Author: Vin

Vin is a Philly boy who shouldn't be invited into your house because he'll judge you on your book and music collection. He owns Dawkins, Utley, Iverson, and Lindros jerseys, which is all you really need to know about him. He can be reached at [email protected].

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MLB General

The Full Count: Milestone Weekend


1. Join the Club: The day after A-Rod’s 500th homer and Barry Bonds’ 755th, Tom Glavine reached yet another milestone. Glavine became the 23rd pitcher to reach the 300 win club, and only the 5th lefty. He joins Roger Clemens and Greg Maddux as the only players this decade to reach the mark. Glavine won his 300th like he won his first 299–by mixing pitches, being efficient, and using off-speed pitches effectively. Glavine has won ten or more games 18 of the last 19 seasons. He has 58 wins in five seasons with the Mets, with all his other wins coming in 16 years in Atlanta. The Hall of Fame lock went 6 and 1/3 innings against the Cubs, with two runs allowed and only one strikeout in an 8-3 win. Glavine even drove in a run for New York, which has the best record in the National League at 63-48. Contrary to widespread belief, Glavine will not be the last pitcher to reach 300 wins. However, it will likely be 10-15 years before another pitcher gets to 300.

2. The New Western Power: For most of this season, the Dodgers and Padres have dominated the NL West. But now, the balance of power in the division has changed tremendously with the Diamondbacks’ claiming of first place. They took the lead last week, then reinforced their position by taking 5 of 6 games from San Diego and Los Angeles in back-to-back series. The Dodgers were the victims over the weekend, with a sweep at the hands of Arizona. On Sunday Brandon Webb outdeuled Brad Penny in a 3-0 win for the D-backs. Webb tossed a complete-game shutout, giving him 23 straight scoreless innings. The defending Cy Young winner has suddenly become a candidate for the award this season as well, especially is he keeps up his post-All Star break pace. Penny lost his second start in a row after a 13-1 start. He allowed three runs in seven innings, and still has an excellent 2.66 ERA. The Dodgers, once the standard in the division, are now four games back. San Diego swept the Giants over the weekend and is just a half-game back.

3. Detroit’s Downfall: Not so long ago, the Tigers had the best record in the majors. But after a 2-11 stretch, they no longer even lead their division. The slump is mainly due to offense–they’ve averaged only 3.6 runs per game their last ten. The Yankees have passed them as the major league run leaders, and other teams aren’t far behind what was once the league’s dominant lineup. They were swept by the lowly White Sox this weekend, though thanks to poor play by the Indians, the Tigers are just a half-game back in their division. The Twins, at 4.5 games back, have played better than any team in the division recently.

Player of the Day: Scott Baker, Twins: 8 innings, 0 runs, 4 hits, 4 K’s in a 1-0 win over Cleveland.

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MLB General

The Full Count: Guerrero gets his groove back


1. Home Run Derby: Vlad Guerrero hadn’t homered in a month before Thursday’s game despite winning the Home Run Derby. He finally regained his power stroke in a big way as the Angels beat the A’s. Guerrero relived his Derby victory by bashing two out, driving in four runs in the process. He now has 16 homers, which puts him on a pace for 25. That would be his worst full-season total of his career. At least the All Star has 87 RBIs, good for fourth in the AL, and a .326 average. The Angels have now won 6 of their last 8, giving them a 3.5 game lead over Seattle.

2. The Slugging Continues: The Braves and Yankees, the league’s two hottest offenses, continued to be powerful on Thursday. However, both were let down by their pitching staffs. The Braves scored 11 runs in a 14-inning contest against the Astros, giving them double-digit runs for four straight games. But Rafael Soriano allowed a grand slam in the eighth inning that tied the game, and the Astros won off pitcher Jason Jennings’ RBI single. Despite out-hitting the Astros 22-11, the Braves found themselves losing, and dropping another game behind the victorious Mets and Phillies in the process. The Yankees, on the other hand, got crushed 13-9 by the White Sox mainly due to an awful start by Roger Clemens. Clemens allowed eight runs in the second inning, his shortest outing since 2000. The Yankees scored eight runs of their own in the second off Jon Garland, which marked the first time in major league history two teams have scored 8+ runs in the second. The rest of the game went the White Sox’s way, and the Yanks dropped to eight back behind Boston. They are competitive in the Wild Card race though, at three back behind Cleveland.

