THT Daily: Cubs sweep Sox
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: I posted one of my first-year Ten Things articles, learning, among nine other things, that MLB players are fined much less than other athletes.
Player News
Player Headlines are courtesy of Rotoworld
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| Justin Duchscherer was on yesterday. (Icon/SMI) |
Mark Teixeira smacked three home runs to drive in four runs against the Mariners on Sunday. Teixeira hit a pair of solo shots off starter Carlos Silva, then added a two-run blast off reliever Ryan Rowland-Smith. Teixeira didn’t heat up in May as he usually does and hadn’t really done so in June either, but six of his 13 home runs on the season have come this month. He only figures to continue to improve.
Ian Snell will have an MRI on his elbow on Monday after complaining of soreness following Sunday’s game. There was no indication that this was a problem prior to today’s start. “We are going to run some tests tomorrow,” manager John Russell said. “Hopefully it’s not anything major but we’ll get some tests run and go from there. He didn’t feel right today and he has a little irritation.” The Pirates just lost Phil Dumatrait and have no adequate rotation depth, so it’d be a tough blow if Snell goes on the DL.
Yesterday’s Results
Game recaps courtesy of Craig Calcaterra.
Tigers 5, Padres 3: Because I was an 11 year-old obsessed Tigers fan in 1984, I have always thought of the Padres and Tigers as rivals. It makes no sense, really, because they share pretty much nothing apart from that one lopsided, forgone conclusion of a World Series. They have not had an uncommon number of common players, and there have been no further notable matchups. As of now, it’s just another random interleague series, the sort of which become less and less special as the years go on.
Or is it? Longtime ShysterBall reader and Michigan native Luke Himebaugh reports from Saturday night’s Tigers-Padres tilt:
TONS of Tigers fans. TONS. I don’t think, other than a close rivalry, I’ve ever seen so many visiting team logos around. I know a bunch of us out here are transplanted Michiganders, but it was insane! I swear during the 7th inning stretch, you heard more “root, root, root for the TIGERS” than anything.
On that note, I completely missed the Padres half of the 7th. Why? Because two drunk jackholes (one a Padres fan, one a Tigers fan) got into a fight . . . punching. Seriously. My first thought was “uh, aren’t these two sub-.500 teams in the two worst divisions in baseball? What’s there to fight about?” I mean, is the Padres fan holding a grudge from 1984 (he looked old enough to do so)? Or, is it a grudge from 2003, when the Tigers were one of the historically bad teams and they came into San Diego and took two of three en route to their 43-win season? Detroit has visited San Diego exactly 3 times in the 40-year history of the Padres. It’s not like there’s a lot of historic rivalry built up. Really, I was amazed by the amount of Tigers fans there. The amount of Old English D’s on clothing.
I called my San Diego-residing and, unlike me, still-Tiger-faithful brother last night to confirm he wasn’t in the fight (we worry about him sometimes). I got his voicemail. Maybe he’s still in the drunk tank. Maybe he’s on the lam. If anyone saw the fight, he was probably the one wearing a Wings jersey, Dickeys dungarees, and purple Dr. Marten boots.
Angels 3, Phillies 2: The second best division leader in the NL is swept by the second best division leader in the AL. That pretty much sums up this league disparity thing. Which kills an NL guy like me, but there’s no sense continuing to rail against the obvious.
Royals 11, Giants 10: The second to the worst team in the NL loses two of three to the second to the worst team in the AL. That pretty much sums up this league disparity thing. Which kills an NL guy like me, but there’s no sense continuing to rail against the obvious.
Red Sox 5, Cardinals 3: I don’t get to watch much baseball on the weekends. That’s my big time with the kids, and when I’m not playing with them there are too many things that need to be done around the house. Sometimes, though, I plot and plan in order to get a little bit of baseball watching in. I embark on some project that can be done in the basement where, it just so happens, I have a TV set up. Or I get the kids really involved in some self-sufficient activity like building a cushion fort while I sit on the lounger and catch a few innings. This may sound pathetic to a lot of you, but the married-with-kids guys understand.
