Here at the Hungry Dog Blog we like games. In fact, let's play one right now. I'm gonna describe an MLB star in great detail and you see how fast you can guess who it is. Ready?
Alright, he's a 15 year veteran and has spent the last 13 years with one team, this team happens to be one of the largest markets in baseball. He's a five time all star, though you could make the case for him making the team every year. He's 36 years old but he shows no signs of slowing down, in fact he's been one of the best players in baseball right now. He's a world series champion and he's well on his way to 500 home runs, 2700 hits, and a lifetime OPS over .800. He has the resume resembling that of a first ballot hall of famer. His name?
Paul Konerko. Yes that's right and when I discovered this I was as shocked as anyone. No one talks about Paul Konerko ever, for all the attention he receives he might as well be an average bench player of the Padres. Yet he's one of the greatest hitters of our generation. He was the best player on a team that won 100 games and the World Series. The White Sox weren't exactly the team of the decade but Ozzie Guillen kept them in the news, they were usually competitive, and Chicago isn't exactly Buffalo, it's a huge market. So why he didn't receive more attention remains a mystery. One possible explantion is that his prime coincided with the steroid era aftermath. Another is that despite being in the top for statistical categories nearly every year and garnering MVP votes in four different seasons; Konerko never led the AL in any category. This year Konerko is an early favorite for MVP with the White Sox winning and him leading the batting title race by a mile. Perhaps if he keeps this up, he'll finally he receive the attention he deserves.
In other news this week we were treated to yet another no hitter. In a strange twist of events the Seattle Mariners were not the victims this time, but the victors. (Although they were almost shut out) The ageless Kevin Millwood valiently pitched six innings of no hit ball before leaving with an injury. Five relievers combined to finish the job in one of the most unique no hitters in recent memory. Obviously the first factor that seperates this from most no-hitters is Millwoods age but it also begs the question; is the six pitcher no hitter more impressive than one? Just because this means that six different pitchers have to be dealing on the same night. This resembles Houston's 2003 no hitter over the Yankees where Roy Oswalt was injured in the second inning and five relievers combined to throw a no hitter. To me these are more impressive than the average no-no.
Hot Teams of the Week:
San Francisco: The Giants are finally starting to show the 2010 wasn't a fluke or a one year wonder. The former World Series Champions have won 10 of their last 13 games to move within four games of the almost certain to regress Dodgers. Part of the reason they've turned a corner in the past month has been the hitting of Willie Ma-- Er I mean Melky Cabrera who now hold the record for most hits in a month and is leading the National League in batting average. Yes that Melky Cabrera. Then you throw in Angel Pagan's career year, Buster Posey's return without missing a beat, and the fact Pablo Sandoval just returned from the DL and you have an offense that's good enough. Luckily for San Fran good enough may be all they need especially if Lincecum comes around.
Milwaukee: Losing someone like Prince Fielder is always huge but no one expected it to hurt the Brewers as much as it did. Even after winning seven of the last ten, the Brew Crew sit four games under .500. However, they have shown improvement lately and they're slated to play San Diego, Kansas City and Minnesota next so they'll have a chance to rack up some wins and perhaps confidence before going to Chicago and facing the mighty White Sox.
Pittsburgh: Go to your local grocery store and stock up on non-perishable food items; the Pirates are above .500 in June for the second consecutive year. I'm not sure how non-perishable food items will help you to fight off locusts in the apocolypse that is sure to follow this but it's the cliche and we don't have time to debate. Because the Pirates have now won 11 of 14 and are scoring enough runs to send their faithful home crowd into a frenzy. The starting pitching is starting to get recognized but they're bullpen is among the best in baseball. Also, for some reason, AJ Burnett is good at baseball again. If he can sustain his current pace this is a team with bona-fide stars including Andrew McCutchen and Joel Hanrhan. Three all stars.....in Pittsburgh.
Not so Hot Teams:
Texas: Yes, the Texas Rangers are cold. What seemed unfathomable earlier this season is begining to unfold. They're falling out of first place. This decline has little to do with their offense as they're still the best in baseball. Only Hamilton has slipped a bit but that was to be expected. The starting pitching, including "sensation" Yu Darvish has struggled recently and the team as a whole is not playing as well as the average fan perceives. In fact, they're under .500 since May 1st.....in other words more than half the season so far. The Angels are breathing down their necks now, the need a turn around quick or they won't have the privilege of losing the World Series in heart breaking fashion this year.
Houston: As expected, Houston has begun a rapid descent towards last place. After hovering around .500 much later than expected, Houston is playing like the Astro's of old as though they were reminded that they were supposed to be bad. No real rhyme or reason to them declining, they're just not good. I wouldn't expect them to show up as a contender for a few more years.
San Diego:Losing is nothing new to the Padres, but the last few weeks have been bad even by their standards. They've won just four of their last 18. This has the potential to be the worst edition of the Padres we've seen yet, it took them until June 9th to win their 20th game. To make matters worse, they may be the most obscure team in sports. Go ahead, name one player on this team.Edison Volquez and Mark Kotsay qualify as the team's most popular players. Yikes. This team may not be long for San Diego.
Stay Hungry My Friends.
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