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THT Daily: Winning milestones

by Dave Studeman
April 24, 2008

Major League News for April 24
Player 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/

Player News
Player Headlines are courtesy of Rotoworld

Jimmy Rollins reportedly was found to have a break in his injured left ankle. If that's the case, he may need to miss another four to six weeks. The Phillies have yet to comment, but they'll probably have to talk about the matter before the end of the day.

Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said after Wednesday's game that he hasn't decided whether to remove Manny Corpas from the closer's role. "I’ll talk to the player first," he said. "I need to think things through, talk to the people I need to talk to, have a conversation, and when we make a decision we’ll let you guys know right away." Hurdle was adamant before the game that Corpas was his guy. Now it looks better than 50/50 that he'll temporarily turn to Brian Fuentes.

Greg Maddux tossed seven scoreless innings on Wednesday, but his bid for his 350th victory was ruined when Trevor Hoffman blew his second save of the year. Bengie Molina homered off Hoffman in the ninth, making it a 1-1 game. Maddux struck out five and walked none. He had an ugly outing last week, but he's allowed a total of four earned runs in his other four starts this season.

Prince Fielder finished 2-for-4 with two home runs as the Brewers beat the Phillies 5-4 on Wednesday night. Fielder drove in four of Milwaukee's five runs, and two of his three home runs this season have ended up winning games for the Brewers. Both of his shots tonight were blasts, and if there was any doubt that Fielder would come around, this should squash it.

Frank Thomas was close to signing with the A’s on Wednesday until another team made an offer at the last minute, a baseball source told Yahoo! Sports' Tim Brown. Brown previously wrote Wednesday that a deal was set to be finalized, but the article was then yanked and has now been revised. The mystery team could be the Mariners or Rangers. Brown's article provides no clue.

Chad Cordero was diagnosed with tendinitis and general weakness in his shoulder during an examination by Dr. James Andrews on Wednesday. Andrews found nothing worthy of surgery at the moment. According to the Nationals, Cordero will continue to pitch and try to strengthen his shoulder through "various exercises designed in conjunction with the Nationals' athletic training staff."

Daisuke Matsuzaka has been scratched from his scheduled start on Wednesday due to an illness. That makes back-to-back days the Red Sox have scratched their starter. Jon Lester will be going on short rest in Dice-K's place tonight. Perhaps either Josh Beckett or Matsuzaka will be ready to go on Thursday.

Barry Bonds' personal advisors hinted that collusion amongst the owners could be the reason Bonds hasn't received any contract offers. Bonds' agent says he hasn't even received an offer to play at the league minimum, and strongly denied rumors that his client is looking for a $10 million deal. A couple managers around the league have suggested Bonds could help their team, but their owners have shot down the idea. Bonds' camp plans on watching Frank Thomas' status as a free agent to use as possible evidence of a conspiracy.

Yesterday’s Results
American League
LAA     6  BOS     4    (Recap and Boxscore)
TB      5  TOR     3    (Recap and Boxscore)
NYA     6  CHA     4    (Recap and Boxscore)
DET    19  TEX     6    (Recap and Boxscore)
OAK     3  MIN     0    (Recap and Boxscore)
BAL     3  SEA     2    (Recap and Boxscore)

National League
FLA     7  ATL     2    (Recap and Boxscore)
NYN     7  WAS     2    (Recap and Boxscore)
HOU     9  CIN     3    (Recap and Boxscore)
MIL     5  PHI     4    (Recap and Boxscore)
PIT     7  STL     4    (Recap and Boxscore)
CHN     7  COL     6    (Recap and Boxscore)
LAN     8  ARI     3    (Recap and Boxscore)
SF      3  SD      2    (Recap and Boxscore)
You can download a compact version of yesterday's boxscores from Heater Magazine.

