12/21/24
May 03, 2008
Recapping baseball's weird, wild and wet first month.: The cool, cruel month produced a ton of surprising stars, and an equal number of shocking individual disappointments.
I enjoy little tidbits like these. Especially this one: Atkins Has Nothing on Him: Prince Fielder reported losing five pounds through his new vegetarian diet. Had he not mentioned it, no one would have noticed.
posted by BoKnows at 05:36 PM on May 03, 2008
Best A-Rod Impersonation: Hanley Ramirez just keeps getting better. He followed a terrific 2007 (.332, 29 HR, 81 RBI, 51 SB) with eight homers and nine stolen bases in April. He's a reason to go to Dolphin Stadium if anyone's considering it. I'm glad Boston has Beckett, but god, I wish they could have kept Hanley.
posted by jerseygirl at 06:06 PM on May 03, 2008
I would have to agree 100% with HowardT, you really can't make a clear assessment so early in the season. GO YANKEES!
posted by brandy at 12:23 PM on May 04, 2008
I'm not sure this article is claiming to make any sort of assessment that ultimately determines the rest of the season. It's just pointing out the highs and lows so far.
posted by BoKnows at 12:27 PM on May 04, 2008
I hear you Bo and I thought it was interesting as well.
posted by brandy at 12:34 PM on May 04, 2008
I like the point about Dave Duncan on page 2. The Cardinals have been riding the top of the league and the NL Central for almost the whole month, and that's with NO pitching staff whatsoever. And that's right, ladies and gentleman: nobody's noticed anything but the Cubs staying even with them, and that's after the Cards post their best April in club history.
posted by boredom_08 at 07:13 PM on May 04, 2008
That's a nice collection of interesting stories, but nothing in baseball really means much until Memorial Day. Early season injuries, unless they are very serious or of a debilitating nature, just mean that the player goes into the latter stages of the season with a little more rest. The noted sluggers who are under-performing so far will get better once the weather starts to warm up. Ortiz, for one, is showing signs of breaking his slump, as balls that were once being gobbled up in the shifted defense are starting to find their way through and over. The statistics are kept as averages for a reason. When September rolls around, look for most of these guys to be right about where they always are.