Necessary Posting

Yesterday was a truly amazing day in sports history. If anyone reading this doesn't know why, stop reading my page. I'm serious.

I will say that the NBA Draft last night was semi-entertaining. Odom went first, Durant second, and a bunch of trades later it wasn't that bad. Aside from the fact that I now am going to have to cope with the fact that Joakim Noah is a Chicago Bull, and not throw myself through this mystifying fifth story window, it was all good.

That doesn't even come close to scratch to the other things that happened yesterday. The 3,000 Hit Club alongside the 500 Home Run Club initiated a couple new members last night after Craig Biggio and The Big Hurt Frank Thomas both reached their respective milestones.

First of all, I would like to congratulate these two guys. Secondly, I would like to say that Frank, who spent most of his career with the White Sox, and Biggio, who's spent his entire career with the Astros, have been my adversaries since about '89. I root against them, I don't like them, but today, I will congratulate their accomplishments as important pieces of baseball history.

People are talking about how 500 home runs doesn't mean anything anymore. If 500 homers wasn't all that important...if it didn't mean as much as it did...where is the line drawn? Because last I looked, we've talked about the very few guys with 600 and I am sure sometime in the next month or so we will be talking about the 700's. 500 home runs stands for consistency, longevity, and most importantly, value. Say you play for 20 years in the Major Leagues. That's more than just about anyone...but if you hit 500 homers, that means you averaged 25 a year. That means, your team, can count on you to put those numbers up year in, year out. That's consistency, and consistency as a player leads to your value. We take for granted the slumps that guys go in and where they end up. Why? We know their value, their consistency. Remember when Ryan Howard was swinging at air earlier this season? Well he quietly has 18 homers...as much as the also previously slumping Gary Sheffield. We know their going to hit because of their consistency, and The Big Hurt has made a living in his later years with the respect that clubs have for him...knowing that he's going to come up and give them close to 30 as a DH.

Remember that in the mid-90's, Frank Thomas was the best hitter in the American League, if not the Majors. That does pain me to say, but it's true. Yes, better than Griffey. More feared than Griffey. Something tells me that today, you still don't want to see him in the box.

There's a reason why I value Craig Biggio getting 3,000 hits more than you would think. Actually, there are a couple. First, Biggio started as a catcher. Became and All-Star Second Baseman, then moved to Center Field when the Astros acquired Jeff Kent. The guy has played 3 positions up the middle, all well, and he played Center in that horrible hilly outfield at Enron, or whatever it's called, it's always going to be Enron to me. His transition between defensive positions and the success he had at each I don't believe has been matched. Catchers to First. Third to First. Sheffield to anywhere. None of these showed the versatility and strength as a defensive player that Biggio has. And learning a new defensive position does take a toll on your plate appearances. I don't care what anyone says...even Joe Mauer hits better Catching than he does as the DH.

But Biggio never played for another club. He's been an Astro his entire career. And getting his 3,000th hit, at home, in front of his fans, with Jeff Bagwell there to congratulate him, in the clubhouse that he has lead for his entire career was the perfect moment for a guy who has devoted his life to his team. I'm not taking anything away from The Big Hurt for hitting his milestone Homer with a team other than the Sox, but the game has changed, and the fact that Biggio plays in a way with respect and loyalty that would be appreciated by say Ryne Sandberg, makes his milestone even more impressive. People are going to dwell on Biggio's career for about another day...then the day he get's into the Hall of Fame. He's not a big star and has always taken the backseat to guys like Clemens, Pettite, Bags, Beltran, and even Nolan Ryan. But like his changing positions, he knows how to fit a role and he will always remembered as one of the, if not the greatest Astro of all time. Biggio couldn't ask for anything better.

So yesterday was a great day for sentimental stuff. One last thing...4 great players of my generation were selected for induction to the Hockey Hall of Fame: Mark Messier, Scott Stevens, Ron Francis, and Al McInnis. All of these guys dominated on NHL '95 for the SNES. I want to mention that your best friend and mine, Michelle Wie, shot an 11 over 82 in the first round of the US Women's Open. Maybe if she went to college with Kevin Garnett...I also want to mention that Tim Henman is no longer competing in the Gentleman's Championship's at The All England Club. He got beat.

Have a better weekend than me. I will be imagining Noah in a Bulls uniform. Pain.