THT Daily: Battles of the Pens
by Matthew CarruthApril 18, 2007
Major League News for April 18
Today’s LinksYesterday’s Results
Today’s Games
Standings
Game of the Day
Top Minor League Performances
Player News
THT Links
It's my final day of class as an undergraduate and it's a busy one, so I hope you'll excuse the lack of an intro.
Soriano Hits the Pine - Alfonso Soriano will hit the bench, but not the DL with a minor hamstring strain. During that time, Cubs prospect Felix Pie takes over CF.
Underrated Shortstop - While we still cannot quantify defense all that well, we do know that it is a highly undervalued commodity when it comes to player analysis. For instance, Michael Young is regarded as one of the best young players in the game. Adam Everett is regarded a blackhole in the Astros lineup. However, if you factor in their defense, Everett is the more valuable player.
Jered Makes His Return - Jered Weaver sets out to prove his freshman campaign was no fluke. So far, not so good.
Pitching Injuries Continue to Occur - Next to ride the DL train, welcome aboard Jason Schmidt who landed on the 15-day DL with "shoulder inflammation".
To Take or Not to Take - Lichtman over at The Book Blog has some thoughts on whether or not a hitter should automatically be taking when a pitcher has thrown many consecutive balls. He thinks not.
Today at THT
Breaking Down the Broken Down: A Video Analysis of Mark Prior - Q: How different are Mark Prior's mechanics compared to previous years?
A: VERY.
Let's take a look using video from previous years.
Another Look at Advanced Gameday - Digging into the tremendous amount of information offered by MLB.com's new Enhanced Gameday, from a pitcher's average velocity in a particular part of a strike zone to the amount of break on his pitches.
THT Links represents the best efforts of our editors in scouring the various tubes of the interweb for both relevant and irrelevant news items. If you have happened upon a story that we have overlooked or wish to give feedback of any sort, please notify us at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Updated weekdays at noonish, ET.
Yesterday’s Results
American League NYA 10 CLE 3 (Recap and Boxscore) ARod: HR, 3 RBI; Posada: 3 RBI; TB 6 BAL 4 (Recap and Boxscore) Fossum: 7 IP, 3 R TOR 2 BOS 1 (Recap and Boxscore) Chacin: 6.2 IP, 1 R; Matsuzaka: 10 K TEX 8 CHA 1 (Recap and Boxscore) Kinsler, Sosa: HR, 3 RBI each; Tejeda: 7 IP, 1 R DET 7 KC 6 (Recap and Boxscore) DeJesus: 4-5; Polanco: 3-5, 3 RS, 2 RBI OAK 4 LAA 1 (Recap and Boxscore) Gaudin: 7.2 IP, 1 R; Crosby: HR, 3 RBI MIN 11 SEA 2 (Recap and Boxscore) Hunter: HR, 4 RBI; Mauer: 3 2B; Ortiz: 7 IP, 2 R National League NYN 8 PHI 1 (Recap and Boxscore) Alou: 2 HR, 3 RBI; Glavine: 6 IP, 1 R ATL 6 WAS 4 (Recap and Boxscore) Johnson: 4-5; Soriano: 1.2 key innings, 0 R, H SD 4 CHN 3 (Recap and Boxscore) CIN 11 MIL 5 (Recap and Boxscore) Freel: 4-5; Griffey: 2 2B HOU 6 FLA 1 (Recap and Boxscore) Lee: HR, 4 RBI; Oswalt: 6.1 IP, 1 R PIT 6 STL 1 (Recap and Boxscore) Gorzelanny: 8.1 IP, 1 R; LaRoche: HR, 3 RBI LAN 6 ARI 4 (Recap and Boxscore) Pierre: 2B, 3B; LAN: 8-2 in last 10 COL 5 SF 3 (Recap and Boxscore) Cain: 7 IP, 0 R; Torrealba 2B in 8th powers comeback
Today’s Games
