March 14, 2010
The "World Champ of Baseball Annuals"  
Pat Andriola
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THT Daily: Who wants the West?by THT StaffJuly 21, 2008 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/ and an archive at http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/thtdaily_index/ On this day at THT: Three years ago, Dan Fox wondered if Mark Teahen or Sean Burroughs would ever develop any power.
Yesterday’s ResultsGame recaps provided by Craig Calcaterra of ShysterballRoyals 8, White Sox 7: 1983 throwbacks! No fair cheating, though, Chicago. The real 1983 Sox wore 'em much, much tighter. The duds were worn in honor of Harold Baines, a statue of whom was unveiled at the ballpark yesterday. I am not one of those guys who think that teams should limit honors to only those players with Hall of Fame-worthy careers, but Harold Baines -- a player I always liked a lot by the way -- may be the least impressive major leaguer to have a ballpark statue erected in his honor in the history of the game (non tragic death edition). Brewers 7, Giants 4: A week's worth of rust doesn't do Lincecum any good (6 IP, 6 H, 5 ER). His bad outing set the stage, however, for making me look bad. Just last week, I dropped the name of Gino Espinelli as one of my punch lines regarding the irrelevance of the AAA All-Star Game. Yesterday, because Lincecum needed help, he makes his major league debut. According to the game story, the first batter he faced fouled off his second ever big league pitch, bouncing it off the plate and right up into his crotch. The lesson: don't mess with Gino Espinelli. Dodgers 6, Diamondbacks 5: Given that they're both 48-50 we can't really call it an epic battle for first place in the NL West, but I'll settle for a battle. Brandon Webb's nice outing was wasted when Brandon Lyon coughed up five runs in 2/3 of an inning throwing this one to Los Angeles. Random stuff: I just found out that the guy who called the balls and strikes in this one -- Tim Timmons -- lives about two miles from me during the offseason. I can't think of anything creative to do with that information except to file it, hope that he becomes the center of a historic play of some sort this postseason, and then confront him about it online at the Kroger come November. Indians 6, Mariners 2: It was a battle of the two worst teams in the AL, but there really is a lot of space between Cleveland and Seattle. Only five and a half games record-wise, but 73 in terms of run differential. Carlos Silva leaves after giving up four runs in three innings. Mariner fans will be forgiven for not taking comfort in the fact that Silva "only" has three+ years and more than $36 million left on his deal. Rangers 1, Twins 0: Vicente, Eddie, and C.J. -- who are either Rangers' pitchers or sidekicks from various 1980s TV action series -- combine to shut out the Twins. Rockies 11, Pirates 3: Aaron Cook gives up three runs in his first inning of action. If he had done that last Tuesday night I wouldn't have struggled for three days last week to make up for my All-Star game sleep deficit. Cardinals 9, Padres 5: Aaron Miles' walkoff grand slam was only the most dramatic of the Cardinals' three straight come from behind wins against the Padres over the weekend. Cubs 9, Astros 0: I still like the Cubs to win it all, but more than St. Louis and Milwaukee, they strike me as a team that doesn't need to find itself in a three-way race for the rest of the summer. I can't put my finger on why this is exactly -- maybe I think they'll feel deflated if they're fighting for the wild card rather than staying a comfy couple of games up in the division -- but I just feel that way. Angels 5, Red Sox 3: LAAofA is up nine games to a team who is only that close due to some good pitching that they have since sold off. Look for lots of Vlad and Torii rest over the next two months as Scioscia, despite saying he ain't, turns his view towards the playoffs way before anyone else in the AL has the luxury of doing. Nationals 15, Braves 6: There's a long and rich history of former Braves players beating the crap out of Atlanta after they've been shipped out. It's maddening, really, because it's never a revenge thing inasmuch as the Braves almost never send anyone away who ends up being good anywhere else. It's more like getting sucker punched by a guy you always treated more than fairly. Add Willie Harris (2-3, HR, 5 RBI) to that list. Silver lining: the Braves' sole purpose over the next 30 days -- showcasing Mark Teixeira -- was sustained, as the Dead Firstbaseman Walking goes 3-4 with two homers and three RBI. Blue Jays 9, Rays 4: Cito Gaston said after the game that Scott Rolen was probably the best third baseman he's ever seen. Rolen is about as good as it gets over there, make no mistake about it. But it's worth noting that the starting