Tag Archives: MLB

The possibly upcoming resurrection of the Home Run Derby

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Perhaps it was because I was still basically a kid, perhaps it was because we had no idea what was really fueling those moonshots, but the Home Run Derby once was a time where the baseball gods came down to earth and took human form, sending balls deep into the night. Over the Green Monster! Into the highest decks of Turner Field! Through the windows of roofed stadiums! Coors Field!

And then, over the years, it has seemed to have been changed into baseball’s version of the Super Bowl: lots of hype, and a good streak of installments here and there, but usually just overhyped. For every year where Josh Hamilton or Bobby Abreu make the night their personal playground, there’s a few years like the one where McCovey Cove shuts out the best hitters who showed up.

Now, however, we might have a lineup and a location to bring the Home Run Derby back to it’s glory.

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Perfect Perfection

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Matt Cain did not just throw a perfect game last night. No, he threw one of the most perfect perfect games. One of the greatest games in history, in fact. It had everything: drama, close plays, a legendary catch and the final out, where, as always, there is that one second of worry that somebody is going to screw it up.

Oh, sure, Don Larsen’s perfect game came on the sport’s greatest stage, against a team of future Hall-of-Famers, but statistically, the greatest perfect game has long been Sandy Koufax’s brilliant game in 1965. It’s game score was 101 (out of a possible 114), second only to Kerry Wood’s 20-K one-hitter (105).

Cain has tied Koufax. Let that sink in: Matt Cain’s game was, statistically speaking, as good as Koufax’s magnum opus.

In other words, Giants and Dodgers fans now have another thing to argue about.

In short, there have been perfect games, and no-hitters. But of the many recent ones, this one is perhaps the one that is the most… perfect.

Somebody get Harper and Trout into the All-Star Game

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The two great young stars of baseball right now, I mean the really young stars, are the Angels’ Mike Trout (20) and Washington’s Bryce Harper (19). They are in opposite leagues, hit from opposite sides of the plate, play on opposite coasts and have received the opposite amounts of hype (Harper was hailed as the second coming, Trout’s emergence in the bigs has been far more subdued), but they both have been playing like they’ve been in the Majors for years, instead of months.

To pick which one is “better” is a fool’s errand, it is too early to really project the (hopefully long) careers of the two, and although Trout is having the better season (.354 BA/.412 OBP/.565 SLG compared to Harper’s .295/.381/.527), who knows what the future may hold for them?

I personally hope the future involves the 2012 All-Star Game in Kansas City.

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The War for the (AL and NL) East

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The greatest division races are already shaping up to be in the (AL and NL East). Teams that had been afterthoughts are now in the mix, perennial powers have found themselves in the cellar. Things are changing quickly, so by the time this goes up on the afternoon of June 10, it may already by obsolete: teams that were in first may have fallen to second or even third. A team who was in it could not be out of it. A team that was out of it could be in it. It is just that volatile.

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Great Predictions in History: Nobody will break Ruth’s Record (says Duke Snider in 1957)

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From Baseball Digest in October, 1957:

The record he speaks of is his 60 HR in 1927. Among the reasons that the record won’t be broken are the fact that Ruth didn’t have to deal with the media pressure as he headed down the stretch that anyone going for 60+ has to, the fact there are fewer off days, the fact that there are now day and night games that could mess with a player’s rest schedule, and that most of the parks aren’t as easy to hit home runs out of as Yankee Stadium had been during Ruth’s day.

He implies that Ted Williams could if he wanted to, but that he doesn’t focus on home runs, instead focusing on being an all-around hitter.

Interestingly, Duke Snider and his ghostwriter Milton Richman also predict that if anybody did they’d be headed to Cooperstown for sure.

Roger Maris is not in the Hall of Fame…. but he did hit 61 HRs in 1961.

Coming this weekend on the Baseball Continuum…

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Nothing new today, folks, as I am busy putting together new stuff for the coming weeks. Here’s a preview of what will be up this weekend:

On Saturday, tune in to read another tale of Bizarre Baseball Culture, as we will see a story involving the rather bizarre superhero known as Doll Man faces off against baseball-themed crooks.

Also on Saturday, you’ll be able to read something on the Norfolk Tides, who just may be the most star-studded sub-.500 team in AAA baseball history, thanks to a confluence of former all-stars on rehab or minor league contract. It’s not every day that you see Brian Roberts and Miguel Tejada have long toss right in front of you, but it happened a few days ago.

On Sunday, we will once again see another Great Prediction in History from an old Baseball Digest, and also some thoughts on the hyper-close races in the AL and NL Eat.

And, of course, there could always be some surprises. This is baseball, after all, so you never know what could happen. There could be a no-hitter. Or a unassisted triple play. Or a 4-HR game. And if something like that happens, expect comment on it here, at the Continuum.

