Everyone who posts here know the game of baseball very well.
Hopefully, you can answer my question.

When is the right time or the wrong time to send a runner home from 3rd
base on a groundball hit to an infielder with no outs? Thanks!

--- In YouCanPutItOnTheBoard@yahoogroups.com, Matt Savage
<soxguy35@...> wrote:
>
> Good thing about Fields at SS.  If he can play decently at that
position and hit, we can re-sign Crede to a long term deal.  But does
anyone want to sign that back and his .230 AVG to a three or four year
deal?

**I don't.  Trade him before that back goes completely, while we can
get somehting for him.
GM Bill
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> Shape Yahoo! in your own image.  Join our Network Research Panel
today!
>

--- In YouCanPutItOnTheBoard@yahoogroups.com, "dbriars" <dbriars@...>
wrote:
>
> Everyone who posts here know the game of baseball very well.
> Hopefully,  you can answer my question.
>
> When is the right time or the wrong time to send a runner home from
3rd
> base on a groundball hit to an infielder with no outs?  Thanks!

**Depends on the situation- who the runner is, what inning is it,
where are the infielders playing, is anyone else on, is the contact
play on.  A club like ours, having trouble scoring runs on a pitcher
like Halliday- a fairly quick runner like RMacC has to go.  Make 'em
throw the runner out.  Push the edge of the envelope.  Force the issue.
GM Bill

Everyone who posts here know the game of baseball very well.
Hopefully,  you can answer my question.

When is the right time or the wrong time to send a runner home from 3rd
base on a groundball hit to an infielder with no outs?  Thanks!

buehrle pitched spectacular tongiht & gets absolutely no help--shame on
them, all of them;

anytime a gm acquires bullpen pitchers from low-ranking teams like k.c.
or the cubs he's got some splainin' to do, cheap is cheap ya get what
ya pay for.  go figure on picking up someone else's trash--players that
nobody else wants--from the lowest of the low???  go after quality from
better teams, and better yet teach your farmteams the winning ways,
winning attitudes so when they come up they got spark 'n legs, not
lethargy & empty words after every game

put your foot in it and kick up some money, otherwise here's where yer
gonna stay right above kc--if yer lucky enough

and i can't blame ozzie for all this either

irishmike

A 2-hitter.  Don't back up your pitchers with some runs, guys.


Joan

I must correct my previous statement.  Jon Garland was DRAFTED by the
Cubs organization, but I can't find any record of him actually
playing with the Cubs in a major league game.

Who was the third your referring too??

As for Cotts being in that game instead of Aardsma, Aardsma replaced
Logan whos a lefty.  Odds are they wouldn't have followed Logan, who
was in there to take out Morneau who is a lefty batter, with another
lefty.  But all things considered they probably just could have left
Logan in there.


--- In YouCanPutItOnTheBoard@yahoogroups.com, carlton baines
<uno_lobo@...> wrote:
>
> are there 3 ex cubs on the club?
> --- markp8867@... wrote:
>
> > I know they are sucking right now.  I didn't make up
> > the "ex-Cub" factor, I was just pointing it out
> > lol.  Personally, I think Cotts would have done
> > better.  At least he wouldn't have walked in the
> > winning run.  That is just stupid.
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: John Kivlin <jkivlin@...>
> > To: YouCanPutItOnTheBoard@yahoogroups.com
> > Sent: Wed, 30 May 2007 7:41 pm
> > Subject: RE: [YCPIOTB] Re: 6-4 Sox, halfway home
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > From: markp8867@...
> > [mailto:markp8867@...]
> >
> > Well leave it to an ex-Cub Aardsma to blow yet
> > another game.
> >
> > Does that make the Cubs idiots for drafting him or
> > the Sox idiots for
> > taking him off their hands?
> >
> > Lou Brock is an ex Cub too. The Sox suck right now.
> >
> > JK
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
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Man, the XFL was awful.  My husband and I really tried to get into it, but after the first game we watched, never again.  Terrible!

