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Full Count for Wed May 10 2006: 50 game suspension for Young

1. 50 is enough: Delmon Young, now possibly the most famous minor league player ever after throwing his bat at an umpire (video), finally received his suspension for the incident. 50 games without pay — which seems like enough for this incident. The guy is losing $145,000 because of this, and he also needs to do 50 hours of community service. Though Young didn’t join Ron Artest and earn a season-long suspension, this incident will certainly go down as one of the worst in baseball history.

2. 3 runs and 3 errors: That is what the Yankees’ stat line looked like after Tuesday’s humiliating 14-3 loss to rival Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. Josh Beckett completely outpitched Randy Johnson, but Johnson didn’t get much help from his defense. Though Johnson allowed a horrific total of 7 runs, only two of them were earned as the Yanks committed 3 errors (two by A-Rod). The bullpen didn’t do much better, allowing a total of seven runs to the prolific Red Sox offense. Manny Ramirez hit his 6th homerun, and even Alex Gonzalez went yard for Boston. Beckett pitched well, allowing three in 7 innings, two of the runs on a homerun by Jason Giambi (11). This gave the Red Sox a game lead in the divisional race, though the Yankees could easily make that up sometime during the three-game set.

3. The Other Rivalry: Though the Yankees-Red Sox will get all of the attention, the Mets and the Phillies should be an excellent matchup this year. The Braves have struggled against both teams (though they crushed the Marlins last night 10-2), making this the rivalry that could decide the NL East. On Tuesday, the Phillies won the first game of the season series. Brett Myers outdueled Pedro Martinez, but this game came down to the ninth inning. Though the Phillies came into the 9th with a 4-2 lead, Carlos Delgado helped to erase that with his 2-run blast. But the Phillies scored on a crucial error, winning the game 5-4. Now they are only 3 games back of New York for the division lead.

4. ALCS Rematch? No contest: Coming into this year, you might have thought that the three series between the White Sox and the Angels would be the most competitive games in the AL. Scratch that–the searing White Sox have defeated the Angels four times already on the year after last night’s 9-1 domination. LA scored in the first inning but never again, as Freddy Garcia (5-1) pitched a gem, allowing only that one run through 8 innings. Jim Thome did the damage offensively for Chicago, hitting his 14th homerun and driving in 4. The win pushed the White Sox to a major-league best 23-9, as they are the only team with single digits in the loss column. The Angels, a perennial playoff contender, are in last place.

5. The Badminton League: Jason Kendall seems pretty upset that he is being suspended four games for charging the mound on May 2. Actually, VERY upset. After multiple sources said Kendall wouldn’t get his suspension reduced, he dropped his appeal and ripped the MLB. Kendall said the MLB has `turned into a badminton league’ and it is `embarrassing’ that you `can’t defend yourself.’ Kendall’s actions likely deserved the suspension, as he charged the mound and wrestled pitcher John Lackey to the ground. His point, though, was that Lackey should have been further punished because he verbally provoked Kendall into charging the mound. Whatever really happened, we can’t wait for the next time these two face each other in a game.

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Full Count for May 9 2006: Who are people I couldn’t pick out of a lineup



Name this player

1. Who dat?: Some of the names atop the leaderboards this season are in unfamiliar territory. The AL batting leader so far is…drum roll…Alex Rios! He is hitting .384, exactly 100 points higher than his career average. While usual stud Edgar Renteria leads the National League in batting, the next three in this category are Brad Hawpe, Brad Ausmus, and Brian McCann. Who??? And while the NL homers and RBIs lists feature a lineup of past and present superstars, the AL lists feature a certain Tampa Bay duo. Johnny Gomes is second with 12 homers and Ty Wigginton is also second with 30 RBIs. If anyone outside of Tampa Bay has heard of these two before the season started, you are probably a writer for the Baseball Encyclopedia. Actually, considering Tampa’s fan base, I don’t think anyone in Tampa has heard of them… By the way, the Yankees probably wish they had kept Jose Contreras, who is 5-0 with a league-leading 1.41 ERA.

