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THT Daily: El Duque steals anotherby Matthew CarruthJuly 18, 2007 Major League News for July 18Today’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 LinksHeeeeeeeeeee's Back! - He wasn't gone that long, but Julio Franco has latched onto another team, the Braves, where he spent all of 2001 through 2005. Good Ol' Days - Has medical advancements helped prolong pitcher's careers? The answer seems obvious, but is it? Poor Pirate Fans - You make all other fans glad that we are not you. On the other hand, your hockey team has tremendous promise and your football won a Super Bowl, so, endure your poorly run baseball team, some of us have nothing to fall back on. But what of Pedro Gomez? - Is Barry Bonds boycotting ESPN games? Nate Silver seems to think so. More than You Ever Wanted to Know - Deadspin acquired an internal memo from ESPN's May 2007 employee townhall meeting. If you ever wanted to glimpse the most boring slice of life from inside ESPN, well, have at it. Mobile Stadia - Ervin Santana is joining the ranks of Horacio Ramirez and others who should really invest in technology that might allow them to take their home stadium on the road with them. 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 RotoworldTy Wigginton enjoyed his second straight 4-for-4 game to tie a Tampa Bay record as the Rays downed the Angels 8-3 on Tuesday. With eight straight hits, Wigginton has jacked his BA from .264 to .281 and tied Aubrey Huff's club record for consecutive plate appearances with a hit, set in September 2004. Wigginton, who hit his 20th double to drive in one and had a run-scoring single to reach 46 RBI, was mired in a 1-for-21 skid at home before this explosion. The major league mark for consecutive plate appearances with a hit is 12, set by Mike Higgins for Boston in 1938 and equalled by Detroit's Walt Dropo 14 years later. Ben Sheets will miss four to six weeks after an ultrasound Monday revealed a partial tear of the tissue surrounding the tendon in his right middle finger. Sheets will rest for 10 to 14 days and then begin to throw with a splint. It'd be no big surprise if this injury costs him the rest of the season or at least limits him when he does return. Since he could overtake Claudio Vargas or another starter while Sheets is out, Yovani Gallardo probably will have a rotation spot for the rest of the year. MLB sources told the Chicago Tribune's Phil Rogers that the Diamondbacks played Conor Jackson in left field Monday to showcase him for a potential trade to the White Sox. The Diamondbacks aren't giving up Jackson for Jose Contreras and we can rule out Javier Vazquez as a possibility—he's in Chicago because he demanded a trade out of Arizona—so it looks like they're targeting Jon Garland or maybe even John Danks. The White Sox probably would want a quality prospect along with Jackson in return for Danks. Even that might not be enough. Orlando Hernandez shut out the Padres for seven innings, and also singled, stole second and scored for the NL East-leading Mets. Hernandez is the first big league pitcher to steal bases in consecutive starts since the Mets' Tom Seaver May 17 and 22, 1967, against Atlanta and Los Angeles, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Seaver was 22 in 1967, Hernandez is 41. Yesterday’s ResultsAmerican League KC 9 BOS 3 (Recap and Boxscore) Pena: 2 2B NYA 3 TOR 2 (Recap and Boxscore) 10 innings; Halladay, Pettitte: 7 IP, 1 R TB 8 LAA 3 (Recap and Boxscore) Wiggy: 4-4; Shields: 