Phil Hughes struck out four batters in one inning Thursday night. A.J. Burnett accomplished the feat for the Yankees last season.
Update: The Day by Day Database goes back to 1974 with batting events. This is the 51st time since then that a pitcher struck out four in an inning. It’s the fifth time this year. To give an idea of how much strikeouts increased, it only happened five times between 1974 and 1986 inclusive.
The Red Sox beat the Yankees 4-1 on Saturday afternoon, and Yale figured in the victory:
Yankees nemesis Pedro Ciriaco was 4 for 4, raising his average against New York this year to .517 (15 for 29), and Boston reliever Craig Breslow and catcher Ryan Lavarnway became what is thought to be the first all-Yale battery in the major leagues since 1883.
Lavarnway went 0 for 4, but Breslow retired both batters he faced, so it was a mixed day for the safety school. 🙂
With Texas winning 2-1 over the Blue Jays, the Yankees lead for best record in the AL is down to 1 1/2 games over the Rangers.
The White Sox made a deal with Houston for Brett Myers. Via MetsBlog.com:
According to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, the White Sox have acquired RHP Brett Myers from the Astros.
Myers is 0-4 with a 3.52 ERA in 35 games for the Houston Astros this season. He has given up 12 earned runs in 30.2 innings pitched, while walking six and striking out 20.
Update: Here’s more on the deal:
The Chicago White Sox fortified their bullpen Saturday by acquiring Houston reliever Brett Myers for minor league pitchers Matt Heidenreich and Blair Walters and a player to be named later.
Heidenreich is a control artist, while Walters has very good walk and strikeout numbers. The Astros keep stockpiling pitchers.
Sitting on Jennings Beach in Fairfield, CT. That’s the fireworks barge.
Ryan Vogelsong pitched seven shutout innings and Melky Cabrera led off the fourth inning with a home run, and that was all the Giants needed as they beat the Dodgers 2-0 on Tuesday night. The win closes the gap in the NL West to one game between the long-time rivals.
It turns out the Dodgers could survive one Matt Kemp injury but not two. During his first stint on the disabled list, the Los Angeles offense held. The team posted a .292/.351/.420 slash line and scored 64 runs in 14 games, 4.6 per game. During the second injury, the offense fell apart. Their .228/.304/.303 slash line indicates they do nothing well offensively. They’ve scored 83 runs in 25 games, 3.3 per game. The pitching is keeping it together, however. With an ERA in the mid threes, the Dodgers are 11-14 since the second Kemp disablement.
That was enough for the Giants and Diamondbacks to gain 4 1/2 games. It looks like there will be a race in the NL West after all.
Alex Rodriguez says he would pay money to see Bryce Harper play. He also says he looks forward to watching Bryce break all the records. Alex knows a little about this, since he was Bryce Harper in the middle 1990s. Of course, Alex is only A Rod, while Bryce is The Harper:
I’m fooling around with Tableau Public, and created this graph of OBP versus slugging percentage for batting qualifiers. You can hover over a dot and see who it represents, as well as his stats. I’ve marked some players on the outer edges of the field, as these players tend to be outliers. Note that they form pairs of players with similar OPS, but the lower and to the right should be batting behind the one higher and further to the left, as you want the one with the higher OBP batting in front of the one with the better power. I believe there are controls that allow you to zoom in and out. Have fun.
Liliena and Grayson Storer attended their first ML game at Fenway today.
Bryce Harper pinch hits in the ninth, walks, then scores on a Roger Beradina double to right. Harper motored around the bases and just beat the throw. The Nationals beat the Red Sox 4-3.
Ivan Nova faced eleven batters in two innings. He struck out six for all his outs, walked two, and the three balls in play against him have gone for hits, including two doubles. Nova came into the game with a .380 BABIP.
The Athletics can’t seem to keep a third baseman healthy as Brandon Inge hurt his hamstring and will likely wind up on the disabled list. Maybe it’s the curse of Miguel Tejada, as the A’s had to choose between signing Chavez and Miguel, and let Tejada go. A’s third basemen have hit .242/.321/.399 since then.
