THT Daily: Lee is the man
by THT StaffAugust 11, 2008
Player News
Yesterday’s Results
Today’s Games
Standings
Game of the Day
Yesterday’s Home Runs
Top Minor League Performances
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/
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| KRod reacts after shutting down the Yankees in the ninth to maintain the Angels' 3-3 tie. In the bottom of the inning, Chone Figgins batted in Howie Kendrick to win the game and sweep the Yankees. (Icon/SMI) |
Player News
Player Headlines are courtesy of RotoworldChris Carpenter indicated after Sunday's game that he's aiming to throw on the side Tuesday and make his next start. Carpenter allowed two earned runs in 5 1/3 innings before leaving his start against the Cubs with a triceps strain.
Brandon Webb earned his major league-leading 17th win of the season Sunday after holding the Braves to one earned run over six innings. Webb allowed six hits, but struck out five and tossed 62 of his 96 pitches for strikes. He also drove in two runs with a double in the fourth. The right-hander lowered his ERA to 2.88 and has a good chance of continuing the success against the Astros next week.
Cliff Lee improved to 16-2 on the season by tossing eight shutout innings Sunday in a 4-0 defeat of the Blue Jays. Lee let up eight hits, but seven of them were singles and he didn't walk a batter. He dropped his ERA to 2.45 and now leads the majors in that category. Rafael Perez pitched a perfect ninth inning, striking out all three batters he faced. Lee will get a tough test against the Angels next time out.
The Blue Jays said after Sunday's game that they're placing Scott Rolen on the DL and bringing back Kevin Mench. Rolen will rest his troublesome shoulder for two or three weeks before rejoining Toronto's lineup. Joe Inglett figures to get most of the playing time at third base. Marco Scutaro could also see some starts there.
Ian Kinsler exploded out of a 4-for-29 slump with a career-high five hits Sunday as the Rangers dropped the Orioles 15-7. The Rangers matched their season high with 20 hits. Marlon Byrd and Kinsler led the attack. Byrd finished 4-for-6 with a homer and four RBI. Kinsler also homered and wound up with three RBI and three runs scored. Josh Hamilton also did his part, knocking his 28th home run, and pushing his RBI total to 111. Kinsler is now batting .319 with 15 dingers and 65 RBI on the season.
Rays placed outfielder Carl Crawford on the 15-day disabled list with a right hand injury. Crawford said he felt a pop in his hand during his final at-bat of Saturday's game. If he has ligament damage, then he could miss at least a month and possibly the rest of the season. Right now, he's optimistic that he'll be back when his 15 days are up. Gabe Gross will be a regular outfielder for now. Rocco Baldelli was activated in Crawford's place and will also see considerable playing time.
Tim Wakefield will go on the disabled list before Sunday's game because of stiffness in his right shoulder. Bartolo Colon struggled in his first rehab start, so the Red Sox may go to fellow knuckleballer Charlie Zink to start in Wakefield's place on Tuesday. It'd be a big loss for Boston if Wakefield's shoulder is giving him as much trouble as it did at the end of last year.
Diamondbacks placed second baseman Orlando Hudson on the 15-day disabled list with a dislocated left wrist. The Diamondbacks said Hudson has already undergone season-ending surgery to put a bone in the wrist back into place. He'll later need a second surgery to fix damaged ligaments. Arizona will go to Augie Ojeda and Chris Burke at second base for now, but neither figures to be more than a borderline play in NL-only leagues. A second straight season-ending injury figures to take a toll on Hudson's next paycheck as he enters free agency.
Brad Lidge admitted Sunday that his throwing shoulder has been feeling sluggish. Lidge won't be available for Sunday's game. He apparently developed a mechanical flaw over the past few weeks which is causing some irregular fatigue. "You want to make sure you can nip it in the bud and get through it and come back really strong," he said. He should be ready to go on Monday.
