THT Daily: Closing Security in St. Louis
Major League News for August 28
Player News
Yesterday’s Results
Today’s Games
Standings
Top Minor League Performances
You can always find the most recent THT Daily at http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/content/thtdaily/
Player News
Player Headlines are courtesy of Rotoworld
According to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney, the Giants have put in a waiver claim on Milwaukee closer Trevor Hoffman.
The Brewers are going to demand a lot for the all-time saves leader and many, including Olney, think a deal won’t get done. In making the claim, the Giants blocked the division rival Rockies and Dodgers from grabbing him, so it wasn’t a complete waste of time.
Victor Martinez told reporters Thursday evening that he is open to signing a contract extension with the Red Sox.
“Definitely,” said the catcher-first baseman. “Who wouldn’t want to play here in Boston? It’s up to them, but from my side, I would want to stay here.” He has a club option for 2010 that could be picked up as part of the new agreement. Martinez, 30, is batting .313/.385/.521 since joining the Red Sox.
Conor Jackson, on the disabled list with valley fever, acknowledged Thursday that his season is likely over.
“I see more risks to me trying to come back than I do benefits,” Jackson said. “Obviously, I want to come back, but I have to be smart about it.” There’s some talk that the Diamondbacks may not tender him a contract this December. If that’s the case, he’ll become a free agent.
An MRI Thursday on Bengie Molina’s right quad revealed a mild strain.
Molina has already missed three straight games and could miss several more. Eli Whiteside will continue drawing starts behind the plate.
Red Sox manager Terry Francona is confident that Jacoby Ellsbury’s sprained ankle is not serious.
Ellsbury suffered the injury Thursday evening while sliding into home plate. “We’re certainly going to check with him [Friday],” said Francona. “I don’t think it will be anything more than a nagging thing, and I’m glad we took him out. Got some ice on it, got it treated, and I’m hopeful that it’ll be fine.” Still, the speedy center fielder is likely to miss a game or two.
According to the New York Daily News, Mets shortstop Jose Reyes (hamstring) may be next in line for surgery.
Reyes, who has been out since May 20, reportedly has a completely torn hamstring tendon behind his right knee. It wouldn’t be a major procedure, but could speed up his recovery as he prepares for next season. He’ll join fellow Mets teammates Oliver Perez and Johan Santana in the operating room.
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals are nearing a two-year extension with closer Ryan Franklin.
Franklin’s 2010 $2.75 million club option will be picked up as part of the agreement, and he’ll be paid $3.75 million in 2011. The deal also includes plenty of performance-based incentives. Franklin, 36, is enjoying a breakout season with a 1.07 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 34 saves in 36 chances. A regression back to the mean is to be expected, but the Cardinals are not being forced to shell out closer-type cash. It’s a superb bargain.
According to Mike Petraglia of WEEI.com, Jacoby Ellsbury has been diagnosed with a mild left ankle sprain.
Ellsbury suffered the injury on a feet-first slide Thursday night. He probably shouldn’t have been sent home in the first place, but that’s a non-issue now. The speedy outfielder is likely to need two or three days off. Rocco Baldelli should pick up a couple of starts in his place.
Adam Jones (back) is hoping to return to the lineup Friday night.
Jones injured his back Sunday afternoon and hasn’t played since. “He’s close to being ready to play,” said manager Dave Trembley. “He’s not happy that he’s not playing, but at the advice of our head athletic trainer, we’re going to give him another day and hope we can get him out there [Friday].”
Yesterday’s Results
For the full scoop regarding yesterday’s games, read “And That Happened” at Shysterball.
American League CLE 5 BAL 4 (Recap and Boxscore) CHA 9 BOS 5 (Recap and Boxscore) TEX 7 NYA 2 (Recap and Boxscore) OAK 2 LAA 0 (Recap and Boxscore) KC 8 SEA 4 (Recap and Boxscore) National League ATL 9 SD 1 (Recap and Boxscore) NYN 10 FLA 3 (Recap and Boxscore) WAS 5 CHN 4 (Recap and Boxscore) CIN 8 MIL 5 (Recap and Boxscore) PIT 3 PHI 2 (Recap and Boxscore) HOU 4 STL 3 (Recap and Boxscore) LAN 3 COL 2 (Recap and Boxscore) ARI 11 SF 0 (Recap and Boxscore)
Check out Fangraphs’ scoreboard to see all the games in action.
