Archive for May, 2009
Jones is in the news,
4 1/2 games up after the sweep yesterday and Anaheim’s loss to the M’s.
Evan Grant says Scott Feldman had some mechanical issues yesterday, but managed to work through them to give the Rangers six solid innings in the nightcap.
Jeff Miller writes that Tommy Hunter didn’t get the win in game 1, but did his job in terms of giving the Rangers some innings and keeping them in the game, allowing them to come back in the late innings to get the win.
The Rangers made room for Hunter by putting Matt Harrison on the disabled list, but Vicente Padilla says he feels good and will be ready to make his start on Tuesday, which allows the Rangers to just slide Padilla into Harrison’s spot in the rotation, with Derek Holland remaining in the rotation for now.
Miller also has a piece up about Ian Kinsler sparking the offense by working the count and drawing walks in game 1, which allowed him to get on base despite his recent struggles with getting the ball to fall in.
Ron Washington says Andruw Jones is going to keep playing against most lefties — he’s missed only one start against a LHP this year — but may start getting a few more ABs against righties. With both Hank Blalock and Chris Davis having offensive issues so far this year, Jones’ presence and production has been huge.
T.R. Sullivan says that with the Rangers facing five lefties in the next 7 days, Hank Blalock could find himself riding the bench quite a bit in the next week. Blalock is hitting .163/.182/.256 against LHPs this season.
Jean-Jacques Taylor has a column up about chiding those who think the Rangers efforts to make their starters throw more innings will lead to injuries, saying that pitchers will adapt once they aren’t babied, and besides, if a pitcher can’t handle the workload, well, the Rangers don’t need him anyway.
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Any thoughts on Saturday a.m. Rangers things?
Here’s a video of Jones at his finest:
Chad Jones Pitching vs. Auburn
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Noone’s better than pie these days:
In the wake of Clint Hurdle’s firing, there are naturally many pieces out there that focus on why it happened: Troy E. Renck talked to a few players (namely, Todd Helton) who addressed the fact that they are the reason why Hurdle got the axe. At the bottom of the article, Dan O’ Dowd predicts that some Rockies may have a hard time adjusting to Jim Tracy’s tough style of managing. Meanwhile, Dave Krieger suggests that the ballclub’s issues fall more on O’Dowd than Hurdle. By that, he means that the players on the field aren’t getting the job done - which goes back to what Todd and the boys talked about in the previous article. One thing I thought was interesting was the fact that Dan O’Dowd pushed Clint Hurdle to get Ian Stewart consistent at-bats, while failing to make a roster move to open up a spot for him. As we know, Stewart has struggled mightily, but the two guys he could have replaced - Garrett Atkins and Clint Barmes - haven’t done real well either. Tracy Ringolsby echoed Dave Krieger’s sentiment of Hurdle being the wrong fall guy in an article for FoxSports.com. I’ll have to agree with the Cowboy - an attitude change is definitely overdue. The move affected the entire organization, as Jack Etkin outlines in this article, as several coaches/managers were moved around to fill in spots after Hurdle’s exit/Tracy’s promotion. .
I bet nobody saw that one coming!
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Johnson is featured in todays news -
What did I say? If I had time I would definitely go through and see what our record and runs scored is with Chipper, Escobar and McCann all in the lineup vs when we are missing at least one of them. Don’t get me wrong, we still need another bat (we picked up 11 of our 13 hits in the first 5 innings and put no runs on the board after the 4th), but it is funny to me how much worse we are when just one of those guys isn’t in there.
Jurrjens got the win even though pitched what was easily his worst start of the season. Maybe we should stick to giving the guy 1 and 2 run leads? He seems to be more comfortable that way. The bullpen was pretty solid in this one (you know… besides Moylan) and Gonzales even struck out the side. Which is good.
Anyways, good win for us, lets win the next two and take the series.
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Any tThoughts?
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PIE is featured in the news:
The crux of the matter is this: Kentucky hired lover/fighter Gillispie away from Texas A&M two years ago (at the “pinnacle of a meteoric rise”), under the agreement that he would sign a seven-year contract. If he was fired “without cause” during the life of that contract, he would get $1.5 million a year for at least four more years. Except he never actually signed a formal employment contract, despite working there for two full seasons, so Kentucky says they don’t owe him jack. However, Gillispie did sign a “Memorandum of Understanding” which laid out that basic outline of his employment—years, dollars, incentives, and such—and he claims that the MOU is as good as a contract and that Kentucky treated is as such, since everyone was dragging their feet on the real contract. I’m not a lawyer, so I don’t know if a two-page letter is binding, but his argument does sort of make sense. On the other hand, sign the damn contract already. Lawsuit highlights below (click to embiggen) or you can read the whole thing here (opens in PDF) Gillispie seeks millions in suit against UK’s Athletics Association Lexington Herald Leader 
As if Kentucky didn’t have enough to deal with from their current coach, the guy they fired to get him, Billy Gillispie, is now suing the athletic department for the $6 million he says they owe him on the contract that he never actually signed. Legal mumbo jumbo awaits….
