Month: April 2008 (Page 28 of 30)

Kevin Hench of FOXSports.com discusses 10 topics as baseball wraps up its first full week of action.

1. Giant holes in the lineup
…But if their opening series against the Dodgers is any indication, not only will they repeat their last-place finish of 2007, they will lose 100 games with the most punchless lineup in baseball. In losing two of three to the Dodgers, the Giants managed one extra-base hit (a double) in 95 at bats. They scored a total of four runs while posting a .232/.292/.242 line in the series. Faced with creating an offensive approach based on small ball or long ball, the Giants have chosen neither, assembling a lineup that has no pop (Randy Winn and Bengie Molina hitting 3-4) and little patience (Dave Roberts and Rich Aurilia, combined .326 OBP, batting 1-2).

3. Toothless Tigers
…Pudge Rodriguez, coming off a .294 OBP season, has reached base once in his first 12 plate appearances. Placido Polanco may have had a career year last year, hitting .341, but he walked only 37 times in over 600 plate appearances, hardly ideal for a No. 2 hitter. He has one hit and no walks in his first 14 at bats in ’08 for a tidy .071 OBP. In the last eight seasons, new left fielder Jacque Jones (0-for-7 to start the season) has averaged 108 whiffs and only 35 walks. Utility man Brandon Inge has a .304 career OBP. And throw in the fact that the last time Renteria played in the AL, he had one of the worst seasons of his career, and it’s safe to say the Tigers will not be pushing across 995 runs in their remaining 159 games.

I think the Tigers’ lineup will be fine once the season rolls on and everyone is healthy. They’re problems lie within the bullpen. As for the Giants – that’s the worst lineup I’ve ever seen in the history of baseball. A lineup that consisted of the Kool-Aid Man, Grimace and the Green Care Bear would be better than Dave Roberts, Rich Aurilia and Omar Vizquel (when healthy again).

SI.com recently drafted 10 baseball movie characters in their photo gallery.

Among some of SI’s selections:

No. 7 – Henry Rowengartner of “Rookie of the Year”
Get past the child labor laws and you have a 12-year-old who had the best “Tommy John Surgery” of all-time and can now throw 103 mph.

No. 6 – Rick “Wild Thing” Vaughn – “Major League”
Despite the current trend of hard-throwing closers around the league, a history of run-ins with the law and a tragically dated haircut prevents Ricky from being taken any higher than sixth.

No. 2 – Ebby Calvin “Nuke” LaLoosh – “Bull Durham”
Once described as “a million dollar arm with a 10 cent head,” scouts agree the tutelage he received from journeyman Crash Davis during his stay in Single A ball has helped turn this former wild flamethrower into a top-flight pitcher.

No. 1 – Jack Elliot – “Mr. Baseball”
Sure, he’s a bit on the old side, but he’ll show how much he appreciates playing major league baseball again here in the states by hustling harder than he ever has before just to avoid going back to play for the Nagoya Dragons. He will also be a huge draw with the ladies thanks to the best baseball mustache since Gorman Thomas.

Jack Elliot as your No. 1 selection? Come on. I’d take Wild Thing Vaughn over Mr. Baseball any day.

I’m not a Rangers fan and I don’t know Josh Hamilton personally, but I’m still pulling for the Texas outfielder this season. A former #1 pick whose drug addiction led to an indefinite suspension, Hamilton’s comeback is one of the best stories in baseball.

To read my latest column for Bullz-Eye.com, click here.