THT Daily: 600!
Player News
Yesterday’s Results
Today’s Games
Standings
Game of the Day
Yesterday’s Home Runs
Top Minor League Performances
You can always find the most recent THT Daily at http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/content/thtdaily/ and an archive at http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/thtdaily_index/
On this day at THT: Four years ago, Matthew Namee conducted an interview with Wichita State star Mike Pelfrey.
Player News
Player Headlines are courtesy of Rotoworld
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| For the 600th time, Griffey watches one of his blasts clear the fence. (Icon/SMI) |
Ken Griffey Jr. hit career homer No. 600 in the first inning Monday against Mark Hendrickson. With a crowd of maybe 10,000-12,000 in Florida to watch it. Griffey’s shot was a no-doubter to right field. It was his first homer of June and seventh of the season. He’s the sixth player to reach 600 homers, and he’s now 10 away from passing Sammy Sosa for fifth place all-time. For more about the occasion, read Joe Posnanski’s 600 Words for Junior.
Nick Swisher went 2-for-2 with two home runs as the White Sox swept the Twins on Monday afternoon. It was the first time the Sox had swept the Twins in a four game series since the 70s. Swisher finished with two runs scored, three RBI and two walks. He had a homer from each side of the plate, putting an exclamation point on a series in which he went 8-for-14 with two doubles and three homers, raising his average to .228. He’s enjoying an eight-game hitting streak, and mixed leaguers looking for some power should make sure he wasn’t dropped.
Mariners fired hitting coach Jeff Pentland. The Mariners have the game’s worst record despite a top-10 payroll, and it’s obviously Pentland’s fault. He’ll know better next time not to overpay for Richie Sexson, Carlos Silva, Miguel Batista and Jarrod Washburn. Also, he never should have traded for Jose Vidro and put together a ridiculous bench that included Miguel Cairo and Willie Bloomquist. And that’s glossing over his biggest mistake of all: he saw two lesbians kissing at Safeco Field and did absolutely nothing to stop them. Lee Elia, his replacement, is very capable of putting the fans in their place when he needs to.
The Mets have reportedly placed Ryan Church on the disabled list because of the aftereffects of a concussion. Moises Alou could come off the DL to replace him before Tuesday’s game. The Mets obviously have no idea when Church will be ready to play again. This could turn out to be a long-term problem. Fernando Tatis and Endy Chavez will be part of the committee of right fielders for now.
Tigers manager Jim Leyland said he plans to have Ivan Rodriguez and Brandon Inge catch every other game for now. “I’m sure this doesn’t make Pudge happy,” Leyland said. “He’s a gamer. But you have to do what’s right. Maybe less is best. Maybe he can bounce back fresh and get it rolling. He’s in as good of shape as anybody we’ve got, but when you catch that many games, you get worn down.” Rodriguez owners would have more reason for concern if the Tigers stuck with any plan for more than a week lately. Odds are that this won’t last. However, it does suggest that the Tigers will seek to move Rodriguez in July if they’re out of the race.
Brewers placed second baseman Rickie Weeks on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to June 7, with a sprained left knee. He won’t need surgery, but it sounds like he could be out a while. “We’re still undetermined on his long-term status,” Brewers assistant general manager Gord Ash said. “There’s no real certainty on how long it will take to get him [healthy].” He’s eligible to return on June 22.
The Cardinals will place Adam Wainwright on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained right middle finger. Joel Pineiro apparently will come off the DL without making a rehab start and replace Wainwright later this week. The Cardinals sure haven’t been afraid to give games away with their starting pitching decisions lately.
Jerry Hairston Jr. suffered a fractured left thumb in the first inning Monday and will go on the disabled list. Hairston was injured while sliding into second in the first of his two steals in the first inning. The Reds will likely call up Adam Rosales to serve as a backup infielder until Jeff Keppinger returns. Paul Janish figures to be the regular shortstop for at least a week.
Yesterday’s Results
Game recaps courtesy of Craig Calcaterra.
Reds 9, Marlins 6: 600. Because I did it for Chipper, I’ll do it for Jr.: #1: Eric King; #100: Billy Brewer; #200: Vaughn Eshelman; #300: Jose Mesa; #400: Rolando Arrojo; #500: Matt Morris; #600: Mark Hendrickson.
Royals 3, Yankees 2: Jose Guillen wins the game on a homer in the ninth, then does a bunch of fist pumps or something that got the otherwise placid Mariano Rivera angry, and the jawing commenced. Please mark August 15th on your calendar, for that is the day the big Yankees-Royals brawl is scheduled.
