The second week of the 2013 season is in the books. There were beanballs and brawls this week as well as some great baseball plays on the diamond. Here's a quick look at the week that was in the Longball League.
Roster Moves
4/9/2013
The Eclairs and The A Team both dropped J. Weaver LAA and picked up C. Kershaw LAD. Both were injury moves.
4/11/2013
The AngelSox dropped J. Hamilton LAA and picked up C. Davis BAL. It was a roster move.
4/12/2013
The Oxford House Elves dropped J. Hamilton LAA and picked up C. Davis BAL. It was a roster move.
Who's Hot/Who's Not This Week
Hitters
Hot: Mets catcher John Buck had a 4 HR, 10 RBI week.
Not: Matt Kemp of the Dodgers had a 0 HR, 2 RBI, but at least he gets mad well.
Pitchers
Hot: The Braves Paul Maholm went 2-0 while striking out 14 batters.
Not: Zack Greinke. Yup, Greinke had a bad week.
This Week's Three Trivial Things
1. The 12th of April, is a big day as far as the city of Philadelphia and ballpark history are concerned. On that date in 1909 Shibe Park opened in The City of Brotherly Love. Then, in 1955, the A's had moved to Kansas City and opened up Municipal Stadium on that date. Lastly, to finish the Philly trifecta, the Astrodome played host to its' first regular season MLB game as the Astros lost to the Phillies, 2-0. Third sacker Dick Allen propelled the Phils to victory with his two-run blast off
Bob Bruce in the third inning.
2. The Yankees turned a 4-6-5-6-5-3-4 triple play last Friday night v. the Orioles. That was just the second time that a triple play has been turned by the Yanks in the last 45 years. The other triple play was turned v. the Twins in 2010. The truly odd thing about that two triple plays is that CC Sabathia was the pitcher for NY when both those triple plays occurred.
3. 30 for 30 cardboard style; 30 years ago a pack of Topps baseball cards cost 30 cents. For your 30 cents, you had a shot at getting one of the big rookie cards of the 1983. The top rookies in that set were Wade Boggs, Tony Gwynn, Ryne Sandberg, and Cal Ripken, Jr. (Commissioner's note; I still say thanks to my sister Liza for giving me the 1983 Topps Set for Christmas that year.)
Cool Baseball Card of the Week: 1974 Topps #117- Ron Blomberg
40 years ago, the Designated Hitter became a part of the American League as Ron Blomberg stepped up to the plate on April 6, 1973. In the first inning of the New York's game at Boston, Blomberg faced Red Sox ace Luis Tiant with the bases loaded. Blomberg walked, thus ushering in the age of the DH in the AL. So, why didn't I put up a shot of Blomberg's 1973 Topps card? The reason is that the 1974 Topps cards were the first ever issued with DH listed as a player's position.
The DH at 40
I know there is a great divide among those fans who love the DH and those who think the DH is just awful. Being an American League kid, I love the DH. One of my best and simplest arguments for the DH was given by Boston Globe baseball writer Tim Murnane back 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 strikeout act is not an attractive feature of the game." Well said, Tim.
Beer Blues
I have seen many many people spend lots of money on bad beer at ballparks across the land. According to a survey by "The Street" the highest price for a small draft beer in the majors is at Nationals Park in Washington D.C. Their small cup of suds goes for a whopping $8.25!
No Pop Warner Background
By looking at the way Zack Greinke lunged into Padre slugger Carlos Quentin, you know he never played a down of tackle football in his life.
Until next time folks, remember that the best pitch any pitcher throws is strike one.
-The Commissioner
