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The Full Count: Deadline Day



Trades blue pinstripes for red

1. The newest Bomber: The trade deadline is almost here, and there are still a few big-name players yet to be moved. There was one dealt yesterday, as Bobby Abreu joins the now-excellent Yankees lineup. Abreu will fill in the gap at corner outfielder for New York for now, though long-term this deal could be an issue. Hideki Matsui and Gary Sheffield are injured now, though what will happen to them next year? One of them, likely Sheffield, will be out unless he moves to DH and Jason Giambi moves to first base. Either way, the 1.5 game back Yankees should be able to pass, or at least match, the Boston Red Sox down the stretch. Meanwhile, the Phillies look to rebuild as they acquired four minor leaguers as part of the deal.

2. Line up for the deadline: The trade deadline is today, and we could see (and have seen) more activity than in the past few years. Already Carlos Lee and Bobby Abreu have new clubs, and today should be the day that Alfonso Soriano is moved. The Tigers and the Marlins have joined the list of clubs he could be moved to, according to ESPN.com. Detroit has already acquired another bat for their run at the World Series. They traded a minor league pitcher to the Pirates for Sean Casey, a three-time All Star. Casey will fill in for the demoted Chris Shelton at first base. Though he hasn’t had his best season with the bat so far (3 homers/29 RBIs in limited action), Casey has yet to make an error at first. He provides some veteran leadership to the young Tigers, and should prove to be a good move for them.

3. More trade rumors: So many rumors flying around before the deadline. Here are some of them: Dontrelle Willis to the Cardinals. Red Sox are trying to swing a trade for Ryan Shealy and getting rid of Mike Lowell in a three way swap with the Rockies and the Padres. The Astros are after Miguel Tejada but have pulled Oswalt off the market. The Mets are trying to shore up their rotation by getting Jason Schmidt from the Giants. And finally, the Dodgers are in a buying mode, trying to get Miguel Tejada and/or Greg Maddux.

4. The AL playoff picture: How will all the trades that have gone down affect the American League, and where do the teams stand as of now? While there are many excellent teams in this league, two stand above the rest: the Tigers and the Red Sox. Detroit is the class of the MLB at 70-34, and they should cruise to the playoffs barring a major breakdown. The addition of Casey should help them even more as they make their run at the postseason. The Red Sox, though only a half-game up, should also make the playoffs. Their hitting with 101-RBI David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez is just too good, and with Papelbon in the bullpen they should win many close games. That mean three teams are fighting for one spot: the Yankees, White Sox, and Twins. Minnesota has been on fire lately, though as of now they are still in third in the Wild Card standings. The White Sox desperately need a starting pitcher, though their offense is top-notch. The Yankees, meanwhile, addressed their needs with the additions of Abreu and pitcher Cory Lidle. As of now they are the most solid team, and as of now we’re giving them the Wild Card. The AL West, with the A’s, Angels, and Rangers in the mix, is just too hard to tell for now. Each team has needs that they need to address in the coming hours.

5. The NL playoff picture: No significant player has been traded to an NL team, while the league loses Lee and Abreu. The American League has gotten even stronger. Either way, there will be 4 playoff teams from this league, and right now the only shoo-ins are the Mets and Cardinals. With their 13.5 game lead in their division, the Mets are in. the Cardinals are only ahead by 3.5, though their playoff experience from the past few years will come in handy. They will win the NL Central. San Diego, though they need another bat, has excellent pitchers that should earn them their second straight NL West title. As for the other teams, it’s very hard to say who will get the fourth postseason berth. Right now the Reds have a decent lead, though they will eventually start to feel the losses of Austin Kearns and Felipe Lopez. The NL West teams are too inconsistent and will need a major deal to get in. Unless the Braves rebound you can throw out the NL East teams. Milwaukee is all but done without Lee, and the Astros (despite dealing for Aubrey Huff) don’t have enough offense to provide adequate run support for their great staff. Could the Reds be playoff-bound? Unless another team gets a stud, we say probably.

