Tuesday, October 31, 2006 |
AFL Scorebook
Lewis: 2-5, 1 K
Braun, R: 2-4, 1 2B, 2 BB
Reynolds: 3-6, 1 2B, 4 RBI, 2 K
Wilson: 0-3, 1 RBI, 1 BB
Richar: 2-5
Coon: 0-2, 2 BB
Parra: 2.2 IP, 5 R, 4 ER, 5 H, 3 K, 3 BB, 7.59 ERA
Wilhite, M: 1.1 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 2 K, 0 BB, 5.87 ERA
Sadler: 2.0 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 2 K, 0 BB, 0.00 ERA
Bray: (W, 1-0) (in relief), 1.0 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 K, 0 BB, 5.68 ERA
Malek: 2-4, 1 2B
Albers: 3.0 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 4 H, 2 K, 0 BB, 2.77 ERA
Sawatski: (L, 0-1) (in relief), 0.0 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 H, 0 K, 0 BB, 14.14 ERA
Ouch: AFL Performances And Breaking A Leg (Not Quite)
Rumormongering: AK To Mets? Gary Carter To Interview For Vegas Manager
Also in that article: ex-Dodger Guillermo Mota has filed for free agency; and the Dodgers are speaking to Mets minor league manager (and Hall of Famer) Gary Carter about their vacant AAA managing job. Carter had been managing the FSL single-A St. Lucie Mets previously.
Today's Birthdays
Leo Dickerman BRO b. 1896, played 1923-1924, d. 1982-04-30
Jim Donohue LAA b. 1938, played 1961-1962
Oreste Marrero LAN b. 1969, played 1996
Damon Mashore ANA b. 1969, played 1998
Fred McGriff LAN b. 1963, played 2003, All-Star: 1992, 1994-1996, 2000. It's hard to remember that the Crime Dog was a pretty useful player in his day; despite near-total immobility at first (only three times in his 19 seasons was he even above average according to Rate2), he was a solid thumper with a career .377 OBP. His time with the Dodgers was marred by injury, the first time in his career that he posted less than 500 at bats since his rookie season with the Blue Jays in 1987; he missed winning a pair of rings with that team by one year, as they sent him and Tony Fernandez to San Diego for Joe Carter and Roberto Alomar.
Mickey Rivers CAL b. 1948, played 1970-1975, All-Star: 1976. "Mick the Quick" didn't get to be a Top 100 Angel, partly due to my own oversight, but he recently made the Top 50 Rangers list over at Lone Star Ball.
Bill Voss CAL b. 1943, played 1969-1970
Monday, October 30, 2006 |
AFL Scorebook
D'Antona: 2-4, 1 2B
Malone: (L, 0-3), 3.0 IP, 2 R, 2 ER, 6 H, 2 K, 1 BB, 6.75 ERA
Thompson: 1.0 IP, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 H, 1 K, 1 BB, 15.95 ERA
Man... Thompson is just awful.
Hu, C: 1-5
Malek: 2-4, 1 HR, 4 RBI
Abreu: 2-5, 2 HR, 5 RBI
Moore: 3-5, 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 RBI
Moses: 3-5, 1 2B
Raglani: 2-4, 1 RBI, 1 BB
Martinez, F: 2-4, 1 K
Slowey: 3.0 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 H, 3 K, 0 BB, 2.25 ERA
McLemore, M: (W, 2-0) (in relief), 2.0 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 H, 1 K, 3 BB, 6.55 ERA
Meloan: 1.0 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 K, 0 BB, 0.87 ERA
Roster Notes
- The Padres declined to exercise their options on Mike Piazza and Ryan Klesko; Piazza's option was worth $8M. Piazza and Klesko will receive buyouts worth $750,000 and $500,000 instead. The Padres continue to weigh the fate of centerfielder Mike Cameron and third baseman Russell Branyan.
- The Red Sox have extended knuckleballer Tim Wakefield by exercising a $4M option on the aging pitcher, though batterymate and catcher Doug Mirabelli has filed for free agency. Good luck with that, Jason Veritek...
- Carlos Lee has filed for free agency, along with Gary Matthews, Jr., Mark DeRosa, Adam Eaton, Rod Barajas, and Eric Young.
Padres GM Kevin Towers To Interview Bud Black
On Tuesday, Towers plans to interview St. Louis Cardinals third-base coach Jose Oquendo. On Thursday, he is to interview Trey Hillman, who managed the Nippon Ham Fighters to the Japan Series championship this year.In all, the GM has about eight candidates in mind and said he'd like to hire a manager within two to three weeks.
What They Think Of Bochy In SF
Point: Aarrrrrgfggggggggaaahaaaggggg!Counterpoint: Whoa. You alright?
Point: Gaaaaarrrrrrhrhrrrr!
Counterpoint: Deep breaths. Deep breaths.
Point: The Giants...just hired...Bruce Bochy...to be their manager.
Counterpoint: Oh. Not bad.
Point: Not bad? Not bad? You can't be serious. I thought that you didn't want a retread?
Counterpoint: Retread, to me, means a manager that's worn out his welcome everywhere he's been. In every city, he leaves a wake of disgruntled fans and a wake of disgruntled players. Bochy doesn't fit that description.
Point: Whatever. If you're satisfied with mediocrity, be my guest. Pull up a seat on the train to San Mediocre, with a few stops along the way at Badville, Wretchedsburg, and Veteran Footsie Town. This doesn't fit with a New Direction.
ESPN 1000 Chicago: Aramis Ramirez Opts Out
Pickoff Moves
Today's Birthdays
Joe Adcock CAL,LAA b. 1927, played 1964-1966, All-Star: 1960, d. 1999-05-03. A Top 100 Angel, Adcock came to the Angels in the same deal that also sent Leon Wagner to Cleveland. (Wagner, himself a Top 100 Angel, hated the trade, saying he wished he had been "somewhere within the United States" in a press conference after the deal, a comment he ended up apologizing for.) Playing in the long shadow of Hank Aaron in Milwaukee, he still was a prodigious home run hitter himself, with 336 over 17 seasons.
Bobby Bragan BRO b. 1917, played 1943-1944, 1947-1948
Tom Brennan LAN b. 1952, played 1985
Chet Kehn BRO b. 1921, played 1942, d. 1984-04-05
Bullets
- Chin-Lung Hu has updated his journal as of last Friday, but as you can imagine, I haven't been keeping perhaps as close tabs on this AFL as last year.
- Speaking of the AFL, no games are played on Sunday, and no games were played Friday, save for the Rising Stars Showcase, an All-Star game for an All-Star league, the first ever.
- Alfonso Soriano filed for free agency Sunday, along with Jason Schmidt.
- The A's have scheduled internal interviews for their open managerial slot, and widespread favorite Bob Geren and third base coach Ron Washington will get the nod.
