Alex Rodriguez became the 7th and youngest player in big league history to hit 600 home runs when he launched a two-run shot to center off Shawn Marcum in the first inning today. (Watch it while you can). Opinions vary on whether Alex and the latest generation of 600-hr club members deserve asterisks next to their records because of performance-enhancing drugs. MTD and I don't spend much time on steroid talk, and if backed into a corner, will actually blame the entire thing on Brady Anderson.
So Alex is on his way to 700, a mark I think he'll hit during the early part of the 2014 season, and the Offbase staff is on its way to the public library, Woodward and Bernstein-style, to start digging up dirt on Anderson. We'll go ahead and reveal our source on the inside: it's this guy.
Showing posts with label alex. Show all posts
Showing posts with label alex. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Friday, July 23, 2010
Curveballs for Jobu
Curveballs for Jobu is Off Base Percentage's daily trip around the ballparks.
Today's honorary bat boy is Tony Womack
Yankees 10, Royals 4. Excuse me, but Alex Rodriguez homered Thursday, his 599th career long ball, and is on the verge of becoming the seventh player in history to hit 600 home runs.....(crickets).......(louder crickets). I think the milestone deserves respect it just isn't getting. I mean, the guy is only one of the 15 or 20 best baseball players of all time and he's about to hit his 600TH HOME RUN. "No, Derwood, we'd rather talk about Carl Pavano's fourth complete game of the season, even though he pitched in 145 2/3 innings in FOUR SEASONS with the Yankees. And Rodriguez also took steroids, even though everybody was taking them, including Carl Pavano!"
That concludes this brief edition of Whining and Ridiculous & Slanderous Accusations.
Nationals 7, Reds 1. I really thought Livan Hernandez had died two years ago. That's not meant to be an insensitive comment directed at the Hernandez family, I actually thought I remembered hearing about a mountain climbing accident or something. But he's alive, 79-years old, and pitching complete games in 2010. Thursday, Hernandez had his second nine-inning start of the year, throwing 72 of his 102 pitches for strikes as the Nats salvaged a split against Cincy. Also alive: Adam Kennedy (2-for-4, BB, RBI).
Redsox 8, Mariners 6 (13). John Lackey, the ugliest on a really ugly Boston team, had a no-hitter going through 7 2/3 innings. A fellow Yankees fan and I pulled out a Josh Bard rookie card (estimated value: 4 mustard packets), rubbed it a little, started talking to it-"duck snort to right-center field"-and sure enough Bard snorted to RCF. Ugly guy loses no-no. Then in the ninth, Bill Hall happened. With Boston up 6-4, Jack Wilson, facing the 5th-ugliest Redsox Jonathan Papelbon, hit a double play grounder to shortstop, but after Marco Scutaro flipped to second for the first out, Hall's throw landed in Edmonds, WA and the tying runs scored. Unfortunately, Seattle reliever Garrett Olson is horrible and the lefty allowed a two-run double to equally-horrible Eric Patterson, and us Yankees fans had to settle for Lackey's night being ruined. Good enough.
Today's honorary bat boy is Tony Womack
Yankees 10, Royals 4. Excuse me, but Alex Rodriguez homered Thursday, his 599th career long ball, and is on the verge of becoming the seventh player in history to hit 600 home runs.....(crickets).......(louder crickets). I think the milestone deserves respect it just isn't getting. I mean, the guy is only one of the 15 or 20 best baseball players of all time and he's about to hit his 600TH HOME RUN. "No, Derwood, we'd rather talk about Carl Pavano's fourth complete game of the season, even though he pitched in 145 2/3 innings in FOUR SEASONS with the Yankees. And Rodriguez also took steroids, even though everybody was taking them, including Carl Pavano!"
That concludes this brief edition of Whining and Ridiculous & Slanderous Accusations.
Nationals 7, Reds 1. I really thought Livan Hernandez had died two years ago. That's not meant to be an insensitive comment directed at the Hernandez family, I actually thought I remembered hearing about a mountain climbing accident or something. But he's alive, 79-years old, and pitching complete games in 2010. Thursday, Hernandez had his second nine-inning start of the year, throwing 72 of his 102 pitches for strikes as the Nats salvaged a split against Cincy. Also alive: Adam Kennedy (2-for-4, BB, RBI).
Redsox 8, Mariners 6 (13). John Lackey, the ugliest on a really ugly Boston team, had a no-hitter going through 7 2/3 innings. A fellow Yankees fan and I pulled out a Josh Bard rookie card (estimated value: 4 mustard packets), rubbed it a little, started talking to it-"duck snort to right-center field"-and sure enough Bard snorted to RCF. Ugly guy loses no-no. Then in the ninth, Bill Hall happened. With Boston up 6-4, Jack Wilson, facing the 5th-ugliest Redsox Jonathan Papelbon, hit a double play grounder to shortstop, but after Marco Scutaro flipped to second for the first out, Hall's throw landed in Edmonds, WA and the tying runs scored. Unfortunately, Seattle reliever Garrett Olson is horrible and the lefty allowed a two-run double to equally-horrible Eric Patterson, and us Yankees fans had to settle for Lackey's night being ruined. Good enough.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Sweet Lou's Last Run
Cubs manager Lou Piniella has announced he will retire after this season, presumably after a Chicago loss in late-September. Piniella, who started his managerial career in 1986 with the Yankees, has been around forever. The only seasons he wasn't a manager were 1989 and 2006, and he's been in the dugout with five different teams.
Piniella guided the 1990 Cincinnati Reds to a World Series sweep over the A's, but since hasn't had a ton of post-season success. He had several great regular-season teams in his 10 years with Seattle. In the strike-shortened 1995 season, the Mariners won the AL West in a one-game playoff over the Angels and reached the ALCS before losing to Cleveland. The 1997 West champions were beaten in four games by Baltimore in the ALDS, and the 2001 team won a record-tying 116 games before losing to the Yankees in the championship series.
