THT Daily: Coming From Behind
by Matthew CarruthMay 14, 2007
Major League News for May 14
Today’s LinksPlayer 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/
THT Links
Bonds - George Will has an epic piece on Barry Bonds, his chase, how it affects baseball and why.A.P. - Aaron Gleeman examines what the Twins are to do with life after the departure of Sidney Ponson.
Exasperation - Some fans of the Cincinnati Reds are on the verge of giving up on the season.
Over the Cliff - And some fans of the Texas Rangers have already given up.
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 .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Player News
Player Headlines are courtesy of RotoworldRockies acquired RHP Jorge Julio from the Marlins for RHP Byung-Hyun Kim. Clearly, the Florida front office didn't have the same kind of confidence in Julio's ability to bounce back from a horrendous start that manager Fredi Gonzalez did. Julio can likely be safely dropped if you had him on reserve. Maybe the Rockies will have an opening in the closer's role if Brian Fuentes is moved this summer, but Julio would have to pitch a lot better than he has recently in order to have a chance of claiming it. He's a below average reliever and has been for years.
Torii Hunter had two homers, a double and a career-high seven RBI as the Twins trounced the Tigers 16-4 on Sunday night. Not bad for a team that had combined for 20 runs over the last eight games. Hunter was removed for a pinch-hitter before getting a chance to add to his monster night in the eighth. He had been 1-for-14 since losing his 23-game hitting streak on Thursday.
Josh Beckett believes he could make his next start after tearing a flap of skin from his right middle finger during Sunday's game. "My skin broke and it just ripped more and more each pitch," Beckett said. "Hopefully, I can make my next start. But that is a big 'hopefully.'" We're guessing the Red Sox will hold him out for at least one turn. There's just no reason to take any chances with as well as the team is playing. The Red Sox even kept Beckett's perfect record intact by coming back to win. Devern Hansack could be called up if Beckett goes on the DL.
In his third start since being called up, Fred Lewis hit for the cycle and drove in four runs Sunday as the Giants pummeled the Rockies 15-2. Lewis went 5-for-6 and is now 7-for-14 with seven RBI since taking over for Dave Roberts. He's likely to play fairly regularly until Roberts comes back, so it's past time to grab him in NL-only leagues. Still, don't expect him to hit for power like this with any frequency.
Twins designated RHP Sidney Ponson for assignment. The Twins are planning on calling up first baseman-outfielder Garrett Jones until a fifth starter is needed on Saturday. It should be Kevin Slowey getting the nod in his place, but that's another thing the Twins have yet to announce a decision on. Ponson indicated that he plans to go home to Florida and sit out the rest of the season before deciding whether to resume his career.
Cardinals activated outfielder Juan Encarnacion from the 15-day disabled list. Encarnacion is starting in right field and batting sixth tonight. He'll be a regular for now, even though he was terrible on his rehab assignment. Even if he plays up to his usual level, he's not going to provide the Cardinals with much of a lift. Still, NL-only leaguers might as well activate him.
Derrek Lee is day-to-day after leaving Sunday's game against the Phillies with neck spasms. Lee first had the problem Saturday and was supposed to have Sunday off, but he successfully lobbied to be included in the lineup. He ended up being replaced by Daryle Ward in the second inning.
Moises Alou is likely to go on the disabled list because of the strained left quad he suffered Saturday. "I’m not very optimistic," Alou said. "It’s not a good feeling. Unfortunately, I had my knee that was bothering me so I couldn’t work on my leg for a couple of weeks." The Mets had both Endy Chavez and Carlos Gomez in Sunday's lineup, as Shawn Green is getting a break. Chavez deserves most of the playing time in Alou's place with the way he's performend since the start of 2006, but Gomez may not be limited to a strict platoon role.
