THT Daily: Deadline Day
by THT StaffJuly 31, 2008
Player News
Yesterday’s Results
Today’s Games
Standings
Game of the Day
Yesterday’s Home Runs
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 RotoworldKelly Shoppach homered twice and doubled three times Wednesday against the Tigers to become just the eighth player ever to collect five extra-base hits in a game. The game went 13 innings, but Shoppach had all five in the first nine. He was then intentionally walked in the 10th. He later struck out with the bases loaded in the 12th. Shoppach is just the second American Leaguer to pull off the feat. Lou Boudreau in 1946 was the other. Shawn Green was the last to do it when he had four homers and a double on May 23, 2002.
Jayson Stark of ESPN.com quotes "an official" from one of the three teams involved in the rumored Manny Ramirez swap as saying that the odds of a deal are "50-50." Stark reports that Marlins outfield prospect Mike Stanton is not in the trade "although Boston asked for him" and notes that despite previous indications John Grabow would actually be headed to Florida rather than Boston. Meanwhile, asked about a potential deal Thursday morning, Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria denied reports that a trade is already in place and said: "There's no news, nothing to talk about."
Two doctors found major ligament damage in Tim Hudson's elbow, making Tommy John surgery likely. "Both concur that surgery is likely," Braves spokesman Brad Hainje said. "But he's going to take a short rehabilitation period before he makes a final decision." It will be difficult for Hudson to return in 2009 even if he undergoes surgery right away, so it doesn't matter much if he takes a few weeks to decide.
Astros acquired RHP LaTroy Hawkins and cash from the Yankees for infielder Matt Cusick. Good news and bad news for Hawkins. On the one hand, the chance to return to the NL should help his numbers and his chances of landing a significant major league deal this winter. On the other, the other teams that were after him, the Twins and Tigers, were legitimate contenders, while joining the Astros only guarantees that he'll have October off. He'll help set up for Jose Valverde. Cusick, a 2007 10th-round pick, was hitting .285/.356/.462 as a 22-year-old in low-A ball. He's unlikely to ever see the majors.
Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com reports that Ken Griffey Jr. is deciding whether or not to accept a trade to the White Sox. Griffey has the right to block any trade, but he figures to be a free agent this winter anyway and moving to a first-place team would seemingly be plenty enticing. With Jermaine Dye and Carlos Quentin in the outfield corners and Jim Thome at designated hitter the White Sox don't have anywhere to play Griffey unless they move him back to center field or switch an outfielder to first base, which would mean reduced playing time for Nick Swisher or Paul Konerko.
Khalil Greene isn't expected to play Thursday after hurting his left hand while hitting a storage chest during Wednesday's game. Brilliant. The Padres will know Thursday whether Greene fractured the hand. Luis Rodriguez will fill in at shortstop while Greene is out. If Greene did suffer a fracture, one has to wonder if his Padres career is over. The team was already getting pretty frustrated with his poor play.
Yesterday’s Results
Game recaps provided by Craig Calcaterra of Shysterball.Cubs 7, Brewers 2: Bottom of the fifth, one out, Jason Kendall on first, pitcher Manny Parra at the plate. Kendell is gunned down by Henry Blanco as he's trying to steal second, and he was out by a country mile. Next pitch, Parra triples to deep left center, but with two outs it will take a hit to score him, thus tying the game up. It doesn't happen, though, as Ray Durham grounds out meekly. Why is Ned Yost stealing there? Parra had already doubled once in this game, so you know he came to the park with his hittin' pants last night. For his part, Kendall is a sub-50% base stealer over the course of his career. I'm not a true believer in the big Mo, but I have to wonder if the shape of the game doesn't change there in the fifth if Parra had knocked in Kendall with that triple instead of simply tuckering himself out for nothin', which is what he did.
But Kendall wasn't just a menace on the basepaths. Reader Chris H. -- who is quickly becoming my Cubs-Brewers correspondent -- has this to say about Jason's defense:
The outfielders don't have to worry because their sub-par play was overshadowed by the utter incompetence that is Jason Kendall. The Cubs have pretty much run with impunity on him, and while Bob Brenly keeps mentioning that Jason's caught-stealing rate was 43% coming into this game, history tells us that Jason can't throw out yesterday's newspaper.Patience, Chris. MLB Genetics is working on the problem, but it's not anticipated that each team will have access to its own Molina until at least 2011.
Then there was the terrific play where Reed Johnson swings and misses a wild pitch, then doesn't realize it for a couple of moments, and then still makes it to first ahead of Kendall's throw...well, you just have to wonder when Kendall's going to retire.
Surely there must be one of the Flying Molina Brothers around somewhere that the Brew Crew can acquire or something.
White Sox 8, Twins 3: Because it would be a terrible thing to be in first place, the Twins brass decides to stick with Livan Hernandez when there's an ace waiting to be sprung in Francisco Liriano. The results are predictable: 4 IP, 9 H, 5 ER. Free Francisco Liriano!
Tigers 14, Indians 12: Remember when these two teams -- and not the Twins and White Sox -- were supposed to battle for the AL Central? 'Twas not to be. Instead, two of the league's worst bullpens face off with predictably ugly results.
Yankees 13, Orioles 3: Abreu after the game: "I don't really like too much the DH. It's one of the ways to get a day off. I had a good day, but I don't like the DH." Well, it certainly likes him (3-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI).
Royals 4, A's 3: Kansas City sweeps the A's. Not to take anything away from the Royals here, but that pretty much has to be the low point of the season for Oakland, right? From the game notes: "[Frank] Thomas, out since May 29 with right quadriceps tendinitis, faced reliever Keith Foulke in a simulated game Wednesday and afterward declared himself ready." I understand how pitchers simulate a game -- you basically throw off a mound and pretend certain things happen as a result of those pitches. But how does a DH like Thomas simulate a game? You're either hitting or you're not, right? How can anything he did in that "simulation" be anything other than BP or something that, for all practical purposes, is a real game?