First Inning's Major and Minor League Daily Reports:

Today’s Games
National League
 ---------------
 Houston Astros at Cincinnati Reds, 12:35 PM
  (R) Jack Cassel (0-0) vs. (R) Johnny Cueto (1-1)
 Philadelphia Phillies at Milwaukee Brewers, 1:05 PM
  (L) Jamie Moyer (1-1) vs. (R) Jeff Suppan (1-0)
 Chicago Cubs at Colorado Rockies, 3:05 PM
  (R) Jason Marquis (1-0) vs. (R) Aaron Cook (2-1)
 St. Louis Cardinals at Pittsburgh Pirates, 7:05 PM
  (R) Joel Pineiro (0-2) vs. (L) Tom Gorzelanny (1-2)
 New York Mets at Washington Nationals, 7:10 PM
  (L) Oliver Perez (2-0) vs. (R) Shawn Hill (0-0)
 Florida Marlins at Atlanta Braves, 7:10 PM
  (R) Burke Badenhop (0-1) vs. (L) Chuck James (1-1)
 San Francisco Giants at San Diego Padres, 10:05 PM
  (R) Tim Lincecum (3-0) vs. (R) Chris Young (1-1)
 Arizona Diamondbacks at Los Angeles Dodgers, 10:10 PM
  (R) Edgar Gonzalez (0-1) vs. (R) Chad Billingsley (0-3)
 
 American League
 ---------------
 Texas Rangers at Detroit Tigers, 1:05 PM
  (R) Scott Feldman (0-0) vs. (R) Jeremy Bonderman (1-2)
 LA Angels of Anaheim at Boston Red Sox, 1:35 PM
  (L) Joe Saunders (3-0) vs. (R) Justin Masterson (0-0)
 Minnesota Twins at Oakland Athletics, 3:35 PM
  (L) Francisco Liriano (0-2) vs. (L) Greg Smith (1-0)
 Cleveland Indians at Kansas City Royals, 6:10 PM
  (R) Fausto Carmona (2-1) vs. (R) Brett Tomko (1-2)
 Toronto Blue Jays at Tampa Bay Rays, 7:10 PM
  (R) Dustin McGowan (1-1) vs. (R) Andy Sonnanstine (2-1)
 New York Yankees at Chicago White Sox, 8:11 PM
  (R) Phil Hughes (0-3) vs. (R) Gavin Floyd (2-0)
 Cleveland Indians at Kansas City Royals, 9:40 PM
  (L) Cliff Lee (3-0) vs. (R) Brian Bannister (3-1)
 Baltimore Orioles at Seattle Mariners, 10:10 PM
  (L) Adam Loewen (0-1) vs. (L) Jarrod Washburn (1-3)

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
BOS     15   8 .652    0.0   13     2    sparkline graph
BAL     12   9 .571    2.0   10     2    sparkline graph
NYA     12  10 .545    2.5   11     1    sparkline graph
TB      10  11 .476    4.0   12    -2    sparkline graph
TOR     10  12 .455    4.5   12    -2    sparkline graph
American League Central     
CHA     11   9 .550    0.0   13    -2    sparkline graph
MIN     10  11 .476    1.5    9     1    sparkline graph
KC       9  11 .450    2.0    7     2    sparkline graph
DET      9  13 .409    3.0   10    -1    sparkline graph
CLE      8  12 .400    3.0   10    -2    sparkline graph
American League West        
LAA     13   9 .591    0.0   12     1    sparkline graph
OAK     13   9 .591    0.0   13     0    sparkline graph
SEA     11  11 .500    2.0   12    -1    sparkline graph
TEX      7  15 .318    6.0    7     0    sparkline graph


National League East        Pwins  Diff
FLA     13   8 .619    0.0   10     3    sparkline graph
NYN     11   9 .550    1.5   12    -1    sparkline graph
PHI     11  11 .500    2.5   12    -1    sparkline graph
ATL     10  11 .476    3.0   13    -3    sparkline graph
WAS      6  16 .273    7.5    7    -1    sparkline graph
National League Central     
CHN     15   6 .714    0.0   14     1    sparkline graph
MIL     13   8 .619    2.0   12     1    sparkline graph
STL     13   9 .591    2.5   13     0    sparkline graph
HOU     10  12 .455    5.5   11    -1    sparkline graph
PIT      9  12 .429    6.0    7     2    sparkline graph
CIN      9  13 .409    6.5   10    -1    sparkline graph
National League West        
ARI     15   6 .714    0.0   15     0    sparkline graph
COL      9  12 .429    6.0    9     0    sparkline graph
LAN      9  12 .429    6.0   11    -2    sparkline graph
SD       9  13 .409    6.5    8     1    sparkline graph
SF       9  13 .409    6.5    7     2    sparkline graph

Game of the Day
The Cubs won their 10,000th game, although it took ten innings and a dramatic ninth-inning home run by Aramis Ramirez off Manny Corpas. Kerry Woods struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth, but Ryan Spilborghs hit a game-tying triple anyway. Ryan Theriot drove in the game-winning run in the tenth.
Cubs 7, Rockies 6 - FINAL

