Archive for July, 2009
A lot of fans really love this guy. I think young is silly -
Or so say the reputable American Sports Medicine Institute and Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, both of which concluded independently that curveballs are no less stressful than fastballs on young pitchers’ arms. In fact, curveballs are rarely at fault in arm problems for the up-and-coming tykes in Baseball America’s rankings of the top elementary school players in the country. Such a revelation, believe it or not, might be bad news for Little Leagues across the country. Curveballs will soon be like that random pretzel in the dugout, the one that everyone wants but everyone knows will be bad for them to eat during the game. Except the curveball won’t be bad, and so everyone will throw it, and catchers will need their protective cups more than ever. How, then, did baseball dads go for so long advocating against the curveball? “Why did people believe the world was flat? Because one guy told another it was flat and it looked flat. Until someone discovered that it wasn’t,” he said. Tom Friedman has seen the future of international baseball, and it’s 6-year-old kids in the Dominican Republic throwing spitballs and knuckle-changes at a MLB training facility. Williamsport, watch out. Two Studies Show That Curveball Isn’t Too Stressful New York Times
Little Bobby throws a curveball and, soon, he whines about a sore elbow. He blames it on his fledgling 12-to-6, but Little Bobby is just craving sympathy. Hate the player, not the game, Bobbo. It’s science..
What do you think?
Searching for autographed baseball memorabilia? There is only one place you can go to ensure that the signatures are real - IronClad Athetics. These guys have lots of selection, and super prices, plus they have an Iron Clad Signature Authenticity guarantee, ensuring that every signature is 100% real, no imitations and no forgeries. Get fantastic autographed baseball memorabilia now.
News about Wilson,
Portland played New Hampshire a few weeks ago so they thought they knew how to run on Darin Mastroianni’s arm. After Mastroianni threw a runner out at the plate the third base coach/manager might have reconsidered. After the second out at the plate they might have stopped running. The third assist for Mastroianni was at third base so that one could be blamed on the runner. But the fourth Mastroianni assist, at home, should have caused the Portland manager to reconsider his opinion.
The GCL Jays beat up the two Indian reality show winners. Scott Richmond pitched well in his final rehab start. Overall the affiliates went 4-2 with the top two teams losing.
Scott Richmond started for Las Vegas and gave up a lead-off single to Jerry Owens. That was followed by a walk and a passed ball to put runners on second and third with no-one out. Richmond struck out Jeff Clement but Mike Carp hit a sac fly. Richmond gave up a lead-off home run in the second inning but thereafter was almost perfect. Richmond was pulled after 80 pitches or 5.1 innings. He gave up three hits, one walk and had five K’s. Offensively Las Vegas had only four hits, Aaron Mathews had two of them. Brian Dopirak was 1-3, Snider and Arencibia each were oh-fer with Snider now hitting .217 and Arencibia .231.
Kenny Rodriguez started and gave up a run in the first inning. A walk and a hit batter was followed by a Lars Anderson RBI double with the second runner out a home on a relay from Darin Mastroianni to Luis Sanchez to Brian Jeroloman. In the second with two out Rodriguez gave up a two out single with a runnder on second but the runner was out at home, Mastroianni to Jeroloman. Portland added another run in the fifth, a lead-off double was followed by an RBI single but the hitter was out at third, Mastroianni to Scott Campbell. Portland added two runs in the sixth off Edgar Estanga and with one out there was a runner on first. The next hitter doubled to centre but the runner was out at home…..yes, Mastroianni to Jon Diaz to Jeroman, that’s four assists for Mastroianni.
The Fisher Cats scored two runs in the second, Nick Gorneault walked, Adam Calderone doubled him home and Calderone later scored on a ground-out. In the fifth Darin Mastroianni singled, stole second and scored on a double by Scott Campbell. Calderone was the only Fisher Cat with two hits.
Dunedin used the long ball to jump out to a 6-0 lead. Manny Rodriguez hit a three run shot in the first, Jon Jaspe hit a solo shot in the second and Jesus Gonzalez delivered a two run shot in the third. Ryan Page started for Dunedin and he gave up an unearned run in the fourth and an earned run in the sixth. Page went seven innings and now has a 4.22 ERA. Raul Barron had two hits out of six total for Dunedin.