Angels 9, Red Sox 2: Mark Teixeira goes 0-4 with a couple of strikeouts in his first action with the Angels. Ya gotta cut the new kid some slack, though. He's still learning his class schedule and who his teachers are and everything. Luckily the older kid who's been around for a long time took up the slack (4-5, 2B, HR, 4 RBI).
Marlins 7, Mets 5 -- Phillies 8, Nationals 5: a game and a half separates the three NL East contenders. I've got a feeling this one is gonna come down to the last weekend. None of these teams are so good or so bad to separate themselves in the next two months. Even the addition of Manny Ramirez won't make the Marlins prohibitive favorites the rest of the way. The beauty of this, as Neyer pointed out the other day, is that because the Cubs and Brewers are playing so well, there's a real chance that the East will be winner take all, loser go home, with no wild card to save them.
Rockies 7, Pirates 4: Wow, Aaron Cook has 14 wins? I had no idea.
Cardinals 7, Braves 2: Chris Carpenter returns to action for the first time since April 2007, and pitches four effective innings, which can only be a good sign for the Cardinals' playoff hopes. For the Braves, Casey Kotchman is the new guy too, and he goes 0-5.
Rays 3, Blue Jays 2: The All-Star break certainly came at a good time for Tampa Bay. Entering it on a seven game skid, they have emerged 8-5 after the break.
Rangers 4, Mariners 3: I've always been a little so-so on Michael Young. I think he got more love than he probably deserved because he replaced A-Rod, and I've always had a sneaking suspicion that there was some Great White Hope dynamic going on with him. Don't get me wrong -- I like him, and think he's a really good player -- but I just couldn't get as enthused about him as some people seemed to be a couple of years ago. Maybe I should reconsider, because he's a pretty tough dude: he had his broken finger on ice in the clubhouse, sees it's a close game, puts on his uniform because he may get a chance to pinch hit, goes in, and delivers the go-ahead run. I broke my finger once. I walked with a fake limp for a week for some reason and claimed the inability to do anything except watch X-Files DVDs all day.
Reds 9, Astros 5: Dunn and Griffey combine for three homers and five RBI, giving us a glimpse of just how awesome the attack of the 2003 Reds could have been.
Diamondbacks 7, Padres 3: -- Dodgers 4, Giants 0: I guess if we ignore the records up to this point and just pay attention to the Dbacks-Dodgers horse race, the NL West can be enjoyed.
You can download a compact version of yesterday's boxscores from Heater Magazine.
| First Inning's Major and Minor League Daily Reports: |
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Today’s Games
National League --------------- Chicago Cubs at Milwaukee Brewers, 2:05 PM (R) Rich Harden (0-1) vs. (R) Dave Bush (5-8) Philadelphia Phillies at Washington Nationals, 7:10 PM (R) Kyle Kendrick (8-5) vs. (L) John Lannan (6-10) Colorado Rockies at Florida Marlins, 7:10 PM (L) Jorge De La Rosa (5-5) vs. (R) Anibal Sanchez (0-0) St. Louis Cardinals at Atlanta Braves, 7:10 PM (R) Joel Pineiro (3-4) vs. (L) Mike Hampton (0-0) Arizona Diamondbacks at Los Angeles Dodgers, 10:10 PM (R) Brandon Webb (14-4) vs. (R) Derek Lowe (8-8) American League --------------- Detroit Tigers at Cleveland Indians, 12:05 PM (R) Justin Verlander (8-10) vs. (R) Fausto Carmona (4-3) LA Angels of Anaheim at New York Yankees, 7:05 PM (R) Jon Garland (9-6) vs. (L) Andy Pettitte (12-7) Seattle Mariners at Texas Rangers, 8:05 PM (R) R.A. Dickey (2-6) vs. (L) Matt Harrison (2-1) Chicago White Sox at Minnesota Twins, 8:10 PM (L) John Danks (8-4) vs. (R) Scott Baker (7-3)
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 63 44 .589 0.0 58 5BOS 61 48 .560 3.0 63 -2
NYA 59 48 .551 4.0 59 0
TOR 54 54 .500 9.5 58 -4
BAL 51 56 .477 12.0 52 -1
American League Central CHA 60 46 .566 0.0 62 -2
MIN 59 48 .551 1.5 56 3
DET 55 52 .514 5.5 57 -2
KC 50 59 .459 11.5 47 3
CLE 46 60 .434 14.0 53 -7
American League West LAA 67 40 .626 0.0 59 8
TEX 56 52 .519 11.5 51 5
OAK 53 54 .495 14.0 58 -5
SEA 40 67 .374 27.0 46 -6
National League East Pwins Diff PHI 58 49 .542 0.0 61 -3
NYN 58 50 .537 0.5 59 -1
FLA 57 51 .528 1.5 51 6
ATL 49 58 .458 9.0 55 -6
WAS 38 69 .355 20.0 40 -2
National League Central CHN 64 44 .593 0.0 66 -2
MIL 60 48 .556 4.0 56 4
STL 61 49 .555 4.0 58 3
CIN 51 58 .468 13.5 48 3
HOU 50 57 .467 13.5 48 2
PIT 50 58 .463 14.0 48 2
National League West ARI 55 52 .514 0.0 56 -1
LAN 54 53 .505 1.0 56 -2
