Shades of Milton Bradley… and I don’t mean the board game manufacturer. Perhaps you remember Milton (not pictured here) – a one-time Dodger (and one time Expo, Indian, Athletic, Padre, Ranger, Cub, and Mariner) who will best be remembered for his domestic violence record and bottle-chucking than his 2008 All-Star season. Well, Milton is retired but, of course, back in the news again for – what else – playing “pepper” with his wife. On June 3rd of this year, Milton was convicted on four counts of spousal battery, two counts of criminal threats, one count of assault with a deadly weapon, one count of brandishing a deadly weapon, and – to top it all off with a flourish – one count of vandalism. As of just a month ago, Milton is appealing his 960-day jail sentence, 400 hours of community service, and 7 years of probation. You go Milt’, we’re all pulling for you. But this isn’t about Milton Bradley (though I would wager that there’s a connection between the amount of domestic violence spurred by Milton Bradley the individual and the Monopoly board game); in fact, what I mean by “shades of Milton Bradley” is to describe my feelings about Hanley Ramirez for the past six years. To be fair, however, Hanley during his days with the (then Florida and now Miami) Marlins was much more “Milton-lite:” not exactly the one to chuck a bottle back in the stands at fans but crossed with a temper that was punctuated with cooler smashing and bat-box breaking that held him back from his promise as a MLB star. In short, to give credit to Bel Biv Devoe, that boy was “poison.” And, though he joined the Dodgers last year for the last two months of the season, Hanley had yet to prove himself in Los Angeles, beginning this season on the DL after injuring his thumb in the World Baseball Classic and making it to the plate only 11 times through April and May. Even with his return to the starting lineup in June, Hanley initially seemed to have his old lackluster attitude and wore his frustration on his sleeve, but when Puig came up and electrified the Dodgers, well, look who is looking at you…and smiling. And Hanley has damn good reason to smile. He hit for a .375 AVG in June on 64 ABs (second only to Puig on the Dodgers lineup) and during this last month of July continued his hot streak by hitting for a .365 AVG on 104 ABs to take home his first Batting Title – and Team Reid’s first title – of the season. At the same time, Kershaw has been essential, taking home his second Pitching Title of the season with a 1.34 ERA on 6 GS and giving Team Roberts his own reason to smile as he is only one more title win away from locking in the ‘Dem Bums Pennant bonus. In turn, the Los Angeles dugout is currently all smiles and bad dances as they have gone from worst to first in the NL West since June, making history by winning ten straight road games (the most since the 1955 Dodgers who won 11 road games in a row) with sweeps of the D-Backs, Nationals, and Blue Jays. After winning a series against the Reds and splitting a two-game set with the Yankees at home, the Dodgers are at Wrigley tonight to see if they can tie the 1955 record. In the meantime, thank you Hanley, with all the kindness and generosity I have.
JUAN-LONG-GARES
Go ahead, take it deep on the Mets – just be sure you hit it to center. In his latest push for rookie respect, Juan Lagares has established himself as the starting CF for the Metsos after hitting for the second highest average (.353 on 68 ABs) amongst outfielders in the National League during the month of June, second only to Jayson Werth who hit .367 on 90 ABs. Coming out of the All-Star Break, Lagares rocketed to a 7-10 (.700 AVG) and ranked second in the NL with a 1.200 slugging percentage. However, it isn’t just Lagares’ prowess at the plate that earned him NL Player of the Week honors during the second to last week of July; rather, Lagares has provided a release from the teeth-grinding reflexes of any ball hit on a fly among Mets fans. It’s quite a contrast when you consider the collective cringe and worry of a ball hit out to the patrolmen of Duda, Cowgill, and Baxter that were the regulars on the grass for the Mets during the first half of the season, to now have the speed of Young, Lagares, and Byrd (it should be noted that Byrd hit for the fourth best average among NL outfielders in July). But for Lagares, the impress is range, something that is reflected in his unmatched ability to make “out of zone” plays (Baseball Info Solutions). To clarify, an “out of zone” play is a play made in an area in which less than half the batted balls are turned into outs. While the average center fielder makes an “out of zone” catch every 14 innings, Lagares makes one every seven innings that has given Mets fans some outfield highlights (in place of bloopers) and, I would argue, just that many more no-hitter threats this season as Gee, Wheeler and Harvey (all who have taken no-hitters into at least the 6th inning) take the mound. Over his 230 2/3 innings (as of June 23rd), Lagares has made 33 “out of zone” catches compared to 30 total “out of zone” catches made by Ankiel, Valdespin, Cowgill, Nieuwenhuis, Young, and Byrd combined. And since I know you were wondering, this is what that looks like:
I know, I’m a sucker for charts and graphs, but as a closing note for all of us ‘Dem Bums participants, the un-owned Lagares has the best batting average of all qualifying Mets players in July and would have placed second only to Hanley for the July Batting Title. Just something to ponder as you’re walking into the digital draft room for the month of August. In the meantime, here’s your breakdown of July.
JULY PITCHING TITLE
1) Team Roberts – Clayton Kershaw (1.34 / 6)
2) Team Talley – Matt Harvey (2.57 / 4)
3) Team Parry – Dillon Gee (2.88 / 5)
4) Team Rybakova – Hyun-Jin Ryu (4.50 / 4)
5) Team Reid – Jeremy Hefner (5.51 / 6) (DNQ)
JULY BATTING TITLE
1) Team Reid – Hanley Ramirez (.365 / 104)
2) Team Rybakova – Marlon Byrd (.336 / 116)
3) Team Talley – David Wright (.315 / 111)
4) Team Parry – Andre Ethier (.312 / 93)
5) Team Roberts – Adrian Gonzalez (.305 / 105)
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