National League --------------- New York Mets at Florida Marlins, 7:05 PM (R) John Maine (1-0) vs. (L) Dontrelle Willis (3-0) Philadelphia Phillies at Washington Nationals, 7:05 PM (R) Adam Eaton (1-1) vs. (R) Jason Bergmann (0-1) Houston Astros at Cincinnati Reds, 7:10 PM (R) Chris Sampson (1-0) vs. (R) Aaron Harang (2-0) Chicago Cubs at Atlanta Braves, 7:35 PM (R) Carlos Zambrano (1-2) vs. (R) Kyle Davies (0-0) Pittsburgh Pirates at Milwaukee Brewers, 8:05 PM (L) Paul Maholm (0-1) vs. (R) Claudio Vargas (0-0) Los Angeles Dodgers at Colorado Rockies, 8:35 PM (R) Derek Lowe (2-1) vs. (R) Rodrigo Lopez (1-0) Arizona Diamondbacks at San Diego Padres, 10:05 PM (R) Brandon Webb (1-1) vs. (L) David Wells (0-1) St. Louis Cardinals at San Francisco Giants, 10:15 PM (L) Randy Keisler (0-0) vs. (R) Matt Morris (2-0) American League --------------- Kansas City Royals at Detroit Tigers, 1:05 PM (R) Gil Meche (1-1) vs. (R) Jeremy Bonderman (0-0) Baltimore Orioles at Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 3:10 PM (L) Erik Bedard (3-1) vs. (L) Scott Kazmir (1-1) LA Angels of Anaheim at Oakland Athletics, 3:35 PM (R) John Lackey (2-1) vs. (R) Danny Haren (0-2) Cleveland Indians at New York Yankees, 7:05 PM (L) Jeremy Sowers (0-0) vs. (L) Kei Igawa (0-0) Boston Red Sox at Toronto Blue Jays, 7:07 PM (R) Tim Wakefield (1-1) vs. (R) Tomo Ohka (0-1) Texas Rangers at Chicago White Sox, 8:11 PM (R) Kevin Millwood (2-1) vs. (L) Mark Buehrle (0-0) Minnesota Twins at Seattle Mariners, 10:05 PM (R) Carlos Silva (0-1) vs. (R) Felix Hernandez (2-0)
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 TOR 8 5 .615 0.0 8 0BOS 7 5 .583 0.5 9 -2
BAL 7 7 .500 1.5 7 0
NYA 6 6 .500 1.5 8 -2
TB 6 8 .429 2.5 5 1
American League Central DET 9 5 .643 0.0 8 1
MIN 8 5 .615 0.5 8 0
CLE 6 4 .600 1.0 5 1
CHA 5 7 .417 3.0 5 0
KC 3 11 .214 6.0 4 -1
American League West SEA 5 4 .556 0.0 4 1
OAK 7 7 .500 0.5 7 0
TEX 6 7 .462 1.0 6 0
LAA 6 8 .429 1.5 5 1
National League East Pwins Diff ATL 9 4 .692 0.0 7 2
NYN 8 4 .667 0.5 9 -1
FLA 6 7 .462 3.0 7 -1
WAS 4 10 .286 5.5 4 0
PHI 3 9 .250 5.5 4 -1
National League Central CIN 8 6 .571 0.0 7 1
MIL 7 6 .538 0.5 6 1
HOU 6 6 .500 1.0 6 0
PIT 6 6 .500 1.0 6 0
STL 6 7 .462 1.5 6 0
CHN 5 8 .385 2.5 7 -2
National League West LAN 10 4 .714 0.0 9 1
ARI 9 6 .600 1.5 8 1
SD 8 6 .571 2.0 7 1
COL 6 8 .429 4.0 7 -1
SF 4 8 .333 5.0 5 -1
Game of the Day
The Padres bullpen beat the Cubs bullpen, 1-0, in nine innings. The Padre bullpen gave up only two hits, struck out eight and walked two, while the Cubbies pen gave up eight hits, struck out three and walked four. The key hit was Geoff Blum’s double in the 14th.
Before the two bullpens played their own game, the Pads and Cubs had played five innings to a 3-3 tie.
SAN DIEGO (4) VS CHICAGO CUBS (3) - FINAL IN 14 INNINGS
SAN DIEGO ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
M Giles 2b 7 1 3 1 0 0 3 .316
B Giles rf 7 1 2 1 0 2 3 .276
M Cameron cf 7 0 2 0 0 0 3 .173
A Gonzalez 1b 7 0 4 1 0 0 0 .288
K Greene ss 5 1 1 0 2 1 3 .226
T Sledge lf 5 0 0 0 2 2 6 .259
K Kouzmanoff 3b 3 0 0 0 1 1 4 .135
c-G Blum ph-3b 2 0 1 1 1 0 3 .125
R Bowen c 5 1 0 0 1 0 4 .174
G Maddux p 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
a-J Cruz Jr ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .360
C Meredith p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
b-P McAnulty ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .125
S Linebrink p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
d-R Branyan ph 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .385
H Bell p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
e-P LaForest ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .429
D Brocail p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
f-J Peavy ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
T Hoffman p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Totals 53 4 14 4 8 6 31
a-singled to right center for G Maddux in the 6th; b-grounded to second for C
Meredith in the 8th; c-flied out to right for K Kouzmanoff in the 9th;
d-walked for S Linebrink in the 10th; e-flied out to center for H Bell in the
12th; f-popped out to second for D Brocail in the 14th.
