Archive for May, 2009
young is in the news -
With yesterday’s news that Phillies starter Brett Myers has officially opted for potentially season-ending hip surgery, the team is left scrambling for a replacement, be it a long-term or short-term option. General Manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. has already stated that the initial replacement will be internal, and specifically mentioned four names: Andrew Carpenter, Carlos Carrasco, Kyle Kendrick, and Antonio Bastardo. But who is the best option? Andrew Carpenter: Arguably the “safe” choice, the least likely to completely blow-up but with the least upside. Mediocre K/BB and K/IP numbers. Had a decent spot start for the Phillies earlier this month, they may want to play it “safe” and go with a guy like Carpenter, which may not be the worst idea, since this offense is capable of winning nearly any game. Carlos Carrasco: On the surface his stats this year look absolutely grim, but a closer look shows excellent peripheral stats — his K/BB numbers are terrific, and he’s doing a solid job at keeping the ball in the park (5 HR in 55.0 IP). His 0-6 record is primarily a function of a terrible IronPigs bullpen (which just yesterday blew another lead for him). He has also strung together three good starts in a row (including yesterday’s 7 IP, 2 R, 6 K outing). At 22, he’s the youngest candidate. Carrasco was considered a candidate for the fifth starter slot on the big club in Spring Training, and there’s a decent chance the team will move him up now. Anecdotally known for melting down with runners on and in the face of the slightest adversity, pitching on a club with better defense may boost his confidence. However, his meltdown tendencies may be exacerbated by pitching in the majors. An elite talent, but probably needs gentle treatment. Kyle Kendrick: Yes, two years ago this guy started Game Two of a playoff series for a Major League Baseball team. Since then, he’s struggled, and has yet to develop that “out pitch” that he was sent to the minors to work on. His pro and con lists both start with “familiarity” - the Phillies, for knowing him and how he works, and the rest of the league, for having a fairly extensive book on him. Antonio Bastardo: Kind of a surprising choice, being that he has not really been mentioned among the Phillies best prospects over the past couple of seasons. All Bastardo has done is quietly dominate in every level he’s pitched. Over his career he’s averaging well over a strikeout per inning pitched (109 Ks, 97.2 IP); his Achilles’ heel, especially in Philadelphia, may be his flyball tendencies. The lack of “respect” from scouts may stem from his smallish stature (5′11″, 195 lbs. listed, but likely smaller than that), and his stuff which isn’t exactly filthy, he nonetheless has shown that he knows how to pitch. Also, Myers’ turn in the rotation corresponds with Bastardo’s next scheduled turn, which may be a factor. Minuses: He’d be the fourth lefty in the Phillies rotation, which may or may not matter much. He only has two starts at AAA, but both have been good (13 IP, 12 K, 3 ER). And let’s face it, how great is his name? WRITER’S CHOICE: Bastardo. .
I wonder how this is going to effect the rest of the season!
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A lot of people really like this guy. I think young is spectacular:
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So if you think back to the doomsayers regarding the Jays this offseason, many folks thought that the reason the Jays couldn’t compete was the starting rotation - namely, injuries to Dustin McGowan and Shaun Marcum and the departure of A.J. Burnett to free agency. Here on Bluebird Banter, we disagreed, saying that the rotation would be, while not as excellent as last season’s, fully competent, but let’s put that aside for now. Throw in the fact that Jesse Litsch has basically missed the entire season thusfar and David Purcey’s ineffectiveness, and one might think things would be even bleaker for the starting rotation (and the Jays) than was suggested in the offseason.
This hasn’t happened. The Jays starting rotation ranks 5th in the AL in ERA, 7th in OPS against, and 1st in the league in K/BB ratio. The Jays have gotten the expected fantastic contribution from Roy Halladay and good performances from Brian Tallet, Ricky Romero, Scott Richmond, Brett Cecil, and lately, a couple of quite servicable starts from Casey Janssen. These pitchers all deserve credit for stepping in, and have gotten plenty of kudos, but just as importantly to the performance of these gentlemen has been the great job their friends behind them are doing.