Gillispie Sues UK Online Sports Guys
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What do you think?
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I wonder how Ray’s serious fans feel: “
This just in; the crane that we used for the Matt Garza game day threads is listed as day to day with a mild wing sprain. There is no word if the crane will need to go on the DL and if a furry will need to be called up to replace it.
In all seriousness last night was just not a good game. From beginning to end the team just looked flat. I don’t know if it was a hangover from the previous night’s epic collapse or the loss of so many players in the past week, but the club just didn’t have much fire. I’m sure it didn’t help that they are stuck in their own house of horrors known as Progressive Field. The last time the Rays won a game in Cleveland, Seth McClung was their winning pitcher; that tells you it’s been a looooong time.
2009 staff ace Matt Garza was ok on the mound. He wasn’t particularly good, but he wasn’t bad either. He gave up four runs on five hits with all four runs coming off three home runs. The good news is Garza struck out seven and walked none. The first home run came off the bat of Ryan Garko, who continues to haunt the Rays. In 93 career at-bats against the Rays, he is hitting .312/.369/.602 with six home runs. The six jacks mark the most vs. any non AL-Central opponent.
Garza was clearly frustrated after giving the home run to Garko and later in the game, Garko was hit by a Matt Garza pitch, but I doubt it was intentional. On a 3-2 pitch with two outs in the sixth, Garza drilled Garko in the back. The next batter, Mark DeRosa then hit an opposite field home run to make it 4-0. Intentional or not, it was the HBP that hurt Garza the most.
Overall Matt threw 66% of his pitches for fastballs averaging nearly 94 mph while maxing out around 96. True to form, Garza maintained velocity through out the game and had his best fastball after pitch 90. I did notice Garza did not throw as many sliders as normal, but threw a lot more curveballs. Now a few sliders could have been classified as curveballs, but for the most part there is about a 10 mph difference on the two pitches. Garza threw 22% curveballs and averaged a wonderful 17 mile difference from his fastball
Again, like the rest of the team it was just a meh performance. Carlos Pena provided the Rays only offense and Carl Pavano shut the team down with a fastball/changeup combo. Randy Choate fell on the sword and ate up the final two innings facing both left handed and right handed batters.To Choate’s credit he allowed just one hit, however it was a solo home-run to right handed batter Kelly Shoppach. He did get two strikeouts.
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what do you think?How do you think this news will affect the team this season?
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Freddy Sanchez went 6-for-6 with a homer and a double in a rollercoaster win against the slumping Cubs on Monday, and Andy LaRoche and Jason Jaramillo both added three hits apiece. Matt Capps left the game after being struck by a line drive, however, and Sean Burnett got the save.
With Capps presumably on the shelf, the closer duties might go to… Jesse Chavez? Evan Meek might be the Pirates’ closer at some point in the future, but right now his walk totals are awful. Chavez has been the Bucs’ best reliever so far this year, and he has good stuff. If Capps misses a substantial amount of time and the PIrates actually pick a closer (and I’m not sure they will), Chavez probably should get the first shot at the job.
A few other notes:
-P- Virgil Vasquez had a great start for Indianapolis against Gwinnett County today, with six strikeouts, one run and no walks and six innings. His overall numbers are now downright decent, with 42 strikeouts against only six walks so far. Unfortunately, he has allowed a ton of homers, and he’d probably get lit up like a Christmas tree if he were called up.
-P- Vasquez was pitching against Todd Redmond, who pretty much is Vasquez but three years younger. Redmond has solid control, but he’s posting a 4.98 ERA against AAA hitters so far because he’s allowed a bunch of homers. He’s a pretty extreme flyball pitcher, so I think it’s pretty likely that he ends up stuck at AAA for a few years, gets pretty good at pitching there, and then never really makes the leap to pitching successfully in the majors. I wasn’t a big fan of the Tyler Yates trade, but I’m not sure losing Redmond will turn out to be a big deal.
