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THT Daily: Rays in the Race

by Dave Studeman
August 23, 2009

Major League News for August 23

Player News
Yesterday’s Results
Today’s Games
Standings
Top Minor League Performances

You can always find the most recent THT Daily at http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/content/thtdaily/

Player News

Player Headlines are courtesy of Rotoworld
Reds activated third baseman Scott Rolen from the 15-day disabled list.
Rolen suffered a concussion in his second game with the Reds and was eventually forced to the disabled list. He appeared healthy during two rehab games at Triple-A Louisville. The Gold Glove third baseman, acquired at the July 31 deadline, has collected just 14 at-bats in a Cincinnati uniform.

Reds placed RHP Aaron Harang on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to August 22, following an emergency appendectomy.
Harang isn't expected to return to the Reds this year. It'll end as a dissapointing season for the big right-hander, who finishes up with a 4.21 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and 6-14 record. He'll aim to be at full strength by spring training 2010.

According to MLB.com, the Rockies are close to agreement on a minor league deal with right-hander Russ Ortiz.
The Rockies are also expected to announce the signing of Jason Giambi on Sunday. Loading up on veterans isn't a bad idea for a team in the playoff hunt. Ortiz went 2-1 with a 1.59 ERA in a handful of starts within the Yankees' farm system and is worth the risk for a club that just lost Aaron Cook.

Mets owner Fred Wilpon said Saturday that general manager Omar Minaya is "absolutely" returning for the 2010 season.
"Am I going to bring Omar back next year?" Wilpon said. "Absolutely. That's a fact." When Minaya was told of the comment, he added that manager Jerry Manuel will be back next year as well. "Jerry is my guy," Minaya said. "We work well together." They're both technically signed through at least 2011.

Manny Corpas is unlikely to pitch again in the regular season.
If the Rockies manage to take the National League Wild Card crown, he could feasibly help them in the playoffs. But it's not looking good. Corpas had surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow in late July.

According to Tracy Ringolsby of Inside The Rockies, free agent Jason Giambi is nearing a minor league pact with Colorado.
Giambi will receive regular playing time at Triple-A Colorado Springs until rosters expand to 40 players on September 1. He'll serve mainly as a late-innings pinch-hitter once in the bigs, and might draw random starts at first base on days when veteran Todd Helton is in need of rest.

Padres signed second baseman David Eckstein to a one-year, $1 million contract extension.
Eckstein somehow convinced Padres management that he deserved a raise, despite a lowly .255/.317/.325 batting line, one home run and only 38 RBI in 416 plate appearances. The little man earned just $850,000 in '09, but it appears grit and hustle still carry some value in the major leagues.

Cardinals placed RHP Kyle Lohse on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left groin muscle.
It has been a truly disappointing season for Lohse, who went 15-6 last year and was signed to a lucrative extension in the fall. He'll leave behind a 4.76 ERA, a 1.35 WHIP and a 5-8 record as he heads to the disabled list for a second time this season. Mitchell Boggs was recalled to fill in.

According to Billy Wagner's agent, Bean Stringfellow, the hard-throwing reliever is willing to waive his no-trade clause to join the Red Sox.
Boston reportedly claimed him on waivers Friday and the club has until Tuesday at 1 p.m. EST to spin a trade with the Mets. "Certainly, the Red Sox would give him a chance to win a World Series, and this year that's first and foremost," Stringfellow said. "From where we sit, that's all that matters right now." The 38-year-old Wagner tossed a 1-2-3 inning in his 2009 debut earlier this week. He is owed about $2.5 million the rest of the way.

Yesterday’s Results

For the full scoop regarding yesterday's games, read "And That Happened" at Shysterball.

American League
BOS    14  NYA     1    (Recap and Boxscore)
TB      5  TEX     4    (Recap and Boxscore)
LAA     7  TOR     3    (Recap and Boxscore)
CHA     4  BAL     1    (Recap and Boxscore)
CLE     4  SEA     3    (Recap and Boxscore)
MIN     8  KC      7    (Recap and Boxscore)
OAK     3  DET     2    (Recap and Boxscore)

National League
ATL     4  FLA     3    (Recap and Boxscore)
PHI     4  NYN     1    (Recap and Boxscore)
MIL    11  WAS     9    (Recap and Boxscore)
HOU     4  ARI     2    (Recap and Boxscore)
PIT    12  CIN     2    (Recap and Boxscore)
COL    14  SF     11    (Recap and Boxscore)
LAN     2  CHN     0    (Recap and Boxscore)
STL     7  SD      0    (Recap and Boxscore)

Check out Fangraphs' scoreboard to see all the games in action.

