Recapping Wednesday, 9/14/11: Latecomer to the shutout party
Posted by John Autin on September 15, 2011
-- If they hadn't been in Houston, you could almost believe the Phillies had stage-managed their playoff-berth clincher. In winning the series finale, 1-0, Roy Halladay -- who began this season with 19 career shutouts (6 more than any other active pitcher) -- became the 49th pitcher this year (and just the 2nd Phillie) with a CG shutout. On a getaway day, with an afternoon home game Thursday, Doc allowed 6 singles and a walk, with 86 strikes and just 28 balls.
- It was the 4th time in MLB this year that each team pitched 9 innings and threw no more than 114 pitches; Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels have also featured in such games.
- It was the 3rd 1-0 win for the Phils this year; the other 2 were started by ... Vance Worley.
- Bud Norris is the 5th pitcher with at least two 1-0 losses this year while going at least 7 IP; Tim Lincecum (who won today) leads that sad parade with 3 such losses.
- Shane Victorino, the Phils' best position player this year, scored the lone run after opening the game with a double, the only extra-base hit of the contest.
-- Braves 4, Marlins 1: Channeling Billy the Kid and the Earl of Baltimore within the same inning, Atlanta tied the Marlins on Martin Prado's bunt single in the 7th, then effectively won it with a 3-run HR by Alex Gonzalez (click for video definition of a hanging slider), and the usual 3 scoreless from the Zero Heroes O'Flaherty, Venters and Kimbrel (who retained his share of the MLB saves lead).
- St. Louis stayed 4 losses back in the wild-card chase, winning a 3-2 nail-biter in Pittsburgh. Yadier Molina, enjoying his best offensive season, had the biggest hit, a 2-run double. Milwaukee's 6-2 loss to Colorado cut the division gap to 5 losses; the Brewers have lost 6 of 8 and went 2-4 on their penultimate homestand. But their last 12 games are against sub-.500 teams.
-- Toronto 5, Boston 4: The Blue Jays won without an extra-base hit for the first time since April 19, 2009; they had lost their last 21 games when held to singles (or less). Without an extra-base hit, the Jays have won just half as often as all other AL teams since 2009: Toronto is 2-21/.087; other AL teams are 72-343/.173.
- Tampa's loss in Baltimore kept Boston from any pain in the standings, but Adrian Gonzalez left the game with a tight calf, David Ortiz missed his 2nd straight game with back spasms, and their chances of going far in the postseason look slimmer all the time. Daniel Bard had preserved 23 straight leads coming into September, but has surrendered all 3 leads this month. Today he lost his 3rd straight appearance -- 2 of them blowups against Toronto -- giving up 3 runs and the lead in the 8th after walking the first 2 men on 9 pitches and later throwing away a sac bunt; the last time he faced the Jays, he walked in 2 runs to tie the game.
- The Red Sox and Rays open their 4-game showdown Thursday in Fenway, with Jeremy Hellickson (ROY candidate) facing Kyle Weiland (seeking his 1st MLB win). Tampa leads the season series, 9-5, winning their last 5 by a combined score of 32-10.
- The debut of Tampa's latest pitching phenom, Matt Moore, started smoothly (4 straight outs in relief) but hit the rocks on a 2-run Matt Wieters HR that put the O's up 4 in the 8th. In 300 IP over the past 2 years in the minors, Moore fanned 418 (200+ each year) and walked 107.
-- With their 11-game win streak all but dead, Detroit came up with 3 in the 9th, tying the game on a 2-run bomb by Alex Avila, who was pinch-hitting for a pinch-hitter and got his 1st PH AB this year.
- Ryan Raburn also pinch-homered in the 9th. It's the 1st time since August 11, 1968 that Detroit got 2 pinch-hit HRs in the same game. (In the '68 game, Gates Brown won it in the 14th with his 2nd walk-off pinch-HR of the year; the other came in his very first AB of what would become one of the greatest years ever by a full-time bench player.)
- As a further sign of what a roll the Tigers are on, they intentionally walked Paul Konerko in the last of the 9th with 1 out and Juan Pierre on 2nd as the winning run, saw Pierre swipe 3rd -- then got a DP grounder from A.J. Pierzynski to end the threat.
