My Morning in Exile

Given the dearth of interesting stuff to write about so far today, I can only assume that baseball writers followed most of baseball’s lead and took yesterday off. After I grab some lunch I’ll start digging, however. I’m sure we’ll find some fun stuff to talk about yet today. For now:

  • Francoeur: is he worth a kick to the groin, or would we have to throw something else in too?
  • Baseball should be lauded for doing its best to get replay right. Not that I don’t have a couple of suggestions about how to improve things.
  • Dropping Big Papi in the lineup? Big deal. Let’s see how the Red Sox handle benching or releasing the guy.
  • No one paid attention to Yaz’s triple crown at the time? Really?
  • Finally, Greg Zaun probably owns “Moving Pictures” in at least three formats, and I’m guessing four or five.

  • 7 Comments
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    Silver King
    14 years ago

    “though I think the window will be closing on Pujols’s chances fairly quickly”

    Could you elaborate on that?

    Craig Calcaterra
    14 years ago

    I don’t mean to suggest he’s in a decline phase. Just that the hyper-peak may be over soon, and that it would not surprise me at all if sometime in the next year or two he settles into a grove of hitting slightly fewer homers with a slightly lower batting average than he has riped off these past few seasons, and that’s not conducive to winning a triple crown.

    For example, he hit .357 last year. It wouldn’t shock me at all if he never hit that again and instead settled into a .310-.330 range until he really does go into decline. That’s still MVP territory, but in most years it’s not batting title territory.

    Also, as Sara has noted, the guy is getting IBB’d at near-Bonds levels recently. That could very well raise the batting average, but it could also lower the RBI and home run chances.

    Craig Calcaterra
    14 years ago

    Just checked—the NL batting leader has been lower than .330 only once in the last 20 years (Terry Pendelton, 1991). Pujols has had two years in the .350s but for his career is at .334.

    Silver King
    14 years ago

    Thanks.

    Tony A
    14 years ago

    Re Yaz’s 3 crown.  As I recall, it was not initially considered as such because he had not won all 3 titles outright, but rather had been tied in HRs, same as Joe Medwick, who up til then had not been considered a triple crown winner.  The public outcry was such (he WAS very popular) that the “rules” changed, to his benefit (and Medwick’s) thereafter.  It was a long time ago, and I was stationed in Germany where it was hard to follow BB, but I think that’s what happened…

    Richard Dansky
    14 years ago

    I thought it officially had to be referred to as “seminal Rush album Moving Pictures” from henceforth?

    Angelos
    14 years ago

    owns “Moving Pictures” in at least three formats, and I’m guessing four or five.

    You say this like it’s a bad thing!