third basemen for the Jays during Cito's last reign were Kelly Gruber and Ed Sprague, which means that anyone with a pulse and one working leg would be likely to impress Cito at the hot corner. Tigers 5, Orioles 1: Remember at the beginning of the season when people were wondering whether Verlander was healthy? His monthly ERAs: March: 6.00; April: 6.60; May: 3.92; June: 2.73; July: 2.70. Yankees 2, A's 1: I watched this one. Weird ninth inning, as the heat apparently got to everyone's head, keeping Abreu from holding on to the ball, keeping Ryan Sweeney from advancing, and keeping Abreu from throwing a strike to second base. Thank goodness for Alex Rodriguez -- the king of cool -- who backed up the play and then threw it to Jeter to make the putout. Mets 7, Reds 5: A weekend split is good enough to boost New York into a first place tie. After a day off, it's three against the Phillies . . . . . .Marlins 3, Phillies 2: Who aren't playing their best ball. As many have noted, last year's Mets' collapse was all about dropping games to the Phillies. If they want to exercise those demons, they have to beat Philadelphia. Not to discount the Marlins, of course, who sit a mere half game back. By the way, in case you haven't noticed it, there are six divisions in baseball, and five of them look to be having really exciting races for the rest of the season. God, I love baseball. You can download a compact version of yesterday's boxscores from Heater Magazine.
Today’s GamesNational League --------------- Milwaukee Brewers at St. Louis Cardinals, 7:05 PM (R) Seth McClung (5-5) vs. (R) Joel Pineiro (3-4) San Diego Padres at Cincinnati Reds, 7:10 PM (R) Josh Banks (2-4) vs. (R) Homer Bailey (0-3) Atlanta Braves at Florida Marlins, 7:10 PM (R) Jorge Campillo (4-4) vs. (R) Chris Volstad (2-0) Pittsburgh Pirates at Houston Astros, 8:05 PM (R) John Van Benschoten (1-2) vs. (R) Runelvys Hernandez (0-3) Los Angeles Dodgers at Colorado Rockies, 9:05 PM (L) Eric Stults (2-2) vs. (R) Kip Wells (1-1) Chicago Cubs at Arizona Diamondbacks, 9:40 PM (R) Rich Harden (0-0) vs. (L) Randy Johnson (6-7) American League --------------- Toronto Blue Jays at Baltimore Orioles, 7:05 PM (R) Jesse Litsch (8-6) vs. (R) Radhames Liz (3-2) Minnesota Twins at New York Yankees, 7:05 PM (R) Nick Blackburn (7-5) vs. (R) Sidney Ponson (5-1) Oakland Athletics at Tampa Bay Rays, 7:10 PM (L) Dana Eveland (7-6) vs. (L) Scott Kazmir (7-5) Detroit Tigers at Kansas City Royals, 8:10 PM (R) Zach Miner (3-3) vs. (R) Luke Hochevar (6-7) Texas Rangers at Chicago White Sox, 8:11 PM (R) Eric Hurley (1-1) vs. (R) Javier Vazquez (7-7) Cleveland Indians at LA Angels of Anaheim, 10:05 PM (R) Paul Byrd (3-10) vs. (R) Ervin Santana (11-3) Boston Red Sox at Seattle Mariners, 10:10 PM (L) Jon Lester (7-3) vs. (L) Jarrod Washburn (4-8) 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 57 40 .588 0.0 53 4 Game of the DayCardinals 9, Padres 5 - FINAL
SAN DIEGO ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
S Hairston cf 4 2 3 1 1 1 0 .264
E Gonzalez 2b 5 1 2 1 0 1 3 .311
B Giles rf 4 0 1 0 1 0 0 .302
K Kouzmanoff 3b 5 0 1 1 0 1 2 .276
C Headley lf 3 0 2 0 2 0 2 .271
B Myrow 1b 4 0 0 0 0 0 5 .222
L Carlin c 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .141
N Hundley c 3 1 0 0 0 1 0 .167
va-A Gonzalez ph-1b 1 0 0 0 1 0 3 .277
L Rodriguez ss 4 0 1 0 0 1 4 .150
C Baek p 2 1 1 2 0 0 0 .182
M Adams p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
H Bell p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
vb-J Gerut ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .280
B Corey p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Totals 37 5 11 5 5 5 20 ###
ST LOUIS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
S Schumaker lf 4 1 2 0 1 0 0 .293
A Miles ss-2b 5 3 3 4 0 0 1 .323
R Ludwick rf 4 1 1 0 0 1 2 .294
R Ankiel cf 4 0 1 1 0 2 3 .278
T Glaus 3b 4 2 2 3 0 0 1 .284
C Duncan 1b 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .251
R Flores p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
K McClellan p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
hb-C Izturis ph-ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .232
J LaRue c 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 .242
J Garcia p 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 .000
K Jimenez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
ha-A Pujols ph-1b 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 .359
A Kennedy 2b 3 0 0 0 0 1 2 .272
J Isringhausen p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
B Thompson p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .167
hc-Y Molina ph 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 .306
Totals 33 9 10 9 4 5 10 ###
----------------------------------------------------
SAN DIEGO - 100 020 002 -- 5 11 2
ST LOUIS - 100 000 134 -- 9 10 1
One out when winning run scored.