Indians 8, Tigers 2: D-Train gets an F (1.1 IP, 3 H, 8 ER, 5 BB). Cliff Lee isn’t pitching like he did in April and early May, but he keeps winning, and now stands at 10-1.
Rays 13, Angels 4: Isn’t it so much nicer when we all get along?
Pirates 5, Diamondbacks 4: Randy Johnson was wild, it was hot, and the Pirates were scoring runs on little dinks, bloops, and bad Diamondback defense. To top it off, a Pirate fan reached over to grab a ball that may or may not have gone over the fence on its own, and the umps reversed their original call, taking away a Diamondback home run. Just sounds like a miserable day for Arizona.
In other action:
You can download a compact version of yesterday’s boxscores from Heater Magazine.
| First Inning’s Major and Minor League Daily Reports: |
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Today’s Games
National League --------------- Washington Nationals at Pittsburgh Pirates, 7:05 PM (R) Tim Redding (6-3) vs. (L) Paul Maholm (4-5) Arizona Diamondbacks at New York Mets, 7:10 PM (R) Micah Owings (6-4) vs. (R) John Maine (6-4) Philadelphia Phillies at Florida Marlins, 7:10 PM (R) Brett Myers (3-7) vs. (R) Ricky Nolasco (5-4) St. Louis Cardinals at Cincinnati Reds, 7:10 PM (R) Mitchell Boggs (0-0) vs. (R) Homer Bailey (0-1) Milwaukee Brewers at Houston Astros, 8:05 PM (R) Seth McClung (3-2) vs. (R) Roy Oswalt (4-6) Atlanta Braves at Chicago Cubs, 8:05 PM (L) Tom Glavine (2-2) vs. (L) Ted Lilly (5-5) San Francisco Giants at Colorado Rockies, 9:05 PM (L) Patrick Misch (0-2) vs. (R) Aaron Cook (8-3) Los Angeles Dodgers at San Diego Padres, 10:05 PM (L) Clayton Kershaw (0-1) vs. (R) Greg Maddux (3-4) American League --------------- Baltimore Orioles at Boston Red Sox, 6:05 PM (R) Daniel Cabrera (5-2) vs. (R) Josh Beckett (6-4) Chicago White Sox at Detroit Tigers, 7:05 PM (R) Jose Contreras (6-3) vs. (L) Nate Robertson (3-6) Minnesota Twins at Cleveland Indians, 7:05 PM (R) Scott Baker (2-0) vs. (L) C.C. Sabathia (3-8) Seattle Mariners at Toronto Blue Jays, 7:07 PM (R) Carlos Silva (3-6) vs. (R) Dustin McGowan (4-4) Texas Rangers at Kansas City Royals, 8:10 PM (R) Kevin Millwood (4-3) vs. (R) Gil Meche (3-8) Tampa Bay Rays at LA Angels of Anaheim, 10:05 PM (R) James Shields (4-4) vs. (R) Jered Weaver (5-6) New York Yankees at Oakland Athletics, 10:05 PM (R) Chien-Ming Wang (6-2) vs. (L) Dana Eveland (4-4)
Standings
The graphics next to each team are called “sparklines.” They depict each team’s performance over the last month. Each “up” bar is a victory and a “down” bar is a loss. There are horizontal lines for home games and red bars represent games decided by two runs or less. “PWins” is short for Projected Wins, based on each team’s Run Differential, and is often a better measure of a team’s true strength. Other team graphs and stats can be found on our Team Page.
