Baseball Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous baseball thoughts and observations.

Manny Ramirez needs just 8 more RBI to pass Joe DiMaggio for 40th place on the all-time list. Manny needs 10 to pass Harry Heilmann for 39th place and 11 to pass Willie Stargell for 38th place on the RBI list... Josh Beckett has improved to 6-0 on the season. Perhaps the biggest reason for Beckett's success this year is the fact that he has only allowed 1 HR in six starts. Last year Beckett gave up 36 HR in 33 starts. This lack of HR's is a function of better control. Last year Beckett had 2 strikeouts for every walk while this year the ratio is more like 5-1. True - Beckett is striking out about one more batter per start this year vs last but that doesn't explain the big jump in ratio difference. Beckett's 6-0 start is no fluke... The Oakland A's look like a team that is ready to fall apart to me.... If you're not familiar with Harry Heilmann - he's a Hall of Famer who is probably best known for winning 4 batting titles in seven years for the Detroit Tigers... That trade of Tim Hudson is looking pretty bad for Billy Beane and the A's right about now. Hudson has been the ace of the Braves this season with a 3-0 record and a 1.40 ERA while of the three players traded for Hudson - only Dan Meyer is even on the 40-man big league roster for the A's. That deal basically comes down to Tim Hudson for Dan Meyer and Brad Halsey (who was acquired for Juan Cruz who was one of the three players Atlanta sent to Oakland). Neither Meyer nor Halsey has pitched for the A's this season. The A's traded Hudson because they didn't think they could afford to resign him and yet the Braves were able to sign him to a 4-yar extension that pays him an average of about $12 million per year between 2006 and 2009 with an option for 2010. However, the A's could afford Estaban Loaiza at $7 million per year during the same period as Hudson's extension? It makes no sense to me....