Lastings Milledge in Sports Illustrated...
In the "SI Players" section feature, "First Person", Lisa Altobelli interviews Washington's centerfielder Lastings Milledge, who is profiled in a quick six question Q&A in which Lasto reveals that he has higher expectations for himself in DC than he had in NY last season; that some within the Mets organization told him that his oft-mentioned high-fiving the fans celebration was "childish", and that he ate way too much peanut butter in the minor leagues as a result of his mothers' job in a factory that checked for flaws in jars of the creamy peanut spread.
The featured quote from Lisa Altobelli's interview with Lastings Milledge:
"I appreciate that baseball's what I do for a living. I take every game like it's my last."
(ed. note - "Did Lastings say he takes "every swing" like it's his last or every game? I kid, I kid...")
How's Milledge doing at his job? Lastings Milledge, in his first 46 games, has more doubles, 12, than the 9 he collected in the 59 games he played all of last season or the 7 he hit in 2001, but his HR and RBI totals have dropped considerably from 4 HR's and 22 RBI's in the 56 games of his rookie season, and the 7 HR's and 29 RBI's in 59 games last year, to 1 HR and 16 RBI's so far over the 46 games he's played for DC in '08. I think it's unlikely that Milledge will hit 3-6 HR's or knock in 13 RBI's in the next 10-13 games, though there are more than a few contributing factors in the decline in Milledge's production, the least of which being that all of the Major League teams have now gotten enough of a look at him to have been able to identify his weaknesses at the plate...
Is Lastings Milledge meeting your expectations?
ESPN the Mag's Tim Kurkjian on Ryan Zimmerman's Struggles...
In the "MLB Insider" section of the most recent ESPN the Magazine (the one with Kimbo Slice on the cover), Tim Kurkjian's "K Korner" column quotes an anonymous GM who theorizes that the slow starts of Ryan Howard and Robinson Cano's could be attributed to their recent cash influxes while Ryan Zimmerman might be suffering the opposite effect...as Mr. Kurkjian writes:
"...the exec believes Howard and Cano are trying too hard to live up to the big raises they got from the Phillies and Yankees, respectively, and that Zimmerman regrets not signing a long-term deal with the Nationals in the off-season."
...considering that Zimmerman has raised his average from .225 on May 1st to .256 as of today, I think that Zimmerman might be starting to get over it. Plus, at this point last season, Zimmerman had just raised his AVG from .230 on 5/1/07 to .250 on 5/21, and from .232 to .268 over the same time period in 2006, so I'm not really too worried about Ryan Zimmerman's regret, and it's a sure bet after this season he's locked up long-term...
...As For AK, Austin Kearns...It's the Knife and the DL...
Dave from Bottomfeeder Baseball was all over this one with his FANPOST, "KEARNS TO DL: SURGERY ON ELBOW", this afternoon, and MLB.com's Bill Ladson confirms the news in his own article at the Nationals' official site entitled, "Nats place Kearns on the disabled list", both of whom are reporting that Austin Kearns is going to have surgery to clean out some "loose bodies" that are causing him considerable discomfort and swelling.
I don't think anyone who has watched Austin Kearns this season can be surprised by this development, and though Kearns claims the injury was sustained in BP in Baltimore, I'd agree with Dave from Bottomfeeder Baseball, who believes Kearns, "...has been having trouble with the elbow for a while, but did not want to use it as an excuse for the poor play."
Dave from Bottomfeeder Baseball's prediction for an outfield replacement...
Ryan Langerhans
Mr. Ladson's best guess...
"Outfielders Ryan Langerhans, Roger Bernadina and Mike Daniel are all candidates to be promoted to the big leagues."
Though Mr. Ladson offers as caveats the news that, "Langerhans is...dealing with hamstring issues," and the fact that the Nationals would prefer that, "Bernadina and Daniel...develop some more in the Minor Leagues." By coincidence, all three are left-handed hitting outfielders...
Langerhans's #'s - 43 games, .312 AVG, 10 2B, 3 HR's, 24 RBI's in 147 AB's.
Roger Bernadina - 41 games, .321 AVG, 8 2B, 5 3B, 2 HR's, 22 RBI's in 159 AB's.
Mike Daniel - 39 games, .315 AVG, 2 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR's, 15 RBI's in 149 AB's.
AND FINALLY THE FEDERALBASEBALL.COM MYSTERY IS SOLVED...
Yes, finally, the answer to the mystery you've all been puzzling over for the last few weeks. A few weeks back I reported that I'd be going on an assignment that I'd report on here at federalbaseball.com, and I provided the following clues, as to the subject of said assignment...Orange, NJ?...One of three to be the first to do something?...Jimmy Nelson? and "Orange Triangles"... Surprisingly no one guessed the answer so I'll explain...
Orange, New Jersey, the city in which, "Baseball Hall of Famer Monte Irvin...At age 13...began playing baseball for the Orange Triangles, according to Monte Irvin's profile on www.state.nj.us. According to another Monte Irvin profile, this one on the Negro League Baseball Players Association(NLBPA) website, Monte Irvin used the, "...assumed name of Jimmy Nelson to protect his collegiate status," upon first joining the Negro League's Newark Eagles in 1937. In 1951 with the NY Giants, Monte Irvin was the first Negro League player in Major League Baseball to lead the league in RBI's, and that season, Irving, "teamed with Hank Thompson and Willie Mays to form the first all-black outfielder(sic) in Major League Baseball."
Tomorrow morning, I'll be attending a function at a local elementary school, thanks to some familial connections, at which Monte Irvin will be present, and I'll do my best to get a question or two in if the 89-year old Hall of Famer's accessible, but either way it should be an interesting event to attend. I'll report back tomorrow, and then tomorrow night it's the Milwaukee Brewers in Nationals Park starting at 7:35 pm EST...