7 IP, 2 R CLE 6 CHA 5 (Recap and Boxscore) See below DET 1 MIN 0 (Recap and Boxscore) Robertson: 7 IP, 0 R; Garza: 7 IP, 1 R TEX 11 OAK 4 (Recap and Boxscore) Young: 5-5, 2 2B; BAL 8 SEA 3 (Recap and Boxscore) Markakis: 4-5; Gibbons: HR, 5 RBI National League CIN 6 ATL 5 (Recap and Boxscore) Arroyo: 7 IP, 0 R FLA 4 STL 0 (Recap and Boxscore) Ramirez: 2B, HR; Vanden Hurk: 5 IP, 0 R HOU 4 WAS 2 (Recap and Boxscore) Sampson: 6.2 IP, 2 R; Redding: 7 IP, 3 R SF 4 CHN 2 (Recap and Boxscore) Zito: 7 IP, 2 R; Marshall: 6 IP, 2 R MIL 3 ARI 2 (Recap and Boxscore) Graffanino: 2B, HR; Vargas: 5 IP, 2 R COL 6 PIT 2 (Recap and Boxscore) Fogg: 7 IP, 2 R PHI 15 LAN 3 (Recap and Boxscore) Rowand: 5-6, 3 2B, HR; Victorino: 5-7 NYN 7 SD 0 (Recap and Boxscore) Hernandez: 7 IP, 0 R, SB; Beltran: 2 2B
Today’s GamesNational League --------------- Colorado Rockies at Pittsburgh Pirates, 12:35 PM (L) Jeff Francis (9-5) vs. (R) Ian Snell (7-6) Cincinnati Reds at Atlanta Braves, 1:05 PM (R) Aaron Harang (10-2) vs. (R) John Smoltz (9-5) Houston Astros at Washington Nationals, 1:05 PM (R) Jason Jennings (1-5) vs. (R) Jason Bergmann (1-5) San Francisco Giants at Chicago Cubs, 2:20 PM (R) Matt Cain (3-10) vs. (R) Carlos Zambrano (11-7) Philadelphia Phillies at Los Angeles Dodgers, 3:10 PM (R) Kyle Kendrick (4-0) vs. (R) Chad Billingsley (6-0) St. Louis Cardinals at Florida Marlins, 7:05 PM (R) Kip Wells (3-12) vs. (L) Dontrelle Willis (7-8) Arizona Diamondbacks at Milwaukee Brewers, 8:05 PM (L) Doug Davis (6-10) vs. (L) Chris Capuano (5-6) New York Mets at San Diego Padres, 10:05 PM (R) John Maine (10-5) vs. (R) Greg Maddux (7-7) American League --------------- Chicago White Sox at Cleveland Indians, 12:05 PM (L) Mark Buehrle (6-5) vs. (R) Jake Westbrook (1-4) Texas Rangers at Oakland Athletics, 3:35 PM (R) Kevin Millwood (6-7) vs. (L) Lenny DiNardo (3-6) Toronto Blue Jays at New York Yankees, 7:05 PM (R) Shaun Marcum (5-3) vs. (R) Roger Clemens (2-4) Kansas City Royals at Boston Red Sox, 7:05 PM (L) Odalis Perez (4-8) vs. (R) Julian Tavarez (5-7) LA Angels of Anaheim at Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 7:10 PM (R) Bartolo Colon (6-4) vs. (L) Scott Kazmir (6-6) Detroit Tigers at Minnesota Twins, 8:10 PM (L) Andrew Miller (4-3) vs. (L) Johan Santana (11-6) Baltimore Orioles at Seattle Mariners, 10:05 PM (L) Erik Bedard (8-4) vs. (L) Jarrod Washburn (8-7) 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 37 .602 0.0 56 0 Game of the DayThe White Sox’s bullpen blew another lead as the Indians scored two in the ninth and one more in the 11th to win yesterday, 6-5. Ryan Garko supplied the winning blasts, hitting a two-run homer off Bobby Jenks to tie the game in the ninth, and then singling to center after a Jason Michaels double off Amos Day two innings later.CHI WHITE SOX (5) VS CLEVELAND (6) - FINAL IN 11 INNINGS
CHI WHITE SOX ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Owens cf 6 1 1 0 0 0 0 .232
T Iguchi 2b 5 2 2 0 1 1 0 .255
J Thome dh 6 0 3 2 0 1 1 .290
P Konerko 1b 3 0 1 1 2 0 1 .271
A Pierzynski c 3 0 0 1 0 0 2 .254
J Dye rf 5 1 1 1 0 1 6 .229
R Mackowiak lf 5 0 2 0 0 1 0 .274
J Fields 3b 4 0 0 0 1 2 1 .241
J Uribe ss 5 1 0 0 0 0 3 .218
Totals 42 5 10 5 4 6 14
BATTING: 2B - P Konerko (22, P Byrd); J Thome (10, T Mastny). HR - J Dye (16,
6th inning off P Byrd 0 on, 0 Out). RBI - J Thome 2 (48), P Konerko (55), J Dye
(45), A Pierzynski (29). 2-out RBI - J Thome 2, P Konerko. Runners left in
scoring position, 2 out - J Uribe 1, J Dye 2, A Pierzynski 2. GIDP - J Dye.