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MLB Power Rankings Roundup for July 28 2006

Remember when we made fun of TSN for putting the Twins in their number one spot?  Well, perhaps #1 is still a stretch but no one can argue that the Twins are the hottest team in baseball.  On the flip side, the team they just caught up to are 2-8 since the All-Star break.  Maybe TSN wasn’t so crazy after all.

Here are your MLB Power Rankings by major sites this week.

Rank Sportscolumn ESPN FoxSports Sportsline USA Today TSN.ca
1 Tigers Tigers Tigers Tigers Tigers Red Sox
2 Red Sox Yankees Red Sox Red Sox Red Sox Twins
3 Mets Red Sox Yankees Mets White Sox Tigers
4 Yankees Twins White Sox Yankees Mets Blue Jays
5 Twins Mets Twins Twins Yankees Mets
6 Cardinals White Sox Mets Blue Jays Twins Yankees
7 White Sox Cardinals Blue Jays White Sox Blue Jays White Sox
8 Blue Jays Blue Jays Cardinals Cardinals Cardinals Giants
9 Padres Angels Padres Angels A’s Angels
10 A’s A’s Rangers Padres Rangers Padres
11-30 more more more more more more

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The Full Count: The first domino has fallen



Now a Ranger

1. Time to Deal: The first big-name trade before the deadline has occurred. Carlos Lee, the Brewers’ slugging, underrated All Star outfielder, is heading to one of the least likely places. The Texas Rangers, who already have hitters such as Michael Young, Hank Blalock, and Mark Teixeira, are trading for Lee as part of a multi-player deal. While the Rangers were rumored in many deals, none included an offensive improvement. They will send outfielders Kevin Mench and Laynce Nix along with former closer Francisco Cordero to Milwaukee. The Brewers will give up Lee, a minor-leaguer, and the all-important player-to-be-named-later.  Lee is hitting .286 with 28 homeruns and 81 RBIs on the year, and also has 12 steals. The Brewers will get some much-needed bullpen help in Cordero. They recently demoted closer Derrick Turnbow and are now using Dan Kolb in that role. Cordero, though he has had a bad season, has been an All Star in the past with 49 saves in 2004.
 

2. Ready to move: Alfonso Soriano just played in perhaps his final home game for the Nationals. With the trading deadline 3 days away, no player has had more rumors about him or is more valuable in the market than Soriano. He gave Nats fans one last look at how good he is yesterday. Soriano homered to lead off the game, his 32nd of the year. He walked twice and scored two runs to lead Washington to a 6-5 win over San Francisco. Soriano is on pace for the first ever 50/40 season, having narrowly missed 40/40 earlier in his career. Any team with interest will probably have to give up just prospects in order to get this slugger.

3. Passing the torch: The Houston Astros, who have won the Wild Card for the past two years, lost yesterday to the team most likely to win that title this year. The Cincinnati Reds, who lead the WC standings by 2.5 games, disposed of the Astros 8-4. Adam Dunn homered and drove in four runs, and for the second straight day was perfect. He followed up a 4-4 performance with a 3-3 one, and now is hitting .261. That doesn’t seem very impressive until you consider that Dunn was hitting .227 at the beginning of the month. In July he is hitting .356 with 5 homers and 19 RBIs, and he is now on pace for 49 and 113. He has 189 career homers, and is only 26. Houston is six games back of Cincy now.

4. Take that, Angels: The LA Angels and Oakland A’s, as reported yesterday, were tied for the AL West lead for three straight days. While the Angels were off yesterday, Oakland took a half-game lead with a win over Toronto. Joe Blanton, who defines the average pitcher, won the start with a decent performance. Blanton is 10-8 with a 4.78 ERA and 1.45 WHIP, all of which are, well, average. The losing Toronto squad, who have been on the heels of the Red Sox and Yankees all year, are finally dropping back in the standings. They are 6 back of Boston and 4.5 back of Wild Card-leading New York despite the hot bat of Troy Glaus. Glaus has hit .458 in the last week with 10 RBIs. For the A’s, Huston Street continued his scoreless streak with his 21st save.