 

--
Kathy Strelow
www.kathleenstrelow.com
Author of the Head Case rock series

-------------- Original message from cadallacjacksremembered <no_reply@yahoogroups.com>: --------------


>
>
> Where have I heard this one before...USFL, XFL...
>
>
> --- In YouCanPutItOnTheBoard@yahoogroups.com, saul pulido
> wrote:
> >
> > http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news?slug=ap-
> newfootballleague&prov=ap&type=lgns
> >
> > ---------------------------------
> > Got a little couch potato?
> > Check out fun summer activities for kids.
> >
>
>
>
>
> ***************************************
>
> Mark Buehrle Fan Club...Join Today!!
> http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/MarkBuehrleFanClub/join
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I was reading in a periodical today that Brad Lidge, the former
dominant Houston closer, is pitching better these days in the role of
setup man for the Astros. But he's not going to get his closer job
back. His problems, they say, date back to the massive HR he gave up
to Albert Pujols in the '05 playoffs. He hasn't been right since.
.
That made me wonder is Aardsma's problems go back to the game tying HR
he gave up to Marcus Thames in Detroit a few weeks back. Aardsma had
been dominant until then with an ERA under 2.00, since then POO-POO
STINKY. Is it all in the head for these guys?
.
I also read that Josh Fields has been playing some SS down in AAA.
Now that's interesting.
GM Bill

he was there before Veeck--Santo was there in 74 and
Veek didnt take over from the Allyn's until after the
75 season
--- jim gorman <pearlzone16@...> wrote:

> No way was he an ex-Sox player.
>
>   He hung the uniform on his body for a year after
> he was completely washed up.  That was when Bill
> Veeck was paying a couple of dollars a game to every
> has been that could breath and walk at the same
> time.  I have heard him say a number of times that
> his year with the Sox was the worst of his career.
> he was so great for us that in the book "Total White
> Sox"  he doesn't even rate a profile. Only a mention
> that he played for the Sox in 1974.  Santo would
> have fit in very well with most players of today,
> he never got the memo that there is no "I" in team.
> I believe the centerfielder that he blew a cork over
> was named Young and it was a game in August that he
> misplayed a single into a triple and they lost the
> game and went on their big choke.  Of course they
> have to have a scapegoat much like Bartman for all
> of their failures.  It is hard to believe that
> anyone can say that Hughes and Santo are better than
> our broadcasters.  Most announcers now days are
> Homers because they
>  are hired by the teams not the radio stations like
> in the Brickhouse, Milo Hamilton, Bob Elson era.
> Santo should just fade into oblivion.  I get sick of
> hearing his named brought up every year because poor
> Ronnie is not in the HOF.  The reason he isn't is
> plain and simple, he doesn't deserve to be, he was a
> legend in his mind
>
>
> "R.J.L." <manta_ray4121@...> wrote:
>            markp8867@... wrote:
>
> > How did he diss the 1969 team?  Don't forget he is
> > an ex-White Sox player too lol.  I have heard
> > everyone blamed for the 1969 collapse including
> Leo
> > Durocher's gambling, the goat, the sun, and even
> > God.  They lost because the Mets were a better
> team
> > and had better pitching down the stretch.
> >
> > By the way my friend was at that classic "ohhh
> > noooooo" game in Milwaukee.  He said the Cubs fans
> > there were so cocky before that happened and then
> > after it many were either crying or swearing lol.
> >
>
>   He dissed the team because, as a whole, the Chubs
> did an "El Foldo Deluxe" against the Mets, at home,
> in 1969.  He blamed everyone, except himself, for
> taking gas.  It was everyones fault except his own.
> I personally loved it because I was working in
> Broadview with Chub fans.  They were all full of
> themselves and loved Santos clicking of heels, that
> is until the Mets had their way with them.  No more
> clicking heels, hey Ronnie?  I remember that year
> like it was yesterday.
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> Fussy? Opinionated? Impossible to please? Perfect.
> Join Yahoo!'s user panel and lay it on us.



