Year of the Pitcher?

Many across the media are referring to 2010 as the Year of the Pitcher, but is there enough evidence to support this overly optimistic view on the 2010 pitching season?

Consider the facts:

• 2 perfect games
• 1 "should've been" perfect game
• 2 no-hitters
• 21 starters with ERA under 3.00
• 9 starters with ERA under 2.50
• 6 starters with winning % over .800

It certainly would appear that starters are having a pretty good year so far.  However, is it enough to qualify 2010 as the Year of the Pitcher?  I would submit "No," as my answer.

Consider this:

Josh Hamilton, OF for the Texas Rangers, is currently hitting .470 for the month of June.  He is in the midst of a 21-game hitting streak.  During which he has 41 hits, 9 HR, 28 RBI, 20 R.  His batting average has gone up 55 points, and he has a .495 on-base percentage and .850 slugging percentage for the month.

BOOM!  My one, small-sample-size example just blew you out of the water, mainstream media!  I just sunk your Battleship!!!

Longoria, Upton Argue, Make-up/out

After the top of the 5th inning in Sunday's 2-1 loss to the Diamondbacks, Rays 3B Evan Longoria and OF B.J. Upton got into an argument over Upton's lack of hustle on a ball in the gap.  When asked about it after the game, both players blew it off as something that happens in the heat of competition.

As you can see from the picture below, the incident wasn't really that big of a deal.  The two kissed and made up, and then went on to compliment each other on their physical conditioning.

Tigers Girl-fight Their Way to Rout of Braves

On Sunday, the Tigers and Braves met in Atlanta and the Tigers proceeded to girl-fight their way to a 10-4 victory.  The Tigers scratched out (get it?) 16 singles as a part of their 17-hit barrage against starter Tommy Hanson and 3 relievers.  The one blight on the Tigers quest for singles perfection was a home run.  Manager Jim Leyland was ejected for the game for running out on the field after RF Brennan Boesch screwed up the whole thing by hitting a 2 run HR in the 5th inning.

Leyland on the incident: "I was pissed.  We just scored five runs the previous inning by hitting singles, and this jerk has to show up his entire team by putting one in the seats?  We could've had a perfect game!"

Upton Brothers Reunite in Arizona

It's been a long time coming, but the Upton brothers (B.J. and Justin) were able to reunite in a moving moment in Tampa Bay.  The brothers, who have never played a competitive game against one another, reportedly held each other for 45 minutes, crying like babies.  There wasn't a dry eye in the stadium.  The start of the game was delayed 20 minutes as umpires tried to separate the brothers before the first pitch.

Halladay Returns to Toronto... Sorta

For the first time since being traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in the offseason, Roy Halladay took the mound against his former team, the Toronto Blue Jays.  It was Halladay's first appearance in Toronto as a member of the opposing team.  To mark the occasion, the Blue Jays decided to make it easier for Halladay by playing the home game in Philadelphia, allegedly because of the G20 Summit (yeah, like that's a real thing!)

The Blue Jays also made it easier on Halladay by barely swinging the bat, getting only 6 base hits in Halladay's 7 innings.  Jays CF Vernon Wells: "We really wanted to do all we could to make this a pleasant experience for Doc.  He's just been such an important part of this organization for so long."

Yogi Monday!

We all get a case of the Mondays from time to time.  There's no better way to get through a Monday than with a classic quote from one of baseball's greatest quote machines - Yogi Berra.

Always go to other people's funerals, otherwise they won't come to yours.

Linktastic Saturday!

Once again, here are some of the other baseball humor things going on in the interwebs:

The Onion
Manny's incredible journey
The Unwritten Rules
Joe Mauer - Strongside/Weakside
Expanding Replay?

SportsPickle
Astros Plan to Retire Wandy's ERA!
Joba Rules Renewed
Lady Gaga at a Mets Game
Strasburg's New Name

As always, if you come across some things to link, let me know!