5. Is Dusty safe?: Cubs manager Dusty Baker, who seems to be one of the most likely managers to be fired this season, apparently is still safe. Cubs GM Jim Hendry said that he told Baker that he will continue on as manager for the rest of the year. Baker’s underachieving team produced many rumors that he would be fired, but he apparently will carry out the season. This is the last year of his contract, and there is no question that the Cubs will have a new manager for next year. But now, the 39-61 team will have to live with what they’ve got.

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July 28 in Sports History: Perfect games

In 1991: Dennis Martinez of the Montreal Expos tossed the 13th perfect game in Major League history with a 2-0 gem over the Dodgers in L.A. It is the second time in four years the Dodgers have been the victims of a perfect game by the opposing pitcher (Tom Browning of the Reds did it in 1988). From the Wow Your Friends with Baseball Trivia department: Expos catcher  Ron Hassey became the first catcher to be behind the plate for two perfect games, as he caught Len Barker’s masterpiece for the Indians in 1981. Also, the Dodger’s Alfredo Griffin went hitless in the game, just as he did in Browning’s perfecto in 1988 and in Barker’s, as a member of the Blue Jays in ‘81!

In 1994: On the same day that the players voted to strike on August 12, Kenny Rogers of the Texas Rangers threw the 14th perfect game in Major League history with a 4-0 shutout of the California Angels in front of the largest crowd in the history of the Ballpark in Arlington. He became the first left-hander in American League history to accomplish the feat as he struck out 11. The perfect game was saved in the bottom of the ninth inning by Rusty Greer’s diving catch in centerfield. More useless trivia: the last perfect game in the American League before this also took place in Arlington, and was also between the Angels and Rangers, with California’s Mike Witt shutting down Texas ten years earlier in 1984.

In 2001: In what was probably the most amazing comeback in baseball history, the Pittsburgh Pirates rallied to defeat the Houston Astros 9-8 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. Trailing 8-2 in the bottom of the ninth with two outs and nobody on base, the Pirates scored seven runs to stun the Astros and take the first game of the day/night doubleheader. Brian Giles of the Pirates hit a game-winning grand slam off Astros’ closer Billy Wagner to the delight of the very few fans remaining in the ballpark. What was even more amazing, however, is the fact that the Pirates lost 100 games in 2001, and it was the only game they won all year when trailing after eight innings.

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The Full Count: White Sox keep spiralling down


1. Another Brick in the Wall: Going into their series against the Twins, the White Sox enjoyed a three-game lead over the team. But now that the series is over, that lead has disappeared. The Twins did what they needed to do, sweeping three close games to tie the defending World Champs for second place in the venerable Central. For the White Sox and pitcher Mark Buehrle, winning has just been harder to come by recently. The White Sox have gone just 2-9 since the All Star break, with Buehrle going 0-3 with an 11.15 ERA in that span. Since the end of June, Buehrle has gone 0-5 and seen his ERA inflate from 3.22 to 4.89. Now they have lost what once seemed like an insurmountable Wild Card lead, and the Sox are 8.5 back of Detroit. Conversely, Minnesota cannot seem to lose a game. Could the White Sox, universally considered the best team in baseball about a month ago, miss the playoffs? It’s possible.

2. Back in Business: With the numerous injuries, struggles, and poor play that the Yankees have experienced this season, many thought that this would be the year that they miss the playoffs. Well, if the season ended today, the Bronx Bombers would be in the postseason. With a win yesterday, the Yankees swept the Rangers and moved into first place in the American League Wild Card standings. They can thank Jason Giambi, who broke out of a 4-32 slump with a game-winning homer. Giambi has struggled hugely this month, with a .195 average and .727 OPS. But last night he stepped up in a crucial situation, homering off Akinori Otsuka in the ninth. The Yankees scored 6 of their 8 runs in the last two innings, and the Rangers could not keep up despite all of their key players having excellent games. New York is now 1.5 back of Boston and a half game ahead of Chicago for the division and Wild Card leads, respectively.

