THT Daily: Ouch
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, Aaron Gleeman took a second look at the boys of Moneyball.
Player News
Player Headlines are courtesy of Rotoworld
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| The Mighty Pujols at bat (Icon/SMI) |
Albert Pujols will leave Cincinnati and return to St. Louis for tests after aggravating his left calf in Tuesday’s game. “Based on what I saw—and I’m not a doctor—it was pretty bad,” GM John Mozeliak said. Pujols has played through leg problems plenty of times before, but if he can’t do it now, the Cardinals figure to call up Chris Duncan to play first base.
Tigers optioned LHP Dontrelle Willis to Single-A Lakeland. The Tigers completely botched Willis’ return fron the DL by having him throw one inning in his first 12 days on the active roster. He obviously needs to pitch as much as possible if he’s going to get through these command problems, and the Tigers weren’t doing anything to get him there by having him throw 6 1/3 innings in nearly three weeks. Triple-A Toledo’s Eddie Bonine is the favorite to replace him in the rotation, but it’s doubtful that he’d prove adequate. The Tigers just don’t have any solid alternatives.
Tom Glavine will go back on the disabled list with a strained elbow that he said has been bothering him for a month. Glavine will undergo an MRI. The Braves haven’t commented on the choice to replace him in the rotation, but it’s time for Charlie Morton to get a look. NL-only leaguers may want to stash the 24-year-old right-hander away.
After being examined over the weekend, Rafael Furcal (back) learned that he won’t be ready to play in actual games for at least another two weeks. The Dodgers were aiming to get Furcal back on June 17, but now it looks like he’ll miss the rest of the month. Nomar Garciaparra should beat him back and get a look at shortstop. In the meantime, Angel Berroa will start most of the time over Luis Maza.
The Padres confirmed Tuesday that Jake Peavy (elbow) will come off the disabled list and start Thursday against the Dodgers. “Like I said the other day, I’m chomping at the bit,” he said. “I’m as ready as I will ever be. I feel good and this is the right time to do it.” With Peavy back, the Padres designated Wilfredo Ledezma for assignment today.
Troy Tulowitzki is on his way to Single-A Modesto to begin his rehab from a torn tendon in his left quadriceps, Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said Tuesday. It sounds as though Tulo could be back in 10-14 days if all goes according to plan. As much as he was struggling before getting hurt, the Rockies will want him to produce in the minors before activating him.
Yesterday’s Results
Game recaps courtesy of Craig Calcaterra.
Indians 1, Twins 0: I watched most of this game (the whole thing was 2:06; I missed four innings when I blinked once), and Sabathia was something to behold. Over the years I’ve watched games where Sabathia looked rather disinterested. Even last year, when he was so good so often, you got the sense on occasion that he was looking forward to a sandwich and brew at Panini’s or something rather than the next hitter. Last night was different. The Twins laid down a couple of bunt hits early, which clearly made the big fellow mad. Early on he was at around 93-94 on the STO gun. After those little squib hits he was hitting 95, 96, and the occasional 97, and coming inside a lot too. If anything, by the ninth inning he looked like he was just loosening up. And he just looked mean. If he could do that every time out, he’d join Zambrano on my 1960s retro rotation.
Cardinals 7, Reds 2: It could have been 137-2 and it would still be a bad night for St. Louis, as Albert Pujols had to be helped off the field with a calf injury in the 7th inning. More than anyone else in baseball, he’s the guy whose team would be the most screwed if they had to play without him for a spell. Not a good night for Homer Bailey either (3.2 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 2K). And Jay Bruce was batting leadoff? Sure, why not?
Nationals 7, Pirates 6: The other night it was Elijah Dukes with the game winner in the ninth, last night it was Lastings Milledge. If Wily Mo Pena hits a walkoff job in the next few nights, can we say Jim Bowden’s vision has been realized?
Orioles 10, Red Sox 6: Beckett was none too good (6 IP, 8 H, 4 ER) but this was a bullpen ‘asplosion for the Sox. Okajima (0.1 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 3 ER); and Hansen (1 IP, 4 H, 3 R) were the evening’s arsonists.
Tigers 6, White Sox 4: A win for Detroit is nice, but you’d think they would have scored more than six runs off of 13 hits in the first seven innings of the game, no?