Chad Beck pitched eight innings and didn’t allow an earned run. An error in the first inning by Luis Fernandez contributed to two unearned runs scoring but thereafter Beck was solid. Lansing tied the game in the second when Chris House singled in two runs. Johermyn Chavez homered to lead off the sixth to give Lansing the lead. Later in the sixth Kenny Wilson doubled in two more runs. Lansing added a couple of unearned runs in the eighth.
Brian Van Kirk; Justin McClanahan; Luis Fernandez and Kenny Wilson two hits each.
Ryan Goins and Wellinton Ramirez hit back to back doubles in the first to put Auburn 1-0. Brad Glenn hit a home run in the second inning to make it 2-0. Auburn scored four in the fifth to put them up 6-1. Eric Eiland tripled; Goins singled; Ramirez singled; Sean Ochinko doubled; Yan Gomes singled; Glenn singled. In the seventh Jimmy Gonzalez doubled in two more runs.
Egan Smith started and gave up one run in five innings.
Ochinko had three hits. Goins, Ramirez, and Glenn had two hits each.
The Jays faced the two Indian pitchers who won a reality show contest in India last season. They scored three runs off Rinku Singh who has a 12.60 ERA and an unearned off Dinesh Patel who has a 0.00 ERA.
Yeico Aponte had three hits for the Jays, John Roberts and Henry Rodriguez had two hits each..
Three Stars
3rd star - Sean Ochinko
2nd star - Chad Beck
1st star - Darin Mastroianni
.
Any thoughts on Masterful Mastroianni?
Here’s a video of Wilson:
Wilson Baseball- strike
Want to give yourself an edge? Want the same type of professional equipment that MVPs use? Want a great deal? Get $0 shipping on orders over $99 when you shop at BaseballRampage. These guys have just about everything you could need, from bats balls and gloves to cleats, bases, even pitching machines.
News about Francisco -
-Tony Bernazard, fresh off of offering to fight the entire Binghamton Mets, nearly throws down with Francisco Rodriguez on the team bus. The “Queens Zoo” doesn’t have quite the same ring to it, but it’ll do for now. -In a must-read, Bill James finally gives his take on baseball’s steroid problem. CliffsNotes version: the juicers will eventually get into the HOF, but those who chose to stay clean and whose stats suffer for it will be the ones shut out. -Even NFL.com is getting a little pissed off waiting for Brett Favre to make up his mind. While their columnists technically have editorial independence, I’m going to go ahead and assume that’s the company line as well. -Jrue Holiday explains where his name came from. If you guessed typo, you’re not that far off. -Beckham says he won’t apologize, lays all the blame on the fans for Sunday’s confrontation. So let’s tally it up. He’s alienating fans, making ungodly amounts of money, and not helping the team win? Jeez, even Alex Rodriguez hits a home run every now and then. -Minor leaguer who nailed a fan with a ball claims he was aiming for the dugout. Even if he’s found not guilty, I think those control problems preclude a call-up. -Detroit City Councilwoman accidentally includes Lions logo on reelection flier, when she meant the volunteer organization Lions Club International. When she loses, we’ll never know if it was her stupidity or the stank of 0-16 that did her in.
Because no one reads the newspaper, and SportsCenter’s anchors are too perky for this early in the morning, Deadspin combs the best of the broadsheets and the blogosphere to bring you everything you need to know to start your day..
What do you think!
Searching for autographed baseball memorabilia? There is only one place you can go to ensure that the signatures are real - IronClad Athetics. These guys have tons of signed balls, bats, programs, gloves, and reasonable prices, plus they have an Iron Clad Signature Authenticity guarantee, ensuring that every signature is 100% real, no imitations and no forgeries. Get fantastic signed baseball memorabilia now.
I wonder how Harrison’s real fans feel -
Last night we had terrible starting pitching throughout the system. Tonight we had great starting pitching everywhere. Go figure.
Iowa Cubs
The Iowa Cubs topped the Omaha Royals, 5-1.
Starter Casey Fossum gave up a home run to the second batter of the game and then shut the Royals down the rest of the way. Fossum went seven innings and allowed only five hits and one walk. (He did hit one batter too.) Fossum struck out five for his second win for the I-Cubs.
