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The Phillies are up to 19 shutouts, tops in the majors this year.

That puts them on pace for 23 this season, which would be the highest single-season team total since the 1998 Braves put up 23 themselves. The last team to have more was the 1992 Braves with 24, as well as the 1988 Dodgers.

Of those 3 previous teams I mentioned, all went to at least the NLCS, with the '88 Dodgers winning the World Series. The 2011 Phillies are a pretty good bet to make at least the NLCS.

-- St. Louis completed a 3-game sweep in Milwaukee. Albert Pujols went 4 for 4 with 2 HRs, including his 12th career grand slam -- his first since 2009, when he hit 5 slams in 21 chances. Yovani Gallardo allowed 8 runs in 4.2 IP, including 4 HRs, twice his previous high.

• Milwaukee leads by 7.5 games. These same teams play again in St. Louis next weekend.
• The Brewers got their 4 runs on 3 HRs, but went 1 for 9 with RISP.
• Matt Holliday hit his 200th career HR and reached 20 HRs for the 6th straight year.

-- In a game that seemed to have been recorded earlier and then televised in slow-motion, the Yankees beat the Red Sox, 4-2, in a regulation game lasting 4 hours, 21 minutes. Coincidentally, that's exactly how long it takes to watch the two good Star Wars movies in their entirety and then replay the classic scene where Cashman tells Theo, "No; I am your father!" Read the rest of this entry »

I challenge you to watch this and not laugh.

Jayson Werth became a free agent at just the right time. Over 2008-2010, he posted a 132 OPS+ despite averaging only 29 2B, 29 HR and 84 RBI. He did this largely by batting 5th or 6th behind productive hitters in the Phillies' lineup and by hitting reasonably well (plus walking a lot.) He did well in his role. Then, he became a free agent at age 31 in a year when there weren't a lot of other big-name bats on the market.

Somehow, the Nationals got fooled into thinking that this guy would make a good #3 hitter. This was despite the fact that he's on the wrong side of 30 and generated numbers helped significantly by the team on which he played.

Lo and behold, almost one year into the 7-year, $126 million contract, Werth's OPS+ sits at 98 and he may not crack 20 HR or 60 RBI while potentially setting a career-high in strikeouts. Oops.

Here are rightfielders since 2001 to qualify for the batting title with an OPS+ between 97 and 99:

Which of these guys would you give $126 million to?

Tim Salmon is actually a pretty good comparison for Werth. They were the same age when having the season in question, and for the 3 seasons previous, Salmon had a 133 OPS+, 29 2B, 26 HR, and 85 RBI per season. Those numbers are all nearly identical to what Werth did in his 3 seasons previous.

Well, Salmon turned around in 2002 and 2003 to post 2 more good seasons. Yes, his power continued to diminish, but he hit more doubles and kept on walking.

If Werth reverts in 2012 to his 2008-2010 form, he'll be a decent enough player for the Nats. But there's no way he has 6 years of such productivity left, and no way he can hit 3rd for them. It's sad to watch an organization throw away so much money for someone who could be a good piece, but not a centerpiece.

But at least they didn't also sign Adam LaRoche and Ivan Rodriguez to worthless 2-year contracts, too....oh wait.

Stephen Strasburg is set to make his 2011 debut in the majors next Tuesday.

His 2011 stats in the minors on rehab are interesting:

The top line is the sum for the 3 lines below it. That's 25 strikeouts in 14.1 innings, but look at his performance in Hagerstown where he allowed 7 earned runs in 6.1 innings (while striking out 13!). That's weird. I would assume he was trying out certain pitches, or focusing on location or something, without worrying about the outcome.

Hopefully Strasburg's return to the majors is as successful has his last stint and lasts a lot longer.

[No, there wasn't an unassisted triple play. But isn't it fun to say "Wambsganss"?]

-- Eric Hosmer had his first 2-HR game, but the Tigers scored 3 in the 8th for a comeback 5-4 win.

• At 21 years and 311 days, Hosmer is the youngest Royal ever to hit 2 HRs in a game, supplanting Carlos Beltran (22/042).
• Jose Valverde is now 1 shy of Brad Lidge's 2008 mark of 41 saves without blowing a single one. There are some who think it's bad luck to carry any year-long streak into the postseason; a Yanks fan friend of mine was happy when David Robertson finally allowed a home run recently. But the season save streak didn't seem to jinx Lidge, so I say: Roll on, Papa Grande, roll on!

