(Earth) Day in Review: Monday, 4.22.13

The above pinky belongs to Brewers SP Kyle Lohse.  He dislocated it when colliding with Padres 2B Jed Gyorko during a play at first.  It is on his non-pitching hand, so he should be fine for his next start (they say).  Still, ouch.  Easing the pain, I’m sure, is that Lohse and his Brewers won- the team’s 8th in a row after an 8-2 start.  And everybody’s favorite “innocent” PED user Ryan Braun got another HR.  Oh, joy.

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In that Brewers game, the Padres broke their unfortunate streak of innings without scoring a run at 25 2/3 when they scored in the 5th tonight.  It was their only run, losing to the Brew Crew 7-1.

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The Angels lost to the Rangers tonight on an A.J. Pierzynski 9th inning HR by the score of 7-6, but there was a bright spot. Josh Hamilton, who had an awful weekend and who saw Albert Pujols intentionally walked by the Tigers to get to him- a successful move each time- was finally moved in the lineup to hitting behind Mark Trumbo.  Hamilton went 4-4 for the 16th time in his career.  Of course, with Trout-Pujols-Trumbo going a combined 0-13 in front of him, it didn’t help the Angels fortunes much.  Still, it has to be heartening for Angels fans to see Hamilton bust out.  He did have 2 RBI and saw his average rise to .222.

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Mother Nature saw games canceled in Minneapolis and Denver again.  That makes 15th postponed games so far three weeks in.  USA Today’s Bob Nightengale in his piece pointed out that the record for postponed games is 26 in 2007.  A lot of whiny types are saying that the Twins should play in the Metrodome on days like today. The sky isn’t falling, it’s just snow.  It’ll all work out.

Twins closer Glen Perkins is proving to be a pretty funny guy.  Today on Twitter he posted: “If you like peeing in the snow, like I do, this has been a great spring!!”

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The National League teams with the two best records- Braves and Rockies -will attempt to play a double header tomorrow, but the Braves are going to be without Jason Heyward indefinitely as he was taken to the hospital today for an appendectomy. I was going to say “emergency” appendectomy, and maybe I’d be correct, but I have not heard yet of a scheduled one.  I’m sure there have been.  Moving on…

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In Houston, King Felix notched his 100th career win.  The Mariners beat the (Not-lowly) Astros 7-1. Hernandez pitched six innings and struck out 9.  Afterward it was reported that he had some stiffness in his back… Hopefully it isn’t anything serious. Michael Morse, who started off super hot with six HRs in the first six games before getting hit on the hand has been ice cold.  He didn’t go on the DL, but after taking a few days off, he has gone 3 for 28 since, a .107 mark…  Hernandez is the third pitcher to win 100 or more games in a Mariners uniform.  Can you name the other two?  (answer at the end).

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The Reds Shin-Soo Choo got hit by a pitch for the 10th time this month alone.  Enough of this bullshit.  The next starter to face him needs to give him some high heat.  A little chin music for Shin should back him off the plate.  Bring on Bob Gibson.

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The Nationals stadium featured “Sweet Caroline” today during the game.  Enough already.  Time to move on.  The tragedy in Boston was not about baseball… especially not in Washington D.C. three days after everybody else followed the Yankees lead.

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The Giants beat the Diamondbacks in dramatic fashion tonight.  Down 4-2 heading into the 8th, Buster Posey tied it up with his second HR in as many days to tie it.  In the bottom of the 9th, Andres Torres led off with a single, Brandon Crawford sacrificed him to second, and then the story got good.  1B Brandon Belt, who has been off to an awful start, and who was informed that he wouldn’t be seeing as much playing time (in fact, he didn’t start tonight, but came off the bench for defensive purposes) singled in the winning run in a walk-off 5-4 victory.  Hank Schulman, the Giants beat writer, wrote that manager Bruce Bochy himself worked with Belt in the batting cages before the game.  “Apparently, it worked” he tweeted. The Giants are a fun team.

