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Friday, June 03, 2005

Top of the 1^st

A NEW RULE

It started innocently enough. I was attempting to clean up the pile of magazines in my bedroom. There always seems to be a reason to keep a magazine, there’s always an article that you want to get to…sooner or later. Well, you can file this one in the “later” category.

There it was, an ESPN Magazine from April 12…2004. A-Rod is on the cover of this MLB preview issue. I pick it up and I’m about to put it into the recycling bag when I made my mistake. “What the ****, I might as well take a peek inside.,” I said to myself. Score that “E, B-B.”

The next thing you know my clean up efforts have gone awry and I’m reading Peter Gammons picks for the 2004 season. Now, this is the part where I really feel miserable. The pile of magazines that still remain doesn’t bother me as much as the fact that I’m going to share with you Peter’s picks.

Let me preface this by saying that I think Gammons is one of the greats. He deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. He deserves to be Commissioner of Baseball. He doesn’t deserve for me to review his picks.

He did pick the Angels last year to win the AL West followed by

Oakland

,

Seattle

, and

Texas

. Reverse the rangers and the Mariners and he nailed the division and while he picked the A’s to win the Wild Card, remember they did only finish a game behind the Angels.

It gets uglier in the AL Central… a lot. Peter picked the KC Royals to win the division. The same Royals that finished last with 104 losses. Following the Royals were the White Sox (who did finish second), folled by the Twins (who finished first), the Indians (who finished third) and in fifth, the Tigers, who finished fourth. All in all, other than picking the team that finished last to fini9sh first, it wasn’t that awful.

In the AL East, Gammons went with his hometown Red Sox to finish first, followed by the Yankees, Blue Jays, Orioles, and Devil Rays. The actual finish was NY,

Boston

,

Baltimore

,

Tampa

Bay

, and

Toronto

.

The NL West was a lot like the AL Central. Gammons picked the Diamondbacks to win the division.

Arizona

actually finished last with 111 losses. He had the division winning Dodgers in second and the third place Padres in third place. He picked the second place Giants for fourth and the fourth place

Rockies

for fifth. Not a great one, huh?

The NL Central is not pretty either. The Cubs who finished 16 games behind the Cardinals in 3^rd place are Gammons’ pick, followed by the Astros who finished 13 games back in second. Then Peter has the Cardinals, Pirates, Brewers, and Reds. The bottom three ended Reds, Pirates, and Brewers.

In the NL East, Peter was not the only one who was fooled when he picked the Phillies to finish first (they finished second). He then picked the third place Marlins for second. He should have known better, you never pick the Braves for anything other than first, but nonetheless he opted for third. Then correctly picking the Mets and the Expos was kind of a no-brainer.

So, there you have it, except the Peter picked the Cubs over the Red Sox in the Series in seven.

Here’s my new rule - on September 1, you throw away anything that has that season’s picks. Nobody should be subject to this scrutiny unless they want for bragging rights.

By the way, I just threw out the magazine.

Top of the 2^nd

THE SONG OF THE DAY

Chubby Checker’s “Limbo Rock”, which had the refrain “How low can you go?” We dedicate this song to the New York Yankees who were swept by the Kansas City Royals. It is the third time in Yankee history that the team had been swept in three games by the team with the worst record in the majors. The other times were in 2000 by

Detroit

and 1937 by the

Philadelphia

A's.

The not quite $40 million Royals completed its first three-game sweep at home of the more than $200 million Yankees in 15 years. The Royals had gone 78 series without sweeping anyone, the longest drought in the majors since the Phillies went 79 series without a sweep from 1996-97. Despite their three-game sweep, the Royals' record of 16-37 is still the worst in the majors and the Yankees have their first five-game losing streak in three years.

Not that it matters, but KC won, 5-2

Top of the 3^rd

A SIMPLE QUESTION

When the game is on the line in the bottom of the 9^th, is there anyone you would rather have up to the plate than David Ortiz? The Red Sox designated Papi hit a game-winning homer on a full count with two outs in the bottom of the 9^th yesterday, giving

Boston

a 6-4 victory over

Baltimore

. It was the fifth game-ending homer of Ortiz's career, including two in the 2004 playoffs. Ortiz’ three-run blast saved Sox closer (?) Keith Foulke from another ignominious defeat. It was Ortiz's 13th homer of the year, but the first for

Boston

in four games.

The Red Sox remain the only team in the majors without an extra-inning game this season, earned a four-game split to remain three games behind the Orioles in the division.

Top of the 4^th

WHAT’S UP WITH BUCKY?

Billy-Ball favorite Bucky Jacobson made an appearance in the Mariners clubhouse yesterday, saying hello to teammates and autographing baseballs. Bucky is coming off right knee surgery and is leaving for

Arizona

next week to start running and doing some work on the field. He has been running on elliptical machines and the treadmill to improve his strength and conditioning. Jacobsen hopes he can start playing in rehab games by the end of the month.

Maybe, when he is in

Arizona

he’ll run into Curt Schilling who is rehabbing in

Tempe

,

Ariz.

, at the Athletes Performance Insititute.

Top of the 5^th

SEVENS

Who needs Wood or Prior? The Cubbies have Glendon Rusch and right now that may be enough. Rusch pitched a four-hit shutout and Derrek Lee had three more hits to raise his average to .389, leading

Chicago

to a 5-0 victory, the Cubs' season-high seventh straight win. Rusch (5-1) allowed just four singles in pitching his first complete game of the season and his third career shutout. The left-hander retired 17 of his last 19 batters, struck out seven and walked one. Only one Padres' baserunner reached second.

The Cubs have gone from three games under .500 to 28-24 in one week, and have pulled within 5½ games of

NL Central-leading St. Louis

. The NL West-leading Padres lost consecutive games for just the second time in 32 games and lost consecutive games at home for the first time this season.

