Wednesday, August 31, 2005 |
Frankie Almost Byrned Again: Angels 2, A's 1
Once again, a lousy outing for the offense, who can't piece it together for more than a couple games or two before reverting to sucktitude. That, ironically enough, Erstad ended up with the big hit of the night following Vlad came as a complete laugh.
Both Garret and Vlad are just wrong. For Vlad, maybe it's the proximity to career home run 300, maybe it's the lack of protection, or maybe it's just the worst slump of his career, but whatever it is, he just hasn't looked good at the plate in ages. Even so, he managed to get on base at the right time, and scored one of the team's two runs. Anderson -- well, I won't even go there. A different way to spell, "Finley"?
Anyway -- a crisply played game on both sides, and this despite some pretty serious injuries to the A's starters, most notably Bobby Crosby, who broke his ankle prior to the game, and Rich Harden seems destined to miss at least one start -- blessedly, against the Angels -- and maybe more, while centerfielder Mark Kotsay struggles with back spasms that have sent him back to Oakland. The play Payton made in the fourth to tag out Izturis -- well, I didn't see it live, but the replays were phenominal. I don't think you'll see anything like it in five years.
Lowe Road's The High Road: Dodgers 7, Cubs 0
Derek Lowe is using the f-word again.that he was finally ready to talk to the media about his life's One True Love, Carolyn Hughes, but in fact it was about his fine pitching performance today, a complete-game, one-hit shutout of the entirely swishable Cubs, who Lowe played like a plastic harmonica from a Crackerjack box. Dusty Baker, while not as helpful as yesterday by shifting K-K-Korey Patterson to the eight hole, did manage to somehow keep the .406-OBPing Matt Murton out of the lineup, save as a pinch hitter.
The Dodgers' side of things went far more swimmingly, with offensive cipher Jose Cruz, Jr. a home run clear of the cycle, Olmedo the Tomato getting in a two-run dinger, and Jayson Werth knocking in three despite coming perilously close to a Golden Sombrero. All of which is to say that Glendon Rusch's performance, kicking out all seven earned runs over a particularly comic (for the Dodgers) two innings, was a complete and total failure. Surprisingly, the one area where the Cubs' have had trouble -- the bullpen -- held up its end of the deal today by not allowing a single run. That included rookie Jermaine Van Buren, whom the Cubs faithful have already dubbed "The Prez", and eagerly await to see in action in 2006.
As Al noted, the Cubs haven't been no-hit at Wrigley in forty years, not since Jim Maloney of the Reds did it on August 19, 1965. Incredibly, it was a complete game extra innings affair. Lowe never made it to that level of success, but considering how homeriffic he's been this year, it was easily his best start in the second half, and considering what a homeriffic team the Cubs are, maybe his best start of the year.
OT: New Orleans
Meta: Minor Changes
I'm also still working on figuring out how to make mid-post permalinks work. It's not easy, and not made any easier by the fact that Blogger doesn't like the <script> tag in incoming posts.
Idiocy In Anaheim
"The talent is here," said General Manager Bill Stoneman tightly before the game. "The production has to happen."Not if you overestimated that talent in the first place, Bill. Finley: done. Anderson: aging, cursed with chronic medical conditions hampering his production, and signed for too long. McPherson: a rookie, and also coming with his own chronic medical conditions, we learn. Juan Rivera: a nice bench guy, but hardly a starter. Chone Figgins: an inconsistent bat and with too low an OBP to use as a leadoff man. Francisco Rodriguez: untested in the closer role, and it looks like he can't handle the whole season there. Donnelly: declining, badly. Shields: overworked, because instead of getting more quality bullpen guys, Stoneman went out and got a mediocrity like Esteban Yan (and now followed up by a certifiable piece of junk like Jason Christiansen). When the offense predictably stumbled in the second half and four-run leads became scarce, the responsibility for sealing those deals fell upon an overtaxed bullpen.
"He was a guy who was available," effused Stoneman of lefty Jason Christiansen.He was available for a reason! What idiocy. What BS.
Update: Speaking of second-order effects blindness:
"It can't hurt us," setup man Scot Shields said. "We feel like we're pitching a little better, but hopefully he can come in and get out some of the left-handers we haven't been able to get out. It's a good addition."What? Of course it can hurt you. Imagine -- and this really takes only a very little imagination -- what that means to your workload if they get someone who can't get out tough lefties. One more call to Scot Shields. One more call to Frankie. One more call to -- oops, I ran out of names.
Update 2: The one possible excuse Stoneman has for this: Bergman would have been a six-year minor league free agent at the end of the year, anyway.
Minor League Scorebook
- I had a conversation today with my co-worker whose cousin is Nick Gorneault, who informed me that Nick is presently tied for third in the PCL for RBIs. My guess is it's a coin toss as to whether you see him when rosters expand.
I bring it up because one guy the Angels still miss is Orlando Palmeiro, who disappeared to free agency after 2002; they've been trying to fill his shoes ever since. Shane Halter, Eric Owens, and Adam "Angees" Riggs have all come in, and mostly not succeeded. What the Angels could use is a .270-.300 batting average guy to come in and play a little outfield from time to time. With Jeff DaVanon limited to his coaxing-a-walk trick, it's certainly time for some new blood in the fourth- and fifth-outfielder department.
- FutureAngels remarks that Brandon Wood's 42nd home run last night tied the Angels single-season franchise record, set by Dick Simpson with San Jose in 1962.
- Also via FutureAngels, Jeff Mathis has been named to the All-PCL game.
- One final note: all games have permalinks attached. They're not quite 100% -- they only work on the post page -- but I hope to have that fixed Real Soon Now.