----------------------------------------------------
ha-hit sacrifice fly to left for K Jimenez in the 7th; va-intentionally walked
for N Hundley in the 8th; hb-grounded to pitcher for K Mcclellan in the 8th;
vb-grounded to first for H Bell in the 9th; hc-intentionally walked for B
Thompson in the 9th.
BATTING: 2B - E Gonzalez (11, J Isringhausen); K Kouzmanoff (19, B Thompson); R
Ankiel (19, C Baek). HR - S Hairston (15, 1st inning off J Garcia 0 on, 0 Out),
C Baek (1, 5th inning off J Garcia 1 on, 1 Out), T Glaus (18, 8th inning off H
Bell 2 on, 2 Out), A Miles (3, 9th inning off B Corey 3 on, 1 Out). S - C Baek.
SF - A Pujols. RBI - S Hairston (29), C Baek 2 (2), E Gonzalez (21), K
Kouzmanoff (43), R Ankiel (56), A Pujols (55), T Glaus 3 (64), A Miles 4 (23).
2-out RBI - R Ankiel, T Glaus 3. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - A
Gonzalez 2, L Rodriguez 2, B Myrow 1, E Gonzalez 1, T Glaus 1. GIDP - B Myrow,
E Gonzalez. Team LOB - SAN DIEGO 11, ST LOUIS 4. BASERUNNING: CS - S Schumaker
(1, 2nd base by C Baek/N Hundley). FIELDING: E - S Hairston (2, throw); L
Carlin (2, throw); T Glaus (4, ground ball). DP: (C Duncan-A Miles, A Miles-A
Kennedy-C Duncan).
SAN DIEGO ip h r er bb so hr era
C Baek 6 1/3 6 2 1 1 3 0 4.66
M Adams (H, 3) 2/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.23
H Bell (B, 5) 1 3 3 3 0 1 1 3.27
B Corey (L, 1-2) 1/3 1 4 4 3 0 1 4.81
ST LOUIS ip h r er bb so hr era
J Garcia 5 5 3 3 1 4 2 3.86
K Jimenez 2 1 0 0 2 1 0 6.48
R Flores 2/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 4.95
K McClellan 1/3 0 0 0 1 0 0 2.83
J Isringhausen (H, 1) 1/3 3 2 2 0 0 0 6.27
B Thompson (W, 2-2; B, 1) 2/3 1 0 0 1 0 0 4.11
WP - J Garcia 2. IBB - A Gonzalez (by K McClellan), C Headley (by B
Thompson), Y Molina (by B Corey), S Schumaker (by B Corey). Pitches-strikes: C
Baek 88-59; M Adams 6-4; H Bell 20-14; B Corey 16-3; J Garcia 86-56; K Jimenez
23-11; R Flores 12-9; K McClellan 11-4; J Isringhausen 10-9; B Thompson 18-9.
