Richard Durrett liked what he saw from Brandon McCarthy Thursday:

You could make an argument that this was McCarthy's best outing since Aug. 5, 2007, when he had a quality start, allowing two runs in six innings. By my count, yesterday was the first time he'd pitched four scoreless innings since Sept. 20, 2007.

McCarthy apparently felt good, had no lingering problems with his shoulder, which was tight enough to force him to miss his previous start.

I'll feel better about McCarthy when he starts the regular season well.

Brandon Morrow suffers a setback after a bullpen session and won't make the Mariners starting rotation out of spring training.

FX Visualizations presents graphs of run values by pitch locations. Great stuff, with the best place to put a pitch turning out to be the inside edges of the strike zone.

Hat tip, Beyond the Boxscore.

Scott Kazmir liked his first spring training outing:

"Everything felt incredible; that's seriously the best my arm has ever felt," he said. "At the same time, I felt like I wanted to take it easy this first start. I knew once I got out there and got a hitter out there in a real game, the adrenaline was going to be there so I didn't want to overdo it."

Kazmir said he went "about 85 percent," and it caught up with him in the second inning. The All-Star left-hander allowed three hits in his last inning of work, including David Winfree's RBI double.

He'll be the number 2 pitcher in the Rays rotation as Joe Maddon wants to split Shields and Garza with the lefty.

Inside Corner notes that the Rangers pitching Derek Holland three innings against the Cubs indicates he may be coming to the majors earlier than expected.

After putting together one of the greatest seasons by any Rangers minor league pitcher in memory, there's no doubt that Holland is coming. The only question is how soon. Yesterday may have been an early hint that he may be moving up to the front of the line to step into the Texas rotation when one of the five starters goes down.

Since surrendering a pair of homers (and fanning two) in one inning during his first appearance of the spring last week, Holland has allowed one run on six hits and a walk in 4.1 innings since. And even throwing out the first game, that's the worst stretch of pitching Holland has delivered in more than a year.

There's also a nice discussion of Holland's mechanics.

Jordan Zimmermann continues to be a shining light in a dark Washington Nationals spring training:

His line through two spring training appearances: five innings, no hits, six strikeouts, no walks.

Manager Manny Acta, after the game, spoke of Zimmermann's "electric" four-pitch repertoire. Pitching coach Randy St. Claire spoke of Zimmerman's "great" arm and "great" mechanics and, yes, "great" feel for pitching.

Yes, it's just five innings, but the Nationals don't have too much to be excited about right now.

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Like Brandon McCarthy, Phil Hughes is abandoning his old curve ball. While McCarthy is developing a slider, Phil works on a power curve:

Hughes explained that he's throwing his curve with the same arm speed as his fastball. So instead of a big loop (picture Mike Mussina's curve), it goes to the plate on a straighter plane but still has some action as it gets there. It's how A.J. Burnett throws his curve.

Hughes devoted a lot of time in the Arizona Fall League to working on that particular pitch. "It's hard to change because you get used to throwing a pitch a certain way," he said. "In games, you tend to go back to what is comfortable. But they've been staying on me to throw the power curve more. I have to trust it and I do."

Good to see these young pitchers adjusting their games for the majors.

On Sunday I looked at the effect of speed on getting a good result in different areas of the strike zone. The result was interesting as high speed pitches produced a higher percentage of favorable results, but low speed pitches out performed expectations of the probabilistic model. I was wondering what caused this, and decided to test a hypothesis that it had something to do with the location of these pitches in and out of the strike zone. Fast pitches tend to be straighter; they have less time to curve. If a pitcher needs to throw a strike, a fast pitch is the easiest one to control and put in the strike zone. Of course, these pitches in the strike zone are also easier to hit.

On the other hand, slow pitches tend to be breaking balls, pitches that fool batters. A slow pitch in the strike zone should get hammered, but pitchers get good results by getting batters to chase them out of the strike zone.

The following table shows the hypothesis has some validity. I defined an area as in the strike zone if the positive probability outcome was greater or equal to .7. The in ratio shows the ratio of the actual success rate in the strike zone to the expected success rate in the strike zone. A number over 100 indicates better than expected success. The out ratio is the same for pitches out of the strike zone.

Speed	Pitches	In Ratio	Out Ratio
100	253	106.76	110.26
99	818	101.64	96.20
98	2122	101.65	106.02
97	5093	101.22	99.28
96	9539	101.68	95.02
95	15424	101.16	92.60
94	21580	101.03	91.71
93	27943	100.25	91.56
92	32751	99.85	92.11
91	34993	99.85	91.74
90	34648	99.62	89.29
89	31283	99.60	91.09
88	27000	98.64	93.71
87	23559	100.25	97.84
86	21150	98.92	103.82
85	19903	99.85	109.52
84	19123	101.42	112.06
83	18613	100.14	113.77
82	17530	99.94	117.67
81	15812	99.36	112.67
80	13483	100.02	113.52
79	11136	99.53	116.01
78	9528	100.64	107.46
77	8239	100.67	110.07
76	6903	100.57	104.89
75	5719	100.46	105.88
74	4672	99.57	101.36
73	3687	97.38	96.81
72	2934	101.78	100.63
71	2379	97.77	101.70
70	1808	101.65	104.59
69	1401	99.19	96.59
68	1234	99.43	104.57
67	927	98.94	99.43
66	682	97.88	93.14
65	434	93.34	98.54
64	276	101.54	93.06

As you can see, the faster pitches are more effective in the strike zone, the off-speed pitches are more effective out of the strike zone. For every speed from 74 MPH to 86 MPH, a higher ratio exists outside the zone. The PITCH f/x data is pretty much confirming what I would expect.

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Randy Johnson pitched a fine three innings against his old team, the Arizona Diamondbacks, this afternoon.

Richard Durrett interviews Brandon McCarthy about his change from a curve ball to a slider as his third pitch. McCarthy comes off as very knowledgeable about why he's making the change. On top of that, it's less painful to throw:

Is the slider easier on your arm than the curve? I always thought it was the other way around.

I don't really know in that regard. I just know the way I throw the curve was a lot of work. I don't feel that with the slider. I feel it if I throw a curve and I noticed that last year. All I know is now I don't feel any pain with the slider. I try to throw it just like a fastball. I let the grip throw the pitch and get over it like a fastball and let it work as opposed to really yanking it down the way you have to with the curve ball. I don't know if scientifically that makes sense, but for me it's easier.

There's also a good bit about how it's much easier to fool minor league batters with his curve, and how the slider looks more like his fastball. Brandon says he got in trouble last year when his changeup wasn't working, because batters could see the curve from his arm angle. The slider is more difficult to detect.

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Redleg Nation notices an interesting connection between Dusty Baker's call for havoc on the basepaths and the Red starting rotation.

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Bleeding Blue and Teal looks at Stephen Strasburg's mechanics and wonders how much teams should consider this in drafting players. He gives Tim Lincecum as an example:

Teams do indeed pass guys up because of durability concerns. I was talking to BBT commentor/sometimes writer Dustin Shires about this and he immediately brought up Tim Lincecum, who produced insane numbers with the University of Washington and had possibly the best pure stuff of anyone in the draft class, but was passed up by several teams because of his slight build and unorthodox delivery. Now, Lincecum's mechanics have since been proved to be sound and even revolutionary, but that's not the point. Teams didn't know how he would hold up so they passed up on him.

I'm not sure Tim's mechanics are proved sound just yet. He threw a lot of innings in 2008. If he holds up in 2009, then I'd say there's pretty good proof that he's sound, and I suspect young pitchers will start beating a path to the door of Tim's father.

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Yesterday I introduced a probabilistic model of the strike zone using PITCHf/x data. Today, I'd like to use that data to see how speed effects outcomes.

The model is built on three parameters, the X and Z coordinates of where the ball crosses the plate and the handedness of the batter. A positive probability outcome is calculated for each set of parameters, positive from the pitcher's point of view. So any pitch that does not result in a ball or a hit credited to the batter is a positive outcome.

For any set of pitches, the sum of the probabilities provides the expected number of positive outcomes. We can then compare that to the actual number of positive outcomes to see if the set of pitches was effective. Higher than expected positive outcomes indicate an effective set of pitches. Lower than expected positive outcomes indicate the opposite.

For this study, pitches are divided into sets by speed, rounded to the nearest mile per hour (MPH).

The following table shows the effectiveness of speed on pitches. The column definitions:

• Speed, in MPH. There must be 200 pitches at that speed to be included in the table.
• Pitches, total for that speed.
• Positives, the number of pitches with a positive result
• Pct. Pos., the percentage of the total pitches resulting in a positive outcome.
• Exp. Positives, the expected number of positives for those pitches based on the model.
• Exp. Pct., the percentage based on Exp. Positives.
• Ratio, 100*Positives/Exp. Positives. 100 meets expectations, over 100 exceeds expectations.

Effectiveness of Speed

Speed	Pitches	Positives	Pct. Pos.	Exp. Positives	Exp. Pct.	Ratio
100	253	156	61.7	144.6	57.2	107.88
99	818	481	58.8	480.7	58.8	100.07
98	2122	1290	60.8	1252.8	59.0	102.97
97	5093	3010	59.1	2991.1	58.7	100.63
96	9539	5600	58.7	5616.1	58.9	99.71
95	15424	8998	58.3	9119.8	59.1	98.66
94	21580	12583	58.3	12804.1	59.3	98.27
93	27943	16100	57.6	16487.0	59.0	97.65
92	32751	18917	57.8	19392.7	59.2	97.55
91	34993	20080	57.4	20611.1	58.9	97.42
90	34648	19665	56.8	20367.2	58.8	96.55
89	31283	17793	56.9	18331.3	58.6	97.06
88	27000	15122	56.0	15570.7	57.7	97.12
87	23559	13332	56.6	13400.0	56.9	99.49
86	21150	11890	56.2	11827.3	55.9	100.53
85	19903	11191	56.2	10857.8	54.6	103.07
84	19123	10818	56.6	10289.7	53.8	105.13
83	18613	10337	55.5	9843.8	52.9	105.01
82	17530	9924	56.6	9358.9	53.4	106.04
81	15812	8738	55.3	8399.6	53.1	104.03
80	13483	7453	55.3	7108.2	52.7	104.85
79	11136	6134	55.1	5823.2	52.3	105.34
78	9528	5177	54.3	5027.1	52.8	102.98
77	8239	4488	54.5	4318.8	52.4	103.92
76	6903	3649	52.9	3573.7	51.8	102.11
75	5719	3066	53.6	2996.0	52.4	102.34
74	4672	2419	51.8	2414.5	51.7	100.19
73	3687	1872	50.8	1926.1	52.2	97.19
72	2934	1580	53.9	1557.8	53.1	101.42
71	2379	1241	52.2	1253.0	52.7	99.04
70	1808	946	52.3	921.9	51.0	102.61
69	1401	700	50.0	712.0	50.8	98.31
68	1234	639	51.8	632.8	51.3	100.97
67	927	463	49.9	467.3	50.4	99.08
66	682	316	46.3	328.2	48.1	96.30
65	434	198	45.6	208.9	48.1	94.78
64	276	123	44.6	124.3	45.0	98.97

I did not expect this result. In general, I would have guessed that faster pitches would yield better results. This only appears to be true at very high speeds, however. Batters appears to find pitches thrown 97 MPH or better difficult to handle, but they have few problems with pitches in the low 90's. The most effective speeds for pitchers are between 75 and 85 MPH.

Note, however, that in terms of percentage, high speed pitches produce more good outcomes than low speed pitches. Low speed pitches result in a better than expected outcomes for a given location. Getting batters to swing at pitches in the dirt will do that.

This result seems to be in line with the idea that all major league batters can hit a fastball. How they hit the off-speed pitches, however, is what makes them a major league hitter. Twins fans should be very happy, given this data, that Francisco Liriano is bringing back his changeup.

Johan Santana believes the work he did to test his knee led to his current elbow irritation:

Santana, who had arthroscopic surgery Oct. 1 on torn cartilage in his left knee, didn't think the tightness in his elbow was related to rushing back from the knee surgery too soon, but rather from overuse early in camp.

"I've been throwing bullpens here every other day, and I don't think I've ever done that in the past," Santana said Thursday. "The reason why is because we wanted to test my knee and make sure everything is fine, throwing every other day off the mound."

Santana threw off a mound for the first time since the offseason surgery on Feb. 10 and has faced no setbacks with the leg.

However it happened, he has an irritated triceps tendon.

Meanwhile, Johan's former teammate Francisco Liriano continues his recovery from Tommy John surgery. Liriano abandoned his fast slider and is rediscovering his changeup:

Until he began flinging sliders with abandon, Liriano says, he had a changeup that buckled knees. "In '02, '03, changeup was my best pitch," the 25-year-old said. "When I learned to throw my slider, I stopped throwing it." There's a certain symmetry, then, that when Tommy John surgery forced him to stop throwing the kamikaze slider, he found his changeup again. Liriano began using it occasionally, to complement his fastball/slider fundamentals, last season, and kept working on it this winter.

He threw a few changeups past his teammates last week during live batting practice, as manager Ron Gardenhire watched. The pitch made a sharp impression on the manager.

"His changeup is unbelievable," said Gardenhire, who spent a half-dozen seasons watching Johan Santana master the same pitch. "It's really good. It's a very good 'out' pitch for him - that's how good it is."

The fastball impresses, but it's often the changeup that makes a pitcher great.

The last few days I've been working with the pitch f/x data, with the idea of applying some kind of probabilistic model to the strike zone. I started with a very simple model to learn how to get around the data and to prove the concept.

My initial model looks at the chance of positive and negatives outcomes for pitchers. A negative outcome is a called ball, or a ball in play resulting in a hit. Positive outcomes are all others. I divide the X and Z axes into three inch lengths, and look at the results when a ball passes through the defined three by three area. I use the following formula for the x coordinate:

round((12*(p.px+12))/3, 0)

Where p.px is the distance from the center of the plate in feet. The plus twelve makes everything positive. This makes 48 the center of the plate.

For the Z axis, I use the same formula, substituting p.pz for p.px. In this case 48 represents the ground. The computed px and pz together then define a zone. Some will be in the strike zone, some will be out, and some will be on the edge, both in and out of the zone.

I then build the model based on the computed px, pz, and the batter side (left or right). It's the number of positives in the zone divided by the total number of pitches in the zone. The following two tables show the model for zones with at least 200 pitches.

Due to the formatting of the blog, it's easier to read this at the permalink.

Right-handed Hitters,2007-2008

Strike Zone, Catcher View	40	41	42	43	44	45	46	47	48	49	50	51	52	53	54	55	56
66	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	.127	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
65	-	-	-	-	.143	.166	.228	.256	.243	.201	.206	-	-	-	-	-	-
64	-	-	-	.158	.219	.288	.350	.337	.377	.327	.268	.212	.120	.054	-	-	-
63	-	-	.106	.211	.331	.411	.485	.519	.530	.465	.401	.290	.177	.100	-	-	-
62	-	.084	.188	.275	.425	.557	.673	.719	.719	.669	.600	.431	.267	.142	.059	-	-
61	-	.084	.240	.359	.592	.748	.822	.854	.864	.848	.800	.689	.448	.204	.099	.046	-
60	-	.092	.257	.423	.701	.822	.870	.879	.885	.893	.895	.830	.619	.312	.143	.082	-
59	.062	.116	.254	.484	.728	.859	.868	.856	.862	.874	.893	.859	.685	.341	.197	.102	.045
58	-	.140	.279	.504	.753	.842	.859	.857	.863	.862	.873	.870	.721	.416	.184	.108	.037
57	-	.151	.248	.497	.716	.826	.850	.838	.859	.863	.874	.863	.689	.371	.169	.119	.075
56	-	.107	.257	.441	.668	.769	.785	.825	.835	.848	.853	.800	.579	.321	.196	.123	.060
55	-	.085	.235	.348	.509	.613	.663	.685	.719	.711	.699	.593	.420	.257	.203	.101	.095
54	-	-	.165	.272	.372	.445	.444	.500	.488	.488	.448	.380	.288	.210	.142	.126	.065
53	-	-	-	.257	.304	.340	.362	.398	.380	.389	.321	.306	.246	.203	.156	.109	.076
52	-	-	-	.136	.220	.259	.286	.290	.325	.312	.310	.243	.231	.178	.138	.112	-
51	-	-	-	-	-	.212	.254	.211	.239	.242	.247	.226	.180	.128	.096	.069	-
50	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	.169	.196	.222	.142	.146	.126	.094	-	-

Left-handed Batters

Strike Zone, Catcher View	40	41	42	43	44	45	46	47	48	49	50	51	52	53	54
65	-	-	-	-	-	.148	-	.156	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
64	-	-	.015	.078	.121	.234	.288	.344	.414	.313	.303	-	-	-	-
63	-	.045	.062	.094	.211	.319	.468	.538	.557	.543	.428	.337	.218	-	-
62	.024	.020	.090	.196	.376	.526	.616	.695	.697	.687	.589	.462	.301	.173	-
61	.016	.039	.112	.298	.610	.792	.837	.827	.850	.838	.773	.603	.396	.168	-
60	.021	.074	.193	.481	.773	.895	.879	.883	.877	.858	.855	.693	.513	.270	-
59	.055	.126	.267	.570	.843	.883	.882	.877	.861	.840	.858	.790	.551	.287	.169
58	.055	.120	.266	.618	.860	.886	.877	.863	.838	.847	.836	.760	.536	.290	.184
57	.042	.104	.289	.590	.849	.872	.868	.843	.851	.847	.848	.768	.525	.277	.151
56	.077	.111	.269	.514	.780	.858	.854	.833	.822	.831	.784	.651	.458	.289	.126
55	-	.130	.189	.380	.583	.670	.709	.713	.705	.658	.600	.520	.338	.263	.168
54	-	.098	.168	.284	.353	.437	.478	.501	.479	.463	.456	.383	.303	.205	.094
53	-	-	.141	.206	.280	.330	.387	.387	.427	.354	.342	.298	.205	.211	-
52	-	-	-	.197	.209	.261	.331	.316	.348	.311	.251	.223	.250	-	-
51	-	-	-	-	.222	.270	.236	.255	.282	.267	.197	.182	-	-	-
50	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	.181	.168	.192	.190	-	-	-	-

I actually thought there would be a bigger difference between throwing the ball down the middle of the plate versus throwing on the edges. Pitchers do a bit better to the catcher's right, regardless of batter handedness. Up in the zone is better for pitchers than down in the zone, at least over the heart of the plate.

Of course, the problem with the look at the data is that an out counts just as much in the pitcher's favor as strike one called. There are many other parameters to take into account, including speed and break. This is just a start.

Correction: I fixed the table vs. LHB. When I ran the script that creates the table, I only changed the hand in one of the two queries.

Brandon Webb was scratched from his start with a sore forearm. That's Johan Santana and Webb scratched this week with minor injuries. That's a pair of aces causing their fans a bit of worry.

Richard Durrett predicts a good year for Kevin Millwood. The Bill James projections are close on ERA, while Chone and Marcel are not that forgiving. With the offense in Texas, an ERA in the low fours should win Kevin more than he loses.

Micah Owings says he feels fine after pitching Thursday:

The Arizona Diamondbacks shut down Owings the last two months due to a shoulder injury, and when he was acquired in the Adam Dunn trade, he did nothing but pinch-hit for the Reds.

"Everything felt good for the first time -- my arm felt good, which is the most important thing. I was able to pitch an inning and then go back out.

"After not pitching for so long and doing all the rehab, you are a little unsure going back out. I've never had an arm issue, but I was fine."

I wonder if Owings will DH during interleague games.

BABIP for pitchers as a group over the years is always lower at home than on the road.

Via My Baseball Bias, Joe Girardi's projected rotation should put Joba Chamberlain on the mound for the first regular season game at the new Yankee Stadium:

Girardi said he had lined up the pitchers all the way through the 162-game schedule, and he projects Chamberlain for 30 starts. "I'm not sure we skipped him at any point," Girardi added.

That got me to thinking. The first game at the new Yankee Stadium is the Yankees' 10th game of the season - the end of the second time through the rotation. If Chamberlain is not going to be skipped, does that mean he starts the home opener?

"I don't really want to give up that, because a lot of things could happen in spring training that could change that," Girardi said. "I can't give that to you yet."

Joba does have a Ruthian look to him, so it would be appropriate.

Erik Bedard appears to be ahead of schedule after a brief appearance in an intrasquad game today.

The Mariners want their pitchers working faster and throwing better pitches. If you had to pick between the two, however, I'll take the second.

Anibal Sanchez is healthy enough to start the spring opener for the Marlins.

Ian Casselberry hopes the early signs of Dontrelle Willis' recovery continue through the season. I do too. Dontrelle is one of the great characters of the game today, and it would be a pity for the game to lose him at a young age.

Chris Carpenter threw against batters today, and Tony La Russa is happy:

"The fact that he's actually on the field is exciting," La Russa said. "We've only seen this how many times? You can count it on less than two hands how many times in the last two years we've actually seen him facing a hitter. So this is a big day, and a fun day." Though he struggled at times with the location of his fastball, Carpenter snapped off several strong breaking balls.

"My arm felt great," Carpenter said. "My location was off a bit at the beginning, but I felt like the last 10 or so (pitches) I was hitting my spot pretty good. It was just fun to get back out there and be a part of it."

It sounds like he still has a long way to go, but there's no doubt a healthy Carpenter makes the Cardinals' rotation much stronger.

The Rays signed Jason Isringhausen to a minor league deal.

Isringhausen was brought on board with the idea that if healthy, he may be able to compete for the closer job with Troy Percival, or if nothing else, provide more depth in case Percival can not make a full recovery from back surgery.

I guess the idea is that if you have two injured closers, one might actually heal.

Barry Zito is showing good control early on.

Tom Gordon's nerve surgery worked:

The right-hander, whom the Diamondbacks signed to a one-year deal earlier this month, is coming off ulnar nerve transposition surgery on his right elbow, a procedure in which the nerve is moved to a different area.

And so far, Gordon couldn't be more encouraged by how he feels.

"Every single day since 2006, I've had soreness, aching and sharp pain," said Gordon, who has also had shoulder problems. "This is just a really good feeling."

So now the question is can the lack of pain make up for three years of aging? If he can return to his 2005 form, the DBacks made a great deal.

Carlos Silva lost 35 pounds over the winter.

Silva devoured large, late dinners while reaching 285 pounds. Everything else plummeted.

He went 4-15 with a career-worst 6.46 ERA in his first season with the Mariners. He was 1-15 in his final 23 starts. His usually jolly nature turned jaded. He complained teammates weren't pulling their own, um, weight. His own added pounds gave him problems with his back.

"I don't feel I did anything for this team," he said.

Now, after painful yoga training and a nutritionist fine tuning his diet -- cutting meals from two steaks to one; prohibiting meals after 7 p.m.; encouraging him to go to sleep by 9:30 instead of midnight -- Silva has lost 35 pounds.

"A lot of changes. A whole different life. It feels really good," Silva said proudly.

It's too bad he got to the point where he needed to lose the weight in the first place. Will it matter? Will a lighter Silva post a lighter ERA?

T.J. Simers doesn't think much of the Dodgers rotation:

This year the Dodgers' choice for opening day starter is a guy coming off a broken leg or another coming off a sore shoulder. At last they won't have to worry about pitching come the playoffs.

In the meantime, though, it'd be nice to know how effective Manny might be out of the stretch.

If Manny wants to win, he may actually have a better chance with the Giants. Given San Francisco's pitching staff, Manny might generate enough offense on his own to push the team well over .500. :-)

Larry Bowa pulls no punches giving his opinion of Brad Penny.

Heath Bell lost 25 pounds using a Wii Fit. We bought one about a week and a half ago, and I must admit it's both fun to use and gives you a decent workout. The way it makes your Mii look fat after it weighs you is a big motivator.

By the way, my daughter nailed my Mii. It looks exactly like me.

Odalis Perez may in breach of his contract by the end of the day. He's trying to hold out for more money:

First of all, the mandatory report date, per arrangements in the current collective bargaining agreement, is Feb. 22. With one exception. For players who will be competing in the World Baseball Classic, the mandatory report date is Feb. 17 -- today. Perez said that he plans to represent the Dominican Republic in the WBC, and that potentially opens the door for Perez to be in breach of contract by day's end.

But that brings up the second issue.

The Nationals are insisting that Perez's contract has been approved, signed and sealed. Perez might have grounds to argue otherwise, though, because his contract does not yet appear in the database of MLBPA-approved contracts. Perez wants to improve on the non-guaranteed minor league deal he signed with Washington almost two weeks ago, and the first way to do that is to argue against the validity of his current deal.

Good job by Jim Bowden here making the signing of the contract crystal clear.

Oriole Central talks to Michael Westbay, an expert on Japanese baseball, about Koji Uehara.

Red Sox catching prospect Mark Wagner says Clay Buchholz is in mid-season form. He obviously didn't look at Clay's number in July and August last year. :-)

Rich Lederer examines how strikeouts and grounders induced relate to pitcher success. The best pitchers appear to have high percentage of both. Two of those, Sabathia and Burnett signed with the Yankees this winter.

FishStripes posts the latest news on Andrew Miller and Anibal Sanchez.

Joba Chamberlain and Jon Lester participated in a Q&A at Sacred Heart University Tuesday night. For the most part, the questions to them were softballs, but the two still managed to show their humor and provide some insights into their lives.

Both players were given a chance to criticize others. Joba was asked about Joe Torre and Alex Rodriguez. Joba basically said that none of the players have read the book, so he couldn't comment on that, but he was glad to start with Torre as his first manager. Chamberlain talked about Rodriguez's work ethic, the intensity he brought to the game, intensity to the point of being obsessed. Asked if he thought Alex should tone down his personal life, Joba pointed to A-Rod's stats and said there wasn't a problem.

Lester described how Alex was the toughest hitter to face on the Yankees. Jon praised Alex for having a plan at the plate and sticking to it. Jon was given a chance to dis Manny Ramirez, but didn't take the bait. He also praised Manny's work, and said he was a great teammate.

Lester also praised his manager, Terry Francona. He's been impressed with Terry's preparation, how he even anticipates reporter questions and writes down possible answers before he takes questions. That kind of preparation goes into the game as well.

Lester also talked about how his bout with cancer changed his outlook. Before, the game he played was work. He worried about every pitch, worried about his place on the team. Now, it's just fun. That's a good change in perspective.

Joba says as far as he knows, he'll be a starter this year. When asked if he has a preference to start of relieve, Joba simply said, "No."

Chamberlain was also asked about the DUI. He came out honestly and said he made a mistake and was very lucky no one was hurt. He didn't give any excuses, said it's easy to call for a ride or give up your keys, and pledged not to do it again.

Lester was very humble about his fight with cancer, saying that he didn't do anything different from anyone else faced with the disease. He kept his focus on Feb. 1, the day to report to spring training. He was also lucky to come down with a very treatable form of cancer.

Both men were gracious in their praise of each other and the other team. The Harvard-Yale effect was shown off last night, however. When asked about the rivalry, Lester said Red Sox players were well into it in single-A ball. Joba noted he wasn't aware of it until he got to the majors, noting it hit him right away with his first ejection.

It was difficult to hear at times at it took the technical crew a while to adjust the sound system to the auditorium. Also, I tried to cover the event with just my Blackberry storm. Unfortunately, I could not get my camera to zoom, and the lighting precluded me from getting decent pictures. The twitter updates worked very well, however, with the exception my phone changed Manny to nanny.

I'll be headed to Bridgeport, CT for tonight's forum with Joba Chamberlain and Jon Lester. I'll try to blog live from my phone, however, I may go with Twitter.

If you have any questions you'd like ask, please feel to leave them in the comments.

Update: If this works, Twitter updates will appear here:

Update: That works, you just need to refresh the page.

Rich Lederer ranks pitchers by strikeouts per 100 pitches, which he feels is a better measure of pitching ability than K per 9.

The link comes via River Ave. Blues who notes:

Three Yankees finished in the top six, as Joba came in third (6.90), CC Sabathia fourth (6.58) and AJ Burnett sixth (6.33).

This is why I like those two signings. They move the Yankees back to their successful days of the late 1990s and early aughties when the staff struck out batters from top to bottom. With a poor defense behind them, a high strikeout staff covers that weakness, allowing for the strong offense to dominate.

Carlos Zambrano decided to undergo corrective surgery on hist eyes:

Which makes the news Friday that he plans to have corrective laser surgery on his right eye early next month one more eyebrow raiser, if not a full-blown concern, as he tries to rebound off a split-personality finish to a 2008 season that included his first shoulder-injury scare.

''I'm not blind,'' said Zambrano, who has an eye-doctor appointment today and seemed to suggest the Lasik-type surgery is no big deal. ''Just something wrong in my eyes that has to be corrected.''

Zambrano, the highest-profile active player attending Friday's opening events at Cubs Convention downtown, said things looked ''fuzzy'' at times when he pitched last year -- which matched attempts to explain his demeanor in the second half as his performance declined.

This is pretty common now. Are people really worried about it?

It appears our modern day pitchers were not descended from Neanderthals.

She explained to Discovery News that modern athletes, like baseball pitchers and handball players, often show a characteristic backward displacement at the shoulder joint. Usually just one joint shows this, since most people have a preferred throwing arm.

The anthropologists found this telltale skeletal characteristic in the early modern European fossils, but not in the Neanderthals.

They need to work this into a GIECO ad somehow.

The Orioles signing of Koji Uehara is already generating buzz:

Uehara, who passed his physical and finalized a two-year, $10 million, incentive-laden deal with the Orioles, has been followed closely by the Japanese media since landing in the United States on Sunday. There were 25 reporters who awaited his arrival at Washington Dulles International Airport and a handful of television crews that waited outside Camden Yards on Monday while the 33-year-old was taking his physical elsewhere.

The Orioles have gotten such a significant response for today's noon news conference that they moved it to a bigger room on another floor in the warehouse to accommodate the media.

The Orioles are going to use him as a starter, although two years ago he was moved to the bullpen. His innings were down in 2008 due to his participation in the Olympics. He's going to be the Orioles #2 starter, and if his control is anything like it was in Japan, he'll be the exact opposite of Daniel Cabrera. I just wonder if he's going to have the stamina to last the season given lack of work the last two years.

The Atlanta Braves beat out the Baltimore Orioles for the services of Kenshin Kawakami:

Cox said he has watched Kawakami on film "and he looked very good. He was able to throw the ball right where he wanted to with three or four pitches."

Kawakami has great control. He walked just 1.9 batters in Japan. Compare that to Kei Igawa, who walked 2.9 and Daisuke Matsuzaka who walked 3.2 per 9. He doesn't strike out as many as those two did , but his 7.3 per nine is okay. We'll see which end of the spectrum he falls into.

Bleeding Blue and Teal looks for some positive things to say about pitching prospect Nathan Adcock. Unfortunately, he notices a similarity to an oft injured pitcher.

R.J. Anderson at FanGraphs wonders if the Orioles will repeat with the worst rotation in baseball.

Tampa Bay Rays Fan wants David Price to become the ace of the team this year:

In the five regular season games that Price spent some time on the mound, he tossed 14 innings, struck out 12 en route to notching a 1.93 ERA. Not bad for a rookie, playing in the toughest division in all of baseball.

If you combine that with what he was able to do in the postseason, it is even more impressive.

Price appeared in five post season games, pitching 5.2 innings, striking out 8 and posting a 1.59 ERA. Price also picked up a win and a save during the Rays first post season run.

Be careful what you wish for. Red Sox and Yankees fans had similar hopes about Clay Buchholz and Phil Hughes after stellar short stints in 2007. Unfortunately, it's a long way from small sample size to major league star.

Beyond the Boxscore examines a very good year for the Verducci effect and looks at which pitchers may experience the decline in 2009. Tim Lincecum and Cole Hamels are the biggest names on the list.

If Lincecum comes through 2009 unscatched, I wonder if youngsters will start imitating his mechanics? If he can pitch that much without injury, it's work a go.

Tim Wakefield seems to have disappeared.

My latest column at SportingNews.com looks at the chance of the Giants competing for the division title due to the efforts of their starting pitchers.

Purple Row looks at the advantages and disadvantages of the Rockies trading for Jason Marquis rather than bidding up Tim Redding.

Daniel Drezner poses as the GM of the Red Sox and comes up with an excellent innovation:

Convert Justin Masterson into a three-inning closer. Here's an area where the Red Sox can make in innovation, or retrovation; bring back the three-inning closer. Masterson would be perfect in this role, and helps to give the bullpen a guaranteed rest day.

Bill James once described Bob Stanley as a long reliever who could actually pitch. Using Masterson in this role sounds like a great idea to me. He could easily pitch three inning every third game.

David Golebiewski uses pitch f/x to distinguish Jon Lester four-seam fastball from his one-seam fastball. It's very interesting reading. I hadn't heard of a one-seam fastball before.

Peter Abraham posts a note from Sam Borden with tons of good tidbits on how the Yankees signed Sabathia, plus some comments from A.J. Burnett.

CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett hold their initial Yankees press conference today. YFSF predicts the first tactless questions for both.

R.J. Anderson makes the case for signing good but injured pitchers:

The Pavanos and Clements of the market are undervalued. Teams are unable to rely on injured starters for entire seasons, which is irritating and annoying, but good pitching for fewer innings is usually better than league average pitcher over more innings.

That last point doesn't get enough credit, but it's true. Clement's career FIP if 4.24 and Pavano's 4.21. Over the same amount of innings either will save one more run than an average American League Starting Pitcher (FIP of 4.48). If Clement could give the Jays 80 innings he'll save 13.2 runs, Mr. League Average would save 14.1 in 100. That's not a very wide margin despite an extra 20 innings, and the Jays other starters aren't guarantees to be league average anyways.

Of course, you can also end up with Mark Prior who doesn't pitch at all.

Homer Bailey's pitching motion gets a poor review at Driveline Mechanics.

Hat tip, Red Reporter.

Ian Kennedy received some House work from a former pitching coach.

The former USC star went home and worked with pitching guru Tom House, who has been the Trojans' pitching coach the past two years.

"I got some tips and started applying those and it made the break of my curveball better and the command of it extremely better," Kennedy said from Puerto Rico. "Now I know what I have to do. Before I was just throwing it to throw it and try to throw it for a strike and not have any idea."

Essentially, Kennedy is holding onto the baseball longer, and that makes a difference in break and command. As a result, he can make in-game adjustments to get the results he needs.

Good for Kennedy. He's getting good results in winter ball, but he also looked like a star in AAA in 2008. Whenever I read stories like this, I wonder why the major league coaches don't pick up on these things.

Via River Ave. Blues, Joba Chamberlain and Jon Lester will make a joint appearance at Sacred Heart University in late January. Scared Heart is in my old stomping grounds of Bridgeport (actually on the border of Fairfield, Bridgeport and Trumbull), and we used to drive by it whenever we ventured up to the Trumbull shopping mall. I'm trying to purchase tickets for the event.

Peter Abraham lists Ian Kennedy's stats in the Puerto Rican Winter League. They're mostly good, but the nine walks in 19 2/3 innings bothers me. He's wild and tough to hit, something that doesn't work for most major league pitchers.

Correction: Fixed the title.

John Perricone ran into Tim Lincecum the other night:

First impression, he has that look, that glow, that the preternaturally gifted all seem to have. His handshake was impressive, to say the least. He did seem normal sized, not huge, but his hands were large, solid, and seemed very strong.

He was genuinely friendly, and I felt pretty great getting to meet him in person. Thanks for being such an approachable star, Tim.

I've noticed the hands on other players I've met. They all seem to have big mitts.

Rob Neyer devotes his column to the pitchers to win 20 games in their last season of play. He includes the interesting story of Henry Schmidt.

Ivy Chat looks at how the signing of Ryan Dempster may preclude the Cubs from a Jake Peavy trade.

Bless You Boys comments on Dontrelle Willis's winter workout.

Lookout Landing examines the claim that Francisco Rodriguez was just holding back on his fastball to gain control.

Francisco Rodriguez is a good closer. Of that there's no question. But there are already a lot of miles on his arm, and he's coming off the worst season of his career in which his fastball dropped a few ticks. That's bad. Those are two major red flags, and you better believe the league is aware. I would not want to be a fan of the team that ends up footing his contract, because while free agency is almost always about paying for what a guy's already done (as opposed to what you expect him to do), this one takes that to another level.

All pitchers eventually lose something off their fastballs. The good ones adjust by improving their control. It usually happens when they're 30, not 26, however.

River Ave. Blues comments on Kei Igawa making the AAA all-star team:

I don't really know what else I can add to this news. I, for one, am glad the Yanks' $46-million investment is paying dividends for some team. That 6.66 ERA and 1.76 WHIP in 71.2 big league innings makes me wonder just how bad AAA hitters are anyway.

Now, can we trade him?

That's a good question. He's not exactly blowing away minor league hitters. His 3.45 MiLB ERA is good but not great. My guess is put him in San Diego where get gets to face the weak hitters of the NL West in a tough park for hitters, and he'll get by as a fifth starter. Maybe the Yankees can package him for Peavy?

Pat at Where Have You Gone, Andy Van Slyke? will miss Salomon Torres. The former Pirates pitcher retired today.

I love this idea. Want to find a pitcher? Go to a high popluation country, and offer a prize to someone who can throw hard and accurately:

Singh came to the United States with Patel after being declared winner of the Million Dollar Arm contest in India, run by promoter Jeff Bernstein, Barry Bonds' marketing agent. The contest -- the second edition is scheduled to begin this month and targets India because of its population of 1.1 billion even though the country has never produced a major leaguer -- was based on those who could throw the most pitches 85 mph or faster for strikes. Singh consistently hit 87 mph and earned $100,000. When veteran major league scout Ray Poitevint went to India to see whether he had potential, he also recommended Patel, who threw harder but wasn't as accurate.

If they really wanted to do this right, they should have this contest in every neighborhood, then keep moving the winner up against less and less regional competition. At the end, they'll wind up with 10 good arms that might be developed into major league pitchers.

Hat tip, AOL FanHouse.

This qualifies as a good outing in any league.

Beyond the Boxscore looks at the BABIP of the Rays relievers and sees a weaker bullpen in 2009.

Sean McAdam writes about Joe Maddon successfully using his relievers without a closer. Joe is avoiding the closer by committee tag:

On other occasions, Maddon has gone to his two best relievers early. In Game 2 of the ALCS, after starter Scott Kazmir faltered, Maddon opted for right-hander Grant Balfour and lefty J.P. Howell in the fifth inning when more traditional thinking would have resulted in long man Edwin Jackson getting the call.

"We're willing to utilize either one of those two guys in the middle of the game," Maddon said recently, "so that you actually have a chance to win it in the eighth and the ninth inning. We've done that not only in the postseason, we've done that during the season."

Maddon has sold the concept to the relievers, who aren't worried about ego or job description.

"I like the fact that we have all those options out there," lefty Trever Miller said.

Getting a player to accept an undefined role is tough these days. It's a feather in Maddon's cap that he was able to get his pitchers to buy into this concept.

Chien-Ming Wang threw off a mound today. Peter Abraham has the story.

The Yankees are planning to use Joba Chamberlain as a starter in 2009. Good. The more innings he pitches, the fewer runs the Yankees allow.

So far the Phillies two post-season losses have one thing in common; Jamie Moyer pitching. That pretty much goes against Moyer's career and recent histories. Coming into 2008, Moyer pitched very well in the post season. In addition, Charlie Manuel made sure both of Jamie's starts were on the road, where he pitched much stronger than at Citizens Bank Park. Maybe his excellent batting average on balls in play (BABIP) on the road wasn't sustainable:

Jamie Moyer 2008

Opposition	Home	Road	Playoffs
In Play	320	325	20
Hits	109	90	10
In Play	.341	.277	.500

What's clear is that Moyer is not fooling anyone so far in the playoffs. Could age finally be catching up to the pitcher? He finished strong down the stretch for the Phillies, posting ERAs under three in July, August and September. Manuel didn't push him either, as he averaged about six innings a start over that time period.

Both the Dodgers and Brewers hit lefties well. Moyer just ran into teams that were well equipped to generate offense against him.

Evan Grant details Nolan Ryan's plan for rebuilding the Texas pitching staff:

Among Ryan's suggestions:

• More live batting practice. It was incorporated in the minor leagues at the start of the regular season. Ryan wants more in spring training, too, something now-deposed pitching coach Mark Connor and bullpen coach Dom Chiti resisted last spring for the major league pitchers. Ryan believes batting practice helps build stamina.

• More sprinting: The system is stocked with power pitchers. Sprinting helps create more explosiveness than long jogs.

• Expanding limits: He doesn't favor abandoning pitch counts for minor leaguers. But he does want pitch counts to be more individually tailored. If a pitcher is closing in on his limit when he finishes one inning, it's more likely he'll be sent out to start the next inning and pitch right up to his limit rather than taking a seat early.

• Most importantly, Ryan wants to instill a genuine feeling of fearlessness among Rangers pitchers.

"There is a mind-set you have to develop with these young kids," Ryan said. "They have to believe they can be successful in Arlington. They have to know they are capable of throwing more pitches and working through trouble. We are trying to push them so they'll know they can push themselves when things arise in the big leagues."

I hope it works.

Hat tip, Lone Star Ball.

Cameron Martin examines how well Daisuke Matsuzaka performs in hitter counts:

Hearing this, I made the obvious conclusion that he probably ended up walking most of those batters. Further digging at Baseball-Reference.com tells me otherwise: The 16 times he fell behind 2-0 (doesn't that seem like a low total?), Dice-K didn't walk a single batter all season. That's pretty amazing. The 50 times he fell behind 3-1, he only allowed two hits -- both singles -- while walking the batter 32 times (and hitting one batter).

So he basically never gives in to the hitter.

Like last night, Dice-K's wildest inning tends to be the first. I wonder if that helps set up batters for the rest of the game? They start thinking he's going to miss the corner, so they end up taking pitches later in the game at which they should swing. Is his early wildness luring batters into a sense of complacency that benefits Matsuzaka later in the game? The stats seem to point to this kind of effect in the second and third inning, at least.

With a hat tip to Gaslamp Ball, a Jake Peavy to the Yankees rumor.

Lone Star Ball links to two articles on how Nolan Ryan wants to transform the Texas Rangers pitching staff. He wants to move away from innings limits and pitch counts. Nolan is looking for talent and endurance. He's willing to accept injuries to see if this works.

I'm not sure if it's that different than what Leo Mazzone preached with the Braves. He had his pitchers throwing all the time. Did it really work? Glavine certainly pitched without injury for a number of years, but Steve Avery broke down fairly early and John Smoltz had his share of troubles. The Rangers may end up with the entire pitching staff blown out, but they also may wind up with fewer but better pitchers. Imagine a nine or ten man staff being able to handle a 162 game workload. That would give the Rangers a competitive advantage.

Will it work? I'm skeptical. Ryan seems to be projecting himself onto other pitchers, but Nolan was a freak of nature. He held up for so long most likely because his body was built for it. He was built to pitch lots of innings for a long time. Most athletes aren't. Maybe what the Rangers should do is figure out what in Ryan's genetic makeup made his so durable, then scout for pitchers with the same traits. Now that would be cutting edge.

Rich Harden's shoulder checked out, and the Cubs picked up his $7 million option for 2009.

Peter Abraham notes what John Danks means to the Yankees:

On a serious note, perhaps you noticed John Danks win two huge games for the White Sox in the last week. This would be the same John Danks who lost 13 games and had a 5.50 ERA for the Rangers when he was 22. The lesson is you have to be patient with young starters.

Sure, Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy had poor seasons for the Yankees. But there was a reason they were first-round picks (just like Danks) and you have to give them time. If the playoffs can serve as a blueprint, that is what the Yankees should take from it.

See also Greg Maddux's start with the Cubs.

Ben Walker wonders if the late success of pitchers on three days rest might start a new trend. I sure hope so.

John Smoltz mentioned Hamels effectiveness against righties and how teams should bat more lefties against him. He says the managers don't want to answer for a lefty-heavy lineup, something I've heard from other players when asked why pitchers like Hamels see mostly righties.

Hamels retired all nine batters he's faced so far, striking out four. The other five outs were all in the air.

Update: Carlos Ruiz leads off the bottom of the third with a single, the first hit of the game. A bad defensive play on the Hamels bunt puts runners on first and second. Hall probably had a play at second, hesitated then threw to first low and Weeks dropped the ball.

Update: It looked like Gallardo was going to get out of the inning. A fly out and a strike out left the runners on 1st and 2nd. Utley hit a hard high ball to centerfield and Mike Cameron misjudged it. He started in, then had to go back and he dropped the ball. Two runs score and the Phillies draw first blood. Defense hurt Milwaukee in this inning. Both runs will be unearned.

Update: Gallardo just issued his third walk in a row, the first an IBB to Ryan Howard, and Utley is forced in. The Phillies lead 3-0 and Gallardo is not long for this game.

Update: Feliz flies out to center to end the inning.

Halos Heaven reports from John Lackey's side session.

The Tigers picked up their second steal against Gavin Floyd in the third inning. The steals don't matter if the batters can't deliver hits, and so far Floyd hasn't allowed any. The two Tigers reached by a walk and a hit by pitch. Despite allowing 34 steals in 39 attempts, it didn't really hurt Floyd this year as opponents hit just .236 against him with runners in scoring position. So far, that number is going down today.

Update: Magglio Ordonez leads off the fourth with a single.

Randy Johnson pitches nine stellar innings and picks up his 295th career win on a walk off walk. We'll wait to see if some team sign Randy in order to allow him to win his 300th game.

I wonder if Johnson would make a good pitching coach? Some team could sign him to do both, and if his pitching doesn't work out he just goes into full time coaching.

Peter Abraham posts audio of Mussina's post game news conference. Abraham thinks Mike pitched his last:

Mussina is 270-153, but he probably cares more about being around his wife and family than spending three more seasons in a chase for 300 wins. He has all the money he could ever spend and he has a life he treasures in Pennsylvania. Sure, it's possible he comes back. But when you listened to him talk after the game, he sounded like a man who is ready to walk away.

I have to agree.

Tim Lincecum strikes out 13 in seven innings, allowing just one run as he earns his 18th win of the season in a 3-1 decision over the Dodgers. He finishes second to Johan Santana with a 2.62 ERA in the National League but leads the league by a wide margin with 265 strikeouts. That's an impressive total for 227 innings.

In my mind, the vote comes down to Lincecum and Santana. They're ERAs are very close, but Santana holds two fewer wins. I suspect the level of competition favors Johan; facing the Phillies and Marlins was much tougher than shutting down the Padres. Had the Mets won today, Johan's Saturday performance would have solidified the award for him. It may anyway, but Sabathia's clutch complete game may throw writers his way as well. It should be a very interesting vote.

Joe Saunders's kidney stone passing didn't seem to bother him today as he pitches six shutout innings against the Rangers to help the Angels to their 100th win. Unlike Lackey and Santana, Saunders's tune up for the playoffs is a successful one. Of Weaver, Garland, Lackey and Santana, Saunders is the only Angels' starter to pitch well in his last start. We'll see how that translates to the playoffs. Joe finishes he season with a 3.41 ERA.

Roy Halladay wins his 20th game in style, going nine innings as the Blue Jays down the Yankees 8-2. It's the second time Roy reached the 20 win plateau. Three of the six hits off Hallady game via the bat of Brett Gardner easily the worst hitter in the lineup tonight.

At 131-66, Halladay is one win short of a .667 winning percentage. That's a remarkable number given that Toronto in that time is a .506 team. Without Roy, they'd be well under .500.

MLBRumors reports on a Peter Gammons radio appearance. According to the post, CC Sabathia told his agent to stop complaining about the Brewers' use of Sabathia:

"Don't call them anymore," Gammons quoted Sabathia as telling his representatives at Legend Sports Group. "I want to win."

The Brewers will use CC on Sunday, his third start in a row on three days rest. Although, if the Brewers are a game up on either the Mets or Phillies at that point, I think they would be better off trying to win with someone else and saving CC for the possible playoff game, or first start in the division series.

Andrew Kneeland opines on the dimished role of the starting pitcher.

Brett Myers pitches another poor game, and the Phillies fall to the Braves 10-4. Atlanta collects 10 hits and six runs in 4 1/3 innings against Myers as his ERA rises to 4.55. Not only does the loss give the Mets and Brewers a chance to gain ground, the Phillies now must wonder if they can trust Myers going into the post season.

Phil Hughes just gave Yankees fans all the hope they need for next season. He goes eight innings against the Blue Jays, allowing two runs. He walks none and strikes out six, throwing 71 of 100 pitches for strikes. That's what fans expected this season, and now they can hope for that in 2009.

A.J. Burnett pitches just as well, and the teams go to the tenth inning tied at two.

Update: Abreu hits a grand slam in the top of the 10th. Too late for Phil to get the win, however.

Update: The slam holds up and the Yankees win 6-2. They've now won seven in a row and hold a four-game lead over Toronto for third place in the division.

Todd Jones retires from baseball:

In Detroit, Jones has been known as a "roller coaster" closer because of his penchant for turning ninth innings into nail-biters for manager Jim Leyland and Tigers fans. In his eight seasons of writing for Sporting News, Jones has been even more reliable, never missing a deadline and putting a waiting editor on a "roller coaster" only a couple of times.

Jones, 40, has spent much of the second half of the 2008 season on the disabled list with a sore shoulder. He told Sporting News he had been pitching with a frayed labrum for some time, but he managed to stay off of the disabled list until July 31. It was just his third trip to the D.L. in his career, the first for an arm injury since 1996.

Jones lasted a long time, having his ups and downs but coming out overall better than most. His best season came in 2005 with the Marlins. He kept his walks down, and only allowed two home runs in 73 innings. 5.5 per 200 innings. For his career, his HR per 200 is 17.4. I wish him continued success writing for SportingNews.com.

Zack Greinke pitches seven shutout innings as the Royals down the Tigers 5-0. That's the fourth short shutout of the season for Zack, lowering his ERA to 3.47.

What a great year for Greinke. He's established himself as a good front-line starter. Now the Royals need to find some offense to turn that ERA into a 20 win season. The Royals won 11 of their last 14 games. That's a big positive to carry into 2009 as well.

James Shields makes another fine start for the Rays, allowing the Orioles just two runs over seven innings. He walked one and struck out eight. At this point, I'm more comfortable with Shields on the mound than Kazmir. Scott will be better at his best, but James seems to be more consistent. The Rays lead 5-2 in the bottom of the ninth.

Dale Sveum will start CC Sabathia on short rest again.

The starting rotation is in shambles because of Ben Sheets' ailing elbow and the meltdowns of Manny Parra and Jeff Suppan, leaving Sveum with few viable options. He said he'll start Sabathia on Wednesday and figure out Thursday later.

"We'll see what happens," said Sveum. "(Sabathia) is stil our best option to win tomorrow's game. He's one of the best pitchers in all of baseball."

Sveum realizes some people will say the Brewers are abusing Sabathia, who is a free agent and likely will bolt for another team after the season. But Sveum said he checked with Sabathia first and "he's all for it."

Milwaukee is making someone signing CC next year a risky move. I'm not looking forward to seeing what happens to CC and Tim Lincecum next season. Sabathia may be big and strong enough to take the abuse. LIncecum's mechanics may be good enough to take the abuse. I wouldn't count on it, however.

Dontrelle Willis walks four batters in the first inning as the Indians score three runs. It looks like the Tigers are going to spend the winter trying to figure out how to get Willis back under control.

The Milwaukee Brewers get some good news, Yovani Gallardo might be able to pitch this weekend.

Chris Waters entered tonight's game with a 5.73 ERA, so it's possible the Blue Jays thought they could get healthy against the Orioles lefty. They were misinformed. Waters throws the second excellent start of his career, going the distance as he shutdown the Blue Jays 2-0 on four hits. Waters pitched eight shutout innings in his MLB debut, but stunk in his next seven appearances. I guess two out of nine ain't bad.

Monday night I though Kazmir looked ill. That indeed may have been the case:

The stakes were far higher Monday, and Kazmir seemed as mystified as his manager and everyone else after his ERA shot from 2.99 to 3.50. He said his body felt "weak" and wasn't responding as it should have, as if he had jet lag.

"I mean, what else could go wrong in that game?" Kazmir said. "I just don't want to have any of those experiences ever again."

It was an inopportune time for a bug. After the 13-5 Red Sox victory, Tampa Bay and Boston are tied in the games back column.

Correction: I meant games back column, not loss column. Tampa leads by one in the AFILC.

The Tigers shut down Kenny Rogers for the rest of the season. No reason was given, but it's clear Rogers has become quite hittable.

Carlos Zambrano spoke after the game about the no-hitter. I found this interesting:

It was the first Cubs' no-hitter since Milt Pappas on Sept. 2, 1972. Zambrano said Pappas encouraged him during the Cubs Convention.

"Every time I go to the Cubs Convention he said 'You will be the next one.' I appreciate everything he said to me at the Cubs Convention," Zambrano said.

Pappas must have ESP(n).

Carlos Zambrano is throwing a no-hitter against the Astros as they go to the bottom of the sixth. Carlos has walked one and hit a batter while striking out five.

Update: Zambrano retires the side 1-2-3 in the sixth. He strikes out all three batters and the no-hitter continues. The Cubs lead 5-0.

Update: The Astros go down 1-2-3 in the seventh on two grounders and a strikeout. With the White Sox up 6-0 on the Tigers, maybe it's time for ESPN to switch over.

USS Mariner adds to the criticism of the Giants allowing Tim Lincecum to throw 138 pitches Saturday night.

The Orioles lead the Twins 7-0, scoring all their runs on five homers. Nick Blackburn gives up four of those in four innings of work. He came into the game with a good home run rate, allowing 17 in 176 2/3 innings.

Meanwhile, Radhames Liz allowed just three hits through five innings as he's working on a shutout. He's thrown 75 pitches so far.

Josh Outman made his first start of his major league career this afternoon as he held the Texas Rangers to one run in a 7-1 Oakland victory. The most aptly named pitcher since Jack Armstrong, Outman faced eighteen batters, and with the help of two double plays recorded 15 outs.

Brandon Webb recovered from his three game slide to pitch eight shutout innings agains the Cincinnati Reds, earning his 20th win. It wasn't a sure thing, however, as the scored stood at 1-0 when he finished pitching. Arizona scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth, and they needed both as Brandon Lyon allowed two runs to score in the ninth before Chad Qualls got the final out. Lyon's BA allowed is up to .314 and his slugging percentage allowed stands at .480. Those aren't the kind of stats teams like to see in a closer.

The win allows Arizona to keep pace with the Dodgers. Chad Billingsley keeps pitching well, recording his 15th win with six solid innings in the big ballpark. The three youngsters, Ethier, Kemp and Loney each collect two hits, and Loney didn't even start. The Dodgers schedule looks pretty easy down the stretch, as they play Pittsburgh, San Francisco and San Diego after leaving Colorado.

Shairon Martis gets a good look this September from the Washington coaching staff. They liked what they saw tonight. Even though the Marlins take the game 2-1, Martis pitches five strong innings, allowing two runs, one earned. He walked three, which is not great, but struck out nine. The Nationals can walk away with something positive from the outing.

No wonder Jonathan blew the save the other night. Deadspin links to all the videos.

Papelbon missed his calling. He should have gone to Harvard and starred in the Hasty Pudding productions. (Serf's Up was very funny, by the way.)

Jose Valverde helps the Astros stay on the winning track as he earns his 42nd save Wednesday night. Valverde hasn't pitched in a Houston loss since June, and he has not allowed a run in his last 21 appearances. Valverde got off to a rough start this season, with many Houston fans believing the team made a mistake. I'm sure they're very happy to have him on the team now. The Astros win 7-4, moving them past the Cardinals into a tie with the Phillies for second place in the Wild Card race.

Scott Lewis makes his debut for the Indians in Baltimore and holds the Orioles scoreless in eight innings of work. He only allowed three hits, walking none while striking out three. He worked very efficiently, throwing just 96 pitches. A Maddux like outing. His minor league walks and strikeouts are outstanding.

Update: Cleveland wins 7-1, and Scott Lewis gets the victory.

Sean Gallagher pitches four no-hit innings against the Tigers, striking out six but walking six. With his pitch count at 87, 50% balls, he's pulled for Jerry Blevins. I don't know if Gallagher was hurt, but it was clear, despite the no-hitter, he was not pitching well. Blevins goes through the fifth 1-2-3, so the multi-pitcher no-hitter is still a possibility. The A's lead the Tigers 5-0 after five innings.

Update: Miguel Cabrera leads off the sixth with a broken bat single.

Joey Devine pitches one inning against the Tigers, putting him in the right place to take advantage of Oakland's comeback and he runs his record to 5-1 out of the pen. He struck out two in his perfect inning of work, giving him 41 K in 37 2/3 innings of work with 12 walks and no home runs allowed. Along with Zielger, who picked up a four-out save tonight, they've allowed six earned runs in 88 2/3 innings.

Chris Volstad leaves the Marlins-Phillies game after three innings due to being hit on the leg twice by batted balls. The Marlins led 9-1 at the time. I wonder if he would have stayed in if the game was closer? The Phillies are staging a comeback, scoring three times in the sixth to make it 10-7 Marlins.

Beyond the Boxscore looks at James Shields pitchFX data to try to determine why he's a better pitcher at home than on the road.

La Velle E. Neal notes that the Twins bullpen is the worst ranked in terms of ERA since Gardenhire and Anderson took over as manager and pitching coach.

Brad Lidge gives the Phillies fans a little scare but comes away with his save percentage at 100. The Phillies gave Lidge a two run lead to hold in the ninth, but he put the tying runs on base, first and third with one out. Brad, however, strikes out the last two Marlins, Helms and Cantu, to end the game. Opponents are 14 for 70 against Lidge with runners in scoring position, striking out 26 times.

Nick Hundley called for a slider, but Chris Young wanted to throw a fastball. Gabe Kapler deposited the fastball in the seats, and Young lost his perfect game.

Cliff Lee allowed one run in 7 1/3 innings as the Indians defeat the Royals 3-1. Lee wins his 21st game, the first to reach that level since Bartolo Colon and Dontrelle Willis in 2005. With 21 Cleveland games remaining, Lee could reach 25 wins. The last to reach that level was Bob Welch in 1990. There have been two AL pitchers to reach 23 since then (Pedro, 1999, Zito, 2003) and two reached 24 in the NL (Smoltz, 1996, Randy Johnson, 2002).

Lee walked one today, keeping his average walks per start exactly at one.

Chris Young comes out for the eighth inning, needing six outs for a perfect game. The Padres are one of the only teams never to toss a no-hitter (nor have the Mets). He'll face Fielder, Hart and Kapler. Fielder pops out on the first pitch. The Brewers made it easy on Young today, his pitch count is very low.

Update: With two out, Kapler gets a high fastball and hits it just inside the leftfield foul pole in the second deck for a home run. No no-no for the Padres today.

Update: Young finishes the game for 10-1 Padres win. It's Young's first complete games. By pitching well while only striking out four batters, Young was able to limit his pitches thrown to 96. A great game by Young.

The Brewers lose no ground to the Cubs as Kerry Wood gives up three runs, two earned to blow the save in the bottom of the ninth and give the Reds a 4-3 win. It hasn't exactly been a great week for leading teams as the Rays, Cubs, Brewers and Diamondbacks are all going through bad stretches.

Chris Young of the Padres is pitching a perfect game against the Brewers through six innings. With the score 10-0 San Diego, Young can just worry about remaining perfect.

If you remember, Sabathia pitched a one hitter for Milwaukee last Sunday, a game that engendered some controversy on the one hit. Many thought it was an error. If there's a close play, I wonder how the Milwaukee official scorer will call it?

Update: Wow. There are people leaving a perfect game in the seventh inning. I thought maybe they were going to watch the Packers, but Green Bay plays tomorrow night. How can anyone leave a perfect game?

Update: Two fly outs and a ground out and Young is out of the seventh still perfect. He's only struck out three, so the Brewers are putting the ball in play, just not very well.

Roy Oswalt tossed a one-hitter at Coors Field Saturday night, one of the three lowest hit games in the history of the park. Roy continues his turnaround from the first three months of the season. While his strikeouts are up slightly and his walks are down slightly, the following table shows that Roy was giving batters good pitches to hit early on:

Oswalt 2008	Through 6/25	Since
Games	17	11
ERA	4.77	2.12
Hits/9 IP	10.4	6.7
HR/200 IP	32.9	8.3

Since Roy's strikeout rate didn't change much (7.0 per 9 early, 7.3 per nine late), either the Astros defense improved tremendously, or Roy is just doing a better job of fooling batters. The huge reduction in the home run rate points to the latter. Note, too that the turn-around started before his trip to the disabled list. According to Jose de Jesus Ortiz, Roy's back bothered him all year.

So Oswalt's early problems may have cost the Astros a playoff spot. It's not a stretch to believe that if Roy pitched well early, his record through 6/25 could be 9-5 instead of 6-8. The would make Houston 78-64, four games out of the wild card instead of seven. That's a much easier gap to close with three weeks left in the season.

It looks like Ben Sheets injury wasn't that serious as he pitches a shutout against the Padres. Sheets gives up five hits and one walk over his nine innings of work, striking out seven along the way.

I do have to wonder about Yost once again however. Sheets is a fragile pitcher coming off a groin injury, however slight. Allowing him to throw 120 pitches because:

• You don't trust your bullpen
• Your bullpen is tired

Just doesn't cut it in my book. Yes, it was a 1-0 game, but with all the callups Yost should be able to find someone to pitch the last inning. I understand Sheets and Sabathia probably won't be around next year, but you do want them to be around for the playoffs.

Brandon Morrow made the transition from bullpen to rotation well, holding the Yankees hitless for 7 2/3 innings before Wilson Betemit doubled in Hideki Matsui, who reached via a walk. The Yankees fall 3-1 after, I believe, making the second longest trip possible in major league baseball travel, I believe, Tampa Bay to Seattle. Still, the Yankees waste a good performance by Andy Pettitte, who struck out 9 over seven innings of work.

On a lighter note, Matt Tuiasosopo debuted, doubling in four at bats. He's competing with Dustin Pedroia for most vowels per letter in his last name.

Dan Haren pitched another poor game Friday night:

Date	ERA
Through 2007	3.82
April-July, 2008	2.62
Aug-Sept, 2008	6.17
Overall, 2008	3.53

Haren is still pitching well for the year, it's just that his regression is going in the wrong direction at the wrong time. Compare that to Johan Santana who regressed positively toward his mean in the second half. He'll come off as a hero while Haren might end up the goat.

Josh Beckett returned to action tonight. The Red Sox only let him pitch five innings, but in that time he shutout the Rangers on four hits and didn't allow a walk while striking out seven. As in 2007, the rest probably was a good thing that will allow Beckett to be fresh during the playoffs.

Mike Lowell also makes a splash in his return, picking up two hits, one a home run. The Red Sox lead 7-0 in the seventh.

Roy Halladay earns his 18th win of the season, allowing three runs, one earned, over seven innings against the Rays. Roy struck out seven and walked none. That puts his strikeout to walk ratio well over five for the season at 5.4. It also keeps his career mark over three at 3.05. Given that in his first two full seasons in the majors, this ratio was very close to one, it's an impressive accomplishment.

With Zambrano and Harden on the shelf, Ted Lilly needed to step up for the Cubs. Instead, the Reds knocked him down, scoring five runs in two innings, and Ted left for a pinch hitter. I suppose at this point the Cubs hope Lilly just had a bad game as opposed to getting hurt. The Cubs trail 5-0 in the fourth.

James Parr made his major league debut for the Braves and pitched six shutout innings as the Nationals fell 2-0. Parr did a very good job in the minors of keeping walks and home runs to a minimum. He did walk three tonight. What I like about this debut is that the Braves sent him against a fairly weak offense. They put him in a situation, at home, against the Nationals, where there was a good probability of success. He comes away with a win and a 0.00 ERA, and I would suppose a bit of confidence.

MLB upheld the scoring of the hit against CC Sabathia on Sunday.

"Bob Webb is a 20-year veteran scorer who is held in high regard," said Phyllis Merhige, MLB's Senior Vice President for Club Relations. "This play is a reminder of the difficult decisions that official scorers face."

I can't say I'm surprised by this. MLB has a certain responsibility to back their official scorers. It's a play that could go either way, and it shouldn't be changed just because he would have had a no-hitter otherwise.

Barry Zito pitched a pretty good game at Coors Field Wednesday afternoon, holding the Rockies to four hits and two runs over eight innings. His record stands at 9-16, and it would be very difficult for him to lose 20 at this point. Zito's reached the point where about half his starts are decent. Maybe over the winter he can work back to 75% of them being good.

Pedro Martinez is working on his flexibility due to difficulty warming up his shoulder.

The Angels defeat the Tigers 5-4, and Francisco Rodriguez collects his 54th save of the season. He made it interesting, however, giving up a hit and a walk. He needs three more saves to tie Bobby Thigpen's single season record.

I was interviewed on 1010XL this morning, and we talked about K-Rod versus Cliff Lee for AL Cy Young. The hosts thought there was a 50/50 chance that Rodriguez would get the award. A game like tonight is a reason he shouldn't win. The walk he issued tonight is his 30th in 59 1/3 innings. Lee has 27 walks in 194 1/3 innings. Since not walking people is one of the pillars of good pitching, how can anyone even think of voting for K-Rod over Cliff Lee?

Cole Hamels throws 7 1/3 shutout innings as the Phillies end the Nationals winning streak by a score of 4-0. Hamels collected four short shutouts through June 5th, but this is his first since that date. He also seems to have gotten the gopher balls under control as he's only allowed one home run in his last six games.

The Nationals lost more than the game as Jesus Flores was injured in a collison with Chase Utley. I assume Jesus turned the other cheek. :-)

Greg Maddux tied Roger Clemens on the all-time win list Monday night, gaining his 354th victory. Maddux wished he talked more pitching with Roger:

"I didn't talk about pitching as much as I would have liked to, I know that, but I've always respected what he's done," Maddux said. "He did it in the American League, and that's a lot tougher over there. I think everybody knows that. But I've always considered him the best in the game because of the way he threw a baseball, how he set up hitters and how he competed."

Maddux has an equal claim to best in the game. I prefer Maddux's efficiency to Clemens's power, but both worked extremely well.

Cliff Lee became the first Indian's pitcher to win 20 games since Gaylord Perry in 1974. He did it in perfect style on Monday, shutting out the leader of the AL Central, the Chicago White Sox, in a complete game. He did not walk a batter, he did not hit a batter, and the five hits against Lee were all singles. The game sums up his season perfectly. Opponents hold a low batting average, a very low OBA and an extremely low slugging percentage against him. Imagine where the team would be if the rest of the squad played like a .500 team! This could turn out to be the best AL pitching season since Pedro Martinez in 1999, in terms of both winning percentage and ERA.

Jorge de la Rosa is putting together a strong finish to his season. The shutout the Giants for seven innings this afternoon, allowing just four hits and one walk while striking out six. That's four good starts in a row for Jorge. He's allowed five earned runs in his last 25 innings, good for a 1.80 ERA. The Rockies are managing to stay close enough in the NL West to still have hope in the playoff race.

With Huston Street pitching better, the Athletics find themselves in a strong position both now and in the future:

Street, who earned the win in relief Saturday night, might get a save opportunity or two in the final month, but manager Bob Geren has no plans to oust rookie Brad Ziegler as closer.

"As of right now, no," Geren said Sunday. "Brad has been effective, (setup man) Joey Devine has been outstanding, too, and Huston has been very good - that's great for a manager. They're all performing well."

If Street, 25, continues to pitch well and demonstrate good health down the stretch, there is likely to be interest in the right-hander this winter from possible trade partners, and the emergence of Ziegler and Devine will only hasten a deal.

Street wants the closer's job back, and that can only motivate him to pitch well. That makes him more attractive to trading partners, giving the A's a chance to improve themselves with a move.

CC Sabathia takes a one-hitter into the bottom of the ninth. The only hit against him came in the fifth, when Andy LaRoche rolled one halfway between third and the pitcher's mound. Sabathia tried to pick it up with his bare hand and dropped it. The official scorer immediately called it a hit because he felt it was going to take an extraordinary effort to throw the batter out. However, the replay shows there was more than enough time for CC to make the throw.

He just struck out the first two batters in the ninth.

Update: Freddy Sanchez flies out end the game. The crowd was chanting, "Change the score!" CC strikes out 11, picking up his third shutout as a Brewer as the Pirates fall 7-0. Those three shutouts lead the NL. He's now pitched eleven games for Milwaukee, throwing 88 innings. His pickup by the Brewers was easily the best deal in the season.

Roy Halladay breaks the 16 win mark, the level he reached each of the last two seasons. The Blue Jays defeat the Yankees 6-2 as Halladay goes seven innings. With 103 pitches thrown, I'm a little surprised that he didn't go for the complete game, but with a good lead there was no reason to stretch him. His only mistakes were gopher balls to A-Rod and Giambi. His 17 wins are the third highest of his career. With a little luck, he might be able to equal his career high of 22 set in 2003.

Only Baseball Matters makes the case for Tim Lincecum winning the Cy Young award.

David Purcey puts it all together in his eighth major league start. He goes eight innings, throwing just 92 pitches. His problem so far this season was walks, but he issued zero base on balls while striking out eleven. He made just one mistake, allowing a solo home run to Carlos Pena. He lost.

Matt Garza gave up six hits and three walks over 7 2/3 innings, but kept the Blue Jays off the board. Only one of the hits went for extra bases, a double. Keeping the ball in the park made all the difference tonight.

After going nearly two years without a complete game, the Marlins picked up their second in eight games tonight. Josh Johnson throws 113 pitches in holding the Braves to one run as the Marlins get back in the win column with a 4-1 victory. Johnson threw 80 pitches for strikes, walking three while striking out eight. Given that the Marlins offense isn't performing up to their early season levels, Florida is going to need more pitching performances like this to stay in the race.

Kevin Millwood pitches his second consecutive complete game, once again allowing just one run. That was just enough, as the Rangers defeated the Royals 2-1. Texas fans, has Kevin changed something in his delivery or developed a new pitch, or is it just him getting to pitch against poor AL Central teams?

The Diamondbacks picked up Jon Rauch to solidify their bullpen, but he took the loss Monday night as the Padres took home a 4-2 victory. Rauch's walks and strikeouts are as good as they were with Washington, but the two-run shot by Jody Gerut was the fifth home run Jon allowed in 15 innings of work with Arizona. He gave up a total of five home runs in 48 1/3 innings with Washington. Seven of the ten runs he's allowed for the DBacks came on home runs. With the Dodgers loss earlier in the evening, Arizona fails to gain a game in the NL West.

With John Maine going on the disabled list, Mike Pelfrey steps up to pitch a great game against the Astros. He goes the distance for his second complete game in a row. He did not allow a run until the ninth, allowing just six hits and no walks while striking out six. He now given up four earned runs in his last 25 innings.

Carlos Delgado drove in six runs with two three-run homers. That raises his slugging percentage to .493. The Mets win by a final score of 9-1.

Anthony Reyes pitches seven innings for the Indians tonight, allowing just one run. That lowers his ERA since joining Cleveland to 2.22 over 24 1/3 innings. The biggest difference in Reyes from his time in St. Louis is his home runs allowed. He allowed 33.4 home runs per 200 innings with the Cardinals, only one so far for Cleveland (8.2 per 200 innings). Otherwise, he's really not pitching that well. His strikeouts are low and his walks are high. I'd be very surprised if he keeps his ERA this low without improving at least one of those stats.

The Marlins kept their playoffs hope alive, gaining a game on the Mets with a 5-2 win over the Diamondbacks. Brandon Lyon came in to pitch the ninth for Arizona with Florida leading 3-2. He gave up three doubles to plate two more runs and increase the odds of the Marlins holding off the DBacks in the bottom of the inning.

Lyon raised his August ERA to 14.21. He's given up five doubles in the month out of eleven for the entire year. That has helped the opposition to a .694 slugging percentage against the pitcher.

Rich Harden continued his great pitching for the Cubs today, lasting seven innings with eleven strikeouts. Once again, a solo home run proves to be the only way to score against Rich. He's now allowed nine runs pitching for Chicago, five on solo homers.

He's now struck out 70 in 49 innings for the Cubs, 12.9 per nine innings. With that many Ks, he allowed a mere .162 batting average. He even through 109 pitches today as the Cubs seem to be willing to let him go deeper in games now. Chicago wins by a final score of 6-1.

Dana Eveland revamped his delivery in his stint at AAA and came back to pitch a good game against the Mariners:

Dana Eveland always started his delivery with his hands over his head as a nod to his idol, Nolan Ryan.

He's abandoned his boyhood hero, though, and for good reason: Eveland's control is much, much better when he begins his delivery with his hands at his belt. On Saturday night at Safeco Field, Eveland made his first start with the A's since revamping his style during a brief demotion to Triple-A Sacramento, and he was terrific.

Seattle ranks 12th in the AL in runs per game (Oakand 14th) so it may not be that great a test. However, Eveland was skating by with a high walk rate early in the season, so if this does get that under control, it's should be a boost for the A's.

Carl Pavano's return was a success. He last five innings throwing 91 pitches. Pavano allowed three runs on seven hits, only one of the hits coming after the second inning. Most encouraging was his one walk and five strikeouts. With the Yankees leading 4-3 in the sixth, he's in line for the win.

A number of pitchers turned in fine performances out west Friday night. Aaron Harang went into Coors and reversed his troubles, tossing six scoreless innings as the Reds won 8-5. Harang labored a bit, throwing 115 pitches. Given that he allowed eight runs in his two starts since coming off the disabled list, this was a huge sign of progress for the Reds ace.

Glen Perkins used his defense as only five of twenty five balls in play against him fell for hits. He delivered eight scoreless innings against the Angels as the Twins win easily 9-0. Denard Span continues to spark the team. His three for four raises his OBA to .407. That included a three-run homer.

Randy Johnson struck out 13 in seven innings as he continues to return to his Cy Young form. His defense and his bullpen didn't help, however. Johnson gave up three runs, two unearned and the bullpen allowed two more as the Marlins kept pace in the NL East with a 5-4 victory. Johnson recorded 38 K in his last 33 1/3 innings.

Tim Lincecum continued to make his case for a Cy Young award with eight shutout innings against the Padres. In five games against San Diego this year, Tim is 2-0 with an 0.79 ERA. The Giants take the game 5-0.

Adam Wainwright returned to the Cardinals rotation tonight and allowed the Braves just one run over six innings of work. He also went three for five, one of three three-hit games by Cardinals hitters this evening. St. Louis's offense scored 15 runs so far and they're batting in the bottom of the eighth.

The Braves keep getting worse. Assuming they don't come back from a 15-1 deficit in the ninth, they will have lost 11 of their last 12 games, allowing at least 86 runs. I read the complaints of Yankees fans every day, but their team is on a pace to win 86 games. They ought to look to Atlanta for a reality check.

Johan Santana runs his scoreless streak to 16 innings as the Mets defeat the Astros 3-0. He gave up hits but not home runs, getting tagged for eight safeties in seven innings. He walked just one, however, and struck out five.

You can see in Santana's opposition batting stats (since 2000) how he improves as the season progresses. Batters are close to the Mendoza line against him from June through September.

Astros fans have to be happy with Roy Oswalt, who gets an eight inning complete game. He walked none and struck out six, giving him two walks and 16 strikeouts in his last sixteen innings.

Update: Fixed a typo.

Sam Mellinger posts a nice column on how this is the worst part of the season for a team (like the Royals) out of the race. He also provides this note on Brian Bannister:

Anyway, with Banny starting tonight after his disaster on Sunday, let's end this with two relevant stats, one good, one bad.

The bad: including relievers, there have been eight pitchers since 1956 to give up 10 or more runs in one or fewer innings. Four of them are Royals. Two of them this season.

The good: among the starters who made their next scheduled outing in the same season, the average ERA was 4.28. The other Royal on that list of starters, Luke Hudson, was the best of the bunch, giving up five hits, two walks and one earned run over seven innings.

Regression to the mean in action.

Brandon Webb's win Thursday night was a bit painful:

The shot off the bat of San Diego's Kevin Kouzmanoff had struck Webb just below his rib cage, temporarily putting him in a purple daze and giving him a nice bruise. He completed the play despite the pain to end the sixth and went on to pitch one more inning.

...

"People thought I got a glove on it, which I didn't. I wish I did. Got me pretty square, went toward first base and had to get the out," he said. "As bad as it hurt, I wanted to make a play on it. Ran in (to the dugout) so I could rub it. It was a pretty good shot. It will still be a couple of days, it will be a little sore, but I will be all right."

His seven shutout innings lowered his ERA to 2.74. He's 6-0 with a 1.53 ERA since the all-star break and can win his 20th game before September first. If the DBacks were willing to skip Davis on a turn through the rotation, Webb could get two more starts this month. Winning 20 by Sept 1 would be impressive, since no NL pitcher has won 20 since 2005.

Sean Gallagher and Justin Duchscherer both hit the disabled list for the Oakland Athletics, setting a team record for DL use. It also leads them with an all-lefty rotation:

The A's recalled left-handers Dana Eveland and Dan Meyer from Triple-A Sacramento to join the rotation. Eveland, in his second stint with the A's this season, is scheduled to start on Saturday. Meyer is scheduled to pitch Sunday. He is also in his second stint with Oakland this year.

The team now has an all left-handed, five-man rotation -- including Thursday's starter Greg Smith, Gio Gonzalez and Dallas Braden. The only other time Oakland has had an all-southpaw rotation was in 1973 with a four-man staff of Vida Blue, Ken Holtzman, Darold Knowles and Paul Lindlad.

Sounds like something sinister is going on in Oakland. I can't imagine an all-lefty rotation works that well. Most hitters are still right-handed, after all.

With Toronto leading the Yankees 13-3 after seven innings, Cito Gaston pulls Roy Halladay. He allowed all three New York runs in the seventh, but only threw 94 pitches. I'm sure Roy was more than capable of finishing the game, but Gaston does the right thing here. The Toronto pen should be able to easily finish this contest. There's no reason for Roy to go for the CG in this situation. Compare this to Sabathia's last start in which he was allowed to throw 130 pitches when the Brewers were winning big. I'm all for pitchers finishing what they start, but there are times to be conservative and games like these certainly qualify.

Carl Pavano starts Saturday against Baltimore. The Yankees might be better off with this Carl.

The Cardinals penciled in Adam Wainwright into the rotation. He starts tomorrow (Friday) against the Braves. At least they're giving him an easy first assignment.

The Cardinals rotation is 23-18 with a 4.37 ERA since Wainwright went down. They were 29-15 with him as a starter, posting a 3.97 ERA.

Via Bronx Banter, an excellent essay on Joba Chamberlain's mechanics. To sum up, there are good points and bad points to Joba's delivery, but the biggest risk or injury comes from his throwing hard:

The Yankees can work with Joba to make his mechanics more efficient, can strengthen the shoulder and the arm with a regimen that has proven to work, and they can baby him as much as they like. But sometimes a team simply has to hope for the best because even if a pitcher does everything right, there is still only so many pitches in a player's arm before the arm begins to give way and the pitcher loses the quality of his stuff. Just how many depends on many factors, most of which the Yankees and other teams will never know. For the Yankees sake, they should hope Joba is one of the lucky ones.

Earlier today, some bloggers wondered if Clay Buchholz's problems were bad luck, bad mechanics, or just Clay pitching badly. Giving up five runs in 2 1/3 innings with three walks and no strike outs seems to move things in the direction of pitching badly.

YFSF looks at the arguments over Clay Buchholz, one that he's been unlucky, and one that he's plain bad. This post by Center Field, however, indicates that Clay's mechanics were mucked up. We'll see how he does tonight from the stretch.

Ian Snell watched CC Sabathia on his iPhone and changed his pitching style. The result was a gem against the Cardinals. However, I wonder if it simply wasn't that Snell had become predictable. Reversing when he usually throws his fastball and slider would make guessing on a pitch more difficult. Maybe the pitch F/X mavens can comment on this?

Brandon Lyon came close to blowing a game for the Diamondbacks last night. Starting the ninth in a 7-3 game, he promptly gave up four hits, a walk and three runs. Over his last four outings, totalling 3 1/3 innings, he's allowed 11 hits and eight runs, seven of the earned. He's had a few bad outings this season, but this is the first time he bunched them together.

The DBacks hang on for a 7-6 win and move into sole possession of first place in the NL West as the Dodgers fall to the Rockies 8-3. The Rockies hit three home runs off three different pitchers in the game, accounting for six of the runs.

The Chicago White Sox pitching staff started the season strong. They pitched three shutouts in April and owned the second best ERA in the AL that month. They only recorded two more scoreless games from May through July. Lately, however, the shutouts returned. Clay Richard pitched six scoreless innings Tuesday night as the White Sox shut down the Mariners 5-0. It's their third shutout of August and third in their last eight games. In that stretch the team allowed just 15 runs.

I thought this division race would come down to the good, young pitching of the Twins against the power hitting of the White Sox. Given the number of high scoring games by Minnesota lately and the excellent pitching coming out of Chicago, these two teams are turning out to be very well balanced. That's going to make this race even more interesting.

Ricky Nolasco took home a little extra money Tuesday night:

Ricky Nolasco won a pot of cash for his first career complete game - thanks to the Marlins' nearly two-year drought without a pitcher going the distance.

Nolasco pitched a two-hitter for his first shutout and drove in two runs with his first double, leading the Marlins past the San Francisco Giants 6-0 on Tuesday night.

His reward: the money that had been accumulating in Florida's complete-game pool started some time after Anibal Sanchez pitched the last such game on Sept. 16, 2006, a major league-record 301 games ago.

Nolasco performed superbly in every aspect of the game. He threw strikes, with 78 of 110 pitches ending in a positive result. He showed great contol, walking just one batter. In striking out eleven, he reached double digits for the third time in his career, all this season. The strikeouts kept balls in play to a minimum, and only two made it through for hits. The bottom line for Ricky was his first career complete game and shutout and a new career high in wins with 12.

His control really came together after the all-star break. In the first half of the season, Nolasco averaged an excellent 2.3 walks per nine. Since, however, he's dropped that rate to 1.1 walks per nine. It's resulted in a better ERA but not a better record. Still, if he keeps this up he should have a very strong finish to this season and become a leader of the rotation going into 2009.

Daisuke Matsuzaka picks up five more walks and one more win as the Red Sox down the Orioles 7-2. He lasted just five innings, and unlike most of his games, he was not unhittable. Six of the 15 ball in play against Dice-K fell for hits. Still, despite allowing eleven base runners, only two of them managed to cross the plate. It wasn't pretty, but once again Matsuzaka gets the job done.

So far, the Rich Harden for Sean Gallagher trade isn't working out well for the Athletics. Harden threw seven shutout innings for the Cubs tonight, walking none and striking out ten. That lowers his Cubs ERA to 1.50. The Cubs lead 5-0 in the ninth.

Meanwhile, Gallagher gives up 11 hits in five innings as the Twins tattoo him for ten runs. His ERA goes up to 6.55. Minnesota leads 13-2 in the seventh.

Update: The Cubs win 5-0 and tie the Rays for best record in the majors. A Rays Cubs series would be a great story. A power of ten difference in the length of their struggles.

CC Sabathia goes 8-0 with the Brewers as the Astros fall 9-3. The big lefty picks up his fifth complete game since joining Milwaukee, throwing 130 pitches. Some people have suggested to me the Brewers are abusing CC with all the complete games, but his pitch counts before tonight were not outrageous. Tonight, however, makes me believe that a little more. With a 9-3 lead, why is he even out there for the ninth? While I love pitchers who finish what they start, in a blow out, give it to the pen. If the Brewers do make the playoffs, they don't want CC to wear out like he did against the Red Sox in 2007.

CC Sabathia was holding onto a 1-0 lead when the Astros intentionally walked Jason Kendall to load the bases with two outs. The big lefty goes with the pitch, singling to left to drive in two and give himself a little breathing room. He's now driven in four runs since joining the Brewers. Milwaukee leads 3-0 as they still bat in the bottom of the fourth.

Update: A double by Durham and a single by Hardby plate three more runs and the Brewers go to the fifth with a 6-0 lead.

Barry Zito pitched seven scoreless innings against the Braves this afternoon. This gives Barry a sandwich August. He started the month with eight shutout innings against the Padres, then gave up eleven runs in two starts against the Dodgers and Astros. He then puts the top slice of bread on with his performance today. It's all or nothing for Barry lately.

The Giants lead the Braves 5-0 in the bottom of the ninth.

Update: The game ends in a shutout. The Braves have scored two runs or less in six of their last eight games.

Roy Oswalt pitched a one-hitter through eight innings as the Astros defeated the Diamondbacks 3-0. He walked two and struck out 10. Lance Berkman thought it was the best game he had seen from Roy in a while:

"What a performance by Roy," Berkman said. "This is probably the best game I've seen him throw in two or three years."

Oswalt (11-8) won his fifth consecutive decision in dominating fashion, retiring the final 15 batters he faced after giving up a two-out single to Stephen Drew in the third inning.

Oswalt won his previous four decisions, and was showing signs to coming around. The Astros have to hope this marks a return to his former dominance.

In the Games of the Day post, I noted five NL Cy Young candidates were in action today. None of them hurt his chances this afternoon.

Johan Santana turned in the strongest outing, a shutout against the Pirates. Not only did Santana go the distance for the second time this season, he allowed just three hits, all singles. He lowers his ERA to 2.75 and his batting average allowed to .231. The Mets win 4-0.

Edinson Volquez walked four and struck out four over seven innings, but held the Cardinals scoreless He only allowed three hits, however, which is how he's operated all season. He can afford to walks a high number of batters because he gives up few hits to drive them around. The bullpen wasn't so good, but the Reds take the game 7-3.

Tim Lincecum pitched into the eight before allowing his lone run of the day. Like Santana and Volquez, he gave up just three hits. He walked four to go along with ten strikeouts. He's just eight K away from 200 on the season. The Giants defeat the Braves 3-1. The Giants record is just 3 1/2 game worse than the Braves right now.

Aaron Cook only lasted five innings, but his two runs allowed were low enough to earn him his 15th win. He was suffering from back stiffness, which probably led to his early exit. The 7-2 Rockies victory extends the Nationals losing streak to 10 games.

Ryan Dempster stayed in the game long enough for the Cubs to score some runs, and wins his 14th as he allowed two runs over six innings. He had the Marlins swinging and missing for ten strikeouts, giving him 149 in 163 1/3 innings. The Marlins fall to the Cubs 9-2 and now trail the Mets by 4 1/2 games.

Nice to see good pitchers living up to their billing.

The Toronto Blue Jays score eight runs off Josh Beckett in 2 1/3 innings. It's the second time he's allowed that many runs in his last four games. Interestingly, each bad outing was preceded by an extremely good one in which Beckett allowed one run. Beckett's ERA goes to 4.34, over a run higher than in 2007. Part of the problem seems to be Fenway. Beckett's ERA at home this season is now 6.02.

With Pedro Martinez putting together his third good outing in a row, the Mets rotation has gelled in August. The group is going deep in games and limiting opponents walks. Granted, their opposition hasn't been that stiff, but they're taking advantage of the lull in the schedule to get this group in shape. I thought if Santana and Pedro could form a good 1-2 punch the Mets would be tough to beat. That may turn out to be true over the last quarter of the season.

Matt Harrison put it all together for the Texas Rangers Saturday night as he pitched eight shutout innings in a 3-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. It was easily the best pitched start of the year for the Rangers, surpassing two Padillia candidates of 5/7 and 7/20. Despite walking none and striking out eight in the game, Harrison still owns more walks (19) than strikeouts (15) on the season. His performance last night was much more indicative of his minor league career in which he held a better than 3:1 strikeout to walk ratio.

The team shutout was the sixth for the Rangers staff this season. That ties them for 18th in the majors, much better than I would expect for a team with such a high ERA. The Tigers are last, having only thrown one team shutout in 2008.

Roy Halladay completed his eighth game of the season as the Blue Jays spoiled the start of the Paul Byrd era in Boston 4-1. Halladay allowed seven hits and one walk, the only real mistake a home run by Dustin Pedroia. Roy erased three of the base runners with double plays as he only faced 32 batters on the night. Alex Rios added a triple and home run to score two and drive in two, more than enough for the Blue Jays to earn Halladay the win.

Jamie Moyer and Greg Maddux showed that age and speed don't matter that much as they combined for 14 innings and one run allowed as the Phillies shutout the Padres 1-0. Moyer allowed three hits and two walks, while Maddux stayed in the strikezone, not walking a batter. Of his five hits allowed, the only one that mattered was to Pat Burrell, a solo home run that was all the scoring seen Friday night. It was the third time this season Maddux started a game in which the Padres failed to score. The Phillies offensive slump continues, but at least they found a team even weaker at the plate.

Cliff Lee wins his seventeenth game of the year as the Indians squeak by the Angels 3-2. Lee completed the job, his third CG of the season. That equals his total from the previous seasons of his career. Cliff allowed ten Angels to reach by a hit or walk, but also induced four double plays to erase nearly half of them. He needs one more win to equal his season high.

The Mets ran their winning streak to four games as they defeat the Pirates 2-1. The hurlers are on, allowing just seven runs in the four games. Mike Pelfry pitched seven scoreless inning tonight, using his defense to great effect. Twenty four of the twenty five batters he faced put the ball in play, resulting in seven hits. He didn't allow more than two hits in any inning, however, and two double plays helped keep the Pirates off the board. The Mets hang on to first place in the NL East.

Chad Durbin blogs about his two blown says and how things have changed for the Dodgers offense:

That said, the addition of Manny Ramirez and Casey Blake has certainly changed the level of pressure for some of the talented young players in the Dodgers lineup.

The players hitting in the 7 and 8 holes were being asked to hit 3, 4 or 5 just a month or so ago. Confidence is high in Dodgertown. We play 162 games for a reason, the season will play itself out and weathering these storms is part of it.

Manny add one more tough out to the lineup, forcing pitchers to work that much harder.

In his second inning of work today, Brad Ziegler gives up a single to Iwamura and a double to B.J. Upton. Iwamura scores, ending Ziegler's scoreless inning streak at 39. Congratulations to Ziegler on his record and for overcoming two skull fractures to reach the majors.

The game is tied at five as the team go to the 11th.

The Toronto bullpen entered this afternoon's game against the Tigers with a 2.87 ERA, the best in the game. They cannot, however, protect a 1-0 lead given to them by Jesse Litsch as Jason Frasor gives up two hits and three walks, and all five base runners come around to score as Shawn Camp comes in and give up a two-run single to clear Jason's runners.

Armando Galarraga pitched eight stellar innings, walking two and striking out six. With the Tigers taking a 5-1 lead, his one-run effort may now result in a win.

Update: Fernando Rodney retires the side in order, striking out two to preserve the win. Galarraga continues to have a great season for Detroit, making one wonder how well Texas would be doing if they kept Armando and Edinson Volquez. I guessing the Texas offense would still be pretty good without Josh Hamilton.

Charlie Zink replaces Tim Wakefield today as the Red Sox lose one knuckleballer to the disabled list and gain another:

With Zink having a stellar season in Pawtucket - 13-4 with a 2.89 ERA - he was an obvious candidate to fill an opening in the rotation, no matter who went down. But because it was Wakefield, that makes the transition even smoother. The one problem was that Zink last pitched Friday, meaning today's start will be on three days of rest, though that is less of a concern for a 28-year-old knuckleballer than it would be for a more traditional pitcher.

"I think everybody felt it was kind of a breakout year for him," manager Terry Francona said. "I've heard his name a lot - not like somebody's beating my door down - but if you look at the reports, he's done well.

"This seems like a really good opportunity to let him pitch. He's been throwing the ball well. The idea will be to slow the Rangers down a little bit."

Though Wakefield threw entirely knuckleballs in his last start, against the Royals, Zink's game is slightly different. He throws fewer "other" pitches, like fastballs and curveballs, even though his fastball is faster than Wakefield's, coming in around the low to mid 80s. Red Sox director of player development Mike Hazen said recently that Zink's improvement from last year (11-6, 4.63, between Portland and Pawtucket) to this has to do with an increased maturity level and an increased commitment to throwing knuckleballs in any count.

Zink doesn't think the Red Sox will carry two knuckleballers. I don't see why not. The knuckleball isn't a pitch batters can learn to predict, because no one ever knows where it's going. If a knuckleball pitcher is effective, the only reason not to carry multiple copies is to save your catchers.

Through five innings, the Red Sox have yet to record a hit against John Danks. In fact, no one has reached as the Red Sox put 15 up and Danks set 15 down.

Update: Danks hits Ellsbury in the back with two out to end the perfecto. The no-hitter is still intact.

Update: Crisp grounds into a force play to end the inning. Danks is nine outs away from a no-hitter.

Update: Youkilis breaks his bat and dumps a hit into short left-center. The White Sox still lead 1-0.

Update: Drew doubles after a Lowell walk and the Red Sox take a 2-1 lead.

Aaron Heilman blows the save against the Pirates as Ryan Doumit singles with men on first and second, driving in a run to tie the game at five. It's Heilman's third blown save of the season. After a hit by pitch, the Pirates have the bases loaded with one out.

The pen ruined a great start by Pedro Martinez, who allowed just one run over six innings. Schoeneweis is coming in to try to keep the game tied.

Update: Schoeneweis gets a groundball that's turned into an out at the plate, but Steve Pearce singles in two runs to put the Pirates up 7-5. They've scored six runs off the Mets bullpen this afternoon.

Update: John Grabow gives up a hit but induces a double play as he picks up his second save. The Pirates win 7-5. It's only their fourth win since the big trade at the deadline in 10 games.

Brandon Webb took home his 17th win of the season as the Diamondbacks defeated the Braves 6-1. Webb's season can be divided into three parts. Through May 21st, he went 9-1 with a 2.69 ERA. He then went through a rough stretch of eight games ending July 3rd. During that time he was 3-3 with a 4.53 ERA. The big difference was his home runs allowed. His rate was three times higher than earlier. In his last seven starts, including Sunday's, he's 5-0 with a 1.59 ERA. He's yet to allow a home run in this stretch.

Interestingly, his strikeouts were highest during his poor stretch. It makes me wonder if he was overthrowing, not getting his good sink on the ball during that time.

Mariano Rivera comes into a tie game with the winning run at second and gives up a single as the Angels earn a 4-3 victory over the Yankees. Rivera is nearly perfect in save opportunites, but does just okay otherwise:

Rivera 2008	Save Opps	Other Games
ERA	0.31	3.00
Innings	29 1/3	21
Earned Runs	1	7
Hits	13	18

It does hold up over Rivera's career. He has a 1.31 ERA in save situations, 3.43 otherwise.

Eric Gagne was on a hot streak over his last seven games. That ended today as he allows two home runs with two out for a total of three runs in the eighth. The Brewers no trail Washington 4-1.

Update: Mike Rivera hit a double with the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth to clear the bases and tie the game. The Nats and Brewers are now tied at four in the tenth.

Cliff Lee inched closer to the AL Cy Young award with eight shutout innings against the Toronto Blue Jays. His record goes to 16-2 and his ERA drops to 2.45. Lee earns the win by letting his defense help him out. He faced 31 batters with 30 putting the ball in play. Lee walked none and struck out one. The Blue Jays were just 8 for 30 putting the ball in play today, a .266 BA. With all but one of those hits going for singles, they just couldn't create a sustained rally or move runners very far.

Lee gets his sixth short shutout, tying him with CC Sabathia and Jon Lester for the major league lead.

Ian Kennedy's great performances at AAA didn't translate to the majors. He also doesn't seem to realize how poorly he pitched.

Kennedy (0-4) allowed nine hits in his short stint, five in a row to start the third inning. But the 23-year-old right-hander didn't think he pitched poorly.

"I felt like I made some good pitches," he said. "I'm not too upset about it. ... What was it, a bunch of singles and three doubles? I'm just not real upset about it. I'm just going to move on and I've already done that."

Joe Girardi didn't share that opinion. In his world, nine hits over two-plus innings is something to be upset about.

"That's not what you want," the manager said. "You've got to get better the next start. He's got some work to do, and we'll get him ready."

Good pitches are what CC Sabathia made to the Nationals last night. Kennedy needs to learn to take responsibility for his poor outings.

Meanwhile, the Dodgers returned Brad Penny to the rotation. He was given a somewhat easier assignment as he faced the Giants and Barry Zito. He allowed one hit over five innings, but walked three without striking out a batter. His control wasn't that good , 32 balls, 44 strikes.

Asked if the Penny he saw was an improvement over the stiff-shouldered pitcher who was 0-7 in the eight starts leading up to his being put on the disabled list, Manager Joe Torre replied, "I think it's too early to say that."

At least Penny has a positive outing on which to build.

Brad Ziegler pitches two more scoreless innings to extend his streak to 37, tying the team record held by Mike Torrez. He also earned his first Major League save. Given the Athletics closer problems, he may end up in that role, possibly as a two inning closer.

The Orioles shut down the best offense in the majors as they defeat the Rangers 9-1. Jeremy Guthrie lasts seven innings. For the third straight game, Guthrie allowed just one run. That's good for a 1.21 ERA over the three starts.

Oliver Perez continues his roll with seven shutout innings against the Marlins as the Mets take the game 3-0. That puts the Mets into second place in the NL East as they move 1/2 game ahead of the Fish. With his seven shutout innings, Perez now holds a 1.71 ERA over his last eight starts. His ERA always goes hand-in-hand with his control, and he's struck out 55 while walking 18 in his last 52 2/3 innings.

Charlie Morton walked 20 in his first 39 2/3 innings this season. For his second start in a row, however, Morton walked one while striking out four over seven innings. That was good enough for him to keep the Diamondbacks off the board. The bullpen had some trouble, but Atlanta walks away with a 6-4 win.

The Arizona loss allows the Dodgers to gain a game, cutting the lead in the NL West to two games.

I have to remind myself to look at Ziegler's line every night. He pitched another inning today, bringing his scoreless streak to 35 innings. He did give up two hits, something that's rather unusual for him as he's only allowed 21 hits all season. The two were singles, and not only has he not allowed a home run, the 21 hits are all singles.

I have to remind myself to look at Ziegler's line every night. He pitched another inning today, bringing his scoreless streak to 35 innings. He did give up two hits, something that's rather unusual for him as he's only allowed 21 hits all season. The two were singles, and not only has he not allowed a home run, the 21 hits are all singles.

Mike Mussina picks up a short shutout tonight as he lasts seven innings in the Yankees 3-0 win over the Rangers. It's Mussina's third short shutout of the season, all coming in his last seven games. He's given up just one earned run in fourteen innings during his two August starts.

Mussina reaches 15 wins for the 11th time in his career. If he wins 20 games (for the first time in his career) and the Yankees manage to make the playoffs, does he get the Cy Young over Lee and Halladay?

The Rangers lose a golden opportunity to gain on the Yankees in the wild card race. According to the Yankees broadcast, this is the fourth time this season New York lost the first two games of a four-game series, only to come back and gain the split.

Cole Hamels breaks up Chris Volstad's no hitter with two out in the fifth. Hamels is 15 for 54 on the season, a .278 batting average. The Marlins lead 1-0 as Hamels seems to have come out of the funk of his previous two starts. He's allowed three hits and one walk while striking out six.

The Cardinals knocked out 13 hits tonight against Derek Lowe, scoring eight runs against him. That matches his career high, set twice before. However, in his previous 13 hits games he lasted longer, 5 2/3 innings on 6/1/2005 and 8 1/3 innings on 8/25/2002.

The Phillies shut out the Marlins 5-0 to insure they'll stay in first at the end of the series. Kyle Kendrick pitched the first six innings, and in what seems to be the norm for Kyle, came away with a great result despite not pitching that well. He allowed five walks and four hits while striking out four. His strike percentage was less than 60%. Kendrick was able to spread the hits out so the Marlins didn't get more than one in any inning, so the walks didn't hurt. Kendrick is now 20-9 on his career, a .690 winnings percentage.

Shaun Marcum pitches a good game in his fourth start back from the disabled list. He gave up 16 earned runs in 14 1/3 innings, but tonight went seven strong innings, allowing just one run. He struck out seven Athletics while walking two. How much was improvement by Marcum or a poor A's offense we'll wait to see. The Blue Jays win 5-1.

Ervin Santana's magic season continued today as the Angels downed the Orioles 9-4. He struck out seven while walking none. That gives him 150 strikeouts on the season against just 39 walks. That's pretty close to a 4.0 K/BB. For his career, it's 2.4, which is still very good.

Jeff Karstens holds on to a 1-0 lead after five innings as he's retired all 15 batters he faced. He gave up two long fly balls to center in the fifth, but Jason Michaels chased them down. He's thrown just 58 pitches.

The only run came off a Freddy Sanchez home run off Randy Johnson. The Big Unit has only allowed two hits while striking out four, and it was the first run he's allowed since the All-Star break.

Brandon Backe allows eight runs in the third inning against the Cubs today, but comes out to start the fourth. He pitches poorly again, giving up a run and his reliever letting in a second. Backe is charged with eleven runs, all earned, and his ERA jumps .60.

The Cubs lead 11-4 in the bottom of the sixth.

When a pitcher starts a game with an ERA over 7.00, there's a good chance that ERA comes down. Homer Baily managed to raise his today, giving up six earned runs in 5 1/3 innings as the Reds fall to the Brewers 6-3. Bailey's phenonmenal strike out rate hasn't translated to the majors. He's only struck out 18 in 36 1/3 innings. That's led to 59 hits, good for a .378 opposition batting average.

The Brewers are now 2-0 since the Fielder fight, outscoring their opponents 14-4. Milwaukee seems to be focused on both sides of the ball again.

The Los Angeles Dodgers penciled in Brad Penny for Friday's start against the Giants.

As I went off to bed Tuesday night, the Tigers took the lead over the White Sox and the Twins took the lead over the Mariners. When I woke up Wednesday morning, I noticed the White Sox came back in the bottom of the fourteenth, hanging a blown-save on Joel Zumaya. Nick Swisher did the damage with a three-run homer.

Meanwhile, after J.J. Putz helped the Twins to a 7-6 lead in the eighth inning (Jimenez and Corcoran did most of the damage), Guerrier and Nathan gave the runs back in the bottom of the inning. Both closers picked up blown saves, but at least Putz earned the win.

Due to the poor relief pitching, Chicago takes first place in the AL Central instead of the Twins. It was the theme across baseball last night. After John Lanna pitched seven strong innings against the Rockies, Washington relievers turned a 2-2 tie into an 8-2 rout. Giants relievers gave up eight runs as Atlanta wins 11-4.

Overall, batters hit .307 against relief pitchers last night with a .388 OBA and a .510 OBA. Batters collected 269 more at bats against starters last night, but hit two fewer home runs. Major League relievers blew 10 saves last night, tying July 2nd for most blown saves in a day this season. Last night, teams needed relief from the relief.

Chris Waters makes a very successful debut for the Baltimore Orioles. He pitches eight shutout innings against the top team in the AL, the LAnaheim Angels. He holds them to one hit while walking three and striking out three. His minor league record isn't very impressive, but at 27 years old (seasonal age) he should be at the peak of his athletic performance. He certainly made the most of his opportunity in the big leagues.

My latest column at SportingNews.com looks at the near future success of the Marlins rotation.

Beyond the Boxscore wonders if David Price should be brought to the majors the same way as Joba Chamberlain, in the bullpen.

Cliff Lee's remarkable season continues with his fifteenth win, a 5-2 victory in Tampa Bay. Lee goes seven innings allowing two runs, leaving his ERA unchanged at 2.58. He walked two tonight, only the sixth time this season he walked at least two.

Roy Halladay dispatches the Oakland Athletics easily as he allows four hits and one run over eight innings. It's the eleventh time this year Halladay threw at least eight innings. With eight strikeouts and one walk, Halladay now has a K/BB of 5.14.

Via The Book Blog, Joe Posnanski invents the Ziegler Number, a way to measure the effectiveness of pitchers. Pretty cool, and Joe gets an assist from Brian Bannister.

The Athletics go to a closer by committee model.

John Shea notes Greg Maddux's dominance of San Francisco ranks at the top since the Giants moved west:

Six pitchers have started at least 50 games against the Giants since '58, and Maddux has the lowest ERA (2.78) and best winning percentage (.682) and is tied with Phil Niekro and Don Sutton for most wins (30).

Here are the complete stats for the six. If you reduce the qualification to 30 starts, you'll see Maddux's ERA no longer ranks one, but he still does very well versus other Hall of Famers.

Greg Maddux won the 352nd game of his career, pitching six one-run innings against the Giants. San Francisco took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, but in the bottom of the second, Maddux drove in the tying run with a single. It's his first RBI since 8/30/2006. He's been a pretty poor hitter in the intervening games.

Daisuke Matsuzaka walks two and strikes out eight over six innings of work as the Red Sox sweep the Athletics 5-2. It was pretty much his best ratio of Ks and BBs since his 0 walk, nine strikeout effort against these same A's on April first. Matsuzaka is now 12-2 with a 3.04 ERA.

Jason Bay picks up two more hits and scores twice. His OBA in the three-game series is .533.

The Cubs defeat the Pirates 8-5 to extend their lead in the NL Central to five games. Carlos Zambrano came out after five innings in which he allowed two runs, one earned. His control wasn't great as only 47 of 82 pitches were strikes. Maybe Lou Piniella thought they could beat the Pirates with the bullpen and why not give Carlos some rest? Alfonso Soriano, Aramis Ramirez and Reed Johnson all homered in the win.

Kyle Farnsworth manages to make his trade not work for both teams. The Tigers are up 3-1 on the Rays when they bring in Kyle to pitch the eighth. He gives up a solo shot to Eric Hinske leading off the inning, then a two-run shot to B.J. Upton. He puts the Tigers in a hole and may prevent the Yankees from gaining a game on Tampa Bay.

Update: Granderson homers to tie the game in the top of the ninth as Percival blows the save.

Francisco Liriano leaves after six innings, allowing no runs. The Indians managed just three hits and three walks, while Francisco struck out five. A more than solid outing for the this ace. They lead 5-0 in the top of the seventh, while the White Sox trail the Royals 10-0 in the sixth.

Scott Olsen just finished the fifth inning, and the Rockies have yet to record a hit against the Marlins starter. He's walked two. Olsen has thrown a high number of pitches, however, 78.

Update: An infield hit by Taveras breaks up the no-no with one out in the sixth. The Marlins lead the Rockies 2-0.

Francisco Liriano gets off to a good start in the first. He retires the Indians in order, striking out two. I'm interested to hear what Twins fans think of his delivery. It used to be known for it's violence. He seems somewhat more in control of his mechanics now.

Update: Blyleven just addressed this. The Twins are trying to get Liriano to keep his right shoulder in to reduce the violence of his delivery.

The Oakland Athletics sent Dana Eveland to the minors today. Dana's control started detiriorating in June. In April and May he walked 26 in 66 1/3 innings. Since, he's walked 38 in 58 2/3 innings.

Mike Mussina allowed two hits over seven innings to help the Yankees to an 8-2 win over the Angels, ending LAnaheim's winning streak of five games. Mussina could have allowed no runs except for a poor attempt at turning a double play. He retired the last seventeen batters he faced.

The win takes Mike's record to 14-7. If he maintain two wins for one loss the rest of the way, it will be his 8th season with a winning percentage of .667 or better. He's now 264-151 for his career, a .636 winning percentage.

Chad Gaudin turned into Mr. Control since joining the Cubs. He faced two batters today and struck out one to bring his total to 14 in 12 1/3 innings with Chicago, while only walking one. Combined with Rich Harden, the two have K'd 53 batters in 37 Cubs innings. Chicago takes down Pittsburgh 5-1.

The Athletics and Red Sox are tied at one in the bottom of the tenth. Brad Ziegler pitches two more scoreless innings to bring his streak to 32 innings. He'd have to give up seven runs to bring his ERA close to 2.00.

Mike Lowell limps off the field after reaching on an infield single. That would be a tough loss for the Sox if it's a serious injury.

Update: The Red Sox leave the bases loaded in the 10th. This one goes to 11.

Update: Oakland walks Drew, then Lowrie chops one up the middle. It bounces over Embree's head, Crosby fields, but double pumps and Lowrie beats it out. Bay scores and the Red Sox win 2-1 in 12. Bay reached base four times, with the triple, two walks and a hit by pitch. Nice start to Bay's Red Sox career.

Update: Jason Bay just tripled with two out in the 12th. It scraped the wall and for a minute it looked like a walk-off home run.

Homer Bailey came into tonight's game with an 0-4 record and a 6.52 ERA. He drew an easy assignment, facing the hapless Washington Nationals offense. Bailey gives up five runs in two innings, all earned, to raise his ERA to 7.55.

The Marlins didn't land a big name at the trade deadline, but they did improve the team. Anibal Sanchez returned Thursday after 1 1/2 years out to pitch 5 2/3 innings and pick up a win. He allowed two runs, walked two and struck out four. He threw 95 pitches, so the Marlins didn't feel they really needed to baby him. A rotation that looked very shaky at the start of the season now throws out Nolasco, Johnson, Volstad and Sanchez as their front four.

I've been expecting the Marlins to decline because of their pitching. Now, that's not the case. The successful return from injury of Johnson and Sanchez suddenly gives Florida a rotation that's more than capable of winning with the kind of runs support the offense produces with their power (2 home runs, 12 runs Thursday). An all Florida World Series doesn't seem far fetched at this point.

Brad Ziegler pitches three scoreless innings to push his scoreless innings streak to 30 innings. His shutout relief appearance allows Oakland to tie Kansas City at three with a run in the seventh. Street is on to pitch the ninth.

Ziegler already set the record for consecutive scoreless innings at the start of a major league career. I guess he sets his sights on Hershiser now.

The Diamondbacks optioned Micah Owing to the minor leagues. Major League teams can't sustain a pitcher with a 9.00 ERA.

The Dodgers defeat the Giants 2-0 to finish the evening. There were 11 teams tonight that held their opponents to two runs or less. Two of them loss. Two other teams were shutout 3-0. At least there were a lot of runs in the Seattle-Texas game.

Doug Davis retires the side in order in the fifth, striking out the last two batters. He's struck out five total so far. He's also induced seven ground outs.

The Washington Nationals lose to the Phillies 2-1. Brett Myers goes seven innings, allowing just one unearned run. Collin Balester lasts six innings. He allows two runs walks none and struck out five. It's the fourth time in the last five games that the Nationals starter pitched well enough to win, but the offense just couldn't provide support. The team owns an amazingly inept offense right now, having scored 10 runs in their last seven games.

The previous post on the no-hitter is here.

Lackey comes out for the ninth. He'll face Ellsbury, Pedroia and Youkilis. Pedroia has walked tonight, one of two base runners against Lackey.

Update: Ellsbury strikes out swinging. It's just the fourth K of the game for John. The Red Sox have been putting the ball in play, just not with authority.

Update: Pedroia falls behind 0-1, but gets a pitch he can hit and pulls it past Maicer Izturis at short to break up the no-hitter. Youkilis follows with a shot off the billboard above the Green Monster to make the score 6-2. A great effort by Lackey, and now K-Rod gets ready in the bullpen, just in case.

Update: Manny walks, but Lowell grounds out to end the game. The Angels move to 7-1 against the Red Sox and increase their road winning percentage, the best in the majors. Lackey throws 120 pitches, 81 for strikes.

The Phillies did indeed add JA Happ to the major league roster today.

The Padres knocked around Micah Owings Monday night, continuing the misery for the Diamondbacks pitcher. He started the season in fine form, posting a 3.73 ERA through his first 10 starts. Since, however, he's made eight starts and four relief appearances. Over that time his ERA stands at 9.21. He's striking out one fewer batter per nine innings while walking 1.6 more. He was giving up a good number of home runs early, and the long balls have gotten even worse. He gave up two more last night, accounting for five of the eight runs he allowed.

Clearly, nothing is going right for Owings right now. In a tight division race, the Diamondbacks can't afford to send out a pitcher who is highly likely to lose the game. I really wonder if he's hurt. His fall seems so severe that it makes you wonder if he's covering up an injury, maybe something minor that is just throwing off his mechanics.

The good news from the game is that Greg Maddux broke his win-less streak, finally picking up win 351. He didn't pitch great, but he didn't need to with Owings outing.

After three rough outings, Kevin Slowey returned to his late June form, tossing his second shutout of the season, this time against the Chicago White Sox. Slowey pitched very efficiently, using just 102 pitches to finish the game, 71 for strikes. He issued just one walk in the game. He's only allowed 16 free passes on the season in 96 2/3 innings. The Twins move 1 1/2 games behind the White Sox.

A.J. Burnett increased his trade value today, holding the first place Rays to one unearned run over seven innings. Burnett struck out ten Tampa Bay batters as the Blue Jays took the game 3-1 for A.J.'s 12th win. Despite the Toronto righty looking good lately (2 runs allowed or less in each of his last four starts), the Blue Jays say he won't be traded.

Chris Sprow takes a look at the dangers of throwing a curveball at a young age. It's not the pitch itself that's the danger:

"It's not the pitch that's the problem," says Andrews. "It's the fact that kids who are throwing curveballs at the youth levels are generally dominant because young kids can't hit it," Which means that the kids who throw curveballs at that age will be trotted out to pitch as much as possible--and to throw their 'out' pitch as much as possible.

"We've tracked Little League games right through the Little League World Series, and as the competition grows, the kids throw curveballs up to 70 percent of the time," said Glenn Fleisig, PhD, Director of Research, ASMI, who co-authored the study with Andrews. "It's good that Little Leagues have enacted rules on pitch counts, but for say, a kid in the Dominican, if you see an unusually developed curveball at an early age, who knows the mileage on that arm?"

We'll see what happens with the Athletics 16-year-old, Michael Inoa.

Via Janak J Parekh, Brian Bannister is a fan of the Hardball Times.

With Francisco Liriano pitching at AAA Sunday, he won't be available for the Twins series against the White Sox.

Liriano walked one and struck out nine. He is 10-2 with a 3.28 ERA at Rochester.

Why are they wasting all these pitches at Rochester? Does he have anything left to prove there?

Tony La Russa blames Ryan Franklin's troubles on "jumbled roles." I guess that's La Russa's way of putting the blame on himself. I was watching an opponents broadcast of a Marlins game the other day, and the announcers were talking about the Florida relievers role. They quoted the pitching coach that the role of the relievers was to get outs whenever Fredi (Gonzalez) gave them the ball. If a pitcher can't get outs because he doesn't understand his role, then that pitcher doesn't really belong in the major leagues.

Franklin's problem is that he gives up too many home runs. For his career, he's allowed 30.0 home runs per 200 innings. On top of that, his strikeouts are low. So you're putting a pitcher in a save situation where lots of balls get put in play, and the pitcher tends to give up long flies. Is it any wonder he blows some games? Or many he's been distracted his whole career.

Clayton Kershaw wins his first game today, a 2-0 victory over the Washington Nationals. That takes his record to 1-3 in ten starts. Jason Bergman once again pitches well, but gets no support from his team. The Nationals have scored three runs or less in 12 or Bergman's 15 starts.

Barry Zito lost his 13th game of the season as the Diamondbacks pepper him for six runs in six innings. Once again, his control betrayed him as he walked five batters and allowed six hits. I wonder if Zito ends up with more losses than the NL leader in wins?

Randy Johnson shutout the Giants through seven, not walking a batter. However, he allowed nine hits while just striking out two. I would suspect that kind of performance against a better offense won't result in that low a score. Johnson is now just eight wins away from 300.

The Ace Report bemoans the loss of pitcher like Mark Mulder, who finish what they start.

Jake Peavy pitched a game more typical of what we expect from the Padres ace today. He struck out ten today in seven innings, only the second time he reached double digits in strikeouts. In 2007, he reached that level nine times in 34 starts. He allows just one run in the game as the Padres win 3-1. That lowers Peavy's ERA to 2.67, second in the National League.

There was a rumor that the Yankees wanted Jarrod Washburn to start tonight's game against Boston, but no deal went down. Washburn, however, increased his trade value this afternoon with a fine outing against the Toronto Blue Jays. The Mariner's right-hander held Toronto to one run over eight innings, lowering his ERA to 4.50 as Seattle took the game 5-1. Washburn pitches a bit better than his ERA. His walks are low and his home runs are reasonable (23.7 per 200 innings). Seattle didn't lose any interest sending him to the mound today.

Ubaldo Jimenez goes six shutout innings as the Rockies rout the Reds 11-0. Jimenez finishes July with a 5-1 records, allowing 8 runs in 41 1/3 innings for a 1.74 ERA. That's five wins in a row for the Rockies and five of their last 10. With Arizona winning big, they're not likely to pick up a game in the west, however.

Chris Carpenter will return to the Cardinals on Wednesday. Let's hope it goes better than Mulder's return.

Francisco Rodriguez allowed a run tonight but still picked up a save as the Angels defeat Baltimore 6-5. He allowed a two hits with two outs, but fortunately for LAnaheim, the home run came before the double. He now has five saves in seven Angels games since the All-Star break.

Joba Chamberlain comes out of the game against the Red Sox after seven shutout innings. He out-pitched Beckett, allowing just three hits and one walk while striking out nine. Beckett allowed nine hits and one walk over his seven innings, but just one run. In other words, given a 1-0 lead, Joba protected it for five innings.

Does anyone still think that Joba is more valuable as a reliever? I'm guessing most other pitchers the Yankees might start would be losing this game. The offense, as typical in a Chamberlain start is not working, but kudos to Jason Giambi. With a man on third and the shift on, he intentionally grounded a ball to the abandoned shortstop spot for a hit and an RBI.

The Cubs call up Jeff Samardzija to compete with the White Sox Javier Vazquez for best Scrabble name. "Jeff Samardzija" comes in at 46, while "Javier Vazquez" still leads at 53. I like the real reason Lou Piniella gave to have Jeff take Kerry Wood's roster spot:

"We're going to put him in the bullpen and probably use him in the middle to get his feet wet," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "The sooner we get him in, the better. He's throwing strikes and getting people out. We'll give him a nice opportunity and see what he can do."

Strikes and outs is what pitching is all about.

The CC Sabathia trade is looking pretty good right now for the Brewers. After a rough first outing that Milliliter still managed to win, he's pitched three complete games, shutting out the division rival Cardinals Wednesday night. Here's the four game stretch. Notice how he's gotten better with each start. In addition, the three complete games haven't been that taxing. He did throw 122 pitches in the first one against Cincinnati, but brought that down to 110 pitches against the Giants and just 106 against the Cardinals. He now has six complete games on the season, tying his career high.

CC is striking out 8.5 batters per nine while walking just 2.2. He's allowed just one home run in his 33 innings pitched. His rate with Cleveland was 21.3 per 200 innings pitched.

Looking at CC from the batters perspective, they've hit just .180 against him, and their slugging percentage (.243) is lower than their OBA (.244). They are just 1 for 19 with runners in scoring position and have collected just five hits with men on base.

The Brewers now sit just one game behind the Cubs. Milwaukee is 9-3 since CC first started for them. This is exactly the kind of boost Doug Melvin was looking for when he decided to pull out all the stops to win this season.

Howard Sinker believes the Twins should call up Francisco Liriano:

Right now is the time to move one of the young starters to long relief and see what Liriano can do. Having a second lefty in the rotation trumps the current arrangement, and the pitcher who gets demoted (Slowey or Blackburn) needs to see this as a chance for the Twins to make a serious run at the division -- in the same way that a trade for a right-handed bat is going to cost the current right-handers some playing time.

Besides, there's probably going to be a key game or two when the Twins are going to need a spot starter, even if all arms stay healthy. (Think road rainouts and the potential for a doubleheader or two.)

The Yankees, a team struggling offensively, scored 20 runs in two games against the Twins. The last time the Twins face Chicago, they gave up 40 runs in four games. With the White Sox series starting next week, the Twins could use a better arm in the rotation.

With two runs allowed on two home runs today, 13 of Cole Hamels last 18 runs allowed came via the long ball. In his last eight starts, he's allowed nine solo homers and two with a man on first. Cole owns a 2.72 ERA in those starts, but the Phillies are just 4-4 in those games.

The Twins have a rookie ball pitcher named Shooter Hunt. If that's not good enough, Shooter is off to an amazing start. In fourteen innings, he's struck out 28 and walked just two without allowing a home run. Opponents have collected just two hits. With two hit by pitches, only 18 of 50 batters have put the ball in play against Shooter.

He's 21 years old. I think he can handle rookie ball. Send him to AA New Britian so I can see him pitch, and then get him to the majors as soon as possible.

Update: Thanks to my friends at Sports Radio 610 for the tip.

Dontrelle Willis did not walk a batter in his start on Thursday.

Francisco Liriano wants to pitch in the majors.

Greg Genske says his client is frustrated because he has pitched well in the minors for more than a month but remains stuck in Rochester.

Genske says the delay has had an adverse effect on Liriano's service time, which determines when he is eligible for arbitration.

Genske asked the union to look into this, but since when is limiting service time a foul? One and one half games back in the division, the Twins are only hurting themselves if they don't have the best players on their team. If they thought they could win more games with Liriano, I'm guessing he would be up in a hurry.

Jake Peavy allowed four home runs in April. That was his bad month. He gave up four in May and June combined. Coming into this evening, he had yet to give up a home run in July. The Cardinals, however, had different ideas. The hit four solo shots off Peavy on the night to take a 4-2 lead into the eighth. Peavy's season total goes up 50% tonight. Glaus managed two off Jake. Troy seems to be getting his power back. He hit three home runs in April and May, fourteen since, including tonight.

My latest SportingNews.com column looks at how many saves Francisco Rodriguez is likely to accrue the rest of the way. In doing so, I come up with a formula for predicting team saves from winning percentage and the average margin of victory.

Brad Lidge was tipping his pitches, and he found out through an unusual source:

It was 2007 and he had just given up some runs late in a game, a habit that ultimately led to an offseason trade from the Astros to the Phillies. The hitter pulled the frustrated righthander aside and let him in on the dirty little secret that had been circulating around the National League.

Lidge was tipping his pitches.

When he held his glove high at the start of his delivery, he was throwing a fastball. When he kept the glove low at the waist, he was preparing to unleash his trademark slider.

While the exact motives of that opposing hitter will, like his identity, remain unknown, the moment served as one final epiphany in Lidge's major league enlightenment.

So much for the story line that Pujols's home run ruined Lidge mentally.

In my opinion, the most likely impact pitcher for a trade is A.J. Burnett. The only problem is that Burnett hasn't been pitching well this season. He changed that Sunday afternoon.

Pitching a scheduled start on three days rest for the first time in his career, the mercurial Burnett finally hit the right notes.

He was near perfect for eight innings, shutting out the Yankees and allowing only four hits. More importantly, Burnett's control - a variable commodity - was dialled in. He walked one and averaged only 11 pitches per inning.

Burnett's control was "probably the best I've seen all year," catcher Rod Barajas said afterward. Capitalizing on a four-run fourth sparked by Marco Scutaro's three-run home run, the Jays took the final game before the all-star break 4-1.

With Burnett, the strikeouts and home are always good (he allowed 17.8 HR per 200 innings for his career). It's the walks that make or break his season. Suitors will remember this game when they come calling for a trade. I still think the Phillies are a likely place for him to land, as they've missed out on Sabathia and Harden.

The White Sox are rearranging their starting rotation, moving younger pitchers Floyd and Danks ahead of veterans Vazquez and Contreras. With 68 games left, there are three extra starts available. If the team stays on rotation the rest of the way, Floyd and Danks get two of those starts. That's a good move on the part of Chicago.

Adam Eaton came into the game with the worst Major League ERA since the start of the 2007 season among pitchers with at least 200 innings in that time. He did nothing to lower that 5.87 ERA, allowing eight earned runs in 3 2/3 innings. Most pitchers lately have been feasting on NL West teams, but Eaton get eaten alive by the Diamondbacks as they win 10-4. The win takes Arizona back to the .500 mark.

Pedro Martinez left the game against the Rockies after allowing one hit and no runs over four innings. He only threw 66 pitches, so the fact that he left indicates some kind of injury. I've heard nothing on the broadcast as to what it might be, however.

New York leads 3-0 in the bottom of the ninth, and the hit Pedro allowed is the only one Colorado collected.

Update: The Mets win 3-0 on a combined one-hitter. New York now owns an eight game winning streak, and this was their third shutout of the streak. With the Phillies losing big in the bottom of the ninth, the Mets could by 1/2 game out in a few minutes.

Rich Harden demonstrated both his strength and his weakness for the Cubs today. He threw 96 pitches in 5 1/3 innings, allowing no runs while striking out ten. Despite the Giants putting on eight batters via a hit or walk, the strikeouts do a great job of preventing those runners from advancing.

The weakness, of course, is that Harden only lasted 5 1/3 innings. That puts pressure on the bullpen, and Carlos Marmol allows five runs in the ninth to allow the Giants to tie the game at seven. The fewer innings a starter pitchers, the more likely a reliever having a bad day will come in to give away a victory.

Chris Volstad made his second appearance and first start for the Marlins Friday night and nearly threw a shutout. He entered the ninth with less than 100 pitches thrown. He gave up a leadoff single, then with two outs allowed his fifth hit (all singles) to score a run. That put him at 100 pitches exactly, and Gregg came on to get the final out.

His minor league numbers are a bit Maddux like.

Stat	Maddux, career majors	Volstad, career minors
K per 9 IP	6.08	6.20
BB per 9 IP	1.81	2.42
HR per 200 IP	13.9	10.5

Okay strikeouts, low walks, low home runs. Few strikeouts and walks allow these pitchers to be efficient, and the low home run numbers means fewer runs allowed, also keeping them in games longer. Chris is just 21, so there plenty of time for both good and poor performances. He's certainly off on the right foot.

The trade for Sean Gallagher showed dividends Friday night as he defeated the Angels in his Athletics debut 9-2. Sean pitched seven innings, striking out seven and walking three. In his 13 starts for the Athletics, Harden completed seven innings just three times.

The A's offense had a good night, collecting ten hits off Jon Garland, chasing him after 2 2/3 innings. They now sit four back of the Angels for the division and three back of the Red Sox for the Wild Card.

Clay Buchholz has a rough first inning in his return to the majors. He gives up two hits and three walks, leading to two runs. His control was very bad as he threw 18 of 29 pitches for balls.

Barry Zito can't repeat the control of his last outing as he walks six in five innings of work. He only allows three runs, two earned, so he doesn't pick up his 13th loss of the season. It also may not have been all his fault, as Maine walked five and both pitchers were complaining about the strike zone.

Fernando Tatis was the offensive force for the Mets this afternoon. He knocked out two doubles and a home run, diving in four as the Mets take the game 7-3. He's been playing regularly since Manuel took over, and raised his slugging percentage from .333 to .459.

Scott Olsen freed himself from his winless streak with eight solid innings of work against the Padres this afternoon. Olsen went eleven starts without a win, accumulating an 0-3 record and a 5.31 ERA. Given that number, it's not surprising. He only allowed one run on a solo shot by Hairston as the Fish go on to a 5-2 win.

Justin Duchscherer continues to make a great case for a Cy Young award. He throws a complete game two-hitter, shutting out the Mariners 2-0. He faced three over the minimum as a Kurt Suzuki error led to a third batter reaching. Duchscherer only struck out four, but 72 of his 105 pitches went for strikes. The shutout lowers Justin's ERA to 1.78, best in the AL. He's pitched at least seven innings in each of his last six starts, allowing just six runs.

The win pulls the Athletics to five games behind the Angels.

Matt Harrison made his major league debut for the Texas Rangers this evening and defeats the first place Angels. Harrison pitches seven innings, allowing five hits and two runs, walking just one. In over 600 minor league innings, Harrison averaged just over two walks per nine innings. If comes anywhere near that control in the majors Texas should have a successful pitcher.

The Rangers score just enough runs, taking down the Angels 3-2.

CC Sabathia walks two batters in his first inning of work for the Brewers, but does not allow a hit. He had some control issues in his first four starts of the season, but since then he only walked more than two in a game once. He doesn't allow a run despite throwing 11 of 19 pitches for balls.

Update: The first three batters reach against Redman, the last on a three-run homer by Ryan Braun. Run support is there early for CC.

Do you think that Maddux and the Padres offense are ever going to be good on the same day again? The Marlins win 3-1 last night, with Maddux giving up two runs, one earned, in six innings of work. His record should be better than 3-7.

Luis Mendoza allows eight runs in 1 1/3 innings to raise his ERA to 7.54. If he keeps pitching like that, we'll have a Mendoza line for pitchers. The Angels lead the Rangers 8-0 in the bottom of the second.

Sabathia wants writers to drop the periods in CC. I'll just continue to call him Milliliter.

Randy Johnson handled the San Diego Padres just fine today as he struck out 10 and walked none over 6 1/3 innings. Johnson gave up three hits, however two of them were for extra bases. Randy's given up 105 hits on the season, 41 of them for extra bases. The Diamondbacks are now 1 game under .500 and maintain their lead in the NL West.

Jon Garland picks up his first complete game of the season, holding the Toronto Blue Jays to just one run on six hits and no walks. So far, Garland's ERA is going up and down with the months. He started with a 5.94 mark in April, followed by a 1.78 ERA in May. In June, it rose to 4.17 and he starts July with an even 1.00.

The Angels extend their lead in the AL West to six games.

Cliff Lee faces only his second bases loaded situation of the year in the seventh inning against the Twins. With one out and a 3-1 lead, he gives up a single to Punto to score one. With the bases still loaded, he walks Span. That's his second walk of the game and only the 19th of the season. He then ends the bases loaded situation with a ground out that scores a run. In all four situations with the bases loaded this season, Lee gave up a run on a sacrifice fly, single, walk and ground out. The Twins finish the inning with a 4-3 lead.

For one night at least, Barry Zito pitched well. His control was great tonight, striking out 10 Dodgers in seven innings of work. More importantly, he walked just one. How much of this was Zito figuring out his problem or facing a rather weak Dodgers lineup, only time will tell. Barry did give up two runs, but the Giants score twice in the bottom of the seventh to take a 3-2 lead and put Zito in position to win. With the Diamondbacks falling to the Padres, a Dodgers victory puts Los Angeles in first place.

Update: Molina drives in two more and the Giants lead 5-2 in the bottom of the seventh.

Gavin Floyd earns his tenth win of the season with this third short shutout. He goes 7 1/3 innings against Oakland, allowing just three hits and three walks. He's been struggling a bit lately. In his last three starts he gave up just eight earned runs, but he's also allowed that many unearned runs.

The White Sox win 6-1 as five of their nine hits go for extra bases.

Andy Sonnanstine wins his tenth game of the season against three losses as the Rays down the Royals 3-0. More impressively, Tampa Bay is now 14-4 in Andy's starts. That's a very good record for a 4.31 ERA. The Rays play a lot of close games when Sonnanstine pitches and are 8-1 in one and two run games when he starts. If he give the Rays 5 innings allowing three runs or less, there's a very good chance Tampa Bay walks away with a win.

Ben Zobrist hit his third home run of the season tonight. That's as many as he hit in his two previous seasons combined. He also tripled, and is slugging .815 in 27 at bats this season.

David Bush posts the fourth good start in a row for a Brewers pitcher. He goes eight innings, allowing one run and no walks while striking out seven. He doesn't get the win, however, as the Brewers don't score their second run until the bottom of the ninth, when Fielder singles in Weeks to win the game.

The Brewers rotation started turning things around on May 11th. Up until that point, the starters were 7-12 with a 4.89 ERA in 36 games. Since, they are 26-13 in 51 games, posting a 3.51 ERA. The rotation has done a good job in that time of reducing their walks and home runs allowed.

Johnny Cueto pitched seven strong innings as the Reds defeated the Nationals 5-3 Thursday night. It was his fourth good outing in a row. Unlike earlier in the season, Cueto seems to be able to pitch without his best stuff. Two of the games were like his most recent, high strikeouts and low walks. The other two, however, he only struck out two and walked three. Still, over the last four games he's only walked seven, an improvement of one walk per nine compared to the beginning of the season.

Johnny's also cut way back on his home runs allowed. Earlier in the season he was giving up about two every nine innings. Last night's shot by Dukes was the first Cueto allowed in his last four starts. A 2.13 ERA over that time indicates Cueto may be adjusting to the majors. If this trend continues, Harang, Volquez and Cueto give the Reds a fine 1-2-3 at the top of the rotation. It may not make much of a difference this season, but if Jocketty can find some offense, Cincinnati can win with those three at the front of the rotation.

Justin Duchscherer keeps improving his Cy Young chances, giving up two runs over seven innings as the Athletics down the White Sox 3-2. Chicago got to him early with a lead-off homer by Wise and another run in the first, but Cust tied the game with his 14th homer and Murphy hit his third for the difference in the game. It's the eighth straight start for the Duke in which he allowed two run or less.

Javier Vazquez pitched a complete game loss, striking out 10, but gave up one home run too many. His home runs allowed are starting to approach his career norms.

Garrett Olson joined a very small group of pitchers tonight. He allowed a home run to Tony Pena. Shawn Chacon, Jose Contreras and Jamie Moyer accomplished the feat in the past. Since the start of the 2006 season, Pena has the fourth lowest slugging percentage of any player with at least 700 plate appearances, .321. I'm actually surprised it's that high. Three other Royals knock out multiple hits as the Royals take the game 10-7.

The one part of Tim Lincecum's game that needs improvement is his control. He's pitched a few games this year where it's been very good, walking one with high strikeouts. This afternoon, he went seven innings against the Cubs, walking one and striking out eight, picking up his 10th win in an 8-3 San Francisco victory. What's impressive about Tim's control tonight is that it comes against the Cubs, a very selective team. Chicago averages 4.0 walks per game.

For the third time this season, Cole Hamels reached the 120 pitch mark. He came within one out of a shutout, but a double by McCann after Chipper Jones doubled leading off the inning meant no shutout and no complete game. Tom Gordon recorded the last out for the 4-1 Phillies win. Hamels's ERA drops to 3.22.

Chase Utley retakes the National League lead in home runs, hitting his 24th tonight. After his hot start, Chase had only hit two dingers in his previous 25 games.

Chipper Jones went 1 for 4 and lowered his batting average to .389.

Update: The latest graph showing the probability of Chipper Jones hitting .400 is up. His probability drops to .00041. With Jones's average falling, the other Braves aren't doing much to pick him up. They've scored seven runs in their last four games.

Scott Kazmir doesn't give the Mets much of a chance of making the playoffs:

"It turned out to be a blessing," said Kazmir, the first-round pick from 2002. "If that doesn't happen, I don't pitch in the majors as soon as I did. If that doesn't happen I'm not on this team, sitting in first place and hoping for October."

Of course, if the trade doesn't happen, maybe the Mets aren't one game under .500 wondering who will manage the team next year.

Is Randy Johnson done? Tuesday night's game didn't go well for Arizona as they fell 8-6 to Milwaukee and sent two players to the disabled list. Johnson, however, pitched very poorly. On the positive side, he struck out six in 3 2/3 innings. Everything else was bad. Three walks, three homers and seven earned runs allowed eight of thirteen batters who put the ball in play earned hits.

Johnson acknowledged afterward that he doesn't have the velocity of his younger days, but more disturbing is his lack of location. Few of his pitches are going where he wants them to go.

"If you have velocity, that's a luxury; but if you don't have location, that's a necessity and I haven't had any of that," Johnson said. "I've had a month worth of poor games, and I'm disappointed, that goes without saying. You just have to try to regroup and look forward to your next start."

Manager Bob Melvin said Johnson "left a lot of balls over the middle of the plate. He wasn't able to get the ball inside like he normally does. It was not one of his better games. They hit some sliders, they hit some fastballs. Got on him early. Couldn't stop the bleeding."

Johnson, at seasonal age 44, may simply be too old to pitch successfully in the major leagues. He's undergone back surgery twice in recent years, and as much as he'd like to compete, maybe it's time to walk away from the game. Johnson was once unhittable, and now the league is batting .294 against him despite a high strikeout rate. It seems Randy either fools hitters completely or not at all. He's not a productive player at this point.

The Diamondbacks are once again at .500, and the Dodgers are just 2 1/2 games out of first.

Collin Balester made a successful major league debut tonight, pitching five innings against the Marlins for the Nationals. He allowed just one hit and one run, walking three. His pitch count was high, but he's in-line for the win as the Nationals lead 6-1 in the seventh.

The Phillies demoted Brett Myers to AAA today:

"I can't say enough about Brett's willingness to accept this assignment," said general manager Pat Gillick. "He understood and is eager to get back on track again. He is struggling right now, but he is a quality major league pitcher who we are going to need in the second half of the season."

Under Major League Baseball service time rules, Myers, with 5-plus years in the majors, had the right to accept or decline the assignment.

Myers is on a pace to challenge Blyleven's single season home runs allowed record. While Philadelphia is a good park to connect for a long ball, Myers gave up home runs at a higher rate on the road.

It makes you wonder if the Phillies should have left him in the pen. I would think he'd be more valuable as a starter.

Lookout Landing examines how trading aces this winter changed the teams involved in the trades. It seems the sellers did better than the buyers.

Joe Christensen kept his eye on Kevin Slowey last season at AAA. Joe is not surprised Kevin is starting to dominate.

Dontrelle Willis walked three batters in two innings Sunday. He only allowed one run, however. I'm not really sure that's progress.

Early in the season it was rumored that the Athletics might trade Joe Blanton, despite him being their designated ace. Rich Harden's health was iffy, and the youngsters who fill out the rotation so well now were unknown quantities. With Joe getting knocked around today by one of the weaker offenses in the majors (the Giants won 11-1) why would anyone give up much for Joe now?

There are three events a pitcher controls, strikeouts, walks and home runs. Blanton is a poor strikeout pitcher. He's averaging 4.3 K per 9 this season, which is at the low range of where most competent pitcher perform. His walks per nine innings, 2.6, is very good and easily his strong suit. He's allowed twelve home runs, which works out to 21 per 200 innings. Like walks, it's a good number but one that won't lead the league. He may be greatly helped by his home park on that number as he's allowed six homers in 83 1/3 innings at home, and six in just 30 2/3 innings away. His 6.75 road ERA indicates that he many not be nearly as successful away from the Coliseum in Oakland.

Billy Beane may have waited too long on Blanton. Any good GM will recognize that Joe is not a number one starter, he may not even be a number four starter. With performances like today's the A's won't get a ton of prospects for their short lived ace.

Kevin Slowey makes his fourth good start in a row, and showed superb control. This was his second complete game of the season and his first shutout. Slowey allowed the Brewers just three hits. He walked none and struck out eight as Ben Sheets takes his first loss on the road. In Kevin's last two starts, he's allowed seven hits in fifteen innings, walking none and striking out 15. Maybe he'll turn out to be the Santana replacement.

The Twins win 5-0, with eight of their players picking up at least one hit.

Olive Perez struck out five of the first Yankees hitters through the first three innings. No one's reached against him yet. The Mets are 5-1 in games in which Perez strikes out at least five in a game.

Update: Carlos Delgado hits a monster home run, off the scoreboard on the centerfield side. The solo shot gives the Mets a 2-0 lead.

Update: Damon strikes out to start the fourth, but Jeter singles for the first Yankees base runner of the day.

It turns out the Red Sox were not Okajima's first American team:

Thanks to a member of the Houston Astros, it was brought to light that Okajima had two years of playing experience in the United States before being signed by the Red Sox prior to the 2007 season.

"Michael Barrett and I were sitting watching TV by our lockers last year and the Red Sox game came on," said Houston infielder Geoff Blum. "All of a sudden he says, 'Remember that guy, Okajima, (on) the Sharks?' You better check it, but I'm pretty sure it was him."

It was a winter league team, and Hideki spent two years there in 1996 and 1997.

The last three sentences of this John Delcos article pretty much sums up both the frustration of Johan Santana and the Mets fans this season:

Santana admitted to the balk, then said something interesting about the pressures of pitching with limited run support and when things are going bad.

"You have to be perfect every time out," he said. "And I'm not perfect."

Problem is, he's getting paid like he should be.

The Mets need Johan to be Steve Carlton 1972, a season in which he won nine games in which his team scored two runs or less. Santana lost all six games in which the Mets scoring was that low.

Jair Jurrjens helped the Braves to a 4-0 win over Toronto Friday night, pitching eight shutout innings. Jurrjens accomplished quite a feat in interleague play for a National League pitcher. He posted a 0.00 ERA in his three starts. He did allow five runs, all unearned, which explains why he only walked away with one win.

Best Interleague ERAs, through 6/27/2008, 10 IP

Pitcher	IP	ERA
Jair Jurrjens	19	0.00
Josh Rupe	10 1/3	0.00
Rich Harden	26 2/3	0.68
Greg Reynolds	12	0.75
Zach Miner	10 2/3	0.84

Jurrjens finishes June with a 1.63 ERA. He only walks seven in the month, about one every four innings. He walked 30 in 70 1/3 innings the first two months of the season.

Chipper Jones did not play in the game as his leg still bothers him. The probability of his hitting .400 was basically unchanged, as the updated graph shows.

Sidney Ponson pitched six shutout innings in his 2008 debut for the Yankees. It wasn't pretty as he walked four men and allowed five hits. Twice he pitched out of bases loaded jams. In the second he filled the bases with no one out and the Mets didn't score, and in the third the bases were full with one out and he induced a double play.

Jeter picked up his second double of the day, once again leaving the 400 double slot empty. The Yankees went on to a 9-0 victory. That left the two teams even on the day, one win for each team, each scoring 15 runs.

Notsellingjeans writing at Athletics Nation pens a piece about the AL dominance over the NL in interleague play. In it he cites my SportingNews.com article from May in which I postulated a younger offense in NL was leading to more runs in that league, despite a lack of a designated hitter. Given that in head-to-head competition, the AL is creaming the NL, out scoring the senior circuit by almost a run a game, the hypotheses in that article appear to be wrong. AN blames the pitching:

But with the benefit of hindsight, with Interleague play almost fully in the rearview mirror, I would argue instead that, the AL simply has better players across the board, and especially better pitching in particular. The NL's hitters were looking so good early in the season because their pitchers really were, and are, that bad.

Just a few years ago, it seemed that occasionally an elder AL pitcher would go to the NL to cement his legacy and hang on for a few more years, where the slightly weaker lineups would help mask his declining velocity and bite on his breaking stuff. Greg Maddux and Pedro Martinez fall into this category, as would Randy Johnson's second stint with the D-Backs.

Somehow, that phenomenon - the very real idea that weaker pitchers can survive in the NL - has spread to the point that virtually every NL team has at least one starter who is either an AL cast-off, or wouldn't be considered a starter by any AL team.

Yesterday's A's game was a perfect example. Rich Harden - the epitome of a dominant AL starter, like Beckett or Halladay, which, frankly, is a class above Peavy/Lincecum/Volquez et al, who've been humbled a bit against AL lineups in Interleague play - simply baffled the Phillies for eight innings, while Philly countered with Adam Eaton. Yes, that Adam Eaton, the one who was kicked out of Texas after the 2006 season for using a fake starting pitcher ID en route to a 1.57 WHIP for the Rangers. Yet somehow, Adam Eaton and his peach fuzz are still getting in to clubs all over the NL every five days.

Jeans makes a mostly anecdotal argument. Dan Haren and Johan Santana moving from the AL to the NL should have made the NL pitching stronger and the AL pitching weaker. Why did NL teams miss the abundant talent of Greg Smith and Dana Eveland if the league's pitching is so poor? When interleague play ends, I want to re-examine this issue. Maybe whatever is going on here will also provide the explanation for why the Cardinals and Marlins are doing so well.

Cliff Lee made his case for the Cy Young award a little stronger last night, setting a career high with eleven strikeouts as the Indians downed the Giants 4-1. Lee walked one in the game as he allowed one run and lowered his ERA to 2.34. Rich Harden also set a career high with eleven K yesterday. If Rich can stay healthy and get enough innings, Harden and Lee will make it an interesting race for the Cy Young award.

Edinson Volquez made his first poor start of the season tonight against the Blue Jays. He left the game with one out in the fifth and was charged with seven runs, five of the earned. It very impressive, giving his history in Texas that it would take 16 starts before a team would pound him. Edinson's ERA jumps from 1.71 to 2.08. The Blue Jays lead 7-1 in the sixth.

Matt Garza walked a batter in the fourth, but induced a double play so he's still pitching a no hitter and he's faced the minimum number of batters.

Update: Matt retires the side in order in the fifth. He's only thrown 55 pitches so far.

Update: Hanley Ramirez leads off the seventh with a home run, breaking up the no-hitter and shutout in one fell swoop. That's all the Marlins have, however, as the Rays lead 6-1 after a Zobrist homer in the top of the eighth.

At 28 years old, Eric Stults hadn't shown much at the major league level in his two previous seasons with the Dodgers. His minor league ERA was high, but his walk and home run totals were impressive. Wednesday night it all came together as he threw a shutout at the White Sox.

Stults changed his approach this season:

Entering his seventh year of pro ball, Stults said he went into the spring understanding that time wasn't on his side.

"When you're 28, you don't think you're old, but when you're in an organization with a ton of young talent, you have to take every outing seriously," he said.

He didn't make the club out of camp, but spent his time with triple-A Las Vegas adopting a new mind-set. No more avoiding contact, he told himself. Be aggressive.

"He's got a calmness about him," Torre observed.

With an 0.60 ERA in two starts, so far it's working.

By the way, I loved him in Killing Zoe.

Joba Chamberlain picked up a short shutout this evening, going 6 2/3 innings against the Pirates in a 10-0 Yankees victory. He gave up two singles before yielding to Ohlendorf, but was allowed to throw 114 pitches. I figured after he came out after 100 pitches in his last start, that would be his limit for a while. I guess not. In an era when most pitchers seldom go over 100 pitches, being stretched out to 114, after being so careful with him, is surprising.

I just finished ripping Barry Zito on my radio show for all the walks he's allowed in June. Coming into tonight, he allowed 17 walks in 17 innings with just eight strikeouts. Of course, tonight he's pitched six innings with no runs, no walks and four strikeouts. This doesn't say much for the Indians offense. The Giants lead 3-0 in the middle of the seventh.

Fifth Outfielder looks at the unnatural relationship between Joe Torre and Scott Proctor.

Troy Percival certainly makes the opposition feel like they can win games. The Rays staked him to a three run lead entering the bottom of the ninth, but Troy walked four in the inning to force in a run. He's given up one run in each of his last three save opportunities, but held onto the win anyway. I wonder, as the trade deadline approaches, if the Rays won't try to find a better pitcher to close games. Might they go for Huston Street?

The Rays win 6-4 and keep pace with the Red Sox. They took the lead on two two-out walks with the bases loaded in the eighth.

R.A. Dickey threw his knuckle ball for strikes tonight and stymied the Mets for seven innings. He threw 115 pitches tonight, 78 for strikes, 68%. The inning I watch it was really dancing. Perez and Vargas had no such luck for the Mets as they combined to allowed 10 runs in seven innings of work. Seattle leads 10-0 in the top of the ninth, and so far Jim Riggleman seems to be the one new manager making a difference.

Update: The Mariners score one in the ninth and the Mets fall 11-0. I'm guessing there's a lot of fertilizer being tossed by the fans at Shea this evening.

I guess Mark Mulder won't be making a major league start this weekend, as he was scratched from his rehab start Monday night:

My gut feeling is that the Cardinals are simply stalling here. A player can't make an indefinite number of rehab starts and Mulder's time is up, but he's nowhere near ready for the bigs. In his last rehab start, he got pounded for 10 hits and six runs in less than four innings. I'm guessing this is all going to end in a DFA for Mulder, followed by a full-time AAA assignment. Without a major revelation, I doubt he's going to be seeing the mound in St. Louis anytime soon.

Okay, but why would the Cardinals be so misleading?

Ben Sheets pitches an impressive game against the Braves as he does the distance in a 4-1 win. Sheets allowed just four hits over nine innings while walking none. That lowers his road ERA to 2.27 and makes him a perfect 6-0 away from Milwaukee.

It's Ben's third complete game of the season. He pitched a shutout against the Giants on April 6th, allowing five hits. He also had an 11 hitter at Pittsburgh on May 21st, a game in which he allowed just one run. In all three complete games, Sheets has not walked a batter.

Peter Abraham notes that Mexican League pitcher Alfredo "El Paton" Aceves tore up A and AA ball for the Yankees, earning him a promotion to AAA. He recorded 14 walks and 72 strikeouts in 97 innings. He also allowed just four home runs. At 25, he's a mature pitcher, and may be able to help the big club this season.

The Cardinals are looking to bring Mark Mulder back against the Royals in the upcoming weekend series.

Manager Tony La Russa and pitching coach Dave Duncan insisted Sunday that a "good chance" exists for Mulder to make his first major-league start since being sidelined last August with shoulder discomfort that led to a second rotator cuff operation. Mulder is on a rehab assignment that included a difficult outing Thursday against Albuquerque.

Tonight's outing is considered a tuneup more than a full-blown start, suggesting the Cardinals have made a decision but will wait to see how Mulder exits the appearance before confirming his return to the major leagues.

"It depends on how it goes. We're not really putting a day on it," general manager John Mozeliak said.

That would be a piece of good news given the spate of injuries to important players lately.

Paul DePodesta really likes the Padres AA rotation:

Right now four members of the San Antonio rotation rank in the top six in ERA in the Texas League. Will Inman is 2nd (3.00 ERA) , Steve Garrison 3rd (3.09 ERA), Stephen Faris 5th (3.46 ERA), and Matt Buschmann 6th (3.48 ERA). They have combined to pitch 302 innings while yielding 270 hits and striking out 282 batters. What's even more impressive, though, is what they have done in the month of June.

...

That's a 1.62 ERA in 94.1 innings. It looks like we have a good race for pitcher of the month.

Justin Duchscherer picked up the win against the Marlins today, allowing just one run in 7 2/3 innings. That brought his ERA down to 1.99. More importantly, going deep in the game raised his innings total to 77, two more than games played by Oakland. That puts Justin in the lead for the AL ERA title, at least until the A's get to 78 games.

The majors requires one inning for each scheduled game in a season to qualify for the ERA title. In a typical year, that's 162 innings. So pitchers who have at least as many innings as team games play qualify during the season. He's now nearly 1/2 run better than Cliff Lee, and should now start getting Cy Young consideration.

There's not much Justin doesn't do well. His strikeouts aren't terribly high, but his walks, and home runs allowed are very low. On top of that, he's only allowing a .208 BA. He remains undefeated at home, going 6-0 with a 1.52 ERA.

Andy Pettitte started June on a down note, allowing 15 runs, 14 earned, in his first two starts of the month. Since his 10 run debacle against Kansas City, however, Pettitte's been about as good as one can expect. His outing was cut short by rain this afternoon, but his six shutout innings gives him one run allowed in his last 21 innings. He's struck out 19, walked four and allowed 14 hits in that time. The Yankees salvaged a game of the series, winning 4-1.

Manny Parra walked five Orioles in the first three innings. Amazingly, Baltimore scored only two runs. Parra's control isn't great, but he usually strikes out about twice as many as he walks. He's yet to record a K in the game, which is tied at two in the bottom of the third.

Nick Blackburn helped the Twins pull to 2 1/2 games behind the White Sox as he allowed three hits over seven innings as Minnesota defeated Arizona 6-1. Blackburn's 3.68 ERA ranks 14th in the American League this season. While he's not Johan Santana, Blackburn helped stabilize the rotation. Like Johan, Nick rarely issues a walk, none Saturday night.

Nick, however, usually gives up hits. His .337 OBA allowed despite a low walk total is not impressive. Blackburn's OBA is deceptive, however, since he does a very good job of inducing double plays. With two against Arizona, opponents grounded into fourteen DPs this season with Nick on the mound. That lowers his effective OBA to .301. While that won't lead the league, it means he's well below the American League average for pitchers of .329.

Nick also shuts down the running game. Not only have base runners attempted just one steal against Nick, it resulted in a caught stealing. While Blackburn's overall stats are not that impressive, he does a few things to bring his ERA to a very productive level.

Edinson Volquez goes up against a tough Yankees lineup and handles them just fine. He last seven innings, walking one and striking out five. The Yankees picked up seven hits, but all of them were singles as the Reds take the game 4-2.

A two-out intentional walk to Jay Bruce backfired on Joe Girardi in the fifth as the next two batters doubled and singled to drive in three and give the Reds their margin of victory.

Jeremy Senderowicz writes that with the 2-1 win by the Yankees today, Mariano Rivera appeared in all three games of the series, faced nine batters and struck out seven of them. I wonder how he looks in a cat suit?

Joba last pitched out of the pen on 5/28. Here's how the opposition batting breaks down for the Yankees bullpen with and without Joba:

Yankees Bullpen, 2008

Opponents With Joba	In Bullpen	In Rotation
Batting Average	.240	.201
On-Base Average	.315	.298
Slugging Percentage	.275	.362

So they're giving up fewer hits, but walking more and allowing more extra base hits. Overall, they're still pitching very well.

David Bush struck out to end the seventh, and comes out to face Overbay, Rios and Zaun in the eighth. Overbay hits a line drive to left, just out of the reach of a diving Braun, and Lyle gets a triple to end the no-hitter.

David Bush is perfect through five. With a 6-0 lead, there's no pressure on him either. With Burnett getting lit up after making comments about wanting to play for the Cubs, this is turning out to be a pretty bad day for J.P. Ricciardi.

It gets worse as Prince Fielder hits an inside the park home run leading off the bottom of the fifth. The ball rolled over the pad down the rightfield line and Rios thought it was dead. He just stood there waiting for the umpire to call a ground rule double, and Fielder just came around to score. It's the second inside the park homer for Fielder.

Bush has just one strikeout, as the Jays can't get a hit despite 14 balls in play.

Update: Bush walks Zaun leading off the sixth. He got ahead 0-2 on Zaun but lost him.

Update: Bush gets three ground balls and Toronto ends the inning without a hit. Seventeen balls in play for the Blue Jays, no hits.

For the second day in a row, Troy Percival makes a close game even closer. He gives up a leadoff home run to Soto, but strikes out Fukudome looking to end the game and earn the save. The Rays win their second one-run contest against the Cubs 5-4.

Andy Sonnanstine loaded the bases with no one out in the top of the fifth, but pitched out of the situation with just one run scored. The Rays went into the inning with a three run lead, so Andy was able to sustain a bit of a cushion.

The Yankees signed Sidney Ponson to a minor league contract. I'm not surprised. Given his success with Texas this season, he's worth a shot, as long as it's not a shot of whiskey.

Barry Zito lasted two innings against the Tigers, allowing five runs. So far this season, Zito had a 7.53 ERA through the end of April, posted a 3.49 ERA in May, and including today his June ERA is 9.00 in four starts. That's not very good. He walked four batters, and the Tigers announcers wondered if the Giants should send Zito to A ball like Dontrelle Willis to work on his control.

Chris Carpenter and the Cardinals received good news Tuesday:

Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter returned from his trip to Alabama for a second opinion on his right elbow with reassuring news that he shouldn't hesitate to restart his rehab.

"All of my tests were fine; my ligament and my reconstruction looks good," Carpenter said Tuesday at Busch Stadium, cataloging what Dr. James Andrews told him the day before. "My elbow looks good, and everybody reacts differently at different times to this surgery.

"It's just a frustrating process."

The Cardinals are hopeful Carpenter pitches in the majors this season.

Felix Hernandez pitched strong early against the Marlins Tuesday night, then bent, but didn't break toward the end. He struck out nine and walked just one. In the fourth, he used just nine pitches to strike out the side. What impressed his manager, however, was his ability to pitch into the eighth inning:

But what began as a Tuesday night cakewalk for Hernandez would soon require all the focus and fortitude he could muster to hang on for a 5-4 victory. Hernandez would be forced to throw 34 pitches in the sixth inning as the Marlins cobbled some runs together and forced the pitcher to notch his two biggest of nine strikeouts on the night to hold the lead.

That Hernandez overcame that one, arm-taxing frame and fought his way into the eighth was likely more important in the end than all the enticing strikeout numbers.

"They got some good hits, scored some runs," Hernandez said. "But I've got to stay focused on the game."

Sounds simple, but it hasn't been for this team. The Mariners hadn't won a home game since May 31 against Detroit, dropping eight in a row at Safeco Field.

One reason the losses have piled up in May and June is that starters haven't always shaken off 30-pitch innings and worked into the eighth. Erik Bedard couldn't do it after a 40-pitch third inning two weekends ago at Fenway Park, nor could he surpass 100 pitches his past two outings the way Hernandez put up 107 in this game.

Felix, at least, will give the new GM something to build around.

Dayton Moore's trade for Kyle Davies certainly looks good right now. Davies shutdown a weakened Cardinals offense, matching Joel Pineiro's one run allowed over seven innings. With the Royals scoring in the eighth, Davies even got the win.

His ERA now sits at 1.46. Although he continues to walk a high number of batters, he's given up few extra-base hits, and none with men on base. His stats don't scream great pitcher at me, but if he's solved his previous power problems, he'll be a valuable member of the rotation.

Livan Hernandez was pitching himself out of a job, but received a reprieve tonight as he held the Nationals to one run over seven innings. That was just enough for the win as the Twins take the game 2-1. Justin Morneau got the big hit, a two-run homer in the sixth that ends up the game winner.

Brandon Webb gets knocked around by the Oakland Athletics. In easily his worst outing of the season, Webb allows nine hits and five walks in 3 1/3 innings, giving up seven runs along the way. Nick Piecoro noted Webb's dead arm after his last start, and I'm wondering if Webb needs a little time off to recover. The A's lead 8-0 in the fifth.

Jon Lester pitched seven shutout innings tonight as the Red Sox down the Phillies 3-0. He allowed one walk and six hits, five of those for singles. Since the start of May, Lester's posted a 2.54 ERA, allowing just two home runs. He's making the non-trade for Johan Santana look pretty good.

Andy Pettitte stepped into the ace role nicely tonight, shutting out the Padres for seven innings. The Yankees lefty dominated the Padres hitters, walking one and striking out nine. The bullpen continues to pitch well without Joba, striking out five more with no walks as the Yankees win the game 8-0. Chase Headley justified his call up with two hits, the only offensive bright spot for San Diego.

Pettitte has now allowed one run in his last fifteen innings while striking out 15 and walking just two. The Yankees will need more of that over the next ten weeks.

Vicente Padilla just retired Chipper Jones for the second time tonight to end the fourth inning. He's retired all twelve Braves he's faced so far.

Update: McCann doubles with one out in the fifth. The Rangers lead the Braves 5-0. With his 0-2, Chipper is exactly at .400. He'll need a hit to keep from falling below the magic number.

Scott Kazmir allowed three walks through four innings, but no hits so far. The Cubs are working the counts, however, as Scott has already thrown 80 pitches, 59% for strikes. At that rate, there's no way he can throw a complete game.

Update: Henry Blanco picks up the first Cubs hit with one out in the fifth. Iwamura barely got to the ball, and it ticked off his glove into the outfield. The Rays lead 1-0 on a second inning home run by Cliff Floyd.

Update: The Cubs tie the game on two poorly hit balls. With a man on first and two out, Reed Johnson swings at a ball out of the strike zone and dribbles it to third base for a hit. Then Theriot hits a slow, high bouncer to the hole between first and second. Aybar dives for the ball and deflects it over the head of Iwamura, allowing Blanco to score from second. The good teams get the lucky breaks, and it shows that nice things can happen when you put the ball in play.

Nick N. is impressed with the progress Francisco Liriano made at AAA.

Much to my surprise and delight, Liriano made very quick strides upon his return to Class-AAA Rochester. After an ugly first start back with the Red Wings (4.1 IP, 4 ER, 5 BB), Liriano started to make demonstrable adjustments. In nine starts since then, he has pitched 6+ innings eight times, allowed three or fewer runs eight times and issued two or fewer walks seven times. He's throwing more strikes and pitching deep into ballgames. Over his past four starts, he has gone 3-0 with a 2.45 ERA and 26-to-6 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 25 2/3 innings. Considering how far away he looked back in April, there's no way I could have anticipated that Liriano would be pitching so well so soon, even if it is just at the Triple-A level. Reports indicate that he has added a few ticks to his velocity and that he's harnessed his fastball, which he struggled mightily to command during his stint with the Twins.

Given the poor performance of Livan Hernandez lately, Liriano could be back in the Twins rotation sooner rather than later.

The Red Sox have a knuckleballer finding success at AAA, Charlie Zink.

Two weeks ago, his schedule was altered so he was pitching on the same days Tim Wakefield was. And with the Red Sox possibly in pursuit of the Indians' C. C. Sabathia, Zink could prove a valuable trading chip.

"That knuckleball that he has, he can pitch in the big leagues right now," Pawtucket's pitching coach, Rich Sauveur, said. "There are teams in the major leagues right now that could use him in their starting rotation. It's just a matter of somebody trusting him to be a starter."

If the Red Sox should decide to promote him, they'll have to double Kevin Cash's salary.

Fernando Rodney had a rough return to the majors Monday night. He allowed a three-run homer to blow the lead and two more runs that proved to be the difference as the Tigers fell to the Giants 8-6. He threw strikes, 13 of 19 pitches, but they were hit hard. It's a tough loss for the Tigers as Verland out-pitched Tim Lincecum, and the Giants scored 19 runs in their previous six games (10 of those in their only win in the six).

The Tigers are getting Fernando Rodney back Monday and Joel Zumaya by the end of the week. This should help in two ways. The Tigers currently rank 11th in bullpen ERA, so adding two good relievers show lower that number. Secondly, with starters pitching less and less, team are going to wear their bullpens down sooner. The Tigers are introducing two fresh arms into the mix giving the rest of the pen some time off. With the rotation pitching better, Detroit may be fixing their biggest weakness this season.

Ricky Nolasco came into today's game against the Rays with a K per 9 rate of 5.4. That's low, so it was a bit of a surprise to see that he struck out a dozen Tampa Bay batters on the way to a 9-3 Marlins victory. I wondered how unusual it was for a low K pitcher to have a big strikeout game. I looked at all seasons from 1957 to 2007 in which a pitcher had a K/9 rate below six and at least 12 strikeouts in a game that season. There were 128 examples, so it's not that rare. Probably the most interest example of this comes from Ron Villone, who averaged 4.9 K per 9 innings in 2000, but had a 16 strikeout game that season. His 16 K game came at the end of the season, and you have to wonder if the Cardinals, with an eleven game lead really cared.

C.C. Sabathia threw another strong outing today, defeating Maddux and the Padres 7-3. Milliliter struck out ten and walked just one as he increased his June K/BB to 6.0.

One reason for the win, however, was Maddux not getting support from his defense. This time, however, it was Greg's own error that allowed three unearned runs to score. Without that, Greg gets a no-decision at worst.

Gil Meche is perfect through four innings, striking out seven of the first twelve batters he's faced. Owings is far from perfect, having allowed seven hits and six runs so far, four on a grand slam by DeJesus.

Update: Conor Jackson singles to start the fifth.

My latest column at SportingNews.com looks at Joba Chamberlain's value as a starter and reliever.

Via Giants Win, a detailed analysis of Tim Lincecum at Driveline Mechanics.

The Yankees defeated the Athletics last night as Joe Blanton loaded the bases in the sixth, setting up a Hideki Matsui grand slam. Most of the game was well pitched, as runs were only scored in two half innings with a final of 4-1.

I'm seen talk of Blanton as a trade chip, but he really doesn't seem to be a front of the rotation starter to me, as he wears down quickly in a game:

Joe Blanton, 2008

Opponents	Innings 1-4	Innings 5 and on
Batting Average	.247	.320
On-Base Average	.276	.375
Slugging Percentage	.381	.485

Notice how the spread between his batting average allowed and OBA allowed increases, as well as the spread between his BA and SPct. This indicates everything breaks down; more walks and more power. That's exactly what happened last night as a single and two walks led to the grand slam in the sixth. Blanton is a fifth starter. A team should hope to get five good innings out of him, then get the bullpen to do the rest. Showcasing him as an ace means the A's are just trying to get more than Blanton's actually worth.

The Reds get a rare well pitched game by Bronson Arroyo tonight. This would be his fifth in fifteen starts. He shutout the Cardinals for six innings and provided some power with the fourth home run of his career. The Reds take the game by a score of 6-2.

Jamie Moyer just completed the fifth inning against the Marlins, and he's yet to allow a hit. Moyer did walk a batter. He's 8-0 in eight starts versus Florida, all with the Phillies. Olsen is pitching almost as well, spinning a two-hit shutout himself.

Update: Moyer singles leading off the sixth, giving him more hits than the Marlins in the game. The broadcast just said that Moyer's lowest hit game was a 2-hitter in 1986.

Update: Olsen breaks up the no-hitter in the bottom of the sixth. You have to love it when the opposing pitcher breaks up the no-hitter.

Update: By the way, whenever I hear an announcer say, "Amezaga," I always go, "Do Doo, Do Do Doo."

It looks like Jake Peavy suffered no ill effects from his injury as he shutout the Dodgers for six innings. The Padres actually found some offense, hitting two homers and scoring nine runs. They've scored 23 runs in their last four games.