      
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according to the book Phillips was traded during that
season and quite possibly because of that instance. On
June 11,1969 he was traded to the Expos for Paul
Popovich.
--- bill <andersoxy@...> wrote:

> **Are you sure it was Adolfo Phillips?  I'm pretty
> sure he was long
> gone by then and rookie Don Young was the cnlbc CF.
> Santo blamed
> Young for a loss in an important game against the
> Mets in NY in
> August when Young caught a drive and dropped it when
> he slammed into
> the wall.  Santo caught a lot of heat for that.  And
> some say the
> heel clicking is, among other things, a major reason
> the vets
> committee won't put Santo into the HOF.  Santo was
> not a well liked
> player in his time.
> GM Bill, cnlbc hater.
>
> --- In YouCanPutItOnTheBoard@yahoogroups.com, "John
> Kivlin"
> <jkivlin@...> wrote:
> >
> > From: carlton baines [mailto:uno_lobo@...]
> >
> > in June, 1969, young center fielder Adolpho
> Phillips
> > let a couple of balls drop for doubles that cost
> the
> > Cubs the game and Santo threw a fit about it after
> the
> > game.According to the book "Baseball, Chicago
> Style",
> > by Holtzman and Vass. Not exaCtly a veteran thing
> to
> > do
> >
> > Heel clicking wasn't a veteran move either.  Or
> excuse making,
> which
> > they had plenty of that year.
> >
> > We play too many day games.
> > That cat walked right in front of me.
> > Leo leaves pitchers in too long.
> >
> > Blah blah blah.  Can you imagine if a player
> called Ozzie out for
> > leaving a pitcher in too long?
> >
> > JK
> >
>
>
>



      
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he was there before Veeck--Santo was there in 74 and
Veek didnt take over from the Allyn's until after the
75 season
--- jim gorman <pearlzone16@...> wrote:

> No way was he an ex-Sox player.
>
>   He hung the uniform on his body for a year after
> he was completely washed up.  That was when Bill
> Veeck was paying a couple of dollars a game to every
> has been that could breath and walk at the same
> time.  I have heard him say a number of times that
> his year with the Sox was the worst of his career.
> he was so great for us that in the book "Total White
> Sox"  he doesn't even rate a profile. Only a mention
> that he played for the Sox in 1974.  Santo would
> have fit in very well with most players of today,
> he never got the memo that there is no "I" in team.
> I believe the centerfielder that he blew a cork over
> was named Young and it was a game in August that he
> misplayed a single into a triple and they lost the
> game and went on their big choke.  Of course they
> have to have a scapegoat much like Bartman for all
> of their failures.  It is hard to believe that
> anyone can say that Hughes and Santo are better than
> our broadcasters.  Most announcers now days are
> Homers because they
>  are hired by the teams not the radio stations like
> in the Brickhouse, Milo Hamilton, Bob Elson era.
> Santo should just fade into oblivion.  I get sick of
> hearing his named brought up every year because poor
> Ronnie is not in the HOF.  The reason he isn't is
> plain and simple, he doesn't deserve to be, he was a
> legend in his mind
>
>
> "R.J.L." <manta_ray4121@...> wrote:
>            markp8867@... wrote:
>
> > How did he diss the 1969 team?  Don't forget he is
> > an ex-White Sox player too lol.  I have heard
> > everyone blamed for the 1969 collapse including
> Leo
> > Durocher's gambling, the goat, the sun, and even
> > God.  They lost because the Mets were a better
> team
> > and had better pitching down the stretch.
> >
> > By the way my friend was at that classic "ohhh
> > noooooo" game in Milwaukee.  He said the Cubs fans
> > there were so cocky before that happened and then
> > after it many were either crying or swearing lol.
> >
>
>   He dissed the team because, as a whole, the Chubs
> did an "El Foldo Deluxe" against the Mets, at home,
> in 1969.  He blamed everyone, except himself, for
> taking gas.  It was everyones fault except his own.
> I personally loved it because I was working in
> Broadview with Chub fans.  They were all full of
> themselves and loved Santos clicking of heels, that
> is until the Mets had their way with them.  No more
> clicking heels, hey Ronnie?  I remember that year
> like it was yesterday.
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> Fussy? Opinionated? Impossible to please? Perfect.
> Join Yahoo!'s user panel and lay it on us.