Ground balls-fly balls: C Baek 5-10; M Adams 0-1; H Bell 2-0; B Corey 1-0; J
Garcia 8-4; K Jimenez 2-3; R Flores 2-0; K McClellan 1-0; J Isringhausen 1-0; B
Thompson 1-1. Batters faced: C Baek 25; M Adams 2; H Bell 6; B Corey 5; J
Garcia 20; K Jimenez 9; R Flores 4; K McClellan 2; J Isringhausen 4; B Thompson
4. IRS - M Adams, B Thompson. UMPIRES: HP--Brian Knight. 1B--Gerry Davis.
2B--Brian Gorman. 3B--Bruce Dreckman. T--3:11. Att--44,214. Weather: 95
degrees, sunny. Wind: 12 mph, out to center.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 NYY A Austin Romine..... 4 4 0 0 2 1 0 3 R NYY AAA Eric Duncan....... 5 3 2 0 1 0 0 OAK AAA Eric Patterson.... 4 2 1 1 0 1 1 2 SB ARI AAA Josh Whitesell.... 4 3 0 0 2 0 1 3 R STL AA Allen Craig....... 3 3 1 0 1 1 0 OAK A+ Matthew Sulentic.. 5 4 1 1 0 0 1 TOR A+ Brian Dopirak..... 3 2 0 0 2 1 1 5 RBI ! PIT AAA Andrew McCutchen.. 5 2 1 0 1 1 0 3 LD OAK AA Aaron Cunningham.. 3 2 1 0 1 1 1 TOR AA Scott Campbell.... 5 2 0 0 2 0 0 TOR AA J. Arencibia...... 3 2 0 0 2 0 1 TOR AA Brian Jeroloman... 3 2 1 0 1 1 0 ORG LVL PLAYER IP H R ER SO BB HR Notes CHC AAA Jeff Samardzija... 6 2 1 1 9 1 0 COL A- C. Friedrich...... 5 2 1 0 8 0 0 WAN AA J. Zimmermann..... 7 6 3 3 9 1 0 OAK AAA Dan Meyer......... 7 5 0 0 8 2 0 COL A Cory Riordan...... 9 10 3 3 8 0 1 OAK AA Vincent Mazzaro... 6 4 2 1 5 0 0 TB AAA Wade Davis........ 7 3 0 0 6 3 0 FLA A+ Kyle Winters...... 7 5 3 2 5 1 0 SD A Jeremy Hefner..... 6 8 2 2 6 0 0 LA AAA Jonathan Meloan... 6 4 1 1 7 4 0 11 GB CLE AA Scott Lewis....... 6 6 1 1 6 0 1 ARI A Jarrod Parker..... 5 6 3 3 7 0 1 Access THT’s stats here…
Commenting is not available in this weblog entry. 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: Rating the BBWAA (Part 1)>> <<Previous Article: THT Dartboard: July 20, 2008 | |||||||||||
BOS 57 43 .570 1.5 59 -2 
NYA 53 45 .541 4.5 52 1 
TOR 48 50 .490 9.5 52 -4 
BAL 47 50 .485 10.0 48 -1 
American League Central
CHA 55 42 .567 0.0 57 -2 
MIN 55 43 .561 0.5 52 3 
DET 49 49 .500 6.5 50 -1 
KC 45 54 .455 11.0 44 1 
CLE 43 54 .443 12.0 49 -6 
American League West
LAA 60 38 .612 0.0 53 7 
OAK 51 47 .520 9.0 55 -4 
TEX 51 48 .515 9.5 46 5 
SEA 38 60 .388 22.0 42 -4 
National League East Pwins Diff
NYN 53 46 .535 0.0 53 0 
PHI 53 46 .535 0.0 57 -4 
FLA 52 46 .531 0.5 47 5 
ATL 46 52 .469 6.5 52 -6 
WAS 38 61 .384 15.0 39 -1 
National League Central
CHN 58 40 .592 0.0 60 -2 
STL 57 43 .570 2.0 53 4 
MIL 55 43 .561 3.0 52 3 
CIN 48 52 .480 11.0 45 3 
HOU 46 52 .469 12.0 44 2 
PIT 44 54 .449 14.0 41 3 
National League West
ARI 48 50 .490 0.0 49 -1 
LAN 48 50 .490 0.0 50 -2 
COL 43 57 .430 6.0 43 0 
SF 40 58 .408 8.0 41 -1 
SD 37 62 .374 11.5 39 -2 
