Saturday 9/24/11: Night of the Living Dead Wild-Cards
Posted by John Autin on September 25, 2011
Every time we think they're out, the leaders pull them back in....
Both wild-card races tightened up, as the quarry went down meekly and the pursuers got gift-wrapped victories. Atlanta leads St. Louis by 2 games, while Boston is 1.5 up on Tampa; the BoSox have 5 games left (including a Sunday doubleheader in New York), the rest have 4 remaining.
-- Cardinals 2, Cubs 1: One strike from closing out a 1-0 win that would have further weakened the Cards' wild-card odds, Carlos Marmol lost control as only he can. With a man on 3rd and 2 out, Marmol walked the unlikely trio of Yadier Molina, Skip Schumacher and Ryan Theriot to force in the tying run, then threw a wild pitch to let in the winner.
- Cardiac Cards: Their last 5 games have all turned in the winning team's last 2 innings at bat, with 3 of the 5 going their way.
- Go figure: Theriot drew 4 bases-loaded walks in 17 opportunities in 2008, then none in his next 47 chances.
-- Rays 6, Blue Jays 2: A pair of errors at SS by jack-of-all-gloves Mike McCoy set up 5 unearned runs off Ricky Romero, capped by Johnny Damon's 3-run HR in the 8th; the Caveman also drove in the tying run with a bloop double in the last of the 1st. September call-up Alex Torres earned his first career win with 5 shutout innings in relief of Jeff Niemann, who left after the opening stanza.
- Tampa will send Wade Davis against Brett Cecil on Sunday. Davis has 3 Quality Starts against Toronto this year, but got manhandled in his last game against the Jays and in his most recent start, against the Yankees.
- Despite the loss, Romero finished the year with career bests of 15 wins, a 2.92 ERA, 225 IP and 178 strikeouts.
-- Yankees 9, Red Sox 1: It started so well for Boston. Jon Lester had a 6-1 career mark in the Bronx, winning his last 4 starts there. Jacoby Ellsbury singled leading off the game, then bagged his 38th steal as the count reached 3-1 on Carl Crawford. But Crawford popped out on a payoff pitch, and Ellsbury would be get no further. In their 2nd, the Yanks nickel-and-dimed Lester for 3 runs on 4 singles and a walk, then broke it open with one swing.
Derek Jeter, who had lined out on Lester's first pitch of the game, again put the first serve in play, driving a belt-high, outer-half fastball over the fence in RF for his 240th career HR, a 3-run shot that gave NY a commanding 6-0 lead. Both teams finished with 9 hits, but the Yankees went 5 for 6 with RISP, Boston just 1-7.
Lester has lost 3 straight starts for just the 2nd time in his career. The September ERA for Boston's starting pitchers is now 7.33, with 3 Quality Starts in 22 games. The average start has lasted 4-2/3 IP.
- Are the Sox hitters pressing? Normally one of the most patient attacks, they drew 1 walk today and 6 total in their last 4 losses. For the year, they're 2nd in MLB at 3.6 BB/G.
- Jeter had just 1 HR in his prior 48 games, but he hit .337 in that span. He has 73 HRs to RF, his favorite target. He'd never had an extra-base hit off Lester, but was 16 for 48 before the HR. He can post his 12th .300 season with a finish of 6 for 14 or better.
- Jesus Montero went 4-2-3-4 with an opposite-field HR and a double off the CF fence. He's hitting .346/1.049, with 4 HRs and 12 RBI in 52 PAs.
- The Yankees took the series opener without using Rafael Soriano, David Robertson or Mariano Rivera. Each has had at least 3 days' rest going into the twin-bill.
- Do the math: By Sunday evening -- or early Monday, given the normal pace of Yankees-Red Sox games -- the AL wild card race could be tied.
-- Nationals 4, Braves 1: Washington managed just 6 singles, but took advantage of Brandon Beachy's 4 walks and 2 wild pitches to take a 4-0 lead after 4 innings, and they were never threatened. Facing Chien-Ming Wang for the 3rd time in less than 2 months, Atlanta got only one runner past 1st base except for Freddie Freeman's solo HR. With 1 out in the 8th and the tying run at bat against the HR-prone Tyler Clippard, Michael Bourn was thrown out trying to steal 2nd, and the rally fizzled.
