Comparing the All-Disappointment Teams...

'A Large Regular' weighs in with his All-Disappointment Team...

Comparing his version with Holy Cowbell's:

Catcher -- We agree on Victor Martinez and his homerless year

First Base -- We said Travis Hafner. He said Richie Sexson.

I think one of his commenters had it correct, pointing out that Sexson's whole career has been a disappointment, so how could this year be any different. (Note: He had Travis Hafner as his most disappointing designated hitter).

Second Base -- We said Robinson Cano. He said Freddy Sanchez.

I tend to think Sanchez's batting title was a fluke, while Cano is the real thing. So, for Cano to be struggling, it's a much bigger disappointment.

Shortstop -- We agree on Troy Tulowitki's sophomore slump.

Third Base -- We agree on Ryan Zimmerman not living up to potential.

Outfield -- We said Andruw Jones, Eric Byrnes and Gary Sheffield. He said Curtis Granderson, Delmon Young and Gary Sheffield.

I'm stunned that he left Jones off his list. Jones would be the captain of this team. And I'm inclined to wait on Granderson; he had a hand injury, which takes awhile to recover from. Come the end of the season, I don't think he'll be such a disappointment.

Pitcher -- We said Justin Verlander and Aaron Harang. He said Roy Oswalt and C.C. Sabathia.

He split his into left-handed and right-handed starting pitchers, so we agree with Sabathia (he was our honorable mention, along with Erik Bedard). And, while I'll stick with Verlander, I don't disagree that Oswalt's been a disappointment. I think he's on the backside of his career and falling fast.

Closer -- We said Eric Gagne. He said J.J. Putz.

We put Putz as the second most-disappointing closer. But no one can top the plumber from Milwaukee.

Oh, great - another loony Steinbrenner

From the files of the terrifically insane...

Co-chairman of the New York Yankees Hank Steinbrenner blames National League rules for the injury to his ace Chien-Ming Wang. Wang was injured while running the bases during Sunday's game against the Astros.

Among the classically moronic quotes from Steinbrenner:

“The National League needs to join the 21st century. They need to grow up and join the 21st century.”

“I’ve got my pitchers running the bases, and one of them gets hurt. He’s going to be out. I don’t like that, and it’s about time they address it. That was a rule from the 1800s.”

“This is always a concern of American League teams when their pitchers have to run the bases and they’re not used to doing it. It’s not just us. It’s everybody. It probably should be a concern for National League owners, general managers and managers when their pitchers run the bases. Pitchers have enough to do without having to do that.”

Observations:

* History lesson - the designated hitter was established in 1972. A full 72 years after the turn of the century, Hank.

* Please don't tell me that pitchers have so much do that they can't, gasp!, run the bases, on the off-chance they actually get on-base. These are professional athletes, Hank. They can run.

* Ask around. Guarantee you that a majority of people prefer the 'dreaded' National League rules.

A few links...

Rick Reilly eviscerates the Yanks (Oct., 1999)

Wrigleyville weighs in on the topic with some hilarity

Out on the farm...

The Cubs are playing well, even at AAA Iowa. The squad is 40-29 and is leading the North division in the PCL. They have the third-best record in the league, behind Salt Lake City (Angels) and Sacramento (A's).

Some noteworthy statistics:

Felix Pie continues to struggle. He's hitting just .198 and the sample size is significant (116 at-bats).

Matt Murton has a decent batting average (.298) but has not been hitting for power. His slugging is a mediocre .382 and he has hit only one home run in 191 at-bats. If you're looking for a reason why Micah Hoffpauir and Eric Patterson earned the recent call-ups, I would imagine it's that.

Perhaps putting up the best numbers is right fielder Josh Kroeger. He's hitting a respectable .292, leads the club in homers (8) and is second in RBIs (31).

On the pitching front, I wouldn't expect Rich Hill to be back with the big club any time soon. He's still struggling with his control in the minors (24 walks in 25.1 inning, nearly one an inning) and his WHIP is atrocious (1.70).

Nor will Carmen Pignatiello. His command is better than it was during his short stint with the Cubs to start the season, but he's still getting smacked around. His ERA is near six (5.95 ERA) and he's giving up more than a hit an inning (22 hits allowed in 19.2 innings).

I would be interested to know more about a kid named Mike Burns. He's just 5-4, but other statistics jump off the page. His ERA is just 2.55 and he has struck out five times as many batters as he has walked (55 K/11 B). Those 55 strikeouts also came in just 67 innings and he's got a minuscule WHIP of 0.97.

Anyone know any more about Burns?