Yesterday’s Results
Game recaps provided by Craig Calcaterra of Shysterball.Cubs 6, Cardinals 2: Losing the game was bad enough, but the Cardinals losing Chris Carpenter to a strained triceps in the sixth inning has to be demoralizing, especially considering how much they were counting on him. It's unclear as the bulldog goes to press how bad the injury is, but you have to figure that even if it's a minor thing, Carpenter will require way more time to come back from it than someone who isn't still easing his way back in from Tommy John surgery, right? Too much room for weird compensation-type injuries, isn't there? Then again, maybe that's what led to the triceps strain itself. Some say Mark Mulder was rushed back, and we see how that turned out. Others have suggested Carpenter was rushed too. No matter how bad the injury turns out, you have to figure that it's gonna be a lot to talk about in Cardinals Nation over the next couple of days.
Phillies 6, Pirates 3: The Obama field offices in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia had a little contest brewing last week:
This week, August 4-9, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia will compete on the baseball diamond, the football field, and in voter registration drives around both cities. The Steelers and the Eagles go at it on Friday in Pittsburgh and the next day the Phillies host the Pirates in Philadelphia. All week long the Campaign for Change Neighborhood Teams in both cities will be registering new voters to see which city can register the most voters by the end of Sunday.The final scores for what the campaign called "Rivalry Week" : Steelers 16, Eagles 10; Phillies 2 games, Pirates 1; Philly Obamaites 913 new voters, Pittsburgh 324. Now all that's left is for someone to tell the campaign that neither the Phillies-Pirates nor Eagles-Steelers are particularly major rivalries.
Angels 4, Yankees 3: This series sweep was a double f-you to the Yankees, with the Angels essentially saying "you ain't gonna make the playoffs, but even if you do, you ain't gonna beat us, so you may as well give up." Alex Rodriguez, more literally: "Today's game was devastating."
White Sox 6, Red Sox 5: Winning two of three is a less forceful message from Chicago to Boston, but a clear one all the same. With injuries mounting, could Boston and New York be home this October? And would anyone not a fan of those teams nor employed by Fox be all that sad about it?
Rays 11, Mariners 3: Most folks who talk about this game will mention that this win officially makes this the best Rays' season of all time. I'd also like to point out that one really ugly streak by Seattle will put them within striking distance of the worst Mariners' season of all time. Even playing at their current level will make it one of their four worst years, and that's saying an awful lot for this franchise.
Padres 16, Rockies 7: Livan Hernandez (2.2 IP, 7 H, 9 R, 4 BB) has gone from battering the Twins' otherwise strong playoff chances to killing the Rockies' weak ones.
Royals 5, Twins 4: After going 0 for his previous 17, Tona Pena, Jr. came into this one late and went 2-2, including the game winning RBI in the bottom of the 12th. Trey Hillman on Pena's last at-bat: "I think he might have half-expected I was going to pinch hit for him." Sure, it ended up turning out OK for the Royals here, but I think anyone with half a brain might have expected that Hillman would pinch hit for Pena (.157/.178/.204) with two on and one out in the bottom of the 12th.
Brewers 5, Nationals 4: Milwaukee is certainly taking advantage of the easy part of their schedule. Since that debacle against the Cubs, they have gone 7-2 against Atlanta, Cincinnati, and Washington. They have one more against the Nats today, followed by three against San Diego.
Astros 13, Reds 4: Aaron Harang came of the DL and got shelled (4 IP, 9 H, 8 ER). He's clearly not the same pitcher he's been the past few years, and probably isn't healthy. Cincinnati -- who controls him for three more years at reasonable prices after 2008 -- should realize that there is no point in running him out there anymore in what is the dictionary definition of a lost season. They need to shut him down.
Rangers 15, Orioles 7: It wasn't 30-3, but it wasn't pretty for the Orioles either. I wish the Rangers would have kept Jamey Wright in relief for one more inning so that he, like Wes Littleton last year, could get a save in a game that required no saving whatsoever.
Marlins 8, Mets 2: As a Braves fans I can't root for anyone else in the NL East no matter how out of it my Bravos are, but I was happy to see the Marlins win this one. Why? Because it keeps the Mets, Marlins, and Phillies packed nice and tight, and as a baseball fan, I'd really like to see those three bash each others' brains in until the last weekend. The wild card is coming out of the Central, so there is a live or die dynamic to this race that I truly want to see shared by three teams for as long as possible.
Diamondbacks 6, Braves 1: Brandon Webb goes to 17-4. He's behind Peavy, Lincecum, and Santana in NL ERA, but not by much, and has way more wins than any of them. Basically, it's his Cy Young to lose, isn't it?
