November 8, 2009
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THT Daily: Prong pingsby Dave StudemanApril 09, 2008 Major League News for April 9Player NewsYesterday’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/ Player NewsPlayer Headlines are courtesy of RotoworldMLB suspended Double-A Mississippi outfielder Jordan Schafer 50 games for using human growth hormone. Perhaps this partially explains Schafer's big leap forward last year, though studies on whether hGH really helps performance have yet to produce much in the way of results. Schafer has been viewed as a big-time talent since long before he was drafted -- Baseball America named him the top 13-year-old prospect in the nation in 2000 -- but he as often as not disappointed before blossoming in 2007. The 50-game ban figures to ruin his hopes of reaching the majors this season. He had been looked at as a good bet to take over as the Braves' center fielder next year, but that's in doubt now as well. Rafael Soriano is dealing with "minor" soreness in his throwing arm after pitching on Saturday and Sunday. It had been assumed that the oft-injured closer didn't pitch Monday to get his normal rest, but manager Bobby Cox said that he also had a "tiny bit" of arm soreness. Cox was set to turn to Manny Acosta as closer on Monday, but that's only because likely fill-in Peter Moylan had also pitched two days in a row. The Los Angeles Times reports that X-rays on Francisco Rodriguez's sprained right ankle were "normal" Tuesday, but he "will be sidelined for at least three days while the Angels evaluate the results of an MRI test." The newspaper reveals that Rodriguez injured his right ankle while coming down the dugout steps Saturday and has been pitching through an injured left ankle since last August. "We're concerned about how it will influence his delivery and the stress on his arm," manager Mike Scioscia said. "This thing will heal, but we don't want to put him at any undue risk." Scioscia indicated that he'll go with a "closer-by-committee" approach while Rodriguez is out, relying upon a mix of Justin Speier, Scot Shields and Darren Oliver in save situations. Speier got the call in Rodriguez's place Tuesday night and blew a save against the Indians. Randy Johnson (back) allowed three runs and fanned seven in six innings Tuesday in his second rehab start for Triple-A Tucson. A better showing than when he allowed five runs in four innings last week. Johnson is likely to come off the disabled list and face the Giants on Monday. We'll check with MLB and get clarification on whether that would qualify as a third rehab start. The Rays said after Tuesday's game that Matt Garza will go on the disabled list with radial nerve irritation. Jae-Kuk Ryu is being called up, but it will likely be a short-term promotion. Jeff Niemann is expected to replace Garza in the rotation. Even though he may only stick until Scott Kazmir returns, he'd be worth having stashed away in AL-only leagues. The Nationals will place Dmitri Young (back) on the DL and activate Johnny Estrada prior to Wednesday's game. Jesus Flores will get to stick around for now, but he'll probably be involved in the next move the Nationals make, possibly when they activate Chad Cordero on Friday. Aaron Boone will back up Nick Johnson while Young is out. Giants placed outfielder Dave Roberts on the 15-day disabled list with inflammation in his left knee. Roberts was off to a 2-for-17 start, putting him squarely in the running to be the Giants' All-Star this year. Eugenio Velez, Rajai Davis and Fred Lewis will share time in left field for the next couple of weeks. Ray Durham should benefit as much as anyone, as he'll have less competition from Velez at second. Jorge Posada will undergo an MRI on Wednesday due to weakness in his throwing shoulder. Posada said his shoulder felt "dead," after the Royals went 4-for-4 stealing bases against him today. "I'm not 100 percent," he said. "I'm not helping the team out. It's just as simple as that." If Posada lands on the DL, Jose Molina will start and Chad Moeller will be called up to serve as a backup. Jimmy Rollins is optimistic about playing Wednesday after leaving Tuesday's game with a sprained left ankle. "I could've stayed in the game, but it wouldn't have made sense," Rollins said. "We've got a healthy guy on the bench and I'd be doing more to hurt my team than help." In Philadelphia, that's known as pulling an Eaton. Yesterday’s ResultsAmerican League BOS 5 DET 0 (Recap and Boxscore) SEA 6 TB 5 (Recap and Boxscore) OAK 9 TOR 8 (Recap and Boxscore) KC 5 NYA 2 (Recap and Boxscore) CLE 4 LAA 3 (Recap and Boxscore) BAL 8 TEX 1 (Recap and Boxscore) National League PHI 5 NYN 2 (Recap and Boxscore) STL 5 HOU 3 (Recap and Boxscore) MIL 3 CIN 2 (Recap and Boxscore) ARI 10 LAN 5 (Recap and Boxscore) COL 4 ATL 3 (Recap and Boxscore) SF 3 SD 2 (Recap and Boxscore)You can download a compact version of yesterday's boxscores from Heater Magazine.