John Dewan, he of the the Fielding Bible, highlighted just how good the Jays defense has been with his recent stat of the week (h/t to our good friend, Mockingbird) Dewan ranks the Jays tops in the AL East in defensive runs saved this season, and second in all of baseball (just behind the Texas Rangers):
| Defensive Runs Saved—Top Five Teams | |
| Texas Rangers | 28 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 25 |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 21 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 18 |
| Houston Astros | 14 |
According to Dewan, Marco Scutaro (9 runs saved) and Aaron Hill (8 runs saved) are leading the way. The defense’s proficiency at turning batted balls into outs has really helped the Jays’ young starters do the great job they’ve been doing and keep the Jays in almost every game this season, even during our horrendous 10-game losing streak. It’s hard to draw up a better defensive infield than Lyle Overbay, Aaron Hill, Marco Scutaro, and Scott Rolen.
The fact that the Jays’s starters lead the league in K/BB ratio means that if they can do a bit of a better job limiting home runs (not a particular strenght for the starters thusfar), their performance could even be expected to improve, especially with the defense continuing to do such a fantastic job.
Our title today comes from Green Day’s great friend anthem “Pop Rocks and Coke”. See you all in the game thread!
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I’m willing to bet nobody saw that one coming!
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Nobody can top Hamilton these days:
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4 1/2 games up after the sweep yesterday and Anaheim’s loss to the M’s.
Evan Grant says Scott Feldman had some mechanical issues yesterday, but managed to work through them to give the Rangers six solid innings in the nightcap.
Jeff Miller writes that Tommy Hunter didn’t get the win in game 1, but did his job in terms of giving the Rangers some innings and keeping them in the game, allowing them to come back in the late innings to get the win.
The Rangers made room for Hunter by putting Matt Harrison on the disabled list, but Vicente Padilla says he feels good and will be ready to make his start on Tuesday, which allows the Rangers to just slide Padilla into Harrison’s spot in the rotation, with Derek Holland remaining in the rotation for now.
Miller also has a piece up about Ian Kinsler sparking the offense by working the count and drawing walks in game 1, which allowed him to get on base despite his recent struggles with getting the ball to fall in.
Ron Washington says Andruw Jones is going to keep playing against most lefties — he’s missed only one start against a LHP this year — but may start getting a few more ABs against righties. With both Hank Blalock and Chris Davis having offensive issues so far this year, Jones’ presence and production has been huge.
T.R. Sullivan says that with the Rangers facing five lefties in the next 7 days, Hank Blalock could find himself riding the bench quite a bit in the next week. Blalock is hitting .163/.182/.256 against LHPs this season.
Jean-Jacques Taylor has a column up about chiding those who think the Rangers efforts to make their starters throw more innings will lead to injuries, saying that pitchers will adapt once they aren’t babied, and besides, if a pitcher can’t handle the workload, well, the Rangers don’t need him anyway.
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I bet everybody saw that one coming!
Take a peek at a vid of Hamilton trying his best work:
Josh Hamilton on mechanics
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Young doesn’t know what he’s into,
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Pebble Star of the Night
Mark Bellhorn hit 2 HR, one in each game of Colorado Springs’ double header agaisnt Albuquerque. He was only 2-for-8 with 2 BBs, but there’s not anyone else that qualifies, sadly.
AAA Colorado Springs, L 8-10 & L 5-7 - (27-18, 1st)
GAME 1: The Sky Sox built a 7-1 lead against the Albuquerque Isotopes (Dodgers) going into the eighth and couldn’t hold it. Unfortunately, the guilty parties were Ryan Speier (4 ER) and Ryan Mattheus (2 ER), two reliever the Rox hope will help out on the big club soon. Scott Munter walked two Isotopes and then gave up a 3-run walk-off HR to Blake DeWitt in the tenth. Mark Bellhorn homered in the loss. Box Score
GAME 2: With the help another home run from Mark Bellhorn, the Sky Sox gaved Alan Johnson a 5-run lead before he every took the mound against the Albuquerque Isotopes (Dodgers). It apparently was not enough, as Johnson allowed 7 runs on 9 hits in 5.1 IP. He also allowed three hits to opposing pitcher Charlie Haeger, who scored two runs, good for the difference in te 7-5 Sky Sox loss. It was the third time in four starts that Johnson has given up at least six runs. Here’s a great feature article on Alan Johnson, who went undrafted.
