POSTED BY Alejandro A. Leal ON 12:02 pm, June 4, 2007 - POSTED IN Reading
Picking up where my colleague Paul left off, here are some random links – think of them as a pick-me-up:
» That walk-off that Vlade hit last night? Well it meant the world and more to Bootcheck.
» Let’s beat a dead horse. Aaron is bitter because Bonds is chasing his record.
» The O’s are the definition of a c**k-tease.
» What? The Sawks were playin’ the Yanks last night? What?! A-Rod did What?!
» But I thought we liked it when Crazy Lou went at it? What’s a little ump-bumping between friends?
» Last night, in the seventh inning, Brad Penny foresaw his team’s victory in the gooey stuff he had just deposited in the dugout floor before the game. Dodgers won.
» Albert Pujols hit two monster shots that were caught in the grassy knoll in center field (a combined 820 feet) at Minute Maid park. He hit a bomb in his third at-bat that ended up in the right field bleachers.
Edit: Albert Pujols actually hit TWO home runs last night. Oy! (thanx Laura)
Laura 
kittikin 
I don’t think anyone can accurately place the significance of Andruw’s career just yet. He’s only 30 years old, which is kind of hard to believe because it already feels like he’s been around for so long. If you look solely at his offensive numbers, though, I think he’s only moderately better than, say, Jeromy Burnitz (who, coincidentally, is a fellow member of the “Yes, This Really Is How You Spell My First Name” club). Not arguing that they were offensive equals because, well, Jones is better. But not THAT much better than his perception (at least as it seems to me) merits.
Defensively, I think he became overrated to the point where he was underrated. So many people were talking about how great he was that it created a backlash. Detractors started purposely looking for signs that would support their case. They’d point to his weight and his diminished stolen bases and be immediately convinced that his range isn’t what it used to be. To be fair, I’m not optimistic about a CFer his size entering into his thirties either. But you can’t write the guy off yet. In a few years (at the latest), he’ll be a corner outfielder. I think only then can we accurately place the guy’s career in context.