The shocking news of Darryl Kile's death Saturday brings to light some disturbing realities about professional athletes and travel.
Cubs catcher Joe Girardi brought up the fact this weekend that in professional sports today, most players have their own room when they travel. From whenever they get back to the room the night before a game until the time they have to leave for the game, they are basically unaccounted for.
Any player at any time could choke to death and no one would know until he didn't show up at the game the next day. We may never know if Kile's death could have been prevented; if a roommate would have seen something was wrong and called 911, it may have been
Do the players need that much privacy in their hotel rooms? No.
By sharing rooms, it could build better team relationships while at the same time providing a safety net against incidents like Kile's. It can't hurt.
Random stat of the week
This is a somewhat complicated, but equally interesting one. Here's how each division ranks so far this year in terms of winning percentage: 1- AL West (.580), 2- NL West (.542), 3- NL East (.526), 4- AL East (.496), 5- NL Central (.452) and 6- AL Central (.446).
Here's how it shook out last year: 1- AL West (.565), 2- NL West (.518) 3- NL East (.494), 4- NL Central (.484) 5- AL Central (.481) 6- AL East (.472). The two years look awfully similar, don't they? The three best divisions this year were also the best three last year.
Here's an interesting question to ponder: from top to bottom, are teams on the West Coast more competitive? If baseball divided it's two leagues geographically, such as the in the NBA or NHL, would the Western "conference" easily be considered the superior one?" The stats would lead you to believe so.
On the rise
After reeling off nine wins in their last 10 games, the Montreal Expos are alone in second place, five and a half games back of the Braves in the NL East. A MLB-best 27-12 home record at the least-occupied park in the bigs - Olympic Stadium - has helped the 'spos vault ahead of the Marlins and Mets.
But to really prove themselves as contenders in the East, the Expos will have to do it in their next 13 games - all on the road. They're only 13-22 away from home so far.
If they can gain a few games on the Braves by the All-Star break, things could get interesting. The Expos play four games against the Braves in Olympic Stadium right after the break.
Look out below
The Reds' impressive April and May has led to a June swoon. They're 6-13 in June and have lost seven in a row to fall two games behind the Cardinalsi in the NL Central.
Is there any explanation for this? Yes, the team has finally come back down to earth. Players like Austin Kearns and Juan Encarnacion have fallen off after hot starts, to the point where Kearns was demoted to Triple-A.
Ken Griffey Jr. pulled up lame on the bases again Sunday, and he is likely going to miss even more time. He's only played in 25 games this year and has only four RBIs to show for it.
They don't have the depth to keep up with the Cardinals, and if the Cubs or Astros run off a big winning streak, it may be all over for the Reds. In fact, it probably is already.
Reach Adam Kress at jtreered@aol.com
