By Ed Morrone
With baseball season rapidly heating up (my Phillies too!), let’s jump right into what went down in an eventful last week:
Favorite Story of the WeekThe honor of this one goes to Brewers manager Ned Yost, who tripped while jogging near Wrigley Field in Chicago and broke his collarbone. Yost said his foot got caught in some uneven pavement after finishing a run near Lake Michigan and he went tumbling head first into the concrete. He then went to a hospital where a doctor told Yost he should get the arm immobilized, a suggestion which he refused. So while the Brewers are enjoying their best start in years (first place in the NL Central through 21 games), their manager can’t stay on his feet and he declined medical attention to a broken bone. “I feel like an idiot,” Yost said. Good to know.
Second Favorite Story of the WeekTwins CF Torii Hunter was flagged by the commissioner’s office for getting four bottles of Dom Perignon to the Kansas City Royals clubhouse. The champagne was a gift to the lowly Royals, who allowed the Twins to win the AL Central last fall by sweeping the Detroit Tigers in the final series of the regular season. Hunter’s gift violated a baseball rule and the champagne was returned, but Hunter probably won’t be punished by baseball or the Twins. I guess that’s what Hunter gets for trying to be nice.
Most Overrated Story of the WeekThe Red Sox sweeping the Yankees this weekend at Fenway. C’mon, folks! I know these two fan bases love to verbally abuse each other whenever the other one is struggling (as the Yankees are right now), but it’s April. There are just under 140 games to go, and a lot can happen in that time, including 16 more games between the two bitter rivals (three this weekend in the Bronx). If anything is evident from this sweep-besides the fact that the Yankees starting pitching is not nearly as good as Boston’s-it’s that the Boston fans have way too much fun over early season Yankee struggles. We can re-visit this topic in August.
Goat(s) of the WeekThis one is impossible to pick, so I’m declaring a tie between Mark Prior and Eric Gagne. In a battle of two guys who can’t seem to stay on the mound, Prior’s “exploratory” surgery on Tuesday turned into another lost season. The once ceiling-less Prior has started only nine games for the Cubs since 2005 and is out for the entire 2007 campaign because of problems to his right shoulder and rotator cuff. Reports say it’s not career-threatening, but forgive me if I’m skeptical. As for Gagne, it’s more of the same. Gagne landed on the 15-day DL with a right hip strain when his right cleat slipped on the mound trying to protect a one-run lead on Sunday. Ever since he recorded 152 saves from 2002-04, Gagne has had a plethora of injuries, mostly to his right shoulder and elbow. This one doesn’t sound serious, but it is Gagne, so Rangers fans (are there any of these left?) beware.
Injuries of the WeekBad news for the Blue Jays on the B.J. Ryan front as the flamethrowing closer was put on the 60-day DL with a strained ligament in his throwing elbow and won’t be back until at least June 15 (but maybe later). Reigning NL batting champion Freddy Sanchez was scratched from last night’s lineup due to eye problems, but he should be OK. One other one to keep an eye on is Brewers ace Ben Sheets, who left yesterday’s start against the Cubs with a groin strain.
Santo OKFormer Cubs All-Star and current team broadcaster Ron Santo is out of the hospital and resting after being hospitalized for a heart ailment that didn’t require surgery. He’s going to have to take some time off, but should be able to return to the booth soon, which is good news for a great guy who should be in the Hall of Fame.
A-Rod PredictionWhat the heck, I’ll join the party and throw out an A-Rod home run prediction. I’ll go with 59, one more than Ryan Howard had last year. And you all think I’m biased.
B.J. Ryan’s trip to the 60-day DL does not bode well for Toronto’s bullpen.