3. Ready to collide: The Mets and Braves have not met since Atlanta became one of the NL’s hottest ballclubs. But on Friday, the teams will start a three-game series that could turn the Mets’ longstanding double-digit lead into an 8-game lead should the Braves take the series. But more importantly for New York, the series will finally mark the return of Pedro Martinez, who has missed nearly a month. Pedro, who has a 3.45 ERA and 7-4 record this year, will pitch on Friday in his returning start. This series is huge for the Braves, who won last night against the Marlins and are fighting multiple teams for the Wild Card. Currently they are 4.5 games back of Cincy and in fourth place, but we all know how quickly things can change in the crazy National League this season.

4. It’s good to share: The LA Angels and Oakland A’s have now shared the AL West lead for three days now. The teams have coordinated winning and losing, and last night was a good night for both teams. Despite Bartolo Colon leaving after one inning due to injury, the Angels crushed the D-Rays 15-6 in an offensive outburst. They produced so well that they moved up to 10th in both OPS and runs in the AL. That’s not saying much until you consider that Oakland is below them in both categories. How could two of the AL’s worst offensive teams be co-leading a division? The answer is pitching, and both teams are solid in that aspect. The A’s pitching was showcased last night when they nearly blanked the tough Boston offense. Dan Haren allowed the only run of the night and Huston Street continued his scoreless July. He has recorded two saves and two wins in a month in which his ERA has plummeted almost a point. Both teams stand at 52-49.

5. Ring my Belle: Albert Belle, the former Indians slugger who hit almost 400 homeruns in his career, has joined the extensive list of pro athletes in jail recently. Belle pleaded guilty to stalking his girlfriend and could face a 3-month jail sentence. Belle had apparently attached a GPS system to his girlfriend’s car and threatened her. (Insert your own Cincinnati Bengals-in-jail reference here).

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Harold Reynolds Update

It turns out that the scuttlebutt about Reynolds being fired for sexual harassment was true. According to Reynolds, he “gave a woman a hug and I felt like it was misinterpreted.”

The Big Lead says it wasn’t as simple as a one time hug.


Over the weekend, Reynolds allegedly took a PA for a meal at Outback Steakhouse. Afterward, he hugged her in a way that may have been deemed inappropriate. Apparently, the PA felt weirded out, and decided to file a complaint.
When the complaint was lodged, it became evident to ESPN brass that Reynolds had a massive file full of complaints of this nature. Supposedly, he was terminated sometime Monday morning.

First, Outback Steakhouse? We’ve taken hookers to nicer restaurants… Second, from one of our sources comes this tidbit:


Never underestimate the power of some of the PAs in Bristol; some of the girls who worked in the underpaid positions nonetheless come from wealthy and/or influential families… if [one of them] made an accusation of sexual harassment, someone in Bristol would have had to do something about it instead of sweeping it under the rug

Links:
[NY Post]: REYNOLDS WANTS ESPN JOB BACK

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July 26 in Sports History

In 1922: Hoyt Wilhelm was born in Huntersville, North Carolina. Hoyt was the first great relief pitcher in baseball history, reaching 200 saves before anyone else. He is also the owner of the most wins by a relief pitcher with 124. Hoyt was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1985.

1948: July 26 also marks the last day that Babe Ruth was seen in public. He went to a screening of The Babe Ruth Story in New York City. After the screening, Ruth went back to the hospital and died about a month later, succumbing to throat cancer.

