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THT Daily: Jenks ties the recordby Matthew CarruthAugust 13, 2007 Major League News for August 13Today’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 LinksWasted Opportunity - Aaron Gleeman bemoans the likely fate of the Twins. Why didn't Terry Ryan just trust his talented farm products? Byproduct of Hatred - With a heated rivalry comes not only a deep motivation to best the other team, but a vast sense of happiness whenever the rival slips or fails. The Yankees are slowly catching ground on the Red Sox. Jeff Weaver - Jeff Weaver lost his first six starts and had an ERA more suitable for a mid-level star's point-per-game mark in the NBA. Then he went on the DL with what, at the time, seemed a convenient injury. Since returning he's been nothing short of a completely different pitcher (results-wise) and after Sunday's content, he leads the league in shutouts. For an explanation of why, I would peruse over to USS Mariner. Bemusing Incompetence - Like a lost puppy sometimes players just pull the most heartwrenchingly touching plays. Monday Irreverence - What would Monday be without a completely wacked out fantasy post that pits Bud Selig against arch enemy Bob Costas. Sort of. 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 RotoworldBobby Jenks tied a major league record on Sunday by retiring the 41st consecutive batter he faced. Jenks pitched a scoreless ninth with the White Sox down 6-0. When he retired Yuniesky Betancourt to complete the inning, it tied him with the Giants' Jim Barr for the most consecutive batters retired. The streak, dating back to July 17, has lowered Jenks' ERA almost a full run. Magglio Ordonez homered twice to drive in four runs in an 11-6 win over the Athletics on Sunday. Both homers came in the second inning when the Tigers sent 11 men to the plate and scored eight runs off starter Dallas Braden. Ordonez saw his power stroke evaporate in June and July, but he's back looking like an intimidating presence with four homers in his last seven games. Overall he's batting .357 with 21 homers and 102 RBI. Cardinals placed second baseman Adam Kennedy on the 15-day disabled list with a torn medial meniscus. Kennedy will miss 4-6 weeks because of the injury. Brendan Ryan is likely to take over as the primary second baseman in his place, with Aaron Miles remaining in a utility role. Ryan is worth picking up in NL-only leagues. Mets placed catcher Paul Lo Duca on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right hamstring. Lo Duca didn't want to go on the disabled list, but the Mets want to get him back at 100 percent. Ramon Castro will take over the starting job for the next couple of weeks and will likely remain a clear upgrade over Lo Duca offensively. The Yankees are "seriously" considering promoting Ian Kennedy for Tuesday's start against the Orioles at Yankee Stadium. Kennedy, their No. 1 pick in last year's draft, is a possible candidate to make his major-league debut when the Yankees need a starter to fill in for Roger Clemens. The plan with Kennedy hinges on what happens with reliever Jeff Karstens this weekend. If he was needed in relief last night or today, Kennedy will get the call. Yesterday’s ResultsAmerican League BAL 6 BOS 3 (Recap and Boxscore) SEA 6 CHA 0 (Recap and Boxscore) NYA 5 CLE 3 (Recap and Boxscore) DET 11 OAK 6 (Recap and Boxscore) TOR 4 KC 1 (Recap and Boxscore) LAA 6 MIN 2 (Recap and Boxscore) TEX 9 TB 1 (Recap and Boxscore) National League NYN 10 FLA 4 (Recap and Boxscore) PHI 5 ATL 3 (Recap and Boxscore) SD 10 CIN 4 (Recap and Boxscore) HOU 6 MIL 4 (Recap and Boxscore) STL 12 LAN 2 (Recap and Boxscore) WAS 7 ARI 6 (Recap and Boxscore) COL 6 CHN 3 (Recap and Boxscore) PIT 5 SF 0 (Recap and Boxscore)
