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THT Daily: Bonds hits twoby Matthew CarruthJuly 20, 2007 Major League News for July 20Today’s LinksPlayer News Yesterday’s Results Today’s Games Standings Game of the Day Top Minor League Performances You can always find the most recent THT Daily at http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/content/thtdaily/ THT LinksThe Man Not Quite Made of Iron - Padre fans are getting understandably upset over the lack of attention to Tony Gwynn's Hall of Fame entrance in favor of Cal Ripken Jr.'s induction. Reverse Hitting Drills - Hitting a round ball with a round bat has been called the most difficult skill in sports. Want to learn how to make it more difficult? Watch the Athletics. He Still Doesn't Strike Anyone Out - After winning three consecutive one-run games against Oakland, the Twins faced division leading Detroit and promptly lost three consecutive one-run games. All three games were closed out by Todd Jones who has had a recent bout of success. Twin Problems - In response to the three game sweep pushing the Twins from six to nine games out of the division lead and severely hampering their run at the wild card as well, Twinkie Town documents some organizational faults that lead to their current predicament. Sad Times - Not only are young pitchers getting their arms shredded through overuse and little to no oversight in youth baseball, but now, powered by incorrect beliefs, some healthy young pitchers are attempting to get elbow reconstruction surgery (TJ) because they believe it will improve their velocity. Those Pesky Groundscrew - Once you get a found groundscrew around, there's no hope, they'll just multiply forever and they are really difficult to squash. 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 . Player NewsPlayer Headlines are courtesy of RotoworldAfter taking three straight days off, Barry Bonds delivered his best game of the year Thursday, going 3-for-3 with two homers, six RBI and a walk in the 9-8 loss to the Cubs. Both of Bonds' homers came off lefties. The second to center off Will Ohman was especially impressive, sailing through a stiff breeze blowing in. Bonds is now up to 753 career homers. His second today was his 19th of the year, breaking Carlton Fisk's record for a player in his age 43 season. Not only is Bonds two away from tying Hank Aaron, but his 755th career homer will also tie him with Fisk for the most homers hit after age 40 (72). Chris Carpenter will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the rest of the season. How's that five-year extension looking now? The Cardinals gave Carpenter a $63.5 million deal last winter, even though he was already under control through 2008. Maybe he'll come back and be something worth close to that. However, as many arm problems as he's had over the course of his career, there's just no guarantee that he'll ever again be a dominant starter. Tommy John surgery will put him out through at least the All-Star break. It's probably about 60-40 that he'll come back and make a positive impact over the final two months of 2008. Pirates acquired infielder Cesar Izturis and cash considerations from the Cubs for a player to be named. With the Cubs clearly not interested in having him around, Izturis would have made a lot of sense as a backup on a contender. The Pirates, though, had no reason to acquire him. Giving him time at shortstop is only going to further damage their chances of ever moving Jack Wilson, and there's also little point to playing him over Jose Castillo. He's a clear upgrade over Don Kelly, but the Pirates aren't going to be helping themselves long-term by giving him at-bats now. C.C. Sabathia became baseball's first 13-game winner after allowing four runs -- three earned -- in six innings Thursday against the Rangers. Sabathia wasn't nearly at his best once again. Between his previous two starts -- both losses -- and tonight, he's allowed 30 hits in 17 innings. It doesn't seem like there's any physical problem, so he'll probably turn in a dominant showing soon enough. He gets Boston next. Yesterday’s ResultsAmerican League CHA 4 BOS 2 (Recap and Boxscore) TOR 3 NYA 2 (Recap and Boxscore) LAA 3 TB 0 (Recap and Boxscore) DET 4 MIN 3 (Recap and Boxscore) CLE 7 TEX 5 (Recap and Boxscore) National League ATL 10 STL 1 (Recap and Boxscore) CIN 7 FLA 5 (Recap and Boxscore) WAS 5 COL 4 (Recap and Boxscore) CHN 9 SF 8 (Recap and Boxscore) MIL 10 ARI 1 (Recap and Boxscore) NYN 13 LAN 9 (Recap and Boxscore) SD 1 PHI 0 (Recap and Boxscore)
