Since acquiring CC Sabathia from the Cleveland Indians for slugging prospect Matt LaPorta the Milwaukee Brewers got more than they paid for. Even with a subpar performance in his 5th start for the Brewers, he is still 4-0 with a 1.82 ERA since joining the team. And even more impressive in this day and age, he pitched three straight complete games.
Who Needs Big Name Relievers?
One of the tenets of Billy Beane purported in "Moneyball" is that relief pitching is such a fickle endeavour that there is never a need to spend a lot of money on a closer, because good relievers come and go quickly, and the next great guy is right around the corner. But I think Billy Beane might want to hold on to Brad Ziegler. Since being called up from the minors and making his Major League debut on May 31st, Ziegler has pitched in 23 games. And in 27 innings he has yet to allow a run, the longest scoreless streak to start a career in history. The only downside to Ziegler is that apparently, even with a name like Brad Ziegler, he is not Jewish.
Who Needs David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez?
With David Ortiz out for most of June J.D. Drew was moved to the 3-hole. He responded with 12 homers and 27 RBI in 92 at bats. He had an impressive OPS of 1.309 for the month. Maybe that's why Theo Epstein is considering finally getting rid of Manny Ramirez.
Who Needs Chris Carpenter and Mark Mulder?
Though the St. Louis Cardinals have fallen off recently their impressive early season run was made even more impressive because their top two pitchers contributed nothing. Instead the Cardinals got it done with the no-name triumverate of Kyle Lohse (12-3, 3.68 ERA), Braden Looper (10-8, 4.38 ERA) and Todd Wellemeyer (8-4, 4.19 ERA).
Who Needs the Road?
Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster is having a great season despite pitching in the hitter's park of Wrigley Field. But without Wrigley, Dempster would be nowhere. He is 10-1 with a 2.72 ERA at home, and 1-3 with a 3.42 on the road. In fact, this trend has gone on for a couple years, in 2007 as a closer he was 1-2 with a 2.86 ERA at home, and 0-4 with a 5.06 on the road. In fact before his July 20th win in Houston, his last road win was June 2 -- 2006.
Who Needs Singles?
From June 7th through July 28th Detroit Tigers outfielder Marcus Thames has been on a colossal tear, bombing 15 homers in only 125 at bats (1 every 8.33 at bats). Over that span he has 33 hits (a subpar .264 batting average) but only 12 of those are singles. Even the most prodigious power hitters don't hit more homers than singles over any stretch.
But Thames has company in this rare club. During the month of May Marlins outfielder Cody Ross went 14 for 50 (.280) and hit 10 home runs. He had only 4 singles but slugged an impressive .880 for the month.
Interesting Picture of the Week
Another cat attends a baseball game, this time in Oakland.
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