AT THIS PACE…..

Hello Fans,

Yes, we’ve all heard it before.  Some baseball studio announcer, or worse yet, an actual newscaster pretending to know the game say, “At this pace, Albert Pujols will hit eighty-three homers and have 201 RBIs this season”.  Well that ‘pace’ is just another reason why they play the games because at his current pace, Pujols will have ZERO home runs and 34 RBI while hitting six points UNDER his weight.  Any takers that he will keep that pace?  I didn’t think so.  I can see those statements being made for fans’ perspective at the halfway mark of the season or during the All-Star break, but not this early.  No one would have predicted that s-l-ooooo-w start in a new league for Pujols, which highlights (or lowlights in the minds of Angels fans) a zany start to the new season here in 2012.  With that being said, here are some more highs and lows so far this Spring.

The Baltimore Orioles are tied for first place at 12-7 with the Tampa Bay Rays after winning four a row, which includes a three game sweep of Toronto.  The O’s are pitching well, which is what they had to do to battle the Blue Jays, who can deal from the hill.  And like Pujols, they too, will NOT keep this pace as it seems there is a rule against them leading the division passed mid-May.  Plus, they’re over-matched again in the rugged A.L. East, but Buck Showalter has them playing well up to this point.

Philip Humber threw the 21st perfect game in MLB history as the ChiSox blanked the Mariners 4-0 last Saturday.  He’s now immortalized in annals of the game, even if he never wins another decision.  You can never, ever take anything away from the pitcher who throws a historical gem of any kind, but it’s perhaps not that surprising that if a team were to be held off of the base paths for 27 outs, it would happen to the woeful offense that is Seattle’s.  Humber racked up nine K’s and needed only 96 pitches!  Amazing, even for a perfecto!  That perfect pace quickly ended last night as the BoSox rattled Humber’s cage for nine earned runs in five innings, which is the most runs following a perfect game.  In Humber’s defense, there have been outings with 8 and 7 ER also.  The law of averages holds true again.

In a game last week, San Francisco’s Matt Cain battled Cliff Lee and Philadelphia as the Giants beat the Phillies in eleven innings 1-0.  The game only took 2 hours and 27 minutes, which is a pace that apparently a lot of media types would like to see regularly while they do not bother to mention that most football games are now pushing three and a half hours.  By the way, the timed quarters are still the same length so there is no more huddling, uh I mean ‘action’, than there used to be.  Anyways, thanks to Lee for throwing ten and to Cain for throwing another nine superbly pitched innings.  It’s a shame one of them did not get the win in what is already an all-time classic.  Lee was apparently sore after the tenth and has since been put on the fifteen day D.L., but it wasn’t because of his pitch count as he only needed 102 pitches with an EYE-POPPING 82 strikes.  That’s what I call POUNDING the strike zone.  WOW!  Cain wasn’t far off the pace, throwing 91, which were good for 64 strikes.  If I was the manager, and Lee was feeling fine, I would have sent him out for the 11th.  He’s thrown 120+ pitches plenty of times in his career, and he’s no baby out there at 33 and a half years old.  Besides, if that doesn’t motivate and focus your batters, what will?

Matt Kemp is hitting .455 with 10 HR, 23 RBI, and a ridiculous 1.455 OPS.  Josh Hamilton is hitting .390 with 8 HR, 19 RBI, and a still sick 1.170 OPS.  Both are playing tremendous defense on top of mashing the ball over the park, and Hamilton is doing it from center and leftfield.  Critics are always there, and some have pointed out that Kemp’s Dodgers have already played the lowly San Diego Padres seven times and Pittsburgh in another series.  I don’t care, they’re in the Bigs, and he’s seeing slow-pitch, softball-sized hard balls at the plate.  Hamilton made two great running catches up against the wall in left vs. the Yankees the other night, but C.C. Sabathia was tough and out-dueled Derek Holland in an NYY victory.  Can either Kemp or Hamilton pace themselves to maintain a serious run (into August or later) at the Triple Crown?  There’s no way we’ll see both of them do it, however, I think at least one of them will pace the Crown categories into the All-Star break.  Don’t forget they’re both heading into their primes as through the games of 4/26, Kemp has played in 806 games and ironically, Hamilton 608.  My bet is on Hamilton, but only for the fact that he is a lefty and most breaking pitches will be coming at him.  But who knows?  Kemp is on a pace to……just wait and see!

Later Fans.