Jones Quest For .400 Is Likely Over

Well now that Chipper Jones has cooled off slightly, I believe his chances of hitting .400 are virtually zero. So let's take a look at the math. As of today, Jones has 108 hits in 288 at bats through 80 games played. His average is .375. That means Jones has been averaging 3.6 at bats per game. The Braves have played 92 games so that means there are only 70 games left to play this season. If he were to play all 70 games, he would get approximately 252 more at bats (70 x 3.6). That would mean that Jones would finish the season with about 540 total at bats (288 + 252). For Jones too finish at .400, he would need to finish the season with 216 hits (216 / 540). Since he has 108 at this point, that means he would need 108 more hits in the next 252 at bats. In other words, Jones who is already hitting a phenomenal .375, would have to hit a whopping (and unsustainable) .429 the rest of the season. To me, this just seems like one of the records that are destined to never be broken. Since 1941, the year in which Ted Williams was the last person to hit .400 (he hit .406), there have been several players who have made runs at .400, including Nomar Garciaparra who, 2000, was hitting .403 as late as July 20. But he like all the rest eventually failed. Here are the three players since 1941, who finished the season within striking distance of the elusive club.

Tony Gwynn - 1994 - finished at .394
George Brett - 1980 - finished at .390
Rod Carew - 1977 - finished at .388

Another Athlete Arrested on Felony Charge

See what I mean? Earlier this week, Tony Gonzalez made news by saving a man's life in a California restaurant. I had inferred that this was an aberration because it was a nice "feel good" story, which we almost never hear about. Usually today's off-field stories about our athletes are about their criminality and/or arrogance and sense of entitlement. So just to underscore my point, just 3 days after my previous post, we have this story about Matt Jones. Just another day in the world of sports.

A Nice Story For A Change: Chiefs Tony G. Saves A Life

We have become so desensitized about almost everything these days that almost nothing shocks us anymore. We live in a society where everything/everyone is fair game to our pop culture standards, which depending on your point of view is either passe or, plummeting faster than the China Syndrome. In general, athletes today are perceived on a scale somewhere between overly paid entertainers with an irrational sense of entitlement or malcontent thugs that belong in prison. Neither of this is true (save of a few) of course, but the public persona of sports athletes has been severely tarnished based on what's been reported over the years. So with that in mind, it was nice to hear that Kansas City Chiefs TE Tony Gonzalez was credited with saving a man's life this past Thursday night in California. Nice going Tony.

Sunday Brunch....Who's On First?

I remember growing up in New York City in the 1970's. Back then we called it...well, just growing up. Today, it's recollection with melancholy of the years gone by, it's waxing nostalgia about one's childhood, it's assigning romance to what in reality was just the mundane. Or to put it simply, it's remembering with fondness the simple, less complicated pleasures of a life that was lived long ago.

I remember Saturday evenings in our household. It was so wonderfully routine and predictable. Every Saturday night my dad would head out in the early evening to pick up some bagels, a pack of smokes and the early edition of the Sunday Daily News and

Lou Gehrig's Farewell Speech - July 4th, 1939

Sixty nine years ago today, Lou Gehrig delivered his famous speech that is still considered one of the greatest moments in sports history. Here is the full text version of the Farewell Speech

"Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about the bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth. I have been in ballparks for seventeen years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans.

"Look at these grand men. Which of you wouldn't consider it the highlight of his career just to associate with them for even one day? Sure, I'm lucky. Who wouldn't consider it an honor to have known Jacob Ruppert? Also, the builder of baseball's greatest empire, Ed Barrow? To have spent six years with that wonderful little fellow, Miller Huggins? Then to have spent the next nine years with that outstanding leader, that smart student of psychology, the best manager in baseball today, Joe McCarthy? Sure, I'm lucky.

"When the New York Giants, a team you would give your right arm to beat, and vice versa, sends you a gift - that's something. When everybody down to the groundskeepers and those boys in white coats remember you with trophies - that's something. When you have a wonderful mother-in-law who takes sides with you in squabbles with her own daughter - that's something. When you have a father and a mother who work all their lives so you can have an education and build your body - it's a blessing. When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed - that's the finest I know.

"So I close in saying that I may have had a tough break, but I have an awful lot to live for."

-----Lou Gehrig, 7/4/39

This Soap Opera Moment Is Brought To You By The Rodriguez'

Good Lord! Do I really care who A-Rod is boinkin'? Does anyone care? The world of sports is already in the gutter, can it sink any lower?

Okay we get it, A-Rod is a slime ball---maybe. But really, c'mon he's a 32 years old superstar playing for arguably the greatest sports franchise; who already banked $250 million and just signed another contract for another $275 million. This guy is among the few who walk among us that is living a charmed life. And with that kind of float, who wouldn't feel a sense of entitlement? Who wouldn't want to see what the world has to offer. I can't even imagine the kind of "opportunities" this guy must get on a daily basis, but I would guess that after a while you just give in to temptation. He's not doing anything differently than any one of us would do if we were in his position. The problem is......

It's July: All-Star Game and football training camp

For most "four-sport" fans, July's primary sporting events are baseball's All-Star game, which this year will be held at Yankee Stadium and the start of football training camp. Here is the 2008 training camp schedule for all 32 teams.