On the other side of seven,

San Francisco

dropped its seventh straight game last night, 6-5 to

Philadelphia

. The Phillies (27-27) swept the three-game series and moved back to .500 for the first time since they were 8-8 on April 21. They haven't had a winning record since April 18, but have won 12 of 18 and open a four-game series at home against

Arizona

on Friday.

Top of the 6^th

DOTEL CLOSED OUT

Oakland A’s closer Octavio Dotel will have reconstructive elbow surgery as soon as possible, despite receiving recommendations from four doctors that he try to rehabilitate the injury first. Dotel, who is in the last year of his contract, has indicated that the pain is to severe to continue trying without surgery which could sideline him at least a year and possibly up to two years.

Dotel is missing the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow, which

Davis

said he tore at some point. The surgery will entail removing a tendon from elsewhere in his body and weaving it into the elbow area to alleviate some of the muscle strains he's been having.

Top of the 7^th

BILLY-BALL-A-GRAM - 6/3/2005

This birthday boy was the third player to hit two grand slams in consecutive innings.

EMIT JINGLE

BILLY-BALL-TRIVIA - 6/3/2005

Who are the first three players to hit grand slams in consecutive innings?

Send your answers to Bill@billy-ball.com 

Bottom of the 7^th

BILLY-BALL-A-GRAM ANSWER - 6/2/05

Which former 2^nd baseman, born on this date, became the symbol for Yankee mediocrity in the late ‘60s and early ‘70’s?

RARE LOCK ACHE - Horace Clarke

BILLY-BALL-TRIVIA-ANSWER - 6/2/05

What Yankee great announced his retirement on this date in 1935 and which Yankee great died on this date in 1941?

In 1935, Babe Ruth announces his retirement as a player at age 40.

In 1941, Lou Gehrig dies of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis at age 37 in

New York

. From that time on, the illness is known primarily as Lou Gehrig's Disease.

Top of the 8^th

DID YOU KNOW?

The Royals' sweepless streak wasn't even close to the major-league record of 134 series set by the Philadelphia Athletics from 1918-22.

Top of the 9^th

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE

Thanks as always for another great week of baseball. Have fun, buy a bobble ankle, hug your kids, hug your neighbors and root for your favorite team.

Where is today’s Mark Felt, when we need him?

See you Monday.

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Thursday, June 02, 2005

Top of the 1^st

THINK BEFORE YOU VOTE

Stop casting All-Star ballots. Just stop. Don’t vote, don’t punch holes, don’t fill in the blanks, don’t hang any chads. Stop.

It is bad enough that the general populace is given the vote and I don’t mean just for the All-Star game, but why must they vote so early and so often? What I really mean to ask is why must people vote like idiots?

Because there are sponsors involved, Major League Baseball starts the voting early. I think it begins on February 26. This is why in the results released yesterday, Chicago Cubs shortstop Nomar Garciaparra was among the leaders in the National League All-Star voting. Is it insufficient that Nomar is so dramatically injured that he can’t even volley with wife Mia Hamm? What about the fact that he hasn’t played since April 20? Does that not mean anything to anybody? The real reason that I don’t believe fans should be allowed to vote is because Nomar was batting.157 without a home run when he tore his left groin. What is with these people who voted 235,899 times for Nomar who holds a slim lead over St. Louis' David Eckstein. Eckstein who is hitting .301 is clearly unworthy of too many votes in the minds of these geniuses.

Now voting for Albert Pujols is not ordinarily a bad thing, but the fact that the St. Louis first baseman is the leading vote-getter with 570,004 is a stupid thing. You see Chicago's Derrek Lee, who has 268,189 votes, is the league leader in batting average, home runs and RBI. That’s the Triple Crown, folks. He is winning the Triple Crown and you have 300,000 votes behind someone.

Scott Rolen with his .257 batting average has received 404,404 votes to lead all third basemen. Ken Griffey, Jr. and his .266 batting average puts him in the outfield with Jim Edmonds and Carlos Beltran. Has anybody heard of Miguel Cabrera or Bobby Abreu?

Well, at least Mike Piazza is the leading vote getter behind the plate. Because a .242 hitter belongs in the All-Star Classic.

Look folks, be a little smarter. Major League Baseball, don’t start the voting until June 1. Fans, show you deserve the right to vote. Pay attention to what’s going on and try not to be idiots.

Now that we have that understood, I would like to once again talk to you about what happened in the last two Presidential elections….

Top of the 2^nd

BUDDY BELL’S DAYS NUMBERED

After defeating Randy Johnson and the New York Yankees last night, 3-1, Buddy Bell is now 2-0 as Royals manager and upper management in KC is visibly upset. Unnamed sources (it was Mark Felt) told me, “We hired Bell because he went 184-277 (.399) as manager of the Tigers and 161-185 (.465) with the Rockies. If we have a manager that starts winning we’re going to have to pay our players more and we really don’t want to do that.

Hey, by the way, have you seen our latest price buster specials at Wal-Mart? When you stop into the local Kansas City Wal-Mart, make sure you say ‘Ola!’ to our new greeter, Tony Pena!”

Top of the 3^rd

DERREK ON DEREK

Derrek Lee went 5-5 including a three-run homer, raising his major league-leading batting average to .380 and leading the Chicago Cubs to a 9-5 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Cubs swept the three-game series at Dodger Stadium for the first time since May 1995 and moved a season-high three games over .500.

Lee's 17th homer tied him with Alex Rodriguez for the major-league lead and lifted his big-league RBI total to majors' best 50. Lee also ranks among the top five in runs scored with 41 and hits with 71. All the more reason why he shouldn’t be an All-Star.

Derrek did his damage off of birthday boy, Derek Lowe (4-5). Lowe allowed six fo the first 10 Cubs to get hits and was lifted after allowing a season-high 13 hits and six runs in 5 2/3 innings. Clearly, Lowe felt, even on his birthday, it was better to give than receive.

The Dodgers have lost 24 of 38 games since going 12-2 to start the season, dropping them to .500 for the first time since they split their first two games.

