Archive for the ‘Sports figures’ Category
Time to throw the confetti — Johnny Weir Gets Married
Folks, figure skater Johnny Weir, 27, got married on New Year’s Eve to Victor Voronov, an aspiring lawyer. He announced this via his Twitter feed and with an interview to Ice Network; Yahoo Sports picked it up as Weir is one of the most popular figure skaters in the world today even though he hasn’t competed since the 2010 Olympics (where he undeservedly finished sixth when he deserved, bare minimum, the bronze medal after his excellent free skate).
While I’m unsure of Weir’s husband’s age, as he’s preparing for his 2012 bar exam, he sounds like he’s reasonably close in age to Weir. This should be a plus, as will the fact that Mr. Voronov (who’s now going by Weir-Voronov) is from Russia and Weir is a well-known Russophile.
The happy couple plans to live in New York City according to this report.
Congratulations to the newlyweds! (Confetti all around!)
Brian Sabean Goes Ballistic re: Posey/Cousins collision; also, a Ben Sheets update
What on Earth has gotten into Brian Sabean?
Sabean is the General Manager of the San Francisco Giants, and is mad as Hell over the 5/25/11 collision between Florida Marlins catcher Scott Cousins (who was trying to score a run) and Giants catcher Buster Posey (who was trying to block home plate and keep Cousins from scoring). Posey sustained a serious injury and is now out for the season; for more on his injury, check out this article.
Now, I can understand why Giants fans — and most baseball fans in general — want Buster Posey to play, not see him sitting on the DL with a long-term injury to deal with. He’s an exciting young player and fans love him. I also can understand why the Giants, and Sabean in particular, would be angry that Posey was injured, especially as some others, including Mike Matheny, seem to believe that Cousins was most definitely at fault in that collision and that Cousins may well have been trying to injure Posey (even though Cousins insists he wasn’t and has apologized several times; check this article out if you don’t believe me).
But why this sort of incendiary rhetoric, all available at this link?
Sabean did not pull any punches during an interview on KNBR on Thursday, calling Cousins’ targeted hit “malicious” and saying he didn’t blame Posey for refusing to return an apologetic phone call.
“Why not be hard-nosed?” Sabean said. “If I never hear from Cousins again or he never plays another game in the big leagues, I think we’ll all be happy.”
Asked if perhaps those words were too harsh, Sabean didn’t back down. In fact, he left little doubt that the Giants are bent on getting some on-field vengeance.
“He chose to be a hero in my mind, and if that’s his flash of fame, that’s as good as it’s going to get, pal,” Sabean said. “We’ll have a long memory. Believe me, we’ve talked to (former catcher Mike) Matheny about how this game works. You can’t be that out-and-out overly aggressive. I’ll put it as politically as I can state it: There’s no love lost, and there shouldn’t be.”
Now, the Giants have apologized for Sabean’s comments, which to my mind is way too little, way too late, especially as Cousins has been getting death threats; see this link for details about that.
And as if that wasn’t enough, Joe Torre, who now works for Major League Baseball, wants to talk with Sabean (see this link for details). Torre is a well-respected former manager and catcher, and knows the game as well as anyone living; Sabean should listen to Torre, who I hope will tell Sabean the equivalent of this: “Shut up. Shut up now. Don’t be any more stupid than you have to be; you’ve already said more than enough as it is.”
Torre telling Sabean off is the best thing to do — but in case Torre’s message doesn’t take, I hope Torre will exercise his authority and suspend Brian Sabean as a fine, no matter how hefty, will not do. Sabean’s comments should not be tolerated, no matter how frustrated Sabean is, and no matter how much Sabean appreciates Posey’s play (or Posey’s positive effect at the box office).
Now for something completely different, as I’d like to pass along some good news regarding Ben Sheets.
As previously reported, Sheets had a huge surgery on his elbow last year and his prospects for playing at all in 2011 looked dubious. While I’m not sure if he will be able to pitch this year, I did find one Web site, here, that says Sheets is rehabbing in Arlington, Texas as of March of this year — and Sheets wouldn’t be rehabbing so seriously if he wasn’t at least going to try to make a comeback ASAP.