- Base thieves are just 3 for 8 against Clippard this year.
- Wang drove in the Nats' last run with a single inside 1st base, his first hit and RBI in the majors after an 0 for 32 start. He did not injure himself running the bases.
- Ivan Rodriguez started for the first time since July 4, going 1 for 2 (hit # 2,843) with a walk, and throwing out both men who tried to steal. He's now thrown out 52% this year (13 of 25), and 46% for his career. His 2,426 games caught are exactly 200 more than Carlton Fisk, the former record-holder.
- Washington has won 11 of 14, and a win Sunday would split the season set with Atlanta and put them at .500 against the NL playoff teams. They went 10-8 against Philly, 3-3 with Milwaukee and 3-5 against the D-backs.
-- Orioles 6, Tigers 5: Matt Angle led off the game with his first homer in his first matchup with Justin Verlander, ending the ace's streak of 17 scoreless IP, then squeezed home the go-ahead run in the 9th. That opportunity arose because Robert Andino failed to sacrifice with a man on 1st and no out; when he swung and missed at strike three, the ball got away so far that the runner went all the way to 3rd base.
Baltimore led 5-0 against Verlander in the 3rd, but he got through the 7th without another run. The Tigers got him off the hook, led by Miguel Cabrera's 3 hits (including a line-shot HR into the Juan-Gon Memorial Pavilion), but Verlander's streak of winning starts ended at 12.
- Cabrera (.339) is 1 point behind Adrian Gonzalez in the batting race, with Michael Young another point back.
- If you guessed that Matt Angle was the first player this year to have both a HR and a go-ahead sac bunt in the same game, you lose! Reid Brignac turned the trick back on June 8, hitting his only home run of the year off Jered Weaver in the 3rd, then bringing home the eventual game winner with a bunt in the 10th.
- Verlander ends the regular season at 24-5 with a 2.40 ERA, 250 strikeouts against 57 walks, and a 0.92 WHIP (2nd best in Tigers history)
Mets 2, Phillies 1 / Mets 6, Phillies 3: They remembered to set the alarm clock for October, right? The Phils have dropped 8 straight, 6 to losing clubs, while scoring 2 R/G. In the opener, R.A. Dickey retired the first 15 batters and took a no-hitter into the 7th, but then allowed a run on 3 hits and got no decision. The nightcap turned in the home 3rd on a 2-out dropped fly by Hunter Pence, his first error with Philly, that led to 4 unearned runs and wiped out a 3-0 lead.
- Dickey ended his season with 12 straight Quality Starts (2.45 ERA), but went 4-5 in that stretch, as the Mets averaged 2.5 runs. For the season, Dickey went just 8-13, but with a 3.28 ERA, and topped 200 IP for the first time in his career, at the age of 36. He did his best work in tight games, with a 2.43 ERA in the 14 games in which the Mets scored 0-2 runs. In 2 years with the Mets, Dickey has a 3.08 ERA and just 2.26 BB/9, remarkable control for a knuckleballer.
- To show the fickle finger of run support even within the same team, Dillon Gee won the nightcap and finished 13-6 with a 4.43 ERA.
- Valentino's Comet: Val Pascucci tied the day game with a pinch-HR off Cole Hamels in the 7th, his 2nd hit as a Met and his 1st big-league HR in 7 years. His last one came at Shea Stadium.
- Jose Reyes played only the first game, going 1 for 3 with a walk and his 37th SB. Ryan Braun went 2 for 3 and leads the batting race, .331-.330, with Matt Kemp at .325.
-- Diamondbacks 15, Giants 2: Ian Kennedy went 2 for 2 with 2 RBI and earned his 21st win ... for all the good it'll do him at awards time.
- The Giants issued 13 walks, their highest total in regulation since 1946.
-- Brewers 6, Marlins 4: Corey Hart's pinch-double in the 7th sent the Crew from trailing to leading, and John Axford set a new club record with his 45th save. Prince Fielder bagged his 1st SB of the year.
