Baseball Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous baseball thoughts and observations.

I remember it being a big deal when Ryne Sandberg passed Joe Morgan for most HR by a 2nd baseman (much like it was a big deal when Mike Piazza broke the record for HR by a catcher). However, when Jeff Kent broke Sandberg's record it wasn't that big a deal. My guess is that was more of a reflection on people's feelings toward Kent. If Kent can hit another 22 HR then he's almost guaranteed to be in the top 50 for both HR and RBI (he's already #50 for RBI) and his candidacy for the Hall of Fame may actually be helped by the fact that when he first comes up for a vote people could be talking about Chase Utley closing in on Kent's record for HR by a 2nd baseman. I can't make up my mind whether I think Kent is actually a Hall of Fame player... It's tough to think of Manny Ramirez as one of the senior most ambassadors of the game of baseball but there are only 8 other players currently in uniform who have played as many games as Manny. There is no doubt in my mind on this one - Manny is a Hall of Fame player... If I told you that going into the end of April only one team in the AL Central would have a winning record - how many of you would have picked the White Sox as that team?... The single season record for doubles in a season is 67 set by Earl Webb in 1931. Dustin Pedroia is on pace for 71. I know it's really early to be making predictions like this but I just wanted to be the first one on record of having said that Pedroia will break the record... Joakim Soria is off to an awesome start for the Royals. The 24-year old closer has yet to surrender a run and has 11 K's in 9 innings to go with his 5 saves...