Schulman and the San Francisco Chronicle’s Scott Ostler also wrote a piece on the disappearance of the large plaque on the wall behind the center field bleachers that commemorated Barry Bonds‘ all-time record breaking HR missing.  Are the Giants trying to distance themselves further from the tainted player?  Did it get stolen?  Read it here.

Finally, Giants fans haven’t forgotten the heroes of the 2010 World Series, even though they just won another last year with a team that largely still plays for them.  They are happy to have Andres Torres back after he was traded to the Mets for Angel Pagan.  And they were happy to see playoff hero Cody Ross back in right field, even though for the Diamondbacks… or were until his RBI hit gave them the lead.  Later in the game though, the fans showed appreciation for a tremendous catch that Ross made to rob Buster Posey of a hit.  If you haven’t seen it, check it out.

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Trivia answer: The other two pitchers to notch 100 or more victories in a Mariners uniform besides Felix Hernandez are Jamie Moyer and Randy Johnson…..

Day in Review: Two Weeks in the Books

SS Andrelton Simmons hits his first HR of the year

1. The Braves are on a roll.  They won their 9th in a row, sweeping the Nationals, the team picked by many to go all the way this year- it is only mid-April, but the Braves made a statement. The Braves are now 11-1….  Paul Maholm is now 3-0 with an ERA of ZERO after pitching 20 1/3 innings….  Braves relievers have inherited 14 runners this young season, and ZERO of them have scored….  Justin Upton hit his NL-leading 7th HR and SS Andrelton Simmons connected for his first of the year, a 3 run shot…  Bucketz Bomberz in our league picked the Braves to win the World Series.  It doesn’t seem like all that odd of a pick…  150 games to go though, but they look dominant.

2. The Giants are sole owners of first place in the NL West with a record of 9-4, even though they haven’t been playing particularly World Series-caliber ball… Tim Lincecum, in the final year of his contract, is pitching poorly.  His ERA is at 5.63 after three starts, and yet the Giants have won every game he’s started and Timmy has a 1-0 record.  After giving up four in the first, he settled down and his fastball was effective…  Cubs starter Edwin Jackson was in command through five, notching 9 Ks….  Cubs SS Starlin Castro is showing why he is so revered, hitting another HR and adding another three hits (.315 avg, .519 slugging, .833 OPS and a couple dingers)… In the sixth, things started to get weird. After a few lead changes, ten innings, a record-tying five wild pitches in one inning by the Cubs, a Hunter Pence HR, and a Cubs balk, the Giants won again… Sergio Romo gave up a hit in the 10th, but got his 7th save.

3. The Dodgers offense had a tough weekend, losing two of three from the Diamondbacks, and finding themselves in fourth place looking up at the D-Backs, Giants, and Rockies… On Friday, ace Clayton Kershaw pitched 7 1/3, giving up 3 ER- the Dodgers scored zero runs….  Today they were shutout again, this time behind a nearly complete game effort from Josh Beckett, who gave up the sole run of the game in the bottom of the 9th with one out… That wealth of starting pitching is good for them, but there is no way the Dodgers should be shut out twice by the Diamondbacks.  Chris Capuano is replacing Greinke in the rotation, but now their once 7th starter Ted Lilly, who has thrown two rehab games in the minors, had declared himself healthy, which puts the Dodgers in a pickle.  If they don’t add him to the roster, they can lose him.

4. A few struggling players seem to be getting back on track.  The Angels took advantage (barely) of the Astros, winning the final two games, to get Trout and Hamilton seeming like their former selves…  MikeTrout went 2 for 3 today with a walk, including a double and his first HR of the season, 3 runs scored, and an RBI.  His average increased 50 points from his low on Friday night- he’s now batting .268…  Josh Hamilton hit a HR for the second consecutive day, to go with a triple and a single on 3/4 hitting, a run scored, and 3 RBI.  His average went up 50 points as well…  Nobody had a better day though than the Phillies SP Roy Halladay who was looking-let’s face it-done prior to his performance against the Marlins today.  He went 8 innings, giving up one run on five hits and one walk, along with a couple of Ks.  It was his 200th career win.  Yes, it was against the Marlins, but so be it.  Good news was needed…  Marco Scutaro of the Giants followed up a great Saturday (3 for 4 to raise his avg. 49 points) with a 1 for 6, but the one hit was a run-scoring double in the 10th.  He’ll be alright.

