June 25, 2003 [LINK]

Canadian flip-flop

Partly because of Vladimir Guerrero's disabled status, and partly because of their absurdly long road trip (23 days, not counting their "home" games in Puerto Rico), the Montreal Expos have slipped 7.5 games behind the Braves, and for a couple days had fallen into third place behind the Phillies. Meanwhile, the Toronto Blue Jays have snuck up and pulled ahead of the Red Sox and are now breathing down the Yankees' necks. Now the Expos are trying to get Juan Gonzalez from the Rangers. Hmmm...

Speaking of the Braves, their catcher Javy Lopez has turned into an amazingly productive slugger this year, with 23 home runs, tied for the #1 spot in the major leagues with Florida's Mike Lowell and Toronto's Carlos Delgado. Last night was the sixth time this year he has hit two home runs in one game, the first of which came within a few rows of clearing the center field bleachers. As Harry Carey used to say, "Holy cow!" (His son Skip no longer does play-by-play work for the Braves on TBS.) Javy's homer was estimated to be 434 feet, but I think that's a bit conservative. Why in the world is he still batting seventh in the Braves' lineup??? He, Rafael Furcal (SS), and Marcus Giles (2B) are currently in first place for their respective positions in the All Star balloting.

Washington Mayor Anthony Williams has announced he won't push for public funding for a new stadium until Major League Baseball commits to relocating the Expos in this area. Good! Whether the franchise goes to D.C. or Northern Virginia, the important thing is to keep the stadium subsidy to an absolute minimum. Just say no to corporate welfare extortion!

Larry Doby, the first black player in the American League, passed away a few days ago. He played a decisive role in the Cleveland Indians' 1948 World Series triumph.