Saturday, May 16, 2009
Saturday Morning Snapshot
(West Coast Review Edition)
I dozed in the early part of the evening, which gave me the opportunity to take in some of the West Coast action last night with eyes wide open.
The three games in rotation: Mets-Giants, Sox-Mariners and Royals-Orioles. The latter of course was scheduled for an 8:10 EST start in Kansas City, but was delayed by rain and didn't get underway until it was closing in on 11 p.m. on the East Coast.
I had a chance to check in on three of the game's top young hurler's: KC's Zack Greinke; Boston's Jon Lester; and San Francisco's Tim Lincecum.
While Greinke shined, the other two pitchers, both benefiting from early leads, couldn't make their good fortune stand up.
Lincecum, in particular, labored. He threw 114 pitches in 6+ innings of work, leaving with a 6-3 lead and a mess for his relievers to clean up: 2 on, no outs in the 7th. He wasn't picked up, as the Mets went on to score 3 runs in the inning to tie the game at six. The key blow coming off the bat of David Wright, who had another great night at AT&T (3-5, 4 RBI, 1 R and a key hit in the decisive 9th-inning rally).
Oddly both managers were ejected in the game, as Bruce Bochy and Jerry Manuel got the boot before play began in the top of the 8th and bottom of the 8th respectively.
Ultimately, the Mets got to San Fran's closer Brian Wilson for the second night in a row in a tie game. From MLB.com's game report:
The Mets moved to 20-15, and remained two games up on the Phillies, who won 10-6 in extra innings vs. the Nationals, and Braves who beat Arizona 4-3.
This afternoon's pitching match-up is getting a lot of attention, although the match-up is more about the allure of history and marquee names than being competitively close. Randy Johnson, currently sporting a 5.89 ERA on the season, is going for win #299 and takes the hill against the NL's best: Johan Santana.
Santana's adjusted ERA of 566 leads the National League by a wide margin. The next four are Cueto (241); Rodriguez (230); Haren (227); and Jurrjens (213). He also leads the league in standard ERA (0.78) and is 2nd in WHIP, H/9 and K/9. Of course, all of those flashy numbers has translated into "only" a 4-2 record because of his poor run support.
I think today will be Santana's day to add to his win total. The Mets are really swinging the bats well right now, and I have to believe San Francisco is reeling after these two tough losses in a row. Also throw in the fact that their closer is presumably unavailable today, which might not be the worst thing considering the week he's having.
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The Royals-O's game was the last game being played in major league baseball last night/this morning. Starting at 10:40 p.m. EST, it didn't end until 1:26 a.m. The Royals ended up winning 8-1.
Zack Greinke has gotten so much attention to this point in the season that he basically has to fire a two-hit shutout to generate any new excitement. And although he wasn't lights out, he had an easy ride to his 7th win of the season. By the 4th inning, he had been staked to a 4-1 lead and cruised from that point for a final line of 7/6/1/1/2/6. His ERA actually jumped from 0.51 to 0.60. Oh, the horror.
The buzz being created right now by this guy in Kansas City is palpable. It looked close to a full house in spite of the long delay, and the KC broadcast is already running polls asking viewers to text in how many games Greinke is going to win this year. Over 40% said 24+.
At one point in the game, I didn't catch exactly why, the vendors at Kauffman Stadium were carrying those large, aluminum baking pans filled with hot dogs wrapped in foil, tossing them out into the crowd left & right. It didn't look like every single person was getting one, but essentially there were a ton of folks getting grub for free. Cool promotion or idea, whatever it was and something you'd never see in a certain in a ballpark. (Note: the MLB.com Friday night wrap-up included this little tidbit: Hot dogs here, get 'em while they're ... free? Finally, as if putting Greinke on the mound wasn't enough to endear them to the paying customers, Royals vendors broke out the free hot dogs to those who waited out the five-hour weather delay.)
----
I was shocked that Jon Lester couldn't close the deal after carrying a 4-0 lead into the 5th inning. Maybe the Boston offense should've done more vs. a 30-year-old rookie with an ERA hovering close to 8.00. However, that doesn't excuse the Boston lefty for lasting only 5 2/3 and relinquishing the lead in the process.
Maybe he's simply one start away from throwing an 8-inning gem, but I'm starting to wonder about Lester a bit. He was despondent in the dugout after being removed from the game. Eyes closed, cap pushed back, head in his hands.
His season line now stands at 2-4, 6.51 ERA, 47/60/34/34/16/54 in eight starts.