Indians 4, Blues Jays 0: Like Webb in the NL, Cliff Lee has to be the Cy Young winner in the AL, right? He's leading in wins and ERA, and none of the three guys trailing him in the latter category are playing for winning teams, ensuring that only Lee truly has a shot at both titles.
Giants 5, Dodgers 4: Los Angeles dropped two of three to the Cardinals and then dropped two of three to the Giants. Now they have four games against two really good teams -- the Phillies and the Brewers -- while Arizona gets series against the Rockies, Astros, and then the Padres. Upshot: the Dodgers better step it up lest they find themselves in a hole before September rolls around.
Tigers 6, A's 1: For years, the A's organization has been preaching the value of the walk. Walks lead to runs, which lead to victories. It doesn't matter if you look like a Greek god or can run like the wind, as long as there are walks in your statline, the A's are going to be happy with you. Only problem here is that someone forgot to tell the A's pitchers -- who walked ten Tigers' hitters yesterday -- that that advice isn't meant for them.
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 --------------- Pittsburgh Pirates at New York Mets, 1:10 PM (L) Zach Duke (4-10) vs. (R) Pedro Martinez (3-3) Washington Nationals at Milwaukee Brewers, 2:05 PM (R) Garrett Mock (0-2) vs. (R) Dave Bush (6-9) St. Louis Cardinals at Florida Marlins, 7:10 PM (R) Joel Pineiro (4-5) vs. (R) Anibal Sanchez (1-1) San Francisco Giants at Houston Astros, 8:05 PM (L) Jonathan Sanchez (8-8) vs. (R) Brandon Backe (6-11) Philadelphia Phillies at Los Angeles Dodgers, 10:10 PM (R) Kyle Kendrick (10-5) vs. (R) Derek Lowe (8-10) American League --------------- Baltimore Orioles at Cleveland Indians, 7:05 PM (R) Dennis Sarfate (4-2) vs. (R) Fausto Carmona (5-4) Toronto Blue Jays at Detroit Tigers, 7:05 PM (R) Shaun Marcum (6-5) vs. (R) Justin Verlander (8-12) New York Yankees at Minnesota Twins, 8:10 PM (R) Sidney Ponson (7-2) vs. (L) Glen Perkins (8-3) Boston Red Sox at Chicago White Sox, 8:11 PM (R) Josh Beckett (10-8) vs. (L) John Danks (9-4)
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 71 46 .607 0.0 65 6BOS 67 51 .568 4.5 70 -3
NYA 63 55 .534 8.5 63 0
TOR 59 59 .500 12.5 63 -4
BAL 56 60 .483 14.5 57 -1
American League Central CHA 65 51 .560 0.0 65 0
MIN 65 52 .556 0.5 62 3
DET 58 59 .496 7.5 61 -3
KC 54 64 .458 12.0 51 3
CLE 52 64 .448 13.0 59 -7
American League West LAA 74 43 .632 0.0 65 9
TEX 61 58 .513 14.0 56 5
OAK 54 63 .462 20.0 59 -5
SEA 45 73 .381 29.5 50 -5
National League East Pwins Diff PHI 64 53 .547 0.0 66 -2
NYN 62 55 .530 2.0 62 0
FLA 62 56 .525 2.5 57 5
ATL 55 63 .466 9.5 62 -7
WAS 44 74 .373 20.5 46 -2
National League Central CHN 71 47 .602 0.0 73 -2
MIL 67 51 .568 4.0 63 4
STL 65 55 .542 7.0 64 1
HOU 58 59 .496 12.5 55 3
PIT 53 64 .453 17.5 51 2
CIN 52 67 .437 19.5 50 2
National League West ARI 60 58 .508 0.0 61 -1
LAN 58 59 .496 1.5 61 -3
COL 53 67 .442 8.0 53 0
SF 50 66 .431 9.0 48 2
SD 46 72 .390 14.0 48 -2
Game of the Day
LA DODGERS (4) VS SAN FRANCISCO (5) - FINAL
LA DODGERS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
M Kemp cf 5 2 3 0 0 0 0 .294
A Ethier rf 4 2 2 1 1 0 1 .276
J Kent 2b 4 0 0 1 0 1 3 .262
R Troncoso p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
H Kuo p 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .273
M Ramirez lf 4 0 1 2 0 1 2 .459
J Loney 1b 4 0 0 0 1 1 4 .294
R Martin c 2 0 0 0 2 0 2 .286
C Blake 3b 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 .286
A Berroa ss 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 .210
C Billingsley p 2 0 0 0 0 2 1 .087
a-J Pierre ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .277
P Ozuna 2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .143
Totals 36 4 6 4 4 6 17
a-grounded to shortstop for C Billingsley in the 7th.
