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Ramirez nears record RBI pace
The legend of Manny Ramirez grows by the day. On Saturday the Red Sox slugger belted what he thought was a long foul ball. But it curved over the Green Monster in Fenway Park, over the netting atop the wall, over Lansdowne Street and off the roof of a parking garage, finally coming to rest somewhere near the tracks that run next to the Mass Pike. Best guess on distance traveled: about 468 feet. On Sunday, Oakland manager Art Howe finally tired of watching Manny beat his team. Ramirez had 12 hits in 23 at-bats against the A's, including a game-tying homer in his previous plate appearance, when he came up in the 10th inning with one out and nobody on base in a tie game. Howe ordered him intentionally walked. None of the Red Sox coaches could ever recall seeing a batter walked with nobody on base. Softball, maybe; the big leagues, no way. Said third-base coach Gene Lamont, "You're defending against the home run right there."
Ramirez said he'd never been walked intentionally with nobody on, not even in high school. That's a testament to just how hot Ramirez has been at bat. How hot? He's driving in runs at a faster clip than he did last year or in 1999, when he became the first player in 61 years to exceed 160 RBIs. Ramirez had 46 RBIs in 37 games this year. That's 1.24 RBIs per game, or almost exactly what Hack Wilson averaged (1.23) when he set the RBI record with 191 in 1930. "It's not going to happen," Ramirez said when asked about his chances of breaking Wilson's record. "That's why I'm not even thinking about it. That's impossible." He might be right about that, but Ramirez has carved out a niche for himself among the greatest RBI machines in history. Last week he played in his 1,000th career game, reaching the minimum required by Total Baseball to make the all-time list of RBIs per game. Ramirez drops into the list at No. 6, just behind a fellow named Babe Ruth, and barely ahead of contemporary rival Juan Gonzalez (entering Tuesday's games).
Chicago hopeThe great start by the Cubs' pitching staff has been helped by three pleasant surprises: Tom Gordon, Kyle Farnsworth and Kerry Wood.Gordon, coming back from elbow surgery, is throwing his fastball in the high 90s again, breaking off his vicious curveball and throwing a new secret weapon. The Cubs closer holds the ball with his curveball grip but moves it as far back into his hand as he can. Gordon then throws the pitch like a curveball but much harder. The result is an 88 mph pitch that breaks like a curve. "I don't even have a name for it yet,'' he said. Farnsworth, a right-handed set-up man, has a fastball that's been clocked as fast as 102 mph. "Last year he threw 97,'' Chicago manager Don Baylor said. "The big difference is we gave him a splitter he can throw 91.'' Said Cubs pitcher Kevin Tapani, "He's a harder version of Kevin Brown." Wood often has pitched in poor luck this season, winning only one of his eight starts despite an astronomical 72 strikeouts in 45 innings, or 14 per nine innings. (Pedro Martinez holds the record with 13.2 punchouts per nine innings in 1999). Baylor recently arranged a private meeting between Wood and strikeout king Nolan Ryan. "The thing Nolan told him is he has to get to the point where he can throw his fastball for strikes any time he wants,'' Baylor said. "He made a big impression on Kerry with that.'' To improve Wood's control, the Cubs have changed his delivery so that Wood has a slight hesitation as he kicks and drives his leg toward home plate. That delay helps keep his weight back and over the rubber a little longer, which prevents his front side from "flying open,'' which causes pitches to sail off course. Wood's delivery isn't nearly as violent as it was pre-surgery. For instance, after Wood recently topped out at 99 mph in a start against Milwaukee recently, he said after the game, "I felt like I was throwing only about 91.'' That's good news for the Cubs, who figure if Wood can hit 99 without maximum effort, he'll stay healthier and improve his control.
Young gunsJust when you thought the NL Central was gaining a reputation as a slugger's paradise -- Enron Field, Miller Park, PNC Park and Wrigley Field all offer inviting targets for power hitters -- the division quietly is developing some young, elite right-handed pitchers who figure to be at the front of their team's rotation for years to come.Joining a healthy Wood, 23, on the fast track to pitching stardom are Ben Sheets, 22, in Milwaukee; Wade Miller, 24, in Houston; Matt Morris, 26, in St. Louis; and Kris Benson, 26, in Pittsburgh. (Benson, by the way, will likely make his return with the Pirates on May 21.) No other division can boast of each team having one, major-league-ready ace-in-the-making. With the unbalanced schedule, the division could be chock full of pitching duels for years to come.
Nomar unsure of returnThe most optimistic people in the Red Sox organization think shortstop Nomar Garciaparra could be playing again before August. Garciaparra says it's much too soon for him to predict a return date, but he did promise this: "I will definitely play again this season. Definitely.''Monday marked the six-week anniversary of the surgery that repaired a tendon and its sheathing in Garciaparra's right wrist. The original prognosis called for the shortstop to wear a hard cast for six weeks, but he switched to a removable soft cast two weeks ago. "There's no way of knowing when I'll be back until I start testing it, and I'm still a long way from that,'' Garciaparra said. "I've started some real simple wrist exercises -- barely moving it -- so the scar tissue doesn't build up. The key for me right now is I'm getting the rest of my body in shape so that when it's time to get the wrist ready, the rest of me is ready to go. For a week or two after the surgery I couldn't do anything. Nothing. That killed me.'' The wrist is still so weak that when a water bottle recently slipped right through his hand at a restaurant, Garciaparra didn't have the strength to retain his grip on the bottle. Still, the sight of Garciaparra hitting next to Ramirez in the Boston lineup might only be two or three months off. Meanwhile, Garciaparra's little brother, Michael, an outstanding high school baseball player, soccer player and placekicker, has decided to play baseball at the University of Tennessee, with the possibility of suiting up for the football team as well. However, those plans could change depending on where he is drafted next month and how much money he is offered to sign.
Erstad finally hittingWe're six weeks into the season and only now is Anaheim's Darin Erstad getting healthy and getting on base with regularity. Erstad has been limited at the plate because he hurt his right knee during his offseason strength training program."I had no torque in my swing,'' Erstad said. "And it caused me to have some stiffness in my back. I'm getting better now, though. It feels much better.'' Erstad took a seven-game hitting streak into play Tuesday, giving indications that he's putting behind him an awful start in which he lost his leadoff spot to David Eckstein. Erstad failed to reach base 10 times in his first 28 games. Last season, while joining Wade Boggs as the only players in the past 70 years to get 240 hits, Erstad was kept off base only 14 times all year.
All your baseWhy in the world would the Red Sox and other teams play a drastic overshift -- with three infielders to the right of second base -- on sweet-swinging Jason Giambi? Consider this: Giambi has hit 23 infield grounders this year. Only one of them has gone to the left side of second base. It's the right defensive strategy against Giambi, but it doesn't stop the defending MVP from getting on base just about every other at bat. Giambi reached base an amazing 84 times in his first 37 games.Sports Illustrated senior writer Tom Verducci covers the baseball beat for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com. Click here to send a question to his baseball mailbag.
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