Carlos Gonzalez also hit a home run, in the ninth off long-time MLBer Scott Strickland. CarGo, Eric Young Jr and Sal Fasano (yes :C) all stole a base. Box Score
Colorado Springs finishes off the 4-game set with the Isotopes tonight at 7:05 MDT.
AA Tulsa, L 0-5 - (23-21, 3.0 GB)
Omar Poveda of the Frisco RoughRiders (Rangers) threw a complete game three-hit shutout against the Drillers last night. Poveda was protected from the Rule 5 draft last November by Texas as a 21-year-old.
Keith Weiser (2-4, 4.78) allowed 4 runs, 2 earned in 7 effective innings for the loss. The Drillers managed just three singles off Poveda, one each by Mike Paulk, Jeff Kindel and Daniel Carte.
Esmil Rogers (3-1, 3.00) squares off with Frisco’s Kasey Kiker (3-2, 2.74) tonight at 6:05 MDT. Andy Graham was added to the disabled list, and Brandon Durden was promoted to Tulsa from Modesto.
High-A Modesto, W 8-7- (27-19, 2.0 GB)
Despite blowing a 7-2 lead, committing five errors and striking out 10 times in five innings against relief pitcher Chris Withrow, the Nuts held it together and managed to eek out the only organizational win, 8-7 in 10 inn. vs. the Inland Empire 66ers (Dodgers). Jeffrey Cunningham doubled twice and Brandon Rike, Matt Repec and Jason van Kooten also doubled. Lars Davis collected a 2-run triple off Dodger Opening Day starter Hiroki Kuroda. Radames Nazario singled van Kooten home for the winning margin in the tenth.
Nazario did not start but replaced Hector Gomez, who left after three at-bats. No word yet on if the switch was due to injury, dugout squabble or promotion. Connor Graham allowed five runs (two earned) in four innings but struck out seven. Box Score
Modesto will play at the Inland Empire again tonight at 8:05 MDT.
Low-A Asheville, L 3-9 - (17-28, 8.5 GB)
After losing again last night to the Augusta Green Jackets (Giants), the Tourists have dropped to the worst record in all of the South Atlantic League. Robinson Fabian (1-4, 5.96) got lit up for 8 runs in 5.2 IP while the hitters struck out ten time and managed just one run off Paul Oseguara, who was making his second start of the year.
Delta Cleary reached base three times with both hits coming from the right side against the lefty starter. Cleary now has a ridiculous split, hitting .311/.354/.486 RH but just .120/.154/.160 from the left side. David Christenson went hitless with three strikeouts. Box Score
Parker Frazier (1-3, 5.40) takes on Robert Carson of the Savannah Sand Gnats (Mets) at 5:05 MDT.
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I want to see how this will effect the rest of the season!
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When Jorge Posada returns to the Yankees — which appears likely to happen this weekend — the Yankees have some catching decisions to make.
First up is which catcher to remove from the roster. Do they send out the impressive, but inexperienced 23-year-old Francisco Cervelli so that he can play every day at AA or AAA? Or do they DFA the useful veteran Kevin Cash, and likely lose him to another team?
My guess is that has a lot to do with the second decision the Yankees need to make. That, of course, is how often do they actually want the soon-to-be 38-year-old Posada to catch?
The last two seasons have shown that a) Posada is an important player for the Yankees, b) his body is showing signs of not being able to handle the daily workload behind the plate, and c) his defense behind the plate is probably not what it used to be.
So, does Cervelli, who has surpassed expectations and looks like he belongs in the big leagues both offensively and defensively, stay at the big-league level and catch 4-5 times a week? That would allow Posada to catch 2-3 times a week and DH on other days, even though I know he would hate that role.
