Friday, April 25, 2008

And That Happened

A's 11, Twins 2: It's been said that even though it's typical for pitchers to come back a year or so after having Tommy John surgery, you really don't get your touch and feel for pitching back for almost two years. Francisco Liriano had better hope that's true, because if it's not, it means that he has simply lost whatever mojo he had back in 2006. Liriano was rocked by the A's to the tune of .2 IP, 5 H, 3 BB, 6 ER, and now has an ERA north of 11. In other news, Big Hurt makes his triumphant return to the A's. Of note is the fact that Mike Sweeney got his first start at 1B last night, which may indicate that it is Jack Cust -- not Sweeney -- who will be odd man out as a result of the Thomas signing. And to think; it was less than a year ago when Cust was the one getting all of the love.

Tigers 8, Rangers 2: Here's a great example of what three games against the Rangers can do for a team: when the Tigers woke up on Tuesday morning, they were on a pace to score 664 runs for the year. As they wake up this morning, they are on a pace to score 838. Also worth noting: the Tigers have yet to play a game with Cabrera at first and Guillen at third since Leyland's grand unveiling of his new defensive alignment.

Angels 7, Red Sox 5: Emergency starter Justin Masterson -- making his Major League debut as a result of the Boston barf-o-rama -- pitched wonderfully (6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER). Javier Lopez and Manny Delcarmen (a combined 0 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 4 ER) didn't, however, allowing the Angels to rally late.

Astros 5, Reds 2: We live in a fast moving age. Evidence: Johnny Cueto (7 IP, 8 H, 5 ER) has gone from spectacular to solid to sub-par in the space of exactly three weeks.

Phillies 3, Brewers 1: Jamie Moyer on Tom Gordon after the game: "He looks like the guy that I saw as a starter in Kansas City, eons ago," Moyer said. "He looks like the guy that I saw as a teammate in Boston." Quick show of hands: how many people remembered that Jamie Moyer pitched in Boston? Liars.

Rockies 4, Cubs 2: I've frequently wondered how often teams phone in these Thursday afternoon getaway day games. This one -- played before both teams had to get on airplanes --lasted 2:18. Hmmmm.

Nationals 10, Mets 5: It took a couple of years, but Felipe Lopez (2-4, salami, 6 RBI) finally does something to prove that Krivsky screwed up the Kearns trade. Meanwhile, Aaron Heilman (.1, 3 H, BB, 2 ER, allowed 2 inherited runs to score) may have purchased a first class ticket on the DFA express.

Indians 9, Royals 6: A Scorpion, being a very poor swimmer, asked a Turtle to carry him on his back across a river. "Are you crazy?" exclaimed the Turtle. "You'll sting me while I'm swimming and I'll drown." "My dear Turtle," laughed the Scorpion, "if I were to sting you, you would drown and I would go down with you. Now where is the logic in that?" "You're right!" cried the Turtle. "Hop on!" The Scorpion climbed aboard and halfway across the river gave the Turtle a mighty sting. As they both sank to the bottom, the Turtle resignedly said: "Do you mind if I ask you something? You said there'd be no logic in your stinging me. Then why did you do it?" "It has nothing to do with logic," the drowning Scorpion sadly replied. "It's just my character."

Indians 2, Royals 0: Brian Bannister pitched like Maddux again (6.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER) but unfortunately for him it was late-career Maddux rather than 1995 Maddux. Cliff Lee, on the other hand, pitched like 1966 Koufax (CG shoutout, 3 H, 9K). On the season Lee is 4-0, 0.28 ERA with 29K and 2 BB in 31.2 IP. Um, Wow.

Braves 7, Marlins 4: It was Chipper Jones' birthday, and he had this to say: "I always feel like I need to do something cool on my birthday," the third baseman said. "Hit a homer or have three hits. I would have taken either one, to be honest. Today, I got 'em both. It was awesome." Chipper Jones on his birthday:

2008: 3-3, HR, RBI
2007: 1-6, 2B
2006: on the DL
2005: 1-2, 2 BB
2004: on the DL
2003: 1-4
2002: 2-3, RBI
2001: 2-5, 2 HR, 3 RBI
2000: day off
1999: 1-5
1998: 4-5, 2B, 3 R, RBI
1997: day off
1996:4-5, 2B, HR, 2 RBI
1995: season hadn't started yet due to players' strike.

9 comments:

TC said...

Cliff Lee's ERA+ sits at 1563. I love April stats.

tadthebad said...

Not quite appropriate for the "God, I love baseball" segment, but how about Joel Pineiro's "kick-save and beauty" last night? To kick the ball is one thing. To kick the ball to yourself, snag it out of mid-air and complete the throw to first in time to make the out? Simply fantastic, and the play of the year so far for me.

Craig Calcaterra said...

That was fantastic, wasn't it? I didn't see it until I was on the treadmill this morning, but it is up there with one of the more amazing plays I've seen in recent years.

Anonymous said...

[Raises hand]

I remember Moyer here in Boston. He was passably decent for the few months he was here in 1996, getting lots of run support for a 7-1 record despite the 4.50 ERA. But the Sox were dead and going nowhere, so they traded him to the Mariners for Darren Bragg, who quickly gained a lot of fans for his habit of being so out of position on liners that he'd crash to the warning track spectacularly as he made last-second diving catches.

Mr Lomez said...

The Turtle and the Scorpion? C'mon.

Have you been watching Gilmore Girls, Mr.Shyster?

Me neither.

Craig Calcaterra said...

Nah. The first time I ever heard it was in some Orson Welles movie.

Not, um, that I am entirely unfamiliar with Gilmore Girls.

What?

Mr Lomez said...

That very parable, word for word, was used in an episode of the Gilmore Girls that aired on Tuesday night.

I guess I should explain that in exchange for watching 6 hours of baseball every day, I occasionally have to watch shows like Gilmore Girls, One Tree Hill...etc., "and like it."

I know I'm not alone on this. In fact I wonder what other remunerations must be paid by other like situated co-habitating baseball junkies.

Anonymous said...

APBA Guy-

I hate to digress from the Gilmore Girls, but I called my brother who lives in Orlando to ask about the Tampa dray during their 3 game stint. Turns out the Disney stadium has a listed capacity of 9,000 (with picnic area for more) and the Rays drew around 8,800 per game. Not bad, considering Kissimmee isn't that close to the family (East) side of Orlando, their were no promotions for the games (no Little League team nite, etc), and traffic on I-4 for evening weekday games is hellacious.

Ethan said...

Chipper!

The dude is batting .513 (19/37) on his birthday across a decade+. Don't tell me, ever, that psychology doesn't matter.

Anyone up for a deep statistical troll of the birthday (and anniversary, for the bold) stats of other major leaguers? It could be some serious fodder for the behavioral economics / freakonomics crowd.