King of Troy

I guess you might say that the passing of the guard is taking place in the position of Shortstop. You can call it a Baton if ya want. Or, more appropriately a BAT ON. ; )

I say this because Troy Tulowitzki, who idolized arguably one of the greatest SS's ever - Derek Jeter, is rising above the pack a little more with each year he logs in the League. Troy wears the #2 on his back in honor of Derek, but clearly.. he is #1 at the position in this particular era of baseball.

He's doing it all. He makes stellar defensive plays at critical moments in the game.. ala Derek.

He's pounding the ball with incredible power in the vein another superstar in the center of the diamond did - Alex Rodriguez.

He's led his team to the Post Season and is on a quest to reach the ultimate .. a World Series Ring. In 2011 he is on a terrific offensive tear in an effort to accomplish just that. Because, without the ring.. you can't be The King.

Yesterday Troy kept the quest in tact when he led the Rockies to a smashing of the hapless New York Mets in a double header sweep that left many people in awe of his talents. Troy homered in both games to lead the charge. He homered in each of the 4 games in the set against the Mets, a feat that fanned the accolades. We may not be able to annoint him just yet as he has many hits to gain before reaching the incredible milestones of his idol. But, you can't deny.. he's on the right path.

What's a Walk Off Worth....

A Crazy day in baseball yesterday with a host of Walk Off's, an extra inning rally and... one for the ages. California teams were in the spotlight with late game heroics by 4 of the 5 Cali teams. In and of itself, that's pretty amazing.

Let's kick it off in San Diego where the "O Dog", stroked a Walk Off single that lifted the Padres over Cincinnati 3-2. Orlando Hudson's scrappy style of play and mindset was just what the Pads needed at the dish in the bottom of the 9th. San Diego had posted a single run in the 7th and 8th innings to tie the game and were desperately trying to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Reds.

Enter Orlando. He ripped a bases loaded, opposite field missile into left field to notch a much needed win for San Diego. I loved his statement when asked about his game winning single - "I just wanted to have a Quality At Bat". Beautiful. You certainly did "O Dog". Watch it Here!

The Oakland A's were just as impressive, if not more so, in their late game heroics vs. the White Sox. Down by 3 in the 9th the A's put together a terrific rally that tied the game and sent it into extra innings for the third game in a row. Having every game in a 3 game series go "extra" had not happened to the A's in over 23 years! Incredible stuff.

More Mindset stuff for you hitters out there. . . with two out in the 9th Cliff Pennington came to the plate with ducks on the pond. What was he thinking when he was facing a fireballing pitcher? "With Thornton on the mound throwing 97 miles an hour," Pennington said, "I was just looking for a fastball I could hit."

He got it. First Pitch too! Tie game. The game winners came in the 10th when Oakland posted 3 more runs to walk away with a series win against Chicago. Not exactly a Walk Off.. but pretty cool, just the same.

In Anaheim it was another extra inning tilt AND a Walk Off win! The Angels' billion dollar baby (jus kiddin'),Vernon Wells, earned a few of his dollars by delivering a base knock in the 12th that clinched the win over the Indians. A huge hit for Vernon's confidence as he was mired in 0 for 16 slump when he stepped in the box. His single off the shortstop started the rally. Wells eventually scored the winning run on a Sac Fly by Jeff Mathis with the bases juiced. I'll bet the Rally Monkey was going bonkers in Anaheim ; )

The Fans in Atlanta got to see something pretty special on Wednesday. Yes, their team got dumped by the Marlins and there were plenty of long faces in the crowd. That is until the 9th inning when Braves super hero Chipper Jones came to the dish.

