May 6, 2007 [LINK / comment]
The Rocket returns to The Bronx
Roger Clemens says he wants to help the Yankees, and boy do they need the help! This move makes sense, as he already said he wants to go in the Hall of Fame with a Yankee uniform. He also made a bigger impact on the Yankees than on the Red Sox, Blue Jays, or Astros during his career. Clemens and the Yankees desperately want another World Series win. His appearance at Yankee Stadium today, preceding the official announcement, brought jubilation to the fans. See MLB.com.
The Yanks' current ace pitcher, Chien-Ming Wang, threw seven and one third innings on Saturday before the first Mariner reached first base. That was Ben Broussard, whose home run was the only score by the visiting team. Catcher Jorge Posada thought Wang was going to go the distance, but it was not to be. See MLB.com. I was watching the televised game with baited breath, hoping for a perfect game, and totally forgetting about the Queen at the Kentucky Derby. The tall young man from Taiwan will get plenty more chances in future years to join Don Larsen, David Wells, and David Cone in the ranks of immortal Yankee perfect game pitchers.
After an agonizing period of time in last place in the AL East Division, the Yankees have quickly climbed into second place, but are still five games behind the Red Sox. Hopefully, the series win in Seattle and the Clemens announcement will lay to rest the rumors about Joe Torre being replaced as manager.
Cubs sweep the Nats
The Washington Nationals faced their former team mate Alfonso Soriano at his new home in Wrigley Field this weekend, and were swept by the Cubbies, who have climbed above .500 for the first time this year. On Friday afternoon, the Nats got off to a hot start with four runs in the first inning, thanks to a three-run homer by Austin Kearns, but then fell flat as the Cubs closed the gap and finally prevailed. On Saturday, the Nats fell behind early and couldn't quite catch up. Ominously, former ace pitcher John Patterson left the game with a strained bicep. Today's game held the most promise, as the new ace pitcher Shawn Hill allowed only two hits and two runs in six inning. The Cubs tied it at 3-3 in the bottom of the ninth, and then won it in the tenth. See MLB.com.
Having blown half of his eight save opportunities so far this year, I wonder if anyone has thought about replacing Chad Cordero? The mere suggestion would have been unthinkable in 2005 or 2006, when he was converting nearly 90 percent of his save opportunities.
Sorry for the hiatus
I can't believe it has been over two weeks since my last baseball post; that must be some kind of record. Well, at least I have kept myself occupied with Important Matters in the interim. Baseball fans of this site who don't normally visit my main blog page will be amused by the blog controversy I've been in lately.