This Week In Baseball 7/16 - 7/22

[Guest Smues]

The Braves have acquired Julio Franco.

I was out of town when this happened, so I was quite surprised to see him in the line-up against St. Louis. Yeah he's old and washed up, but it's Julio Franco! I'm all for this signing. And without his bat in the lineup last night we only score 8 runs instead of 10! Old power!

[Bruiser Chong 0]

My favorite team's players are dropping like flies. Cliff Floyd naturally got hurt, Derrek Lee is serving his suspension because he fouled a ball hard off his foot, and now Daryl Ward, one of the Cubs' best off-season acquisitions has a calf tear that'll probably put him on the shelf until September.

[Guest •]

And of course, Daryle Ward was playing at first because we decided Derrek Lee was expendable for a few days and could serve his suspension. Show us whatcha got, Scott Moore.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Impressive win for the Cubs. They've been terrible against the DBacks for years, even when Arizona was lousy. So for them to win against Arizona with Brandon Webb facing Jason Marquis is shocking.

[Guest •]

Chonger, now that our guys are seven above .500, I think you should dial down the pessimism in your sig. We've had stronger hits since that one. And tonight, maybejustmaybe the worst team in baseball will squeak out a win and put the Cubs at 2.5 back.

 

EDIT: Sheets is out 6 weeks, if it hasn't been noted yet, but it's not important, because they moved Gallardo to the rotation. I assume this puts Villanueva back in long relief.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

The Yankees have called Shelly Duncan to the majors, making him their starting DH. Duncan already holds the Scranton single season home run record with 25 bombs. He's slugging .577 on the year. With his numbers and the Yankees' dearth of talent at first, it's worth a shot. I think pitchers will eventually exploit Duncan's long swing in the bigs, but we'll see.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Chonger, now that our guys are seven above .500, I think you should dial down the pessimism in your sig. We've had stronger hits since that one. And tonight, maybejustmaybe the worst team in baseball will squeak out a win and put the Cubs at 2.5 back.

 

EDIT: Sheets is out 6 weeks, if it hasn't been noted yet, but it's not important, because they moved Gallardo to the rotation. I assume this puts Villanueva back in long relief.

I've been meaning to remove it for weeks. It's not a case of pessimism. More a case of laziness.

[Boon 0]

JD Drew and the Red Sox just got fucking robbed, hardcore. Fuck Tim McClelland.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Are Red Sox fans actually concerned about their seven-game lead?

[Steve J. Rogers 0]

Hey Bruiser, I will be in Chi town for the Aug 4th Mets-Cubs game, sounds like Glavine is scheduled for that afternoon, what are the chances I will be watching history?

 

Actually, after last night I'm wondering what is going to happen first, Tom Glavine's 300th win or Pedro Martinez's 3,000 strikeout. Pedro is just 2 Ks away, theoretically he could get 3,000 in his very first inning back (assuming he faces a team full of hackers)

 

BTW, how interesting will it be that Bonds could hit #756 next door to the place where #755 landed and where probably the majority (if not no doubt its in the top three cities/ballparks) of the 755 happened.

 

Also this week was the anniversary of #755 launched in 1976.

[Boon 0]

Are Red Sox fans actually concerned about their seven-game lead?

...Have you ever met a Red Sox fan? What a stupid question.

 

Is there any chance Bonds plays all three in Milwaukee?

[Guest •]

BTW, how interesting will it be that Bonds could hit #756 next door to the place where #755 landed and where probably the majority (if not no doubt its in the top three cities/ballparks) of the 755 happened.

Not very interesting, and he's not going to hit three home runs in this series anyway.

 

Boon, I have the Brewers game on. What happened? There's no way the umps gave a call to the White Sox, because that would destroy Hawk and Farmer's theory that the umps are out to get the Sox at every turn. Dadgum right.

[Boon 0]

Is that who I sound like? Ugh. I retract my previous post and replace it with "Aww shucks."

[treble 0]

Yankee Stadium was alright. The game was kind of garbage, but when A-Rod hit that double, I think it was the first time I've felt a stadium shake, but I could have lived without that.

 

I also went to Keyspan Park to see a Cyclones game. The was really nice, even if all the minor league stuff is a little annoying, but I understand why they do it. They played the Phillies affiliate there, what the fuck is a Crosscutter?

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Yankee Stadium was alright. The game was kind of garbage, but when A-Rod hit that double, I think it was the first time I've felt a stadium shake, but I could have lived without that.

 

I also went to Keyspan Park to see a Cyclones game. The was really nice, even if all the minor league stuff is a little annoying, but I understand why they do it. They played the Phillies affiliate there, what the fuck is a Crosscutter?

It's a lumber term.

[treble 0]

I thought it might have something to do with that, based on the logo.

 

That game made me feel a little old, though, I think there was only one player on either team older than me, and that was only by a few months. The Crosscutters shortstop was only 17 and looked about 12.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Sports chat tonight 10-11 ET in the TSM chatroom. Or non-sports stuff if the urge strikes.

[Longdogger_Pete 0]

Boon, I have the Brewers game on. What happened? There's no way the umps gave a call to the White Sox, because that would destroy Hawk and Farmer's theory that the umps are out to get the Sox at every turn. Dadgum right.

 

J. D. Drew hit what should have been a 3-run homer (with Ortiz and Ramirez on base and two out). It landed on a ledge (*over* the home run line) then bounced off the back of the ledge and back down to the field. Ortiz scores, the ump rules the play a ground-rule double, and a confused Ramirez is thrown out at home to end the inning.

