Stuff

[DOUGHBOYS]

For those that like many at bats, here are a few hitters who we are comfortable putting in our lineups, but make us uncomfortable when looking at Standings at the end of the week....

Marco Scutaro- 100 at bats, .240/11/0/4/0
Victor Martinez- 99 at bats, .212/5/0/9/0
Dustin Ackley- 94 at bats, .245/10/0/1/0
Placido Polanco, 94 at bats .255/7/0/6/0

From hometown announcer Hawk Harrelson-
"Dunn is starting to heat up and has gotten his average up over the .150 mark "

David Ortiz has a nine game extra base hit hitting streak....

Houston batters lead all of baseball in striking out.
Houston pitchers are 29th of 30 teams in getting strike outs.
Then again, they don't get to face Astros hitters....

Fourteen of 18 times up between the Braves and Nats resulted in a 'three up, three down' inning last night.
The Rays and Royals had four 'three ups, three downs'. All coming at the end of the game..........


For those who love to get hr/sb from a player, thinking the rest of the stats will follow.
I give you BJ Upton..... .138/6/3/5/3

April was a judy month for Dustin Pedroia..... 0 homers, six stolen bases

Mike Napoli has struck out 40 times this year. His owners are happy.
Allen Craig has struck out 20 times this year. His owners are pissed.

Remember the days when Verlander, Kershaw, Strasburg, and David Price were the first four pitchers off every draft board?
Seems so long ago.
Those four 'best' pitchers in baseball have eight wins.
Clay Buchholz has six.

And of those four 'best' pitchers, only Kershaw ranks in the top 10 in strike outs.

Matt Cain has an impressive 32/10 k/bb ratio
Unfortunately, his k/er ratio is 32/25

Just a reminder that Saves are a mix of luck and opportunity....
Mariano Rivera has thrown 11 innings, has 11 Saves, and has not blown a Save
Grant Balfour has thrown 12 innings, has three Saves, and has not blown a Save.......

For team or strength of lineup believers....
Jose Altuve has 39 hits and is hitting .336
Dan Uggla has 14 hits and is hitting .163
Both have scored 12 Runs..........

Wilin Rosario has drawn three bases on balls this year. His owners are happy.
Andre Ethier has drawn 12 bases on balls. His owners are pissed.....

Lucas Duda is second in baseball with 21 walks.
A lot of good that has done his owners.
He has five homers and eight rbi......

Just to put Brandon Belt in perspective.
He hit a home run last night.
It was the first time in his career that Brandon Belt has hit a homer in the month of May.

In 21 innings at home this year, Barry Zito has a .203 baa and has not given up an earned run.
In six innings on the road this year, Barry Zito has a .412 baa and a 14.21 E.R.A.

Ryan Raburn has 16 hits this year. 11 of them have come during the last three days......

Only four players in history have had 11 hits and four homers over a three game span.
Duke Snider, Kirby Puckett, Shawn Green, and now, Ryan Raburn.....

During the course of one game yesterday, Yoenis Cespedes was hit by two pitches, ran through a stop sign by his third base coach, over slid second base on an attempted steal, and slammed down an injured hand.
Cespedes was in the weight room while the Baseball God was handing out 'Baseball Smarts' to players.

Justin Upton has 12 home runs.
So do the Marlins......

The Royals are in first place and they only have 16 homers.....

On paper, the Blue Jays were going to kick ass this year.
They are 30th of 30 teams in hitting just .228 this year.
One point below their trading partners, the desolate Marlins......

What team leads baseball in walks? Doubles? Stolen bases?
Same answer for all three.
The Oakland Athletics.

The Miami Marlins have eight wins.
They have not beaten any team more than once.
Except for the New York Mets.
They've beaten the Mets three times and the Marlins only back to back wins have, of course, come against the Mets.....

[OaktownSteve]

Heya Dan. You like baseball trivia? Hard to imagine you don't. I saw where the Indians signed a guy named Josh Judy. Unfortunately he's a pitcher so he can't be a true "Judy". Anyway, it inspired this question:

Who was the last non-pitcher to win an MVP in a season in which he hit fewer than 10 home runs? (5 points)
Give yourself a bonus point for each other non-pitcher MVP who won in a season with fewer than 10 homer runs.

[DOUGHBOYS]

Heya Dan. You like baseball trivia? Hard to imagine you don't. I saw where the Indians signed a guy named Josh Judy. Unfortunately he's a pitcher so he can't be a true "Judy". Anyway, it inspired this question:

Who was the last non-pitcher to win an MVP in a season in which he hit fewer than 10 home runs? (5 points)
Give yourself a bonus point for each other non-pitcher MVP who won in a season with fewer than 10 homer runs.

The first three names that came to mind were Ichiro, Rose, and Maury Wills.
Ichiro and Rose because they were just so good as singles hitters and Ichiro won everything when first coming here.
Wills was an anti-hero to me during my childhood. I grew up to admire him more and more as time passed.