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After a forgettable three seasons in Tampa Bay (200-285, combined 96 1/2 games out of first), Piniella was 46 games over .500 in his first three seasons with the Cubs (2007-2009), which included an NL-best 97 wins in 2008. But like 2007, when Arizona swept a first-round series (yes, the Diamondbacks were in the post-season as recently as 2007), Piniella's club was swept in the first round in 2008 by the Dodgers.
Here's a list of some players Piniella managed:
Don Mattingly, Rickey Henderson, Ron Guidry, Tommy John, Dave Winfield, Ken Griffey Jr., Randy Johnson, Edgar Martinez, Alex Rodriguez, Goose Gossage, Ichiro Suzuki, Fred McGriff
And here's another list of players Piniella managed:
Wayne Tolleson, Mike Pagliarulo, Bobby Meachum, Steve Trout, Lee Guetterman, Luis Quinones, Rob Dibble, Troy Afenir, Mackey Sasser, Wally Backman, Erik Plantenburg, George Glinatsis, Salomon Torres, Alvaro Espinoza, Ryan Radmanovich, Brett Hinchliffe, Desi Relaford, Terry Shumpert, John Rocker, Hideo Nomo, Rocky Cherry, Carmen Pignatiello, Esmailin Caridad
Piniella guided the 1990 Cincinnati Reds to a World Series sweep over the A's, but since hasn't had a ton of post-season success. He had several great regular-season teams in his 10 years with Seattle. In the strike-shortened 1995 season, the Mariners won the AL West in a one-game playoff over the Angels and reached the ALCS before losing to Cleveland. The 1997 West champions were beaten in four games by Baltimore in the ALDS, and the 2001 team won a record-tying 116 games before losing to the Yankees in the championship series.
.jpg)
After a forgettable three seasons in Tampa Bay (200-285, combined 96 1/2 games out of first), Piniella was 46 games over .500 in his first three seasons with the Cubs (2007-2009), which included an NL-best 97 wins in 2008. But like 2007, when Arizona swept a first-round series (yes, the Diamondbacks were in the post-season as recently as 2007), Piniella's club was swept in the first round in 2008 by the Dodgers.
Here's a list of some players Piniella managed:
Don Mattingly, Rickey Henderson, Ron Guidry, Tommy John, Dave Winfield, Ken Griffey Jr., Randy Johnson, Edgar Martinez, Alex Rodriguez, Goose Gossage, Ichiro Suzuki, Fred McGriff
And here's another list of players Piniella managed:
Wayne Tolleson, Mike Pagliarulo, Bobby Meachum, Steve Trout, Lee Guetterman, Luis Quinones, Rob Dibble, Troy Afenir, Mackey Sasser, Wally Backman, Erik Plantenburg, George Glinatsis, Salomon Torres, Alvaro Espinoza, Ryan Radmanovich, Brett Hinchliffe, Desi Relaford, Terry Shumpert, John Rocker, Hideo Nomo, Rocky Cherry, Carmen Pignatiello, Esmailin Caridad
Friday, July 2, 2010
Curveballs for Jobu
Curveballs for Jobu is Off Base Percentage's daily trip around the ballparks.
Today's honorary bat boy: Gene Tenace
Yankees 4, Mariners 2. With apologies to Andy Hawkins, the Yankees finally have their first true ace since Ron Guidry. C.C. Sabathia went eight innings, his sixth consecutive start pitching at least seven (all NY wins), and Robbie Cano and Alex went deep, the last of which was a two-run go-ahead tater in the bottom of the eighth to avoid a horrifying three-game sweep.
Indians 6, Bluejays 1. OK, this is starting to get a little ridiculous. Five consecutive wins for the Tribe? Did Rachel Phelps take away the hot water in the clubhouse again?
Astros 6, Padres 3 (10). Luke Gregerson doesn't walk many hitters. He recently had a 110-batter stretch without issuing a free pass and walked just four in 39 1/3 IP heading into Thursday's game. Then Humberto Quintero and Oswaldo Navarro happened. The pair drew consecutive, two-out walks in the 10th off Gregerson and Michael Bourn followed with a triple to lift the 'Stros.
Athletics 8, Orioles 1. Trevor Cahill pitched seven innings of one-run ball to beat Baltimore for the second time this season. Cahill is unofficially the 407th pitcher to pull off that feat in 2010.
Today's honorary bat boy: Gene Tenace
Yankees 4, Mariners 2. With apologies to Andy Hawkins, the Yankees finally have their first true ace since Ron Guidry. C.C. Sabathia went eight innings, his sixth consecutive start pitching at least seven (all NY wins), and Robbie Cano and Alex went deep, the last of which was a two-run go-ahead tater in the bottom of the eighth to avoid a horrifying three-game sweep.
Indians 6, Bluejays 1. OK, this is starting to get a little ridiculous. Five consecutive wins for the Tribe? Did Rachel Phelps take away the hot water in the clubhouse again?
Astros 6, Padres 3 (10). Luke Gregerson doesn't walk many hitters. He recently had a 110-batter stretch without issuing a free pass and walked just four in 39 1/3 IP heading into Thursday's game. Then Humberto Quintero and Oswaldo Navarro happened. The pair drew consecutive, two-out walks in the 10th off Gregerson and Michael Bourn followed with a triple to lift the 'Stros.
Athletics 8, Orioles 1. Trevor Cahill pitched seven innings of one-run ball to beat Baltimore for the second time this season. Cahill is unofficially the 407th pitcher to pull off that feat in 2010.
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