Mark Haverty | 7:01 pm | June 25, 2010 | Baseball
There was a mostly-full slate of games Thursday, with all but six teams playing. Here’s what stuck out to me from the action…
· Considered the best defensive infielder in the Indians’ system at the beginning of the year by Baseball America, Jason Donald contributed with the bat as well yesterday. While the rest of the Indians were anemic at best at the plate Thursday against Joe Blanton and the Phillies in their 12-3 loss, Donald went 3-for-3 with a double, a home run, two runs scored, and two RBI. Unfortunately for Donald and the Indians, that’s two more hits than Donald has produced in the previous four games, and he is far from an offensive threat. Donald fans can consider this a rare treat, as he’s all glove, no bat.
· There has been no pitcher with worse luck of late than Gavin Floyd. Heading into yesterday’s start, Floyd had allowed just one run in each of his last three starts, and yet he was 0-1 in those three. What would it take to get Floyd a win – no runs? Well, that didn’t work either, as the White Sox won 2-0 but did so after Floyd left the game. Before Floyd left, he had held the Braves to just two hits and one walk, and he struck out nine in his seven innings.
· While the majority of the Brewers have been underperforming disappointments, that definitely is not the case for Yovani Gallardo, who was dominating yet again on Thursday. Gallardo allowed just five hits while walking none in the complete game shutout, and he struck out 12 while improving to 7-3 with a 2.36 ERA.
· The Mariners have mastered the art of assembling a really lousy offense. How bad? The hitters used yesterday by the Mariners are hitting a combined .240, and that’s with Ichiro Suzuki hitting .339. It’s amazing how the Mariners are able to make this lineup function worse every year.
Just a few notes because I’m running late here, but plenty more tomorrow.
Mark Haverty | 12:14 pm | | Personal
So I promised an explanation as for the delay in posting stuff here, so here goes. Rather than one major event getting in the way, it’s two things. First, my partner underwent surgery for a benign tumor, which certainly took up a good chunk of time, but the majority of my “free” time of late has been dealing with the process of adopting a young girl currently in foster care here in Vermont.
It’s an incredibly hellish process, the hoops we have to jump through – the abusive, neglecting biological family only needed sperm and a womb to qualify, but we have to have the equivalent of a proctological exam for our personal history, medical records, family history, finances, and more.
But then, you meet the child – in this case, Nikki – and it was all worth it.
Visiting began a few weeks ago, and this upcoming weekend will be her second overnight here. Chronologically, she’s 10, but in many ways she’s still just 6 or 7, but then there are times when she seems more like 17 or 37. I won’t go into her personal history here, but she has certainly seen far too many traumatic events in her life.
How do you know when a child hasn’t had much to be grateful in life? When she’s thrilled by the idea that her bed has a box spring.
I’ve been thinking of her as my daughter for a while now, well before our first visit with her, but the reality of being her father did not really set in until her first night in her bed. An anxious and exciting night for her, she woke up around midnight, and it took a few different times getting her back in bed for her to finally sleep. After rubbing her back to relax her on the final time and to get her to sleep, I sat in the rocking chair in her room for a few more minutes to make sure she was asleep. In was in those couple of minutes, rocking, watching her sleep, that it truly hit me.
As I finish up writing this, I’m looking forward to another wonderful Saturday with her – a trip to the pool, then to the library, and later in the day, Toy Story 3.
She has not fully moved in yet, and it’s going to be a little while yet, but in those weekend overnights the entire world stops except for her.
I normally don’t write personal stuff here on my blog, and it’ll be back to baseball and/or comics after this, but if there isn’t a post here on every day, chances are it has something to do with a ten-year-old girl.
Mark Haverty | 1:04 pm | June 24, 2010 | Baseball
Welcome back, those of you reading this that have checking in for updates and not seeing them. The last couple of weeks have been interesting ones to say on the least, and I’ll be addressing that in a blog post here later today.
I cannot say I will be 100% daily again, but that is my wish. At the same time, my life has never been so hectic, and in a good way. Somewhat.
With that out of the way, here are some of the highlights, and lowlights, from yesterday’s baseball action.
Nowhere near enough love is given to Shin-Soo Choo, so let’s give him a little, especially after his huge day yesterday for the Indians. Facing the Phillies, Choo went 2-for-4 at the plate, with two runs, four RBI, and two home runs. After a mediocre May, Choo has been a solid producer this month, hitting .321 with three home runs, 12 RBI, 17 runs scored, and two stolen bases in 84 at-bats. Most impressive of his June numbers is his strikeout-to-walk ratio, as he has walked more than he has struck out this month, with 11 walks and just seven strikeouts.
Stephen Strasburg was to be the savior of the franchise, but there’s only one problem – he needs the offense to produce when he’s on the mound or else everything he does is for naught. Once again, the Nationals let him down. Wednesday, Strasburg held the Royals to nine hits and one earned run over six innings, and he struck out nine while walking none. Strasburg has not allowed a walk in three of his four starts and holds an insanely good strikeout-to-walk ratio at 41:5 over 25 1/3 innings. The strikeouts did drive the pitch out up, as Strasburg was up to 95 pitches after just six, but on a positive note all but 20 were for strikes.
Speaking of starting pitchers that deserved better from their offense, we have the Toronto Blue Jays’ Ricky Romero. Romero pitched eight shutout innings, holding the Cardinals to eight hits and one walk, and he struck out five while not factoring into the decision. Romero was solid in his rookie season last year, but he has been simply spectacular this year in his sophomore season. Through 15 starts, Romero is 6-3 with a 2.85 ERA, and over 104 1/3 innings he has recorded 101 strikeouts and allowed just 38 walks.
