One-third of the 2008 season has now passed, and as of June 1st...
- The Rays are in first place in the AL East at the latest point in the season in franchise history, and the Cubs have the best record in baseball at the latest point in the season since 1908, the last year they won the World Series. (On a side note, I'm pretty sure the Rays are going to be on national television for the first time EVER on Wednesday against the Red Sox).
- There are several legitimate Triple Crown threats, including Chipper Jones (leads league in average), Lance Berkman (leads league in RBI), and Chase Utley (leads league in HR) in the National League, and Josh Hamilton (leads league in all three categories) in the American League. From this list, Jones and Berkman (as of Friday were hitting .421 and .385 respectively) are also making a run at being the first player(s) to hit .400 since Ted Williams did it over 60 years ago.
- The National League Central has 4 teams over .500 this late in the season for the first time in five years, and this is the first time the Yankees or Red Sox have NOT lead the AL East at this point since the early '90s.
- The Diamondbacks have two legitiamate Cy Young candidates in the same rotation in Brandon Webb and Danny Haren. Other contendors at this point would probably be Adam Wainwright, Daisuke Matsusaka, Edinson Volquez, Tim Lincecum, Ervin Santana, and James Shields, none of which have won the award yet.
- In the past week, Manny Ramirez has hit his 500th homerun, Ken Griffey Jr his 599th, Johan Santana picked up his 100th win, and Randy Johnson tied Roger Clemens for 2nd on the all-time strikeout list with 4,672. I really feel sorry for the guy who's going to have to carve all of Manny's hair out of bronze on his Hall of Fame plaque.
- Baseball Prospectus' "Nation's Top Prospect" Jay Bruce has had a debut week for the ages. He is 13-22, including 2 HR and a 4-hit game, and the Reds are 5-1 since his recall from AAA-Louisville.
- Franklin Gutierrez turned the 13th unassisted triple-play in Major League history; the Giants also turned a 5-4-3 triple play last week.
- Lastly, in late May it was the latest in the baseball season that the Red Wings, Pistons, and Tigers all played a home game on the same day.
And let's go Crew!!! 5-1 so far on the current homestand with a 3-game set against the back end of the D-Backs rotation yet to come. For the past two weeks the Brewers have been pitching AND hitting AND defending superbly, and with Riske/Gagne coming back from the DL soon, it looks like we could really turn the corner here before the All-Star Break. And speaking of "gaining ground before the Break," look for Erik to put a dent in my substantial "most games attended" lead, as he will be unemployed as of Friday.
- The Rays are in first place in the AL East at the latest point in the season in franchise history, and the Cubs have the best record in baseball at the latest point in the season since 1908, the last year they won the World Series. (On a side note, I'm pretty sure the Rays are going to be on national television for the first time EVER on Wednesday against the Red Sox).
- There are several legitimate Triple Crown threats, including Chipper Jones (leads league in average), Lance Berkman (leads league in RBI), and Chase Utley (leads league in HR) in the National League, and Josh Hamilton (leads league in all three categories) in the American League. From this list, Jones and Berkman (as of Friday were hitting .421 and .385 respectively) are also making a run at being the first player(s) to hit .400 since Ted Williams did it over 60 years ago.
- The National League Central has 4 teams over .500 this late in the season for the first time in five years, and this is the first time the Yankees or Red Sox have NOT lead the AL East at this point since the early '90s.
- The Diamondbacks have two legitiamate Cy Young candidates in the same rotation in Brandon Webb and Danny Haren. Other contendors at this point would probably be Adam Wainwright, Daisuke Matsusaka, Edinson Volquez, Tim Lincecum, Ervin Santana, and James Shields, none of which have won the award yet.
- In the past week, Manny Ramirez has hit his 500th homerun, Ken Griffey Jr his 599th, Johan Santana picked up his 100th win, and Randy Johnson tied Roger Clemens for 2nd on the all-time strikeout list with 4,672. I really feel sorry for the guy who's going to have to carve all of Manny's hair out of bronze on his Hall of Fame plaque.
- Baseball Prospectus' "Nation's Top Prospect" Jay Bruce has had a debut week for the ages. He is 13-22, including 2 HR and a 4-hit game, and the Reds are 5-1 since his recall from AAA-Louisville.
- Franklin Gutierrez turned the 13th unassisted triple-play in Major League history; the Giants also turned a 5-4-3 triple play last week.
- Lastly, in late May it was the latest in the baseball season that the Red Wings, Pistons, and Tigers all played a home game on the same day.
And let's go Crew!!! 5-1 so far on the current homestand with a 3-game set against the back end of the D-Backs rotation yet to come. For the past two weeks the Brewers have been pitching AND hitting AND defending superbly, and with Riske/Gagne coming back from the DL soon, it looks like we could really turn the corner here before the All-Star Break. And speaking of "gaining ground before the Break," look for Erik to put a dent in my substantial "most games attended" lead, as he will be unemployed as of Friday.
STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 06.02:
Brewers 29-28, -7.0 (3 v. Diamondbacks, 3 @ Rockies)
Reds 28-29, -8.0 (4 @ Phillies, 4 @ Marlins)
Twins 29-27, -1.0 (3 v. Orioles, 4 @ White Sox)
RACE FOR 2008 "MOST GAMES ATTENDED" TITLE:
Erik - 7
Peter - 17
touch with baseball when his childhood heroes Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, and Jim Gantner retired but the Great Home Run Chase of 1998 reignited his passion. As a student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Erik became involved with the campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity. With this group Erik traveled to Portland, OR and Baltimore, MD to work on construction projects and help the group raise $25,000 to partially sponsor a house in Milwaukee. Also at UWM, Erik met Peter Nagel. The two attended their first Brewers game together during Opening Weekend 2003. Despite their failure to ignite the coals at their first tailgate, the two had a blast and were soon making weekly trips to the ballpark. Erik has gone on to several colleges and changed careers several times, and has moved all the way out to New Hampshire, but has always stayed true to his baseball roots by holding part-time stadium usher jobs. To this day he looks back fondly on his incredible cross-country journey.
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