The Full Count: Miserable in Minnesota

Posted on Fri Sep 14, 2007 at 08:02:45 AM EST in MLB
More on: Twins, Padres, Phillies, Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, MLB, Full Count (all tags)

1. Lost Season, Lost GM: The Minnesota Twins have declined after winning the division last year, with an unimpressive 72-74 record. To make their situation worse, their longtime GM, Terry Ryan, announced he will resign at the end of the season. Ryan, who has been with the team for 13 years, has been a brilliant manager of a small payroll. The Twins have won 4 out of the last 5 division titles, relying mainly on homegrown talent instead of expensive free agents. Ryan, who will be replaced by assistant GM Bill Smith, has become one of the game's most respected administrators. He will leave the Twins with an excellent talent core, with All Star caliber players in Johan Santana, Joe Nathan, Francisco Liriano (when he finally returns), Torri Hunter, Justin Morneau, and Joe Mauer. The key for new GM Smith will be in keeping as many of these players as possible while staying within the franchise's limited budget.

2. Getting Closer: The San Diego Padres lost ground on two teams with one loss. Both the Dodgers and Phillies are within 1.5 games of them for the wild card lead after the Dodgers defeated the Padres 6-3. James Loney had three hits and four RBIs, and Rafael Furcal had three runs and three steals for the Dodgers. David Wells, who was cut by the Padres a month ago, was victorious against his former teammate Greg Maddux. Wells is 3-0 since joining the Dodgers. The Phillies also gained a game on San Diego with a 12-4 rout of the Rockies. Chase Utley homered and Aaron Rowand had two RBIs as the Phils roughed up Jeff Francis for eight runs. The Phillies will travel to New York to play the Mets this weekend, while the Dodgers play the Diamondbacks and the Padres face the Giants.

3. 20 losses?: It is amazing that the Cardinals' Kip Wells has stayed in the rotation the entire season. He is 6-17 on the year after another loss on Thursday, leading the majors in losses. Wells could challenge for 20 losses, which has not been done since Mike Maroth went 9-21 in 2003. Wells has a 5.77 ERA and 1.65 WHIP for the year, and he was 2-9 within the first two months of the year. He's not the only player on the Cardinals with a terrible record. Anthony Reyes, who started 0-8, is 2-14 on the year, and Maroth himself is 0-4 since joining the Cardinals. These pitchers have combined for a 8-35 record this season, meaning the Cardinals are 61-40 in games they didn't record a decision. This shows how valuable Chris Carpenter is to this team. If he was pitching instead of Wells, the Cardinals would easily be winning the division.

Player of the Day: AJ Burnett, Blue Jays: 8 innings, 4 hits, 1 runs, 8 K's in a 2-1 win over the Yankees. Burnett's excellent start helped end the Yanks' seven game winning streak.

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The Full Count: So much for the Brew Crew

Posted on Wed Aug 29, 2007 at 08:57:03 AM EST in MLB
More on: Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, Phillies, Mets, Angels, MLB, Full Count (all tags)

1. From Leaders to Losers: The Milwaukee Brewers were the talk of the league in June, when they pulled out to a huge lead in the NL Central division. However, with a 19-34 record the last two months, the Brewers have fallen to third place. They have lost five straight, including a 5-3 loss to the division-leading Cubs on Tuesday. Milwaukee got a solid start from Jeff Suppan, but Scott Linebrink allowed three runs to blow the game and the offense was ineffective. Lack of offense has been a reoccurring problem for the Brewers, who rank 15th in the NL in runs this month. They fell below .500 with the loss, and were passed by the red-hot Cardinals.

2. Philly draws closer: The Phillies have won three in a row, pulling themselves closer to both the division and wild card leaders. They are four games back of the Mets and threeback of the Padres after a 4-2 extra-inning win over New York. The Phillies won off Ryan Howard's 10th inning walk-off homer. It was the 35th blast of the year for Howard, who leads the NL with 108 RBIs. The Mets' only score was on Carlos Delgado's two-run shot in the second. The Mets, who have dropped five of their last seven, are still the NL's best team. However, the Phillies can catch up easily, especially if they take the last two games from the Mets in this series. Philly should still be more concerned with the wild card race at this point.

