Joba's Emotions And Other Stories

• Yankees 6-Indians 3:

    David Dellucci wasn't all that thrilled with Joba Chamberlain's emotional reaction after the strikeout that ended the eighth inning----NY Times Story----and he has a point. Dellucci didn't raise his fist and start gyrating around the bases after what turned out to be the game winning homer on Tuesday, so he's right when he says that his homer was far more important in winning the game than Chamberlain's "hold" and that Chamberlain's fist pumping and screaming was out of line. If Chamberlain wants to be so overt in his emotions, it's fine as long as he accepts that he's got to quietly take it if he gets beat and the hitters do the same thing. If he behaves like Josh Beckett has in the past, think nothing of pumping his fist and screaming and then takes offense when it's done to him, then he's nothing more than a baby who can dish it out, but not take it.

• Braves 5-Padres 4:

     I haven't been shy in crowing about how I expected the Padres to have a bad year, but I didn't think they'd be this bad. Manager Bud Black (left) doesn't look like he knows what to do next, and it's not really his fault. In the Moneyball system, if managers are seen as functionaries when the team plays well, they shouldn't receive blame when things go badly. There are teams that have gotten off to bad starts, but should wait things out because of their division and personnel (the Tigers for example); but the Padres are just awful. It's time to clean out the house.

•  Orioles 4-Royals 1:

    I don't want to jinx it by mentioning it aloud, but is Daniel Cabrera finally putting everything together? He was wobbly in his first two starts, but he's been excellent since and with all of that talent, he was worth the struggle to try and straighten out and he may actually be getting it-----finally, maybe(?).
    Even though he lost, Luke Hochevar is going to be a star. He keeps the ball down with pitches that are almost impossible to hit and if he hits the corners consistently as he did a few times last night, he's going to be a devastating, Roy Halladay-type force at the top of the Royals rotation.

• Did Buzzie Bavasi's passing buy Bill Bavasi some time as Mariners GM?

    I don't want to sound like a ghoul, but given the shaky ground Mariners GM Bill Bavasi has been on for the past two years and the bad start the Mariners have undergone, it's a legitimate question to wonder how long he's going to have before he's shown the door in Seattle. Since Buzzie Bavasi passed away last week, it may have saved his son's job for the time being. It would take an utter animal to fire a guy right after a family tragedy; team president Chuck Armstrong is not the kind of guy to do something like that, so the Mariners players probably have at least until the All Star break to save their GM's job. That being said, the Mariners are a team with a high payroll ($117 million) and high expectations and are staggering along with a 14-22 record.
    One name I would keep in mind as a replacement would be the decried former GM of the Red Sox and Expos, Dan Duquette. His image has been rehabilitated by the Roger Clemens/PED allegations and his work as the Red Sox GM is being rightfully seen in a positive light.

    Please check out my book  The Prince Of New York's 2008 Baseball Guide also available on Amazon.com and BN.com.