We sit just two weeks in front of the Major League Baseball non-waiver trade deadline, which occurs on July 31. Already, we have seen one ace (Cliff Lee) get dealt to a new team, and there are several more arms that could be traded before 4:00 pm on the 31st.
And tonight, all of those pitchers are on the mound for their current teams. Could this be the last starts for their respective clubs? Will these starts act as auditions? Only time will tell.
Believe it or not, the season is half over. Interleague play is over. And now, we have officially reached the All-Star break.
That means, it is time for teams to decide if they are buyers or sellers as we approach the trade deadline. It is also time to hand out 2010 mid-season awards.
These are imaginary awards—not real by any means. But if the season were to end today, these are the men I feel would receive the following accolades.
One of the game’s all-time greats called it a career on Wednesday. Ken Griffey Jr. officially announced his retirement, according to MLB.com, after 22 years in the game. Junior exits the game ranked fifth all time with 630 home runs, sitting behind only Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, and Willie Mays.
Griffey, who’s father Ken played 19 seasons himself, was drafted with the first overall pick in the 1987 First-Year Player Draft. Since then, he’s become an instant legend. He’s a 10-time Gold Glove winner and has won seven Silver Slugger awards.
Highlights of him making eye-popping catches in the spacious center field of the old Kingdome will continue to roll for generations to come. And his majestic left-handed swing is one of the prettiest and most gracious swing in the game.
Junior, almost guaranteed as a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer, played the majority of his career with the Seattle Mariners. He came up with the M’s in 1989, and was a fixture in center, including his 1997 MVP season.
He was traded to the Reds prior to the 2000 season for Mike Cameron and Brett Tomko. But his career went in the wrong direction as he began his career in Cincinnati.
Injuries were a big part of his days with the Reds. He managed to play over 140 games in his first and last full seasons in Cincy. But the seasons in between were a dark time for The Kid. Altogether, he averaged 110 games played between 2000-2008 (he spent the last half of the ’08 season with the White Sox).
A myriad of maladies limited his ability to help the Reds, including: a strained left hamstring, a torn tendon in his right knee, a torn right hamstring, a dislocated right shoulder, a right ankle injury, a sprained right foot, arthroscopic knee surgery, and a dislocated toe (just to name a few).
But Griffey persevered throughout those tough years, and still managed to hit 30 home runs in three separate seasons as a member of the Reds.
He returned home to Seattle before the 2009 season, when he hit 19 home runs for the Mariners. But 2010 has been a struggle for the career .284 hitter. He failed to hit a single long ball, and drove in just seven runners while batting a career-low .184 (not to mention a trip to dreamland in the clubhouse during a Mariners’ game).
But in an era that has been tainted by steroids and human growth hormones, Griffey remains one of the few players whose name has never been linked to any kind of performance enhancers. His name and face are as recognizable to the world as Michael Jordan and Mickey Mouse.
His career stats now look something like this: 630 home runs, 1836 RBI, a .284 batting average, 184 stolen bases, 2,781 hits, and a .370 on-base percentage. Barring some strange aberration, we should be seeing Griffey’s acceptance speech into Cooperstown in five years from now. Griffey leaves behind a lifetime of accolades, highlights and memories that will live on for many more years to come.
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Baseball is a grueling, unforgiving sport. But, injuries are part of the game, right? Tell that to these guys.
Here are some recent baseball players whose promising careers (all were first-round draft picks) were either cut short or have become less than glamorous due to injuries. These are the guys you almost have to feel sorry for, as their lack of
The New York Mets are in first place. What’s that? Didn’t hear me? Ok…THE METS ARE IN FIRST PLACE. How’s that? And what might be even more eyebrow-raising is that the Phillies are in third place!
So, as we flip the calendar to the merry month of May, we look back on the New York Mets’ roller coaster ride through month of April.
The Mets began the season in grand fashion. Johan Santana was vintage as they cruised to an easy 7-1 victory over the Florida Marlins. But for the next 2-3 weeks, the good times stopped rolling. They lost the remainder of that series to the Fish, and managed to win just three of their next nine games.
