Baseball Etcetera...Va. Tech Tragedy...Pudge, Bill Hall hit slams

by user Niteowl049

Baseball Notebook

Condolences To Va. Tech Families and Friends

What happened at Va. Tech yesterday morning transcends anything else in the realm of baseball or any other sport. Last summer on the way back from going to Baseball Hall of Fame we stopped to see my brother and his family who live across the street from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.

My brother showed me the football and baseball field at Va. Tech while we were there in town. Yesterday he drove by West Ambler Johnston Hall like he always does and before he passed it yesterday police cars with flashing lights passed him. Little did he know this would be the beginning of the largest mass murder in United States history.

He had received his Master's degree in Computer Science from Virginia Tech and had taken his classes in Norris Hall where most of the killing took place.

Why do people who are enraged like this individual assuming he was acting alone feel like they have to take other's lives before they take their own? Could the shootings at Norris Hall been prevented since there was a two hour gap between the killings? We may never know the answers to these questions but one thing we know for sure is that hundreds of friends and family members of those killed and injured yesterday will never forget the date of Monday, April 16th and the loss they experienced on that day.

There is not much we can do for the friends and families except to say we care and that we wish they can have some semblance of a normal life despite losing their family members and friends in another senseless killing. Our condolences go out to all of those affected in any way by what happened yesterday on the campus of Va. Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.

Baseball Daily Digest

Josh Beckett and Brad Penny joined Dontrelle Willis and C.C. Sabathia as the only major league pitchers this season with three wins yesterday....Pudge Rodriguez hit a grand slam and drove in 6 runs for the Tigers as they won 12-5 over the Royals....The bullpen problems of the Devil Rays surfaced again yesterday as their 7-1 lead over the Orioles turned into a 9-7 loss because of their bullpen letting the Orioles back in the game. Devil Rays will not be able to compete with powers in the AL East like Yankees, Red Sox and Blue Jays with this bullpen.

Astros got a second life in their game with Marlins when Joe Borchard and Dan Uggla mishandled a foul popup and Morgan Ensberg took advantage of the second chance by singling in the winning run in the 4-3 win by the Astros....Braves blew a chance to pull away from the rest of NL East by losing the Nationals. Matt Chico took the win despite walking five and having no strikeouts. It evened the season series between the two teams at 2-2.

Bill Hall's grandslam and the pitching of Chris Capuano propelled the Brewers to a 10-6 win over the Reds and gave the Brewers a half game lead in the NL Central race....Cubs lose Alfonso Soriano probably for a few days after he pulled a hamstring muscle but went on to win the game 12-4 over the Padres. Without the services of Aramis Ramirez already it will be interesting to see how the Cubs play in the next few games without two of the best hitters in baseball. Jason Marquis recorded his first win of the season in the contest.

Ian Snell pitched the Pirates to a 3-2 win over the listless Cardinals who had only one hitter in the lineup hitting over .265. Albert Pujols had the lowest average (.170) of any Cardinals hitter in the game. It looked like he was coming out of his slump on Sunday when he drove in 5 runs but it remains to be seen if that was a one game deal or if he will be back on track again today....Barry Zito finally pitched a good game for the Giants as they took a 8-0 win over the Rockies. Zito lowered his ERA from 8.18 to 5.29 after pitching six shutout innings of three hit ball. Benjie Molina and Ray Durham became only the third and fourth Giants hitters to hit home runs this season. They have hit six homers but three of those have been by Barry Bonds with Pedro Feliz having the other home run. They are now tied for next to last in homers with Rockies and Mets. It is hard to believe the Mets would be that low on the list when you think about them having sluggers like Carlos Delgado, Carlos Beltran and David Wright in their lineup.

Stats Corner

Minor League Player of the Year Alex Gordon is continuing to struggle at the major league level with the Royals. After forty at bats he only has five hits showing again that minor league success does not tranlsate into success at the major league level. Akinori Iwamura leads all rookies in hitting with a .385 average with Delmon Young next with a .321 average.

Derrek Lee is only major leaguer hitting .400 hitting exactly .400....Alex Rodriguez leads in homers with 7 and is averaging a homer in slightly over every 6 at bats....Felix Hernandez leads majors in ERA with a perfect 0.00 ERA and in second place is Dustin Moseley with a 1.29 ERA. Moseley gave up 11 runs in 11 innings last season for a 9.00 ERA but has turned that around this season. The question now is if Moseley will even be able to stay in the Angels rotation when Bartolo Colon, Kelvin Escobar and Jered Weaver return. The answer is not likely since the other two starters who have been healthy John Lackey and Ervin Santana are not going anywhere so Moseley, Joe Saunders and Hector Carrasco who have been filling in as starters will probably be sent down when the regular starters return unless room can be found for one or more of them in the bullpen.

