--Now I don't like being one of those people to say I told you so (ok, that might be a lie, I love it), but does anyone remember that nice article I wrote last week about Carlos Zambrano being thoroughly abused. Zambrano is still second in stress at 65 with PAP at 54672. Now, he's going for MRI's, and Dusty is talking about cutting his innings between starts down. I'm now hearing varying reports that it could be anything from tennis elbow to a tendon tear. I won't say it. I promise.
I TOLD YOU SO!
--I heard someone on ESPN yesterday say what I'm going to consider the dumbest thing I've ever heard. That's right, it has superceded John Kruk exclaiming Chone Figgins to be the 2004 MVP. Someone, somewhere (I don't remember the name because when I heard it, my eyes popped, my ears bled, and I may have gone into a coma) said Ken Griffey Jr. was not a lock for the Hall of Fame on his first ballot.
Average HoF CF:
WARP: 108.8
JAWS: 77.6
PEAK: 46.5
BRAR: 694
BRAA: 445
Griffey Jr.:
WARP: 126.5
JAWS: 89.55
PEAK: 96-2000--52.6
BRAR: 854
BRAA: 605
Now I know the Hall of Fame isn't what it used to be (thanks Tony Perez!), but Griffey Jr. is so far and above the requirements, and was by far the dominating force of the 90s, that if he's not a first ballot hall of famer, i'm storming Cooperstown with my Chicks Dig Sabremetrics shrit and burning it down.
Even more than all of these stats, and memories of Griffey Jr. stealing homeruns (and hitting them) for my entire childhood, is that I rest safely in the fact that I wholeheartedly believe Griffey was the only power hitter of the Steroids Era who I can say was completely devoid of steroid suspicion. To anyone who ever saw what I think is the sweetest swing in baseball, you know exactly what I mean. That batspeed, the look in his eye, that sweet uppercut any kid who ever held a whiffle ball bat tried to mimic, you know that was just baseball, pure and simple, and that's how I feel about Griffey.
--Tino Martinez hitting 8 HR's in a week. It's not that I hate the Yankees and believe Steinbrenner to be the world's foremost occult expert, empowering his players with Voodoo magic, but my God, how did this happen? His 14.3 VORP puts him 3rd in the AL among first basemen. Tino is now second in Home Runs in all of baseball, at 12, one behind A-Rod. Am I the only one who thinks that Scott Brosius could pick up a glove right now and hit 30 HRs and be the deciding pinch hit to win the ALCS or something. Yankee Voodoo...
--Now I'm not one to say I told you so, but go read my Beltran v Abreu article again. Abreu is 4th in fantasy baseball, is hitting homeruns like they're going out of style (with 11), and has 10 stolen bases, to match his 331 avg.
Beltran is ranked 84th, with 6 homeruns, 1 stolen base, and a 298 avg.
I won't say it this time, because the numbers, much like statistics always do, speak for themselves.