All Things Bubba

The Cincinnati Reds are on a blistering hot streak (helped by playing terrible teams like the Pirates and Astros). They now have the best record in the NL.

Paul Janish must be kind of bummed to be missing out. First baseman Joey Votto has been on the shelf with a stiff neck, second baseman Brandon Phillips has been playing with a slight hamstring tweak, and Scott Rolen is rested whenever possible, so there has been a lot of playing time available for backup infielders this week. Unfortunately for Janish, he was on bereavement leave. He rejoined the team yesterday, but could not be activated. You have to be on the bereavement list for at least three days. He should be activated today. Drew Sutton will probably be sent down to make room for Janish, despite hitting a grand slam last night.

A week ago, I'd have thought it possible that Miguel Cairo would be DFA'd instead. He was not playing well at all. That's changed since he began getting regular playing time with Votto injured. Miggy has been en fuego: 2 for 4 with a home run on Wednesday, 3 for 5 Thursday, 3 for 5 with a double and a walk last night. His batting average has gone from .182 to .298 in three days. I would guess his roster spot is safe now.

Hopefully Janish will be able to join in the fun today.

Just when you think you've seen it all...the Mariners are having a Cheezburger Night promotion. (That LOLcats site shoulda trademarked Cheezburger.)

Paul Janish had a good game yesterday. He went 1 for 2 with a walk. Though Dusty pinch-hit Orlando Cabrera for him in the last at-bat of the game. (Cabrera popped out in the first pitch.)

Janish was put on the bereavement list today. He's attending his grandmother's funeral in Houston. Drew Sutton was called up from Louisville to take his place. Janish is expected back on Saturday.

Not sure why they bothered. Janish only plays once a week anyway. He played yesterday. He wouldn’t be due to play again until next Tuesday. :-P

Labels: Paul Janish

Photo by Brian Baker
The Cincinnati Reds are on a roll now. And it looks like Dusty's going to give Paul Janish one start a week.

Last Tuesday, Janish started at 3B. He went 1 for 3 with a walk, and it was his single that started off the 9th inning rally that won the game.

Janish led off the ninth with a single before Rolen's day off came to an end. Hoffman has the most saves in big league history, but he'd blown four saves coming into Tuesday and converted only five. In 12 career at-bats against Hoffman, Rolen had five hits and three home runs.

"I knew Scott was on deck and he's had some success against Trevor and maybe if I could get on, he'd hit a homer," Janish said.

I wish Dusty would give him more playing time, but he is getting the start at SS tonight. And it's probably the ideal time to start him. Janish's left/right splits are rather extreme, and there's a lefty on the mound for the Pirates (Paul Maholm). Mike Leake is on the mound for the Reds - their only groundball pitcher. You need infield defense the most with a groundball pitcher.

Labels: Paul Janish

Doug Glanville has written a book about baseball, called The Game from Where I Stand: A Ballplayer's Inside View. It's about the culture of baseball - "from how to pack your bag after you've been cut from a roster to how to manage romantic relationships while traveling for half the year." (Interview and excerpt here.)

Glanville is unusual for a pro ball player in that he has a systems engineering degree from an Ivy League university (Penn).

"My favorite comment was from a guy who ... realized I was an engineer who had written a paper about building a new stadium in Philadelphia," Glanville says. "So I was really struggling when I first came over to Philly in 1998, struggling and hitting like .190 so the guy yelled out 'Why don't you design a stadium you can hit in?'"

He mentions Bubba in the introduction to his book.

I returned to the Phillies for the 2004 season, but I was now firmly entrenched as a bench player, which was not where I wanted to be. I figured that if I was going to be a reserve, I might as well play for a team with a chance to win a championship. So in February 2005 I reported to spring training with the New York Yankees, hoping to win a reserve outfield spot.

The Yankees ran me out there every day during the exhibition games. To combat any wearing down, I was in the gym at least twice a day working on my body.

I was playing fairly well, not lighting the world on fire, but steady. My competition for the last slot, Bubba Crosby, was battling leg problems, and I thought I might get a few points for staying healthy. But Crosby soon regained his health and came back on fire — as I cooled off .

A week before Opening Day, we played the Phillies at their camp, and just as my career had begun with a base hit to left off the Phillies' Terry Mulholland at Veterans Stadium, on this day I smacked a base hit to left off the Phillies' Tim Worrell. After the game, the Yankees' general manager, Brian Cashman, and manager, Joe Torre, brought me into the office to tell me that I had been released. They were giving me a week's head start to catch on with another team. I didn't say much other than to thank them for the opportunity. I thought I was a good fit for the Yankees: a player who had been a starter, able to play all fields, and young enough to run out there a lot. But I was trumped.

Bubba was en fuego that spring training. Still, the Yanks had a long history of taking the aging veteran over the homegrown kid. (Though Bubba wasn't quite homegrown, having been traded from the Dodgers a couple of years before.) In general, fans wanted Bubba, but figured the Yanks would pick some over-the-hill veteran instead. However, there was one fan who touched off a long thread at NYYFans. He said he was intelligent and well-educated, and therefore he preferred baseball players who were, too. He wanted Glanville, the Ivy Leaguer, instead of "uneducated" Bubba Crosby.

Of course, other fans jumped all over him, pointing out that Bubba had a degree from Rice, which put him ahead of the vast majority of baseball players in the education department. They asked him how he knew Bubba was uneducated. Young Crosby was very articulate in interviews. Was it his large glove? His high socks? (Of course, it was the name; I guess educated people aren't supposed to be named "Bubba.")

Anyway, it sounds like an interesting book. I might have to check it out.

Labels: Bubba Crosby

Bubba Crosby, Mother's Day 2006

Holy cow. Dallas Braden - yes, that Dallas Braden - pitched a perfect game today. Against the best team in baseball, the Tampa Bay Rays, no less. I guess A-Rod will remember his name now.

Braden's mother died of melanoma when he was in high school. His grandmother raised him after that, and she was at the park for Mother's Day today. Chad Jennings has this tidbit:

Apparently Dallas Braden’s grandmother actually said, “Stick it, A-Rod,” during a postgame interview in Oakland. You can’t make this stuff up.

LOL. I guess we know where Braden got his feistiness.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom. I love you.

Well, the Yankees killed the Red Sox today. So much so that the Sox ended up putting an outfielder on the mound. That was different. Usually, it's an infielder, I guess because they can at least field the position.

Jonathan Van Every gave up a homer to Mark Teixeira, boosting his ERA to 54.00. I thought for awhile that he might break Paul Janish's record, but he got Robby Cano and recent SWB Yankee Kevin Russo out, lowering his ERA to 27.00. Janish's record 49.50 ERA is safe!

The Reds also won a blowout game today, against their arch-rivals, the Cubs. Janish didn't get to play until the top of the ninth. I guess Dusty Baker is afraid to take his starters out until there's a 12-run lead in the 9th. :-P