THT Daily: 11-4
by Dave StudemanApril 17, 2008
Major League News for April 17
Player NewsYesterday’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 RotoworldJimmy Rollins won't return to the Phillies lineup until Saturday at the earliest due to a funeral for an uncle. Rollins had another pinch-hit tonight, but was clearly struggling as he made his way down to first. Hopefully having the next two days off will lead to his return to the starting lineup.
DOdgers activated third baseman Nomar Garciaparra from the 15-day disabled list. Garciaparra was originally expected to return Friday, but the Dodgers couldn't want to add another old player to the mix. Garciaparra will be eased back into the lineup, but he'll definitely get a chance to play regularly at third. While Blake DeWitt will stick around for now, it's likely that the rookie will return to the minors at some point.
Cubs placed outfielder Alfonso Soriano on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right calf. No word yet on a timetable for Soriano's return, but it's another leg injury that could have an effect on his game for a long time. The Cubs will go with Mark DeRosa and Reed Johnson in left field for now, opening up at-bats for Felix Pie and Mike Fontenot. Fontenot is a nice pickup in any NL-only leagues in which he's available. Johnson's value should also receive a boost.
Nate Robertson said the soreness he experienced Tuesday was actually below his shoulder in his left lat muscle. He said he first felt it pull on a pitch in the sixth and it tightened up in the seventh. He doesn't currently think he'll miss a start.
Yesterday’s Results
American League CHA 3 BAL 1 (Recap and Boxscore) NYA 15 BOS 9 (Recap and Boxscore) TEX 7 TOR 5 (Recap and Boxscore) DET 13 CLE 2 (Recap and Boxscore) MIN 6 TB 5 (Recap and Boxscore) KC 3 LAA 2 (Recap and Boxscore) SEA 4 OAK 2 (Recap and Boxscore) National League FLA 6 ATL 5 (Recap and Boxscore) NYN 5 WAS 2 (Recap and Boxscore) HOU 2 PHI 1 (Recap and Boxscore) CHN 12 CIN 3 (Recap and Boxscore) STL 5 MIL 4 (Recap and Boxscore) LAN 8 PIT 1 (Recap and Boxscore) COL 10 SD 2 (Recap and Boxscore) ARI 4 SF 1 (Recap and Boxscore)You can download a compact version of yesterday's boxscores from Heater Magazine.
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Today’s Games
National League --------------- Houston Astros at Philadelphia Phillies, 1:05 PM (R) Brandon Backe (1-1) vs. (R) Brett Myers (1-1) Milwaukee Brewers at St. Louis Cardinals, 1:15 PM (L) Manny Parra (1-1) vs. (R) Kyle Lohse (2-0) Cincinnati Reds at Chicago Cubs, 2:20 PM (R) Edinson Volquez (1-0) vs. (L) Ted Lilly (0-2) Washington Nationals at New York Mets, 7:10 PM (L) John Lannan (0-2) vs. (R) Nelson Figueroa (1-0) Atlanta Braves at Florida Marlins, 7:10 PM (R) John Smoltz (2-0) vs. (R) Ricky Nolasco (1-0) Colorado Rockies at San Diego Padres, 10:05 PM (L) Jeff Francis (0-2) vs. (R) Jake Peavy (3-0) American League --------------- Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees, 7:05 PM (R) Josh Beckett (1-1) vs. (R) Mike Mussina (1-2) Chicago White Sox at Baltimore Orioles, 7:05 PM (R) Gavin Floyd (2-0) vs. (R) Jeremy Guthrie (0-1) Detroit