Marlins 5, Phillies 4: Brett Myers gave up three runs before Greater Philadelphia had eased into its collective Barcalounger. Despite settling down a bit, it was a hole the Phillies couldn’t climb out of. The Phillies will probably weather these kinds of outings because the Braves, Marlins, and Mets don’t seem all that interested in posing a challenge this season, but the Phils would probably like someone besides Cole Hamels to pitch at an above-average clip this season.
Astros 6, Brewers 1: Just another day at the office for Lance Berkman (3-4, 3B, HR, 5 RBI). Welcome back from the brink, Roy Oswalt (7 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 10 K).
Cubs 10, Braves 5: Did you hear that Atlanta is the worst road team in baseball? Getting swept in the last home series before hitting the highway doesn’t help matters any either. Oh, and according to the baseball tonight guys, Smoltz’s surgery today revealed more damage than they even expected. Huzzah.
Diamondbacks 9, Mets 5: Maury Brown interviewed New York Sun baseball writer Tim Marchman yesterday. Marchman had this to say on the state of the Mets:
The Mets seem to be stuck in a recurring pattern where they develop some good young talent, invest well in veterans, verge on becoming a really elite team, and then blow it because they tilt a little too heavily toward older players. This has gone on under so many general managers and so many managers, and for so long, that it really seems to be a systemic problem, and the one common thread for a long time now has been the Wilpon family, who really don’t get enough blame for presiding over the same story being told over and over again with a slightly different cast each time . . . The Yankees may not be good, but there’s never any sense of abject hopelessness about them, and that puts them up on the Mets.
Blue Jays 3, Mariners 1: You thought the Indians game was short? This one came in at 2:02. Dustin McGowan (CG, 5 H, 1 ER, 7K) was vexing, and from the looks of the box score, the Mariners didn’t put up much of a fight. Am I the only one expecting Ichiro, in the course of some long interview with a Japanese magazine, to come out and ask for a trade because the culture of losing in Seattle is making him sad?
Rangers 6, Royals 5: Royals’ catcher John Buck: “After 7 2/3 [innings], we just quit. That’s basically what it was.” Sorry John; you don’t get any points for being a team leader who speaks hard truths when you’re the guy who gives up the game winning passed ball. Not that he isn’t right. The Rangers scored four runs in the eighth after there were already two out. An error sparked that off, but the Kansas City bullpen imploded and Trey Hillman got ejected for arguing balls and strikes. Just another inspiring night at Kauffman Stadium.
Angels 6, Rays 1: Jered Weaver shuts down the Rays (8 IP, 4 H, 1 ER). For my purposes, both James and Scott Shields, whose names I always confuse for some reason, pitched in this game. Scott sent the Rays down quietly in the ninth. James managed not to throw a punch at anyone.
Rockies 10, Giants 5: Were you aware that the Giants came in with a seven game road winning streak? Me neither. Well, they don’t have that going for them anymore. Garrett Atkins apparently had a bunch of diving grabs at third. I’m goin’ to the gym after I post this. If I make the lights just right, I usually catch the Top 10 plays right after I get on the treadmill. My guess is that at least two of his gems get bumped for rather pedestrian plays from the Lakers-Celtics game.
Dodgers 7, Padres 2: The Dodgers score four in the seventh, ruining a strong Greg Maddux outing. Well, “ruining” may be too harsh. I love the guy, but you have to expect this sort of thing when you’re basically a five or six inning starter, max. Ten years ago, Maddux — who had only thrown 70 pitches — stays in and protects that precious 2-1 lead for at least another inning. He can’t do that anymore, so these things are going to happen.
Yankees 3, A’s 1: Lost in all of the hubbub over Joba’s transition, Mussina’s resurgence, Giambi’s moustache, and a bunch of other things, A-Rod is hitting .444/.500/.806 in June, no doubt happy to not be the center of attention for once.
