Baseball Musings

Suspension Completion

pinto@baseballmusings.com (David Pinto) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:42:59

The Blue Jays won the suspended game from last night 5-1. A win today in the regular game brings Toronto back to .500.

Delgado Double

pinto@baseballmusings.com (David Pinto) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:22:22

Carlos Delgado delivers a two-out, two-run double in the bottom of the eighth to give the Mets a 3-1 lead. Both Moyer and Perez pitched great games, Moyer allowing just one run over seven innings, Perez striking out 12 in 7 2/3 before loading the bases and yielding to Aaron Heilman.

The hit give Carlos 16 RBI in 20 July games. He also ended the inning trying to make third base on the hit.

Wanted Papa Bear, Got Mama Bear

pinto@baseballmusings.com (David Pinto) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:59:44

It appears that Jim Bowden asked for too much in trying to trade Jon Rauch and ended up with too little. A frustrated baby bear could not be reached for comment.

NL East Tidbits

pinto@baseballmusings.com (David Pinto) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:24:31

My latest look at the NL East is up at MetsBlog.com.

Games of the Day

pinto@baseballmusings.com (David Pinto) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 10:20:50

The Phillies and Mets play the rubber game of their series at Shea this afternoon, the winner leaving with the NL East lead. It's a battle of left-handers as Jamie Moyer faces Oliver Perez. A win today by Moyer gives him 240 for his career, tying Jamie with two other left-handers, Herb Pennock and Frank Tanana, for 53rd on the all-time list. Moyer pitched well against New York this year, posting a 3.38 ERA in three starts. Perez has returned to his walking ways of 2005-2006, issuing 5.2 per nine innings.

The Marlins open a four-game series with the Cubs in Chicago. Florida sits one game out in the NL East, while the Cubs are one game up in the NL Central. The series also has wild card implications, however. The Marlins are currently five games back of Milwaukee for the wild card, so catching an NL Central team is important if the Marlins can't win the NL East. Scott Olsen opens against Carlos Zambrano. Olsen's ERA soars on the road to 4.93 as he allows 44.6 home runs per 200 innings away from Miami. Zambrano has only allowed three home runs in night games this season, covering 89 innings.

Finally, the Brewers go for a sweep of the Cardinals as Ben Sheets visits Todd Wellemeyer. The Milwaukee staff held St. Louis to just six runs in the first three games. Sheets is on a roll, as he's struck out 20 in 16 2/3 July innings. Wellemeyer, who started so well for the Cardinals, is slumping. His July ERA stands at 7.15. He's allowed 30 hits in his last 22 2/3 innings, 11 for extra bases.

Enjoy!

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Si, Si, Sabathia!

pinto@baseballmusings.com (David Pinto) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 09:09:00

CC Sabathia
Photo: Icon SMI

The CC Sabathia trade is looking pretty good right now for the Brewers. After a rough first outing that Milliliter still managed to win, he's pitched three complete games, shutting out the division rival Cardinals Wednesday night. Here's the four game stretch. Notice how he's gotten better with each start. In addition, the three complete games haven't been that taxing. He did throw 122 pitches in the first one against Cincinnati, but brought that down to 110 pitches against the Giants and just 106 against the Cardinals. He now has six complete games on the season, tying his career high.

CC is striking out 8.5 batters per nine while walking just 2.2. He's allowed just one home run in his 33 innings pitched. His rate with Cleveland was 21.3 per 200 innings pitched.

Looking at CC from the batters perspective, they've hit just .180 against him, and their slugging percentage (.243) is lower than their OBA (.244). They are just 1 for 19 with runners in scoring position and have collected just five hits with men on base.

The Brewers now sit just one game behind the Cubs. Milwaukee is 9-3 since CC first started for them. This is exactly the kind of boost Doug Melvin was looking for when he decided to pull out all the stops to win this season.

Thursday Update

pinto@baseballmusings.com (David Pinto) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 08:39:09

The Day by Day Database is up to date.

Chipper Chipped

pinto@baseballmusings.com (David Pinto) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 21:32:10

Chipper Jones left tonight's game against the Marlins with a hamstring injury.