Or, do the Yankees keep Cash on the roster and hope Posada can handle catching 5-6 times a week without breaking down again?
To be honest, as much as I would hate to lose Cash I want to see Cervelli stay. His minor-league numbers indicate that his work with the bat (.300 average in 40 at-bats) is not a mirage, and there’s no doubt about his defensive ability. As for Posada, I just don’t see him as an every day catcher any longer.
Vote in the poll and let us know who you would keep.
Here are some other stories making news around the Yankee Universe.
- Phil Hughes‘ terrific start on Tuesday means Chien-Ming Wang will have to adjust to a long-relief role for now.
- Lefty reliever Zach Kroenke is rising through the Yankee farm system, and could eventually find himself in the Bronx bullpen. Speaking of minor leaguers, 2007 No. 1 pick Andrew Brackman was absolutely terrible Tuesday night.
- Not that power rankings mean anything (they don’t), but the Yanks have moved up to fifth in the CBS Sportsline rankings.
- Brian Bruney will see Dr. James Andrews today. He says he is “just tired of wondering” what is wrong with his elbow.
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I have always been a fan of Francisco, I have to say, seeing stuff like this gives me mixed feelings.This might be shocking news for Francisco fans, but some of you who will say that you saw it coming. I can’t say I’m all that surprised though. Francisco is spectacular, I hope this doesn’t affect the rest of the team.
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young is in the news:
Freddy Sanchez went 6-for-6 with a homer and a double in a rollercoaster win against the slumping Cubs on Monday, and Andy LaRoche and Jason Jaramillo both added three hits apiece. Matt Capps left the game after being struck by a line drive, however, and Sean Burnett got the save.
With Capps presumably on the shelf, the closer duties might go to… Jesse Chavez? Evan Meek might be the Pirates’ closer at some point in the future, but right now his walk totals are awful. Chavez has been the Bucs’ best reliever so far this year, and he has good stuff. If Capps misses a substantial amount of time and the PIrates actually pick a closer (and I’m not sure they will), Chavez probably should get the first shot at the job.
A few other notes:
-P- Virgil Vasquez had a great start for Indianapolis against Gwinnett County today, with six strikeouts, one run and no walks and six innings. His overall numbers are now downright decent, with 42 strikeouts against only six walks so far. Unfortunately, he has allowed a ton of homers, and he’d probably get lit up like a Christmas tree if he were called up.
-P- Vasquez was pitching against Todd Redmond, who pretty much is Vasquez but three years younger. Redmond has solid control, but he’s posting a 4.98 ERA against AAA hitters so far because he’s allowed a bunch of homers. He’s a pretty extreme flyball pitcher, so I think it’s pretty likely that he ends up stuck at AAA for a few years, gets pretty good at pitching there, and then never really makes the leap to pitching successfully in the majors. I wasn’t a big fan of the Tyler Yates trade, but I’m not sure losing Redmond will turn out to be a big deal.
-P- Robbie Grossman went 0-for-2 with four walks today for West Virginia against Class A Lake County. Grossman has had trouble making contact so far this year, with 54 strikeouts in 141 at bats, but at least the walks are there. He has a .388 OBP so far. Those are extremely interesting numbers for a 19-year-old, but I wonder if he’ll have to make adjustments at higher levels, maybe by being a little more aggressive and looking for good pitches to hit earlier in the count. Anyway, Rudy Owens also played well for West Virginia today, striking out eight batters in five innings.
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Tell us your opinion.
Here’s a clip of young at his finest:
Young Ryan Howard @ 11 Yrs Old
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I can’t get enough of young:
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After losing to the likes of Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright, and Jake Peavy earlier in the current losing streak, the Cubs fell Saturday night at San Diego to young Josh Geer, who came into the game with a 5.61 ERA and no victories in five starts.
Cubs starter Randy Wells, subbing for the injured Rich Harden, pitched well enough to win (again). He yielded 3 runs on 5 hits and 1 BB over 7 innings.
