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THT Daily: Hanging in there

by THT Staff
September 03, 2008

Player News
Yesterday’s Results
Today’s Games
Standings
Game of the Day
Yesterday’s Home Runs

You can always find the most recent THT Daily at http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/content/thtdaily/ and an archive at http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/thtdaily_index/

Player News
Player Headlines are courtesy of Rotoworld

Carlos Zambrano admitted to arm soreness after allowing three runs in five innings Tuesday against the Astros. "He told our pitching coach he wasn't feeling good," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said after Tuesday's game. "He went up with the trainer, and he'll see Dr. [Stephen] Gryzlo tomorrow, and we'll know more by then." Sean Marshall will join the rotation if Zambrano needs to be shut down.

Jesus Flores was removed from Tuesday's game on a stretcher following a collision with Chase Utley at home plate. Flores apparently suffered a significant leg injury on the play, which involved Utley attempting a steal of home. Wil Nieves replaced him and could be the Nats' primary catcher for the rest of the year. With Paul Lo Duca and Johnny Estrada gone, the Nationals are without any other veteran catchers. Luke Montz and David Wallace are the possibilities to join the team from Triple-A.

Yankees activated RHP Joba Chamberlain from the 15-day disabled list andYankees GM Brian Cashman said that he sees Chamberlain beginning 2009 back in the bullpen because he hasn't thrown enough innings this season. More good news for Red Sox and Rays fans. "We'll talk about that stuff obviously at a more appropriate time," Cashman said. "But basically we believe that you can put some guys in jeopardy by putting way too much on them when they haven't been to that level. If someone adds a significant amount of innings from the previous year in an area where they've never been, history says those guys either have breakdown or significant underperformance the year after." You know what else puts young pitchers in jeopardy? Moving them from the pen to the rotation in the middle of seasons. Chamberlain is going to be 23 next year, and it's not like he's a max-effort guy. The Yankees can be cautious with him while still using him as a starter all year.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia has a strained right forearm muscle and will not play again this season. One wonders just how much arm problems have played a role in Salty's throwing woes. If he's actually been healthy and throwing so poorly, than his future as a catcher would be in serious doubt. With Salty unavailable, the Rangers will go with Taylor Teagarden as Gerald Laird's backup. Max Ramirez could get a callup.

Rays activated RHP Troy Percival from the 15-day disabled list. With the lead the Rays have, they can afford to throw Percival right back into the closer's role without any sort of rehab assignment. He'll be available against the Yankees tonight.

Jeff Kent underwent surgery Tuesday to repair cartilage damage in his left knee. Players typically miss 3-4 weeks after such an operation, but the Dodgers may bring Kent back in two weeks to act as a pinch-hitter. He was placed on the DL, so he won't be eligible to play again until Sept. 15. Blake DeWitt is expected to fill in at second base.

Yesterday’s Results
American League
BOS    14  BAL     2    (Recap and Boxscore)
NYA     7  TB      2    (Recap and Boxscore)
TOR     7  MIN     5    (Recap and Boxscore)
CLE     9  CHA     3    (Recap and Boxscore)
LAA     5  DET     4    (Recap and Boxscore)
KC      5  OAK     2    (Recap and Boxscore)
TEX     6  SEA     4    (Recap and Boxscore)

National League
ATL    16  FLA    14    (Recap and Boxscore)
PHI     4  WAS     0    (Recap and Boxscore)
HOU     9  CHN     7    (Recap and Boxscore)
PIT     3  CIN     2    (Recap and Boxscore)
NYN     6  MIL     5    (Recap and Boxscore)
STL     8  ARI     2    (Recap and Boxscore)
COL     6  SF      5    (Recap and Boxscore)
LAN     8  SD      4    (Recap and Boxscore)
You can download a compact version of yesterday's boxscores from Heater Magazine.