2. Time for a Holliday…: The Rockies and Cardinals might seem like one of the biggest mismatches in the NL, but actually the teams have identical 20-13 records. When the two teams met in front of another sellout at Busch Stadium, the Rockies prevailed, 6-2. Behind strong pitching from Jeff Francis, who allowed one run in 7 strong innings, the Rockies were able to shut down Albert Pujols and company. Francis is 2-2 this year with a 3.16 ERA, production the Rockies haven’t seen in a while from a starting pitcher. The offense was powered by Matt Holliday, who hit two solo homeruns to give him 9 on the year. More good news for the Rockies: Todd Helton was back in the lineup on Monday night (though he was held to 0-5).

3. …and for a Halladay: On Sunday, Johan Santana took a no-hitter through seven innings. Yesterday, it was Roy Halladay’s turn, as he allowed his first hit in the sixth inning in a complete game performance. On the night, Halladay allowed one run and only 4 hits, leading the Blue Jays to a 4-1 win over the Angels. The win gave Toronto a 3-1 series win over the struggling Angels (14-19), who are nearly last in the AL West. Meanwhile, some of those offseason acquisitions have helped Toronto to a decent 17-14 record, only two games behind the deadlocked Red Sox and Yankees.

4. San Diego…Super Padres: After a down start in which their pitching was as bad as Ron Zook’s coaching, the San Diego Padres are back in the hunt for the NL West division lead. After an 8-3 win over the Cubs last night, they have won 9 in a row. They are still behind the Rockies and Diamondbacks for the division lead, but that is expected when you start out a horrendous 8-15. Brian Giles and Mike Cameron drove in 3 runs apiece against the Cubs, and Dave Roberts even swiped 3 bases. Greg Maddux, everyone’s darling after a 5-0 start, was hit with his second straight loss after allowing 7 runs in less than 4 innings pitched. The Cubs (14-17) are back at 5th in the loaded NL Central.

5. Bonds sits, Giants win: The Giants didn’t need a Bonds homer to power them on Monday, as they were just fine without the slugger in a 7-5 win over the Astros. This game wasn’t even supposed to be played; it was rescheduled due to two earlier rainouts in the season. Pedro Feliz hit a homer and 3 RBIs. Bonds will have to wait for upcoming series against the Cubs and Dodgers (both at home) to get 714 or possibly 715.

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Baseball franchise… Get your own baseball franchise here


There’s a new baseball league coming in 2007 and it’ll only cost you $100,000 for your own franchise. Imagine being the George Steinbrenner of… Lawrence, KS.

Former major leaguer Jay Johnstone is the face for the new Continental Baseball League, which will launch a 6-15 team league next year. (The CBL should not be confused with the Continental League, the proposed third major league in 1959.) The CBL will have a salary cap of $120,000, or about what A-Rod makes in 3 at-bats. Players would make between $4,000 and $10,000 a year, or about what A-Rod makes while applying mascara before the game.

The mission of the CBL is to bring affordable baseball to small communities. Ticket prices will be between $5 and $12 and all concessions will be kept under $3.50… except beer. Dang. Why can’t we have $3.50 beer?

The league is going to have one gimmick though. (No, not He Hate Me.) In the seventh inning, all home runs by the trailing team will count double. So a grand slam could be worth 8 runs. Seems kinda hokey, like the 10 point basket on MTV. Just give us $3.50 beer and we’ll do without the gimmicky homers, thanks.

Links:
[SignOnSanDiego.com]: This wacked-out idea is a 7th-inning stretch
[LJ World]: Lawrence on list for startup baseball league

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Full Count for Mon May 8 2006: Babe hears you knocking



713*

1. Bonds blasts no. 713: Barry Bonds always has a knack for hitting homeruns in dramatic situations. So it wasn’t surprising when he hit his 713th career homerun on Sunday Night Baseball against the Phillies. His round tripper–in the sixth inning off Jon Leiber–traveled an estimated 450 feet to left and nearly went into the upper deck at Citizens Bank Park. This was one of many Bonds shots when you could tell it was gone the moment it left his bat, and it left him only one homerun away from tying Ruth on the all-time list. Of course, Bonds being Bonds, refused to sign the ball for the Air Force serviceman who caught it. Number 714 could come on the Giants’ upcoming homestand, in which they play Houston, Chicago, and Los Angeles over the next week.