Top of the 4^th

TIGERS STOP TEXAS

With a 4-1 lead going into the 7^th inning, the Texas Rangers looked like they were on their way to their 10^th straight victory, but starter Ryan Drese (4-5) quickly lost the lead and the streak when Detroit scored 5 times on their way to a 6-4 victory. Despite beautiful weather, and the fact that Detroit has won four of five, only 15,428 fans attended the game. The Rangers fell into a first-place tie with the Los Angeles Angels in the AL West.

Top of the 5^th

HIGH FIVE AND CRAPS FOR TORII

Torii Hunter went 5-for-5, including a grand slam, and drove in six runs to lead the Minnesota Twins to a 6-2 victory over the Cleveland Indian.

"Tonight, I will be at the casino -- I'm all in," Hunter said after the game. Hunter was immediately suspended by Bud Selig.

Top of the 6^th

THOME SAYS TOO MUCH

Phillies first baseman Jim Thome was ejected from last night's game against San Francisco for arguing a called third strike. Thome argued briefly with plate umpire Paul Schrieber and was tossed out after he said something on his way toward the dugout. I personally think he said something to the effect, “I stink and I don’t need your stinky calls to show everybody how much I’m stinking out this stinking season.” Thome, sidelined for almost three weeks because of a back injury last month, is batting .209 with two homers and 17 RBIs.

Thome tossed aside a water cooler in the dugout on his way to the clubhouse. I hope he didn’t re-injure his back.

The Phils defeated the Giants in the game, 10-6 on Chase Utley's pinch-hit, two-out grand slam in the 8^th. Jimmy Rollins had four hits, Bobby Abreu (Abreu has reached safely in 23 consecutive games) and Mike Lieberthal had three apiece and the Phillies finished with a season-high 19. The last-place Phillies have won 11 of 17 and are within one game of .500 (26-27) for the first time since April 22.

The Giants have lost six in a row for the first time since August 2003.

Top of the 7^th

BILLY-BALL-A-GRAM - 6/2/2005

Which former 2^nd baseman, born on this date, became the symbol for Yankee mediocrity in the late ‘60s and early ‘70’s?

RARE LOCK ACHE

BILLY-BALL-TRIVIA - 6/2/2005

What Yankee great announced his retirement on this date in 1935 and which Yankee great died on this date in 1941?

Send your answers to Bill@billy-ball.com 

Bottom of the 7^th

BILLY-BALL-A-GRAM ANSWER - 6/2/05

He celebrated his birthday last night.

CZAR SO ABNORMAL

Tuesday, Carlos Zambrano, pitching against the Dodgers allowed just one hit in a game for the third time this season.

BILLY-BALL-TRIVIA-ANSWER - 6/2/05

Can you name the two Rookie of the Year winners from the 1980s who played in the World Series before winning the award?

In 1981, the Dodgers' Steve Sax filled in for the injured Davey Lopes in the World Series. He won the 1982 NL Rookie of the Year Award. In the 1985 World Series, Todd Worrell of the St. Louis Cardinals, pitched in the World Series (remember the infamous blown call by Don Denkinger on which Worrell was covering first?). Worrell went on to become the 1986 NL Rookie of the Year.

Top of the 8^th

DID YOU KNOW?

There are eight players (Bret Boone, Ellis Burks, Eric Davis, Jose Guillen, Glenallen Hill, Rafael Palmeiro, Richie Sexson, Gary Sheffield) who have homered against all 30 big-league teams. Detroit Tigers outfielder Rondell White needs a homer against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays to join that group.

Top of the 9^th

ALOU RECEIVES EXTENSION

The San Francisco Giants extended 70-year old manager Felipe Alou's contract through the 2006 season. Since joining the Giants, Alou has a 214-159 record, and he has won more games over his first two campaigns (191) than any manager in franchise history. Alou hopes to manage long enough to reach 1,000 victories (he has 905) and see the return of Barry B*nds (to the size of a normal human).

The contract was extended through the 2006 season, with a mutual option for 2007. In addition, Alou gets special dispensation for extended hours for the early-bird specials.

Have a great day!

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Wednesday, June 01, 2005

Top of the 1^st

MAY WAS A STRANGE MONTH

But then again, aren’t they all?

May 1 - Standings

American League

East

1. June 1 - Baltimore 31-20 .608

May 1 - Baltimore 16-7 .696 - Can the Orioles stay in first place? Probably not. They’ve lost their catcher, centerfielder and number one pitcher to injuries. Can they stay in contention? Absolutely. Brian Roberts is having a break out season, Miguel Tejada is as valuable a player as there is in baseball, and Ray Miller is a great pitching coach. Lee Mazzilli’s team won’t go away quietly. Soso hasn’t homered since April 24.

2. June 1 - Boston 28-23  .549 3 

May 1 - Boston 12-11 .522 4 - Okay, first no Wells, then no Schilling, but Wade Miller is on his way to becoming the ace of this staff. Tim Wakefield seems to miss Doug Mirabelli, but the knuckleball catcher will be back shortly. Bronson Arroyo will straighten out or become the long reliever. The hitting has been patchy. But they’re in second place, beating the teams they need to beat and Manny has yet to get really hot. In addition, they seem to have been on the road almost all season and this team loves home cooking.

3. June 1 - Toronto 28-24 .538 3½

May 1 - Toronto 13-12 .520 4 - The Jays are actually a very interesting team in that they make things happen and they happen to be hanging tough in this division. I like starting pitcher Gustavo Chacin and manager John Gibbons, but this team will be thrilled to finish third.

4. June 1 - N.Y. Yankees 27-24  .529 4

May 1 - NY Yankees 10-14 .417 6 1/2 - Okay everybody knew they wouldn’t play as bad as they looked in April, they question is are they as good as their hot streak in May? There is not one pitcher on this highly paid starting staff that you can feel confident about when they go on the mound. The rest of the season is filled with a schedule against teams with a better than .500 record and that’s who the Yankees are having their biggest problems.