BATTING: 2B - M Kemp (27, M Cain); M Ramirez (2, M Cain). 3B - A Ethier (3, M
Cain); M Kemp (4, M Cain). RBI - J Kent (51), A Ethier (47), M Ramirez 2 (11).
2-out RBI - M Ramirez 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - A Berroa 1,
J Loney 2, R Martin 1. Team LOB - 10.
BASERUNNING: SB - M Kemp (27, 2nd base off M Cain/S Holm).
FIELDING: E - C Blake (1, ground ball).
SAN FRANCISCO ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D Roberts lf 3 2 2 0 1 0 0 .256
a-R Aurilia ph-3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .272
I Ochoa ss 4 1 2 0 0 2 4 .302
J Taschner p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
R Winn rf 4 1 3 3 1 1 1 .294
A Rowand cf 5 1 4 0 0 0 1 .288
J Bowker 1b 4 0 0 0 0 0 6 .251
d-O Vizquel ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .180
J Castillo 3b-2b 5 0 0 0 0 3 3 .244
E Burriss 2b-ss 4 0 0 1 1 0 4 .256
S Holm c 3 0 1 0 0 1 0 .259
b-E Velez ph-lf 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 .209
M Cain p 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 .156
K Yabu p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
c-B Molina ph-c 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .279
Totals 39 5 14 5 3 8 22
a-popped out to shortstop for D Roberts in the 8th; b-grounded to second for S
Holm in the 8th; c-singled to left for K Yabu in the 8th; d-bunt popped out
foul to catcher for J Bowker in the 9th.
BATTING: 2B - R Winn (25, C Billingsley); I Ochoa (3, C Billingsley). S - I
Ochoa , M Cain. RBI - R Winn 3 (46), E Burriss (10), E Velez (12). 2-out RBI -
R Winn 2, E Velez. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - R Winn 1, I Ochoa
2, J Bowker 2, E Burriss 1. Team LOB - 13.
FIELDING: E - I Ochoa (2, ground ball); R Aurilia (8, ground ball). PB - B
Molina.
----------------------------------------------------
LA DODGERS - 001 010 200 -- 4
SAN FRANCISCO - 100 200 002 -- 5
Two outs when winning run scored.
----------------------------------------------------
LA DODGERS ip h r er bb so hr era
C Billingsley 6 9 3 3 3 6 0 3.07
R Troncoso (H, 1) 1 1/3 2 0 0 0 1 0 4.32
H Kuo (L, 3-2; B, 1) 1 1/3 3 2 0 0 1 0 1.75
SAN FRANCISCO ip h r er bb so hr era
M Cain 7 6 4 4 4 4 0 3.67
K Yabu 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.60
J Taschner (W, 3-1) 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 3.23
IBB - D Roberts (by C Billingsley), J Loney (by M Cain). BALK - M Cain. HBP -
M Ramirez (by M Cain). Pitches-strikes: C Billingsley 116-75; R Troncoso 17-12;
H Kuo 21-17; M Cain 126-81; K Yabu 11-9; J Taschner 22-15. Ground balls-fly
balls: C Billingsley 9-3; R Troncoso 3-0; H Kuo 1-2; M Cain 5-12; K Yabu 2-1; J
Taschner 0-2. Batters faced: C Billingsley 30; R Troncoso 6; H Kuo 8; M Cain
33; K Yabu 3; J Taschner 5.
UMPIRES: HP--Tim Mcclelland. 1B--Mike Dimuro. 2B--Larry Vanover. 3B--Mike
Everitt.
T--3:18. Att--41,804.
Weather: 71 degrees, sunny. Wind: 9 mph, out 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.