Billy Wagner blew his third straight save. His problem today was control. He did give up a double, but the other hit was of the infield variety and the tying run scored on a Baltimore chop that took so long to come down the Mets couldn't turn the double play. The game is tied at four in the bottom of the ninth. Santana gets a short shutout as he goes seven scoreless innings, but he won't get the win.

Update: With the bases loaded and two out in the bottom of the ninth, Drew dives in the hole and barely throws Delgado out at second to send the game into extra innings.

Update: Montero drives in Upton with a sacrifice fly and the DBacks take a 5-4 lead in the top of the 10th.

Update: Lyon pitches his second inning for the win. He allowed an infield hit but induced a double play to finish off the Mets, 5-4.

Johan Santana has his strikeout pitch working early, sending down five of the first seven batters via the K. The only batter to reach was Ojeda on a hit by pitch.

Update: The Mets take a 1-0 lead on a Castro home run.

Bartolo Colon made another nice start tonight, allowing one run over six innings while striking out seven. Boston went on to a 6-1 win. It makes me wonder what the Red Sox saw that other teams didn't, and which scout recommended the signing. That person should get a raise.

Dustin McGowen's new glass appear to be helping him quite a bit:

McGowan, who has long had problems seeing in low-light conditions, visited a doctor during spring training and finally received his new glasses before a start May 30 against the Los Angeles Angels. He's gone 2-0 with a 2.40 ERA in two night starts since donning the specs.

"I can't see at night because of glare and shadows, so when they're giving signs, it's hard to see," McGowan said. "I think my catchers got tired of me crossing them up so I went and saw a doctor and a specialist for them. I might just wear them every game from here on out."

Chien-Ming Wang returned to form last night as he struck out just two but induced four double plays in 7 1/3 innings as the Yankees downed the Athletics 3-1. Wang's double plays are off this season. Through his first three years in the majors, he induced a double play in 4% of the at bats against him. Even with the four last night he's only at 3% for 2008. The double plays allow Wang to allow a high number of balls in play, effectively reducing his OBA allowed.

Wang's been working on his sinker.

Wang sustained a mild calf injury in the first start of that stretch, but the Yankees believed his problems were not physical. Wang had simply been dropping his arm angle, the theory goes, because his arm speed was too slow. That caused his sinker to sweep across the strike zone, not sharply downward.

The pitching coach Dave Eiland said Wang watched video and noticed that he was lifting his left leg too slowly in his delivery. That caused his arm to lag and his pitches to flatten. It was not a consistent problem Tuesday.

"There were a couple of pitches where he didn't get to that slot -- his arm was slowing down -- and he self-corrected himself in the middle of the inning," Eiland said. "That's huge, when a guy can do that."

Roy Oswalt easily pitched his best game of the year Tuesday night, allowing just one run over seven innings as the Astros defeated the Brewers 6-1. While he did allow another home run, leaving him one short of his career high, Oswalt showed great control, walking none and striking out ten. It was the Oswalt of old:

Oswalt did amazing things, winning 19 games his second season and 20 in back-to-back years. The Astros fretted the righthander was throwing too many pitches, trying to strike out too many hitters.

They wanted him to pitch to contact, to get deeper into games. They took something that wasn't broken and tried to fix it anyway.

In these last few weeks, as he struggled like never before, Oswalt made up his mind to go back to the future.

He was going to forget pitching to contact. He was going back to power, back to what he knew best.

"It's better to put up six zeros," he said after throwing seven innings in a 6-1 victory over Milwaukee on Tuesday night, "than last seven innings and give up four or five runs."

It's tough to score runs if the opposition can't make contact.

Dustin McGowan picks up his first complete game of the season and third of his career as he stops the Mariners by a score of 3-1. Toronto maintains their lead in team complete games, staying one ahead of Cleveland.

Seattle managed just five hits in their second game with Lee Elia as hitting instructor. I guess his work is going to take some time. :-)

Pirates starter Paul Maholm has collected five hits and five walks this season for a .345 OBA. That's better than four position players in the Pirates lineup tonight. Looks like he has a pretty good eye for the strike zone, and he's turning that into an offensive strength.

Brett Myers came into tonight's game against the Marlins with a home run allowed rate of 37.2. His career high is 31 home runs allowed. The Marlins took advantage of his tendency to throw gopher balls, as Ramirez and Cantu connected in the first inning to get the Marlins off to a 3-0 lead. Less than halfway through the season, Myers has allowed 17 home runs.

This probably makes him the highest paid player in A ball:

The Tigers sent struggling Dontrelle Willis down to Class A on Tuesday, hoping the former star lefty can find his control.

Detroit optioned Willis to Lakeland of the Florida State League _ and home to the Tigers' spring training camp _ a day after he matched a career high by giving eight earned runs on five walks and three hits in 1 1-3 innings against Cleveland.

Willis has walked 21 batters in 11 1/3 innings this season. He's only given up seven hits, probably because he can't find the strike zone. After a great 2005, his control got worse in each of the last two seasons.

It's too bad. Dontrelle is a fun player to watch, and I hope he can figure out his problems. Baseball can use characters like him.

Even though the Rockies lost to the Brewers Sunday afternoon 3-2, Colorado has to be happy with the way the starting pitching performed over the last five games. Skipping their fifth starter due to a day off, the starters allowed 10 earned runs in 33 innings, a 2.73 ERA. The group had been struggling with a 5.64 ERA before that.

The Yankee let Joba Chamberlain throw 78 pitches, which is good for 4 1/3 innings. He leaves having allowed three runs, two earned. His big mistake of the game was trying to strike out Guillen with a slider. Chamberlain hung the pitch and Guillen hammered it into the leftfield seats on a line drive. The Royals lead 3-2 in the middle of the fifth.

Update: Joey Gathright just made his third great catch of the game. The Yankees score a run in the bottom of the fifth, but Gathright's great plays have kept the Royals in this game. Two were on ball going back over his head, and and the last on a line drive to short centerfield on which he might have injured himself.

Greg Reynolds picked up his first major league win Saturday night, allowing two runs over six innings against the Brewers in Colorado. However, he walked two and struck out none. In his six MLB starts so far, Greg walked 20 and struck out 9. That's a K/BB of 0.45. For a pitcher with over 30 innings, that would be the worst seasonal number in twelve years. In 1996, Jeff Ware pitched 32 2/3 innings, walking 31 and striking out 11, for a K/BB of 0.35. That same year, Steve Sparks pitched 88 2/3 innings, walking 52 and striking out 21, 0.40 K/BB. Sparks did go on to have a career in which he struck out more batters than he walked, but Jeff Ware never pitched in the majors again.

Update: On a related note, Jon Garland struck out eight and walked one against the Athletics last night to bring his walks and strikeouts into parity on the season at 30 each. I would have thought a patient team like the A's would do well drawing walks against Garland, but LAnaheim went on to win the game 5-3. The Angels now hold a 5 1/2 game lead in the AL West, the largest lead of any first place team.

For the second night in a row, the Blue Jays bullpen blew the game:

The Yankee game saw B.J. Ryan give up a walk-off homer. Last night, a pair of bullpen lesser lights - Brian Tallet and Armando Benitez - suffered a similar fate in the eighth inning, and the Jays fell even harder than the night before.

Tallet gave up a run-scoring single, then a two-run homer, and Benitez gave up a solo shot and another two-run homer.

Benitez has lost the ability to prevent hits despite keeping his K rate high. Through 2004 he allowed 5.9 hits per nine. Since then, it's up to 8.4 hits per nine.

There was very good pitching on the west coast Friday night as the Angels defeated the Athletics 3-1, the Dodgers downed the Cubs 3-0 and the Padres defeated the Mets 2-1 for the second day in a row. The Angels pitching staff has held the opposition to two runs or less in 13 of their last 26 games and 22 times on the season.

Most times holding the opposition to two runs or less, 2008

Teams	Games
White Sox	28
Athletics	23
Indians	23
Angels	22
Padres	22
4 Teams	21

Lackey continues his fine performances, lowering his ERA to 1.70 as Joe Blanton takes a hard luck loss.

Johan Santana pitched well, but his own error was his undoing as the Padres scored two in the sixth inning. However, looking at the play by play, it's not clear why one of his runs was unearned. After a Hairston double, Johan tried to get the runner going to third, and committed an error on the play, putting runners on 1st and 3rd. On the next play, however, the ball hit Hairston, resulting in that runner being put out and the batter getting a hit. At that point, Santana gives up two more hits before there are two outs, so I don't see quite how the error led to an unearned run. Randy Wolf did a better job of spreading out the Mets hits, and the Padres took home a victory.

Kuroda followed his worst outing of the year with his best, and one that may hold up as his best for a long time. He pitched the first shutout of his major league career, allowing four hits and no walks while striking out eleven. With a game score of 90, that tied for fourth highest this season. That ends the Cubs eight game winning streak, but with the Cardinals falling to Houston, Chicago maintains their lead in the NL Central.

A few weeks ago I went to watch Jim Fuller pitch. I'm told he was taken by the Mets in the 22nd round. Maybe he can be the next Scott Kazmir and pitch for the Rays someday!

Brandon Webb continues to rack up the wins, earning the W in a 3-1 Diamondbacks victory over the Pirates. The Arizona offense is still not clicking, but Webb allowed just three hits over seven innings, making the three runs more than enough for the win. He should have 21 more starts, which doesn't give him much margin for error for winning 30. Going 14-7 the rest of the way seems reasonable, however, which would give him an impressive 25 wins on the year.

Cole Hamels pitched an impressive complete game against the Reds Thursday afternoon. Not only did he finish, he only used 103 pitches in throwing a three hitter. He walked three and only struck out four, so he was not his over powering self. Still, he was efficient, and when the Reds did put the ball in play, they didn't have much to show for it.

Charlie Manuel took Jimmy Rollins out of the game for not running out a pop up that was dropped. I like Rollins' attitude afterward:

"He's the manager and that's what he had to do," Rollins said. "He has two rules: Be on time and hustle. I broke one today. It's my fault. I can't be mad at him."

Everyone makes mistakes, and at least Jimmy admitted his and learned from it.

Brett Myers has a no-hitter with one out in the seventh. He's walked four. There's no score in the game as Volquez is also pitching brilliantly, allowing two hits and striking out seven through six innings.

Update: Votto breaks up the no-hitter with two outs in the seventh, doubling in Phillips who walked and stole second. Cincinnati leads 1-0.

Kevin Kernan makes an interesting point about the Yankees pitchers:

Joba acted like Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes in that situation. For some reason that has been a nagging problem for the Yankees young pitchers and I think part of the reason is that this generation is too carried away with pitch counts.

This is the Pitch Count Generation because that's what everybody is talking about.

If enough people tell you, "Hey, start thinking about elephants,'' you're going to start thinking about elephants.

Yankees pitchers need to start thinking: Let me get this guy out. And leave it at that.

While I understand limiting pitchers so they don't get hurt, why does everyone have to know about it? Wouldn't it be better from a strategic point of view to never talk about how many pitches get thrown beforehand? Let others study the stats and figure out what a manager is doing. Don't give away the plot and give the other team an advantage.

EricSeidman examines the Blue Jays rotation and finds their young pitchers not only throw a number of different pitchers, they do a very good job of mixing them up.

The Tao of Stieb notices the difference between the Jays' youthful pitcher and the Yankees':

Fat ugly toad Joba Chamberlain lasted just over two innings. There's your god damned saviour, Yankee fans. And while we're at it, Joba (born 9/23/85) has done pretty much (expletive deleted) all as a major league starter aside from having some overhyped "rules" named after him, while Jesse Litsch (born 3/9/85) is 7-1 this year with a 3.18 ERA (and 14-10 with a 3.58 over his first two years.) Not that we think it is an injustice necessarily, or that things won't play out differently in the end...but it does make us want to smack Michael Kay in the face with a Rideau Crusher every time we hear about how great Joe-Bah is.

More reactions from around the blogosphere and news media at Big League Stew.

The Mets stake Pedro Martinez to a 1-0 lead in the first, but Martinez allows a single, steal and double to allow the Giants to tie the game. He did not strike out a batter and threw 21 pitches. He did look perfectly comfortable on the mound.

Joba Chamberlain has a long but not horrible first inning. He walks three and allows one hit, but the run scored after the first walk, a balk, and a passed ball. He then loaded the bases but got out of that jam, however, he threw 38 pitches, more than half his limit for the game. He'll put some pressure on the bullpen tonight.

Update: The Yankees score twice in the bottom of the first, the second run on a Giambi single through the vacated left side of the infield. It appeared on the replay that Jason was intentionally trying to go the other way to drive in the runner from second. If he does that a few more times, he might open up the right side a bit with men on base.

Update: Joba walks Rios with one out in the third, and that's it for Chamberlain. He leaves with a 2-1 lead but won't get the decision.

Tim Malcolm just loves the Phillies bullpen.

Not only is Carlos Zambrano off to a great start on the mound, but he's also one of the Cubs best hitters. The Cubs held off a late rally by the Padres to take a 7-6 win, send Zambrano's record to 8-1 with a 2.51 ERA. Carlos also picked up three hits, including a triple to raise his batting average to .366 (that's his OBA also) and his slugging percentage to .537. That's very close to Ramirez (.538) and Soriano (.544). Carlos is hitting 125 points better than batters are against him, and is in that rare air of having a higher batting average (times 10) than ERA.

Hideki Okajima pitches the second worst outing of his MLB career tonight as the Red Sox fall to the Orioles 6-3. With a 3-2 lead in the 8th, Okajima comes on to try to set up Papelbon, but allowed four runs in 2/3 of an inning. On 9/14/2007 he allowed four runs in 1/3 of an inning and gave up two home runs. The Orioles avoid a sweep and the Red Sox go home to host Tampa Bay tomorrow 1 1/2 games out of first place.

John Smoltz is active and the Braves will use him as the closer. He saved 154 games in 168 opportunities as a reliever, a .917 save percentage.

Vicente Padilla will miss a start as he returns to Nicaragua to deal with family matters. I hope all turns out well.

Hiroki Kuroda came into tonight's game against the Mets with much better home run numbers than Santana. The Dodgers right-hander allowed just five, while the big left-hander had allowed twelve. The Mets, however, just hit two home runs off Kuroda in the bottom of the third as they are peppering him with hits. Beltran goes deep for the second game in a row, and Ryan Church, back from his concussion, gets a high fastball and drills it over the fence. Kuroda is out after giving up a double to Schneider and intentionally walking Chavez.

The Brewers starting pitchers were not having a good year. Through games of May 25th, the group posted a 4.73 ERA and a 13-17 record in 50 starts. With a 10-1 win over Houston this afternoon, Milwaukee starters have an ERA of 2.47 over their last seven gamesalong with a 4-1 record. The Brewers have won six of those seven games to climb back over .500.

Bush put together his second good start in a row, allowing just three earned runs in 14 innings. He's revived his control, walking just one batter in those two starts.

Brandon Webb won his 10th game of the season on Saturday, the last day of May. It was a masterful complete game shutout, his second CG of the season and first shutout, short or long. With 10 wins in the first two months of the season, all Brandon needs to do is repeat that twice to win 30!

Since 1957, only three pitchers have posted four months with five or more wins. Denny McLain did it five times in 1968, the last 30 win season. Koufax and Marichal each posted four months of five wins or more in 1963. That doesn't make Webb's odds look very good.

Scott Kazmir set a (Devil) Rays record for wins in a month with five. He picked up a short shutout with seven scoreless innings against the White Sox. A change this year with Kazmir and the Rays is that he's going deeper in games, putting less pressure on the bullpen, and the bullpen is no longer ruining his good starts.

Hat tip, BBTF.

Glendon Rusch pitched a poor outing against the Cubs today, lasting just 4 2/3 innings while giving up five earned runs. Over their last nine games, the Rockies received only one good start. Including Rusch's number from today, the Rockies starters in that time are posting an 8.10 ERA. They've allowed 24 walks and 11 home runs in their last 50 innings. The Cubs lead 5-3 in the sixth inning.

Over his previous three starts, Phil Dumatrait walked 13 batters while striking out eight. His ERA was okay, however, allowing eight earned runs in 16 1/3 innings. Tonight against the Reds, however, he turned that around. Dumatrait struck out nine and walked just two over seven innings, holding the Reds to two hits and one run. The Pirates took the game 7-2. He's had other performances where he showed good control, so the next step will be repeating that kind of control.

The Pirates also held Jay Bruce hitless in three at bats, proving the rookie is human after all. :-)

During my radio show Wednesday night, I discussed the Red Sox pattern of use of Daisuke Matsuzaka. Looking at his log with pitch counts, the Red Sox seem to be more interested in limiting his innings than his pitches. In two of his best starts, he lasted seven innings. In one of those he threw 111 pitches, so I can see him coming out, but in the other, he threw just 96. Why not let him go 115 pitches when he's throwing well?

In his two high pitch outings, on 4/13 and 5/22, he pitched poorly, walking six in each game. Now, there are many theories on what pitch counts mean. One that makes sense to me is that pitching fatigued leads to injuries, since it's more difficult to keep your mechanics right.

Now, I'd like to suggest that walking lots of batters is a sign that a pitcher's mechanics is off. Now, maybe the umpire had a narrow strike zone, or maybe the opposing team was particularly selective. Walking a lot of batters, however, should throw up a red flag that the pitcher may not have everything together that day. So in the two games where walks indicated that Matsuzaka's mechanics were off, he threw the most pitches.

The start before he left with an injury was one of those, 118 pitches in a game where he struggled with control. I understand that Dice-K has a history of being able to throw a lot of pitches, it just seems to make more sense to allow him high pitch counts when he's throwing well rather than when he might be struggling with his mechanics.

MetsBlog.com posts video of Pedro in his rehabilitation start. He'll likely start next week against San Francisco. That's a good team for a comeback, since they're not very strong offensively.

Roy Halladay and Rich Harden delivered the expected pitchers duel, each allowing one run, Harden over seven innings and Halladay over eight. Keith Foulke, however, had the bad inning that cost the Athletics the game. After a walk and a sacrifice, Foulke gave up a double to Rios. Keith, a right-hander, is having trouble getting out right-handed batters. They're batting .321 against him with five extra base hits, while lefties have only managed two singles in twenty-two at bats. The Jays take the game 2-1 and have won 6 of their last seven.

I wondered why Joba Chamberlain came out after 28 pitches Wednesday night, but Peter Abraham notes Joba worked in the bullpen afterwards:

In case you missed it, Joba threw 27 more pitches in the bullpen in two simulated innings. That got him to 55. The Yankees will talk it over on Thursday to decide what happens next.

The Yankees defeat the Orioles 4-2 behind a strong performance by Andy Pettitte. Joba Chamberlain relieved Andy with two outs in the seventh and pitched the eighth, throwing a total of 28 pitches. I expected him to finish the game as that would stretch out his pitch count, but Rivera came in to get the save. Did the Yankees suddenly go back to using Joba in the setup role? Or is it a requirement that Mariano gets the save?

Peter Abraham channels Dennis Moore in talking about the Yankees pitching woes:

This "develop the kids" stuff is hard work.

Moore:

Wait a tic... blimey, this redistribution of wealth is trickier than I thought.

Is anyone else worried about Tim Lincecum?

Lincecum was 118 pitches into the game, with one out in the eighth, when a pair of singles ended his night. He had left his mark, and in manager Bruce Bochy's view, "It was just nice to come in here, against a good ballclub, and get that kind of pitching. Tim is very special, I think. One of the better pitchers in the game."

That's his fifth start going 110 pitches or more this year, and his second in a row. I understand that Tim represents the Giants best chance to win a game, but he also represents the best chance of the Giants having a future. Couple that with Tim's coming back from an hour long rain delay early in the season, and the Giants don't really seem to be too concerned with their investment.

Phillies Nation notes that Antonio Bastardo is shadowing Adam Eaton's starts and may get the call to replace Eaton. I'm just looking forward to the Shakespearean references.

Scott Kazmir gets the win as the Rays defeat the Rangers 7-3 to insure they stay in first place for another day. Kazmir allowed just one run over seven innings, striking out ten. Two related items to take away from this performance by Kazmir:

1. No walks.
2. An efficient outing.

In the past, Kazmir would pitch well but only last six innings because he pitch counts would sky rocket. Keeping the walks low (he's now walked 10 in 30 innings this season) helps, but my guess is he's going after batters more, too. He threw 95 pitches today. As the season progresses and he's all the way back from his injured start, I bet he's starts going eight innings, 110 pitches from time to time.

Shaun Marcum did something three times today that he only did once before all year -- hit a batter. He plunked three different Royals today, but there no one on the Royals hit a Blue Jays player. That makes me believe these hit by pitches weren't intentional. He certainly wasn't getting back at Kansas City for hitting him hard as he only allowed two runs in 7 1/3 innings. Marcum's ERA goes to 2.64, fourth in the AL.

Clayton Kershaw pitched well for the Dodgers Sunday. The 20-year-old lefty lasted six innings, allowing two runs while walking one and striking out seven. Repeating that kind of performance will lead to a successful major league career. He didn't get the decision as the game went extra innings, but the Dodgers won nonetheless on a 10th inning hit by Andre Ethier.

6-4-2 Breaks down Kershaw's pitches:

Kershaw really only showed us two pitches, his hard 95 MPH heater and his jaw-dropping high-70's 12-6 curve, one of which elicited a called strike three on Troy Glaus to end the first. With only two pitches and an emerging circle change, he'll be vulnerable the second time through the league (and maybe not even that far into the future), but the 15-20 MPH difference between his pitches should earn him a ton of whiffs until then.

Red Sox F/X is a new blog using PITCHf/x data to analyse Red Sox pitchers and their opponents.

Duchscherer gives up a line drive single to David Ortiz, and the no-hitter is gone with one out in the seventh. Now Justin needs to concentrate on preserving a 1-0 lead.

Duchscherer hits Varitek leading off the sixth to end the perfect game, but still has the no-hitter. Oakland leads 1-0.

Update: Duchscherer retires the next three batters to preserve the no-hitter. Nine outs to go.

Cliff Lee returned to his winning ways tonight. He wasn't the superman of earlier this season, but still very good. He did walk four, but struck out eight in 6 1/3 innings, allowing two runs. Home runs by Peralta and Francisco helped Cleveland to a 5-2 win and Lee to a 7-1 record. His ERA now stands at 1.50.

Justin Duchscherer retired the first fifteen Red Sox batters tonight. Almost every out is in the air, as he's only struck out two and induced one ground out. He's thrown 44 of 65 pitches for strikes.

Jered Weaver found his road warrior self today as he shutout the White Sox for eight innings. The young Weaver allowed just three hits and two walks. He lowers his road ERA to 5.97.

The White Sox were winning low scoring games during their streak, winning three when they scored three runs or less. One run in two games against the Angels, however, resulted in two losses.

A look at Randy Johnson's game log shows how he's improved his control since returning from back surgery. In his first three starts, he walked 4, 3 and 2, giving up nine base on balls in his first 16 2/3 innings. Since then, however, the totals stayed low. With six no walk innings today, he's walked 3 in his last five starts cover 28 2/3 innings while striking out 27. He won't get the win today as the game is tied at one in the ninth, but as far as K's and BB are concerned, Johnson looks very close to his career average self.

Update: Chipper Jones singles to start the ninth and Jeff Francoeur eventually brings him home on a game winning home run as the Braves defeat the Diamondbacks 3-1. Doug Slaten gets the loss even though Qualls allows the homer. Chipper picks up two hits on the day and is now batting .417.

For the second day in a row, a Blue Jays starter pitches a complete game. Jesse Litsch uses just 103 pitches to shutout the Royals 6-0. He walked just one and allowed seven hits, only one for extra bases. That's six complete games by Toronto, most in the American League, and in fact Halladay's five are more than any other AL team.

The Royals have scored three runs or less in five of their last six games.

Rich Harden made his fifth start of the season Friday night, his third against the Red Sox. He limited the Boston offense to two runs over six innings, striking out eight. The Athletics staff struck out twelve in total, with Manny Ramirez the only Red Sox player not to go down on strikes (he was 0 for 4). Rich is now 2-0 against the Red Sox this season with a 1.59 ERA. He's walked a high number of Boston batters, 10 in 17 innings, but he's record 23 K and allowed just 11 hits.

Tim Wakefield was getting the knuckleball up early as Oakland scored seven runs in the first three innings and took the game 8-3. That reduces Boston's lead in the east to 1 1/2 games over the Rays.

Barry Zito limited the Florida Marlins to three hits and one run over 6 1/3 innings and received plenty of run support as the Giants and Barry win 8-2. Zito struck out five, but he also walked four so the control isn't all the way back. He also didn't really throw strikes, as 50 or his 109 pitches were called balls.

Dan Uggla hit his 15th home run of the season, moving him one behind Berkman in the NL race.

Roy Halladay shuts down the Kansas City Royals 7-1, going the distance for the fifth time this season. Less than a third of the way through the season, Halladay is half way to ten CGs. The last player to complete at least ten games in a season was Randy Johnson who finished twelve games in 1999.

Carmona's walks came back to haunt him tonight. He gave up three walks in the first two innings and two of them scored. With Texas leading 4-3 in the third, Carmona gave up two hits and was out of the game. Julio came in and loaded the bases, setting the stage for Saltalamacchia first major league grand slam. The hits keep coming, and Texas is up 11-3 in the bottom of the third.

Gabbard has walked six so far, but only two came around to score. He walked Peralta leading off the third, so we'll see how long he can last in the game.

Update: Gabbard doesn't last the third as he gives up three more runs.

Ian Kennedy allowed one one in six innings this evening, and the Yankees eventually went on to win 2-1 on a single by Robinson Cano in the bottom of the ninth. Did Kennedy's performance tonight indicate an improvement? I don't think so. Kennedy walked four and struck out four. His walks and strikeouts have been close to even all year. He threw a little under 60% of his pitches for strikes, nothing outstanding or special there. The difference tonight was that he allowed just four hits. Most of the season he's allowed more hits than innings pitched. That could just be good luck in batters putting the ball in play at batters.

Compare Kennedy to Andrew Miller, whose improvement came from cutting down on walks and increasing his strikeouts. Until I see something like that from Kennedy, I'll remain skeptical that he's actually improving.

Still, tonight it was certainly better for the Yankees that he was lucky instead of good.

Doug Davis is active and ready to pitch. Congratulations to Doug on a quick recovery!

Last night I wondered if the Yankees were starting to move Joba Chamberlain to the rotation with his two innings pitched. Cashman announced afterward that was the plan:

"I'm excited," said the 22-year-old Chamberlain, a stellar setup man since he was called up from the minors last August. "I have zero question marks."

General manager Brian Cashman wouldn't divulge many details about the plan, such as how often Chamberlain will pitch, when he will join the rotation and whether he could be sent to the minors for a few starts first.

But Cashman did say he asked Chamberlain what role he preferred, and the right-hander said he'd like an opportunity to start this season. Cashman said the Yankees targeted a particular portion of their schedule when they want Chamberlain in the rotation, and to achieve that he needs to begin the transformation now.

"We're going back to the purpose that we drafted him and the projection that we had for him," Cashman said. "This was a road we planned on taking. Now it's time to take it."

Looking at the schedule, the Yankees have a stretch between July 3 and August 10 in which they play Boston seven times, Tampa Bay twice, LAnaheim seven times, and Toronto, Oakland and Minnesota. All those teams are pitching well, so the Yankees are going to keep their runs allowed low. I bet Chamberlain starts in late June so he can get one or two under his belt before facing the Red Sox.

Thanks to Tony O for pointing out this article in the comments to the previous post.

Darrell Rasner picked up a short shutout tonight, going seven innings as the Yankees downed the Orioles 8-0. New York had Joba pitch the final two innings. This is the first time this season he pitched two innings, and I'm wondering if the Yankees are starting to stretch him out. I don't buy that the Yankees have to send Chamberlain to the minors in order to make the transition to starter. Johan Santana did it in the majors. I won't be surprised to see him pitch three innings soon.

Brandon Webb finds himself down 3-1 in the bottom of the seventh. He battled Nolasco up to this point, trailing 2-1. He looks like he tiring here in the seventh, however, as he's left pitches up to Uggla who doubles and Gonzalez who singled in Dan. If he can't get through this inning, he can't keep his win streak alive.

Update: Webb gets through the seventh. The Diamondbacks need to score three here if they're going to keep his win streak alive.

Update: Webb won't win. The Diamondbacks put two on in the top of the eighth but fail to score. Cruz starts the bottom of the inning. The DBacks need to tie or win the game to keep Webb's win streak alive, but the wins in starts streak is over.

My latest column at SportingNews.com looks at the chances of Joakim Soria providing long term saves for the Kansas City Royals.

John Lackey made his second start since coming off the disabled list, with the same result. Once again he pitches seven innings, allowing one run. This time, however, it's good enough for the win as the Angels defeat Toronto 3-1.

K-Rod pitched a rough ninth inning, walking the bases loaded with one out, but getting a pop and a K to end the game without a run scoring. He's now walked 12 in 19 1/3 innings.

Justin Masterson may just stick this time. In his second major league start, Masterson is masterful again, holding Kansas City to one run in 6 1/3 innings. His major league career now consists of 12 1/3 innings, two runs, five hits, seven walks and nine strikeouts. Okay, he needs to work on the walks, but if he keeps the hits that low, I'll take it. If Colon pitches well tomorrow night, the Red Sox will have so much pitching depth you wonder if they might trade someone for more prospects. Boston wins the game 2-1.

Aaron Heilman throws some gasoline on the fire as he starts the seventh walking a batter and giving up a home run to McCann. That brings Heilman's total to five home runs allowed in less than 22 innings. He's reverting to his 2003/2004 form when he allowed 1.6 HR per 9 innings. Over the last three seasons, he reduced that number to 0.6 per nine. With the two runs in the one inning pitched, Heilman's ERA stands at 6.35, much closer to the result over his first two seasons.

We're lucky enough to have Gordon Edes still writing for The Boston Globe. He writes the gamer on Lester's no hitter. Fellow cancer survivor Mike Lowell sums up Lester's night quite well:

"His story is a good story as it is," said Sox third baseman Mike Lowell, who was among the gleeful throng of teammates that engulfed Lester after he struck out Alberto Callaspo for the final out of a 7-0 win over the Royals witnessed by a sellout crowd of 37,746 likely to grow exponentially in the years to come. "But to add a no-hitter to it, it adds something great to the story.

"I think people will now remember what he did tonight on the mound as something special, instead of he's a young kid who had cancer. It shows his ability has come full circle. Besides the no-hitter, he shows he can really shut down a team, because he has that kind of stuff."

I like this quote from Lester on what he was throwing last night:

"The last at-bat? To be honest, I don't even remember," Lester said. "I do know that early in the at-bat he fouled off a good curveball and a good cutter. We'd be doing that all night, throwing the four-seam cutter in, then try to go with the four-seam fastball away. We got some swings and misses and some bad contact."

When pitchers and coaches talk about pitching to contact, they really should be talking about pitching to bad contact. That's fooling the batter enough that they don't miss, but don't get good wood on the ball either. If you saw the ninth inning, the first two outs were on poorly contacted balls that were easy plays for the infielders. Great execution by Lester Monday night.

The Reds score four times off Brad Penny in the first three innings to take a 4-0 lead over Los Angeles. Through three innings, Penny's ERA sits at 5.46. With six hits allowed tonight, he's allowed 67 hits in 56 innings, good for a .303 opposition batting average. For his career, he's only allowed a .264 average.

Jon Lester becomes the first Red Sox lefty to throw a no-hitter at Fenway since Mel Parnell in 1956. Lester threw a total of 130 pitches, a total that he probably would never approach without the no-hitter on the line. However, he never seemed to tire. He was throwing as well in the ninth as he did in earlier innings, and had looked extremely sharp in the eighth.

Two years ago he was diagnosed with cancer. He comes back to win the World Series and now throws a no-hitter. As he came off the field, it seemed every player and coach gave him a big hug.

The Red Sox did not throw a no-hitter at Fenway between 1966 and 2001. With Lowe, Buchholz and Lester, they've now thrown three since 2002, plus a five inning no-hitter by Hansack. Maybe Fenway's become a pitcher's park!

Congratulations to Jon Lester on the game of a lifetime. He continues to be the feel good story of the Red Sox.

The Red Sox go quietly in the eighth, bringing out Lester to face German, Pena and DeJesus. I would not be surprised to see a pinch hitter.

Update: Lester walks German to start the inning. Surprisingly, Pena is batting, and Youkilis is holding the runner!

Pena grounds out to third on a high hopper, advancing German to second.

Update: DeJesus hits a grounder to first on a 2-2 pitch for an unassisted putout. One out to go. Lester is at 125 pitches.

Update: Lester gets ahead of Callaspo 0-2. He strikes him out on a high, outside pitch after a waste and a foul. Lester's done it! What a great story. A comeback from cancer and a no-hitter!

Butler, Olivo and Teahen are scheduled to face Jon in the eighth. Butler is the only Royal to reach base, drawing a walk in the second inning. Lester is at 97 pitches thrown. I assume at this point the Red Sox will take him out if he allows a hit, since I doubt they want to push his pitch count. With a 7-0 lead, however, there's plenty of room to let him get in trouble.

Update: Lester gets Butler looking at a pitch at the knees. One down. Ellsbury moves to left and Crisp takes over in center to improve the outfield range.

Update: Olivo swings at a pitch in the dirt for Lester's eighth strikeout of the game. He's gotten a first pitch strike on 19 of 25 batters, including Teahen up in the eighth.

Update: Teahen fouls off a couple of two strike pitches, then flies out to Crisp in deep center to end the inning. Three outs to go, and Lester is at 113 pitches. His high this season was 112 on May 4th.

Brett Myers gave up five doubles through his first six innings of work. That gives him seventeen doubles allowed, which should put him in the top ten by the end of the night. The Nationals lead the Phillies 3-0 going to the top of the seventh.

Lester gets a comebacker, a fly out and a strikeout to keep his no-hitter intact through seven innings. He's struck out six so far this evening.

Jon Lester has a no-hitter through six innings. He's faced 19 batters, issuing one walk. He's in control tonight, throwing 82 pitches, 54 for strikes.

Luke Hochevar runs into trouble in the bottom of the third. He gives up consecutive singles to start the inning, putting men on first and third. A double play plates a run, but it looks like he'll get out of the inning without too much trouble. Ellsbury triples, however, and then Luke loses control. He walks Pedroia on four pitches, then goes full on Ortiz and Ramirez before walking them. Manny was very tough. Luke threw strikes that Manny fouled off on 3-2 before putting one below the strike zone that didn't fool Manny.

Grudzielanek then dropped an infield pop out that should have ended the inning. That leads to a Youkilis double and the the Red Sox score five. They lead 5-0 and the Royals have yet to record a hit.

Update: Ellsbury just made a great diving catch to end the inning and preserve the no-hitter through four innings.

The White Sox defeated the Giants handily 13-8 Sunday afternoon. That gives them five wins in a row Chicago now leads the AL Central by 1 1/2 games. Part of that streak comes from the starting pitching. Danks allowed three runs over six innings today. That gives the White Sox starters just seven earned runs allowed over their last 38 2/3 innings, a 1.63 ERA. They're giving their hitters plenty of time to build a lead, and it's paying off in the win column.

Randy Johnson continued a successful season today with seven shutout innings against the Detroit Tigers this afternoon. The Diamondbacks took the game 4-0. With starters getting pulled before they can complete these games, I developed the idea of the short shutout. Pitchers get credit for a short shutout whenever they go at least six innings in a game and hold the opposition scoreless (CG shutouts count). Since Johnson came into the league in 1988, he's third in short shutouts. Maddux recorded 90, Clemens 89, and now Johnson owns 77. Next closest is Pedro Martinez, who of course has done it in many fewer starts.

Jeff Francis pitches his third good game of the season, and finally combines it with good run support to record his first win. Unfortunately, Francis made nine starts this season, and the Rockies really need more than 1/3 of them to be good if this team is going to compete.

Rain forced both Kyle Kendrick and Shaun Marcum out of the Toronto-Philadelphia game early. So with the game on the line in the bottom of the sixth, the Blue Jays brought in Roy Halladay with two outs. He gave Toronto 2 1/3 innings of scoreless ball, throwing only 23 pitches. His next start would be on Tuesday because of the day off tomorrow. With the day off, they can go to McGowan on Tuesday and come back with Roy on Wednesday. With only 23 pitches today, he might even be able to come back Tuesday!

Howard and Burrell both homered in the 6-5 loss. That gives the Phillies three players with at least 10 home runs.

John Lannan keeps making a pitch for rookie of the year consideration. He held the Orioles to one run this afternoon to win his fourth game and lower his ERA to 3.40. Lannan's shown better control lately. In his last three starts he's walked three in 19 1/3 innings. That kind of control should lead to further success.

The Cincinnati Reds get to Cliff Lee today, hitting two home runs and scoring five earned off the ERA leader. Edinson Volquez bends but doesn't break as he puts ten men on base in six innings but allows just two runs. Volquez's ERA goes to 1.33, Lee's goes to 1.37, and Volquez takes over the major league lead in ERA. The Reds defeat the Indians 6-4 and end up with a sweep of their home stand, defeating two first place teams, the Marlins and Indians.

Rich Harden turned in another stunning performance Saturday night, holding the Braves to one run over seven innings. As usual, Harden struck out a high number of batters while walking just one. The high strikeout rate makes him very difficult to hit; for his career he's allowed just 404 hits in 486 1/3 innings. The bullpen faltered a little last night, but Oakland hung on for a 5-4 victory.

Kyle Farnsworth relieves Andy Pettitte to start the seventh inning and promptly gives up two home runs to the Mets youth movement, Reyes and Wright. That extends the Mets lead to 6-2. Farnsworth has now allowed six home runs in 20 innings. That would be sixty over 200 innings.

Giambi gets one back with a homer of his own in the bottom of the inning. All three Yankees runs off Santana came off the home run, which seems to be the only way to score against Johan.

Joe Saunders defeated the Dodgers last night while striking out one batter over 7 1/3 innings. For the season, Joe is striking out 3.65 batters per nine, a fairly low rate. That usually means more balls in play, and more of those balls going through for hits. Pitchers like Saunders need a good defense behind them.

Joe isn't the only low K pitcher doing well this season. Here's a comparison of the low strikeout pitchers (40 IP through May 16, K/9 < 4.00) in 2007 and 2008:

Through May 16	2007	2008
Number of Pitchers	12	11
Record	27-35	42-26
ERA	4.57	3.71
K per 9	3.40	3.45
BB per 9	3.01	2.90
HR per 9	1.08	0.73

Note that this is not the same group of pitchers. Only Jon Garland, Zach Duke and Fausto Carmona represent the intersection of the two sets of hurlers. The 2008 crop of pitchers is doing a much better job of keeping the ball in the park. That brings down their ERA and ups their record.

Baseball Time in Arlington tries to figure out what's wrong with C.J. Wilson and finds conflicting information in his stat line.

Cole Hamels shuts out the Braves on four hits earning the first shutout of his career. He's collected four short shutouts prior to this and two complete games, but tonight he combined them. Chipper Jones was out with a groin injury, which probably helped a bit.

Ryan Dempster picks up a short shutout today, his second of the season. He was just 2/3 of an inning away from a complete game when he reached 116 pitches and tired.

Dempster struck out 12 today, giving him 48 on the season in 57 1/3 innings. Did anyone see this coming? Even as a closer he posted high ERAs, and after today it's down to 2.35. He'd going deep in games and pitching very well. Cubs fans, do you think it will last the season?

Bartolo Colon pitched well in AAA.

Ian Kennedy picks up where he left off in the majors, with Iwamura leading off the game with a home run. The count went 2-1 as Kennedy missed high inside and high outside before throwing a pitch that moved right into Iwamura's wheelhouse. The Rays lead 1-0 in the first.

Update: Kennedy gets three ground ball outs, so the homer is the only run allowed.

Jason Bergmann came into today's game against the Mets with an 11.68 ERA. He was striking out a lot of batters, 12 in 12 1/3 innings. He allowed a lot of hits, however, and five of them were home runs. The Mets, however, could not get much off him today. He gave up three hits and two walks while striking out nine and keeping the Mets scoreless through seven.

Meanwhile, the Nats used a double, bunt and sacrifice fly to push a run across in the eighth as Pelfrey also held the Nats to three hits. That was all the scoring in the game as Washington wins 1-0. The Mets have lost two in a row and four of their last six, all against last place clubs.

For the fifth game in a row, the Indians did not allow a run in the first nine innings of the game. C.C. Sabathia shutout the Oakland Athletics 2-0. He allowed five hits and two walks while striking out eleven. Whatever problem Milliliter had earlier in the season is gone now.

It seems the Indians pitchers are taking this team on their back. If you get them one run, they can get you a win.

As the A's continue to slip, pitchers are discovering that as long as they put the ball in the strike zone, Oakland can't do much damage. Keep their walks low, and you keep the Athletics from scoring.

It appears Eric Gagne was tipping his pitches:

Still, it was another step forward according to Yost. The manager was pleased with a mechanical fix that Gagne made Monday night, even though he needed 28 pitches to get through his second inning of work and surrendered a run.

What exactly that fix was, Yost will not reveal. It appears that Gagne had been tipping his pitches.

"If I tell you what it was, opposing teams could pick up on it," Yost said. "It was a simple adjustment, and he made it. It was really basic."

So Gagne closed last night and succeeded in holding a two run lead against the Dodgers. He did allow a hit and a walk, but threw 16 of 23 pitches for strikes. We'll see if he can keep this up over a few more outings.

Matt Cain mounts a challenge to Micah Owings as the best hitting pitcher with his second home run of the season Tuesday night. Cain is now slugging .706 on the season. This is the second year in a row Cain homered twice, and in his career eight of his 18 hits went for extra bases. Giants pitchers now have more home runs (2) than Giants second basemen (1).

San Francisco defeated Houston 4-2 as Cain last eight innings.

The Angels load the bases with one out in the bottom of the seventh, no score in the game. The White Sox bring in Dotel to face Aybar and Guerrero, and he strikes out both batters. If clutch is in the eye of the beholder, that was clutch pitching.

Jered Weaver has a one hitter through seven, but with seven hits and two walks, the Angels haven't generated a run.

Congratulations to Shawn Estes. He makes his first start in two season and picks up his first win since 2005. He didn't pitch great, but he didn't break either. In 5 1/3 innings he allowed seven hits but only three runs, two earned. That was enough as San Diego found some offense. Greene hit his third home run of the month after none in April. The resulting three RBI tied the game, and Gerut doubled in the go-ahead tally in the same inning. The pen allowed just one hit over 3 1/3 innings to secure the victory.

The Cardinals just went to extra innings with the Pirates, so a St. Louis win means a tie with the Cubs for first place in the NL Central.

Update: The Pirates have scored four runs in the top of the tenth (still batting), so the Cubs may stay in first place.

Update: Pirates win 8-4.

For the fourth game in a row, the Indians pitching staff held a team scoreless for nine innings (game 2 on Monday was scoreless through nine innings, the Indians lost in the tenth). In their last five games, they've only allowed runs in two of 46 innings. That's a great pass through the rotation. Cleveland wins tonight 4-0.

After watching last night's double header in Cleveland in which the four starters dominated both games, I wondered what teams posted the highest average game scores. Game Score was invented by Bill James and allows you do to a quick calculation off the numbers in the boxscore to determine the quality of the start. Anything above 50 and there is a good chance of a win, with 100 being among the best starts ever. I averaged together the game scores for starters in each game. Here are the top five:

Best Teams, Average Game Score, 2008

Team Starters	Record	Average Game Score
Blue Jays	16-14	54.7
Indians	15-13	54.5
Braves	16-11	54.4
Diamondbacks	20-8	52.9
Athletics	15-14	52.3

I should go back and look at this in previous years, because except for Arizona, high average game scores are not translating into a lot of wins for starting staffs.

Barry Zito actually picked up a quailty start last night, although it was about the lowest quality that would qualify. He pitched six innings, allowing three runs. All three came in the sixth and tied the game. The Giants got to Roy Oswalt early, but Roy found his groove and struck out six over eight innings of work for the 7-3 win.

In two games back, Zito allowed five runs in 11 innings. That's not ace material, but at least he'll stick in the rotation with those numbers. His walks are way down, so he's making progress.

Lance Berkman continued his hot hitting, picking up a double and a homer to raise his slugging percentage to .800. He has 12 extra-base hits in ten May games.

The original report I saw had Ian Kennedy pitching on Friday, but he's going to go Thursday in the last game against Tampa Bay.

The Blue Jays/Indians game remains scoreless after seven. Marcum is out-pitching Lee, having given up 1/3 of the hits and no walks (Lee actually walked a batter tonight). At some point, I'm going to need to do a game score analysis to see how often the Jays starter posted the better number and didn't win.

A.J. Burnett and Fausto Carmona each posted quality starts in the first game between the Blue Jays and the Indians this afternoon, with Carmona completing the game with a 3-0 win. Cleveland leads the American league with 23 quality starts, and Toronto is tied wit the White Sox for second with 21. Neither team has a great from their starters for such high quality pitching. Indians starters are now 15-13, Toronto 16-14.

New York Yankees Update heard on WFAN that Ian Kennedy will pitch one inning tonight, then start for the Yankees Friday against the Mets. Nothing like throwing him back into the fire. If the Yankees waited, he could get an easier opponent like Baltimore or Seattle.

Update: Kennedy will pitch Thursday, not Friday. Given the way Tampa is playing at home, I'll stand by the gist of the comment.

With three walks and one strikeout through five today, Fausto Carmona goes to 34 walks and 15 strikeouts on the season, a K/BB less than 1/2. The broadcast noted, however, that only three of those 34 walks came around to score this year. One reason is he leads the league with 14 GDP's induced, including one today. He's a Casey Stengel pitcher. Casey didn't mind pitchers who walked a lot of batters as long as they induced ground balls and took them off with double plays.

Joe Posnanski always posts something worth reading, but his latest (which is supposed to be about Brian Bannister) takes a great turn to curling and the presidential race. Don't miss his take on Joakim Soria, either.

With both the Cardinals and Brewers going to a closer by committee approach (no assigned roles), what happens if it works? What if teams using their best pitchers in high leverage situations actually turns out to be a winning strategy? While I don't think Win Probability Added (WPA) is a good way to evaluate talent, I do think it's a great way to determine when to deploy pitching talent. If La Russa and Yost go into post game press conferences with, "I used X in the seventh because that was when our opponent had the highest probability of winning the game," it will give reporters plenty of food for thought.

La Russa was one of the people who brought us into the whole idea of rigid roles for relievers (although others had played with the idea of assigning roles to a setup man/closer combination, with Davis/Gossage coming to mind). It would be interesting if he's the man to move us out of that mind set.

The Red Sox tried this reluctantly in 2003. They were forced into this strategy by not having anyone good enough to be the closer. Boston moved to the standard model the next season by picking up Keith Foulke. Even with the committee, they game within a pitching change of making the World Series in 2003. If Milwaukee and St. Louis can pull this off, maybe the mind set will change to using the right pitcher in the right situation, rather than waiting for the ninth inning to bring in a closer with a three-run lead.

I suspect pitchers will resist this, however. Right now, teams pay big money for closers. If this is seen as diminishing the need for one great pitcher to finish the game, I suspect pitchers will start complaining about need to know their roles. I hope their managers explain that there will simply be a pecking order, with the best pitcher brought in to handle the toughest situations. Relievers will then be able to use WPA as a bargaining chip, rather than the number of saves they accumulate. In that case, everybody wins.

Brian Bannister pitched an eight-inning two-hitter today, picking up a short shutout. He's now made eight starts on the season. In five of them, Brian allowed two runs or less. In three of them, he's allowed five runs or more. Bannister's stuff seems to leave him no middle ground. Either he's fooling batter completely, or they're knocking him around the park. Still, five out eight starts like today would likely result in twenty Royals wins over a full season.

Peter Abraham has the Yankees revised rotation based on today's rainout. I'm guessing they skip Kei Igawa's next start.

I'm impressed with Sidney Ponson. He looks like he's lost a lot of weight. However, that's not helping him this afternoon. He hit a batter and then gave up three consecutive hits. The last was a three-run homer by Emil Brown to put the Athletics up 4-0 in the top of the first. That's a nice present for the returning Rich Harden.

Update: Harden gives up one run as both Hamilton and Bradley dump balls down the leftfield line for doubles.

Daisuke Matsuzaka walked three batters Saturday night, one with the bases loaded. Despite a rate of 5.7 walks per nine innings pitched this season, Dice-K sports a low 2.45 ERA and has yet to lose a game. That 2.45 ERA matches the best ever for a walk rate that high.

ERA < 3.00, BB/9 >= 5.5, Minimum 150 IP

Pitcher	ERA	BB per 9
Hal Newhouser, 1942	2.45	5.6
Nolan Ryan, 1977	2.77	6.1
Herb Score, 1955	2.85	6.1
Bart Johnson, 1971	2.93	5.6

Ryan and Score struck out a ton of batters, which somewhat mitigated their high walk rates. Newhouser struck out 5.0 per nine. In 1942, players started to leave the majors for WWII. Bart Johnson pitched a lot in relief that season, and didn't have much of a career after that. He did make 18 starts in 1974 with a low ERA, but that was it for him. His strikeout and walk numbers in 1971 are closest to what Matsuzaka is posting this season.

One thing that's making Daisuke effective is that he's not giving into walks. He seems to treat them as a mistake he made to that batter, rather than something he has to fix for the next batter. So rather than trying to compensate by throwing the ball down the middle of the plate, he sticks with his game plan, which works quite well. With batters hitting just .170 against him, his opposition OBA stands at .298. It doesn't matter how you get to a low OBA, and so far, all the walks aren't hurting him. He fools enough batters to keep those free passes from turning into runs.

Eric Gagne takes himself out of the closer role:

Brewers manager Ned Yost wasn't ready to announce today that he would be removing Eric Gagne from the role of closer.

"I don't sit here and make decisions five minutes after a tough loss," Yost said after watching Gagne saddle the Brewers with a defeat that never should have happened.

"You guys know me. I take a long time to analyze things. I give everybody the benefit of the doubt and try to make the decision that's best for everybody. I don't make rash, quick, off-the-handle decisions."

Minutes later, Gagne took his manager completely off the hook with a pronouncement that was evident to anybody who has watched his work of late.

"I don't deserve that ninth inning right now. It's very simple," said Gagne, who surrendered two ninth-inning runs that allowed St. Louis to pull out a 5-3 victory at Miller Park.

So do the Brewers give the job to Stetter? He's the only reliever on the team right now who both strikes out a lot of batters and doesn't walk many.

Correction: Fixed Gagne's first name.

Scott Kazmir is pitching much better in his second start of the season. He's shut out the Angels through six innings, striking out six and walking three. He's probably done for the night as he's thrown 108 pitches.

That's the main thing keeping Scott from becoming a true ace. He uses a lot of pitches to get his strikeouts (and his walks). Contrast that with Shields, who used just 92 pitches to complete the game Friday night.

Max Scherzer gave the Diamondbacks a glimpse of the future as he strikes out six and walks just one in six innings of work. He leaves with a 2-1 lead, but Chad Qualls did not follow the quality start with a quality relief appearance. Qualls allows four runs, recording one out, and Medders allows two more as the Cubs go on to a 7-2 victory. The Diamondbacks bullpen came into the game with a 2.76 ERA, so this was an unusual performance for them.

Ryan Dempster continues to impress in the rotation, striking out seven in his six innings of work and allowing just two runs. His ERA stands at 2.76. He appears to have made the transition from bullpen to starter flawlessly.

Ben Sheets pitched his best game since coming back from his injury, going seven innings with one walk and six strikeouts. He did allow nine hits, however, which led to three runs. That was enough to put him in line for the loss, as Joel Pineiro pitched 6 1/3 strong innings. The Brewers, however, came back against the Cardinals bullpen and tied the game at three.

The six strikeouts give Sheet 1086 for his career, a new franchise record.

Jamie Moyer pitched very poorly today. He lasted just four innings, allowing two homers and six runs. This came against the Giants, the second worst offense in the majors.

His ERA rises to 5.02, but what's worrisome is that he's no longer going very deep in games. The two seasons Moyer averaged over six innings per start; this year he's barely over five, with 43 innings in eight starts. His high ERA puts the Phillies puts pressure on the offense, but his low innings pitched now also puts pressure on the bullpen. He's not doing a lot to help the Phillies win at this point.

The Cardinals decided Jason Isringhausen is no longer the closer. They appear to be going for closer by committee:

"He's still prepared to pitch important innings, but for a while we'll try to keep him out of the ninth inning," La Russa said. "If we're playing well, there's still going to be games where you can't cherry pick his situations because if we're playing well, you need your bullpen."

The Cardinals manager said the closing duties will be split between Ryan Franklin and Russ Springer, and that he wouldn't shy from using a left-hander in the role against certain lineups.

"We'll mix and match," La Russa said. "I think all things, everyone rested, Franklin and Springer are the guys that match up the best."

I think in most cases that's the way it should be anyway.

The Rangers shut out the Athletics 4-0, running their May record to 7-2. It's their third shutout in a row, and in their nine May games they've allowed more than three runs only once. That leads to a 1.71 ERA in the month, compared to a 5.68 ERA in April. It looks like the pitching staff is doing a good job of saving Ron Washington's job.

Roy Halladay and C.C. Sabathia pitched three identical innings, allowing no hits and one walk while striking out five. Rolen leads off the fourth with the first hit of the game.

Kei Igawa is just getting pounded by the Tigers. He's putting pitches over the middle of the plate belt high, and the Tigers are connecting. He's lucky to have given up just one run due to Polano lining a hard shot off Kei's butt, which was turned into an out.

Giambi homers in the top of the second to tie the game at one.

Daniel Cabrera pitched tonight like the Orioles thought he could. Not only did he complete the game, he allowed just three hits and walked only one. He managed to keep his strikeouts high at the same time, putting down seven Royals batters via the K. Of course he pitched under control two games ago, but walked seven in the start in between. Baltimore fans have to hope the two good games out of three is a trend.

Kyle Lohse came into today's game against the Rockies with a 3.79 ERA, one run below his career average. I expected him to return to his norm at some point, but I didn't think it would be this fast. He allowed seven earned runs in four innings (five walks didn't help) to raise his ERA to 4.87, 0.08 above his career average. The Rockies win 9-3, gaining a game to move into a tie for third place in the division with the Giants.

I turned on the Padres-Braves and saw Shawn Estes on the mound. He last pitched one game in the majors in 2006. He's been out due to back surgery. His outing wasn't perfect; he gave up two hits and a walk in 1 2/3 innings, but neither of the two runs were earned. Those runs pull Atlanta within one of the Padres, 4-3 in the seventh. Atlanta has yet to win a one-run game.

Chipper is 0-3 so far today, and is now batting .418.

A nice PITCHf/x article shows the reasons for Greg Smith's early success. I really like the way this data shows how his changeup looks just like his fastball, and how he doesn't give away the pitch with his release point.

Shaun Marcum continues to make a bid for ace of the Toronto staff. He picks up the tenth quality start for Toronto in the last eleven games, lasting into the ninth before allowing two runs. He lowers his ERA to 2.59 which remains the best among Toronto starters.

Scott Rolen homered and is now slugging .564 in his short time with the Blue Jays.

Cliff Lee's impossible season continues. He shuts out the Yankees for seven innings as the Indians take the second game of the series 3-0. Cliff lowers his ERA to 0.81. With seven strikeouts and no walks in the game, Lee's K/BB is now 19.5! The Yankees managed just six hits against Lee, and two didn't get very far. One was a roller to first base that Blake tossed too high in the air when Lee was covering. Another was a nubber down the third base line that just stopped halfway between the plate and third without rolling foul.

Wang takes the loss, his first of the season. In most games, three runs allowed in seven innings works just fine, but Wang was no match for Mr. Lee. (Maybe they should do a Kung Fu movie together! Enter The Bronx. :-))

Jered Weaver's rough year continues. The Royals light him up, scoring eight runs off him in less than four innings. He allows two home runs and ten hits. Coming into the game, his ERA was 4.36, but his strikeouts, walks and home runs weren't really out of line with his career. Tonight, however, makes his 2008 line look very poor. His ERA is up to 5.59 and the Angels trail 9-1.

Barry Zito may walk away from tonight's start with a loss, but also with some positives. He lasted five innings, throwing 99 pitches. That high pitch count is a negative. He allowed five hits, including a home run to Nady. He walked two, but struck out five and only allowed two runs. I like the strikeout number. Zito had only struck out 11 in 28 2/3 innings coming into the game, which is way to low. The five K in five innings indicates Barry is doing something right. He's not all the way back, but there is some hope he's moving in the right direction. The Giants trail 2-0 in the eighth.

FanGraphs researches which NL pitchers come through in Shutdown Innings Pitched (SHIP), pitching in the half inning after your team scores a momentum shifting number of runs.

Correction: Fixed link.

Jon Lieber should have stayed in the pen. He gives up four home runs in the second inning, accounting for five Reds runs. Lieber doesn't come out for the third and the Reds and Volquez hold a 5-0 lead in the third.

Update: John Fay has more on the four home run inning.

The San Francisco Giants are going to start Barry Zito tonight against the Pirates.

Barry Zito returns to the Giants' rotation today against the Pittsburgh Pirates, ending the embattled left-hander's 1 ½-week banishment to the bullpen that didn't include a relief appearance.

Giants Manager Bruce Bochy made the surprise announcement before the Giants absorbed a 12-6 defeat by the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park.

"This is a good time to put him in the rotation," Bochy said. "He's had a chance to do some stuff on the side. Barry Zito is a starter. He is going to be a starter for us. We just felt we needed to break it up a little bit and give him a break.

So the Giants gave Zito a vacation and played with a 24-man roster for over a week? It won't necessarily be an easy task, as Pittsburgh is fifth in the majors in runs per game.

Via MLB FanHouse, La Velle E. Neal III wasn't impressed with Gavin Floyd:

If Gavin Floyd had pulled off a no-no against the Twins on Tuesday it would have been the sloppiest, most unjust no-hitter that I can remember.

Floyd was far from overpowering. In fact, I sent Joe C. a text message around the fourth inning remarking how Floyd couldn't get ANY breaking pitches or his change up, over for strikes. I was convinced that the Twins would sit on the fastball and start pounding him. I thought Nick Blackburn pitched than Floyd in the early innings but didn't have the results to show for it.

That great adjustment by Twins hitters never came, which was disappointing coming off of their game against Kenny Rogers on Sunday.

I turned the game on in the sixth, and Floyd looked great to me. He was hitting spots, throwing good breaking pitches, and pretty much fooling the Twins hitters. I was watching the Minnesota feed, and Blyleven commented that Gavin's pitches improved as the game went on. So far this year, he's been a bit stronger in innings 5 through 7 than in 1 through 4.

Jair Jurrjens keeps looking like the next ace of the Atlanta Braves. He gave the team six innings, spreading out seven hits so he only allowed one run. It helped that he struck out eight batters. With one walk tonight, he's struck out 36 this season while walking just 14.

Chipper Jones reached double digits in home runs as the Braves took down the Padres 5-3.

Gavin Floyd is coming out for the ninth with a 7-1 lead and a no-hitter on the line. He's scheduled to face Harris (1 BB), Mauer (2 BB) and Morneau (0 for 3).

Update: Harris strikes out looking at a big curve ball.

Update: Mauer goes the other way, hitting a perfectly placed low fly ball into the gap in left center. Swisher gave it all he had, even diving about ten feet short, but the ball falls for a double. That's it for Floyd, another great outing.

Update: Jenks gets the last two outs and the White Sox win 7-1. This was Floyd's third start of the season in which he allowed zero earned runs.

Mike Lamb pops up on the first pitch for the first out. Five outs to go.

Update: Everett flies out to center for the second out.

Update: Gomez breaks his bat on a 2-2 pitch, and grounds slowly to shortstop. Cabrera makes a nice play, charging the ball and throwing quickly to get the runner at first.

Floyd takes his no-hitter into the ninth. He's thrown 99 pitches.

Gavin Floyd gets a pop up and two strikeouts as he maintains his no hitter through seven innings. He's thrown 87 pitches, 50 for strikes. He walked three and struck out three so far.

Scott Olsen came within one out of a complete game as the Marlins shutout the Brewers 3-0. After allowing one hit and two walks through eight, he walked two and allowed a single, leaving the bases loaded with two out. Gregg came in to get Hall to fly out to end the game and preserve Olsen's lowered ERA. Olsen lowered that to 2.22, about 3 1/2 runs better than 2007. He's cut his home runs per 9 almost in half.

Gavin Floyd has a no hitter through six innings, but gave up an unearned run. A walk, error and sacrifice fly led to the Twins scoring in the fourth. The White Sox bats are showing a bit of life tonight as they've plated four runs tonight for a 4-1 lead. I wouldn't say their offense is inflated, but they're not blowing the game either. :-)

Despite improving his control, A.J. Burnett still gave up five runs in six innings. That ends the Blue Jays starters streak of nine quality starts.

By the way, I'm not a huge fan of quality starts, but these were, you might say, high quality. The Rays lead the Jays 5-4 in the top of the seventh.

Ian Kennedy pitched very well in AAA tonight. The Yankees broadcast just showed his line, 7 1/3 innings, one hit, zero walks, eight strikeouts. David Cone believes Kennedy got the wakeup call.

A.J. Burentt came into tonight's game with 24 strikeouts and 20 walks. That's way off from his career 2/1 K/BB. He seems to be back under control tonight, however, as he's struck out eight while walking just one of the Rays. The game is tied at three in the bottom of the fourth.

Rays Index looks at how Andy Sonnanstine lowered the variability in his release point this season. Hat tip, The Hardball Times.

Curt Schilling threw today, except whent he lawn mower got in the way.

Curt Schilling will throw for the first time todaysince his injury today:

It is a character trait Curt Schilling has displayed on other occasions over the course of his life, and yesterday he did it again.

He admitted he was wrong.

The Red Sox medical staff, he said, recommended the right course of treatment for his ailing right shoulder, which is why he will be playing catch for the first time this spring this afternoon.

Schilling had another little surprise for those who think he was determined to squeeze every cent out of the Sox even if he never throws another pitch: At his suggestion, he said, the team has dropped the weight clauses in his contract that could have tacked on an extra $2 million to his $8 million deal, and are reworking his deal so that he could earn the money through performance-based bonuses.

I'm a bit of a pessimist here. Curt's doctor is not wrong yet. If Schilling starts throwing and the should falls apart, the pendulum swings over to Dr. Morgan's diagnosis. However, it is good to see that so far, the treatment is working.

Oliver Perez took a line drive to the gut in the first inning against the Dodgers, but at least he recorded an out on that play. In his six innings of work he allowed three home runs and five runs. He had only allowed one homer coming into the game.

The Dodgers bullpen continues to impress. The pitched three perfect innings in relief of Billingsley. The relievers boast an 8-2 record and struck out 94 in 111 1/3 innings after retiring four via the K last night. Over the Dodgers 9-1 stretch, the bullpen is allowing a batting line of .185/.267/.274.

McGowan leaves after seven innings with a 1-0 Toronto lead. That gives the Blue Jays nine straight quality starts. Jesse Carlson is on in relief, but hits a batter with one out and comes out of the game.

Update: Camp comes in and gets out of the inning. Cabrera lines one up the middle, and instead of a run scoring single, Camp deflects it to second and the Jays get a force. All the luck is going against the White Sox right now.

Update: B.J. Ryan just walked the bases loaded with one out in the ninth. They need one run to tie.

Update: Ryan gets Ozuna to bounce into a 1-2-3 double play and the Jays win 1-0. That's the third Toronto shutout in their last five games.

Correction: Ryan, not Wagner. I have some kind of mental block there. This is the second time I've done that.

Sports Agent Blog notes how wonderful it must be to have Micah Owings as a client, since he does so many things well you can ask for even more money! Dan wonders if this will become a trend.

Daisuke Matsuzaka walked five batters in the first three innings while striking out just one. However, the Tigers have yet to record a hit. Matsuzaka continues his strange year of being wild, but at the same time very tough to hit.

Lowell and Youkilis both hit two-run homers to give the Red Sox a 4-0 lead.

Update: The walks catch up to Matsuzaka in the fourth as he gives up a hit after walking two more. Still, the damage is minimal as Detroit just gets one run in the inning.

The White Sox started the third inning putting men on second and third with none out. McGowan pitched out of it, not allowing a run on a ground out, shallow fly out and strikeout, getting Thome on the K. It's 0-0 in the bottom of the third against the Whit Sox as the Blue Jays go for their ninth straight quality start.

Henry Schulman looks back on one year of Tim Lincecum:

"Over the year, you can look and say I had good numbers," he said, "but I went through some ups and downs the whole year where I battled and struggled at times, and I had to find ways to dig myself out of holes. Pitching is about staying even-keeled instead of having rollercoaster outings. I look back at things I could have done differently in certain situations in certain games. It's about learning from that and making adjustments."

When Lincecum came up, he threw fastballs and curveballs, but he found big-league hitters spitting on the curves in the dirt on which his old college opponents would bite. He has all but ditched the curveball in place of a changeup. His goal as he begins his second year is improving the curve and restoring it to his repertoire.

It's good to see Tim is willing to make adjustments and learn from his mistakes. I wonder how good he'll be at his peak?

The Oakland Athletics staff allowed one run today as they defeated the Rangers 3-1. That lowers their team ERA to 3.19. That's a pretty remarkable number. Since the explosion of offense in 1993, only eleven teams posted ERAs under 3.50, all in the National League. The last American league team to post an ERA that low was the 1992 Milwaukee Brewers, at 3.43. Since the introduction of the designated hitter, only 37 AL teams posted ERAs under 3.50, and the Athletics did it the most, nine times.

What makes it even more amazing, this is a rebuilding year for Oakland. Rich Harden is hurt again, and Joe Blaton has the highest ERA among the regular starters. The Athletics low ERA may be the biggest surprise of 2008.

Johan Santana threw one of the wildest games of his career. He walked four in six innings, only the 16th start of his career in which he walked at least that many. He also set a career high with three wild pitches. He did start a game on 7/15/2002 in which he walked seven and threw two wild pitches. That remains his most wild game, but this is the second highest combination of BB and WP for the Mets ace.

The Mets won the game in the ninth when Connor Jackson threw a potential double play ball into leftfield. The DBacks lose their first series since the Reds took two out of three to open the season.

Aaron Cook tamed the red hot Dodgers today, limiting them to two runs over 7 2/3 innings. Cook, with the win, Cook is now 5-1 with a 2.40 ERA. The other four main starters in the Colorado rotation all have ERAs well over 5.00. The other starters for the Rockies this season are 4-10 with a 6.40 ERA. Aaron is the only one of the group who was able to carry over last season's good pitching into 2008.

Scott Kazmir lost in his first game back from the disabled list, lasting just four innings against the Red Sox. He threw 90 pitches, something that plagued him in 2007. He post good numbers, but throw so many pitches the Devil Rays were forced to go to the bullpen early. Scott did strike out five, but the Red Sox were six for thirteen putting the ball in play. Kazmir still has some work to do .

Darrell Rasner got off to a poor start, giving up a two-run homer in the first inning. He righted the ship, however, and last six innings without allowing any more runs. The Yankees pounded Carlos Silva for eight runs in three plus innings and take the game 8-2. Rasner makes it look like the Yankees do have a bit of pitching depth in the minor leagues.

Melky Cabrera keeps hitting, knocking out his sixth homer of the season. Cano broke his slump a bit, going one for four with his third home run as well.

Greg Maddux pitched poorly today, losing the game and another chance at 350 wins. He allowed 11 hits in 5 1/3 innings, leading to five runs, four earned. The Marlins took the game 10-3 behind a strong outing by Andrew Miller. Miller likely saved himself a trip back to the minors with this game. He entered the game with his hits allowed nearly double his innings pitched. He only allowed four this through six innings today.

Tim Lincecum's first inning today pretty much summed up his whole season. He allowed a leadoff double to Victorino, then struck out Brunlett and Utley and retired Howard on a long fly. Batters are now 4 for 39 with runners in scoring position against Tim with 17 strikeouts.

Update: Lincecum does it again. Burrell doubles leading off the inning. Lincecum does give up a single, but Pat can only move to third. He strikes out two more and comes out of the inning unscathed. Still no score in Philadelphia.

Update: Burrell doubles in the third inning with two on to plate two for the Phillies. The runs against Lincecum were unearned as he almost over came an error leading off the inning.

Darrell Rasner gives up a two-run homer to Adrian Beltre in the first inning to put the Yankees in an early 2-0 hole. Homers where Rasner's problem last year in the bigs as he allowed about one every six innings.

The Yankees demoted Ian Kennedy to make room for Rasner. It's about the only move the Yankees could make. The majors isn't the place for a pitcher to figure out how to fix a 9.00 ERA.

A.J. Murray made his first start of 2008 for the Texas Rangers Saturday night and pitched 5 1/3 innings for the win. As a minor league pitcher he showed a good but not great strikeout rate, a better walk rate and a great home run rate. In his cup of coffee in 2007, he allowed lots of walks and lots of home runs, however. In his start against the Athletics, the twenty six year old kept the ball in the park and only walked two. The Rangers, who need positive signs right now, should take that as one. They've won four in a row, and in their last three games have only allowed seven runs.

Brandon Webb wins his seventh game in seven starts as the Diamondbacks defeat the Mets 10-4. It wasn't Webb's best performance as he allowed four runs in six innings, but with great run support the win was an easy one. He left with a one-run lead, but the DBacks scored five in the bottom of the eighth to ice the victory.

For his career, Webb receives a decision in 75% of his starts. With 26 starts left in the season, Webb should get another 20 decisions. If he pitches to his career winning percentage of .567, he'd earn another eleven wins, for 18 on the season. That just goes to show the difficultly pitchers face trying to win 20 games. If you think his winning percentage since the start of 2006, .660 (35/53) is a better indicator of what Webb can win, that would yield him 13 more wins, good for 20.

Of course, he could have one of those great seasons where everything goes right, but at the moment, 20 wins is much more likely than 25.

The Angels defeated the Orioles this afternoon 3-1. Garland pitched eight strong innings, allowing just three hits. With one walk and one strikeout, the Orioles were just three for twenty four when putting the ball in play.

The Orioles did have a big positive come out of the game. Daniel Cabrera lasted 7 1/3 innings, only walking two. Coming into the game, Cabrera walked as many as he struck out, 21 in 37 innings. He struck out six tonight, and if he can limit his walks to two every seven innings he'll be in good shape for the rest of the season.

It looks like Hank Steinbrenner's rant about Mussina needing to pitch like Moyer turned out to be very effective. Mussina goes six innings this afternoon, allowing just one run. In his last three starts he's pitched eighteen innings, allowed five runs, walked two and struck out ten. That works out to a 2.50 ERA, more than adequate for a fourth or fifth starter, and perfectly fine for a number three.

The Yankees lead 6-1 in the seventh. Damon's accounted for a lot of the offense with two doubles and a home run.

The Toronto scoreless streak continues as Litsch is throwing a one-hitter through five innings. That's 23 straight scoreless innings posted by Blue Jays pitchers. They are getting a little offense as they lead 2-0. Scutaro hit his first home run of the season.

Update: Dye hits a solo home run with two out in the seventh to end the streak at 24 innings. The Blue Jays lead the White Sox 5-1 in the seventh.

Update: The Blue Jays win 5-2. It's the seventh straight game in which Toronto pitchers allowed two runs or less.

Whatever bothered Tim Hudson in two of his last three starts didn't bother him tonight as he pitched a near perfect game. Hudson shutout the Reds, allowing just three hits while striking out ten. Despite the high strikeout total, Hudson threw just 111 pitches, an amazing 81 for strikes.

Edinson Volquez didn't make it an easy win for Hudson as he struck out nine over six innings, allowing two runs, only one earned. Edinson's ERA was so low it actually went up to 1.27. It's his first loss of the season as the Braves take the game 2-0.

I made fun of the Marlins pitching staff in my preseason looks at the team. I was especially hard on the pitching staff, thinking Mark Hendrickson was a poor choice for a number one starter. Hendrickson pitched seven innings, allowing three runs to pick up his fifth win of the season.

Hendrickson's ERA is now 3.71. The biggest difference is home runs allowed. He gave up his third of the season tonight as Greene went deep. For his career he's allowed 1.06 per nine, but this season it's just 0.62.

Shaun Marcum failed to last seven innings tonight. Toronto starters had gone six straight games completing at least seven. Marcum goes 6 2/3 before walking two batters, but Accardo gets out of the inning. That makes Shaun's final line no runs, two hits, three walks and nine strikeouts. Over the last six games, including tonight, the Jays starters have a 1.02 ERA as they've allowed five earned runs in 44 1/3 innings. I thought this team had a chance to be one of the best rotation in the AL, and with this stretch they're looking to earn that spot.

The Jays lead 2-0 in the eighth. Given the poor scoring of the offense, they pitchers are going to need to keep performing if they are going to win.

Last week I posted video of college pitcher Jim Fuller. Jim Storer called this morning to let me know Fuller pitched another great game yesterday, striking out nineteen in eight innings, allowing one hit and one walk. I wonder how high he'll go in the draft?

Odalis Perez hasn't pitched well since 2004, when he posted a 3.25 ERA in 196 1/3 innings for the Dodgers. He's returned to that year this season as he lowered his ERA to 3.18 with seven three hit innings against the Pirates. He allowed two solo home runs, the only runs Pittsburgh scored this evening. He was walking a lot of batters this season, but none tonight. His overall walks and home runs allowed indicate a higher ERA, but he's pitched well in situations, allowing a very low batting average with men on base and in scoring position. So far, he's a nice pickup by the Nats.

A good analysis of Cliff Lee at Defensive Indifference.

Sidney Ponson last eight innings against the Royals, turning the game over to Wilson in the top of the ninth with a 2-1 lead. He struck out five and walked two, and allowed six hits, none for extra bases. Most of all, he was efficient, using just 108 pitches to complete the eight innings.

Grienke pitched very well, striking out nine over seven innings without a walk and just four hits. Unfortunately for Zack, two of those were home runs. He had allowed just two in his first 36 innings. He can't get the win, however.

Update: Wilson strikes out Teahen to end the game and Ponson is looking very good in his comeback bid. His ERA in two starts is 1.35.

I haven't seen the replay, but when I turned on the Cubs game, Gallardo was taking some test throws. He somehow hurt his right leg (he had surgery on the left), and from the way the announcers described it, it sounded bad. He's limping, but he stayed in the game and retired the next two batters to get through five innings. He trails Zambrano and the Cubs 1-0. Zambrano is the whole game for the Cubs as the run came on his solo home run. That's the first of the season for Carlos and the thirteenth of his career.

At Big League Stew, they note the Rays may send down Andy Sonnanstine to make room for Kazmir. I don't know if Jason Hamel is out of options, but wouldn't he be the obvious choice at the moment?

Andy Sonnanstine pitched eight good innings tonight, allowing the Orioles just one run as the Rays down the O's 8-1. That lowers Tampa Bay's ERA to 3.68. They're doing that without Scott Kazmir, who is scheduled to return Saturday. Beware of the Rays.

Cliff Lee moves to 5-0 as Cleveland defeats Settle 8-3. For the first time this season, Lee allows more than one run in a game. He had plenty of room to work, however, as the Indians were up 8-0 before Cliff couldn't get an out in the seventh. He ends the month with an 0.96 ERA and a .151 batting average allowed.

Dana Eveland threw his final warm up pitch before the second inning, then called the trainer out to the mound. They've decided to leave him in the game. We'll see what happens.

Update: Eveland gives up three hits and two runs in the inning, including two doubles.

Jeremy Bonderman gave up two runs in the first inning, then nothing the of the way as he pitches into the eighth in a 6-2 Detroit win over the Yankees. Since the start of last season, nearly 40% of runs against Bonderman came in the first inning.

The Yankees offense continues to struggle as they've scored just 19 runs in their last six games.

Brian Bannister is having a tough night in Texas. He's allowed six hits and a walk, and all seven base runners scored as he allows three home runs to clear the bases, including a grand slam by Hamilton. Bannister allowed just one home run coming into the game.

Manny Acosta did pretty much everything wrong today. In two innings, he gave up two hits, five walks, and two runs. He also committed an error, threw a wild pitch and even started a double play. He managed not to hit a batter. The Braves took a 2-1 lead in the top of the twelfth, but Acosta's pitching allowed the Nationals to tie, then Carlyle gave up the game winning single. The Braves have yet to win a one-run game.

If a pitcher pinch hits, and hits a game winning home run, should he get the win? That's what Micah Owings just did. He came in to hit for Medders, blasted a two-run homer, and gave the Diamondbacks an 8-7 lead. Arizona fought back from Houston leads of 4-0 and 6-2 to put themselves in a position to win the game as they play in the top of the seventh.

It's Owings fifth career home run, and he's slugging .632 on the season.

Correction: Sorry, the home run tied the game. I tuned in the game after it happened and I thought I heard the announers say it put the team ahead. In the words of Emily Latella, never mind.

Joe Saunders makes an early bid for Cy Young consideration. He pitches another gem, shutting out the Athletics for eight innings to lower his ERA to 2.03 and bring the Angels back into a tie for first place in the AL West. What's most impressive about Joe this year is how deep he's pitching into games. For his career, he's averaged less than six innings per start. This season, however, he ranks fourth in innings pitched in the AL, going better than seven innings when he takes the mound. He's allowed the Angels to absorb the loss of Lackey fairly painlessly.

Boof Bonser pitches a great game against the White Sox. Bonser strikes out eight and walks one over seven innings, allowing just one run. He might be turning a corner as he's pitched well in three of his last four games, earning two wins.

The win puts the Twins just 2 1/2 games out of first place in a very tight AL Central.

Greg Maddux pitched another great game, but once again his offense provides too little support. Maddux lasts 91 pitches in 6 1/3 innings and leaves trailing 2-1 with two on. Cla Meredith allows one of those to score, and the Padres trail 3-1. Hamels gets a hit off Maddux and is now batting .313, better than every batter in the Padres lineup tonight.

Correction: Fixed the state of the game when Maddux left.

Ben Sheets stats say he's not 100% tonight. He's walked three in two innings without a strikeout. He only walked four batters in his first four starts while striking out 24. The Cubs take advantage of him in the second, using two singles and a walk to load the bases, which leads to two runs. Chicago leads Milwaukee 2-1 in the third.

With all the problem Phil Hughes has this season, giving up homers wasn't one of them. No one took him deep in his first five starts. That changed tonight as Granderson and Sheffield both hit long balls, accounting for three of the Tigers five runs. They lead the Yankees 5-2 in the fourth, with Hughes still in the game.

Update: Hughes only lasts 3 2/3 innings, allowing six runs. His ERA is an even 9.00. At what point do the Yankees return him to AAA to work out his problems?

Peter Bendix gives Jonathan Sanchez of the San Francisco Giants a very positive review.

The Transaction Guy notes a very inconsistent release point from Justin Verlander this season.

Has Verlander made a conscious decision to induce more sinking action of his fastball and shift his position on the mound? I'm skeptical; when you have as much success as Verlander has, why change anything? The decreased velocity and altered release point could be signs of fatigue. Verlander threw a combined 130 innings between the majors and minors in 2005 and then tossed 186 frames in 2006, plus 21.2 frames in the playoffs. That's one hefty increase. Perhaps I'm reaching too much here, but maybe Verlander is feeling the effects of such a large workload increase in 2006 plus another 200+ inning season in 2007.

Bronson Arroyo started swimming to help his pitching:

In an effort to stop getting hit so much, Bronson Arroyo hit the pool.

Arroyo worked six solid innings, his best start of the year, in the Cincinnati Reds' 4-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday night. He believes adding a morning swim to his routine has restored the zip to his fastball.

"I'm just trying to change my body up," Arroyo said. "I've been doing the same stuff for years and sometimes you get kind of in a rut and you feel like you can't throw the ball.

"It just wasn't jumping out of my hand for a while, so I'm trying something different and it seems to be working."

A nice bit of outside the box thinking by Bronson. He's been hit hard this season, but only allowed six hits and one home run last night.

Matt Cain picked up his first win last night, and everyone in San Fracncisco seems happy.

"A shutout is always good, no matter how it's done," Cain said. "It was nice to see the guys in the bullpen so locked in."

The Giants should still be worried about Cain, however. He only lasted 5 1/3 innings due to a high pitch count. That came from walking five batters, bringing his total for the season to 23 in 32 2/3 innings. What was different last night is that Cain didn't get hit with runners on base. For the season, teams are hitting .300 against the Giants starter in that situation. Given his overall stat line, he's lucky his ERA is only 4.41. If he doesn't find his control soon, that number could be going much higher.

Scott Kazmir pitched well in his rehab start tonight and should be in the Rays rotation soon.

Barry Zito is headed to the bullpen:

Zito was told the news before Monday's game, one day after he surrendered eight earned runs in three innings to the Reds and fell to 0-6 with a 7.53 ERA.

"We'll put Barry in the bullpen right now," said Giants manager Bruce Bochy after meeting with Zito. "We're going to back him off. He won't be making his next start. He'll be helping us in the bullpen."

Bochy would not give a timetable for Zito returning to the rotation. Lefthander Pat Misch, who relieved Zito on Sunday, will take his rotation spot and start Friday in Philadelphia.

In his major league career, Zito made just one relief appearance, and that was last season. The Giants are spending a lot of money right now on a middle reliever. Until he can get his strikeouts and walks to a reasonable rate, however, he's hurting the team, no matter when he pitches.

Baseball Crank notices Johan Santana is an unusual left-handed power pitcher. He can hit.

John Sickels reviews Diamondbacks call up Max Scherzer.

Brett Myers and the Phillies coaching staff fail to agree on what to do about Myers drop in fastball velocity:

"I haven't seen a fastball," Manuel said. "It topped out today at 89. Myers is usually 92-95, somewhere in there. I haven't seen the fastball since the start of the season."

Dubee, in his fourth season as the Phillies' pitching coach, acknowledged the drop in velocity, but said it might be corrected if Myers improved his preparation prior to starts. Dubee said Myers doesn't like participating in long-toss prior to his starts, which the pitching coach said helps build arm strength.

"I think it's as simple as him throwing some more fastballs and him getting out there and playing some more long-toss," Dubee said. "He's not a real big believer in long-toss, and I am. I think that's one way you develop arm strength and keep some elasticity in your arm. I think it's something he's got to buy into a little bit more."

Myers, however, said he has been trying to build strength in the arm.

"I've been working all season to get it back," Myers said. "It doesn't matter how much I run, how much I lift my legs, how many shoulder weights I do, I'm just not getting the zip on the end of it, the explosion. It just kind of comes out of my hand the same speed it gets to the plate. There's no extra life to it."

There's also tension between Myers and Dubee on pitch selection. Dubee feels that Myers can pitch well with a slower fastball if he uses his slow curve as a change. Myers, however, is throwing more cut fastballs. I'm surprised no one is looking at Brett's mechanics to see if anything changed there.

Caffinated Confines wanted the Mariners to use Putz in the eighth inning today:

Bases loaded, no outs, 8th inning, 2 run lead. Felix Hernandez is clearly out of gas.

To me, this is a perfect time to bring in J.J. Putz. No, he does not get the save. He gets out of the inning, and Brandon Morrow, Mark Lowe, Ryan Rowland-Smith, someone else gets the save.

I agree, or even let Putz get a two inning save, since they have Monday off.

The old Atlanta staff continues to break down:

John Smoltz left Atlanta's 6-3 loss to the New York Mets on Sunday with what he called "discomfort" in his throwing shoulder.

The Braves right-hander allowed four runs and seven hits in a season-low four innings. He also gave up his first two home runs of the season.

So far, of Glavine, Hampton and Smoltz, only John delivered, and that's only in two starts. The Braves youngsters are going to get a work out this season.

The Morris watch didn't last long. The Pirates released the pitcher early today (Sunday). They'll eat his $10 million contract:

Team president Frank Coonelly was disappointed the Pirates added a salary as big as Morris' not long before Coonelly joined the club from major league baseball's central office late last season. Former general manager Dave Littlefield, who dealt for Morris, was fired about a month after he acquired Morris from the Giants.

"The decision to acquire Matt Morris last July did not turn out to be a sound baseball judgment," Coonelly said in a statement issued by the team. "Ownership's willingness to acquire Matt's contract ... demonstrated ownership's commitment to fielding a championship team. I am confident that the investments that we are now making in this club will be far more productive."

They can't be much worse.

Baseball Digest Daily presents an article on why Tim Lincecum's mechanics make him so effective.

Jim Palmer is very positive on the Yankees young pitchers:

"I like both of their arms," Palmer said. "I know people in New York are upset because they haven't pitched well so far. But you can't have it all. You can't be young and experienced. It's 162 games. You have to give these guys a chance to mature as pitchers and as people."

Palmer notes it took him a while to develop in the majors as well.

Matt Morris continues to show he no longer belongs in the major leagues. He gave up six hits, six runs (three earned) in 1 2/3 inning Saturday night. He now sports a 9.67 ERA with opponents hitting .390 against him. So he's turning opponents into George Brett in Brett's best year. Right now, the Pirates have almost no chance of winning with Morris on the mound.

Micah Owings pitched a poor game today as he allowed five runs in five innings, and the Diamondbacks fell to the Padres 8-7 in twelve innings. Despite raising his ERA to 3.48, Owings kept his batting average (times 10) higher by going 3 for 3. He's now hitting .389 on the season.

Update: I just saw that Owings left the game with an ankle sprain after doubling. I was wondering in an AL team would use him as a DH on his off days, but that's a good reason against it.

The Indians defeat the Yankees 4-3 on a Victor Martinez single in the ninth. New York pitchers issued nine walks in the game. I'm not sure which is stranger, that Yankees pitchers allowed that many walks or that the Indians only managed four runs with that many men on base.

The Yankees offense only walked once the whole game. This is quite a turnaround for New York. During the Torre era, they often were near the top of the league in walks drawn and walks allowed, as they did very well in the Beane Count. It wasn't until 2006 that the walks issued started to rise, and now the walks drawn are falling. This doesn't bode well for the team's prospects this season.

Brian Burres found out today just how difficult it can be pitching well for the Orioles. Brian pitched eight innings, using just 98 pitches to shut out the White Sox on three hits. Leaving with a 5-0 lead, he had to watch the relief staff load the bases and hit a batter to drive in a run and bring the tying run to the plate. Sherrill does get Crede to fly out to end the game, making Burres the winner.

Only Baseball Matters takes the Giants to task for allowing Tim Lincecum to throw over 120 pitches in a game:

So, how much "proving" do we need ? Tim Lincecum is the single most valuable commodity on the team. You could argue that he is one of the most valuable players in the entire game of baseball, and in the first 25 games of the year, Bonehead has allowed him to go back into a game to pitch after an hour-long rain delay -something normal teams don't even do with established veteran pitchers- and then two nights ago, throw an additional 10 pitches in the 8th inning when he was leading, and had already thrown 114 pitches.

Baseball Prospectus pitcher abuse points system, which measures all of the stress on a pitcher, not just innings or pitches thrown, has Lincecum ranked second in the NL. That is fucking unbelievable. The most valuable young player in the entire Giants organization is being run out there and put under the most stress of all but one pitcher in the whole National League. Under what circumstances should this be allowed? None.

I disagree with this a bit. Doesn't Lincecum supposedly have the best mechanics in the game? Shouldn't great mechanics take stress off the arm? And with less stress, shouldn't he be able to pitch more?

I'm not an expert on these things, but part of Tim's value might be that he can go deeper in games. I don't know that I'd be gambling on that, but I don't think it's quite as clear cut as OBM makes it.

The move from Houston to Philadelphia seems to have done Brad Lidge a world of good. He saved his sixth game in six tries tonight, pitching a hitless inning against the Pirates to hold a 6-5 lead. He's yet to allow an earned run and opponents are batting just .128 against him. The only problem with his game so far is six walks in eleven innings. With so few hits, however, the walked batters are going nowhere.

The Indians Perez and Betancourt have been hit hard this season, but they had no problems with the Yankees tonight. Faced with 3 1/3 innings to maintain a lead, they faced ten batters and retired nine, allowing just one walk. That lowered Perez's BA allowed to .306 and Betancourt's to .279. The Indians take the game 6-4 and now have won four in a row to move one game under .500.

WhereIStand.com is a new site that aggregates opinions on subjects. Here's a page with opinions on whether Joba Chamberlain should start or relieve.

Todd Jones pens a piece for SportingNews.com on tipping pitches:

When Cito Gaston was managing in Toronto, he had his bench pick apart the pitcher. One guy would study the pitcher's hands, one would study his feet, one his cadence between pitches.

When Roberto Alomar signed with Cleveland (after playing with the Blue Jays and Orioles), a funny thing happened. The Indians suddenly became good at studying pitchers. Derek Bell, another former Blue Jay, went to the Astros and the same thing happened. He used to tell me after an inning he could call every curve I threw. To this day, I still have a habit of looking toward third base before I throw a curve, and Bell could pick that up from left field. So you know others picked it up, too.

I've thought for a while that teams should assign a former hitter to sit in the stands behind home plate and look for this sort of thing in the teams own pitchers. Catch the tips before the other team does, and the club can work on fixing the problem.

Cliff Lee extended his scoreless inning streak to twenty one Thursday night as he blanked the Royals in game two of the double header, completing a sweep for the Tribe. Lee lowered his league leading ERA to 0.28 and has struck out 29 in 31 2/3 innings while walking just two. Oakland holds the honor of scoring the only earned run off Cliff this season.

Hitters cannot square up the ball against Lee. According to The Hardball Times, only 8.2% of balls in play against Lee were line drives. The average is around 20%, and Lee ranged between 15 and 21% over the previous four seasons. His ground balls are up, from about 35% to about 45%, and that's making it easy for the Cleveland fielders.

Lee is being realistic about the streak:

"It doesn't matter what I've done, I still have to get ready for my next start," Lee said after extending his road scoreless streak to 23 2/3 innings. "I'm not stupid enough to think I'm going to keep going out there and not give up any runs. I just have to prepare and do the best I can."

Did he feel tired, going into the ninth?

"No, I felt better as the game went on. My stuff and location improved."

Lee's brilliance was not lost upon Bannister.

"That guy's got Nintendo numbers," Bannister said. "I'm not being sarcastic ... that guy is the hottest pitcher on the planet."

Indians fans, what is Lee doing differently this season?

Francisco Liriano didn't get out of the first inning today:

Liriano was done after Davis' first single and just 35 pitches in a first inning that lasted 29 minutes. The left-hander, who is struggling mightily to command the strike zone after returning from Tommy John surgery in November 2006, allowed six runs and five hits, walked three and didn't have a strikeout.

"He just had no command in the zone," Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire said. "I don't think he has a lot of confidence right now. You build confidence by going back out there and pitching, and he'll do that. The kid couldn't get out of an inning."

It was the shortest outing by a Twins starter since May 30, 2002, when Brad Radke lasted only one-third of an inning against the Angels before leaving with an injury.

"I just have to get better from where I started," Liriano said. "I was feeling good in the bullpen, but when I got out there everything changed. I don't know what it is. I have to put that aside and work on some things, try not to walk so many guys."

I wonder if Liriano is worried about injuring the arm again. It can't be pleasent to have something snap in your arm, and maybe without the violent delivery, he's just not the same pitcher. The majors isn't the place to learn how to pitch again, however. The Twins should think about sending him back to AA until he can show his command has returned.

Phil Hughes follows Mike Mussina's games with a short but good start of his own. Hughes pitched two innings, allowing one hit and striking out one before a rain delay ended his night. By not going deeper, he didn't get a chance to pitch badly, so he can walk away from the game with a lower ERA and a positive appearance.

I took a trip to American International College this afternoon to watch Jim Fuller pitch. I wasn't as impressed as I thought I would be. AIC picked up a double and single in the first inning to score a run. In the second, however, Fuller struck out three while walking one.

Here's video showing the three strikeouts.

Except for the last batter, Fuller did get ahead of the hitters. He changed speeds and hit his spots, but I was not impressed with his fastball. There were three scouts there, but I didn't see any radar readings. He worked the outside of the plate very well.

Dan McGowan writes:

My buddy Kevin Bowerman is the captain for Southern Connecticut. He says Fuller is the hardest working guy on the team and apparently the coach says he can be a 92-94 mph guy once he fills out.

Since Fuller is a lefty, he should be able to find a job if he can continue to throw strikes.

Justin Masterson pitched masterfully as he mastered the Angels for six innings. He held them to just two hits, four walks and left with a 3-1 lead. Unfortunately, Lopez, Delcarmen and Okajima gave up twice as many hits, one fewer walk and four times as many runs in the seventh inning as the Red Sox fell to the Angels 7-5. The Boston bullpen now owns a 5.42 ERA. It's a good thing the Red Sox have been a great offensive team late in the game.

Jose Valverde picked up his second save in a row. A week ago the Astros fans wanted him out of the closer role, but he's now pitched two scoreless innings as the Astros deny Walt Jocketty a win as general manager, 5-3. Unlike his last save, however, no one reached base and he struck out two. That should put the boo-birds to rest for a while.

Just got back from watching a couple of innings of Jim Fuller pitch. Watch for video. There were three scouts there watching him, one wearing a Yankees cap.

Bugs and Cranks reminds us it's a bit early to judge Phil Hughes.

My good friend Jim Storer called to let me know Jim Fuller will be pitching in my neighborhood today:

Fuller's dominance begins with his fastball. It was clocked at 93 miles per hour during SCSU's trip to Florida at the start of the season and is consistently around 91. But beyond simple heat, Fuller has three other pitches he can command - curve, slider and changeup.

"At our level (Div. II), that's pretty rare," said Shea. "There are guys who can throw four pitches, but not at the level Jimmy can throw them. Other guys may have a better curve, or better slider, but they don't have command of all four the way he does."

The changeup, actually, is something new. Fuller says he throws it at about 75 miles per hour, meaning there's a 15-16 mph difference between the fastball and changeup, pitches that look exactly the same leaving his hand. It means there are a lot of hitters looking foolish as they swing at a ball that's still about five feet from home plate.

"I try to work my fastball to get ahead, and then mix them all up," said Fuller. "This year I started to work in the changeup and it's been pretty effective. It's a pretty nice pitch when I get it to work."

He's struck out 93 in 67 innings while walking 15. While I'm sure the level of competition isn't outstanding, numbers that good should at least get scouts interested. I'll try to get some video this afternoon.

FishStripes notes that Ricky Nolasco is throwing a split-finger fastball this season. The Marlins want their pitchers to learn a changeup, but this strikes me as the same thing. It looks like a fastball that does something different. Instead of reaching the plate more slowly, it dips. That works for me, and it looks like it works for Nolasco as well.

Bronson Arroyo can't figure out what's wrong:

"I can't figure it out," he said. "I feel good physically, no, I feel great physically. I've watched video, and there is nothing to see. I'm just getting beat, man, nothing else to it."

Said Reds manager Dusty Baker, "Boy, he is going crazy. We're trying to help him figure it out, and right now we don't have answers. He had better location tonight, but not velocity (88 miles an hour to his normal 91)."

I wonder if in situations like this the pitcher is just predictable. Maybe he should pull a George Costanza:

Elaine : Ah, George, you know, that woman just looked at you.

George : So what? What am I supposed to do?

Elaine : Go talk to her.

George : Elaine, bald men, with no jobs, and no money, who live with their parents, don't approach strange women.

Jerry : Well here's your chance to try the opposite. Instead of tuna salad and being intimidated by women, chicken salad and going right up to them.

George : Yeah, I should do the opposite, I should.

Jerry : If every instinct you have is wrong, then the opposite would have to be right.

George : Yes, I will do the opposite. I used to sit here and do nothing, and regret it for the rest of the day, so now I will do the opposite, and I will do

something!

( He goes over to the woman )

George : Excuse me, I couldn't help but notice that you were looking in my direction.

Victoria : Oh, yes I was, you just ordered the same exact lunch as me.

( G takes a deep breath )

George : My name is George. I'm unemployed and I live with my parents.

Victoria : I'm Victoria. Hi.

If he would normally throw a four seamer, throw a changeup. It can't be much worse than what's happening now.

Cole Hammels reached a point last night where most pitchers leave the game, but he wanted the ball:

Hamels wanted the ball in the eighth inning last night at Miller Park. He thought he had earned that chance, and manager Charlie Manuel felt the same way.

But Hamels lasted just two batters as he allowed a double to Ryan Braun and a two-run home run to Prince Fielder in a 5-4 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers that dropped the Phillies back to .500.

"This is something I wanted to do all last year, and I wasn't given that opportunity," Hamels said. "Now I've been given that opportunity, and I haven't been able to succeed, so it kind of probably makes it harder for him to make that judgment" the next time.

"You want to be able to finish off your games. It's something I'm going to work toward, but it's something I haven't been able to do the last couple of games."

Hamels entered the eighth having thrown 110 pitches. He threw 11 more to finish with a career-high 121.

"I wanted him out there," Manuel said. "I feel like he's ready for that. When Braun hit the double, I definitely was going to leave him in there on Fielder. Fielder had a good at-bat."

This is a tough call for a manager. It would be great if Hamels could work his way up to 120 pitches a game. If he doesn't work toward that by throwing more pitches, it's not going to happen. However, until Cole is at the point where there's a reasonable chance of success, close games aren't the best place for the experiment. Let Hamels go 120 pitches in a 5-0 shutout, not with a one-run lead.

Duces were wild for Johan Santana tonight. He allowed two runs while hitting two doubles. He's picked up three hits so far this season, all doubles, meaning his slugging percentage of .462 is double his .231 BA. The Mets defeated Washington 7-2.

Mike Mussina just completed six innings in Chicago and he's pitching well tonight. He's allowed three hits and one run while striking out three. He is, in fact, pitching like Jamie Moyer. His fastball is in the 80s, and his changeup is in the 60s. He getting the most movement on his pitches I've seen in a while. Everything is bending, everything is at different speeds.

Maybe Steinbrenner's rant finally convinced Mike he had to change his approach. So far, it's working well. There's no one up in the Yankees bullpen, so with a 6-1 lead Mussina should be coming out for the seventh.

Update: Mussina completes seven innings, allowing two runs.

Chien-Ming Wang won his 50th career game last night, drawing Dwight Gooden comparisons. Wang at first didn't recognize the name Dwight Gooden:

When we spoke with Wang after the game, I asked if he had ever heard of Dwight Gooden. He shook his head and said no. Joba Chamberlain, leaning in from his locker, howled.

As the interview broke up, we mentioned Gooden again, and someone referred to him as "Doc." Wang's face lit up in recognition. Doc Gooden, now that's name he knew.

"He does know!!" Chamberlain cried to the reporters who had left. "Edit! Edit! You need me to translate?"

Joba seems to be keeping his sense of humor.

There were a few aces last night trying to right poor starts to the season. Justin Verlander allowed just one run over six innings, although the strikeouts weren't there. C.C. Sabathia fooled the Royals, striking out eleven and walking just two in six innings.

Barry Zito didn't fare as well. He lasted just three innings, allowing three runs and losing for the fifth straight time. He continues to walk more batters than he strikes out, and when he comes in the zone, batters hammer him. The league is hitting .321 against him with a .509 slugging percentage. Basically, a hitter is an MVP candidate when he faces Barry. The good news is that there's less than six years left on his contract.

In one of those "I better not say what I'm really thinking" quotes, Bochy responded to a question about Zito by saying, with lips clenched, "It was not a good night, not a good outing for him. I'll leave it at that."

Edinson Volquez turns in another good performance, striking out seven in seven innings as the Reds defeat the Dodgers 8-1. He did walk four, but the wildness was effective as he allowed just three hits. His ERA now stands at 1.21.

The Dodgers offense continues to miss the middle ground. They've scored one run or less in four of their last five games.

C.C. Sabathia allowed three hits through two innings, but all six of his outs came on strikeouts. He's fooling batters tonight, something he didn't do in his first four starts. The Indians lead 1-0 in the top of the third.

John Smoltz starts the third inning with back-to-back strikeouts of Lannan and Lopez to reach the 3000 strikeout plateau. Congratulations to John on becoming the sixteenth pitcher to reach that level!

The Nationals lead 1-0.

Eric Gagne blows another save. That makes four in ten opportunities, but at least he didn't give up a home run. He hits the first batter of the inning, who goes to third on a single and scores on a Pujols fielders choice. At least he didn't lose the game, as the score is tied at eight in the bottom of the ninth.

Update: The Brewers fail to score, and the teams go to extra innings.

Why keep Matt Morris?

The Pirates' options with Matt Morris all are plenty unattractive.

Buy him out?

That would prevent further scenes like the four-inning, eight-run meltdown that marked the 10-4 loss to the Florida Marlins last night at PNC Park, but it also would require writing a check for roughly $10 million with zero return. Every penny of Morris' $10,037,283 salary, as well as the $1 million buyout of his 2009 option, is guaranteed.

Right now, Morris has a VORP of -12.6, the worst in the National League. So right now for their $10 million, the Pirates are getting less than nothing. He's at the point where a AAA starter making the MLB minimum contributes more. The $10 million is out the window. The question is what is the best way to lose the least with that money. Right now, bringing in almost anyone else is better than letting Morris continue to pitch.

Alex Belth:

I'm no expert but it seems like it would be tough to switch Joba this season. I just don't see the Yanks being able to afford losing Chamberlain for six-to-eight weeks as he builds himself back into a starter in the minors.

I don't quite understand why Joba has to go to the minors to become a starter in the majors. There's a great example of this transition in the 2003 season of Johan Santana. They gave him some spot starts and a few longer relief sessions, and brought him along slowly once he was in the rotation. I don't understand why Joba should be any different.

Through twenty games last season, the Yankees used nine different starting pitchers and their starters owned a 5.77 ERA. The team's record was 8-12. The Yankees used six starters, but only because they didn't want to waste Ian Kennedy in a game that might be rained out. The starters ERA is 5.33, but it's a stable rotation. I don't think anyone should be panicking yet.

Micah Owings allowed two runs through five innings so far, putting his ERA at 2.55. He's two for two at the plate to raise his average to .333. He's looking good this season to have a higher batting average (times 10) than ERA. He scores after the second hit on a Byrnes home run. That gives Arizona a 3-2 lead and puts Owings in line for the win.

Justin Germano is seeing his ERA jump this evening. He gave up five runs in the first inning, which is more than he allowed in his first three starts combined. The Astros score two more in the second to take a 7-1 lead. He's having trouble finding the plate as 24 of his 52 pitches were called balls.

Matt Morris pitches another poor ballgame. It's not clear how long he'll stay in this game, but through three innings he's allowed seven earned runs and two homers to the Marlins. He's given up five home runs in twenty innings, a rate of 50 in 200 innings. He's yet to pitch a good game, and about the only thing he's doing well is not walking batters. Given the number of hits he's given up, his opponents don't really need to wait for the walk.

Morris isn't a youngster learning on the job. He's a veteran whose game has been slipping for five years. He may have just reached the point of no return.

Update: While I wrote this Morris gave up another run in the fourth inning.

Given the general poor pitching on the Texas Rangers, the team has to be a bit dismayed to see Armando Galarraga pitching well for the Tigers. He held Toronto to three hits over 5 1/3 scoreless innings. He did walk four, however. Looking at his minor league numbers, his high strikeout, low walk rates indicate someone who might be good. The Tigers recognized that and found someone to fit into a shaky rotation. Detroit wins the game 5-1.

The Red Sox complete a sweep of the Rangers with an 8-3 win today. Nippert takes the loss, and as documented earlier, his defense didn't help him. However, Nippert shouldn't be left off the hook. He came into the game with a 11.37 ERA in six innings of work. That's the kind of ERA that's easy to bring down with a few good innings. It's also the kind of ERA that's tough to make worse. Nippert managed that. With eight earned runs in 2 1/3 innings, Nippert's ERA jumped to 16.62. The league is batting .463 against him. It's safe to say he's not fooling anybody.

On the other side, Buchholz lowered his ERA two runs by pitching six shutout innings.

The Transaction Guy uses PITCHf/x data to examine why Ervin Santana is pitching better this year. He's throwing harder, but I'm not sure how much difference that really makes. Players can hit a fast ball. What really appears to be making a difference is that his faster fastbal is dipping more.

Kason Gabbard leaves after two innings due to back stiffness. He didn't allow a hit, but he did walk three batters.

Nippert takes over, and he allows the first run of the game in the fourth. Another bad fielding play by the Rangers makes it 2-0. Kinsler catches a soft line drive, and Lugo is way off first. The throw, however, gets by Broussard and Lugo goes to second and Lowrie scores. Every time I watch Texas they are giving away runs with poor fielding plays. This is a team that needs to take infield every day.

Update: Pedroia drives in two more with a double. The Rangers don't even make errors that help the pitcher's ERA. Because there was an out on the line drive, the error just advances a runner, it doesn't add an extra out, even thought that is what happened. Since Lugo would score anyway based on the hits, these runs are going to be earned to Nippert.

Update: The noon sun takes out Milton Bradley. Ortiz hits a high fly to the warning track in left, and Bradley just falls over as he loses the ball. It hits the ground next to him for a double and an RBI for Ortiz. This team is just terrible in the field.

Miguel Batista says he discovered something new that led to his good outing yesterday:

It seems there's a reason Batista logged an impressive 7-2/3 shutout innings and eight strikeouts on a day his fastball was down several miles per hour in velocity.

"I might have found something that I wish I might have found years ago in my career," Batista said. "I don't know if I'm right yet. It's going to take me at least four or five more starts to figure out if it's going to be able to work as good as I believe it might work.

"And if it does, I might be able to pitch another five years."

He says it's something he's seen Maddux and other veterans execute. Did anyone see the game yesterday? Was he throwing first pitch strikes on the low, outside corner?

John Danks pitches his second short shutout in a row, limiting the Tampa Bay Rays to just three hits over seven innings. He also struck out eight without issuing a walk. He's had one bad outing, so his ERA in 3.04, but in the three games the White Sox won he's allowed one run in 21 1/3 innings. The White Sox had to wait a year, but he's making that trade with Texas look very good.

Chicago wins the game 6-0. The 3-4-5 hitters knocked out eight hits, including four by Thome. Jim homered, doubled and knocked in three, giving him 16 RBI in 17 games.

At the LoHud Yankees Blog, Joba Chamberlain says thanks to all who sent good wishes to the Chamberlain family:

"Do me a favor and tell those people I said thanks," he said. "It really means a lot to me that people care about my father. I know a lot of prayers were sent our way and I appreciate it. Man, it was great how the guys on the team were, the fans, everybody, really. I love them all. A buddy of mine back home said Red Sox fans were on a site saying they were pulling for my dad. It's great that people are like that."

Joba said his dad should be home by Tuesday and at a game sometime soon. Mr. Chamberlain has had a series of health issues in his life and hopefully he'll get a chance to see his son play in the big leagues for a good long time.

That's good news.

Larry Stone writes a terrific piece in the Seattle Times on Brian Bannister's use of statistics:

"I appreciate all the guys who publish that material, because it kind of inspired me to realize there's more to the game than just the box score in the paper," Bannister said. "I just try to use it to see how I can make myself a better player.

"I take the stats out there, and I make my own stats. Most guys are using them for the purpose of projection. I'm using them for the purpose of changing the future projections. I want to find my weaknesses and find which stats will help me do that, and change my pitching style accordingly."

Now here's the rub: Bannister's style is such that stats analysts will tell you he is due for a fall in 2008. And he knows exactly why. His goal this year -- utterly successful so far -- is to defy his own expected demise.

He's trying to use his strengths to cover his weaknesses, a wise strategy. The whole article is well worth the read.

Andy Sonnanstine took a huge leap forward tonight, pitching not only his first complete game, but his first career shutout as well. The Rays youngster continued to show his excellent control, walking just one, but kept the ball in the park for a change. In his first 146 innings in the majors he allowed 23 home runs. The White Sox managed just three hits, all singles and grounded into two double plays. That allowed Andy to be efficient, throwing just 106 pitches.

I like this young staff, although they don't always pitch well. Sonnanstine gave a glimpse of what could be tonight.

Ian Kennedy just got knocked out of the game after allowed four runs in 2 2/3 innings. Twice the Orioles bounced doubles off the centerfield wall and Kevin Millar took him deep. The O's also drew five walks.

Kennedy's ERA is now at 9.64 and Hughes sits at 8.82. The Yankees can survive these two posting ERAs between 4.50 and 5.00, but this is just too much. Is it time to send them down to see if they can regain their form, or should the Yankees just let them learn at the major league level? Kennedy tonight was just missing the corners. That forced him to throw strikes over the plate that the Orioles hammered. Can he move those pitches the smidgen toward the plate needed? Is he better off making that adjustment in the minors, and who should the Yankees pitch instead?

Nick Blackburn depended almost entirely on his defense today. He faced 27 batters, striking out one and hitting one, meaning the Twins fielders had to deal with twenty five balls in play. Eight fell for hits, but four were turned into double plays, greatly lowering the true OBA of the Indians in the game. The defense kept the Indians off the board as the Twins took the game 3-0. It's the first time the Indians were shutout this season, but the fifth time they've scored two runs or less.

Joba Chamberlain will be with the Yankees tonight.

Tim Lincecum pitches another outstanding game, shutting out the St. Louis Cardinals for seven innings. It wasn't his most outstanding game in terms of walks and strikeouts, but he was tough when it counted, holding the Cardinals to an 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position. Opponents are now 4 for 31 against Tim in that situation, a .129 BA. Lincecum's ERA drops to 1.57, over two and a half runs less than any other Giants starter. San Francisco takes the game 3-0.

The Giants are pondering using a six man rotation when Noah Lowry returns:

"It's something we talked about in the spring, and we'll continue to discuss it," manager Bruce Bochy said Friday. General manager Brian Sabean said on his weekly KNBR radio show Thursday, "It's not a ridiculous idea, with what (Barry) Zito is going through with his struggles, and to protect the young arms."

Assuming the rest of the starters are healthy when Lowry returns, the Giants will have three starters (Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum and Jonathan Sanchez) who are 25 years old or younger, another coming off arm surgery (Lowry) and a fifth who just resumed starting after years in the bullpen (Kevin Correia).

A six-man rotation would ensure that the youngest and most prized starters, Cain and Lincecum, are not overtaxed in a rebuilding season. Zito, the most seasoned pitcher on the staff, said it would require "some adjustment on our part. We'd just have to wait even one more day before going out and pitching. Being out there is why we do what we do. Sometimes four days seems like a long time before you go out there. Waiting one more day, or possibly two, would be tough because we're itching to compete."

When Toronto thought about going to a four man rotation a few years ago, their pitchers nixed the idea. I guess they only get itchy after four days. :-)

I can see where the six-man rotation might make sense for the Giants. However, I wonder if at some point they're just building lessening the stamina of their pitchers.

So Taguchi thought Johan Santana was perfect Friday night. The rest of the Phillies lineup found out how well the lefty can pitch:

It was apparent from the very beginning that the Phillies were facing a phenomenon the likes of whom they had not yet seen. The first batter struck out, then the third, then the fourth, and the seventh, and the ninth, 10th and 11th. Eight of the first 13 Phillies at-bats ended that way, as Santana spent the early part of the evening painting both corners of the plate.

"I think mostly he was hitting his locations very well, keeping the ball down - he was hitting the corners of the plate," said Chase Utley, who went 1-for-4 and struck out twice. "I think that's what he did best."

Johan brings his K per 9 above 9.0 and now has a K/BB ratio of 7 to 1.

This whole Cliff Lee thing is getting ridiculous. It's as if the Indians did one of those mad scientist experiments where they put Sabathia and Lee on a table, hooked electrodes to their heads, and transferred their abilities. Cliff allowed two hits and a walk over eight innings tonight, not allowing a run. He's now allowed eight hits and two walks in 22 2/3 innings while striking out 20. His ERA is 0.40! Even in his great 2005 season, he wasn't anywhere near this good. I don't know how long it will last, but with Sabathia having a difficult time, Lee keeps the Indians with two aces.

Peter Bendix looks at Sabathia's pitch selection and wonders why he's throwing fewer sliders this season.

Dave Cameron notes a disturbing drop in Justin Verlander's velocity.

Replacement Level Yankees Weblog wonders if Mussina is done:

According to his page at baseball-reference.com, Mike Mussina has thrown 318 pitches so far in 2008. 212 of them have been strikes, which on the surface seems decent. But here's the scary part. Of those 318 pitches, batters have only swung and missed at 11 pitches (5%). That's an average of under 3 per game, and it's going to make it very difficult for Mussina to have sustained success unless something changes. Even Chien-Ming Wang who supposedly can't K anyone is at 7% this year and was at 11% and 12% in 2006 and 2007 respectively.

Joba's going to be joining the rotation sooner rather than later.

John Smoltz is showing no residual signs of his spring injury, winning his third start in as many tries tonight. He pitched five shutout innings against the Marlins, and received five home runs from his offense in support.

I'm not sure if it's his age, or the Braves are taking it easy because of the injury, but Smoltz is not going deep into the game. His three starts lasted five, six and five innings. and the most pitches he's thrown is 90. Without a chance to get in trouble, John is now sporting an 0.56 ERA, and has 21 strikeouts in his sixteen innings pitched.

The Tigers pounded Indians ace C.C. Sabathia Wednesday night, and the Indians returned the favor this evening knocking Justin Verlander out of the game early. Justin showed little control tonight as he walked four in five innings and gave up five runs. That puts his ERA at 7.03.

His opponent, Fausto Carmona, however, continues to pitch better than his breakout season of 2007. He held the Tigers to one run over 6 2/3 innings, send Detroit back to the offensive doldrums.

These two young pitchers are 10 months apart, both born in 1983. I suspect Verlander will figure out what's causing his problems, and with luck we'll see many years of these two battling head to head.

The Indians say there's nothing physically wrong with C.C. Sabathia:

The stat freaks point to his career-high 256 1/3 innings last season, 45 more than he's ever pitched. He also was sixth in all of baseball in pitches thrown during the regular season.

Wear and tear on the arm would be their diagnosis.

After the game, Manager Eric Wedge and Sabathia both spoke in hushed tones, both insisted the lefty was fine physically. The radar gun readings on his fastball were 93-96 mph, his normal range.

The amateur psychologists in the bleachers and in front of their TVs say it's the pressure of the playoffs, the pressure of being a free agent at the end of the season.

Let's be real: Sabathia is being paid $11 million this year. He can walk into Mark Shapiro's office today and the general manager would probably still present him with that $80 million extension he turned down a few months ago.

Pressure is a rising mortgage and gas prices, a sick family member, a job that may soon be downsized.

"It's not that," Sabathia said. "It's not mechanical. My velocity is fine. I just can't command both sides of the plate."

So it's a job for the pitching coach? Roy Oswalt straightened himself out last night. Cleveland fans need to hope C.C. can find the corners again.

Felix Hernandez pitched a complete game against the Oakland Athletics Wednesday night as the Mariners took the contest 4-2. Hernandez spread out eight hits over nine innings, walking just one. The pitch count interests me, however. McLaren allowed the King to throw 115 pitches:

"When Bedard went on the DL, Felix had to step up and be the core of the entire pitching staff," Ichiro said after watching Hernandez dominate the A's, at one point retiring 13 of 14 batters.

And that's exactly what Hernandez did. When the eighth inning threatened to blow up in his face, Hernandez defused the potential for an Oakland explosion. When he inning was over and the Mariners had to decide on a pitcher for the ninth, Hernandez wouldn't let anyone else touch the ball.

"When they asked me after the eighth inning, I said I wanted it," Hernandez said. "And I did."

The eighth wasn't that rough as he gave up three singles and induced a double play, so I understand his wanting to come out for the ninth. This, however, was the second start in a row where his pitch count reached 115 or more. Last season Hernandez pitched seventeen innings in his first two starts and then went down with an injury. Part of me doesn't want to complain about pitch counts, because in general I think pitchers are lifted too early. But based on what happened in 2007, I'd be more careful with Hernandez than the Mariners were last night. Maybe his limit is 115, but I wouldn't want to push that just yet.

Twenty years ago, we wondered if a pitcher would ever win 30 games again. With starters getting no more than 34 starts in a season, that's a near impossibility. Twenty five wins seems a reasonable level to reach. The last was Bob Welch in 1990, who won 27 games as the Athletics used a modified five man rotation, skipping the fifth starter as often as possible.

The way Brandon Webb is pitching, and the way the Diamondbacks are generating offense, you wonder if he has a chance at 25. Webb defeated the Giants 4-1 today, driving in two runs himself. That lowered his ERA to 1.86 and his batting average allowed to .147. You need the combination of a great pitcher on a high scoring team to have a shot at this, and right now this looks like it.

Steve Bonner scored Andy Pettitte's performance Tuesday night and offers his insights on being clutch and getting lucky.

My latest column at SportingNew.com looks at the remarkable feat of winning 350 games in an era where starters pitch less.

Mike Pelfrey pitched another strong outing for New York and Duaner Sanchez returned to action.

David Wright says, "Having Duaner back makes us feel whole."

...there is truth to this, in that just saying, "Sanchez, Heilman and Wagner," makes me feel a bit better about the bullpen, despite heilman's temporary struggle and sanchez's recent return...obviously, they need to execute, but, for the time being, i'm just happy to have them all together again...

Pelfrey, in his first two starts is showing both better control and giving up fewer hits.

Correction: Fixed spelling of Pelfrey.

Jose Valverde, in just his third save opportunity, blows his second of the year. Shaun Chacon pitches an eight inning shutout, allowing just four hits and two walks to the Phillies, all the hits singles. It's the easiest save situation there is, as Valverde enters the ninth with a three-run lead. But Chris Snelling who homers every 37 at bats, leads off with a dinger. Three batters later, Burrell smacks a two-run homer to tie the game.

The next batter, Jenkins, strikes out, but reaches first on a passed ball. That brings up Pedro Feliz who doubles in Jenkins with the winning run.

That was an ugly loss for Houston. They won't get many performances like that from Chacon, and to waste one is just a shame. I don't know why, but the Astros just can't seem to find a closer.

I'm guessing Hideo Nomo should have stayed retired.

David Golebiewski uses PITCHf/x data to examine Roy Oswalt's loss of velocity.

John Danks goes 7 2/3 innings today as the White Sox defeat the Athletics 4-1. Danks did not allow a run, and held Oakland to one base at a time on five singles and two walks. It's tough to get a read on Danks right now; he's pitched two very good games and one terrible one. Given his prospect status last year, the White Sox hope the good starts keep out-numbering the bad ones. I'd like to see his K/BB move farther away from parity.

Zack Greinke pitched another outstanding game last night, going the distance for the Royals as they defeated the Mariners 5-1. What's most impressive about Zack this season is that he's averaging eight innings per start. Monday night he needed just 107 pitches to set down the Mariners. He threw that many against the Yankees over eight innings in his previous start, and 99 over seven innings in this first outing. Greinke is showing a Maddux-like efficiency. Greg pitched the most innings in the majors from 1990-1999, but was no where near the leaders in most pitches thrown.

The Royals now boast three of the top ten ERAs in the American League. Bradford Doolittle notes that they've had great defense behind them:

The Royals have played like a solid .500 team so far this season, perhaps a little above. But the pitching and defense have been a whole lot better than that.

The run-preventers have allowed 32 runs, or fewer than three per game. The pitchers have posted an AL-best 2.58 ERA. The fielders' defensive efficiency record (.727) is just a shade behind the Orioles (.730) for best in the league.

He continues:

As for the .727 defensive efficiency record, if maintained, that number would be the stuff of legend. It can't last. Last year's league average was .687, and the league leaders were at .706. So a few of those ground balls are going to start getting through to the outfield, and some of those drives are going to start plugging the gap.

The Royals can't do a whole lot about the coming regression in DER, nor can they maintain their extreme strand rate. But they can continue to attack the hitters as well as they have so far. And the fielders can maintain their ranking, if not their rate, and make sure the DER stays as high as possible. To that end, the team is going to face a tough decision if its slick-fielding shortstop, Tony Peña, continues his one-hit-every-other-week pace.

Two years ago, the Royals posted a poor DER, but PMR showed it was the pitchers, not the defense at fault. Maybe this year's great DER has a bit to do with Bannister and Greinke making it easier on the fielders.

Update: Sam Mellinger suggests the bullpen starts gardening.

Ervin Santana picked up his second win tonight as the Angels took the Rangers 7-4. Both wins came on the road, where he's now allowed five runs in thirteen innings, a 3.46 ERA. That's a big improvement from his 8.38 road ERA in 2007.

Randy Johnson takes the mound with a 2-0 lead, thanks to a Connor Jackson home run. He walks the leadoff batter on four pitches, and he's hitting 90 MPH on the gun.

Update: Johnson strikes out Rowand swinging.

Update: Johnson walks Durham, and Molina hits into a fielder's choice.

Update: Rich Aurilia strikes out looking to end the inning. Not a bad first inning given that Randy must be a bit rusty.

Steve Lombardi comes up with a clever way to remember to pronouce Albaladejo.

Chad Billingsley seems to need a set schedule to pitch well.

"I couldn't really get into a routine before my first start," Billingsley said after striking out eight batters in five innings and losing, 1-0, to the Padres. "This start, I really worked on getting my timing back. Everything felt good. My timing was great, and that's all you really want. I'll just keep working and try to build off this."

Billingsley was supposed to make his first start of the season April 2 against San Francisco, but Manager Joe Torre scratched him just before game time because bad weather was in the forecast. Torre wound up bringing Billingsley out of the bullpen in that game, but he faced only four batters before a long rain delay and then didn't return.

Billingsley then made a two-inning relief appearance April 4 before his ill-fated first start against the Diamondbacks four days later, when he was torched for five runs on five hits over 2 1/3 innings.

But for Billingsley, that debacle amounted to hitting the reset button, because from there, he was able to get back into his normal between-start routine.

It strikes me that Joe Torre needs to be aware that Billingsley doesn't provide flexibility to the staff.

The Red Sox hitters are doing a great job tonight of hitting good pitches. They've scored seven runs through three innings, chasing Hughes from the game for Ohlendorf. Hughes control was poor tonight, but it's not like he was leaving meatballs over the heart of the plate, either. Matsuzaka has walked a number of batters also, but the Red Sox bats just look quicker than the Yankees bats tonight.

Correction: Fixed a typo.

I don't know how long it takes for a pitcher to show signs of injury due to poor use, but Tim Lincecum is showing no problems in his second start after pitching after a long rain delay. He struck out eleven Cardinals in just six innings this afternoon as the Giants took the game 7-4. That's 18 K in 12 innings with two walks. Sounds like he's just fine.

Greg Maddux pitches five shutout innings today as the Padres defeat the Dodgers 1-0. Maddux allowed two hits and the bullpen three as the Dodgers drop under 4.0 runs per game.

The win is number 349 for Greg, putting him on the threshold of 350. I once got on air at ESPN discussing why it had become more difficult for pitchers to win 300 games, just about 10 years ago. Not only have we seen three 300 game winners, but it looks like we'll end up with two 350 game winners. It's a remarkable feat in an era where pitchers make fewer starts per season and come out of the game much earlier.

What's going on in Houston? Roy Oswalt keeps getting shelled, and Wandy Rodriguez pitched another great game. He allowed just one earned run over seven innings, while striking out seven and walking one. That gives him 19 K and 2 BB in 19 1/3 innings and a 2.33 ERA.

Maybe this is one of those mad scientist experiments gone wrong. Did Ed Wade hook the two pitchers up to a machine that was supposed to transfer Oswalt's ability to Wandy? Instead of leaving Roy intact, it not only drained him of his ability, but added Wandy's former suckiness? Does anyone know if Wade has an evil laugh and a secret dunegon?

Blücher!

Francisco Liriano pitched unimpressively today as he made his first major league appearance since Tommy John surgery. His control was off as he walked five and struck out four. For his career, he has a K/BB better than 4.0. The Royals touched him for four runs in 4 2/3 innings.

Meanwhile, Brian Bannister continues to impress with a complete game, allowing an unearned run when Jose Guillen dropped a fly ball in the first inning. He threw 65% of his pitches for strikes and lowered his ERA to 0.86.

Cliff Lee continued his comeback from a very poor 2007 with an eight-inning masterpiece against the Oakland Athletics. Lee held them to two hits and no walks while he struck out eight. Lee hasn't posted a great strikeout season since 2004, so to see him fan eight is very impressive. The Cleveland offense game him plenty of support (most of it late) as they handed Oakland their first road loss, 7-1.

Ryan Doumit takes Cueto deep leading off the second inning to give the Pirates an early 1-0 lead. It seems that if you can get a hit off Johnny, you're likely to go yard. It's the seventh hit Johnny gave up this season, and the third home run.

Update: Cueto issues his first walk of the season with two out in the third. He's struck out four so far. That walk costs him as Rivas doubles down the left field line, driving in McLouth.

Tim Keown writes the greatest article ever on Greg Maddux. There's the story of the blind-folded catcher. There's this great bit on Brad Penny:

Right. But when Brad Penny and Maddux were teammates on the Dodgers, during the last two months of 2006, they had a conversation one day that led Penny to reach a stunning conclusion: This guy knows my stuff better than I do. It was eerie, really, how easily Maddux dissected Penny's repertoire and suggested ways to maximize it. Penny, figuring he'd take advantage of the situation, asked Maddux to call a game for him against the Cubs. And so, on the night of Sept. 13, Penny glanced into the dugout before every delivery and found Maddux, who signaled the next pitch by looking toward different parts of the ballpark. Penny threw seven scoreless innings with no walks and beat the Cubs 6-0. "Maddux probably won't tell you that story," Penny says. He's right.

And don't miss the update, 17%. That tells you what the great pitchers have always known, the steal is useless if you get the batter out.

Cole Hamels pitched seven scoreless innings tonight, picking up a short shutout. With pitch counts well in place, it's difficult for a stater to go the distance for a shutout anymore. Cole picked up his fourth since the start of the 2007 season. That's good, as only twelve pitchers have more. Jake Peavy leads this time period with 9. The Mariners have the top two in the AL as Bedard pitched six and Felix Hernandez pitched five.

Ted Lilly continues to struggle for Chicago. He allowed five runs today in 4 1/3 innings and sports a 9.95 ERA. He joins Sabathia and Oswalt as pitcher who are inexplicably bad this season.

The Minnesota Twins shutout the Royals 2-0 behind Boof Bonser and three innings from the bullpen. The two parts of the pitching staff have been very consistent. With tonight's game, the starters own a 3.22 ERA, the bullpen 3.48. This is without Johan Santana and Francisco Liriano. So far, it's the Twins offense that's holding them back, not their depleted pitching staff.

Stop the Wave notes a 23 strikeout game in the college ranks Friday. Stephen Strasburg pitched a complete game one-hitter and walked one.

The Milwaukee Brewers manage three home runs off Johan Santana, the last a two-run shot by Gabe Kapler that chases Santana from the game. Johan allowed six hits in his 6 2/3 innings, but once again 50% of them were for extra bases. The Brewers lead 5-2 in the bottom of the seventh.

Gavin Floyd just finished the fifth inning against Detroit, and hasn't allowed a hit yet. He's walked four and allowed two steals, but no safties yet for the Tigers.

Update: With one out in the eighth, Floyd allows a single to Edgar Renteria. He's thrown 107 pitches, so Guillen lifts him from the game. The win is not in the bag, however, as the White Sox are leading 1-0. Verlander's only allowed two hits himself, along with walking three.

Update: The White Sox score six runs in the bottom of the eighth to defeat the Tigers 7-0. The Tigers now have scored 33 runs in 11 games.

Roy Oswalt liked the pitches he threw for home runs Friday night:

"I looked at two of the home runs, and they were exactly what I wanted to throw," Oswalt said. "I've never been through this before where I throw good pitches and guys get hits."

If that's true, then maybe Roy has just become too predictable.

One reason for the Orioles fast start was the pitching of the bullpen. The game into this weekend with an 0.93 ERA. Tonight, they returned to their 2007 form. Guthrie allowed two runs over 6 1/3 innings, and left with a 5-2 lead. He wasn't in trouble, he had thrown 109 pitchers. Orioles relievers then gave up eight runs in 1 2/3 innings, walking five and allowing seven hits. Tonight's performance takes the pen's ERA over 3.00.

Chien-Ming Wang is pitching one of the most efficient games I've seen in a while. He's thrown 79 pitches through eight innings, 52 for strikes. Greg Maddux would be proud.

The Red Sox are actually putting quite a few balls in the air. I count twelve of the balls in play against him in the air out of twenty two.

Update: Alberto Gonzalez is one for two with a walk, and just doubled. Let's stipulate that AG is a better defensive shortstop than Jeter. Is it time to move Derek? Maybe move Jeter to first, because despite the home run, Giambi looks terrible at the plate. Or move him to left and try to deal Matsui and/or Damon? If Gonzalez is going to hit decently, his defense would certainly be an asset behind Wang and Pettitte.

Update: Wang completes the game, throwing just 93 pitches. The Yankees move ahead of the Red Sox by a game in the AL East. Ortiz's slump continues as he goes 0 for 3 with a K and a GDP. He's hitting .077. Either he's not feeling well, or there's going to be hell to pay when he breaks out of this slump.

Put Roy Oswalt in the same category as C.C. Sabathia. Through four innings, Roy allowed four home runs and eight runs, putting his ERA at an even nine. He's now given up five home runs on the season after allowing 14 in 212 innings last season. These are the Florida Marlins pounding him! Yes, I know they are in first place, but this is Roy Oswalt. It's going to be a sad year for Houston if there's something seriously wrong with Roy.

Nelson Figueroa is making a successful Mets debut. He was perfect through four, then allowed a hit and a run in the fifth. He's struck out six and walked just one as the Mets lead the Brewers 3-1.

C.C. Sabathia gets knocked around for his third start in a row. The Oakland Athletics score nine runs off the lefty in 3 1/3 innings. That raises Sabathia's ERA to 11.57, as all nine were earned. He struck out four and walked two, but twelve of the seventeen balls in play against Milliliter ended up hits. It seems like the opposition is squaring up his pitches well. It makes you wonder if there is something physically wrong with Sabathia. I'm guessing the Cleveland front office is glad they didn't reach a long term agreement before the season started.

With one out in the bottom of the fourth, Dustin Pedroia hits a grounder down the third base line. A-Rod need to range to his right and dive to get the ball. He scrambled to his feet, but his throw is high, and Pedroia because of that Pedroia is safe. The official scorer gives Pedroia a hit, and Jerry Remy agrees. However, Wang is throwing a no-hitter, and after Ortiz hits into a double play, the play is changed to an error.

If the throw is true from Rodriguez, then Pedroia is out. It was by no means a routine play, however, and Alex made a great effort to come as close as he did to getting Dustin. My guess is that if there's a clean single in the game off Wang, the scorer will change it back.

Tim Wakefield walked five batters through four innings, but the Tigers only managed two runs. The Tigers are 1 for 4 with runners in scoring position. With two hits on the game, they can't seem to connect when the knuckler is in the strike zone.

Update: What is with the well pitched, high walk games tonight? Maine walked five through six innings, struck out just one, and he's pitching a shutout! It really is an upside down start to the season.

Kevin Millwood on the surface pitched a poor game against the Orioles. He walked five and struck out just two over seven innings. He only allowed three hits, however, and spread the walks out, never walking more than one in an inning. The result was just one run allowed and a 3-1 Texas victory.

He did get into trouble in the third when a double, walk and an error loaded the bases with one out. But Huff lined out to third and Scott struck out to end the inning. That was good timing on the K for Millwood.

The one run keeps his ERA at 1.29, every low for a 1-2 record.

Edwin Jackson turned in his second impressive performance of the season, shutting out the Mariners for eight innings. Combined with his six innings of one-run ball against the Yankees, Jackson now sports an 0.64 ERA. He's allowed just seven hits in fourteen innings and walked six. The Rays can live with the walks if he can keep the hits that low.

Is this for real? Jackson is still young, and last year was the first time he pitched a significant amount of big league innings. His problem in the past was a lot of hits and a lot of walks. We might be seeing the improved Rays defense making an impact here.

Tampa Bay takes the game 7-0.

Zack Greinke's great pitching run continued last night as he held the Yankees scoreless for eight innings. Since the Royals moved Zack back into the the rotation on August 24th of last season, he's made five starts in which he didn't allow a run. Three of them were planned short outings, but the last two were both eight inning efforts.

Greinke's been particularly tough with men on base. The opposition is 11 for 69 with men on base, and just 2 for 41 with runners in scoring position.

Whoever turned this young man around mentally deserves a nice bonus from the Royals.

Doug Davis undergoes cancer surgery on Thursday. Tuesday night, he ended this part of his career in with a memorable performance against the Dodgers:

Doug Davis, though, doesn't want to be hailed as heroic. He's just a man - a decent one at that - who happens to have cancer and doesn't want to let his teammates down.

Two days before undergoing surgery to have a cancerous thyroid mass removed, Davis delivered an emotional and bittersweet performance Tuesday night in helping the Diamondbacks to a 10-5 victory over the Dodgers at Chase Field that he and many others won't soon forget.

The left-hander, diagnosed with the treatable but ominous disease late in spring training, pitched five scoreless innings before allowing two runs in the sixth. He finished with seven strikeouts and tied a career high with two hits, including an RBI single, in collecting his first win of the season.

It was the fifth win in a row for the Diamondbacks, but it will be a while before Davis has a chance at winning another. The recovery and rehab time following this week's surgery is at least four to six weeks, probably even longer according to manager Bob Melvin.

"We'll see. That's a tough one for me," Melvin said. "I know he's kind of committed to that and (doctors) have told him that. I think that's his timetable in his head, but we'll take it how we think he's progressing at the time. It could be more."

The only thing that should really matter to Davis right now is a complete recovery. My thoughts are with him and his family.

Ryan Rowland-Smith steps into the closer role for the Mariners and gets the job done against the Rays. He enters with one out in the eighth and retires all five men he faces, including the top of the Tampa Bay order in the ninth. He ended the game with flair, striking out Carlos Pena.

The Mariners have to like the fact he threw strikes, with 13 of his 17 pitches getting a positive result. With Putz out, he'll get more chances to close. The Mariners end their losing streak with a 6-5 win.

So far, Tim Lincecum is showing no negative signs from the rain delay. He's struck out four through the first two innings, allowing two hits, a walk and no runs. Tim is also hitting the high 90s on the gun.

FSN Ohio just showed film of Cueto and Bob Gibson. Their windups are a bit different, but the announcers were pointing out their follow-throughs are the same. A very nice comparison for the rookie pitcher.

The Orioles win handily over the Rangers 8-1. Fifth starter Brian Burres pitched very well, limiting the Rangers to one run over six innings. The bullpen, however, continues to be the most impressive group on the Orioles so far. With three shutout innings, they lowered the pen's ERA to 0.74. They've stuck out 19 in 24 1/3 innings while walking just five. A group that was famous for blowing leads is now shutting down the opposition.

The Marlins added a new pitcher to their rotation, with one of the best names I've heard this year.

With Rick VandenHurk headed back to Double-A, the Florida Marlins had a rotation spot left unoccupied. The team filled that spot with another Double-A righthander, purchasing the contract of Burke Badenhop from Double-A Carolina.

According to The Transaction Guy post, Burke induces a lot of ground balls, giving announcers plenty of opportunities to see Badenhops on errors. I wonder if he has a girlfriend named Natasha?

His minor league numbers show good control and the ability to keep the ball in the park. We'll see if he can do the same in the majors.

The Indians and Angels engaged in a tight pitching duel through eight innings, with the Angels on top 2-1. Carmona pitched six strong innings, and Joe Saunders went eight for the second time. Francisco Rodriguez came on in the ninth for the save, but his ankle is bothering him:

Rodriguez, looking for his fourth save, has been experiencing ankle problems after slipping off the top step of the dugout last week and tweaking his right ankle - the one he pushes off with. It has caused him to alter his mechanics.

"It's really painful," Rodriguez said. "I couldn't locate my fastball and I had no power in my legs to push off. As soon as I lift my leg, all the pressure and all my weight is on my ankle, so I was trying to do it all with my arm."

The first four Indians reached against K-Rod on two doubles and two walks. He did record one out when Peralta tried to stretch his double into a triple. Shields came on to finish the inning, but the two singles he allowed gave the Indians a 4-2 lead.

So now it was Joe Borowski's turn.

Borowski retired Chone Figgins to start the inning, but walked Gary Matthews, gave up a single to Vladimir Guerrero and walked Garret Anderson to bring Hunter to the plate. Hunter sent Borowski's 1-0 pitch high and deep over the left-field wall.

Borowski pitched a bit on the edge in 2007, but he kept his walks low. That limited the damage from hits off him, especially the nine homers in 65 2/3 innings. Last night his lack of control cost the Indians the game.

Hunter's homer also allowed a streak of consecutive victories by the Angels in which they led after eight innings to continue. It is now at 162. They haven't lost under those circumstances since April 19, 2006, at Minnesota.

Hunter's two home runs in the game give him a .727 slugging percentage for the season.

Aaron Cook gave up two hits and a run in the first inning, then didn't allow a hit the rest of the way as he goes seven innings. Herges pitches a perfect eighth to continue the streak. Unfortunately, those two hits are proving to be too many as the Braves lead 1-0 with the Rockies batting. Tom Glavine spread out three hits and three walks over 6 1/3 innings, and the Braves bullpen so far was just as good.

Tulowitzki doubles deep to right center to start the eighth, however.

Update: With one out, Holliday knocks one out to centerfield to give the Rockies a 2-1 lead. That was a blast.

Due to an injury to Kevin Slowey, Francisco Liriano may get called to the majors Sunday for the start.

Jake Peavy gets caught by the camera with something on his hands. It looks similar to what Kenny Rogers was usings in 2006.

Update: Bud Black says Peavy's hands were just dirty.

"When you play baseball, your hands get dirty," Black said Sunday. "He had dirty hands. Trying to keep his palms and fingers dry, you apply rosin and dirt. Rosin is a sticky substance, and as often as he goes to the rosin bag, as often as he goes to the dirt to sop up moisture, your hands get dirty.

"I don't think there is anything to it. Modern cameras can pick up a dirty hand."

Update: Peavy denies cheating as well:

Interestingly, Peavy's next start will be Friday at Dodger Stadium, and Torre did say, "We'll be the home team on Friday, so the balls that get thrown out of the game will come over to our dugout."

Peavy said the Dodgers "are more than welcome" to look at any balls he throws, adding, "I hope that they're worried about my hand more than they're worried about (my pitches). I honestly hope that's a cause of concern. Anytime Joe wants to have anybody check me, I welcome that."

Kyle Lohse is proving to be the pick up of the year. For the second start in a row, the opposition fails to score on the unwanted starter, as he's now gone twelve innings without allowing a run. He's only allowed seven hits so far.

Lohse's support came from Rick Ankiel, who doubled and homered today to raise his slugging percentage to .826. It looks like his transformation from pitcher to slugger is complete.

Ben Sheets continued his scoreless start to the season with his first shutout since his rookie season of 2001. He allowed just five hits while striking out eight batters. He's allowed just seven hits and two walks in his first 15 2/3 innings pitched. Righties are 3 for 27 against Sheets so far this season.

John Smoltz makes a successful 2008 debut, pitching five shutout innings against the Mets. Johan Santana pitched well in opposition, allowing just one run in seven innings. The Mets bullpen allowed two more runs as the Braves took the contest 3-1. As Santana, Felix Hernandez, Shields, and Bonsor showed today (so far), pitching a low scoring game doesn't mean a win this season. Coming into today, 17 of 45 starts with a Game Score of 60 or more resulted in a no-decision or a loss.

Update: You can add Backe, Blanton and Young to that list. Blanton has a 3.44 ERA in three starts and is 0-2.

Update: Lannan pitched well enough to win as well.

Update: Franklin Morales belongs on the list, too.

The Cincinnati Reds came north with two young pitches in their rotation. Johnny Cueto impressed with ten strikeouts in his first start, and Edinson Volquez was almost matched that today. Volquez struck out eight of 23 batters he faced in 5 1/3 innings. He held a powerful Phillies lineup to five hits and one run as the Reds won their fourth game.

The Reds bullpen continues to do a good job. After allowing one run in 3 2/3 innings, the pen's ERA is down to 3.20. They've struck out sixteen and walked just six. What used to be a weakness on this team appears to be a strength early in the year.

Ken Griffey homered, putting him six away from 600.

Ian Snell pitched six strong innings against the Marlins, striking out ten with no walks. The gives him 13 K in 12 innings on the season with just two walks. Nady continues to pound the ball, hitting his third home run and bringing his RBI total to nine in six games. The Pirates won easily 9-2.

Jake Peavy showed on Saturday that a pitcher can both record a high number of strikeouts and still pitch efficiently. He recorded the first nine inning complete game of the season as he limited the Dodgers to two hits, one walk and one run. Peavy struck out eight, but only threw 116 pitches, about 13 per inning. He threw 69 percent of his pitches for strikes. With 36 called balls to 30 batters, he averaged just 1.2 balls per batter.

(Suddenly, the Dodgers were not half the men they used to be.)

Peavy has yet to allow a hit this year with runners on base.

Dana Eveland pitched like the ace Saturday as he and the Oakland Athletics defeated the Indians 6-1. Dana does what he does best, strike out batters as he sent down seven innings via the K in seven innings, allowing just one run. More performances like that will make the Dan Haren trade look good.

Sabathia had his second rough outing, allowing four runs in 5 1/3 innings. More worrisome were his four walks in the game, bringing his total to seven in 10 2/3 innings. Sabathia walked 37 in all of 2007.

Sabathia said control was his problem. He couldn't put the ball on the right part of the plate.

"I got behind and eventually the walks killed me," said Sabathia.

After he was taken out of the game, Sabathia watched his performance on tape.

"Unbelievable," said Sabathia. "Like I said, the command wasn't there."

Now that he saw his mistakes, can he correct them for the next start?

Even while watching him throw six perfect innings, SaberScouting.com defines the flaws in Kei Igawa's delivery.

Hat tip, BBTF.

Ian Kennedy shows no control tonight as he allows six runs in 2 1/3 innings. He issued four walks and threw 38 balls and only 32 strikes. The big hit was a bases clearing double by Shawn Riggans, who was pinch hitting for Navarro (who may be injured).

The Yankees get one back in the bottom of the third on a Matsui home run.

Micah Owings pitched badly this spring. He allowed more walks that batters struck out. He gave up 22 hits in 15 2/3 innings. He finished with an ERA of 9.77. So he goes into Colorado today and strikes out nine in 6 2/3 innings while walking two. The Rockies scored one run on a Helton homer as the Diamondbacks took the game 8-1. Owings even picked up a single in four at bats.

That's one of the nice things about having Owings in the lineup. There's no reason to pinch hit for him in a close game.

Johnny Cueto became the first Reds pitcher to strike out 10 in his debut. On top of that, he walked none.

Bill James wrote about game significance in one of his Abstracts in regards to Roger Clemens. Sometimes a pitcher does something so extreme in a game that it becomes a sign of their potential greatness. For Roger, it was striking out 15 in a game while walking none. Bill noted the combination of high strikeouts and zero walks is very unusual. Roger would go on to twice strike out 20 in game without issuing a walk.

Cuteo's performance isn't as extreme, but he only went seven innings. This game should be taken as an extremely positive sign of Johnny's future.

The Yankees defeated the Blue Jays 3-2 this evening, but Toronto should be happy with their pitching staff. They could end up the best in the East, and holding the Yankees to eight runs in three games certainly indicates good things. They pitched well enough to sweep, but the Yankees were just a bit better in two of the games. Chamberlain and Rivera finished off the contest again, and both have identical 0.00 ERAs and .143 BAs allowed.

The Projo SoxBlog reports Bartolo Colon pitched impressively tonight.

With a 3-0 victory over the Colorado Rockies today, the Cardinals pitching staff limited a good Rockies lineup to five runs over three games. Because of the rainout on Monday, they did this without their ace, Adam Wainwright. Maybe it's just part of a weak offensive week, but the Cardinals rotation looked horrible coming into the season. Could they be better than we think, or are the Rockies just in a collective slump?

Ervin Santana turned in a nice performance on the road today. He went six innings, allowing six base runners and two runs, good enough for the win. He pitched poorly away from Anaheim last year, so this is a good sign for the Angels.

Johnny Cueto earned a spot in the Reds rotation with his great spring, and today he showed the promotion was well deserved. Cueto makes his major league debut by allowing one hit over seven innings, a homer by Justin Upton. He did not walk a batter, nor hit a batter. Ten Diamondbacks went down on strikes. For the people who've been around the Diamondbacks for a while, it was a Shillingesque game. At his height with Arizona, Curt would put up numbers like that. It looks like the Reds can send out three good starters this season.

Johnny Cueto retired the first 12 men he faced in the majors. The Reds lead the Diamondbacks 3-0 in the bottom of the fourth.

Doug Davis started for the Diamondbacks this afternoon. Davis will soon undergo treatment for thyroid cancer, but he can make a couple of starts before that happens. His first inning isn't that great as two doubles, two walks and an error lead to two runs, all with two outs.

The Nationals Enquirer wishes Washington called up Lannan for today's game in Philadelphia. They provide video as a way of explanation.

Brian Bannister, who quickly became the favorite pitcher of stat heads with his knowledge of sabermetrics, made a fine 2008 debut today. He held the Tigers to two hits over seven innings. He also walked none while striking out four. He also works efficiently, throwing a little over twelve pitches per inning. Bannister appears to be one of those pitchers who can survive with a low strikeout rate. He only induced seven ground outs (one a double play), but he did get a number of pops as well. He's fooling batters enough that they're not making great contact.

Matt Cain held the Dodgers scoreless for 5 2/3 last night, but did not get the win.

By now, Giants watchers are well versed in Cain's 2007 futility. He was 7-16 despite a 3.65 ERA. The bullpen coughed up five of Cain's leads, and the offense supported him with zero, one or two runs in 21 of his 32 starts.

On Tuesday, it was more of the same.

Eventually, Cain's luck should even out. Pitching that well should reward him at some point, maybe just not with this team.

Daisuke Matsuzaka showed no sign of his Japan wildness as he struck out nine Oakland Athletics in 6 2/3 innings without walking a batter. He did allow a run on a Cust homer, but the Red Sox scored twice off Joe Blanton, and that was enough for the Boston victory. The A's are hitting just .105 against Matsuzaka.

Joe Blanton pitches another decent game, giving up hits but not a lot of runs. He has no wins to show for a 3.86 ERA.

Jason Varitek stopped his 0 for with two hits, but David Ortiz posted another 0 for 4.

Jon Garland allowed just one run over eight innings as the Angels pounded the Twins 9-1. What was very unsual is that Garland did not strike out a batter. He faced 29 Twins, walked one making the Twins 6 for 28 when they put the ball in play. Sampson, Trachsel and Maroth all went at least 8 innings in 2007 without recording a strikeout in a game.

Pitching to contact did allow Garland to be efficient as he only threw 96 pitches over the eight innings.

Barry Zito talks about his loss of velocity:

The number of hits wasn't as disturbing as the authority behind them. The Dodgers made great contact, getting nothing on the cheap. The radar gun offered another bad verdict. For the most part, Zito didn't throw harder than 84 mph all day. He knows his fastball has lost velocity, and doesn't quite understand why.

"Right now, it's 84-85 at the high end, which obviously is frustrating for me," he said. "You've got a look at, usually when things like this happen, it's either an injury, which it is not, or it's something mechanical. So, you know, I'm always learning and trying to get better, and those things and obviously looking at old tapes and things like that and want to get that 88-89 back, and I'm sure it's just a small tweak away."

Maybe it's just age. There are plenty of successful soft tossing lefties out there. It might be time for Zito to reinvent himself.

Roy Oswalt allowed eleven hits in 5 1/3 innings Monday night in San Diego. He struck out six and walked one, however, indicating he was doing something right. The Padres, however, went 11 for 20 when putting the ball in play. Did the Houston defense play poorly? The moves the Astros made over the winter likely degraded the defense on the left side of the infield. If someone watched the game, did they notice poor defense, or were the hits against Oswalt solid?

The Padres won 4-0.

I was just talking to my good friend Jim Storer, who called to make sure Mark Hendrickson was starting for the Marlins today. After discussing how poor this rotation looked, with Hendrickson, Olsen, Miller and VandenHurk Jim called it an affirmative action program for the Swedish.

The Astros cut Woody Williams, and he plans to retire.

It's tough to pick out Williams best year. His 18-9 campaign in 2003 was best in terms of wins, but his best ERAs came in partial seasons. Otherwise, he was pretty close to average every season. That is not a bad thing.

Doug Haller of the Arizona Republic polls Diamondbacks players to determine the five filthiest pitches in the game today.

The Twins are going to have Francisco Liriano make at least two minor league starts before they use him in a major league game:

"He's been fine," Gardenhire said. "He's progressed. He progressed again today. His slider is fine. He's pretty close, but he's been out for a year. This is the right way to handle the situation."

The Giants are going to need a lot more performances like the one Tim Lincecum gave Friday night if they are going to compete this season. The team is 9-21 this spring. Teams that play under .333 in the spring tend to play very poorly during the regular season.

Halos Heaven points out that the Angels fifth slot in the rotation will challenge Dustin Moseley:

Those thinking that Moseley will not be so important to begin the 2008 campaign have obviously not closely examined the Angels schedule. The first three off days of the season (April 10, 21 and May 8) are all spaced to prohibit skipping the 5th starter until May 12th. That would give Moseley (or his replacement should Dustin be too terrible to bear) a MINIMUM of 7 starts (April 4, 9, 15, 20, 26, May 1, 6) before the staff could be expected to each pitch on normal rest and be able to skip the turn of the 5th starter. And those are plump assignments - 1 start against both Detroit and Cleveland, 4 games against AL West rivals (2 Vs. Texas, 1 each against Oakland and Seattle) and Kansas City on the road.

The Angels can hope for a quick return by John Lackey. At that point, do you use Moseley and Santana as a home road platoon?

Cardinals Diaspora makes the case for Anthony Reyes making the Cardinals starting rotation:

Why do I get the sinking feeling that we'll regret Anthony Reyes being skipped over for a rotation spot in favor of Wellemeyer...or, hell, Braden Looper. Spring trainings stats, as we've mentioned ad nauseam, are a deceitful thing, but Reyes pitched like a man out of time yesterday, building on a decent little run this month. I've been irrationally exuberant on Reyes' stock before. This time around though, it's tough to read reports of a guy throwing well all spring as part of a team so desperate for starting pitchers they're starting the season with a rotation consisting of 60% converted relievers, only to see him exiled to triple-A.

I agree it doesn't make a lot of sense. If spring is a time to earn a place on the roster, then Reyes should get a shot.

Derrick Goold remembers Bob Gibson's 1.12 ERA in 1968:

"You knew you weren't going to get a lot of runs," Gibson said. "Shoot, every time I pitched it was against Ferguson Jenkins or Juan Marichal ... every one of my starts was just about against one of those guys. What were the chances of us scoring a lot of runs? It just didn't exist. You had to keep other teams down, or you'd lose."

Hold teams down he did, unlike any other modern pitcher before and since. This season is the 40th anniversary of Gibson's 1.12 earned-run average, a number that defied logic and led to a rule change that altered how the game is played.

In 1968, Gibson went 22-9, pitched 304 2/3 innings and had 13 shutouts -- at least one against every team in the NL besides the Los Angeles Dodgers. In the entire season, Gibson was never removed from a game in the middle of an inning.

At some point, the cycle will turn again and pitching will dominate the game once more.

Joe Nathan received a contract extension from the Twins. It looks like $33 million for three years (through 2011) with a club option for 2012.

The contract is very much in line with the deal Francisco Cordero got from the Reds, but it's not quite as much as the $15 million that Mariano Rivera will be making with the Yankees. Which is just another reason why I don't understand why Nathan did this.

If Nathan played out the season without this extension, he'd have been a free agent at season's end. Which means one of two things would have happened. He'd either pitch the whole season in Minnesota, hit the market, get an offer for about $15-$17 million a year and move on, or he'd get dealt to a contending team at the deadline before becoming a free agent at the end of the year.

To me, that's what would have been best for both teams. Nathan would have actually gotten more money, and had the chance to play on a contender, and the Twins could have gotten a few more prospects for Nathan to help speed up the mini-rebuilding project they need to finish. But, hey, I've never had the chance to turn down $33 million before, so I can't say I wouldn't have done the same thing.

On top of all that, it's much easier to find a closer than a league ace. I'd have let Joe go and used the money to keep Santana.

Francisco Liriano turned in a fine performance today:

Hoping to break camp with the team 15 months after elbow surgery, Liriano pitched four hitless innings Sunday in Minnesota's 3-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. The left-hander struck out five and walked two in a scoreless outing.

"The first inning was a little bit like his last start," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "The second inning, he started letting it go.

"The ball was moving pretty good. There was a little more progression. The slider had less tilt and more snap to it. He's stretching out fine. He was better out there than the last time. We'll see how he does Friday."

Gardenhire is doing a good job of not getting too excited about this start.

Willie Randolph announced his starting rotation, at least as far as pitchers 1-4 go:

Johan Santana, Pedro Martinez, Oliver Perez and John Maine.

That will work for the first two weeks of the season, when Randoph will make up his mind about the fifth slot.

Joe Maddon set the Tampa Bay rotation for the start of the season. My only questions is will Jackson or Hammel be the odd man out when Kazmir returns?

Brian Bannister was impressed to meet Voros McCracken.

My latest column at SportingNews.com examines the effect of young, inexperienced pitchers (YIP) on a starting rotation. It also gives me a good excuse to link this video:

Any resemblence to Hughes, Kennedy and Chamberlain is purely coincidental.

The Washington Nationals released John Patterson. They'll save $850,000 on his contract. It seems strange to release a starter when the Nationals used thirteen last season. However, Patterson only had one great season in his career, 2005, in which he posted a 3.13 ERA. Take that outlier away, and there's really no reason to continue carrying the oft-injured pitcher.

Brock for Broglio doesn't like the fact that B.J. Ryan reported soreness:

If Jeremy Accardo is available in your league, stash him. He's probably the most valuable MR without a CL job-which will change if Ryan can't remain healthy. PECOTA likes Accardo projecting a K/9 of 8.0, and a 3.70 era.

Ryan is rushing back from Tommy John surgery. Keep your eye on this.

Update: Added link.

In case there was any doubt about where Joba Chamberlain would start the season, Joe Girardi made it official today:

Joe Girardi said just a few minutes ago that RHP Joba Chamberlain would open the season in the bullpen.

He left open the possibility that Chamberlain will move into the rotation later this season. "His future will be as a starter," Girardi said.

Chamberlain will pitch in relief against Toronto tomorrow and again on Saturday. Ian Kennedy will start against the Blue Jays, a sign that he has nailed down the No. 5 starter job.

Girardi did not define Chamberlain's role in the bullpen other than to say that he will be used in the "back end of games."

There will be no Joba Rules. Chamberlain can be used for multiple innings and on consecutive days. "It will be common sense," Girardi said.

Mike Mussina gets a chance to pitch his way out of the rotation. I expect the two will switch positions sooner rather than later.

(I've trashed Mussina a bit this spring. I really like Mike. He's had a great career and should merit Hall of Fame consideration. Watching him the last few seasons, however, he looks like he done. It's nice he's getting the chance to prove he has one more season left, and I certainly hope I'm wrong about this prediction. I'd like to see Mike go out on a high note.)

Cole Hamels got in his regular season groove Monday:

As he walked off the field toward the clubhouse after the sixth inning, fans along the third-base line treated him to what is believed to be the first standing ovation a Phillies starter has received all spring.

"Today I was able to almost close my eyes and throw it and know exactly where it was going to go," Hamels said about his performance in the Phillies' 4-2 win. "That's good to see. I just need to repeat it when it really counts."

Hamels opened up the game by striking out Tampa Bay second baseman Eliot Johnson. In the third, he struck out shortstop Reid Brignac on a beautiful off-speed pitch, then retired centerfielder Jon Weber and pitcher Matt Garza swinging.

His only mistake came with two outs in the fifth inning, when he threw an 0-2 fastball that top prospect Evan Longoria knocked over the leftfield fence for a solo home run, the Rays' first hit of the game. Hamels then gave up a single to Brignac before getting Weber to fly out to end the inning.

Hamels struck out seven while walking none and cut his ERA for the spring in half. Just another reason not to trust early spring statistics very much.

Longoria's home run should help him make the team, however. If he can hit a hot Hamels, he can probably hit anybody.

C. J. Wilson is going to throw the gyroball. I love the whistling pitching aid.

Evan Grant sums up the race for the Rangers rotation and bullpen slots. It seems the early spring injuries are healing, and Jason Jennings looks strong.

The loss of a fingernail forced A.J. Burnett to develop a new pitch:

"I've talked about it seven out of 10 springs, when I'm not hurt," Burnett smiled. "But it's really opened my eyes this time. I could have put a (fake) nail on a week-and-a-half or two weeks ago if I wanted to, but I really wanted to take this opportunity to get it down and be a four-pitch pitcher instead of a two. I talk to Doc more and more often. Pitching instead of just throwing. Hopefully, I'll keep a positive mind about it."

Burnett's problem has forever been inconsistency. He has a great belief in his fastball and curveball and has managed to get by. However, the Jays and Burnett need far more than for him just to get by. Here's a guy who has a career high of just 12 wins in a season and is in his 10th campaign in the bigs. With an opt-out season looming, he needs far more than he has given any team thus far. Maybe one nail will build him a new home.

The inconsistency mentioned has more to do with ability than injury. Burnett is that rare pitcher with both high strikeout and ground ball rates. A changeup gives him a good pitcher another weapon.

The Transaction Guy notes that Francisco Liriano threw at 100% today, but he's still having problems locating his pitches:

Therefore, with less than two weeks of Spring Training left, its still a mystery if Liriano can start right away for the Twins. In 2006, he was absolutely outstanding as a rookie, pitching like an ace. Minnesota still has hopes that he can do that again, and they want to see him on the right track this year, perhaps ready to return to top form in 2009. But, with him having unfortunate visa problems and showing up two weeks late to camp, they may not see enough of him to put him in the rotation right away.

Again, if he can't locate his pitches, than he'll never be the pitcher he once was. But, if he can, than its not unrealistic to think that he could be the Twins ace for years to come.

One thing is for sure, and that is that the Twins shouldn't and probably won't rush him. Even though I think their team is better than many people think, they aren't going to make the playoffs. If he needs a month or two to rehab some more, than they should let him have it.

I agree. In some ways, Liriano needs to learn to pitch all over again. It may just be a month of refining mechanics. Overall, however, I'd say his outing was good news for the Twins.

After today, the Yankees are probably looking forward to seeing Bartolo Colon in the Red Sox rotation.

Tyler Kepner notes the progress of Scott Patterson from independent league starter to consideration for the Yankees bullpen. It's all thanks to a finger injury:

Patterson is here because of his overwhelming success as a relief pitcher, first for the Lancaster Barnstormers of the Atlantic League and the Gateway Grizzlies of the Frontier League. His acumen for the bullpen earned him a spot with the Yankees' Class AA affiliate in 2006, but it would never have happened without a freak injury.

"I stubbed my finger in a door at my host family's house in Lancaster," Patterson said. "They brought me back slowly and said, 'Could you work out of the pen?' It was my first time ever doing that, and I just let it go for an inning. I was up to 90, 91, 92 miles an hour, and I was like, This could be good; let me stay here for a little bit."

He mixes his fastball with a slow curve. Since his last stint with Gateway, he's been a full time reliever. In that time he's struck out 208 batters in 166 1/3 innings while walking 36. That's someone worth a look in the majors, especially if you want to move Chamberlain to the rotation at some point.

Jon Lester will start game two for the Red Sox in Japan. It will be Blanton against Matsuzaka in game one, with Harden facing Lester in game two.

Redleg Nation is high on Edinson Volquez. It looks like the Reds will join a number of teams in starting the season with at least two very young pitchers in the rotation. They quote Dusty Baker on Volquez and Cueto:

"You want me to say it or are you going to say," Baker said. "They're pitching like they belong along side (Aaron) Harang and (Bronson) Arroyo in the rotation. They're dealing. They came in ready to pitch. They played Winter Ball so they're ahead, not so much with velocity but with command. That's what you need. They're pounding the strike zone. If you walk people, you have no chance. If you get behind people, you have little chance.

"We need them."

Doesn't Dusty want his pitchers to clog the bases with walks? :-)

All jokes aside, the Reds are looking like a team that can pitch. At some point they'll add Homer Baily as well, and by the end of the season my have the best 1-5 rotation in the National League.

MetsBlog.com, along with Willie Randolph and Ramon Castro really like what they saw from Pedro Martinez yesterday.

Coming into the season, Webb and Haren appeared likely to be the best 1-2 punch in the game, but Santana and Martinez are going to give them a run for their money.

Chien-Ming Wang worked on new pitches yesterday and struck out seven batters in 4 1/3 innings. Still, Wang doesn't like the strikeouts:

He claimed his performance against the Indians won't deter him from using his sinker. "Everything is good," Wang said.

Someone joked that he would start to get more strikeouts, like yesterday.

"No," Wang said. "Ground balls, still. Strikeouts take too many pitches."

I like the idea of Wang increasing his number of strikeouts, but he does have a point about being efficient.

A few days ago, Peter Schmuck gave up on Daniel Cabrera. Today, Cabrera tried to prove that pessimism premature:

Cabrera allowed two runs and five hits -- three coming in his final inning. He walked one and struck out five, including four in a row, beginning with Lastings Milledge, to end the first inning.

"He was ahead or even in the count all the time, using all his pitches," catcher Ramon Hernandez said. "That's the key. You get ahead, you get quick swings. You get quick swings, you get quick innings. He did that today."

His posture on the mound was better:

Cabrera, listed at 6 foot 9, has been trying to stand taller on the mound and throw downhill. His delivery has been one of the projects bestowed upon new pitching coach Rick Kranitz.

"We've been working to try to keep it the same way," Cabrera said.

"He never slouched, he never hunched over," Trembley said. "He was tall on the mound and his tempo was very good. He got the ball and he threw it. There wasn't a lot of time between pitches and he was good out of the stretch. When he stays tall and throws downhill and doesn't fall off to the side, when he doesn't bend over, he's real good. He needs to do it again."

He should walk around with a book on his head between starts.

John Fay notes that Johnny Cueto keeps getting better. He's having a great spring training, plus:

My personal theory on Cueto? The more pressure, the better he gets. His ERA went down as he went from A to AA to AAA last year. Cueto's next start is Monday against the Tigers. It's on FSN. Dial it up the kid is fun to watch.

The move from A to AA was very impressive last year. His strikeout rate went up and his walk rate went down. All told in the minors he's striking out better than nine per nine innings, while walking one about every four innings. I just think he's simply a pitcher who is ready for the majors.

B.J. Ryan tested his new elbow against batters on Friday and struck out three.

"It was good, you know, finally getting out there, anxious and nervous and not really knowing what to expect.

"We didn't hold anything back," he added, meaning he and catcher Rod Barajas. "I threw what he called. I told him, 'I don't know you and you don't know me. Let's just kind of feel our way through this.'"

And the Blue Jays, despite this very rosy start, will certainly be very careful feeling their way along from this point on.

If Ryan feels good today - and there'll be some soreness - he'll likely get two days off, then throw again Monday. The Jays have already said he's not only not going back-to-back down here, but isn't going to be allowed to do that in April, either.

He's come back very quickly from Tommy John surgery. I hope he's just a fast healer and not overdoing it.

Rays of Light notes that Edwin Jackson is pitching himself out of the Rays rotation. I was quite surprised that when the Rays acquired Matt Garza that Jackson wasn't immediately the odd man out. Although Howell and Sonnanstine posted higher ERAs, their strikeout and walk numbers indicated they were better pitchers. I'm glad that's coming through so far in spring training.

Mark Prior continues his recovery from surgery:

"I am able to get on top of the ball," said the right-hander, who won't be available to the Padres before May or June. "I am able to throw the ball down and away."

The surgeon's work is enabling Prior to throw with proper form, to repeat the same release point that he had before injuries led to compensation issues and degraded his silky delivery.

He said he is able to get the extension and angle needed to hit the low-outside portion of the strike zone, or just wide of it. Last spring training, Prior said, he wasn't able to smoothly get that done. "I'd come around the ball," he said, tilting his right hand inward.

He's no where near returning yet, but his progress remains steady.

The Matsuzaka's are the proud parents of a new baby boy. Congratulations to the couple on the birth of their second child!

This, of course, allows Dice-K to travel to Japan with the Red Sox and start the opener in his home country. That will certainly be an exciting moment for him and his fellow citizens.

More encouraging new on Rich Harden:

Oakland starting pitcher Rich Harden laughed off a question about nearly throwing a no-hitter through five innings Friday against the Chicago White Sox.

The Athletics' right-hander allowed just a run-scoring single by Alexei Ramirez with two outs in the fifth inning during Oakland's 8-1 victory.

Harden struck out five and walked four in his five innings to improve his ERA to 5.73.