Today’s Games
WhiteSox (64-64) @ Yankees (79-48), 7:05pm
Mark Buehrle (30, LHP) vs. C.C. Sabathia (28, LHP)
Rays (69-57) @ Tigers (67-59), 7:05pm
Matt Garza (25, RHP) vs. Rick Porcello (20, RHP)
Indians (57-70) @ Orioles (52-76), 7:05pm
Fausto Carmona (25, RHP) vs. Jason Berken (25, RHP)
Blue Jays (58-67) @ RedSox (73-54), 7:10pm
Scott Richmond (29, RHP) vs. Josh Beckett (29, RHP)
Rangers (71-55) @ Twins (63-64), 8:10pm
Tommy Hunter (22, RHP) vs. Brian Duensing (26, LHP)
Athletics (56-71) @ Angels (75-51), 10:05pm
Brett Tomko (36, RHP) vs. Trevor Bell (22, RHP)
Royals (49-78) @ Mariners (66-62), 10:10pm
Brian Bannister (28, RHP) vs. Felix Hernandez (23, RHP)
Mets (58-70) @ Cubs (63-62), 2:20pm
Patrick Misch (27, LHP) vs. Ted Lilly (33, LHP)
Braves (67-60) @ Phillies (73-52), 7:05pm
Tommy Hanson (22, RHP) vs. Pedro Martinez (37, RHP)
Padres (54-75) @ Marlins (67-60), 7:10pm
Kevin Correia (28, RHP) vs. Chris Volstad (22, RHP)
Dodgers (76-52) @ Reds (55-71), 7:10pm
Chad Billingsley (24, RHP) vs. Homer Bailey (23, RHP)
Pirates (53-72) @ Brewers (61-66), 8:05pm
Zach Duke (26, LHP) vs. Manny Parra (26, LHP)
Nationals (46-82) @ Cardinals (74-55), 8:15pm
John Lannan (24, LHP) vs. John Smoltz (42, RHP)
Astros (62-65) @ D'backs (56-72), 9:40pm
Yorman Bazardo (24, RHP) vs. Max Scherzer (24, RHP)
Rockies (72-56) @ Giants (69-59), 10:15pm
Ubaldo Jimenez (25, RHP) vs. Tim Lincecum (25, RHP)
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 NYA 79 48 .622 0.0 74 5BOS 73 54 .575 6.0 73 0
TB 69 57 .548 9.5 71 -2
TOR 58 67 .464 20.0 64 -6
BAL 52 76 .406 27.5 55 -3
American League Central DET 67 59 .532 0.0 64 3
CHA 64 64 .500 4.0 65 -1
MIN 63 64 .496 4.5 64 -1
CLE 57 70 .449 10.5 62 -5
KC 49 78 .386 18.5 50 -1
American League West LAA 75 51 .595 0.0 70 5
TEX 71 55 .563 4.0 69 2
SEA 66 62 .516 10.0 59 7
OAK 56 71 .441 19.5 60 -4
National League East Pwins Diff PHI 73 52 .584 0.0 73 0
ATL 67 60 .528 7.0 70 -3
FLA 67 60 .528 7.0 63 4
NYN 58 70 .453 16.5 58 0
WAS 46 82 .359 28.5 54 -8
National League Central STL 74 55 .574 0.0 72 2
CHN 63 62 .504 9.0 64 -1
HOU 62 65 .488 11.0 56 6
MIL 61 66 .480 12.0 60 1
CIN 55 71 .437 17.5 53 2
PIT 53 72 .424 19.0 56 -3
National League West LAN 76 52 .594 0.0 78 -2
COL 72 56 .563 4.0 72 0
SF 69 59 .539 7.0 67 2
ARI 56 72 .438 20.0 60 -4
SD 54 75 .419 22.5 48 6
Wildcard Standings American League BOS 73 54 .575 0.0 TEX 71 55 .563 1.5 TB 69 57 .548 3.5 SEA 66 62 .516 7.5 CHA 64 64 .500 9.5 National League COL 72 56 .563 0.0 SF 69 59 .539 3.0 ATL 67 60 .528 4.5 FLA 67 60 .528 4.5 CHN 63 62 .504 7.5
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.
ORG LVL PLAYER AB H 2B 3B HR BB SO Notes CLE AA L. Chisenhall..... 3 2 0 0 2 2 1 COL A- Kent Matthes...... 4 3 3 0 0 1 0 PIT AA Pedro Alvarez..... 5 3 0 0 2 0 0 3 R OAK A+ Greg Desme........ 3 2 0 0 2 1 0 3 R LAA AAA C. Pettit......... 4 2 1 0 1 1 1 LAA AA Peter Bourjos..... 5 4 1 0 0 1 0 4 LD BOS AA Lars Anderson..... 5 3 1 0 1 0 0 STL AAA Allen Craig....... 4 3 0 0 1 1 1 3 R DET AAA Scott Sizemore.... 4 2 2 0 0 1 0 OAK AA Jemile Weeks...... 4 2 1 0 1 0 0 4 RBI LAA AA Mark Trumbo....... 5 2 0 1 1 0 1 3 R NYY A- Neil Medchill..... 3 2 0 0 1 2 1 ORG LVL PLAYER IP H R ER SO BB HR Notes TEX AAA G. Moscoso........ 5 1 0 0 6 0 0 HOU A Ross Seaton....... 6 5 2 1 5 0 0 MIL A+ Evan Anundsen..... 6 4 0 0 5 1 0 CLE AAA Carlos Carrasco... 7 4 2 1 3 1 0 WAN AA Bradley Meyers.... 6 6 2 2 5 1 0 13 GB BOS A+ Stephen Fife...... 6 6 1 0 5 1 0 12 GB NYY A Manuel Banuelos... 2 1 0 0 5 0 0 COL A+ C. Friedrich...... 5 5 2 2 7 3 0 ATL A Randall Delgado... 3 2 1 1 5 1 0 TEX A- Robert Ross....... 6 4 2 1 5 1 1 15 GB CLE A+ Alexander Perez... 4 2 1 1 5 2 0 TEX A Wilmer Font....... 4 5 4 4 6 2 0
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