- Also: Frank Thomas officially filed for free agency on Saturday.
- The "throw-away" World Series set record-low ratings for the second year running.
Sunday, October 29, 2006 |
Today's Birthdays
Karim Garcia LAN b. 1975, played 1995-1997. A Mexican-born player whose altitude-inflated stats convinced the Dodgers to send down Todd Hollandsworth in his stead. He never hit well at the major league level, and so bounced around as a journeyman outfielder for variously the Diamondbacks, Indians, Tigers, Orioles, Yankees, and Mets. Probably best remembered for his 2003 postseason with the Yankees, in particular Game 5 of the ALCS, in which he drove in a pair on a bases-loaded RBI single off Derek Lowe. Currently playing in the Japanese Leagues.
Greg Gohr CAL b. 1967, played 1996
Gary Johnson ANA b. 1975, played 2003
Pete Richert LAN b. 1939, played 1962-1964, 1972-1973, All-Star: 1965-1966. The only major league pitcher to strike out four batters in one inning in his debut game (the third inning of a contest against the Reds on April 12, 1962), he had the misfortune of coming up at a time when the Dodgers' rotation was stacked. Traded in December 1964 to the Senators, along with Frank Howard and others, for Claude Osteen and others, he spent a number of years with the Orioles during the peak of their dominance in the late 60's and early 70's, returning to the Dodgers in 1972. He finished his career in 1974 with St. Louis and Philadelphia.
Earl Yingling BRO b. 1888, played 1912-1913, d. 1962-10-02
AFL Scorebook
Coon: 2-3, 1 K
Palmer: 3.0 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 2 K, 3 BB, 2.31 ERA
Wilhite, M: (BS, 1), 0.2 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 H, 0 K, 2 BB, 7.11 ERA
Hedrick: (W, 1-0) (in relief), 1.0 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 K, 0 BB, 4.05 ERA
Deeds, D: 2-4, 1 K
Hu, C: 2-3, 1 2B, 1 RBI
Simonitsch: 4.0 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 4 H, 5 K, 1 BB, 4.76 ERA
Nall: (W, 1-0) (in relief), 1.0 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 K, 0 BB, 0.00 ERA
Meloan: 1.1 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 3 K, 1 BB, 0.96 ERA
Saturday, October 28, 2006 |
Bonds, Thomas, Nomar Head List Of Early Free Agency Filers
Today's Birthdays
Tim Bogar LAN b. 1966, played 2001
Chin-Feng Chen LAN b. 1977, played 2002-2005. Cal League Rookie of the Year and MVP in 1999 and Dodgers Minor League Player of the Year, he never lived up to that billing. Unless he's playing in Asia somewhere, he's now out of professional ball.
Lenny Harris LAN b. 1964, played 1989-1993. One of the greatest pinch-hitters in baseball history (he owns the major league record with 212), he was the Reds' fifth-round pick in 1983, the same year Tim Belcher failed to sign with Cincinnati. The Dodgers mainly used him at third, though he was a slap-hitter; only three times in his 18-year career did he have a slugging percentage over even .400. The fact that he was part of the trade that sent mediocrity Kal Daniels the the Dodgers was maybe an indicator, too. One of his comps: postseason miracle worker Vic Davallilo (c.f.).
Bill McCabe BRO b. 1892, played 1920, d. 1966-09-02
Tommy Tucker BRO b. 1863, played 1898, d. 1935-10-22
Terry Evans Scratched In Friday's "Rising Stars" Game
Friday, October 27, 2006 |
And In Other News...
- Former major league pitcher Joe Niekro died at the age of 61; of a brain aneurysm. He is the Houston Astros' career franchise leader in wins (with 144), and in the top ten for a number of other single-season and career marks. He is survived by his brother, Hall of Famer Phil Niekro, and his son, Giants first baseman Lance Niekro. He beat the Dodgers in a one-game playoff in 1980 for the NL West crown.
- Buddy Black could be the leading candidate to replace Bruce Bochy in San Diego. Black owns a home in Rancho Santa Fe, just north of San Diego.
- Barry Bonds will file for free agency "as soon as possible" barring a contract offer from the Giants. No such offer has been forthcoming, and the first day Bonds can file for free agency is ... tomorrow, the day after the World Series is over. Under the new CBA, the Giants don't have to offer arbitration to Bonds by December 7 in order to get free agent compensation. Supposedly, the Angels and Dodgers will end up as bargaining chips for his negotiations with the Giants, but, um, no.
Today's Birthdays
Ed Albosta BRO b. 1918, played 1941, d. 2003-01-07
Gil Flores CAL b. 1952, played 1977
Onan Masaoka LAN b. 1977, played 1999-2000
Joe Mulvey BRO b. 1858, played 1895, d. 1928-08-21
Del Rice LAA b. 1922, played 1961, All-Star: 1953, d. 1983-01-26
Al Scheer BRO b. 1888, played 1913, d. 1959-05-06
Bill Travers CAL b. 1952, played 1981, 1983, All-Star: 1976
Hector Valle LAN b. 1940, played 1965
Dodgers Hire Stan Conte As Head Trainer
The Ex-Angel Factor: Cardinals 4, Tigers 2
Eck took the MVP hardware home, of course, and he and teammate Scott Spiezio now have two rings. Jeff Weaver now has one more ring than any Yankee since he was traded to New York.
As with all the other games, the Tigers literally threw this one away, as Verlander made another bad play that ended in left field. The Tigers pitching staff, they said during the broadcast, had more errors in this World Series than any in history. They'll have all next year to think about it, of course, but the real key to this was the Tigers' simple inability to hit.
Congratulations to the 83-win Cardinals, the worst team ever to win a title, and to Jeff Weaver, whose performance tonight was simply fantastic. Despite the loss, congratulations to the Tigers, whose presence in the World Series is a great thing for that formerly woebegone franchise.
Update: And, I suppose, I should congratulate Tony LaRussa, who becomes only the second manager in World Series history to win a title in each league.
Thursday, October 26, 2006 |
AFL Scorebook
Brown: 1-6
Wilson: 1-3, 2 BB
Cook, D: 2-3, 1 2B, 1 BB
Davidson: 3.0 IP, 5 R, 5 ER, 7 H, 6 K, 1 BB, 11.42 ERA
Thompson: 1.0 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 K, 0 BB, 15.63 ERA
Sarfate: 2.0 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 2 K, 1 BB, 7.88 ERA
AFL games are called after 11 innings, as this one was.
