December 4, 2008
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THT Daily: Webb pitches, Haren signsby THT StaffAugust 06, 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
Diamondbacks agreed to terms with RHP Dan Haren on a two-year extension through 2012 with a club option for 2013. KTAR 620AM reported that Haren will make a combined $31 million in 2011 and 2012, with a $15.5 million option for 2013. The money seems about right, and it's an especially good deal for the Diamondbacks with the third year being at their option. Had Haren been a free agent this winter, it's quite likely he would have made something like $80 million-$90 million for five years or $100 million for six years. Arizona will control him for five years at $58.75 million. Sources told the New York Post that Joba Chamberlain is on his way to visit Dr. James Andrews to have his shoulder evaluated. That's not a good sign, but the Yankees should be taking every precaution anyway. While strength tests on the shoulder reportedly went well, the team isn't going to comment on what the MRI had to say. Manager Joe Girardi said Chamberlain has already been ruled out for his Saturday start. The Yankees are expected to call up someone from Triple-A to fill in. FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal reports that the Rockies have been awarded the waiver claim on Livan Hernandez. The Twins have to be thrilled, as they'll now get back the $2 million he was still owed for the rest of the year. Technically, he remains Minnesota property at this time. However, whether a trade is worked out or not, it looks like he'll soon find himself in Colorado's rotation. Manager Jim Leyland indicated Tuesday that Joel Zumaya has taken over for Fernando Rodney as the Tigers' closer. "If we have a lead in the ninth inning, that's who will pitch," Leyland said. "He's fine." Of course, Leyland added that Rodney and Kyle Farnsworth may also get save chances. Zumaya promptly blew a save Tuesday night, allowing four runs in the 14th inning of a 10-8 loss to the White Sox after Rodney threw three scoreless innings. Brandon Webb scattered nine hits while going the distance Tuesday in a 3-1 victory over the Pirates. Webb, who struck out four and walked none, improved to 4-0 in his last seven starts and became the year's first 16-game winner. He's 5-0 with a 2.11 ERA in six career starts versus the Pirates. Webb said that the Diamondbacks recently rescinded a contract offer that would have kept him in Arizona through 2013. The Diamondbacks announced a contract extension for Dan Haren earlier in the day. "I just want to let fans know that I'm not the one who pulled it off the table," Webb said. "We just didn't see eye to eye on a couple of things, and that was it. I love Arizona, and this is my first choice." Webb is under the team's control through 2010, so there's still plenty of time to work something out. Mariners designated DH Jose Vidro for assignment. Vidro finally gets the heave ho despite hitting .340/.354/.489 in 47 at-bats since the All-Star break. He wasn't doing the Mariners any good anyway, and it was past time that the team went with younger players. His at-bats will go to Jeff Clement and Wladimir Balentien. Cardinals signed infielder Felipe Lopez for the rest of the season. It's not the best situation for Lopez as far as playing time, but he does get to join a contender. He'll join Aaron Miles as a backup at shortstop and second base. If he gets off to a fast start, it's possible he could win a starting job. However, it's not a very good bet. Brendan Ryan will be sent down to open up a roster spot. C.J. Wilson is headed to the disabled list with bone spurs in his left elbow. Wilson will be examined by Dr. Lewis Yocum and may opt for surgery that would surely end his season. Joaquin Benoit will be activated to replace him on the roster. Eddie Guardado figures to get the save chances for now, but the Rangers might want to evaluate Frank Francisco in that role. Guardado isn't someone they should be counting on for 2009, and they need to see just how Francisco is going to fit for the long term. Yesterday’s ResultsAmerican League TB 8 CLE 4 (Recap and Boxscore) TOR 4 OAK 3 (Recap and Boxscore) CHA 10 DET 8 (Recap and Boxscore) BOS 8 KC 2 (Recap and Boxscore) BAL 3 LAA 0 (Recap and Boxscore) SEA 8 MIN 7 (Recap and Boxscore) TEX 8 NYA 6 (Recap and Boxscore) National League NYN 6 SD 5 (Recap and Boxscore) FLA 8 PHI 2 (Recap and Boxscore) CHN 11 HOU 7 (Recap and Boxscore) MIL 8 CIN 1 (Recap and Boxscore) STL 6 LAN 4 (Recap and Boxscore) ARI 3 PIT 1 (Recap and Boxscore) COL 8 WAS 2 (Recap and Boxscore) ATL 11 SF 4 (Recap and Boxscore)You can download a compact version of yesterday's boxscores from Heater Magazine.
