THT Daily: Back to Normal Play
by Matthew CarruthMay 19, 2008
Major League News for May 19
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 RotoworldJohn Smoltz (shoulder) reported discomfort following his bullpen session Saturday and said Sunday that he could be out "a lot longer" than initially expected.
Smoltz hasn't ruled out returning by the end of the month, but that now seems highly unlikely. Despite receiving a cortisone shot and taking two weeks to rest Smoltz's shoulder remains inflamed, making it difficult for him to build up arm strength in preparation for coming off the disabled list. The 41-year-old is planning to return as a one-inning reliever.
Sources told FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal that the Marlins and Jacque Jones have reached an agreement on a contract.
Jones is expected to head to extended spring training for a little while before joining the Marlins. Once ready, he'll battle Cody Ross and Alfredo Amezaga for playing time in center field. There's a good chance he'll start against right-handers if he shows enough range in the outfield to suit manager Fredi Gonzalez.
Jake Peavy admitted to experiencing elbow soreness over the course of his last three or four starts. He'll be examined by team doctors on Monday.
"It's not like a normal soreness. That's obviously the reason we're missing the start is because it's not normal," Peavy said before Sunday's interleague series finale in Seattle. "Your arm is sore all the time, but I do feel some of it in the elbow (and) that's always a cause for concern. We don't know how big, but it's always better to be safe than sorry." Wilfredo Ledezma wasn't needed in relief today, so he'll start in Peavy's place on Monday.
Randy Johnson went seven innings and combined with two relievers on a shutout of the Tigers on Sunday.
Johnson allowed six hits, walked one and struck out five in improving to 4-1. Chad Qualls and Brandon Lyon finished the 4-0 game. At 28-16, the Diamondbacks continue to sport the best record in baseball, though the Cubs have narrowed the margin to just one game.
The Mariners said immediately after Sunday's game that they're sending down Jeff Clement.
Just another bad decision from a bad team. Clement actually collected a triple and two doubles in his last four starts. If the Mariners really think they're better off with Jose Vidro at DH, they're hopeless. Jeremy Reed is expected to take Clement's roster spot.
Roy Oswalt, who left Saturday's game with a hip injury, said he doesn't know his status for his start Thursday against the Phillies.
"In two or three days I'll throw a little bit and see how it feels," Oswalt said. "I don't know (about the next start). All I know is today I can't pitch." Jack Cassel would likely be called up to start if Oswalt can't go.
The Marlins are moving closer to signing Jacque Jones, who was officially released by the Tigers last week.
Jones is likely to take over as the Marlins' center fielder and leadoff man versus right-handers, so he'll be worth picking up in NL-only leagues.
The Rangers announced Sunday that Hank Blalock (hamstring) will play first base after he comes off the disabled list.
This isn't good for the organization or the player. Third base is just as much of a problem spot as first base for the Rangers, and at least they have a top prospect at first in Chris Davis. Blalock has only occasionally hit like a legitimate first baseman in his career, and he could cost himself quite a bit of money going forward unless he returns to third later this year. That's probably what will happen. The switch might help Blalock stay healthy and work out in the short-term, but Blalock shouldn't be the Rangers' first baseman in 2009. Ramon Vazquez and German Duran will keep playing third for now. Chris Shelton figures to lose his spot once Blalock is activated.
Bartolo Colon will make his Red Sox debut Wednesday at home against the Royals.
Colon tossed six scoreless innings for Triple-A Pawtucket on Thursday, but was limited to 64 pitches. He probably won't go very deep into Wednesday's game, maybe 80 pitches. He's a risky fantasy play at this point.
