THT Daily: Wagner Claimed?

Major League News for August 21

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
The dead body of an illegal Mexican immigrant was found Thursday morning on Chipper Jones’ ranch in Carrizo Springs, Texas.
“As the crow flies, we’re eight miles from the Rio Grande,” Larry Jones Sr. told the media Thursday, noting that the 10,000-acre sprawl probably draws a good amount of illegal immigrant traffic. Chipper and his family have owned the “Double Dime Ranch” since 2000 and have never had any problems.

According to a report in the Chicago Tribune, the sale of the Cubs to the Ricketts family is “imminent.”
The Tribune Co. agreed to the deal over a month ago, but there were mounds of legal documents to sort through before any signatures could be printed. The Ricketts family has agreed to pay about $900 million for the team, Wrigley Field and a 25 percent stake in Comcast SportsNet Chicago. Having a true owner in place could help the Cubs open payroll space this offseason.

Carlos Zambrano (back) tossed five scoreless innings Thursday in a rehab start with Single-A Peoria.
Big Z struck out five and allowed just four hits. If he wakes up without any abnormal soreness on Friday, the Cubs will find a date for him to slide back into the starting rotation. Tuesday, August 25 — a night game against the Nationals — is a strong possibility.

According to the New York Post, Gary Sheffield asked for a contract extension from the Mets Thursday and was denied.
Sheffield is now threatening to leave the team and, according to reports, might soon be released. Things had been running smoothly in New York until Sheff made a couple of curious comments on Tuesday night in reaction to trade rumors. “Based on what I know now, no, I do not think I will be here,” he said that night. “But if I am sent to a team that I don’t want to play for, I would go home.” He was scratched from the lineup Thursday night.

According to Kelly Thesier of MLB.com, Justin Morneau flew back to the Twin Cities Thursday to have a specialist examine his inner-ear infection.
Morneau has missed two starts in a row with dizziness related to the ear infection. He should avoid the disabled list, but might not return to the Twins’ starting lineup until Sunday or Monday.

Mets activated LHP Billy Wagner from the 60-day disabled list.
Wagner has been out the entire season recovering from Tommy John surgery and might not be long for New York. The Mets placed him on waivers Wednesday and will look to unload his salary in a trade. Until they’re able to spin a deal, he could vulture some saves from Francisco Rodriguez. The struggling Livan Hernandez was designated for assignment to clear room on the 40-man roster.

Rangers activated OF Nelson Cruz from the 15-day disabled list.
Cruz was out for a little over two weeks with a sprained left ankle. He (and his 25 home runs) will return to the sixth spot in the Rangers’ batting order Thursday night. The outfielder belongs in any and all fantasy lineups.

Brandon Phillips left Thursday’s game in the third inning with a sore left wrist.
Phillips missed Sunday’s game with the same injury before returning Tuesday. Clearly, he’s not healthy yet. Consider him day-to-day.

Reds placed RHP Johnny Cueto on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to August 16, with right shoulder inflammation.
Cueto is hoping to rejoin the rotation the day he’s eligible. The sophomore is 0-6 with a 10.63 ERA over his last eight starts and is 8-10 with a 4.61 ERA overall. The week-and-a-half of rest should only help.

Yesterday’s Results

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

American League
BAL     8  TB      7    (Recap and Boxscore)
BOS     8  TOR     1    (Recap and Boxscore)
CLE    11  LAA     3    (Recap and Boxscore)
DET     7  SEA     6    (Recap and Boxscore)
TEX    11  MIN     1    (Recap and Boxscore)

National League
ATL     3  NYN     2    (Recap and Boxscore)
PHI    12  ARI     3    (Recap and Boxscore)
COL     4  WAS     1    (Recap and Boxscore)
CIN     2  SF      1    (Recap and Boxscore)
HOU     4  FLA     1    (Recap and Boxscore)
LAN     7  CHN     2    (Recap and Boxscore)
STL     5  SD      1    (Recap and Boxscore)

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

Today’s Games

Mariners (62-59) @ Indians (52-68), 7:05pm
Lucas French (23, LHP) vs. David Huff (24, LHP)
Angels (73-46) @ Blue Jays (55-64), 7:07pm
Sean O’Sullivan (21, RHP) vs. Marc Rzepczynski (23, LHP)
Yankees (76-45) @ RedSox (69-51), 7:10pm
Andy Pettitte (37, LHP) vs. Brad Penny (31, RHP)
Rangers (68-52) @ Rays (65-55), 7:38pm
Dustin Nippert (28, RHP) vs. Scott Kazmir (25, LHP)
Twins (58-63) @ Royals (47-73), 8:10pm
Nick Blackburn (27, RHP) vs. Luke Hochevar (25, RHP)
Orioles (49-72) @ WhiteSox (62-59), 8:11pm
Jeremy Guthrie (30, RHP) vs. Gavin Floyd (26, RHP)
Tigers (64-56) @ Athletics (53-67), 10:05pm
Edwin Jackson (25, RHP) vs. Gio Gonzalez (23, LHP)
Brewers (58-62) @ Nationals (43-78), 7:05pm
Braden Looper (34, RHP) vs. J.D. Martin (26, RHP)
Reds (51-69) @ Pirates (49-70), 7:05pm
Micah Owings (26, RHP) vs. Charlie Morton (25, RHP)
Phillies (69-49) @ Mets (56-65), 7:10pm
Cole Hamels (25, LHP) vs. Mike Pelfrey (25, RHP)
Marlins (64-57) @ Braves (64-57), 7:30pm
Anibal Sanchez (25, RHP) vs. Javier Vazquez (32, RHP)
D’backs (54-68) @ Astros (59-62), 8:05pm
Yusmeiro Petit (24, RHP) vs. Roy Oswalt (31, RHP)
Giants (66-55) @ Rockies (68-53), 9:10pm
Jonathan Sanchez (26, LHP) vs. Aaron Cook (30, RHP)
Cardinals (70-53) @ Padres (51-72), 10:05pm
Kyle Lohse (30, RHP) vs. Clayton Richard (25, LHP)
Cubs (61-58) @ Dodgers (72-50), 10:10pm
Randy Wells (26, RHP) vs. Randy Wolf (32, LHP)

