THT Daily: Closing Security in St. Louis

by Matthew Carruth
August 28, 2009

Major League News for August 28

Player News
Yesterday’s Results
Today’s Games
Standings
Top Minor League Performances

You can always find the most recent THT Daily at http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/content/thtdaily/

Player News

Player Headlines are courtesy of Rotoworld
According to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney, the Giants have put in a waiver claim on Milwaukee closer Trevor Hoffman.
The Brewers are going to demand a lot for the all-time saves leader and many, including Olney, think a deal won’t get done. In making the claim, the Giants blocked the division rival Rockies and Dodgers from grabbing him, so it wasn’t a complete waste of time.

Victor Martinez told reporters Thursday evening that he is open to signing a contract extension with the Red Sox.
“Definitely,” said the catcher-first baseman. “Who wouldn’t want to play here in Boston? It’s up to them, but from my side, I would want to stay here.” He has a club option for 2010 that could be picked up as part of the new agreement. Martinez, 30, is batting .313/.385/.521 since joining the Red Sox.

Conor Jackson, on the disabled list with valley fever, acknowledged Thursday that his season is likely over.
“I see more risks to me trying to come back than I do benefits,” Jackson said. “Obviously, I want to come back, but I have to be smart about it.” There’s some talk that the Diamondbacks may not tender him a contract this December. If that’s the case, he’ll become a free agent.

An MRI Thursday on Bengie Molina’s right quad revealed a mild strain.
Molina has already missed three straight games and could miss several more. Eli Whiteside will continue drawing starts behind the plate.

Red Sox manager Terry Francona is confident that Jacoby Ellsbury’s sprained ankle is not serious.
Ellsbury suffered the injury Thursday evening while sliding into home plate. “We’re certainly going to check with him [Friday],” said Francona. “I don’t think it will be anything more than a nagging thing, and I’m glad we took him out. Got some ice on it, got it treated, and I’m hopeful that it’ll be fine.” Still, the speedy center fielder is likely to miss a game or two.

According to the New York Daily News, Mets shortstop Jose Reyes (hamstring) may be next in line for surgery.
Reyes, who has been out since May 20, reportedly has a completely torn hamstring tendon behind his right knee. It wouldn’t be a major procedure, but could speed up his recovery as he prepares for next season. He’ll join fellow Mets teammates Oliver Perez and Johan Santana in the operating room.

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals are nearing a two-year extension with closer Ryan Franklin.
Franklin’s 2010 $2.75 million club option will be picked up as part of the agreement, and he’ll be paid $3.75 million in 2011. The deal also includes plenty of performance-based incentives. Franklin, 36, is enjoying a breakout season with a 1.07 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 34 saves in 36 chances. A regression back to the mean is to be expected, but the Cardinals are not being forced to shell out closer-type cash. It’s a superb bargain.

According to Mike Petraglia of WEEI.com, Jacoby Ellsbury has been diagnosed with a mild left ankle sprain.
Ellsbury suffered the injury on a feet-first slide Thursday night. He probably shouldn’t have been sent home in the first place, but that’s a non-issue now. The speedy outfielder is likely to need two or three days off. Rocco Baldelli should pick up a couple of starts in his place.

Adam Jones (back) is hoping to return to the lineup Friday night.
Jones injured his back Sunday afternoon and hasn’t played since. “He’s close to being ready to play,” said manager Dave Trembley. “He’s not happy that he’s not playing, but at the advice of our head athletic trainer, we’re going to give him another day and hope we can get him out there [Friday].”

Yesterday’s Results

For the full scoop regarding yesterday’s games, read “And That Happened” at Shysterball.

American League
CLE     5  BAL     4    (Recap and Boxscore)
CHA     9  BOS     5    (Recap and Boxscore)
TEX     7  NYA     2    (Recap and Boxscore)
OAK     2  LAA     0    (Recap and Boxscore)
KC      8  SEA     4    (Recap and Boxscore)

National League
ATL     9  SD      1    (Recap and Boxscore)
NYN    10  FLA     3    (Recap and Boxscore)
WAS     5  CHN     4    (Recap and Boxscore)
CIN     8  MIL     5    (Recap and Boxscore)
PIT     3  PHI     2    (Recap and Boxscore)
HOU     4  STL     3    (Recap and Boxscore)
LAN     3  COL     2    (Recap and Boxscore)
ARI    11  SF      0    (Recap and Boxscore)

Check out Fangraphs’ scoreboard to see all the games in action.

A Hardball Times Update

by RJ McDaniel

Goodbye for now.

