Some random thoughts about Major League Baseball’s first few weeks of the season…
How the mighty have fallen
The New York Yankees may have the best batting order money can buy, but their pitching hasn’t been anywhere near where they need it to be in order to win ballgames. And it doesn’t help that the Yankees offense has sputtered along. Going into Wednesday night, the Yankees were 7-7 after recently losing 3-of-4 to Boston.
I saw the Yankees opening night at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, and I came to a conclusion about the Bronx Bombers. They are not a “team.” At least, not yet. They lost that night 9-4 after jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning. But the Rays ripped Mussina and got into the Yankees bullpen, which is not very good — except for Mariano Rivera.
Although Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter have publicly downplayed any adversity between them with A-Rod moving to New York, I would bet the house that Jeter isn’t too thrilled about Alex at the hot corner in the Big Apple. There’s got to be some tension there, and maybe that is part of the reason Alex is hitting .196 with one home run and three RBIs. Jeter is only hitting .237.
Then you have other problems on this team. Outfielders Gary Sheffield and Kenny Lofton have been labeled as “problem childs” because of their attitude problems. Lofton was complaining earlier in the year that manager Joe Torre had him hitting ninth in the batting order. Well yeah Kenny, with a lineup like that, you probably are the ninth best hitter. I’ve heard that newly signed pitcher Kevin Brown also has had some attitude problems.
Sheffield and first baseman Jason Giambi, who has not been the MVP slugger the Yanks thought he would be since coming over from Oakland, are both involved in the whole steroids scandal along with Barry Bonds. Both career .300 hitters, Sheff is hitting .260 and Giambi is at .250. Former All-Star Bernie Williams also has struggled with the bat, hitting .209 and fighting through injuries.
Then there is Hideki “Godzilla” Matsui, who speaks little English, and has not been the home run superstar owner George Steinbrenner thought he would be. Matsui had 106 RBIs last season with 16 home runs, but there isn’t much he can do for team chemistry when he can’t communicate with his teammates.
This is not a team … yet. If that lineup gels, it will be the toughest in the league. The Yanks will have to make some roster moves to improve that pitching staff though.
Bonds is for real
I will go ahead and say this: I don’t think Barry Bonds is or ever was on steroids.
The San Francisco Giants star outfielder, who also happens to be the best hitter in baseball, is off to a white-hot start, hitting .514 with nine home runs and 19 RBIs.
As of Wednesday, Bonds also has homered in seven consecutive games and has moved into third place in front of his godfather Willie Mays with 667 career home runs.
Bonds will break Hank Aaron’s record of 755 home runs in the next two seasons and is probably the best possible candidate for anyone to hit .400, which hasn’t been done since Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941.
Houston, we have liftoff
How about Roger Clemens and his 3-0 start with a 0.87 ERA? Here is a guy who is 41 years old and pitching like he is 21 again. In 20 2/3 innings, the Rocket has only given up seven hits and two runs against opposing teams. With 313 career wins and a future Hall of Famer, Clemens still makes radar guns buzz and was a steal pickup for the Astros, who convinced him to unretire.
Walker’s still a great hitter
Maybe Chicago Cubs manager Dusty Baker is starting to realize something I’ve thought all along. Todd Walker is too good of a hitter to keep on the bench. The former LSU star is hitting .317 with one home run and eight RBIs and is starting to see more playing time with the Cubs after not seeing much in the first few games.
Good baseball towns
It’s good to see the Detroit Tigers with an 8-6 record going into Wednesday night’s game. The Tigers lost 119 games last year and did not win their eighth game of the year until May 11, when they were 8-27.
I’ve always said there are certain cities that are good “baseball towns,” and if the teams in these towns win, it is good for the game. These towns include Detroit, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Kansas City and Baltimore.
Detroit probably won’t keep up this streak of good ball, but it is a nice start.