CHICAGO CUBS           ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
R Johnson cf-lf         5  1  0  0   0  0   3  .311
R Theriot ss            6  0  2  1   0  0   0  .338
D Lee 1b                5  1  4  1   0  0   0  .378
 F Pie pr-cf            1  1  0  0   0  1   2  .200
A Ramirez 3b            5  1  2  3   0  1   3  .288
K Fukudome rf           4  1  1  0   1  1   1  .351
M DeRosa lf-1b          4  0  0  1   0  1   3  .292
G Soto c                5  1  4  1   0  0   0  .353
 M Fontenot pr          0  1  0  0   0  0   0  .206
 H Blanco c             0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .357
R Cedeno 2b             3  0  2  0   1  1   1  .375
R Hill p                3  0  0  0   0  0   4  .000
 M Wuertz p             0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 S Marshall p           0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 J Lieber p             0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 va-M Murton ph         1  0  0  0   0  1   1  .100
 B Howry p              0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 K Wood p               0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 vb-D Ward ph           0  0  0  0   1  0   0  .077
 J Marquis pr           0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .250
 C Marmol p             0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000

Totals                 42  7 15  7   3  6  18   ###

COLORADO               ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
R Spilborghs cf         5  0  1  1   0  0   0  .256
 K Wells p              0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
C Barmes 2b             5  1  1  1   0  1   1  .360
T Helton 1b             4  1  1  0   1  0   0  .265
M Holliday lf           3  1  1  0   2  1   0  .325
G Atkins 3b             5  1  2  1   0  0   2  .326
B Hawpe rf              3  0  0  0   1  2   4  .242
T Tulowitzki ss         4  1  1  3   0  1   2  .167
Y Torrealba c           4  0  0  0   0  2   1  .241
F Morales p             2  0  0  0   0  1   0  .111
 ha-J Nix ph            1  0  0  0   0  1   0  .128
 R Speier p             0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 T Buchholz p           0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 B Fuentes p            0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 M Corpas p             0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 hb-S Podsednik ph-cf   1  1  1  0   0  0   0  .222
Totals                 37  6  8  6   4  9  10   ###

----------------------------------------------------
    CHICAGO CUBS    - 020 010 102 1  --   7 15 0
    COLORADO        - 000 005 001 0  --   6  8 0
----------------------------------------------------

ha-struck out swinging for F Morales in the 6th;  va-struck out swinging for J 
Lieber in the 8th;  hb-singled to center for M Corpas in the 9th;  
vb-intentionally walked for K Wood in the 10th.

BATTING: 2B - G Soto (7, F Morales); A Ramirez (6, F Morales). 3B - K Fukudome 
(2, F Morales); D Lee (1, F Morales); R Spilborghs (2, K Wood). HR - G Soto (3, 
2nd inning off F Morales 0 on, 2 Out), C Barmes (2, 6th inning off R Hill 0 on, 
0 Out), T Tulowitzki (1, 6th inning off J Lieber 2 on, 1 Out), A Ramirez (6, 
9th inning off M Corpas 1 on, 1 Out). S - R Cedeno. SF - M DeRosa. RBI - M 
DeRosa (15), G Soto (14), A Ramirez 3 (16), D Lee (18), R Theriot (6), C Barmes 
(9), G Atkins (16), T Tulowitzki 3 (10), R Spilborghs (8). 2-out RBI - G Soto, 
A Ramirez, R Theriot, R Spilborghs. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - R 
Johnson 1, K Fukudome 1, F Pie 1, R Hill 1, G Atkins 1, C Barmes 1, T 
Tulowitzki 1. GIDP - Y Torrealba. Team LOB - CHICAGO CUBS 11, COLORADO 5. 
BASERUNNING: SB - R Theriot (5, 3rd base off T Buchholz/Y Torrealba), D Lee (1, 
2nd base off T Buchholz/Y Torrealba), M Holliday (5, 3rd base off R Hill/G 
Soto). FIELDING: DP:  (A Ramirez-R Cedeno-D Lee, T Tulowitzki-C Barmes). 