Sheets being in Texas makes perfect sense for a wide variety of reasons. Sheets’ home is in Louisiana, so Texas isn’t all that far away, comparatively; better yet, it’s where his former Milwaukee Brewers pitching coach Mike Maddux now makes his home (as the pitching coach for the Rangers, naturally). It also seems that Sheets is comfortable with the doctors in Texas and that his rehab is proceeding well.
All I can say is this — good for you, Ben, and I truly hope you’ll be like Chris Capuano this time next year. (As in, you’ve made it all the way back, you’re pitching as well or better than ever, and your second major rehab stint will have gone successfully.)
Pitcher Chris Capuano signs with New York Mets
Just a short observation today, folks . . . a few days ago, left-handed pitcher Chris Capuano signed a one-year contract with the New York Mets for what’s been reported as $1.3 million dollars. He’s expected to be given a chance to make the starting rotation, which is the main reason Capuano didn’t re-sign with the Milwaukee Brewers.
I’ve written a few blogs about Capuano in the past; I admire him greatly. He has an outstanding work ethic. He is a very smart man, having a degree from Duke University and being his high school valedictorian before that, and he’s used his combination of intelligence, athleticism and toughness to come back from not one, but two “Tommy John” ligament replacement surgeries.
It’ll be difficult to see Capuano in a different uniform, but I understand his position. He’s best off as a starter; that’s what he’s good at. And the Brewers would not even give him the opportunity to make the team as a starter — I guess they feel Chris Narveson (also a left-hander) was a better bet, though I’d highly disagree — which would upset me if I were Capuano, too.
I plan on continuing to follow along with Capuano’s career; as I have said here many times, he is a study in perseverance. In faith in yourself, in your own abilities, even when life itself seems against you. And he has “the goods” to be an outstanding pitcher, still. Even at age 32. Even after two “Tommy Johns.”
Good luck, Chris Capuano. I’ll be rooting for you.
Brewers get Greinke, Betancourt . . . .
And finally, folks, for my third post of the night, I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk about the Milwaukee Brewers recent trade for RHP Zack Greinke.
Yesterday afternoon, the Brewers traded SS Alcides Escobar, CF Lorenzo Cain, and two minor league RHP, Jake Odorizzi and Jeremy Jeffress, to the Kansas City Royals for Greinke and SS Yuniesky Betancourt. Greinke is a former American League Cy Young winner (he won in ’09 with a 16-8 record), and is considered one of the best pitchers in the major leagues despite having an off-year in 2010 with a 10-14 record and a 4.19 ERA.
I’m pleased the Brewers went out and got Greinke, because this is the second pitcher the Brewers have acquired in the off season (the Brewers got Shaun Marcum from the Blue Jays a few weeks ago, trading minor league 2B Brett Lawrie for him straight up). He’s an excellent pitcher and should really help the Brewers’ rotation — and as all know, the Brewers’ main problem the last few years has been pitching. Especially starting pitching. (When the Brewers lost C.C. Sabathia and Ben Sheets to free agency, they took a major step down despite all their good hitters — Corey Hart, Casey McGehee, and of course Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder. Hitters can’t do much when the starters keep giving up around 5 ERs a game.)
But I’m not happy the Brewers parted with Lorenzo Cain; Cain had shown some power and a great deal of speed to go along with his excellent defensive skills in centerfield in his brief stint in the majors last year, hitting .308 with a robust OBP of .348 — pretty good for his first 147 at-bats.
The others — eh. I liked what I saw of Jeffress, and I’m sure he’ll have a good career if he can stay away from the illegal substances (he’s been busted twice under MLB’s anti-drug policy for marijuana use), but to get Greinke I have no problem with him leaving. Ditto for Jake Odorizzi, who seemed like a good prospect thus far — possibly the Brewers best pitcher in the minors (certainly the most-hyped), though he was still in A ball this past year.
To be perfectly honest, though, I was glad to see Alcides Escobar go; I felt his defensive play was at best overhyped (Escobar makes great plays, then muffs easy ones), especially compared to the SS who came before him, JJ Hardy (who is an outstanding defensive shortstop, possibly the best in the major leagues, and certainly in the top five when healthy), and his offense was, well, anemic at .235 with a .288 OBP and 10 stolen bases.