2. Just what they needed: The Atlanta Braves have been struggling lately to say the least. After losing divisional series to New York and Philadelphia last week, they fell to nine games off the Mets’ pace coming into Sunday. But in their last game in the series against the Mets, they ran over the first place team like an 18-wheeler crushing a Kia. Mets pitchers Jose Lima and Bartolome Fortunato combined to allow all 13 of the Braves runs in the loss, including Fortunato’s 8 in only 1.1 innings. Every player in the Braves lineup contributed, with Jeff Francoeur and Brian Jordan hitting homers and John Smoltz even knocking in 2 runs. Smoltz pitched well too, striking out 8 in 6 innings. The Braves’ 13-3 domination proved that they could still defeat the Mets (many have been doubting), but they are still 8 games back of their heated rivals. While the Mets play Philadelphia next week, the Braves play the divisional weaklings in Washington and Florida.

3. Back in form: Johan Santana, after struggling through his first three starts, now appears to be in his top form. The ace won for his third start in a row against the Tigers, and even took a no-hitter into the 7th inning. He eventually allowed four hits–and two runs–but Santana proved that he can still be the dominating starter that he was in ’04 and ’05. Mike Maroth, the Tigers’ surprising new ace, was hit with the loss after allowing four runs through five innings. The Twins won the series over the second-place Tigers, but they are still 9 games back from the White Sox for the division lead.

4. THE Yankees win (for the 1,000th time): The Yanks completed a series sweep of the Rangers on Sunday, and gave Joe Torre his 1,000th win as manager of the Bronx Bombers. This places Torre fourth on the list of all-time Yankees managers, and it pushes him closer to 2,000 overall wins as a manger (combined with stints in Atlanta, St. Louis, and the Mets, Torre has 1894 wins). Torre’s team breezed through the Rangers 8-5 behind Hideki Matsui’s fifth homer of the year and Chien-Ming Wang’s excellent pitching. They are tied with the Red Sox for first place at 18-11.

5. Pitching problems: Many pitchers were injured over the weekend. The Mets’ Victor Zambrano is out for the season after tearing a tendon in his elbow. This led to bringing up Jose Lima from minors, who didn’t do too well in his first start. Elsewhere, Cardinals pitcher Sidney Ponson left the game against Florida because of problems in his elbow. The Cards still completed a sweep of the Marlins. Also, Ben Sheets, Milwaukee’s ace, missed his scheduled start against LA because of shoulder stiffness. Man, what is going on with these pitchers?

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MLB Cost Index for May 8 2006

[We’ve moved the Cost Index to Mondays because what better way is there to start a week at your crappy job but to see how GMs are wasting millions of dollars on your underachieving team. (For most you anyway, both on the job and on the team.)]

This week, the Phillies and the Padres make the biggest leaps after wininng 8 in a row. The costliest club so far? Braves, Angels, Mariners and Yankees. But at least the Yankees are winning their division.

** all $ are in millions.

Rank (Pv) Team 2006 Payroll GP Wins YTD Payroll Cost/Win
1 (1) Marlins $15.0 29 8 $2.68 $0.34
2 (2) Rockies $41.1 32 19 $8.13 $0.43
3 (3) Devil Rays $35.4 32 13 $7.00 $0.54
4 (4) Reds $59.5 32 21 $11.75 $0.56
5 (7) D’backs $59.2 32 18 $11.70 $0.65
6 (6) Indians $56.8 32 17 $11.22 $0.66
7 (5) Brewers $56.8 32 16 $11.22 $0.70
8 (8) A’s $62.3 31 16 $11.93 $0.75
9 (9) Rangers $65.5 32 17 $12.93 $0.76
10 (10) Tigers $82.3 32 20 $16.26 $0.81
11 (12) Blue Jays $71.9 30 16 $13.32 $0.83
12 (21) Padres $69.7 31 16 $13.34 $0.83
13 (11) Cardinals $88.4 32 20 $17.47 $0.87
14 (15) White Sox $102.9 31 22 $19.69 $0.89
15 (16) Pirates $40.2 33 9 $8.20 $0.91
16 (17) Mets $100.9 31 21 $19.31 $0.92
17 (13) Astros $92.6 31 19 $17.71 $0.93
18 (20) Twins $63.8 31 13 $12.21 $0.94
19 (26) Phillies $88.3 31 17 $16.89 $0.99
20 (14) Orioles $72.6 33 14 $14.79 $1.06
21 (22) Nationals $63.3 32 11 $12.50 $1.14
22 (24) Royals $47.3 29 7 $8.47 $1.21
23 (27) Red Sox $120.1 31 19 $22.98 $1.21
24 (18) Giants $90.9 31 14 $17.39 $1.24
25 (19) Cubs $94.8 30 14 $17.56 $1.25
26 (23) Dodgers $99.2 32 15 $19.59 $1.31
27 (29) Braves $92.5 31 13 $17.69 $1.36
28 (25) Mariners $88.3 33 13 $17.99 $1.38
29 (28) Angels $103.6 32 14 $20.47 $1.46
30 (30) Yankees $198.7 29 18 $35.56 $1.98

