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THT Daily: Muddleby Matthew CarruthSeptember 05, 2007 Major League News for September 5Today’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 LinksBlogs - It's always entertaining to read blogs by athletes; they can offer us more intimate glimpses into the people that we as a society spend so much time idolizing. You could say it all started with Jim Bouton with Ball Four being the first ever athlete blog, though in print form (believe me, 30 years from now, that's how we'll be thinking about these things). From Paul Shirley and Gilbert Arenas' NBA blogs to C.J. Wilson on the Rangers, we have quite a few good blogs out there. Add this one to the mix: 26-year-old journeyman minor league pitcher Dirk Hayhurst, who offers up some unique angles on minor league life. Free Agent Hitters - For those of us rooting on teams whose biggest interest lies in December and January, here's the list of free agent hitters for this offseason. Sarge Junior - In light of the above list, here's a little blip from Adam Morris regarding the worth of Gary Matthews Jr. and his $50 million contract. Who didn't see this one coming? All of you with arms raised, congratulations. You are qualified to be GM for a Los Angeles/Anaheim-based sports franchise. Necessary Adjustments - Josh Kalk has some wonderful work on the beginnings of adjustments to the pitch f/x data based on ballpark. Because we all know it's impossible to set those things up exactly the same in every location. Managers - Among the list of people who do not deserve the cushy job they have, baseball most be highly over represented. Chief among them are managers who constantly do things like this. The Braves Way - Derek Zumsteg, responding to a different article about veteran playing time over young players during playoff runs, offers up the Atlanta Braves as a pinnacle example of a team not afraid to work in new talent even in the midst of winning division after division. 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 RotoworldMiguel Cabrera singled in Hanley Ramirez on Tuesday to become the third-youngest player to reach 500 RBI. Cabrera, who is 24 years and 139 days trails only Mel Ott (23 years, 74 days) and Ted Williams (24 years, 4 days). He's four RBI away from becoming the third-youngest player with four consecutive 100-RBI seasons. Ott and Williams beat him there, too. Paul Lo Duca homered twice and drove in a career-high seven runs Tuesday to lead the Mets to an 11-7 win over the Reds. Where did that come from? He only had five homers and 34 RBI all year, with no long balls at all since June 30. It was the third multi-homer game of Lo Duca's career, but first since October 2001. All told, Lo Duca was 3-for-5, raising his BA to .269 as the Mets won their season-best fifth straight game. The NL East leaders are getting hot at the right time. Jermaine Dye left Tuesday' game after four innings because of a strained left quadriceps. It was the other quad that Dye injured back in June. He's considered day-to-day. Darin Erstad replaced him tonight and likely will fill in for at least another day or two. With Tim Wakefield expected to make his start on Thursday, Clay Buchholz is being sent to the bullpen for now. If the Red Sox intend to give Buchholz a chance to make the postseason roster as a reliever, it's hard to complain about this. Buchholz would be a better bet as a starter than Jon Lester from here on in, but Boston's lead is pretty comfortable now anyway and only an injury to one of the top four guys would have made Buchholz a candidate for the postseason rotation. Gary Sheffield (shoulder) believes he'll be back in Detroit's lineup when he's first eligible to come off the disabled list on Thursday. "I feel a lot better," Sheffield said. "The first couple of swings, I noticed the difference. I was able to finish my swing." If true, he should be able to generate more power than he was while struggling to play through his soreness a last month. Roger Clemens will have a cortisone shot Wednesday for his sore right elbow. Still no word on what Monday's MRI turned up. It's believed Clemens will miss his next start, but he expects to pitch again this month. Mike Mussina is expected to fill in for Clemens this weekend. Yesterday’s ResultsAmerican League BOS 5 TOR 3 (Recap and Boxscore) NYA 12 SEA 3 (Recap and Boxscore) BAL 8 TB 4 (Recap and Boxscore) CHA 3 DET 1 (Recap and Boxscore) CLE 7 MIN 5 (Recap and Boxscore) 11 innings LAA 4 OAK 3 (Recap and Boxscore) TEX 9 KC 8 (Recap and Boxscore) National League PHI 5 ATL 2 (Recap and Boxscore) WAS 4 FLA 3 (Recap and Boxscore) LAN 6 CHN 2 (Recap and Boxscore) NYN 11 CIN 7 (Recap and Boxscore) MIL 5 HOU 3 (Recap and Boxscore) STL 6 PIT 2 (Recap and Boxscore) ARI 9 SD 1 (Recap and Boxscore) COL 6 SF 5 (Recap and Boxscore)You can download a compact version of yesterday's boxscores from Heater Magazine.