When I went to Brewers games last year, everyone I spoke with used the same words to describe Escobar: “Overhyped.” “Flash in the pan.” “Melvin’s an idiot — can we please have JJ Hardy back?” And I agreed — Escobar was described as “the real deal,” or “everything, and the bag of chips besides” — and he just wasn’t. (Perhaps no one could live up to that billing.)
Betancourt would appear to be a step up offensively, as he batted .259 with 16 HRs (to Escobar’s 4) and 78 RBIs (to Escobar’s 41), though he also has a very low OBP at .288. As for his defense, I’d describe it as adequate — he’s another guy who won’t make anyone forget JJ Hardy anytime soon — though as he’s not been labeled a “can’t-miss” prospect, maybe he’ll be less encumbered by expectations than was Escobar.
At any rate, this is a trade that looks very good on paper and I hope it works out well for the Brewers. I know that as a fan, I’m for it.
Brett Favre to start tonight for the Vikings — UPDATED
UPDATE: Brett Favre took a hard hit on his left shoulder (not his throwing shoulder) from DE Corey Wooten of the Bears, and has sustained a head injury. It is unlikely he’ll return to this game; as for next week, I guess we’ll all see.
Here’s the most recent story at ESPN:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=5941067&campaign=rss&source=ESPNHeadlines
And here’s another one that amused me from Bleacher Report about how to finally get Brett Favre into retirement (written before this game started):
**** Now back to the original post. ****
Brett Favre started tonight for the Minnesota Vikings in their Monday Night Football game against the Chicago Bears.
I mention this for three reasons:
1) I really admire Favre as a player.
2) It’s amazing that Favre would try to play with a hand that, at last check-up, was still swollen to twice its normal size and looked like raw hamburger.
3) If the Vikings win tonight, Favre will be indirectly helping his old team, the Green Bay Packers, because the Packers lost last night to the Patriots (in a gutty, inspired performance from Packers backup Matt Flynn), 31-27. The Packers are now 8-6 and need all the help they can get to make the playoffs; if the Bears lose tonight, that will help the Packers (as the Bears are currently ahead of the Packers in the standings; the Bears’ record currently stands at 9-4, while the Vikings are at 5-8. The Packers want to stay only one game back in the loss column and have a shot at the NFC North title (the Bears can lock it up tonight if they win, or so the Milwaukee announcers said), so in a probable first, Aaron Rodgers (who sat out last night with a concussion) and the rest of the Packers will most likely be cheering on Favre and the Vikings.
Who said fact is stranger than fiction, huh?
Brett Favre’s Consecutive Games Streak Ends
Brett Favre sat out this past Monday night for the first time in nineteen years, and his consecutive games started/played streak ended at 297. Favre has been troubled with many injuries this year, including a broken ankle, a knee issue (maybe related to having to run about on the broken ankle), shoulder problems, and now he’s unable to grip the football without feeling numbness, tingling or pain. (He’s not talking much about the pain, but if for some reason he’s dodged physical pain with this issue — unlikely — assuredly he has mental pain regarding his current inability to use his primary talent.)
A brief comparison with the “Iron Man” of professional baseball, Cal Ripken, is in order. Favre’s streak started in 1992 and continued until nearly the end of 2010, spanning nineteen years. (Favre has played twenty years in the National Football League, but in his first year he was a little-used backup QB in Atlanta.) Whereas Cal Ripken, Jr.’s 2632 games played streak in baseball was over sixteen years — both are considered “Iron Men,” incredibly tough, gifted individuals who refused to take days off, who refused to give up on their teams, and who are revered because of everything they were as players, and for everything they’ve given to their sports.
Some have argued that because there are three current QBs with an active streak (Philip Rivers has 78, Eli Manning has 100, and Peyton Manning has 205 games played in a row), plus two more active QBs with long streaks (Tom Brady had 111 straight, I believe, before he got injured and missed most of 2008, while Drew Brees had a streak of 79 games played in a row that ended in December of ’09) that perhaps it doesn’t really mean as much in football to start all these games in a row as it does in baseball.
Au contraire, mon frére — it’s an interesting statisical anomaly, yes, that there are now six QBs in history with 100 or more starts in a row. But Favre’s streak — which, when added to his playoff games, was actually 321 games in a row — is exceptional for two reasons.
