Torres Watch

I know all of you are wondering about my efforts to win two free lunches, so it's time for an update. We're two months into the baseball season, and Salomon Torres has hit a bit of a wall. He's managed only one save over the last three weeks and blew a chance on Thursday night. I'm three saves away from winning one bet and four saves away from winning the second bet. Now would not be a good time for Mr. Torres to lose his gig.

Barry, etc.

Thanks to a link on Bauschy.com, I ran into this graph about baseball's all-time home run hitters. At some point within the next month or two, Barry Bonds will hit career homers #755 and #756, which will tie and break the all-time career record currently held by Hank Aaron. I was a Bonds fan back when he weighed a little less and was leading the Pirates to pennants. Now? I'd rather not see him break Aaron's record (for obvious, oft-talked about reasons), but it's going to happen. And I'll probably talk about it more as Barry closes in on the mark.

That graph got me to looking at some numbers, namely where the various sluggers sat at the age of 30. Here are the digits:

Bonds: 275 (or right around that number)
Aaron: 342
Babe Ruth: 284
Alex Rodriguez: 451
Ken Griffey: 398
Andruw Jones: 345

Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols, who is 27, is on pace for about 375 homers by the time he reaches 30.

Bonds' numbers jumped noticably from age 35 and on. From 30-39, Barry jacked 444 home runs. Let's put that into perspective. In that 10-year span, Bonds hit more home runs than all but 33 major league baseball players have piled up over their entire career.

Aaron was much more consistent. He smacked 329 homers from ages 21-29 and 371 homers from ages 30-39. Ruth's numbers accelerated from ages 31-36, when he averaged over 50 homers per year.

What's my point? I'm not quite sure any more, but I think I began this post to point out that A-Rod, Pujols and Jones could all surpass Bonds if their 30s go as well as Barry's or Babe's did.

Jeter Card

Apparently there are still people that collect baseball cards. I know this because there are companies that still produce baseball cards. For instance, Topps recently issued this Derek Jeter card:




Let's see. There's Jeter swinging the bat. Jose Molina (I believe) is behind the plate. Mickey Mantle (presumably in between drinks and blow jobs) is watching from the dugout. George Bush is standing and waving. Wait...what?

A Topps spokesman placed the blame on a single person, but I think it might be a brilliant marketing plan. Many sports fans haven't thought about baseball cards for a long time. Suddenly people are talking about them again, if only for a moment and for a strange reason.

And, yes, every other fan is sitting quietly while our President is standing and waving. Clearly Bush is confused. Again.

All Bets Are On

Much of my job involves predicting future stats for professional baseball and football players. I then discuss my projections with my colleagues. And by "discuss" I mean get into heated arguments with other men about people most of the world couldn't care less about.

Meet Salomon Torres, Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher.





(photo courtesy of sportsillustrated.cnn.com)


Last Friday, a co-worker and I not-so-calmly and not-so-nicely chatted about Torres' value versus other relief pitchers. I wanted to move him up a whole two spots on our rankings. He felt otherwise. So did others. In the end, Torres shifted up one slot (yeah me!).

On Monday, we laid some money on the line regarding our feelings about Mr. Torres. We set his 2007 save total line at 14.5, and I have the over. As soon as Salomon reached 15 saves, I win lunch. Another colleague jumped in on the fun, and we set a line at 15.5. Thus, I need Torres to reach 16 saves to win a second lunch.

I know, I know...huge stakes. But it's all about pride, people. Pride and a 34-year-old pitcher who retired from 1997-2001. I'll be keeping count over there in the right edge column. Opening Day for the Pirates is April 2. Get hot, Salomon!