First Inning's Major and Minor League Daily Reports:

Today’s Games
National League
 ---------------
 Atlanta Braves at Florida Marlins, 1:10 PM
  (R) Jorge Campillo (7-7) vs. (R) Chris Volstad (4-3)
 New York Mets at Milwaukee Brewers, 2:05 PM
  (L) Oliver Perez (9-7) vs. (R) Dave Bush (9-9)
 San Francisco Giants at Colorado Rockies, 3:05 PM
  (L) Barry Zito (8-16) vs. (R) Aaron Cook (16-8)
 St. Louis Cardinals at Arizona Diamondbacks, 3:40 PM
  (R) Kyle Lohse (13-6) vs. (L) Doug Davis (6-8)
 Philadelphia Phillies at Washington Nationals, 7:10 PM
  (R) Joe Blanton (1-0) vs. (L) Odalis Perez (6-10)
 Pittsburgh Pirates at Cincinnati Reds, 7:10 PM
  (R) Ross Ohlendorf (0-0) vs. (R) Edinson Volquez (16-5)
 Houston Astros at Chicago Cubs, 8:05 PM
  (L) Randy Wolf (8-11) vs. (R) Ryan Dempster (15-5)
 San Diego Padres at Los Angeles Dodgers, 10:10 PM
  (L) Wade LeBlanc (0-0) vs. (R) Hiroki Kuroda (7-10)
 
 American League
 ---------------
 Chicago White Sox at Cleveland Indians, 12:05 PM
  (R) Javier Vazquez (10-12) vs. (L) Jeremy Sowers (2-7)
 Baltimore Orioles at Boston Red Sox, 1:35 PM
  (R) Jeremy Guthrie (10-11) vs. (R) Daisuke Matsuzaka (16-2)
 Seattle Mariners at Texas Rangers, 2:05 PM
  (R) Felix Hernandez (9-8) vs. (R) Dustin Nippert (1-4)
 LA Angels of Anaheim at Detroit Tigers, 7:05 PM
  (R) Jon Garland (12-8) vs. (R) Zach Miner (8-4)
 Minnesota Twins at Toronto Blue Jays, 7:07 PM
  (R) Nick Blackburn (9-8) vs. (R) A.J. Burnett (16-10)
 New York Yankees at Tampa Bay Rays, 7:10 PM
  (R) Carl Pavano (2-0) vs. (R) Edwin Jackson (11-8)
 Oakland Athletics at Kansas City Royals, 8:10 PM
  (L) Dana Eveland (8-8) vs. (R) Brian Bannister (7-14)

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
TB      84  51 .622    0.0   78     6    sparkline graph
BOS     80  57 .584    5.0   82    -2    sparkline graph
NYA     73  64 .533   12.0   72     1    sparkline graph
TOR     70  66 .515   14.5   76    -6    sparkline graph
BAL     63  74 .460   22.0   66    -3    sparkline graph
American League Central     
CHA     77  60 .562    0.0   78    -1    sparkline graph
MIN     77  60 .562    0.0   77     0    sparkline graph
CLE     66  70 .485   10.5   71    -5    sparkline graph
DET     66  71 .482   11.0   68    -2    sparkline graph
KC      57  79 .419   19.5   55     2    sparkline graph
American League West        
LAA     83  53 .610    0.0   74     9    sparkline graph
TEX     67  72 .482   17.5   63     4    sparkline graph
OAK     63  74 .460   20.5   64    -1    sparkline graph
SEA     54  83 .394   29.5   58    -4    sparkline graph