Ryan Vogelsong and Homer Bailey face off in Cincinnati as the Giants play the Reds on a day with an afternoon heavy schedule. Vogelsong got a late start this season, but is blowing away batters with 15 K in 13 1/3 innings, with just nine hits allowed. Bailey’s K rate is down, with seven walks and 10 strikeouts in 18 2/3 innings. It can be a sign of danger when a pitcher’s walks come close to equaling his strikeouts.
Ricky Nolasco and Jonathon Niese each sport 2-0 records as the Mets go for a sweep of the Marlins at Citi Field. Nolasco does a good job of keeping batters off base with a .312 OBP allowed, but three of his five extra base hits have come with men on base. Niese’s walks are up a little this year, but his home runs are down, and so is his ERA at 2.89.
Phil Humber will be happy with a win after finishing off a perfect game on Saturday. Photo: © Steven Bisig-US PRESSWIRE
Finally, Philip Humber for the first time after his perfect game as the White Sox host the Red Sox. Felix Doubront pitches for Boston. Doubront comes off an excellent start against the Yankees, and has struck out 20 batters in 16 innings. Humber humbled the Mariners on Saturday, and allowed just 157 hits in his 177 1/3 innings with the White Sox. With a low career walk rate, he was actually a good candidate to throw a perfect game.
Enjoy!
Chris Resop of the Pirates did not record an out in the ninth inning as he loaded the bases with Giants in the bottom of the ninth. Two singles and an intentional walk set up a Clint Barmes error, and the Giants walk off with a 4-3 win. Pittsburgh is now 0-5 on the road after a 2-1 start against the Phillies at home. They’ve scored seven runs in the five games, with Saturday night’s game the first time they score more than two. Andrew McCutchen and Garrett Jones are the only hitters producing during this streak, while six other hitters with at least 10 PA are batting like poor-hitting pitchers.
Jeff Niemann makes his 2012 debut, and Drew Smyly makes his major league debut as the Rays and Tigers battle for the best record in the American League. Niemann has been very good in his career at closing out innings. With two outs, opponents are batting .229 with a .303 OBP. In that same out situation with men in scoring position, those numbers are .217/.305, with only a .348 slugging percentage. Smyly rocketed through the majors, pitching well at both A and AA in 2011, actually improving at the AA level. He brings a high strikeout rate with great control to the table.
The Nationals cam move into first place in the NL East with a win as they play their home opener against the Reds. Two transplants, Mat Latos and Gio Gonzalez take the mound. Both were roughed up in their first starts of the season. Latos pitched well in Washington in his two starts there, striking out 13 and walking four in 12 2/3 innings. Gonzalez had a big positive in his first start, striking out six in 3 2/3 innings. Seven of twelve batters who put the ball in play wound up with hits, however, and three walks didn’t help matters.
The best match-up of the day pits Zack Greinke against Matt Garza in Chicago. Zack got off on the right foot in 2012 with seven shutout innings. He was in control, striking out seven and walking none. Garza owns a 3.31 ERA since joining the Cubs, versus a 3.86 mark playing for the Rays. Better walk and strikeout rates led to better results.
Enjoy!
Bryce Harper t-shirts hit Syracuse.
They can’t stop saying his name in Boston:
“MLB Approves Expanded Playoffs For 2012, Sill Lowest of Big-4 Sports” Check the table. Also, details on why now – http://t.co/jTrm7H2f — Maury Brown (@BizballMaury)
Dan Rosenheck of the Economist talks on how the draft hurt Puerto Rico, and what an international draft might do to the Dominican Republic and Venezuela.
Update: Dan’s opinions are his own, not those of his publications.
Update: Dan starts with a history of baseball trying to control player salaries.
Update: Bonus baby rules, draft, collusion.
Update: Draft hurt Puerto Rico. Must graduate high school. Puerto Rican high schools don’t have good programs. Teams also don’t sign undrafted free agents.
Update: Less money to DR players would hurt the DR economy. Baseball is a big part of GDP.
I’m sitting with Rob Neyer.
Justin Morneau hopes his concussion problems are behind him, but may leave baseball if they continue:
“I don’t think there will be a career if it’s something I’m dealing with (for the long term),” Morneau said Friday before the Twins held their first full-squad workout of spring training. “That’s the reality of the whole thing. I’m obviously not going to continue to mess around with this if it continues to be a problem.