I know his playing time has been limited, but after three Ks last night and an 0-4 overall, Rocco Baldelli's line stands at .250/.276/.357
I haven't heard much about his chronic health condition of late, but it's amazing to see what at one point looked to be a sure-fire excellent major league career just disintegrating.
The Big Papi dilemma is now front and center after the disaster on Thursday, when he stranded a week's worth of runners and went 0-7. Everyone's chiming in with ideas for the next course of action, and Terry Francona broke the stalemate before Friday night's game. And this is how the skipper explained his decision to give Ortiz the night off in Seattle. From the Globe's blog:
Francona actually intimated that this hiatus might go on for a couple of days. The real problem isn't right now. The real problem comes when he goes back in the line-up and still has no pop in his bat. What the heck happens then?
While his pre-season PECOTA projection (.269/.375./.504 with 27 HR and 94 RBI) is the stuff of pure fantasy now, there has to be something left in the tank, doesn't there? The last line of his Baseball Prospectus write-up is looking more ominous by the day: "As Ortiz goes, so go the Red Sox, so they can only hope he's correct [about being healthy]."
----
From what I saw, I thought the plate umpires were terrible last night. The strike call that prompted Johnny Damon to blow a gasket was atrocious. At least one pitch, if not two, in the A-Rod at-bat in the 9th was way inside. David Wright had two calls go against him that were clearly low in his AB in the 9th. And even in the Seattle-Boston game there was a bad call in the J.D. Drew AB in the 9th, after which he eventually singled.
Just mentioning it, since I rarely complain about the umpires or think they're having a disproportionate affect on the game. However, last night the mistakes were obvious and occurring in really important at-bats. In the case of A-Rod, Wright and Drew they all ended up reaching base anyway.
I'll try and be back with more later, as I think both the Yankees' win last night and Damon's 10-game extra-base hit streak deserves at least a mention.
(West Coast Review Edition)
I dozed in the early part of the evening, which gave me the opportunity to take in some of the West Coast action last night with eyes wide open.
The three games in rotation: Mets-Giants, Sox-Mariners and Royals-Orioles. The latter of course was scheduled for an 8:10 EST start in Kansas City, but was delayed by rain and didn't get underway until it was closing in on 11 p.m. on the East Coast.
I had a chance to check in on three of the game's top young hurler's: KC's Zack Greinke; Boston's Jon Lester; and San Francisco's Tim Lincecum.
While Greinke shined, the other two pitchers, both benefiting from early leads, couldn't make their good fortune stand up.
Lincecum, in particular, labored. He threw 114 pitches in 6+ innings of work, leaving with a 6-3 lead and a mess for his relievers to clean up: 2 on, no outs in the 7th. He wasn't picked up, as the Mets went on to score 3 runs in the inning to tie the game at six. The key blow coming off the bat of David Wright, who had another great night at AT&T (3-5, 4 RBI, 1 R and a key hit in the decisive 9th-inning rally).
Oddly both managers were ejected in the game, as Bruce Bochy and Jerry Manuel got the boot before play began in the top of the 8th and bottom of the 8th respectively.
Ultimately, the Mets got to San Fran's closer Brian Wilson for the second night in a row in a tie game. From MLB.com's game report:
This time, New York's fateful ninth began with Gary Sheffield's leadoff single. David Wright, whose bases-loaded double in the seventh inning forged the existing tie, also singled.
Ryan Church laid down a bunt that Wilson pounced on between the pitcher's mound and the third-base line. Wilson had an easy force play on Sheffield, but his peg to Pablo Sandoval only grazed the third baseman's glove and flew into left field. Sheffield scored, and so did Wright as the next batter, Omir Santos, lifted a sacrifice fly.
Ryan Church laid down a bunt that Wilson pounced on between the pitcher's mound and the third-base line. Wilson had an easy force play on Sheffield, but his peg to Pablo Sandoval only grazed the third baseman's glove and flew into left field. Sheffield scored, and so did Wright as the next batter, Omir Santos, lifted a sacrifice fly.
The Mets moved to 20-15, and remained two games up on the Phillies, who won 10-6 in extra innings vs. the Nationals, and Braves who beat Arizona 4-3.
This afternoon's pitching match-up is getting a lot of attention, although the match-up is more about the allure of history and marquee names than being competitively close. Randy Johnson, currently sporting a 5.89 ERA on the season, is going for win #299 and takes the hill against the NL's best: Johan Santana.
Santana's adjusted ERA of 566 leads the National League by a wide margin. The next four are Cueto (241); Rodriguez (230); Haren (227); and Jurrjens (213). He also leads the league in standard ERA (0.78) and is 2nd in WHIP, H/9 and K/9. Of course, all of those flashy numbers has translated into "only" a 4-2 record because of his poor run support.