Bobby Scales was 2 for 3 with a double and a walk. Scales scored once and had two RBI. Third baseman Nate Spears was 2 for 3 with a triple. He scored once and had one RBI.
Shortstop Aaron Miles went 2 for 4 with a walk.
Tennessee Smokies
The Smokies were beaten by the Mississippi Braves, 2-1.
Hung-Wen Chen was the hard-luck loser tonight. Chen threw 6.2 innings and allowed two runs on eight hits. One of the runs allowed was unearned. Chen walked two and struck out four.
First baseman Blake Lalli had a double and an RBI single in a 3 for 4 game. Left fielder Ty Wright went 2 for 4 with a double and a run scored.
Daytona Cubs
The Daytona Cubs shut down the Palm Beach Cardinals, 7-0.
Tonight’s good pitching continued with Craig Muschko, who allowed only one hit in his five innings of work. Muschko didn’t walk a batter and struck out five to improve his record to 5-1.
Third baseman Josh Vitters was 2 for 5 with a double. He scored twice and knocked one in.
I don’t know what’s going on with the PB Cardinals catching or pitching staffs, but the day after the Cubs stole eight bases, they stole another six bases tonight. The Cardinals used different catchers on the two nights, so it’s not just one weak arm.
Center fielder Tony Campana was only 1 for 5, but he stole three bases and scored twice. Campana now has 38 stolen bases for Daytona, as well as 11 earlier in the season for Peoria. He was caught stealing once after getting picked off once. Left fielder Josh Harrison was 2 for 4 with a walk and two stolen bases. Harrison scored once.
Brandon Guyer had the other steal tonight. The right fielder was 1 for 3 with a double and a walk. He also scored twice.
Peoria Chiefs
The Chiefs shut out the Lansing Lugnuts, 5-0.
Starter Justin Bristow turned in another great start for the Cubs tonight as he went six innings and gave up only four hits. Even more impressively, he struck out eight and didn’t walk anyone.
Third baseman Jovan Rosa was 2 for 3 with a three-run home run. Rosa drove in all five runs tonight.
Center fielder Kyler Burke was 3 for 4 with a stolen base. Burke scored twice. First baseman Rebel Ridling went 2 for 4 with a stolen base and a run scored.
Boise Hawks
The Hawks polished off the Eugene Emeralds, 6-2.
He only pitched 2.1 innings, but since this is great starting pitching night, starter Jonathan Nagel didn’t allow a hit and only walked one while striking out four. He did allow an unearned run though.
Andres Quezada picked up the win with 2.2 shutout innings of relief.
Second baseman Logan Wakins had two doubles in a 2 for 5 night. He also had two RBI. Center fielder Jose Valdez was 2 for 4 with a walk and two runs scored. Third baseman Greg Rohan was 2 for 5 with a double and two RBI
AZL Cubs
what do you think?How do you think this news about Harrison will affect the rest of the team this season?
Take a look at a vid of Harrison:
2009 Forcht Bank KHSAA Baseball State Championship highlights
Want to give yourself an edge? Want the same professional equipment that the professional athletes use? Want to buy it for less? Get free shipping on orders over $99 when you shop at BaseballRampage. These guys have practically everything you and your team need, from bats balls and gloves to cleats, bases, even pitching machines.
