December 4, 2008
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THT Daily: Ouchby THT StaffJuly 29, 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/ Player NewsPlayer Headlines are courtesy of Rotoworld
The Yankees announced that Jorge Posada would undergo season-ending surgery on his troublesome right shoulder. He was expected to rehab for another week before making a decision, but it looks like the Xavier Nady acquisition may have decided the matter for him. Posada is believed to have a torn labrum. He should be ready to play at the beginning of next season after surgery, but whether his arm will come all the way back might not be known until the spring. An MRI on Tim Hudson's elbow revealed ligament damage that could sideline him for the rest of the season. Hudson still believes he could have pitched through it, but the best move for the Braves now would be to shut him down for the year. Tommy John surgery isn't yet being talked about, but there's always that fear. Hudson will be looked at by Dr. James Andrews later this week. Greg Maddux snapped his 14-start winless streak by allowing four runs over five-plus innings against the Diamondbacks on Monday. It wasn't have been the kind of outing Maddux was aiming for, but it was good enough on a night in which Arizona starter Micah Owings had nothing. Maddux struck out four tonight to pass Phil Niekro for 10th place on the all-time list. He's at 3,344, which is 164 behind Walter Johnson for ninth place. Even if he pitches next year, he might not move up another place in the standings. Michael Young will miss at least 5-7 days with a fracture in his right ring finger. Young was injured diving back into first base on a pickoff attempt. Ramon Vazquez will start at shortstop in his place and will again be worth using in AL-only leagues. Young's streak of 200-hit seasons is now very much in doubt. He's still 72 hits away with 56 games remaining. Since the streak began in 2003, he's averaged 1.32 hits per game. At that rate, it'd take him 55 games to get 72 hits. Dan Haren, who is already under control through 2010, said he could soon sign an extension with the Diamondbacks. "I'm pretty confident something will get done sooner rather than later," Haren said. "[The talks] have progressed so we're moving in the right direction." A three-year extension worth in the neighborhood of $15 million per year would make sense. The Diamondbacks will have Haren at $12.25 million for 2009 and 2010, assuming his 2010 option is picked up. John Maine said after his abbreviated start Monday that he's been dealing with pain in his right shoulder since his last outing. "It was sore, but I told them I could go out there and pitch," he said. Maine has yet to throw 200 innings a season and is highly unlikely to reach the mark this year. The Mets may want to give him a couple of weeks off to give him a better chance of being close to 100 percent in September and October. Jason Isringhausen will resume getting save chances over Ryan Franklin, Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan said Monday. So much for that vote of confidence to Franklin. It's probably the right move for St. Louis. Franklin was terrific in the eighth inning for more than a full season and might be more comfortable there. The Cards will still be shaky in the ninth, but maybe now they'll have a few more leads get that far. Kevin Slowey pitched a six-hit shutout as the Twins topped the White Sox on Monday night. Slowey entered the night 0-2 with a 12.38 ERA against the Sox so far this season, so it was a nice change of pace. He allowed six hits, struck out five, walked just one, and needed only 102 pitches to get through the game. He'd allowed fifteen runs in his last three starts, so it was certainly nice to see him keep the White Sox on the schneid. Nomar Garciaparra was found to have a sprained MCL in his left knee and will miss at least a few days. The Dodgers have no immediate plans to put him on the DL, but it'd be no surprise to see him land there eventually. If it happens, they'd probably bring back Andy LaRoche. Angel Berroa will start at shortstop and be backed up by Pablo Ozuna. Yesterday’s ResultsGame recaps provided by Craig Calcaterra of Shysterball.Cubs 6, Brewers 4: Thank goodness ESPN didn't inflict this game on us. I mean, it only included multiple lead changes, a gutsy, 130-pitch performance from CC Sabathia, and a ninth inning rally by the Cubs to serve as the dramatic opening salvo to a critical series with serious playoff implications. