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THT Daily: The NL wildcard is where it’s at by Matthew Carruth of The Hardball Times September 26, 2007 http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/tht-daily-the-nl-wildcard-is-where-its-at/ Major League News for September 26Today’s Links Player News Yesterday’s Results Today’s Games Standings Game of the Day You can always find the most recent THT Daily at http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/content/thtdaily/ THT Links The Pain of Waiting - For those following teams no longer in the playoff chase, the wait for the good parts of the offseason to begin can be painful. Methinks This has Been Tried Before - The Pirates need to set and stick to a serious rebuilding plan in order to climb out of their hole. Forcing the issue is what got them here in the first place. Juan Pierre's New Name - Rob McMillan proposes a new nickname for Juan Pierre, Slappy McPopup. Making Room - It has been confirmed that the Rays have plans to move Akinoi Awamura to second base next season, in all likelihood to make room for Evan Longoria at third base. 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 <script type="text/javascript"> //<![CDATA[ var l=new Array(); l[0]='>';l[1]='a';l[2]='/';l[3]='<';l[4]=' 115';l[5]=' 107';l[6]=' 110';l[7]=' 105';l[8]=' 76';l[9]=' 32';l[10]=' 84';l[11]=' 72';l[12]=' 84';l[13]='>';l[14]='\"';l[15]=' 109';l[16]=' 111';l[17]=' 99';l[18]=' 46';l[19]=' 115';l[20]=' 101';l[21]=' 109';l[22]=' 105';l[23]=' 116';l[24]=' 108';l[25]=' 108';l[26]=' 97';l[27]=' 98';l[28]=' 100';l[29]=' 114';l[30]=' 97';l[31]=' 104';l[32]=' 64';l[33]=' 115';l[34]=' 107';l[35]=' 110';l[36]=' 105';l[37]=' 108';l[38]=':';l[39]='o';l[40]='t';l[41]='l';l[42]='i';l[43]='a';l[44]='m';l[45]='\"';l[46]='=';l[47]='f';l[48]='e';l[49]='r';l[50]='h';l[51]='a ';l[52]='<'; for (var i = l.length-1; i >= 0; i=i-1){ if (l[i].substring(0, 1) == ' ') document.write("&#"+unescape(l[i].substring(1))+";"); else document.write(unescape(l[i])); } //]]> </script>. Player NewsPlayer Headlines are courtesy of Rotoworld Pirates named Neal Huntington their general manager. There were reports of a change of heart a couple of days ago, but the Pirates followed through and hired the 37-year-old Indians assistant. It will be interesting to see whether Huntington wants to go forward with Jim Tracy or bring in another manager. The Pirates could do better there. 23-year-old Prince Fielder became the youngest member of the 50-homer club when he went deep twice Tuesday in a 9-1 win over the Cards. Both were two-run shots. Fielder also walked twice. He has 11 homers, 22 RBI, 22 runs scored and 17 walks in 81 at-bats this month. That's an MVP-type finish, though it might not matter unless the Brewers advance to the playoffs. They're two games behind the Cubs. Roger Clemens (hamstring) will not pitch again during the regular season after being scratched from his scheduled start Tuesday. Clemens still expects to be in the rotation for the ALDS. If he's not 100 percent, the Yankees might be better off with Phil Hughes in his spot. Still, manager Joe Torre will be sure to pitch him if he says he can go. Adam Dunn will undergo surgery Wednesday to clean out his sore right knee. It's not a major operation, so this shouldn't have any impact on whether the Reds pick up his $13.5 million option for 2008. Dunn finishes up at .264/.386/.554 with 40 homers in 501 at-bats. Only in 2004 did he have a higher average and OPS. He's hit 40 homers in four straight seasons. The Reds would be crazy not to retain him. Carl Crawford is done for the year because of his strained groin. Crawford finishes the season at .315/.355/.466 with 50 steals in 60 attempts. He struck out a career-high 112 times in 584 at-bats, but he finished with an OPS right in between his marks from 2005 (800) and 2006 (830). Manny Ramirez (oblique) is back in left field for Wednesday's game against the Athletics. It will be his first appearance since Aug. 28. Oddly, Manny is going to bat second tonight for the first time since 1995. We're guessing the Red Sox are simply trying to get him one more at-bat before he's eventually removed from the