When June started, things turned a little rough for the Reds’ Johnny Cueto. Heading into yesterday’s start against the Athletics, Cueto held an ERA of 7.15 for the month, but none of that mattered yesterday. Over seven shutout innings, Cueto held the Athletics to seven hits and two walks while striking out four.
Chris Coghlan and Gaby Sanchez received plenty of disparaging comments here earlier in the season when both looked simply lost at the plate. All that has changed for these two Marlins. Both went 3-for-5 yesterday with a run scored and two RBI, with one of Sanchez’ hits being a home run, his eighth of the season. Wretched in his first two months, Coghlan has been an offensive monster in June, hitting .405 with two homers, twelve doubles, twelve RBI, and 22 runs scored, and his on-base percentage for the month is a ridiculous .484. As for Sanchez, he is definitely enjoying June as well, hitting .372 for the month, with four homers, 12 RBI, 12 runs scored, and an OPS of 1.034.
That wraps up today’s notes – plenty more coming later today and tomorrow, so hopefully you stick around.
Photo courtesy Keith Allison with Creative Commons license.
Mark Haverty | 3:53 am | June 1, 2010 | Baseball
The three-day weekend is over, and it’s back to work for the majority of Americans. Baseball didn’t take a holiday yesterday, however, with all but four teams getting into the spirit of Memorial Day. Here are some of the highlights and lowlights…
Yesterday, we talked about the Rookie of the Year candidacy of Cardinals’ third baseman David Freese. Today, it’s teammate Jaime Garcia’s turn. After surrendering two runs to the Reds in the first inning, Garcia settled down nicely, and the one-hour rain delay did not affect him in the least. Garcia held the division-leading (at the time) Reds to seven hits, three walks, and three runs, two earned, over six innings, and he struck out six while picking up his fifth win of the season. His ERA did rise as a result of this outing, but it’s still ridiculously low at 1.32. With the 12-4 win, the Cardinals move into a tie with the Reds atop the division at 30-22.
As for the Brewers, a team everyone expected to be in contention for the Central, they once again suffered a horrific loss, this time 13-5 to the Marlins. Chris Narveson looked like he might be a relatively decent option for the rotation and his first two starts showed promise, but he has fallen dramatically since then. Yesterday, Narveson allowed six hits, two walks, and five earned runs to the Marlins in 5 2/3 innings, and he struck out eight in his third loss of the season. Since joining the rotation, just two of Narveson’s seven starts have been quality starts, and only twice has he been able to complete six innings – never more than six though. Narveson’s control numbers have been solid, but he has simply been too hittable, and opposing batters are hitting .299 against him.
The once-potent Phillies lineup continues to flounder, as they lost to the Braves 9-3 on Monday. After getting the massive contract extension from the Phillies, Ryan Howard has gone on to prove how bad a mistake that was. Yesterday, Howard was 0-for-4 with one strikeout, and over his last nine games he is just 4-for-31, a .129 batting average, with no home runs and just one RBI. What he has racked up during that time though is strikeouts, as he has whiffed ten times in those 31 at-bats.
The Blue Jays’ Brandon Morrow has struggled this year as he continues the transition from the bullpen to the starting rotation, but he had no such problems yesterday. Facing the Rays, arguably the best overall team in the American League, Morrow held them to just three hits, two walks, and one earned run over seven innings, and he struck out one while bringing his record to .500 at 4-4. This comes after two starts where Morrow could not make it past the fifth inning, but there are areas where he is showing progress. For example, his strikeout-to-walk ratio, at 65:32, is respectable, and he is doing a very good job of keeping the ball in the park, allowing one home run every ten innings. Still, he remains very hittable, with opponents hitting at a .277 clip against him, and he is still a shaky bet in that rotation. While Dustin McGowan is still a ways off from returning, at this point Morrow would be the clear odd man out when he does.
In the Pirates’ 2-1 win over the Cubs Monday, the offense began and ended with Garrett Jones. Jones went 2-for-4 Monday with two runs, one RBI, and a home run. Jones made a name for himself for his power numbers last year, but that has been sorely lacking this year. After hitting three home runs in his first two games, he has just three since, with his last one coming over two weeks ago. Still, he did hit .302 for May with 18 RBI, so he has been contributing plenty offensively, but don’t expect much at all in terms of home runs.
Yesterday marked Day Two in the post-Kendry Morales era for the Angels, and while they did win, 7-1 over the Royals, their options at first base are still lacking. Michael Ryan did go 1-for-3 with a run scored, but at the same time this performance raised his average to just .174, and there is absolutely nothing in his career that would indicate that he’s a worthy option there. There’s a reason that Ryan has not been in the majors since 2005 before the Angels took him on, and other than one very successful year as a pinch-hitter for the Twins in 2003, he has largely been wretched in the little time he has spent in the majors. There is absolutely no reason to expect anything positive out of Ryan, and the Angels will be aggressively shopping for a replacement to Ryan.
It was the Nyjer Morgan Show in Houston on Monday, as the Nationals’ outfielder was involved in just about every major play in the Nats’ 14-4 whooping of the Astros. Morgan got on base in each of his first four plate appearances, scoring every time, and he finished the day going 3-for-4 with one walk, four runs, and two stolen bases. Despite his speed, Morgan has just 11 stolen bases on the season, but one has to wonder if a performance like this will get Morgan a green light more often.