COL 49 60 .450 7.0 50 -1
SF 44 63 .411 11.0 44 0
SD 42 67 .385 14.0 43 -1
Game of the Day
Tigers 14, Indians 12 - FINAL
DETROIT ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
C Granderson cf 7 3 5 2 1 1 0 .307
P Polanco 2b 6 2 2 3 0 0 2 .309
M Thames lf 6 1 1 1 0 4 7 .256
M Joyce lf 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 .287
M Ordonez rf 8 1 2 1 0 0 6 .320
M Cabrera 1b 5 1 3 4 0 1 1 .296
R Santiago pr-3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .352
G Sheffield dh 7 0 4 1 0 0 1 .229
E Renteria ss 7 1 1 0 0 1 4 .258
B Inge c 5 3 1 1 2 2 3 .227
R Raburn 3b 4 1 1 0 0 1 1 .240
va-C Guillen ph-3b-1b 2 1 1 0 1 0 0 .285
Totals 59 14 22 13 5 10 25 ###
CLEVELAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
G Sizemore cf 7 1 2 3 1 3 4 .279
F Gutierrez rf 3 0 0 0 1 1 1 .214
ha-D Dellucci ph-lf 3 0 1 0 0 1 3 .227
hb-J Carroll ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .276
B Francisco dh 7 2 4 2 0 0 2 .277
J Peralta ss 6 0 1 0 1 2 2 .269
S Choo lf-rf 4 2 0 0 3 3 2 .252
K Shoppach c 6 4 5 3 1 1 3 .271
A Marte 3b 6 2 2 1 1 1 3 .186
R Garko 1b 3 0 0 0 2 0 2 .241
A Gonzalez pr-1b 1 0 0 0 1 1 3 .333
A Cabrera 2b 7 1 4 1 0 1 3 .199
Totals 54 12 19 10 11 15 29 ###
----------------------------------------------------
DETROIT - 001 141 041 000 2 -- 14 22 2
CLEVELAND - 143 003 001 000 0 -- 12 19 4
----------------------------------------------------
ha-singled to center for F Gutierrez in the 8th; va-walked for R Raburn in the
9th; hb-struck out swinging for D Dellucci in the 13th.
BATTING: 2B - E Renteria (10, C Lee); M Thames (10, E Mujica); M Cabrera (25, E
Mujica); K Shoppach 3 (17, A Lopez, N Robertson 2); A Marte (4, N Robertson); A
Cabrera (9, N Robertson). HR - B Francisco 2 (10, 1st inning off N Robertson 0
on, 2 Out, 6th inning off A Lopez 0 on, 1 Out), G Sizemore (26, 2nd inning off
N Robertson 2 on, 2 Out), M Cabrera (19, 4th inning off C Lee 0 on, 2 Out), B
Inge (9, 5th inning off C Lee 0 on, 0 Out), K Shoppach 2 (11, 6th inning off T
Jones 1 on, 2 Out, 9th inning off F Rodney 0 on, 1 Out). SF - P Polanco , M
Cabrera. RBI - C Granderson 2 (37), M Cabrera 4 (79), B Inge (31), P Polanco 3
(38), G Sheffield (29), M Thames (44), M Ordonez (62), B Francisco 2 (39), G
Sizemore 3 (59), A Marte (6), A Cabrera (17), K Shoppach 3 (31). 2-out RBI - C
Granderson, M Cabrera 3, G Sheffield, M Thames, M Ordonez, B Francisco, G
Sizemore 3, A Cabrera, K Shoppach 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out -
M Thames 2, G Sheffield 1, M Ordonez 3, B Inge 1, J Carroll 1, D Dellucci 2, A
Gonzalez 2, G Sizemore 2. GIDP - E Renteria, F Gutierrez, J Peralta, A Marte.
Team LOB - DETROIT 14, CLEVELAND 14. BASERUNNING: SB - P Polanco (4, 2nd base
off R Betancourt/K Shoppach). FIELDING: E - M Thames (2, catch); C Granderson
(3, catch); J Peralta (10, ground ball); R Perez (1, ground ball); S Choo (2,
throw); A Gonzalez (1, throw). Outfield assists - C Granderson (A Cabrera at
2nd base), S Choo 2 (G Sheffield at 2nd base, C Granderson at 2nd base). PB - B
Inge, K Shoppach. DP: (R Raburn-P Polanco-M Cabrera, P Polanco-E Renteria-M
Cabrera, E Renteria-P Polanco-C Guillen, J Rincon-J Peralta-A Gonzalez).
DETROIT ip h r er bb so hr era
N Robertson 3 9 8 8 2 2 2 6.06
A Lopez 2 2/3 3 2 2 2 3 1 3.11
T Jones 1 1/3 1 1 1 0 1 1 5.05
F Dolsi 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 4.32
F Rodney (B, 3) 1 2 1 1 2 2 1 5.60
B Seay 2 2 0 0 2 5 0 2.57
C Fossum (W, 2-0) 2 1 0 0 3 2 0 5.12
CLEVELAND ip h r er bb so hr era
C Lee 5 10 6 6 0 5 2 2.58
J Lewis (H, 4) 1/3 0 1 0 1 0 0 4.61
R Perez (H, 14) 1 2/3 0 0 0 0 2 0 3.31
E Mujica 2/3 4 4 4 1 0 0 5.40
M Kobayashi 1 1/3 1 1 1 2 1 0 3.70
R Betancourt 2 3 0 0 1 2 0 5.79
J Rincon (L, 2-3) 2 4 2 1 0 0 0 6.38
IBB - G Sizemore (by F Rodney), K Shoppach (by B Seay). HBP - P Polanco (by R
Perez). Pitches-strikes: N Robertson 67-43; A Lopez 50-31; T Jones 25-16; F
Dolsi 11-7; F Rodney 33-16; B Seay 45-27; C Fossum 40-20; C Lee 88-62; J Lewis
18-10; R Perez 25-17; E Mujica 28-17; M Kobayashi 27-15; R Betancourt 32-23; J
Rincon 37-25. Ground balls-fly balls: N Robertson 6-1; A Lopez 3-2; T Jones
2-1; F Dolsi 2-1; F Rodney 1-0; B Seay 0-0; C Fossum 3-1; C Lee 4-5; J Lewis
1-0; R Perez 3-0; E Mujica 1-1; M Kobayashi 2-1; R Betancourt 2-2; J Rincon
6-0. Batters faced: N Robertson 19; A Lopez 13; T Jones 5; F Dolsi 3; F Rodney
7; B Seay 9; C Fossum 9; C Lee 24; J Lewis 3; R Perez 7; E Mujica 7; M
Kobayashi 7; R Betancourt 10; J Rincon 9. IRS - R Perez, T Jones. UMPIRES:
HP--Chuck Meriwether. 1B--Wally Bell. 2B--Laz Diaz. 3B--Chris Guccione.