3. Cy Young Favorites: In the American League, Dan Haren is right now the obvious choice for the Cy Young award. He leads the league in ERA by a mile, with 2.44, and is tied with many with 13 wins. In the National League, the selection is more difficult. Chris Young has a 1.82 ERA, but is on the DL right now. So, Jake Peavy, with his 2.30 ERA and league-leading 154 strikeouts, is the front-runner. Peavy shut down the Diamondbacks on Thursday, pitching seven shutout innings and striking out 10. The Padres won 11-0 behind Peavy as recently acquired Morgan Ensberg hit two homers.

Player of the Day: Jermaine Dye, White Sox: 4-5, 2 HRs (21), 4 RBIs in a 13-9 win over New York.

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MLB General

The Full Count: Teixeira pays dividends already


1. What a Debut: In his first game as a Brave, Mark Teixeira was already showing his excellent potential. Batting fourth in the lineup in between Chipper and Andruw Jones, Teixeira hit a homerun and had four RBIs in the Braves’ rout. Atlanta won 12-3 over Houston, giving them 38 runs in their last three games. For Teixeira it was his 14th combined homer of the year, and he extended a streak of getting exactly one hit to eight games. The Braves now have possibly the league’s best lineup from top to bottom. They had five .300 hitters in the lineup on Wednesday, not even counting Teixeira’s .297. With the recent scoring explosion Atlanta ranks second in the NL in runs, though they’re still 52 behind the Phillies. Despite three straight wins Atlanta is 3.5 games behind the Mets.

2. Another game, another blowout: The Braves are hot offensively, but it’s nothing compared to what the Yankees are doing. With an 8-1 victory over the White Sox on Wednesday, they have scored 34 runs their last three games and 62 runs their last four home games. They pounded out five homers in the win, giving them 13 in two games. The latter stat ties a team record set in 1939. However, A-Rod hasn’t hit any of those homers, and remains stuck at 499 for his career. Jorge Posada hit two bombs, giving the .341 hitter 14 homers on the year. Robinson Cano, who leads the AL in hits since the All Star break, hit a shot as well. The Yanks have won three in a row and seven of their last ten, but the Red Sox have been just as good. New York remains seven games back.

3. The Unlikely Division Leader: The Arizona Diamondbacks, despite being outscored for the year, lead the NL West division and have the second-best record in the National League. They have been on fire lately, winning 10 of their last 11 contests. Their success has come at a time when the Dodgers and Padres are struggling, though they still only lead them by 1 and 2.5 games, respectively. Arizona beat San Diego in an extra-inning contest on Wednesday. Though the Padres rallied for four runs in the ninth to tie the game, the Diamondbacks put up four in the 11th to win the game. Chad Tracy hit a key three-run homer in the win.

Player of the Day: Miguel Cabrera, Marlins: 3-3, HR (26), 2 runs in a 4-3 win over Colorado

Categories
MLB General

The Full Count: Braves make a big move wit Teixeira


1. Brave New World: The Atlanta Braves made a deal on Monday that will shake up the entire order in the National League. In the first (and perhaps only) big deal this trading deadline, Atlanta acquired All Star Mark Teixeira from the Rangers. They gave up phenom catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, two minor leaguers, and also got a lefty reliever in return from Texas. With this acquisition, the Braves have put together what is probably the league’s best offense. They already had the fifth-most runs in the NL, and now they have a slugger at what has been their weakest position: first base. Teixeira is hitting .297 this year with 49 RBIs in only 78 games. The Braves’ combined first basemen this year, in 106 games, have only 41 RBIs and a .211 average. With Teixeira hitting likely at cleanup now, the Braves have virtually no holes in their lineup. Unless their bullpen is awful (like it has been lately), then the Braves will be a top challenger for the Wild Card, if not the division title.

2. Hotter than Hot: The Cubs have one of the league’s best records since the All Star break, but the Phillies have been even better recently. They have now won 9 out of 10 after beating Chicago 4-1 on Monday. The Phillies, who lead the National League in runs by a mile, won with pitching. Cole Hamels gave up one run and three hits in eight innings, along with eight strikeouts. The ace improved to 12-5 with a 3.50 ERA on the year. Hamels ranks second in the league in strikeouts behind only Jake Peavy. On offense, Aaron Rowand had another great game, with a homer and three RBIs. Rowand is hitting .418 since the All Star break with a ridiculous 1.242 OPS. The Phillies are now three games behind the Mets in the NL East, and 1.5 ahead of the Braves. But they were the only one of the three teams not to make a deal yesterday (Teixeira to the Braves and Luis Castillo to the Mets).

