THT Daily: Price signs
by Matthew CarruthAugust 16, 2007
Major League News for August 16
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
Around the majors - A fantastic column from Baseball Analysts canvassing the blogosphere and looking at how each team's fans feel about their team's season so far.
Bonus babies - An excellent recap of first round and other notable draft signings and bonuses from Baseball Analysts.
Racial signifiance - Phil Birnbaum of Sabermetric Research looks at the data regarding racial bias in umpires and concludes that it's not significant.
Buyer's remorse - The Diamondbacks have designated pitchers Byung-Hyun Kim and Joe Kennedy for assignment just weeks after claiming them off of waivers. So much for "blocking" the opposition.
Looking East - MLB is seriously exploring having two teams open the regular season in Japan next year, with others playing some spring training games in China. Not surprisingly, the Red Sox appear to be the main team in consideration for baseball's Japanese adventure.
Legal woes - Marlins pitcher Scott Olsen could be on his way out of Florida if convicted of DUI and resisting arrest offenses.
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 THT Links.
Player News
Player Headlines are courtesy of RotoworldThe Rays have reportedly signed first overall pick David Price to a six-year contract worth $8.5 million. The value of the deal should increase, depending on when Price reaches the majors. It's nice to see the Rays step up to the plate and get a deal done. Now let's just see if the Royals and Orioles do the same.
Rockies acquired RHP Ramon Ortiz from the Twins for infielder Matt Macri. Ortiz isn't the answer, but neither was Josh Towers nor Steve Trachsel. Ortiz had a 5.75 ERA in 10 starts for the Twins in April and May. He had since worked out of the pen as a mopup man, compiling a 4.15 ERA. The Rockies figure to use him as a starter, though he's unlikely to go in place of Aaron Cook on Thursday. Elmer Dessens is still expected to get the nod then.
Diamondbacks placed third baseman Chad Tracy on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to Aug. 13, with a sore right knee. Only a month after it should have happened. Tracy has been quite a liability while batting the sore knee. He had started only three games this month, and he was 6-for-31 since missing his first game back on July 15. Mark Reynolds will play third base for the next couple of weeks.
Rangers placed RHP Brandon McCarthy on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to Aug. 11, with a stress fracture in his right shoulder blade. Uh oh. There was no sign this was coming, and with a 3.18 ERA in six starts since the break, McCarthy had been pretty effective lately. The Rangers have yet to elaborate on the injury, but it's hard to imagine McCarthy pitching again this year. This could turn into a major long-term issue for him. John Rheinecker will start in his place on Thursday.
Prince Fielder has drawn a three-game suspension as a result of Sunday's ejection, SI.com reports. Fielder unintentionally bumped umpire Wally Bell during the argument. Three games seems a little harsh, but he did need to get at least one or two games. The Brewers could go with Joe Dillon at first base when Fielder eventually serves the suspension. Also, they could be on the lookout for option at the position, probably a Jeff Conine-type player.
Yesterday’s Results
American League TB 6 BOS 5 (Recap and Boxscore) Down 6-0, Sox almost tie game in 9th BAL 6 NYA 3 (Recap and Boxscore) See below TOR 2 LAA 1 (Recap and Boxscore) Marcum: 7 IP, 1 R CLE 5 DET 2 (Recap and Boxscore) Carmona: 8 IP, 2 R OAK 3 CHA 2 (Recap and Boxscore) Blanton: 7 IP, 0 R MIN 6 SEA 1 (Recap and Boxscore) Hunter: 5 RBI; Baker: 6.2 IP, 1 R TEX 4 KC 3 (Recap and Boxscore) Padilla’s back: 5 IP, 1 R National League ATL 6 SF 3 (Recap and Boxscore) Hudson: 8 IP, 3 R ARI 9 FLA 6 (Recap and Boxscore) Jacobs: 4-4, 2 2B WAS 4 PHI 2 (Recap and Boxscore) Redding: 6 IP, 2 R CIN 11 CHN 9 (Recap and Boxscore) Hamilton: 2R PH HR in 8th for win STL 8 MIL 3 (Recap and Boxscore) Rolen: 2B, HR; Pineiro: 7 IP, 2 R; STL: 3.5 out NYN 10 PIT 8 (Recap and Boxscore) LAN 6 HOU 3 (Recap and Boxscore) Martin: 2 HR COL 3 SD 0 (Recap and Boxscore) Jimenez/Young: 6 IP, 0 R
