Tag: MLB

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MLB General

The Full Count: How to waste $8.3M a year


1. The Offseason’s Worst Signing: It always fasinates me that teams choose to sign a pitcher they know is bad instead of bringing one up from the minors and saving $10 million. For example, the Mariners paid Jeff Weaver $8.3 million a year this offseason even though they knew he couldn’t pitch in the AL. Didn’t they know how bad he was, considering he had a 6.29 ERA and 3-10 record last year when he player for division foe Los Angeles? Well, this year, Weaver has been the single worst pitcher in baseball easily. After another shelling Thursday against the Tigers, his ERA stands at 14.32, his WHIP is 2.59, and opponents are batting .459 against him. Add that to an 0-6 record, and you have the single worst signing this offseason by any team. In games that Weaver does not pitch, the Mariners are 15-9, a winning percentage that would be good enough for the division lead. Weaver gave up 6 runs in 5 innings against the Tigers, which actually lowered his ERA. Justin Verlander got the win for Detroit, who is 9-1 their last 10 and took over the division lead.

2. One year makes a difference: In 2006, Toronto finished ahead of Boston for second in the AL East. This year, they aren’t even in the same league as the Red Sox; Boston swept them in a three game series and leads them by more than 10 games. The Blue Jays have now lost 9 in a row, and have a worse record than the Devil Rays. Even their ace is struggling. Roy Halladay came off a 12-hit, 9-run start last week and allowed 7 runs to the Red Sox. Meanwhile, Tim Wakefield continues to be one of the more underrated players in baseball, as he improved to 4-3 with a 1.79 ERA. In his last two starts, Wakefield has allowed zero runs in 14 innings. Boston now has a seven-game lead over the Yankees, while the Blue Jays’ playoff hopes are pretty much already over.

3. If you think the Blue Jays are bad…: The Kansas City Royals might never be a good team again. They have failed to make the playoffs since their World Series title in 1985. KC has finished in last for three straight years, and it’s a guarantee that this year will be their fourth in a row. They were walloped 17-3 by the Oakland A’s, a usually light-hitting team. The A’s hit six homers, including two each by Dan Johnson and Jack Crust. The Royals had three different pitchers allow more than four runs as they fell to 11-24. The A’s are just one game back from the Angels for first place.

Player of the Day: Dan Johnson, A’s: 4-4, 4 runs, 4 RBIs, 2 HRs in a 17-3 win over Kansas City.

Stat of the Day: 47…That’s the number of homeruns the Reds have this season, the most in the majors. Would anyone have guessed that at this point in the season, the five most powerful teams would be Cincy, Milwaukee, Florida, Texas, and Tampa? The Reds are led by Adam Dunn with 11 homers, Josh Hamilton at 8, Alex Gonzalez at 7, and notably Ken Griffey Jr. with 6. Griffey has 569 career jacks and is tied for ninth on the all-time list.

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MLB General

Rickey Henderson is still humble after all these years


So, now that Roger Clemens has made his return to the big leagues, Rickey Henderson has been all over the place trying to get a gig of his own in the pros. But while he waits for some sucker to sign him, he’s enjoying his free days by getting reacquainted with America’s pastime and on Monday he took in a game between the Mets and Giants at AT&T Park.

Turned out Rickey was in the right place at the right time because he ended up snagging a foul ball while sitting in the stands. No big deal, right? After all, it’s not the first time that Henderson has made a nice catch. But apparently Henderson wanted to add the ball to his personal collection of memorabilia and he refused to give it up to some lil’ tike that was sitting by him. What a swell guy!

Everybody was asking me for the ball,” Henderson said Tuesday, according to the Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J. “I said, ‘You’re not getting this ball. I always wanted to get a foul ball. This one’s going on a shelf at home.’