My vote for MVP this year goes to young,
At 24 years old and coming off the best season off his young career, Parque tore the labrum in his throwing shoulder and never recovered. After two years of fruitless therapy and desperate to get his fastball back, he ordered some human growth hormone (yes, he’s in the Mitchell Report), took a couple of injections, and then gave up. He retired in 2003, pitching only 70 innings in his final three seasons. Apparently, the torment of those dark days have been eating away at him ever since. He painstakingly tries to explain himself. He had kids to feed! He was so young! He’s just a man! You know what? We get it, Jim. You were desperate to rebuild your career and, yes, almost anyone of us would have done the same. No one is mad at you, buddy. But let’s say for a moment that Parque hadn’t freaked out and stopped taking the drug. What if he had continued using HGH and it made him a serviceable pitcher for five more years or so? He makes a couple million dollars, his family is more financially stable, the White Sox get a fourth starter, and no one is the wiser. I know the “steroids = cheating” crowd won’t appreciate this, but … so what if he did? Here’s Jim own words about it: HGH was not banned by Major League Baseball when I ordered it. It was controversial and unethical, but it was not banned. … I had done just enough research to know that what I was about to do had huge risks. Because I did not obtain the drugsfrom a lab, they could be tainted or entirely different than what I ordered. I was uncomfortable, but I injected the substance about six times. It immediately made me sleep deeper. My skin became baby-soft, and I could feel my workouts improving. It never gave me more strength or bulked me up, but it provided quicker recoveries. I began to throw harder because my shoulder felt no pain. I was able to withstand more throwing, creating a work environment that I had not experienced in two years. So basically … he took a drug and it made him feel better. He suffered an injury and this helped him get over it. What is wrong with that? How is that any worse than a player who takes aspirin for a headache or vicodin for a sore back or a shot of anesthetic to numb a foot injury or having a surgeon temporarily alter your peroneus brevis tendon so that you can become an American hero? Aren’t those things just as “performance enhancing” (maybe more so) than Parque’s baby soft skin? All convincing explanations accepted below, but you’ll have to work pretty hard to invent one. It’s true that we don’t know a lot about HGH and its effects on the body, but every drug that’s ever been manufactured started out that way. There’s little evidence that it actually makes you bigger or stronger and it doesn’t add any drop to your curveball. Maybe if athletes were allowed to use it, supervised and correctly, we might learn what it can really do. And maybe more pitchers like Parque wouldn’t have to retire at age 27.
Former White Sox pitcher Jim Parque has a very lengthy mea culpa in the Chicago Sun-Times today, apologizing to his teammates, family, the entire sporting world, several deities, and his barber, because he took HGH for a month in 2003..
Post your replies below!
Find great seating options, and great prices on baseball tickets - at TicketsNow! Going to a Major League ballpark shouldn’t cost you a fortune, so shop the better way and compare hundreds of different tickets, all guaranteed to be 100% authentic and in your hands before the opening pitch.
I wonder how young’s fans feel -
Because no one reads the newspaper, and SportsCenter’s anchors are too perky for this early in the morning, Deadspin combs the best of the broadsheets and the blogosphere to bring you everything you need to know to start your day.
-After losing 2 of 3 to the Nats, no one photo better sums up the Mets’ year than Jeff Francoeur being the baseball’s bitch. Except maybe this one.
-If you caught HBO’s Real Sports last night, you know about Friends of Jaclyn, a program that lets college teams “adopt” a sick child. Also, you cried like a baby.
-A Dominican prospect undergoes DNA testing to prove he’s as young as he says he is. Livan Hernandez tried to take the test, but broke the machine.
-It’s looking more like it’s LeBron or bust, after Chris Bosh breaks into laughter at the mention of playing for the Knicks.
-Steroids? In my MMA? It’s more likely than you think. Former UFC heavyweight champ Josh Barnett tests positive, canceling a scheduled fight with Fedor Emelianenko.
-DiPietro, Roloson, now Marty Biron. The Islanders do know you can’t play three men in goal at once, right?
-Burglars broke into Texas A&M’s football complex, and wrote “The Eyes of Texas are Upon You” on the carpet. But who would do such a thing?
-Struggling Red Sox add Adam LaRoche, Chris Duncan. Shockingly, this news doesn’t immediately turn around the team’s fortunes.
what do you think?This might be shocking news for young fans, but some of you who will say that you saw it coming from a long way away. I’m pretty surprised though. young is neat, I really hope this doesn’t affect the rest of the team.
Searching for autographed baseball memorabilia? There is only one place you can go to ensure that the signatures are real - IronClad Athetics. These guys have loads of different products, and pretty low prices, plus they have an Iron Clad Signature Authenticity guarantee, ensuring that every signature is 100% real, no imitations and no forgeries. Get authentic signed baseball memorabilia now.
harrison hasn’t really impressed me so far. I think everyone would be better off without him:
A man who claims he was shot by Marvin Harrison last year was shot again. That’s a nebulous sports connection, but you better believe it was on ESPN.com’s front page today.
Dwight Dixon was shot seven times in broad daylight this morning in North Philly, 15 months after a dispute at Marvin Harrison’s bar led to…something. There are no suspects yet, though Dixon told a police officer on the scene that he thought Harrison hired someone to take him out.