5. June 1 - Tampa Bay - 19-34 .358 13

May 1 - Tampa Bay 8-16 .333 8 1/2 - Poor Lou, poor, poor Lou, he gets no help from rich, rich owner Vince Naimoli. The good news is that it’s June and there are only how many months left?

Central

1. June 1- Chicago White Sox 35-17 .673

May 1 - Chicago White Sox 17-7 .708 - The White Sox have held first place in the American League Central every day this season and have owned the best record in baseball every day since April 30. As they should, they are back playing real baseball, timely hitting, stealing bases, and solid pitching from Mark Buehrle and Freddy Garcia and especially Jon Garland. Frank Thomas is changing his nickname from the Big Hurt to the Continually Hurt. The White Sox are 17-7 in one-run games this season, 10-3 at home.

2. June 1- Minnesota 29   21 .580 5

May 1- Minnesota 15-8 .652 1 1/2 - Did you know that since the innovation of the Wild Card that there never has been a WC representative from the AL Central? You just have the feeling that Ron Gardenhire and Terry Ryan may end that streak. The Twins starters have thrown six-plus innings in 20 of 21 outings. In case you were curious, that’s a good thing.

3. June 1 - Cleveland 25-25 .500 9

May 1 - Cleveland 9-14 .391 7 ½ - The Tribe is finally finding their stride. I really expected better things from this ballclub and they seem to be turning it around if they can start to hit when it counts. The team ranks near the bottom of the American League in RBIs. Every player deserves a theme song when they come to the plate. For Aaron Boone, it should be “Taps.”

4. June 1 - Detroit 23-26  .469 10½

May 1 - Detroit 11-11 .500 5 - The Tigers need Magglio Ordonez to return from his hernia operation. Ivan Rodriguez said he has a fracture in his right hand, but expects to continue playing despite the injury. I’m not sure that’s a good thing. He should sit for awhile and gain some weight. The team improved yesterday when they sent first baseman Carlos Pena to Toledo and replaced him with Chris Shelton.

5. June 1 - Kansas City 14 -37 .275 20½ -

May 1 - Kansas City 6-18 .250 11 - The Royals may have figured out how to win: fire the hitting coach, hire Buddy Bell to manage, and play the Yankees. However, in spite of their win last night, the Royals have the same record after 51 games that the New York Mets had en route to losing a major league-record 120 games in 1962.

                                                                                                                              

West

1. June 1 - Texas 30-20   .600

May 1 - Texas 12-13 .480 1 1/2 - Are you beginning to get the sense that Buck Showalter actually knows what the **** he’s doing? Kenny Rogers (7-2) won his seventh consecutive start yesterday and lowered his American League-leading ERA to 1.65. Mark Texeira is an All-Star, Gold Glove, and may even an MVP. Ricardo Rodriguez may be their next pitching star, if they ever bring him up from the minors. The Rangers closed the month first in home runs and third in runs and tied for the fewest errors with 25.

2. June 1 L.A. Angels 30-22 .577 1

May 1 Angels 13-11 .542 - The Angels have the lowest team on-base percentage in the majors and really miss Vlad Guerrero. The good news is he should be back in a week or less and they also should be getting K-Rod back in the ‘pen. Steve Finley is still looking awful, Dallas McPherson may finally be adjusting and Casey Kotchman has just arrived. Orlando Cabrera is still my guy at short.

3. June 1 - Seattle 21- 30 .412 9 ½ 

May 1 - Seattle 12-12 .500 1 - Here’s a team that needs to fire their hitting coach, even Ichiro is slumping. They’re hitting .250 with 149 walks and 334 strikeouts.

4. June 1 - Oakland 19-32 .373 11 ½

May 1 - Oakland 12-12 .500 1 - This is the closest this team may be this season. Now let’s see what you have in your money bag of tricks, Mr. Beane. Eric Chavez looks awful (Billy-Ball is being kind).

National League

East

1. June 1 Florida 27-22    .551

May 1 - Florida 14-8 .636 - The more you see this team, the more you like this team, but a bunch of nagging injuries, (Burnett, Castillo, Mota) hamper the team. Their 3.39 ERA is the best in baseball, so why can’t they beat the Pirates?

2. June 1 Atlanta 28-23    .549

May 1 -Atlanta 14-10 .583 1 - Let’s see, Raphael Furcal’s shoulder hurts and he’s struggling. Danny Kolb struggled as a closer, and Raul Mondesi was released. The team has the same On Base Percentage as the Seattle Mariners (.312) and their .249 batting average ranks them 26^th in the majors. Sounds like the Braves locked up another title.

3. June 1 - Washington 27-25 .519 1½ 

May 1 - Washington 13-11 .542 2 - If nothing else this team is exciting. The Nationals are 11-6 in one-run games; they trailed in 17 of their 27 wins. Marlon Byrd has been hot since he joined the team, but Cristian Guzman is hitting an abominable .183. Brad Wilkerson and Jose Guillen have both been effective.

4. June 1 N.Y. Mets 26-26 .500  2½

May 1 - NY Mets 11-13 .458 4 - Somehow, some way, this team will be better than .500 by season’s end, it’s just that nobody knows the way…yet. Anybody want Kaz Matsui? Anybody?

5. June 1 - Philadelphia 25-27 .481 3½

May 1 - Philadelphia 10-14 .417 5 - This team is doing so much better, they are practically at .500, which means they are still not playing as well as the Mets. They have just started their longest homestand of the season, 13 games and if they can do well, they will be able to do battle for third place.

                                                                                                            

Central

1. June 1 - St. Louis 33-18 .647   -

May 1 -St. Louis 15-7 .682 - LaRussa spends his nights thinking about setting the rotation for the playoffs.

2. June 1 - Chi. Cubs 26-24 .520 6½

May 1 - Chicago Cubs 12-11 .522 3 1/2 - Their recent hot streak has gotten them above .500. Whoop-dee-do, I mean, Whoop-dee-done.