Some of the Cub hitters even showed signs of life: Derrek Lee and Mike Fontenot had two hits each: Milton Bradley had a hit and a first-inning rocket that died deep in Petco’s cavernous centerfield.
Still, going into the final inning, Lee’s solo home run in the second inning accounted for all the Cub scoring. Then, in the ninth, Bradley and Lee stroked back-to-back singles, and the Cubs had the tying runs at first and third with none out against Padres closer-for-a-night, Edward Mujica.
Micah Hoffpauir then ripped a hard ground ball at Padres first-baseman Adrian Gonzalez, who touched first, looked Bradley back to third, and fired to second to double up Lee.
Geovany Soto was the Cubs’ last hope, and worked the count full before watching a belt-high fastball pass for strike three.
Ted Lilly (5-3, 3.35) gets the start Sunday against Chris Young (3-2, 5.07) as the Cubs try to avoid getting swept at San Diego and concluding the six-game road trip without a victory.
1984: The Padres honored the members of their ‘84, Steve Garvey-led National League Championship team before the game, so those of us who lived through that horror had a chance to be reminded of it before the fun of the actual game began.
Coming attraction: The Cubs’ next opponents, the Pirates, were blanked for a second consecutive night by the White Sox in their interleague series at U.S. Cellular Field. Pirates’ offense vs. Cubs’ offenseâshould be a matchup for the ages.
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Post your thoughts below!
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I wonder how Murphy’s real fans feel,
One win at the higher levels thanks to outstanding pitching and one win at the lower levels despite a Bad News Bears impersonation with the leather. Total it all up and the four affiliates split things right down the middle with a 2-2 evening.
Nashville, TN - David Purcey is still looking for his first win of 2009 and he should’ve had it Tuesday night. He got some help in the first inning from his battery mate J.P. Arencibia as he picked off a runner at second to erase a two-out double. Purcey gave up a couple of singles to lead off the second but bounced back by striking out the side swinging. The big lefty got on a roll through the fourth by retiring 9 of 10 hitters and struck out six during that stretch. He survived a leadoff single and walk in the fifth by getting an inning-ending double play ball before he gave up a run in the sixth. Alcides Escobar singled, went to second on a wild pitch and advanced to third on a groundout before scoring on a sac fly. Purcey got through one more inning as he overcame a leadoff double and a hit batter by getting a strikeout and an inning-ending double play in the seventh. He finished up by allowing one run on six hits, two walks and a hit batter while striking out seven and getting 10 groundball outs. He threw 110 pitches, 72 for strikes.
Purcey left the game with a 4-1 lead after a two-run homer by Randy Ruiz homer off Nick Green in the third to score an Aaron Matthews walk and another two-run poke by Buck Coats in the sixth off Wes Littleton to plate an Angel Sanchez double.
Bryan Bullington took over for Purcey in the eighth and Nashville got the first two hitters aboard for a fourth time in the game on singles by Tony Gwynn Jr. and Escobar. Bullington struck out the next two hitters but was then lifted for lefty Bill Murphy. He gave up a single to Joe Koshansky to allow Gwynn to score and T.J. Beam came in to yield another run scoring single by Jason Bourgeois to score Escobar. Beam issued a walk before finally getting out of the inning to keep the 51’s up by a run.
Jeremy Accardo came on in the ninth for the save opportunity and got Michael Garciaparra on a groundout but Gwynn and Escobar got aboard via a single and walk. A throwing error by Brett Harper at first allowed Gwynn to score the tying run and Brendan Katin followed with a single to drive in Escobar to give the Brewers affiliate the come from behind win.
Every 51’s starter had a hit except for Jason Lane and Jonathan Diaz. Sanchez and Harper had two hits apiece while Matthews had a hit and walk. Newly-acquired third baseman Kevin Harper, picked up from the Padres for future considerations, had a base knock and stolen base.
