Baseball. Blogging. Whenever.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Not so fast on that McGwire statue


Yesterday I wrote that the Cardinals should put that Mark McGwire statue they had made out with all of the other statues of Cardinal greats.

A couple of hours later, the post was linked by the Birdsonthebat forum, and a discussion ensued. Granted we're dealing with a small, self-selecting sample size here, but I have to admit that I was surprised at just how forcefully the participants in that conversation came out against having McGwire's statue join the others. A couple of sentiments that, by in large, were representative of the group:

What McGwire did for baseball was exemplary. He and Sammy Sosa brought baseball back. Everybody was on roids so who cares. With that said, he should NOT have a statue out there.

545 games played in a Cardinal uniform. Only two seasons of 100+ games. It takes more than two seasons to earn a statue.

No way. I like McGwire, but I wouldn't even retire his number. The statues should be reserved for the best of the best. Albert's will be there someday, but not Mac's. Who knows...if Molina has a lengthy career as a Cardinal and continues to improve his offense, perhaps he might even be there in the future.

Well, maybe the Molina sentiment isn't representative, but that's the overall tenor of things.

Maybe this is yet another instance of the passage of time messin' with my mind, but I seem to remember there being a far greater amount of admiration for McGwire back in the day, and that would hold even if you controlled for the steroids business. Is it possible that this is one of those rare instances in which a guy got a considerably greater amount of love from the national press than the locals? Steroids disclaimers aside, is it a matter of the steroids thing looming larger in Cardinals' fans mind than they care to admit? Have I simply underestimated just how high an honor Cardinals fans consider their ring of statues to be? Because I'll admit, I just assumed it was a nice little honor as opposed to the Great Big Important honor these posters are implying it is.

Maybe all of those things are at work. I don't really know. I just find it pretty interesting.
Posted by Craig Calcaterra at 2:47pm (9) Comments

Deep Thought


Cecil Cooper may soon be on double secret probation or something:

Astros manager Cecil Cooper received a call Tuesday from baseball disciplinarian Bob Watson, who will review Cooper’s conduct after he was ejected Saturday by plate umpire Mike DiMuro.

According to Cooper, Watson told him DiMuro wrote in his incident report that Cooper kicked dirt at him during an argument that occurred after DiMuro tossed Ivan Rodriguez in the eighth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Minute Maid Park.

“He did tell me he was going to review it again and look for something,” Cooper said of Watson. “The umpire reported that I did something.”

Maybe I'm just blowing a couple of long-ago, isolated, videotaped incidents out of proportion, but didn't it used to be pretty routine for managers to kick dirt during an argument with the ump? I'm not saying doing so is a good thing -- it's really disrespectful when you think about it -- but I don't recall it being a matter of special discipline.

I'm going to blame Pete Rose for making this a bigger deal than it used to be. If he doesn't cross the line and shove Dave Pallone, I think we'd have much more exciting manager-umpire arguments these days.
Posted by Craig Calcaterra at 2:17pm (9) Comments

I guess it beats steak knives


I got somethin’ for you! This watch I got here was first purchased by your great-granddaddy. It was bought during the First World War in a little general store in Knoxville, Tennessee. It was bought by private Doughboy Erine Coolidge the day he set sail for Paris . . .

Albert Pujols could show off a new watch and a lower back bruise Monday. He was proud of the first and understanding of the second.

Pujols earned his ninth NL Player of the Week Award of a nine-year career Monday. He received the timepiece in return for hitting .450 (nine for 20) with three home runs, 11 RBIs, seven runs scored and three stolen bases. Pujols, still impressed by such recognition, will receive a specially engraved watch as part of the award. It will go into a trophy case next to his eight other timepieces.

"I think the same of each one," Pujols said of the awards. "I want to win one this week again."

I find it astounding that Albert Pujols has only been named Player of the Week nine times in nine years. As La Russa says in the article, he could have been named 19 times. I also find it odd that they give gold watches for Player of the Week awards, but as I sit and think about it, I'm not sure what else they could give.

Loving cup? No one gives out loving cups anymore.
Posted by Craig Calcaterra at 1:57pm (4) Comments

Great Moments in Redundancy


From the New York Post:

Interesting (but not exactly surprising) sight this morning at Citi Field: The Mets New York Mets have struggling left-hander Oliver Perez on the mound throwing live batting practice to several of their top hitters, including David Wright and Ryan Church Ryan Church

Given that he essentially threw BP to the Nationals, Cardinals and Reds already this year, it seems like overkill to me.

Posted by Craig Calcaterra at 12:50pm (3) Comments

The Nats players want Strasburg


The Nationals probably know that they'll hear it from their fans if they fail to draft and sign Stephen Strasburg. From the sounds of it, they'll probably hear it from their players too:

The Nationals have the first pick in the June draft, so Strasburg can be theirs. All they have to do is take him -- and then pay the price.

What's interesting is that the Nationals' players seem more interested in how hard Strasburg throws than in how much money he wants. On a team with a $60 million payroll, a team where no player is making more this year than the $8 million the Nats are paying Dunn, there seems to be little or no resentment for a guy who might want as much as $50 million before throwing his first professional pitch.

"I don't care," rookie pitcher Jordan Zimmermann said. "It's not my money" . . . "If he's as good as everyone says, it makes sense to sign him," Dunn said. "If he's as good as everyone says, it's a no-brainer. He could probably be here in August."