Today’s GamesNational League --------------- Milwaukee Brewers at Cincinnati Reds, 12:35 PM (R) Jeff Suppan (6-7) vs. (R) Homer Bailey (0-5) Houston Astros at Chicago Cubs, 2:20 PM (R) Brandon Backe (6-10) vs. (R) Jason Marquis (6-7) Pittsburgh Pirates at Arizona Diamondbacks, 3:40 PM (R) Jeff Karstens (1-0) vs. (L) Randy Johnson (9-7) Atlanta Braves at San Francisco Giants, 3:45 PM (L) Chuck James (2-4) vs. (R) Tim Lincecum (11-3) Florida Marlins at Philadelphia Phillies, 7:05 PM (R) Anibal Sanchez (1-0) vs. (R) Kyle Kendrick (9-5) San Diego Padres at New York Mets, 7:10 PM (R) Cha Seung Baek (3-5) vs. (R) Pedro Martinez (3-2) Los Angeles Dodgers at St. Louis Cardinals, 8:15 PM (R) Derek Lowe (8-9) vs. (R) Joel Pineiro (3-5) Washington Nationals at Colorado Rockies, 9:05 PM (L) Odalis Perez (4-8) vs. (L) Jeff Francis (3-7) American League --------------- Cleveland Indians at Tampa Bay Rays, 12:40 PM (L) Jeremy Sowers (1-6) vs. (L) Scott Kazmir (8-5) Baltimore Orioles at LA Angels of Anaheim, 3:35 PM (L) Garrett Olson (8-5) vs. (R) Ervin Santana (12-5) Minnesota Twins at Seattle Mariners, 4:40 PM (R) Nick Blackburn (8-6) vs. (L) Jarrod Washburn (5-10) Oakland Athletics at Toronto Blue Jays, 7:07 PM (L) Gio Gonzalez (0-0) vs. (R) Shaun Marcum (5-5) New York Yankees at Texas Rangers, 8:05 PM (R) Sidney Ponson (6-2) vs. (R) Tommy Hunter (0-0) Boston Red Sox at Kansas City Royals, 8:10 PM (R) Tim Wakefield (6-8) vs. (R) Luke Hochevar (6-9) Detroit Tigers at Chicago White Sox, 8:11 PM (R) Justin Verlander (8-11) vs. (L) John Danks (8-4) 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 67 45 .598 0.0 62 5 Game of the DayWhite Sox 10, Tigers 8 - FINAL
DETROIT ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
C Granderson cf 6 2 1 2 1 3 2 .302
P Polanco 2b 6 3 3 4 1 1 1 .314
C Guillen 3b 7 0 2 1 0 1 1 .283
M Ordonez rf 7 1 2 0 0 0 2 .320
M Cabrera 1b 6 0 0 0 0 2 2 .293
G Sheffield dh 5 0 0 0 1 2 0 .226
R Raburn lf 6 0 4 1 0 2 0 .261
B Inge c 4 0 0 0 0 1 5 .216
va-M Joyce ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .277
D Sardinha c 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .130
E Renteria ss 6 2 3 0 0 0 2 .257
Totals 55 8 15 8 3 13 15 ###
CHI WHITE SOX ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
O Cabrera ss 6 2 2 0 1 1 0 .268
A Pierzynski c 7 0 2 1 0 1 2 .292
C Quentin lf 7 2 4 2 0 2 2 .285
J Dye rf 6 1 1 1 1 0 5 .304
J Thome dh 7 1 1 0 0 4 4 .257
P Konerko 1b 3 1 1 2 2 1 0 .213
B Anderson pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .238
N Swisher 1b 2 1 1 3 0 1 0 .231
K Griffey Jr cf 6 0 1 0 0 3 2 .308
A Ramirez 2b 6 2 3 1 0 0 2 .312
J Uribe 3b 5 0 0 0 1 0 2 .218
Totals 55 10 16 10 5 13 19 ###
----------------------------------------------------
DETROIT - 200 040 000 000 02 -- 8 15 1
CHI WHITE SOX - 001 012 110 000 04 -- 10 16 1
Two outs when winning run scored.