game. Yesterday’s ResultsAmerican League TOR 11 BAL 4 (Recap and Boxscore) BOS 7 OAK 3 (Recap and Boxscore) TB 7 NYA 6 (Recap and Boxscore) KC 9 CHA 5 (Recap and Boxscore) DET 8 MIN 0 (Recap and Boxscore) CLE 4 SEA 3 (Recap and Boxscore) TEX 3 LAA 1 (Recap and Boxscore) National League FLA 4 CHN 2 (Recap and Boxscore) WAS 10 NYN 9 (Recap and Boxscore) ATL 10 PHI 6 (Recap and Boxscore) HOU 8 CIN 5 (Recap and Boxscore) MIL 9 STL 1 (Recap and Boxscore) PIT 6 ARI 5 (Recap and Boxscore) COL 9 LAN 7 (Recap and Boxscore) SD 6 SF 4 (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:{embed="pageblocks/FirstInning_Team_Lookup"} Today’s GamesNational League --------------- Atlanta Braves at Philadelphia Phillies, 7:05 PM (R) Tim Hudson (16-9) vs. (R) Kyle Lohse (8-12) Chicago Cubs at Florida Marlins, 7:05 PM (R) Jason Marquis (12-8) vs. (R) Daniel Barone (1-3) Arizona Diamondbacks at Pittsburgh Pirates, 7:05 PM (R) Livan Hernandez (11-10) vs. (R) Matt Morris (9-11) Houston Astros at Cincinnati Reds, 7:10 PM (R) Juan Gutierrez (1-1) vs. (R) Tom Shearn (3-0) Washington Nationals at New York Mets, 7:10 PM (L) Mike Bacsik (5-8) vs. (R) Philip Humber (0-0) St. Louis Cardinals at Milwaukee Brewers, 8:05 PM (R) Brad Thompson (7-6) vs. (R) Carlos Villanueva (8-4) Colorado Rockies at Los Angeles Dodgers, 10:10 PM (R) Josh Fogg (9-9) vs. (R) Derek Lowe (12-13) San Diego Padres at San Francisco Giants, 10:15 PM (R) Jake Peavy (18-6) vs. (L) Patrick Misch (0-3) American League --------------- LA Angels of Anaheim at Texas Rangers, 2:05 PM (L) Joe Saunders (8-4) vs. (R) Luis Mendoza (1-0) Oakland Athletics at Boston Red Sox, 5:00 PM (R) Joe Blanton (14-10) vs. (L) Jon Lester (4-0) Seattle Mariners at Cleveland Indians, 7:05 PM (L) Ryan Feierabend (1-5) vs. (L) Jeremy Sowers (1-6) Toronto Blue Jays at Baltimore Orioles, 7:05 PM (R) Roy Halladay (15-7) vs. (R) Victor Zambrano (0-2) Minnesota Twins at Detroit Tigers, 7:05 PM (L) Johan Santana (15-13) vs. (R) Jair Jurrjens (3-1) New York Yankees at Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 7:10 PM (R) Chien-Ming Wang (18-7) vs. (L) JP Howell (1-5) Kansas City Royals at Chicago White Sox, 8:11 PM (R) Zack Greinke (7-6) vs. (R) Jon Garland (9-13) Cleveland Indians at Seattle Mariners, 10:05 PM (R) Fausto Carmona (18-8) vs. (L) Jarrod Washburn (10-15) 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 93 64 .592 0.0 99 -6 NYA 90 67 .573 3.0 94 -4 TOR 80 77 .510 13.0 84 -4 BAL 67 90 .427 26.0 68 -1 TB 65 92 .414 28.0 65 0 American League Central CLE 93 63 .596 0.0 88 5 DET 86 72 .544 8.0 86 0 MIN 77 80 .490 16.5 79 -2 CHA 68 89 .433 25.5 63 5 KC 68 89 .433 25.5 73 -5 American League West LAA 92 66 .582 0.0 89 3 SEA 83 73 .532 8.0 76 7 OAK 75 83 .475 17.0 78 -3 TEX 74 84 .468 18.0 76 -2 National League East Pwins Diff NYN 87 70 .554 0.0 84 3 PHI 85 72 .541 2.0 84 1 ATL 83 74 .529 4.0 87 -4 WAS 71 87 .449 16.5 68 3 FLA 67 90 .427 20.0 69 -2 National League Central CHN 83 74 .529 0.0 85 -2 MIL 81 76 .516 2.0 81 0 STL 73 84 .465 10.0 67 6 CIN 71 86 .452 12.0 73 -2 HOU 69 88 .439 14.0 69 0 PIT 67 90 .427 16.0 68 -1 National League West ARI 88 69 .561 0.0 77 11 SD 86 71 .548 2.0 86 0 COL 85 72 .541 3.0 87 -2 LAN 80 77 .510 8.0 80 0 SF 70 88 .443 18.5 76 -6 Wildcard Standings American League NYA 90 67 .573 0.0 DET 86 72 .544 4.5 SEA 83 73 .532 6.5 TOR 80 77 .510 10.0 MIN 77 80 .490 13.0 National League SD 86 71 .548 0.0 PHI 85 72 .541 1.0 COL 85 72 .541 1.0 ATL 83 74 .529 3.0 MIL 81 76 .516 5.0 Game of the DayThe Padres were within one out of losing their fifth game in a row, but a home run by Brian Giles capped a four-run ninth inning, resulting in a 6-5 victory over the Giants. Coupled with Philadelphia’s loss, San Diego now has a one-game lead in the wildcard race over the Phillies and Colorado.SAN DIEGO (6) VS SAN FRANCISCO (4) - FINAL SAN DIEGO ab r h rbi bb so lob avg B Giles rf 5 1 1 3 0 0 1 .269 S Hairston lf 5 1 1 1 0 3 1 .249 K Kouzmanoff 3b 4 0 2 0 0 1 0 .279 A Gonzalez 1b 4 0 0 0 0 2 3 .275 K Greene ss 4 2 2 1 0 1 0 .251 J Bard c 3 0 0 0 1 2 0 .279 G Blum 2b 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 .245 J Thatcher p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 b-B Myrow ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .125 T Hoffman p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 B Clark cf 4 1 2 1 0 0 1 .256 B Tomko p 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 .000 D Brocail p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 M Giles 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .230 a-T Sledge ph 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .204 O Robles 2b 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .227 C Stansberry pr-2b 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .286 Totals 35 6 9 6 3 11 9 a-walked for M Giles in the 8th; b-struck out swinging for J Thatcher in the 9th. BATTING: 2B - K Greene (43, B Wilson). HR - S Hairston (9, 6th inning off M Cain 0 on, 1 Out), K Greene (25, 7th inning off M Cain 0 on, 0 Out), B Giles (12, 9th inning off B Wilson 2 on, 2 Out). RBI - S Hairston (30), K Greene (89), B Clark (8), B Giles 3 (49). 2-out RBI - B Clark, B Giles 3. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - A Gonzalez 1. GIDP - G Blum. Team LOB - 5. FIELDING: E - G Blum (5, ground ball); K Greene (11, ground ball). DP: 2 (B Tomko-K Greene-A Gonzalez, K Greene-C Stansberry-A Gonzalez). SAN FRANCISCO ab r h rbi bb so lob avg D Roberts cf-lf 5 1 1 1 0 0 0 .260 K Frandsen 2b 4 1 2 1 1 0 1 .269 R Winn rf 4 1 3 2 1 1 0 .298 B Molina c 4 0 1 0 1 0 2 .277 R Klesko 1b 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 .260 a-R Aurilia ph-1b 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 .254 B Wilson p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 S Munter p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 P Feliz 3b 4 0 1 0 0 0 3 .249 F Lewis lf 2 1 1 0 1 0 1 .285 b-R Davis ph-cf 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .282 O Vizquel ss 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 .243 M Cain p 2 0 0 0 0 2 1 .070 B Hennessey p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 S Kline p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 S McClain 1b 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .250 Totals 35 4 10 4 4 5 17 a-struck out swinging for R Klesko in the 7th; b-singled to center for F Lewis in the 8th. BATTING: 2B - D Roberts (17, B Tomko); R Winn (40, D Brocail). HR - R Winn (13, 2nd inning off B Tomko 1 on, 2 Out). S - M Cain. RBI - D Roberts (23), K Frandsen (29), R Winn 2 (61). 2-out RBI - D Roberts, K Frandsen, R Winn 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - R Aurilia 1, S McClain 1, P Feliz 2. GIDP - K Frandsen, B Molina. Team LOB - 9. BASERUNNING: SB - R Davis (21, 2nd base off J Thatcher/J Bard). CS - K Frandsen (3, 2nd base by B Tomko/J Bard). FIELDING: DP: 1 (R Klesko-O Vizquel-R Klesko). ---------------------------------------------------- SAN DIEGO - 000 001 104 -- 6 SAN FRANCISCO - 040 000 000 -- 4 ---------------------------------------------------- SAN DIEGO ip h r er bb so hr era B Tomko 6 6 4 4 3 3 1 5.39 D Brocail 2/3 1 0 0 1 0 0 3.07 J Thatcher (W, 1-1) 1 1/3 1 0 0 0 2 0 1.02 T Hoffman (S, 41) 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 2.45 SAN FRANCISCO ip h r er bb so hr era M Cain 7 5 2 2 1 8 2 3.64 B Hennessey (H, 16) 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3.53 S Kline (B, 3) 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 4.70 B Wilson (L, 1-2; H, 10) 1 1/3 4 4 4 1 3 1 2.38 S Munter 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 4.00 B Hennessey pitched to 1 batter in the 8th. IBB - B Molina (by D Brocail). Pitches-strikes: B Tomko 99-58; D Brocail 17-8; J Thatcher 20-14; T Hoffman 12-10; M Cain 113-73; B Hennessey 6-2; S Kline 2-1; B Wilson 35-19; S Munter 3-2. Ground balls-fly balls: B Tomko 9-5; D Brocail 1-1; J Thatcher 1-1; T Hoffman 2-1; M Cain 5-8; B Hennessey 0-0; S Kline 0-1; B Wilson 1-0; S Munter 0-1. Batters faced: B Tomko 27; D Brocail 4; J Thatcher 5; T Hoffman 4; M Cain 26; B Hennessey 1; S Kline 1; B Wilson 9; S Munter 1. UMPIRES: HP--Fieldin Culbreth. 1B--Marty Foster. 2B--Paul Schrieber. 3B--Tim Mcclelland. T--2:55. Att--35,524. Weather: 72 degrees, clear. Wind: 17 mph, out 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. Access THT’s stats here… {embed="content/2005stable"}