Nationals 6, Braves 0: John Smoltz gets his 3000th strikeout and puts up a 7 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 10K performance, only to get hung with a loss because the Braves' bats decide to go silent. Smoltz now has a 0.78 ERA, by the way. More earned/unearned foolishness, as Jorge Campillo comes into a 1-0 game in the ninth inning, gives up two hits, two walks, and five runs, but only one is "earned" because of an error. Worth noting that it was his error. I hope he's very proud of himself when he wakes up and reads the newspaper tomorrow and sees that shiny 1.23 ERA staring back at him.Cubs 8, Mets 1: Jorge Sosa gives up his second big dinger in as many games -- this one a grand slam -- and the Mets get embarrassed by the Cubs yet again. The Cubs, despite a pretty easy win, somehow went through all of their position players, four pitchers, and had to have Jason Marquis pinch hit in the eighth inning.
Tigers 10, Rangers 2: Justin Verlander -- 6 IP, 1 ER -- needed that.
Indians 15, Royals 1: C.C. Sabathia -- 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 11K -- needed that more.
Rays 6, Blue Jays 4: Eric Hinske is the offensive hero and Troy Percival nails down the save. Yep, nothing like those young go-go Rays!
Brewers 9, Cardinals 8: Genius manager Tony La Russa carries 13 pitchers, which necessitated Albert Pujols playing second base for innings 9 through 12. Not-so-genius Ned Yost carries 14 pitchers, yet somehow got another blown save out of Eric Gagne. Luckily The Skipper -- Gabe Kapler -- played the hero again, singling in the winning run in the bottom of the 12th. Suggestion: the Brewers bring back the player-manager.
Reds 8, Dodgers 1: Cueto has gotten all the press, but another new Reds pitcher -- Edinson Volquez -- has been considerably more effective (3-0, 1.21 ERA). Slumping Andruw Jones was benched for this one, with Kemp playing center, Ethier in right, and Pierre in left. While I love a Chinese fire drill as much as anyone, why was Torre playing all three guys out of their usual position instead of Pierre in center, Kemp in right, and Ethier in left?
Red Sox 7, Angels 6: Nothin' seems to be bothering the Sox much these days. Beckett scratched before the game because of a stiff neck? No problem. Plug in some Pawtucket fodder and beat a likely playoff team.
Astros 11, Padres 7: Miguel Tejada (4-5, 2B, 2 RBI) -- who, by the way, was truthful with immigration authorities, Mr. Munson -- was not impressed with last night's episode of E:60, but not for the obvious reasons. See, he really thinks Bill Simmons should stick to print. The bullpens in this one gave up 11 runs.
11 comments:
That picture's not from last night because Smoltz doesn't have the "Beach" patch on the sleeve. So what does 21 mean? (Should I be embarrassed that I don't know?)
Yeah, most of the pics I use are just random and aren't tied to the specific events (I don't spend a lot of time hunting for them).
The "21" was for Warren Spahn, who died the winter between the 2003-2004 season, dating that pic to 2004.
I picked it because it looked cool.
Your Miguel Tejada link goes to gmail? Is that a joke I don't get?
Um, no, that was a mistake that I didn't realize I made. Sorry! It will be fixed momentarily. Thanks for the heads up!
I think the return of Putz yesterday is notable.
APBA Guy-
Props to Miggy, he really is playing more like he used to in Oakland. When Giambi left for New York, Miggy carried the A's. He seems to be fitting in well with the Astros after suffering through 4 years of the Angelos Curse, which drains the life essence from ball players and fans. He's hitting to all fields and even playing with energy in the field. Let's hope he keeps it up.
Braves bats not go silent. Lannan is a future american hero.
With regards to your question about the Dodgers' outfield configuration, I think Torre made the right move. Yes, Pierre has been a centerfielder most of his career, but he has only played left because of Jones, and he is -- no exaggeration -- the worst centerfielder I can ever remember seeing. Even if Kemp loses two steps trying to figure out the read from a different angle, he's still a step ahead of Pierre. And he has an arm to actually do something with the ball when he gets it.
If Pierre has to play in the outfield, left field is the only place where his arm isn't a HUGE liability (out in left, it's just a BIG liability).
Am I the only geek who had never heard of Brad Harman before reading the boxscores today?
I hadn't either, Pete. In fact, I'll do you one better and admit that I didn't even notice his name when I read the Phillies-Rockies box score this morning.
Given that he's behind Chase Utley, I'm guessing we won't hear much about him going forward, either.
Tejada has been hitting the ball HARD. It makes "that sound" that scouts love to talk about.
Not bad for a fifty year old.
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