[Posted Wed. a.m.]
Los Angeles Angels Quiz: 1) Name the only three to hit 200 home runs in their Angels’ careers. [Mike Trout is not one of them.] 2) Who is the single-season batting average leader at .355? 3) Who are the only two pitchers to win 150 games? 4) The peak for single-season wins in an Angels uniform is 22. Name the only two to hit this mark. Answers below.
MLB
–Among the bigger moves at the trade deadline….
The Dodgers got the big starter they wanted with Clayton Kershaw down with his back injury, L.A. sending three prospects, including highly-touted 2B/OF Willie Calhoun, to Texas for Yu Darvish. Separately, L.A. also acquired relievers Tony Watson from Pittsburgh and Tony Cingrani from Cincinnati.
Darvish is a real ace, 52-39 lifetime with a 3.42 ERA, but is 6-9, 4.01 this season, getting shelled a few times, including giving up 10 earned in his last start, but he does have 148 strikeouts in 137 innings, so the stuff is there.
The Yankees proved they are all in in acquiring Oaklander righthander Sonny Gray for three top prospects from the deep Yankee farm system; pitcher James Kaprelian, outfielder Dustin Fowler, and SS/CF Jorge Mateo.
Kaprelian recently underwent Tommy John surgery, and Fowler ruptured his patellar tendon in that tragic major league debut of his, but you have to assume they are factors by mid-2018, certainly 2019. Mateo was once the top prospect in the Yankees’ system before the team soured on him, but he’s playing well this year at AA.
As for Gray, the Yanks get a top-of-the-rotation hurler, just 27, who is 44-36, 3.42 in his career, and comes to New York hot…last six starts, 1.37 ERA. He’s also under team control thru 2019 (though now arbitration eligible).
Coupled with the Yanks’ first move to get pitcher Jaime Garcia, they now field a rotation of Luis Severino, Gray, Masahiro Tanaka, CC Sabathia and Garcia, which isn’t great, but it can more than get the job done with a packed bullpen backing them.
The Cubs traded off two more top prospects, Jeimer Candelario and Isaac Paredes, to the Tigers for relief pitcher Justin Wilson (3-4, 2.68, 13 saves) and catcher Alex Avila (.274, 11 homers) as the Tigers switch to rebuilding, while the Cubs, taking advantage of their abundant system (which is no longer that rich after a series of moves the past year or so), shoot for the playoffs and a second title.
The Nationals continued to improve their bullpen in a big way in acquiring closer Brandon Kintzler from the Twins for a minor leaguer and some cash. Kintzler was an All-Star this season, and with 28 saves, he’s that rarity…a big reliever who doesn’t have strikeout-heavy stuff.
The Mets traded solid reliever Addison Reed to Boston for three so-so (at best) righty relief prospects. The Metsies couldn’t expect much more, even if Reed was pretty highly sought by other clubs. The drawback is he’s a free agent at the end of the season, which is why the Mets dealt him for the box where Carol Merrill was standing. “Let’s see what you won by taking the box…three middling righty relievers!”
–In games on Tuesday, Mets phenom Amed Rosario finally made his major league debut at shortstop in Colorado and I watched the first 7 ½ innings as he fielded the position flawlessly and had his first hit. But I learned in the morning that Rosario botched a critical play in the bottom of the ninth when he broke the wrong way on an infield hit and couldn’t recover in attempting to field it. Mets lose 5-4.
–Washington superstar Max Scherzer hit his first career home run in the top of the second inning in a game at Miami, but as he threw warmups in the bottom of the inning, he took himself out with neck spasms, saying he had slept poorly the night before. Seeing as the Nationals are concerned over the health of Stephen Strasburg, who is missing another start due to an elbow issue, the Nats are resting uneasy today, I imagine.
The Nats blew a 6-0 lead, incidentally, Scherzer contributing his three-run clout to a six-run second, losing 7-6, though it wasn’t the fault of any of the new relievers they have acquired the past week.
Scherzer, by the way, is not an awful hitter, batting .191 in 262 career at-bats.