Today’s GamesNational League --------------- San Francisco Giants at Pittsburgh Pirates, 5:05 PM (R) Matt Cain (4-12) vs. (L) Paul Maholm (7-14) San Francisco Giants at Pittsburgh Pirates, 8:05 PM (L) Noah Lowry (12-7) vs. (L) Shane Youman (2-3) Houston Astros at Los Angeles Dodgers, 10:10 PM (R) Roy Oswalt (12-6) vs. (R) Chad Billingsley (7-3) American League --------------- Baltimore Orioles at New York Yankees, 7:05 PM (R) Jeremy Guthrie (7-4) vs. (R) Chien-Ming Wang (13-6) Oakland Athletics at Detroit Tigers, 7:05 PM (R) Chad Gaudin (8-8) vs. (R) Chad Durbin (7-4) Tampa Bay Devil Rays at Boston Red Sox, 7:05 PM (R) James Shields (9-7) vs. (R) Tim Wakefield (13-10) Toronto Blue Jays at Kansas City Royals, 8:10 PM (R) Jesse Litsch (4-4) vs. (L) Odalis Perez (6-11) Minnesota Twins at Seattle Mariners, 10:05 PM (L) Johan Santana (12-9) vs. (R) Felix Hernandez (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 70 47 .598 0.0 72 -2 Game of the DayThe Yankees swept the series against the Indians (and swept their season series, too) with a 5-3 win. The win, coupled with Boston’s loss to Baltimore, puts them just four games back of the Red Sox.Cleveland almost came back in the ninth inning. The Yankees started the ninth with a 5-2 lead and Mariano Rivera on the mound. Three batters later, the Indians had cut the lead to 5-3 and had runners on second and third with no one out. Rivera managed to strike out the next two batters however, and retired Casey Blake on a fly to finish the game. NY YANKEES (5) VS CLEVELAND (3) - FINAL
NY YANKEES ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
M Cabrera cf 5 2 2 1 0 0 1 .302
D Jeter ss 5 0 1 1 0 1 1 .331
B Abreu rf 4 0 0 0 1 0 1 .282
A Rodriguez 3b 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 .300
H Matsui lf 3 2 2 0 1 0 2 .296
J Giambi dh 4 1 2 2 0 0 0 .270
R Cano 2b 4 0 3 1 0 0 1 .315
A Phillips 1b 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 .282
J Molina c 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 .235
Totals 37 5 12 5 2 3 10
BATTING: 2B - J Molina (11, J Westbrook). HR - J Giambi (9, 4th inning off J
Westbrook 1 on, 2 Out), M Cabrera (8, 7th inning off J Westbrook 0 on, 1 Out).
RBI - J Giambi 2 (26), R Cano (69), M Cabrera (51), D Jeter (56). 2-out RBI - J
Giambi 2, R Cano, D Jeter. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - A Phillips
1, R Cano 1, H Matsui 1. GIDP - D Jeter. Team LOB - 7.
BASERUNNING: SB - M Cabrera (10, 2nd base off R Betancourt/K Shoppach).
FIELDING: DP: 2 (A Rodriguez-R Cano-A Phillips, D Jeter-R Cano-A Phillips).
CLEVELAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
G Sizemore cf 4 0 1 0 1 2 3 .275
C Blake dh 5 0 1 0 0 0 5 .265
V Martinez c 4 1 2 1 0 0 1 .304
J Barfield pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .246
K Shoppach c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .271
R Garko 1b 3 0 1 0 0 1 1 .307
J Peralta ss 3 0 0 0 1 0 3 .275
J Michaels lf 3 1 1 1 0 0 1 .269
C Gomez 3b 4 0 2 0 0 0 1 .306
F Gutierrez rf 4 0 2 1 0 1 1 .282
A Cabrera 2b 4 1 1 0 0 2 4 .222
Totals 34 3 11 3 2 6 20
BATTING: 2B - F Gutierrez (5, M Rivera). SF - J Michaels. RBI - J Michaels
(34), V Martinez (83), F Gutierrez (17). 2-out RBI - V Martinez. Runners left
in scoring position, 2 out - C Gomez 1, C Blake 3, J Peralta 2, G Sizemore 1.
GIDP - R Garko, A Cabrera. Team LOB - 8.
BASERUNNING: SB - F Gutierrez (7, 2nd base off A Pettitte/J Molina), G
Sizemore (29, 2nd base off A Pettitte/J Molina). Picked Off - J Peralta (1st
base, A Pettitte).
FIELDING: DP: 2 (C Gomez-R Garko, J Peralta-A Cabrera-R Garko).
----------------------------------------------------
NY YANKEES - 000 201 101 -- 5
CLEVELAND - 000 000 111 -- 3
----------------------------------------------------
NY YANKEES ip h r er bb so hr era
A Pettitte (W, 9-7) 7 1/3 7 2 2 2 4 0 3.93
L Vizcaino (H, 8) 1/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 3.92
M Rivera (S, 19) 1 1/3 3 1 1 0 2 0 2.88
CLEVELAND ip h r er bb so hr era
J Westbrook (L, 3-7) 7 9 4 4 2 2 2 5.01
R Perez 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1.77
R Betancourt 1 2 1 1 0 0 0 1.67
HBP - R Garko (by M Rivera). Pitches-strikes: A Pettitte 97-69; L Vizcaino
7-4; M Rivera 30-21; J Westbrook 118-78; R Perez 14-9; R Betancourt 20-15.