-- Meanwhile, Jake Peavy allowed 6 runs in the 1st -- on a pair of RBI-ground-rule 2Bs and a pair of 2-run HRs -- and the White Sox' late rally fell short, as they drooped to 6 games back of Detroit.

-- Madison Bumgarner stopped the Giants' slide with the best game of his young career. He stymied the Cubs on 2 singles through 8 innings, and tied his career high with 11 strikeouts.

• Jeff Keppinger, one of the few Giants swinging a strong bat the last week, had 3 hits and went "back-to-back jack" with Pablo Sandoval -- the Panda's drive being of the splashtastic variety -- to end SF's 6-game string without a HR.
• The 4-0 win represented the Giants' biggest offensive output in 8 games.

Read the rest of this entry »

Though he is no longer a pitcher, Rick Ankiel has been making news with his arm once again.  His pinpoint laser throws have frustrated many runners around the league. Blog reader William Tasker has a collection of links to Ankiel throws at his own blog,  "The Flagrant Fan".  Have a look; its a fun watch.

On another thread, reader DaveZ wrote the following:

"Wouldn't it be cool to be able to go back in time and see the 1911 Ty Cobb play?  Led league in R, RBI, 2B, 3B, SBs, hit .420, spiked numerous opponents.  If I could go back to one baseball era it would be the late teens/early twenties, no doubt."

It got me to wondering--what one game from baseball's past would you like to be able to go back and witness first-hand?

The first thing that sprung to my mind was Game 3 of the 1932 World Series, to see if Babe Ruth really called his shot or not. But I'm sure there are lots of other great choices...let's hear 'em!

Following is a fantastic email from reader TheGoof, in his own words. Incidentally, it's not easy to find this out using the Play Index--some manual searching is involved.

I was wondering how unusual it was that Curtis Granderson was leading the league in both runs and RBI. It's not horribly uncommon, as I found, 22 times in the NL, twice in the AA and 25 in the AL (six by Ruth in a 10-year span!).

However, leading both leagues in R and RBI is really rare, especially if you aren't Babe Ruth.

1910 Magee
1911 Cobb
1919 Ruth
1920 Ruth
1921 Ruth
1923 Ruth
1926 Ruth
1928 Ruth
1931 Gehrig
1942 Williams
1947 Mize
1949 Williams
1955 Snider
1956 Mantle
1963 Aaron
1979 Baylor
1998 Sosa
2001 Sosa
2007 Rodriguez

These are famous, historic seasons. Only Magee and Mize surprised me. And I think Cobb was the only one to also lead his league in triples that season.

And, once again, just how good was that Ruth guy? Leading both leagues in R and RBI six times in 10 years? Unreal. I mean, he had to compete with Hornsby and Gehrig and plenty of other greats. As a lifelong Yankee fan, I thought I had some sense, but it wasn't until I read a book about the 1918 Red Sox ("The Year the Red Sox Won the Series," a collection of press clippings) that I really got it. They thought of him like we think of Pujols before he even took to the outfield. And then he hit homers...

Anyway, keep up the good work.
--TheGoof

Just one things to add--these days, with so many more players in the league, it's even harder to lead all of MLB in both categories. Granderson's gotta be the MVP.

-- Ramon Santiago pinch-ran in the 8th, stayed in the game, and won it for Detroit with a HR in the 10th, his first-ever walk-off shot.

• It was the 3rd HR this year by a player who also pinch-ran. The others:

-- Roy Halladay came into this game with no RBI in 58 ABs this year, then hit a 3-run double. He got his 16th win (7 IP, 0 runs, 2 hits), snapping a 2-start winless "streak."

• The last time Halladay went 3 straight starts without a win was June 10-20 of last year.

-- How often do you see a line like CC Sabathia put up tonight in New York's 5-2 win? -- 6 IP, 10 Ks, 10 hits (with a HR and 2 doubles), 2 walks. The last game of 6 IP or less with double-figures in both Ks and hits was in 2007, by Brandon Webb. Read the rest of this entry »