Most teams have now played 40 games, which accounts for about 25% of the season. As always, there have been some milestones, surprises, and disappointments. I’d like to highlight some of them.
Obviously, Barry Bonds passed Willie Mays for 3rd on the all-time homer list. He’s also just 64 walks away from passing Rickey Henderson as the all-time leader. Bonds has 2126 to Henderson’s 2190.
Mike Piazza became the all-time leader for home runs as a catcher, and has now made his move to first base.
Roger Clemens passed Steve Carlton for second on the strikeout list. Carlton’s mark was 4,136 and Roger is currently at 4,161. Passing Nolan Ryan’s 5,714 is out of the questions unless Clemens can pitch until he’s 50.
Randy Johnson’s perfect game was the 17th in MLB history. Two of them were pitched in 1880, so that leaves only 15 in the modern era. Of those fifteen, 8 have been thrown between 1980 and the present.
The All-Bust Team
This is a group of guys that are performing far below expectations. I’ve avoided choosing players that have missed a lot of time with injuries.
C - A.J. Pierzynski, SFG: So far he has mere .605 OPS and he’s not getting along with his teammates.
1B – Carlos Delgado, TOR: He was the best hitter in the AL at this time last year, but at this point he’s only hitting .228 and slugging only .403.
2B – Luis Castillo, FLA: He’s only hitting .246 and he doesn’t steal as much.
3B – Aubrey Huff, TBD: Hiss OPS is even lower than Pierzynski’s (.600)
SS – Derek Jeter, NYA: He has the worst average even on this team, hitting a paltry buck ninety-five.
OF – Jose Cruz, TBD: He is hitting better than Jeter (.197).
OF – Mark Kotsay, OAK: He’s hitting .250 with no home runs.
OF – Mike Cameron, NYN: I guess it turns out that Safeco wasn’t his problem; he just can’t hit.
SP1 – Joel Piniero, SEA: He’s supposed to be an 18-20 game winning caliber guy; it will be hard to do that with a 1-5 record and 6.02 ERA.
SP2 – Mike Mussina, NYA: He just hasn’t shown his usual command as indicated by his 5.20 ERA and horrid K/BB ratio.
SP3 – Barry Zito, OAK: Same as Mussina, except his ERA is a little worse (5.63).
Closer – Joe Borowski, CHN: He’s been a dud with a 6.14 ERA.
The All-Surprise Team
C – Johnny Estrada, ATL: He’s batting .333 and Bobby Cox has moved him to the middle of the Lineup.
1B – Lyle Overbay, MIL: The Brewers are playing thanks in large part to Overbay’s major league leading average (.369), RBI’s (38) and doubles (21). Richie Sexson is on the DL – who got the good end of that deal?
2B – Brian Roberts, BAL: He’s stolen an AL leading 16 bases and he’s scored 29 runs.
3B – Adrian Beltre, LAD: .351, 11, 31 – he’s sure surprised me.
SS – Jack Wilson, PIT: He’s got a .349 average, he’s 4 for 4 on stolen bases, and he has a stunning 4 triples. The Tigers' Carlos Guileen deserves at least an honorable mention.
OF – Danny Bautista, ARI: He’s batting .341, but I think I’m more surprised that he’s not on the DL.
OF – Frank Catalanotto, TOR: Personally, I’m not that surprised he’s hitting .348, but I think most of the baseball world is.
OF – Carl Crawford, TBD: I knew he was okay, but I’m surprised about the .306 average with 19 steals.
SP1 – Ben Sheets, MIL: We’ve always known he’s good, but now he looks like a top-5 NL pitcher instead of just a decent pitcher on a bad team.
SP2 – Roger Clemens, HOU: Nobody can say they expected him to go 7-0 with a 1.72 ERA and 62 K’s in 52 innings.
SP3 – Carlos Silva, MIN: I’ve never heard of the guy, but he’s 5-1.
Closer – Francisco Cordero, TEX: 12 saves and a 2.45 ERA in Texas – on a winning Rangers team.
The Comeback Team
C – Mike Piazza, NYN: Just being in the line up is all it takes.
1B – Tino Martinez, TBD: He’s batting .300 and has 7 homers.
2B – Junior Spivey, MIL: He’s hitting .290 and looks like he could return to 2002 form.
3B – Vinny Castilla, COL: Being in Denver has brought Castilla back to the high average/big power days.
SS – Barry Larkin, CIN: He’s being productive for the first time in years.
OF – Craig Biggio, HOU: I couldn’t be happier that Biggio’s on this list; he might even set a career high in homers.
OF – Ken Griffey, CIN: I think we’re all surprised he’s even traveling with the team.
OF – Jermaine Dye, OAK: His .272/8/25 isn’t eye-popping but it’s a lot better than he’s been in recent years.
SP1 – Freddy Garcia, SEA: His record isn’t great, but his 2.89 ERA is reminiscent of the days when he led the AL in ERA in 2001.
SP2 – Randy Johnson, ARI: It looks like he’s back to me.
SP3 – Tom Glavine, NYN: I thought he was done last year; I guess I was wrong.
Closer – Danny Graves, CIN: He wouldn’t have to be on the comeback list had the Reds not tried to make him a starter.
The Current Dream Team
C – Ivan Rodriguez, DET: There’s a lot of good choices here as all the big names have put up big numbers, but Pudge’s .359 average and 32 RBI’s and the fact that the Tigers are hovering around .500 make him my choice.
1B – Lyle Overbay, MIL: See the note above.
2B – Jeff Kent, HOU: He hasn’t been huge but he’s been solid; he has a slight edge on Alfonso Soriano.
3B – Mike Lowell, FLA: .345, 11, and 27, with more walks than strikeouts, and lots of clutch hits. Scott Rolen has been great too, but Lowell’s been even better.
