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THT Daily: Who Is Jesse Litsch?by Matthew CarruthMay 16, 2007 Major League News for May 16Today’s LinksPlayer News Yesterday’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/ THT LinksDivisional Realignment - Tom Tango has a few ideas about how to realign the divisions based on market size. Mock Draft Time - John Sickels kicks off now the third annual mock draft. Curse Ye Mark Wohlers - Talking Chop wonders if Mark Wohlers has cursed the Braves bullpen. Sure enough, Mike Gonzalez heads to the DL with elbow problems. Lost in Translation - In the latest interview with Ichiro Suzuki, mostly concerning the odds of him returning to Seattle (not good), he drops a few oddball comments. Upgrading from Within - The Twins need a shakeup and with trade-averse Terry Ryan still at the helm, they will probably have to find the upgrades from within the system. THT Links represents the best efforts of our editors in scouring the various tubes of the interweb for both relevant and irrelevant news items. If you have happened upon a story that we have overlooked or wish to give feedback of any sort, please notify us at . Player NewsPlayer Headlines are courtesy of RotoworldRafael Furcal had a third straight four-hit game Tuesday in the Dodgers' 9-7 win over the Cardinals. One of the hits was a three-run triple. Furcal has upped his average from .228 to .297 with the surge. He's the first player since Marcus Giles in 2003 to have three straight four-hit games. Since 1900, only the Dodgers' Milt Stock, in 1925, has had four straight Carlos Lee homered twice, including the game-winning shot in the bottom of the 10th inning as Houston rallied to beat the Giants 6-5 on Tuesday. Lee was perfect, going 4-for-4 with four runs and a walk. Down 5-3 in the eighth, the 'Stros tied it when Hunter Pence cranked a two-run shot off Armando Benitez, and Lee's solo blast against Jonathan Sanchez won it two innings later. Lee is on fire with multiple hits in five straight games and nine homers for the year. Felix Hernandez pitched 3 2/3 innings Tuesday before leaving with a 9-3 lead against the Angels in his return from the DL. Hernandez gave up a run in the third after three weak infield singles. In the fourth, the Angels put together three hits and a walk for two more runs and Hernandez was removed with two on and two out because he reached his pitch count. His stuff looked fine tonight, and he seemed confortable on the mound, even if his command wasn't there. He struck out five and walked three. Jesse Litsch came within one out of tossing a complete-game victory in his major league debut Tuesday as Toronto edged Baltimore 2-1. Just called up from Double-A earlier in the day, Litsch was spectacular, giving up just four hits and one run, striking out one and walking three. He got 21 outs on the ground. He's the first Toronto starter to win his debut since Gustavo Chacin did it in 2004. The Jays are going to have to give Litsch more starts, though they could follow through with the plan to sent him down until they next need a fifth starter on May 26. AL-only leaguers can go ahead and pick up the 22-year-old, but he's going to be a risky play in the short-term. John Smoltz remained hopeful Tuesday of making his next scheduled start Saturday against the Red Sox. Smoltz left Monday's game with a dislocated right pinkie. "I'm doing great," he said. "I couldn't ask for a better recovery. I think I'm going to be alright ... I'm not concerned about it like I was last night." Still, Wednesday's bullpen session will be the real test. Rocco Baldelli left Tuesday's game because of a strained left hamstring. If Baldelli needs to go on the DL, the Rays could activate Greg Norton and have him share time with Jonny Gomes at DH. Elijah Dukes would take over as the primary center fielder. Athletics placed RHP Huston Street on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to May 13, with an irritation in his right ulnar nerve. It was thought that an A's reliever might go on the DL today, but there was no indication it'd be Street. Under normal circumstances, Justin Duchscherer would fill in as the team's closer. However, he might be day-to-day for the foreseeable future because of his hip. Kiko Calero is likely next in line for save opportunities, though he's been a disappointment so far this year. Alan Embree could also be an option when lefties are due up in the