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel called it "a riveting contest," that contained "big hits, big plays and a big finish," and apparently Brewer fans were absolutely nuts the whole game, putting an end to the notion of Miller Park being "Wrigley North." But again, thank God I didn't have to see that. If I had, I never would have gotten to see Manny Ramirez for the 126th time since breakfast nor would I have gotten to witness the latest rung on K-Rod's climb to, I dunno, 193 saves. Twins 7, White Sox 0: Kevin Slowey dominates the ChiSox, tossing a six hit shutout. Morneau goes 2-3 with a homer and 3 RBI. It occurred to me that if the Twins pass the Sox and win the division, there is a non-trivial chance that Morneau could win his second MVP award in three years. Would he deserve it? Probably not if current stats hold (he didn't deserve it in 2006 either), but he's the big gun who hits .300+ on a team that, no matter how many times they exceed expectations, seems to take everyone by surprise. That's a great way to win over voters. Indians 5, Tigers 0: The 1000-run offense gets shut out by Paul Byrd and Ed Mujica. Blue Jays 3, Rays 1: Is A.J. Burnett going to St. Louis? Hell, I don't know, but if he is, the Jays' asking price may have just gotten higher, as he struck out ten Rays and gave up zero earned runs over seven innings. Cardinals 12, Braves 3: So Jason Isringhausen is a closer again, eh? Lucky for him he gets to ease into it, because based on how the Braves are going these days, the Cards won't be in a save situation until they leave Atlanta. Pirates 8, Rockies 4: The Rockies walked nine guys in this game, and that's not gonna lead to many wins. I hate to bring this up in a game they won, but seeing this matchup makes me realize that the last time the Pirates had a .500 season, the Rockies didn't even exist yet. Angels 7, Red Sox 5: Matsuzaka was cruisin' until he hit the sixth inning where he and Justin Masterson combined to give up half a dozen runs. Marlins 7, Mets 3: Another Mets' bullpen implosion, this time courtesy of Joe Smith and Scott Schoeneweis, who coughed up five runs. Of course it was simply not possible for Jerry Manuel to bring in his closer during this bloodletting, because it didn't occur in the ninth inning. Astros 5, Reds 4: Roy Oswalt wasn't spectacular, but he'll take a win in his first outing since July 11th. Whether he should have been pitching in the first place is an open question, but remember, the Astros think they're in a pennant race, so that explains a lot. Orioles 13, Yankees 4: Adam Jones goes 3-6 with 5 RBI on a triple and a homer. Think the Mariners would like a do-over on that trade? The Yankees runs allowed for the last four games: 0, 3, 9, 14. Tomorrow is gonna be interesting! Mariners 7, Rangers 5: Michael Young left the game early with a broken finger. Word on the street was that he broke it on purpose because the x-ray room is air-conditioned, and the official game time temp of 101 degrees just ain't worth it, especially with the Mariners in town. Royals 4, A's 2: Greinke continues to be a bright spot, as he strikes out 11 A's in just over seven innings, backed by an Alex Gordon two-run homer in the 6th. Heh, get me, writin' a straight-up game summary! Padres 8, Diamondbacks 5: After the game Maddux, out of sheer habit, said "I've just got to keep going out there and giving the team a chance to win, and eventually good things will happen." When reminded that he actually won this one, he said, "Really? Cool." Giants 7, Dodgers 6: A definite hang-on-for-dear-life win, as the Giants roar out to a 7-0 lead, and then get no-hit over the last five and a third innings while the Dodgers claw back to within one. You can download a compact version of yesterday's boxscores from Heater Magazine.