Yesterday’s Results
American League BOS 6 BAL 5 (Recap and Boxscore) See below TB 2 TOR 1 (Recap and Boxscore) Seo: 7 IP, 0 R; Marcum: 6 no-hit innings KC 11 CHA 1 (Recap and Boxscore) DeJesus: 4-6, 2 2B MIN 16 DET 4 (Recap and Boxscore) Hunter: 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBI; Cuddyer: 4 RBI OAK 10 CLE 7 (Recap and Boxscore) OAK: 5 in 9th to win; Cust, Bradley: GW HR’s SEA 2 NYA 1 (Recap and Boxscore) Ramirez: 6.1 IP, 1 R; Pettitte: 7.1 IP, 2 R TEX 7 LAA 6 (Recap and Boxscore) Matthews: 2 HR; Cruz: GW HR in 9th National League NYN 9 MIL 1 (Recap and Boxscore) Easley: 3-5, HR, 4 RBI; Perez: 8.1 IP, 1 R CHN 4 PHI 1 (Recap and Boxscore) Lilly: 8 IP, 1 R; Lieber: 8 IP, 2 R WAS 6 FLA 4 (Recap and Boxscore) HOU 5 ARI 2 (Recap and Boxscore) Wandy: 5 IP, 1 R; Biggio: 2 2B PIT 13 ATL 2 (Recap and Boxscore) Snell: 7 IP, 2 R SF 15 COL 2 (Recap and Boxscore) Lewis: 5-6, cycle; Frandsen: 4-5; Cain: 6 IP, 1 R LAN 10 CIN 5 (Recap and Boxscore) Furcal: 4-4, 2 2B; Griffey: 2-3, HR; LAN: 5 in 8th SD 3 STL 0 (Recap and Boxscore) Germano: 7 IP, 0 R
Today’s Games
National League --------------- Atlanta Braves at Washington Nationals, 7:05 PM (R) John Smoltz (5-1) vs. (R) Jason Bergmann (0-3) Florida Marlins at Pittsburgh Pirates, 7:05 PM (L) Dontrelle Willis (5-2) vs. (L) Tom Gorzelanny (4-2) Milwaukee Brewers at Philadelphia Phillies, 7:05 PM (R) Dave Bush (3-3) vs. (L) Jamie Moyer (4-2) Chicago Cubs at New York Mets, 7:10 PM (R) Jason Marquis (5-1) vs. (L) Tom Glavine (4-1) Cincinnati Reds at San Diego Padres, 10:05 PM (R) Matt Belisle (3-2) vs. (R) Greg Maddux (2-2) St. Louis Cardinals at Los Angeles Dodgers, 10:10 PM (R) Brad Thompson (1-0) vs. (R) Brett Tomko (1-3) American League --------------- LA Angels of Anaheim at Texas Rangers, 2:05 PM (R) Jered Weaver (1-3) vs. (R) Kevin Millwood (2-3) Detroit Tigers at Boston Red Sox, 7:05 PM (L) Nate Robertson (3-2) vs. (R) Daisuke Matsuzaka (4-2) Baltimore Orioles at Toronto Blue Jays, 7:07 PM (L) Erik Bedard (3-2) vs. (R) Tomo Ohka (2-4) Kansas City Royals at Oakland Athletics, 10:05 PM (R) Gil Meche (3-1) vs. (R) Danny Haren (3-2)
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 25 11 .694 0.0 25 0BAL 18 20 .474 8.0 18 0
NYA 17 19 .472 8.0 20 -3
TB 15 22 .405 10.5 13 2
TOR 15 22 .405 10.5 17 -2
American League Central DET 23 13 .639 0.0 20 3
CLE 21 14 .600 1.5 19 2
CHA 18 16 .529 4.0 16 2
MIN 18 19 .486 5.5 20 -2
KC 12 26 .316 12.0 14 -2
American League West LAA 21 17 .553 0.0 21 0
OAK 19 17 .528 1.0 22 -3
SEA 17 16 .515 1.5 15 2
TEX 15 22 .405 5.5 16 -1
National League East Pwins Diff ATL 24 13 .649 0.0 21 3
NYN 23 13 .639 0.5 24 -1
PHI 17 20 .459 7.0 19 -2
FLA 16 21 .432 8.0 17 -1
WAS 12 25 .324 12.0 12 0
National League Central MIL 25 12 .676 0.0 22 3