It was supposed to be a battle of the aces in San Francisco, but only one ace showed up, as Ubaldo Jimenez completely dominated the Giants in the Rockies 4-0 win. Jimenez pitched the complete game, allowing just four hits and two walks, and he struck out nine. Jimenez is now 10-1 with a 0.78 ERA. Only once has he allowed as many as two runs in a start, and only three times in his eleven starts has he walked more than two. On the other side of the ledger, Tim Lincecum struggled yet again. Lincecum was pulled with two outs in the sixth, and he was tagged for six hits, five walks, and four runs, three earned, and he struck out three. Lincecum has been very mediocre in his last three starts. He has not completed six innings in any of those three, and over 15 1/3 innings he has allowed 17 hits, 15 walks, and 14 runs, giving him a WHIP of 2.09 and an ERA of 8.22 in his last three starts.
.jpg "Trevor Cahill, Starting Pitcher, Oakland Athletics") |
Playing in Detroit yesterday, the Athletics beat the Tigers 4-1, earning Trevor Cahill his fourth win of the season. Over 6 1/3 innings, Cahill held the Tigers to five hits, four walks, and one earned run, and he struck out three. While he was able to scatter the hits and walks and keep the Tigers from reaching home, the control numbers are a definite issue for Cahill. Over 41 2/3 innings in seven starts, Cahill has struck out just 20 while walking 14, giving him extremely poor ratios in the strikeout-to-walk and strikeouts-per-nine categories. His success has come in getting opposing batters to hit to his defense, as he holds a batting average against of just .225, and being a groundball pitcher helps in that department. Still, he is going to need to improve those ratios for him to continue this success, though, so he is a risky proposition at this point.
If there is a way to lose, the Diamondbacks will find it. With two outs in the eighth inning, the Diamondbacks leading the Dodgers 4-2, and runners on second and third, Andre Ethier hit a routine groundball to second baseman Kelly Johnson, only Johnson boots it, and a run scores. That’s just the first error. After botching the first part of the play, Johnson makes a feeble attempt to get Ethier out by throwing in the general vicinity of first base – the ball doesn’t even come close, and the tying run scores. In the ninth inning, with Casey Blake on third base and two outs, Esmerling Vasquez chases Blake back to third by pointing at him with the ball without having stepped off the mound. That’s a balk, boys and girls, and the winning run coming in thanks to stupidity. There is no way to lose that the Diamondbacks won’t find.
Consistency has been far from Mitch Talbot’s strength this year, as he has alternating between good starts and bad starts. Last time he took the mound, Talbot has been very good, holding the White Sox to six hits and two earned runs while striking out four and walking none in his six win of the season, so when he took the mound yesterday against the Yankees, he was due for a poor performance. The Yankees made sure that happened. Talbot would pitch 6 1/3 against the Yankees Monday, allowing nine hits and three earned runs, and he would walk none while striking out three in his fourth loss of the season. For the Indians to be even moderately successful, Talbot needs to break the cycle.
Consistency has not been something Luke Hochevar has much of either. The former first round selection of the Royals had looked great in his previous two starts, but not so much yesterday. Facing the Angels, Hochevar surrendered nine hits, two walks, and five earned runs in seven innings, earning his third loss of the season while raising his ERA to 5.10. In a true sign of cruelty from the gods of baseball, despite Hochevar’s ERA, he has five wins, while Zack Greinke is 1-6 despite a 3.39 ERA. No one ever said baseball was fair…
The move to the starting rotation had worked spectacularly for Hisanori Takahashi, as he had not allowed a run in his first two starts. That streak ended painfully for Takahashi yesterday, as the Padres beat him up something fierce to celebrate Memorial Day. Takahashi lasted just four innings, and in that time he allowed eight hits, two walks, and six earned runs, and he fell to 4-2 with a 3.21 ERA. That’s still pretty darned good, but he’s clearly not invulnerable, as he demonstrated on Monday.
Lastly, Doug Fister had held the best ERA in the American League heading into last night’s game in Seattle against the Twins. That would not last, however, as he would surrender eight hits and five walks in seven innings, and he struck out six while walking none in his third loss of the season. Fister is still second in the league with a 2.45 ERA, so consider this game an aberration – after allowing just two home runs in 62 2/3 innings, he allowed three yesterday, and that’s simply not going to happen again.
That wraps up all of Monday’s action – see you tomorrow with the breakdown from Tuesday’s action!
Jamie Garcia photo courtesy shgmom56 with Creative Commons license.
Trevor Cahill photo courtesy tunnelarmr with Creative Commons license.
Mark Haverty | 6:01 pm | May 31, 2010 | Baseball
Happy Memorial Day, and for those of you that either have served or have loved ones that served, thank you.
Here are today’s notes from around the horn…
We start things off today with Ricky Romero’s masterful performance Sunday against the Orioles. Romero did get in trouble early with leadoff batter Corey Patterson getting a hit, followed by a hit for No. 2 hitter Julio Lugo, followed by a run-scoring hit from the third batter in the lineup, Nick Markakis. However, that would be the only run the Orioles would score, and he would allow just five baserunners, three from hits and two via walks, the rest of the way, as Romero would strike out seven and would improve to 5-2 with his second complete game of the season. As I said when talking about Brett Cecil yesterday, the Blue Jays are putting together a very good, young rotation here that should keep them competitive through the first half of this decade.
Troy Glaus doesn’t want May to end, as he has raked this month. Sunday, Glaus went 1-for-2 with a run scored, two RBI, two walks, and his seven home run of the season in the Braves’ 5-2 win over the Pirates. Entering today’s games, Glaus led the National League in RBI this month with 25, and after a .194 batting average in April, he has posted a .323 batting average in May, along with an on-base percentage of .405. Five of his seven home runs have come in this month as well.