CHICAGO CUBS                 ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
R Hill                        5       3   2   2   4   3   1   3.79
M Wuertz                      0       2   2   2   0   0   0   6.10
S Marshall (H, 2)               1/3   0   0   0   0   1   0   1.93
J Lieber (B, 1)               1 2/3   1   1   1   0   1   1   2.13
B Howry                       1       0   0   0   0   1   0   6.00
K Wood (W, 2-0; B, 2)         1       2   1   1   0   3   0   3.75
C Marmol (S, 2)               1       0   0   0   0   0   0   1.76

COLORADO                     ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
F Morales                     6       8   3   3   1   3   1   6.00
R Speier                      0       1   1   1   0   0   0   2.25
T Buchholz (H, 5)             1       1   0   0   1   1   0   2.13
B Fuentes (H, 6)              1       1   0   0   0   1   0   2.45
M Corpas (B, 4)               1       2   2   2   0   0   1   7.50
K Wells (L, 1-1)              1       2   1   1   1   1   0   2.12

R Hill pitched to 2 batters in the 6th.
M Wuertz pitched to 2 batters in the 6th.
R Speier pitched to 2 batters in the 7th.

WP - B Fuentes. IBB - R Cedeno (by F Morales), K Fukudome (by T Buchholz), D 
Ward (by K Wells). HBP - R Johnson (by R Speier). Pitches-strikes: R Hill 
84-51; M Wuertz 7-5; S Marshall 5-3; J Lieber 21-15; B Howry 10-7; K Wood 
17-12; C Marmol 21-13; F Morales 109-61; R Speier 4-2; T Buchholz 12-6; B 
Fuentes 22-15; M Corpas 16-11; K Wells 19-11. Ground balls-fly balls: R Hill 
6-6; M Wuertz 0-0; S Marshall 0-0; J Lieber 2-2; B Howry 2-0; K Wood 0-0; C 
Marmol 2-1; F Morales 8-7; R Speier 0-0; T Buchholz 0-1; B Fuentes 1-1; M 
Corpas 0-3; K Wells 1-1. Batters faced: R Hill 21; M Wuertz 2; S Marshall 1; J 
Lieber 6; B Howry 3; K Wood 5; C Marmol 3; F Morales 27; R Speier 2; T Buchholz 
4; B Fuentes 4; M Corpas 5; K Wells 6. IRS - J Lieber 2, M Wuertz, T Buchholz. 
UMPIRES: HP--Ed Rapuano. 1B--Ed Hickox. 2B--C.B. Bucknor. 3B--Joe West.   
T--3:19. Att--36,864. Weather: 72 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 12 mph, in from 
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.

image

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, with a focus on each team’s top prospects.
ORG LVL PLAYER            AB  H 2B 3B HR BB SO  Notes
CHW AAA Josh Fields....... 5  3  0  0  1  0  1  
TB  AA  John Jaso......... 4  2  0  1  1  1  1  3 R
CIN AAA Jay Bruce......... 4  1  0  0  0  1  0  
BOS AAA George Kottaras... 3  1  0  0  1  1  0  
NYM AA  F. Martinez....... 4  1  0  0  0  1  1  
COL AA  C. Nelson......... 3  2  2  0  0  0  0  
ATL AAA B. Lillibridge.... 3  1  0  0  0  3  0  2 SB
TB  AA  Chris Nowak....... 5  2  2  0  0  0  0  
COL AA  Dexter Fowler..... 4  2  1  0  0  1  1  
MIN AA  Erik Lis.......... 3  2  1  0  0  2  1  
ATL AAA Josh Anderson..... 5  2  0  0  0  2  1  3 SB
NYY AA  Cody Ehlers....... 4  2  1  0  1  0  1  

ORG LVL PLAYER            IP  H  R ER SO BB HR  Notes
COL A+  Shane Lindsay..... 6  1  0  0  9  3  0  
PHI AAA J.A. Happ......... 7  4  1  1  8  1  1  
BOS A   Felix Doubront.... 5  4  1  1  7  0  0  
CLE AA  Ryan Edell........ 8  4  0  0  2  0  0  
TOR AA  Ricky Romero...... 5  5  1  1  3  1  0  12 GB
WAN AAA Tyler Clippard.... 6  3  3  3  5  3  1  
CLE AAA Adam Miller....... 5  4  3  0  2  2  0  
NYY A   Z. McAllister..... 6  2  0  0  2  1  0  11 GB
TOR AAA David Purcey...... 6  5  3  2  9  4  1  
OAK A+  Jared Lansford.... 1  1  2  0  3  0  0  
MIN A   Brian Kirwan...... 7  8  4  3  2  0  0  16 GB
MIN AAA Kevin Mulvey...... 6  5  2  1  5  4  0  

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