Facts are few (much fewer than in the Roethlisberger case) but there it was, among the top headlines on ESPN.com this afternoon. The company policy excuses don’t fly, as there was no criminal case brought in last year’s shooting. Ironically, there is a civil case pending.
It’s only right that ESPN cover Dixon’s second shooting. Rightly or wrongly, he’s linked with Harrison, and this is news. ESPN made the story their own, with some incredible reporting by Shaun Assael and Peter Keating, and it’s in their best interests to follow up.
It might be the most unfair thing in the world to report this story in a sports context. What happened last year may have absolutely nothing to do with this. But this is news, because it’s being reported. That might seems a tautology, but when the media comes to a consensus on something, there’s no stopping it. And ESPN isn’t so big that their abstention can keep something from being news.
Philly man in critical condition ESPN.com
.
What do you think!
Take a peek at a vid of harrison:
Inside Corner - Matt Harrison Interview
Searching for autographed baseball memorabilia? There is only one place you can go to ensure that the signatures are real - IronClad Athetics. These guys have tons of selection, and reasonable prices, plus they have an Iron Clad Signature Authenticity guarantee, ensuring that every signature is 100% real, no imitations and no forgeries. Get great autographed baseball memorabilia now.
A lot of fans really like this guy. I think Harrison is silly -
I don’t normally comment on the Major League Cubs figuring it’s Al’s job, but since he’s traveling, I thought I’d start out with a short comment that I’m pretty confident Al would agree with. The Cubs have not been a good team so far this season. Most of the year, they’ve simply been treading water. They’ve had moments where they’ve looked like the world-beaters of the past two seasons, but mostly they’ve been pedestrian. Not bad, mind you. Cub fans know a bad team when they see it. They just don’t look like a playoff team. But here we are past the All-Star Break, and the Cubs are only a game out of first and a game up on the first-place Cardinals in the loss column. Speaking of the Cardinals, for the first half of this decade, they were a pretty dominating team, making the playoffs every season from 2000 to 2005 except for a minor blip in 2003 which we all remember. But during that time, they never won the World Series, despite some pretty amazing teams led by either Mark McGwire or Albert Pujols. Yet when 2006 rolled around, the Cardinals were clearly down. Albert Pujols by himself gave the team an offense that was a bit above average, but there were major holes in the lineup. The pitching staff was decidedly mediocre. But the rest of the division was down, too, and the Cards just sneaked past the Astros the final weekend of the season to crawl into the playoffs. We all know that Cardinal team, which was easily the worst Cardinals playoff team of the decade, won the World Series. Once you make the playoffs, anything can happen, as we found out the bad way over the past two seasons. I’m not saying that this team is going to win it all. I’m just saying that if you think a team that is only a game back in July and a game up in the loss column can’t win it all, you’re dead wrong. Iowa Cubs The I-Cubs lost to the Omaha Royals, 9-6. Jose Ascanio had a terrible start tonight, not making it out of the second inning. Ascanio gave up six runs, five of which were earned, in only 1.2 innings. He was tagged for six hits and failed to strike anyone out. He walked one batter and hit one too. He also had a wild pitch. This awful outing did only raise Ascanio’s ERA to 2.91 though. John Gaub threw an inning of scoreless relief and Blake Parker had two shutout innings out of the pen. I mention them because they’re both having good seasons that have been mostly under the radar here. Center fielder Sam Fuld returned to Iowa and hit his first home run of the season. Fuld was 2 for 4 with a walk and two RBI from the home run. First baseman Matt Craig and DH Jason Dubois had identical lines of 2 for 4 with a double an a run scored. Shortstop Darwin Barney was 2 for 4 with a run scored. Shortstop Aaron Miles was 1 for 5. Tennessee Smokies The Smokies were kicked off the reservation by the Mississippi Braves, 8-5. David Patton made a rehab start and it didn’t go very well either. Patton pitched two innings and gave up three runs on a three-run home run in the second inning. Patton allowed two hits and walked one. He also struck out one. First baseman Blake Lalli ws 3 for 4 with a double and an RBI. Second baseman Tony Thomas was 2 for 3 with an RBI