A CITIZEN'S BLOG

-During this evening’s game against the Reds Jim Thome hit his 400th home run of his career. It is a terrific moment for him and hopefully just a milestone on Thome’s way to hitting 500 home runs. Compared to Ken Griffey, Jr., Thome's path to 400 dingers has been pretty quiet: little hoopla, little talk of breaking Hank Aaron's record, but I think that fits Thome's persona ... I was excited when the Phils signed him for the ’03 season because he seemed to fit the Phils and the City of Philadelphia perfectly somehow: his toughness, his blue-collar background and work ethic. Thome just seems to be cut from the cloth of the working class immigrants who labored at the navy yard and built the city in the late 1800’s and early 20th century. You just look at Thome and you are filled with confidence that he'll rise to the challenge, that he'll carry the team and the city on his back without a word of complaint, and that he'll quietly get the job done.

Congrats, Jim.

-Stats!

GPA (as of June 14, 2004)
Thome: .358
Abreu: .331
Burrell: .305
Bell: .276
Lieberthal: .240
Rollins: .239
Polanco: .238
Utley: .223
Byrd: .213

Same old, same old. Rollins continues his slow, steady climb towards the “first division” of Thome, Bell, Burrell and Abreu, while Lieberthal, Byrd, et al., sink …

ISO (as of June 14, 2004)
Thome: .364
Abreu: .269
Burrell: .215
Utley: .208
Lieberthal: .174
Bell: .168
Polanco: .113
Rollins: .096
Byrd: .086

Not much change, but some positive news about Marlon Byrd: he’s hit .308 this month (.360 OBP), which means that he might be poised to step things up a notch in the second half of the season much like he did last year. After playing sparingly before the All-Star break in ’03, Byrd went on a tear last June hitting .364 BA (.449 OBP; .320 GPA). I wonder if it will be enough though to keep him in the lineup or preserve his slot as the lead-off guy.

More tomorrow.