T--5:33. Att--26,596. Weather: 83 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 11 mph, left to
right.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.
Yesterday’s Home Runs
The following stats are provided by Hit Tracker, which logs the projected “true” distance of each home run (if it were to land uninterrupted at field level) and its "standard" distance, which is corrected for weather conditions. Each homer is also categorized into one of three types: Just Enough (JE) for homers that cleared the fence by ten feet or less, Plenty (PL) for those that were sure home runs but not “blasts,” and No Doubt (ND) for true “blasts”—homers that cleared the fence by at least 20 feet and landed at least 50 feet beyond the fence.Hitter Team Pitcher Team True Stnd. # Type Bobby Abreu NYY Dennis Sarfate BAL 335 330 13 JE Bobby Abreu NYY Fernando Cabrera BAL 386 380 12 PL Garret Anderson LAA Josh Beckett BOS 355 355 11 PL Brandon Boggs TEX Miguel Batista SEA 402 391 5 PL Miguel Cabrera DET Cliff Lee CLE 407 401 19 PL Juan Castro BAL David Robertson NYY 405 400 1 PL Coco Crisp BOS Joe Saunders LAA 389 387 6 JE Adam Dunn CIN Wandy Rodriguez HOU 457 455 32 ND Adam Dunn CIN Wandy Rodriguez HOU 402 401 31 JE Damion Easley NYM Josh Johnson FLA 398 395 4 ND Edwin Encarnacion CIN Chad Paronto HOU 352 350 20 JE Prince Fielder MIL Neal Cotts CHC 392 383 21 JE/L Jesus Flores WAS Jamie Moyer PHI 369 352 7 PL/L Ben Francisco CLE Nate Robertson DET 415 403 10 PL Ben Francisco CLE Acquilino Lopez DET 425 419 9 ND Jody Gerut SD Dan Haren ARI 421 416 6 ND Ken Griffey CIN Wandy Rodriguez HOU 461 459 15 ND Josh Hamilton TEX Miguel Batista SEA 402 387 24 PL Willie Harris WAS Jamie Moyer PHI 387 369 8 JE/L Torii Hunter LAA Justin Masterson BOS 377 375 17 JE/L Chris Iannetta COL Zach Duke PIT 418 411 12 PL Brandon Inge DET Cliff Lee CLE 398 392 9 PL Joe Mather STL Blaine Boyer ATL 400 390 4 PL Lyle Overbay TOR Edwin Jackson TB 413 412 7 PL Carlos Pena TB Scott Richmond TOR 404 405 18 PL Hunter Pence HOU Edinson Volquez CIN 398 397 14 ND Carlos Quentin CWS Livan Hernandez MIN 391 386 27 JE Alexei Ramirez CWS Boof Bonser MIN 361 356 9 PL Mark Reynolds ARI Bryan Corey SD 407 397 22 PL/L Alex Rodriguez NYY Fernando Cabrera BAL 424 418 23 PL Kelly Shoppach CLE Todd Jones DET 406 400 11 PL Kelly Shoppach CLE Fernando Rodney DET 404 398 10 PL Grady Sizemore CLE Nate Robertson DET 394 375 26 PL Chris Snyder ARI Bryan Corey SD 370 368 9 JE Dan Uggla FLA Joe Smith NYM 413 410 26 PL Chase Utley PHI Tim Redding WAS 405 388 27 PL/L Shane Victorino PHI Steven Shell WAS 374 363 9 PL Ty Wigginton HOU Edinson Volquez CIN 402 400 9 ND
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 CHC A Jovan Rosa........ 3 3 2 0 1 1 0 WAN AAA Luke Montz........ 4 2 0 0 2 1 0 MIL AAA Hernan Iribarren.. 4 4 1 1 0 0 0 3 LD SEA AAA W. Balentien...... 3 2 1 0 1 1 0 3 R TOR AA Travis Snider..... 4 3 1 0 1 0 0 NYM AA Daniel Murphy..... 5 3 1 0 1 0 1 WAN AA Bill Rhinehart.... 4 2 1 0 1 1 0 FLA A+ Scott Cousins..... 3 2 1 0 1 1 1 CIN A Neftali Soto...... 6 5 0 0 1 0 0 HOU AAA Justin Towles..... 4 2 0 1 1 0 1 TB AAA Reid Brignac...... 4 2 1 0 1 0 2 ATL AAA Diory Hernandez... 5 4 1 0 0 0 0 4 RBI ORG LVL PLAYER IP H R ER SO BB HR Notes CLE A Ryan Morris....... 6 0 0 0 8 1 0 CLE AA Scott Lewis....... 6 5 1 0 8 1 0 COL AAA Franklin Morales.. 7 5 2 1 8 2 0 SD AAA Joshua Geer....... 7 4 3 3 6 1 0 OAK AAA Dan Meyer......... 7 6 2 2 7 1 0 PIT AAA Tom Gorzelanny.... 5 3 1 1 5 0 0 9 GB NYM AAA Jonathon Niese.... 7 3 1 1 7 2 1 SD AA Stephen Faris..... 7 1 0 0 3 2 0 WAN AA J. Zimmermann..... 5 5 0 0 7 2 0 CIN AA Jordan Smith...... 6 8 3 3 5 0 0 14 GB SEA A Brett Lorin....... 4 4 2 2 7 2 0 ATL A Erik Cordier...... 5 6 2 2 6 1 0 9 GB
Access THT’s stats here…