      
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Will To Power's version which was coupled with
Frampton's 'Baby, I Love Your Way" came out in 86, and
yes it is possibly she is too young to remember one or
both
--- nancy sepessy <wilcataxd@...> wrote:

> Im sorry I worded things wrong the video was played
> at
> the cell I cant find it on the internet any where
> thanks Caitlin
> --- YouCanPutItOnTheBoard@yahoogroups.com
> <temohead@...> wrote:
> > Caitlin, where's the link to the video?
> >
> >
> > nancy sepessy <wilcataxd@...> wrote:
> >           Hi all my name is Caitlin. I have been a
> lurker on
> > this group for several years. I am really trying
> my
> > hardest to find the title of the song that was
> p[layed
> > on fan appreciation day in 2006, in this video it
> is
> a
> > female singer, and the white sox are thanking the
> > fans. I have tried everywhere I can think of to
> find
> > this and havent been able to. thanks soo much for
> your
> > help and time Caitlin
> >
> >
>
__________________________________________________________
> > 8:00? 8:25? 8:40? Find a flick in no time
> > with the Yahoo! Search movie showtime shortcut.
> > http://tools.search.yahoo.com/shortcuts/#news
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ---------------------------------
> > Looking for a deal? Find great prices on flights
> and
> hotels with Yahoo! FareChase.
>
>
>
>
>
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> for the edge of your seat?
> Check out tonight's top picks on Yahoo! TV.
> http://tv.yahoo.com/
>




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are there 3 ex cubs on the club?
--- markp8867@... wrote:

> I know they are sucking right now.  I didn't make up
> the "ex-Cub" factor, I was just pointing it out
> lol.  Personally, I think Cotts would have done
> better.  At least he wouldn't have walked in the
> winning run.  That is just stupid.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: John Kivlin <jkivlin@...>
> To: YouCanPutItOnTheBoard@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Wed, 30 May 2007 7:41 pm
> Subject: RE: [YCPIOTB] Re: 6-4 Sox, halfway home
>
>
>
>
>
>
> From: markp8867@...
> [mailto:markp8867@...]
>
> Well leave it to an ex-Cub Aardsma to blow yet
> another game.
>
> Does that make the Cubs idiots for drafting him or
> the Sox idiots for
> taking him off their hands?
>
> Lou Brock is an ex Cub too. The Sox suck right now.
>
> JK
>
>
>
>
>
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-------------- Original message from "Mark Phillips" <markp8867@...>: --------------

Well most of those players listed here who do make under a million won't for long lol.  Usually the first 5 years, the team can pretty much dictate how much it will pay a player.  I believe the league minimum is around $350,000 so even those players get over 2 grand per game lol.  No wonder why beer is over $6 now and even water costs $3.75!!

 

 

On 5/31/07, writerly@... <writerly@...> wrote:

Wow - I didn't think there were any players who made under a million anymore.

 

--
Kathy Strelow
www.kathleenstrelow.com
Author of the Head Case rock series

.

-------------- Original message from "Mark Phillips" <markp8867@...>: --------------

This is like a comedy.  Obviously this writer, who didn't even sign his/her name to the article, didn't even see the game where AJ "tried to spike Justin Morneau in a rundown".  What do you need to be a sportswriter these days besides having a laptop and huge chip on your shoulder?  Anybody can make up anything and call it news.  That is what blogs are for.  When I go to what are supposed to be legitimate news websites, I expect to see real news and not this BS the yahoos at Yahoo put out. 

 

=====================================================================

 