Callaspo, A: 1-5
Merloni: 2-4, 1 RBI
Gorneault: 1-5, 1 HR, 1 RBI
Mathis, J: 0-4
Allen: 2-3, 2 RBI
Thomas: (W, 7-5), 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 8 H, 3 K, 2 BB, 1 HR, 6.70 ERA
Olson: 2.0 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 2 K, 1 BB, 1 HR, 7.71 ERA
Willits, R: 2-5, 1 RBI
Kendrick, H: 0-2
Murphy: 2-4
Morales, K: 0-4
Shell: (L, 10-8), 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 6 H, 4 K, 3 BB, 1 HR, 4.57 ERA
O'Sullivan: 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 2 K, 0 BB, 5.38 ERA
The Travs lost but clinched the division anyway, thanks to another loss by Springfield. Kendry Morales's 0-4 night ended a 15-game hitting streak.
Wood, B: 0-4
Pali: 3-4, 1 RBI
Balkcom: 2-4
Fuller: 2-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI
Rodriguez, R: 5.2 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 6 K, 3 BB, 1 HR, 4.64 ERA
Dowdy: (W, 3-4) (in relief), 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 K, 0 BB, 5.00 ERA
Collins: 0-4
Toussaint: 0-3
Madrigal: 0-3
Walston: 2-3
Rodriguez, F: (W, 8-9), 7.2 IP, 0 ER, 5 H, 9 K, 2 BB, 4.04 ERA
Pressley: 1-3, 1 HR, 2 RBI
Arredondo: 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 5 K, 0 BB, 5.03 ERA
Cassevah: (L, 2-5) (in relief), 2.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 0 K, 0 BB, 5.40 ERA
Trumbo: 1-4, 1 RBI
Rosario: 2-3
Maldonado: 3-4, 1 RBI
Arredondo: (W, 5-0), 6.2 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 9 K, 3 BB, 1 HR, 4.60 ERA
Young, D: 2-5
Myrow: 1-2, 1 HR, 3 RBI
Mahomes: (W, 9-9) (in relief), 3.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 1 K, 2 BB, 1 HR, 5.11 ERA
Martin, R: 1-3, 1 HR, 1 RBI
LaRoche, A: 0-3
Loney: 0-3
Gonzalez: 1-3, 1 HR, 1 RBI
Orenduff, J: 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 7 K, 1 BB, 1 HR, 3.82 ERA
Juarez: (W, 6-5) (in relief), 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 1 K, 0 BB, 4.39 ERA
LaRoche, A: 0-3
Loney: 1-3, 1 RBI
Nixon: 2-4
Martin, R: 1-1, 1 RBI
Ojeda: 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 2.25 ERA
Miller: 1.2 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 4 K, 3 BB, 0.82 ERA
Hanrahan: 1.1 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 K, 0 BB, 4.81 ERA
Broxton: (W, 5-3) (in relief), 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 2 K, 0 BB, 3.22 ERA
Carter, R: 2-5, 1 HR, 5 RBI
Batz: 3-3
Russ: 3-5, 1 RBI
Malone: (L, 9-6), 4.1 IP, 7 ER, 10 H, 3 K, 2 BB, 1 HR, 3.82 ERA
Bailey: 3.2 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 4 K, 1 BB, 6.93 ERA
Locke: 1-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI
Mitchell: 2-5, 1 HR, 2 RBI
Taloa: 2-5
De Jesus: 3-5
Paredes: (L, 7-1), 3.2 IP, 5 ER, 6 H, 3 K, 4 BB, 1 HR, 3.40 ERA
White: 1.1 IP, 4 ER, 4 H, 3 K, 2 BB, 7.47 ERA
Hayes: 2.0 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 2 K, 1 BB, 7.30 ERA
Tuesday, August 30, 2005 |
Escobar For Closer: A's 2, Angels 1
Not quite.
Frankie also has a 5.68 ERA this month, with no signs of him correcting this problem for more than a batter or three. Second innings, consecutive games, whatever, and he's toast.
I'm running out of patience. Some of this can be blamed on his participation in winter ball, and now that that's been canned, good. But I get the strong impression that with Frankie in middle relief, Mike was more easily able to get him days off. Now, all it takes is for him to pitch a second inning in the same game and he chokes. When Escobar comes out, give the closer role to him. Frankie's abdicated it.
And as for the appalling news that Jason Christiansen is joining the staff -- well, why is it that Bill Stoneman has to make one step forward (eliminating Finley as a starter now that he's proven he can't hit anymore) and immediately take one step back (giving up two prospects for a piece of useless junk like Christiansen)? And, he makes room for said piece of junk by optioning Joel Peralta back to AAA? I'm not quite yet to the Fire Stoneman chant. But it's a position I find myself warming up to.
The Moment Angels Fans Have All Been Waiting For , Part 2
Mmmust... Hhave... Bbbullpenn... Lefty: Angels Get Christiansen From Giants
No, Matt, Christiansen is not a very good pitcher. A LOOGY with a .250 average against is just a crapshoot. He was, in fact, one of the reasons the Giants bullpen was ever so bad through the whole season. This is a trade of junk for junk, and sadly, the Giants may get the better end of this deal.
Update: Unless this deal got done because Bergman was out of options, I'm with Richard on this one. Even if he were out of options -- doesn't it make more sense to try him out down the stretch and see what he can do rather than go for the "tested veteran"? Christiansen hasn't ever been anything to anybody. Stoneman's run out of ideas, truly.
Update 2: The Giants also sent Deivi Cruz to the Washington Nationals, in exchange for RHP Benjamin Cox. Jim Bowden is a genius, I tells ya, a stinkin' genius! Uh... how's your other shortstop working out, Jim?