----------------------------------------------------
va-flied out to center for B Inge in the 11th.
BATTING: 2B - E Renteria (12, G Floyd); A Ramirez (18, N Robertson); J Thome
(24, N Robertson); C Quentin (21, J Zumaya). 3B - P Polanco (2, G Floyd). HR -
P Polanco 2 (6, 1st inning off G Floyd 1 on, 0 Out, 14th inning off M Thornton
1 on, 1 Out), C Granderson (13, 5th inning off G Floyd 1 on, 0 Out), P Konerko
(11, 6th inning off N Robertson 1 on, 0 Out), C Quentin (29, 7th inning off A
Lopez 0 on, 2 Out), A Ramirez (10, 8th inning off K Farnsworth 0 on, 2 Out), N
Swisher (16, 14th inning off J Zumaya 2 on, 2 Out). RBI - P Polanco 4 (43), C
Granderson 2 (40), C Guillen (52), R Raburn (14), A Pierzynski (44), C Quentin
2 (86), P Konerko 2 (38), A Ramirez (40), J Dye (69), N Swisher 3 (54). 2-out
RBI - R Raburn, C Quentin 2, A Ramirez, N Swisher 3. Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - E Renteria 1, B Inge 2, J Dye 2, J Thome 1, C Quentin 1. GIDP
- M Cabrera, J Dye, J Thome, J Uribe. Team LOB - DETROIT 8, CHI WHITE SOX 9.
BASERUNNING: SB - C Granderson (8, 2nd base off G Floyd/A Pierzynski), R Raburn
(2, 3rd base off G Floyd/A Pierzynski), O Cabrera (18, 2nd base off K
Farnsworth/B Inge). CS - C Guillen (3, 2nd base by E Wassermann/A Pierzynski).
FIELDING: E - E Renteria (10, ground ball); J Uribe (5, throw). PB - B Inge.
DP: (E Renteria-P Polanco-M Cabrera, P Polanco-C Guillen-M Cabrera, P
Polanco-M Cabrera, O Cabrera-A Ramirez-P Konerko).
DETROIT ip h r er bb so hr era
N Robertson 5 9 4 4 3 3 1 6.11
C Fossum (H, 4) 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 5.32
A Lopez (H, 4) 1 1/3 1 1 1 1 1 1 3.17
B Seay (H, 6) 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.35
K Farnsworth (B, 2) 1 1/3 2 1 1 0 1 1 4.15
F Rodney 3 0 0 0 1 5 0 5.48
F Dolsi 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 4.04
J Zumaya (L, 0-1; B, 3) 2/3 3 4 1 0 1 1 2.95
CHI WHITE SOX ip h r er bb so hr era
G Floyd 4 8 5 5 2 4 2 3.66
E Wassermann 1 1/3 2 1 1 1 0 0 8.79
B Logan 2/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 4.46
D Carrasco 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 2.81
B Jenks 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2.06
O Dotel 1 1/3 1 0 0 0 2 0 3.08
M Thornton 3 2 2 2 0 5 1 2.89
A Russell (W, 4-0) 2/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 5.23
G Floyd pitched to 4 batters in the 5th.
N Robertson pitched to 2 batters in the 6th.