The way the Nats will blow the Strasburg thing is if they think it's about money. But contrary to what a good friend of mine says, this time, it's not about the money, stupid. It's about credibility. Can the Nats prove to their fanbase that they're worth the financial and emotional investment? Can they prove to their own players and other players around the league that they're a credible bidder for their services? Strasburg could end up getting injured or being a bust or both, and if that happens, it will certainly hurt. But nowhere near as much as not bringing him into the fold would hurt this team.
Posted by Craig Calcaterra at 12:34pm (11) Comments

My Morning in Exile


Bad morning with several phony work emergencies, so I only got four jabs in over at NBC:

  • Barry Bonds is done playing baseball, so just cut it out.


  • Let's hear it for Rule 10.17(b)!


  • It's probably good that the MLB Network is going to broadcast the draft in prime time, but they should probably be careful.


  • Finally, the key to Barry Zito regaining his Cy Young form? Twittering.


    • There's a sandwich in my immediate future. Then back to the grind.
    Posted by Craig Calcaterra at 11:51am (2) Comments

    And That Happened


    Yankees 11, Tigers 0: The motto of the Yankees' bullpen after seeing the Tigers' bullpen in action: "I cried because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet." Speaking of bullpens, Phil Hughes started and threw six shutout innings which, if I understand New York thinking, means that we should all now be agitating for him to be sent to the bullpen too, right?

    White Sox 2, Mariners 1: This one was done in 1 hour, 52 minutes. It's almost as if these guys knew they had to play two last night and wanted to get the first one out of the way early. Makes you wonder what's in the mind of the players in those ugly four hour Yankees-Red Sox games.

    Mariners 9, White Sox 1: This one wasn't terribly long either (2:32), though the game didn't end soon enough for White Sox batters who had to face King Felix (8 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 9K) and White Sox pitchers who had to face Yuniesky Betancourt (4-5, HR, 5 RBI).

    Phillies 7, Nationals 1: Cole Hamels must have gotten a hold of that taboo tiki from the Brady Bunch Hawaii episode, because nothing is going right for him. He was nailed with a line drive his last time out. Last night he was absolutely cruising, allowing four hits and two walks through 4 1/3 scoreless innings, when he tripped while trying to field a bunt in the fifth. Looks like a sprained ankle. As for the Nationals, hey, at least no one blew a save in this one.

    Indians 9, Red Sox 8: And thus endeth the winning streak. After some seriously shaky pitching from both starters, things remained more or less quiet before Mark DeRosa's homer in the seventh tied it up and Javier Lopez's error in the ninth allowed DeRosa to score the winning run. Papelbon had pitched in three of the previous four games and thus wasn't available, or else you'd have to figure that he would have been in there over Lopez. Oh, and my Tony Sipp crush continues, as the Indians' rookie reliever strikes out three guys over the seventh and eighth innings.

    Braves 2, Cardinals 1: I'm not sure what was more unlikely here: that the Braves staged a rally (such as it was) with two outs, or that the rally was sustained by a Jeff Francoeur walk.

    Astros 8, Reds 3: Wandy Rodriguez continues to string some really nice starts together, this time giving up one run on five hits in seven innings. Nice support from Zombie-Rod, who hit a homer and an RBI double.

    Angels 7, Orioles 5: Joe Saunders allowed ten hits but only two earned runs. Under union rules, I am therefore obligated to say that he "scattered" them. Adam Eaton, on the other hand, turned back into a pumpkin following his inexplicably good last start. Nick Markakis extended his hitting streak to 15 games. I'd like to see him exceed 56, simply because I'd like to see someone write a song with multiple rhymes for "Markakis."

    Marlins 7, Mets 4: In losing seven straight after winning seven straight, the Marlins reminded me of those streaky 1987 Brewers who opened the season with a 13-game winning streak that was quickly followed with a 12-game losing streak. Sue me. I'm old. Anyway, Jorge Cantu put an end to the losing by homering twice and driving in five, but if the Fish remain half as interesting as the 1987 Brewers were, it should be a fun season. At least as long as no one else pretends to be the 1987 Tigers or Blue Jays.

    Rangers 5, A's 4: The A's lost Nomar, Mark Ellis, and Brett Anderson to injuries over the course of the game. Maybe Hamels gave the tiki to them.

    Twins 4, Rays 3: For Minnesota the win was nice, but seeing Francisco Liriano pitch relatively well (6.2 IP, 7 H, 2 ER) was probably nicer.

    Brewers 6, Pirates 5: For all of Ryan Braun's pregame bluster, no one got plunked, and Braun let his bat do the talking after things got underway (2-4, 2B 2 RBI).

    Blue Jays 8, Royals 1: Worse than Gil Meche not being particularly effective was the reason why: lower back stiffness which caused him to leave the game in the fourth. To the extent the "Royals are frisky" talk still has any life to it is based on an assumption that Gil Meche will be a solid number two starter all year. If he's gone, forget it.

    Padres 4, Rockies 3: Luis Rodriguez had a pinch hit single in the ninth to seal it.

    Cubs 11, Diamondbacks 3: Carlos Zambrano was only a triple short of the cycle and, oh yeah, he pitched a little too (7 IP, 8 H, 3 ER). Geovany Soto, who is hitting only .119 and who allowed five stolen bases on Monday, sat in favor of Koyie Hill.

    Dodgers 5, Giants 3: The Giants played really poorly -- they walked nine guys and played bad defense, yet somehow still found themselves tied with L.A. entering the ninth inning. Then Manny hit a double and scored what would prove to be the winning run when Andre Ethier doubled two batters later. Matt Kemp added some whipped cream an RBI triple.
    Posted by Craig Calcaterra at 5:43am (9) Comments