They did manage to win a game that was the equivalent of over two games. On April 17, they defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 2-1 after playing 20 innings at Busch Stadium. That victory may have been the turning point in the Mets’ young 2010 season.
Though they did not win the next game against the Cards, they came home to Citi Field after that series and took two of three from the Cubs. That series opened a new chapter in Mets history, as top prospect Ike Davis made his Major League Debut on April 19. And has he ever been a sparkplug for the Mets.
In his debut, Davis went 2-4 with an RBI as the Mets defeated the Cubs 6-1. It was their 4-0 win the next night that prompted Cubs’ manager Lou Piniella to move the struggling Carlos Zambrano to the bullpen.
The Mets continued their pivotal home-stand against the division-rival Atlanta Braves. And all they did was sweep the Braves in the three-game series, outscoring them 9-3 in the process. The Mets then went on to complete a three-game sweep of the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers, thereby propelling the New York Mets into first place in the National League East.
That’s right, I said “first place” and “the New York Mets” in the same sentence.
Going into Friday night’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies, the Mets were 1/2 game in front of the Phils for tops in the division. And the Mets capped off the first month of the season with a 9-1 rout of the Phillies, in what was likely the Mets’ best game of the season.
The Mets became just the fourth team in history to be as many as five games out of first place, only to reach first place in the same month. They join the 1982 San Diego Padres, the 1989 Mets, and the 2007 San Francisco Giants as the only teams to accomplish this feat. The Mets were five games back as recently as April 16, and now sit 1 1/2 games in front of the Washington Nationals for first place.
Yes, that is correct. The Washington Nationals (not the Phillies) are currently in second place in the NL East. Looks like the injury bug is contagious, and the 2009 Mets seemed to have passed it on to the 2010 Phillies, as injuries to Brad Lidge, Joe Blanton, Jimmy Rollins, and Ryan Madson have made the Phillies look, if nothing else, vulnerable.
So just how did the Mets become the division’s best team in just two weeks?
Terrific starting pitching, spotless bullpen efforts, and big time hitting—all the ingredients to a winning ball club.
Mike Pelfrey has been the happiest story so far. The kid from Wichita has finally showed his potential. Pelfrey, drafted in the first round in the 2005 draft, has shown glimpses of his talent but never really broke out. After going 4-0 with a 0.69 ERA, Pelfrey has been a big reason for the Mets’ success to start the 2010 season.
Santana has been, well, Santana. Jonathon Niese, who pitched a sparkling game against the Phils Friday night, is showing that he belongs in the major leagues for good. Even Oliver Perez and John Maine have had some good moments so far.
The bullpen has arguably been the most consistent aspect of the 2010 Mets.
Jenrry Mejia and his 1.64 ERA has been a true bright spot for the Mets so far. Whether he stays in the bullpen or gets inserted into the rotation remains to be seen. Pedro Feliciano has gone from left-handed specialist to 8th inning set-up man, and Francisco Rodriguez has been solid, despite not getting his first save of the season until April 22.
Japanese imports Ryota Igarashi and Hisanori Takahashi have been plesant surprises for the team as well.
The Mets offense, which had been anemic to start the year, got a major boost when Davis was inserted into the sixth slot in the order. The Mets also received dividends from Jerry Manuel’s longtime plan to move Jose Reyes to the third spot in the order. The move took place when the Mets welcomed the Braves to Citi Field and since then they have not lost a game.
Reyes is now hitting in front of Jason Bay and David Wright, and both have seen their offensive game wake up since the shakeup. And just think: Carlos Beltran is still missing from their lineup (he’s not due back until sometime around the All-Star Break, recovering from offseason knee surgery).
So, in the span of about three weeks, manager Jerry Manuel went from being on the hot seat, to being on the throne of the NL East. The Mets face their biggest test of the early season on Saturday, as they go up against Roy Halladay. Mike Pelfrey takes the ball for the Mets, and even though it’s only May 1, the result of this game could swing the pendulum far in one direction.
April showers might have brought May flowers, but they have also brought the Mets the NL East lead. Only time will tell how long they are able to hold that lead.
Stay tuned!
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