known as El Presidente.  Of course Roger Clemens was often times referred to as The Rocket.  The Freak seems to have stuck with NL Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum.

But it seems today, for the most part, good nicknames are a thing of the past.  I’d like to hear from you, with your favorite nicknames of yesterday and today, and maybe even some nicknames for current players that might be appropriate.