Also regarding John Maine and some peoples stance he may be nothing more then a #4 or 5:Maine for Cy Young :wink: I'm only half kidding. He's been fantastic. If Ollie can keep those walks down, we're going to be in prime position when Pedro returns. I believe the Braves announcers were talking about how well Pedro's rehab has been going. :crossingfingers:
Nice to see Delgado get that HR. Hopefully, he's coming around.
Alou has been an absolute boon. I still can't get comfortable though. I'm just waiting for him to miss 50 games.
Wright's still struggling, but at least he almost had a shot to right field today. That may seem small, but ever since the All-Star break last year he's been pulling the ball far too much. Wright's ability to go oppo so well is what always got me so excited about his batting prowess. He reminded me so much of Piazza with that opposite field power hitting. It's rare, and it's what has made David such a great hitter.
This is a pretty good indicator of how hittable a guy's pitch is.
Opponent's "batting plus sugging" average vs. fastballs-- NL 2006
1. Clemens, R .518
2. Maine, J .529
3. Martinez, P .543
4. Cruz, J .558
5. Zambrano, C .565
6. Cain, M .601
7. Young, C .612
8. Webb, B .619
9. Sanchez, A .621
10. Lowe. D .622
No wonder Maine throws his fastball so much. Pretty good company there.
And Pedro's post-injury problems must have come from trouble with his off-speed