Got home around 9:15 last night and put in the new A/C, sucker works pretty good, cranking out cold air all night. Lindsay is still in there sleeping, I was up at the butt-crack taking Nathan out and figured I'd post up. Lot of stuff happened yesterday all around sports, I'll cover the ones I want. I'm the boss here. Flyers got a huge win in OT to cut the series to 2-1. OK, hot topics:
1. Jim Joyce blew it! Tigers RHP
Armando Galarraga got screwed out of his perfect game, and even Indians SS
Jason Donald knew it - as soon as he crossed the bag and was called safe, he put his hands on top of his head, almost signifying, "Holy shit, this umpire blew this kid a perfect game." He wasn't going to call himself out, but umpires need to make that call and get it right. There is no excuse. They get paid huge amounts of money to maintain the integrity of the game. In all fairness to Jim Joyce, he is human, and although he's been around for 22 years, his latest gaff is further proof that instant replay needs to be adopted at the MLB level. Not for ball and strikes, but for plays like this, for homeruns that may or may not have been, to determine fair or foul (even though 80% of the time a batter doesn't bust it out of the box). I'm just saying, these umpires are clearly not cutting it. There's the play - Galarraga had the ball and his foot hit the bag a step before Donald go there. I still am shocked he missed it. I appreciate the work they do and the fact that the human error still plays a part, but to take history away from this guy isn't right. And for Galarraga not to have said anything to Joyce is amazing in itself, I would have flown off the handle - but I got a short fuse. Nice guy, considering he had a perfect game snatched away on the
last out of the game. Instant Replay!!
2. Griffey Jr. hangs 'em up. Let's be realistic here,
Ken Griffey Jr. was one of the best ever to roam center field, hands down. There really is no debate that in his prime, he was a freaking beast. He made more catches over the fence than I can remember. His Upper Deck rookie card was rare air in the baseball card collecting industry - it was worth upwards of like $150 back in the day at the card shows. Griffey is a sure fire first ballot hall of famer, and for good reason. Coming up with the Mariners organization in the early 1990's, there was no other player more synonomous with Seattle than his. Edgar Martinez, Randy Johnson, Mark Langston, Jay Buhner, Omar Vizquel. Nobody's compared to Junior. And to think, he made only $68,000 his first year in the big leagues. I mean 630 HR's later, he's hanging them up, and at a good time too. He can't perform like the guy who hit 56 HR in back-to-back season in '97 and '98. He can't get to double-digit SB's anymore like he did in 1999. He's a clubhouse guy now, and as much as a team needs guys like that, Griffey has too much pride to go out like a sucker (.184, 7 RBI). He's a superstar that was never in the steroids debate. He came in before they were being talked about and dominated as a 19- and 20-year-old. Thanks Junior, the game needs more guys like you. Sweetest swing in the game they said, and who am I to argue with that.
3.
Robinson Canó en fuego! If you think otherwise, you better take a good, hard look in the mirror. Actually, saying he's on fire isn't even enough. Right now, he's the best hitter in baseball. He's got a 17-game hitting streak (which will now more than likey end today), has his average up to an MLB-best .373 (.001 higher than Justin Morneau), 78 hits (4 more than Ichiro) - I mean cool him off. Let's just take a look at his last 8 games - all multi-hit games (3 3-hit games, 5 2-hit games). During that span, his average has gone from .335 to .373. He has 9 R, 3 2B, 3 HR, and 15 RBI. I mean those numbers are staggering. Here's Yahoo!, clearly confused, telling us who is the hottest player over the last 14 days. Here's Canó's numbers: 12 R. 5 2B. 3 HR. 14 RBI. .472 BA. You tell me Chipper, Cairo, and Ryan have better numbers, you're off your rocker. Someone at the Yahoo! research department is sleeping on the job. Stay hot Canó.
OK, that's good for now, it's pretty lengthy and I'm getting hungry, even though I'll probably get an egg sandwich at Han's. I'll be back!