- Naturally, Detroit scored in the 10th, then brought in Jose (Automatic for the People) Valverde to fan 3 straight for his 44th save in as many tries.
- OK, this is just for fun ... The Tigers have gone 22-4 since a 6-5 loss to Minnesota that ended when Raburn and Avila went down with the tying run on base. They have 13 games left. If they were to win out (hey, I said "just for fun"!), they would not only set a MLB record* with 25 straight wins and finish with exactly 100, but would best the famous 35-5 stretch that started their last championship season. And their remaining schedule is cookie-filled: 4 in Oakland, 2 in KC, 4 with the O's and 3 with Cleveland.
-- Gerardo Parra continues to be the magnetic focus of the D-backs-Dodgers series. After driving in 4 the opener, Parra got buzzed by Hong-Chih Kuo the next night before hitting a game-tying HR that he admired as if it were the Mona Lisa; in the 10th, he singled and scored the go-ahead run when Javy Guerra lost the strike zone after an intentional walk, issuing 2 more 4-pitch walks.
- Tonight, Parra doubled for the only hit off Clayton Kershaw through 5 innings; and when you add it all up -- Parra's series line of 9-3-6-5/HR/2 doubles/SB, Kershaw's jawing at Parra the night before -- what happened next was no surprise: Kershaw hit Parra with an 0-1 pitch leading off the 6th (just The Claw's 3rd HBP this year) and got tossed. Rookie Josh Lindblom came in and struck out the side and finished with 5 Ks in 2 IP.
- It marked the 1st time since May 18 that Kershaw lasted less than 6 IP, but he's still in line for his 19th win.
-- In SF's 3-1 win, Carlos Beltran hit 2 HRs, giving him 300 for his career, and 20 for the year -- more than in his injury-marred 2009-10 combined. In 31 games for the Giants, Beltran is batting .325 with 5 HRs and 4 triples; subtracting the HRs, he's reached base safely 41 times, but scored just 5 runs.
[Sorry, gang -- too much West Coast action to cover 'em all tonight.]
__________
* The "no ties" win streak record is 21 straight wins, by the 1935 Cubs, who also had an 11-gamer. (And guess who beat them in the World Series?)
September 15th, 2011 at 1:24 am
"They have 13 games left. If they were to win out (hey, I said "just for fun"!), they would ... best the famous 35-5 stretch that started their last championship season."
For the Tigers' sake, let's hope they don't do that. After their 35-5 start in 1984, they went 4-8. Wouldn't last long in the post-season playing like that.
They're probably better served to give their guys a bit of rest (just a bit), so they're both "fresh" (as fresh as can be after a 6-month season) and still sharp when the playoffs start.
September 15th, 2011 at 3:09 am
Jose Bautista picked up a run and two more walks today, extending his 100/100/100/1.000 season, as John communicated in yesterday's recap.
That's 100 or more runs, walks and RBI, and OPS over 1.000. Bautista is the 45th players since 1901 to record such a season. Twenty-four have done it only once, and just nine have 4 or more such seasons.
Babe Ruth (of course) leads the way with 11 seasons, but which player has the most consecutive 100/100/100/1.000 seasons? Also, only one player (not Ruth) has a 150/150/150/1.000 season. Who is he? No peeking.
September 15th, 2011 at 3:15 am
A few comments on the Parra dealie-o. First off, couldn't help but notice Parra grabbing some stones after the buzz. I like it, says what needs saying perfectly. Second, absolutely bush, staring at your HR like that. Get your punk self around the bases. You did your job, now let's move on. Third... are the guys announcing for Arizona fresh off of watching a rodeo or something? They're dancing around screaming yee-haw and passing moonshine around. Can you imagine Vin Scully talking like that? Seriously, grow up.
September 15th, 2011 at 3:52 am
I generally dislike double standards, but for Kershaw, I was seriously thinking "You're going to toss him while he's throwing a one-hitter in the middle of a neck-in-neck Cy Young race?" I think an umpire better have warned the pitcher in that game and be damn sure the hit was intentional if he's going to toss a pitcher like Clayton Kershaw.