- Zack Greinke walked 5 for the first time since last April, and the first time this year that he's walked more than 3.
- Didja know? Just 15 qualifiers have slugged at least .500 in each of the last 2 seasons. Milwaukee is the only team with 3: Braun, Fielder, and Hart.
-- Cleveland overcame a 6-0 hole in the nightcap and swept a doubleheader from the Twins, who now have 98 losses. Minnesota has lost 14 of 15, and 28 of 33. Hang in there, my friends.
-- Rockies 4, Astros 2: Houston's 103rd loss came in the 13th, after neither team scored for 8 straight innings. Rookie Jordan Lyles issued an intentional walk to load the bases with 1 out, then walked Chris Nelson on 5 pitches to force in the go-ahead run.
- Colorado's winning 2-run rally consisted of a leadoff walk, a bunt single + error, an intentional walk, another walk, and a sac fly.
- The teams combined for 11 hits in 81 ABs, 2 for extra bases.
-- A note from Friday: Bidding for his 40th save, Joel Hanrahan was charged with his 5th blown save instead, when he hit Cincinnati's Todd Frazier with the bases loaded ... right after intentionally walking Jay Bruce.
September 25th, 2011 at 4:21 am
Very good batting title race going on in the AL between A. Gonzalez and M. Young.
September 25th, 2011 at 9:29 am
Carlos Marmol appears to be mentally ill. Or maybe it's Quade.
September 25th, 2011 at 9:56 am
JA,
Some of my favorite (for idiosyncratic stat reasons) had interesting nights.
First, I-rod, for whom I usually poke fun at for his penchant for the GIDP and his inability to watch 4 pitches pass him by without swatting at one (some of my favorite I-facts - has 7 seasons where GIDPs were > than unintentional BBs - or only 22 UBBs, 31 GDIP & 12 CS in his MVP year - & my fav, he has a career total of 401 CS + GIDP to counter his 446 UBB), but tonight, making a rare start, he not only walked (woo!), but that walk cracked the century mark, his 101st UBB since 2005. 3,052 PA and 784 games. But along with the historic BB he not only gathered hit # 2843, pulling him closer to the big round number, but he did what he does best - he threw out 2 would be conniving thieving Braves.
So my questions for you, are; do you know how many times I-rod has nailed two runners in the same game & is there an easy way to check this that I have over looked?
Next, that Blonde from Baltimore, Mark Reynolds, encapsulated his career with his box score. 4 PAs, 3 SOs, 1 HR.
So, being curious, I wondered how often such a thing occurs. Exactly 4 PAs, exactly 3 SO and exactly one homer, in short, we can call this going to the bench 3 times frowning, one time smiling. So how often does 3:-(, 1:-) occur... Well, since you asked I'll tell you, from 1919 till yesterday, 717 players have had the distinction, for a grand total of 952 games - well, now, 953. Over 100 of those players have done it multiple times, 55 of which did it 3 times (the majority of whom seem to have played in the 80's till present, with quite a few active players on the list). 23 players have done the 3 to 1 walk four times in a career (and I bet most readers here can guess half those names), but only, until yesterday, 9 players on this list have done it 5 times or more, and a single name will surprise you. 5-McGwire, Sosa, Strawberry; 6-Dunn, Kingman, Stargell; 7- Rob Deer in headlights; 8-Bo knows how to swing really hard Jackson; 8-zero; 9-zero;10-zero; 11-zero; and our leader, at 12 -three frowns and one smile is …
any guesses?
Active? -yes.
Possible HOFer? - yes.
Never finished higher than 4th in the MVP vote.
Led the League in HRs only once & SOs three times.
Getting warmer
You mentioned Miguel Cabrera's night, but I don't think he has gotten enough recognition for what is turning out to be a great career. I think he gets over shadowed by A-rod and Pujols, but they are both on a downward trend (won't it be great if A-rod never reaches those numbers the Yankees are paying him $30 million dollars for because of all these nagging injuries that smack of PED related problems) but Miggy just keeps getting better and despite all those alcohol problems, seems focused on the game and healthy year in and out (156 game avg.). He has actually raised his BA & OBP every year with Detroit; .292/349 -.324/.396 - .328/ - .339/.445, all while lowering his SO each year as well, 126, 107, 95, 88.