Today’s Games

WhiteSox (64-64) @ Yankees (79-48), 7:05pm
    Mark Buehrle (30, LHP) vs. C.C. Sabathia (28, LHP)
Rays (69-57) @ Tigers (67-59), 7:05pm
    Matt Garza (25, RHP) vs. Rick Porcello (20, RHP)
Indians (57-70) @ Orioles (52-76), 7:05pm
    Fausto Carmona (25, RHP) vs. Jason Berken (25, RHP)
Blue Jays (58-67) @ RedSox (73-54), 7:10pm
    Scott Richmond (29, RHP) vs. Josh Beckett (29, RHP)
Rangers (71-55) @ Twins (63-64), 8:10pm
    Tommy Hunter (22, RHP) vs. Brian Duensing (26, LHP)
Athletics (56-71) @ Angels (75-51), 10:05pm
    Brett Tomko (36, RHP) vs. Trevor Bell (22, RHP)
Royals (49-78) @ Mariners (66-62), 10:10pm
    Brian Bannister (28, RHP) vs. Felix Hernandez (23, RHP)
Mets (58-70) @ Cubs (63-62), 2:20pm
    Patrick Misch (27, LHP) vs. Ted Lilly (33, LHP)
Braves (67-60) @ Phillies (73-52), 7:05pm
    Tommy Hanson (22, RHP) vs. Pedro Martinez (37, RHP)
Padres (54-75) @ Marlins (67-60), 7:10pm
    Kevin Correia (28, RHP) vs. Chris Volstad (22, RHP)
Dodgers (76-52) @ Reds (55-71), 7:10pm
    Chad Billingsley (24, RHP) vs. Homer Bailey (23, RHP)
Pirates (53-72) @ Brewers (61-66), 8:05pm
    Zach Duke (26, LHP) vs. Manny Parra (26, LHP)
Nationals (46-82) @ Cardinals (74-55), 8:15pm
    John Lannan (24, LHP) vs. John Smoltz (42, RHP)
Astros (62-65) @ D'backs (56-72), 9:40pm
    Yorman Bazardo (24, RHP) vs. Max Scherzer (24, RHP)
Rockies (72-56) @ Giants (69-59), 10:15pm
    Ubaldo Jimenez (25, RHP) vs. Tim Lincecum (25, 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     79  48 .622    0.0   74     5    
BOS     73  54 .575    6.0   73     0    
TB      69  57 .548    9.5   71    -2    
TOR     58  67 .464   20.0   64    -6    
BAL     52  76 .406   27.5   55    -3    
American League Central     
DET     67  59 .532    0.0   64     3    
CHA     64  64 .500    4.0   65    -1    
MIN     63  64 .496    4.5   64    -1    
CLE     57  70 .449   10.5   62    -5    
KC      49  78 .386   18.5   50    -1    
American League West        
LAA     75  51 .595    0.0   70     5    
TEX     71  55 .563    4.0   69     2    
SEA     66  62 .516   10.0   59     7    
OAK     56  71 .441   19.5   60    -4    


National League East        Pwins  Diff
PHI     73  52 .584    0.0   73     0    
ATL     67  60 .528    7.0   70    -3    
FLA     67  60 .528    7.0   63     4    
NYN     58  70 .453   16.5   58     0    
WAS     46  82 .359   28.5   54    -8    
National League Central     
STL     74  55 .574    0.0   72     2    
CHN     63  62 .504    9.0   64    -1    
HOU     62  65 .488   11.0   56     6    
MIL     61  66 .480   12.0   60     1    
CIN     55  71 .437   17.5   53     2    
PIT     53  72 .424   19.0   56    -3    
National League West        
LAN     76  52 .594    0.0   78    -2    
COL     72  56 .563    4.0   72     0    
SF      69  59 .539    7.0   67     2    
ARI     56  72 .438   20.0   60    -4    
SD      54  75 .419   22.5   48     6    


Wildcard Standings
American League             
BOS     73  54 .575    0.0
TEX     71  55 .563    1.5
TB      69  57 .548    3.5
SEA     66  62 .516    7.5
CHA     64  64 .500    9.5
National League             
COL     72  56 .563    0.0
SF      69  59 .539    3.0
ATL     67  60 .528    4.5
FLA     67  60 .528    4.5
CHN     63  62 .504    7.5

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            AB  H 2B 3B HR BB SO  Notes
CLE AA  L. Chisenhall..... 3  2  0  0  2  2  1  
COL A-  Kent Matthes...... 4  3  3  0  0  1  0  
PIT AA  Pedro Alvarez..... 5  3  0  0  2  0  0  3 R
OAK A+  Greg Desme........ 3  2  0  0  2  1  0  3 R
LAA AAA C. Pettit......... 4  2  1  0  1  1  1  
LAA AA  Peter Bourjos..... 5  4  1  0  0  1  0  4 LD
BOS AA  Lars Anderson..... 5  3  1  0  1  0  0  
STL AAA Allen Craig....... 4  3  0  0  1  1  1  3 R
DET AAA Scott Sizemore.... 4  2  2  0  0  1  0  
OAK AA  Jemile Weeks...... 4  2  1  0  1  0  0  4 RBI
LAA AA  Mark Trumbo....... 5  2  0  1  1  0  1  3 R
NYY A-  Neil Medchill..... 3  2  0  0  1  2  1  

ORG LVL PLAYER            IP  H  R ER SO BB HR  Notes
TEX AAA G. Moscoso........ 5  1  0  0  6  0  0  
HOU A   Ross Seaton....... 6  5  2  1  5  0  0  
MIL A+  Evan Anundsen..... 6  4  0  0  5  1  0  
CLE AAA Carlos Carrasco... 7  4  2  1  3  1  0  
WAN AA  Bradley Meyers.... 6  6  2  2  5  1  0  13 GB
BOS A+  Stephen Fife...... 6  6  1  0  5  1  0  12 GB
NYY A   Manuel Banuelos... 2  1  0  0  5  0  0  
COL A+  C. Friedrich...... 5  5  2  2  7  3  0  
ATL A   Randall Delgado... 3  2  1  1  5  1  0  
TEX A-  Robert Ross....... 6  4  2  1  5  1  1  15 GB
CLE A+  Alexander Perez... 4  2  1  1  5  2  0  
TEX A   Wilmer Font....... 4  5  4  4  6  2  0

First Inning’s Major and Minor League Daily Reports: