THT Daily: Tigers in trouble?
by Dave StudemanSeptember 16, 2009
Major League News for September 16
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 RotoworldAn MRI on Jarrod Washburn's left knee Tuesday showed no structural damage.
That doesn't mean he's not in pain. "There's a ton of pressure on the inside of the knee," said Washburn. "It's causing all the irritation... It's definitely not getting any better." Tigers manager Jim Leyland hasn't made a decision as to who will fill in for the veteran left-hander. Zach Miner, according to the skipper, is too valuable to the bullpen.
A specialist in St. Louis Tuesday confirmed that Jarrod Saltalamacchia is suffering from thoracic outlet syndrome.
Thoracic outlet syndrome causes pain in the neck and shoulder, numbness and tingling of the fingers, and a weak grip. Salty will meet with the Rangers' head physician Wednesday afternoon to go over his options. Surgery is highly likely because, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the rehab process has a "50-50 success rate."
Giants activated RHP Randy Johnson from the 60-day disabled list.
Johnson will work out of the bullpen over the regular season's final few weeks. If the Giants happen to squeeze their way into the playoffs, perhaps he'll be given a shot at starting. The "Big Unit" was 8-6 with a 4.81 ERA before suffering a torn rotator cuff in early July.
Jesus Flores is scheduled to undergo season-ending shoulder surgery Wednesday to repair his torn right labrum.
Flores won't be healthy until the middle of spring training, at the earliest. But GM Mike Rizzo doesn't plan on acquiring a free agent catcher. "With the people that we have on staff right now and Jesus, we feel comfortable where we are at," said the general manager." Flores, 24, will finish the season with a .301 batting average, four home runs and 15 RBI.
Magglio Ordonez was 0-for-3 with a strikeout in a loss to the Royals on Tuesday night.
Why is this significant? Because Ordonez's $18 million dollar option vested for 2010, that's why. It should greatly reduce the Tigers payroll flexibility during the offseason. Though Ordonez is batting .357 since the All-Star break, he has just three home runs and 12 RBI in 143 at-bats.
Daisuke Matsuzaka tossed six shutout innings in a 4-1 win over the Angels on Tuesday night.
Needless to say, a very encouraging return. Dice-K didn't give up his first hit until the fifth inning -- he went on to allow just three hits. His command wasn't precise, as he threw 52 of 93 pitches for strikes and walked three, but his velocity was very impressive, topping out at 93 MPH. Matsuzaka struck out six in the win, his first June 2, lowering his ERA to 7.02. A return to form would be a huge boost to this Boston rotation.
Edgar Renteria underwent an MRI Tuesday on his sore left shoulder that revealed a sprained AC joint and some biceps tendinitis.
Renteria told reporters that he will attempt to play through the injuries, but he's not in Tuesday's lineup and is batting just .128/.171/.231 this month. Juan Uribe should continue to draw regular starts at shortstop.
Jake Peavy is officially scheduled to start Saturday against the Royals.
Peavy felt great during a bullpen session over the weekend and told reporters Tuesday that he's "excited" to make his White Sox debut. He'll be limited to a pitch count, but is a strong fantasy bet against the Royals. As far as September streamers go, he's the guy to own.
Jarrod Washburn departed Tuesday's game after just one inning with an apparent knee injury.
Washburn has been bothered by left knee discomfort for most of the season and may have to undergo some sort of procedure in the winter. He allowed four earned runs to the Royals Tuesday before exiting.
Yesterday’s Results
For the full scoop regarding yesterday's games, read "And That Happened" at Shysterball.American League BAL 10 TB 5 (Recap and Boxscore) BOS 4 LAA 1 (Recap and Boxscore) TOR 10 NYA 4 (Recap and Boxscore) KC 11 DET 1 (Recap and Boxscore) MIN 5 CLE 4 (Recap and Boxscore) CHA 6 SEA 3 (Recap and Boxscore) OAK 6 TEX 1 (Recap and Boxscore) National League ATL 6 NYN 0 (Recap and Boxscore) PHI 5 WAS 0 (Recap and Boxscore) CHN 13 MIL 7 (Recap and Boxscore) CIN 5 HOU 4 (Recap and Boxscore) FLA 2 STL 1 (Recap and Boxscore) LAN 5 PIT 4 (Recap and Boxscore) ARI 4 SD 2 (Recap and Boxscore) SF 10 COL 2 (Recap and Boxscore)Check out Fangraphs' scoreboard to see all the games in action.
