Minor nitpick:
The Rays’ team ERA is almost three-quarters of a run better than Seattle’s (3.04 v. 3.75).
You’re right about those close games, though; the Mariners are 6-12 in 1-run games, which suggests they’ve had some bad luck.
Toronto whomped Baltimore 5-0 tonight. The Jays are now outhomering their opponents 81-37, an amazing margin. It’s actually greater than the margin in runs scored, which is 260-220; in other words, the Blue Jays probably owe a hundred points of winning percentage solely to outhomering the opposition.
Holy moly but the Orioles are a miserable squad. 15-34. This has to be the very nadir of the Orioles franchise. A lot of people had some hope for them this year, thought .500 was in reach, and they stink horribly. This will almost certainly be their 13th straight losing season. When I was a kid they were a contender every year. They were a model franchise, a feared juggernaut. Now they’re just dismal.
Personally, I like the Bill James idea, which is to let the fans vote but to assign points to players according to how they rank in a market. So if you finish first in Yankee Stadium voting, you get 14 points. Finish second, you get 13, etc. That takes away much of the effect of ballot box stuffing. Make the Internet worth a couple of parks or something.
Taking away the votes from fans would, IMHO, be a PR catastrophe and would only serve to alienate the most important people in the entire business. Plus, I’m not all that convinced the experts would necessarily do better. After all, experts gave Rafael Palmiero a Gold Glove one year when he played DH most of the season.
That’s too much credit. He got a Gold Glove in 1999 for playing 28 games at first base. That’s 17% of the season.
The Reds just keep winning. I don’t know what to believe with them. They are 29-20, killed the Sinking Fastros 15-6 last night, have a great rookie pitcher in Mike Leake, all the other pitching is doing well (fucking Bronson Arroyo has won 5 in a row!!! The world is ending!), the hitting is there in spades…
…I just have to enjoy the ride I guess and quit worrying for the other shoe to drop.
Scary incident in the Yankees-Indians game today. A-Rod hit a liner that hit the Indians pitcher (Huff) in the head. They took him off in a stretcher. He supposedly flashed a “thumbs up” on his way out, so hopefully he’ll be okay.
Last report is that he should be fine. I think they said an MRI was already done.
I love baseball, but today’s game has really been way to slow paced and long.
Story and video on this page.
Apparently the CT scan came up negative, and he never lost consciousness or memory. They’re keeping him at the hospital for observation, but he seems to be OK.
It’s blacked out by me, so I’m following it on the ESPN gamecast… you think watching it is long and slow?
Roy Halladay, perfect game! Wooooooooo!
This is one of those perfect games that really doesn’t come as so much of a surprise.
Sure, any perfect game (any no-hitter, for that matter) requires some luck, and often one or two awesome fielding plays. But Halladay isn’t like Buerhle and Braden, a decent pitcher who has one incredible day. Halladay has been having incredible days almost every time he took the mound for the last five years. With all his complete games, and his great stuff, it seems like a perfect game was just a matter of time.
Couldn’t have been done by a more deserving pitcher.
Wow, good job Halladay. In spite of how good he’s been and even in light of the complete games he’s thrown, a total no-no is a feat no matter whom you are. Props to Halladay.
Kendry Morales hit a walk-off grand slam today, and then fractured his leg jumping on home plate.
How fucking bizarre is that?
Reds are now 30-20 after smashing 6 homers in a 12-2 drubbing of the Stros. That’s 25 runs scored in two games against them, all without Joey Votto, their best hitter.
It will be interesting to see if they can replicate this level of success when they take on the Cardinals again, or when they head out west to face the Dodgers or the surprising Padres.
I’m starting to like this!
What the hell? Any Angels fans out there?
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100529&content_id=10569596&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb
Talk about your bizarre endings.
On a totally different subject, I had some excellent foie gras at a wine tasting last night.
Finally got out to a Jays game this weekend - actually, it was an early Father’s Day present. Lovely game; three more homers and an easy 6-1 win, all concluded in two hours and five minutes, on a gorgeous, hot, sunny afternoon. Sitting there with my little girl, soaking up the sun and another Blue Jays victory. It gets no better.
Jose Bautista, your major league home run leader, with his 16th.
2:05??? That’s like half a Yankee game. Sounds like a great day.
Color me jealous. Can’t afford the stuff any more.