CHN 17 18 .486 7.0 20 -3
HOU 18 19 .486 7.0 19 -1
PIT 16 20 .444 8.5 14 2
STL 15 20 .429 9.0 12 3
CIN 15 23 .395 10.5 19 -4
National League West LAN 23 15 .605 0.0 23 0
SD 20 18 .526 3.0 21 -1
SF 19 18 .514 3.5 20 -1
ARI 20 19 .513 3.5 18 2
COL 16 22 .421 7.0 14 2
Game of the Day
They were losing to the Orioles, 5-0, in the bottom of the ninth with one out and nobody on. But the Red Sox proceeded to take advantage of several Oriole misplays and string together enough hits to record an improbable 6-5 victory. The winning run scored on an error by reliever Chris Ray at first base.The Boston comeback spoiled a fine start by Jeremy Guthrie, who pitched eight innings of shutout ball. Boston's Josh Beckett had to leave the game after the fourth inning due to a torn flap of skin on his right middle finger.
BALTIMORE (5) VS BOSTON (6) - FINAL
BALTIMORE ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
B Roberts 2b 2 2 1 0 3 0 0 .277
N Markakis rf 3 1 1 0 2 1 4 .250
M Tejada ss 4 0 1 1 1 1 3 .329
R Hernandez c 4 0 0 0 1 3 6 .286
A Huff 3b 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 .267
a-C Gomez ph-3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .294
K Millar 1b 3 0 1 0 0 1 1 .250
J Gibbons dh 4 0 1 1 0 1 2 .231
J Payton lf 4 1 1 0 0 0 1 .267
C Patterson cf 4 0 1 1 0 1 0 .250
Totals 32 5 8 4 8 9 19
a-grounded to second for A Huff in the 9th.
BATTING: 2B - J Payton (3, K Snyder). RBI - A Huff (18), C Patterson (14), M
Tejada (18), J Gibbons (11). 2-out RBI - A Huff, M Tejada. Runners left in
scoring position, 2 out - R Hernandez 1, J Gibbons 1, N Markakis 2. GIDP - N
Markakis, C Gomez. Team LOB - 9.
BASERUNNING: SB - B Roberts (13, 3rd base off J Beckett/J Varitek), N
Markakis (1, 2nd base off J Beckett/J Varitek).
FIELDING: E - R Hernandez (1, pop up); C Ray (1, catch). DP: 2 (B Roberts-M
Tejada-K Millar 2).
BOSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Lugo ss 5 0 1 1 0 0 1 .259
C Crisp cf 3 1 0 0 1 0 0 .221
D Ortiz dh 3 1 1 1 1 0 2 .311
M Ramirez lf 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 .250
W Pena lf 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .262
J Drew rf 3 1 1 0 1 0 0 .257
K Youkilis 3b 3 0 1 1 1 0 1 .326
J Varitek c 4 1 1 2 0 0 2 .272
E Hinske 1b 3 1 0 0 1 0 1 .182
A Cora 2b 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 .417
Totals 32 6 7 5 5 2 9
BATTING: 2B - K Youkilis (8, J Guthrie); J Drew (5, J Guthrie); D Ortiz (14, D
Baez); J Varitek (4, C Ray). RBI - D Ortiz (32), K Youkilis (16), J Varitek 2
(16), J Lugo (20). 2-out RBI - J Lugo. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out
- E Hinske 1, J Varitek 1. GIDP - M Ramirez, D Ortiz. Team LOB - 5.
FIELDING: E - J Varitek (3, throw); K Snyder (1, throw); J Romero (1, throw).