Pierzynski's act starting to wear thin on White Sox

May 30, 2007 MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) - For once, A.J. Pierzynski may actually care what somebody else thinks about him. The superbrat catcher of the Chicago White Sox creates controversy on a seemingly daily basis with his brazen approach to the game, treading on the toes of opponents both metaphorically and literally. Even his current manager says he is not a good guy. On Tuesday, Pierzynski added to his resume when he apparently tried to spike Minnesota's Justin Morneau in a rundown. In the past, Pierzynski has thrived on the criticism he attracts. But with his name in the headlines more often than usual this season, he is worried his teammates may be running out of patience. As he dealt with the fallout from his latest misdemeanor, Pierzynski admitted his welcome in Chicago could be wearing out. "Of course, I'd love to stay here," he said. "It's not ultimately my decision. I don't want other (stuff) to factor in instead of just baseball. That's the thing that bothers me more than anything. "I can handle it, I can handle whatever has been said. I can handle people talking (trash) or whatever, it doesn't bother me. I've pretty much had it all said or written about me anyway." Pierzynski apologized for his sixth-inning collision with Morneau but - in his own inimitable style - insisted he did not intend to hurt the American League MVP. "Let's be honest here - if I'm going to go out of my way to try to get somebody, I'll get them," he said. "One thing about me, if I'm going to get them, I'll get them." Pierzynski causing trouble in Minnesota was no surprise, of course. He began his career here before being traded to San Francisco for Joe Nathan, Francisco Liriano and Boof Bonser in one of the most lopsided deals in recent history. After one year with the Giants that included a handful of disagreements with resident slugger Barry Bonds, Pierzynski moved on to Chicago, helping the White Sox win the 2005 World Series. White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen - himself an abrasive sort - defended his catcher, but recent events suggest even he has grown weary of Pierzynski. The two have clashed more than once this month alone. Three weeks ago, Guillen admitted to reporters he finds Pierzynski "hard to manage." "I feel proud of that kid every day because he shows up to win," Guillen said. "Is he a good guy? No. But I love him. He knows I love him. I've got a hate-love for him. "He respects me, he respects my ballclub, he gives us a headache every day. A good one, though. Because he wants to do good. He wants the ballclub to do good." During an interleague matchup against the rival Cubs - a series that evoked memories of Pierzynski's infamous clash with Cubs counterpart Michael Barrett last year in which he was punched in the face - Pierzynski publicly ripped Guillen for leaving him out of the lineup in favor of backup Toby Hall. Guillen heard the interview while heading to Wrigley Field and soon on the phone to radio station The Score, offering an emphatic, expletive-laced response. The manager stormed into the visiting clubhouse and reportedly told a security guard to "get A.J. the (expletive) out of my office." Such fireworks seem par for the course when personalities such as Pierzynski and Guillen are asked to work together. But how much longer will the show go on? Pierzynski's radio outburst triggered a feeling among teammates that he was more trouble than he was worth. Some players felt Pierzynski had disrespected Hall with his comments. If such feelings linger, and the White Sox fail to get themselves back into the American League Central Division race, Pierzynski could find his name in trade rumors. That realization has hit Pierzynski hard. "I just don't want (all this) to be a deterrent from me staying here for a long time because I really like it here," he said Tuesday. Updated on Wednesday, May 30, 2007 10:54 am EDT

-------------- Original message from "Mark Phillips" <markp8867@...>: --------------

I never thought I'd live to see the day when Sammy Sosa was on the All-Underpaid team lol.  Aaron Rowand is on the team too.  No Sox on either list however.

 

======================================================================================

 