But to prove that he wasn’t a complete jerk, Henderson did sign a ball that the kid already had. Seems to us that he could have just flipped the ball to the kid; c’mon, is he really going to move his AL MVP, Golden Glove or ALCS MVP awards down the shelf so that he can prominently display the foul ball he caught? Everyone knows just how selfish and conceded this guy is. Who else but Rickey says stuff like “Lou Brock was the symbol of great base stealing. But today, I’m the greatest of all time,” after breaking a record? Oh well, as Rickey would say, “That’s just Rickey being Rickey.”

Links:

[SignOnSanDiego.com]: Want a foul ball? Then catch it, kid

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MLB General

The Full Count: Smoltz vs Maddux


1. Pitcher’s Duel, Hall of Fame style: It’s not often there’s a pitching matchup features two starters that are future Hall of Famers and former teammates. But that’s what John Smoltz vs. Greg Maddux had to offer, and it lived up to its billing. The game marked Maddux’s return to Turner Field for the first time since leaving the team in 2003. I went to Turner Field to see these two greats face off. One of the more interesting moments occurred during Maddux’s first at-bat. The crowd at Turner Field gave him an enormous standing ovation, then Maddux lined a single off Smoltz. Earlier that inning, Geoff Blum hit a solo homer, which was matched the next inning with an opposite-field shot by Adrian Gonzalez. But Smoltz was never rattled by these errors, as he moved down many of the batters he faced to finish with 7 innings, 2 runs, and 7 strikeouts. Maddux, meanwhile, was his usual, efficient self. He was taken out early after just 72 pitches, but Maddux pitched a great 5.1 innings, only surrendering one run. With the Padres up 2-1 and stud reliever Cla Meredith in, it seemed over for the Braves. However, the Braves reeled off four straight hits, including RBIs by Chipper and Andruw Jones. For Andruw, it turned out to be his second night in a row with a game-winning RBI. That’s because when relievers Mike Gonzalez and Rafael Soriano came in for the Braves, they were utterly unhittable. Gonzalez, with his awkward windup and wicked curveball, quickly ousted the bottom third of the Padres’ order. Soriano, who came in as the closer, struck out 2 using his 96 mph fastball. The Braves won 3-2, with John Smoltz receiving his 198th career win. Another note in this game was Braves leftfielder Willie Harris, who was very speedy on the basepaths and hit the ball well. Overall, this was one of those games that came in with a lot of hype and completely lived up to it.

2. Unlikely Aces: Jason Marquis sucked last year with the Cardinals, as he put up a 6.00+ ERA and was left off the team’s postseason rotation. But this year with the Cubs, he has dominated and won five straight starts. On Wednesday, he gave a complete-game shutout, three-hit effort, good for a 1-0 win over the Pirates. The game’s only run was scored on a leadoff homer by Alfonso Soriano. For the rest of the game, Marquis (5-1 with a 1.70 ERA now) was the story. Elsewhere around baseball, some breakout pitchers emerged. The Devil Rays’ James Shields pitched as well as Marquis–nine innings, three hits and no runs allowed–but his team lost. That’s because opposing pitcher Erik Bedard struck out 10 and shut out the D-Rays, and this game went 0-0 into extra innings. Aubrey Huff of the Orioles hit a game-ending homerun. Also, Gil Meche of the Royals, the most widely panned offseason signing, pitched well enough to lead his team over the first-place A’s.

Player of the Day: It’s too hard to choose among the pitchers, so I’m going with David Ortiz, Red Sox: 4-5, HR (9), 3 RBIs in a 9-3 win over Toronto.

Stat of the Day: Maddux and Smoltz have combined for 533 wins and 5 Cy Youngs in their careers. It’s not the most ever for opposing pitchers in either category, but it’s still impressive.

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Milwaukee Brewers

Brewers’ latest promotion goes ass up


If you thought that Reese’s did a good job of combining two of your favorite treats into one tasty experience, just wait until you get a load of the Milwaukee Brewers’ latest promotion.

Fans at today’s game will have the opportunity to get free tickets to an upcoming game and all they have to do to get them is participate in a free prostate exam. Yup, just let the good folks at the National Prostate Cancer Coalition feel inside your anus and you could get a pair of crappy (no pun intended) tickets to a Brewers game. Now, we know the Brew Crew is playing some pretty good ball right now but we’d rather throw down the $20-$30 bucks for our seats, thank you very much. Oh, and only the first 50 brave souls to get in line will get the tickets. Hopefully the 51st guy found that out before taking a finger to ass for nothing.

