HBT Weekend Wrapup

Things you missed while spending the weekend in New York and visiting the coolest baseball bar ever, not once, but twice. And, while there, taking pictures of interesting things in the men’s room. Yes, I realize it’s not 100% cool to whip out the camera in the bathroom. But in my defense, there aren’t many places where Don Zimmer watches you pee, and that sort of thing needs to be recorded for posterity:

Roger McDowell gets suspended and fined by Major League Baseball. He should consider himself lucky. Even if you think, for some reason, that his words weren’t homophobic and hateful, the mere fact that he was hostile with a paying customer of Major League Baseball could have been enough to get him fired.
Frank McCourt meets his new boss.
Carlos Santana ends a game like a boss.
Tough break for Pablo Sandoval. For Ryan Zimmerman too.
For years Skip Caray used to go on about how great a golfer John Smoltz was, saying that he wouldn’t be surprised to see him try to go pro one day or something. That ain’t anywhere close to happening.
Andre Ethier keeps his hitting streak alive. And he added one more yesterday, putting it at 27.
We’ve probably seen the last of Kevin Millwood.
We’ve probably seen the last of Pedro Martinez.
David Freese will be gone for a while too, albeit for different reasons. Same with Carlos Lee.

One more programming note: I realize I punted the recaps in And That Happened this morning, but I have to punt the Power Rankings today too. Contrary to the rather slapdash nature of their appearance, I do put some real time into the Power Rankings. I usually put the bulk of that together on Sunday, and wasn’t able to do so yesterday due to my schedule. I will do my best to get them up tomorrow, but don’t sue me if we end up just giving it a miss this week.

And now, back to our usually-scheduled nonsense.

Blue Jays closer Ken Giles hasn’t exactly turned things around since joining the Blue Jays on July 31, when the club sent embattled closer Roberto Osuna to the Astros. Giles posted a 4.99 ERA in 30 2/3 innings with the Astros, then put up a slightly less miserable 4.58 ERA in 17 2/3 innings with the Jays. Still, he’s much happier with the Jays than he was with the Astros, even after winning the World Series with them last year. He said to Rosie DiManno of the Toronto Star, “I’m actually enjoying the game more than I did for my entire tenure in Houston. It’s kind of weird to say that because I won a World Series with that team. But it’s like, I just felt trapped there. I didn’t feel like myself there. Overall, I felt out of place.”

Giles also said “the communication was lost” with the Astros and it was something that came easy with the Jays. He said, “When I came here, they stayed patient with me. I said hey, I want to work on this thing till I’m comfortable. All right. OK, I’m comfortable, let’s move on to this next thing. Pitching, you can’t just try to fix everything at once. For me, I had to take baby steps to get my groove back. The Jays allowed me to do that. Yeah, the team was out of contention, but it doesn’t matter. It’s still my career. I still have to prove myself. Them being so patient with me, understanding what I want to do, was very, very big.”

Giles, 28, has two more years of arbitration eligibility remaining. He has shown promise despite his overall mediocre numbers. In non-save situations this season (with both the Astros and Jays), he has a 9.12 ERA. But in save situations, his ERA is a pristine 0.38. Giles could be a closer the Jays find themselves leaning on as they attempt to get back into competitive shape. Since it sounds like Giles is quite enamored with Toronto and with the Blue Jays, a discussion about a contract extension certainly could be had.

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