The Week in Rewind (May 12 - 18)

Written by Daniel Paulling
Saturday, 19 May 2007
If you missed the hot topics from the week that was, here is your chance to get up to date. Every Saturday, I’ll rehash the major events from the previous week, and offer an opinion. Big News SUNDAY It took them a little while, but the Minnesota Twins finally released Sidney Ponson. That in itself shouldn’t make news, but the fact that it took them this long is astounding. Youngsters like Matt Garza are major league ready, better, and offer more long term potential. Why did the Twins hold onto Ponson this long? Why did they even pay him one shiny penny? Lots of questions, but at least we finally have a resolution. San Francisco Giants outfielder Freddie Lewis made a huge splash. Four days after being called up from Class AAA Fresno, Lewis hit for the cycle, going double (first inning), triple (fourth), homer (fifth), and single (seventh). With outfielder Dave Roberts on the disabled list for an extended period of time, this may be Lewis’ chance to shine. MONDAY MLB released their schedule for the postseason, and there was a huge surprise. A potential game seven in the World Series could be scheduled for November 1st. After huge weather problems to begin the season, it seems odd that MLB would do this. However, it makes sense from their point of view: television ratings. Saturday is the second least watched night in television, so MLB would be able to avoid having games scheduled for that night. Instead, they’ll be getting a primetime slot in the middle of the week -- Wednesday. It’s great that MLB cares more about the revenue they can garner rather than the actual teams on the field. Way to go, Bud. John Joseph Cust, better known as Jack Cust, has taken the major leagues by storm this week. He has homered seven times and been the bat the A’s needed when DH Mike Piazza went down with a shoulder injury. No one held onto this guy for an extended period of time, which was surprising, considering Cust’s power potential. WEDNESDAY At the owners’ meetings in New York City, the sale of the Atlanta Braves has been approved. The sale price was $461 million from Time Warner to Liberty Mutual. With the move, it has been announced that Hank Aaron will have an increased role in the baseball department, though no specific announcements have been made. THURSDAY Relief pitcher Kyle Farnsworth of the New York Yankees recently criticized Roger Clemens’ clause that allows him to leave the team between starts. Farnsworth believes that players should win as a team and lose as a team. And he makes sense. Clemens is just seeking special treatment, and him not knowing about the presence of that clause in his contract is questionable. If he did not even know about it, why would his agents work for it? Why wouldn’t he just cut it out of his contract, if he doesn’t need it? FRIDAY New York Yankees’ first baseman Jason Giambi called out MLB and its owners for not coming forth and discussing the issue of steroids. To USA TODAY, Giambi said, "I was wrong for doing that stuff. What we should have done a long time ago was stand up -- players, ownership, everybody -- and said: 'We made a mistake.' We should have apologized back then and made sure we had a rule in place and gone forward. ... Steroids and all of that was a part of history. But it was a topic that everybody wanted to avoid. Nobody wanted to talk about it." I have to applaud his calling out of MLB, but not his use of steroids. Injuries MONDAY The Washington Nationals put one of their better starting pitchers, Shawn Hill, on the disabled list to make room for Chad Cordero’s return. The right handed Hill had a 3-3 record, but also a 2.70 ERA. TUESDAY Just one day after being activated from the disabled list, Rangers starting pitcher Kevin Millwood was placed back onto it. The starting pitcher went 1 2/3 innings before leaving with another injury. If the Rangers are going to content, they’re going to need a ton of help from Millwood, especially since they are 13th in the American League in ERA. WEDNESDAY The Atlanta Braves, just after getting Bob Wickman from the disabled list, sent reliever Mike Gonzalez to the DL with elbow soreness. This is not a good sign for the Braves and Gonzalez, who missed an extended period of time last season with elbow issues. The southpaw had decreased velocity in his appearance against the Nationals on Tuesday, a 6-2 victory. THURSDAY The Florida Marlins placed first baseman Mike Jacobs on the disabled list to make room for the recently acquired Byung-Hyun Kim. Jacobs had been out since Monday and was hitting .281 with four home runs. He has a fractured right thumb. FRIDAY It was only a matter of time: Josh Beckett is heading for the disabled list. He left Sunday’s 6-5 victory over the Baltimore Orioles after throwing only four innings due to a torn flap of skin on the middle finger of his right hand. He was scheduled to start tonight -- right hander Devern Hansack is taking his spot against the Atlanta Braves -- but will make his next appearance against the Cleveland Indians on May 29. Awards Player of the Week – OF Hunter Pence: A lot of fans were angry when the Houston Astros sent down center fielder Chris Burke to make room for Pence. The move even drew the criticism of first baseman Lance Berkman. However, that has all disappeared. Pence hit .545 in his first 22 ABs of his major league career, clubbing three homers and driving in eight. To say he’s lifted the Astros’ spirits would be understating his efforts. Pitcher of the Week – SP Tim Lincecum: While his major league debut was that great, Lincecum’s second and third outings were spectacular. The right hander with the catapult delivery threw 14 innings, allowing only two earned runs. His WHIP in those pair of starts is 0.79. His 16 strikeouts show just what kind of dominating stuff he has. We want to hear your feedback. Feel free to comment on this article here or visit our message board. You can contact Daniel Paulling via the writer's Profile or the AHP Staff via the contact form. Hype up this post at BallHype!

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