THT Daily: Active Nationals
by THT StaffJuly 23, 2008
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/ and an archive at http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/thtdaily_index/
Player News
Player Headlines are courtesy of Rotoworld| The Nationals played a game last night, too. Jason Bergmann calls for the ball while Bengie Molina circles the bases after hitting his second home run of the night. The Nats lost, 6-3. (Icon/SMI) |
Diamondbacks acquired RHP Jon Rauch from the Nationals for 2B Emilio Bonifacio. An outstanding pickup for Arizona's pen at a small cost. Rauch probably won't close initially, but he can be a fallback if Brandon Lyon continues to struggle. He'll upgrade the eighth inning and push Tony Pena and Chad Qualls back to the sixth and seventh innings. Theoretically, it gives the Diamondbacks one of the best setup corps in baseball. Bonifacio wasn't going to be the answer at second base next year if Orlando Hudson leaves, so it's no problem giving him up in this one, particularly with Rauch under control through 2010 ($2 million in 2009, $2.9 million option in 2010).
A source told MLB.com that the Astros will acquire Randy Wolf from the Padres for a minor league pitcher. Fernando Nieve, Bud Norris and Brad James would seem to be possibilities. At least there's no pitcher in the Houston system the team can't afford to lose. Chris Young will be the eventual replacement for Wolf in San Diego's rotation, but the Padres may need someone else to make a spot start this week.
With two more scoreless innings on Tuesday, Brad Ziegler broke the AL record for consecutive scoreless innings to start a career. Ziegler is up to 23 2/3 innings. He passed Boo Farris, who established the AL record of 22 innings in 1945. George McCullen has the longest streak since 1900, throwing 25 scoreless innings in 1907.
The New York Journal News reports that an MRI exam on Billy Wagner's sore left shoulder Tuesday revealed merely a muscle spasm with zero structural damage. Wagner is now considered day-to-day. He struck out the side in an appearance Sunday that came after he had trouble warming up and could be available out of the Mets' bullpen Tuesday.
Nationals agreed to terms with shortstop Cristian Guzman on a two-year contract extension through 2010. Hooray? Guzman has been an above average regular this year, and though he's been around forever, he's still only 30 years old. On the other hand, his declining steal totals suggest that he's an old 30 and if he finishes this year with more than 120 games played and a 700 OPS, he'd be doing it for the first time in his career. It's just a two-year deal and it was going to be a barren shortstop market this winter, so it's probably not a bad move, pending the dollars. Still, he's not going to lead the team anywhere in 2009 or 2010.
Wily Mo Pena will miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on his torn rotator cuff. The surgery was successful, and the Nationals are saying he'll miss 4-to-6 months and be ready for spring training next season. He finished the season hitting .205 with two homers and 10 RBI in 195 at-bats, much of it likely the result of what the doctor referred to as the "signifcant" tear in his rotator cuff.
Yesterday’s Results
