Kennedy makes his case; Charleston’s offense explodes
By · CommentsBrian Foley at The College Baseball Blog ran down the Eastern Division pitchers he saw last weekend at the Cape Cod League All-Star Game. Check it out, most of those guys are going to premium draft picks next year.
Triple-A Scranton (5-2 win over Pawtucket)
Brett Gardner: 0 for 5
Berne Castro: 3 for 5, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 CS
Matt Carson: 2 for 5, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 2 K, 1 SB – another year, another .800+ OPS
Juan Miranda: 2 for 4, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
Cody Ransom: 0 for 3, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K – 1 for his last 20 (.050)
Ben Broussard: 2 for 5, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 K
Chris Stewart: 0 for 2, 2 BB, 1 K – picked a runner off first with a snap throw
Eric Duncan: 0 for 4, 2 K
Chris Basak: 1 for 3, 1 R
IPK: 7 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 1 HB, 5-9 GB/FB – 67 of 96 pitches were strikes (69.7%) … he’s ready to take a spot from Ponson/Rasner
Scott Patterson: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
ByIn the bottom of the eighth with two outs and the bases loaded, Edwar Ramirez remained in the game to face Mark Teixeira. Yankee fans all over raised a collective eyebrow as Mariano Rivera sat in the bullpen. Now, we learn that he’s simply going through his routine August injury period. Rivera is day-to-day with back spasms. The future Hall of Famer says he first felt the pain after losing Friday’s game and couldn’t get loose before the game today. He along with the rest of us hopes to get back on the field tomorrow. · (20) ·
ByWhile the Yanks managed to win a game despite their pitchers’ best efforts, the Tigers weren’t so lucky, and the Yanks were the ones to pay the price. Heading into the eighth with a 3-1 lead, the Tigers called upon Kyle Farnsworth to shut down the Rays. Well, six batters later, the Rays had scored three runs on home runs by Eric Hinske and B.J. Upton, and two innings later, Tampa walked away a winner. So there you go; Krazy Kyle had that meltdown we’ve all been waiting for, and it’s impacting the Yanks’ playoff chances. · (44) ·
Game 111: I hate Brett Favre
By · CommentsMan, just freaking stay retired. I can’t sit down and watch 30 minutes worth of SportsCenter over a bowl of cereal these days without hearing some nonsense about how he’s going to be reinstated, how he’s working out at a high school field, how the Pack don’t want to trade him within the division; the stupidest, most unimportant and uninteresting details possible. It’s ridiculous, and ESPN ate it right up. Props go out to the Low-A Augusta Green Jackets for having a “Brett Favre flip-flop night” promotion.
As for the Yanks, they’re are still 10-5 since the break despite their recent slump, and they’ve picked up three big games in the Wildcard chase, leaving them 2.5 GB of Boston. Division titles are nice, but the MLB playoffs have turned into the NCAA Tournament – just get in and we’ll figure it out then. Four of the last 10 World Series winners have been WC teams, and 9 WC teams have played in the Fall Classic since 1997. Just get in.
Darrell Rasner has new battery mate today, even though he’s been most successful with the recently DFA’ed Chad Moeller behind the dish (4-3, 4.38 ERA with Moeller; 2-5, 6.87 ERA with everyone else). Maybe Pudge can squeeze the best out of Ras like he did Ponson the other night. Halos’ starter John Lackey threw a near no-hitter in Fenway his last time out, but he does have a 6.06 ERA and .825 OPS against in his last 5 starts, Fenway outing included.
1. Damon, DH
2. Jeter, SS
3. Abreu, RF
4. A-Rod, 3B
5. Giambi, 1B
6. X(BH) Nady, LF
7. Betemit, 2B
8. Pudge, C
9. Melky, CF
And on the mound, the Nightmare from Nevada, Darrell Rasner.
