Snider passes away

Hall-of-Famer Duke Snider died today. Snider was a great outfielder during the 1950s and a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers. He was probably the epitome of the famous Dodgers-Giants rivalry, hating the Giants with a passion. And his playing was nothing to be sneezed at. In fact, most serious Dodger fans compared him to Willie Mays of the Giants, which of course the Giants disagreed with. However, Snider did hit more homers and knock in more runs during the '50s than any other player, including Mays.

And while the Duke could not match Willie's 20 straight All-Star games, he put up some pretty impressive numbers for his Dodgers. He did put up seven straight All-Star appearances, finishing in the top 10 in MVP voting 6 out of those 7 years. In fact, during those years his homers did not drop below 21 and his average could not dip below .277. He even only missed out on 100 ribbies once during that span.

No doubt, Duke Snider was a great player. He played with the Dodgers in California, but was traded to the Mets, then unspeakably to the Giants. However, he remained a "blue through and through" for the rest of his life. In fact, for most of his life he severely disliked Halloween for one simple reason. The reason was the colors of Halloween. No friendly Brooklyn blue and white on the 31st. Rather, the streets were all covered in black and orange, the hue of his rival Giants. Indeed, Snider was a Dodger with a passion for hating the Giants.

Trivia

Snider, a slugger who smashed 407 bombs during his career, managed to steal 99 bases in 17 years.

Sox one-hit BC

The Red Sox continued their annual tradition of playing BC and beating the college. This time, it was a one-hitter, with most regulars getting time in. Dustin Pedroia's foot appears to be fine, as he was able to play and hit. In his first at-bat, he walked, proving he can still get on base, and his second time up, he drilled a shot up the middle and was thrown out. That didn't matter, in my opinion. What mattered was that he was able to run hard and he said he couldn't even feel any pain in his foot. Kevin Youkilis, another star who ailed last year, was also able to play, and play he did. Second batter: Diving stop in the hole and quick throw to first. Then in the bottom of the inning, three-run bomb to dead center. Looks like Boston's back on track. And now I hear that both Jacoby Ellsbury and Mike Cameron are starting the night game against Northeastern. Life can't get better. Two more injured stars who seem to be all right. Unfortunately, looks like this pitcher won't be coming back. Down 1-0 in the 3rd and being forced to work? Not the kind of thing Kid Theo wants. Even so, it looks like the Sox will be OK this year, if these first games are any omen.

Trivia
Ellsbury only managed 18 games last year due to a rib fracture.

Beltre will miss time

Big bat Adrian Beltre, who smashed 28 homers last year for the Sox and was picked up by the Rangers in the offseason, strained his calf in spring training and will miss anywhere from 10 to 20 days. Beltre was released by Boston following the season and will be replaced by Kevin Youkilis, a certainly worthy replacement. Luckily, X-rays and MRI scans showed that there was no internal bleeding or muscle tears, but the Rangers want to be cautious. I would agree with their caution, because they don't want an expensive acquisition injured before the season even starts! Even Beltre agrees with their caution. Though he must be restless, the 31-year-old slugger believes that he should be cautious. In his words, "Better now than during the season." Completely true. I mean, look at Boston last year. If those injuries occurred during the preseason, the Sox might have had a couple players back by September, when they faltered. Beltre put up great numbers in a comeback year, following an 8-homer year with 28 bombs and raising his batting average 56 points. He also set a career high in doubles while leading the league with 49. Adrian proved he was not through by finishing 6th in MVP voting and earning the Silver Slugger and an All-Star appearance.

Trivia
Beltre's 28 homers were the second-best in his career only to 2004, when he hit 48 and finished second in the MVP race.

Wainwright cannot return

St. Louis Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright will not be available during the 2011 season due to an injury. As he threw batting practice earlier this week, his elbow became increasingly stiff. Eventually, he could barely move it and was examined. The general manager of the Cards spoke, saying the early examination were not promising for the star. Wainwright finished second in NL Cy Young voting last year, but seems to be out of luck this year. The 29-year-old will miss 2011, according to reporters, due to Tommy John surgery. Unfortunately for the Cards, this will put tons of pressure on their other ace Chris Carpenter. After all, the St. Louis team has been depending mainly on two things to carry it: Carpenter and Wainwright, and the middle of the lineup. Luckily, both Matt Holliday and Albert Pujols appear to be healthy thus far. I think that Wainwright's injury was a big blow, but I feel that with the right steps taken, the Cards can still make this a productive season.

Trivia
Wainwright's 20 wins last year were a career high, and his 11 losses were the second-most in his career.

Gonzalez is cleared

Today, a full week earlier than the expected date, new Boston acquisition Adrian Gonzalez was cleared to swing a bat. Gonzalez was very happy and will be swinging off a tee for the next few days before joining the Sox for BP. I hope that Gonzalez will be fully recovered from his shoulder surgery before the season opens. Adrian is excited to be playing for the Sox, and with his stats, I'm sure the Sox are just as excited. I mean, last year he earned his third consecutive All-Star appearance while finishing fourth in MVP voting. Gonzo smashed 31 homers last year, the fourth consecutive time he has hit 30 or more, and knocked in 101 runs, the third time in five full seasons he has drove in over 100. Meanwhile, he nailed out a .298 average while competing for the NL Triple Crown through part of September. Even better, he kept up a .995 fielding percentage, not quite Youk, but still capable. He seems to be quite the four-tool player, just missing speed. A final stat that might help the Sox: Adrian beat out a .357 average during the postseason in 2006. As a final touch last year, he put up second-bests in slugging, walks, OBP, OPS, and hits, only dwarfed by his 2009 totals.