Today’s GamesNational League --------------- New York Mets at Cincinnati Reds, 12:35 PM (R) John Maine (14-8) vs. (R) Tom Shearn (1-0) Philadelphia Phillies at Atlanta Braves, 1:05 PM (R) Kyle Kendrick (8-3) vs. (R) Tim Hudson (15-7) Florida Marlins at Washington Nationals, 7:05 PM (R) Sergio Mitre (5-8) vs. (R) Tim Redding (3-5) Los Angeles Dodgers at Chicago Cubs, 8:05 PM (L) Eric Stults (1-2) vs. (L) Ted Lilly (13-7) Houston Astros at Milwaukee Brewers, 8:05 PM (R) Matt Albers (4-6) vs. (R) Yovani Gallardo (6-4) Pittsburgh Pirates at St. Louis Cardinals, 8:10 PM (R) Bryan Bullington (0-0) vs. (L) Mark Mulder (0-0) San Francisco Giants at Colorado Rockies, 8:35 PM (R) Kevin Correia (3-6) vs. (R) Ubaldo Jimenez (3-2) San Diego Padres at Arizona Diamondbacks, 9:40 PM (R) Jack Cassel (0-0) vs. (R) Livan Hernandez (9-9) American League --------------- Cleveland Indians at Minnesota Twins, 1:10 PM (R) Fausto Carmona (14-8) vs. (R) Scott Baker (8-6) Oakland Athletics at LA Angels of Anaheim, 3:35 PM (R) Joe Blanton (11-9) vs. (L) Joe Saunders (7-2) Chicago White Sox at Detroit Tigers, 7:05 PM (R) Gavin Floyd (1-2) vs. (L) Kenny Rogers (3-2) Seattle Mariners at New York Yankees, 7:05 PM (L) Jarrod Washburn (9-12) vs. (R) Phil Hughes (2-3) Toronto Blue Jays at Boston Red Sox, 7:05 PM (R) Shaun Marcum (12-5) vs. (R) Curt Schilling (8-6) Baltimore Orioles at Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 7:10 PM (R) Radhames Liz (0-1) vs. (R) Andrew Sonnanstine (4-9) Kansas City Royals at Texas Rangers, 8:05 PM (R) Kyle Davies (2-3) vs. (R) Vicente Padilla (4-9) 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 84 55 .604 0.0 88 -4 Game of the DayThe Nationals dropped the Marlins further into last place in the NL Central by prevailing last night, 4-3. Dontrelle Willis pitched a nice game for the Marlins, but the Nationals’ Jesus Flores hit a two-out, two-run double off Kevin Gregg in the bottom of the ninth to provide the come-from-behind victory.FLORIDA (3) VS WASHINGTON (4) - FINAL
FLORIDA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
H Ramirez ss 5 1 2 0 0 1 1 .334
A Amezaga 2b 4 0 2 0 0 1 1 .266
J Hermida rf 4 1 1 0 0 0 4 .282
M Cabrera 3b 4 0 1 1 0 0 3 .315
J Willingham lf 4 1 1 1 0 1 2 .271
M Jacobs 1b 4 0 3 1 0 0 0 .273
J Wood 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .267
C Ross cf 4 0 1 0 0 2 2 .333
M Olivo c 4 0 0 0 0 3 3 .231
D Willis p 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 .222
L Gardner p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
a-T Linden ph 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .221
R Abercrombie pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .212
K Gregg p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Totals 36 3 11 3 1 8 17
a-walked for L Gardner in the 9th.
