All Good Things Come to an End
Dallas Braden threw a perfect game a while ago – you heard about that right? On Thursday he pitched a strong game allowing one run over six innings, but he had to be removed after 83 pitches because of some concern over his forearm, and he was awarded a no-decision when the bullpen blew the game. Braden hasn’t won a game in seven starts since his perfect game on May 9th.
Adam Dunn has at least two hits in 11 of his last 21 games, and now he is batting .288. Dunn has never hit higher than .267 in a season, and owns a .251 career mark, so you know the average is going to regress moving forward, but he will continue to draw walks and blast balls into the seats. What is that saying again? Oh yeah, chicks dig the long ball.
It might officially be time to jump off the John Ely train. He was tattooed for seven runs in 4.2 innings on Thursday by the Reds. That’s 3-straight starts of at least four earned runs allowed (none lasting more than five innings), and in those three outings his ERA is 9.20.
Travis Hafner will not play for 9-straight games in interleague play because he simply cannot play defense with his bum shoulder. Talk about a way to screw up a guys swing. Reason number 8,729 why interleague play is a bad idea. Reason number 8,730? A team like the Rockies has to use a guy like Chris Iannetta at the spot when he is hitting .179.
Speaking of that Rockies game, Ubaldo Jimenez is flat out filthy. He tossed another eight innings of 1-run ball on Thursday to lower his ERA slightly to 1.15. Dude is scary good right now.
Who doesn’t wish they were me? I might see Rick Springfield in concert tomorrow night. I might take my VHS camera to record the event so I can play it on my huge 26 inch television.
Chipper Jones might retire at the end of the 2010 season. (1) Big shock. How can anyone be surprised when he’s hitting .234 with an OPS that doesn’t even hit .750? (2) Why is it such a big story that he might hang them up? Until he announces that he is retiring everyone should let it go.
Sorry Mike Lowell. It seems like you may never end up being traded. The Red Sox can’t seem to find a fit with either the Twins or the Rangers as both clubs aren’t willing to give up a player of quality unless the Red Sox shoulder a lot of the money Lowell is owed.
Randy Wells allowed just two runs to the A’s over seven innings on Thursday. I’m no pitch Nazi, in fact I have no idea why pitchers today, with all our medical and training advances, can’t throw more frequently than in the past, but letting a guy throw 130 pitches in a game, which the Cubs did today with Wells, has proven to be rife with danger. Look for him to breakdown or in the least to see his production regress in his next few starts.
And finally, Darin Erstad has retired. One of my favorite players because of his all-out, never quit attitude, Erstad’s body betrayed because he flung it around with such reckless abandon. He ends his career with 1,697 hits and a .282 career average, but he will always have a place in the hearts of those that played fantasy baseball back in 2000. That year Erstad made the All-Star team, won a Gold Glove, and a Silver Slugger award on his way to an 8th place finish in the AL MVP race. Erstad lead the league in at-bats (676) and plate appearances (747), as he rapped out a league leading 240 hits. All told he hit .355 with 25 homers, 100 RBI, 121 runs scored and 28 steals in one of the most complete fantasy season in recent memory as he produced one of only two seasons in the history of baseball of .355-25-100-120-25 (the other was by Larry Walker in 1997 when he hit .366 with 49 homers, 130 RBI, 143 runs and 33 steals). Via Con Dios my friend.
By Ray Flowers