Today’s Games
Indians (61-83) @ Twins (73-72), 1:10pm
Aaron Laffey (24, LHP) vs. Nick Blackburn (27, RHP)
Blue Jays (66-79) @ Yankees (93-53), 7:05pm
Brian Tallet (31, LHP) vs. Chad Gaudin (26, RHP)
Rays (73-72) @ Orioles (59-85), 7:05pm
Andy Sonnanstine (26, RHP) vs. Chris Tillman (21, RHP)
Royals (58-86) @ Tigers (77-67), 7:05pm
Lenny DiNardo (29, LHP) vs. Eddie Bonine (28, RHP)
Angels (86-58) @ RedSox (85-58), 7:10pm
Joe Saunders (28, LHP) vs. Paul Byrd (38, RHP)
Athletics (66-78) @ Rangers (80-64), 8:05pm
Trevor Cahill (21, RHP) vs. Dustin Nippert (28, RHP)
WhiteSox (72-73) @ Mariners (74-71), 10:10pm
Gavin Floyd (26, RHP) vs. Ryan Rowland-Smith (26, LHP)
Marlins (77-68) @ Cardinals (85-61), 2:15pm
Josh Johnson (25, RHP) vs. Joel Pineiro (30, RHP)
Pirates (55-88) @ Dodgers (87-59), 3:10pm
Kevin Hart (26, RHP) vs. Hiroki Kuroda (34, RHP)
D'backs (64-82) @ Padres (65-81), 3:35pm
Doug Davis (33, LHP) vs. Edward Mujica (25, RHP)
Mets (63-82) @ Braves (76-68), 7:00pm
Bobby Parnell (24, RHP) vs. Derek Lowe (36, RHP)
Nationals (50-94) @ Phillies (83-60), 7:05pm
Livan Hernandez (34, RHP) vs. Joe Blanton (28, RHP)
Astros (70-75) @ Reds (66-79), 7:10pm
Yorman Bazardo (24, RHP) vs. Justin Lehr (31, RHP)
Brewers (69-75) @ Cubs (75-68), 8:05pm
Braden Looper (34, RHP) vs. Rich Harden (27, RHP)
Rockies (82-64) @ Giants (79-66), 10:15pm
Jorge de la Rosa (28, LHP) vs. Matt Cain (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 93 53 .637 0.0 87 6BOS 85 58 .594 6.5 84 1
TB 73 72 .503 19.5 77 -4
TOR 66 79 .455 26.5 74 -8
BAL 59 85 .410 33.0 62 -3
American League Central DET 77 67 .535 0.0 73 4
MIN 73 72 .503 4.5 74 -1
CHA 72 73 .497 5.5 72 0
CLE 61 83 .424 16.0 67 -6
KC 58 86 .403 19.0 59 -1
American League West LAA 86 58 .597 0.0 82 4
TEX 80 64 .556 6.0 78 2
SEA 74 71 .510 12.5 66 8
OAK 66 78 .458 20.0 70 -4
National League East Pwins Diff PHI 83 60 .580 0.0 82 1
FLA 77 68 .531 7.0 73 4
ATL 76 68 .528 7.5 80 -4
NYN 63 82 .434 21.0 64 -1
WAS 50 94 .347 33.5 58 -8
National League Central STL 85 61 .582 0.0 83 2
CHN 75 68 .524 8.5 75 0
HOU 70 75 .483 14.5 64 6
MIL 69 75 .479 15.0 68 1
CIN 66 79 .455 18.5 63 3
PIT 55 88 .385 28.5 60 -5
National League West LAN 87 59 .596 0.0 89 -2
COL 82 64 .562 5.0 81 1
SF 79 66 .545 7.5 78 1
SD 65 81 .445 22.0 58 7
ARI 64 82 .438 23.0 68 -4
Wildcard Standings American League BOS 85 58 .594 0.0 TEX 80 64 .556 5.5 SEA 74 71 .510 12.0 TB 73 72 .503 13.0 MIN 73 72 .503 13.0 National League COL 82 64 .562 0.0 SF 79 66 .545 2.5 FLA 77 68 .531 4.5 ATL 76 68 .528 5.0 CHN 75 68 .524 5.5
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 ORG LVL PLAYER IP H R ER SO BB HR Notes
| First Inning's Major and Minor League Daily Reports: |
Dave was called a "national treasure" by Rob Neyer. Seriously. Comments about this article can be sent to him through the miracle of e-mail.
I would just like to add to the player news that, through last night, Bobby Abreu is hitting .300 for his career on the nose: 2100/7000.