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Tuesday, May 20, 2008 |
Pickoff Moves, Bedtime Edition
Win Number One For Lackey: Angels 3, Blue Jays 1
A win in Toronto? Believe it, brother; never mind that Vlad's only hit in the game was a lousy single, or that Garret Anderson didn't get credit for an RBI because he hit into a double play doing it. The man of the hour was John Lackey, getting into and out of trouble but, save for Brad Wilkerson's solo homer in the bottom of the first, gave up nada to earn his first win of the season, and ratcheting down his ERA to a vanishingly small 1.29. Scott Shields and Francisco Rodriguez both got into and weaseled their ways out of bases-loaded jams. Not cool, guys, not cool.One other not-cool thing to happen during the game: Erick Aybar apparently dislocated a pinky finger. X-rays were negative, but he'll have to see a hand specialist tomorrow. This could work out conveniently if Aybar has to go on the DL, because Chone Figgins could be activated as early as Wednesday.
Speaking of Angels offensive lines, though, it was really interesting to see Mike Napoli end up with an 0-for-0 night at the plate despite four plate appearances. He walked three times (two of those intentional, to get to Sean Rodriguez) and took one for the team when he was hit by a pitch in the top of the eighth. Incredibly, only ten other Angels in history have gone 0-for-0 with four or more plate appearances, the last being Scott Spiezio on May 15, 2003. Mo Vaughn also had it happen to him on July 20, 2000; Vaughn walked four times and was hit by then-Texas starter Darren Oliver.
Power Bills: Dodgers 4, Reds 1
A tremendous performance by Chad Billingsley, no doubt helped by the Reds' hacktastic tendencies, and his offense by their porous defense (their .677 DER is worst in the majors). Bills struck out seven, and as much as I like the whiffs, the win is better still; recall he struck out 12 on April 24 but took the loss anyway, and has won only two games so far where he has struck out seven or more, the other being April 30 against the Fish.Kevin Towers Ready To Reach For The Dynamite
... because even he can't stand the stink the Padres are putting up this year:“We’re bad, no question about it,” Towers said. “There comes a point in time we can’t say, ‘It’s early.’ There’s nothing to lead me to believe – or the fans to believe – we’re going to turn this thing around.”I wonder if this means the end of Buddy Black's tenure as manager, too.He promised changes. “Wholesale,” he said. And he waved his hands at the clubhouse, meaning most of the players in it, he had little use for right now.
“I’m certainly not going to watch this for another four months,” he said.
Judging by the stands at Petco Park on Monday night, he’s not alone in that.
Padres Disable Peavy
The Padres have placed starter Jake Peavy on the 15-day DL with a strained and swollen elbow. They called up LHP Joe Thatcher to replace him for the duration.Jay Jaffe On Piazza's Hall Of Fame Case
A good piece by Jay Jaffe on Mike Piazza's Hall of Fame case:Piazza’s JAWS case is indeed good, and if it’s not overwhelming, then at the very least it becomes a bit better upon closer inspection. The most recent numbers I have ... show Piazza at 96.2 WARP for his peak and 64.6 for his career, for a JAWS of 80.4. The JAWS standard for Hall of Fame catchers is 98.9/60.8/79.9. So Piazza inches past the overall standard despite being a little short on career value owing to the impact of his awful defense (-154 FRAA, the ninth-worst of any player anywhere). He’s significantly ahead on peak .... Piazza’s .311 EqA is the all-time high for the position. No Hall of Fame catcher has an EqA above .300, though there are several in the .295–.299 range and the positional average is a robust .289. ... Piazza’s 472 Batting Runs Above Average is light years ahead of the rest of the backstop pack. No Hall of Fame catcher has more than Johnny Bench’s 325 BRAA.