If Ryan Braun doesn't win the MVP, there is no justice in the world.
But if the Mets keep 'resting' the 28 year old Jose Reyes like he was the 38 year old Jeter, just so he can best Braun in the BA race, then as much as I love the Mets, I will loose what little respect I have for the organization. And it also makes me wonder why they are keeping such a short leash on the only reason to watch the club for supposed health concerns, when they have no intention of him playing for the Metropolitans in 6 days. Unless..?
So who here thinks Jose is pulling the "anti-Ted William's" (term coined by another user) approach to a BA title? And any opinions on whether the Mets and the Wilpons will open their wallets to sign Mr. Reyes.
Curtis Granderson might become just the second player in MLB history to have 120/120 RBI/Runs and a sub .270 BA. Any guesses to whom he'll join?
One hint - he was an MVP that year.
Tim Lincecum became the second pitcher to SO 1,100 in his first 5 seasons. Any guesses to who he joined, but will not best? 1055 is the # and he has a career that has been uncannily similar to the Freak's. Both Started with a last place team, and won a Cy young and a WS in their first 4 years. Any one… Buehler?
Michael Young has a chance to join some of baseball's greatest, having put himself in a spot to gain 2,000 hits in a ten year span next year. Depending how this season finishes, he'll need about 188-190 hits next year to join the 10 year/2,000 hit club… any guesses to the other members. It is consecutive years I am talking about.
Also, since 2001 only two players have had less than 15 HRs and more than 100 RBIs. Michael Young has done so this year, as well as another year, but who is the only other player since 2001 to do so? (and no Bobby Abreu does not count, he did it three times, but with 15, 15, 16 HRs).
Young also collected his 200th hit for the sixth season, 15 other players have done so… can anyone name them? At least two are active.
Ichiro Suzuki seems to have fallen off a cliff, pushing himself towards an unwanted distinction, and that is the lowest BA of someone with at least 180 hits. The gentleman who currently holds the record had 181 hits and a .267 AVG. Any guesses to our mystery man?
After 180 hits, depending if your cut off is 185 or 190, Ichiro seems much more likely to score the former, but of gentleman with at least 185 or 190 hits, however you cut it, hit .272 with 191 hits. I don't think Ichiro's average will sink bellow .270, but you never know.
Adrian Beltre recorded his 2,000 hit, his 300th HR and his 400 double this year, but a 30day DL stint cost him tallying his 1,000 run. Considering he is only 32/33, he has a chance for some very good numbers.
Curtis Granderson became just the second player since Jim Rice in 1977 (9 players have done so before Rice) to record at least 25 doubles, 10 triples and 40 homers, any one care to guess the other player.
Of the 9 before rice to get 25/10/40 - only Dick Allen is not in the HOF. No player with a 150 OPS+ and 1500 games played is not in the Hall. Allen's was/is 156.
I know the season is not quite over, but an unofficial poll - which team is stuck with the worst contract in baseball? I mean to consider all the variables, like years left, age, performance, in the case of Zambrano (lack of performance).
Will it be Jay Ray Bay of the Mets?
Is Dunn done?
Is Figgins gone like chone?
Will somebody realize that Vernon Wells stinks?
How about Soriano signed till 2099?
Well, gotta go to church!
September 25th, 2011 at 10:29 am
@3 - for the player with 12 games with three strikeouts and a home run... Jim Thome?
For the Curtis Granderson question... Jose Canseco?
Not sure about any of your other trivia questions.
September 25th, 2011 at 10:48 am
My vote for the worst contract are the San Francisco Giants twin towers of Barry Zito (19 mil in '12, 20 mil in '13, betting the club does not pick up the 20 mil option for 2014!) and Aaron Rowand (12 mil for '12, which they will just have to pay off since they don't want him on the team)
It is said that winning the World Series buys a ton of grace, and now that the Giants are on the outside looking in, it shouldn't take long for everyone in the Bay Area to remember all the silly things Brian Sabean has done along the way, Zito and Rowand being the most glaring examples. My personal favorite from this year was realizing that Miguel Tejada was a horrible option offensively and defensively at SS, seeing that Brandon Crawford was overmatched at the plate, and trading for Orlando Cabrera, who was just as horrible as Tejada. If no one is going to hit, you might as well have guys who can catch the ball.
