JUDGE/BELLINGER HR DUEL IS CLEANER THAN McGWIRE/SOSA – WE HOPE
The power displays by sensational rookie sluggers Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees and Cody Bellinger of the Los Angeles Dodgers have become the story of this Major League Baseball season.
Judge and Bellinger are 1-2 in home runs in the majors entering this week, with 24 (in 71 games) and 22 (in only 57 games) respectively.
This is remindful of the 1998 season, when Mark McGwire of St. Louis and Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs chased Rogers Maris’ long-standing and coveted single-season record of 61 HRs set with the 1961 New York Yankees.
McGwire finished with 70 HRs and Sosa had 66. Most of us now recognize that performance-enhancing drugs had a lot to do with the power explosions by McGwire and Sosa. And we know that their success that season inspired Barry Bonds to become a PED user and ultimately set the current record of 73 HRs in 2001.
Judge and Bellinger are taking advantage of lively baseballs this season. We hope and assume that the two rookies are cleaner than McGwire, Sosa and Bonds.
Home runs are sailing over fences at a record-smashing pace. There are strong suspicions that the baseballs are “juiced”. Better the baseballs than the players. The two rookies are taking advantage more than the established veteran sluggers and it has been fun to watch.
Will America be watching Judge and Bellinger in the Home Run Derby July 10 at Marlins Park? We can only hope.
Defending HR Derby champion Giancarlo Stanton on Sunday announced that he’ll defend his title in his home park. He hit 61 shots over the fences in last season’s HR Derby, including the 10 longest of the competition.
Judge said he has been invited but has yet to decide if he’ll participate. Bellinger surely will be invited too, if he hasn’t been already.
I’m pretty sure the Yankees and Dodgers would prefer that their prize rookie sluggers skip the HR Derby. But their participation ertainly would be good for the sport.
For the record, here are the batting lines for Judge and Bellinger entering this week:
Judge – 71 games; .332 batting average (86-for-259); 66 runs; 11 doubles; 3 triples; 26 HRs; 59 RBI; 6-for-8 stealing bases; 47 walks; 92 strikeouts; .399 on-base percentage; .612 slugging percentage; 1.01 OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage).
Judge factoids – Leads the AL in the Triple Crown categories (BA, HRs, RBI)...leads the majors in HRs, slugging and OPS...Has been consistent: April -- .303 BA, 10 HRs, 20 RBI; May -- .347 BA; 7 HRs; 17 RBI; June -- .341 BA; 9 HRs; 22 RBI...Yankees are 2-8 in their last 10 games but he has been a bright light: .297 BA; 4 HRs; 10 RBI).
Bellinger – 57 games; .274 batting average (59-for-215); 13 doubles; 1 triple; 24 HRs; 55 RBI; 5-for-5 stealing bases; 23 walks; 69 strikeouts; .679 on-base percentage; .679 slugging percentage; 1.021 OPS.
Bellinger factoids – The Dodgers had a 9-11 record when he was promoted from Oklahoma City (Pacific Coast League) April 25. The Dodgers are 42-15 since...MLB-most six multi-HR games...had 10 HRs in one 10-game span....24 HRs before the All-Star break i8s a NL record (with 13 games remaining)...second in MLB in HRs and slugging, and 4th in OPS.
DON’T EXPECT QUICK IMPROVEMENT FOR SABRES AND AMERKS
Nearly every fan of the Rochester American is familiar with these ugly facts:
The Amerks last won a Calder Cup in 1996. Since then, 15 other AHL teams have won the Cup.
The Amerks last won a playoff series after the 2004-05 season. They’ve played a mere six playoff series since and lost them all.
The Amerks haven’t had an AHL First Team All-Star since goalie Ryan Miller in 2005. The most recent Rochester non-goalie to earn AHL First-Team All-Star honors was defenseman Terry Hollinger in 1997. For a franchise that pumped out all-stars for 40 years, that’s pretty sad.
The Amerks have failed to qualify for the playoffs 7 of the past 12 seasons.
No wonder this region’s pro hockey fans are starving for a winner.
I sometimes wonder how much Terry and Kim Pegula care about the problems of their AHL affiliate. They have enough things to worry about with their NHL Sabres.
I believe new Sabres general manager Jason Botterill is 100 percent sincere about upgrading the Amerks. But recent developments are not encouraging to produce immediate results:
1—Linus Ullmark, easily the best player on last season’s Amerks, won’t be back for an encore. He’ll be Buffalo’s No. 2 goalie this season. Good for him. He deserves it. But...
2—Former Notre Dame goalie Cal Petersen has opted to become a free agent rather than sign with Buffalo and likely be Rochester’s workhorse goalie this season. The apparent options at this moment are rookie Jonas Johansson and Jason Kasdorf.