ninth. Duchscherer is probably the best bet of the group at the moment. Rangers placed RHP Kevin Millwood on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left hamstring. Millwood aggravated his hamstring injury in the first inning of his start Monday. The Rangers could call up Bruce Chen or John Koronka to start in his place on Saturday. Yesterday’s ResultsAmerican League DET 7 BOS 2 (Recap and Boxscore) Ordonez: HR< 3 RBI; Verlander: 7.2 IP, 2 R TB 4 TEX 3 (Recap and Boxscore) 10 innings; Harris: 4-5, 2 2B; Shields: 8 IP, 3 R TOR 2 BAL 1 (Recap and Boxscore) Litsch (who?): 8.2 IP, 1 R; Cabrera: 8 IP, 2 R CLE 15 MIN 7 (Recap and Boxscore) Sizemore: 4-5, 2B, HR; Morneau: 2 HR OAK 5 KC 4 (Recap and Boxscore) 11 innings; Kennedy: 7.2 IP, 1 R SEA 11 LAA 3 (Recap and Boxscore) Ichiro: 5-5 National League CHN 10 NYN 1 (Recap and Boxscore) Zambrano: 8 IP, 1 R; Ramirez: GS HR, Barrett: 2 2B PHI 4 MIL 3 (Recap and Boxscore) Ruiz: GW HR in 9th; Eaton: 7.2 IP, 2 R ATL 6 WAS 2 (Recap and Boxscore) Renteria: 3-5, 2 HR; Hudson: 7 IP, 1 R HOU 6 SF 5 (Recap and Boxscore) See below FLA 9 PIT 3 (Recap and Boxscore) Uggla: 2 HR; Ramirez: 3-4, HR; Mitre: 7.2 IP, 3 R ARI 3 COL 0 (Recap and Boxscore) Johnson: 6 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 9 K LAN 9 STL 7 (Recap and Boxscore) Furcal: 4-5 CIN 2 SD 1 (Recap and Boxscore) 10 innings; Harang: 9 IP, 1 R; Wells: 8 IP, 1 R Today’s GamesNational League --------------- Atlanta Braves at Washington Nationals, 7:05 PM (R) Kyle Davies (1-1) vs. (R) Levale Speigner (1-0) Florida Marlins at Pittsburgh Pirates, 7:05 PM (L) Scott Olsen (3-3) vs. (L) Zach Duke (1-4) Milwaukee Brewers at Philadelphia Phillies, 7:05 PM (R) Jeff Suppan (5-3) vs. (L) Cole Hamels (5-1) Chicago Cubs at New York Mets, 7:10 PM (L) Rich Hill (4-2) vs. (R) Jorge Sosa (2-0) San Francisco Giants at Houston Astros, 8:05 PM (L) Noah Lowry (4-3) vs. (R) Matt Albers (1-2) Arizona Diamondbacks at Colorado Rockies, 8:35 PM (R) Brandon Webb (3-2) vs. (R) Aaron Cook (2-1) Cincinnati Reds at San Diego Padres, 10:05 PM (R) Bronson Arroyo (2-3) vs. (R) Jake Peavy (5-1) St. Louis Cardinals at Los Angeles Dodgers, 10:10 PM (R) Kip Wells (1-7) vs. (L) Randy Wolf (4-3) American League --------------- Detroit Tigers at Boston Red Sox, 7:05 PM (L) Mike Maroth (3-0) vs. (R) Julian Tavarez (1-4) Minnesota Twins at Cleveland Indians, 7:05 PM (R) Carlos Silva (2-3) vs. (L) CC Sabathia (5-1) Baltimore Orioles at Toronto Blue Jays, 7:07 PM (L) Brian Burres (1-1) vs. (R) AJ Burnett (3-3) Texas Rangers at Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 7:10 PM (R) Vicente Padilla (1-5) vs. (L) Casey Fossum (2-3) New York Yankees at Chicago White Sox, 8:11 PM (R) Chien-Ming Wang (1-3) vs. (R) Jose Contreras (3-3) Kansas City Royals at Oakland Athletics, 10:05 PM (L) Odalis Perez (2-4) vs. (R) Joe Blanton (4-1) LA Angels of Anaheim at Seattle Mariners, 10:05 PM (R) John Lackey (5-3) vs. (R) Cha Seung Baek (1-0) 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 BOS 26 12 .684 0.0 26 0 Game of the DayThe multi-multi-million dollar man, Carlos Lee, earned his money last night by going 4 for 4 and clubbing two home runs, including the game-winner in the tenth inning, to lead the Astros past the Giants 6-5. Rookie sensation Hunter Pence, slugging .603 in 58 at bats, added a big game-tying home run in the eighth off Armando Benitez.Lee has batted .520 since May 2. SAN FRANCISCO (5) VS HOUSTON (6) - FINAL IN 10 INNINGS
SAN FRANCISCO ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
R Winn cf 5 1 3 2 0 1 0 .310
F Lewis rf 5 0 2 0 0 0 2 .474
R Aurilia 1b 5 1 1 0 0 1 2 .256
J Sanchez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
B Bonds lf 2 0 0 0 2 0 2 .300
D Ortmeier pr-lf 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 .308
R Durham 2b 4 1 1 2 1 1 2 .265
B Molina c 4 0 1 1 0 0 0 .305
P Feliz 3b 4 1 1 0 0 1 2 .254
A Benitez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
R Klesko 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .303
O Vizquel ss 4 0 1 0 0 1 3 .259
M Morris p 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 .125
a-M Sweeney ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .214
K Correia p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
J Taschner p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
K Frandsen 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .444
Totals 38 5 10 5 3 6 15
a-flied out to right for M Morris in the 7th.