American League East Pwins Diff BOS 40 26 .606 0.0 39 1TB 38 26 .594 1.0 35 3
BAL 31 31 .500 7.0 30 1
NYA 32 32 .500 7.0 31 1
TOR 33 33 .500 7.0 36 -3
American League Central CHA 37 26 .587 0.0 40 -3
MIN 31 33 .484 6.5 29 2
CLE 29 35 .453 8.5 33 -4
DET 26 37 .413 11.0 29 -3
KC 25 39 .391 12.5 25 0
American League West LAA 39 26 .600 0.0 32 7
OAK 34 29 .540 4.0 37 -3
TEX 32 33 .492 7.0 31 1
SEA 23 41 .359 15.5 26 -3
National League East Pwins Diff PHI 39 26 .600 0.0 40 -1
FLA 34 29 .540 4.0 31 3
ATL 32 32 .500 6.5 37 -5
NYN 30 32 .484 7.5 31 -1
WAS 25 40 .385 14.0 24 1
National League Central CHN 40 24 .625 0.0 41 -1
STL 38 27 .585 2.5 36 2
MIL 33 30 .524 6.5 31 2
HOU 32 32 .500 8.0 31 1
PIT 31 33 .484 9.0 30 1
CIN 31 34 .477 9.5 31 0
National League West ARI 34 30 .531 0.0 36 -2
LAN 30 33 .476 3.5 33 -3
SF 29 35 .453 5.0 29 0
SD 28 37 .431 6.5 26 2
COL 24 39 .381 9.5 25 -1
Game of the Day
Royals 3, Yankees 2 - FINAL
KANSAS CITY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D DeJesus lf 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 .298
M Grudzielanek 2b 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 .287
M Teahen 1b 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 .249
J Guillen rf 4 2 2 1 0 0 0 .269
A Gordon 3b 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 .263
M Olivo dh 4 1 2 2 0 1 0 .289
J Buck c 4 0 1 0 0 1 2 .252
M Aviles ss 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 .294
T Pena ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .155
J Gathright cf 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 .240
Totals 33 3 8 3 0 5 7 ###
NY YANKEES ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Damon lf 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 .326
D Jeter ss 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 .276
B Abreu rf 4 1 1 0 0 1 3 .289
A Rodriguez 3b 4 1 2 2 0 1 1 .317
H Matsui dh 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 .323
J Giambi 1b 3 0 0 0 1 1 0 .254
W Betemit pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .240
R Cano 2b 4 0 1 0 0 1 2 .231
J Molina c 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 .217
ha-J Posada ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .311
C Moeller pr-c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .254
M Cabrera cf 3 0 0 0 0 1 3 .270
Totals 32 2 6 2 2 7 13 ###
----------------------------------------------------
KANSAS CITY - 000 000 201 -- 3 8 1
NY YANKEES - 000 000 200 -- 2 6 0
----------------------------------------------------
ha-singled to right for J Molina in the 8th.
BATTING: 2B - J Guillen (21, M Mussina); M Aviles (3, M Mussina); B Abreu (14,
L Hochevar). HR - M Olivo (8, 7th inning off M Mussina 1 on, 2 Out), A
Rodriguez (10, 7th inning off L Hochevar 1 on, 0 Out), J Guillen (11, 9th
inning off M Rivera 0 on, 0 Out). S - J Gathright , M Cabrera. RBI - M Olivo 2
(25), J Guillen (48), A Rodriguez 2 (31). 2-out RBI - M Olivo 2. Runners left
in scoring position, 2 out - M Grudzielanek 1, J Gathright 2, A Rodriguez 1, B
Abreu 1, J Molina 1, M Cabrera 2. GIDP - J Buck. Team LOB - KANSAS CITY 4, NY
YANKEES 7. BASERUNNING: SB - J Damon (11, 2nd base off L Hochevar/J Buck).
FIELDING: E - J Guillen (2, bobble). DP: (R Cano-D Jeter-J Giambi).
KANSAS CITY ip h r er bb so hr era
L Hochevar 6 4 2 2 0 4 1 4.91
R Ramirez 1 2/3 1 0 0 1 2 0 3.30
Y Yabuta (W, 1-0) 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 4.91
J Soria (S, 14) 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 1.61
NY YANKEES ip h r er bb so hr era
M Mussina 8 7 2 2 0 3 1 3.82
M Rivera (L, 2-2) 1 1 1 1 0 2 1 0.93
L Hochevar pitched to 2 batters in the 7th.
HBP - C Moeller (by J Soria). Pitches-strikes: L Hochevar 87-56; R Ramirez
29-16; Y Yabuta 7-4; J Soria 18-10; M Mussina 89-65; M Rivera 13-12. Ground
balls-fly balls: L Hochevar 7-7; R Ramirez 2-1; Y Yabuta 1-0; J Soria 1-1; M
Mussina 12-9; M Rivera 1-0. Batters faced: L Hochevar 22; R Ramirez 7; Y Yabuta
1; J Soria 6; M Mussina 30; M Rivera 4. UMPIRES: HP--Chris Tiller. 1B--Ed
Montague. 2B--Jim Wolf. 3B--Phil Cuzzi. T--2:47. Att--53,633. Weather: 94
degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 11 mph, out to right.
