THT Daily: And the number is two
by Dave StudemanSeptember 26, 2009
Major League News for September 26
Player News
Yesterday’s Results
Today’s Games
Standings
You can always find the most recent THT Daily at http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/content/thtdaily/
Player News
Player Headlines are courtesy of RotoworldCarl Pavano allowed four runs over six innings in a 9-4 win over the Royals on Friday night, moving to within two games of the first-place Tigers.
Take away two swings by Billy Butler and he had a shutout. Pavano gave up eight hits -- including two homers by Butler -- while striking out five and walking one. Pavano is 4-3 with a 3.84 ERA over 10 starts since joining the Twins. He lines up for a critical start against the first-place Tigers next week.
X-rays on Jon Lester's right knee Friday came back negative.
Lester was nailed in the knee with a Melky Cabrera line drive in the third inning and had to leave the game. He's considered day-to-day and the Red Sox are saying he only suffered a contusion on his right quad. It's excellent news for Boston fans and fantasy owners alike.
Edgar Renteria is scheduled to undergo season-ending arthroscopic elbow surgery on Saturday.
Renteria has been hampered by elbow issues for much of the season and appeared in just one of the Giants' last 11 games. He will have bone chips removed as part of the procedure but should be fine for the start of spring training. The 34-year-old hit .250/.307/.328 in 124 games this season.
Padres general manager Kevin Towers indicated Friday that he's open to working a trade for the Cubs' Milton Bradley this offseason.
"I haven't had any calls from Jim [Hendry] about him," Towers told ESPN.com. "But I think people kind of know what players we target. We have to take chances sometimes." The Padres have a decent outfield of youngsters, but the relaxed atmosphere in San Diego could help Bradley flourish and revitalize his career. He hit .313/.414/.590 in 42 games there in 2007.
Pedro Martinez has been scratched from his scheduled Saturday start with lingering stiffness in his neck.
Pedro tossed a side session Friday and couldn't make it through the workout without feeling discomfort in his neck. It's mostly a precautionary scratch, and the Phillies are wise in wanting to save him for the playoffs. Kyle Kendrick will fill in Saturday against the Brewers.
Buster Posey is making his first major league start Friday evening against the Cubs' Carlos Zambrano.
It's not an easy matchup, but it is refreshing to see the youngster finally get a look. Posey, 22, has been serving as the Giants' backup catcher since his promotion from Triple-A Fresno. But an injury to Bengie Molina, suffered Thursday night, has finally opened the gates. Posey hit 18 homers and collected 80 RBI in the minors this season. He's batting seventh.
J.P. Howell has been shut down for the rest of the season.
With the Rays out of the playoff hunt, it made no sense to continue pushing Howell. He's been used heavily for two straight years and deserves an early vacation. The 26-year-old will finish with a 2.84 ERA, 79/33 K/BB ratio, 1.20 WHIP and 17 saves over 66 2/3 innings.
According to ESPN.com's Jorge Arangure, Major League Baseball has officially declared Cuban left-hander Arolids Chapman a free agent.
The 21-year-old Chapman is widely considered one of the top unsigned pitching talents in the world. He defected from Cuba several months ago and established residency in a small European country in order to gain access to the major leagues. The Red Sox, Yankees, Dodgers and Angels, among others, are expected to bid for his services.
According to Sean McAdam of the Boston Herald, the Red Sox plan to start Jon Lester in Game 1 of their ALDS matchup.
It's all rumor and speculation until manager Terry Francona makes an official announcement, but the idea does make sense. Lester has been the club's most dominant pitcher this season, with an unreal 11-2 record and 2.13 ERA since May 31. Josh Beckett would start Game 2 and Clay Buchholz would draw the nod for Game 3. As of now, it appears the Red Sox will face the Angels in a five-game series beginning on October 8.
Yesterday’s Results
For the full scoop regarding yesterday's games, read "And That Happened" at Shysterball.American League NYA 9 BOS 5 (Recap and Boxscore) TOR 5 SEA 0 (Recap and Boxscore) CHA 2 DET 0 (Recap and Boxscore) CLE 4 BAL 2 (Recap and Boxscore) MIN 9 KC 4 (Recap and Boxscore) OAK 3 LAA 0 (Recap and Boxscore) TEX 8 TB 3 (Recap and Boxscore) National League NYN 6 FLA 5 (Recap and Boxscore) ATL 4 WAS 1 (Recap and Boxscore) CIN 10 HOU 4 (Recap and Boxscore) MIL 8 PHI 4 (Recap and Boxscore) PIT 3 LAN 1 (Recap and Boxscore) SD 4 ARI 0 (Recap and Boxscore) COL 2 STL 1 (Recap and Boxscore) CHN 3 SF 0 (Recap and Boxscore)Check out Fangraphs' scoreboard to see all the games in action.