3. June 1 - Milwaukee 24-27 .471 9

May 1 - Milwaukee 10-13 .435 5 ½ - Nice to see them doing better but they’re going nowhere.

4. June 1 - Pittsburgh 23-27 .460 9½

May 1 - Pittsburgh 8-14 .364 7- Nice to see them doing better but they’re going nowhere.

5. June 1 - Cincinnati 21-31 .40412½

May 1 - Cincinnati 10-13 .435 5 1/2 - The reds have proven that you don’t need to be cheap to stink.

6. June 1 -Houston 19-32 .373     14

May 1 -Houston 9-13 .409 6 - “Hello, may I please speak to Brian Cashman? What’s it about? Just say “Roger Clemens”. Yes, I’ll hold.”

                        

West

1. June 1 - San Diego 33  -19 .635

May 1 - San Diego 11-13 .458 4 1/2 - San Diego has the National League West lead, thanks to a major league-best 18-4 home record. The bullpen is a major league-best 14-5 and had a 3.30 ERA through Monday. The Padres won a club record 22 games in May. The Padres are an NL-best 13-4 in one-run games.

2. June 1 Arizona 30-22   .577 - 3

May 1 Arizona 14-10 .583 1 1/2 - injuries are starting to effect this team. Troy Glaus is hurting but producing.

3. June 1 - L.A. Dodgers 26-25   .510

May 1 - Los Angeles 15-8 .652 - 6 ½ Leave us not forget this team was 12-2. Leave us forget about this team, for now.

4. June 1 - San Francisco 23-27   .460

May 1 - San Francisco 12-11 .522 3 - Wouldn’t it be great to see this team thrive without the Pain-in-the-*terisk? It’s harder now that they’ve lost Armando.

5. - Post-juice baseball is a different game (read: better game). Watch these Padres on the base paths and watch them generate some runs.
6. June 1 - Colorado 15-35 .300  17

May 1 - Colorado 6-15 .286 8 - The Rockies wake up every morning glad they are not the Royals.

                                                                                                            

Top of the 2^nd

BASEBALL’S BEST RECORDS IN MAY

1. San Diego      22-6  .786

2. Texas             18-7  .720

3. White Sox      18-10 .643

4. Yankees         17-10 .630

5. St. Louis        18-11 .621

6. L.A. Angels    17-11 .607

Top of the 3^rd

YEAH, LIKE THIS WILL HELP

Buddy Bell was hired as manager of the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday, taking over the team with the worst record in the majors. Bell, who was the bench coach for Cleveland, will be the first Royals manager in about two decades with previous experience as a major league skipper. Bell went 345-462 managing Detroit and Colorado.

Top of the 4^th

JUAN GONE AGAIN

Juan Gonzalez's latest comeback lasted three pitches. Gonzalez returned to Cleveland for tests after straining his right hamstring last night in Minnesota. The delicate outfielder, got hurt in the 1^st inning trying to beat out a slow grounder in his first major league at-bat in over a year. He never made it to first base, turning right, dropping his head and heading directly into the Indians' dugout. It's the same hamstring he hurt at the end of spring training.

Top of the 5^th

COMING TO A THEATRE NEAR YOU

On July 22, a remake of the 1976 classic "The Bad News Bears" starring Walter Matthau opens with Billy Bob Thornton playing the cursing, drinking former minor leaguer tapped to coach a horrendous Little League team and lead them to the promised land, where they have to face their arch-rivals, the Yankees. Here's the good news: "School of Rock" helmer Richard Linklater is directing. Here’s the better news: we watched the original the other night ands it still holds up.

Top of the 6^th

WAL-MART DRAFTS

Arizona probably will use the top pick to sign Justin Upton, a high school shortstop from Chesapeake, Va., and the brother of Tampa Bay's B.J. Upton. No. 2 should be University of Nebraska third baseman Alex Gordon, who is hitting around .390 this season. The only problem is that the second pick could command a bonus of almost $4 million and there are rumors that the Royals won't be allowed to spend more than $2 million. KC GM Allard Baird denies this, "Our intention is to get the best available player," Baird said.

"We're not going to go crazy. We're fiscally responsible. But there's a difference to being fiscally responsible and being cheap. We are not cheap."

Allard, there’s also a difference between being cheap and being a fibber, although maybe not in this case.

Top of the 7^th

BILLY-BALL-A-GRAM - 6/1/2005

He celebrated his birthday last night.

CZAR SO ABNORMAL

BILLY-BALL-TRIVIA - 6/1/2005

Can you name the two Rookie of the Year winners from the 1980s who played in the World Series before winning the award?

Send your answers to Bill@billy-ball.com 

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BILLY-BALL-A-GRAM ANSWER - 6/1/05

R.I.P. This Oriole who shares the ML record for fewest errors in a season by a second baseman passed on this date in 1987.

I DREARY JAR - Jerry Adair who holds the ML record (with Bobby Grich and Joe Morgan) for fewest errors in a season by a second baseman (five, in 1964).

BILLY-BALL-TRIVIA-ANSWER - 6/1/05

On May 30, 1956, Mickey Mantle hit a home run that comes within 18 inches of leaving Yankee Stadium, something never accomplished by any major leaguer. Who was the Washington Senator pitcher who gave up this prodigious blast?

In the second game of a doubleheader against the Washington Senators, Mantle hit a pitch from Camilo Pascual The ball was still climbing when it caromed off the upper-stand facade, about 396 feet from home plate. Estimates are that the ball could have traveled more than 600 feet. It was Mantle's 20th home run of the season; no one else has ever hit 20 home runs before June. Mantle also homered in the opener, off Pedro Ramos, with two on as New York sweeps, 4–3 and 12–5.