Portland, ME - The Jays organization got a road win against the Red Sox here. Lefty Luis Perez improved his record to 3-4 with 5 1/3 innings of shutout ball but it didn’t come easy. He overcame a two singles and a walk in the first inning and was battling his control all night by averaging a walk an inning. Brian Jeroloman threw out a runner to trying to steal second to erase one of those walks to end the fourth. Perez’s only clean inning was the second. The good news was he allowed just two hits, struck out three and got seven groundball outs. His groundout/airout ratio is nearly 2 to 1 at 1.91 on the season.
The Fisher Cats scored all of their three runs by the time Perez left as they got on the board with a run in the third. Luis Sanchez drew a one-out walk, advanced to second on a wild pitch, made it to third on a groundball out and then scored on a passed ball. Sanchez was also responsible for New Hampshire’s second run when his two-out double in the fifth scored an Al Quintana walk. Doubles by Brad Emaus and Brian Dopirak accounted for the other run in the sixth.
Bubbie Buzachero took over for Perez after he walked Lars Anderson for the second time on the night with one out in the sixth. Buzachero induced an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play to preserve the goose egg and gave up just one single in 2 2/3 innings for his third hold. Southpaw Edgar Estanga retired the side in order in the ninth with a groundout and two punch outs to collect his fifth save.
New Hampshire had just five hits in the game with Emaus getting two of them. Sanchez had a hit and a walk while Nick Gorneault, Dopirak and Emaus had a double apiece. David Cooper went 0-for-4 to drop his average to .248. Jeroloman drew a walk so the BJBB meter is up to 16. However, he’s hitting only .243 thanks to a .156 mark over his past 10 games.
Daytona 8 Dunedin 3 (6 Innings)
Dunedin, FL - This game against the Cubs affiliate thankfully ended during the sixth because of rain. The D-Jays were down by a converted touchdown by the time they went to bat in the second. Justin Jackson’s struggles showed up on the diamond in this one as he made not one, not two but three errors at short. Along with a John Tolisano clank to start off the game, the defense up the middle was abominable. Darin Mastroianni provided the only defensive highlight by throwing out a runner at the plate from center field in the first.
Because of the four errors, just two of the seven runs given up by lefty Ryan Page were earned. That was the only good for Page as his record fell to 0-6 and his ERA is now 6.29. The only good news on the mound was provided by Tim Collins, who rung up six batters he faced in 2 1/3 innings of work while allowing only a hit and a walk. Dumas Garcia gave up the final Dayton run on a hit and a walk in 2/3 of an inning before the rains came.
All three Dunedin runs came in the second as Jesus Gonzalez singled in the first run while a groundout and throwing error by the Dayton second baseman on the same play led to the other two runs. “Gonzo” was 2-for-2 on the night and Manny Rodriguez had the only extra-base hit for Dunedin with a double. Kevin Ahrens and Jackson had a hit each.
Lansing, MI - The defence also blew chunks in this one as the Lugnuts made three miscues but they still prevailed in a nail-biter at Oldsmobile Park. Henderson Alvarez was on the hill for the home side and ran into some first inning difficulty with a single, a walk and a Jon Talley passed ball but he kept the Reds affiliate off the board. Alvarez had a better second inning as he sandwiched a hit with a pair of punch outs. The Lugnuts offence also had a better second frame as they scored first. Johermyn Chavez drew a leadoff walk, advanced to second on a Mark Sobolewski grounder to first and came home on a two-out hit by Talley who was thrown out at second to end the frame.
Alvarez had to strand a runner in scoring position over the next three innings as the Dragons could not take advantage of a double in the third, a single and stolen base in the fourth, and a Jon Del Campo error at second in the fifth. Alvarez also struck out a batter an inning to that point but the Dragons would find a chink in his armor in the sixth. A single, a Tyler Pastornicky error at short and another single nearly produced Dayton’s first run but Chavez threw out a runner at the plate from right field. Lefty Jared “Boomer” Potts took over for Alvarez and he suffered a tough blown save when the Lugnuts could not complete a 6-4-3 double play. Del Campo committed his second defensive brain fart of the game as the batter was able to advance to second. However, Potts got the next hitter to foul out to first to end the inning.