BATTING: 2B - M Jacobs (21, S Hill); J Hermida (24, S Hill); J Willingham (30,
S Hill). RBI - J Willingham (86), M Jacobs (40), M Cabrera (96). 2-out RBI - M
Cabrera. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - M Olivo 1, M Cabrera 1, J
Willingham 1. GIDP - H Ramirez. Team LOB - 7.
BASERUNNING: SB - H Ramirez 2 (45, 2nd base off W Abreu/J Flores, 2nd base
off S Hill/J Flores). CS - M Jacobs (2, 2nd base by S Hill/J Flores).
FIELDING: DP: 3 (M Cabrera-A Amezaga, D Willis-A Amezaga-M Jacobs, A
Amezaga-J Wood).
WASHINGTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
N Logan cf 4 1 2 0 0 1 1 .272
F Lopez ss 3 1 2 0 0 1 1 .246
R Zimmerman 3b 2 0 1 1 2 0 2 .270
D Young 1b 3 0 0 0 1 0 3 .330
R Langerhans pr 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .156
A Kearns rf 4 0 1 1 0 2 1 .265
W Pena lf 4 1 1 0 0 1 2 .245
R Belliard 2b 4 0 1 0 0 1 2 .279
J Flores c 4 0 2 2 0 0 0 .257
S Hill p 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .095
A Munoz p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
W Abreu p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
L Ayala p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
a-T Batista ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .269
C Schroder p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Totals 30 4 10 4 3 6 12
a-flied out to left for L Ayala in the 8th.
BATTING: 2B - N Logan 2 (17, D Willis 2); R Zimmerman (36, D Willis); J Flores
(7, K Gregg). S - F Lopez , S Hill. RBI - A Kearns (57), R Zimmerman (82), J
Flores 2 (23). 2-out RBI - A Kearns, J Flores 2. Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - F Lopez 1, W Pena 1. GIDP - D Young. Team LOB - 5.
BASERUNNING: Picked Off - R Belliard (1st base, M Olivo).
FIELDING: E - J Flores 2 (3, dropped foul ball 2). DP: 1 (R Belliard-F
Lopez-D Young).
----------------------------------------------------
FLORIDA - 000 210 000 -- 3
WASHINGTON - 101 000 002 -- 4
Two outs when winning run scored.
----------------------------------------------------
FLORIDA ip h r er bb so hr era
D Willis 7 1/3 8 2 2 2 5 0 5.01
L Gardner (H, 3) 2/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.18
K Gregg (L, 0-5; B, 3) 2/3 2 2 2 1 1 0 3.27
WASHINGTON ip h r er bb so hr era
S Hill 6 1/3 11 3 3 0 6 0 2.98
A Munoz 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
W Abreu 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.29
L Ayala 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.19
C Schroder (W, 2-1) 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 2.29
WP - S Hill. Pitches-strikes: D Willis 111-65; L Gardner 3-3; K Gregg 21-12;
S Hill 97-71; A Munoz 2-2; W Abreu 4-3; L Ayala 16-10; C Schroder 17-10. Ground
balls-fly balls: D Willis 8-7; L Gardner 0-1; K Gregg 0-1; S Hill 8-4; A Munoz
0-1; W Abreu 0-1; L Ayala 1-1; C Schroder 2-0. Batters faced: D Willis 29; L
Gardner 1; K Gregg 5; S Hill 29; A Munoz 1; W Abreu 1; L Ayala 3; C Schroder 3.