1) He holds the consecutive games played streak for ALL NFL PLAYERS, not just quarterbacks **
and
2) Over the years he continued to play despite a busted thumb on his throwing hand, a broken ankle, a number of concussions (he was always taken promptly out of games as soon as someone knew there was a problem, fortunately for him), and more than a few injuries to his throwing shoulder and elbow. Any of these injuries, even the least of them, could easily have kept him out of action for a week or more, ending his streak far sooner . . . yet somehow, Favre always found a way to recover in time for next week’s game.
It is extremely unusual that Favre has been able to overcome all that just to keep playing; that for the most part he’s played brilliantly, exceptionally, and has been one of the top quarterbacks in football for at least the last 15 years (save this year) just goes to show how special a player Favre has been over time. He’s combined longevity, toughness, intelligence and heart in a unique way and has exemplified the best aspects of his sport over a long period of time. We definitely will not see his like again even if, by some remote chance, Peyton Manning or someone else equals or surpasses Favre’s streak down the line.
The guy who’s second in the NFL behind Favre in consecutive games played/started is former Viking defensive end Jim Marshall — Marshall had 270 games played with an additional nineteen playoff games, bringing his consecutive games streak total to 289 overall. Marshall had the overall NFL record for over thirty years before handing it off to Favre, and it was thought for many years that Marshall’s streak would never be broken, or tied, or equalled. (And it hasn’t been, by a defensive end.)
Granted, quarterbacks have an offensive line that’s paid to protect them, but they also are the most vulnerable player on the field for many reasons, far too many to list here. It’s almost miraculous that Favre was able to play for so long and overcome so many injuries; it’s fitting, in a way, that it took a triple-pronged attack of injuries — a broken foot, shoulder problems, and an aching hand with numbness and tingling — in order to end Favre’s streak.
So please, do not let the “argument” that there are six quarterbacks who’ve played 100 games straight or more, two of them with active streaks (the Manning brothers), stop you for appreciating Brett Favre’s historic accomplishment.
A very good Time magazine article asks the question, “Why did we take Brett Favre’s streak for granted?” A relevant quote follows, with the link following that (as is apparently Time magazine’s preference):
Cal Ripken played 2,632 straight games for the Baltimore Orioles. That streak is revered; the night Ripken passed Gehrig back in 1995 became a national celebration – even the President showed up. But wasn’t Favre’s streak much more difficult to pull off? What’s harder: standing on a baseball field for an hour or two, everyday, playing shortstop, or lining up under center once a week in football, where very large men are paid very large sums of money to knock you out of the game? Favre’s body got buried in the turf every game, but he kept bouncing back up. He played with broken bones. He took a mental pounding too: Favre played one of the best games of his career, back in 2003, the day after learning that his father had died.
No disrespect to Ripken: in a daily endeavor like baseball, there’s certainly more opportunities for a freak accident that could stall such a streak. But baseball has always been a sport that overvalues its numbers. Since it is played at a slower pace than other games, there’s more time to ruminate on individual feats. So let’s give Favre his due; he’s the ultimate Iron Man in pro sports history.
Read more: http://newsfeed.time.com/2010/12/14/why-did-we-take-brett-favres-streak-for-granted/#ixzz18MNtQvzF
*** End quote ***
When at his best, Brett Favre could elevate an entire team and carry them on his back, willing them to play better — we saw it for seventeen seasons in Green Bay, we saw it in New York when he was with the Jets (until he had arm issues later in the season), and we’ve seen it now for two years in Minnesota.
So now, Favre’s streak is over; his team, the Vikings, will not make the playoffs this year. He may not be able to play again with his injuries, as they are extensive and painful, which is a real shame. This will undoubtedly be his last year as a professional football player — he’s just too injured now, and he knows it.
What’s really sad is that the Vikings backup QB, Tarvaris Jackson, was placed on the injured reserve list (meaning he can’t play again this season) earlier today. Favre most likely will not play this week, either; right now he’s helping the coaches with the third-string QB Joe Webb and getting NFL veteran QB Patrick Ramsay (signed earlier this week for depth purposes) up to speed on the offense. That’s a good thing — Favre, according to retired QBs Trent Dilfer and Steve Young (the latter a Hall of Famer), has, in their parlance, “forgotten more football than other people know.” Favre has already said that he’ll be glad to help Webb, Ramsay or anyone else who gets in there while he’s unable to play, which is a classy move, one that goes strongly against his image as a “prima donna” or “diva.” (I’ve always wondered how much of that was overblown, especially as most of the teammates he’s ever been around have had nothing but good things to say about him as a player.)