[OaktownSteve]

Solid Dan. Ichiro. As a side note he is also the current answer to the question who is the last player to win RoY and MVP in that same season. We all know the one before that, right?

Wills is right of course. The other reason I wanted to hit you with this. I read your excellent WIlls stuff. Mickey Cochrane is another. Nellie Fox too. Old timers. I think there are others.

A final one...who was the last switch hitter to win the AL MVP? I'm on an MVP kick.

[DOUGHBOYS]

Solid Dan. Ichiro. As a side note he is also the current answer to the question who is the last player to win RoY and MVP in that same season. We all know the one before that, right?

Wills is right of course. The other reason I wanted to hit you with this. I read your excellent WIlls stuff. Mickey Cochrane is another. Nellie Fox too. Old timers. I think there are others.

A final one...who was the last switch hitter to win the AL MVP? I'm on an MVP kick.

I know this only because of my upbringing in Northern California. It was a favorite 'trick' trivia question and I don't think Eddie Murray won one since.
Vida Blue.

I love trivia, but to tell the truth, I'm not that great at it.
I would get smoked on Baseball Jeopardy or some such show as that. They'd hate me on those shows anyway. Here's a sample of how it would go.

Alex:
The last four triple crown winners....

Contestant, Ron:
Yaz, Miggy, Robby, and The Mick.

Alex:
Oooooh Sorry. No nicknames and you didn't put that in the form of a question.

Dough:
Who are Cabrera, Yaztrzemski, Frank Robinson, and Mickey Mantle?

Alex:
That's right, Dough. Please select.

Dough:
You know, Alex. A funny thing.
Did you know that Mickey Mantle was one of the last 'sleepers' to ever be discovered in baseball?

Alex:
Ok,please select.

Dough:
You see, a Yankees scout saw him play in high school. After the game, the scout went to go talk to him, but was informed that he was only 16. At the time, prospects could not be approached till they were 18 or had graduated the school from which they played.

Alex:
Interesting. Please select, Dough (looking at his watch)

Dough:
Undeterred, the scout went to Mantle's father and made him promise that Mickey wouldn't sign with any other team, that he would be back for him.

Contestant, Ron:
Alex, can I make a pick?

Alex:
No, it is Dough's turn. You have a hard time waiting, don't you, Ron?

Dough:
The elder Mantle kept the promise, and when arriving back in Oklahoma, the scout signed Mantle.
It can't happen nowadays with every high school delivering stats and reports on exceptional players and computers and cell phones even in the wildernesses of the U.S.

Alex:
(rolling his eyes)
Are you finished, Sir?

Dough:
Oh sorry, yeah.

Alex:
Sorry contestants, no time to finish the board. We must move on to Final Jeopardy.
Tonight's category is "Largest Regressions after a rookie year".

Contestant, Ron:
Ooh, OOH, I KNOW!

Alex:
You're jumping the gun, Ron.... again.
Please contestants, write your answer down as we go to the Final Jeopardy music.........

[Edwards Kings]

Dan, when did you grow a beard?

[DOUGHBOYS]

Solid Dan. Ichiro. As a side note he is also the current answer to the question who is the last player to win RoY and MVP in that same season. We all know the one before that, right?

Wills is right of course. The other reason I wanted to hit you with this. I read your excellent WIlls stuff. Mickey Cochrane is another. Nellie Fox too. Old timers. I think there are others.

A final one...who was the last switch hitter to win the AL MVP? I'm on an MVP kick.

Mickey Cochrane....
I should have mentioned him. It was incredible that he defeated Gehrig for MVP. Anybody who wants to can go back and look at the numbers of that year and be amazed that Gehrig did not even finish in the top 4 in voting that year.
It was a different era though, and Cochrane leading the Tigers to a pennant while player/Manager was thought to be worth more than the sheer numbers that Gehrig produced.

[DOUGHBOYS]

I also remember Nellie Fox. Anybody that's seen a baseball card of him was probably amazed at the size of chewing tobacco he could get in his mouth. Incredible really.
Anybody got a picture of one of his cards?
Anyway, Fox was known for hardly ever striking out. He used a 'bottle bat'.
I don't even know if they make 'em anymore. It was a bat whose handle was almost as thick as the barrel. It was used by hitters like Fox in using the bat more as an instrument or baton than a weaon. Fox could easily manuever the bat to hit foul balls or balls to the right side that were perfect for hit and run plays. And there were plenty of opportunities for hit and runs with Luis Aparicio hitting in front of him.
Baton wielders of today, like Pierre or Polanco do not compare to Fox.

[Edwards Kings]

[OaktownSteve]

That's terrific stuff, Dan and Wayne. Dan, I think that you probably are real good at baseball trivia with your knowledge of the history of the game. It's not your fault most people do trivia wrong. Who led the NL in triples in 1996? That kind of thing is no fun. You either have it memorized or you don't. A really good trivia question takes some craft. There should be enough there that a real good baseball fan like yourself can at least get some of it.