Deal or no deal

By Jeff Passan, Yahoo! Sports May 30, 2007 Just to get the semantics out of the way: No baseball player is truly underpaid when compared to nurses, teachers and others who better our lives for peanuts. So, please, take the following compilations – Major League Baseball's All-Overpaid and All-Underpaid teams – in the proper context of evaluating players against the market and their peers. There is a slight change, too, from last year's All-Underpaid team: It seems rather unfair to list young players whose salaries are automatically low because they have yet to hit arbitration. It's obvious that Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder and shortstop J.J. Hardy, first and second in the National League in home runs, are bargains at $415,000 and $400,000, respectively. Yet they don't represent the best contracts out there because Milwaukee, in essence, didn't have to negotiate them. The following deals, on the other hand, took hours upon hours to conceive. Time well spent in the case of the eight players, one designated hitter and nine pitchers on the All-Underpaid team, who make a combined $47.65 million. Too much money spent – $178.17 million, to be exact – on the following 18 players. All-Overpaid C: Jason Kendall, Oakland, $13.43 million – Might as well start with the worst contract in all of baseball. How Kendall parlayed 55 home runs and decent peripherals into a six-year, $60 million deal from Pittsburgh before the 2002 season is mystifying. Even though the Pirates are paying $5.5 million of Kendall's salary, Oakland is shoveling nearly $8 million toward a .182 hitter with two extra-base hits (both doubles) in 165 at-bats. 1B: Carlos Delgado, New York Mets, $14.5 million – Yes, he's heating up. Two home runs Saturday and Tuesday give him seven this season. And yet even with Delgado's surge, his slugging percentage is under .400 and his on-base percentage hovering around .300. This could just as easily have been Seattle's Richie Sexson, who is hitting .199, getting on base less than 30 percent of the time and making $15.5 million. 2B: Craig Biggio, Houston, $5.15 million – His march to 3,000 hits has turned into a waterless crawl across the Gobi. Biggio is hitting .207 in May, including one hit in his last 16 at-bats. In the Baseball Prospectus metric Fielding Runs Above Average, which measures players defensively against their peers, Biggio is minus-5, among the worst at his position in the game. Biggio was a great player. Biggio will be a Hall of Famer. Right now, Biggio isn't worth much at all. SS: Julio Lugo, Boston, $8.25 million – To bat No. 1 in the powerful Red Sox lineup – the one that ranks third in the major leagues in scoring – and have only 26 runs through 48 games is embarrassing. Lugo can run (15 stolen bases) and field (though not as well as the man he replaced, Alex Gonzalez), but his inability to get on base has prevented the Red Sox from dominating even more than they already have. 3B: Scott Rolen, St. Louis, $12.31 million – Take away Rolen's 5-for-6 game April 22 and he's hitting .207 with one home run and 16 RBIs. A horrible skid at the end of April bled into May, and Rolen really hasn't recovered, as his .665 OPS (on-base-plus slugging) ranks 152nd of 179 players that qualify. OF: Garret Anderson, Los Angeles Angels , $11.6 million – Years of wear and tear have rendered Anderson punchless. Never one to draw a walk, Anderson has done just that this year: taken a single walk among 95 at-bats, as large a sign as any of his strain to hit. He hasn't done that, either, with only one home run. The saddest part: All of his at-bats this year have come from the Angels' cleanup spot. OF: Bobby Abreu, New York Yankees, $15 million – Finally, the Abreu envisioned by Tampa Bay when it traded him for Kevin Stocker shows up. In nearly 200 at-bats, Abreu has eight extra-base hits. After eight consecutive seasons drawing 100-plus walks, he'll be lucky if he gets to 75 this year. To put it succinctly: Abreu's Value Over Replacement Player is minus-4.2, which means that a complete scrub would have been of more value to the Yankees thus far. OF: J.D. Drew, Boston, $14.4 million – And to think, the Red Sox are on the hook for four more years of this. Drew's batting average has vacillated between awful and abysmal, he left any semblance of power back in Los Angeles and, if not for the Red Sox's dominance, he'd be hearing boos all the way from Maine. DH: Shea Hillenbrand, Los Angeles Angels, $6 million – Complete and utter dead weight, Hillenbrand hasn't hit, is embarrassing in the field and seems contractually obligated not to take a walk. There are higher-paid designated hitters performing poorly, but no one is as bad as Hillenbrand. SP: Carl Pavano, New York Yankees, $10 million – Captain Carl earned stewardship of this illustrious bunch by winning a total of five games over the life of his four-year, $39.5 million deal. He'll soon undergo Tommy John surgery, which will keep him out until at least the middle of next season and allow him to attend his induction into the Bad Contract Hall of Fame, where