Thursday, September 30, 2004
Back For More
Last night was a lot of fun, and today is shaping up pretty well too.
The first thing I did this morning was click on MLB.com to check the final of the San Diego/San Francisco game. I fell asleep in the bottom of the 10th (probably about 1:10 a.m.); so, I missed the conclusion by about 15 minutes. What a bizarre end to what was the best baseball day of the season.
For those who didn't see it, Giants' rightfielder Dustin Mohr made a catch in foul territory down the rightfield line with one out and the bases loaded. Before he had any chance to set himself up for a throw to the plate, he stumbled awkwardly on the bullpen mound, tumbled to the ground and spent the next 10 minutes or so on his back, writhing in pain. Meanwhile, the Padres scored the winning run.
It was an odd play on a few levels. First, it's debatable whehter Mohr should've even caught the ball. Supposedly, members of his bullpen was yelling at him to let it drop. Even if he had made the catch and kept his footing, it is unlikely he would've been able to turn his body and throw out Kerry Robinson who was tagging from third. It was also odd, because as the crowd at Petco was going crazy with the win, everything quickly became subdued as most of the Giants, and some of the Padres, walked down the rightfield line to check on Mohr, who was already being checked out by trainers, medical staff, etc.
It took forever for them to figure out how to get him off the field. They finally ended up clearing off a groundskeeper cart and using that to carry Mohr off. You think they would have a medical cart at the ready...
In any case, it was an awful 10th inning for the Giants. Mohr probably made a bad decision. And there were two errors before that that led to the Padres winning rally.
But that was last night, and this is today. And today, Aaron Harang and Mark Prior are dueling it out in Wrigley, in what is nearly a must-win for the Cubs.
Considering Houston (who is off today) finishes up with three at home vs. the Rockies, going into the weekend one out would be a tough proposition for the Cubbies. Same can be said for San Francisco, who finish of their series with the Padres tonight.
The Reds & Cubs are through five now, and it's still scoreless.
I haven't watched Mark Prior pitch in awhile, but he looks great today. I wouldn't say his fastball looks explosive, but it's been consistently good (91-94), and his breaking stuff looks pretty nasty. Out of 15 outs, he's racked up 10 Ks.
Make that 11...through 5 1/3
The Rangers just chased Lackey out of the game in Arlington and lead 4-1 now in the 5th. Oakland and Seattle are just underway.
12 now. The Cubs announcers are saying that he's throwing the best he has since last October; and we all know how good he was throwing a year ago...
Just threw a nasty curve to pick-up strikeout #13. Now if the Cubs could only must a run or two they'd be doing alright.
Speaking of great performances, I should mention the job that Bobby Madritsch did last night in Oakland.
The first time Madritsch caught my eye this year was when he shut down the Red Sox on September 9 (8 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 5 K).
Of his 11 starts this year (the first 11 of his career), he's thrown two clunkers (9/3 vs. Chicago and 9/24 vs. Texas). But other than that, he's been very good and last night was the best game he's thrown so far.
9 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 4 K
As I look at his numbers overall, his strikeout numbers aren't anything spectacular, and he will walk a batter or two. But he doesn't give up home runs, and he can compile innings. Last night he threw a season-high 133 pitches, which seems like a truckload for a rookie pitcher. However, he's 28 years old. It's not like he's a 21 year old phenom they have to worry about coddling.
Some of his other pitch totals:
105
117
117
119
109
118
100
126
122
119
I don't know any details about Madritsch's story, and why it took him so long to reach the majors. But you know that adage about lefties taking longer to develop...
Although he probably isn't going to develop into a star, it looks like the Mariners have found someone to take over the mantle of "Crafty Lefty" now that Jamie Moyer is starting to wind down.
It's the 8th now in Chicago, and Prior has just tied his career high with 16 strikeouts. Talk about picking a good day to watch him pitch...
It's tied 1-1. Solo HRs by Sosa and Kearns.