This is probably all very professional, well as professional as you can be in the rectal exam-mobile, but can you imagine walking out of that RV and having all your fellow fans pointing and laughing at you from the ticket line as you gingerly make your way over to the gates. Talk about the walk of shame. And anyways, how are you supposed to sit in a hard, plastic seat for three hours after that? But if you slap the magic word “free” in front of anything there will always be some cheap bastards lining up around the block. Some people will do anything for a little extra beer money.

Links:

[Bugs and Cranks]: Brewers Kicking, Inspecting Ass
[Froedtert.com]: Free Prostate Cancer Screenings at Miller Park
[OnMilwaukee.com]: Free Prostate Cancer Screening

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MLB General

The Full Count: Exceeding expectations


1. A Penny Earned: Brad Penny has exceeded everyone’s expectations this year in being one of the best pitchers in the majors. On Monday he had his most dominant start of the season against the Marlins. Penny had 14 strikeouts in 7 shutout innings. Amazingly, he only had 15 strikeouts the whole season up until this game. Now Penny is 4-0 with a 1.39 ERA, good for second in the majors behind John Maine. He has reeled off seven straight quality starts this season, and has yet to give up a homer. The Dodgers won 6-1, helped offensively by Jeff Kent and breakout catcher Russell
Martin. They have a one-game lead over San Diego in the NL West.

2. Best vs. Worst: The best team in the league played the worst one on Monday, and the result was basically what you would expect. The 22-10 Brewers shut down the 9-23 Nationals as Chris Capuano gave his best start this year. Capuano went 8 innings, had 9 strikeouts, and played a huge role in the 3-0 shutout of Washington. Capuano is now 5-0 and has a 16-inning scoreless streak. As the season goes on, Milwaukee is starting to look less and less like a fluke and more like this year’s Detroit Tigers.

3. Other unbeatens: Penny and Capuano are among a multitude of pitchers who have not lost this season. Most notably is 6-0 Josh Beckett, who has won the most games in the majors this year. CC Sabathia and major league ERA leader John Maine are 5-0. At 3-0 there’s resurgent Bartolo Colon of the Angels, who’s pitching better than he did in his Cy Young season. Also, Mike Maroth is 2-0 despite a 5.35 ERA, Jeremy Bonderman is 1-0 with five no-decisions, James Shields of Tampa is 3-0, Baltimore’s Adam Loewen is 2-0, and Milwaukee’s Claudio Vargas is 3-0. All those undefeated pitchers combined with the 24 who have an ERA under 3.00, and it’s no surprise that pitching has been dominant this season.

Player of the Day: Bengie Molina, Giants: 2-3, 2 HR, 5 RBIs in a 9-4 win over the Mets. Both of Molina’s homeruns and all of the Giants’ runs came in a 9-run fifth inning.

Stat of the Day: Roy Oswalt is 19-1 in his career against the Reds. He beat them on Monday to improve to 5-2. Only four other pitchers in major league history took 19 of 20 from the same team, according to Elias Sports.

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MLB General

The Full Count: Return of the Rocket


1. He’s (almost) baaaacck: Roger Clemens is back with the team he won two World Series titles with. The Yankees, who have been desperate for starting pitching since the beginning of the season, signed the Rocket in a $28 million deal pro-rated over four months (so he’ll make $18.5 million). While this deal comes as unsurprising, it could have a huge effect on the league this season. When Clemens returns to the mound within the next month or so, the Yankees with have a solid rotation: Clemens, Mussina, Ming-Wang, Pettitte, and Hughes. But since an already old team is adding a 45-year-old pitcher, it also shows the Yankees need a World Series title this year. As Clemens moves from the National League back to the American, he’ll see a rise in ERA from the past two seasons. But with increased run support, he will have a better record than he did with the Astros, and he will help make the Yankees at least competitive with the Red Sox for the division title. I still favor Boston to win it, but Clemens certainly makes the race more interesting.