5. The Brewers finally ended their scoreless streak at 32 innings today- they hadn’t scored since Tuesday- when, guess who, Ryan Braun (I hate even typing the guy’s name) hit a possibly steroid/HGH-aided HR.  The Brewers won in extra innings when C Jonathan Lucroy hit a HR as well.  When Braun hit his home run in the eighth, it broke the Cardinals pitching impressive run of 39 scoreless innings.  I’m not sheepish- I hope MLB nails Braun.  He’s bad for the game.

6. Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal posted an interesting piece on the Quentin/Greinke injury-resulting brawl from a few days ago. Carlos Quentin, of course, said he was going to appeal his 8-game punishment, but played this weekend, and then accepted it today because tomorrow the Padres meet the Dodgers again.

7. The injuries keep piling up.  The DL list is crowded with good players:

Jose Reyes (out til All-Star break),Yoenis Cespedes (15-day), Erick Aybar (15-day), Jered Weaver (mid-to-late May), Scott Sizemore (out for season), Freddie Freeman (late April), Aramis Ramirez (early May), Jason Motte (likely out for season+), Johan Santana (out for season, maybe career over), Steve Clevenger (60-day), Kyuji Fujikawa (15-day), Jason Kubel (15-day), Zack Greinke (mid-June), Hanley Ramirez (late May), Michael Saunders (15-day), Wilson Ramos (15-day), Brian Roberts (15-day), John Lackey (15-day), Ryan Ludwick (late July, maybe), Sean Marshall (15-day), Gordon Beckham (late May)… not to mention all the Yankees and about 100 others.

Today, Reds ace Johnny Cueto went down.  He is going on the DL tomorrow, and early reports are maybe for a couple of months.

Then there are those that won’t do DL time- yet- but who have gotten hurt and won’t be playing for probably a week or so: Michael Bourne, Michael Morse, Coco Crisp, Franklin Gutierrez, Danny Espinosa (maybe a day or two).

8. I follow Twitter, as I’ve mentioned, during the games when I’m available to pay attention, following mostly baseball related people with about 75 others- mostly comedians or whatnot- and today following all of the day scheduled games and before the night game in New York, it seemed like Twitter was entirely dedicated to the Masters playoff at Augusta between Australian Adam Scott and 2009 winner Angel Cabrera of Argentina.  It was pretty thrilling.  Afterward, when Cabrera missed a putt by just a tiny bit and Scott – who isn’t known for his short game- sunk his to win it and was being awarded the coveted Green Jacket in the stuffy Jim Nance hosted clubhouse, comedian Neal Brennan tweeted: “The world’s dorkiest gang initiation is on CBS right now.”

9. So while there are 150 games to go, it is fun to take a look at what the playoff picture would be if the season ended today:

AL West: Oakland A’s

AL Central: Detroit Tigers/Kansas City Royals (tied)

AL East: Boston Red Sox

AL Wild Card: Texas Rangers

AL Wild Card: Detroit Tigers/Kansas City Royals (tied)

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NL West: San Francisco Giants

NL Central: St. Louis Cardinals

NL East: Atlanta Braves

Wild Card: Arizona Diamondbacks/Colorado Rockies (tied for both WC spots).

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The Astros Got a Hit Before the 9th Inning… and Other Items

Tired, and so just a few things….

Michael Morse hit his third home run of the season… in cavernous Oakland Coliseum.  Or whatever it is called.  This guy is for real.

Roy Halladay got his ass kicked, and was out of the game after 3 1/3 innings against the Braves.  Yes, he got ten outs.  However, NINE of them were strikeouts.

Tim Lincecum walked SEVEN, but he got the win against the Dodgers.  Matt Kemp is now 0 for 10.  The Giants have to feel pretty good.

