The Forty Club
Lots of news from some of baseball's graybeards today. First, Barry Bonds celebrated his 43rd birthday, homerlessly, last night against the Atlanta Braves. He's now 2-14 since last week's two-homer-game against the Cubs (remember he was 0-21 before connecting on numbers 752 and 753, July 19). Also, commissioner Bud Selig, who's just happy not to have his highest-paid player indicted on federal dogfighting charges or have one of his umpires charged with gambling on games, now says he will try to be in attendance when Bonds passes Hank Aaron on the all-time-homerun list. Thanks Bud, what the hell took you so long? And The New York Times is reporting the BALCO chemist who essentially manufactured the undetectable steroid known as "the clear," claims both Bonds and Gary Sheffield used his illegal performance-enhancing drugs. According to the now infamous leaked grand jury testimony, both players have denied knowingly taking anything. This is all from a "Costas Now" interview on HBO Sports, which aired last night, and I imagine will air again soon.
Next, 41-year-old Craig Biggio is calling it a career at the end of 2007. The 7-time All-Star and 4-time Gold Glove winner joined the 3,000 hit club late last month. He's also one of just 7 players in big league history with 3,000 hits and 400 stolen bases. Oh, by the way, he did it all with one team. Biggio said he wants to leave on his own accord, and thinks he accomplished just about all he could during his 20 seasons. He's right, and he'll have a spot in Cooperstown in 5 years. Just for good measure, his 6th inning grand slam last night helped lift the 'Stros over the Dodgers, 7-4.
While Biggio is definitely hanging them up, 43-year-old Randy Johnson is hinting he might do the same thing. He threw to batters for the first time in almost a month yesterday after being diagnosed with a herniated disc in his back. Instead of surgery, he opted for rehab, which is working so well for Lindsay Lohan. Johnson and Manager Bob Melvin said he threw well, but it's this quote from the Big Unit that has people curious. "I think everybody in this clubhouse, maybe not the players but the coaching staff and front office, would like to know, and I would like to know, whether I'm going to be able to pitch and help this organization," he said. "If not, I think that I need to take care of things and they would need to take care of things." Hmmm. We could know more later today or tomorrow based on how stiff and sore he says he feels. Remember, Johnson is 16 wins shy of 300 for his career and may be the best shot out of any active pitcher (young and healthy, or old and on his last legs) to reach the milestone after...
...41-year-old Tom Glavine, who takes his second crack at number 299 tonight, at home, against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates are bad (41-57) and their lineup is weak (second to last in baseball in runs, 28th in OPS, 25th in average) but Tommy Gun's opponent is no joke. Tom Gorzelanny is 9-3 with a 3.20 and is fresh off a hard-luck loss against the Astros. Meantime, Glavine is coming off his shortest outing of the season (2 innings) and is trying to keep his already poor season from going further down the tubes. His monthly ERA totals have gotten progressively worse since the season started (2.80 in April, 4.03 in May, 5.83 in June, 6.26 in July) and by my estimates, he has 12 starts left after tonight to get to 300. He'll get there eventually, but it might not be pretty.
Lots of news from some of baseball's graybeards today. First, Barry Bonds celebrated his 43rd birthday, homerlessly, last night against the Atlanta Braves. He's now 2-14 since last week's two-homer-game against the Cubs (remember he was 0-21 before connecting on numbers 752 and 753, July 19). Also, commissioner Bud Selig, who's just happy not to have his highest-paid player indicted on federal dogfighting charges or have one of his umpires charged with gambling on games, now says he will try to be in attendance when Bonds passes Hank Aaron on the all-time-homerun list. Thanks Bud, what the hell took you so long? And The New York Times is reporting the BALCO chemist who essentially manufactured the undetectable steroid known as "the clear," claims both Bonds and Gary Sheffield used his illegal performance-enhancing drugs. According to the now infamous leaked grand jury testimony, both players have denied knowingly taking anything. This is all from a "Costas Now" interview on HBO Sports, which aired last night, and I imagine will air again soon.
Next, 41-year-old Craig Biggio is calling it a career at the end of 2007. The 7-time All-Star and 4-time Gold Glove winner joined the 3,000 hit club late last month. He's also one of just 7 players in big league history with 3,000 hits and 400 stolen bases. Oh, by the way, he did it all with one team. Biggio said he wants to leave on his own accord, and thinks he accomplished just about all he could during his 20 seasons. He's right, and he'll have a spot in Cooperstown in 5 years. Just for good measure, his 6th inning grand slam last night helped lift the 'Stros over the Dodgers, 7-4.
While Biggio is definitely hanging them up, 43-year-old Randy Johnson is hinting he might do the same thing. He threw to batters for the first time in almost a month yesterday after being diagnosed with a herniated disc in his back. Instead of surgery, he opted for rehab, which is working so well for Lindsay Lohan. Johnson and Manager Bob Melvin said he threw well, but it's this quote from the Big Unit that has people curious. "I think everybody in this clubhouse, maybe not the players but the coaching staff and front office, would like to know, and I would like to know, whether I'm going to be able to pitch and help this organization," he said. "If not, I think that I need to take care of things and they would need to take care of things." Hmmm. We could know more later today or tomorrow based on how stiff and sore he says he feels. Remember, Johnson is 16 wins shy of 300 for his career and may be the best shot out of any active pitcher (young and healthy, or old and on his last legs) to reach the milestone after...
...41-year-old Tom Glavine, who takes his second crack at number 299 tonight, at home, against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates are bad (41-57) and their lineup is weak (second to last in baseball in runs, 28th in OPS, 25th in average) but Tommy Gun's opponent is no joke. Tom Gorzelanny is 9-3 with a 3.20 and is fresh off a hard-luck loss against the Astros. Meantime, Glavine is coming off his shortest outing of the season (2 innings) and is trying to keep his already poor season from going further down the tubes. His monthly ERA totals have gotten progressively worse since the season started (2.80 in April, 4.03 in May, 5.83 in June, 6.26 in July) and by my estimates, he has 12 starts left after tonight to get to 300. He'll get there eventually, but it might not be pretty.
2 comments:
When I read the title of this post I thought it was going to be about 40 oz. malt beverages, I was let down. Although you did make up and adverb, homerlessly, which is awesome. I think it's safe to say Barry Bonds is no longer an everyday player and should probably think about hanging it up after he breaks the record. Glavine seems just about finished also. I think it's also safe to say that the 2012 HOF class is going to be a great one.
I am glad I got to read about Lindsay Lohan some more.
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