Tigers at Cleveland Indians, 7:05 PM (R) Justin Verlander (0-2) vs. (R) Fausto Carmona (1-1) Texas Rangers at Toronto Blue Jays, 7:07 PM (R) Vicente Padilla (1-1) vs. (R) Roy Halladay (2-1) Tampa Bay Rays at Minnesota Twins, 8:10 PM (R) Jason Hammel (0-1) vs. (R) Boof Bonser (1-2) Kansas City Royals at LA Angels of Anaheim, 10:05 PM (R) Brett Tomko (1-1) vs. (R) Jon Garland (1-2) Seattle Mariners at Oakland Athletics, 10:05 PM (R) Carlos Silva (2-0) vs. (L) Lenny DiNardo (1-0)
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 9 7 .563 0.0 7 2NYA 9 7 .563 0.0 8 1
BAL 8 7 .533 0.5 7 1
TOR 8 7 .533 0.5 10 -2
TB 6 9 .400 2.5 8 -2
American League Central CHA 9 5 .643 0.0 9 0
KC 9 6 .600 0.5 8 1
MIN 7 8 .467 2.5 7 0
CLE 5 10 .333 4.5 5 0
DET 5 10 .333 4.5 5 0
American League West LAA 9 7 .563 0.0 9 0
OAK 9 7 .563 0.0 9 0
SEA 8 8 .500 1.0 8 0
TEX 6 9 .400 2.5 6 0
National League East Pwins Diff FLA 9 5 .643 0.0 6 3
NYN 7 6 .538 1.5 9 -2
PHI 7 8 .467 2.5 7 0
ATL 5 9 .357 4.0 8 -3
WAS 4 11 .267 5.5 5 -1
National League Central STL 11 4 .733 0.0 10 1
CHN 9 5 .643 1.5 8 1
MIL 8 6 .571 2.5 8 0
PIT 7 8 .467 4.0 6 1
CIN 6 9 .400 5.0 6 0
HOU 6 9 .400 5.0 7 -1
National League West ARI 11 4 .733 0.0 11 0
SD 8 7 .533 3.0 7 1
LAN 7 8 .467 4.0 9 -2
COL 6 8 .429 4.5 5 1
SF 6 10 .375 5.5 5 1
Game of the Day
They played for 14 innings in Toronto, where the Rangers beat the Blue Jays, 7-5, with the winning run scoring on a A.J. Burnett wild pitch. Josh Hamilton capped a big day by batting in the final run, and Frank Catalanotto had two doubles and a home run against his former team.Rangers 7, Blue Jays 5 - FINAL
TEXAS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
F Catalanotto lf-1b 7 3 3 1 1 1 0 .231
M Young ss 8 1 2 0 0 0 4 .234
J Hamilton rf-cf 7 0 4 2 1 0 0 .311
M Bradley dh 3 1 2 0 5 1 0 .362
H Blalock 3b 5 1 2 0 0 0 5 .302
A Melhuse 3b 3 0 0 0 0 3 7 .154
J Botts 1b 4 1 2 3 0 2 3 .222
B Broussard 1b 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 .200
vb-M Byrd ph-rf 1 0 0 0 1 1 3 .129
D Murphy cf-lf 7 0 1 0 0 2 10 .273
G Laird c 7 0 2 0 0 0 1 .233
R Vazquez 2b 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 .273
va-I Kinsler ph-2b 4 0 0 0 1 1 1 .267
Totals 59 7 18 6 9 13 36 ###
TORONTO ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D Eckstein ss 5 1 1 0 1 0 1 .281
A Hill 2b 5 1 1 0 1 1 4 .328
A Rios rf 7 0 3 1 0 0 2 .316
V Wells cf 6 0 1 1 1 0 3 .328
F Thomas dh 6 1 1 0 1 0 3 .192
R Barajas c 3 0 0 0 0 0 5 .313
ha-M Stairs ph 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .314
G Zaun c 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 .244
L Overbay 1b 6 1 2 0 1 2 1 .281
M Scutaro lf-3b 4 0 2 1 2 0 0 .220
J McDonald 3b 3 0 0 0 0 1 2 .111
hb-J Inglett ph-lf 3 0 0 1 0 1 4 .375
Totals 52 5 13 4 7 5 25 ###
----------------------------------------------------
TEXAS - 001 102 010 000 02 -- 7 18 1
TORONTO - 001 010 030 000 00 -- 5 13 0
----------------------------------------------------
va-intentionally walked for R Vazquez in the 6th; ha-singled to left for R
Barajas in the 8th; hb-grounded into fielder's choice to first for J Mcdonald
in the 8th; vb-struck out swinging for B Broussard in the 11th.