3. Halo Power: The Angels got awful starting pitching on Tuesday, but it didn't matter as their offense carried them to a win over the Mariners. Ervin Santana recorded only one out and allowed five runs, and with a 6.38 ERA is in jeopardy of losing his spot in the rotation. However, the Angels still won 10-6, thanks to Vlad Guerrero's 4-5, 3 RBI night. Guerrero is now batting .509 against the Mariners this season. The Angels lead the season series over the Mariners 10-4, including two wins in this series so far. They lead by four games in the division, thanks to Seattle's four straight losses. The Mariners still lead the wild card race by one game over the Yankees.

Player of the Day: Johnny Damon, Yankees: 2-4, HR, 2 RBIs in a 5-3 win over the Red Sox. Damon's two-run shot in the seventh gave the Yankees a lead they would not give up in this one.

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The Full Count: Brewers going down the drain

Posted on Fri Aug 17, 2007 at 08:55:45 AM EST in MLB
More on: Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, Cubs, Diamondbacks, Marlins, Tigers, Yankees, MLB, Full Count (all tags)

1. Collapse of the Brewers: The Milwaukee Brewers may still lead the division, but at the rate they're going now, it won't be for much longer. They lost 8-0 on Thursday to the Cardinals, their fourth loss in a row. Adam Wainwright had one of his best starts of the year for St. Louis, with seven scoreless innings and eight strikeouts. Catcher Yadier Molina pounded two homers, despite coming into the game with one the entire year. The Brewers were swept by the Cardinals, who are now only 2.5 games back. The Cubs haven't been great recently either, but they trail by only a half game. The Brewers, who have been outscored this season, are only 4-10 in August, and it's looking like they will give up their division lead in the near future.

2. Desert Dominance: Like the Brewers, the Diamondbacks have been outscored for the season. That is where the similarities end, however. Arizona has the National League's best record at 69-53, and is 10-4 this month. They have a three game lead over the second place Padres in the division. The D-Backs wrapped up a series win over Florida with a 5-4 victory on Thursday. It was a typical win for them--decent but not great starting pitching, hitting that just gets the job done, and great work by the bullpen. Despite their 22-10 record since the All Star break, the Diamondbacks still haven't been great statistically in that span. They're batting .250 with a 4.23 team ERA since the break, in fact. Sooner or later, those poor statistics will catch up with them. For now, though, the Diamondbacks appear to be on cruise control.

3. The Showdown Begins: The Tigers and Yankees hadn't seen each other all year before Thursday, but they are scheduled to play two four game series in two weeks. The Tigers won the first battle of the majors' two highest-scoring teams, handing the Yankees their third straight loss. Detroit's 8-5 win was fueled by six runs in the first two innings, including a grand slam by Carlos Guillen in the first. Justin Verlander pitched well enough for his 13th win. The Tigers and Yankees now have identical 67-54 records this year, with the Tigers a half game ahead in their division and the Yankees a half game behind in the wild card. The Yanks have dropped to 5.5 games back in the division thanks to two inexcusable losses to Baltimore earlier this week.

Player of the Day: Mark DeRosa, Cubs: 5-5, 4 RBIs in a 12-4 win over Cincinnati. DeRosa was one of three Cubs to put up at least four hits in this blowout.

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The Full Count: Congratulations to Trevor Hoffman

Posted on Thu Jun 07, 2007 at 10:07:30 AM EST in MLB
More on: Padres, St. Louis Cardinals, Gary Sheffield, Tigers, MLB, Full Count (all tags)

1. The 500 Club: The 500 homerun club has twenty members (and counting), but the 500 save club just got its first member. Trevor Hoffman, one of the more underrated players in major league history, saved his 500th career game on Wednesday. Hoffman broke the career saves record last year, passing Lee Smith and his 478 saves. His mark compared with Smith's is the statistical equivalent of 790 homeruns or 6000 strikeouts, but it of course is considered less prestigious and will receive very little attention after today. Hoffman closed out a 5-2 win over the Dodgers, which included a solid start by Greg Maddux as the Padres moved to 1.5 games ahead of Los Angeles. Next up for 500 saves is Mariano Rivera, who is 81 away but has played two fewer years than Hoffman.

2. The Cardinals are back: For the first time this season, the Cardinals are playing like a team that has won the division for three straight years. They've won six of their last seven games to move within five games of the once-dominant Brewers. On Wednesday the Cardinals topped the Brewers as Albert Pujols hit a key two-run homerun. Pujols has four homers and eight RBIs in his last eight games. Closer Jason Isringhausen, who sealed the deal for his 14th save of the year, is having a surprisingly good season. Isringhausen has a 1.50 ERA and 0.83 WHIP, unusually great numbers for the closer of a disappointing team. The Cardinals aren't a playoff-caliber team, but they might make it to October if no one else in their division can.