“There comes a point where you can only torture yourself for so long. It’s something I love to do but you keep preparing and you keep being left out. That’s something that nobody wants to go through.”
It’s good that Justin is realistic about his situation. Mike Matheny stopped playing and his symptoms are rare enough that he can manage a team. Justin doesn’t want a worse situation than that.
The Yankees agreed to pay Raul Ibanez $1.1 million to serve as their left-handed designated hitter. I’m not sure why the Yankees are spending money here. Ibanez’s power fell off against right-handed pitchers in 2010, and his OBP against righties fell off last season. I’m skeptical Raul will do much to make this a championship club.
Anthony rizzo represents the big prize of the Cubs winter. Photo: Tony Medina/Icon SMI
The Chicago Cubs finished in fifth place in the NL Central in 2011 with a record of 71-91. The team finished the year decently well, going 29-26 from July 31 on. Baseball Reference posts a nice sparkline graph on each team page, and you can see the team improve not only in wins, but by reducing the number of blowout losses. Good team win big, but tend not to lose big.
The Cubs were stronger on the offensive side without being strong offensive team (hence, the blowout losses). Their squad consisted of a number of players in the one to two bWAR range. They lacked a superstar or two, however, making them an offense of supporting players. On the pitching side, Matt Garza and Sean Marshall posted seasons over two bWAR, but there just wasn’t a lot of support behind them.
The team made the following acquisitions over the winter:
The biggest move the team made was putting a whole new management team in place, from business to transactions to strategy. Notice that one of their goals was to improve the starting staff. They rid themselves of Carlos Zambrano, and brought in two veterans, Maholm and Volstad. Neither of them is a great pitcher, but they keep the ball in the park and don’t walk too many batters. They should give the Cubs enough innings to keep the bullpen from blowing up. They also brought in Sonnanstine and Travis Wood. Sonnanstine can start or relieve, while Wood was a nice prospect for the Reds at one time, and is still rather young. None of them are stars that will turn around the rotation, but they give the Cubs plenty of depth and options.
I also like the acquisitions of David DeJesus and Ian Stewart. DeJesus owns a great career OBP, and Stewart came off a season in which a wrist injury limited his playing time. Stewart is 27 years old, right at his peak, so if he’s going to have a break-out season, this is the one.
The big prize is Anthony Rizzo, who rose quickly through the minor leagues and will play 2012 as a 22 year old. He could give the Cubs a long-term solution at first base, although don’t be surprised if he takes a couple of seasons to mature into a power hitter.
Of course, Rizzo can take his time, since most of these moves were of the stop-gap variety. The new regime will get the minor league house in order first, building up talent so that when those players are ready to emerge in the big leagues, the team will have the money to fill in the missing pieces. I have no doubt this group will get the Cubs back into contention. I just wonder how long it will take. A couple of poor performances might not be so bad, as the Cubs will be able to acquire better talent in the draft. We may have a better feel for the future of the team after the June draft.
I just received this press release from ESPNPR:
ESPN Deportes brings a comprehensive highlight show of the Salon de la Fama de Beisbol Latino induction ceremony February 12 at 9 pm ET hosted by Carolina Guillen and Guillermo Celis. ESPN Deportes multiplatform coverage includes behind-the-scenes pictures of the awards ceremony, LIVE updates via Tweets and Facebook posts, and a “best moment” from each inductee.
As Masters of Ceremony, Ernesto Jerez, ESPN Deportes’ signature voice of baseball, and Luis Alfredo Alvarez will induct Tony Oliva of Cuba, Aurelio Rodriguez of Mexico, Benjamin Oglivie of Panama, Bernie Williams of Puerto Rico, Tony Pena of Dominican Republic and Manny Trillo of Venezuela as the newest members of the Latino Baseball Hall of Fame at Casa de Campo in Dominican Republic on February 11th.
The SalĂłn de la Fama de Beisbol Latino aims to institutionalize the excellence of professional Latino baseball, highlighting the greatness of those players that have significantly contributed to the growth of Latino baseball at a global scale.
