Tag Archives: hoffman

The 500 Club

I wonder how lonely Trevor Hoffman feels in the 500 Save Club. :) It’s so fitting that he reached the milestone against the Dodgers, too.

Is Hoffman a Hall-of-Famer? For his consistent approach and durability in an age where closers last maybe two to three years, tops, abso-freaking-lutely. Sure, some will say — correctly — that Mariano Rivera is a better big-game closer who has won it all. He, too, is headed to the Hall. But there has to be something said for Hoffman’s consistently high level of performance for 14-some-odd years in San Diego. 500 saves is not easy, especially considering he had lost a whole year to shoulder surgery and then continued to be devastatingly effective despite a significant loss of velocity on his fastball. Hoffman’s legacy is his palmball changeup, absolutely the best in the business.

My congratulations to him and his Padres, currently in first in the NL West, which is shaping up to be quite a horse race. The best pitching will win that division, guaranteed.

Hoffman one save away from the all-time record!

Trevor Hoffman earned save no. 477 last night in a 3-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks. With the Padre victory as well as a Dodger victory, this keeps San Diego a half-game up in the NL West race. This still, very much, is a heated pennant race. San Diego’s “magic number” to clinch the division (a combination of ten Dodger losses and Padres victories) is now at 10. Los Angeles maintains a scant half-game lead in the wild card over Philadelphia.

Jesus. Martin Luther King, Jr. Ken Lay. (KEN LAY?)

This is hilarious — Ken Lay had a star-studded (lol) memorial service today. The real gem of this article sits at the very end:

The Reverend Dr. Bill Lawson compared Lay with civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and Jesus Christ, and said his name would eventually be cleared.

“He was taken out of the world right at the right time,” he said. “History has a way of vindicating people who have been wronged.”

It’s a shame the article doesn’t quote exactly what he said. The idea of Ken Lay being mentioned in the same breath as Jesus Christ and Martin Luther King, Jr. is utterly ridiculous. I hope I’m not alone in this sentiment. LOL. Continue reading →