3. The Worst Team in the League: Sometimes there is a close race for the MLB cellar, but this year the Devil Rays are far and away the league’s worst. They won on Monday, becoming the last team to reach the 40-win plateau this year. They have allowed 662 runs, almost 100 more than the next worst (the Rangers, 568). Opponents have hit nearly .300 against them. Amazingly, their offense is above-average, but their pitching is so bad it doesn’t even matter. Recently they traded for Dan Wheeler to help out their atrocious bullpen, which has a 6.51 ERA this year. Wheeler is a good pitcher, but there’s no way he can turn this awful team around.

Player of the Day: Jordan Tata, Tigers: 7 innings, 2 runs, 5 strikeouts in a 5-2 win over Oakland. There were better pitching performances on Monday, but Tata helped end the Tigers’ four game losing streak in his first major league start.

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MLB General

The Full Count: Boston back on top


1. Back to Being the Best: The Red Sox, once again, have the best record in baseball. They are 62-40 after beating the Indians in a series 3-1. They won 14-9 on Thursday, in a high-scoring contest that followed two 1-0 games between the teams. Manny Ramirez was the star in this one, with two homers, four RBIs, and four runs. Wily Mo Pena also contributed four hits and four RBIs, even after coming into the game with a .080 average in July. The Indians were excellent too on offense, as eight of their starters scored a run, but it wasn’’t even as Boston blew through them. The Red Sox extended their division lead over the Yankees back to 7.5 with the win and the Yanks’ loss to the Royals.

2. Hot and Cold: The Arizona Diamondbacks have been probably the streakiest team in baseball this season, with four winning streaks of 6 or more games and three losing streaks of 5 or more games. Right now they are hot, with their sixth win in a row coming against the Marlins. Arizona won 7-4 due to a three-run walk-off homer by Eric Byrnes. Their bullpen pitched six shutout innings after starter Micah Owings was knocked out of the game. The Diamondbacks are now ahead of the Padres for the first time in while, and they’re only 1.5 games back of Los Angeles. Next week, they will play against the Padres and Dodgers in series that could shake up the order in the NL West.

3. Double Trouble: The Phillies had a terrible day on Thursday, as they lost 7-6 to the Nationals and one of their superstars players was hurt. MVP candidate Chase Utley broke his hand as he was hit by a pitch. He may only be out 3-4 weeks, but it still will affect the team for the worse. Utley is a major reason the Phillies lead the league in runs, with a .336 average, 82 RBIs, and 79 runs. The sooner he comes back, the better for Philadelphia, which is 2.5 games out in the Wild Card race.

Player of the Day: Nick Swisher, A’s: 3-5, 2 HRs, 4 RBIs in a 6-2 win over Seattle.

Categories
General Sports

July 25 2007 episode of Poor Man’s PTI

Welcome to another episode of Poor Man’s PTI.  

You can download this week’s podcast directly (running time 60 mins) or subscribe to the feed.  

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This week’s topics include:

  • NBA ref scandal
  • Michael Vick
  • stalking ballplayers
  • British Open
  • Fantasy Football
  • Tour de France

Hope you guys enjoy the podcast.  If you did enjoy it, please give us a good rating below so we can rise up in the rankings. If you didn’t, send us an email ([email protected]) and give us some suggestions. Thanks for listening.

Categories
MLB General

The Full Count: Lou Pinella is earning his paycheck


1. Here Come the Cubs: The Chicago Cubs have gone from a disappointment to two games back in the division over the last two months. They are 31-15 since June 2 after yet another win on Wednesday. Red-hot starter Ted Lilly won his seventh straight decision, improving to 11-4 on the year. Lilly is 5-0 in July with a 1.83 ERA. He helped the Cubs beat the Cardinals 7-1, giving them a 2-0 series lead in St. Louis. The Cubs now are right on the tails of Milwaukee, who has led the division almost the entire season. With an excellent pitching staff that has allowed the second-fewest runs in the National League (San Diego), the Cubs certainly have the tools to make the playoffs.