Pickoff Moves, Lunchtime Edition
The End Of Milton Bradley
Once upon a time, I really thought Milton Bradley was on his way to reform. Now it only looks he's on his way to reform school, with the recent news that he has had several domestic violence calls to his Redondo Beach house:Police have responded to the Redondo Beach home of Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Milton Bradley three times this summer on domestic violence calls, including one instance in which he allegedly choked his pregnant wife, bloodied her lip and hurled a cellular telephone into a wall.Right. I share Jon's dismay and disgust over the matter; whatever happens now, Milton, you're on your own. Could this be what reader Rick meant when he said that "Tracy and the coaching staff have done a masterful job of covering other "incidents" before this one. It was only a matter of time that the lid blew off."?...
Bradley's wife, who was four months pregnant at the time, told officers she and her husband had argued about "relationship issues." Bradley, she said, grabbed her right hand and pushed it against her mouth, causing her to hit herself. The inside of her lip began to bleed, the crime report said.
Hat tip to Matt for bringing this up in the comments.
Almost-but-not-quite-forgotten coda: There's been a lot of talk about this Ken Rosenthal article. I'd say it's practically immaterial now that Bradley will, with 99.9999% certainty, not be offered a contract with the Dodgers, but Rosenthal's comment that Tommy Lasorda is badmouthing Paul DePodesta is certainly interesting, doubly so in light of Lasorda's appearance on the Cubs' broadcast. He was openly critical of former Dodger Todd Hollandsworth, something he would never do on a home broadcast. While I still put all this in the category of "tempest in a teapot", I hold out the possibility that there's perhaps something to it.
Dodgers 9, Cubs 6
So here we are, playing out the string, the Dodgers pretending to be in it, trailing the Padres by four and a half games. The Cubs have already thrown in the towel, sending Kerry Wood to the DL, trading just-traded-for Matt Lawton to the Yankees, and moving Todd Hollandsworth to the Braves. Idiotically, they let Wood pitch last night; Mariners fans, if you thought your club was stupid with its pitchers, you ain't seen nothin' yet.Last night's game was an exercise in what's typically wrong and right with Houlton. As Jon pointed out, Houlton threw strikes, which is what you do when you have a big lead. Unfortunately, as I suggested in the pregame comments at Bleed Cubbie Blue, this played to some degree into the Cubs' offensive hands, and he surrendered four solo home runs. Like the rest of the Dodger staff, Houlton has been plagued by the longball all year. Wrigley is not kind to a man with a 0.79 G/F ratio.
However, as I also mentioned, if Houlton played to the Cubs' strength, Dusty Baker predictably negated it by failing to assemble a lineup with high-OBP guys up top. Having underplayed and then traded the promising young outfielder Jason Dubois and then Matt Murton, Baker continues to trot out K-K-Korey Patterson, who simply doesn't have a pitch he can drive. After being sent down to the minors, he returned on August 9 and has since accumulated a .175/.217/.364 line. This isn't a leadoff player; it's not even, really, a major league player anymore. Peel off a "those whom the gods would destroy, they first label 'promising'" sticker, and slap it across his forehead. With nobody in front of each of those solo shots, the Cubs predictably went down.
So the Dodgers won an essentially meaningless contest. Sure, they conceivably could take the division, but it would take a run they have not been able to produce so far this year to do it. With Jose Valentin considering retirement after the season -- and admitting that his duct-taped-and-braced leg is holding him back at the plate -- the 51's take the field. Stumbling into the long offseason, the Dodgers fate echoes that of the Cubs', over whose corpse Al Yellon plays taps.
Khalil Greene Returns From DL
No other news in either division, so this tidbit: Padres SS Khalil Greene has returned from the DL.Monday, August 29, 2005 |
Minor League Scorebook
- The Travs announced that Kendry Morales has been named Texas League Player of the Week for August 22 through 28. Over that period he hit .667 with 4 HR and 12 RBI.
- I forgot to mention this on Sunday, but Oakland's AAA Sacramento Rivercats clinched a playoff berth in the Pacific South division. No other team has a winning record in that division, including the Dodgers' own Las Vegas 51's, who trail the Cats and the division (as of this writing) by 20.5 games, 55-80.
Gorneault: 2-5, 3 RBI
Mathis, J: 1-3, 2 BB, 3 RBI
Sorensen: 2-5, 2 RBI
Budde: 2-4, 1 RBI
Dunn: (BS, 2)(W, 4-7) (in relief), 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 5 K, 1 BB, 4.07 ERA
Amazingly enough, no home runs for the Stingers, yet they simply pounded the Sky Sox, who went through five pitchers for the loss. The big loser was the rehabbing Ryan Speier, who took six runs.
Willits, R: 1-4
Kendrick, H: 2-4
Napoli, M: 1-3, 1 HR, 2 RBI
Murphy: 2-4, 1 RBI
Morales, K: 1-4
Weaver: (L, 3-2), 5.1 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 9 K, 3 BB, 1 HR, 4.38 ERA
Sigh. Another disappointing outing for Weaver, who gave up four consecutive hits in the sixth before getting pulled. Rich will be pleased to note, though, that of Weaver's 16 outs, three were made by the groundball and four were made by flyballs; it represents some progress.
The loss clinches the season series for the Travs against the Drillers, 12-15. Jim Miller, the Drillers pitcher who surrendered a game-losing grand slam on Saturday, got Kendry Morales to fly out to deep center to end a seventh-inning threat. Erick Aybar's hitting streak is now at nine games.
Despite the loss, the Travs advance thanks to a Springfield loss; their magic number is one.