I will miss seeing Brett Favre’s infectious enthusiasm on the field, and will miss seeing Favre’s scrambling plays that most of the time hit their target — something very, very few QBs in the history of the NFL could ever do — even though once in a while it did result in a costly interception (or two).
The NFL will not be the same without Brett Favre as an active player, no ifs, ands, or buts about it.
——
** Jeff Feagles, a punter, holds the special teams record for consecutive games played and actually has more years of service and more games of service than Brett Favre, but because punters are never in the starting line-up these days, and because punters sometimes are active for the game and get credit for being available for the game if there’s no need for punting (it’s rare, but it happens), he is not considered the “Iron Man” of professional football. (He is, however, appreciated mightily by folks like me, who recognize excellence and perseverence when we see it whether it’s Feagles, the punter, or Favre, the quarterback or Marshall, the DE.)
A Bunch of Stuff — new Publications, Yoplait Yogurt lids, and Brett Favre observation.
Well, I don’t have enough for a full blog post today, but I do have a lot of little things to discuss.
First, e-Quill Publishing has accepted an original story; for those of you who’ve known me a while, this story started as “Dream/Reality,” then became “Betty goes to the Fair.” It’s now entitled “The Fair at South Farallon,” I think — Lawrence at e-Quill liked that much better. I do not know when it will be available, but I am glad that it’s been accepted.
Second, I am writing a collaborative novella with Piotr Mierzejewski for e-Quill Publishing that’s titled “Iron Falls.” It is near-future military suspense; I’ve never written anything like this before, and have been doing a great deal of research. It is in Piotr’s world with Piotr’s characters; we’re still hammering out the plot. Two chapters have been written with a third on the way; estimated time for this story’s completion is late December 2010. (Lawrence is very confident and has already announced this at the e-Quill Publishing Web site. I would’ve preferred to wait until at least four chapters were completed. But now that the cat’s out of the bag . . . . )
Third, anyone who eats Yoplait yogurt knows that around this time of year, they start making all the lids pink for breast cancer awareness. My Mom is taking part in all that; it’s called “Save Lids to Save Lives.” So please, save your pink lids and send ’em to Yoplait down the road, OK?
Finally, my Brett Favre observation. I’m sure most if not all of you know Favre is in trouble due to some allegations made by two massage therapists working for the New York Jets and a “game hostess” also employed by the Jets. (I don’t know what a “game hostess” does. Sorry.) These were all attractive women, and Favre is alleged to have sent racy text messages to them and also to have sent naked “below-the-waist” pics. He also left voice mail messages for the “hostess.”
Look. Favre is a married man; his wife is the inestimable Deanna Favre, who has beaten breast cancer once (though it may return). They’ve known each other all their lives, have two children (one who is grown and has already reproduced, so Favre is the NFL’s only known player that’s also a grandfather), and have been married fourteen years. Their marriage has been strong, though there have been allegations in the past of Favre cheating on her — I’ve always thought that Favre loves Deanna like no other, but maybe has trouble being faithful to her, even though I could be wrong about all of it.
What I am sorry about is that Favre’s life is played out in public. These problems are difficult for anyone to deal with; infidelity is not easy for the non-cheating partner to have to deal with. And women, more than men, have to deal with this — it’s an awful situation even if it’s all happening behind closed doors. It is a thousand times worse, it seems to me, to have all this happen in the public eye.
Favre is a major, big-time player with many NFL records; he’s still playing at 41 and is still highly competent as a QB (though it seems to me he now has to pick his spots; last night’s game against the Jets, where Favre played a good fourth quarter but the first three weren’t good at all, is a case in point). He has the consecutive games-played record — not just for quarterbacks, but for all NFL players — and is considered the “iron man” of professional American football.
All that being said, he’s a man like any other. And his faults seem to be remarkably similar to many other men; he apparently has a wandering eye, and now his marriage may be in major trouble.