While the Royals let Kila Ka’aihue rot in the minors (see today’s “Future Tense” for more on him), they are instead wasting at-bats on Jose Guillen. Facing the Red Sox yesterday, Guillen went 0-for-4 with one strikeout and three men stranded on base. For the season, Guillen does have 11 home runs, but seven of those came in April, and he has gone back to being a subpar hitter since. Over his last ten games, Guillen is hitting just .188, and he has struck out in 12 of his 32 at-bats during that stretch. Guillen is hurting the team in multiple ways – in his horrific play, in the money he is sucking out of the Royals’ limited budget, and that he is blocking a player that is more than ready for the majors.
While it was in a losing effort, Rickie Weeks did everything he could to keep the Brewers in the game. In their 10-4 loss to the Mets, Weeks went 3-for-4 with two runs, three RBI, and two home runs, giving him eight for the season. There was hope for a breakout season from Weeks after his performance last year before he was injured, but this season has largely been a disappointment for Weeks outside of the home runs. In 207 at-bats, Weeks is hitting just .251 with 32 runs scored and 28 runs driven in. A big reason for his struggles is that he has been striking out way too much for the type of hitter he is. With 60 strikeouts already, Weeks is more likely to be struck out than he is to get a hit. Also, the speed Weeks once displayed is just about gone, as he has just three stolen bases in five attempts, and just two years ago he finished with 19, and 25 the year before that.
It is hard to call a .300 hitter disappointing, but in one clear area that is the case for Ben Zobrist. Zobrist went 2-for-4 yesterday with one run scored, two RBI, and a home run, and that’s where the disappointment comes in. See, this was just Zobrist’s fourth home run of the season, which puts him on a pace for well below the 27 he posted last year. It appears that those homers were illusory, as Zobrist was a solid prospect for average but never for power, and he simply is not a 25-30 home run hitter. He will still put up excellent numbers for the Rays, just not in the home run category.
.jpg "David Freese, Third Base, St. Louis Cardinals") |
While Albert Pujols’ three home runs against the Cubs yesterday in the Cardinals’ 9-1 win, we expect performances like that out of Pujols – he is the best player in the game after all. The player I am more interested in is rookie third baseman David Freese, who continues to put up Rookie of the Year numbers. Freese went 3-for-5 yesterday with one run, three RBI, and a home run, and for the season he is hitting .316 with four home runs, 31 RBI, 21 runs, a .385 on-base percentage, and a .456 slugging percentage.
David Aardsma looks a lot more vulnerable than he did last year. Facing the Angels Sunday, Aardsma retired just one batter before blowing the save, as he surrendered two hits, one walk, and three earned runs, and those runs came off a walk-off home run by Howie Kendrick. This was Aardsma’s third blown save of the season, and he blew just four throughout the entire 2009 season. A big reason for that is that his home run rate has risen sharply; after allowing just four all season over 71 1/3 innings in 2009, Aardsma has already allowed three in just 16 1/3 innings.
That’s it for today – have a great holiday wherever you are.
Troy Glaus photo courtesy The Suss-Man with Creative Commons license.
David Freese photo courtesy Herkie with Creative Commons license.
Mark Haverty | 3:41 pm | May 30, 2010 | Baseball
I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday weekend so far, and here are Sunday’s notes from around the league.
While the biggest news out of the Indians’ 13-11 win over the Yankees was Indians’ pitcher David Huff being hit in the head by a ball hit back at him by Alex Rodriguez, what should also be news was the extreme collapse by the Yankees pitching late in the game. The Yankees led by a score of 9-3, then 10-4, and then proceeded to allow the Indians one run in the sixth inning, seven in the seventh to surrender the lead, and one in the eighth to give the Indians an insurance run. Much of the damage occurred with Joba Chamberlain on the mound, as he would enter the game with two outs in the seventh inning, and he would allow four hits, one walk, and four earned runs before picking up a strikeout to finally end the seventh inning. Chamberlain has struggled significantly of hate, as over his last five appearances he is 0-2 with an ERA of 18.00 and a WHIP of 2.60.
The other big injury news yesterday came from Orange County, as the Los Angeles Angels won thanks to a ninth-inning walk-off grand slam by Kendry Morales, only to see him fall to the ground during the team’s post-homer celebratory mash-up at home plate. Morales broke his left leg, and with surgery today on that leg he is likely gone for the season. This is a huge loss for the Angels, and yet another reason to question the intelligence of those home plate celebrations.
Yes, Carlos Silva put together a spectacular outing against the Cardinals, as he allowed just two hits in seven scoreless innings while walking none and striking out 11, but I am still not a believer. This performance was due far more to the ineffectual nature of the Cardinals’ offense of late than to Silva. Before you point out that they scored seven runs on Friday, I know, but beyond that the Cardinals have scored one or fewer runs in three of their last five games, and they are a sub-.500 team this month with a record of 13-14, which also happens to be their record on the road. This is not the fearsome elite team we are used to in years past.
The maturation of Brett Cecil is continuing splendidly, and he improved to 5-2 with the Blue Jays’ 5-2 win over the Orioles. Over eight innings, Cecil held the Orioles to four hits and two earned runs, and he walked none while striking out seven. The 23-year-old pitcher has been brilliant in his first full season with the Blue Jays, as he holds a 3.81 ERA, .216 batting average against, 1.05 WHIP, and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 40:12 in 49 2/3 innings. With Cecil, Shaun Marcum, and Ricky Romero, the Blue Jays have three rapidly rising young pitchers that will make them at least competitive, if not contenders, in the tough AL East for the next 5+ years.