2. 2 games, 2 runs: The Indians and Red Sox are two high-scoring teams, but the last two games of their series have been all about pitching. After a 1-0 win for Boston on Tuesday, Cleveland won 1-0 on Wednesday. Fausto Carmona, the most underrated pitcher in the majors this season, outdeuled Josh Beckett for the win. Beckett (13-4, 3.27 ERA) has received all the attention, but Carmona (13-4, 3.31) has been just as good. Carmona pitched eight shutout innings for his second straight start, and is 5-0 in the month of July. Beckett went eight strong but lost for the third time since June 30.

3. Nearing Milestones: This season in baseball has been highlighted by milestones, from Bonds’ homerun chase to Clemens’ 350th win to Biggio’s 3000th hit. On Wednesday, two players came closer to two of the game’s most important marks. Tom Glavine won his 299th career game, while Alex Rodriguez hit his 499th career homerun. Glavine improved to 9-6 on the season despite a 4.51 ERA. He has a 6.35 ERA since June 10 but is still 3-3 in that span. Glavine is now 299-197 for his career and remains one of the more underappreciated players in the game. Meanwhile, A-Rod hit his league-leading 35th homer of the year in the Yankees’ sixth straight win. He also now has 102 RBIs, becoming the first player in the league this season to reach triple digit RBIs. His 499 homers have come over only 12 seasons, and he now has ten straight years of 35 or more long balls. These players should reach 300 and 500 within the next week, well before Bonds hits 755.

Player of the Day: Ryan Raburn, Tigers: 4-5, 2 homers, 7 RBIs, 3 runs in the Tigers’ 13-9 win over Chicago. Raburn, who is playing in his first major league season since 2004, made good use of his fourth start of the season.

Categories
MLB General

The Full Count: Dice-K outduels Sabathia



Can I get some run support?

1. Duel of the Day: Pitcher’s duels don’t get much better than the one on Tuesday, when Boston’s Daisuke Matsuzaka and Cleveland’s CC Sabathia were at their best. Both went seven innings, with Dice-K allowing no runs and Sabathia one. The Red Sox ended up winning 1-0, with the only score coming off a Mike Lowell RBI single. For Sabathia, it was his third loss in his last four starts, dropping him to 13-5. Matsuzaka, meanwhile, is now 12-7 with a 3.79 ERA. Now all the hype surrounding him earlier has all but vanished, even though he’s pitching much better than he did earlier in the year. Sabathia, with a 3.70 ERA himself, may no longer be a Cy Young candidate, but he’s still an ace on one of the league’s best teams.

2. Back on Top: The New York Mets are back where they should be: on top on the National League. They have regained the league’s best record at 56-43, thanks to a 7-4 record since the All Star break despite tough opponents. The Mets held their own last week in a brutal road trip to San Diego and Los Angeles, going .500. Now they face Pittsburgh and Washington at home, the former of which they defeated 8-4 last night. John Maine pitched seven solid innings for his 11th win. The underrated Maine has been the Mets’ ace this year, with a 3.04 ERA and .219 opponents’ average. He is part of a pitching staff that ranks third in the NL in ERA. Their offense, though nowhere as near as good as last year, is at least above-average. If their pitching can remain excellent, which it has been, the Mets will remain the league’s best team.

3. I’ll be there for you: Bud Selig, after way too much controversy for such a minor issue, has announced he will be in attendance when Barry Bonds breaks Aaron’s homerun record. Bonds, whose 43rd birthday yesterday was spoiled by the Braves’ 7-5, 13-inning win, remains at 753 career homeruns. He hit two out last week against the Cubs, but has gone 2-14 since then. Selig could be forced to attend the Giants’ games for two weeks while waiting for Bonds to break the record. It’s still the right decision, and one that shouldn’t have taken so long for Selig to make. While the other sports’ commissioners are dealing with huge issues right now (dogfighting, ref betting), Selig gets to watch a great athlete beat a greater record. What Bonds may have done to get there should remain irrelevant for the commissioner of baseball.

Player of the Day: Craig Biggio, Astros: 2-4, Grand Slam (6) in the Astros’ 7-4 win over the Dodgers. This came on the day he announced he will retire after this season.