2. Phenom meets phenom: Barry Bonds didn’t play on Sunday Night Baseball against the Phillies, but the game was still interesting due to a lot of offense and a matchup of young pitchers. The Phillies sent their ace-to-be Cole Hamels to the mound to face the Giants’ Tim Lincecum in his major league debut. Lincecum had lit up the minor leagues for a 0.29 ERA in five starts this year, but he allowed two homers (including a shot to Ryan Howard) and struggled with his control. After four innings and 100 pitches, Lincecum left with 5 runs and 5 walks allowed. Hamels allowed 5 runs as well, but only 3 of them were earned and he had 9 strikeouts. He was credited with the win and improved to 4-1 on the year. Another thing worth noting for the Phillies was the emergence of a new weapon on the basepaths. Pinch-runner Michael Bourn came in on first, stole two bases on two consecutive pitches, then scored on a routine grounder to short that usually would have been an out. The Phillies may only be 14-17, but they certainly have a lot of offensive weapons.

3. Detroit Dominance: The Tigers may have just faced the pitiful Royals over the weekend, but they took advantage of them and extended their winning streak to 7 games. A three-game sweep of Kansas City gave Detroit a share of the division lead with Cleveland. On Sunday they dominated 13-4 and had four different players with a homerun. Gary Sheffield hit his third homer of the past five games and has suddenly heated up after a cold April. Also, rookie pitcher Chad Durbin had one of his better starts with 7.2 innings and just 2 runs allowed. The 19-11 Tigers will be tested with back-to-back road series against the Red Sox and Twins over the next week.

Player of the Day: Trot Nixon, Indians: 5-5, 4 RBIs in a 9-6 win over Baltimore.

Stat of the Day: Padres starter Jake Peavy has struck out at least 10 batters in three consecutive games, while throwing for only seven innings in each game.

Walk Off: An ESPN poll about Barry Bonds shows only 58% of people think he should be in the Hall of Fame. This goes to show the complete unintelligence of baseball fans. Even if you think Bonds cheated in every way possible, he was a Hall of Famer before his alleged steroid use. His is the best hitter in a generation, and should be a unanimous Hall of Fame selection in addition to being considered one of the greatest hitters ever. He has broken more records than anybody since Babe Ruth. Don’t let the crappy person Bonds is diminish his unbelievable numbers.

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MLB General

The Full Count: Yankees get much needed sweep


1. Double Trouble: After going 1-8 in a one-and-half week stretch and falling to the bottom of the division, the Yankees cranked out a much-needed sweep of the Texas Rangers. On Thursday, they won both games of a doubleheader, based on the strength of their pitching, believe it or not. In game 1, Andy Pettitte pitched six strong innings and the bullpen held him up in a 4-3 win. In the second contest, Mike Mussina came off the DL with an excellent 5-inning, one-run effort. After a period in which it looked like the Yankees’ pitchers couldn’t stop a Double A offense, now they’re at full strength again with the return of Mussina and Chien Ming-Wang. More good news for them is that they play the Rangers again next week.

2. Cleveland Comeback: The best team in the league is currently the Cleveland Indians, and lately they’ve refused to lose. The Indians have a 10-1 record in their past 11 games, and on Thursday they completed a sweep of the Blue Jays. Toronto had captured a four-run lead early as Troy Glaus hit his fifth homer, but Cleveland stormed back thanks to Victor Martinez and others. Martinez went 4-4 with two RBIs, and Grady Sizemore hit a game-winning double for a 6-5 victory. The Indians still only have a 2 game lead, because Detroit has been hot lately as well.

3. Criticize him now: The most widely panned signing of the offseason was the $10 million-a-year contract the Royals gave to Gil Meche. But so far this year, he’s been worth it. Meche is 3-1 on the league’s worst team, and has an excellent 2.23 ERA. His pitching was good enough to lead the Royals past the first-place Angels as they became the last team in the AL to reach the 10-win mark. Meche pitched 7 innings and allowed just 2 runs, which came on a first-inning homer to the untouchable Vladimir Guerrero. The Royals’ 5-2 victory gave them a 2-2 tie in the four-game series. Meche now ranks first in the AL in innings pitched and third in ERA.

