Wednesday, July 11, 2012

A COUPLE OF QUICK NOTES

## Next season, the Houston Astros will move to the American League, which means we will have an inter-league game every day. The 6-game inter-league rivalry series (Yanks - Mets, White Sox - Cubs, etc.) will be reduced to just three games, or perhaps four.  This is so teams like the Mets won't have to face the perennial powerhouse Yankees six times while their opponents in the NL East would only have to play them three times.
Okay, that solves one problem, but here's another. The AL teams will still use the DH and it will be in effect when the games are played in the AL parks only.  This means that at least one roster spot will more than likely be taken up by  a DH-type player, i.e. a player who is past his prime in the field. The NL teams will carry an extra position player because of all the double-switches they employ. Which means that NL teams will be at a disadvantage when playing in the AL parks, and the AL will be at a disadvantage in the NL parks. Both sides could live with this when there were only 12 interleague games. Now there promises to be a lot more, so how does Bunglin' Bud figure to deal with this? I have no idea. Unfortunately, neither does Bud.

## Because of the loss of Brett Gardner, the Yanks DH/part-time left fielders, their super-subs, have been forced to play a lot more. While this was not the plan in the spring, the subs have performed admirably.  Andruw Jones, DeWayne Wise and Raul Ibanez are on a pace to produce 35 home runs and 90 RBIs for the season. They probably won't reach those levels because Gardner is due back at the end of July (hopefully) and there will be the inevitable 2nd half drop off. But it sure is fun right now.

## Robinson Cano was booed lustily all night in Kansas City because he opted not to pick KC outfielder Billy Butler as a contestant in the Home Run Derby.  When there are eight solid choices and you can only pick three, someone is bound to be unhappy.  But here comes Bunglin' Bud to the rescue. Next year, it will be mandatory for one of the Derby participants be from the city in which the All-Star game is played. Which means it's possible that one of the participants will go into the contest having hit only three home runs all season.
Cano's family was also treated very rudely during the contest, which is unfortunate. Knowing Selig, next years captains will have the luxury of having their relatives protected by the Secret Service. Good idea; nobody boos the President, right?

## The next two weeks will tell the story for the Boston Red Sox. They have 3 games against Tampa Bay, 4 against the White Sox, 3 against Toronto and 3 against Texas. Then they have three more at Yankee Stadium.  If they expect to be in contention, I think they have to win 11 of the 16 games, 12 would be better and certainly not less than 10. In theory, they will have Pedroia, Ellsbury and perhaps Crawford back, along with closer Andrew Bailey.  Their rookie sensation, Will Middlebrook, is also expected to be there. I'll keep track.
In the meantime, Kevin Youkilis is tearing up the league in Chicago. He was just named AL Player of the week. It seems Boston got rid of him just in time. It should be very interesting in Boston next Monday when the White Sox come to town.

## According to the New York Times, Reggie Jackson will be allowed back in the Yankee clubhouse starting Friday.  Reggie said he stayed away because, "...he didn't want to be a distraction."  Yeah, that's what he said. This from a guy who should be  called "Distraction" Jackson!

## Congratulations to "The Melkman" on winning the MVP of the All-Star game. With the year he's having, you'd think that Melky Cabrera would be in line for a major contract over the winter, since he'll be a free agent. However, there are a number of scouts who are sceptical of Melky's ability to sustain his numbers in the future. He had a really good season in Kansas City last year, and the Royals weren't convinced enough to make an effort to resign him. The Giants are Melky's fourth team and he's only 27. I wonder what the story is.

***THEY SAID IT***
"Q. What do you call avoiding prosecution after the government spends millions trying to nail you for performance-enhancing drugs? A. Clemensy"  -- RJ Currie
"Unlike most baseball purists, I'm actually in favor of an inflated playoff field. Postseason baseball is riveting. Regular-season baseball is like shopping at Kohl’s on a Saturday — you’re not sure why all the people are there and you can’t figure out why you are."  -- Norman Chad
"Half the Red Sox are on the disabled list, the team lost 3 of 4 to the hated Yanks at Fenway, and Kevin Youkilis has been ripping it up for the White Sox ever since Boston exiled him to Chicago. But other than that, Bobby Valentine, how was your weekend?"  -- Dwight Perry
"At the the Tour de France, the winner used to be first one to pass the finish line. Now it's first one to pass a urine test."  -- Greg Cote
"Players in the Major League Baseball All-Star game were encouraged to tweet. The commissioner is throwing out all stops to make MLB relevant to social media users. Before the game he announced that World Series home-field advantage would go to whichever team has the most Facebook friends."  -- Brad Dickson    [I had to write to Brad to make sure this was a joke - Chad]
"The Yankees have indefinitely barred Reggie Jackson from team events for his disparaging comments about performance-enhancing drug use by Alex Rodriguez and others. Guess you could say he's now the straw that broke the camel's back."  -- Dwight Perry

CP-

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