The ‘Nuts responded in their half of the sixth as Pastornicky atoned for his error by singling, stealing second and scampering home a million times faster than Jim Thome on a Brian Van Kirk single to take a 2-1 lead. Potts found himself in position for the win and he preserved the lead by picking off a runner at first on a 1-3-6-1 play after giving up just a lone single. Fellow southpaw Frank Gailey took over in the eighth and got the first two hitters on a grounder and strikeout before loading up the sacks with a single and two walks. Matthew “Tim” Daly was summoned from the Lansing bullpen and he ended the Dragons threat with a swinging strikeout. Daly took care of business in the ninth with another K and two fly balls to save the game and the victory for Potts.
Alvarez gave up just one unearned run in 5 1/3 innings, allowing six hits and a walk while ringing up five batters. The 19 year-old Venezuelan lowered his ERA to 2.95 and his K/BB mark is 26-7 in 46 innings. At the dish, Pastornicky and Talley had two hits each with Pastornicky going 1-for-2 in the stolen base department (12-for-19 overall). Van Kirk had a hit and a walk and Chavez drew two walks, scored a run and cut down a runner at the dish. Kenneth Wilson, Mark Sobolewski, and Balbino Fuenmayor were a combined 0-for-10 on the afternoon.
*** 3 Stars!!! ***
3. Henderson Alvarez, Lansing
2. Luis Perez, New Hampshire
1. David Purcey, Las Vegas
Extra Innings………
* Dunedin’s Eric Thames is featured in Baseball America’s Prospects Blog.
* Kevin Gray of the New Hampshire Union Leader has a feature on the Fisher Jays playing in Boston this week.
what do you think?How do you think this news about Murphy will affect the rest of the team this season?
Want to give yourself an edge? Want the same professional equipment that MVPs use? Want to steal a few dollars off the price? Get free shipping on orders over $99 when you shop at BaseballRampage. These guys have everything you and your team need, from bats balls and gloves to cleats, bases, even pitching machines.
I wonder how Jones’s real fans feel:
The O’s won their second straight low scoring game in a row against the Nationals. While the offense was pretty much non-existent, the Orioles bullpen turned in a gem of a game to keep the Nats to just one run.
Koji Uehara had to leave the game after pitching just three innings. In game it was described as a hamstring strain, but as Jim Palmer and some posters in the game thread speculated, it turned out to be more of an issue of dehydration and cramps. In his post game interview, Dave Trembley confirmed that Koji was feeling ill and crampy due to dehydration and that they’ll have to watch him closely in the future as he had the same issue in Spring Training.
Washington’s starter Ross Detwiler handled the Orioles easily for 6 innings. His only trouble came in the third inning, when he’d give up his only run. He had no control and walked Zaun, Koji(!), and Brian Roberts. With one out and the bases loaded there are no two batters you’d want up on the O’s more than Adam Jones and Nick Markakis, but they were unable to break it open. Detwiler made Adam Jones look just silly as he blew fastballs by him for the strike out. Nick couldn’t get a good swing either, but managed to chop an infield hit to the hole between SS and 3B which knocked in Zaun. Melvin Mora flied out to right to end the inning, and that would be the last time the Orioles would get to Detwiler. He pitched three more innings without allowing a hit.
Luckily, the Nats bullpen took over in the 7th. Aubrey Huff, who had been given the day off, came up to pinch hit with Cesar Izturis at first and two outs. He drilled a ball to the deepest part of Nationals Park. I thought for sure it was going to be a home run, but it hit off the top of the wall. Izturis raced home with the go ahead run and Aubrey huffed and puffed his way into third base with his first triple of the year. Brian Roberts stranded Aubrey at third, but the O’s wouldn’t need any more.