National League East        Pwins  Diff
NYN     77  61 .558    0.0   77     0    sparkline graph
PHI     75  63 .543    2.0   78    -3    sparkline graph
FLA     70  68 .507    7.0   66     4    sparkline graph
ATL     59  79 .428   18.0   66    -7    sparkline graph
WAS     53  85 .384   24.0   54    -1    sparkline graph
National League Central     
CHN     85  53 .616    0.0   87    -2    sparkline graph
MIL     80  57 .584    4.5   78     2    sparkline graph
STL     74  64 .536   11.0   74     0    sparkline graph
HOU     72  66 .522   13.0   66     6    sparkline graph
CIN     61  76 .445   23.5   59     2    sparkline graph
PIT     57  79 .419   27.0   55     2    sparkline graph
National League West        
ARI     70  67 .511    0.0   72    -2    sparkline graph
LAN     68  70 .493    2.5   70    -2    sparkline graph
COL     65  74 .468    6.0   64     1    sparkline graph
SF      59  78 .431   11.0   56     3    sparkline graph
SD      53  84 .387   17.0   57    -4    sparkline graph


Wildcard Standings
American League             
BOS     80  57 .584    0.0
NYA     73  64 .533    7.0
TOR     70  66 .515    9.5
CLE     66  70 .485   13.5
TEX     67  72 .482   14.0
National League             
MIL     80  57 .584    0.0
PHI     75  63 .543    5.5
STL     74  64 .536    6.5
HOU     72  66 .522    8.5
FLA     70  68 .507   10.5

Game of the Day
Astros 9, Cubs 7 - FINAL

HOUSTON                ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
M Bourn cf              5  1  1  2   1  2   1  .221
T Wigginton lf          4  0  0  0   2  2   1  .296
M Tejada ss             6  0  2  2   0  0   1  .283
L Berkman 1b            5  1  0  0   1  1   4  .334
G Blum 3b               5  2  1  2   1  0   3  .239
H Pence rf              6  1  4  0   0  0   0  .270
D Newhan 2b             5  1  2  2   0  1   3  .260
 W Wright p             0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 vc-M Loretta ph        1  0  0  0   0  1   1  .265
 J Valverde p           0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
H Quintero c            5  2  2  0   1  1   2  .238
B Backe p               1  0  0  0   0  0   0  .283
 F Nieve p              0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 va-R Abercrombie ph    0  1  0  0   1  0   0  .200
 T Byrdak p             0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .167
 C Sampson p            0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .136
 vb-D Erstad ph         1  0  0  0   0  0   2  .286
 D Brocail p            0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 J Castillo 2b          1  0  0  0   0  1   1  .239

Totals                 45  9 12  8   7  9  19   ###

CHICAGO CUBS           ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
A Soriano lf            5  1  1  1   1  1   3  .287
M Fontenot 2b           4  0  2  1   1  1   0  .295
 hc-H Blanco ph         1  0  0  0   0  0   2  .282
 R Cedeno 2b            0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .272
D Lee 1b                5  0  2  0   1  1   6  .292
A Ramirez 3b            5  0  1  0   1  1   2  .278
M DeRosa rf             5  1  2  1   1  0   3  .292
J Edmonds cf            3  2  1  1   1  0   3  .232
 C Marmol p             0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 hb-C McGehee ph        1  0  0  0   0  1   1  .000
 K Wood p               0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 hd-D Ward ph           1  0  0  0   0  0   1  .229
G Soto c                6  2  3  1   0  1   2  .294
R Theriot ss            4  1  2  2   1  1   1  .313
C Zambrano p            2  0  0  0   0  0   1  .355
 B Howry p              0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 M Wuertz p             0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 ha-R Johnson ph        1  0  0  0   0  0   1  .307
 A Guzman p             0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 K Fukudome cf          1  0  1  0   1  0   0  .265

Totals                 44  7 15  7   8  7  26   ###

----------------------------------------------------
    HOUSTON         - 010 024 000 02  --   9 12 0
    CHICAGO CUBS    - 100 203 100 00  --   7 15 3
----------------------------------------------------

va-walked for F Nieve in the 6th;  ha-grounded to third for M Wuertz in the 
6th;  vb-grounded to pitcher for C Sampson in the 7th;  hb-struck out swinging 
for C Marmol in the 9th;  hc-flied out to center for M Fontenot in the 10th;  
vc-struck out looking for W Wright in the 11th;  hd-flied out to left for K 
Wood in the 11th.

