Greetings all …. I see where Kevin kept you entertained for most of the night. Mike Pelfrey tomorrow with Lastings Milledge going down. No surprise there.
If there’s anything on your mind, or any questions, feel free. Good night and I’ll chat with you in the morning.
7 Comments
John,
Kevin here. I’m just checking in before I go to sleep. There were a few interesting notes after the game I wanted to share before I turn the beat back over to you:
– Randolph defended his decision not to use Heilman in the 8th inning even though he’s been designated to be the “8th inning guy” this season. He felt Schoewenweis was the better matchup in that situation, which proved to be true after he got the pop out from Rollins and a double-play out of Victorino.
– Glavine said that he had a “mechanical issue” early on, which led to the two Rollins homers and three first-inning walks. Glavine said that he was rushing his delivery in the first two innings but worked it out while warming it up before the third. It always amazes me that even after all these years, Glavine still could have a problem like that. By the way, He faced the minimum after Rollins’s second HR before leaving after the sixth.
– John, I’m sure you can speak to this, but I saw a far different Lastings Milledge attitude-wise the last two nights. I know you and every other writer wrote this story in spring training, how he cleaned up his attitude. But it’s so obvious just the way he speaks and carries himself. He oozed ego last year when I dealt with him and I was somewhat turned off. But tonight, it was clear that he was more disappointed about not coming through in a clutch pinch hit situation than the fact he was sent down to the minors.
Milledge clearly wants to stay in the big leagues and I think it’s because he knows he’s gaining his teammates respect. A lot of the guys, especially the ones that weren’t on the team last year, approached Milledge after the game while he packed his things to wish him good luck. I overheard Shawn Green say “Don’t worry, you’ll be back here before the all-star break. Just keep working hard.” It was a good sign for Milledge.
– I noticed two things about David Wright over the last two days. One, he’s significantly bigger physically, especially his arms. Two, he’s not driving the ball as well as he did last year. Could it be mobility?
– Finally, and I say this after thinking about it for a long time, but Jose Reyes just might be the most complete player in baseball. I didn’t say ‘Best’, I said ‘Complete’. Put together the entire package – clutch hitting, speed, run production, defense, leadership – and I can’t think of anybody on that level.
And there isn’t a more humble guy, either. I asked him after the game: “Who has the most RBI on the team?” He looked at me blankly for a second and started to say “Beltran” before realizing it was himself. He got very embarrassed. Who else would react that way?
we won, thats all that matters.
a reverse of the day i went. 2 out of 3 aint bad!
i will take that all year long..
What I’ve noticed about Wright is that he’s been holding his bat more horizontally this year, rather than the almost straight-up vertical pose he has had in the past. From what I understand—and I hit .400 in Nanuet Little League—it’s more difficult to generate bat speed from the horizontal position, as it requires the extra step of aligning the bat vertically at the onset of the swing.
John, I want to address an issue you have in your posts about Glavine and Reyes, and it’s more a question than a real issue, but anyway here it is.
If Glavine, Bonds, Clemens, Maddux and Henderson all retire at the same time, shouldn’t they all be first ballot hall of famers?
It’s possible that a steroidal taint could lead to a short backlash against Bonds although I belive that would be a huge mistake because there is also anicdotal evidence that Clemens used them as well (same physical growth, name surfacing in various reports about usage, mysteriously sitting for 50 games last year, etc.) and if voters want to determine hall of fame eligability on that type of specious evidence then really nobody who played in the 1980’s and 1990’s is above suspicion (Bagwell, Big Hurt, et al).
Certainly Henderson is a first ballot guy, as are Glavine and Maddux right?
Do you have a vote?
How would you vote, who would you vote for, and why?
bonds, mcguire, et al should not be in the hall.
Kevin,
As you mentioned this subject of Milledge has been beaten to death. I guess Willie and Omar got through to him. His manager was the ultimate professional as a player. I would think he will not stand for grandstanding from his players. There is a difference between enthusiasm and grandstanding.
Dave
What a luxury to have a guy like Green hitting so well that you can send down a guy like Milledge and no one, not even the kid, can see this as anything but a reasonable decision.
The New Orleans outfield of Ben Johnson, Carlos Gomez, and Milledge is going to be worth the price of admission down there.
Jose Reyes as most complete player in the game? Gets my vote. Add that to his title of Most Exciting player in the game, along with the title of NL Shortstop Most Likely To Be A Future Gold Glove Winner, and it just makes me smile to watch the kid play. It feels strange to be forty years old and have a “favorite player” (I thought I was behond these things) But the kid just makes me smile all the time.
Now, let’s sweep the Nats. No playing around.