No-no not quite: Matt Cain of the SF Giants came close to throwing a no-hitter against the Angels last night in San Francisco. Cain went into the eighth inning without allowing a base hit until Chone Figgins lashed a clean single up the middle. Cain did give up an unearned run in the first; he walked Figgins and allowed him to steal second, where he scored on a throwing error. He struck out 10 batters, while walking four and leaving after the eighth inning of the 2-1 Giants victory. It was the fourth time in the past month a pitcher has flirted with a no-hitter. Chris Young of the Padres (twice) and Carlos Zambrano of Cubs also flirted with destiny, only to fall short. There has not been one in the majors since Randy Johnson’s perfect game against the Braves in May of 2004.
Team Turmoil: Speaking of the Angels, what exactly are they doing out there this year? Not only are they in last place in AL West, which is possibly the worst division in baseball, but they‘re looking really bad doing it. They are last in defense in the AL with 56 errors on the season and are giving up close to one unearned run per game They recently benched Chone Figgins for lackluster play (and possibly for a reported scuffle with Adam Kennedy) and they need to find him a permanent position in the field and in the batting order. Rookie pitcher Jered Weaver, who has won his first four starts, had a 1.37 ERA and was by far the Angels best starting pitcher the past month, was sent down to the minors in favor of his older brother Jeff, who is 3-9 with a 6.02 ERA. They are sitting seven games behind the A’s and Rangers and haven’t won more than four games in a row all season.
All good things must end: The Oakland A’s ten-game winning streak took a Holliday last night. Colorado’s Matt Holliday paced the Rockies with a home run and two RBI and four Rockies pitchers combined to keep the sizzling A’s off the board, 7-0 at Coors Field. The A’s managed only seven hits and hit into four double plays. Has there been anything more predictable in baseball over the last few years than the Oakland A’s? They follow the same formula every year: get off to a horrible start, then heat up with the weather and go on some ridiculous winning streak (they once won 20 in a row), and battle to the last week of the season for a playoff spot. This all despite having a payroll in the lower half of baseball. They’ve been right on cue in 2006 as the hottest team in June with 15 wins in 18 games; and they now sit tied with the Texas Rangers for first place in the AL West.
World Series preview? Despite the lack of interesting interleague match ups this week, a possible October preview could take place on the South Side of Chicago starting Tuesday. The Cardinals, who have been holding their own without the injured Albert Pujols, meet the defending champion Chicago White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field. The White Sox trail the Tigers in the AL Central by two games, while the Cards lead the Reds by five in the NL Central. Unfortunately, Chris Carpenter and John Garland will not be available to pitch in the series.
Team Turmoil: Part Two: Ever have your boss call you out for poor work performance in front of your co-workers? That’s one thing, but how about your owner mentioning your name for no good reason in baseball’s steroid scandal? Ken Kendrick did exactly that to Luis Gonzalez last week, telling the Arizona Republic that there “have been whispers,” that Gonzo “must have been doing something,” because of the fact that he hit 57 homers in 2001 and has not hit more than 31 in any other season. Gonzalez had to call a press conference to defend himself, saying, “the damage has already been done.” Full Count has to ask: In the wake of the Jason Grimsley debacle (in which the D-Backs have gone 2-10 since), why add fuel to the fire by calling out perhaps your most popular player and World Series hero? Perhaps because, according to USA Today, Arizona has a club option for $10 million on Gonzalez for 2007 that he doesn’t plan on paying and needs a convenient reason to justify it, just as he did with Grimsley. Kendrick also made a baffling financial move, releasing pitcher Russ Ortiz and eating 22 million dollars.
