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THT Daily: Finally Braunby Matthew CarruthMay 25, 2007 Major League News for May 25Today’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 LinksAll You Can Eat - Just in case Americans were not fat enough, Dodger Stadium now has a section in the rightfield bleachers where fans can eat all they want for free with purchase of a ticket in that section, which ranges from 20 to 40 dollars. Giambi Ruling Comes Soon - Bud Selig is believed to make a ruling on Jason Giambi's steroid case within the next week or so. Any Korean Speakers Here? - This does not seem to be translated correctly, though the numbers do appear as shown in the column. Perhaps it was a typo? Smoltz Makes History - John Smoltz became the first pitcher to record 200 wins and 150 saves yesterday with a 2-1 win over Tom Glavine and the Mets. Smoltz Hall of Fame ballot will be an interesting case in six or seven years. Rejoice Brewer Fans - Ryan Braun has finally been called up as the Brewers start to stumble a bit. 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). Player NewsPlayer Headlines are courtesy of RotoworldThe Brewers announced that they're promoting Ryan Braun to the majors for Friday's game. Braun has very good power and likes to steal bases, so he could be a Hunter Pence-type asset right from the start of his major league career. NL-only leaguers will want him active immediately, and mixed leaguers should stash him away, if possible. Tony Graffanino and Craig Counsell figure to move into utility roles now. We're not sure what the corresponding move will be, but releasing Graffanino or sending down Corey Hart look like possibilities. Cutting Kevin Mench would also make sense. John Smoltz outdueled Tom Glavine by hurling seven scoreless innings to pick up his 200th career victory Thursday against the Mets. Glavine, who allowed two runs in six innings, remained stuck at 295 wins. Smoltz became the 106th pitcher to reach 200 wins and the first with at least 200 wins and 150 saves (Dennis Eckersley had 197 wins and 390 saves). By taking two out of three games, the Braves pulled to within 1 1/2 games of the Mets in the NL East. At 28-19, they're tied with the Brewers for the second best record in the NL. Yankees officials told the AP on Thursday that Roger Clemens is likely to make one more minor league start before joining the Yankees. If that's the case, his return would come against Boston on June 2 or 3. A final decision will come after Clemens throws a bullpen session Friday. Chipper Jones, still troubled by sore thumbs as a result of a May 11 collision, is out of the lineup for Thursday's game. Jones, who missed four games last week, aggravated the injury on Tuesday and nearly asked out of Wednesday's lineup. "It's becoming pretty troublesome," Jones said. "Every time I hit the ground, I hurt it. Every time I take a check swing, I hurt it. I'm not going to go out there if I can't help the team." Martin Prado is starting at third base tonight. Jeremy Bonderman survived a poor start to shut out the Angels for eight innings on Thursday and improve to 3-0 this year. It looked like Bonderman might be in for a short outing in his return from the DL after he walked .123-hitting Chone Figgins, gave up a single to Orlando Cabrera and then walked Vladimir Guerrero to open the game. Fortunately for him, cleanup hitter Gary Matthews Jr. ignored his command problems and went after the first pitch of his at-bat, tapping a grounder to the mound for an easy 1-2-3 double play. Bonderman continued to fight himself over the next three innings, but he cruised through the final four, throwing only 95 pitches to get through eight innings. With back-to-back wins, the Tigers cooled the surging Angels and regained the second best record in the AL. Yesterday’s ResultsAmerican League TOR 5 BAL 4 (Recap and Boxscore) TB 13 SEA 12 (Recap and Boxscore) DET 12 LAA 0 (Recap and Boxscore) CLE 10 KC 3 (Recap and Boxscore) National League ATL 2 NYN 1 (Recap and Boxscore) FLA 5 PHI 4 (Recap and Boxscore) WAS 4 CIN 3 (Recap and Boxscore) STL 3 PIT 1 (Recap and Boxscore) ARI 9 HOU 1 (Recap and Boxscore) CHN 3 SD 1 (Recap and Boxscore) Today’s GamesNational League --------------- New York Mets at Florida