Today’s GamesNational League --------------- Colorado Rockies at Pittsburgh Pirates, 7:05 PM (L) Glendon Rusch (4-3) vs. (R) Yoslan Herrera (1-1) Philadelphia Phillies at Washington Nationals, 7:10 PM (R) Brett Myers (3-9) vs. (R) Collin Balester (1-2) New York Mets at Florida Marlins, 7:10 PM (L) Oliver Perez (6-6) vs. (L) Scott Olsen (6-5) St. Louis Cardinals at Atlanta Braves, 7:10 PM (R) Todd Wellemeyer (8-4) vs. (R) Jorge Campillo (5-4) Chicago Cubs at Milwaukee Brewers, 8:05 PM (R) Carlos Zambrano (11-4) vs. (R) Ben Sheets (10-3) Cincinnati Reds at Houston Astros, 8:05 PM (R) Bronson Arroyo (9-7) vs. (R) Brian Moehler (5-4) Arizona Diamondbacks at San Diego Padres, 10:05 PM (L) Doug Davis (3-5) vs. (R) Chris Young (4-4) San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers, 10:10 PM (R) Matt Cain (6-8) vs. (R) Jason Johnson (0-0) American League --------------- Baltimore Orioles at New York Yankees, 7:05 PM (R) Daniel Cabrera (6-6) vs. (R) Darrell Rasner (5-7) LA Angels of Anaheim at Boston Red Sox, 7:05 PM (R) John Lackey (8-2) vs. (R) Clay Buchholz (2-5) Detroit Tigers at Cleveland Indians, 7:05 PM (R) Armando Galarraga (8-4) vs. (R) Matt Ginter (1-1) Tampa Bay Rays at Toronto Blue Jays, 7:07 PM (R) Matt Garza (8-6) vs. (R) Roy Halladay (12-7) Seattle Mariners at Texas Rangers, 8:05 PM (R) Carlos Silva (4-12) vs. (R) Luis Mendoza (2-4) Chicago White Sox at Minnesota Twins, 8:10 PM (L) Clayton Richard (0-0) vs. (L) Glen Perkins (7-3) Kansas City Royals at Oakland Athletics, 10:05 PM (R) Gil Meche (8-9) vs. (L) Greg Smith (5-9) 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 TB 61 44 .581 0.0 56 5 Game of the DayCubs 6, Brewers 4 - FINAL
CHICAGO CUBS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
A Soriano lf 4 3 2 1 1 1 2 .285
R Johnson cf 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 .279
vc-M Fontenot ph-2b 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 .284
D Lee 1b 5 0 3 3 0 0 1 .299
A Ramirez 3b 4 0 0 0 1 0 3 .270
G Soto c 4 0 1 0 1 2 3 .273
M DeRosa rf-2b-rf 4 0 2 1 1 0 2 .274
R Theriot ss 5 0 1 0 0 0 6 .316
R Cedeno 2b 3 1 1 0 0 0 1 .278
B Howry p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
vb-D Ward ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .250
C Gaudin p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
C Marmol p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
T Lilly p 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 .195
va-K Fukudome ph-rf-cf 2 1 1 0 0 1 0 .279
Totals 37 6 11 5 6 5 20 ###
MILWAUKEE ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
R Weeks 2b 4 0 0 0 0 2 1 .224
J Hardy ss 4 1 1 1 0 1 1 .297
R Braun lf 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 .303
P Fielder 1b 3 1 2 0 1 1 0 .275
C Hart rf 4 0 1 1 0 2 3 .286
S Torres p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
B Hall 3b 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 .230
M Cameron cf 4 0 0 0 0 2 0 .224
J Kendall c 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 .251
C Sabathia p 2 0 1 0 0 1 0 .200
D Riske p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
ha-R Branyan ph 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .256
E Gagne p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
G Kapler rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .292
Totals 33 4 8 4 3 11 7 ###
----------------------------------------------------
CHICAGO CUBS - 101 000 202 -- 6 11 0
MILWAUKEE - 000 003 100 -- 4 8 1
----------------------------------------------------
va-reached on infield single to second for T Lilly in the 7th; ha-homered to
left center for D Riske in the 7th; vb-popped out to shortstop for B Howry in
the 8th; vc-walked for R Johnson in the 9th.
BATTING: 2B - A Soriano (14, C Sabathia); D Lee (29, S Torres); C Hart (32, T
Lilly). HR - A Soriano (17, 3rd inning off C Sabathia 0 on, 0 Out), J Hardy
(15, 6th inning off T Lilly 0 on, 1 Out), R Braun (29, 6th inning off T Lilly 0
on, 1 Out), R Branyan (12, 7th inning off B Howry 0 on, 2 Out). RBI - D Lee 3
(66), A Soriano (45), M DeRosa (52), J Hardy (48), R Braun (81), C Hart (61), R
Branyan (20). 2-out RBI - M DeRosa, R Branyan. Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - M DeRosa 1, A Ramirez 1, R Theriot 3, C Hart 1, R Braun 1.