Dunn Month

pinto@baseballmusings.com (David Pinto) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 21:10:14

Adam Dunn knocked out two hits this afternoon, including a grand slam as he drove in five of the Reds nine runs in a 9-5 victory over the Padres. Dunn continues a great month. He's now 18 for 59 in July, a .305 BA. With nine home runs, he's tied Ryan Howard for the major league lead and is slugging .780. Of course, the Blue Jays couldn't use that kind of performance.

Mr. Roberts

pinto@baseballmusings.com (David Pinto) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 20:56:18

Oriole Central posts an interview with Brian Roberts.

Mental Error

pinto@baseballmusings.com (David Pinto) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:17:53

Alexi Casilla fails to cover second base quickly on a ground ball to third with men on first and second. He got the force at second, but failed to get out of the inning. Justin Christian follows with a two-run double to break a scoreless tie. I'm sure Gardenhire will have words for Casilla in the dugout.

NL East Tidbits

pinto@baseballmusings.com (David Pinto) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:56:35

My latest look at the NL East is up at MetsBlog.com.

Games of the Day

pinto@baseballmusings.com (David Pinto) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 09:37:18

There's lots of afternoon baseball on the first Wednesday after the All-Star break. Greg Smith and James Shields hook up in Tampa Bay with the Rays holding on to a 1/2 game lead in the AL East. The two own similar ERAs, but Shields is doing a much better job of keeping his walks issued low. Smith does a better job of keeping the ball in the park.

Gaining on the Rays are the New York Yankees, undefeated since the break. They go for a sweep of the Twins as Mike Mussina hosts Glen Perkins. The Minnesota lefty relies on his defense, as he strikes out few and walks even fewer. So far it's worked as his ERA is under 4.00 despite allowing a .292 BA. Mussina allows a high average, too, but an even lower walk rate keeps his OBA allowed at .314.

Brett Myers returns to the rotation tonight against the Mets. He gave up nine earned runs in 27 minor league innings. Maine has walked seven and struck out six in 11 2/3 innings against the Phillies.

Enjoy!

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Liriano Time

pinto@baseballmusings.com (David Pinto) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 09:23:46

Howard Sinker believes the Twins should call up Francisco Liriano:

Right now is the time to move one of the young starters to long relief and see what Liriano can do. Having a second lefty in the rotation trumps the current arrangement, and the pitcher who gets demoted (Slowey or Blackburn) needs to see this as a chance for the Twins to make a serious run at the division -- in the same way that a trade for a right-handed bat is going to cost the current right-handers some playing time.
Besides, there's probably going to be a key game or two when the Twins are going to need a spot starter, even if all arms stay healthy. (Think road rainouts and the potential for a doubleheader or two.)

The Yankees, a team struggling offensively, scored 20 runs in two games against the Twins. The last time the Twins face Chicago, they gave up 40 runs in four games. With the White Sox series starting next week, the Twins could use a better arm in the rotation.

Cubs Collapse?

pinto@baseballmusings.com (David Pinto) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 08:15:22

18 July 2008: Aramis Ramirez flies out to center field during a baseball game between the Chicago Cubs and the Houston Astros.
Photo: Icon SMI

The Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the Chicago Cubs Tuesday night 9-2. That takes the Cubs record since the All-Star break to 1-4. They've scored 13 runs in those five games, but only four in the four losses. What happened to the offense?

One thing is that the team appears to be a bit less selective. The leading team in the NL in walks drawn took only nine base on balls in the last five games. They seemed to be getting that back last night, however, as they did collect five against the Diamondbacks.

The biggest factor, however, appears to be a slump by the middle of the lineup. The table setters, the 1-2 hitters, are getting on base quite well. So far there's little offense behind them, however. The 3-4-5- hitters have combined for seven hits in 60 at bats with one double and one home run. This resulted in just five RBI despite the 1-2 hitters reaching 20 times in the five games.

The biggest culprit is Aramis Ramirez in an 0 for 20 slump, but Lee and Soto are also not delivering. Should Cubs fans be worried? Probably not. These are not hitters who have been playing over their heads crashing to earth. These are good hitters going through a slump at the same time. It won't last, but while it does, the NL Central turns into an exciting pennant race.

The Brewers won another from the Cardinals on Tuesday night, moving them just a game behind the Cubs, while the St. Louis remains two back. It's any team's division right now.