3. Bat over mouth: Gary Sheffield's racial comments have gone unpunished by the Tigers or the MLB. Maybe that's because he's one of the more dominant sluggers in the game, as he proved Wednesday with a great performance. Sheffield hit two homers to give him 15 on the year, and drove in five runs as the Tigers walloped the Rangers 10-0. It's no wonder the team hasn't done anything about his comments, which insulted both black and Latin players. Anyway, the Tigers' win put them within 2.5 of Cleveland, who lost to Kansas City. Justin Verlander followed up a poor start last week with seven shutout innings and a win. Magglio Ordonez went 2-4 with an RBI and is now the AL leader in batting average in addition to RBIs. With .362 and 54 in those categories, Ordonez has been the best hitter in the majors by a mile.

Player of the Day: Chien-Ming Wang, Yankees: Complete game, five hits, one earned run in a 5-1 win over the White Sox. By the way, Roger Clemens will join Wang on the Yankees' staff when he makes his debut this Saturday.

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The Full Count: Brewers exposed!

Posted on Tue May 29, 2007 at 09:06:14 AM EST in MLB
More on: Brewers, Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, MLB, Full Count (all tags)

1. From Hot to Cold: The Brewers got off to a 24-10 start by beating teams within their terrible division, the NL Central. Since they started playing teams with winning records, the Brewers have slipped to a 4-13 mark. On Monday the Braves beat them in Milwaukee 2-1. Andruw Jones homered for his second straight game, while Chuck James pitched well for the win. James struck out 8 and gave up one run in six innings. The only run he allowed was a Prince Fielder solo homerun. Fielder now ranks first in the NL in homeruns with 16 on the year. But that was the only positive for the Brewers offense, which wasted a great start by Chris Capuano in the loss. After the series with Atlanta is finished, the Brewers will face Florida and Chicago at home before starting three straight Interleague road series.

2. No Chance for a Comeback: It doesn't matter when Roger Clemens is coming back. The New York Yankees are officially out of the AL East divisional race. New York has dropped four games in a row, and they're currently tied with the Devil Rays for last place. They lost on Monday to the Blue Jays, even though Toronto's pitcher came into the game with an 0-2 record and a 7.17 ERA. Dustin McGowan pitched a 7-plus inning gem, surrendering just two runs and five hits while striking out seven. Meanwhile, Yankees rookie Matt DeSalvo was ousted in the fifth inning, and the bullpen broke down as well in the 7-2 loss. The Yankees are 13.5 games back of the league's best team, the 35-15 Boston Red Sox. The Sox have cruised to four victories in a row and have allowed the fewest runs in the American League.

3. No Chance for a Repeat: Even though they play in a terrible division, the St. Louis Cardinals' season is likely over. The 2006 World Series Champions have scored the fewest runs in the majors, and their starting pitchers have a combined 12-25 record. After losing again on Monday, Kip Wells (2-9) now has the most losses of any pitcher in the majors. Wells, who has a 6.20 ERA and is on pace for 29 losses, gave up six runs and 11 hits to the Rockies. Colorado's Jeff Francis held the Cardinals scoreless through seven innings in the 6-2 win. The Cardinals swept the Pirates last week, but they lost a series to the Nationals over the weekend and are in fifth place at 20-28. The Rockies are still in last, but they have won 6 in a row.

Player of the Day: Kyle Lohse, Reds: Complete game shutout, no walks in a 4-0 win over Pittsburgh.

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Josh Hancock's father might try to sue God next

Posted on Fri May 25, 2007 at 09:35:37 AM EST in MLB
More on: St. Louis Cardinals, lawsuits, jackasses (all tags)

Dean Hancock, the father of Josh Hancock, the St. Louis pitcher who was killed in a traffic accident last month, really needs to blame somebody for the death of his son. He is suing the restaurant that served his son alcohol which certainly has legal precedence.

But here's the kick in the crotch -- he is also suing the man whose Geo Prism stalled and the tow truck driver who stopped to help the Prism. Damn that Prism owner for not being rich enough to afford a reliable car... say like a top of the line SUV. And damn that tow truck driver for actually trying to help someone.

Now, we don't want to desecrate the memory of the dead but Josh Hancock was drunk, speeding, wasn't wearing a seat belt, and was talking on his cell phone at the time of his fatal accident. Is this really anyone's fault but Josh's? Or Perhaps Dean Hancock did such a shitty job of raising his son that he needs to blame people for his own failures?

