Random Thoughts

Are Complete Games Becoming Extinct?
"There never was a man on earth who pitched as much as me. But the more I pitched, the stronger my arm would get." ~ Leroy "Satchel" Paige

In this day and age of pitch counts and "specialty" pitchers, Satchel Paige must be turning over in his grave. Much like polar bears, the Complete Game statistic is slowly becoming extinct. As a kid, the Complete Game was always a key statistic for starting pitchers. Yet, as of this writing, there have only been 65 complete games tossed in 2006. Four pitchers are tied for the Major League lead with a meager three complete games (Roy Hallady, Aaron Harang, Jason Schmidt, and Dontrelle Willis).

I realize the evolution of the relief pitcher role has evolved over the past few years, but I'm not so sure this is good for starting pitchers. There seem to be a greater number of arm injuries than in the past. Also, the focus during games seems to be more on pitch counts than mechanics and getting batters out. Will the complete game become extinct?

The Reds Win; Griffey Still a Super Star
My beloved Cincinnati Reds defeated the Cleveland Indians on 4-2 on Sunday. The win moved the Reds to 1.5 games within reach of the St. Louis Cardinals for the National League Central lead. The Reds are now 41-35 on the season.

One of the big reason's for the Reds success this season is Ken Griffey, Jr., who is healthy and swinging the bat more like he is in his late 20's than late 30's. (I know, Griffey wants to be known as "Ken Griffey" instead of Ken Griffey, Jr. , but old habits die hard. He'll always be Junior to me.) On Sunday, he belted his 13th home run of the season and the 549th of his career.

Many people have questions with regards to the past few years of Griffey's career. What if he didn't have all the injuries when he came to Cincinnati? If he didn't have the injuries, would we be talking about Griffey chasing Hank Aaron's all-time home run record of 755 career homers? Is he an upper tier Hall of Famer? Maybe it's because I'm a fan, but I don't like to discuss these questions. As a Reds fan, I hated to see Griffey suffer through so many injuries the past few years. He was signed by the Reds to return a championship to Cincinnati, and instead spent most of his time on the disabled list. While he was on the DL, the Reds piled up losses due to a lack of pitching and defense.

Despite the recent injuries, Griffey has had a fantastic career. He is truly one of baseball's super stars. From his early years with the Seattle Mariners to his time with the Reds, he has proven to be one of the most popular players in the game. He is no longer an All-Star outfielder, but he holds his own in the outfield. He still has one of the sweetest and purest swings in all of baseball. And, most importantly, fans in Cincinnati and around the major leagues, still buy tickets to go watch him play baseball. And, in the end, isn't that what makes a player a super star?

Rain, Rain, Go Away and Come Back Another Day
It's been raining here since last Friday. We have not had any flooding in my town, but some of the surrounding areas have experienced flooded roads, and many of the rivers and creeks are at max levels. Supposedly, the rain is expected to last until Saturday. I hope the forecasters are wrong.

Today's Five Things
1.) Family 2.) Satchel the Cat 3.) Good friends like Lindsay, Cory, Michael A. 4.) DSL 5.) The Rick Emerson Show