Marlins, 7:05 PM (R) Orlando Hernandez (2-1) vs. (R) Sergio Mitre (2-2) Pittsburgh Pirates at Cincinnati Reds, 7:10 PM (L) Paul Maholm (2-6) vs. (R) Aaron Harang (5-2) Philadelphia Phillies at Atlanta Braves, 7:35 PM (L) Jamie Moyer (4-3) vs. (R) Tim Hudson (5-2) Washington Nationals at St. Louis Cardinals, 8:10 PM (L) Micah Bowie (0-2) vs. (R) Anthony Reyes (0-7) Houston Astros at Arizona Diamondbacks, 9:40 PM (R) Woody Williams (1-6) vs. (R) Edgar Gonzalez (1-2) Milwaukee Brewers at San Diego Padres, 10:05 PM (R) Dave Bush (3-4) vs. (R) Greg Maddux (3-3) Colorado Rockies at San Francisco Giants, 10:15 PM (R) Jason Hirsh (2-4) vs. (R) Matt Cain (2-4) Chicago Cubs at Los Angeles Dodgers, 10:40 PM (L) Ted Lilly (4-2) vs. (R) Derek Lowe (4-5) American League --------------- LA Angels of Anaheim at New York Yankees, 7:05 PM (R) Jered Weaver (3-3) vs. (R) Tyler Clippard (1-0) Oakland Athletics at Baltimore Orioles, 7:05 PM (R) Danny Haren (4-2) vs. (L) Erik Bedard (3-2) Cleveland Indians at Detroit Tigers, 7:05 PM (R) Paul Byrd (4-1) vs. (L) Nate Robertson (4-3) Boston Red Sox at Texas Rangers, 8:05 PM (R) Daisuke Matsuzaka (6-2) vs. (R) Brandon McCarthy (4-4) Seattle Mariners at Kansas City Royals, 8:10 PM (R) Felix Hernandez (2-2) vs. (R) Gil Meche (3-2) Toronto Blue Jays at Minnesota Twins, 8:10 PM (R) Jesse Litsch (1-1) vs. (R) Scott Baker (1-0) Tampa Bay Devil Rays at Chicago White Sox, 8:11 PM (R) James Shields (3-0) vs. (L) Mark Buehrle (2-1) 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 31 15 .674 0.0 30 1 Game of the DayAlex Rios slammed a home run in the tenth inning as the Blue Jays beat the Orioles, 5-4, in ten innings yesterday. The Jays were down 4-2 in the seventh, but Frank Thomas hit a home run in the seventh, and Lyle Overbay’s double in the eighth led to the tying run. Thomas’ home run was his 493rd, tying Lou Gehrig and Fred McGriff for 21st on the career list.TORONTO (5) VS BALTIMORE (4) - FINAL IN 10 INNINGS
TORONTO ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
A Lind lf 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 .215
a-A Rios ph-rf 2 2 2 1 0 0 0 .289
L Overbay 1b 4 0 3 0 1 0 0 .255
V Wells cf 4 0 0 0 0 1 4 .271
T Glaus 3b 4 0 0 1 0 1 4 .286
M Stairs rf-lf 4 1 1 1 0 2 1 .310
F Thomas dh 3 1 1 1 1 1 0 .226
A Hill 2b 4 1 2 0 0 0 0 .281
J Phillips c 4 0 1 1 0 1 2 .256
J McDonald ss 4 0 1 0 0 2 1 .269
Totals 36 5 11 5 2 8 13
a-reached on infield single to third for A Lind in the 8th.
BATTING: 2B - A Hill (13, J Guthrie); L Overbay 3 (14, J Parrish, J Guthrie, D
Baez). HR - M Stairs (5, 2nd inning off J Guthrie 0 on, 1 Out), F Thomas (6,
7th inning off J Guthrie 0 on, 0 Out), A Rios (10, 10th inning off D Baez 0 on,
1 Out). SF - T Glaus. RBI - M Stairs (11), J Phillips (9), F Thomas (19), T
Glaus (23), A Rios (25). 2-out RBI - J Phillips. Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - M Stairs 1, T Glaus 1. GIDP - V Wells, J Phillips, A Lind.
Team LOB - 5.
FIELDING: Outfield assists - M Stairs (M Mora at Home). DP: 3 (J McDonald-A
Hill-L Overbay, T Glaus-A Hill-L Overbay, S Marcum-J McDonald-L Overbay).
BALTIMORE ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
B Roberts 2b 4 0 1 0 1 2 2 .306
M Mora 3b 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 .247
N Markakis rf 3 2 2 1 1 0 0 .270
M Tejada ss 4 1 2 3 0 0 0 .310
A Huff dh 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .253
R Hernandez c 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 .244
J Gibbons lf 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 .234
K Millar 1b 4 0 1 0 0 2 1 .256
F Bynum pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .176
C Patterson cf 4 1 1 0 0 0 1 .221
Totals 35 4 9 4 2 4 9
BATTING: 2B - C Patterson (10, S Marcum); N Markakis (14, C Janssen). HR - N
Markakis (6, 1st inning off S Marcum 0 on, 2 Out), M Tejada (3, 6th inning off
S Marcum 2 on, 2 Out). RBI - N Markakis (24), M Tejada 3 (21). 2-out RBI - N
Markakis, M Tejada 3. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - B Roberts 1.
GIDP - M Mora 2, A Huff. Team LOB - 3.
BASERUNNING: SB - F Bynum (2, 2nd base off J Accardo/J Phillips).
FIELDING: Outfield assists - N Markakis (L Overbay at 3rd base). DP: 4 (B
Roberts-M Tejada-K Millar 2, N Markakis-M Mora, M Tejada-B Roberts-K Millar).
