February 9, 2010
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THT Daily: Red Sox in, Yankees outby THT StaffSeptember 24, 2008 Player News Yesterday’s Results Today’s Games Standings Game of the Day Yesterday’s Home Runs 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 RotoworldKevin Youkilis delivered a two-run homer and walked three times as the Red Sox edged the Indians 5-4 on Tuesday to clinch a postseason berth. The Yankees were officially eliminated. Youkilis' homer came off Cliff Lee and was his 27th of the season. He currently ranks fourth in the AL in OPS (955) and RBI (111). There's still an outside shot that he could lead the league in OPS, but it's only going to happen if Milton Bradley fails to qualify for the batting title. Even if that happens, he'd still have to overtake Alex Rodriguez (966) and Carlos Quentin (965). Prince Fielder hit a walkoff homer off T.J. Beam in the bottom of the ninth to give the Brewers a 7-5 win over the Pirates on Tuesday. Matt Capps was never used, even though he hadn't pitched since Saturday. Instead, it was left to Beam to face the top of the order in the ninth. He retired Mike Cameron and Ray Durham, but Ryan Braun delivered an infield single and Fielder quickly ended it with a blast to right. He has six homers and 19 RBI in 20 games this month. The win keeps the Brewers one game back of the Mets in the wild card. Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 610th career homer Tuesday, moving him into sole possession of fifth place all-time. The homer, which was just Griffey's second in 36 games for the White Sox, pushed him past Sammy Sosa. The only players still ahead of Griffey all-time are Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth and Willie Mays. Griffey, though, will have to play into 2010 at least if he's going to get the 51 homers he needs to overtake Mays. Chris Carpenter is expected to undergo surgery for a compressed nerve in his shoulder. If that's Carpenter's main problem, it'd qualify as good news. Such a surgery shouldn't prevent him from being ready for Opening Day. Still, he'll have to be viewed as a question mark entering 2009. There's no guarantee that his shoulder problems don't run deeper. Sources told ESPN's Buster Olney that GM Omar Minaya is set to sign a four-year extension with the Mets. Minaya is presiding over the team with second-highest payroll in baseball, but his club is in danger of missing the postseason for the third time in four years under his watch. Also, he hasn't done a particularly good job of building up the farm system. We're not saying he deserves to be let go, but four years is clearly excessive. Of course, it's just a drop in the bucket if the Mets feel they need to make a change in a year or two. After an MRI, Brandon Moss was told he has divot forming in the bone of his left knee and he'll need surgery that could sideline him 6-8 months. Moss has been able to play despite the knee problem, but he will shut it down for the season now. "The results that came back caught me off guard," Moss said. "It hasn't bothered me since June, when I was playing for the Red Sox in Tampa." Moss is expected to be on crutches for two months after the operation. He'll need an additional 4-6 months of rehab after that, making him questionable for the start of 2009. Yesterday’s ResultsGame recaps provided by Craig Calcaterra of Shysterball.Red Sox 5, Indians 4; Yankees 3, Blue Jays 1: I and many others have said that we won't officially declare the Yankees dead until we see their corpse on the cold hard slab. Well, it is now officially on the cold hard slab. But let's be clear about something: in the coming days, you'll see many a gleeful word printed about New York sitting at home in October for the first time in ages. I understand that, and on some very trivial level feel the glee as well. But let us not become so wrapped up in our schadenfreude that we lose sight of just how impressive an accomplishment thirteen straight postseason appearances truly is in this day and age. Some will say "yeah, but they just bought it." Well, lots of other teams have tried to buy their way into the playoffs only to fall short. I say this to even the most ardent of Yankee haters: understand and appreciate that there has been talent and brains in New York to beat the band for a long damn time, and that in many respects, the Yankee tide has lifted all boats for the past decade and a half. Twins 9, White Sox 3: After all of the nonsense of the other day, I assume everyone will be saying that Ozzie Guillen was right and that Javier Vazquez just isn't a big game pitcher. If that's the case, why wouldn't Guillen have used motivational techniques that served to minimize the importance of this game in Vazquez's mind rather than build up the pressure? To put his player in the best position to succeed instead of challenging him to overcome things he's never been able to overcome when the whole damn season was on the line? I suppose doing so wouldn't have made as good a story, but it may have put Vazquez in a better frame of mind to face the Twins last night. Mets 6, Cubs 2: Santana: 8 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 10K. That's why they pay him the big bucks. Brewers 7, Pirates 5: Walkoff homer for Prince Fielder with two out in the ninth! I was watching this as it happened via ESPN's Gamecast application which, as far as transmitting excitement goes, is akin to making out with a girl while wearing a ski mask, electrician's gloves, and burlap. Still, it's better than nothing. The Brewers remain one game back of New York. Royals 5, Tigers 0: Zach Greinke (7 IP 4 