And That Happened

Red Sox 8, Blue Jays 2: The game story headlines give credit for the win to the Sox shaking up their lineup — Pedroia hit leadoff and Ellsbury dropped to eighth — but Ellsbury actually got on base more than Pedroia did in this game and wasn’t on base for either of Kevin Youkilis’ home runs. Hey, why don’t we give Kevin Youkilis the credit for the win? Or maybe Jon Lester (6 IP 3 H, 1 ER, 12K)? The lineup shakeup seems fairly insignificant to me here.

Mets 3, Marlins 2: John Maine pitches six shutout innings and then left the game because he was barfing. Pansy. He shoulda just rubbed some dirt on it and toughed it out. No I don’t know where she should have rubbed the dirt. My mom once taught me that there is a pressure point related to nausea is on the back of your hand, right at the webbing between your thumb and your index finger, so maybe that would have helped. I tried that once, but that treatment must not be rated for hangover-related nausea.

Phillies 4, Nationals 2: Jamie Moyer wins his 250th. Guys who don’t have as many career wins as Jamie Moyer: Juan Marichal, Three-Finger Brown, Whitey Ford, Luis Tiant, Jim Bunning, Catfish Hunter, Curt Schilling, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz and Sandy Koufax. If you look at it from one direction, it’s proof positive that win-totals aren’t all that important when it comes to rating a pitcher, because Moyer isn’t as good as any of those guys were. But it’s not meaningless, and Moyer has certainly been a lot more useful in his career than anyone ever would have thought he’d be. Hall of Fame discussions are always something of a chore. Moyer is a lock for the Hall of Very Good, though, and in many ways I like HoVG players more than Hall of Famers.

Twins 3, Rays 2: Matt Garza says hello to his old team for the first time since the trade. And he pitched well (7 IP, 7 H, 3 ER), but Nick Blackburn pitched a little better (6 IP, 7 H, 2 ER). Twins’ reliever Jose Mijares caught a ball that smacked off of one of those catwalks up near the roof in Tropicana. Fun and all, but I have no idea how we ever allowed that stadium into Major League Baseball. Given that no one in St. Pete seems to want the Rays to build a new one anyplace, can we commission a study to see whether that can’t simply take a can opener to that joint and retrofit it with some sort of retractable roof? A new park would cost hundreds of millions. Could some unique fix to the old one really be that expensive?

Astros 2, Pirates 1: Mike Hampton wins. The AP game story says this: “[Hampton] became only the second pitcher to win eight in a row against the Pirates since 1954, improving to 12-3 lifetime against Pittsburgh.” Which is pretty meaningless considering that before the two starts he’s had against Pittsburgh this season, he hadn’t faced them since 2003. And to get to that eight-win total, you have to count two wins in 2000, when the Pirates were giving nearly 200 at bats to Luis Sojo, and Mike Hampton still had some of his original ligaments. It’s kind of like saying that I haven’t lost at four square since 1985 after teaching my daughter how to play it over the weekend. Technically true, but utterly meaningless.

Tigers 3, Orioles 0: I promised some Baltimore fans that I’d start saying more nice things about the Orioles. Maybe I’ll start tomorrow, because Edwin Jackson (8 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 7K) didn’t do much to showcase their charms yesterday. The Matt Wieters debut weekend ends thusly: 2-11, 2B, 3B and three strikeouts. The extra base hits are nice, but he’s not exactly bringing his “Z Game” yet.

White Sox 7, Royals 4: Greinke’s outing wasn’t bad for mere mortals (7 IP, 8 H, 4R, 3 ER, 7K, 0 BB), but compared to the way he’s been pitching it was a shellacking. He still shoulda gotten the win, however, some suspect defense, hibernating bats and three runs from the bullpen killed it for him. The Royals have dropped 16 of 21 games, which means it’s pretty safe to say that the little Cinderella story they were trying to put together is, for all intents and purposes, over.

Brewers 5, Reds 2: What a letdown: Yovani Gallardo vs. Micah Owings, and neither of them go deep. Look guys: you two represent the best chance at us getting rid of the DH. You have to hit, and hit with authority if we’re going to convince anyone that pitchers batting is fun to watch. Trevor Hoffman is 13 for 13 in save opportunities. And while this one was a three-run affair, six of those saves came in one-run games and another three in two run games, there haven’t been a ton of cheapies here.