-P- Robbie Grossman went 0-for-2 with four walks today for West Virginia against Class A Lake County. Grossman has had trouble making contact so far this year, with 54 strikeouts in 141 at bats, but at least the walks are there. He has a .388 OBP so far. Those are extremely interesting numbers for a 19-year-old, but I wonder if he’ll have to make adjustments at higher levels, maybe by being a little more aggressive and looking for good pitches to hit earlier in the count. Anyway, Rudy Owens also played well for West Virginia today, striking out eight batters in five innings.
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I have always been a big fan of pie, I have to say, seeing stuff like this gives me mixed feelings.This will be shocking news for pie fans, but some of you who will say that you saw it coming from a mile away. I can’t say I’m all that surprised. pie is great, I really hope this doesn’t affect the rest of the team.
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I wonder how hill’s serious fans feel,
It’s the 23rd day of May. The Jays just went into Boston and sent three pitchers to the hill who had started a grand total of 6 major league games in their careers before this season.
Naturally, they got swept.
Roy Halladay just gave them seven shutout innings in Atlanta, but the artist formerly known as Jesse Carlson stepped up with another late inning failure. (This is getting old, Jesse.)
They’ve now lost four in a row.
Meanwhile, the Beasts of the East are en fuego. The Yankees just ripped off nine wins in a row - the Red Sox had an 11 game winning streak just a while back.
Have we been mathematically eliminated yet? Just how far behind have we fallen?
Say what?
Well, I feel fine now.
what do you think?How do you think this news about hill will affect the rest of the team this season?
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Look who is making news: Johnson! Yeah I Don’t Know the Answer Either, Jays Loss to Braves. , we have a summary,
Jays 3 Braves 4
Against the Red Sox we were getting lots of just no runs. Last night, not much for hits. Tonight we had some hits (7) and some walks (5). We even had a lead for a moment when Scoot drove in 2 with a double in the 3rd but the Braves got them back in the bottom of the inning. Braves got 1 more in the 4th on an RBI single by Derek Lowe. Yeah the pitcher, he was 2 for 3 today. Braves got an insurance run on a Kelly Johnson home run off BJ Ryan. It looked like a decent enough pitch, inside, but Johnson, a left handed batter is killing lefty pitchers, that was his 3rd homer off lefty pitching in 36 at bats. If Cito was gaining any confidence in BJ it’s gone now.
Jays didn’t do much else offensively till the 9th. Lind doubled, Rolen walked (now I complained about umps in yesterday’s game, today Rolen got a ball on one I thought he swung at, and the other balls were very close to the strike zone, but Scott showed a good eye). Overbay, allowed to hit against the lefty reliever singled, driving in Lind and Rolen went to 3rd, just barely getting in safe. Barajas walked on 4 pitches, not one pitch close to the strike zone. So we had bases loaded, one out.
Millar pinch hit, Braves brought in a right handed pitcher, but Millar is hitting much better against righties (.320/.370/.600) than lefties (.280/.308/.420). We needed a fly ball, but Millar struck out, not coming close on the swinging strike 3. Hard to get on him, cause he has done well, but man I wanted that fly ball. Then with 2 out Scutaro gave us that fly out. But with 2 outs already it was less good.
Janssen was good, not great, 6 innings 3 earned, 14 ground outs. Lowe did much the same job going 7.1, 2 earned and 16 ground outs, so he won the battle of the ground outs. Jay of the Day Lyle Overbay (.217 WPA). Suckage Jays are Millar (-.224), Scutaro (-.190), Rios (-.156) and Wells (-.129). I thought Rios had pulled out of his slump, he had been hitting great in May but he looked lost today. And so did Wells.
Yeah I don’t know what to do about the offense right now and I am sure Cito is not laying awake thinking ‘what would Tom do to pull us out of this’. Cito is a terrific batting coach, but me….I’d give the guys a couple of days off batting practice. I guess since tomorrow is a day game batting practice won’t be happening anyway. I think I’d also give Wells the day off tomorrow, but Cito has publicly stated he doesn’t believe in that. Maybe I’d take them all out to the bar tomorrow night and get them good and drunk.
Good news is thanks to a Papelbon blown save (couldn’t happen to a nicer guy), we are still in first. But we really could start winning again any time. Like tomorrow maybe?
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This will be shocking news for Johnson fans, but some of you who will say that you saw it coming. I can’t say I’m all that surprised though. Johnson is cool, I hope this doesn’t affect the season.
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Uehara is at it once again,
The O’s won their second straight low scoring game in a row against the Nationals. While the offense was pretty much non-existent, the Orioles bullpen turned in a gem of a game to keep the Nats to just one run.
