In baseball, nothing kills a rally like an inning-ending double play. Well, this list of the Top 10 active players who hit into double plays does not take the inning-ending variety into account, but it sure does give some insight into who erases base runners. And a lot of these guys are also some of the game’s best sluggers. With that, here we go….

1. Ivan Rodriguez, New York Yankees (284)—What’s most amazing about the fact that Pudge leads everyone in double plays among active players, is the fact that he did it 31 times in 1999. That’s not a record (Jim Rice holds that distinction with 36), but what’s crazy is that is the same year Pudge won the AL MVP with Texas….he hit .332, and had career highs in homers (35), RBI (113), and double plays.

2. Manny Ramirez, Los Angeles Dodgers (229)—The way Manny Being Manny runs to first base most of the time, it’s a wonder he only has 229 of these.

3. Frank Thomas, Oakland Athletics (225)—I guess a lifetime .301 hitter with 521 homers has to hit a few ground balls too. But with 32 career stolen bases, you have to think this dude is also a pretty slow runner.

4. Jeff Kent, Los Angeles Dodgers (224)—It seems like Jeff Kent gets better with age as a hitter, but on top of that he has increased his double play numbers the more his career wears on. He’s also become a bit grumpier.

5. Gary Sheffield, Detroit Tigers (222)—Okay, look back over the first five names on this list. All five are volatile personalities who are also quite bitter. The fact that they top this list might have something to do with that.

6. Vladimir Guerrero, Los Angeles Angels (220)—Of any name on here, Vlad is the first guy I’d welcome on my team, all 220 double plays and all. The guy is just an amazing hitter.

7. Miguel Tejada, Houston Astros (212)—In 144 games this season, Tejada has already tied his own single-season record with 28 double plays. For a guy earning eight figures, that just doesn’t seem right.

8. Luis Gonzalez, Florida Marlins (211)—At 40, Gonzo is slowing down a bit. Still, for a guy who once stole 20 bases in a season and hit .336 in another, 211 double plays is just a tad excessive.

9. Paul Konerko, Chicago White Sox (209)—Forget about Konerko’s double plays for a second. He hit 41 homers in 2004, 40 in 2005, 35 in 2006, 31 in 2007, and in 109 games this year has 16. I’m just sayin’……

10. Edgar Renteria, Detroit Tigers (207)—You’d think a guy with 280 career stolen bases would be hard to double up. That’s what makes this statistic for Edgar a little puzzling.

Source: Baseball Reference

After getting called up to the big leagues in 2005, Andre Ethier was immediately traded from the Oakland Athletics to the Los Angles Dodgers, in exchange for Milton Bradley and Antonio Perez. Though the Dodgers gave up a formidable talent in Bradley, they saw something special in the minor-league right fielder. Simply stated, it was potential. When new general manager Ned Colletti was given the reins in 2005, he focused on creating a starting lineup that depended on its youngsters. Since then, he’s been brutally criticized for signing former stars to bulky contracts that have failed to pan out. However, he should be credited for completing what he set out to do way back in 2005. By dipping into his farm system instead of his check book, Colletti has made Russell Martin, Matt Kemp, James Loney, and Andre Ethier into everyday players.

At times, it’s tough to be a Dodger fan. Besides the Yankees, the Dodgers make more transactions involving blue chip players than any other organization. Their starting lineup one day may be completely different the next, as a smorgasbord of future hall-of-famers and one-time greats jump in and out of the lineup. Colletti has taken huge risks in spending enormous sums on big-name players. Manny Ramirez is proving to be his first untainted success after the unfruitful acquisitions of Andruw Jones, Rafael Furcal, Nomar Garciaparra, Juan Pierre, Jason Schmidt, and Brad Penny. Colletti is paying each of these guys at least $5 million a year and is hearing about it every day.

Then there’s Andre Ethier. After signing a one-year $425,000 deal for the 2007-08 season, Ethier has quickly matured into the Dodgers’ most economic star. Actually, forget “economic.” He is the Dodgers’ best all-around player and will soon become the face of their organization if Colletti plays his cards right. Keep in mind, Ramirez came aboard more than two-thirds into the season. At 36 years-old, Manny is a future hall-of-famer with only a few years remaining. As much as the Dodgers and their fans would love to keep the free-spirited slugger, his contract is up at the end of the season, and all signs point to Manny in pinstripes.

Ethier is only 26 and just finishing his third professional season. He has an unbelievable arm, can hit for both power and average, and has avoided injury. On a roster that contains five capable outfielders—Ethier, Jones, Kemp, Ramirez, and Pierre—Ethier has undeniably earned a starting slot. He leads the Dodgers in homeruns (20) and batting average (.299), is tied with Matt Kemp in doubles (36), and is second in RBIs (71) and triples (6). Ethier is a free agent at the end of this season and, as these numbers show, he’s proven more valuable than those other cash cows.

The Dodgers are finally breaking away from the Diamondbacks and are running a blue streak towards the pennant. This current success can be found in the bats of the veteran Ramirez and the youngster Ethier. Next year, the Dodgers are likely to look much different. (Manny Ramirez, Jeff Kent, Nomar Garciaparra, Rafael Furcal, Casey Blake, Russell Martin, James Loney, Matt Kemp, Greg Maddux, Chad Billingsley, and Derek Lowe are all up for contract renegotiation.) Hopefully, Ned Colletti will follow those same instincts he had in 2005 and focus on youth by re-signing Andre Ethier.

The Los Angeles Daily News is reporting that the Dodgers’ second basemen Jeff Kent’s career might be over because of torn cartilage in one of his knees.

Kent was sent back to Los Angeles for an MRI exam after leaving Friday night’s game at Arizona with pain in his left knee. Although that exam hadn’t taken place as of game time Saturday night, club officials had a strong suspicion as to what it likely would show.