Labels: angels, blue jays, dodgers, ex-dodgers, hall of fame, injuries, padres, reds, transactions
Comments:
I'd gladly welcome Bud Black back into the Angels' fold if he were suddenly cut loose, although I have no reason to believe that Butcher isn't getting it done. Seems kinda unfair to blame him for San Diego's woes. He bears little responsibility for the construction of that roster. I don't think any reasonable baseball minds expected much out of that bunch, and when the #3 starter is the ghost of Greg Maddux, well, it's tough to compete in a division that includes the Diamondbacks.
Solid outing by Lackey, on the Halos' front. Frankie couldn't find the plate until he had to. Meanwhile, did you see the pitch from Shields that got Matt Stairs? As filthy as it gets.
Did you also notice that Jose Arredondo was warming up in the 7th inning of a two-run game, not Justin Speier?
As for Vlad's "lousy single," did you see it? A rocket that hit the wall so hard it bounced back to the LF. Also, the runners had only gone halfway; had the bases been empty (or a runner on 3rd), there's a good chance he gets a double out of that.
Solid outing by Lackey, on the Halos' front. Frankie couldn't find the plate until he had to. Meanwhile, did you see the pitch from Shields that got Matt Stairs? As filthy as it gets.
Did you also notice that Jose Arredondo was warming up in the 7th inning of a two-run game, not Justin Speier?
As for Vlad's "lousy single," did you see it? A rocket that hit the wall so hard it bounced back to the LF. Also, the runners had only gone halfway; had the bases been empty (or a runner on 3rd), there's a good chance he gets a double out of that.
where's Alexi Casilla?
geez, i know one of the Top 5 strengths of this organization is middle infielder depth, but do we really have to keep testing that theory?
Now it's Aybar. Figgins, Izutruis, and Howie aren't playing so we've been starting SLC's 2B/SS.
And i cringed when i saw Izturis make a hard slide at home plate Friday night - my immediate thought was he just got injured again.
Though i'd like to see Kevin Romine soon, being an ex-Sun Devil and all, this road trip is a bit too early! Note to Angel MFs - stop getting hurt!
PS - And i know where Alexi Casilla is, just sarcasm - doing fine with the Twinks.
geez, i know one of the Top 5 strengths of this organization is middle infielder depth, but do we really have to keep testing that theory?
Now it's Aybar. Figgins, Izutruis, and Howie aren't playing so we've been starting SLC's 2B/SS.
And i cringed when i saw Izturis make a hard slide at home plate Friday night - my immediate thought was he just got injured again.
Though i'd like to see Kevin Romine soon, being an ex-Sun Devil and all, this road trip is a bit too early! Note to Angel MFs - stop getting hurt!
PS - And i know where Alexi Casilla is, just sarcasm - doing fine with the Twinks.
jjackflash -- did not notice Arredondo warming up in the middle of yesterday's game, but I do think Scioscia is open to using him in more crucial situations than Darren O'Day was, just because the former has had more experience at higher levels. Also, he's a power pitcher, which O'Day definitely is not.
Brian -- the middle infield is a mess right now, and between Sean Rodriguez (who clearly isn't ready for the Show, and may never be offensively) and injuries to their starters, the Angels are temporarily, uh, hamstrung. I don't think this will be permanent, but it is clearly going to be an issue moving forward. Hamstring injuries have a way of recurring.
Brian -- the middle infield is a mess right now, and between Sean Rodriguez (who clearly isn't ready for the Show, and may never be offensively) and injuries to their starters, the Angels are temporarily, uh, hamstrung. I don't think this will be permanent, but it is clearly going to be an issue moving forward. Hamstring injuries have a way of recurring.
yeah, i'm starting to worry about Howie.
as for Sean, he's done fine defensively i think, but yes, i've been posting for years that his bat will never be much of an asset. we all know one good year at Rancho offensively does not mean squat as always laughed when i saw him high up on the prospect rankings.
but on the bright side, he's still very young and has already made it and doing better than i thought he would.
as for Sean, he's done fine defensively i think, but yes, i've been posting for years that his bat will never be much of an asset. we all know one good year at Rancho offensively does not mean squat as always laughed when i saw him high up on the prospect rankings.
but on the bright side, he's still very young and has already made it and doing better than i thought he would.
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