Mantle’s longest measured blast was hit on April 17, 1953 at Griffith Stadium in Washington, DC. It is his best-known homer and the home run that coined the term "tape measure home run." The pitcher was Chuck Stobbs. It traveled 565 feet and was measured by Yankees' PR Director Red Patterson, who used a measuring tape to determine the exact distance. This was the only ball ever hit that cleared the left-field bleachers at Griffith Stadium in a regular season game in its 32 year history.Top of the 8^th

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DID YOU KNOW?

By winning the last two nights, the Cubs have a 931-930 record against the Dodgers since 1900.

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GOODBYE, GOOD LUCK, AND GOOD RIDDANCE

The Atlanta Braves are the latest team to give up on Raul Mondesi. Mondesi was hitting .211 (30-for-142) with four homers and 17 RBI.

Mondesi entered this season, his 13th in the majors, with a .275 career average, 267 homers and 843 RBI. Mondesi played his first seven seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, making the NL All-Star team in 1995, and hitting at least 30 homers in three consecutive seasons from 1997-99. The Braves were his seventh club.

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Tuesday, May 31, 2005

Top of the 1^st

NOT EXACTLY GROOVIN’ ON A SUNDAY AFTERNOON

Sunday, I was sitting poolside at a graduation party for my wonderful (faux) niece Alyssa and I was talking with the host who is an orthopedic surgeon about the effects of steroids on the human body. Not good. The doctor explained to me that a major side effect of steroid use is avascular necrosis, a disease resulting from the temporary or permanent loss of the blood supply to the  bones. He said simply (knowing who he was talking to) that “avascular” relates to blood and “necrosis” relates to death. Without blood, the bone tissue dies and causes the bone to collapse. If the process involves the bones near a joint, it often leads to collapse of the joint surface.

Although it can happen in any bone, avascular necrosis most commonly affects the ends (epiphysis) of long bones such as the femur, the bone extending from the knee joint to the hip joint. He used Bo Jackson as an example (not though in relation to steroid use). Bo, you may  recall, had his baseball and football career end when he developed avascular necrosis of the hip. In other words, his hip died.

According to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases website, which is helping me remember all the terms the good doctor used, avascular necrosis has several causes, “Loss of blood supply to the bone can be caused by an injury (trauma-related avascular necrosis or joint dislocation) or by certain risk factors (nontraumatic avascular necrosis), such as some medications (steroids), blood coagulation disorders, or excessive alcohol use.”

Having said all that neither the doctor nor I (especially me) has any idea whether B*nds is suffering from avascular necrosis. In addition, I want to make it perfectly clear that my mentioning him in this column is not even to imply any sort of connection. What I was asking the orthopedist about was about the effects of steroids on the human body and if the rash of injuries we have recently seen in baseball seems to be consistent with steroidal use. The answer there was most definitely affirmative. The body, the bones and tendons, often has great difficulty in carrying the added weight and stress put on them from the rapidly expanding muscles.

The doctor has seen this first hand. For a number of springs he has visited (on a personal, not professional level) spring training in Vero Beach. He noted that he watched bodies dramatically increase in size over time and pointed out this year was the first time he saw non-George Costanza-related shrinkage. He told me about going to dinner with a family friend, who is a Dodger prospect, and how the kid explained how many teammates over the years he saw were using “juice.”

I think what was even more distressing to me was his conversation with high school athletes, who would come to see him as patients. He would see these kids over the years and often notice a sudden unusual muscular explosion. He would ask the kid if he were using steroids and the answer was almost always yes. The kid, however, had no idea what he was taking (pills, not injections) and clearly had no understanding of the side effects, although seemed to have a sense of illegality.

All in all, it was a pretty grim conversation. I can tell you this, for those you who can’t see the difference between Whitey Ford scuffing up a ball and Barry B*nds using this stuff and becoming a negative role model for high schoolers, probably also won’t see the difference between taking home a stapler from the office and Enron. I think next Sunday, I’ll just listen to the Rascals sing “Groovin’” and call it a day.

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BIG HURT AGAIN

In his first appearance in a White Sox uniform since breaking a bone in his left ankle last July 6, Frank Thomas strained a hip flexor and left in the 7^th as Chicago beat the Angels, 5-4. Thomas, went 0-for-2 with a walk, and was replaced by Timo Perez, who hit a two-run walk-off single to win the game for Chicago. Thomas said his latest injury wasn't serious, when is it ever, Frank?

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CLEMENS HARRASSED AND HARANGED

Joe Randa homered and had three RBI, and Aaron Harang struck out 10 to help the Cincinnati Reds beat Roger Clemens and the Houston Astros, 9-0. Clemens (3-3) made his first start since last Tuesday when he left after five scoreless innings with a strained right groin. He allowed two runs in eight innings, giving up four hits and a walk while striking out seven. After a single to center by Sean Casey in the third, Clemens retired the next 11 batters in a row and 16 of his last 17.

The Astros were shut out for a league-leading ninth time this season and for the fourth time in Clemens’ 11 starts.

On the subject of 300 game winners, Greg Maddux got his 308th victory and the Cubs moved above the .500 mark for the first time in a month by beating the Dodgers, 5-3. The Cubs have won four straight and have a winning record for the first time since they were 12-11. Maddux (3-3) allowed two runs - one earned - and five hits in six innings to win for the first time in four starts since beating the New York Mets 7-0 on May 10. It was the third consecutive start without a walk for the four-time Cy Young Award winner.

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JAIME IS NUMBER ONE

Jaime Moyer is one of the real good guys in baseball and now he is also the pitcher with the most wins in Seattle Mariner’s franchise history. Last night, Moyer won his franchise-record 131st game for the Mariners, a 4-3 triumph over the Toronto Blue Jays.

"You have to be a little more hardheaded to do it my way," said Moyer, who allowed one run in six innings as he improved to 5-2. "You have to push. You have to have some longevity. You have to stay away from injuries."

Then he knuckled his locker stall: "Knock on wood." That by itself would have put Frank Thomas on the DL.