Congratulations to the inductees! Aurelio Rodriguez was one of the smoothest third basemen of his era, and I’m glad to see his defense recognized.
The Rockies acquired Jeremy Guthrie from the Orioles for starter Jason Hammel and reliever Matt Lindstrom:
The final piece came together when Guthrie agreed to a contract before his arbitration hearing today. After submitting a $10.25 million request, the right-hander settled on a one-year contract close to the $8.5 million combined salaries of Hammel and Lindstrom to push the trade to the finish line. Guthrie has a home in Salt Lake City and attended Stanford.
Guthrie gets to pitch closer to home. Guthrie pitches to contract, with low walk and strikeout rates. He is not a ground ball pitcher, however, so I’m wondering how many home runs he will allow in Colorado. The Rockies will need a good defense behind him.
With Hammel, the Orioles get a bit younger in the rotation, as Jason is four years younger than Jeremy. His strikeout rate suffered a big dip in 2011, however, so he may be heading to the downside early. The pitcher to watch his Lindstrom, who improved his control in each of the last two seasons and does a good job of keeping the ball in the park. Basically, this looks to me like a short term rotation fix for the Rockies, and getting two players for the price of one for the Orioles, making their spending a little more efficient.
The Cubs send pitching prospect Andrew Cashner to the Padres for Anthony Rizzo:
The Cubs also acquired pitching prospect Zach Cates, 22, a right-hander Cubs executives Hoyer and Jason McLeod drafted in 2010 while with the Padres – paying him over-slot bonus money to sign him after signability concerns dropped the coveted pitcher to the third round. Cates went 4-10 with a 4.73 ERA last season in the Class A Midwest League, striking out 111 in 118 innings (53 walks).
The Cubs also sent outfield prospect Kyung-Min Na, 20, to the Padres in the four-player trade.
Minor League Ball has more on the prospects in the trade.
In Anthony Rizzo, Theo Epstein gets back a player he drafted while with the Red Sox, obviously someone he is comfortable putting at first base. Andrew Cashner posted a stupendous 2010 season before injuring his shoulder. He induces a low number of fly balls, and I would think that would work well at Wrigley Field.
As Rob Neyer notes, there are ripple effects to this trade, the biggest one is taking the Cubs out of the Prince Fielder derby. I also assume the Padres think Kyle Blanks is healthy, and this opens up first base for him.
SportDayDFW wants reader input on what Yu Darvish should see while he’s visiting the area. I was going to suggest a Cowboys playoff game. 🙂
It appears the Mets are about to trade Angel Pagan to the Giants for Andres Torres and reliever Ramon Ramirez:
The trade makes a ton of sense for the Mets.
In Torres, they are getting a hitter just a year removed from posting an OPS+ of 122 while playing an extremely good center field. His offense dropped precipitously in 2011, just like Pagan’s, but Torres’ defense remained stellar. And after making just $2.2 million last year, he’ll probably check in around $3 million in arbitration; Pagan will get more like $5 million.
So it isn’t clear that Pagan is a better bet than Torres in 2012, both come with one-year commitments, and Torres is much cheaper.
Pagan is four years younger in terms of seasonal age, so his upside is higher than Torres, who will play 2012 as a 34 year old. Ramirez is a solid pitcher out of the pen. This strikes me as a stop-gap deal, one to keep the roster full cheaply while Sandy Alderson waits for the Mets owners to get their financial house in order.
Wahoo’s on First posts a simple WAR calculator for hitters.
It appears that Greg Maddux is headed to a front office job with the Texas Rangers:
After two seasons as a special assistant to the general manager, Greg Maddux is leaving the Cubs, according to major league sources. He soon may be named to a similar position with the Texas Rangers, joining his older brother Mike.
Mike Maddux, who has been the Rangers’ pitching coach for three seasons, interviewed for the Cubs’ managerial position and appeared to be a frontrunner before pulling his name out of consideration on Nov. 16. The Cubs did a hasty second interview with Dale Sveum, whom they agreed to terms with on Nov. 17.
I thought the pull would be the other way, with Mike joining the Cubs for the promotion and to join forces with his brother. Now the Rangers will have two of the great pitchers of consecutive generations helping to run the team.