Today’s GamesNational League --------------- Arizona Diamondbacks at Chicago Cubs, 2:20 PM (R) Brandon Webb (8-7) vs. (R) Jason Marquis (6-5) Cincinnati Reds at Florida Marlins, 7:05 PM (R) Kyle Lohse (5-11) vs. (L) Scott Olsen (7-7) Houston Astros at Pittsburgh Pirates, 7:05 PM (R) Roy Oswalt (8-6) vs. (L) Tom Gorzelanny (9-4) Colorado Rockies at Washington Nationals, 7:05 PM (R) Aaron Cook (5-6) vs. (L) Billy Traber (2-0) St. Louis Cardinals at Atlanta Braves, 7:35 PM (R) Adam Wainwright (8-7) vs. (L) Chuck James (8-7) San Francisco Giants at Milwaukee Brewers, 8:05 PM (L) Noah Lowry (9-7) vs. (R) Jeff Suppan (8-8) Philadelphia Phillies at San Diego Padres, 10:05 PM (R) Adam Eaton (8-6) vs. (R) Justin Germano (6-3) New York Mets at Los Angeles Dodgers, 10:40 PM (L) Oliver Perez (8-6) vs. (R) Brett Tomko (2-7) American League --------------- Tampa Bay Devil Rays at New York Yankees, 7:05 PM (R) Edwin Jackson (1-9) vs. (R) Mike Mussina (4-6) Kansas City Royals at Detroit Tigers, 7:05 PM (R) Gil Meche (6-6) vs. (L) Kenny Rogers (3-1) Chicago White Sox at Boston Red Sox, 7:05 PM (R) Jose Contreras (5-11) vs. (R) Josh Beckett (12-3) Seattle Mariners at Toronto Blue Jays, 7:07 PM (R) Miguel Batista (9-7) vs. (R) Jesse Litsch (2-3) LA Angels of Anaheim at Minnesota Twins, 8:10 PM (R) John Lackey (12-5) vs. (R) Carlos Silva (7-10) Cleveland Indians at Texas Rangers, 8:35 PM (R) Fausto Carmona (11-4) vs. (R) Brandon McCarthy (4-6) Baltimore Orioles at Oakland Athletics, 10:05 PM (L) Erik Bedard (8-4) vs. (R) Joe Blanton (8-6) StandingsThe 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 56 39 .589 0.0 57 -1 Game of the DayThe Tigers beat the Twins in ten innings, 4-3, completing a three-game sweep of the Twins, who are just barely hanging in the AL Central race.DETROIT (4) VS MINNESOTA (3) - FINAL IN 10 INNINGS
DETROIT ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
C Granderson cf 5 1 0 0 1 1 2 .295
P Polanco 2b 6 1 3 1 0 1 3 .333
G Sheffield dh 5 0 1 1 0 2 2 .301
M Ordonez rf 4 0 2 0 1 0 0 .360
C Guillen ss 5 0 2 0 0 1 2 .313
S Casey 1b 5 0 2 0 0 0 5 .297
T Perez lf 4 1 1 0 1 0 5 .250
M Rabelo c 3 1 1 0 0 0 4 .232
I Rodriguez c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .289
B Inge 3b 5 0 2 2 0 1 1 .247
Totals 42 4 14 4 3 6 24
BATTING: 2B - S Casey (23, S Baker); P Polanco (21, S Baker); G Sheffield (16,
S Baker); B Inge (14, J Nathan). 3B - M Rabelo (2, S Baker). S - M Rabelo 2.
RBI - B Inge 2 (44), P Polanco (40), G Sheffield (63). Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - S Casey 1, P Polanco 2, T Perez 1, M Rabelo 2. Team LOB - 13.
BASERUNNING: Picked Off - G Sheffield (2nd base, M Guerrier).
FIELDING: DP: 1 (C Guillen-P Polanco-S Casey).
MINNESOTA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
L Castillo 2b 5 0 1 1 0 0 1 .309
J Bartlett ss 5 1 2 0 0 2 1 .258
J Mauer dh 4 0 1 0 1 1 3 .307
J Morneau 1b 4 0 2 1 1 0 1 .289
M Redmond c 5 0 0 0 0 1 5 .284
J Kubel lf 4 1 3 1 0 0 0 .248
G Jones rf 3 0 0 0 0 2 1 .158
a-T Hunter ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .295
L Ford cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .237
N Punto 3b 4 1 1 0 0 1 1 .211
J Tyner cf-rf 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .277
Totals 39 3 11 3 2 7 15
a-grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop for G Jones in the 8th.
BATTING: 2B - J Kubel (17, J Bonderman); J Morneau (17, B Seay). HR - J Kubel
(8, 7th inning off J Bonderman 0 on, 0 Out). RBI - J Morneau (78), J Kubel
(38), L Castillo (18). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - M Redmond 1, J
Tyner 1, J Mauer 1. GIDP - M Redmond. Team LOB - 8.
BASERUNNING: SB - L Castillo (9, 2nd base off J Bonderman/M Rabelo).
FIELDING: E - J Bartlett (17, throw).
----------------------------------------------------
DETROIT - 000 000 300 1 -- 4
MINNESOTA - 000 001 200 0 -- 3
----------------------------------------------------
DETROIT ip h r er bb so hr era
J Bonderman 6 2/3 9 3 3 1 6 1 3.53
B Seay 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 3.24
Z Miner (W, 1-1) 1 1/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.84
T Jones (S, 26) 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 4.69
MINNESOTA ip h r er bb so hr era
S Baker 6 1/3 10 3 3 1 3 0 5.32
M Guerrier 1/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 1.59
D Reyes 1/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 3.52
P Neshek 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 1.49
J Nathan (L, 3-2) 2 2 1 1 1 1 0 2.14
D Reyes pitched to 1 batter in the 8th.