3—Buffalo had six picks in last week’s NHL entry draft and all were teenagers. A few of them might eventually pan out. But they won’t he helping Buffalo – or even Rochester – anytime soon.
4—The loss of winger William Carrier to the Vegas Golden Knights in the NHL expansion draft hurts Buffalo’s depth and subtracts one useful forward for the Amerks.
5—Winger Evander Kane remains trade bait – supposedly for a really good defenseman. His off-ice history and some doubts about his commitment to hockey have made him expendable. But he has a knack for scoring goals (in 70 game for Buffalo last season, he had 28 goals, including 25 at even strength). It is difficult to think that the goal-challenged Sabres would be a better team without him.
The free-agent crop is not considered particularly strong this summer but Botterril figures to make a few moves and the Pegulas have the money to back him.
JOSE BARRIOS VS. CHRIS SALE SHOWDOWN MONDAY NIGHT
Recent former Rochester Red Wings right-hander Jose Berrios has been terrific since being promoted to the Minnesota Twins. He’ll be facing his toughest test of the season Monday night in Boston’s cozy Fenway Park against Chris Sale.
Sale is one of the best pitchers in the business, but Barrios could give him a battle. Here are their pitching lines this MLB season:
Sale – 9-3 record; 2.85 ERAQ; 107 1/3 innings; 78 hits allowed; 19 walks; 146 strikeouts; 0.90 WHIP (walks + hits per innings); .201 batting average against.
Berrios – 7-1 record; 2.67 ERA; 54 innings; 34 hits allowed; 15 walks; 53 strikeouts; 0.91 WHIP; .181 batting average against.
RATTLERS SUFFER TOUGH OVERTIME LOSS AT HOME BEFORE A NICE CROWD
The Major League Lacrosse Rochester Rattlers drew their best home crowd in years Saturday night – 3,817, at Capelli Sport Stadium. That’s the good news. The bad news was a 14-13 overtime loss to the Atlanta Blaze.
Entering Saturday, MLL home teams were 12-23 this season. Home teams were 3-1 Saturday. The only home team to lose was Rochester.
The Rattlers dropped to 4-5 (including 1-3 at home) and are in fifth place in the nine-team MLL. The top four teams make the playoffs. Rochester has three games left at home (Boston July 16, Denver July 20 and Ohio August 5) and two games on the road (at Chesapeake this Sunday) and at Atlanta July 20).
HOT WINGS ARE 9-1 IN THEIR LAST 10 GAMES
The Rochester Red Wings capped a 9-1 run in their last 10 games by beating the International League-best Lehigh Valley IronPigs three gamers out of four – including a 7-4 victory Sunday.
The games Friday, Saturday and Sunday attracted 21,408 fans and they saw some fine baseball.
The ever-changing pitching staff (32 different pitchers used so far this season) is getting the job done and big bats Matt Hague and ByungHo Park are heating up.
Leadoff hitter Zack Granite continues to amaze. He was 2-for-4 Sunday, including a home run and a stolen base. His IL-best batting average is up to .360 (68-for-189) and he leads the league in on-base percentage (.414) and is second in OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) at .923.
Granite is leading all IL hitters (No. 2 Jesse Wilken of Louisville is batting .317) and even the top hitter in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League (Garrett Cooper of Colorado Springs is batting just .352).
RHINOS LOSE FIRST HOME GAME FRIDAY NIGHT BEFORE ANOTHER SMALL CROWD
The Rochester Rhinos lost their first home game of the season last Friday night, 1-0 to Orlando City B. before a reported crowd of 1,243 at Capelli Sport Stadium. The loss ended the team’s eight-game undefeated streak in USL play.
The Rhinos have a solid USL record – 5 wins, 5 ties and 2 losses – but are averaging only 2.070 through seven USL home games.
When the Dworkins saved the franchise, they had an ambitious goal of 7,000 fans per home game. The owners and the front office have worked diligently to approach that goal to no avail – despite a winning team on the field.
My theory on why pro soccer has become such a poor draw in Rochester:
1—I don’t like to place major significance on the location of Capelli Sport Stadium. But it is not the gate attraction that Frontier was when it opened in 1996 and for several subsequent years, when the team was stable and loaded with talent. Frontier Field was the new place in town to gather and to be seen. I believe the Rhinos would draw more now at Frontier than they’ve been drawing at Capelli Sport Stadium -- but not a lot more.
2—The proliferation of sports on cable TV hurts attendance for all teams in every minor-league city. The die-hard soccer fans who used to support the original Lancers and Rhinos can now watch several top-level international matches on TV every weekend.
3—The large number of entertainment options in Greater Rochester – including the many other professional sports teams. The slices of the pro sports money pie are getting thinner.
4—The daily newspaper does an excellent job covering high school sports (better than ever before), the Buffalo Bills and the Buffalo Sabres. It no longer has enough staffers to work home games or provide in-depth coverage of our pro teams. The situation is not exclusive to Rochester.
