November 20, 2008
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THT Daily: Hanging in thereby THT StaffSeptember 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 NewsPlayer Headlines are courtesy of RotoworldCarlos 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 ResultsAmerican 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.
Today’s GamesNational 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) 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 TB 84 51 .622 0.0 78 6 Game of the DayAstros 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.  Yesterday’s Home RunsThe 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 Access THT’s stats here…
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BOS 80 57 .584 5.0 82 -2 
NYA 73 64 .533 12.0 72 1 
TOR 70 66 .515 14.5 76 -6 
BAL 63 74 .460 22.0 66 -3 
American League Central
CHA 77 60 .562 0.0 78 -1 
MIN 77 60 .562 0.0 77 0 
CLE 66 70 .485 10.5 71 -5 
DET 66 71 .482 11.0 68 -2 
KC 57 79 .419 19.5 55 2 
American League West
LAA 83 53 .610 0.0 74 9 
TEX 67 72 .482 17.5 63 4 
OAK 63 74 .460 20.5 64 -1 
SEA 54 83 .394 29.5 58 -4 
National League East Pwins Diff
NYN 77 61 .558 0.0 77 0 
PHI 75 63 .543 2.0 78 -3 
FLA 70 68 .507 7.0 66 4 
ATL 59 79 .428 18.0 66 -7 
WAS 53 85 .384 24.0 54 -1 
National League Central
CHN 85 53 .616 0.0 87 -2 
MIL 80 57 .584 4.5 78 2 
STL 74 64 .536 11.0 74 0 
HOU 72 66 .522 13.0 66 6 
CIN 61 76 .445 23.5 59 2 
PIT 57 79 .419 27.0 55 2 
National League West
ARI 70 67 .511 0.0 72 -2 
LAN 68 70 .493 2.5 70 -2 
COL 65 74 .468 6.0 64 1 
SF 59 78 .431 11.0 56 3 
SD 53 84 .387 17.0 57 -4 
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