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 (L) John Lannan (4-6) vs. (R) Ian Snell (2-6) Arizona Diamondbacks at New York Mets, 7:10 PM (R) Brandon Webb (11-2) vs. (R) Mike Pelfrey (2-6) Philadelphia Phillies at Florida Marlins, 7:10 PM (L) Cole Hamels (6-4) vs. (L) Andrew Miller (4-5) St. Louis Cardinals at Cincinnati Reds, 7:10 PM (R) Braden Looper (7-5) vs. (R) Johnny Cueto (5-5) Milwaukee Brewers at Houston Astros, 8:05 PM (L) Manny Parra (4-2) vs. (R) Brandon Backe (4-7) Atlanta Braves at Chicago Cubs, 8:05 PM (R) Jair Jurrjens (6-3) vs. (R) Ryan Dempster (7-2) San Francisco Giants at Colorado Rockies, 9:05 PM (R) Tim Lincecum (8-1) vs. (R) Ubaldo Jimenez (1-6) Los Angeles Dodgers at San Diego Padres, 10:05 PM (R) Chad Billingsley (4-6) vs. (L) Randy Wolf (4-4) American League --------------- Seattle Mariners at Toronto Blue Jays, 12:37 PM (R) Felix Hernandez (4-5) vs. (R) Shaun Marcum (5-3) Tampa Bay Rays at LA Angels of Anaheim, 3:35 PM (L) Scott Kazmir (6-1) vs. (R) John Lackey (2-1) Baltimore Orioles at Boston Red Sox, 7:05 PM (L) Garrett Olson (5-1) vs. (R) Bartolo Colon (3-1) Chicago White Sox at Detroit Tigers, 7:05 PM (R) Javier Vazquez (6-4) vs. (R) Justin Verlander (2-9) Minnesota Twins at Cleveland Indians, 7:05 PM (R) Nick Blackburn (4-4) vs. (R) Paul Byrd (3-5) Texas Rangers at Kansas City Royals, 8:10 PM (R) Vicente Padilla (7-3) vs. (R) Kyle Davies (2-0) New York Yankees at Oakland Athletics, 10:05 PM (R) Darrell Rasner (3-3) vs. (R) Justin Duchscherer (5-4)
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 27 .597 0.0 39 1TB 38 27 .585 1.0 35 3
BAL 32 31 .508 6.0 31 1
NYA 33 32 .508 6.0 32 1
TOR 34 33 .507 6.0 36 -2
American League Central CHA 37 27 .578 0.0 40 -3
MIN 31 34 .477 6.5 29 2
CLE 30 35 .462 7.5 34 -4
DET 27 37 .422 10.0 30 -3
KC 25 40 .385 12.5 25 0
American League West LAA 40 26 .606 0.0 34 6
OAK 34 30 .531 5.0 37 -3
TEX 33 33 .500 7.0 31 2
SEA 23 42 .354 16.5 26 -3
National League East Pwins Diff PHI 39 27 .591 0.0 40 -1
FLA 35 29 .547 3.0 32 3
ATL 32 33 .492 6.5 37 -5
NYN 30 33 .476 7.5 31 -1
WAS 26 40 .394 13.0 24 2
National League Central CHN 41 24 .631 0.0 42 -1
STL 39 27 .591 2.5 37 2
MIL 33 31 .516 7.5 31 2
HOU 33 32 .508 8.0 32 1
PIT 31 34 .477 10.0 30 1
CIN 31 35 .470 10.5 31 0
National League West ARI 35 30 .538 0.0 37 -2
LAN 31 33 .484 3.5 34 -3
SF 29 36 .446 6.0 29 0
SD 28 38 .424 7.5 26 2
COL 25 39 .391 9.5 26 -1
Game of the Day
Nationals 7, Pirates 6 - FINAL
WASHINGTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
C Guzman ss 5 0 2 0 0 0 0 .310
E Dukes rf 5 1 2 0 0 1 3 .207
L Milledge cf 5 1 2 2 0 0 2 .251
D Young 1b 4 1 3 1 0 0 0 .266
W Harris pr-3b 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 .156
A Boone 3b-1b 4 0 0 0 0 2 1 .254
J Flores c 3 1 1 1 1 1 0 .318
R Belliard 2b 4 2 3 3 0 0 0 .225
W Pena lf 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 .200
L Ayala p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
C Manning p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
J Hanrahan p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
J Rauch p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
T Redding p 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 .130
va-F Lopez ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .239
S Rivera p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
R Langerhans lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .185
Totals 39 7 14 7 1 6 8 ###
PITTSBURGH ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
N McLouth cf 4 1 1 0 1 1 0 .301
F Sanchez 2b 5 0 1 1 0 1 1 .240
J Bay lf 3 2 1 0 1 1 1 .284
R Doumit c 4 3 4 3 0 0 0 .345
X Nady rf 3 0 1 1 1 0 1 .319
A LaRoche 1b 4 0 0 0 0 1 3 .217
J Bautista 3b 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 .258
J Grabow p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
F Osoria p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .400
ha-J Michaels ph 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .280
hb-D Mientkiewicz ph 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 .228
M Capps p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Ja Wilson ss 4 0 2 0 0 1 1 .300
P Maholm p 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 .192
C Gomez 3b 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .301
Totals 34 6 10 6 3 6 11 ###
----------------------------------------------------
WASHINGTON - 000 010 312 -- 7 14 1
PITTSBURGH - 300 001 020 -- 6 10 0
----------------------------------------------------
va-singled to center for T Redding in the 7th; ha-hit for J Bautista in the
8th; hb-hit sacrifice fly to right for J Michaels in the 8th.