he'll be joined by Darren Dreifort and Chan Ho Park. SP: Barry Zito, San Francisco, $10 million – Next year it's $14.5 million. Then three years at $18.5 million. And then $19 million. And finally $20 million. We might as well save a seat, because 30 walks and 32 strikeouts in 61 1/3 innings does not portend good things. SP: Matt Clement, Boston, $9.5 million – Like Pavano, only he pitched for a year and a half. Most notable for having been tagged with the nickname "HazMatt." About as likely to wear a Red Sox uniform again as Ted Williams. SP: Jeff Weaver, Seattle, $8.33 million – Welcome back! Weaver is the lone returnee from last year's team. Somehow he hoodwinked the Mariners into paying him the same salary the Angels wasted last year before Weaver somehow turned into a postseason savior for St. Louis. Well, the carriage is a pumpkin again, and Weaver is 0-6 with a 14.32 earned-run average and on the disabled list for the first time in his nine-year career. SP: Mike Hampton, Atlanta, $14.5 million – Quite a year for Hampton. After missing 2006 recovering from Tommy John surgery, he hurt his oblique during spring training. Then, during a rehabilitation session, he tore the flexor tendon in his left elbow and will miss the rest of this year. Added bonus: His salary jumps to $15 million next year, and the Braves will have to spend another $6 million in '09 to buy him out of a $20 million option. Mr. Hampton, we'll keep your seat warm, too. RP: Armando Benitez, San Francisco, $9.7 million – Benitez blew a game last week. He gave up two runs in a 5-3 loss. Afterward, he said: "I'm doing my job." Just to repeat, he makes $9.7 million. RP: Danys Baez, Baltimore $5.67 million – Part of the Orioles' effort to rebuild their bullpen, Baez has been relegated to mop-up duty after giving up runs in six of his last seven outings. With an 0-4 record and 6.35 ERA, Baez looks more like a Baltimore reliever, circa '06. RP: B.J. Ryan, Toronto, $7 million – Ryan was a bargain. Then he blew out his left elbow. Now he's not. RP: Scott Eyre, Chicago Cubs, $3.83 million – What is worse: Eyre allowing 41 baserunners in 16 1/3 innings this season or Cubs manager Lou Piniella trotting him again and again only to see him fail? All-Underpaid C: Mike Redmond, Minnesota, $950,000 – Filling in for the injured Joe Mauer, Redmond has hit well (a major-league-leading .412 with two strikes) and been excellent behind the plate (catching 47 percent of attempted stolen bases). When Mauer does return, Redmond will resume his part-time duties as catcher and DH, looking to hit over .300 for the third consecutive year and seventh time in 10 seasons. 1B: Carlos Peña, Tampa Bay, $800,000 – Few remember that Peña hit 27 home runs with Detroit in 2004. He lost his job midway through the next season to Chris Shelton and got only 33 at-bats last year with the Red Sox. An afterthought headed into the spring, Peña is tied for sixth in the American League with 10 home runs and is behind only Jack Cust and Alex Rodriguez in at-bats per home run. 2B: Placido Polanco, Detroit, $4.6 million – Among players with at least 175 plate appearances, Polanco's eight strikeouts are the fewest. The corollary is his alarmingly low walk rate, though when you're hitting .328, its consequences are not quite as drastic. Perhaps the most amazing number is Polanco's batting average when faced with an 0-2 count: .405. SS: Jose Reyes, New York Mets, $2.88 million – OK, so maybe this is cheating a little. The Mets locked the 23-year-old Reyes up through all three of his arbitration years, plus his first free-agent season, at a closeout price of $23.25 million. (And they've got an $11 million option for 2011, too.) For that they get the most exciting player in the game, one who leads baseball with 28 stolen bases, has smacked 23 extra-base hits and sparkles in the field to boot. 3B: David Wright, New York Mets, $1.25 million – For these two deals along Mets general manager Omar Minaya deserves a contract extension. Wright is actually still a pre-arbitration player, though he forfeited that for a six-year, $55 million that starts him off at a pittance this year. Following a miserable April, Wright has hammered eight home runs, slugged .615 and stolen seven bases in May. And he's just 24. OF: Grady Sizemore, Cleveland, $916,667 – Same scenario for Sizemore, who snagged a six-year deal before he had two full years in the major leagues. Though his numbers tapered off in May, Sizemore still has a .400 on-base percentage, eight home runs and 16 stolen bases in Cleveland's leadoff spot. Eventually, he'll drop down to No. 3 in the lineup, and his RBIs will catch up to – if not exceed – his runs scored. OF: Matt Holliday, Colorado, $4.4 million – There might not be a better pure hitter than the 27-year-old Holliday, who leads the major leagues with 71 hits and is third in the National League with a .341 batting average. He's third in RBIs, fourth in slugging percentage, fourth in OPS and seemingly impervious to the humidor. OF: Aaron Rowand, Philadelphia, $4.35 million – Healthy again, Rowand is nearly duplicating