Team LOB - 10.
FIELDING: Outfield assists - J Dye (B Francisco at Home). PB - A Pierzynski.
DP: 1 (J Dye-A Pierzynski).
CLEVELAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
G Sizemore cf 5 0 1 0 0 0 1 .274
C Blake 3b 5 1 1 0 0 0 1 .267
V Martinez 1b-c 4 2 2 1 1 0 0 .323
T Hafner dh 3 0 1 0 1 1 2 .270
B Francisco pr-dh 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .303
J Peralta ss 5 0 3 0 0 0 2 .289
F Gutierrez lf-rf 4 0 1 1 0 1 4 .321
T Nixon rf 4 1 2 1 0 0 2 .242
J Michaels lf 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .291
K Shoppach c 2 0 0 0 1 1 2 .322
a-R Garko ph-1b 2 1 2 3 0 0 0 .313
M Rouse 2b 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 .117
Totals 40 6 14 6 3 3 15
a-homered to left for K Shoppach in the 9th.
BATTING: 2B - V Martinez (25, J Garland); J Michaels (8, D Day). HR - R Garko
(12, 9th inning off B Jenks 1 on, 0 Out). SF - F Gutierrez. RBI - V Martinez
(74), F Gutierrez (14), T Nixon (28), R Garko 3 (38). 2-out RBI - T Nixon.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - T Nixon 1, K Shoppach 1. Team LOB -
8.
BASERUNNING: CS - M Rouse (1, 2nd base by J Garland/A Pierzynski), G Sizemore
(4, 2nd base by J Garland/A Pierzynski).
FIELDING: E - M Rouse (2, throw). DP: 1 (C Blake-M Rouse-V Martinez).
----------------------------------------------------
CHI WHITE SOX - 000 031 001 00 -- 5
CLEVELAND - 200 001 002 01 -- 6
No outs when winning run scored.
----------------------------------------------------
CHI WHITE SOX ip h r er bb so hr era
J Garland 6 7 3 3 3 2 0 3.88
C Haeger (H, 1) 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 3.37
B Jenks (B, 5) 1 2 2 2 0 0 1 3.89
D Day (L, 0-1) 1 3 1 1 0 1 0 10.13
CLEVELAND ip h r er bb so hr era
P Byrd 6 6 4 4 2 3 1 4.50
R Perez 1 2/3 2 0 0 0 1 0 1.93
T Mastny 1 1/3 2 1 1 2 0 0 4.46
J Borowski 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 5.15
R Betancourt (W, 2-0) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.27
D Day pitched to 2 batters in the 11th.
IBB - P Konerko (by T Mastny). HBP - A Pierzynski 2 (by P Byrd, T Mastny).
Pitches-strikes: J Garland 122-73; C Haeger 30-18; B Jenks 14-9; D Day 19-12; P
Byrd 99-63; R Perez 25-21; T Mastny 36-18; J Borowski 17-12; R Betancourt 8-7.
Ground balls-fly balls: J Garland 3-11; C Haeger 4-1; B Jenks 2-1; D Day 1-1; P
Byrd 8-7; R Perez 1-3; T Mastny 2-2; J Borowski 0-1; R Betancourt 2-1. Batters
faced: J Garland 26; C Haeger 7; B Jenks 5; D Day 6; P Byrd 27; R Perez 7; T
Mastny 8; J Borowski 3; R Betancourt 3.