BATTING: 2B - D Young (2, P Maholm); E Dukes 2 (5, P Maholm, M Capps); C Guzman
(21, P Maholm); N McLouth (20, T Redding); R Doumit 2 (10, L Ayala, T Redding).
HR - R Doumit 2 (7, 1st inning off T Redding 1 on, 1 Out, 6th inning off T
Redding 0 on, 0 Out), R Belliard 2 (4, 5th inning off P Maholm 0 on, 2 Out, 7th
inning off P Maholm 0 on, 1 Out), D Young (2, 7th inning off P Maholm 0 on, 0
Out), J Flores (3, 7th inning off P Maholm 0 on, 1 Out), L Milledge (5, 9th
inning off M Capps 1 on, 2 Out). SF - D Mientkiewicz. RBI - R Belliard 3 (12),
D Young (5), J Flores (18), L Milledge 2 (25), F Sanchez (26), R Doumit 3 (18),
X Nady (47), D Mientkiewicz (9). 2-out RBI - R Belliard 2, L Milledge 2.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - W Pena 1, E Dukes 2, L Milledge 1, X
Nady 1, F Sanchez 1, J Bautista 1. GIDP - L Milledge, P Maholm. Team LOB -
WASHINGTON 6, PITTSBURGH 5. BASERUNNING: SB - W Harris (2, 2nd base off J
Grabow/R Doumit), N McLouth (7, 2nd base off S Rivera/J Flores). CS - F Sanchez
(1, 2nd base by T Redding/J Flores). FIELDING: E - T Redding (1, throw).
Outfield assists - X Nady (L Milledge at Home). DP: (A Boone-C Guzman-R
Belliard, J Flores-C Guzman, Ja Wilson-A LaRoche).
WASHINGTON ip h r er bb so hr era
T Redding 6 8 4 4 1 3 2 4.29
S Rivera 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 4.03
L Ayala (B, 3) 0 2 2 2 1 0 0 5.66
C Manning 1/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.61
J Hanrahan (W, 2-2) 2/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 4.24
J Rauch (S, 13) 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.56
PITTSBURGH ip h r er bb so hr era
P Maholm 6 2/3 10 4 4 0 4 4 4.55
J Grabow 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1.93
F Osoria 1/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 4.67
M Capps (L, 0-1; B, 1) 1 2 2 2 0 1 1 2.64
L Ayala pitched to 3 batters in the 8th.
WP - T Redding. Pitches-strikes: T Redding 96-59; S Rivera 19-9; L Ayala
12-5; C Manning 5-4; J Hanrahan 8-5; J Rauch 9-8; P Maholm 88-59; J Grabow
17-9; F Osoria 9-6; M Capps 15-10. Ground balls-fly balls: T Redding 9-5; S
Rivera 0-3; L Ayala 0-0; C Manning 0-0; J Hanrahan 0-1; J Rauch 0-2; P Maholm
9-6; J Grabow 1-1; F Osoria 0-1; M Capps 1-1. Batters faced: T Redding 25; S
Rivera 4; L Ayala 3; C Manning 1; J Hanrahan 2; J Rauch 3; P Maholm 28; J
Grabow 5; F Osoria 2; M Capps 5. IRS - F Osoria, J Hanrahan. UMPIRES:
HP--Hunter Wendelstedt. 1B--Marvin Hudson. 2B--Tom Hallion. 3B--Brian Knight.
T--2:38. (Plus rain delay totaling 12 minutes in the 1st). Att--12,957.
Weather: 74 degrees, drizzle. Wind: 12 mph, right to left.