SS – Michael Young, TEX: Apparently the best shortstop in baseball still wears a Rangers hat. He’s batting .357 and has a staggering .993 OPS.
OF – Manny Ramirez, BOS: He’s doing it without Nomar.
OF – Vladimir Guerrero, ANA: So far he’s been worth every penny.
OF – Carlos Beltran, KCR: He’s putting himself in a position to get even more pennies that Guerrero.
SP1 – Roger Clemens, HOU: Nobody’s been better game in and game out in 2004.
SP2 – Carlos Zambrano, CHN: 4-1/1.82/46 is about as solid as you can be.
SP3 – Brad Penny, FLA: I hate to put another one of Robbie’s pitchers on here, but he is boasting a 2.17 ERA with 46 K’s.
Closer – Armando Benitez, FLA: He’s only allowed one earned run all year on a home run by Jose Vidro; that was the first batter he faced in 2004, and since then he’s got 15 saves and 0.39 ERA.
Awards:
AL Cy Young: Curt Schilling, BOS - This is the toughest race to call. The most effective pitchers in the AL haven't gotten any help from their teams (Freddy Garcia and C.C Sabathia). Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder of the A's have also been sharp and have Cy Young-type numbers.
NL Cy Young: Roger Clemens, HOU - Like the AL this is a close race, but in the end, Clemens will win the close race.
AL MVP: Michael Young, TEX - He leads the AL in total bases to go with his other gaudy numbers: .349/8/33 from the lead-off spot) with 33 runs scored, and the Rangers are winning.
NL MVP: Mike Lowell, FLA - The Marlins have started off well. Reggie Jackson might say that Lowell has been the straw that stirs the drink.
It's strange to be encouraged by a 1 and 5 week, and yet, somehow, I am. I was speaking with my chief Northwest Mariner correspondent Amy James the other night, and we felt that some kind of significant game or even t could be the kind of jump start the M's need to get things turned around. Little did we know that the next day, such an event would happen, as the M's bullpen pitched out of several bases-loaded jams to get us to the top of the 13th - an inning in which we batted around and scored six runs in Yankee stadium. Despite the fact that we lost the next game, we only lost 2-1 and Joel Pineiro went the distance (More on Pineiro later). By the way, Florida, through 37 games last year, was only two games better than we are now.
This week we're headed home for two three-game sets with the Orioles and Tigers. Freddy Garcia has the double duty, and despite a semi-rough outing last week in Minnesota, he has a 2.34 ERA - second in the AL.
Edgar Martinez got his 300th home run, putting him in an exclusive club that is detailed in full in a comment by Deacon in last week's report. As for Ichiro, he's extended his hitting streak to 14 games and raised his average to .317. Personally, I'd still like to see him steal more bases. In other news, Bret Boone, who's missed four games with a sore hip, expects to be back in the line up on Tuesday.
Finally, we come to Gil Meche. It seems to me that Meche needs to work on some things, especially after he walked in three runs and allowed two hits and failed to get out of the first inning Friday against the Yankees. Seems like a perfect time to take a look at Travis Blackley or one of the other guys down in Tacoma.
Mariner of the Week: After practically every outing from Joel Pineiro being a bad one this season, he came out and had two solid games this week. Despite the 0-1 record in two starts, Pineiro allowed only 4 runs in 15 innings (2.40) while striking out 9.
Another 3 and 3 week, and we still have to be happy about it. In fact, of the three 3/3 weeks we've had, this one was the best. We had our three wins by Friday, so we at least had a shot at finishing above .500 for the week. Apparently Alfonso Soriano and the rest of the M's middle relievers relized that in time to throw the game away. We'll have the Twins and Yankees again this week - this time on the road - and Joel Pineiro gets the double duty - yikes.
In other news, we now have a third 40-year-old on the 25-man roster - Pat Borders. He's Dan Wilson's back up now because Ben Davis had to go to AAA Tacoma to learn how to hit. Why is it that the Mariners have never produced a great catcher (Wilson came from the Reds).
Edgar became the 39th player in baseball history to reach 500 doubles. Among active players, only Rafael Palmeiro, Barry Bonds, and Craig Biggio are ahead of him. Obviously Edgar is the Mariner's all-time leader in this category. As far as team records go, there's really only one more thing he's likely to do. He needs 8 home runs to tie and 9 to pass Jay Buhner for #2 on the team list. To clear that up, Edgar has 299, Buhner has 307, and Ken Griffey is #1 with 398. Edgar is already the team leader in career batting average, hits, runs, walks, games, at bats, and RBI's.
Mariner of the Week: Freddy pitched well again (and even got a win), but this week the MOW goes to Ichiro. Ichiromade a brilliant throw form the outfield to nail Corey Koskie of the Twins in the 9th inning of Tuesday's game, forcing extra innings in a game we eventually won. In addition, he's riding an eight-game hitting streak, raising his average 37 points from .258 to .295. For the week he's 11 for 28 (.393).
It's bad to be happy about a 3 and 3 week, but I guess that's what we are here in the Mariner nation. I do have a suspicion that things are going to get better, and that Ichiro, in particular, is about to get real hot. We're headed back home now, with 3-game series against the Twins and Yankees. Moyer has the two-start duty this week. ATTN Bob Melvin: it might be time to settle on an everyday line up.
Mariner of the Week: This weeks MOW is a familiar face, and this third award in four weeks would him the undisputed MOM, Freddy Garcia. Garcia pitched well again, going eight innings and allowing only one run in - surprise, surprise - another no-decision, but the M's did go on to win the game in 10 innings. For the month, Freddy finished 0 and 1, with only 9 earned runs in 35.2 innings pitched (2.27), and 25 strikeouts to only 9 walks.