Today’s Games

Mariners (63-60) @ Indians (53-69), 1:05pm
Felix Hernandez (23, RHP) vs. Fausto Carmona (25, RHP)
Angels (74-47) @ Blue Jays (56-65), 1:07pm
Trevor Bell (22, RHP) vs. Ricky Romero (24, LHP)
Rangers (68-54) @ Rays (67-55), 1:38pm
Scott Feldman (26, RHP) vs. David Price (23, LHP)
Orioles (50-73) @ WhiteSox (63-60), 2:05pm
Jason Berken (25, RHP) vs. Mark Buehrle (30, LHP)
Twins (60-63) @ Royals (47-75), 2:10pm
Carl Pavano (33, RHP) vs. Brian Bannister (28, RHP)
Tigers (65-57) @ Athletics (54-68), 4:05pm
Rick Porcello (20, RHP) vs. Brett Tomko (36, RHP)
Yankees (77-46) @ RedSox (70-52), 8:05pm
C.C. Sabathia (28, LHP) vs. Josh Beckett (29, RHP)
Phillies (70-50) @ Mets (57-66), 1:10pm
Pedro Martinez (37, RHP) vs. Oliver Perez (27, LHP)
Marlins (65-58) @ Braves (65-58), 1:30pm
Ricky Nolasco (26, RHP) vs. Derek Lowe (36, RHP)
Brewers (60-62) @ Nationals (43-80), 1:35pm
Manny Parra (26, LHP) vs. Craig Stammen (25, RHP)
Reds (51-71) @ Pirates (51-70), 1:35pm
Homer Bailey (23, RHP) vs. Kevin Hart (26, RHP)
D'backs (54-70) @ Astros (61-62), 2:05pm
Jon Garland (29, RHP) vs. Bud Norris (24, RHP)
Giants (67-56) @ Rockies (69-54), 3:10pm
Tim Lincecum (25, RHP) vs. Ubaldo Jimenez (25, RHP)
Cardinals (71-54) @ Padres (52-73), 4:05pm
John Smoltz (42, RHP) vs. Cesar Carrillo (25, RHP)
Cubs (61-60) @ Dodgers (74-50), 4:10pm
Ryan Dempster (32, RHP) vs. Chad Billingsley (24, RHP)

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
NYA     77  46 .626    0.0   71     6    
BOS     70  52 .574    6.5   70     0    
TB      67  55 .549    9.5   69    -2    
TOR     56  65 .463   20.0   62    -6    
BAL     50  73 .407   27.0   53    -3    
American League Central     
DET     65  57 .533    0.0   63     2    
CHA     63  60 .512    2.5   63     0    
MIN     60  63 .488    5.5   62    -2    
CLE     53  69 .434   12.0   58    -5    
KC      47  75 .385   18.0   48    -1    
American League West        
LAA     74  47 .612    0.0   68     6    
TEX     68  54 .557    6.5   67     1    
SEA     63  60 .512   12.0   56     7    
OAK     54  68 .443   20.5   57    -3    


National League East        Pwins  Diff
PHI     70  50 .583    0.0   70     0    
ATL     65  58 .528    6.5   68    -3    
FLA     65  58 .528    6.5   62     3    
NYN     57  66 .463   14.5   56     1    
WAS     43  80 .350   28.5   51    -8    
National League Central     
STL     71  54 .568    0.0   69     2    
CHN     61  60 .504    8.0   62    -1    
HOU     61  62 .496    9.0   54     7    
MIL     60  62 .492    9.5   58     2    
PIT     51  70 .421   18.0   55    -4    
CIN     51  71 .418   18.5   50     1    
National League West        
LAN     74  50 .597    0.0   75    -1    
COL     69  54 .561    4.5   70    -1    
SF      67  56 .545    6.5   66     1    
ARI     54  70 .435   20.0   56    -2    
SD      52  73 .416   22.5   47     5    


Wildcard Standings
American League             
BOS     70  52 .574    0.0
TEX     68  54 .557    2.0
TB      67  55 .549    3.0
CHA     63  60 .512    7.5
SEA     63  60 .512    7.5
National League             
COL     69  54 .561    0.0
SF      67  56 .545    2.0
ATL     65  58 .528    4.0
FLA     65  58 .528    4.0
CHN     61  60 .504    7.0

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.

ORG LVL PLAYER            AB  H 2B 3B HR BB SO  Notes
NYM A+  Kirk Nieuwenhuis.. 5  4  2  1  0  0  0  4 LD
NYY A+  David Adams....... 4  3  1  2  0  0  0  3 LD
ARI AAA Chris Young....... 4  3  0  1  0  1  0  2 SB
TB  AAA Desmond Jennings.. 5  3  1  0  1  0  0  
TB  A   Timothy Beckham... 4  3  1  1  0  1  0  
DET AAA Wilkin Ramirez.... 6  2  1  0  1  0  0  
SD  A   A. Cumberland..... 5  3  1  1  0  0  0  
BAL A+  Brandon Waring.... 5  2  1  0  1  0  0  
LA  A   Kyle Russell...... 4  2  1  0  1  0  2  
DET AAA Dusty Ryan........ 5  2  2  0  0  0  1  
WAN AA  C. Marrero........ 3  2  2  0  0  0  1  
MIN A   Angel Morales..... 3  1  0  0  1  1  0  

ORG LVL PLAYER            IP  H  R ER SO BB HR  Notes
CIN AAA Travis Wood....... 7  1  2  2  7  1  1  
COL A+  C. Friedrich...... 7  6  2  2  7  1  0  
SD  A+  Anthony Bass...... 5  1  0  0  5  0  0  
FLA AAA Rick Vanden Hurk.. 5  1  0  0  6  2  0  
CLE A   Nick Hagadone..... 3  0  0  0  5  1  0  
SEA A+  Juan Ramirez...... 5  3  2  2  7  4  0  
CHC AA  C. Carpenter...... 5  4  3  3  5  2  0  
ARI A+  Trevor Harden..... 5  4  0  0  4  1  0  
ATL A+  Richard Sullivan.. 6  8  0  0  4  0  0  13 GB
TEX AA  Blake Beavan...... 7  5  0  0  2  1  0  12 GB
NYM AA  Jenrry Mejia...... 4  3  1  1  4  1  0  8 GB
MIL A+  Mark Rogers....... 4  2  0  0  2  0  0

First Inning's Major and Minor League Daily Reports:

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