After Koji’s early exit, the bullpen put together six excellent innings. Mr. Reliable Kevin Bass pitched innings 4, 5, and 6 and allowed the Nats only run on a solo HR by Cristian Guzman. Matt Albers, Jim Johnson, and George Sherrill each pitched one inning to close it out. Only JJ had any troubles as he gave up 1 H and 1 BB. It was surprising to see JJ as he pitched 2 innings last night, his longest outing since June 29th of last year. George Sherrill continues his recent awesomeness by striking out the side in the 9th.
Notes:
- The resurgance of George Sherrill has been a sight to behold. Since Dave Trembley announced that he wouldn’t be the automatic choice for closer, Sherrill has pitched in 7 games and has allowed 0 runs on 2 hits and 4 walks. In his last 4 appearances he has not allowed a base runner.
- Chris Tillman was removed from the game in Norfolk this evening after pitching just two innings. He was pitching well and does not appear to have an injury, so speculation has begun that he’ll be the one to replace Adam Eaton in Tuesday’s game against the Blue Jays. Of all the pitchers to call up, I’ll be shocked (but excited) if it’s him. (EDIT: Per MASN, he left with tightness in his groin. Should have known they weren’t going to bring him up)
- The game took place in a brisk 2 hours 31 minutes. Good pitching/inept offense will do that.
what do you think?This might be shocking news for Jones fans, but there are those of you who will say that you saw it coming from a mile away. I can’t say I’m all that surprised though. Jones is neat, I hope this doesn’t affect the rest of the team.
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I wonder how Francisco’s real fans feel - “
You could wait around all season for a win like that. For a while it looked like Mike Pelfrey’s boo-boo to Kevin Youkilis in the bottom of the first was going to be the difference in this one. The Mets had managed just six baserunners in eight innings against Josh Beckett, scoring a fortuitous run in the first thanks to two defensive miscues by the Red Sox. Then bupkis.
The Mets remained with in striking distance because Pelfrey was terrific, notwithstanding the two-run single to Youkilis. He walked just one and struck out six in seven innings, rolling twelve groundball outs to just three in the air. He left on the short end of a 2-1 ballgame, and things looked dismal after David Wright and Jeremy Reed whiffed in the ninth, overmatched by Jonathan Papelbon’s heater.
Gary Sheffield had walked to lead off the inning, but he remained at first with two outs when Omir Santos strode to the dish. Santos, blissfully unaware that he was in fact Omir Santos, jumped on Papelbon’s first offering and drove it towards the zenith of the Green Monster. On contact, Santos reacted as if the ball was sure a goner, but the first teevee view was inconclusive and the umpires initially ruled it a double. A brief video review later Santos had a two-run homerun, turning a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead.
Yay, we all thought, though we quickly choked on our optimism as J.J. Putz was shown warming up in the bullpen. Francisco Rodriguez was nowhere to be seen, having collapsed earlier due to back spasms. Dang! Putz reaffirmed our concern by walking Youkilis to lead off the bottom of the ninth, but three great defensive plays (and one bad Wright throw) sandwiched around a J.D. Drew fliner to right put this one in the books.
Plenty of credit goes to Santos, obviously, but also Ramon Martinez, who played a terrific game at shortstop. This game doesn’t change the fact that neither player is really qualified to don a big league uniform, but for at least one day we can all be glad they’re Mets.
Swag Contest
Swag contest results can be found here and the next game’s swag form already available. You can read more about the swag contest here.
SB Nation Coverage
* Boxscore
* Amazin’ Avenue Gamethread
* Over The Monster Gamethread
Win Probability Added
Big winners: Omir Santos, +79.9% WPA, J.J. Putz, +20.9% WPA
Big losers: David Wright, -18.6% WPA, Daniel Murphy, -15.8% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: You know what it is, +71.9% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Youkilis leadoff walk in ninth, -13.5% WPA
Total pitcher WPA: +37.6% WPA
Total batter WPA: +12.4% WPA
GWRBI!: Omir Santos
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what do you think?This will be shocking news for Francisco fans, but some of you who will say that you saw it coming from a long way away. I’m pretty surprised. Francisco is spectacular, I really hope this doesn’t affect the rest of the team.
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