Life in a Box(score)

Jason Michael Barker

If you're like me, the first thing you do in the morning is check the previous night's boxscores online. I'm a boxscore junkie -- I read 'em all, even for games between Baltimore and Tampa Bay where very few people even care about the score. You always hear announcers talk about the little things that "don't show up in the boxscore," but that's a disservice to all the good stuff that does show up in the box.

That in mind, here's a look at what I found combing Sunday's boxscores...

In New York, the Yankees beat the Blue Jays 9-2, but that wasn't what caught my eye. Remember all the talk about Toronto's outfield depth? Shannon Stewart, Jose Cruz Jr. and Raul Mondesi were already in place, and Vernon Wells was supposed to make one of them expendable in trade.

So far things haven't worked out. Stewart is off to a good start, but Mondesi is hitting just .239, Cruz .197 and Wells .194, so it's not as if other teams are going to be calling about these guys. And that's before you consider Mondesi's contract.

Alfonso Soriano had three hits in the game to raise his average to .395, which I only point out because I saw him mentioned the other day as a guy who started drawing walks this year. Um, no. Soriano has taken only two walks in 86 at-bats this year, putting him on pace for fewer walks (in more at-bats) than he had last year. He may be hitting, but he certainly isn't patient.

Moving on to Atlanta, Rafael Furcal hit three triples a 4-2 Braves win. I was sitting at the Mariners-Rangers game when Furcal's feat was mentioned by the PA announcer between innings. "Atlanta's Rafael Furcal hit three triples, becoming the first player since" -- at this point, I'm thinking something along the lines of "1946" is coming next -- "1995 to hit three in one game." 1995? Suddenly the performance doesn't sound so impressive.

The Devil Rays beat Baltimore 2-1 on an RBI single by Ben Grieve in the 8th. Remember Ben Grieve? He was once considered one of the top young sluggers in the game, but slumped to .264 with just 11 homers last year. The key is that he drew a career high 87 walks, showing he still knew what he was doing up there. He already has 5 homers this year and is slugging close to .600. Oh, and he won't be 26 until next month.

In Montreal, Bruce Chen worked 4.1 innings of scoreless relief to pick up a win over the Mets. Chen, like Grieve, has fallen out of favor lately -- just 24, he has already pitched for four of the five clubs in the NL East. Chen's problem has never been stuff, but rather his attitude and approach to the game. Perhaps pitching in Montreal where the pressure is off is the best thing for him to get comfortable in the majors.

Break up the Pirates! They're 12-5 and lead the NL Central after a 9-3 win over cross-state rival Philadelphia. They're near the bottom of the league in important offensive categories -- walks, homers, runs -- so they'll have to keep up that stellar 3.10 ERA if they want this to continue. With Josh Fogg (1.89), Jimmy Anderson (2.61) and Dave Williams (2.65 ERA) all pitching over their heads, not to mention a bullpen ERA of around two, I'm not optimistic.

Kenny Lofton is hitting .400/.471/.507 through his first 18 games. He's even 5-for-11 against lefties. Lofton only had one good month all of last season. I'm speechless.

The Red Sox swept a doubleheader from the Royals Sunday, but what caught my eye was Johnny Damon. Not only did he hit a homer in each game, but it looks like he's actually keen on drawing walks this year. With eight free passes in 67 at-bats, he's on pace to shatter his previous career high of 67 back in 1999, the only year in which he's exceeded the 10% threshold. Maybe signing Rickey Henderson was worth it after all.

Need more proof that saves are overrated? Ugueth Urbina, who saved the second game, has seven saves in eight opportunities but has pitched horribly -- 6.48 ERA, 13 hits (2 homers) and 4 walks in 8.1 innings. But hey, he's got an 88% conversion rate.

In Chicago, Cincinnati OF Austin Kearns hit his first major league homer Sunday against the Cubs. Watch out for this guy -- he struggled through an injury at AA last year, but he has serious power, draws walks and is just 21. He was slugging close to .700 at AAA before being recalled last week. He'll likely be sent back down when Ken Griffey Jr. comes of the disabled list, but Kearns will be back sooner than later.

The biggest story in Chicago, however, has to be Jose Rijo. Starting his first game for the Reds since 1995, Rijo allowed just an unearned run over five innings to pick up his first win in nearly seven years. Included in that span were five elbow surgeries, retirement and a Hall of Fame vote. This is just one of those great stories that make baseball great.

Brent Tomko Sunday vs. Los Angeles: 7 innings, 2 hits, 0 runs, 2 walks, 13 strikeouts. Who knew? Certainly not the Mariners...

Randy Johnson Sunday vs. Colorado: 9 innings, 2 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, 17 strikeouts. Who knew? Everyone but the Mariners...

about the author

Jason Michael Barker once tried to keep a boxscore for his life, but the details were just too many to keep track of. Suggest a "D" column for donuts eaten at jmb@strikethree.com.

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