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     76  45 .628    0.0   71     5    
BOS     69  51 .575    6.5   69     0    
TB      65  55 .542   10.5   67    -2    
TOR     55  64 .462   20.0   62    -7    
BAL     49  72 .405   27.0   52    -3    
American League Central     
DET     64  56 .533    0.0   62     2    
CHA     62  59 .512    2.5   62     0    
MIN     58  63 .479    6.5   61    -3    
CLE     52  68 .433   12.0   58    -6    
KC      47  73 .392   17.0   47     0    
American League West        
LAA     73  46 .613    0.0   67     6    
TEX     68  52 .567    5.5   66     2    
SEA     62  59 .512   12.0   55     7    
OAK     53  67 .442   20.5   56    -3    


National League East        Pwins  Diff
PHI     69  49 .585    0.0   69     0    
ATL     64  57 .529    6.5   67    -3    
FLA     64  57 .529    6.5   61     3    
NYN     56  65 .463   14.5   55     1    
WAS     43  78 .355   27.5   50    -7    
National League Central     
STL     70  53 .569    0.0   68     2    
CHN     61  58 .513    7.0   62    -1    
HOU     59  62 .488   10.0   53     6    
MIL     58  62 .483   10.5   57     1    
CIN     51  69 .425   17.5   50     1    
PIT     49  70 .412   19.0   52    -3    
National League West        
LAN     72  50 .590    0.0   74    -2    
COL     68  53 .562    3.5   69    -1    
SF      66  55 .545    5.5   65     1    
ARI     54  68 .443   18.0   56    -2    
SD      51  72 .415   21.5   46     5    


Wildcard Standings
American League             
BOS     69  51 .575    0.0
TEX     68  52 .567    1.0
TB      65  55 .542    4.0
CHA     62  59 .512    7.5
SEA     62  59 .512    7.5
National League             
COL     68  53 .562    0.0
SF      66  55 .545    2.0
ATL     64  57 .529    4.0
FLA     64  57 .529    4.0
CHN     61  58 .513    6.0

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
SD  AA  Eric Sogard....... 6  4  1  0  2  0  0  
LA  A   Kyle Russell...... 5  3  2  0  0  1  1  
CHC A-  Hak-Ju Lee........ 5  3  2  0  0  0  1  3 LD
LA  AAA Blake Dewitt...... 5  2  0  1  1  0  1  
STL AA  Steve Hill........ 3  2  2  0  0  1  1  
CIN AA  Todd Frazier...... 4  2  1  0  1  0  0  
CLE A-  Jason Kipnis...... 5  3  2  0  0  0  1  
SF  AAA John Bowker....... 3  2  2  0  0  0  0  
DET AAA Dusty Ryan........ 5  3  0  0  1  0  2  4 RBI
PIT AAA Neil Walker....... 4  2  2  0  0  0  1  4 RBI
CHC AA  Tyler Colvin...... 3  1  0  0  1  2  0  
SF  A+  Conor Gillaspie... 5  2  2  0  0  0  0  

ORG LVL PLAYER            IP  H  R ER SO BB HR  Notes
TB  A-  Kyle Lobstein..... 5  4  3  3 10  1  0  
TB  AAA J. Hellickson..... 5  3  2  1 10  2  0  
MIN AA  Deolis Guerra..... 7  5  2  1  6  0  0  
SD  AA  Cory Luebke....... 6  3  1  1  5  0  0  
PHI AA  Kyle Drabek....... 7  3  0  0  4  1  0  
STL A+  Richard Castillo.. 6  4  0  0  5  1  0  
KC  A+  Daniel Duffy...... 5  0  0  0  6  3  0  
TEX AA  Kasey Kiker....... 6  7  3  2  7  2  0  11 GB
BAL A+  Zachary Britton... 5  6  5  3  8  3  0  10 GB
NYY AAA Ivan Nova......... 6  4  2  2  5  1  1  
TEX A   Neil Ramirez...... 3  2  1  1  5  1  0  
ATL A+  Cole Rohrbough.... 5  4  3  3  8  3  1

First Inning’s Major and Minor League Daily Reports:

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