Player of the Day: Manny Ramirez, Red Sox: 2-5, 2 HR (5) including the game-winner, 3 RBIs in an 8-7 win over Seattle.

Stat of the Day: Since his first start of the season, Daisuke Matsuzaka has allowed 22 runs in 31 innings, good for a 6.38 ERA. He got torched for 7 runs against the Mariners on Thursday.

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MLB General

The Full Count: Remember Gary Sheffield?


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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MLB General

The Full Count: Yankees keep breaking their toys


1. Showing his potential: Yankees rookie Phillip Hughes was marvelous in his second start. Unfortunately, he’s now just another injured Yankees starter. Hughes had a no-hitter going through 6.1 innings before suffering a hamstring injury that will keep him out 4-6 weeks. He finally showed his great potential after a rocky first start, but now New York will have to find yet another body to put on the mound. The Yankees carried a team no-hitter through until the eighth inning, when the Rangers got their only two hits of the game. But by that point, the game was over, and the Yanks blew Texas away 10-1. Offensively, Alex Rodriguez, Jorge Posada, and Robinson Cano each had at least three hits to carry the team.

2. The Central Goes Through Cleveland: Some people didn’t expect anything out of the Indians in the preseason, others thought they would win the division title. So far, the latter group looks right. The Indians lead baseball’s toughest division by 1.5 games after a 12-4 rout of the Blue Jays. The offense took over in this one, as Travis Hafner and Jhonny Peralta homered, with Peralta driving in 5 runs. Trot Nixon had 3 runs and 3 RBIs, and Victor Martinez drove in two as well. AJ Burnett was the main victim on the Blue Jays’ pitching staff. He allowed 7 runs after a dominant previous start against the Yankees. For the Indians, CC Sabathia improved to 4-0 on the year. Cleveland is 6-0 in Sabathia’s six starts.

3. Back and Forth: Though the AL Central may have better teams, the NL West is just as competitive. Four of the division’s five teams are within two games of the lead, which is currently held by the Dodgers. LA beat the Diamondbacks 2-1 to snap their 6-game winning streak. Pinch-hitter Olmedo Saenz hit a game-winning RBI single in that contest. The San Diego Padres have slumped a little lately, but they’re right in the thick of things after a 3-1 win over Washington. Starter Chris Young pitched 8 scoreless innings for the win in his best game of the year. In the division’s other game, the Rockies topped the Giants 9-7 thanks to a terrible start by Russ Ortiz.

Player of the Day: Matt Holiday, Rockies: 3-5, HR (4), 4 RBIs in 9-7 win over the Giants. Holliday is second in the league to Derrek Lee with a .395 batting average.

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MLB General

Waiting for the other shoe to drop


What is the opposite of “redacted”? Whatever it is, a whole bunch of MLB players are sweating it out. The New York Daily News published a 31 page affidavit that detailed the investigation into the steroid and performance enhancing drug network of ex-Mets batboy Kirk Radomski. The names have been redacted from the document but could be revealed in the future as the investigation continues.

If you scroll to section 24 (page 15), the document reads:


A review of the deposits made into these accounts indicated numerous significant deposits from current and former MLB players as well as some individuals affiliated with MLB players. This financial activity is consistent with information that the source told agents the MLB contact had related about Radomski’s prevalence with distributing drugs to a wide range of MLB players.

The document then lists 23 deposits between 5/12/03 and 3/12/05. It’s hard to tell how many names are on this list because there could be duplicates, but unless someone is using a hell of alot of nandrolone and other PEDs, it’s safe to say that a lot of major leaguers are going to be exposed.

There’s a lot more coverage of this story over at Steroid Nation. And here’s an excellent article by Gwen Knapp over at the Chronicle on this topic.