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The Full Count: Schilling and Halladay get win number 13

1. Lucky #13: Two pitchers joined Josh Beckett as 13-game winners yesterday, including a teammate of Beckett’s. 13-3 Curt Schilling and 13-2 Roy Halladay each won last night to join Beckett at the top of the leaderboard. Halladay now has the best winning percentage of any pitcher in the AL after defeating the Seattle Mariners and red-hot Gil Meche. Meche had come into the game with 5 straight wins but was blasted by Troy Glaus and Toronto’s offense. Meanwhile, Halladay allowed just 2 runs and now ranks in the AL top ten in almost every significant pitching category. Schilling didn’t pitch quite as well as Halladay, allowing 4 runs, but he got plenty of support from Boston’s offense as they routed Oakland 13-5. Each of the 13-win pitchers are now on pace for a 20-win season, which seems to be harder to achieve as the years go on. Only 12 pitchers have done it since 2003.

2. Aces High: Two of the American League’s other top pitchers met yesterday. The Twins’ Johan Santana and the White Sox’s Jose Contreras was the matchup, and Minnesota was able to take their second straight game of the series. Contreras pitched decently, but his luck has completely turned since his 17 game winning streak was snapped. Since the All Star break Contreras has lost all three of his starts despite a 4.29 ERA and the league’s best offense behind him. Meanwhile, Santana won his third straight start to improve to 12-5. Despite an awful start to his season, he leads the AL in innings pitched and strikeouts and is in the top 5 in ERA and WHIP. Expect Johan to do even better down the stretch: since 2003 he is 30-3 after the All Star break. The Twins have now won 9 of their last 10 while the White Sox are in a free-fall. Could the Twins pass up the defending World Series champs? They can do so tonight.

3. Why the Cardinals win: The reason the Cardinals are in first place as usual is simple: they have Albert Pujols and Chris Carpenter on their team. That was especially showcased last night, when they used the exceptional play of both stars to edge the Rockies 1-0. Carpenter pitched seven solid innings, while Pujols hit a homerun in the 6th that turned out to be the game’s only score. Carpenter is now second in the National League in ERA with 2.68; he also has 10 wins and is second in WHIP. Pujols, of course, is leading the NL in homers with his 33rd. He is on pace for a monstrous 58 and 152, which would both be career highs for this slugger. For the Rockies, Jason Jennings got screwed over once again. Despite having a 3.70 ERA that is almost two runs better than Jason Marquis’, Jennings has half the win total of Marquis with a 6-9 record. He is 0-3 in July despite a 3.00 ERA.

4. Could there be another piece on pitchers?: Amazingly, there will be another section about pitchers. Let’s start with Kenny Rogers, the All Star game starter and Tigers ace. Rogers had probably the worst start of his career, recording only 2 outs and allowing 7 runs against the Indians. In July now Rogers has a 9.37 ERA, and he has now become Detroit’s worst starter. Meanwhile. Carlos Zambrano is doing well with both his arm and his bat. He hit his fourth homer of the season while winning his 8th straight decision as the Cubs defeated the Mets 8-7. Zambrano has walked the most batters in the league but has the most strikeouts. Go figure. And finally, Ervin Santana has lost a game. He had won seven consecutive starts before bowing down to the Devil Rays yesterday. Now back to the NL, where Roger Clemens continues his streak of terrible luck. He has a 2.44 ERA and a 2-4 record, two things that shouldn’t go together. He was defeated by Aaron Harang, who shut out the Stros for his 11th win.

5. From the not-gonna-happen file: Sammy Sosa is considering a return to baseball in 2007 and said he would play for the Cubs again. Considering Jacque Jones is already in right field, this doesn’t seem likely. Also, unless MLB decides to unban steroids, the chances of Sosa getting back into playing shape are slim to none. Maybe he and Raffy Palmeiro can go play in an independent league with Jose Canseco.

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July 25 in Sports History: Roseanne Barr wrecks the National Anthem


In 1990: Before the start of the Reds-Padres game in San Diego, somebody for some reason let Roseanne Barr “sing” the National Anthem. While not quite up to Whitney Houston’s version at the Super Bowl that year, it wasn’t even Carl Lewis-sad-funny or that little-girl-who-forgot-the-words cute. After screeching through an off-key rendition, Roseanne showed her patriotism by grabbing her crotch and spitting. The crowd booed, and many people were upset, including President Bush, who called it “disgusting,” and a “disgrace.” She later apologized.