Randy Johnson had 130 wins for the M’s followed by Freddy Garcia who had 76, Mark Langston 74, Mike Moore 66. Joel Pineiro began the season at No. 2 on the active list -- with 43. Johnson’s win percentage (.637) in Seattle was lower than Moyer's (.652) in roughly the same number of starts -- 266 for Johnson, 277 for Moyer. Overall, Moyer has 197 wins in 517 games. The 42-year-old Moyer (5-2) is 131-70 with Seattle and 197-147 overall. Johnson was 130-74 with Seattle from 1989-98.

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STAYING AND GOING

The White Sox extended manager Ozzie Guillen's contract yesterday, picking up the 2006 option on his contract, adding two more years and including an option for the 2009 season. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

The Kansas City Royals have terminated the contract of Hitting Coach Jeff Pentland and replaced him with minor league hitting instructor Andre David who will take over as hitting coach for the remainder of the season. Heaven forbid, the Royals name a manager and then have him participate in the selection of one of his coaches.

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''BOSTON GANA!"

Juan Pedro "J.P." Villaman, the play-by-play announcer for a Spanish-language radio station that broadcasts Red Sox games died in a car crash early Monday, only hours after broadcasting Boston's win over the Yankees in New York. Villaman was an announcer for the "Spanish Beisbol Network" broadcasts of Red Sox games. Affectionately known to listeners as "Papa Oso," or "Papa Bear," Villaman was also popular with many Hispanic players, "As the Red Sox' popularity in the Latino community surged in recent years - with stars like David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez and Pedro Martinez - J.P. became a star in local and international baseball circles," Red Sox president Larry Lucchino said. One of his signature calls was yelling "Sientate!" or "Sit Down!" when an opposing batter struck out.

Villaman had been announcing Red Sox games since 1995 and to the Hispanic community he was like Russ Hodges because when pitcher Keith Foulke threw the ball to first, sealing the Red Sox's 86-year curse-ending victory in Game 4 of the 2004 World Series, he screamed, ''Boston gana!" (''Boston wins!") into the microphone seven times, so loudly his voice became raspy.

Top of the 7^th

BILLY-BALL-A-GRAM - 5/31/2005

R.I.P. This Oriole who shares the ML record for fewest errors in a season by a second baseman passed on this date in 1987.

I DREARY JAR

BILLY-BALL-TRIVIA - 5/31/2005

On May 30, 1956, Mickey Mantle hit a home run that comes within 18 inches of leaving Yankee Stadium, something never accomplished by any major leaguer. Who was the Washington Senator pitcher who gave up this prodigious blast?

Send your answers to Bill@billy-ball.com 

Bottom of the 7^th

BILLY-BALL-A-GRAM ANSWER - 5/31/05

Happy birthday to this hurtin’ Chi Sox

TANKS OF HARM

Frank Thomas

BILLY-BALL-TRIVIA-ANSWER - 5/31/05

Who was the first Colorado Rockies to hit for the cycle?

Dante Bichette

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DID YOU KNOW?

Hall of Famer Juan Marichal had more complete games (244) than victories (243)

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THE CAN OPENER

The way things are going in Brockton, the Rox may petition the league to officially name their Can-Am League after Dennis “Oil Can” Boyd. Eight years after his last professional appearance, The Can pitched six solid innings in his debut for the Rox allowing two earned runs and seven hits, walking one batter, hitting another and striking out four. Boyd left a 3-3 game after throwing 85 pitches, in the Rox 5-3 loss to the Worcester Tornadoes.

After retiring the first seven Worcester batters, Boyd missed covering first on a grounder in the 3^rd to allow his first hit but started a 1-6-3 double play in the 4^th. He walked to the back of the mound between most pitches, going through his pitch sequence aloud. After getting a double play to escape serious trouble in the 5^th, thrust his arms down in triumph, shouting to himself as he walked off the mound and back to the dugout.

"You asked how far can you stretch out a 45-year-old pitcher? A normal one, not too ... far," Brockton manager Ed Nottle said. "He's not normal."

That’s why he’s always welcome in Billy-Ball-World.

If you are looking for an excellent column on Boyd check out Bill Reynolds, of the Providence Journal - http://www.projo.com/sports/billreynolds/projo_20050531_31rencol.22759f1.html

Have a great day!

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Friday, May 27, 2005

Top of the 1^st

CHICO AND THE MOURN

the first great Venezuelan shortstop, Chico Carrasquel died yesterday at the age of 77. Carrasquel played in the majors from 1950-59 and with Nellie Fox was one of the great double-play combinations for the Chicago White Sox.

"El Chico" was the third Venezuelan to play in the majors following pitcher Alex Carrasquel (no relation) who played for the Washington Senators, in 1939) and first baseman/outfielder Chucho Ramos (also no relation) who played for the Cincinnati Reds, in 1944. But while he was the third Venezuelan, Chico Carrasquel was the first Latin to play in an All-Star game, starting at shortstop for the AL in the 1951 All-Star game at Detroit and singling in his first at-bat off Robin Roberts. Carrasquel was chosen over that year over the reigning MVP, Phil Rizzuto. The second Latin all-star was Minnie Minoso, who ironically pinch hit for Carrasquel in that same game.

His major league career began with the White Sox, where he played shortstop from 1950 to 1955.

Carrasquel would go on to be selected to the All-Star team a total of four times in a career in which he hit .258 lifetime with 55 home runs and 474 RBI.

Carrasquel was originally signed in 1949 by Branch Rickey and the Brooklyn Dodgers, who sold him to the White Sox where he replaced Luke Appling in 1950. He was traded after the 1955 season to Cleveland in a deal for Larry Doby to make room for future Hall of Famer, and fellow Venezuelan, Luis Aparicio, Jr. Carrasquel played for the Indians from 1956 to 1958, the Kansas City Athletics in 1958, and the Baltimore Orioles in 1959.

