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Friday, August 13, 2004 |
Pickoff Moves
Yet another edition of this infamous column. I'm awake, it's 5:05 AM, and there's nothing I'd rather do than share some of these great baseball-releated stories with you, several coming from Baseball Think Factory's Primer --
Japanese Baseball Players Vote To Strike
Japanese baseball players overwhelmingly voted to strike to prevent the contraction of the Japanese leagues. "[Up] to 100 players and team personnel could lose their jobs" if the contraction goes through. There's more info on this at japanbaseball.com. It's probably a look ahead to what awaits the U.S. majors once somebody finally gets serious about contraction.Little League Contraction
On a smaller scale: Little League's having a hard go of it, losing kids' interest to faster-paced sports. By the article's estimates, baseball is now sixth behind basketball and lacrosse, losing 27% of amateur players.Gary Sheffield Considers Retirement
Wouldn't it be nice. There's a lot of Yankees that aren't worth hating, but Sheffield is a jerk no matter whose uniform he's got on.In a sometimes rambling, sometimes riveting interview before the Yankees beat the Texas Rangers, 4-2, Sheffield, 35, spoke about the possibility that he would retire after the season because of chronic pain in his shoulder.While the Yankees have officially said that Sheffield has bursitis, it is known that he also has a damaged acromioclavicular joint. When the joint is disrupted, it results in a separated shoulder.
Chemistry Class
You’ve got a chemistry class I want a piece of your mindLet's get this straight: the Cubs are sputtering because Dusty makes bad lineup card decisions, Mark Prior hasn't returned to form, Sammy Sosa's slumping, and the freshness date on Moises Alou has expired, but the team's not losing because of chemistry. Must be nice to have that power-hitting lineup, guys. Next we'll hear about heart and soul transplants. Geesh. One thing I will give him, though: Prior isn't his old self, and while normally I'd be concerned if the Dodgers were going to see him, this year I'm more worried we won't.
You don’t know what you started when you mixed it up with mine
Are you ready for the final solution?-- Elvis Costello
Dreifort Fall Down, Go Boom
The real problem isn't Dreifort, it's Penny. Move Alvarez into that eighth inning slot and we're fine. First we've gotta get him out of the rotation.September Already?
The Times mentions the usual suspects for a September callup -- Kotchman, and super-suspect Halter (.288/.365/.455 at Salt Lake) -- but adds to the list IF Zach Sorensen (.316/.392/.398 in 269 AB at Salt Lake) and -- hold on to your panties -- Single A SS Erick Aybar (.344/.386/.514 in Rancho Cucamonga). D-Mac might not be among them.In that same article, Timmy's real motivation for postponing surgery:
"The idea of sitting home and watching this team in the postseason would be tough," Salmon said. "As long as they still think they can use me here, I'll stick around. Mike [Scioscia, Angel manager] has encouraged me to look at the big picture. If we have a chance to play in the postseason, that will make it all worth it."Timmy, your bat is one of the reasons their appearance in the postseason is doubtful to begin with...
Finally, Bud Black and Scioscia are looking for ways to skip Sele in the rotation. Hallelujah and Amen.
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