A lot of divisional races tightened up in the bigs this week and we had another no-hitter thrown. Let's see how it affected the Longball League
Who's Hot: Hitters
C. Gonzalez (COL)
Who's Hot: Pitchers
C.C. Sabathia (NYY)
Who's Not: Hitters
M. Kemp (LAA) -Can't catch a break with the injury bug.
Who's Not: Pitchers
T. Lincecum (SF), R. Halladay (PHI)
Roster Moves
5/2912, 6/1/12
Tax Dodgers
Picked M. Kemp (LAA) back up off the DL, then dropped him again two days later when he went back on the DL. Then Picked up G. Stanton (MIA).
Rubber Band Men
Picked M. Kemp (LAA) back up off DL, then dropped him again two days later when he went back on the DL. Then reacquired J. Hamilton (TEX).
This Week's Three Trivial Things
1. Finally, a No-No for the Mets. On June 1, pitcher Johan Santana threw a clean slate at the Cardinals, coming away with an 8-0 win and the 1st no-hitter in Mets history. That leaves just the San Diego Padres as the only team in baseball that has never had one of their pitchers toss a no-hitter.
2. 1-Unassisted. This infield out occurred in the Angels-Rangers tussle last Friday night when late in the game, The Halos' Albert Pujols grounded out weakly to Texas reliever Koji Uehara who came over and made the tag on the barely jogging batter. That play is one of the rarest seen in a the course of a game. This play actually occurs less than 1% of the time for an entire season. It's about as rare as catcher's interference.
3. Today, June 4th happens to be the 161st anniversary of Tim Murnane's birth. Who was Tim Murnane?
As a player, Murnane played from 1872-1884 in the old National Association and the National League as an Outfielder, First Baseman, and Second Baseman. His real fame came as a baseball's first great scribe. By 1903, his column on baseball for the Boston Globe was considered essential reading for the fans. His ideas about the game were far ahead of their time. For example, Murnane wrote in 1903, "The idea of giving the pitcher the option of sending up a substitute batter is well worth consideration. The sight of a tired pitcher strolling to the plate to go through his usual strike out act is not an attractive feature o the game." Yeah, he suggested baseball use a designated hitter way back in 1903. His coverage of the first World Series later that year is a treat to read. Murnane died in 1917, at age 65.
Baseball Card of the Week
Hey, could it go to anybody but Johan Sanata? Nope. A No-No gets him this spot. Here's a look at Johan's 2012 Topps Heritage Card.
Until next week folks, remember you still have to compete the play on defense even though you think there's been runner interference.
-The Commissioner