I believe the publication Deadspin.com, who has reveled in these Favre allegations (even to the point of paying $20,000 for the voice-mails and “corroborating evidence”), is mostly to blame for all this. They don’t need to be muckrakers. Yet to get publicity for themselves, Deadspin.com has played this for all its worth — and I find that disgusting.
I would prefer that Brett Favre re-commit to his marriage, if indeed any of the allegations against him are true. Deanna Favre is a remarkable, strong, intelligent lady and she’s stood by him through many difficult times — including Favre’s Vicodin addiction in the ’90s. She deserves better treatment from her husband. And Favre really needs to learn that, at 41 years of age, he should appreciate the great woman he has and stop trying to re-live his youth or behave in a crass, classless manner. He’s not young; he’s a grandfather. He should set an example for his teammates and clean up his act.
Ken Macha out as Brewers manager; more on Brewers.
The Milwaukee Brewers, who finished with a 77-85 record, fired manager Ken Macha today by the simple expedient of not picking up his option for next season. Macha said here (http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/104276948.html):
“Nobody likes to be let go, but I understand baseball, too,” Macha said. “I’ve been around a long time and been through this stuff. I told (Melvin) this Milwaukee experience for me was tremendous.
“It’s too bad we didn’t win more games, but I appreciate him bringing me here. … The expectations were to put up more wins and we didn’t do that. That’s the game.”
Macha’s words were classy, especially as he found out he’d been fired last evening via the media rather than by his good friend, Brewers General Manager Doug Melvin. Macha continued:
“When you sit down and build your club … you really got to compare your club to the other teams that have won,” Macha said. “How do we stack up with say St. Louis? We signed Randy Wolf and LaTroy Hawkins. … Yeah we filled some holes, but are we on the same level with (Chris) Carpenter and (Adam) Wainright? So maybe the expectations were a little high but you still have to win.
“We lacked that No. 1 guy going out there. That’s my thoughts. If you could put someone at the top (of the rotation) and move everybody else down, you’d give yourself a much better chance to win.”
Now, this is something I, as a fan of the Brewers, said all year long. Yovani Gallardo is not an ace. He is a good pitcher and would probably be just fine as the second pitcher on the Brewers staff, but he is no ace. And Randy Wolf, who’s a fine number three pitcher, has too much pressure on him as a number two pitcher — all of those roles, ace, number two pitcher, number three pitcher, are clearly defined now in major league baseball, and the ace of the staff is expected to be the guy who shuts down the opposition no matter what’s been happening with the rest of the club. (In other words, if the Brewers had lost six or seven in a row and Gallardo’s turn was up, he was expected to keep the other team in check while he was out there and get the Brewers a better chance to win thereby. Gallardo can do this, but he mostly doesn’t — that’s why he’d be better as the number two pitcher on the staff because he’d have far less pressure on him thereby.)
Going on in Anthony Witrado’s blog from today’s Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:
Macha also acknowledged his trying relationships with stars Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder while noting that several other players he had good relationships with thanked him after yesterday’s season finale, including Corey Hart, Casey McGehee and Wolf among plenty of others.
Skipping ahead in the blog:
“If the effort wasn’t reciprocated, then there’s not a whole lot I can do about it. You can’t force guys to do that,” Macha said. “Some guys were open to discussion and some guys weren’t, I guess, but that’s the same with every club.
“I talked a lot to Ryan, almost every day, but he does his own thing. He’s going to do what he wants to do.
“With Prince, I think he had some issues this year to deal with, the contract probably being the main thing, and at times he was hard to talk to. I don’t know if there were any guys on the staff that talked a whole lot to him this year.
“Those are the two guys, but the rest of the guys it was all positive. I opened up to (Braun and Fielder) but you have to have a back and forth. The faces of the franchise, that’s what they are.”
After reading all this, while I remain convinced Ken Macha was always the wrong man for this job, I feel rather sorry for him. I’ve been in positions where I came into a job and wasn’t really given a chance, and it sounds like that’s exactly what happened between Macha and Brewers’ stars Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun, who were both extremely angry after Ned Yost was fired in 2008 with only twelve games remaining in the season. (For the record, I was, too. I liked Yost a great deal.)