—Cubs pitcher Jon Lester hit his first career home run, and became the 25th left-hander in league history to record 2,000 strikeouts, as the Cubs pounded the Diamondbacks 16-4.
Lester had a career batting average of .077 (15-for-196) before hitting the homer, but he was pulled in the fifth, failing to win his fourth straight.
–The extraordinary run of the Los Angeles Dodgers continued Tuesday as they defeated the Braves in Atlanta, 3-2, for their ninth straight win (their third winning streak of nine or more this season) to move to 75-31, 20-2 since July 2; 40-6 since June 6.
—Fans are still buzzing in Boston following the Red Sox’ stupendous comeback against Cleveland in Fenway, 12-10. The Indians scored 2 in the ninth off All-Star closer Craig Kimbrel, in a rare hiccup for him, to take a 10-9 lead, but then Christian Vazquez hit a walk-off three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth for the victory.
The game was marked by one of the great catches of all time in the fifth inning by the Indians’ Austin Jackson, who leaped over the center field wall to take away a home run off the bat of Hanley Ramirez, Jackson tumbling over the wall into the Sox’ bullpen but holding onto the ball.
–Monday, the Astros’ Jose Altuve went 2-for-4, ending up July at .485 (48-for-99), the best batting average for a month in franchise history.
–The Cubs have awarded longtime fan Steve Bartman with a World Series ring, hopefully closing a chapter in Cubs history that never should have been such a big deal, but some in the Chicago area made it one and Mr. Bartman has been paying a heavy price ever since.
It was Oct. 14, 2003, when Bartman, a huge Cubs fan seated along the rail down the left-field line, initiated a chain of events that knocked the Cubs out of the postseason…if you follow the narrative of the day.
Top of the eighth inning, one out, with the Cubs ahead of the Marlins, 3-0, and seemingly headed to the World Series, five outs to go in the National League Championship Series.
But on a pop fly near the stands in left, Cubs left fielder Moises Alou seemed to have a good chance to snare it for the second out of the inning, except Bartman, 14, reached for the ball himself and got in Alou’s way; Alou then causing a scene. Instead of an out, the Marlin’s Luis Castillo, given second life, worked out a walk, and two batters later, Cubs shortstop Alex Gonzalez botched a potential double-play grounder. By the time the top of the eighth had ended, the Marlins had scored eight runs and it was game over.
So the fans turned on Bartman, not Gonzalez, because ‘Men’ are assholes (No. 367 on the All-Species List for a reason) and not always rational, and Bartman needed security to get from his seat to out of the park.
The Cubs then lost Game 7 as well, 9-6. Bartman became one of the most reviled fans in the history of the game and went into hiding. While he grew up and now works in the Chicago area, he never granted any interviews and never attempted to cash in on his notoriety.
Mike Vaccaro / New York Post
“In 2017, when we are overrun by Kardashians, when our insatiable 24/7 celebrity culture is forever groaning to be fed, everyone has a price. Everyone has a point at which they’ll take a check, cash or money order as partial compensation for their pain and suffering, real or imagined. Bartman never did that.
“Not once.”
The Cubs told WGN-TV in a statement Monday, “We hope this provides closure on an unfortunate chapter of the story that has perpetuated throughout our quest to win a long-awaited World Series. While no gesture can fully lift the public burden he has endured for more than a decade, we felt it was important Steve knows he has been and continues to be fully embraced by this organization.”
Bartman said in his own statement: “Although I do not consider myself worthy of such an honor, I am deeply moved and sincerely grateful to receive [this ring]. I am fully aware of the historical significance and appreciate the symbolism the ring represents on multiple levels. My family and I will cherish it for generations.”
Bartman added: “I humbly receive the ring not only as a symbol of one of the most historic achievements in sports, but as an important reminder for how we should treat each other in today’s society.”
Then he asked for his privacy again, declaring he would not do any interviews and went back to his life. Here’s hoping this terrific gesture on the part of the Cubs helps provide some closure, though the hurt and pain will linger with Bartman forever. [The ring costs $70,000.]
–We note the passing of slugger Lee May, 74, who played the bulk of his long career in Cincinnati and Houston, clubbing 354 home runs, including 11 straight with 20+, while driving in 1,254 runs.