UMPIRES: HP--Bill Welke. 1B--Laz Diaz. 2B--Wally Bell. 3B--Mike Dimuro.
T--2:50. Att--15,611.
Weather: 89 degrees, clear. Wind: 0 mph, n/a.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 OAK A- Matthew Sulentic.. 3 1 0 1 0 2 1 BOS AA J. Corsaletti..... 5 4 0 0 1 0 1 3 R SF A- Sharlon Schoop.... 3 1 1 0 0 2 1 BOS AA Aaron Bates....... 4 2 1 0 0 0 1 FLA A- Thomas Hickman.... 4 1 0 0 0 0 1 TOR AA Ryan Patterson.... 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 BOS AA Thomas Hottovy.... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TOR AA Kyle Yates........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 BOS AA Jeff Natale....... 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 PIT A- Michael Felix..... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 DET A- Ronald Bourquin... 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 NYM A- Eddie Kunz........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ORG LVL PLAYER IP H R ER SO BB HR Notes PIT A- Michael Felix..... 2 0 0 0 3 3 0 BOS AA Thomas Hottovy.... 5 5 1 1 1 2 1 9 OF TOR AA Kyle Yates........ 3 8 5 5 2 1 3 PIT A- Daniel Moskos..... 1 1 0 0 2 0 0 SF A- Daniel Turpen..... 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 2 GB PHI A- Walter Tejeda..... 1 2 2 1 1 0 1 2 OF HOU A- Jordan Powell..... 2 1 1 0 4 1 0 CHC A- C. Huseby......... 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 PIT A- Thomas Boleska.... 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 GB SF A- Oliver Odle....... 4 5 3 3 2 2 0 7 GB CLE A- Jonathan Holt..... 2 2 1 0 1 1 0 HOU A- David Dinelli..... 2 0 0 0 2 1 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. 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: BOB: Anaheim and Angels back at it and more Marlins stadium news>> <<Previous Article: First impressions: Buchholz vs. Kennedy | |||||
NYA 77 62 .554 7.0 82 -5 
TOR 70 68 .507 13.5 73 -3 
BAL 60 77 .438 23.0 63 -3 
TB 57 82 .410 27.0 55 2 
American League Central
CLE 80 58 .580 0.0 77 3 
DET 73 65 .529 7.0 75 -2 
MIN 69 70 .496 11.5 70 -1 
KC 62 76 .449 18.0 66 -4 
CHA 59 79 .428 21.0 54 5 
American League West
LAA 82 56 .594 0.0 78 4 
SEA 74 63 .540 7.5 68 6 
OAK 68 72 .486 15.0 69 -1 
TEX 64 74 .464 18.0 66 -2 
National League East Pwins Diff
NYN 78 60 .565 0.0 76 2 
PHI 73 65 .529 5.0 73 0 
ATL 70 69 .504 8.5 74 -4 
WAS 62 77 .446 16.5 59 3 
FLA 60 79 .432 18.5 62 -2 
National League Central
CHN 70 67 .511 0.0 72 -2 
MIL 70 68 .507 0.5 69 1 
STL 68 67 .504 1.0 61 7 
CIN 62 77 .446 9.0 63 -1 
HOU 62 77 .446 9.0 61 1 
PIT 60 78 .435 10.5 61 -1 
National League West
SD 76 62 .551 0.0 77 -1 
ARI 77 63 .550 0.0 66 11 
LAN 73 65 .529 3.0 73 0 
COL 72 66 .522 4.0 74 -2 
SF 62 77 .446 14.5 68 -6 
Wildcard Standings
American League
NYA 77 62 .554 0.0
SEA 74 63 .540 2.0
DET 73 65 .529 3.5
TOR 70 68 .507 6.5
MIN 69 70 .496 8.0
National League
PHI 73 65 .529 0.0
LAN 73 65 .529 0.0
COL 72 66 .522 1.0
MIL 70 68 .507 3.0
ATL 70 69 .504 3.5