Interesting tidbit on how much merchandise is sold among the major league teams:
Four teams — the New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers, Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox — account for half of the market share. Ten teams have less than a 1 percent share, including the Rays, who sit at No. 29 out of 30 with a 0.51 percent share.
I couldn't find the full data, but here's an older report from April '07.
The team that is supposed to score 1,000 runs is 0-4 - and a mere 990 runs short so far.
Detroit is looking for a reliever:
Still, the Tigers have had general discussions with the Chicago Cubs about acquiring bullpen help, according to one industry executive. Chicago general manager Jim Hendry is a close friend of Dombrowski’s, and the two have worked on several trades in recent seasons. The Cubs have considered adding a right-handed hitter who is capable of playing centerfield. Whether coincidental or not, Brandon Inge is expected to start in center for Detroit this afternoon against Philadelphia.
He has played 20 games in center in his career. Stats here.
Jim Leyland, who told Jacque Jones he could hit triples in Detroit, expects Jacque Jones to hit a lot of triples.
"He hit a lot of doubles (31 in 2006 and 33 in 2007), but he played at Wrigley Field," said Leyland. "Some of the doubles he hit there will become triples in our ballpark. I think Jacque Jones is going to have a big year for us. He's quietly going to be a tremendous addition. I like what I've seen so far. I think he's going to hit some triples. If he takes off from the first step on some of the balls I've already seen him hit in batting practice, I've already told him, 'You're going to get some triples.' I didn't know him. I thought he was a skinny guy, but he's strong. I know we haven't played a game yet, but I like him. I think he's going to be a huge help."
Got that? Triples.
His wife is hanging out with much younger, much richer men (1:12 a.m. post):
How did Cabrera find out he'd been traded? Ozzie Guillen's wife told him. Guillen's wife and Cabrera's wife are close friends. So when Guillen called his wife to tell her that Cabrera had just been traded, she replied: "Guess what? He's sitting right next to me. I'm driving him to the airport."
Just kidding, Ozzie. Don't go crazy. Please.
That looks more like a fantasy trade than one you typically see in the real world these days. Good times.
The Cubs very well may be running some sort of mediocre outfielder laundering business for the AL Central.
A day after sending former Twins outfielder Jacque Jones to the Tigers, the Cubs traded former Tigers outfielder Craig Monroe to the Twins.
Why couldn't the Twins and Tigers have taken care of this themselves at some point? Why did they have to inflict their mediocrity on poor unsuspecting Cubs fans?
The Commissioner should appoint a washed-up former senator to investigate that. And pronto.
So, it's official: Jacque to Detroit for Omar Infante, which apparently doesn't mean they have given up on Kaz Matsui (according to Ken Rosenthal):
Infante, a right-handed hitter, likely will play second base, shortstop and center field for the Cubs. His addition will not preclude the Cubs from pursuing second baseman Kaz Matsui as a free agent, but the team's greater priority is finding a left-handed hitting outfielder.
Second base is the left field of the '08 Cubs. Infante, Theriot, Fontenot, DeRosa, possibly Matsui. Add them all together and you still don't have one Sandberg.
Addendum: Thank you to Nutsack for his vigilance and excellence in Cubs reporting in first noticing this, as included in comment number 4 in this post.
The governor of Colorado (his name is Bill Ritter, for those of you - OK, everyone outside of Colorado - who don't know) has concluded that ... well, I'm not sure what he's concluded.
I'll let him explain:
"Of the eight Major League Baseball teams in the playoffs, seven come from states with Democratic governors," said Ritter, a Democrat. "Only California has a Republican governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and he's not really a Republican."
Well, then. So, Democrats are winners? Or does that tell us that there are more Democratic governors? Or are states with large metropolitan areas with baseball teams more apt to elect Democratic governors? Or is it simply a fluke that Ritter has noticed (seems his staff may have a little too much time on its hands)?
But since he brought it up, let's see how his little game of reflected glory translates to the rest of the sports world. A look back over the last 12 months, starting with the 2006 World Series, tells a different story:
2006 World Series - St. Louis Cardinals, (Gov. Matt Blunt, Republican) defeated Detroit Tigers (Gov. Jennifer Granholm, a Democrat who is actually a Canadian).
2006(7) NCAA Football - Florida Gators (Gov. Charlie Crist, Republican) defeated Ohio State (Gov. Ted Strickland, a Democrat who was sworn in on the day the Buckeyes lost to the Gators. Tough break, Gov. Ted.).
2007 Super Bowl - Indianapolis Colts (Gov. Mitch Daniels, Republican) defeated Chicago Bears (Gov. Rod Blagojevich, Democrat).
2007 NCAA Basketball - Florida Gators (Gov. Charlie Crist, Republican) defeated Ohio State (Gov. Ted Strickland, Democrat, again).
2007 Stanley Cup - Anaheim Ducks (Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Republican) defeated Ottawa Senators. Push.
2007 NBA - San Antonio Spurs (Gov. Rick Perry, Republican) defeated Cleveland Cavaliers (Gov. Ted Strickland, Democrat, for the dubious three-peat).
Strangely, Gov. Ritter didn't alert the media to all of these exciting developments. But we look forward to his insightful and trenchant sports commentary in the years to come.
Also, I hope the Denver Post plans to do a followup after the original odd story.
Let's hope Craig Monroe's batting improves in the National League as much as Jason Kendall's has.
Just think how bad he'd be if he weren't cheating. If Dusty were managing the Tigers, he would find a way to get him in the lineup despite the suspension.
Jim Leyland says the Tigers "made a mistake" when they acquired Neifi Perez from the Cubs last year.
Well, yes, especially since the Tigers acquired 2006 Neifi and not 1999 Neifi. The Tigers were apparently confused about that point, as Leyland said, "He was a hell of a player, and we thought we were getting a similar player to that, but Neifi simply did not perform well."
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