"(The no-hitter) doesn't matter," Harden said, smiling. "During the season, it is a different story. I felt better out there. I still need to work on some stuff and work on my location. Overall I felt better with my command. I am progressing."

Just the fact that he's throwing without pain is a good sign for the Athletics.

Mike Mussina threw five perfect innings today. Maybe he will last past April. Of course, it was against the Pirates.

Peter Schmuck gives up on Daniel Cabrera:

I admit it. I was mesmerized by the 6-foot-9 frame and the looming presence on the mound. Every time I looked at Cabrera, I saw a Randy Johnson in the rough. Every time I heard somebody say he would never amount to anything more than a fourth-class starter on a fourth-place team, I chuckled arrogantly to myself and waited for the moment when I could say, "I told you so."

Then I went to Jupiter, Fla., on Tuesday and watched him trip over his own feet -- both literally and figuratively -- on the way to an on-field and off-field performance that pretty much convinced me that he doesn't get it and probably never will.

Now, I feel like I've been seduced and abandoned.

The guy would be lights out if the light ever went on, but how much longer can the Orioles wait for that to happen?

In his major league career, Cabrera walked 388 batters in 661 1/3 innings. That's not a small sample. Why should we expect him to develop control now?

Lone Star ball notes the Rangers rotation is set. He also shows the injured Brandon McCarthy has team spirit:

"He doesn't pitch scared, and he knows what he's doing," Millwood said of Mendoza. "It's nice to see a young guy step in there and look like he belongs. I wouldn't want to be the guy waiting on him to mess up because I don't think he will."

Said McCarthy, ostensibly the guy who would be waiting on Mendoza: "I'm fully expecting when he gets to the big leagues that he's not going back. I hope he makes it tougher than hell for me to get my spot back."

The Rangers starters were soft last year. McCarthy understands the importance of getting better pitchers into the rotation.

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An injury to Joel Pineiro sends Cardinals management scrambling to find another pitcher:

Four days after Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak downplayed the club's search for additional starting pitching, the club reacted Tuesday to persistent questions about Joel Pineiro's right shoulder by inquiring about free agent Kyle Lohse.

With opening day starter Adam Wainwright and Braden Looper the only certainties in a suspect rotation, manager Tony La Russa and pitching coach Dave Duncan said they're open to help from outside.

La Russa described the team as in a scramble to construct a five-man turn early in the day, then admitted after the game, "I don't think we have to worry about having too much pitching."

This is going to be an ugly season for the Cardinals, even if Albert Pujols's elbow holds up.

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Here's another reason spring training stats are tough to take seriously. Dave Righetti points out the positives in Barry Zito's last outing:

He could be criticized for experimenting at this stage of his career. On the other hand, baseball is about adjustments. Zito has lost speed off his fastball, making command that much more important. He believes that by shortening his windup and not bringing his hands over his head, he can spot his pitches better.

Pitching coach Dave Righetti liked what he saw Monday, even if Zito allowed eight runs (five earned) in 32/3 innings.

"I thought he looked good," Righetti said Tuesday. "I liked the plane of his ball. I thought he was fine, especially in the windup. Unfortunately, he had to pitch in the stretch a bunch.

"He just felt like it was cleaner, like it was easier for his rhythm. He's got all the movement in his hands that's making him a little bit late in terms of delivering the pitch that he wanted, and I agree, so he went out yesterday and worked on it for the first time."

So Zito was experimenting, and it's possible the experiment turns out well. He's making the adjustment pitchers his age need to make, a little less power and a little more control.

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The Bronx Block invities you to name the group of young Yankees pitchers:

On that note, we here at The Bronx Block are offering a Yankees DVD set and Yankees tickets for the best suggestion from a reader. The winner will be able to choose between the MLB Vintage World Series Films - New York Yankees: 17 Championship Seasons 1943-2000 (2000) set and the The New York Yankees Fall Classic Collector's Edition 1996-2001 set. Furthermore, the winning entry will gain a bit of fame, as The Bronx Block will create a logo and place the name on t-shirts available for purchase here at the website. Finally, the winner will receive two Tier Reserved upper deck tickets to the Yankees-Blue Jays game on April 3rd.

Name away!

Ian Kennedy wins comparisons with Greg Maddux as the thinking pitcher:

Because he can hit the corners, Kennedy himself takes pride in being able to throw the fastball on any count, taking exception to the idea that he is strictly a finesse pitcher.

"I still strike people out with my fastball," he said emphatically. "You can't pitch backwards all the time. Sometimes you want to give the hitter what he wants, you just have to hit your location.

"And sometimes you know what they're looking for, and you give them something that looks like it ... only it's different."

Spoken like a thinking man's pitcher, all right. And perhaps more than No.3 in the young-gun pecking order when all is said and done.

It's just another demonstration that pitching is more about fooling batters than overpowering batters.

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Who would have thought the most positive pitching story to come out of the Phillies camp this spring would be Kris Benson:

When the Phillies signed him to a minor league deal in mid-February, they cautioned that he was throwing at only 60 to 70 percent of his velocity, and there could yet be peaks and valleys in his recovery. Thus far, Benson has progressed linearly, showing improvement every time he steps on the mound.

But Benson's recovery isn't complete. In an appearance in a minor league game Saturday, his peak velocity was 88 mph. Consistently, he was a notch or two below that. Benson said yesterday he believes the extra power he needs for games will develop naturally over the next few weeks. But the fact remains, he is not there yet.

Kendrick, Eaton and Hamels all posted ERAs over 10.00 so far. None of this is really meaningful as no one has tossed that many innings. Benson, however, may give Philadelphia a decent option come the middle of the season when the starters start needing time off for injuries.

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Randy Johnson pitched pain free Monday night. Now he just needs to polish his game.

The Big Unit gave up three runs and four hits, including a three-run homer by Chris Iannetta, in 1 1-3 innings Monday during Arizona's 10-9 victory over the NL champion Colorado Rockies. Johnson walked one and struck out one.

"Minus the results today, there was a lot of positive things," he said. "But as competitive as I am, I'm still disappointed that I would pitch like that."

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Anthony Witrado likes what he's seen from Manny Parra this spring:

Parra pitched four scoreless innings (his longest outing of the spring), allowing only a double to Aramis Ramirez. Parra struck out two, walked no one and induced seven ground ball outs.

That gives Parra nine innings of one run, one walk ball this spring.

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Purple Row likes the way the Rockies bullpen is shaping up.

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Chris Mazzone notes that Mike Pelfrey tipped his pitches last year and writes:

...it always amazes me when stories like this come out and it seems like the team the pitcher plays for is the last to find out...

Recognizing that a pitcher is tipping pitches is a pattern recognition problem. The batters the pitcher faces are (subconsciously) trying to develop a recognizer that will tell them what Pelfrey is throwing. They may not even be aware they are developing such a recognizer, or what clues they are storing and discarding. Suddenly, it dawns on a batter (or a bench coach) that the thing they are picking up is a wide glove, and then everyone knows the sign.

The home team, especially the catcher, has no need for such a pattern recognizer, because they know which pitch is coming. If teams want to detect tips early, they should assign someone behind home plate who doesn't know the signs and pitch selection of the subject to predict each pitch before it's thrown. If the source is getting a high number right, then a team can investigate what might be tipping off the scout.

It's the sort of problem a computer might be very good at solving. Given photographic examples of a pitcher, and the type of pitch that was thrown as training data, differences in the model should indicate where a pitcher is tipping his pitches. This seems like a good problem for my former colleagues to solve.

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The Orioles might have found a gem in the rule 5 draft:

It's a mystery pitch that needs a catchy name. Too bad "Gyroball" is taken. The Orioles will have to come up with another way to describe what Rule 5 pick Randor Bierd is throwing.

Bierd has a "swing-and-miss" pitch that's almost as difficult to describe as it is to hit. Manager Dave Trembley once called it a cross between a splitter and a changeup. He later referred to it as a combination changeup and forkball, a relative of the splitter.

Bierd showed progress last year in the minors. His catcher, Guillermo Quiroz, describes the pitch as a Johan Santana type changeup. Bierd is someone to keep your eye on this season.

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Sidney Ponson signed with Texas, mostly because Brandon McCarthy will miss the opening of the season.

The importance of that depth now looks to become magnified twofold through the first couple weeks of the 2008 season, as Daniels also noted on Sunday morning that right-hander Brandon McCarthy will likely be out anywhere from four to six weeks.

McCarthy is scheduled to fly back to Dallas today for the beginning stages of treatment to heal a nasty case of inflammation in his right forearm, which will almost certainly land the 24-year-old hurler on the 15-day disabled list to begin the year. Appears that my completely baseless prediction of a potential mid-to-late April return for Brandon was, in fact, right on target.

McCarthy has a chance to become an ace for Texas. With luck, this injury won't set him back too much.

Josh Beckett's back spasms don't appear to be serious, but the Red Sox may not take him to Japan:

There is a chance Beckett will not pitch on Opening Day.

"We're not there yet," Francona said before today's spring meeting with the Los Angeles Dodgers when asked whether Beckett could be bumped from the Japan trip. "I will say this: That's not the end all and be all. I said to (Beckett), 'Just get better.' That's what we're focused on."

My daughter went to Japan in February, and it's grueling trip. I can see where Boston doesn't want to subject Beckett to fourteen hours in a plane seat with little room to move and stretch.

Matsuzaka might not make the trip either, due to the impending birth of his second child. While there was speculation that Beckett and Daisuke could start the first four games of the season, the Red Sox may end up sending Wakefield and Lester or Buchholz in the first two games. With the Athletics weakened by trades, the Red Sox had a good chance at a four game sweep to open the season. With Harden looking healthy, however, Boston might be lucky to come away with a split.

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Rich Harden pitched three innings on Saturday. He didn't pitch well, but he's working on fixing mechanics disrupted by his injuries:

More importantly, Harden is feeling fine physically and is confident about a minor mechanics adjustment he made in Saturday's 7-6 victory over the Cubs at Phoenix Muni Stadium.

"It's something I used to do a few years back," Harden said. "With injuries, you kind of start pitching away from pain. Your body changes its mechanics. We just kind of figured out something that's pretty big that I used to do with my front side."

In recent days, Harden worked on changing the placement of his left arm and hand position with first-year bullpen coach Ron Romanick, who's familiar with Harden because he was the A's roving pitching instructor for nine years.

"I just reminded him of what he used to do," Romanick said.

His continued health is good news for Oakland.

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Francisco Liriano pitched in a game today, his first since Tommy John surgery:

Francisco Liriano faced a major league team for the first time in 18 months, gave up no runs and felt no pain.

He even made Manny Ramirez look silly on a changeup that the Red Sox slugger flailed at for a third strike. And he made Twins pitching coach Rick Anderson smile.

"He felt great," Anderson said. "His first outing was outstanding and we just build off of that."

Certainly that's good news for the Twins. Liriano can take Johan Santana's place if he remains healthy. One thing that might help in that regard is a change of mechanics:

His motion was less energetic than it had been, a change Anderson hopes can help him avoid injury.

"On his finish, he's not so violent recoiling," Anderson said. "He looked pretty calm."

The questions, however, is can he be both calm and effective?

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Vince Gennaro puts a value on the various pitching roles and decides the best financial return for the Yankees is to start Joba Chamberlain. WasWatching doesn't quite agree:

Is there value, outside of salary saved, for the Yankees to have Chamberlain make 20 beautiful starts in a season and then have half of those gems turned into losses because the team lacked quality arms in the pen (such as his)?

For me, it always comes down to that golden rule in baseball: Every season, with the exception of maybe the 1962 Mets or 1998 Yankees, every team in baseball is going to win 60 games, no matter what, and every team in baseball is going to lose 60 games, no matter what - and, it's what you do in those remaining 40 games that will make or break your season.

I think Steve is exaggerating the ability of the bullpen to blow a lead. If Joba starts, the Yankees are more likely to have a 5-2 lead after six innings, when the game goes to the pen. There's a very good chance the Yankees win those games, no matter who is in the bullpen.

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Rays of Light notes the window of opportunity for J.P. Howell to reach the majors is closing fast.

As I said earlier, with David Price knocking on the door (perhaps as soon as this summer), and Jade McDavis soon to follow in the next year or two, Howell is going to become a forgotten man unless he makes his mark soon. He needs to stand out. He needs to win a spot on the Opening Day roster and start getting big league batters out. He needs to consistently look like the minor league pitcher that's made me want to see him given a starting spot. More importantly than anything else, though, he needs to make it for himself, because I can't imagine there will be too many teams interested in a soft-tossing hurler who the Royals gave up on for Joey Gathright and who the Rays gave up on in his mid-20s.

Howell has Tommy John tendencies, and those pitchers tend to be very dependent on their defense. With Bartlett making that defense much stronger, Howell should look better on the big league club than he did last year.

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Peter Kreutzer donated $50 or more and dedicates this post to his new player commenting site, pattonandco.com.

Carlos Zambrano homered today in addition to pitching three scoreless innings. Carlos has twelve regular season major league home runs, and has hit at least one in each of the last five seasons. Since the start of the 2003 season, he owns the highest slugging percentage of any pitcher in the majors with at least 200 PA.

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My latest SportingNews.com column examines what an old starting staff means for the Braves.

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Greg Maddux credits Keith Kleven with keeping the pitcher healthy and effective for over twenty years:

Maddux said he has followed Kleven's regimen every year since 1983.

"I was 17 and I wanted to see how the treatment would help, and he started talking about taking care of my shoulder, elbow and legs," Maddux said.

"He taught me how to take care of myself. He taught me exercises to reduce the risk of injury, to help me perform in my sport. He taught me a routine that was specific for playing baseball. A lot of it has helped with my flexibility.

"I've been fortunate to have had somebody like that to help me along. You have a number of people who influence you over the years. Mostly pitching coaches. But to have somebody show you how to take care of yourself from early on, it's definitely helped.

"Tiger Woods, the guy can go see whoever he wants. He goes to Vegas to see Keith. What does that tell you?"

Maddux was actually a janitor for Kleven in high school.

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Dugout Central suggests Joba Chamberlain should be used as a pure reliever this season, soaking up 25% of the Yankees relief innings. The idea is to make him a two or three inning fireman rather than just as a setup man that transitions into a starter.

My good friend Jim Storer suggested a mixed role, where Joba starts once every ten games, and in between is used in the setup role.

All of these plans have their merits, but I really think Joba's role is going to be dictated by the success or failure of Mike Mussina. My bet is that Mussina is through, and by the end of April the Yankees won't have a choice but to replace Mike in the rotation with Joba. Then at some point, the Yankees can give him two weeks off to control his innings while testing out one of their better minor league prospects.

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Once again, Jeremy Bonderman works on his changeup:

We've been through this before with Jeremy Bonderman.

The Detroit Tigers say he needs a changeup. He agrees. Then Bonderman declares he has finally found the changeup and vows to use it regularly.

"I think this pitch is going to work for me, I really do," he said, a year ago this week. "I'm going to use it, no matter what."

And then, according to stats compiled by Bill James, Bonderman threw his changeup just six percent of the time during the regular season, a number Bonderman said Monday sounded pretty accurate to him.

Bonderman feels more comfortable with the grip this year. While a lot was made of Bonderman's poor first innings last year, he also pitched poorly in the third. This suggests to me that he has trouble with good hitters, the kind you find at the top of the order. The batting order splits (so the same page) bear this out. A good changeup might make him more effective against these good hitters, and that would bring down his ERA.

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Beyond the Boxscore points out that Scott Kazmir is more than paying his salary.

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Kei Igawa pitched in what turned out to be a five-inning perfect game by the Yankees on Tuesday. Brian Cashman and Hideki Matsui both makes good points about Igawa in this NY Times story. Cashman takes the positive view:

"If I felt that our evaluations were improper, then I would think that he's failed, and I'm not ready to concede that yet," Cashman said. "It took José Contreras some time to adjust, and although he possesses a different ability, he led the White Sox to a world championship.

"All I can tell you is Igawa was the strikeout leader in Japan -- and not just for one year -- and those guys are contact hitters over there. Swing-and-miss is still a big part of his game. You can't deny that; just look at his statistics."

I remember looking at Matsuzaka and Igawa's stats when they signed. Daisuke had the better record, but Kei appeared to be close behind. Godzilla talks about Igawa's pitch selection:

"In Japan, he had pretty good velocity and he was the type of pitcher that usually threw fastballs and changeups to strike out hitters," Hideki Matsui said through an interpreter.

"In Japan, you don't see that many pitchers throw changeups, as opposed to here, where a lot of pitchers throw changeups. And in Japan, his fastball was pretty fast. But when you compare it to pitchers here, it's not as fast."

So what Cashman missed was the reason for the strikeouts. Something that was unusual in Japan was common place here.

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A great post at MetsBlog.com as Johan Santana teaches Matt Cerrone the circle change. He also discusses how there's much more than the grip to throwing the pitch:

"This is why I focus so much on my release point, because that's what makes my change-up better," he explained to me. "I want to make sure all of my pitches look the same, and so I get the same release point and same arm speed every pitch. And that takes time. That's what I work on. Not just the grip, but everything from head to toe so that everything can look the same. We worked on all of that until we got it right. That's how I approach my games, my batting practices, my bullpen sessions. I am very serious when I throw my bullpen. I'm not just throwing. I want to make sure that everything is in place, from location to mechanics to delivery to release point. Everything. It's not just the grip. There are a lot of things involved in throwing a change-up."

First class reporting from Matt.

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Shawn Hill received his second opinion, and he's clear to throw again:

The Nationals updated his status thusly this morning: His examination "confirmed taht the radial nerve's motor branch (surgically decompressed after the '07 season) is normal and does not require surgery. Shawn will continue his rehabilitation program and is day-to-day."

This, it seems, is good news -- as long as Hill is willing to pitch through the discomfort. Again, even before he went in for the MRI late last week, he was throwing the ball well. We'll have to get something from Manny Acta this morning on what the plans are going forward.

The Nationals rotation was a bit backward last year, with the four-five starters (Hill and Redding) posting the best ERAs. The Nationals have to hope this really isn't serious and that Hill can emerge as the staff ace.

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Noah Lowry pitched a poor outing today:

Noah Lowry's out in the second inning of today's game after walking nine batters and throwing a few more balls off the screen behind home plate. Two spring outings, two control disasters.

For his career, Noah walks 3.6 batters per nine, not great but not bad. With Zito throwing poorly in his first outing, a strength of the Giants is looking like a liability.

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A.J. Burnett's damaged finger nail is limiting his pitch selection this spring:

But Arnsberg revealed yesterday that Burnett has not yet been able to throw a single curve because of a torn nail on his right index finger. According to Arnsberg, Burnett broke the nail by getting it caught in a closing car door prior to arriving in Florida.

It's not a gruesome injury, only a few millimetres missing off the top. But it makes all the difference to Burnett's spike curve, which requires him to dig the tip of his finger into the seam of the ball.

"It makes it pretty tough to get to that pitch. It's pretty tender," Arnsberg said.

It will be two weeks before the nail grows back. Burnett must be a frustrating pitcher for the Blue Jays. When he pitches, he's fine, but he just hasn't stayed healthy in his first two seasons for the team.

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I guess someone needs to replace Scott Spiezio.

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Ben Sheet talks about regaining his arm slot. You would think they could look at video and figure it out, but that didn't help Ben:

"You'd think it would be an easy thing to remember but it's not," he said shortly after his outing. "I went all of last year, and I pitched well at times last year, but I went all of last year without getting in it. We searched and we searched and we searched, but I never found it."

But Sheets discovered this past winter pitching isn't necessarily rocket science and all the research in the world isn't necessary to discover the feeling of success.

"There's no reason why I found it other than I just stumbled on it," he said. "I started throwing it from there and it ended up being what I wanted. The ball has so much life at the end of it.

"I was just throwing by myself against the wall. I don't know why or how. I wasn 't looking for it. I researched it all last year. (Pitching coach) Mike (Maddux) would say it looks good but I couldn't find it. Everybody goes through it, fighting their mechanics.

"It does 't make sense. ... But it 's just muscle memory and if you lose it, it's hard to get it back at times."

This would be very good news for the Brewers and bad news for NL hitters.

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Mike Hampton pitched well facing batters for the first time since 2005:

He's been sidelined with multiple shoulder and elbow injuries and, most recently a leg injury. He hasn't pitched in a big league game since 2005, but Braves manager Bobby Cox said he still has Hampton penciled in for a spot in his starting rotation.

Hampton was sharp and struck out his first batter, Michael Bourne, on four pitches. He allowed only one single in two innings and only went to two balls on one batter.

That's good news for the Braves, who are going to use a very old rotation this season.

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Harry Pavlidis isn't happy with Jason Marquis's attitude, and neither is Lou Piniella. Marquis, to a certain, extent, is right. As long as he pitches decently, the Cubs aren't going to eat his large contract.

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Cole Hamels wants to be great:

Cole Hamels is different. Ask the 24-year-old Phillies lefty what he's shooting for this season, and he comes out firing.

He wants to win 20 games. He wants to win the Cy Young Award. He wants to pitch a no-hitter and hopes the game is nationally televised when he does. He wants to pitch in the All-Star Game and the World Series.

And when it's all over - his career, that is - he wants to make the Hall of Fame.

I really like this. The more competitive a player, the more I'd want him on my team. These players often turn out not to be the nicest people, but as far as putting a winning team on the field, give me as many of these types as you can find.

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Masa Kobayashi experience some bad luck in his first spring game for Cleveland:

A liner off Andy Marte's glove put one runner on. Houston loaded the bases on a slow roller to right and a well-placed infield grounder.

Kobayashi, who said he wanted to be a "little bit nervous" to sharpen his focus, got his wish. He also got the next three Houston hitters in order without allowing a run.

A foul pop. A fly to short center. A strikeout on his best pitch, a slider.

"I thought he threw the ball well," manager Eric Wedge said after the 4-3 loss to the Astros. "He didn't have a great deal of luck out there. It was pretty impressive as far as getting into that situation and then pitching out of it."

He probably got the resulted he wanted on five of the six batters. It just that balls in play can find holes.

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Joe Christensen watched Francisco Liriano's first bullpen session. He was told to take it easy today:

His pitching motion looks very similar to what we saw in 2006. So it's not like he's revamped everything. He's just bigger. He threw several change-ups in this bullpen session and only a few sliders. The mere fact he's using all his pitches is probably a good sign for the staff.

Francisco Liriano joined the Twins today. Now, it's time to find out if he can regain his pre-injury effectiveness. If he can, he'll replace Santana at a fraction of the cost, although it would be nice to trot both out as a one-two punch.

Billy Wagner was upset a Michigan ballplayer tried to bunt against him.

Of course, if it seemed like a friendly matchup, no one told Billy Wagner. During his one inning of work, Michigan third baseman Kevin Cislo dropped down a bunt that rolled foul. Wagner got him out and then got out of the inning without a run. But he was hardly happy.

"We're trying to get our work in and they're playing to win?" Wagner asked. "Play to win against Villanova. I'm out here trying to protect my guys."

Why do pitchers get upset when batters try to bunt for hits against them? It reminds me of the time Bob Brenly got upset because Curt Schilling's no-hitter was broken up by a bunt. What, can't they take the fact that their power pitches can be undone with a tap?

I like the FanHouse take on the playing to win statement:

All of a sudden, I get this picture of Wagner as Vince Vaughn when he was in Rudy, and he blasted Rudy for playing to win in practice, and coach Ara Parseghian came out tore Vince Vaughn's character a new one. Do you remember that scene? Wouldn't it have been great if Randolph heard Wagner's quote and went nose to nose with Wagner in the lockerroom and said "You just summed up your entire sorry career here in one sentence! If you had a tenth of the heart of Cislo, you'd have won a World Series by now! As it is, you just went from closer to mop up! Get out of here!"

R. A. Dickey doesn't have an ulnar collateral ligament. Yet he's had a career pitching, and now emerges as a knuckleballer.

Dickey, a huskily bearded father of three, said: "Doctors look at me and say I shouldn't be able to turn a doorknob without feeling pain, and I shouldn't be able to turn the key and start my car without feeling pain. But I'm still here. I feel I have a whole career ahead of me."

Dickey's knuckleball danced through the Pacific Coast League last year, when as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers' Class AAA farm team in Nashville he went 13-6 with a 3.72 earned run average. (He went 9-2 with a 2.51 E.R.A. in his final 15 starts as the pitch started to become particularly effective.) The Minnesota Twins signed him in November, but he was soon snapped up by the Mariners in the Rule 5 draft, meaning Seattle must keep him on its 25-man roster all season or offer him back to Minnesota.

Bill Bavasi, the Mariners' general manager, said that one of Dickey's primary attributes is -- of all things -- his durability. "He can throw four innings in relief tonight and spot start tomorrow," Bavasi said. "He can save your butt by eating a lot of innings."

He's certainly someone to watch this summer.

River Ave. Blues uses Kevin Towers method to find relievers with poor records who might be good.

Rick Peterson demonstrates to a reporter how pitchers tip pitches:

"When you take notes, your head tilts to the right," Peterson said. "But, when you listen to what I'm saying, your head tilts to the left. Wouldn't that be a shame if that tipped someone off to what you were doing?"

Peterson made me think: Do I carry my notebook differently when I have a scoop? Do I keep my pen in a different pocket if I think I have some exclusive information? I was impressed with Peterson's attention to detail.

Good pitchers use this to their advantage. They train a batter to think, "He's throwing a fastball," then throw something else.

Forty percent of the Rangers starting rotation is already experiencing soreness.

The Mariners announced their five-man rotation for 2008. This should be much better than the one that kicked off 2007.

Francisco Liriano recevied his visa and will be reporting to spring training soon.

The Baltimore Sun profiles Rick Kranitz, the new Orioles pitching coach.

Largely because of Kranitz's history with molding young pitchers, the Orioles hired him in October to replace celebrated pitching coach Leo Mazzone. The Orioles had enlisted Mazzone after the 2005 season to build a pitching dynasty similar to the one he helped develop with the Atlanta Braves. Instead, his staffs over two seasons were wrecked by injuries and inexperience and posted two of the worst single-season team ERAs in franchise history.

Several Orioles tired of Mazzone's gruff demeanor and rigid methods and philosophies. Club officials, while respecting Mazzone's ability and resume, concluded he was not the right fit to mentor a young staff and decided not to retain him.

"Leo had a certain philosophy, and for that relationship to continue, you really had to make a commitment to teach that philosophy from Rookie ball on up," Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail said. "Leo has a tremendous track record, and I thought he did a good job here. But we as an organization were not willing to commit to [his philosophy] the whole way through."

The Orioles have had a system philosophy of teaching everything the same way from rookie ball to the majors since Earl Weaver instituted it in the late 1960s. The organization is very hesitant to change that. I remember hearing a story in the 1990s. A new manager came in and wanted to change the way the team executed relay throws. Cal Ripken immediately stopped the idea, because it wasn't the Orioles way. If Mazzone's methods are as good as he showed in Atlanta, why not change the system and institute the method top to bottom?

Rich Harden is off to a good start:

Harden fired his fastball about 95 mph for most of his 30-pitch session, but his final pitch came in about 98 mph. Johnson, who couldn't catch up to it, flung the bat away and gave a mock wave to a non-existent crowd.

"You want me to name that one?" he asked Harden. "That's 'the Eliminator.' It's a super-fastball."

Sandy Koufax visited Pedro Martinez today and Bats talked to Pedro afterward.

Sandy's words were the first, first words I heard in Dodgertown. The things he talked about stuck in my mind about severance (perseverance) and being persistent and following your dreams and don't let it go ever. Those things have stuck with me. I like to spend time with him still.

I guess the Dodgers stand on the rubber differently than other organizations:

A lot of my mechanics are still from the Dodgers. A lot of that is Koufax, Drysdale, about hooking the rubber, and just staying on that rubber. I don't pitch off the rubber or on the side of the rubber. I'm on top of the rubber. Half of it. Half of my foot is on top of the rubber, hooking it. And the way we used our hips, that's how I learned in the Dodgers organization.

There's lots more great quotes at the link.

First there was the window, and now Mussina is cracking jokes.

The pitchers also had a lot of running today. An exhausted Mussina came back to the clubhouse and said, "Tomorrow we'll go to the airport to pull planes with our teeth."

Phil Hughes sat slumped in his chair. He's working out with Andy Pettitte in the morning and doing the running in the afternoon. By the end of the day, he can barely move.

"You're only 22, you should be fine," Mussina said.

"I'm 21," Hughes said.

"See?" Mussina said. "I'm old, I can complain."

Maybe when his pitching career is over Mike can be the funny sidekick in the booth. :-)

There's a great article in the Wall Street Journal today about Johan Santana silencing bats with strikeouts. Thanks to David Gerstman for the link.

El Duque's toe is shorter:

At his blog for Newsday, David Lennon reports that Orlando Hernandez did not have a bunion removed as the Mets said he did.

Instead, "He had surgery to fix a dislocated second toe, which is now actually shorter, affecting his balance," Lennon explains. "Because of that, Hernandez is lagging behind the other pitchers as he tries to adjust

."

We take our toes for granted, but they play a huge part in our mobility.

Phil Allard at WCBS radio in New York notes Mike Mussina's desire to teach Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes. He also points out that Mike is likely to rebound in 2008.

The venerable Voros McCracken weighs in:

"It seems likely Mussina's hits per balls in play will come down as nobody (not even non-pitchers who try and pitch) have rates consistently as high as his was in 2007. The big question is whether at his age we might be seeing a lessening of his stuff which might lead to fewer strikeouts and more home runs.

I think he probably should be better, but I'm not sure that means he's necessarily going to be "good." League average is a reasonable best case scenario (like his 2005) and with the Yankees offense that would be plenty to win games with."

Phil also shows some impressive all-time ranks for Mike.

Pedro Martinez practices pitching with his eyes closed:

The ball was crackling out of Pedro Martinez's right hand during his bullpen session Tuesday morning, hitting Dave Racaniello's mitt with authority every time. But when one, then two, then three balls sailed wide, a few other reporters and I started wondering what happened. Was this a new pitch? Was Pedro hurt?

The answer was revealed just a few minutes ago when Pedro said that he was pitching with his eyes closed. And not just for those three balls (and another that Racaniello had to stretch for). He estimated that he threw 15 pitches with his eyes closed, which is what he did last year during his rehabilitation.

Pretty cool. He must be listening to Obi-Wan:

Your eyes can deceive you; don't trust them.

Cardinals Diaspora notices the parallel pitching staffs on St. Louis:

The one staff will be rife with all-star potential and amazing 'stuff'. They will be virtually unbeatable, but paradoxically unable to be beat, since they never actually 'play'. The second staff will be castoffs, degenerates and scofflaw's who's mere ability to take the mound in a 'game' will result in their usefulness to the Cardinals, yet, in most organizations-even the Royals- they would rather have these men take a long walk off a short pier than actually entrust them to try and win games. Or hearts of even the most ardent supporters. Flummoxing.

John Delcos reports that the Mets brass were all watching Duaner Sanchez throw today.

Chronicle of the Lads wonders how much Francisco Rodriguez should be paid.

How much should Frankie be paid, based on performance? We'll look at that another day. But the Angels have low-balled him thus far, at least relative to other recent closer contracts; this may be sound negotiating, and this may all resolve itself in the next few months, but based on what has reportedly been offered so far, I can understand why Rodriguez thinks he may be in a different uniform come 2009.

I agree. He does everything a closer is supposed to do. He posts incredible strikeout rates, good walk numbers and great home run numbers. He'll be 26 in 2008. He's very consistent. Unless the Angels have someone in the minors who can step into the role cheaply, Rivera money seems appropriate.

Randy Johnson threw for Bob Melvin today:

Melvin was more than a little impressed.

"He came out throwing bullets the first pitch he threw," the manager said. "As I've discussed before, the arm's not the issue here. I haven't talked to him since he finished, but I think he's probably pretty pleased with the way it went."

The possiblity of a Webb, Haren, Johnson, Owings and Davis rotation has to make Melvin a happy manager. He could end up holding four aces.

Rich Harden threw in spring training, and Athletics Nation is excited:

So, from all accounts, Rich Harden IS at Spring Training, and actually appears to be throwing, something we haven't seen in a while. And not to put too fine a point on it, but he may be the only thing standing between the A's and the coveted 90 loss season. With an untried offense, and an as-of-yet undecided starting rotation, the A's look to Harden to make up some of the gaping off-season losses.

The offense may be okay. I'm guessing the A's do better than most people expect.

Update: Prior is also pain free.

Rays Index looks at how the fourth and fifth starters for the Tampa Bay Rays might be chosen.

Bill Plunkett looks at the competition between Joe Saunders and Ervin Santana to fill in for Kelvim Escobar. Saunders isn't happy with his yo-yo life:

Garland's acquisition puts Saunders on the bubble again. The left-hander has made 33 starts for the Angels over the past three seasons - going 15-8 with a 4.71 ERA in the equivalent of what would be a full season's work for a starting pitcher. But he has also spent each of those seasons bouncing on a string between the majors and Triple-A, sent back down each time his temp services were no longer needed.

"(Being) the odd man out - it kind of sucks," Saunders said. "It's not fun, I'll tell you that. I've been on a yo-yo for two years. It's never fun being in the big leagues and getting sent down. It's really tough. It's hard to explain the feeling you get when you're doing well and kind of get floored back down to Triple-A.

"It's like getting a promotion at your job. You get to be manager for a while, then they send you back to the mailroom."

Saunders looks like he gets great run support. That's a high ERA for a 15-8 record. In picking between Joe and Magic, Ervin gets the edge on strikeouts, although Saunders posted better FIP numbers the last two years. Saunders should probably get the nod, however, since he is more consistent. His home-road numbers are pretty even, while Santana pitches poorly away from Anaheim.

Peter Abraham watched Phil Hughes closely today:

The ball was almost never right over the plate, it was hard and down on the corners.

The Phillies are giving in to Cole Hamels:

Perhaps responding to Cole Hamels' public pleas last season, the club is making arrangements for its players to have access to chiropractors both at home and on the road.

Though plans have not been finalized, Phillies assistant general manager Ruben Amaro confirmed that the team is looking to hire a chiropractor to work with players at home. In addition, it is attempting to set up a network of chiropractors for players to use on the road.

Maybe the Phillies should stick to real medicine. Watch this video, the relevant section starting at the six minute mark.

My latest column at SportingNews.com looks at how Curt Schilling's injury effects the Red Sox rotation.

Via Deadspin, Ray King lost 23 pounds!

He said instead of going to In-N-Out Burger, King ate salmon instead.

That's appropriate, as the Nationals will be swimming upstream this year.

Pedro Martinez talks about how he dominated the steroid era clean, and his own health:

Martinez said he feels better than he has in almost a decade -- before his right shoulder gave him any problems at all. But he's not sure he'll be able to make 30-plus starts this season.

"Nobody's guaranteed to do that," he said.

Pedro is another pitcher who benefitted from time off on the disabled list during the season when he was with the Red Sox.

Here's another reason not to drive under the influence:

Liriano, arrested in Florida in 2006 on charges of speeding and drunken driving, said that tests required by a U.S. consulate in the Dominican Republic will delay his arrival for at least next week.

"They asked me to take a sobriety test, because of my situation with the DUI, since apparently there is a new law calling for that," the 24-year-old Liriano told The Associated Press on Thursday. He said he was informed that he also needs to attend a counseling session.

Peter Abraham posts audio from Joba Chamberlain. At about 5:30 there's a good question and a great answer (my transcription):

PA: Do you call yourself a starter, do you call yourself a reliever, what do you think?

JC: I call myself a pitcher. That's it. You know, it doesn't matter what you're doing.

That's the way all pitchers should think.

Josh Beckett shows off his abs on Valentine's day.

Dugout Central lists the top ten pitchers for your fantasy team.

C.C. Sabathia broke off contract extension talks with the Cleveland Indians:

The left-hander, who is eligible for free agency after the 2008 season, says on his Web site that he and his agents have broken off negotiations on an extension with the club. The Indians have recently offered Sabathia a four-year extension believed to be worth $17 million to $18 million per season.

I'm guessing he'll be worth a lot more than that on the open market. Here's the full statement. He still wants to stay with the Indians:

There will be time after the season for the Indians and my representatives to discuss my contract status. I remain hopeful that these discussions will result in a contract extension that will keep me with the franchise for many years to come. In the meantime, in order to avoid any distractions, my representatives and I will not make any further comment about my contractual situation beyond this statement.

Josh Beckett points out the reason for his success in 2007:

And now Beckett, who started his throwing program Jan. 3, admits that the playoff run most likely wouldn't have been possible if not for a 16-day stretch between starts in May due to a skin avulsion on his right middle finger. It was a lesson both Beckett, and the Red Sox, are taking into this season in regards to staying fresh for the stretch run.

"I think that really helped me," said Beckett of the hiatus. "If it's looking like we're going to get to the playoffs and possibly being in the same situation we were last year, yeah, I would be open to talking to them (about taking extra time off). Obviously, I would want it to be on my terms because I wouldn't want to be feeling good and then have them say, 'OK, it's time for your time off.' There are certain times of the year where your shoulder might be barking a little bit that might be a good time (for a rest). I would want it to be on my terms and I don't think (the team) would ever do it without consulting.

I remember Bruce Hurst being strong down the stretch in 1986 because he injured his hamstring and was forced on the DL. Hurst had shown a pattern of wearing down in previous seasons that didn't happen that year. I'm all for this. Give a pitcher two weeks off in the middle of the year if you think it will make him hold up better in September and October.

Rich Harden vents about the Athletics pushing him to pitch through pain:

"The whole year, I had people in the organization telling me I'm fine, that I have to pitch with pain," he said, repeatedly declining to say who those people were. "I had people telling me that, and it's insulting. That's the frustrating thing. There's been some stuff that's been going on."

Then his voice trailed off, and he said, "I probably shouldn't say anything else."

But he did.

"Every (injury) I've had, I've stayed out there," he said. "I will not pull myself or take myself out, and that's what hurt me in the past. I've tried to pitch through stuff and that's where these injuries have happened, and that's why I've spent more time on the DL.

"Without a doubt, 100 percent, that's what happened, and that's something that's frustrated me, because you get people in the organization questioning your ability to pitch with pain and they have no clue who I am or what I'm about. I don't like that. That's one thing that does frustrate me, when it's people in the organization who question me. When it's coming from our organization, that definitely fires me up."

Beane denies that. The good news for the A's is that Harden feels fine and expects to pitch the whole season. If that's true, they've basically replaced Haren.

The Mariners named Erik Bedard their opening day starter.

Hideki Okajima worked on some new pitches during the off-season. He's also going to try to do a better job of pacing himself in 2008:

He also added that he's going to try throwing fewer pitches outside of game situations so he can try to remain healthy throughout the whole season. He was shut down in September last year after he became fatigued, something also experienced by countryman Daisuke Matsuzaka.

Here's a positive review of the Mets acquistion of Tony Armas, Jr.

This story has been kicking around for a while, but Joel Sherman confirmed that Joba Chamberlain will start the season in the bullpen for the Yankees:

The Yanks see the Chamberlain/Rivera tandem helping them be a dominant late-inning team over the first two months of the season. At some point in June, the Yanks would send Chamberlain to the minors for 3-4 weeks to stretch him out to 5-6 innings in preparation to be a full-time starter in the second half.

This seems to be meeting with cautious approval by a couple of Yankees bloggers.

• My Baseball Bias: "I'm personally sleeping better than I did last season at this time."
• River Ave. Blues: This does seem like the ideal plan. Let's hope it shakes out that way.

WasWatching, however, thinks Joba stays in the pen all year.

I'm not crazy about the part where Chamberlain goes to the minors. The Yankees are holding Joba to 140 innings in 2008, and they're going to waste some of them on minor league hitters? Secondly, what happens when it becomes apparent in May that Mike Mussina can't pitch any more? I'd actually rather see the Yankees settle the setup role in spring training, make Joba the fifth starter and put him on the DL three times during the season. That way, he can make 23 six inning starts. As the fifth starter, the Yankees could even skip his turn when an off day makes that possible. I just hate to see the team waste good innings in the minor leagues.

Update: Peter Abraham can't get Cashman to confirm this.

Craig Hansen can finally get a good night's sleep. He underwent surgery to correct his sleep apnea:

Hansen admits to falling asleep during team meetings, a problem that finally led to the Red Sox front office confronting him during January, 2007 at the Rookie Development Program. The difference now, he said, is remarkable. Besides not snoring at legendary levels, actually not snoring at all, the reliever feels dramatically different upon waking up each morning, which he is hoping translates to results on the field.

Buchholz bulked up and Hansen is sleeping well. That should help in replacing the innings lost to Shilling's bum shoulder.

WasWatching notices that Joba Chamberlain will be happy with any task the Yankees give him.

Peter Gammons writes in regard to the post on the Red Sox getting no insurance on Schilling:

One year contracts are 90 day deductables at 75% of the value of the contract, are very expensive deals...if the Red Sox did insure Schilling, they would have received somewhere around $2.2M back.

Thanks, Peter!

Both Lester and Buchholz bulked up noticably during the off season.

Barry Zito lost some weight in an effort to pitch up to his contract:

"Last year, it was such a heightened sense of everything because of all the craziness going on. This year, it's more like business as usual," he said. "Last year, I felt I was singled out. I didn't feel the same as all of my teammates because there was a microscope on me. Even if there still is, I'm not perceiving it that way anymore. It's all good now."

Many people still view Zito as a $126 million bust after 2007. He prefers to focus on his final nine starts, in which he knocked .60 off his ERA. That was no coincidence, Zito said. Starting with his Aug. 17 start at Florida (one hit over seven innings), he said he pitched with a freer mind.

Actually, Zito had four very great starts in a row, then trailed off a bit, but finished on a high note in his last outing. The Giants, however, will take all those nine-game stretches they can get.

The staff at the Toronto Star feel Dustin McGowan will pass A.J. Burnett for the number two starter on the Blue Jays this year:

If you've ever watched those made-for-TV long-drive golf competitions, you sometimes wonder why a guy that can bust a golf ball a country mile and keep it between the white lines isn't making millions on the PGA Tour. It's because he hasn't figured out the rest of the game. That's A.J. Burnett. The 25-year-old McGowan can't hit it as far, but he can chip and putt. That's why he will be the No. 2 starter before the midway mark of the season.

I don't see it. In 2007, McGowen was better at keeping the ball in the park. The two were about even in walks and Burnett was much better in strikeouts. Burnett's problem isn't that he's a one-trick pony, but he can't stay healthy enough to give a team 200 innings. When he pitches, he's very good.

CBSSportsline details Johan Santana's option for year seven of the contract. It turns out, we won't know until then who holds the option. If Santana reaches certain incentives, the option becomes his, and he can walk away to test the free agent market.

Kevin Millwood found a new workout routine this winter. He's kickboxing:

It was more than motivation after a poor season that pushed Millwood to make the short drive from his house to the studio last October. Boredom was a big factor. Millwood complained to Jose Vazquez, the Rangers' strength and conditioning coach, that jogging on the treadmill or riding a stationary bike had become a necessity that he dreaded.

"I've tried everything to find something he likes to get him enthusiastic," Vazquez said. "He doesn't get excited about workouts at all. Everything we've done, we do because he knows he has to. But he really likes this and enjoys going."

He'll be ready if George Bell makes a comeback.

Phil Hughes almost eaten by alligator!

Tom Verducci lists seven young pitchers likely to be injured in 2008.

La Velle Neal catches up with Johan Santana. It seems a lot of rumors about the negotiations were just those, rumors:

"It's kind of hard to believe," Santana said during a phone conversation from his home in Fort Myers, Fla. "I was hoping I would get something done with the Twins, but it didn't happen. I know I'm going to a team that will give me a chance to win.

"From the beginning I told people, when I talk to [the Twins], I didn't have any team in mind. They narrowed it down and they got to the Mets and I said that would be cool. It would be a new experience for me and I will be up to that challenge. At the end, I was hoping Minnesota would get the best deal available."

I disagree with this:

On Wednesday, the star lefthander will be introduced as the newest member of the New York Mets. He will be armed with a six-year, $137.5 million contract, making the Twins' four-year, $80 million extension offer look extremely inadequate -- but not inadequate enough to have Santana complaining on his way to the Big Apple.

The offer was not extremely inadequate. It's $20 million a year vs. $23 million a year. And if Johan believes he can be productive for six years, he'd get a bigger payday when his four year run with the Twins was over and he hit free agency. Let's face it, the Twins offer would make him the highest paid pitcher in the game. That wasn't good enough. He wanted the largest total value, too.

When Josh Beckett's contract is up, will the Red Sox not be able to sign him, or will they choose not to sign him?

It's Anthony Tomey day at the Detroit Free Press. There's a story about his sub shop (with photos and sandwich suggestions) as well as a blurb about his prospects for making the team.

Interestingly, the article talks about his fastball not being fast enough, yet Tomey struck out a ton of batters in the minor leagues. His problem is that he walks a ton of hitters. He strikes out over 10 per 9, gives up a home run every 27 innings, but walks close to six per nine. He's two thirds of the way to a major league career. He got his walks down to 4.14 per 9 in AA last year and posted a great ERA. He's good on the Ks and HRs to survive four walks per nine.

Jim Ingraham notes that one person benefiting greatly from the Santana trade is C.C. Sabathia:

I'm no NASCAR expert, but I am familiar with the principle in auto racing called ''drafting,'' in which a car sits behind the leader, benefiting by the lack of wind resistance.

That's Sabathia right now. He's drafting Santana. Both pitchers are eligible for free agency after this season.

Santana won't become one, however, because by giving up four of their top seven minor league prospects to get him, the Mets essentially told Santana to name his price.

Moreover, should they not sign Santana, the Mets could expect wild rabble-rousing, roving bands of their fans, torches in hand, marching on the team's offices with intentions of the most sinister kind.

Meanwhile, lounging comfortably on the sun-splashed deck of his northern California home, sipping from a tall cool tumbler of lemonade while listening to the birds chirping a sonata to the moneyed gentry, is gazillionaire-to-be Sabathia.

His soaring market price is about to be established by the Santana signing, and the best estimates now are that Santana's deal with the Mets will be in the neighborhood of six years, $130 million.

All together now: ''So long, C.C.!''

I don't know about that. Cleveland does a good job of taking care of their players. With Sabathia, the Indians signed him to a multi-million dollar deal in 2002, after his great rookie season. Before that contract was up, they picked up his option and extended him two more years with a substantial raise. So if there is going to be a player and team that can agree to a home town discount, C.C. and the Indians are it.

On top of that, the Indians are winning. That means Cleveland's revenue is going up. By signing players young, Cleveland does a great job of controlling costs. They very well may be able to afford $20 million a year for Sabathia. They also may be able to get a shorter term with options, which lessens the risk of the ace breaking down. I wouldn't count out a deal yet.

MetsBlog.com passes on a report from WFAN that Johan Santana turned down a $100 million dollar offer from the Twins. The dollars per season appear to be right, but Santana wants a longer term contract. I wonder if the Twins would be willing to tack on two option years that vest based on performance?

Francisco Liriano says he's 100% healthy:

According to the left-hander, who attended the annual TwinsFest over the weekend, he could give 100 percent for the Twins immediately.

"I'm throwing all my pitches now," said Liriano, according to the Saint Paul Pioneer Press. "Sliders, changeups, everything -- no problem."

It's a welcome notion for the Twins, who lost Carlos Silva to free agency and who continue to shop two-time Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana.

You can spin this either way in dealing with Santana. A 1-2 combination of Johan and Francisco would be among the best in baseball. With those two in front of a good, young staff of pitchers, the Twins need to be considered as a serious contender in the AL Central. However, you could also say with Liriano healthy, the Twins are where they were last year, with a great ace leading a decent staff. If I'm a Twins fan, with Liriano healthy, I hope Minnesota finds a way to sign Santana. Maybe they can start the season with him, and if the team wins, he'll want to stay.

Phil Hughes answers readers questions, including how he throws his curve ball:

There are a few different ways to throw a curveball. The most traditional way is to keep your middle and index finger down on the baseball. The way I throw it is to "spike" my index finger on the ball by digging my nail into the seam. This is known as a spike curveball, or knuckle curve. I'll bet there are quite a few guys that throw it this way, Mike Mussina and Ian Kennedy being 2 I know for sure.

I've never heard of this pitch refered to as a spike curveball before.

The Rays are about to sign James Shields to a long term contract. No details as of yet. Shields might turn out to be a very good pitcher. I wonder if they are going to buy out his arbitration years, or go past that.

Update: A lot more on the Shields deal here.

Will Carroll pinch hits at the LoHud Yankees Blog. He discusses the Verducci rule, noting in the BP version, they do not include minor league innings.

Good news for St. Louis Cardinals fans. Chris Carpenter is throwing.

Yanksfan vs. Soxfan notes the Red Sox open the season with a two-man rotation. Given the days off between the two games in Japan and two game in Oakland, the A's will see Beckett and Matsuzaka twice in that first series.

Considering Billy Beane has decided against fielding a real team in 2008, this bodes well for the Sox' opening series.

This also gives Beckett and Dice-K an extra start during the season. It's always nice to be able to skip your fifth starter.

Of course, if Rich Harden is sound, the A's might be able to score the two runs needed to beat the Red Sox. :-)

Bruce Ruffin's rise to the majors was similar to the way Kyle Kendrick reached the show in 2007. Bruce discusses his mistakes and hopes Kyle doesn't make the same ones (italics in original):

Ruffin: "Everybody kept saying I had to throw my fastball inside more to righthanders, to keep them honest so they wouldn't hit my sinker away. And before the season even got going, I bought into it.

"But I lived with my two-seamer [sinking fastball] away and then ran the slider in. Now I was throwing fastballs that tailed out over the plate and Jack Clark [of the Cardinals] would hit it into the upper deck. I was making adjustments before the league showed that adjustments had to be made. All of a sudden I was trying to throw fastballs inside and guys were hitting the ball into the gaps or for home runs."

Kendrick talked vaguely about knowing that other teams have extensive scouting reports on him now and how he might have to make adjustments on how he attacked hitters. But he also made it clear that he won't overdo it.

"Guys know what I have now and what I do. They have enough film on me," he said. "But they have film on everybody. So I'm going to stick with my strengths. Maybe change up a little bit on how I attack hitters, but I'm going to stick with my strengths.

"I've got some goals. But I just want to win, we just want to win. So I'm going to keep doing what I was doing last year. I'm not going to change a thing. Just go out and do my business."

The Tigers bought out the last two years of Nate Robertson's arbitration and the first year of his free agency for $21 million. Nate's not a great pitcher, but he's not a terrible one either. On a high scoring team, he can hold down a back of the rotation slot just fine. That looks like the Tigers for this year. And because Detroit now has Nate's cost under control, it makes him easier to trade to if they come across a deal where that makes sense.

Baseball Crank breaks down Santana, Bedard and Blanton to see how each would fit in with the Mets.

I would think it would be fairly be news if C.C. Sabathia were offered a contract extension. However, it gets reported in an Ask the Reporter column, and there are no details!

GM Mark Shapiro confirmed that the offer has been made, but would say nothing else. The length of the contract, rather than the money involved, is expected to be a problem. Sabathia's agents believe he's earned a lengthy deal (five to seven years), but it's unlikely the Indians would be willing to make that kind of commitment.

Did anyone call Milliliter's agent? Usually, they're willing to talk about these things. Then again, the Indians have done such a good job of keeping their players happy and getting them to want to stay in Cleveland that both sides might just be cooperating to keep the deal quiet until it's done.

Roch Kubatko notes Daniel Cabrera is working on his changeup.

I hear some people in the front office have lost patience with Cabrera, but it's not unanimous. There are enough people in the organization who aren't ready to give up on his arm. And it sounds like Cabrera is fine with pitching at the back of the rotation. He just wants the ball.

As long as he's not trying to throw it 100 mph every time he releases it, he should become a better pitcher.

The Orioles keep waiting - some patiently, some not.

Cabrera made progress bring down his walks last season, but his batting average allowed went up to .265, which seems high for a high strikeout pitcher. A better changeup likely leads to more swings and misses on his pitches in the strike zone.

The Kansas City Royals signed Hideo Nomo to a minor league contract. I find it hard to believe Nomo can compete at the major league level after two years off and his injury history, but there's no harm in seeing how well he rehabilitated his shoulder. I still love his windup.

The Pirates are returning their 2007 rotation:

General manager Neal Huntington plans to preserve all of his options regarding possible acquisitions, as per his general policy, but he made clear yesterday that the team's starters for the coming season will be Tom Gorzelanny, Ian Snell, Paul Maholm, Matt Morris and Zach Duke.

"We have not really been in the market for a starting pitcher," Huntington said. "We have been looking to add pitching depth -- a starting option or bullpen help -- but we like our starting five."

Snell is good, and Gorzelanny has good points. But outside of Ian, the starters just don't strike out enough batters. The article talks about trading Morris to a contender, but the Pirates are probably better off trading Snell and Gorzelanny for great prospects. This team needs to rebuild from scratch, so a Marlins move with their best players is probably in the best interest of the team.

My latest column at SportingNews.com looks at the impact of fifth starters on teams. I was actually surprised at the high fraction of starts that go to the back of the rotation, mostly due to clubs being unable to field decent hurlers to take over due to injury. But pitchers you can classify as fifth starters on average get more starts than team aces.

BallHype publishes a alternative history for the St. Louis Cardinals. What if Rick Ankiel never lost his pitching touch? It's the first of a series on alternative team histories.

Via WasWatching, the Yankees are looking at the next big posted player from Japan, Yu Darvish. His seasonal age in 2007 was 20, and he posted a 1.82 ERA while striking out 210 in 207 2/3 innings. He's already pitching to the expectations of Phil Hughes.

I'm really wondering if a Japanese team will post him that young. My daughter is headed to the home of the Fighters in Februrary, so I'll see if she can get me more information.

Metsblog.com passes along a rumor that Scott Kazmir may be traded, depending on how the market for Johan Santana pans out. The Rays have talked about a long term deal, but nothing happened. It really would be sad to see Kazmir go just as the Rays are on the brink of improvement. Maybe if Tampa shows significant games this season, Scott will be more interested in a long term deal.

My latest column at SportingNews.com looks at how Mark Prior might fare in 2008 and beyond.

Joe Sheenhan graphically shows the relationship between pitch height and ground ball percentage. Interestingly, the sinker, no matter what height, is more likely to be turned into a ground ball than any other pitch.

Bronx Banter notes the Yankees are considering starting the season with Joba Chamberlain as a reliever to limit his innings. Injuries happen, so Joba would likely be thrust into the rotation sooner than later.

With Jon Papelbon's dog eating the World Series ball and all the championship dancing, is the Red Sox closer the new lovable flake of baseball.

Detect-o-Vision notes a new pitch that might make the Carlos Silva signing a real bargain.

My latest column at SportingNews.com looks at the best 1-2 starters for 2008 and finds the Diamondbacks made a very good trade.

Metsblog.com relays that Kris Benson threw for prospective employers recently. On top of that, the Astros made an offer to Mark Prior. My guess is that both get one year contracts to show they can pitch. A successful year from either of them would lead to bigger money in 2009.

The Houston Astros picked up career minor league pitcher Ryan Houston off the waiver wire from the Toronto Blue Jays. Since he turned 23, Ryan has posted impressive strikeout numbers. At AA in 2005 and 2006, he matched those with great walk numbers, but his control failed him at AAA. If he can find that control again, he would be useful out of the pen for the Astros.

My latest SportingNews.com column looks at how the Garza trade improves the Rays' chances of setting a franchise record for wins in 2008.

Also, check out a new feature at SportingNews.com, The Sporting Blog.

From the LoHud Yankees blog:

I sent an e-mail to Phil Hughes asking him how he was dealing with the trade talk. Here is what he wrote back:

It's been tough trying to follow any of this the past week. One minute it's a for sure thing, the next it's not. I want to stay in NY and its good to know I have the backing of the fan base.

It looks like Phil gets his wish.

Meanwhile, it appears Hank Steinbrenner and the New York Yankees have had enough of the Santana sweepstakes. The Yankees ended their pursuit of Santana on Tuesday, leaving Boston as the favorite to land the two-time AL Cy Young Award winner.

"A deadline is a deadline. It was pretty much done as of this morning," Steinbrenner said. "He's a fine pitcher, but there's a lot of things that go into this. This isn't fantasy baseball."

Via MetsBlogs.com, Erik Bedard won't sign a long term agreement with the Orioles:

For those teams that lose out on Santana, there still is no shortage of attractive pitchers available on the trade market.

Perhaps the best of those is left-hander Erik Bedard of the Baltimore Orioles, who is definitely available now that, according to league sources, he has informed the team he has no interest in signing an extension to stay in Baltimore beyond 2009, when he hits free agency.

And Bedard, who is perhaps one more solid year away from establishing himself as a true No. 1 starter, could be a poor man's Santana, costing a team half the talent and less than half the money (if they are interested in extending him) in a trade.

Add to that rumors that the Athletics might be willing to move Dan Haren, and there's a decent supply of good pitchers on the trade block. That, of course, helps the teams interested in acquiring Santana, since they have other sources available. Of course, the Orioles may not be willing to trade Bedard to an AL East team, but you never know.

The Padres are working on a deal to extend Jake Peavy's contract through the 2012 season:

The deal, which would lock up Peavy through 2012, will average between $17 million and $17.5 million per season, according to a major-league source. It also could include a club option for a fourth year.

The commitment to Peavy would be by far the largest in club history, surpassing the four-year, $34 million contract that the Padres awarded Phil Nevin in 2001.

Axelrod declined comment on specific dollar figures, but said that Peavy's average annual value would be lower than that of Carlos Zambrano and Barry Zito.

Peavy has on guaranteed year left on his contract and a club option for 2009. I assume a new deal would guarantee the option. Jake posted sub-3.00 ERAs in three of the last four seasons. He's not quite Santana, but he's certainly better than Zito at this point. It seems he wants to stay in San Diego and is willing to take a discount to do so.

His deal should also push up the price of Brandon Webb.

Jorge Posada wants the Yankees to acquire Johan Santana:

"We need a No.1, and I think that's one of the reasons we're going after Santana," Posada said. "It is a need in October, no question about it. When you look at the past World Series champions, they were able to have a No.1 throwing at least two games to win the title."

Posada, 36, caught Santana for an inning in this year's All-Star Game in San Francisco, and the three outs left quite an impression. Santana struck out Carlos Lee and Alfonso Soriano, then retired Jose Reyes on a groundout.

"I was really, really impressed with him during the All-Star Game when I caught him," Posada said. "To face someone is completely different than catching him, and I was really comfortable with him. I would love to have him."

I take this means Posada doesn't think the Yankees have a #1 starter right now.

The Orioles and Erik Bedard's agent decided to take a break from talking about a contract extension. This shouldn't be a big deal, since it will be two more seasons before Bedard reaches free agency. Of course, the O's would like to avoid arbitration. Erik might also bring in some youth:

The Orioles already have gotten several trade offers for Bedard, who went 13-5 with a 3.16 ERA last season and set a franchise record with 221 strikeouts. They figure to get more next week in Nashville, Tenn., though MacPhail said that the cooling of talks shouldn't be taken as a sign that the Orioles are ready to unload Bedard.

"I'm not concerned," MacPhail said. "My experience tells me that this isn't unusual. I'd be hesitant to read too much into it."

Melissa at Athletic Supporters wonders why the Athletics haven't offered Joe Blanton a contract for his arbitration years:

Yet despite this track record of success, the A's have, at least publically, failed to engage Blanton in discussions about a long-term extension that would take him through arbitration. This lack of negotiation has given credence to the rumors floating around baseball that the A's are looking to move Blanton. My biggest question is why?

Blanton may not be in the same league as Hudson or Haren, however, he has turned himself into a very valuable asset. During his three years in the league, Blanton has never missed a start due to injury, has improved his K:BB ratio every year, and has given the A's at least 194.1 innings in all three seasons. His health alone has made Blanton a very valuable pitcher, not to mention his good control and ability to work deep into games. To me, he seems like an ideal candidate for a long-term extension and a perfect number two or three pitcher in a strong starting rotation.

The answer is that Blanton is not very good. He posts a very low K per 9, and his ERA balloons outside of the Coliseum. He's not going to take the A's for very much, even if he goes to arbitration.

Over at Bronx Banter, Cliff Corcoran and Steven Goldman debate trading Hughes for Santana.

SG: I dunno, Yogi. Seems to me Santana is already good and Hughes might be good.

CC: That's 100% true, but Santana is also already expensive and he's already been good, and could be in decline already.

I keep seeing references to Santana's decline in various stories around the blogosphere. Let me point out that Santana's K per 9 in 2007 was 9.66. In 1996, the Red Sox told the world Roger Clemens was done. Bill James pointed out that Roger's 9.53 K per 9 indicated he wasn't, and Roger went on to win four more Cy Young Awards. If Johan pitches for the Yankees with an ERA under 3.50, he'll win 20 games easily and might win 25. The idea that he's in decline is greatly exaggerated.

Both the Diamondbacks and Brandon Webb's agent gave some thought to the future recently. Webb is under contract through 2009 with a team option for 2010 at a very reasonable price. The DBacks wanted to extend through 2013, but the Webb's agent is willing to wait:

"Going after top dollar is not the ultimate play for Brandon Webb," Maurer said. "He's a good kid and doesn't need to have the best deal ever. But it will probably be another two or three years before the next conversation."

At that point, several of the league's top pitchers probably will have changed the market value of elite pitchers, a category in which Webb fits after winning the Cy Young Award in 2006 and finishing second this past season. Johan Santana, C.C. Sabathia, Jake Peavy and Erik Bedard all are within two seasons of free agency.

Webb's current deal, to which he agreed after the 2005 season, was for four years and $19.5 million guaranteed, a deal that gave him security and the Diamondbacks cost certainty.

I argued last night on my podcast that Santana might be better off accepting the four-year, $80 million deal from the Twins. He would then be a free agent after his age 33 season. With salaries inflating, he could do much better at that point than under a six or seven year contract now, assuming he continues to pitch well. (The trade off, of course, is guaranteed money, which is very tough to pass up.) Webb's agent appears to be thinking along those lines.

River Ave. Blues wants the Yankees to keep their three young pitchers. If you agree, there are T-Shirts available to help you voice your concern.

The View from the Bleachers wants Cubs fans to elect the fourth and fifth starters for next season's Chicago rotation. There is a prize involved.

Pirate pitching coach Jeff Andrews discusses righting Zach Duke.

"Mechanics isn't a real fun issue to talk about," Andrews said, "but we need him to become consistent. I think it's going to work. I think he's going to believe in it. It's pretty basic stuff -- but he's a pretty basic pitcher.

"The big goal is to get it worked out in spring training, so he will be able to go full throttle into the season."

Andrews, who tutored Duke during his nine-start stint with Class AA Altoona in 2004, worked with almost all the Pirates' young pitchers during their progressions through the minor-league system.

"They've had their time to get accustomed to the major leagues," Andrews said. "They've certainly had their ups, and they've certainly had their downs. Now it's time for them to win and become proven major-league pitchers."

Duke's low strikeout rate in 2005 indicated his ERA might rise as his career continued. He K per 9 declined both in 2006 and 2007, and his ERA rose both years. Andrews needs to get Zach's K per 9 up again for him to have a good chance at success.

MLB FanHouse notes a rumor that the Twins made Johan Santana a five-year, $93 million dollar offer. That's almost double the yearly salary the Twins were paying under the old contract.

Now whether or not Santana is going to accept the deal, that's an entirely different story. It's probably not easy to turn down $93 million, but if anybody can feel comfortable doing it, Johan Santana can. If Johan were to ever hit the open market, I've no doubt he could get at least $20 million a season, if not $25 million.

Personally, I feel the Twins are resigned to the fact that they're going to have to part ways with Santana at some point. Whether they do it via a trade, or just let him walk after next season.

No, I think this offer is one they expect Santana to reject so that way when they do trade him, they can save some face in the public relations battle. "We tried to sign him, we made a very nice offer, but Johan chose to go elsewhere."

I disagree here. The free agent market has been very soft so far this season. A-Rod and Lowell signed for less than I thought. Again, revenue is growing, and the amount of that revenue going to player salaries has dropped. That gives teams plenty of room for big salaries where they see fit. I'm guessing if the Twins go to $100 million for five years, there's a good chance Johan signs, and there's no reason the Twins can't add another seven million to the deal.

C.C. Sabathia won the AL Cy Young award Tuesday afternoon, in a race that shook out somewhat differently than I thought. While I expected Sabathia to win due to great numbers and more innings than any other starter, I'm somewhat surprised that Lackey and Carmona, 1-2 in a very close ERA race, polled so low. Beckett's second place finish indicates wins still account for a big chunk of what goes into a Cy Young vote.

Or maybe Cy Young voters are becoming more sophisticated. Beckett posted better strikeout and walk numbers than Lackey and Carmona. Could voters actually be looking at fielding independent pitching numbers? All-in-all, a good vote by the writers this season.

Chien-Ming Wang did not receive a single vote.

Tom Tango is making a few suggestions about dealing with ground balls pitchers in the Probabilistic model of range, and as a side bar points to this very interesting post.

The Cubs are moving Ryan Dempster to the rotation. Since the start of the 2000 season, however, his opposition batting statistics are better as a reliever.

Sabernomics likes the moves the Indians made in picking up options on three pitchers.

The six-man rotation gets broached in Boston:

Rather than thinking about trimming back to the traditional five-man rotation, general manager Theo Epstein yesterday said the Sox will at least consider using a six-man rotation next season.

"I'm sure that topic will come up a lot," Epstein said. "It's an interesting concept given the personnel we have, but it's not something we've fully explored yet."

As much as I hate to see expanding rotations, this is as good a situation as any for six men. Schilling probably works better on long rest at his age, and Lester and Buchholz are young enough that the Red Sox may want to limit their innings. If they can work it out that Beckett and Matsuzaka pitch every fifth day, with Schilling, Wakefield, Buchholz and Lester in a rotation around them. Then, when someone gets hurt, you just collapse to a normal five man rotation. Keeping Josh and Dice-K to every fifth day instead of every fifth game may even squeeze an extra two starts out of them.

Curt Schilling feels confident he'll pitch in Boston in 2008.

Drew Sharp wonders if Joel Zumaya is the next Mark Fidrych.

The Rockies talk about Jeff Francis' intelligence on the mound:

McKaig said in Francis' first college start he faced Lewis-Clark State College in Idaho, the No. 1- ranked team in NAIA, and gave up 11 runs and 10 hits, three of them home runs, in four innings.

McKaig approached Francis to discuss the start, and "the first thing he asked me was, 'When is my next start against them.' "

Three weeks later, Francis struck out 13 Lewis-Clark batters in eight innings.

"That gave you an indication of how special he was," McKaig said. "He got lit up, wanted to face them again and made adjustments to get 13 strikeouts. He was so beyond his years on the mental level."

Still is, said Rockies manager Clint Hurdle, who marvels at Francis' calm demeanor, referring to the left-hander as a "lava lamp" and talks about Francis having a "slow heartbeat."

"He studies himself very well," Hurdle said. "He prepares very well. He reads swings extremely well. He has the ability to win a ballgame without his best stuff."

He also does deadpan comedy:

Todd Helton talks about the change in Josh Beckett:

"I think the biggest thing that I can see that's changed is his fastball's moving a little bit more than it has when he was with Florida," Rockies slugger Todd Helton said. "He always had a real live arm, but I think now he's got some really good run, puts a little sink on it, and he's using that to both sides of the plate effectively."

The Rockies had a chance to scout the Red Sox during their week long layoff. We'll see if watching lots of tape of Beckett helps them against his fastball/changeup combination.

Balls,Sticks and Stuff speculates on the possibility of Curt Schilling joining the Phillies next year:

Sometimes prone to surrendering home runs, that may be the only thing to give the Phillies some pause outside of price if the Red Sox decide they'd like to retain Schilling's services. Over the past few seasons, Schilling's strikeout rates have been falling and his flyball rates have been steadily increasing. His home run rates reflect that as well.

No the Phillies wouldn't be getting the Curt Schilling of old, but on the bright side, the current version comes with fewer strings and represent quite an improvement over what's in-house now.

There's plenty of praise for Jake Westbrook's sinker:

It turned Big Papi into a moving target and left Manny a mere mortal.

In inducing David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez and the rest of the big boppers in the Boston Red Sox's lineup to hit into a trio of double plays (in addition to one large human target), the effectiveness of Jake Westbrook's sinkerball is a big reason the Indians find themselves ahead 2-1 in the best-of-seven American League Championship Series.

Aside from a mistake up in the zone to Jason Varitek in the seventh inning of the 4-2 Tribe victory Monday, Westbrook rode his signature pitch to a Game 3 win while departing to a loud standing ovation.

Westbrook walked more batters (three) than he struck out (two). But it was his 15 ground-ball outs that mattered most in his 62/3 innings.

One problem for Westbrook during the season was the sinker didn't sink often enough. Compared to his previous three seasons, Jake's ground ball percentage was down and his line drive percentage was up. He got the sinker back last night, so he'll always have the LCS (with apologies to Theo's grandfather).

There's an article on MLB.com about the Yankees moving Joba Chamberlain to the starting rotation, at least for spring training. Good to see the Yankees are headed in that direction.

There's an article on MLB.com about the Yankees moving Joba Chamberlain to the starting rotation, at least for spring training. Good to see the Yankees are headed in that direction.

The Indians aren't saying anything concrete about why C.C. Sabathia pitched wildly two games in a row:

Could the long season have taken its toll?

"I don't think it's fatigue," said Wedge. "He's strong, really strong. I think sometimes C.C.'s heart gets in the way. He tries to do too much."

Said Sabathia: "I wasn't throwing a lot of strikes. I wasn't challenging guys. That's what happens."

Given that he came into the post season with about 50 more innings than the previous year, and that he's gone over 200 innings only once before, the fatigue factor sure seems to make sense.

Phillip Hughes yields to Joba Chamberlain in the top of the seventh. Hughes earned him a place in the starting rotation if the Yankees can make it to the ALCS. He threw 3 2/3 innings allowing just two hits and striking out four. His only mistake was a wild pitch that led to an inherited runner scoring. But at this point, Hughes is a better option starting than Clemens.

Chone Smith compares the various systems for predicting 2007 ERAs and finds his did pretty well.

Nick and Nick impersonate Groucho and Chico as they ponder the fate of Johan Santana:

In my mind, the absolute worst thing that could happen would be for the Twins to hang onto Santana for another year, miss the playoffs, and then collect a pair of draft picks next winter when he signs a mega-deal with some big-market franchise. Unfortunately, considering this organization's history, it's probably the most likely outcome.

Draft choices can turn out to be pretty good compensation for free agents. One thing, that gets overlooked in these cases is not what you're losing but what you got to enjoy:

• The best years of Santana's career.
• Two Cy Young awards.
• Four division championships.
• A new stadium.

Plus, the Twins will have Liriano with a new arm to take his place. It doesn't seem like such a bad deal to me.

The Good Phight is looking for help in trying to prove that Jose Mesa is the worst post-season pitcher ever.

Jamie Moyer comes through for his home town team, striking out six in 5 1/3 innings of work. He allows just one unearned as the Phillies lead 6-1 in the eighth. They are three outs away from a probable NL East title as the Mets are losing 8-1 going to the bottom of the ninth.

Update: The Mets lose, the Phillies just need to hold on to their 6-1 lead as they go to the top of the ninth.

Kelvim Escobar finishes the best season of his career with a win over the Oakland Athletics. He gives up just one run over six innings to finish with a 3.40 ERA. It's a good warmup for starting game two in Boston next week.

One thing about finishing with the third seed is that LAnaheim gets to throw Ervin Santana at home, where he's very effective.

Rich Hill retired fifteen of the first sixteen batters without allowing a hit. He's walked one during the game as the Cubs lead Cincinnati 4-0. Earlier today, Maine went 7 2/3 innings before allowing a hit.

Update: HIll gives up a two out double in the sixth. He comes out after six with a short shutout.

John Maine retires the side in order in the sixth, striking out two more. That gives him no hits allowed and twelve strikeouts.

John Maine, like Cole Hamels last night, is showing he's ready for the playoffs. Through five innings he hasn't allowed a hit and he's struck out 10 of the 15 batters he's faced. He did walk one, but Uggla was eliminated by a double play. Maine also struck out seven in a row at one point. The Mets still lead 8-0.

Carlos Zambrano finishes his regular season strong. He pitches seven scoreless innings tonight, following up six shutout innings against the Pirates. He only has one bad start in his final five, posting a 1.67 ERA over that period. The Cubs lead 6-0 in the top of the ninth.

The Red Sox won't be using Clay Buchholz in the post season:

Epstein stressed that Buchholz is not injured. Instead, he likened the situation to Jonathan Papelbion last September, saying that had Buchholz continued to pitch in a fatigued state, like Papelbon did, he'd risk doing damage to the shoulder.

The decision was not based simply on an innings ceiling, Epstein said. He said that there are objective measurements taken by assistant trainer Mike Reinhold, who monitors Papelbon's shoulder, that showed the weakness and fatigue. Epstein noted that Reinhold formerly was on the staff of noted orthopedist James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala. and is an expert on shoulder and elbow issues. "He could no longer pitch,'' Epstein said, "without going into a real danger zone.''

The Red Sox are deep in pitching without Buchholz. It's not the end of the world, but it does make you wonder about how durable he'll be during his career.

Owings is just dominating the Pirates on both sides of the ball today. He picked up his third hit of the day, a single, to raise his batting average to .328. That's one less hit than he's allowed to the Pirates. Through six innings he hasn't allowed a run, and threw just seventy seven pitches. He's in good shape to save the bullpen for the weekend at Coors as the DBacks lead 6-0 in the top of the seventh.

Update: As I wrote the above, Owings doubled again, his third of the game and fourth hit on the day. He's now batting .339 with a .695 slugging percentage. Two more RBI gives him three for the day, fifteen on the year and puts the DBacks up 8-0.

Update: The game gets delayed with one out in the bottom of the seventh. If they can't resume (and the radar looks really bad), Owings gets a complete game shutout!

Update: The game does resume but Owings doesn't. He does pick up a short shutout however.

Jake Peavy pitched five innings so far tonight and hasn't struck out a batter. The Giants managed just four hits so far, none from Barry Bonds who did start tonight. He's 0 for 2 so far. The Padres lead 9-2 in the sixth. Hairston is the only starter without a hit so far.

Update: Hairston homered. The Padres now lead 11-2 in the eighth. Bonds went 0 for 3 before he was double switched out.

Fausto Carmona did nothing to hurt his Cy Young chances tonight, pitching seven strong inning as Cleveland defeated the Mariners 12-4. He gave up seven hits without issuing a walk. He ends the season with a 3.06 ERA and a .248 batting average allowed. He walked 65 batters in 215 innings while striking out 137. A 19-8 record and the best ERA in the league isn't bad for a pitcher's first full year starting. Cleveland's magic number for clinching best record in the AL goes down to five.

Dontrelle Willis bounced back tonight to put a dent in the Cubs playoff hopes. Willis allowed just two hits over eight innings while striking out seven. With the Brewers leading 4-1, the NL Central may get a game closer tonight.

The Yankees are suffering a shutout at the hands of Jesse Litsch. Through four innings he's allowed just two hits and no walks. The Yankees are putting the ball in play, as no one has struck out, but the balls aren't falling for hits. The Blue Jays lead 4-0 in the top of the fifth.

Oliver Perez pitched eight strong innings, walking none and striking out eight as the Mets defeat the Marlins 7-2. It was nice to see Perez get his control back. Over his previous seven starts he allowed 6.7 walks per nine. It didn't seem to hurt him much as he posted a 3.79 ERA and a 4-1 record. But those kind of walk numbers are a time bomb waiting to happen.

Javier Vazquez defeated the Minnesota Twins today, striking out eleven over seven innings while walking just two. The two runs scored against him came on an home run by Kubel. It was a fairly typical game for the Scrabble champ; lots of strikeouts, few walks and a home run. He breaks the 200 strikeout level for the third time in his career, but the reason for his success is that he's shaved 17 points off his batting average allowed over 2006. His ERA is a bit higher than Buehrle's, but his season is just as impressive. Most teams could make a run at the playoffs with a 1-2 combination like that.

Jeff Bennett pitched in relief for the Brewers in 2004, and he didn't pitch that well. He allowed twelve home runs in 71 1/3 innings, all in relief, posting a 4.79 ERA. In February of 2006, Jeff received a new elbow as he underwent Tommy John surgery. Tonight, he's facing his old team as a starter for the Braves and the new elbow looks good. He's gone five innings so far, striking out eight with no walks. His only mistake was a home run to Weeks as the Braves lead 3-1 in the fifth. The Brewers need to make up a win this evening, and so far their former player is making that very difficult.

Zack Greinke puts together eight stellar innings as the Royals defeat the White Sox 3-0. He allows just two hits, one a double while walking none and striking out ten. He threw nearly 75% of his pitches for strikes. Since the All-Star break, Greinke's allowed 11 earned runs in 47 innings, a 2.11 ERA. It's been a two-year journey from depression and back, but today's game shows that his work has paid off. It looks like the Royals have found a solid starter.

Ervin Santana has seven strikeouts through four innings this afternoon. The Angels lead the Devil Rays 1-0 on a Juan Rivera home run.

What do you do with Santana if the Angels get home field in the first round? Do they pitch him in game two so he gets a start at home and use Escobar and Weaver on the road? I assume Lackey goes in game one. I also assume that if the Angels get best record, they take the day off and Lackey, Escobar and Weaver pitch the five games, making the question moot.

Eric Gagne gets two quick outs in the eighth, then loads the bases on two walks and a single. With Eric having trouble finding the plate, Greg Zaun just takes pitches and walks to force in the tying run. Russ Adams then doubles over Drew's glove in right to drive in two more, but Zaun is thrown out at the plate to end the inning. Once again, the Yankees are very glad they didn't acquire Gagne. Why he was left in after loading the bases, will be a big question for Terry Francona after the game.

Update: Burnett tries for a complete game, but he gives up a solo shot to Julio Lugo with two out in the ninth to make the score 4-3 in favor of the Jays. Burnett struck out eleven and walked just three. He threw 124 pitches.

Update: Down comes in and gets a strikeout to end the game. It looks like they're going to lose another game in the standings tonight.

The LAnaheim Angels won last night, although Kelvim Escobar continues to struggle.

Over his last six starts Kelvim allowed a 7.39 ERA. Last night he last just four innings, allowing six runs. The good news is that his strikeout rate remains high. The bad news is that both his walk and home run rates are up. Opponents hit eleven home runs off Kelvim all year, but four over this slump.

There's no explanation coming from the Angels:

In four starts this month, Escobar has an 11.49 earned-run average. He has failed to complete six innings in all of those starts, after pitching at least six innings in 17 of his previous 18 starts. His rhythm is out of whack, Scioscia said, but fatigue and injury are not issues.

"It's something every pitcher is going to go through," Scioscia said. "It's not an opportune time for it to happen for Kelvim."

With the demise of Dan Haren, Escobar was poised to capture the ERA title and the Cy Young award, but this poor stretch takes him out of the running. The Angels need to hope that Scioscia is right, and that a mechanical adjustment is all Escobar needs.

Yovani Gallardo pitches eight shutout innings against Houston tonight, making him 3-0 in September with a 0.00 ERA. That's a great recovery from his 7.55 ERA in August. The Brewers win 6-0 and hope the Reds can hold on to their lead over the Cubs.

Lookout Landing compares the Devil Rays pitching staff to his beloved Mariners:

The Devil Rays are one of the worst teams in baseball, and the four guys they threw out on the mound are better than any non-Felix starter we have in the system. A team with this many resources at its disposal should never find itself in this kind of situation, but here we are, and honestly, I don't see any imminent escape.

Bavasi signs people on what they did last year. Yesterday's starter, Washburn, was a typical example. His two years in Seattle are much more like his 2003-2004 seasons than his good 2005. Jeff Weaver finished well last year, but Bavasi ignored the rest of his season. Adrian Beltre, anyone? It almost worked this year, but the burst bubble destroyed any idea that this team was put together well.

Jake Peavy improves his Cy Young credentials as he:

• Wins his eighteenth game, the most in the league.
• Lowers his ERA to 2.39 with one run over 7 1/3 innings.
• Collects ten more strikeouts for the ninth time this season.

The Padres sweep the Giants, and the win means they'll at least keep pace with the Diamondbacks today.

Carlos Villanueva found that starting suits him. He made his fourth start of the season today against the Reds, and threw seven shutout innings. That takes his ERA as a starter down to 1.57. The Brewers win 5-2, at least keeping pace with the Cubs.

Jair Jurrjens is hard to hit, and even harder today as the Twins haven't collected a hit through four innings. Unlike his previous games, however, Jurrjens is striking out batters, five through four innings. The Tigers lead 4-0 batting in the top of the fifth.

Update: Jair retires the side in order in the fifth, striking out one more batter. He's thrown 70 pitches through five.

Update: Punto hits a hustle double in the bottom of the sixth to break up the no-hitter.

Fausto Carmona does Josh Beckett one better by throwing eight shutout innings against the Royals, taking over the American League lead in ERA. His ERA drops to 3.07, while Santana gives up four runs in eight innings to raise his to 3.14. He's had an amazing turnaround from his 1-10 season a year ago, and now he's one of the leading candidates for the Cy Young award. I'm sure his 1.21 ERA down the stretch will impress voters, too.

Josh Beckett allows the Yankees just one run over seven innings, holding the best offense in the majors to three hits and two walks. He gets plenty of support as the Red Sox take the game 10-1 to reduce their magic number to nine. They're also the first team to reach 90 wins.

Beckett, however, not only picks up his major league leading nineteenth win, but reduces his ERA to 3.20. That moves him up four spots in the AL ERA race, from eighth to fourth. That's how tight the top pitchers are packed this season. Santana gave up four runs in the first, so by the time his game is over he may own a higher ERA than Beckett. With so many pitchers posting good ERAs, and so many on pennant contending teams, it's going to be a very tough choice for voters. But in the past they've loved wins, and if Josh leads the AL in that category, he could easily get the nod.

Roy Halladay pitches seven innings of one-run ball to help the Blue Jays defeat the Orioles 8-3. The win gives Halladay a 110-55 career record, a .667 winning percentage. Roy came up in 1998 and he's fifth in that time among pitchers with 100 decisions.

Pedro Martinez seems to be quickly returning to his old form. Through three innings today, he's struck out six and walked none. On the other hand, he has allowed five hits and one run, so he's not quite back 100%.

After spending three weeks as the league's punching bag, the Baltimore pitching staff throws two good games in a row. That should make Mazzone happy. They go seventeen scoreless innings before Toronto scored two in the ninth tonight. It's not enough as Baltimore wins 6-2.

The Royals get to Sabathia in the fifth scoring four runs on four singles and a Sweeney double. C.C. goes from a 1-0 lead to a 4-1 deficit in short order.

I have a blog post at the AT&T Blue Room that should be published soon on why C.C. Sabathia deserves the AL Cy Young award. Click on Sports and Buzz to find my posts there. C.C. is off to a good start tonight, pitching a no-hitter through three innings, walking two and striking out five.

Dice-K just threw at Jeter's head. He missed. We'll see if he gets suspended. :-)

Update: Matsuzaka hits A-Rod with the first pitch. Now I'm serious. Matsuzaka let a ball get away that almost hit Jeter. He does hit A-Rod. Is it intentional payback for Chamberlain's throws at Youkilis? If nothing else, Dice-K is a bit wild this inning, which could be dangerous to hitters. That's why I thought the ump was right to boot Chamberlain. Whether he meant to throw at Youkilis or not, he showed he was dangerous. How is Matsuzaka different tonight?

In case you missed it, Johan Santana leads the AL in ERA. If the lead holds, it will be the third year in the last four Santana came out on top.

I didn't realize until I looked at the St. Louis pre-game boxscore what a great season Kip Wells is having at the plate. He should be batting second, not eighth. :-)

Mike Mussina made a successful return to the rotation tonight, lasting 5 2/3 innings, giving up no runs. He ran out of gas in the sixth, giving up a walk and two hits, but did induce a double play. He only struck out one, however. You don't want to see him doing that too often, as balls in play tend to turn into hits. I'd appreciate anyone who saw the game commenting on Mussina's performance. Did he get outs because he was keeping the hitters off balance, or was he just lucky?

Gil Meche leads the Royals past the Twins as Kansas City wins 6-3 this afternoon. Meche struck out seven and walked one in 6 2/3 innings and kept Minnesota off the scoreboard until the seventh. That lowers his ERA to 3.78, matching his career low from his 85 2/3 innings 2000 season. And while his record now stands at four games under .500, Gil certainly lived up to his contract. He's set a career high in innings pitched while allowing fewer walks, homers and runs than last year. If and when Kansas City's offense gets in gear, this type of season will produce a winning record.

Tom Gorzelanny gave two runs over 6 2/3 innings this afternoon, leaving the game with a 4-2 lead. Despite giving up six hits and three walks, he was able to keep the Brewers in check by inducing three double plays and holding the Brewers to an 0 for 2 with runners in scoring position. The latter is how he's managed to be so successful this season. With the 0 for two, opponents are hitting just .208 against Tom in that situation.

The Brewers scored one in the 8th, and now trail Pittsburgh 4-3 as they still threaten.

Update: Hart triples off Chacon to tie the game. Gorzelanny won't get a decision today.

For Baseball Prospectus subscribers, my latest column looks at the changes in demand that led to teams carrying more pitchers on the active roster.

Yovani Gallardo goes six scoreless innings against the Pirates as the Milwaukee Brewers take the game 6-1. It's his second straight game with a short shutout (six scoreless innings or more), and his fourth in seventeen major league starts. The Brewers will at least maintain a share of first place in the NL Central.

I didn't see the game, but Phil Hughes pitched six good inning in Toronto. He allowed one run and three hits while walking three. But he only struck out one. Given his high strikeout rate this season, I'm wondering why? Was he doing something different tonight so the Jays were making contact, but poor contact? The Yankees lead 8-2 in the eighth inning.

Joe Maddon gave Scott Kazmir a good pep talk last night:

What did surprise Kazmir was what Maddon told him. The skipper wanted Kazmir to treat this like a playoff game. Given that the Devil Rays have no shot at the postseason, Maddon wanted him to practice what a playoff situation could feel like. The result? Ellsbury struck out swinging and Alex Cora grounded into a force play. Kazmir was out of the inning, and his bullpen held off the Sox for a 1-0 victory.

"It jacked me up," said Kazmir, referring to the pep talk. "It really did. It pumped me up. I was going on adrenaline to begin with. That intensified it, I guess you could say.

I like what Maddon did there. The Devil Rays suffered through a poor season, but they're playing well to finish, and Joe is putting the idea into their heads that this can be a playoff team, too. Nice work.

Scott Kazmir pitched a very good game tonight, shutting out the Red Sox for seven innings while striking out ten. Boston didn't have their best lineup on the field as Manny is still on the self and Ortiz and Drew didn't play. It was a rather strange lineup, with Lugo at DH, Pedroia batting third and Lowell hitting cleanup. I would have led off with Ellsbury and batted Youkilis second.

And Schilling get saddled with the loss despite a very good outing. He allowed just one run over six innings, striking out five. If nothing else, Schilling's start gives hope that he'll be good for the playoffs. Tampa Bay wins 1-0, and is keeping hope alive that they'll reach 70 wins this season.

Ted Lilly pitches seven strong innings as the Cubs defeat the Cardinals 12-3. As he's done in the ballpark all year, Ted kept his walks low (0) so the home runs don't hurt him too badly (he gave up two today). The Cardinals run at the Central is going south fast. If the Brewers win this evening, St. Louis falls four games back in the division.

Vegas Watch analyzes the closers likely to pitch in October this season.

Sometimes a small sample size might hold a lot of information. Phil Dumatrait made his sixth start for the Reds today, and gave up three straight home runs to start the game. He settled down to give up two singles before the Reds pulled him from the game. He's now pitched eighteen innings in the majors, allowing thirty runs and six homers. He's also allowed thirty nine hits while walking twelve. I'd say that's a pretty good indication he's not ready to be a major league pitcher. (His minor league numbers are okay, but he's been awful so far with the Reds.)

Weeks and Braun each hit two home runs as Milwaukee blasts six long balls to win 10-5. With the Cubs losing by the same score, the Brewers reclaim first place in the NL Central. Pittsburgh drew seven walks for the second day in a row, but this time they backed them up with thirteen hits to plate ten runs.

Dice-K gets rolled for an eight spot as he allows a grand slam to Scott Moore. Varitek set up on the outside corner and Daisuke threw it down the pipe. He gives up eight runs in 2 2/3 innings, his third bad outing in a row. He's given up twenty runs in his last 14 1/3 innings. Maybe the Red Sox should just shut him down for a start, let him take a rest so he's ready for the playoffs.

It's a good day for forty year olds as David Wells matches Tom Glavine's five perfect innings. He gives up three hits and two runs in the sixth, however, as the Dodgers cling to a 3-2 lead.

The Mets are getting a great stretch drive out of Tom Glavine. With his seven innings of one-run ball today, he's 4-0 in his last eight starts with a 2.49 ERA. He control's been equal to his runs allowed, as he's only walked fourteen in that time.

After Smoltz went for a no-hitter last night, his old teammate Tom Glavine is perfect through three this afternoon at Shea. He's struck out two and thrown 36 pitches. The Mets have not score yet, either.

Update: Glavine strikes out two in the fourth looking, and gets Burke on a foul pop. The Mets now lead 1-0 on a Wright home run, and the Tom is still perfect.

Update: Green and Lo Duca hit back-to-back doubles in the fourth to put the Mets up 2-0. The Mets radio announcers were speculating that if you can get a big lead on the Astros right now, they'll fold for the game. They noted last night at one point half the Astros on the field didn't realize they had recorded the third out at the end of an inning and stayed on the field. They just don't have their heads in the game right now.

Update: Tom gets three ground balls in the fifth to retire the side. The last was hit to Wright, who bobbled the ball, but recovered to throw out Wigginton. Glavine perfect through five. He's averaging an efficient thirteen pitchers per inning.

Update: Cody Ransom leads off the sixth with a hit, breaking up the no-hitter. However, Munson hits into a double play to keep Glavine at the minimum number of batters faced.

Bob Wickman signs with the Diamondbacks. AZ Snakepit hopes the rumors about his attitude are just rumors. He's been very good at keeping the ball in the park in his career, with should be good in a high altitude stadium.

Kenny Rogers made a successful return to the mound tonight, allowing just one run over five innings while striking out six. Unfortunately, the Tigers have only scored one run tonight, sending their game against Chicago into extra innings. Chicago's bullpen has only allowed one hit tonight.

Fausto Carmona won his fifteenth game of the season this afternoon as the Indians defeated the Twins 6-2. Carmona gave up hits, eight in 7 1/3 innings, but all his hits were singles. That's been a strength of his all season as only forty one of his one hundred eighty one hits allowed have gone for extra bases. He's in the top five in the AL in slugging percentage allowed.

The Red Sox finish their game first, so Josh Beckett takes the major league lead in wins with 17. Boston stretched him out tonight, letting him throw 117 pitches over eight innings. His high on the season is 118, and as the year has progressed, the Sox have let him throw more and more in games. Through June, he only threw over 110 pitches twice. Since, he's done it seven times. Wang is in line for the win in New York as the Yankees lead 11-1 in the eighth, so the two likely will be tied at the end of the night.

Metstradamus sees Pedro bringing a spark of passion to his favorite team:

Your spiritual leader has come.

Don't waste him.

Zack Greinke continues to pitch well in a starting role.

He shutout the Rangers for five innings last night. He's made three starts since ending his stint in the bullpen. The Royals are keeping his pitch counts low, but so far he's posting an ERA of 0.00 while walking one and striking out eleven. Small steps for Zack, but good ones. He's looking for more:

"It'll be better when I can go seven or eight," he said. "That's when you feel like you're really in charge of the game. Just five, you get the win, but it's not completely like winning the game."

The best part is that sounds like someone who wants to play the game, not walk away.

After giving up five earned runs in 1/3 of an inning last week in Seattle, Ervin Santana comes home to pitch a short shutout, going 6 1/3 innings against Oakland as the Angels took the game 9-5. Santana now ranks second in the last fifty one seasons in largest difference between road and home ERA:

Largest Difference Between Home and Road ERA, 1957-2007 (minimum 60 IP both home and road)

Pitcher	Season	Home ERA	Road ERA	Difference
Ismael Valdez	2004	2.54895	8.55804	6.01
Ervin Santana	2007	3.46154	8.71875	5.26
Brett Tomko	2003	2.8835	7.76589	4.88
Paul Wilson	1996	2.93213	7.76549	4.83
Shawn Estes	1998	2.66368	7.44	4.78
Steve Stone	1979	1.96793	6.65581	4.69
Wandy Rodriguez	2007	2.54348	7.1122	4.57
Tommy John	1983	2.64465	7.13208	4.49
Doc Medich	1982	3.17647	7.61538	4.44
Bill Gullickson	1985	1.64746	5.74699	4.1
Al Leiter	1997	2.28	6.36681	4.09
Jason Isringhausen	1996	3.10855	7.16588	4.06

In 2004, Valdez played for two team, both with very good parks for pitchers, San Diego and Florida. With Santana this season, the difference is hits and home runs. He's allowed 30 more hits on the road in one fewer inning and eleven more homers. And this isn't a new phenomenon. Coming into this season, his batting average allowed away was almost 60 points higher than at home, while his slugging percentage allowed zoomed from .350 at home to .510 away. If the Angels are going to keep Santana, they're going to need to find clever ways to limit his starts on the road, even if it means skipping him due to days off. He's just not good outside of Anaheim.

C.C. Sabathia defeated Johan Santana today, shutting out the Twins for eight innings. Since mid-July, the Cleveland lefty has posted a 2.17 ERA in his last 10 starts. He hasn't received a lot of support in that time, however, going just 4-3 with the win today. But this was his ninth straight start allowed two earned runs or less. He's on a roll just when Cleveland needs it. His control has been great, walking just twelve in his last 70 2/3 innings.

The Braves bullpen has been much harder to hit than their starters this season, coming into today with a .248 batting average allowed vs. .272 for the starters. They followed up a good but short start by Cormier with 3 1/3 hitless innings, just allowing a walk while striking out three. The strikeouts are a big reason for the low batting average allowed by the pen, 7.3 per 9 by the pen versus 6.3 for the starters. They send the Phillies to their third straight loss, 5-1.

Pedro Martinez pitches successfully in his comeback. He was no where near perfect, but he allowed just two earned runs over his five innings, walking three and striking out four. The Mets lead 7-3 in the seventh, so Pedro is in good shape to get the win. He threw 76 pitches, 47 for strikes, 62%.

Johan Santana and the Twins trail the Indians 2-0 in the second. Santana walked one in each inning, and both came around to score. His line through two innings is 2.0-2-2-2-2-0.

Update: Wash, rinse, repeat. Johan walks another batter in the third, and he comes around to score to make the Indians lead 3-0. Santana finally gets a strikeout, however.

Pedro strikes out Hatteberg and Harang in the second, and that brings him to 3000 strikeouts for his career. The Reds lead 2-1.

6-4-2 Speculate on why Mike Scioscia allowed Scot Shields to lose the game to the Rangers Sunday night:

But that still isn't satisfying, because Shields did get himself into another jam and just couldn't pull himself out of it. He couldn't throw his breaking stuff for strikes, leaving him terribly vulnerable to hitters who were then able to sit dead red. Why would Scioscia leave him in there so long? Part of it, of course, was the fact that he had pieced together three straight good outings, but given how badly he pitched in August, that wasn't very comforting. About the only reason I can figure is that same thing that caused him to leave Ervin Santana in the rotation until his godawful July 17 outing in Tampa Bay: the Angels need him to be good and Scioscia will give him every opportunity within reason to be good.

Luckily for LAnaheim, a big lead allows them to give Shields time to get good.

Jason Hammel pitched five good innings versus the Yankees today, holding the Bronx Bombers to one run on five hits while striking out seven. If you look at the Tampa Bay rotation the last two times through, you see some hopeful signs. They've struck out 8.2 per nine innings while allowing just 2.2 walks per nine innings. They're main problem has been long balls, allowing 1.72 per nine innings.

The strikeout and walk numbers are even more impressive if you remove Edwin Jackson. The four are all still young, born between December 1981 and January 1984. It looks like this group has developed two thirds of the tripod of pitching. They just need to get the home runs under control, and this could be an excellent rotation.

The Boston Globe reports on some broadcast chatter involving Clay Buchholz:

It was in the middle of the third inning, Sox broadcaster Joe Castiglione said, when Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer leaned in from the visitor's broadcast booth. "Palmer said, '[Sox hitting coach] Dave Magadan told me Buchholz reminds him of me,' " said Castiglione, who observed all the usual broadcasting superstitions and didn't directly mention that a no-hitter was in progress, behavior that was imitated in the Sox dugout.

They're certainly the same size. Both are six-three. Buchholz is listed at 190 pounds, Baseball Reference has Palmer at 196. And they have similar deliveries. To the left you see the classic Palmer leg kick. Buchholz's leg kick can be seen in the video below, at about 3:01 in (2:42 on the count down clock). The angles aren't the same, but you can see they're close.

In The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers: An Historical Compendium of Pitching, Pitchers, and Pitches, they list Palmer throwing a high fastball, slow curve and a slider. Buchholz used the first two effectively last night, plus a good change-up. There's a great quote from Tom Seaver in that section, too, saying how Palmer is a master of flicking his glove into batter's line of sight. Does anyone know if Buchholz does that as well?

Palmer did throw a no-hitter early in his career, although not this early. It's an apt comparison, one the Red Sox hope holds for many years to come.

Jake Peavy cemented the case for winning the NL Cy Young award last night.

Peavy uses that concentration to hit his spots, earning him the lowest ERA in the majors among ERA qualifiers. On top of that, his strikeout, walk and home run rates rank near the top of the leader boards as well. For the John Kruk types, he leads the NL in wins as well, and is tied for the major league lead in that category as well. He's even playing for a team likely to make the playoffs! With his seven scoreless innings against the Dodgers last night, Peavy is tied with teammate Chris Young for most short shutouts:

Most Short Shutouts, 2007

Pitcher	Short Shutouts
Jake Peavy	8
Chris Young	8
Brandon Webb	7
Erik Bedard	6
Brad Penny	6
Tim Hudson	6
Orlando Hernandez	5
Tim Wakefield	5
Shaun Marcum	5
Felix Hernandez	4
Barry Zito	4
Johan Santana	4
John Smoltz	4
Justin Verlander	4

VORP lists him as fourteen runs better than any other pitcher in the majors. That's quite a lead. And for those who wish to argue that PETCO Park helps him, his road numbers argue otherwise. His road ERA is one run better than anyone else in the majors. If PETCO was truly helping him this season, he'd by challenging Bob Gibson's 1.12 ERA from 1968.

Jake's pitched an impressive season so far in 2007. A few more good starts and the highest pitching honor in the game is his.

Clay Buchholz is treating the Fenway faithful to a fantastic game tonight. He just completed his eighth inning of work without allowing a hit. He walked three tonight, striking out seven. He's at 102 pitches, but I think limits are out the window tonight. With an 8-0 lead, the Red Sox will let him go until his name enters the record books or he allows a hit.

Update: Buchholz comes out for the ninth, and the top of the lineup is due up, Roberts first.

Update: Twice Roberts swings at high heat, and twice he misses as he goes down on strikes. Patterson up.

Update: Patterson hits hard liner on a 2-1 pitch to centerfield, but it stays up long enough for Crisp to catch it. One to go, Nick Markakis.

Update: Markakis strikes out, frozen on the second beautiful curveball of the at bat. Clay Buchholz throws a no-hitter in the second start of his career!

Update: Jerry Remy pointed out that Clay did a good job of mixing up his pitches tonight. He'd throw change-ups in fastball counts and was able to locate all his pitches. If you just go back and watch the ninth, you saw him get batters on fastballs, change-ups and curveballs. That's three plus pitches for the youngster, and a game that will be tough to top.

Update: Bob Holloman threw a no-hitter in his first start, and Wilson Alvarez did it in his second start. That's it for earliest no-hitters.

Update: Bob Shvodian sends this note:

Tonight Sox 2B D. Pedroia saved rookie C. Bucholz's no hitter with a diving stop and quick throw to nip M. Tejada at 1B. 51 years ago in 1956, Sox 2B Billy Goodman saved Mel Parnell's no-hitter with a diving catch of a liner headed to the outfield.

Two young pitchers throw low hit games this evening. Scott Baker takes a perfect game into the ninth inning before allowing a walk to Buck and a single to Sweeney, but completes the shutout as Minnesota splits salvages a split with the Royals 5-0. In addition to just allowing a walk and a hit, Baker struck out nine in his nine innings of work. Baker usually gives up the hits, as he came into the game having allowed a .282 batting average. His strength lies in his low walk rate.

Meanwhile, Andy Sonnanstine threw eight innings of two-hit ball against the Yankees as the Devil Rays win again to keep the possibility of finishing above .500 alive. Any walked none and struck out five, allowing just one unearned run as Tampa Bay won the game easily 9-1. Phil Hughes was wild, walking four in 4 1/3 innings of work. But Sonnanstine is starting to show his potential. He gave up seven home runs in his first month in the majors, only seven in the two months since. As this staff matures, the Devil Rays look like they'll have an excellent rotation.

Chamberlain comes out for the ninth, and with one out faces Kevin Youkilis. He pulls a 'Nuke' LaLoosh and throws a 1-1 pitch over Kevin's head to the back stop. On the next pitch, he does exactly the same thing, and the umpire tosses him. Now, I assume the ump thought the pitches were intentional, since Posada called for an outside pitch on the second one. But Joba came nowhere near Kevin's head; the pitches were very high. I'd worry there's something wrong with Chamberlain and it caused him to lose control.

Still, good call by the umpire. If a pitcher is that wild, he shouldn't be in the game. He might kill somebody.

Update: The NESN replay shows that both times, Posada called for a fastball on the outside corner. There's no reason for Chamberlain to be throwing at Kevin, at least, no obvious reason.

Joba Chamberlain just pitched his eleventh inning without scoring a run. Someone asked the other day what was the record for consecutive scoreless innings at the start of a career. I don't have the most recent record book around, but through 1999 the record was 25 by George McQuillan of the Philadelphia NL club, set at the end of 1907. If someone has the latest record book and see if that's current, I would appreciate the help.

Wang has a no-hitter through six. He's walked four.

Correction: Sorry, it was six. I was in a rush to get home and got the inning wrong. Lowell breaks up the no-hit bid in the seventh.

Micah Owings comes up in a 1-1 game in the top of the seventh inning. Upton just singled, but Melvin wants Owings to continue in the game. So he sends Upton, and Owings executes a perfect hit and run. Maddux strikes out the next batter, but Micah's hitting prowess allows the DBacks to save their bullpen.

Ben Sheets makes a successful return to the rotation, limiting the Cubs to one run over six innings. Sheets only struck out two, but he held the Cubs to six hits and one walk. He out-pitched Zambrano, who allowed six runs, five earned, over 6 1/3 innings. The bullpen has the game for Milwaukee in the eighth, and so far they haven't allowed a run. The Brewers lead 6-1.

Update: The Brewers hold on for a 6-1 win. The Astros shut out the Cardinals 7-0 behind Roy Oswalt, and Milwaukee regains second place. Cecil Cooper gets his first win as a manager for Houston.

The Dodgers pick up Esteban Loaiza in a straight waiver deal from the Oakland Athletics.

"At this time of the year, we're looking for any way to improve the team and Esteban is a talented veteran who we hope can contribute down the stretch and next season," Dodgers GM Ned Colletti said, according to The Associated Press. "He has a history of winning games and right now that's what's most important to our team."

Loaiza had spent the entire season on the disabled list with a bulging disc in his neck before rejoining the A's rotation last week. He has since made two starts, both against the Blue Jays, in which he allowed only three earned runs in 14 2/3 innings.

He's certainly worth a flier for the little he'll cost the Dodgers in 2007. And if he ends up pitching well down the stretch, Los Angeles should be able to flip him for some talent in 2008.

Mike Mussina now has something in common with Dwight Eisenhower:

There are no games to waste in a race to the postseason, no time to let a proud veteran work through his problems with a playoff spot at stake. The Yankees delivered that point after last night's game, announcing that the rookie Ian Kennedy would replace Mike Mussina in the rotation, at least for now.

The advantage of drafting college pitchers is that you don't need to wait too long to bring them to the majors. Kennedy demonstrated this season that he's just too good for the minor leagues. He's striking out nearly nine per nine at triple AAA and is close to ten per nine in his short minor league career. His walks are okay and his home run numbers are great. Even if Mussina was pitching fine, there's no reason to keep this pitcher down on the farm based on his ability.

There will be worries about over using him, given that he's pitched 146 1/3 innings this season. But the Yankees may be looking at this as a temporary move:

Mussina has pitched in 498 career regular-season games, all starts, and Torre said he would not be an option out of the bullpen. Mussina will continue to work in the bullpen to maintain arm strength if the Yankees need him to start in September, Torre said.

"We'll skip the one start and we'll see what we see," Torre said. "We'll look at it and we'll make an evaluation."

Kennedy gets a well deserved cup of coffee while Mussina figures out what's wrong. Seems like an intelligent plan.

Rich Hill blows away the Brewers in the first inning, striking out Weeks, Hart and Fielder to start the game. He threw just fourteen pitches, ten for strikes.

Update: As the game progresses it's Suppan who is efficiently effective tonight. He's only allowed three hits through four innings and has his pitch count in the low 50s. The Brewers lead the Cubs 3-0.

Earlier this season, Jake Peavy struck out nine Diamondbacks in a row. He came close again tonight, striking out seven in a row from the second through the fourth. He's struck out eight of the fourteen batters he's faced tonight, and there's still no score in the fourth.

Jake Peavy strikes Orlando Hudson, the second batter of the inning, and he passes Andy Benes for most strikeouts in San Diego Padres franchise history. He retires the side in order in the first.

Ryan Raburn just picked up the eighth hit of the evening against Mike Mussina. His at bat demonstrated what's wrong with Mike. He got ahead in the count 0-2, but then threw two pitches outside of the strike zone, away from the batter. As the Detroit announcers noted, those pitches are so far off the plate, batters have an easy not swinging. There's nothing there to make you think it might be a strike. So they just wait for Mussina to come back into the strike zone. He does that on the fifth pitch to Raburn. The pitch is well over the plate, and Raburn knocks it into centerfield for an RBI. Inge follows with a two-out bloop that scored Raburn from first, and after three innings Mike allowed six runs, and it looks like he'll take one for the team here.

Update: Edwar Ramirez replaces Mike to start the fourth and immediately allows a home run to Polanco. The Tigers lead 7-0.

The Seattle Mariners ran into the Vicente Padilla buzz saw tonight. He came into the game with a 6.55 ERA, but held the Mariners to one run over six innings. He did not walk a batter tonight, something that's been a bit high this season. The Mariners mount a comeback in the ninth, but fall to Texas 5-3. They'll face the Angels, two games back.

Meanwhile, David Wells held the Mets to two runs over five innings, but it really wasn't a good start. Wells allowed seven hits and three walks; that last stat was something Wells seldom does. The Mets just couldn't take advantage of all their base runners. The Dodgers lead 6-2 in the bottom of the ninth.

Update: That's the final as the Dodgers win 6-2.

Adam Wainwright pitched seven strong innings today, allowing one run and striking out five Braves. That lowers his August ERA to 2.00, and he's now 6-2 since the start of July. Wainwright has improved his ERA in every month so far, and he's in the top ten in ERA since the start of July.

The Braves are in a free fall, 7 1/2 games out in the NL East, pending the outcome of the Mets game, having gone 3-7 in their last ten. Most disturbing for a franchise known for its pitching is that in three of those losses, the Braves scored six or more runs.

Dan Haren allowed five runs, three earned over six innings to raise his ERA to 2.72. The Twins got to Erik Bedard, hanging six earned runs in six innings on the Baltimore ace, raising his ERA to 3.16. All that gives Kelvim Escobar a chance to take the AL lead. Not only is he pitching a shutout through four innings, he's perfect as well.

Update: Escobar goes eight innings, allowing one run as the Angels defeat the Blue Jays 3-1. That lowers Escobar's ERA to 2.77.

Vegas Watch notes Matt Cain is about to join very good company:

What Cain has done by the age of 22 is not something that happens very often. Since 1901, only six pitchers have had a K/9 of over 7.5 while making at least 70 starts by the age of 22.

Check out the article to see who's on the list. I believe, however, that most of those pitchers got off to much better starts.

Erik Bedard won't be pitching a shutout today. He gives up two runs in the first inning to the Twins.

Daniel Barone gives up a first inning grand slam to former Marlin Ryan Jorgensen. That's the fifth long ball off Barone this season in just 15 1/3 innings. The Red are off to an early 6-0 lead.

Dan Fox continues to make great use of PITCHf/x data. His graphs of Ubaldo Jimenez show the difference in speed between his three main pitches. You can see why his slider would be so effective. He releases the pitch at a similar point to the fast ball, but it comes in slower and sinks more. I can see where that combination of pitches would send a lot of hitters to the bench.

Tom Shearn gets a start for Cincinnati today. He's thirty years old and making his major league debut. What I don't quite understand is why it took so long. He hasn't been a great minor league pitcher, but he hasn't been exactly bad either. At some point, I would have thought the Astros or Reds could have used a long reliever or a spot starter, and Shearn could have filled the role. I wonder what kept him down on the farm so long?

Tim Wakefield keeps deciding his own starts. He's now 16-10 in his 26 starts, meaning the game was decided by the time he left. As this Globe article points out:

He has a decision in all of his 26 starts, the first to reach that number since Jack McDowell posted decisions in his first 27 starts with the Chicago White Sox in 1993.

McDowell did not finish the season with all his starts going for decisions. In the last 50 seasons (I don't have pitcher records broken down by start before that), the record belongs to Gaylord Perry, who earned a win or loss in all forty starts he made in 1972, posting a record of 24-16. The closest since then was Bill Wegman, who made 18 starts in 1993, going 4-14. I can see where this might be easier for a bad pitcher, since you don't need to pitch five innings to get a loss. Of the twenty one pitchers from 1957 to 2006 who made at least ten starts and decided all of them, fifteen owned losing record. Which makes Wakefield's run all the more remarkable.

Sometimes I wonder how much coaches really help players. Here's a positive example involving Doug Davis:

Davis allowed six hits and tied his season high with eight strikeouts in improving to 6-1 in his past nine starts. He said he did a little fine-tuning to his mechanics with pitching coach Bryan Price after his previous start, when he allowed six runs and lasted two innings Monday against the Brewers.

"I was opening up too early, and we fixed it," Davis said. "I took that into the game and slowed everything down."

Chien-Ming Wang struck out six batters in eight innings tonight, earning his fifteenth win as the Yankees defeated the Tigers 7-2. The six strikeouts brought his season total to 81, a career high. In 2006, he struck out 76 in 218 innings. This year, he passed that mark in just 159 1/3. He's increased his K per 9 from 3.1 to 4.6. That latter number is just above what's considered acceptable for a successful pitcher, and it's good to see Wang depending less on the Yankees defense.

Orlando Hernandez continues to baffle hitters, allowing just four safeties over seven innings this afternoon as the Mets defeat the Dodgers 4-3. Two of those were home runs, rare at Shea for El Duque, but he did strike out seven and lower his batting average allowed to .194. The Dodgers are now just three games above .500, losing ten games off their best record of the season.

Lookout Landing presents very nice graphics on why Felix Hernadez was so effective Friday night.

Greg Maddux won his tenth game of the season tonight, setting a record:

Even Cy Young didn't win this many games for so many years in a row.

Greg Maddux became the first pitcher to win 10 games in 20 consecutive seasons, tossing seven solid innings in the San Diego Padres' 14-3 rout of the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night.

Milton Bradley hit a pair of three-run homers and Adrian Gonzalez also connected twice for the Padres, who moved three games ahead of the Phillies in the NL wild-card race. Josh Bard had five of the Padres' season-high 22 hits.

What's more impressive is that if he can win three more game this season, he'll have won at least thirteen games in each of those 20 seasons. If someone just won 10 games a year 20 years in a row, I wouldn't be that impressed, but Maddux was well over that mark in each of the previous nineteen seasons.

Micah Owings hits another home run. His solo shot cuts the Cubs lead to 2-1 in the third. Over his last seven games, including the first at bat tonight, Owings is 8 for 15 with four homers, two doubles and ten RBI. The Diamondbacks may need to pay him a bonus for hitting!

(The link will be updated Saturday morning through Friday's game.)

The Atlanta Braves DFA'd Bob Wickman. I don't quite understand this. Yes, he's blow six saves, but frankly, there are a lot worse pitchers out there. It would seem taking him out of the closer's role and into a set-up role might be a better use of resources. Then again, this is the Braves so they usually know what they're doing.

Once again, Brad Penny allows three earned runs in a game. That raises his ERA to 2.65, dropping him to fourth behind Brandon Webb. Meanwhile, Oliver Perez is throwing a shutout, despite walking five batters in seven innings.

Johan Santana allows two home run in the first inning, setting a new career high with 26 allowed. His previous high was 24 in 2004 and 2006. The Orioles lead the Twins 3-0 in the third.

Josh Beckett didn't have his good stuff today, but 5 2/3 innings with five runs of support was enough to get him the win. The Red Sox scored six more runs after he left the game, to make the final 11-3. The Red Sox knocked out 15 hits, 11 for singles.

The Arizona Republic runs quotes from Brandon Webb after from after each start of his streak.

Webb does a good job of not taking all the credit for himself.

"It's just that things have fallen into place, and I've had some good luck and some good defense."

And some good change ups.

One nice thing about having a blog is that you can put published quotes in context:

Yep, I said it. The quotes were all exact that I can remember, it's just that the context and the full conversations of the interview(s) somehow didn't come through, or make print.

The other morning on the radio the topic of next year was brought up, and I am not sure by whom but I was asked about it.

During that conversation, and in the two that followed, my response started the exact same way which was "Well obviously Boston is my first choice, this is where I'd like to be, but if that doesn't work out then yes I have given thought to the other scenarios and possibilities."

For some reason that seems to have been omitted from what's gotten into print. Obviously putting that in the article pretty much makes it a non-article doesn't it?

Schilling goes on to discuss how he expects the process to go, and he doesn't seem to harbor any illusions about himself:

I'm going to be a 41 year old free agent, and right now I am not pitching even remotely close to as good as I can, or should be. That is probably the most important part of the equation no matter what our choices may end up being. Going on the DL to basically relearn all there is to know about keeping my shoulder strong over the next 14-16 months certainly will raise questions with any team outside of Boston that might be interested, so I'll have to answer those them as well.

Tom Tango sends this list of bad three-inning saves. It's pitchers who allowed two home runs but still picked up the SV.

Ben Kabak remembers the good games Mike Mussina pitched for the Yankees.

The Brewers-Diamondbacks are underway with Brandon Webb on the mound. Gross leads off with a single through the infield.

Update: After a steal and a groundout, Gross is at third with one out. Melvin brings the infield in to try to prevent the run and keep the streak going. I think Bob forgot he's managing in a pennant race.

Update: Infield in doesn't matter as Fielder lines a single to left to put the Brewers up 1-0. Webb's streak ends at 42 innings, still quite impressive. Now the Diamondbacks can worry about winning the game.

In less than 24 hours, Marc Gwyn earned a save in an 18-9 game in which he allowed four hits, three walks and four runs because he pitched three innings and Wes Littleton earns a save in a 30-3 contest. At least Littleton pitched well, keeping Baltimore off the board for his three innings of work. There should be some limit on the three inning save. The rule book does say the pitcher must be effective, but as Mr. Gwyn demonstrates, that's rarely used to deny a pitcher a save. See my solution.

Brian Bannister pitched another good game for the Royals this afternoon. He lasted 6 2/3 innings, allowing two runs. He's been the best starter on the Royals this season, currently with an ERA of 3.28. With Bannister and Meche both turning out to be good deals so far, I have some hope that Dayton Moore saw something similar in Kyle Davies. The Royals lead the White Sox 7-2 in the top of the eighth.

For Baseball Prospectus subscribers, my latest column cruches the numbers on my proposal for a new save rule.

Esteban Loaiza picks up a win in his first appearance of the season, lasting 7 1/3 innings as the Athletics defeat the Blue Jays 4-1 on three unearned runs. A.J. Burnett pitched well, striking out nine through seven innings, but two error in the seventh meant a loss instead of a tie for A.J.

The game was not on MLB Extra Innings, but Gary Huckabay reported that the home plate umpire had a very wide strike zone.

Esteban Loaiza returned to the mound today, and so far so good. Through three innings he hasn't allowed a hit while walking two and striking out three. His command isn't great so far as he's thrown 22 balls and 26 strikes. No one is going to be too concerned, however, as long as he continues to keep runs off the board. The game against the Blue Jays is scoreless in the fourth.

Earlier I speculated on Erik Bedard winning the Cy Young award. Dan Haren is also a good candidate, as he leads the league in ERA. But while Bedard gets better as the season progresses, Haren ERA is on the rise. Dan and the Athletics won 6-4 tonight, but the four runs in six innings raises his ERA to 2.66. He's getting closer to Escobar. Since the start of July, Haren's ERA is 4.88. Dan is still winning, but he's not pitching that well.

The Angels are getting to Mike Mussina early tonight. He couldn't throw strikes to the first two batters, and Figgins and Cabrera waited him out for walks. He fell behind Vlad, and Guerrero just missed getting all of the ball, but his fly to right-center moved up both runners when Melky Cabrera cut in front of Abreu to take the ball and can't make a throw. He then throws a knuckle curve to Anderson. It wasn't a bad pitch, but Anderson pulls it down the line for a two run double. That's all the damage, but Mussina threw 24 pitches in the inning, thirteen for balls. His ERA is around five over the last two months, and it's sad to see a once great pitcher decline like this.

Alex Rodriguez gets one of those runs back with a home run to center, his 41st of the season.

Update: The Angels are pounding Mussina in the second. They've hit a single and four doubles in the inning. Guerrero drives in his 100th run of the season and Garret Anderson hits another low pitch for his second double of the game. LAnaheim now leads 6-1. Mike may have to take one for the team here.

Update: A single by Gary Matthews plates Anderson and chases Mussina from the game. At age 38, Mussina is looking done. He was trying to use his off-speed stuff tonight, but his location was bad, and when he went to the fastball, the Angels pounded him. Maybe he can reinvent himself as an off-speed pitcher over the winter, but it's not working now.

Erik Bedard keeps making a strong case for winning the Cy Young award as he continues to perform well on a poor team. He pitched seven solid innings against the Rangers in Texas tonight, allowing just two runs while walking none and striking out eleven. That bring his major league leading total of Ks to 218. The O's supply six runs of support to take Erik's record to 13-4. If he ends up the season 18-5, with tons more strikeouts than anyone else and an ERA under 3.00, will that be enough to catch the eye of the voters?

Jacob at Vegas Watch to ask if we set the odds too high for Webb breaking the record for consecutive scoreless innings because if he keeps the streak alive Wednesday night, he'll go for the record at PETCO Park. I'd say PETCO and Chase Field probably even themselves out, but yes, if he can shut out the Brewers on Wednesday, PETCO should certainly help him set the record.

Which made me think of this streak versus Hershier's. Orel had it pretty easy park wise during his run. The only stadium unfriendly to pitchers over those games was Atlanta. So six of his seven games while setting the record were in pitcher friendly parks.

Webb, on the other hand, has to pitch half his games at a good stadium for offense, although he's only been home twice during the streak so far. But he's also visited Atlanta, giving him three tough parks to Hershiser's one. Tomorrow night will be four. (I'm not counting Wrigley, since only the first inning of the streak happened there.)

Update: Here's the latest odds of Webb breaking the record from Vegas Watch, taking into account the run scoring tendencies of the stadiums.

Bobby Jenks streak of consecutive batters retired ended versus Kansas City Monday night:

Jenks entered the night needing only to sit down the first batter he faced to gain sole possession of the major-league record for consecutive batters retired.

Instead, on a 1-2 offering, slap-hitting Kansas City Royals outfielder Joey Gathright rolled a ground ball through the left side of the infield, adding even more disappointment in a summer of discontent for the Sox.

Jenks -- who now will share the record of 41 consecutive batters with San Francisco's Jim Barr (1972) -- did retire the next three to preserve the victory and pick up his 34th save in front of 35,391 at U.S. Cellular Field.

The save is what mattered, but congratulations to Jenks on a great run!

Royals Authority has more thoughts on the game from a KC fan's point of view, and notes the signing of Mark Grudzeilanek to an extension:

Terms were not announced, but the deal is thought to be around $4 million for 2008. He had a player option that would kick in at 500 plate appearances, so the Royals are basically doing their second baseman right by giving him a deal. With the time missed to injuries this year, it was unlikely that Grudz was going to hit his number.

I want to be bummed out by this, but it's difficult to feel that way. Every team needs that "veteran" leadership - a player (or players) to show the young guys the ropes and how to carry themselves as a major league player. And Grudz is an ideal veteran leader. He's professional, plays hard everyday and seems like a likable guy.

I'm not much of a Grudz fan, and paying him $4 million at age 38 strikes me as spending ten times too much money to fill the position. I'd love to see what Esteban German could do over a full season at second. So far in his career, he's done a better job of getting on base than Mark.

Pedro Martinez pitched a very good rehabilitation game last night:

In making his third rehab start, Martinez looked as close to being in big-league form as he has in more than a year. His strong five-inning effort for St. Lucie against Brevard County probably was not his last minor league start, but the idea of him returning to Shea feels closer than ever.

Martinez allowed two unearned runs on two hits and a walk while striking out four. He threw only 72 pitches because he awakened with a sore neck, but 52 were strikes, his control was excellent and he hit 89 a few times on the radar gun. It impressed Mets pitching coach Rick Peterson and bullpen coach Guy Conti, who took advantage of the big club's day off to come see their rehabbing ace.

The question on my mind is can Pedro get more speed on his pitches, and if not, can he survive in the majors with an 89 MPH fastball? His changeup was so good, that as long as he can still use it to change speeds, he'll likely be successful. His off speed stuff worked yesterday:

Martinez spent the previous five days trying to hone his breaking pitches and it proved very successful. His sinker got the double-play ground balls he wanted to see - even if they were misplayed by the fielders - and his curve had hitters lunging.

"I can't recall one of those breaking balls being bad. ... I was getting cheap outs and ground balls when I wanted them," he said. "In the big leagues if I am able to do that, believe me the double plays will come."

A very encouraging night for the Mets.

Matt Garza's pitched well this year but hasn't gotten a lot of support. I thought going into tonight's game against Horacio Ramirez, the Twins had a chance of providing lots of support. Ramirez entered the evening with a 7.38 ERA. But Garza lasted just 2 1/3 innings, giving up four home runs (he had allowed just one previously this season) and seven runs. The Mariners easily won what should have been a tough game for them 9-4.

Two of the home runs off Garza came off the bat of Raul Ibanez. That gives Raul nine in August after hitting six the previous four months. His monthly stats have been up and down all year, but he's picked a good time to get hot.

In an interesting coincidence, Mark Teixeira also hit two home runs tonight as the Braves blew out the Reds 14-4. That gives Mark nine homers on the month also. He had 13 in the previous four.

Tim Wakefield picks up his fourth short shutout of the season as he gives the Red Sox seven stellar innings on their way to a 6-0 drubbing of the Devil Rays. Tim is now 9-0 with three saves at Tropicana Field with a 2.16 ERA. It's the first time, however, he's taken a shutout deep into the game.

At the trade deadline, the Red Sox took a strong bullpen and added a new element, Eric Gagne. The Yankees took a relatively week pen and subtracted out problem elements. So far, it looks like the Yankees did the better job:

Red Sox Relievers, 2007 Opposition Batting Stats Through 7/31 8/1-8/19 Batting Average .225 .270 On-Base Average .306 .342 Slugging Average .340 .455

Yankees Relievers, 2007 Opposition Batting Stats Through 7/31 8/1-8/19 Batting Average .243 .240 On-Base Average .336 .307 Slugging Average .371 .391

The Red Sox are giving up more hits, and more of those hits are finding gaps and fences. The Yankees are also giving up a bit more power, but those damaging walks are way down. So far, advantage to the New York front office on the trading front.

(On top of that, the Yankees have Wilson Betemit to show for part of the remodeling of the pen. He's shown power, and drove in twelve runs in twelve games.)

Johan Santana sets a franchise record, striking out seventeen batters in just eight innings of work. That puts him three away from tying the nine inning record of 20, and like the others who reached that level, he hasn't walked anyone in this game. Only nine balls have been put in play, two falling for hits. At this point, it's not clear if he'll pitch the ninth, as he's already thrown 112 pitches (83 for strikes).

Update: Joe Nathan is warming up, but that's prudent given the score is 1-0.

Update: Nathan starts the ninth. No ML record for Santana today.

Update: Nathan gets the save, and the Twins take home a 1-0 victory. It also pulled Santana's ERA below 3.00, and if he can keep it there it will be the fourth straight year Santana posts an ERA in the twos.

You have to feel a little sorry for Kevin Millwood, who allowed just one run over seven innings but runs into the Santana buzz saw.

Joba Chamberlain went from call up to rock star pretty quickly. As the Yankees announcers noticed, the fans in the Bronx welcome into the game as if he were a five time all-star. He doesn't let them down as he retires the side in the seventh, popping up Sheffield and striking out two. In seven innings of work, he's allowed two hits, two walks and struck out eleven.

I wonder if women are showing up at his hotel room in golden bikinis?

Aaron Harang was doing a great job this year of keeping the ball in the park until he reached the upper mid-west. He allowed just 13 home runs in his first 160 1/3 innings pitched, 0.79 per nine innings. But he allowed three home runs in his last outing in Chicago, and three more today in his start in Milwaukee. Prince Fielder was one of those going long, extending his NL lead to 38 homers. The Brewers lead 5-2 in the fifth, all five driven in with the long ball.

Halladay and Guthrie are just blowing through hitters today. The game is just a little over two hours old, and they're in the top of the ninth. Guthrie pitched better so far, allowing just three hits and no walks to Roy's six hits and three walks, but both have allowed just two runs.

Update: Guthrie doesn't come out for the bottom of the ninth with the game still tied at two. Another great effort by Jeremy goes unrewarded.

Vegas Watch profiles EriK Bedard:

The way he made the jump this year from 7.8 K/9 to 11.0 is actually very interesting. He has actually gotten to two strikes on less hitters this year (44%) than last year (55%). But once he gets there, he's been filthy. This year, once Bedard has two strikes on a hitter, he gets the K 53% of the time- last year that number was 37%.

I wonder if batters are trying to get the bat on the ball earlier in the count, so they don't get in the strikeout situation?

Catcher Chris Snyder discusses how Brandon Webb's pitch selection during the scoreless streak:

Instead of throwing his sinking, two-seam fastball exclusively or going to a heavy diet of off-speed stuff, Webb has found a perfect mix, Snyder said.

"It was either he was going to be conserving his pitches, throwing a lot of two-seamers and waiting until guys hit the ball on the ground," Snyder said, "or he was going to have eight to 10 strikeouts a game, but his pitch count was going to be up.

"Over this span, he has met in the middle with that. The guys he's getting out, he's getting them out within three to four pitches. He's doing a little of both."

Three consecutive complete games speaks for itself.

The Day by Day Database goes back to 1957, and I just checked for pitchers collecting four hits or better in a game since then. Mel Stottlemyre has the most hits as a pitcher in a game in that time, going five for five on 9/26/1964. Including Mel, Owings is the 27th pitcher to collect four hits in a game. The last was Bobby Livingston a month ago on 7/16. Those other 26 did not pick up three extra base hits in the same game although six did homer.

There's some good names in the list as well. Don Newcombe, Chris Short, Bob Gibson, Jim Bunning, Early Wynn, Lew Burdette and Harvey Haddix all accomplished the feat.

This game is being delayed, so the stats aren't official, but Micah Owings and the Diamondbacks lead the Braves 4-1 in the top of the third. Owings hit a double to drive in two runs. He's now 9 for 40 on the season, with four of his nine hits going for extra bases. That gives him a .400 slugging percentage on the season.

Update: The game resumes, and Owings hits a home run. That gives him two doubles, a triple and two home runs on the season. The Diamondbacks lead the game 7-1 in the top of the sixth.

Update: Sorry, I just turned on the game and saw the homer, and didn't realize it was his second of the game. The box hadn't updated, but he's now 3 for 3 tonight with a double and two homers. That's 11 for 42 on the season with two doubles, a triple and three home runs. We should call him Babe.

Update: Owings gets a single, and is now a triple away from the cycle.

Melissa Lockard notices a catch-22 in the Athletics rotation and suggests a six-man rotation to get out of it:

Of course, another possibility is to keep both Meyer and Loaiza in the rotation and either move one of the A's current starters to the bullpen (Chad Gaudin might be a good candidate since he has already thrown a career-high number of innings) or go with a six-man rotation through the end of the year. I would be interested in seeing the A's go with a six-man rotation. I think a number of the A's starters have been showing small signs of wearing down (Dan Haren, Joe Blanton and Gaudin in particular) and a six-man rotation would save at least one start for each of them through the rest of the year. Once the rosters expand in September, the A's would be able to carry enough pitchers to support a six-man rotation without cutting into their depth on the bench. There hasn't been a six-man rotation in the majors in awhile, but it might be a good time for the A's to try one this September so that they can have the most opportunity to see what they have going into next season.

As a rule, I'd like to see teams trying fewer pitchers in the rotation rather than more, but in this case Melissa makes a good point.

Brandon Webb pitches his third consecutive complete game shutout, extending his scoreless inning streak to 42 innings. Orel Hershiser's record is 59, so Webb still needs two more complete game shutouts to break the record. This was his best pitched game of the streak, allowing just two hits and one walk while striking out six.

Webb's ERA is now 2.63. That means the odds of him giving up a run in an inning is .29222 (2.63/9). That makes the probability of his getting another eighteen scoreless innings .00199. You could probably get a better estimate, however, if you figured out how often he actually gives up a run in an inning.

Update: Jay Jaffe points out I should use RA, not ERA, since unearned runs end streaks, too. In that case, the probability of a run in an inning is 0.3574, and the probability of 18 consecutive scoreless innings is .00035.

Update: Scott Segrin writes:

I looked up some numbers for Brandon Webb (which you must do - dividing his ERA by 9 only works if he pitched no multi-run innings). By my count, he has pitched 145 scoreless innings and 40 innings in which he gave up at least one run, making the chance that he gives up a run 0.2162. This translates into a probability of .01246 that he goes another eighteen scoreless. Granted, only a bit over 1%, but still over 6 times higher than your number.

Thanks Scott. A 1 in 80 chance makes much more sense.

The Angels pitched backwards today. In general, LAnaheim is a poor road team, but John Lackey's ERA gets better away from Anaheim this season. He was lit up in game one. Tonight, Ervin Santana, who entered with an 8.79 road ERA pitched a great 6 1/3 innings, striking out five and walking none as he allowed just one run. The Angels lead 4-1 in the bottom of the eighth, and both Lackey and Beckett fail to win number 16.

Update: The Red Sox come back against Shields and Rodriguez in the 8th, scoring four runs. Shields gave up two walks and a hit while getting one out, then Rodriguez gave up back-to-back doubles to Ortiz and Ramirez to finish the scoring. The Sox go to the top of the eighth with a one-run lead.

Update: Gagne comes in to get the save in the ninth and blows it, allowing the Angels three runs. It's interesting, since Papelbon was used this afternoon, brought into a game with a three-run lead and two on in the eighth. He wasn't facing a good hitter as Mathis was scheduled and Izturis hit. Coming into the ninth with a one run lead is actually a tougher save situation. So they use Jon in a relatively easy situation and win the game, but use Gagne in the tougher situation lose the lead.

Update: K-Rod finishes the game for the win. He struck out Youkilis for the second out, but the umpire missed the foul tip, which is clear on the replay. Both Francona and Kevin were tossed after that.

I'm watching the FSN Midwest broadcast of the Cardinals-Cubs game. One of the announcers said he talked to a scout, and that scout believes Zambrano's arm is about to blow out. It's an anonymous comment, so take it with a grain of salt, but that scout doesn't like what he's seen from Zambrano lately.

Update: I think it's Al Hrabosky who spoke with the scout.

Matt Garza pitched well last night and actually won. Despite three quality starts in his previous five games, Garza did not pick up a win. Horacio Ramirez lived up to his 7+ ERA last night, however, allowing six runs in five innings. Garza was able to cruise for seven innings, allowing three runs as Minnesota took home an easy win 11-3. With the Indians, Yankees and Mariners all losing, the wild card race remains unchanged in the American League.

Roy Halladay tosses his fifth complete game of the season, the third time in his career he's completed as many as five in a season. Since the start of the 2003 season, Roy complete the most games in the majors by four. Roy struck out just two as the Angels fall 4-1, and didn't give up a run after a Guerrero RBI single in the first. In fact, after Joe Saunders gave up four in the first to take his first loss of the season, neither side scored the rest of the way.

With the Angels loss and the Yankees losing big to Baltimore, Seattle has an excellent chance to pick up a game in both the division and the wild card.

Byung-Hyun Kim made his second start since returning to the Diamondbacks, pitching against the team that waived him, the Florida Marlins. Kim lasts all of seven batters, getting one out, walking one, allowing four hits and making an error. He's pitched 2 2/3 innings in the two starts, allowing nine runs.

This won't go down as one of the great waiver deals of all time.

Byung-Hyun Kim made his second start since returning to the Diamondbacks, pitching against the team that waived him, the Florida Marlins. Kim lasts all of seven batters, getting one out, walking one, allowing four hits and making an error. He's pitched 2 2/3 innings in the two starts, allowing nine runs.

This won't go down as one of the great waiver deals of all time.

John Sickels takes a look at Tim Lincecum's career so far and where it might go.

Jamie Mottram wonders if Erik Bedard can reach 300 strikeouts:

With nine starts left, he'd have to average 11 per outing to get there. Not impossible, but improbable. What's likely is he'll finish in the 275 range, which is still a big deal, as evidenced by the group of dominators with 275-strikeout seasons dating back to 1987:

Randy Johnson (nine times), Curt Schilling (four times), Pedro Martinez (three times), Roger Clemens (twice), Nolan Ryan (once, but six times career) and John Smoltz (once)

To reach 300 strikeouts, a pitcher must pitch a lot of innings and maintain a high strikeout rate. The fewest innings pitched for someone with 300 strikeouts belongs to Pedro Martinez, who accomplished the feat in 213 1/3 innings in 1999, averaging 13.2 K per 9. At his current rate of 11.1 K per 9, Bedard needs 243 1/3 innings pitched to get there, another 81 innings. In other words, he'll need to make every start and pitch a complete game. He's on a pace for 214 innings.

The lowest K per 9 to strikeout 300 batters (since 1900) goes to Mickey Lolich, who struck out 7.37 batters per 9 in 1971 and pitched 376 innings. We'll be lucky to see anyone get to 250 innings in the future.

Let's look at in another way. If Bedard stays on pace, he'll face another 251 batters this season. His probability of striking out a batter this season is .305 (652 batters faced, 199 strikeouts). That means the odds of him striking out at least 101 more batters is .00066. It's a real long shot.

Pedro Martinez started off well in his second rehabilitation start, but got into trouble in the fourth:

Martinez, who has been working his way back from right shoulder surgery in October, threw 60 pitches for the New York Mets' Rookie-level Gulf Coast League team and then another 20 fastballs in the bullpen.

"I like this outing a lot more than the other one," Martinez said. "I am more in command, and I actually felt like I pitched a little bit, making pitches where I wanted to, and overall it was a jump ahead. It was a great improvement."

That's good news for the Mets.

Mariano Rivera held on yesterday when he got in trouble, but today he gives up three hits and the tying run. It could have been for the lead, but Melky Cabrera threw out a runner at the plate, his twelfth assist of the season. The Orioles have a runner in scoring position with two out.

Update: The inning ends in a tie. The Yankees will try to get Rivera the win in the bottom of the ninth.

Update: The Yankees win in the bottom of the ninth. With one out, Bradford hits Cabrera, then Giambi gets a single against the shift, pulling the ball between second and first where Millar was holding Cabrera. That brings up Jeter, who hits a squibber that ticks off Bradford's glove, and before anyone can pick up the ball, Cabrera scores.

It was a nice HBP taken by Melky. The he made a good spin move to take the ball in the back rather than close to the face.

Tim Wakefield and James Shields are locked in a pitcher's duel in the fifth. Shields allowed five hits and one run so far, but most of the attention goes to Wakefield. Tim's allowed just one walk so far, not surprisingly to Iwamura. He'll take a no-hitter into the sixth.

Update: Wakefield issues a walk to Navarro, who tries to steal and is thrown out by a mile. It might have been a busted hit and run, but as Jerry Remy points out, it's not too smart to hit and run against Wakefield, since you never know if the pitch is hittable. The no-hitter is intact through six innings.

Update: Carl Crawford breaks up the no-hitter with a single leading off the seventh. It's still 1-0, so Tim can't let up.

Update: Wakefield goes eight innings, allowing just two hits and Papelbon finishes off the game for a 3-0 Boston win. The disappointing Julio Lugo picked up three hits tonight, scoring and driving in a run. He's hitting much better since the All-Star break, 41 for 121, a .339 batting average.

Shields pitched a nice game for the Devil Rays, striking out five with no walks in six innings and allowing just one run. Someday with offensive and bullpen support he'll win some of those.

Matt Cain pitches well again but Paul Maholm pitches better. Cain picks up another quality start, but takes the loss as the Giants can only manage one run the Pittsburgh starter as Paul goes the distance, allowing three hits, no walks and throwing just 91 pitches.

Cain could have used some defensive support as well. He loaded the bases in the first with two walks and a double, but got Castillo to hit a ball to the first baseman Ortmeir than hit off his glove for a double. A little better range at first, and Cain gets out of the inning without any damage.

Kason Gabbard is forced out of the Tampa Bay-Texas game with a stiff forearm after just one pitch in the second inning. His replacement, Willie Eyre, was allowed three hits and three walks in 2 2/3 innings, but hasn't allowed a run yet. Texas leads 3-0 in the top of the fifth.

A.J. Burnett returned from the disabled list tonight and pitched a great game against the Royals. Burnett lasted into the eighth before allowing a home run to Alex Gordon. He struck out five, walking three and giving up three hits.

Burnett last started on 6/28. Since then the starters went 18-14 in 37 games, posting a 3.73 in the process. Not a bad stretch without their number two.

Jeff Weaver pitched his second complete game shutout of the season, making him the only American League pitcher with two this year. He has a very strange distribution of runs allowed this season:

Runs Allowed	Games
0-3	11
4-5	0
6 or more	7

He's really been all or nothing this season. The Mariners remain in the wild card lead percentage points ahead of the Yankees.

Meanwhile, Bobby Jenks retired all three batters he faced to set an AL record with 41 consecutive batters retired and tie the major league record. He faced the 7-8-9 hitters in the Seattle lineup in the ninth. I wonder how far he can extend the record?

I'm watching Mariano Rivera on the verge of blowing a four out save. He came into the game in the bottom of the eighth with two on and two out, hit a batter but didn't allow a run to score. Now the first three Indians in the bottom of the ninth pick up hits, putting the tying runs on second and third. The Yankees lead 5-3 as Rivera comes back to strike out rookie Asdrubal Cabrera. There's one out.

Update: He strikes out Sizemore swinging at a pitch on the low, outside corner. Two out.

Update: Blake flies out to right to end the game. It wasn't Mariano's greatest outing, but a save nonetheless. New York sweeps Cleveland. With Detroit's win today, that puts the Indians 1/2 game back in the AL Central and 1 1/2 games behind New York in the wild card race. Cleveland's offense continues to struggle as they've scored 45 runs in their last 15 games, 3.0 per game. The manage just six in the three game series against New York, not known for their pitching this season.

Brandon Webb pitches a complete game shutout for the second start in a row as the Arizona Diamondbacks put another game between them and NL West, winning 1-0 over the Nationals. It's the fourth start in a row in which Webb allowed no runs, and with one shutout inning in his previous start, Webb's scoreless inning streak stands at thirty three innings. He's given up 21 hits and six walks in his last four starts (32 innings) while striking out 29. He's held the opposition to a 1 for 23 with runners in scoring position.

The one runs was thanks to a Byrnes single and steal, followed by an Upton triple. It's just the ninth game for Justin, but he now holds three triples, and seven of his nine base hits went for extra bases. At nineteen, maybe he has a shot at the career triples record! :-)

Josh Beckett is just mowing through the Orioles lineup today. In seven innings he's faced just twenty four batters, throwing just 83 pitches. That's just 3.5 per plate appearance. Josh hasn't issued a walk, and a double play and caught stealing took out two of the base runners to reach via a hit. The Red Sox lead 4-0 in the top of the eighth.

Bobby Jenks tied David Wells' AL record for conseutive batters retired Friday night:

The Chicago closer retired the side in the ninth Friday night in the White Sox 5-3 victory over the Seattle Mariners, his 33rd save in 38 chances. He's set down 38 straight batters, tying David Wells' American League record set in 1998 with the New York Yankees. It's the fourth-longest streak in major league history.

"That's unbelievable," said White Sox starter Javier Vazquez. "That's tough to do, especially in (that) situation."

Jenks did not make himself available to the media afterward because he did not want to discuss the streak, a team spokesman said. He's three batters away from tying the record Jim Barr set for San Francisco in 1972.

I'm wondering what people think of this streak compared to Wells? Wells pitched a perfect game, Jenks just needs to get a few outs at a time. Bobby has had some tough competition to face. On 7/24 the three batters he retired were Polanco, Sheffield and Ordonez. He also had a Matsui, Molina, Cano inning on 8/2 and a Wells, Thomas, Hill inning on 7/28. Yes, he's had a couple of inning where he was facing the bottom of the order, but all in all it looks like a pretty good lineup against him. Here's the list of everyone he retired:

Batter	Game Date	Outs
Mike Rouse	07/17/2007	0
Grady Sizemore	07/17/2007	1
Casey Blake	07/17/2007	2
Julio Lugo	07/19/2007	0
Coco Crisp	07/19/2007	1
Dustin Pedroia	07/19/2007	2
Placido Polanco	07/24/2007	0
Gary Sheffield	07/24/2007	1
Magglio Ordonez	07/24/2007	2
Mike Hessman	07/24/2007	0
Mike Rabelo	07/24/2007	1
Ivan Rodriguez	07/26/2007	0
Craig Monroe	07/26/2007	1
Brandon Inge	07/26/2007	2
Matt Stairs	07/27/2007	0
Royce Clayton	07/27/2007	1
Reed Johnson	07/27/2007	2
Vernon Wells	07/28/2007	0
Frank Thomas	07/28/2007	1
Aaron Hill	07/28/2007	2
Andy Phillips	08/01/2007	0
Shelly Duncan	08/01/2007	1
Melky Cabrera	08/01/2007	2
Hideki Matsui	08/02/2007	0
Jose Molina	08/02/2007	1
Robinson Cano	08/02/2007	2
Mike Hessman	08/04/2007	0
Craig Monroe	08/04/2007	1
Brandon Inge	08/04/2007	2
Ryan Raburn	08/05/2007	0
Mike Rabelo	08/05/2007	1
Mike Hessman	08/05/2007	2
Casey Blake	08/08/2007	0
Franklin Gutierrez	08/08/2007	1
Ryan Garko	08/08/2007	2
Jose Lopez	08/10/2007	0
Yuniesky Betancourt	08/10/2007	1
Ichiro Suzuki	08/10/2007	2

Friday's Cubs game against the Rockies offered a good example of how a new save rule would reward pitchers more appropriately.

Bob Howry entered in the eighth inning with the bases loaded and no one out, the Cubs leading 5-1. The Rockies at that point had a 0.240 chance of winning the game. When Howry finishes the inning (and his stint in the game), the Cubs lead by three going into the top of the ninth. The probability of the Rockies winning is down to 0.037, a difference of .203. When Dempster pitches the bottom of the ninth with a four run lead, the probability of a Colorado win is just 0.021. Even if it were a three run lead, the probability would be 0.047. Neither would qualify for a save under my new system.

Shaun Marcum's walked two through five innings tonight, but he hasn't allowed a hit to the Royals. Unfortunately, the game is not on MLB Extra Innings. He's used just 62 pitches so far.

Update: Marcum is starting the seventh with the no-hitter intact.

Update: Gordon broke up the no-no with a double leading off the eighth inning. Toronto leads 2-1 in the top of the ninth.

I just saw Philip Hughes strike out Jhonny Peralta on a wicked breaking ball. The pitch looked like it was going to run in on Peralta, but at the last second it moved back over the plate. It looked like some of the great benders Matsuzaka throws.

After that great pitch, A-Rod deposits one over the centerfield fence for his 37th home run of the season and 1-0 Yankees lead.

Scott Johnson writes noting that Bobby Jenks streak of retiring batters is longer than reported:

David, Help! Here's what reporters are saying about Bobby Jenks' streak: (whitesox.com) A silent streak: Three reporters tried to ask Bobby Jenks about his amazing streak of 35 straight hitters retired and 36 straight outs recorded on Thursday. But the White Sox closer maintained his silence concerning this historic run.

According to the Society for American Baseball Research, Jenks has the sixth-longest streak in Major League history. He trails David Wells' run of 38 for the American League mark and Jim Barr's total of 41 as the big-league record. The only admission made by Jenks in regard to his vast recent success dealt with his nifty move off the mound on Wednesday to grab Ryan Garko's high-chopper and then fire to first for the ninth inning's final out.

"You know what? One thing about that," said Jenks with a smile while thinking about the Garko play. "That was not going to be the hit."

Jenks has made 11 straight appearances of at least one inning without allowing a baserunner. According to SABR, it's the longest such streak since 1957.

The problem is, according to every reference I can find online, he's actually retired 36 batters in a row. Here's what he did in the July 17 game that started the streak, after he allowed a game-tying homer to Ryan Garko. According to Baseball Reference:
Bottom of the 9th, Indians Batting, Behind 3-5, Bobby Jenks facing 7-8-9

• Bobby Jenks replaces Charlie Haeger pitching
• --- 4 T Nixon Single to CF (Ground Ball)
• Ryan Garko pinch hits for Kelly Shoppach batting 8th
• RR 1-- 3 R Garko Home Run (Fly Ball to LF-CF); Nixon Scores
• --- 4 M Rouse Groundout: 2B-1B
• --- 1 G Sizemore Groundout: 1B unassisted
• --- 2 C Blake Flyball: CF

Three straight batters at the end of the inning. Not a double-play, as the report makes it sound. Followed by 11 straight perfect 1-inning appearances.

I've tried emailing a couple of reporters but have received no reply. I'll be glad to be shown where I am wrong -- I didn't see this game, so maybe all the online play-by-plays are wrong. Can you put your eyes on this one? And if I'm right, can you give the correct number some pub?

Scott

I've checked two sources, STATS, Inc. and BIS and both agree with Scott. However, I almost made the same mistake. When I looked at the event data, I looked at the top of the ninth because Chicago was the visiting team. That inning ended in a double play. But of course, Chicago batted in the top of the ninth and pitched in the bottom of the ninth. Indeed, Jenks retired the last three batters of that inning. The streak should be 36. (This is wrong, see the correction below.)

Correction: That wasn't the problem. In the second game of a double header on 7/24, Jenks came into the game with a runner on first and Rabelo lined into a double play. That's why he's only faced 35 batters.

Matt Garza pitched another great game, and lost. Garza lasted 6 2/3 innings, no walks, six strikeouts and just one run allowed. But Kyle Davies showed the Dayton Moore magic today, matching the number of innings with no runs allowed, earning a short shutout. Garza's now made six starts, allowed nine runs, seven earned and his record is 1-3. It's the second game he's pitched in which the Twins last 1-0.

David Wells will be cut to make room for Chris Young. He's certainly been a great character during his twenty one season career. He hasn't pitched well lately, however, so I'm not surprised he's getting cut.

Jake Peavy goes six innings tonight, leaving after the Padres score in the top of the seventh for a 1-0 lead. The bullpen holds the lead which San Diego extends to 4-0 in their eventual win over the Cardinals.

It's the second game in a row in which Peavy tosses a short shutout. With pitchers pulled somewhere between 100 and 110 pitches these days, I propose a new stat, the short shutout. Anytime a starter goes six inning or more without allowing a run, they get a short shutout. Here are the leaders this season:

Pitcher	Short Shutouts
Jake Peavy	7
Chris Young	7
Tim Hudson	6
Brandon Webb	5
Brad Penny	5
Orlando Hernandez	5
Erik Bedard	5

Wandy Rodriguez gives up one run tonight over eight innings, out-pitching Rich Hill as Houston takes a 2-1 victory over the Cubs in ten innings. Both starters gave up a single run, but Wandy pitched one more inning and struck out three more batters, nine in total. It's much better than his first start against the Cubs this season in which he gave up seven runs in 3 1/3 innings.

Ryan Theriot took Soriano's place in the leadoff slot and reached base twice in five trips, doubling twice and scoring Chicago's only run.

For the third time in four games, David Wells allowed seven runs in a game. In the other game, he allowed five runs in 5 1/3 innings. Over his last four starts, Wells ERA sits at 14.04. That includes seven home runs and thirty four hits.

Given his age and his medical condition (diabetes), I wonder if the season just wore him out. He pitched decently up to this point, but in a tight division and wild card race, can the Padres really afford to trot him out every fifth day?

The Cubs activated Kerry Wood today.

During his rehab starts at three different minor-league stops, some pitches were clocked in the mid-90s.

The Cubs host the New York Mets on Friday and through the weekend.

"If we need him, we'll use him," Piniella said Friday. "He's available and he's had two days off. He's the freshest pitcher we've got. So if we need him, we'll use him. I've got all the confidence in the world that he'll do his job."

Before Friday's game, Wood caught some pitches from Pearl Jam rock star Eddie Vedder in the bullpen. Vedder was to sing during the seventh-inning stretch.

Wood avoided surgery and appears to have healed himself. If he is indeed better, I hope doctors learn something from his rehabilitation.

Update: Neither starter has allowed a run through five innings. Each struck out five batters, but Zambrano walked seven so far. The Mets are being selective, but they aren't getting good wood on pitches in the strike zone as they've only picked up one hit so far.

Update: Castro gets good wood on the ball as he leads off the sixth inning with a home run to put New York up 1-0.

Update: Something's wrong with Zambrano. After the home run, Piniella and the trainer come out, talk to Carlos, then take him out of the game. No idea what's wrong, I didn't see him wince or anything.

Update: Derrek Lee homers to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh. It's just his 12th home run of the season. All other aspects of Lee's offense returned this year after missing most of last season due to injury, but not his home run power.

Armando Benitez blew his fifth save of the year, giving up two runs to the Rockies in the top of the eighth inning to hand Colorado a 4-3 victory. With a runner on first on a bunt hit, Holliday doubled to drive in the tying run. That's been Armando's problem all year. With men on base he's allowed a .487 slugging percentage, so the base runners who get on move a long way.

The Rockies move back to 3 1/2 games behind the Diamondbacks.

Mike Bacsik is an extreme pitch to contact hurler. Coming into today, he had the highest percentage of batters faced putting the ball in play, 87.1%. Not surprisingly, he came into the game with a rather high batting average allowed, .287. But it worked tonight, as he struck out three and walked none in twenty four batters faced. He allowed just three hits, although two were home runs. So on 19 fieldable balls in play, he only allowed one hit as the Nationals defeated the Reds 7-3.

Here are the five highest Ball in Play Percentages (300 BFP):

Pitcher	BFP	NIP	IPPct
Mike Bacsik	325	42	87.07692
Zachary Duke	418	58	86.1244
Carlos Silva	580	87	85
Paul Byrd	552	83	84.96377
Ramon Ortiz	367	57	84.46866

And the five lowest:

Pitcher	BFP	NIP	IPPct
Scott Kazmir	605	215	64.46281
Byung-Hyun Kim	378	136	64.02116
Tim Lincecum	407	150	63.14496
A.J. Burnett	402	155	61.44279
Erik Bedard	596	233	60.90604

Jake Peavy is off to a great start in today's game against Arizona. He's struck out eight through five innings while allowing just two hits. San Diego scored three times on homers by Gonzalez and Morgan Ensberg. It's the ninth time this season Peavy reached eight strikeouts in a game.

Update: By the way, Upton is up.

Update: Peavy goes seven and strikes out ten, while Ensberg homers twice. That's always a good day at PETCO. The Padres win 11-0.

Kason Gabbard makes his first start for the Rangers and takes a loss as the Indians pitch a shutout, 5-0. It's a big difference in run support between the two teams. Boston scored 41 runs in Kason's 25 2/3 innings with that team. With that kind of scoring, he's going to win games in which he allows three runs in 5 2/3 innings.

Westbrook and the bullpen held Texas to seven hits and one walk while striking out seven. Five of those hits were singles. It's the sixth time the Rangers were shutout this season, and the fourth time in their last twenty two games.

Micah Ownings picked up two hits tonight to raise his batting average to .242. One of them was a double, giving him a double, triple and homer on the season. Three of his eight hits this year have gone for extra bases. Not bad for a pitcher. The DBacks lead the Padres 2-1 as Owings is throwing a three-hitter through five innings.

Bronson Arroyo went from Nationals tormentor to victim:

Washington batted around in the first inning, scoring four runs on five hits, including doubles by Felipe Lopez and Austin Kearns and a two-run single by Ryan Church. It didn't get any better for Arroyo in the second, when Ronnie Belliard hit an RBI double, and Kearns deposited a 69 mph hanging curveball in the upper deck in left for a two-run homer.

That was Arroyo's final pitch. His shortest start in the majors before Wednesday? The two innings he went against Washington on May 21, when he gave up six runs. So in 2007 against the weak-hitting Nationals, Arroyo has allowed 13 runs in 3 2-3 innings, a 31.91 ERA.

Quite a contrast from last season, when Arroyo tossed 16 shutout innings against Washington.

If you take away the two starts against Washington, Arroyo's ERA is 4.01 instead of 4.72.

Aaron Cook with a win last night is 3-0 with a 1.82 ERA since the All-Star break. He talks about maturing as a pitcher:

But he has allowed six earned runs in 29 2/3 innings of his four starts since the break. He has struck out 19 and walked seven, giving up 20 hits. He also has induced eight double plays, including three Tuesday, one of which ended the Marlins' three-run third.

"It's definitely a different thought process," Cook said. "I'm just thinking about throwing a good quality sinker down in the zone and knowing I can get a double play if I throw that pitch.

"It's a maturing process, learning how to pitch. Learning to relax and not trying to do too much. It sounds simple, but in earlier games this year, I'd get in situation and it was like I was speeding up to try and get out of the jam."

That's where the frustrations were building earlier this season when Cook sandwiched winless months of April and June around a 4-1 effort in May.

It's why Hurdle and pitching coach Bob Apodaca finally had a sit-down with Cook and challenged him to pitch to his ability instead of allowing other teams to get him out of a game plan.

It interesting to see that after many years of trying various methods of building a team, the Rockies hit on the tried and true "put a young team together and let them grow together." It's what the Twins did in the 1980s, the Indians in the 1990s and the Twins again this decade. The Diamondbacks are on the same path. It takes some patience, but it an economical way to build a winner.

Brandon Webb pitched like a Cy Young Award winner last night, propelling the Diamondbacks into first place.

Webb pitched seven strong innings, shutting down division rival San Diego. He allowed just three hits and two walks as he struck out seven. Webb adjusted his used of the sinker, especially to left-handed batters.

The performance was the latest example of Webb's ongoing evolution. There are nights when he can fire a sinker nine out of 10 times and rack up ground balls in trademark fashion.

But sometimes that pitch can play into the strength of some left-handed hitters, so Webb has begun accounting for that.

"He can find a way to do it a little differently," manager Bob Melvin said.

On this night, it meant going to his change-up with more regularity. Though only two of his seven strikeouts came against left-handed hitters, all seven went down swinging at change-ups.

Support helps, too and the disappointing Chris Young and Stephen Drew each delivered a two run homer for the 4-0 win. Arizona has now won 9 of 10, throwing three shutouts along the way. The previous one of those was another strong seven inning performance by Webb, who has not allowed a run in sixteen consecutive innings.

With the Dodgers losing 3-1 to the Giants (the teams in that series have won all the road games), Arizona is alone in first place in the NL West. The Dodgers lead the wild card race, but with the Cubs, Rockies, Phillies and Braves winning, the top six teams are only separated by 2 1/2 games. It's setting up to be another fun finish in the NL. Bonds was 0 for 2 with two walks last night, although two of his bats provided some amusement. Penny moved the ball around the strike zone in the first inning, striking out Barry on three pitches. Then in his final appearance, Bonds hit a mile-high pop up behind short that Furcal called for and dropped. It would have been an easier play for the outfielders.

Fausto Carmona ran his streak to 22 scoreless innings before the Rangers' Nelson Cruz delivered a solo home run in the fifth inning. Carmona is pitching well but McCarthy is pitching better as the Rangers lead 1-0.

Jordan Tata gave the Tigers a lift Monday night:

Right-hander Jordan Tata, stepping in for injured Kenny Rogers, gave the Tigers a badly needed quality start Monday night.

And Tata, in his first big-league start, was rewarded with his first big-league victory. The Tigers, down a run after five innings, scored twice in both the sixth and seventh for a 5-2 win over Oakland.

The Tigers had lost four straight and eight of 11. In those 11 games, they'd gotten only one quality start (six innings or more, three earned runs or fewer). Tata went seven innings, allowed six hits and two runs, and sent the first-place Tigers a game in front of idle Cleveland.

I like what the Tigers did with Tata. They managed to put him in a position to succeed in his first big league start. He pitched in the Coliseum, a tough park for hitters, against a team with the second lowest runs per game in the American League. It's a good way for him to get his feet wet.

Cole Hamels pitches a very nice game tonight, allowing just three hits while striking out eight. His only mistake was a home run to Ryan The"Quiet"riot. Hamels now has allowed 23 home runs this season, but 19 were solo shots, as Theriot's was tonight. He's reminding me of Curt Schilling from his days with the Diamondbacks. The 4-1 win makes Hamels 12-5 on the season.

Iguchi keeps up the good work, going one for three with two walks. His Phillies OBA is now .500. Philadelphia passes Chicago and now stands in third place in the wild card standings, one game behind Arizona.

Jeremy Bonderman gives up double digit runs for the first time in his career. Leyland leaves him in to allow nine hits, three walks and eleven runs in 2 1/3 innings of work. His previous high was nine runs on 8/29/2005 in 3 1/3 innings against Cleveland. The Angels lead 12-1 in the fourth but given the comebacks today, I wouldn't turn off the game yet. The Angels have hammered the Tigers in this series, scoring 33 runs in the three games so far, and they are only in the bottom of the fourth in this game.

Shaun Marcum ends July as he began it, with a good start. He holds the White Sox to two hits and one run over eight innings, lowering his ERA to 3.67 as Toronto wins 4-1. He started the month with 6 2/3 shutout innings, but in between he allowed 20 runs (18 earned) in 21 1/3 innings.

Carlos Zambrano pitches another great game, shutting out the Reds for 7 1/3 innings as the Cubs win 6-0. He's now allowed zero runs in three of his last four outings. With Sabathia out of the game and losing in Cleveland, Zambrano becomes the first major leaguer to reach 14 wins.

The Mets are certainly getting their money's worth from Billy Wagner. He picked up his twenty fourth save of the season this afternoon in game one. In terms of ERA and blown saves, he's on his way to his best season ever. With a 91.4% save rate since joining New York, Billy holds the best save percentage in the NL since the start of 2006 (Hoffman is at 91.35). He's at 96% this season. The Mets defeat the Nationals 3-1.

This is what happens when you're on vacation, you miss games like this.

Aaron Cook worked quickly and efficiently.

Cook needed just 74 pitches in his second complete game of the season, leading the Colorado Rockies over the San Diego Padres 10-2 Wednesday.

"I don't think I've ever seen a pitcher throw seven frames of single-digit pitches," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said. "He was filthy."

He faced 31 batters. That means the average Padres hitter saw just 2.4 pitches in a plate appearance. With two strikeouts and no walks, San Diego hitters were just putting the ball in play early. At some point, shouldn't Bud Black or his hitting coach say to the players, "Everybody take until you get two strikes." Try to get a 20 pitch inning just to wear him down? San Diego just made it easy for Cook yesterday.

Fausto Carmona defeated Josh Beckett yesterday 1-0. Both pitched eight innings and allowed four hits. Fausto walked two and struck out six (also hit a batter), while Beckett K'd seven without a free pass. But of the eight hits in the game, the only extra-base hit came off Beckett, a home run to Franklin Gutierrez.

Carmona, Beckett and Sabathia are now tied for the AL lead in wins with 13. Beckett and Carmona are both in the top ten in ERA, ranked seventh and ninth respectively. In a race between Fausto and Josh for Cy Young, no doubt Beckett is the better pitcher. He's struck out more, walked less and given up fewer home runs.

But I wonder if a game like last night's would change some votes? Same record, close ERA both teams in playoff contention? If the two remain close the rest of the season, it will be interesting to see if this game puts Carmona ahead of Beckett in the voting.

(Let me note that I'm assuming the sports writers will vote for someone with a lot of wins if his ERA is good, rather than for the best pitcher. Right now, I think the actual best choices for Cy Young and Haren and Escobar, but that can change.)

Chad Billingsley won his seventh game of the season tonight without a loss. He pitched shutout ball for eight innings before Luke Scott knocked out a two run homer in the ninth inning. That wasn't near enough as Billingsley complete the game and the Dodgers took home a 10-2 win.

Chad Billingsley and Brad Penny are now a combined 19-1 on the season. The rest of the staff is six games under .500. But that's okay. If Chad and Brad combined to go better than twenty games over .500 for the year, the rest of the staff doesn't have to be that good. If they're .500, the Dodgers probably make the playoffs.

Bartolo Colon is removed after the first inning in which he allows a walk, four hits and four runs. Three of the four hits come with two outs. I don't know if Colon was injured, but his ERA after that inning of work stands at 6.72 for the season.

Jon Lester returned to the majors this evening and pitched six good innings, holding the Cleveland Indians to just two runs. He struck out six and walked three, picking up the win as the Red Sox took the game 6-2. His only mistake was a two-run homer hit by Grady Sizemore. Former Indians Crsip and Ramirez combined for six hits and four runs scored. Congratulations to Jon Lester and coming back so quickly and successfully from cancer!

Tim Lincecum pitched the best game of his season this afternoon as he held the Brewers scoreless for eight innings in an 8-0 San Francisco victory, another blow out loss for Milwaukee. He went eight innings, allowing four hits and finding his control as he walked one and struck out eight. He's allowed zero runs in three of his last five starts, over which time his ERA stands at a minuscule 1.05. He's only allowed nineteen hits in those 34 1/3 innings while striking out 41. Lincecum is so good over these games that opponents are only hitting .250 when not striking out.

This photograph is from earlier this season against Houston. I love it because it shows Tim's focus on the target, and at the same time his total relaxation. Every part of his body is in motion, but he's just looking to put the ball in the catcher's glove. In an otherwise disappointing season for the Giants, Tim is providing hope for the future.

Erik Bedard lost his consecutive scoreless inning streak because the only hit he allowed in seven innings was a home run. The Orioles defeated the Athletics 6-1 as Bedard racked up eleven strikeouts in seven innings. In two thirds of his starts this season, Bedard has struck out more batters than he's pitched innings, and his K per 9 is an impressive 11.2. Consider he's four short of his career high in K set last season in about sixty fewer innings. If Mazzone wants to point to a prize pupil, Erik is his man. Before Leo, Bedard struck out 7.9 per 9 IP and walked 4.1. Since, he's struck out 9.2 per 9 IP and walked 3.0. And he just seems to be getting better.

His 11.2 K per 9, if he keeps it up, would put his season in the top 20 all time (minimum 150 innings pitched).

Metsblog.com forwards the latest on the Pedro Martinez's status. He's take over two weeks off from work, so it's going to be end of August at the earliest for a return.

Meanwhile, Kerry Wood has been to Lourdes:

"I started throwing and waited to see what happened," Wood said. "It kept feeling better and better. So here we are in games and I'll hopefully get a few more innings and be ready to go."

Trainer Brett Fischer, who has worked with Wood for two years, said he would have bet his house a month ago that the pitcher would have to undergo surgery. In fact, Fischer said he had talked to the Cubs about the operation and asked for four more days of therapy.

Suddenly, the pain disappeared. Fischer said he has no idea why.

"I've been doing this 25 years and I've never seen a shoulder turn that fast," he said. "To me it was a miracle. This guy's shoulder really turned around in four days."

He's hit 95 MPH with control in rookie ball. Getting Wood back healthy would be a huge boost to the Cubs chances this season.

Chris Young and Cole Hamels engaged in a classic pitchers duel Thursday night in San Diego. Hamels allowed just two hits and one walk, fooling the Padres hitters without striking out many (just three). But a single, sacrifice and a double by Brian Giles plated a run against the Philadelphia lefty.

