If I ever run into Darwin Barney, I am going to buy that man a beer.
It isn’t that I don’t respect Dan Uggla’s now mercifully dead 33-game hitting streak, but I had pretty much had it up to here (for those of you who don’t have access to my super sexy webcam, I’m pointing about a foot over my own head) with hearing about how improbable Uggla’s streak was. And now, thanks to this play from Darwin Barney (a play I wouldn’t have to thank him for if Tyler Colvin had bothered to run full speed at any point on that play), I no longer have to.
Maybe I have high standards, but I am just not interested in accomplishments that don’t figure to stand the test of time. Almost all hitting streaks fall into this category as so few ever have a chance of getting even remotely close to DiMaggio’s legendary 56-hitting streak. As we heard time and time again, Uggla started his streak with a batting average well under .200, which is what drew national attention to his streak, but it is also what automatically precluded him from ever becoming a serious challenger to DiMaggio. As fun as it was to watch Uggla extend his streak beyond what we all thought was possible for a player of his ilk, it was only a matter of time before it came to an end, and now it has.
With the streak over, the baseball world can return to normal and Uggla can return to just being another slugger with a disappointing batting avere, but at least it isn’t quite as disappointing as it was a month ago.
Also last night: Brandon Belt hit two homers, but will still probably get inexplicably buried on the bench… The Diamondbacks win, but lose Jason Marquis… and finally, the Twins/Indians, Rays/Yankees, Nationals/Phillies games all got rained out.
What to watch tonight: After a rough weekend, the Angels have fallen four games back of the Texas Rangers, who just so happen to be coming to Anaheim for a four-game set starting tonight. While the Halos have kept the race close all season long, the general public expectation has been that the Rangers will pull away sooner or later. Well, sooner could start right now as the Angels are mired in an offensive funk while their bullpen seems to be coming apart at the seams. To top it all off, they are sending out rookie Garrett Richards to make just his second career start against All-Star Alexi Ogando. Watch close, kiddies, because this could be the swan song for the AL West race. Full schedule with probable pitchers here.
