Now that interleague is over, I've gotta be honest ... I'm a little bummed.
No more Mariano Rivera drawing a game-winning bases loaded walk. No more Luis Castillo dropped pop ups. No more Colorado Rockies winning streaks.
That's a damn shame. However, as we return to the way baseball's been played for the previous 125 years (in-TRA-league only), there are a few fun facts about the mixed league's last few days.
Players of the Week
Aaron Hill was a beast for the Blue Jays last week, as he often has been this season. The soon-to-be All-Star second baseman (at least he should be) went off for four home runs, eight RBI, scored seven runs, hit .346 and stole a base in games against Cincinnati and Philadelphia. However, his huge week was nothing compared to what many league's No. 1 pick did for the Marlins.
Hanley Ramirez is on a serious tear right now. He's now driven in at least one run in a major league record nine straight games and has a ridiculous total of 22 ribbies in that stretch! Yeah, that's some major rakin' right there. Add in the four home runs, four doubles, 10 runs scored, three stolen bases and the .432 average and you have one of the most impressive stretch of games we've seen out of any player this whole season. And that includes people named Albert Pujols and Adrian Gonzalez.
Sexiest Relief Performance
I've been touting Jonathan Broxton all season long, and this past week he did us all one better. No, he didn't give us five saves or anything. But what he did do was give us the best bang for our buck we've seen this year. All he did was show up in one game, threw to one batter, struck that one guy out and picked up a save. That's efficiency, folks. And isn't that all you want out of your closer?! Damn, I love this guy!
Are You Serious?!
I don't know about you, but as a Cubs fan, I've sat through what I thought was the best Jason Marquis had left in him. He was terrific in the first half of the '07 season, then he completely crumbled in the second half and barely played in the team's playoff run. He did pretty much the same thing last season too. The team didn't resign him. No shock there. So, what's the worst place in the world a pitcher who's averaged giving up more than 25 home runs a season since 2004 could possibly go? Yes, Colorado! This couldn't possibly go wrong, could it?! Well, I guess I'm the dope here, since Marquis has been as good as any pitcher in the National League this year.
After Tuesday's two-hit shutout win in Los Angeles, Marquis improved to 10-5 and dropped his ERA to 3.87. With half his games coming in Coors Field, that ain't all bad, my friends. He's the first man in the league to hit the 10-win mark and is well on his way to an All-Star appearance. For someone they basically scooped off the scrap heap, I'd say they scored ... at least until the second half of the year, of course.
