About the Author
My name's Romi Ezzo and I'm a huge sports fan. My favorite thing in the world is baseball, and hopefully, I can become someone involved in sports, whether it's being a sports writer, an analyst, a commentator, or a player (my ultimate dream is to become a baseball player). I like to play baseball, basketball, football, and soccer (when I feel like it). My favorite baseball players are Derek Jeter (even though I'm a Red Sox fan), Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, Ichiro, Vlad Guerrero, Jonathan Papelbon, David Ortiz, and Troy Tulowitzki (in that order). My favorite basketball players are Dwight Howard, Kevin Garnett, Amare Stoudemire, Chris Paul, Steve Nash, and Dwyane Wade. I don't really have a favorite player in the NFL, because I just started following it a couple of years ago. I'm a New England fan, which means that I love the Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics, and Bruins. I'm glad that I can talk sports to a bunch of people that have the same in common that I do. :)More By Romiezzo
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Home Runs of April 15, 2008
| 7
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Home Runs of April 15, 2008
| Batter | Team (B) | Inning | Pitcher | Team (P) | Situation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Casey Kotchman (4) | Angels | 4th | Kevin Milwood (1) | Rangers | 1 on, 1 out, 0-4 |
| Carlos Quentin (2) | White Sox | 4th | Dana Eveland (1) | Athletics | 2 on, 0 out, 0-0 |
| Conor Jackson (2) | Diamondbacks | 2nd | Kevin Correia (2) | Giants | 0 on, 0 out, 0-0 |
| Chris B. Young (5) | Diamondbacks | 3rd | Kevin Correia (3) | Giants | 1 on, 1 out, 1-0 |
| Jason Varitek (3) | Red Sox | 9th (PH) | Jensen Lewis (2) | Indians | 0 on, 1 out, 3-3 |
| Chris Snelling (1) | Phillies | 9th | Jose Valverde (2) | Astros | 0 on, 0 out, 0-3 |
| Pat Burrell (5) | Phillies | 9th | Jose Valverde (3) | Astros | 1 on, 1 out, 1-3 |
| Justin Morneau (4) | Twins | 6th | Nate Robertson (2) | Tigers | 1 on, 0 out, 2-1 |
| Gary Sheffield (1) | Tigers | 1st | Scott Baker (4) | Twins | 0 on, 2 out, 0-1 |
| Magglio Ordonez (2) | Tigers | 6th | Scott Baker (5) | Twins | 0 on, 2 out, 4-1 |
| Carlos Guillen (3) | Tigers | 7th | Scott Baker (6) | Twins | 0 on, 0 out, 4-2 |
| Miguel Cabrera (2) | Tigers | 8th | Jesse Crain (1) | Twins | 1 on, 2 out, 4-5 |
| Aaron Hill (2) | Blue Jays | 3rd | Steve Traschel (2) | Orioles | 2 on, 1 out, 1-0 |
| Nick Markakis (2) | Orioles | 3rd | Shaun Marcum (2) | Blue Jays | 0 on, 2 out, 0-5 |
| Adam Jones (1) | Orioles | 5th | Shaun Marcum (3) | Blue Jays | 0 on, 0 out, 1-6 |
| Melvin Mora (3) | Orioles | 8th | Jesse Carlson (1) | Blue Jays | 0 on, 0 out, 2-9 |
| Hideki Matsui (3) | Yankees | 2nd | Edwin Jackson (1) | Rays | 0 on, 1 out, 0-0 |
| David Wright (4) | Mets | 1st | Odalis Perez (4) | Nationals | 1 on, 1 out, 0-0 |
| Ken Griffey Jr. (2) | Reds | 3rd | Ryan Dempster (1) | Cubs | 1 on, 1 out, 1-2 |
| Joey Votto (1) | Reds | 9th | Michael Wuertz (2) | Cubs | 0 on, 0 out, 4-9 |
| Mark DeRosa (3) | Cubs | 2nd | Aaron Harang (3) | Reds | 1 on, 0 out, 0-1 |
| Derrek Lee (5) | Cubs | 5th | Aaron Harang (4) | Reds | 2 on, 1 out, 2-3 |
| Ryan Theriot (1) | Cubs | 8th | Todd Coffey (3) | Reds | 1 on, 1 out, 7-4 |
| Jeff Kent (3) | Dodgers | 5th | Phil Dumatrait (2) | Pirates | 2 on, 2 out, 5-1 |
| Russell Martin (1) | Dodgers | 8th | Evan Meek (2) | Pirates | 0 on, 0 out, 9-2 |
For the people who have not been introduced to the "Home Runs of the Day" yet, let me just clarify a couple of things:
- The "situation part" (the part that states the score) is the score after the home run is it.
- And, on a second note, the first part of the score is the score of the home run hitter's team. The second number represents the opponent's team.
Notes:
Carlos Pena of the Tampa Bay Rays still leads the Majors in home runs (6). Mark Reynolds (Arizona Diamondbacks), Mike Jacobs (Florida Marlins), Justin Upton (Arizona Diamondbacks), Raul Ibanez (Seattle Mariners), and Bill Hall (Milwaukee Brewers) are all tied for second place with 5 homers, along with Derrek Lee (Chicago Cubs), Pat Burrell (Philadelphia Phillies), and Chris Young (Arizona Diamondbacks), who hit their respective home runs today.