sac fly. Shortstop Jonathan Mota was 2 for 5 with a double and a run scored. Center fielder James Adduci was 2 for 4 with a walk and an RBI. Third baseman Marquez Smith was 2 for 5 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. Catcher Welington Castillo was 1 for 3 with a solo home run, his eighth of the season. Daytona Cubs The D-Cubs lost to the Palm Beach Cardinals, 5-3 in 13 innings. Rafael Dolis started and allowed three runs on four hits over four innings. Dolis walked three and struck out two. Joe Simokaitis had an ERA of 8.68 in 9.1 innings of relief in Boise. So naturally the correct move is to promote him all the way to Daytona. He responded to the promotion with two shutout innings of relief. He allowed two hits and he hit a batter. He didn’t strike anyone out. Luke Sommer pitched the 13th inning and took the loss, allowing two runs on three hits. Left fielder Josh Harrison went 2 for 6 with four stolen bases. Center fielder Tony Campana went 3 for 7 with a run scored and two stolen bases. Shortstop Starlin Castro had the final two of the Cubs eight steals tonight. Castro was 2 for 5 with a double and two walks. Peoria Chiefs The Chiefs were pounded by the Lansing Lugnuts, 6-2. Austin Bibens-Dirkx got his first start tonight, but it didn’t go well as he picked up his first loss. ABD gave up five runs on six hits, inculding two home runs, over five plus innings. One of the runs was unearned. The positive sign was that he struck out four and didn’t walk anyone. Right fielder Andrew Rundle hit his second home run, a two-run shot in the sixth inning. Rundle was 1 for 3. Boise Hawks The Hawks were outslugged by the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, 10-8. Robert Hernandez started tonight and continued tonight’s theme of bad starts with three runs over 5.1 innings. Actually, tonight that’s not so bad. He gave up four hits and issued three walks. Hernandez struck out five. One of Hernandez’s runs was unearned. Corey Martin allowed five runs, three of which were earned, in only one inning to take the loss. Second baseman Logan Watkins was 2 for 3 with a walk. He scored three times and had one RBI. First baseman Justin Bour was 2 for 4 with a walk and a double. He had two RBI. Left fielder Jose Valdez was 2 for 3. Center fielder Brett Jackson was 1 for 3 with a run scored and two more walks. He struck out once. AZL Cubs Were the only winner tonight, shutting out the Athletics, 7-0.
.
What do you think?
Shop for great seating options, and great prices on MLB tickets - at TicketsNow! Going to the game shouldn’t cost you a fortune, so shop by price and compare hundreds of different tickets, all guaranteed to be 100% authentic and in your hands before game time.
Look who is making news - Wilson! This time, Cubs “Celebrate” Moon Landing Anniversary By Letting Phillies Blast Them Into Orbit 10-1. In the interest of saving time,
PHILADELPHIA – Between innings of last night’s ugly 10-1 Cubs loss to the Phillies, the strange-looking green Philadelphia mascot the Phillie Phanatic came racing out on his small motorized vehicle wearing a Batman cape and mask. At first, this didn’t seem to make any sense — until the scoreboard in left field showed actor Jack Nicholson sitting in the front row behind the plate. Nicholson, who played the Joker in the 1989 movie “Batman”, is in Philadelphia to film what is currently known as “Untitled James L. Brooks Project with, among others, Reese Witherspoon and Owen Wilson. He sat there with a Joker-like grin on his face as the Phanatic tried to hex him.
That, my friends, was the only amusement Cubs fans had in this loss, which broke a four-game winning streak and was the Phillies‘ ninth win in a row. We knew it wouldn’t be easy here in Philadelphia and, to be sure, the Phillies aren’t the Nationals… but this was one of the worst, if not the worst, losses of the year.
Ted Lilly didn’t have it last night — but everything might have changed everything had plate umpire Larry Vanover had given him a third-strike call on a 1-2 pitch to Raul Ibanez. Ted thought he had Ibanez and gotten out of the inning unscathed, but Vanover called the pitch “ball two” and Ibanez sent the next Lilly offering into the shrubbery in center field for a three-run homer, just out of reach of Kosuke Fukudome.
As it turned out, any Cubs fans in Citizens Bank Park — and there weren’t many last night, perhaps the fewest Cubs fans I’ve seen at any road game in the last couple of years — could have left right then, because those three runs were enough to win the game. The Cubs managed only a consolation run off Greg Maddux Rodrigo Lopez on an Andres Blanco double and a RBI single from Ryan Theriot.