May was traded to Houston for Joe Morgan after the 1971 season in one of the biggest trades in baseball history, an 8-player transaction, that helped propel the Reds, already the Big Red Machine with Tony Perez and Johnny Bench, to real greatness, Morgan winning back-to-back MVP awards as the Reds won the Series in 1975 and ’76.
May was hurt by the trade, feeling like he was being “kicked out of the house,” but the Reds had slipped to fourth in 1971 and the team decided they needed more left-handed hitting, speed and defense. Morgan went on to become a Hall of Famer.
NFL
—Jets rookie and first-round draft pick Jamal Adams made waves the other day at camp when, seated beside Commissioner Roger Goodell, he said that the football field would be “a perfect place to die,” in relation to a question on chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
Michael Bennett, a defensive end for the Seattle Seahawks, told USA TODAY Sports: “I’m [not] like the dumbass rookie for the Jets who goes and says I want to die on the f—ing football field. I want to be in Africa, buried in Ghana somewhere. I don’t want to die on the football field. That would not be a good death for me.
“It just shows the disconnect between the youth and the veterans,” said Bennett, 31 and in his ninth season. “To say you want to die on the football field is ignorant, and it doesn’t pay homage to the people who came before. It shows the ignorance and the lack of intelligence when it comes to the history of football, and what players have been through in the NFL.
“It’s literally a game,” Bennett said. “I love football for being a game. I don’t love it for being my life.”
Adams, at the urging of Coach Todd Bowles, met with the media to try to clarify his remarks.
“My comments were simply [about] passion,” Adams said. “Nothing else. Not one time did I say anything about CTE – say anything negative. I understand what’s the outcome of it, and I know there’s families that are affected.”
Seahawks veteran cornerback Richard Sherman called Adams’ comments “odd.”
“When you strap on the helmet, you’re not saying, ‘I want to die today,’ but you are saying that me playing this game is going to have detrimental effects on my body in the long run,” Sherman said. “Do I understand the consequences of going out there, I do. But I’m not going to put myself in a situation if I can avoid it. But he’s young. He doesn’t have kids, he just got in the game. He’s like, ‘Aaahhh! I’ll do anything for this game.’”
Personally, I’d have no problem dying on the golf course, but only after birdieing No. 14 or 15 at Lahinch in Ireland, two long par-4s I don’t recall ever reaching in two.
Golf Balls
–Out of nowhere, Rory McIlroy has fired J.P. Fitzgerald, the caddie who has been on his bag all four of his major titles, with McIlroy preparing to have a new caddie on his bag for the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.
Fitzgerald had been with Rory since shortly before he turned pro in 2008. What’s really surprising is the timing, seeing as how Rory credited J.P. for his turnaround at The Open Championship, when McIlroy turned it around following Fitzgerald’s blunt talk to get his act together, Rory finishing T-4.
But other times J.P. has been blamed in part for Rory’s troubles, such as in his collapse on the back nine at The Masters in 2011.
According to those inside the ropes, there have been grumblings among McIlroy’s fellow players, caddies and tour insiders that Fitzgerald wasn’t up to the job and he was ill-serving Rory, so this shouldn’t come as the surprise it seems to be for an outsider like yours truly. J.P. is terrible with his club selections, for example.
But he stayed with Rory as long as he did because McIlroy is fiercely loyal…and stubborn.
–As I noted last time, Jhonattan Vegas took the Canadian Open title last Sunday, but I didn’t note Vegas is from Venezuela, so he’s had his mind elsewhere.
“It’s always on my mind,” said Vegas, when referring to the growing violence and chaos. “It hurts a lot, seeing the country the way it is, seeing a government that treats people that way when they don’t deserve it, just to remain in power, and all the suffering that even my family and friends are having right now. It’s just not fair.”
Vegas had missed the cut in each of his last five starts prior to last week.
As you know there are a ton of major league baseball players from Venezuela, and their teams must be constantly worried sick when their players travel home in the offseason. But this year will be different. I would forbid them from going back come October.