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 Garret Anderson LAA James Shields TB 390 386 6 PL Rick Ankiel STL Homer Bailey CIN 395 386 9 ND Garrett Atkins COL Alex Hinshaw SF 401 365 9 PL Ronnie Belliard WAS Paul Maholm PIT 401 388 4 JE/L Ronnie Belliard WAS Paul Maholm PIT 390 384 3 JE Lance Berkman HOU Seth McClung MIL 381 371 19 PL Ryan Braun MIL Roy Oswalt HOU 358 347 17 PL Pat Burrell PHI Joe Nelson FLA 357 346 16 PL Melky Cabrera NYY Keith Foulke OAK 364 366 7 PL Jorge Cantu FLA Bret Myers PHI 375 369 12 PL Ryan Doumit PIT Tim Redding WAS 362 351 7 PL Ryan Doumit PIT Tim Redding WAS 382 371 6 ND J.D. Drew BOS Daniel Cabrera BAL 450 424 9 ND Stephen Drew ARI Duaner Sanchez NYM 402 399 10 JE Jesus Flores WAS Paul Maholm PIT 368 360 3 PL Alex Gordon KC Kevin Milwood TEX 428 411 6 PL Gabe Gross TB Jered Weaver LAA 405 391 5 JE/L Vladimir Guerrero LAA James Shields TB 430 422 9 PL Todd Helton COL Vinnie Chulk SF 385 355 7 JE Brian Horwitz SF Luis Vizcaino COL 411 363 2 JE/L Orlando Hudson ARI John Maine NYM 423 418 7 ND Conor Jackson ARI Duaner Sanchez NYM 388 386 7 PL Mike Jacobs FLA Bret Myers PHI 396 393 15 PL Derek Lee CHC Tom Glavine ATL 404 374 1 PL Ryan Ludwick STL David Weathers CIN 430 422 15 PL Lastings Milledge WAS Matt Capps PIT 411 407 5 JE Greg Norton ATL Ted Lilly CHC 419 384 2 ND Albert Pujols STL Homer Bailey CIN 436 422 16 PL Hanley Ramirez FLA Bret Myers PHI 423 417 15 ND Manny Ramirez BOS Daniel Cabrera BAL 457 421 15 ND Jeremy Reed SEA Dustin McGowan TOR 417 415 2 PL Jimmy Rollins PHI Ricky Nolasco FLA 414 412 5 ND Chris Snyder ARI Joe Smith NYM 392 390 7 PL Geavany Soto CHC Manny Acosta ATL 368 340 1 JE/L Jim Thome CWS Nate Robertson DET 389 385 13 PL Joey Votto CIN Mitchell Boggs STL 425 415 11 JE Vernon Wells TOR Carlos Silva SEA 419 416 7 JE Brad Wilkerson TOR Carlos Silva SEA 411 396 3 JE/L David Wright NYM Micah Owings ARI 428 422 12 ND Dmitri Young WAS Paul Maholm PIT 401 394 2 JE
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 COL AAA Jayson Nix........ 3 2 1 0 1 1 0 TOR AAA Adam Lind......... 4 3 2 0 0 1 1 SEA A+ Gregory Halman.... 5 2 0 0 2 0 2 STL A Thomas Pham....... 4 2 0 0 2 0 0 TEX AAA John Mayberry..... 4 2 1 0 1 0 1 PIT AAA Brian Bixler...... 4 2 0 1 1 0 1 TEX AA M. Ramirez........ 3 1 0 0 1 3 1 FLA A+ Logan Morrison.... 4 3 2 0 0 0 0 3 R ARI A+ Edward Easley..... 4 2 2 0 0 1 1 NYY AAA Alberto Gonzalez.. 2 2 1 0 0 2 0 COL AA Dexter Fowler..... 4 2 2 0 0 0 0 OAK AA Justin Sellers.... 4 3 0 0 1 0 0 5 RBI ! ORG LVL PLAYER IP H R ER SO BB HR Notes OAK A+ Brett Anderson.... 7 4 0 0 9 0 0 MIN A M. McCardell...... 8 5 0 0 9 1 0 SF A+ Tim Alderson...... 6 4 1 1 8 1 0 MIL A+ Zach Braddock..... 5 2 1 1 10 4 0 DET A Brandon Hamilton.. 6 3 0 0 5 0 0 FLA AAA E. De La Cruz..... 6 1 0 0 5 1 0 MIN AAA F. Liriano........ 6 6 1 1 7 1 0 TOR AAA David Purcey...... 6 6 2 2 8 2 0 11 GB TOR A Bradley Mills..... 7 7 0 0 6 1 0 SD A Jeremy Hefner..... 5 6 2 2 7 1 0 STL AAA Anthony Reyes..... 7 5 3 3 3 0 0 13 GB CLE A+ Hector Rondon..... 5 5 2 2 6 2 0
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