September 15th, 2011 at 6:09 am
Thanks for doing these recaps, John. This is great stuff!
September 15th, 2011 at 7:10 am
agree with 5:)
September 15th, 2011 at 7:38 am
@2 - I'll guess Frank Thomas, and Lou Gehrig...Thomas because I figure he did that a few times, and Gehrig because not many guys got 150 RBIs or 150 Runs in a year at all, and he did it a lot.
September 15th, 2011 at 8:05 am
@2
150/150/150
I couldn't guess on my first 2 tries. So I looked up the highest walks totals ever (because 150 walks is a short list) list and then instantly knew. What a season! 150 runs on the dot to make this exclusive club.
September 15th, 2011 at 8:35 am
@1...especially Alex Avila...Leyland is going to kill that guy.
September 15th, 2011 at 9:02 am
First off, thank you Bill Welke for helping me beat my main rival in my fantasy league last night. One more inning from Kershaw with the way he was throwing and I'd have been done for...
Second, in response to #4, what is Kershaw doing settling scores while throwing a one hitter in the middle of a neck and neck Cy Young race? I fully stand by any ump who ejects a pitcher with no warning who he is absolutely certain is throwing at a player with the intention of plunking them... the Dodgers need to find another way to send a message to Parra if they don't want to risk having their ace tossed from a game. Maybe baseball needs the equivalent of the hockey goon so the stars can worry about playing the game and not having to play the role of the hitman.... or better yet, quit worrying about the unwritten rules and just play the damn game!
Strike Parra out and bust a move on the mound, that'll teach him!
September 15th, 2011 at 9:31 am
@5,6
Couldn't agree more. These are great.
September 15th, 2011 at 9:38 am
I think they ought to dump the entire hit the batter rule. If you want a strong penalty, automatic ejection if you hit someone above the shoulders, just like high sticking in hockey. But trying to divine intent and the warning system doesn't really cut it. Teams let their pitchers take the first shot, then both sides are warned. Or they aren't. John Lackey has hit 19 batters this year in a 149 innings. AJ hit 19 in 186 innings last year. Neither of these guys have terrific control, but you can't tell me these numbers are just coincidences.
September 15th, 2011 at 10:07 am
Here's a random tid-bit. Miguel Cabrera could join the 200-100 club this season, as in 200 hits and 100 walks. He sits at 177 hits and 98 walks with 13 games left to play. What chance do you give him?
September 15th, 2011 at 10:17 am
@2
I won't give away the answer, because it's really easy to look up, especially when you take the hint from @8. But, I do have to say that a big Honorable Mention should go to Big Mac, who came 3 RBI short of doing 150/150/150/1.000 in 1998.
September 15th, 2011 at 10:29 am
Thanks for the compliments, gang. It's just what I needed to stay fresh for the stretch run!
Speaking of staying fresh ... No doubt that Avila's getting a workout, starting 35 of their last 38 games behind the plate. But if it's wearing him down, you'd have a hard time proving it by his performance: .339 BA/1.055 OPS in that stretch.
September 15th, 2011 at 10:35 am
More Avila ... Besides all the other markers of his great year, he's 8th in the AL in Win Probability Added (with Miggy #2 and V-Mart #11).
One big surprise in the top-10:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/play-index/share.cgi?id=z3acj
September 15th, 2011 at 10:36 am
@13...zero.
September 15th, 2011 at 10:44 am
McGwire scored "only" 130 runs in '98, not 150. Since Gehrig scored 167 in 1936 there have been only 3 times 150 was reached. I did not remember the most recent, and would not have guessed it given several chances.
September 15th, 2011 at 10:54 am
@17 -- Well, he did have 23 hits in 13 games from Aug. 26-Sept. 7. But I agree that it's quite unlikely going forward, due to all the walks he draws-- he's about to reach 100 for the first time -- plus he'll likely rest a bit.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.cgi?id=cabremi01&t=b&year=
September 15th, 2011 at 11:08 am
@18
Dykstra in '93, maybe?
