This is the start of what will hopefully be a weekly feature (hence the name). My week will run from Saturday to Saturday, purely on the basis that I should always have time on a Sunday to write it as opposed to cobbling something together after getting home from work on a Monday evening. These are just my observations from the things I have seen and read over the week, so feel free to add your own in the comments.
Week to forget – J.D. Durbin. He made his first relief appearance for Arizona on Wednesday in Colorado. His pitching line finished like this:
IP=0.2,H=7,R=7,ER=7,BB=1,SO=1,HR=0,ERA=94.50
Anyone looking for a smack in the mouth might want to try telling Durbin that the humidor is making things easier for pitchers at Coors Field.
Still, 20.1 scoreless innings will quickly bring that ERA down to 3.
Japanese player of the week – Dice-K this, Dice-K that. It would be annoying if not for the fact that he deserves all the attention (although you just know that there are plenty of people waiting for him to fall on his face – mostly wearing Yankees caps I imagine). Having said that, I think Matsuzaka has earned enough plaudits this week so I’m awarding this honour to the Rays’ Akinrori Iwamura. This signing went under the radar somewhat, but I thought it was a great deal by Tampa Bay. Sure, Iwamura won’t match his Japanese home run totals in the larger American ballparks, but he’s a good all round hitter and an above average fielder at various infield positions. Iwamura finished his first four games with a .615/.706/.923 batting line with a home run. That’s a very nice start to build on.
Hero/Zero of the week – A-Rod. I say week, that should really be Hero/Zero of the Yankees. If he does something wrong he will be booed mercilessly. If he does something right, Yankees fans will cheer the success of their team and wait until they can boo A-Rod for something again. His walk-off, game winning grand slam yesterday against the Orioles was the third of his career and that makes him only the third player in MLB history to achieve this feat. Shame he’s useless in the clutch really, isn’t it?! I know it’s fun to bait him, but you have to admire that hit yesterday. When he went up to bat he was under more pressure than probably any player in the game. He knew he would be hounded more than anyone if he didn’t come through. To get the job done in that situation undoubtedly showed a lot of bottle; whatever some may want to say.
Largest serving of humble pie during the week – Jimmy Rollins had to force a big helping down. Jimmy said the Phillies were the team to beat in the NL East. The Braves agreed and promptly helped themselves to a sweep in Philadelphia to start the season. Meanwhile the Nationals have made it clear that they in fact hold the rights to being the team to beat in the NL East and are taking legal advice to see if they can sue Rollins for damages.
Nice inside-the-park homer though Jimmy. Always a great sight.
Biggest influence of the week – the weather. Yes, a Brit talking about the weather is to be expected. Several teams have seen their season start with a stutter due to games being postponed. The baseball season fixture list is congested as it is, so some teams will be facing several double-headers. The Mariners and Indians in particular …
Sneaks of the week – Jose Lopez and Mike Hargrove. Okay, that might be a bit harsh: they were only doing what was best for their team and the conditions looked terrible. However getting a game postponed in the fifth inning, one strike away from the game being an official result, was pushing it a bit. You don’t need me to tell you that the Mariners were losing at the time.
Play of the week – I could pick an example of tremendous baseball skill because there have been plenty to choose from, but how can you ignore Xavier Nady’s home-run tip! I can just hear Kenneth Wolstenholme on commentary:
“Dunn hits one to deep right-field, Nady’s going back to the wall, some people don’t think it’s going over … it is now!â€.