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MLB Power Rankings Roundup for 5-5-06

Has a team every gone wire to wire as the best consensus team in baseball? And will the White Sox be able to pull that off and win the World Series? Should be interesting to see if this team hits any rough patches during the season. They have to… right?

Meanwhile, the Tigers and their league leading 3.17 ERA pitching staff are the darlings of this week’s rankings climbing. But don’t tell that to TSN, who already had the Tigers #1 as of last week. The Tigers are doing well, but #1? Is the guy who writes the rankings for TSN related to Jim Leyland?

Here are your power rankings from the major sites this week. **Note that there is no update from USA Today. They must be busy writing the news for 4th graders…

Rank Sportscolumn ESPN FoxSports Sportsline USA Today** TSN.ca
1 White Sox White Sox White Sox White Sox White Sox Tigers
2 Astros Mets Tigers Mets Mets White Sox
3 Mets Yankees Mets Cardinals Astros Mets
4 Cardinals Reds Cardinals Astros Red Sox Reds
5 Red Sox Astros Reds Red Sox Cardinals Cardinals
6 Reds Tigers Astros Yankees Yankees Yankees
7 Yankees Blue Jays Yankees Tigers Indians Brewers
8 Tigers Red Sox Brewers Reds Tigers Astros
9 Rangers Cardinals Red Sox Brewers Blue Jays Rockies
10 Cubs Indians Blue Jays Athletics Angels Rangers
11-30 more more more more more more

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Full Count for May 5 2006: Brotherly love for Bonds


1. Welcome to Philadelphia, enjoy the boos: Barry Bonds heads into Philly for a three game stay and if the only thing that hits him in that giant noggin of his is an errant baseball, he’ll be relatively lucky. As Ashley Fox puts it in the Philly Inquirer, “No matter what the Phillies do for security, or how many undercover cops are in the stands, or how many uncomplimentary signs are confiscated, someone is going to do something stupid.” Remember, Philly fans, we want clever, not stupid. Calling Bonds a steroided up freak is obvious. Throwing a syringe onto the field was clever. Now, we expect you to step it up and do something even better. May we suggest a huge paper mache Bonds head with planets revolving around it?

2. Can anybody stop these guys?: With their 4-1 win over the Mariners, the White Sox improved to 20-8 on the year. They became the first AL team to reach the 20-win mark, and look even more unstoppable than they were last year, when they won the World Series. Jose Contreras improved to 5-0 on the year, and dating back to last year he has won 13 in a row. Jim Thome’s 3-run homer provided most of the offense for the White Sox, and was his 11th shot of the year.

3. Big Unit gets ripped and still wins: Randy Johnson has probably had the best luck of any pitcher in the majors this year. Despite an ERA over 5, he is 5-2 on the season. On Thursday, he allowed 5 runs to the Devil Rays, but the Yanks still won the game. The Yankees were powered by homers from Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon on offense, and the bullpen was almost perfect in the win. New York remained in first place at 15-11, while the Devil Rays are at 11-18.