American League TOR 10 BAL 8 (Recap and Boxscore) NYA 8 MIN 2 (Recap and Boxscore) OAK 8 TB 1 (Recap and Boxscore) CHA 10 TEX 2 (Recap and Boxscore) DET 7 KC 1 (Recap and Boxscore) LAA 3 CLE 2 (Recap and Boxscore) BOS 4 SEA 2 (Recap and Boxscore) National League FLA 4 ATL 0 (Recap and Boxscore) PHI 8 NYN 6 (Recap and Boxscore) CIN 4 SD 3 (Recap and Boxscore) PIT 8 HOU 2 (Recap and Boxscore) MIL 4 STL 3 (Recap and Boxscore) ARI 9 CHN 2 (Recap and Boxscore) COL 10 LAN 1 (Recap and Boxscore) SF 6 WAS 3 (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 --------------- San Diego Padres at Cincinnati Reds, 12:35 PM (R) Greg Maddux (3-8) vs. (R) Bronson Arroyo (8-7) Pittsburgh Pirates at Houston Astros, 2:05 PM (R) Ian Snell (3-8) vs. (R) Brian Moehler (5-4) Los Angeles Dodgers at Colorado Rockies, 3:05 PM (R) Hiroki Kuroda (5-6) vs. (L) Glendon Rusch (3-3) Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets, 7:10 PM (R) Brett Myers (3-9) vs. (R) John Maine (8-7) Atlanta Braves at Florida Marlins, 7:10 PM (R) Tim Hudson (10-7) vs. (R) Ricky Nolasco (10-5) Milwaukee Brewers at St. Louis Cardinals, 8:15 PM (L) CC Sabathia (3-0) vs. (R) Braden Looper (9-7) Chicago Cubs at Arizona Diamondbacks, 9:40 PM (L) Ted Lilly (9-6) vs. (L) Doug Davis (3-4) Washington Nationals at San Francisco Giants, 10:15 PM (R) Collin Balester (1-2) vs. (R) Kevin Correia (1-5) American League --------------- Oakland Athletics at Tampa Bay Rays, 12:40 PM (L) Greg Smith (5-8) vs. (R) James Shields (8-6) Minnesota Twins at New York Yankees, 1:05 PM (L) Glen Perkins (7-2) vs. (R) Mike Mussina (12-6) Texas Rangers at Chicago White Sox, 2:05 PM (R) Kevin Millwood (6-6) vs. (L) Clayton Richard (0-0) Detroit Tigers at Kansas City Royals, 2:10 PM (R) Armando Galarraga (7-4) vs. (R) Zack Greinke (7-6) Cleveland Indians at LA Angels of Anaheim, 3:35 PM (L) Aaron Laffey (5-6) vs. (R) John Lackey (7-2) Boston Red Sox at Seattle Mariners, 4:40 PM (R) Clay Buchholz (2-5) vs. (R) Felix Hernandez (7-6) Toronto Blue Jays at Baltimore Orioles, 7:05 PM (R) A.J. Burnett (10-9) vs. (R) Jeremy Guthrie (6-7)
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 TB 58 41 .586 0.0 54 4BOS 59 43 .578 0.5 61 -2
NYA 55 45 .550 3.5 55 0
TOR 49 51 .490 9.5 52 -3
BAL 48 51 .485 10.0 49 -1
American League Central CHA 56 43 .566 0.0 58 -2
MIN 55 45 .550 1.5 52 3
DET 51 49 .510 5.5 53 -2
KC 45 56 .446 12.0 43 2
CLE 44 55 .444 12.0 51 -7
American League West LAA 61 39 .610 0.0 53 8
OAK 52 48 .520 9.0 57 -5
TEX 52 49 .515 9.5 47 5
SEA 38 62 .380 23.0 42 -4
National League East Pwins Diff PHI 54 46 .540 0.0 58 -4
FLA 53 47 .530 1.0 48 5
NYN 53 47 .530 1.0 53 0
ATL 47 53 .470 7.0 53 -6
WAS 38 62 .380 16.0 39 -1
National League Central CHN 58 42 .580 0.0 60 -2
MIL 57 43 .570 1.0 53 4
STL 57 45 .559 2.0 54 3
CIN 49 53 .480 10.0 46 3
HOU 46 54 .460 12.0 44 2
PIT 46 54 .460 12.0 43 3
National League West ARI 50 50 .500 0.0 51 -1
LAN 49 51 .490 1.0 51 -2
COL 44 58 .431 7.0 45 -1
SF 41 58 .414 8.5 42 -1
SD 38 63 .376 12.5 40 -2
Game of the Day
Phillies 8, Mets 6 - FINAL
PHILADELPHIA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Rollins ss 5 1 1 2 0 0 2 .270
C Utley 2b 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 .292
P Burrell lf 4 1 2 0 1 1 0 .283
E Bruntlett 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .231
R Howard 1b 5 0 1 1 0 0 1 .236
J Werth rf 4 1 2 1 1 0 0 .272
P Feliz 3b 3 0 0 0 0 2 2 .260
vb-G Dobbs ph 2 1 1 0 0 0 2 .317
B Lidge p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
S Victorino cf 4 2 2 1 0 0 0 .279
C Ruiz c 4 1 2 1 0 0 0 .210
J Blanton p 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.000
va-C Coste ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .275
R Seanez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