UMPIRES: HP--Tim Tschida. 1B--Jim Joyce. 2B--Jim Wolf. 3B--Rob Drake.
T--3:58. (Plus rain delay totaling 25 minutes in the 1st). Att--21,321.
Weather: 67 degrees, overcast. Wind: 8 mph, in from right.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 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 SEA AAA Adam Jones........ 5 5 1 1 0 0 0 5 LD LA AAA Andy LaRoche...... 3 2 1 0 1 1 1 CIN A Drew Stubbs....... 4 2 2 0 0 1 1 CIN AAA Jay Bruce......... 4 1 0 1 0 0 0 ARI AA Justin Upton...... 4 2 0 0 0 1 1 ARI AA Carlos Gonzalez... 4 1 1 0 0 0 1 COL AAA Ian Stewart....... 3 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 SB WAN AAA Kory Casto........ 3 2 2 0 0 1 0 BOS AAA Jacoby Ellsbury... 4 1 0 1 0 1 1 OAK AA Richie Robnett.... 4 3 2 0 0 1 1 SF AAA Nate Schierholtz.. 5 2 0 0 2 0 0 4 RBI LAA A+ Hainley Statia.... 5 4 1 1 0 0 1 ORG LVL PLAYER IP H R ER SO BB HR Notes MIN AAA Kevin Slowey...... 9 3 0 0 8 1 0 NYM AAA Mike Pelfrey...... 6 3 3 3 7 3 0 MIL AA William Inman..... 6 4 2 2 7 1 1 TB AA Wade Davis........ 5 3 2 1 7 3 0 CIN AAA Homer Bailey...... 6 4 5 2 4 3 1 TOR AAA Josh Banks........ 8 3 1 1 5 0 1 WAN AAA Joel Hanrahan..... 6 5 1 1 6 1 0 BOS AA Michael Bowden.... 6 8 1 1 3 0 0 11 OF NYY AA Jeff Karstens..... 5 4 1 1 5 2 0 STL A+ Adam Ottavino..... 5 6 3 2 4 0 0 10 GB MIL A Jeremy Jeffress... 5 3 4 4 6 3 0 COL A+ Chaz Roe.......... 7 7 5 5 7 2 1 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: First half in review: The Milwaukee Brewers>> <<Previous Article: Can these young pitchers turn it around? | |||||
NYA 47 44 .516 8.0 54 -7 
TOR 45 48 .484 11.0 47 -2 
BAL 42 51 .452 14.0 46 -4 
TB 36 56 .391 19.5 34 2 
American League Central
DET 55 36 .604 0.0 56 -1 
CLE 55 38 .591 1.0 52 3 
MIN 49 44 .527 7.0 51 -2 
CHA 41 51 .446 14.5 39 2 
KC 40 53 .430 16.0 43 -3 
American League West
LAA 55 37 .598 0.0 51 4 
SEA 52 39 .571 2.5 46 6 
OAK 44 50 .468 12.0 48 -4 
TEX 41 52 .441 14.5 43 -2 
National League East Pwins Diff
NYN 52 41 .559 0.0 49 3 
ATL 50 44 .532 2.5 48 2 
PHI 47 46 .505 5.0 47 0 
FLA 45 49 .479 7.5 44 1 
WAS 38 55 .409 14.0 35 3 
National League Central
MIL 53 40 .570 0.0 51 2 
CHN 48 44 .522 4.5 50 -2 
STL 42 48 .467 9.5 38 4 
PIT 40 53 .430 13.0 38 2 
HOU 40 54 .426 13.5 42 -2 
CIN 39 55 .415 14.5 44 -5 
National League West
LAN 53 41 .564 0.0 51 2 
SD 51 41 .554 1.0 54 -3 
ARI 49 46 .516 4.5 44 5 
COL 47 46 .505 5.5 46 1 
SF 39 52 .429 12.5 45 -6 