Oh, and Lou? Take careful note of what Charlie Manuel did with his pitchers last night. That’s how you manage a bullpen in a blowout! Instead of playing it like a spring training game, pitching a bunch of relievers for an inning or maybe two at a time, Manuel put Chad Durbin in the game in the seventh inning and let him finish; that resulted in Durbin’s third major league save, since the save rule allows you to post a save if you throw three innings with any lead. (The most extreme example of this occurred on August 22, 2007, when Texas’ Wes Littleton threw the final three innings of their 30-3 blowout of the Orioles, getting a save in a game his team won by 27 runs, although his team led by “only” 11 runs when he entered the game.)
Lou could have had Jeff Stevens throw two innings and Aaron Heilman, who needs the work to get straightened out (since they seem to be immune to suggestions to get rid of him), the other two. There was absolutely no reason to put Angel Guzman, who might be needed in more important play the next two days, in a 9-1 game in the 8th inning. Guzman threw 20 pitches and allowed Ryan Howard’s 24th homer of the season. I’d rather have seen him kept fresh for tonight.
Meanwhile, the Phillies fans were giving it to Alfonso Soriano in LF for dropping one fly ball that led to a pair of unearned Phillies runs, and for letting another ball drop between him and Kosuke Fukudome. I can’t say I blame them — Soriano had a bad game in the field last night, although his three singles boosted his BA to .244, the highest it’s been since June 2. Late in the game, Soriano chased after a foul ball down the line and the fans in LF were yelling for him to throw it up to them. I’m thinking, “You’ve been heckling him all game and you think he’s going to throw you a ball?” He tossed it to the ball girl.
I’ll have more to say about Citizens Bank park tomorrow, as I didn’t get a chance to walk around the entire stadium last night. I will say that although it feels more intimate than Nationals Park and the sightlines, even from seats low in the LF corner right next to the foul pole, are good, there were some problems that struck me right away. The lines in the food court like area in the outfield were extremely long even more than an hour before game time. I wound up in “Bull’s BBQ” in dead center field — the BBQ chicken is quite good and that was about the only place there wasn’t a line. After eating, trying to get to my seat in the LF corner was an adventure — the concourse was extremely crowded and you have to walk around the back of some sort of sports bar in LF just to get from section 145 to section 141 from the CF food area. Jessica tried to come by and visit during the game, but instead I just got a text message saying “the ushers were mean” and wouldn’t allow it. Security took a couple of innings to get around to ejecting a woman who was spraying beer around the end of her aisle, apparently trying to get Soriano’s attention (she failed). Finally, traffic getting out of the place was miserable.
I hope to have more positive things to say about the ballpark and the Cubs in tomorrow’s recap. In the meantime, remember that this only counts as one loss and with the Cardinals and Brewers both losing last night, the Cubs remain in second place by themselves, still only two games out of first. (And, for what it’s worth, three games off the wild-card lead, now held by the Rockies.)
.
This will be shocking news for Wilson fans, but some of you who will say that you saw it coming. I’m pretty surprised. Wilson is awesome, I hope this doesn’t affect the rest of the team.
Every day could be opening day when you open up your checkbook and see the logo of your favorite Major League Baseball team prominently displayed. All 30 teams available. Matching labels and cover are also available. These baseball checks are only $27.90 at DesignerChecks.com
Davis is featured in the headlines:
Lansing put on a clinic, playing one of the best games of the Jays’ minor league season, a couple top prospects had good games, and a rehabber had a not so good game.
Colorado Springs 5 at Las Vegas 3
Vegas led 3-2 after the 4th inning, but then the bats went to sleep. Davis Romero, Brian Wolfe and Sean Stidfole did their best to keep the 51s in it, but in all cases their best was actually just their mediocrest.
J.P. Arencibia led the offense with a single and a homer (and a strikeout). Mighty Joe Inglett had 2 singles and a walk.