Pitches-strikes: N Robertson 101-60; C Fossum 3-2; A Lopez 24-14; B Seay
11-6; K Farnsworth 23-16; F Rodney 38-26; F Dolsi 12-7; J Zumaya 22-13; G Floyd
88-49; E Wassermann 27-18; B Logan 11-8; D Carrasco 30-21; B Jenks 10-6; O
Dotel 16-11; M Thornton 40-28; A Russell 8-4. Ground balls-fly balls: N
Robertson 11-1; C Fossum 0-1; A Lopez 0-3; B Seay 1-1; K Farnsworth 0-3; F
Rodney 3-1; F Dolsi 0-2; J Zumaya 0-1; G Floyd 4-4; E Wassermann 0-3; B Logan
1-0; D Carrasco 4-1; B Jenks 2-1; O Dotel 0-2; M Thornton 2-2; A Russell 1-1.
Batters faced: N Robertson 24; C Fossum 1; A Lopez 6; B Seay 3; K Farnsworth 6;
F Rodney 10; F Dolsi 4; J Zumaya 6; G Floyd 21; E Wassermann 6; B Logan 2; D
Carrasco 7; B Jenks 4; O Dotel 5; M Thornton 11; A Russell 2. UMPIRES:
HP--James Hoye. 1B--Tom Hallion. 2B--Brian O'Nora. 3B--Chad Fairchild.
T--4:58. Att--35,371. Weather: 80 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 7 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 Geoff Blum HOU Rich Harden CHC 379 372 10 PL Prince Fielder MIL Nick Masset CIN 443 436 26 ND Cliff Floyd TB Rafael Betancourt CLE 421 421 8 PL Jody Gerut SD Aaron Heilman NYM 383 377 7 PL Adrian Gonzalez SD Mike Pelfrey NYM 380 381 27 PL Curtis Granderson DET Gavin Floyd CWS 388 366 13 PL Josh Hamilton TEX Andy Pettitte NYY 408 408 26 PL Raul Ibanez SEA Scott Baker MIN 389 385 17 JE/L Andruw Jones LAD Ron Villone STL 434 409 3 ND Paul Konerko CWS Nate Robertson DET 351 342 11 JE Kevin Kouzmanoff SD Mike Pelfrey NYM 392 374 16 PL/L Jason Kubel MIN R.A. Dickey SEA 423 413 16 ND Jason Kubel MIN Cesar Jimenez SEA 392 393 15 ND Carlos Lee HOU Bob Howry CHC 387 380 26 PL Fred Lewis SF Mike Hampton ATL 401 415 8 JE Evan Longoria TB Rafael Betancourt CLE 0 0 21 0 Ryan Ludwick STL Jason Johnson LAD 423 394 28 PL/L Dioner Navarro TB Juan Rincon CLE 388 388 5 PL Jhonny Peralta CLE Edwin Jackson TB 424 424 18 PL Placido Polanco DET Gavin Floyd CWS 386 383 6 PL Placido Polanco DET Gavin Floyd CWS 362 354 5 PL Albert Pujols STL Chan Ho Park LAD 442 414 22 ND Carlos Quentin CWS Acquilino Lopez DET 385 366 28 JE/L Alexei Ramirez CWS Kyle Farnsworth DET 379 368 10 PL Luke Scott BAL Jon Garland LAA 420 413 19 ND Richie Sexson NYY C.J. Wilson TEX 421 424 12 PL Alfonso Soriano CHC Doug Brocail HOU 365 359 20 JE Ian Stewart COL John Lannan WAS 453 370 5 ND Tatis Fernando NYM Chris Young SD 387 361 1 PL/L Tatis. Fernando NYM Mike Adams SD 365 336 1 PL/L Shane Victorino PHI Renyel Pinto FLA 344 348 11 NQ Ty Wigginton HOU Rich Harden CHC 405 397 11 PL Chris Young ARI Zach Duke PIT 369 352 15 JE/L 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 COL AAA Joseph Koshansky.. 