BATTING: 2B - H Pence (29, C Zambrano); M Tejada (32, C Zambrano); H Quintero 
(5, C Zambrano); A Ramirez (37, B Backe); G Soto (32, T Byrdak); R Theriot (19, 
T Byrdak). 3B - H Pence (4, B Howry). HR - A Soriano (24, 1st inning off B 
Backe 0 on, 0 Out), M Derosa (19, 4th inning off B Backe 0 on, 0 Out), G Soto 
(21, 4th inning off B Backe 0 on, 1 Out), J Edmonds (17, 7th inning off D 
Brocail 0 on, 2 Out), G Blum (14, 11th inning off K Wood 1 on, 1 Out). S - B 
Backe. RBI - D Newhan 2 (8), M Tejada 2 (57), M Bourn 2 (24), G Blum 2 (47), A 
Soriano (64), M DeRosa (80), G Soto (80), R Theriot 2 (36), M Fontenot (34), J 
Edmonds (50). 2-out RBI - M Fontenot, J Edmonds. Runners left in scoring 
position, 2 out - D Erstad 1, D Newhan 1, L Berkman 1, G Blum 1, H Quintero 2, 
D Lee 1, A Soriano 1. GIDP - M Tejada, J Edmonds, C Zambrano, M DeRosa, D Lee. 
Team LOB - HOUSTON 11, CHICAGO CUBS 12. BASERUNNING: SB - M Bourn (35, 2nd base 
off C Zambrano/G Soto). FIELDING: E - A Ramirez 3 (16, ground ball 2, throw). 
DP:  (B Backe-H Quintero-L Berkman, M Tejada-D Newhan-L Berkman 2, G Blum-D 
Newhan-L Berkman, R Theriot-M Fontenot-D Lee). 

HOUSTON                      ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
B Backe                       4 1/3   9   3   3   2   2   3   5.44
F Nieve                         2/3   0   0   0   0   0   0  14.73
T Byrdak                      0       2   3   3   1   0   0   4.35
C Sampson (H, 10)             1       1   0   0   0   0   0   4.10
D Brocail (B, 3)              2       1   1   1   3   1   1   4.38
W Wright (W, 4-3)             2       1   0   0   2   2   0   4.78
J Valverde (S, 39)            1       1   0   0   0   2   0   3.66

CHICAGO CUBS                 ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
C Zambrano                    5       5   3   3   3   3   0   3.58
B Howry                       0       4   4   4   1   0   0   5.62
M Wuertz                      1       0   0   0   1   0   0   3.35
A Guzman                      1       1   0   0   1   0   0   0.00
C Marmol                      2       0   0   0   0   2   0   2.58
K Wood (L, 4-3)               2       2   2   2   1   4   1   2.81

B Howry pitched to 5 batters in the 6th.
T Byrdak pitched to 3 batters in the 6th.

Pitches-strikes: B Backe 91-60; F Nieve 2-1; T Byrdak 13-8; C Sampson 14-9; D 
Brocail 33-14; W Wright 30-16; J Valverde 22-13; C Zambrano 86-55; B Howry 
20-11; M Wuertz 10-4; A Guzman 15-7; C Marmol 35-22; K Wood 40-28. Ground 
balls-fly balls: B Backe 7-4; F Nieve 2-0; T Byrdak 0-0; C Sampson 3-0; D 
Brocail 3-2; W Wright 1-3; J Valverde 0-1; C Zambrano 7-5; B Howry 0-0; M 
Wuertz 3-0; A Guzman 2-1; C Marmol 0-4; K Wood 2-0. Batters faced: B Backe 22; 
F Nieve 1; T Byrdak 3; C Sampson 4; D Brocail 9; W Wright 9; J Valverde 4; C 
Zambrano 23; B Howry 5; M Wuertz 3; A Guzman 5; C Marmol 7; K Wood 10. IRS - M 
Wuertz, C Sampson. UMPIRES: HP--Fieldin Culbreth. 1B--Jim Reynolds. 2B--Tim 
Timmons. 3B--Gary Cederstrom.   T--4:17. Att--39,846. Weather: 84 degrees, 
partly cloudy. Wind: 6 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.