Koji Uehara had to leave the game after pitching just three innings. In game it was described as a hamstring strain, but as Jim Palmer and some posters in the game thread speculated, it turned out to be more of an issue of dehydration and cramps. In his post game interview, Dave Trembley confirmed that Koji was feeling ill and crampy due to dehydration and that they’ll have to watch him closely in the future as he had the same issue in Spring Training.
Washington’s starter Ross Detwiler handled the Orioles easily for 6 innings. His only trouble came in the third inning, when he’d give up his only run. He had no control and walked Zaun, Koji(!), and Brian Roberts. With one out and the bases loaded there are no two batters you’d want up on the O’s more than Adam Jones and Nick Markakis, but they were unable to break it open. Detwiler made Adam Jones look just silly as he blew fastballs by him for the strike out. Nick couldn’t get a good swing either, but managed to chop an infield hit to the hole between SS and 3B which knocked in Zaun. Melvin Mora flied out to right to end the inning, and that would be the last time the Orioles would get to Detwiler. He pitched three more innings without allowing a hit.
Luckily, the Nats bullpen took over in the 7th. Aubrey Huff, who had been given the day off, came up to pinch hit with Cesar Izturis at first and two outs. He drilled a ball to the deepest part of Nationals Park. I thought for sure it was going to be a home run, but it hit off the top of the wall. Izturis raced home with the go ahead run and Aubrey huffed and puffed his way into third base with his first triple of the year. Brian Roberts stranded Aubrey at third, but the O’s wouldn’t need any more.
After Koji’s early exit, the bullpen put together six excellent innings. Mr. Reliable Kevin Bass pitched innings 4, 5, and 6 and allowed the Nats only run on a solo HR by Cristian Guzman. Matt Albers, Jim Johnson, and George Sherrill each pitched one inning to close it out. Only JJ had any troubles as he gave up 1 H and 1 BB. It was surprising to see JJ as he pitched 2 innings last night, his longest outing since June 29th of last year. George Sherrill continues his recent awesomeness by striking out the side in the 9th.
Notes:
- The resurgance of George Sherrill has been a sight to behold. Since Dave Trembley announced that he wouldn’t be the automatic choice for closer, Sherrill has pitched in 7 games and has allowed 0 runs on 2 hits and 4 walks. In his last 4 appearances he has not allowed a base runner.
- Chris Tillman was removed from the game in Norfolk this evening after pitching just two innings. He was pitching well and does not appear to have an injury, so speculation has begun that he’ll be the one to replace Adam Eaton in Tuesday’s game against the Blue Jays. Of all the pitchers to call up, I’ll be shocked (but excited) if it’s him. (EDIT: Per MASN, he left with tightness in his groin. Should have known they weren’t going to bring him up)
- The game took place in a brisk 2 hours 31 minutes. Good pitching/inept offense will do that.
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I bet nobody saw that one coming!
Here’s a vid of Uehara:
Koji Uehara March 4, 2009 Baltimore Orioles vs. Dom Rep
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I wonder how Jones’s real fans feel, “
Toledo 3, Gwinnett 9 - Final in 5 Innings
- B. Jones 1-2 RBI, BB
- C. Sammons 1-2 HR(2), 3 RBI, BB
- B. Barton 1-2 HR(2), 2 RBI
- T. Glavine 3IP 5H 3R 1BB 1K
So Tom Glavine threw a baseball tonight. I am so tormented by this, because I do love the guy. I mean he won like 270 games with us, he is a great guy and yada yada, but dammit he and Brett Favre need to know when its time. Obviously his start wasn’t great, so maybe that is something good? Hopefully.
Mobile 4, Mississippi 1
- G. Hernandez 2-4 CS(6)
- JC Boscan 2-4 2B, RBI
- E. Campbell 3-3
Mississippi chased super pitcher Jarrod Parker in the middle of the fifth in this game but couldn’t get anything else off the bullpen. Eric Campbell got his tonight, but he has really fallen off this season. I mean, I know he is a dick, but he has always been able to hit. Well, mark him off the list of potential 3B candidates. Jonny Venters pitched OK in t his one giving up 4 runs in 6IP.
Wilmington 6, Myrtle Beach 5
- C. Johnson 0-4 4K
- D. Linares 2-4 HR(5)
- J. Owings 1-3 HR(2), 2 RBI
Bad Cody. A couple of homers here were about all there was to get excited about in this game. Osuna was ok just like Venters and Heyward and Freeman didn’t do anything.
Asheville 13, Rome 1
Yeah, Jake Thompson was real bad in this one.
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what do you think?How do you think this news will affect the rest of the team this season?
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