Quick Hits: Soriano is King

For as great as Fat Elvis has been thus far, Alfonso Soriano has been even better.  Well at least for a few days he was.  Over the past week Soriano has unequivocally been the MVP of the National League.  After going five-for-five with two homers against the Pirates on Saturday, he lifted his numbers for the week to a tantalizing .500 with five homers and 11 RBI.  Soriano’s perfect day at the plate also garnered him an odd distinction.  By doing so, he became only the sixth player since 1960 to go perfect from the plate in at least five at-bats, while hitting two homers, and still have his team lose.  The others?  Mike Piazza, Tino Martinez, Reggie Smith, Joe Morgan, and Carl Yastrzemski.

·         Everyone is going ga-ga over Cliff Lee right now and for good reason too.  If the season were to end today there’s no doubt in my mind that his .67 ERA –yes, that’s point-six-seven- 44 strikeouts and four walks would allow him to become the first pitcher to win the MVP since Roger Clemens did so 21-years ago.  But, let’s not forget Joakim Soria was leading the league with a perfect ERA (that’s 0.00) until giving up two runs to Florida on Friday.  It’s got to be hard for Hank Steinbrenner to watch Johan Santana mowing down hitters across town even though his boys got the best of him on Sunday. But if you think that Hank has it bad, imagine what it’s like for Kevin Towers right now.  Someone needs to get their Chad Johnson on and send him a case of Pepto-Bismol.  The Padres general manager failed to protect Soria and lost him to Kansas City in the 2006 Rule 5 draft.  Just to keep the Yankee’s theme going on here, as with Joba Chamberlain, there have been some rumblings and grumblings that Soria would be better suited as a starter.  It’ll never happen, nor should it.  Right now Soria is one of the few lock down closers in the league, and those guys are invaluable.  Keep him in the ‘pen where he belongs.

Just think, San Diego, you could have had an effective closer all along.  Hoffman’s been solid since the turn of the calendar, but he hasn’t been Soria either.

·         There have only been a handful of pitchers throughout my two decades and some change on this earth that were so mesmerizing that they caused me to plan my day around their performance. Their starts became events, each time they took the mound you knew that something special could happen.  In the early 90’s Greg Maddux became the first to fit this profile for me, Pedro Martinez was another.  I’ve always favored the tacticians to the guys that got by on high heat, but two years ago I wouldn’t dare miss an opportunity to watch Francisco Liriano.  As much as I love what Lee and Brandon Webb are doing this year, my guy thus far has been Edinson Volquez.  Like Martinez, he has the ability to just make hitters look foolish.  Webb’s sinker may be the best pitch in the league right now, and though he may be on pace to exceed 190 strikeouts for the second year in a row, he throws it more for contact, I prefer the strikeout pitcher.  That sinker now has company.  It’s time to officially introduce the Volquez change-up, undoubtedly the best offs peed offering in the bigs- and yes, that’s taking into account Santana’s change-up.  I’ll let SI.com columnist Gennaro Filice tell it:

“After setting up hitters with a mid-90s fastball, Volquez breaks off the low 80s changeup, which features a biting, screwball action.  Since he throws both pitches from the exact same arm slot, it’s pretty much unfair.”

·         Brandon Webb became the first pitcher since 1985 to win his first nine starts of the season.  The last to do it, Andy Hawkins, finished the season 18-8 and didn’t receive a single Cy Young vote.

·         Rob Neyer recently took a look at Lee’s outrageous start and offered up an interesting stat.  Apparently, if Lee regresses into his former self and meets his career averages the rest of the way, six innings per start, 4.37 ERA, he’ll still finish the season with a 3.26 ERA.  Which Neyer believes would warrant a Cy Young award.  Who knew you could have this thing wrapped up in May.

·         Things aren’t looking good for Willie Randolph right now.  According to Buster Olney, Mets team officials held a meeting on Friday to discuss his future with the team.  After last year’s melt down I wrote a piece stating that it was time for them to move on, but now that the season is under way, who’s available to take his place? Bobby Valentine’s name has popped up a few times but he seems rather content in Japan.  The lack of an adequate replacement may be his saving grace here.  I don’t think it’s entirely fair to have him take the fall for the team, Jose Reyes is grossly underachieving right now, and the vet’s are on the decline.  Maybe Omar Minaya needs to take a look at his roster and get some more young talent in there before he blames his manager.

·         Think the Brewers would fare any better if they moved Rickie Weeks, who is currently hitting .187, out of the leadoff spot and, say, down to the eight hole?  Just a thought.

·         The Manny Ramriez highlight was ridiculous, but shame on the guy for not giving the five back, otherwise it could have been one of the greatest highlights of all time.  That just kills it for me.  This Michael Cuddyer catch might be even better.  On second thought, maybe not, but it’s still good.

·         I said it earlier, and I’ll say it again.  If Fausto Carmona doesn’t get a handle on his control issues his numbers are going to inflate.  Last year he posted a 1.21 WHIP with 137 strikeouts and 61 walks.  This year those numbers sit at 1.64, 39, and 18.  Saturday’s performance, 4 K’s with no walks, was a step in the right direction, hopefully he builds on that.

·         Yes, Jason Giambi was wearing a golden thong on Saturday, and yes, he did break out of his slump by going 2-for-4 with a homer.

·         What to watch tomorrow?  Edinson Volquez vs. Cliff Lee, 1:15 EST.  They’re playing in the Great American Band Box, but I have feeling there won’t be too many runs scored.