Kent, 40, has been playing through pain from slightly torn cartilage in his knee for about a month, fully aware that the continued grind of playing baseball on an everyday basis meant there was a strong risk of additional, more painful tearing.

That additional tearing is believed to be what took place during Friday’s game. Kent was said to be in “excruciating pain” after leaving the game, and club officials were holding out slim hope of getting him back in what is widely expected to be his final season.

Kent has yet to announce his plans following this final season of his two-year, $18 million contract with the Dodgers. But even without the injury, it would have seemed like the perfect time to walk away. Given the injury is of the “wear-and-tear” variety and not unexpected for a man of Kent’s age playing such a demanding sport, it is difficult to imagine him playing another year.

The guy has proved to be an asshole during his career, but there’s no doubt Kent has been one of the best hitters over the last decade. He’s never won a ring, but he’s accomplished a lot with the bat. (Of course, some will note that Kent greatly benefited from having Barry Bonds protect him in the lineup for so many seasons.)

Many power hitters in baseball also have a penchant for swinging and missing. While batters have evolved over the years into more complete players, and Dave Kingman types aren’t the norm anymore, there are quite a few that we can classify as “windmills.” Here is a list of the Top 10 active players in strikeouts in baseball today.

1. Jim Thome, Chicago White Sox (2155)—Even though Mr. High Socks has a career batting average of .280, his 533 home runs are tempered by the air created when he swings and misses. Thome has struck out 2155 times in his 17-plus seasons, or roughly 30 % of his at-bats. Yikes.

2. Carlos Delgado, New York Mets (1701)—Sitting comfortably behind Thome is Mets’ first baseman Carlos Delgado, who is a cool 454 strikeouts behind Jimmy. Delgado has clubbed 457 home runs, but he has now struck out 100 or more times for the thirteenth straight season.

3. Ken Griffey Jr, Chicago White Sox (1669)—Around the time Griffey was tearing up the American League in the late ‘90’s with 209 home runs over four seasons, he also tallied 454 strikeouts. And with 1669 career windmills, Griffey strikes out about as often as he smiles.

4. Jim Edmonds, Chicago Cubs (1656)—Edmonds has quietly amassed 378 career homers, and has also compiled 1656 career strikeouts. But he’s currently in one of the two places (other than Colorado) where his power more than makes up for his K’s.

5. Manny Ramirez, Los Angeles Dodgers (1643)—Will someone tell me how a career .313 hitter averages 102 strikeouts per season? Wait, let me guess — Manny being Manny?

6. Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees (1614)–$22 million for a guy that fans 107 times per season and doesn’t produce in the postseason? Am I missing something?

7. Mike Cameron, Milwaukee Brewers (1605)—Mike Cameron is a six-tool player—speed, average, power, glove, arm, and a penchant for missing the ball with his bat. That’s a very odd combination.

8. Jeff Kent, Los Angeles Dodgers (1515)—Ripping on Vin Scully? In Los Angeles, that’s like the priest ripping on the pope. Yeah, Jeff….you are 40, and even though Manny Ramirez now hits behind you, you still have almost as many career K’s on the scorecard as he does.

9. Andruw Jones, Los Angeles Dodgers (1468)—Seriously, now…..three of the current top ten windmills play for the L.A. Dodgers. No wonder this team can’t seem to catch the Diamondbacks.

10. Frank Thomas, Oakland Athletics (1394)—Mr. Thomas has 521 career homers, and though he’s only struck out more than 100 times three times in his career, he has landed here mainly because of his longevity (currently in his 19th season).

Source: Baseball Reference

During a recent broadcasting, Dodgers’ play by play announcer Vin Scully made reference that Manny Ramirez has helped Jeff Kent hit better since he was acquired from Boston at the trade deadline.

But you see Jeff Kent doesn’t need help. Jeff Kent is the greatest baseball player known to man and how dare Vin Scully think other wise.

Below is what Kent said to L.A. Times columnist T.J. Simers in response to Scully’s comments.

“We all love you, Vin,” Kent added with a mischievous grin, “but you still talk too much.”

“Scully is making the same point everyone else is making,” I said. “He says the stats indicate you are having success hitting behind Ramirez — tell me that isn’t the case.”

“See my answer to the first question,” said Kent, and sometimes you wonder if he sleeps with his bed against a wall forcing him to always wake up on the wrong side. “Listen, I’m so tired of talking about this stuff. It diminishes my whole career and all the hard work. I take it as an insult.

“I’m 40. You don’t get better when you are 40.”

“It’s so pathetic,” he said. “You guys write about things happening in a week’s time. That’s why we don’t like you. Baseball is a six-month game.”

“What did I hit last year? Without Manny? How do you explain that? What’s my career average? What will I be hitting at the end of this season?”

“Manny was only hitting .300 in Boston with 20 home runs,” Kent said, as a prelude to the sarcastic kicker. “And he’s doing way better than that here — so I’m helping Manny.”

“I’ve been here four years and I have never seen Vin Scully down here in the clubhouse,” Kent said. “How does Vin Scully know me? How does Vin Scully know Derek Lowe?”

“Everyone says I’m hitting now because some guy says so on TV?” he says, and first time someone has ever called Scully “some guy.”

Later in the article, Kent does say that there’s no question Manny “has given this team new life with another hitter in the middle of the lineup.” So if you’re Kent, why not say that first? Why be snarky and somewhat disrespectful to a legend like Vin Scully for making a simple observation? (Not only that, but a spot on observation, too.)

Hey Kent, calling Vin Scully “some guy” diminishes his whole career and all of his hard work, too. But F Vin Scully right? The nerve of him to say you hit better with protection in the lineup…