4 3 0 0 2 1 1 5 RBI ! DET AAA Brent Clevlen..... 4 4 1 0 1 1 0 4 R FLA A Michael Stanton... 5 4 0 0 1 3 0 3 R CHW A C. Marrero........ 2 2 1 0 1 2 0 ATL A Jason Heyward..... 3 3 2 0 0 2 0 DET AAA Jeff Larish....... 5 2 0 0 2 0 0 4 RBI TB AAA Justin Ruggiano... 5 3 1 0 1 0 0 BOS AA Lars Anderson..... 4 2 1 0 1 1 1 3 R KC A Mike Moustakas.... 4 2 0 0 2 0 0 4 RBI CHC AAA Micah Hoffpauir... 5 2 1 0 1 0 1 4 RBI TB AAA Joel Guzman....... 4 3 2 0 0 0 0 TB AA Rhyne Hughes...... 4 2 1 0 1 0 0 ORG LVL PLAYER IP H R ER SO BB HR Notes DET A Jonathan Kibler... 9 2 0 0 9 0 0 ATL A Cole Rohrbough.... 8 1 1 0 7 3 0 BAL A+ Brandon Erbe...... 6 0 0 0 7 3 0 COL A- C. Friedrich...... 6 4 2 1 9 1 1 NYY A Dellin Betances... 7 6 1 1 7 1 0 LAA A Robert Fish....... 7 3 0 0 6 2 0 TB A Alexander Cobb.... 6 2 0 0 4 1 0 11 GB DET A+ Dontrelle Willis.. 6 10 5 4 6 0 0 ARI AAA Max Scherzer...... 4 2 0 0 6 2 0 NYM A Brant Rustich..... 5 2 0 0 3 0 0 NYY A+ Ivan Nova......... 6 5 1 1 5 0 1 12 GB TOR A+ Kenny Rodriguez... 6 7 2 2 6 2 0 Access THT’s stats here…
Do you have a general question or comment for one of THT's writers? Send it in to our weekly mailbag We also welcome unsolicited op-ed pieces of approximately 500 words for consideration. We reserve the right to edit for length, clarity and consistency of style. Please include your whole name and location to be considered. If you have a comment about this specific article, please email the writer. Next Article: TUCK! sez: (Write your own "Manny" pun here)>> <<Previous Article: The ten worst No. 7 hitters since 1957 | |||||||
BOS 65 49 .570 3.0 67 -2 
NYA 61 52 .540 6.5 61 0 
TOR 57 56 .504 10.5 60 -3 
BAL 54 58 .482 13.0 55 -1 
American League Central
CHA 62 49 .559 0.0 63 -1 
MIN 62 51 .549 1.0 59 3 
DET 55 57 .491 7.5 58 -3 
KC 53 61 .465 10.5 50 3 
CLE 49 63 .438 13.5 56 -7 
American League West
LAA 70 43 .619 0.0 61 9 
TEX 60 54 .526 10.5 55 5 
OAK 53 59 .473 16.5 58 -5 
SEA 44 69 .389 26.0 49 -5 
National League East Pwins Diff
PHI 61 51 .545 0.0 63 -2 
FLA 60 53 .531 1.5 55 5 
NYN 59 53 .527 2.0 60 -1 
ATL 52 61 .460 9.5 58 -6 
WAS 42 71 .372 19.5 44 -2 
National League Central
CHN 68 46 .596 0.0 71 -3 
MIL 63 51 .553 5.0 59 4 
STL 63 52 .548 5.5 61 2 
HOU 54 58 .482 13.0 51 3 
CIN 52 62 .456 16.0 49 3 
PIT 51 62 .451 16.5 49 2 
National League West
ARI 59 54 .522 0.0 60 -1 
LAN 56 56 .500 2.5 59 -3 
COL 52 63 .452 8.0 52 0 
SF 47 65 .420 11.5 46 1 
SD 43 70 .381 16.0 45 -2 