THT Daily: Baseball’s back
by Dave StudemanApril 01, 2008
Major League News for April 1
Today’s LinksPlayer 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/
Player News
Player Headlines are courtesy of RotoworldXavier Nady's second homer of the night was a three-run shot off Blaine Boyer in the top of the 12th as the Pirates beat the Braves 12-11 on Monday night. Nady, who hit .175 with one homer during the spring, ended up 4-for-7. His first homer came in the eighth and helped the Pirates build their 9-4 lead. Unfortunately, they threw that away in the ninth, as four walks and a flyball lost in the lights contributed to five Braves runs. Scoreless 10th and 11th innings followed. In the 12th, Nady delivered what looked like a finishing blow against the Braves' ninth pitcher of the game. However, Atlanta rallied off a fatiguing Franquelis Osoria in his third inning of work, scoring two runs before pinch-hitter Corky Miller flied out to end it.
The Braves are calling Kelly Johnson day-to-day with a strained left knee. Martin Prado replaced Johnson tonight and might be manager Bobby Cox's preferred backup even with Ruben Gotay now on the roster. The Braves are already off Tuesday, and it'd make sense for Johnson to also get Wednesday to rest, as the Pirates will be throwing a tough lefty in Tom Gorzelanny.
Johan Santana fanned eight while allowing two runs over seven innings to earn a win over the Marlins in his Mets debut. Santana held the Marlins hitless until Josh Willingham hit a two-run homer in the fourth. Florida picked up two more hits before Santana left, both of them singles. Santana threw 100 pitches, 68 of them for strikes. He'll get the Braves and John Smoltz next time out.
Carlos Zambrano is day-to-day with forearm cramps, according to the Cubs. They probably still have Mark Prior listed as day-to-day, too. Still, it's good news for Zambrano. From the way he grabbed at his hand, it appeared as though he might have popped a ligament in his finger, which would have been a disaster.
The Indians are calling Victor Martinez day-to-day with tightness in his left hamstring. Tightness is something that develops. Martinez suffered an injury that caused him to miss a step, limp a couple of times and then fall down at second base. We'd say it's at least 50-50 that he lands on the disabled list.
Chad Cordero will miss at least the next two days after receiving a cortisone shot for shoulder tendinitis. "Right now we're not even considering the DL yet," manager Manny Acta said. "He's going to be examined today, and we're going to give him today off, plus we have the day off tomorrow, and then we're going to check on him on Wednesday." If Cordero is forced to the DL, the Nats would likely call up Justin Maxwell for another outfield option.
Yesterday’s Results
American League TB 6 BAL 2 (Recap and Boxscore) CLE 10 CHA 8 (Recap and Boxscore) KC 5 DET 4 (Recap and Boxscore) MIN 3 LAA 2 (Recap and Boxscore) SEA 5 TEX 2 (Recap and Boxscore) National League PIT 12 ATL 11 (Recap and Boxscore) NYN 7 FLA 2 (Recap and Boxscore) WAS 11 PHI 6 (Recap and Boxscore) MIL 4 CHN 3 (Recap and Boxscore) ARI 4 CIN 2 (Recap and Boxscore) LAN 5 SF 0 (Recap and Boxscore) SD 4 HOU 0 (Recap and Boxscore)You can download a compact version of yesterday's boxscores from Heater Magazine.