The Mauer deal is still worth it

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Joe Mauer is still the face of the Minnesota Twins, and one of the faces of baseball in general, but he’s been under siege ever since he signed his 10-year extension and the Twins moved to Target Field. He’s not playing up to his contract, he no longer hits for power, he’s no longer a perennial MVP candidate, merely an All-Star (and even that might be stretching it- Matt Wieters and Cleveland’s Carlos Santana have better Wins Above Replacement on the Baseball Gauge).

He’s probably not worth the $23 million a year he’s getting, I understand that. I also think that the deal had to be done. Not for on-the-field reasons, but for off-the-field reasons. Psychological reasons. Go below the jump to see why.

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What is wrong with the Orioles?

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It’s too early to declare the Orioles’ season, which I wrote about awhile back, as heading down the tubes. But it is definitely not looking as good as it once did. They’ve lost six straight. They’ve fallen out of first. Nick Markakis is hurt. The AL East is becoming even more of a gigantic no-holds-barred brawl than it was.
So what happened?

What happened was that the pitching- especially the starting pitching has been having a tough week. They have been routinely falling behind early. They fell 5-0 on Friday night, for example, giving up all of those runs in the first inning. They were falling behind to the Blue Jays early in games. In other words, the Orioles are getting dragged into the same kind of shooting-gallery, pray-we-can-outhit-them-because-our-pitching-cannot-stop-them kinds of games they’ve been getting stuck in the last decade and a half or so. Spoiler alert: They usually can’t.

The Orioles are by no means out of it yet. They are only one game back. A win today would get them tied for first again. Two wins over the weekend would get them to first outright. All of the AL East teams have flaws, and the Orioles still have a very good bullpen, something that is essential in this day and age. They also have Adam Jones, who can, on some days, win a game by himself.

The question is: Can they pull themselves off the mat, or will, like so many season before, the Orioles squander a good start and fall back into the basement?

Only time will tell.

Thoughts on Johan’s no-no night

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There is site out there that came to my attention shortly after Johan Santana completed his no-hitter tonight: Nonohitters.com. It was written by a Mets fan who kept count as the Mets continued to not have a no-hitter.
The person who runs it can now, presumably, sell it to a Padres fan, as they now have that record.

But anyway…

This was a no-hitter that was good for baseball fans in general (well, except for Cardinals fans). The Mets now finally have their no-hitter, all the more amazing considering the great pitchers they had in the past. Tom Seaver and Nolan Ryan didn’t throw one in a Mets uniform. Neither did Dwight Gooden or David Cone. Tom Glavine didn’t do it either. ‘

But Johan Santana did. This was something everyone (again, except for Cardinals fans) could get behind. Johan is one of the great pitchers of his generation, but could have been even greater if not for his injury problems as a Met. He became, over the years, something of a shadow of his old Minnesota self. Now, however, it appears that he has returned, which is good for baseball.

In many ways, this was the most entertaining no-hitter of the year, with the possible exception of Phil Humber (who Johan Santana was traded for once) and his perfect game. Here’s why:

  • There was controversy: Carlos Beltran definitely deserved a hit for the ball that he ripped down the line. It clearly hit the chalk, and if a ball hits anywhere on the line, it is a fair ball. That said, I have to imagine that nobody will remember that in 20 years.
  • Mike Baxter made perhaps the greatest no-no saving catch since Dewayne Wise saved Mark Buerhle’s perfect game. He paid for it too, going straight into the wall and injuring what appeared to be his shoulder. Hopefully the doctor’s office had a TV or radio, and hopefully Santana buys him something nice.
  • Santana came up in the bottom of the 8th and proceeded to stand as still as a statue, yet still got a 3-2 count before he finally struck out like he had hoped.
  • The first two outs of the ninth seemed to be possible hits, especially Holliday’s. I was sure that Andres Torres was about to overrun the ball.
  • At the end, a fan in a Gary Carter uniform ran on the field, and, for a few seconds, was able to join in the pileup before being inevitably tackled by security. Maybe it was the fact he had on a Gary Carter jersey, or maybe it was just the neatness that one guy was able to celebrate with his team, but I think that was cool.

So, it was game to remember for every baseball fan in America who isn’t a Cardinals fan. Well, except for Mets radio announcer Josh Lewin:

Ouch.

So, anyway, congratulations to Johan Santana and all of those New York Mets fans who finally have a no-hitter to celebrate. Padres: you are on the clock.

Exit, Magglio

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Magglio Ordonez will retire this weekend. He’ll go down as one of the better right-handed hitters of his generation and should receive at least some consideration for the Hall of Fame. I don’t think he’ll make it, but he should at least be in the conversation.

Look over his statistics: In 1848 games and 7745 plate appearances, he hit .309, with a .871 OPS (on-base plus slugging), and a respectable 294 home runs and 1236 RBIs. He made it to six All-Star Games, won three Silver Sluggers and came in second to Alex Rodriguez in the 2007 MVP voting, the year he won the AL batting title. Had it not been for injuries, he could have accomplished even more.

There certainly have been people who have gotten into the HoF with less.

I, personally, don’t think he should make the HoF, but he is a better candidate than many of the other “Hall of the Very Good” candidates that get thrown out there every now and then.