Trenton 4 at New Hampshire 5 (10 innings)
The bullpen nearly blew this one for New Hampshire. Kenny Rodriguez was great over 6 innings, allowing just a run on 6 hits and a walk while striking out 3 and getting 10 ground balls. After the Fisher Cats finally broke through to tie it up in the 7th, Matt Hensley coughed up 2 runs in the top of the 8th. Luckily, the Cats stormed right back to once again tie it up on a David Cooper 2-run double. The bullpen nearly gave it away again in the 10th, when Zach Dials gave up a run, but one last time the offense came through, this time on a Brad Emaus sac fly and a Nick Gorneault walk-off single.
Cooper was the offensive star, with a double and 2 walks, while Luis Sanchez also reached base 3 times and Adam Calderone hit a solo homer.
Ryan Page only allowed 7 hits in 6 innings, with no walks, but 3 of those hits were doubles, and combined with a Moises Sierra fielding error, this led to 4 runs. (By the way, on the same play, Sierra was credited with an assist, throwing out the batter Chris Parmelee on a 9-2-6.) The offense couldn’t overcome this 4-run deficit, though they gave it their best shot with 3 runs in the 8th. Too little, too late.
Man-Rod had 2 singles and a walk, while Jon Jaspe hit a solo homer and Adam Loewen tripled.
Remember when Lansing didn’t know how to score? Oh yeah, right, every game of the season so far. Until today! (in case you’re wondering, they’ve scored 371 runs in 91 games, or 4.08 runs/game, and I believe that figure includes tonight.) Anyway, Lansing exploded. Here’s what the offense did:
Chris Emanuele: 4-6, 2 2B, RBI
Luis Fernandez: 1-4, BB, 2 R, RBI
Brian Van Kirk: 3-5, 2B, 3 R, 4 RBI, BB
Johermyn Chavez: 2-5, HR, BB, 2 R , 2 RBI
Mike McDade: 4-5, 2B, HR, BB, R, 5 RBI
Justin McClanahan: 1-5, BB, R (loser)
Jon Talley: 2-5, HR, R, RBI
Balbino Fuenmayor: 1-5, 3 R
Chris House: 3-5, R
Of course, you could just click on the box score to see all that, but I wanted to type it out for myself just to appreciate the beauty. And yes, that is everyone who got an at bat on the evening.
Oh by the way, the pitching was pretty good too: Chad Beck went 6 2/3, allowing Wisconsin’s only run on 4 hits and a walk, striking out 8. Add in the bullpen’s perfect 2 1/3 with 5 K’s and the Nuts’ aggregate pitching line looks like: 9 IP, 4H, 1BB, 1ER, 13 K.
Man, I just typed out what may have been the best single-game performance by any minor league affiliate, and now I have write about 2 teams that nobody cares about? Okay, that was a little harsh, but usually Auburn and the GCL Jays’ rosters include some interesting draftees, but the Jays seem to be lolly-gagging on signing those dudes up.
Anyway, Auburn had a pretty good game, as you can tell from the score. Kevin Glenn was the star of the game, going 3-4 with 2 doubles and a homer, while driving in 5. Sean (I keep wanting to write Chad) Ochinko also homered, walked, and scored 3 runs. Egan Smith pitched 6 shut out innings to lead the Doubledays to an easy victory.
After 3 innings, it was 3-3. It remained that way until the top of the 11th inning, when the baby Braves scored 3 off Tyler “Sbarro” Ybarra.
How did the Braves score those 3 runs, you ask? Well, you probably didn’t ask that, since 3 runs isn’t out of the ordinary at all. But it was off of a rehabbing Scott Richmond, who was awful - he allowed 9 hits in just 3 1/3, and this is the GCL we’re talking about. Ouch. After that, the pitching was great! Maybe we should call up Carlos Pina, “Daniel” Nestor Molina, and Shawn Griffith, since they’re clearly out-pitching Richmond right now.
Not much to get excited about offensively. A couple guys reached base twice. Gustavo Pierre had a game-OBP of 1.000… in one plate appearance.
Three Stars!
3. Chad Beck - 6.2 IP, 1 ER, 8K
2. Kevin Glenn - 3-4, 2 2B, HR, 5 RBI
1. Mike McDade - 4-5, 2B, HR, BB, 5 RBI
.
Tell us your opinion.
Want to give yourself an edge? Want the same professional equipment that the professional athletes use? Want to buy it for less? Get free shipping on orders over $99 when you shop at BaseballRampage. These guys have practically everything you and your team need, from bats balls and gloves to cleats, bases, even pitching machines.