Early Success

We're only in the second week of baseball, but I've been trying to catch as much action as I can. While taking breaks from watching Jason Bay strike out with runners in scoring position... again, I've seen some great pitching, and some timely hitting throughout the league. The season is still young, but a few players have gotten off to extremely hot starts, and already have made some remarkable achievements.
Let's first start off with Jorge Cantu, the third/first-baseman for the Florida Marlins. Mr. Cantu has set an MLB record already, and they haven't even played two full weeks yet. He now holds the record of having a hit and an RBI in his first ten games of the season, besting the previous record by two. While this may not seem like a gargantuan feat to some, it goes to show how timely Jorge's hits are. A hit streak is well and good, but if it's not helping the team win, then it's essentially wasted. But Cantu's success has come in crucial situations, and for that, his achievement should be applauded. It should also be noted that 25% of Jorge Cantu's hits are doubles. First, this is a ridiculous percentage, and second, it's probably the reason why he drives in so many runs. Way to go Jorge.
Another player attained a milestone this past week as well. That was Detroit Tiger's own Johnny Damon, who reached 1000 RBIs for his career. This is a great feat for Mr. Damon because for most of his lengthy career he has batted second in any lineup. Meaning that his chances for RBIs was slimmed. But being the consummate hitter that he is, Johnny managed to put the ball in play when it was vital to the team, something he's done for five squads now. Add on to that the fact that Damon is closing in on 2500 hits, and he just might have a chance at the Hall of Fame one day.
Other players, while not breaking records, or passing milestones, have been lighting up the majors. Almost no one has been hotter than Texas Ranger Nelson Cruz. So far he's batting .353, with 6 homeruns, and 12 RBI. It's scary to think how good this guy can be. The Rangers early success has come in large part to him, and Vladimir Guerrero carrying the team. Also in the American League, Jose Guillen, with his ninth team, the Kansas City Royals, is batting a beefy .350 with 5 jacks of his own. Also for the Royals, Scott Podsednik might be finally healthy again, because he's batting a silly .436 right now, and has six stolen bases. Can he steal 70 bags again, like he did in 2004? That remains to be seen.
In the National League, Philadelphia Phillie Chase Utley is dominated any pitcher he sees this week. He has five homers in four games, and for the 2010 season Chase has 6 dingers, with 12 RBI, and is batting .368 with a .510 OBP. Time will tell if the absence of Jimmy Rollins will hurt these numbers, but right now, Utley don't care. Also for the Phightin Phils, Roy Halladay is pitching gem after gem. Last night marked Roy's home debut and he made it a beauty, going 8 innings and striking out four, without walking a soul. Doc seemed just a tiny bit mortal, though, because he gave up eight hits and two runs. But you have to forgive the man, it was raining after all. For the season, Halladay is 3-0 with a 1.13 ERA and has as many strikeouts as hits allowed, with 21. Doc was the one who ended Cantu's RBI streak last night at ten, although Jorge did get a hit. Meanwhile in the N.L., New York Met Jeff Francoeur is hitting a meteoric .457 with 3 homers, and Tim Lincecum is 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA and 17 Ks for the S.F. Giants.
I wish I had more time and space to comment on every individual's success, but alas I'm just one man with a small blog. I'll try and keep up with as many teams and players as I can throughout the season. For more information check out www.baseball-reference.com, www.mlb.com, watch MLBNetwork if you have it, or maybe even go buy a newspaper and check out the box score. Enjoy the games, and I'll talk with you again real soon.