J Romero p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
C Durbin p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .167
vc-G Jenkins ph 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .238
vd-S Taguchi ph-lf 1 1 1 2 0 0 0 .221
Totals 39 8 13 8 2 4 8 ###
NY METS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Reyes ss 4 1 0 0 1 0 2 .297
E Chavez rf 4 1 3 0 1 0 0 .264
D Wright 3b 5 1 2 1 0 1 2 .287
C Beltran cf 4 0 0 1 1 0 1 .268
C Delgado 1b 5 1 1 2 0 0 2 .260
D Easley 2b 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .274
M Anderson lf 2 1 1 0 1 0 1 .211
ha-F Tatis ph-lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 .293
R Castro c 4 1 2 2 0 0 1 .299
J Santana p 2 0 1 0 1 1 2 .146
hb-A Reyes ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .296
D Sanchez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
J Smith p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
P Feliciano p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
A Heilman p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Totals 34 6 10 6 5 2 14 ###
----------------------------------------------------
PHILADELPHIA - 100 000 106 -- 8 13 0
NY METS - 003 002 001 -- 6 10 0
----------------------------------------------------
va-struck out looking for J Blanton in the 7th; ha-lined out to second for M
Anderson in the 7th; hb-grounded to first for J Santana in the 8th;
vb-singled to center for P Feliz in the 9th; vc-hit for J Blanton in the 9th;
vd-doubled to deep right for G Jenkins in the 9th.
BATTING: 2B - P Burrell (24, J Santana); S Taguchi (5, P Feliciano); J Rollins
(22, P Feliciano); D Wright (26, J Blanton); E Chavez (8, R Seanez). HR - C
Delgado (19, 3rd inning off J Blanton 1 on, 2 Out), R Castro (5, 6th inning off
J Blanton 1 on, 2 Out), S Victorino (6, 7th inning off J Santana 0 on, 2 Out).
S - J Blanton. RBI - J Werth (37), S Victorino (30), C Ruiz (21), S Taguchi 2
(6), J Rollins 2 (34), R Howard (88), D Wright (77), C Delgado 2 (59), R Castro
2 (18), C Beltran (69). 2-out RBI - J Werth, S Victorino, C Delgado 2, R Castro
2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - P Feliz 1, J Rollins 1, R Howard
1, G Dobbs 1, F Tatis 2, J Santana 1. GIDP - J Rollins, R Castro. Team LOB -
PHILADELPHIA 7, NY METS 8. FIELDING: Outfield assists - P Burrell (E Chavez at
Home), J Werth (E Chavez at Home). DP: (C Utley-J Rollins-R Howard, D Wright-D
Easley-C Delgado).
PHILADELPHIA ip h r er bb so hr era
J Blanton 6 8 5 5 3 1 2 7.50
R Seanez 1/3 2 0 0 1 0 0 2.87
J Romero 2/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.09
C Durbin (W, 3-2) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.78
B Lidge (S, 22) 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 1.29
NY METS ip h r er bb so hr era
J Santana 8 8 2 2 0 4 1 3.05
D Sanchez 0 3 3 3 0 0 0 3.95
J Smith (L, 1-2) 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 3.12
P Feliciano (B, 2) 2/3 2 2 2 1 0 0 4.21
A Heilman 1/3 0 0 0 1 0 0 4.78
D Sanchez pitched to 3 batters in the 9th.
J Smith pitched to 1 batter in the 9th.
WP - B Lidge. IBB - P Burrell (by P Feliciano), C Beltran (by R Seanez). HBP
- D Easley 2 (by J Blanton, J Romero). Pitches-strikes: J Blanton 109-67; R
Seanez 11-4; J Romero 10-5; C Durbin 16-10; B Lidge 21-10; J Santana 105-75; D
Sanchez 15-10; J Smith 5-2; P Feliciano 17-11; A Heilman 7-3. Ground balls-fly
balls: J Blanton 7-9; R Seanez 0-0; J Romero 0-2; C Durbin 2-1; B Lidge 2-0; J
Santana 13-7; D Sanchez 0-0; J Smith 1-0; P Feliciano 2-0; A Heilman 0-1.