That was all Chris Young would need. Like Hamels, Young gave up two hits over seven innings, although he walked three. Still, the timing was wrong on the Phillies hits, and Young used six Ks to keep Philadelphia off the scoreboard. Bell and Hoffman presevered the shutout and the win. Hoffman got himself into a little trouble in the ninth, putting two on with one out, but struck out Dobbs and Ruiz to end the game.

During the channel 4 broadcast last night, there was an excellent discussion of what makes Young so tough. They it started after Aaron Rowand popped up a fastball. You could see the look of frustration on his face, as the pitch was basically down the middle of the plate. The broadcasters (including Tony Gwynn) noted they see that a lot. Batters get pitches from Young that look crushable, and they either miss them or pop them up.

Part of it is the angle of the throw. Young drops his back leg (reminding me of Tom Seaver) which means his pitches are not coming at as steep a downward angle. He shortarms the ball. And as Gwynn pointed out, Young is 6' 10". That means he's releasing the ball closer to the plate. That all seems to combine to "surprise" batters. They see a perfectly hittable fastball, right where they want it, but by the time they swing it's past them. Young's ERA is down to 1.85, and the league is hitting just .187 against him.

On a record chasing note, Chase Utley picked up his 40th double of the season last night. That puts him on a pace for 68, one more than the major league record set by Earl Webb. Joe Medwick holds the NL record with 64.

Sergio Mitre came up three runs in the first, but held the Reds scoreless through the next five innings as the Marlins worked their way back to a 5-3 lead. Then in the eighth, Armando Benitez entered to hold the lead. Before the inning was over, Armando gave up four hits, the last a three-run home by Ryan Freel. His ERA now sits at 5.05 for the season and 5.49 with the Marlins. The change of scenery didn't help. The Reds take the game 7-5 and move out of last place, 1/2 game ahead of the idle Astros.

Chien-Ming Wang retired all six batters he faced so far, but with three fly outs, two strikeouts and a ground out. That's not in character! The Yankees lead 2-0 on an Abreu double in the first.

Update: That's better. Three ground outs in the third inning for Wang. Yankees still lead 2-0.

Grant Balfour has to be the worst name for a pitcher since Bob Walk. He had a brief career with the Twins, living up to his name by walking 38 in 68 innings. Tonight, he returned to the majors for the first time since 2004 as a reliever for the Brewers. He came into a 2-2 tie, got the first two outs of the eighth inning, then hit a batter, walked a batter and gave up a three-run homer to Reynolds. That was all Arizona needed as they go on to a 5-2 victory and keep pace with the Dodgers.

The Marlins found themselves on the wrong end of a 6-0 score as Kip Wells pitches eight strong innings, allowing just two hits. But on the other side, Dontrelle Willis pitches another bad game. He gives up eleven hits in just three innings. His ERA is now 5.13. The league is hitting .297 against the big lefty. Why would anyone trade for him at this point? He's had one great year in 2005, and he's regressed ever since. He pitches in a poor park for runs and his ERA in Florida this year is 5.64. I'm open to arguments on this. His career strike outs are good but not great. His walks and home runs allowed are good, but he gives up lots of hits.

I've been a big fan of Dontrelle since he came up. I love his look, I love the leg kick, I love his whole back story. But right now, I'm not loving him as a pitcher. I certainly wouldn't trade the farm for him.

It looks like someone got through to Scott Kazmir that he needs to be more efficient if he's going to win some games. Tonight he's gone seven innings so far, only throwing 94 pitches. He still has the strike outs, as six Angels went down that way. But he's cut down on the walks, issuing only one free pass tonight. Now, part of this might be the Angels philosophy of putting the ball in play, but 65 of the 94 pitches Scott's thrown went for strikes. The Devil Rays lead 7-1 in the top of the eighth as Bartolo Colon continues to struggle.

Kevin MIllwood gave up four runs in the second inning against the Oakland Athletics. And he's almost single-handedly responsible for all of them. He walked three, committed an error, and threw a wild pitch. Along with three hits, the A's were able to score three unearned runs. The game remains 4-0 in the third.

Mark Buehrle gave up ten hits in 6 1/3 innings today, but only allowed one run. Eight of the ten went for singles. Buehrle came into the game with a .397 slugging percentage allowed. That's decently below the major league average of .416 and the American League average of .420. The White Sox also have ten hits, but with four for extra bases, including a Konerko home run, they lead the Indians 5-1 in the ninth.

Update: The White Sox win 5-1, dropping Cleveland 1 1/2 games behind Detroit.

Carlos Zambrano stops a line drive by David Roberts by sticking up his pitching hand and letting the ball bounce off his palm. He picked up the ball and threw out Roberts at first, and stayed in the game with no ill effects. He struck out the next batter Lewis.

In addition to pitching seven shutout innings against the Padres last night, Orlando Hernandez stole a base and scored a run. The stolen base was a bit historic:

El Duque (6-4) became the first pitcher since 1967 to steal bases in consecutive games and the first Mets hurler in that span to have two steals in a season. Tom Seaver, who stole bases in back-to-back games that year, was the last to hold both distinctions. Hernandez surrendered just two hits - doubles by Adrian Gonzalez in the first and fourth innings.

The Mets defeated the Padres 7-0. The stone cold Carloses (Beltran and Delgado) picked up two hits each, both of Beltran's going for doubles.

The Reds took down the Braves tonight 6-5, but what looked like an easy win for Bronson Arroyo turned into a very tight game. Arroyo left the game after pitching seven scoreless innings, the Reds holding a 6-0 lead. Bronson allowed three hits, two walks and struck out nine. At 100 pitches, there was no reason to push him to finish the game.

Or so they thought. Stanton allows four runs in the eighth on a two run-homer and a two-run triple. Weathers had to come on for a four-out save. He got out of the eighth but allowed another run in the ninth for the close final. This is a big reason why pitchers don't win 20 in a season any more. Leaving the game early puts a decision in jeopardy. A reliever may be having a bad day, and a two run lead might turn into a one-run loss. Arroyo had a big enough lead tonight, but his relief kept him on the edge of his seat.

The Houston Astros defeated the Washington Nationals 4-2 this evening, getting a good start from Chris Sampson and a home run from Hunter Pence.

But the surprise of the night was Roy Oswalt, appearing in relief in the seventh. With two out, Sampson hit a batter and Oswalt came in to face pinch-hitter Robert Fick. He threw three pitches, all strikes, to get Fick to fly out. Why was Oswalt coming out of the pen?

But because Houston is off Thursday - and is short a reliever with Chad Qualls starting a three-game suspension - Oswalt entered in the middle of a game on what would be his normal side-session day.

It's good to be versatile.

If you receive NESN, they're going to premier the Gyroball Video this half hour.

Update: If you missed it, don't worry, it wasn't that good. Nice shots of the Dice-K's pitches darting around the strike zone, but nothing you wouldn't see in a good ESPN montage.

Texas gained another game on Oakland last night, defeating the fading Athletics 4-1 behind Jamey Wright. The Texas starting pitching is having a good run. In their last ten games they've posted a 2.55 ERA. What's interesting is that on the surface, they're not pitching that well. Their strikeouts are low and their walks are high. But they've only allowed one home run in 60 innings. That's pretty amazing for a Texas team. The Rangers are now just 3 1/2 games out of third place, and you know Ron Washington would love to finish ahead of the A's.

Francisco Cordero picked up his 29th save on the season, striking out all three Diamondbacks he faced as the Brewers maintain their NL Central lead by a score of 4-3. Cordero now has 54 strikeouts in 37 2/3 innings, 12.9 Ks per 9 innings. This is the third time this season he's struck out all three batters he's faced to record a save.

Kason Gabbard puts together a pretty good ninth career start. He shuts out the Kansas City Royals 4-0, giving up three hits and one walk while striking out eight. That brings his batting average allowed down to .206 and his ERA to 3.38. He's won all three starts at Fenway in which he's struck out 20 in 19 2/3 innings.

Kyle Davies lasts just five batters against the Reds as he gives up two hits and three walks. The Reds have the bases loaded with just one out and a 2-0 lead. Villarreal is on in relief.

Update: Oscar gets a fly out and two strikeouts to prevent any more scoring.

The Marlins' Scott Olsen won't be getting paid for a couple of days:

The Florida Marlins suspended left-hander Scott Olsen for two games without pay because of insubordination and conduct detrimental to the team, manager Fredi Gonzalez said Monday.

Gonzalez said Olsen's penalty stemmed from an incident Sunday after Olsen was relieved, but would not elaborate.

Olsen won Sunday against the Washington Nationals, giving up two runs and six hits in five innings. Gonzalez said the decision was made "collectively."

Erik Bedard picks up where he left off before the All-Star break, holding the White Sox scoreless over seven innings. That gives Bedard sixteen straight scoreless innings. In that time he's allowed just five hits while striking out twenty two. Buehrle pitched well also, but was touched for two solo home runs as he gets a complete game loss, 2-0. Chris Ray kept the Baltimore fans on the edge of their seats as he put two men on in the ninth, but the White Sox did no damage as Ray picks up his fifteenth save.

Jonathan Papelbon reveals his alter ego, Cinco Ocho.

t's weird enough that Papelbon has a split personality -- what's even weirder is that he shares it with Chad Johnson, Cincinatti Bengals wideout and noted entertainer. Seriously, Papelbon couldn't think of anything better than a name Johnson gave himself last fall? For shame, Red Sox, for shame.

He could have been Johnathan Killington Closer.

There's talk that Rich Harden will miss the rest of the season.

Rich Harden's troublesome right shoulder still didn't feel right Sunday, prompting him to skip his planned throwing session. Harden will visit Angels team doctor Lewis Yocum today in Los Angeles and hopes to rejoin the A's for their scheduled workout Wednesday in Oakland.

General manager Billy Beane did not sound optimistic about the possibility of a quick return for Harden, given that the right-hander missed most of the first half.

"I think at this point, after what's transpired the first part of the season, it would be sort of foolish to plan on Rich being back soon,'' Beane said. "We won't know until he sees the doctor, but, obviously, this has been bothering him for quite awhile. It's been almost three months, and it's still bothering him. To expect he'll just be better in two weeks is unrealistic.''

Maybe the A's medical staff can solve the problem better than the Cubs did.

Hat tip, Athletics Nation.

Phillip Hughes started his rehabilitation assignment Monday night, and pitched two no-hit innings. Given that in his last outing in the majors he pitched 6 1/3 innings of no-hit ball, he needs two more outs for the no-hitter!

"I was a little tentative in the first inning, but that's to be expected," said Hughes, who threw 20 of 36 pitches for strikes and had his fastball reach 94 mph. "The second inning I felt a lot more comfortable. I was kind of letting it go and not really thinking about landing as much on my front foot or anything like that."

Hughes said he was encouraged that his ankle and hamstring held up well.

"I didn't feel a thing out there so it was good," Hughes said.

Aaron Gleeman takes an in-depth look at the Twins pitchers compared to last year. Aaron offers this on Santana's first half:

Already one of the most extreme fly-ball pitchers in baseball, Johan Santana has induced even fewer ground balls this season. Fly balls are typically easier to convert into outs than ground balls, which is why his batting average on balls in play has improved from .269 to .256. However, fly balls can also leave the ballpark, which is why he's served up a homer about 35 percent more often. The end result is that Santana has been slightly less effective, especially considering the league-wide drop in offense.

Yusmeiro Petit is off to a good start this year, but home runs continue to plague him. In 2006, he allowed seven in just 26 1/3 innings. He allowed two more today to bring his total to four so far as the Reds take a 2-0 lead on the Diamondbacks. All four this year, however, have been solo shots.

Josh Towers comes out for the sixth inning having retired the first fifteen Indians. Jason Michaels sends a long fly ball out to straight away center field. Wells runs back and makes a pretty over the shoulder catch to preserve the perfect game. Two batters later Barfield lines one over the third baseman to break up the no hitter. Towers needs to keep up the pressure, however, as Byrd is throwing a two-hit shutout through six.

Ervin Santana gives up four runs in the first inning in The Bronx, three on a home run by Matusi and the Yankees get off to an early 4-0 lead. Santana's now allowed 44 earned runs in 49 1/3 innings on the road, good for an 8.03 ERA. Sixteen of his twenty two home runs allowed came away from Anaheim.

Erik Bedard pitched the game of his career Saturday night, a two hitter in which he tied the franchise record with fifteen strikeouts. He didn't fade, either, striking out the side in the ninth inning. The night ended with Bedard picking up his first complete game and shutout in his 102nd start. The manager was impressed:

"I haven't seen anything like that," interim manager Dave Trembley said. "It was just strike one, one right after another. He just kept repeating. He didn't walk anybody. I don't know how many three-ball counts he had, maybe one. By the fifth inning, you obviously felt one [run] was going to be enough. That's all he needed.

"I don't know how anybody could ever criticize Erik Bedard if you know what Erik Bedard is all about," Trembley continued. "I just think he's underappreciated if anything because a lot of people misread his aloofness as not caring. That's the furthest thing from the truth. The guy is not like that. This guy has a chance to rank right up there with all the great left-handed pitchers that the Orioles have run out there over the years."

The Orioles only scored three runs, so Bedard needed to pitch well to win. With two double plays, he faced only 27 batters. And, as Trembley alludes, he was efficient, using just 109 pitches to complete the game. Bedard and Guthrie are giving the Orioles a nice base on which to build a great pitching staff.

Felix Hernandez appears to have worked his way back from his injury. As he did in his first start of the year vs. the Athletics, Hernandez pitched eight scoreless innings. All the A's could get off the young Seattle star were two hits and two walks.

Rich Harden didn't fare as well, allowing four runs in 2 2/3 innings. Adrian Beltre continued his power surge with a three run homer off Rich. The Mariners win 4-0 and are now 3-3 under John McLaren.

What did Wandy Rodriguez discover. He pitched his first complete game and first shutout tonight, defeating the Mets 4-0. It was a brilliant game as he struck out eight and walked one. The Mets could manage just four hits. This follows seven shutout innings against the Rockies. His line for the month is 16 innings, 0 runs, seven hits, three walks and twelve strikeouts. I wondered if it was a new pitch, but this article claims it's a matter of confidence.

Andrew Miller walked four tonight in seven innings, but the Red Sox couldn't come up with the hits to capitalize on the free passes. Boston managed just three hits while striking out six times against Miller. Meanwhile, Detroit had no problem hitting Tavarez, knocking out ten hits for eight runs, including a grand slam by Marcus Thames.

Huston Street is in the booth on the Athletics' telecast tonight. He was going to talk about his recovery for an inning, and he's just staying telling great stories about living with Swisher and proposing to his fiance. He just called Swisher's 14th home run that tied the Mariners at two in the bottom of the sixth.

Update: Two outs later Bobby Crosby sends one over the centerfield fence to give the A's a 3-2 lead.

Brian Burres pitched decently for the Orioles this season, coming into tonight's game against the White Sox with a 3.38 ERA. But the White Sox went to town on the left-hander, scoring seven runs in two innings and chasing Burres from the game. His ERA rose to 4.27, almost a run. Iguchi and Dye, two players mentioned as likely to be traded by the White Sox, hit home runsl to drive in five.

The first four Twins reach base against Kei Igawa, and the only out he's recorded so far was when Cuddyer tried to take an extra base on a single. The Twins take an early 2-0 lead on the Yankees.

Update: Igawa gets out of the inning with just the two runs allowed. He gave up four hits and a walk but struck out two. If he had allowed a home run it would have been a pretty typical inning for his season.

Josh Johnson returned to the disable list after his forearm tightened last night warming up.

Johnson held San Diego to four hits while striking out three in five scoreless innings. He came in with a 10.97 ERA.

With luck they caught whatever was happening before it became too serious.

Josh Johnson pitches his first good game of the season, throwing five scoreless innings against the Padres. Unfortunately, warming up for the bottom of the sixth, he removed himself from the game. No word yet on what caused the discomfort.

Chris Young matched him in shutout innings, and continued into the top of the sixth. Young has struck out six so far while allowing five hits. Pinto is on in relief of Johnson in a scoreless tie.

Update: Young ends up going seven innings, striking out nine without allowing a run. No walks have been issued yet in this game on either side. Young lowers his ERA to an even 2.00.

Update: The Padres win in the bottom of the ninth on an unearned run. Cameron doubles, and after an IBB to Greene, Bocachica lays down a perfect sacrifice bunt. Olivo's only play is to third, but the throw is late. Kouzmanoff grounds to third. It looks like a 5-2-3 double play, but Olivo drops the throw from Cabrera and Cameron is safe at the plate. The Padres win 1-0. According to the broadcast, it's the twentieth 1-0 game of the year, and the fourth involving the Padres. San Diego won all four.

Joe Kennedy doesn't get out of the first inning today as he walks four and allows four runs to the Blue Jays. One of those walks forced in a run, while the other three scored on a Stairs double and a sacrifice fly. Shane Komine replaces Joe. Komine has eight walks and one strikeout in nine innings of work, so things might not get much better for the A's.

After two good starts, Edwin Jackson returned to form today, allowing seven runs in five innings against the Red Sox. Boston even used their "B" lineup with Manny, Pedroia, Youkilis and Varitek out of the lineup. Edwin's ERA balloons to 7.26. Meanwhile, Wakefield allowed just one run as he pitches in the seventh, a home run by Raul Casanova.

Joe Blanton pitched a complete game four hitter last night, holding the Blue Jays to one run as Oakland took the game by a score of 3-1. It was an unusual outing as Bob Geren allowed Joe to finish the game despite walking a batter with two out in the ninth as Blanton approached 120 pitches:

After a brief conference, Geren showed confidence in his bulky right-hander and allowed him one more batter. That's all Blanton needed.

Blanton (8-4) threw a four-hitter for his AL-leading third complete game and the Oakland Athletics won for the third time in four games, beating the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 on Tuesday night.

"I told him it's my game and I wanted it," Blanton said of the mound visit. "He actually came out to ask me how I felt. If I was gassed I would have said so."

Blanton's home/road split is rather remarkable.

Blanton 2007	Home	Road
ERA	1.69	4.48
Innings	64	64.1
Strikeouts	40	44
Walks	11	13
Home Runs	5	5
Hits	39	71

As far as fielding independent stats go, Blanton is the same pitcher home and road. For some reason, however, 32 more hits landed in about the same number of innings away from Oakland. I know the Coliseum is famous for lots of foul territory, but is Joe inducing that many foul pop outs? Or is the hitting background in Oakland just bad?

Javier Vazquez hits the triple word score with a complete game against the Baltimore Orioles. He strikes out seven and walks none as the only Baltimore run comes on a Kevin Millar homer. Vazquez has a good ERA, tons of strikeouts and few walks. It seems the oft-traded pitcher might bring a nice price on the trade market this month. The White Sox win the game 5-1.

As you can see here, the one through six hitters kill Kevin Millwood, but he has no trouble with the seven through nine slots. Tuesday night, however, Millwood turned that around. The 1-6 six hitters were just 2 for 20 this evening against Kevin, while the 7-9 group went 3 for 9 and accounted for all two RBI the Angels would collect. Millwood went eight, walking none, and received the win as the Rangers down LAnaheim 8-3.

Yusmeiro Petit showed some promise last year in his strikeouts and walks, despite posting a 9.57 ERA. He allowed 46 hits in 26 1/3 innings, including seven home runs for the Marlins. Tonight in his second appearance of the season, now pitching for the Diamondbacks, Petit lasted 5 1/3 innings, allowing just one run. After two starts his ERA sits at 2.19 and his opposition batting average is a mere .205. The twenty two year old is off to a much better start this season.

The Diamondbacks take the game 7-1, as five of their eleven hits go for extra bases.

Nice outings by both Daisuke Matsuzaka and Chien-Ming Wang tonight. Dice-K pitched eight shutout innings, striking out nine as he picked up his tenth win in a 4-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Matsuzaka's ERA in down to 3.56 as he's allowed just two earned runs in his last 29 innings while striking out 34.

Wang walked four and allowed four hits over seven shutout innings of work. He also induced two double plays. It's a nice recovery from his poor performance against the Orioles as the Yankees defeat the Twins 8-0.

Update: Devon Young raves about the major league debut of Edwar Ramirez:

So the Yanks, up by 8 runs, let this rookie pitch the 9th for them. It's his major league debut. His name is Ramirez, and he has a nasty changeup. I'm telling you. I was sitting here watching it a few minutes ago and just laughed. He struck out the side in his major league debut. He proceeds to strike out Cuddyer on 3 pitches, then gets Morneau on 4 or 5, and Ford on 4 or 5 pitches, and they all went down swinging. They were dead fooled. His fastball seems good and he can definitely paint the outside corner, but then he tosses this changeup and it's all over.

His basic stat line for the time he spent in AAA Scranton this year - 26.1 IP, 0.67 ERA, and 47 K's. I've often heard that the difference between a minor league & major league pitcher is the ability to have a good changeup. This Ramirez kid seems to be proof of that by his AAA numbers.

He threw fourteen pitches, nine for strikes. Obviously there were no two strike fouls.

Correction: Fixed typo.

Paul Byrd issues his first unintentional walk since the end of April. The Tigers push a run across, but Sheffield is thrown out at the plate on a bad call by the umpire. Detroit leads 4-3 in the sixth.

Scott Kazmir faced the first eight batters without allowing a hit. He did, however, walk the bases loaded to start the second inning. He allowed a run on a groundout, struck out Pena, and then just needed to get Lugo to end the inning. Lugo, however, singles to center to drive in two, and the Red Sox lead 3-0.

Kazmir leads the league in walks, and until he gets that under control, he's not going to an ace. On top of that, he's thrown 53 pitches in two innings. It took him over 20 throws to retire the side in order in the first. Kazmir has the stuff to blow away batters, and for some reason he's just not doing it.

Fausto Carmona set a career high tonight, striking out eight in just six innings of work. He faced five batters in the seventh but didn't get an out, and left with a 3-2 lead. That shouldn't be a surprise. Teams are now batting .328 against Fausto from the seventh inning on. But the Indians offense pounded the back of the Devil Rays bullpen for seven runs in the eighth, putting the game out of reach and ensuring Carmona of his ninth victory.

Roger Clemens wins the 350th game of his career, going eight innings and allowing just one run against the Minnesota Twins. It's the first time Roger completed eight innings since Aug. 23, 2005. Clemens used just 97 pitches tonight as he faced just 27 batters, allowing two hits and a walk.

Of more concern is that the Rocket just struck out four. That gives him four strikeouts in his last fourteen innings, and that's not Clemens. It may be just a bad streak, but if Clemens stops striking out batters, we'll know he's finally declining as a pitcher.

Clemens is now eleven wins behind Kid Nichols. With a great second half, Roger could catch him for seventh place on the all-time list.

Jason Simontacchi last just three innings against the Cubs as he allows seven hits, one walk and five earned runs. The five runs in three innings raises his career ERA over five to 5.02. The Cubs lead 5-0 as Ted Lilly has not allowed a hit through three innings. He's struck out five while walking two.

Scott Baker just finished the third inning, retiring all nine batters he's faced. The Tigers are putting the ball in play early tonight, as Baker has just one strikeout and has thrown just 25 pitches. Six of those were against ninth slot hitter Brandon Inge. Baker fell behind Brandon 2-0, but came back to strike him out on a 3-2 count. At this rate, Baker might wind up with the lowest pitch count complete game of the season.

Update: Baker is through the seventh, still throwing a shutout, but he's up to 73 pitches. Bonderman is matching the shutout despite giving up six hits to Baker's two. The teams are going to the bottom of the eighth.

Update: Marcus Thames hits a two-out solo home run in the bottom of the eighth to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead. It was just the third hit of the game for Detroit.

Update: Baker only threw six pitches in that inning.

Update: Todd Jones retires the side 1-2-3, despite Morneau hitting a hard line drive. It was right at Polanco, and Jones needed just seven pitches to retire the side. The Tigers keep pace with Cleveland and hold off the charge of the Twins. Bonderman goes to 9-1 and once again reaches .500 for his career.

Didn't Proctor start enough fires on the mound?

Homer Bailey tied the all-time record for most home runs allowed by a pitcher named Homer. He joins Homer Blankenship with two allowed. (Homer Hillebrand gave up 1, and Homer Spragins never allowed any.) Bailey may not get the chance to move past Blankenship, however, as his ERA now stands at 8.10 after giving up seven runs in 3 2/3 innings today. The Cardinals won the game 11-7 as there were a total of six long balls hit between the two teams.

One of those was by Ken Griffey, who connected for this 585th dinger. He only hit one in April, but put together consecutive months of ten, and he's off to a good start in July. He needs one more to tie Frank Robinson. Griffey's averages for the year pretty closely match his career numbers; he's .291/.374/.557 for his career, .292/.387/.577 this season.

Good starts by Cliff Lee have been few and far between this season, but he pitched a good game against the Devil Rays today to help Cleveland knock another game off their magic number. Lee allowed just four hits over eight innings, striking out nine and walking two. The only run off Cliff came on a Carlos Pena home run, Pena's 18th of the season. Lee's best start of the season was his complete game in his second outing, but this one was very close. It pulls his ERA under 5.00 to 4.90.

C.C. Sabathia won his twelfth game of the season tonight, taking the major league lead in wins as Beckett loses to the Rangers 5-4. Sabathia pitched well and the Cleveland's offense gave him plenty of support as he left with an 8-3 lead after seven innings. His control was great tonight as he struck out eight without walking a batter. The Indians bullpen was shaky, but the Tribe took the game 8-6.

The win gives Cleveland a 1 1/2 game lead in the AL Central as Detroit lost to the Twins 8-5.

Chad Gaudin pitches a very strong game against the Yankees, allowing just one hit in his seven innings of work. He walked three, but the Yankees could not turn any of those free passes into runs as the Athletics lead New York 7-0 in the bottom of the eighth. Gaudin brings his ERA below 3.00 to 2.92. Harden is one for his third relief appearance. He did not allow a hit or a walk in his first two appearance, but he's walked two so far this inning.

Kei Igawa home run troubles continue. Jason Kendall and Shannon Stewart go back to back in the third inning to give the Athletics a 2-0 lead. Igawa has now allowed ten home runs in 38 1/3 innings through the third today. That pace woud mean he would allow 52 homers in 200 innings.

Mike Hargrove continues to go to J.J. Putz early, and the Mariners are now ten games over .500. Last night he came into the game with the bases loaded, one out, and the score 5-2 in the top of the eighth. He did allow an infield single for a run, but he got Alex Rios to end the inning.

Putz's battle with Alex Rios to end the eighth was something to behold. Putz attacked with high heat, Rios swung, and Rios missed. After that, Rios took his bat and snapped it over his leg in frustration.

"I didn't see that," Putz said.

Most of the rest of the 41,862 on hand did, however. And more than a few will see replays. Putz can frustrate hitters, yes he can.

Putz is getting a lot of work for a closer. He ranks ninth in the AL in relief innings, the highest among regular closers. The only other closer in the top 20 is Chris Ray. I don't know if he's being over used at this point; he's on paced for about 81 innings. That's more than a lot of closers throw these days, but nothing drastic. I like this strategy of using the best pitcher in a real save situation, and I hope Hargrove keeps going to Putz in the eighth when the situation calls for the closer.

Vin Scully made a good point tonight. With Chris Young on the mound, the Dodgers are running wild. They've stolen four bases tonight, and on the season base stealers are 24 for 24 with Young on the mound. But has it made a difference? Yes, the Dodgers scored two runs, both after steals. But Young has only allowed three hits, and the steals did not produce big innings. But a Kouzmanoff three-run homer has the Padres up 5-2.

Young is doing nothing to shut down the running game, but his ERA after three innings today is 2.21. The opposition is hitting just .193 against him. There's no real reason for Young to care about the running game. If the people behind the base stealers don't get hits, there's little chance of the them scoring. It's interesting that runners are doing so well against Young, but it's more interesting that it doesn't seem to matter.

After Mussina pitched seven very strong innings, allowing one run, Farnsworth gets two outs in the eighth but allows two hits. So with Jack Cust due up, Torre goes to Rivera for a four out save. Rivera struck out Cust and two others, and only allows a hit batter to reach. The Yankees win the game 2-1.

I remember at the start of the season hearing that Rivera wasn't going to be used before the ninth this year. That's obviously gone out the window. Since May 23rd, he's pitched like the Mariano Yankees fans know and love. He's picked up seven saves, four of them going four outs or more. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Correction: Farnsworth allowed two hits, not one.

Yovani Gallardo last six inning in his third major league start and once again pitches well. He walked two and struck out seven, allowing just two runs and leaving with a 5-2 lead. Gallardo's ERA now sits at a low 2.79. He's turning out to be a very nice mid-year addition to the rotation. He now has 19 strikeouts and 7 walks in 19 1/3 innings.

J.D. Durbin gets off to a good start in this game, striking out the first three batters on fourteen pitches. That brings his ERA down to 37.80.

Chris Carpenter threw without pain the other day.

Dejan Kovacevic wonders what's going on with Zach Duke. The Pirates lefty was lit up yesterday, and now holds a 5.79 ERA.

The Marlins lead Major League Baseball in strikeouts and, as they showed in losing the first two games of this series, see precious few pitches they do not like. Duke got ahead of five of those first seven batters and had a two-strike count to four of them. Of the latter, Ramirez, Miguel Cabrera and Brett Carroll got hits.

"I didn't give them a chance to chase anything," Duke said. "Especially when you're facing a young team and they swing like they do, I didn't expand the zone at all."

But even that, somehow, seems insufficient in explaining not only this outing but all 17 that have contributed to Duke's 3-7 record, 5.79 ERA, his 141 hits that are the most in Major League Baseball and that outrageous .364 opponents' batting average.

Duke is right about not expanding the strike zone. He's picked up just 33 strikeouts in 93 1/3 innings this season, 3.2 per 9 innings. No wonder his opponent's batting average is so high. Given Oliver Perez's similar success and decline with Pittsburgh (and his revival with the Mets), I have to wonder what the problem is with the Pirates coaching staff? Is it just a bad pitching coach? Who is calling the pitches for Duke? I'm interested in hearing Pirates fans take on this.

Aaron Cook ends June on an up note, holding the Houston Astros to one run over seven innings. Roy Oswalt matched that, but the Houston bullpen came in and allowed three runs in the 8th. Cook came into the game with a 6.93 ERA in June, and allowed at least five runs in three of his four starts. He went a fine 4-1 in May, hasn't won in June. It's now up to the bullpen to get him the W.

Update: Hawkins gives up three runs on two homers, so Cook won't get the win. The game is tied at four in the top of the ninth.

Scott Kazmir left tonight's game against the White Sox after 5 1/3 innings. He struck out nine batters, but used 114 pitches. In ten of his seventeen starts, Kazmir failed to pitch past the sixth inning. It's great to strike out tons of batters, but Kazmir won't become an ace until he can do it more efficiently and last though the seventh. He also allowed six hits and four runs, so the White Sox were 6 for 13 when they put the ball in play. He's a tough pitcher to make contact against, but he's easy to hit when a batter does make contact. Chicago leads 4-1. Konkerko and Iguchi both homered.

Randy Johnson doesn't last long in his first start off the DL. He allows six hits and two walks as the Dodgers score four runs against him. Nippert doesn't do much better as he comes in and allows two more and the Dodgers are up 6-1 in the bottom of the fourth.

Russ Martin hits a two run homer in the first inning to put the Dodgers up 2-0 on the DBacks. It was the seventh home run Randy Johnson allowed this season, all at Chase Field. So far, Johnson's not locating his pitches well in his first start off the DL.

Kenny Rogers gives up the first run since the end of the 2006 regular season in the top of the sixth inning. Lofton doubled and moved up a base on two line drive outs. Still, Rogers is pitching another great game, keeping Texas off balance and inducing a high number of ground balls. The Tigers lead 3-1.

Update: Scott Feldman throws a ball behind Gary Sheffield's back, and a couple of pitches later Sheffield puts one over the left field fence for a 5-1 Tigers lead. That's the best way to get revenge for almost getting hit.

Roger Clemens pitched five shutout innings against the Orioles tonight, but he wasn't sharp. He allowed just three hits, but he walked two without striking out a batter. He shouldn't have come out for the sixth. The first four batters reached, with the last being a three run homer by Aubrey Huff. Clemens gave up a total of four hits and one walk in the inning, and still hasn't struck out a batter.

Meanwhile, Bedard is also pitching a shutout. He's allowed just two hits and one walk and struck out seven so far. And now the Orioles have given him a lead he can hold.

Update: The Orioles win 4-0 and the Yankees losing streak goes to four. With the Red Sox getting swept in Seattle, the Yankees are blowing a golden opportunity to gain on Boston.

Matt Cain has to wonder if he's ever going to win another game. He pitched seven and two thirds strong innings today, allowing just two runs while striking out seven. But Greg Maddux allowed just one run, and picked up the win in the 4-2 Padres victory. Cain's ERA is 3.38 and his opposition batting average stands at .227. He deserves much better than that record.

J.J. Putz retired the last five Red Sox batters of the game to pick up his twenty second save of the season. It was the sixth time this year Putz pitched more than one inning to earn a save. Only David Weathers with seven has more long saves than J.J.

No one else is really close. Embree, Rivera, Gregg and Janssen all have three. (Janssen is a middle reliever who sometimes finishes games.) Putz came into a tough situation last night with runners at first and third and one out. He did allow a sacrifice fly to cut Seattle's lead to one, but he could afford to trade the out for the run. Note, too that George Sherrill came in one batter earlier to get the lefty, and responded by striking out Big Papi. He doesn't get a save, but that was a big strikeout in a pressure situation.

The movie Cold Turkey is a guilty pleasure of mine. It's not a great film, but there's a lot in there that makes me laugh. A town tries to give up smoking for a month to collect a huge prize. One of the citizens, Dr. Proctor refuses to quite and the towns people force him to leave for the duration of the contest.

I'm sure there are Yankees fans wishing Scott Proctor left tonight's game before the contest was over. Proctor pitched the ninth in a 2-2 tie. He allowed one hit and three walks, the third one forcing in the winning run. The bullpen was worked hard on the western trip, but the Yankees did not play yesterday. If your pitcher is throwing more balls that strikes with the game on the line, isn't it time to bring in someone else?

Homer Bailey is getting knocked around in Philadelphia. The Phillies lead the Reds 6-0 in the bottom of the second, and Bailey is out of the game. Ryan Howard, however, hits the first homer off Homer.

Dan Lewis suggests the Mets go to a six man rotation when Pedro returns. I'd rather see teams working toward fewer pitchers in general, not more. But if you have a bunch of old arms, maybe it's a good idea.

Seven pitchers aged 40 or older will start Wednesday.

Brew Crew Ball notes a minor league perfect game last night.

Brad Penny entered last night's game second in the NL in ERA to San Diego's Chris Young, 2.08 to 2.12. Penny passed Young last night, throwing eight innings on one-run ball against the Diamondbacks to lower his mark to 2.04. (Arizona's Chris Young drove in the only run of the night for the Diamondbacks.) This was Penny's longest outing in terms of innings all season. Through 6/3/2007 he averaged 6 1/3 innings per start with a 2.37 ERA. In four starts since he's averaged 7 1/3 innings, with a 1.21 ERA. The careful use of Penny early in the season appears to be paying off as the season progresses.

In his first thirteen games this season, John Lackey hit three batters. In his last three starts, he's hit five. He plunked two Royals last night, but otherwise pitched well, striking out seven and walking one. I wonder if batters are trying to crowd the plate more against John lately? His undoing was the defense however, as a Napoli error led to two unearned runs.

That would be all John Thomson needed to pick up a win in his 2007 debut. The Angels, the ultimate contact team, had every batter put the ball in play against Thomson last night. Twenty six batters faced him, but with all those bats on balls, only six managed hits. Thomson allowed just three runs, two earned over seven innings. I don't expect a zero K total to be effective over the rest of the season, however.

Jeremy Bonderman loses his first game of the season. He walked four tonight, which was just the second time this season he walked more than two in a start. When he walked five earlier this year, Jeremy pitched eight shutout innings.

The Tigers have to hope this isn't the start of another streak. Bonderman started the season with five no decisions, then followed with eight straight wins. The Fibonacci series says he'll lose thirteen straight next. :-)

On Baseball and the Reds looks at how various workloads affect Bronson Arroyo and Aaron Harang.

Yovani Gallardo showed Brewers fans that the team has another good young pitcher in the rotation. If you look at his minor league numbers (including this year), you see high strike outs, low walks and few home runs. In seven innings today he struck out eight, walked two, and kept the ball in the park. The Brewers lost in extra innings 4-3 to the Royals, but Brewers fans should be very excited about Yovani joining the rotation.

Edwin Jackson finally pitches a good game and earns his first win of the season. He lasted six innings, allowing just two runs as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Jackson strikes out a good number of batters, but today he just struck out two. He also only walked one, so maybe working on his control made a difference. But with 40 balls and 49 strikes thrown, maybe it was just the Dodgers swinging at bad pitches.

Johan Santana pitched six nice innings today, allowing two runs, only one earned. He also hit a triple, the first of his career. He's two for seven this season with a double and a triple. He's slugging .714.

His battery mate, Joe Mauer, slugged two home runs today. Joe's been struggling since coming off an injury, so if this is a sign he's turning around, that's a good sign for the Twins.

Minnesota won the game 7-4.

Jamie Moyer makes it three out of four great starts by 40+ pitchers. He throws six shutout innings against the Cardinals as the Phillies take the game 6-0. Moyer even managed six strikeouts. Utley and Howard combined for five hits and two RBI in the win.

Kenny Rogers picks up where he left off at the end of 2006, shutting out the Braves for five innings. He's being matched by John Smoltz, however. Rogers has allowed one hit so for , Smoltz two. The old men are having a good night.

Update: The Tigers get to Smoltz in the sixth as Ordonez singles in one, Carlos Guillen doubles in two, then Pudge then doubles in Guillen. The Tigers are still batting up 4-0.

Update: Rogers is done after six innings and 75 pitches, not allowing a run. The Braves have now gone 25 innings without scoring.

Deadspin gets in an excellent crack about Barry Zito in a story about an ex-Marine who killed an attacking bear by throwing a log:

Of course had that been Barry Zito, the campsite would have been littered with thrown logs and there would have been bears on second and third with no outs.

Felix Hernandez pitched eight shutout innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates Thursday night, returning to the form of earlier this season:

The Pirates were shut out for the second straight game and the eighth time this season, most in the major leagues. They haven't scored in 20 innings.

"Geez, I was worried," Hernandez said with a wry smile. "I wanted to throw a good game to keep the confidence up."

Hernandez said this was by far the best he's felt in seven starts since returning from a month on the disabled list on May 15.

"He was filthy," said Nate McLouth, who had one of the six hits off the 21-year-old ace.

Hernandez struck out nine and walked one. Now, the Pirates are not the best offense in the league, but dominating them to this extent is a very good sign. Here's Hernandez's day by day log. It may turn out to be very easy to determine where he was hurt and where he was healthy.

Ted Lilly pitched well in terms of strikeouts and walks today. In seven innings, he struck out ten Rangers while walking just one. That kept his hit total low, allowing only six. Unfortunately, two of those were home runs, accounting for three of the five runs Lilly allowed. The Cubs, meanwhile, picked up thirteen hits and six walks, but could only score five runs. They were 5 for 19 with runners in scoring position, but only produced those five runs. Texas scored in the bottom of the ninth, and a well pitched but not great effort by Lilly goes for naught.

For the second night in a row, the Colorado pitching staff holds the New York Yankees to one run. Fogg and Francis each go seven innings, allowing one run. It's impressive that put into one of the best hitting ballparks, the Yankees get totally shut down. With the two wins, both the Yankees and Rockies are two games over .500.

Update: The Braves are thinking the same thing about the Red Sox staff. For the second night in a row, the Red Sox shut out the Braves. It's one thing to get blanked by Beckett, but Tavarez came into the game with a 4.97 ERA, but even with that he's been a very effective fifth starter. He's making a good case not to be replaced by Lester.

It turns out Bert Blyleven bet Johan Santana yesterday that if Santana pitched a complete game shutout, Blyleven would get his head shaved. Santana did the honors today. I wonder if Johan was intentionally pitching to contact so his pitch count wouldn't be too high and he could complete the game?

For Baseball Prospectus subscribers, my latest column discusses the aging of major league pitching staffs, and if early workloads indicate success late in a pitcher's career.

Ben Sheets hasn't quite returned to his 2004 form, but tonight he pitched a complete game against the Giants, lowering his ERA to 3.19. He only struck out four, but he also only walked one. He remains undefeated in June, with just seven walks in 27 2/3 innings and a 1.63 ERA. At the start of the season, I thought Sheets would be a key to the Brewers success, and so far that's working out.

Johan Santana used Shea Stadium to his advantage as he pitches a complete game shutout against the New York Mets. Amazingly, Santana only struck out one batter in the game! In his five previous complete games, Santana averaged 10.2 K per 9. Santana got more balls in the air than on the ground, and used just 92 pitches to finish the game. That's one advantage of getting the hitters to make contact, you don't wear yourself out.

Curt Schilling gave up six runs in 4 1/3 innings tonight, ending with a three-run homer to McCann. His two starts since nearly throwing a no hitter have been poor. Since that fine effort against Oakland, he's allowed twelve runs (11 earned) in 9 1/3 innings. He didn't strike out a batter tonight while walking two. According to the broadcast, that's the first start since July 1, 1993 in which Schilling failed to strike out a batter. He didn't fare well in that one, either.

He only threw 100 pitches in completing the one hitter. But you have to wonder if maybe he pushed himself too much in that game.

Aaron Gleeman compares Scott Baker's first 30 starts with other Twins greats. Although I don't see Johan Santana. :-)

Chien-Ming Wang comes out of the game after 8 2/3 innings and two runs allowed. More interestingly, Wang set a career high with ten strikeouts. That's more than he struck out in his three previous starts. I always thought Wang could strike out more batters than he has in his career, given that he actually had good K numbers in the minor leagues. We'll see if this was a one night anomaly or a new trend.

The Yankees win 6-2 to split the season series with the Mets.

Kevin Millwood's trying to correct his mechanics, and to a certain amount today it showed. He struck out 10 today in six innings, only the second time he's done that in 126 starts dating back to 5/18/2003. However, he did allow two home runs to Adam Dunn, which accounted for three of the four runs he allowed. Still that was enough to win today as the Texas offense exploded for twelve hits and eleven runs. Michael Young picked up two more hits today, giving him 25 in 15 June games after a terrible start to the season in April. That puts him on a pace for 193 hits on the season, so with a little luck he could reach 200 hits for the season again.

Fausto Carmona picks up win number eight as the Indians defeat an error prone Braves team 5-2. Only three of the Indians runs were earned. Carmona pitched three batters two many as he started the eighth with a home run to Thorman then walked two. However, his two earned run over seven innings gives him a 6-0 record with a 1.58 ERA in day games. It's not clear why there is a 3 1/2 run difference between his day and night ERA. Maybe the defense sees the ball better as he's allowed a lower hit rate during the day.

The Washington Nationals relievers pitch three perfect innings in support of Micah Bowie as the Blue Jays go down to defeat 4-2. As a starter, the opposition is just 20 for 105 vs. Bowie, a .190 batting average. The Nationals avoid the sweep and they've won six of their last nine.

Daniel Cabrera allowed three home runs today, bringing his total allowed for the year to fourteen. That equals his career high allowed. In 2004 and 2005, he allowed that many in well over 140 innings, this year, in less than 100. Arizona's 8-4 win pins the seventh straight loss on the Orioles. Baltimore is only averaging three runs a game in the streak.

Paul Byrd allowed ten hits and five runs in five innings, despite striking out seven batters. The Braves went 10 for 18 when putting the ball in play against the Indians starter. That was more than John Smoltz needed as he struck out seven in six innings, allowing just two runs. Neither starter walked a batter, but the Braves came out on top 6-2.

Shaun Marcum continues to shine as a starter for the Blue Jays. With his seven solid innings against Washington today, Marcum now owns a 2.38 ERA as a starter and has struck out 39 in 41 2/3 innings. He's also undefeated starting at 3-0.

Justin Germano continues to impress in the Padres rotation. He pitched six innings today against the Devil Rays, allowing just four hits and no runs. His strikeout totals aren't high, but he just doesn't issue many walks. Tampa Bay batters drew one today, bring Germano's total to five for the season in 42 innings pitched. That's very different than the start of his career. Through 2006, he walked 17 in 28 innings. His ERA took a dive with his walk rate.

J.P. Howell pitched well, but no run support may doom him to a loss. The Padres lead 6-1 in the top of the ninth.

Lion in Oil links to video of Kuo's bat flip. No doubt he'll take the same career path as Babe Ruth. :-)

Tim Lincecum keeps striking batters out, but his batters keep finding ways to score off him in June. He made his third poor start in a row today, allowing seven runs in 3 2/3 innings. This month, he pitched a high hit game on 6/3, a high walk game on 6/8, and a high hit and walk game today as he allowed seven hits and four walks against the Blue Jays. His ERA for the month is 9.82, and it looks like he needs to work on his craft some more. The Blue Jays lead the Giants 7-1 after four innings.

Kyle Kendrick, called up to replace Freddy Garcia, singles in his first major league at bat. The White Sox and Phillies each scored a single run in each of the first two innings. If that pattern keeps up, the game will never end!

Corey Hart analyzed Justin Verlander's pitches after the no-hitter:

Corey Hart, wearing No. 1, bid for Brewers hit No. 1 in the seventh. He hit a sinking one-out liner to right. Unlike the game-ending fly ball to right, this was not an easy out. But Ordonez did something he has done several times the last few seasons: He made a running, sliding catch.

"I know he was throwing a no-hitter, and I said, 'I've got to catch that ball,' " Ordonez said.

It was one of only three balls Verlander allowed hit to the outfield.

"He had ridiculous stuff tonight," Hart told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. "He threw his fastball really hard and his other two pitches (curve and change-up) were plus-plus. His stuff was awesome."

Verlander hit his spots with every pitch. The fastballs were down on the corners, and the breaking ball caught the plate at the last second. It was fun to watch.

Clarification: When I wrote, "Verlander hit his spots with every pitch," I meant each type of pitch, not each individual pitch.

Brad Lidge comes in for his first ninth inning save opportunity in a while, and promptly gives up a home run to the leadoff batter, Mark Kotsay. That ties the game at four, and makes Brad 0-3 in save opportunities this season. Luckily, Ausmus singles home Everett in the bottom of the eleventh to end the game with a 5-4 Astros victory.

The Tigers fail to score in the bottom of the eighth, so Justin Verlander comes out to face Craig Counsell needing to get three outs for a no-hitter.

Update: Counsell strikes out on a check swing. Verlander dropped a nasty breaking ball in for strike two.

Update: He strikes out Graffanino on three pitches. It's up to Hardy.

Update: Hardy falls behind 0-2, fouls off a pitch then flies out to Ordonez in right. He was just nasty in the inning, moving the ball all over the plate, just overpowering the Brewers. It's the first no-hitter for the Tigers since Jack Morris at the start of the 1984 season. That campaign ended very well for the Tigers.

Congratulations to Verlander on a great game. He struck out twelve and walked four for a game score of 95. He was hitting the corners with fastballs in the high nineties all night. Just an outstanding performance.

Magglio Ordonez makes the play of the game as he catches a sinking liner by Corey Hart with a feet first sliding catch to preserve the no-hitter. It's the closest the Brewers came to a hit so far. Jenkins strikes out to end the inning, giving Verlander 10 K so far. Six outs to go.

Update: Verlander walks Bill Hall for the third time in the game, but Neifi Perez stops a sharp Gross grounder up the middle and turns it into a double play. Verlander needs three outs for a no-hitter. He'll face the top of the order in the top of the ninth. Justin just passed 100 pitches, finishing the inning with 101.

Justin Verlander issued three walks through five innings, but that's it. The birds must be good luck as the Brewers have yet to pick up a hit while striking out eight times. The Tigers lead 1-0 on an Inge home run.

Update: Verlander retires the Brewers in order in the sixth, picking up his ninth strikeout.

Cole Hamels breaks the three way tie for most home runs allowed in the National League as he gives up long balls to Konerko and Dye in the first inning. His sixteen home runs allowed ties him with Ervin Santana for the most allowed in the majors.

Matt Morris allowed three runs in the first inning then shutdown the Toronto Blue Jays the rest of the way as the Giants take the game 4-3. That's Matt's third complete game of the season, tying him with Derek Lowe for the NL lead. I keep expecting teams to start hitting Morris hard, and he keeps truckin'. He's now 7-3 with a 2.56 ERA.

Orlando Hernandez came into tonight's contest against the Dodgers with a .173 batting average allowed. Through three innings, the only base runner he allowed reached via a walk, so with an 0 for 9, his opposition BA is just .164.

Adam Eaton pitches his best game of the season, shutting out the White Sox for seven innings as the Phillies pick up a 3-0 victory. Since May 8th, Adam pitched in just one game where he failed to go at least six innings and his ERA over that time is 3.24. That despite giving up six home runs and twenty walks in 41 2/3 innings.

The Cubs needed Carlos Zambrano to pitch a good game tonight, and so far he's doing that and more. Through three innings he's allowed just one hit while striking out four. On top of that, he's hit his second home run of the season. That's number twelve of his career as well. The Cubs are up 2-0 and still batting in the bottom of the third.

Al Doyle notes that slow sometimes is better than fast.

Red Reporter sees Mike Stanton's ERA as too low for his stats:

He's currently sitting at 4.38 which just shocked the hell out of me because that's pretty average, and average is not a word I'd use to describe Mike Stanton's performance this season.

But then I figured maybe I'm just remembering all the bad outings and mentally glossing over the good ones. That's entirely possible. I kind of believe it's why so many people hate Adam Dunn.

He notes Stanton's high WHIP and the number of appearances in which he allowed two base runners or more. However, Stanton's pitching tripod, strikeouts, walks and home runs are good. He's walking 2.6 batters per nine innings, and allowing home runs at a rate of 0.36 per nine, or about four every 100 innings pitched.

Because to that, his fielding independent pitching ERA a the Hardball Times is 3.36, meaning Stanton's ERA isn't low based on his stats, it's high. Now, batters are hitting a high percentage of line drives vs. Mike, so it's not all the fielder's fault. But given what he does well, and given the small sample size of innings, the hits are more likely just bad luck.

Red Reporter sees Mike Stanton's ERA as too low for his stats:

He's currently sitting at 4.38 which just shocked the hell out of me because that's pretty average, and average is not a word I'd use to describe Mike Stanton's performance this season.

But then I figured maybe I'm just remembering all the bad outings and mentally glossing over the good ones. That's entirely possible. I kind of believe it's why so many people hate Adam Dunn.

He notes Stanton's high WHIP and the number of appearances in which he allowed two base runners or more. However, Stanton's pitching tripod, strikeouts, walks and home runs are good. He's walking 2.6 batters per nine innings, and allowing home runs at a rate of 0.36 per nine, or about four every 100 innings pitched.

Because to that, his fielding independent pitching ERA a the Hardball Times is 3.36, meaning Stanton's ERA isn't low based on his stats, it's high. Now, batters are hitting a high percentage of line drives vs. Mike, so it's not all the fielder's fault. But given what he does well, and given the small sample size of innings, the hits are more likely just bad luck.

Lion in Oil looks at the so far wasteful signing of Jeff Samardzija.

The season hasn't fared much better for Samardzija since then. He's started 11 games thus far into the 2007 campaign, winning none. He's carrying 5.40 ERA, with a .333 opponents' batting average and 21 strikeouts through 55 innings.

On the plus side, his walks and home runs allowed are good, although the walks may be low because the hitters are getting really good pitches to smack around. Jeff, however, is set for life. Even after agent fees and taxes, Samardzija likely put about $5 million in the bank, and even with a conservative investment, he should be looking at $250,000 a year income for the rest of his life. And since he's not playing football, he'll be able to enjoy it pain free!

Lenny DiNardo pitches his second consecutive six inning shutout as he helps keep the Athletics off the score board in a 2-0 Oakland sweep of the Giants. The A's take five out of six from the Giants, shutting them out over the last twenty one innings. Dinardo lowers his ERA to 1.22 in 37 innings pitched. Oakland's pitchers and defense have not allowed more than four runs in their last thirteen games, and are 10-3 over that time period.

Jason Hirsh defeats the Baltimore Orioles 6-1, earning his first complete game. Hirsh's numbers are better than his ERA. However, he's allowed over a .300 average with runners on and with runners in scoring position. He solved that problem today, facing only three at bats with runners in scoring position and not allowing a hit in that situation.

Tom Glavine gave up nine runs in 4 1/3 innings of work today, matching a career high in runs allowed. This is the fourth time an opponent tagged him for that many runs. The Tigers lead the Mets 11-6 in the seventh. Sheffield is three for four with a single, triple and home run. Gary's OBA is now .392 with a .543 slugging percentage, just what the Tigers were looking for when they hired him.

Andy Sonnanstine is pitching much better in his second outing. Through seven innings he's allowed just two runs on two solo homers while striking out ten. In fourteen big league innings, he still has not issued a walk while striking out fifteen. A great controlled start to his career.

On top of that, he's also picked up two hits, scored a run and driven in a run. Maybe he can be the DH when he doesn't pitch. :-) The Devil Rays lead the Marlins 6-2 in the eighth.

Matt Casey reminds us what it's like not to have a quality closer.

Roger Clemens returned to the mound at Yankee Stadium today, and gave the Yankees six decent inning. Roger allowed three runs in six innings, walking two and striking out seven. His big mistake was in the fourth, allowing a two-out double to Jack Wilson which brought in two runs to tie the game.

But the Yankees offense should be able to win with that kind of pitching, and they broke the tie to send Roger from the game with a 6-3 lead. They've extended that to 8-3 as Damon and Jeter reached base five times and scored four runs.

Anaheim Angels All the Way notes that with the exception of a couple of teams, Joe Saunders fits nicely into other teams' rotations. Sounds like a good target for a trade.

I was just looking at the Yankees/White Sox boxscore, and noticed D. Day pitching. And I thought his whereabouts were unknown!

Alex Rodriguez takes him deep for home run number 21 on the season. The White Sox are batting in the bottom of the ninth down 7-2. However, nothing is over until they say it's over. :-)

C.C. Sabathia needed to be close to perfect to win tonight, and that's just what he was. He allows just five hits as he wins a 1-0 game against the Kansas City Royals. He neither walked a batter nor hit one, and all the hits allowed went for singles. He used just 111 pitches to finish the game, raising his record to 9-1 and lowering his ERA to 3.40.

Franklin Gutierrez produced the offensive heroics with his first home run of the season. The seldom used outfielder batted night, but delivered the only run of the game and the second home run of his career.

Andy Sonnanstine allows one hit in his first first inning, a double by Vernon Wells. But he threw strikes. He retired the Jays without allowing a run on fourteen pitches, eleven for strikes. A nice start to his major league career.

Pedro Martinez threw off a mound today:

The original plan was for the 35-year-old Martinez to throw 25 pitches. But after he threw the first 15 and took a break for water and a few words with Correnti and minor league rehab coordinator Randy Niemann, Martinez said he felt great and threw 31 pitches -- all fastballs -- before Correnti told Martinez he was done for the day.

"Wow! Am I?" Martinez said to Correnti. "I was shocked. It felt right at home."

His rotator cuff surgery last fall forced him to miss the playoffs and the Mets' run to the National League Championship Series, which they lost in seven games to St. Louis. Martinez by then was in a sling and recuperating, slowly working his way back. But in the clubhouse after Tuesday's throwing session, Martinez -- calm but jovial -- said his conditioning had prepared him well and his legs felt as strong as he could remember.

"I was very confident about the way I feel," said Martinez, who's bounced around from Port St. Lucie to Miami to the Dominican Republic during his training. "I've always said it since I started working that I have one thing in mind: get ready and get healthy."

The Mets strong start gives Pedro the luxury of not rushing back.

Homer Bailey starts Friday for the Reds.

Correction: Fixed Homer's relationship to the Reds.

Derek Lowe just finished inning number five with a no-hitter intact. Tony Abreu made a throwing error in the inning to ruin the perfect game. Lowe's only thrown 55 pitches and struck out four.

Update: Lowe retires the side in order in the sixth. Furcal makes a great diving stop on a ball up the middle by Jose Bautista, comes up and makes the throw to first for the third out. Nine outs to go for Lowe's second no hitter.

Update: Lowe's no-hitter came on 4/27/2002 against the Devil Rays. I guess he likes to pick on poor offenses.

Update: Lowe walks the leadoff hitter in the bottom of the seventh, then Sanchez grounds one hard up the middle for the first hit of the game. Now Lowe just needs to deal with preserving a five-run lead.

Update: The Pirates make it a close game, scoring five in the last three innings but losing 6-5. Lowe gave up home runs in the seventh and eighth to account for three of his four runs allowed. With San Diego and Arizona idle, Los Angeles take first place in the NL West by 1/2 game.

Muchlinski, who umpired home plate in the Twins-Athletics game must have a narrow strike zone. Santana issued four walks in six innings, and Gaudin gave up five free passes in five innings. Neither of these pitchers usually walk many. Despite the five base on balls, Chad only allowed two runs, and the bullpen made it stick as the A's took the game 4-2. In their four innings of work, the Oakland bullpen did not allow a hit, but did walk two.

The Devil Rays recalled J.P. Howell and gave him his first start of 2007 against the Kansas City Royals. Howell responded with an eight inning performance in which he walked none and struck out seven while allowing just one run. The Devil Rays take the game 5-1.

Howell pitched well in the minor leagues this season. He struck out about a batter per inning with very few walks. He does allow a home run about every eight innings. (That's pretty much what happened today, as the only run scored on a homer.) The high ERA may be a result of a poor defense behind him. He allowed 12 unearned runs, 30% of his runs allowed. I guessing if the fielders were making a lot of errors, they might also be letting a lot of balls go through for hits.

Howell could become the third solid starter on this team. Kazmir, Shields and now Howell are solid in strikeouts, and Shields and Howell are great at preventing walks. Tampa Bay keeps getting just a little better.

Correction: Fixed Howell's minor league strikeout rate.

Jose Valverde earned his 20th save of the season this afternoon, tying him with Cordero of the Brewers for the NL lead. That gives him twenty two save opportunities on the season, the same number as last season. He's converted two more saves than in 2006, and at this rate should wind up well over 40. The DBacks will remain at most zero games back in the NL West race with the 4-1 victory over the Mets.

Adam LaRoche bags the first home run off Brad Penny this season in the second inning of the Dodgers-Pirates game. Penny's streak ends at 71 innings. The Pirates lead 1-0 in the third.

While I'm playing with game scores this morning, I thought I'd present average game scores for all pitchers with seven starts (game scores in starts only):

Average Games Scores in Starts, 2007 (minimum seven starts)

Pitcher	AvgScore
Jake Peavy	66.3333
Danny Haren	64.8333
Orlando Hernandez	62.7143
James Shields	61.6364
Josh Beckett	61.1111
Johan Santana	60.8182
Jason Bergmann	60.25
Richard Hill	60.1818
Oliver Perez	59.2
John Lackey	59.1667
Tim Hudson	58.75
Chris Young	58.6364
Cole Hamels	58.5833
Brad Penny	58.5455
Ian Snell	57.9167
John Maine	57.8182
Shawn Hill	57.625
Randy Johnson	57.5714
Ted Lilly	57.5455
Sergio Mitre	57.4444
Erik Bedard	57.1667
Brandon Webb	57.0833
Mark Buehrle	57
Thomas Gorzelanny	56.8182
Jeremy Bonderman	56.6667
A.J. Burnett	56.5833
Jason Marquis	56.5455
Kelvim Escobar	56.5
John Smoltz	56.3333
Chad Gaudin	56.2727
Matthew Cain	56.1818
Roy Oswalt	56.1538
Javier Vazquez	55.6
Joe Blanton	55
Randy Wolf	54.8333
Roy Halladay	54.6667
Matt Morris	54.5455
Justin Verlander	54.3636
C.C. Sabathia	54.1667
Gil Meche	54
Andy Pettitte	53.7273
Felix Hernandez	53.2857
Derek Lowe	53.25
Aaron Harang	53.25
Jon Garland	52.9
Fausto Carmona	52.8
Ben Sheets	52.6364
Joe Kennedy	52.6
Jeff Francis	52.4167
Noah Lowry	52.2727
Jon Lieber	52.25
Jarrod Washburn	52.1818
Braden Looper	52.1818
Boof Bonser	52.0909
Scott Kazmir	51.9167
Tom Glavine	51.9167
Micah Owings	51.75
Jamie Moyer	51.5455
Daisuke Matsuzaka	51.5455
Chris Capuano	51.5
Curt Schilling	51.3333
Barry Zito	51.1818
Jeff Suppan	50.9167
Claudio Vargas	50.9
Tim Wakefield	50.7273
Wandy Rodriguez	50.7
Livan Hernandez	50.5833
Greg Maddux	50.5455
Brian Bannister	50.4286
Paul Byrd	50.2222
Chris Sampson	50.2
Matt Belisle	50.0909
Chien-Ming Wang	49.75
Doug Davis	49.7273
Chuck James	49.6667
Daniel Cabrera	49.5
Carlos Silva	49.4545
Cha Seung Baek	49.25
Steve Trachsel	49.0833
Aaron Cook	48.6667
Freddy Garcia	48.6667
Jered Weaver	48
Jose Contreras	47.8182
Jason Hirsh	47.6364
Kyle Lohse	47.5833
Dontrelle Willis	47.1667
Bronson Arroyo	47.1667
John Danks	46.8889
Chad Durbin	46.6364
David Wells	46.6
David Bush	46.3636
Nate Robertson	45.9091
Jorge de la Rosa	45.9091
Paul Maholm	45.6364
Kyle Davies	45.6
Anthony Reyes	45.5556
Julian Tavarez	45.5556
Josh Fogg	45.4444
Robinson Tejeda	45.4
Bartolo Colon	45.375
Taylor Buchholz	45.1429
Mark Hendrickson	45.125
Ervin Santana	45
Scott Olsen	44.4167
Carlos Zambrano	44.1667
Adam Wainwright	43.9091
Ramon Ortiz	43.8
Matthew Chico	43.6667
Odalis Perez	43.25
Tomo Ohka	43.2222
Woody Williams	43.0833
Miguel Batista	42.8182
Adam Eaton	42.7273
Brett Tomko	42.625
Kip Wells	42.3333
Brandon McCarthy	42.2
Zack Greinke	42.1429
Mike Maroth	42.1
Mike Mussina	41.875
Matthew Albers	41.5714
Jeremy Sowers	41
Cliff Lee	40.8571
Kameron Loe	39.8889
Zachary Duke	39.3333
Vicente Padilla	39.3333
Kevin Millwood	39.125
John Patterson	37.8571
Edwin Jackson	37.6
Horacio Ramirez	36.875
Sidney Ponson	36.7143
Tony Armas Jr.	35.8571
Casey Fossum	35.8
Jae Seo	33.8

The pitchers at the top of the list are the ones that go deep in games, don't allow many runs, hits or walks, and strike out a lot of batters.

Bob Geren figured out a way to deal with his depleted relief corps:

Geren already has reached the point where he's extending the starters as long as possible; both Dan Haren and Joe Kennedy reached a season-high pitch count their last times out.

Starters going deep in games? Heaven forbid!

Red Reporter found something to interest him in the Reds season:

But I will say that Homer Bailey coming up is pretty damn exciting. There literally hasn't been a Reds starting pitching prospect in my lifetime that I've been this hyped up about, and even though I am pretty sure he'll struggle for his first season I still can't wait to see him in Cincinnati.

Baily sure looks like he has nothing to prove at AAA. He's equally effective down there against both righties and lefties. His walks are a little high, but his hits are so low opposition batters just don't get on base much against him. Looks like he doesn't have much left to learn in the minors.

Jorge Sosa took home his fifth win of the season as the Mets defeat the Diamondbacks 7-1. With 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball, Sosa lowers his ERA to 3.22. He did allow a home run today, but all four this season were solo shots. Home runs allowed are the difference between his good seasons and his bad ones. This year he's giving up about one every nine innings, but their not doing much damage..

Kevin Slowey made a fine major league debut last night, allowing just one run in six innings against the Oakland Athletics. Most impressively, 66 of his 99 pitches ended up strikes.

His opponent, Joe Kennedy, pitched well too, at least in the sense that he only allowed one run over eight innings. The Patriarch walked four, however, while striking out one. Neither starter figured in the decision, however, as the game went into extra innings tied at one.

The Twins got to the A's bullpen in the top of the tenth on two runs, the big hit the leadoff double by Castillo to set up the go-ahead run. Joe Nathan came on for the save and was unusually wild. walking two and allowing a hit and a run. The Twins held on, however, for the 3-2 victory.

Carlos Zambrano continues to stink up Wrigley field. This afternoon he lasted five innings, allowing seven runs, six earned while striking out none. The most innings he's pitched in a game without a strike out was two on 4/23/2002. His ERA at Wrigley stands at 7.91. His value is slipping more and more each game.

The Braves won 8-5. It wasn't a contest until the bullpen came in and the defense allowed three unearned runs and the pitchers gave up another. Four Braves players picked up three hit games, including the pitcher Kyle Davies.

Update: Some fisticuffs in this game as Carlos Zambrano and busts Michael Barrett's lip:

Zambrano (5-5) was seen pointing at his head and yelling at the catcher in the dugout before the bottom half, while Barrett pointed toward the field. There was shoving, and Zambrano cocked his right fist as they were being separated. Manager Lou Piniella said he and several players walked Zambrano back to the clubhouse.

Piniella said he told Zambrano to take a shower and go home, then returned to the dugout. Moments later, a clubhouse attendant could be seen telling Piniella something. Derrek Lee jumped up and headed into the tunnel, and Piniella and pitching coach Larry Rothschild followed.

"Michael went up there," Piniella said. "I was watching the game."

Piniella also banished Barrett, who was being examined at a hospital, and said both players will be disciplined.

Sometimes altercations like this fire up a club. One of my favorite teams, the Oakland A's of the early '70s won three straight World Series with a team that didn't get along well.

Shawn Chacon gives the Pirates seven very strong innings. The Padres can't score and manage just three hits and a walk against the odd-year pitcher. He leaves the game leading 2-0, but after a perfect inning by Capps, Torres can't get out of the ninth as he gives up two runs and leaves with the go ahead run at third. Grabow is on to try to preserve the tie.

Except for his rookie season of 2001, Chacon has maintained a pattern of good odd years, bad even years.

Update: Sharpless certainly lives up to his name as he almost gives up back-to-back home runs to Cameron and Bard to start the eleventh. Bards hits the rail of the fence and comes back in. At first the umps call it an homer, but then after talking it over, call it a double. Bard is incensed, and gets thrown out of the game as soon as he sets foot on the field. Bard runs out anyway and it looked like he brushed the ump as Black tried to hold him off. The Padres lead 3-2. Black gets ejected also.

Roy Halladay returns from his surgery and pitches seven magnificent innings against the Chicago White Sox. Doc allows six hits and no walks while striking out seven, shutting out the Chicago. Thomas and Hill homered off Buehrle, the only two hits allowed by the lefty to lead 2-0 in the eighth.

Update: Toronto wins the game, with Buehrle pitching an eight-inning complete game two-hitter for the loss. Halladay goes to 5-2 and drops his ERA to 3.90.

Jeff Weaver refused to go down to the minors for a rehabilitation assignment. The PI reports this pretty straight forward.

The Mariners have made a bit of an about-face and will not send disabled pitcher Jeff Weaver out on an injury rehabilitation assignment.

Tuesday, manager Mike Hargrove said he wanted Weaver to face some live batters in game competition. But when Weaver declined to go to the minor leagues for a rehab start, the issue became pitch count.

Weaver, who threw a simulated game Monday, will throw a bullpen session Thursday in Seattle before the Mariners open a homestand with a game against Texas. He'll then throw another simulated game Sunday, the last day of the series against the Rangers.

In the comments there, and at USS Mariner, people can't believe Jeff is getting away with this. My favorite theory is that Jeff didn't want to get knocked around by minor leaguers. He's already cost the Mariners two or three games in the standings. Given their 5 1/2 game deficit, those are huge. Why they would give him another start at any level is beyond me.

The Globe makes an interesting point about Dice-K regarding Wednesday's Red Sox loss. He gets bitten by big innings.

Matsuzaka, who struck out four and walked none, continued a disturbing trend by being bitten by a big inning. He has seen 18 of his 39 earned runs come in just four innings this season and has allowed four or more runs in an inning four times. Last Friday, it was five runs in the fourth against the Rangers.

Matsuzaka Watch didn't think Daisuke would pitch well, partly due to the strength of the Cleveland lineup and partly due to Matsuzaka's illness changing his routine. Good call on his part.

Boof Bonser pitched well last night, and after a rough start to the season he's on a roll. In his first four starts, Boof allowed seven home runs and his ERA stood at 6.53. On the bright side, he was striking out batters at an excellent rate, over 9 per 9 innings. Since then, he's kept the long balls in the park, allowing just two home runs in his last seven starts. The strikeouts stayed high, too. Over his last seven starts, Boof owns a 2.16 ERA and a 4-0 record.

Josh Beckett picked up where he left off before his skin tear, pitching seven innings against the Indians tonight, allowing just two runs. He kept Cleveland swinging and missing as Josh struck out seven and walked just one, earning a 4-2 victory. The Red Sox in two games held the highest scoring team in the majors to just five runs, less than they usually score in a single game. Everything the Red Sox do this season seems to work out just right. They're looking more and more like a team of destiny.

Roger Clemens' old nemesis Dave Stewart doesn't think Roger will help the Yankees this season.

Curt Schilling explains how he fixed his split finger fastball for yesterday's game:

To make a long story longer, for some reason I had been starting bullpens for quite some time, with the catcher on the left side of home plate. In doing so I had fallen into a pattern of 'cutting' the ball to that side. Putting cutting spin on the ball by not keeping my fingers behind the baseball, and had developed a 'cutter' by doing so. What it also did was cause my hand to stray from the back of the baseball, about an inch or two, to the right side. This had a profound effect on the path and movement of my split as well.

I fixed the cutter problem but since 1997-98 have never felt that my split dropped as violently or as hard as it did then. While working on a few other things these past few days John said pretty much this very thing, without prompting from me. I thought about it for a few minutes and the talk turned to those years and the issues, and my thoughts about how I got here. In the end it turns out that something appearing so minor, 3-4" of hand positioning, was, in the end, the answer to 'fixing' it. At least for now.

Read the whole thing for the long version.

Curt Schilling looked more like the pitcher he used to be tonight, mowing down the Indians with ten strikeouts and no walks over seven innings. This was easily his best start of the season as he allowed just six hits, one run and hit a batter. Papelbon put the tying runs on base before recovering to to the get the last three batters, the final two on strikeouts. The Red Sox win 5-3 and remain 11 1/2 games in front of Baltimore.

Johan Santana allowed two home runs today to bring his total for the season to twelve. That half-way to his career high with just 1/3 of the season gone. However, both of the shots today were of the bases empty variety, making 11 of the 12 he's allowed solo shots. He's getting hit hard, but he's keeping runners off base so the homers aren't killing him. The Twins lead the White Sox 8-4 in the top of the eighth.

Cobra Brigade watched yesterday's Cubs game and kept track of Zambrano's arm angle throughout.

Royals Authority goes into competition with the Meche Meter, introducing the Gil Guage. Given Meche's performance tonight, the arrows going down tomorrow.

Micah Owings finished the game last night to help keep the bullpen fresh for Friday's game:

The Diamondbacks had five hits and four runs in the first inning against the Astros left-hander, who left too many pitches up and out over the plate. Eric Byrnes tripled home a run, and Mark Reynolds and Stephen Drew added RBI doubles.

That turned out to be enough for Owings, although his outing did not have the makings of a complete game early.

Owings allowed six hits and a walk and he hit a batter through the first three innings, yet he walked a tightrope and allowed just one run during that span.

At that point, Melvin said he was thinking about tonight's game. Edgar Gonzalez, scheduled to fill in for Randy Johnson, is not expected to go deep, and Melvin could not help but fret about dragging a tired bullpen into the game after Gonzalez.

"You look up there," Melvin said, "and we're thinking, 'Man, if we can get him through five or six (innings) here.' He ends up going nine."

Owings wanted to go the distance, telling his pitching coach he felt fine before the ninth. It would be nice to see starters able to go 120 pitches more often, so they'll get more decisions.

I wondered which group of Orioles would let Jeremy Guthrie down tonight. Early on, it looked like the offense as Baltimore was down 2-1 in the bottom of the sixth. But the Orioles scored three that inning. Frank Thomas made it 4-3 in the top of the seventh, and in the eighth Guthrie turned the game over to John Parrish. He gave up a single and a double, then Williamson came in to allow a one-out sacrifice fly to Glaus. That tied the game at four, and another good outing by Guthrie ends in a no decision for the starter. They're still tied at four in the bottom of the eighth.

Update: The Blue Jays win in the 10th when Alex Rios homers in the top of the inning to make the final 5-4 Toronto. They should just let Guthrie throw 140 pitches next time. :-)

Brad Penny pitched seven shutout innings last night, giving him 63 2/3 innings this season without allowing a home run. That's more than twice as many innings as any other pitcher in the majors. Brian Burres is next with 27 innings pitched. Twenty four pitchers have pitched at least 20 innings without a long ball against them.

Jeff Francis shutout the Diamondbacks for seven innings last night as the Rockies won 2-0 at Chase Field. That brings Jeff's ERA down to 4.11, very close to the 4.16 he posted in 2006. But he's going about getting there differently. Last season, posted similar numbers home and road, not seeming to be bothered by Colorado's altitude. This season, he's been great away from Denver with a 2.57 road ERA, but at Coors he's allowed five home runs and a 5.26 ERA. In all of 2006, he allowed nine home runs at home.

Roger Clemens pitched poorly last night in AA:

If he had this much trouble putting away the Portland Sea Dogs, how is he going to fare against Vernon Wells and Troy Glaus, or Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz?

"I don't think he's ready,'' one scout said. "His velocity is OK, but for me he needs to make one more start in the minors to get better command.''

Said the other scout, "Maybe he'd be OK against a team that just goes up there swinging, but I don't think Toronto is that team.''

Control was always a huge part of Clemens game. If that's not there yet, he's not ready for the majors.

Meanwhile, Carl Pavano's career with the Yankees is over. He'll undergo Tommy John surgery and be out for the rest of the term of his contract.

The Oakland Athletics shutout the White Sox 4-0 behind the pitching of Chad Gaudin. He's never pitched a shutout, but this was the first start he ever made without allowing a run. He lasted 7 1/3 innings before hitting the 100 pitch limit, lowering his ERA to 2.58. With five hits allowed, the league is hitting just .238 against Chad.

Steve Trachsel picks up the win over the Blue Jays tonight, despite walking three with only one strikeout over six innings. The Blue Jays five hits against Steve resulted in just two runs, low enough for the Orioles to take the game 5-2. For the season now, Trachsel walked 28 and struck out 18 in 57 1/3 innings. Those numbers don't bode well for his long term success.

Nick and Nick discuss the soft underbelly of the Twins pitching staff.

One Yankees fans really likes the young pitchers:

Over-the-moon Yankee fans were already saying who needs Roger Clemens when they've got the Yankee Clippard.

"To hell with the old guys," Bob Fernandez, 49, of Englewood Cliffs, N.J., crowed outside the Stadium last night, where the Yanks faced the hated Red Sox.

Tyler has a ways to go to earn that nickname, but he's off to a good start.

C.C. Sabathia leaves after five innings of work, throwing 92 pitches but allowing just one run. He did allow eight hits, a walk and hit a batter, so he wasn't exactly effective tonight. If someone watched the game, was he injured or just not that good?

Aaron Gleeman makes the case that Scott Baker's 2006 performance wasn't indicative of his career:

Judging from the comments left here and the e-mails I've received on the subject, it's clear that Baker's performance last season convinced a huge percentage of Twins fans that he'll never be a good major-league pitcher. In fact, I'm not sure that I've ever seen a fan base turn so quickly and strongly on a young player based on one bad half season. I've been relatively steadfast in my support of Baker and, while it was just one game, Saturday's start against the Brewers showed why: Baker can pitch.

When he's going well, Baker throws strikes, changes speeds, attacks hitters with a diverse arsenal of pitches, and misses a fair number of bats in the process. However, while he was at his best Saturday against a strong lineup, Baker's faults were also on display if you looked hard enough. Both Milwaukee runs came on solo homers, with J.J. Hardy taking Baker deep two batters into the game and Bill Hall homering in the ninth inning.

If you think a good pitcher can't start out badly, take a look at Greg Maddux's rookie season.

The Yankees scored five runs in two innings against John Maine, chasing him from the game after five innings. That two games in a row for Maine in which he left after just five innings. The Yankees knocked out eight hits, which is the most John's allowed all year. They also hit two home runs; Maine allowed three all season coming into this game.

The Yankees lead 5-1 behind Tyler Clippard, who only allowed three hits through five innings. If you're watching on ESPN, you'll notice he randomly falls off to the first base or third base side of the mound.

Update: Clippard picks up his first hit as well, a double in the right-center gap.

Kason Gabbard made a down payment on a spot in the Red Sox rotation today. He threw a lot of pitches, which shortened his outing to five innings, but he struck out seven and walked just one. That and two runs allowed was enough to earn his first win of 2007. Last season, he walked more than he struck out in his brief stay. This start gives the Red Sox something to think about when Beckett returns, if they want to move Tavarez.

Tim Hudson pitched another poor outing at Fenway, allowing 6 runs in 4 2/3 innings. He's now 1-5 in Boston with an ERA well over seven.

It's tough to lower your ERA when it sits at 0.69. Justin Germano did just that today as he allowed one unearned run over six innings to beat Felix Hernandez and the Mariners 2-1. He's only struck out five in 19 innings, but he's also allowed just a .185 batting average. That's not likely to last long.

Carlos Zambrano is pitching more like Victor Zambrano this season. He allowed seven runs to the White Sox today, raising his ERA to 5.61, and the loss puts his record at 4-4. It looks like one of the great mistakes in the history of negotiations was Zambrano not forcing the Cubs to sign him before the season started. The Tribune sale allowed the Cubs to put the negotiations on hold, and Chicago's position get stronger all the time. Unfortunately, it also means the Cubs are losing games. I'm sure they'd rather have the big contract and the wins.

Brandon McCarthy appears to have found a groove for the Texas Rangers. His April numbers, 1-4, 9.90 ERA made Texas look like made a poor trade with the White Sox. But he's settled in, and after a one-run outing today, he's 3-0 with a 2.31 ERA in May. We'll see if he can keep the May performance up long term.

Randy Johnson throws his third good start in a row. He struck out 10 in 5 2/3 innings, getting pulled after he hit the 100 pitch barrier. In his last three starts, Randy went 17 2/3 innings, striking out 28 and allowing five runs. If he can get to seven innings a start, the DBacks will get their money's worth from the Big Unit. Arizona defeated the Pirates 5-2.

James Shields pitched seven strong innings today, allowing the Marlins just one run. He started breaking down in the seventh, allowing one run and leaving the bases loaded. But the Devil Rays pen couldn't hold the 3-1 lead. In the eighth, Stokes and Camp combined to allowed three hits and a walk, leading to three runs and a 4-3 Marlins victory. Serigo Mitre benefited from the bullpen breakdown. His seven innings of two run ball gave him the win.

If you're wondering why Shields is just 3-0 in nine starts despite a good ERA, consider that in his starts, the Tampa bullpen pitched 15 innings, allowing 15 earned runs. Shields needs to find a way to finish games himself.

Update: Erik Bedard suffers the same fate for the Orioles. Bedard struck out twelve over seven innings, leaving the game against the Nationals with a 3-1 lead. The Orioles bullpen allowed three runs in the eighth, and Bedard gets nothing for his fine outing.

Gil Meche pitches his worst outing of the year (and only his second poor one) in the rarified air of Colorado. Gil did a good job this season of keeping his home runs allowed low, but Colorado hit two last night, accounting for all five runs he allowed. (All six of the Rockies runs resulted from homers.)

Meanwhile, Taylor Buchholz continued his streak of a good performance following a bad one. He's made four starts in a row, two outstanding, two poor. The poor ones are weighing heavier right now, as he owns a 6.23 ERA as a starter.

Ben Murphy sends along this note:

Per Baseball Tonight, Marcum of Toronto had 10 hitless innings in a row between today's start and his spot start last time.

He's now made two starts and allowed two earned runs in twelve innings while striking out 13. He's made the transition from relief to starting without losing his power. If he can continue to keep the ball in the park as a starter, he might just earn a spot in the rotation.

Could the Orioles ask for a better two starts out of Jeremy Guthrie? He's pitched 15 1/3 innings, with 12 strikeouts and zero earned runs. And he has an 0-0 record. Last Sunday, the bullpen blew the game after he left with a five run lead and two out to go. Yesterday, the offense let him down, not scoring until Guthrie left the game. The Orioles will take the 2-1 win over the Nationals, but Guthrie doesn't get the W again. As a starter, Guthrie now has allowed three earned runs in 26 1/3 innings.

Scott Baker made his 2007 debut for the Twins tonight, and gave them the performance then needed. Scott nearly finished the game against the Brewers, lasting 8 1/3 inning, throwing just 96 pitches. He left after a home run by Hall. Home runs were Baker's problem in 2006, and he allowed two today. But both were solo shots helped by the fact he didn't walk anyone. So far, he's an apt replacement for Ponson.

I didn't understand Tony Armas' line at first:

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR	BFP	Pit
T. Armas	3.0	3	2	2	2	3	0	15	77

Three innings, two runs isn't horrible. But then I saw the seventy-seven pitches. That's 25 per inning. It's amazing he only allowed the two runs. But lifting him was he right move. Shawn Chacon pitched five strong innings and the Pirates took the game 7-2 over the Marlins.

Eric Wedge allows Fausto Carmona to complete a shutout with 121 pitches. It's the seventh complete game of the week. Remember, on Sunday, Jeremy Guthrie was pulled from a game in which he had just allowed a base runner -- on an error. The Red Sox came back with six runs in the inning to win the game.

I wonder if that was a wake up call to managers. Normally, they remove pitchers when their pitch count gets to around 100, or if it's a save situation in the ninth. Note that before this week, the first six weeks produced only 20 complete games. Was Guthrie's game the catalyst?

FishStripes updates us on the condition of Josh Johnson.

C.C. Sabathia won again tonight to move his record to 6-1. He pitched well, allowing the Twins just one run over eight innings. He threw 105 pitches, 73 for strikes.

This is Milliliter's seventh year in the majors, and he's never had a losing record. Twice he was one game over .500. For his career, he's now 87-57, a .604 winnings percentage. When I get up tomorrow, I'll have to look up how many pitchers were over .500 in their first seven seasons.

Cole Hamels is starting to remind me of Curt Schilling's best years with the Diamondbacks. Schilling would strike out a ton of batters, but give up a good number of home runs. Because he tended to keep the bases empty, the long balls didn't hurt him much. Tonight, Hamels pitched eight innings, striking out eleven. He walked one and allowed two hits, one of them a two run homer. But with the Phillies scoring six, that was fine. Hamels now has 70 K in 62 2/3 innings and he has allowed eight home runs. I'll take that kind of pitching.

A.J. Burnett pitched a brilliant game tonight, using 103 pitches to go the distance against Baltimore. He struck out ten and allowed just three hits, two walks and one run. And he needed to be that good as the Baltimore staff held the Blue Jays to just two runs on eleven strikeouts. Since Halladay went down on Friday, the Jays have allowed twelve runs in six games, and on consecutive nights beat the Orioles 2-1.

Will Carroll sent along this inspiring article on a high school pitcher coming back from open heart surgery:

A day after striking out 13 batters in only his second varsity start, Linden High School pitcher Frank Szczepanik, a 7-foot right-hander who has piqued the interest of professional scouts, underwent open-heart surgery to repair a life-threatening condition.

"He was on that afternoon and throwing well," Linden head coach Dan Mondelli said of Szczepanik's April 2006 outing. "He left us on a good note and then went and had his operation."

Mondelli, whose team finished with a disappointing 8-18 record last year, wished he had the services of his hard-throwing junior for the remainder of the campaign. In just nine innings of work, Szczepanik struck out 20 batters and boasted a 1.55 ERA.

"We are looking as a program to make a step this year," Mondelli said. "We feel that we are going to be much-improved. We've got a lot of kids who are excited about playing and Frank can be a big part of it."

The fact that Szczepanik, a walking time bomb a year ago, will even toe the rubber this spring is, in Mondelli's opinion, a miracle.

They split his sternum and repaired a genetically damaged aorta. They knew about the defect because his mom nearly died from the same thing. My uncle underwent open heart surgery in his early 50s. Afterward, when he coached little league, the youngsters would complain he threw like a girl. It was difficult for him to lift his arm to throw. The fact that this young man is back and pitching well amazes me. Please read the whole article.

Takashi Saito continues to impress as the Dodgers closer. He earned his twelfth save of the season last night, striking out two in a perfect inning of work. He's yet to blow a save this season, and in his major league career converted 36 of 38, 95%. I like Saito's ability to blow batters away. He's pitched 18 innings this season, striking out 22 while issuing just two walks. He has allowed two home runs, but not in save situations. He's certainly looking like Gagne at the apex of his career.

Earlier in the evening, Randy Johnson turned in six terrific innings against the Rockies. Then David Wells turned in a fine performance against the Reds. Wells lasted eight innings, allowing seven hits. But he walked none. That's a good sign. His walks were up this season, so it's good to see him get his control back. Unfortunately for Wells and the Padres, Aaron Harang threw a two hitter through nine innings, also giving up one run. It was up to the bullpens, and Griffey tagged Bell for a home run to give the Reds the 2-1 victory.

Felix Hernandez only lasted 3 2/3 innings last night, but he left the game healthy:

The ace is back. Hernandez wasn't sharp Tuesday night, but there's time for that. All that mattered was that he threw 78 pitches without causing trainer Rick Griffin to hyperventilate. The strained muscle in Hernandez's right forearm appears to be healed.

After an un-Felix-like showing, Hernandez flashed a Felix-like grin.

"You guys need me?" he asked, smiling at reporters in the clubhouse afterward. "Yeah? Let me get dressed."

Of Hernandez's 78 pitches, only 45 were strikes. He walked three batters. He allowed seven hits, many of them lucky ones on weakly hit balls. He gave up three earned runs.

It was the kind of uneven performance you'd expect from a guy who missed a month. The Mariners chose not to send Hernandez to the minors for a rehab start; they had him pitch a simulated game instead. So he hadn't competed like this in quite a while.

So his effort was promising, if not perfect. His fastball maxed out at 96 mph, just a little off his normal velocity. In his next start, you can expect something closer to the real King Felix to return.

I saw a little of the game before bed last night. In the third inning, when he allowed the first run, he walked a batter with two out, then gave up three infield hits. Just bad luck there, but it forced his pitch count up. The Mariners came up with six runs in the bottom of the inning, however, to make the rest of the game moot. There was no reason to push Felix after that, so when he got in trouble in the fourth, they went to the bullpen. The Mariners took the game 11-3, and now trail the Angels by one game in the AL West.

Randy Johnson returned to form tonight, one-hitting the Rockies for six innings. That one hit was all Colorado earned against the Big Unit as he struck out nine and walked none. The bullpen gave up two hits in three innings of work, and the Arizona went on to win the game 3-0. Connor Jackson broke the scoreless tie in the sixth with a two run homer which helped Johnson to his 281st win.

Jesse Litsch shut down the Orioles tonight in his first major league appearance. The twenty two year old allowed just four hits over 8 2/3 innings, and didn't allow a run after the first inning. He walked three with only one strikeout, but he threw twice as many strikes as balls. The team looked like they were finished when Halladay went down last Friday, but they've won four of five since then.

Paul Maholm allowed three home runs to the Marlins so far as Florida leads Pittsburgh 5-1 in the sixth inning. That bring Maholm's total allowed to 10. He's only the fourth pitcher this season to reach double digits in home runs allowed. Last year at this time there were 12.

Milwaukee World breaks down Rollie Fingers tax bill, and finds it very interesting.

The Kansas City Star is running the Meche Meter, a measure of how well Gil Meche is living up to his contract. So far, so good. They probably should use game scores, but it's not a bad system.

Greg Maddux pitched a complete game last night, the 109th of his career. It was his first since 9/27/2005. Maddux needed just 96 pitches to hold the Reds to one run as San Diego took the game 7-1. What's unusual is that Maddux even went that far. I remember a number of his games with the Braves toward the end of his run there where he would come out after seven innings despite pitching well and throwing a low number of pitches. It looks like Bud Black isn't going to pull Greg like that.

I haven't seen the replay, but how can a pitcher not throw a strike with the bases loaded and the winning run at third? That's what happened to Wuertz tonight at Shea. He retired the first two batters, then after a single and steal by Reyes, he started the walk machine. He walked Chavez on four pitches, then intentionally walked Beltran. Delgado worked the count to 3-2, then took ball four to push across the winning run. Final score, 5-4.

According to the recap, the final pitch was high. I'm sorry, this is a major league pitcher. Give the defense a chance to help you. Put the ball in the strike zone.

Daisuke Matsuzaka showed the Red Sox tonight why he was worth the money. He pitched a complete game victory against the Detroit Tigers, allowing just one run on six hits, no walks, five strikeouts. His only mistake was an early home run to Granderson. He threw a 124 pitch complete game, with 86 pitches going for strikes. An impressive outing against a good team. The Red Sox win 7-1.

When I'm writing Games of the Day, I keep noticing right-handed pitchers who are just destroying left handed batters. Here's a list of pitchers who have faced left-handed batters at least 50 times this season, sorted by batting average allowed. Notice the first ten on the list are all right-handed pitchers. Those low average seem unreal, given that lefties tend to have an advantage with a shorter run to first, and in this case, a platoon advantage. There's not a particular type of righty getting out the lefties. You have soft tossers like Trachsel and Wakefield, and power pitchers like Peavy and Maine. Anyone care to offer a suggestion as to why this is happening?

Correction: Sorry, I forgot Washburn is a lefty.

Joe Christensen liked Sidney Ponson:

I'll miss him because he's such a colorful character. As reporters, we're trained never to talk to a pitcher on the day he's supposed to start. Ponson ignored the rule and talked to us! We tried avoiding him, but he'd bait us into conversations filled with nonsense and laughter. He almost always had a big smile on his face when he was at his locker.

So who's next?

Oh yeah, Baker. He's been pretty good down there for Rochester this year, and it'll probably be him or Glen Perkins taking Ponson's place in the rotation on Saturday, with Slowey and Garza honing their skills, gaining experience, knocking on the door. Long season friends. Counting tonight, there are still 126 games left.

The Twins said good-bye to Sidney Ponson today. I'm just surprised it took so long. In a year with home run rates down, Ponson allowed seven in 37 2/3 innings. Minnesota gave him ample opportunity to prove himself, and Sidney couldn't deliver.

Al Doyle looks at the history of Sunday pitchers. I really think this is something clubs should consider for starters like Maddux and Clemens, good pitchers who no longer have the stamina to pitch deep into games. Making twenty six starts a year instead of 34, they might be able to go deeper into games.

The Mariners sent Jeff Weaver to the DL with shoulder tendinitis, and not a moment too soon:

The Mariners are among the lighter opponents on the schedule, but their record is better than the Yankees, who are 16-18. Seattle is 16-15, but 16-9 in games not started by Jeff Weaver, who landed on the disabled list Friday with shoulder tendinitis.

Weaver was so bad, if the Mariners had signed almost anyone else, if they just called up a AAA starter, they're probably in first place right now.

Jake Peavy is off to another good start with strikeouts tonight. He retired seven without a ball in play through four innings, giving him a good shot at his fourth ten-K game in a row. San Diego leads 3-0 on homers by Greene and Branyan.

Shawn Hill just finished the fifth inning against the Marlins. He walked two, but so far allowed no hits.

Update: Just as Hill is about to start the sixth inning, Manny Acta and the trainer come out to the mound. Hill argues with Acta, but Manny pulls him from the game. Something looked wrong, and despite the no-hitter, Acta isn't taking any chances.

Update: The early report on Hill is a sore right elbow.

Update: Winston Abreu pitches around an error to retire the Marlins in the sixth and keep the no-hitter intact.

Two people sent me this great article on Mike Marshall, the former relief pitcher who trains others to throw without injuring themselves. The problem is, no one in pro baseball listens to him:

Marshall is 64 years old, impish and hyperkinetic. At 5-foot-8½, he looks more Ph.D. than ex-ballplayer. He still holds major-league records for games pitched in one season (106), relief innings pitched (208 1/3) and consecutive games for a pitcher (13), all set with the Los Angeles Dodgers in his 1974 Cy Young season. Everyone around baseball figured Marshall some kind of genetic freak, or maybe a masochist.

He was just ahead of his time. Almost 40 years ago, when he started the studies toward his doctorate at Michigan State, Marshall had questions about how to throw a baseball without injuring himself. Millions of pitches, thousands of feet of high-speed film and hundreds of adjustments later, he believes knows the answers better than anyone in the world.

"I'm a researcher," Marshall said. "People forget that about me. That's where my heart is. I pitched baseball, really, as the lab experiment of my research to see if it worked. Turned out it did. I don't need any more validation that I know something about baseball.

"I know what works. That's the greatest truth there is. I have a responsibility to give it back. Nobody wants it? Hey. That's not my problem."

Marshall likes to tell the story about how he diagnosed Tommy John with the torn ulnar-collateral ligament that led to John's eponymous surgery, and how Marshall's suggested regimen - exercises with an iron ball, like a shot put - strengthened John's arm enough to pitch another 13 seasons after the surgery.

"We would just look at him and go, 'He's kind of wacko,' " said John, Marshall's teammate for three years with the Dodgers. "Yet you saw these feats. What I saw him do, there had to be a reason for it."

I have no idea if what Mike Marshall teaches is good or bad, if it really works or not. But I know he's going about promoting himself the wrong way:

Any suggestion that Marshall adapt his program - mix his motion with the traditional motion to make the transition easier, or cut out the terminology to focus on the end rather than the means, or perhaps collaborate with others in the growing field of biomechanics - is met with a stern no.

"I called him a few years ago and said, 'Tell me about your stuff,' " said Dr. Glenn Fleisig, the biomedical engineer who works alongside top baseball surgeon Dr. James Andrews at the Alabama Sports Medicine Institute. "He said no. I said, 'Can I tell you?' And he said he didn't want to hear what any other researcher is doing, that he never read or listened to anything because he didn't want to be accused of stealing. The concept of a researcher who's speaking up but won't listen is a big turn-off."

We're living in the age of open source. Marshall should make his work known to others. He should be writing a blog explaining what he's doing and why. He should be inviting doctors down to watch his pitchers go through their work outs. He should be listening to others as well.

He's 64 years old. That's not really old anymore, but it's old enough that he faces a risk of dying and having his work die with him. It's time he did get others involved. Much as any of us like to think so, none of us know everything. I bet Mike can teach pitchers things that will help, and others doing research can teach Mike processes that might improve his methods. It's time to start talking to others.

Joe Sheehan posts interesting results in looking at where pitches go and how that location influences if a batter swings. Leo Mazzone's advice about hitting the low outside corner appears to have a lot of merit.

Tim Wakefield shuts out the Blue Jays for seven innings and the Boston bullpen finishes the job as the Red Sox take another victory 8-0. It was the fourth shutout of the day and the second by that score. Wakefield lowers his ERA to 1.79, placing him in the AL lead. Tim walked a lot of batters this season, but tonight the Blue Jays managed to draw just one free pass.

On the other side, Roy Halladay was roughed up for the second game in a row. He pitched 34 1/3 innings in his four previous starts, including a ten inning complete game. Could it be he was overworked too early in the season? Toronto is in a total tailspin right now. It isn't going to matter if Ryan is on the DL, if they keep getting blown out like this. While they've lost three one-run games, the other six in the losing streak were all by six runs or more. Right now, I'm betting Gibbons is the first manager gone.

Kelvim Escobar pitches a brilliant game, icing the hot Cleveland Indians 8-0. Escobar threw the fourth shutout of his career, striking out nine and walking none. He needed just 103 and a nice play by Matt Brown at third base to end the game and preserve the shutout. It was Brown's major league debut. Escobar lowers his ERA to 2.21, which will leave him no worse than fourth come the morning papers.

I'm wondering if we're starting to see the end of David Wells career. He walked four batters in today 5-3 loss to the Braves. That gives Wells eleven walks in 37 innings; last season he walked 12 in 75 1/3 innings. While his walk rate this year is still good, David depends on an extremely low walk rate to make up for his extremely low K rate. If his walk rate is edging up, that's not a good sign.

This was the first time he walked at least four in a game since July 25, 2003. In his career, Wells appeared in 637 games, and this is only the 24th time he's waked four or more.

After a rough start to his season, Jose Contreras put everything together this afternoon as he throws a complete game shutout against the Minnesota Twins. He allowed five hits and walked one. The one walk is most telling, as he game into the game walking a batter every other inning. He was very efficient, using just 98 pitches to finish off the Twins.

After allowing a go-ahead homer yesterday, Justin Duchscherer talks about his problems this season:

"It's frustrating, this has never happened before,'' Duchscherer said. "I've always been able to see the glove and hit it. ... More than anything, when I give up hits, it's on weak contact -- and everything this year is double, triple, home run. I'm consistently over the plate with everything. It's frustrating because (the A's) busted their butts and I go out and give it up.''

Duchscherer said he does not believe his recent hip soreness (which has not limited his availability) is a factor. "I don't want to make excuses,'' he said.

He called his struggles this year "completely unacceptable'' and added, "I'm missing my spots all the time, but I've got to quit now because I can't pitch like this.''

Seems to me the sore hip is a very good excuse. Maybe the A's need to give him a couple of weeks off. Coming into this season Duchscherer allow opponents a .372 slugging percentage, and 27% of hits off him were for extra-bases. In 2007, opponents are slugging .500 against Justin and 10 of 14 hits fell for extra-bases, 71%.

Energy bars helped Cha Seung Baek to a complete game victory over the Tigers. The game started late because of rain:

"My changeup was excellent today," said Baek, who needed only 79 pitches to get through the first seven innings, striking out the side in the sixth.

"It was a late-game, so I was a little bit starving," he added. "So, the trainer gave me an energy bar [after five innings] and I ate a little bit."

Baek actually ate a pair of energy bars. His team's hitters appeared to have done the same.

The 9-2 win lowers Baek's ERA to 5.40. He's only walked six in 23 1/3 innings with 15 K. At this point, I'd rather keep him around than Jeff Weaver when Felix Hernandez returns.

James Shields finishes nine shutout innings for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, but doesn't have a win yet. At 107 pitches thrown, he'll need the Rays to score in the top of the tenth to have a shot at the W. Erik Bedard threw seven very strong innings, allowing just three hits and striking out ten. Shields allowed three hits also, and walked one instead of Bedard's three. James brings his ERA down to 3.10.

When I was young, I thought a no-hitter was a game in which all the batters struck out. I've found over the year that some people new to the game have the same misconception. But Randy Johnson is trying to do just that tonight. He's struck out the first six batters he's faced. I can't wait to see how far he takes this.

Update: Nunez leads off the third with a single.

Claudio Vargas doesn't strike out as many batters as usual, but put up six good innings as he leaves the game against the Nationals after allowing just one run. That brings his ERA down to 2.65. With 34 innings thrown, he'll show up in the top 20 in NL ERA for a day. His only mistake was a home run to Felipe Lopez.

Bergman allowed just two hits over his six innings, also allowing one run, also on a homer. Jenkins took him deep for the first run of the game. He lowers his opposition batting average to .177. Both pitched well enough to win, but the victory will go to someone in the bullpen.

Joe Christensen explains why one Twins relief pitcher gets the nickname "The Vulture" every year.

Cliff Lee set a career low, allowing just three hits in a complete game, 5-1 win over the Angels

Lee wasn't really overpowering -- he had just two strikeouts -- but the Angels couldn't do much with him. When they did hit the ball hard, Blake made a couple of nice stops at third base.

The low-hit game of Lee's career was a four-hitter against Kansas City on July 18, 2005. Lee came into this season with just two complete games in 109 big-league starts.

Lee lost the no-hitter with one out in the sixth on a Mike Napoli double to the wall in right field. Then he lost the shutout on Willis single past a diving Jhonny Peralta behind second base to make it 3-1. Lee retired Cabrera to end the inning.

The Angels loss puts Oakland in first place in the AL West by 1/1000th of a point.

Josh Beckett won easily tonight as the Red Sox scored eight runs early, then cruised to a 9-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. Josh showed great control again as he struck out five and walked just one, giving him 40 K and 10 BB on the season. He's now 7-0 in seven starts.

Manny Ramirez ended the night 1 for 5. He's now batting .233 with a .400 slugging percentage. I have to believe that this slump isn't going to last. The fact that the Red Sox are winning without much of a contribution from Manny means they'll be even stronger when he starts to hit.

Jeremy Bonderman continues his first inning troubles. Richie Sexson hits a three run homer to put Seattle up 3-0 on Detroit. Opponents are now 16 for 38 with two walks, three homers and 13 RBI against Bonderman in seven starts.

Get Up, Baby, looks at the tandem starter arragenment the Cardinals are using to develop starters at A-Ball. The sample size is a small, but it seems that starters used in relief pitch more like relief pitchers, trying striking out more batters than when they start.

While the point of the post is that this may not be the best way to develop starters, maybe it's a good way to develop long relievers, which MLB could really use right now. There doesn't seem to be a Bob Stanley or Lindy McDaniel in the game right now, a long reliever who can actually pitch.

I continue to be impressed with Braden Looper's performance as a starter. Today he pitched another good game, allowing the Astros just one run over six innings. He's putting runners on base, but with men in scoring position the opposition is hitting just .189. With Carpenter out, Looper's taken up the mantle of ace.

The Red Sox edged out the Twins 4-3 this afternoon. The most impressive stat from the game is that Schilling, Okajima, and Papelbon combined to throw 133 pitches, only thirty nine for balls. That's almost 71% of their pitches for strikes. That led to eight strikeouts and two walks, and all ten Twins hits went for singles.

The Oakland Athletics scored four runs off Edwin Jackson in 6 1/3 innings this afternoon. That was enough to give the A's a 5-3 victory and drop Jackson's record to 0-5. Jackson's ERA is now 6.99. The league is batting .302 against him. He's walked 18 in 28 1/3 innings. He's only 23 but he's been yo-yo'd between the majors and minors for three years. Maybe a team should just decide he's not ready for the majors. He's just too wild, and doesn't strike out enough batters to make up for that. Maybe a full year at AAA would do this young man some good.

Update: Fixed typos.

Jake Peavy threw his third great start in a row, striking out 10 in seven innings and allowing just one hit. In his last 21 innings, Peavy has 36 strikeouts and just nine hits allowed. That four times the number of K as hits. He even picked up the win today as the Padres beat the Marlins 3-1. Peavy's going to need to keep pitching like that if his run support continues to be that low.

The Yankees agree to pay Roger Clemens $28 million, prorated for the season. I assume that means he'll get 2/3 of that, or a little over $18 million. Does the yearly value of the contract make him the highest paid player?

Chin-hui Tsao ran into his first trouble in his short tenure with the Dodgers this afternoon. He came into the game with just one hit and two walks allowed in 10 1/3 innings. But in 2/3 of an inning against the Braves, Atlanta managed three hits, two walks, and five runs. That allowed the Braves to come back from a 4-1 deficit to take the game 6-4.

Darrell Rasner gave the Yankees 5 2/3 shutout innings today, throwing 80 pitches. That gives the Yankees five good starts in six games in May. His performance gives the starters a 3.09 ERA in May, after a 5.94 mark in April. Rasner is in line for the win as the Yankees lead 3-0 in the top of the seventh.

Once again, I don't understand Torre's bullpen policy. Proctor comes out of the game after eight pitches. He got the last out of the sixth and the first two batters in the seventh. Did anyone see if he was hurt?

Update: Proctor was ejected.

Joe Kennedy pitched another fine game, going seven innings against the Devil Rays. He allowed just one run on a solo shot by Ty Wigginton (Ty's two homers account for the only two runs the Rays scored so far). The seven innings gives the Patriarch 29 on the season, matching the number of game played by Oakland. So tomorrow morning you'll see Joe tied for 6th in AL ERA with Nate Robertson. But that will last just one day. Kennedy needs to continue to accrue innings if he's going to stay near the top of the leaderboard.

Scott Kazmir pitched a fine game as well, striking out eight in six innings. The team go to the tenth tied at two after Street blows a save on Wigginton's second homer of the game in the bottom of the ninth.

Chien-Ming Wang just finished the seventh inning with a perfect game intact. He's faced 21 and retired 21, four with strikeouts. He's thrown just 91 pitches, and the Yankees lead 6-0. Of course, the big question, will the hamstring hold up?

The Toronto Blue Jays give Cliff Lee a rude welcome on his return from the DL. In three innings, the Cleveland lefty allowed six hits and a walk. Four of the six hits landed for extra bases, include Troy Glaus' fifth home run. The Blue Jays lead 4-0 in the bottom of the third.

Gil Meche is pitching another great game for the Royals. A walk and a home run in the first inning is all that he's allowed through six innings. Meanwhile, despite nine strikeouts by Jered Weaver, the Royals scored three runs to take a 3-2 lead.

It looks like someone convinced Meche to go after hitters more and cut his walks way down. This means he gives up more hits, but not enough to make up for the lost base on balls. His WHIP sits at the lowest level of his major league career. Whoever coached him to do this on the Royals deserves a raise for making Moore look very good.

Roy Oswalt watched what he did right in previous seasons to fix his delivery in time to defeat the Reds:

On Tuesday, Oswalt did side-by-side comparisons of his 2004 and 2005 seasons and his previous two starts and noticed he was too quick to the plate. All four of the hits he allowed Wednesday came on 0-2 pitches.

"I'm going to throw the ball over the plate and make them swing at it," he said. "A lot of guys try to nibble there and waste a few pitches. I'm trying to get guys out on (as few) pitches as possible. It's tough to get strikeouts that way, but you can go deep into games that way."

Roy only struck out two, but issued just one walk, so he solved his control problem. He also threw 74 of 95 pitches for strikes as the Astros won 3-1. Now, Houston just needs to figure out how to score more runs.

Oliver Perez struck out ten Marlins through five innings. That's a season high. He twice struck out nine batters this season. With one walk, he's now struck out 36 and walked eight this season in 28 1/3 innings.

Anibal Sanchez lasts just 75 pitches and 3 1/3 innings. I wonder if there's something physically wrong with Anibal this season.

Bronson Arroyo finally picked up a win to go with his low ERA. The Reds pounded the Astros 11-2, with Griffey, Dunn and Gonzalez recording home runs and multi-hit games. Arroyo allowed just three hits over seven innings and lowered his opposition batting average to .223. He's doing a better job of controling the long ball this season. He allowed 31 homers in 2006, just one so far this year.

Last night Seattle's pitching game plan approached perfection. Washburn pitched seven strong innings, allowing two runs, and Morrow and Putz closed out the game combining for no hits and four strikeouts. The problem is, after those three pitchers and an injured Felix Hernandez, the staff goes downhill from there. Based on those strong performances, the Mariners defeated the White Sox 4-2. Seattle moves to one game over .500, second in the AL West.

Philip Hughes heads to the disabled list:

Working on a no-hitter in his second major league start, Phil Hughes had one out in the seventh inning when he grabbed his left hamstring and was forced from the game. For the Yankees, it was a discouraging reminder that even the gem of their farm system is not immune to the ills of the major league team.

Another day, another injury to a starting pitcher. So it goes for the Yankees, who walloped the Texas Rangers, 10-1, in Hughes's first major league victory. Mike Myers allowed the Rangers' first hit, a double by Hank Blalock to lead off the eighth inning.

"There was a little bit of a pop," Hughes said. "But there was no sharp pain or anything like that."

Still, Hughes will be placed on the disabled list with a hamstring injury that Manager Joe Torre described as significant. Torre guessed that Hughes would miss four to six weeks, making him the Yankees' fifth starting pitcher to land on the disabled list this season.

There's a lot of bad karma for the Yankees pitchers this season, although the team is wondering about the new strength and conditioning coach:

One of Cashman's first questions for Hughes was whether he had altered anything in his conditioning since joining the Yankees last week. Hughes, who was sent to the minors in mid-March, said he had not changed his routine.

The injury came when Hughes tried to throw a curveball with an 0-2 count to Mark Teixeira. Hughes told Cashman he overextended himself on the pitch, his chest reaching too far past his front foot. The force was too much for his hamstring.

"His momentum took him," Cashman said. "And all of a sudden, 'Boom.' "

The Yankees forty-man roster is certainly getting a workout. On the positive side, the Yankees did win and picked up a game on the Red Sox.

Philip Hughes induced two double plays in two innings. He's allowed two walks, and both runners were removed with the double play balls. He's also struck out two, and the Yankees lead the Rangers 2-0 after two.

Update: Texas batted four times without a hit. Hughes struck out three through the four innings, and only threw 43 pitches.

Update: Hughes walks another, but still hasn't allowed a hit through five. With a 9-0 lead and a 63 pitches thrown, he should be able to give the bullpen most of the night off.

C.C. Sabathia gives up three solo home runs in the first inning to put Toronto on top 3-0. For his career, 63% of Milliliter's home runs came with no one on.

Brandon Webb held the Dodgers to one run last night as the Diamondbacks won their sixth straight to move into first place. He induced the Dodgers into hitting the ball on the ground:

Webb made it look easy in his seven innings - he got 14 ground-ball outs, five flyouts, two strikeouts and retired the side in order four times - and threw a higher percentage of sinkers than he had in his past two starts.

"He had that shot-put sinker going," manager Bob Melvin said. "It's heavy, very heavy. You feel like you're hitting a bowling ball when he's on."

Webb appears to be regaining the form that won him the National League Cy Young Award last year after beginning this season on shaky ground.

In his first three starts, Webb allowed 11 runs in 19 innings (5.21 ERA). After the Dodgers scored just once Monday night, Webb has allowed just four earned runs in 23 innings since (1.56 ERA).

A good sinker keeps Webb's home run totals low. Since he came into the league in 2003, his 0.67 home runs per 9 is the lowest in the majors.

Jake Peavy picked up where he left off in his last start. He struck out 16 in seven innings at Arizona, and home tonight against the Nationals he already struck out seven in five innings. That gives him 42 K in 37 1/3 innings this season.

Update: The first four Nationals reach base in the seventh, pushing a run across to make the score 3-1 Washington and loading the bases. Black leaves Peavy in the game. He strikes out the next two batters and retires in the side on a fly ball. He's losing, but he's struck out 10 and walked 2 through seven innings. San Diego needs to find Jake some runs.

Meanwhile, Patterson leaves after six innings, allowing just the one run. That's five starts in a row for the Nationals in which the starter allowed two runs or less.

Tim Hudson turns in his sixth quality start in six outings as he holds off the Phillies long enough for the Braves to score three in the ninth inning on an Andruw Jones home run to take the game 5-2. With the two runs allowed, Hudson's ERA goes up to 1.40. He's pitched at least seven inning in each of his starts and three runs is the most he's allowed.

Roy Halladay pitches his second complete game of the season, using just 110 pitches in a time of 2:02 as Toronto defeats Texas 6-1. Halladay struck out eight and walked none, lowering his ERA to 2.28. Depending on how Lackey finishes his game, that will be third or fourth in the American League. With the complete game tonight, Halladay averages close to eight innings per start.

Update: Lackey lasts 6 1/3 innings, allowing one run. That lowers his ERA to 2.19, leaving him .01 behind Gil Meche.

Jeremy Bonderman's first inning woes continue. The Orioles went four for seven, scoring two runs in the top of the first. Opponents are now 14 for 33 against Jeremy in the first, a .424 BA. The rest of the game he allows a low .204 batting average.

Wang pitched with a broken fingernail Sunday:

As it turns out, Wang was pitching with a broken nail on his pitching hand from the third inning on, thus the three walks, one hit batter, wild pitch (all of which came after the third inning), and unusual number of extra base knocks (Wang, who allowed just 12 homers all of last year hadn't allowed two homers in a single game since June 28, 2005). The nail on Wang's right index finger cracked in half perpendicular to his finger. According to Peter Abraham, Wang has reportedly fixed similar problems with glue in the past and says he will make his next start.

Scott Kazmir finished April on an up note, defeating the Oakland Athletics 5-3. Scott lasted seven innings, but only struck out one. That's the fewest batters he's struck out in a major league appearance of any length. Opponents were six for twenty three putting the ball in play (.261), but the defense did better, as two of those hits were home runs (.810 DER). Kazmir owes the win to the gloves behind him today.

Francisco Cordero keeps mowing down opposing batters. He walked one today, but didn't allow a hit to run his scoreless streak to 11 1/3 on the season. He's allowed just two hits on the season while striking out 19. He's wild, walking seven, but so far it's an effective wildness.

John Maine moves into second place in the NL ERA race with seven scoreless innings against the Washington Nationals this afternoon. He helped make Carlos Beltran's home run stand up for a one run victory. Maine's ERA drops to 1.35, and he's now struck out 30 in 33 1/3 innings. Maybe they should call him Pocket Pedro. :-)

Fausto Carmona comes close to a shutout, but ends up with an 8 1/3 innings, 6-1 win over the Orioles. He only struck out one, but he threw strikes all game. He threw 73 of 104 pitches for strikes, allowing only six hits. He lowers his ERA to 3.76 and seems to have found his niche as a starter.

The Royals pounded Jeff Weaver last night:

Weaver lost his fourth decision in as many starts, giving up six runs, seven hits and recording just one out before manager Mike Hargrove pulled him in the top of the first inning.

The performance may have cemented Weaver's removal from the Mariners' rotation. Neither Hargrove or Weaver would comment about it after the game.

"I am really not going to talk about what I'm going to do or not going to do with Jeff," Hargrove said. "Tonight was not a good outing for him. He feels worse than anybody else. We've got to try and help him get back in line."

Weaver now owns an 18.26 ERA. Here's a list of the highest ERAs ever for pitchers with at least 10 innings pitched in a season:

Pitcher	Year	Innings	ERA
June Greene	1929	13 2/3	19.76
Jeff Weaver	2007	11 1/3	18.26
Mel Rojas	1999	14	18.00
Harry Byrd	1950	10 2/3	16.88
Jot Goar	1896	13 1/3	16.88

Given the number of innings by other people on this list, Jeff might be close to the end of his season.

Jerome Williams issued four walks so far, but the Mets remain hitless through five innings in Washington. Williams only struck out one batter so far, and has thrown more balls than strikes (36-34). Given his problems in the game, this looks like an unlikely no-hit bid.

Update: Matt Belisle is perfect through five against the Pirates. He's struck out five and walked none, and thrown 40 of 56 pitches for strikes.

Update: Beltran breaks up Williams no-no with one out in the sixth.

Update: Paulino doubles with one out in the sixth to break up Belisle's perfecto.

Mariano Rivera gets a save, but still trails Saul Rivera for most Rivera saves 2-1. He allowed a broken bat hit leading off the inning, but threw strikes on 11 of 16 pitches. The Yankees win 3-1 ending their losing streak. It's only the second win of the season for the Yankees in games in which they scored four runs or less.

Call him Nuke Igawa. Kartens took a line drive off the leg in the first inning with none out, leaving the game with two men on. Kei Igawa entered, got out of the inning with a double play and a strikeout, and went on to pitch six innings with six strike outs. He didn't allow a run.

He did however, walks four and throw a wild pitch. At one point, ahead in the count 1-2 to Manny Ramirez, Igawa threw what appeared to be change up over everyone's head. It just reminded me of that scene in Bull Durham when LaLoosh is told to hit the bull, and Crash uses that to scare the hitters. Whatever Kei did today, he kept the Sox hitters off balance as they only picked two hits against him.

Mariano Rivera allowed four runs in a mop up assignment last night, raising his ERA to 12.15:

On Friday, Rivera's biggest problem was control. After Mike Lowell's one-out single, the left-handed-batting Jason Varitek and Coco Crisp laced singles on cut fastballs that Rivera failed to spot under their hands, the way he usually can. A walk to Dustin Pedroia, the No. 9 hitter, brought out Torre.

"I was missing up, missing down, missing everywhere," Rivera said.

Torre quickly dismissed any concern about Rivera. "He hadn't pitched in four days," Torre said. "He just needs to get regular work. Then he'll fall into what he needs to do."

The article mentions the no-save streak, but it's tough to pick up saves when the team doesn't present many chances. With the 11-4 loss to the Red Sox and the Tampa Bay win over Oakland, the Yankees are now 6 1/2 behind Boston and one full game behind the Devil Rays in last place.

The second place Pittsburgh Pirates won again as the rotation throws its six good game in a row. Snell threw seven scoreless innings against the Reds, and the Pirates starters now own a 1.54 ERA over their last six performances. They've been especially good at keeping the ball in the park, allowing just one home run in their last 41 innings. They've need the pitching as they've outscored the opposition by just six runs, 25-19 to go 5-1 during the stretch.

Cole Hamels touts a big Day/Night split:

In his career, Hamels has a 2.70 earned run average in night starts and a 5.92 ERA in day starts. This season (admittedly only five games old for Hamels), he has a league-leading 0.56 ERA at night and a 5.71 ERA during the day.

The statistics have gotten the attention of manager Charlie Manuel and pitching coach Rich Dubee and, sooner rather than later, Hamels' starts could be manipulated to take advantage of his strengths and avoid what has so far been a weakness.

I'd like the article better if they talked to the catcher at least and asked him if he saw Hamels' pitches better in the day time. But three starts from now, Manuel has the choice of pitching Cole at night or pushing him back a day for an afternoon game. We'll see what happens then.

A.J. Burnett and Josh Beckett picked up wins tonight. Burnett hung seven shutout innings on the Yankees as New York goes down 6-0. It's the first time New York failed to score, and only the second time this year an opponent held them to less than four runs. A.J. allowed just four hits and opponents are hitting just .216 against him.

Beckett ran his record to 5-0 with eight strong innings. He allowed two runs, but was able to hang on until Wily Mo Pena blasted a grand slam in the 8th inning to hand Boston a 5-2 win. With no walks tonight, Beckett has issued just seven free passes in 32 2/3 innings while striking out 28.

Phil Hughes comes away from his major league debut with positives and negatives. He struck out 5 and walked just one. However, he allowed four runs in 4 1/3 innings, throwing 91 pitches in that time. The Yankees trail 4-0 in the sixth.

Bartolo Colon appears to be healthy again. He's in the middle of shutting down one of the best offenses in baseball as he's gone seven innings against the Devil Rays, allowing just two runs. His control is back, as he's walked one while striking out eleven. He's over 100 pitches, so he may be done for the day. The Angels lead 11-2.

To put it mildly, River Ave. Blues is excited about Phil Hughes pitching for the Yankees.

Jake Peavy just finished the sixth inning, picking up his fourteenth strikeout. At one point, he struck out nine in a row, getting the side on strikes in the second, third and fourth innings. He misses Seaver's record by one. The Padres lead 2-0 in the top of the seventh as Webb is also pitching a good game.

Update: Peavy strikes out two more in the 7th. That gives him 16, tying his own franchise record. He's at 117 pitches, however. Do you leave him in and let him go for the record? Or is that enough and should he come out?

Update: Cla Meredith is warming up in the bullpen.

Update: Sorry, it was Linebrink. He enters the game and Miguel Montero greets him with a pinch-hit home run to cut the Padres lead to 2-1.

Update: Another ninth inning blown save, this time by Hoffman. He walks Tracy with one out, then gives up a home run to Drew with two outs. Thanks to Webb keeping them close, the DBacks survive a 16 K outing by Jake Peavy and win the game 3-2. Drew picked a perfect time for his first home run of the season.

Tim Hudson pitched another great game tonight. Through eight innings he struck out 12 and allowed just five hits. But the first three batters singled in the ninth to load the bases, bringing in Bob Wickman. Hudson got his pitches up in the inning, and the Marlins took advantage of that. Hudson can't lose the game, but a bad performance by Wickman and Tim may not win it.

Update: Olivo hits the right center gap and the ball rolls to the wall. Cabrera and Ross score to double Hudson's ERA. Ross ran into the third base coach, and Cox argues that the run shouldn't count, but it wasn't intentional contact.

Update: After an intentional walk, Willingham stands in with the bases loaded. A long fly ball ties the game.

Update: Wickman falls behind 3-0, the works the count back full as Willingham takes two pitches. After fouling off a number of good pitches, Willingham swings over a sinker that would be ball four and strikes out. Amezaga's turn to hit a long fly.

Update: Amezaga loops one over the drawn in third baseman for an infield hit and a tie game.

Update: Wickman throws a wild pitch and the Marlins win! Quite a comeback against the best pitcher in the National League this year and a closer who was 24 of 25 in save opportunities for the Braves. It's games like this that make managers that bring in their closer at the start of the ninth.

Elmer Dessens warms up and Ben Sheets is headed to the clubhouse as the Brewers bat in the top of the fourth. Ben hasn't allowed a run through three innings, but he did give up four hits while striking out one. Stay tuned.

Update: The broadcast reports a right groin strain for Sheets. There was a ground ball through the box at the end of the third inning. Sheets had his back to it, and spun to try to see it. After that, he limped off the field.

Update: WGN said it was a left groin strain. I'm watching the Wisconsin broadcast. One of his groins is strained.

Update: Dessens runs into trouble, allowing a run with just one out in the fourth. The Cubs lead 1-0 and two men stand on base.

Update: Ryan Theriot delivers a two-out, bases loaded single to extend the Cubs lead to 3-0. Floyd drives in two more with a double that he unsuccessfully tries to stretch into a triple. Lilly is pitching well, and now has a five run lead.

Also, the Wisconsin team just repeated the right groin strain.

After a great first inning, Randy Johnson struggled in his first outing of the season.

There were lots of swings and misses from Padres hitters. There was good shape, good movement on Johnson's pitches. There was good velocity, his fastball registering at 93 mph about 10 times, 94 a few times and 96 once, on a 3-0 pitch to Adrian Gonzalez in the fifth.

But there also were some mistakes. Johnson walked four batters (two intentional) and hit two batters. He seemed to tire in the fifth. He fell behind too many hitters and left too many pitches up in the strike zone, and he paid for it, particularly during a four-run fifth inning.

"Early on, his mechanics were good, he was repeating his delivery, and he was reasonably sharp," manager Bob Melvin said. "I just think he hit a wall in the fifth. Endurance-wise, he needs to get out a little further, but I didn't think he threw the ball badly at all."

He ended up allowing six runs in five innings and the Diamondbacks lost 10-5.

Roy Halladay posted a Cy Young performance tonight, holding the Red Sox to three runs over eight innings. He demonstrated excellent control in both his strike to ball ratio and his ten strikeouts with no walks. He's now allowed 37 hits plus walks in 38 1/3 innings pitched this season. With the Red Sox losing and the Devil Rays winning, the AL East gets a little bit tighter, with four games separating top from bottom.

Paul Maholm stands as a good example of a low strikeout pitcher giving up a lot of hits. But tonight, despite striking out just four, he pitched a three-hit shutout against the Astros. The managers disagreed on whether it was Paul or the Astros hitters:

"You can count the number of bad pitches he threw on one hand," the Pirates' Jim Tracy said. "He was exceptional."

"It was a very bad game, we looked like we had no clue what we were doing," the Astros' Phil Garner said. "We hit one ball good. We didn't square the ball up and swung at a lot of bad pitches and, unfortunately, we put them in play. I think it was more us than him, though obviously he pitched well."

Given Maholm's past, I tend to agree with Garner. Putting lots of balls in play against Pittsburgh leads to good results most of the time.

Randy Johnson retires the side in order in the first inning, striking out the Giles brothers. He looked very smooth throwing.

Wang gave the Yankees what they need tonight, pitching into the seventh before he got in trouble. After Vizcaino intentionally walked the bases loaded and induced a lineout, Myers came in to face Crawford. Myers sent one in low but over the middle of the plate, and Crawford golfed it out for a grand slam and a 6-3 Devil Rays lead. Righties are 0 for 10 vs. Myers, but lefties are 4 for 17 with two extra-base hits.

It's never too early to keep your eye on Rich Hill. He's retired the first nine Brewers tonight, striking out one an inning. That lowers his opposition batting average for the season to .100.

Update: Hardy doubles with one out in the fourth, then Fielder knocks one out of the park for a 2-0 Milwaukee lead.

Dallas Braden gives the Athletics six great innings in his major league debut. They don't push him, removing Braden from the game after 86 pitches. He strikes out six and walks just one as he allows just one run. He leaves with a 1.50 ERA and a .150 BA against. The A's pen allowed one run so far to make the score 4-2 in the bottom of the 8th.

Update: Street throws a perfect ninth, striking out two for his sixth save. The Athletics take the game 4-2 and remain in first place in the AL West.

Kelvim Escobar retires the Tigers in order on strikeouts in the first. He threw 11 of 15 pitches for strikes. Interestingly, the announcer noticed that Kelvim is working faster this season. He said last year he'd time Kelvim at 25 seconds between pitches, this year at about 15. Another success story for work fast, throw strikes.

Dallas Braden appears to be influenced by C.C. Sabathia. His uniform hangs on him, he keeps his hat a bit crooked, and he visage shows a serious game face. He's allowed one run in two innings on poor outfield play turning a double into a triple. He's also struck out two. He looks very confident on the mound so far.

One of the nice things about writing for Baseball Prospectus is that I'm now on the their chatter e-mail list. Both there and in comments on this blog I've seen the Yankees accused of panicking. Another thought is that Hughes should be up already, and the process of saying he's not ready one week but ready the next is poor. However, I think it's just bad spin. In their way, the Yankees are going through a process. Here's what I wrote on the BP thread:

One of the things I've heard is that clubs want to see what happens when a pitcher faces adversity. I think it's baloney, but in his second start, Hughes gave up five runs. He came back from that and pitched six shutout innings. See? He can handle adversity. Now they can bring him up.

The Daily News had this story in March, talking to Hughes' dad:

On Joe Torre's assertion that Hughes will benefit from adversity: "I think it's part of his development. No matter what you do, whether you're in business, working behind a desk or playing baseball, I think you're better off if you have a little adversity."

"There's no doubt in my mind he can handle it, because he's handled it before. He just hasn't had to as a professional. He's just going to have to experience it eventually."

More important to me is that at the AAA level he struck batters out, didn't walk many and gave up zero home runs. I'll take my chances with that.

There was a comment last night asking what happened to all the great nicknames. Well, Rocky Cherry debuted for the Cubs last night. Unfortunately for nickname afficinados, his parents named him Rocky.

And his first appearance ended up more rocky than cherry. Prince Fielder homered to put the Brewers up 5-4 in the top of the twelfth inning, and Cherry took the loss. All four balls in play against Rocky were in the air, something that won't help him when the wind is blowing out of Wrigley.

The good news for the Cubs is that Carlos Zambrano pitched better. He only went 5 1/3 innings, but struck out seven.

The Brewers sit atop the NL Central at 12-7. They're the only team in that division over .500. However, they've only outscored their opponents by four runs so far. The last place Cubs, however outscored their opponents by 10! Based on run differential, the Cubs should be in first place in the division. Close games tell the story. The Brewers are 5-2 in one run games, the Cubs 0-5.

John Maine made his bid for new Mets ace tonight as he stopped the Rockies for 7 2/3 innings. He allowed just one run to lower his ERA to 1.71. He threw strikes, more than 67% of his pitches. He gave up seven hits, but only one of the them went for extra bases. The league is hitting just .169 against him, and he's only allowed three extra base hits on the season.

The Mets offense keeps clicking as Carlos Delgado hits his first home run of the season as New York takes the game 6-1. With the Atlanta loss the Mets retake first place in the NL East.

Jered Weaver imitates his big brother and lasts just 1 2/3 innings as the Tigers plate seven runs against the youngster. Granderson started things with a home run leading off the game, but it was in the second inning where they hit Weaver. Jered struck out the first two batters, but then allowed four hits and a walk, before heading to the bench. A fielding error allowed the final two runs, so only five of the seven Jered allowed tonight were earned. The Tigers lead 7-0 early in the game.

It's about time:

A day after getting swept by the Boston Red Sox, the New York Yankees said Monday they plan on having top pitching prospect Phil Hughes make his major league debut Thursday against Toronto.

Yankees manager Joe Torre didn't rule out that the 20-year-old right-hander, taken in the first round of the 2004 amateur draft, might make more than one start.

"If we're comfortable and we sense he's comfortable, we'll see what we do," Torre said before the Yankees played Tampa Bay.

Hughes is 2-1 with a 3.94 ERA in three starts this season at Triple-A Scranton, and he pitched six shutout innings last Wednesday at Syracuse, allowing two hits, striking out 10 and walking none.

After last night's game, the Yankees could certainly use Hughes' control. With luck, he'll have a year like Jered Weaver did in 2006.

At U.S.S. Mariner:

I don't mean to be Corco, but our rotation was better when it had Gil Meche and Ryan Franklin in it.

Joe Christensen notes that the Twins AAA pitchers are doing quite well to begin the season. That should be some comfort as Ponson's ERA soars.

Jeff Weaver allowed three runs in three innings today and lowered his ERA. The Angels took the game from the Mariners 6-1. Ervin Santana continues his good pitching in Anaheim, allowing just one run in seven innings of work.

Jorge De La Rosa looks like he's been watching the Twins pitchers closely. He walked just one batter today as he held Minnesota to one run over eight innings. That gives him just five walks in 26 2/3 innings, well below his career average of more than a walk every other inning. He threw more that 2/3 of his pitches for strikes, and brought his ERA down to 3.04. If he can keep this up, the Royals found themselves a gem.

David Bush threw eight shutout innings against the Astros today, taking a 4-0 lead into the ninth. With Bush slightly over 100 pitches, I thought the Brewers would go to the bullpen, but Bush started the ninth. It turns out he was out of gas. He allows a double, walk and a double before Cordero comes in to finish the game. In true reliever fashion, he allows the inherited runners to score, boosting Bush's ERA but making himself look good for the save. That's just the kind of outing anyone with Bush on his fantasy team hates.

But David pitched extremely well, striking out seven and not issuing that walk until the ninth. He's showing excellent control this year, walking just three in 25 innings. That makes fantasy owners very happy.

Bartolo Colon returned to the majors last night, and allowed just one run over seven innings. 6-4-2 has more:

Despite giving up one run and seven hits, Bart actually looked pretty solid. That's not to say that he'll look anywhere near this good against real teams; the absence of strikeouts is a concern. Maybe that's not a surprise, because his velocity is likely gone for good:

"My goal all along was to pitch in April. I worked really hard to get back here, and I want to thank my teammates for all the runs they gave me tonight," Colon said. "I know the days of throwing 99, 100 miles per hour are over for me, but my mind is stronger."

Though the stadium radar gun was turned off, the radio announcers said he threw up to 95 MPH. I'll take Saturday's game as a positive sign.

The bullpen came close to blowing the game, allowing five run in the eighth inning, but the Angels held on for a 7-6 win, the first of the year for Bartolo.

Update: Given that Seattle is scoring 4.85 runs per game and the Angels are scoring 3.47 per game, saying Seattle isn't a real team is a bit unfair.

Cole Hamels struck out fifteen batters through nine innings. That gives the youngster 33 K on the season with just six walks issued, all in 28 innings. His only mistake tonight was a home run to Jeff Conine, a solo shot in the second. The Phillies win the game 4-1 as Hamels picks up the first complete game of his career and lowers his ERA to 2.57.

Update: A commenter points out the Phillies turned a triple play in the game.

Reds fifth. Hamilton walked. Encarnacion singled to center, Hamilton to second. Ross grounded into a triple play, third baseman Nunez to second baseman Utley to first baseman Helms. Hamilton out, Encarnacion out.

You have to love the around the horn triple play.

Matt Chico walks seven tonight in 4 2/3 innings. That matches the single game high for the season shared with Oliver Perez. That gives Chico 15 walks in 18 1/3 innings. He's not going to last in the majors with those kinds of numbers.

Anibal leaves the game in the top of the sixth with an apparent cramp. We'll see if it's more serious. The Marlins don't really need more injuries right now.

Update: Adam Loewen also walks seven tonight. That gives him 19 free passes in 19 1/3 innings. However, thanks three double plays he only allowed two runs and is in line for the win. The Orioles lead 5-2 in the ninth.

Jason Marquis saved his best for his former team as he pitches seven shutout innings against the Cardinals. He allows seven hits, all singles and hits two batters. The Cubs offense helps out with two homers to give Chicago a 5-0 lead in the eighth.

Boof Bonser allows two home runs today in his five innings of work. That gives him seven in 20 2/3 innings. Makes you wonder if he's been getting tips from Twins broadcaster Burt Blyleven, who allowed 50 in 1986, the single season record. Minnesota and Kansas City are tied at five in the seventh.

Oliver Perez continued his career and season success vs. the Braves today. He allowed two runs through 6 2/3 innings. Most impressively, he struck out nine without issuing a walk. In 13 2/3 innings against the Braves this year, Perez struck out 15 without a walk. And while he's pitched a couple of bad starts, for his career he holds a 3.25 ERA against Atlanta.

Update: The Mets win 7-2, and Perez moves to 4-3 against the Braves.

Randy Wolf appears rejuvenated with his move to the west coast. Always a good strikeout pitcher, Wolf fanned ten Pirates in six innings last night helping Los Angeles to an easy 10-2 win over Pittsburgh. The former Phillies pitcher now has 25 strikeouts in 24 innings, with just six walks. The control is impressive, since for most of his career Wolf's K/BB was a bit over two.

Mariano Rivera blows his second save of the season. Myers and Vizcaino couldn't get the job done, so Rivera came into the 8th with men on 1st and 3rd and a three run lead. Varitek singled, Crisp tripled and Cora singled to put the Red Sox on top 7-4. Mo is now 0-2 in save opportunities. Okajima will try to save the game for the Red Sox, as Papelbon is unavailable. He'll face Jeter, Abreu and A-Rod.

Update: Jeter grounds out weakly to second to start the ninth. Abreu walks to bring up A-Rod.

Update: Rodriguez works the count to 3-2, then hits a line drive to the second baseman. Now, both Giambi and Posada are out of the game, so it's up to Thompson.

Update: Thompson falls behind 0-2, stays alive on foul balls but finally misses a pitch in the dirt. A huge comeback victory for Boston to stay in first place in the AL East. Okajima picks up his first save and a new hero is born.

Jon Lieber makes a terrific first start of the year, allowing one hit and one walk in 5 2/3 innings. He alos struck out five. Myers takes his turn as a reliever in the 8th. He walks one, but strikes out two. The Phillies hang on to a slim 1-0 lead.

Brandon McCarthy continues to get clobbered as a starter for Texas. He did not get a batter out in the second inning, allowing the first five batters to reach. They all scored, as well as three others, and Oakland scores eight in the second inning for an 8-0 lead. Buck drove in three and already walked and doubled.

I wonder if McCarthy is head back to the minors. His ERA now stands at 10.20.

U.S.S. Mariner blasts the organization for moving Morrow into the rotation:

Brandon Morrow threw an inning on April 3rd, an inning on April 10th, and an inning on April 14th. During spring training, his longest outing was two innings, he threw 8 1/3 total innings in the month of March. In his professional debut last year in the Arizona and Cal Leagues, his longest outing was three innings.

The last time Brandon Morrow threw more than 3 innings in a ballgame was May 5th, 2006 against the Stanford Cardinal.

And now, he's being asked to go into a severe hitters park and make his first major league start, after having spent the entire spring being used as a reliever, and then sitting on his hands for the better part of April.

At least he should be rested. :-) I don't have a huge problem with this, unless they really try to extend the outing. If they limit him to 75 pitches or five innings, it's probably okay.

Rich Hill pitched his third excellent game last night, combining with Dempster for a 3-0 shutout of the Braves. With his four hit performance last night, Hill allowed just eight hits in 22 innings this season. That's the biggest difference between Hill this year and in previous seasons, the balls in play are not falling for hits. In previous seasons, his batting average allowed on balls in play was .307. This year, it's a mere .148. Looking at his line drive percentage this season, it's clear batters are having a tough time squaring up his pitches.

I'm curious what Cubs fans believe changed for Hill. The news story quotes Hill, but he doesn't say anything technical:

His game plan is relatively simple.

"Just going out there and staying consistent and stay with the same philosophy I've had for a while now," he said. "Stay aggressive and stay on the attack. Hitters know that. They know 'if we get Hill today, he's aggressive and going to come after us. We have to get up and swing the bats.' You turn it around and put it on them."

Did he develop a new pitch? Did he improve his changeup? Is it just luck? The STATS scouting report on the FoxSports page indicates the wind is blowing in at Wrigley this year. Could that be it?

The Diamondbacks chase Jake Peavy in the sixth inning after he gave up eight hits in two innings. Arizona fights back to a two run deficit, but Medders allows two home runs in the seventh to extend the Padres lead to 9-5.

I didn't see the game today, but in 19 innings this season Zach Duke allowed 19 earned runs. Why is he pitching so badly?

"Command, period," Tracy said. "He was not locating his sinker, and there were a lot of balls that had a lot of plate and were elevated. When he does that, he's going to get hit."

Duke saw it the same way.

"My command is not where I want it to be," he said. "But they hit some tough pitches. I couldn't believe they hit 'em as hard as they did. Maybe they were just too comfortable up there."

I'm interested in what Pittsburgh fans think. Is it just control, or has Duke become more predictable? Hitting tough pitches hard strikes me as knowing a tough pitch was on the way.

Francisco Cordero picked up his fifth save today and Milwaukee held on to take a 7-5 victory over Pittsburgh. He's only allowed one hit in seven innings, no runs, and after striking out the three batters he faced today, thirteen strikeouts. He only threw 12 pitches to retire the side, nine for strikes.

Before bed last night, I caught a minute of the Diamondbacks game. The announcers praised Webb's changeup, noting that he gained control of it last night. The results were a career high thirteen strikeouts in eight innings. The Arizona Republic expands on that story line:

The mistake took a potential victory away from Webb, who struck out a career-high 13 in an overpowering performance. After allowing three singles and a run in the first inning, everything clicked for Webb, who began mixing his pitches with devastating results, at one point striking out six consecutive batters.

Mostly throwing his sinker to get ahead in the count, he'd occasionally finish them off with a change-up, like he did to get Khalil Greene swinging in the first. Or get them with his slow curve, the pitch he threw to Adrian Gonzalez in the third. Or he'd keep coming at them with his sinker, which he did to strike out Terrmel Sledge in the first.

Arizona won the game in extra innings. David Wells pitched seven strong innings, although he did walk a batter with the bases loaded in the seventh to put Arizona briefly up 2-1. Wells, in my mind, would be the least likely pitcher to issue a bases loaded walk.

Carlos Zambrano allowed two home runs and five runs this evening in six innings. He walked five. His ERA after four starts is a high altitude 7.77. At this point, I have to assume the Cubs are having second thoughts about completing the contract extension. He's now allowed six homer on the season, after giving up just 21 and 20 the previous two seasons. No control and long balls; that's not a pitcher worth tens of millions of dollars.

Mark Buehrle pitches a no-hitter against Texas, facing just 27 batters but allowing a walk. He struck out eight Rangers, but still pitched efficiently, using only 105 pitches to complete the game. He lowered his ERA over two runs. It's only the third time Texas suffered through a no-hitter, although their pitchers have tossed five.

The Baltimore Orioles spent the winter rebuilding their bullpen, and today they saw their investment pay dividends. Bedard was gone from the game in the sixth, but the Orioles pen pitched 3 1/3 no-hit innings to preserve a 6-4 win. The relievers struck out four and walked one, giving them 51 K and 18 walks in 53 1/3 innings. I'll take that from any bullpen.

The Phillies moved Brett Myers to the bullpen today, bringing Jon Lieber into the rotation. In another Phillies post from today, Philadelphia fans are complaining about the move.

Myers is very extreme this season. His strikeouts are very high, but so are his home runs and walks. It strikes me that in the short time a reliever is in the game, you want to minimize the chance of a home run. It doesn't do the Phillies much good if Myers comes in, strikes out the side, but allows a walk and a homer. He's a better pitcher than this. The Phillies should give him the time he needs to find his control again.

Metsblog.com links to a post about Billy Wagner working more efficiently this season. Striking out batters is his strength, so I'd be concerned if his K rate drops too much.

Jeff and Jered Weaver each took the mound last night, Jeff against the Twins and Jered facing the Athletics. Jered made his first start of the season and pitched okay but lost. He allowed four runs in six innings, but the strikeouts weren't there. He picked up four last night, but averaged 7.7 per 9 IP in 2006. His strike percentage, 59%, was low also. It looks like the younger Weaver is still working back to full health.

Chad Gaudin pitched an excellent game, as the Athletics won 4-1.

Jeff got creamed again, giving up seven runs in six innings. His ERA stands at 15.75, and opponents are hitting .436 against him. It's not a good way to start the season, and we now know why so few teams were willing to offer him a contract over the winter.

Ramon Ortiz continues to shine for Minnesota. He's really embraced the no walks philosophy of the Twins as he issued none last night, but he also didn't strike anyone out. Still, his ERA sits at a stellar 2.05 and the Twins take home an 11-2 win.

It appears that playing against Daisuke Matsuzaka brings out the best in the opposing pitcher. Tonight, Gustavo Chacin held the Red Sox to one run over 6 2/3 innings. Matsuzaka pitched well again, striking out ten and walking just three. Unfortunately, five of the six batters to reach against him came in the same inning, leading to two runs. That was enough to pin a loss on the Red Sox 2-1. The Red Sox have scored just six runs in Dice-K's three starts. If this keeps up, everyone's going to want to face Matsuzaka. :-)

Brad Penny remains undefeated as he pitched seven innings in the Dodgers 5-1 defeat of the Diamondbacks. Once again, however, he walked more than he struck out. For the season, he's pitched 20 1/3 innings, allowed 17 hits, 8 walks but only six strikeouts. Amazingly, his ERA stands at 0.89. He can certainly live with that walk rate, but at some point I'd expect the hits allowed to go up if he doesn't start striking out batters. Martin talks about what's changed for Penny:

"He's using his splitter more than ever," catcher Russell Martin said. "That's been the equalizer. He doesn't have to reach back and throw as hard."

Penny is 5-0 with a 1.75 earned-run average in April the last two seasons. So far he has pitched the way he did the first half of last season when he went 11-2.

"He's not out there grunting on every pitch, trying to throw 110 mph," Manager Grady Little said.

The splitter often results in a strikeout, however, as batters swing over the diving pitch. I'm guessing batters are making contact with Penny's and beating it into the ground. The Hardball Times shows his groundball percentage way up this season.

Barry Zito spun six shutout innings in Colorado Monday night. His curve ball was working in that unfriendly environment.

Then the Giants scored 16 runs over their next two games (separated by two rainouts) and Zito held the Rockies to three hits over six innings with a mesmerizing array of well-spotted fastballs, curveballs and especially his stealth pitch, the changeup.

He wasn't efficient, and his control was a bit off as he walked three, but the Giants dominated the game winning 8-0. Vizquel went 4 for 5, but only raised his average to .262.

The Detroit Tigers Weblog uses data from MLB.com's enhanced gameday to present a new view of Joel Zumaya's outing from the other day. Cool stuff. Joe Sheehan presented data from this system earlier this year.

Does it occur to anyone else that LaTroy Hawkins should never be entrusted with a close game. Apart from the 1999 season when he converted his 14 save opportunities, Hawkins owns a terrible record in that area. Even with 1999 counted, his conversion rate is just 64%. Hawkins enters the game in the bottom of the eighth last night with a one run lead, allows a home run followed by a walks, which eventually scores on a sacrifice fly. The Rockies lose, and in just 5 1/3 innings this season, Hawkins picked up three losses. Maybe he should just be used in mop up situations.

Although he didn't figure in the decision tonight (they won 6-4), Daniel Cabrera continued to show he's improved his control from last season. He walked just one and struck out five in his five innings of work, giving him five walks on the season to go with 19 strikeouts. In 2006, he walked 104 while striking out 157. He's more than doubled his K/BB.

Roy Halladay and Jeremy Bonderman battled each other to a 1-1 tie after nine innings. Halladay pitches the tenth, but Rodney relieves in the bottom of the inning and allows three hits and the winning run as Toronto remains in first place with a 2-1 win. It's the first extra-inning complete game in the majors his Mark Mulder accomplished it on 4/23/2005. It's also only the third of the decade. Roy Halladay picked up the other one as well, on 9/6/2003. There were 15 during the 1990s, including three in 1990 by Dave Stewart.

While it looked like John Smoltz would dominate his match with Jason Bergman, the two dueled through six shutout innings. Bergman only allowed 1 hit but four walks in his six innings of work. Meanwhile, Smoltz is through seven with only two hits and two walks surrendered to the Nationals. They're in the eighth now still tied at 0.

Update: Smoltz goes wild in the 8th, hitting a batter, walking one and throwing a wild pitch to set up two run scoring singles. Yet, well over 100 pitches, Smoltz finishes the inning. Does Cox think none of his relievers are as good as a tired Smoltz?

Normally I complain when Greg Maddux leaves a game after 75 pitches when he's having success. Last night, Maddux threw six shutout innings, but gave way to the bullpen. In San Diego, however, that strategy works. Meredith, Linebrink and Brocail combined for three perfect innings of relief work, striking out three along the way. All told, the Giants only managed six hits against the Padres staff as San Diego took home a 4-0 victory.

The Giants team batting line reads like a bad middle infielder from 1968. The offense hold a .232 BA, a .289 OBA and a .307 slugging percentage. That kind of hitting gets individual players released. And with an 0 for 4, Bonds fell below the Mendoza line with a .192 batting average.

Oliver Perez walked seven batters in 2 2/3 innings on Wednesday night, helping the Phillies to their second win of the season 5-2. It's the wildness that hurt Perez's career returning. During his fine 2004 season, Oliver walked just 3.7 per 9. Over the next two years, however, that would rise to 5.8 per 9. Last night was an example of control at its worst.

The amazing thing to me, however, is that the Phillies only scored three runs off Perez:

The third inning was awful for Pérez and the Mets. After getting two quick outs, Pérez allowed the next six batters to reach base. The Phillies loaded the bases on a single and two walks. But this time, Pérez walked Wes Helms on four pitches and Aaron Rowand on seven, then hit Rod Barajas with a pitch, giving the Phillies a 3-0 lead.

Breaking the game open with a hit wasn't on the menu last night, but it's good to see the Phillies practicing good selectivity.

Felix Hernandez finishes off the Red Sox with a strikeout of Youkilis. His one hitter gives him seventeen straight scoreless innings to start the season. He's allowed just four hits and four walks while striking out 18. The Mariners take the game 3-0.

Matsuzaka pitched okay. He retired Ichiro four times, but the rest of the Mariners found a way to pound out eight hits. And Johjima, who faced Dice-K quite a bit in Japan, managed two doubles. Still, on most days, the Red Sox will take seven innings and three runs from their starter.

By the way, Will Carroll wrote that the pitch that struck out Sexson was the gyroball.

I don't quite understand La Russa's use of Adam Wainwright today. He's making the second start of his career. The weather looks on the cold side. Adam's pitched well, but in the seventh he became wild, hitting a batter and walking two, leading to a run on a sacrifice fly. La Russa finally pulls him after 113 pitches. That seems a little too long to leave him in. The game is tied at two with men on first and third and two outs in the bottom of the seventh.

Update: Springer comes in and loads the bases on a walk. Eldred then hits a ball to the fence in center that Taguchi tracks down for the third out. The Pirates and Cardinals go to the eighth tied at 2.

Update: Duncan homers in the top of the ninth off Torres to put the Cardinals up 3-2. Pujols picked up a hit to put his batting average at .176.

Update: Franklin finishes the game for the win, allowing just a walk in the ninth. Both teams lived up to their low scoring ways so far this season. The Cardinals scored three runs in each of the three games, and won all of them.

Bill Nye offers the greatest primer on why pitches move I've ever read. As with most of his work, it's both technical and accessible. And he also gives a perfect explanation of why Matsuzaka is so good:

As a guy who loves the game, who loves the science of it, but is not the foremost authority on who's who, Matsuzaka reminds me of Livan Hernandez. They both seem to just throw without working as hard as everybody else does. They have a smoothness and an efficiency that most pitchers just don't have.

So, Daisuke is able to rotate his wrist and his shoulders and position his hips so that he can alter the spin he puts on the ball without injuring himself. He can throw conventional fastballs and side-spinning gyroballs. And, he throws each of these pitches in just about exactly the same way, with his body in the same position, so that each pitch starts out looking exactly the same to his opponents. Batters are continually thrown off, pun intended again.... He varies the speed and the spin constantly. So you never quite know what's coming even though you have a pretty good idea where it's coming from. We'll see how spun out teams get this season against this Doctor of Spin.

Please read the whole thing.

Thanks to my lovely wife Marilyn for the link.

Zack Greinke pitches another nice game, and this time the Royals score some runs as they defeat the Blue Jays 6-3. Zack worked six innings, striking out five and walking none. That's 13 innings, 12 K and one walk for Greinke so far, good enough for a 1.38 ERA. Tony Pena, Jr. picked up his fourth triple of the season. That gives him 8 hits, and the four triples represent all his extra-base hits.

The decision to make Dan Wheeler the Astros closer almost hit a speed bump today. Entering the game with a four-run lead, Wheeler gave up four hits and two runs, but managed to hang on to preserve the win for Sampson. In a more typically close Astros game, however, that performance would lead to a blown save. It seems to be the ninth inning today would actually be a good place for Lidge to work. The lead was big enough that if Brad worked into trouble, Wheeler could come in to limit the damage. Now, of course, there are as many questions about Dan as there were about Brad.

Chad Durbin allowed the Orioles to score four runs in the third inning for a 4-1 lead over the Tigers. I'm a bit surprised the Tigers picked up Durbin. They're supposed to be deep in pitching, yet they pick up someone whose career proved he's not a major league pitcher.

The Braden Looper experiment is working well so far. He pitches seven shutout innings in the second start of his career, lowering his ERA to 2.08. If the Cardinals can hold the 3-0 lead, he'll pick up his first win as a starter.

Update: Isringhausen retires the Pirates in order in the ninth for a 3-0 Cardinals win.

The Texas Rangers are going to ease Eric Gagne back into the closer role:

Washington and Daniels proved they're in control of the club Sunday, when Washington revealed Gagne will work his way back into the closer's role.

No matter how much respect management has for a player, it can never let him dictate his situation, because it sends a bad message to his teammates.

That doesn't mean management needs to be dictatorial. It simply means management must work with the player to reach a compromise that's best for the team.

Having Gagne pitch in non-save situations for a little while is as good as it gets. It's not what Gagne wants, because he yearns for the pressure and the responsibility of pitching the ninth inning.

Of course, as we saw in last night's Texas game, there can be plenty of pressure earlier than the 9th inning. Just because the Rangers are going to bring him out to start the ninth for a while, there's no reason they can't use him with the game on the line in the seventh.

Curt Schilling writes a lengthy post on last night's game, and what I like is that I learned something new (emphasis added):

I spoke at length in spring training about 'pitching to contact' and I am not sure some people understand what that means. Maybe it means different things to different guys but to me it means getting hitters to hit the ball in counts I used to try for the swing and miss. That's first pitch and behind in the count breaking balls. For years my 'breaking ball' was the split for the most part. The split is a pitch I have never, ever, tried to throw for a strike. It gets swung at because it spends ¾ of the time 'in' the strike zone, and when thrown right, is a ball when it reaches the plate. I've always thrown a very high percentage of strikes but I would bet that a very large portion of those strikes are balls, made strikes by contact or swings and misses. It goes back to a philosophy I tried hard to learn and pitch by which is this. The key to pitching is being able to throw a ball when they are swinging, and a strike when they are taking. The key to that is being able to know when those two will happen. That's what made the 3-2 walk to Shealy so wrong in KC. I knew he was taking, I knew I could beat him with a fastball, yet I still forced myself to throw a split, a pitch I know I am not throwing for a strike. You never stop learning, you never stop making mistakes, but I think the key to getting better as you get older is making the same mistakes less.

It's pitching as a poker game.

It was good to see Terry Francona bring in Papelbon with one out in the 8th inning tonight. The game was on the line at that point with men on first and third and one out. Coming up were Texas' two best hitters, Young and Teixeira. It was the ultimate save situation, and Papelbon struck out Young and induced a pop out from Teixeira. Now we'll see how he holds a one-run lead in the ninth.

Schilling pitched a very good game. It will be interesting to see how he compares this to his first start on his blog later.

Update: Papelbon gets another pop up and two strikeouts to retire the side in order in the ninth. The Rangers looked like they had no chance against Jon tonight. David Ortiz supplies all the offense with two home runs, driving in all three Boston runs.

The Oakland Athletics pitching staff combined to allow just one run today, allowing a low scoring offense to pick up a 2-1 win. The A's pitchers struck out nine and walked just two, and lowered the team ERA to a mere 2.59. It's tough to believe with that few runs allowed, their record is just 3-4. They've scored 22 runs and allowed 23 in their seven games.

I know Barry Zito is an unusual individual, but does he think he's getting paid by the run? He gave up eight in six innings to the Dodgers, raising his ERA to 8.18. But Giants fans shouldn't worry too much, he has seven years to bring that ERA down.

I just noticed that Jake Peavy looks like Steve McQueen. If they ever remake The Great Escape, Jake can be the Cooler King!

Jeremy Bonderman pitches well today gets a no decision. He's made two starts this week, going six innings in each, and the Tigers managed to score just three runs with Bonderman in the game. Today Brandon Duckworth handcuffed them, despite not throwing a high percentage of strikes. The Tigers could manage just four hits off the pitcher who compiled a 7.19 ERA over the last three seasons.

Update: I read the box wrong. Bonderman didn't get any support, but a three run ninth gave the Tigers the victory.

Jorge Julio pitched in his fourth game today as the Marlins closer and pitched poorly for the third time in a row. He loaded the bases with one out before Lee Gardner came in to pick up the first save of his career on a foul out and strike out. It seems the Marlins need to find someone else who can pitch in the ninth.

The Pittsburgh bullpen continues to impress as they allowed no runs in three innings today to reduce their ERA to 0.90. They weren't perfect, as they allowed one of Duke's inherited runners to score. Overall, the pen has struck out 14 and allowed just 13 hits. The win moves Pittsburgh into first place in the NL Central.

John Danks doesn't give up a hit until the fourth inning, when Joe Mauer singles off him. Not a bad way to start your major league career. Unfortunately, the Twins seemed to size him up as Cuddyer follows with another single and then Morneau blasts a fast ball deep into the rightfield seats. The Twins lead 3-0. Santana's been a bit wild, allowing three walks in the first two innings.

Livan Hernandez keeps putting the Nationals down as he's completed five no-hit innings. He's walked three, and his ball/strike ratio isn't great, but that speaks to just how bad the Washington offense is playing. He's at 76 pitches, but my guess is Livan's pitch count can go pretty high if he doesn't allow a hit.

Scott Kazmire strikes out the first two batters in the third before Reed Johnson finally gets wood on the ball and pops out 20 feet in front of the plate. In that inning, the Jays looked totally over-matched. Kazmir now has 8 strikeouts through three innings. If he wasn't up to 48 pitches already, I'd say he had a good chance to challenging the 20 K mark this afternoon.

Update: Just one K in the 4th as Kazmir gets Frank Thomas to bring his total for the game to 9. At one point he struck out six in a row, setting a franchise record.

Darrell Rasner makes it five bad starts in a row for the Yankees pitchers as a three-run homer by Bako gives Baltimore a 5-3 lead in the fourth inning. That makes the ERA of the Yankees starters 10.13.

Update: Rasner ends up going another 1/3 of an inning, lowering the Yankees starters ERA to 9.97.

Baseball Crank points to an article about a successful switch pitcher who may end up drafted this season. In case you're wondering, a pitcher must announce what arm he's going to use before an at bat begins, and keep using that same arm while facing a batter. So switch hitters get the advantage against a switch pitcher.

For his career, Gil Meche allows home runs at a rate of 1.2 per nine innings. The Tigers took him deep three times today to earn a 6-5 win over the Royals. One of those homers came off the bat of Curtis Granderson, who is now slugging .938. He's doing a terrific job in the leadoff slot so far this season.

Oakland fans worried about using Joe Kennedy as a fifth starter coming into the season. But last night he matched Dustin Moseley of the Angels as each gave up one run in six innings. Moseley pitched better; he threw more strikes, and didn't walk anyone, but Kennedy's start was great for a back of the rotation guy. The difference last night was the bullpen, as Jay Witasick allowed three runs in the seventh, giving the Angels a 5-2 victory and the most wins in the American League.

Oliver Perez pitches the fourth fine start by a Mets starter this season. No walks, six strikeouts in seven innings and only 82 pitches thrown. I didn't think Mets pitching was going to be better than okay this year, but the people who ravaged the Mets hurlers in the comments to this post need to rethink their position.

Rich Hill retired the first fifteen Brewers he faced tonight, but Corey Hart homered off him leading off the sixth inning. Hill struck out five so far without walking a batter. The Cubs lead 6-1. DeRosa, with his second homer of the season, drove in two.

Micah Owings just completed five innings against the Nationals. He's a bit wild, having walked three and hit two, but the Nationals picked up just one hit. The Diamondbacks lead 2-0, but with 97 pitches thrown, Owings will need to depend on the bullpen if he's going to get the win.

Update: Chris Young helps out with a three-run homer to extend the Arizona lead to 5-0.

Robinson Tedeja leaves after seven innings. Maybe Ron Washington thinks his luck was about to run out with the starter, but I always think if someone's going well, let him pitch until he shows signs of tiring. You never know if the new guy (in this case Benoit) is going to have a bad day.

Interesting, despite his great performance yesterday, there's been a big selloff of Daisuke Matsuzaka on ProTrade. His value spiked well before his first start, and while he's still the second most valuable pitcher on Protrade, he's at the same level as Carlos Zambrano. Given their different levels of success in their first starts, that surprises me. Maybe the hype just wore off. But of the top three most valuable pitchers, Johan Santana, Dice-K and Carlos Zambrano, only Matsuzaka pitched a truly great game in his first start.

Sam Mellinger notes an important improvement in Zack Greinke's game:

It's only one game, but it's worth keeping an eye on Greinke's strikeout totals. Even when he was chosen Royals pitcher of the year as a rookie in 2004, he had just 100 strikeouts in 145 innings. This spring, he struck out 27 batters in 24 innings.

Against Boston, four of his seven strikeouts were looking.

"That's one thing I never did in the past was strike guys out looking," Greinke said. "Mainly, I never really struck guys out period. But looking would never happen."

Strikeout rate is an important indicator of pitcher success. With seven yesterday, Zack's K per 9 stands at an excellent 9.0.

Jason Bergmann throws 50 pitches in the top of the first inning as Arizona picks up three runs. He walked three and struck out one, and was lucky to get out of the inning with just three runs allowed. At this rate, he'll be out of the game after two innings.

The Boston Red Sox can't be too happy with their rotation right now. Schilling didn't command his pitches on Monday, and Beckett was wild last night:

Kevin Youkilis's two-run home run, Mike Lowell's two-run double, and two hits by J.D. Drew, including an RBI double, made an easy winner of Josh Beckett, who threw more balls (48) than strikes (46) in five innings but allowed just two hits and a run.

That sort of pitch count probably won't do against the better teams in the American League. Beckett got lucky last night. He's also lucky that Matsuzaka debuts today, as all the media is concentrated on him.

Rich Harden aced his 2007 ace exam last night, shutting out the Mariners for seven innings. Seattle managed just three hits off him as Harden struck out seven and walked just two. At Atheltics Nation, BaseballGirl gushes:

My goodness, how much do I love Harden! Someone once described having Harden on the A's like having a awesome new toy, one that you don't get to play with very often, and one that you have to play with very carefully, but it's the best toy that you've ever had and sometimes you can't believe you even have it.

The Athletics offense clicked last night, too, picking up 13 hits and 9 runs. The run total more than doubled their output from the previous two games.

Braden Looper makes his first start after years of working exclusively as a reliever and does a good job. He allows three runs over six innings, walking just one. Unfortunately, the Cardinals scored nothing in support, and the Mets finally found their power stroke. Beltran hit the first Mets homer of the season, a two run shot off Looper, and later in the game Reyes and Beltran each take Hancock deep.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals offense continues to flounder. Maine took a shutout into the seventh, holding the Cardinals to just one hit and one walk so far. The much maligned Mets staff is looking very good so far.

Ted Lilly made his contract look like a steal tonight as he gave the Cubs seven innings of three hit ball. Showing excellent control, Ted delivered 69 of his 100 pitches for strikes, setting down nine without contact. The Cubs lead 4-1 in the top of the ninth.

Interestingly, Dunn was not a strikeout victim. It seems he's taking making contact seriously.

It's cold in Philadelphia tonight, but the staters were hot as Tim Hudson and Cole Hamels matched up for seven innings. They left with the score favoring the Phillies 1-0. Hamels showed the control and power that made him such a valued prospect, striking out 8 and walking just one as he kept the Braves scoreless. Hudson was tough to hit, but a bit wild. He walked four while allowing just two hits. One of those, however, was to the backup catcher, Carlos Ruiz, a solo home run for the only run of the night until the eighth.

Shane Victorino might have cost the Phillies a victory, however. He doubled in Rollins to make the score 2-0, but then was thrown out at third with Howard up for the second out. Ryan walked, then Utley doubled off the right field wall. Howard tried to score, but a perfect relay by Johnson nailed the first baseman at the plate.

Gordon comes on for the save, but gives up a double to Francoeur and then a homer to McCann, and the starters are out of it. It's 2-2, whereas Shane holding at second probably gives the Phillies the margin of victory.

There seems to be something about Santanas pitching at home. Johan Santanta hasn't lost in the Metrodome since August 1, 2005. Ervin Santana extended his home record to 20-5 in 32 starts. He pitched seven strong innings, striking out six with just one walk as the Angels sweep the Rangers 5-3. Brandon McCarthy, who looks like he should be overpowering on the mound, did not record a single strikeout in six innings of work.

The Indians, trying to add to an 8-7 lead in the top of the eighth, load the bases with none out. David Aardsma answers the call from the bullpen and strikes out Michaels, Peralta and Barfield to end the inning and preserve the one-run difference. He threw 11 pitches, 9 for strikes. Most impressive.

Update: The game ends with the tying and winning run on base for the White Sox. Joe Crede sends a high fly ball to the wall in left field, where Jason Michaels makes a basket catch as he falls on his butt. It was the most un-aesthetic catch I've ever seen, but he got the job done. Sizemore came over and hit him a couple of times in celebration as the Indians take the game 8-7.

Salomon Torres retires the Astros in order for the second night in a row, picking up his second save of the season. With the 3-2 win, the Pirates are off to a good start, but their offense really isn't clicking. Pittsburgh was 38-41 in one and two runs games last year, which is what you'd expect. Maybe they're starting a lucky streak.

Scott Olsen looks like Dontrelle Willis tonight as he's collected as many hits as he's allowed through five innings. Olsen picked up a single and double in two at bats, scoring one of the five Florida runs. He's also doing his real job, shutting out the Nationals.

The sale of the Tribune Company halted contract talks between the Cubs and Carlos Zambrano:

Just when it looked like the Cubs were oh-so-close to signing ace pitcher Carlos Zambrano to a contract extension, the impending sale of the team has changed all that, at least for now.

Cubs president John McDonough admitted today that he and general manager Jim Hendry would have to get together on the Zambrano situation.

"Ideally, in a perfect scenario, we'd like to keep Carlos, who represents, I think, what we're looking for," McDonough said this afternoon during a conference call with reporters covering Opening Day at the Great American Ball Park. "It's that incredible passion and enthusiasm... I think, however, all of this needs to be addressed at the appropriate time.

That's too bad for Carlos. One of the reasons players like to get these things done before opening day is that they may perform poorly during the season, driving their value down. Carlos is not off to a good start in that regard.

Hat tip, Bleed Cubbie Blue.

Curt Schilling gives the low down on his lack of command yesterday at 38 Pitches. He basically wasn't able to adjust during the game:

Anytime I get to a 3-2 count I am bothered, but getting behind and into deep counts on primarily fastballs is a bad sign. You have to have the ability to make adjustments off mistakes, something I've always felt I do, and today I am not sure I did it more than once.

It looks like the Cubs and Carlos Zambrano are close to a long term deal:

The parameters of the deal have been discussed, with both sides agreeing to five years. How far apart they are on the total package is unknown, though the Cubs' offer is expected to be under Barry Zito's $18 million-per-season range.

At this rate, the Cubs are going to challenge the Yankees for highest payroll. :-)

Balls, Sticks and Stuff posts video of Matsuzaka pitching to the Phillies.

My Baseball Bias writes about Torre naming Carl Pavano his opening day starter.