The Twins won in the 9th against the Tigers– casting doubt on the Tigers “closing by committee” bullshit.  Phil Coke blew the lead- and the save.  The Twins are 1-1!

Matt Harvey is for real.  He pitched 7 shutout innings and struck out 10!

Brewers closer John Axford didn’t blow a second consecutive save today- because he came in during a non-save situation- and gave up a crapload.  His ERA is now 21.60.  A lot of people thought he’d have it together… not so.

It is official: The Yankees are not good. Vernon Wells did go 3-4 though, so there is that.

The Astros starting pitching has been really good.  Their hitters though- well- they strike out, a lot.  Shut out for the second consecutive day by the Rangers.

Bryce Harper went 2 for 4: Mike Trout went 1 for 5.   Damn it.

As I leave you, it is about 20 minutes to 11pm on the West Coast- and the Cards and D-Backs are tied in the 12th.

Goodnight!

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Yu Darvish Spoils Astros Perfect Season and Other Items

Yu Darvish was almost perfect against the Astros.  Down to the last out- 26 up, 26 down- and a hard hit grounder up the middle and through his legs to spoil the celebration.  Catcher A.J. Pierzynski– who also called Phil Humber‘s perfect game in Chicago- seemed to take it harder- one writer saying that it looked that A.J. said something about regretting calling for the wrong pitch.  Darvish was actually graceful in his disappointment- a big smile.  He’s a cool dude.

There were a few funny tweets in the aftermath of the almost perfect game.  Jeff Passan tweeted “Well, at least Rangers fans know what it feels like to be one out away. #duckingforcover”.  That’s funny, probably not to Rangers fans- a reference to their twice being one out away from winning the 2011 World Series.

Another- and I can’t find the source: “Yu Can’t Always Get What Yu Want”.

Hell of a game– fourteen strikeouts.  Schweddy Balls has got to be pretty happy.

Alas, the Astros reign in first place is over.

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Whoever has Giants SP Madison Bumgarner can’t be doing too much complaining either.  He was amazing tonight against the Dodgers.  He was ahead in the count almost all night, retired 24 of the 26 batters he faced (giving up two doubles), before giving way to Romo– who also looked sharp- in the 9th.  I hope Lincecum is in playoff mode tomorrow- it would be great to cool off the Dodgers fans out of the gate.

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Dodgers pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu, making his first official start in the Majors, was okay– he gave up ten singles to the Giants, but only one earned run.  He did, however, manage to get booed by Dodgers fans- and deservedly so- for not running out a grounder when at bat.  If it was a comebacker to the pitcher or something similar, it wouldn’t have been a big deal, but it was a particularly hard hit ball that Panda had a little trouble handling at third… Ryu runs, and he could have had a single.  Hell, he barely got both feet off the ground. Not a good way to endear yourself.  I suspect you’ll see him running during the next opportunity.  [Update: He apologized after the game and was embarrassed by the boos.]

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Michael Morse hit a couple of home runs, which made me happy.  That he did it in Oakland is good news for Mariners fans, as at Safeco Field the walls have been moved in, and he should be hitting even hit more homers at home. The Mariners look to be pretty entertaining this year.  Kendrys Morales was a draft steal, in my book.  And Michael Saunders stole a couple of bases.

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I’m happy to see no one in our league thought it smart to draft Heath Bell this year.  He stunk it up in Miami last year- a huge fall from his elite closer days in San Diego, and based on his one-third of an inning tonight as a member of the Diamondbacks, the guy still stinks.  He got one out, Matt Holiday looking, but gave up a walk, a single, a double, and two home runs.  Ouch.

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Michelle Obama hosted a private screening of the Jackie Robinson biopic 42 and many baseball players were invited today- and judging by their tweets, it is supposed to be very good.  Have you heard Jackie Robinson speak before?  He had sort of a nasally tone to him- which the filmmakers did not remain faithful to, which is just as well.  Still, it is kind of weird to try and present an accurate depiction of Robinson, and then skip his distinctive voice.

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Tomorrow MLB is back to a full schedule.  Good luck all!  (go Timmy!)