Chipper launched a deep drive that cleared the center field wall for a Solo Home Run. Yea, yea.. so what you say? Well, that Home Run gave Chipper 1,500 RBIs for his career! In the History of baseball there is only one other switch hitter to have amassed 2,500+ hits and notched 1,500+ RBIs (Eddie Murray). That put a smile on the face of alot of Atlanta fans last night. Check it out by Clicking Here

Yesterday's Hitter honors has to go to our scrappy little throwback dude in Detroit. . . Brandon Inge. The Tigers have a couple of these guys I really like, but last night it was all Brandon. He tied the game in the 6th inning with a Sacrifice Fly. Great hitters do what has to be done to get that run home in close games and Brandon is a great hitter.

Not exactly satisfied with his 6th inning success, Brandon came to the plate in the 9th inning with one out and the game still knotted at 2-2. He had to be looking for something with a little 'wrinkle' to it because... on the very first pitch (one with some wrinkle) he Belted a Blast to deep Left Field. It was one of those - Crack! It's Gone! kind of shots. A real No Doubter that gave Detroit it's 2nd straight Walk Off win vs. the Rangers. Watch Yesterday's Hitter by clicking Here!

Sox it to 'Em

Can anybody figure out baseball teams? Off season trades often load up the most impressive group of players throughout the history of baseball, only to see that team sputter on the playing field. Crazy game.

This year is no different with the paper lineup of the Red Sox. Prior to the season nearly every baseball expert was handing over the AL East and even the World Series to Boston before they placed a single win in the W column. 11 games later, they have a total of 2 W's and sit on the bottom in their Division. Crazy.

Yesterday, it was Red Sox castoff Johnny Damon that poked and pried another "L" out of Boston. Johnny was far from spectacular, but you really don't need to be spectacular to take down the Sox so far this year. Johnny was definitely steady, racking up two hits and two RBIs, which were enough to log a 3-2 win in Boston. Crazy Game.

Another fella that tormented his prior team was Jayson Werth. The Nationals are a really good looking bunch. They have hustlers, hitters and hard nosed managing... and they play the game right. Off to a 5-5 start, most folks might think that's mediocre. Well, look to the last few years before you decided 5-5 isn't very good.

Jayson Werth put up some wonderful numbers over the years for the Phillies, but this time he poked holes in them. Jayson's day was indicative of how he led the charge for the Phightin's in the past. Start the rally, inspire the team.. and away they go. Locked in a 1-1 tie, Werth ripped a double to lead off the 4th inning and sparked a 3 run rally the Nats never gave up. Just for the heck of it he added a Solo Shot in the next inning. Bang.

Back over in the AL, the Tigers vs. Rangers game was a classic. You know, one of those games you might emulate with your brother in the backyard whiffle ball contest. Your team is down 1-0, then tie it 1-1... only to go down 2-1.. oh, tied 2-2. And back and forth you go all the way to the 9th inning where ya find it tied again at 4-4.

The stuff of legends as the bottom of the 9th rally starts to unfold. A single gets it going and the next thing you know it's bases loaded.. two outs.. score is tied in the bottom of the 9th with THE team slugger at the dish (you in the back yard) - Miguel Cabrera in real life. You guessed it.. the Slugger comes through with a single and the walk off win is complete. Now, go have a Kool Aid! You deserve it! :-)

Ramp that backyard thing up just a touch and you'll find Yesterday's Hitter... Alexei Ramirez!

His first impact on the game looked like he might just put it away in the 2nd inning. Alexei smoked a 3 run HR to put the White Sox up 4-1, a lead they usually hold on to. Not this time.. the A's would slowly scratch back. They got back one run, then another to make it 4-3.. and uh, oh. .they actually surged ahead 5-4 in the 6th. Not so good for the Sox.. unless you're bidding for the YH honors ; )

Fast forward to the 10th inning and it's all locked in a 5-5 tie for the Slugger (in the backyard).. this time the Slugger is none other than our 2nd inning star - Alexei Ramirez. What does he do? ShaBang! It's a deep fly ball.. way back.. very high.. and over the backyard fence she goes! Alexei's second HR of the game was the game winner. Cool. Let's go for that Kool Aid!