Team LOB - CHICAGO CUBS 10, MILWAUKEE 5. BASERUNNING: SB - A Soriano (8, 3rd
base off C Sabathia/J Kendall), R Cedeno (4, 3rd base off C Sabathia/J
Kendall), K Fukudome (9, 2nd base off C Sabathia/J Kendall), R Weeks (15, 2nd
base off T Lilly/G Soto). CS - B Hall (6, 2nd base by T Lilly). FIELDING: E - R
Weeks (9, throw). Outfield assists - A Soriano (C Hart at 3rd base), M Cameron
(D Lee at Home).
CHICAGO CUBS ip h r er bb so hr era
T Lilly 6 7 3 3 1 4 2 4.49
B Howry (B, 2) 1 1 1 1 0 2 1 5.29
C Gaudin (W, 2-1) 1 0 0 0 1 3 0 1.69
C Marmol (S, 5) 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 3.70
MILWAUKEE ip h r er bb so hr era
C Sabathia 6 2/3 9 4 3 2 3 1 1.82
D Riske 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 4.13
E Gagne 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 6.26
S Torres (L, 5-3) 1 2 2 2 3 2 0 2.86
IBB - A Ramirez (by S Torres), P Fielder (by C Gaudin). Pitches-strikes: T
Lilly 93-62; B Howry 19-12; C Gaudin 16-9; C Marmol 21-13; C Sabathia 124-77; D
Riske 5-3; E Gagne 15-6; S Torres 39-21. Ground balls-fly balls: T Lilly 5-7; B
Howry 0-1; C Gaudin 0-0; C Marmol 0-1; C Sabathia 9-7; D Riske 0-1; E Gagne
0-3; S Torres 1-0. Batters faced: T Lilly 24; B Howry 4; C Gaudin 4; C Marmol
4; C Sabathia 30; D Riske 1; E Gagne 4; S Torres 8. UMPIRES: HP--Ted Barrett.
1B--Dana Demuth. 2B--Lance Barksdale. 3B--Doug Eddings. T--3:21. Att--45,311.
Weather: 70 degrees, clear. Wind: 8 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.  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 John Baker FLA John Maine NYM 377 373 3 PL Adrian Beltre SEA Scott Feldman TEX 367 353 19 JE/L Adrian Beltre SEA Frank Francisco TEX 421 407 18 PL Geoff Blum HOU Johnny Cueto CIN 396 395 9 PL Russell Branyan MIL Bob Howry CHC 389 378 12 PL Ryan Braun MIL Ted Lilly CHC 422 406 29 ND Asdrubal Cabrera CLE Kenny Rogers DET 394 384 2 PL Johnny Damon NYY Lance Cormier BAL 363 339 7 PL Adam Dunn CIN Roy Oswalt HOU 437 436 30 JE Alex Gordon KC Dallas Braden OAK 385 391 12 JE Khalil Greene SD Micah Owings ARI 374 383 10 JE Jose Guillen KC Dallas Braden OAK 345 350 15 JE J.J. Hardy MIL Ted Lilly CHC 389 375 15 PL/L Ramon Hernandez BAL Mike Mussina NYY 416 393 12 PL/L Matt Holliday COL Ian Snell PIT 408 400 17 PL Aubrey Huff BAL Kyle Farnsworth NYY 388 364 21 ND Nick Hundley SD Micah Owings ARI 373 384 2 PL Torii Hunter LAA Daisuke Matsuzaka BOS 410 392 16 ND Raul Ibanez SEA Scott Feldman TEX 449 435 15 PL Adam Jones BAL David Robertson NYY 396 405 7 PL Casey Kotchman LAA Daisuke Matsuzaka BOS 391 379 12 PL/L Bryan LaHair SEA Scott Feldman TEX 420 402 1 PL Man.Ramirez