Power Poll: No need for Rays to panic
Article By rfagan.tsn on 9th August, 2010
Their sub-.300 days didn't intersect, but they weren't far apart.
Hard to imagine that Joe Mauer, a career .327 hitter entering the season, and Albert Pujols, a career .334 hitter entering 2010, would find themselves hovering in the upper .200s at any point in July. And after watching their performances over the past week or so, it's even harder to imagine. Mauer was sitting at .295 after a win in Baltimore on July 24. Since then, he's had six multiple-hit games—including a five-hitter and one with four hits—and is batting .537 with 16 RBIs, 12 runs scored, a .604 on-base percentage and a 1.384 OPS.
Pujols was sitting at .295 after a win against Pittsburgh on July 30. Since then, he's had multiple hits in six of his seven games and is batting .500 with five homers, 11 RBIs, 10 runs scored, a 1.031 slugging percentage, an otherworldly 1.531 OPS and only one strikeout.
No moral to the story or lesson to learn. Just two of the best getting back on track. Anyway, on to the poll.
Josh Hamilton is a leading MVP candidate. 1. Yankees (last week: 1). In the 46 at-bats between his 599th and 600th home run, Alex Rodriguez had only nine hits (a .196 average) but he still managed eight RBIs. It's good to be part of that lineup, eh? For the year, he has 88 RBIs, which is second in the majors.
2. Rays (2). Yes, they've lost five games in a row entering the week, but there's no reason to panic in Tampa Bay. The Rays are still only 2 1/2 behind the Yankees, and they're still 4 1/2 games ahead of the Red Sox and Twins in the wild-card race. The sore shoulders for Jeff Neimann and Wade Davis? Rays fans can worry about those.
3. Rangers (5). With every game Miguel Cabrera and the Tigers lose, Josh Hamilton's MVP candidacy takes a step forward, right? He's hitting .355 with 24 homers and 77 RBIs for the most surprisingly dominant team in baseball. (Not "most surprising" … "most s...
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Hard to imagine that Joe Mauer, a career .327 hitter entering the season, and Albert Pujols, a career .334 hitter entering 2010, would find themselves hovering in the upper .200s at any point in July. And after watching their performances over the past week or so, it's even harder to imagine. Mauer was sitting at .295 after a win in Baltimore on July 24. Since then, he's had six multiple-hit games—including a five-hitter and one with four hits—and is batting .537 with 16 RBIs, 12 runs scored, a .604 on-base percentage and a 1.384 OPS.
Pujols was sitting at .295 after a win against Pittsburgh on July 30. Since then, he's had multiple hits in six of his seven games and is batting .500 with five homers, 11 RBIs, 10 runs scored, a 1.031 slugging percentage, an otherworldly 1.531 OPS and only one strikeout.
No moral to the story or lesson to learn. Just two of the best getting back on track. Anyway, on to the poll.
Josh Hamilton is a leading MVP candidate. 1. Yankees (last week: 1). In the 46 at-bats between his 599th and 600th home run, Alex Rodriguez had only nine hits (a .196 average) but he still managed eight RBIs. It's good to be part of that lineup, eh? For the year, he has 88 RBIs, which is second in the majors.
2. Rays (2). Yes, they've lost five games in a row entering the week, but there's no reason to panic in Tampa Bay. The Rays are still only 2 1/2 behind the Yankees, and they're still 4 1/2 games ahead of the Red Sox and Twins in the wild-card race. The sore shoulders for Jeff Neimann and Wade Davis? Rays fans can worry about those.
3. Rangers (5). With every game Miguel Cabrera and the Tigers lose, Josh Hamilton's MVP candidacy takes a step forward, right? He's hitting .355 with 24 homers and 77 RBIs for the most surprisingly dominant team in baseball. (Not "most surprising" … "most s...
Read Complete Article at Latest Sporting News Articles for MLB
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