.jpg "Brian Moehler, Starting Pitcher, Houston Astros")
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In case I haven’t mentioned it in the last couple of days, the Astros really suck. This putrid excuse for a franchise added another one in the loss column yesterday as the Reds pounded them in a lopsided 12-2 victory. Yesterday, the Astros sent out Brian Moehler for his first start of the season, but it might as well have been a relief outing with how short it was, as he lasted just 2 2/3 innings before being yanked. In that time, he managed to bury the Astros in an insurmountable deficit by surrendering ten hits, one walk, and eight earned runs. Moehler has been moderately effective in relief this year, but there was no reason to believe that he could be a starter once again, as he showed to disastrous effect last year why starting him is a bad idea – 8-12 with a 5.47 ERA in 29 starts with a 1.54 WHIP and a .298 batting average against. One would think that a smart franchise would not dare to start him again, but this is not a smart franchise.
Corey Hart started off slowly in 2010, but he has definitely needed sunglasses as night of late with how hot he has been. Yesterday, he was the big bat behind the Brewers’ 8-6 win, as he went 2-for-4 with two runs, two home runs, and six RBI. Hart is up to 12 home runs for the season, with three in the last two games and five in his last seven. Overall, Hart is hitting .267 with 12 home runs, 31 RBI, 20 runs, and an OPS of .916.
The other news out of the Brewers’ win is John Axford’s perfect ninth inning, giving him his second save of the season. At least for now, it looks like he is the closer for the Brewers, at least until the team feels Trevor Hoffman is ready to resume closing duties. That could be a while, though, and Axford could rack up a few saves in the meanwhile.
In just his second season in the majors, Elvis Andrus is quickly establishing himself as one of the top shortstops in the American League. Yesterday, Andrus was 2-for-4 with a run scored and a stolen base, his 18th of the season in 26 attempts. While he has yet to hit a home run, those will come with time, as the 21-year-old Andrus is still growing and developing. What he has already developed nicely is a good batting eye, as he has 26 walks and just 33 strikeouts in 175 at-bats, giving him an on-base percentage 89 points higher than his already-solid .309 batting average. A .398 on-base percentage and 18 steals out of the leadoff spot is just one of the many reasons why the Rangers are the team to beat in the American League West.
Everyone else has written and said a lot about Roy Halladay and his perfect game, so here are my thoughts: wow. Really, I can’t say more than that.
Leading off for the Athletics in their 6-0 win over the Tigers yesterday, Rajai Davis went 2-for-5 with a run scored and his 19th stolen base of the season. While he might have had a good day for the A’s yesterday, he has been an extremely poor option for them hitting first this year. Through 47 games, Davis is hitting just .261 with one home run, 15 RBI, and 23 runs scored in 165 at-bats, and he has struck out 29 times while walking just eight, giving him a horrendous on-base percentage of .301.
I haven’t given any love here to Martin Prado, but I should, so here goes. Yesterday, Prado went 2-for-4 with a run scored and three RBI. In his first full season as an everyday player, Prado is hitting .324 with four home runs, 26 RBI, and 36 runs scored. Prado’s batting eye is respectable with 16 walks and only 26 strikeouts in 207 at-bats, giving him a .370 on-base percentage. Prado will never be much of a power hitter, with just 18 in almost 1,000 career at-bats, and he is definitely a groundball hitter, but he will offer plenty in batting average and runs to keep the Braves happy with him for a long time.
Lastly, Zack Greinke needs to sue the Royals for lack of support. Six innings, five hits, three walks, three strikeouts, and one earned run, and he lost. Greinke is 1-6 despite a 3.39 ERA, and most of the damage to that ERA came in one outing.
That’s it for today – see you tomorrow.
Joba Chamberlain photo courtesy eviltomthai with Creative Commons license.
Brian Moehler photo courtesy SBoyd with Creative Commons license.
Mark Haverty | 7:48 pm | May 29, 2010 | Baseball
We start things off today with the Indians’ 8-2 loss to the Yankees in the Bronx. The losing pitcher for the Indians was starter Fausto Carmona, as he was tagged for seven hits, three walks, and four earned runs in his six innings, and he struck out three while earning his third loss of the season. There was much buzz around Carmona early in the season due to his hot start, but inconsistency has plagued Carmona since; after pitching four straight quality starts to open the season, just three of his last six have been. Carmona’s strikeout-to-walk ratio for the season is a wretched 33:26, so we can expect only more inconsistent pitching and poor starts until he comes close to a 2:1 K/BB ratio. Considering Carmona’s history, do not bet on that happening anytime soon.
One has to wonder what was running through Lou Pinella’s head yesterday when he decided to pull Randy Wells after Wells allowed six straight hits to open the game, with five runners scoring, without getting an out. Granted, it is pretty clear that he did not have his best start, or even close, but at the same time, knowing that you are going to set your entire bullpen back for the rest of the series and that you are more than likely going to lose this game anyway, don’t you let him face the bottom three in the lineup to see if he can get out of the first? Considering the way Wells has pitched the rest of the year, he deserved that opportunity.
While he did not factor into the decision, Ben Sheets pitched very well against the Tigers yesterday. Sheets tossed seven innings and he allowed five hits, one walk, and three earned runs while striking out six and lowering his ERA to 4.91. Sure, that still sounds way too high, but almost all of the damage is due to two starts, on the road against the Rays and Blue Jays on April 27 and May 2. Remove those two outings, and Sheets’ ERA drops all the way down to a far more Sheets-like 2.78.
The Giants have been very cruel to Matt Cain. Despite having an ERA below 3.00, he had a record of 2-4 heading into yesterday’s game thanks to a significant lack of run support. Cain didn’t need to count on the Giants for much yesterday though, as he took things into his own hands by pitching a complete game, one-hit shutout against the Diamondbacks. Cain’s control was brilliant, as he walked nine while striking out none. While Tim Lincecum might get more press, it’s Cain that has been the Giants best pitcher this year.
