The Season That Was...July

As the "Year of the Pitcher" hit its midway point...the baseball world lost a boss, saw a hawk soar to new heights and wondered aloud if Matt Stairs is the game's best (pinch) hitter.

Wait...what?!?

On July 7, Matt Stairs went yard against Matt Capps for the 20th time as a pinch hitter. This milestone by Stairs earned him a tie with Cliff Johnson atop the all-time home run list among pinch hitters.

This was Stairs' second homer as a member of his 12th team...the San Diego Padres. His first one of the season (which was hit in May) meant that the Canadien had gone deep for a record eleven different teams...a feat matched only by Todd Zeile.

The HOVG Mid-Season Report

So here we are, folks…the All-Star break. What have we learned?

The Yankees, with their league-best 56-32 record are dominating their opponents. Home runs are making headlines night after night and big league umpires need, according to many fans…better glasses.

Now while you’re bound to come across plenty of first half re-caps, here are ten milestones (or stories) that The Hall of Very Good has found of particular interest.


Jason Heyward Hits Home Run in Major League Debut
With one swing of the bat, Atlanta Braves super rookie did something only 104 players had done prior to Opening Day 2010…ht a home run in his first at bat. Within weeks, three more players joined him…most notably was what Boston rookie Daniel Nava pulled off.


Mike Leake Skips Minors…Debuts in Reds Rotation
While most of the baseball world was applauding the debut of Jason Heyward and counting down the moments until Stephen Strasburg took the hill for the first time…Cincinnati starter Mike Leake was busy not playing in the Minors and taking his act to the pros, winning his first five starts in the process.


No-Hitters, Perfect and Notso Perfect Games
If one more person calls 2010 the “Year of the Pitcher” I’m going to vomit. So here we are…living in the Year of the Pitcher! Never before have we seen two perfect games (Dallas Braden and Roy Halladay), two no-hitters (Ubaldo Jimenez and Edwin Jackson) and whatever you call what Armando Galarraga pulled off…all before the All-Star break! I’m almost afraid to see what the second half of the season has in store for us.


Matt Stairs…Professional Hitter
My fascination with Matt Stairs started in his first season in the Minors…1989. More than 20 years and a Major League best 20 pinch hit home runs later…Stairs is still swinging for the fences. Matter of fact, he’s done so for more teams (11) than anyone else out there today.


Junior Retires
Fifth on the all-time home run list with 630 career bombs, "The Kid" was regarded as one of the game's premier players throughout the 1990s, nabbing ten straight Gold Gloves while playing with Seattle and being elected to start eleven straight All-Star Games. Quietly, he called it quits June 2 and made the 2016 Hall of Fame induction an easy day to schedule.


Stephen Strasburg Makes His Historic Debut
What can be written about Stephen Strasburg that hasn’t been written before? How about the fact that dude sold more jerseys (78,000) in June than any Washington National has in their history? Oh…a big thanks to those who have found The Hall while Googling “Stephen Strasburg shoe size”.


Home Run Milestones Aplenty!
Derrek Lee, Alfonso Soriano and Scott Rolen all reached the 300 home run plateau for their careers. Not to be outdone, Andruw Jones hit his 400th. The next big home run milestone on the docket? Alex Rodriguez is a mere three longballs from 600.


Jamie Moyer Becomes Home Run King
And speaking of home runs…did you hear the one about Jamie Moyer becoming the all-time leader in home runs by a pitcher. Last month, Moyer served up home run number 506 and later this month…he’ll get his AARP card. You know…because he’s old. ZING!


Jon Adkins Sets Save Record
Sure, it’s not a Major League milestone…but it IS a milestone. Good friend of The Hall, closer Jon Adkins became the all-time saves leader for the Cincinnati Red Triple-A affiliate Louisville Bats back in June. Unfortunately, Adkins won’t be able to add to his career total…the Reds released the pitcher on the eve of the Major League All-Star break Sunday night.


Goodbye, Old Friends
In a season full of memorable debuts…we’ve also seen our fair share of departures. In May, the baseball world lost both Ernie Harwell and Jose Lima. And right before the All-Star break, longtime Yankees public address announcer Bob Sheppard passed. But in what will be regarded as one of the top sports/news stories of the year…Yankees owner George Steinbrenner succumbed to a heart attack early Tuesday morning.


To put a cap on the first half of the baseball season, Gar Ryness, better known as Batting Stance Guy was at the All-Star Game in Anaheim Tuesday night and ran into “reputable reporter” Tyler Kepner of the New York Times.

Here’s their round up of the 2010 season so far.

George Steinbrenner (1930-2010)

Rare in sports is an owner that transcends the team.

Currently, Dan Gilbert is making news with his Cleveland Cavaliers. A couple of years ago, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was on "Dancing with the Stars".