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Today’s Games
National League --------------- St. Louis Cardinals at Milwaukee Brewers, 2:05 PM (R) Adam Wainwright (10-9) vs. (R) Dave Bush (9-8) Cincinnati Reds at Chicago Cubs, 2:20 PM (L) Bobby Livingston (3-2) vs. (R) Jason Marquis (9-7) Arizona Diamondbacks at Florida Marlins, 7:05 PM (R) Livan Hernandez (8-7) vs. (R) Daniel Barone (0-0) New York Mets at Pittsburgh Pirates, 7:05 PM (R) Brian Lawrence (1-0) vs. (R) Tony Armas (2-3) Philadelphia Phillies at Washington Nationals, 7:05 PM (L) Cole Hamels (13-5) vs. (R) Joel Hanrahan (2-0) San Francisco Giants at Atlanta Braves, 7:35 PM (R) Tim Lincecum (6-3) vs. (L) Chuck James (9-8) Colorado Rockies at San Diego Padres, 10:05 PM (R) Elmer Dessens (1-1) vs. (R) Clay Hensley (1-3) Houston Astros at Los Angeles Dodgers, 10:10 PM (L) Wandy Rodriguez (7-10) vs. (R) Derek Lowe (8-11) American League --------------- Chicago White Sox at Oakland Athletics, 3:35 PM (R) Javier Vazquez (10-6) vs. (R) Danny Haren (13-4) Detroit Tigers at New York Yankees, 7:05 PM (R) Justin Verlander (12-4) vs. (R) Mike Mussina (8-7) LA Angels of Anaheim at Toronto Blue Jays, 7:07 PM (R) Kelvim Escobar (12-6) vs. (R) Dustin McGowan (8-6) Kansas City Royals at Texas Rangers, 8:35 PM (R) Leo Nunez (2-0) vs. (L) John Rheinecker (1-1)
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 72 48 .600 0.0 73 -1NYA 67 53 .558 5.0 74 -7
TOR 61 58 .513 10.5 64 -3
BAL 56 63 .471 15.5 60 -4
TB 46 74 .383 26.0 44 2
American League Central CLE 66 54 .550 0.0 64 2
DET 66 54 .550 0.0 66 0
MIN 60 60 .500 6.0 62 -2
CHA 54 65 .454 11.5 49 5
KC 52 67 .437 13.5 55 -3
American League West LAA 69 49 .585 0.0 67 2
SEA 66 52 .559 3.0 60 6
OAK 59 62 .488 11.5 62 -3
TEX 53 66 .445 16.5 54 -1
National League East Pwins Diff NYN 67 52 .563 0.0 65 2
ATL 64 56 .533 3.5 65 -1
PHI 63 56 .529 4.0 65 -2
FLA 56 64 .467 11.5 56 0
WAS 55 65 .458 12.5 50 5
National League Central MIL 62 58 .517 0.0 59 3
CHN 60 59 .504 1.5 63 -3
STL 57 60 .487 3.5 51 6
HOU 54 66 .450 8.0 54 0
CIN 52 67 .437 9.5 54 -2
PIT 49 69 .415 12.0 50 -1
National League West ARI 68 53 .562 0.0 58 10
SD 64 55 .538 3.0 66 -2
COL 62 57 .521 5.0 64 -2
LAN 61 59 .508 6.5 61 0
SF 50 70 .417 17.5 57 -7
Wildcard Standings American League SEA 66 52 .559 0.0 NYA 67 53 .558 0.0 TOR 61 58 .513 5.5 MIN 60 60 .500 7.0 OAK 59 62 .488 8.5 National League SD 64 55 .538 0.0 ATL 64 56 .533 0.5 PHI 63 56 .529 1.0 COL 62 57 .521 2.0 LAN 61 59 .508 3.5
Game of the Day
The Yankees stumbled a bit against Baltimore, losing 6-3 in 10 innings. Erik Bedard pitched another great game for the Orioles, but didn’t pick up the win when Shelley Duncan hit a game-tying three-run homer with two out in the bottom of the ninth. The O’s won the game in the tenth with a couple of doubles and an Aubrey Huff home run off Mariano Rivera.BALTIMORE (6) VS NY YANKEES (3) - FINAL IN 10 INNINGS
BALTIMORE ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
B Roberts 2b 5 0 0 0 0 1 3 .313
C Patterson cf 5 1 2 0 0 0 2 .269
N Markakis rf 5 1 3 1 0 0 1 .300
M Tejada ss 5 1 1 1 0 1 5 .298
K Millar dh 4 0 0 0 1 1 3 .271
A Huff 1b 4 2 2 2 1 1 0 .266
M Mora 3b 5 1 1 0 0 1 2 .275
P Bako c 5 0 0 0 0 2 4 .213
T Redman lf 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 .417
a-J Payton ph-lf 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 .258
Totals 42 6 12 5 2 7 20
a-reached on infield single to third for T Redman in the 7th.
BATTING: 2B - N Markakis (34, M Rivera); M Tejada (14, M Rivera). HR - A Huff
(10, 10th inning off M Rivera 1 on, 1 Out). RBI - N Markakis (74), T Redman
(1), M Tejada (59), A Huff 2 (57). 2-out RBI - N Markakis, T Redman. Runners
left in scoring position, 2 out - B Roberts 1, P Bako 1, M Tejada 1. Team LOB -
8.
BASERUNNING: SB - C Patterson 2 (35, 2nd base off P Hughes/J Molina 2), N
Markakis (16, 2nd base off P Hughes/J Molina).
FIELDING: DP: 2 (E Bedard-M Tejada-A Huff, M Tejada-B Roberts-A Huff).
