Wednesday, July 20, 2005
No Small Feat
Aaron Small had a couple things going against him coming into tonight’s game. First, he had compiled the following pitching line at Triple-A Columbus so far this season:
The other thing going against him was the fact that the last time he started a game in the major leagues was nearly a decade ago, 1996 to be exact.
He started three games that season as a 24-year-old for the Oakland A's. Until tonight those were the only starts of his major league career.
He pitched in seven games for the Marlins last year (16.1 IP) and made one appearance, a third of an inning, for the Braves in '03. His previous appearance before that was five years earlier in 1998 as a member of the Diamondbacks.
His career totals coming into tonight:
For those who enjoy these little sidebars that the baseball season provides, I'm pleased to say that Small held his own in Texas tonight.
Facing one of the best offenses in the league, he hardly dazzled. But who really expected him to? This is a pitcher who's longest outing this season for Columbus was six innings. He also didn't embarrass himself, far from it. He allowed a few baserunners, pitched out of a couple jams and while the Yankee offense was bashing the Texas pitchers around, ended up finding himself in the 6th inning. His final line (5.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 3 K) doesn't give any reason to believe he's found a niche in the Yankee rotation, no matter how thin it has been. However, tonight it may be enough to get him a win.
The Yankees hold a 7-3 lead in the bottom of the 8th. Texas has a runner on first with two outs against Tom Gordon.
After Texas scored a run on a Tino Martinez error, Gordon got Michael Young to ground out to avert further trouble.
Update: Tino has just added a run with a solo shot in the top of the 9th. 8-4, New York.
Aaron Small had a couple things going against him coming into tonight’s game. First, he had compiled the following pitching line at Triple-A Columbus so far this season:
IP H R ER BB KHis overall record: 1-4, with a 4.96 ERA in 11 games, 10 starts.
49 62 30 27 8 21
The other thing going against him was the fact that the last time he started a game in the major leagues was nearly a decade ago, 1996 to be exact.
He started three games that season as a 24-year-old for the Oakland A's. Until tonight those were the only starts of his major league career.
He pitched in seven games for the Marlins last year (16.1 IP) and made one appearance, a third of an inning, for the Braves in '03. His previous appearance before that was five years earlier in 1998 as a member of the Diamondbacks.
His career totals coming into tonight:
W L ERA G IP H R ER BB KThe A's were a sub-.500 team in 1996, so I'm going to make the assumption that Small never started a game with much on the line. Maybe he was a late-September call-up in a lost season, or had to make a couple of spot starts to fill in a gap for a thin rotation. Whatever the reason, it is highly unlikely he ever started a game like tonight, a game smack dab in the middle of a division race, a game with somewhat vague ramifications on the post-season.
15 10 5.49 146 218 267 146 133 101 121
For those who enjoy these little sidebars that the baseball season provides, I'm pleased to say that Small held his own in Texas tonight.
Facing one of the best offenses in the league, he hardly dazzled. But who really expected him to? This is a pitcher who's longest outing this season for Columbus was six innings. He also didn't embarrass himself, far from it. He allowed a few baserunners, pitched out of a couple jams and while the Yankee offense was bashing the Texas pitchers around, ended up finding himself in the 6th inning. His final line (5.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 3 K) doesn't give any reason to believe he's found a niche in the Yankee rotation, no matter how thin it has been. However, tonight it may be enough to get him a win.
The Yankees hold a 7-3 lead in the bottom of the 8th. Texas has a runner on first with two outs against Tom Gordon.
After Texas scored a run on a Tino Martinez error, Gordon got Michael Young to ground out to avert further trouble.
Update: Tino has just added a run with a solo shot in the top of the 9th. 8-4, New York.
A Reversal of Style
One night after an 11-10 slugfest, the Yankees and Rangers reversed their style and played a 2-1 nail-biter last night in Arlington.
It was an odd game to watch, as it stayed scoreless all the way until the 8th inning, but with each team having various chances to score runs. Although Chan Ho Park’s overall numbers don’t look daunting (5.33 ERA), he’s actually thrown quite a few outings like the one last night:
His previous two outings, against Boston and Oakland, had been not been good: a combined 10.2 IP, 11 H, 9 R, 8 ER, 2 HR, 7 BB, 6 K
But the previous two starts had been solid, and very similar to his line from last night. In fact, his best starts this year have been generally in the 7 IP/2 R range:
Afternoon Delight
As I wrap up my lunch break a couple of games with implications on the AL East and Wild Card races are about 20 minutes away from first pitch.
The Astros and Pirates are already underway. Houston has a 1-0 lead in the first. The Pirates have really been struggling lately, particularly with the bats.
I don't want to sound like a broken record, but I fully expect the Boston bats to go to town on Mark Hendrickson (4-6, 6.35) at Fenway this afternoon. To this point, the Sox have a modest six runs in the first two games of the series.
In Minneapolis, the Orioles and Twins will play the rubber-game of their series; it's a 1:10 first pitch.
It also will be interesting to see if the rejuvenated Braves can continue putting heat on the Nationals, who steadied the ship last night with a shutout of the Rockies. Smoltz goes for his 11th win at Pac Bell later on this afternoon.
Busy day at work, but I'll be sure to take a quick glance at the scoreboard as the day goes on.
One night after an 11-10 slugfest, the Yankees and Rangers reversed their style and played a 2-1 nail-biter last night in Arlington.
It was an odd game to watch, as it stayed scoreless all the way until the 8th inning, but with each team having various chances to score runs. Although Chan Ho Park’s overall numbers don’t look daunting (5.33 ERA), he’s actually thrown quite a few outings like the one last night:
IP H R ER BB K
7.1 6 0 0 3 5
His previous two outings, against Boston and Oakland, had been not been good: a combined 10.2 IP, 11 H, 9 R, 8 ER, 2 HR, 7 BB, 6 K
But the previous two starts had been solid, and very similar to his line from last night. In fact, his best starts this year have been generally in the 7 IP/2 R range:
Date Game IP H R ER BB KOut of this batch of games, the only ones he didn’t get a win was last night and 6/26 vs. the Astros. And of course, he’s now stymied the Yankees twice this season.
13-Apr Ana 6.2 5 3 3 1 6
23-Apr at NY 6.2 3 1 1 5 6
29-Apr Bos 7 3 2 2 4 7
22-May Hou 7 6 0 0 0 2
29-May Chi AL 6 6 3 3 4 4
26-Jun at Hou 7 5 2 2 0 6
1-Jul at Sea 7 5 2 2 3 6
19-Jul NY 7 6 1 1 3 5
Afternoon Delight
As I wrap up my lunch break a couple of games with implications on the AL East and Wild Card races are about 20 minutes away from first pitch.
The Astros and Pirates are already underway. Houston has a 1-0 lead in the first. The Pirates have really been struggling lately, particularly with the bats.
I don't want to sound like a broken record, but I fully expect the Boston bats to go to town on Mark Hendrickson (4-6, 6.35) at Fenway this afternoon. To this point, the Sox have a modest six runs in the first two games of the series.
In Minneapolis, the Orioles and Twins will play the rubber-game of their series; it's a 1:10 first pitch.
It also will be interesting to see if the rejuvenated Braves can continue putting heat on the Nationals, who steadied the ship last night with a shutout of the Rockies. Smoltz goes for his 11th win at Pac Bell later on this afternoon.
Busy day at work, but I'll be sure to take a quick glance at the scoreboard as the day goes on.