September 15th, 2011 at 11:13 am
Any thoughts on my attempt to nickname Atlanta's relief trio the Zero Heroes? 🙂
The only existing nickname I could find for them is O'Ventbrel, which I would politely describe as infelicitous. (OK, it's dreadful.)
September 15th, 2011 at 11:21 am
@2/ Doug -
A) most consecutive 100/100/100/1.000 seasons:
Frank Thomas,1991-1998 (he reached 100 in those three categories a total of only six times the rest of his career). OK, I admit I peaked for that one, I though it was Gehrig.
B) 150/150/150/1.000 season:
Ted Williams,1949
Ruth came really close only in 1921.
@18/ Kds - Jeff Bagwell, 152 in 2000
This got about 1% as much attention (if that) as the 1998 Sosa/McGwire HR race, and much less attention than players getting 300 wins or 3,000 hits lately. When Rickey Henderson broke the career Runs Scored record, it did get some attention, but nothing like the media coverage of that 1998 HR race. Speculation why?
September 15th, 2011 at 12:09 pm
@22, Lawrence -- Do we need any more evidence of the low regard for batter Runs? Just look at the 1985 AL MVP vote.
September 15th, 2011 at 12:16 pm
Any thoughts on my attempt to nickname Atlanta's relief trio the Zero Heroes?
Wait, you came up with that yourself, John? I figured someone in the Atlanta press had coined the term, and you were adding it for a bit of local color. Well done indeed!
O'Ventbrel . . . infelicitous . . . dreadful.
[*gags*] Hideous. Sounds like a low-end flatulence treatment. They all throw hard — you could call 'em the Windbreakers. (-;þ
September 15th, 2011 at 12:53 pm
@23/ John Autin "@22, Lawrence -- Do we need any more evidence of the low regard for batter Runs? Just look at the 1985 AL MVP vote."
Actually, John, to play devil's advocate - Rickey Henderson in 1985 got a lot of media attention for his feat of scoring as many/more runs than games played in a full season (146 R/143 G), for the first time since Joe Dimaggio in 1937. At the All-Star break Rickey was about +10 in runs vs.games.
Still, the BBWAA gave the MVP to the guy driving him in, I'd have given it to Brett. Both Henderson and Brett were more deserving than Mattingly.
September 15th, 2011 at 1:07 pm
@25, Lawrence -- My recollection is that Mattingly got more local and national attention for his RBI than Rickey for his Runs, during the season. But I respect your view of that season, too.
We could also look at the relative esteem for batter Runs vs Hits or BA -- e.g., Tony Gwynn is in the HOF and Tim Raines is not, even though Raines got on base more times and scored significantly more Runs than Gwynn.
September 15th, 2011 at 1:20 pm
@7, @22 have the correct quiz answers.
Frank Thomas had 5 straight 100/100/100/1.000 seasons from 1993-97. That is particularly remarkable since two of those seasons were strike-shortened. Lou Gehrig gets an honorable mention for 8 seasons out of 9 from 1929-37, missing only in 1933.
Ted Williams in 1949 has the sole 150/150/150/1.000 season. The last part of that is pretty superfluous - hard to conceive of a 150/150/150 season that wasn't a 1.000 OPS.
September 15th, 2011 at 1:56 pm
@26/ John A. - You are correct in that Mattingly _did_ get more attention for having the most RBI in the AL since Ted Williams in 1949, but Rickey also got a lot of coverage of his run-scoring feats in 1985.
Looking over the B_R leaderboards for Runs Scored, the most notable HOF omissions of eligible candidates are:
CAREER:
- R. Palmeiro (1643) (PEDs)
- George Van Haltren (1643)
- Jimmy Ryan (1642)
- Bill Dahlen (1590)
if you don't wish to consider 19th century players -
- Tim Raines (1571)
- Jeff Bagwell (1517)
- Dwight Evans (1470)
SINGLE SEASON:
- Tom Brown (177)
- Tip O'Neill (167)
- Arlie Latham (163)
again, if you don't wish to consider 19th century players -
- Woody English (152)
- Lefty O'Doul (152)
in 1930 and 1929, no surprise...