H, 0 ER) dominates the Tigers, who appear to have given up. Nothing against the Royals, but the Tigers were supposed to cruise this season, and the fact that they are about to be overtaken by Kansas City in the standings is about as big an indictment as can be leveled at them. Nationals 9, Marlins 4: It's been so long since I've said anything nice about the Nats that I've almost forgotten how, but it is worth noting that Elijah Dukes has a 130 OPS+ at age 24, and despite all of his baggage, can truthfully be called a bright spot for this otherwise lost franchise. Braves 3, Phillies 2: If I would've told you back in April that Mike Hampton would finish the season with the same number of wins as John Smoltz you would have called the guys in the white coats with the big nets. That's why I tend to avoid the prediction business. Rays 5, Orioles 2 (Game 1): James Shields wins his fourteenth game, which sets a franchise record previously held by Rolando Arrojo. Arrojo still has more rings -- three, if you count Cuba anyway -- and an Olympic gold medal. I'd still probably rather have James Shields' career going forward. Rays 7, Orioles 5 (Game 2): And the magic number is now two. Not that the Rays will be content with the division. They want to beat out the Angels for the best record so that four games of an ALCS between the two of those teams will be played in St. Pete, where the Rays have won seven out of every ten games this year. Probably ain't gonna happen, but at least it gives Maddon something to talk to his team about each night. If he were Ozzie Guillen, he'd probably just tell them that they should lose as much as possible now so that they can face their failures in road games head on. Cardinals 7, Diamondbacks 4: Albert Pujols (.350/.455/.631) watches everyone talk themselves into all manner of ridiculous NL MVP candidates that aren't him with mild amusement. He thinks for a moment of reminding Tracy "I'm voting for Lidge!" Ringolsby and his ilk that he, Pujols, has crushed everything thrown his way for six months, and has been doing it with an elbow injury that would keep him, Ringolsby, off his horse for a year. Pujols decides against it, however, because gods don't require the validation of mere mortals, no matter how fancy their cowboy hats may be. Reds 2, Astros 1: I'm going to print up shirts for the Astros that say "Edinson Killed Us." Rockies 9, Giants 4: Lincecum gives up six runs on six hits in four innings. Call me crazy, but I think his Cy Young chances are shot. Please Bruce: He has pitched 220 innings and has thrown more pitches in those innings than anyone else in the game. Let the boy have the rest of the season off. Mariners 9, Angels 6: The Angels blew a four run lead in the sixth and seventh innings. Too bad games can't be saved until the ninth. Dodgers 10, Padres 1: The Dodgers' magic number is 3. Rangers 6, A's 4: After giving up ten of them in three innings, they should call the A's starter Josh Hitman. Um, yeah, I know I made basically the same joke the last time he pitched. Bear with me here. The season is almost over. You can download a compact version of yesterday's boxscores from Heater Magazine.
Today’s GamesNational League --------------- Atlanta Braves at Philadelphia Phillies, 7:05 PM (L) Jo-Jo Reyes (3-11) vs. (R) Brett Myers (10-12) Florida Marlins at Washington Nationals, 7:10 PM (R) Josh Johnson (6-1) vs. (R) Tim Redding (10-10) Chicago Cubs at New York Mets, 7:10 PM (R) Carlos Zambrano (14-6) vs. (L) Oliver Perez (10-7) Pittsburgh Pirates at Milwaukee Brewers, 8:05 PM (L) Paul Maholm (9-8) vs. () TBA (0-0) Cincinnati Reds at Houston Astros, 8:05 PM (R) Ramon Ramirez (1-0) vs. (L) Randy Wolf (11-12) Arizona Diamondbacks at St. Louis Cardinals, 8:15 PM (R) Max Scherzer (0-3) vs. (R) Adam Wainwright (10-3) San Diego Padres at Los Angeles Dodgers, 10:10 PM (L) Shawn Estes (2-3) vs. (L) Clayton Kershaw (4-5) Colorado Rockies at San Francisco Giants, 10:15 PM (R) Livan Hernandez (2-3) vs. (L) Jonathan Sanchez (9-11) American League --------------- Oakland Athletics at Texas Rangers, 2:05 PM (L) Dana Eveland (9-8) vs. (L) Matt Harrison (8-3) Tampa Bay Rays at Baltimore Orioles, 7:05 PM (R) Edwin Jackson (12-11) vs. (R) Radhames Liz (6-6) Cleveland Indians at Boston Red Sox, 7:05 PM (R) Fausto Carmona (8-7) vs. (R) Paul Byrd (11-12) Kansas City Royals at Detroit Tigers, 7:05 PM (R) Brian Bannister (8-16) vs. (L) Nate Robertson (7-10) New York Yankees at Toronto Blue Jays, 7:07 PM (R) Phil Hughes (0-4) vs. (R) A.J. Burnett (18-10) Chicago White Sox at Minnesota Twins, 8:10 PM (L) Mark Buehrle (14-11) vs. (R) Nick Blackburn (10-10) LA Angels of Anaheim at Seattle Mariners, 10:10 PM (R) Jon Garland (14-8) vs. (R) Felix Hernandez (9-11) 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 93 62 .600 0.0 88 5 Game of the DayPITTSBURGH (5) VS MILWAUKEE (7) - FINAL
PITTSBURGH ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
N Morgan lf 5 0 4 2 0 0 0 .290
F Sanchez 2b 4 0 1 1 0 0 3 .266
N McLouth cf 4 0 1 0 1 0 3 .280
R Doumit c 5 0 0 0 0 1 4 .322
D Mientkiewicz 1b 3 2 0 0 2 0 2 .277
S Pearce rf 4 1 2 2 0 1 1 .239
An LaRoche 3b 3 1 1 0 1 1 1 .171
L Cruz ss 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 .222
J Karstens p 2 1 0 0 1 2 2 .143
J Chavez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
S Burnett p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333
a-Ja Wilson ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .275
J Grabow p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
T Beam p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Totals 35 5 9 5 5 6 19
a-struck out swinging for S Burnett in the 8th.