----------------------------------------------------
TORONTO - 020 000 110 1 -- 5
BALTIMORE - 100 003 000 0 -- 4
----------------------------------------------------
TORONTO ip h r er bb so hr era
S Marcum 7 6 4 4 2 2 2 4.33
C Janssen (W, 2-0) 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 0.74
J Accardo (S, 5) 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0.00
BALTIMORE ip h r er bb so hr era
J Guthrie 7 7 3 3 2 3 2 3.09
J Parrish (H, 8) 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 4.50
S Williamson (B, 1) 2/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.29
J Walker 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.37
C Ray 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 3.97
D Baez (L, 0-4) 1 2 1 1 0 3 1 6.23
J Parrish pitched to 2 batters in the 8th.
HBP - V Wells (by J Guthrie). Pitches-strikes: S Marcum 101-62; C Janssen
23-17; J Accardo 13-9; J Guthrie 96-60; J Parrish 3-3; S Williamson 5-3; J
Walker 5-3; C Ray 13-9; D Baez 25-15. Ground balls-fly balls: S Marcum 12-7; C
Janssen 2-2; J Accardo 1-1; J Guthrie 9-8; J Parrish 0-0; S Williamson 0-2; J
Walker 1-0; C Ray 0-1; D Baez 0-0. Batters faced: S Marcum 26; C Janssen 7; J
Accardo 4; J Guthrie 27; J Parrish 2; S Williamson 2; J Walker 1; C Ray 3; D
Baez 5.
UMPIRES: HP--Mike Winters. 1B--Bruce Froemming. 2B--Mark Wegner. 3B--Brian
Runge.
T--2:49. Att--15,182.
Weather: 83 degrees, clear. Wind: 12 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 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 ARI AA Carlos Gonzalez... 5 3 1 0 0 0 1 4 RBI ARI AA Justin Upton...... 5 3 1 0 0 0 0 KC AAA Billy Butler...... 2 1 0 0 1 2 0 4 RBI CHW AAA Josh Fields....... 3 1 0 0 1 2 1 CIN AAA Joey Votto........ 4 3 0 0 1 0 0 HOU A Maxwell Sapp...... 4 3 3 0 0 1 1 STL AA Colby Rasmus...... 4 2 2 0 0 0 0 TB AAA Joel Guzman....... 6 2 1 0 1 1 1 4 RBI STL AA Tyler Greene...... 5 4 2 0 0 0 0 4 R CHW AAA Ryan Sweeney...... 5 2 2 0 0 0 0 NYY A+ Jose Tabata....... 5 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 LD FLA A+ Gaby Sanchez...... 5 3 0 0 1 1 1 ORG LVL PLAYER IP H R ER SO BB HR Notes CHW AA Gio Gonzalez...... 6 3 1 0 12 1 0 DET AA Andrew Miller..... 8 4 1 1 5 3 1 15 GB LA A Clayton Kershaw... 4 3 2 1 7 3 0 COL AA Franklin Morales.. 5 1 0 0 5 3 0 PHI A+ Joshua Outman..... 5 5 0 0 8 4 0 SF A+ Sergio Romo....... 3 0 0 0 3 0 0 CHW A+ Kyle McCulloch.... 6 8 1 1 5 3 0 TB AAA J.P. Howell....... 5 1 0 0 3 1 0 WAN A+ Shairon Martis.... 6 6 5 5 5 4 0 11 GB STL AA Mitchell Boggs.... 7 4 1 1 2 3 0 12 GB LA AA Jonathan Meloan... 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 BOS A+ Kris Johnson...... 5 3 1 1 2 2 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. Commenting is not available in this weblog entry. 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: May 20-26, 1963>> <<Previous Article: Infield Defense, Part 2 — The Next Step | |||||||
NYA 21 24 .467 9.5 26 -5 
TOR 21 25 .457 10.0 22 -1 
BAL 21 26 .447 10.5 22 -1 
TB 19 27 .413 12.0 17 2 
American League Central
DET 29 17 .630 0.0 27 2 
CLE 28 17 .622 0.5 26 2 
CHA 23 20 .535 4.5 20 3 
MIN 22 24 .478 7.0 23 -1 
KC 19 29 .396 11.0 19 0 
American League West
LAA 28 20 .583 0.0 27 1 
OAK 23 23 .500 4.0 27 -4 
SEA 21 22 .488 4.5 20 1 
TEX 18 29 .383 9.5 21 -3 
National League East Pwins Diff
NYN 29 17 .630 0.0 28 1 
ATL 28 19 .596 1.5 26 2 
FLA 23 24 .489 6.5 23 0 
PHI 23 24 .489 6.5 24 -1 
WAS 19 29 .396 11.0 18 1 
National League Central
MIL 28 19 .596 0.0 26 2 
CHN 21 24 .467 6.0 25 -4 
HOU 21 26 .447 7.0 21 0 
STL 19 25 .432 7.5 16 3 
PIT 19 27 .413 8.5 19 0 
CIN 18 30 .375 10.5 22 -4 
National League West
LAN 27 20 .574 0.0 25 2 
SD 26 21 .553 1.0 28 -2 
ARI 26 23 .531 2.0 24 2 
SF 24 22 .522 2.5 25 -1 
COL 20 27 .426 7.0 18 2 