September 25th, 2011 at 11:01 am
Oh, and on the Granderson question, the answer is Hibbing Minnesota's second most famous resident...Roger Maris.
September 25th, 2011 at 11:19 am
I forgot to mention/ask a few things in my previous post (if you can believe it).
With I-rod, did he not start this year because of injury or was it because his play? And does anyone know if he plans to retire or go for 3,000?
I'd like to see him hang around and get those milestones. PEDs or not, the guy caught Nolan Ryan and Stephen Strausburg. He'd be great for either a team with a lot of good young arms or a team like the Yankees, that are trying to break in a young catcher like Montero.
With Adrian Beltre, I alway was down on him, because he seemed to have only two monster seasons, and they came just before a big windfall of money, but after seeing an interview with him and seeing his defensive numbers, I had to reevaluate how I viewed him, and then he goes and has a great year for Texas at the start of a long contract. But depending on where you make the cut off, 32 or 33, his milestones at this age put him in some rare company. If you count this as his age 32 season, only seven other players have the HRs 2Bs and hits he has and if you count this as his age 33 season you only add one more name to the list, an even 10.
If you use this as his age 33 season,of the 9 other players with 2,000 hits, 300 doubles and 300 HRs, 6 are HOFers, the other 3 are active. Amazingly, Albert Pujols makes the list and he is only 31, but then again, Al is 31 and Leo Nunez is Juan Oviedo.
But can anyone guess the other two active players?
If I didn't make it clear on my Ichiro comment (and I didn't think I did) I'll rephrase?
Lowest BA with 180 (181) hits was .267 by who?
Lowest BA with 190 (191) hits was .272 by who?
A hint on the latter, he broke the national league record and the rookie record for ABs that year.
On the Michael Young less than 15 HRs, more than 100 RBIs thing; it only happened 7 times from 1958 to 1984, then it happened 4 times in 1985 alone… does anyone care to guess the 4? In addition to those 4 in '85, Bill "through my legs next year" Buckner had 110 with 16 HRs, Cecil Cooper had 99 RBIs with 16 too and Keith Hernandez had 91 with 10 HRs, Julio Franco 90 with 6. Strange year.
And only one player had 100 RBIs with less than 15 HRs in the entire 90's - any guesses?
Also it is worth mentioning, in RA Dickeys 12 NDs he has a 3.50 ERA.
If Matt Kemp gets the triple crown but not the MVP, it won't be the firs time, just ask Ted Williams, who won the triple crown twice, but was second in the MVP voting each year.
Alfonso Soriano, who led the AL in SBs ten years ago, has only three attempts this year.
The Whitesox have 4 everyday players with a sub .300 OBP. And 3 other starters (Alexi Ramirez, Juan Pierre and AJ Pierzynski) below .335.
The 1988 Seattle Mariners (the year before Griffey) had 7 players with over 300 PAs with sub .300 OBP and one player (Joey Cotto) with an OBP of .302.
September 25th, 2011 at 11:35 am
Glad to see you mentioned Prince Fielder joining his teammate Ryan Braun in the 30/1 club
September 25th, 2011 at 11:39 am
Am I the only one that sees a post on here that is over 2 paragraphs and just skips it?
September 25th, 2011 at 11:53 am
Duke -- I appreciate your many points. Only time for a quick reply to one:
I cannot attach any fault at all to Jose Reyes or the Mets for how much he has played down the stretch. He's had 2 hamstring injuries this year, and a history of them. Even if they don't plan to retain him (an assumption I think is premature), it simply would not be appropriate to play him every day.
And for the record, he's started 22 of 27 games since returning from his 2nd DL stint, and batted in 2 others.