Macha had nothing to do with Ned Yost’s firing whatsoever, but I think because he was known to be such good friends with Brewers GM Doug Melvin, those two players in particular never gave Macha much of a chance. But what really surprises me is that apparently no one could reach Fielder this year — which explains Fielder’s extremely poor year, where he dropped in home runs from 46 to 31, dropped in RBI from 141 to 83, and dropped in batting average from .299 to .261. Fielder is the Brewers clean-up hitter, yet he had the fewest RBI of anyone who batted in the top five of the Brewers batting order, as you’ll see by this quick list:
Brewers RBI leaders:
Casey McGehee, 104 (bats fifth) — .285 BA, 23 HR, .464 slugging percentage
Ryan Braun, 103 (bats third) — .304 BA (led team), 25 HR, .501 slugging percentage, .365 on base percentage
Corey Hart, 102 (bats second) — .280 BA, 31 HR (8th in league), .525 slugging percentage (led team)
Rickie Weeks, 83 (bats first) — .269 BA, 29 HR, 184 strikeouts (led team), .366 on base percentage
Prince Fielder, 83 (bats fourth) — .261 BA, 32 HR (sixth in league), .401 on base percentage (led team), 114 walks (led team)
Now that you’ve seen that list, here’s some more information. Corey Hart started the season on the bench because he’d had a horrible Spring Training; he played so well Macha had to play Hart, and eventually Hart not only made the National League All-Star team, he took part in the Home Run Derby as he was among the league leaders in home runs at that time. Corey Hart finished with career highs in home runs and RBI and greatly improved his defensive play in right field; pretty good for a guy who started out on the bench, eh?
Then there’s Casey McGehee, who in his second full season led the team in RBI. McGehee is a third baseman who was an older-than-average rookie last year that GM Doug Melvin picked up prior to 2009 — McGehee had been buried in the farm system of the Chicago Cubs, but was a good, solid hitter and Melvin knew it. Signing McGehee, who started 2009 on the bench and eventually became the starting third baseman, then continued on in that role in 2010, was probably one of Melvin’s best — and most unheralded — moves of the past two years.
The other three guys — Weeks, Braun and Fielder — were all expected to do well. But Weeks, in the past, had trouble staying healthy due to problems with his wrists that required operations; that he finished a whole season credibly, improved his defense, and led all major league lead-off men in RBI was impressive. Braun got hit on the hand by a fastball thrown by Braves pitcher Tommy Hanson early in the season, had a huge dip in all batting stats during the summer, but rallied to have his usual excellent year in RBI, batting average and on base percentage (this includes hits, walks, and getting on base via errors). It was only Fielder who had a rotten year, especially by his standards — and as Macha said, that’s probably due to contractual reasons as Fielder is eligible next year for arbitration, then is a free agent, so for the moment does not have financial stability assured. (That Fielder is a client of hard-nosed agent Scott Boras is another concern, but of course Macha would never mention that even though everyone knows it’s part of the problem. The Brewers offered Fielder $100 million for five years — $20 million a year — but Boras said that wasn’t enough. That didn’t go over well with Brewers fans at all, though no one blamed Fielder, a bluff, genial, good-hearted man, for Boras’s actions even though Boras works for Fielder, not the reverse.)
Since this will probably be my final blog about the Brewers for a while, I may as well give my end of the season awards now.
Brewers Most Valuable Player: Corey Hart (Casey McGehee, second) — this is because when the Brewers still had a shot to get back in the pennant race and everyone else slumped, Hart carried the team through much of May and June.
Rookie of the Year: John Axford, who took over the closing job from Trevor Hoffman and never looked back, going 8-2 with a 2.48 ERA, and saving 24 out of 27 games.
Brewers Most Valuable Pitcher: John Axford.
Comeback Player of the Year: Chris Capuano — Capuano’s stats of 4-4 with a 3.95 ERA in 24 appearances (and nine starts) are a little misleading, though they’re perfectly fine. As it stands, “Cappy” is the first player to effectively pitch in the major leagues after a second “Tommy John” ligament replacement surgery on his pitching arm. He also is a study in perseverence, as his second comeback required nearly two full years of rehabilitation. Capuano deserves serious consideration as major league comeback player of the year.
The Brewers had many good players who had fine years for them in 2010; they just did not jell as a team. Here’s hoping that next year, the Brewers will be much better and give the fans a great deal more excitement overall.
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