The following graph tracks the game’s Win Probability, courtesy of Fan Graphs. You can also view live WPA graphs at Fangraphs during any ballgame all season long.
Yesterday’s Home Runs
The following stats are provided by Hit Tracker, which logs the projected “true” distance of each home run (if it were to land uninterrupted at field level) and its “standard” distance, which is corrected for weather conditions. Each homer is also categorized into one of three types: Just Enough (JE) for homers that cleared the fence by ten feet or less, Plenty (PL) for those that were sure home runs but not “blasts,” and No Doubt (ND) for true “blasts”—homers that cleared the fence by at least 20 feet and landed at least 50 feet beyond the fence.
Hitter Team Pitcher Team True Stnd. # Type Willy Aybar TB Joe Saunders LAA 397 382 2 JE/L Paul Bako CIN Mark Hendrickson FLA 398 400 6 PL Paul Bako CIN Renyel Pinto FLA 369 374 5 PL Stephen Drew ARI Damaso Marte PIT 359 362 9 PL Ryan Garko CLE Dontrelle Willis DET 387 373 6 PL Ken Griffey CIN Mark Hendrickson FLA 406 411 7 ND Jose Guillen KC Mariano Rivera NYY 389 342 12 JE/L Torii Hunter LAA Edwin Jackson TB 419 413 8 PL Mike Jacobs FLA Bill Bray CIN 393 407 14 PL Paul Konerko CWS Matt Guerrier MIN 351 348 8 JE Evan Longoria TB Joe Saunders LAA 431 415 10 ND Evan Longoria TB Darren Oliver LAA 385 380 9 JE Dioner Navarro TB Joe Saunders LAA 391 380 3 PL Miguel Olivo KC Mike Mussina NYY 399 372 8 PL Brandon Phillips CIN Mark Hendrickson FLA 393 387 11 JE/L Mark Reynolds ARI Zach Duke PIT 406 389 14 JE Alex Rodriguez NYY Luke Hochevar KC 380 345 10 PL Kelly Shoppach CLE Dontrelle Willis DET 397 385 2 PL Nick Swisher CWS Glen Perkins MIN 376 373 8 PL Nick Swisher CWS Jesse Crain MIN 410 406 7 PL Jose Vidro SEA Jesse Litsch TOR 421 419 4 ND
Top Minor League Games
The following list, provided by First Inning, includes the top minor league batting (based on Runs Created) and pitching (based on Game Score) performances from yesterday, with a focus on each team’s top prospects.
ORG LVL PLAYER AB H 2B 3B HR BB SO Notes MIL AA Matt LaPorta...... 3 2 0 0 2 1 0 LA AA Russell Mitchell.. 4 2 0 0 2 1 0 4 RBI FLA AA C. Coghlan........ 5 2 0 0 2 0 0 SD A+ Mitch Canham...... 6 3 2 0 0 0 0 3 R LA A+ Carlos Santana.... 5 2 2 0 0 1 0 3 R SD AAA Chase Headley..... 5 2 2 0 0 0 0 TEX AAA C. Davis.......... 4 2 2 0 0 0 2 CLE AAA Jordan Brown...... 3 2 0 0 1 1 0 FLA AA Gaby Sanchez...... 4 2 2 0 0 0 0 TEX A Ian Gac........... 3 2 0 0 1 1 0 SF AAA Nate Schierholtz.. 4 2 0 0 1 0 0 FLA AAA Jai Miller........ 2 1 1 0 0 2 1 ORG LVL PLAYER IP H R ER SO BB HR Notes KC A Daniel Duffy...... 5 2 2 0 8 0 0 SF A+ Benjamin Snyder... 8 4 0 0 7 2 0 TEX A Neftali Feliz..... 5 4 1 1 9 2 0 OAK AA Vincent Mazzaro... 6 5 2 1 6 1 0 11 GB MIN AAA Brian Duensing.... 7 5 0 0 3 0 0 14 GB SD A+ Cory Luebke....... 6 4 3 2 5 2 0 TEX A+ Kasey Kiker....... 7 9 3 3 5 2 0 NYY AAA Daniel McCutchen.. 6 6 4 4 4 2 0 COL AA Brandon Hynick.... 7 6 3 2 3 2 0 OAK A+ Trevor Cahill..... 7 4 1 1 4 4 0 LAA A Jordan Walden..... 5 5 3 3 3 1 0 CHC A+ Jose Ceda......... 2 1 0 0 3 0 0
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