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The Hardball Times
THT Daily: Deadline Day
by Dave StudemanAugust 01, 2006
Major League News for July 31
Yesterday’s ResultsToday’s Games
Standings
Game of the Day
Yesterday’s Home Runs
Top Minor League Performances
Player News
Stats
Yesterday’s Results
American League MIN 15 TEX 2 (Recap and Boxscore) Punto: 4-4; Hunter: 3-5, 4 RBI; Silva: 7 IP, 1 R TB 7 DET 3 (Recap and Boxscore) Hollins: 3-4, HR; Fossum: 7 IP, 0 ER, 10 K, 0 BB SEA 10 BAL 5 (Recap and Boxscore) Betancourt: 2 2B; Johjima: 2-5, 3 RBI, HR OAK 3 LAA 1 (Recap and Boxscore) Haren: 9 IP, 1 R CHA 8 KC 4 (Recap and Boxscore) Cintron: 3-5, HR BOS 9 CLE 8 (Recap and Boxscore) See below National League WAS 10 SF 7 (Recap and Boxscore) Kearns: 2 2B, 3 RBI; Vizquel: 4-5, 2 3B FLA 15 PHI 2 (Recap and Boxscore) Cabrera: 2 2B, HR; Johnson: 7 IP, 1 R COL 4 MIL 2 (Recap and Boxscore) Cook: 8 IP, 2 R; Fastest game ever at Coors ARI 15 CHN 4 (Recap and Boxscore) Hudson: 2 HR, 6 RBI
Today’s Games
Visitors Home Time ATL - Smoltz J. (8-5, 3.55) PIT - Snell I. (9-6, 4.63) 7:05 NYM - Pelfrey M. (2-1, 5.28) FLA - Olsen S.* (9-4, 3.79) 7:05 CLE - Sabathia C.* (7-7, 3.82) BOS - Johnson J. (3-10, 6.35) 7:05 TOR - Burnett A. (2-4, 4.53) NYY - Wright J. (6-6, 4.73) 7:05 SEA - Moyer J.* (6-9, 4.21) BAL - Lopez R. (7-11, 6.57) 7:05 LAD - Sele A. (6-4, 3.79) CIN - Arroyo B. (9-7, 3.20) 7:10 DET - Verlander J. (13-4, 2.69) TB - Howell J.* (0-0, -) 7:15 ARI - Vargas C. (8-7, 5.04) CHC - Hill R.* (0-4, 9.53) 8:05 PHI - Mathieson S. (0-2, 5.48) STL - Suppan J. (8-5, 4.98) 8:10 TEX - Eaton A. (0-1, 7.36) MIN - Baker S. (3-6, 6.27) 8:10 CWS - Buehrle M.* (9-9, 4.81) KC - Perez O.* (0-0, -) 8:10 MIL - Bush D. (6-8, 4.95) COL - Fogg J. (7-5, 4.56) 9:05 OAK - Blanton J. (11-8, 4.78) LAA - Saunders J.* (1-0, 1.29) 10:05 HOU - Pettitte A.* (9-11, 5.18) SD - Peavy J. (5-10, 5.01) 10:05 WAS - Hernandez L. (8-8, 5.70) SF - Cain M. (7-7, 4.87) 10:15
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 63 41 .606 0.0 58 5NYA 61 41 .598 1.0 58 3
TOR 57 48 .543 6.5 58 -1
BAL 48 59 .449 16.5 46 2
TB 44 62 .415 20.0 43 1
American League Central DET 70 35 .667 0.0 66 4
CHA 62 42 .596 7.5 60 2
MIN 61 43 .587 8.5 59 2
CLE 45 59 .433 24.5 55 -10
KC 37 68 .352 33.0 39 -2
American League West OAK 56 50 .528 0.0 53 3
LAA 54 51 .514 1.5 54 0
SEA 52 53 .495 3.5 53 -1
TEX 52 54 .491 4.0 53 -1
National League East Pwins Diff NYN 63 41 .606 0.0 61 2
PHI 49 55 .471 14.0 50 -1
FLA 49 56 .467 14.5 51 -2
ATL 48 56 .462 15.0 53 -5
WAS 47 59 .443 17.0 47 0
National League Central STL 58 46 .558 0.0 54 4
CIN 55 50 .524 3.5 51 4
MIL 50 56 .472 9.0 46 4
HOU 49 56 .467 9.5 50 -1
CHN 43 62 .410 15.5 42 1
PIT 40 66 .377 19.0 47 -7
National League West SD 55 50 .524 0.0 54 1
ARI 54 51 .514 1.0 53 1
COL 51 54 .486 4.0 54 -3
SF 51 55 .481 4.5 52 -1
LAN 50 55 .476 5.0 54 -4
Game of the Day
David Ortiz hit a game-winning three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth to lead the Red Sox to a 9-8 win over the Indians. It was his second game-ending hit in three days, fifth of the year and his 12th since joining Boston four years ago. Big Papi had two home runs in the game, giving him 37 for the season. His 14 home runs in July set a new Boston record for most home runs in one month.One more Ortiz note: he drove in four runs, raising his total for the season to 105 RBI. That's not only the most in the majors, it's the highest total in Red Sox history through the end of July. The previous record was 104, set by Ted Williams and Vern Stephens in 1949. (Source: Elias)
It was another blow to the Cleveland bullpen, which now has almost as many blown saves (14) as saves (15). This time, the culprit was newly anointed closer Fausto Carmona. Casey Blake had two home runs and five RBI’s for the Indians.