Go Joe! (and Dave)

This is probably the first post I have written on this blog that is not about a current event in baseball. This post is just meant to honor Joe Castiglione and Dave O'Brien. These broadcasters are the real guys. I listen to the games on the radio all the time. It is so much easier to concentrate when you don't have to watch something soar by at the same time. As many of you know, Joe Castiglione was born in Connecticut in 1947 and earned a BA at nearby Colgate. In 1979, he earned his first job at professional sports broadcasting when he called several Cleveland Cavaliers and Indians games. Four years later, he sat at Fenway Park with Ken Coleman, where he has remained since. Unfortunately, Joe was not in the broadcasting booth to watch the terrible comeback in 1986. He admitted to watching the game in the clubhouse, prepared for the celebration. Tsk, tsk. Everyone knows never to do that. After Coleman left, Bob Starr joined the crew before giving up the job to Jerry Trupiano. Castiglione was only recognized nationally after his famous call at the end of the 2004 World Series, "And the Red Sox have won the World Series! Can you believe it?!" For the full call, click here. After Trupiano's departure, Glenn Geffner came and went in 2007, and for now, Dave O'Brien is his partner, while John Risch covers the out-of-town scores.

Dave O'Brien, Castiglione's partner in crime, is a Massachusetts native who has been in the booth since 2007. However, he is better known for calling Barry Bonds's 755th homer and 756th homer. Finally, he called a triple-OT basketball game between Oklahoma State and Texas in January 2007.

Edmonds announces retirement

Jim Edmonds, a player best known for his eight-year stint with the St. Louis Cardinals, retired yesterday. Edmonds became the second big-name player to hang up his spikes this year, after save king Trevor Hoffman. Edmonds broke through to the majors in 1993 with the California Angels, and smashed 33 homers in '95. However, it was not until after the 2000 trade to St. Louis that Edmonds became widely renowned. In eight years with the Cards, half his seasons, he swatted 241 homers while blasting out a .285 average. He has some chance of making the Hall of Fame in my opinion due to a lifetime .284 BA and 393 homers. There have been several batters who have had much less homers. Edmonds was a great player in his prime, with a career-high of 42 homers in 2004, the year the Cardinals were swept in the World Series by the BoSox. In my opinion, Jim deserves the Hall, since he has been an excellent player, even crushing 11 bombs last year at 39. Even if Edmonds's offense was not up to Hall membership, his defense, as shown here, was excellent. It was excellent enough to win him eight Golden Gloves, at any rate.

Trivia
The player with the lowest batting average in the Hall of Fame is White Sox catcher Ray Schalk, with a .253 pace.

Baltimore makes another move

The Baltimore Orioles, who have already signed Derrek Lee to a one-year contract, grabbed Vladimir Guerrero off the market today. The 35-year-old slugger managed to stay on his game last year, driving in 115 runs while smashing 29 homers and keeping an even .300 pace. Evidently, Baltimore is layering their lineup. The Orioles already have Lee, who also managed to keep up 19 bombs last year. The O's also have three other consistent hitters, two power and one average. Luke Scott, 32, hit 27 bombs last year while putting up an acceptable .284 average for a dismal team. Ty Wigginton, a onetime Ray, put up only a .248 average but managed another 22 homers. Finally, Nick Markakis kept up a .297 average, though he only managed 12 homers. I think that the Orioles can pop out of the cellar if Buck Showalter manages them right. However, Felix Pie struggled through injuries last year, so it will take some very good managing to lead the Orioles.

Trivia
Ty Wigginton's strikeouts went up by 59 with a game increase of only 30 or so.

Other Sox lock up shortstop

The Chicago White Sox re-signed shortstop Alexei Ramirez to a four-year, 32 million buck pact. Ramirez did not post amazing numbers last year, but they must have been good for shortstops, because he became the first Chicago middle infielder to capture the Silver Slugger. Ramirez posted an all-time low in on-base percentage while raising his strikeouts to 82. However, he managed to post 17 home runs, 29 doubles and 70 RBI as the regular shortstop. He also posted only fair defensive numbers, making 20 errors for the second straight year while leading the league with 499 assists. One must think that Chicago is going to be holding on to Ramirez for quite a while to come. I mean, he was arguably the best shortstop in the league last year, and he put up some good numbers.

The other piece of news is very small. Ha ha, just kidding. Chipper Jones, the longtime third baseman and outfielder for the Atlanta Braves, says that his tendinitis in his left knee is fading. Chipper believes he can come back by Opening Day, which would be a welcome surge for the Braves, who faded in the postseason. Jones has nailed 13 homers in 11 postseasons with the club. Once Jones is back, who knows what can happen.

Trivia
Ramirez's OBP high is just .333.