Categories
MLB General

The Full Count: Aaron Harang goes OT


1. The 10-inning Start: Aaron Harang just kept coming back to the mound, inning after inning. In what is tied for the longest appearance by a pitcher this season, Harang went 10 innings, giving up just one run. He also struck out ten, and remarkably had no walks despite 121 pitches. Harang, however, didn’t even get credit for the win, as the Reds-Brewers game was decided in the 12th inning. Backup catcher Javier Valentin provided the winning hit, and reliever Jared Burton was credited with the W. Harang’s start was the longest in the majors since Roy Halladay went 10 innings on April 13. Halladay also had a ten-inning start back in 2003. Harang, by the way, is doing very well this season with a 3.45 ERA.

2. The Best of the Best: The Boston Red Sox became the first major league team to reach 60 wins after beating the Indians, but they don’t have the highest winning percentage in baseball. That would be the 59-38 Tigers, who beat the White Sox 9-6. Detroit, who has by far the best road record in baseball (33-17), crushed Chicago for 18 hits, including 14 off starter Mark Buehrle. Andrew Miller had his worst start so far this year, but it didn’t matter as Curtis Granderson went 3-3 with 4 RBIs. The 60-39 Red Sox beat Cleveland 6-2 in Jon Lester’s debut after fighting cancer. Lester went six strong innings, and Coco Crisp backed him up with four hits and three runs. The Tigers and Red Sox right now are the best teams in baseball, though many others, such as the Indians, Angels, and Dodgers, are pretty close. With all these elite teams, we should see some great playoff action this year.

3. The D-Train has Crashed: Whatever happened to Dontrelle Willis? A 22-game winner in 2005, Willis was average last year and has been flat-out bad this season. He lost his seventh straight decision on Monday, a career-high. He has walked too many people (57, fifth-most in the league) and given up too many hits (154, well over one per inning). This results in a dismal 1.65 WHIP, along with a 5.15 ERA. Willis hasn’t even won a game since May 29. Despite all the promise he showed over his first few seasons, Willis is now seemingly a below-average MLB pitcher.

Player of the Day: Aaron Harang, Reds: 10 innings, seven hits, one run, no walks, 10 K’s in a 2-1 win over the Brewers.

Categories
MLB General

The Full Count: It’s only the Devil Rays but damn


1. Return of the Bronx Bombers: The Yankees’ offense had been above-average this season, but far from dominant. Then, with 45 runs over the past two days, their lineup is finally the dominant force many expected it to be at the start of the season. After sweeping a doubleheader with scores of 7-3 and 17-5 on Saturday, the Yankees annihilated the Devil Rays 21-4 on Sunday. Alex Rodriguez led the charge with his 34th homer and 99th RBI. Hideki Matsui went 5-6, Robinson Cano went 4-6, and rookie Shelly Duncan hit two of New York’s six homers in the rout. Tampa Bay starter James Shields was pounded for ten runs as his ERA rose above 4 for the first time since April. The Yankees are now catching up to the Tigers for the major league runs lead; they’re only three behind after that incredible two-day span. They have a season-high winning percentage but remain 7.5 games back of Boston.

2. A Day of Shutouts: Excluding the Yankees game, Sunday was actually a day of low scoring. There were six shutouts overall throughout the major leagues, which including many dominant pitching performances. Roy Halladay hurled a three-hit shutout in the Blue Jays’ 8-0 win. Rookie of the Year candidate Jeremy Guthrie of the Orioles pitched seven scoreless innings in Baltimore’s 2-0 win over the A’s. Philadelphia crushed San Diego 9-0 thanks to JD Durbin’s career-first complete game. Houston won a 1-0 showdown with Pittsburgh thanks to one of Woody Williams’ best starts of the season. Finally, Arizona blanked Chicago and Washington shut down Colorado.

3. Royal Embarrassment: The White Sox were viewed as a preseason contender in the AL Central division. I even thought they would take second place. However, after a season that has gone wrong in so many ways for Chicago, they find themselves tied with the Royals for last place. At 43-54, only Texas and Tampa have worse records in the American League. The White Sox have a lowly offense which is tied for last in the AL in runs and dead-last in batting average and on-base percentage. It’s not like their pitching has been magnificent either, with a 4.76 team ERA. Chicago lost a series at Boston 3-1 by a combined score of 31-14. Their upcoming series include matchups with the Tigers and Yankees, so it could get worse for the White Sox.

Player of the Day: Roy Halladay, Blue Jays: 9 innings, 3 hits, no runs, one walk in an 8-0 win over Seattle. In what has been an off season for the perennial All Star, Halladay improved to 11-4 but still has a 4.15 ERA.