Baseball Players Are Paid a Lot

Evidently pleased with the way their last major signing worked out, the Milwaukee Brewers gave Ryan Braun a seven-year extension worth a franchise-record $45 million. The 25 year-old outfielder was Rookie of the Year in 2007 and has ten home runs already this season. Though it's apparent that Braun wanted to remain in Milwaukee as part of a promising core, it seems that he could have parlayed his hitting ability into a lot more money in the free agent market, even if he ended up returning to his original team. While everyone knows Braun is a liability in the field (26 errors at third base last year), he is serviceable as a corner outfielder, and I feel like his offense would be too much for teams to resist. Nevertheless, the Brewers come out the winners in this deal, especially when you look at the value they get for $45 mil. compared to the value they've been getting from their last $40+ million signing. Even the Knicks wouldn't have signed Suppan for that much. They would've given him $60 million. And the keys to the city.

Scott Kazmir also cashed in yesterday, re-signing with the Rays for $28.5 million. Kazmir, who Tampa Bay acquired in the worst trade of the modern era, struck out 239 in 206 innings last year and is the ace of the staff. Kazmir is largely considered one of the best young pitchers in the AL. Despite his lack of consistent control, when he gets in a groove, batters are helpless, as evidenced by last night's performance versus the newly last-place New York Yankees. Kazmir went six innings, allowing just three hits and no runs, and Tampa Bay took 3 of 4 from the Yankees.

Mind of Ramirez

I picture the inside of Manny Ramirez's mind looking like a combination of Vincent D'Onofrio's from The Cell, scenes from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and a few dancing bears. Following up on his efficient catch-high five-outfield assist maneuver that is all too uncommon in baseball, here is video of Baseball Tonight's top ten "Manny Being Manny" moments. As much as I dislike the Red Sox, Boston, anything that's associated with Boston, and most words that start in B-O-S, the fact that there's 28 minutes of ridiculous Manny footage warms my heart.

Lance Berkman is Good

Right now, Lance Berkman looks like that kid in Little League who hit his growth spurt three years early. While everyone was trying just to make contact, the 6-foot 12 year-old was jacking pitches into the next county. In a year where the power numbers have come from unlikely sources, the Astros outfielder is playing on completely different level. With another home run last night, Berkman continues to tear into anything thrown in his vicinity, and is now sitting on a .388/.468/.796 stat line. To help you grasp the significance, consider that Berkman's Slugging Pct. is .091 better than the second-place occupant. That player in second place is Chipper Jones (.705) who, by the way, has a batting average of .418.


Some other reasons why Lance Berkman is better than you:

-In his last eleven games, Berkman is 26-42 with 5 homeruns and 17 RBI. In contrast, Carlos Delgado(436 career HRs) has 5 and 17 so far this season.

-Berkman has an OPS of 1.264 for the season. The closest AL player is Carlos Quentin at .988.

- With 40 RBI and 14 home runs, the early MVP candidate is hitting a homer every 10.5 at bats and driving in a run every 3.6.

Please excuse Bill James, he needs to go change his pants.

Ohh, Manny Just Wants to Have Fu-un...

Say what you want about Manny's tendency to be lackadaisical or space out at times, but he's one of the few players left that sees baseball for what it is: a game. Money and fame be damned, Ramirez refuses to change the way he plays, and it's what makes moments like this so refreshing.



via Awful Announcing

C.C. Sabathia is Large and Once Again In Charge

It looks like C.C. Sabathia has rid finally rid himself of the Barry Zito syndrome and is back among the elite. After a disastrous start to his contract year, The Round One zipped through the Oakland lineup last night, throwing a complete game five-hitter. The win was Sabathia's second consecutive quality outing, but, more impressively, it extended the Indians' scoreless innings streak to 43 1/3. After an unpredictable start in the AL Central, the Indians have restored order and claimed the top spot, a half-game ahead of the Twins.

Cleveland seems to have recovered nicely after struggling early in the season, and if this is the real C.C. Sabathia (20 K's in last two games), he and Cliff Lee form one of the better 1-2 combinations in the league. Even with Travis Hafner looking like a shell of his former Pronk-ness, the team has enough talent to maintain pace in a mediocre division.

It's Getting Serious In Tampa

Not too much time to post today, but I wanted to note that the Rays have officially been appointed this site's 2008 Team of Destiny. Taking sole possession of first in the AL East by beating the Yankees will do that. And prompting another Steinbrenner outburst guarantees Tampa Bay the prestigious (?) ToD moniker.


With the extra-innings win last night, the Rays have the best record in baseball over the past 20 games (15-5) and look just as good as any team in the American League. While the Los Angels Angels of Anaheim of Orange County of California can make a case for having the more consistent lineup, their pitching is equal to or even slightly worse than the Rays' staff. With Scott Kazmir's return and Edwin Jackson turning in back-to-back shutout outings, Tampa is one of the most dangerous teams heading into the meat of the season.