Signing off for now...
Last night was a lot of fun, and today is shaping up pretty well too.
The first thing I did this morning was click on MLB.com to check the final of the San Diego/San Francisco game. I fell asleep in the bottom of the 10th (probably about 1:10 a.m.); so, I missed the conclusion by about 15 minutes. What a bizarre end to what was the best baseball day of the season.
For those who didn't see it, Giants' rightfielder Dustin Mohr made a catch in foul territory down the rightfield line with one out and the bases loaded. Before he had any chance to set himself up for a throw to the plate, he stumbled awkwardly on the bullpen mound, tumbled to the ground and spent the next 10 minutes or so on his back, writhing in pain. Meanwhile, the Padres scored the winning run.
It was an odd play on a few levels. First, it's debatable whehter Mohr should've even caught the ball. Supposedly, members of his bullpen was yelling at him to let it drop. Even if he had made the catch and kept his footing, it is unlikely he would've been able to turn his body and throw out Kerry Robinson who was tagging from third. It was also odd, because as the crowd at Petco was going crazy with the win, everything quickly became subdued as most of the Giants, and some of the Padres, walked down the rightfield line to check on Mohr, who was already being checked out by trainers, medical staff, etc.
It took forever for them to figure out how to get him off the field. They finally ended up clearing off a groundskeeper cart and using that to carry Mohr off. You think they would have a medical cart at the ready...
In any case, it was an awful 10th inning for the Giants. Mohr probably made a bad decision. And there were two errors before that that led to the Padres winning rally.
But that was last night, and this is today. And today, Aaron Harang and Mark Prior are dueling it out in Wrigley, in what is nearly a must-win for the Cubs.
Considering Houston (who is off today) finishes up with three at home vs. the Rockies, going into the weekend one out would be a tough proposition for the Cubbies. Same can be said for San Francisco, who finish of their series with the Padres tonight.
The Reds & Cubs are through five now, and it's still scoreless.
I haven't watched Mark Prior pitch in awhile, but he looks great today. I wouldn't say his fastball looks explosive, but it's been consistently good (91-94), and his breaking stuff looks pretty nasty. Out of 15 outs, he's racked up 10 Ks.
Make that 11...through 5 1/3
The Rangers just chased Lackey out of the game in Arlington and lead 4-1 now in the 5th. Oakland and Seattle are just underway.
12 now. The Cubs announcers are saying that he's throwing the best he has since last October; and we all know how good he was throwing a year ago...
Just threw a nasty curve to pick-up strikeout #13. Now if the Cubs could only must a run or two they'd be doing alright.
Speaking of great performances, I should mention the job that Bobby Madritsch did last night in Oakland.
The first time Madritsch caught my eye this year was when he shut down the Red Sox on September 9 (8 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 5 K).
Of his 11 starts this year (the first 11 of his career), he's thrown two clunkers (9/3 vs. Chicago and 9/24 vs. Texas). But other than that, he's been very good and last night was the best game he's thrown so far.
9 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 4 K
As I look at his numbers overall, his strikeout numbers aren't anything spectacular, and he will walk a batter or two. But he doesn't give up home runs, and he can compile innings. Last night he threw a season-high 133 pitches, which seems like a truckload for a rookie pitcher. However, he's 28 years old. It's not like he's a 21 year old phenom they have to worry about coddling.
Some of his other pitch totals:
105
117
117
119
109
118
100
126
122
119
I don't know any details about Madritsch's story, and why it took him so long to reach the majors. But you know that adage about lefties taking longer to develop...
Although he probably isn't going to develop into a star, it looks like the Mariners have found someone to take over the mantle of "Crafty Lefty" now that Jamie Moyer is starting to wind down.
It's the 8th now in Chicago, and Prior has just tied his career high with 16 strikeouts. Talk about picking a good day to watch him pitch...
It's tied 1-1. Solo HRs by Sosa and Kearns.
Signing off for now...