Today’s Games
National League --------------- New York Mets at Florida Marlins, 7:10 PM (R) Pedro Martinez (0-0) vs. (R) Rick Vanden Hurk (0-0) Colorado Rockies at St. Louis Cardinals, 8:15 PM (R) Kip Wells (0-0) vs. (R) Kyle Lohse (0-0) Houston Astros at San Diego Padres, 10:05 PM (R) Brandon Backe (0-0) vs. (R) Chris Young (0-0) San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers, 10:10 PM (R) Matt Cain (0-0) vs. (R) Derek Lowe (0-0) American League --------------- Toronto Blue Jays at New York Yankees, 7:05 PM (R) Roy Halladay (0-0) vs. (R) Chien-Ming Wang (0-0) LA Angels of Anaheim at Minnesota Twins, 8:10 PM (R) Jon Garland (0-0) vs. (R) Boof Bonser (0-0) Boston Red Sox at Oakland Athletics, 10:05 PM (R) Daisuke Matsuzaka (0-0) vs. (R) Joe Blanton (0-0) Texas Rangers at Seattle Mariners, 10:10 PM (R) Vicente Padilla (0-0) vs. (R) Felix Hernandez (0-0)
Standings
"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. These standings don’t include teams that haven’t played yet.American League East Pwins Diff TB 1 0 .000 0.0 1 0 BOS 1 1 .500 0.5 1 0 BAL 0 1 .000 1.0 0 0 American League Central CLE 1 0 .000 0.0 1 0 KC 1 0 .000 0.0 1 0 MIN 1 0 .000 0.0 1 0 CHA 0 1 .000 1.0 0 0 DET 0 1 .000 1.0 0 0 American League West SEA 1 0 .000 0.0 1 0 OAK 1 1 .500 0.5 1 0 LAA 0 1 .000 1.0 0 0 TEX 0 1 .000 1.0 0 0 National League East Pwins Diff WAS 2 0 .000 0.0 2 0 NYN 1 0 .000 0.5 1 0 ATL 0 2 .000 2.0 1 -1 FLA 0 1 .000 1.5 0 0 PHI 0 1 .000 1.5 0 0 National League Central MIL 1 0 .000 0.0 1 0 PIT 1 0 .000 0.0 1 0 CHN 0 1 .000 1.0 0 0 CIN 0 1 .000 1.0 0 0 HOU 0 1 .000 1.0 0 0 National League West ARI 1 0 .000 0.0 1 0 LAN 1 0 .000 0.0 1 0 SD 1 0 .000 0.0 1 0 SF 0 1 .000 1.0 0 0
Game of the Day
There were several dramatic ballgames in the first full day of Major League Baseball. Our choice for the game of the day is the Pirates’ 12-11 win over the Braves. The Pirates led the game, 9-4, heading into the ninth, but Atlanta scored five runs off the Pirates bullpen to tie the game. The Pirates were their own worst enemies in the ninth, allowing four walks and making a terrible play in the outfield. Brian McCann had the big hit, a two-out, two-run single to tie the game.Xavier Nady won it for the Pirates in the 12th with a three-run homer, his second home run of the day. The Braves made it interesting, however, scoring two in the bottom of the 12th before finally succumbing to Pittsburgh.
Pirates 12, Braves 11 - FINAL
PITTSBURGH ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
N McLouth cf 5 2 3 4 1 1 2 .600
F Sanchez 2b 5 0 3 0 1 0 1 .600
J Bay lf 6 1 0 0 1 1 5 .000
A LaRoche 1b 6 1 2 0 1 2 6 .333
X Nady rf 7 4 4 4 0 2 5 .571
R Doumit c 7 1 3 0 0 1 2 .429
J Bautista 3b 5 1 1 2 0 3 3 .200
J Wilson ss 4 1 0 0 2 0 3 .000
I Snell p 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000
va-N Morgan ph 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1.000
T Yates p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
vb-D Mientkiewicz ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
J Grabow p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
vc-C Gomez ph 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .000
D Marte p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
M Capps p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
F Osoria p 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000
Totals 49 12 17 10 7 11 30 ###
ATLANTA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
K Johnson 2b 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 .333
M Prado 2b 3 1 0 0 1 0 0 .000
Y Escobar ss 4 2 3 3 2 1 0 .429
C Jones 3b 6 1 2 3 0 1 1 .300
M Teixeira 1b 6 0 0 0 0 1 5 .100
B McCann c 6 1 2 3 0 0 0 .300
J Francoeur rf 5 1 1 1 1 2 1 .222
M Kotsay cf 4 2 2 0 2 0 1 .286
M Diaz lf 6 0 1 1 0 1 2 .111
T Glavine p 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 .000
C Resop p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
W Ohman p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
P Moylan p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
R Ring p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
ha-G Blanco ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
M Acosta p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
J Bennett p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
hb-R Gotay ph 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 .000
R Soriano p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
hc-B Pena ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
B Boyer p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
hd-C Miller ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
Totals 46 11 12 11 8 7 13 ###
----------------------------------------------------
PITTSBURGH - 010 101 141 003 -- 12 17 0
ATLANTA - 003 100 005 002 -- 11 12 3
----------------------------------------------------
ha-grounded to second for R Ring in the 7th; va-doubled to deep right center
for I Snell in the 7th; vb-flied out to center for T Yates in the 8th;
hb-walked for J Bennett in the 9th; vc-walked for J Grabow in the 9th;
hc-lined out to second for R Soriano in the 10th; hd-flied out to center for B
Boyer in the 12th.