LEAGUE LEADERS:
- George Burns/NY Giants - five times
- Ross Barnes - four times (including three in the NA)
- Harry Stovey - three times (all in the AA )
- Jeff Bagwell - three times
Bill Dahlen should've been chosen by the Vet's decades ago; Van Haltren and Ryan have a decent Vets case but not much of a chance. Raines and Bagwell are on the ballot, with Bagwell debuting with a good %.
The "sleeper" name was George Burns, leadoff hitter for the Giants. He didn't have a long career (1853 G), but as a good defensive OFer with an excellent OBA and some XBHs, he's got a very nice peak. There's already too many guys from his era in the HOF, but he's as good or better than several HOF OFers.
Leadoff guys just don't get much HOF respect.
September 15th, 2011 at 2:02 pm
@10
Based on where that pitch went and Kershaw's reaction I really don't think he meant to hit him. I think he probably meant to buzz him or something.
September 15th, 2011 at 2:12 pm
@28, Lawrence -- I think George Burns didn't make the HOF because they weren't entirely sure which George Burns he was -- George Burns (1911-25) the Giants OF who led the league in Runs 5 times in 7 years (and ditto in Walks), or George Burns (1914-29) the DET/CLE 1B who won the 1926 AL MVP and hit 64 doubles that year.
(I'm kidding ... mostly.)
September 15th, 2011 at 2:35 pm
@2, Miguel Cabrera is on verge of getting there also. He's at 102/97/98/.998 (R/RBI/BB) through Wednesday.
September 15th, 2011 at 2:41 pm
@30/ John A. - George Burns versus George Burns -
Yeah, that confuses me too, although I suppose if I were a serious fan back then, I could easily tell the two apart. I suppose in a couple generations, baseball fans will be confusing the two Pudges, wondering how two HOF catchers got the same nickname.
I'd certainly take George Burns the Giant for HOF consideration over Chick Hafey, Lloyd Waner, Freddie Lindstrom, Earl Combs, George Kelly, Heine Manush for starters.
September 15th, 2011 at 3:35 pm
I've always known there were two good George Burnses around the same time and never made the effort to learn who is who and what their differences are.
On RBI vs. R, it drives me mad that on any walk-off play, the guy who gets the RBI, no matter how feeble, is the one who will get chased and mobbed by his teammates. You could see a guy rip a basehit, catch the outfielder loafing and take second, steal third, and then score with a nifty hookslide when tagging up after a pop-up barely into the shallow outfield. The guy who dinked the popup (no doubt after lunging at a 2-0 pitch a foot off the plate) would be the "hero." The guy who scored only did 95% of the work.
September 15th, 2011 at 3:48 pm
@34/ Jonny Twisto -
In 1946 Enos Slaughter was celebrated for scoring the winning run of the World Series from first base on a double (and don't get me started on Johnny Pesky allegedly holding the ball forever).
In 1995 Ken Griffey Jr. got a lot of credit for scoring the winning run from first on a double, to beat the Yankees in the deciding ALDS game. It's often cited in game highlights of his career (as is "Slaughter's Mad Dash).
But yes in general, writers usually give the lion's share of the credit to the player who gets the RBI, as opposed to the guy who actually scores the run.
September 15th, 2011 at 4:29 pm
I'd like to ask a small favor of the B-R community:
Compare the 9/14 Daily Roundup on "You Can't Predict Baseball" with mine above. I suspect that they used my stuff without giving any credit, and I think that's uncool -- they are part of the ESPN SweetSpot network.
http://www.youcantpredictbaseball.com/
Some of the overlap could easily be coincidence, but these 3 items stick in my craw:
-- Daniel Bard holding 23 straight leads "coming into September" -- they use the exact same phrase -- but blowing all his leads this month.
-- Toronto winning without an XBH for the first time since April 2009.
-- Tigers' first game since 1968 with 2 pinch-hit HRs.
Those last 2 items, I haven't found anywhere else online -- not in ESPN’s game story, nor MLB’s.