In 1999: Nearly dead from cancer just three years earlier, cyclist Lance Armstrong comes all the way back to win the Tour de France for the first time. Armstrong was only the second American to win the Tour (Greg Lemond did it three times in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s). Given just a 40 percent chance to live after testicular cancer had spread to his lungs and brain, Armstrong’s feat was considered one of the greatest comebacks in sports history. Although this 1999 victory would’ve have been enough, he went out and won the event seven straight times, including this day in 2004.

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The Full Count: Angels back on top

1. Back in Business: Despite being 11th in runs scored, OPS, and batting average in the AL, the LA Angels have managed to come back and tie for the AL West lead. The Angels, who in May were in last place, have used some excellent starting pitching to tie the A’s. Jered Weaver, Ervin Santana, and Kelvim Escobar have all been impressive, but none more so than John Lackey. Lackey, who earned the victory last night over Tampa, is 9-6 with a 2.89 ERA that ranks third in the AL. Their entire staff’s ERA, now at 4.05, is second in the major leagues. While they it would be unlikely for them to repeat last year’s ALCS performance, this team should make the playoffs.

2. Follow the Leaders: The Boston Red Sox are leading plenty of things right now. Most importantly, they have a 2.5 game division lead and earned their 60th win last night, becoming the first team besides the Tigers to do that. They beat the Oakland A’s 7-3, with Josh Beckett earning the victory to become the major league wins leader. Beckett has 13 wins despite a 4.77 ERA, meaning both the AL and NL wins leaders have below average ERAs. Interesting…Meanwhile, David Ortiz extended his lead in homeruns with his 34th of the year. He also leads in RBIs with a commanding 95. Both him and Manny Ramirez homered, the 41st time in the last four years they have homered in the same game. That, not surprisingly, is first among all teammates since ’03. So it’s good times in Boston right now. But none of this will matter if the Red Sox can’t capture their second World Series title in three years.

3. About to get passed: The Chicago White Sox, once thought to be the invincible giants of the AL, have suddenly found themselves struggling to stay afloat in the Central. The Twins, who have gone 11-2 since the All Star break, defeated the ChiSox 7-4. Joe Mauer, who along with Justin Morneau has almost single-handedly supported the Twins’ offense, hit a three-run homer and sac fly in the victory. Brad Radke, who has won his last 5 decisions, earned the victory. Radke, well-known because he never issues a walk, has lowered his ERA almost 2 points during that stretch. These teams will meet twice more in this series, including an intriguing Santana-Contreras matchup tomorrow.

4. Race for the Card: Of all the races down the stretch this season, probably the most interesting will be the NL Wild Card race. Eleven teams are within ten games of the lead, including seven within five. The Reds are the current leaders, while the entire freaking NL West follows them. The Braves, who about a month ago at this time looked awful, have catapulted themselves back into the race with an 8-2 record in their last 10. They are 4.5 games back, while teams ahead of them such as Milwaukee and Colorado are faltering. San Francisco and Arizona are right on the heels of the leaders, but with their inconsistency who knows what will happen. And yes, this paragraph just set a new record for “most mediocre teams mentioned in the same few sentences.”

5. Improve your strengths and ignore your weaknesses: That must be the strategy the White Sox are following at the trading deadline. While there hasn’t even been a rumor about the team acquiring a starting pitcher to improve their sinking rotation, the team apparently might go after the best hitter on the market. Yes, Alfonso Soriano might be headed to Chicago. While the likeliness of that happening is iffy, the entire move itself is questionable. Why would a team look to upgrade a major league best lineup when they have far greater concerns? They have been losing recently because of pitching, not their hitting. Outfielders Jermaine Dye and Scott Podsednik have made All Star teams in the past, so it’s not like there is a weakness there. This move shouldn’t happen and wouldn’t make any sense if it did.