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.jpg "John Lannan, Starting Pitcher, Washington Nationals")
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I am far from a John Lannan fan, largely due to his horrific control numbers, but he deserves props for his pitching performance last night in San Diego in the Nationals’ 5-3 win over the Padres. Over seven innings, Lannan limited the Padres to seven hits and two runs, only one of which was earned, and he struck out one while walking none. Lannan improved to 2-2 with a 5.01 ERA with the win. With Stephen Strasburg on his way up to the majors, all of the Nationals’ starting pitchers are out to prove that they are not the one that should lose their spot in the rotation. Lannan might have bought himself a little time with this outing.
Very quietly, Franklin Gutierrez is putting together a nice season for the Mariners. Friday, Gutierrez went 2-for-4 with one scored and two runs driven in, and for the season he is hitting .296 with five home runs, 24 RBI, 24 runs scored, and five stolen bases in 169 at-bats. Those are not exactly All-Star numbers, but at the same time they make him a quality hitter, a rarity in the Mariners’ mediocre offense.
Speaking of quietly solid seasons, Carlos Gonzalez is putting one together with the Rockies. Facing the Dodgers yesterday, Gonzalez was 2-for-4 with a walk, a run scored, and a stolen base. While not a huge factor in either category, Gonzalez has been chipping in with both home runs and stolen bases. So far through 2010, Gonzalez holds a .317 batting average, six home runs, 31 RBI, 30 runs scored, and seven stolen bases. By comparison, Matt Holliday is hitting .293 with five home runs, 19 RBI, 26 runs scored, and three stolen bases. Holliday is better at drawing a walk, so he’s better in on-base percentage than Gonzalez, but in all other areas Gonzalez wins, and the Rockies got Gonzalez and Huston Street when they traded Holliday to the A’s last year. It’s pretty clear which team won out in that deal.
The Twins have to be disappointed with how Kevin Slowey has performed thus far, but they got the chance to smile a little after yesterday’s start. Facing a brutal Rangers’ lineup, Slowey held the Rangers to six hits, one walk, and one earned run in six innings, and he struck out five while picking up his sixth win of the season. A record of 6-3 with a 4.15 ERA does not seem that disappointing at all, but this was just the second start this season, out of ten, where he has completed six innings. He’s been picking up wins, but he’s also been exhausting the bullpen. At least in this win, not so much.
With so many National League pitchers having amazing seasons, Yovani Gallardo has been somewhat overshadowed. He shouldn’t be. Friday, he shut the Mets down, allowing eight hits and a walk in his complete game shutout, and he struck out seven while improving to 5-2 with a 2.78 ERA. Gallardo had respectable numbers in April, but he was downright spectacular in May, going 3-0 with a 2.31 ERA in six starts, with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 44:19. Gallardo is the one bright spot on an otherwise bleak rotation.
The Royals took the Red Sox to the whooping shed on Friday night, as they won 12-5. The offensive star of the game for the Royals was outfielder Mitch Maier. Maier went 3-for-5 with two runs, three RBI, and a home run, and for the season he is now hitting .277 with one home run, 21 RBI, 15 runs scored, and thanks to his ability to draw walks his on-base percentage is nearly 90 points higher than his average, at .365. That’s not great but definitely serviceable, and that’s all the Royals really ask for on their budget.
Whether the Braves win or lose, Derek Lowe has made sure he’s involved in the decision, as through 11 starts he is 7-4, with the seventh coming yesterday against the Braves. Over seven innings Lowe held the Pirates to four hits, one walk, and one earned run, and he struck out two. The overall positive record clouds the fact that Lowe is having a rather poor season, though. Lowe holds an ERA of 4.86, a WHIP of 1.46, a batting average against of .268, and a pathetic strikeout-to-walk ratio at 35:29 over 63 innings. While never a dominating strikeout pitcher, Lowe would strike out a solid number of batters over the course of the year, but his strikeouts have dropped off significantly since he moved to Atlanta last year, with just 111 in 194 2/3 innings last year, and this season he’s on pace for a similarly weak total.
That’s it for today in this way-too-late-in-the-day edition of Between the Lines. See you tomorrow…
Fausto Carmona photo courtesy Keith Allison with Creative Commons license.
John Lannan photo courtesy afagen with Creative Commons license.
Mark Haverty | 2:27 pm | May 28, 2010 | Baseball
As the great Battle for Mediocrity continues in Milwaukee, someone had to win yesterday between the Brewers and Astros, simply because that’s the rules. The Astros had the win, and would have had two in a row – that’s reason to celebrate in Houston – but the Astros, as usual, found a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Matt Lindstrom came in for the ninth inning, and he went on to blow the save. Sent back out in the 10th, Lindstrom would allow in the winning run. Overall, Lindstrom allowed four hits, three walks, and two earned runs in 1 2/3 innings. It was clear that he was laboring throughout, as, to make it as far as he had, Lindstrom needed 44 pitches, only 23 of which were strikes.
The Dodgers’ John Ely continues to impress, as he looked impressive yet again despite picking up the loss. Through 7 1/3 innings, Ely held the Cubs to four hits, two walks, and one earned run, and he struck out four while lowering his ERA to 3.00. After being battered by the Mets in his first start, Ely has pitched five consecutive quality starts, and he has not allowed more than two runs in any of them. What’s most impressive is that Ely continues to be impossible to hit a home run off; through 39 innings this season, he has yet to allow a home run, despite the fact that he is a flyball pitcher.
Wednesday, Seth Smith was in the starting lineup, and he belted out two home runs. Despite the offensive explosion, he was benched yesterday. However, he would make an appearance as a pinch hitter, and would homer once again, a two-run shot off of Dan Haren. Almost half of Smith’s home runs this season have come in the last two days, along with 1/5th of his RBI total.