Yesterday’s Results
American League WAS 2 BAL 1 (Recap and Boxscore) BOS 11 MIL 7 (Recap and Boxscore) NYN 11 NYA 2 (Recap and Boxscore) LAA 10 LAN 2 (Recap and Boxscore) SEA 3 SD 2 (Recap and Boxscore) HOU 5 TEX 4 (Recap and Boxscore) National League ATL 5 OAK 2 (Recap and Boxscore) KC 9 FLA 3 (Recap and Boxscore) TOR 6 PHI 5 (Recap and Boxscore) CHN 4 PIT 3 (Recap and Boxscore) CIN 6 CLE 4 (Recap and Boxscore) STL 5 TB 4 (Recap and Boxscore) ARI 4 DET 0 (Recap and Boxscore) COL 6 MIN 2 (Recap and Boxscore) CHA 13 SF 8 (Recap and Boxscore)
Today’s Games
National League --------------- Chicago Cubs at Houston Astros, 7:05 PM (L) Ted Lilly (4-4) vs. (R) Brian Moehler (1-0) Philadelphia Phillies at Washington Nationals, 7:10 PM (R) Brett Myers (2-4) vs. (R) Tim Redding (5-3) San Francisco Giants at Colorado Rockies, 8:35 PM (L) Pat Misch (0-0) vs. (L) Jorge De La Rosa (1-2) St. Louis Cardinals at San Diego Padres, 10:05 PM (R) Todd Wellemeyer (4-1) vs. (L) Wilfredo Ledezma (0-0) Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles Dodgers, 10:10 PM (R) Bronson Arroyo (2-4) vs. (R) Brad Penny (5-4) American League --------------- Kansas City Royals at Boston Red Sox, 7:05 PM (R) Luke Hochevar (3-2) vs. (L) Jon Lester (2-2) Texas Rangers at Minnesota Twins, 8:10 PM (R) Scott Feldman (1-1) vs. (R) Boof Bonser (2-5) Tampa Bay Rays at Oakland Athletics, 10:05 PM (R) James Shields (4-3) vs. (R) Joe Blanton (2-6)
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 27 19 .587 0.0 26 1TB 25 19 .568 1.0 25 0
BAL 23 20 .535 2.5 21 2
TOR 23 23 .500 4.0 23 0
NYA 20 24 .455 6.0 20 0
American League Central CHA 23 20 .535 0.0 25 -2
CLE 22 22 .500 1.5 25 -3
KC 21 22 .488 2.0 19 2
MIN 21 22 .488 2.0 21 0
DET 17 27 .386 6.5 18 -1
American League West LAA 26 20 .565 0.0 24 2
OAK 24 21 .533 1.5 26 -2
TEX 22 23 .489 3.5 21 1
SEA 18 27 .400 7.5 20 -2
National League East Pwins Diff FLA 24 19 .558 0.0 22 2
NYN 22 19 .537 1.0 23 -1
PHI 24 21 .533 1.0 24 0
ATL 22 21 .512 2.0 26 -4
WAS 19 26 .422 6.0 18 1
National League Central CHN 27 17 .614 0.0 29 -2
STL 26 20 .565 2.0 24 2
HOU 25 20 .556 2.5 24 1
CIN 21 23 .477 6.0 20 1
PIT 21 23 .477 6.0 20 1
MIL 20 24 .455 7.0 19 1
National League West ARI 28 16 .636 0.0 27 1
LAN 22 21 .512 5.5 23 -1
COL 17 27 .386 11.0 18 -1
SF 17 28 .378 11.5 16 1
SD 16 29 .356 12.5 16 0
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 DET AAA Michael Hollimon.. 5 3 0 0 2 1 2 SD AAA Chase Headley..... 5 3 1 0 1 1 1 4 R FLA AA C. Coghlan........ 4 3 1 0 1 1 0 3 R ATL A+ Brandon Hicks..... 3 2 2 0 0 2 0 BOS AA Zachary Daeges.... 5 3 3 0 0 0 0 BAL A+ Matt Wieters...... 5 3 0 0 2 0 0 4 RBI SF A Angel Villalona... 5 4 1 0 1 0 0 4 RBI PHI AA Gregory Golson.... 6 5 0 0 1 0 1 5 RBI ! SD AAA Nick Hundley...... 4 3 2 0 0 1 0 CHC AAA Matt Murton....... 3 3 1 1 0 1 0 MIN A+ Wilson Ramos...... 6 2 0 0 2 0 1 NYM AA Nick Evans........ 4 2 1 0 1 1 1 ORG LVL PLAYER IP H R ER SO BB HR Notes STL AAA Mitchell Boggs.... 7 2 0 0 10 2 0 OAK AAA Gio Gonzalez...... 6 4 1 1 9 2 0 TEX A Neftali Feliz..... 6 3 1 1 6 0 0 CLE A Ryan Miller....... 5 4 0 0 8 1 0 LAA AA Anthony Ortega.... 9 5 2 1 3 1 0 BOS AA Michael Bowden.... 6 5 3 3 7 2 0 LA A Bryan Morris...... 4 4 1 1 7 1 0 TEX A+ Kasey Kiker....... 6 8 5 5 8 0 1 CIN AAA Matthew Maloney... 6 5 2 2 4 1 0 TB A+ Lewis Rollins..... 7 5 4 4 5 1 1 14 GB PHI AA Antonio Bastardo.. 6 3 1 1 5 3 0 MIN A David Bromberg.... 6 7 3 2 6 2 0
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Matthew Carruth is an editor for The Hardball Times. He welcomes any and all sorts of communication at his email.