#75 Juan Guzman

About the Front: Juan Guzman's forearm is cocked back at a 90 degree angle to his upper arm. I'll say again: it's actually a wonder that there aren't MORE pitcher injuries than there already are.

About the Back: I wonder what brought about the grimace on Juan's face. Maybe someone just told him that he'll never win 16 games in a season again.

Triple Play:

1. In 1996, Guzman led the American League with a 2.93 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 3.11 to 1.

2. Juan was an Oriole for one calendar year, going 9-13 with a 4.20 ERA. But the Orioles acquired him at the trade deadline in 1998 for a pair of prospects that didn't pan out, then flipped him to the Reds in 1999 for raw pitching prospect Jacobo Sequea and rookie reliever B. J. Ryan. Ryan was a mainstay in the Baltimore bullpen for the next six and a half years, and was phenomenal in 2004-2005 (2.35 ERA, 39 saves, 12.7 K/9).

3. He threw a league-high 26 wild pitches in 1993, joining Tony Cloninger (27 in 1966) as the only pitchers post-World War I to toss more than 25 wild pitches in a single season.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: Was I the only one who thought that Guzman kind of looked like Little Richard?

Bill James Said: (Regarding Juan's all-time best winning percentage of .784 and 40-11 career record) "That's the kind of record which is held by many people in turn, each of whom surrenders it as soon as he has a tough season." Guzman had just a .429 win percentage (51-68) in the remaining seven seasons of his career, leaving him with a less-gaudy .535 mark overall.

On This Date in 1993: September 10. Greg Maddux wins his 18th game, striking out nine Padres in a 3-2 victory. Fred McGriff hits his 32nd home run, victimizing the San Diego club that traded him away earlier in the season. With the win and the Giants' 6-2 loss to the Cardinals, Atlanta gains a share of first place in the National League West for the first time since April 14. The Braves had trailed San Francisco by ten games on July 22 and were nine back as late as August 11 before really catching fire.