Pence, H: 3-5, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 1 K
Moses: 2-4, 1 RBI, 1 BB
Raglani: 0-4, 3 K
Hu, C: 0-4
Muegge: 3.0 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 5 H, 0 K, 1 BB, 4.09 ERA
Cameron: (L, 1-1) (in relief), 1.0 IP, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 2 K, 2 BB, 4.50 ERA
Holdzkom: 3.0 IP, 4 R, 4 ER, 5 H, 3 K, 2 BB, 3.27 ERA
Tigers By The Tail: Cardinals 5, Tigers 4
Giants Start Clock On Bochy Interview -- UPDATE: Bochy Signs
``If there is no announcement at the end of the seven days, then Bruce will be a Padre,'' Towers said.Update: Bruce Bochy and the Giants have agreed on a contract, and will introduce Bochy as their new manager at a news conference "today", according to a San Jose Mercury-News report, but time is rapidly running out on "today" and so we suppose by "today" that they mean, "tomorrow".Actually, the Giants must move faster because Bochy is scheduled to leave for Japan on Monday after accepting an offer to replace Terry Francona as manager of the major leagues' touring all-star team. Another of the Giants' four central candidates, New York Mets third-base coach Manny Acta, will serve on Bochy's staff.
Clubs are not permitted to make major announcements during the World Series but Major League Baseball gave the Giants clearance to act because Bochy is doing the league a huge favor. He agreed on short notice to replace Terry Francona as manager of the league's traveling all-star squad that leaves for Japan on Monday.
Robert Redford To Play Branch Rickey In Robinson Biopic
The script will be penned by Ali scribes Christopher Wilkinson and Stephen J. Rivele, and the film will revolve around Robinson's struggles (which "include death threats, beanballs, abuse from fans, a rebellion by some of his teammates and the threat of a strike by the St. Louis Cardinals") as the first African-American in Major League Baseball. Production is expected to begin next March assuming Jackie Robinson himself is cast. Most likely that part with either go to Will Smith or Jamie Foxx, as they seem to be the go-to guys for these sorts of roles.Smith? Foxx?
Today's Birthdays
Tommy Griffith BRO b. 1889, played 1919-1925, d. 1967-04-13
Doc Newton BRO b. 1877, played 1901-1902, d. 1931-05-14
Gus Polidor CAL b. 1961, played 1985-1988, d. 1995-04-28
Ed Vande Berg LAN b. 1958, played 1986
AFL Scorebook
Brown: 2-3, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
Frandsen: 3-3, 2 HR, 4 RBI
Jackson: 3.0 IP, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 H, 0 K, 2 BB, 1 HR, 12.38 ERA
Wilhite, M: 1.0 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 K, 0 BB, 6.35 ERA
Sadler: (W, 1-0) (in relief), 1.1 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 K, 0 BB, 0.00 ERA
Malek: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 2 K
Abreu: 1-4, 1 HR, 2 RBI
Hu, C: 0-3, 1 K
Albers: 4.0 IP, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 H, 2 K, 1 BB, 1 HR, 3.60 ERA
Akin: (L, 0-2) (in relief), 1.2 IP, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 H, 2 K, 0 BB, 1 HR, 2.45 ERA
Wednesday, October 25, 2006 |
Bullety Stuff
- World Series Game 4 has been postponed because of the rain delay. Bad weather for the other two games in St. Louis and again in Detroit make me wonder whether they shouldn't play in Arizona. Or Texas.
- Orel Hershiser will interview with the A's for their open managerial spot; my bet is on Bob Geren. More from Jon, but does it even remotely make sense that a guy who couldn't handle it when the Texas front office refused to take off the training wheels could possibly work with a superempowered micromanager like Billy Beane? That is, it's door number one, Ken.
- The Red Sox have set the bar for fading 40-year-old relievers by giving Mike Timlin a $2.8M, one-year deal. Jeff Weaver is now thinking about a Learjet as a throw-in to his next contract.
Pickoff Moves
Today's Birthdays
Al Cowens CAL b. 1951, played 1980, d. 2002-03-11
Steve Decker ANA b. 1965, played 1999
Jack Doyle BRO b. 1869, played 1903-1904, d. 1958-12-31
Mike Harkey CAL,LAN b. 1966, played 1995, 1997
Weldon Henley BRO b. 1880, played 1907, d. 1960-11-16
Mickey Hughes BRO b. 1866, played 1890, d. 1931-04-10
Tito Landrum LAN b. 1954, played 1987
Pedro Martinez LAN b. 1971, played 1992-1993, All-Star: 1996-2000, 2002, 2005. A near-certain lock for the Hall of Fame (Bill James' HoF toy thinks so), the story of his departure from the Dodgers is one of the most shameful squanderings of talent in franchise history, better and more thoroughly chronicled by Jon Weisman. One of only three four pitchers to win the Cy Young in both leagues (the others were Ferguson Jenkins, Randy Johnson, and Roger Clemens), he was also the last AL pitcher (prior to Johan Santana this year) to win the triple crown in pitching (ERA, strikeouts, and wins).
Russ Meyer BRO b. 1923, played 1953-1955, d. 1998-11-16
Pete Mikkelsen LAN b. 1939, played 1969-1972
MLB Unveils New Labor Agreement
Baseball has unveiled a new labor agreement, to stand through the 2011 season. Free agent compensation will be reduced, not eliminated, as previously reported:- Type C free agents are eliminated. This change is effective immediately.
- Type B free agents are now limited to the top 40-21% of all free agent players (from 31-50), and compensation therefor is a sandwich pick between the first and second round (from a second-round compensation pick).
- Type A free agents are limited to the top 20% (from 30%), and compensation therefor is a first- or second-round pick from the signing club and an extra sandwich pick between the first and second rounds.
Additional changes to the Rule 4 draft:
- There is a hard deadline of August 15. No more waiting for the first day of classes, or the week before the next draft.
- Teams unable to sign players in one draft will have a similar compensation pick the next year (i.e., a 5th overall pick will get a 6th overall pick the next year), but these compensation picks do not themselves roll over. The compensation rules vary depending on the round: the above rule applies to first- and second-round picks, while third-rounders get a sandwich pick between the third and fourth round the next year.
- Draft-and-follows are eliminated.
Commenter dzzrtrat at Dodger Thoughts yesterday had some interesting comments on the speed with which this agreement came to fruition, which I here reproduce (see comment 64):
If baseball's TV ratings were a matter of such significance, why were management and the union able to reach an agreement so quickly? Bad economics were a fundamental issue leading to the strike in the early 90s, at a time when postseason ratings were higher.And of course, the answer is that baseball is awash in money right now.
Hold That Tiger: Cardinals 5, Tigers 0
Okay, Tigers in six. I hope.Other Random Notes
- It's official: DeJon Watson is the Dodgers' new farm director.
- The A's released D'Angelo Jimenez.
- The Twins' amazing starter, Francisco Liriano, has walked out of rehab and is considering surgery.