Today’s Games
Mariners (80-74) @ Blue Jays (70-84), 1:07pm
Ian Snell (27, RHP) vs. David Purcey (27, LHP)
RedSox (91-62) @ Yankees (98-56), 4:10pm
Daisuke Matsuzaka (28, RHP) vs. C.C. Sabathia (28, LHP)
Tigers (82-71) @ WhiteSox (74-80), 7:05pm
Nate Robertson (31, LHP) vs. Freddy Garcia (34, RHP)
Orioles (60-93) @ Indians (62-91), 7:05pm
Jason Berken (25, RHP) vs. Jeremy Sowers (26, LHP)
Twins (80-73) @ Royals (63-91), 7:10pm
Scott Baker (27, RHP) vs. Lenny DiNardo (29, LHP)
Rays (78-75) @ Rangers (84-69), 8:05pm
Matt Garza (25, RHP) vs. Kevin Millwood (34, RHP)
Athletics (74-80) @ Angels (90-63), 9:05pm
Dana Eveland (25, LHP) vs. John Lackey (30, RHP)
Braves (83-70) @ Nationals (52-101), 1:05pm
Tommy Hanson (22, RHP) vs. Garrett Mock (26, RHP)
Cubs (80-73) @ Giants (82-72), 4:10pm
Tom Gorzelanny (26, LHP) vs. Barry Zito (31, LHP)
Dodgers (92-62) @ Pirates (57-95), 7:05pm
Randy Wolf (32, LHP) vs. Paul Maholm (27, LHP)
Reds (73-81) @ Astros (71-82), 7:05pm
Justin Lehr (31, RHP) vs. Felipe Paulino (25, RHP)
Phillies (89-64) @ Brewers (76-78), 7:05pm
Kyle Kendrick (24, RHP) vs. Braden Looper (34, RHP)
Mets (66-88) @ Marlins (82-72), 7:10pm
John Maine (28, RHP) vs. Sean West (23, LHP)
Cardinals (89-65) @ Rockies (87-67), 8:10pm
Adam Wainwright (27, RHP) vs. Ubaldo Jimenez (25, RHP)
Padres (72-83) @ D'backs (66-88), 8:10pm
Wade LeBlanc (24, LHP) vs. Danny Haren (28, RHP)
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 NYA 98 56 .636 0.0 91 7BOS 91 62 .595 6.5 90 1
TB 78 75 .510 19.5 82 -4
TOR 70 84 .455 28.0 79 -9
BAL 60 93 .392 37.5 64 -4
American League Central DET 82 71 .536 0.0 77 5
MIN 80 73 .523 2.0 80 0
CHA 74 80 .481 8.5 75 -1
KC 63 91 .409 19.5 63 0
CLE 62 91 .405 20.0 69 -7
American League West LAA 90 63 .588 0.0 87 3
TEX 84 69 .549 6.0 81 3
SEA 80 74 .519 10.5 70 10
OAK 74 80 .481 16.5 78 -4
National League East Pwins Diff PHI 89 64 .582 0.0 88 1
ATL 83 70 .542 6.0 86 -3
FLA 82 72 .532 7.5 77 5
NYN 66 88 .429 23.5 67 -1
WAS 52 101 .340 37.0 60 -8
National League Central STL 89 65 .578 0.0 87 2
CHN 80 73 .523 8.5 81 -1
MIL 76 78 .494 13.0 74 2
CIN 73 81 .474 16.0 71 2
HOU 71 82 .464 17.5 65 6
PIT 57 95 .375 31.0 62 -5
National League West LAN 92 62 .597 0.0 96 -4
COL 87 67 .565 5.0 85 2
SF 82 72 .532 10.0 81 1
SD 72 83 .465 20.5 64 8
ARI 66 88 .429 26.0 70 -4
Wildcard Standings American League BOS 91 62 .595 0.0 TEX 84 69 .549 7.0 MIN 80 73 .523 11.0 SEA 80 74 .519 11.5 TB 78 75 .510 13.0 National League COL 87 67 .565 0.0 ATL 83 70 .542 3.5 SF 82 72 .532 5.0 FLA 82 72 .532 5.0 CHN 80 73 .523 6.5
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Dave was called a "national treasure" by Rob Neyer. Seriously. Comments about this article can be sent to him through the miracle of e-mail.
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