In an ideal world, I would have written a running diary of all four Red Sox-Yankees games this weekend. Unfortunately, golf tournaments do not revolve around baseball, and baseball most definitely does not revolve around Div. III college golf, so I spent the weekend teeing off at about the same time A-Rod was chalking up his daily strikeout. Luckily for my readers, most of whom couldn't care less about breaking news from Div. III college golf, I'll skip my recap of the weekend's events and instead focus on what's hot and what's not in Major League Baseball.
There is not a category capable of handling the hotness of Barry Bonds right now. Even if you want to claim that Bonds has been on steroids for the past few years, there is absolutely no doubt that Bonds is off steroids right now, and his numbers are still mind-boggling. Bonds is a hitting machine, despite seeing at most one or two good pitches per at-bat. Even as opposing managers warn their pitchers to avoid giving him pitches to hit, Bonds is still thriving. While other players involved in the BALCO controversy have struggled in 2004 (Sheffield, Giambi, etc.), Bonds looks even better this year. In 12 starts, Bonds is batting .500, has eight home runs, 17 RBIs, 15 walks and five doubles. His on-base percentage is .647 and his slugging percentage is 1.306.
Staying in the National League, Scott Rolen is hot. With seven home runs and 23 RBIs, Rolen has been a fantasy stud so far. In the American League, Jermaine Dye is on fire. After missing most of last season due to injury, Dye has picked up the slack for the Tejada-less Athletics. Dye's seven home runs give him as many as the rest of the A's combined.
As for pitchers, three National League hurlers are far and away the early season's best pitchers. Roger Clemens, Dontrelle Willis and Tom Glavine (did anyone catch his seven-inning, one-hit performance the day after my praise last week?) have a combined 7-0 record and all hold ERAs under 1.00 through at least two starts. On a side note, has anyone seen Willis at the plate? After batting a very impressive .241 last season, Willis has stormed out of the box with six hits in as many at-bats, including two doubles and a home run. What impresses me most about Willis, however, is the tremendous smile on his face at all times. On days when Rasheed Wallace threatens a referee and different Lakers whine about playing on the best team ever assembled on paper, Willis often seems like the only professional athlete who is actually having fun.
In the American League, as expected, the Oakland A's starting pitchers have been incredible. Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Mark Redman all sport ERAs below 3.00, and arguably the best pitcher on the A's, Barry Zito, is not far behind. Kevin Brown, Curt Schilling and Bartolo Colon are all off to hot starts on teams predicted to be in the pennant chase.
Alex Rodriguez undoubtedly tops my list of cold players. This weekend, A-Rod had an uninspired 1-17 performance against the Red Sox and looked downright silly at the plate. All I can say is that it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. I really feel for A-Rod and the Yankees and really sympathize with their fans right now. In fact, I don't think it's necessary to mention anyone else in baseball having a bad season, because it would all pale in comparison to A-Rod's pathetic start.
THE RICH GET RICHER
Normally it's not a huge surprise or big news when the 27th-ranked running team in NFL trades for or signs one of the top running backs in the league. It is big news, however, when the team is the New England Patriots, the Super Bowl Champions, and the running back is Corey Dillon. Adding Dillon to a team coming off a Super Bowl Championship and 14 straight victories is just not fair. As you know, I'm not one to relish in the fortune of my favorite team and the misfortune of the rest of the league, but I have to make an exception for this case.
If the Patriots could win the Super Bowl with the likes of Antowain Smith, Kevin Faulk and Mike Cloud at the running back position, can you imagine what they'll do with Corey Dillon carrying the ball? Dillon is one of only four players in NFL history to rush for 1000 yards in each of his first four seasons, and has been considered one of the best running backs in the game ever since breaking the rookie record for most rushing yards in a game with 246 in 1997.
I almost feel bad for the rest of the league. Actually, no I don't. Many teams around the league had the opportunity to snatch away one or even both of the Patriots' top two coordinators. Instead, opposing general managers left intact a coaching staff responsible for the second-greatest season in NFL history. It's scary to imagine what Charlie Weiss will concoct with Dillon in the backfield.
When the NFL draft begins this weekend, most teams will inevitably look to build for the future. In the back of their minds, they are probably disheartened that building for the present will most likely be futile. Mark my words: The Patriots will win another Super Bowl, Dillon will rush for 1300 yards, Brady will be MVP and because of Bob Kraft's commitment to winning, the Patriots will be the greatest dynasty in league history.