I feel ripped off. I know it's just information, and once I put it out there it's in the public domain. But I think it's rude to use that much of my stuff without credit -- which is all I get out of this endeavor, BTW.
So, what do you think? I'm waiting for second opinions before I contact them.
Thanks.
September 15th, 2011 at 7:52 pm
I wonder how many times there have been 1-0 games won by the road team in which the only run of the game was scored with nobody out in the top of the first inning. The crowd is just settling in, and already, there's scoring. And then there's no more scoring. That's what happened in the Phillies-Astros game yesterday.
September 15th, 2011 at 8:02 pm
of the B-R community
I believe you mean, "of my Brefren."
I'm gonna make this catch on!
September 15th, 2011 at 8:13 pm
@35
John, it may be an ESPN affiliate, but it is also a crappy-looking wordpress site. You are writing for the very best baseball website. Of course people are coming here to mine for information.
I'm a writer, too, and if someone stole from me I'd feel entitled to pluck out their eye. I hear you about feeling ripped off, but if YCPB did in fact grab that data from this here blog I think you have to keep in perspective that it was only that - data. Not something editorial or prosaic.
If someone copies one of your Braves' bullpen nicknames w/o giving due, well then you have a beef.
September 15th, 2011 at 8:58 pm
@38, Voomo -- I see your point. I'm not gonna beat the point to death; but, FWIW, the mere selection of what to mention is an editorial act, no matter the wording. And I wouldn't be as irked if factlets that I generated were used in a different context than my own; but it's galling to see someone else's "daily roundup" that seems to be half a repetition of my own.
OK, enough of that.
P.S. "Zero Heroes" is a registered trademark of Johnny Anchor Enterprises 🙂
September 15th, 2011 at 10:10 pm
JA, I'm inclined to agree with you. I mean, also citing that Roy Halladay is the 49th pitcher to throw SHO this season? It's a pretty weird thing to write. (Not knocking you at all, it's mildly interesting, it just doesn't seem likely that two people with major baseball blogs would independently look that up and decide to share it.)
Unfortunately, once they pay damages to John Sterling, there won't be anything left for you.
September 16th, 2011 at 12:21 am
@38
Sure, agreed.
John I'm saying that you are fantastic at this, this site is fantastic, and that your recaps have in a short amount of time become the standard that others are now copying and yes, stealing from.
You can tear your hair out, or, you can enjoy the compliment and trust that with continued good work recognition and proper compensation will come your way.
September 16th, 2011 at 12:50 am
Thanks, Voomo & JT. I guess I was mostly looking for confirmation that the similarities were a little too strong to be pure coincidence; I don't want to think I'm paranoid.
And Voomo, rest easy -- I'm far too vain about my hair to aid the enemy's advance along the Costanza Perimeter. 🙂
September 16th, 2011 at 12:50 am
@40
Hey JT, regarding that discussion last week about loading the bases with an intentional walk... 1996 World Series, game four.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/ATL/ATL199610230.shtml
10th inning.
They walk Bernie Williams.
Andy Fox is up next. Uhhh, no. How about a pinch-walk from a student of the Splinter, the eater of the chicken, the last sob you want to face in that situation... Wade Boggs.
Yanx win. Tie the series.
They pitch to Bernie there and get him out, and who knows, maybe no 'dynasty.'
Fun fact: Ruben Sierra was the highest paid Yankee that year.
September 16th, 2011 at 2:11 am
Some say Bobby Cox wasn't a great in-game strategic manager, and perhaps that's why he wasn't more successful in the postseason. I have no idea. He did have a lefty (Avery) in the game, so it doesn't appear he was caught unprepared for Boggs to pinch hit. Who knows what might have happened otherwise. There are always tons of moments which one can point to.
I think Sierra being the highest paid Yankee is the most interesting thing I've learned tonight.
Unless it's that Wetteland (WS MVP) did not start the bottom of the 9th. Graeme Lloyd (who was already in the game) did, vs the lefty Klesko. Very surprising.
I didn't see this game. I was busy delivering food.
September 16th, 2011 at 11:28 am
I didnt see the game either.
I was on baseball strike from 1994.08.12 until the beginning of 1998.