The Roundup

One of the more funner aspects of this blogging game, for me at least, is digging up names, hashing out potential trades and speculating on what it would take to make it happen. If that's your bag, too, I strongly encourage you to read Will's case for Milton Bradley: he's cheap, he's a proven bat, he's an upgrade on Stew, and he's currently held by a Trader Jack GM. Git. 'Er. Done!

That was one of the more beautifully pitched efforts of recent memory from Shaun Marcum last night, ranking just behind Dustin McGowan's near no-no against the Rockies and Doc's 10-inning CG against the Tigers (both last year). Bringing him out for the 9th after sitting on the bench for a half an hour was, in retrospect, a bad idea, but like you wouldn't have done it, too. Is there anyone out there who doesn't believe in this kid by now? He's made The Oracle giddy, so you know he must be something special.

Is is indeed possible that neither J-Mac or Eckstein hit the DL? Hmm. I haven't read anyone else comment on it, but did you think that Eckstein's crazy dive on a flyball he had no hope of catching was comic and excessive? What I'm saying is, feeling the pressure of some lost PT to a superior defender, it looked like he over exerted himself in a vain attempt at a web gem. That sits ill with me.

Troy Percival may be getting it done as the Rays closer, but did he go to the David Wells School of Physical Conditioning in the offseason? I suppose his improbable comeback still counts as one of the feel good stories of the past calender year, but still. Yer fat!

ELSEWHERE:

* Etobicoke's Joey Votto has been unshackled. Scott Hattewho?

* Are any of us actually taken in by this "Cliff Lee, ace" hoax? He's off to a fantastic start and at age 29 he's never been better than average+ over a full season. He appears to have taken last year's intense suckage to heart, but there's no way his current success is sustainable. I could look up his BABip, which I assume is ridiculously and unsustainably low, but I just can't be asked.

* Obtained as part of the Johan Santana deal, a lot of people assumed this kid wasn't ready for primetime. He and his cycle beg to differ. And isn't speed, defense and a .720 OPS exactly what the Twins look for out of their ideal player?

* Roger Clemens has some 'splainin' to do before John Law. And the US Olympic Baseball team wants no part of him for Beijing '08.

* A-Rod is expected to be ready for action next week. Hoo-ray.

-- Johnny Was

Fun Facts of 2008

With no major Jays news to report, I thought it'd be fun to take a quick look at some of the projected leaders for the 2008 season:

Home run leaders: Jim Thome & Xavier Nady with 324. If my math is correct, that would set a new home run record. Xavier Nady is apparently the only reason to watch the Pirates, other than Nate McClouth. That's right folks, Jason Bay is dead to me. He knows what he did.

AL RBI leader: Manny Ramirez, 405. I understand now why the Red Sox are the favourites, as Manny Ramirez will singlehandedly drive in 405 runs this year.

NL RBI leader: Chipper Jones, 324. Excellent news, as I'm a huge Braves fan and I'd bet that they're going to win the NL East. They're off too a brutal start, losing both games in the later innings, although they had a pretty impressive comeback in the 9th and a decent rally in the 12th last night.

Major league wins leader: Livan Hernandez, 162. Several other SP are on pace to win 162 games, but odds are only Livan will live up to that pace because he's a renowned innings eater.

AL steals leader: Carlos Gomez, 324. Take that, pundits who said the Twins got the short end of the Santana trade!

NL steals leader: Michael "Jason" Bourn, 324.

AL/NL Saves leaders: Joe Borowski & David Riske. True, others will be tied for the saves lead, but nobody is poised to be as dominant as Joe, who's already allowed an ER (off a solo HR), and has an ERA of 9. Cleveland is just mocking Detroit who has a shitty bullpen, by using their worst pen arm as a closer. As for David Riske, he will obviously be taking over for Gagne, so as a self-proclaimed fantasy baseball expert I urge you all to drop Gagne and pick up David Riske (I'm looking at you, Mulliniks' Staches). No announcement has been made, but since Riske is projected to save 162 games, it should be obvious that Gagne will no longer be closing.

Twitchy.