Yesterday was a pretty full damn day, but at some point in the middle of the afternoon my wife went to the grocery store, my daughter went to her room to play with her Polly Pockets, and my son decided to chase one of the cats. I knew it wasn’t the biggest of windows, but I jumped for the remote and turned the Sox and Cards on. Wouldn’t you know it: rain delay. And it went on for like 45 minutes. Just as play was resuming, my wife came home, my daughter came downstairs, my son gave up on the cat, and I was back in family time. It’s OK — I get enough baseball in during the week — but man, those lost opportunities really stink.
Mets 3, Rockies 1: The Mets wrap up a nice, calm, and uneventful 4-2 road trip.
Yankees 4, Reds 1: Andy Pettitte plays stopper again, winning his fifth straight decision and preventing the sweep. Ever since he beat John Smoltz 1-0 in Game Five of the 1996 World Series, I’ve really wanted to hate this guy. To hate his low brim. His slick pickoff move. His stuff that, while crisp enough, looks like it should be more hittable than it is. I’ve tried hard to hate him or, at the very least, to root against him over the years because he always seemed to be giving guys I like better than him hell. But you know what? I just can’t do it. To my knowledge he’s never had a jerk spell off the field. He’s always been ready to take the ball. He always seems to start a game with a plan and with the right mix of caution and confidence, no matter how well or how poorly he’s pitched in recent games. The HGH stuff is irrelevant to my assessment of him, but even if you disagree, you have to admit that he handled it all about as well as anyone could have handled it. I’ve even come to like that low brim, slick pickoff move, and stuff that, while crisp enough, looks like it should be more hittable than it is. I don’t like the Yankees much and I’ve never liked the Astros, but man, I have to admit that I have nothing but respect and admiration for Andy Pettitte.
Rangers 5, Nats 3: Following up on Friday’s advice column post, Charles Kitchen has written in to report on his conduct:
I did not boo until extra innings on Friday night. The game just would not end and I let my frustration get the better of me. I did not boo the next two games.
Good for you, Charles. And you’re excused for booing Friday night’s game. For those who don’t follow the Nats and Rangers closely (i.e. all of you as far as I know, with the exception of Charles, Needham and Royce), the 14 inning affair meant that after-game fireworks were canceled and fans were subjected to two of Washington’s shamelessly derivative Presidents races.
Astros 3, Rays 2: A team playing about the worst baseball in the game waltzes into the stadium of one of the best home teams in the game and takes two of three. Go figure.
Dodgers 4, Indians 3: Paul Byrd has definitely been the weak link of the Indians’ rotation this season. No, I suppose four runs over seven innings isn’t terrible, but when they all come in the first inning, it really changes the game, ya know?
Brewers 7, Orioles 3: Prince Fielder ( 3-4, 2B, 2 HR, 3 RBI) continues his torrid June during which he has raised his OPS around .100 points. The Brewers are still behind St. Louis, but right now they’re my favorite to win the Wild Card.
A’s 7, Marlins 1: Justin Duchscherer lowers his ERA to 1.99. He’s now 4-0 in June and will probably go to the All-Star game in Yankee Stadium. I’m guessing that exactly 3 baseball writers in the New York Metropolitan area have any idea who he is. Marchman is one because he knows everything. The other ones were the two beat reporters who drew the short straws and had to stay for the whole June 11th game when Duscherer beat the Yankees (everyone else was watching Erin Andrews’ yellow dress that night).
Twins 5, Diamondbacks 3: Look, none of us are proud about those “can Webb win 30?” conversations from last month, so let’s all just pretend they never happened and never speak of it again, OK?
Cubs 7, White Sox 1: A pretty dominating sweep of the Chisox makes for fourteen wins in a row at Wrigley for the Cubbies. Like the Celtics, the Cubs may play in the inferior league/conference, but they are clearly the best team in the game. If you don’t think so, ask yourself: before the season, if someone would have told you that the Cubs were going to lose Soriano and Zambrano to injuries, how many wins would you have put them down for?
Blue Jays 5, Indians 3: Jimmy Key scatters six hits and three runs over nine innings and George Bell and Lloyd Moseby go deep as Cito Gaston gets his first win as Blue Jays’ manager. Meanwhile in West Virginia, a young Shyster has his heart broken via a note informing him that his sophomore crush likes him, but doesn’t like-like him. He keeps his composure, however, and vows to redouble his efforts at attaining her like-like once he gets his driver’s license in July.