IBB - J Morneau (by J Bonderman), M Ordonez (by S Baker), C Granderson (by P
Neshek). Pitches-strikes: J Bonderman 106-70; B Seay 13-9; Z Miner 17-10; T
Jones 15-10; S Baker 104-69; M Guerrier 1-1; D Reyes 10-7; P Neshek 17-9; J
Nathan 27-17. Ground balls-fly balls: J Bonderman 9-5; B Seay 1-1; Z Miner 3-0;
T Jones 3-0; S Baker 6-10; M Guerrier 0-0; D Reyes 0-1; P Neshek 1-0; J Nathan
3-2. Batters faced: J Bonderman 29; B Seay 4; Z Miner 4; T Jones 4; S Baker 31;
M Guerrier 1; D Reyes 2; P Neshek 4; J Nathan 9.
UMPIRES: HP--Phil Cuzzi. 1B--Tom Hallion. 2B--James Hoye. 3B--Gary Darling.
T--3:31. Att--36,551.
Weather: INDOORSThe 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 GamesThe 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 LA AAA Andy LaRoche...... 5 2 0 0 1 0 1 4 RBI TOR AAA Adam Lind......... 4 4 1 1 0 0 0 ARI AA Carlos Gonzalez... 3 1 1 0 0 1 1 COL AAA Joseph Koshansky.. 4 2 2 0 0 1 2 CHW AAA Ryan Sweeney...... 4 3 0 0 2 0 1 5 RBI ! SEA AAA Adam Jones........ 3 1 0 0 0 2 2 CLE AAA Andy Marte........ 4 1 0 1 0 0 0 PIT AA Andrew McCutchen.. 4 2 0 0 1 0 1 NYY AAA Eric Duncan....... 3 2 0 0 1 2 0 LA AAA Chin Lung Hu...... 4 3 1 0 0 1 0 4 R OAK AAA Daric Barton...... 4 2 1 0 0 0 1 BOS AAA Bobby Scales...... 3 2 0 0 2 1 0 ORG LVL PLAYER IP H R ER SO BB HR Notes TEX AAA Edinson Volquez... 7 1 1 1 6 4 0 BAL AA Radhames Liz...... 6 4 1 1 8 2 0 LA A Clayton Kershaw... 6 6 4 4 9 1 1 ATL AA Matt Harrison..... 6 7 2 2 8 2 0 TB A J. Hellickson..... 5 3 1 1 7 0 1 ATL A Jamie Richmond.... 6 3 0 0 3 0 0 PHI AAA J.A. Happ......... 6 2 1 1 6 3 1 LA AAA Miguel Pinango.... 6 5 4 3 6 2 1 BOS A+ Michael Rozier.... 4 5 2 2 6 2 0 8 OF MIL AAA Adam Pettyjohn.... 6 8 2 2 6 1 0 CLE AA Scott Lewis....... 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 BAL AAA James Hoey........ 2 0 0 0 4 0 0 Access THT’s stats here…
Matthew Carruth is an editor for The Hardball Times. He welcomes any and all sorts of communication at his email. Do you have a general question or comment for one of THT's writers? Send it in to our weekly mailbag We also welcome unsolicited op-ed pieces of approximately 500 words for consideration. We reserve the right to edit for length, clarity and consistency of style. Please include your whole name and location to be considered. If you have a comment about this specific article, please email the writer. Next Article: This annotated week in baseball history: July 15-July 21, 1963>> <<Previous Article: Ten Things I Didn't Know Last Week | |||||
NYA 48 45 .516 7.0 55 -7 
TOR 46 49 .484 10.0 48 -2 
BAL 42 52 .447 13.5 47 -5 
TB 37 57 .394 18.5 36 1 
American League Central
DET 57 36 .613 0.0 57 0 
CLE 56 39 .589 2.0 53 3 
MIN 49 46 .516 9.0 52 -3 
CHA 43 51 .457 14.5 41 2 
KC 41 53 .436 16.5 44 -3 
American League West
LAA 56 38 .596 0.0 52 4 
SEA 53 39 .576 2.0 47 6 
OAK 45 50 .474 11.5 49 -4 
TEX 41 54 .432 15.5 44 -3 
National League East Pwins Diff
NYN 53 42 .558 0.0 51 2 
ATL 51 45 .531 2.5 49 2 
PHI 47 48 .495 6.0 48 -1 
FLA 45 51 .469 8.5 44 1 
WAS 40 55 .421 13.0 36 4 
National League Central
MIL 54 41 .568 0.0 52 2 
CHN 50 44 .532 3.5 52 -2 
STL 43 49 .467 9.5 38 5 
CIN 41 55 .427 13.5 45 -4 
PIT 40 54 .426 13.5 39 1 
HOU 40 55 .421 14.0 42 -2 
National League West
SD 53 41 .564 0.0 55 -2 
LAN 54 42 .563 0.0 52 2 
ARI 50 47 .515 4.5 45 5 
COL 48 47 .505 5.5 47 1 
SF 39 54 .419 13.5 44 -5 