By Ed Morrone
One month is in the books, but there’s still five more to go! Some brief observations of another crazy April: the Brewers are in first place, the Yankees are in last, John Maine is leading the NL in ERA, the spend-happy Cubs are below .500, Ryan Howard is hitting .215 and Mariano Rivera has been battered around more than a piñata. Man, I love baseball season.
Story of the WeekUnfortunately, the big story this week was the tragic death of Cardinals reliever Josh Hancock, who was killed in a car accident when his SUV slammed into the back of a tow truck on a St. Louis highway early Sunday morning. Hancock wasn’t a star by any means (he played on four teams from 2002-07 and spent a lot of time in the minors), but he was an integral part on last year’s Cardinals World Series team and was loved by his coaches and teammates. It was another crushing loss for St. Louis, the team that loss Darryl Kile to a heart attack almost five years ago. This has to be the worst thing that could happen right now for the Cardinals, who are also dealing with a last place start.
Story of the MonthHas to be those aforementioned Brewers, who won 16 games in April and are off to an 18-9 start and a 4 ½ game lead in the NL Central. The Brew Crew has done it with hitting (fifth in batting average, fourth in runs), pitching (a 3.60 staff ERA) and a very solid managing job by underrated Ned Yost. Milwaukee has great young hitters, a good enough rotation and a strong bullpen to keep it up and clinch their first playoff berth since 1982.
Bizarre Story of the WeekAs if they don’t have enough problems looking up at the four other teams in the AL East, the Yankees fired their strength and conditioning coach yesterday because of all the injuries inflicted upon the starting rotation. Marty Miller lost his job just a few months after he had been hired as director of performance enhancement. Carl Pavano, Mike Mussina, Chien-Ming Wang and Jeff Karstens are either hurt or have been hurt at some point, but the straw that broke Miller’s back was phenom Phil Hughes going down with a hamstring injury in the midst of a no-hitter. Most of the injuries were curious, nagging leg injuries. All I can say is Joe Torre better hope this was the problem, because if the Yanks keep losing like this, he’s next.
Injuries of the WeekNot too many big ones this week, but the Hughes one hurts big time for the Yankees. The guy was a few outs away from a no-no in his second big league start and is now going to miss four to six weeks…talk about a 180-degree flip in the luck department. Brewers starter Chris Capuano left his start yesterday in the third inning after a sharp comebacker struck his right calf, but he shouldn’t miss a start. Mariners ace Felix Hernandez has been out with a strained forearm and won’t make Friday’s anticipated start at Yankee Stadium after experiencing soreness in a bullpen session. However, the soreness has since subsided and King Felix should get back out there May 9 at Detroit.
Age is Just a Number Phillies lefty Jamie Moyer proved this one Sunday against Florida, stymieing the Marlins over 7.1 innings. Moyer took a no-hitter into the seventh, never throwing a pitch harder than 82 mph. The 44-year-old Moyer has been Philly’s best starter so far, posting a 3-1 record with a very impressive 2.65 ERA. He keeps hitters off balance with a continuing mix of offspeed pitches (a la Greg Maddux) and is just the type of leader the Phillies need in the clubhouse. He also went 2-for-3 in that game and got to show off his wheels when he legged out a leadoff double in the seventh inning.
Cepeda in TroubleHall of Famer Orlando Cepeda is in some hot water after he was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of drug possession. The former Giants star was pulled over for speeding about 40 miles northeast of San Francisco, and the arresting officer found marijuana, a syringe and a white-powder substance described as either cocaine or methamphetamine in Cepeda’s Lexus. Cepeda currently works for the Giants as a community liaison and also speaks to at-risk children about the dangers presented by drugs and alcohol. I think the irony of that joke basically writes itself.
