2008 Baseball Thread, Part V: A New Beginning

[Chi City 81]

Cubs are still in first place. Carry on.

 

[friend of a friend]

Much better.

 

[BYH]

Blast! I was going to start this and call it "2008 Baseball Thread: Pujols" and then listen carefully for the explosion of A_QB's head.

 

[friend of a friend]

I was thinking:

2008 Baseball Thread: ****pots

 

[Oz]

I was thinking:

2008 Baseball Thread: Joey Gathright

 

[Chi City 81]

Up next: 2008 Baseball Thread, Don't Call It Leonard, Part VI.

 

[Rumpleforeskin]

Five straight games with a home run for Chase Utley. He's locked into the zone right now. The Phillies are playing in Coors for at least two more games, so he could possibly tie the record for consecutive games with a home run if he stays hot.

 

[AgatePage]

Up next: 2008 Baseball Thread, Don't Call It Leonard, Part VI.

and with another 22-inning game, it will be here sooner than you think.

 

[Rumpleforeskin]

Five straight games with a home run for Chase Utley. He's locked into the zone right now. The Phillies are playing in Coors for at least two more games, so he could possibly tie the record for consecutive games with a home run if he stays hot.

Uhh, the record's eight, not seven.

5+2 = fail.

He can tie former Phillie first baseman Jim Thome with two more (I know Thome hit seven in a row with Cleveland). Read a stat on ESPN.com that said with his home run, he joined a list of Bobby Abreu, **** Allen and Mike Schmidt for Phillies players with five consecutive games with a home run.

Abreu finished with 24 home runs, Schmidt with 45 and Allen with 32. Hopefully history repeats itself in the Schmidt-form and not Abreu. Edit: Yet, Utley doesn't have as much power as Schmidt, or hasn't brandished it yet.

 

[mike311gd]

I don't know what's with me tonight, but I've got another question.

A good season for a power hitter, in my opinion, is about 35 home runs. That's an average of about six home runs a month, and one every five days. Doesn't that seem like a slow pace?

It's great over the long run. But if you're watching Aramis Ramirez hit and not looking at the season totals, and he hits exactly one home run every five days are you thinking he's slumping in the power department?

As a fan, I think I'd start to get impatient with him, especially if it seems like he doesn't produce for four consecutive games.

 

[friend of a friend]

And Nate McLouth has a 20-game hit streak.

Only 35 to catch DiMaggio. ;D

 

[mike311gd]

Five straight games with a home run for Chase Utley. He's locked into the zone right now. The Phillies are playing in Coors for at least two more games, so he could possibly tie the record for consecutive games with a home run if he stays hot.

Uhh, the record's eight, not seven.

5+2 = fail.

He can tie former Phillie first baseman Jim Thome with two more (I know Thome hit seven in a row with Cleveland). Read a stat on ESPN.com that said with his home run, he joined a list of Bobby Abreu, **** Allen and Mike Schmidt for Phillies players with five consecutive games with a home run.

Abreu finished with 24 home runs, Schmidt with 45 and Allen with 32. Hopefully history repeats itself in the Schmidt-form and not Abreu.

But he's no Mattingly or Griffey. Are those two right? Or am I forgetting someone and putting Griffey in his place?

 

[buckweaver]

Doesn't that seem like a slow pace?

Good question. Thing is, a great majority of power hitters are streaky. They come in bunches, and by the end of the season it usually averages out.

Look at A-Rod:

2007 homers by month: 14-5-9-7-9-10 (54)
2006: 5-8-3-6-5-8 (35)
2005: 9-8-3-8-12-8 (48)
2004: 4-8-7-8-5-4 (36)
2003: 9-6-5-5-15-7 (47)

 

[Angola!]

Five straight games with a home run for Chase Utley. He's locked into the zone right now. The Phillies are playing in Coors for at least two more games, so he could possibly tie the record for consecutive games with a home run if he stays hot.

Uhh, the record's eight, not seven.

5+2 = fail.

He can tie former Phillie first baseman Jim Thome with two more (I know Thome hit seven in a row with Cleveland). Read a stat on ESPN.com that said with his home run, he joined a list of Bobby Abreu, **** Allen and Mike Schmidt for Phillies players with five consecutive games with a home run.

Abreu finished with 24 home runs, Schmidt with 45 and Allen with 32. Hopefully history repeats itself in the Schmidt-form and not Abreu.

But he's no Mattingly or Griffey. Are those two right? Or am I forgetting someone and putting Griffey in his place?

Those two and Dale Long, if my memory serves correct.

 

[Angola!]

Doesn't that seem like a slow pace?

Good question. Thing is, a great majority of power hitters are streaky. They come in bunches, and by the end of the season it usually averages out.

Look at A-Rod:

2007 homers by month: 14-5-9-7-9-10 (54)
2006: 5-8-3-6-5-8 (35)
2005: 9-8-3-8-12-8 (48)
2004: 4-8-7-8-5-4 (36)
2003: 9-6-5-5-15-7 (47)

Which is why Sosa's June of 1998 was so damned amazing.

 

[friend of a friend]

But he's no Mattingly or Griffey. Are those two right? Or am I forgetting someone and putting Griffey in his place?

Dale Long -- a PIRATE! -- was the first to hit HRs in eight straight games.

Great. Now Zag is gonna make some lame comment.

 

[Rumpleforeskin]

Well, Utley has more home runs than each of the entire rosters of the Twins, Royals, A's and Padres.

 

[Angola!]

Also, if I remember correctly, Mattingly hit the most home runs in his eight game streak. Not sure how many, though.

 

[Rumpleforeskin]

Doesn't that seem like a slow pace?

Good question. Thing is, a great majority of power hitters are streaky. They come in bunches, and by the end of the season it usually averages out.

Look at A-Rod:

2007 homers by month: 14-5-9-7-9-10 (54)
2006: 5-8-3-6-5-8 (35)
2005: 9-8-3-8-12-8 (48)
2004: 4-8-7-8-5-4 (36)
2003: 9-6-5-5-15-7 (47)

True. When Ryan Howard hit 58 in 2006, he went 5-13-9-8-14-9.

 

[mike311gd]

Doesn't that seem like a slow pace?

Good question. Thing is, a great majority of power hitters are streaky. They come in bunches, and by the end of the season it usually averages out.

Look at A-Rod:

2007 homers by month: 14-5-9-7-9-10 (54)
2006: 5-8-3-6-5-8 (35)
2005: 9-8-3-8-12-8 (48)
2004: 4-8-7-8-5-4 (36)
2003: 9-6-5-5-15-7 (47)

A-Rod's April was my first thought when contemplating that question. But if you saw Teixeira hit one home run a week, give or take a day, what would you think? Would you get impatient?