BATTING: 2B - F Catalanotto 2 (4, J Litsch, A Burnett); M Bradley (6, J
Litsch); J Botts (1, B Tallet); J Hamilton 2 (5, B Wolfe, A Burnett); M Young
(2, J Carlson); A Hill (4, K Gabbard); A Rios (5, K Gabbard). HR - J Botts (1,
4th inning off J Litsch 0 on, 0 Out), F Catalanotto (1, 8th inning off J
Accardo 0 on, 2 Out). S - A Hill. RBI - J Hamilton 2 (15), J Botts 3 (3), F
Catalanotto (2), V Wells (15), A Rios (10), M Scutaro (3), J Inglett (4). 2-out
RBI - J Hamilton 2, F Catalanotto. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - H
Blalock 1, A Melhuse 1, M Young 2, D Murphy 6, J Inglett 1, R Barajas 2, V
Wells 2, J McDonald 1, A Hill 1. GIDP - R Barajas, A Rios, J Inglett. Team LOB
- TEXAS 19, TORONTO 14. BASERUNNING: SB - I Kinsler (4, 2nd base off B Tallet/R
Barajas). FIELDING: E - B Broussard (2, throw). Outfield assists - M Scutaro (H
Blalock at Home). PB - G Laird. DP: (H Blalock-R Vazquez-J Botts, M Young-I
Kinsler-B Broussard, I Kinsler-B Broussard).
TEXAS ip h r er bb so hr era
K Gabbard 6 7 2 2 2 2 0 2.41
J Wright (H, 1) 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 1.04
J Benoit (H, 2) 1/3 1 3 2 3 0 0 5.06
W Littleton (B, 1) 2 2/3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
F German 2 2 0 0 1 2 0 1.17
D Nippert (W, 1-1) 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 11.81
C Wilson (S, 4) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
TORONTO ip h r er bb so hr era
J Litsch 5 9 4 4 0 5 1 4.60
B Tallet 2/3 1 0 0 2 0 0 2.00
J Frasor 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.08
S Downs 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0.00
J Accardo 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 8.53
B Ryan 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 0.00
B Wolfe 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 3.68
J Carlson 3 1 0 0 2 4 0 1.35
A Burnett (L, 1-1) 1 3 2 2 1 2 0 7.27
J Litsch pitched to 2 batters in the 6th.
B Wolfe pitched to 3 batters in the 11th.
WP - A Burnett. IBB - I Kinsler (by B Tallet), M Bradley 2 (by B Wolfe, J
Carlson), M Byrd (by J Carlson). HBP - D Eckstein (by K Gabbard).
Pitches-strikes: K Gabbard 94-57; J Wright 16-10; J Benoit 29-12; W Littleton
27-20; F German 35-20; D Nippert 13-8; C Wilson 9-6; J Litsch 94-59; B Tallet
18-8; J Frasor 4-2; S Downs 22-12; J Accardo 15-11; B Ryan 27-15; B Wolfe 17-9;
J Carlson 43-27; A Burnett 24-16. Ground balls-fly balls: K Gabbard 10-6; J
Wright 2-0; J Benoit 0-1; W Littleton 8-1; F German 2-2; D Nippert 1-2; C
Wilson 1-2; J Litsch 5-4; B Tallet 2-0; J Frasor 0-1; S Downs 1-1; J Accardo
1-2; B Ryan 0-2; B Wolfe 1-2; J Carlson 3-2; A Burnett 1-0. Batters faced: K
Gabbard 27; J Wright 3; J Benoit 5; W Littleton 10; F German 9; D Nippert 4; C
Wilson 3; J Litsch 23; B Tallet 5; J Frasor 1; S Downs 5; J Accardo 4; B Ryan
5; B Wolfe 6; J Carlson 12; A Burnett 7. IRS - W Littleton 2, B Tallet 2.