BATTING: 2B - A LaRoche (1, T Glavine); J Bautista (1, T Glavine); X Nady (1, C
Resop); N Morgan (1, W Ohman); F Sanchez (1, R Soriano); M Kotsay (1, F
Osoria). 3B - Y Escobar (1, I Snell). HR - B Mccann (1, 4th inning off I Snell
0 on, 0 Out), X Nady 2 (2, 8th inning off M Acosta 0 on, 0 Out, 12th inning off
B Boyer 2 on, 2 Out), N Mclouth (1, 8th inning off M Acosta 2 on, 2 Out), J
Francoeur (1, 12th inning off F Osoria 0 on, 2 Out). S - F Sanchez , N McLouth
, I Snell , J Bautista. RBI - Y Escobar 3 (3), C Jones 3 (4), B McCann 3 (3), J
Francoeur (1), M Diaz (1), N McLouth 4 (4), J Bautista 2 (2), X Nady 4 (4).
2-out RBI - N McLouth 4, B McCann, X Nady 3, J Francoeur, M Diaz. Runners left
in scoring position, 2 out - T Glavine 1, M Teixeira 1, A LaRoche 1, R Doumit
1, X Nady 1, N McLouth 1, I Snell 1. GIDP - A LaRoche, M Teixeira. Team LOB -
ATLANTA 7, PITTSBURGH 12. BASERUNNING: Picked Off - N McLouth (1st base, B
McCann). FIELDING: E - K Johnson (1, ground ball); Y Escobar (1, throw); C
Jones (1, throw). Outfield assists - M Kotsay (J Wilson at Home). DP: (Y
Escobar-M Teixeira, J Wilson-F Sanchez-A LaRoche, F Sanchez-J Wilson).
PITTSBURGH ip h r er bb so hr era
I Snell 6 7 4 4 2 3 1 6.00
T Yates 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0.00
J Grabow 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00
D Marte 1/3 0 2 2 2 1 0 54.01
M Capps 2/3 2 3 3 2 0 0 40.50
F Osoria (W, 1-0) 3 3 2 2 1 1 1 6.00
ATLANTA ip h r er bb so hr era
T Glavine 5 7 2 1 2 3 0 1.80
C Resop (H, 1) 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 9.00
W Ohman (H, 1) 1/3 1 1 0 0 0 0 0.00
P Moylan (B, 1) 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 5.40
R Ring 1/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00
M Acosta 2/3 3 4 4 1 1 2 54.00
J Bennett 1 1/3 2 1 1 2 2 0 6.75
R Soriano 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0.00
B Boyer (L, 0-1) 2 2 3 3 1 3 1 13.50
WP - I Snell, M Acosta, J Bennett. IBB - A LaRoche (by R Soriano).
Pitches-strikes: I Snell 90-56; T Yates 14-6; J Grabow 13-9; D Marte 19-10; M
Capps 21-8; F Osoria 38-24; T Glavine 97-52; C Resop 15-11; W Ohman 6-4; P
Moylan 6-4; R Ring 4-3; M Acosta 27-15; J Bennett 32-17; R Soriano 18-8; B
Boyer 37-21. Ground balls-fly balls: I Snell 9-6; T Yates 1-1; J Grabow 1-1; D
Marte 0-0; M Capps 0-2; F Osoria 4-3; T Glavine 7-3; C Resop 3-0; W Ohman 1-0;
P Moylan 1-0; R Ring 0-0; M Acosta 0-1; J Bennett 2-0; R Soriano 0-2; B Boyer
1-2. Batters faced: I Snell 26; T Yates 4; J Grabow 3; D Marte 3; M Capps 6; F
Osoria 12; T Glavine 22; C Resop 4; W Ohman 2; P Moylan 2; R Ring 1; M Acosta
6; J Bennett 9; R Soriano 5; B Boyer 9. UMPIRES: HP--Joe West. 1B--Ed Rapuano.
2B--Ed Hickox. 3B--C.B. Bucknor. T--4:28. Att--45,269. Weather: 56 degrees,
cloudy. Wind: 6 mph, right to 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.
Access THT’s stats here…
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Dave is the manager of the Baseball Graphs website.. Comments about this article can be sent to him through the miracle of e-mail.