–I would not be mentioning the following, except the story is all over the place and David Feherty has been very public in expressing his grief over his oldest son, Shey, who died of a drug overdose on Saturday, the golfing world just learning yesterday when Feherty announced it on Twitter.
Feherty has openly talked of his own battles with addiction and depression, which he says runs in his family.
“A typical day was 30-40 Vicodin and 2 ½ bottles of whiskey…real whiskey. Whiskey with an ‘e,” he told Rolling Stone in 2015. “There was cocaine, there was dope. When I think about it now I’m like, why am I alive?”
Feherty added then he has not had a sip of alcohol since 2005 but still took a daily mixture of anti-depressants, mood stabilizers and amphetamines to combat depression.
Our sympathies to this good man and his family.
Sgt. Stubby
I was reading the current issue of Army Times and they note an animated film, “Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero,” is set for release in April. It’s the story of Stubby, a dog, who became part of a unit of soldiers training at Yale University as the United States was entering World War I. Stubby then made his way to France, after his newly claimed owner, Pvt. James Robert Conroy, apparently stowed him away on the ship.
Stubby is real, and while the movie apparently strays a bit it has the endorsement of the World War I Centennial Commission and is supported by Conroy’s family. It is hoped that it will bring awareness among young people of a time period they don’t have a clue about.
What we know is that Stubby, whose breed was never known but from a picture looks part-Terrier, is praised for saving the lives of soldiers in his unit in France “when a German spy was sneaking up on the camp, for circling the grounds and staying on the lookout for the enemy, for warning soldiers of incoming bombs and for continuing to fight despite his own war wounds,” as reported by Ashley Bunch of Army Times.
According to Conroy’s grandson, Curt Deane, Stubby also warned the troops about gas attacks and “He used to go outside of the trenches and into this sort of no-man’s land, between the U.S. and the German trenches, and stand by soldiers who had been injured until the medics could come and get them.”
The most famous tale was retold in Stubby’s New York Times obituary. He was said to have saved an entire division by finding and detaining a German spy.
The dog “stole out of the trenches and recognized – a German,” the obit read. “Attempts by the German to deceive the dog were futile.”
After service, he would meet three presidents, appear in parades, have his photo taken with Army Gen. John “Blackjack” Pershing and become an official mascot for Georgetown University, where Conroy studied law.
Stubby died in Conroy’s arms in 1926 and his coat is on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.
Stuff
–Firefighters say two 12-year-old girls were bitten by a small shark off the South Carolina coast. The girls were on a raft when a shark about 3-feet long jumped aboard and thrashed about. One girl was bitten on her thigh and hospitalized. They must be traumatized.
Top 3 songs for the week 8/6/66: #1 “Wild Thing” (The Troggs) #2 “Lil’ Red Riding Hood” (Sam The Sham and The Pharaohs) #3 “Summer In The City” (The Lovin’ Spoonful)…and…#4 “The Pied Piper” (Crispian St. Peters) #5 “They’re Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!” (Napoleon XIV…incredibly awful song and shocking it peaked at #3) #6 “I Saw Her Again” (The Mamas and the Papas) #7 “Hanky Panky” (Tommy James and The Shondels) #8 “Sweet Pea” (Tommy Roe) #9 “Mothers Little Helper” (The Rolling Stones) #10 “Somewhere, My Love” (Ray Conniff and The Singers…ah yes, the diversity of the 1960s that helped make it so great…)
Los Angeles Angels Quiz Answers: 1) 200 home runs: Tim Salmon, 299; Garret Anderson, 272; Brian Downing, 222. [Anderson, 1,292, and Salmon 1,016, are the only two with 1,000 RBIs.] 2) Darin Erstad hit .355 in 2000. In 1999 he hit .253. In 2001, .258. So all together now, “Hmmmm.” He also had 25 home runs and 100 RBIs in 2000, totally out of whack with any other season of his. 3) 150 wins: Chuck Finley, 165; Jered Weaver, 150. [Ryan had 138] 3) 22 wins: Nolan Ryan, 1974; Clyde Wright, 1970.
Next Bar Chat, Monday.
*I just saw the news on the passing of college football coaching great, Ara Parseghian, at the age of 94. I’ll have something on him next time.