BATTING: 2B - P Feliz (9, W Williams). HR - R Winn (2, 6th inning off W
Williams 0 on, 0 Out), R Durham (4, 6th inning off W Williams 1 on, 2 Out). RBI
- R Winn 2 (12), R Durham 2 (23), B Molina (19). 2-out RBI - R Durham 2, R
Winn. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - O Vizquel 1. GIDP - B Bonds, R
Durham. Team LOB - 6.
HOUSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
C Biggio 2b 5 0 0 0 0 1 1 .248
M Lamb 3b 5 0 0 0 0 2 1 .375
L Berkman 1b 5 0 0 0 0 1 0 .275
C Lee lf 4 4 4 2 1 0 0 .336
L Scott rf 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 .252
H Pence cf 3 1 3 3 1 0 0 .310
A Everett ss 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 .200
H Quintero c 3 0 1 0 0 0 3 .233
b-O Palmeiro ph 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .167
C Qualls p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
W Williams p 2 1 1 1 0 1 2 .150
a-M Ensberg ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .215
R White p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
T Miller p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
c-B Ausmus ph-c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .277
Totals 36 6 9 6 3 6 14
a-struck out swinging for W Williams in the 7th; b-walked for H Quintero in
the 9th; c-sacrificed to pitcher for T Miller in the 9th.
BATTING: 2B - H Pence (4, M Morris). HR - W Williams (1, 3rd inning off M
Morris 0 on, 0 Out), C Lee 2 (9, 4th inning off M Morris 0 on, 0 Out, 10th
inning off J Sanchez 0 on, 1 Out), H Pence (3, 8th inning off A Benitez 1 on, 2
Out). S - B Ausmus. RBI - H Pence 3 (14), W Williams (2), C Lee 2 (37). 2-out
RBI - H Pence 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - W Williams 1, M Lamb
1, H Quintero 2. Team LOB - 6.
FIELDING: DP: 2 (L Berkman-A Everett-W Williams, C Biggio-A Everett-L
Berkman).
----------------------------------------------------
SAN FRANCISCO - 000 003 110 0 -- 5
HOUSTON - 011 100 020 1 -- 6
One out when winning run scored.
----------------------------------------------------
SAN FRANCISCO ip h r er bb so hr era
M Morris 6 6 3 3 2 1 2 3.27
K Correia (H, 2) 2/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 4.34
J Taschner (H, 8) 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 3.97
A Benitez (B, 1) 1 1/3 1 1 1 1 2 1 3.55
J Sanchez (L, 1-1) 1/3 1 1 1 0 1 1 5.68
HOUSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
W Williams 7 9 4 4 1 5 2 5.10
R White 1 1/3 1 1 1 2 0 0 1.69
T Miller 2/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 5.06
C Qualls (W, 4-1) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.44
BALK - W Williams. Pitches-strikes: M Morris 91-55; K Correia 11-5; J
Taschner 19-14; A Benitez 26-14; J Sanchez 6-5; W Williams 103-67; R White
38-26; T Miller 13-8; C Qualls 15-8. Ground balls-fly balls: M Morris 7-10; K
Correia 0-1; J Taschner 1-1; A Benitez 1-1; J Sanchez 0-0; W Williams 13-3; R
White 2-2; T Miller 1-0; C Qualls 1-2. Batters faced: M Morris 26; K Correia 2;
J Taschner 4; A Benitez 6; J Sanchez 2; W Williams 29; R White 7; T Miller 2; C
Qualls 3.