 

Every replay clearly shows the ball landing on the ledge (you didn't even need replay to see it). Francona comes out to argue, and the umpires huddle. They *don't* reverse the call, Francona argues more and is thrown out.

 

The funny thing is that Francona and the same umpire crew were talking about that very same ledge the day before, so you'd think the umpires would have known what they were doing.

 

Thome hit a three-run shot an inning later but the Sox more than made up for the deficit. A couple innings later the Sox took the lead when they loaded the bases and Coco Crisp cleared them with a 3-run triple, and in the eighth they put the game out of reach when Lugo (Lugo?!) hit a grand slam. 10-3 final score (and Contreras gave up every one of those 10 runs). Win #13 for Beckett, who went six innings and struck out 10.

Edited July 21, 2007 by Longdogger_Pete

[Bruiser Chong 0]

*wonders when anyone's going to start taking note of the NL Central race*

[Steve J. Rogers 0]

*wonders when anyone's going to start taking note of the NL Central race*

 

As soon as people realize that its almost August and the Brewers are still in first!

 

I do find it amusing that the Brewers lose 2 out of 3 to the Mets back in May, go into a tailspin and everyone stops talking about them being the "darlings" of the season, despite the fact that they never lost their divisional lead.

 

It is bizzare though, both the Central and West races, hell even the East race isn't even getting too much national attention, let alone the very tight AL races, but the Yankees "surging" while the Red Sox are "wilting" gets the coverage.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Exactly. I understand that the Yanks and Sox have two of the biggest fanbases in baseball, but a seven-game difference near the end of July is not a small figure.

 

There are tighter races going on around baseball and you hear almost nothing about them.

[Steve J. Rogers 0]

Mets gain a game over the Braves, Valentin though looks to be out with a broken tibula as reported by the Mets radio

 

You know, over the first 25 years the Mets franchise was famous for their black hole at 3rd. Well that has been solidified over the last 20 years, but now it seems 2nd has been a black hole!

 

Phillies leading the Pads late...and it goes final, so MLB for Friday 7/20 is in the books!

[Vern Gagne 0]

The curse of Julio Franco.

 

Interesting note. The Padres have moved Matt Bush from SS to Pitcher. He was the first overall pick in 2003, if case anyone forgot. He reaches up 98 mph with his fastball. So maybe pitching out of the bullpen would be the best way to go with him.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

Yeah, the NL Central race is really tight right now, and it's down to two teams at this point (Cubs and Brewers). The Cubs have been playing red hot right now...of course I'm hoping the Brewers can hang on, but they'll have to string a few wins together, or at least hope the Cubs slow down a little bit.

 

Brewers bullpen looked terrible last night against SF. It seems like either the Brewers offense is hot, or the pitching, but never both at the same time lately. It'll be interesting to see what moves the two clubs make, if any, before the trade deadline.

[2GOLD 0]

 

At this point, I don't think I want the Cubs to do anything. I like the bullpen, the starters are alright although Hill and Jason seem to never be on at the same time, and the hitting is solid two out contact to drive in runs. Bout the only thing I'd be remotely interested in seeing the Cubs get is a lefty for the pen. Other than that, just stick with what they got unless a really major injury surfaces.

 

I don't know what the Brewers would be after except maybe additional bullpen help as well. If Sheets is messed up worse than thought, I guess they might try to see if they can snag another starter. So far the Cubs one trade hasn't worked out too well except it gave Koyie Hill more playing time.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

I'm content with everyone on the Cubs' roster except for Jones, Eyre, Pagan, Kendall and to an extent, Marquis. I know upgrades could be made elsewhere, but I'm digging everyone else. The rotation isn't build around a bunch of flamethrowers and perhaps subsequently, the Cubs have four starters on pace to pitch 200 innings this season. I'd like to see some more power in the lineup, but I am impressed with that they've been winning despite the lack of the longball. They went some 10-plus games without a homer and still won the majority of those. I can't recall a recent Cubs team that would've done that.

 

As for Milwaukee, I'm surprised their starting rotation hasn't garnered more attention. They've been AWFUL lately. It's somewhat of a surprise they're still in first, to be honest. They also have a heavy dependence on the longball, which isn't really a good thing.

[Mik 0]

As for Matt Bush, Verlander was the consensus number one overall that year but the Padres went with the local kid they knew they could sign.

 

He celebrated his contract by getting into a barfight (natch) and then went on to be one of the biggest busts at the plate ever. If he can make it as a reliever, great, but he's already firmly cemented as a huge #1 overall bust.

[devo 0]

Jose Valentin's going to be out 4-6 weeks. I'm not really too upset about this, since I believe a platoon of a Ruben Gotay and Damion Easley (once he comes back from bereavement) might actually be an improvement at this point.

[Guest •]

They also have a heavy dependence on the longball, which isn't really a good thing.

Well, Messrs. Fielder, Braun, Hardy, Mench, et al. haven't failed them yet. I really like Ned Yost's approach to the game. He doesn't fuck around. Just hit a lot.

 

As for the rotation, I don't think they'll be that bad. Suppan and Capuano are capable, Vargas is having a ridiculously good year, and Gallardo is a future ace. Brian Shouse and Derrick Turnbow are the ones I'd worry about.

 

oh hey, check this out:

Milwaukee: Scott Podsednik-->Carlos Lee-->Kevin Mench/Francisco Cordero.

Texas: Kevin Mench/Francisco Cordero-->Carlos Lee-->nothing

 

buttrape

 

 

 

[strummer 0]

Tim McCarver during today's Mets/Dodgers game:

 

 

"Folks, we don't want to throw a lot of numbers at you, but this year, 39% of leadoff walks have scored. That's about 40% of the time."