1. It is analogy I have made before and will make here again: Mike Pelfrey as the baseball version of Eli Manning. He is the talented, highly drafted, highly publicized right arm who did not move at quite the quick pace that was anticipated. A lot of the populist — fans and media — were giving up on him. And boom, all of a sudden he has blossomed into what was imagined for him. Since May 31, Pelfrey is 11-2 with a 3.00 ERA over 17 starts. Pelfrey is not alone in this path. The White Sox’s Gavin Floyd, the Rays’ Edwin Jackson and the Angels’ Ervin Santana are all still 25 or younger, all are excelling for pennant contenders and all were touted arms who hardly took linear paths to their current success. It is a reminder that Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy still might turn out to be something specialist even as their plummet this season has devastated the Yankees. There is not a lot of patience in society and sports reflects that. But as Manning and Pelfrey have exhibited this year, it is always worthwhile to wait for talent.
2. Kennedy allowed two runs with nine strikeouts over six innings on Monday night at Triple-A. But that was not the interesting name in the boxscore. What was interesting was a reliever who worked one-third of an inning for the Indians’ Triple-A affiliate. That would be Jeff Weaver. A World Series hero as recently as 2006, Weaver is 4-6 with a 6.21 ERA and a .303 batting average against pitching at Triple-A this year. He certainly is further away from the majors than Kennedy, a symbol of how the mighty fall.
3. Imagine in April if I had told you that Carlos Delgado would hit as many homers in 2008 as Alex Rodriguez (right now they are tied at 28). Imagine in April if I had told you that it would not be close how many more big hits Delgado would have for the Mets than A-Rod for the Yankees. Well, you can go ahead and more than imagine it. This is current reality. Since July 1, Carlos Delgado has been among the best hitters in the majors. In that frame, he has appeared in 49 games and hit .311 with 14 homers, 45 RBIs and a .612 slugging percentage. Only Baltimoreâs Melvin Mora (57 RBIs) and Detroitâs Miguel Cabrera (52) have more RBIs in that span than Delgado.