BATTING: HR - S Pearce (2, 8th inning off G Mota 1 on, 0 Out). S - F Sanchez.
RBI - N Morgan 2 (7), F Sanchez (51), S Pearce 2 (13). 2-out RBI - N Morgan 2,
F Sanchez. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - D Mientkiewicz 1, F
Sanchez 2, N McLouth 2, J Karstens 1. Team LOB - 9.
BASERUNNING: SB - N Morgan (9, 2nd base off D Bush/J Kendall), S Pearce (2,
2nd base off T Coffey/J Kendall).
FIELDING: E - N Morgan (1, fly ball); N McLouth (1, throw).
MILWAUKEE ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
M Cameron cf 5 1 2 2 0 1 0 .239
R Durham 2b 4 0 0 0 1 0 2 .287
R Braun lf 5 2 2 1 0 1 1 .288
P Fielder 1b 5 1 1 2 0 2 3 .274
J Hardy ss 4 1 2 0 0 2 0 .289
C Hart rf 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 .273
C Counsell 3b 2 1 1 0 1 0 0 .227
c-B Hall ph-3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .226
J Kendall c 3 0 1 1 0 0 1 .248
D Bush p 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .088
a-R Weeks ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .234
T Coffey p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
E Gagne p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
b-M Lamb ph 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .300
G Mota p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
d-J Dillon ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .219
S Torres p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Totals 36 7 11 6 2 8 11
a-flied out to right for D Bush in the 5th; b-singled to center for E Gagne in
the 7th; c-fouled out to first for C Counsell in the 8th; d-struck out
looking for G Mota in the 8th.
BATTING: 2B - C Counsell (14, J Karstens); M Cameron 2 (25, J Karstens, J
Chavez); J Kendall (29, J Grabow). 3B - R Braun (7, J Karstens). HR - P Fielder
(34, 9th inning off T Beam 1 on, 2 Out). S - J Kendall , C Hart. RBI - R Braun
(100), M Cameron 2 (70), J Kendall (47), P Fielder 2 (100). 2-out RBI - J
Kendall, P Fielder 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - J Dillon 1, J
Kendall 1, D Bush 1, P Fielder 3. Team LOB - 7.
----------------------------------------------------
PITTSBURGH - 030 000 020 -- 5
MILWAUKEE - 200 000 212 -- 7
Two outs when winning run scored.
----------------------------------------------------
PITTSBURGH ip h r er bb so hr era
J Karstens 6 5 3 1 1 6 0 4.03
J Chavez (B, 2) 2/3 2 1 1 1 0 0 4.61
S Burnett 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 4.67
J Grabow (B, 4) 1 2 1 1 0 1 0 2.96
T Beam (L, 2-2) 2/3 2 2 2 0 1 1 4.23
MILWAUKEE ip h r er bb so hr era
D Bush 5 5 3 3 3 2 0 4.25
T Coffey 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 4.62
E Gagne 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 5.68
G Mota (B, 3) 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 4.13
S Torres (W, 7-5) 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 3.12
J Karstens pitched to 1 batter in the 7th.
WP - J Karstens. IBB - N McLouth (by S Torres). Pitches-strikes: J Karstens
87-62; J Chavez 16-8; S Burnett 1-1; J Grabow 21-15; T Beam 12-7; D Bush 92-55;
T Coffey 18-10; E Gagne 18-10; G Mota 18-10; S Torres 16-8. Ground balls-fly
balls: J Karstens 4-8; J Chavez 2-0; S Burnett 1-0; J Grabow 1-1; T Beam 0-1; D
Bush 1-12; T Coffey 0-1; E Gagne 1-1; G Mota 0-2; S Torres 2-1. Batters faced:
J Karstens 25; J Chavez 5; S Burnett 1; J Grabow 5; T Beam 4; D Bush 23; T
Coffey 4; E Gagne 4; G Mota 5; S Torres 5.