I think today will be Santana's day to add to his win total. The Mets are really swinging the bats well right now, and I have to believe San Francisco is reeling after these two tough losses in a row. Also throw in the fact that their closer is presumably unavailable today, which might not be the worst thing considering the week he's having.
----
The Royals-O's game was the last game being played in major league baseball last night/this morning. Starting at 10:40 p.m. EST, it didn't end until 1:26 a.m. The Royals ended up winning 8-1.
Zack Greinke has gotten so much attention to this point in the season that he basically has to fire a two-hit shutout to generate any new excitement. And although he wasn't lights out, he had an easy ride to his 7th win of the season. By the 4th inning, he had been staked to a 4-1 lead and cruised from that point for a final line of 7/6/1/1/2/6. His ERA actually jumped from 0.51 to 0.60. Oh, the horror.
The buzz being created right now by this guy in Kansas City is palpable. It looked close to a full house in spite of the long delay, and the KC broadcast is already running polls asking viewers to text in how many games Greinke is going to win this year. Over 40% said 24+.
At one point in the game, I didn't catch exactly why, the vendors at Kauffman Stadium were carrying those large, aluminum baking pans filled with hot dogs wrapped in foil, tossing them out into the crowd left & right. It didn't look like every single person was getting one, but essentially there were a ton of folks getting grub for free. Cool promotion or idea, whatever it was and something you'd never see in a certain in a ballpark. (Note: the MLB.com Friday night wrap-up included this little tidbit: Hot dogs here, get 'em while they're ... free? Finally, as if putting Greinke on the mound wasn't enough to endear them to the paying customers, Royals vendors broke out the free hot dogs to those who waited out the five-hour weather delay.)
----
I was shocked that Jon Lester couldn't close the deal after carrying a 4-0 lead into the 5th inning. Maybe the Boston offense should've done more vs. a 30-year-old rookie with an ERA hovering close to 8.00. However, that doesn't excuse the Boston lefty for lasting only 5 2/3 and relinquishing the lead in the process.
Maybe he's simply one start away from throwing an 8-inning gem, but I'm starting to wonder about Lester a bit. He was despondent in the dugout after being removed from the game. Eyes closed, cap pushed back, head in his hands.
His season line now stands at 2-4, 6.51 ERA, 47/60/34/34/16/54 in eight starts.
I know his playing time has been limited, but after three Ks last night and an 0-4 overall, Rocco Baldelli's line stands at .250/.276/.357
I haven't heard much about his chronic health condition of late, but it's amazing to see what at one point looked to be a sure-fire excellent major league career just disintegrating.
The Big Papi dilemma is now front and center after the disaster on Thursday, when he stranded a week's worth of runners and went 0-7. Everyone's chiming in with ideas for the next course of action, and Terry Francona broke the stalemate before Friday night's game. And this is how the skipper explained his decision to give Ortiz the night off in Seattle. From the Globe's blog:
"Sometimes stepping back will help," Francona said. "Maybe I was too late in doing this. I hope not. I just think he needs a deep breath. Even when David's struggling, I love his presence in the lineup. But I think that also, if there's a time to step back and take a deep breath, it will help us in the long run. Balancing that, when to do it, is, I just think today was an obvious one after talking to him."
Francona actually intimated that this hiatus might go on for a couple of days. The real problem isn't right now. The real problem comes when he goes back in the line-up and still has no pop in his bat. What the heck happens then?
While his pre-season PECOTA projection (.269/.375./.504 with 27 HR and 94 RBI) is the stuff of pure fantasy now, there has to be something left in the tank, doesn't there? The last line of his Baseball Prospectus write-up is looking more ominous by the day: "As Ortiz goes, so go the Red Sox, so they can only hope he's correct [about being healthy]."
----
From what I saw, I thought the plate umpires were terrible last night. The strike call that prompted Johnny Damon to blow a gasket was atrocious. At least one pitch, if not two, in the A-Rod at-bat in the 9th was way inside. David Wright had two calls go against him that were clearly low in his AB in the 9th. And even in the Seattle-Boston game there was a bad call in the J.D. Drew AB in the 9th, after which he eventually singled.
Just mentioning it, since I rarely complain about the umpires or think they're having a disproportionate affect on the game. However, last night the mistakes were obvious and occurring in really important at-bats. In the case of A-Rod, Wright and Drew they all ended up reaching base anyway.
I'll try and be back with more later, as I think both the Yankees' win last night and Damon's 10-game extra-base hit streak deserves at least a mention.
