In the last week, baseball fans have been exposed to a number of unfortunate incidents that involved big-name, All-Star players. My thoughts on each of them follow.
Kevin Youkilis charging the mound: Youk let his emotions get the best of him on Tuesday night after getting plunked in the back for the second consecutive night. The Red Sox need Youk’s bat in the lineup and his glove in the field. Now they have neither for five games.
Josh Hamilton’s relapse: A man’s personal struggle with alcohol is his business, but when a recovering alcoholic is a role model for young people, he needs to take responsibility for his actions before the public finds out from someone else. In this case, Hamilton should have made a statement prior to the release of the photos taken at the bar this past January.
A Cubs fan throwing a cup of beer at Shane Victorino in left-center field as he was preparing to make a catch: That behavior is uncalled for; that fan should be banned from Wrigley Field for a minimum of one year.
How ‘bout that?
How about the Nationals? Though they still hold the worst record in the majors, the Nats pulled off a string of eight wins in a row, including a three-game sweep of division rivals and Wild Card contenders the Marlins. During the streak, Washington outscored its opponents 57-33 – an average of three runs per game.
How about Cliff Lee? Since donning a Phillies uniform after being acquired just before the trade deadline, Lee has hurled 24 stellar innings over three starts, striking out 23 batters and surrendering just three earned runs – good for a 1.12 E.R.A. To top it off, Lee collected two hits of his own in his debut with his new club.
How about Pablo Sandoval? The Venezuelan infielder who celebrated his 23rd birthday just this week is second in the National League in batting average at .329 and is slugging a healthy .549 on the year. No sophomore slump for this Giant.
Smoltz should have known better
Forty-two-year-old John Smoltz was designated for assignment by the Red Sox last week after an unsuccessful six weeks in the Boston rotation. As I said when he signed with Boston this past offseason, he never should have left Atlanta. The Braves would not have done such a thing to their longest-tenured player – a future Hall-of-Famer, at that – even if he had an 8.32 E.R.A. after eight starts. Even if management felt he was not helping the team in his current role, they would have found a better solution. One way or another, they would have found a way to make everyone happy.
O’s Notes
It takes a special kind of awful to score 10 runs and still lose by eight, but as the Orioles demonstrated on August 2nd against the Red Sox, if anyone can do it, they can.