Before either of them...New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner was making headlines. Often times, BEFORE the team did.

Early this morning, Steinbrenner's family confirms, "The Boss" died. More details will be coming out I'm sure...but here is what TMZ.com is saying.

TMZ has confirmed legendary New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner died last night after suffering a "massive" heart attack.

According to multiple reports, Steinbrenner, who turned 80 years-old on July 4th, was rushed to St. Joseph's hospital in Tampa where he was later pronounced dead.

Steinbrenner, a U.S. Navy veteran, retired from running the Yankees in 2006... leaving his sons Hank and Hal to run the team.

Since Steinbrenner took over the team in 1973, the Yankees locked up 11 pennants and seven World Series titles.

Among Steinbrenner's many accomplishments, his famous "grooming policy", in which players and coaches are not allowed to sport hair past their collar ... and the only acceptable facial hair is a mustache.

UPDATE: A rep for the Steinbrenner family has released a statement saying, "It is with profound sadness that the family of George M. Steinbrenner III announces his passing. He passed away this morning in Tampa, Fla., at age 80."

The rep adds, "Funeral arrangements will be private. There will be an additional public service with details to be announced at a later date."

Here's hoping that Bud Selig and Major League Baseball does Steinbrenner right and conduct a moment of silence tonight prior to the All-Star Game.

And furthermore...can we get him into baseball's Hall of Fame?

Wave goodbye, Joe!

***Note: E is back. Check out his normal ramblings HERE!***

So, the Yankees have been unceremoniously ushered from the postseason by a Cleveland team full of 26-year old nobodies. And, since this is becoming a fairly regular thing, the time of scapegoating is upon us. And, since a team not being to able to perform is always the manager's fault, of course Yankees' skipper Joe Torre has fallen directly in the crosshairs.

I, for one, think the Yankees' front office of George Steinbrenner and Brian Cashman are aiming at the wrong guy. They should be aiming at themselves.

It's no secret that the Yankees have a tendency to try and win championships by buying them, paying top dollar for the best talent available. It's also no coincidence that this practice started roughly the same time that Steinbrenner took over the team.

And, on paper, it's a great idea.

But it doesn't work (not all the time, at least). Del Webb owned the Yankees for 19 years; he won 11 Series in that time. Steinbrenner has owned them for 34 and counting; he's won six. In the Steinbrenner era, before Torre (who's been the manager for 12 years), the Yankees went to the postseason six times, winning two Series. Since Torre, they've gone to the postseason every year, and won four Series.

And they could probably win more, if, every year, Cashman and Steinbrenner didn't saddle him with their real-life rotisserie team that they've paid WAY too much money to put together. And they aren't getting much for their $195 million, which $50 million more than the second-highest team, namely because they just throw money away.

By contrast, three of the four teams remaining in the postseason are in the bottom eight in payroll.$28 million for Roger Clemens, who turns 56 this year, to pitch whenever the Hell he feels like it.

$23 million for Jason Giambi to, apparently, do nothing but blow the lid off the whole steroid thing.

$10 million for Carl Pavano to remain in a constant state of disability.They also love to sign players well after the iron has cooled.

Johnny Damon: Great player...with the Royals and Red Sox.

The Andy Pettitte they brought back from Houston (at top dollar) is not the same Pettitte that left for Houston.

And losing Soriano and assuming the debt load on Alex Rodriguez's contract may have seemed like a good deal at the time, but...hey, that A-Rod sure puts up some great numbers, don't he?

What Steinbrenner and Cashman don't seem to understand is that the Yankees of the '00s are not the Yankees of the '50s: they just aren't going to win every year.

And throwing more money at the problem isn't going to help.

Remember the Cleveland Indians? Two years after closing out the '90s with five straight division wins and two trips to the Series, they flushed the entire franchise down the toilet and started over again. And now they're playing for another trip to the Series.

I think the Yankees need to take a look at this strategy. They have close to $100 mil in contracts coming due, and it might not be wise of them to spend all of that in one place, as they usually would. There IS affordable talent out there. You don't have to sign the entire All-Star roster. Hell, the Yankees' best pitcher isn't even making $500,000; there are more (younger) players out there who are that good.

But, these are the Yankees.

They've fucked themselves by putting all of their eggs in the same basket, letting A-Rod's contract come up the same year as Posada, Abreu, and Rivera's. So, they either lose a good portion of their of their team and start over, or they resign the whole thing and end up with the same team next year that couldn't do anything this year.

And all this is Joe Torre's fault HOW?

There is a ray of hope: reports are coming down that Steinbrenner is giving up control of the team to his sons. Hopefully, they're a little bit more sensible than their old man. And they'll keep around the best manager they're likely to see in a long time.