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 --------------- Milwaukee Brewers at Atlanta Braves, 7:10 PM (R) Ben Sheets (8-1) vs. (L) Jo-Jo Reyes (3-4) Inter-League ------------ Arizona Diamondbacks at Boston Red Sox, 7:05 PM (R) Dan Haren (7-4) vs. (R) Josh Beckett (7-4) LA Angels of Anaheim at Washington Nationals, 7:10 PM (R) John Lackey (4-1) vs. (R) Jason Bergmann (1-5) Seattle Mariners at New York Mets, 7:10 PM (R) Felix Hernandez (6-5) vs. (L) Johan Santana (7-5) Colorado Rockies at Kansas City Royals, 8:10 PM (L) Jeff Francis (3-6) vs. (R) Brian Bannister (6-6)
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 47 31 .603 0.0 46 1TB 44 31 .587 1.5 41 3
NYA 41 35 .539 5.0 40 1
BAL 38 36 .514 7.0 36 2
TOR 36 41 .468 10.5 40 -4
American League Central CHA 41 34 .547 0.0 45 -4
MIN 40 36 .526 1.5 38 2
DET 36 39 .480 5.0 37 -1
CLE 35 41 .461 6.5 40 -5
KC 33 43 .434 8.5 32 1
American League West LAA 46 30 .605 0.0 39 7
OAK 41 34 .547 4.5 44 -3
TEX 39 38 .506 7.5 38 1
SEA 26 49 .347 19.5 29 -3
National League East Pwins Diff PHI 42 35 .545 0.0 46 -4
FLA 40 35 .533 1.0 38 2
NYN 37 37 .500 3.5 38 -1
ATL 38 39 .494 4.0 43 -5
WAS 30 47 .390 12.0 28 2
National League Central CHN 48 28 .632 0.0 49 -1
STL 44 33 .571 4.5 41 3
MIL 41 34 .547 6.5 37 4
PIT 36 40 .474 12.0 34 2
HOU 35 41 .461 13.0 34 1
CIN 35 42 .455 13.5 34 1
National League West ARI 39 37 .513 0.0 39 0
LAN 35 40 .467 3.5 37 -2
COL 32 44 .421 7.0 32 0
SF 32 44 .421 7.0 33 -1
SD 32 45 .416 7.5 31 1
Game of the Day
Red Sox 5, Cardinals 3 - FINAL
ST LOUIS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
B Barton lf 4 1 1 1 0 1 2 .245
va-S Schumaker ph-rf 3 0 0 0 0 0 4 .298
A Miles 2b-ss 6 0 5 0 0 0 1 .313
R Ludwick rf-lf 6 0 1 1 0 1 7 .297
T Glaus 3b 4 0 0 0 2 2 2 .260
N Stavinoha dh 6 0 1 0 0 3 4 .167
R Ankiel cf 6 0 0 0 0 2 4 .251
Y Molina 1b-c 6 0 1 0 0 1 0 .290
J LaRue c 3 0 1 0 0 1 0 .228
vb-C Duncan ph-1b 2 1 1 0 1 0 1 .234
B Ryan ss 3 1 2 0 0 0 1 .286
vc-A Kennedy ph-2b 3 0 3 1 0 0 0 .269
Totals 52 3 16 3 3 11 26 ###
BOSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Ellsbury lf 6 0 1 0 0 1 3 .276
D Pedroia 2b 5 1 4 0 0 0 0 .282
J Drew rf 5 0 0 0 1 1 4 .318
M Ramirez dh 3 0 1 0 1 0 1 .295
B Moss pr-dh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .256
ha-S Casey ph-dh 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 .365
M Lowell 3b 5 1 3 1 1 0 1 .277
K Youkilis 1b 5 2 2 3 1 2 4 .305
J Varitek c 5 0 0 0 0 0 3 .230
C Crisp cf 4 1 2 0 1 0 0 .265
J Lugo ss 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 .275
A Cora ss 2 0 0 0 0 1 3 .280
Totals 44 5 13 5 5 5 21 ###
----------------------------------------------------
ST LOUIS - 000 002 001 000 0 -- 3 16 0
BOSTON - 000 000 120 000 2 -- 5 13 0
No outs when winning run scored.
