The Commish Online www.thecommishonline.com
BLOG ARCHIVE: 08/01/10 - 08/31/10
08/31/10
It took a while, but the Padres have finally slumped. One day after achieving a record of 27 games above .500 (a season high), San Diego lost on Thursday (8/26) and hasn't won since. Thanks to a 4-6 record by San Francisco in its last 10 games, the Padres still lead the West by 1.5 games. Look out for Colorado, though, who has made a habit of late season runs. The Rockies trail San Diego by just 3.5 games and a series between the two teams begins Friday.
Cincinnati seems to have taken control in the NL Central, and Texas has little competition in the AL West, but the other four divisions are still up for grabs.
08/17/10
Just seconds before the signing deadline, the Nationals were able to sign the #1 draft pick Bryce Harper to a deal worth $9.9 million. Before you even ask, yes, his agent is Scott Boras. Many other draft picks signed on the last day before the deadline, and for those who didn't, they will go back in the draft next year. Any team not able to sign its first round pick (Arizona, San Diego, Milwaukee) will get a compensation pick in next year's draft right after that same pick. In other words, the Diamondbacks didn't sign their pick which was sixth overall, so next year they will get the pick right after #6.
08/11/10
This summer The Commish was fortunate to drive his lame self around in a convertible. Was it the mad rush he'd always hoped for, or did it fail to live up to expectations? Read the latest Foul Territory and find out why he calls convertibles display models.
08/10/10
The White Sox tied the Orioles in the 9th inning last night, but then played overly conservative, allowing A.J. Pierzynski to sacrifice bunt on a 2-0 count against the pitcher (Simon) who just gave up Konerko's game tying homer and Carlos Quentin's walk. A.J. was successful, but the free out let the O's off the hook. After a pitching change and another walk, Andruw Jones struck out on bad balls (no surprise there) and Brent Lillibridge grounded into a meek fielder's choice (again, no surprise).
I don't understand why managers insist on giving up outs only to leave the hard work to the lower part of the order. The result was a 3-2 win in 10 innings for Baltimore, but only after the White Sox successfully sacrifice bunted AGAIN in the 10th, this time with hot hitting Alexei Ramirez. Therein lies the problem with sacrificing: even when successful, the end result is still often failure. Instead, try to maximize the outs in an inning by letting good hitters hit when the situation is in their favor.
Tonight Minnesota and Chicago square up for a 3-game series with first place in the AL Central on the line. Expect to see plenty of sacrificing from both teams, some necessary and some only because the bench thinks its playing the proper percentages.
08/05/10
Alex Rodriguez finally eclipsed 600 home runs, becoming the youngest player ever to surpass that round number. And he used steroids. That's not a judgment, just a fact, and one that A-Rod will have to live with for decades when fathers tell their sons about the best players in this era. Even tale will have a disclaimer. I hope it was worth it.