Today’s GamesNational League --------------- Los Angeles Dodgers at Arizona Diamondbacks, 3:40 PM (R) Hiroki Kuroda (1-0) vs. (R) Micah Owings (1-0) Chicago Cubs at Pittsburgh Pirates, 7:05 PM (R) Ryan Dempster (1-0) vs. (L) Zach Duke (0-0) Florida Marlins at Washington Nationals, 7:10 PM (L) Scott Olsen (0-0) vs. (R) Jason Bergmann (0-0) Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets, 7:10 PM (R) Kyle Kendrick (1-0) vs. (R) Mike Pelfrey (0-0) Cincinnati Reds at Milwaukee Brewers, 8:05 PM (R) Josh Fogg (0-1) vs. (R) Dave Bush (0-1) St. Louis Cardinals at Houston Astros, 8:05 PM (R) Braden Looper (1-0) vs. (R) Chris Sampson (0-0) Atlanta Braves at Colorado Rockies, 8:35 PM (L) Chuck James (0-0) vs. (L) Mark Redman (0-1) San Diego Padres at San Francisco Giants, 10:15 PM (R) Justin Germano (0-0) vs. (L) Jonathan Sanchez (0-1) American League --------------- Cleveland Indians at LA Angels of Anaheim, 3:35 PM (R) Paul Byrd (0-1) vs. (R) Dustin Moseley (0-1) Detroit Tigers at Boston Red Sox, 7:05 PM (R) Jeremy Bonderman (0-1) vs. (L) Jon Lester (1-1) Oakland Athletics at Toronto Blue Jays, 7:07 PM (L) Greg Smith (0-0) vs. (R) Dustin McGowan (0-0) Seattle Mariners at Tampa Bay Rays, 7:10 PM (L) Jarrod Washburn (0-1) vs. (R) Andy Sonnanstine (1-0) Baltimore Orioles at Texas Rangers, 8:05 PM (R) Steve Trachsel (1-0) vs. (L) Kason Gabbard (1-0) New York Yankees at Kansas City Royals, 8:10 PM (R) Ian Kennedy (0-1) vs. (R) Zack Greinke (1-0) Minnesota Twins at Chicago White Sox, 8:11 PM (R) Scott Baker (1-0) vs. (L) John Danks (0-0) 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 BAL 6 1 .857 0.0 5 1 Game of the DayTravis Hafner belted a ninth-inning, two-run, two-out home run to give the Indians a come-from-behind 4-3 victory over the Angels.Indians 4, Angels 3 - FINAL
CLEVELAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
G Sizemore cf 3 0 0 0 1 0 2 .290
A Cabrera ss 4 1 1 2 1 1 3 .214
T Hafner dh 5 1 2 2 0 0 4 .267
V Martinez c 5 0 1 0 0 0 1 .417
R Garko 1b 3 0 1 0 1 1 0 .308
J Michaels pr-lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .056
F Gutierrez rf 4 0 0 0 0 2 2 .154
D Dellucci lf 2 1 1 0 1 0 0 .111
A Marte 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333
C Blake 3b-1b 2 1 1 0 1 1 2 .174
J Carroll 2b 3 0 0 0 0 1 4 .143
Totals 31 4 7 4 5 6 18 ###
LA ANGELS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
C Figgins 3b 4 1 2 0 0 0 1 .394
G Matthews dh 3 0 1 1 0 1 1 .343
V Guerrero rf 4 1 2 2 0 0 2 .306
G Anderson lf 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 .243
T Hunter cf 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 .306
C Kotchman 1b 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .258
M Izturis 2b 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 .125
J Mathis c 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 .200
E Aybar ss 3 1 2 0 0 0 0 .231
Totals 30 3 7 3 0 4 5 ###
----------------------------------------------------
CLEVELAND - 000 020 002 -- 4 7 1
LA ANGELS - 000 003 000 -- 3 7 0
----------------------------------------------------
BATTING: 2B - D Dellucci (1, E Santana). HR - V Guerrero (1, 6th inning off J
Westbrook 1 on, 2 Out), T Hafner (2, 9th inning off J Speier 1 on, 2 Out). S -
J Carroll. SF - G Matthews. RBI - G Matthews (4), V Guerrero 2 (5), A Cabrera 2
(6), T Hafner 2 (5). 2-out RBI - A Cabrera 2, V Guerrero 2, T Hafner 2. Runners
left in scoring position, 2 out - J Carroll 2, T Hafner 2, C Blake 1. GIDP - G
Anderson, T Hafner, V Guerrero. Team LOB - LA ANGELS 1, CLEVELAND 9.
BASERUNNING: SB - C Blake (1, 2nd base off E Santana/J Mathis), J Michaels (1,
2nd base off D Oliver/J Mathis). FIELDING: E - J Westbrook (1, throw). Outfield
assists - V Guerrero (T Hafner at Home). DP: (A Cabrera-C Blake, J Carroll-A
Cabrera-R Garko, C Kotchman-E Aybar-D Oliver, A Marte-J Carroll-C Blake).