UMPIRES: HP--Marty Foster. 1B--Derryl Cousins. 2B--Eric Cooper. 3B--Angel
Hernandez.
T--3:11. Att--36,612.
Weather: 70 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 10 mph, right
to left.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 Mike Aviles KC Freddy Garcia DET 366 379 9 JE Hank Blalock TEX Alan Embree OAK 407 399 9 ND Travis Buck OAK Dustin Nippert TEX 405 397 4 ND Jack Cust OAK Dustin Nippert TEX 422 412 31 ND Blake DeWitt LAD Charlie Haeger SD 385 381 8 PL Prince Fielder MIL T.J. Beam PIT 419 419 34 PL Nomar Garciaparra LAD Wade LeBlanc SD 426 420 7 PL Jason Giambi NYY Jesse Litsch TOR 421 423 32 PL Alex Gordon KC Freddy Garcia DET 392 390 16 PL Ken Griffey CWS Matt Guerrier MIN 370 365 17 ND Casey Kotchman ATL Cole Hamels PHI 375 375 14 PL Jason Kubel MIN Javier Vazquez CWS 350 345 21 PL Jason Kubel MIN Boone Logan CWS 349 344 20 JE Evan Longoria TB Alfredo Simon BAL 415 416 26 PL Ryan Ludwick STL Randy Johnson ARI 406 400 35 PL Kazuo Matsui HOU Edinson Volquez CIN 348 347 6 PL Gary Matthews LAA Ryan Feierabend SEA 406 414 8 PL Lou Montanez BAL James Shields TB 397 390 2 PL Miguel Montero ARI Kyle Lohse STL 425 419 5 PL Mike Napoli LAA Ryan Feierabend SEA 439 452 19 PL Steve Pearce PIT Guillermo Mota MIL 406 408 2 PL Cody Ross FLA Joel Hanrahan WAS 425 433 23 ND Ryan Shealy KC Freddy Garcia DET 370 377 7 PL Seth Smith COL Tim Lincecum SF 382 370 3 JE/L Troy Tulowitzki COL Osiris Matos SF 386 389 8 PL Josh Willingham FLA Shairon Martis WAS 363 379 12 JE Kevin Youkilis BOS Cliff Lee CLE 378 379 27 PL Chris Young ARI Kyle Lohse STL 396 390 21 PL Delmon Young MIN Boone Logan CWS 425 419 10 ND Ryan Zimmerman WAS Scott Olsen FLA 421 431 14 ND Access THT’s stats here…
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BOS 91 65 .583 2.5 94 -3 
NYA 85 71 .545 8.5 83 2 
TOR 83 73 .532 10.5 88 -5 
BAL 67 88 .432 26.0 71 -4 
American League Central
CHA 86 69 .555 0.0 86 0 
MIN 84 72 .538 2.5 86 -2 
CLE 79 77 .506 7.5 83 -4 
DET 71 84 .458 15.0 75 -4 
KC 71 86 .452 16.0 68 3 
American League West
LAA 97 59 .622 0.0 86 11 
OAK 75 81 .481 22.0 75 0 
TEX 75 82 .478 22.5 71 4 
SEA 57 99 .365 40.0 63 -6 
National League East Pwins Diff
PHI 89 68 .567 0.0 90 -1 
NYN 86 70 .551 2.5 87 -1 
FLA 81 75 .519 7.5 78 3 
ATL 69 88 .439 20.0 75 -6 
WAS 58 98 .372 30.5 60 -2 
National League Central
CHN 95 60 .613 0.0 96 -1 
MIL 85 71 .545 10.5 83 2 
HOU 82 73 .529 13.0 74 8 
STL 80 76 .513 15.5 81 -1 
CIN 73 83 .468 22.5 70 3 
PIT 65 91 .417 30.5 64 1 
National League West
LAN 81 75 .519 0.0 82 -1 
ARI 79 77 .506 2.0 80 -1 
COL 71 85 .455 10.0 70 1 
SF 70 86 .449 11.0 67 3 
SD 61 95 .391 20.0 67 -6 
Wildcard Standings
American League
BOS 91 65 .583 0.0
NYA 85 71 .545 6.0
MIN 84 72 .538 7.0
TOR 83 73 .532 8.0
CLE 79 77 .506 12.0
National League
NYN 86 70 .551 0.0
MIL 85 71 .545 1.0
HOU 82 73 .529 3.5
FLA 81 75 .519 5.0
STL 80 76 .513 6.0