Does his game log reflect a pattern of cherry-picking the best opportunities for him to compete for the batting crown? I have not noticed it anecdotally.
September 25th, 2011 at 11:57 am
Great stuff as usual JA.
I still like the Rays to take the wild card.
Is Matt Kemp possibly completing the least publicized triple crown quest ever??
September 25th, 2011 at 12:02 pm
Thome and Maris are correct # 4 & 5.
Canseco is wrong… sorry.
I can't believe my I-pod touch works in church!
As for Barry Zito, I'll admit that is a bad contract, but at the time, it looked good. He was a 28 year old lefthander, who had just come off 7 impressive seasons in the AL. He no longer had to contend with a DH. At the time it looked good.
What were the Nationals smoking when they signed Jayson Werth to that deal?
Chase Utely may not swipe 30 bags a year, but I don't think you'll ever see a better base stealer. Since 2009 he has 49 SB in 51 tries. And since 2007 he has stolen 72 bases while only being caught 5 times. 5 times in 5 years. Wow! And his 72 Stolen bases in 5 years is well above average, especially when you consider he has missed an average of 30 games a season over that timeframe. To contrast his 72 SB in 5 years, Juan Pierre has been caught 73 times in those same five years. Or to look at his 5 CS in 661 games, Juan Pierre was caught stealing 5 times over a 7 day (6 game) stretch, April 10th - April 16th of this year.
September 25th, 2011 at 12:39 pm
@11, Jason -- I don't have a strong sense of how much notice Kemp is getting, but I have a couple of ideas why it might not be as much as you'd expect:
1. It's a recent development. Kemp was hitting .313 at the Break, 41 points behind Reyes. Even 10 days ago, Kemp was at .314, 17 points behind.
2. While Kemp's outstanding play has been one of themes of LA's season right from the start, the "LA Story" this year has been as much about the McCourts and Kershaw.
3. Fans and media may be a bit jaded as regards Triple Crown bids. It hasn't been done in so long; but on the other hand, just last season there were some serious contenders in the NL for a good while. I recall plenty of talk last year about the TC chances of Carlos Gonzalez and Joey Votto; some folks may have an attitude of "fool me once..." towards Kemp's run this year.
September 25th, 2011 at 12:42 pm
@12, Duke -- If you can find 2 published "reviews" of the Zito signing (outside the Bay Area) that thought it was a "good contract," I'll eat my scorecard.
Everyone I know thought it was nuts the moment the news broke.
September 25th, 2011 at 1:05 pm
> Well, gotta go to church!
Is injecting personal invective into a supposedly baseball statistics-relatede post the act of a True Xtian? Let's turn off the hate when we're posting here.
September 25th, 2011 at 1:25 pm
@8, Topper -- Interesting that Fielder now leads Braun in September steals, 1-0. Braun was thrown out in his only attempt this month, back on Sept. 4.
You disputed my dubbing him a SB "opportunist" back on August 24. He swiped 3 in the following week, making my position look tenuous. But my remarks look pretty good in retrospect:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/blog/archives/14347#comment-140574
On the other hand, I sure was wrong about his shot at the batting title! 🙂
September 25th, 2011 at 1:40 pm
Everybody certainly knows about Kemp's triple crown threat on the West Coast. Along with a lot of other things we won't tell you.
September 25th, 2011 at 3:06 pm
A historic day today, as Brian Matusz has unseated Roy Halladay as the all-time ERA champion!
Doc's 10.64 record has been bested by Matusz's incredible 10.69.
Congratulations Brian!
September 25th, 2011 at 3:30 pm
@18, Buddy -- How appropriate that on this same day, Halladay 2.0 will complete his 11th straight successful season since that 10.64 debacle.
If Doc can hold onto a 9-0 lead, he'll be 175-78 with a sub-3 ERA in over 2,300 IP after his Y2K struggle.
If Matusz can have half that career, his disappointing 2011 will be forgiven and forgotten.
September 25th, 2011 at 3:51 pm
More on Matusz -- He and J.A. Happ are the only pitchers to allow at least 5 runs in 8 straight starts since 1999.