Cincinnati Reds Need to Make Room For Josh Hamilton in Lineup

The Cincinnati Reds have to make room for Josh Hamilton in the lineup since he is hitting better than those already in the lineup when his few at bats in relation to the starters is considered. He is second in homers with three while batting only 18 times while Adam Dunn has one more but in 48 at bats. Dunn also has one more RBI but in 30 more at bats. When a hitter like Hamilton has a .833 slugging percentage he does not need to be a backup outfielder. Reds need to address this question soon since only three Reds have more than one home run and Hamilton is one of them. Ryan Freel starting ahead of him has no homers and no RBI's. Their only choice is to move Freel back to the infield so Hamilton can play everyday.

Freel who recently signed a two year extension for $7 million agrees that Hamilton needs to be in the lineup in this article from cincinnati.com:

Freel gets millions, vows he'll go all out By C. Trent Rosecrans Post staff reporter

"I hate to say this, but I'm overpaid," said Freel, after the Reds announced a two-year, $7 million contract extension through the 2009 season. "Are you kidding? I get to put on a uniform and get paid to play a game I love to play more than anything in the world? I've always said I'd take the minimum the rest of my career."

To that, general manager Wayne Krivsky, who has already signed off on all the paperwork for Freel's multi-million dollar extension said: "No wonder guys have agents."

It doesn't take much of an agent to make a case for Freel's extension. He's the only leadoff-type hitter on the Reds roster, the team's best base stealer and one of its best defensive players. He's also the most versatile player on the roster with the ability to play just about anywhere in the field. Manager Jerry Narron even said he's the team's emergency catcher, "but I don't know if he knows that."

Freel has become a fan favorite in Cincinnati because of his all-out hustle and reckless abandon. That's not likely to change because of the contract, he said.

"I don't care if I was given $100 million, I'll still play the game the way it's supposed to be played," Freel said. "All you can control is going out there prepared and playing the game the way it's supposed to be played, and that will never change."

Freel added that the security of a multi-year, multi-million-dollar deal may allow him to play even more recklessly, if that's possible.

"I know as aggressive as I am, I want to stay that way," Freel said. "I want to be able to do every little thing I can do to help the team win, whether it's diving into a wall or the stands or whatever. I want to give it all I can and that will never change."

To help his team win, Freel said he'd go as far as not playing - trying to clear the way for rookie Josh Hamilton in center filed.

Although Freel started this season as the Reds' everyday center fielder, Hamilton's emergence could return Freel to his super-sub role, playing infield and outfield. Freel hasn't played in the infield this season and didn't even play there during the spring, but he took grounders in the infield in the past week in preparation for playing there more to make room for Hamilton, who hit his first home run at Great American Ball Park as a pinch-hitter in Monday's 10-6 loss to the Brewers.

Not only has Freel thought about a change in his role, he thinks it's the best thing he can do for the team.

"Jerry hasn't said anything to me about it, but I can read between the lines," Freel said. "I know you have to have a guy like that in the lineup. He's one of the better athletes I've ever seen. The sky's the limit for him. I'll put myself aside any day, any time in order for us to win a championship."

Hamilton, a 25-year old rookie, was humbled by Freel's comments.

"He wants to see the whole team do well," said Hamilton. "It's an awesome feeling to think he'd say something like that. It tells me what kind of person he is."

Freel said at one point he considered giving up on his dream to play in the majors. He started the 2001 season with the Toronto Blue Jays, but was optioned to Class AAA Syracuse late in April and stayed there the rest of the season.

After the 2001 season, he was signed by the Devil Rays as a minor league free agent and played all season in Class AAA Durham. Following that season, the Reds signed him as a minor league free agent, and he appeared in 43 games for the Reds in 2003. He became a regular in 2004, starting 128 games at five different positions. He was the first player in the majors in more than 10 years to make at least 10 starts at five different positions.

Freel has played only center field this season and is hitting .238 in 13 games, including a 1-for-5 performance Monday night with a run.

The extension was something the Reds had been working on since before spring training began. Unlike the previous regime, Krivsky said he has no problems discussing contracts during the season.

"I like to get deals done where I feel like we've represented ownership's side well and makes sense for the player," Krivsky said. "In general, I'll talk any time it makes sense."

Monday's deal made sense because the club and Freel will avoid arbitration until he's eligible for free agency following the 2009 season.

Freel said he hopes to retire a Red and maybe even work in the organization following his playing career. But mostly, the contract should help secure the future for him and his family.

"When I'm in a wheelchair at 40 years old from all the surgeries and crashing into walls, I won't have to get up and go do whatever to get paid every two weeks," Freel said.

Publication date: 04-17-2007