image

Yesterday’s Home Runs
The following stats are provided by Hit Tracker, which logs the projected “true” distance of each home run (if it were to land uninterrupted at field level) and its "standard" distance, which is corrected for weather conditions. Each homer is also categorized into one of three types: Just Enough (JE) for homers that cleared the fence by ten feet or less, Plenty (PL) for those that were sure home runs but not “blasts,” and No Doubt (ND) for true “blasts”—homers that cleared the fence by at least 20 feet and landed at least 50 feet beyond the fence.
Hitter                Team    Pitcher              Team   True   Stnd.  # Type
Josh Anderson         ATL     Anibal Sanchez       FLA     364    373   1  PL
Daric Barton          OAK     Zack Greinke         KC      424    428   8  ND
Jose Bautista         TOR     Glen Perkins         MIN     414    411  13  ND
Carlos Beltran        NYM     Manny Parra          MIL     381    380  22  JE
Yuniesky Betancourt   SEA     Brandon McCarthy     TEX     412    393   6  PL/L
Geoff Blum            HOU     Kerry Wood           CHC     391    383  14  PL
Billy Butler          KC      Carlos Gonzalez      OAK     430    432  10  PL
Miguel Cabrera        DET     Scot Shields         LAA     396    391  31  PL
Mark DeRosa           CHC     Brandon Backe        HOU     397    387  19  PL
Blake DeWitt          LAD     Cha Seung Baek       SD      373    366   6  JE
Chris Dickerson       CIN     Ian Snell            PIT     392    381   5  ND
Jim Edmonds           CHC     Doug Brocail         HOU     363    356  17  JE
Andre Ethier          LAD     Brian Falkenborg     SD      405    399  19  PL
Jeff Francoeur        ATL     Anibal Sanchez       FLA     378    399  11  JE
Troy Glaus            STL     Yusmeiro Petit       ARI     401    393  22  JE
Mike Jacobs           FLA     Charlie Morton       ATL     423    442  28  JE
Adam LaRoche          PIT     Aaron Harang         CIN     366    356  17  PL
Felipe Lopez          STL     Yusmeiro Petit       ARI     383    373   4  PL
Victor Martinez       CLE     John Danks           CWS     348    336   1  JE/L
Yadier Molina         STL     Yusmeiro Petit       ARI     396    386   7  JE
Brandon Moss          PIT     Aaron Harang         CIN     418    405   8  ND
Xavier Nady           NYY     Matt Garza           TB      425    424  22  ND
Lyle Overbay          TOR     Boof Bonser          MIN     368    366  12  JE
Dustin Pedroia        BOS     Fernando Cabrera     BAL     377    396  16  ND
Manny Ramirez         LAD     Cha Seung Baek       SD      417    411  29  ND
Alex Rios             TOR     Glen Perkins         MIN     417    414  11  ND
Alex Rodriguez        NYY     Jason Hammel         TB      430    428  30  PL
Ryan Shealy           KC      Carlos Gonzalez      OAK     392    388   1  JE
Alfonso Soriano       CHC     Brandon Backe        HOU     391    365  24  PL
Geovany Soto          CHC     Brandon Backe        HOU     419    404  21  PL
Troy Tulowitzki       COL     Tim Lincecum         SF      406    369   6  PL
Dan Uggla             FLA     Buddy Carlyle        ATL     422    447  29  PL
Rickie Weeks          MIL     Jonathon Niese       NYM     373    370  12  JE/L

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