4. Winning away from home: The Royals, who have the worst record in the majors at 6-20, came into Thursday’s game against the Twins with an 0-13 road record. This tied them with the 1969 Astros and 1988 Orioles for the worst road record ever to start a season. After they edged the Twins 1-0 in Minnesota, the streak is now over. Four Royals pitchers combined to allow only 5 hits in the game, and Paul Bako hit an RBI single to provide the only score of the night.

5. Not used to being here: The Braves, after 14 straight division titles, are accustomed to being in first place in the NL East. After they lost to the Phillies last night 6-3, they dropped to third place, ahead of only the pitiful Marlins and Nationals. The Phillies completed a sweep of the Braves and won their 5th straight game. At 14-14, they only trail the Mets in the division. Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins had homers for the Phillies on the night.

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Full Count for May 4 2006: Evil Empire is back in 1st

1. A-Rod: clutch?: Alex Rodriguez has taken many shots over his career about not being able to come through in clutch situations. This year, he is only hitting .242 with runners in scoring position. But last night, he won the game for the Yankees with a 10th inning RBI single. The Devil Rays chose to pitch to the slugger with runners on second and third and walk Hideki Matsui, but their plan backfired. The hit broke A-Rod’s 0-12 slump, and the win sent the Yankees to first place for the first time this season.

2. Showing his age: Greg Maddux has really had a spectacular season so far. At age 40, he started the year out 5-0, his best-ever start to a season. But he came back down to Earth on Wednesday, as he lost to Arizona. Maddux’s career record versus the D’Backs dropped to 1-9, his only losing record against any NL team. He was ripped for 5 runs and 10 hits in only 5 innings pitched in his worst performance of the season. Arizona’s Chad Tracy did most of the damage, with a homer and 4 RBIs. Miguel Bautista picked up the win, and surprising Jose Valverde achieved his 8th save of the year. The D’Backs are a game back of the Rockies for the NL West lead.

3. A week to remember: Only three games into this week, Travis Hafner has already put up unbelievable numbers. His homerun and 4 RBIs in the Indians rout of the A’s marked Hafner’s third straight game with these totals. So, in his last three games, he has 3 homers and 12 RBIs. The entire Indians lineup did well in a 14-3 win on Wednesday. Up 5-3 entering the 8th inning, the Indians ruined the A’s bullpen for 9 runs. In fact, no Oakland pitcher on the night allowed less than two earned runs. Indians starter Paul Byrd turned out one of his first decent performances of the year, with 3 allowed through 7. Cleveland is still 5 games back of the White Sox in the AL Central.

4. Back to 2003: Jason Schmidt has struggled ever since his magnificent 2003 and 2004 campaigns. Last night, he took the first step to getting back on track, with a shutout against the Brewers. He allowed only 5 hits and did not walk a batter on the night. This was Schmidt’s first shutout since August 2004. In other news, Barry Bonds failed to homer, going 0-4 on the night. He remained at 712 for the season. The Giants (14-13) are right in the middle of the packed NL West division, in which every team has from 12 to 16 wins.

5. Staying in Miami?: The Marlins, who have the lowest attendance and payroll in baseball, have talked about moving to a different city this year. San Antonio would certainly be a possibility. An amendment was approved by the Florida Senate that could give the team a new stadium. This is good news for a team that has the third lowest record in baseball and is in last place.

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Full Count for May 3 2006: Nothin’ But A Good Time


1. CC’s back: The Cleveland Indians have played without their best pitcher CC Sabathia so far this season. On Tuesday, he returned from the DL to give the Indians a much-needed win. He pitched 5 solid innings, only giving up 1 run. Opposing pitcher Mark Buehrle threw his worst game of the season, with 7 runs and 13 hits allowed to the Indians. Travis Hafner led Cleveland on offense with a homer (9) and 4 RBIs. The Indians were in danger of falling under .500 had they lost.

2. Just two more: The Giants fell to the Padres on Tuesday, but this game was all about 712. That’s Barry Bonds’ homerun total after his solo shot in the eighth inning. Now Bonds is just two away from tying Babe Ruth on the all-time list. The Giants’ next two series are at Milwaukee and Philadelphia, so there is a possibility Bonds will hit his tying shot on the road. The loss sent the Giants to .500, but the Padres are still in last in the NL West.