BATTING: 2B - B Giles (4, W Miller); A Gonzalez 2 (3, M Wuertz, W Miller); M
Cameron (1, W Miller); K Greene (7, W Ohman); G Blum (2, W Ohman). S - R Bowen
, G Maddux. RBI - B Giles (4), A Gonzalez (10), M Giles (9), G Blum (2). 2-out
RBI - M Giles. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - T Sledge 1, M Giles 1,
R Bowen 2, M Cameron 1, G Blum 2, B Giles 1, J Peavy 1, K Kouzmanoff 2. GIDP -
B Giles. Team LOB - 17.
BASERUNNING: SB - M Giles (3, 2nd base off W Miller/H Blanco).
FIELDING: E - M Giles (2, ground ball). DP: 2 (M Giles-K Greene-A Gonzalez, K
Greene-A Gonzalez).
CHICAGO CUBS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
F Pie cf 6 1 1 1 0 1 0 .167
R Theriot 2b-rf 6 1 2 0 0 0 0 .344
D Lee 1b 5 0 1 1 1 1 2 .380
W Ohman p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
A Ramirez 3b 5 0 1 1 1 1 2 .378
M Murton rf 5 0 0 0 0 1 3 .231
R Dempster p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
D Ward 1b 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .286
J Marquis pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .286
J Jones lf 6 0 1 0 0 1 1 .235
R Cedeno ss 5 0 0 0 1 2 2 .059
H Blanco c 3 1 1 0 0 0 1 .167
M Wuertz p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
S Eyre p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
b-C Floyd ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .303
B Howry p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
M DeRosa 2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .243
W Miller p 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
a-C Izturis ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .205
N Cotts p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
M Barrett c 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 .214
Totals 49 3 8 3 3 8 14
a-lined out to shortstop for W Miller in the 5th; b-lined out to shortstop for
S Eyre in the 9th.
BATTING: 2B - H Blanco (1, G Maddux); F Pie (1, G Maddux); D Ward (1, T
Hoffman). 3B - A Ramirez (1, G Maddux). RBI - A Ramirez (6), F Pie (1), D Lee
(10). 2-out RBI - A Ramirez, D Lee. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - A
Ramirez 1, R Cedeno 1, M Murton 2. GIDP - A Ramirez. Team LOB - 7.
BASERUNNING: SB - R Theriot (4, 2nd base off G Maddux/R Bowen), D Lee 2 (2,
2nd base off G Maddux/R Bowen 2).
FIELDING: E - R Theriot (1, ground ball). Outfield assists - F Pie (R Branyan
at Home). DP: 1 (R Theriot-R Cedeno-D Lee).
----------------------------------------------------
SAN DIEGO - 210 000 000 000 01 -- 4
CHICAGO CUBS - 100 020 000 000 00 -- 3
----------------------------------------------------
SAN DIEGO ip h r er bb so hr era
G Maddux 5 6 3 3 1 0 0 3.86
C Meredith 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
S Linebrink 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 3.86
H Bell 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0.00
D Brocail (W, 1-0) 2 1 0 0 0 4 0 2.35
T Hoffman (S, 3) 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 0.00
CHICAGO CUBS ip h r er bb so hr era
W Miller 5 6 3 3 4 3 0 9.00
N Cotts 1 2/3 2 0 0 1 1 0 0.00
M Wuertz 2 2 0 0 1 2 0 0.00
S Eyre 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 10.38
B Howry 2 2 0 0 1 0 0 3.52
R Dempster 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0.00
W Ohman (L, 0-1) 1 2 1 1 0 0 0 9.00
IBB - T Sledge (by M Wuertz). Pitches-strikes: G Maddux 83-51; C Meredith
27-13; S Linebrink 25-11; H Bell 29-18; D Brocail 31-22; T Hoffman 15-9; W
Miller 98-54; N Cotts 26-14; M Wuertz 35-17; S Eyre 2-2; B Howry 21-12; R
Dempster 26-14; W Ohman 22-15. Ground balls-fly balls: G Maddux 9-6; C Meredith
4-2; S Linebrink 4-1; H Bell 3-1; D Brocail 0-2; T Hoffman 0-1; W Miller 4-8; N
Cotts 3-1; M Wuertz 2-2; S Eyre 0-1; B Howry 3-2; R Dempster 3-3; W Ohman 1-2.