----------------------------------------------------
va-grounded to third for B Barton in the 9th; vb-walked for J Larue in the
9th; vc-doubled to center for B Ryan in the 9th; ha-flied out to left for B
Moss in the 10th.
BATTING: 2B - B Ryan 2 (6, J Lester 2); B Barton (6, J Lester); A Kennedy (5, J
Papelbon); C Duncan (6, J Lopez); D Pedroia 2 (22, R Villone, J Pineiro); J
Ellsbury (8, K McClellan); M Lowell (15, J Isringhausen). 3B - C Crisp (2, J
Pineiro). HR - K Youkilis 2 (13, 7th inning off J Pineiro 0 on, 2 Out, 13th
inning off M Parisi 1 on, 0 Out). S - D Pedroia. SF - J Lugo. RBI - B Barton
(9), R Ludwick (56), A Kennedy (18), K Youkilis 3 (47), J Lugo (18), M Lowell
(39). 2-out RBI - A Kennedy, K Youkilis, M Lowell. Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - R Ludwick 2, R Ankiel 2, S Schumaker 2, B Barton 1, S Casey
1, J Drew 1, K Youkilis 2, J Ellsbury 2. GIDP - R Ludwick 2, J Varitek, S
Casey. Team LOB - ST LOUIS 13, BOSTON 10. BASERUNNING: SB - B Barton (3, 3rd
base off J Lester/J Varitek), D Pedroia (8, 2nd base off C Perez/J LaRue). CS -
C Crisp (3, 2nd base by J Pineiro). FIELDING: Outfield assists - J Drew (C
Duncan at Home). DP: (A Miles-B Ryan-Y Molina, A Kennedy-A Miles-C Duncan, D
Pedroia-J Lugo-K Youkilis, J Lugo-D Pedroia-K Youkilis).
ST LOUIS ip h r er bb so hr era
J Pineiro 7 7 2 2 0 1 1 3.86
C Perez (B, 1) 1 1 1 1 3 1 0 4.20
R Springer 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.38
K McClellan 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 2.52
J Isringhausen 1 1 0 0 2 2 0 6.17
R Villone 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 5.65
M Parisi (L, 0-3) 0 2 2 2 0 0 1 8.06
BOSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
J Lester 7 1/3 9 2 2 1 3 0 3.13
M Delcarmen 2/3 0 0 0 0 2 0 3.48
J Papelbon (B, 4) 1 1 1 1 1 2 0 2.16
H Okajima 1 2/3 4 0 0 1 1 0 3.00
C Hansen 1 2/3 0 0 0 0 3 0 5.06
J Lopez (W, 2-0) 2/3 2 0 0 0 0 0 2.45
J Pineiro pitched to 1 batter in the 8th.
M Parisi pitched to 2 batters in the 13th.
Pitches-strikes: J Pineiro 81-57; C Perez 29-12; R Springer 10-8; K McClellan
11-7; J Isringhausen 24-13; R Villone 6-4; M Parisi 6-3; J Lester 101-66; M
Delcarmen 15-9; J Papelbon 19-15; H Okajima 28-16; C Hansen 22-17; J Lopez
10-6. Ground balls-fly balls: J Pineiro 13-6; C Perez 1-1; R Springer 0-3; K
McClellan 1-1; J Isringhausen 1-0; R Villone 3-0; M Parisi 0-0; J Lester 10-9;
M Delcarmen 0-0; J Papelbon 1-0; H Okajima 0-4; C Hansen 1-1; J Lopez 0-1.
Batters faced: J Pineiro 26; C Perez 7; R Springer 3; K McClellan 4; J
Isringhausen 6; R Villone 3; M Parisi 2; J Lester 30; M Delcarmen 2; J Papelbon
5; H Okajima 10; C Hansen 5; J Lopez 3. IRS - C Perez. UMPIRES: HP--Tim
Timmons. 1B--Gary Cederstrom. 2B--Fieldin Culbreth. 3B--Jim Reynolds.
T--4:25. (Plus rain delay totaling 50 minutes in the 1st). Att--37,085.