- 8 players now have 5 home runs: 7 from the National League, and 1 from the American League.
Jeff Francis of the Colorado Rockies still has 6 home runs with the lead for the most home runs surrendered so far this season. However, there is a new pitcher added to the picture for the most home runs surrendered: Scott Baker of the Minnesota Twins, who surrendered 3 long balls today to tie Jeff Francis for the lead in this disliked category. Bronson Arroyo (Cincinnati Reds), Brett Myers (Philadelphia Phillies, Roy Oswalt (Houston Astros) Jason Bergmann (Washington Nationals), and Todd Wellemeyer (St. Louis Cardinals) Andy Sonnanstine (Tampa Bay Rays) and Jason Jennings (Texas Rangers) are all tied for second place with 5.
Remember, you can always have the privilage to cast a vote for the "Homer of the Day" in the comments section down below. Feel free to discuss who should win today or who should've won yesterday.
Homer of the Day (April 14, 2008)
And the Homer of the Day of April 14, 2008, belongs to...
There's a certain kid on the Tampa Bay Rays who sent a message to the rest of the MLB after hitting his first home run on April 14th against the New York Yankees. The third game of his career was definitely an exciting one, for him and for everyone else who watched the game. It seemed like the Rays had no chance in defeating the Yankees, as the Rays trailed by 5 (7-2) in the bottom of the 7th inning.
Ian Kennedy actually pitched above average that day, going 6 innings with only 3 runs surrendered. Unfortunately for him, the Yankees' bullpen was unable to secure the win for him, and he was stuck with a "no-decision". After a Jason Bartlett single, Yankees manager Joe Girardi thought it was time to pull him out and look for 3 innings from the bullpen. They were down by 5, and Kennedy had already pitched 94, so there wasn't anything wrong with Girardi's decision. However, there was a weak link in the chain: the middle relievers. Billy Traber and Brian Bruney gave up 5 runs in the seventh inning to tie the ballgame, and the Rays were back in it.
Billy Traber replaced Kennedy and all of the sudden, the Rays were back in it. After an Akinori Iwamura line out to rightfielder Bobby Abreu, two pitches later, Carl Crawford pulled the ball over the right field wall to make the game a little closer. The score was now 7-4. Carlos Pena was up next, and was hit by a pitch on the third pitch of the at-bat. After seeing Traber pitching horrifically, and only up by 3 runs, Girardi decided to take Traber out, since it wasn't really his day.
Brian Bruney substituted Traber, and he didn't really have that much luck either. After three straight fastballs, B.J. Upton knew he was going to get another fastball. He connected, and the ball flew over the center field wall to make it a one-run-ballgame, 7-6. Girardi didn't want to do anything, since Bruney only threw 4 pitches, and Bruney hadn't surrendered a run in 7 innings before that one home run. And besides, the top of lineup was not going to bat anytime soon, so that was something positive to think about.
Next up to bat was Evan Longoria, a man who definitely has a lot to prove, as many people believe that he's a very strong candidate for the 2008 AL Rookie of the Year. Bruney was ready, Longoria was in the box, and the at-bat was under way. Longoria got ahead in the count (3-1), but fouled off one of Bruney's inside fastballs to make it a full count. What did Bruney do? He pitched in (almost) the exact same spot. What did Longoria do? Proving that he is a smart ballplayer, he looks for a fastball (just like 4 out of the 5 pitches Bruney threw to him), and the rookie hit a towering home run over that left field wall to tie the ballgame. Bruney got the blown save, but he did get the win, as Robinson Cano (who was taken out of the starting lineup because he was slumping) pinch hit for Alberto Gonzalez, and reluctantly hit a solo home run off of Al Reyes. I have no idea why Maddon relies on him so much anyway. He has really been struggling as of late, with 2 losses already and a 9.00 ERA.
The Yankees' bullpen really needs to work hard for the next couple of weeks or so because they are not really doing a great job of "relieving" their managers and starting pitchers. 7 of the 12 home runs surrendered so far off Yankees pitchers have been from relief pitchers, which is not really a great sign. With 3 home runs surrendered on the 14th, things may be even worse for the Yankees. As for the Rays, even though they lost the game, I'm sure they're pretty excited to see that Longoria has been doing well in the Majors. He is going to boost this team's confidence if he keeps hitting the way he is.
The others who received votes were:
Nate McLouth of the Pittsburgh Pirates (1)
Manny Ramirez of the Boston Red Sox (1)
Ivan Rodriguez of the Detroit Tigers (1)
On Another Matter:
Also, what do you guys think if I put the players in alphabetical order? What about inning by inning? Or do you guys like it just the way it is? I'd appreciate it if you guys could give me feedback on what I should do.
Sorry guys, for the late article. Thanks for your patience. I'll be sure to catch up. It's my weekend, and I'm free, so... you'll be sure that I'll be working for the next couple of days.