A’s 5, Rangers 4: Adam Kennedy hit two homers, including what ended up being the game winner in the ninth. After not making the Rays out of spring training and then starting the year in Sacramento, Kennedy is at .390/.462/.622 in 93 plate appearances. I’d say he’s in the running along with Juan Pierre and Andruw Jones for comeback player of the year award, but whereas those other two at least once arguably rocked their peers and put suckas in fear, Kennedy was never any good in the first place. So no, I won’t call it a comeback.

Padres 5, Rockies 2: 20 homers for Adrian Gonzales. Fifteen of them have come on the road. There’s been talk about the Padres needing to trade Gonzales. And I can totally see that. The biggest problem is that most of the contenders this year have no need for a first baseman. Sure, maybe the Sox could use him to replace David Ortiz, but beyond that the contender who could use him the most is the Rangers. My guess is that San Diego keeps Gonzales, but man, could you imagine him hitting in Texas? UPDATE: When I wrote this last night I (a) had forgotten that AG had once been with Texas; and (b) hadn’t seen that Posnanski had asked the same damn question about the current version of Gonzales hitting in the Ballpark at Arlington. So, like, whatevers.

Giants 5, Cardinals 3: Rich Aurilia hit a homer in the 7th to put the Giants ahead to stay. In other news, Rich Aurilia is still alive. From the game story: “La Russa batted his pitcher eighth in all three games of the series and has done so every game since May 18. The team is 8-5 during that stretch.” On a related note, I haven’t had oatmeal for breakfast since early February, and I have not been hit by a bus during that stretch.

Indians 5, Yankees 4: Pavano deserved the win, but didn’t get it thanks to the always-reliable Cleveland bullpen. The Tribe will take the win, though. They’re probably less satisfied with having to put Grady Sizemore on the DL before the game and the fact that Victor Martinez whacked the hell out of his knee on Saturday night keeping him out of the lineup.

Braves 9, Diamondbacks 3: The Braves lineup, which has been on a saltpeter diet recently, sprung to life against Max Scherzer, rattling out fifteen hits. Chipper Jones was 3-4 with 4 RBI and he and Johnson and Escobar combined to go 9-15, scoring seven of the Braves’ nine runs. Also, Kris Medlen offered his first effective start of the season, giving up one run and striking out nine over six innings.

Angels 9, Mariners 8: Seattle had leads of 6-0 and 8-1 before woofing this one away. Which was only fair, seeing as the Angels did the same favor for them on Saturday night. Ichiro has now hit in 24 straight and has his average up to .354.

Dodgers 8, Cubs 2: Sean Marshall was as hittable last night as Eric Milton was a couple of years ago (4.1 IP, 8 H. 8 R), and Eric Milton was pretty decent once again (5.1 IP, 6 H, 2 ER). I watched this one on TV, and though I know how much some people hate night games in Wrigley, the park looks absolutely gorgeous as the sun is going down and the day fades into night.

A Hardball Times Update
Goodbye for now.

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Kelly F.
14 years ago

Wrigley may look pretty at sunset (I haven’t really noticed), but when the sun is gone and the lights take full effect, it’s pretty dark there. It’s like they’re playing at the local public softball field in a city with budget problems.

Matt Mitchell
14 years ago

Given that no one in St. Pete seems to want the Rays to build a new one anyplace, can we commission a study to see whether that can’t simply take a can opener to that joint and retrofit it with some sort of retractable roof? A new park would cost hundreds of millions. Could some unique fix to the old one really be that expensive?

I present to you exhibit A in this study: Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, MO.

Jeff V.
14 years ago

Yea I can see where Luke Scott hitting two home runs against the Tigers in a game for three games in a row is no where near as interesting as linking to Zaun’s webpage.  Again.