The win also dropped the Yankees two games under .500, good news for all those who had May 14 in the "Hank Steinbrenner Makes More Inflammatory Comments" pool. While no doubt furrowing his brow, Steinbrenner urged the Yanks to "play smarter and harder," questioned the team's desire, and implied that his players were not earning their money. Right now, New York has to hope that the return of Jorge Posada and A-Rod will spark a hot streak similar to last year's, otherwise rebuilding could be in the immediate future. In fact, with a number of unproductive and expensive veterans on the roster, this might be a good time for the Yankees to reload anyway. I doubt Steinbrenner would allow it, however, even if the season continues to spiral downward. Look for the Yanks to become serious buyers as the deadline approaches. Hank's ego wouldn't accept anything less.

The Happy Recap: Superman Wears Cliff Lee Pajamas

The Happy Recap is a daily rundown of last night's action around the MLB. Expect scores, game summaries, and warning track gambling.

"Okay dude, but first I have to create a player."

Anybody that's ever played sports video games knows this guy. You challenge him to a game of, say, MLB '07, and you fire up the system. And every damn time, before you have a chance to quickly select your team and get on with the game, the familiar refrain: "First I have to create a player."
"Fine," you say, as he proceeds to build the most unrealistic, steroid infused, crack-baby looking, ridiculously dominant player in the game. He, of course, names the digital behemoth after himself, and is finally ready. Needless to say, the 7' 1" 300-pound fireballing lefty with a knuckleball that dances like Elaine from Seinfeld completely changes your approach to the game. Now, instead of enjoying yourself, the next 9 innings consist of an assortment of strikeouts, bunts, and profanities.

I imagine this is the kind of ulcer-inducing feeling that comes with having to face Cliff Lee. I know the analogy is already getting worn out, but he is literally a video game character. There is no other explanation. Lee (0.67 ERA) went another nine innings last night against the Blue Jays, extending his latest scoreless innings streak to 16. Even more frustrating for the Jays was the defense that Lee got the entire game. A diving stab in right saved a run, Victor Martinez looked like a natural first baseman snagging a line drive, and the Indians even turned an unassisted triple play. I can't imagine what kind of deal Lee cut with the devil to get this kind of luck. Maybe that's why, despite my unexplainable soft spot for the Indians (perhaps I feel sorry they have to live in Ohio?), I was glad to see Toronto score three runs in the tenth to take the second game of the doubleheader. Watching the Jays win reminded me of the few times you get lucky and hit that game-winner off of your friend and his test-tube baby pitcher.

Oh, and if you find yourself saying, "but created players make the game so much more fun," then congrats, douche, you're that guy. Go play GTA with all the cheat codes.




Wrapping Up the Rest:
Twins 7, Red Sox 3: If Miguel Tejada is actually older than he says he is, no way Livan Hernandez is only 33. I say 47, at least. Minnesota scored all seven off of Sox starter Clay Buchholz.
Rays 7, Yankees 1: Tampa Bay won their fifth straight game and got seven scoreless from Matt Garza. According to Garza, "the game plan was to attack." Thanks, Matt.
Brewers 8, Cardinals 3: Ryan Braun homered twice for the second straight game and Eric Gagne didn't completely fail in his first appearance since announcing he didn't deserve to close. While we're on the subject of news that's years late, Mission Accomplished in Iraq and Ryan Leaf will be a great NFL quarterback.
Rangers 13, Mariners 12 (10): Ramon Vazquez hit the game-winning home run after Seattle scored four in the 9th to tie the game. This is what happens when the Rangers face pitching as bad as theirs.

Mediocrity a Franchise First

With their win over the Angles yesterday, the Tampa Bay Rays stole headlines in the media-heavy AL East. And this time, it didn't involve the phrase, "you dead, dawg." For the first time in the the team's ten-year history, the significantly less devilish Rays are five games over .500. They've won four in a row and have made a significant turnaround from last year's cellar dwellers.

The Rays, with an unusual combination of not-yet-ready prospects, discarded veterans, and Elijah Dukes, have formed a likable, if not competitive, team over the past years. While the Yankees and Sox were battling it out for publicity like washed-up reality stars, Tampa Bay brought a sense of youthfulness, and at times, sheer comedy with the way they played. However, the young players that put the "baby" in Baby Rays have finally started to make some noise in the division. The pitching has been magnificent so far, with Tampa getting contributions from their seemingly endless farm system. Jeff Niemann, Matt Garza, Andy Sonnanstine, and Jason Hammel have been a few of the ones backing up "senior" pitchers James Shields and Edwin Jackson. Sonnanstine has been the most impressive thus far, leading the team in wins with five.


Now recognized as a solid team, the question facing the Rays is what happens when they lose the, "Surprise! We're Good!" factor. Tampa plays in a tough division and their lemming-like procession of pitchers will have to withstand the grind of a whole season. The offense, which has been spotty all season, also needs to kick into gear. The return of veteran Cliff Floyd should help, but the Rays really could use a return to form from Carlos Pena, who is striking out in 34% of his at-bats. Those are Preston Wilson stats.

With a New York-St. Louis-Oakland gauntlet to face over the next nine days, we'll see if the Rays can keep up the pace. The first game tonight has Matt Garza facing steroid enthusiast/snitch Andy Pettitte.

images via Daylife.com & Getty