Baseball Out of the Ordinary

Carlos Delgado didnt feel a curtain call was necessary after hitting a seventh inning solo shot when the Mets were already ahead by 2 runs...Good.  It's about time.  It's one thing when your teammates are shoving you up the steps, but the self-adulatory grandstanding in baseball is over done.  I credit Delgado with knowing the difference.  We can all think of players and or plays involving some over the top celebration and to me it's played and it's tired.  On this cold rainy day I am having little trouble thinking of other baseball related issues that I am tired of.

Roger Clemens.  Tired.  If this egomaniacal lunatic had just kept his mouth shut and gone the way of EVERY OTHER NIT-WIT NAMED IN THE MITCHELL REPORT he'd still be going to the hall of fame, first ballot, married, with his assets in check.  After the dog and pony show he's dragged us thru he'll be lucky to manage any of that at this point.  A more likely scenario now for the Rocket appears to be prison, no ballot required, divorce & losing 'half" his cash.  Mindy McCreedy was only the tip of the iceberg as two others have apparently surfaced...Mrs Clemens was helpful talking Roger's way out of Boston, I wonder how helpful she'll be now. 

Speaking of people who love hearing themselves talk, Curt Schilling popped back up on my radar this morning but in an unexpected way.  I love the guy as a competitor, but being trapped in New England with him is unbearable - he's everywhere, does commercials for everything, constantly commenting on everything, etc.  But today he got my attention in a good way:  I was unaware until this morning that he is working to restructure his contract to AVOID COLLECTING bonuses due to him based solely on fitness.  He has come in a little heavy in recent years so he had incentives for meeting certain weight requirements...Given his preseason injury he doesnt want to collect on those bonuses unless he is healthy and actively helping the team win from the mound.  Good on you, Curt.  That's about as rare a thing as you'll see in professional sports.

What could be more rare?  How about those pesky 1st place Tampa Bay Rays!?  Getting to see them 18+ times a year I have had time to become a fan of some of their players and have enjoyed watching them turn the corner.  Now dont get me wrong, the Rays wont win the AL East or make the playoffs, lets not get crazy, but they have some top notch talent down there, just ask a Red Sox fan after the weekend sweep the Rays threw down on them.  They can hit, they can run and they are actually beginning to muster some starting pitching which will only improve when Kazmir returns.  I am biased because he came from my home state, but just imagine this team with a healthy 5 tooler like Rocco Baldelli, his injuries were a shame.

Equally as shameful was my selection of Mike Lowell on my fantasy team.  The pick in and of itself wasnt shameful as much as the injury that dumped him on the DL from which he is expected to return today.  He basically went down to all fours to make a play at third and strained the thumb on his glove hand, the thumb on the bottom hand of the bat, making him infinitely useless in the field, at the plate or in my fantasy league.  One interesting thing that was infinitely clear from his injury, however, was how versatile Kevin Youkilis is.  Every team wants a guy like Youkilis.  My stud third baseman will be down for a bit as his right quad recovers and Morgan Ensberg will be more than servicable as a defensive replacement, but Youkilis' offensive production out matches Ensberg.  I understand we arent exactly comparing bench players here because Youk plays everyday.  Moreover he was able to play third in Lowell's absence because The Mayor was able to step in at first.  My beloved Bombers have more DH's and first basemen than you can count, but if Sean Casey and Youk can cover a loss like Mike Lowell and the Sox dont skip a beat then who really has a better bench?  Now that bothers me.

Well, that's all for now...Go Yanks!