J.W.
14 years ago

I would say the Mets could use the services of Adrian Gonzalez more than anyone else. Sure, if Delgado comes back you have a bit of a logjam at first, but that’s a problem Jerry Manuel would gladly take. Sure, they need a starting pitcher like Lebron James needs to get out Cleveland, but they’re not going to match up with the Pads on Peavy, and they’re unlikely to find a good deal elsewhere, so they might as well address another glaring hole (Gary Sheffield is currently their clean-up hitter!) and reinforce their offense for years to come. Then, next year they can take a flier on one (or more) of the highly talented, oft-injured free agent pitchers.

Jason B
14 years ago

Lord Jeff. Did Luke Scott do that yesterday?  No.  Should it then have been mentioned in a recap of *yesterday’s* games?  No.  Worth a mention for *Saturday’s* game? Sure.

I’m picturing you standing in the bathtub surrounded by a lot of electrical apparati, like the crazy kid’s father in “The Ring”.

Random nice Orioles-related thought of the day:  man that Ripken fella sure could play.  And his brother, what with the curse words on his bat, seemed like a pleasant kid.  Someone you could share a cup of coffee with down at the ol’ dirty spoon.

Step back from the ledge!

Jeff V.
14 years ago

Well Jason, if the O’s new catcher warrented a whole weekend update why not Luke Scott?  Wieters didn’t go 2-11 on Sunday you know. 

Anywho I was not the one who requested positive O’s coverage and I am not the one who promised it either.

And as an O’s fan this is the first time in over a decade I am NOT standing on a ledge looking down.

Wade
14 years ago

Garrett Anderson – Yaaaaaaaayyyyyy…

‘Twas a thunderous blast after all.

Happy Monday everybody.

Kelric
14 years ago

I was 11 when Moyer spent his half season in Boston. I’m still disappointed that we only got Darren Bragg for him. Then again, he was already 33 years old. Who could have foreseen him playing another dozen years? Moyer only got 34 wins before his age 30 season. If he had been able to put it together in his twenties, we’d be talking about a 300 game winner and Hall of Famer. Makes me wonder if the perception of late blooming lefties is really more true than late blooming righties.

Marshall
14 years ago

My guess is that San Diego keeps Gonzales, but man, could you imagine him hitting in Texas?

I don’t know if you remember, but the Padres got Adrian G. from Texas. wink

themarksmith
14 years ago

A note on Medlen: he looked more relaxed on the mound. Usually, I wouldn’t note such a thing, but I thought he was going to vibrate off the mound in his last outing. Much better tonight. His command wasn’t all there, but he finally learned that it’s better to strikes and get outs than walk guys and give up runs. This isn’t complicated people. Still not sure if he’s anything more than a fifth starter, but it was a good start for the young man.

APBA Guy
14 years ago

At least Adam Kennedy doesn’t “look bigger”. After his upper deck game winner yesterday, there were some knowing looks around the living room. But then we remembered that it was still Texas in the heat, and Texas pitching (which to be fair has been much improved this year).

Kevin S.
14 years ago

Re: Moyer’s HOF candidacy, I generally like going by an 80 career WAR rule-of-thumb, with some leeway to either side.  Mostly, I like it because it shows Jim Rice utterly undeserving of enshrinement, but I digress.  Anyhow, depending on with of BP’s adjusted PRAR’s you use (I never got why they were so different), Gramps is either a 65 WAR player, or 47 WAR.  Either way, someone who played that long and came up that short of my fantastically arbitrary benchmark gets a no from me.

Kevin S.
14 years ago

*which of, not with of.

Jason B
14 years ago

Jeff, I’m a Jays fan.  There’s plenty of room out here on the ledge for everyone.  grin

I took a few baby steps closer to the edge when we yakked up that big lead to you guys the other day.  When you’re in a division with Boston and New York no one can afford to give those kinds of games away.

Jack Marshall
14 years ago

When the trade was made, the Red Sox were desperate for some outfield depth, defense, and completely out of the race with young pitchers in the pipeline. Bragg gave them that, and there was still some chance that he would develop into something more than a platoon outfielder with spunk.Most people thought Moyer was having a fluke year. Bragg stayed quite a while in Boston, and had his moments. Moyer was the obvious player to trade at the time, and he was going to be traded; its unfair to go back and criticize the trade based on subsequent developments that nobody could have predicted. (“That Lymon Bostock signing was a BIG mistake…”)