- Kevin Hench has a list of the top ten biggest cheaters in baseball history.
- Update: Excellent news: A-Rod is staying a Yankee, thus leaving an easy out in any postseason matchups against the Angels.
- It's gonna be a wet night tonight in St. Louis, which means Game 4 will probably be postponed.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006 |
AFL Scorebook
News
Baseball America announced the list of Arizona Fall League All-Stars; on the list for the Angels is Terry Evans; the Dodgers can boast RHP Jonathan Meloan and OF Chin-Lung Hu.Scores
Owens: 2-2
Braun, R: 2-5, 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 2 K
Brown: 3-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI
D'Antona: 2-5, 1 2B, 1 RBI
Gonzalez: 2-5, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 K
Cook, D: 2-5, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 K
Moss, S: 0-2, 2 BB, 1 K
Parra: 4.0 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 H, 0 K, 1 BB, 5.62 ERA
Russell: (W, 1-0) (in relief), 1.0 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 K, 0 BB, 8.44 ERA
The Scorpions finally got some hits in, and Matt Brown among them.
Patterson, E: 3-6, 1 2B, 3 RBI
Pence, H: 4-5, 2 HR, 4 RBI
Malek: 2-5, 2 2B
Winfree: 2-4, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB
Raglani: 0-2, 1 K
Santangelo: 2-5, 2 K
Mulvey: 3.0 IP, 3 R, 3 ER, 5 H, 1 K, 1 BB, 1 HR, 5.62 ERA
Patton, T: (W, 1-0) (in relief), 3.0 IP, 3 R, 3 ER, 5 H, 2 K, 0 BB, 5.00 ERA
Rapada: 1.1 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 2 K, 0 BB, 1.59 ERA
AFL Scorebook
Wilson: 1-4
Gonzalez: 0-2, 2 BB
Cook, D: 2-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 K
Malone: (L, 0-2), 3.0 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 7 H, 1 K, 1 BB, 7.04 ERA
Thompson: 1.0 IP, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 H, 2 K, 0 BB, 18.56 ERA
Raglani: 0-3
Martinez, F: 1-2, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 K
Simonitsch: (L, 0-1), 3.0 IP, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 H, 2 K, 3 BB, 7.36 ERA
Reineke: 1.1 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 2 K, 0 BB, 8.44 ERA
Meloan: 1.2 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 2 K, 0 BB, 1.12 ERA
Today's Birthdays
Chris Bootcheck ANA,LAA b. 1978, played 2003, 2005. Along with Tim Hudson, played his college ball for Auburn; I seem to recall that his pitching coach said that of the two, Bootcheck had the higher ceiling, something that has yet to pan out. He got in some good innings in the last regular season game of the year, and so we may see him in as a reliever next. Good luck, Chris.
Wilton Guerrero LAN b. 1974, played 1996-1998. Vlad's lesser brother, and so naturally the one the Dodgers picked.
Ralph Onis BRO b. 1908, played 1935, d. 1995-01-04
F.P. Santangelo LAN b. 1967, played 2000
Harry Smythe BRO b. 1904, played 1934, d. 1980-08-28
Eddie Stack BRO b. 1887, played 1912-1913, d. 1958-08-28
Monday, October 23, 2006 |
Today's Birthdays
Rube Bressler BRO b. 1894, played 1928-1931, d. 1966-11-07
Jim Bunning LAN b. 1931, played 1969, All-Star: 1957, 1959, 1961-1964, 1966, Hall of Fame: 1996 (Veterans). A great pitcher whose subsequent career in politics has marred his reputation; he takes little interest in matters that don't involve baseball, and wastes his time with bullying when he does find something worthwhile. He only won 20 games once, with Detroit, and entered the Hall with his numbers roughly evenly split between two leagues; he pitched a perfect game with the Phillies. His Dodger career was brief, comprising the latter third of the ill-fated 1969 campaign.
Solly Drake LAN b. 1930, played 1959
Lee Grissom BRO b. 1907, played 1940-1941, All-Star: 1937, d. 1998-10-04
John Lackey ANA,LAA b. 1978, played 2002-2005. Top 100 Angel Lackey has done plenty, not least of which was his impressive 2002 postseason resume; his regular seasons since have been marked mostly by improvement and increasing durability. The Angels now count on him as a top starter.
Billy Sullivan BRO b. 1910, played 1942, d. 1994-01-04
Lave Winham BRO b. 1881, played 1902, d. 1951-09-12
Angels Release Curtis Pride
Update: Also via MLB.com.
DeJon Watson "Close" To Becoming Dodgers' Next Farm Director
Sunday, October 22, 2006 |
The Ballad Of Kenny "Controlled Substance" Rogers: Tigers 3, Cardinals 1
Jeff Weaver wasn't awful, but he did get the letter "L" hung around his neck, mainly because his offense didn't provide against Tigers pitching. He only showed his typical frustration — yelling into his glove — once, after Sean Casey singled in the third run of the game. Weaver was also involved in Yadier Molina getting nailed in the family jewels with the same pitch that hit Sean Casey. That's gotta be a record for self-destructive activity. Nonetheless, Weaver's going to get somebody to give him a juicy contract this year, all things considered, and I keep thinking it's going to be the Cardinals.
One of the things that's bothered me about the last couple of World Series has been their relative tedium — two consecutive sweeps will do that — and this game followed yesterday's script almost to a tee: one team gets an early lead and that's it.
Well, almost. Todd Jones set down Scott Spiezio (only a few days ago the ridiculous postseason hero) on a lineout and got Albert Pujols to roll out to third, but gave up a single to Scott Rolen and then botched fielding Juan Encarnacion's tapper to the box. Jimmy Edmonds doubled in a run, and then Jones made things really interesting by plunking Preston Wilson, loading the bases. He finally got Yadier Molina, the hero of the deciding NLCS Game 7, to tap out to short, ending the game. It reminds me of Troy Percival's scarier saves; has he been taking lessons from Percy in the short time Troy wore a Tigers uniform?
Update: THT now says Tigers in 6 based on the results of the present game.
Update 2: Joe Hamrahi's Baseball Digest Daily interviews umpire coordinator Steve Palermo, who concludes there wasn't anything of interest on Rogers' hand.
AFL Scorebook
Braun, R: 1-5, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 K
Reynolds: 2-5, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 2 K
Wilson: 0-2, 3 BB, 1 K
Brown: 0-5, 2 K
Rottino: 2-3, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 BB
Moss, S: 2-3, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 K
Palmer: 4.0 IP, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 H, 3 K, 0 BB, 1 HR, 3.12 ERA
Misch: (BS, 1)(L, 1-1) (in relief), 0.1 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 H, 0 K, 0 BB, 6.75 ERA
Wilhite, M: 0.2 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 K, 0 BB, 7.71 ERA
Matt Wilhite got a couple outs in this one; the Angels' website had a brief article featuring him. He's a former NCAA pitcher for West Kentucky, and went undrafted in 2003, so he signed with the Frontier League's (now defunct) Kenosha Mammoths. The Angels signed him as a free agent, and he's made steady if unremarkable progress up the ladder, playing most recently for AAA Salt Lake, where he had a 21:36 K:BB ratio, a 7-2 record with a 3.49 ERA.