The way I see it, Pavano has a few things going for him...adrenaline and the Devil Rays. The D-Rays are a very impatient hitting ball club. When you combine that with Pavano's fastball, which will no doubt have a little extra zip on it because he's starting at Yankee Stadium on opening day, I think this start sets-up very favorably for him.

I wonder what Mike Mussina thinks about this? Mussina's negative comments about Carl earlier this spring might have given Pavano the push he needed. However, this seems to be more luck of the draw than anything else. Pavano pitched poorly this spring, striking out five while walking eight in 18 1/3 innings. He kept the ball in the park, however. If there's that many balls in play against the Yankees defense, Pavano's going to need to induce a lot of double plays.

It's also an all or nothing performance for Carl. If he pitches well, the newspaper get to go with the redemption story, and all's right with the world. If he stinks, we'll hear how Pavano has no guts, heart and determination, and that will follow him for the rest of the season.

This is very good news for the Arizona Diamondbacks:

Johnson, making his second start of spring training in his return from back surgery, struck out five San Diego batters in three shutout innings on Thursday night at Chase Field, the same ballpark (albeit with a different name) in which he did the bulk of his work in winning four Cy Young Awards with the Diamondbacks.

Johnson's schedule puts him back in the majors on April 19th. A healthy Johnson means that Arizona's rotation has the potential to be the best in the division. On another note, good and bad news for Micah Owings. Two of his competitors for the fifth spot in the rotation were sent to the minors, but he pitched poorly in relief.

Evan Grant details the decisions made to set the Texas pitching staff. There's a handy chart at the bottom of the article that goes over all the pitchers with their highlights or lowlights from spring training.

It looks like Texas is one of many teams that will use starter number 5 sparingly in April:

Wright: Though he will be the team's fifth starter, he will pitch only three times in April while the Rangers keep the other members of the rotation on a regular routine. Wright has agreed to extend his minor league deal, which was supposed to end Wednesday, through the first week of April to allow him to pitch twice more before his April 10 start against Tampa Bay. He will pitch Friday's exhibition in Frisco and on April 5 for the Roughriders.

This is a good compromise between a four-name rotation and using a fifth starter every game. I don't know why teams don't do this all season and squeeze a couple of more starts out of each of the top four starters.

Lookout Landing weighs the pros and cons of keeping Brandon Morrow on the Mariners in the bullpen vs. sending him to the minors and calling him up later. There is one situation LL doesn't bring up, however. Since the long term goal puts Morrow in the starting rotation, why not send him down to start games, then bring him up as a starter when one of the duds the Mariners hired for the rotation flames out in June. Then, the worry about messing up his development in the bullpen goes away. And Morrow should add a lot more wins that way.

Duaner Sanchez suffered a broken shoulder and isn't expected to be healthy before April.

Minaya said he thought it was a combination of Sanchez's surgically repaired right shoulder being not completely healed and a mound session from Thursday that caused Sanchez to stop throwing after just 11 pitches.

"I think it was a combination of him throwing that day and the past history," Minaya said.

The surgery for Sanchez's type of injury involves securing the fracture with a screw in the shoulder.

If Sanchez has surgery, he will be able to resume his rehab six-to-eight weeks after.

Suspect attitude, car accident, freak injury. Does Duaner date Alyssa Milano?

Rays Index looks at the battle for the 5th slot in the Devil Rays rotation. Edwin Jackson might have the edge because he's out of options:

Jackson and Howell two have very similar spring numbers. Howell has given up 13 hits, 5 walks and 1 hit batter with 9 strikeouts in 15 innings (1.80 ERA). In 14.2 innings, Jackson has allowed 10 hits, 8 walks and struck out 13 (1.84 ERA). With Jackson out of minor league options Howell probably would have needed to be markedly better than Jackson this spring to win the final spot. Maddon will probably make his decision official on Thursday. Whoever starts on Thursday will be on schedule to pitch the 5th game of the season.

With that many walks, I'm surprised their ERAs are so low, but it's a small sample size. I would go with Howell, simply because his minor league numbers show him to be the better pitcher. Then again, being the fifth starter on the Devil Rays makes you close to Mr. Irrelevant.

Tony La Russa tinkered with the idea of a four-man rotation:

La Russa also released the order of the Cardinals starting rotation. As expected, Chris Carpenter will be the Opening Night starter, and Kip Wells and Braden Looper will follow against the Mets. After Carpenter opens the series at Houston on April 6, Adam Wainwright and Anthony Reyes will take the mound.

The success of the Cardinals starters this spring has been a bonus for La Russa, who said he had considered downsizing the number of players in the team's rotation to four.

"Because of how well these guys have gone about everything we'll be pitching five guys," La Russa said.

Given that Looper isn't striking out anyone this spring, there's a good chance he gets hammered as a starter. I wonder if La Russa will go with a four-man rotation if that happens?

Carlos Silva pitched poorly again, putting his job with the Twins in jeopardy:

With Perkins out of the equation, that leaves Silva, Johan Santana, Ramon Ortiz, Sidney Ponson, Matt Garza and Boof Bonser competing for the five starting spots.

Gardenhire made it clear Silva needs to improve in his final spring outing next week to keep a starting job.

"All we can do is just keep putting him back out there again," Gardenhire said. "And if it doesn't get better, then we make an adjustment."

Silva was slotted to take the number two spot in the rotation, but that's likely to go to Bonser now. It's pretty sad when you can't beat out Ponson or Ortiz for a spot in the rotation.

Mark Prior seemed to pitch okay yesterday for someone who might start the season on the DL. Both Bleed Cubbie Blue and 6-4-2 attended the game and came away with similar impressions, that Prior was finding himself as the game progressed.

Is Mark Prior "back"? Heavens, no. It's one game, four innings, in spring training, though against a good team that was starting what is probably going to be its Opening Day lineup (although how the Padres can hit Josh Bard cleanup on an everyday basis is beyond me). Prior's stuff was better. His command was better. Is he ready for a major league mound? No, he's not. Is he ready for another spring training start? I would suspect so; next Tuesday against the Royals would make sense to me.

But it seems to me there's little evidence he's hurt, and so once again, the disabled list should not be an option.

My Baseball Bias rounds up the stories on Jonathan Papelbon moving back to the bullpen. I'm a bit surprised since during the winter all Papelbon talked about was wanting to start. I'm even more surprised that the fifth starter is going to be Julien Tavarez. While there's no doubt Jon is the best option for closer, I'd rather see the Red Sox fill the fifth spot in the rotation with someone younger. They don't have enough off days at the start of the season to go with a four man rotation.

Sometimes we forget just how good professional baseball players perform, even the injured ones:

Martinez is an intelligent man and can be pretty crafty with his words. But he wasn't telling any tales out of school. He went out on a side field late Monday afternoon and backed it up. His program for the day called for 25 throws at 45 feet, 50 at 60 feet, and 25 at 75 feet, the last distance an increase in length from what he had been doing the previous week. Remarkably, at the two shorter distances, he threw to his personal trainer, Chris Correnti (who was formerly with the Sox as an assistant trainer), with his eyes closed. Why pretend to be blindfolded? The point was to help Martinez be consistent with his release point and feel free with his motion. It was impressive to watch him hit Correnti's glove almost every time.

Obi-Wan would be proud. I couldn't do that with my eyes wide open.

Jack Cobra sends this post that is down on Mark Prior. Jack's article reflects the feelings of a lot of Prior fans right now, including me. Sometimes, however, negativity (or optimism) overshoots the mark. The reports on Prior are really bad right now, but there's no official word that he's actually hurt. It may just take more time than expected for him to get back in shape.

This made me wonder if the market for Prior collapsed. Interestingly, it hasn't. After reaching a low point on March 17th, the price for Prior at PROTRADE bounced back a little, meaning traders saw that low as a buying opportunity. Not everyone is totally down on the pitcher.

Note too, that while the early Matsuaka mania ran its course, he's still rated as the second best MLB pitcher in terms of PROTRADE fantasy points in the majors.

Daisuke Matsuzaka baffled the Pirates yesterday. This is telling:

But that seemed like nitpicking on a day in which scouts sitting behind home plate said Matsuzaka touched 94 miles per hour with his fastball and Kelly, among other Pirates, sat in front of a laptop in the clubhouse, trying to determine what pitches they'd just seen from Matsuzaka.

I've heard second hand stories that the reason the Red Sox paid a high price for Matsuzaka is that their experts watched video of Dice-K and couldn't figure out what pitches he was throwing. It's that element of deception that earned Matsuzaka the big money.

Just when you thought it was safe to go to the bullpen:

Ending weeks of speculation, Jon Lieber was told on Wednesday that he's going to the bullpen because the Philadelphia Phillies have six starters. "I'm disappointed," Lieber said Wednesday. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't. I think I can still start."

He might still get a chance. Newly acquired right-hander Freddy Garcia left Wednesday night's game against the Toronto Blue Jays after the first inning because of stiffness in his right biceps.

We'll know more about Garcia's condition later today.

Rich Harden threw well for Oakland yesterday:

Still, Harden struck out seven, walked two, allowed five hits and one run in five innings during the Athletics' 5-3 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday. When his fastball wasn't working, Harden went to his offspeed stuff with no problem, getting outs with change-ups and sliders.

Meanwhile, Randy Johnson starts the season on the DL for the Diamondbacks:

Johnson threw 54 pitches Monday in his second batting practice session, showing the regular-season bite on his slider that causes right-handed hitters to swing at balls that would hit their back foot. But D-Backs general manager Josh Byrnes confirmed that Johnson will still open the season on the disabled list, a fate that appeared unavoidable from the start of camp.

"We've got him for two years, and he's pretty valuable for us. We don't want to rush things," Byrnes said.

Via U.S.S. Mariner, Seth Kolloen sees the downside of Felix Hernandez's weight loss.

FELIX HERNANDEZ LOST a bunch of weight in the offseason, and everyone seems pretty psyched about it. Shin splints bothered him last season, and optimists expect that a slimmer Hernandez will be a better Hernandez.

I'm not psyched. I'm terrified. Hernandez's drastic weight loss may help his legs, but I'm losing sleep about what it might do to his arm. Ever hear of Edwin Nunez? You would have -- in fact, you might be deciding whether to draft him for your fantasy team -- if weight loss hadn't derailed his career.

He lists a few pitchers who lost weight for the Mariners and ended their careers.

Earlier this spring, Joel Zumaya talked about slowing down. If this is how he's going to do it, I'm fine with the contrast:

Zumaya, who gave up only a harmless single in two innings, struck out Mark Bellhorn on a 102 mph heater to start the seventh, then followed by fanning David Ross on a tantalizing 85 mph pitch.

A 17 MPH difference between his fastball and changeup! That will fool a few hitters.

Baby Dash gives Ron Gardenhire a piece of his mind:

My mom says that your preference for veterans has been noted in the blogosphere. And I understand. Veterans are great. My parents, for instance, are not veterans and they have no idea what the #@$@#$@ they're doing. At the same time, rookies are not necessarily total #@$#@-ups. I'm a rookie, and I can pitch better than Ponson.

Out of the mouth of babes...

The Braves starting rotation looks to be the team's weakness in 2007. So far, however, so good:

Atlanta's starters have stellar ERAs. Buddy Carlyle, who has not allowed a run in 10 innings, is followed by Lance Cormier (1.29), Tim Hudson (1.80) and John Smoltz (1.93). Braves starters have a 2.25 ERA, allowing 18 earned runs in 72 innings.

The top five candidates for the rotation, including James, have struck out 48 while walking just 12 in 67 innings this spring. Maybe Schuerholz has some magic left up his sleeve.

Last season we were wondering what was wrong with Zack Greinke. Today we're waiting for him to make the Royals rotation.

On Monday, Greinke pitched five strong innings in a spring-training game against the Chicago White Sox. He was awfully good. He broke three or four bats. He showed a devastating slider. He allowed just two hits, and one was a pop-up that turned into an Arizona-sun double. He made himself the favorite to win the final spot in the Royals' rotation.

More importantly for Zack, his head appears to be screwed on straight:

So after the game someone asked Greinke whether his confidence was at an all-time high. It was a softball question, a gimme, one of those easy sportswriter questions that are supposed to lead directly to the, "Oh yeah, I really feel confident right now," quote that you read in 549 different stories every spring.

Greinke said no. His confidence is not at an all-time high. Not even close. He said he was much more confident in 2004 coming off his solid rookie year. But, he said that his shrinking confidence was terrific news. See, confidence is not always a good thing.

"In 2004, I was too confident," he said. "I thought all I had to do was throw a strike to get a guy out. Now, I'm confident, but I'm not so confident that I think no one could ever hit me. I have to keep at it -- not just think you're going to succeed because you're you."

He says he's experiencing a new feeling, enjoying baseball. For the Royals, Zack Greinke living up to his potential means they're one step closer to respectability as a franchise.

JD Arney hopes he remains wrong about Dustin Hermanson, the new Reds closer:

At first I didn't think the Reds would sign Hermanson. Then when he was signed I didn't think he'd make the team.

And then when it seemed that he had the team made, I didn't think there was any way the Reds would make him the closer.

Now he's the closer, and I'm thinking there's no way he'll succeed. Hopefully I'll be wrong one more time.

I have to agree with JD here. When you look at Dustin's career, 2005 sure looks like an anomaly.

John Delcos talks to Orlando Hernandez about his hamstring. The leg's okay, but El Duque seems uncertain about being ready for opening day.

The battle for the number five spot in the Rangers' rotation is producing good results:

Loe's outing came less than 24 hours after Wright was solid in his 3 1/3 innings of work. Chen must have a good outing today against Colorado to keep up.

That's what competition can do for a staff. And Washington said he's never seen a competition for the No. 5 spot this stiff in his years as a coach.

"This is what you want to see," Washington said. "They are pitching well to move up to four or three [in the rotation]. So I'm very satisfied. I'm happy for every one of those guys."

Given that earlier in the off season depth chart writers had a tough time putting down four names for the Texas rotation, this is good news for the squad from Arlington. Starting pitching may turn out not to be a weakness here after all.

Brandon Ducksworth is pain free after elbow surgery and is making a case to go north with the Royals:

Duckworth, 31, allowed just one run in five innings in his first two spring outings before giving up three bases-empty homers over three innings in Thursday's 7-6 victory over the Giants.

Even then, he struck out five -- which gives him 11 punch-outs and no walks in eight spring innings.

That's the kind of number that should impress a coaching staff, and the injury to Bale gives Duckworth the opening. We'll see if he can take advantage of the opportunity.

Bobby Livingston may turn out to be a good example of the stats vs. scouts debate. A successful minor league pitcher in the Seattle system, the Reds were able to claim him off waivers because the Mariners didn't like Livingston's fastball:

Cincinnati was more than pleased to lay claim.

So does a major-league pitcher have to throw 90 or higher? A left-hander?

As Livingston talked about it, seated across the clubhouse was Reds Hall of Famer lefthander Tom Browning, who not only never broke the sound barrier, he probably couldn't break glass, but pitched a perfect game.

Livingston operates in Browning-like fashion -- work quickly, throw strikes, move the ball in, out, up and down and never, ever throw one right down the middle.

"I know what I'm doing out there, not just throwing the ball," he said. "You can tell I know what I'm doing, and I'm not just trying to blow the ball past people. When you don't throw 95, you spot the ball, move it around, change speeds."

Of his lack of velocity, Livingston said, "Seattle was always harping on the gun and how hard you threw or didn't throw. When I had success (in the minors), nobody every said anything to me about my velocity. The name of the game is getting outs, even if they're hitting the ball hard. As long as they are outs.

Livingston's strikeout rate in the minors was acceptable, but his walks and home run rates were outstanding. So far, he's pitched five bad innings in the majors. We'll see if the Mariners lack of confidence is the Reds gain.

Al from Bleed Cubbie Blue watched Mark Prior pitch this morning and was totally unimpressed:

I'm here to tell you it's unhinged. Prior threw four innings, fifty-nine pitches (only a little more than half of them, thirty-two, were strikes). He walked two, hit a batter, was constantly behind hitters, gave up two hits and no runs to a team consisting of players who will wind up spending this year playing for Tennessee and Daytona (some names I recognized: Dopirak, Fontenot, Spears, Simokaitis). The outs were hit fairly hard, and it was just not very impressive. There weren't any scouts with radar guns -- just one of the Cubs' minor leaguers behind the plate with one. I was able to see it while Jason Marquis (who was the opposing pitcher; he went today in this game because the Cubs wanted Angel Guzman to face the White Sox) was on the mound; Marquis was consistently at 90.

But while Prior was throwing, this player (who I couldn't identify; he was wearing warmups) hid the gun so no one but him could see it. It didn't matter. It was easy to see that Marquis' fastball was popping into the catcher's glove; Prior's wasn't. Prior seemed to be dropping down his arm again -- that's a sign of something wrong, even though he and everyone else denies it.

But most importantly, the guy who used to look like he was on top of the baseball world had absolutely no mound presence. Constantly wiping his face (it wasn't that hot at 8:30 in the morning!), scuffling around, he looked as if he'd rather have been just about anywhere else in the world than on that pitcher's mound.

He also noted something about the physical appearance of Prior:

You'll like this. I was talking to Bruce Miles while we were watching Prior throw, and I casually mentioned, without making an accusation, the difference in the size of Prior's calves (remember "Calfzilla"?) when he first came up, compared to now -- they look almost sticklike. Guess who, standing right next to me, rolled her eyes and said, "Oh, come on!"?? That's right, Carrie Muskat. Draw your own conclusions.

So Prior pitched today with no velocity, a bad arm angle, and his legs are weak. So much for saving the Cubs this season.

Metsblog.com notes pessimism about Pedro Martinez's future coming from a Jayson Stark blog entry (subscription required).

At his blog for ESPN.com, Jayson Stark talks with a high-ranking official of an American League team, who is reasonably familiar with Pedro Martinez's medical history, who doesn't think Martinez will win 10 more games the rest of his career.

Players could post a 4.50 ERA and easily win 10 games with a good offense. So either this official thinks that Pedro won't regain any percentage of his stuff, or that the shoulder will just break down again once he starts pitching.

WasWatching notices Jeff Karstens new found speed.

So far, it looks like the Diamondbacks made the right move keeping Micah Owings.

Micah Owings, one of several candidates looking to earn a slot in the Diamondbacks' rotation, tossed three scoreless innings and Arizona beat the Chicago Cubs 6-5 on Scott Hairston's RBI single in the bottom of the ninth.

The competition is tough, but that should make the DBacks rotation all that much stronger.

Eric Gagne threw in a B game last night and felt no pain for the first time in years:

Gagne described himself as "totally out of whack" with his mechanics and said it felt weird throwing to batters again.

"A lot of stuff wasn't right, but overall I felt good," Gagne said. "Right now, it's pretty much my health I'm worried about. I'm not worried about the results. ... The arm felt good, the elbow felt good and the back felt good. I'm petty excited, pretty encouraged."

Gagne said it was the first time since late in the 2004 season that he pitched in a game without pain. He didn't even feel stiff afterward. He will pitch again Thursday or Friday, likely in a minor league game, and hopes to complete a full inning.

I hate to hear his mechanics are bad, however. That makes me worry he'll injure himself again trying to work back into shape. But this is a very encouraging sign for the closer.

By the way, Rob Neyer picked Texas to win the division. I don't see it myself. I talked about the AL West during my Feb. 28th podcast, and I see Seattle as the surprise team in the division.

Melvin Mora gave his opinion of Daisuke Matsuzaka after the game yesterday:

Mora can't identify the pitch, but he's willing to offer his perspective on it.

"It's not from this planet," he said.

Mora struck out swinging in the first inning and was caught looking in the third, pausing to dispute the call with plate umpire Marvin Hudson.

"I went to home plate with no idea what I was doing. I was just waiting to see what he's got," said Mora, who joined the media throng for the Dubois interview after borrowing a notepad and pen.

"I think the second strike was a little inside, but this guy knows what he's doing. He's nasty. Fastball, nasty. Breaking pitch, nasty. Splitter, nasty. Everything's good."

Matsuzaka pitched well against the regulars in the Orioles lineup, but not so well against the others.

Then Jon Knott led off the third with a homer to right-center field. Jason DuBois then hit a two-run shot in the fourth to left-center. After each batter swung, Matsuzaka turned around and stayed expressionless as he watched the ball fly over the fence.

Knott has played in 12 major-league games, all with San Diego, and led Triple-A Portland with 32 homers last season. DuBois had 10 homers in 86 games with the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland in 2004 and 2005.

Schilling thought he was impressive nonetheless:

Stayed to watch Daisuke today, regardless of the line he gets more impressive the more you are around him. Will put something together at some point soon.

I saw the second inning and Daisuke looked pretty good. I love the pause at the top of windup. As with any spring training outing by a pitcher, the real question is what was the pitcher trying to work on that day, and did get accomplish that goal. Unlike the regular season, it's not always about getting batters out.

Jered Weaver threw from a mound yesterday, and the results were very good:

Right-hander Jered Weaver made it back to a mound of dirt on Friday. As happy as a kid let loose at the local playground, he unleashed 30 fastballs without pain in a right biceps that developed tendinitis near the close of his sterling rookie season in Anaheim.

Colon continues to make progress as well, meaning right now the Angles pitching staff shaping up just fine.

Curt Schilling blogs about his start on Thursday. He pretty much gives a pitch by pitch account of his first inning, and an overall summary of his performance. I wonder if this is giving away too much however. Often, a hitter doesn't know what pitch got him out. Someone could read this and say, "So that was his two-seamer, I thought it was a breaking ball. Now I know what to look for." I love the info, but I wonder if the Red Sox ask him to scale back at some point.

Mike Hampton won't be making the opening day roster for the Braves:

The Atlanta Braves left-hander injured his left side during batting practice, of all things, and won't be ready for the start of the regular season.

Hampton, starting the seventh season of a $121 million, eight-year contract, will miss the rest of spring training and could be out as long as two months. The Braves had been counting on him to bolster a rotation that includes John Smoltz , Tim Hudson and Chuck James.

Hampton had to be pretty iffy anyway, missing a year and a half due to reconstructive surgery. The injury is going to promote Kyle Davies to 4th in the rotation. Davies posted great minor league numbers, but little success in the majors. Lance Cormier moves into the fifth spot. The back of the Atlanta rotation looks pretty bad right now.

Pedro Martinez started throwing today:

The New York Mets ace lightly tossed a ball for about 10 minutes from a distance of about 45 feet at the Mets' minor league complex.

"He looked good," said Randy Niemann, the Mets' rehabilitation pitching coordinator. "It's just the beginning. It's the start of a long process, but he looked really good."

Pedro is still not expected back soon.

Ted Miller makes the case for J.J. Putz as a good investment:

So why does Putz deserve a buy-and-hold rating?

He throws strikes; see a 104-to-13 strikeouts-to-walks ratio. As a bonus, those strikes often cross the plate at 94-to-97 mph or in the form of a what-the-fudge, sinking split-finger pitch. His mechanics are good, so a rabbit's foot shouldn't be needed to ward away arm problems. He appears to forget adversity easily and to genuinely enjoy the twisted-shorts stress of entering a game when his team is most in danger of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

He also pencils out well with sabermetricians. Nearly all his esoteric numbers from a year ago -- from measures of the number of line drives he surrenders, to his ground-ball percentage, to his ERA compared to the league average, to his FIP (fielding independent pitching: an attempt to measure all elements of pitching) -- range from good to fantastic.

Putz's 2006 opposition batting numbers compare very favorably to division rival Francisco Rodriguez. It should be fun watching these two compete over the next few seasons.

Great headline here summing up Javier Vazquez's day.

Baseball Musings is holding a pledge drive in March.

River Ave. Blues live blogged a good pitching performance by Philip Hughes today. That jibes nicely with a post at Red Leg Nation that links to a Nate Silver piece on good young pitchers (not sure if a subscription is required). Basically, the idea is that if a team owns a pitcher who is lights out in the minors, bring him up and start his major league career, because they don't get much better after age 21. Leaving them in the minors only puts them closer to an injury when they get to the majors. Based on that, Bailey and Hughes should be in the majors this season.

Baseball Musings is holding a pledge drive in March.

I listened to the second inning of the Red Sox/Marlins game. Matsuzaka allowed a walk and a double, but the double was of the ground rule type so the run didn't score. He's allowed two hits so far and he's coming out for the third.

According to the broadcast, someone is at the game to certify the balls, bases and pitching rubber used in the game were handled by Dice-K. It looks like they're going to be auctioned.

Update: Matsuzaka retires the side in order in the third, although Hanley Ramirez hit a screaming liner back to the box that the pitcher caught. Still, a very successful debut, 3 innings, 2 hits, 0 runs.

Update: Here's the news story. Daisuke threw 31 of 47 pitches for strikes, a strike percentage of 66%. He'll be very successful if he can keep his percentage anywhere near that number.

Bleed Cubbie Blue reviews today's Cubs win with the verdict that Mark Prior is still not ready:

OK, I'm overdoing it. Prior had to be yanked before his scheduled two innings were up, because the Mariners were pounding him all over the yard (a single and a pair of doubles in the second inning), and even when he wasn't being hit, he was all over the strike zone. The Mariners radio broadcasters said he was clocked at only 83-84 MPH.

That's simply not good; it's reminiscent of Prior's 2006 season debut against the Tigers, where he gave up three HR in the first inning.

Given that Prior's a wild card in the Cubs rotation, that's okay. He has four more weeks to get his control back, and then he can spend more time at AAA if he needs more work.

Jon Lester pitched in a B game today:

The plan was for Lester, an outstanding starter since making his major-league debut last June 10, to throw just the first inning in the "B" game against the Minnesota Twins. He needed only eight pitches to get through that. His six fastballs, all strikes, were clocked at between 88-90 mph. He threw two curves in the dirt at 69-72 mph.

Lester feels strong enough to pitch longer and has pitched in bullpen sessions at the same pace as other starters. But Boston manager Terry Francona wants to bring him along slowly.

"They have my best interests involved and I'm not too worried about it," Lester said. "I'll get my work in one way or the other, so we'll just take it slow and go from here."

That's wonderful news for the young man recovering from cancer.

Here's an excellent article on Cole Hamels workout regimen, but this statement makes me think he may not have a long career:

In his words, Hamels has a degenerative disk that can put pressure on his sciatic nerve. He also has what he calls an extra vertebra "because something that was supposed to fuse didn't fuse." Obviously, there's a lot going on down there and that calls for heavy maintenance work.

He certainly appears dedicated to taking the time to keep his back stable. You wonder, however, how long he can last.

Baseball Musings is holding a pledge drive in March.

Adam Wainwright now has pitched seven hitless innings in spring training. I'd say his conversion to a starter is going well so far.

Johan Santana wants Carlos Silva to learn a changeup:

Santana is working with Silva on trying to develop a changeup, one of three pitches the two-time Cy Young winner throws.

Santana watched Silva's bullpen session Saturday, two days after the big right-hander pitched much like he did most of last season and got pummeled in his spring debut by the New York Yankees.

But Santana started offering advice to his fellow Venezuelan long before that. Santana talked frequently with Silva throughout his nightmarish 2006 season, when his sinker lost its sink, resulting in an 11-15 record, a career-worst 5.94 earned-run average and a major league-high 38 homers. Santana and Silva also spoke on the phone a few times during the offseason.

Nice to see Johan helping his friend. Gardenhire is pretty blunt about Silva's situation, however:

'You can talk until you're blue in the face,' Gardenhire said. 'But out on the field is where Carlos is going to have to get it right, not in the bullpen. He's been nasty in the bullpen before.'

You won't see C.C. Sabathia hitting the links this spring:

Retiring every batter in exhibition games is not Sabathia's priority. Avoiding a strained muscle in his rib cage is. That precise injury sidelined Sabathia for the first month of each of the past two seasons.

Sabathia thinks golf might be the problem.

'I don't know if that was the reason I got hurt,' he said. 'But I think it had something to do with it. So I'm definitely not playing this year. I can play more video games and throw more batting practice to little C.'

Little C is Sabathia's 3 A1 2-year-old son.

From the description of his golf game, it sounds like Milliliter isn't that good anyway. I know the great Braves staffs of the 1990s used to golf all the time with no apparent problems. Maybe C.C. just needs a coach to improve his swing.

And I'm going to start referring to his son as Microliter. :-)

Baseball Musings is holding a pledge drive in March.

This is the kind of debut you like to see from a pitcher coming off an injury:

The A's projected ace was lights-out in his Cactus League debut, striking out five of the last six hitters he faced and tossing two scoreless innings in his team's 4-3 win over the San Diego Padres at Peoria Sports Complex. Harden surrendered only a two-out double to Adrian Gonzalez in the third inning, and second baseman Marcus Giles was the only other Padre to make contact against him.

"I've been working out some mechanical things over the past couple of days, and I felt really good," Harden said. "The ball was coming out free and easy."

Baseball Musings is holding a pledge drive in March.

Someone should stop Joel Zumaya from making a big mistake:

"There aren't going to be too many 101s and 102s out there this year," Zumaya said. "I'm going to go out there and pitch this year. I hope I get those ground balls."

He figures that by decreasing his velocity a tad, he'll improve his control. That, he figures, will mean that he'll need fewer pitches per hitter and won't have to rely on strikeouts as much as last season.

"It's not too big of an adjustment," Zumaya said. "It's getting ahead in the count and trying to walk fewer people.

"I don't want to try to strike out the whole world this year. I know I can get outs by getting the guy to pop up or roll into a double play.

"I really don't need to throw 100 m.p.h. all the time. I can get a guy out with a 95 m.p.h. sinker and have him easily ground to second for a double play, and I'm out of the inning."

No, the strikeouts are a good thing. Joel can sustain a 4.5 BB per 9 if he remains difficult to hit. Keep the strikeouts coming! Those groundballs and pop ups fall for hits a lot more often than srikeouts do.

Baseball Musings is holding a pledge drive in March.

At age 20, Homer Bailey shows he's already developed a good way to think about the game:

"Understanding your weaknesses and trying to make them your strengths is what makes you better," Bailey said. "If you aren't trying to improve, you are fighting a losing battle. If I'm there (with the Reds) early this season, as I'm fighting and working to be, there are going to be times I'm going to be hit around. So what? The sun is coming up the next day, and what you do is learn by it. Some people are scared to death of making mistakes or looking bad. I personally don't care."

The second inning was Major League 101 for the No. 1 draft pick in 2004.

"I did some things wrong in the second inning," he said. "You need that. I know what I need to do now. It reinforces what I need to do to learn."

Good for him. Everything I've read indicates Homer's a very talented pitcher. He also appears to realize that learning how to use that talent effectively is just as important.

Baseball Musings is holding a pledge drive in March.

Carl Pavano made it through two innings Sunday unscathed by injuries.

There was good and bad in Pavano's two innings - he retired NL MVP Ryan Howard on a sharp grounder after walking Chase Utley on four pitches in the first. He started the second inning with a walk and a single but got Aaron Rowand to hit a grounder, though it was too slow to be turned into a double play.

Afterward, Pavano sat in the clubhouse, talking about how he was thrilled to be thinking about little things related to pitching, such as how hitters were reacting to his fastball and reading their swings.

"It's not always going to be perfect," he said. "It's not always going to be injury-free, but what I've dealt with in the past, I hope I've put that behind me."

He only recorded 16 strikes out of the 33 pitches he threw. So health is fine, but he still needs to find his control.

Baseball Musings is holding a pledge drive in March.

U.S.S. Mariner posts a pretty damning quote from Horacio Ramirez:

"I'd rather throw the wrong pitch, but a pitch I throw with conviction," Ramirez said. "That makes it right."

(Quote is from this article.) My guess is Mariners fans would rather he throw the right pitch, and fake the conviction.

Baseball Musings is holding a pledge drive in March.

Following up on yesterday's story about Matt Cain signing a four-year deal, the AP reports:

Right-hander Matt Cain and the San Francisco Giants agreed Thursday to a $9 million, four-year contract that includes a vesting club option for 2011.

Given that Cain has not arbitration rights for a couple of years, that sounds right to me. If Cain develops the way the Giants expect, this will be a sweet deal for them. Given the way money is going out for pitchers right now, a very good Matt Cain might win close to $9 million in his first arbitration hearing. And even if he turns out to be a bust, the Giants are not out that much money. Sabean needs to be commended for this signing.

Baseball Musings is holding a pledge drive in March.

Tim Lincecum never ices his arm.

"I don't have any pain," said Lincecum, whose nine-pitch perfect inning was the highlight of Tuesday's intrasquad game. "Ice would just make me stiffer. I just stretch to keep loose, keep limber."

Lincecum is a rare breed. Giants trainer Dave Groeschner estimated that less than 10 percent of pitchers decline to ice. Giants left-hander Steve Kline is among the minority who don't wrap their arms after throwing. The same was true of former big-league right-hander Paul Quantrill.

It's no coincidence that Quantrill and Kline often battled each other for the major-league lead in appearances.

I'm curious as to what medical professionals think about this. Is icing a good thing, or is Lincecum right about it causing more stiffness?

Amazingly, the Texas Rangers may end up with pitching to trade this spring.

The Rangers plan for Gagne to close games and for Akinori Otsuka to set him up. They expect C.J. Wilson and Ron Mahay to be their left-handed contingent. They would like Wes Littleton and Francisco to be their seventh-inning duo.

That would leave one spot for a long reliever and three or four guys to fight for it: Rick Bauer, Joaquin Benoit and Francisco Cruceta, all of whom are out of minor league options. In addition, Bruce Chen, who is in contention for the fifth spot in the rotation, has pitched in long relief. The overflow of relievers could include side-arming Scott Feldman, but the Rangers do hold a minor league option on him.

And although Daniels said he has no plans to trade Otsuka, he could perhaps bring the highest return if the Rangers feel they need to plug a significant hole on their roster before opening day.

Every weakness hides a strength.

Visa problems may keep Sidney Ponson from making the Twins opening day roster:

For a guy who admittedly is down to his last chance in baseball, Sidney Ponson hasn't shown his new team a sense of urgency.

And that is hurting the oft-troubled veteran pitcher's chances of winning a job with the Twins.

Ponson will not be permitted to pitch in an official spring training exhibition game for almost two weeks because the native of Aruba has not obtained the proper work visa. He is scheduled to obtain that visa March 9, Twins general manager Terry Ryan said Monday.

Ryan said Ponson and his agent, Barry Praver, should have taken care of the visa issue before camp started last week. But Praver said his client was approved for a visa in January but later was told it wasn't the proper one needed to pitch in the majors.

A player without the proper visa is prohibited from playing in a game in which admission is charged.

You would think that after a long major league career, Ponson would apply for the correct visa.

Carlos Gomez at The Hardball Times does a nice job of breaking down Matsuzaka's delivery. The comparison to Roy Oswalt is particularly compelling.

Fire Brand of the American League sat down to watch Joel Pineiro's relief appearances from 2006 and came away changing his mind about the pitcher.

What a surprise I found. Pineiro looked great! In 3.2 innings against the Tigers, Pineiro retired all 11 batters in a row while not allowing a single walk. In doing so he protected just a 1 run lead. He looked like he truly belonged on the mound with a scowl and presence to match that of Mike Timlin. He kept almost all his pitches at knees of the batters while hitting the corners and getting good movement on his breaking pitches. Long story short, I watched many of the other appearances he made out of the pen and found more of the same. Shocked, I decided to do a little research and what I found next is probably going to surprise you.

The Red Sox are counting on Joel being better in a short outing than a long one. We'll see if that holds up over a full season.

Mark Prior is going to start the first time through the rotation:

After the team worked out Monday, Cubs manager Lou Piniella said Prior will pitch in Chicago's fifth exhibition game. Only 24 hours earlier, Piniella said the right-hander would not make an appearance until the second time through the rotation late next week. Originally, Piniella had planned to start left-hander Ted Lilly against the Mariners on March 5.

Lilly still will pitch, but he'll follow Prior in the game.

"We're going to let Prior start the game because he needs a little more time to warm up," Piniella said. "I had a nice talk with him today. We brought him in here and had a nice conversation with him."

That tells me Prior must be feeling good. A healthy Prior would be a huge boost to Cubs hope for a pennant in 2007.

Deadspin links to a post from C.J. Wilson, who is learning to throw the Gyroball. Wilson is pretty far down on the Rangers depth chart right now, but if he can master this pitch and it works, it would be pretty easy for him to break into the Texas rotation.

I like the way Deadspin finishes their post:

Wilson says that he's developing his gyro ball with the help of a Japanese scientist, which we think is great. Because we need all the Japanese scientists we can get to counteract the effects of the rampaging, radiation-mutated Barry Bonds.

Sadly, Raymond Burr is not around to help anymore.

Via Bleed Cubbie Blue, Larry Rothschild adjusted Jason Marquis' delivery this winter:

"It was real minor stuff," he said. "I wasn't too far off, but sometimes when you're creating bad habits and you keep doing them over and over again repetitively, they start to become natural. So it's tough to really break them. We really simplified things. The main focus is to make sure I stay over the rubber, stay tall on my back leg before I throw the ball to home and allow my arm to get up.

"It's made a big difference. I'm able to get my hand out of the glove a lot quicker and get my hand up into the proper position. Now, I'm throwing the ball downhill, like I want."

Marquis had been known as a groundball pitcher in his days with Atlanta and in his first two years in St. Louis. But his groundout-to-flyout ratio of 1.12 last year ranked 28th in the National League. During live batting practice in spring training, Marquis has liked the number of grounders he's induced.

Matsuzaka threw batting practice today:

The four minor leaguers who stepped in against him attested to that even though Matsuzaka or catcher Jason Varitek told them what pitch was coming.

"The guy's got good stuff. It's not a myth. It's not a tall tale," said Bobby Scales, who was the first batter to hit against him and let the first pitch -- a bit high -- go by. "The changeup was really good. It seems like it never gets to you and it just kind of floats."

I've heard some second hand information that the changeup is the reason the Red Sox were willing to pay so much money for Matsuzaka. While watching film of the righty pitch, no one could detect his changeup. When Pedro was at the top of his game, he came at you with two undetectable changeups, and those absolutely devestated hitters. The Red Sox believe Daisuke's is of that quality, and that's why they ponied up the big bucks for the pitcher.

I also like this bit of subterfuge:

When he's in a full windup, he pauses at the top of his delivery for differing durations so batters can't time his release.

"There's the element of surprise," Farrell said.

It's all about throwing off a batter's timing.

Jerry Narron would like to reduce the size of his pitching staff:

"But we have Jeff Conine, who can play first base and the corner outfield spots," Narron added. "We have Ryan Freel and his versatility. Josh Hamilton, Bubba Crosby and Chris Denorfia can play any of the outfield spots. Catcher Javier Valentin does a good job at first base, and Juan Castro plays all the infield positions.

"With all those players able to play all over, it may help us go with 11 pitchers instead of 12. I'd love to go back to the old days when you carried nine or 10, without pitch counts."

I'd like to see that, too.

A question from my old friend David Aceto led me to look more closely at the Braden Looper situation. I rewrote my query to look at seasons rather than years before a pitcher's first start. There's been five pitchers who made their first start after at least their first nine seasons in the bullpen. None of them were more than a spot starter. The only pitcher who successfully made the transition from pure reliever to pure starter after a long bullpen stint was Charlie Hough. The knuckleballer spent the first seven years of his career exclusively in the bullpen. It wasn't until year 13 that he entered the rotation permanently. For his career, he amassed 440 starts.

Matsuzaka threw 103 pitches in his bullpen session today:

General manager Theo Epstein said he's never seen a pitcher throw 103 pitches so early in camp.

"He's in there 80, 90 pitches deep (and) he's still going through the stretch, still checking runners, still taking it like a real game situation," Epstein said. "Every single pitch had a purpose."

Save something for the regular season, Dice-K!

Around the Majors postulates that the better Twins defense will help Ramon Ortiz:

But the Twins hope a change of scenery suits Ortiz well. I can see the logic. He was the only member of Washington's staff last year who didn't miss a start, so he's been durable, and he's moving from a team with a horrendous defense to a team that plays some of the best defense in the game.

He quotes a story that cites errors as the reason for Washington's poor defense, but the Probabilistic Model of Range agrees. Note, however, that Ortiz's FIP was 5.31, not all that much better than his overall ERA. His defense hurt, but he would be bad even with better gloves behind him.

After nine seasons appearing just in relief, Braden Looper is being moved to the Cardinals starting rotation:

Yet, when the Cardinals arrived for spring training, Looper was slated to be in the starting rotation.

"I don't think it's an experiment," pitching coach Dave Duncan said. "I wouldn't even consider trying him as a starter if I didn't think physically and mentally he couldn't do it."

Looper's career change is atypical for many reasons. At 32, he has never pitched more than three innings in a single outing in his major league career.

"I've always kind of wanted to do it," Looper said. "I've never told anybody that. There was talk about it when I was with the Marlins one year but we needed a closer. People are sitting back saying, `This is a gimmick.' For me that's fuel for the fire. I want to prove everybody wrong if they don't think I can do it."

This is Looper's tenth season in the majors. Only seven major leaguers received their first start in the tenth year or later after their first appearance. The person who made the most starts was Jack Ogden, who made a brief appearance in 1918, then didn't reach the majors again until 1928. Bob Logan was pressed into service due to World War II. The only person who comes close is Chuck McElroy, who made five spot starts at the end of his career. I can find no record of anyone who became a full-time starter so late in his career. This is going to be a very interesting experiment. I can't wait to see what his stats look like after the third inning.

In a daring display of guts, heart and determination, Kris Benson decided to rehabilitate his torn rotator cuff and try to pitch in 2007:

Dr. James Andrews examined Benson's shoulder yesterday in Birmingham, Ala. It was the third opinion sought by the Orioles' pitcher. A member of the New York Mets' medical staff recently recommended that Benson have surgery, but Andrews provided a small glimmer of hope.

If the rehab doesn't change the condition of Benson's shoulder, he will have the surgery and most likely miss the season. Waiting a few more weeks wouldn't delay his return.

This seems like a risky move to me, in that he might make the injury even worse.

What makes Greg Maddux a great defensive pitcher?

"I get a lot of comebackers," he said.

Bobby Jenks did not repeat his mistake of last year, coming into camp in shape this time. His method was pretty simple:

Jenks said there was "no secret" to his routine. He just dieted and made sure he stayed "on top of working out."

"I think that's the biggest thing anybody needs to know: Don't take that break," he said. "Just grind through it and keep going."

Jenks made sure he did something physical on the days he didn't lift, be it hopping on a treadmill or elliptical machine or going outside.

"Everybody sits on their couch a half hour a day, at least," Jenks said. "Take that half hour and spend it on a treadmill. Spend it going back to the gym and go on the elliptical. Run. Go outside. Take your dog for a walk. People don't realize those are important things. You lose your motivation.

"You want to just sit on the couch, but don't do it."

The Score Bard sums up Keith Foulke's career in five lines.

That's how Tim Lincecum explains his delivery:

Zito's new mechanics might have startled Giants officials Thursday, but he's got nothing on Lincecum -- a 5-foot-10, 160-pounder who makes up for his lack of size by using an unorthodox, highly leveraged delivery. It's the creation of his father, Chris, a former semipro player who drew inspiration from studying film of Sandy Koufax and Bob Feller.

"It works well with my body, it's kept me from getting hurt and it helps me get as much as possible from my slender frame," Lincecum said. "(Coaches) always shied away from trying to help me because of how unorthodox it is or they say it is. They really haven't tried to change me at all, anywhere."

The Giants won't start. By decree of Giants vice president Dick Tidrow, coaches are forbidden from tinkering with Lincecum's mechanics.

I wonder if he's successful if other pitchers will emulate his mechanics. Here's video, if you haven't seen him before:

Ron Washington is going to try to keep the Texas pitching staff stable this year:

For Washington's part, he plans to show faith in the pitchers by giving them more opportunities to prove themselves. He expects to use spring to make decisions about a pitching staff, then try not to mess around with it on a weekly basis.

In the four years under Buck Showalter, the Rangers averaged more than a pitching move per week (either an option, a disabled list assignment or designation for assignment for the purpose of removing the pitcher from the roster) during the regular season. Last year, the Rangers made 28 such moves from April through August. Oakland, beset by injuries, made 23. The Los Angeles Angels made 15 such moves and Seattle 14.

"I want to develop stability in the starting rotation," Washington said. "I don't want those guys looking over their shoulders. It's my job - every manager's job - to build confidence. I'm going to let them know from the very beginning that they can do it and that we expect them to do it. But we also know there are going to be some bumps, and I want them to know I'll give them a chance to show me it's just a bump. I want them to keep us in games and I'm going to give them every opportunity to do that."

I remember Bill James writing about managing pitching staffs in a high run envirornment. He felt that too many pitching changes was bad for a staff. Every time you take a pitcher out of a game (at least back then), you're communicating failure. Sometimes, they just need to take their lumps and learn from the experience. Sounds like Washington is taking a similar approach.

Mark Prior appears to be going through a bit of a Carl Pavano stretch himself:

"Is it fair for me to tell you whether you're hurting or not?" Prior said. "Who's to say? I've never judged somebody based on whether I feel they're hurt or not. You can't tell. Everybody's different. And trust me: You don't get to this level unless you want to play. You get weeded out in a hurry if you really don't want to play the game."

There's the rub: Prior hasn't played much in recent seasons.

Prior says he's healthy:

He started throwing in November and began working off a mound a month ago. Three years of injuries threw off his mechanics, causing issues with his timing and location, so Prior tried to correct that in the offseason. He "stripped down" his delivery and "tried to rebuild it up."

"As far as the peripheral, people looking in and saying he's not the guy this year, that's fine," Prior said. "I know what I want to do, and I know what I bring to this ballclub. When I'm out there, I think I make this club pretty good."

Despite all the moves the Cubs made in the off-season, getting Prior and Derrek Lee back healthy promises to bring the biggest boost to the Cubs fortunes.

Keith Foulke retired from baseball today:

Foulke agreed to a $5 million, one-year free agent contract with the Indians in January. The right-hander had battled injury problems the past two seasons, and last year he was replaced as Boston's closer by rookie Jonathan Papelbon.

The 34-year-old informed the Indians of his decision on Thursday when the club's pitchers and catchers reported to Winter Haven, Fla.

"While we are disappointed that Keith will not be pitching for the Indians this year, I have a tremendous amount of respect for him and the way he went about this decision," general manager Mark Shapiro said. "Keith clearly demonstrated a great deal of integrity and character in this matter and we wish him success in his future endeavors."

It seems Keith's injuries finally caught up with him. That leaves the Indians with one less candidate for the closer role.

It looks like Carlos Zambrano is close to signing a five-year deal.

In unrelated news, Zambrano backed off his comments from earlier this week and says they were misconstrued. He also said the Cubs made their first formal multi-year offer "a five-year proposal 'very close' to what the San Francisco Giants gave free agent pitcher Barry Zito this winter. That would mean an offer worth close to $90 million."

If Z is willing to take the shorter deal so he can cash-in again in five years, it seems like the finalizing of a deal is a mere formality.

I'd be very sure of Zambrano's back before I went five years, but given the level of pitching that was getting big money this winter, this deal is almost a steal for the Cubs.

WasWatching gets inside Mariano Rivera's head:

According to a trusted source that I have, Rivera is not happy at this moment. Mariano is displeased by the way the Yankees have elected to handle an offer to Bernie Williams (for 2007). That's part of it. But, more so, he is upset over the Yankees wait-and-see approach towards him.

According to my source, Rivera is not bluffing about entertaining other offers from all interested parties at the end of the season if the Yankees elect not to negotiate with him during the spring.

My source stressed that Mariano loves New York, the Yankees, and their fans. However, while his heart is here, he realizes that baseball is a business and everyone needs to do what they feel is best for them - because if you don't look out for yourself, no one else will do it.

He goes on to say it will be a public relations nightmare to see Mariano pitching in Boston.

Rubbish.

If Damon can come to New York, Rivera can certainly go to Boston. Frankly, I doubt it would happen because Boston tends not to overpay for players, which is what's going to happen to Mariano. I'm guessing Rivera just doesn't want to extend the $10 million a year he's currently receiving. I'm betting he's looking for around $15 million. That's a lot for any 38-year-old player, especially one that just gives you 75 innings a season. On top of that, Rivera just lowered his value by asking to pitch only in the 9th inning this season.

The PR will only be bad if the Yankees fail to make him a decent offer once he becomes a free agent. If they simply get outbid, then Mariano becomes a traitor, just like Damon. It's probably to the Yankees advantage to get one of their rivals to overpay for an old reliever. Cashman is making the right move here, no matter how much Rivera's feeling are hurt.

Now that Jon Lester beat his cancer, Even Brunell is worried about Jon's high WHIP.

It seems Joel Zumaya doesn't wish to give up Guitar Hero.

He's young and full of confidence and it is certainly understandable. But after the recurrence in the playoffs, maybe the light bulb should have gone on. The risk-reward proposition here just doesn't seem worth it. I'm certainly not hating on Zumaya. I just want Joel to have a long and successful career, hopefully for the Tigers. And what may be missing from the story is mention of the various wrist strengthening exercises that Joel may be doing to guard against this - in case it is the fact he grips the ball too hard.

Eric Gagne threw from a mound for the first time since last July.

Gagne threw off a mound at his Scottsdale, Ariz., home Tuesday and had no issues. Gagne had back surgery last July after just two appearances for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He is expected to report to camp with the rest of the Rangers' pitchers and catchers Saturday and should not have any limitations this spring.

If Gagne is healthy, the Rangers should be able to shorten the game to seven innings. Now they just need to figure how to get there.

The Baseball Crank takes a look at Sandy Koufax on the road.

I was going to ignore the Mariano Rivera contract fuss because it seemed like a non-story to me.

I definitely want to finish my career here, but if they don't give me the respect I deserve, I have to move on," Rivera said. Asked if he felt he wasn't being given that respect, Rivera responded, "The Yankees always give me the respect. When it comes to these times (contracts ending), I don't like to talk about it. It's a business.

That seems pretty benign to me. I translate the whole thing as, "if they don't want to pay me I'll move on, but they've always paid me in the past." Last night, however, I get a call from my good friend Jim Storer who tells me the callers into WFAN in NY are all in a lather over this. Luckily, Yankees management contains cooler heads:

"Every situation I enter, there's a proper time and a proper place," Cashman said. "There's a great deal of evidence that we try to do everything we possibly can to do the right thing at all times for ourselves and for the players that we care about.

"Mo knows how we feel about him," added the GM. "We care a great deal about him, he's been a great Yankee."

Jorge Posada, another Yankee lifer, is also entering the final year of his contract. Posada said he is motivated to play out the year and see what happens, but when asked about Rivera, he expressed little doubt that the pitcher would close out his career in the only big-league uniform he has ever worn.

"Does he deserve a deal? I don't think you have to ask that question," Posada said. "It'll happen. It's up to Mariano and Cashman. Mariano will be here forever."

On top of all that, Rivera is 37 years old coming off an arm problem. He gets a lot of money for 75 innings a year. The Yankees would be remiss if they didn't make sure Mariano could deliver.

Carlos Zambrano issued an ultimatum to the Cubs:

The Tribune reported that Zambrano wants a long-term deal in the range of Zito's $18 million-a-year deal he signed with the Giants in the offseason.

"I'm ready to sign, and I would do my job anyway with the Cubs this year," Zambrano said, according to the Tribune. "Whatever happens, I don't want to know [anything] about a contract during the season. I want to sign with the Cubs before the season starts. If they don't sign me, sorry, but I must go. That's what Carlos Zambrano thinks."

You it's a serious threat because he's talking in the third person. :-) With all the money the Cubs spent this winter, and with all the money they're going to pay Carlos this year whether they win or lose in arbitration, I can see why they want to wait a year before signing Carlos to a long term contract. If Chicago signs him to a long-term deal and he gets hurt, they're out a lot of money. A three-year deal at Zito levels might be more appropriate right now.

Jonathan Papelbon speaks of his teammate, Jon Lester:

"When I first saw Jon today, I almost didn't recognize him because I didn't expect him to look that good," said teammate Jonathan Papelbon, one of those who said he didn't call or write while Lester was undergoing treatment back home in Washington state because he didn't want to encroach on Lester's privacy. "Looked like the same ol' Jonny to me.

"I've said prayer after prayer for him this offseason, me and my wife. It's just awesome. Awesome, awesome, awesome to see him come back from that. The fight that he's gone through, you know, it's just amazing.

"For me, that's the kind of teammate I want, somebody that's never going to give up, somebody that's going to go out there and bust his butt to succeed and bust his butt to get where he wants and deserves. That was awesome, almost like a pick-me-up."

The Padres signed a purple heart winner to a minor league contract:

Right-hander Cooper Brannan will report to minor league spring training March 1. The 22-year-old injured his left hand during a second tour of duty Iraq. Team spokesman George Stieren said Brannan lost his left pinky.

The team planned to announce the signing at a news conference Tuesday at Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego .

Obviously, throwing with his right hand, the missing pinky shouldn't be a factor. Nice move by the Padres, however. There's a big military presence in San Diego, and this is one more way the Padres are building that fan base.

John Sickels is thinking about Tyler Clippard. John copies the excerpt from his book which rates Clippard a B. That's a little surprising to me given his strikeouts, walks and home runs are so good.

Others have similar views. My friend Deric McKamey in his 2007 Minor League Baseball Analyst rates Clippard as a potential number five starter, and points out that he gets his strikeouts with movement and deception, not pure velocity. Baseball America ranks Clippard as the number seven Yankees prospect, projects him as a fourth starter, and notes that he "pitches backward," using fastballs in breaking ball counts and vice versa.

Does the way you get strikeouts really matter? Here's Bill James from an interview I conducted with him a few years ago (the question was in regard to the Rockies pitching staff):

Baseball Musings: Given what we now know about the relationship to balls put into play and hits allowed, doesn't this strategy also require a very good infield defense? Would a better strategy be to have fireballers who can strikeout 9 a game?

Bill James: This assumes that fastballs get strikeouts. This is untrue. Breaking pitches get strikeouts. Breaking pitches are difficult to throw at high altitudes (a fact, incidentally, which has been known by baseball pitchers at least since the 1920s. In the 1920s there are published comments about how hard it is to throw a breaking pitch in Salt Lake City.) But there is a valid point in there--which is, that if the value of offense increases per ball in play, then the value of fielding skill also increases.

In other words, deception gets strikeouts. Pedro Martinez is an excellent strikeout pitcher because his change up is so good. It's the delta and the arm motion that matter. If you throw a 90 mile an hour fastball and an 80 mile an hour changeup with the same motion, you're going to get batters to swing and miss. Am I missing something, or isn't the fact that Clippard is striking out a lot of batter more important than how he's doing it? If he can throw off the timing of hitters that much, he's doing something right.

Curt Schilling plays and develops video games:

"People would find it unbelievable how much I play EverQuest when I travel," Schilling says as he works his way through his umpteenth dungeon in EQ2.

Schilling defends his ways and tells us people should consider EverQuest a healthy habit for a pro athlete. "These days, it's not such a bad thing to stay in your room and play on your computer," he says. "That way, I'm never going to be the lead story on ESPN [the next] morning for being out late and doing something stupid."

The authors of Freakonomics think abortion led to a reduction in crime, but I wonder if the time young men spend playing video games doesn't have something to do with it.

Derek Jeter is helping Kei Igawa learn English:

Igawa has gotten the chance to meet several new teammates also working out at the Yankees spring training complex, including shortstop Derek Jeter, catcher Jorge Posasa and infielder Miguel Cairo

"It's all a feel for him, getting to know the guys," Connors said. "Jeter has been already kidding him ... teaching him a new word every day. He's going to be fine. It just takes the time to get adjusted."

Soon they'll be working on cliches.

Matsuzaka Watch interviews Will Carroll on the Japanese pitcher, and there's a great discussion about pitch counts (PAP is pitcher abuse points).

MW: Something I wanted to ask you, since we began to e-mail back and forth...I did a piece a while back using a PAP chart that I was running on Matsuzaka, just to see how he stacked up, and it's off the charts compared to even the most abused Major Leaguers....

WC: It doesn't work.

MW: Yeah, I was wondering what's your perspective on it? Why doesn't it work?

WC: A couple things. First off, PAP is based off a five man rotation and even though the Japanese use five man there's more rest days in there, so it essentially factors out to six days rest, which is something I'm curious about...his adjustment to that...the five days versus six. But, it's just a different game. It's not played the same way, and all the assumptions made off PAP were based off, I wanna say, it went back to like 1978.

Japan is actually more equivalent to the 60s, and we're working on this project where we're doing this book on pennant races and two of the chapters I'm working on are 1934 and 1967. So I'm looking at all these pitch charts and it was just different. They didn't throw as hard, but they would throw 150 pitches a game. And, there weren't as many strikeouts because they were throwing for ground balls. And I think the Japanese have been kind of the same way. They are a little more strikeout happy so I think that they're throwing harder, especially from the games I've seen. But even so, the strikeout totals, and the strikeout rates equate more to a game of the late 60s or early 70s than the PAP era, so I just don't think the math works.

There's a lot more. I get the feeling there's some combination of GM/manager/starting staff that can exploit pitch counts and a four-rotation to give themselves a huge edge. The right combination hasn't come along yet, however.

Geoff Young looks at the future of Jake Peavy.

Correction: I misread the article. This is not Pedro's son. This is an outfielder, Fernando Martinez, not a pitcher. Sorry for the mistake. The original post follows.

There seems to be a bit of controversy over the age of Pedro Martinez's son. He's been 18 in all reports I've seen, but:

Today, however, MLB.com's minor-league website, MiLB.com, lists Martinez as being born on December 10, 1986, which means the young outfielder is actually 20 years old.

There's plenty of doubts about the accuracy of this in the comments at MetsBlog.com. Of course, that means Pedro was a pretty young father.

Balls, Sticks and Stuff writes on the details of the Brett Myers signing. He gets over $8 million a year for three seasons, avoiding all arbitration. On a purely baseball plane, it's a very good move. Myers put together two very good seasons back-to-back. He strikes out batters and controls his walks. He does give up the long ball, however, which is why his ERA is closer to 4.00 than 3.00. And that appears not to have too much to do with the park. Given the amount of money pitchers of questionable quality received this winter, it's a real steal.

However, Myers did go through an ugly incident where he publicly hit his wife last summer. You have to wonder how much that figured in the length of the contract and the amount of money he received. Maybe it's five years, $50 million without the cloud.

Athletics Nation is carrying on their yearly interview with Billy Beane. It looks like Beane is using a pitcher's walk year to his advantage (emphasis added):

Blez: You mention Joe Kennedy when you brought up the rotation. Does he go into camp as the front runner for the fifth spot in the rotation?

Beane: Oh yeah, we would like to give Joe the first opportunity. He's been groomed as a starter most of his career even though he was great in the bullpen last year. Joe is a year away from free agency. He's got a lot of talent and I think he'll be very motivated. And getting another left hander in there will be nice. We think Embree can fill in and do a similar job to what Joe did last year. I'd say going in he would be the front runner.

Does Beane think players perform better in their walk years? There's some evidence that they do, but can anyone point to a longer term study? It certainly worked for Bowden with Soriano last season.

Gordon Wittenmyer points out that Glen Perkins could make the Twins rotation, but he never gives you a good reason:

Poor run support and a middle-innings wall that Perkins seemed to hit early in the season contributed to a 2-11 start at New Britain. He pitched well enough for Eastern League managers to vote him to the all-star team despite the win-loss numbers, and he rebounded to win his final two AA decisions.

So the Eastern League managers noticed something beyond his WL record. What? Take a look. Those are superb strikeout and home run numbers. And while the walks are not bad, history says the big league club will pressure him to bring those down. Pitcher like Perkins make me think that Ponson and Ortiz are just insurance policies.

A reader heard Curt Schilling interviewed on WEEI this morning:

David, are you listening to Curt Schilling on WEEI, where he's announcing that he will be pitching, somewhere, again next year. He says he prefers to return to the Sox, but anything can happen for next year, though he says he'd never go to the Yankees. And he also says that he's beginning to talk contract with the Sox, which he wants done before this season.

I'll keep an eye out for a transcript.

Update: Here's a summary with extensive quotes from the Boston Globe, including a link to the audio.

It's the middle of January, and Marlins pitchers are going down with arm injuries:

I hope this isn't becoming a precursor for the 2007 season, though it wouldn't be a complete surprise if it were. The young starters were extended last season and the repercussions could be felt this year. If Johnson and Sanchez aren't ready to go at the start of the season, and most likely they won't, it completely nixes the Nolasco as the closer experiment. Luckily, I think either Owens, Lindstorm or Gregg will fit the bill.

The team will be forced into bringing up one or two of the young arms from Triple-A or Double-A, ready or not. It also probably means that any possible trade for a center fielder is off the table. Especially since the Marlins can't spare the arms at the moment.

If the starters arm injuries become a persistent problem throughout the season, it's going to be a long one. Hopefully, that won't happen.

At the moment, none of these seem serious. And, due to good trading, the Marlins are stocked with arms in the minors, so they might be able to sustain a couple of injuries.

Felix Hernandez is a new man:

The new Felix Hernandez -- "a leaner, better version than we've seen in the past," gushed manager Mike Hargrove -- unveiled himself Wednesday.

For Mariners officials, the first sight of Hernandez after his arrival this week from Venezuela bordered on a religious experience.

"When I saw him today, I was stunned," general manager Bill Bavasi said.

"I just saw him," added Hargrove. "Last year, he looked like a baby. He looked like a kid -- from the look in his eye, the way he carried himself, the composition of his body. All that is different. When you see him, you'll know. You'll see a difference in his face, in his eyes."

Numbers back up the change:

The raw numbers tell the story. According to trainer Rick Griffin, Hernandez weighed in Tuesday at 226 pounds. Last February, he reported to camp at 246 pounds -- 16 pounds over his target weight.

"I will admit I did not come in that good shape last year," Hernandez said, and then added with a wink, "Not this year.

There's not much that happened over the winter to excite Mariners fans, but this should do it.

Update: The Mariners may negate the Felix buzz by signing Jeff Weaver.

How can I ignore a post titled, "Pinto coming into his own?"

Jeff Albert offers video scouting of Jeff Samardzija.

Off topic a bit, but my good friend Jim Storer and I were discussing the gyro ball last week, and it came to mind that the best gyro ball pitcher might be Dan Marino. He was a good baseball player, and his football throwing motion was unusual in that his mechanics were similar to baseball pitchers. Since he already knows how to throw a tight sprial, the gyro ball would be perfect for him. Maybe someone should teach him how to throw it and see if they can start him in a new career. After all, he is at his playing weight. :-)

Nick and Nick are not happy about the shape of the back of the Twins rotation:

It's unclear at this point what the Twins are going to do with these new players they've signed. Perhaps a bad showing in spring training will keep them out of the 2007 rotation. Whatever the case, I know this much: the thought of Silva, Ponson and Ortiz in the same rotation is extremely painful. It could be a lonnng year.

It appears Ned Yost is going to make his fifth starter a swing man this season:

It's more advantageous to be the fourth starter than fifth because days off in April will prompt Yost to skip No. 5 a few times. That was avoided last year because, with Sheets on the DL, Yost used days off to get by with four starters for a couple of weeks.

Assuming all five starters are healthy this April, the guy at the back of the rotation probably will be skipped a couple of times.

"He has to have some durability to be able to go to the (bullpen) and be a long guy," said Yost. "So, there might be some decision between No. 4 and 5."

This is a strategy that would work past April. It's a great way to go back to a four-man rotation without calling it that.

The Crawfish Boxes explains why Brad Lidge's salary is reasonable.

Nick and Nick see a Johan Santana trade as inevitable. They scour the Yankees farm system to see who'd they'd like to get in a trade.

They're assuming, of course, that the team that trades for Santana keeps Santana. That's not always true. Carlos Beltran and Alfonso Soriano come to mind. The Twins might do better renting Santana for a couple of very good prospects than taking a bunch from the Yankees.

I also don't believe it's inevitable the Yankees land Johan. The Mets will be out of Pedro's contract by then, so they'll have cash to chase the superstar as they go into their new ballpark. Lord knows Texas has the money and the need for a great starter. And of course the Marlins with their measly payroll can expand it generously and still keep it low. If Santana hits the market, the bidding will be intense.

Nico at Athletics Nation wonders what the value of a 6th starter is these days:

Teams are way overspending for pitching this off-season, so you might assume that if someone is willing to pay Barry Zito what nobody used to get, and someone is willing to pay Gil Meche what aces used to get, and someone is willing to pay Jeff Suppan (career: 106-101, 4.60 ERA) what good pitchers used to get, and someone is willing to pay Mark Mulder what Mark Mulder used to be worth, then certainly teams will give you some useful returns if they can snatch a Saarloos, Halsey, or Kennedy to fill out their rotation.

Sadly, I don't think that's the case. I think that starting pitching has gone the way of the "haves" and the "have nots," where there is little in between. There are very few outstanding--or even decent--pitchers available and so teams are paying #1-2 starter money to #3-4 starters and hoping those guys can "step up" a notch or two (good luck with that, San Francisco, Kansas City, Milwaukee, and St. Louis). But there are always plenty of #5-#6 starters to go around. If you're available and you're not good, then you're simply not good enough to excite anybody about adding you to their rotation.

Of course, if a couple of those pitchers step up for the Athletics, they could be suddenly worth a nice trade.

The brothers Judd worry that the Reds will wear out Homer Bailey.

Baseball Primer Newsblog links to an excellent four part series on the Gyroball, including a movie of a computer generated simulation of airflow over the ball.

A former Harvard baseball player remembers facing Ross Olendorf in an Ivy Championship game.

Jon Morosi talks to Tigers pitching prospects about being traded, since they're stuck behind a very good rotation:

"We wondered about it," Tata acknowledged in a telephone interview last week. "The rumors were swirling. It's impossible not to think about it."

A trade would likely mean a better opportunity to pitch in the big leagues, away from a top-heavy organizational depth chart that includes Jeremy Bonderman, Justin Verlander and Andrew Miller, supremely talented starters of similar age.

Then again, a trade would also involve leaving the only professional organization that either player has ever known.

"Neither of us really wanted to get traded," said Tata, the 25-year-old right-hander who appeared in eight games with the Tigers last year. "It's such a good situation in Detroit, with the winning environment, the personnel and the general attitude there.

That didn't take long to change. A few years ago Detroit was a joke. Now, pitchers would rather stay in the minors of this organization than be traded for a shot at the bigs.

Anaheim Angels All the Way links to an article on The Book on why DIPS may not work for Barry Zito. Basically, it comes down to Zito inducing pop ups and his effectiveness vs. right-handed batters. Barry owns a reverse platoon advantage.

I've often seen this in successful lefties, especially the soft-tossing kind. When Glavine was at his peak it was pretty extreme. These lefties throw a pitch which batters described to me as a "dead fish." It moves away from righties, making it difficult to hit, but in on lefties.

I asked both Ray Knight and Greg Olson (separately) about this, and each gave the above explanation (Olson caught Glavine in Atlanta). In was in fact, obvious to both these batters that Glavine should be better against RHB. But then I asked why don't managers start more lefties against Glavine, each also gave the same response. The manager wouldn't want to take the heat for going against convention.

So, given Zito's career success versus RHB as opposed to LHB, should NL managers start a lefty lineup against him?

MetsBlog.com links to a story about Pedro's 19-year-old son, Pedro E. Martinez. He looks just like his uncle Ramon. It would be very cool in Pedro 2.0 got to pitch with his dad in the Mets rotation. You could then guess Pedro Martinez for the Mets starter and be right 40% of the time!

Rich Lederer at Baseball Analysts provides a nice graphic example of why it's good to have pitchers who excel at striking out batters or inducing ground balls. And the ability to do both appears to define an elite pitcher.

Royals Authority disputes the claim that David Riske is a consistent pitcher.

U.S.S. Mariner continues it's barrage against the Seattle management team with this chart of Chris Reitsma's makeup. The commenters join in the fun and games by picking up on the pun.

Athletics Nation discusses why Joel Piniero is so bad, but the one table they offer sort of mixes apples and oranges. They break Piniero's ERA down by pitch count, which to me doesn't make a lot of sense. However, if you break opposition batting down by inning, you see the same thing a little more clearly.

With all the Joe Blanton trade rumors, Nico at Athletics Nation wonders just how good Joe can be.

So what kind of a career path is Joe Blanton most likely to have? Who should baseball-reference.com be listing as Blanton's most comparable match? In pondering this question, it occurs to me that in many ways, Blanton does remind me of a specific pitcher: Kirk Rueter. Maybe it's because both are left-handed (except Blanton). Or perhaps it's because both pitched in the American League (except Rueter). OK, stay with me here...

Rueter was not overpowering, but he was an innings eater and he usually got the job done. He was one of those pitchers against whom hitters often went "a comfortable 0-for-4". Hitters also often went 2-for-4 against Rueter, but he would still hang in there and get the win. Fans often forget how often Kirk Rueter won--or at least how seldom he lost. From 1997 to 2003, Rueter's record was 93-59, a winning percentage of .612. However, when Rueter wasn't on he really wasn't on. He would occasionally get lambasted to the tune of about 8 ER in about 2.2 innings, sending his ERA soaring. But a baseball game is like your virginity--you can only lose it once--and as a result those horrid outings did not take a big toll on Rueter's won-lost percentage, just on his ERA.

A pitcher can do a lot worse than a 130-92 career record. Pitchers like this are much more valuable on good offensive teams than bad offensive teams, however, since run support helps their success greatly.

The New York Daily News profiles Ross Ohlendorf, the prize of the Randy Johnson trade:

One scout at the Princeton-Old Dominion game clocked the ball that struck Ross Ohlendorf above the right elbow as traveling 106 mph coming off the bat. Ohlendorf, pitching a few years ago in a marquee game against ODU star Justin Verlander that attracted more than 100 talent evaluators, reached down, picked up the ball that had just stung him and threw out the runner at first.

"I went out there to get him out of there," Princeton coach Scott Bradley recalled. "You could see the welt. But he said, 'You gotta let me stay in. I'm fine.' He got the next guy out with a 94 mile-an-hour fastball. He pitched the sixth inning, too.

"He's a guy who was one of the brightest we had at Princeton, got high honors out of the engineering program and couldn't be any nicer. But that doesn't mean he isn't some kind of tough hombre, too."

I keep hearing the Yankees are going after Clemens, but it strikes me they have two or three rookies now who might break into the rotation. Why spend all the extra money on another old pitcher who can just pitch part time?

Nick and Nick take a look at how the Twins might fill out their rotation for 2007. They don't think Terry Ryan wants to go with another pitcher straight out of the minors:

The more likely outcome remains a veteran acquisition. As was noted above, many possible targets are no longer available, but there are still a few guys out there that Ryan might take a look at. One such pitcher is free agent Sidney Ponson, who posted a 6.25 ERA in 85 innings between the Cardinals and Yankees last season. Ponson has intrigued scouts because he can throw hard and he had a few solid years with the Orioles. Ponson is still only 29, but he has poor control and his numbers over the past three seasons have been exceptionally ugly. At this point, it's unrealistic to expect him to put up better numbers than Silva did last year. Another free agent the Twins have reportedly spoken to is Ramon Ortiz, a 33-year-old right-hander who pitched for the Nationals last season. Like Ponson, Ortiz has not pitched well over the past several seasons, although his numbers have not been quite as bad. Having either of these pitchers in the same rotation as Silva could be a recipe for disaster, and might be a stretch to expect pitching coach Rick Anderson to work his magic and orchestrate a career revival for any of them.

I find it hard to believe that the Twins would consider Ponson over Jeff Weaver. I'm not crazy about the elder Weaver, but he's a better pitcher than Sidney, and may have already undergone a revival with the Cardinals. He seems like a much better risk to me. And given the total lack of interest, he shouldn't cost that much either.

Still, I bet the Twins can do better in their own system than either of those starters.

Tom at Redleg Nation breaks down the rotation slots for both the American and National League in 2006. What's interesting to me is that the NL front line starters have ERA better than their AL counterparts, but the back of the rotation is better in the junior circuit (That result does not hold for XERA.) The other thing is that #5 starters are so bad, why don't more teams do something to avoid using them? I'm not talking about going to a four man rotation, but at least skipping the fifth starter if the team gets a day off.

Sal Baxamusa at The Hardball Times explores how the sequence of balls and strikes effect how well batters hit in counts. There's a difference in how you get to 1-1 that appears to matter.

Over at The View from the Bleachers, Joe Aiello discusses the Cubs rotation for 2007. What surprised me was no mention of Mark Prior. Lou Piniella does discuss Prior in this interview with Alan Schwarz:

SCHWARZ: That's the interesting thing here--the Cubs, for the past four years or so, at least from afar, have always been about Kerry Wood and Mark Prior and if-they-make-34-starts. Every year, with frustrating results. Is the re-signing of Aramis Ramirez, the signing of DeRosa, and the signing of Soriano a way of breaking with that past and saying, "We're starting a new era--it's not just about Prior and Wood anymore"?

PINIELLA: That's the way it seems, but that was not really our aim or our goal. With Kerry Wood, I talked to Kerry personally about the possibilities of moving into the bullpen. We felt he could stay healthier. We thought he could be more dominant. We told him we'd give him all the time in spring training he needed to make those adjustments. He was very pleased with that. So we're really not counting on Kerry as a starting pitcher.

With the other kid (Prior), the Cubs have had disappointments. We're going to bring him into camp and give him every opportunity to pitch in our rotation. Are we counting on him? Not as much as before. And the reason is, it's been hard keeping Prior healthy. So if he comes to camp and he's healthy, it's almost like signing another top, top pitcher. That's the way we're looking at it.

Talk about low expectations!

Update: As pointed out in the comments, Mark Prior is mentioned briefly in The View From the Bleachers post. I missed him when I rescanned the article because he wasn't in bold face.

The Yankees wasted little time in locking up Kei Igawa. WasWatching has the details, courtesy of the The Daily Yomiuri:

The New York Yankees and Kei Igawa both played second fiddle in the posting sweepstakes. Igawa, though, got a first-rate deal it was learned on Monday, agreeing to a five-year, 20 million dollars contract with the Bronx Bombers.

The Yanks earned the right to negotiate with Igawa in late November and wasted little time getting the southpaw in pinstripes.

The deal for the 27-year-old, who was 14-9 this past season with a 2.97 ERA for the Hanshin Tigers, also includes incentives.

Igawa struck out 8.5 per 9 in Japan while walking just 2.9. That's the kind of control that's worth a chance.

The Tigers and Jeremy Bonderman reached a deal today that keep Jeremy in a Tigers uniform two years past the season he can become a free agent:

Bonderman, who would have been eligible for free agency after the 2008 season, gets $4.5 million in 2007, $8.5 million in 2008 and $12.5 million in each of the following two seasons.

The way salaries are climbing right now, locking up a good young player long term makes a lot of sense. It's also good for Bonderman, since he's so young he'll still be at a prime age when he can become a free agent after the 2010 season. Nice move by the Tigers.

10,000 Takes makes some suggestions as to what a Minnesota Twins contract for Johan Santana should include.

If you get NESN and you're a Red Sox fan, they're broadcasting a Matsuzaka marathon. They'll have the press conference at 5:00 PM EST, and they just showed footage of Theo showing Dice-K his new locker. His name plate is already up, his uniforms are in place, and he'll be wearing number 18.

Update: Matsuzaka will be dropping the puck at the Bruins game tonight. It's all Matsuzaka, all the time!

The NESN crew just pointed out that the Red Sox home opener is againt Seattle, so if Matsuzaka pitches that game, the first plate appearance could be Dice-K vs. Ichiro.

Update: The news conference is starting with Theo as MC.

Update: Theo's taking his time so his speech can be translated. He just introduced Daisuke and the pitcher is showing off his new jersey and hat.

Update: Theo spoke to the people of Japan, calling Matsuzaka a national treasure and committing the Red Sox to helping him make a successful transition to the US.

Update: It's interesting listening to the conference. Matsuzaka will give about a 60 second answer, and translator reduces it to about 10 seconds.

Update: Matsuzaka gave the right answer to his goal with the Red Sox, helping them win the world series.

Update: No one's asked Daisuke if he throws the gyroball.

Update: Someone just asked if Matsuzaka threw John Henry a gyroball off the mound at Fenway.

Update: Larry Lucchino ended the conference reaching out to Japanese fans, inviting them to visit Fenway. Good luck getting tickets! He also made sure the Japanese people understood that the Red Sox planned for this to be a long term relationship with their country.

Dayn Perry at FoxSports.com rounds up the projection of Matsuzaka's stats and comes to this conclusion:

Overall, you've got a hurler who profiles as an ace or a reasonable facsimile thereof. Barring injury, the worst you'll see from Matsuzaka in 2007 is an ERA in the mid-3.00s; the best you'll see from him (given the run support he figures to get in Boston) is 20-plus wins and a Cy Young award. His fly-ball tendencies may hurt him at times in Fenway, but otherwise he'll be the best starter in the Boston rotation and maybe -- just maybe -- the best starting pitcher in baseball not named Johan Santana.

Not bad.

Who would have thought Mike Pagliarulo would turn out to be a stat head? He specializes in scouting Pacific rim players:

The Sox also got a thumbs-up from former major league third baseman Mike Pagliarulo, who for years has run a sophisticated scouting service for international players, with emphasis on the Pacific Rim. Pagliarulo, who grew up in Medford, had watched the Matsuzaka situation closely because he had inside knowledge of the talented pitcher.

Pagliarulo also recommends what a Japanese player is worth to a major league team by using complicated formulas. Pagliarulo's service has been used by major league and Japanese teams, but the Red Sox aren't among his clientele.

When asked what he would have recommended as a posting figure for Matsuzaka, Pagliarulo said, "Fifty million. That's what I had written down long before the figures came out. That was based on the talent level of the player, the market for the player, and the value of the player to a team. The Red Sox did an excellent job in finding that value. They really did their homework."

More importantly, Mike knew the one piece of information that was key to the negotiations; whether Matsuzaka was willing to return to Japan:

Pagliarulo, who played for Seibu and was a teammate of current Lions manager Tsutomu Ito, is close to the Seibu ownership. He knew there was zero chance Matsuzaka was returning to Seibu. Pagliarulo also said that if Matsuzaka tried to return to Seibu, the team would not allow him to be posted again next season.

Pagliarulo figured that at some point Matsuzaka must have told Boras to get a deal done.

If Boras could convince the Red Sox that Matsuzaka would indeed go home, then he might have extracted more money. But Daisuke wanted to play in the bigs, and that proved to be the difference. Pags really likes Matsuzaka, by the way:

Pagliarulo has watched Matsuzaka closely the past few years. "I only scouted him when the proper matchups were in place," he said. "If you're scouting him haphazardly against any hitter or team, you're wasting your time. I wanted to see how he reacted against top hitters and I analyzed his strikes in the strike zone. The thing about him is he wants the baseball. He wants to pitch in the biggest stage and in the biggest game.

"If you beat him, he's not fazed by that. He comes right back at the next hitter. He's a winner. He'a tough kid on the mound and I think that should translate very well to the majors."

We'll see.

According to Fox, the Red Sox will hold a news conference at 5 PM EST Thursday to announce the Matsuzaka deal.

Matsuzaka is on the ground and headed for his physical, and he's getting the Doug Mirabelli treatment:

The plane carrying Daisuke Matsuzaka, Scott Boras, and the Red Sox contingent has landed at Hanscom Air Force base.

Tom Werner, Scott Boras, Theo Epstein, Larry Lucchino, and Daisuke Matsuzaka were all seen leaving the plane and getting into trucks.

The caravan is going by police escort to Mass. General Hospital, presumably for Matsuzaka's physical, which is required before any deal is finalized.

For those of you not familiar with the area, Hanscom is located on the outskirts of Lexington, MA, between the Lexington Green and the north bridge in Concord where the revolution started. At this time of day, they're going to need the police escort to get to Mass General in less than two hours. :-)

Jon Heyman at SI.com reports on the deal (thanks to James Dreier for the link):

Daisuke Matsuzaka has reached a deal with the Boston Red Sox for six years, $52 million, a source close to the negotiations has told SI.com. The deal contains escalator clauses that could bring it up to $60 million.

I must admit I find that number surprisingly low, given that Boras seemed to have the upper hand in the negotiations. I wonder if the $52 millions was a point of pride, that Matsuzaka receive more money than the bid? If he's as good as scouts believe, $8.5 million a year is a low salary. I'm guessing that Matsuzaka wanted to play in the US more than he wanted to get a market value salary.

Now, I'm sure the Red Sox are looking at it as $17 million a year, given what they paid the Lions. I'm surprised Matsuzaka didn't go for a shorter term deal, where he could be a free agent after three years. It's possible the Red Sox wanted to get the most for their $51 million, so they wanted to lock up the pitcher to a long term deal.

Either way, the pitcher made out very well. He's a wealthy man, and now the Red Sox will wait and see if their $103 million investment pays off on the field and in international revenue.

Update: Henry says there is no deal yet. I believe that's a technicallity. Daisuke still needs to undergo a physical, and there's always little things that come up. With them on the plane, however, my bet is the deal is likely to be completed.

Aaron Cohen sends this link for people who want to know where Matsuzaka is at all times.

Reader Jason Beck sends this link to the Boston Globe blog:

A source close to the negotiations confirmed that the Red Sox contingent in Southern California is flying back to Boston with pitcher Daisuke Matsuzka and his agent, Scott Boras, on board.

Stay tuned.

In the comments to this post, James Dreier points out some optimism on Japanese TV that the sides are moving closer to a deal.

There's nothing new to report, although negotiations appeared to go late into the night.

Via Firebrand of the American League, it appears the Matsuzaka negotiations hit an iceberg:

Negotiations between the Red Sox [team stats] and Japanese pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka have essentially broken down, a source familiar with the talks said late last night, adding that unless there is an abrupt change of course, Matsuzaka will not be signing with the Red Sox before Thursday's midnight deadline. Attempts to reach Matsuzaka's agent, Scott Boras, were unsuccessful last night. However, the well-placed source blamed Boras for stubbornly being unable to get over the flaws in the Japanese posting system, saying that he has been unwilling to negotiate and that he has acted disinterested in even making a deal.

Now, if I remember correctly from the Theo-Red Sox negotiations last year, the Herald uses Epstein or people close to Epstein as sources, while the Globe uses Lucchino's people. So this is probably coming from the GM in an effort to get Boras to move. Scott, however, will wait until the last minute to see just how much he can get. It's a cat and mouse game right now, and the one piece of information we don't have is the level of Matsuzaka's desire to play in the United States. If he's told Boras he wants to play in the Major Leagues no matter what, then the Red Sox just need to wait. If he's willing to go back to Japan, then Boston needs to get closer to what he wants. We'll all know late Thursday. The Boston Globe is counting down the hours here.

The Colorado Rockies finished the deal to lock up Jeff Francis.

"I think at this point in my career, it's a huge thing and an exciting thing for them to come to me when they don't have to," Francis said Thursday after he and the Rockies finalized a $13.25 million, four-year contract. The deal also includes a $7 million team option for 2011.

Francis, who would have been eligible for arbitration after next season, was a key part of a surprisingly strong Colorado rotation last season, going 13-11 with a 4.16 ERA. The Rockies were contenders in the first half but then stumbled to another last-place finish in the NL West at 76-86.

The Rockies are doing the right thing, locking up a pitcher who is successful at Coors, and saving themselves from an arbitration headache.

U.S.S Mariner explains why Mariners fans should be happy about the addition of Justin Lehr.

Fire Brand of the American League is happy the Red Sox are going after Japanese pitcher Hideki Okajima:

I like this for many reasons: One, it appears the Orioles are gobbling up every potential setup man on the market without the Sox getting anyone. Secondly, his numbers last season were filthy: 2.14 ERA, 63 K in 54 IP. In addition to Okajima's effectiveness, I'm willing to bet this is to help Matsuzaka's transition - a fellow Japanese player speaking the same language and going through the same adjustment period.

And if for some reason they fail to sign Matsuzaka, they still have a Japanese presence on the club that will help them sell to Asia.

MetsBlog corrects an article that explores the how Alyssa Milano helps a pitcher's performance. Actually, it's the other way around!

My daughter named our dog Phoebe after Milano's character in charmed.

There's an excellent analysis piece at Baseball Analysts on Tim Hudson's motion. Jeff Albert shows how Tim's balance changed since he left Oakland. What impressed me was how much his motion is the same; the differences are there, but they are very subtle. For me it was the end of the pitch where the difference was really obvious.

The New York Post reports that Mike Mussina signed a two-years, $22.5 million contract with the Yankees:

With Mike Mussina re-upping to fall in between ace Chien-Ming Wang and Randy Johnson, if he is healthy, the Yankees have shown an interest in Seattle free agent Gil Meche and are entertaining the possibility of using newly-acquired Humberto Sanchez in a trade for an established starter.

The right-handed Meche would fill in the slot at the back end of the rotation, a slot Phil Hughes won't be ready for until at least June and that Carl Pavano can't be counted on to help at all.

According to several industry Sources, Mussina, 38 next month, and the Yankees have agreed to a two-year deal worth $22.5 million after he went 15-7 with a 3.51 ERA in 32 starts.

It's a perfectly reasonable amount for Mike. He's basically a solid #2 starter at this point. Meche is slated for the back of the rotation, where he belongs. He's solid, not great, not bad. He's been greatly helped by the ballpark in Seattle however. He's had success in Yankee Stadium, so we might expect the same type of home/road split.

Scott Boras put a price on Hideki Matsui's value to the Yankees:

Boras said he began talks with Epstein yesterday but would not outline a timetable for talks or say when Matsuzaka would be visiting Boston. To calculate Matsuzaka's financial impact on the Red Sox, Boras said, he will use Hideki Matsui as a benchmark. Boras said he's heard from Japanese sources that Matsui brings in $21 million per season for the Yankees in advertising and marketing, so he wasn't blown away by the $51.1 million bid.

Take that with a grain of salt. Boras exaggerated a client's worth before. But even if the revenue stream was $10 million a year, a $50 million investment is worth that. That's 20% a year, 40% if you use Boras' number. You also see why the Yankees weren't willing to bid that high. They already have the revenue stream, and adding Matsuzaka wouldn't raise it that much, I'm guessing.

Update: As someone pointed out in the comments, these percentages are way off base because the $50 million isn't principal. Sorry about that.

On the Boston Globe's Extra Bases blog, Gordon Edes confirms the Red Sox won the bidding for Matsuzaka. Details to follow.

Update: NESN just interviewed Theo Epstein, but I was watching ESPNews and just caught the end of the phone call. It does indeed appear the Red Sox have the rights to negotiate with Matsuzaka.

Update: It looks like the winning bid was 51.1 million dollars. The Red Sox did with Matsuzaka what the Yankees did with Damon last year, offered much more than their nearest competitor. I've gotten questions and comments about seriousness of the Red Sox offer. Some think the Red Sox have no intention of signing the pitcher, they just want to block the Yankees. While that possibility exists, I don't think it's the case here.

First of all, if the Red Sox did negotiate in bad faith, it might prevent Japanese teams from posting players in the future. I don't think MLB wants that to happen. The spread of the game globally is important to Selig, so anything that hinders that will be frowned upon.

So in order to look like they are negotiating in good faith, the Red Sox need to make a reasonable offer to Matsuzaka at some point. When that happens, all Matsuzaka has to do is say yes, and Boston loses $50 million.

I agree with the speculation that Boston is using this money to buy into the Japanese market. There will be Asian advertising at Fenway, and the Red Sox can sell rights to broadcast the game in Japan. Plus, think of how many Red Sox caps and shirts are going to be sold. No, the Red Sox will make a very good faith effort to sign Matsuzaka, and I have little doubt they'll be successful. It's the path that makes the most sense.

Peter Gammons reports that the Red Sox do indeed own the high bid for Matsuzaka, and his sources tell him it's $42 million. We'll know for sure tomorrow night.

It appears the New York Daily News was correct about the reasons Steve Trachsel left the Mets late in the season.

When Steve Trachsel left the Mets on the eve of the playoffs, he said it was for personal reasons that had nothing to do with his marriage. On Thursday, however, his wife, Sarah Trachsel, filed for divorce in San Diego.

The Daily News reported that Trachsel had left the team on Oct.1 to deal with marital issues, which both Trachsel and his wife denied.

Reached at her home in Malibu, Calif., Sarah Trachsel said then that she was "absolutely not" filing for divorce.

It's a tough time for Steve as he lost in the playoffs, lost his job with the Mets and his wife at the same time.

ESPN's Buster Olney gets the inside scoop on the Matsuzaka bid:

The Boston Red Sox may have posted the top bid for the right to negotiate with Japanese right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka, ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney reported, citing Major League Baseball sources.

There has been no official announcement, and the Seibu Lions, Matsuzaka's team in Japan, have until Tuesday to accept or reject the high bid.

But Olney is reporting that the Red Sox may have posted the top bid with a figure between $38 million and $45 million, according to Major League Baseball officials who are monitoring the bidding.

MLB knows who the high bidder is, but keep the identity hidden from the Japanese team. They make the decision to accept or reject just on the dollar figure, which may include salary for the pitcher. If the above is correct, the Lions are getting a sweet deal.

Update: I was busy before and didn't have time to look up everything going through my mind. Here's details of the bidding procedure:

Regardless of which trigger is involved, the Japanese team has full discretion as to whether to post the player. If interested, it notifies the MLB Commissioner's Office that it wishes to post the player. MLB then distributes official notice to the 30 big league clubs advising that the player in question will be available for posting starting on a certain date. The clubs are given 72 hours to submit a blind bid for the player. After the 72-hour window expires, the club that submitted the highest blind bid is awarded the right to negotiate with the player.

The club and player then have 30 days to make a deal. If the club comes to an agreement with the player, the blind bid money goes to the Japanese team as a transfer fee. If there is no agreement with the player, no money exchanges hands between the MLB club and the Japanese team (the bid money is returned), and the player cannot be reposted for another year.

So if the Red Sox are the high bidder and they fail to sign Matsuzaka, no money changes hands. So indeed, this may be a defensive move by the Red Sox to keep Matsuzaka out of the majors and away from the Yankees, as some have suggested.

I doubt it, however. If the Red Sox are not bidding in good faith, the Japanese would likely stop posting players, which would be bad for all involved. Boston's front office knows the value of players, but on the field and off. As other suggested in the comments to this post, bringing in Japanese fans, who get up in the morning to watch the Red Sox when Matsuzaka is pitching, might be reason enough to make the investment.

It's sort of the opposite of the Johnny Damon situation last year. The Yankees made Johnny an offer he couldn't refuse and one the Red Sox wouldn't match. Now, they're the ones spending the money to bring the buzz back to Boston. My gut is the Red Sox are serious, and Matsuzaka winds up in the rotation.

Update: Matt Cerrone notes some skepticism about this report.

That's how WasWatching reads this Google translation.

Proposal of the measure club for the Matuzaka Daisuke pitcher (Seibu) who aims toward the measure transfer with [posuteingu] was closed up on the 8th. It is seen that at present time New York [yankisu] and New York [metsutsu] etc are powerful, but coming here, also the jackpot the team which can be called it surfaced as ahead Matuzaka's transferring. It is Arizonan [daiyamondobatsukusu].

Or it might be a poor translation of this rotowire story.

Over at MetsBlog.com, they're debating whether the Mets should try to bring back Guillermo Mota. Matt notes the Mets are impressed with Mota's apology; they say nothing about his fastball. :-)

The Red Sox decided not to exercise their option on Keith Foulke. Foulke can still exercise his option or agree to a buy out. Either way, the Red Sox are looking for a new closer:

Epstein also said he would try to pick up a closer through a trade or free agency and could lay the groundwork for a deal at the general managers' meetings in Naples, Fla., next Monday through Friday.

There doesn't seem to be much available in the free agent market, unless you're willing to take a chance on Gagne or Dotel.

Popular Mechanics looks at how the Gyro Ball works, including a PDF slide show.

The Good Phight makes the case that Jamie Moyer didn't help Cole Hamels.

It turns out that Hamels' 2006 ERA hit its high point after his July 24th start, in which he was lit up for 7 ER in 5 1/3 innings. In his next five starts prior to Moyer's arrival (including the 8/19 start), King Cole went off: 1.83 ERA and 0.84 WHIP over 34 1/3 innings. So, perhaps the more meaningful comparison would be between these numbers and his post-Moyer performance. It turns out that Hamels was on a big-time hot streak leading up to Moyer joining the team, and his subsequent numbers were actually worse.

At any rate, it appears, talking heads' comments and Hamels' own lip service to the contrary, that Moyer didn't help Hamels at all.

That's not to say Moyer won't be a help in the future. It would be bad if Moyer somehow convinced Hamels to pitch to contact. Hamel's strength is his ability to strike out batters. If Jamie can teach him a new pitch that is better at fooling batters, great. But Moyer shouldn't be trying to change Hamel's approach.

Royals Authority makes a good case for retaining Jimmy Gobble rather than releasing him to free agency to avoid arbitration.

Now, some of the above is a little bit of apples to oranges comparisions, but they are numbers that show at least some potential. Frankly, you can ignore all that and simply look at a young lefthander whose strikeouts per 9 innings have gone from 2.98 to 6.37 to 8.57 in the past three seasons.

Kansas City would be foolish not to either get a deal done or agree to arbitration. It is likely Gobble gets something like Affeldt got last year ($950,000) and that is really pretty cheap in the baseball world - even the Kansas City baseball world.

Once that is over with, the Royals would be wise to install Gobble at the back of the rotation and not make any decision on him until he has 30 starts and 180 innings in the book next year. If he fails miserably, exactly what is the team out? If he shows promise....well, then you have just added another arm to an organization that desperately needs them.

One team decided not to bid on Daisuke Matsuzaka:

It had long been speculated the Mariners would bid for Matsuzaka, 26, a right-hander who was 17-5 with a 2.13 ERA in Japan's Pacific League this season. He impressed major league scouts in March during the World Baseball Classic, as he was selected MVP after Japan won the title. The Mariners have said adding quality starting pitchers is their top offseason priority.

Mariners general manager Bill Bavasi confirmed through a team spokesman that the club would not bid for Matsuzaka.

Bavasi told MLB.com that Mariners owner Hiroshi Yamauchi made the decision.

It's a bit of a surprise, as the Mariners over the years courted Japanese players. The team's offense played poorly in 2006, and my feeling is they should concentrate more on scoring runs than acquiring pitchers they can't support.

The Seibu Lions officially posted Daisuke Matsuzaka today.

The Lions reportedly plan to seek $30 million from a major league team just for rights to negotiate with Matsuzaka. That's not including the $13-15 million annual salary he'll likely earn.

Matsuzaka has selected Scott Boras to represent him in negotiations with major league teams.

As this practice becomes more common, you'll start to hear complaints about the rich teams getting all the good Japanese players. There will be calls for drafts, waivers, etc, all the things that destroyed the independent minor league system in this country. I hope those attempts are unsuccessful. Right now, Japanese teams have a powerful incentive to send their players to the United States, a huge money windfall. Without that, they're probably better off keeping their best players as attendance draws.

Royals Authority looks at the free agent pitchers available that might be affordable and and helpful to Kansas City.

ESPN's front page currently is displaying side-by-side pictures of Rogers' left hand from the ALCS and the World Series. The same smudge is in both pictures.

Evan Grant in the Dallas morning news praises Kenny Rogers:

Kenny Rogers would have you believe all that even when the cold - really cold, if you were in Detroit on Sunday - hard facts say something else. Namely, they say that Kenny Rogers is one of baseball's elite left-handed pitchers.

Ever.

Rogers' eight shutout innings in Detroit's 3-1 win over St. Louis in Game 2 of the World Series on Sunday was further documentation. Rogers, who allowed only two hits (both singles) has now pitched 23 consecutive scoreless innings in October. It's four shy of the all-time record.

Add that to his other accomplishments. This is a guy who has thrown a perfect game, who has 207 career wins, appears headed for 250 and who is the best fielding pitcher of a generation.

That ought to speak for itself. But it didn't.

What separated Rogers from the upper tier of lefties was a history of postseason struggles. He failed as a starter for the Yankees in the 1996 World Series and failed as a reliever for the Mets in the 1999 World Series. And if you can't make it in New York, you can't make it anywhere.

Rogers could win all the games he wanted in Texas or Minnesota or some god-forsaken outpost such as Detroit, but his career would always be tinged with a "but." But, it would be written, he couldn't win the big game.

I don't agree. Rogers record is out of whack with his career ERA of 4.19. His .598 winning percentage indicates his teams averaged 5.67 runs per 9 in support of the pitcher. He's an okay pitcher who was blessed to spend his career on high scoring teams. He's not one of baseball's elite lefties.

Via the Detroit Tigers Weblog, Jeff Albert presents an excellent video breakdown of Verlander and Zumaya's deliveries. Both throw 100 MPH, but Verlander is more efficient, but Zumaya creates more elastic energy with his arm motion. Albert posits that these observations make Verlander more suited for a starting and Zumaya more suited for relief.

Ducksnorts looks at the development of tall pitchers compared to Chris Young.

The San Diego Padres want to bring Oliver Perez back to the organization as a reliever. It seems the Mets fans in the comments want Rick Peterson to get a chance to work his magic on the starter.

Jason Beck writes:

A news station in New York (but I heard a report on WBZ in Boston) that the plane that hit the NYC building was registered to Corey Lidle. This is far from verified, but that "news" would be worthy of your site.

I have not found anything on the internet. If any of you do, please send it my way.

Update: Ron Steinfeld writes:

Plane was registered to Cory Lidle - WCBS Channel 2 report.

The story is on the front page of CBS News. Fox News is now reporting Lidle piloted the plane and is dead.

Update: Here's the ESPN story. This is the second Yankees player to die in a plane crash. Thurman Munson died in 1979 trying to learn to fly a jet.

Update: I just heard Lidle just got his pilots license.

Update: Okay, now I'm hearing he had his pilots license for seven months and had 200 hours of flight time.

Update: I'm surprised some people think this suicide. There is a passenger reported on the plane, and suicides don't usually take someone with them. Also, these little planes, in the hands on inexperienced pilots in bad weather are very dangerous.

Update: This really takes me back. I remember in the summer of 1979 eating dinner with my family. The news was on in the next room and we suddenly heard that Thruman Munson died in a plane crash. My dad and I rushed into the living room to watch the TV reports. I also remember visiting friends during Christmas vacation and hearing about Clemente's plane crash. Both were shocking.

My thoughts go out to his family and friends, and to all those who are suffering due to this crash.

Update: Jason McAdams sends this link:

The Phillies weren't enamored of pitcher Cory Lidle's hobby of flying a four-seat airplane.

But now that Lidle is with the Yankees, it's an especially sensitive topic.

In 1979, Yankees catcher Thurman Munson died when a plane he was piloting crashed near his home in Canton, Ohio. Lidle earned his pilot's license last offseason, and has insisted his plane is safe.

"The whole plane has a parachute on it," he told The New York Times. "Ninety-nine percent of pilots that go up never have engine failure, and the 1 percent that do usually land.

"But, if you're up in the air and something goes wrong, you pull that parachute, and the whole plane goes down slowly."

Update: Bloomberg is holding a news conference and won't confirm Lidle died because they haven't contacted next of kin.

Update: Janak Parekh sends more on the above piloting story from the New York Times. It sounds like he was a good student:

"He was probably my best student," Stanger said in a telephone interview. "He learned very, very quickly, and a lot of it is desire. He had huge desire.

"Really, anyone can learn how to fly. If you can drive a bus, you can fly an airplane. But to learn quickly takes money and time. Of course, Cory had plenty of money, and it was the off-season, so he had the time."

Lidle, who is making $3.3 million this season, met with Stanger twice a week, for three or four hours at a time, all winter. He became queasy once, Stanger said, somewhere over New Mexico while returning from Texas. Otherwise, Lidle was a natural.

Part of Stanger's job is to surprise students by simulating emergencies. He will pull the throttle to the idle position, essentially letting the plane coast as if the engine were failing.

Other times, he said, he would instruct a student to wear blinders so only the instrument panel was visible, simulating bad weather. Then Stanger would tilt the plane nose-high or nose-low, making the student recover by trusting the instruments.

"Most people get kind of ruffled," Stanger said. "He was like, 'O.K., no big deal.' A lot of it is his mental state.

Update: Mayor Bloomberg says only two people, not four died, an instructor and a student. Fox is now reporting that the plane issued a distress call.

Update: NBC says it has confirmation that Lidle was on the plane:

A law enforcement official in Washington, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Lidle was on the plane. And Federal Aviation Administration records showed the single-engine plane was registered to the athlete, who just days ago -- after the Yankees' humiliating elimination from the playoffs -- told reporters that he was getting his pilot's license.

Update: Ballbug is aggregating news stories on this.

Daisuke Matsuzaka's services are up for bids:

Highly regarded pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka was given permission by the Seibu Lions on Tuesday to pursue a career in the major leagues.

Matsuzaka, who has drawn interest from several major league teams including the New York Yankees, finished the 2006 regular season with a career-high 17 wins against five losses.

The 26-year-old right-hander posted a 2.13 earned-run average and 200 strikeouts.

He was the subject of the gyroball article from a few months ago. You can find his 2006 stat line here, just search for his name. He pitched 186 1/3 innings, striking out 200, walking 34 and allowing 13 home runs. He completed 13 games, including two shutouts. I can see why he'll be sought after.

The loss to the Oakland Athletics caused Brad Radke to delay his decision on retirement:

But when the final heartbreaking out of the Twins' season disappeared into Jay Payton's glove Friday afternoon, Radke, eyes glistening, couldn't say the words. He couldn't walk away.

Not on these terms. Not after this loss. At least not on this day.

"Right now it's just hard for me to fathom," said Radke, who postponed announcing his expected retirement after the Twins were eliminated from the playoffs in an 8-3 loss to the Oakland A's. Radke pitched four innings in the second start of one of the most improbable injury comebacks in recent memory.

"I think I just really didn't want it to end," Radke said. "When you're out there in April and May and June, you're like, 'I've got a few months left.' But when you get down to the end, you just can't believe it's already here."

Radke, who turns 34 this month, suggested at one point that he might just be delaying an inevitable announcement.

"I think I'm just making excuses," he said. "I think I know what my decision's going to be."

It's always tough for these competitive people to walk away from the game, especially when you go out on a low note.

Rays of Light posts a very moving tribute to Randy Johnson:

He still throws with the natural grace of a man who was born to do nothing else. But you can read the disbelief in his face when the pitches that used to have batters cutting through stark air are driven much faster in the opposite direction, and the 8 players behind him and the millions of people watching think back to what he once was. He walks from the mound having failed to keep his team in the fight with perfect acceptance that it is the right move. He knows there is someone less tired. He knows there is someone with more to prove. He knows there is someone who has begun perfecting the pitches he perfected. Randy Johnson walks from the mound in October battered and with this head down. But in order to see him, for generations to come, pitchers will have to look up.

Hear, hear!

Kevin Schoensee just sent this article about the police investigating Kenny Rogers:

In both versions, a 37-year-old man approaches Rogers asking him to give him an autograph and Rogers refuses.

The man becomes upset and begins cursing Rogers then starts banging on his car. Rogers exits the car and confronts the man face to face.

Police are trying to determine what really happened next.

The man said that Rogers grabbed him by his collar but bystanders broke the pair up. However, a witness told police that Rogers and the man just argued but there was no physical contact.

Both versions end with Rogers driving away.

It sounds like the fan is causing trouble. But maybe Kenny should just give out the autograph in the future.

Dontrelle Willis only went 1 1/3 innings today. Did anyone see why? Was he hurt?

Update: Willis was removed due to an injury, but we don't know what happened.

Andrew Baggarly gives us two stories in on in his Giants notes. The first is Bonds is going to get less money if he signs with the Giants next season:

The Giants will have about $35 million to fill holes at first base, second base, third base, two outfield spots and one starting pitcher while also covering themselves in case catcher Mike Matheny and closer Armando Benitez are unable to perform.

Bonds is making $18 million this season.

"Barry aside, that type of chunk of money probably won't be dedicated to any one individual player because of our relative needs," Sabean said. "We're going to have to spread the wealth or the moneys available throughout the roster."

That means the Giants probably won't be among the front-runners for the few super-premium free agents on the market, including Alfonso Soriano.

Unless the Giants own a lot of hot talent in the minors, the last few season of trying to win one for Barry comes home to roost in 2007.

On another note, Matt Morris is scheduled to make the start in the makeup game on Monday if the NL Central isn't decided. This is actually the one thing that's gone wrong with the massive tie scenario. To tie both Houston and Cincinnati, the Cardinals need to lose on Monday. With Morris starting, that doesn't seem likely.

Royals Authority looks at how the Royals bullpen let down Luke Hudson this season.

Robinson Cano, the Yankees highest average hitter, breaks up Cabrera's no-hit bid with one out in the ninth. Cabrera completes the game winning 7-1. He used just 106 pitches, throwing 71 for strikes. He walked two, and with better defense could have earned a shutout. With the exception of A-Rod and Jeter, the Yankees used the A-lineup tonight. He avenges his other start against New York this season, in which he gave up five hits and five walks in five innings. He pulls his ERA under five for the season, finishing with a 9-10 record and a 4.74 ERA.

Josh Beckett went out on a low note yesterday:

After a string of starts in which Beckett looked like the pitcher he is supposed to be, including an eight-inning, six-hit, no-run outing against the Twins last Thursday, which manager Terry Francona suggested was his best in Boston, Beckett reverted to his old ways last night.

Giving up a two-run home run to Greg Norton in the first inning and that three-run shot to Rocco Baldelli in the seventh in his last act of the season in a demoralizing 11-0 loss to the Devil Rays, Beckett finished 2006 allowing 36 homers.

So, as Francona slowly walked to the mound to lift Beckett, moments after his ERA had ballooned to 5.01 on that swing from Baldelli, the pitcher was sent off with a farewell Francona did not want him to have to endure, the opposite of the one Curt Schilling had experienced the night before.

Beckett, head down, walked slowly off the mound, and away from the criticism and mislocated fastballs that marred his introduction to the Red Sox. ``I expect a lot out of myself," Beckett said. ``I get paid like one of the best baseball players in the world and I expect to be one of the best baseball players in the world. I'm not out there, just content going six innings, giving up three runs every time, everybody talking about how I had a quality start. I'm not interested in that.

`` I expect to go deep in games, eventually when Curt leaves here -- who knows when that will be -- I expect to be the Opening Day starter. That's what I want. These are all stepping-stones toward that."

Altough some to be steps back. The Hardball Times has not updated win shares through last night, but we can get an idea of how the big winter trade worked out. Beckett and Lowell combined to collect 28 win shares, 12 for Josh, 16 for Mike. Given Lowell's 9 last season, that was a big improvement. But Hanley Ramirez and Anibal Sanchez combined for 33 win shares; twenty-three by the shortstop and 10 by the pitcher in half a season. To put it simply, the Beckett trade was not a cost effective deal. Despite the improvement in the team's defense, Boston's ERA rose 0.1 runs.

And while we can't forsee injuries to any of these parties, Ramirez is probably going to be playing many more years than Lowell, so if Sanchez pitches okay, this deal was clearly a win for the Marlins. Theo is probably happy this wasn't done on his watch.

The Braves hit Pedro Martinez hard tonight. In 2 2/3 innings Martinez gave up eight hits and two home runs, leading to seven runs. In his three starts since returning from his injury, Pedro's allowed 14 earned runs in 10 2/3 innings. What might be more troubling, however, is that Pedro struck out just one tonight while walking two. In the two previous starts, he struck out 11 and walked 2. That gave some hope that he still had it. Tonight's start makes that doubtful. We'll watch the news stories tomorrow to see if the Mets are going to comment on if they'll use him in the playoffs.

Curt Schilling walked two batters in the first inning tonight. The most he's walked in any game coming into today is two. He walks another in the second to set a season high of three. How many managers would love to have a pitcher with that season high! The Rays lead 1-0 in the bottom of the third.

The Baseball Zealot notes that Zach Greinke is back from the minors. He allowed a .296 OBA in the minors. I glad he appears to have solved his issues.

Gustavo Chacin picked up his ninth win this afternoon as the Blue Jays try to overtake the Red Sox for second place in the AL East. Chacin allowed three runs in just five innings to earn the W. That's a pretty typical outing for Chacin, even in a win. Among pitchers with at least seven wins, Gustavo is tied with Trachsel for fourth fewest inning per win (only in starts):

Among Starters

Pitcher	Innings per Win
Jaret Wright	5.47
John Koronka	5.81
Jonathan Lester	5.86
Steve Trachsel	5.89
Gustavo Chacin	5.89
Adam Eaton	5.95
Jeff Weaver*	5.95

* Not including Sunday night.

A team needs a deep bullpen to support these pitchers, or as in this afternoon, great offensive output. The Blue Jays won 13-4.

For the second day in a row, the Padres take a 2-1 lead into the ninth inning against the Pirates and Trevor Hoffman gets the save. That sets the all-time record:

Hoffman calmly set down the Pirates in order in the bottom of the ninth on Sunday, converting the 479th save of his illustrious career, making him the all-time leader in Major League history.

He froze Ryan Doumit on strike three, struck out Jose Batista swinging and pinch-hitter Freddy Sanchez grounded out to give Hoffman the historic mark. He was quickly mobbed by teammates at the mound.

The Cla(y)s did a fine job setting up the opportunity, with Hensley and Meredith combining for eight one run innings while striking out 10 and walking none.

Hoffman reaches 43 saves for the fifth time in his career (he has three other seasons with exactly 43). His save percentage is an impressive 89.5%; he's only blown 56 saves in his career. That averages to four a season (not counting 2003, in which he didn't bet an opportunity).

Congratulations to Trevor Hoffman on his historic day!

The Cubs are blowing out the Reds tonight 11-4 in the top of the 8th. One of those runs came on Carlos Zambrano's sixth home run of the season. Major league pitchers hit 32 home runs this season, 19% of them by Zambrano. He has twice as many as any other pitcher in the majors this season.

With another good outing today, A.J. Burnett is giving Toronto fans an idea of what he can do when healthy. His seven inning, two earned run outing today gives him a 3-2 record in September with a 2.37 ERA. He's also struck out 37 in 38 innings while walking 11. Blue Jays fans will take those numbers over a full season. The Jays defeat the Red Sox 5-3. If the Twins win, Boston is officially out of the playoff picture.

Chris Young is coming out for the ninth inning. He scheduled to face Doumit, Bautista and the pitcher's slot. He needs three outs for the no-hitter.

Update: Doumit almost hits the first pitch over Giles head. It was right at Brian, but he ran back and got it. Two to go.

Update: He falls behind Bautista 2-0, then 3-1. Young walks him on a 3-2 pitch, throwing it high and outside the strike zone. Joe Randa pinch hits.

Update: Young falls behind Randa 3-0. After taking the fourth pitch for a strike, Randa hits the next one out over the centerfield fence for a two-run homer. The Padres continue their streak of 38 seasons without a no-hitter. Still a great game by Young, and he's still in there to try to get the complete game victory.

Update: Young strikes out Duffy but walks Wilson, and he's done for the game. He ends up walking four and striking out six. He obviously tired in the 9th.

Update: Meredith comes in and strikes out Sanchez on three nasty pitches. The Padres win and will at least maintain their lead in the NL West. The DBacks and Dodgers are scoreless in the seventh.

Chirs Young takes his no-hitter into the top of the eighth. No Padres pitcher ever threw a no-hitter.

Update: Jason Bay strikes out on a 1-2 pitch. It's just the fourth K of the game for Young.

Update: Nady grounds out to second on a 2-2 pitch.

Update: Like the two hitters before him, Young gets ahead of Paulino 0-2. He throws a high breaking ball inside and Paulino's timing is just not there. He swings at the 1-2 pitch and misses for Young's fifth strikeout and a no-hitter through eight.

Chris Young is working on a no-hitter for the San Diego Padres tonight. He's through six innings, walking one batter along the way. The one batter to reach base was caught stealing, so Young faced the minimum so far. The Padres are up 4-0 after a Todd Walker solo shot in the bottom of the 6th.

Update: Duffy, Wilson and Sanchez pop, line and pop out as Chris Young finishes the seventh without allowing a hit. He's only struck out three tonight, but that means he's been very efficient pitching. He's only thrown 67 pitches so far.

Mariano Rivera works the ninth inning against the Devil Rays to pick up his 34th save. In his first appearance since getting a rest, Rivera allowed a single and hit a batter, but struck out the other three batters. The Yankees win 4-1, with Wang picking up his 18th victory, going seven innings and allowing just one run. He even struck out four tonight.

The good news is that Pedro Martinez's control appears intact. He struck out seven and walked just one batter tonight against the Marlins. He also took a no-hitter into the fifth. The bad news is that he allowed four runs, three earned in the fifth inning and was finished for the game. That was more than enough offense for Anibal Sanchez as the Fish win 5-2. All in all it was a positive night for Pedro. He just needs to build his stamina a little more before the playoffs start.

The win will leave the Marlins 3 1/2 games behind the Phillies with six to play head-to-head. They remain teetering on the edge of being in or out of the wild card race. We'll see how they do in the city of brotherly love this weekend.

The Baseball Crank makes a good case for starting Maine instead of Trachsel in the post-season.

Bob Ford notes the unlikely redemption of Brett Myers:

If this is the season that will end in redemption, there is no player for whom that seemed more unlikely than Brett Myers. A victim of his own temper in midseason, Myers missed several starts after his June arrest in Boston.

Baseball's is a long season, however, and one that forgives even if it does not forget. Since August, Myers has gone 6-1 in his 10 starts. He added a split-finger fastball to his repertoire three starts ago, and last night he tied his career high for strikeouts with 12.

"It was his usual nasty stuff," catcher Mike Lieberthal said. "He keeps getting stronger. There have been times he gets frustrated and you have to calm him down a little bit, but he's really been staying within himself."

Which brings up the rotation and the way that baseball looks at these things. If the season comes down to the final day for the Phillies, to that last Sunday in Florida, it will be Myers who goes to the mound to take the ball to get them there.

If the Phillies have wrapped up their slot at that point, then someone else can pitch and Myers will become the opening game starter in the postseason. Both spots are the one reserved for the ace, and Myers is set up to take the first one that comes along.

Someone left a comment yesterday that Freddy Garcia also developed a split-finger fastball recently. Is there a traveling coach visiting veteran pitchers? Myers, Hamels and Moyer seems like a pretty good 1-2-3 rotation to take into the playoffs.

Coming off the field at the end of the first inning on Monday night, Dodgers first base coach Mariano Duncan said something to Jake Peavy:

"He said, 'We're gonna get your (expletive), you stupid cocky (expletive),' " said Peavy. "That's it, verbatim, with that little Dominican twang. I didn't even know who the guy was. But that's one classless individual . . .

Was it planned?

In a celebrant Dodgers locker room that lacked only the spray of champagne - the euphoria of having hit four homers to tie the game in the ninth and another to come from behind again and win 11-10 in the 10th - Duncan just grinned as he declined to answer questions about the incident.

"Oh, no, no, no," said Duncan, who was a fiery and nettlesome type in his playing days. "I have nothing to say. Talk to the players."

Vin Scully told the full story last night at the start of the Dodger broadcast. Duncan went to Little before the game started and told him to have someone ready to coach first base. He was going to try to get into Peavy's head.

According to Vin, as it turned out, Peavy was already upset with Piazza. Mike called for a pitch Jake didn't like, and Peavy was yelling at him (Vin does a good job reading lips). When Duncan made his censored comment, Peavy was ready to let someone have it.

All this makes me wonder if Peavy's problems this season have anything to do with Piazza's catching abilities. Is Mike not blocking pitches well? He certainly didn't when he caught Pedro. That might make Peavy stay away from pitches in the dirt in tight situations. Is Mike's pitch calling poor? I'm interested in thought from Padres fans.

Correction: I had Duncan coaching the wrong team.

Update: Thanks to my friends at Baseball Info Solutions, it turns out Peavy's best ERA is with Piazza catching. Peavy's ERA with Piazza behind the plate is 3.40. With Bard, 5.56, with Bowen, 4.21. So much for that idea.

So far, the Octavio Dotel gamble is one the Yankees lost. He's back, he's pitching, but he's not getting a lot of outs. On the bright side, he's struck out seven in 7 1/3 innings pitched. But along with that he's allowed 12 hits, and 8 walks. With nine earned runs allowed, his ERA is 11.05. Maybe he'll be back to setup duties next year, but going into the playoffs, he's not an option for New York.

Despit his three-run homer allowed last night, the Yankees held on for a 7-6 win over Toronto. That reduces their magic number to 3, and a win tonight eliminates the Blue Jays from the AL East title.

Richard Griffin in the Toronto Star speculates on how Ted Lilly will do in the free agent market:

How much can he count on cashing in? Thus far in his six-years, Lilly, with five organizations, has earned just over $10 million (all figures U.S.) including a career high of $4 million with the Jays in '06. Given the recent history of free agency and his place in the current pantheon of free-agent stars of the hurling variety, Lilly stands to make anywhere from $7 million to $9 million per season for a contract of three to four years. Not bad for a guy once considered unreliable, hard to coach and a flake.

I think $9 million is conservative. Decent pitchers are getting $10 million to $12 million a year lately. If they think Ted is decent, I can see him getting that kind of money.

Barry Zito allowed seven hits and seven walks this afternoon, but only four runs to the White Sox as he limited Chicago to two hits in nine at bats with runners in scoring position. It's the reason Zito is 16-9 this year. For the season, he's allowed a .210 batting average with runners in scoring position. His strikeouts are down, his walks are up, but he's gotten the outs when he needed them.

The Red Sox defeat the Yankees 5-2 in game one of their doubleheader. Mike Timlin pitches the ninth. He looked good, giving up a leadoff single to Bernie Williams, he gets Damon to pop out, then strikes out Jeter and Posada to end the game. He had good movement on his fastball. A positive sign for the Red Sox. Jeter went 1 for 5 to extend his hitting streak but lowered his batting average to .344.

Esteban Loaiza continues to make Billy Beane look smart as he keeps up his winning ways over the last third of the season. He rebounded from a poor start against Tampa Bay to hold the power-house White Sox to two runs over seven innings last night. That brings his record since August first to 6-1 with a 2.57 ERA. Compared to earlier in the season, the big difference is control. He was walking 3.7 per 9 over the first four months, just one per 9 since. He's also dropped his home runs allowed significantly.

Beane went with three veterans this off-season. Thomas, Bradley and Loaiza all paid off, especially in the second half push for the division.

Pedro Martinez gives up two hits and a walk in the first inning as the Pirates manage to score two runs on a Jason Bay double. Not a great return for the staff ace.

Update: Pedro is done after three innings. The good news is he struck out four. The bad news is he allowed six hits and four runs, throwing 68 pitches. He had a good strike percentage, with 46 of the pitches going for strikes. But Pedro was visibly upset in the dugout. He held his head in his hands as Randolph put his arm around him and talked. It makes you wonder if something other than a bad performance is bothering Martinez.

This looks like a really good article in which Barry Zito describes the mechanics of throwing his curve ball, but they didn't include the pictures!

Chien-Ming Wang did not start for the Yankees tonight. The Yankees were worried that a rain delay might mean Wang would be wasted in the start, so Jeff Karstens took the mound instead.

That helped Rocco Baldelli, who tripled leading off the game and homered in the third. Matsui homered as well and the Rays lead 2-1 in the top of the fourth.

Update: Baldelli adds another home run in his third at bat to make the score 4-1 Devil Rays. He's raised his slugging percentage 32 points so far tonight.

Hong-Chih Kuo is finished after six solid innings for the Dodgers. He struck out six and walked none, giving him 13 K and 3 BB in 12 innnings as a starter.

Update: Maybe he came out an inning too early. Tomko gives up four hits, ending with a three-run homer by Aramis Ramirez. The four runs give the Cubs a 6-5 lead in the bottom of the seventh.

Joe Strauss uses Jason Marquis' poor outing yesterday to point out the lack of depth in the Cardinals rotation as they head for the playoffs.

Bench coach Joe Pettini stood in for manager Tony La Russa at the postgame press conference as La Russa received a police escort to the airport, where he took a flight home for the regular season's final off day. Asked about the club's search for its third postseason starter, Pettini deferred.

"That's for Tony and (pitching coach Dave) Duncan," Pettini said. "Jason has been here for three years. He knows what it takes. We know he has the stuff to get guys out. He's one of the five guys we're going to use."

The choice involves Marquis and Jeff Weaver. Marquis (14-15) has compiled a 5.82 ERA and allowed 33 home runs in 31 starts covering 187 innings. Lefthanded hitters have treated Weaver like a piñata, reaching him for a .385 average and 12 home runs. Bypassed for last season's postseason rotation, Marquis assumes nothing this time around.

I guess it's too late to ask Adam Wainwright to step into the rotation. Still, Carpenter is great. Suppan is okay. In any playoff series, you need to count on those two for three wins. Weaver and Marquis pitch well often enough that luck could get them a win in one of two starts. Carpenter winning two in all the series is the key.

Purchase NLDS tickets.

Tom Lederer recalls the first time radar was used to time a pitcher in a game.

Correction: It was Tom, not Rich Lederer.

Looking at the boxscores, a number of pitchers earned praise today. All three American League games this afternoon ended in shutouts. A.J. Burnett finished the trifecta with eight shutout innings against the Mariners as Toronto took the game 10-0. Burnett struck out 11 and walked just two to run his record to 8-7. It's performances like that which give Blue Jays fans hope for the upcoming seasons.

In addition to Peavy, Erik Bedard just finished seven shutout innings vs. the Red Sox. He seems to have benefitted the most from Mazzone's coaching, and looks like the Orioles have an ace for next year.

Livan Hernandez put up 8 innings of two run ball against Washington, and Valverde is on to try to get the save. It's been a great balance of great pitching and high offense today.

Roy Oswalt made his fourth start since signing a big contract extension, and he picked up his third win. He pitched into the ninth, keeping St. Louis off the board until that inning. He allowed just one run, giving him a 2.10 ERA since the new deal to go along with a 3-0 record. Lance Berkman reached 40 home runs for the second time in his career. It looks like he'll pass his previous high of 42. The Astros win 5-1 and get to remain in the massive tie scenario.

Ian Snell is putting up very good numbers today as he racked up ten strikeouts and one walk through 6 1/3 innings so far. Finishing his third season with time in the majors, he's shown improvement every year. His next step is to get the long ball under control. Combine that with a better defense behind him, and the Pirates are looking at a very solid starter next season.

Francisco Liriano shows no sign of injury in the first inning, retiring the Athletics in order on nine pitches, striking out one.

Update: Two innings, 22 pitches, 17 strikesouts, six up and six down for Liriano. Haren also retired the side in order in the first. He threw 17 pitches, 12 for strikes.

Update: Liriano injures himself on a pitch to Bobby Kielty. According to the radio broadcast, it looks like his arm. He bounced a pitch, and the announcers thought he caught a spike. He's out of the game. A big blow for the Twins.

Update: Liriano threw the pitch, fell off the mound, then came up with his arm hanging. With luck my Tivo caught it and I'll watch it when I get home.

Update: Garza takes over with Nick Swisher at first.

Update: The radio reports that Liriano is suffering from left elbow pain.

Update: I just watched it via Tivo. He didn't fall off the mound. When he completed the delivery, it's obvious that he hurt his arm as he jerks it up like he felt pain. That left the end of his motion unbalanced, but he didn't fall. It was immediately obvious to Redmond and Castillo that he was hurt, as they made their way out to the mound to check him. What was clear is that whatever happened to his arm, it hurt enough to throw off his delivery and send him out of balance.

Chris Carpenter put a big dent in the Astros playoff plans with a 7-0 complete game shutout. The scoreless game was his 7th shutout in the last two seasons, breaking the tie Dontrelle Willis created yesterday. The complete game ties him with Willis at 11 since 2005, the most in the majors. Chris lowers his ERA to 2.84, 0.16 runs ahead of Brandon Webb. He's in a very good position to win his second Cy Young award.

David Bush pitched his third complete game and second shutout of the year, downing the Houston Astros 4-0. Bush struck out ten on the day, bring his K per 9 for the season to 7.23. When Bush came to the majors, I thought he'd be a pretty good pitchers based on good K and BB numbers in the minor leagues. But his first two seasons in the minor saw his strikeout numbers about three lower per nine than in the minors. At age 26, he seems to be catching up to his lower league success. He's always had the control, and his zero walks today just makes that aspect of his game look better.

The Astros fall back to third in the NL Central with the loss and Reds win.

Bronson Arroyo returns to his early form in September as he defeats the Pirates 4-2 for his third win of the month. In his three starts, he's averaged 8 innings, posting an ERA of 1.50. He even improved his control, walking five in his first two starts, but none today. The win gives the Reds a chance to move back into second place in the NL Central.

Hayden Penn gave up eight earned runs in just 2/3 of an inning in his first start of the year. In his second, today, Penn only gave up seven earned runs, but pitched into the fourth (although he didn't get an out in that inning. I guess he's not quite ready for the majors yet, although he did lower his ERA over 70 runs.

Nick Piecoro reviews the facts of Webb's one-hitter:

• Webb needed 10 pitches or fewer in six innings, and his most strenuous inning of the night was the third, when he threw a total of 15 pitches.

• He went the first 3 2/3 innings without throwing an off-speed pitch, and guessed that he threw only six the entire game.

• He retired the first eight batters he faced, 12 in row from the fourth through the eighth inning, and 16 of the final 17.

• And he held feared Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols to an 0-for-4 night.

"There is room for improvement," Webb said, smiling, going along with a light-hearted suggestion from a reporter. "If I got that ball in a little bit to Rolen, then I could have been a little bit better."

Webb was referring to the 0-1 fastball he left over the plate that Scott Rolen hammered over center fielder Eric Byrnes' head for a two-out double in the fourth inning, the only hit St. Louis could muster off the sinkerball specialist.

The biggest improvement for Webb vs. last year is in the home run numbers. Brandon's. He's reduced his homers per 9 by almost 25 percent. Only Derek Lowe owns a better rate in the NL this season.

Chien-Ming Wang continues to have great success getting batters to put the ball in play. He struck out 1, walked none, but allowed eight hits on 28 balls in play. One advantage of inducing ground, balls, however, is you also induce double plays, and Wang induced his 32nd of the season, which leads the AL. The one run he allowed in seven innings lowered his ERA to 3.60. He has an excellent shot at winning 20.

I wondered why Carlos Silva left Wednesday's game while pitching well. He said he was sick to his stomach:

One day after raising eyebrows in the Twins' clubhouse for abruptly taking himself out of a game because he claimed he had a stomachache, the pitcher apologized to his teammates in a pregame meeting.

'He felt bad,' manager Ron Gardenhire said. 'He was a man to come out and say he wished he would've stayed out there. That's good enough for all of us. He doesn't want to hurt the ballclub.'

Silva told the field staff when he came off the field after the sixth inning Wednesday at Tampa Bay that he felt like he was going to vomit and was done pitching. He was in the midst of his best start of the season, having allowed no runs and only one hit.

The Twins were leading the hapless Devil Rays 2-0 when he left the game. But his decision forced the Twins to scramble to get the bullpen ready, and Minnesota ended up losing 4-2.

In talking to reporters after the game, both Gardenhire and pitching coach Rick Anderson called into question Silva's toughness.

Silva later told reporters that he vomited in the clubhouse. But players and team officials said Thursday that wasn't true.

Silva was unavailable for comment before the game.

Why would you want to come out of a game in which you're pitching very well, especially when you've had a horrible season? Silva was on the bubble to lose his rotation slot when Liriano returns. Maybe he didn't want to pitch anymore in the game so this start would look really good. We'll see how this develops.

The Indians kept the White Sox from taking over the American League Wild Card lead tonight with a 9-1 win. Cliff Lee continues the excellent starting pitching the Indians have received since the start of August. In that time, Cleveland starters posted a 3.44 ERA and a 17-7 record. They've only allowed 20 home runs in 233 innings.

Jose Contreras allowed 26 runs in his last four starts, but returned to his early season form tonight as he threw eight four hit innings, striking out nine and walking just one. Crisp picked up three of the four hits, missing the cycle by a triple, but the rest of the walking wounded still need to shake off the rust.

Thome and Dye aren't rusty at all as each homered, Dye reaching forty for the first time in his career. Jim collected four hits including a double, and he's now slugging .627. The White Sox are now just 1/2 game behind the Twins in the wild card race and host the Indians over the weekend.

Conditions were very good for the Sanchez no-hitter tonight. Sanchez is tough to hit. Coming into tonight, he's allowed a.228 batting average. The Diamondbacks are cold, hitting just .222 in the month of September. When you have a pitcher with a low BA allowed and an offense with a low batting average, you expect the two to combine into something even lower. I suspect the probability of a hit in any given at bat tonight was around .150. That would make the probability of a no-hitter around 1.25%, which is probably pretty high for an individual game.

Update: Someone in the comments questioned my seat of the pants calculation, so I did it out. The probability of a hit in any given at bat in this game was .189. That makes the probability of a no hitter 0.34%, which I guess is still pretty high for an individual game. (About 3 times in 1000 such games.)

Francisco Liriano is threw well yesterday and is expected back soon:

Liriano, on the disabled list since Aug. 8 with a strained ligament in his pitching arm, threw 78 pitches during a 16-minute bullpen session. He is scheduled to throw batting practice on Wednesday.

'He threw great,' manager Ron Gardenhire said. 'Everything went good. Wednesday he'll throw to some hitters, and we'll see where we're at then. Get back home [Thursday] and make a decision on what we'll do next if everything goes good Wednesday.'

The rotation is 10-11 with a 4.06 ERA since Francisco hit the DL. If Liriano replaces either Silva or Baker, the Twins will go down the stretch with three rookies in the rotation.

Orioles Warehouse fisks the spin of the Baltimore Sun on the issue of trading John Maine. When the reporter says the Orioles has no second thoughts about the Maine trade:

If I were the sort of person who were snarky, I'd note that having second thoughts require that a team have first thoughts, but since I'm not snarky, I won't say that.

He does go on to point to pretty good evidence that the Orioles got the worst of the deal.

Steve Trachsel walked seven batters in 4 1/3 innings as the Braves jump out to a 4-0 lead over the Mets. It's the third time in his career that Trachsel walked seven in a game. He even managed to walk in one run in the game tonight. Steve is now close to walking a batter every other inning this season.

Jamie Mottram attended the Nationals game today and presents stills and video from Ramon Ortiz's near no-hitter.

6-4-2 Disses the Alexander for Smoltz trade on Doyle Alexander's birthday.

A light went on for him in 1987 at the age of 36, and he placed fourth in the Cy Young voting while a member of the Tigers -- who traded John Smoltz in order to get him, a farcically bad trade.

Not at all. The trade was made so the Tigers could win in 1987. Alexander was fantastic down the stretch. But remember, it took a long time for Smoltz to become the pitcher we all think of today. Through 1995, Smoltz was a slightly above average pitcher, with a 90-82 record and a 3.53 ERA. It wasn't until his 1996 season that he turned into the great John Smoltz. So if it took Mazzone a long time to set John right, how long would it have taken someone on the Tigers?

The Tigers made a trade for the now against an uncertain future. It worked. There's nothing wrong with that.

Gustavo Chacin shut down the Red Sox for six innings this evening, giving the Blue Jays two good outings in a row from the pitchers who spent time on the DL this year. Burnett and Chacin combined for 15 innings, one runs and three walks. They're not likely to give Toronto enough for this year, but if they can keep healthy in 2007, the Jays look like they'll have a very good rotation.

Roy Oswalt pitched like he was worth $73 million dollars this afternoon as he beat the best team in the National league, defeating the Mets 2-1. Oswalt last 7 2/3 shutout innings, allowing just three his and one walk. He also struck out nine. Since the All-Star Break, he's struck out 55 in 64 2/3 innings.

Mets fans will note that Beltran, Lo Duca and Wright were missing from the Mets lineup today.

Kevin Millwood made the Indians batters miss the ball this season, which likely made the Indians miss having Millwood on the mound. Kevin allowed just two Tribe hits today over eight innings while striking out ten. He's 2-0 vs. Cleveland this year, striking out 17 and allowing just 9 hits over 15 innings.

Millwood may not miss the Indians, however. Despite leading the league in ERA in 2005, he had a losing record. This year, a 4.49 ERA earned him 14 wins against nine losses.

The good news is Felix Hernandez walked one and struck out seven over 7 2/3 innings. The bad news is that when the Tampa Bay Devil Rays put the ball in play, they were 10 for 26 with five extra-base hits, including three home runs. The three long balls accounted for all seven runs allowed by Hernandez, and the 7-6 loss that puts him back to 2 games under .500. Tampa needs eight more wins to avoid a 100 loss season.

The Mets knocked the Astros down a peg in the wild card race last night, no thanks to Tom Glavine. Glavine, in his first game back since being diagnosed with blood clots, blew a 5-3 lead in the fifth inning and left having allowed six runs over his five innings of work. On the positive side last night, Tom struck out five and walked just two. On the negative side, Houston went 7 for 16 when they put the ball in play against Tom. He only struck out one with runners in scoring position in eleven chances, and of the eight balls in play, four were hits and one a sacrifice fly. He just wasn't fooling batters often enough last night.

"It was a little bit of a relief to get out there," said Glavine, who was back on the mound after doctors located and addressed tiny blood clots that caused coldness in his left ring finger. "I was anxious to get back out there. I was a little nervous in that first inning. It's been a long time since I've had any time like that off - and certainly, due to somewhat of an injury, there was a little bit of wanting to get back out there and clear your mind and make sure everything is fine....Everything felt good, and everything feels good now."

The Mets offense was up to the challenge, winning the game 8-7. With the Mets owning a comfortable lead in the NL East, Glavine can take his time getting in shape for the playoffs.

Kenny Rogers is certainly pitching well after going through a rough period in July. With seven shutout innings tonight, he's allowed just six earned runs in his last 40 innings and allowed zero earned runs in three of his last five starts. Despite striking out just 13, he's only allowed 25 hits over that time. The Tigers take an easy 9-0 win from the Angels.

Noah Lowry's first start in September is becoming similar to his whole month of August. He allowed just eight run in the previous month. He's given up five already today. Three of the seven hits allowed were doubles. Noah gave up four two-baggers all August. The Cubs lead 5-0 in the fifth.

Update: Lowry allows six runs over five innings but Rich Hill pitches a very strong game, allowing one run over eight innings while striking out six. He's now given up four earned runs over his last four starts, walking four and striking out seventeen.

I wrote a post about Jason Marquis pitching poorly but in line for a win last night without supplying the proper background for new readers. (Marquis did in fact get the win.) Marquis had pitched badly to the extreme in losses this year. Viva el Birdos points out:

the king of blowout losses, jason marquis, set a new franchise record last night for victories by a pitcher with a 5.00+ era; congratulations. he also crept to within 7 points of bill sherdel's franchise record for highest era by a qualifier (set in 1929). and, most impressively, he has returned to the top of the nat'l league leaderboard in wins, joining penny, zambrano, webb, and trachsel in a five-way tie. and so jason sustains his peculiar disjunction: 1st in the league in wins, dead last in era. if he can keep it up for one more month, he'll be the first man in history to accomplish the deed. i'm rooting for him like crazy.

He's the opposite of Kevin Millwood last year. Millwood had the best ERA in the AL but a losing record. Here's more history on the issue from el Bridos.

It's an unusual night for Jason Marquis, as he's pitching poorly but winning. He's given up five runs in five innings, but the St. Louis offense came back against the Fish to score seven runs. Right now, Jason is in line for the win.

Albert Pujols hit home run 39 in the game. It's the 240th of his career, giving him a 40 home runs average over his first six seasons.

It looks like Hamels last start was just a blip. He goes eight strong innings tonight, allowing just four hits and one run, although he only struck out three. Soriano gained on Ryan Howard, hitting his 43rd home run, but Howard doubled in two to help Philadelphia to a 5-1 win. With San Diego defeating Arizona 4-1 the Phillies remain 1/2 game back in the wild card race.

C.C. Sabathia completed his fifth game of the season, taking the lead over Roy Halladay in the AL. Sabathia threw 114 pitches as the Indians gave him plenty of support in the 5-2 win. Milliliter had six complete games in his career coming into this season. He's been fairly efficient in his CGs, throwing 102 pitches twice and never exceeding 120.

Brandon Webb lost a friend in the Kentucky plane crash.

Despite battling emotions from learning of a close friend and former college teammate's death Sunday in the Kentucky plane crash that claimed 49 lives, Brandon Webb intends to make his scheduled start tonight against the San Diego Padres.

Manager Bob Melvin consoled the pitcher and discussed if Webb would prefer skipping the start, but the Diamondbacks ace plans to pitch and then probably will depart to Kentucky on a bereavement leave.

Jon Hooker, 27, who pitched at the University of Kentucky from 1998-2001, was among the victims of the commuter flight that crashed during takeoff at Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Ky. Hooker had just gotten married on Saturday night to Scarlett Parsley, and the two were en route to Atlanta.

Cha Seung Baek allowed one run so far today, but no hits. The Red Sox tied the game at one in fifth inning on two walks and an error. Baek walked five so far while striking out four.

Kyle Snyder can't keep the game tied, however, as the Mariners load the bases in the bottom of the fifth and Ibanez hits the grand slam to put the Mariners up 5-1.

Update: David Ortiz breaks up the no-hitter with his 47th home run of the season. That ties his total from last season, the second highest ever by a Red Sox player. He's 14 away from tying Maris' AL record, which is he amount he hit in July.

Update: Lowell homers as well. That brings in reliever Sean Green. I hope we get to see Sean Green pitch to Shawn Green some day.

Andrew Wagner takes Brewers fans to task for their criticism of Ben Sheets' contract:

Since returning from the DL in July, Sheets has looked to be back to his old self. His velocity has been up in the mid-90s, and he's been working deep into games.

All these people who have railed on Doug Melvin and Mark Attanasio are no better than hypocrites. These are the same people who were crowing for the team to resign Carlos Lee, and accused management of being penny-pinching losers when a deal didn't get completed.

So, what then, would have happened if the team didn't sign Sheets? How would the organization have been viewed by fans if Sheets were allowed to leave via free agency, or was traded to a contender?

There was some banter about signing Derrick Turnbow to a long-term deal last season and look at what's happened. These same people who demand that the team ante up are the first ones to throw a fit when things don't work out.

Since returning from the disabled list Sheets has been fairly consistent; posting a 3-2 record with a 4.13 ERA. Hardly earth-shattering numbers until you look at the fact that Sheets has issued just five walks coupled with 37 strikeouts in 37 innings of work.

Pitching remains a crap shoot. But I'd much rather take a chance on someone like Sheets. These days, $38.5 million for four years isn't that much to spend on a quality starter.

John Smoltz put together two great starts in a row as he tries to finish the season on an up note. With a 10-1 win over Washington today, Smoltz has now struck out 17 in his last 16 innings while walking one and allowing six hits. It's the eleventh time in his career he's reached a dozen victories in a season.

Enrique Gonzalez continued his putrid pitching on the road today lasting just four innings and allowing four runs. He came into the game with a 7.51 ERA away from Phoenix, and managed to raise it to 7.65. He's hittable on the road for some reason, having now allowed 57 hits in 42 1/3 innings on the road, 31 hits in 45 2/3 innings at home.

His early departure proved too much for the bullpen to handle. Arizona fought back to take a 6-4 lead, but the pen allowed three runs in the bottom of the seventh to seal the team's defeat. The Giants and Diamondbacks are now tied for third in the NL West, 4 1/2 games out of first.

Jake Peavy threw like his old self last night, shutting out the Dodgers for seven innings on three hits, one walks and seven strikeouts. He's now 2-0 vs. Los Angeles this season with a 1.29 ERA.

San Diego needs him to start beating other NL West teams however. Vs. the Giants, Rockies and Diamondbacks, Peavy is a combined 2-5 with a 6.53 ERA. Turn that record around and the Padres are in first place. It's not that his strikeouts, walks and home runs are bad against these teams (although their not up to his par), but these teams just banged out hits. He's now allowed 8 hits in 14 innings vs. LA, but 49 in 41 1/3 innings vs. the rest. San Diego fans hope this is the start of a great stretch drive by Jake. His poor performance this year is a big reason the Padres aren't running away with the West.

Noah Lowry pitched a complete game shutout against the Diamondbacks last night, his first in two years and the second of his career. He allowed just two hits and one walk while striking out six. Lowry's gone back and forth between brilliance and mediocrity this season. Three starts ago he went nine innings, allowing just one run against the Rockies. In between, he allowed six runs in 12 2/3 innings. Being home seems to help as he's much more likely to pitch well there. If he's going to be a real success, he's going to need to have more games like last night's away from San Francisco.

Aaron Harang is pitching an outstanding season for the Reds. On Sunday, he pitched seven masterful innings vs the Pirates, allowing just one run while walking none and striking out nine. His 13 wins are tied for the NL lead in that category. And despite his 3.72 ERA, Aaron should be getting Cy Young consideration.

Yesterday was an exception for Harang, as he pitched well in his home ballpark. As things stand this morning, Aaron has a two run difference between his home and road ERAs; 4.77 at home, 2.76 on the road. Glance at this list of best road ERAs in the majors, and Harang is near the top. His strikeout, walk and especially his home run numbers away from home are outstanding. He should get Cy Young consideration. A few more games like yesterday at Great American Ballpark and maybe the sports writers will notice. And more importantly, a few more game like that and the Reds are likely to make the playoffs.

Joseph Pawlikowski writes:

That's Yankees prospect Tyler Clippard, written off by many as a bust when he struggled earlier in the year. But here he is. His dominance over the last few months has culminated in the ultimate pitching achievement.

Here's what he's talking about, a four-walk, nine-strikeout no hitter. For the season, he's struck out 155 and walked 50 in 149 1/3 innings. I'll take that.

Adam Bernero is on his fifth team in seven seasons. He's never had a good season. His main strength as a pitcher over the years was keeping his walk total low. But he always seems to give up hits.

In his two starts with Kansas City, however, something's changed. He's struck out 11 in 11 innings with no walks. He's allowed 12 hits, but none for home runs. His ERA is 0.77.

"His tempo is much better than I ever remember it," manager Buddy Bell said. "He's got a confidence about him that I don't quite remember in the past. He pitches backward, and he's very effective with his off-speed stuff."

We'll see what happens when the league adjusts to him.

Octavio Dotel finally joins the Yankees in time for the five games in four days at Fenway.

Dotel, operated on in June 2005, spent most of this year rehabilitating his elbow at the Yankees' complex in Tampa, Fla.

Dotel hopes to provide more flexibility for an overworked yet effective bullpen. Yankees right-handers Scott Proctor (59) and Kyle Farnsworth (56) are the top two pitchers in the AL in appearances.

I sent the following EMail to Jay Alves, VP, Communications/Public Relations for the Rockies:

I've heard quite a lot of speculation about the humidor keeping offense down this year. Has something changed in the use of the humidor vs. previous years? Do the Rockies believe that is the explanation, or is there some other reason?

Mr. Alves was nice enough to reply:

We have one of the best starting rotations in MLB. That's the difference..there has been absolutely no changes in the use of the humidor since it was first used five years ago.

The run index in Colorado is 99 this year (100 is neutral) as opposed to 128 last year and 133 over the previous three years. There's more here than just the development of a good pitching staff. Colorado's road ERA is third in the NL, so indeed the staff is very good. But that doesn't explain why opponents coming into Coors are preventing runs as well. We need to look beyond the humidor, however.

Was Watching notes a minor league move by the Yankees could be in the works.

I would bet that this Karstens move is just insurance, in case Ponson trips over a doughnut in the next few days and sprains something.

Still, yeah, he'd be a rookie making a major league debut, for the Yankees, at Fenway Park, in the middle of a pennant race with the Red Sox, but, I would bet that Karstens could go six innings and only allow 5 runs - if he got the start.

Sure, that doesn't sound pretty. But, it's probably better than what Ponson will do, if given the start.

Jeff Kartens put in about the same number of innings at AA and AAA this year. He was dominating the lower league, but he's still adjusting to AAA. I agree with Lombardi's assessment. He might get hit around at Fenway, but then you bring in Ponson anyway. And if he can give you six decent innings, you might save some wear and tear on the bullpen.

I guess this is what Jim Bowden meant when he said the Yankees farm system was wet enough for him.

Chad Billingsley's stat line left much to be desired before last night. Although he was posting a good ERA of 3.52 in his first eleven starts, he walked 47 in 61 1/3 innings while striking out just 38. It seemed that ERA couldn't last. But on Tuesday night he turned that around, tossing seven shutout innings, walking one and striking out 9 in a performance more in line with Johan Santana than Kirk Rueter. The Dodgers starters continue their hot performance. During the 17-1 streak, they are 12-1 with a 2.55 ERA.

Jason Jennings pitched 8 one-run innings tonight for the Colorado Rockies, lowering his ERA to 3.34. He won't get the win, as the game is tied at one in the bottom of the ninth. His ERA puts him in sixth place in the NL ERA race, and he should get some Cy Young consideration. He still plays in Coors field, and this may be the greatest season every by a Rockies starter. Working against that, of course, is that there are three Rockies starters with ERAs well below 4.00. I don't know what changed, but Colorado put together a staff to be reckoned with.

A win by the Rockies ties them in the standings with the Diamondbacks.

Update: Regulation ends with the score still 1-1. They play extra-frames in Colorado.

Runelvys Hernandez pitches another good game for the Royals, this time getting the win as Kansas City sets down Chicago 4-2. Hernandez allows just two runs in 7 2/3 innings as he starting to show some stamina. He went seven in his last outing against the Red Sox, although he tired in that last inning and allowed three runs. But he's starting to look like he can be a useful member of the rotation.

Johan Santana pitched eight scoreless innings tonight to pick up his 14th win and move ahead of Roy Halladay in the AL ERA race. With Liriano on the shelf, Verlander owns the best ERA, Halladay the most wins, but Santana keeps eliminating hitters with the strikeout. He picked up nine more tonight to give him 187 in 178 1/3 innings. Nathan allows a run in the ninth, but the Twins take the game 4-1. With the Red Sox losing, and Chicago down 4-2 in the ninth, Minnesota has a chance to gain on both teams they're chasing for the wild card.

With eight scoreless innings tonight against the Mets, Cole Hamels line for August is 21 IP, 12 hits, 3 walks, 27 strikeouts and just two runs allowed. I believe this is the Cole the Phillies expected. Philadelphia takes a 13-0 victory.

This is one of my favorite commericals of all time. I wonder how'd they redo it today know what we know about McGwire?

The Sporting Brews looks at Chien-Ming Wang and innings pitched, and decides the Yankees did not do a great job bringing him along:

So have the Yankees done a poor job in managing Wang this season? Looking at his peers, it would appear so. It is possible that his workload has been the result of consequence (i.e. the absence of $40 million dollar man Carl Pavano), leaving the Yankees with little beyond the option of pitching him normally and hoping there isn't any negative result.

I'd say it's also a result of Wang's own success. If he's pitching well, the Yankees leave him in the game since they need to give the bullpen rest every so often. I'd also argue that some of his problem lately might be luck catching up with him. All those balls in play are going to result in hits sooner or later.

Update: On a related note...

Dave Duncan is looking to change the direction of the Cardinals pitching staff. Is it just a problem of not listening?

As far as adjusting the rotation, Duncan said, "I don't know if it's that. What you do with each guy is try to identify things that are particular to them that they need to do in order to succeed and (identify) the things they have a tendency to do that hurt them. You try to eliminate the things that hurt them.

"Each guy knows what those things are, but when you see those things reoccur and that makes it more difficult for them to win, somewhere along the line you've got to take a stronger stance."

Translation: We're coaching just fine, but the players aren't listening to us. Well, if they're not listening, you're not coaching just fine. There's no hint as to what will be done to get their attention.

Brad Radke continued his hot August with seven shutout inning against the Toronto Blue Jays. The veteran righty turned the tables on Toronto, which shut down the Twins in the first three games of the series. Today's performance brings Radke's record to 3-0 in the month. He's only allowed four runs in 22 innings, good for a 1.64 ERA. He's issued only three walks in that time.

C.C. Sabathia won the Baseball Musings Pitcher of the Month twice since I instituted the award last August. He's off to another good start here in August. With one run in eight innings today, his August ERA sits at 0.78. He's struck out 24 in 23 innings while walking just four. He's hoping the bullpen can preserve the win for him today. With a 4-1 lead, the Royals have the tieing run at the plate in the ninth.

Update: Sabathia remains 1-1 in August as the bullpen blows the lead in the ninth. Jason Davis allows three runs, but in the bottom of the ninth, Hafner singels in Luna with the game winner as Nelson and Gobble combine for the loss. The Cleveland bullpen owns a 5.89 ERA in C.C.'s starts this year.

Jason Johnson pitched seven scoreless innings last night to lower his ERA to 2.69.

The Diamondbacks got pretty much what they expected to get out of Livan Hernandez in his Arizona debut Saturday night at Chase Field.

They probably should have expected that Josh Johnson of the Florida Marlins might be better.

Johnson regained his hold on the best ERA in the National League by limiting the Diamondbacks to just two hits in seven solid innings in leading the Marlins to a 4-1 victory in front of 21,950.

He's 0.05 runs ahead of Brandon Webb, and has enough innings pitched to hold the lead until his next start.

In other Diamondbacks news, Craig Counsell is on his way to becoming Wally Pipp.

Kyle Lohse is out of the game after pitching 6 1/3 fine innings for the Reds tonight. On August sixth, he made his first start his May and struck out seven in five innings, allowing two runs. Tonight he struck out eight. That's 15 K in 11 1/3 innings for a pitcher with a career K per 9 of 5.6. Did the Reds change something about his delivery, or is he finally healthy? Cincinnati leads the Phillies 3-1 in the top of the eighth.

Update: Bray can't hold the lead as the Phillies tie the game at three as they still bat in the bottom of the eighth. Rollins' two run homer gave Lohse the no decision.

Update: Times sure have changed. Burrell hits a long fly ball to deep center off Coffey. Griffey went back and toward right, but over ran the ball. He jumped, reached back, it ticked off his glove, and Burrell gets a triple and an RBI to put the Phillies ahead 4-3. It's a ball Griffey catches easily last decade. He looked like he had a hard time tracking the ball.

Update: Gordon blows the save on a lead off walk and a one-out, pinch-hit homer by Javier Valentin. It's his fourth pinch homer of the year. Eddie Guardado will try not to pick up the third blown save of the game.

Update: Coste leads off the bottom of the ninth with a double to left center.

Update: Ross tries to pick off Coste at second and throws the ball into center. Ross goes to third with none out. However, Nunez strikes out on a ball high out of the strike zone.

Update: Victorino hits a sacrifice fly to tie the game. Guardado picks up the third blown save of the evening and the teams go to the tenth.

Ervin Santana left the Angels/Indians game after two batters, getting a strikeout and giving up a hit. It's likely an injury, did anyone see what happened?

Update: CBSSportsline says Santana left with a leg injury. The broadcast seemed to indicate that Michaels single was a line drive off Ervin. Putting two and two together, a line drive off Santana's leg knocked him out of the game.

Mark Prior made a decent start his last time out, but couldn't repeat it today against the Brewers. He lasted just three innings, allowing six runs on four hits. The control that made him such a force a few years ago abandoned him today as he walked four and struck out just one. He's now walked 28 in 43 2/3 innings this season. The Brewers lead the Cubs 8-3 in the bottom of the sixth.

Jon Papelbon allowed two runs in a game last night and blew his fifth save of the year and his second in a row. Through July, he had not allowed more than one run in a month! Has the league figured him out?

Sweeney said the Royals have had good scouting reports on Papelbon, and know his tendencies a little bit better.

``Those guys are going to make adjustments and I need to make some on them," Papelbon said.

I also wonder how much of this is Lopez catching. Varitek might be better at mixing things up. Lopez certainly had problems catching Beckett last night:

Lopez's defense was a different story. It was evident he wasn't comfortable catching Beckett as he learns a new staff.

In the third inning, Beckett struck out Angel Berroa, but the ball got past Lopez for a wild pitch. Berroa could have ended up at first, but the Royals shortstop didn't run the ball out.

In the fourth, when the Royals scored three runs, right fielder Shane Costa reached on a wild pitch on strike three. That was after three consecutive hits by the middle of the order, the big blow a two-run double by Teahen.

Then with Ryan Shealy up, Lopez committed a passed ball.

He was crossed up on a ball that broke inside. Lopez didn't follow the break on the pitch and it bounced off the end of his mitt, scoring Teahen. The inning was reflective of the inexperience Lopez has with the staff.

Jake Westbrook picks up his second shutout of the season as he spreads out nine hits to beat the Angels 4-0. Both shutouts came at Jacobs Field this season where his ERA is now 2.49.

Tyler Yates snatched defeat from the jaws of victory today as he entered the game for the Braves in the top of the seventh with a three one lead. His problem all year was walks, and he issued free passes to three of the five batters he faced. He ended up charged with four runs in his 1/3 inning of work as the Phillies scored eight in the inning to take a 9-3 win over the Braves. Yates has now walked 20 in 27 1/3 innings.

Juan Cruz was targeted for the bullpen to make room for Livan Hernandez before last night's start:

Cruz, who started the season in the bullpen, hadn't brought enough consistency to his starting role. His pitch counts, much like his ERA, were too high. His innings worked, like his number of quality starts, were too low.

But he was just right in front of 35,146, pitching with conviction and really, nothing to lose, in picking up his second straight win after five consecutive winless starts.

If this was his last start, nobody told him - at least not until today when manager Bob Melvin is expected to announce a couple of changes.

"You can't worry about that," Cruz said.

Whatever happens, Cruz (5-6) delivered his finest outing of the year in allowing just seven hits and pitching a career-high 7 1/3 innings with just one walk and three strikeouts as Arizona moved to within 1 1/2 games of first-place San Diego in the National League West.

"Unbelievable," Melvin said of Cruz.

"When he throws the ball over the plate, stuff-wise, I don't know if we have anybody with better stuff."

Melvin then acknowledged the decision on whom to move out of the rotation just got a lot tougher, saying, "We've got to sit down and think about it."

Overall, his strikeout and home run numbers are very good. His walk numbers are better if you only consider his time as a starter. Batista, Vargas and Gonzalez all walk fewer batters, but all have higher ERAs. Then again, it's better to have too many starters than not enough.

In light of the Cliff Lee deal, Brew Crew Ball wonders what Chris Capuano is worth.

Whatever Daniel Cabrera did at AAA seems to have worked:

In four starts for the Lynx, Cabrera was 3-1 with a 4.07 ERA, allowing 20 hits, walking nine and striking out 27 in 24 1/3 innings. His last start--he tossed six scoreless innings--was on Thursday, so Cabrera will be working on normal rest.

He followed that up with seven strong innings tonight, holding the Blue Jays to 2 runs (1 earned) while walking one and striking out seven. Coming into tonight, he walked 75 in 85 2/3 innings. The Orioles lead 8-4 in the top of the ninth.

Arthur Kyriazis is on vacation and phoned to tell me about a pitcher for the Lakewood Blue Claws, Josh Outman. Not only is that the best name I've heard for a pitcher since Jack Armstrong, he's living up to his moniker. In 125 innings this season, he's struck out 127 batters. However, given his 4.75 BB per 9, he might be related to Bob Walk.

Jaret Wright pitched six innings, allowing just one run for the Yankees this afternoon. Since July 7th inclusive, he's made six starts and posted a 3.86 ERA. Although he didn't show good control today, he's walked under three per 9 in this stretch while striking out over 7 per 9. On top of that, he hasn't allowed a home run. The Yankees will take those kind of numbers the rest of the way from a fifth starter. New York wins 6-1 to extend their AL East lead to two games.

The Cincinnati Reds remade their bullpen before the trade deadline, and a big move was picking up Bray and Majewski from Washington for two hitters. Bray's been okay, allowing just two earned runs in 10 1/3 innings, although he's given up 11 hits. But Majewski continues to fan the flames. He came into today's game and gave up four runs on four hits, raising his ERA with the Reds to 12.54. Although he's walked just three in 9 1/3 innings, he's allowed 21 hits. Opponents are batting .525 against Gary when they put the ball in play. He takes the loss as Atlanta defeats the Reds 6-4.

Javier Vazquez pitches his best game since April, maybe his best of the year. He strikes out 13 and walks two, allowing just two hits over eight innings as the White Sox defeat the Blue Jays 7-1. It's brilliant games like this that make Vazquez a tradable player. If he could just put starts like this together more often, he'd be a true star.

It's been a while since Randy Johnson struck out a batter. His last one came in the fifth inning against Texas on July 24th. He pitched one more inning in that game, 3 1/3 in his last start, and four tonight with no batters struck out.

Update: Johnson is through five without a strikeout. The Orioles are leading 4-3.

Update: The Big Unit ends up going six innings with no strikeouts. The Yankees come back and win the game 5-4, with Scott Proctor getting the W.

Cole Hamels displayed his brilliance tonight against the Cardinals. Through seven innings, he's struck out 12, walked just two and allowed a single run. The Phillies scored five runs, which is more than enough with a performance like that. He's thrown 109 pitches, so it's unlikely he'll come out for the 8th.

The Cardinals are looking at their 7th loss in a row. The only team really gaining on them, however, is Chicago, and they're so far out it doesn't really matter.

The Padres pen continued to pitch well today, keeping the second best ERA in the National League with 3 1/3 shutout innings. The lowered the relievers ERA to 3.65. Only the Mets, at 3.23 are better in the NL. The walked none today, and they're the only NL pen with less than 100 base on balls issued. That helped the Padres to a 5-2 win over the Astros, assuring they'll stay in first place in the NL West.

Cardinals Diaspora made up his mind about Jeff Weaver:

First, I'd like to be the first to say that Jeff Weaver is one of the more disappointing pitchers I have ever seen. I'm not kidding. I remember about 4 years ago watching this guy in Detroit and thinking- "Damn. Wish the Cards had that guy. He's gonna be goooood!" Psssspht. He sucks. Hard. And now that he's blown his umpteenth chance at redemption it's time to bid his career a fond farewell and see if his brother is another flash in the pan or the real deal. History will remember the Jeff Weaver era in St Louis for two things. Blowing and Blowing some more. And if by some act of God you see JW make another start for the Cards this season, the body falling from the Eads Bridge will be mine.

I wonder how much of his early success was an illusion of Comerica.

Chien-Ming Wang follows up his complete game shuout of the Devil Rays with 8 shutout innings against the Blue Jays. Once again, his strikeouts are low (3) , and his hits allowed are almost as low (4). Ron Villone's given up two runs in the ninth on a Glaus home run to make the final score 7-2 Yankees.

Ted Lilly's undoing, as Yankees fans will remember, was the home run. Jeter hit a solo shot and Posada added a two-run homer to account for three of the five runs Ted allowed in his 5 1/3 innings of work. He's now given up 20 on the season.

MetsGeek looks at Tom Glavine's problems. They're strikingly similar to those of Greg Maddux. Both had their strikeout rates fall off after great starts.

Are we starting to see the Leo Mazzone influence on the Orioles? Eric Bedard was close to being the pitcher of July. Tonight, Rodrigo Lopez pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings. His recent outings are encouraging. Even though he hasn't gone deep, except for one game he hasn't allowed many runs. Including tonight, his ERA over the last five starts is 3.49. He's walked seven and struck out 22 over his last 28 1/3 innings. Going deep into the game this evening is another good sign. Maybe he'll be the pitcher of August.

With Kenny Rogers allowing six runs in five innings to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays tonight, that makes seven poor starts in his last eight. His ERA over that time is 7.85. He's walking over 1 more per nine than in his previous 14 games and allowing about twice as many home runs. Is age catching up to the gambler? Maybe he needs another suspension so he can rest.

I have to think that a bar in Toledo, across from the depot, some AAA pitcher is looking at a call-up.

Jason Jennings continues to pitch well, and today was rewarded with a win:

"Maybe it's part of being the staff ace and taking that responsibility on. The guys look to him," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said. "When you're looking to your one guy, you don't want to see a guy looking cross-eyed when things aren't going well, pulling his hair out when things aren't working the way you'd like them to work. He's showed some stability and some leadership, and that could be it." Jennings (7-9) had plenty of reason to be frustrated over the last month.

Despite allowing more than two runs just once, Jennings was winless in his previous six starts, going 0-3 with a 2.93 ERA.

There were a few misplayed balls and soft-hit balls that found holes along the way, but the biggest problem was run support.

The Rockies scored one run or less in eight of Jennings' first 21 starts and he's allowed no runs in four of his six wins, including a pair of shutouts. In his last outing, Tuesday against St. Louis, the right-hander tossed a four-hitter for his third complete game this season, but still lost 1-0.

Jennings ERA is down to 3.58. I know he won't win the award, but anyone who pitches that well playing half his game in Coors is deserving of a Cy Young vote.

The Houston Astros offense provided Roger Clemens with some offensive support today, scoring five runs during his seven inning pitched. Clemens did his job as well, striking out nine and allowing just one run, unearned. But Roger didn't get the win. This time, the bullpen let him down. Chad Qualls starts the eighth inning and gets just one out as he allows four runs on three hits, including a three-run homer. Miller and Lidge allow a run each, and the Astros fall to the Diamondbacks 7-6. Roger sits on a 2-4 record despite a 2.09 ERA.

Randy Wolf makes his 2006 debut thirteen months after Tommy John surgery. Wolf walks three in the first inning agains the Marlins as he allows a run.

Last year the Achilles heel for the San Diego Padres was their starting pitching. Outside of Jake Peavy, they weren't that good. That's not the case this year.

Through 104 games last season, the starters were 10 games under .500 with a 4.60 ERA. In 2006, they're one game over .500 at 34-33 and lowered their ERA to 4.48. They're striking out more batters (6.8 per 9 in 2006 vs. 6.4 in 2005) and giving up fewer hits than innings pitched. They've thrown sixteen more innings and given up 29 fewer hits.

And they've done this without help from Jake Peavy. At this time last year, Peavy was carrying the staff, striking out 10 per 9 while walking just two. His ERA was 3.28. But in the same number of starts this year, his walks are up, his hits are up and his home runs allowed are up. On top of that, he's sitting on a 5.01 ERA. In other words, Peavy is helping to hide an improvement in the rest of the staff.

Through 104 games in 2005, the starters sans Peavy were 23-37 with an ERA of 4.96. They struck out 5.4 per 9 innings. In 2006, the group behind the ace is 29-23 with a 4.35 ERA, striking out six per 9. The improvement in the rest of the starters should be good for six wins for the Padres. There's no doubt that if Peavy were pitching better, the Padres would be running away with the division.

Update: Given the one comment to this post so far, I didn't explain myself well. At the end of the 2005 season, the obvious problem for the Padres was the four men backing up Peavy in the rotation. Towers did a good job of making that situation better, to the tune of six wins. That improvement, however, is being masked by Peavy's poor season. It's not the only improvement in the team, but it's one that's easily missed.

Today was only the fifth time in his career that Randy Johnson pitched a game in which he failed to strike out a batter (all of them were starts). This one ranks second in innings pitched, 3 1/3. On May 15, 2005 he went six innings without picking up a K.

It didn't really matter who the Yankees put on the mound today, as the Rays scored off four of the five New York pitchers in their 19-6 win. Tomas Perez came into the game with a .194 batting average on the season, but went five for five with four runs scored. He's now batting .219. The Yankees move back to 1 1/2 games behind the Red Sox.

Kip Wells wins his first game since returning from surgery for a blood clot. He pitched seven shutout innings against the Giants to lower his ERA to 6.69. Nice to see him doing well. It was also nice to see him pitch to Bonds with a man on third and two out in the first and get the slugger to ground out to the first baseman. Barry went 0 for 4 tonight, lowering his batting average to .243, although his OBA is still a healthy .465.

Jeremy Sowers pitches his second consecutive complete game shutout. That ties him for the AL lead in shutouts and moves into fourth place in complete games. In the 18 innings, he's allowed 9 hits, 2 walks and struck out seven. He only used 109 pitches; if he can continue to be efficient, we may see more complete games out of this young man.

Joe Roderick notes Blanton's been beating the best teams recently:

Blanton, just as he did in the second half last season, is righting himself. He's won his last three games -- against Boston, Detroit and Toronto, three teams in the upper echelon in hitting in the American League. He also has four victories in his last five starts.

What Roderick fails to note, however, is that Blanton hasn't been dominating. He gave up five runs to the Tigers and was bailed out by the A's offense. He's only striking out 3.8 per nine in the three games. To me, this is positive spin on a short and somewhat lucky streak.

Justin Verlander picks up win number 13 as the Tigers defeat the Indians 4-1. Verlander struck out 8 over 6 2/3 innings. With four pitchers with 13 wins and five more with 12, we could be looking at a bumper crop of 20 game winners this year. It the last 20 seasons, we've only seen six twenty game winners four times. Seven is the most over that period. Something to watch as the year winds down.

From today's Games of the Day post:

It seems you need to homer off James to score a run.

The Marlins lead the Braves 2-1 in the top of the ninth on two solo shots by Cody Ross off Chuck James. Anibal Sanchez allowed a run in the sixth, ending his scoreless inning streak at 19.

