June, 2006 | The Baseball Zealot

ARIZONA DECLAWS NU CATS

I was hoping I’d be able to write how Northwestern had won, and I can write Northwestern had one, but it’s as in had one hit. Arizona pitcher Alicia Holowell retired the first twelve batters before Jamie Dotson picked up a leadoff 5th inning single, it would be their only hit of the game. The … Continue reading “ARIZONA DECLAWS NU CATS”

Cinderella is hoping the stroke of midnight isn’t coming anytime too soon. Fans from eliminated teams have adopted the underdog Wildcats as their new favorite, record crowds are rooting for them. This is the first time NU has made it to the series, while Arizona has won the title six times since 1991. Let’s see if they can do any better with their backs against the wall.

YER OUTTA HERE!!!

One of my favorite people in baseball has died. Former MLB umpire Eric Gregg known for his big personality, big strike zone, and big size died of a massive stroke at age 55. Gregg was among 22 umpires who lost their jobs in 1999 when their labor plan of a mass resignation backfired. I remember … Continue reading “YER OUTTA HERE!!!”

I remember going to see the Cubs with a loud mouth friend of mine nicknamed the Madman. It was a hot day and the secondbase umpire needed to retire to the dugout. Madman yells out to Gregg who was umping 3rd, “Eric, what’d you do with the 2nd base umpire, eat him?” Eric Gregg doubled over laughing.

A couple of years ago we met the clubhouse man in Pittsburgh. He started telling us what Eric Gregg would eat, a tremendous amount of food. This guy said Gregg’s appetite for the ladies matched his zest for life.

He lived life large and I know he’ll be missed.

6/5/06: Linescore of the Day – Carlos Zambrano

Carlos Zambrano had a STRONG night deep in the heart of Texas!!! The Chicago Cubs enthusiastic righthander not only pitched his way to victory, but he also supported his mound effort at the plate. Preston Wilson broke up his quest for a no hitter with an eighth inning single to rightfield. Carlos is normally a good hitter, despite his .080 batting average this year. He remembered what to do with the bat in this game with a 2nd inning three run homer, he also picked up a sacrifice fly, for a total of four runs driven in on the day. Houston starter Taylor Buchholz was tagged for 11 hits and eight runs in five innings of this laugher, 8-0 Cubbies

Carlos Zambrano W 8 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 SO
1 for 3, 1 HR, 1 SF, 4 RBIs, 1 run

Baker weighs in on Pujols loss

Dusty Baker “feels Pujols’ pain”. To his credit, Dusty didn’t really say that. That was just MLB.com’s Carrie Muskrat’s take on the whole thing. In fact, it would be more accurate to say that he feels Tony LaRussa’s pain. “You don’t like to see anybody hurt at all,” Cubs manager Dusty Baker said Sunday. “We’ve … Continue reading “Baker weighs in on Pujols loss”

“You don’t like to see anybody hurt at all,” Cubs manager Dusty Baker said Sunday. “We’ve had our share of injuries. It just goes to show you it’s a long season, No. 1, and No. 2, it’s a test of who has the most depth. That’s what it boils down to — who has the best bench? Who has the best secondary players who can play in a primary role for a long period of time?”

What I guess Baker was trying to do was empathize with the Cards plight. And I guess he’s gone through some of the woes that LaRussa will have to face.

But it’s not the same.

Speaking of Albert, the MRI results came back but it doesn’t seem the Cardinals know much more than the they did before. The results of the tests were inconclusive. LaRussa is approaching it with the right attitude, in my opinion.

“You just don’t know,” St. Louis manager Tony LaRussa said. “You can do anything you want to, but I’m not going to get into this day-to-day soap opera with Albert’s this and Albert’s that.”

The less focus on Pujols and the injury on a team level, the better for the Cardinals.

GIRLS GONE WILDCATS

Northwestern’s Women’s softball team has made it to the NCAA Championship series by beating UCLA over the weekend. NU’s Wildcats (50-13) will play the Arizona Wildcats (52-11) in the best of a three game series. Tammy Williams and Garland Cooper hit back to back jacks in the 8th inning of a tied game, giving NU … Continue reading “GIRLS GONE WILDCATS”

LET’S GO PURPLE WILDCATS!!!

MLB Draft tomorrow

Don’t forget… the MLB First Player draft begins Tuesday at 1:00pm ET. If you’re interested in following the draft, here are some important links: MLB Draft Central: This is a good place to start if you are interested in getting info about the draft. MLB.com pretty much covers it all plus some useless fluff articles. … Continue reading “MLB Draft tomorrow”

Don’t forget… the MLB First Player draft begins Tuesday at 1:00pm ET. If you’re interested in following the draft, here are some important links:

MLB Draft Central: This is a good place to start if you are interested in getting info about the draft. MLB.com pretty much covers it all plus some useless fluff articles. Most importantly, the site allows for searching on all the players eligible for the draft, team previews, order of the draft and pretty much everything else you want to know.