3. Clear the benches: One of the fist major fights of the season occurred in the Oakland-Los Angeles game yesterday. John Lackey was pitching to Jason Kendall, and a pitch went high and inside. Lackey apparently insulted Kendall, resulting in the A’s catcher charging the mound. The two started fighting, which led to the clearing of both dugouts. No one was ejected because of the incident. The A’s ended up routing the Angels 10-3, including 6 9th inning runs to put the game out of reach.

4. Leading off: Marcus Giles had high expectations when he was named Atlanta’s leadoff hitter before the season started. He has been a disappointment, but he played like a star in the Braves game against the Rockies. Giles went 4-5 with an RBI and a run, and Andruw Jones recorded two RBIs for the Braves. Shortstop Edgar Renteria set an Atlanta record by extending his hitting streak to 17 games at the start of the season. The Braves won 5-4 against Colorado, and despite their 12-14 record they are in second place.

5. Minor league cheater: Though no major leaguers have been suspended for steroids this season, a few minor league players have been caught on the juice. The latest was Tampa Bay minor leaguer Matt Rico, who was suspended for 100 games for his second drug violation. Tampa Bay’s minor leagues are worse than the major league team this season, with this on top of Delmon Young’s bat-throwing incident.

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Full Count for Tues May 2 2006: From you, dad. I learned it from watching you!



That’s my boy!

1. Like father, like son: Pete Rose Jr. didn’t exactly have the best fatherly influence growing up. His dad was infamously banned from the Hall of Fame for betting on baseball, and Rose Jr. has now been arrested for selling illegal drugs to his minor league teammates. The drug is a known steroid alternative. Rose was sentenced to one month in prison and five months of home detention, though the crime could have warranted a $1 million fine.

2. Guess who’s back: The first Red Sox-Yankees game of the year was highlighted by Johnny Damon’s return to Fenway Park. Damon, once beloved by Red Sox fans, was booed for thirty seconds in his first plate appearance, and he went 0-4 on the night. David Ortiz, possibly the best hitter in the AL, led the Red Sox to a 7-3 victory with his 3-run homerun in the 8th. It was Ortiz’s 11th homer of the year, giving him the tie for the AL lead. Decent pitching performances for the Red Sox were turned in by Tim Wakefield, Mike Timlin, and Jonathan Papelbon.

3. Unwanted at home: While Damon’s boos in his return to Fenway were expected, we at least thought Jim Thome would get some respect back at Jacobs Field in Cleveland. Thome did hit over 300 homeruns in his career for the Indians. But he got even worse treatment than Damon, as he was booed throughout the game by Cleveland fans. Thome went 1-5 with an RBI, but it was Scott Podsednik and Paul Konerko who led the Sox to an 8-6 victory. Konerko hit a three-run homer in the first inning, and Podsednik went 4-5 and added a stolen base. For the Indians, Travis Hafner hit his 8th homerun of the year, a grand slam. But it wasn’t enough for Cleveland, who fell to 5.5 games off the White Sox’s lead.

4. Going all the way: Two complete games led two NL teams to wins on Monday. Tim Hudson of the Braves, who has struggled so far this year, had likely the best pitching performance of the season with a one-hitter against the Rockies. The only hit Hudson allowed was ironically to the opposing pitcher, Jason Jennings. Hudson had a hit of his own, which drove in one of the Braves’ two runs. The other complete game was tossed by Bronson Arroyo of the Reds, who allowed four hits and a run in the Reds’ 6-1 win over St. Louis. Arroyo, who is 5-0 on the year, held Albert Pujols and Jim Edmonds to a combined 0-7 on the night.

5. Texas hold `em: The Texas Rangers are not known for their pitching. In fact, their hurlers have probably been the only thing holding them back from making the playoffs the last few years. But last night, their pitchers carried them in a 3-0 shutout of the Devil Rays. Kameron Low got the start and the win, with only 4 hits allowed over 7 innings. Francisco Cordero, who has allowed a run in every appearance since April 20, pitched a perfect inning. Akinori Otsuka, now apparently the closer for Texas, got the save. This was the first shutout of the year for the Rangers.