NY YANKEES ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
M Cabrera cf 4 0 0 0 1 1 2 .297
W Betemit 2b 3 0 0 0 0 3 1 .240
a-R Cano ph-2b 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 .310
D Jeter ss 4 0 0 0 0 2 2 .324
A Rodriguez 3b 4 1 4 0 1 0 0 .307
H Matsui lf 5 1 2 0 0 0 4 .299
J Posada dh 4 0 0 0 0 2 4 .333
A Phillips 1b 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 .273
b-B Abreu ph-rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .280
S Duncan rf-1b 4 1 2 3 0 2 0 .317
J Molina c 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 .234
Totals 38 3 10 3 2 11 15
a-singled to left for W Betemit in the 8th; b-grounded to first for A Phillips
in the 9th.
BATTING: HR - S Duncan (6, 9th inning off J Walker 2 on, 2 Out). RBI - S Duncan
3 (13). 2-out RBI - S Duncan 3. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - A
Phillips 1, J Posada 1, H Matsui 2. GIDP - M Cabrera, D Jeter. Team LOB - 8.
BASERUNNING: SB - A Rodriguez (15, 2nd base off E Bedard/P Bako).
FIELDING: E - P Hughes (1, catch); D Jeter (15, ground ball). Outfield
assists - S Duncan (C Patterson at Home). DP: 1 (S Duncan-J Molina).
----------------------------------------------------
BALTIMORE - 001 200 000 3 -- 6
NY YANKEES - 000 000 003 0 -- 3
----------------------------------------------------
BALTIMORE ip h r er bb so hr era
E Bedard 7 4 0 0 2 8 0 2.98
J Hoey (H, 1) 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 4.76
D Baez (H, 14) 1/3 2 2 2 0 1 0 6.02
J Walker (B, 3) 1/3 2 1 1 0 0 1 3.18
C Bradford (W, 2-5) 1 1/3 1 0 0 0 2 0 3.35
NY YANKEES ip h r er bb so hr era
P Hughes 5 6 3 2 2 4 0 4.44
S Henn 1 2/3 2 0 0 0 0 0 4.00
E Ramirez 2 1/3 1 0 0 0 3 0 7.71
M Rivera (L, 3-4) 1 3 3 3 0 0 1 3.46
WP - P Hughes. HBP - D Jeter (by E Bedard). Pitches-strikes: E Bedard 113-78;
J Hoey 10-6; D Baez 9-6; J Walker 10-6; C Bradford 16-15; P Hughes 94-59; S
Henn 20-16; E Ramirez 25-19; M Rivera 26-19. Ground balls-fly balls: E Bedard
9-4; J Hoey 3-0; D Baez 0-0; J Walker 1-0; C Bradford 1-1; P Hughes 1-9; S Henn
2-3; E Ramirez 2-2; M Rivera 3-0. Batters faced: E Bedard 27; J Hoey 3; D Baez
3; J Walker 3; C Bradford 5; P Hughes 23; S Henn 7; E Ramirez 8; M Rivera 6.
UMPIRES: HP--Mark Wegner. 1B--Mike Winters. 2B--Bruce Froemming. 3B--Brian
Runge.
T--3:36. Att--53,363.
Weather: 85 degrees, sunny. Wind: 12 mph, out 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.
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 ARI AAA Carlos Quentin.... 5 2 0 0 1 0 0 5 RBI ! ARI AA Carlos Gonzalez... 4 2 1 0 0 0 1 PIT AA Andrew McCutchen.. 3 2 0 0 1 1 0 DET AA Cameron Maybin.... 4 2 0 0 1 1 1 4 RBI CIN AAA Joey Votto........ 4 2 1 0 0 1 2 CIN AAA Jay Bruce......... 3 1 1 0 0 0 1 LAA AAA Howie Kendrick.... 4 2 0 0 0 0 1 CHC A+ Brian Dopirak..... 3 3 2 0 0 2 0 3 R TEX AAA Tim Hulett........ 4 3 1 0 1 0 0 CIN AA Drew Anderson..... 5 4 2 0 0 0 0 3 LD TB AAA Joel Guzman....... 4 2 1 0 0 1 1 TOR A+ Anthony Hatch..... 5 2 1 0 1 0 0 ORG LVL PLAYER IP H R ER SO BB HR Notes TB A J. Hellickson..... 6 2 0 0 7 0 0 TB AA Jacob McGee....... 6 1 0 0 7 2 0 ARI A+ Matthew Torra..... 8 6 2 2 8 0 0 16 GB HOU AA Felipe Paulino.... 7 5 1 1 7 3 0 COL A+ Brandon Hynick.... 7 5 2 2 10 2 2 MIL AAA Adam Pettyjohn.... 7 1 0 0 3 1 0 MIN A+ Jeffrey Manship... 6 7 2 2 5 1 0 ATL A Jamie Richmond.... 6 6 4 3 5 0 1 CHC AA Grant Johnson..... 2 1 0 0 4 0 0 HOU A Sergio Severino... 6 3 1 1 4 3 0 STL A+ Trey Hearne....... 4 4 3 1 5 2 0 WAN AA Garrett Mock...... 6 6 2 2 3 2 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.