Friday, April 06, 2007 |
Pickoff Moves
Today's Birthdays
And there's a lot of 'em ...Bert Blyleven CAL b. 1951, played 1989-1990, 1992, All-Star: 1973, 1985. This Top 100 Angel is a Hall of Famer waiting to happen (even if the idiotic BBWAA committee can't see it that way). Rich Lederer gave the basic case for his induction; in a sentence, "Since 1900, Blyleven ranks fifth in career strikeouts, eighth in shutouts and 17th in wins." That's some mighty select company.
Don Elston BRO b. 1929, played 1957, All-Star: 1959, d. 1995-01-02. A Dodger for one inning, he was a Cub the rest of his career, where he is third in career games pitched for the franchise, fourth for saves, and second in games finished.
Tom Fitzsimmons BRO b. 1890, played 1919, d. 1971-12-20
Ernie Lombardi BRO b. 1908, played 1931, All-Star: 1936-1940, 1942-1943, 1945, Hall of Fame: 1986 (Veterans), d. 1977-09-26. Broke in with the Dodgers but made his name with the Reds, Lombardi was a tremendous offensive catcher with Bengie Molina quickness. Even that epithet may be inadequate; Bill James once wrote that Mo Vaughn would lap him in a race around the bases three times. But, man was he powerful! James again:
Ernie Lombardi was a huge man, with huge, oak-trunk legs and huge feet and huge hands and a promontory with nostrils that protruded from a lumpy face. He had huge arms and wrists like giant power cables that snapped around an unnaturally large bat, the heaviest used by any player of his time, and flicked the ball effortlessly wherever he wanted it to go.His ability to smash hard line drives was his saving grace, and he twice won batting titles, the only catcher to do so. The guy who engineered the trade that sent him to Cincinnati, Max Carey, wanted a fast baserunning team; he got it, but lost Lombardi, which proved a huge mistake. Lombardi became one of the most beloved players at old Crosley Field, with legendary exploits of strength and stubbornness. One time, he drilled a line drive back at Cub pitcher Larry French, breaking three of his fingers. Another, he said he told all the opposition batters what was coming on every pitch — and the Reds won anyway. His huge nose was so large it jutted out in front of his catcher's mask, so occasionally it would get skinned on a foul tip. He hated to be shown up, and the 6'2" catcher — huge then and now for a receiver — was once caught unawares by the hidden ball trick. Tony Cuccinello, who had caught him napping off second base, showed him the ball, and Lombardi responded, "You tag me and I'll punch you right in the nose." Cuccinello thought better of it, and let him remain safe.
His slowness led infielders to play him deep, sometimes deeper than they could justify with their throwing arms; but with Lombardi's legendary slowness, it didn't much matter as the defense could just run in a few steps to get into range long before the leadfooted catcher made it to first. Lombardi once told Pee Wee Reese, "You had been in the league for five years before I realized you weren't an outfielder."
One incident in the 1939 World Series defined his postseason career to his contemporaries. In Game 4, the final game of the series, Ival Goodman in right couldn't come up with the ball cleanly on a single by Joe DiMaggio. Charlie Keller, running in from first base, slammed hard into Lombardi, knocking him flat — and briefly unconscious. DiMaggio raced around the bases, and with the ball only a few feet from home plate, scored uncontested. Lombardi inexplicably became the Reds' goat for that Series, and it followed him through the rest of his life. After his baseball career was over, he became embittered by the unfair label, and even attempted suicide. His enshrinement in Cooperstown came from the Veteran's Committee, nine years after his death.
Lou Merloni LAA b. 1971, played 2005. Last seen playing for the A's under a minor league contract, he is presently recovering from a concussion. Get well soon, Lou.
Dee Moore BRO b. 1914, played 1943, d. 1997-07-02
Marty Pattin CAL b. 1943, played 1968, All-Star: 1971. Drafted by the Angels, he was redrafted by the Seattle Pilots in 1969, having a better-than-average career as a starter, mostly with the Royals.
Phil Regan LAN b. 1937, played 1966-1968, All-Star: 1966. A tremendous reliever who once got victories in relief in both games of a doubleheader, Regan was known as "The Vulture" for his uncanny knack of showing up just in time to get the win. He was on the Dodgers 1966 World Series team that got run over 4-0 by the Orioles, and later was on the heartbreaking 1969 Cubs team that came so close to getting into the World Series.
Jim Romano BRO b. 1927, played 1950, d. 1990-09-12
Red Smith BRO b. 1890, played 1911-1914, d. 1966-10-11
Barry Wesson ANA b. 1977, played 2003
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Too cool for words. Thanks, Sean Forman.K-Rod Loses Focus, Angels Lose: A's 4, Angels 3
By any stretch, it wasn't a bad game for the Angels; Joe Saunders pitched acceptably if not especially well. We'll see how well he holds up, anyway, and the Angels have a while to figure out just when both of Jered Weaver and Bartolo Colon will be ready. Saunders figures to be the second man sent back to AAA, which means he could be Salt Lake's number one guy as early as May.The Angels' offense didn't work particularly well last night, and it wasn't a surprise against an unknown starter. But of course the real problem was Frankie's elevated pitch to Mike Piazza, who showed he can still belt 'em out of the park. Piazza was a DH last night, and it occurred to me that this year may have been the first year that the home NL team actually used the DH (the Dodgers used it in both games of this year's Freeway Series played at Dodger Stadium); would the Padres have been so reticent to sign him had the DH been legal in the NL?
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