Weather: 84 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 18 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 Ronnie Belliard WAS Vicente Padilla TEX 394 401 5 PL Carlos Beltran NYM Greg Reynolds COL 457 414 11 ND Brandon Boggs TEX John Lannan WAS 415 403 4 ND Jeff Clement SEA Mike Gonzalez ATL 411 390 1 JE/L Prince Fielder MIL Ryan Bukvich BAL 441 437 16 ND Prince Fielder MIL Jamie Walker BAL 372 366 15 PL Adrian Gonzalez SD Justin Verlander DET 398 396 20 PL Ken Griffey CIN Kyle Farnsworth NYY 352 351 8 JE Bill Hall MIL Garrett Olson BAL 389 388 10 PL Willie Harris WAS Vicente Padilla TEX 427 425 3 PL Corey Hart MIL Garrett Olson BAL 414 412 12 JE Jeremy Hermida FLA Justin Duchscherer OAK 408 412 8 PL Ian Kinsler TEX John Lannan WAS 396 389 11 PL/L Casey Kotchman LAA Cole Hamels PHI 402 392 8 ND Carlos Lee HOU Scott Kazmir TB 375 374 17 PL Adam Lind TOR Ian Snell PIT 413 403 1 PL Evan Longoria TB Brandon Backe HOU 421 420 12 JE Russell Martin LAD Paul Byrd CLE 414 408 7 ND Brian McCann ATL Carlos Silva SEA 409 399 14 JE/L Magglio Ordonez DET Randy Wolf SD 376 376 12 PL Eric Patterson CHC Javier Vazquez CWS 381 379 1 JE Hunter Pence HOU Scott Kazmir TB 390 389 10 PL Aramis Ramirez CHC Javier Vazquez CWS 426 423 14 PL Ivan Rodriguez DET Heath Bell SD 357 349 2 JE/L Scott Rolen TOR Franquelis Osoria PIT 393 390 4 JE Mark Teixeira ATL Carlos Silva SEA 361 334 13 PL Mark Teixeira ATL Carlos Silva SEA 407 390 12 PL/L Mark Teixeira ATL Ryan Rowland-Smith SEA 373 367 11 PL Yorvit Torrealba COL Joe Smith NYM 438 411 3 PL Kevin Youkilis BOS Joel Pineiro STL 343 294 13 JE/L Kevin Youkilis BOS Mike Parisi STL 384 371 12 PL
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 SD AA Kyle Blanks....... 4 3 2 0 1 1 0 COL AAA Joseph Koshansky.. 3 3 1 0 1 1 0 MIL AA Mat Gamel......... 4 3 1 0 1 0 0 PIT AA Shelby Ford....... 3 2 0 1 0 1 1 3 SB COL AA Eric Young........ 4 3 1 0 0 1 0 2 SB CIN AA Daniel Dorn....... 5 2 1 0 1 0 1 NYM AA Nick Evans........ 5 2 1 0 1 0 0 PIT A+ Jamie Romak....... 4 2 2 0 0 1 2 CLE A+ Jared Goedert..... 4 3 0 0 1 1 0 3 R ATL A Cody Johnson...... 4 2 1 0 1 0 2 4 RBI NYY AAA Brett Gardner..... 1 0 0 0 0 4 0 2 SB COL AAA Seth Smith........ 4 2 2 0 0 0 0 ORG LVL PLAYER IP H R ER SO BB HR Notes SD A Jeremy Hefner..... 7 4 0 0 10 1 0 SD AAA Wade Leblanc...... 7 2 1 1 9 0 1 TEX A Neftali Feliz..... 6 3 0 0 10 2 0 TB A+ J. Hellickson..... 7 1 0 0 4 0 0 CHW AA Kyle McCulloch.... 7 8 3 2 7 0 0 MIN A+ Jay Rainville..... 7 9 4 3 7 0 0 ATL A+ Ryne Reynoso ..... 4 4 2 2 6 1 0 COL AA Chaz Roe.......... 6 3 0 0 4 2 0 PHI A+ Andrew Carpenter.. 8 7 2 2 3 1 0 OAK AAA Dan Meyer......... 6 4 3 2 6 2 1 STL AAA P.J. Walters...... 4 5 0 0 6 2 0 NYM AA Jonathon Niese.... 6 4 3 3 3 2 0
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