And That Happened

A slightly superficial edition this morning, as I was working on another writing project last night. I’m so lazy about this that I’m not even going to link up the box scores, so if you want them, go here. Apologies, but I’m freakin’ tired, dudes:

Nationals 11, Dodgers 9: I’m guessing at this point that the odds of this loss not being blamed on some Manny Ramirez-inflicted psychic injury — as opposed to a bullpen meltdown — are about a billion to one, but it will still be wrong to do so.

Angels 6, Blue Jays 1: With Manny gone, the Weaver brothers now own L.A.

Cubs 8, Astros 5: OK, maybe Ivan Rodriguez isn’t dead. I mean, he hit a triple after all. But Alfonso Soriano was far more, er, undead, hitting two homers to lead the Cubbies to victory. Russ Ortiz, on the other hand: totally dead. He’s passed on. Is no more. He has ceased to be. He has expired and gone to meet his maker. If Cecil Cooper hadn’t nailed him to the mound he’d be pushing up the daisies and have gone off to join the choir invisible.

Mets 7, Phillies 5: If that’s Ortiz’s condition, I’m not sure what to make of Jamie Moyer (2.1 IP, 7 H, 7 ER). Ah, he’s still better than Ortiz. Like a zombie or that ghost army in “Return of the King.” Wait, if that were the case he would have one, because nothin’ beats the Ghost Army from ROTK. Hmm. Let me ponder that one a bit.

White Sox 6, Tigers 0: Buehrle had a perfecto into the seventh inning. Given how fast he works and knowing that he shutout the Tigers, I knew before looking that it was going to be a short one, and it was: 2:02. I think betting on the length of games Buehrle pitches would be a pretty cool way to waste some time and money.

Reds 6, Brewers 5: Micah Owings pitched six adequate innings and hit a triple that broke a tie. The Reds needed it, though, as Joey Votto and Brandon Phillips were out with the flu. Both of my kids and my mom have the flu too. I’m going to choose to blame Ohio for this.

Rays 8, Yankees 6: Hey, at least A-Rod won’t be on the front page this morning.

Padres 4, Diamondbacks 3: David Eckstein won the game with an RBI single in the 10th. He’s too scrappy for my love, too scrappy for my love, love’s going to leave me . . .

Red Sox 13, Indians 3: I’m thinking this is the game that’s going to officially put Eric Wedge on the hot seat. The GM made his move a few days ago. Now everything bad that happens is on the manager. That’s just how it works.

Giants 8, Rockies 3: Bengie Molina homered twice. I’m going to take credit for that, because I think I probably pissed him off earlier in the day.

Orioles 5, Twins 4: Can you really call winning a two-game series — one of which was a rain-shortened game — a “sweep” as the game story does here? It’s more of a quick brush of the hand over a dusty coffee table, isn’t it? The kicking of some crumbs under the china cabinet.

Cardinals 5, Pirates 2: St. Louis beats up Princeton boy Ross Ohlendorf. Hey, how many Princeton students does it take to change a light bulb? Two — one to mix the martinis and one to call the electrician! Uh, wait. I went to a Big Ten school, so I have no idea why that’s supposed to be funny.

A’s 9, Rangers 4: A Matt Holliday homer causes his slugging percentage to creep back over .400. Five-year, $100M contract, here he comes!

Braves 4, Marlins 2: I’m quickly becoming a big member of the Jair Jurrjens fan club, as his ERA is now 2.01.

Royals 3, Mariners 1: You know, it never occurred to me that Brian Bannister won’t turn back into a pumpkin soon. If he doesn’t, hoo-boy, the Royals may run away with this thing. In other news, if you would have told me last year that I’d one day see Banny and Jarrod Washburn in a pitchers’ duel with pennant race implications in 2009, I would have had you committed.

A Hardball Times Update
Goodbye for now.

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themarksmith
14 years ago

Efficiency is the key, and the walks for Jurrjens are starting to go down. He’s trying hard to keep away the Sophomore Jinx and the Verducci Effect. He’s a strong man.

Wade
14 years ago

Ortiz: That…is an EX-pitcher.

And now for something completely different.

Connecticut Mike
14 years ago

Wade, that was the same exact thing I was going to say. 

Beautiful plumage on Russ Ortiz….he’s probably just pining for the fjords.

dlf
14 years ago

I’ll let the brief ATH slide since I thought the extended MbM piece was quite thoughtful and well written. Poz as BBWAA President?  May we all live to see the day.  Mandatory Bannylogs for everyone.

MooseinOhio
14 years ago

Wedge may be a decent manager someday but not today and the Tribe cannot afford to wait any longer to make a change if they have any hope of competing this season.  Not sure who they may replace him with, to bad Cito Gaston is with the Jays as he is showing how a manager can have a positive impact on performance.

pete
14 years ago

Unfortunately for Wedgie, the golden boy Mark Shapiro is the one who handed him this rather unimpressive pitching staff. I was very loyal to this regime for a long time, but at this point I’m kind of wondering when the majority of the online community will get over its Shapiro lovefest (frankly, the only explanation I can come up with is that half these guys want to work for the people who are running the Indians).

KLaw and BPro nailed it last year when they pointed out the serious issues that were bubbling under the surface for this team (draft results, complimentary players, etc), and IMO people were way too quick to brush aside those concerns after they made a few good trades last season.

I’m neither a Wedge lover nor a big believer in managers as difference makers, but it seems like you might as well make a change. We’re watching yet another season go down the tubes when it’s barely even started. What the hell have we got to lose?

Ahmet Hamdi Cavusoglu
14 years ago

Excellent monty python reference, and on the topic of catchers … how is it that all these ‘older catchers’ such as the Molina brothers and Ivan Rodriguez are being considered good enough that prospects are not given a chance? I understand contract situations, but I’d think the Astros would have thought to suffer with a green catcher than revive the dead …