Batters faced: G Maddux 23; C Meredith 6; S Linebrink 6; H Bell 6; D Brocail 7;
T Hoffman 4; W Miller 25; N Cotts 8; M Wuertz 9; S Eyre 1; B Howry 8; R
Dempster 7; W Ohman 5.
UMPIRES: HP--Chris Guccione. 1B--Gary Cederstrom. 2B--Lance Barksdale.
3B--Jim Reynolds.
T--4:15. Att--36,021.
Weather: 59 degrees, sunny. Wind: 5 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.
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 POS AB H 2B 3B HR BB SO Notes ARI AA Joshua Ford C 5 4 3 0 0 0 1 ARI A+ Bryan Byrne 1B 5 4 2 1 0 1 0 .609 OBP during past week ATL AA Diory Hernandez 2B 4 4 0 1 1 0 0 Hitting .545 over last 22 at bats CHW A+ Javier Castillo 3B 5 4 0 0 1 0 0 LAA A+ Hainley Statia SS 5 4 2 0 0 0 0 MIL AA Brendan Katin RF 5 4 0 0 1 0 1 6 RBI SD A+ Kyle Blanks 1B 4 3 1 0 1 1 1 TEX AA Kevin West RF 4 4 0 0 1 0 0 ORG LVL PLAYER IP H R ER SO BB HR Notes CHC AAA Ryan O'Malley 7.0 5 1 0 3 0 0 CHC AA Mark Holliman 7.0 3 1 1 3 2 0 CLE AA Aaron Laffey 6.0 2 1 1 6 1 0 DET A+ Burke Badenhop 6.2 4 0 0 8 1 0 KC AA Luke Hochevar 7.2 2 0 0 11 0 0 LA AAA D.J. Houlton 7.0 3 0 0 7 1 0 NYM AAA Jason Vargas 6.0 1 1 1 5 3 0 OAK AA Kazuhito Tadano 6.0 4 0 0 8 0 0 PHI AA Landon Jacobsen 6.0 1 0 0 3 3 0 1 ER allowed over last 18 IP SF A+ Dave McKae 6.2 5 0 0 8 0 0 20 K over last 16 IP
Player News
Player Headlines are courtesy of RotoworldTorii Hunter appears to be questionable to play Wednesday after leaving Tuesday's game7 with a bruised shoulder. "Hopefully, it's not too many games (out)," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "He might even play tomorrow." Jason Tyner would start in center if Hunter can't, probably opening up left field or DH for Josh Rabe.
The A's aren't planning on having Rich Harden (shoulder) pitch again before next Tuesday. An MRI on Harden's shoulder came back clean, so he could miss just the one turn. The A's have two days off this week, so they won't need a fifth start if Harden can pitch on April 24.
Vladimir Guerrero is expected back in the lineup on Friday after suffering a sort tissue contusion on Monday. "Actually he feels much better than he could have been," manager Mike Scioscia said. "We're very encouraged. Hopefully, he'll be ready to go Friday." Reggie Willits started in his place tonight and likely will do the same on Wednesday. The Angels are off Thursday.
Dodgers placed RHP Jason Schmidt on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to April 16, with shoulder inflammation. So, either he was lying about the shoulder being sore or he's just gotten so used to pitching with modest soreness that he didn't even notice. "We are going to give it a few days to let it calm down. Hopefully, it's just a short term thing," Dodgers manager Grady Little said. Considering that Schmidt's velocity has been down since the very start of the spring, it seems unlikely that a few days off will do much good. Still, he'll probably be asking to get the ball again in two weeks. In the meantime, Mark Hendrickson figured to take his rotation spot.
White Sox placed outfielder Scott Podsednik on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to April 16, with a pulled groin muscle. We're guessing this is related to his offseason hernia surgery. Podsednik was off to a nice start at the plate, hitting .303/.378/.455. Still, the White Sox don't lose much by giving more at-bats to Rob Mackowiak and Brian Anderson against right-handers. Pablo Ozuna will likely continue to play against lefties.
Astros placed RHP Jason Jennings on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to April 9, with elbow tendinitis. Jennings, already scratched from a start over the weekend, will likely miss another two weeks. Matt Albers will fill in and make his first start of the season on Friday.
Alfonso Soriano hopes to return in a week or so after an MRI on his hamstring came back negative. There's still a chance that he'll land on the DL, but he avoids the assignment for now. Felix Pie has been called up to start in center field and hit leadoff in his place.
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Matthew Carruth is an editor for The Hardball Times. He welcomes any and all sorts of communication at his email.