CLEVELAND (8) VS BOSTON (9) - FINAL
CLEVELAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
G Sizemore cf 5 0 1 0 0 1 1 .301
J Michaels lf 5 2 2 0 0 1 1 .275
T Hafner dh 4 1 1 1 0 0 0 .296
V Martinez 1b 3 1 0 0 1 1 0 .306
C Blake rf 3 2 2 5 0 0 0 .301
J Peralta ss 3 1 1 0 1 2 0 .259
H Luna 2b 4 1 1 0 0 0 1 .250
K Shoppach c 4 0 1 2 0 2 0 .241
A Marte 3b 4 0 0 0 0 2 1 .000
Totals 35 8 9 8 2 9 4
BATTING: 2B - H Luna (1, D Wells); K Shoppach (3, D Wells); T Hafner (22, D
Wells). HR - C Blake 2 (14, 2nd inning off D Wells 0 on, 1 Out, 5th inning off
D Wells 2 on, 2 Out). SF - C Blake. RBI - C Blake 5 (47), K Shoppach 2 (9), T
Hafner (86). 2-out RBI - C Blake 3. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - G
Sizemore 1. Team LOB - 3.
FIELDING: Outfield assists - G Sizemore (D Mirabelli at Home).
BOSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
K Youkilis 1b 4 1 0 0 1 2 1 .293
M Loretta 2b 5 1 1 0 0 1 3 .302
D Ortiz dh 5 2 3 4 0 1 1 .289
M Ramirez lf 3 1 1 2 1 0 0 .315
M Lowell 3b 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 .290
J Varitek c 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .243
a-D Mirabelli ph-c 3 0 1 0 0 2 0 .188
C Crisp cf 4 1 2 0 0 0 0 .269
W Pena rf 4 1 3 3 0 1 0 .333
A Cora ss 4 1 1 0 0 1 2 .293
Totals 37 9 13 9 2 8 9
a-doubled to deep center for J Varitek in the 3rd.
BATTING: 2B - D Mirabelli (4, P Byrd); D Ortiz (20, J Davis). 3B - W Pena (1, P
Byrd). HR - M Ramirez (29, 1st inning off P Byrd 1 on, 2 Out), D Ortiz 2 (37,
3rd inning off P Byrd 0 on, 0 Out, 9th inning off F Carmona 2 on, 1 Out), W
Pena (5, 4th inning off P Byrd 0 on, 0 Out). RBI - M Ramirez 2 (84), W Pena 3
(24), D Ortiz 4 (105). 2-out RBI - M Ramirez 2. Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - M Loretta 1, M Lowell 1. Team LOB - 5.
FIELDING: E - A Cora (4, throw).
----------------------------------------------------
CLEVELAND - 032 030 000 -- 8
BOSTON - 221 100 003 -- 9
One out when winning run scored.
----------------------------------------------------
CLEVELAND ip h r er bb so hr era
P Byrd 4 9 6 6 0 2 3 5.00
J Davis 2 2/3 2 0 0 1 4 0 4.82
R Betancourt (H, 4) 1 1/3 0 0 0 0 2 0 3.97
F Carmona (L, 1-5; B, 1) 1/3 2 3 3 1 0 1 4.82
BOSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
D Wells 4 2/3 8 8 8 2 3 2 11.08
K Snyder (W, 3-2) 4 1/3 1 0 0 0 6 0 6.00
WP - J Davis. Pitches-strikes: P Byrd 72-53; J Davis 48-33; R Betancourt
16-11; F Carmona 15-7; D Wells 96-60; K Snyder 57-38. Ground balls-fly balls: P
Byrd 1-8; J Davis 3-1; R Betancourt 0-2; F Carmona 0-1; D Wells 8-3; K Snyder
2-5. Batters faced: P Byrd 20; J Davis 11; R Betancourt 4; F Carmona 4; D Wells
24; K Snyder 14.
UMPIRES: HP--C.B. Bucknor. 1B--John Hirschbeck. 2B--Wally Bell. 3B--Mark
Carlson.
T--3:15. Att--36,387.
Weather: 82 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 8 mph, in from right.The following graph tracks the game's Win Probability, courtesy of Fan Graphs.
