Rumblings!

It's been a while since I've done one of these….literally a year and a half…Christ you all should have demanded more of me.

• Jim Thome has a higher career OBP than Rod Carew and Tony Gwynn, has never been linked to anything performance enhancing, and now has hit 600 career home runs. Anyone that says he isn't a Hall of Famer, has no supporting evidence to stake that claim. The fact that he's not getting half as much publicity as Jeter's 3000^th hit is a travesty.
  
• On an unrelated Twins side note, what the hell happened to Joe Mauer? His last 200 games he has hit 10 total home runs. He has hit just 1 this year in 62 games and does not look at all like someone that deserves a 180+ million dollar contract. To put his pitiful season into perspective. His OPS is .677, Marco Scutaro is at .721, Yikes. It's truly sad. To top it off, how much longer can he stay behind the plate and be a potent bat in a lineup.
  
• It's not anywhere near time to call Carl Crawford a bust, but this inaugural season has been atrocious. He looks lost at the plate, his Joe Madden-endorsed "best LF in baseball" has been underwhelming to say the least, and he has not gotten on base which has cut down on the havoc he causes on the bases. There is something to be said about a "fresh start" for baseball players and when the Sox get into October, Carl Crawford like everyone else will have a chance to carve their niche once again with a clean slate. Here's hoping he picks it up in October.
  
• Despite being statistically the worst defensive centerfielder in baseball, what Curtis Granderson is doing at the dish is really putting a strong case together for the MVP.
  
• While I'm not worried about Adrian Gonzalez, it is odd to see him still sitting on 18 home runs. Wonder if the surgically repaired shoulder is bothering him?
  
• I may have changed my position on Pete Rose and his induction into the Hall of Fame after dissecting and wading my way through the seediness of Alex Rodriguez and his poker/gambling antics. I believe that Pete should be in as a player, because there is no evidence that he did anything while playing. It seems weird to have a Hall of Fame without the All-Time Hits Leader. But as a manager there are ways to manipulate your bullpen and leaving in pitchers one batter too long that go unnoticed too often that really could have tainted the game.
  
• As For A-Rod, I will give him the benefit of the doubt that he wasn't betting on games, because his "legacy" is already tarnished enough. But just think about this for a second, knowing that he was playing in games that had buy-ins of upwards of 2-millon dollars I would say if he was betting he'd be wagering another hefty amount. If he had a bad night and lost 15 million or so someone could ask him to then fix a game instead of the 15 million. You could then be looking at a big issue with the games integrity. Not that A-Rod is the poster child for moral fiber but you get the gist.
  
• Call me crazy but I'm taking the Brewers over the Phillies in the NLCS this year, Book it. Phillies have the better starting pitching but Milwaukee has the capability to shut down the Phillies bats, the edge in bullpen and offense go to Milwaukee.
  
• Here's a bold statement. While I disagree with the nickname "Big Game" James Shields he is definitely the ace of that team, not David Price. I also think Price could be traded to get the Rays some MUCH needed offense, in the offseason. Who hangs up first: David Price for Joey Votto?
  
• I wonder what else Josh Reddick needs to do for the Sox to fully trust him. They keep pinch hitting him late in games, and being very selective with the lefties that he gets to face. Take the kid gloves off; let's see what he can do. If he's going to play in October he's going to need to face some sort of challenges beforehand.
  
• Adam Dunn and Hanley Ramirez where fore art thou?
  

Stay Tuned

Norton