Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Bob Ryan has posted sporadically (to be kind) on his new blog but I must say that I think his blog posts are actually better and more interesting than his columns for the Boston Globe (and that is saying something). Maybe it is because Ryan writes about what he wants to write about on his blog while he writes what he's assigned to write for the Globe (I know he has leeway at the Globe but he still has assignments). His latest post on the funeral of David Halberstam is very moving (and interesting)... Manny Ramirez is now tied with Fred McGriff for 37th place all-time on the RBI list with 1,550. Manny needs 15 more HR to catch the Crime Dog in home runs. McGriff has 493 career dingers which ties him for 22nd on the all-time list with Lou Gehrig. I think McGriff is under appreciated. Next up on the RBI list for Manny is Willie McCovey who has 1,555 RBI... Tiger Woods is an 11/4 favorite to win the US Open this weekend. Phil Michelson is his closest opponent according to the odds. Michelson is listed at 10-1 and Jim Furyk is at 14-1. You can find the full odds here... Adam Dunn is on pace for 38 HR but also 220 strikeouts. Are the 38 HR really worth the cost of the 220 SO? Baseball-Reference.com lists his nickname as "the Big Donkey" - is that really true? That seems a bit harsh. Baseball-reference.com lists the most similar hitter to Dunn as Ron Kittle but Adam Dunn doesn't even show up in Kittle's most similar batters (Steve Balboni is his most similar batter). I find that odd...