BOS Francisco Rodriguez LAA 390 357 1 JE/L Joe Mather STL Charlie Morton ATL 435 421 3 PL Nate McLouth PIT Luis Vizcaino COL 420 411 22 ND Kevin Millar BAL Mike Mussina NYY 384 371 15 PL Justin Morneau MIN Mark Buehrle CWS 434 428 17 PL Xavier Nady NYY Jeremy Guthrie BAL 427 408 14 PL Kelly Shoppach CLE Kenny Rogers DET 376 368 9 JE Alfonso Soriano CHC C.C. Sabathia MIL 409 390 17 PL Denard Span MIN Mark Buehrle CWS 387 381 1 PL Matt Stairs TOR James Shields TB 434 434 11 PL Chris Young ARI Greg Maddux SD 407 412 14 PL 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 LAA AA Mark Trumbo....... 5 5 1 0 2 0 0 3 R CLE AA Wesley Hodges..... 5 3 2 0 1 0 2 3 R CHC AAA Josh Kroeger...... 5 5 2 0 0 0 0 3 LD TB AAA Joel Guzman....... 4 3 0 0 2 0 0 4 RBI FLA AA John Raynor....... 5 4 2 0 0 0 0 3 LD MIL A Logan Schafer..... 6 5 2 0 0 0 0 LAA AA C. Pettit......... 4 2 0 0 2 0 1 3 R CIN A+ Todd Frazier...... 4 2 1 0 1 1 1 3 R CLE A- L. Chisenhall..... 5 3 1 0 1 0 0 3 R SEA AA Adam Moore........ 3 2 2 0 0 1 0 LA AA Russell Mitchell.. 3 2 2 0 0 1 1 CHC A+ Tony Thomas....... 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 4 SB ORG LVL PLAYER IP H R ER SO BB HR Notes MIN AAA Philip Humber..... 8 5 3 3 10 2 1 SF A M. Bumgarner...... 7 5 0 0 6 0 0 SD AAA Wade Leblanc...... 5 2 0 0 6 0 0 TB AA David Price....... 8 2 2 2 7 0 2 SD AA M. Buschmann...... 7 2 0 0 4 1 0 BAL AA Bradley Bergesen.. 9 6 0 0 3 0 0 16 GB BAL AAA Hayden Penn....... 7 5 2 2 5 1 0 TEX A Blake Beavan...... 6 3 1 1 4 0 0 ATL AAA James Parr........ 7 6 2 2 5 1 0 13 GB ATL AA Todd Redmond...... 7 4 0 0 4 1 0 ATL A Eric Barrett...... 4 2 0 0 6 1 0 TB AAA Mitch Talbot...... 6 5 1 1 9 3 1 Access THT’s stats here…
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BOS 61 46 .570 1.0 63 -2 
NYA 58 47 .552 3.0 57 1 
TOR 54 52 .509 7.5 57 -3 
BAL 50 55 .476 11.0 52 -2 
American League Central
CHA 59 45 .567 0.0 60 -1 
MIN 58 47 .552 1.5 55 3 
DET 53 52 .505 6.5 55 -2 
KC 48 59 .449 12.5 45 3 
CLE 46 58 .442 13.0 53 -7 
American League West
LAA 65 40 .619 0.0 57 8 
TEX 54 52 .509 11.5 50 4 
OAK 53 52 .505 12.0 58 -5 
SEA 40 65 .381 25.0 45 -5 
National League East Pwins Diff
NYN 57 49 .538 0.0 58 -1 
PHI 56 49 .533 0.5 59 -3 
FLA 56 50 .528 1.0 50 6 
ATL 49 56 .467 7.5 55 -6 
WAS 38 67 .362 18.5 40 -2 
National League Central
CHN 62 44 .585 0.0 64 -2 
MIL 60 46 .566 2.0 56 4 
STL 59 49 .546 4.0 56 3 
CIN 50 57 .467 12.5 47 3 
HOU 49 56 .467 12.5 47 2 
PIT 49 57 .462 13.0 47 2 
National League West
ARI 53 52 .505 0.0 55 -2 
LAN 52 53 .495 1.0 54 -2 
COL 48 59 .449 6.0 49 -1 
SF 44 61 .419 9.0 44 0 
SD 42 65 .393 12.0 43 -1 