Patterson, E: 2-4, 2 RBI, 1 K
Pence, H: 2-3, 1 BB, 1 K
Moore: 2-4, 1 RBI, 1 K
Moses: 1-3, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K
Malek: 2-3, 1 RBI, 1 BB
Harben: 3.0 IP, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 H, 3 K, 3 BB, 6.43 ERA
Hoorelbeke: (W, 1-0) (in relief), 1.0 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 K, 1 BB, 3.86 ERA
The game wrap says that this was a seven-inning game because of the completion of a suspended game originally played October 12.
Pickoff Moves
Today's Birthdays
None of import ...Sam Bohne BRO b. 1896, played 1926, d. 1977-05-23
Kid Carsey BRO b. 1870, played 1901, d. 1960-03-29
Anthony Chavez ANA b. 1970, played 1997
Mike Colangelo ANA b. 1976, played 1999
Jumbo Elliott BRO b. 1900, played 1925, 1927-1930, d. 1970-01-07
Oscar Jones BRO b. 1879, played 1903-1905, d. 1953-06-16
Johnny Morrison BRO b. 1895, played 1929-1930, d. 1966-03-20
I Tawt I Taw A Puddy Tat: Cardinals 7, Tigers 2
Things went just as planned, with the home team striking first and the rookie pitcher mowing down the opposition... oh, wait, that was Anthony Reyes, who wasn't supposed to do that. Well, you knew that if one of the two starters got the victory, it would be the first time since John Lackey notched a W in 2002 that a rookie starter got a win. The Birds get one over the Tigers, who looked just awful at the plate, swinging at everything and helping out Reyes immensely.Oh, What A Mess We've Macha'd
Ken Macha's exit interview at Oakland might have lasted five minutes or so, but even I'm not sure it would have gone that long. News comes out now that Billy Beane's legendarily heavy hand was responsible for at least one dubious choice, starting a still-shaky Rich Harden in ALCS Game 3; Macha wanted to put Danny Haren on the mound instead. (Beane also wanted Bobby Kielty starting against lefties, but Macha instead went with "Kotsay against Johan Santana of Minnesota and Nate Robertson and Kenny Rogers of Detroit.")Kotsay, who battled a bad back during the season, also said the A's "didn't play" for Macha and rallied among themselves, adding Macha "didn't have my back."Macha found out about the fracas via his Internet-reading son, and was none-too-happy about it:"Billy wanted Kielty in the postseason, and I play Kotsay, and then Kotsay comes out and says bad things about me while I basically got fired because I played him," Macha said. "It's kind of sad."
"I'm a human being," he said Saturday in his first extended comments since his dismissal. "Just treat me like one, OK? My son gets on the Internet, he's 25 years old, he's reading all this stuff, he's looking at what happened and he calls up my wife and says, 'Do you think Daddy's going to be able to learn from this?' How's that for shock factor?"Given that fear of failure is the A's pervading driver, one wonders just how pumped up that fear has become now that Beane has been made a fractional owner of the A's.
As a team sport, perhaps more than any other, baseball eagerly delegates responsibility, but Beane rejects that delegation, preferring to run the team as a sort of watered-down military command. But Beane can't be on the field every day, and he has to accept that his underlings will make decisions that won't make sense to him occaisionally. I close with this paragraph from Nico at Athletics Nation, because it so aptly summarizes the exact problems Beane's bondage-and-discipline style has — and will likely have for any future manager, as well:
Billy Beane chose not to offer Ken Macha a token $50,000 or $100,000 raise so that it would appear there had been a negotiation that caused the manager's return the second time. Instead, Beane, and these are the exact words I used at the time, "won the battle and lost the war," bringing back a humiliated and demoralized and disgruntled man whom the A's now, ironically, owe $2,000,000 for services that will never be rendered. Beane chose not to talk up his newly hired old manager, choosing a term, "good enough," that is every bit as inflammatory as the term "non-entity" Macha used to describe those on the DL. Who do you think was made to feel like a "non-entity" in 2006? The boss. By whom? His boss.It goes all the way down, kids. It goes all the way down.
Buddy Black To Talk To The A's About Managerial Opening
And after all this craziness, too. The other candidates are third base coach Ron Washington and bench coach Bob Geren.And Other Notes
- James Loney went 2-4 with a three-run jack for Licey in the DWL.
- Jose Arredondo pitched two perfect innings of relief Thursday in the DWL.
- Negotiators are very close to completing a new labor deal; despite earlier reports that free agent compensation is dead, it appears as though it will cease to exist. Instead, there will be a slotting scheme to keep bonuses down.
- Cardinals GM Walt Jocketty thinks using the All-Star game decide World Series home field advantage is unfair.
Saturday, October 21, 2006 |
Today's Birthdays
Bryan Corey LAN b. 1973, played 2002
Bill Russell LAN b. 1948, played 1969-1986, All-Star: 1973, 1976, 1980. "Rightward shifts along the defensive spectrum," Bill James once wrote, "almost never work", and yet here is Bill Russell, outfielder, to show him up. Russell moved to shortstop either as a result of Bobby Valentine's catastrophic injury, or because Walter Alston needed somebody to replace Maury Wills. Whatever the reasoning was, he formed the shortstop part of the famous Dodgers infield that lasted so very long, "a historical one-of-a-kind, the only major league outfielder to convert to shortstop and have a solid career ... he hit .270 and made the plays he was supposed to make." As a group, they would likely have ranked among the best in history in a single year, except that Russell broke his hand on April 12, 1975 while applying a tag to Cesar Cedeño, coming up lame when he returned.
In the Dodgers record book, he ranks second behind Zach Wheat in all time games played, and is in the top ten for career at-bats, hits, total bases, doubles, triples, strikeouts, singles, intentional walks, sacrifice hits and flies, GIDPs, outs, RBIs, extra base hits, and stolen bases. He also owns the franchise single-game strikeout record (earned with a five-whiff game on June 9, 1971 against the Phillies, for which he is tied with Darryl Strawberry).