Wood, B: 2-5, 1 HR, 2 RBI
Wilson: 2-5, 2 RBI
Sugden: 2-4, 1 RBI
Posey: 3.0 IP, 4 ER, 12.00 ERA
Touchstone: (W, 5-5) (in relief), 3.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 3 K, 1 BB, 9.32 ERA
Mendoza: 3.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 3 K, 0 BB, 0.00 ERA
The ultimate answer to the ultimate question: 42. Brandon Wood hit his 42nd home run tonight in a lopsided game. Rancho scored six of their eight runs in the first inning, in which twelve Quakes went to the plate and Wood made the final out. Three Rancho pitchers each went three innings to record the win, including Thomas Mendoza. Mendoza appears to have made his first appearance for Rancho, bypassing Cedar Rapids and Orem. Rich, who likes to pay attention to such things, will be pleased to note that four of his nine outs were by the groundball.
Sutton: 1-2, 2 BB
Collins: 2-4, 1 RBI
Toussaint: 1-4
Madrigal: 3-5, 3 RBI
Renz: 2-5, 4 RBI
Cordova: (L, 4-5), 4.1 IP, 7 ER, 5 H, 4 K, 4 BB, 1 HR, 4.37 ERA
Not an especially good outing for Sean Rodriguez -- they haven't been, generally this year. Speaking of Sean, I got a note from Bryan Smith of Baseball Analysts tonight mentioning yesterday's Scorebook and my perplexment over Rodriguez. Here's grist for the mill: with his current .249/.371/.411 line, Rodriguez has a better OBP-Avg than any of the other Baseball America-anointed star up-the-middle prospects in the Angels system. Consider these numbers, all culled from the players' season at low-A Cedar Rapids, except where noted:
Player Line OBP-Avg =========================================== Brian Specht .269/.371/.383* .102 Brandon Wood .251/.322/.404 .071 Warner Madrigal .275/.330/.396 .055 Alberto Callaspo .327/.377/.428 .050 Erick Aybar .308/.347/.446 .039 Howie Kendrick .367/.398/.578 .031
*at AA Lake Elsinore
If Rodriguez earns a promotion to Rancho, he might have a solid chance to have a breakout season -- nothing Woodsian, mind you -- in the thin air and tiny ballparks of the Cal League. As I said yesterday, he's certainly proven he's got great plate discipline.
Johnson: 2-4, 1 RBI
Mount: 2-5, 3 RBI
Nieves: 0-2, 3 BB
Bell: 2.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 2 K, 1 BB, 4.50 ERA
Peacock: 2.1 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 4 K, 1 BB, 7.71 ERA
Beck: (W, 2-3) (in relief), 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 3 K, 0 BB, 1.91 ERA
Trevor Bell's fourth outing, and by far his worst to date. He's not gone past two innings in any of his prior starts, though.
Martinez: 1-4, 2 BB
Boyer: 4-6, 3 RBI
Marek: 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 9 K, 0 BB, 3.74 ERA
Didjurgis: 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 3 K, 1 BB, 2.79 ERA
Pete: 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 2 K, 0 BB, 0.79 ERA
Cruz Chavez: (W, 3-2) (in relief), 2.2 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 3 K, 0 BB, 4.19 ERA
What is this thing called Pete? Guys just don't do this, though he's not quite as dominant as his 0.79 ERA would indicate; his K/BB ratio is only 18/8.
Myrow: 2-3, 1 HR, 1 RBI
Ross: 1-3, 1 HR, 1 RBI
Theodorou: 2-4, 1 RBI
Erickson: (W, 2-3), 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 5 K, 3 BB, 1 HR, 6.29 ERA
You certainly have to hand Erickson some credit for trying here. A good game with a decent number of strikeouts despite the home run. Vegas is at some elevation and a hitter's park, too.
LaRoche, A: 1-4, 1 RBI
Loney: 0-3
Martin, R: 1-4
Perez: (L, 1-2), 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 6 K, 1 BB, 1.98 ERA
Broxton: 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 3 K, 1 BB, 3.26 ERA
Dewitt: 3-5, 1 HR, 1 RBI
Kemp: 2-5, 1 RBI
Dunlap: 0-4
Bellorin, E: 3-3
Denker, T: 0-4
Muegge: 8.0 IP, 2 ER, 1 HR, 3.47 ERA
Alexander: (L, 5-4) (in relief), 2.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 2 K, 1 BB, 1 HR, 2.98 ERA
Soto: 2-4, 1 RBI
Sutherland: 0-3, 2 BB
Mitchell: 2-4, 1 RBI
Locke: 1-3, 1 HR, 1 RBI
Pujols: 2-4
Alvarez: 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 4 K, 2 BB, 5.75 ERA
Horlacher: 2.0 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 3 K, 0 BB, 1 HR, 2.25 ERA
Ramirez: 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 3 K, 0 BB, 1.63 ERA
Troncoso: (BS, 4)(W, 6-1) (in relief), 2.0 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 1 K, 1 BB, 2.67 ERA
Kerry Wood To Have Shoulder Surgery
Update: Yes, it is.
The Moment Angels Fans Have All Been Waiting For
Na na na na
Hey hey, goodbye:
First baseman Darin Erstad has not been told he will start in center field when the Angels play Oakland on Tuesday night, but the wheels for such a move — which would displace the struggling Steve Finley and clear first base for rookie Casey Kotchman — have been set in motion.I have no idea if this will actually work out to being a positive with regards to Erstad's bat, but as far as I'm concerned, Finley not starting in center has to be a good thing. You can imagine what Finley's reaction might be -- wait, the Times story won't leave you hanging on that one:Erstad was instructed by Manager Mike Scioscia before Sunday's game to extend the length of his long-toss routine so he can stretch out his arm in preparation for a move. Erstad played long-toss with his outfield glove.
Asked how quickly he could make the transition, Erstad, who won Gold Glove awards as an outfielder in 2000 and 2002, said, "I don't know … we'll find out. I've done it before, and it hasn't been that big of a deal to switch."