Ground balls-fly balls: A Pettitte 13-4; L Vizcaino 0-1; M Rivera 1-1; J
Westbrook 12-6; R Perez 2-0; R Betancourt 0-3. Batters faced: A Pettitte 28; L
Vizcaino 2; M Rivera 8; J Westbrook 30; R Perez 4; R Betancourt 5.
UMPIRES: HP--Tim Mcclelland. 1B--Adam Dowdy. 2B--Fieldin Culbreth. 3B--Paul
Schrieber.
EJECTIONS: NY YANKEES' Guidry by Mcclelland (8th).
T--3:10. Att--41,612.
Weather: 80 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 3 mph, left to 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 CIN AAA Jay Bruce......... 2 1 1 0 0 2 0 TOR A Travis Snider..... 5 2 1 0 1 1 1 3 R LAA AAA Brandon Wood...... 5 2 1 0 0 0 0 BAL A Billy Rowell...... 5 2 0 1 1 0 0 5 RBI ! CIN AAA Joey Votto........ 4 2 0 0 1 0 1 DET AA Cameron Maybin.... 4 2 0 0 1 1 1 BAL AA Jeff Fiorentino... 5 3 2 0 0 0 1 CLE AAA Andy Marte........ 3 1 0 0 0 1 0 TB AA Reid Brignac...... 4 2 0 0 1 0 1 NYY AAA Alberto Gonzalez.. 4 4 1 0 0 1 0 BOS A+ Christian Lara.... 5 2 1 0 1 1 1 3 R COL A Daniel Mayora..... 5 4 0 0 1 0 0 ORG LVL PLAYER IP H R ER SO BB HR Notes CLE AAA Jeremy Sowers..... 7 8 3 2 7 1 0 ARI AA Brooks Brown...... 7 2 0 0 11 2 0 LAA A+ Robert Mosebach... 8 3 2 2 5 2 0 BOS AAA Clay Buchholz..... 5 3 3 2 9 2 2 CIN AAA Johnny Cueto...... 6 8 1 1 6 0 0 SEA AA Andrew Baldwin.... 8 8 5 2 5 1 0 CIN AA Matthew Maloney... 6 5 3 3 9 1 2 KC AA Jarod Plummer..... 3 1 0 0 4 0 0 BOS A+ Kris Johnson...... 5 5 2 1 5 0 1 9 GB MIN A Dan Leatherman.... 2 0 0 0 4 0 0 WAN AAA Collin Balester... 5 5 3 3 3 1 0 KC A+ Blake Johnson..... 5 5 1 1 5 0 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: The best and worst of the NL West>> <<Previous Article: THT Dartboard: August 12, 2007 | |||||
NYA 66 51 .564 4.0 73 -7 
TOR 59 57 .509 10.5 62 -3 
BAL 54 62 .466 15.5 57 -3 
TB 45 72 .385 25.0 43 2 
American League Central
DET 65 52 .556 0.0 65 0 
CLE 65 53 .551 0.5 63 2 
MIN 58 59 .496 7.0 59 -1 
CHA 54 63 .462 11.0 49 5 
KC 51 65 .440 13.5 54 -3 
American League West
LAA 69 47 .595 0.0 66 3 
SEA 65 50 .565 3.5 59 6 
OAK 56 62 .475 14.0 60 -4 
TEX 51 66 .436 18.5 53 -2 
National League East Pwins Diff
NYN 65 52 .556 0.0 64 1 
PHI 62 55 .530 3.0 64 -2 
ATL 62 56 .525 3.5 63 -1 
FLA 55 63 .466 10.5 54 1 
WAS 54 64 .458 11.5 49 5 
National League Central
MIL 62 56 .525 0.0 59 3 
CHN 60 57 .513 1.5 63 -3 
STL 55 60 .478 5.5 49 6 
HOU 52 65 .444 9.5 52 0 
CIN 50 67 .427 11.5 52 -2 
PIT 48 66 .421 12.0 49 -1 
National League West
ARI 67 52 .563 0.0 57 10 
SD 63 54 .538 3.0 64 -1 
COL 61 56 .521 5.0 63 -2 
LAN 60 57 .513 6.0 59 1 
SF 49 67 .422 16.5 55 -6 
Wildcard Standings
American League
SEA 65 50 .565 0.0
NYA 66 51 .564 0.0
CLE 65 53 .551 1.5
TOR 59 57 .509 6.5
MIN 58 59 .496 8.0
National League
SD 63 54 .538 0.0
PHI 62 55 .530 1.0
ATL 62 56 .525 1.5
COL 61 56 .521 2.0
LAN 60 57 .513 3.0