Franklin Stubbs LAN b. 1960, played 1984-1989
Administrivia: Minor League Sidebar Link Changes
AFL Scorebook
Braun, R: 1-4, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB
Brown: 3-4, 1 2B, 1 K
Moss, S: 2-4, 1 RBI
Davidson: 3.0 IP, 4 R, 4 ER, 7 H, 1 K, 1 BB, 1 HR, 9.53 ERA
Thompson: 1.0 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 K, 0 BB, 18.69 ERA
Sarfate: (W, 1-0) (in relief), 1.0 IP, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 H, 1 K, 1 BB, 10.80 ERA
There is nothing whatsoever that I need to tell you about Dan Davidson that you probably don't already know, but Matt Brown had a fine game.
Raglani: 0-3, 1 RBI, 3 K
Ellis: 2-4, 1 K
Martinez, F: 2-4, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 K
Pelfrey: 3.0 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 K, 0 BB, 0.00 ERA
Muegge: 2.0 IP, 3 R, 3 ER, 6 H, 2 K, 1 BB, 4.50 ERA
Meloan: (W, 1-0) (in relief), 2.0 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 2 K, 2 BB, 1.42 ERA
Patton, T: 2.0 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 3 K, 0 BB, 3.00 ERA
Not such a good game for the hitters, though Jonathan Meloan picked up his first win in the AFL by getting the call to the mound at the right time and executing through two. Also: Chin-Lung Hu has a new journal entry up, in which he talks about this game and answers some e-mail.
Friday, October 20, 2006 |
OT: Good News For Strippers
Today's Birthdays
Dave Collins CAL b. 1952, played 1975-1976
Jack Franklin BRO b. 1919, played 1944, d. 1991-11-15
Juan Marichal LAN b. 1937, played 1975, All-Star: 1962-1969, 1971, Hall of Fame: 1983 (BBWAA). The staff ace on the 1960's Giants, a nine-time All-Star (and ultimately, Hall of Famer), six times a 20-game winner, he threw over 300 innings three times in his career; his name is all over the franchise top 10's in categories such as career victories, winning percentage, WHIP, low H/9, low BB/9, games, innings, strikeouts, games started, complete games, shutouts, home runs allowed, hits allowed, and a number of others.
To Dodger fans he's most famous for his fight with Johnny Roseboro. The day was August 22, 1965, and the Dodgers led the third-place Giants by a game and a half. Marichal had already knocked down Maury Wills and Ron Fairly with brushbacks, and so when he came up in the third, the Dodgers were spoiling for some retaliation. That is, all of them but Koufax, who refused to pitch inside, even in revenge. Roseboro then returned a pitch that clipped Marichal on the ear, and (unprintable) words were exchanged. Marichal clubbed Roseboro with his bat, and both benches cleared out before Koufax and Giants' captain Willy Mays were able to restore order, with Mays himself taking Roseboro, who sustained a concussion and a sizeable gash, off the field.
The resulting lawsuit took nine years to resolve, but the Dodgers lost that game 4-3 as Mays hit a three-run jack off Koufax in that same third inning, the only time that Mays could recall beating Koufax with the longball. The league fined Marichal $1,750 and suspended him for the final two games of the season against the Dodgers, a punishment Roseboro's teammates thought light. Marichal spent his final season in the majors in a Dodger uniform, ironically enough, pitching for two games in which he was ineffective. After his retirement, he reconciled with Roseboro, who, along with others, believed their fight would keep Marichal out of the Hall of Fame. Roseboro and Marichal attended a Dodgers old-timers' game together, where they posed for pictures. The former Dodger catcher said, "Hey, over the years, you learn to forget things."
Pat McGlothin BRO b. 1920, played 1949-1950
John Russell BRO b. 1894, played 1917-1918, d. 1930-11-19
Rudy Seanez LAN b. 1968, played 1994-1995
Jigger Statz BRO b. 1897, played 1927-1928, d. 1988-03-16 One of the greatest players ever in a PCL Los Angeles Angels uniform, he wasn't of much consequence in the majors, but he played for 18 years and in 3,473 games, a record that stood until broken by Hank Aaron and Pete Rose.
Thursday, October 19, 2006 |
AFL Scorebook
Jackson: (L, 0-1), 3.0 IP, 6 R, 5 ER, 7 H, 0 K, 0 BB, 1 HR, 12.60 ERA
Wilhite, M: 1.0 IP, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 H, 2 K, 1 BB, 2 HR, 9.00 ERA
Hu, C: 2-4, 1 K
Pence, H: 3-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI
Abreu: 1-4, 1 HR, 2 RBI
Raglani: 2-4, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 1 K
Albers: 4.0 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 2 K, 0 BB, 3.00 ERA
Holdzkom: (W, 1-0) (in relief), 3.0 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 2 K, 0 BB, 0.00 ERA
Anthony Raglani had a pair of jacks in a squishing of the Scorpions. Matt Wilhite was one of the two main run donors for the Scorpions, the other being Steven Jackson, a prospect from the Diamondbacks.
Tiger Food: Cardinals 3, Mets 1
And then, of course, Yadier Molina's long shot that nobody except the bullpen catchers could get to. Adam Wainwright snuck out of a bases-loaded, two-out jam in the bottom of the ninth by striking out Carlos Beltran, and hence the Redbirds hie themselves to the World Series.
Improbably.
So, we have a rematch of the 1934 and 1968 World Series, and you have to go all the way back to the 1973 World Series, when the 94-68 Oakland A's beat the 82-79 Mets in seven games, to find a team with such a bad regular season record in a non-strike year.
Tigers in five.
Today's Birthdays
Sandy Alomar CAL b. 1943, played 1969-1974, All-Star: 1970
Tim Belcher ANA,LAN b. 1961, played 1987-1991, 1999-2000
Al Gallagher CAL b. 1945, played 1973
Joe Koppe LAA,CAL b. 1930, played 1961-1965
Tom McCreery BRO b. 1874, played 1901-1903, d. 1941-07-03
Walt Miller BRO b. 1883, played 1911, d. 1956-03-01
Sam Nahem BRO b. 1915, played 1938, d. 2004-04-19
Chink Zachary BRO b. 1917, played 1944
Wednesday, October 18, 2006 |
AFL Scorebook
Parra: 2.0 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 H, 3 K, 4 BB, 11.25 ERA
Thompson: 1.0 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 K, 0 BB, 24.30 ERA
Elliott, M: (W, 1-0) (in relief), 1.0 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 3 K, 0 BB, 4.50 ERA
Pence, H: 2-4, 1 BB, 1 K
Moore: 0-3, 2 BB, 1 K
Malek: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI
Mulvey: (L, 0-1), 3.0 IP, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 H, 3 K, 1 BB, 3.60 ERA
Maine Event: Mets 4, Cardinals 2
But I still don't entirely agree with Will Leitch when he says "It’s not that his approach in particular didn’t work; it’s that nobody’s does. It’s almost entirely luck." It's that much harder, in a best-of-seven contest, to fool the oddsmakers, though that is in fact what the Cards have done so far, beating their numerical superiors in the NLDS (the Padres, after all, had 88 wins to the Cardinals' 83), and coming close to advancing to the World Series in the NLCS.