AMERICAN LEAGUE CONTINUES TO DOMINATE INTERLEAGUE PLAY
Here’s another reason why the National League should adopt the designated-hitter rule and stop feeble-hitting pitchers from killing so many rallies: The American League is crushing the NL in interleague play again because the AL advantage in having more hitters on the roster outweighs the NL’s advantage is having an extra arm in the bullpen – particularly in games played in AL stadiums.
One theory why the NL wants to maintain the status quo is that NL owners don’t want to add expensive veteran DHs to their payrolls. I don’t believe they’re that cheap. I think stubbornness is the more likely reason. The NL owners don’t want to accept that the AL is the better league and that the DH could be the main reason.
Interleague play began in 1997. The NL had the advantage four of the first seven season and had a +30 won-loss differential. The tide turned in 2004 and hasn’t changed since:
2004 – AL 127-125 (+2)
2005 – AL 136-116 (+20)
2006 – AL 154-98 (+56)
2007 – AL 137-115 (+22)
2008 – AL 149-103 (+46)
2009 – AL 138-114 (+24)
2010 – AL 134-118 (+16)
2011 – AL 131-121 (+10)
2012 – AL 142-110 (+32)
2013 – AL 154-146 (+10)
2014 – AL 163-137 (+26)
2015 – AL 167-133 (+34)
2016 – 165-135 (+30)
2017 (entering Monday) – AL 82-59 (+23).
Total since 2004 – AL 1,979, NL 1,630 (AL +349).
ONE VERSION OF TANKING BY THE BILLS
We know the Buffalo Sabres tanked. It hasn’t worked out too well, at least not yet.
But the Buffalo Bills? I don’t think so – though I could understand the theory of trying to land the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft for the opportunity to land a true franchise quarterback.
But at least one national NFL reporter thinks so. Brent Sobleski of Bleacher Report last week included the Buffalo on his short list of five teams of teams that might be thinking tank this NFL season. He wrote: “The team started to build toward the future by trading the 10th overall pick in exchange for first-round selections this and next year. Clearing cap space, adding assets and stripping the roster of unwanted veterans, Buffalo is checking off the boxes toward tanking to build long term.”
Do you agree?
SPRAYING BASEBALL HITS TO ALL FIELDS
The Houston Astros boosted their 2017 record to 52-25 with victories Saturday and Sunday in Seattle. The 2013 Astros were 51-111.
The Philadelphia lead Major League Baseball in one-run losses. They’re 10-19.
Best run differential in MLB: Dodgers +138...Houston +119...Arizona +109...Yankees +95...Washington +88.
Washington must be glad all World Series gamers now are played at night. The Nationals are 31-11 in night games this season but only 14-19 in day games.
ESPN’s new MLB Power Rankings Top 5: 1-Dodgers...2-Houston...3-Arizona...4-Washington...5-Yankees.
The Red Wings are 27-8 when they score first this season.
SHORT SHOTS
When Jacoby Ellsbury rejoins the Yankees, I’d move Aaron Judge to first base. I’d rather have Ellsbury in the lineup than rookie Tyler Austin.
Now that Tim Tebow has been promoted to the Single-A Advanced Florida State League St. Lucie Mets from the lower Single-A South Atlantic League Columbia Fireflies despite batting only .222 with 3 HRs in 63 games, I won’t be surprised if he gets a token stint with the National League New York Mets in September. They need some reason for fans to attend games in the final month of this injury-plagued lost season.
Are you going to watch the debut Monday night on Fox Sports 1 (8 p.m.) of Ice Cube’s BIG3 three-on-three league consisting of retired NBA players? Four gamers were taped Sunday and will be shown Monday night. The games were played at Barclays Center in Brooklyn before 15,177 curious fans. Jason Williams was the first player forced to leave a game due to injury. The first team to score 60 points wins and a team must win by 2 points. The games all were close. Baskets from beyond 30 feet count four points. Players include Allen Iverson, Jermaine O’Neal, Kenyon Martin and Jason Williams. Base salary is $100,000 plus 52 percent of any profits. The league will play four games in stops at five cities.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...
Monday, June 26 – Iman Shumpert (27)...Deron Williams (33)...Raymond Felton (33)...Michael Vick (37)...Chad Pennington (41)...Derek Jeter (43)...Jason Kendall (43)...Shannon Sharpe (49)...Jerome Kersey (55)...Greg LeMond (56). Ariana Grande (24) can sing Happy Birthday.
Tuesday, June 27 – Bobby Wagner 27...Jim Edmonds (47)...Jeff Conine (51)...Chuck Person (53)...Khloe Kardashian (33), Tobey Maguire (42) and Ross Perot (87) are invited to the birthday party.