On the other hand, one of those who did it 7 straight times was Chris Carpenter, Halladay's former teammate, who also had an abysmal 2000 season, with a 6.26 ERA -- the 24th-highest qualifying mark in modern history.
Carpenter's career didn't turn the corner until he was 29, but he's gone 94-42 since then, with a Cy Young Award and 2 other top-3 finishes.
Let's not bury Matusz just yet. He has had stretches of success in the majors, and his minor-league numbers are excellent.
But yeah, it's been some awful year for him. He's the first ever to allow 18 HRs in under 60 innings (he has 49.2 IP), and his 3.26 HR/9 is the highest ever in at least 40 IP.
September 25th, 2011 at 4:15 pm
How did Roy Halladay not get a single CY vote in 2003?
And yeah, amazing that such a great pitcher had one such terrible year. His career ERA would be much, much lower without those 67 innings.
September 25th, 2011 at 4:16 pm
Oops I meant 2002, the year before he won it. He went 19-7 with a 2.93 era and led the league in innings pitched and doesn't have any placement showing for the CY award.
September 25th, 2011 at 5:12 pm
There were only three spots on the ballot. Zito, Martinez, and Lowe each won more games and had a lower ERA than Halladay, and they were the three pitchers named on almost every ballot. (Jarrod Washburn got one third-place vote.) Halladay may have deserved some votes -- he may have even deserved to win -- but it's not that surprising that he was shut out. I'll bet a lot of the voters would have ranked him 4th.
September 25th, 2011 at 6:44 pm
Re: 5 unearned runs by Rays
It was a Keystone cops routine for the Jays in the 1st inning.
- Dropped foul pop extends Upton's AB. Upton subsequently singles.
- Zobrist reaches on McCoy's throwing error, which also scores Upton
- Zobrist scores on a 2-out "double" by Damon. It was actually a pop fly to short center field. 2nd baseman Johnson went back to take the play and stopped when center-fielder Rasmus called him off. Then, inexplicably, Rasmus gives up on the play. Both Rasmus and Johnson are standing a few feet apart, frozen at attention (arms glued to their sides), as the ball drops to the turf only a couple of feet to Rasmus's right. The picture of the two "statues" was priceless - couldn't stop laughing.
September 25th, 2011 at 7:54 pm
@12 & 14- Don't know anyone IN the bay area who thought it was a good idea, outside of the SF front office. With Zito pitching just across the bay, most Giants fans had a pretty good idea that although Zito's numbers looked good, it was a big mistake.
September 25th, 2011 at 9:25 pm
@7 Duke - I gotta admit, that's a lot to digest, although there's a lot of good stuff there. Let me take a crack at the lowest BA questions. 181 hits at .267 - Pete Rose? 191 hits at .272 - Juan Samuel? The hints helped me with this one 🙂
September 25th, 2011 at 11:58 pm
@7.
One cool thing to antcipate if I-Rod does return next year: he will become the first regular catcher ever to catch a game as a teenager, and after turning 40.
Only Cap Anson also did this, but obviously not a regular catcher. Rick Dempsey nearly did it, but his first game was just after his 20th birthday.
September 26th, 2011 at 3:05 am
@16, I think Braun had the 30/30 target in sight and stopped running to be extra careful with his calf that kept him out of around 10 games after the break. Next year, barring injury, he will steal more than the 31 he has now, 40 not out of the question. Mark it down.
Hopefully he stays hot enough to win the batting crown since the Brewers hold a 1 game lead over the DBacks for the right to not face the Phillies on the road to start the playoffs. The DBacks hold the tiebreaker by virtue of winning the season series 4-3, including a game on the forth of July where the Brewers had a 6-1 lead, mostly thanks to the only grand slam in Milwaukee Brewers' pitcher-hitting history by Shaun Marcum.
(The Seattle Pilots version of the franchise had one by Fred Talbot in this game: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SE1/SE1196907091.shtml)
@21, Halladay's career era goes from 3.24 to 3.04 without his double digit 2000 ERA season. Remember though when looking at ERA numbers that everyone has to count their younger unpolished days in their career stats.
September 26th, 2011 at 9:25 am
@9
No, you're not.
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