Yesterday’s Home Runs
The following stats are provided by Hit Tracker, which logs the projected distance of each home run (if it were to land uninterrupted at field level) and its "standard" distance, which is corrected for weather conditions.Hitter Pitcher True Dist Std. Dist HR # Hermida, Jeremy FLA Lieber, Jon PHI 445 434 5 Sexson, Richie SEA Rodriguez, Eddy BAL 422 433 23 Markakis, Nick BAL Mateo, Julio SEA 406 420 4 Young, Dmitri DET Meadows, Brian TB 417 416 4 Cruz, Nelson TEX Eyre, Scott MIN 416 410 1 Monroe, Craig DET Meadows, Brian TB 409 409 15 Pena, Wily Mo BOS Byrd, Paul CLE 436 408 5 Johjima, Kenji SEA Rodriguez, Eddy BAL 398 408 12 Atkins, Garrett COL Capuano, Chris MIL 444 407 15 Ortiz, David BOS Carmona, Fausto CLE 433 406 37 Uggla, Dan FLA White, Rick PHI 427 403 16 Ramirez, Aramis CHC Webb, Brandon ARI 438 398 24 Cintron, Alex CWS Hernandez, Runelvys KC 444 397 3 Coste, Chris PHI Johnson, Josh FLA 402 397 3 Rabe, Josh MIN Rheinecker, John TEX 399 394 2 Dye, Jermaine CWS Hernandez, Runelvys KC 450 393 29 Hunter, Torii MIN Benoit, Joaquin TEX 396 392 15 Mora, Melvin BAL Meche, Gil SEA 380 390 12 Hollins, Damon TB Rogers, Kenny DET 387 386 12 Ramirez, Manny BOS Byrd, Paul CLE 441 384 29 Roberts, Brian BAL Meche, Gil SEA 378 382 3 Tracy, Chad ARI Prior, Mark CHC 428 381 15 Rivera, Juan LAA Haren, Dan OAK 408 380 17 Crede, Joe CWS Hernandez, Runelvys KC 422 376 22 Payton, Jay OAK Santana, Ervin LAA 408 375 7 Olivo, Miguel FLA Lieber, Jon PHI 385 375 12 Cabrera, Miguel FLA Lieber, Jon PHI 382 372 16 Ortiz, David BOS Byrd, Paul CLE 398 368 36 Holliday, Matt COL Capuano, Chris MIL 375 367 20 Lee, Travis TB Rogers, Kenny DET 367 366 8 Drew, Stephen ARI Rusch, Glendon CHC 405 363 1 Bradley, Milton OAK Santana, Ervin LAA 392 363 7 Hudson, Orlando ARI Prior, Mark CHC 404 354 10 Green, Shawn ARI Prior, Mark CHC 386 352 10 Teixeira, Mark TEX Silva, Carlos MIN 343 339 15 Blake, Casey CLE Wells, David BOS 365 335 14 Blake, Casey CLE Wells, David BOS 360 328 13 Byrnes, Eric ARI Rusch, Glendon CHC NA NA 15 Hudson, Orlando ARI Rusch, Glendon CHC NA NA 11
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.ORG LVL PLAYER POS AB H 2B 3B HR BB SO Notes BAL A+ Arturo Rivas CF 4 3 1 0 1 0 1 .515 OBP during past week CHW A Javier Castillo SS 4 3 0 0 1 1 0 LA AA Craig Brazell 1B 3 3 1 0 1 1 0 3 runs scored LA AAA Matt Kemp CF 4 4 0 1 0 0 0 Hitting .545 over last 22 at bats SEA AA Jason Bourgeois LF 6 5 2 0 0 0 0 STL AA Travis Hanson 3B 5 4 1 0 1 0 0 TB A+ Josh Arhart C 4 3 1 0 1 0 0 TB A Jackson Brennan CF 2 2 1 0 1 2 0 TOR A L. Hetherington LF 3 2 0 0 2 0 1 ORG LVL PLAYER IP H R ER SO BB HR Notes ARI AA Ross Ohlendorf 7.0 5 4 4 11 1 2 BAL AAA Brian Burres 6.1 5 1 1 5 3 1 CHC A+ Donald Veal 6.0 5 1 1 6 3 0 40 K over last 34 IP CHW AA Lance Broadway 7.0 7 1 1 7 0 0 0.99 ERA over past month KC AAA Adam Bernero 7.0 4 2 1 1 3 1 LA AAA Hong-Chih Kuo 5.0 5 0 0 5 1 0 LA AA Spike Lundberg 7.0 5 1 1 6 2 0 NYM A+ Brian Bannister 7.0 4 0 0 8 0 0 PHI AAA Eude Brito 7.0 4 1 1 5 2 0
Player News
Player news items are provided by CBS SportsLine.com.Legendary right-hander Greg Maddux is leaving the Cubs after all: He's headed to the Los Angeles Dodgers, who acquired him seconds before the trade deadline Monday for shortstop Cesar Izturis.
Tampa Bay traded Julio Lugo to the L.A. Dodgers for prospects Joel Guzman and Sergio Pedroza Monday. The Devil Rays assigned Guzman to Triple-A Durham of the IL and Pedroza to Class A Visalia of the California League. The Devil Rays also called up INF B.J. Upton from Durham and will recall Benjamin Zobrist from Triple-A Durham to start at shortstop for Tuesday's game against the Tigers.
The New York Mets have sent outfielder Xavier Nady to Pittsburgh for starting pitcher Oliver Perez and reliever Roberto Hernandez. The 24-year-old Perez has fallen off after a big season in 2004. The left-hander went 2-10 with a 6.63 ERA in 15 starts for Pittsburgh this season before being optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis on June 29. In six minor league starts, he was 1-3 with a 5.63 ERA.
Duaner Sanchez has a separated pitching shoulder from a car accident Sunday. The injury appears to be bad enough to keep him sidelined for the year. It was reported that he could be out for at least a month. Sanchez has been a key member of New York's outstanding bullpen, going 5-1 with a 2.60 ERA in 49 games. He was acquired in a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers last offseason.
Omar Minaya said Lastings Milledge will be called up Tuesday. Xavier Nady's departure leaves an everyday hole in right field.
The Tigers acquired first baseman Sean Casey from the Pirates on Monday in exchange for minor-league pitcher Brian Rogers. Casey, a career .304 hitter, gives the AL Central-leading Tigers the left-handed-hitting presence they have lacked as they head toward a playoff berth. Rogers is a Class A reliever who was not one of the Tigers' top 30 prospects to begin the season. Rogers was an 11th-round pick in 2003. To make room for Casey, Detroit optioned the contract of first baseman Chris Shelton to Triple-A Toledo.
The Rangers received right-hander Kip Wells from the Pirates for minor-league pitcher Jesse Chavez, who was 2-5 with a 4.42 ERA in 38 games at Double-A Frisco before pitching once for Triple-A Oklahoma. The 29-year-old Wells was 1-5 with a 6.69 ERA in seven startsthis season for Pittsburgh after starting the season on the DL after March surgery to repair a blood clot in his right arm. John Rheinecker could be on the outs in the Rangers' rotation.
The Rockies have acquired left-hander Jeremy Affeldt and right-hander Denny Bautista from the Royals for infielder Ryan Shealy and right-hander Scott Dohmann.