Finley, who is batting .215 with nine home runs and 48 runs batted in and is in the first year of a two-year, $14-million contract, says he has no intention of retiring after this season, and he's convinced age has nothing to do with his struggles.At your age, Steve, that "click" is a back spasm, or a ruptured disc."You just don't go from what I did last year [.271, 36 homers, 94 RBIs] to this year," Finley, 40, said. "I feel terrible that I've let everyone down. … But I feel healthy and have complete confidence in my abilities. I'm just waiting for that one click."
Gammons On DePodesta
[To] make Milton Bradley the big picture for the entire Dodger season is preposterous, and to make this validation of the failures of Paul DePodesta as general manager is a major stretch. "The one thing that personally bothers me here is that the way the story is being treated reinforces stereotypes," says DePodesta.And what stereotype is that? Why, the one of Paul DePodesta caring more about numbers than personalities. But in the end, it's interesting DePo ultimately comes pretty close to acknowledging the stereotype is there for a reason:
"We tried to institute a five-year plan without an offseason," says DePodesta. "I freely admit that I have made mistakes. I admit I could have expressed our plans better, at times. But the stereotype that somehow is applied to me isn't completely accurate, and neither is the long-term health of the franchise."Wha? The stereotype of the long-term health of the franchise isn't completely accurate? Color me confused.
Minor League Scorebook
Callaspo, A: 3-5
Gorneault: 3-4, 2 RBI
Pavkovich: 2-3, 1 HR, 2 RBI
Escobar: 3.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 4 K, 4 BB, 3.24 ERA
Rouwenhorst: (W, 4-3) (in relief), 3.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 4 K, 0 BB, 4.72 ERA
Prinz: 2.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 0 K, 2 BB, 5.87 ERA
Thin air or not, Escobar pitched a great three innings in this one. Gorneault and Callaspo both had great outings, too. The win put Salt Lake one shy of the franchise's 10,000th, closing a six-game skid, and put the Stingers a half game closer to the top of the division.
Willits, R: 1-4
Kendrick, H: 3-5, 1 RBI
Napoli, M: 2-5, 1 RBI
Morales, K: 4-5, 1 RBI
Eylward: 2-4, 1 RBI
Gates: 2-5, 1 HR, 3 RBI
Davidson: 3.0 IP, 4 ER, 2 HR, 4.58 ERA
Pullin: (W, 5-6) (in relief), 3.1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 K, 0 BB, 5.15 ERA
It'd be shorter to list the games Howie Kendrick hasn't hit in since he got called up than the ones he has. Since playing his first game 7/17, his record looks like this:
From - To G H-AB ======================= 7/17 - 7/21 4 8-18 7/22 1 0-4 7/23 - 7/27 5 7-23 7/28 - 7/29 3 0-10 7/30 - 8/20 20 34-84 8/21 1 0-3 8/22 - 8/28 6 10-26
That is, he's only had five 0-fer games since getting the callup, with a 20-game hitting streak sandwiched in, which is simply amazing. His strikeouts are still a bit of a worry, as he has more than three times the whiffs (17) as he does walks (5); as a result, he's hitting .351/.370/.589 with six dingers for the Travs.
With his 4-5 game tonight, Kendry Morales has now brought his line to .306/.349/.536 with 16 home runs for the Travs.
Opposition pitcher Blaine Neal, making a rehab start for the Rockies, was struck by a line drive directly below the eye; he left the field under his own power and was sent to a local hospital for further examination. He surrendered two earned runs without making an out prior to the hit.
With the victory, the Travs' magic number is two.
Jered Weaver makes another start for the Travs tomorrow night. Keep your fingers crossed...
Holcomb: 8.0 IP, 0 ER, 5.15 ERA
Zimmermann: (BS, 7)(L, 6-8) (in relief), 1.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 0 K, 1 BB, 3.39 ERA
Don't bother rubbing your eyes; at 25, James Holcomb isn't really a prospect. Still, it was a good game for him. On the other hand, Zimmermann... well, he's supposed to be a prospect, anyway.
Collins: 3-5
Toussaint: 2-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI
Renz: 2-4, 1 RBI
Ray: (W, 7-5), 6.2 IP, 1 ER, 7 H, 3 K, 1 BB, 4.17 ERA
Sean Rodriguez isn't really on my radar; you'd think a guy could hit better than .246/.369/.402 in the Midwest League, but what do I know. Anyway, those numbers show some very impressive plate discipline, as does the fact that he's got almost as many walks (73) as strikeouts (76), a rarity among Angels prospects.
Morris: 3-4, 1 HR, 5 RBI
Trumbo: 1-5, 1 HR, 2 RBI
Martinez: 2-4
Maldonado: 0-2, 2 BB
Mosebach: (W, 3-3), 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 2 K, 0 BB, 4.58 ERA
Espinoza: 2.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 1 K, 0 BB, 9.00 ERA
Espinoza's first game for the Owlz, and a big splat. Well, this is why the minor leagues exist, right? Fortunately for him, Dallas Morris is hot, in the middle of a seven-game hitting streak during which he's hitting .393/.485/.643.
Eckert: (L, 5-9), 4.0 IP, 6 ER, 8 H, 2 K, 4 BB, 2 HR, 6.18 ERA
A really hard game for the 51's, as Ben Johnson slugged two homers, including a grand slam. He drove in seven runs, tying a Beavers team record.
