Love Letters: Is it the heat or humidity?

Insider | Short Hops | Hot Topic

Updated June 21

It's not the heat, it's the humidity. ...

From: Scooter

I just saw that the Padres picked up Michael Barrett from the Cubs. Is there any truth to the rumors that he has already wrestled the Giles Brothers and has threatened to kick Trevor Hoffman's ass? Just wondering.

No. But the Padres are pursuing Hulk Hogan to play left field.

From: Shane

Good news, Scott. Clint Hurdle put away his crack pipe and the Rockies are coming around. I hope I didn't just jinx it.

It's not a pipe, wise guy. It's the thin Rocky Mountain air.

From: Derrick B.

Scott,

Give the Rockies some love and write something about them. I know they are the bastard stepchild of baseball but they have just set a franchise record for the most consecutive series wins, they did just take two of three from Boston and smoked them in those games. They have some good young talent and this crap about Coors Field is really panning out to be no different than any other ballpark.

Taking series from both Boston and the Yankees is very impressive. But given recent history, shouldn't we wait until after the All-Star break before jumping on the Rockies bandwagon? I'm sure there will be plenty of space available.

From: John L.

After the sluggish start, the Chicago Cubs will surpass the Brew crew soon after the All-Star break. I see the 2007 Chicago Cubs looking more and more like the 2003 Florida Marlins. This is a very far reach to say the least, but I do like the way Ryan Theriot and Mike Fontenot have contributed in Aramis Ramirez's absence.

Settle down. Before the Cubs fly past the Brewers, they've first got to leap-frog St. Louis. That thud this week was Lou Piniella's club landing in third place.

From: Steven D.

Maybe I'm an old fart -- I'm only 30 -- but I just don't get why PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES can't play in a stupid preseason World Baseball Classic. I understand it's all about investments in players and being careful, but this crap is just ridiculous. A guy throws 15 innings and it ruins his whole season? Something just doesn't add up. Maybe someday people might wake up and realize that coddling these guys as much as they do might not be as beneficial as they think. Or maybe I'm just a naive old fart. How did guys 30, 40, 50 years ago throw 300+ innings with regularity, but people go into a straight-up panic if a guy goes over 200 anymore? I mean, if they're such superior athletes these days, it shouldn't be a problem. You don't find this ridiculous coddling in football, hockey or basketball.

See, back in the old days, they ate things like liver and onions and fried chicken. Now it's sushi. See the difference between the tough old cusses of the past and today's softies?

From: Jake H.

Your sympathy for the Mets injuries is pathetic. Where is your compassion for the Yankees injuries? Extended DL Hideki Matsui, Jason Giambi, Chien-Ming Wang, Mike Mussina, Phil Hughes and Carl Pavano. Three of five starters out at the same time. Without these injuries, they would be leading by 5-10 games.

Now that's not fair at all. I've got plenty of compassion for the injured Yankees. Just because I didn't send get well cards. ...

From: Glen T.

The only thing that can calm things down this summer is Trevor Hoffman. Look at what he has meant to AC/DC. Keeping them relevant since 1973. If he can't provide the calming influence, we may need to cancel the rest of the season.

Aside to all other readers but Glen T: Last summer I wrote a throwaway line about how Trevor Hoffman is keeping AC/DC relevant because he's going so well and they play Hells Bells in San Diego upon his entrance. Well, Glen apparently is THE charter member of the AC/DC fan club and he literally writes me every week with some variation of the theme of Hoffman, AC/DC and relevance. So this week I'm actually printing one of his letters. Let's see if he notices. Shhh!

From: Pat D.

If the Phillies swept the Mets at Citizen's Bank Ballpark, nobody saw it because the series was scheduled for Shea Stadium and, unfortunately, played there.

Why is the old Sam Cooke song that goes "Don't know much about geography, don't know much trigonometry. ..." running through my skull right now?

From: Michael F.

Hi Scott,

You think you can't figure out my Phillies -- how about the whole NL East? How pathetic is it that the Phils can even win this division AND with Charlie Manuel as manager? We all know they will be in the hunt well into September but fall short by a couple games and out of the wildcard. Hey, it's Philadelphia and some things never change.

Yeah, but the cheesesteaks remain outstanding.

From: Beth

No surprise Billy Wagner says he's scared most by the Phillies. He blew the save that gave the Phillies the sweep. It was his first blown save in quite awhile, plus he's a former Phillie and knows how erratic the team can be. As a longtime Phillies fan, I'm sure the season will end in disappointment -- but they always find a way to get your hopes up well into the season.

The theme here from Phillies fans: One World Series title in 100-plus years is reason enough to view the cheesesteak sandwich wrapper as half empty as opposed to half full.

From: Neil S.

What does it take for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim to get some recognition from this site? They are the hottest, most consistent, exciting team in baseball and you guys barely notice. Chone Figgins went 6-for-6, with the game-winning hit last night, and your story is about how bad the Astros hitting is? Come on, Chone was the story. The guy is hitting .450 for the last 17 games and has raised his average from .133 to .280 something since mid April. Give the kid his credit.Even when the pitching has struggled the bats are coming through. Your site is missing the boat on this one. The Angels are on their best start in franchise history and deserve some headlines. I'm just saying.....

Come on now, Eric Mack just featured the Angels in this week's Power Rankings. They were on our cover, bathed in all of their red glory, for 24 hours. I wrote a long feature on Vladimir Guerrero in April. I did a video interview with Orlando Cabrera a couple of weeks ago. And there will be plenty more where all that came from, the way the Angels are going. You need to start paying closer attention, my man.

From: Bill I.

Hey dimwit*, when you talk about NL All-Star worthy catchers and you don't even mention Bengie Molina, who has comparable offensive numbers to Russell Martin as well as a higher fielding percentage, not to mention is batting over .400 with 2 outs and RISP, your column lacks some credibility. *tainted columnist due to lack of credibility.

Are the Giants still in the league?

From: Jonathan S.

Hi Scott! I can say that Justin Verlander is ahead of the learning curve with our current wave of young pitching phenoms. After watching some of the clips of his (no-hit) performance last night, I couldn't help but notice some great similarity between Verlander and how Bert Blyleven pitched -- moving the ball around and using the curve down and away. I feel the talent level is very close -- of course Verlander would have many years to go before his career could be compared to the Dutchman. Let me know what you think!

Excellent comparison, though right now, Verlander has much more hair than Blyleven. Did you see Bert was forced to shave his head after losing a deal he made with Johan Santana in New York the other night? He said he'd shave his head if Santana shut out the Mets, and Santana is a dangerous man to challenge.

From: Matt

AL West -- best division in baseball-- discuss....

I think the Angels are very underrated. Everybody talks about Boston, but look out for Mike Scioscia's club. Seattle has hit a swoon, losing six in a row until Jeff Weaver shut out Pittsburgh the other night. Oakland's pitching is stunningly good. It's a debatable point, Matt. I'll still take the AL Central -- I think it's deeper and the overall pitching is better -- but the AL West might be second.

From: Matthew K.

What do you think about the last game of the year, with the extended roster in place, putting Bernie in uniform. Having Johnny Damon run out to center or Melky Cabrera to start the game. But after the first pitch, Melky comes out and Bernie takes center for the proper send off?

I think you're awash in nostalgia and need to move on, like the Yankees have.