UMPIRES: HP--Wally Bell. 1B--Bill Welke. 2B--Mike Muchlinski. 3B--Brian
Knight.
T--3:14. Att--33,490.
Weather: INDOORS 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 ARI AA Justin Upton...... 5 3 0 0 2 0 1 6 RBI ! PIT AA Neil Walker....... 4 4 1 0 1 0 0 CIN A Chris Valaika..... 3 2 0 0 2 1 0 4 RBI LA AAA James Loney....... 4 2 2 0 0 0 0 CLE AA Trevor Crowe...... 5 3 0 0 1 0 0 3 R ARI AA Mark Reynolds..... 3 3 1 0 0 2 0 3 R TB AAA Elliot Johnson.... 4 2 1 0 0 1 0 CHC AA Jake Fox.......... 4 4 0 0 1 0 0 MIN AA David Winfree..... 5 2 1 0 1 0 0 OAK AA Gregorio Petit.... 3 3 0 0 1 1 0 ATL AA B. Lillibridge.... 5 3 0 1 0 0 0 2 SB STL A+ Mark Hamilton..... 4 3 2 0 0 0 0 4 RBI ORG LVL PLAYER IP H R ER SO BB HR Notes TB A J. Hellickson..... 5 1 0 0 10 2 0 MIN AAA Kevin Slowey...... 8 7 1 1 6 1 0 14 GB NYY A+ Ian Kennedy....... 7 2 0 0 11 3 0 TB A+ Jacob McGee....... 7 5 0 0 6 0 0 MIL A+ William Inman..... 6 3 2 1 9 4 0 WAN A+ Garrett Mock...... 6 3 0 0 5 1 0 12 GB BAL A+ Jason Berken...... 5 5 3 3 7 1 0 DET AA E. De La Cruz..... 7 5 4 4 7 3 0 COL AA Gregory Reynolds.. 8 6 2 1 3 1 0 17 GB CLE AAA Sean Smith........ 6 3 0 0 4 2 0 PIT AA Wardell Starling.. 6 6 2 2 5 0 0 ATL A Thomas Hanson..... 6 3 1 1 6 2 0 Access THT’s stats here…
Matthew Carruth is an editor for The Hardball Times. He welcomes any and all sorts of communication at his email. 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: An Interview With Tom Stanton - Author of Ty and the Babe>> <<Previous Article: Ten Pitching Prospects Worth Knowing About | |||
NYA 17 19 .472 8.0 20 -3 
BAL 18 22 .450 9.0 19 -1 
TOR 17 22 .436 9.5 18 -1 
TB 16 22 .421 10.0 14 2 
American League Central
DET 24 14 .632 0.0 21 3 
CLE 22 14 .611 1.0 20 2 
CHA 18 16 .529 4.0 16 2 
MIN 18 20 .474 6.0 20 -2 
KC 13 27 .325 12.0 14 -1 
American League West
LAA 22 18 .550 0.0 22 0 
SEA 18 16 .529 1.0 16 2 
OAK 20 18 .526 1.0 23 -3 
TEX 15 24 .385 6.5 16 -1 
National League East Pwins Diff
ATL 25 14 .641 0.0 22 3 
NYN 24 14 .632 0.5 24 0 
PHI 19 20 .487 6.0 21 -2 
FLA 17 22 .436 8.0 18 -1 
WAS 13 26 .333 12.0 12 1 
National League Central
MIL 25 14 .641 0.0 23 2 
HOU 19 19 .500 5.5 20 -1 
CHN 18 19 .486 6.0 22 -4 
PIT 17 21 .447 7.5 15 2 
STL 16 21 .432 8.0 13 3 
CIN 16 24 .400 9.5 19 -3 
National League West
LAN 24 16 .600 0.0 23 1 
ARI 21 19 .525 3.0 19 2 
SD 21 19 .525 3.0 23 -2 
SF 19 19 .500 4.0 21 -2 
COL 16 23 .410 7.5 14 2 