Cole Hamels just finished the fifth inning, posting his 12th strikeout of the night. He's given up two runs on back-to-back homers in the second and finds himself trailing 2-1. Since he's thrown 89 pitches already, there's not much chance of him reaching the record of 20 strikesouts in nine innings. It's going to be fun to see how close he comes, however.

Update: Hamels runs out of gas in the sixth inning. The Braves scored five runs so far with Hamels getting just one out on a pop up. It's 7-1 Braves as the Phillies go to the bullpen.

Nick Piecoro notes that despite a poor performance by Julio yesterday, the Arizona bullpen is pitching well.

Lost in the ugliness of Jorge Julio's ninth-inning giveaway on Sunday was the admirable performance of the Diamondbacks bullpen of late.

Entering the ninth inning, the relievers had given up only four runs this homestand, striking out 24 and walking seven.

Going back further, to the end of the month long slump on July 7th, both the starters and bullpen have allowed just a .302 OBA. The team is 10-3 in that stretch.

The Daily News reports good news on Pedro Martinez.

"Happy morning, everyone," Martinez exclaimed. His buoyancy was the first sign that he was OK after Saturday's 80-pitch throwing session. Later, Martinez said, "I feel fine. I'll throw again in a couple of days."

The Mets starters went 8-7 with a 4.79 ERA in Pedro's absence. They were 31-21 with a 4.41 ERA with Pedro taking his regular turn.

Through his start on June 8th, Jon Garland's ERA stood at 6.19. Since then, his strikeouts per 9 went down, his walks are about the same, but his ERA is down to 2.47. That's because he's keeping the ball in the park. He allowed 19 home runs through 6/8, but none since. That helped today as he pitched 8 1/3 shutout innings against the Rangers. He allowed 1 walk and six hits, all singles as the White Sox take a 5-0 victory. With the Yankees loss, the White Sox pick up a game in the wild card race.

Toma Ohka put up his second good start since returning from the disabled list. He held the Reds to three hits over eight innings, allowing one run on a Brandon Phillips four-bagger. He's allowed just three earned runs in 13 innings since his return.

Jeremy Sowers entered tonight's game against the Twins with a 1-3 record and a 7.15 ERA. I believe he came into his own tonight. Sowers pitches a four-hit, one walk shutout of Minnesota. Given that he allowed 29 hits in his 22 2/3 innings, that's an impressive turnaround. He becomes the third first year pitcher (joining Buchholz and Soler) to throw a complete game shutout in 2006.

Great links at this Baseball Think Factory post on pitching mechanics.

Friar Faithful points out where Jake Peavy's been unlucky this year.

The Cardinals continued their domination of the Dodgers last night. St. Louis starters all pitched well against the offensive powerhouse, but Suppan's been magnificent, allowing just one run in fourteen innings vs. Los Angeles.

Dodgers batters overall against the Cardinals are hitting just .200 with a .108 batting average with runners in scoring position.

So what happened to the Dodgers offense? Before the all-star break, they averaged almost 5.4 runs per game. Since, they've scored 15 runs in 9 games, 1.7 per game! They've been shutout three times and scored as many as four runs in a game just once. That's a bad slump.

It looks like a power outage. Martin is the only regular slugging over .400, and he's at .423. Drew, Garciaparra, Ethier and the injured Jeff Kent should be the big guns, but they've all gone in the tank at the same time. Given the way the Braves handled the Cardinals pitchers, it seems like there's something wrong with the team right now. I'm anxious to see if this is a blip in a small number of games, or if Little and Colletti are going to make moves to improve things.

With the exception of Jimmy Gobble, this was a good turn through the rotation for the Royals. These are all contending teams in that list, and KC could easily have won all three in Boston with a better bullpen or some run support. With his solid performance last night, I assume Hernandez replace Gobble in the rotation.

After the series with LAnaheim, six of the next eight series the Royals play are against playoff contenders. That's a good test to see if the rotation can hold it together long term.

Update: Elarton is injured, and Hernandez will take his place.

Mark Prior returns from the DL but didn't appear to be ready to pitch as the Nationals score four runs off the oft-injured Cubs pitcher in 3 1/3 innings. He gave up four hits, but a very unPrior-like three walks. Rusch, however, is doing a good job in relief and the Cubs are trailing by one, 4-3 in the seventh.

Update: The Cubs tie the gave at four in the seventh as Pierre doubles, steals third and scores on a ground out. Prior won't get the loss.

Update: Ramirez homers later in the inning to put the Cubs up 6-4. It's Aramis' second home run of the game, his 19th of the season.

Russ Ortiz showed tonight why the Diamondbacks were willing to eat his contract. Starting against Tampa Bay, the worst offense in the American League (only the Cubs are worse in the majors), he faces six batters, giving up five hits, a walk. Loewen came in at that point and allowed the two runners left on to score, adding six earned runs to Ortiz's total for the season without increasing his innings pitched. So far, Mazzone isn't doing a very good job with his former charge. His ERA with the Orioles is 13.50.

Carlos Zambrano won his first game of the season May 10th. From that day on, he's 10-1. The rest of the Cubs staff is 13-38. That's 43% of the team wins from Zambrano in that time. So why is Dusty Baker abusing his arm?

In the eighth inning, with the Cubs ahead 4-1, the Astros had a man on first base with two outs. Baker decided to pay a visit to the mound. By then, Zambrano's pitch count was above 120 and No. 3 hitter Lance Berkman was up.

So what did Baker say?

Well, it was in Spanish, but roughly translated the meaning was "relax and pitch calmly."

Spanish?

"He speaks good Spanish," Zambrano said. "He said to calm down and make your pitches and get out of the situation."

Zambrano did, getting Berkman to foul out.

Let's leave in a tired pitcher in a big situation. Mark Prior Game 6 anyone? Baker was lucky this time. If Berkman gets a hit and the Cubs lose, the fire Dusty bandwagon would roll even faster.

Gary Majewski isn't exactly working out well for the Cincinnati Reds.

Joel Zamaya pitched two strong innings for the Tigers yesterday, helping to take two out of three from the White Sox to extend Detroit's AL Central lead to 5 1/2 games. It's a case where the pitching coach made a difference:

Soon after Joel Zumaya let a three-run lead get away last Friday, Tigers pitching coach Chuck Hernandez pointed out something to the hard-throwing rookie right-hander.

"His foot position on the rubber," Hernandez said. "Before, his whole foot was on the rubber. Now his toe was the only thing touching the rubber. I thought it was creating too difficult of an angle to get the ball away to a lefty batter. Plus, it created too difficult of an angle for his curveball."

On Thursday, Zumaya pitched for the first time since Hernandez suggested he get his whole foot back on the rubber. Zumaya pitched two scoreless innings, allowed one hit, struck out three, regularly threw 101 m.p.h., spun beautiful curveballs, got the win and looked his overwhelming self.

Zumaya's three strikeouts bring his total for the season to 59 in 47 1/3 innings. That's nearly twice as many as the hits he's allowed (31). He's still walking a batter every other inning. If he gets that under control, he'll be something special.

Gil Meche gave the Mariners six strong innings today, allowing two runs and striking out six as Seattle defeats New York 3-2. Through 2005, Meche struck out 6.0 batters per nine innings and posted an ERA of 4.70. In 2006, he's found a strikeout pitch and is up to 7.4 K per 9. With fewer balls in play, his ERA dropped nearly a run off his career average to 3.83.

Anibal Sanchez made his fourth start of the year this afternoon, and for the third time this season did not allow a run. Today he followed up seven two-hit innings with seven one-hit innings, this time against the Nationals. He did walk four, but as with Jon Lester last night, if you're only going to give up one hits, the walks are less likely to cost you.

The win, however, is not in the bag as Florida manages just one run against Ramon Ortiz. Washington is batting in the top of the ninth trailing 1-0.

Update: Washington puts men on first and third with one out, but Borowski pitches out of the jam to preserve the 1-0 victory for Sanchez. Cody Ross is responsible for the offense in the game with his fifth homer of the year. He hits a homer every 20 at bats; that's not bad, maybe he should be playing more often.

The powerful Mets lineup met up with Mr. Home Run, Eric Milton tonight. Eric went seven innings, but allowed three home runs, including a seventh inning grand slam by Carlos Beltran. At least Milton is consistent. In 2005, he allowed 1.93 homers per 9 innings. With the three hit tonight, he's at 1.97 this season. The Mets lead 7-2 in the bottom of the seventh.

Cole Hamels pitched for the first time in his home town of San Diego. He did a decent job, allowing three runs over 5 2/3 innings while striking out six. He left the game with a lead, but once again, the Phillies bullpen let him down. In his starts, the Phillies bullpen has a 5.29 ERA and allowed 43 hits in 35 2/3 innings. Last night, it meant an 8-6 Padres win as Philadelphia blows a 6-3 lead in the seventh.

I was a bit surprised to see Mariano Rivera on the mound in the ninth this evening, after pitching two innings yesterday afternoon. He's been pitching a bit like the man he used to set up, John Wetteland, lately. He gave up hits to the first two batters, but came back to get the next three batters to end the game and pick up save 401. Since returning from the All-Star break, he's pitched four innings, giving up six hits, a walk and two runs. I remember Wetteland seemed to do that a lot. He'd come into an easy situation, but made it difficult before he finished off the side for save.

The St. Louis Cardinals get a taste of how bad Jeff Weaver can be early, as he allows five runs in the third inning. The first four come on a Brian McCann grand slam after Weaver loads the bases on two singles and a walk. Francoeur triples and scores after the homer to make the score 5-0.

Chipper Jones is 0 for 1 with a walk.

Update: Weaver leads off the bottom of the third. The fans cheer him, and he draws a walk.

Via Deadspin, it looks like the Japanese pitcher who throws the Gyroball wants to play in the United States next year. It also appears Daisuke Matsuzaka can throw an unlimited number of pitches without hurting his arm. It's the return of the the complete game!

I hope he does come to the United States. He sounds too good to be true. Therefore, I'll be very skeptical of his future success. On the bright side, if the gyroball is everything we hear, there could be a pitching revolution that takes us back to the 1960s in terms of offense.

Johan Santana not only pitches well, he coaches well:

Silva said he has received guidance from Johan Santana, and the 2004 Cy Young Award winner's influence might have been reflected in Silva's solid outing on Sunday in a 5-2 victory over Cleveland.

Silva, a sinkerball pitcher, said he threw 25 changeups in his six innings. The changeup is one of Santana's signature pitches.

"I threw 25 changeups all last year," said Silva, who gave up two runs to the Indians. "Lately, he's been talking to me a lot. He's been talking to me about my changeup. I feel comfortable throwing it."

The article also discusses the Twins outfield problems, now that Stewart, Hunter and Ford are all on the DL. Luckily for the Twins, they have two AAA all-stars to bring up. With Ford and Stewart playing poorly this year, the injuries might actually improve the outfield offense.

Brett Myers took the mound for the Phillies yesterday, the first game he pitched since leaving the club to straighten out his life after being arrested for hitting his wife. He pitched well, although he was booed in San Franciscio. The Phillies did a much better job of orchestrating his return than they did the day after the incident:

Myers, 25, was arrested in Boston on June 23 and charged with hitting his wife, Kim, 25, on the street in front of two witnesses. The Phillies immediately cast an impression that they cared more about their ace pitching the next day than they cared about women's issues. After his start at Fenway, he said his main regret was that the incident "got public."

Three days later, under counsel of team representatives, Myers asked for leave until after the All-Star break. He got it. The team demoted him to Class A Clearwater, across the state from his home in Jacksonville, Fla., where Brett and Kim took their two young children and began counseling.

Upon his return to the team Friday, Myers, reading a statement he prepared, said he was humbled. He apologized to his wife, to his family, to his team and to the fans. Team officials opined he was ready to return, even though he had thrown little in exile.

No one predicted he would pitch one of his better games of the year. Now 6-3 with a 3.77 earned-run average, Myers resumed the position he wrested from Jon Lieber early this season, and he did it without a hiccup.

Of course, the problem isn't over. Myers still faces jail time. If, indeed, he is making progress with his family, that's not likely to happen.

Redleg Nation notes Gary Majewski's high pitch count this year and wonder if the Reds picked up a worn out pitcher.

Here's Ozzie Guillen summing up Mark Buehrle yesterday:

"Buehrle was just up in the strike zone," Guillen said.

"Every pitch was missing his corner. We've got to make sure his cutter is working. Right now, the way I see it, the cutter's not cutting, the changeup's not changing and the fastball is not fast. When you're facing a team like (the Yankees), you've got to come down and make pitches. If you stay up, you're going to get killed."

Schilling continues to pitch unbelievably well at Fenway Park. Last night was his best start of the season. The Red Sox have played nine more games on the road so far this year, so many Boston can tinker with the rotation to give Curt a few more starts at Fenway.

Andy Pettitte pitched his second best game of the season, posting seven shuout innings against the Florida Marlins as the Astros scored a dozen runs for a 12-0 victory. Pettitte struck out 10 Fish, the first time he's accomplished that in over three years. July 6, 2003 he struck out 10 Red Sox. It's the 9th 10 K game of his career; he averaged one a year from 1996-2003.

Leo Mazzone appears to have one success story with the Orioles. Erik Bedard put together his fifth great start today as the Orioles took the Texas Rangers 8-1. Bedard gave up just one unearned run today as he walked one and struck out six over seven innings. During the five game stretch he's posted a 0.50 ERA and a 6 to 1 K/BB.

With three home runs allowed today, Jamie Moyer's given up 10 in his last six games. In that time, he's allowed a total of 17 runs, and 14 came via the long ball. The Blue Jays are up 6-5 in the 8th inning.

Mark Buehrle pitched a rough three innings against the Yankees today, allowing eight runs. His ERA is up to 4.43, about 1.3 runs over last year. The big change in Buehrle is that righties are hitting him this year. In his two good seasons of 2004-2005, Mark posted better numbers against RHB than LHB. That's not true this year. Yankees righites were 6 for 13 against him today.

Daniel Cabrera keeps missing the strike zone, but Texas isn't taking advantage of his wildness. Through five innings, Cabrera's thrown 81 pitches, 41 for strikes. He's walked four and struck out two, but he's only allowed three hits and the Orioles turned two double plays behind him. The game's tied at one in the bottom of the fifth.

Update: The Rangers score three in the top of the sixth to chase Cabrera. He threw 50 of 96 pitches for balls.

Sidney Ponson gets his walking papers from the Cardinals today, as no one was willing to trade for the righty.

I was surprised that Sidney was signed by anyone after last season, and I was just as surprised by his early season success. Lately, however, he's had more bad games than good. Still pitchers go through slumps, and he's pitched well in two of his last three games. He's come a long way since last year but I wonder if his personality didn't work well with the club. Replacing him with Jeff Weaver doesn't really change anything. Jeff is a player who doesn't pitch deep into games as is a likely to blow up as pitch a quality start.

Chien-Ming Wang bothers me. He's exactly the kind of pitcher I would suspect to do poorly with the Yankees. He strikes out few batters, leading to a lot of balls in play. That leads to a lot of hits, and a lot of hits usually means a lot of runs. But after a terrific game against Tampa Bay last night, Wang's ERA sits at 4.00, a little higher than you would expect given his fielding independent numbers.

Pitching ten more innings than last year, Wang has fewer walks, home runs and strikeouts. The lower strikeouts led to a higher rate of hits. But here's where we find Wang's real strength. He doesn't get hit hard. Of 133 hits off Wang this year, 106 went for singles, or 79.7%. That's the highest percentage of singles by a pitcher facing at least 350 batters.

In his 1983 Baseball Abstract, Bill James talks about Percentage of Offensive Value. The idea was to see how much of batting average accounted for a player's run production. If the number was high, the player didn't bring a lot of offensive tools to the table. The number didn't mean that much by itself, but in general players with high numbers weren't as good as players with low numbers. The high number players would be the light hitting shortstops who seldom walked. Players who were mostly in the lineup for their defensive value.

If such a player owns a high batting average, he's often overrated offensively. Well, Wang is the pitching analog of such a hitter. Wang gives up a farily high batting average (.276) but a low OBA (.321) and a low slugging percentage (.363). In other words, Wang's batting average allowed represents a high percentage of his offense allowed. He's Royce Clayton. For a pitcher, that's a good thing.

So Wang appears to be the rare pitcher for which contact is okay. He keeps the ball on the ground, so the ones that don't turn into outs turn into singles. He doesn't allow free passes and he keeps the ball in the park. His batting average allowed makes him look worse than he actually performs, just as Clayton's batting average makes him look better than he actually performs.

Here's the complete list of single percentages:

2006, Minimum 350 Batters Faced

Pitcher	H	Singles	SinglesPct
Chien-Ming Wang	133	106	0.797
C.C. Sabathia	79	60	0.759
Jose Contreras	93	70	0.753
Derek Lowe	117	87	0.744
Dontrelle Willis	135	100	0.741
Jamey Wright	117	86	0.735
Roy Halladay	113	83	0.735
Aaron Cook	128	94	0.734
Kevin Millwood	134	98	0.731
Jake Westbrook	110	80	0.727
Sean Marshall	90	65	0.722
Erik Bedard	110	79	0.718
Joe Blanton	131	94	0.718
Brandon Webb	134	96	0.716
Joshua Johnson	67	48	0.716
Kelvim Escobar	116	83	0.716
Jason Jennings	122	87	0.713
Mark Hendrickson	97	69	0.711
Miguel Batista	134	95	0.709
Tom Glavine	112	79	0.705
Javier Vazquez	117	82	0.701
Paul Maholm	130	91	0.7
Felix Hernandez	113	79	0.699
John Koronka	106	74	0.698
Seth McClung	98	68	0.694
Nate Robertson	101	70	0.693
Cliff Lee	127	88	0.693
Pedro Martinez	74	51	0.689
Jeremy Bonderman	106	73	0.689
Jason Johnson	121	83	0.686
Barry Zito	105	72	0.686
Doug Davis	105	72	0.686
Kameron Loe	105	72	0.686
Randy Johnson	110	75	0.682
Oliver Perez	88	60	0.682
Roy Oswalt	125	85	0.68
Brett Myers	103	70	0.68
Steve Trachsel	108	73	0.676
Ramon Ortiz	120	81	0.675
Tim Hudson	126	85	0.675
John Lackey	86	58	0.674
Mike Mussina	104	70	0.673
Kris Benson	119	80	0.672
Zachary Duke	131	88	0.672
Livan Hernandez	143	96	0.671
Casey Fossum	88	59	0.67
Jason Schmidt	91	61	0.67
Justin Verlander	97	65	0.67
Carlos Silva	132	88	0.667
Ian Snell	114	76	0.667
Clay Hensley	87	58	0.667
Mark Buehrle	134	89	0.664
John Smoltz	119	79	0.664
Chris Capuano	127	84	0.661
Paul Byrd	112	74	0.661
Bronson Arroyo	112	74	0.661
Danny Haren	109	72	0.661
Chris Carpenter	97	64	0.66
Brad Radke	144	95	0.66
Daniel Cabrera	70	46	0.657
Brad Penny	102	67	0.657
Ted Lilly	99	65	0.657
Ryan Madson	110	72	0.655
Aaron Harang	132	86	0.652
Gil Meche	97	63	0.649
Joel Pineiro	134	87	0.649
Ervin Santana	93	60	0.645
Jarrod Washburn	112	72	0.643
Chan Ho Park	108	69	0.639
Freddy Garcia	130	83	0.638
Greg Maddux	124	79	0.637
Vicente Padilla	104	66	0.635
Josh Fogg	106	67	0.632
Brian Moehler	108	68	0.63
Scott Kazmir	108	68	0.63
Wandy Rodriguez	121	76	0.628
Chris Young	82	51	0.622
Tim Wakefield	103	64	0.621
Matt Morris	116	72	0.621
Scott Olsen	71	44	0.62
Jamie Moyer	122	75	0.615
Curt Schilling	119	73	0.613
Brandon Claussen	93	57	0.613
Johan Santana	100	61	0.61
David Bush	120	73	0.608
Jon Garland	130	79	0.608
Rodrigo Lopez	136	82	0.603
Brett Tomko	95	57	0.6
Kenny Rogers	110	66	0.6
Mark Mulder	109	65	0.596
Claudio Vargas	99	59	0.596
Jeff Suppan	116	69	0.595
Andy Pettitte	143	85	0.594
Jorge Sosa	95	56	0.589
Jeff Weaver	114	67	0.588
Matthew Cain	80	47	0.588
Taylor Buchholz	87	51	0.586
Jason Marquis	120	70	0.583
Cory Lidle	114	66	0.579
Jake Peavy	102	58	0.569
Jeff Francis	85	48	0.565
Orlando Hernandez	95	52	0.547
Carlos Zambrano	90	49	0.544
Scott Elarton	114	62	0.544
Josh Beckett	100	54	0.54
Jae Seo	86	46	0.535

Francisco Liriano pitched his second game in a row with no runs allowed. He shut down the Rangers for seven innings, running his scoreless streak to 15 innings. In those two games he's struck out 20 while allowed seven hits and three walks. His AL leading ERA is down to 1.83.

At this rate, Jered Weaver and Francisco Liriano might not just be competing for the rookie of the year award but for the Cy Young award!

Watching Jered Weaver in the fifth inning, it struck me that it must be difficult to pick up his pitches from the windup. Just as I was thinking that, the Athletics broadcast showed film of Eckersley and Jeff Weaver, and the three of them have very similar motions. Jered turns his back to the plate (a right handed Fernando Valenzeula), shows you the ball in his hand behind his back, but then as he rotates toward the plate the ball disappears. There's also a hesitation in his delivery. So he's a little Fernando, a little Eck and a litte Nomo. Not a bad combination.

The Angels are up 4-0 in the top of the sixth. Through five innings, Weaver's allowed just one hit and two walks while throwing just 65 pitches.

Update: The Athletics are now finished with the sixth, and they still have just one hit. Like last night, Kotsay has that only saftey. Unlike last night, it game in the fourth.

Brad Lidge blew his fourth save of the year as the Cardinals came back with two runs to tie the game in the 9th. Albert Pujols won it in the tenth with a home run off Roy Oswalt.

There are three things a pitcher can do to be successful; strikeout lots of batters, walk very few, and give up very few home runs. That's what Brad did in his 70 2/3 innings of work in 2005. He's now pitched 41 innings in 2006. He's given up one fewer walk than all of 2005, and allowed one more home run. His strikeouts are still very good, but the other two legs of the tripod are shaky, and he's seeing failure because of that.

Dontrelle Willis picks up his fourth career home run tonight and his first grand slam. With the Marlins leading 7-3, the slam is the difference in the game. He's gone after putting runners at first and third in the eighth, striking out nine in 7 1/3 innings.

Chan-Ho Park comes into tonight's game against the Padres with a higher OBA than five of the position players in the lineup. Park has idential .345 batting, on-base and slugging percentages.

I received this text message on my cell phone this morning:

Congrats on your first ml save, in an 18-9 game.

Renyel Pinto pitched three innings for the Marlins last night. He entered the game with an 18-5 lead and proceeded to give up four runs in the seventh. He finished the game without further incident and earned the save under the three inning rule.

That was a mistake. See rule 10.20(3)(c):

He pitches effectively for at least three innings. No more than one save may be credited in each game.

Four runs in three innings is not pitching effectively. For his efforts, Pinto is going back to the minor leagues ( via FishStripes):

After the game, the Marlins optioned Pinto to Triple-A Albuquerque and recalled left-hander Jason Vargas. Since Pinto threw 72 pitches, he would not be available in the next couple of days. The Marlins didn't want to be caught short-handed with Saturday's doubleheader looming.

Cardinals Diaspora notices that Dontrelle Willis' start was moved from Thursday to Friday against the Mets. He wonders if a trade is in the works. It fact, it has more to do with when he gets long rest and a double header this weekend.

I guess the whole Joe Morgan argument last nigh was for naught as the Mets send Soler to the minors and bring up John Maine to start against Pittsburgh. So Randolph could have used Oliver against the Yankees!

Pedro Martinez needs a two week vacation most years, and his hip is giving the Mets an excuse to rest him. Pedro is fragile. Missing a couple of starts when the Mets have a huge lead in the division will likely give Martinez stamina for the rest of the year and the playoffs. It's not a big deal.

However, the injury reminds me of Boggs hurting himself in a hotel room taking off his boots. :-)

Brandon Webb gave up a lot of hits and earned runs over his last three starts. But his strikeout, walk and home run numbers were okay. Today he showed that he's okay, going the distance as the Diamondbacks defeated the Athletics 3-1. His only mistake was a home run to Frank Thomas, Thomas's second in three games since returning from the DL.

Webb struck out seven and walked just one. He kept the A's away from opportunities as Oakland had just three at bats with runners in scoring position. With the loss, the Mariners can move zero games back of the A's in the AL West, althought Oakland would still lead in winning percentage. The Mariners and Rockies are tied at two in the bottom of the 8th.

Francisco Liriano pitches eight shutout innings today as the Twin defeat the Brewers 8-0 to run their winning streak to 10 games. Liriano lowers his ERA to 1.99. With 81 1/3 innings pitched and 80 Twins games played, Liriano will be in the AL ERA lead until the Twins play two more games. He's made nine starts this season, and this is the fourth in which he's allowed no runs. HIs ERA as a starter now stands at 1.53.

Liriano also struck out 12 today, setting a career high. In his last 30 innings he's struck out 38.

Jon Lester loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the second, and retired the next three batters without allowing a run. Batters are now 0 for 8 against Lester with the bases loaded, driving in runs with a walk and a sacrifice fly. Jon's playing with fire, but so far he hasn't been burned.

B.J. Ryan pitched 1 2/3 innings today to nail down a 5-2 victory for the Blue Jays over the Phillies. It's the eighth time this year Ryan picked up a save pitching more than one inning. That leads the majors. J.J. Putz is second with five. Rivera, Tyler Walker and Huston Street all have four.

Dodger Thoughts has news that Jeff Weaver is going to be designated for assignment to make room on the Angels roster for his brother, Jered. A very good move by the Angels. Someone should pick him up as a long reliever/spot starter.

As for the East of Eden angle, there don't seem to be too many long, lanky actors any more. Chuck Connors would be perfect, and Jimmy Stewart could pull it off. Maybe the best you could do if they made him look taller.

Ryan Madson stepped into Brett Myers spot in the rotation tonight and spun a gem. One out away from a complete game shutout, he walked a batter and gave up a single. Tom Gordon came on to get the last out and give help the Phillies to a 4-0 win. Madson gave up just five hits while striking out seven. That's a great way to end a terrible June. He came into the game with a 7.62 ERA in five June starts.

Ron Flores picked up the first win of his major league career today as he goes four innings in extra frames as the Athletics take a 6-5 victory from the Padres. In two seasons with Oakland, Flores averaged less than an inning per appearance. But today he allowed just one hit while striking out two and keeping San Diego scoreless. He kept his pitch count low, throwing just 35 in total, 25 for strikes.

Cole Hammels is looking like a pitcher who needs to go back to the minor leagues. He was smacked around by the Orioles this afternoon, giving up nine hits and seven runs in game one of the double header. With the Orioles taking the game 7-4, the day is starting off perfect for the AL with four wins in four tries.

Matt Morris pitched his fourth good start in a row last night, allowing just one unearned run in eight innings agains tht Texas Rangers. The big change for Matt since his rough start is his strikeout rate. It's 7.0 per nine over this hot stretch vs. 4.4 earlier. Morris hasn't had a great strikeout rate since 2002, his last superlative year. Have Giants fans noticed a change in Matt's mechanics or approach to hitters?

Chris Young continues to be tough to hit as shutdown the Athletics last night for six innings, allowng jus two hits. The Padres bullpen helped out with three shutout innings of their own to give San Diego a 3-0 victory. Young is now third in the majors in batting average allowed. He's given up just 17 hits in his last 38 2/3 innings, good for a .132 batting average. Notice how good he's been against lefties in that stretch.

The Twins pounded the Dodgers 9-2 tonight. The Minnesota offense raised Derek Lowe's ERA from 2.90 to 3.49 as they scored all nine runs off him in 5 1/3 innings.

On the other side of the mound, Francisco Liriano allowed just two runs over seven innings while striking out eight and walking none. With 73 1/3 innings pitched, he's just a few innings short of qualifying for the ERA title. With a 2.21 ERA, he would lead his teammate Johan Santana by over 1/2 a run.

Halfway through the season, he should be able to accumulate another 100 innings. With an 8-1 record and a miniscule ERA and a 4 to 1 strikeout to walk ratio, we may be looking at the next Cy Young award winner here.

Whatever they did to rehabilitate A.J. Burnett's elbow certainly worked. He threw a complete game shutout tonight, his first of the year and the ninth of his career. His coming off the DL, Burnett's given up two runs and eleven hits in 15 innings of work while striking out 14. He struck out seven tonight while walking none, and finished the game with just 92 pitches thrown. His success took a while, but it appears to be worth the wait.

Pedro Martinez is holding a news conference in Boston as he returns to pitch against the Red Sox. He's saying all the right things. He blames himself for the Red Sox not signing him. He should have made it clearer to the team that he wanted to stay, and he regrets that.

Trade rumors are circulating about Mark Hendrickson, but a Yankees blogger doesn't want him and neither does a Dodger blogger. Jon Weisman makes a good point:

In 2006, Hendrickson's ERA is down to 3.81. This career-defying performance through 90 innings is predicated on a BABIP (batting average on balls in play) allowed of .258 - the 12th-lowest of any pitcher in baseball with more than 70 innings. He's had just about as many balls in play, striking out 5.1 batters per nine innings, but thanks to more balls finding gloves, Hendrickson has reduced his baserunners per nine innings to 12.

But let's ask why so many balls are finding gloves. It turns out, his line drive percentage is way down. His slugging percentage against is down without his home runs going down that much. His defense is catching more balls, because the balls in play against him are easier to catch. And because they're not being rocketed around the park, they're also resulting in fewer doubles and triples. It's possible Hendrickson is better rather than luckier, and more importantly, you can probably trade for him without giving up the farm. If you can get him cheaply, he's well worth the risk.

Jason Marquis started for the second time against an AL team tonight and was crushed once again. The Indians used four home runs, three against Jason to take the Cardinals 10-4. In eleven innings against the White Sox and Indians, Marquis allowed 23 hits, 20 runs and seven homers. He's given up 12 homers to a all the NL teams he's faced.

Randy Johnson put together his third good start in a row as he shutout the Braves for seven innings while striking out seven. Over his last 20 1/3 innings he's allowed 13 hits, 2 walks while striking out 21. That seems to be more like the Johnson the Yankees were expecting from the trade.

The YES announcers, Michael Kay, Jim Kaat and Al Leiter are carrying on a very interesting discussion on wasting pitches. It started when Randy Johnson got ahead of a hitter 0-2, then threw a pitch nowhere near the strike zone. Kay asked why if pitch counts are so important today do pitchers still waste one on 0-2. Jim Kaat thinks 0-2 is a great count to get hitters, and noted Greg Maddux was great at doing that (he was the most efficient pitcher of the 1990s). Leiter brought in that if you go after a hitter on 0-2 and a hit results, managers go after you. Kaat explained that his coaches (one of them Johnny Sain) would get more upset if you walked a batter after going 0-2. Kay pointed out that Mussina seems to get ahead 0-2, then wastes a pitch and seems to end up 3-2.

If you're recording the game, check out the discussion in the top of the fifth. My first reaction is to agree with Kay and Kaat, but I'd love to hear your reaction.

After giving up six runs in four innings to the New York Mets, a pitcher names Towers owns an ERA of 9.11.

Jake Peavy appears to be back to normal after eight great innings last night in a 2-1, ten inning win for San Diego. He's put together back to back eight inning outings, striking out 16 and walking just two. He's a key to San Diego winning the division this year.

Aaron Harang shutout the Cleveland Indians last night 3-0. That lowered his road ERA to 1.57, the lowest in the majors by over half a run. Harang might be getting Cy Young consideration if he didn't pitch in Cincinnati. The band box ballpark he calls home raises his ERA to 6.00. He's allowed 10 home runs this season, nine at Great American Ballpark. His strikeouts are great, his walks are great, it's just a tough park for pitchers putting his ERA into the threes. I hope voters at least take a look at this factor when they vote come fall.

(By the way, I love the picture of Harang and LaRue slow dancing after the win at the first link. :-))

Johan Santana pitched another great game tonight, allowing 2 runs, 1 earned over eight innings to lower his ERA to 2.75. He's been consistently excellent since the start of 2002. With his game tonight, he moves ahead of Pedro Martinez for the best ERA in the majors over that period. Santana now lead Martinez 2.84 to 2.85.

Note: the link will show this lead when the Day by Day Database updates tomorrow morning.

Derek Lowe finished up last night's action pitching the Dodgers to a 4-2 win over the Mariners. Lowe completed the game, throwing 119 pitches and allowing runs on two homers, his sixth and seventh allowed this season. They were the first home runs he allowed since 5/16. In those seven starts, Lowe won five and lost none while posting a 2.23 ERA.

The complete game made a comeback last year, but is on the way back down. Consider last night there were two complete games, Lowe's and Anthony Reyes' eight inning one hitter. Freddy Garcia, in that same game, threw just 99 pitches through eight innings. Why didn't the White Sox let him finish the game? He retired the Cardinals in order in the top of the eighth.

In Houston, Francisco Liriano allowed just two runs through eight innings, throwing just 97 pitches. He did allow a two run homer in the 8th, but that's going to happen sometimes. Why not let him finish what he started.

Compared to last year at the same point, only 2.9% of starts (62/2164) are getting completed vs. 4.4% in 2005 (94/2142). It seems when managers have the choice of letting the starter finish or bring in the closer, they're making the call to the bullpen.

Roger Clemens is back on the mound. The first batter of the game, Luis Castillo, ground back to Clemens, but Roger had to leap for the ball and didn't field it cleanly. He was charged with an error. But Clemens comes back inducing Kubel to hit into a double play and striking out the tough Joe Mauer. All in all, not a bad first inning.

Have you seen a bigger disconnect between batting average allowed an ERA than for John Rheinecker? It continues today as he's allowed eight hits through four innings but just two runs. His opponent, Clay Hensley, hasn't allowed a hit through three. The Padres lead the Rangers 2-0.

Update: Rheinecker is out of the game after 5 1/3 innings. He gave up 11 hits but just two runs. After this performance, his ERA is a respectable 3.57 but his batting average allowed is .343. In addition to the 11 hits, he walked 2 batters, so half the men he faced reached base.

Noah Lowry's velocity is down.

Alou called Lowry's stuff "very mild," citing the left-hander's fastball, which often ranged in the 84-85 mph neighborhood. Typically, Lowry's fastball ranges 88-91 mph, a sufficient complement to his changeup.

"We're going to look into it and see what's causing it," Alou said of Lowry's dip. "Maybe Friday we'll talk a little bit about what's causing it. It's not his 'A' stuff that we've seen in his last several starts."

Lowry says he's not hurt. Maybe it's just a dead arm period. Could a change in mechancis be resposible?

Eric Bedard threw his game of the year tonight, ending the Marlins winning streak with eight shutout innings. He allowed just two hits. He struck out 12. And he got through eight innings just throwing 105 pitches. Whatever he did right tonight, the Orioles hope he can repeat it as the season goes on. Even with the eight scoreless innings, his ERA still sits at 5.09.

Jimmy Rollins just hit a ball up the middle that hits Jaret Wright. He got his glove up so it did no damage, but it seems in every game he pitches somebody hits a hard liner right at him. Maybe it's because he's a wide target, or maybe he keeps putting pitches in the wheel house for these batters to cream.

Jeff Weaver is through four innings, and all in all he's pitching a good game. He gave up two runs in the second, but he's struck out six and walked none. He facing a Giants lineup without Bonds and Alou. We'll see if he blows up in the next two innings as is his pattern.

Update: Weaver gets through the fifth and sixth with no damage. He did give up a hit and a walk in the sixth, but one of those runners was erased with a caught stealing.

Matt Morris won a tight game last night. He's been pitching much better over his last five starts, especially his walks and home runs allowed. Now he just needs the Giants to score runs for him so he can transform more of those good outings into wins.

Jon Weisman points out that even though the Dodgers have a number of starting pitchers with decent ERAs, they're not pitching very much. I wonder how much this had to do with being careful with Brad Penny's workload early on?

Jon Weisman points out that even though the Dodgers have a number of starting pitchers with decent ERAs, they're not pitching very much. I wonder how much this had to do with being careful with Brad Penny's workload early on?

Jason Williams notes the improvement in the Twins starting pitching since Liriano entered the rotation:

The Twins were 17-24 with a major-league worst starting earned-run average of 6.43 entering Liriano's first start on May 19 at Milwaukee. Since then, the Twins are 17-10 and have a starting ERA of 3.63. During the winning streak, the starters are 5-0 with a 1.62 ERA.

Overall, the Twins' rotation still owns an ugly 5.29 ERA, ranking 12th in the AL going into Monday's games. But the starters have a 3.09 ERA in June, ranking them among the top five staffs in the majors for the month.

Since that first Liriano start, the rotation is striking out 7.2 batters per nine and walking just 2.3. That's great for any individual starter, but for a staff it's fantastic. The biggest change, however, come in the area of home runs. The starters allowed 1.84 homers per 9 innings prior to Liriano's promotion, 1.12 since.

Through five innings, Kyle Snyder is showing why the Red Sox took a chance on the pitcher. He has not allowed a walk so far. In his major league career, Snyder has given up just 32 walks in 123 1/3 innings, 2.3 per nine. That's a nice low number. In other words, the Red Sox noticed something Snyder did well and decided with the rest of his stats he was worth a try. He's allowed three runs so far, but he's on the right side of a 4-3 score. He should get enough support with this team.

Update: Snyder is finished after five innings. He threw 67 pitches, 48 for strikes.

I disagree with Red Reporter here. Any player named Homer needs to be in the major leagues as soon as possible. :-)

Jon Garland pitched his best game of the year for the White Sox this afternoon as he goes eight innings and allows just one run. He's now gone two consecutive starts without allowing a home run, the first time he's done that all year. In addition, he hit one himself, the first extra-base hit of his career. The White Sox go on to an easy win over the Reds 8-1. It's the third home run by a pitcher in interleague play this season, all by AL pitchers.

Aaron Small's brief bit of fame is over:

Aaron Small appeared from nowhere last summer to help save the Yankees' season. Yesterday, he quietly faded away.

With Kyle Farnsworth likely sidelined for at least the weekend with back spasms, the Yanks needed to strengthen the back of their bullpen and called up T.J. Beam from Triple-A Columbus. Instead of optioning Matt Smith or Kevin Thompson back to the minors, however, the Bombers chose to designate Small for assignment.

Up until last year, Small had a forgettable major league career. At least he'll leave with a memorable season behind him and a nice pay day.

Gil Meche continues to pitch like a Cy Young candidate at Safeco Field. He shutdown the Giants for nine innings today, allowing just one run on a home by Ray Durham. His ERA at Safeco now stands at 2.39. He's struck out 49 in his 49 innings at the ball park while walking just 14. On the road his ERA goes to 6.38 and he's walked more than he's struck out.

Raul Ibanez played the part of Enkidu today (except for the running around naked), picking up a single, double and home run while driving in four. The Mariners won easily over the Giants 8-1.

Mark Prior is skipping his AAA rehab and will start for the Cubs tomorrow.

The majority of Josh Beckett's problems came on the road this season. He came into this afternoon's tilt against the Braves with a 7.00 ERA away from Fenway. He limited the Braves to two runs through six innings. He allowed just three hits but did walk four. His big problem on the road, however is the long ball, and he kept the Braves in the park this afternoon. The Red Sox however, get homers from Youkilis and Ortiz to earn a 5-3 win.

Jon Papelbon pitches a perfect ninth for his 22nd save. The 0 for 3 lowers Papelbon's opposition batting average to .151.

Chris Capuano struck out 12 Indians in seven innings last night as the Brewers defeated the Tribe 6-4. That gives Capuano 93 K in 101 innings pitched, an improvement over last year. He's striking out more with better control as well as he's walked 2.0 per 9 this season vs. 3.7 last year. Combined, he's lowered his ERA 0.70 runs.

Aaron Heilman's performances started going down hill after he pitched three innings against the Yankees on 5/19. He posted his worst performance of that stretch tonight as he allows four runs in one inning to give the Orioles a 6-3 victory. In 12 2/3 innings since that long outing, Heilman's allowed 19 hits and 9 walks while striking out just seven. He's allowed three home runs, including a two-run shot to Melvin Mora this evening. He didn't allow a home run before this stretch started. His ERA is 11.37 in the dozen game stretch and 4.86 overall.

Home runs are flying out of Safeco Field tonight. In the top of the third, Felix Hernandez served up one to Randy Winn, the third solo shot for the Giants tonight. Bonds and Finley went deep in the second and the Giants lead the Mariners 3-2. That's 14 home runs of Hernandez in just 81 innings. He's on a pace to give up well over 30.

Ichiro extended his hitting streak with a leadoff long-ball of his own in the first. He's also singled to raise his batting average to .369.

B.J. Ryan picked up his 17th save this afternoon as the Blue Jays held off the Orioles 4-2. Five of those saves came against his former team. In 6 1/3 innings against Baltimore, he's allowed just one hit, two walks, no runs while he's struck out seven. Overall, his number are a big improvement over his fine 2005 season. His ERA sits at 0.55 and his opposition average allowed is down to .132 as he retired the side in order today. His hits are down, his walks are down and his strikeouts are up. At least with that signing, the Blue Jays are getting their money's worth.

Looking at the late games from last night, there were a number of good performances by the younger members to team staffs. Jered Weaver pitched seven strong innings to help the Angels to a 4-1 win over Kansas City. His ERA dropped to 1.37 as the only run he allowed was unearned. The Angels need to find a way to keep him in the rotation. With 22 K and 4 BB in 26 1/3 inning, I bet he has nothing left to prove in the minor leagues.

Joe Blanton out dueled the veteran lefty Jamie Moyer 2-0. Joe threw eight innings of five hit ball. He only used 92 pitches, but got into trouble when he gave up two hits to start the ninth (extending Ichiro's hit streak to 13 games) to put runners at 2nd and 3rd. Street came in and loaded the bases with a hit batter, but then struck out Ibanez and Sexson before getting a fly ball to end the game. Blanton's allowed 2 earned runs in 23 innings against the Mariners this season, including two 8 inning shutout performances. Against the rest of the league he's given up 43 earned runs in 57 1/3 innings, a 6.75 ERA.

Enrique Gonzalez in his four games (three starts) is nearly as impressive as Jered Weaver. Gonzalez one hit the Giants (who had Barry Bonds back) through seven innings, lowering his ERA to 1.64 as he allowed no runs. The DBacks needed that performance to break their losing streak, as the offense only generated 2 runs to the Giants 1. Gonzalez, in 22 major league innings fanned 20 batters while walking only four.

Update: A couple of people in the comments noted that I left out some pitchers. That's basically because they were discussed in last night's posts. Scroll down for more. This post was meant to catchup on the late games. Sorry for the confusion.

Jered Weaver is making another fine start for the Angels. He's given up one unearned run in six innings while striking out four. I just turned on the Angels game, and the announcers are talking about how the Angels are going to send Jered Weaver down when Colon is activated because he's the only starter with options! Isn't the point of baseball to win? I know he signed a free agent contract, but can't they find a way to get rid of Jeff Weaver and his 6.15 ERA? Trade him or buy him out or something. Jered needs to stay; Jeff needs to go.

There's a great ad during the Tigers broadcast where they ask, "Who's your favorite Tiger?" After describing Kenny Rogers the pitcher, Kenny Rogers the singer comes on and says, "I've had more hits than he allowed this year."

Rogers pitched like that tonight. He lasted eight innings against the Devil Rays, allowing just four hits and one run. He struck out 9, a season high. The strikeouts are coming more often for Rogers as he's fanned 21 in his last 22 innings.

The Tigers offense spread the wealth tonight as seven batters divided 11 hits, 10 for singles as Detroit wins 7-1.

Chris Carpenter appears to be fully recovered from his injury as he throws seven shutout innings against the Pirates. He allowed three hits and three walks but struck out a career high 13 batters. He almost didn't get the win however, as Oliver Perez pitched a game that will probably keep him in the majors a little longer. Perez allowed just two runs through his seven innings, but most importantly he walked just one. Isringhausen allowed a run in the 9th, but held on for the 2-1 victory.

Johan Santana just fanned David Ortiz for the second time tonight. It was his 1000th career strikeout.

Update: Aaron Rowand and Jhonny Peralta are Santana's biggest strikeout victims with 14 each.

Jose Contreras was unusually hard to connect on tonight. He went eight innings, striking out eleven. That's as many strikeouts as in his previous three starts. The 8-3 win runs his record to 7-0. It's only the second time in Jose's career that he's topped 10 strikeouts.

The Arizona Diamondbacks are considering eating Russ Ortiz's contract after his dreadful performance yesterday (and for the year):

But things have gotten so bad so quick, that ownership has an itchy trigger finger and after deciding to go to war with Grimsley, they aren't particularly worried about hurting Ortiz's feelings.

The problem is, he is under contract for two more years after signing a four-year, $33 million deal in 2005. He's getting paid $7.4 million this season and they still owe him about $20 million. Eating that much salary would be precedent-setting by a major league club.

But the Diamondbacks are considering it. And that should tell you something. Trading him would be ideal, but it is unrealistic. They could move him to the bullpen, but spots are precious there, and what proof does the team have he will pitch any better in relief?

In addition, they're trying to get out of paying Grimsley on a technicality:

As for Grimsley, the target of a federal probe into the use and distribution of performance-enhancing drugs, the relief pitcher is to have his contract terminated today by the Diamondbacks. Arizona contends it shouldn't have to pay him any portion of the remainder of his $825,000 salary, using a clause in the collective bargaining agreement to assert he was unfit to compete.

I assume, they mean, without drugs. I would have thought they would have gone along the lines of what the Orioles did to let Ponson go last year, a violation of the morals clause:

Every player on the 40-man roster signs a standard contract that includes a morals clause, paragraph 3(a), that reads: "The Player agrees to perform his services hereunder diligently and faithfully, to keep himself in first-class physical condition and to obey the Club's training rules, and pledges himself to the American public and to the Club to conform to high standards of personal conduct, fair play and good sportsmanship."

I suppose Grimsley can argue that taking HGH was keeping himself in first-class physical condition.

Roger Clemens threw six shutout innings for the Corpus Christi Hooks last night, tying a team record with eleven strikeouts. Roger credited the ball:

The Astros received permission from the Texas League for Clemens to use an official major-league baseball, and Clemens noticed an improvement with his command.

"There is a small difference," Clemens said. "I would say to the average person there's a small difference. For me there's a big difference. It's just the way the balls are. Minor-league balls and major-league balls are different — not much on the seams but the coating. It was just a difference. Having that in my hand and working out there, I was able to maneuver the ball around the strike zone the way I wanted to."

I didn't realize there was a difference in the ball between the major and minor leagues. You would think that the ball should be the same, so that pitchers being called up have to make one less adjustment.

What's wrong with Jake Peavy? He struck out 10 today in five innings, but allowed six runs as the Padres fell to the Marlins 7-3. With three walks allowed, the Marlins picked up eight hits on eleven balls in play against Jake. The Padres are very good this year at turning batted balls into outs; their .725 DER is the best mark in the NL. He's allowing a lot more hits than last season. In 2005, the opposition hit him at a .217 clip. This year, that's up to .257. It seems when Jake makes a mistake, the pitches are very hittable. Is he just making more mistakes this season?

Felix Hernandez pitched the kind of game Seattle fans expected this season. He threw a complete game four hitter, walking none and striking out 9. If it weren't for a 3 for 4 performance from Orlando Cabrera he might have pitched a shutout. For the first time this year, King Felix put together two good outings in a row, giving up 3 earned runs and 10 hits in his last 16 innings.

I spoke glowingly of Brian Fuentes this morning, so of course the Dodgers come back against him this afternoon to take a 6-5 win over the Rockies.

Matt Kemp homered twice to bring his major league total to six. He finishes the day with a .400 OBA and an .829 slugging percentage.

Since Roy Oswalt hit the DL officially, the Astros starters are on a roll. They've gone 5-1 in the six games, posting an ERA of 2.61. They've struck out 31 and walked just 12. Rodriguez didn't need a great outing today as the Astros scored 14 vs. the Braves, but he was decent nonetheless. If the staff can keep this going when Oswalt and Clemens return, you could see another great second half comeback from the Astros.

Tim Hudson pitched a great game today to help the Braves to a 4-2 win over the Astros. Hudson's pitched much better over his last seven starts. He's 4-1 with a 2.51 ERA. He's also striking out 7.7 per 9 innings over that period. In his first seven starts, Hudson posted a 5.09 ERA to go with a 2-3 record. He was only striking out 4.5 per nine. It's a good example of what higher strikeout rates do for the rest of your stats.

Ian Snell shutout the San Francisco Giants for seven innings, and his offense gave him just enough to get a 2-0 win. That three good outings in a row for Snell in which he's allowed 3 runs in his last 19 1/3 innings while striking out 17. In his last 10 games, he's allowed 2 earned runs or less in seven of them. His 7-1 record is the best on the Pirates.

Jon Papelbon came in for a four out save tonight by instead gave up a game tying single to Hank Blalock in the eighth. It all worked out, however, as Mike Lowell hit a sacrifice fly to put the Sox on top in the bottom of the inning. Papelbon then allowed a single while striking out three in the ninth to get the win. Twenty for twenty one is still not too bad.

The winning run was put at third by a Trot Nixon single. Nixon figured in all four Red Sox runs with a three-run shot in the first in addition to the hit between the walk and sac fly. He went four for four tonight and missed the cycle by a triple. His OBA is now 60 points above his career average.

Balls, Sticks and Stuff offers a video comparison of Cole Hamels and Barry Zito. (If you start the Zito video when the Hamels video reaches six seconds, you can come close to getting the two to sync up.)

Oliver Perez just can't keep it together. He looked like he was turning it around during three good starts from 5/17 to 5/28 but his last time out and today were disasters. Nine earned runs in 2 innings bring his ERA to 7.18. At this point, Perez won't be staying around the majors much longer. He walked four and struck out none. He "only" gave up one homer, but it was a grand slam. This performance defines how not to pitch. The Rockies lead the Pirates 9-2 in the fourth.

Jason Schmidt (strikeouts: ) tied a franchise record last night with sixteen strikeouts as the Giants defeated the Marlins 2-1, assisted by an RBI double from Moises Alou. Since his last game in April, Schmidt is pitching great, posting a 1.31 ERA in that time. He's also posting an impressive 6.0 strikeout to walk ratio over that period.

His off-season conditioning regimen appears to have worked. However, given the revelations about Jason Grimsley last night, I'm a lot less skeptical of the PED angle on that story.

Jake Peavy came back from an extended rest and was knocked around by the Milwaukee Brewers tonight. They scored in each of the first four innings, picking up seven hits and five runs before chasing Jake after 3 2/3 innings. He even allowed an RBI double to his opponent, David Bush, the first extra-base hit of his career.

David Pauley bounced back from a poor first performance to go 6 2/3 innings, allowing just two runs. Unfortunately, he's on the short end of a 2-1 score as Chien Ming Wang pitches seven full, allowing just one run. The go ahead run scored when Seanez entered in relief and walked Giambi with the bases loaded.

Roger Clemens didn't get out of the third inning, allowing one run on a homer in the first. He did strike out six, however, a good sign.

If anyone goes to see Roger Clemens pitch tonight and takes a video or stills, I'd be happy to post the video or pictures.

Alay Soler pitched seven strong innings, allowing one run and striking out seven to lead the Mets to a 4-1 victory over the Dodgers. It's a nice follow up to his poor start vs. Arizona. He threw strikes, tossing 71 of his 108 pitches in the zone.

Carlos Beltran went 2 for 4 with a run scored last night. Met fans who were disappointed with his good season last year (over 20 win shares) should be reveling in his great 2006. He's currently posting a .388 OBA and a .582 slugging percentage.

Brad Halsey pitched five great innings today to pick up the win as the Athletics defeated the Twins 4-1. With no runs allowed today, he's given up 2 earned runs in 18 1/3 relief innings, a 0.98 ERA. As a starter, he's posted a 5.63 ERA in 32 innings, including all seven homers he's allowed. Has anyone noticed a difference in the way Halsey approaches the game when he's starting vs his relief appearances?

For the second game in a row, Chris Young comes out after eight shutout innings. He only threw 91 pitches, but with a 1-0 and a man on base, Bochy correctly pinch hit for the pitcher. Hoffman is on to preserve the lead. That's 16 consecutive scoreless innings for Young.

Update: Hoffman gets the side 1-2-3 in the 9th for 12th save and the Padre win. That lowers Hoffman's opponent batting average to .200. Young is at .203 after today's game.

In one of the stranger moves I've seen made, Enrique Gonzalez is returning to the minor leagues after making two very good starts for the Diamondbacks. Although the move is being made so Arizona can activate Terry Mulholland, he's really being replaced in the rotation by Russ Ortiz.

On the disabled list with a strained calf muscle, Ortiz has made four efficient starts on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Tucson. After making adjustments to his pitching mechanics, he is 1-0 with a 2.61 ERA in 20 2/3 innings.

Ortiz, who turns 32 on Monday, is expected to be activated on his birthday. He would take the place in the rotation of rookie Enrique Gonzalez, who was sent back to the Sidewinders after throwing his second quality start in two outings.

At this point, I'll take Gonzalez over Ortiz, but if Russ can give the Diamondbacks a few decent starts, maybe they can trade him and make room for the youngster.

It looks like the Athletics assigned a 122 pitch count to Dan Haren. He appears to need to get a decent way through a game. In his last start against the Royals he threw 122 in 6 2/3 innings. Today against the Twins, that amount just last six innings. Despite all the throws, Haren pitched well today, not allowing a run through six innings. But if he is capable of throwing that many, he should come closer to completing a game. The A's one a close one, 2-1.

Barry Zito gave the Athletics another great outing last night, pitching seven scoreless innings en route to a 4-0 Oakland win over Minnesota. Zito's improved over his rough April start. He posted a 5.93 during the first month of the season, but since he's pitched to a 1.12 mark. The big difference is home runs. He allowed 4 in his first 27 1/3 innings, while giving up just three in 48 innings since.

Chris Young takes a no hitter into the seventh inning for the Padres. Helton leads off with a deep drive to centerfield that Cameron runs down for the out and then crashes into the wall. The catch preserves the no-no and draws a standing ovation from the crowd.

Young's walked two, and is approaching 100 pitches. He's through 6 2/3 innings.

Update: Young retires the side in order in the seventh. He's six outs away from a no hitter.

The Baseball Crank looks at where the Tigers rank in ERA compared to league ERA, and find they're off to a very good start.

Randy Johnson took a different approach yesterday as he threw six shutout innings:

Though Johnson himself insisted his fastball was his most important pitch yesterday, there was no doubt that he was using an off-speed splitter and even a straight change on the outside part of the plate more than in the past, which kept hitters from sitting on either his fastball or his down-and-in slider.

"He's not just trying to throw the ball by you now," Tigers third baseman Brandon Inge said after going 0-for-2. "That's the first time I've seen him use a changeup. It's always been fastball-slider. It looks like he's got a different mind-set and it makes him more effective."

There's a good discussion in the article about which pitches made the others more effective. Posada says getting the fastball in on righties made the splitter more effective. John Haper notes that the off-speed pitches made hitters vulnerable to the fastball, as evidenced by the series of pitches that struck out I-Rod.

What's clear is that Randy Johnson made an adjustment. That adjustment put the hitters off stride, and that resulted in an extremely effective outing.

Cliff Lee think he may be tipping his pitches (second item):

He allowed a home run to Jim Thome on a hanging curveball with an 0-and-2 count. Paul Konerko and Juan Uribe homered on fastballs, each on the 10 th pitch of the atbat. Konerko first fouled off five pitches, Uribe six.

"Normally, when you go through a bad stretch, you’re walking guys and getting behind (in the count). I’m not doing that," Lee said. "For some reason right now, I throw a pitch to get an out and they foul it off.

"Today, especially, the ‘out’ pitches kept getting fouled off. I don’t know if they had my pitches — if they knew what was coming — or what."

He did throw a very high percentage of strikes in the game for such a bad start.

John Rheinecker made his second start for the Texas Rangers, earning his first win as he shut down the Seattle Mariners 2-0. He was two outs away from the shutout, but had reached 110 pitches, hit a batter and allowed a single when he was relieved for the final two outs. He's now given up two runs in 12 1/3 innings, striking out 9 and walking just one. The Rangers will take those kind of numbers the rest of the year.

Cliff Lee ended May the way he pitched all month, giving up a lot of hits. He faced 17 batters in 2 2/3 innings today, and the only one not to put the ball in play walked. The eight hits means he's given up 51 in the month in just 33 1/3 innings. Three of the eight hits went for home runs, bringing his total for the month to seven. He's allowed 10 in two months after giving up 22 all last year. The Indians trail 7-0 in the fourth.

David Cameron charts Felix Hernandez's pitches and finds he's throwing too many fastballs early and being too predictable late.

The bells were ringing for Jered Weaver last night as he earned his Angels wings with a 10-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Weaver didn't allow a run in his seven innings of work. He threw strikes (64 of 97 pitches), walked one and struck out five. Allowing no runs is nothing new to Weaver:

When Weaver left Salt Lake, he had thrown 27 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings. If one counts his seven on Saturday, Weaver has now thrown 34 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings in professional baseball.

So now the question is, who loses the starting assignment when Bartolo Colon returns?

Livan Hernandez makes it three good starts in a row as the Nationals defeat the Dodgers 10-4. Hernandez pitched seven innings for the third straight start. He's 2-1 with a 2.57 ERA in that stretch. Tonight was the first time this season he didn't walk a batter.

Soriano keeps pace with Morgan Ensberg as Alfonso hits his 17th home run, and the two remained tied for second place in the National League behind Pujols.

Dodger Thoughts thinks about the Angels and notes in an update that the younger Weaver brother will pitch Saturday. It's too bad that Jered isn't replacing Jeff.

Deadspin has video of Bronson Arroyo's car commerical. I nearly fell off my chair laughing.

The latest on Roger Clemens:

Clemens is supposed to make his decision the first week of June after completing a three-week at-home training regimen to determine how close he is to returning to game action.

Clemens's agent, Randy Hendricks, confirmed the Rocket is in ``Week 2 of an intense, three-week workout period. So far, so good."

When told someone close to the talks is saying it's between Boston and Houston, Hendricks replied, ``I think someone is guessing. We have not told anyone that they are out. I do think he is leaning towards playing if he makes it through all of his workouts."

My speculation is that Roger wants one more World Championship. He probably figures he's good for five months, which will get him through the playoffs. The team in the best position to win on June 1 is going to have a big advantage in securing Roger. And although fans of the other New York team might not like Clemens, I wouldn't count out the Mets given their rotation problems.

Update Dan Lewis wrote about Roger going to the Mets two months ago.

While we're on the subject of closers, Jonathan Papelbon picked up his 16th in 16 tries as the Red Sox defeat the Devil Rays 4-1. Jon's ERA is now a ridiculously low 0.34 and his opposition BA is just .143. He's only walked three men in 24 2/3 innings. If this keeps up, he'll be challenging Eckersley's great seasons.

Looking at Brad Radke's pitching line today, the first thing I notice is that the guy is throwing strikes. Sixty-eight of one hundred went for strikes today. That's great! But the results aren't. Eleven hits in 5 2/3 innings, 9 singles, six runs, all earned. If you're going to throw strikes that don't fool batters, it may be time to hang up the spikes.

Ryan Madson is having his best start of the year tonight. He started the ninth inning, however. He's now gone seven scoreless innings, giving up no runs, three hits and four walks while striking out six. He's event gotten two at bats! If he had pitched like that while he was a starter, Cole Hamels might still be in the minors. They're going to the top of the 16th at Shea.

Roy Halladay pitched another great game tonight, falling one batter short of a complete game. He went 8 2/3, striking out seven and allowing just one run. Apart from the small amount of time he missed hurt, he's right where he was last year. Through May 23rd of 2005, Halladay was 7-2 with a 2.84 ERA. With the win tonight, he's 6-1 with a 2.77 ERA.

The Baseball Crank notes that Justin Verlander picked up a decision in each of his first eleven starts. He wonders who owns the longest such streak at the start of his career.

Before I try to answer that, let me say that Joe Blanton has the longest active streak at 17 starts.

The Day by Day Database goes back to 1974, so we can see the longest streaks for players whose careers started then. The answer is Bryn Smith with 18. Smith actually started in the bullpen and was a spot starter through his first 13 starts He went 9-9 in his first 18 starts.

Jim Clancy was a starter from the beginning and received decisions in his first 15 starts. He had one relief appearance mixed in on his way to a 5-10 record.

Another famous pitcher on the list was also a Tiger, Mark Fidrych. The Bird made two appearance from the bullpen before getting his first start on 5/15/1976. He then reeled off 13 straight starts with a decision, going 11-2 with a 1.72 ERA.

There are others at 13, but Verlander has a way to go to catch anyone who's career started in the last 32 years.

Update: I figured out how to program streaks so I can find the longest in a time period. It takes some time, 11 isn't that impressive. Since the start of the century (2001), the longest streak is by Bartolo Colon, 30 games.

Jae Seo continued the recent success of the Dodgers starting pitchers last night, holding the Colorado Rockies to just one unearned run over seven innings in a 6-1 Dodger win. Over their last twelve games, Los Angeles starting pitchers combined for a 7-2 record (9-3 overall) and a 2.25 ERA. The only two losses came in starts by Derek Lowe. Impressively, they're doing this without striking out a lot of batters, just 4.4 per nine. But they are more impressive in the other two legs of the pitching tripod, walking just 2.0 per nine and allowing a home run every 19 innings.

No one told Bronson Arroyo that Cincinnati's home park favors the hitters. Even though 20 runs scored at Great American Ballpark tonight, Bronson allowed just one of them on his way to his sixth victory against two losses. He remains undefeated at the GAB, extending this record to 3-0 in four starts and lowering his ERA to 1.47. The Reds win 15-5.

The Tigers staff extended their scoreless inning streak to 21 with an 8-0 shutout of the Kansas City Royals. Justin Verlander was the hero tonight, pitching a complete game five hitter. The Tigers team ERA is down to 3.18.

Ordonez was the offensive hero, knocking out three hits and driving in two. He's now hitting .325 with a .583 slugging percentage. It's a year late, but that signing is paying off.

Curt Schilling seemed to put to rest any worries about his health as he shutdown the Yankees for eight innings, striking out six and walking none. Most impressively, he threw 72 of his 99 pitches for strikes. Keith Foulke didn't fare so well, however. He gave up two home runs in the ninth, along with four runs. That made the final Red Sox 9, Yankees 5.

Ortiz and Ramirez did most of the offensive damage, with two hits and three RBI apiece. Manny homered, only his second at Fenway this year.

The first three Brewers reach against Boof Bonser, loading the bases. But Bonser recovers, allowing a sacrifice fly, and getting a pop out and a strikeout to end the inning with just one run scoring.

Not much action today, as nine games are underway and only five runs have scored.

Brad Halsey continues to be hurt by home runs as a starter. In 12 2/3 relief innings Bard did not allow a long ball. After four starts now, he's pitched 21 2/3 innings and given up 5 dingers. The Giants lead 2-1 today on the strength of those solo shots, including one by Bonds.

Josh Towers pitched poorly again last night, giving up five runs in five innings to raise his ERA to 8.52 as the Blue Jays lost to the Rockies 8-3. Ty Taubenheim gets a start today as a replacement for Chacin, but you have to wonder if he's really auditioning to replace Towers. When Chacin returns from the DL, we could see Ty move into Burnett's slot and Towers moved out of the rotation.

Francisco Liriano is making a good impression in his first start of the year. He's faced six batters, retired all six and struck out three. He's thrown just 24 pitches, 18 for strikes.

The Maddux-Buehrle matchup was all Buehrle today as the White Sox win 6-1. Maddux gives up all six runs and his May ERA goes to 7.48. Buehrle once again gives up a run in the first inning, but it's unearned and his ERA drops to 2.92. He's still not striking out batters, but his defense keeps gobbling up balls, and he winds up with a two hitter this afternoon.

Renyel Pinto made his major league debut for the Florida Marlins yesterday. He pitched an inning, giving up a walk and a hit but got a double play ball to get out of the 1st and 2nd, no one out jam. He threw 10 balls and 10 strikes, and K'd Giles. There's plenty of room for improvement, but not a bad result for your first inning.

Javier Vazquez over his career has seen a pretty steady rise in the number of home runs he allows in a season. That's why it was so encouraging to see him with just two home runs allowed coming into tonight's action, espcecially given that he's in a good home run park in Chicago. Unfortunately, he doubled his home runs allowed tonight as Branyan hit one early and Hollins hit one late, both to tie the game. Carl Crawford added a triple to drive in the winning run in the seventh, and the Devil Rays take the rubber game of the series 5-4.

Kirk Saarloos continued the good May for the Oakland Athletics starters. His one earned run in 6 2/3 innings lowered the ERA to 3.45 for the A's starting pitchers. That's after a 5.60 ERA in April. They've lowered both their walks and home runs per nine, and that seems to have made the difference.

Unfortunately, the record of the starters isn't all the much better. They're 8-7 in May after being 8-9 in April. They have plenty of time left this month to improve.

The good news is that Kerry Wood struck out two and walked none in his first two innings back in the majors. The bad news is he's allowed three home runs and the Cubs are down 4-0 after two innings. Wood is working hard, as he's thrown 44 pitches in the first two innings, 33 for strikes.

Kenny Rogers leaves the Detroit game in the top of the sixth after just 83 pitches. He had loaded the bases, but one of those was on an error. If anyone saw the game, was Kenny injured?

Kyle Lohse became one of the highest paid players in triple A today as he's sent down in favor of Boof Bonser. How you can keep a pitcher with that name in the minors for any length of time is beyond me. Boof has a career minor league K per 9 of 9.38. He walks a few batters, but great control didn't help Silva or Radke this year.

I can't wait to hear the announcer intone, "They're not saying boo, they're saying Boof!"

It seems Kyle broke the team rules by leaving early last night.

Bob Dutton notes the Kansas City Royals are on a record setting pace for wild pitches.

"Some of the wild pitches aren't wild pitches," manager Buddy Bell said. "They've been on fastballs. But you can't just ask your catcher to block ball after ball after ball. Then it's like you're a (hockey) goalie.

"It goes hand in hand with command. If you have better command, the catcher will catch more of those pitches."

Curt Schilling denies that his 133 pitch performance in Cleveland is responsible for his poor pitching performances lately:

''I can talk until I'm blue in the face, until everybody's blue in face, when I tell you guys that's not it," Schilling said. ''It makes good copy. That's really putting the blame and making excuses where they don't belong.

Schilling's explanation doesn't really convince me otherwise:

''That's part of it," Schilling said. ''The split's not as sharp. The fastball doesn't have the extra oomph I used to have. I've got to adjust and make better pitches. I will."

Where that oomph went, of course, is subject to conjecture, as in, did it check out in Cleveland? What happened last night, Schilling said, was that in trying to reach back for something extra, he gave up command of his fastball, and that cost him, big-time.

''Any time you try to put extra velocity on the ball, chances are real high you're going to give away location," he said. ''When you throw the ball like Josh [Beckett] does, you can get away with that. But right now I cannot. I knew it -- I've known it -- but I'm not taking it out to the mound on a consistent basis."

That reach-back fastball ultimately will return, he insists. What to do in the interim?

''It's mental, it's all mental," he said. ''The mind-set, the philosophy, is not foreign to me. I get ahead throwing 91, 92, getting a guy to two strikes. It's almost like with two strikes I get to be a bull in a china shop instead of staying with my strength, which is command, moving a guy back and forth across the plate, getting him out in front. I'm not doing that, and that's frustrating."

It's only mental in that Schilling refuses to recognize his physical limitations. The physical limitations indicate that, well, something's wrong physically. The real interesting thing is that over the starts since the Cleveland game, his strikeouts per 9 innings is still 8.0, just like earlier in the season. What's different is the hits he's allowing. On fieldable balls in play, opposition batters were 23 for 84 against Curt through 4/25, a .274 batting average. Since then, they're 24 for 72, a .333 average. Is it shoddier defense, or is Schilling giving batters easier pitches to hit? Given that his home runs went way up, I'm thinking it's the latter. My guess is that there's some minor injury (maybe covered by his usual soreness) that's messing up Curt's mechanics.

Maybe Felix Hernandez was crowned just a little too early. The Athletics pounded the young Mariners' pitcher for ten runs last night, earning eleven hits and two walks in four innings. Despite an impressive number of strikeouts, the opposition is hitting .302 off Hernandez on the season. What's the problem?

Well, is the combination of Hernandez and new catcher Kenji Johjima simply not working out? Pitching coach Rafael Chaves said Johjima was not, in his view, part of the problem.

"I'm satisfied that Joh is calling the right pitches," Chaves said. "Felix is throwing the pitches he wants to throw. That's not a problem.

"What is a problem is that he isn't executing the pitches. He's throwing the right pitch at the right time, but it's up in the zone too much of the time."

He's now allowed eight homers in 43 1/3 innings, six of those on the road. He's been great in Seattle, allowing a .211 opposition BA, but that balloons to .393 away from Seattle. He's been hit hard in every park he's visited this year. Seattle fans, is there something about the dimensions of Safeco that helps Hernandez?

After posting a very low K per 9 to start the year, Tim Hudson found his out pitch against the Marlins. With 10 K tonight, he's struck out 17 in his last 12 innings, all against the Fish. Ray is on in relief in the seventh. Unfortunately for Tim, Dontrelle Willis only allowed two hits and one run, putting Hudson on the short end of a 2-1 lead. Willis isn't exactly pitching lights out (3 BB, 2 K), but it's effective so far.

With Carlos Silva being moved to the Twins bullpen, Brew Crew Ball notes that Milwaukee will see Cole Hamels and Francisco Liriano in consecutive games later in the week.

I'd rather take my chances with Bannister:

Mets brass is now leaning toward having Brian Bannister pitch in a minor-league game before reentering the rotation. That would prevent the rookie from facing the Yankees on Friday and delay a decision about whether to bounce Jose Lima or Jeremi Gonzalez from the rotation.

The Mets still were debating how to align Lima and Gonzalez, with one journeyman slated to pitch Thursday against the Cardinals and the other the following day against the Yankees.

You know you're in trouble if you need to ponder bouncing Jose Lima from the rotation.

Nick and Nick make the case for removing Carlos Silva from the rotation:

However, at this point, it is clear that Silva needs to be banished from the rotation. He has allowed 5+ runs in every single start he's made this year except for a home start against Kansas City. If the Twins are going to keep him on the roster for the time being, which they almost surely will, he should be moved to the bullpen. As a reliever in Philadelphia, Silva had a 3.83 ERA over two years and allowed only 11 HRs in 171.1 innings. Whether it's a relocation to the bullpen, a trip to the minors, or a trade/release (highly unlikely), something must happen with Silva. He cannot be allowed to make another start. If the Twins do that, they might as well use the dagger they couldn't put through the heart of the White Sox to stab themselves. He cannot get it done and at this point, and leaving Francisco Liriano in the bullpen while the rotation continues to struggle so mightily seems insane and just idiotic. Silva has to go.

Jeff Weaver started this afternoon's game against the Seattle Mariners with a 6.53 ERA and managed to raise it nearly a run! Weaver gave up seven runs in 3 1/3 innings to run his record to 1-6, raise his ERA to 7.40 and move the Angels into last place in the AL West. Maybe it's time to raise Jeff's brother, Jered to the majors.

Teepee Talk notes that the Indians buried Danny Graves. Graves only struck out three batters in 14 innings this season. There's a lot of pitching problems on the Indians right now; I suspect this will be the first of a few moves.

Kerry Wood is ready to pitch for the Cubs and will get his first start on Thursday. With a .243 career OBA he might even help the offense.

Could the Phillies make Cole Hamels major league debut any more difficult. Not only did he face the best offense in the NL in their homer haven, but he had to pitch in the rain. Still, Hamels went out and shut down the Reds for five innings. He walked five batters, but struck out seven and allowed just one hit. He also issued the quote of the night (emphasis added):

"I knew there were some pitches where I rushed too much and threw balls 80 feet in the air," Hamels said with a smile. "But I just had to breathe a little more. That's what [pitching coach Rich] Dubee came out and told me. Just take a deep breath. I think that's something I'm going to learn along the way."

Breathe?

"Yeah, to breathe," he joked. "You can't breathe out of your eyelids."

Hamels was five when Bull Durham came out. I guess this means he doesn't wear ladies underwear when he pitches?

Brad Lidge's control problems forced the Astros to relieve him of duties as the team's closer. It's so he can make adjustments without the game on the line:

Manager Phil Garner said righthanders Chad Qualls and Dan Wheeler will split the closer duties while Lidge will pitch earlier in games to allow him to work through his mechanical problems.

"He's still my closer," Garner said. "This is not (permanently) taking him out of the closer's role. What I want to try to do is give him a couple of outings here where he can work on some of the things he and (pitching coach) Jim Hickey have been working on and do it without thinking the one pitch may cost him a ballgame if he doesn't get it where he wants to.

"It's extremely difficult to make adjustments, and even more difficult when you're pitching in the ninth inning."

Most of Lidge's problems come against lefties. He's still a bit wild against righties, but if he can't get left-handed batters out, he's not going to be able to function as a a closer.

With Cole Hamels scheduled to make his debut tonight, Philadelphia pitchers remember their first games in the majors.

The Braves-Marlins boxscore contains an ugly line for Dontrelle Willis. The only thing he did right was not allow a home run. The Braves touched him for 10 hits in 2 2/3 innings. Dontrelle didn't strikeout a batter and gave up seven runs. Dontrelle's ERA jumps to 6.22.

Tim Hudson's struggles disappeared tonight as he struck out seven in six innings. His low strikeout rate and high ERA is a sign of trouble, but the Marlins went quietly tonight, his only mistake a solo home run to Olivo.

Matt Diaz went five for five, raising his batting average 80 points.

What a woeful job the press did on covering Randy Johnson last night. None of them state the obvious, that Johnson's mechanics are screwed up. The Boston Globe, New York Daily News and New York Newsday all basically have the same story. Here's Posada in the Globe:

Catcher Jorge Posada was in the corner of the subdued Yankees clubhouse informing reporters there was nothing wrong with Randy Johnson's velocity.

''He threw one pitch 101 miles per hour tonight," Posada insisted.

Right, he was throwing hard last night. What I saw struck me as a lousy follow through, but Jerry Remy on NESN called it the front shoulder flying open. He was "throwing like a girl".

Of course, everyone "throws like a girl" before you're taught how to throw. It's the natural motion to rotate with both arms extended. But eventually, someone teaches you to bring your glove hand into your chest as you throw. This transfers momentum to your throwing arm. It's like a skater bringing his/her hands in to spin faster.

Johnson wasn't bringing his glove hand to his chest last night. He'd bring it about halfway in and stop. That's why his shoulder was flying open. And it could be a physical problem. The Times reminds us:

Johnson has not seemed like the same pitcher since April 13, when he abruptly left a start against Kansas City after five innings. He said that day that his shoulder was stiff but quickly added that it was his right shoulder.

Was he joking? Or was he subtly revealing a problem? Johnson, 42, said nothing about his health after last night's game, but he generally bristles at the suggestion he may be hurt. He was throwing as hard as usual, but his command was terrible.

He has a stiff right shoulder. Is that keeping him from bringing his glove hand into chest and following through properly? I'd love to hear Will Carroll's thoughts on this. It's an example of how the whole body works together to throw a ball. Damage something that doesn't look related, and everything falls apart.

There's some buzz that Cole Hamels will make his major league debut Friday.

The Oakland Athletics hit two home runs off Josh Towers in the top of the fourth inning to take a 3-0 lead over the Toronto Blue Jays. The homer keep coming off Josh; he's now allowed nine in 30 1/3 innings pitched. That moves him up into the top five in the league in homers allowed.

MetsBlog.com speculates on what the Mets rotation will look like as pitchers spend time on the DL. I wonder if the Glavine contract restructuring had something to do with the Mets wanting to free money to add someone big mid-season?

Cole fails to fail, slows timetable

The title refers to what the general manager wants to see from Cole Hamels:

Phillies general manager Pat Gillick, who said last week that he can really tell about a young pitcher after watching him come back from getting roughed up, will have to wait a little while longer.

You see, Hamels keeps getting batters out. And it's not even close:

In those three starts, the 6-3 lefthander has pitched 23 innings, walked one, struck out 36, and has a 0.39 ERA. Nearly as impressive, if you are on the front-office side of the business, is that Hamels drew a season-high crowd of 8,776 to Lackawanna County Stadium, including a walkup of more than 4,100.

He sure looks like an ace. His effectiveness comes from the huge difference between his fastball and changeup:

The next thing you notice is not so much the number of strikeouts - 10 yesterday, 36 in three Triple A starts - but the way Hamels goes about getting them.

His fastball topped out in the seventh inning yesterday at 92 mph on the stadium radar gun; fast gun, slow gun, dunno. All but one of his first eight strikeouts against Syracuse came on an offspeed pitch, usually a changeup that arrived at 80 mph.

I'm not sure how many starts Hamels needs before it's clear AAA batters are overmatched against him. The Phillies may need to promote him just because he needs the challenge.

If there are Chicago Cubs fans looking for good news right now, this might be it:

Chicago Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood struck out 12 in five scoreless innings during a rehab appearance Sunday with Chicago's Class A affiliate, the Peoria Chiefs.

He walked just one batter and threw a very high percentage of strikes. Of course, the way the Cubs offense is not working, Kerry may need to throw a shutout everytime to win.

A very nice job by the Cardinals bullpen today. Four pitchers combined for six innings in relief of an injured Sidney Ponson, allowing just one run while striking out six. The pen lowered their ERA to 2.68, moving past the Mets for lowest relief ERA in the National League.

Sidney Ponson left the game today after three innings despite allowing just one hit and no runs. The Cardinals pinch hit for him in the top of the fourth. Did anyone see the game? Was Ponson hurt? Or thrown out by an ump?

Update: Some commented below that it's an elbow

Jose Lima picks up where he left off last year, allowing three runs in three innings. Isn't there a double-A or single-A pitcher who can do better than this?

Billy Wagner let his feeling be known about his former teammates in Philadelphia:

Three days before returning to Citizens Bank Park in a New York Mets uniform, outspoken former Phillies closer Billy Wagner yesterday painted a grim picture of his final weeks in the team's clubhouse last year.

"I knew I was not well-liked there," he said, referring to his former teammates. "I felt like an outsider."

Worse, Wagner said, he got the feeling late in the season that his teammates, whom he described as overly sensitive about media coverage, were just waiting to see him fail.

Wagner said he became "everyone's least favorite Phillie in the clubhouse" after he called his teammates on the carpet for their spiritless play in an interview that appeared July 1 in The Inquirer.

Wagner should be careful what he says. Afterall, he doesn't have a very good track record against former teams.

For the second game in a row, Dontrelle Willis gets knocked around for a ton of runs. His pitching only stats look good; 11 2/3 innings, nine strikeouts, 2 walks, 1 home run. But he's allowed 20 hits! I don't think that's all his defense. Any Marlins fans care to comment on Dontrelle's outings? Bad luck or flawed pitching?

Kelvim Escobar throws 6 2/3 shutout innings en route to a 3-0 Angels victory over the Blue Jays. That lower Escobar's ERA to 2.78 and puts him in top five leaders in the AL.

With this game, the majors recorded the 13th shutout of May. There were 31 in April in 28 days.

Brandon Webb pitched another great game last night, running his record to 5-0. He's using a different pitching compared to previous seasons:

And for a rotation that has lacked consistency, Webb has been as reliable as the sunrise. His 52 2/3 innings pitched are tops in the majors.

And he might be getting even better.

Webb has thrown off-speed pitches more regularly this season, mixing his curveball and change-up with his signature sinkerball.

It's a pitch pattern that carried over from the start of spring training, when he threw off-speed stuff early in games because he was only scheduled to throw a few innings anyway.

Webb had so much success with it, he and catcher Johnny Estrada didn't change a thing for the regular season.

The curveball has become a weapon he can use in just about any count.

"I've been able to throw that for strikes," Webb said. "Most of the guys have seen me three, four years now and know that I'm going to go after them with a sinker. To come out with a first-pitch curveball keeps them off balance early and makes it a little easier for me."

At some point, the pattern will change again as hitters adjust to his early curve. But with a number of pitches Brandon can throw for strikes, he can keep hitters guessing indefinitely.

With apologies to Paul McCartney:

Rocky Ramon Was pitching at home Hoping to hold down the Astros Rocky had come Equipped with a gun To set down the side with some KOs.

Ramon Ramirez pitched two scoreless inning last night and is becoming the go to guy in the Colorado bullpen. He faced the heart of the Houston order in the eighth and struck out the side, giving him 16 strikeouts in just 12 innings. Last night, he kept the Astros in check while the offense rallied for three runs in the 8th and 9th inning to pull out a 5-4 victory and keep the team in first place in the NL West.

It looks like the high pitch outing by Curt Schilling two starts ago produced no adverse effects. He picked up his fifth win tonight, going seven innings and showing great control. He walked none while throwing 74 of 105 pitches for strikes.

Mike Lowell punched out three doubles. He's leading the league in doubles with 16. He's making a nice recovery after a disastrous 2005.

Ivy Chat notices a smart-alec comment about Mark Prior's rehabilitation in the press, and wants to see more!

With last night's performance at Coors, Aaron Harang is making a serious challenge to Bronson Arroyo as Reds staff ace. Harang struck out 12 as he allowed just one run over 8 1/3 innings. That's four runs allowed in two games for Reds staff at Coors. Pretty impressive.

Meanwhile, the Rockies hitters have the strangest home/road split in the history of the club. They're slugging .522 on the road, .385 at home! Colorado has to hope that the road number stay high, and the offense returns to it's usual levels at Coors. That would be enough to win the NL West.

Brad Lidge put two baserunners on last night before earning his eleventh save of the season. Over his last nine appearances, Lidge has allowed baserunners in seven of those games. The numbers aren't impressive, but Brad earned seven saves, making one wonder just how tough it is to close games. He reminds me of John Wetteland in 1996. It seemed everytime I saw the Yankees closer come into a game, he'd put the first two batters on. Maybe coming into the game with the bases empty wasn't enough of a challenge for John. Like Lidge, Wetteland struck out a lot of batters that year, making it tough for the men on base to move around.

Juan Cruz continued to respond well to his role in the starting rotation in Arizona, shutting out his former team for five innings last night as the Diamondbacks defeated the Cubs 6-0. Cruz has collected 10 innings as a starter, striking out 10 and walking just two. He's a big improvement so far over Russ Ortiz. Chad Tracy homered in his third straight game. Tracy's averages right now are right where he ended last season; one point lower in batting average, 7 points lower in OBA and slugging .553 both years. Talk about consistency!

I noted yesterday that Doug Davis didn't allow many runs over his last two starts despite putting a number of runners on base, especially via the walk. Batters are 1 for 15 against him with runners in scoring position in those games, which explains why quite nicely.

Andre Either hits a Clay Hensley pitch and breaks his bat. Hensley turns to watch the ground ball head to the short shortstop, and the splintered end of the heavy part of the bat hits Clay in the back of the head. He's sitting on the mound right now, and it looks like they're digging spliters out of his head. He's coming out of the game.

Update: Clay did not come out. He went to the dugout to get patched up. He comes back to the mound and strikes out Oscar Robles. He wins the he-man of the night award.

What's up with Tom Glavine? For his career through 2005, Glavine struck out 5.4 per nine innings. It's an okay total, not great, but Glavine makes up for the lack of strikeouts with great control. Suddenly, however, he's striking out batters left and right. Nine Pirate batters struck out through five innings tonight, and Glavine now has 40 K in 44 1/3 innings, 8.1 per 9. He's found something that's fooling batters this season, and his ERA is down to 2.03 through five.

Update: Glavine goes seven shutout innings as the Mets win 6-0. Tom strike out 10 and lowers his ERA to 1.94. The Pirates strike out a total of 14 times in the game.

Jose Contreras continues to dominate hitters, lowering his league leading ERA to 1.41 with seven innings of one-run ball. He's now allowed just 28 hits in 44 2/3 innings. Add in 11 walks and he's less than a batter an inning reaches base against him. Since the start of last August, he's been unbelievable, allowing a 1.82 ERA and just five home runs in 123 2/3 innings. Remember, he pitches half the time in a good home run park, so that stat is even more impressive.

Doug Davis pitched his second good game in a row, if you look at runs allowed. Over his last two starts, he's allowed just one run in 12 1/3 innings, despite walking eight and giving up nine hits. When I get the situational stats tomorrow morning I'm going to be very curious to see how he's doing with men on base over these two games. The Brewers defeat the Giants 7-4.

The first three White Sox hitters reach against Felix Hernandez, the third being a a home run by Jim Thome. That's the fourth home run allowed by Hernandez in a little over 10 IP on the road, along with 19 hits and seven walks, and he's not even out of the first yet.

Update: Felix gets out of the first with no more damage. Those statistics are over 10 2/3 road innings this season.

Bronson Arroyo finds a reason to be happy in Cincinnati.

Last night the Indians defeated the Athletics 14-3 behind seven good inning from Paul Byrd. Last year, Kevin Millwood led the AL in ERA and lost more than he won. This season, his replacemet, Byrd, is 4-2 despite a 7.11 ERA.

Jason Schmidt controlled the strike zone last night, pitching a complete game shutout of the Milwaukee Brewers. Over his nine innings, he struck out seven and walked none.

The last time he didn't issue a free pass in a start of any length was Sept. 17, 2003 — 68 starts ago.

"We heard he'd been walking a lot of guys, and we expected him to be wild, but his command was great tonight," said Jenkins, who had two of theBrewers' hits. "He has a lot of pitches to put you away with."

With a 5.03 staff ERA after the shutout, the Giants can certainly use Schmidt returning to his 2003-2004 form.

I don't write about minor leaguers much, but one of my commentors is very excited about Cole Hamels of the Philadelphia Phillies. This article gives you the reason why.

Hamels, a 22-year-old lefthander, yesterday dominated the opponent for the second straight time for Triple A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. In Richmond, Hamels threw his first complete game, a two-hit shutout in which he walked one and had 12 strikeouts against the Braves' best minor leaguers in a 5-0 win. He shut out Norfolk with 14 strikeouts, five hits and no walks in seven innings in his Triple A debut Thursday.

He's dominated the minors so far, although his walks rates are somewhat high. He's also been limited in playing time by SportsCenter's favorite injury, the bulging disc. So I understand Gillick's reluctance to promote the youngster to the majors. But the opposition is hitting .317 vs. the Phillies starters this year. If that keeps up, Gillick may not have a choice.

Mike Maroth added six more good innings to his 2006 season as the Tigers keep the Royals winless on the road with a 4-1 victory. Maroth's ERA now stands at 1.78, second in the AL. But he'll only stay on the leader board for three days he needs one inning for each game played to qualify. He needs to go deep in a game soon so he stays among the best the entire time between starts. He threw just 87 pitches today, so one more innings was possible. But the Detroit pen gave up just one hit to the ten batters faced, so you can't argue with Leyland's decision.

Mike O'Connor makes it two fine pitching performances in a row to start his major league career. He pretty much shut down the Mets, allowing just one run over seven innings, a gopher ball to Paul Lo Duca. He allowed just one other hit while walking two and striking out six. His ERA after 12 innings stands at 0.75, and the opposition is hitting .122 against the rookie. The Nationals lead 6-1 in the eighth.

Zach Duke continues his domination of the Cubs today. He's allowed no runs through five innings today, lowering his career ERA against Chicago to 0.64. We'll see if he can run it lower as the day continues. The Pirates lead the Cubs 4-0 going to the sixth inning.

Sidney Ponson continued his comeback today with six inning of two-run ball. His only mistakes were solo home runs to Dunn and Edwin Encarnacion. If the Cardinals can get five or six low--run innings out of the knight most starts, their investment will pay off. The game is tied at two in the bottom of the ninth.

Update: Brian Falkenborg, just called up today by the Cardinals, shows a reason he hasn't spent much time in the majors. With Reds on 1st and 2nd, a bunt came back to him quickly. He had plenty of time to get the runner at third, but didn't see the catcher's signal to go that way and got the out at first. Javier Valentin comes through with the single to win the game and put Cincinnati two games up on St. Louis.

Royals Authority looks at what motivates Runelvys Hernandez: humiliation.

Sean Marshall gives the Cubs 7 1/3 fine innings tonight allowing just one run. The Cubs needed that performance as they end up taking a 2-1 victory from the Pirates. Marshall's pitched very well in Chicago, lowering his ERA at Wrigley to 2.41, striking out 14 in 18 2/3 innings at his home park.

The Diamondbacks believe they found the flaw in Russ Ortiz's delivery:

"When he's struggling," Price said, "his body gets out ahead of his arm and it affects his release point and his ability to command his stuff. He's also doing some stuff to tighten up his breaking ball."

Ortiz, who will work exclusively out of the bullpen as a long reliever, has not made an appearance since his last start on April 23 at Dodger Stadium when he lasted less than two innings. He's due for an inning or two of work, but Arizona will proceed cautiously so as to not have a long man available in case one of the starters gets injured early in a game the following night.

"It's hard in the middle of a season to re-create or completely change a pitcher and then expect him to go out there and be efficient," Price said. "This is more fine-tuning than anything."

Ortiz acknowledged on Sunday that his velocity could be part of the issue as well. It's topped out in the high 80 mph range, forcing him to have to make adjustments on the fly. But he said much of the frustration and anger he felt when told of his demotion last week has subsided.

Of course, some might argue that it's years of poor control finally catching up to the pitcher. Since 1998, his first year in the league, Ortiz's walk rate is the third highest in the majors. Couple that with age and a loss of velocity, and you have a pitcher who walks a lot of batters and gets hit hard when he is in the strike zone. It's not a good combination for the Diamondbacks.

Where Have you Gone, Andy Van Slyke attended the Pirates game today and reports on Oliver Perez's problems:

Also, it's very obvious that Oliver Perez is struggling with just about every pitch he throws. From the first base side up that close you can get a nice view of his mechanics, and they're flat out bad. When he pitches from the windup he does some strange double or triple hitch with the glove. He's clearly constantly frustrated with his inability to just rear back and bring the heat like he used to and he constantly fidgets on the mound. It's just an all around bad situation, and I don't see it getting better any time soon.

Oliver Perez continues to see his control deteriorate. He managed to last just 3 2/3 innings, but walked five along the way. That gives him 23 walks in 28 2/3 innings. Amazingly, 7.22 walks per 9 is only the fifth worst in the majors among pitchers with 20 IP.

Josh Beckett ptiched a poor first inning against Cleveland, giving up two walks and three hits, including a grand slam to Broussard. Beckett's now allowed a .481 OBA in the first inning, by far his worst inning so far this year. The Indians lead 4-0.

Scott Miller collects interesting quotes from former teammates Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine about the other. It's truly a mutual respect society.

Mark Buehrle picked up a loss last night as the Seattle Mariners defeated the White Sox 5-1. Buehrle allowed four runs over seven innings, but the most interesting thing about the game is that Mark did not strike out a batter. Buehrle's never been a high strikeout hurler, but he always had a reasonable number of Ks. This season, his K per 9 stands at 3.08 with 12 whiffs in 35 innings.

This type of low strikeout pitcher pretty much vanished from baseball after the 1994 season. Between 1995 and 2002, no pitcher with 162 IP struck batters out at a rate less than 3.1 per 9. In 2003, Nate Cornejo of the Tigers managed the feat, but was out of baseball after the 2004 season. In 2004, Kirk Rueter did the same, and he's not around anymore, either.

However, this used to be quite common. There were 48 such seasons in the 1970s, 31 in the 1980s, 5 in the 1990s, and only two so far in the aughties. In each decade, however, the pitchers with the low K rates have higher ERAs than the pitchers with K per 9 above 3.1. Buehrle is making the most of the White Sox defense. But if that defense should crack, I suspect his ERA will start ballooning.

	ERA, 162 IP
Decade	K < 3.1 per 9	K >= 3.1 per 9
2000	4.70	4.10
1990	4.27	3.90
1980	3.96	3.67
1970	3.60	3.44
1960	3.93	3.29
1950	3.78	3.61
1940	3.50	3.30
1930	4.18	3.78
1920	3.76	3.62
1910	2.88	2.67
1900	2.91	2.52

It's always better to have pitchers with higher strikeout rates.

Curt Schilling threw 133 pitches last night, and he addressed that after the game:

''I know people are going to bash the guy in the manager's office for leaving me out there, but I felt great," Schilling said after coming out with a no-decision on a night when he was attempting to join Babe Ruth and Pedro Martinez as the only Sox pitchers to win five games in April.

''I know myself," Schilling said, ''and it came down to I didn't make my pitches. I was one hitter away from getting out of the inning."

Which meant he was in there too long. How you feel and how you pitch are two different things. I also disagree with this:

The Indians scored on a walk and Ben Broussard's homer in the second, and twice more in the third on a triple by Grady Sizemore, a single by Jason Michaels, and a double by Travis Hafner. The homer and triple came on good splits, Schilling said.

I just went back and looked at the homer, and it wasn't a good split. The ball wasn't falling off the table. It was going down but at an angle perfect for an uppercut swing.

The truth is we won't know if this was a bad thing for another couple of starts. Schilling's off to such a great start it would be a shame to see his season fall apart over his desire to win a fifth game in April. Ultimately, the praise or blame lies with Francona. It's his job to overrule pitchers when they think they can still pitch. Remember, that's what brought down Grady Little.

Update: If you look at the comments, SF represents my position correctly. I don't believe there's one magic pitch count. I'd limit someone like Pedro Martinez a lot more than someone like Roger Clemens. I don't pretend to know what Schilling's pitch limit should be. Given the game conditions last night, however, it strikes me that a lower limit was in order. Time will tell.

Given Jeremy Bonderman's pitching line for the year, it seems his ERA should be much lower than 5.04. A few more outings like last night against the Angels and we'll see that drop a lot. He's striking out 8 per 9 innings while walking just 1.8.

Detroit goes to 11-3 on the road, the best record in the majors.

Actually, he's the old Mussina now. But he's pitching like the young Mike. Moose struck out seven in six innings tonight, the only mistake being the first inning homer to Jonny Gomes. Mike lowers his ERA to 2.45 and his opposition batting average to .218. He now has 30 K in 33 IP while walking just six. The Yankees win the game easily 9-1.

Gustavo Chacin allowed two home runs tonight to bring his total for the season to six. In 2005, Gustavao allowed just 20 in a little over 200 innings. He's on a pace to give up 50 in 200 innings right now. The Orioles and Blue Jays are tied at three, all three Orioles runs coming via the two homers.

Carlos Zambrano is blowing away the Marlins tonight. Despite striking out 12 in seven innings, however, he's down 3-0 to the Fish. Jason Vargas just left the game with one out in the seventh and men on first and second. He just struck out 2, but allowed only one hit. What got him into a little trouble was four walks, one of which and a hit by pitch gave the Cubs their runners in the 7th.

Update: Herges gets both batter he faces, including a pinch hitter for Zambrano, to preserve the shutout.

It seems that the problem with the Pittsburgh starting staff was that the coaches were talking too much:

"There was a lot we were throwing at them," Colborn said. "We were using different vocabulary than they had heard before, talking about taking different approaches toward hitters; (manager Jim) Tracy had a different philosophy for them to learn, and I was trying to make their deliveries more effective.

"What happened was, to their credit, they tried to absorb everything. The problem that came was them forgetting who they were."

The article includes a chart that shows improvement, but we'll see how long that lasts. Apart from Perez, the staff just doesn't strikeout batters. They rank 11th in the NL in K per 9 among starters and last in starter's ERA.

Greg Maddux continues his rejuvination, shutting out the Cardinals for seven innings this afternoon. The one walk, five hit performance brings his ERA down to 0.99. He's only allowed 15 hits in 27 1/3 innings and has not allowed more than one run in any of his starts. The Cubs win 7-3.

The Red Sox relievers continue to do an excellent job. The combined for another 3 2/3 scoreless innings today to lower their ERA to 3.54. They allowed just 3 hits while striking out six. Most impressively, as a unit they're walking a batter just once every four innings. They kept Toronto at bay as Boston goes on for a 6-3 win.

Tom Gordon picked up the save today in Philadelphia's 4-2 win over the Marlins. I didn't expect a good year from Tom; he seemed to be on the decline to me and at age 38 I figured that would continue. But he struck out all three men he faced today and he's recorded a total of 13 in 7 2/3 innings so far and converted all five save opportunities. The Phillies can't ask much more from their closer.

Paul Byrd is off to a poor start tonight, allowing four runs in the first inning to the Kansas City Royals. He walked two in the inning, and the Royals are averaging just over two walks per game. This will make three out of four bad outings for the 35-year-old pitcher. After that inning, his ERA sits at 8.66. His walks are high, (9 in 17 2/3 innings after the first) which is not like Byrd. At his age, one has to wonder if his skills are starting a rapid decline.

The Milwaukee Brewers are getting outstanding performaces on both sides of the ball today as they lead the Cincinnati Reds 10-0 in the seventh. Five different player homered in the game for Milwaukee. David Bush is throwing his second outstanding game of the season. Through seven he's allowed just one hit, walked two and struck out nine. He's thrown just 85 pitches, so it looks like he might just finish this game. Bush may prove to be one of the best acquistions of the Brewers off-season.

Mike Maroth moves into the AL ERA lead with six scoreless inning against the Mariners last night. He allowed four hits, all singles and walked three. In 18 1/3 innings, the only run against him came on a solo home run. That's an 0.49 ERA.

Mike's great ERA this year come from his shutting down the heart of the opponent's order. The three through six hitters are 4 for 32 against Mike with no walks, five strikeouts and three GDPs. He's yet to allow a hit with a runner past first base. It's great to see a former 20 game loser off to such a good start.

He need to pitch that well last night, as the Tigers only scored 1 run when Maroth left the game. He picked up the win as Detroit held on for a 2-1 victory.

The western games in the National League last night were made much more interesting by the poor bullpen work of three of the four teams playing. The Giants got off to an early 6-0 lead against the Diamondbacks. Wright gave up two runs over 6 2/3 innings, but Fassero, Kline and Worrell combined to give away the lead, allowing the game to be tied at six going into the top of the 9th. Medders enters the game for Arizona and gives up three runs, undoing the offensive comeback. The sequence included an intentional walk to Barry Bonds with 1 out and men on first and third. Bonds eventually came around to score after Medders walked in a run and Feliz doubled. I guess there was no chance Bonds would hit into a double play in that situation. Even if he hits a long fly ball, it's one run and two outs. Given that Arizona scored in the bottom of the ninth to eventually lose 9-7, pitching to Bonds would not be a bad strategy there.

There were 15 walks in this game. That had to be painful to watch.

The Padres bullpen wasted a fine performance by Jake Peavy as they lost to the Mets 7-2. Peavy held the Mets to an inside-the-park home run by Matsui for seven innings and left with a 2-1 lead. Linebrink and Embree then let six runs score in the eighth inning. Meanwhile, the Mets bullpen was nearly perfect, allowing one hit while striking out four over three innings to earn the win for Sanchez. With three dingers by the Mets, the Padres trail in homer at PETCO 11-4.

Scott Kazmir pitches a nice game tonight as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays shut down the Red Sox 5-1. Kaz struck out seven in 5 2/3 innings while walking just one. He's alternating low and high walk games so far this year, but keeping a selective team like the Red Sox from taking free passes is a good sign.

Zack Greinke returned to the Royals today, reporting to extended spring training in Arizona. Given the state of the Royals pitching, they have to hope the therapy helped.

Kyle Davies picked up the first complete game of his career tonight against the red hot New York Mets. The farthest Davies ever went in a start before is 7 2/3 innings against Pittsburgh last June fourth. His only mistake on the evening was a home run to Chris Woodward. He struck out six and walked just one, while throwing 77 of 106 pitches for strikes.

The rotation may be coming around as the Braves received three great starts in their last four games.

Eric Milton started the season well, allowing just two home runs in his first two starts. But the Marlins have him measured tonight, already launching three bombs against the lefty. Hanley Ramirez not only hit his first major league home run of Eric, he hit his second as well! Number two hitter Dan Uggla added one as well. I guess the table setters are busing the tables tonight.

Rick Maese writes about Daniel Cabrera's fine outing last night, and a comparison is drawn to a young charge of Leo Mazzone's many years ago:

"The main thing I look for at a time like this is his recovery time," Mazzone said. "If he gets off target, what happens next? His stuff is good. The bottom line is sometimes he tries just too hard. I've seen plenty of guys like that."

Mazzone, 57, knows his way around a pitching mound. He has seen plenty of pitchers come through with powerful fastballs. But the arm is only part of the equation.

"You know what I've been thinking about? What do you think would've happened in '91 if we took John Smoltz out of the rotation?" asks Mazzone, the former longtime Braves coach who joined his friend Perlozzo in Baltimore in the offseason.

Maese also notes the poor start of the Atlanta pitching staff:

When the pitching coach left Atlanta, whispers were batted from coast to coast, many quietly denigrating his accomplishments with the Braves. Right now, Atlanta's staff has the second-worst ERA in the National League. No Braves starter registered a win until last weekend. It seems obvious that Mazzone was valuable to the Braves.

Through Cabrera, we'll learn how valuable he can be to the Orioles.

It's still a little early to call Atlanta's problems a lack of Mazzone, but it's certainly a ckeck mark in Leo's column.

Pedro Martinez and his relievers struck out 12 Braves tonight as they won the game 4-3. That gives the Mets staff 98 strikeouts in 109 innings pitched. That's 8.1 per nine innings for the staff. That's a great number for an individual pitcher; for a staff it's fantastic.

Joe Mays is getting hammered again. In two innings tonight, he's allowed five hits, and the league is now batting .400 against the former Twin. In nine innings pitched so far, he's allowed seven walks and five home runs.

At some point, Mays needs to show he can get batters out. The Kansas City offense isn't good enough to withstand a starter getting pounded everytime out.

Brian Moehler of the Marlins pitched three innings so far tonight, allowing six hits, five for extra bases. That's 21 hits against Moehler this year, 11 of the long variety. I believe in Moneyball, Athletics management were asked about the relationship between a pitcher's defense and allowing hits. It was pointed out that extra-base hits against pitchers had more to do with the pitcher than the defense. If that is indeed the case, Brian Moehler at age 35 could be in trouble. Thirty one percent of the hits off Brian were for extra bases last year.

Chien-Ming Wang found his out pitch today, striking out eight Minnesota Twins lealding to a 9-3 Yankees victory. Wang had good strikeout numbers in the minors, but they disappeared once he made the big club. Eight strikeouts is a major league career high, going way past his previous record of five. Wang still induced a lot of ground balls (13 GB, 4 FB), but with 8 K in seven innings, there were a lot less that could go through for hits. He needs more performances like this to be successful in the bigs.

The Texas Rangers were on easy street this afternoon as Huston Street pitched the worst game of his career. Up 3-1, Street allowed five hits and four runs to give the Rangers a 5-3 win in the ninth. This was the most runs Street allowed in a game; he's allowed 3 once before.

The Athletics have now lost five of their last six games, allowing 36 runs in that time.

Josh Beckett picked up his third win today and maintained his 1.29 ERA. And it's a good thing. The Red Sox aren't exactly lighting up his starts, as they've scored just 10 runs in Beckett's 21 innings on the mound. He's pitched brilliantly, allowing him to win with little margin for error.

Ben Sheets lost to the Mets today in his first start off the disabled list. However, Brewers fans should be encouraged as Sheets struck out six in five innings without walking any batters. If he can keep his K per 9 around 9 for the year, he'll be very successful.

This certainly isn't something you'd expect from the Giants ace:

Schmidt's walk total, his highest since he also walked seven Sept. 26, 1998, against Cincinnati with the Pittsburgh Pirates, wasn't directly harmful. Only one of those runners ultimately scored, which was of no consolation to Schmidt (0-2).

"My command was not good whatsoever," he said after throwing 61 strikes in 114 pitches. "If you take the walks away, maybe we have no runs up there and a whole different ballgame. I take that one personally. I probably put our guys to sleep more than anything."

It was the type of game where Schmidt needed to be perfect to win, but instead the night belonged to Odalis Perez. He only walked three as the Dodgers won 3-1.

San Francisco needs to be worried about their offense. While 4.2 runs per game isn't the worst in the league, their runs created per game is only 3.6, and that is tied with the Royals for lowest in the majors.

Chris Ray is making a good case that it's not that difficult to replace a veteran with a youngster, get good performance and spend a lot less money. He picked up his fourth save tonight (three against the Devil Rays) and continued to add to his strikeout totals. He's now struck out seven in 5 1/3 innings pitched while giving up two hits. He's yet to walk a batter. That's exactly what you'd like from your closer.

Correction: Only three of the four saves were against the Devil Rays.

Fausto Carmona debuted for the Cleveland Indians today, pitching an impressive six innings. He held the powerful Tigers team to just one run, giving up five hits, all singles. Carmona's showed great control in his minor league career, walking just 1.6 per nine innings. With the solid Cleveland defense, his lack of strikeouts shouldn't hurt him too much.

From the Kansas City Star:

Royals pitcher Zack Greinke said he feels healthy enough, after nearly eight weeks of psychological counseling, to think about returning to the mound.

From Annie Hall:

At the moment it's just a Notion, but with a bit of backing I think I could turn it into a Concept, and then an Idea.

All kidding aside, it's good to see Greinke wanting back in the game:

“The main thing now,” he said, “is I’m really looking forward to playing baseball again.”

They Royals are looking at an extended spring training and rehabilition period. If things go well, he'll be back in the second half of the season. Given the state of the Royals pitching, the sooner the better.

Ted Lilly pitched his third consecutive good start at Fenway, and this was the best of them all. He allowed one earned run in seven innings tonight while striking out 10. Over these three starts his ERA is 1.86 with 16 K. Tonight, however, he walked none, compared to seven in his previous two starts. With Toronto leading 8-3 in the bottom of the ninth, it looks like Ted will also get his third Fenway win in a row.

It's starting to look like 2004 was an outlier for Oliver Perez. The great control he showed then was out of place given 2003 and 2005. He walked a ton of batters again today, five in 4 2/3 innings. That gives him 12 walks in 13 1/3 innings. He's turning into Bobby Witt instead of Randy Johnson.

Jon Garland is in line for the win today, but it's mostly because Verlander pitched worse. Garland gave up 13 hits and seven earned runs in five innings this afternoon. He's now given up 23 hits in 10 1/3 innings. White Sox fans, what's he doing differently from last year? Is it poor pitching or bad luck?

Randy Johnson came out of the Yankees game after five inning and 87 pitches. He was doing well until the fifth, when he gave up a run on three singles. This seems to be too early to remove Johnson from the game, unless Torre thinks this one's in the bag and wants to save Randy for the future. I find that highly unlikely with just a 4-1 lead.

Update: They just said on the broadcast that there's nothing wrong with Johnson. They just removed him from the game. Maybe the Yankees are going to treat him like the Red Sox treated Pedro? If the Yankees don't win this game, Torre will be second-guessed on this one.

I mentioned on the radio show tonight that the Braves pitchers have a strikeout to walk ratio close to one. Tonight they walked three and struck out four, giving them 40 BB and 43 K on the season. Over the previous 15 seasons, the Braves K/BB was between 1.8 and 2.8, with 10 seasons over 2.0. Is this the Braves missing Mazzone and his desire to get ahead on the first pitch?

Today's game against the Marlins is exactly what the Padres need to get from Chris Young. Six innings, six strikeouts, only one hit. The walks are still high, but if a team can't hit him, three in six inning won't matter that much. The Padres win 7-2. The Marlins now have three one-run losses and three blowout losses (5 runs or more). They need to find a score difference they can win.

Jose Contreras picks up a win this afternoon as throws 110 pitches over eight innings against the Tigers. He was around the plate all day, throwing seven strikes for every three balls. The Tigers only managed one run against the veteran on a homer by Craig Monroe.

The final score, however, was 4-3 as Chris Shelton retook the home run lead with a two-run shot off Jenks in the ninth. It strikes me that Chicago was winning one-run games last year on the strength of a great bullpen. Today, it was because of a poor relief appearance. It's their first 1-run win of the season.

The Texas Rangers came into Anaheim with a 5.14 ERA, and it likely won't be going down tonight. They're in the bottom of the fourth, and Kameron Loe already allowed five earned runs. The Angels put 19 balls in play tonight, and 9 fell for hits. It seems the Texas defense isn't doing a good job of backing up the pitching staff. It's 5-2 Angels at the end of four.

John Thomson is out of the Phillies/Braves game after five good innings. He left with a 3-1 lead, mostly because he drove in two runs with a double. He also singled in the game. Thomson is a good hitter, with a .190 career batting average entering the game.

Update: The Phillies comeback to tie the game at three, then Marcus Giles launches a home run just to the left of the batter's background in centerfield. He looked like he was limping a bit running around the bases, and the replay showed he stumbled turning at first base. His quadricep was bothering him coming into the game, and he may have aggravated it again. The Braves lead 4-3.

It looks like Freddy Garcia is back to being a power pitcher. He struck out five in six innings today and left the game with a 4-3 lead.

Sidney Ponson just gave up four hits and three runs in the fourth inning, including a three-run homer to Jacque Jones. If you look at Sidney's splits for the last six seasons, you can see how offense goes up against him when he reaches the fourth inning. He stayed true to form tonight.

Brad Penny is finally making Paul DePodesta look good. In two starts, he's struck out 14, walked one, and holds a 1.50 ERA. He went seven strong innings, defeating the Phillies 6-2. He even contributed a hit and an RBI.

A second great outing by Curt Schilling tonight. He only struck out four in seven innings, but giving up one run on a solo shot reminds me of the Schilling of 2001. Schilling needed to be that good, too, as the Red Sox win a squeaker over the Orioles 2-1.

The Blue Jays beat the Devil Rays today 8-4, but without much help from their starter, Ted Lilly. Lilly walked six in 2 1/3 innings. Remember, this is the Devil Rays he was facing, the team that drew the second fewest walks in the AL last year. Lilly's walks are up the last two seasons; through 2003 he walked 3.2 per 9, but in 2004-2005 that was up to 4.1. It's definitely going in the wrong direction.

The Rays are walking more this year. At their current rate, they'll walk close to 600 times. They drew 412 in 2005.

Danys Baez might not be lights out, but he's getting the job done so far. He picked up his second save of the year tonight, and with Gagne gone the job is his for a while. He's now given up two hits in three innings while walking 1 and striking out three. The Dodgers will take that kind of performance over a whole season.

Daniel Cabrera didn't last very long vs. the Red Sox. He's out after 1 1/3 innings, with 7 runs, 7 earned runs and 7 walks. That's a lot of walks in a very short time. Since 1974 (when the Day by Day Database starts), there are six other instances of seven walks or more in 1 1/3 innings or less. William Van Landingham walked seven in one inning even. Kerry Wood and Steve Adkins managed 8 walks in 1 1/3 innings. The last two to walk as many as 7 in 1 1/3 innings were Victor Zambrano and Russ Ortiz, who did it on the same day!

The Red Sox are up 7-0 in the fourth. Matt Clement is throwning a one-hitter and has thrown just 31 pitches through 3 innings.

The Chicago Cubs spent a lot of money upgrading the bullpen over the winter. So far, it appears to be paying off. After 2 2/3 scoreless innings today, the Chicago bullpen ERA stands at 2.45. They've struck out 11 in their 11 innings, but walked 7 (none today). If the walks stay high, I'd expect the ERA to follow.

The Arizona Diamondbacks come away from Coors field with a 2.86 team ERA, 1.89 by their staters. If they can pitch in Colorado, they ought to be able to handle their own high-scoring ballpark.

Carlos Silva is out of the game after 5 2/3 innings. He didn't have his control as he walked two. "But David," you say, "two walks isn't bad." Carlos did not issue two walks in a game all last year. It's the first time he issued more than one walk in a game since 9/26/2004, when he walked two Indians.

Jarrod Washburn rang up his former teammates tonight, striking out seven in seven innings as he picked up his first win of the season. His control was steller as Washburn issued no walks.

Jeff Weaver debut was less than spectacular. He did eat some innings, going 6 1/3, but the cost was five runs and an Angels loss. That's not exactly what LAnaheim had in mind. I still think they have the wrong Weaver in the majors. The Mariners win 6-4.

Brian Bannister is making an impressive debut for the Mets. It took the Nationals until the sixth inning to get their first hit. Vidro doubled down the left field line to break up the no-no leading off the inning.

Bannister is wild, however. He issued three walks and hit two batters so far. But if he keeps the hits few and far between, he'll survive that.

Delgado hit his first Met home run, and the Queensians are up 4-0.

Update: As soon as I posted the above, Nick Johnson took Bannister deep to the opposite field to cut the score to 4-3.

Update: Bannister is out after six innings and 100 pitches. Not a bad start to his career, 3 runs in 6 innings. Now he'll sit and watch to see if the Mets bullpen can hold the lead for a win.

Bronson Arroyo gets a proper greeting in his first start at home for the Reds. Aramis Ramirez takes the righty deep for a 2-0 Cubs lead in the first.

Update: Trailing 2-1 in the third, Bronson Arroyo ties the game, hitting an 0-2 pitch for a home run! It's the first of his career.

Update: Rich Aurilia homers later in the inning, a two-run shot to give the Reds a 4-2 lead. Arroyo settled down after the homer. He's only allowed 1 baserunner over the last three innings.

Curt Schilling notes his progress through a game is the reverse of his younger days. He used to start wild and throwing hard, then find the strike zone later in the game. Now he starts with perfect control, and the velocity comes later.

"I don't have an explanation for it," Schilling said. "I just know the first three innings, I was pitching. We had a game plan and I was moving the ball, making my pitches. Then all of a sudden, I could feel it. When I threw a couple pitches in the fourth inning, I knew I had something extra on them."

It worked very well yesterday.

John Harper addresses some of my concerns about Randy Johnson in the New York Daily News:

So for all the damage the Yankees did with their bats, none of it would matter as much as Randy Johnson dominating the A's in rather routine fashion. There wasn't much of a wow factor to the Big Unit's first start of the season, as he notched only three strikeouts in seven innings, but then, with such a big lead, he didn't have to be anything other than efficient.

His fastball did seem to have good life, clocked as high as 96 mph on the stadium radar gun, and for much of the night his slider had enough bite to produce off-balance swings by the A's hitters.

The game was such a blowout that it could be a mistake to make too much of Johnson's start, and still you couldn't help but notice that in the seventh inning, with his 105th pitch of the night, he threw a 95 mph fastball past Jason Kendall. The A's catcher managed to foul off the pitch to stay alive, but barely.

With the Yankees leading Oakland 15-1 in the bottom of the 8th, Randy Johnson is through. He gave up 5 hits and 1 run, but only struck out three. With a huge lead early, Johnson might have taken it easy. Yankees fans should hope that three Ks in seven innings isn't going to be the norm.

After a good spring, Jason Schmidt did not perform well tonight for the Giants. He pitched seven innings, but only struck out two and allowed two home runs. That's not what makes Schmidt successful. He's needs to be around nine Ks per nine.

Dontrelle Willis has a no-hitter through four innings, but I can't say he's pitching well. He's walked three while only striking out two. He's thrown 84 pitches already, only 46 for strikes. He's also had a couple of Astros reach on errors by the shortstop, Ramriez. Bottom line is he hasn't allowed any runs, but the Marlins need him to go deep in games, and he's not going to do that tonight. It's still scoreless in the bottom of the fifth.

Update: Taveras singles with two outs to break up the no-hitter. Berkman is up with men on first and second.

Update: Willis strikes out Berkman to end the inning. It's still tied at zero, but Willis is at 107 pitches. It's unlikely he'll come out for the sixth.

The Chicago White Sox extended the contract of Jose Contreras through the 2009 season, agreeing to pay the Cuban exile nearly $30 million. That's a lot of money for a pitcher with one good year, and whose age is in doubt. Still, his career strikeout and walk numbers are good. If he can stay at those levels, the great Chicago defense should keep his ERA low.

Oliver Perez pitched a nice warm-up to the regular season yesterday. I saw a bit of it on ESPN and the announcers were impressed. Where Have You Gone, Andy Van Slyke notes possibly a new pitch:

Also, his final strikeout on Ortiz, which a pitch which had some nasty break on it that I incorrectly characterized as a slider yesterday was instead a split-fingered changeup. That makes sense, as the pitch was much slower than a regular slider, but didn't break like a curveball. I don't even think I know what a split-fingered changeup is, but it sounds pretty tough to hit.

Is this someone calling a split-finger fastball a change up, or is it the more conventional fork ball? Any ideas, please leave them in the comments.

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Ben Sheets threw a 60-pitch simulated game yesterday, but will likely start the season on the DL.

The team will go with a four-man rotation to start the season and hopes to have Sheets back later in April.

I'm glad to see most teams with injuries are doing this. Maybe they'll keep that up as the year progresses, only using a fifth starter as needed.

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Casey Daigle developed a sinker ball, and the pitch is paying off for him in spring training:

Daigle, who turns 25 on April 4, is also a more refined pitcher. He says he's no longer pitching away from contact.

"I'm throwing that sinker early or late in the count and hoping they put the bat on it," he said.

"If I execute the pitch right, then it's probably going to be a ground ball."

The sinker has also had the added benefit of improving his change-up. Daigle says he needs similar arm action to throw both pitches effectively.

It has paid off in the results. Daigle has a 2.25 ERA in seven Cactus League appearances, with eight strikeouts and one walk in eight innings.

The question now is will he make the club?

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The Toronto Blue Jays watched A.J. Burnett throw off the mound yesterday, but Scott Downs felt some irritation in his knee:

"I think Downsie's going to be fine," general manager J.P. Ricciardi said, hours before an MRI exam proved perfectly negative. "He's had a history of tendinitis in his patella tendon and we think it just flared up. We'll see how he is (this morning) but he shouldn't have a problem jumping right back in there."

Downs is replacing Burnett in the Jays rotation until A.J. recovers from the medical procedure he underwent after scar tissue broke off in his elbow.

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Jeff and Jered Weaver, brothers six years apart, finally got to really know each other in spring training this season:

It's obvious the two are related. Jeff is 6-foot-5 and 200 pounds, while Jered is 6-7, 205. Both look a bit like California surfer dudes, with their long, brownish-blond hair.

Jeff noted another similarity.

"When I finally did get to see him pitch, it was eerie because we're so similar, the mechanics," Jeff said. "I'd never worked with him on mechanics or anything, just on things like approach and what he might want to throw.

"But until I saw him pitch, I didn't realize there were so many similarities. It's easy for us to talk about pitching because we are so close in certain things we do."

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The Boston pitching staff can be called aggressive. One day after an incident between Josh Beckett and Ryan Howard, Julian Tavarez and Joey Gathright came to blows:

Gathright was sliding into home in the eighth inning when he was tagged out by the often-hot tempered Tavarez, who stepped on the outfielder's right arm. Gathright, still on the ground, then used his left forearm to push Tavarez's left knee.

Before Gathright got up, Tavarez struck a blow in the area of Gathright's left jaw, and players flocked in from the benches and bullpens. No other players appeared to throw punches, and order was restored after a few minutes.

Maybe the Red Sox are getting some coaching from the Bruins. :-)

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Pedro Martinez made his first spring training start today, and didn't miss a beat:

Pedro Martinez's first spring start resulted in three scoreless innings, and the Orioles committed four errors in an 8-0 loss to the New York Mets.

The only hit off Martinez came from the game's first batter, Brian Roberts, who reached when third baseman David Wright collided with catcher Paul Lo Duca while chasing a high pop up. Martinez walked one and struck out two.

Former Met Kris Benson got knocked around by his old team. I guess Leo Mazzone's influence hasn't had time to work its magic. :-)

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The Royal still don't know when Zack Greinke will return to the team, but it's not going to be in time to start the season.

Since Greinke left before any spring training games had begun, he would have to work his pitch count up before appearing in any games.

Baird said the club has not decided whether to put Greinke on the restricted list without pay or on the disabled list to start the season. If he goes on the disabled list, he would receive service time and pay.

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Why haven't the Royals given this man a job?

Stemle, 28, has yet to allow a run in eight innings, including three appearances in “B” games. He also has 11 strikeouts, no walks and now finds himself getting serious consideration for a bullpen job.

Are the Royals so stocked with great pitching that they have to "consider" keeping Stemle in the majors? No wonder this team is so bad.

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Nice story (with a great title) at Sons of Bart Brush on Mike Myers helping a Harvard pitcher with his submarine delivery.

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The Pirates starting rotation is starting to take shape with Oliver Perez getting the nod for opening day and Zack Duke the home opener.

Snell, a prospect comparable to Duke and Maholm before all three were promoted to the majors last season, has been Pittsburgh's most consistent starter this spring with a 1.38 ERA. Tracy wants the hard-throwing Snell pitching between Duke and Maholm because the left-handers are control pitchers who rely on location rather than velocity.

"Both have very similar stuff, stuff that can beat you down on any given day," Tracy said. "But you don't want guys with very similar stuff pitching on back-to-back days."

It's going to be a very young staff, but that worked for Oakland last year. There's lots of upside potential, but lots of potential for high ERAs as well. Can Perez regain the control he showed in 2004? Will a lack of strikeouts hurt Duke and Maholm? I'm glad they're taking a chance with the youngsters instead of going after washed up veterans, but it could easily get ugly.

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Arizona Phil at the Cub Reporter wonders if teaching new mechanics to Prior and Wood isn't just transfering injuries from one part of the body to another. The commenters don't think so.

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Joe Girardi and Rick Kranitz already took action to correct a flaw in Dontrelle Willis' delivery:

Watching from behind the batting cage was manager Joe Girardi, and standing just off the mound with arms folded was pitching coach Rick Kranitz, both looking to correct what mechanical flaws caused Willis to surrender 10 hits, walk six and allow eight earned runs in 5 2/3 innings.

Girardi said Kranitz, in comparing videotapes from last season with those of Willis in the WBC, detected a kink or two that required minor tinkering to rectify.

''Kranny noticed it,'' Girardi said. 'He saw the tapes [from the WBC], and the tapes when he was doing well, and said `This is what you're doing [wrong].' ''

Too bad they didn't notice that before round 2 of the WBC and call Buck Martinez with the info.

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The Kansas City Royals are not placing Greinke on the 60-day DL, but he will start the season on the 15-day disabled list. I wonder how many players reached the DL via mental illness before? The news here is that his return early in the season is more likely than not.

In the old days, he would have earned the nickname Wacky Zacky by now.

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Sidney Ponson liked his outing yesterday, despite just one strikeout:

Ponson, 29, did not fumble on Sunday. He faced 21 hitters, striking out one, allowing four hits and inducing 10 ground ball outs. Shortstop David Eckstein's two-out throwing error extended the fourth inning, when the Braves scored an unearned run.

"I'm happy about the way I threw the ball today," Ponson said. "My goal is to get as many ground balls as I can. I don't like to strike people out. I pitch to contact."

Interestingly, Ponson is right. In game where he averaged 7.0 K per 9 or more, his record is 19-25 with a 4.91 ERA. In games he's under 7.0, he's 57-66 with a 4.77 ERA. I'm surprised by that result. It seems when he's striking batters out, he's also giving up home runs. In his high K games, he allows 1.43 HR/9, while in his low K games it's 1.07 per 9.

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Billfer at the Detroit Tigers Weblog notes that the Tigers have an abundance of pitching talent this spring. He handicaps the race for the remaining slots.

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Al Leiter is retiring after today's game, according to Buster Olney at ESPN.com. I worked with Al in a couple of post-seasons at ESPN. He was both intelligent and articulate. Look for him in a broadcast booth soon.

My friend Levon and I were at Shea Stadium the night Al was trade to Toronto for Jesse Barfield. I was shocked that the Yankees would give up on such a promising lefty, but it would be six season before that potential could be realized due to injuries. For the next ten seasons (1995-2004), Leiter was one of the top pitchers in the majors, posting a 3.64 ERA, a .573 winning percentage and a no-hitter. Al payed his dues with arm trouble, but his career was certainly worth the wait.

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It appears Mike Mussina is having a positive impact on Jaret Wright.

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Joe Posnanski makes a good case for Denny Bautista winning the #1 starter role with the Royals:

Bautista was electrifying on Friday. It was a meaningless spring-training game against the Milwaukee Brewers, but there was nothing meaningless about the way Bautista overwhelmed Brewers’ hitters. They were helpless. All spring training, Bautista had been showing off his incredible arm — he kept hitting 98 to 101 mph on the radar gun — and the Royals kept telling him to back off a little, harness his stuff.

Friday, he did. He threw easy.

“I don’t have to throw 100 mph anymore,” Bautista announced after the game, words that may have sounded familiar to Royals people since they had told him that about 3,483,028 times the last two years.

He points out that Denny is the Royals only real option.

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Roy Halladay will be a Blue Jay for a few more years, and a rich one at that:

Toronto agreed to a three-year, $40 million contract extension with Roy Halladay for the 2008-2010 seasons. Halladay will earn $10 million in 2008, $14.25 million in 2009 and $15.75 million in 2010.

According to Baseball Reference, he made $10.5 million last year, so he may be helping the team in the short term for more money in the long term.

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Pedro Martinez pitched against batters today for the first time this spring:

"I felt good, I felt a little stiff, but that was expected. After I threw a few pitches and I let it go, everything went back to normal," he said.

Martinez said he'll throw another batting practice on Sunday "and then hopefully run right into a game."

That's good news for the Mets.

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With three pitchers competing for the number five starter on the Cardinals, the team is having a difficult time finding enough innings for each to pitch.

"We're going to have to get a little creative," La Russa said Tuesday after Reyes and Ponson combined for eight innings of a victory against the New York Yankees. "If we had an easy answer now to solve this, that would not be ideal because that means one of these guys would have taken himself out of the competition. That hasn't happened. So, we have to find a way to make it work. We have to find starts for Reyes and Wainwright."

Although he's only pitched in relief, Wainwright's pitched the best so far. Maybe La Russa should give him one of Reyes' starts, since Reyes has been hit pretty hard so far.

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Josh Rupe's elbow injury may lead to David Wells landing in Texas:

It left the Rangers searching for more candidates to join oft-castigated Juan Dominguez and neophyte knuckleballer R.A. Dickey in the hunt for the final spot in the rotation. Volquez made his second solid outing Monday, holding Kansas City to one earned run in four innings in a 3-2 loss.

According to The Providence Journal, the search could include Wells. The paper reported the Rangers have discussed his availability with Boston, which has been shopping the lefty off and on all winter. Rangers officials did not comment on the possibility of looking outside the organization for a fifth starter.

He'd be a fitting replacement for Kenny Rogers.

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I had not heard of the gyroball before I saw this post by Will Carroll this morning. Will is promoting the pitch, which is supposed to force good mechanics and break around buildings. With the help of Jeff Passan, now of Yahoo News, they track down a Japanese pitcher who throws one. Video is included (although I haven't been able to download it yet).

If even half of what they are saying about this pitch is true, it will do more to reign in offense than any rule or drug test MLB could implement.

Update: Right click to download the video, it didn't play in my browser. It's impressive. The film is in slow motion, and you can see the bullet like rotation of the ball. The angle, however, does not show you the break. Maybe Will Carroll can post some straight on video of his pitchers throwing the gyroball so we can see the curve!

Update: Dennis sends me a link to video Will posted last year. However, it's off to the side, so it's still difficult to see the curve of the ball. We need a straight on camera angle.

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Roy Halladay and Bengie Molina are sparking as a battery:

Halladay said Molina has encouraged him to do some things a little differently.

"He likes doing some different things, like changeups to righties on the opposite side [down and away from a right-handed hitter]," Halladay said. "He likes doubling up on curveballs."

Halladay threw 59 pitches, 40 for strikes.

"The curveball was a little better than it has been the last couple of times," he said.

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Ken Macha is concerned that two of his pitchers, Huston Street and Kiko Calero, didn't get enough work due to World Baseball Classic routs. Neither made their expected appearances in the last two mercy rule games.

"I have a lot of faith in (U.S. pitching coach) Marcel Lachemann," Macha said, when asked if he felt the need to place a call to U.S. manager Buck Martinez. "I'm sure he'll do what's right."

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Will Li emails, pointing out this note on Mets pitcher Mike Venafro:

Mike Venafro, scratched from yesterday's relief appearance, finally has an explanation for the back discomfort that has hampered his career. The southpaw, whose legs are slightly different in length, has been wearing a one-third-inch pad in the wrong shoe for years - essentially doubling the difference between his leg lengths rather than correcting it. Mets doctors discovered the trouble and are easing him into the proper padding. Venafro was in good spirits yesterday, though he confessed: "I was furious, but what can you do?"

Just amazing.

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The Detroit Tigers Weblog offers some first hand reporting on Joel Zumaya.

He's certainly risen quickly through the Tigers system, striking out a ton of batters along the way. He needs to get the walks a little more under control, or else he'll end up being Bobby Witt instead of Roger Clemens.

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Pitchers should not be named Homer. Especially when the pitch for Cincinnati.

Only two Homers ever allowed homers in the major leagues. Homer Blankenship gave up two, while dead-ball era pitcher Homer Hillebrand allowed just one, according to the Lahman database. A couple of games at the GAB should put Homer Bailey over the top! I hope he doesn't disappoint me like Homer Bush did. :-)

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Eric Gagne pitched in a game today:

"I felt perfect on the mound," said Gagne, who worked the fourth inning. "I threw all fastballs. I hoped to get to throw some more but the hitters were swinging at the first pitch. But if I have to choose five pitches or 15, I'll take five every day."

The news continues to be good for the Dodger closer. And for Dodger fans.

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Eric Milton had a lousy day. He pitched poorly and may have aggravated an injury.

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Kirk Rueter retired today:

"I'm officially done," Rueter, 35, said in a teleconference from his Nashville, Ill., home. "I was 99 percent sure, and I made up my mind last week. I'm a full-time husband and a full-time father now."

Rueter said he attempted to join the St. Louis Cardinals, his boyhood favorite, because he lives close to St. Louis. When that didn't materialize, he decided to focus on wife, Karla, and daughters, Hope and Halle.

"It was a great run," he said. "I love baseball. The Giants have been unbelievably good to me. I'm going to miss the fifth day, but I won't miss the road trips and being away from my family."

Of course, most players don't really retire. They get to the point where no one wants their services anymore. His strikeouts deteriorated over the last three seasons to the point where he was walking more than he was whiffing. It's good that Kirk realized his career was over so he can move on with his life.

Kirk's nickname, of course, was Woody, since he looked like the cowboy character in Toy Story.

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Mark Prior demonstrates exactly how to handle media speculation about an injury:

"I don't take it personally," Prior said. "I don't have a problem with Stone. I don't think he has a problem with me. I'm sure he's just doing his job."Prior was then asked if Stone, a former Cubs broadcaster who left amid controversy after the 2004 season, was respected in the Cubs' clubhouse.

"I'm not going to comment on that," Prior replied. "Obviously he's made some enemies in this clubhouse, for good or for bad. Whether it was his fault or it wasn't his fault, that's something we've tried to put to bed.

"That happened a couple of years ago. What I've learned in four years is I don't take anything personally anymore. I guess it's just part of the game. I respect the attention I get. I understand the scrutiny I'm under."

I'm also impressed with the way Prior handled questions about his control:

But Prior said his control wasn't a problem, pointing to a 3-to-1 strikeouts-to-walks ratio in 2005.

"That's still considered pretty good, last time I checked," he said. "Would I like it to be better, push it up to 4-to-1? Yeah, I would. But if you go down and break down a lot of my games over the last two, three years, I didn't always get people out by throwing it right on the corners. I had a lot of swings up in the zone being aggressive. People see I walked three or four during a game, yeah, I don't enjoy walking [them].

"I've also gotten a little bit smarter. I don't always necessarily need to pitch to people, whereas in the past, when I felt like I didn't want to walk anybody, I feel like I can walk somebody to get to the No. 8 or No. 9 hitter. I can intentionally unintentionally walk people where I wouldn't in the past because that wasn't in my mind-set."

Yes, 3 to 1 is still very good.

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Firebrand of the American League is hosting a debate on who will have the better season in 2006, Curt Schilling or Randy Johnson. Stop by and leave your opinion.

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David Wells is staying in Boston for his last season (Hat tip Hudson):

Boston Red Sox left-hander David Wells rescinded his trade request and said Sunday there was a "99.9" percent chance he would retire after the upcoming season.

He said he told Boston general manager Theo Epstein of his decision on Saturday. Wells had requested a trade so he could be closer to his family in San Diego. He also disliked the lack of privacy he had when he went out in public in Boston.

During Saturday's meeting, Wells said, Epstein told him "there are a lot of teams out there that are not interested because of the fact that there are a lot of young guys they want to look at."

No one wants a 42-year-old who doesn't walk anybody? My guess is more that no one wanted to give up young players for the geezer.

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Joel Jacobsen sends scientific evidence on why curve balls are difficult to hit:

The side spin on the ball produces something called a Magnus force, which accelerates the ball in a direction that we simply are unable to process, says Craig. We can anticipate the effect of gravity on moving objects, as that has been important in evolution. "But spinning balls don't occur naturally. Why would nature bother having a visual system that's adapted to them?" says Craig.

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With the attention Barry Bonds receives, it's easy to forget another major cog in the Giants machine was hurt last year. Jason Schmidt is also returning to form:

As the crispness returned to Jason Schmidt's pitches, so did his results.

Schmidt blanked the Chicago Cubs for three innings Saturday in the Giants' 7-2 exhibition victory. He looked more like the ace who finished 35-12 in 2003-04, not the veteran who struggled with a sore shoulder and posted a subpar 12-7 record last year.

"It was nice to be back on the mound doing what I do -- and enjoying it for once," said Schmidt, who credited an effective changeup for much of his success.

A healthy Schmidt and a healthy Bonds going into opening day would move the Giants to the top seed in the NL West.

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Alex Belth notes that Mariano Rivera's exit from the game is likely to surprise us.

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Curt Schilling dominated college players yesterday, and felt good doing it:

Schilling thinks he might be able to surpass the form he displayed in 2004, when he went 21-6 and led the Red Sox to their first world championship in 86 years.

''I think I can be better than I was in 2004 simply because I have 2004 to use as an experience," he said. ''I'm a year smarter on the hitters in this league, a year smarter on the rigors of pitching in the American League as opposed to the National League, so I don't go into any situation looking to duplicate something I've already done. I'm trying to do something I've never done before."

Schilling spent spring training of 2005 dealing with a surgically repaired ankle, but he said he never thinks about the injury now.

''The two big things that come out of this game today for me, that I wanted from an approach standpoint, were how I felt and my velocity," Schilling said. ''I thought when I wanted to cut loose it was every bit the same way I used to cut loose in spring training in my first couple of starts."

It was tough to evaluate the Red Sox chance this winter with Manny on the block and Schilling's ankle an unknown. But Manny's back, and with Schilling seeming like his old self, expectations for the Red Sox should be on the rise.

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In the continuing saga of Zack Greinke, sources tell the Kansas City Star that the young pitcher is dealing with emotional issues.

Maybe a combination of Mick Jagger and Tom Hanks will work.

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He has fewer tees than Andy, but possibly more pitches. Yusmeiro Petit is showing deception can be as valuable as power when it comes to striking out batters:

The Mets later recorded Petit's motion on a super-slow-motion camera and broke it down into 35 segments -- and even then they couldn't believe how well he kept the ball hidden.

''Deception is huge in this game,'' Kranitz said. ``As a hitter, the first thing you want to do is pick up the ball. If you can't pick up the ball, that means the ball is getting on you quicker. It doesn't matter about velocity at that point.''

What does matter is command, and Petit clearly has that, having walked just 91 hitters -- striking out 491 -- in 401 2/3 minor-league innings.

The youngster also possesses four good pitches. That's something Mike Mussina and Pedro Martinez carry. It's pitchers like Petit that make me believe the Marlins fire sale is going to pay big dividends down the road.

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MLB Trade Rumors links to a Peter Gammons scoop on Roger Clemens returning to the Astros. He'll sign May 1 and pitch in June.

Sounds right to me. Four months of a pampered Clemens gives the Astros a better chance of having Roger strong for the post season. As always, however, take these rumors with a grain of salt.

Hat tip, Viva el Birdos.

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Pedro Martinez threw from the mound today. That's the good news. The bad news is that he still has a long way to go:

Martinez threw 34 pitches to catcher Bobby Estallella with pitching coach Rick Peterson and bullpen coach Guy Conti watching. None of his pitches appeared full-speed.

Martinez said he has to concentrate on getting his foot healthy before he can strengthen his arm.

"Because I want to have my arm in good shape, I need to have my legs in good shape," he said. "Without a leg, there is no arm."

How true.

With Zack Greinke gone, the Royals are redoing their Spring rotation.

Those preparations include shuffling the piggyback rotation assignments for starting pitchers. The biggest beneficiary is lefty J.P. Howell, who replaced Greinke in the eight-man grouping. “I wanted to get him stretched out anyway,” pitching coach Bob McClure said. “I don’t know when Zack is going to return. I’m sure if he returns soon, everything would move again.”

Revised plans call for Howell and right-hander Denny Bautista to start today’s intrasquad game at Surprise Stadium. Greinke had been scheduled to pitch.

“If that’s what it is,” Howell said, “it’s what it is. I miss Zack. This is all random. I didn’t have any idea about what was going on.”
The Royals now plan to piggyback Mark Redman and Jeremy Affeldt for two innings apiece Thursday when they open their 32-game Cactus League schedule against the Texas Rangers.

Bautista and Howell are scheduled to pitch Friday; Runelvys Hernandez and Joe Mays on Saturday; and Scott Elarton and Mike Wood on Sunday before the four pairings recycle.

Tiger Blog reflects on the likely end of Troy Percival's career.

The Baseball Crank charts the use of top-line pitchers over time. Note his third table; the top six pitchers used to pitch over 90% of the innings. Now, they pitch about 59% of the innings.

The Crank's point is that pitching appears to be so poor today because poor pitchers get a lot more work. Unless teams are willing to go back to allowing 120 pitches a game (which isn't unreasonable) I don't see that changing anytime soon.

Joe Maddon unleashed a radical idea on the Tampa Bay Devil Rays; have the pitchers and catchers sit down and discuss pitching philosophy:

Before each game the starting pitcher meets with the catcher. They go over the scouting report on that day's opponent and discuss how they will pitch to each hitter. But, incredibly, they never discuss how the pitcher really feels, his philosophies, his vision of how he wants to get through a game.

Get in touch with the inner pitcher, so to speak.

At least, it was never done around Tropicana Field.

"I've never done it before," Waechter said. "I've gone up through the whole minor leagues, everything. I never really done it. Ever. You talk to the catchers, you have meetings, but not to that degree. It's helped out so far."

And, given the history of Devil Rays pitching, you kind of wonder why not.

I would think all pitchers and catcher ever talked about was pitching. Maybe that's one of the secrets of the Angels' success.

Firebrand of the American League wants to see Jon Papelbon make the Red Sox as a stater:

My point: I’d like to see him in the rotation as soon as possible. I just believe we’re somewhat wasting his strong years in the majors when his arm is at full strength and he can be a consistent winner for the Sox. Somewhat wasting him, not entirely, for his bullpen help is much appreciated. Unfortunately (or fortunately), his 2.65 ERA last season is too much to ignore, along with his 25 year old age and remarkable minor league statistics. I love David Wells, Bronson Arroyo is a great guy around Boston and for the team, and I still firmly believe Matt Clement will compete for the Cy Young sooner than later, but Papelbon deserves a spot in the rotation. Now.

If he's clearly in the top five pitchers coming out of spring training, I agree. Even if it means cutting David Wells lose and eating his contract.

The White Sox are working on preventing Brandon McCarthy from tipping his pitches:

Brandon McCarthy threw sharp curves to Jim Thome during batting practice Wednesday, but the White Sox's 22-year-old pitcher and the coaching staff were more encouraged by another development.

McCarthy put his left index finger into his glove while he pitched.

Via Lone Star Ball, an excellent article in the San Diego Union on Chris Young.

The role of Reds closer may go to Todd Coffey. Coffey's concerned with his walk rate:

Todd Coffey is disturbed, a bit angry with himself. He walked 11 batters in 58 innings last season and that will never, never do.

He should be more concerned with his strikeout rates. Most pitchers will do just fine walking just 1.7 per 9 innings. Coffey, however, only struck out four per nine in his big league debut. He can do a lot better than that, averaging 8.3 K per 9 in his minor league career. If he can get his strikeouts up to the level, he's likely to be an effective closer.

I'd like to return to this article by Rich Lederer which I attempted to criticize last night. This is the line that caused me to criticize the article:

Just as striking out the side in order is preferred over getting all three outs via the K regardless of the number of batters faced, a pitcher who strikes out hitters on three pitches is more effective than those who take five or six to get the job done.

I got the feeling from this statement that Rick felt that strikeouts per 100 pitches was greatly influenced by the number of pitches per strikeout. That the pitchers at the top of the K per 100 pitches list would on average throw many fewer pitches on strikeouts than people at the bottom of the list. I didn't make that clear last night, and I'd like to make it clear with some research tonight.

For the 2005 season, I looked at all pitchers with at least 50 strikeouts and calculated their Pitches per K. Here are the results, ranked fewest to most Pitches per K.

Pitcher	Pitches Per K	Strikeouts	Pitches
Brad Lidge	4.194	103	432
Jamey Wright	4.347	101	439
Joe Kennedy	4.351	97	422
Mark Mulder	4.387	111	487
Brandon Backe	4.402	97	427
Bobby Jenks	4.420	50	221
Miguel Batista	4.426	54	239
Randy Wolf	4.443	61	271
Nate Robertson	4.451	122	543
Tyler Walker	4.463	54	241
Todd Jones	4.484	62	278
Mike Timlin	4.492	59	265
Jason Jennings	4.493	75	337
Chad Qualls	4.500	60	270
Huston Street	4.500	72	324
Dan Wheeler	4.507	69	311
Kerry Wood	4.519	77	348
Jon Lieber	4.530	149	675
Jeremy Bonderman	4.531	145	657
Scott Elarton	4.534	103	467
Chris Carpenter	4.535	213	966
Doug Waechter	4.540	87	395
Derrick Turnbow	4.547	64	291
Kelvim Escobar	4.556	63	287
Paul Byrd	4.569	102	466
Brian Bruney	4.569	51	233
Jose Valverde	4.573	75	343
Scott Downs	4.573	75	343
Trevor Hoffman	4.574	54	247
Horacio Ramirez	4.575	80	366
Kiko Calero	4.577	52	238
Jose Contreras	4.578	154	705
Carl Pavano	4.589	56	257
Rafael Betancourt	4.603	73	336
Duaner Sanchez	4.606	71	327
Sunny Kim	4.607	56	258
Kris Benson	4.621	95	439
Matt Morris	4.624	117	541
Ben Sheets	4.624	141	652
Ted Lilly	4.625	96	444
Giovanni Carrara	4.625	56	259
Matt Belisle	4.627	59	273
Brad Halsey	4.634	82	380
Salomon Torres	4.636	55	255
Freddy Garcia	4.637	146	677
Roy Oswalt	4.641	184	854
A.J. Burnett	4.641	198	919
Rudy Seanez	4.643	84	390
David Weathers	4.645	62	288
Odalis Perez	4.649	74	344
Lance Cormier	4.651	63	293
Byung-Hyun Kim	4.661	115	536
Brett Tomko	4.667	114	532
Andy Pettitte	4.667	171	798
Brandon Webb	4.669	172	803
Jon Garland	4.670	115	537
Francisco Rodriguez	4.670	91	425
Ryan Dempster	4.674	89	416
Carlos Silva	4.676	71	332
Brian Lawrence	4.697	109	512
John Patterson	4.697	185	869
Jake Westbrook	4.697	119	559
Shawn Estes	4.698	63	296
Matt Clement	4.699	146	686
Jeff Fassero	4.700	60	282
Scott Linebrink	4.700	70	329
Aaron Harang	4.706	163	767
Sidney Ponson	4.706	68	320
Jason Isringhausen	4.706	51	240
Randy Johnson	4.706	211	993
Jason Johnson	4.710	93	438
Kip Wells	4.712	132	622
John Smoltz	4.716	169	797
Matt Thornton	4.719	57	269
C.C. Sabathia	4.720	161	760
Doug Brocail	4.721	61	288
Jorge Julio	4.724	58	274
Jeff Francis	4.727	128	605
Sean Douglass	4.727	55	260
Jason Marquis	4.730	100	473
Danny Haren	4.730	163	771
Julio Mateo	4.731	52	246
Victor Zambrano	4.732	112	530
Derek Lowe	4.733	146	691
Joe Nathan	4.734	94	445
Greg Maddux	4.735	136	644
Mariano Rivera	4.737	80	379
Dave Williams	4.739	88	417
John Lackey	4.739	199	943
Jake Peavy	4.741	216	1024
Jerome Williams	4.743	70	332
Javier Vazquez	4.745	192	911
Billy Wagner	4.747	87	413
Mike Wood	4.750	60	285
Runelvys Hernandez	4.750	88	418
Doug Davis	4.755	208	989
Claudio Vargas	4.758	95	452
Dontrelle Willis	4.759	170	809
Pedro Martinez	4.760	208	990
Mike Wuertz	4.764	89	424
Cory Lidle	4.769	121	577
Johan Santana	4.769	238	1135
Tim Wakefield	4.775	151	721
Neal Cotts	4.776	58	277
Jeff Weaver	4.777	157	750
Roy Halladay	4.778	108	516
Matt Wise	4.778	63	301
Brian Fuentes	4.780	91	435
Bartolo Colon	4.785	158	756
Juan Rincon	4.786	84	402
Josh Towers	4.786	112	536
Vicente Padilla	4.786	103	493
Mark Prior	4.787	188	900
D.J. Houlton	4.789	90	431
Hideo Nomo	4.797	59	283
Kevin Brown	4.800	50	240
Ramon Ortiz	4.802	96	461
Mark Buehrle	4.805	149	716
Mike DeJean	4.808	52	250
Cliff Lee	4.811	143	688
Brendan Donnelly	4.811	53	255
David Wells	4.813	107	515
J.P. Howell	4.815	54	260
Jarrod Washburn	4.819	94	453
Wandy Rodriguez	4.825	80	386
Tom Gordon	4.826	69	333
Brandon Claussen	4.826	121	584
Rich Harden	4.826	121	584
Joe Mays	4.831	59	285
Kevin Millwood	4.836	146	706
Brad Penny	4.836	122	590
Bruce Chen	4.842	133	644
Cliff Politte	4.842	57	276
Casey Fossum	4.844	128	620
Esteban Loaiza	4.844	173	838
Eric Milton	4.846	123	596
Josh Fogg	4.847	85	412
Chad Cordero	4.852	61	296
Josh Beckett	4.855	166	806
Tom Glavine	4.857	105	510
Felix Hernandez	4.857	77	374
Oliver Perez	4.866	97	472
Zack Greinke	4.868	114	555
Robinson Tejeda	4.875	72	351
Chris Capuano	4.875	176	858
Jeff Suppan	4.877	114	556
Mike Maroth	4.878	115	561
Ezequiel Astacio	4.879	66	322
Zach Duke	4.879	58	283
Brett Myers	4.880	208	1015
Jorge Sosa	4.882	85	415
Joaquin Benoit	4.885	78	381
Scott Kazmir	4.885	174	850
Barry Zito	4.895	171	837
Kyle Farnsworth	4.897	87	426
Rodrigo Lopez	4.898	118	578
Bronson Arroyo	4.900	100	490
Gary Majewski	4.900	50	245
Ryan Franklin	4.903	93	456
Joe Blanton	4.905	116	569
Luke Hudson	4.906	53	260
Kazuhisa Ishii	4.906	53	260
Brian Moehler	4.916	95	467
Noah Lowry	4.919	172	846
Kenny Rogers	4.920	87	428
Tim Hudson	4.922	115	566
Brad Radke	4.923	117	576
Ryan Vogelsong	4.923	52	256
Ambiorix Burgos	4.938	65	321
Adam Eaton	4.940	100	494
Mark Redman	4.941	101	499
Gustavo Chacin	4.942	121	598
Ryan Madson	4.949	79	391
Yhency Brazoban	4.951	61	302
Kyle Davies	4.952	62	307
Jason Schmidt	4.952	166	822
Justin Duchscherer	4.953	85	421
Glendon Rusch	4.955	111	550
B.J. Ryan	4.960	100	496
Danys Baez	4.961	51	253
Pedro Astacio	4.962	78	387
Kyle Lohse	4.965	86	427
Roger Clemens	4.968	185	919
Jason Frasor	4.968	62	308
Tomo Ohka	4.969	98	487
Ervin Santana	4.970	99	492
Joel Pineiro	4.972	107	532
Dave Bush	4.973	75	373
Jose Lima	4.975	80	398
Russ Springer	4.981	54	269
Victor Santos	4.989	89	444
Scot Shields	4.990	98	489
Daniel Cabrera	4.994	158	789
Carlos Zambrano	4.995	202	1009
Tony Armas Jr.	5.000	59	295
John Thomson	5.000	62	310
Seth McClung	5.011	92	461
Jay Witasick	5.014	73	366
Roberto Hernandez	5.016	61	306
Aaron Heilman	5.019	106	532
Chris Young	5.022	137	688
Ron Villone	5.029	70	352
Chan Ho Park	5.035	113	569
Orlando Hernandez	5.055	91	460
Aaron Fultz	5.056	54	273
Jim Brower	5.057	53	268
Curt Schilling	5.057	87	440
Jamie Moyer	5.059	102	516
Woody Williams	5.066	106	537
Mike Gonzalez	5.069	58	294
Gary Glover	5.069	58	294
Akinori Otsuka	5.083	60	305
Al Reyes	5.088	68	346
Livan Hernandez	5.088	147	748
Francisco Cordero	5.101	79	403
Gil Meche	5.108	83	424
Aaron Sele	5.113	53	271
Hector Carrasco	5.120	75	384
Ugueth Urbina	5.124	97	497
Kevin Gregg	5.135	52	267
Mike Mussina	5.141	142	730
Erik Bedard	5.144	125	643
Damaso Marte	5.148	54	278
Shawn Chacon	5.152	79	407
Jason Vargas	5.169	59	305
Jae Seo	5.169	59	305
Kirk Saarloos	5.170	53	274
Mark Hendrickson	5.180	89	461
Justin Speier	5.196	56	291
Scott Eyre	5.215	65	339
Brad Hennessey	5.219	64	334
Mike MacDougal	5.264	72	379
Andy Sisco	5.303	76	403
Guillermo Mota	5.317	60	319
Wade Miller	5.406	64	346
Al Leiter	5.443	97	528

The mean for this set of data is 4.815 Pitches per K and the standard deviation is 0.206. That should make the 95% confidence interval about 4.4 to 5.2. There are 236 pitchers in the set.

If Rich's conjecture is true, then we should expect his top pitchers to be near the top of the list. This is not true. The highest ranked pitcher in his top 6 is Carpenter at 21, 4.535 pitches per K. Santana ranks 102, Peavy 90, Pedro 99, Prior 113, and Randy Johnson 70. These five are all between 4.70 and 4.79.

The bottom six do on average throw more pitches per strikeout. Four of them, Lima, Rogers, Lohse and Arroyo were between 4.9 and 4.98 pitches per strikeout. In other words per 100 strikeouts, the bad goup throws about 20 more pitches than the good group! On top of that, Horacio Ramirez, the lowest ranked pitcher in Rich's list, ranks 30th in Pitches per K, right near Chris Carpenter. Marquis ranks 80, better than most of the top six.

This was the point I was trying to make last night. It takes a few pitches to set a batter up for the strikeout. Efficiency comes from other things; not walking batters, or getting players to chase bad pitches early. It's not just from striking out batters on fewer pitches. Strikeouts per 100 pitches does help separate good from bad pitchers, but it's not just because of fewer pitches per strikeout.

Was Watching notes the gnarly way Randy Johnson practices balance.

Rich Lederer suggests that strikeouts per 100 pitches is the best way to judge strikeout pitchers (emphasis in original):

Now, just as K/BF is a better gauge than K/9, strikeouts per total pitches is even better yet. In fact, it is the best one of 'em all. Yes, strikeouts divided by total pitches is the single greatest Defense Independent Pitching Stat out there. It measures dominance and efficiency.

Just as striking out the side in order is preferred over getting all three outs via the K regardless of the number of batters faced, a pitcher who strikes out hitters on three pitches is more effective than those who take five or six to get the job done. By definition, he is missing bats a higher percentage of the time and is also more likely to pitch deeper into games and record a greater number of outs than his counterparts.

I don't agree with this. Striking out a batter is a process. Setting up a batter for a strikeout may easily take five or six pitches. I've seen strikeouts occur because a pitcher got ahead 0-2, then worked the player outside and inside for balls, then threw a pitch that looked like one of the former, but was in fact different.

If you want a pitcher to be efficient, you don't want him striking out a lot of batters. You want a lot of first pitches put in play weakly. But apart from Greg Maddux, there aren't too many hurlers who can do that. Maybe teams should work more on getting their strikeout pitchers up to 120 pitches a game.

Update: From the comments, I believe people are misinterpreting what I wrote in the last paragraph. I'm not advocating a staff of "contact" pitchers over a staff of strikeout pitchers. I'm pointing out that really efficient pitchers get the ball in play early in the count. From 1990 to 1999, Greg Maddux pitched 166 2/3 innings more than any other pitcher in the majors, yet he ranked about 9th or 10th in pitches thrown. Maddux struck out a decent amount of batters, but didn't walk anyone. He also had a lot of balls in play early in the count. With all that, he led the majors in ERA by a good margin (1000 innings pitched).

Now, it could very well be that Maddux's strikeouts per 100 pitches that decade is very good. I don't have access to pitch data for that decade anymore. My point is that there's a tradeoff between efficiency and strikeouts. That if you want a pitcher who is both very efficient and very good, you want Greg Maddux. And a big reason Maddux was both, is that he got batters to put bad pitches into play.

Maddux, however, is an incredible outlier. I'd rather have a pitcher who strikes out a lot of batters. If he doesn't walk too many he'll be efficient enough. So again, while this is a fine way of looking at things, I don't believe it's really telling us something we don't already know.

The Milwaukee Brewers pitching staff had a problem sacrificing last season. Ned Yost is addressing it right away:

A large portion of the first official pitchers-and-catchers workout Sunday at Maryvale Baseball Park consisted of Brewers pitchers trying to bunt against their counterparts while nearly a dozen early arriving non-pitchers took their hacks against softer-tossing coaches on a different diamond.

"That's new this year," Yost said. "Our pitchers were the worst bunters in the stinkin' league last year and we've got to get better. They're going to work on it every day."

It's a little thing, probably only worth a few runs a season. But offensively, it's the only thing pitchers are required to do well. Good for Yost for trying to remove that weakness.

Zach Duke is keeping a journal for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review this spring.

Ozzie Guillen named Mark Buehrle the opening day starter yesterday. Although this move makes perfect sense, it seems to fly in the face of this statement:

"It's 2006 now. We're 0-0 and we're not champions anymore," Guillen said

"We got to be hungry this year. Last year nobody picked us to do anything. Now everybody will be coming after us. I talked to the players and pitchers and said we got to get better. It's funny to say when you win 99 games, plus 11. But everybody has to go with that mentality."

Why not a little competition before naming the opening day starter? That should keep the pitcher's hungry.

On the cover of the The Mind of Bill James is this quote:

The belief that talent is in short supply, and the understanding that it isn't, are what separate good clubs from bad ones.

The Orioles appear to be working on this notion in the bullpen. B.J. Ryan is gone via free agency to a big contract, but Chris Ray is taking over with only half a year of major league experience. As in the minor, Ray proved tough to hit while he struck out a good many batters. This is exactly the kind of moves teams need to make to stay competitive without spending lots of money. We'll see if the Orioles continue to do this with all parts of the team.

Craig Hansen refined his changeup over the winter.

“I’ve been throwing it in a couple of bullpens down here and it feels great,” Hansen said. “It’s got a lot of movement. I’m pretty happy with it right now.” For now, he estimates that the changeup’s velocity is in the low- to mid-80s, which would provide an impressive differential of 10-12 mph from his fastball.

A change of speed with no change of motion is devastating to batters. It's something to watch this spring.

The Rangers' new pitching coach Mark Connor wants to change the philosophy of the pitching staff:

Another aspect that may help is tweaking of pitching philosophy. Under Connor, the Rangers are more likely to attack from their areas of strength rather than try to rely on hitters' weaknesses. As a result, Barajas may not have to know opposing hitters quite as well, as long as he knows his own pitchers' inside and out.

A new philosophy shouldn't be difficult to implement since almost the entire staff is new. Which philosophy, however, is better? I guess it comes down to who should dictate the game, the batter or the pitcher? Pedro, Maddux, Johnson, Schilling all pitch their game, not the batters. Of course, all of them can execute their game. Given the lack of success from the mound in Texas, it's certainly worth a try.

Pedro Martinez received his new shoes yesterday, but they still need adjustments.

Pedro Martinez is waiting impatiently for his new shoes:

"I'm waiting on Nike to actually do the shoes. They're getting a lot of publicity, but they don't deserve it, because they've done a (poor) job," Martinez said after spending four hours at the team's complex yesterday.

"...I know the doctor gave them the mold and gave them the information they needed. I don't know what they're doing."

Nike might want to think about providing status reports to Pedro on the progress of the work. And maybe in the future, ballplayers might consult an old fashioned shoe maker. I'm sure there must be some in in the big cities, and it would be easier to make adjustments as the season progresses. (My grandfather did this kind of work in Bridgeport, CT, in the early part of the 20th century.)

Update: I had forgotten the link.

USA Today profiles Roger McDowell and how he's going to handle the Braves pitching staff. This quote from Tim Hudson, however, bothers me:

"When he played, he had that clown reputation," Hudson says. "There were a lot of guys like that, but he stood out. As a pitching coach, he's going to be awesome. He's personable, easygoing, and he seems excited to be here. It will be good. We don't need to work all the time."

The consensus view is that Mazzone working the Braves all the time helped keep the staff healthy. I have no idea how the staff will fare under Roger. There are many different ways to be a successful coach. But if the Braves staff falters, quotes like the one above will come back to haunt McDowell.

Steve Dorsey takes a look at pitchers who like to hit:

Former Palm Beach Gardens pitcher Chris Volstad was elated to be chosen by the Florida Marlins last June in the first round of the Major League Baseball amateur draft.

Volstad understood the significance of making it to the majors someday with Florida — he not only would get the chance to pitch locally, he also would get to bat. The National League still has no designated hitters.

"I get to keep swinging," Volstad said, smiling.

The article goes on to look at high school players who are top pitchers and hitters, something very common at that level. When they get into professional baseball, however, they're forced to concentrate on one thing; pitching. As the Marlins show with Dontrelle Willis, a pitcher who can hit adds excitement to the game. Maybe NL teams should spend a little more time keeping the good hitting pitchers batting well.

The Cubs and Carlos Zambrano came close to splitting the difference, settling on a $6.5 million dollar contract. I'm surprised the Cubs didn't try to lock up Carlos through next season, or maybe even a year after that. Over the last couple of seasons, Zambrano's been the ace of the staff. Trying to lock him up at $22 million for three years would not only give the Cubs a longer term bargain, but it would make Zambrano easier to trade if the Cubs went that route. Instead, Chicago will likely shell out a lot more money next year if Carlos continues to pitch well.

Shawn Chacon and the Yankees avoided an arbitration battle, agreeing to a 1-year, $3.6 million dollar contract. I like Chacon in New York, and he may turn out to be the best deal on the pitching staff.

Eric Mirlis notes that there will be only one theme song used for closers in New York this year.

Brandon McCarthy of the Chicago White Sox is working to be a 200 inning starter, but he's most likely to start in the bullpen come April.

Though McCarthy, 22, is preparing this off-season as if he's going to start, he said at SoxFest over the weekend that he would adjust if relegated to relief duty.

"Last year I was in a reliever's role with training wheels," said the 6-foot-7-inch McCarthy, who said he has intensified his weight workouts and now weighs 205 pounds, up from 190 last season.

"It's a lot different being ready every day and having to go into a game on three batters' notice.

"I think I'm more comfortable [with a relief role] than last year."

His pitching coach notes the importance of depth:

Pitching coach Don Cooper said last month that McCarthy would be used in spring training as a starter and then pitch a couple of relief outings--if the rest of the staff remained healthy.

It's seldom that a team can get by a full season with just five starters. With injuries and the possibility that one of the five won't perform well, McCarthy is likely to see more starts than relief appearances in 2006.

Eric Gagne is throwing again:

Having been warned about strange creatures in the water, Hawaiian tourists were stunned Thursday when they spotted one on the beach.

Baseball glove on one hand. Fastball coming out of the other hand. Goatee dripping on his shirt.

"People would walk past, staring," Eric Gagne said. "I'd have to stop and say, 'Yeah, it's me.' "

It's hard to imagine whether the Maui visitors were more shocked to see Gagne pitching barefoot ... or pitching, period.

That's good news for the Dodgers.

Bummpo.net has the answer. (Hat tip Lookout Landing.)

Shigetoshi Hasegawa announced his retirement today:

"I had some offers from other teams, but have decided to retire," Hasegawa said. "Unless I'm in perfect shape mentally and physically, I wouldn't be able to be an important part of a team."

Looking at his statistics, especially opposition batting against the reliever, he sure looks like he could contribute to a team. There are certainly worse pitchers manning major league bullpens right now.

There's a good story in the New York Daily News about Tom Glavine changing his style of pitching for success in the 2nd half of 2005:

He and Mets pitching coach Rick Peterson talked during bullpen sessions about what to do. Peterson recalled Glavine throwing nasty breaking balls when warming up and then not using them enough in games. "Why don't you use it?" Peterson asked. "He said, 'I don't know, I just never have.'"

At one point in their discussions, Peterson delved into golf analogies to make a point. Glavine had once played golf with Tiger Woods, Peterson said, so he was asking Glavine questions about what Woods was like. Then he reminded Glavine that Woods, at the time already the world's best player, had altered his swing. Maybe a five-time 20-game winner with two Cy Young Awards needed change, too.

"It's a lot easier to make changes when you're unsuccessful, but to have the courage to make them when you're as successful a pitcher as Tom Glavine has been, that's not as easy," Peterson said. "He rewrote his recipe."

There's an interesting story in the Boston Globe concerning Bronson Arroyo:

Bronson Arroyo, in an apparent show of allegiance to the Red Sox, is extremely close to overriding the advice of his agent, Gregg Clifton, and agreeing to a three-year contract that will pay him between $11.5 million and $12.5 million, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the negotiations.

The upside for the 28-year-old righthander is financial security and the chance to remain with the Sox for at least the next three seasons, two tremendous opportunities for a pitcher who just three years ago was placed on waivers. But, that upside -- being signed at a fixed cost for a duration of some length -- also would appear to make Arroyo more vulnerable to being dealt to a team such as Tampa Bay, which is seeking affordable starting pitching and has a player the Sox covet in shortstop/leadoff hitter Julio Lugo

Reports are that Arroyo is not getting a no-trade clause in his contract. Does he have a verbal agreement that he won't be traded? He's making himself cost effective; is that enough to keep him in town?

Update: It's a done deal.

Josh Sharlpess is a local son trying to make good with the home town team:

Sharpless, a strapping right-hander at 6-foot-5, 230 pounds, was no token local-boy pick by the Pirates when they selected him on the 24th round in the 2003 amateur draft. And even if he was, he certainly hasn't pitched like it -- going a combined 4-0 with a 0.74 earned-run-average and five saves in 24 appearances between Class A Lynchburg and Class AA Altoona last season.

His minor league strikeout and hit numbers are incredibly good, and he finally got his walks under control last year before his injury. If Sharpless can sharpen his control, I suspect he'll be a very good closer for the Pirates.

Meanwhile, Oliver Perez is claiming that part of his problem last year stemmed from a lack of English skills:

Following a 2004 season in which Perez went 12-10 with a 2.98 ERA in 30 starts and led the major leagues with 10.97 strikeouts per nine innings as he fanned 239 in 196 innings, the Pirates told Perez to rest during the winter rather than pitch winter ball in Mexico.

Perez took the advice literally and did nothing but rest.

He went on a cruise with his parents and sister and did not pick up a baseball until the Pirates held their minicamp in mid-January. He got so far out of pitching shape that he was not ready to participate in exhibition games during spring training until 10 days into the Grapefruit League season.

"It wasn't the best thing to do," Perez said of his lax winter. "I guess I didn't completely understand."

This year he's pitched winter ball and worked out, adding muscle. I've heard winter ball stories like this before. Has anyone seen a study of the relation to pitching winter ball to success in the majors?