The short series, no doubt about it, is a mystery; however much we want it to be about competence, morality, and a hundred other virtues and vices, the truth is that the 1988 Athletics were worlds better than the Dodgers, as were the 1988 Mets; we make room for luck because we have to, and because miracles do happen in short series.
And yet, I can't bring myself to forget that the Mets won 97 games and the Cardinals won 83. If the Mets win tomorrow — an outcome that now looks all but assured — we can say with some confidence that the best team won. And I think we can say that without taking anything away from the mystery part of it.
Tonight's game was almost an anticlimax, as Chris Carpenter, not looking sharp of late, continued his unimpressive pitching, while rookie John Maine kept the Cardinals at bay for long stretches. The Cards had only two hits off Maine through five and a third, threatening in each of the first three innings but never getting the big hit; only in the ninth, against a very flaky Billy Wagner, did the Cards finally break through, and by then they discovered anew that two-out rallies in the ninth inning tend to be short-lived.
How will they fare against the Tigers in the World Series? I really can't say, but one interesting factoid is that for the nine teams that had five or more days of rest going into the World Series, seven of them won it all. Certainly, I'm rooting for a Kittycat victory, anyway.
Coda: Not that I have anything seriously wrong with me — well, nothing serious enough that it can't be controlled with the right kinds of medication — but the results of today's doctor's appointment has reminded me that I need to spend more time maintaining my own health, and spend less time in front of a computer. (In short, the horrifying things that happen to people who get full-on diabetes include limb amputation. That's an incentive right there.) As much as I enjoy raving here, this blog is the easiest thing to cut back on. I know I've said I would slow down posting before, but I really need to make an effort to get back into an exercise routine, and if it comes at the expense of this blog, well, so be it. I certainly plan on continuing the minor league stuff until the AFL ends, but cutting down on some of the other posts, well, if it keeps me from having to shoot up on a daily basis (at a bare minimum), it'll be worth it and then some.
Overdue: Angelswin Interview With Scouting Director Eddie Bane
Q: Angelswin - Is Brandon Wood going to be working on his plate discipline this winter and next year? I noticed that his walks were up, but still a lot of strikeouts...If your jaw isn't on the floor after reading the highlighted passage, I don't know what will get it there. This organization is adrift offensively. I used to think that firing Mickey Hatcher would suffice, provided it meant a stem-to-stern cleanout of the more cancerous elements of the Angels' hitting philosophy; now, I begin to dispair when I realize how entrenched is the idea that strikeouts somehow do not matter, and the pervasiveness of this attitude.A: Eddie Bane - Personally I do not feel Brandon Wood has much of anything to work on in the off season. This young man has as good of makeup as anyone in the game and he has big time power. I do not worry about all these plate discipline issues that a lot of people seem to be hung up on. One thing society does is they like to tear people down after they built him up. Brandon had a great year in my mind in 2A and is right on track as far as helping our major league team. I think too much is made of a "general" hitting philosophy. I trust any and all of our hitters in the hands and minds of Ty Van Burkleo and then Mickey Hatcher once they get to the Big Leagues. Nobody works harder or has a better feel for hitters than those 2. Each hitter has to develop his own style and Wood and the others are just realizing that at this point. Besides I was a pitcher at the big league level and could not get many guys out so I thought everybody had a great hitting philosophy.
Pickoff Moves
Today's Birthdays
Andy Carey LAN b. 1931, played 1962. A prodigious eater who convinced the Yankees to end the practice of allowing players to sign for meals. He refused a trade to the White Sox and ended up getting shipped to the Dodgers, where he split time with Daryl Spencer at third before retiring after 1962.
Terry Clark CAL b. 1960, played 1988-1989. It's one thing to get Wally Pipp'd by an actual Hall of Famer, but to do so at the end of his career? Clark got bumped from the rotation by an aging but still-darn-effective Top 100 Angel Bert Blyleven (at least, in 1989; he fell apart in the last two years of his contract). Clark actually ended up having a really good year in 1995 as a 34-year-old, but never revisited that level of success.
Alex Cora LAN b. 1975, played 1998-2004. Where is he now? Last I checked, still with the Red Sox.
Roy Cullenbine BRO b. 1913, played 1940, All-Star: 1941, 1944, d. 1991-05-28. Walked more than he struck out every single year in the majors; he was granted emancipation when commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis granted free agency to 91 Detroit minor leaguers, citing cover-ups in the organization. Played for Brooklyn for a part of the 1940 season.
Andy Hassler CAL b. 1951, played 1971, 1973-1976, 1980-1983. Owns the franchise record for consecutive losses, at 17 (from May 4, 1975 through July 2, 1976), yet he came back in his later career to have two and a half very effective years with the team.
George Hendrick CAL b. 1949, played 1985-1988, All-Star: 1974-1975, 1980, 1983. A rightfielder/first baseman who played with the Angels in the twilight of his career; the Top 100 Angel came to California mainly due to a salary dump by the Pirates. His 1986 season helped the Angels to win the division, but he fell apart in subsequent years. He also coached with the Angels, and last year was the Dodgers' minor league hitting coordinator.
Bobby Knoop CAL,LAA b. 1938, played 1964-1969, All-Star: 1966. It's Top 100 Angel day! Knoop was a slick-fielding, no-hit player whose value came mostly from his glove toward the end of an era when such luxuries could be excused; Alex Cora (q.v.) must curse his luck to have been born when he was.
Wally Millies BRO b. 1906, played 1934, d. 1995-02-28
Alan Mills LAN b. 1966, played 1999-2000. The Dodgers under Kevin Malone made mistakes both great and small, and you have to place Mills' three-year deal as one of the latter; why give a guy with a mixed-at-best track record $6.5M when he's about to turn 32?
Jerry Royster LAN b. 1952, played 1973-1975. Most recently the Las Vegas 51's manager until he was fired/resigned last month.
Notes
- Akinori Iwamura, third baseman with the Yakult Swallows, has been posted.
- The Giants will talk to Bud Black about their open managerial position.
- Turner Broadcasting System will broadcast the LCS's starting in 2007. Oh, and did anyone mention they don't have HD? No? <slaps forehead>
AFL Scorebook
Reynolds: 2-4, 1 RBI, 1 K
Brown: 1-4
Malone: 3.0 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 H, 1 K, 1 BB, 7.71 ERA
Wilhite, M: (W, 1-0) (in relief), 1.0 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 H, 1 K, 0 BB, 1 HR, 3.00 ERA
The Scorpions finally broke the Rafters' unbeaten record, posting a three-run eighth that pushed them over the top thanks in part to a Danny Richar triple. Salt Lake's Matt Wilhite recorded the save in relief.