DP: 2 (K Youkilis-A Cora-E Hinske 2).
----------------------------------------------------
BALTIMORE - 200 010 110 -- 5
BOSTON - 000 000 006 -- 6
Two outs when winning run scored.
----------------------------------------------------
BALTIMORE ip h r er bb so hr era
J Guthrie 8 1/3 3 1 0 2 2 0 3.34
D Baez 0 2 2 2 0 0 0 4.15
C Ray (L, 3-3; B, 3) 1/3 2 3 2 3 0 0 4.34
BOSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
J Beckett 4 2 2 2 2 7 0 2.66
K Snyder 1 1/3 1 1 0 2 0 0 2.19
J Lopez 2/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
J Pineiro 1 2/3 4 2 2 2 0 0 4.40
J Romero (W, 1-0) 1 1/3 1 0 0 2 2 0 2.84
D Baez pitched to 2 batters in the 9th.
IBB - E Hinske (by C Ray). HBP - K Millar (by J Lopez). Pitches-strikes: J
Guthrie 91-61; D Baez 5-2; C Ray 30-12; J Beckett 64-45; K Snyder 27-13; J
Lopez 15-10; J Pineiro 42-25; J Romero 28-14. Ground balls-fly balls: J Guthrie
17-6; D Baez 0-0; C Ray 1-0; J Beckett 3-2; K Snyder 4-0; J Lopez 0-2; J
Pineiro 3-1; J Romero 2-0. Batters faced: J Guthrie 29; D Baez 2; C Ray 6; J
Beckett 16; K Snyder 6; J Lopez 3; J Pineiro 10; J Romero 6.
UMPIRES: HP--Gary Cederstrom. 1B--Lance Barksdale. 2B--Jim Reynolds.
3B--Chris Guccione.
T--3:10. Att--36,379.
Weather: 58 degrees, sunny. Wind: 11 mph, in from 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.
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 SEA AAA Adam Jones........ 6 3 0 0 2 1 0 5 RBI ! COL AAA Ian Stewart....... 5 2 2 0 0 0 1 LAA AAA Brandon Wood...... 2 1 0 0 0 3 0 TB AA Evan Longoria..... 5 2 0 0 1 1 0 4 RBI COL A+ C. Nelson......... 4 4 1 0 1 1 0 SEA AA Matt Tuiasosopo... 5 4 3 0 0 0 0 3 R COL A Daniel Mayora..... 3 3 2 0 0 2 0 CHC AAA Eric Patterson.... 4 2 0 0 1 2 0 3 R CLE A+ Stephen Head...... 3 2 1 0 1 0 0 SF AAA Nate Schierholtz.. 5 4 2 0 0 0 0 ATL A+ Kala Kaaihue...... 4 2 1 0 1 1 2 OAK AAA Kevin Melillo..... 5 3 0 0 1 0 0 3 R ORG LVL PLAYER IP H R ER SO BB HR Notes CLE AA Chuck Lofgren..... 7 0 1 1 6 1 0 TEX AA Eric Hurley....... 6 3 4 3 6 4 0 MIL AA Manny Parra....... 6 6 1 1 8 2 0 ATL AA Jo-Jo Reyes....... 7 5 3 3 6 1 0 KC AA Luke Hochevar..... 6 8 4 4 6 1 2 HOU AA Troy Patton....... 6 4 2 2 3 2 0 STL A Tyler Herron...... 5 3 1 1 5 1 0 PIT A+ Todd Redmond...... 6 4 0 0 4 1 0 DET AA Jair Jurrjens..... 7 4 1 1 5 5 0 13 GB FLA AAA Yusmeiro Petit.... 6 2 5 4 2 1 0 CHW A+ Kyle McCulloch.... 6 3 2 2 3 2 0 MIN A Dan Leatherman.... 2 1 0 0 3 0 0
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Matthew Carruth is an editor for The Hardball Times. He welcomes any and all sorts of communication at his email.
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