Sidney Ponson is sporting a new hairdo:

Sidney Ponson has a new look to go with his fresh start: a full head of hair. The right-hander, who signed a free-agent deal with the St. Louis Cardinals last month, showed up at the team's Winter Warmup on Sunday with dark brown, curly locks. In the past he shaved his head.

He also says he's stopped drinking:

Ponson said he hasn't had any alcohol since the arrest. He spent time in rehab, and is regularly seeing a counselor in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., who specializes in dealing with addictions.

"In this 4 1/2 months I probably craved it once or twice," Ponson said. "It's like a habit. I used to associate beer with water sports and the first time I went home to do water sports I'm going, 'A cold beer would be nice right now.'

"But my counselor says don't think about it, just enjoy it and it goes easier."

Ponson has assured Cardinals manager Tony La Russa that he'll seek a counselor in St. Louis, too.

This begs the question; how much was his performance in Baltimore a result of drinking too much, and how much was it Ponson just not being very good? I'm glad for Sidney that he's sober, but it's too bad the Orioles had to suffer for it.

To follow up the report on Brandon Webb signing a contract extension, we don't know the money, but it's a four year deal with a team option for the fifth year. That will prevent the Diamondbacks from taking Webb to arbitration and may even keep Brandon off the free agent market for a year.

I like the deal, as Webb's posted three good ERAs in a tough ballpark. He's amazingly good at home over his career. I wonder what kind of money they're paying him?

I wish I could write like this.

I will take a bit of a contrary position, however. It's not that less is more (as one commenter describes it), it's that less is different. Throwing softer works because no one sees it that much. If the slow ball was the standard pitch, Alex would be writing about how smart Maddux is by throwing a blazing fast ball in tough situations. If singing softly were the standard, we'd be awed at how Al Green belts out a tune.

But there are reasons pitcher throw hard and singers up the volume. A fastball leaves a batter less room for error than a slow pitch. Singers want to be heard. There are certain things in life that are best used sparingly and appropriately. The change up is one of them.

With the election of Bruce Sutter to the Hall of Fame, Joe Posnanski remembers the closer from the Western side of Missouri.

Mark Prior exercised a clause in his contract which lets him void the final year and go to salary arbitration instead:

Prior's deal, agreed to in 2001 after he was drafted, allowed him to void the contract after 2004 or 2005, but only if he had accumulated enough service time to be eligible for arbitration. He just missed having enough service time after 2004.

It was a great deal for Prior. If he turns out to be a flop, he still gets a few million dollars. If he's great, he files for arbitration and gets even more. Maybe the Cubs will sign him to a three year deal at a higher rate to avoid a fight.

The Arizona Republic reports that Terry Mulholland is likely to be the Arizona Diamondbacks lefty specialist in 2006:
He turns 43 in March. He has pitched for 10 major league clubs, three of them twice. And he will be entering his 20th season in the big leagues if he makes the 40-man roster in 2006.

But the Diamondbacks needed a left-handed reliever, and they think they may have found one Tuesday in journeyman Terry Mulholland, a longtime Valley resident who has been rumored to be joining the team for several weeks.

Mulholland agreed in principle to a minor league contract with Arizona, but according to reports, he will be guaranteed $800,000 if he's added to the 40-man roster coming out of spring training. He spent the past two seasons with the Minnesota Twins, going 5-9 with a 5.18 ERA in 39 appearances in 2004 and 0-2 with a 4.27 ERA in 49 games last season.

And last season was one of Mulholland's better ones in recent history. One reason may be that he pitched a lot less. He certainly was great against lefties last year (in 84 at bats, he induced lefties to hit into six GDPs), but for some reason, the Twins used him a lot against righties. If the DBacks can limit Terry's exposure to right-handed batters, this could work for them.

In regards to this post on Ground/Air ratios for pitchers, a commenter suggested checking (Ground + Fly)/Line Drives to see if that was more significant. Indeed it is. The above ration has a correlation of -0.31 with ERA. As the ratio goes down (more line drives) ERA goes up. It's still not a great correlation, but teams should probably look at line drive rates more than G/F ratio when choosing pitchers.

This, of course, begs the question, who is responsible for the type of ball hit, the batter or the pitcher? Does the type of pitch thrown determine the type of ball in play, or is the batter's swing more important? I hope to look at this issue more closely soon.

Update 1/3/2006: Read through for a correction.

Cardinals Diaspora posts on the ground ball/fly ball ratios of the St. Louis starters and relievers. He finds the Cardinals like to hire pitchers who induce ground balls.

For a long time I've been bothered by ground ball/fly ball ratios, and since nothing is happening in major league baseball today, I thought I'd do a bit of research.

I don't believe there is a consistent view on what to measure when you're comparing ground balls and fly balls. STATS, Inc. would publish the ratio of all fly balls to all ground balls, leaving out line drives. Elias used to publish ground outs vs. fly outs, but I don't know if they included line outs in the fly outs. While the Ground/Fly ratio for the majors is around 1.2, the ratio of those on outs is close to 1. Here's a chart showing the percentage of each type of ball given up between 2002 and 2004 (bunts are not included, since a pitcher can't induce a bunt):

G = Ground Ball, F = Fly Ball, A = Air (Fly + Liners)

All	Ground	Fly	Line	G/F	G/A
2002	0.433036	0.354243	0.212721	1.222426	0.763781
2003	0.432865	0.342379	0.224756	1.264288	0.763249
2004	0.442254	0.370376	0.187371	1.194068	0.79293
Outs	Ground	Fly	Line	G/F	G/A
2002	0.460225	0.457944	0.081831	1.004982	0.852624
2003	0.466018	0.446196	0.087786	1.044424	0.872721
2004	0.463908	0.454623	0.08147	1.020424	0.865351

So it really matters if you include line drives. Pitchers in general get more balls in the air than on the ground. Notice two, that a fly ball is more likely to be turned into an out than a ground ball. About 35% of balls in play are fly balls, but about 45% of a pitcher's outs come on those same cans of corn.

So do ground ball/fly ball ratios really tell us anything? The data set is from 2002 to 2004, so I looked at all pitchers in that time frame with 400 innings pitched, and correlated their ERAs with the various ratios:

Pitchers with at least 400 IP, 2002-2004

Ratio	Correlation with ERA
G/F	-0.137
GO/FO	-0.125
G/A	-0.155
G/AO	-0.114

There are three things you can glean from this chart:

• Ground/Fly ratios have very little to do with ERA.
• If anything, the correlation favors who give up a higher ratio of ground balls to fly balls, no matter how you measure them.
• The overall G/F ratio is a better measure than the number of outs on those balls.

I can certainly imagine that certain parks and certain defenses can change this calculation. But in general, we shouldn't worry about how balls are put into play against pitchers.

The data used in the correlation study is included in the extended entry.

Correction: I fixed point 2 above from lower to higher. Thanks to the people in the comments who pointed this out.

Dick Scanlon recalls a big game of 2005. It was played in Tampa Bay, but celebrated in Japan. Hideo Nomo was going for his 200th major league win:

Nor did anybody care much about Nomo, except for a pack of about 30 Japanese journalists assigned to cover his every move and record his every word. Under normal circumstances, the pack would be pursuing Ichiro Suzuki and Hideki Matsui, today's Japanese stars. But these were not normal circumstances in Japan, where this Devil Rays-Brewers game was carried on live television at 8 a.m.

I kept thinking of those folks eating breakfast around their television sets on the other side of the world. They must have wondered why almost all the seats were empty, why Nomo's big moment was attracting so little attention in the country where baseball had been invented.

It was an eerie feeling watching what was regarded as a celebrated event somewhere else, yet looked and sounded like a funeral where it was being played.

John Smoltz discusses his favorite pitch (emphasis added):

"My favorite pitch is the one that's in the dirt that they can't hit but they swing at; I still can't figure out why they do it but I'm not going to try," Smoltz said.

I've always wondered that myself.

The Boston Red Sox did not offer a contract to Chad Bradford, signing Rudy Seanez instead. I'd love to see Bradford end up in Colorado. It would be another test of the "unusual deliveries work well at Coors" hypothesis.

Art Thiel of the Seattle Post Intelligencer compares the signing of Jarrod Washburn to the potential signing of Freddy Garcia.

Still, despite Garcia's shortcomings and wanderlust, it is hard to imagine there is anyone in baseball who would take Washburn over Garcia straight up, much less if the $11 million and extra year differential were factored in. Yet, that is the essence of what the Mariners have done to anchor their staff.

Roy Oswalt received an early Christmas present. Drayton McLane made a promise before game 6 of the NLCS:

Oswalt came through with seven strong innings of one-run ball to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-1, earning the NLCS Most Valuable Player trophy. McLane, who initially offered his old bulldozer, paid up Monday morning with a slightly-used D6N XL from Caterpillar.

According to Jason Watson from Houston's MUSTANG CAT dealership, the D6N XL runs about $230,000 brand-new. Although Watson wouldn't say what Oswalt's bulldozer cost McLane, slightly used D6N XLs can cost into the $200,000 range.

Most little boys I know want a bulldozer. Most settle for a Tonka. Oswalt gets to drive the real thing.

U.S.S Mariner dissects Jarrod Washburn's 3.20 ERA:

Jarrod Washburn did post a 3.20 ERA last year. No one denies that. The question we’ve been posing is how consistent are the skills that he showed that led to that 3.20 ERA? The answer: not at all. Washburn posted a low ERA thanks to putting men on first base and leaving them there. That’s not a recipe for success, and its not one he can repeat.

I'd say it's not likely one he can repeat.

With Ricardo Rincon signing with St. Louis, Athletics Nation speculates on who will fill the LOOGY role in the east bay next year.

Whenever I hear LOOGY, I think of the Beavis and Butt-head episode with the exchange student.

Gary Garland writes:

According to Hochi Sports out of Japan, the Boston Red Sox are said to have gotten the negotiating rights to Seibu Lions ace setup man Shinji Mori for between $400-500,000. Mori has a fastball that is between 91-94mph with a devastating splitter and an average slider.

Between 2000-2003, the righthander was perhaps the premier setup man in all of Japanese baseball, However, the last two seasons have seen his ERA inflate substantially even if his 2005 left/right splits and opponent batting average against were excellent. You can view his Japanese stats at:
http://www.japanbaseballdaily.com/PitchingMonma-Motohigashi.html

At best, Mori is a kind of downmarket Kazuhiro Sasaki. At worst, he will go through periods where his command takes a vacation and he gets taken deep.

After the 2003 season, Mori asked to be posted to MLB, but the Lions front office refused that request and an acrimonious back and forth dialog ensued, leading some to speculate that he may have deliberately tanked it for a while in 2004, though it didn't keep the Lions from winning the Japan Series. Mori then asked to be posted again at the end of 2004 and was rebuffed again. Last season, Seibu's bullpen was awful as Seibu barley finished third, so that they would suddenly unload one of their prime pitching assets suprised the hell out of the press and the team's fans. One has to think that they just got tired of Mori, who was coming up to his free agency at the end of 2006, and decided to see if they could get some cash for him.

The Yankees were also whispered to be interested, but it is unclear if they made an offer. More details about the results of the bidding should be made clear in the next couple of days.

Thanks, Gary.

Cal Eldred announced his retirement from baseball. Eldred showed a lot of promise in 1992, going 11-2 with a 1.79 ERA in 14 starts for the Brewers. Cal through 258 innings the following year and batters figured out how to draw walks and hit homers off the righty.

After missing 2002 with an injury, he did have a renaissance as a reliever with the Cardinals, posting a 3.41 ERA in his three season with the team while striking out 7.9 per game.

Jeff at Lookout Landing is doing some very interesting work with release points for Mariners pitchers.

Here's an article on Scott Eyre's ADHD. His numbers before and after he went on medication are pretty dramatic. It's a good thing nothing he's taking is on a banned list.

Greg Stroda spoke with Roger Clemens during a golf tournament about coming back next year. Clemens hasn't made up his mind about that, but did explain what happened with his hamstring:

"My hamstring blew because I had been pitching with three tears in my back for two months," Clemens said while walking the Trump course during a lunch break.

I had not hear this before. Was this widely known?

The biggest clue that Clemens might return to the game was this statement:

But there still seems a tug to play at least another season, and Clemens hinted at it while signing everything from baseball cards to baseballs to golf balls to magazine covers to notebooks to photographs while obliging autograph requests. He enjoys the 5-handicap he carries — with very little practice — at Shadow Hawk Golf Club in Houston but knows he can lower it.

Which is where the hint came in.

"I play enough," Clemens said, "but I'll work on my golf more when I'm done with the other silly game I love."

When he's done.

The Baseball Crank wondered if this was a poor pitching season in the AL and discovers it wasn't.

Jim Tracy is looking for leadership from his starters who can't pitch:

Tracy said he would count on Redman, a seven-year veteran who owns 53 major-league wins, to provide leadership to a starting rotation that could include youngsters Zach Duke, Paul Maholm and an inconsistent Oliver Perez.

Tracy said he also would look to right-hander Kip Wells, whose nightmarish 2005 campaign included 18 losses, to provide leadership.

"You'd like to think that they have the capabilities and want to take on those responsibilities from a leadership standpoint," Tracy said of Redman and Wells.

This is like calling a catcher a great handler of pitchers. You know there's nothing else he can do. Tracy seems optimistic about turning around Wells' record:

Speaking specifically about Wells, who was the Pirates' Opening Day starter in 2004, Tracy said, "I think he's much better than 8-18" -- Wells' record in 2005, to go along with a 5.09 ERA.

"From what I've seen of Kip, and what I've seen done by (new Pirates pitching coach) Jim Colborn with guys who didn't have as good as stuff as Kip Wells... yeah, I think he's much better than 8-18."

Tracy cited Jeff Weaver, who won 27 games the past two seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers under the guidance of Colborn, as an example of the kind of turnaround he envisions for Wells.

They did get Weaver to cut down on his walks, but at the same times his homers allowed went way up. Still, if they can get Wells good enough to post a .500 record, that would be a big improvement for the team.

BUEHRLE: He is here...

GUILLEN: David Wells! What makes you think so?

BUEHRLE: A tremor in the Force. The last time I felt it was in the
presence of my old master.

GUILLEN: Surely he must be dead by now.

Looks like we'll have a little Vader vs. Obi Wan tonight in Chcago.

``Growing up, I watched David Wells pitch,'' Buehrle, 26, said at U.S. Cellular Field before yesterday's ALDS opener. ``He's a lefty. I kind of follow what he does. When he was on the team, he would take me out, on and off the field. I would sit next to him and learn what he has to say about baseball.''

Said a chuckling Wells, who turned 42 in June: ``I'm glad I taught him all those good things about baseball. He's an exceptional pitcher. Obviously, he's an All-Star. You know, the short time I spent with him, I talked to him a lot, and his ability was already there.''

It's sure to be battle of galactic proportions:

BUEHRLE: When I left you, I was but the learner; now I am the master.

WELLS: Only a master of the change-up, Mark.

Bartolo Colon pitched five innings and picked up the win today as the Angels take 3 of 4 from the Oakland Athletics. He finishes the season with a 3.48 ERA in his bid for a Cy Young award. He also sets a career high in wins with 21.

On the Oakland side, they need to sweep the Mariners so Steven Levitt doesn't lose another bet.

Javier Vazquez is ending the season on a high note. He went seven innings, allowing three runs against the Padres to make his September ERA 2.93. He's really shown great control this month, striking out 29 and walking just five.

The Padres lose the game 4-3 in the tenth inning. With the Giants win, San Diego's magic number remains at four. They'll open a four games series in San Diego tomorrow, and the Giants will need to sweep to stay in the race. Two wins by the Padres and it's over. Even one will make it very tough for the Giants to win the division.

Mark Buehrle helped his Cy Young chances today with a complete game four-hitter against the Twins. The White Sox take the game to move two games ahead of the Indians. Buehrle lowers his ERA to 3.19 and moves his winning percentage to .667. He's also benefiting from a poor performance by Bartolo Colon. Bartolo only lasted 5 innings, giving up six runs. If Buehrle pitches and wins the division clincher against Cleveland on Friday, he'll look very good for the award. Meanwhile, Colon misses the A's unless he goes on short rest.

Chien-Ming Wang faced the minimum 12 batters through four innings. One batter, Cattalanotto reached on a error in the first but was thrown out trying to advance on the bad throw by Giambi. Is this a perfect game? It's not like he really reached base. It's more like a dropped foul ball. There's an error but no harm.

Update: The questin is moot as Wang gives up four hits and three runs in the fifth. New York trails Toronto 3-1 in the bottom of the fifth.

Jose Contreras lowers the White Sox magic number by one as he makes Jermaine Dye's first inning homer hold up as the White Sox win 3-1. Since August 1st he's 8-1 with a 2.03 ERA. That gives him 1/3 of the White Sox victories in that time.

It's the first complete game of Jose's career. He struck out nine while allowing just six hits and one walk. He's clearly been the White Sox ace down the stretch, and is finally fulfilling the expectations that accompanied his arrival in the US.

R.A. Dickey soaked up knowledge from Charlie Hough yesterday. He's looking to improve his knuckleball:

But Dickey said it won't be the last advice he gets from Hough. As soon as the duo finished talking, Dickey programmed Hough's number into his cellphone. He also told Hough he'd like to come to California a couple of times this winter for progress reports. Hough told Dickey he was welcome anytime.

It was everything Dickey could have asked. In advance of the meeting, Dickey said he planned to be "like a sponge and soak up every bit of information" he could.

Afterward?

"I feel like a sponge that's full of water," Dickey said. "And one that, when it's squeezed, you ring out every bit of performance possible."

When Tim Wakefield came to the Red Sox, he spent a lot of time with Phil Neikro, and it turned around his career. If Hough can do the same for Dickey, he'll be a valuable asset to the Rangers for a long time.

With the bases loaded and one out, Jorge Sosa strikes out Burrell on a border line pitch and gets Ryan Howard to ground out to first. The opposition is now 1 for 15 against Sosa with the bases loaded. His escape from the threat preserves Atlanta's 1-0 lead over the Phillies.

Tracy Ringolsby points out that the Rockies are heading for a dubios distinction:

THE ROCKIES are in line for an unwanted pitching trifecta of leading the NL in walks allowed, wild pitches and batters hit. Only 10 teams have led the NL in all three categories in one season, and none since the Braves did it in successive seasons in 1977-78.

Remember, though, the Braves had knuckleballer Phil Niekro on that staff.

Dave Smith of Retrosheet reports the last team without a knuckleball pitcher to lead the NL in all three was the 1974 San Diego Padres. The only other teams that didn't have a knuckleball pitcher and topped the NL in wild pitches, walks and hit batters were the 1947 Brooklyn Dodgers, 1939 Philadelphia Phillies and 1919 St. Louis Cardinals.

You can see the team leaders in the various categories here.

Paul Byrd keeps pouring it on his opponents. He's been tough to score on in September, allowing just three earned runs in 29 1/3 innings for a 0.92 ERA. He's not allowed a home run in these four starts while walking 4 and striking out 14. He's an early pitcher of the month candidate in the AL.

Not to be outdone by Jose Lima, Eric Milton gives up six runs in just 2/3 of an inning to raise his ERA to 6.84. Oliver Perz, not happy to be pitching in a blowout, allows five runs in two innings himself. Looks like it's going to be a long afternoon in Pittsburgh.

Paul Maholm won his second game in his fourth start for Pittsburgh tonight, pitching eight shutout innings. He lowered his ERA to 1.24 and showed the ability to strike out batters as eight went down at the hands of the pitcher.

It looks like it's going to be lefty heaven in Pittsburgh next year. Perez, Duke and Maholm looks like the nucleus of a very good rotation.

Johan Santana did indeed make his bid for Cy Young today, shutting out the Chicago White Sox for eight innings, striking out 13 along the way. He lowers his ERA to 3.05, .03 behind Kevin Millwood. His ERA against the White Sox this season is 0.86. The question is will the voters give the award to a pitcher with only 15 or 16 wins?

It looks like the Oakland Athletics are pretty good at watching video and building a game plan:

``It's just not executing,'' Schilling said. ``I gave up 11 hits and eight of them were in the first two pitches against a team that notoriously works the count. But I had a feeling coming into this game that if they watched my last start, which a lot of teams do, they'd see how many first-pitch fastballs I was throwing and how many balls I left in the middle of the plate that were taken for balls. I thought they might come out and be aggressive and they did. Seven of the 11 hits were on fastballs. ``Five or six of those were balls that I just centered down the middle of the plate.''

Schilling obviously didn't adjust to the A's adjustments. It also makes me wonder if Schilling's victory on Saturday vs. the Yankees was more a poor game plan by NY than an improvement by Curt. Oakland shows once again that they'll go the extra mile to get an edge in a game.

We'll see if Schilling makes an adjustment in his next start.

Roger Clemens does very well despite the emotional trama of the day. He gives up 1 run in 6 1/3 innings, and with the Astros scoring three, Clemens actually has a chance at a win.

Things are going well for the Phillies. They needed Houston to lose two, and now they need Florida to lose as well. So far, so good.

Chris Jaffe presents a long and excellent article on pitchers aging patterns at Baseball Think Factory. One part I'd on which I'll comment:

So just to recap - from 1876 to the 1980s baseball went many changes - the pitchers were moved back twice, given a mound, lost the spitball and shineball, had several eras of high- scoring offense, and low-scoring deadness. It survived two world wars and other, smaller conflicts. It integrated, adopted night baseball, conquered the minor leagues, went to airline travel, coast-to-coast leagues, and paid grown men to put on silly looking costumes and serve as mascots. Yet throughout all this turmoil, one consistent held true: fastballers started earlier, got up to speed quicker, entered their prime earlier, peaked earlier, and - through at least the first stages of decline - performed considerably worse than junkers.

Then came the 1980s. Now absolutely none of that is true. The exact opposite is going on. Sure. OK. Why not? What the hell.

Ideas? Explanations? I'm empty folks. Not a clue. I can throw a few things out - the 1980s is associated with the rise of the split-fingered fastball. Does that have something to do with it? I dunno. Pitch counts? (shrugs). Maybe. You know what though? None of these really explains it because there are two separate things going on - not only are fastballers aging better, but everyone else is aging worse. How the heck does the rise of the splitter cause curveballers to pitch worse at age 34? It's the damnedest thing.

I would suggest weight training may be the cause of the shift. Weight training helps the pitchers throw harder longer, and healthy, strong muscles can stand more wear and tear. Just like weight training helped batters hit the ball farther, it makes sense that the same type of training keeps pitchers younger longer.

Tony Massarotti fears the return of the closer by committee in the Boston bullpen.

But back to the seventh for a moment. Having operated with a structured bullpen for the large majority of his managerial career in Boston, Francona now seems to have zero confidence in virtually every Sox reliever but Timlin and, seemingly, Papelbon. The manager certainly has every right, particularly during a season in which Red Sox relievers have been swimming in gasoline. No wonder the prices keep going up. But the committee approach? No, no, no, no. It doesn't work. We all saw that during the early stages of the 2003 season, when the bullpen failed so miserably that the Sox went out and acquired Kim from the Arizona Diamondbacks for Shea Hillenbrand. Kim stablized the bullpen – at least during the majority of the regular season – the same way Curt Schilling did this year, which is another frightening similarity between this year and that one.

I don't agree that a committee can't work. In fact, Francona should be praised for using (in his opinion his best pitcher with the game on the line. That was the save right there. The "best" relief pitcher's job is to get outs in precisely that situation, not mow down the the bottom of the order in the ninth. The Red Sox just need to decide who the best is right now.

I didn't realize until they just mentioned it on the Indians broadcast that Kevin Millwood now leads the American League in ERA. With a 7-11 record, should he win the Cy Young award?

It's been a good week for Scott Kazmir. On Sunday he faced the Blue Jays and pitched seven shutout innings, striking out nine and walking just one. Today he faced the Blue Jays again, allowing one unearned run while striking out eleven and walking just one. It could be he matches up well against Toronto, or it could be the youngster is starting to mature as a pitcher. The DRays are hoping for the latter.

Jorge Sosa threw eight shutout innings today to lower his ERA to 2.55. That's half the ERA he had with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays last season. In three seasons with the DRays, Jorge posted a 5.17 ERA. What's the difference?

Jorge Sosa	With Tampa Bay	With Atlanta
ERA	5.17	2.55
K/9	5.9	5.9
BB/9	4.6	4.0
HR/9	1.29	0.85

Fewer walks, but a lot fewer home runs. Whatever the adjustment, it's paid off for the Braves in a year in which their rotation was set back by injuries.

Kyle Lohse did not control his temper last night.

Lohse dented manager Ron Gardenhire's office door, apparently with a bat, injured his finger and might have permanently fractured his already strained relationship with the Twins, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported Thursday.

I would not want Ron Gardenhire upset with me. My guess is Kyle will be pitching somewhere else next year. Someone will find a place for a pitcher that only walked 37 in 154 2/3 innings.

Here's more information on why Chris Young was lifted so early from yesterday's game:

"It just wasn't worth the risk," Showalter said. ""I didn't like some of the things I was seeing."

What he saw in a scoreless first inning was a fastball that registered only 84-86 mph. Young had been regularly hitting 88-91 and touching as high as 94 on occasion.

Already figuring in were a pregame warning from pitching coach Orel Hershiser, who noticed a lack of life to Young's fastball in the bullpen, and the Rangers' already heightened state of awareness because of the rookie pitchers season-long workload.

Young entered with 153 2/3 innings this season, just 1 2/3 innings shy of last year's total, which was cobbled together at three levels.

I'd have to say good job on the part of the Rangers here. Something wasn't right, and they took action to prevent it from getting worse.

C.C. Sabathia is back. He did everything right tonight, pitching a complete game victory against the Tigers. He allowed just one run and four hits. He walked none and struck out 10. Milliliter threw 103 pitches, 74 for strikes. He's allowed just 8 earned runs in his last 43 1/3 innings while walking 9 and striking out 40.

With Millwood, Lee and Sabathia at full power, the Indians could go into the playoffs with a post-season rotation as good as any in the American League, certainly better than the Yankees or the Red Sox. The Indians are looking good for the stretch run.

Frank Robinson is leaving his pitchers no room for error tonight. John Halama gives up one run, two hits and a walk in the first and he's out of the game. Righty Travis Hughes is now on the mound. If they were playing strat-o-matic, I'd think Frank was trying to mess up his opponents platoons.

Jaret Wright gives up four in the first, but Joe Torre hasn't pulled him yet. And Bronson Arroyo is hit up for two in the first as well, but he'll continue to pitch.

Another bad afternoon for a major league starter. Danny Haren last just 2 2/3 innings, giving up eight hits and five runs. Oakland is in danger of being swept by Seattle and running their record to 1-7 over their last eight games.

Three of the four starters in the two games this afternoon didn't get to the fourth inning. The first to leaves was Chris Young, who suffered arm fatigue after the first inning. He was soon followed by Brad Radke, who allowed five runs in the 2nd inning. He didn't show up for the third.

Eric Milton did show up for the third, in which he gave up his fifth run. He also allowed two homers to bring his total to 39 for the season.

At least Chris Capuano is pitching decently. Through five he's struck out five, although he's allowed a homer and three runs. However, the Brewers are on top 9-3, so it looks like Chris should pick up a win.

Kameron Loe made his third good start for the Rangers today, shutting out the disappointing Minnesota Twins for eight innings. In three starts now, Loe allowed just two runs and two walks in 19 innings for a 0.95 ERA. He walked 15 in 45 1/3 innings as a reliever.

Of course, it's too bad Loe's first name isn't Napoleon. Then he could marry Jae Seo and be Napoleon Seo-Loe. :-)

We might have witnessed two star pitchers showing their futures today in Toronto. Scott Kazmir and David Bush battled for seven innings, Kazmir coming out on top in a 1-0 Tampa Bay win. Scott walked one and struck out nine while Bush walked none and struck out five. Bush's minor league numbers are very good, but he hasn't shown that much in the majors. I'm sure everytime Mets fans see a game like this from Kazmir they wish that trade hadn't happened.

Aaron Small pitched a great game for the New York Yankees today, shutting out the Oakland Athletics and pulling the Yankees into a tie for the lead in the AL Wild Card race. This was Small's first complete game and first shutout as a major leaguer. (It was his 8th start).

I don't quite understand why Small was moved out of the rotation in favor of Leiter. I suppose it has to do with starting experience. Small appeared to be doing a much better job of keeping runs off the board, however, and given Leiter's last outing I wouldn't be surprised to see their roles switch.

Aaron Small pitched a great game for the New York Yankees today, shutting out the Oakland Athletics and pulling the Yankees into a tie for the lead in the AL Wild Card race. This was Small's first complete game and first shutout as a major leaguer. (It was his 8th start).

I don't quite understand why Small was moved out of the rotation in favor of Leiter. I suppose it has to do with starting experience. Small appeared to be doing a much better job of keeping runs off the board, however, and given Leiter's last outing I wouldn't be surprised to see their roles switch.

Alex Belth uses a Bob Klapisch piece at Baseball Analysts to wonder about the relationship between pitching and writing.

Which brings me to another thought. Why do the best jock-turned-writers all seem to be pitchers? Jordan, Jim Brosnan, Jim Bouton. Glenn Stout pitched in an over-30 league for years. What gives?

I guess Alex doesn't consider Jose Canseco a writer. :-)

Ervin Santana pulled off some magic last night, shutting out the Athletics for 8 1/3 innings to help the Angels to a 3-0 victory and a share of first place in the West. Santana's been inconsistent in his rookie year. In his 17 starts, I count 8 very good ones and 5 very poor ones. Given that he's just 22, he has room for improvement. We'll see if he can get his walks and home runs allowed down as he progresses.

I'm watching the DRays vs. the RSox and the field reporter for NESN relayed a story about Boston asking Bronson Arroyo to stop his musical performances for the rest of the season and concentrate on baseball. In a fitting end to the story, Travis Lee hits a two-run homer to give Tampa Bay the lead 4-2.

Derek Lowe earns the second low-hit game of his career, tossing a complete game one-hitter against the Cubs. This fits nicely with his no-hitter against Tampa Bay.

Scott Baker is a Twins rookie, but he's fitting the starting rotation well. With tonight's seven innings, he lowered his ERA to 2.25. He's struck out 15 in 20 innings while walking four. And while the four walks are high for a Twins starter, they're not bad for your average starter. The Twins are adding to their strength.

Noah Lowry looks close to a lock for pitcher of the month in August. However, if Jae Seo pitches a complete game shutout tomorrow, they'll be tied in innings pitched and earned runs allowed, and wins. Noah should have him in strikeouts, Seo may have fewer walks. Two great performances by two fine young pitchers.

Tim Hudson picked up the 18th complete game of his career, a seven-hit, 5-2 victory over the Brewers. His career started in 1999, and the 18 CG are tied for 13th since the start of that season.

Andruw Jones provided all the offense Tim needed with two home runs, bringing his ML leading total to 42. Two more home runs and he'll crack the top 10 single season Braves list. Six of those spots are occupied by Henry Aaron. Hammerin' Hank holds the Braves record with 47, also.

Carlos Zambrano hit his second triple of the year in the 7th inning and came around to score to give the Cubs a 5-3 lead over the Marlins. He's now hitting .254 with a .429 slugging percentage as he has four doubles, two triples and a homer this season. He also had seven extra-base hits in 2003, his career high.

Kevin Millwood picked up a complete game loss yesterday, allowing two runs over eight innings. He's pitched well since the All-Star break but doesn't have much to show for it. In fact, he's just one of many pitchers having great second halves. It doesn't look like it's a shift to over all better pitching, as there are plenty of hurlers at the high end. But it does look like a group of mound men have figured out how to pitch in a high run environment.

Steve Trachsel is making an impressive 2005 debut tonight. Through four innings he's walked one, but hasn't allowed a hit. The Mets are off to a 1-0 lead on a David Wright home run. That's his 6th of the month, making August his best power month of the year so far.

Update: The Giants go 1-2-3 in the fifth inning.

Update: Randy Winn gets the first hit for the Giants with two out in the sixth, a grounder up the middle. Mets still lead 1-0.

The streak is over. Jermaine Dye just hit a double off Felix Hernandez, the first extra-base hit off the Seattle youngster in the majors.

Update: In the third inning, a double first. Brian Anderson of the White Sox hits his first major league home, and it's also the first major league home run allowed by Felix Hernandez.

Randy Johnson threw 104 pitches tonight, 78 for strikes. That's an impressive 75%. The Royals only manages four hits and one run against the Big Unit tonight. They did get the bat on the ball, however, as Johnson only struck out six through eight innings.

Here's some video of Oil Can Boyd at Yale Field in New Haven tonight.

Broadband.

Dial up.

It was great to see someone six months older than me still pitching. His control is great. He does give up some homers in a very low independent league, so I'm not sure he could move much higher in anyone's system.

I'm watching Gustavo Chacin today, and he's wearing reflective sun glasses so you can't see his eyes. He kept reminding me of a cartoon character, and I finally figured out who it is. Hello, nurse!

All the spare parts the Yankees gathered to hold the rotation together are starting to look like a pitching staff. Aaron Small's done well, as has Shawn Chacon. Now Al Leiter is even pitching well, giving up just 2 runs in seven innings tonight. More importantly, he struck out five while walking just 1.

Coming into tonight, the Yankees starters are 8-2 with a 2.80 ERA over their last 15 games. Leiter may lose this game (Toronto leads 2-1), but the ERA is going to stay right there. It's good news for New York fans.

Update: I didn't notice that Leiter pitched to the first batter in the 8th, who reached and came around to score. Leiter gives up six hits in 7+ innings and three earned runs.

Through five innings today, Dontrelle Willis has walked five and struck out 2. Coming into this game, Willis had a 3.4 strikout to walk ratio. This is the first game this season in which he's walked more than he's struck out.

He's worked hard today, throwing 105 pitches through five innings, but has a 3-2 lead. It's not clear if he'll come out for the sixth inning. But the bullpen is well rested, so McKeon may go there early.

Update: Antonio Alfonseca enters in the 6th. The Marlins still have a 3-2 lead.

Kenny Rogers got out of his punishment by Major League Baseball, but his opponents have taken up the slack. In his third start since returning from his suspension, Rogers was beaten again as the Devil Rays scored six runs in six innings. Since his return, the one time AL ERA leader is 0-3 with an 8.50 ERA. He's allowed 17 runs in 18 innings.

Eric Milton appears to have found a way to limit the long ball. The first three months of the season Eric allowed 27 home runs in 17 starts. Since July 1st, however, he's made 10 starts allowing just 8 home runs. He went six today and did not allow a long ball as the Reds romped to a 13-6 victory over the Diamondbacks.

Brad Halsey continues to have a tough August. After posting a 2.20 ERA in five July appearances, he has a 7.97 mark this month.

The Red Sox announced this afternoon that Curt Schilling will return to the rotation on Thursday. He's getting an easy first assignment, pitching against the Kansas City Royals.

Schilling will remain in the bullpen for the final two games of this four-game series in Anaheim. Mike Timlin is expected to serve as the primary closer, beginning Tuesday, until Foulke returns. Schilling is 5-5 with a 6.37 ERA in 23 appearances this season.

I don't know how well Schilling will pitch. Schilling has a high ERA as a reliever, mostly based on the five home runs he's allowed in 23 1/3 innings. On the positive side, he's struck out 27 in those innings.

One big question mark will be Curt's in-game stamina. Can he go more than five innings? Early in the season he used a lot of pitches to get through a few innings. He's tough bird, and we'll see if his ankle is equal to that toughness

A.J. Burnett pitched a great game tonight to raise his record to 12-6. A.J. allowed just six hits while striking out nine through eight innings.

Beckett, Burnett and Willis now all have .667 winning percentages. The are a combined 40-20. It shows where lack of depth hurts. If the rest of the staff could be close to .500, the Marlins would be in first place in the east. Instead, the rest of the staff is 24-37, and Florida is chasing the wild card.

Jae Seo pitched eight shutout innings, getting the win against the Nationals 1-0. Given that his ERA is 0.39 in his three starts since his return to the bigs, and he pitched pretty well before he was sent down, you have to wonder if the biggest mistake the Mets made was not have Seo on the major league roster for the entire season.

The Milwaukee Brewers got to Roger Clemens tonight, scoring four runs off him in the 7th for five on the game. That's more than Roger allowed in his previous five starts. It raises his ERA to a still incredible 1.53.

Zach Duke put up more zeros tonight as the Pirates defeat the Mets 5-0. Duke allowed just two hits over seven innings and lowered his ERA to 1.87

If Oliver Perez can straighten himself out next year, the Pirates can have their best starting duo since Drabek and Smiley.

The Baseball Crank looks at the longevity of young phenoms.

Dontrelle Willis picked up his fifth shutout of the year tonight, downing the Padres 6-0. He passes Chris Carpenter for the NL lead in shutouts. With the complete game going the way of the dinosaur, getting five complete games in a season is pretty impressive, let alone five shutouts.

My family and I just got back from game 1 of the double header at Norwich. The Navigators were hosting the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, the AA affiliate of the Blue Jays. Norwich starter Anthony Moreno was hit hard. He gave up 3 runs in the third and four more in the fourth before Norwich manager Bob Stanley pulled him with 2 out and 2 on. Oscar Montero entered the game and gave up a three run homer to make the score 10-5 in favor of the cats. Montero got out of the inning. We were sitting behind home plate, and Stanley walked over to where we were sitting to retrieve the pitching chart from one of his players. After getting the chart, he looks right at me and says, "Can you pitch?"

I replied that I wished I could. In the middle of the seventh, after Montero pitched effectively, Stanley came by and told me he wouldn't need me for the 2nd game. Given that I can't get the ball to the plate, I was quite relieved. :-)

Javier Vazquez is really giving up the long ball in the second half of the season. Before the All-Star break, Javy allowed 15 home runs in 119 innings. With the three he allowed today, he's given up 10 in 40 2/3 innings since the break. He's posted a 5.75 ERA in that time.

The deal that brought Jay Witasick to the Oakland Athletics may go down as one of those brilliant Beane trades. He has a win, a save, and more importantly a 1.69 ERA. In 10 2/3 innings, Jay's given up six hits while striking out 17 and walking four. With Calero, Street and Witasick all with high strikeout rates, the Athletics have the type of bull pen that should be good at pitching out of trouble.

Last night's performance against the Oakland Athletics seems to have answered the question posed after his last start. Santana pitched a complete game shutout last night, using 110 pitches (80 strikes) to shut down the Athletics on 3 hits. More importantly, he struck out 9. Over his six previous starts, Santana's K per 9 was just 5.4, way down from his normal lofty values.

Last night's performance is what we expect from the Cy Young winner, but this year those great games are rare.

Haren also pitched a three-hit complete game for the A's. He walked two instead of one, however, and the walk to Ford led to the only run of the game on a stolen base and a single.

The complete game percentage continues to be higher than last year. Through this point in the season in 2004, 2.9% of starts were completed. This season, that number is at 3.9% Complete game shutouts are up slightly, 1.3% of starts vs. 1.5% of starts.

Curt Schilling did his best Keith Foulke impression tonight. He enters the game with a four run lead in the ninth and gives up two homers and three runs, but pitches well enough for Boston to get the win. The number three hitters had big nights as Ortiz had four hits, two homers and six RBI while ex-Red Sox Carl Everett went 3 for 5 with a homer and three RBI. Boston wins 9-8.

The Oakland Athletics took sole possession of first place in the AL West this afternoon as they came from behind to defeat the Angels 5-4. Down 4-0 in the 7th, the Athletics uses a pair of home runs by Eric Chavez and Jay Payton to tie the game. It stayed there until the bottom of the 9th. The Oakland A's had men on 2nd and third with two outs when the catcher threw the ball back to K-Rod. Frank didn't keep his eye on the toss and the ball ticked off his glove behind the mound. Kendall took advantage of the mistake and scored from third.

It was the first error of K-Rod's career, and it put his team in second place. It's the first time I've seen a game end like that.

Correction: I meant the AL West.

Ben Sheets pitched very well today, but not good enough to win. He pitched a complete game five hitter against the Cardinals, allowing no walks while striking out nine. He gave up three runs, two earned, but lost 3-0.

Since the start of the 2004 season, Sheets is 20-22 with a 2.81 ERA. He's striking out over 9 per nine. He's walking a bit over 1 per 9. If the Brewers offense ever improves, Sheets will look a lot better to Cy Young voters.

Dustin McGowan earned his first major league win tonight, allowing four runs in 6 1/3 innings as the Blue Jays triumphed over the Tigers 6-4. McGowan gave up eight hits, but he only walked one batter.

Shawn Chacon pitched well once again, but once again his offense isn't supporting him. Chacon gave up just one run in seven innings tonight, lowering his Yankees' ERA to 1.42. Jose Contreras, however, pitched even better, giving up two fewer baserunners and no runs through seven innings. He's also thrown only 96 pitches, so he's probably coming out for the 8th.

Update: A fan fell out of the upper deck of Yankee Stadium and landed in the net above the seats behind home plate. I don't know if he jumped or fell. He was able to climb out. It's the second time I saw that happen.

Josh Beckett pitched another good game in Denver today. In four starts at Coors, Beckett now has a 3.60 ERA. He allowed seven hits today, but only one extra-base hit, a double. The Marlins lead 3-2 in the seventh.

Sunny Kim pitched a decent four innings, allowing two runs. He struck out four and walked none. If he can keep something like that going for six innings a start, he'll be very valuable to the Rockies.

The Cardinals have only used five staters this year. They're thinking of using a sixth soon, as they like to give the five man rotation an extra day off whenever possible:

"We're thinking about how we're going to deal with these 30 games in 31 days" this month, manager Tony La Russa said. "That (schedule) goes against what we're been trying to do - to periodically get our pitchers an extra day. We've been rolling over our rotation all year long, so whenever there's an off day, guys can pitch on their sixth day so that when we get into this part of August, we've got a lot of guys feeling good.

"But, with our schedule in August, we can only do that one time. So, we've been thinking of ways we can create that, and all we can do is add a starter."

I'm not as smart as La Russa, but I'd be using those days off to give my fifth starter a rest and get as many starts as possible for the top four in the rotation. But when you have a huge division lead, you can afford to rest the troops.

Jim Ingraham of the Morning Journal breaks down the number of batters Bob Wickman faces in save opportunities vs. Nathan and Rivera. Bob has a tendency to make save situations interesting.

I admire Phil Garner's handling of Roger Clemens this season. He's averaging just under 7 innings a start this year. When the Astros blow out an opponent, Roger comes out early. He only threw 85 pitches through seven today, but when the Astros scored four in the top of the eighth to take a 5-1 lead, Clemens went to the bench. He should be in good shape if the Astros make the playoffs this season.

Jon Garland picked up win number 16 today as he held the Mariners to one run over 7 1/3 innings. Three of the five hits he allowed came in his last 1 1/3 innings of work. He lowered his ERA to 3.29, passing Chacin for 7th in the AL.

Garland's done a good job this season of reducing his home runs allowed and walks allowed. He still gives up a lot of balls in play, but without the free passes and power, they don't do as much damage.

Al Leiter managed 5 2/3 shutout innings against the Blue Jays today, probably giving him another start as a Yankee. He didn't pitch as well as the score; half his pitches were called balls and he walked four more batters. The Blue Jays just couldn't put enough hits next to the walks to provide any offense. The Yankees lead 6-0 in the 7th inning.

As pointed out earlier today, Johan Santana's strikeouts are way down lately. Tonight, he only struck out 2 in six innings against the Red Sox. After throwing just 94 pitches, he didn't come out for the 7th. Once again I ask, is Santana injured?

Zach Duke allowed eight hits and three runs through six innings this evening. In the seventh, however, his curveball was working well and he strikes out the side in order, getting Repko swinging and Bradley and Kent looking. He's at 99 pitches, so we'll see if he comes out for the 8th. The Pirates lead 6-3.

The San Francisco Giants received seven shutout innings from Noah Lowry today. That's five good starts in a row for the Giants. In this pass through the rotation, the Giants starters have allowed just five earned runs in 34 innings for a 1.32 ERA. San Francisco leads Houston 4-0 in the bottom of the 8th.

Daniel Cabrerea pitches a short game today as he's relieved after 3 2/3 innings, allowing eight earned runs. Cabrera allowed five hits and walked five; after walking 33 in the first three months of the season, he's now walked 28 since July 1st. His 6.0 walks per 9 since the start of July is 2nd in the majors only to Al Leiter's 7.46 among pitchers with at least 25 innings. Amazingly, Cabrera's ERA in that time was only 2.82 before today's out burst. That number went up to 4.29 today.

Jae Seo returned to the Mets today and shut down the Cubs for 7 1/3 innings. Jae allowed just four hits and a walk while striking out four. He threw strikes, with 71 or his 106 pitches in the positive column.

He pitched well in his time at Norfolk, striking out 111 in 121 2/3 innings while walking only 30. If he can come close to those numbers with the major league club he'll be fine.

Update: The Mets bullpen retires 5 of the 6 batters they face, allowing just a walk to preserve the shutout and the win for Seo. Jae now has a 1.42 ERA in four MLB starts this season.

Shawn Chacon is two for two in picking up no decisions for the Yankees. For the 2nd game in a row, Chacon gave New York a good start, only to see the bullpen come in and give away the lead. Chacon walked the first batter in the 7th, and was relieved by Embree. Embree walked another and left with men on 2nd and 3rd and 1 out. Tom Gordon came in and allowed both runners to score. I heard the other day that Tom's inherited runners scored numbers are pretty bad, but I can't find them. If anyone has the numbers, please send them along.

John Patterson is throwing an excellent game against the Dodgers tonight. He's throwing a very efficient high-strikeout game. Through seven innings, he's struck out 12 while only using 89 pitches. He's given up three hits, but no walks. He should be able to go the distance at this rate.

Update: Patterson completes the 8th and picks up his 13th strikout. The high game score this season is 94 by Chris Carpenter in his 1 hitter against the Blue Jays on 6/14. Patterson has a shot at topping that if he completes the game with no more hits or walks and one more strikeout.

Update: Brad Wilkerson just hit the first grand slam of the season for the Nationals. Patterson has a 7-0 lead going to the ninth.

Update: Robles singles with two out in the 9th. Bradley then files out to end the game, giving Patterson a game score of 92, the third best score in the majors this season. It's Patterson's first complete-game shutout.

The Seattle Mariners started 19-year-old Felix Hernandez today.

Hernandez became the youngest major league starter since Jose Rijo pitched for the New York Yankees in 1984. Hernandez dominated the Pacific Coast League while pitching at Triple-A Tacoma.

When the Day by Day Database is updated, I notice the new players coming into the league. Very often, they're not that young. At this point, if you were born in the 1970's and are just getting to the majors, you're not of that much interest. But when you're born in 1986, that's something to get excited about. To be good enough to play in the majors when you're 19 means your potential is limitless.

It's nice to see Hargrove is thinking of the youngster's future as well:

Seattle manager Mike Hargrove said before the game that Hernandez would probably throw about 80-85 pitches no matter how well he was pitching. Hargrove said the goal was to make it feel like any other game. Hernandez ended up throwing 81 pitches, 49 for strikes.

“There’s enough on this kid’s plate without reminding him of the obvious,” Hargrove said. “I’d like for him to be doing this at 29.”

He ends the game with a loss, but also with a 1.80 ERA and a .176 batting average allowed. It's a nice way to start a career.

Chan Ho Park slides seamlessly into the Padres rotation. Like most of their starts lately, Park allows a ton of runs in very few innings. He made it through one out in the fifth, but gave up seven runs, six earned. The Pirates earned 8 hits and drew three walks while only striking out once against the new Padre pitcher.

Luckily for San Diego, the Pirates pitching isn't any better, and San Diego leads 8-7 in the bottom of the 7th.

Roger Clemens pitched another great seven innings last night, allowing 1 run and picking up his 10th victory. His ERA now stands at 1.45 after 149 innings pitched. In 1968, the year before they lowered the mound and expanded to 24 teams, eight pitchers had ERAs under 2.00 with at least 149 IP. Bob Gibson posted a 1.12 ERA in 304 2/3 innings.

Since that time (36 seasons), only 18 pitchers have posted an ERA under 2.00 in at least 149 innings. Clemens' 1.45 would be the lowest since Gibson. Dwight Gooden currently has that make at 1.53 in 1985. This could turn out to be a very historic season.

The Toronto Blue Jays appear to have Jon Garland's number this season. In two games against the Chicago righty Toronto banged out 22 hits and scored 13 runs, all earned. Nearly a quarter of Garland's earned runs came in his starts against the Blue Jays this season. To Garland's credit in those games, he only walked one. Against the rest of the league, Garland's ERA is 2.82.

Victor Zambrano's only given up six home runs all season. Tonight, he gave up two in the first inning. It's the first time he's allowed multiple home runs in a game since April 19th at Philadelphia. Carlos Lee and Geoff Jenkins go back-to-back to give the Brewers a 3-0 lead over the Mets in the first.

Update: Victor gives up back-to-back home runs in the 2nd as well! Branyan and Miller each hit solo shots. Zambrano's given up more home runs tonight than he did in the last three months!

Evan Grant goes outside the box to profile the kind of pitchers who would be successful in Arlington.

This Zach Duke phenomenon is getting out of hand. He stopped the Braves today, allowing just one run in 8 1/3 innings. He didn't strike out many, but only allowed 1 walk. His ERA now stands at 0.92. He even got enough offensive help as Jose Castillo hit his ninth home run, topping his total from his rookie year.

Duke seems to have a little Andy Pettitte in him, as he induced three double plays today. That gives him nine on the season.

And by the way, the closest John Wayne came to a pirate movie was Reap the Wild Wind.

Chris Capuano has a no-hitter through five innings. He's walked one batter. The game is not on MLB extra-innings, so if you're watching locally, feel free to leave comments on how Chris is doing.

Noah Lowry is nearly matching Capuano. He's just given up 1 hit and 1 walk in the fifth. Both teams are scoreless.

Update: Grissom breaks up the no-hitter leading off the 6th.

David Steele in the Baltimore Sun criticizes the Orioles for not getting more pitching early on:

Stop us if you've heard that before. If the Orioles do as expected and stand pat today, most of the criticism will be aimed at Jim Beattie and Mike Flanagan for not doing anything now, for not getting A.J. Burnett or whoever might stop the bleeding. That criticism will be multiplied if the Red Sox or Yankees get Burnett or some other pitcher who makes the difference.

The anger will all be misguided. Be smart and train your fury at the fact that nothing was done before the season, that the group that made it out of spring training was sold as being good enough, that everybody was tricked by two months of glory.

That was fool's gold. To have thought that the pitching was going to hold up, and be good enough to keep them in the mix with the Red Sox and Yankees, was to have believed in Santa and the Easter Bunny.

I don't know if I agree with that. The Orioles offense should be good enough to win with a mediocre pitcher staff. When the offense went south, the pitching couldn't win. In general, it's a lot easier to fix offense than it is to fix a pitching staff. Even if they got Burnett, that only helps 1 out of five games.

Andy Pettitte throws eight shutout innings vs. the Mets tonight. He finishes July 5-0 with a 0.90 ERA. He's been a big factor in the Astros comeback.

Man, the Yankees could have a great lefty rotation. Pettitte, Lilly, Halsey. Put that with Mussina and a fifth starter and New York probably wouldn't need to trade for a starter.

Shawn Chacon gives the Yankees six good innings today. He gave up four hits and three walks, but none of the hits were for extra bases. He allowed just 1 run, none earned, and threw 104 pitches, 56 for strikes. It was an okay start. I would suspect other teams with better offenses than the Angels will score more runs with that kind of strike percentage.

Update: Chacon's luck does not rub off on the bullpen. Rodriguez, Embree and Gordon give up a walk, a hit and an error on a sac attempt and a two run single to give the Angels a 4-3 lead. I'm sure conspiracy theorists will see Embree allowing a single then making a throwing error as a Boston plant. :-)

Gordon committed a balk that eventually led to a run. It's 5-3 LAnaheim.

Update: The Angels bullpen does no better than the Yankees, giving up five runs in the 8th and the 9th to give New York an 8-7 victory. Both pens waste fine outings by their starters. Rivera gets the win in relief, K-Rod takes the loss and blows his fourth save.

Did anyone see what happened to Daniel Cabrera in the Orioles game. He left after getting two out and giving up three hits in the 2nd inning. Was he hurt, or was Mazzilli just trying to keep the game from getting out of hand?

Eric Byrnes has an RBI double and the Orioles lead 4-2 in the top of the fourth.

Update: Cabrera was hit on the hand by a line drive. It's the 2nd day in a row an Orioles pitcher had to leave early after being hit with a batted ball.

The LAnaheim Angels have now allowed just 3 run in their last 27 innings pitched. Tonight, however, it pays off in a win as Ervin Santana improves over his last appearance against the Yankees and gets another win against New York. The Angels bullpen was great again, giving up just 1 hit in 2 2/3 innings.

Kirk Rueter proved once again tonight why he shouldn't be a starter anymore. He last just 3 2/3 innings against the Brewers tonight, giving up five earned runs on seven hits and two walks. Actually with his ERA at 5.95 and opponents hitting .305 against the lefty, I'm not sure he should be pitching in the majors at this point.

Mark Prior continues to dominate this season at Wrigley field. He's thrown 100 pitches through seven innings, 68 for strikes. He's allowed just one runs while striking out 8, bringing his home ERA down to 1.82.

Update: I didn't think Prior would come out for the 8th after 100 pitches. He loaded the bases with two singles, a sacrifice and an intentional walk. He got ahead of Glaus 0-2, but Troy singled on the next pitch to drive in two and give the DBacks a 3-2 lead. This reminds me of game six in 2003, where Dusty didn't seem prepared for his ace to get in trouble.

Update: With one out in the bottom of the ninth, Michael Barrett singles in the tying run. It's first and second with one out for pinch-hitter Aramis Ramirez.

Update: Ramirez bounces one past a sliding Glaus for to drive in the winning run. It looks like the bounce was funny, because Troy look fooled. The Cubs win 4-3.

Ezequiel Astacio was given a tough task tonight, pitching against Pedro Martinez. But Astacio was up to the task, matching Pedro with one run allowed through six innings. He walked two more than Martinez and gave up one more hit, but as he leaves the game the score is tied at one. Maybe Clemens, Oswalt and Pettitte are starting to rub off on the rookie.

Update: Chad Qualls does not get the job done in relief, giving up a solo home run to Miguel Cairo. The Mets lead 2-1.

Sidney Ponson came out of the game against the Rangers in the third innng. He was pitching well. Did anyone see the game, and was he hurt or might he have been traded?

Update: My source in the industry tells me Ponson was hit in his pitching hand.

Two former Yankees lefties pitched well today. First, Brad Halsey got the win vs. the Cubs. Then, Brandon Claussen pitched seven excellent innings against the Dodgers in LA. The only run he allowed came on a home run by Cesar Izturis. Claussen's allowed a high number of hits this season, but only four this afternoon while walking none.

The Padres were not able to follow up Peavy's great performance with another good start from their pitching. Tim Stauffer only lasted 3 1/3 innings, giving up seven runs in the process. It's too bad for San Diego, as Chris Carpenter is having an off day for him, having allowed three runs through four innings.

Also, Phil Nevin is catching. With Hernandez hitting the DL, the Padres are forced to go with Nevin and Fick behind the plate. Maybe the non-trade worked out for the best.

My old office mate from UMass, Margie Connell, retired today so I just got back from Amherst and her going away party. On the way back, I was listening to the Yankees game. It seems New York does not have a starting pitcher for Saturday. Torre may actually make a Tony La Russa move, and use a series of relievers for a few innings each.

Gustavo Chacin finishes a good July with eight shutout innings against the LAnaheim Angels. Undefeated in July, Chacin ended up posting a 3.60 ERA to go with his 4-0 record in the month. Toronto continues to hang tough in the AL East and wild card races.

Randy Johnson hit Shannon Stewart to start the game, then erased him with a double play. He's now faced the minimum through four, allowing no hits while striking out six.

More importantly, he's throwing unhittable strikes. He's been able to get through four innings with only 42 pitches. The Yankees can really use a long outing by a starter, and Johnson is on his way to giving them that kind of outing tonight.

Kris Benson continued his great season at Shea today. His eight shutout innings lowered his ERA to 2.38 in Queens this year. I don't know if it's intentional, but he's now made 10 of his 16 starts in New York. It's a good move if they are really trying to set the rotation to maximize Kris' starts at Shea.

Someone wrote the other day wondering how saves and complete games were running compared to last year. Early in the season, it looked like saves were down. That's turned around in a big way. At the same point in the season last year, there were 734 saves in 1099 opportunities, a 66.8 save percentage. This year, there are 735 saves in 1074 opportunities, a 68.4 save percentage.

Complete games continue to run higher than last year, which may account for the drop in save opportunities. Through the same point in the season, 2004 showed 84 complete games in 2900 starts, or 2.9% complete games. In 2005, pitchers have completed 120 games in 2914 starts, or 4.1%.

One reason for the better save and complete game number is that offense continues to be down. (I'm not stating cause and effect; I don't know if it's better pitching or poorer hitters who are causing the offensive drop.) Runs per game are running at 9.3 per game vs. 9.6 per game at the same point in the season in 2004. Home runs are down slightly, from 2.20 to 2.06 per game.

What happened to Sean Douglass? For four years he was a medicore pitcher with the Orioles and Blue Jays. Suddenly, he's 3-0 in five starts with the Tigers, and is sporting a 2.10 ERA after allowing just 1 run in seven innings against the Twins. The big difference so far is that he's not allowing home runs, just 1 so far in 30 innings. Sometimes pitcher just mature late, and at age 26 we may not be seeing that in Douglass.

Roger Clemens is having little trouble with the Washington Nationals tonight, allowing no runs while striking out 10 through six innings. It's Roger's second 10 K game of the season.

Jake Peavy picked up his third hit of the season this afternoon, raising his average to .103. Amazingly, he has four walks. He has a good eye, but not a good bat.

It looks like Barry Zito is putting in his bid for AL Pitcher of the Month in July. He pitched seven shut out innings vs. the Angels last night to lower his July ERA to 1.20 and raise his July record to 4-0. Barry got off to a rough start in April but lowered his ERA every month. It's not exactly clear what the difference between his April and July are, however. His strikeouts, homeruns and walks aren't that different, yet he's allowed less than half the hits. It's as if the Oakland defense suddenly got better behind him. Maybe it's Bobby Crosby?

Oakland takes two out of three from the Angels, putting them 6 1/2 games back in the AL West. With the Rangers loss last night, the Athletics are also in second place, 2 1/2 back in the wild card chase.

The Tigers offense scored some runs for Nate Robertson, and he went seven innings to pick up his fifth victory of the year. Kyle Fransworth did his best to give it away, but four runs in the top of the ninth were more than enough to make up for the three runs allowed by Kyle.

Craig Dingman threw three pitches to retire the last batter and pick up his first save. In three innings, Dingman has four strikeouts and one walk. Maybe he'll get more chances at closing with Percival injured. In a 10 year minor league career (through 2004), Dingman had 551 K in 466 1/3 innings.

John Patterson moved past John Smoltz last night for fifth place in the NL ERA race. Smoltz returned the favor today, allowing 1 run in eight innings to lower his ERA to 2.64, good for fifth place. The Braves picked up the 4-1 win over the Giants in a brisk 2:19.

Jeff Francoeur continues to impress in his short stint in the majors. He's 9 for 22 with his third home run today, but has yet to draw a walk. Maybe the other teams should start pitching around him, given his .864 slugging percentage.

Mark Hendrickson became the second pitcher this season to start a game, face batters, and get no one out. Four hits and two walks was enough for Lou Piniella as Mark ended up having all six batters score. Paul Wilson went eight deep in the first inning in early May.

AJ Burnett threw a nice game in a tough ballpark, allowing three runs in six innings in route to a 6-3 Marlins victory over the Diamondbacks. With the game, Burnett's ERA goes to 3.68, exactly the same as last year, in about the same number of innings. In fact, if you combine the two years together you get about one good season from the pitcher. A .500+ record, but great strikeout and home run numbers. No wonder he's the big trade rumor.

It will be a few more games before Rich Harden qualifies for the AL lead in ERA. He shut down the Angels last night, not allowing a run until 2 out in the ninth. And it was a good thing, too, as Oakland managed just three runs off Wasburn, who ranks 5th currently among AL qualifiers in ERA. Since his return from the DL, Harden is 5-1 with a 1.34 ERA, earning a decision in each start. He's only allowed 18 hits in those six games, and opponents are batting .186 against the righty.

Update: Just a word about Dan Johnson, who's seventh inning home run gave the A's a bit of insurance, making the score 3-0. He was chosen 221st in the 2001 draft, and since then has shown the ability to get on base at every level of the minor leagues. He doesn't have great power for a first baseman, but he doesn't have zero power either. I wonder how many teams could have had Johnson for a song the last couple of seasons? If you have a problem at first base, it shouldn't be difficult to solve. You just need to scan the minor leagues for the Dan Johnsons of the world. He has a .365 OBA and a .463 slugging percentage for the A's this season. The AL average for first basemen is .337 and .442.

The Red Sox defeat the Devil Rays 5-2 tonight behind fine pitching by rock and roller Arroyo. Schilling pitched a perfect ninth, throwing just nine pitches to pick up his first save. Since giving up the hits to Sheffield and A-Rod, the first two batters he faced in relief, Schilling's given up 1 hit in four innings while striking out five.

John Patterson is climbing up on the ERA leader board. He allowed 0 runs in 8+ innings this evening, lowering his ERA to 2.69 and moving into fifth in the NL race. It was a terrific performance as he only allowed three hits while striking out 8. The 4-0 Washington victory over the Rockies means one more day in first for the Nationals. The Rockies are now 8-37 on the road.

Erik Bedard makes a fine return to the Orioles rotation, pitching six shutout innings to extend his scoreless inning streak to 13. He struck out seven, holding the Twins to just four hits and two walks. Unfortunately, the Orioles bullpen could not hold the 2-0 lead, so the Twins and Birds are fighting it out in extra innings. I guess we won't be seeing much of Hayden Penn any more. Now if they could just find a replacement for Ponson...

Update: The Tejada legend continues to grow in Baltimore. Miguel homers off Rincon in the top of the 11th to give the Orioles a 3-2 lead. The Orioles already used B.J. Ryan, so we'll see if they leave Julio in to save the game.

Update: Julio not only stays in, he gets the side in order to earn the win (maybe he should get both in this situation). The Orioles move past the Twins in the wild card race and gain a game on the Red Sox. With Texas ahead of the Yankees 10-9 in the 7th, this could turn out to be a very good night for Baltimore.

Brandon Backe is having a great game on both sides of the ball tonight. He's only allowed 1 run through 3 2/3 innings tonight and he has half a cycle, picking up the double and the triple. It's the 2nd triple of the season for the Houston starter and the second of his career. He's now batting .306 for his career (15 for 49) with a .469 slugging percentage.

Tony Armas came out of the game with a 2-1 count on Byung-Hyun Kim leading off the top of the third. It's not clear at the moment why he needed to come out of the game. The Washington announcers are speculating that it might be the heat.

Update: The Washington broadcast is reporting that Armas was suffering from heat and dehydration.

WasWatching notices the newest addition to the Yankees starting corps, Aaron Small. Go to the post to see the great spin Torre puts on this. A better way of saying it would be, "The rules require we have a starting pitcher. Wednesday night, it's Aaron Small."

He first reached the majors in 1994. Since the end of 1998, he's appeared in two major league seasons, pitched a total of 16 2/3 innings, and allowed 16 earned runs. Joe better make sure the bullpen is well rested on Wednesday.

Viva El Birdos uses the Day by Day Database to compare Carpenter's last six starts to some other great pitching streaks.

Al Letier pitched a very good game for the Yankees tonight. He gave up just 3 hits in 6 1/3 innings while walking three. But he also struck out eight, the most he's had this season. He didn't throw a lot of strikes; 59 of 102 pitches, under 60%. I doubt he'll have long term success at that rate. But he kept the Sox off balance tonight, and the Yankees have three homers off Wakefield and lead 5-1 in the 8th. If the Yankees hold on to this lead, they'll be tied for the Wild Card lead with Minnesota.

Zach Duke had a game he'll tell his grandchildren about. He faces Maddux in the third start of his career and shuts out the Cubs for eight innings, lowering his ERA to 1.23.

I know it's only 22 innings, but he's struck out 21 while walking four. If Oliver Perez comes back healthy and Duke continues his royal performances, Pittsburgh fans have some good times ahead.

The Chicago Cubs have to be real happy with the pitching they've see from their oft-injured pair of aces, Mark Prior and Kerry Wood. Kerry's only allowed 2 hits and 1 run through six innings. More importantly, he's not walking anyone; his control was a problem earlier this season. That's helped keep his pitch count low; he's thrown 75 pitches today, and is batting with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 6th.

The Cubs went into the All-Star break even in runs scored and allowed. A healthy Prior and Wood in the second half should move the allowed part of the that equation down. That will help push the Cubs over .500 for the rest of the season.

Update: Jerry Hairston just hit the first grand slam home run of his career to make the score 11-1. As Brenly was suggesting on the Cubs version of the broadcast, it might be smart to get Kerry Wood out of the game and let someone mop up. Usually, I like to see a pitcher go the distance, but given Kerry's injury history, that's not a bad idea.

Rich Harden is perfect through six innings. He's only thrown 53 pitches, 40 for strikes. The Rangers are swinging early, not striking out since the third inning.

Update: The A's had a long bottom of the 6th, but Harden comes out for the bottom of the 7th and gets the side in order. With two outs, he fell behind Teixeira 2-0, then went to his mouth on the mound for ball three. He worked the count back to 3-2 and got Mark to ground out to end the inning. Sixty-five pitches thrown through seven innings.

Update: Harden finishes with a 6-0, 2-hit shutout of the Rangers. He threw 81 pitches, 61 for strikes. I'm not sure that's the lowest pitch total for a nine-inning complete game this year, but it has to be pretty close.

Update: Soriano breaks it up with a 1-out single to center in the 8th.

Curt Schilling is warming up in the Boston bullpen. He started in the bottom of the eighth in a game tied at six. I'm assuming he's entering the game in the ninth no matter what the score.

Update: The Red Sox fail to score. Schilling enters the game to thunderous applause.

Update: Sheffield doubles off Schilling to start the ninth. He drove it to the wall in left center.

Update: Alex Rodriguez follows with a home run to straight away center on a sinking pitch. Two batters, two extra-base hits against Curt, and the Yankees lead 8-6.

Al Leiter will be a Marlin no longer.

Leiter was designated for assignment Thursday by Florida, perhaps signaling the end of a 19-year career for the left-hander who helped the Marlins and Toronto Blue Jays win World Series titles.

He's a lefty, so there may be a team willing to take a chance on Al. My guess is that he'll be in the broadcast booth soon. I worked with Leiter during the post season at ESPN. He's a good guy and I found him very intelligent. Good luck, Al!

Mark Prior goes eight innings and throws 116 pitches, giving up just two hits and one unearned run. Most importantly, he struck out 10. It's his third 10 K game of the season and his first since May 6th.

Mike Gosling finds it easier to concentrate in the majors than in triple-A:

Gosling pitched with confidence, too, and focus, something he didn't do much at Triple-A Tucson this season. He was 3-5 with a 6.14 ERA in 13 minor league starts before being recalled on July 2 to provide long relief.

Oddly, Gosling said he is able to concentrate more when he pitches in the big leagues than when he does in Triple-A.

"I think it's maybe a mental thing," Gosling said. "In Tucson, it's stupid, but I think sometimes my mind wanders out there. . . . Here, I just know I have to buckle down, and I just think I'm much better at focusing pitch by pitch and batter by batter and not looking ahead. Who knows exactly what the reason is? But, hopefully I'll get a chance to stay up here and pitch well here, and then it doesn't really matter what I do down there."

I don't know what kind of crowds Tucson gets, but having 24,000 people watching you might cause you to concentrate harder.

Here's a great story about a young woman who struck out all eighteen batters she faced in a six inning little league game. That's about as perfect as you can get. And now she's in the Hall of Fame.

When I was very young, I thought a no-hitter was a game in which you struck out every batter. I didn't know the difference between hitting the ball and getting a hit at that time. I find people new to the game often have the same misconception. Katie Brownell's invented a new class of no-hitter, the no-contact game!

Zach Duke's major league career is off to a very nice start. In two starts he's pitched 14 innings, struck out 17 and walked two. The three earned runs he's allowed give him a 1.93 ERA. He's been a fine replacement for Oliver Perez so far. The Pirates lead the Phillies 2-1 in the eighth.

It looks like a couple of Red Sox players disagree with Theo on moving Schilling to the bullpen. Johnny Damon makes a good point:

"[Schilling has] never done it," Damon told the paper Wednesday night. "He throws 60 pitches to get loose for a game. He needs to get loose. Two outs in the eighth, a home run is hit. Get ready, 10 pitches. He can't do it. Timlin could, Bronson could. I don't think it's a good move for us. We've always talked about all year he'd come back and be a starter, and be a good starter. He can't just walk in and be a good closer. He's not ready yet. He's not ready."

Tim Wakefield agress.

''The way our rotation is now, if it doesn't stay healthy, we need another starter," Wakefield told the Globe. ''I'd rather have Curt coming in as a starter than having him close and then counting on our rotation to stay healthy for the rest of the year."

I really don't see Schilling being the closer. I see him more as coming into the game after Wells gets knocked out in the fifth inning.

Kudoos to Horacio Ramirez today. With a double header today, Ramirez threw a 100-pitch, complete game shutout. Sixty-nine of his 100 throws went for strikes. The Cubs managed just 3 hits and 1 walk as they lose 6-0.

Mark Prior did not pitch well. He gave up seven hits and four walks in just 4 2/3 innings. Derrek Lee did not play; Todd Walker started at first.

After a very rough start, Ted Lilly is starting to throw like the power lefty he is. With his seven shutout innings against the Atletics tonight, Lilly pitched well in four of his last five starts. Over that time he's posted a 2.03 ERA, striking out 26 in 31 innings and allowing just 2 home runs. He had given up 12 in his previous 12 starts.

A.J. Burnett has one of the strangest lines I've seen. Through six innings, he has 14 strikeouts and five walks! He's also allowed four hits and four runs and is losing 4-2. With three innings to go, he has a shot at 20 K. The other pitchers who reached the 20 K mark in nine innings did so with no walks. He's face 27 batters, and 19 have not put the ball in play. Of the eight in play, four were hits. That's a great batting average. The Brewers, thanks to the five walks, were able to use those few hits to their advantage. It seems if they can get a few more bats on the ball they could blow this game wide open.

Update: Burnett is not getting a shot at the record. Mercir is on in relief. The 125 pitches were too much for A.J.

Johan Santana allowed three more walks and another home run as the Angels have a 7-5 lead on the Twins in the 8th inning. If he keeps walking batters like this, he'll be thrown out of the Minnesota control club. He's already walked 15 in his last five starts. He's only walked 29 all season.

Update: The Angels win 7-6. Two great plays by Izturis and Kennedy end the game.

My good friend Jim Storer called me before the start of the Yankees game to ask me what I thought about Randy Johnson starting on short rest. My reaction was, "Why not?" He seems to do well or poorly randomly, so you're not going to be able to tell if this works or not.

If he were pitching lights out every game and you started him on short rest, people would complain if he did badly. But there's no reason to assume that today. You never know what you're going to get from Randy this season.

In fact, he's pitching extremely well so far. He's retired the first nine batters, striking out three. He's thrown 33 pitches, 26 for strikes. If this leads the Yankees to start Johnson on short rest all the time, fine by me. He did get knocked out of his last start early, after only 80 pitches, so he's not exactly worn out.

Ben Sheets struck out 10 batters in a game yesterday, the first time since his last game of the 2004 season. Last year, where Ben was deserving of Cy Young consideration, he struck out 10 or more nine times. Since returning from the DL, he's struck out 48 in 52 2/3 innings.

Ben's big problem this year is the home run ball. He's given up homers in seven of his eight starts since returning to the mound, 10 overall in that time period. Batters don't get many hits against Sheets, but when they do, the balls go a long way.

Dontrelle Willis singles and scored in the top of the third inning for the Marlins. It's Dontrelle's 8th run of the season. That's more than he scored in his previous two seasons combined, despite hitting well for a pitcher in both those years.

Chris Carpenter won his 12th game tonight, shutting out the Colorado Rockies for 7 2/3 innings. He's 27-9 since joining the Cardinals at the start of the 2004 season. He was 48-50 in six years with the Blue Jays.

Jeremy Bonderman continues to improve his career, pitching a complete game against the Yankees tonight and earning his tenth win. The Tigers gave him plenty of support, scoring 10 runs, but Bonderman would have won with much less as he only allowed two runs.

His opponent, Randy Johnson continues his inconsistent pitching. He gave up 9 hits in five innings, including two homers that led to seven runs. Bonderman now has a better ERA (4.12) than Johnson (4.24).

It's pretty clear Hayden Penn is not ready for the major leagues yet. Hayden gave up 5 earned runs in 3 2/3 innings tonight. He doesn't go deep in games, and too often he gives up too many runs. He's now given up 25 earned runs in 33 1/3 innings for a 6.75 ERA. He's walked 19 while striking out only 14. He only had one game in which he pitched very well, and that was against Colorado in Baltimore. At 20 years old, however, there's plenty of time for him to develop into a star. He just hasn't shown any indication of greatness at this level yet. He looks like he needs more seasoning in the minors.

D.J. Carrasco went 6 2/3 innings today to earn a win over the Minnesota Twins. With enough innings his 3.23 ERA would put him in the top 10 in the American League. He's mostly keeping runs off the board by keeping the ball in the park. In 55 2/3 innings, he's only given up 2 home runs.

He's not striking out batters, however. His K total is a mere 22 in 55 2/3 innings. At some point, all those balls in play are going to catch up to the righty.

That's the Kerry Wood everyone knows and loves. Six innings, nine strikeouts, two walks and one run allowed. He won't get the decision as the score is tied at 2 in the 7th, but with Prior and Wood both having good comeback outings, things are looking up for the Cubs.

A nice profile of Leo Mazzone in The State. Here's something I've never understood:

Although rarely copied by other organizations, Mazzone’s principles for pitching are rather simple. He believes the first-pitch, low-and-away fastball is the best pitch in baseball, and he believes pitchers should throw as often as possible from the mound with few days off.

“It’s commonsense, really,” is one of Mazzone’s favorite lines, and when you sit in the Braves’ dugout with him before a game, you have to understand there is nothing complicated about what he is going to tell you.

It's amazing to me that after more than a decade of success, every team doesn't have their pitchers throwing from the mound two or three times between starts.

Chris Carpenter continues his hot June with a complete game shutout of the Pittsburgh Pirates. He struck out 11 and walked none on his way to a four hitter. In June he now has a 0.90 ERA and has struck out 43 in 40 innings while walking only seven. He'll be a candidate for pitcher of the month.

How many more performances like tonight before Sidney Ponson goes the way of Ryan Drese? Yes, he has a 7-5 record, but he also owns a 5.42 ERA and the opposition hits .322 against the righty. He's made seven bad starts and eight good to moderate ones. Can the Orioles really afford that? With the loss to Halladay and the Blue Jays tonight, they stand in first place in the AL East by only half a game.

The good news is that Dontrelle Willis extended his hitting streak to six games. The bad news is he did it beating out a sacrifice bunt by sliding head first into first base. Not only that, he led with his left hand! It looks like he's not hurt, but it was a scary looking slide.

He's having another great night on the mound. No runs and seven strikeouts through six innings. Miguel Cabrera drove in five with two homers and a two run single to help Willis to a 6-0 lead in the top of the 7th.

One big lesson I took away from Moneyball was that process was more important than results. If you get the process right, good results will follow more often.

Kirk Saarloos was getting good results with bad process. Entering today he had pitched well in June, going 2-0 with a 3.18 ERA in three starts. But in 17 innings, he walked 9 and struck out 0. That is not a recipe for success. He was winning, but his process was bad.

He got the process right today. He's went nine innings, allowed just four hits, no walks and seven strikeouts. He threw strikes today, getting 80 of his 127 pitches on the plus side. He did well with poor execution before this afternoon. He did great with proper process against the Mariners, getting the complete game shutout.

Update: The box score changed. He threw 127, not 125 pitches.

Jason Schmidt pitched 8 shutout innings last night, his 2nd consecutive performance with those statistics. This article in the San Francisco Chronicle seems surprised that Schmidt can strikeout people with something other than a 97 mile an hour fastball:

As he struggled with a dip in his velocity this season, Schmidt acknowledged he had to alter his pitching approach and rely less on overpowering hitters.

On Wednesday, though, he insisted the adjustment he had to make was simply relocating his fastball lower in the strike zone and rediscovering his off-speed pitches.

"You guys tried to turn me into Tom Glavine from the right side or something," he told reporters. "I just needed to start finding my breaking ball. It's just a pitch I needed to mix in there a little bit more. I wasn't saying I was going to change my whole game around."

His velocity used to top out at 97, now it's topping out at 95. That's still pretty good. And it's the change in velocity that fools hitters and STATS describes Schmidt's changeup as "among the best in the game."

Schmidt is throwing strikes, changing speeds, and the result is strikeouts. His top speed doesn't matter much.

Whatever the Nationals did to get the great first start out of Ryan Drese did not last. Ryan only managed three innings tonight, leaving after allowing 8 runs while striking out none.

If there was one team you would assume Randy Johnson could dominate, it would be the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. They strikeout a lot and they're not very selective at the plate. But Johnson faced them twice now, and twice they've hit him very well. He's given up 12 earned runs in 10 1/3 innings against Tampa Bay this season. Five of those runs came on three home runs; that brings Randy to 16 allowed this season vs. 18 in all of 2004. Randy was improving, and the Devil Rays should have helped that along. Instead, they've raised more doubts as to the health and ability of the lefty. The Devil Rays lead the Yankees 10-2 in the 6th, and are in a position to stretch their record to 6-2 against New York this year.

Runelvys Hernandez is having an excellent June. In four starts he's 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA. It's not quite clear why that's true. His home runs are up from April and May. He's striking out about the same number of batters, but his hits allowed are way down. He was allowing 10 per 9 innings in April/May, 5.8 in June. If any Kansas City fans have any insight, please share it in the comments.

Happy father's day to all! I hope you had a great day with your family.

Mariano Rivera picked up his 16th save today, pitching a perfect ninth. When the season started, it looked like Mariano's age was showing. He was walking batters. He was giving up hits. He was letting errors lead to runs. But since May 9th, he has not allowed a run in 17 innings pitched. Batters managed just 7 hits against him while he's struck out 18. For the season his ERA stands at 1.01 and the majors are just hitting .163 against him. It seems the stories of his demise were greatly exaggerated.

Yhency Brazoban starts his own fire vs. the White Sox and is unable to put out the flames. With two out and one on in the bottom of the ninth, Yhency gives up three straight hits, capped off with a two run walk off home run by Pierzynski. A great comeback win for the White Sox, and the Dodgers are missing Gagne tonight.

It's not Dontrelle Willis' best game, but through seven innings he's shut out the Angels. He's given up 10 hits and a walk, but all the hits were singles. He's over 100 pitches, so it's not clear he'll come out for the 8th, so he may really be dependent on his bullpen for the win.

Update: Mecir starts the 8th and gives up a home run to Vlad Guerrero to tie the game. It's the first time Dontrelle won't the decision in a game he started this season.

An interesting article in the Dallas Morning News on Ryan Drese's immediate improvement with the Washington Nationals.

Despite his underwhelming statistics – a 4-6 record, a 6.46 ERA, opponents' .334 batting average – the Nationals clearly wanted Drese and were the lone team to submit a waiver claim. They saw a pitcher who needed not an overhaul of his mechanics, but rather to make a few tweaks in his arm angle. So pitching coach Randy St. Claire went to work.

Drese threw on the side Sunday and a light session Monday to prepare for Wednesday's start. St. Claire noticed Drese was throwing his pitches from three arm slots. His sinker, his out pitch, came from an angle that put a sideways, not downward, movement on the ball. Hitters can recognize the spin easier and lay off a pitch that is supposed to land outside the strike zone.

What the article fails to discuss, however, is why Orel Hershiser didn't make this correction.

"Orel [Hershiser, the Rangers' pitching coach] will tell you that I was moving in this direction," Drese said. "But this is a game of wins and losses, and that's the bottom line. ... I was disappointed, and I think they [the Rangers] made a mistake. But I'm in Washington now, and it's a place where I'm wanted."

If Drese continues to perform well in Washington, the Rangers should re-evaluate Orel's performance as coach. It also makes me wonder if someone will be able to give Pedro Astacio a similar boost.

To go along with Randy Johnson and Mike Mussina tossing gems, Jason Schmidt turned around his season tonight with eight scoreless innings vs. the Tigers. He allowed seven hits, but they were all singles. He struck out five, so he's not all the way back, but after three straight starts allowing six runs, this game comes as a big relief to Giants fans and management.

John Smoltz and Randy Johnson seem to be going through their resurgences together. Smoltz smoked the hapless Reds last night, striking out nine through 8 innings and allowing just four hits. Two of those hits were solo home runs, accounting for all the Reds scoring. His control was great, throwing 70% strikes and walking none. With the Braves rotation in tatters, Smoltz chose an excellent time to return to his glory days.

The Reds have 19 hits and six runs during this four game losing streak. They had scored 10 runs four time in their previous five games. Maybe they should not have sent down Austin Kearns. :-)

After two great starts with Flaherty behind the plate, Joe Torre is making the catcher Johnson's primary receiver.

"We have two good catchers here, and it gives me an opportunity to know when to rest Jorge," Torre said. "As long as it seems to be comfortable, we'll continue to do it."

Flaherty has stressed to Johnson the importance of releasing his slider from a higher arm angle. That adjustment has helped the pitch dive toward a right-hander's back foot, instead of cutting side to side and staying in the swing path too long.

Early in Posada's career, Torre would go with Girardi behind the plate in important games, especially in the playoffs.
Joe G. was great at getting the best out of a pitching staff and Torre realizes it's Posada's weakness. John is trying not to make a big deal of the situation:

But Flaherty, who has not caught any pitcher for more than two consecutive starts, said he was uneasy being known as Johnson's personal catcher. Once Johnson is mechanically sound, Flaherty said, any catcher could produce the same results. Flaherty is also close with Posada and would not want to imply that he could coax more from a pitcher.

Very diplomatic. I don't believe it will bother Posada, since he's been through this before with Girardi.

Randy Johnson finally reaches the 10 strikeout mark with the Yankees. It's the 205th time Randy hit double digits. He's only ten games behind Nolan Ryan for the all-time record.

When Nolan retired after the 1993 season, I didn't think anyone would approach this mark. At the time, Johnson had 39. It's quite an accomplishment.

Update: Johnson finishes with 11 strikeouts, walking none and giving up just five hits. The only Pittsburgh run came on a homer that barely cleared the right field wall. That's two dominating performances in a row by The Big Unit.

Ryan Drese appears to have needed a change of scenery. He shut the Angels down for eight innings tonight, allowing only two two hits but walking four. He had to pitch that well, as Colon only allowed 1 run in his nine innings. Now Cordero is in to try for the save. He allowed Erstad to reach on a leadoff single.

Update: Guerrero walks. That moves Erstad into scoring position with none out. One of the pitches to Guerrero rolled to the plate as Cordero fell down delivering the pitch.

Update: Anderson delivers a single to right that advances the runners one base. Bases loaded, nobody out in a 1-0 game.

Update: Cordero gets ahead of Finley 0-2, then gets him swinging on a 1-2 pitch. Bases still loaded, 1 out for Bengie Molina.

Update: Molina pops up to shallow center, Erstad is not able to advance from third. Two outs for McPherson.

Update: Cordero gets McPherson swinging. It reminds me of John Wetteland in 1996, as he seemed to always put men on before converting the save opportunity. Drese gets his first win for the Nats. Washington is now 15-2 in their last 17 games, and are 9-1 in one run contests in that stretch.

Joe Blanton did indeed shut down the Mets last night, with a little help from his friends. Joe lasted seven innings, allowing just three hits while striking out four. Calero and Street finished off the shutout, Street pitching 1 2/3 for his 4th save.

It was the 6th shutout of the day. That's the first time that's happened since Sept. 20, 1998. Complete games are also still way ahead of last year. Through the same number of days into the season, 2.7% of starts were completed last year, 4.3% this season.

Mike Mussina gets the third complete game shutout of the evening and the fourth over all. It's the third time this season there have been four shutouts in one day. There were 12 such days last year. Like Carpenter and Ohka, Mike threw strikes, 76 of 109 pitches. He also received more than enough support, and the New Yorkers scored nine runs. The Yankees put 21 men on base with 12 hits, seven walks, and two hit batters (both A-Rod). The Yankees put more men on base with walks than the Mussina allowed altogether. It's a win that should make everyone happy for a day.

Toma Ohka pays immediate dividends to the Milwaukee Brewers with a complete game shutout of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Ohka gave up nine hits, but walked none. Seven of the hits were singles. Like Carpenter with the Cardinals, Ohka was very efficient, using just 98 pitches to keep the Devil Rays off the board, 69 of them strikes. Early returns make the deal a good one for both clubs.

Since Mussina's no-hit bid is over, I thought I'd move the no-hitter thread to a new post.

Update: With two out in the 6th, Ryan Freel lines an easy one into right center field for a single, ending David Wells no-hitter bid.

Update: With two out in the 6th, Chris Carpenter allows his first hit, a double by #9 hitter Russ Adams. Carpenter has nine strikeouts and is being very efficient tonight.

Mike Mussina is battling two Wells tonight. In the Bronx, Mussina is facing Kip Wells and has retired 11 straight batters. In Boston, former Yankee David Wells set down the first nine he's faced. We'll see who can go longer without allowing a hit.

Update: Mussina strikes out Bay to end the inning. He used only six pitches to get the side in the fourth inning. He's averaging nine pitches an inning this game, and has thrown 27 of 37 pitches for strikes.

Update: Griffey grounds into a force play to end the 4th. Wells lost the perfecto but still has the no-no.

Update: Chris Carpenter also has a no-hitter through three, but he's walked a batter.

Update: Chris Carpenter allows nothing in the fourth. He has six strikeouts. Meanwhile, with two out in the 4th, Wells hits a batter.

Update: Daryle Ward gets the first hit for the Pirates with two out in the 5th, a scorcher down the right field line.

Update: They just showed a great comparison in the Cardinals-Blue Jays game. The broadcast put up side by side stills of Carpenter's arm angle on the curve and and the fastball. The arm angle is exactly the same. The only difference is how the ball is being released.

Wells gets his fifth strikeout as he retires the side in order in the fifth inning. Carpenter finishes the 5th as well without a hit, and has eight strikeouts.

Dusty Baker should have thought of this.

Estes battled intestinal problems throughout the day, but it didn't appear to zap his strength in the slightest in Chicago, where the White Sox, who own the best record in baseball, are 19-9.

"I kept hydrated all game, which really helped, and I didn't have any real stressful innings," Estes said. "For the most part, they were hitting the ball at our guys in the infield, and we were catching it. That's what it takes against a team like that. It helps when the ball is hit right at guys."

Dontrelle Willis picked up win number 11 last night, an easy 9-1 win over the Cubs. The Marlins played their 61st game last night, putting Dontrelle on a pace for 29 wins. One thing working in Dontrelle's favor is that he's gotten a decision in every start he's made. That's unusual these days. But he usually goes deep in his wins, lessening the chance of his bullpen blowing a game. With Al Leiter moving to the bullpen, I wonder if McKeon will start using a modified four man rotation, skipping the fifth stater when the team has a day off? That could get Willis a couple of more starts without wearing him out.

Correction: He beat the Cubs.

Roy Halladay completes his fifth game of the season, a 4-1 victory over the Cardinals. No other AL starter has more than 2. He's now tied with Mark Mulder for the 2nd most complete games since the start of the 2003 season with 15. Livan Hernandez leads the majors with 18 in that time span.

How long does Kirk Rueter pitch badly before the Giants decide he's no longer effective. Rueter's never been a great strikeout pitcher, but through 1998 he usually struck out twice as many as he walked. Since then, however, his strikeouts have been coming down. For the third season in a row, he's walking more than he's striking out. Today he walked four and struck out two to bring his season totals to 29 walks and 16 Ks. His ERA is up to 4.88 and he 2-5 after allowing the Indians five runs this afternoon. If this keeps up, his days as a major league pitcher are numbered.

Has Byung-Hyun Kim figured out how to pitch in Colorado? He's made consecutive starts in Coors going six innings and allowing two runs. He's struck out 15 and walked 3 in those two games. Does his unusual delivery indeed give him an advantage in the ballpark?

Roy Oswalt needed just minimal support today as he shutout the Toronto Blue Jays 3-0. Oswalt needed just 88 pitches to put down Toronto in a two hitter. Those two hits were all the Blue Jays earned all day as Oswalt faced just two over the minimum.

Roy does not have a win this year in a game in which he's allowed more that two runs. He has four losses in games in which he's allowed two runs or less.

John Wasdin made a successful 2005 debut today, coming out of the bullpen to pitch four shutout innings and pick up a save. It says something about the state of the Rangers relief corps that Wasdin is in the majors. Wasdin best year was 1999. He went 8-3 with a 4.12 ERA pitching out of the pen. Since, his ERA was 6.10 coming into today.

Wasdin was perfect in relief, retiring all 12 batters he faced. He was efficient, using just 46 pitches to go the four innings. It's just what the Texas pen needed, as they've made 19 relief appearances in their last five games.

It's difficult to get a handle on how good John Patterson is this season. John always has a good K per 9, averaging 8.5 strikeouts per 9 IP entering this season. The difference this year is that he's cut down on his walks and home runs. He was walking over four per nine before 2005 and allowing home runs at over 1.5 per 9. He's dropped his walks almost one per nine innings in 2005, and he's only allowed 1 home run in 60 1/3 innings this season.

The problem is, he's pitched a lot in his home park this season. He's made eight starts in RFK, only two on the road. RFK so far is reducing runs greatly; there are 7.5 runs per game scored in Nationals home games, 9.0 in Nationals road games. That's a park index of 83 (RPG Home/RPG Road), the fourth lowest in the majors (PETCO is the lowest at 66). There's no design here. It's been Patterson's luck that his spot in the rotation fell on home games and he missed a long road trip with an injury. But take his stats with a grain of salt; he hasn't pitched much in hostile enviornments. However, he pitched in a pretty extreme pitcher's park last year and did better on the road, so maybe it's real improvement.

Update: I thought you might be interested, so I put the table of park indexes in the extended entry.

Randy Johnson is having a Randy Johnson game. Through five he's only allowed 3 hits while striking out six. All three hits are singles. More importantly, no runs crossed the plate. At 74 pitches, he should be able to go two or three more innings.

Livan Hernandez appears to be no worse for wear after his 150 pitch outing. He's thrown 102 pitches through six innings tonight and is shutting out the Oakland Athletics 4-0. He's thrown 62 strikes so far, walking 1 and striking out four. The A's are making him work, but are not getting anything for their effort. All six of their hits are singles.

Ryan Drese was designated for assignment after another pitiful start.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Rangers designated Drese for assignment a day after he allowed five runs in 2 2/3 innings – raising his ERA to 6.46, which is third-worst in the AL. He was allowing hitters a .334 average, which is the worst in the league.

Drese, who declined to comment after shaking hands with teammates and wishing them luck, was placed on waivers. If unclaimed, he would be outrighted to Triple-A Oklahoma to work on regaining the movement on the sinker that helped him to a breakout season in 2004.

Drese earned 17 win shares last year, tied with Pedro Martinez. His decline is even stranger given the improvement of Kenny Rogers, Chris Young and Chan Ho Park. Whatever magic Orel worked with Ryan last year did not stick.

There's a chance another team will claim him off waivers. He sounds like a perfect project for Leo Mazzone.

Pedro Martinez finishes off the game and the Astros allowing just two hits as the Mets win 3-1. He allowed just two hits and a walk while striking out 12.

Pedro pitches were moving tonight. He threw pitches that dived in the strikezone, or started out inside and broke back over the plate. He mixed speeds well, throwing 90+ fast balls and 70 mile an hour breaking balls. Just a stellar Pedro performance.

Freddy Garcia turned in one of the great performances in the history of Coors Field last night. He allowed three runs, but only gave up two hits and a walk. All three runs scored on a homer to Hawpe in the first. Garcia then retired 22 straight batters, striking out ten, until he was lifted after the 8th inning.

The White Sox offense offered plenty of support. The scored nine runs without a lot of power. Konerko did homer, but 11 of the 15 hits went for singles. It's the curse of playing the outfield in Coors; if you play deep to prevent extra-base hits, singles drop in. Play shallow, and the ball is over your head for a double or triple.

There are a lot of good things to say about the Milwaukee bullpen. Matt Wise is 5th in the NL in relief ERA at 1.84. He shut down the Yankees with two perfect innings, striking out three. He's now struck out 30 in 29 1/3 innings. That's a great ratio for a reliever, and especially for a setup man. Derrick Turnbow saved another last night, giving him 9 in 11 opportunities. He's struck out 26 in 24 2/3 innings. That's a nice 1-2 punch at the end of the game. On top of that, Julio Santana has not allowed an inherited runner to score this season. The Brewers pen is 3rd in the league in ERA, and third in K per 9. The Yankees found out just how good they were last night, drawing just 1 walk among the ten batters they sent to the plate vs. the firemen.

John Smoltz gave up 13 hits to the Angels tonight as the Braves lose 4-2. It's the 2nd most hits Smoltz allowed in a game; he gave up 14 on 4/20/1997 at Colorado.

Jason Marquis knocked out three hits today, including a two-run homer to raise his averages to .375 BA, .412 OBA and .625 slugging. It's the second homer of his career and his first since 2002. Given his performance on the mound today, 10 hits and 6 runs in 5 2/3 innings, he should think about a second job as a pinch hitter. Maybe La Russa will use him as a DH in the AL parks!

Brendan Donnelly was just caught with a baseball in his back pocket. No penalty, the umps just made him get rid of it after the Red Sox bench noticed the bulge in Brendan's bottom. You have to wonder why it was there, however. I hope someone asks him about it after the game.

How do explain this?

Jeff Francis, Career	At Coors	On Road
Record	6-0	2-4
ERA	2.81	6.71
K per 9	6.5	6.7
BB per 9	3.5	4.7
HR per 9	1.5	1.4
Hits per 9	8.2	11.4

He's walking one more batter per nine on the road. He striking out a few more batters and giving up a few more home runs. Yet he gives up a lot more hits on the road. That doesn't make a lot of sense.

And it isn't just Francis. The team as a whole has a 5.62 ERA at Coors and a 5.87 ERA away from Coors. They've given up exactly the same number of doubles, triples and homers in Coors as on the road, despite facing fewer batters:

Rockies Pitchers, 2005	At Coors	On Road
Opp. AB	943	875
Doubles	62	62
Triples	4	4
Home Runs	31	31
Isolated Power	.173	.187

The Rockies offense goes down from 6.3 runs per game at home to 3.1 on the road. Their isolated power goes from .183 down to .125! How can the pitchers not get better on the road?

I'm not sure I buy Hurdle's explanation:

"What we've talked about with building this team, is developing our own pitchers," Hurdle said. "This is the only park they know. It's their home park. It's where they have more reps. It's where they do their bullpen work. Their beds are here."

Jason Jennings earlier this week became the all-time win leader at Coors Field with 25. Now Francis has matched Oliver by winning his first six starting decisions at Coors Field. Those two developments seem to reinforce the Rockies' pitching mind-set.

"I feel comfortable here," Francis said. "I'm sure there will be at time when I struggle. Others pitchers had had good runs hit and fallen into trouble. I haven't gotten to that yet."

The Rockies are facing a very complicated paradox. Developing pitching skills to win at Coors does not translate into skills to win on the road. One would think that if you can get batters out at atltitude, you could get them out at sea level; the ball is supposed to move more in heavier air. If there are any Rockies fans that have insight into this, I'd be happy to hear from you. What kind of pitches does Francis throw that work at Coors but don't work on the road?

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Livan Hernandez has gone nine innings tonight, but has thrown 151 pitches to get there. I suspect that the most anyone has thrown this season. Unless the Nationals score here in the bottom of the ninth, however, he won't get a decision. The score is 2-2, and I doubt even Frank Robinson would let Livan come out for the tenth. We'll have to see if this big pitch count has ill effects on Hernandez in the immediate future.

The decline of Danny Kolb continues. The Braves scored four times in the top of the eighth inning to take a 6-3 lead on the Nationals. Kolb came in to pitch the eighth and gave it all back. He allowed four of the five batters he faced to reach base, and with help from Kevin Gryboski, all came around to score as Washington scored five times in the inning to take the game 8-6. Kolb's ERA now stands at 7.29, and opponents are hitting .302 against him. Kolb has now walked 19 in 21 IP; last year he walked 15 all season.

Here's something to keep your eye on. Roy Oswalt's personal catcher, Raul Chavez, was designated for assignment after Roy stretched his record vs. the Reds to 14-0 last night.

The move stunned and saddened Oswalt and several of the Astros, but it didn't catch Chavez by surprise.

"I thought about this a lot lately," said Chavez, who was hitting .203 (13-for-64) with three doubles and three RBIs this season. "All these days lately I've thought about this. We're struggling, man. What can I say? That's the business."

Chavez's offense this season was pitiful even for a catcher, posting an OPS of just .465. Derrek Lee has a higher OBA than that! (.467) And it's not like he's falling off a cliff. His career OBA is .262 and his career slugging percentage is .292.

I have to question the move, however. Humberto Quintero, who is coming up to replace Chavez isn't a good hitter either. If Oswalt likes throwing to Raul, why not let the guy continue to catch? Since the Astros aren't scoring a lot of runs, it seems that the team should want to minimize runs allowed anyway it can. Given Quintero's abilities as a hitter, I'm not sure the trade off will be worth it.

Jason Jennings setting a record for most wins at Coors with only 25 made we want to see who leads in wins in each ballpark over that time period, 1995 to present (through games of May 31, 2005). Here's the table:

Pitcher	Park	Wins
Andy Pettitte	Yankee Stadium	81
Brad Radke	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	74
Greg Maddux	Turner Field	72
Pedro Martinez	Fenway Park	58
Randy Johnson	Bank One Ballpark	58
Mike Mussina	Oriole Park at Camden Yards	57
Matt Morris	Busch Stadium II	53
Al Leiter	Shea Stadium	51
Tim Hudson	Network Associates Coliseum	46
Charles Nagy	Jacobs Field	45
Jamie Moyer	Safeco Field	44
Kenny Rogers	The Ballpark in Arlington	44
Roy Halladay	SkyDome	42
Hideo Nomo	Dodger Stadium	42
Chan Ho Park	Dodger Stadium	42
Mark Buehrle	Comiskey Park II	41
Chuck Finley	Anaheim Stadium	38
Roy Oswalt	Minute Maid Park	37
Shane Reynolds	Astrodome	37
Javier Vazquez	Stade Olympique	32
Kerry Wood	Wrigley Field	31
Steve Trachsel	Wrigley Field	31
Curt Schilling	Veterans Stadium	31
Jason Schmidt	Pacific Bell Park	31
Randy Johnson	Kingdome	30
Andy Ashby	Qualcomm Stadium	29
Jeff Suppan	Kauffman Stadium	26
Brad Penny	Pro Player Stadium	26
Jason Jennings	Coors Field	25
Shawn Estes	Candlestick Park	25
Jason Schmidt	Three Rivers Stadium	25
Francisco Cordova	Three Rivers Stadium	25
Ben Sheets	Miller Park	24
Scott Sullivan	Cinergy Field	20
Pete Schourek	Cinergy Field	20
Scott Karl	County Stadium	20
Brian Moehler	Tiger Stadium	20
John Smoltz	Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium	19
Albie Lopez	Tropicana Field	18
Victor Zambrano	Tropicana Field	18
Josh Fogg	PNC Park	18
Steve Sparks	Comerica Park	15
Mike Maroth	Comerica Park	15
Paul Wilson	Great American Ballpark	11
Jake Peavy	PETCO Park	9
Brett Myers	Citizens Bank Park	7
Livan Hernandez	Estadio Hiram Bithorn	4
Livan Hernandez	RFK Stadium	4
Dennis Cook	Tokyo Dome	1
Jon Lieber	Tokyo Dome	1
Kevin Brown	Tokyo Dome	1
Victor Zambrano	Tokyo Dome	1
Alan Benes	Aloha Stadium	1
Andy Ashby	Aloha Stadium	1
Mark Petkovsek	Aloha Stadium	1
Pat Hentgen	Cashman Field	1
Jim Corsi	Cashman Field	1
Erik Hanson	Cashman Field	1
Doug Johns	Cashman Field	1
Greg Keagle	Cashman Field	1
Felipe Lira	Cashman Field	1
Joey Hamilton	Estadio de Beisbol Monterrey	1
Darryl Kile	Estadio de Beisbol Monterrey	1
Mark Clark	Estadio de Beisbol Monterrey	1
Fernando Valenzuela	Estadio de Beisbol Monterrey	1

Livan Hernandez appears to be the master of the Expos other parks, having four wins in both Puerto Rico and Washington. :-)

Every park with a leader of fewer than 25 wins for the leader was not used for the entire time period. Ben Sheets has 24 at Miller park, a venue that's been in use since 2001, and the Brewers haven't been world beaters in that time. As I said earlier, Coors devours pitchers.

Once again I'd like to recommend the Arizona Republic's sports section. Bob McManaman keeps finding interesting stories buried in the Diamondbacks games.

But Halsey (4-2) proved once again he is wise and cool beyond his years. On Tuesday, the 23-year-old was pitching slow to the plate and the Mets stole three bases on him early.

So, what does the kid do under the bright lights of the Big Apple?

He makes a series of adjustments in his slide step, quickens his time home, and doesn't lose a bit of focus in re-attacking Mets hitters. He issued only one walk and struck out six and kept the Mets from even thinking about taking any more free bases.

Bob Melvin was impressed:

"We talk about his demeanor out there and how nothing bothers him, but to do something like that in the middle of a game, for a kid, is pretty impressive," Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin said.

Most impressive.

Brad Halsey showed New York fans what they are missing. He threw seven scoreless innings vs. the Mets, striking out six and walking only one. He even picked up his first hit of the season, going one for three and driving in a run. I'll throw this out to the Yankees fans: Who would you rather have, Johnson or Halsey? You can answer long or short term.

Mike Hampton pitched well in his return from the DL, he just didn't pitch very long. He left after four scoreless innings and 58 pitches. It's not clear from the play-by-play if he was injured again.

The Atlanta bullpen has not picked it up for the lefty, however. Bernero, Colon and Gryboski combined to allow five runs over two innings, blowing a 3-0 Braves lead to the Nationals.

In the strikezone, that is. Kevin Brown struck out two Royals on pitches in the dirt that ended up going past the catcher. Looks like he has good movement on his pitches tonight.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch uses VORP to look at the best pitchers age 25 and under.

Aaron Harang today joined the list of starters to outpitch Roger Clemems. Harang went seven shutout innings, striking out 10. Clemens, once again, pitched well enough to win allowing just four hits through eight innings and striking out 7. His one mistake was giving up a 2-run homer to Joe Randa. That was all the Reds needed. It was only the third homer Clemens has allowed all year. The Astros bullpen allowed seven in the 9th to make the final 9-0. It's another quality start won by the Reds since the release of Danny Graves.

The long layoff didn't appear to hurt Roy Halladay this afternoon as he pitched a near perfect game against the Minnesota Twins. Roy extend his scoreless inning streak to 24 with a two-hit shutout. He struckout 10 and the only free pass came when he boinked Cuddyer with a pitch. He only used 99 pitches, and was over the plate all day with 72 strikes. He's clearly back to his 2003 Cy Young form.

Update: Fixed a typo. Halladay struck out 10.

The Angels beat the White Sox at their own game last night, earning a one-run, 3-2 victory over the boys from the south side of Chicago (which, I've heard, is the baddest part of town). The Angels pitching staff may deserve a collective pitcher of the week award. In the six games since the Angels lost Guerrero, the offense has only scored 15 runs, but the pitchers have been equal to the task, only allowing 15 runs, 14 of them earned. In 55 innings, that's an ERA of 2.29. They've done it with the strikeout, whiffing 45 batters in those 55 innings, or 7.4 per 9. That's taken a lot of pressure off the defense, and they've allowed only 41 hits.

They've also issued just 13 free passes and given up five home runs. As you can see, nearly everyone's contributed. Thanks to the staff, the team is staying at .500. A little offense from the slumping stars could have turned a 3-3 record into 6-0.

I just can't say enough about the game Jake Peavy pitched last night. I've been keeping my eye on his since he returned from the DL last July and started charging toward the ERA title. Pitchers who win an ERA title by just qualifying are a little suspect in my mind; after all, it's still a small sample. But Jake has continued to baffle batters this season, and last night changed the way he pitches to save his team's bullpen:

"It's very satisfying," said Peavy, a power pitcher who acknowledged ignoring strikeouts to concentrate on finishing. "I'm just glad we could rest that bullpen. We're going to need those boys the next couple of days."

His teammates noticed.

"Jake is mature well beyond his year," Roberts said. "To see that our bullpen went through some things the last couple of nights, for him to take the mound to be the stopper and to go so deep in the game, he stepped up."

He threw just 94 pitches, with 64 going for strikes to complete the shutout. He struck out 2 and walked none on his way to a two-hit shutout. Bravo!

This reminds me of a game I saw at Fenway in 1988. Roger Clemens had been struggling with an injury, but on that day he didn't try to strike batters out and pitched a masterful 1-hitter. These two games make me wonder if power pitchers should drop the power every once in a while and pitch to contact. It's a change that may catch their opponents off guard.

Jake Peavy seems to be doing his best to give his relievers a rest tonight. Through three innings, he's being very efficient, having thrown only 33 pitches. He's getting the Diamondbacks to make contact, as he hasn't walked or struck out a batter.

It doesn't appear to be Wade Miller's night. Not only has he given up 3 runs so far in the first, but he walked Shea Hillenbrand!

Update: Russ Adams hits a gapper with the bases loaded to drive in three more. The Blue Jays are sending the 10th man to the plate this inning with a 6-0 lead.

Kyle Davies keeps throwing shutout innings. He followed up his 5 inning debut with 5 1/3 shutout vs. the Mets tonight. The bullpen backed him up with 3 2/3 of their own. He also improved his walks allowed from 3 to 1. Twelve strikeouts in 10 1/3 innings, four walks; an impressive start.

Rodrigo Lopez pitched another gem in Camden Yards. His ERA at home is now 3.00 in 39 innings. Away, however, it's an evil 6.66. It's hard to put a finger on the difference. He's given up the same number of homers in 15 fewer innings.

David Bush came out after three innings tonight. It wasn't clear if he had an injury; the broadcasters didn't notice anything. It could be that he was just pitching badly, giving up 3 runs, 5 hits and 2 walks while striking out none. In nine starts, Bush has only thrown 48 2/3 innings, and he's yet to win a game. One has to wonder if he's really ready for the majors at this point in his career.

Ervin Santana went the distance in his second major league start, shutting out the White Sox 4-0 on Monday night. It's a total reversal of his first start, and Santana credits his slowing down to the victory:

"I had concentration every pitch, every inning, every hitter. The key for me was to keep the ball down and mix up my pitches," Santana said. "My first start I was too fast and this start I slowed down. When I go too fast, all my pitches are up, and when I slow down, everything is down."

I watched some of the game last night, and he wasn't slow in taking time between pitches (game time was 2:18). He took his time with his delivery. He calmed himself and concentrated between each pitch. His ball had good movement, often starting low and breaking lower. I saw batters swing and miss at pitches that looked like strikes at the knees, but broke down and out of the strike zone. A nice job by the rookie.

(Given his first and last name, "Black Magic Woman" seems the appropriate song to use for this player. Maybe his nickname should just be "Black Magic.")

Jon Weisman explores the conventional wisdom about Eric Gagne and finds it lacking.

The Braves gave Danny Kolb another chance at a save tonight. It was an easy sitution, with Kolb entering the game with a three-run lead in the 9th. Danny didn't do much to impress. He held the lead, but gave up a run on a solo shot, two other hits and a walk. I doubt that an inning like that will change minds in the Braves organization.

For the third game in a row, Jon Lieber has allowed two home runs. He's now given up 16 earned runs in his last 15 1/3 innings pitched. Delgado hit a three-runs shot followed up by a Cabrera solo. Nine of Lieber's 14 HR allowed have come with men on base this year.

The Cincinnati Reds released Danny Graves today. (Via Reds Reporter, who was on this story yesterday.) I think the fact that Graves was walking two more per 9 than then was striking out had more to do with the relase than the hand gesture.

The Reds are bringing up another pitcher, keeping their staff at 13. This would have been a perfect time to trim down.

There were five complete games yesterday, and the majors continue to run ahead of last year in this category:

Starters	2004	2005
Games Started	1282	1292
Complete Games	42	61
CG Percentage	3.3	4.7

The number of complete games hasn't reduced the number of pitchers teams are carrying. As of today, nine teams are carrying 11 pitchers, twenty teams are carrying 12 pitchers, and one team is carrying 13 pitchers. The Reds have 13; no wonder their pitching staff has been so unlucky. :-) It seems Cincinnati philosophy is you can't have enough of a bad thing.

What surprises me is that more teams haven't cut down to eleven. When I was young, teams would bring an extra pitcher north from spring training because starters could not go as deep in a game early in the year. They would work under the assumption that once the starters were up to speed they'd replace that extra pitcher with a position player. That doesn't seem to happen any more.

Roch Kubatko does a very good job of describing Sidney Ponson's problems this season:

It can be one bad inning or one bad pitch, a struggle to get the last out or one ball in the proper location.

Sidney Ponson began yesterday tied for the most wins among Orioles starters with five, but a 5.94 ERA suggested he has been flawed. Entire outings usually don't go bad for him, just small segments, which can lead to bigger problems.

If you go through his games, you see a number of three-run innings surrounded by otherwise good pitching. He's been farily lucking that the offense has bailed him out:

He usually can expect lots of offensive support, except when Lidle scatters six hits and goes the distance. Ponson's ERA was the sixth-highest in the American League before yesterday, but his run-support average of 8.04 was the fourth-highest.

As an accounting function, wins go to the pitcher. But if there was a way to do it, some of Ponson's victories belong to the offense.

Javier Vazquez threw a complete game shutout this afternoon, besting the Tigers 1-0. After three horrbile outings to start the season, Vazquez has been nearly untouchable, posting a 1.50 ERA over his last seven starts, not allowing more than two earned runs in any of those appearances. He's walked 4 and struckout 46 over that stretch, and he's now gone four starts in a row without allowing a home run. Given Randy Johnson's problems this season, even without Halsey the Diamondbacks look like they got a steal of a deal in the trade with the Yankees.

I just saw highlights of the Koo at bat vs. Randy Johnson yesterday. I'm really wondering if Koo intentionally tried to fool everyone when he stood way off the plate and took three strikes vs. the Reds. Johnson was obviously overconfident against the pitcher, and Koo hit a double off a drawn in outfield. Then, Johnson fails to cover the plate on a sacrifice, and Koo scored from second on a bunt! No excuse for that.

It was the ultimate insult for Johnson, who has traditionally overpowered the Mets, but no longer intimidates them. Nine of the first 16 batters Johnson faced recorded hits. Three times the Mets struck him with grounders back up the middle. Johnson gave up 12 hits, the second most in his career, and nine of them came in the first three innings. The only player in the Mets' starting lineup who could not handle him was Mike Cameron, now 1 for 22 with 13 strikeouts in his career against Johnson.

"I really don't know what to say," Johnson said. "If I'm not doing it, then I guess I'm not doing it right now. Am I trying to do it? I'm trying to win."

Yankees Manager Joe Torre said: "I know he's not pleased where he is now. We expect more, and I know he does."

Johnson should be fined, if for no other reason than to drive home the message that Randy is no longer invincible and he needs to do more than go out to the mound to win a game.

The Cincinnati Reds finally won a quality start. Aaron Harang went 7 1/3 innings, allowing only 1 run. The game was on the line until the end. Danny Graves allowed 2 hits in the ninth, and the Indians had runners on 1st and 3rd when Blake grounded out to end the game. Still a 1-7 record in games in which the starter had a quality outing is just unacceptable.

Kenny Rogers gave up a run in the 2nd inning, ending his scoreless innings streak at 31. Not bad for a 40 year old.

The Dallas Morning News compares Kenny Rogers' current streak to Orel Hershiser's:

Hershiser, now the Rangers' pitching coach, won't even try to quantify what Rogers' 30 innings in 2005 might equate to in 1988 numbers. But he can quickly enumerate the circumstances that make the current streak more impressive.

Rogers is doing this at an advanced age (40), in a league that features an extra hitter in the lineup, at a home park that is notoriously unfriendly to pitchers and in an era of unbridled offense.

"After the second start, it becomes a big deal, no matter what era you are talking about," Hershiser said. "That's back-to-back shutouts, and it doesn't happen much. You get to a third start, and that's pretty rare air. You go farther than that and you are in the stratosphere.

"What Kenny's doing is harder because this is such an offensive-oriented era. You have to weigh all those factors accordingly."

With Houston near the bottom of the majors in runs scored per game, Rogers has a good chance of extending the streak tonight.

Brad Halsey is putting his defense to work tonight, having walked none and struck out none. It looks like the Astros aren't going very deep in the count, as Brad has only thrown 79 pitches through seven innings. The Diamondbacks lead 3-1 in the top of the eighth.

Joe Mays pitches his first complete game since 2002, shutting out the Blue Jays 4-0. The Twins starters continue to be very stingy with walks; Mays walked none today and for the years the starting corps has allowed just 28 walks in 252 1/3 innings; that's less than a walk per 9 and the lowest by far in the majors.

Danny Kolb is no longer the closer for the Atlanta Braves.

“We’re going to put Kolb in the middle somewhere for a while and let him work on some stuff,” Cox said before the Braves’ game against San Diego. “We’ll do the closing by matchups and whoever’s rested and things like that.”

Smoltz goes into the rotation, pitches great, but has just a 3-3 record because:

1. His run support is bad.


2. The bullpen has pitched poorly, posting a 6.53 ERA in Smoltz's starts. Kolb has blown two saves in games Smoltz pitched and has allowed 6 ER in 3 1/3 innings in those games.

Kolb has walked more than he's struck out, and he's not striking out that many. He's never been a strikeout pitcher, but he's already walked more than he did all last year. He's pitching more like he did in Texas than he did in Milwaukee. According to this article, he's not listening to Mazzone.

Kolb hasn't yet come around to the Mazzone mantra - work off the fastball and change speeds. The fastball is fine, but the rest is still a work in progress.

Mazzone has taken some tentative steps toward developing an off-speed pitch that Kolb will be comfortable throwing. The longtime pitching coach has no complaints about Kolb's 90-plus mph fastball, mixed in with the occasional slider.

My question is, why isn't what worked for him last year not working for him this year? Is this a case of a pitching coach trying to mold a pitcher to the coaches style, when what the pitcher throws works just fine? If any Braves fans have information on this, I'd love to hear it.

Did David Wells come off the DL a little early? Wells didn't make it out of the second today, giving up 7 earned runs and 9 hits in 1 1/3 innings. Wells has been extreme this year; he either gets hammered or is untouchable. Given that the getting hammered games are happening more often, maybe the Red Sox don't need David in the rotation. The starters were 8-3 with a 4.60 ERA in 19 games when Wells was on the DL. Overall they were 12-7.

Ryan Drese was one of my favorite pitchers of 2004. In 2005, he's proving to be one of the worst. He got hit hard again today, giving up nine hits and five runs in just 5 1/3 innings, including four doubles and a homer. His ERA is now a lofty 6.37 and opponents are hitting .321 against him. He's lucky to be 3-3; if he were pitching like last year, he might be leading the league in wins.

Jake Westbrook went three batters too many this afternoon. He had shutout the Angels through 8, but with 1 out in the ninth he allowed three straight hits to tie the game at 1. Westbrook has only gotten 12 runs in his 9 starts this year. He won't get the win, and with men on first and third, he might very well get the loss.

Update: Rhodes gives up a sacrifice fly to Bengie Molina and the Indians go quietly in the bottom of the 9th. The Angels continue to win with their anemic offense, and the Indians continue to lose with theirs.

Barry Zito walked seven Red Sox batters last night. Barry Zito has never before walked seven in a game. There are four game in which he's walked six, but he hasn't had one of those since 7/23/2003. Up until last night, walks hadn't really been a problem for Barry. His strikeouts have fallen off to 5.5 per 9 from a career average of 7.0. More balls in play means more hits and more runs. Last night it was the walks that led to three runs and kept the Red Sox in a game that the Athletics should have won. They scored five runs off starter Matt Clement; with Zito on the mound that should be a victory. But Barry wore himself out with 115 pitches in his five innings and turned the ball over to a bullpen that continued to walk batters and blow the lead.

It's been a year since Johan Santana had a game this bad. On 5/23/2004, Johan gave up 7 earned runs in three innings vs. the White Sox. Tonight, the Blue Jays hit him for 7 runs in 5 1/3. If it only happens once a year, the Twins will be happy.

Jon Garland is the first pitcher to eight wins, defeating the Texas Rangers 5-2 with help from his bullpen. Garland was throwing strikes tonight. Only 31 of his 102 pitches were called balls.

The big change in Garland continues to be keeping the ball in the park. He's only allowed 3 home runs this season in 59 2/3 innings; last season he gave up 34 in 217 innings. If he maintains this rate for the year, he'd allow around 12 homers.

Johan Santana continues to have first inning troubles this season. With the Blue Jays going three for six in the first inning tonight, opponents are now batting 13 for 37, .351 against Santana in the opening frame. The Blue Jays lead 3-0 in the fourth, scoring all their runs on those three first inning hits.

Wes Obermueller has retired the first 15 batters he's faced this evening. He's being pretty efficient, only throwing 55 pitches so far. He's right at 60% strikes. He's not overpowering as he's only struck out one. He's had 8 grounders and six fly outs so far.

Update: Obermueller just saved his perfect game. Schneider hit a high bouncer over the mound. Obermueller used his 6' 2" frame and the top of the mound to jump and snag the ball. If it gets by him, it's likely an infield hit.

Update: He's now perfect through six.

Update: Jamey Carroll breaks up the no-hitter with 1 out in the 7th.

The five-man rotation of the Arizona Diamondbacks has their own version of fantasy baseball:

The five-man rotation has a friendly but spirited little competition. The pitchers accumulate points for productivity, and Estes just happened to finish last during the first month of the seasonlong wager.

It's a contest Estes and Ortiz both participated in during their time together with the San Francisco Giants, and they decided to resurrect the idea with the Diamondbacks during spring training.

"It's something we can rag on each other about and have a little bit of fun," Ortiz said, "but at the same time, all the things you get points for are things that help the club. And that's really what this is all about."

They earn points for hitting and pitching well, and lose points for a poor performance. The pitcher with the fewest points in a month has to take the others out to dinner. It appears to be having a positive effect on the staff:

The contest, in addition to making the pitchers focus even more on each start, has spurred some camaraderie and chemistry among the five hurlers, four of whom are new to the organization this year. Only Webb, who is off to a 5-0 start after going 7-16 a year ago, was on last season's club that finished with 111 losses, the most by a National League team in 39 years.

A game within a game that encourages winning; what a great idea. I wonder if the batters will start doing something similar?

Jon Weisman looks at the Dodgers recent slump and puts the blame on the starting pitching. They've certainly been allowing home runs lately. Through May 6, Dodgers starters had pitched 167 innings and allowed 14 home runs, 0.75 per 9 innings. Since then, however, they've thrown 52 1/3 innings and allowed 12 HR, or 2.06 per 9. Penny has continued the trend tonight, allowing home runs to Cabrera and Encarnacion in four innings of work.

I'm driving in my car, I turn on the radio.

And I was listening to sports talk radio over the weekend from the New York area. What I heard was lots of bad stuff about Kris Benson. His manager from the Pirates ripped him, and the Mets pundits couldn't wait to pile on, all based on 10 2/3 bad innings since coming off the DL. What they didn't notice, of course, was that Benson struck out 9 and walked only 2 in those innings. Tonight it came together for Kris against the Reds.

Benson went 7 2/3 tonight, striking out 8 and walking only 2. The Reds managed just four hits off the righty. If Pittsburgh had a better offense, Benson would have been better than a .500 pitcher with the team. He's a good, not a great hurler; with a good team he would have been a winner, and no one would be questioning his heart.

Rich Lederer points out that closers used to be called firemen, but they never seem to be used in emergency situations anymore.

When you call 911, do you expect the fire department to do everything they can to put out your fire, or would you want them to hold back in case they're needed elsewhere?

Managers need to understand the win probability or expectancy when considering pitching changes. Choosing your best reliever to come in and close out an inning during a threat in the seventh or eighth--even if it means using a lesser option in the ninth--is generally a more prudent use of your bullpen than calling upon your so-called closer for the last three outs of the game when nobody is on base.

I agree. I hope that the rise in complete games has something to do with managers changing their thinking about how to use their bullpens. If that is true of lifting starters, maybe it will become true for the use of closers.

Here's an interesting bit from Hal McCoy's Red Notes.

Reds pitchers wonder why the team's videographer and psychologist sit in on meetings before each series when the opposing team's hitters are discussed.

Said one pitcher, "The video guy tells us how to pitch to hitters and sometimes says, 'We have to avoid this guy.' We? I want to flip him a ball and say, 'You go get out Jim Edmonds or Albert Pujols.' The team shrink doesn't say anything ... just stands there and listens."

Is the videographer a scout also? If he's someone with baseball expertise his advice could be valuable, but it's not clear from the note why he gets to comment. Is the psychologist reporting back to the manager on the state of the Reds pitcher's minds? Or is he there to treat the staff for depression? Given that only the Rockies have a worse ERA in the NL, there are a few pitchers on the Reds who might need his help.

Brandon Backe pitched a complete game shutout last night against the San Francisco Giants. Both complete games and CG shutouts continue to be vs. the same period last year:

Through six weeks	2004	2005
Games Started	1102	1112
Complete Games	33	51
CG Percentage	3.0	4.6
CG Shutouts	11	17
CGS Percentage	1.0	1.5

The only teams without complete games so far are Boston, Tampa Bay, Cincinnati and San Diego. The Padres have a magnificent bullpen this season. Cincinnati has poor starters, as does Tampa Bay. Boston starters are much better than their relievers; it's not clear from the information I have why they don't have a CG. Clement went eight shutout innings against Baltimore on 4/21 and threw 110 pitches. Foulke was brought in to record the final three outs. Clement had given up two hits in the 8th, but both were infield singles. It appears their starters are on a very tight pitch count.

Dustin Hermanson picked up his 7th save of the season last night as the White Sox continue their domination in close games, defeating the Orioles 3-2. A starter most of his career, he had mixed to poor results in the bullpen until the Giants put him in the closing role last August. He converted 17 or 20 save opportunities, cut down on his hits allowed and improved his strikeout to walk ratio.

This season, Hermanson is sharing the closer role with Shingo Takatsu, who has saved 8 of 9. It's not bullpen by committee; it's more a closer rotation. Hermanson has flourished so far in this set up, not allowing a run in 17 1/3 innings so far, only giving up 11 hits and walking just three. Could the White Sox be trying to prevent the problem of teams getting too comfortable with a closer?

Lisa Gray is very concerned about Phil Garner abusing Roy Oswalt's arm.

Mariners pitching coach Bryan Price diagnoses the Mariners difficulties as of late:

Specifically, Mariners pitchers aren't keeping the ball down at the bottom end of the strike zone.

For 23 games they did, and the club was 12-11. Since then, the ball has started rising and the Mariners have been plummeting.

For pitching coach Bryan Price, it's that failure more than any other that has the Mariners doing their free fall without a parachute.

"We don't have classic sinkerball pitchers," Price said. "But the success we've had in the rotation was the ability to get ahead in the count and keep the ball down.

"We may not have been throwing sinkers, but we were giving the illusion of the low strike."

Well, the illusion is gone. Siegfried and Roy, the Mariners aren't.

Without power pitchers, the Mariners can't command the high part of the strikezone, and you see the home run barrages of the last couple of days.

In the Games of the Day post I mentioned that Derek Lowe was suffering from a lack of offense luck. Today, however, the defense let him down. He gave up 10 hits, but two errors by the Dodgers led to four unearned runs. He threw strikes and struck out six through five innings, but when the Cardinals put the ball in play, holes were found.

The Arizona Republic notes in View from the Press Box (bottom of the story) that Diamondback starting pitchers have gone three games without issuing a walk. The Nationals are not a team that walks a lot, but they do take a free pass about three times a game. It's another example that Arizona did a very good job of revamping the pitching staff.

Dontrelle Willis runs his record to 7-0 with a 2-1 win over the Astros. Willis pitched eight strong innings; he faced a tough situation in the eighth with two on and two out. Mike Lamb came to the plate and Willis got the strikeout to end the inning. Former Astro Todd Jones picked up the save for the Marlins. The Astros did get a hit with runners in scoring position against Dontrelle, leading to their only run.

Sidney Ponson and the Orioles defeated the Twins today 7-4. Santana pitched well but gave up four runs in six innings. He did not figure in the decision. Ponson pitched poorly but won. He struck out none and walked two, but gave up just six hits in eight innings. With only two of his four runs earned, his ERA now sits at 4.93 and his record goes to 5-1.

The Orioles rotation is looking very good. Not only have they stayed out of jail, but Erik Bedard has only one bad outing, Chen and Lopez have been excellent all year, and Ponson and Cabrera have put together consecutive good starts. Baltimore fans have to be feeling quite confident about the team's chances this season.

Keith Foulke just blew a 4-1 lead in the 9th. With two outs, the Athletics score four runs, capped by a two run homer by Eric Byrnes into the monster seats. It was a great AB by Byrnes, falling behind 0-2 then battling back, taking balls and fouling off pitches until he found one he could smash over the wall. It's only Foulke's 2nd blow save of the year, but his inning does nothing to help his 6+ ERA.

Corey Lidle is pitching a great game for the Phillies today. Through seven innings he's struck out 10 and allowed only 1 run to the Brewers. At 91 pitches, he's been efficient enough to go another inning.

Unfortunately for Cory, Doug Davis has matche the runs allowed. Davis has allowed five hits to Cory's three, 2 walks to Lidle's 1, and only struck out four. But once again the Phillies offense is letting a great pitching performance go to waste. They've lost two games this season 2-1 (they've also won two of those).

Jason Johnson pitched a decent game for the Tigers tonight. He allowed 8 hits in 8 innings, no walks while striking out 6. The problem was the 8 hits led to 17 total bases. Jason got half the formula; he did a good job of keeping the Rangers off base, but the few times they did reach they ended up past first. Most of the season he's been keeping the opponents power down; they were only slugging .376 against him coming into the game. But three doubles and two homers by the Rangers took its toll, and Johnson loses a close one 5-4.

Roy Halladay completes his third game of the year, beating Zach Greinke 3-1. Halladay threw only 97 pitches. He threw 9 complete games in his Cy Young year of 2003.

Greinke also completed his start. Both end the game with a 3.38 ERA.

Greg Maddux is starting off strong tonight. He's struck out five through three innings; Piazza, Matsui, Benson and Reyes twice. He just needs Beltran to get all the strength up the middle. :-)

Jon Weisman at Dodger Thoughts asks if it's better to pull a starter too early rather than too late. I think Grady Little would answer too early. In general, if a pitcher is going along smoothly and hasn't thrown too many pitches, I would rather see the starter stay in.

Wagner and Graves combine to blow a 5-2 lead in the 9th as the first five batters reach, ending with Fick doubling in three runs to tie the game. That's the Reds fourth blown save in twelve chances this season, and they may have wasted a rare poor outing by Jake Peavy.

Three doubles by the Reds have helped Cincinnati score five runs off Jake Peavy. It's the first time he's allowed five runs in a game since 8/25/2003, a stretch of 39 starts.

Roger Clemens swatted his fifth hit of the season in the second inning. He's batting .417 on the year, 5 for 12.

Clemens is a good hitter for someone who spent his career in the American League. With that hit, he's above the Mendoza line at .202.

Chris Kahrl of Baseball Prospectus writes in Transaction Analysis that Washington is now using a ten-man pitching staff:

Progress can take all sorts of shapes, although sometimes it needs a sing-along ball. Even so, happy notes are to be found in the immediate assurances given that Chavez is only here to be a reserve, pinch-running and handling defensive substitutions and such. And the idea that the Nats are willing to--gasp--go with ten pitchers or--gasp again--do without a situational lefty… well, it's the world turned upside down, you'd think. It's cool to see that Frank Robinson has the gumption, and Jim Bowden the flexibility, to run with this sort of roster, but I can't help but wonder if necessity, and not any peculiar genius, is the unwed mother that produced this invention, a leftover of the organization's long bender with Omar Minaya. When your choices are bringing back Joe Horgan or doing without a lefty, you might end up doing something bold because you don't have a whole lot of choice.

If Washington keeps winning, maybe other teams will notice.

The Red Sox finally have a real Miller playing for them. :-) Wade Miller made his Boston debut today and the results were mixed. He struck out six in five innings (very good), only walked 1 (very good) but threw 91 pitches in that time frame. This forced the Red Sox to pull him, and Cla Meredith ended up allowing a grand slam to Sexson. Overall, however, the Red Sox have to be very happy with Miller's progress. Jerry Remy was impressed with Wade's velocity.

When I was sitting in the bleachers at Fenway in the 1980's, there was an MIT professor who sat out there and yelled, "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADE" whenever Boggs came to the plate. Does anyone know if he's going to yell that for Miller?

Correction: Meredith's first name is spelled Cla.

The Myers-Zambrano matchup proved to be a gem. Brett outpitched Carlos, striking out 10 in eight innings while walking 1. But Zambrano allowed only one run to Myers' two, and took away the victory.

Zambrano threw a lot of pitches as both starters go the distance. Carlos threw 134 pitches to Myers 101. We'll see how the Cub starter fares next time out.

Mike Mussina has pitched seven good innings today, in that he didn't allow a run to score and the Athletics only put four batters on base with 3 hits and a walk. I'm not seeing the game where I am, so I'm wondering if this an improvement in Mussina or is it further ineptness by Oakland? He's only struck out three batters, so he's still not the old Mussina. The twenty balls in play have been turned into outs; is he fooling the batters or are the Athletics just not hitting?

Update: Mussina pitches his first shutout since 8/17/2003. It's the 13th complete game shutout of the season. There were ten through this point last season.

The Cubs are making life easy for Cory Lidle today. They've just garnered two hits through four innings. Lidle has only struck out one, and he's only thrown 51 pitches. The Cubs keep putting the ball in play, they just keep finding fielders.

I'm at Two Doors Down and the Cubs broadcast just said this is the anniversary of Kerry Wood's 20 K game. Here's the start of his career.

The Baseball Crank takes a look at DIPS for pitchers since last year's all-star break, and wonders if the Yankees and Mets should swap Glavine and Brown.

Bronson Arroyo is having an excellent game this afternoon. He hasn't allowed a hit through six innings, facing only one over the minimum due to a walk. He's only thrown 68 pitches, and the Tigers have been struck out six times. Arroyo has had to be this good, as the Sox have scored only 1 run.

Update: With 1 out in the 7th, Guillen hits a home run down the line that just clears the fence. The game is tied at one.

Roger Clemens hasn't gotten much support this year. He's 1-1 in six starts despite a 1.29 ERA. Last night wasn't his best performance (five walks in seven innings), but he only allowed two runs and the Houston Astros put up four. This time, the bullpen failed the Rocket.

Lidge came on to get a five out save when Qualls was ineffective in the 8th. It was three outs too many. Ward led off the 9th with a homer to tie the game, and a few batters later Bay watched the his hit go out of the park to give the Pirates a two run lead and an eventual victory. An unlucky year for Clemens continues. He could end up like Randy Johnson did last year; the best pitcher in the league not getting a Cy Young due to the rest of his team.

The Detroit Tigers pitchers are becoming the Walking Men. In April, the staff issued about three walks per game; a perfectly reasonable amount. But in May, they've issued 18 walks in their first three games, and so far, five more tonight. Robertson was okay, issuing three in six and two thirds, but Fransworth walked two in the 8th to set up an RBI single by Youkilis. The walks lead to the tie breaker, and the Red Sox lead 4-3 in the bottom of the 8th.

Eric Bedard's scoreless inning streak ends at 22. Hinske and McDonald combine to double and single respectively to plate the first run of the game in the 8th inning. Bedard has pitched well enough to win, he's pitched better than Halladay, but he's in line for the loss right now.

Update: Bedard strikes out Johnson for the 2nd out of the inning, giving him 11 for the game, a new career high.

Eric Bedard has his good stuff working this afternoon. Through five innings, he's struck out eight and allowed only one hit. Halladay is not matching the Ks today, but he is matching the goose eggs. He's only struck out 1, but has not allowed a run through five, either.

At some point I started to refer to 2004 as the season of the old pitcher. So far, 2005 hasn't been kind to the oldsters. Through this point in the season last year 38 year olds (seasonal age) were 32-17 with a 3.39 ERA. In 2005, pitchers that age are 28-34 with a 3.98 ERA. That ERA would be over 4.00 without Roger Clemens.

I think that last season gave people the idea that pitchers still can be good at a higher age. The Yankees and Red Sox are certainly seeing the downside of that idea this season.

The San Diego Padres have reason to be concerned about their pitching staff. Call it the reverse Coors effect. There is a tendancy to overrate parts of a team based on park effects; the Rockies offense usually looks better than it is. When Houston inhabited the Astrodome, it's pitching did well.

One way to get around that effect is to look just at stats in road games. When you do that, the worry about the Padres staff comes into clear focus. They rank 2nd in the NL in ERA at home, but 13th in ERA on the road. Notice that the Marlins do well both home and away.

The biggest problem for the staff away from PETCO is home runs. They've given up 4 homers in 118 innings at home, 17 in 117 1/3 on the road. It's early, and they haven't played in many different ballparks yet. But this bears watching. PETCO could be teaching the staff they can get away with pitches that go out in other parks.

I expected some Giants to break down this season, but not Jason Schmidt. He had a bad outing last night, walking five and allowing another home run. Even the two unearned runs he allowed came off his error. He's walking one every other inning this season instead of every three innings. He's allowed five homers in a month when he allowed 18 all last season. When you evaluate this team, you start with Bonds and Schmidt being superstars. You then hope everyone else plays well enough to support those two. Now with Bonds out and Schmidt having problems, everyone else has to have career years for the team to win. I don't have a lot of hope that the Giants will keep scoring at this level.

Mike Mussina won tonight over Scott Kazmir. But if I had a choice, I'd rather take Scott's game over Mike's. Kaz struck out nine in six innings while walking only 2. He was hurt by errors (2 unearned runs), low offense, and a bullpen that couldn't keep the game close. Mussina only struck out two, but the Yankees defense didn't hurt him tonight. It's good for Mussina that he won a game, but if I were the Yankees brass this wouldn't convince me that he's overcome his problems.

Ryan Drese had another poor outing yesterday. I expected Chan Ho Park to be the big question mark in the rotation, but Drese it turns out is one big reason the Rangers are not making progress this season. He's never been a great strikeout pitcher, but this season he's getting no one. His 2.27 K per 9 is only higher than Ryan Franklin so far this season. That's not a level where most pitchers can be successful, as too many balls in play turn into hits.

Jon Garland goes to 5-0 on the season as he shuts down the Tigers with a complete game 8-0 victory. There are three things a pitcher can do well to help himself to a low ERA; strikeout a lot of batters, don't walk too many, and keep the ball in the park. Through 2004, Garland was not great at any of those. He made every start for three straight years, and was exactly .500 during that time.

But at age 25, two of those three skills have improved for Garland. He's now walked just 6 in 39 innings, 1.4 per 9. That's down over two from his career average. He's also allowed just one homer so far; he averaged 1.27 per 9 through 2004. Moving from okay to excellent in those two categories moved him into the elite of AL pitchers. At his age, this could very well be a real improvement.

Livan Hernandez hits the Nationals third solo home run of the night to give Washington a 3-1 lead over the Mets in the bottom of the fifth. It's his 6th career homer.

C.C. Sabathia is off to a great start since coming off the DL. Through five innings tonight, he's struck out 15 in 17 2/3 innings. He's averaged 7.0 throughout his career; the K increase has helped him to a 1.02 ERA so far this season.

Wade Miller had a positive rehab start last night in Pawtucket.

Miller made his third rehab start, the first against Triple-A hitters, when he took the mound for the PawSox against Scranton/Wilkes Barre. He threw five scoreless innings in the PawSox' 1-0 win, allowing five hits (two infield bleeders) and two walks while striking out three. The Sox want him to make one more rehab start, meaning he could be in Boston by the end of next week for the start of the team's next homestand against Oakland and Seattle.

The Red Sox are down two starters, so the sooner Miller gets to the big club the better.

At the end of this article on Brandon Lyon there's a nice scouting report on the closer's four pitches. Since he has two types of fastballs, he actually appears to have five pitches.

Kevin Brown retired the last 11 batters he faced, but leaves the game trailing 3-1 after seven. Brown only walked 1 and struck out five. What hurt him this evening were the balls in play that turned into hits. However, with the offense the Yankees have, they should be able to win a game where the starter only allows 3 runs in seven innings.

A very rare blown save today by Joe Nathan. Since becoming the closer for the Twins, Nathan had converted 50 of 53 chances, including a 6 for 6 this season. Of course, it wasn't all Nathan's fault as an error by Castro made the run unearned. It's also not a loss; the Royals and the Twins have moved to the tenth. If you blow a save, it's a lot better to get the win than see the team lose.

Angel Berrora got KC going in the ninth with a double. He's somewhat perfect today, going 2 for 2 with 2 hit by pitches. I though hitting batters was supposed to intimidate them. :-)

To follow up last night's Mike Mussina post, the NY Times reports that Mussina's velocity was down last night:

While Mussina's velocity was a few miles an hour lower than normal -the radar readings listed his fastball at around 87 m.p.h. - Torre said those figures were erroneous. He said that Mussina was throwing a cut fastball and that was the reason for the decreased velocity. But Mussina admitted that his velocity was off; he said he was "hoping for a little more" on his fastball.

Mussina has surrendered 43 hits in 29 innings. Opponents are batting .361 against him. That basically means the hitters who have faced Mussina have combined to perform like hitters who could win a batting title in most seasons.

"It's a lot," Mussina said. "It bothers me. If you're not pitching well and don't feel as crisp as you want to be, you're going to give up hits."

As I mentioned in the comments above, part of the problem may be that Mussina has become predictable. Maybe in the next start he needs to throw nothing but knuckle curves for a couple of innings to get the batters used to something else, then come back with the fastball. It will look a lot faster at that point.

The more I look at Mike Mussina's stats, the more I think he's approaching the end. He just keeps getting hit. The Angels have eight hits tonight in six innings, and two home runs have made the score 5-1 Anaheim. The Moose is just not striking out enough people given the defense behind him. He's throwing a lot of pitches, which tells me the batters are willing to take pitches or battle him with lots of fouls. Mussina needs to make an adjustment. He's probably needed to make that adjustment for two years, but pitchers have a difficult time accepting the loss of their fastball. Mussina won't survive with an ERA over 5.00.

A-Rod homered again tonight, his eighth of the year. If he hits another, I believe he ties a record for consecutive games.

Do you think the Atlanta Braves know Tom Glavine too well? Leo Mazzone must go talk to the hitters each time they face Tom and tell them everything he knows about what Glavine does wrong. The lefty is now 1-7 vs. his former team. In those eight games he has a 9.15 ERA and has allowed 65 hits and 21 walks. I really wonder if Tom tips his pitches, but it's only something that Mazzone knows about.

Kip Wells got his walks under control today for the Pirates. He had issued eighteen free passes in 23 2/3 innings coming into today's game, but shutout the Astros for seven innings issuing only one walk. The veteran bullpen of White and Mesa pitched two perfect innings to preserve the shutout.

The Astros have now lost five in a row, being shutout in three of those games. They're hitting .202 over those five games, 33/163.

Andy Pettitte is not pitching well today, but he's not being hurt too badly either. He's allowed eight hits and a walk through four innings, but only two runs. Pittsburgh even has two triples and a double, but have not plated many runs. After the Bay 1-out tripled in the third, Pettitte struck out the next two batters. He's still down 2-0 after four as Kip Wells has given up just three hits.

Eric Milton gave up four home runs tonight. It's the second time in his career he's allowed four homers in a game. It happened last year on June 9th against the Chicago White Sox. He came into tonight with the most HR allowed since the start of 2004 with 49, and he's extended that lead tonight. Jamie Moyer is next on the list with 47.

There's a good graphic on Baseball Tonight Extra showing that since Mark Prior's MLB debut, he's had the highest K per 9 rate of any pitcher in baseball (400 IP minimum). And the best thing is they got it from the Day By Day Database! Now, if I could just get them to include a hyperlink...

Oliver Perez leaves the game with men on 2nd and 3rd and two out in the 8th. White comes in and gets Bagwell to fly out to end the inning.

Perez pitched very well, allowing four hits and walking only 2 while striking out 9. He had given up 16 walks in 19 innings coming into the game. He did throw over 120 pitches, and 80 were for strikes. The Pirates have to breathe a sigh of relief after this performance. The Bucs lead 2-0 in the bottom of the 8th.

Zach Day walked six while striking out two tonight vs. the Phillies. That gives him fourteen walks and seven strikeouts this season. He's not going to stay in the majors with pitching like that.

The Houston Astros seem to be the cure to Oliver Perez's problems. He's throwing a no-hitter through five innings and has walked only two to go with seven strikeouts. He has thrown 81 pitches so far, so it's not clear how long he'll go.

Update: Bagwell breaks up the no-hitter with 2 out in the 6th.

Kelvim Escobar is showing no ill effects from his elbow injury in his return to the majors tonight. He's struck out six Athletics through three innings. He has a great career K per 9 of nearly 8.0.

Sideny Ponson just missed a shutout, but gets a complete game win as the Orioles defeat the Blue Jays 7-1 to remain atop the AL East. Sir Sidney gave up five hits and walked four. He threw 131 pitches, which is one of the higher counts I've seen this season. The Orioles pitching staff is starting to look formidable.

Dontrelle Willis goes to 4-0 with a win over the Cincinnati Reds this afternoon. Take a look at the boxscore for the Marlins pitchers. They used five, and all five have great ERAs. The team came into the day with a 2.36 ERA, leading the majors by 0.8 runs.

Roger Clemens and Mark Mulder are locked in a scoreless duel through five. Each has pitched five, allowing 2 hits and striking out 4. The difference is that Clemens has walked four. The big four for St. Louis are the only ones to reach base for the team; 2 singles and 4 walks. Mid-game, Clemens' ERA is down to 0.35

Cha Ho Park pitched a very decent game today. Jim Kaat was pointing out how effective Park was changing speeds, and how he had good movement on his sinking pitches. He did walk five, but he only allowed three hits and one run in 6 1/3. The Rangers will take that from Chan Ho every time.

Jae Seo was called up to make an emergency start today as Kaz Ishii goes on the DL. Seo has gone five shutout innings so far, not allowing a run or a walk. He's also pitching efficiently, and can probably finish the game at this rate.

The Reds are really working Burnett hard tonight. Through three innings he's already thrown 72 pitches. The Marlins starters have been pretty efficient this year, especially Willis, Beckett and Burnett.

Following up on a post from a week ago, scoring is still down about 1/2 a run from the same time last year:

First Nineteen Days	2004	2005
Games	230	237
Runs	2273	2205
Runs/Game	9.9	9.3
Home Runs	522	469
HR/Game	2.3	2.0

The Major League save percentage is up closer to where it was last year, however. Through the first nineteen days of 2004, it was 64.2% (115/179). So far through 2005 it's 61.6 (106/172).

Rich Harden tossed seven shutout innings last night to move into the AL lead for the ERA title with a 0.44 mark. That gives Oakland three starters in the top 10. As you can see here, if Barry Zito pitched decently, the Athletics would have four solid starters. Not bad for a team that stripped two front line pitchers over the winter.

The big problem with Oakland right now is that they only have three regulars who are getting on base at all. The good news is that four of the players with low OBAs are likely to improve; Kendal, Durazo, Chavez, and Hatteberg are all capable of much better numbers. When the collective slump ends, I expect the Athletics offense to jump from it's current 3.8 runs per game, worst in the AL.

Even though Pedro hadn't thrown many pitches, the Mets took him out early with a 10-1 lead. It's a good idea, as Pedro is somewhat fragile. He threw 88 pitches in 7 innings; if he can keep that up, the Mets will be able to leave him in long in close games.

Pedro Martinez, staked to a big lead, is being very efficient in dispatching the Florida Marlins tonight. He's only thrown 57 pitches through five innings, while still striking out five. The faster he eliminates batters, the longer he can go in the game, and the more likely he'll be to earn a win.

Chris Carpenter spun a seven hit complete game shutout against the Cubs this afternoon. It's the 7th complete game shutout of the season. Last year, at this time, there were only 4. It's also the 18th complete game of the year; there were only 7 at this point last season (and we still have this evening to add to things).

I've noticed a few pitchers striking out a lot of batters but still getting hammered. I'm finding little evidence, however that there is anything different vs. previous seasons. For example, here's a table showing the results when a starter goes at least five innings and strikes out at least 1 batter per inning (I'm using 1993 as my starting point because offense has been fairly consistent over that period):

Starters, Min 5 IP, 1 K per IP	1993-2004	2005
Games Started	9533	89
Record	4299-2599	35-18
Winning Percentage	.623	.660
ERA	3.40	3.36
Strikeouts per 9	10.7	10.5
Hits per 9	7.9	7.9
Home Runs per 9	0.94	0.80

What I'm seeing is that pitchers who go less than five innings with lots of strikeouts are getting hammered more than usual:

Starters, <5 IP, 1 K per IP	1993-2004	2005
Games Started	2603	11
Record	0-1632	0-8
Loss Percentage (L/GS)	.627	.727
ERA	13.56	15.22
Strikeouts per 9	11.3	12.0
Hits per 9	17.4	19.6
Home Runs per 9	2.79	3.68

So pitchers have had bad outings with lots of strikeouts for a long time. This year, the bad outings are extemely bad, but it's only 11 games. It's not a trend. Striking out a lot of batters is still a very good thing.

Ben Sheets had a game tonight that's been all too typical this season. Sheets went six innings, struck out seven and walked only one. He threw 109 pitches, 74 for strikes. Given that information, one might assume he had a pretty dominant game. Instead, he gave up six runs, four earned, including two home runs.

We saw this with Schilling on Monday and Randy Johnson last night. Lots of strikeouts, few walks, and no domination of the opponent. I'm going to look at this tomorrow to see if it happens more often than I think.

Meanwhile, Oswalt struck out eight and walked none, and wsa perfectly dominating, pitching a complete game and using only 96 pitches to finish the four hitter.

Oliver Perez still has not found his control. He only lasted four innings tonight, throwing 92 pitches, forty four for balls. He's now walked 16 batters in 19 innings pitched. Perez was a huge strength for the Pirates last year; now he's turning into the weak link in the rotation. With 11 reaching base by a hit or a walk, he's lucky he only allowed three runs tonight.

The Red Sox have given Tim Wakefield an interesting contract. It's a club option for each year in the future. He'll earn a base $4 million, and incentives can drive that higher. Basically, as long as he continues to pitch well, he'll be a Red Sox player. Being a knuckleballer, that could be another decade.

Dan Shaughnessy sums up why Tim is such a great deal here.

This really makes me go back and wonder what management in Pittsburgh was doing in the early 1990's. They alinenate Bonds so he walks, then release Wakefield instead of trying to figure out why he was having trouble. They give big money to Van Slyke when he's at the end of his career. No wonder that great team went down the tubes so quickly.

A nice return to the rotation for Matt Morris tonight. Six innings, one walk, seven strikeouts and a win. He only used 71 pitches to get through his six innings; that kind of efficiency in the future will take him deep into the games.

Yadier Molina collected two more hits and has raised his batting average to .154. He's getting in the range of good hitting pitchers now. :-)

Another great start by Jake Peavy. He allows 1 earned run in seven innings against the second highest scoring team in the NL.

ABBR	RPG
LAD	6.667
DET	6.385
BOS	5.769
SF	5.75
BAL	5.692

Peavy is doing everything right with a K per 9 of over 11 and a K per BB of over 6. I must say that the Giants offense has been spectacular in the absence of Barry Bonds. Durham and Vizquel have gotten on base, and Snow, Feliz and Alfonzo have provided the hits and power to drive them around.

Take a look at the ERA leaders at this time (through games of April 19, 2004) last year compared to this year. At the low end we have more pitchers under 1.00 and more pitchers over 9.00. It appears there's a wider spread so far this year. Let's measure it more precisely.

In 2004, the mean ERA is 4.36 and it has a standard deviation of 2.21. In 2005 the mean ERA is 4.32 and the standard deviation is 2.29. So ERAs are lower and the spread is wider. Stephen Gould once theorized that the disappearance of .400 hitters was do to everyone getting better, or to put it differently, the variance between hitters shrinking. As the mean batting average pretty much stayed the same (due to better pitching and defense), no one could be far enough away from the mean to hit .400.

A narrowing of the spread in ERAs would do the same thing, making it more difficult for pitchers to have extremely low ERAs. But if you widen the spread, you might get some really great pitching number from the low ERA end of the tail.

However, a two tail TTest shows a probability of .89 that the two populations are the same. I'll try to revisit this as the season progresses, especially if we continue to have extremely low ERAs among the league leaders.

Odalis Perez still hasn't allowed a hit through six innings against the Brewers. He's also only thrown 69 pitches.

Update: Perez walks the leadoff hitter, then Spivey hits a double to deep center to drive Clark across the plate. It's 4-1 Dodgers in the 7th.

Jose Vidro takes Dontrelle Willis deep to break his scoreless inning streak. Still a terrific start to the season for the D-Train.

Dontrelle still hasn't allowed a run. He's through six innings now, allowing just two hits while striking out four. He's being efficient again, throwing just 76 pitches so far, less than 13 per inning. The Marlins appear to have found the key to going deep in games.

Not to be out done by Lowe, Erickson and Weaver, Odalis Perez has a no-hitter through four tonight. The Dodgers lead the Brewers 3-0 in the fifth.

Mark Mulder has allowed only 1 hit over five innings tonight vs. the Pirates. I wonder if this is more the result of the Pirates being a poor team, however. Mulder doesn't have a great ball/strike ratio in the game, and he's walked 2 while striking out just one. His problem last year was a jump in walks; if he doesn't solve that, I doubt he can have a great season.

Dontrelle Willis starts the game against the Nationals with three more scoreless inning, extending his streak to 21. Ohka is matching him so far, having thrown four shutout innings of his own.

Ohka hasn't exactly pitched well, however, giving up three walks and three hits, none for extra bases, however.

The San Diego Padres didn't have a prayer against the Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitching this weekend. Two complete game shutouts by Lowe and Weaver sandwiched six innings of two run ball by Scott Erickson. That's 24 innings, 2 runs, 12 hits, 5 walks and 12 strikeouts. Not a bad three days work. DePodesta is looking very smart right now in signing Lowe and Erickson.

A.J. Burnett continued the complete game trend of the Marlins, going nine to beat the Mets 5-2. What I really like about the Marlins starters going the distance is that they are doing it without using a lot of pitches; 105 for Burnett this afternoon. With those low pitch counts, McKeon doesn't have to worry about abusing his pitchers.

Contrast that with La Russa today, who took Marquis out of the game after eight innings. The Cardinals took a one-run lead in the top of the 9th; Marquis had gone six inning without allowing a run and had not allowed a hit since the leadoff man in the third. He had thrown just 106 pitches. But La Russa trots out Isringhausen who walks two before he gets out of the inning and records the save. In a situation like that, why take the risk?

C.C. Sabathia is showing no ill effects of his injury. He goes 5 2/3 innings, striking out 7. He left after 94 pitches and a single by LeCroy. He was matched by Joe Mays, both allowing one run. Mays is still in the game, so he has a chance to get the win.

Kevin Brown looked effective for two batters before the Orioles put together four consecutive hits to score two runs. Melvin Mora hit his 2nd home run of the season to start the rally off for the Orioles. Three of the four hits were for extra bases, including the first extra-base hit by Palmeiro, a double.

Update: Another two-out rally in the second, ending in a grand slam by Tejada. They Yankees are down 6-0.

Gustavo Chacin put up another great outing last night, limiting the Texas Rangers to two hits over eight innings as the young lefty runs his record to 3-0. I like this blurb on his page on FoxSports.com:

Gustavo Chacin improved to 3-0 by shutting out the Rangers for eight innings tonight. He gave up just two hits. Chacin, who spent four years in Double-A, isn't nearly this good, but the Blue Jays can hope he doesn't figure that out for a while longer. He gets the Yankees next.

The problem with the above quote is that Chacin has had success at every level of professional ball. It seems to me he spent so much time in AA because he was rushed to that level and needed time to develop. He's only 24, and it's perfectly reasonable for a pitcher to have a leap at that age. He's yet to have a bad start in the majors. He became unhittable last year, and it's carried over to this season.

He's neither a power pitcher nor an extreme ground ball pitcher. Neither Steve Carlton nor Tommy John, he fits best into the Tom Glavine bin of lefties. I'm sure the Blue Jays will be very happy with that.

Update: A reliable source tells me that Chacin developed a cutter last year, and since he's been nearly unbeatable.

Jarrod Washburn and Rich Harden could barely be more evenly matched today. Both went eight innings, gave up four hits, no runs and 2 walks. Harden gets a slightly better game score as he strikes out 8 or Washburn's seven.

It seems proper that ten inning pitching duel should end on an unearned run. The Oakland offense is doing nothing. Kotsay is about the only person getting on base, and only Byrnes and Swisher have shown any power. This is a team that's capable of scoring many more than 37 runs in 11 games.

Jeremy Bonderman had his second great outing vs. Kansas City today. He's allowed 2 runs in 15 innings vs. the Royals. Now he has to show he can handle a good offense. Cleveland roughed him up pretty good in his second start. He should face the White Sox next on the 21st.

Two complete games today on the South Side of Chicago as Mark Buehrle defeats Ryan Franklin 2-1. The most amazing thing is that the game only took 1:39! The two pitchers combined to throw only 197 pitches as well, 134 for strikes.

Buehrle has now pitched three very quick games:

1. 4/4 1:51 vs. Cleveland
2. 4/10 2:29 vs. Minnesota
3. 4/16 1:39 vs. Seattle

The White Sox should make sure he goes on getaway days. :-) I haven't seen him work this season. Is he quick pitching? Does he get the ball back from the catcher and throw, or are batters just swinging early in the count?

There were three complete games last night, brining this season's total to ten. Bruce Chen threw a four hitter at the Yankees, allowing just one run and lowering his ERA to 1.80. Aaron Heilman came close to pitching the first no-hitter in Mets history, but settled for a 1-hit shutout of the Marlins. Derek Lowe, wearing a Brooklyn jersey, kept the Padres off stride as he spun a three-hit shutout. So, are complete games up this season? Not yet. (Click graph for a larger image.)

This is a pretty amazing trend. If you look at the linear regression line, we should have hit zero complete games a couple of years ago. Which raises the question; when does a trend become over done? How bad does the save percentage of a bullpen have to be to start trusting your starter longer? You see the Marlins starting to use their pitchers deep into the game (with low pitch counts, I might add). Will others start to follow?

Five hits so far through 2 1/2 innings in the San Diego/Los Angeles game, and two are by the pitchers, Williams and Lowe. Derek has driven in the only run of the game. A pitchers duel on both sides of the ball. :-)

Jon Garland has a perfect game through five innings. He's averaging 11 pitches per inning.

Update: Garland retires the side in order in the sixth on three ground balls.

Jose Lima is down 5-0 in the 2nd to the Tigers. He gave up a three-run home run to Craig Monroe, his fourth HR allowed in 7 2/3 innings pitched this year. His ERA after the big first is 15.26.

Via Brew Grit, Ben Sheets landed a big contract extension:

The Milwaukee Brewers have signed pitching ace Ben Sheets to a new four-year contract extension worth $38.5 million.

Sheets, 26, had signed a $6 million deal for 2005 in February, but left open the option of tearing it up and negotiating a new four-year deal or merely adding a three-year extension. The two sides agreed to tear up the old deal and sign a new extension through 2008.

The ballclub made the announcement at a news conference late this afternoon at Miller Park. Sheets is set to take the mound at 7 tonight against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Good for Ben and good for the Brewers. Ben could have walked at the end of 2006. With the price of starting pitching on the way up, the Brewers have a good deal on a pitcher with Cy Young Award ability. Barring injury, there's no doubt he would have commanded a hefty salary after the 2006 season. Sheets gets security in case he's injured, the Brewers keep a great pitcher around for two more years at a reasonable price, and Sheets still gets to be a free agent when he's 30. It's a winning contract for all involved.

Roy Halladay runs his record to 2-0 with a complete game five hitter vs. the Rangers. Halladay strikes out nine, giving him 18 in 22 innings pitched.

Pedro Astacio pitched very well also. He just picked the wrong night to allow 2 runs as the Blue Jays win 2-1.

I'm really starting to wonder how long Sidney Ponson is going to last with the Orioles. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays pounded him tonight; he gave up 7 hits and 4 walks in three innings. Nine earned runs in three innings raises his ERA to 13.50. Batters are hitting .390 off the Aruban heavyweight. He was luck to get a win against the Yankees. That won't be happening tonight.

Everyone in the Tampa Bay lineup has reached base by a hit or a walk, and four players have multi-hit games.

Brando Backe tripled and scored to help himself to a 2-1 lead over the Mets. Backe is quite the hitter; he's now 6 for 17 for his career with a triple and a homer. He's also drawn two walks. A lot of regulars wish they had averages like that.

If you wanted to see good relief pitching, Chavez Ravine was the place to be last night. The Dodgers and Giants bullpens combined for six innings, three hits, no walks and seven strikeouts while not allowing a run. Unfortunately for the Giants, Brett Tomko had allowed home runs to Choi and Kent and the Dodgers won 4-1.

It's interesting to see Choi and Drew batting 2-3, having poor seasons so far, and yet the Dodgers are tied with the Blue Jays for most runs scored in the majors with 55. What's going to happen when Choi and Drew start to hit?

The Rangers are getting just what they want out of Chan Ho Park tonight. The strikeouts are there and the walks aren't. He's fanned 6 through five innings and has only allowed 1 run on a solo homer. If the two-seamer is working, the Rangers have a new weapon in their rotation. The Rangers and Angels are tied at 1 in the bottom of the fifth.

Kevin Hench at Foxsports.com documents the biggest blown saves of the year, the closers who entered in the 9th and blew a three run lead.

Keep in mind, according to Bill James, this type of blown save should occur once every 50 opportunities. That's five times in 13 tries in 2005.

Mark Prior starts the 2005 season with two shutout innings and a base hit in his first plate appearance. He hit a hanger hard up the middle for a single. He's not come around to score to give himself a 4-0 lead in the 2nd.

Zach Greinke has yet to allow a run this season. He went six innings vs. the Mariners today allowing only four hits, three of them singles. Unlike Willis, however, Greinke threw 86 pitches and was pulled, allowing the bullpen to give up two runs to the Mariners in the 7th.

Aaron Sele has allowed just two singles and two walks as the Royals fail to support their starter. The Mariners lead 2-0.

Dontrelle Willis starts the season with consecutive shutouts. He used 114 pitches today to stop the Phillies. To show just how remarkable this is, the leaders in shutouts last year where Jason Schmidt and Dontrelle's opponent today Cory Lidle with 3. With four complete games, I wonder if the Marlins will consider reducing the number of pitchers in their bullpen?

In a comment to this post, Robert J writes:

I don't have it in front of me, but my local paper mentioned that there were 39 blown saves in the first 99 games this year. Is this the beginning of a cycle of fewer dominant closers? Have hitters caught up to them?

If you look at games through yesterday (the 2nd Tuesday after the first Sunday night game) there were 58 saves in 94 opportunities in 2004, 43 saves in 87 opportunities in 2005. That's a save percentage of 61.7% in 2004, 49.4% in 2005. So this has been a bad year for blowing saves, although a 61.7% conversion rate isn't stellar.

Unfortunately I no longer have the data, but I believe league save rates have been in decline for some time. I remember doing studies when I was at STATS showing that the decline was coming entirely from middle relievers; that actual closers were pretty steady over time. This comes from managers not using their best pitchers in game situations, but saving them to start the ninth with a lead.

There's another trend that may have something to do with it; strikeouts are down slightly, 6.3 per 9 in 2005 vs. 6.4 during the same period in 2004. Are more batters trying to put the ball in play? Or is it that we haven't had much cold weather at the ball parks? Offense goes up with temperature, so an early advantage for pitchers may be negated by the weather.

Still, it's just 87 save opportunities. Just as anything can happen in 100 AB, this is probably just bad luck. It's a trend worth watching, however.

Jason Marquis was good on both side of the ball tonight, allowing the Reds only 1 run over 6 1/3 innings while driving in three runs with a triple. Since the start of the 2003 season he's 23 for 78 with 7 doubles and a triple. Pretty good hitting for a pitcher.

In his first start for the Braves, Tim Hudson didn't pitch that well, but only allowed only 1 run over five innings. It wasn't enough to get the win. Tonight, he pitched brilliantly, allowing one run over eight innings with no walks. It still wasn't enough for a win as Dan Kolb blows his first save in four chances and takes the loss for the Braves. Kolb walked two and allowed two hits in his one inning of work.

The Florida Marlins are depending on two pitchers to lead the rotation; Josh Beckett and A.J. Burnett. So far, those two have done that and more. Beckett has not allowed a run in fifteen innings, while Burnett pitched a complete game win tonight using only 103 pitches. They've only allowed six walks in thirty innings while striking out twenty six. A great start to the season.

It certainly was the left coast last night as Gustavo Chacin and Brad Halsey posted powerhouse performances. Chacin spoiled the Athletics home opener, allowing just two runs in six innings as the Blue Jays went on to a 10-3 victory. Chacin pithced well in the minors; he's very good at not allowing home runs and had an excellent 51-29 record. So far, in 25 major league innings he's posted a 2.52 ERA; a small sample but a good start.

In Arizona (not techinally a coast, but in the same time zone during daylight savings time) Brad Halsey made the Randy Johnson trade look worthwhile, tossing six shutout innings vs. the Rockies. He struck out 7 and walked only 1. With the Yankees last year his lack of control hurt; he walked 14 in 32 innings. So far, he's walked just 1 in 10 innings for the DBacks. The Diamondbacks bullpen was also spot on in their three innings. All four Arizona pitchers combined to throw just 118 pitches, 80 for strikes.

Ryan Franklin made his first start of the year after two relief appearances and came within a hair of a complete game. He got through 8 2/3 inning only throwing 83 pitches. That's a Maddux like game. No doubt the Royals helped him out, swinging early in the count; he only walked two and struck out one.

Ichiro collected two more his and now has 13 in 7 games. At this rate he'll wind up with 300 hits!

This is why Bochy is the manager and I'm not. The Padre bullpen gets four strikeouts over the last three inning to perserve the 1-0 win for Adam Eaton.

And they needed to be that good, as the Cubs bullpen was perfect, retiring all nine batters their relievers faced, striking out 3. Nomar was 1 for 3 today but only has 5 hits (all singles) in the first seven games.

Here's an interesting article on how Orel Hershiser got the pitching staff to use Ameriquest Park to their advantage.]

Starting at spring training a year ago, Mr. Hershiser proselytized about the sinker to any pitcher he passed in the clubhouse, the practice fields, even on a street corner. The sinker, he said, could save them. It takes the wind, which is the biggest factor in the park, out of play. In Ryan Drese, he found an acolyte whose successful turnaround from fly-ball failure to ground-ball genius made him a living, breathing illustration for Mr. Hershiser's cause.

"You have to pitch according to your park," Mr. Hershiser said. "The ball is going to carry to right field. A ball that gets in the air has a better chance of being a homer. Part of pitching is executing pitches, but part is strategy, too."

They also let the grass grow, to slow down grounders in the infield. The result was their lowest home ERA since 1995.

Through Sunday:

Oakland Starters	Zito	Others
IP	9 1/3	22 1/3
ER	12	4
ERA	11.57	1.61

Rodrigo Lopez follows up his excellent opening day start with an even more impressive eight innings against the Yankees. He added the strikeouts he didn't have vs. Oakland. Two starts and a 0.64 ERA.

Carl Pavano was hit in the head by a batted ball and has a mild concussion. It's not clear if he'll miss his next start.

The Orioles won big today by singling the Yankees to death. Fourteen hits, twelve for one base. The Orioles came into the day 9th in the AL in slugging percentage.

Pedro Martinez and John Smoltz both pitched like current Cy Young winners today, but Martinez kept the game in his own hands and earned the win. It was a remarkably efficient game for Pedro, using just 101 pitches to strikeout 9. He only allowed two hits.