Hu, C: 1-5
Moore: 2-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
Moses: 2-5
Abreu: 1-3, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 1 K
Martinez, F: 2-4, 1 RBI
Ellis: 2-3, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 2 BB
Raglani: 3-5, 2 2B, 5 RBI, 2 K
Simonitsch: 1.2 IP, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 H, 2 K, 0 BB, 6.23 ERA
Rapada: (W, 1-1) (in relief), 1.1 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 2 K, 0 BB, 3.00 ERA
Meloan: 1.1 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 2 K, 1 BB, 2.08 ERA
Anthony Raglani busted out of a "season-long slump" (that's five games, kids) to crack five RBIs with a 3-5 day. Jonathan Meloan pitched a scoreless inning and a third in relief.
And This Just In: Francisco Franco Is Still Dead
Andrews found Prior has some "looseness" in his shoulder joints that trainer Mark O'Neal said was genetic."Mark has typical changes you would see in any pitcher," O'Neal said. "Unfortunately for Mark, and we discussed this in spring training, … that looseness is what makes Mark the great pitcher he is, but the other side of the coin is that looseness can cause problems."
Tuesday, October 17, 2006 |
Jeff Weaver's Next Bestest Game Ever: Cardinals 4, Mets 2
Well, whatever. The Cubs might be happy if Weaver returns to St. Louis after this series, but it's, for now, something of a rejuvenation. Outside of the fourth inning, Weaver allowed but one baserunner to get to third; he even had the opportunity, in the bottom of the fourth, to break the game open with two out and the bases loaded, but we don't expect much from pitchers and so leave him off the hook.
But getting back to Weaver's pitching, he ends the day with a 2.16 ERA in three postseason starts this year. Call it $2 million he's just earned now.
Update: It gets better. The Mets have declared that all pitchers will be available for the next two NLCS games, opening the door to the possibility that there may be no rested starters when the World Series starts in Detroit on Saturday. Yowza.
Fernando & Son — Teammates?
Fernando Valenzuela Jr., a first baseman playing winter ball for the first time, spent last season with the Mobile Bay Bears, then the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. At age 24, he is the oldest of Valenzuela's four children.
Pickoff Moves
Today's Birthdays
Pete Cimino CAL b. 1942, played 1967-1968
Pop Dillon BRO b. 1873, played 1904, d. 1931-09-12
Seth Etherton ANA b. 1976, played 2000. A first-round pick in 1998, Etherton was a College World Series star out of USC who had four quality pitches he could throw for strikes, finishing his senior year with a 3.23 ERA, a 13-3 record in 18 starts, and leading the NCAA in strikeouts. He signed for a $1.075M bonus, and started in AA, where he was immediately overmatched. Repeating AA the next year, he had problems with the longball, giving up 21 in 28 starts spread between AA and AAA. He came up in 2000 at a point when the rotation consisted of Kent Bottenfield, Brian Cooper, Jarrod Washburn, Scott Schoeneweis, and Etherton at the back end; his debut game against the Royals went well until he gave up consecutive homers to Jermaine Dye and Mark Quinn, but it was exactly the sort of outing he was likely to have as he continued his major league career. He's been with seven organizations, and hasn't stuck with any of them yet.
Jim Gilliam LAN,BRO b. 1928, played 1953-1966, All-Star: 1956, 1959, d. 1978-10-08. Nicknamed "Junior" because he was so much younger than the other players on the Baltimore Elite Giants of the Negro League. Bill James has him ranked as the 27th best second baseman in history (as of 2000), but in fact he often played third base to allow other players in at that position, and even spent a little time in the outfield, mostly in his early career. James tells this story about Gilliam:
Gilliam's nickname on the Dodgers was "The Devil"; he was a good-natured guy with a wicked underside. In 1963 Don Dillard of the Braves slid into second base trying to break up a double play, and Maury Wills hit him right between the eyes with the throw, knocking him out. Everybody gathered around Dillard, afraid he was dead, except Gilliam, who retrieved the ball and tagged Dillard, lying flat on the ground, to make sure he was out. According to John Roseboro in Glory Days with the Dodgers, "That's the first time I tagged out a dead man," chuckled The Devil.Gilliam retired three times and came out of retirement twice to resume his playing career with the Dodgers; he stayed on with the team as a coach until his untimely death in 1978, of a sudden brain hemorrhage, just before the World Series.
Update, and geeky aside: Don Dillard faced the Dodgers, and likely was involved in the play as described, on May 30, 1963, a 7-4 loss to the Braves.
Mark Johnson ANA b. 1967, played 1998
Johnny Klippstein LAN b. 1927, played 1958-1959, d. 2003-10-10
Mike Sandlock BRO b. 1915, played 1945-1946
Driving Forward By Looking At The Rear-View Mirror
I haven't generally paid much attention to the Kamenetzky brothers' blog at the Times, but there was such a howler there today that I couldn't pass it up. Regarding the Dodgers' retooling, brother Brian has this to say:What the Dodgers don't want to become are the Angels, who have not only been stingy in giving up prospects, but have watched the value of their guys drop once they've hit the bigs and struggled. Dallas McPherson and Casey Kotchman, for example, won't fetch now what they might have a couple years back before the "can't miss" label was removed from their names. Could they still be good? Absolutely, but when a player struggles, whether at the big league level or a higher minor league class, it wipes some of the shine off that guy's value. The Angels have prospects blocking their prospects. The Dodgers aren't quite that rich, but have currency to spend. Often GMs will hold on to guys because they're terrified that young player will turn out to be the next Jeff Bagwell or Ryan Howard. But they generally don't.Wow, so of a sudden you don't give guys who make the All-Star team at every minor league level a chance to play? News to me. Confronted with a player about to get really, really expensive, a player who has a significant injury history (Troy Glaus), do you give that chance to the kid in AAA (Dallas McPherson)? Well, of course you do. Kamenetzky here is happy to use hindsight to condemn Bill Stoneman, but the decision at the time was perfectly sound. We'll find out how sound Ned Colletti's furious trading is in three years or less.
Bullets
- The Lou Piniella-led Cubs are now supposed to make a hard run after A-Rod (via BTF).
- Bud Selig is rooting for the Mets to get into the World Series, from a ratings perspective.
- Steve Lyons will keep his part-time job with the Dodgers. Unfortunately. I didn't think that what he said was all that problematic, so almost certainly his firing was about something else.
- The Giants will talk to Bud Black about their managerial opening.
- In that same article, Giants trainer Stan Conte has resigned. "Conte said his departure was his call and not the result of any conflicts with front-office personnel or any rift with Bonds."
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