Batters faced: J Blanton 28; R Seanez 3; J Romero 3; C Durbin 3; B Lidge 4; J
Santana 31; D Sanchez 3; J Smith 1; P Feliciano 5; A Heilman 2. IRS - P
Feliciano 3, J Smith. UMPIRES: HP--Derryl Cousins. 1B--Angel Hernandez.
2B--Eric Cooper. 3B--Marty Foster. EJECTIONS: PHILADELPHIA's Manuel by Foster
(4th). T--3:13. Att--55,081. Weather: 81 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 9 mph, in
from 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 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 PIT A+ Jamie Romak....... 5 4 3 0 0 0 0 MIL A+ Brent Brewer...... 4 4 2 0 0 1 0 5 RBI ! COL AAA Jayson Nix........ 4 3 1 0 1 1 1 3 R PIT A+ James Negrych..... 5 3 3 0 0 0 1 NYY A Brandon Laird..... 5 4 1 0 1 0 0 3 LD SF AA Pablo Sandoval.... 7 3 1 0 1 0 0 6 RBI ! SEA AAA W. Balentien...... 4 2 2 0 0 1 0 MIN AAA Trevor Plouffe.... 4 3 2 0 0 0 0 TOR AAA Kevin Melillo..... 3 3 0 0 1 1 0 TOR AA Scott Campbell.... 2 2 1 0 0 3 0 SEA A+ Carlos Triunfel... 5 3 1 0 0 0 0 2 SB ATL A+ Eric Campbell..... 3 1 0 0 1 3 1 3 R ORG LVL PLAYER IP H R ER SO BB HR Notes MIN AAA F. Liriano........ 7 2 0 0 10 2 0 WAN AAA Shairon Martis.... 6 5 1 1 12 2 0 LAA A+ Sean O'Sullivan... 7 3 0 0 8 1 0 PHI A+ Drew Naylor....... 7 2 2 1 7 3 0 TEX A+ Zachary Phillips.. 6 2 1 1 8 3 0 SD AAA Wade Leblanc...... 6 3 1 1 7 2 0 PHI AAA J.A. Happ......... 6 4 3 3 8 1 1 SF A M. Bumgarner...... 7 5 3 2 6 2 0 COL A+ Jhoulys Chacin.... 5 1 0 0 4 0 0 ATL AAA James Parr........ 6 1 1 1 4 2 0 BAL A Zachary Britton... 6 3 1 1 5 2 0 CHW AAA Jack Egbert....... 6 7 5 2 5 0 0
Access THT’s stats here…
{embed="content/2005stable"}
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BOS 59 43 .578 0.5 61 -2
NYA 55 45 .550 3.5 55 0
TOR 49 51 .490 9.5 52 -3
BAL 48 51 .485 10.0 49 -1
American League Central
CHA 56 43 .566 0.0 58 -2
MIN 55 45 .550 1.5 52 3
DET 51 49 .510 5.5 53 -2
KC 45 56 .446 12.0 43 2
CLE 44 55 .444 12.0 51 -7
American League West
LAA 61 39 .610 0.0 53 8
OAK 52 48 .520 9.0 57 -5
TEX 52 49 .515 9.5 47 5
SEA 38 62 .380 23.0 42 -4
National League East Pwins Diff
PHI 54 46 .540 0.0 58 -4
FLA 53 47 .530 1.0 48 5
NYN 53 47 .530 1.0 53 0
ATL 47 53 .470 7.0 53 -6
WAS 38 62 .380 16.0 39 -1
National League Central
CHN 58 42 .580 0.0 60 -2
MIL 57 43 .570 1.0 53 4
STL 57 45 .559 2.0 54 3
CIN 49 53 .480 10.0 46 3
HOU 46 54 .460 12.0 44 2
PIT 46 54 .460 12.0 43 3
National League West
ARI 50 50 .500 0.0 51 -1
LAN 49 51 .490 1.0 51 -2
COL 44 58 .431 7.0 45 -1
SF 41 58 .414 8.5 42 -1
SD 38 63 .376 12.5 40 -2 