Post-script

Just finished watching MLB Network's "Baseball Seasons" 1968--the Year of the Pitcher.  Was it ever.  Bob Gibson had a regular season ERA of 1.12.  Seven pitchers had ERAs under 2.00, and we all know that Denny McClain won 31 games for the Tigers that year.  Bob Gibson and Denny McClain both won the Cy Young and the league MVP that year, the only time pitchers have swept the awards in both leagues.

It was an insane confluence of pitching.  Bob Gibson pitched 18 scoreless innings in the World Series.  There was a perfect game and four no-hitters.  Many hitters saw their batting averages plummet by 30 points or more off their career averages.  The New York Yankees batted .214 as team, lowest in club history.

Anyway, it was well worth the watch.

Quick Hits

In January of each year, teams select one prospect to attend the MLB Rookie Career Development Program in Washington DC.  The program is four days long, and is designed to give youngsters an idea of what life in the bigs will be like.  I'm sure they emphasize keeping your nose clean and whatnot.  This year, the Tigers sent Rick Porcello--shocker, I know.   In his interview about the program, Porcello notably stated that one of the things he knew he had to work on to continue his progress toward the majors was command of his breaking ball, which would help improve his ability to get strikeouts.  You can see his video segment here.  

I've made a couple short forays into the MLB Network so far.  I watched Game 2 of the 2006 World Series.  I have no shame in admitting that I wimped out of watching the losses.  I also watched a half hour piece on Hank Aaron, which was good.  Now, I'm going to watch one of the episodes of Baseball Seasons--it's the 1968 season.  Looking forward to that, since I was not born to see it live.  Of course, I've seen clips of the '68 season and Series, but I hope this goes in depth, since it's an hour-long show.

Finally, young Michael Holliman is defying the timetable set for his recovery from surgical repair of a torn labrum.  He may be ready in time for Spring Training, instead of missing half this year. Read the rest here.

Keep counting down--pitchers and catcher report in less than 10 days!