MLB Daily: Albert Pujols and Adrian Gonzalez Make History; Phillies Party like 2006
By Mike Cardillo
Welcome to the second MLB Daily of the 2015. Admittedly I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to keep this up, but we press onward and upward to deliver everyone’s favorite sport to the readers.
Short Term Memory History: Albert Pujols is in the midst of his 15th season in the Majors which makes me feel oh so very old and washed up. Pujols is another example of our collective short memories — stupid Internet. What was I talking about? Oh right, Pujols. Nowadays, he’s thought of as a washed-up bum with a massive contract that owes him $189 million from now until 2021. Last night, with Hisashi Iwakuma on the mound, Pujols hit his 521st career home run, which puts him in some exclusive company.
We don’t know whether or not Ted Williams did an exaggerated bat flip for his 521st dinger, although a lot’s been written about his final game in Boston.
In his 11 seasons in St. Louis, Pujols probably did enough to merit Hall of Fame talk — a 1.037 OPS is kind of good, in my humble opinion. If he keeps playing and stays healthy, he’ll have a shot at 700 home runs which will likely piss off the Jack Clarks of the world. Alas.
Also: Gary Sheffield really deserves more consideration for Cooperstown, but that’s neither here nor there.
A-Gone: How about those first basemen in Los Angeles, right? Adrian Gonzalez hit three home runs vs. the Padres, giving him five in 13 at bats in 2015. That’s pretty good, right? Nobody has ever hit five homers in the first three games of the season. His career-high is 40 with San Diego in 2009. For all the changes and moving parts with the Dodgers this year, Gonzalez remains a consistent run producer in the middle of the link.
If you enjoy weird, random plays … check out this play described succinctly as an “RBI groundout” by Yasiel Puig last night.
The Beauty of Baseball Part 4,201: The Phillies are the worst team in baseball, on paper and by general consensus (although the Twins may have something to say about that). The Red Sox are a favorite to the win the World Series. For one night, it was 2006 all over again. The Phils won 4-2 thanks to a three-run homer by Jeff Francoeur. Journeyman Aaron Harang picked up the win. If you’re scoring at home, Harang led the NL in wins back in ’06.
In turn, this 2006 chart-topper goes out to Boston fans and new $80-million man Rick Porcello.
On stats: We’ve made it to April 9. Baseball’s already been declared dead across the Internet. Naturally the second half of my least-favorite 1-2 combo came next: fretting about statistics and baseball, aka the most-fun topic that exists. Steve Kettman wrote an Op-Ed in the New York Times under the SCREAMING heading, “Don’t Let Statistics Ruin Baseball.”
It’s hard to argue with Craig Calcaterra’s quick take on Hardball Talk:
"But who cares if there are people who care only about the metrics? Why does it bother folks if someone enjoys the game in a manner different than they do? I’m not sure why this upsets people so much."
I’ll maintain my quick point: stats are useful. Do the advanced metrics tell the entire story? No, but to dismiss them out of hand is myopic and doing nothing but setting yourself up for strawman arguments. Counterpoint: unless you’re working in the front office looking for a market inequity or actually negotiating contracts, the never-ending sea of stats and data can become quite overwhelming for a layman. Possessing an MBA probably shouldn’t be a requirement to enjoy sports, but that’s just me.
Overall, information remains a good thing. It’s up to you to determine how you wish to interpret it. The old school “eye test” vs. “advanced metrics” war needs to end, it’s pointless. As much as I may personally hate the Internet, technology, data and whatnot aren’t going away, sorry Hawk.
Giancarlo Stanton is good at Baseball Vol. 31:
The Marlins are 0-3 to start the season after another loss to the red-hot, no-name Braves.
In the company of greatness: MLB Tonight on MLB Network is basically a must for baseball fans, especially early in the season. We are so fortunate to have Pedro Martinez in the mix. A sharper baseball mind on television might be hard to find. Hell, the 2015 Hall of Fame inductee is quickly becoming the best analyst in all of sports. Two things set Martinez apart: his tone is both humorous and intelligent at the same time, but more importantly he is still closely connected to the majority of the players still active which allows for significant insight in real time.
Unimportant Stat of the Day: According to my count 21 of the 30 starting pitchers on Wednesday sported some type of facial hair.
Days Baseball Has Gone Without Officially Dying This Season: Four.
This & That: Carlos Carrasco struck out 10 over 6 1/3 in Clevelands 2-0 win over Houston, his first start since signing a $22 million extension. … Bold prediction: Jake Arrieta will finish with better numbers for the Cubs than Jon Lester. … The Rockies are 3-0 after beating the Brewers in extras and likely to get a bunch of buzz because of their offense. Reminder: it’s good to sweep the first series of the season as opposed to one in May. LaTroy Hawkins blew the save but got the win in his 1,002 career appearance. … The Yankees crisis talk can be put on hold for a day or two since Brett Cecil and the Blue Jays is a disaster. Wild pitches, infield hits and HBPs — 2015 Bombers baseball! … Sad news: former pitcher Jose Capellan died at the age of 34 due to an apparent heart attack. He pitched for four teams over five seasons.
[I don’t know what Yardwork is or was.]