A classic questions for instance: There has been a back to back MVP winner at each of the 9 positions. Name them. Because you're talking back to back MVPs, you know you're going to have name recognition (mostly HOFers). And you can go position by position and make some reasonable guesses. You might not get them all. And somebody good will give you hints on the once you can't guess.

I also like to write 'em so they are progressive...a little more information in each segment. Example: Who am I? I am one of 4 players with at least 500 home runs and 3000 hits. One of two players with 20 consecutive seasons of 15 homers or more. I was a 1977 Rookie of the Year. I am the all time modern leader in put outs. Sports columnist David Ginsburg said of me, "(His) bust in Cooperstown will chatter only slightly less than the man himself."

Questions about active players are fun too. Players everybody has heard of and fresher information. For instance, with Andruw Jones and Jim Thome unsigned, there are only 5 active players with a 50 homer season their resume. A couple are more obvious than others.

[Glenneration X]

A classic questions for instance: There has been a back to back MVP winner at each of the 9 positions. Name them. Because you're talking back to back MVPs, you know you're going to have name recognition (mostly HOFers). And you can go position by position and make some reasonable guesses. You might not get them all. And somebody good will give you hints on the once you can't guess.

I love this type of trivia so I'm going to give it a try. I just only started my second cup of coffee and my memory's starting to go in my old age, so please bare with me this morning....

P - I'm pretty sure it's that Detroit pitcher during WWII. I know he won a pair and I'm pretty sure it was back to back. His name's escaping me a bit, but I believe it was Newhouser.

C - Yogi - 50/50 on this one. I know he won 3 and Campy won 3 during the same 5 year period. One of them won every other year. It's a flip of a coin.

1B - This one's tougher than I thought it would be. I'll come back to it.

2B - Joe Morgan - The first one so far I'm positive I have right.

SS - Ernie Banks? - I know he won a pair, not sure if they were back to back and if he was still a SS at the time.

3B - Schmidt - Again, positive on this one.

OF - Bonds, Maris.....those two came to me right away. I guess I'll put them in left and right field. Having trouble with the CF though. Mays won a pair but in different decades. I don't think Mantle's were back to back. Dale Murphy, just came to me. I'm pretty sure he played CF for the Bravo's.

Back to 1B - I just can't think of it. Pujols? Was his back to back?

[OaktownSteve]

Glenn you did really well. It is Yogi. Morgan and Banks are right. Schmidt yes, Bonds and Maris and Murphy too. There are actually 3 at first base. You got one in Fat Albert 2008-2009. Mantle did actually go back to back in 56-57. Jimmy Foxx is another one of the first basemen. The other 1st baseman, I'll give you some hints:

All time home run leader among players born in Georgia. One of 4 players with at least a .300 average, 500 home runs, 1500 rbis, 1000 runs and 1500 walks. Only player in MLB history to hit .300, 20 HRs, 100 runs, 100 rbis, and draw 100 walks in 7 consecutive seasons. Retired at the all time leader in home runs as a DH (since passed by Ortiz). Played football and baseball in the SEC in college.

[Glenneration X]

Glenn you did really well. It is Yogi. Morgan and Banks are right. Schmidt yes, Bonds and Maris and Murphy too. There are actually 3 at first base. You got one in Fat Albert 2008-2009. Mantle did actually go back to back in 56-57. Jimmy Foxx is another one of the first basemen. The other 1st baseman, I'll give you some hints:

All time home run leader among players born in Georgia. One of 4 players with at least a .300 average, 500 home runs, 1500 rbis, 1000 runs and 1500 walks. Only player in MLB history to hit .300, 20 HRs, 100 runs, 100 rbis, and draw 100 walks in 7 consecutive seasons. Retired at the all time leader in home runs as a DH (since passed by Ortiz). Played football and baseball in the SEC in college.

Hmmm Steve. All your clues have my brain headed in the wrong directions.....

Georgia makes me think of Cobb, but of course he never DH'd (nor came even close to 500 HR's).
Greatest DH makes me think of Edgar, but he never won an MVP.
Playing football and baseball in the SEC makes me think of Bo, but of course....nada.

Think, think......DH means American League and that he at least played as late as the 70's and well into the 70's if he was the all-time leader.

Not Eddie Murray, jeez. Ahhhhhhhhhh.......finally came to me. Frank Thomas.
Jeez, tough one. Very tough.

By the way, didn't Juan Gonzales win back to back one time as well?

[OaktownSteve]

Not Eddie Murray, jeez. Ahhhhhhhhhh.......finally came to me. Frank Thomas.
Jeez, tough one. Very tough.

By the way, didn't Juan Gonzales win back to back one time as well?

Juan Gon won 2 in 3 years but not back to back. Had to look it up.

It was a tough one but to me that's what makes a good trivia question. There's enough information that you can puzzle it out, but you have to think.