Notes after watching the Mets and Cards play 15 16 17 18 19 20 innings of snoreless baseball...
Jose Reyes is not himself. His plate coverage is compromised, his eye is off and his confidence is shot. He can't run down grounders that he used to gobble up. He's just another base runner. He's bereft of the joie de vive that made him such a fan favorite.
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A taut, low-scoring, extra-inning affair in July is nerve-wracking. A listless, scoreless, April reliever-eater in which pitchers bat with the bases loaded, sluggers take the double collar and infielders pitch in crucial situations is downright insomnia-curing.
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Albert Pujols has hit more home runs than anyone in baseball history in his first 10 years. Prince Albert has 371, just ahead of Eddie Matthews (370), Ralph Kiner (369), Ken Griffey Jr. (350) and Alex Rodriguez (345). Did you catch that? Pujols has only played nine years. This is number 10. So he'll own the record by 35 blasts when the season's over.
That's not all. Hitting home runs isn't Albert's primary skill. He's the best hitter for average on that list, takes a walk with the game's best and has a mantle filled with gold gloves. We need some new superlatives for this guy.
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Johan Santana has pitched three games this year effectively but for one disastrous frame. Look out. The Venezuelan southpaw is an oil well ready to gush. Dude had surgery to remove bone chips in his elbow six months ago and hasn't yet recovered all of his zing or snapped off a patented Santana slider. Nonetheless, he's relinquished a total of two runs in 17 of his 18 innings. Come summer, hide the women and children; he's going to be a beast.
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It's a sign of the apocalypse when a TV commercial showing a guy jump out his third story window onto the top of a speeding beer truck has to scroll the warning "Professional stuntman. Do not attempt." It seems to me that Darwin would very much approve of someone who requires that warning attempting the stunt. Are people who need to be dissuaded from it capable of reading in the first place?
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