Everyone felt bad about Josh Hancock's death. And even when the facts of his accident came out, most people just swept it under the rug and paid their respects. But now Dean Hancock is using up whatever ounce of goodwill was left in community by being a complete asshat. Way to honor the memory of your son, pops.

Links:
[SI]: Hancock's father files suit

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The Full Count: Remember Gary Sheffield?

Posted on Thu May 03, 2007 at 08:09:07 AM EST in MLB
More on: Tigers, Orioles, St. Louis Cardinals, Red Sox, Josh Beckett, MLB, Full Count (all tags)

1. Sheffield's back: Gary Sheffield took more than a month to give any kind of contribution to the Tigers whatsoever. Yesterday he finally gave the breakout performance every Tigers was fan was waiting for as the team beat the Orioles 3-2 to complete a sweep. Sheffield went 4-4, with a solo homerun and RBI single that provided the difference in this game. He raised his average from .191 to .226 in one day, and in the past ten days his average has nearly doubled. Additionally, he stole his fifth base of the season, which puts him at a career-high pace. The Tigers now have a four-game winning streak going, and they may finally have the slugger they were looking for.

2. From Champs to Chumps: The Cardinals are having one of the worst seasons ever for a defending champ. Due to a five-game losing streak, they have dropped to last place in the division and have the second-worst record in the entire National League. On Wednesday they were shut out 4-0 by the red-hot Milwaukee Brewers, who have the best record in the NL. Starter Anthony Reyes is now the official unluckiest pitcher in baseball. Despite allowing either 3 or 4 earned runs in each of his five outings, he is 0-5 due to awful run support. In fact, the Cardinals have only given him 1.2 runs per game in support, due to an offense with a .245 team average. Don't blame Albert Pujols for their struggles; he is currently on an 11-game hitting streak that has increased his average by 90 points. The Cardinals can't wait until starter Chris Carpenter returns, as all of their current starters have an ERA above 5.00 with the exception of Braden Looper.

3. Still perfect: Josh Beckett may be the Red Sox's team MVP through one month of the season. He has yet to be beaten, and continued his success Wednesday by improving to 6-0 against the A's. Beckett pitched 7 innings, with 7 strikeouts and 3 runs allowed. It wasn't his best outing, but the Red Sox gave him plenty of support in a 6-4 win. The Red Sox are 17-9 and have the biggest division lead in the American League; Beckett has accounted for over one-third of those wins.

Player of the Day: Barry Bonds, Giants: 2-4, HR (9, 743 career), 4 RBIs in a 5-3 win over the Rockies.

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Make sure your tattoo artist knows how to spell

Posted on Wed May 02, 2007 at 11:48:23 AM EST in MLB
More on: St. Louis Cardinals, bad ideas, lawsuits (all tags)

Another bad tattoo

What better way is there to celebrate your favorite team's championship win than by getting a tattoo?  You can go around commemorating the St. Louis Cardinals 2000 Worlb Series victory with an awesome tattoo.  What?  Oh, that's supposed to  say 2006 World Series?  Damn.

Cards fan Jason Harris is suing The House of Ink in St. Louis for over $25,000 in damages.  Since it was on his back, he didn't know about the errors until he showed his mother ("Hey ma, check this out!") the following day.  The shop has offered to fix the work but Harris would rather get it removed at this  point.

We completely understand where he's coming from.  A tattoo is supposed to be cool.  Now this tattoo was never going to be cool but now it's a complete joke.  Hey, at least he didn't try getting it in Chinese characters and end of with something like St. Louis Pigeon Moth Balls.  

We don't have a photo of his wretched tattoo but it sounds like a job for Joe Sports Fan.

Links:
[The Smoking Gun]: What In The Worlb?

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The Full Count: Extra Innings madness

Posted on Mon Apr 30, 2007 at 08:04:25 AM EST in MLB
More on: Padres, Dodgers, Braves, Rockies, St. Louis Cardinals, Josh Hancock, Joe Torre, Full Count (all tags)

Now we can go home!

1. 4 hours and 55 minutes: The 16-inning Astros-Padres game on April 26 didn't take long to get passed as the longest game of the year. The Padres and Dodgers nearly played two games back-to-back in a 17-inning marathon. The game was tied 4-4 after the seventh inning and then went scoreless for a remarkable 10 consecutive innings. Finally, in the 17th, the Dodgers were able to score after an error by a Padres backup and subsequent double by Brady Clark. The story of this contest was the bullpen play of both teams. None of the 11 combined relievers for both teams gave up an earned run in 25 combined innings. San Diego came close to a comeback in the 17th with two men on and one out, but then back-to-back strikeouts gave the Dodgers a 5-4 win. They are a half-game above red-hot Arizona for the division lead.