Guzman, J: 1-2
Loney: 0-3
Martin, R: 0-4
Abreu, T: 1-4
Hanrahan: (L, 9-8), 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 7 H, 5 K, 3 BB, 1 HR, 4.87 ERA
Kuo: 2.0 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 2 K, 2 BB, 1.91 ERA
Carter, R: 2-4, 1 HR, 2 RBI
Batz: 2-3, 1 RBI
Laurin: 1-3, 1 HR, 1 RBI
Elbert: 4.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 4 K, 2 BB, 2.70 ERA
Castillo, A: (L, 1-5) (in relief), 1.0 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 1 K, 1 BB, 3.86 ERA
Sutherland: 2-4
Richmond: 2-3, 1 HR, 3 RBI
Justis: 1-4, 1 HR, 3 RBI
Gil: 1-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI
Meloan: 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 6 K, 2 BB, 1 HR, 3.44 ERA
Pfeiffer: (W, 7-3) (in relief), 4.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 5 K, 0 BB, 6.06 ERA
Sunday, August 28, 2005 |
Wait 'Til Next Year
The Angels need solid bullpen help. Donnelly is done as a bullpen ace. Peralta is young and inconsistent at best, possibly useless at worst; in any event, Sciocia clearly doesn't trust him. That leaves Frankie and Shields, both of whom are overworked, Frankie in a consecutive games sense (even two straight at times seems to overtax him), and Shields in an innings pitched sense.
And then there's the offense. This team needs the bat that Finley was supposed to provide but hasn't; Stoneman needs to cut him ASAP. Knowing his misplaced sense of loyalty, he probably won't.
Garret Anderson's decline is in full public display, and he's not getting better.
Bengie Molina will be gone. Will Jeff Mathis step up to replace him? Or will Stoneman sign Bengie to another suicidal, obscene multiyear contract?
Casey Kotchman might have a usable bat by next year. Maybe not. Likewise for Dallas McPherson. Will he ever control his strikeouts enough to be a good hitter at the major league level?
The rotation will be minus Paul Byrd and probably Jarrod Washburn. Will Stoneman sign a lefty?
Too many questions. No idea if Stoneman's capable of addressing them.
Weaving A Spell: Dodgers 1, Astros 0
Even better: a Dodgers win in a fairly tight game reminiscent of the Koufax-era Dodgers. Oscar Robles singled in the only Dodger run, and Sanchez made it stand up. Outstanding work, but it would have been better if, say, it were against the Cards.
Sneer All You Want, Sean: Devil Rays 2, Angels 1
Update: And they lose, like a buncha doormats. How pathetic.
Update 8/29: L.A. Seitz with more. Agreed 100%, they totally do not deserve the division the way they're playing.
Pickoff Moves
DePodesta's Mea Culpa, Tracy's Evasion
Jon wondered whether, after Paul DePodesta and Frank McCourt issued mea culpas, how long it would be before Tracy would apologize for the lack of success on the field. If today's exercise in evasion is any indication, he's got a long wait ahead."It's very flattering, if you get right down to that," Tracy said. "If young players weren't developing, [and] the performance on the field was completely lackluster, [if] you didn't see passion, you didn't see energy, then that falls into my boat. And that's something that I would expect to be completely held accountable for, 100 percent.I suppose that's code for, Sayonara, Milton Bradley. So be it."But as I was alluding to in here yesterday, I think last night's game is another indication of it. We have played with whatever lineup, with whatever group of names from one day to the next, [and] over the course of the five years I've been here, I get everything they've got, every single day -- with the exception of probably a couple, and what ballclub doesn't go through that?"
Arte To Host Schwarzenegger Fundraiser
Governor Schwarzenegger wants to stay governor, and Arte Moreno intends to help him by hosting a fundraiser on Tuesday. The article has a quote from the ill-named Larry Noble, director of the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Responsive Politics, who correctly notes that the Gov is soliciting donations from those with business before the state. However, what I suspect he objects to is that the governor isn't packing an agenda he agrees with; would he be pointing this out if, say, the donors were a public employees' union?Roster Notes
- Ben Sheets, the ace of the Brewers' staff, tore his latissimus dorsi muscle and is likely out for the rest of the season.
- The Giants unloaded OF Michael Tucker to the Phillies, for minor league pitcher Kelvin Pichardo and cash.
Hard Things
From today's Times:Left-handed hitting Finley is not starting against left-handers, and Scioscia is having a harder time justifying starting Finley against right-handers.The season's five sixths of the way over and he still hasn't produced, and they don't know if it's time to pull the plug? That's organizational patience..."Every player is responsible for production, which leads to playing time, and his playing time has been diminished," Scioscia said. "Hopefully he can pick it up. I don't know if we're ready to pull the plug on it."
And with that, the bad dog reminds me it's time to go for a walk. Enjoy your day, everyone.
Explosion: Dodgers 8, Astros 3
Edwin Jackson was a lot better than his first appearance of the year, but he still looked pretty fragile. Giving up three earned runs in five and a third and a balk (which proved meaningless), he threw 108 pitches to get through the game, not an encouraging sign. The Astros would get a three-run dinger off Jackson, but that was all the scoring they'd do.
Update: Adam in the comments is a little more sanguine about Jackson's performance. I would be too, except that he threw 108 pitches to not even clear six innings. Similar to the analysis I performed on his last start, let's break down his outing inning-by-inning:
Inn. B S 1PS BB K 3-x 3-2
===================================
1 6 13 0 0 1 0 0
2 4 13 3 0 2 0 0
3 9 14 2 1 2 1 0
4 10 13 3 0 0 1 1
5 4 7 2 0 1 0 0
6 8 7 0 1 0 1 0
===================================
41 67 13 2 6 3 1
So, better, but not necessarily that dominating. He didn't walk a bunch of guys, but his control continued to hurt him; you'd like to see him stay in the strike zone more.