UMPIRES: HP--Greg Gibson. 1B--Chris Guccione. 2B--Brian Runge. 3B--Charlie
Reliford. T--4:53. Att--15,686. Weather: INDOORSThe 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 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 CIN AAA Jay Bruce......... 3 3 0 1 1 0 0 NYY AA Jose Tabata....... 5 2 2 0 0 0 0 PIT AA James Boone....... 5 3 2 0 1 0 2 3 R OAK AAA Carlos Gonzalez... 4 3 0 0 0 0 0 BOS AAA George Kottaras... 5 2 0 0 1 0 1 TEX A+ Chad Tracy........ 2 2 2 0 0 2 0 LAA AAA Sean Rodriguez.... 3 2 0 0 1 0 1 WAN AAA Jesus Flores...... 5 2 1 0 1 0 1 BOS AAA Jeff Natale....... 5 3 1 1 0 0 0 CIN AA Cody Strait....... 5 2 1 0 1 0 2 SF AA Adam Witter....... 5 1 0 0 1 3 3 PIT AAA Andrew McCutchen.. 5 1 0 0 1 0 1 ORG LVL PLAYER IP H R ER SO BB HR Notes OAK A+ Trevor Cahill..... 6 2 0 0 9 1 0 MIN AA Anthony Swarzak... 6 3 0 0 10 0 0 SD AAA Cesar Ramos....... 6 3 0 0 7 1 0 HOU A Sergio Severino... 5 2 0 0 7 2 0 CIN AAA Matthew Maloney... 5 6 3 3 6 1 0 MIN A+ Deolis Guerra..... 5 4 0 0 4 1 0 ATL AA Todd Redmond...... 7 4 1 1 4 0 1 TEX A Neftali Feliz..... 5 4 2 2 7 2 0 CLE AAA Jeremy Sowers..... 6 4 2 2 3 3 0 LA AAA Jonathan Meloan... 6 1 0 0 4 4 0 OAK AAA Dan Meyer......... 6 0 0 0 4 2 0 WAN AAA Collin Balester... 4 3 0 0 5 3 0
Access THT’s stats here…
{embed="content/2005stable"}
Dave is the manager of the Baseball Graphs website.. Comments about this article can be sent to him through the miracle of e-mail.
NYA 9 7 .563 0.0 8 1
BAL 8 7 .533 0.5 7 1
TOR 8 7 .533 0.5 10 -2
TB 6 9 .400 2.5 8 -2
American League Central
CHA 9 5 .643 0.0 9 0
KC 9 6 .600 0.5 8 1
MIN 7 8 .467 2.5 7 0
CLE 5 10 .333 4.5 5 0
DET 5 10 .333 4.5 5 0
American League West
LAA 9 7 .563 0.0 9 0
OAK 9 7 .563 0.0 9 0
SEA 8 8 .500 1.0 8 0
TEX 6 9 .400 2.5 6 0
National League East Pwins Diff
FLA 9 5 .643 0.0 6 3
NYN 7 6 .538 1.5 9 -2
PHI 7 8 .467 2.5 7 0
ATL 5 9 .357 4.0 8 -3
WAS 4 11 .267 5.5 5 -1
National League Central
STL 11 4 .733 0.0 10 1
CHN 9 5 .643 1.5 8 1
MIL 8 6 .571 2.5 8 0
PIT 7 8 .467 4.0 6 1
CIN 6 9 .400 5.0 6 0
HOU 6 9 .400 5.0 7 -1
National League West
ARI 11 4 .733 0.0 11 0
SD 8 7 .533 3.0 7 1
LAN 7 8 .467 4.0 9 -2
COL 6 8 .429 4.5 5 1
SF 6 10 .375 5.5 5 1 