2. A game of craziness: The game between the Braves and Rockies turned out to be quite a unique one. The most notable occurrence was a rare unassisted triple play by Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. As players on second and first for the Braves were running on a 3-2 pitch, Tulowitzki caught a line drive, tagged second base, then tagged the runner coming from first. This was only the 13th unassisted triple play in major league history, and the second by a Rockies player. Also in this game, the Braves walked an incredible 13 batters, including five free passes to Todd Helton alone. In the 9th inning with the Braves up 7-5, Bob Wickman walked the bases loaded and then gave up two runs to tie the game. Only a diving catch by Jeff Francoeur saved the Braves from defeat in that inning. But the Rockies won it anyway in the 11th, as Matt Holliday hit a two-run homer to end this wild game. The Braves still won the series, 2-1.

3. Bigger than baseball: Unfortunately, a tragic off-field event overshadowed a great day of baseball on Sunday. Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock, who had pitched on Saturday, died in a car accident coming home from the game. He slammed into the back of a tow truck, which was stopped to help another car that had crashed. The Cardinals-Cubs game, scheduled for Sunday Night Baseball, was postponed as a result of the tragedy. The Cardinals will wear #32 patches the rest of the season in honor of Hancock, a reliever who was with the team for their World Series run in 2006.

Player of the Day: John Maine, Mets: 7 innings, 3 hits, no runs, 8 strikeouts in a 1-0 win over the Nationals which improved his record to 4-0.

Walk Off: It was reported by two New York newspapers that Joe Torre's job could be in jeopardy if the Yankees continue to struggle. This would be the stupidest move the Yankees could make right now. Torre has led the team to four World Series titles and ten division titles in a row. He is at absolutely no fault for the Yankees' last place standing. The pitching has been simply awful, particularly the starters. There is a current trend in sports right now to fire the manager/coach if the team is underperforming, no matter what success this coach has had. Why not fire the people responsible for trading away all the Yankees' prospects for over-the-hill veterans?

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The Full Count: Slump Busters

Posted on Mon Apr 09, 2007 at 09:18:35 AM EST in MLB
More on: Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, Yankees, Mets (all tags)

1. One Man Show: When a stud like David Ortiz struggles the first week, you know he's going to break out eventually. He did so yesterday as the Red Sox topped the Rangers 3-2 on Sunday Night Baseball. Ortiz hit his first two homeruns of the season, which drove in all three runs by the Sox. He got no help from his teammates in the win, as more than half their lineup went o-fer. At least Curt Schilling was able to return to his usual self after a poor first start. Schilling had one earned run in seven innings.

2. Return of the King: David Ortiz wasn't the only star to break out of a slump yesterday. Albert Pujols had no RBIs, homeruns, or runs through five games and just one hit. But yesterday, he went 2-5 against the Astros with a homer and two RBIs. The rest of the Cardinals' team performed too in a 10-1 rout. Scott Rolen drove in four runs, Yadier Molina had three hits and three RBIs, and starter Kip Wells allowed one hit in seven innings. The Astros are now 1-5, while the Cards aren't much better at 2-4.

3. Losing to the Worst: The Yankees weren't dealt the toughest opening schedule with the Devil Rays and Orioles. However, they have struggled with both teams in a 2-3 start. Yesterday, New York lost 6-4 to Baltimore despite A-Rod's continued dominance. Rodriguez hit his fourth homerun of the season, but the O's got round-trippers from Paul Bako and Kevin Millar. For Bako, it was his first homer since 2004. Erik Bedard rebounded from a poor first start to get the win for Baltimore.

Player of the Day: Johan Santana, Twins: 7 innings, 1 hit, no runs, 9 strikeouts in a win over the White Sox.

Stat of the Day: No Yankees starter has made it past the fifth inning this season.

Walk Off: Though the Mets were virtually handed the division in pre-season predictions, the Braves will prove once again to be a strong contender in the NL East. They just beat the Mets 2-1 in a series despite being outscored 16-7. That means the Braves' pitching is back where it needs to be for them to be successful. Their relievers have been even better than expected, and Bob Wickman has three saves and a 0.00 ERA in the closer role.

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