Jeff Niemann showed some of the potential that made us love him as a prospect last year in his rookie season, but he is truly looking like the ace he was projected to be this year. Pitching against the White Sox yesterday, Niemann earned his fifth win of the season by holding the Pale Hose to three hits, three walks, and one earned run in his eight innings of work, and he struck out five. Niemann could have easily come out for the ninth inning too had the Rays not been up 5-1, as he had needed just 94 pitches to that point.
He might have fooled some people into thinking things were okay, but not me, and I was right, as Daisuke Matsuzaka – Dice-K – went right back to mediocrity last night. Dice-K would not finish the fifth inning, as he would allow two hits and eight – yes, eight – walks in 4 2/3 innings, and three would score. It would have been much worse for him if not for Joe Nelson coming in and getting the final out with three men on. With just two quality starts out of six so far, there is no reason to expect much, if anything, out of him this year.
That wraps up today’s installment – after going 2,000+ words yesterday, it’s the Cliff Notes edition today. Tomorrow, a back-to-normal super-long one – see you then.
Mark Haverty | 1:28 pm | May 27, 2010 | Baseball
We’re going to start things off here with one of the last games of last night, the Giants and Nationals at AT&T Park. Starting for the Giants was the top pitcher in the game, Tim Lincecum, so this should have been an easy Giants win, right? Wrong. The Nationals beat him up badly, forcing him out of the game with two outs in the fifth inning, and he allowed six hits, five walks, and six earned runs, earning Lincecum his first loss of the season. Just in the short time he was in the game, Lincecum had already thrown 96 pitches, of which only 56 were strikes.
Lincecum’s generosity with free bases did not just extend to those at the plate. The Nationals started the season running, but they had not stolen a base in over two weeks heading into last night’s game. That changed quickly. Ryan Zimmerman stole second off Lincecum and Bengie Molina, Nyjer Morgan stole second off Lincecum and Molina, and Adam Kennedy stole second and third off the duo. Morgan obviously is a speedster, but Zimmerman? This was Zimmerman’s first of the season.
Now, on to the rest of today’s news and notes…
While Nats fans have to be happy with the win, the bigger news for them is who will be the starting pitchers for next weekend in Washington. Why? Well, one of the three will be Stephen Strasburg, already nicknamed “Jesus” because of how much talk there is of him being the franchise’s “savior.” Strasburg certainly has been brilliant in the minors, and he’ll be the first true No. 1 starter this franchise has had since Javier Vazquez was traded to the Yankees while the franchise was still in Montréal. However, he’s not going to be the savior, and the team needs much more than Strasburg before they can be considered serious contenders.
.jpg "Francisco Liriano, Starting Pitcher, Minnesota Twins") |
After being roughed up in two of his last three starts, Francisco Liriano pitched extremely well against the Yankees on Wednesday. Liriano tossed seven innings, and he allowed eight hits, two walks, and two earned runs, and he struck out seven in the no-decision. Other than that recent bump in the road he hit, Liriano has been brilliant this year, and there’s no reason to see that stopping anytime soon.
While the Twins did not touch home in their 1-0 loss to the Yankees, it was not for lack of trying on Denard Span’s part. Span was 3-for-5 with two stolen bases, giving him 12 on the year. Span accounted for half of the Twins’ hits on the day. Unfortunately for Span, the No. 2 through 5 batters in the lineup were a combined 1-for-14 with two walks and three strikeouts. Span can only do so much…
In the Padres’ 2-1 win over the Cardinals, both starting pitchers deserved a win, and their respective bullpens would make sure that neither did. Jaime Garcia continues to impress, as he pitched six scoreless innings, allowing three hits and four walks while striking out three. The control numbers might be an issue only if he didn’t have a solid K/BB ratio before the game, which he definitely had at a little over 2:1. Garcia has not factored into the decision in his last two starts despite allowing no runs in either. Garcia’s ERA is now 1.14, and he has had only two starts all year where he allowed two runs, with the rest being one or none – this was Garcia’s fourth start out of nine where he has left without allowing an earned run. Illustrating how mediocre the Cardinals have been in his starts, Garcia is just 1-0 in those four.
As for the Padres’ starter, Kevin Correia did not have great control, as he did walk six in six innings, but he scattered those walks and the five hits he allowed and his five strikeouts helped him get out of jams. Correia’s lack of control last night shows in his pitch count – Correia needed 105 pitches to complete six innings, and only 57 were strikes. Maybe I was giving him too much credit when I said both “deserved” to record a win – Correia certainly had the help of an anemic Cardinals’ offense that failed to capitalize on his strike zone issues.
.jpg "Adrian Beltre, Third Base, Boston Red Sox") |
Adrián Beltré has been having a great season for the Sox, both at the plate and in the field, but one area that has been lacking has been home runs, as until yesterday, Beltré had just three. That total went up a little yesterday, as the Red Sox emasculated Matt Garza and the Rays. Beltré went 4-for-5 with three runs, six RBI, and his fourth and fifth home runs of the season. Overall, Beltré is now hitting .341 with five homers, 14 doubles, 33 RBI, and 20 runs scored.
Speaking of two home run performances, Seth Smith had a pair of his own last night, as he led the Rockies to a 7-3 win over the Diamondbacks. Unfortunately for Smith, both were solo shots, and he finished the day 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI. Smith now has seven homers for the season, and four of those have come in the last ten games.
The horrible 2010 season for Aaron Hill has been a total loss thus far, and his struggles continued yesterday, as he went 0-for-4 with one strikeout and two left on base in the Blue Jays’ 6-5 loss to the Angels. This dropped Hill’s average to a pathetic .154, and while it might seem impossible he has been even worse when looking at just the last ten games. During that stretch, Hill is just 4-for-43, a .093 batting average. Hill drove in 108 runs last year, and this year through 34 games he has just 14, putting him on pace to finish with over 40 fewer RBI.