CLEVELAND ip h r er bb so hr era
J Westbrook (W, 1-1) 9 7 3 3 0 4 1 2.76
LA ANGELS ip h r er bb so hr era
E Santana 6 6 2 2 3 5 0 3.00
D Oliver (H, 3) 1 2/3 0 0 0 1 0 0 4.91
J Speier (L, 0-1; B, 1) 1 1/3 1 2 2 1 1 1 9.00
WP - E Santana. HBP - C Blake (by E Santana); G Sizemore (by D Oliver); D
Dellucci (by D Oliver). Pitches-strikes: J Westbrook 94-64; E Santana 107-63; D
Oliver 26-15; J Speier 21-12. Ground balls-fly balls: J Westbrook 12-10; E
Santana 5-7; D Oliver 3-2; J Speier 2-1. Batters faced: J Westbrook 31; E
Santana 27; D Oliver 7; J Speier 6. UMPIRES: HP--Larry Vanover. 1B--Mike
Everitt. 2B--Mike Dimuro. 3B--Tim Mcclelland. T--2:40. Att--37,587. Weather:
61 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 6 mph, out to center.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 LAA AAA Brandon Wood...... 3 1 0 0 1 1 2 OAK AAA Carlos Gonzalez... 4 1 0 0 1 0 0 COL AAA Joseph Koshansky.. 4 2 2 0 0 0 2 TB AAA Reid Brignac...... 4 2 1 1 0 0 1 LAA AAA Sean Rodriguez.... 4 2 1 0 1 1 1 3 R CIN AAA Jay Bruce......... 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 COL AAA Ian Stewart....... 5 2 0 1 0 0 1 OAK A+ J. Mitchell....... 3 2 1 0 0 1 1 CHW AAA Josh Fields....... 3 1 1 0 0 2 1 HOU A Maxwell Sapp...... 5 3 1 0 1 0 2 BOS AAA Chris Carter...... 2 2 1 0 0 2 0 NYM AA Mike Carp......... 3 2 1 0 1 0 0 ORG LVL PLAYER IP H R ER SO BB HR Notes CIN AAA Homer Bailey...... 6 4 0 0 7 1 0 NYY AA Steven Jackson.... 3 0 0 0 7 0 0 LA AAA Miguel Pinango.... 5 6 4 4 10 1 0 BOS AA Justin Masterson.. 5 2 0 0 7 0 0 DET A Ramon Garcia...... 6 7 5 5 6 0 0 ATL AAA Jo-Jo Reyes....... 5 1 0 0 6 2 0 SEA AAA Ryan Feierabend... 6 3 0 0 6 2 0 TB AAA Jeff Niemann...... 6 4 4 3 4 3 0 TOR AAA David Purcey...... 6 6 3 2 7 2 0 MIN AA Oswaldo Sosa...... 5 2 0 0 5 2 0 OAK AA Michael Madsen.... 6 3 2 2 4 2 1 KC AA Carlos Rosa....... 6 3 0 0 1 0 0 12 GB Access THT’s stats here…
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TOR 4 3 .571 2.0 5 -1 
BOS 4 4 .500 2.5 3 1 
NYA 4 4 .500 2.5 3 1 
TB 3 4 .429 3.0 4 -1 
American League Central
CHA 5 2 .714 0.0 5 0 
KC 5 2 .714 0.0 5 0 
CLE 4 4 .500 1.5 4 0 
MIN 3 5 .375 2.5 3 0 
DET 0 7 .000 5.0 1 -1 
American League West
LAA 5 4 .556 0.0 4 1 
OAK 4 4 .500 0.5 4 0 
TEX 3 4 .429 1.0 3 0 
SEA 3 5 .375 1.5 4 -1 
National League East Pwins Diff
FLA 4 3 .571 0.0 2 2 
PHI 4 4 .500 0.5 4 0 
ATL 3 5 .375 1.5 5 -2 
WAS 3 5 .375 1.5 4 -1 
NYN 2 4 .333 1.5 4 -2 
National League Central
MIL 6 1 .857 0.0 6 0 
STL 6 2 .750 0.5 5 1 
CHN 4 3 .571 2.0 4 0 
CIN 4 4 .500 2.5 4 0 
PIT 3 4 .429 3.0 3 0 
HOU 3 6 .333 4.0 4 -1 
National League West
ARI 6 2 .750 0.0 6 0 
SD 5 4 .556 1.5 5 0 
LAN 4 4 .500 2.0 4 0 
COL 3 5 .375 3.0 2 1 
SF 2 6 .250 4.0 1 1 