August 1, 2011

Tater Trot Tracker

Trot Times for July 31

by Larry Granillo

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It always seems like a great idea to plan a busy weekend filled with things to do, but then you get home and realize that you have 78 home runs to deal with in the Tater Trot Tracker. That's always a sobering moment.

This weekend also marked the non-waiver trade deadline, with seemingly more players changing teams this year than in any other year in recent history. Coincidentally, this weekend also marks the point in the year when I start putting the wrong team's name next to home run hitters.

Let's get to those trots!

Home Run of the Day: Carlos Guillen, Detroit Tigers - 28.84 seconds [video]
If this were the Home Run of the Weekend, it would go to Prince Fielder's Saturday bomb that smashed high up on the vertical beam behind the rightfield bleachers (video). It was glorious.

From Sunday's home runs, though, Guillen takes the cake. It caused a huge ruckus with Jered Weaver, who was already ticked off at the Tigers because he thought Magglio Ordonez preened on an earlier home run (Ordonez, though, was merely watching to see if the ball was fair or foul - video). After hitting the home run, Guillen very clearly and very consciously watched the ball fly. But, as he began to move down the line, Weaver started jawing at him. At that point, Guillen became more emphatic, even gesturing with his arm. It's not clear if Guillen was going to take it further as he walked out of the box, but it looked to me like Weaver elevated it. Considering the way he got upset over Ordonez's swing and the way he reacted after getting tossed for throwing at Alex Avila's head, this seems completely reasonable.

Slowest Trot: Carlos Guillen, Detroit Tigers- 28.84 seconds [video]
This was covered above. Sunday's second slowest trot was a 27.05 second trot from Dioner Navarro. On Friday, Mark Reynolds topped the lists with a 26.35 second trot while Vladimir Guerrero's 25.77 second trot topped Saturday. Jimmy Rollins was rather high on both days as well.

Quickest Trot: Gerardo Parra #1, Arizona Diamondbacks - 18.67 seconds [video]
Two things: Yes, Gerardo Parra really did hit two home runs for the Diamondbacks on Sunday in their 6-3 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers. And, over the weekend, Parra's trot came in faster than anyone else. The trot would have been even quicker if Parra hadn't decide to slow down to a crawl over the last few steps.

On Saturday, the quickest trot belonged to Seattle's Dustin Ackley. On Friday, it was Arizona's Justin Upton.

All of Today's Trots

Carlos Guillen.....28.84   Joey Votto.........21.89
Dioner Navarro.....27.05   Lance Berkman......21.36
Magglio Ordonez....25.16   Jason Bourgeois....21.35
Lyle Overbay.......24.2	   Scott Hairston #1..21.25
Alfonso Soriano....24.07   Emilio Bonifacio...20.75
Jim Thome..........23.71   Todd Frazier.......20.68
Scott Hairston #2..23.27   Ryan Roberts.......20.68
Jason Varitek......22.96   Jason Kipnis.......20.05
Gerardo Parra #2...22.76   Alex Gordon........20.02
Edwin Encarnacion..22.62   Raul Ibanez #2.....19.46
Sean Rodriguez.....22.37   Raul Ibanez #1.....19.21
Jeff Francoeur.....22.13   Gerardo Parra #1...18.67

Saturday's Trots

Vladimir Guerrero...25.77    Troy Tulowitzki.....22.57
Jimmy Rollins.......24.57    Eric Hinske.........22.4
David Freese........24.14    Jayson Werth........22.17
Prince Fielder......24.01    Andruw Jones........22.16
Mark Reynolds.......23.87    Dan Uggla...........22
Nick Swisher........23.86    Mike Napoli.........21.78
Paul Konerko........23.76    Kevin Youkilis......21.75
Ryan Howard.........23.73    Matt LaPorta........21.6
Pablo Sandoval......23.64    Albert Pujols.......21.38
Nick Swisher (G. 2).23.46    Mitch Moreland......21.14
Alfonso Soriano.....23.4     Pedro Alvarez.......21.07
Adrian Gonzalez.....23.28    Corey Hart..........20.61*
Eliezer Alfonzo.....23.27    Gordon Beckham......19.76
Matt Kemp...........22.99    Dustin Ackley.......19.54

Friday's Trots

Mark Reynolds..........26.35	 Josh Willingham #2.....22.62
Billy Butler #1........25.68	 Matt Kemp..............22.55
Ryan Roberts...........25.1	 Mark Teixeira..........22.09
Jimmy Rollins..........24.86	 Dan Uggla..............21.81
Josh Willingham #1.....24.83	 Mike Napoli............21.57
Derrek Lee.............24.65	 Alex Gordon............21.43
David Freese...........24.15	 Maicer Izturis.........21.15
Billy Butler #2........23.74	 Willie Bloomquist......20.56
Melky Cabrera..........23.73	 Jarrod Saltalamacchia..20.46
J.P. Arencibia.........23.6	 Michael Cuddyer........19.95
Nelson Cruz............23.32	 Chase Utley............19.87
A.J. Pierzynski........23.22	 Ben Zobrist............19.21
Brennan Boesch.........22.82	 Justin Upton...........19.17*