Saturday, August 27, 2005 |
Minor League Scorebook
Callaspo, A: 1-5
Gorneault: 0-4, 1 RBI
Mathis, J: 0-4
Allen: 2-4
Saunders: 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 1 K, 3 BB, 1 HR, 4.71 ERA
Bergman, D: (H, 7), 1.0 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 1 K, 2 BB, 3.17 ERA
Jones: (BS, 2)(L, 1-2) (in relief), 1.2 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 2 K, 2 BB, 3.33 ERA
Saunders' effort qualifies as a quality start, which, in the thin air, deserves consideration. Remember Colorado Springs (6,035 ft.) is even higher than Denver (officially 5,280 ft.).
Willits, R: 2-3, 3 RBI
Kendrick, H: 1-5, 1 HR, 2 RBI
Murphy: 2-5, 1 HR, 4 RBI
Morales, K: 3-5, 1 HR, 1 RBI
Collazo: 4.0 IP, 9 ER, 2 HR, 6.58 ERA
Pullin: (W, 4-6) (in relief), 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 K, 0 BB, 5.40 ERA
Not such a good day for the pitching, but a big shout out to Kendry Morales, who's hit six home runs in his last nine games. He's in the middle of a 13-game hitting streak, during which he's hitting .532/.569/.957 with six homers, but only four walks versus seven strikeouts.
Update: There's reasons to read the box scores, of course, and in this case a good one. It was a heck of a dramatic game, with Tommy Murphy belting a rally-sealing grand slam to win it. The Travs' magic number is three.
Brown: 2-4, 2 RBI
Edwards: 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 1 HR, 4.86 ERA
Dowdy: (L, 2-4) (in relief), 2.1 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 2 K, 0 BB, 1 HR, 5.06 ERA
Zimmermann: 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 K, 0 BB, 3.14 ERA
Sutton: 3-6, 3 RBI
Collins: 1-4
Madrigal: 1-5
Green: 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 3.24 ERA
Simard: (W, 9-8) (in relief), 2.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 2 K, 2 BB, 1 HR, 5.70 ERA
Ryan: 0-2, 2 BB
Cassevah: 4.0 IP, 0 ER, 5.02 ERA
Beck: (L, 1-3) (in relief), 1.2 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 2 K, 0 BB, 2.05 ERA
Bobby Cassevah is coming off Tommy John surgery, so I should go easy on him. The Angels seem to be babying him a bit, so I'm not surprised he has only gone a max of five innings so far.
FutureAngels says that Gustavo Espinoza and Richard/Ryan Aldridge have gotten a callup to Orem. Good luck with that, guys.
Statia: 2-5, 2 RBI
Morris: 2-4, 3 RBI
Trumbo: 1-5, 1 RBI
Martinez: 2-4
Albano: 3-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI
Hawkins: (W, 5-2), 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 6 K, 1 BB, 3.70 ERA
Whittington: 1.2 IP, 3 ER, 2 H, 3 K, 2 BB, 4.08 ERA
Sullivan: 1.1 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 3 K, 0 BB, 5.61 ERA
Daniel Hawkins
Young, D: 1-5
Grabowski: 1-5, 1 HR, 1 RBI
Myrow: 0-2, 3 BB
Chen: 2-5
Nakamura: 2-5, 1 HR, 2 RBI
Ross: 2-4, 1 HR, 2 RBI
Nixon: 2-4, 1 RBI
Gonzalez: 1-1, 1 HR, 2 RBI
Nall: (L, 6-6), 4.0 IP, 6 ER, 8 H, 1 K, 4 BB, 1 HR, 7.05 ERA
Gonzalez: 2.2 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 3 K, 1 BB, 1 HR, 4.29 ERA
It doesn't look like there was a lot in the way of quality pitching going on here, but Andy Ashby actually threw three innings of one-run ball for the Beavers. He's hoping to find a job in the majors -- presumably with the Padres -- in spring training.
"I would love to pitch again, and hopefully, it will happen here," Ashby said earlier this month. "The main thing is to get healthy and show them in Spring Training I can pitch. It's been so frustrating being hurt.Ashby is recovering from Tommy John surgery in 2003, and shoulder surgery earlier this year."I appreciate (the Padres) keeping me here. I've been here off and on all year, sitting around watching this team. For them to bring me here means a lot to me. Hopefully, I can do something for them."
Guzman, J: 0-3
Loney: 0-2
Martin, R: 1-1, 1 HR, 2 RBI
Abreu, T: 0-2
Billingsley: (W, 12-6), 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 4 K, 2 BB, 3.62 ERA
A beautiful one-hitter for Chad Billingsley.
LaRoche, A: 1-3, 2 RBI
Guzman, J: 1-3, 1 RBI
Loney: 0-4
Martin, R: 2-2, 2 BB, 1 HR, 1 RBI
Ruggiano, J: 4-4, 1 RBI
Gonzalez: 2-3, 1 RBI
Juarez: 4.0 IP, 5 ER, 1 HR, 4.44 ERA
Miller: 0.2 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 K, 2 BB, 0.96 ERA
Bartlett: (W, 3-2) (in relief), 2.1 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 0 K, 0 BB, 5.13 ERA
It's tough to win both ends of a doubleheader; good going, boys. Expect to see a lot of doubleheaders getting played over the next week or three because of Tropical Storm Katrina.