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 Willy Aybar TB R.A. Dickey SEA 0 0 5 0 Willy Aybar TB Jake Woods SEA 0 0 4 0 Lance Berkman HOU Aaron Harang CIN 385 366 23 JE/L Geoff Blum HOU Aaron Harang CIN 391 364 11 PL Michael Bourn HOU Aaron Harang CIN 352 340 5 JE/L Marlon Byrd TEX George Sherrill BAL 0 0 8 0 Jolbert Cabrera CIN Wandy Rodriguez HOU 338 314 1 JE/L Luke Carlin SD Matt Herges COL 414 388 1 JE Jermaine Dye CWS Clay Buchholz BOS 0 0 27 0 Edwin Encarnacion CIN Wandy Rodriguez HOU 442 419 22 ND Jody Gerut SD Livan Hernandez COL 419 373 10 PL Brian Giles SD Jason Grilli COL 390 332 8 JE/L Luis Gonzalez FLA Carlos Muniz NYM 383 394 7 PL Curtis Granderson DET Greg Smith OAK 0 0 15 0 Josh Hamilton TEX Waters BAL 0 0 27 0 Ryan Hanigan CIN Tim Byrdak HOU 394 369 1 JE/L Brad Hawpe COL Chris Young SD 403 376 18 PL Aubrey Huff BAL Matt Harrison TEX 0 0 23 0 Mike Jacobs FLA Carlos Muniz NYM 377 386 25 PL Gabe Kapler MIL Luis Ayala WAS 411 413 6 ND Austin Kearns WAS Eric Gagne MIL 371 379 6 PL Ian Kinsler TEX Chris Waters BAL 0 0 15 0 Kevin Kouzmanoff SD Livan Hernandez COL 432 370 17 PL/L Jose Lopez SEA Edwin Jackson TB 0 0 10 0 Mike Lowell BOS Gavin Floyd CWS 0 0 14 0 Lastings Milledge WAS Eric Gagne MIL 419 428 12 PL Melvin Mora BAL Matt Harrison TEX 0 0 17 0 Carlos Quentin CWS Clay Buchholz BOS 0 0 31 0 Shawn Riggans TB R.A. Dickey SEA 0 0 5 0 Chris Snyder ARI Mike Hampton ATL 371 363 10 JE Jim Thome CWS Clay Buchholz BOS 0 0 24 0 Chase Utley PHI Tyler Yates PIT 365 344 29 PL/L
Top Minor League Games
The 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 AA Chris Valaika..... 5 4 2 0 1 0 0 5 RBI ! CHC AA Tyler Colvin...... 5 3 2 0 1 0 0 4 RBI COL A Everth Cabrera.... 5 4 1 0 1 0 0 FLA AAA Jai Miller........ 5 3 0 1 1 0 1 4 RBI MIN AA Brian Dinkelman... 4 3 2 0 0 1 1 DET AA Wilkin Ramirez.... 4 3 0 0 1 1 0 COL A+ Michael McKenry... 3 2 1 0 1 1 0 BAL AAA Michael Costanzo.. 4 2 1 0 1 0 1 OAK AAA Aaron Cunningham.. 5 3 2 0 0 0 1 MIN AAA Luke Hughes....... 4 2 1 0 1 0 1 4 RBI MIL AA Angel Salome...... 6 3 2 0 0 0 0 5 RBI ! SF AA Pablo Sandoval.... 3 3 0 0 1 1 0 4 R ORG LVL PLAYER IP H R ER SO BB HR Notes PHI AAA J.A. Happ......... 6 2 0 0 10 1 0 COL AA Brandon Hynick.... 8 4 1 1 8 0 0 ATL AA Thomas Hanson..... 6 2 0 0 10 1 0 FLA AA Aaron Thompson.... 7 3 0 0 8 0 0 COL A- C. Friedrich...... 6 3 1 0 10 1 0 PIT AAA Tom Gorzelanny.... 6 5 3 3 10 1 0 ARI AA Cesar Valdez...... 6 5 3 3 9 1 0 CLE A+ Jeanmar Gomez..... 7 4 0 0 6 0 0 KC A Matthew Mitchell.. 7 3 0 0 5 0 0 SD A Cory Luebke....... 7 9 3 3 7 0 0 LAA A Robert Fish....... 6 2 0 0 4 1 0 ARI AAA Juan Gutierrez.... 5 6 2 2 6 0 0
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