Those were very different times for Latinos. Carrasquel explained, “Luis Aloma was a pitcher—a Cuban guy—so he spoke English and he helped me, because in those days I didn't understand anything in English.... Today, the Latin players have [translators, etc.]. In those days, in the 40s and 50s, we don't have help. They say, “Go to ****.” Nowadays, you look at the lineup, it's a lot of Latin players, but in those days, what the ****, just one or two, so they say you have to speak English.... They told Hector Rodriguez to speak English and he said, “The only thing I know is, well, if he wants me to talk English, I know how to say ‘Chicago White Sox.’” I played shortstop, he played third base, and all game, what he said was, “Chicago White Sox, Chicago White Sox.” And I said, “Hector, please say something different.” He said, “Chico, they want me to speak English, the only thing I know is ‘Chicago White Sox.’” Nellie Fox, Billy Pierce, Minnie Minoso, they tried to help me and I got along with them real good....”

While Chico struggled in the US, he was a legend in his native Venezuela being a major influence on future countrymen who played Major League Baseball. Last year, before Ozzie Guillen's first home game as manager of the White Sox, three star Venezuelan shortstops threw out ceremonial first balls - Carrasquel, Aparicio and Guillen.

"He and [Omar] Vizquel and Guillen and [Andres] Gallaraga and all those guys, they are legends," said Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano, a countryman of Carrasquel's. "He was so big a name, one of the ballparks in winter ball has his name on it." The Venezuelan Baseball League belatedly honored its native son in 1991, when the Puerto La Cruz baseball park was renamed Chico Carrasquel Stadium.

Cubs catcher Henry Blanco, also a Venezuelan, won't forget him.

"It's sad, not only for me, but for all players from Venezuela," he said. "It's a big loss. He's a big idol in Venezuela and probably here in Chicago too. It's sad for everybody. He made everybody proud of what he did."

I think it’s hard for most of us to imagine the impact a  ballplayer can have on a country, but Carrasquel meant so much to Venezuela. During a nationally televised speech, yesterday, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced that his government had declared two days of mourning for Carrasquel.

"Viva Carrasquel!" Chavez shouted.

We all echo his sentiments.

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SWEEPS

Well, this year’s television season came to a triumphant end Wednesday night marking the end of May sweeps, but baseball’s latest sweeps didn’t end until last night (how is that for a transition Carrie Underwood fans?).

The AL East is remaining compelling, last night Melvin Mora, Rafael Palmeiro and Miguel Tejada homered as the Baltimore Orioles completed a three-game sweep of the Seattle Mariners with a 5-2 victory. The Orioles have won 8 of 11 to move a season-high 14 games over .500 (30-16). Baltimore has won eight in a row at Camden Yards against the Mariners, who have lost six straight and 10 of 11 on the road under former Orioles manager Mike Hargrove. On a down note, lefty Erik Bedard joined starting outfielder Luis Matos and starting catcher Javy Lopez on the DL with a strained knee ligament. Bedard is 5-1, and a 2.08 ERA.

The Toronto Blue Jays beat up Red Sox starter Wade Miller for six runs in the 1^st and then went on to complete a sweep of the Sox with a 8-1 victory. The Red Sox have lost seven of 10.

Alex Rodriguez hit his major league-leading 17th home run as the New York Yankees completed a sweep of the Detroit Tigers with a 4-3 victory. The two-run shot gave him 49 RBI, also tops in the majors and was the 398th home run of his career, tying Dale Murphy for 42nd place on the all-time list. A-Rod needs one homer to tie Al Kaline and Andres Galarraga (399) for 40th place. The win was the Yankees fourth straight and 15th in 17 games.

It has seemingly been cold and rainy all May in this neck of the woods and if that’s the first sign of the apocalypse, then the second is that Tampa Devil Rays swept a series. The Rays and Hideo Nomo defeated Oakland last night, 2-1 to finish off a three game sweep. The loss dropped Oakland (17-29) a season-high 12 games under .500, the farthest the A's have been under .500 since they finished the 1998 season at 74-88.

Kenny Rogers, the 40-year-old Texas Rangers lefty, led his team to an 8-1 victory against the Kansas City Royals and in the process lowered his American League-best ERA to 1.69. Richard Hidalgo homered for the fifth time in five games, and Alfonso Soriano and Mark Teixeira also homered in Texas' sixth straight win. The Rangers have consecutive three-game sweeps at home over last-place teams Houston and the Royals,

Top of the 3^rd

DIAMONDBACKS WERE PEAVED

Last night there was a great match-up between two exciting young teams and two exciting young pitchers. Jake Peavy pitched a two-hitter for his first career shutout, and the San Diego Padres handed Brandon Webb his first loss of the season in a 10-0 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Dave Roberts matched career highs with four hits and four runs batted in (why can’t the Red Sox get players like him?), and Brian Giles and Ryan Klesko homered off Webb. Neither Peavy (5-0) nor Webb (6-1) came away with a decision in two previous meetings this season, but this time Webb allowed nine hits and three walks in his 6-2/3 innings, striking out six. Peavy struck out two, walked none, and needed only 94 pitches (65 strikes) in his first career complete game. He had seven strikeouts or more in eight of his nine previous starts.

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A FIRST FOR OLERUD

Last Monday, longtime major league first baseman John Olerud did something he had never done before, he hit his first minor-league homer. It’s not that Olerud previously had been a bad minor league hitter, Olerud had simply never had been a minor league hitter.

Olerud, a third-round draft pick of the Toronto Blue Jays in 1989, joined the team without ever playing in the minors. He spent the next 16 years in the major leagues, finishing last season by batting .280 in 49 games for the Yankees. However, in recent days he has been rehabbing in the minors following off-season surgery in preparation to joining the Boston Red Sox.

In his third at-bat, Olerud slammed a two-run homer, his first, and most likely his only as Olerud begins his Sox career tonight at Yankee Stadium.

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IN THE DAWG POUND

Rickey Henderson.