You can watch the live coverage once it begins. Also, MLB.com has video snips of many of the prospects.

MLB Draft Tracker: A subset of MLB Draft Central but worth mentioning. This is essentially the database of the eligible players which will be updated throughout the draft.

To do a little homework on the hot prospects in the draft, I suggest reading this piece by Bryan Smith on the SI web site. Smith is one of forces behind The Baseball Analysts.

RICKIE WEAKS

In the 7th inning of his 57th game Rickie Weeks committed his 20th error of the season at secondbase. The Milwaukee Brewers need to find a solution. Weeks is just three games passed being on a 60 error pace for the season, but seems to be picking up his pace lately with two a game on both Friday & Sunday so he might reach 60 by year’s end. Moving Rickie to CF might be the answer, although the Brew Crew has Brady Clark playing center. Clark is hitting .290 and is a solid defender. As a White Sox fan I have a possible solution, trade Clark to the Chisox for Brandon McCarthy. Since trading Aaron Rowand to the Phillies for Jim Thome, Chicago has been playing without a centerfielder. Brian Anderson’s hitting in the .160s & Rob Mackowiak can’t cover the ground. This trade would help both teams. I’m not saying I don’t like Anderson’s and/or McCarthy’s future, but for the White Sox the future is now. Brandon McCarthy is not cutting it in the bullpen and would step right into Milwaukee’s rotation. Clark would solve the White Sox centerfield problem. Anderson would get his confidence back in the minors. And Rickie Weeks would begin his journey as a major league centerfielder.

6/4/06: Linescore of the Day – Gerald Laird

Sunday Bloody Sunday. Another beautiful day on the Southside of Chicago, sun out, not a cloud in the sky, & Mark Buehrle on the bump for the White Sox. When the dust had settled it was still a beautiful day, but only for the Texas Rangers and backup catcher Gerald Laird. Texas spotted the White Sox a 2-0, Joe Crede’s 2 run blast in the 2nd, lead before cranking out ten runs of their own, taking 2 of 3 over the weekend. It turned out not to matter one bit that Pablo Ozuna’s poor defense in LF resulted in a 3rd inning game tying double off the bat of Mark Teixeira. Laird doubled in the 3rd, grounded out in the 5th, ripped a 2 run double in the 6th, a blast to left in the 8th, and again in the 9th. Laird also handled rookie lefthander John Rheinecker masterfully behind the plate. Rheinecker allowed four hits & two runs over 8 innings of work, his 2nd strong outing in a row. Look for John in a possible upcoming Rookie Watch piece. It was a sad El ride back to the Northside for Teddy Ballgame.

Gerald Laird 4 for 5, 2 HRs, 2 2Bs, 4 RBI, 4 runs

TIPTOES TADAHITO

Tadahito Iguchi The White Sox scored a 4th inning TD against the Texas Rangers Saturday night and hung on for an 8-6 win. Bobby Jenks relieved Matt Thornton with the bases loaded, two outs in the top of the 8th, the Sox up by two, and Mark DeRosa at the plate. Tadahito Iguchi went up … Continue reading “TIPTOES TADAHITO”

Tadahito Iguchi

The White Sox scored a 4th inning TD against the Texas Rangers Saturday night and hung on for an 8-6 win. Bobby Jenks relieved Matt Thornton with the bases loaded, two outs in the top of the 8th, the Sox up by two, and Mark DeRosa at the plate. Tadahito Iguchi went up on his tiptoes to turn at least a game tying line drive into an inning ending out. It turned out to be the difference as a crowd of 38,697 (including Teddy Ballgame) enjoyed the postgame fireworks show.

LET’S GO WHITE SOX!!!

6/3/06 Linescore of the Day: Travis Hafner

3 for 4, 2B, HR (GS), 2 runs, 6 rbis Travis Hafner celebrated his birthday in a big way… yes, some in the media have even gone as far to say in a “Grand” way. Anyway, Hafner did put on a show for the Angels and Kelvim Escobar who saw his ERA rise above 4.00 for … Continue reading “6/3/06 Linescore of the Day: Travis Hafner”

3 for 4, 2B, HR (GS), 2 runs, 6 rbis

Travis Hafner celebrated his birthday in a big way… yes, some in the media have even gone as far to say in a “Grand” way.

Anyway, Hafner did put on a show for the Angels and Kelvim Escobar who saw his ERA rise above 4.00 for the first time since the first game of the season.

Meanwhile, Hafner (.311/.450/.626) is putting together a dynamite season. He’s already reached 15 homeruns and 50 rbis in 53 games.