The Astros suck. The Brewers suck. Playing each other, one of them had to win, and that was the Astros yesterday, thanks to the arm of Roy Oswalt and the bat of Hunter Pence. Oswalt tossed eight brilliant innings Wednesday, as he held the Brewers to four hits and one walk while striking out nine in the Astros’ 5-0 win. The Brewers didn’t work Oswalt hard at all, as he finished eight with 109 pitches thrown, 74 of which were strikes. As for Pence, he was 2-for-4 with two runs, one RBI, and his third stolen base of the season. Pence has had a wretched season thus far, but at least the hits are starting to come, as he’s hitting .289 over the last ten games.
I have always been a big fan of Trevor Cahill and his potential, and he looked very sharp yesterday in the Athletics’ 6-1 win over the Orioles. Pitching six innings, Cahill held the Orioles to two hits, three walks, and one earned run, and he struck out three as he improved to 3-2 with a 3.31 ERA. Cahill’s season did not start out great, as he would open the season on the disabled list, then get shelled in his first start of the season against the Blue Jays. Take that one start out, though, and his ERA is 2.08. He does need to work on his control numbers still, though, as through six games his strikeout-to-walk ratio is 17:10, but he has been successful with that mediocre ratio thanks to his batting average against of only .221, giving him a WHIP of just 1.10.
Through 2 1/3 innings, Mark Buehrle was having a pretty good day, having allowed three hits and no walks, and he struck out one. Then, he decided that he had been working long enough and decided to call it a day. Okay, it really wasn’t his call, as he was tossed after arguing a balk call, his second of the day – Ozzie Guillen did the arguing after the first one and was told by the umpiring crew to head back to the locker room to get the buffet ready for Buehrle, or something to that effect. Through a patchwork job with the bullpen, the White Sox went on to beat the Indians 5-4, although Bobby Jenks did his best to make it a loss. In his one inning, which was not a save opportunity, Jenks allowed three hits, three walks, and three earned runs, and he struck out one. Jenks needed 36 pitches – 19 of them strikes – to get through one inning of work. While one could argue that it was a non-save situation and all closers struggle in non-save situations, but Jenks has been erratic all season, and he holds a 6.35 ERA, a batting average against of .324, and a WHIP of 2.06.
Tommy Hanson had very little control over his pitches yesterday, but the Marlins let him win anyway. Over six innings, Hanson allowed four hits and surrendered five walks, yet the Marlins only produced two runs, one of which came from a solo home run from Hanley Ramirez. Of Hanson’s 89 pitches, only 48 were for strikes. This was far more a Marlins loss than a Hanson win.
One never knows what to expect out of Luke Hochevar when he takes the mound, as he has been extremely erratic all season. His last start prior to yesterday was a complete game win over the Indians, but could he even come close against the Rangers? Yes. Over eight innings, Hochevar held the Rangers to just six hits and two earned runs, and he struck out four while walking none in his fifth win of the season. Five equals the number of quality starts he has had this season in ten starts, so consistency has been a huge issue for him – he has allowed two runs or less in four of those five quality starts, and in the other five he thrice allowed four runs, five runs once, and in the fifth he allowed nine runs in 2 2/3 innings. It’s been feast or famine with Hochevar.
.jpg "Hisanori Takahashi, Starting Pitcher, New York Mets") |
Hisanori Takahashi made his second start of the season for the Mets, and the “rookie” – he’s 35 and had a career in Japan with the Yomiuri Giants before coming here – was as brilliant in his second start as he was his first. Over six innings yesterday against the Phillies, Takahashi allowed just five hits and no runs, and he struck out six while walking none. Through two starts, Takahashi has pitched 12 innings and allowed ten hits, one walk, and no runs, and he has struck out 11. With numbers like that, there’s no way the Mets are sending him back to the bullpen.
Magglio Ordonez’ power completely disappeared last year, as he hit just nine home runs. This year, not only is his average up but his power is definitely back. Yesterday, Ordonez went 3-for-4 with a run scored, two RBI, and his seventh home run of the season. With 32 RBI already, he is definitely going to crush the pathetic total he put up last year, 50.
All of a sudden, the Cincinnati Reds are the best team in the National League Central, and, shockingly, they are up there thanks to their pitching. Yesterday, it was Bronson Arroyo, as he went seven innings against the Pirates, allowing five hits, two walks, and no earned runs, and he struck out three while improving to 5-2 with a 4.30 ERA. Arroyo has won his last five decisions, and three of his last four starts have been quality starts.
Lastly, could Derrek Lee finally be heating up? Lee was 3-for-3 against the Dodgers on Tuesday, with his sixth home run of the season, and he followed that up by going 3-for-5 with two runs scored. In the last two days, Lee’s average has jumped 25 points. Will it last? He’s a much better hitter than he has been, so he should, but it’s not the first time Lee has started to look like his former self, only to fall apart again, so I’m not holding my breath.
That’s it for today – see you tomorrow!
Francisco Liriano and Adrian Beltre photos courtesy UCInternational with Creative Commons license.
Tim Lincecum photo courtesy rocor with Creative Commons license.
Hisanori Takahashi photo courtesy Chirag D. Shah with Creative Commons license.
Mark Haverty | 5:16 pm | May 26, 2010 | NASCAR, podcast
Laura Fahey and I will be doing our podcast tonight, talking about the All-Star Race, where things stand one-quarter of the way through the season, and who are the favorites for this weekend at Charlotte.
You can listen tonight live at 9:30 Eastern, or download it whenever, by clicking here.
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