Notes: Cano’s hand is still sore, so he’ll get another day off … the Yanks head off on a 10-day road trip after the game today, going from Texas to Anaheim to Minneapolis with no off-days … after today, the Yanks will play 16 of their next 19 games on the road …
ByDavid Wells, a reluctant retiree, made his Old Timers’ Day debut yesterday afternoon, and the media was on hand to check in with the outspoken southpaw. Both Newsday’s Arthur Staple and MLB.com’s Willie Bans caught up with Boomer, and they find him living life to the fullest after retirement. Who woulda guessed? · (7) ·
Hughes (and Pavano) take another step
By · CommentsTriple-A Scranton (7-3 loss to Pawtucket)
Brett Gardner & Greg Porter: both 1 for 4, 1 K – Gardner swiped a bag
Eric Duncan & Matt Carson: both 0 for 4 – E-Dunc K’ed thrice
Juan Miranda & Ben Broussard: both 1 for 3, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 BB – Miranda drove in 1 run … Broussard drove in a pair of runs & K’ed
Cody Ransom, JD Closser & Chris Basak: all 0 for 3, 1 BB – Ransom swiped a bag, scored a run & K’ed … Basak K’ed twice
Billy Traber: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HB, 3-2 GB/FB – 21 of 39 pitches were strikes (53.8%) … started in place of Alan Horne, who was shipped to Tampa to figure out what the hell is wrong with him
Steven Jackson: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 3-1 GB/FB – 21 of 39 pitches were strikes, same rate as Traber
Mark Melancon: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 HB, 2-1 GB/FB – 21 of 33 pitches were strikes (63.6%)
Phil Coke: 1.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 0-2 GB/FB
Scott Strickland: 0.2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K – he was bound to have one of these eventually
ByThe USA Olympic baseball team started its final warmup before heading off to Beijing today, taking on Team Canada in a three-game set at Durham Bulls Athletic Park in North Carolina. A’s uber-prospect Brett Anderson gave the team a strong start earlier today, but the immortal Stubby Clapp helped propel Canada to a 4-3 win in 10 innings. The second game of today’s doubleheader starts at 7pm tonight, with Trevor Cahill, another A’s uber-prospect, toeing the rubber for the red, white and blue. The game can be seen on mlb.tv.
Team USA’s roster has undergone a bit of an overhaul since I last reported it, with several players losing eligibility because of injuries and call-ups, with the most notable being Cardinals’ stud prospect Colby Rasmus, who is out with a knee injury. Baseball America previewed all eight Olympic teams like no one else can (no subscription req’d). · (0) ·
Game 110: Old Timers’ Day
By · Comments
The weather isn’t great today, but hopefully the baseball gods are merciful and allow today’s Old Timers’ Day ceremonies go as planned. With more Old Timers’ on hand than ever before, today not only honors the great Yankees of yesteryear, but will also allow us to celebrate the life of Thurman Munson, who was killed in a plane wreck 29 years ago today.
While it just won’t be the same without Scooter and Bobby, today will be a welcome pick-me up for all Yankees’ fans out there. Personally, I’m most looking forward to seeing Coney, Jimmy Key, Straw & Boomer. It’s also pretty badass that Graeme Lloyd, Aaron Small & Mike Stanley will be in the house too. Oh, and Ed Price says we might be in for a surprise too.
The festivities start at 1:30 on YES, with the game following at 3:55 on FOX. The introductions are the best part, don’t miss it.
1. Damon, DH
2. Jeter, SS
3. Abreu, RF
4. A-Rod, 3B
5. Giambi, 1B
6. X(BH) Nady, LF
7. Betemit, 2B – Cano’s got a sore hand
8. Melky, CF
9. Molina, C
And on the mound this Old Timers’ Day, the oldest current Yankee, Mike Mussina.
Notes: The Yanks played the Halos on Old Timers’ Day last year too, losing an error-filled extra innings affair … here’s Ben’s pics from that day …
ByThe good folks at Baseball Digest Daily have asked me to appear on the BDD Talk Radio show this afternoon. I’ll be on at 12:40 p.m. ET. and you can listen live here. I’ll be talking trade deadline deals and the Yanks’ sheer inability to score runs on a night when Sidney Ponson pitches seven shutout innings. · (2) ·