The Padres acquired Todd Walker from the Cubs on Monday to help out at third base. Mark Bellhorn is still expected to get playing time at third base for the Padres and Geoff Blum will return to a utility role. "Yeah, he's going to get playing time at third," manager Bruce Bochy. Walker can also spell rookie Josh Barfield at second base and come off the bench.
Atlanta dealt struggling pitcher Jorge Sosa to St. Louis for right-hander Rich Scalamandre. Sosa couldn't hold jobs as a starter, closer or setup man this season. He blew three of six save opportunities in his brief stint as a closer. Sosa was 3-10 with a 5.46 ERA overall, a dramatic decline from his surprising success in 2005, when he was 13-3 with a 2.55 ERA.
The Reds added left-hander Rheal Cormier to their bullpen Monday, sending 23-year-old right-hander Justin Germano to Philadelphia. The Reds said Cormier had agreed to a one-year contract extension through 2007, with a club option for 2008. Germano, obtained from San Diego last year, was called up by the Reds to start Saturday night's game at Milwaukee, taking the 6-3 loss before being optioned back to Triple-A Louisville.
The Rangers have acquired 1B/DH Matt Stairs from the Royals for minor league pitcher Joselo Diaz on Monday. Diaz started the season at Double-A Frisco and was 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA in eight games before being promoted to Triple-A Oklahoma, where he had a 3.28 ERA with four saves in 28 games.
The Kansas City Royals made a number of roster moves. They placed Brandon Duckworth on the 15-day disabled list due to a strained left elbow, Doug Mientkiewicz (back) was placed on the 15-day disabled list due to his sore back, the Royals recalled Joel Peralta from Triple-A Omaha and they also activated Reggie Sanders (groin) from the 15-day disabled list.
The Orioles placed LHP Kurt Birkins on the 15-day DL, retroactive July 30 and recalled RHP Julio Manon from Triple-A Ottawa of the IL.
The Phillies recalled right-handed relief pitcher Brian Sanches from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to replace Rheal Cormier, while the Reds optioned outfielder Brandon Watson to Louisville.
The Nats, who won't need a fifth starter again until Aug. 12, optioned Mike O'Connor to Triple-A New Orleans and called up RHP Ryan Wagner was from New Orleans for bullpen help.
Torii Hunter (foot) was activated from the 15-day disabled list on Monday. He was 3-for-5 with a home run (15) and four RBI (53) in Monday's game at Texas. He also had three runs in the successful return.
Mark Prior allowed six earned runs, six hits and three walks in Monday's game against the Diamondbacks, as he lost again and fell to 0-5. He also struck out five batters, as his ERA increased to 7.20. "I threw the ball good," Prior said. "I did exactly what I wanted to do, make them hit it to the big part of the ballpark. Unfortunately the wind was howling out (Monday night) and I can't do much about it."
Chase Utley extended his hitting streak to 32 games Monday with a single in the sixth inning of the Phillies' game against Florida, the second-longest streak in team history. Utley was 0-for-2 against starter Josh Johnson when he singled off the glove of diving second baseman Dan Uggla. Uggla smacked his hand against the grass and Utley extended the longest streak in the major leagues this season.
Rookie Josh Johnson allowed two runs in seven innings in the Marlins' 15-2 victory over the Phillies on Monday, to take the NL lead in earned run average (2.52). Another rookie, Francisco Liriano, leads the AL and the majors with a 1.96 mark. This is the first time in major-league history that rookies lead both leagues in ERA at the end of July. (Source: Elias)
With Kenny Rogers allowing six runs in five innings to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays last night, that makes seven poor starts in his last eight. His ERA over that time is 7.85. He's walking over 1 more per nine than in his previous 14 games and allowing about twice as many home runs. (Source: Baseball Musings)
1B Dan Johnson, sent down to the minors just after the All-Star break, hit a grand slam Saturday for Triple-A Sacramento and is batting .456 with 25 RBI in 14 games.
1B Nick Swisher, hitting .175 with 48 strikeouts over his last 38 games, dating back to June 14, didn't start Sunday. Swisher has struggled to find his stroke and regain weight after coming down with mono and dropping 15 pounds.
3B Ty Wigginton hopes to be back in about four weeks after having his left hand broken by a pitch in Saturday's game. Wigginton will be examined Monday by Rays orthopedist Koco Eaton. The normal recovery time is six weeks, but Wigginton insists he is a fast healer. A move to replace Wigginton will be announced Monday.
Howie Kendrick had a recent stretch of 17 hits in 34 at-bats. Kendrick, who was hitting just .115 when he was sent back to Triple-A Salt Lake in May, has been hot since being recalled for a second time, boosting his average to .333.
The New York Post reports that Gary Sheffield (wrist surgery) will probably return as the Yankees' designated hitter, now that the team added Bobby Abreu to start in right field. "Gary has said his goal is to win a World Series with the Yankees and if this helps that happen, it's good," Sheffield's lawyer, Rufus Williams said.
Ronny Cedeno is just 21-for-126 since June 15 but is 6-for-15 in his last four games, including a homer Sunday off Chris Carpenter. The reason? He's using both of his eyes to scout the ball. Instead of rolling his eyes to pick up the pitch, he's adjusted the angle of his head and it allows him to see the ball more clearly with both eyes.
Armando Benitez's days as closer for the San Francisco Giants this season could be numbered. He has blown each of his last three save opportunities during the team's seven-game losing streak, forcing San Francisco officials to decide whether another arm in the ninth inning might give the Giants a better chance to win.
Monthly home run stats from Hit Tracker:
April: 845 homers in 366 games = 2.31/game
May: 911 homers in 423 games = 2.15/game
June: 878 homers in 398 games = 2.21/game
July: 894 homers in 386 games = 2.32/game
Total Year: 3528 homers in 1573 games = 2.24/game
THT Stats
Access all of THT’s stats here…{embed="content/2005stable"}
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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