Dunlap: 0-2
Kemp: 0-2, 1 RBI
Denker, T: 0-3
Dewitt: 0-2
Paul: 0-2
Pilkington: (L, 7-8), 5.2 IP, 5 ER, 7 H, 4 K, 4 BB, 3.61 ERA
Dunlap: 2-3
Kemp: 0-3
Dewitt: 1-3, 1 RBI
Denker, T: 0-3
Megrew: (L, 0-1), 2.1 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 1 K, 1 BB, 11.57 ERA
Pedroza: 2-2, 2 BB
Westervelt: 1-2, 2 BB, 1 HR, 4 RBI
Hochgesang: 3.2 IP, 5 ER, 6 H, 5 K, 1 BB, 1 HR, 6.17 ERA
Johnson, B: (L, 9-4) (in relief), 0.2 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 1 K, 1 BB, 3.34 ERA
Soto: 1-3, 2 BB
Mitchell: 1-3, 2 BB
Godwin: 2-4, 1 RBI
Locke: 2-4, 2 HR, 7 RBI
Pujols: 1-3, 1 HR, 1 RBI
Wade: 5.2 IP, 3 ER, 1 HR, 4.33 ERA
Klusman: (BS, 1)(W, 4-1) (in relief), 2.1 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 1 K, 1 BB, 2.03 ERA
Eight Game Division Leads Don't Just Disappear: Devil Rays 6, Angels 3
Update: And it's final, 6-3, in a completely embarrassing contest. Steve Finley went 0-4, popping out weakly in his last at bat, striking out in two others, and making two fielding errors.
I continue to await any kind of explanation from management as to why this guy isn't (a) benched at the very least, or (b) cut outright.
Friday, August 26, 2005 |
Minor League Scorebook
- Here's the hardly unexpected Angels press release announcing that Brandon Wood has been named the 2005 California League Most Valuable Player.
- I admit I don't check Fox Sports as often as I do ESPN, so that explains why I missed this day-old Dayn Perry look at the top prospects in the AL West. Would it surprise you to find the Angels have four prospects (Brandon Wood, Howie Kendrick, Jered Weaver, Erick Aybar), and the Mariners (just-drafted-and-signed C Jeff Clement) and A's (1B Daric Barton, formerly with the Cardinals) only one apiece?
- My favorite Aussie catcher, Michael Collins, has been named to the Midwest League All-Star game. Good on ya, mate.
- Update: Normally I would have waited until tonight to get to this one, as it's been leaked quite a bit over the last week, but since this post is still on top and somebody mentioned it in the comments below, here it is: Baseball America named the Dodgers AA Jacksonville Suns club the most talented team in the minors.
Dodgers fans can and will compare such a grouping to LA’s all-time infield of Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes, Ron Cey and Bill Russell, who were the Dodgers’ primary infield starters from 1974-81. It’s easy for fans to want the Jacksonville group to stay together, to have a replacement for their past heroes. That’s particularly true considering that when Adrian Beltre and Paul Lo Duca left the team last year (free agent and mid-season trade), the Dodgers had no homegrown starters left in the lineup.
“We are trying to keep them together, and we would like to,” DePodesta says. “We like the competitiveness we see in them and the camaraderie. To have them move up together would be a huge benefit to the whole organization.”
Mathis, J: 0-4
Gorneault: 2-3, 2 BB
Sorensen: 1-3, 2 BB, 2 RBI
Woods: (L, 2-1), 4.1 IP, 5 ER, 9 H, 2 K, 1 BB, 2 HR, 6.18 ERA
Hunter: 1.2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 2 K, 3 BB, 5.76 ERA
Willits, R: 1-4, 1 RBI
Kendrick, H: 2-4, 2 RBI
Napoli, M: 0-3, 2 BB
Morales, K: 2-4
Del Chiaro: 2-4, 2 RBI
Olenberger: (W, 9-7), 7.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 2 K, 1 BB, 1 HR, 3.93 ERA
Wood, B: 0-5
Wilson: 4-5, 2 RBI
Day: 3-5, 2 RBI
Jepsen: 4.0 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 5 K, 3 BB, 1 HR, 9.00 ERA
Smith: (L, 7-8) (in relief), 2.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 4 K, 0 BB, 5.11 ERA
This ended a 15-game hitting streak for Wood, who hit .438/.479/.831 over that period (starting on August 10) with six home runs and 18 RBI.
Collins: 1-3, 1 RBI
Madrigal: 1-2, 2 BB
Giannotti: 1-2, 2 BB
Renz: 2-4, 3 RBI
Walston: 2-4, 1 RBI
Gelinas: (W, 9-8), 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 4 K, 1 BB, 4.10 ERA
Stanton: 2.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 2 K, 0 BB, 4.60 ERA
Rivera: 3-4, 1 RBI
Edwards: 3-4, 1 HR, 3 RBI
Adenhart: (W, 2-3), 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 10 K, 2 BB, 3.68 ERA
Diaz: 2.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 2 K, 1 BB, 4.08 ERA
Okay, this would be what you'd call your basic ass-whupping. Adenhart shows what he's made of here, and just dominated the A's. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. This is tied for his longest game to date.
Statia: 4-5, 4 RBI
Trumbo: 3-5, 2 RBI
Boyer: 2-4
Shearer: (W, 2-3), 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 10 K, 0 BB, 1 HR, 3.34 ERA
Update 8/27: Wow, I totally missed this dominating performance by Kelly Shearer. Shearer, a 14th-round pick from Elkins High in the geographically uncertain city of Missouri City, Texas, pitched his best game of the year, matching his season high for innings pitched, and setting the personal record this year for single-game strikeouts, doubling his previous best of five.
Aybar: 3-4
Grabowski: 3-6, 1 RBI
Chen: 1-5, 1 HR, 3 RBI
Myrow: 3-5, 2 RBI
Nakamura: 4-5, 1 HR, 3 RBI
Ross: 2-3, 1 HR, 3 RBI
Nixon: 3-6, 2 RBI
Neu: (W, 2-2), 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 3 K, 5 BB, 5.69 ERA
Rupe: 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 2 K, 0 BB, 6.53 ERA
Sutherland: 3-4, 2 RBI
Mooneyham: 3-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI
Locke: 2-3
Arias, M: (L, 3-3), 3.0 IP, 7 ER, 8 H, 5 K, 4 BB, 2 HR, 6.03 ERA
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