the numbers of his career year in 2004. Already, in half as many plate appearances, Rowand has matched his 18 walks from last season. And with his .325 batting average and superlative defense in center field, he's making himself plenty of money as free agency looms following this year. DH: Sammy Sosa, Texas, $500,000 – Uncle. There's been so much noise from people looking for Sammy to get some credit that it sounds more like Sousa than Sosa. He may be fake. He may be disingenuous. But the man is a bargain. Even if his on-base percentage stinks, Sosa's run production – 12 doubles, 10 home runs and 39 RBIs – makes up for it. SP: Jake Peavy, San Diego, $4.75 million – Peavy would be a bargain at three times his salary. His 1.47 ERA is a quarter-run better than the next-best starter, his 85 strikeouts are third in the major leagues and his opponents' OPS is an unfathomable .476. SP: Chris Young, San Diego, $750,000 – Perhaps the best trade of the decade brought Young, outfielder Terrmel Sledge and first baseman Adrian Gonzalez – who would have been just as good a choice as Carlos Peña – to the Padres for Akinori Otsuka and Adam Eaton. The 6-foot-10 Young, who spent his college career playing basketball at Princeton, is only getting better: Opponents are hitting just .214 against him. SP: Tim Hudson and John Smoltz, Atlanta, $8.5 million and $8 million – Take your pick. Hudson's ERA is 2.79, Smoltz's 2.83. Hudson has allowed 84 baserunners in 77 1/3 innings. Smoltz, at 40, is averaging nearly eight strikeouts per nine innings. Both are cut-rate for established All-Stars. SP: John Lackey, Los Angeles Angels, $5.3 million – The big kid who won Game 7 of the World Series at 23 years old has grown into the Angels' 28-year-old ace. He leads the AL with eight wins, ranks third with a 2.36 ERA and strikes out three batters for every one he walks. SP: Dan Haren, Oakland, $2.25 million – The best pitcher in the AL this season, and it's not even close. His 1.70 ERA is a half-run better than the next best, teammate Chad Gaudin, who would have been the next starter on this team with a $400,000 salary. Haren has allowed just 49 hits in 74 1/3 innings, and his 10 quality starts (out of 11 total) are tied with Peavy and Smoltz for the most in baseball. RP: Takashi Saito, Los Angeles Dodgers , $1 million – Welcome back! Unlike with Weaver, it's a privilege to join this team for the second consecutive season. After making $500,000 last season, striking out 107 in 78 1/3 innings and taking over the Dodgers' closer job, Saito has been even better this year: 22 innings, two walks, 26 strikeouts, a 1.64 ERA and 15 for 15 in save opportunities. RP: Al Reyes, Tampa Bay, $750,000 – A scrap-heap pickup – he was signed to a minor-league deal the same day as Gary Glover and Jason Grabowski – Reyes won a job in the Devil Rays' bullpen and quickly proved himself their most competent reliever. Now, with bullpen help needed all over the game, Tampa Bay will have a nice trading chip come July, so long as Reyes can continue keeping hitters to a .141 batting average and striking out more than one an inning. RP: J.J. Putz, Seattle, $2.7 million – So much for those possible arm troubles during spring training. Putz has allowed just 14 baserunners in 21 2/3 innings, struck out 20 and hasn't blown a save in 12 chances, the punctuation mark on a bullpen that features the underrated George Sherrill, Eric O'Flaherty and rookie Brandon Morrow. RP: Ryan Franklin, St. Louis, $1 million – Franklin's career had spiraled after a positive steroid test when something happened on the way to the gutter. He has walked two batters in 19 2/3 innings, limited hitters to a .186 batting average, posted a 0.92 ERA and become so indispensable as a setup man that Cardinals manager Tony La Russa declined to move Franklin – for almost his entire career a starter – into the rotation despite an open spot. Jeff Passan is a national baseball writer for Yahoo! Sports. Send Jeff a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.

My dad worked at Illinois Masonic so I went to a lot
of games at Wrigley over the years.  One thing my dad
said was that Santo was the best hitter in the first
inning and if the game was out of reach.  I went
through some of my old programs and every home run I
saw Santo hit was either in the first inning or if the
Cubs happened to be up by a ton of runs.  If it was
the last of the eighth or ninth and he had a chance to
make a real difference in the game he always failed.
Also I've never seen another third baseman trip over
third base chasing a foul ball.







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All-Underpaid
C: Mike Redmond, Minnesota, $950,000 - Filling in for the injured Joe
Mauer, Redmond has hit well (a major-league-leading .412 with two
strikes) and been excellent behind the plate (catching 47 percent of
attempted stolen bases). When Mauer does return, Redmond will resume his
part-time duties as catcher and DH, looking to hit over .300 for the
third consecutive year and seventh time in 10 seasons.

Sigh.  They have two catchers.  Must be nice.