Meanwhile, Smoltz struck out 15 in in 7 1/3 innings while walking none. One worrisome thing, however, is that when the Mets met the ball, they got hits. They were 8 for 15 when putting the ball in play against Smoltz. By comparison, the Braves were 2 for 20 when putting the ball in play vs. Pedro. Smoltz is going to need all those strikeouts to keep his opponents off the scoreboard.

After last night's poor performance, Oliver Perez has walked 8 in 9 innings. I wonder if there's something wrong with the young pitcher?

Brad Radke has now given up four home runs in his first two starts while walking none. Has Brad passed the point of two much control? Is he so insistent on being in the strikezone that batters are starting to zone in on his pitches and wait for the perfect one to drive? Not walking people is a great good, but you also need to be able to get batters out with pitches out of the strikezone. If anyone who has watched Radke pitch this season has any thoughts on this, I'd love to hear them.

After yesterday's drubbing at the hands of the Devil Rays, I'm wondering if Billy Beane should have traded all three of his star starters. Zito failed to strike out a batter while walking three in 3 1/3 innings. The man who is supposed to lead the rotation is the only one who hasn't pitched well.

Meanwhile, Nomo put up an impressive six innings, allowing only 1 hit, a solo home run. While I still have my doubts about Hideo's ability over the season, he quieted them somewhat yesterday.

Roger Clemens struck out nine in seven innings tonight and allowed just one run and no walks as the Astros win 3-2 over the Reds. Brad Lidge gets the save (that's big news today). Clemens had a poor spring according to his ERA, a great spring based on his walk and strikeouts per nine. Tonight was an example of why the K and BB numbers are more indicative of how a pitcher is going to perform.

Dontrelle Willis gets off to a very similar start to his 2004 season. Last year, his first start was against Montreal on 4/8, and he pitched 7 2/3 shutout innings allowing five hits. He did a little better on the anniversary of that game, going the full 9 for the five hit shutout. Hitting wise, he did not match his 3 for 3 from last year, only going 2 for 4 today.

Mark Mulder did not have a stellar outing vs. the Phillies today. Mulder gave up nine hits and 5 runs in six innings today. Three walks, however, indicate that he may not have solved the control problems that surfaced last season. It's 5-3 Philadelphia in the top of the 8th.

Update: Mulder is taken off the hook by the Phillies bullpen. Madson and Fultz allow 3 hits and 3 walks over two innings to allow the Cardinals to come back and win the game 6-5.

Quite the pitching staff duel in San Diego last night. The Padres won in 12 innings when Rick White walked the X-Man Xavier Nady with the bases loaded. That has to be one of the worst things a pitcher can do. Three balls on the batter, you lose if the ball is outside the strikezone. Put the ball on the plate and take your chances! When a major league pitcher can't groove a strike, you have to wonder if he's a major league pitcher. So far, White has pitched 1 1/3 innings, given up five hits, three walks and three earned runs. The signs are not good that he'll hang around the Pirates very long.

Jake Peavy is looking like an ERA champion tonight. He's struck out 7 through four innings, allowing just 1 hit and 1 walk.

Tim Hudson had a mixed start for the Braves tonight. He got the win, but only pitched five innings. He allowed 10 base runners via the hit or walk, but only one run (two double plays helped). The four walks in five innings should be a concern. I doubt he'll get many wins if he pitches like that often.

Danny Haren starred in the latest episode of Athletics: The Next Generation. Six innings, one run six strikeouts. That's two days in a row with a young A's starter going six one-hit innings. Youth is undervalued, so Beane is buying.

Curt Schilling was hit hard today in a rehabilitation assignment for Pawtucket.

"I felt great," he said. "Going into today, I wanted to get mentally ready. I stretched it out. No fatigue. I felt strong. I'm going to go out and compete against the Yankees on Wednesday. I'll be ready."

The World Series MVP, recovering from offseason ankle surgery, allowed 11 hits, including two solo homers, a triple and a double. He struck out six and walked none, throwing 77 of 104 pitches for strikes in a 7-5 loss to the Indianapolis Indians.

After throwing 47 pitches and struggling with left-handed hitters in the first two innings, he retired 12 of his last 16 batters, striking out four.

If Schilling is not blowing away AAA hitters, I'm not sure how he'll do against the Yankees. He's still a big question mark in the Red Sox rotation.

Zach Greinke just took a line drive off his right forearm, opposite the elbow. Carlos Guillen hit a shot that Zach could not field nor get out of the way. Pena's taken him out of the game.

Greinke had allowed 4 hits and no runs through 2 1/3, striking out 1 and walking none. With luck it won't be serious. Nate Field is entering the game in relief.

So far, Andy Pettitte looks like he's nver been injured. The Cardinals have sent nine up, and all nine returned to the dugout without doing damage. Pettitte has gotten two ground outs in every inning, telling me his pitches are working like they used to.

The Kansas City Royals received a big boost today as Runelvys Hernandez came back decisively from Tommy John surgery. He trew 100 pitches in going seven innings for the 7-2 win. He only allowed 5 hits and 1 run while throwing 61 strikes. He did walk 3. The only extra base hit was by Dmitri Young, who is now slugging 2.000.

Mike Mussina has only struck out one batter through four innings. The Red Sox are putting the ball in play, and in the fourth they found the holes. Four hits and 2 runs put the Yankees in a 2-0 hole.

Alex Rodriguez comes back in the bottom of the inning with his first HR of the season to cut the score in half.

Update: Tino Martinez takes Wakefield deep to tie the game and the crowd goes wild!

Finally, a closer who doesn't act concerned about saves:

But Lyon, just like he was during camp in Tucson, when he allowed only a single run and a measly four hits during Cactus League play, was the story. He recorded the final five outs for his first save in the majors since June 2003 after having missed all of last season due to elbow problems that eventually required surgery.

"It's just pitching," Lyon said. "I'm not really concerned about the closer's role. They have these little things called saves when you pitch the ninth inning and you're either up by three runs, two or one and if you do good, you get a little stat that says 'save' by it.

"Every other job in the bullpen is just as important."

Lyon earned a five out save yesterday. I wonder if he'd be up to pitching in the 7th in a tough situation and not finishing the game? One of the things I love about Foulke and Rivera is they don't complain about being brought in before the 9th. Maybe Lyon can become the "best relief pitcher who will pitch when he's needed."

Josh Beckett has a shutout through four innings against the Braves, but he's not cruising by any means. He used 80 pitches to get through the first 16 batters faced; that's 20 per inning. The Marlins bullpen will likely be in this game early as well. Luckily, with a 7-0 lead the Fish have plenty of room for error.

Jason Schmidt is lifted for a pinch hitter after seven strong innings. A pretty typical game for the ace; nine strikeouts, two walks, only four hits. With the score tied at 2, he'll need the Giants to score in the 7th to get the win. Not a bad game after giving up a leadoff HR to Izturis.

Lowe is pretty much matching him. He's given up more hits, but only two runs while striking out five through six innings.

So far so good for Carl Pavano. Through three innings, he's had a pretty easy time with the Red Sox. Just two hits and six strikeouts. He's also being very efficient, just throwing 41 pitches so far.

There's speculation that Javier Vazquez is tipping his pitches.

Diamondbacks starter Javier Vazquez, meanwhile, said he was "speechless" about his own outing. After allowing seven earned runs on 10 hits in 1 2/3 innings, Vazquez seemed to agree with speculation he might have been tipping his pitches.

If that was the case, however, it doesn't explain the nine other runs and 13 other hits the Cubs collected off three other Arizona pitchers.

I'm rewatching the first inning of the game. The first two hitters got good balls to hit; Patterson got a single and Walker drove his deep for an out. Both were up in the strikezone. The pitch Garciaparra hit for a ground out had good movement down. Ramirez's linedrive was on a pitch up in the zone. The pitch to Burnitz was down; that was a good piece of hitting by Jeromy. Lee's hit was down, but in the middle of the strikezone. He struck out Hollandsworth on a ball up and out of the strikezone.

He may have been tipping, but I didn't see great location on his pitches. With the exception of Burnitz's hit, the Cubs batters saw fat pitches and hit them hard. If you throw a ball down the middle of the plate in the strikezone, most major league hitters will hammer it.

Roy Halladay put up the kind of stats that won him the Cy Young award two years ago. He struck out seven over seven innings while walking none. He was very efficient as well, throwing only 91 pitches, or 13 per inning. Toronto wins the T-Ball game over Tampa 5-2

Update: One other note, none of the batters on either team drew a walk.

Vazquez did not appear to be a good replacement for Randy Johnson today. He lasted 1 2/3 innings, allowing 10 hits and seven earned runs. Ten of the thirteen batters who put the ball in play got hits.

The Tigers could not ask for more from Jeremy Bonderman. He gets off to a great start, going seven innings, striking out seven and only throwing 102 pitches. He had great control, walking only 2 having 73 pitches result in strikes. Pena, another Oakland import, is 2 for 3 today as well. Those deals may finally be working out for the Tigers. It's 9-2 Detroit in the 8th.

Update: Dmitri Young finishes the day four for four with five RBI and three home runs. He was also plunked. He's not quite perfect, he only has a 3.250 slugging percentage. :-) A great day for the Tigers as they win 11-2.

Randy Johnson is averaging 15 pitches an inning through the first four frames. At that rate, he should get through seven. The Red Sox are 3 for 11 putting the ball in play against Johnson.

Renyel Pinto got Ichiro to ground out, but now has thrown 9 straight balls to the Mariners. That's not the kind of control that will get you to the majors.

Update: Pinto gets Sexson to ground into a force out, then strikes out Boone to end the inning. However, a wild pitch brought in a run. Nice rebound by the lefty.

Brad Halsey will be the fifth starter for the Diamondbacks. This sets up a great story line for the season; Randy Johnson vs. Vazquez and Halsey.

Susan Mullen donated $50 or more and gets to dedicate this post:

In memory of 9 year old Jessica Lunsford, murdered in Florida by a registered sex offender.

Jack Curry pens an article in the New York Times about how returning to Yankee Stadium will be different for Wells this time:

When Wells envisions facing his beloved Yankees at the Yankee Stadium he reveres on Sunday night, he wonders how he will be greeted. It is important to Wells that the fans offer him a vocal hug to show that he remains one of their homeboys.

"I'm the same guy, just a different uniform," Wells said. "Hopefully, they won't treat me any different than when I was in any other uniform."

But Wells may want to spend a minute recalling how the tense Yankees-Red Sox rivalry has unfolded recently and ponder the immediate future again. As much as Wells has immersed himself in Yankees history, with his passion for Babe Ruth and anything pinstriped, the B on his cap could destroy his status as a visiting cult hero.

"It's going to be different," Boston second baseman Mark Bellhorn said. "It's going to be interesting for him."

Sunday night's game offers a great contrast in styles between two different lefties. Wells and Johnson hooked up last June. The no decisions show the contrasts and similarities of the two. Johnson struck out 8, Wells two. Johnson walked 1, Wells none. And to keep things even, they each hit a batter. Both allowed 9 base runners.

Wells, as seems typical of soft tossing lefties, has better luck vs. right-handed batters. Johnson blows away both sides, but has the more traditional splits. I wonder if the Yankees switch hitters might defy convention and bat lefty vs. David?

It's going to be a cold, damp night, and I suspect Johnson's pitches are going to be stinging hands a lot more than Wells will. A slight edge to Randy in this one, but I suspect it will be a great seven inning duel, settled by the pens.

Russ Oritz had a rough outing in his first game at the BOB yesterday.

Russ Ortiz knows you're going to be talking about him around the water cooler today at the office. You might rip him on the local sports talk radio circuit. Or curse him while you're sitting in traffic.

After you peek at the box score from Thursday night's 10-9 loss to the Boston Red Sox, you might want to do all three.

Russ Ortiz is a pitcher whose success always seems out of line with his ERA. He has a career ERA of 4.00, but a .632 winning percentage. Given tha his total runs per 9 innings is about 4.39, we can estimate his run support per 9 over his career at 5.75. That's good offense. I'll also assume he had pretty good relief support as well.

Russ Ortiz walks a lot of batters. He'll now be playing his home games in a real launching pad. Those walks are going to hurt him when his opponents start hitting home runs at a high rate. I'll stick to this evaluation I made when the DBacks signed Ortiz; the wins don't necessarily follow the pitcher.

A nice analysis of the Yankees rotation over at Bronx Banter. It looks like the Yankees are another team that starting to think about four man rotations. The Yankees are using days off in April to not start Jaret Wright until April 15th. In general, I believe more teams should take advantage of days off to skip the fifth starter as often as possible. He should really be a swing man, long relief/starter. That way, you can carry one less pitcher and diversify your hitting/fielding bench with another player.

The other thing that struck me in Alex's piece was the bit about Mussina:

If there's any concern it's that Mike Mussina is still giving up too many hits and getting too few strike outs (19 IP, 26 H, 8 K), resulting in a 4.74 spring ERA. He has being stingy with his walks (just 3) and homers (1), which is a good sign, and word is he's rounding in to shape as spring training draws to a close. Still, 2004 was the first time since 1996 that Mussina gave up significantly more hits than innings pitched, and his K-rate last year was his lowest since 1995. These are things to keep an eye on as the season progresses. Mussina is 36 and had his first real arm trouble last year, dropping below 200 innings in a non-strike year for the first time since his junior season of 1993. I'm a big fan of Mussina's and he's obviously crucial to the Yankees run at their eighth-straight division title, but these are not good signs.

I was thinking "right-handed David Wells" as I read that. That's not bad, but it's not Mike Mussina.

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Ryan Drese has earned the opening day start for the Texas Rangers.

Drese, who typically is all about pitching, shrugged off the honor after allowing a run in six innings in Saturday's 7-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox.

"I just want the ball," Drese said. "That's the mentality. It doesn't matter when. That's for Buck and [pitching coach] Orel [Hershiser] to decide. I look at last year and how I was able to do what I did through hard work; you could say it's earned."

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Shallow Center links to an article by Jim Salisbury on catching Billy Wagner. Jim actually got behind the plate and felt the fastball on his palms and saw just how much a breaking ball breaks. I think it's great for reporters to get in there with the players and see just what it's like from their perspective.

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Chuck Gitles sends me this story on Kerry Wood missing another start, this time with a bad back. This passage:

Wood was scheduled to make his first appearance since March 9, when he experienced tightness in his shoulder and removed himself from a game.

"He didn't sleep well last night," manager Dusty Baker said. "His back was real tight, so we decided not to take chance in throwing him. It's not his arm. It's his back, which he has trouble with every once in a while."

Baker said Wood wanted to pitch, but the Cubs staff decided to let Wood get treatment from the trainers and a chiropractor instead. Wood may throw a simulated game on Friday at HoHoKam Park if his back responds to treatment.

Reminds me of an old Letterman show that had George Steinbrenner as a guest. The show started with Letterman and Steinbrenner sitting in makeup chairs, and Dave is screaming at his staff, threatening to fire everyone when the phone rings. It's Rickey Henderson for George. George takes the phone and the one-sided conversation goes something like this:

George: "Rickey, you had a bad dream? Don't worry take the night off."

Letterman: "Bad dream, ooooooh."

The continued troubles of Wood and Prior are sure to keep Cubs fans nervous as opening day approaches.

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The Cubs continue to suffer injuries to their pitching staff. This time, it's closer Joe Borowski:

Chicago Cubs closer Joe Borowski will be out three to four weeks after suffering a hairline crack in his right wrist while fielding a comebacker Monday, The Chicago Tribune reported.

Borowski, who missed the final four months of the 2004 season, won't likely see big league action until mid-May.

Hawkins was having a much better spring, striking out 9 in 8 1/3 innings while walking none. You would think he'd do fine in the closer role, but his low career save percentage argues otherwise.

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Joel Piñeiro was pain free in his return to the mound yesterday. He'll start the season in extended spring training for the Mariners.

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An interesting matchup in the Devil Rays-Reds game tonight as former NY Mets left Scott Kazmir faces former NY Yankees lefty Brandon Claussen. Kazmir had a great outing, striking out 5 and walking 1 in 4 2/3 innings. He has a 1.42 ERA this spring. Claussen allowed 2 unearned runs, but has a spring ERA of 2.08. Add that to Brad Halsey having a good spring, and it does look like the big apple gave up three good lefties.

Update: Changed doesn't to does in the last sentence.

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Mark Saxon pens a long piece on Francisco Rodriguez for the Orange County Register. One problem with K-Rod spring is that he's finishing off hitters so quickly he can't get enough work:

How confident is Rodriguez? He has been so dominant this spring, he complains that he has been unable to refine his game.

"How can I work with five-pitch, 10-pitch innings?" he asks.

He's yet to allow a hit and has walked only one batter. The article also offers a nice biography of the man and how his grandfather involved him in baseball to keep him out of gangs.

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Chan Ho Park continues to pitch well enough to hold on to his job. In nine innings this spring, he's yet to walk a man.

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Schilling will definitely miss the opening of the season. He'll be on the DL for at least the first two weeks of the 2005 pennant race. David Wells will instead get the nod against Randy Johnson. That may very well be the oldest opening day duo in history.

The Red Sox are not replacing Schilling. Instead, they'll go with a four-man rotation until he gets back. Good for them. More teams need to start using the fifth starter as a swing man; if you have a day off, let the #5 starter become the long man in the bullpen. That way, teams can save a spot on the roster for a defensive specialist or platooned pinch hitter.

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Joe Posnanski of the Kansas City Star is impressed with Denny Bautista's spring. All are wondering why the Orioles would trade the young fireballer for Jason Grimsley:

Let's explain: It was June, and the word from Baltimore was that the Orioles felt as if they were in playoff contention (they were nine games under .500 and 9 1/2 games out of the wild-card spot). Apparently, the Orioles felt like a 36-year-old middle reliever might be just the thing to push them over the top.

So they called about Grimsley. And called again. And again. Baird kept asking for Bautista. And one day — desperation can do things to a team — the Orioles just said yes.

Grimsley did not bring the Orioles that playoff spot. He did blow out his elbow.

Meanwhile, around Kansas City, baseball people keep asking the same question: “What's wrong with Bautista?” They kept trying to guess what was wrong. Maybe he was wild. Maybe he had off-the-field issues. Maybe he was in the Witness Protection Program. Maybe. Maybe.

All they knew for sure is there had to be something, because the Orioles would not just deal a young pitcher with one of the game's most overpowering fastballs and other dazzling pitches for Jason Grimsley. No way. There had to be something wrong.

The thing is, the Royals can't find anything wrong with Bautista.

Here are his minor league numbers. Those are great strikeout numbers for a young pitcher. Jeff Bagwell for Larry Anderson, anyone? At least the Red Sox won the division that year.

(Hat tip, Palmball.)

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I keep reading rather positive stories about the Texas Rangers pitching staff. Here's one about Nick Regilio. Through his minor league career, Nick has not allowed many home runs. With the Rangers home run park being one of the easiest AL stadiums for home runs, Regilio could be very effective there.

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Billy Koch was just released by the Blue Jays. Billy Beane sure knew when to let him go.

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J.C Bradbury pens a post for Baseball Analysts showing the positive effect Leo Mazzone has on the Braves pitchers. It looks like if you pitch for Leo, you'll lower your ERA over 1/2 a run on average.

Correction: Originally, this post said lower your ERA by 1/2 on average. It should be 1/2 a run on average.

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The Cub Reporter looks at the competition for the Cubs closer job.

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Chan Ho Park appears to be getting good results with his new pitch:

On Monday, at least, there were hints that Park has the ability to turn in consistent outings. At least if he trusts the two-seam sinking fastball, he does. It was his predominant pitch in four crisp shutout innings against the Los Angeles Angels in the Rangers' 10-6 loss.

He needed only 37 pitches to work through his four innings. He never had a three-ball count. He got eight of 12 outs on groundballs.

"He definitely trusted it more," said catcher Rod Barajas, who estimated that 80 percent of Park's fastballs were two-seamers rather than his old favorite, the four-seamer. "In the past, he's thrown it, but didn't really make the pitches. He had control of it and he set things up early. It made it easier for him to use other pitches. It made them be even more aggressive."

Time will tell if Park can be consistent with the two-seamer. He's facing losing his job if he can't.

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Mark Prior is injured again:

Cubs ace Mark Prior will be out indefinitely because of inflammation in his right elbow, the latest injury to one of Chicago's star pitchers.

Kerry Wood, slated to start on Opening Day, is sidelined with bursitis in his right shoulder.

Cubs trainer Mark O'Neal said Monday the 24-year-old Prior has some inflammation in the elbow joint and a little irritation to the ulnar nerve.

This may not be serious, but it has to have Cubs fans worried. This team should have one of the best pitching staffs in the league, but if Prior and Wood go down again, I'm not sure they can generate enough offense to win regularly.

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Josh Beckett was very stingy today, using only 62 pitches to complete six innings. Jack McKeon was impressed:

"He was economical with his pitches," said McKeon, who will make either Beckett or right-hander A.J. Burnett his opening day starter.

"Him and Burnett, they've been accustomed their whole life to seeing how many they can strike out. That ain't the name of the game. With his kind of stuff, the hitters will strike themselves out With his kind of stuff, he can get through eight or nine innings."

Fewer pitchs will take a starter deeper into a game, keeping the dregs of the bullpen sitting.

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Reynel Pinto was re-assigned by the Cubs. I'm going to keep my eye on him. He has great strikeout numbers, but walks too many people. Still, with the K's, he has a chance to be much better than the only other Pinto to play major league ball.

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Dan Agonistes writes a very good piece on how Zach Greinke has old pitcher skils.

While this is not a perfect analogy by any means (essentially because "old-pitcher skills" are not negative as are some "old-hitter skills") I think what Greinke has in abundance are “old-pitcher skills”. The ability to locate his pitches and change speeds are skills that one normally finds in crafty veteran pitchers who have had to adjust to declining physical skills or injuries. Pitchers like Frank Tanana, who became an off-speed pitcher after being loaded with innings early in his career, come to mind. What Greinke does not possess are skills which include velocity, movement, and an “out” pitch. These are the kinds of skills that often get young pitchers promoted in the hopes that they’ll develop control and “learn how to pitch”. By all accounts Greinke has already learned to pitch to a large degree and so his ceiling is not as high as a pitcher with comparable statistics who got the job done with a nasty slider and a 98 mile per hour fastball.

So in short, I’m not saying that Greinke won’t be even better in 2005. Indeed, his skills should serve to make him a much more consistent pitcher in the long run, a fact that PECOTA captured in its assessment that he has a 0% chance of collapse (along with his few innings at a young age, and no injury history). However, I am speculating that he is closer to his maximum performance at his young age than some people might think. Only time will tell of course.

Greinke struck out a little over six per nine innings last season. That's fine, but he's not the sort of pitcher that blows opponents away. Watch his home run totals; if he gets those down, he can be Greg Maddux.

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An injury to Kerry Wood has Cubs fans a little nervous.

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Palmball has the story on Scott Kazmir making the Devil Rays rotation. I'm sure Mets fans will be watching this story as closely as the fans of the Devil Rays.

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The Most Valuable Network donated $50 or more sends this dedication:

Dedicated to the fans of the Most Valuable Network in where we'd be nowhere without you.

Fire Brand of the American League is wondering why Curt Schilling is rushing back from his injury and flu:

Curt Schilling is just getting over the flu, has not faced a batter yet, and has 24 days to get ready for Opening Day. Does that inspire confidence? I don’t think so. So here’s a novel concept: if you really want to maximize Curt Schilling’s debut in 2004 and yet want to give him time to get ready, why not wait until April 11th to pitch Schilling? April 11th marks Opening Day for the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, against the New York Yankees.

Evan makes a good case for waiting, and I agree. Schilling, however, is very tough, and my guess is that if he can walk to the mound opening night, he'll be there.

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I was watching a Rangers game recently and heard an interview with Orel Hershiser. He was asked about the rotation, and talked about Chan Ho Park as being contractually in the rotation. The announcer followed up, and Orel basically said that based on ability, Park should not be a starter.

This article from today's Dallas Morning News is along the same lines. Park pitched better yesterday, partly because he's stopped being stubborn about using a two-seam fastball:

The Rangers believe a confident Park can still be an asset to the rotation, but what they've had is three years of stubborn resistance to the two-seamer, perhaps because Park believed he could still retire hitters with the elevated fastball. But in his first start of the spring, the fastball was up, and he gave up five hits and three runs in two innings.

There was a marked difference in the type of fastball he threw Wednesday. When he finally started relying on the two-seamer, he found he could command it. He ended his day by getting Hollandsworth to ground to short.

He called it the best two-seamer he's thrown.

Maybe the Rangers' new blunt-truth approach is getting through.

This appears to be Park's last chance. Either he turns things around or he's out of baseball. And once again, Park's situation demonstrates how important it is to constantly adjust in this game.

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Rick Ankiel is now an outfielder.

Cardinals lefthander Rick Ankiel, once deemed the game's most promising young arm, will convert from pitcher to outfielder, effective immediately.

The Cardinals confirmed the move Wednesday morning shortly after rain washed out what was scheduled to be Ankiel's spring debut in a B game against the Florida Marlins.

"We are fully supportive of Rick's decision to convert to an everyday outfielder," Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty said in a prepared statement. "Rick will continue to train with the major league club this spring, and we look forward to seeing his development as a full-time batter and outfielder."

Is he going to replace Reggie Sanders or So Taguchi? When Babe Ruth made this move, he already proved he could hit. Here's Ankiel's career numbers. Good for a pitcher, not good for an outfielder. I'm sure we'll be hearing more about this story soon.

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Potfry donated $50 to the pledge drive and sends the following dedication:

Thanks to baseballmusings for giving my new sportsblog some much-needed PR last week.

I'd like to dedicate this to Helen Becinguel, my mother-in-law, in Leamington, Ontario. She probably wouldn't know a baseball bat if it stood up in her soup, but she knows plenty about living life on life's terms. As she fights the good fight against cancer, I want her to know that I treasure her.

Baseball Crank is excited about Yusmeiro Petit, a 20-year-old pitcher in the Mets system. He's tough to hit because he hides the ball so well. I agree with the Crank that he should do well at Shea. You really have to like the 285 K in 214 minor league innings, all as a starter.

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Redleg Nation points out that Cincinnati is using a four-man rotation this spring. They're trying the pitchers competing for the five slot as the 2nd pitcher in (so they're all on a four-man rotation as well).

I wonder if this is a way to try to get the staters used to the idea of a four-man rotation? The Reds tried it in 2003 and in some ways it worked. Maybe they are thinking of experimenting again?

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Balls, Sticks and Stuff looks at how the Phillies should use their bullpen based on this article at The Hardball Times. I like the example; it shows how obvious the answer should be.

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The Atlanta Braves have locked up Tim Hudson through the 2009 season, agreeing to a deal worth nearly $12 million a year. There's also a fifth option year which would add another $11 million to the contract.

"It's a winning organization with a history of great pitching and a great coaching staff," Hudson said last week. "It's a great situation. What other organization can say they've had a chance to win the World Series the last 13 years? That's pretty remarkable."

It's a very good signing, given the price less accomplished pitchers were commanding during the off-season. Nice to see Tim hit the jackpot.

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The Birdwatch reviews the Cardinals career of their favorite coach, Dave Duncan.

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Matt Clement believes that Toronto pitching coach Brad Arnsberg will help bring talent to the Blue Jays.

Matt Clement says the call to Toronto Blue Jays pitching coach Brad Arnsberg was "one of the hardest phone calls I've ever had to make."

That's the measure of respect he has for Arnsberg -- the only reason, frankly, that Clement even considered the Blue Jays before signing a three-year, $25.5-million (all figures U.S.) free-agent contract with the Boston Red Sox.

In the process, Clement has given the Blue Jays food for thought. With two more of Arnsberg's disciples -- Brad Penny and A. J. Burnett -- eligible for free agency next winter, Clement believes the club should consider dipping into its suddenly flush coffers and pursue them.

Arnsberg is the Jays' ace in the hole.

Arnsberg has his work cut out for him fixing the Toronto bullpen. But I wonder how much difference a coach can make in a player's decision about signing. Joe Torre made the difference for Carl Pavano, but Joe's the manager, not just a coach.

Studes has an excellent study at The Hardball Times on which relief pitchers are used in the toughest situations. Not surpisingly, middle relievers are being inserted when the game is on line much more often than closers. And closers aren't even used in the most important situations. Well worth the read.

Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News sees Ryan Drese's success as a combination of attitude:

Soft pitchers do not have a mound presence. Slump-shouldered and defeated pitchers do not have a mound presence.

Mean pitchers, in the most complimentary sense of the term, have a mound presence. They are as prickly as Barry Bonds on a bad day.

Nolan Ryan was a mean pitcher. Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling are mean pitchers. They let everyone know who is in charge.

Drese does not have their skills, but he was a mean pitcher last season.

The spring-training letdown fueled Drese. He turned it into the crankiness, the I'll-show-them cockiness needed to control games.

He took annoyed hitters out of their comfort zone.

And adjustment:

A year ago, the scouting report on Drese was that he would try to get by on a high fastball that lacked the needed force. He surprised opponents by changing his approach, junking the high fastball and relying on the sinker.

As the season progressed, the element of surprise lessened.

In his first start against a team, Drese was 5-5 with a 3.79 ERA. In all other starts, he was 9-5 with 4.57 ERA.

Hitters and pitchers play a version of one-upmanship. The pitcher changes, forcing the hitters to scramble. The hitters make changes, leaving the next move up to the pitcher.

"It's a cat-and-mouse game," Drese said. "Every year, you have to put in new wrinkles."

Drese had a better year than his stats indicate. He was tied for 5th in win shares among AL pitchers with 17 (tied with Pedro Martinez and Jake Westbrook). It's good to have the "want to win" attitude. My feeling is, however, the adjustments he makes now and during the season will contribute much more to a repeat of 2004.

Throws Like a Girl wants to know what your theme song would be if you were a closer.

I guess I'd have to pick Twilight Zone by Golden Earring.

(Hat Tip: The Birdwatch)

Still in his mid 20's, Barry Zito is the old man of the Oakland pitching staff:

In the ad, 24-year-old pitchers Joe Blanton and Dan Haren approach 2002 Cy Young Award winner Barry Zito, who is lurking in a darkened room, and ask him for pitching wisdom.

"How old is he?'' Haren whispers.

"Twenty-six,'' responds Blanton in awed tones.

"Do you think he ever pitched to The Babe?'' Haren says.

Young, cheap and good should be the motto of the Oakland staff. :-)

Peter Schmuck has the goods on Sidney Ponson's diet: grilled fish.

Bob Baum tells the story of Ramon Pena, who used his nephew's name to appear 3 years younger when he signed with the Diamondbacks. It got him sent back to the Dominican Republic.

"I know that I made errors that could put my baseball career in jeopardy," Pena said in a statement at the time. "From my heart I want to ask forgiveness from all the people or entities who were offended by my actions."

He blamed his mistake on youth and inexperience, and added, "God teaches us to forgive, and everybody deserves a second chance."

The Diamondbacks, who were cleared of any wrongdoing, had no problem forgiving a 6-foot-2, 190-pound right-hander whose fastball reaches the high 90s.

"I know he's literally the player to be named later," Arizona manager Bob Melvin joked after watching Pena's first workout.

He had visa problems this year due to the deception and got to the Diamondbacks camp late. He's really twenty three, which is still young for a pitcher. Melvin likes what he sees so far.

"He's got a nice body for a pitcher. He hides the ball well. It explodes out of his hand," Melvin said. "Amongst the organization, you hear great things about this guy. That's why we've included him in that group that we're taking a hard look at for that fifth spot" in the rotation.

Brad Ausmus liked the way Andy Pettitte threw in his first spring workout.

Catcher Brad Ausmus wondered if the veteran pitcher's delivery had been affected by his surgically repaired left elbow.

During the Astros first spring workout for pitchers and catchers, Pettitte showed the same solid delivery he had before his elbow problems began in April. For the first time since Aug. 12, Pettitte threw curveballs and fastballs off a mound on Friday.

"Pettitte looked good," Ausmus said. "A lot of times when guys have surgery, they alter their motion when they come back, but he didn't. That tells you he's fine."

There wasn't a lot of good news for the Astros in the off-season. At least they're starting spring training on a positive note.

Phil Allard sent me this article on the Ying and Yang of Derek Lowe, and how Derek fits into the Dodgers rotation. Enjoy!

Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald tells the story of three Marlins pitchers joined by their similar struggles to make the majors despite birth defects.

CBS Sportsline is reporting the four-year deal between Johan Santana and the Minnesota Twins is worth about $40 million dollars. Sounds like a great deal for the Twins. They get a great young pitcher locked up through his prime. Given the price others have been getting this off season, $10 million a year is extremely reasonable. They would have saved money whatever the arbitration result, but now they have their ace locked up for a few years. Twins fans couldn't have asked for a better Valentine's Day present.

It's nice to see that Ben Sheets and the Milwaukee Brewers have reached an agreement on a contract rather than go through an adversarial arbitration hearing. The two sides were only $1 million apart, so it was easy to split the difference. I wonder if Sheets would have gone for two years at that price? That would have allowed both teams to avoid arbitration for the remainder of Ben's reserve term and still allowed Sheets to seek free agency at the earliest time. Of course, with the price of pitcher's rapidly exapnding, maybe the Brewers should have offered Sheets five years, $50 million. That money could prove to be a bargain.

Here's a more complete take on Roger Clemens returning to the Astros. The conventional wisdom was that Roger wouldn't come back unless the Astros signed Beltran. Looks like that was one-sided.

Clemens said Carlos Beltran's decision to sign a seven-year, $119 million contract with the Mets rather than remain with Houston helped persuade him to play one more year. Clemens said he was "a little depressed" after Beltran spurned the Astros because he worried how that would adversely impact the team.

But Clemens the pitcher said he realized he was thinking like Clemens the fan. And once he began thinking like a player again, he was intrigued about the challenge of helping out his jilted hometown team one more time.

"No knock to Carlos, but he didn't do a whole lot," Clemens said. "I mean, he was a tremendous player in September. We needed everybody. He was unbelievable in the playoffs. Everybody saw it. The nation saw it. But who's to say we're not going to have another one of those guys step up and do it for us again?"

And it looks like the fans had a big impact as well:

Still, Clemens tried yesterday to distance himself from the hefty salary and joked about his phone "blowing up" with playful messages about his arbitration figure. It was not about money, Clemens said. It was about deciding if he could drag his body through another draining season. He said he thought he could.

"The dollars never persuaded me to play or not to play," Clemens said.

Clemens said he received a call from Randy Hendricks, one of his agents, on Thursday telling him that the Astros were pushing to make a deal. That is when Clemens consulted with his wife, his mother and his four sons. That is also when, Clemens said, he thought about what happened as he received an award at a Houston Texans football game this season.

"There were 60,000 people yelling, 'One more year!' " Clemens said. "That stuck with me."

If you ask for $22 million, it's a bit about the money. :-)

Roger Clemens will be back in an Astros uniform in 2005 as Houston and the fireballer split the arbitration numbers and agree to an $18 million contract. It's the highest salary for a pitcher ever, and the highest 1-year contract ever. What a way to end the year of the old pitcher!

Roger Clemens has submitted a figure of $22 million dollars to arbitration. He earned $5 million last year, and has never earned more than $10.3 million in a season. The Astros offered 13.5 million, putting the mid-point at $18.25 million.

In my opinion, Clemens is saying that if the Astros really want him back, they're going to need to pay him a truckload of money. I have little doubt the Astros would win the arbitration case. Randy Johnson is a better pitcher and he's making $16 million this year. My guess is that if the Astros push the arbitration and Clemens loses, he won't pitch. The Astros will probably have to make Clemens the highest paid pitcher in the history of the game to keep him in a Houston uniform.

Update: Of course, Clemens gave the Astros a gift in 2004, pitching at a Cy Young level for only $5 million. If he were to agree to an $18 million contract for 2005, the Astros really got him for $23 million for two years, which is still a pretty good deal for a pitcher of that quality.

Eric Liu is writing a series for Slate on Guiding Lights, stories of life changing teachers. In this piece Bryan Price, the pitching coach of the Seattle Mariners, teaches Eric how to throw a changeup, and more.

Batgirl has information on the start of negotiations between the Twins and Johan Santana. The first offer is low ball, $19.5 million over three years. Now is not the time make the mistake the Pirates did with Barry Bonds. Don't upset Johan with arbitration. Ask him what he wants, and do your best to meet what he'd like to make.

I find it interesting that Santana either wants a two or four year contract. He's saying to let him be a free agent as early as possible or give me enough money and years to make me secure for life. I hope the Twins do the latter.

Just look at his walks issued. They've stayed consistent the last three season while his innings have increased.

Johan Santana	2002	2003	2004
IP	108 1/3	158 1/3	228
Walks	49	47	54
Walks per 9	4.1	2.7	2.1

Santana is exactly the kind of player who should get big money. Time for the Twins to open up the vault.

I saw this over at Baseball Primer; Tom Candiotti is bowling with the pros.

Valley resident and flutterball specialist Tom Candiotti, who played 15 major league seasons with Milwaukee, Cleveland, Toronto, Los Angeles and Oakland, has been added to the field of 64 on a special Commissioner's Exemption.

"I'm a two-sport athlete now. Look out, Bo Jackson." said Candiotti, adding that his knuckler won't be in use. "No, this is one of those sports where you have to put spin on the ball rather than taking it off. The thing about bowling is that when I make a bad shot the ball doesn't come flying back at me at 100 mph."

Tom and I worked together on Baseball Tonight On-line for ESPN during the 2001 season and I really enjoyed his commentary. He notes the similarities between bowling and pitching:

He qualified for the Tucson event by obtaining his PBA card (carrying a 200 average in a sanctioned league for a complete season). Candiotti said pitching and bowling are worlds apart, but there are certain concepts that carry over.

"In pitching, in order to throw the ball where you want, inside or outside or where you want to throw it for the majority of time, you have to have solid mechanics and a very repetitive delivery. Bowling is almost the same thing.

My dad's best friend growing up was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as a pitcher but blew his arm out throwing too many curve balls at a young age. However, he did go on to be a great league bowler. Maybe someone should start a new specialty league; the Major League Pitcher's Pro Bowling Tour (MLPPBT). It'd be a great way for these guys to stay in the public eye after they retire. Who wouldn't want to see Roger Clemens facing Randy Johnson on the lanes?

Soxblog does some research to show why he thinks Pedro Martinez won't have that much of an effect on Mets attendance. I disagree with James on this one. When the Mets are good, they'll draw between 33,000 and 36,000 fans a game. If Pedro is as good as I suspect he'll be a Shea, he should boost the Mets W-L record. If it's enough of a boost to put the Mets into contention for the wild card, then fans will come out to all the games the Mets are playing.

But the Mets have to win. There seems to be a two year lag in the Mets performance and their attendance increasing/decreasing. They started winning in 1997, and had a big jump in 1999. They returned to being mediocre in 2001, and the attendance fell in 2003. Attendance will be up if the Mets win, but Pedro could be the catalyst that brings the big jump sooner.

The Baseball Crank takes a detailed look at the pitchers who have been signed, traded or thought to be traded this off season.

Jim Storer and I were just having talking about signing free agent pitchers. Which of these pitchers would you rather have?

Career	Pitcher 1	Pitcher 2
K/9	7.7	5.9
HR/9	1.2	0.9
BB/9	2.5	2.6
ERA	4.26	4.21

The age difference is about 6 months. I'd rather have pitcher 1, just because his strikeouts per 9 are higher. Otherwise they're very close. Have you guessed who they are? That's right, pitcher 1 is Javier Vazquez and pitcher 2 is Carl Pavano.

Update: Rooftop Report has more thoughts and comparisons.

John Smoltz is headed back to the Braves starting rotation.

SportsTicker has learned that the Braves have traded prized pitching prospect Jose Capellan to the Milwaukee Brewers for All-Star reliever Danny Kolb. Sources close to both sides confirmed the deal.

Earlier Saturday, Braves manager Bobby Cox was pointed in his comments that Smoltz was headed back to the rotation, likely aware that the deal was close to being finalized.

I thought the whole point of moving Smoltz to the bullpen was to save his arm after he missed all of 2000 and part of 2001. With elbow surgery before the 2004 season, the Braves must believe he can withstand a full season of starting. Cox and Mazzone are miracle workers when it comes to that staff.

In looking at Kolb's record, however, I'd rather have Smoltz in the bullpen. What happened to his strikeouts in 2004? He was great in 2003, striking out 39 in 41 1/3 innings; but last year he only K'd 21 in 57 1/3. Smoltz had better than a K an inning his last three seasons as a closer. Mazzone might have to work a miracle with Kolb as well.

There's an excellent study at Sabernomics on which pitchers are most likely to throw no-hitters.

The afternoon version of Baseball Tonight had an interview with Boo Ferriss of the 1946 Red Sox, who threw a shutout in the 1946 World Series. I have a couple of questions about Mr. Ferriss:

1. Is Halloween his favorite holiday?


2. When he did something good, did the crowd say, "Booooooooo?"

"I'm not sure I can think of any scenario more enjoyable than making 55,000 people from New York shut up."-- Comes Up Big Schill

Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. I hope he's not mad that I'm quoting him.

Robert Saunders writes:

We've seen a couple of examples this playoffs of teams using their closers early in tight situations rather than traditional "save opportunities" (e.g., Lidge today, Rivera in G2, I think others).

While I find it surprising that managers are doing what sabermetricians recommend (i.e., bring in your stud pitcher b/c you may lose the game during that 7th inning rally and not get to use him at all), I'm less surprised to see managers make the mistake of thinking, "We'll bring him in the 7th and keep him in until the game's over." Although I suppose we've not had a real example of that (except maybe various Rivera appearances the past few years and has usually made it work), it's still odd to think the Twins left Nathan in for a 3rd inning in G2; Lynch coming out in the 8th probably made sense, but he eventually cost his team the lead, too. I'd hate for the inference to be "bringing them in early" is wrong when the problem is "leaving them in too long after the critical moment." I think this is just one of those human behavior problems (in managers) that it will take some time to correct; unfortunately, the only tool a GM has is firing (or maybe some long conversations with a sabermetric GM), which seems spectacularly inefficient.

I do find it surprising that managers who are loath to pitch a closer before the ninth suddenly have no problem extending their stay in a game. I understand that the game is different in the post-season; if the Twins win game two they don't need to use Nathan until Saturday. But these pitchers are sprinters; it's tough to be suddenly asked to run a distance race fast.

It did, however, work for Smoltz today. A great job by Hampton and the pen keeping the table setters for the Astros off base. In ten trips, the 1-2 hitters reached base once, via the walk.

Still the Astros earned the spilt, and take home field advantage back to the juice box. Lisa Gray will be there.

Shouldn't Joe Nathan be pitching for the Tigers?

Peavy has gone two innings tonight. That gives him enough innings to be the NL ERA leader. Unless he gives up a lot of runs tonight, he'll win the title easily.

Doug Davis is 0 for 2 tonight, making him 1 for 64 on the season and giving him an .016 BA for the year. I guess that balances off Brooks Kieschnick. :-)

I would be remiss in not mentioning the great game Jeremy Bonderman threw this afternoon against the Devil Rays. He struck out 9, walked 1 and allowed four hits on his way to a complete game shutout. He also pulled his ERA under 5.00, finishing the season 11-13 with a 4.89 ERA. It's a decent improvement for the 21-year-old who went 6-19 for the terrible 2003 team. His main improvement this season was his K per 9. Now he just needs to work on his walks and HR. He has plenty of time to improve.

Greg Maddux continues to be plagued by the long ball. He's given up two more HR tonight to give Cincinnati a 4-0 lead in the third. He's now allowed 32 HR this season, eclipsing his previous season high of 24 last year.

Update: 12 of his 32 HR have been hit by the Reds.

Whatever defensive magic Derek Lowe received from the Garciaparra trade appears to be gone. After posting a 4.19 ERA in August, along with a 3-1 record, he's gone back to his July ways in September. Tonight he allowed five earned runs in 2 1/3 innings, raising his ERA this month to 6.52. He's walked 12 in his 29 innings this month.

Jake Peavy pitched 6 terrific innings today, allowing 1 run to lower his ERA to 2.25. He currently leads the NL in ERA, but needs two more IP to cement that championship. He only threw 103 pitches, I'm surprised the Padres didn't let him get two more today.

The 7-1 victory helps the Padres gain a bit in the wild card race. It will be a game if the Giants lose, 1/2 game if the Giants win.

Correction: Readers have pointed out to me that SD has gone to a four-man rotation. That makes the six innings and 103 pitches much more reasonable.

That's the best you could say about Kevin Brown's performance today. He didn't get out of the first, giving up six hits and four runs. He did throw 22 of 32 pitches for strikes however. Usually that's good, but if you getting the strikes because the opposition is mashing the ball, that's trouble. Schilling allowed 1 hit (but four walks) over 7 for his league leading 21st win. Kruk can give the Cy to Curt again. :-)

The Red Sox have won the season series against the Yankees, so they only need to tie NY to win the AL East and home field for the playoffs.

Last night's Twins win is a good example of what the playoff contenders have to look forward to in the post season. The four J's were out in force last night, combining to hold the Twins to 2 runs. Santana, Crain, Rincon and Nathan all pitched. All have ERAs under three. They combined for 10 K and only 4 hits allowed. These three relievers make it a six inning game for the Twinkies, and Santana usually gives them the day off.

With his 20th win, Santana appears to be a shoo-in for the Cy Young award.

Brad Penny had to leave the Dodgers game in the fourth due to his arm not holding up. He threw a pitch and waved that he had to come out of the game. SD is leading 4-0 at this point, and the Giants are ahead 2-1. The NL West is heading for a wild finish.

What's wrong with Mark Mulder? The Athletics are worried.

"I just look at the velocity only, and it's a concern,'' Chavez said. "It would be one thing if Mark was making good pitches, but right now he's not getting away with it -- look at the outs he's getting (hard-hit balls). I'd just like to see that velocity go up.''

Chavez doesn't believe Mulder has any health issues, he simply thinks the pitcher is tired. After all, Mulder (17-6) missed the final six weeks of the 2003 season with a stress fracture at the top of his right femur, then spent the winter vigorously working out. Now, he has pitched 220 innings, second-most in the league and third-most in baseball. His five complete games are tied for the most in the AL.

You can see the difference pre and post all-star break. His K per 9 is down, his BB per 9 is way up, and his HR per 9 is way up. I don't see any evidence of overuse by the Athletics, either by making him pitch on short rest or by having him accumulate high pitch counts in consecutive games. Mulder did have back problems in spring training. Might those have come back, and Mulder is trying to pitch through it?

The truth is out there.

The Cubs win game 1 behind Mark Prior, who has now struck out 22 in his last 20 2/3 innings, adding 9 today. He also has only 4 walks to go with those Ks.

Like Mussina with the Yankees, having Prior healthy for the playoffs will be a key for the Cubs. He'll have a couple of more starts to show he's there.

The Cubs can take the wild card lead with a win in game two, and reduce their magic number against the Marlins to 8. The Fish need a win here to stay in contention. Six games out with four teams to pass is not a good position for this time of year.

Update: The Marlins are not going quietly. Easly hits a three-run HR in the first against Matt Clement to give the Fish a 3-0 lead.

Javier Vazquez had a good outing today, shutting out the Royals for seven innings despite walking four. Over his last 12 starts, he's had a pattern of okay and bad starts (I don't want to quantify the up starts as good). So who's the real Javy? The guy who can go six or seven giving up 3 or 4 runs, or the guy who gets bombed in the early innings and leaves the bull pen to mop up? The Yankees can win with the mediocre up guy. But they need Vazquez to do that consistently.

When I see a line like Jeff Suppan's tonight, I really think that the rule for awarding earned and unearned runs should be changed. In the top of the fourth, there was an error by Pujols with two outs that loaded the bases. Suppan then gave up a walk and two doubles to lead to five runs. Somehow, it seems Suppan is a lot more responsible for the runs in that inning that Pujols' error.

Maybe only players who reach on an error, or runs that score directly because of an error should be unearned. Suppan's ERA got an undeserved break tonight. Does anyone else have an interesting idea?

Update: Seawolf comments on something I noticed watching BBTN this morning. The error charged to Pujols didn't look like an error to me. Even if Albert had fielded the ball cleanly, I don't think he would have gotten the runner at first. So Suppan ERA was doubly lucky last night.

It looks like Mike Mussina is back, and not a minute too soon for the Yankees. He pitched a stellar 8 innings tonight, allowing 3 hits and 1 BB while striking out 11. So far in September he's allowed 3 ER in 23 innings while striking out 25 and walking 1. That's the Mike we know and love. And the Yankees gain a game on the Red Sox, reducing their magic number to 15.

Scott Kazmir certainly is doing it tonight. Pedro Martinez is gone after six inning, giving up two runs and five walks, although he struck out 10. Kazmir through six has K'd 9 and allowed 3 hits, 3 walks and no runs. He's at 92 pitches, so we'll see if he comes out for the 7th.

Update: Kaz did not come out for the 7th.

Update: Kazmir gets the win as the Devil Rays score off Embree and Mendoza to take a 5-2 victory. Quite the night for the youngster. The Mets must be really happy to have Zambrano now. :-)

The Yankees have to be somewhat worried about their pitching. In their last 14 games, the Yankees have allowed 22 runs to Cleveland, 14 runs to Baltimore and Monday night they allowed the KC Royals to score 17. They are 9-5 in that stretch, but if they're being hammered by the Royals, what are the playoff contenders going to do with that staff in the post season?

Mike Mussina has just completed his 8th inning against he Devil Rays, and he looks quite good today. It's actually been a while since I watch Mussina pitch, but what struck me was that his knuckle curve had good movement today. It's looked flat in the past to me. His problem this year has been giving up a lot of hits; he's only allowed four today. That's two good games in a row after a horrible August. It's a hopeful sign for Mike and the Yankees.

Update: Heredia is in to pitch the 9th.

Johan Santana continues to make a very good case for winning the Cy Young award. Another 7 remarkable innings today, allowing just five singles. No runs, no walks and nine strikeouts. With Tim Hudson having given up seven runs to the Red Sox already, Johan will be all by himself atop the AL ERA lead tomorrow.

At the moment I think the award comes down to Santana, Hudson and Schilling, but Santana would get my vote.

I saw something unusual during the Cardinals-Padres game. With the bases loaded, Wells hit a slow grounder to 2nd. The runner on first slowed down so the 2nd baseman Luna couldn't tag him. So Luna threw to first to get Wells, and Pujols threw to the shortstop at 2nd to complete the double play. The only problem was that Pujols came off first early, so Wells was safe. In the ensuring rundown, the runner from 2nd scored the 2nd run of the play. Wells was award two RBI for this, tripleing his RBI total for the season and his career.

I'm not sure David deserved two RBI on the play. I won't argue with the runner scoring from third on the fielder's choice, but the runner scoring from 2nd came in as a result of the actions of the runner on first. I would have scored it as an advance on a throw, with no 2nd RBI for Wells.

As if things aren't going well enough for the Cardinals, Matt Morris is starting to pitch like the ace of the staff again. He won in June and July despite horrible ERAs, and now he's winning in August and September with very good ERAs.

The Expos are not making contact against Kerry Wood tonight. He has six strikeouts through 3 innings in Montreal. We'll see how high his total can go.

Nate Robertson did pretty much everything right tonight. He threw a 101 pitch complete game, allowing only six hits and 1 run. He struck out 7, and an amazing 77 of his pitches were for strikes. Yes, it was a very weak KC lineup, but those are the teams starters like Robertson need to easily dominate to give the bullpen a rest once in a while.

Looks like another partial season of minor league ball did a world of good for Wilfredo Ledezma. He's striking out more and walking fewer. Tonight, he gave up his 2nd HR in 27 1/3 innings after giving up 12 in 84 innings last year. Looks like he's turning into another piece of the improving Tigers team.

Another stellar outing for the Texas Rangers bullpen last night. They went 4 2/3 innings in relief of Mickey Callaway, holding the powerful Indians offense to one hit, one walk and two hit batsmen. Texas reliever now rank 2nd in the AL in ERA with a 3.41 mark. They are keeping runners off base, allowing a measely .318 OBA, tied for 2nd in the AL with the Yankees.

Buck Showalter's strength as a manager is putting his players into situations where they can succeed. He appears to be doing that with the Rangers bullpen this year.

Jamie Moyer continues to get hammered with home runs. Sheffield and Williams each hit a solo shot for the Yankees in the first. Moyer has now allowed 33 HR this season; that's five more than he's ever allowed before, and it's only the middle of August. He only needs to allow 7 more to make it into the top 10 single season leaders.

Greg Maddux just came to bat, and the crowd spontaneously stood and applauded. The home plate ump delayed the game so Greg could enjoy the crowd honoring his 300th victory. A nice baseball moment.

Another perfect outing by Joe Nathan of the Twins. Nathan has not saved 33 games in 34 opportunities. He has an 0.85 ERA and has struck out 64 in 52 2/3 innings. He's not quite Eck in 1990, but he's getting close. I wonder how much Cy Young consideration he'll get?

Pedro Martinez picked up his first shutout since the 2000 season this afternoon. He was the model of efficiency, using just 109 pitches to strike out 10 over 9 innings. He also matched his season high game score of 85. With the highest team ERA in the AL since the All-Star break, the Red Sox really needed a game like this.

I'm watching the Red Sox pre-game show on NESN. They have Dennis Leary and Lenny Clarke on to promote Rescue Me. They're going to throw out the first pitch tonight, and Bob Tewksbury is giving them hints (throw it cross seam, so it doesn't sink). Then Bob starts showing them how to scuff the ball. He has a round piece of emory board glued to the underside of his glove hand middle finger. "Take the glove off and rub up the ball." He then shows a clear scuff mark on the ball. If the umpire comes out, you just flip the emory board off your finger as you remove the glove. Dennis then asked Bob if he ever scuffed the ball. He said, "I never did it, but I never threw one back that was scuffed, because I know how to use it."

Good job, Bob, teaching all the children watching how to cheat.

You need to tune in to a baseball highlight show tonight to see Cal Eldred's attempted third pitch to Do Luca in the bottom of the fifth. As his arm came forward, the ball squirted out of his hand and flew over to third base. It's one of the strangest things I've ever seen. As it turns out, it wasn't considered a pitch, although I don't know what rule covers that.

I'm scoring the Cardinals-Marlins game tonight, and Beckett has a no-hitter through five. He's thrown 82 pitches, however, so I don't know how long he'll last in this game.

Update: Pujols homers in the 6th to break up the no-hitter.

Curt Schilling deserved some boos tonight. He gave up three HR and walked two over five innings. Tampa Bay appeared to be fouling off a lot of pitches, bringing Curt's total to 100 before he could get an out in the 6th. Meanwhile, John Halama also gave up 10 hits, but walked no one while striking out six. One problem the Red Sox was that they couldn't sustain any offense. Seven times Ortiz or Mueller made the last out of the inning. They always had a man on, they just couldn't push them around very often.

Jairo Garica is making his ML debut for the A's today. The graphic they displayed as he entered the game showed his number in a short stint in AAA. He was in three games, pitched five innings, and struck out 10. He didn't walk a batter and only allowed 2 hits. We'll find out if he's ready for the majors.

Update: Garcia strikes out one and walks one in his first inning of work. No hits and no runs, however.

Update: Garcia pitches the ninth as well. One more walk, no hits, no runs, no K.

In the piece Baseball Tonight broadcast on Maddux, John Smoltz had a very interesting quote (I'm transcribing from Tivo):

"He's got, for the most part, one of the best minds that I've ever seen as far as memory and being able to recall things about hitters that most people have to look at film and look at notes."

Malcom Gladwell discusses this in his New Yorker article, The Physcial Genius.

What sets physical geniuses apart from other people, then, is not merely being able to do something but knowing what to do--their capacity to pick up on subtle patterns that others generally miss. This is what we mean when we say that great athletes have a "feel" for the game, or that they "see" the court or the field or the ice in a special way. Wayne Gretzky, in a 1981 game against the St. Louis Blues, stood behind the St. Louis goal, laid the puck across the blade of his stick, then bounced it off the back of the goalie in front of him and into the net. Gretzky's genius at that moment lay in seeing a scoring possibility where no one had seen one before. "People talk about skating, puck-handling, and shooting," Gretzky told an interviewer some years later, "but the whole sport is angles and caroms, forgetting the straight direction the puck is going, calculating where it will be diverted, factoring in all the interruptions." Neurosurgeons say that when the very best surgeons operate they always know where they are going, and they mean that the Charlie Wilsons of this world possess that same special feel--an ability to calculate the diversions and to factor in the interruptions when faced with a confusing mass of blood and tissue.

As a computer scientist, I'd say these people are very good at solving pattern recognition problems. They answer the question, "Where have I seen this before, and how did I solve it then?" very well. Maddux fits into this category perfectly.

Congratulations to Greg Maddux on his 300th victory! It wasn't the best game he ever pitched, but his offense came through with plenty of support as Maddux just had to go five to pick up the win. The Cubs will at least maintain their wild card lead today.

Woody Williams has a no-hitter through five innings. He's walked 1 and struck out five. He's thrown 72 pitches, but only 40 for strikes. At 14 pitches per inning, he should be able to finish the game.

Kris Benson is also pitching well, but has allowed a run on three hits through four.

U[date: Reyes broke up the no-no with a double in the 6th, and the Mets have tied the game at 1.

Actually, not bad for anywhere. Mark Prior pitches six scoreless inning at Coors today, striking out eight while walking two. Now the Cubs need him to continue to have these kind of outings at a lower altitude.

Aaron Sele won his 7th game of the season today, and he still has a zero in the loss column, this despite a 4.60 ERA. The highest ERA for an undefeated pitcher over an entire season was 4.03 by Howie Krist, who was 10-0 for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1941, a team that won 97 games by finished 2 1/2 games behind the Dodgers. Krist was a very good pitcher who went 37-9 before WWII interrupted his career.

Great pitching in the Texas-Detroit game today. The three Tigers pitchers combined to throw 66% strikes, allowing only two runs. The main problem was that four of the five hits the Tigers allowed were for extra-bases. That allowed the Texas pitchers to withstand allowing 8 singles and five walks to pick up a 2-1 win.

Brad Penny's performance last night is making the Dodger's trade look very good. An eight inning two hitter in which he walked just 1 and struck out 4. Eric Gagne almost blew the game, however, giving up 2 runs in the top of the ninth to make it a one-run game. Maybe he does need Mota setting him up! :-)

The Mets didn't get what they expected from Kris Benson tonight. Five innings and seven earned runs was not good enough to beat the Braves. Meanwhile, Jaret Wright, who any team could have picked up for a song last year, continues his comeback with seven shutout innings for the Braves. Not a good start to the "Let's Win This Year" era of the Mets.

What a tough game for Jamie Moyer. He pitches seven fine innings, allowing 1 run while striking out 9. But Oakland is able to come back against the Seattle bullpen. The difference; Moyer walked 1 in his seven innings. The pen walked 3 in their 1 1/3. A walk set up the winning run in the bottom of the ninth.

I wanted to follow up on this post from last night. Bartolo Colon pitched a brilliant game against the high powered Texas Rangers last night. He went seven shutout innngs, allowing only 1 hit and 2 walks. I almost wanted to list that game as slugfest of the day, and I'm glad I didn't as the final score was 2-0 Angels.

Bartolo has been unhittable since the All-Star break, allowing just 7 hits in 20 innings while posting a 0.90 ERA. I wonder if someone had a "we didn't pay you all this money for a 5+ ERA" talk. Unfortunately, Colon came out of the game due to back stiffness.

There also appears to be some bad blood between the Angels and Rangers (from the same article):

Before the game, a fight broke out between Angels second baseman Adam Kennedy and Rangers catcher Gerald Laird, a carry-over from their dispute the night before.

Laird thought Kennedy intentionally tried to get hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and two outs in the second inning of Texas’ 6-1 victory Monday night, and said something to Kennedy when he came up again in the fifth.

Kennedy was standing behind the batting cage Tuesday and was approached by Laird as the Angels were concluding BP and the Rangers were finishing their pregame stretching. Moments later, the two were in a tussle that spilled over to the warning track between home plate and the first base dugout.

Soon every player from each team was involved, with players pushing, shoving and grabbing each other before order was restored approximately four minutes later.

"He kind of saw that I was making eye contact at him, and I expected a different response and a more cordial conversation than I got," Kennedy said. "It was a little misunderstanding that probably got a little out of control."

Greg Maddux reached 299 wins tonight. He pitched a strong six innings, striking out 6 and walking only 1. Why he came out after only 79 pitches, I don't know. You would think that if Greg wanted to get the win, he'd want to keep the probability of the bullpen blowing the game low. The relievers pitched well, however, and the Cubs got the 7-1 victory.

Roy Oswalt is pitching a gem tonight. Through six he's allowed just 2 hits and 1 walk as he's shutting out the DBacks on 73 pitches. He's gotten four HR in support as the Astros are drubbing Arizona 10-0. Eight of Houston's 11 hits have been for extra bases.

Marinao Rivera blows another save tonight. The Blue Jays score two in the bottom of the 9th after the Yankees got an insurance run in the top of the inning. The Yankees have scored in the top of the tenth, so Rivera has a chance to pick up the win.

Paul Abbott got his first win as a Philly today as Philadelphia outscored the Cubs 4-3. All three Cubs runs came on solo HR off Paul. Abbott has now allowed 12 HR in 40 1/3 innings for the Phllies, and 20 in 87 1/3 innings for the year. That's not a formula for success.

Dustin Hermanson has a no-hitter through six innings. He's only thrown 77 pitches, so he's in a good position to finish the game. His only mistake so far was a walk to Albert Pujols.

Bonds just hit a 3-run HR after going 0-2 with a walk. The Cardinals have a dangerous offense, however. As the Cubs learned Tuesday, you can't have too big a lead against St. Louis.

Update: With one out in the 7th, Pujols ends the no hitter with a long home run into the right field stands.

It was a classic Greg Maddux game at Wrigley this afternoon. He completes the victory, using only 92 pitches, 60 of them for strikes. He strikes out 6 and walks 0. The Cubs offense made it easy, also, as they scored 13 runs.

Maddux is now at 298 wins. There will be added attention around his next few starts. :-)

Abe Alvarez is making his debut for the Red Sox. He wears his hat askew, and in support, all the Red Sox on the bench are wearing their hats askew. Quite humerous.

Update: The hat isn't fooling anyone. Orioles have a walk, stolen base, double and a HR so far to lead 3-0 in the top of the first.

Orlando Hernandez made an emergency start for the Yankees today after Mussina's elbow did not permit him to play today. El Duque pitched okay; he allowed two runs over 5 innings while striking out five. It was his first MLB game since 2002, and he showed he can still pitch in the majors. What his role will be as the season progresses is not clear. I suppose it depends on the health of Mussina's arm.

Chad Bentz, the lefty with a deformed right hand, just got his first major league hit, and roller through the shortstop hole. Congratulations Chad!

The Brewers sweep the Cubs to put themselves a game out of the wild card. Doug Davis pitches 8 great innings in a 4-0 win, striking out 9 and walking 2. Sosa and Alou were a combined 0 for 6 against Davis and 0 for 7 in the game.

I think at this point in the season it's appropriate to ask, "What happened to Barry Zito?" Looking at his stats, two things are clear:

1. He's on a pace to set a career high in HR allowed.


2. For the first time in his big league career, he's giving up more hits than innings pitched.

The HR are his fault, and the number is not surprising given his grounder to fly ratio of .7. (AL average, 1.2). He's giving up a high percentage of line drives, 20% vs. 18% for the league. It seems to me Zito is simply putting his pitches in the wheelhouse.

He certainly did for the Red Sox tonight who collected 9 hits in four innings off Barry, including a HR by Mueller. The A's have a problem with their number three starter. Maybe it's something minor like tipping his pitches. But if this keeps up, the big three will be reduced to a dynamic duo. (Happy birthday, Burt Ward!)

Update: Looking at the Yankees boxscore, you could pretty much write the same thing about Mike Mussina, except Mussina gets a normal number of ground balls.

Eric Gagne has blown a save. Hillenbrand, Luis Gonzalez and Tracy had consecutive singles with 1 out to score two runs and tie the game.

Update: Gagne was ahead 0-2 to Tracy. On the next pitch, Tracy hit one right between Saenz and Cora, and the ball deflected off Saenz's glove so Cora couldn't field it to prevent the run from scoring.

Clement and Sheets are locked in a 1-0 pitching duel in the bottom of the 7th. Clement has already thrown 110 pitches, but he's coming out to start the inning, losing 1-0. He'll bat in the eighth, so this should be his last inning. Sheets has thrown 115 through 7, and Brady Clark will pinch hit for him this inning. Sheets has 12 K and only 1 walk. Despite the 1 run, it has not been Clement's best performance, as he's walked 6 so far, although he's only allowed 3 hits. The one run came on a first inning HR by Counsell.

Update: Clement finishes the 7th and is out of the game. 1 run, 10 K, 6 BB.

Update: Vizcaino strikes out the side in the 8th. He allowed two hits, but both were poor defense rather than a mistake by Luis. Out of 59 batters in this game so far, 25 have struck out. with seven walks, only 27 balls have been put into play through the top of the 8th.

Update: Brewers win 1-0. They just made the wild card race a little closer.

Cleveland is drubbing Cincinnati 15-2 in the 8th. The most encouraging part of the game, however, was the pitching of Kazuhito Tadano. In his first start, he went seven innings, striking out 10 while walking only 2. In his few relief apperances, he also had good K/BB numbers. It's only one start, but the Indians need another good pitcher to stay in contention. If Kazu can step into the #4 role, that's one less player they have to trade for.

Jon Leicester was pitching in relief for the Cubs today. I can't hear the announcers say his name without thinking of this Monty Python sketch.

Congratulations to Randy Johnson on his 4000th strikeout! Johnson is 40 years old and still is striking out batters at a prodigious rate, better than 9 per 9 innings. In other words, the end of his career is not in sight. While I doubt he'd last long enough to catch Ryan, I don't think 5000 career strikeouts is out of the question.

The Chicago White Sox continue to have Carlos Silva's number. He allowed six runs in 8 2/3 innings tonight, bringing his season total against the White Sox to 16 earned runs in 15 2/3 innings. Buehrle strikes out seven and walks none over 8 innings to earn the 6-2 victory.

Another lucky night so far for Victor Zambrano. He's allowed 4 hits and 3 walks through five innings, but only 1 run. All the hits have been singles, but only one came with a man in scoring position. One runners was taken out trying to stretch a single into a double, another by a double play. The DRays are up 4-1 in the 5th.

Joey Gathright is playing centerfield for the Rays tonight. The Transaction Guy wondered with Gathright was called up. I'm hoping it's because he has a great OBA and Baldelli doesn't. Gathright had a minor league OBA of .392. Baldelli is at .339 for the season and .330 for his career. The Rays winning streak is based on a great OBA. I'm hoping they are trying to make it even better with Gathright.

Jeff Suppan is off to a perfect start tonight. Through three innings, he hasn't allowed a base runner while striking out four. He's averaging 14 pitches per inning.

Update: Suppan has the no hitter through five innings. He's walked a batter and Rolen made an error. A double play, however, means that Jeff has only pitched to one man over the minimum.

Update: Craig Wilson doubles with 2 out in the 7th to break up the no-hitter. Suppan and the Cardinals still lead 1-0.

So far, it appears that the return of Jose Contreras' family has had the desired effect. Through three Jose has allowed only 1 hit to the Mets while striking out three. Reyes, who led off with a hit, was caught stealing so Contreras has faced the minimum 9 batters.

Here's more from the NY Times on the Contreras family defection. A total of 21 people escaped by boat. To paraphrase my wife, it must be pretty bad if you're willing to risk drowning to leave.

Now we'll see if this makes a difference in Jose's pitching. He gets his first chance to shine on Saturday vs. the Mets.

William Bragg has the story on Jose Contreras' wife and children leaving Cuba.

Jason Schmidt pitched his 2nd 1-hit shutout of the year today. He's allowed 57 hits in 91 2/3 innings, and his .176 BA allowed is the lowest in the majors (although his .242 OBA allowed is 3rd). His two 1-hitters have been against two tough teams, the Cubs in Chicago and the Red Sox today. The NL Cy Young race is wide open with Schmidt, Clemens, Johnson, Glavine, Zambrano and Sheets all making good bids for the award.

Joe "The Patriarch" Kennedy continues to demonstrate how to pitch at Coors field. With his seven shutout innings, he's lowered his ERA at home to 3.75 in 50 1/3 innings. He kept the ball in the infield, getting 9 ground outs and 5 pop outs to go along with four strikeouts. Unfortunately, the bullpen blew the game for him.

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays relievers are on a nice streak of their own. They've gone sixteen innings without allowing a run, including a great 7 inning shutout performance by Rob Bell yesterday. Bell had given up 9 ER in 9 2/3 innings in his previous two starts.

Here's a cute point-counter-point on whether the DRays will stay out of last place.

Update: Another 2 1/3 scoreless innings for the pen today. The DRays have now won 11 in a row and now trail the Red Sox by 6 games.

While watching yesterday's tilt between the Yankees and Dodgers, the Fox broadcasters pointed out that Dan Evans, former Dodgers GM and current Mariners scout was in the stands. Their speculation was that Evans came to look at Brad Halsey, and that Halsey might end up in a trade for Freddy Garcia. Sitting there thinking about such a move, I have a difficult time trying to figure out if I like that trade or not.

My first reaction is that against the trade. Halsey has a number of things going for him that would point toward success in the majors, namely good control and a low number of HR allowed. You can see his minor league numbers here and here. His strikeout rate isn't high, but it's more than adequate given his control. He's left-handed, which is always a good thing to be in Yankee Stadium. And at the moment, he comes cheap.

Against this you have Garcia, who after two mediocre years has regained his form of 2000-2001 (mostly, he's cut his HR down vs. the last two years). Adding Garcia would give the Yankees four top-notch right-handers. It would also add a few million to the payroll.

My feeling is give Halsey a chance. He can't be any worse than Lieber or Contreras, who have winning records despite high ERAs. And there's a chance he'll be a whole lot better.

On the other hand, in a perverse way, the trade may actually be good for baseball as a whole. It would help Seattle reduce payroll, and give them a good young pitcher which would help them control costs for a few years. The Yankees would add payroll, which would increase the amount of tax they'd pay, which benefits other teams. Garcia is a free agent at the end of the year, so unless the Yankees do a trade and sign, he'll likely see what he's worth this winter, meaning it won't be a long term concentration of power for NY.

I'd like to see Halsey get a couple of more starts for NY. If he can pitch, the Yankees should keep him. At most, they should use him to drive up Garcia's price to others who may be interested in a trade.

Since I argued against the chances of Lowe improving after his slow start, he's only allowed 2 earned runs over his last 19 innings. Today was the 2nd consecutive start in which he pitched seven shutout innings. He's still walking a lot of batters, four each in his last two starts. But the bottom line is that his opponents are not scoring.

Ryan Drese doubled and scored in his first AB against the Reds today. Through four, that gives him as many hits and total bases as the Reds.

Update: Drese singles in the fifth, and is halfway to the cycle. :-)

Steve Bonner has a link to an interesting story about Jose Contreras and how his wife and family are unable to leave Cuba.

She said he shares his triumphs with her and confides his fears. She said they ache for each other and do not know when Cuba's Communist government will let him see her and his daughters — Naylan, 11, and Naylenis, 3 — again.

It has been like this ever since Contreras, 32, flew off to play baseball in Mexico and did not come back. The Yankees signed him to a four-year, $32 million deal last year.

Twice, she said, Cuban officials have denied her permission to leave. They are still embarrassed and angry that one of their brightest baseball hopes ran when he got the chance.

"I had an interview with the immigration authorities in Havana on April 27 and they told me I had to wait five years, until people had forgotten about Jose," she told the Daily News. "This has nothing to do with politics. I am just a housewife trying to get her family back together. But now I — and the children — have to pay for what he did."

His wife believes that their separation is effecting Jose's pitching. So I guess the Cuban government is getting what they want.

The second good outing in a row for Johan Santana. One hundred pitches, 77 for strikes, no walks and seven strikeouts. He did give up a HR with a man on, but that was about it. Santana regaining his form will give the Twins rotation a big boost.

A.J. Burnett seemed to be trying to avoid the White Sox bats tonight. He went six innings, walking six and striking out 2. When the Sox did make contact, however, they could not capitalize on the walks, gathering only 1 hit. The Fish lead 1-0 in the top of the 7th on Cabrerra's HR in the first.

The Baseball Savant takes an in-depth look at the Reds bullpen and basically likes the way Dave Miley is handling his pitchers.

An outstanding start by Jake Westbrook today. A nine inning, 103 pitch shutout of the Baltimore Orioles. Westbrook allowed four hits and two walks. The defense helped, as they took two of those runners off base with double plays (and with only four strikeouts, he needs the help from his defense). Sixty-seven of his 103 pitches were for strikes. Westbrook now leads the AL with a 2.70 ERA.

The Orioles, who not long ago were hanging with the Yankees and Red Sox, now find themselves 1 game ahead of Toronto and 1 1/2 ahead of the surging Devil Rays.

Now that win shares are sortable, I've been playing with the different columns. The first thing I noticed is how much the moniker "year of the old pitcher" really applies to this season. If you look at win shares sort by the pitch column, you'll see that the top three in the NL are Randy Johnson, Tom Glavine and Roger Clemens. Over in the AL, Curt Schilling has collected the most win shares so far, but Kenny Rogers is fourth. Glavine and Johnson had great outings today, so they're not sliding from those top spots.

The Milwaukee bullpen has been nearly unhittable in the last two games against the Astros. In seven innings, they've allowed 2 hits and 1 walk while striking out 8. And of course, no runs. A win today puts the Brew Crew ahead of the Astros.

And it's good to see the crowds coming out to support the team. Over 26,000 on Friday, over 40,000 yesterday. If you win, they will come.

Clint Nageotte threw six shutout innings against the Astros in his first major league start. Given that Houston is one of the better hitting teams in baseball, that's quite impressive. It turns out that Nageotte has had an impressive minor league career. His strikeout rates have been phenonemal at every level of the minor leagues (10.7 per 9), so it should come as no surprise that he struck out eight last night. The Astros were impressed with his slider.

Nageotte mostly used his fastball and slider, getting most of his strikeouts with the latter pitch.

"That was a great slider," Ensberg said. "It's very late breaking. The first one he threw to me came at my hip, and all of the sudden it broke. I thought it was going to hit me. I didn't think it would bite that much, but it did and it was a strike."

He's still a bit wild, walking three last night, but so was Randy Johnson at the start of his career. It will be fun to see how this pitcher develops.

Through three innings tonight, Chris Carpenter has given up 1 hit, a solo HR to Patterson. Rusch is also throwing 1-hit ball through 3 1/3 innings, but hasn't allowed a run.

The real Mike Mussina appears to be on the mound in NY today. Through five innings, he's thrown 53 pitches, 37 for strikes. Mussina has been averaging 100 pitches over six innings in his first 12 starts. He's been much more efficient today, getting his pitches over, leading to seven K and no walks.

Johan Santana, one of the good young pitchers to emerge last year, had another poor outing today. He struck out 7 in 7 2/3 innings, and his K numbers remain good. He walked four, and his walks are up from last year, but not much (2.6 vs 3.0). What killed him again today is the HR ball. Huff yanked a three run shot, the 12th Santana has allowed in 2004. He gave up 17 in 158 1/3 innings last year. What's worse, 8 of the 12 have come with men on base.

Derek Lowe was knocked around again today. The Orioles scored seven runs in 5+ innings (the first five Orioles reached in the 5th against Lowe). As far as I can tell, the main thing Derek is doing differently is walking more batters. Take a look at this chart:

Derek Lowe	BB/9	ERA
2002	2.0	2.58
2003	3.2	4.47
2004	4.4	6.84

When Lowe doesn't have his control, he walks batters. When he walks batters, he has to get pitches into the strike zone, and he has to do that by throwing the ball higher in the zone. And Derek's high pitches are hittable. Is there are real difference in Lowe, or have batters realized they take the low pitch and have it called a ball?

Joe Valentine made his first appearance this season for the Reds, starting against the Expos. He didn't get the Reds "pitch to contact" memo however, as he walked five batters in 1 inning and two batters. What's really strange of course, is that he's walked five against the Expos! Montreal last in the NL in walks with 109; you really have to be wild to walk five Expos.

The Indians have three pitchers on the AL top ten list of ERA leaders. Sabathia, Lee and Westbrook all have ERAs under 3.45. Yet, the Indians have one of the highest staff ERAs in the AL. At 5.11, their team ERA is 13th, only the Orioles at 5.41 are worse (a post on that number will be coming soon). The main problem for the Indians is in the bullpen, where the ERA is 6.29, 1 1/2 runs higher than any other AL team. White and Betancourt, have been okay with ERAs in the 3.70s. But from Betancourts 3.75, you jump to Jack Cressend and his 6.32 ERA.

So the Indians have five dependable pitchers. What can they do? If you look at the AAA numbers, there doesn't seem to be much help there either. AA looks better, but are the Indians ready to rush these kids to the majors?

They're best bet may just be to try to win the three games their good pitchers start. Save your best relievers for those games, and just take your chances with the other two. It's not a perfect strategy, but winning 3 out of 5 will get you into the playoffs most years.

Up until this point, Esteban Loaiza had not pitched like the 21-game winner of last year. His big improvement was bring his strikeout close to 9.0. Entering tonight, however, he had only struck out 31 in 62 2/3 innings.

He had the strikeout pitch tonight, however. Against the Rangers he fanned nine in eight innings, and allowed zero runs. The White Sox have to hope this is the Loaiza they'll have for the rest of the year.

Greg Maddux gave up back-to-back HR to Bagwell and Kent in the third inning. That gives Greg 13 allowed on the season; his career high is 24 set last last year. One of Maddux's great strengths as a pitcher throughout his career was his ability to limit his opponent's HR. That's slipping away. It doesn't appear to be Wrigley, as he's evenly split on allowing them on the road and at home. In the year of the old pitcher, Maddux is one who is actually looking old.

Tommy Phelps of the Marlins made his first start of the season tonight. As a reliever, he had struck out 16 and allowed 16 hits in 15 innings. Tonight, he brought both those numbers way down. Phelps went seven shutout innings, allowing just 1 hit while striking out two and issuing two walks. He kept his pitch count down, averaging a little over 13 pitches an inning.

Van Poppel pitched well enough to win, and the Red have to be happy with his progress. His ERA now stands at 3.63, and 72 of his 103 pitches were for strikes.

Bryan Johnson has a nice post on why Cincinnati's pitching to contact strategy still leads to strikeouts.

The theory of "pitching to contact" really sounds deceiving, because if done right the end result still has a lot of strikeouts. I always felt that it was more of a psychological trick to get pitchers to stop nibbling on the corners and to not be afraid to go after hitters.

It should be noted, however, that Wilson, Lidle and Harang are below their career K/9 numbers. I don't think that it invalidates the point that you want your pitchers to go after hitters, but it doesn't mean they'll strike out more.

A nice game by John Thomson tonight, another good example of what can happen when you throw strikes. He pitched seven shutout innings, and although he gave up 8 hits, he walked no one. About 70% of his pitches were strikes; the Expos put many of those in play, but the 8 hits were well spread out. The Expos never got more than two in an inning against Thomson. I didn't see the game, but my guess would be that Thomson kept the Expos off balance all night.

Kit Pellow hits a line drive double to break up the no-hitter with two out in the 8th. Still a great game by Tom Glavine, and if they hang on for the win, they will have reached the .500 mark.

Randy Johnson retired the Marlins in order in the first.

Having beaten Randy Johnson 1-0, Glavine it appears does not want to be outdone in the no-hit department. He was perfect through six, then walked the leadoff man Hocking in the 7th. But that's it. The Mets have never had a perfect game thrown for their team. I don't have this game on TV, but I'm listening via the internet.

The DBacks and Marlins are engaged in the beginnings of a slugfest tonight. Both starters, Daigle and Oliver, have allowed four runs over the first four innings. Both have ERAs over 7.00; how long will both these teams let these pitchers start? Do they think they are going to suddenly find their control? Or a new pitch? Is there really no one at triple A or double AA who couldn't do better? Arizona is going nowhere fast, so maybe they can afford to have Daigle learn at the major league level. But the Fish are in a real fight with the Phillies for first, so can they really afford Oliver as a fifth starter?

Update: I spoke too soon. Daigle gave up another run in the fourth.

Paul is out of the game against the Indians after allowing 3 runs in 3 innings. That's not so bad, but he took 79 pitches to get through those three innings. There's no excuse for that. With 30 more pitches yesterday, Tim Hudson went eight innings. With five hits and three walks allowed, Abbott was lucky just to have allowed three runs.

Steve Bonner wonders if Mussina is really out of the woods. I'd be curious to know how hard he's throwing his fastball.

This wasn't Derek Lowe's night. He lasted only 2 1/2, allowing 8 hits (3 doubles) and seven runs. And despite walking four through three innings, Victor Zambrano has yet to allow a run.

Tim Hudson pitched eight good inning today. Not great, good. He gave up 10 hits, but only two runs (1 earned). Most of all, he threw strikes; 80 out of 109 pitches. That meant only one walk. And by keeping his pitch count low, he was able to stick around until the eighth, when the A's got the winning run. A lot of pitchers could learn something from this performance.

A very nice start by Jose Acevedo of the Reds tonight. Seven innings, five hits and 11 K vs. the Rockies. He threw only 90 pitches, 63 for strikes. It hasn't been a good year for Acevedo; maybe this will turn things around.

Wouldn't you know it, I go to Bridgeport to see Rickey Henderson play, he does nothing, but the ageless Randy Johnson throws a perfect game against Atlanta. Congratulations to the Big Unit; if anyone in the game deserves to have a perfecto in his resume, he does.

Johnson used only 117 pitches to strike out 13 of the 27 batters he faced. He threw 87 strikes, an impressive 74%. The year of the old pitcher continues in fine fashion.

Milliliter Sabathia roared into the AL lead in ERA today with seven shutout innings against the Devil Rays. Matt Miller pitcher even better in relief, striking out 5 in two innings to completely shut down Tampa Bay. It's the kind of pitching the Indians need to see more of to be able to compete this year.

Travis Hafner added four RBI to bring his total on the season to 24. That gives the Indians three players with at least that many, including Matt Lawton the Victor Martinez.

Before I had a chance to look at the boxscore, I'm getting comments about Ben Sheets' great performance today. That's what I love about my readers, they really keep me on my toes!

Sheets did indeed pitch the game of his life. A complete game three hitter, one walk, and 18 strikeouts! Nick Green, the replacement for Giles, was the only starter who didn't K against Ben. What's really great about the performance is that Sheets did it very efficiently. He threw 116 pitches; that's 13 per inning. Only 25 pitches were called balls; that's less than 1 per batter. At least that says to me there likely weren't many foul balls in that game, at least not with two strikes.

The game score was 94, which according to this chart on ESPN.com would be the highest game score of the season. Sheets has really come into his own this year. Entering today, his K per 9 was 2.0 over his career average; that's leading to his allowing fewer hits than innings pitched for the first time in his career. And for the first time in years, the Brewers have a true ace on their staff.

The Mets started Ginter instead of Leiter, but the result was still an excellent matchup. In his first start, Ginter went into the 6th, allowing two runs, one earned. But that's nowhere near enough to beat Clemens right now. The Rocket struck out 10 in seven innings, allowing only 2 hits and 1 walk. His ERA now stands at 1.72. One more good inning out of the bullpen and he'll have eight wins in eight starts.

Update: Dotel blew the save. Once again, that's the problem with being a seven inning pitcher. The fate of your decision is left to others. Houston and the Mets are tied at 2 in the 10th.

Update: The Mets win on a Jason Phillips HR in the 13th.

I heard last night that Bronson Arroyo was going to start today despite being sick. The Red Sox should have him pitch sick all the time. He's gone seven innings giving up 3 hits, no walks and no runs. And he's only thrown 86 pitches. Nice start, no matter how he's feeling.

Mike Mussina is having another bad game. He's given up 11 hits and five runs through four innings. It was interesting watching him in the fourth. The Mariners were getting seeing eye base hits, soft line drives falling in, nothing hit really hard. Until the last batter, when Spiezio smoked one that Tony Clark caught at first and doubled up Randy Winn. Mussina's ERA is now at 5.40.

I don't know how much more effective Roger Clemens can be. In his 7th start, he went seven innings, threw 71 of 106 pitches for strikes, and struck out 11. He allowed 1 run on a solo homer. His ERA now stands at 1.99, and if the 6-1 Houston lead holds up, he'll be 7-0. An amazing start to a season at any age.

Pat Hentgen is having a very good night so far. He's only thrown 73 pitches through six innings and is shutting out the Royals allowing only two singles and a walk. So far, he's brought his ERA down to 5.15.

Alan Schwarz has a nice column on pitch counts over at ESPN.com.

Quite the start for Wilson Alvarez tonight after making eight appearances from the bullpen. He went seven innings against the Pirates, allowing 1 hit, no walks and striking out five. He's now struck out 20 on the season while walking only 3.

Carlos Zambrano has certainly stepped up to fill Mark Prior's role as ace of the Cubs staff. A two hitter today against the Rockies, both hits singles. With two double plays and an error, Zambrano only had to face one batter over the minimum. Even nicer, the game was a brisk 2:18.

Shawn "The Wilting Man" Estes couldn't take the heat again (despite the fact that it was only 50 degrees Farenheit at game time) and was gone after surrendering nine earned runs over 2 2/3 innings. He walked five and struck out none. The Cubs now trail Houston by 1 1/2 games.

Mike Hampton continues to struggle to bring down his ERA. He gave up two HR and three runs in the first inning against SD and his ERA now stands at 8.20. If this keeps up, he'll be summering in the Hamptons.

Joe Kennedy is getting the best of Zach Day tonight. Kennedy is shutting out the Expos with six strikeouts through six innings, allowing only one hit. Day isn't pitching badly, allowing seven hits and two runs through seven innings, but once again the Expos offense isn't coming through for him. It's 2-0 Rockies in the middle of the 7th.

Update: Kennedy left after six innings and 80 pitches, so the Rockies are sticking to their word to keep their starter's pitch counts low on short rest.

Andy Pettitte seems to be well recovered from his injury. He's struck out six Pirates through three innings tonight. Houston and Pittsburgh are tied at one.

You have a 10.52 ERA. You pitch in the best hitters park in the majors. What can your manager do to get you out of your slump? Start you in Montreal! The Expos are so far below the rest of the league in offense, I could probably get them 1-2-3. :-)

Jason Jennings got his dream start tonight. He's pitching in Montreal, a great pitcher's park, against a team with a .268 OBA and a .308 slugging percentage. And so what does he do with his opportunity? He gives up two HR and six earned runs in five innings. I'm sorry, that just doesn't cut it. I'm afraid Jason is on his way out of the majors.

Eric DuBose is having some control problems tonight. In four innings, he's walked six, thrown two wild pitches, and hit a batter (Lopez also had a passed ball). On top of all that, he's allowed four hits, but amazingly only three runs. The Orioles have turned two double plays, which helped.

Maddux and Marquis are dueling in St. Louis, 1-1 in the fifth. Marquis has a hit, and Maddux reached on a fielder's choice, then stole a base and scored! He's now 6 for 9 in his career stealing, a break even percentage.

Update: Maddux just got his first hit of the season, a bunt single. He's an offensive powerhouse today! :-)

Update: And Maddux scores his 2nd run of the day on a Todd Walker homer. Cubs lead 3-1 in the top of the 6th.

Update: Just to show he was no slouch on the bases, Marquis stole a base also!

A reader alerted me to this story about the Rockies moving to a four-man rotation.

The No. 5 starter spot has been eliminated. The Rockies are going with a four-man rotation from now until, if all goes well, season's end.

"People are going to think we are crazy, but in this park, sometimes you have to go against the rules," said Jason Jennings, who joins Joe Kennedy, Shawn Estes and Scott Elarton as the Rockies' rotation. "You have to mix it up and try something different. We're all for it."

It's good to see the pitchers are on board. The Blue Jays tried this last year but it got torpedoed by the staff. The Rockies are going to limit the pitch count of their starters:

To help protect against arm fatigue, an 85-to-90-pitch limit will be placed on the starters, and Jeff Fassero becomes the extra eighth guy in the bullpen. Kennedy, who will be the first to start on three days' rest Wednesday in Montreal, needed only 74 pitches to record seven innings in his win April 25 against the Houston Astros. But there will be other times when 90 pitches won't get the starter through the fifth.

"I think it's a great idea," said Leo Mazzone, the Atlanta Braves' acclaimed pitching coach. "I think their pitch count might be a little too low. I think you can go 100, 110 pitches. But I think it's smart to go with a four-man rotation. How many teams have a fifth starter?"

Nice to see Leo thinks it's a good idea. Maybe the Braves will try it next. One thing that does bother me, however, is that they are just moving the fifth starter to the bullpen as a long man. I'd say eliminate that pitcher all together. If he can't start, he probably can't relieve, either.

It's a good experiment, and I hope it works for them. Teams are carrying too many pitchers these days and limiting themselves on their offensive moves. Ten pitchers should be enough for any team. Over that and you're just inserting lousy players into the game.

A very encouraging outing by Jeremy Bonderman today. He went 7 2/3 innings, throwing only 107 pitches to earn his third victory of the season. He held Seattle to only 2 runs, 1 earned while walking none. He also lowered his ERA by over a run to 5.22. It's been a fun year in Detroit so far; the Tigers still get beat badly from time-to-time, but you're much more likely to see a win.

Schilling did exactly what the Red Sox are paying him to do; he shut down the DRays for 7 1/3 innings with eight strikeouts and no walks. The Red Sox limited him to 106 pitches which I think is a fine idea. Schilling is getting old, so extra rest won't hurt. And he threw 75 of those 106 pitches for strikes. Pitching performances don't get much better than that.

I had the Game of the Day assigned to me to score this evening. I'm very impressed with Mike Maroth. He's working quickly, going after hitters, and getting a lot of weak fly balls and pop ups. He's quite a contrast to Colon, who slows the game down to a crawl when men are on base. Maroth is averaging just a shade over 12 pitches per inning in this game, and has thrown 52 of 74 pitches for strikes through 6.

John Lackey is shutting down the Tigers so far tonight, and he's doing it throwing strikes. Through three innings he's only allowed 1 hit, and has thrown 24 of 33 pitches for strikes. At this pace, he'll pitch a sub-100 pitch complete game.

Carl Pavano had an interesting win vs. the Rockies last night. He had no strikeouts, which means that all his outs came on balls put into play. In Colorado, of course, it's dangerous to have batters making contact. I count 13 fly ball outs in the game, so Pavano wasn't exactly keeping the ball on ground. It worked last night, however, and Carl is now 2-0 with a 3.33 ERA. The Marlins have the best record in the majors, as well.

Last night's 2-hitter by Ted Lilly is the kind of performance I expect to see more of from the lefty. When he has his control he's highly effective. It looks like he'll always give up long balls, so he really has to keep people off base so the homers are too costly. He did that last night.

John Thomson is proving to be another great Braves pickup. Seven innings, seven strikeouts and two walks. He allowed eight hits, but he spread them out and only one (the Pierre triple) was for extra bases. He now has a 2.67 ERA and left the game with a 6-2 lead.

Mark DeRosa ends Dontrelle Willis' string of not allowing an earned run with a home run to deep center field to give the Braves a 1-0 lead over the Marlins. It's only the 2nd extra-base hit Willis has allowed this year.

If scoring the Devil Rays at White Sox game, and while I'm a few innings behind, I'm impressed so far with Waechter and Wright's work. I love pitchers who get the ball and throw it. They don't walk around, they don't blow on their hands. They get the ball and go after the batters. A real pleasure to watch, and so far they have been effective.

Today's line was much more Maddux like. Seven innings, 1 BB, 8 strikeouts. Either he needed three starts to warm up, or he needed a game against the Mets.

Curt Schilling gets a boo tonight. He blew a 3-0 lead and gave up a grand slam HR to Chris Gomez. Chris Gomez who hits a HR every 70 AB. Who would have thought that the Blue Jays would have found their bats against Schilling.

Matt Mantei has blown another save. Given a three run lead at the start of the ninth, he issued a one out walk, then gave up an RBI double to Overbay. The Brewers then pinch hit with their two way player, Brooks Kieschnick. Kieschnick hit a pinch hit two run homer to tie the game. You have to love pitchers who can hit, and you really have to love the ones that hit so well they can regularly pinch hit or DH.

Jaret Wright's wildness caught up with him today. He walked five in 1 2/3 innings while allowing four hits. The Reds lead the Braves 5-0 in the fourth.

The Cubs staked Sergio Mitre to an 8-0 lead tonight, and he delivered six shut out innings in return, allowing four hits and striking out seven. Corey Patterson had the big night offensively, going five for six with two doubles. The Pirates have finally scored in the ninth off Borowski.

Randy Johnson is in classic form tonight. He's allowed 1 earned run while striking out 10 over six innings. Doug Davis of the Brewers is matching him however, also only allowing 1 run so far. Both are throwing strikes, and both have walked only 2. It's 2-1 Brewers in the 7th.

Tom Glavine and Livan Hernandez are certainly putting on a show at Shea. Both have allowed just one earned run so far, the difference being an unearned run allowed by the Mets. Both are being efficient, throwing about 14 pitches per inning. Expos lead 2-1 in the bottom of the 7th.

A rough first inning for Josh Fogg. He's given up five runs so far without getting an out. He came into the game with an ERA of 12.00. There is an error in the inning, but looking at the play-by-play, I think most of the runs will be earned.

Update: Fogg does not get an out before he's relieved, and allows 6 runs, five earned. His ERA now stands at 17.00.

Joe Kennedy is off to a suprisingly good start for the Rockies. He shut down the Dodgers at Coors Field last night, with the Rockies winning 7-1. He struck out 7 and walked only 1 in the game, and for the year he's K'd 13 and walked only 2. Both are improvements for Kennedy. His ERA at Coors is 2.08. He'll be 25 next month, and may just be coming into his own. Maybe the Rockies have found someone who can handle the thin air.

Mark Buehrle is being shelled in with tiny hits. They Yankees have four singles, a walk and a hit batter. Three of the singles have been of the infield variety. To make matters worse, Cairo, the Yankees weakest hitter, gets a double down the left field line (not hit hard, but well placed) to drive in three and give the Yankees a 7-0 lead. It's one of those performances where you know Buehrle is pitching better than the score; he's just been unlucky. Alex Graman will come into his first ML game with a huge cushion.

Update: With a 7-0 lead Graman strikes out his first batter, catching Willie Harris looking.

Carlos Zambrano continues to impress. He's dispatching the Pirates easily through four innings tonight, allowing two hits, no walks and no runs. He's lowered his ERA to 1.06, and has only thrown 44 pitches. With Prior possibly out for the season, Zambrano is stepping up and filling the ace hole.

Clemens perfect through three innings.

Update: Clemens pitched another great game. Seven innings, seven K, 1 BB and 1 run. He's 3-0 with an 0.87 ERA. There's little doubt he retired too early. At this rate, he'll win another Cy Young award.

Maddux's woes continue. A walk, two hits and a homer in the first give the Reds a 3-0 lead and takes Maddux's ERA to 9.28. Sammy Sosa gets one back in the bottom of the 1st with a HR.

As I was checking the Baltimore-Boston boxscore last night, I noticed that the Red Sox had used nine pitchers in the game. They carry 12, so the entire relief core and the fifth starter were put into action last night. They hadn't seen action in a few days, so I'm sure they needed the work. But if McCarty had not pinch hit, the Sox would have used as many pitchers as batters last night.

It always seems that when baseball needs a star to appear to save the game from some scandal one does. Josh Levin had written earlier that there was no Babe Ruth this year. I disagreed:

Just because there isn't an obvious Babe Ruth doesn't mean that one won't emerge. Albert Pujols is young enough that he should still be improving. Who knows what kind of numbers he'll wow us with this year. Mark Prior and Josh Beckett are still not mature pitchers. Maybe their stikeout artistry will entrance us this summer. Most likely, we don't know who or what the savior will be. That's what keeps us in love with the game; there's always something new and unexpected.

And now, Dontrelle Willis hit for 3/4 of the cycle yesterday in five innings while shutting out the Expos. I love this player:

1. He has a cool name. It's so easy to come up with titles for blog entries around this guy. "What you talkin' about Wills." "Don't Ask Dontrelle." And today's, truth be told.


2. He has a cool delivery. Tiant. Fernando. Nomo. Flair. All of these pitchers had that extra added entertainment value when they pitched, and Dontrelle has captured that.


3. He can pitch. Yes, he faded down the stretch last year, but it was still an excellent season. He strikes people out and doesn't walk too many. He keeps the ball in the park. And he's only 22.


4. He can hit. He hit .241 last year with a .328 slugging percentage. That's really good for a pitcher. With his six for six this season, he has a career .313 BA and a .453 slugging percentage. That's good for any player.


5. He has a great attitude.
   

   
   And to think Willis was feeling under the weather Wednesday with a sinus infection.

   ''I don't expect to go 3 for 3 every night,'' he said. ``I'd rather have seven consecutive wins.''
   

Maybe the Marlins can use him as a DH when they play AL teams. That would be very cool. Or play him in the outfield once in a while to get his bat in the lineup. I'm sure we'll see him pinch hit. Maybe Brooks Kieschnick was the start of a trend.

Dontrelle has me excited. Now I'm thinking about getting a cheap flight to Miami to see him pitch at home. I'm certainly going to try to catch him at Shea or Montreal. Can't wait to see his next game on Dontrellevision!

Last week it was Darrell May who was pounded by the long ball in his matchup with Esteban Loaiza. Today, Loaiza has given up two long balls to KC hitters through three innings. May has given up a couple of doubles, one to catcher Miguel Olivo. The light hitting catcher is off to a good start; through three innings today he has four hits in eleven AB with 2 doubles and a HR.

I never thought I would see a line from Greg Maddux where he had five walks and only one strikeout in a game. In eleven season with the Braves, he never walked more than 52 (and that was in his first season with Atlanta). Two less than stellar performances make me start to wonder if 300 is reachable. Sometimes players lose their ability very quickly. My guess is Maddux can find the 11 wins, but not with a 7.45 ERA.

Congrats to Mike Mussina on his 200th victory. Looks like he's righting himself after two tough starts. He's one of the greats, and at 34 has a decent shot at 300 victories.

Martinez and Foulke prove to be a deadly combination for the Blue Jays. They beat the Jays with 117 pitches, 78 for strikes. Foulke use only 11 pitches to get a four-out save as the Red Sox win 4-1. Once again, the Blue Jays are outslugged, 3 HR to 1, as all the runs in the game score on long balls.

Great pitching duel between Pedro Martinez and Roy Halladay. No score through 5 1/2 innings, when David Ortiz hits a two run HR to give the Sox the lead. Both pitchers are throwing strikes, and both are being efficient in getting batters out.

Update: Orlando Hudson touches Pedro for a HR in the top of the 7th to make the score 2-1.

Tim Hudson posted the first complete game of the 2004 season this afternoon. It was a great duel between Tim and Gil Meche, with the Mariners getting off to a 1-0 lead in the first and Meche holding it until he tired in the 7th, when the A's scored two. Hudson needed only 86 pitches (and 2 hours, 2 minutes) to retire the Mariners. There were a lot of balls put into play, as Hudson struck out and walked none (two DP's helped as well). A very efficient outing.

What a nice game by Ben Sheets today. Six innings, 103 pitches, 71 strikes. And he struck out 10 batters without walking any! The Brewers could use more performances like that.

So much for the improved Boston bullpen. Timlin, Embree and McCarty combined to give up 6 earned runs in 2 innings. Timlin's ERA is now 16.20 as he picks up the loss.

Toronto gets in the win column with the 10-5 victory. Their bullpen did well in relieve of Lilly, giving up just 1 run in 3 2/3 innings, allowing just a HR and a walk.

Dontrelle Willis had a great game yesterday against the Montreal Expos. He went 7 2/3 innings with eight strikeouts and one walk. Seventy seven of his 113 pitches were strikes. That seems like a high pitch count for his first start of the season, so let's keep our eye on that, but it's nice to see him open well after fading in the 2nd half last year.

I turned on the Angels-Mariners just in time to see Hasegawa blowing a one-run lead. He came in with a man on first and none out, and after three hits and a balk, it's 3-1 Angels. He's not throwing strikes, 9 of his 17 pitches have been called balls so far.

Update: Erstad caps it off with a 2-RBI double. 5-1 Angels going to the bottom of the ninth.

Update: Kevin Gregg shows the Mariners how it's done, getting Seattle 1-2-3 in the ninth. Angels win.

Apart from having the highest scoring scrabble name in the history of baseball (Javier Vazquez, two Z's a Q, a J and two V's), I love the fact that this pitcher throws strikes. He tossed 106 pitches today, 73 for strikes. The new additions to the Yankees rotation have so far out-performed the guy they kept (Mussina).

With their 2-1 victory over the Oakland A's today, the Texas Rangers ERA now stands at 3.24. Now, while I don't think that's going to last, it should be noted that the Rangers ERA doesn't have to get that low for them to be a winning team. If there offense is still very good, all they reall need is to get their ERA down to around 4.50. This is a good start.

There's two out in the fifth, and all Paul Abbott has allowed the Yankees is a walk to Matsui (Huff has also made an error).

Update: Posada hits a long fly ball to end the inning. No-hitter for Abbott through five. He's thrown 77 pitches, about 15 per inning.

Brown is pitching very well, also. He's given up 4 hits and 1 run.

This is what the Red Sox want from their bullpen. Three innings, no hits, walks or runs. Apart from Timlin, the Sox bullpen is off to a much better start than they were last year.

Schilling is looking as dominating as ever. He's struck out 7 through six innings, while only walking 1. He's thrown 109 pitches, 76 for strikes. He looked like he was running out of gas in the 6th, but his splitter was working well enough to get a couple of strikeouts. Normally, 109 pitches would not bring Schilling out of a game, but this early in the season we may see a reliever.

Armando Benitez always makes it interesting. He enters the game in the ninth with a two run lead, gets the first two outs easily, then gives up a HR to Vidro and a double to Everett. He finally gets O. Cabrera to foul out to Choi. The Marlins win their opener 4-3.

Josh Beckett is trying to out hit the Expos. He just singled for his first hit; the Expos have two. He averaging less than 10 pitches per inning, and over 75% have been for strikes.

Livan Hernandez has been pitching very well also. Through five, he's struck out 8 and only allowed two runs.

Josh Beckett couldn't pitch any better than he did to Peter Bergeron in his first AB. He got ahead 0-2, wasted a pitch, then struck out Peter with a nasty curve ball. Just the way the Marlins want to start the season. Beckett strikes out two in an easy first.

No warnings have been issued, but the umps are keeping their eyes on things.

Update: Perfect from the other side as well as Pierre singles to start the Marlins half of the first.

Update: Oops, Pierre is picked off.

The Pirates have to be very happy with the outing they received from Kip Wells today. Six innings, seven strikeouts, no runs. We'll see if the Pirates bullpen can hold the lead.

On the plus side for the Phillies, Pat Burrell is off to a good start, going 3 for 4. Millwood had great control, throwing 56 of his 83 pitches for strikes. He pitched well enough to win, but at the moment is on the losing side of the ledger.

Update:After having a fairly easy 7th, Torres gives up a hit and a walk to start the 8th. A sacrifice puts runners on 2nd and 3rd for Rollins, who gets a sacrifice fly. It's 2-1 Pirates.

Update: Torres gets a groundout to end the inning.

I don't see Kerry Wood that often, but he looks a lot sleeker to me today. Has anyone else noticed that he's gotten thinner? He looks really good.

Kevin Brown is pitching a good game today. Through four innings, he's given up five hits, but no walks, and he's striking out a batter through inning. He's only thrown 50 pitches, 31 for strikes, a good ratio. He's getting ground balls, but I can't tell from the written play-by-plays if the infield defense is letting grounders through.

Jeremi Gonzalez, however, was not sharp. He's out of the game after 4 2/3 innings. He also gave up five hits, but added four walks to that. He was wild, with 39 of his 77 pitches outside the strikezone. Two of the five hits off him were for homeruns.

Damian Moss has picked up where Gonzalez left off. In facing four batters, he hit Giambi, walked Sheffield and gave up a three-run HR to Posada before striking out Clark to end the inning. It's a blow out now, Yankees up 8-1 in the middle of the fifth.

Steve Bonner at The Midnight Hour takes a close look at Mariano Rivera's Hall of Fame credentials.

The Yankees and Mariano Rivera have reached a deal that will keep the closer in NY likely through 2007.

In his rookie year of 1995, Rivera gave up 11 HR in 67.0 innings (he started 10 games that year). Since, he has given up 26 HR in 582 2/3 innings. Mariano does the three things you want a pitcher to do well. He strikes people out (although at 8.1 per 9 IP he's not overpowering), he doesn't walk too many (at 2.5 per 9, he's no Eckersley) and he really doesn't give up HR (about 1 every 18 innings). Unlike most closers of this era, Rivera is willing to enter with the game on the line in the 8th. He's a special pitcher.

As he sat at his locker on Monday morning, carefully etching his name across the sweet spot of two dozen baseballs, Mariano Rivera had history on his mind. He asked a group of reporters if they thought Goose Gossage, the former Yankees closer, belonged in the Hall of Fame.

Yes, Gossage belongs in the Hall. And if you define a Hall candidate as greatest at a position over a sustained period of time, Rivera will belong also.

The KC Royals have named Brian Anderson as their opening day starter. What's really interesting, however, is that it looks like the Royals will have four lefties in their rotation:

The Royals' top four starters to open the season will all likely be left-handers. Pena said there was "no question" that Jimmy Gobble, a 22-year-old left-hander, is the leading candidate for the fourth slot in the rotation.

If you're the Yankees and playing in Yankee Stadium, this is okay. I'll have to look at the makeup of the division at some point, but I'm not sure a rotation of lefties is the best strategy for the Royals.

Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle has been writing up a storm about the Astros bullpen. Check out his article about Mike Gallo trying to stay with the major league club, and about how the bullpen is shaping up in general.

It appears that Shawn, "The Wilting Man" Estes has won the job as the Rockies #1 starter.

Squaring off against Randy Johnson and the Arizona Diamondbacks would complete quite a whirlwind for Estes. He signed a $600,000 minor-league deal with the Rockies when no other teams showed interest. He arrived in camp in the best shape of his career, and further along than most pitchers after throwing all winter.

Maybe Dusty's comments got to him.

Roy Halladay is developing a changeup, and he likes the way it's coming along:

Roy Halladay is putting the final polish on his new pitch. Since the start of spring training, Halladay has been working on a changeup and yesterday against the Minnesota Twins he was throwing it to near perfection.

"My changeup was real good (yesterday), my curveball a lot better," the Blue Jays right-hander said of his four innings during which he gave up one run on five hits.

"The cutter wasn't very good in the bullpen, so I was trying to overcompensate on it and I was pulling it off the plate too much."

Baseball is a game of adjustments. I'm impressed Halladay is developing a new pitch. A lot of players would have sat on their Cy Young laurels and done nothing to improve themselves, believing they were good enough to win again. Halladay's not content with that; he's trying to increase his odds of repeating.

Jon at Talking Baseball alerts us to a potential struggle between good and bad coming up in August (scroll down to the end of the post). Reminds me of the time Tim Teufel faced Jim Gott. I also believe there was a Castro-Batista matchup at some point. :-)

Jeremy Senderowicz writes:

According to Tyler Kepner of the NYT, the Yankees have signed El Duque to a one-year deal: 500K guaranteed, with a chance for $1M in incentives. They don't expect him to be ready before May or June, and expect to use him as a reliever - possibly a one-batter guy.
Comments:
1) For him to sign for that little money, it seems like his health is still pretty shaky. That's practically tip money for the Yankees.
2) Yes, he's mercurial, mysterious and injury-prone. But El Duque is an exceptionally heady & gutsy pitcher on the mound. Remember Bill James' take on Howard Ehmke from the Book on Baseball Managers, and how it might work again? In a short series, if he's assigned to focus on a few righthanded batters (say Nomar and Manny), wouldn't you trust him to come up big?

I don't know. This seems more like George's typical "let's bring back an old former player so I look like a nice guy" deal.

Connors reported back to Steinbrenner that El Duque was about two months away from being ready, which was more than enough to convince The Boss. Two days after the workouts, Steinbrenner said, "I've always liked El Duque ... He's got courage, and I'm not afraid to take a chance with him."

If he works out, a great deal. If he doesn't, the Yankees haven't lost that much money. I don't see him as having a huge impact.

Ya Gotta Believe has a nice summary of the pitchers competing for jobs in the Devil Rays rotation.

Twenty-year-old Cole Hamels of the Phillies strikes out the side in the fifth. He has a nasty changeup. He's someone to watch. He has 147 career minor league strikeouts in 100 minor league innings.

The Yankees have given Donovan Osborne the number 46. He's pitching, and with his delivery, I keep thinking it's Pettitte out there.

Kevin Millwood looked very good in his first two innings, retiring all six batters and striking out Giambi and Matsui.

San Diego Padres: Home of the fat, bald dudes.
Correction: Fixed a typo.

Tony La Russa is going to try to limit Matt Morris' innings early in the season:

With the bullpen reeling last April and May from closer Jason Isringhausen's absence, Morris threw more than 100 pitches in 11 of his first 13 starts last season and at least 115 pitches in five of those 13. He worked at least eight innings in six of his first 11 outings, including a 125-pitch complete game May 4 in a 6-2 win over the Montreal Expos.

Morris is also working on a changeup.

"It's a testament to how talented and competitive he is to have the kind of success he's enjoyed," La Russa said before Monday's workout. "Everybody will tell you: If you have two pitches, smart hitters will subtract one. He needs that third one. It's really important."

La Russa referred to a recent conversation with Florida Marlins manager Jack McKeon about the opportunity spring training provides a proven pitcher to build his arsenal.

"If Matt is working on an eephus (pitch), throw it, throw it, throw it, throw it. If you struggle, so what," La Russa said. "You definitely need that third option. You can't tell that with somebody working to make the team. Matt's going to be there with Woody (Williams). Give a great effort but work on expanding your repertoire."

A 22-game winner in 2001 while relying on a fastball and devastating curveball, Morris says he has tinkered with a change-up since high school.

"The more pitches you have, the better off you are. That's obvious," said Morris, who will make his third consecutive Opening Day start when he faces the Milwaukee Brewers April 5.

Morris is also getting to the age when a pitcher's fastball starts to fade, so deception becomes even more important.

Back spasms and minor injuries seem to be dogging the A's pitching staff this spring. Mulder and Bradford each suffered from the spasms, but both are throwing now.

Here's a look at how the Indians pitching staff is shaping up. They are planning on carrying 12 pitchers. It wasn't that long ago that pitching staff went north with 10 pitchers, and trimmed it down to 9 after April. Those days, the big question was whether to carry a third catcher. According to this article, Wedge is trying to decide if he wants to spare outfielders or two spare infielders.

Part of the dilution of pitching is this expansion of the bullpen staff. Yes, expansion has contributed, but growing a staff from 10 to 12 also adds a lot of pitchers who don't really have the talent to be in the majors. I've always thought that 10 pitchers and 15 position players is the right mix. That way, you have enough lefty-righty bats on the bench for any batting situation, and you can carry a couple of defensive wizards to fill in late in the game for your lumbering sluggers. I'd love to see a team go back to 10 pitchers.

The White Sox are using an interesting strategy this spring. They are only using Shingo Takatsu against NL hitters:

With a funky, sidearm delivery, Takatsu has been baffling White Sox hitters during batting practice and his off-speed pitches have been particularly nasty.

"I don't want to pitch him against any American League team down here unless I have to,'' said Sox pitching coach Don Cooper. "I'd rather make it a complete surprise attack. Nobody's seen him, so let's keep him under wraps.''

The White Sox will play six exhibition games against the NL Arizona Diamondbacks this spring, and they also face the Colorado Rockies five times. If that's not enough to give Takatsu suitable work, the Sox have three "B'' games as another option.

I don't know how long they'll be able to keep him a secret. I assume other teams will have scouts watching, and I'm sure video tape of his delivery will get out. It's a good mind game, however.

Rooftop Report tells me that the Cubs have signed Kerry Wood to a new three-year contract. Congratulations to Kerry, and the Cubs fans have to be happy that Wood won't be testing the free agent waters any time soon.

The Rangers have everyone in camp, including Jeff Zimmerman:

Still, one of the highlights for Showalter was watching Zimmerman throw batting practice.

Zimmerman, who missed the past two seasons because of a right elbow injury that required reconstructive surgery, threw for eight minutes to Brian Jordan, Brad Fullmer, Laynce Nix and Ken Huckaby.

"We're happy to get to that point," Showalter said. "He's talking about mechanics, talking about grips, talking about stuff that pitchers talk about in spring training other than the health of his arm."

After making the All-Star team as a rookie in 1999 and having 28 saves in 31 chances in 2001, Zimmerman got a $10 million, three-year contract. He got hurt the next spring and hasn't pitched for Texas since.

A healthy Zimmerman will be a boon to the Texas pitching staff. Glad to see he's recovering.

Chad Bentz, a left-handed pitcher, is trying to make the Expos bullpen. What's most interesting about him is his lack of a right hand.

"I don't consider it a handicap," said Bentz. "If I did, I would get a parking sticker.

"It doesn't prevent me from doing anything. I call it a birthmark. I think it would be boring to catch normally, without switching the glove, but I'm sure it's not normal for anyone else."

He hopes to follow in the footsteps of Jim Abbott, who was born without a right hand but had a 10-year major league career that included throwing a no-hitter for the New York Yankees against Cleveland on Sept. 4, 1993.

"I saw him and I almost fell out of my chair -- he was exactly like me," Bentz said of Abbott, whom he met in 1999 while playing for Long Beach State University. "Meeting him was probably one of the best experiences of my life.

Like Abbott, he throws and catches with the same hand. I really enjoyed watching Abbott pitch, and I hope Bentz has as much success.

As you may know by now, the Houston Astros have named Roy Oswalt their opening day starter.

A 19-game winner in 2002, Oswalt chose to rehab his injury last summer rather than get surgery. The decision allowed him to return to the mound in September and win four games down the stretch as Houston's bid to catch the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central fell just short.

"He could have said, 'I'm injured, I need an operation, I might hurt myself if I try to continue pitching,'" Williams said. He didn't, and the manager rewarded his dedication with Sunday's move.

I have a minor quibble with this. Spring training should be used to decide some things, like who should be the opening day starter. Why not have a friendly competition between Oswalt, Clemens and Pettitte? Make them work for it, in other words.

Ken Mandel of MLB.com has an article on how the Phillies are trying to correct an offensive flaw; their pitchers can't bunt.

I'm not a big proponent of the bunt in general, but it is the one offensive contribution pitchers can make. Why is this issue just being addressed now? Clearly, if pitchers weren't good at laying down bunts, something should have been done in the middle of last season. It shouldn't be that difficult to teach a professional ballplayer how to bunt.

It's a holiday for Roy Halladay, as he's about to sign a 4-year contract worth $42 million, according to the Globe and Mail.

It's a good signing. I don't think Roy is the best pitcher in the AL, but he's certainly one of the best. He's still young at 27, and he should be able to anchor the rotation through the length of the contract. Plus, the Globe and Mail nails something else that Ricciardi is accomplishing:

The Blue Jays now have considerable cost certainty, with six players signed beyond this season (Halladay, Vernon Wells, Eric Hinske and off-season acquisitions Miguel Batista, Ted Lilly and Kerry Ligtenberg). Halladay, Wells and Hinske are signed through 2007.

If you do long term contracts right, they are great at controlling costs, and they make your players tradable. The Indians did this in the early 90's, locking up their good, young players for the decade. They were able to avoid arbitration, no one left for free agency until the Indians had gotten their best years, and the Indians were able to trade for baseball value rather than for contract considerations. Once again, Ricciardi looks like he knows what he's doing.

Kazuhiro Sasaki says he will not play for the Mariners this year, and will forfeit the $9.5 million he is owed for the season.

"It's a personal situation," agent Tony Attanasio said. "He wanted to stay home with his kids. Last year, he did not have his kids with him and his wife. He had to have that, and he left a lot of money on the table."

Attanasio said Sasaki may pitch in Japan next season but "he will not pitch again in the United States."

It looks like this makes Hasegawa the closer for the Mariners, unless Bavasi can convince Sasaki to change his mind.

U.S.S. Mariner has a very pragmatic view of this.

Update: Here's a translated interview with Sasaki.

Jay Jaffe has an excellent post on what the Yankees need to do with their rotation. He wrote it before the Vazquez trade, but he had Javier listed as one of his top four choices for the Yankees.

Just wanted to respond to one of the comments to the post about the Yankees acquistion of Paul Quantrill.

I'm a little surprised at the reaction, but maybe just because I've watched Quantrill be quite effective over the past year, and haven't seen much of Gordon. If my quick addition is correct, over the past two years Gordon and Quantrill have given up the same number of hits, while Gordon has walked 23 more people. (Gordon has five more innings pitched.) I think it isn't a sure thing that relatively poor infield defense will give up 23 more groundball hits over roughly 150 innings than will good defense. Gordon might work out betterthan will Quantrill, but I'm not sure the difference will be great enough to be excited about the one acquisition but not the other.

We can use my probabilistic model of range to help answer this, at least for 2003.

Team	Expected Outs	Expected DER	Actual Outs	Actual DER	DER Difference
Tom Gordon	124.6	0.692	124.0	0.689	-0.00332
Paul Quantrill	156.4	0.686	166.0	0.728	0.04219

So, at least last year, balls put into play against Gordon were easier to field. Quantrill had a much better defense behind him. I could easily see the +10 outs for Quantrill going to a -10 outs with the Yankees. The many fewer balls in play against Gordon should lead to more success for him.

Of course, if the Yankees realize this, they'll only use Quantrill in bases empty situations, where a single isn't going to score a run, and Gordon with men in scoring position, where the strikeout is more helpful.

Update: Here's the table just for ground balls:

Team	Expected Outs	Expected DER	Actual Outs	Actual DER	DER Difference
Tom Gordon	58.2	0.737	58.0	0.734	-0.00297
Paul Quantrill	82.4	0.749	89.0	0.809	0.05972

This shows that Quantrill's boost came from the Dodgers doing a good job of fielding his grounders. It's also interesting to note that while balls in play against Gordon were easier to field overall, Quantrill's groundballs were easier to field than Gordon's.

Tom of Shallow Center wants to see Curt Schilling back in the city of brotherly love.

Wade already has parted with one prize pitching prospect this off-season in Taylor Buchholz, who was dealt to the Astros in exchange for Billy Wagner. I understand his reluctance to part with Myers, whom the D'backs are said to like; Myers has the look of a stud. But there aren't many Schillings floating around, and the Phillies are no longer rebuilding -- their time to win is now, not in five years. And Schilling would greatly increase their chances.

Plus, watching him and Larry Bowa try to coexist would be absolutely priceless.

Schilling seems to be the hot commodity right now. He's not a long term solution, however, and he is pricey. It will be interesting to see how much the DBacks can get for him.

Rich Lederer takes a look at Roger Clemens and Josh Beckett.

Mike Mussina is getting ripped by Mike Vaccaro of the NY Post; not for the way he pitches, but for the way he handles himself afterward:

"We always seem to do better when I'm not pitching," Mussina fumed. "I'm just going to let the other guys have at, win the series, and move on to another round."

That's what he said. This is what he meant: We always seem to score buckets of runs when the Rocket's on the mound, when Andy Pettitte's on the mound, when Boomer Wells is on the mound. And when I'm on the mound, our offense goes into hibernation.

It doesn't matter that he happens to be right. It does matter that he is supposed to be a leader on this team, a pillar around which everything is supposed to be built. Through most of his career, Mussina has come off aloof at best, arrogant at worst. Now, we know that we were well off with those assessments.

He's just selfish as hell.

With a playoff record that's just plain hell.

"We're not giving him a lot to work with," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "He's been pitching under pressure and he's done very well. We just haven't been able to pull the trigger on an inning for him."

That's what Torre said. And this is what Torre meant: Mussina, the staff ace, the man who's supposed to be a stopper, has instead developed this unsettling trait, generally associated with a No. 4 starter on a second-division team: he pitches just well enough to lose.

See, what Mussina is supposed to do is say, "I shouldn't have given up those two HR. I let my teammates down." Then Mike Vaccaro can go and write what a standup guy Mussina is and how the offense is letting him down.

And I think that's fair. Part of being on a team is taking the blame for what happens, whether it's your fault or not. Peter Gammons tells a story about Dennis Eckersley. Eck loses a game in Boston because the shortstop made an error. After the game, the press is coming after the shortstop, and Eck starts pushing the reporters away, telling them that it was he who stunk out there tonight, he who put the guys on base so the error could lead to a run. That's what people want to hear from Mussina.

As for an objective evaluation of Mussina's Yankees post-season numbers, he's had five good outings for the Yankees and three bad ones for a 2-4 record. He has a no decision in one good outing and one bad outing. His problem in the post-season with New York has been the HR; he's allowed 11 in 47 1/3 innings. If you stretch that out to 200 innings, that's over 40 HR allowed. Mussina's career high in HR allowed is 31. So Mussina does have himself to blame for some of his post-season failures.

However, the Yankees run support per 9 for Mussina is only 2.28! Even if Mussina had an ERA of 3.00 instead of 3.99, he'd still have a losing record. I understand why Mussina is upset. But taking it out on his teammates is not going to win him any friends.

Mike is pitching very well tonight. He's struck out 9 through six innings, walked none, and 57 of his 79 pitches have been for strikes. He can easily complete the game at this pace. But someone will complain about the two HR he's allowed, how it's another example of his being near great. I'm sure the Yankees will take this kind of performance anytime.

Poor Clemens. He seems to get it from both sides. Maybe Michele and Jack should get together for tomorrow's game. :-)

Jan from Wellesley sends this link to a Jack Curry article in the NY Times:

But for all of Mussina's fabulous achievements, he has also been a pitcher who has been too routine about barely missing even more greatness. Sometimes, it has not been his fault, because he received no support. Sometimes, it seems ludicrous to criticize a pitcher as consistent as Mussina. Still, he has a career nicked with too many instances when he was almost special.

...

How close has Mussina come to reaching marks of greatness? He came within one strike of throwing a perfect game against these Red Sox in 2001. He has won 18 or 19 games five times, but he has never hit 20. Mussina, who dominated the 1997 A.L.C.S. for the Orioles and still did not win a game, has a career record of 4-4 in the postseason.

A 34-year-old right-hander, Mussina has 199 victories, but he failed in two attempts to get his 200th last month. Being stuck on 199 for the winter seemingly fits the theme of his career. It is a career, by the way, that is almost worthy of the Hall of Fame.

Irina Paley asks, "What's wrong with Mussina?"

The pitching seemed to all come together in the last days of the season - each starter got that one bad game out of his system, and it was supposed to be smooth sailing. But, the post season has not been kind to Mike Mussina. He blew the first game against Minnesota, and now the first game against Boston. This was supposed to be a freebie for the Yanks - get all your wins before you have to face Pedro. Mussina was always behind in the count, and just seemed to fall apart altogether.

I don't think anything is wrong with Mussina. I don't think just missing a perfect game or just missing 20 wins a number of times or just missing 200 wins (when he's going to get there next year) really says anything negative about Mussina. He had a lousy night; he couldn't throw strikes early in the count. A lot of those pitches were close, and a less selective team than the Red Sox might have swung at them. I agree with Torre that Mussina wasn't squeezed. (I thought the ump was more generous with Wakefield, but knuckle balls move so much it's hard to tell.) If Mussina pitches the way he did against the Twins, he'll win most of those games. If he pitches like he did last night, he's going to lose most of those games. I'd be very happy to send him to the mound in 35 times a year, and as often as I can in the playoffs.

Correction: I called Mussina Wakefield in the last paragraph. I've corrected that.

It's nice to see Jaret Wright back in the playoffs and pitching well. He just finished another perfect inning for Atlanta. He's now gone four innings in this series, with no hits and three strikeouts. If Leo Mazzone can do for Jaret what he did for Hampton, the Braves will have another good starter next year.

It appears that Jason Schmidt's elbow was worse than previously reported.

It had been reported for much of the season that Schmidt's sore elbow was a result of tendinitis, the paper said. But head trainer Stan Conte told The Chronicle on Saturday that information was technically accurate but did not convey the extent of the injury, which was kept quiet for competitive reasons.

"Everyone thought his season was over in August based on the initial MRI that we took," Conte told the paper. "After discussions with a lot of doctors we decided there was no increased risk if he kept throwing."

This makes his Game 1 shutout even more impressive.

John Smoltz comes into the game in the 8th for the Braves. A six-out save for Smoltz? I guess we'll see how rusty John is.

Update: Smoltz blows the save, giving up hits to Karros and Simon, and then pinch-runner Glanville scored on a sac fly. It's 3-3 going to the bottom of the 8th. Maybe Smoltz wants to pick up his 13th post-season win, which would break the tie for first with Glavine.

Mike Mussina probably blew whatever chance he had of winning the Cy Young award with his performance in the six inning today. The White Sox were not fooled, and they laid hit after hit on Mussina. He allowed four hits in a row, got an out, then allowed five hits in a row. By the time the dust had settled, Mike let in eight runs, and got tagged for the loss.

Congratulations to Esteban Loaiza, who got his 20th win of the season. A great comeback year for him.

My good friend Jim Storer called me today to ask about a stat he heard concerning Greg Maddux. It seems that in his last win, Maddux had gone five innings and thrown only 43 pitches. Jim wondered if this was the fewest pitches a starter threw this year to pick up a victory, and indeed it was. The next closest was 58.

I just looked back to 1988, the era in which STATS, Inc. has accurate pitch data, and found this ties the lowest number of pitches for a starter in a win. Sid Fernandez, on April 14, 1993 won throwing only 43 pitches against the Rockies. Maddux actually makes the top six three times, with a 48 pitch win on Sept. 23, 1996 and a 49 pitch win on Sept. 27, 2002.

Irina Paley discusses possible nicknames for Jeff Weaver. :-)

Kip Wells through seven shutout innings today to help the Pirates defeat the Reds 7-0. Wells is 3-1 in September with a 1.57 ERA. He's not the greatest pitcher in the league, but many teams could do worse than to have him as their #2 starter. Good to see him finishing the season strongly.

Roy Halladay continues his push for the Cy Young award. He's shutout Detroit through six innings tonight, walking none and striking out six. His ERA is down to 3.22.

Mark Bridgers writes:

The talk around Atlanta is that Maddux does not keep himself in shape, like Clemens or other pitchers. He literally runs out of gas around 80 pitches, and seems content with that. I don't think he's begging out early to protect his ERA, he just can't go more than 6 innings very often anymore. I believe that's why he didn't get any offers last offseason, and I doubt he will this one either, unless he either gets on a treadmill, or cuts his asking price dramatically.

I asked him about the famed Braves conditioning program:

The conditioning program, "Camp Leo", is optional. Maddux has never taken part. All the others, especially new guys like Hampton, Byrd, and Ortiz, show up eager to learn. Until this year, whatever Maddux did or didn't do was working quite well, so why mess with it? This year, however, his age and relative lack of condition are really showing up. It is a little sad to see the greatest pitcher of my generation not try to extend his career. At least not yet. I doubt he'll be in Atlanta next year, unless things change like I mentioned earlier.

If this is really true, maybe a game like last night will make Maddux wake up and try harder. If he got in shape enough to finish games, he might start posting 20 win seasons again.

My last post of the evening last night was on Greg Maddux. After I wrote that, the Braves bullpen blew the lead and lost the game in the 10th inning. Denying Maddux his 15th win, which would set the record for most consecutive 15 win seasons. Maddux had this to say:

"Merck made a perfect pitch; it's a shame we didn't get the call," said Maddux, who's 0-1 in two starts since getting his 14th win. "For me to feel sorry for myself, I'd be the biggest [jerk] in the world. I feel bad for Merck. . . . Ten years ago, I might have finished it. Who knows?"

Greg Maddux is 37 years old, and all he can throw is 82 pitches? Do you see Moyer or Clemens coming out of games after 82 pitches? I've been a big fan of Maddux for a long time, and I always thought Bobby Cox managed him poorly by taking him out of games too soon. But now I'm wondering if it's been Greg all along taking himself out too soon to protect his ERA? Maybe my respect was misplaced? Maddux should want to complete games, should not want to leave his W-L record in the hands of his bullpen. I'm very disappointed.

I don't understand this. Greg Maddux pitches seven strong innings, throws only 82 pitches, and comes out of the game. I read somewhere that it's Maddux's choice. It seems, come playoff time, that the way to approach Greg is to work up his pitch counts. Now, that's not easy if he's throwing strikes, but batters could choke up and try to foul off pitches.

Jon from Dodger Thoughts wrote about Ishii's overall wildness, and how it doesn't seem to hurt him, in May.

I was going to make this a game of the day, but I'm so shocked I have to write a separate post. I'm seldom flabbergasted by baseball stats anymore. Colby Lewis winning eight games with a 7+ ERA doesn't throw me, because I know he has a good offense behind him. Detroit possibly losing 120+ games doesn't bother me, because you get a team this bad 2 or 3 times a century. But when I looked at the matchup in tonight's DBacks-Dodgers game, I was taken aback. The first thing I saw was that Ishii had a career record against the DBacks of 3-0 with a 1.22 ERA. But then I noticed the context. He's pitched 37 innings against the DBacks, and has walked 24 men! That's almost six per nine innings. How does that jibe with a 1.22 ERA?

I thought that maybe there were one or two games where he walked a lot of DBacks, but looking at the six games, his best outing was 2 BB in 5 1/3 innings. He's given up four HR in those 37 innings, accounting for all five runs he's allowed. And the base runner who scored on the two run homer reached by a HBP! None of the 24 batters Ishii has walked has come around to score! The Diamondbacks have not been able to execute against Ishii, going 0 for 18 with runners in scoring position against him with eight walks.

It's probably all luck, but it will be fun to keep an eye on this game tonight to see if it continues.

Colby Lewis won his 8th game tonight. Highest ERA to win at least 8 games in a season:

Pitcher	ERA	Record
Colby Lewis, 2003	7.67	8-9
Jim Walkup, 1937	7.36	9-12
Jack Knott, 1936	7.29	9-17

In his wins, his ERA is 3.83.

Just how good have the Dodgers pitchers been? In there last six games, totalling 52 innings pitched, opponents have only scored in 4 of those innings ( a total of 11 runs). With consecutive shoutouts of San Diego, the staff has recorded 19 straight scoreless innings. The Dodgers Team ERA now stands at 3.05; that's the lowest any team ERA has been since 1991, when the Dodgers posted a 3.03 mark. It's a shame that this team hasn't been able to come up with a hitter or two to give this staff some support.

Mike Maroth does not appear to want that 21st loss. He has a shutout through the 6th inning, even though he's throwing a lot of pitches for balls (only 53 strikes in 93 pitches). The Royals really need a win. If they can't beat the losingest pitcher in the game, maybe they don't deserve to go to the playoffs.

Roy Halladay improved his Cy Young chances today, while Esteban Loaiza hurt his. Loaiza really only had one bad inning where the Twins were able to string some hits together. Otherwise, he pitched a good game, striking out nine through seven innings, walking only 1 and not allowing a HR. Most games, stats like that will get you a win.

Meanwhile, Halladay had an easy time with Tampa Bay. The Devil Rays didn't even have an AB with runners in scoring position. He was extremely efficient, using only 93 pitches to complete his 7th game of the year and pick up his 20th win. Loaiza still leads Halladay by 1/2 a run in ERA, and he's pitching against better opponents. And Tim Hudson is probably better than both of them. But Roy is making things interesting, and it will be a good argument at the end of the season.

Mike Maroth gave up four in the fourth and didn't finish the inning. He gave up eight runs in total, and the Tigers are losing 8-6 in the 8th. Looks like loss 20 is almost in the bag.

Idiots don't think so.

I don't think Gagne is anywhere near an MVP this year. He is tied with Schmidt and Livan Hernandez for most win shares among pitchers, so there actually is good Cy Young argument for him. But Pujols and Bonds blow him away in the MVP race.

Doug Waechter, making his second major league appearance and first start, shuts down the Mariners for a complete game shutout. He allowed only 2 hits and walked 2. He was very efficient, using only 100 pitches. That will make fans take notice, and it'a boost the DRays can use.

The aptly named Grant Balfour has walked the first two batters he faced today. It's his first major league start. He has struck out 19 in 16 1/3 innings this year, but he's walked 8.

Update: He ended up walking three, but struck out Molina with the bases loaded to end the inning. Balfour doesn't give up many hits, but his stats look a lot like Bobby Witt.

Jeremy Bonderman will not pick up his 19th loss tonight. He did blow a 6-2 lead, but the Tigers have come back to take the lead 7-6, and with Bonderman out of the game he is off the hook. Still plenty of time to get to 20.

I just noticed that Jesse Orosco was back in the majors, knocking Rickey Henderson out of the oldest active player spot. The Twins actually traded a prospect for him, Juan Padilla, who looks like he has decent minor league numbers. I find it hard to believe that the Twins don't have one young lefty in their organization that can do as well as Orosco. Yes, he can get the lefties out okay, but he can't get righties out at all. So when he comes into the game, all you have to do is pinch hit with a righty, and you'll have Barry Bonds at the plate. Jesse should retire. He's a nice story, but it's worn thin.

Mark Prior continues to be the hottest pitcher since the start of August.

Pitcher	Record	ERA
Mark Prior	6-0	0.57
Johan Santana	5-0	1.07
Javier Vazquez	4-1	1.15
Carlos Zambrano	3-1	1.18
Jason Schmidt	3-1	1.27

While people seem to like Eric Gagne for the Cy Young award, the way Prior and Schmidt are pitching, I think it's going to be a close race, especially if the Cubs and Giants make the playoffs and the Dodgers don't.

Roy Halladay sure threw like a Cy Young candidate today, beating the Yankees 8-1. He pitched his 10th complete game of the year, using only 103 pitches while walking one and striking out 10. Halladay is now 18-6.

David Wells gave up five earned runs in 7 innings to raise his ERA to 4.45. It was a fast game, 2 hours and 11 minutes, matching the fastest Yankee game of the year.

The Royals waste no time getting Brian Anderson into a game, and he's perfect through three. He's thrown 39 pitches with a perfect 2-1 strike/ball ratio.

It looks like Livan Hernandez is back to his great post-season form. He shut the Phillies down tonight, pitching a complete game, allowing 1 run, 8 hits and 9 strikeouts. In his last 10 starts, he's given up 1 run or less 8 times. Not only did he rest the Expos bullpen, but the Expos offense forced the Phillies pen to work 6 1/3 innings. Expos now three games out of the wild card, and the Marlins move into a tie with the Phillies. There will be seven teams within 3 games of the wild card tomorrow morning.

I'm throwing out a question and I don't know the answer. Pedro is likely to lead the league in ERA and strikeouts, since he's in the lead in those two categories. His lead in strikeouts is pretty amazing considering how few innings he's pitched this year. It's hard for me to imagine at this point that he'll have more than 15 wins, and like last year, he'll probably fall short of 200 innings. Yet, at the moment, he's clearly the best pitcher in the AL. How much should his fragility cost him? As of August 19, Pedro was six win shares behind Hudson, or 2 team wins. It will be interesting to see how much he can make up between now and the end of the season. At this point, you give it to Hudson or Loaiza, but if it's down to 1 or 2 win shares, I think you give it to Pedro.

Tom Glavine is perfect through 3, and he's only thrown 30 pitches. The Mets are beating Kevin Brown 2-0 in the fourth.

Kerry Wood got hit hard tonight. He gave up six hits in four innings, one a 2-run HR by Craig Biggio. Wood has now given up 26 runs (all earned) in his last 32 innings.

Dave Veres relieved him and did even worse, allowing hits to the first five batters to face him. The Astros lead 8-1.

Pedro Martinez did not start for the Red Sox tonight. He has a sore throat and a stomach ache. Part of me wants to say, "Suck it up, Pedro! This is the biggest game of the year!" but I know that's not fair. Still, I have to believe that a sick Pedro is better than a healthy Casey Fossum.

The Cincinnati Reds have to be happy with the Guillen trade today, as Aaron Harang wins his third straight game and beats Randy Johnson 2-0. Aaron went seven shutout innings, walking none and striking out 6. He has a 2.37 ERA since joining the Reds. Given the state of the Reds pitching before the trade, this is a tremendous improvement.

Adam Gilbert thinks that Brandon Webb should win the NL Rookie of the Year award over Dontrelle Willis, and I have to agree.

Brandon Webb continues to impress. Through four innings tonight, he's allowed only 1 hit by the Reds, while striking out 7. His ERA is down to 2.48, and has been one of the steadiest rookies in the NL this year.

Mike Maroth lost his 18th game of the year tonight. The question I'm sure we'll be hearing is, "Should he be allowed to lose 20?" In the case of Maroth I would have to answer that question no. If someone is pitching well and losing 20 because the team is bad, let him pitch. But what has Maroth done well this year? He's walked a little over two per 9 innings, which is good, but he's given up a lot of HR, and he doesn't strike batters out. His ERA is 5.25. If the Tigers have no one better in their farm system, I guess they have to keep putting him out there. But most teams would have sent him down before this.

Johan Santana gave the Twins a gift tonight, an eight inning, ten strikeout win against the Inidans. He threw 100 pitches, 73 for strikes and got eight runs in support. The poorly named Grant Balfour (any relation to Bob Walk?) finished the game, retiring the side in order in the 9th with two strikeouts of his own.

Amaury Telemaco made a successful debut tonight. He went seven innings, allowing four hits and two runs. The good control he showed in the minors was also in evidence tonight, as he walked none. Seventy of his 104 pitches were thrown for strikes. The Phillies have to be extremely encouraged with this performance.

Mike Mussina is certainly in the Cy Young running, especially after today's performance He's gone eight innings allowing only three singles and striking out nine. He's on in the ninth (only 109 pitches so far) to go for the shutout.

Update: Mussina compeletes the game, a 3-hit, 9-K shutout. He faced 30 batters, threw 121 pitches, 82 for strikes.

Esteban Loaiza had a bad outing against Texas last night, giving up 7 runs in 5 innings, raising his ERA to 2.55. That lowers his standing to third in the league, and makes the Cy Young race even more interesting. Pedro Martinez has the lowest ERA right now, but he does not have the wins or the innings pitched. Tim Hudson is 2nd in ERA, but only has 11 wins. Loaiza, at 15-6 and a 2.55 ERA still has the best combination of wins and ERA. You have Halladay sitting 8th in ERA but with 16 wins, and Mulder and Mussina are sitting there just above 3.00, and a strong finish could propel them to the favorite spot. A month and a half to go in the season, and there's not clear favorite.

Jeff Suppan has given up seven hits so far tonight, six of them for extra bases. Since joining the Red Sox, 16 or the 20 hits he's allowed have been for extra bases. (Throught 4 innings tonight). He's given up four earned runs in 4 2/3 innings so far, giving him an ERA of an even 9.00 since joining the Red Sox.

Peter Gammons has a good column on a theme I've been hitting this year; the development of good, young pitchers.

But there's a second level to all this. "Five years ago, all we heard about were home run records, steroids, corked bats and the strike zone," one assistant GM said. "But there's a very good generation of young pitchers being developed throughout the game, starting with Oakland and Houston. Look around the minors and I think you'll see there is a trend." Next June's draft may have as much college pitching talent as any in many years.

Brad Radke is getting beat 2-0 by the Indians this afternoon. One of the two runs came on a Travis Hafner HR. It was the 26th HR allowed by Brad this season, and the 17th at home. Entering today, he had a 6.39 ERA at home, 3.48 on the road.

Mike Maroth is off to a bad start, giving up a two-run HR to Alex Rodriguez in the first. He's on his way to his 17th loss of the year. Tigers Maroth (16), Bonderman (15) and Bernero (12) are 1-2-3 in the AL in losses.

A great eight innings so far for Carlos Zambrano tonight. Just when the Cubs needed a big game against the Astros, Zambrano has shut them down, allowing four hits, two walks and striking out 10. The Cubs lead 3-0 in the top of the ninth, and it looks like Zambrano will be out to finish the game. He's thrown 113 pitches so far, 73 for strikes.

I'm really starting to wonder if Maddux is going to last long enough to get 300 wins. He's pitching against the San Diego Padres tonight, the team with the third fewest runs scored in the majors, and they are hitting him. Maddux has gone four innings, and given up 12 hits and five runs. Ten of those hits were singles, but the Padres aren't being fooled. Maddux is throwing strikes (35 of 53 pitches), but they are strikes the Padres can handle.

In his last three starts, Pedro Martinez has thrown 128, 111 and 128 pitches. He's in the bottom of the 5th, and is nearing 100 pitches, and he's losing control. He's walked two men in a row to load the bases, but comes back to strike out Tejada on a high 2-2 pitch. It's not clear if he will come out for the sixth; Casey Fossum is warming up.

Meanwhile, Hudson has only thrown 54 pitches and has allowed only one hit.

The Yankees bullpen is got hammered tonight. Over the last 8 games in which the pen has appeared, they are 1-4 with an 8.84 ERA. They have two saves and have blown three. In 18 1/3 innings, they have allowed 23 hits and 11 walks. The trades they have made have not helped. NY is going to have to have their starters go deep.

Alex Belth has been corresponding with Will Carroll about Mariano Rivera's mechanics. It's an interesting read, and something to watch the next time you see Rivera pitch.

The Clark and Addison Chronicle is upset that Dusty set a pitch limit for Mark Prior yesterday and didn't adhere to it. Here were my thoughts on the game, before I knew there was a pre-set limit.

The commentors disagree with the Chonicle on this one. I'm not sure how I feel. Jason Steffens has an excellent point:

But if Baker thinks before the game that it's necessary to limit Prior's pitches such that he tells everyone that's what he's going to do, he should stick to that plan. The reasons for limiting a pitcher's pitch count don't disappear after he's thrown 8 innings.

On the other hand, Baker's primary job is to win. The Cubs are in the thick of a pennant race, and why trust the last three outs to a pitcher who probably isn't as good as the one on the mound. The game was close at that point, Prior wasn't quite at 100 pitches yet, and I can see Baker sending him out, pulling him if he got in any trouble. Looking at the play by play, I'm surprised he wasn't pulled after the Green single with two outs. But Burnitz was 0-3 with 2 K, and Prior struck him out to end the game.

Personally, I would have let him face one batter in the ninth. I definitely would have pulled him after the Green single. But I can't fault Baker here. It's nice to see a Cubs manager who wants to win this year.

Of course, now that I look at the news story, it was Prior who wanted to stay in. Dusty did go out to the mound after Prior gave up the single:

Prior had just given up a two-out single to Shawn Green, and tough left-handed hitter Jeromy Burnitz was coming to the plate with the Cubs leading the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-1.

What did Prior think as Baker approached?

"That I was done," Prior said. "I had success against Burnitz all day. Basically, I told him (Baker) it was my game to lose and I want to at least have a shot."

Baker gave Prior his shot, and the 22-year-old right-hander didn't miss. He struck out Burnitz, and the Cubs had their victory and a 4-2 record on the West Coast trip as they snapped a two-game losing skid.

"I really didn't know what I was going to do when I went out there," said Baker, whose team is 60-56. "I wanted to look into his eyes and see if I saw fatigue or anything. He said, 'I feel good. It's my ballgame.' Damian Miller (the Cubs' catcher) convinced me. He said, 'He's throwing better now than he was before.' I said, 'Let's go.'"

Mark Prior pitched as good a game as you can expect from someone going up against Kevin Brown. Prior went nine, throwing only 116 pitches, 84 for strikes. He gave up 5 hits, walked 1 and struck out 9. It's his thrid complete game victory of the year, but the first since 4/19.

Jason Schmidt was scratched from today's start against the Phillies. The Giants would do well to try to let his elbow heal, especially with a big lead in the West.

The Yankees recent bullpen pickups did not pan out today. Orosco came in to get one batter, and gave up a hit. Nelson came in to get out of the inning and gave up 2 hits and 2 walks, and the Mariners went from down 4-1 to up 6-4. To the bottom of the 7th.

Gil Meche has had an excellent year against the Yankees. In two starts, including this afternoon's 2-1 victory, Meche has gone 15 2/3 innings, struckout 11, walked three and has an 0.57 ERA. Not a bad year against a potent offense. With Pineiro, Moyer, Franklin and Meche, the Mariners post four starters with ERA's under 4.00 (and all with over 20 starts). They are the only AL team with four 20 game starters with that low an ERA. In the NL, Philadelphia and the Chicago Cubs also boast that good a starting staff.

Robert Tagorda compares the two closers, and likes Gagne better.

Scott Williamson, the erstwhile closer for the Cincinnati Reds, was brought into a tight situation for the Boston Red Sox today. Lowe entered the inning leading by one, and gave up a single, walk and double to leave the game tied and men on 2nd and 3rd. Enter Williamson. This is a situation that begs for a closer; and since the Red Sox have two now (Kim being the other one), you would think this is a perfect situation to use one, and still have one for the ninth. Williamson struck out Conine, but after an IBB, the flood gates opened. Williamson gave up three straight singles to resulting in four runs. Sauerbeck came in and made sure the remainder of the runners Williamson left on base scored. All in all, a seven run seventh for the Orioles.

Sometimes I think these closers can't pitch unless they come on in the ninth with the bases empty.

Jason Steffens of The Clark and Addison Chronicle comments on my Kerry Wood post of last night. He's believes a comparison to Nolan Ryan is more appropriate than a comparison to Bobby Witt.

Kerry Wood pitched a good game last night, striking out 10 and allowing two runs in 7 1/3 innings. However, he walked four. In his first 107 IP this year, he walked 43, or 3.6 per 9. In his last 47 1/3 innings, he's walked 32, or 6.1 per 9. He's not going to be successful putting that many runners on base. His ERA for the first period was 2.94; since then, it's been 4.56. Wood strikes out a tremendous number of batters, which is a great strength, but he needs to go back toward being the pitcher who struck out 20 and walked none, or he'll end up with a Bobby Witt career.

Pedro Martinez has pitched a very efficient eight innings tonight. Despite striking out 10, he's only thrown 108 pitches, 77 of them for strikes. There is no action in the Boston bullpen, so it looks like Pedro is going for the complete game victory with the Sox up 3-1. If he does finish the game, it will be his 2nd CG of the year.

Last night, Jason Schmidt pitched about as well as someone can pitch. He went seven shutout innings, allowing four hits and no walks while striking out three. He threw 80 pitches, 60 for strikes. He came out after only 80 pitches because he's experienced tightness in his right forearm:

Still, Schmidt's case is as good as anybody's right now. He didn't have his dominating stuff -- Schmidt only fanned three against the Pirates -- and still shut down his one-time team before leaving after 80 pitches.

Schmidt had an 11-day layoff because of tightness in his right forearm before returning to the rotation last Wednesday but said his arm is fine.

"We've got a good bullpen, so why not let them take over?" Schmidt said. "This is the time of year you've got to be careful. I want to make sure what I had happen in the past doesn't reoccur."

One of the advantages of a huge lead in a division race is that you can afford to rest your front line players and make sure the team is healthy for the playoffs. I suspect they'll treat Schmidt with kid gloves the rest of the way.

Another good outing from A's rookie Rich Harden. Six inning, two runs, six strikeouts. His ERA is now 1.33. The A's are leading 7-2 in the 9th, so it looks like Harden will pick up his third win in four starts. A great start to a major league career.

Okay, I have to refer you to this part of this post:

Suppan, like Jose Guillen, is having a career year. Prior to this year, his lowest ERA in a year in which he pitched 100 innings was 4.37. He's never been a strikeout pitcher and he ususally gives up a good number of HR. His walks are usually between 2.5 and 3.0 per 9 IP. This year, he's gotten those down to 2.0. He's also reduced his HR rate by 45%. Is it real? There's a good chance it's the park in Pittsburgh. He had a 2.88 ERA in Pittsburgh and a 4.36 ERA on the road. He's probably better than Mendoza, but I would not be surprised to see him get pounded at Fenway.

(Emphasis added)
Suppan gave up two HR in the 2nd inning, solo shots by Spiezio and Kennedy.

Rod Beck is quietly having an excellent year for a poor team. He picked up his 15th save today, and is currently posting a 1.99 ERA and a .188 opponents batting average. He has not blown a save this year. The Padres finally have a replacement for Hoffman, but it's too late in the season to make a difference this year.

Jimmy Gobble is pitching about as good as you would want for someone in their MLB debut. Through five innings, he's allowed only 4 hits, 1 walk and he's K'd 3. Forty five of his sixty six pitches have been for strikes. Being efficient like that, he should be able to gobble up some innings. KC leads 2-0.

Sheets and Hernandez did not disappoint in their game north of the border. Ben went six innings for Milwuakee, allowing 2 runs, Livan went seven, allowing only 1 run and striking out seven. He only threwn 101 pitches. Unfortunately for Sheets, the Brewer bullpen has not been good, and the score is now Montreal 4, Milwaukee 1 in the bottom of the 7th.

Kevin Millwood used only 105 pitches to shut down the Padres. The Phillies got him six runs, but the one in the first was all he needed. Three hits, one walk and nine K for the shutout.

Pat Hentgen has just finished eight shutout innings against the Red Sox. You know, the highest scoring team in the league. He's now made four good starts in a row. He's made them against Oakland, Texas, Toronto and Boston, none of which are pushovers. He's only throwng 87 mph, but he has good movement -- he's struck out 6. It looks like he's finally recovered from the Tommy John surgery.

I was going to blog more about the AL Cy Young race, but Ben Jacobs has done it for me. He does a good job of evaluating the candidates, and he concludes that Halladay does deserve it. To put in my two cents, here's the AL ranking for pitchers in short form Win Shares:

Pitcher	Win Shares
Tim Hudson	18.4
Esteban Loaiza	18.3
Mark Mulder	14.5
Keith Foulke	14.1
Roy Halladay	13.9
Joel Pineiro	13.1
Pedro Martinez	13.1
Barry Zito	12.7

Win shares gives it to Hudson right now.

Last night I turned on Baseball Tonight for a few minutes, and Karl Ravech, Bobby Valentine and Harold Reynolds were discussing Roy Halladay. The three agreed that there was no question about Halladay winning the Cy Young award. I then changed the channel to watch Trading Spaces in high-definition.

Haven't these people learned by now that wins aren't everything? I don't want to knock Roy Halladay. He's a very good pitcher. But I can make good arguments for Loaiza, Pedro, Mulder and Hudson. Valentine's basis seemed to be Halladay's low walk percentage, but Loaiza hasn't issued that many walks, doesn't give up as many HR, and strikes out more batters. Plus, he gets three fewer runs a game in support than Halladay. I haven't done the rigorous work yet to decide if Halladay is better than Loaiza, but:

1. There should be plenty of questions about Halladay winning the Cy Young award.


2. A discussion of the award should start with ERA, not wins.


3. As the daily show about baseball, BBTN owes it to their viewers to do a better job with the discussion.

I'll have more on this later.

The A's starters have been putting it all together lately. Over the last seven games, the starting pitchers have posted a 5-1 record with a 1.44 ERA. They've pitched 50 innings (better than 7 per game) with 42 K, 15 BB and only 2 HR. Is this the start of another great A's 2nd half?

Rich Harden pitched another fine game today for the Athletics. That's two starts, 14 innings, 2 ER. He also induced four double plays (the A's turned five in the game). The Angels got the leadoff man in each of the first three innings, only to have the next batter hit into a twin killing. Oakland was near the bottom of the league in inducing GDP's coming into today.

Livan Hernandez was pitching like his old self tonight (or maybe it was that he was pitching against the Mets). He pitched 7 2/3 innings, allowing only seven singles and a walk, while striking out five. He's lowered his ERA to 3.50, and that should put him in the top 15 in the NL this year.

Wil Everts rightly chides me for jumping on Schilling's case last night.

Just so you know, Schilling did pretty well, especially since he came back early from a broken throwing hand.

A broken hand means that you can't throw or keep your pitching arm up the entire time you are healing. Thus, his arm strength isn't there yet. His fastball is only hitting 93 (due to that weakness) where at full strength he'll hit 97+. Meanwhile, not fooling anyone? He had Bonds about a foot away from his 93 mph heater and made quite a few batters look pretty ugly.

Only giving up 3 runs and still not getting the grip on the ball or pitch speed he's used to is a pretty nice job if you ask me. 15 K and 3 earned runs in the last 2 starts since the break is not bad, and he'll be getting better.

Not automatic may be a true statement, but, in all fairness, no one is expecting him to be, at least if they know what they are talking about. His game isn't at 100% yet and by no accounts should it be.

That's what I get for not staying up late and watching the game.

Tim Hudson put up another brilliant outing today. Seven innings, 1 hit, 8 K. In five of his last six starts, he's allowed 1 run or less.

Pat Hentgen put up his 2nd good start in a row. Six 1/3 innings, six K, 2 runs. It takes a while to come back from Tommy John surgery, and Hentgen is reaching the time where you're able to throw well again. He's 34; if the surgery works, maybe we'll see a few more years from this formerly fine pitcher.

I saw in some notes from STATS, Inc, that Jeremy Bonderman had a number of quality starts recently. He is 3-5 in nine quality starts this year, which led me to wonder what was the worst record for a pitcher in his quality starts? I looked at pitchers with at least 10 QS from 1987 to 2003. Here are the worst winning percentages:

Pitcher             Year  QS   W   L   WPct
Kyle Abbott         1992  10   0   6   0.000
Danny Darwin        1997  12   1   6   0.143
Steve Cooke         1994  13   1   5   0.167
Rick Mahler         1988  18   4   8   0.333
Omar Daal           2000  12   3   6   0.333
Vicente Palacios    1994  11   2   4   0.333
Ken Hill            1989  18   5   9   0.357
John Dopson         1988  17   3   5   0.375
Willie Blair        1998  10   3   5   0.375
Bruce Ruffin        1991  11   3   5   0.375
Frank Castillo      2002  11   3   5   0.375
Tony Saunders       1998  19   5   8   0.385

Bonderman will make this list if he loses his next quality start, which won't be tonight, since the Red Sox are up 12-3 on the Tigers.

Randy Johnson made a successful return today. He pitched 6 innings with 6 K, but allowed two runs. He also was not efficient, using 100 pitches, after which he was removed. He's in line to get the loss right now, due to the outstanding performance of Kevin Jarvis. It's 3-2 SD in the bottom of the eighth.

Tom Glavine had another rough outing against the Braves today. Five 1/3 innings, five earned runs, five walks and no strikeouts. He actually lowered his ERA against Atlanta this year to 9.19! Julio Franco had a big hit, a 2-run HR, his second of the year. Both his HR have been off Glavine.

Brandon Webb is indeed at the top of the NL in ERA this morning. Dan Bickley of the Arizona Republic has noted the all-star snub:

Dusty Baker should apologize immediately.

Not for his comments linking skin color and heat tolerance, which drew predictable gasps aboard the bloated barge of political correctness.

No, the Cubs manager needs to come clean for his impaired vision while assembling an All-Star pitching staff. A staff that should represent the best of the National League somehow omitted Dontrelle Willis and Brandon Webb.

"Unfortunately, the one statistic a pitcher has no control over - wins and losses - is the one a lot of people weigh heavily," Diamondbacks manager Bob Brenly said. "Look at the rest of his numbers, and it's a no-brainer that (Webb) should be there."

Webb lacks the showmanship of Willis, and the one hit outings, but he's been every bit as good.

They are the most promising freshman pitchers in baseball. They are locked in a statistical draw for Rookie of the Year honors, but there are noticeable differences.

As in, only one guy gets noticed.

I'm glad Dan has noticed, and I hope others in the National media pick up on this story.

Pedro Martinez is pitching a great game against the Yankees. No runs through four innings, and he's struck out 7. He's held the Yankees 0 for 4 when batting with runners in scoring position. However, the Yankees have worked Pedro hard. He's thrown 69 pitches through the first four innings (60 through the first three). At this rate, the Yankees could get three innings to face the Red Sox bullpen, and the Sox are only up 1-0. Pedro's great, but if he's only great for six innings, you need a good pen to back him up.

Update: Pedro allowed a run in the sixth. He's now up to 102 pitches. We'll see if he will come out for the 7th. Meanwhile, Mussina allowed 2 hits in the first (one a misplay by Pride), and that's it. A great duel.

Update: Pedro does come out for the 7th. Must be an important game. :-)

The top two rookie ERAs in the majors belong to Brandon Webb (2.04) and Dontrelle Willis (2.13). (Minimum 50 IP.) Willis is getting most of the publicity right now, but there is some evidence that Webb is the better pitcher. Pro Player Stadium has the 4th fewest runs/per game in the majors this year (8.25). In Marlins road games, 10.43 runs are being scored. BankOne Ballpark, on the other hand, allows 9.95 runs per game, while DBacks road games see only 7.86 runs per game. So Willis has his ballpark working for him, Webb against him. And you can see this in their home/road splits:

ERA, 2003	Home	Road
Webb	2.79	1.29
Willis	1.07	3.64

They are both very good. Willis has better K, BB and HR numbers right now, but we need to see how much that is a result of the park over a full season. Right now, I would vote for Webb over Willis for rookie of the year, at least among pitchers.

Looks like Billy Koch is being demoted from his closer role with the White Sox.

On the heels of his most recent mound misadventure, Billy Koch appears to be out as White Sox closer.

Koch, who served up a game-winning, 3-run homer to the Devil Rays' Carl Crawford in the ninth inning Friday, hopes that's not the case.

"I think that's extreme,'' Koch said Saturday. "I know how to get the job done. And I will get the job done. I've gotten the job done in my career 85 percent of the time, or whatever the number is. I consider that being pretty (darn) successful.

It that really being successful? Koch came up in 1999, and between 1991 and 2002 the ML save percentage was 67%. However, that's not the right number for comparison. Middle relievers tend to get blown saves without the chance for the corresponding save to offset. So, let's just look at closers; pitchers who have had 20 saves in a season. The save percentage for this group was 85%. Billy Koch over that time was 86.2, a little better than average. Keith Foulke was 86.5, ranked just about Koch. So Koch was pretty much an average closer.

So the trade looks like another great deal for Billy Beane. As Jim Callis said in his analysis of the trade at the time:

Though Koch set a career high for saves in 2002 while Foulke had his worst season since becoming a closer, Koch has been a bit overrated while Foulke has been underrated. Koch throws 5-7 mph harder than Foulke, but Foulke has been more statisically dominant, averaging fewer hits, fewer walks and more strikeouts per nine innings than Koch over the course of their careers.

Buy low, sell high. Koch has a career K/BB of 2, while Foulke is near four. Beane will let him go at the end of the year, and use the compensation draft pick to improve his depth, and go out and find another decent closer. Pretty impressive.

ESPN Classic is showing Righetti's no-hitter. It looks like they got a copy of a VHS recording of the game, given the quality. As you watch, notice how skinny the players are. Body building had not become part of the game yet.

Claudio Vargas is making quick work of the Braves tonight. Through seven innings he's only thrown seventy six pitches, or 11 an inning. He's letting his defense do the work, as he has neither struck out nor walked a batter. It will be interesting to see in this game if there were a lot of first pitches put into play.

Dad of Four at SportsPages.com offers his reasons for the decline of Maddux and Glavine. I think the QuesTec theory is particularly interesting.

Greg Maddux was throwing strikes tonight. Forty six of his 62 pitches went for strikes. Unfortunately, those strikes were not fooling anyone. In four innings he gave up 6 hits, 2 HR and 7 earned runs. Maddux's ERA is now a very un-Maddux like 4.84. Maddux has now given up 14 HR, equaling the number he allowed last year. His career high is 20, and that looks like it's in jeopardy right now.

Meanwhile, Mark Redman was doing what no one on the Marlins could do to the Red Sox; shut down a good offense. Redman threw a complete game five hitter, allowing only 1 run.

Last year, when Jeff Weaver was traded to the Yankees, I wrote the following:

The other thing that doesn't make me like this deal from the Yankees point of view is that Weaver gets pounded by lefties for power, and now he's going to pitch half his games in a stadium that favors lefties.

Weaver gave up a 3-run HR to Burnitz in the 1st inning. He's now allowed eight HR this year, seven to lefties, and five of those seven have been at Yankee Stadium. Coming into today, lefties are slugging .540 vs. Weaver, righties .412. I think the best thing for both Weaver and the Yankees would be trade to a team that plays in a pitcher's park.

One of the few bright spots for the Cleveland Indians this year is closer Danny Baez. He picked up his 18th save today, and has improved every month this year. He had a 6.55 ERA in April, a 3.46 in May and so far in June, 1.93.

A great debut by Brandon Claussen tonight. He went 6 1/3 innings and allowed only 1 earned run, while striking out 5. And, on top of it all, he got his first hit and rbi! Rivera is on with the bases loaded and a four run lead in the eighth to try to nail down the win for Claussen.

Update: Rivera is not doing well. It's now 9-8.

Giant rookies Jerome Williams now has 2 wins, both against the cross-bay rival Oakland A's. And, just like Thursday's A's win was Billy Beane's dream, last night's loss was his nightmare. William threw only 96 pitches to shutout the A's; that's the third lowest total for a nine-inning complete game this year:

Pitcher	Date	Pitches
Bartolo Colon	6/7/2003	87
Carl Pavano	5/26/2003	87
Jerome Williams	6/27/2003	96
Mark Mulder	4/24 & 4/30/2003	96
David Wells	4/10/2003	87

The A's drew only one walk against a pitcher who had walked 18 in his first five starts. All seven hits were singles, while the Giants unloaded for 3 HR, two off Lilly. Seems that weakness of Ted's returned last night. Meanwhile, Williams is becoming a fan favorite.

A good column today by Rob Neyer on Tiger's pitcher Jeremy Bonderman. Rob is rightly impressed by Bonderman's last three starts.

I noticed that the Arizona Diamondbacks have a five game winning streak, and as I looked at their game log for the last five days, one name kept popping up: Jose Valverde. In the last five wins, Valverde has 4 saves and a victory. Valverde is a 23 year-old right-handed pitcher from the Dominican Republic. He's six foot four and 254 pounds. I have not seen him pitch yet, but he must be an intimidating presence on the mound. He's had an interesting minor league career. In rookie leagues, he K'd 71 batters in 40 1/3 innings, while walking 14. When he moved up to A ball, however, his walk totals started going up. In 34 1/3 A ball innings, he struck out 42 but walked 27. He then moved to AA and struck out 72 in 41 1/3 innings, while walking 27. In two triple A season, he struck out 91 in 76 2/3 innings and walked 37. He gave up 8 HR in 2002, but four in the rest of his minor league career (which started in 1999).

Since being called up, he has made 10 appearance, converted all seven of his save opportunities, walked five and struck out 15, in 10 innings. I'm not crazy about the walk totals, but that may not matter. The opposition can't get a bat on the ball; if he walks a few batters, no one else is driving them in. And he has a history of not allowing HR, which makes the walks eaiser to tolerate.

I have a mental picture of this guy being selectively wild and having batters quavering in their boots. An old ESPN scouting report says he can hit 96 MPH with his fastball. That and flaky control means that hitters won't be digging in against him.

I also like his attitude. Check out this quote:

Valverde has pitched in five straight games, recording four saves and a win. ''I'm ready anytime,'' Valverde said through an interpreter. ''When Brenly says 'this is the ball, can you go the mound,' I'm going to say yes.''

Go get'm, Jose.

Jose Lima has not had a good year since 1999, but he's going toe-to-toe with Matt Morris tonight, and leading 1-0. He's only given up 2 hits in four innings, and the Cardinals are 0 for 4 with runners in scoring position.

Update: In the fifth, Lima singled and scored on a bases clearing double by Raul Ibanez. Royals now lead 5-0, and Morris is on the ropes.

Brad Radke is twirling a nice game against the Brewers so far. Two hits, no runs and three K through four innings so far. However, he's pitched much better on the road this year, with a 2.72 ERA on the road, while he's been lit up for a 8.93 ERA at home.

An interesting line for Sidney Ponson through five innings:

5 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 5 BB, 0 K.

Lots of 5's where you don't want them. Meanwhile, Maddux is masterful, allowing only 1 hit through six, a double to Brian Roberts, no walks, and he leads 5-0. He's also done it with only 66 pitches.

Scott Brodeur send me this link to a post about the Clemens-Estes matchup last year. Seems things were setup before hand, and the supposed bad blood between the Yankees and Mets doesn't really exist.

Paul Wilson is making his 7th good start in a row. Not great, good. Over his last 6, he's 3-1 with a 3.49 ERA. He's struck out 26 and walked 8. More importantly, the Reds are 5-1 in those six starts. He's been very efficient today, using 90 pitches through seven innings, 61 of them for strikes. He's already their best starter, and if he continues to improve, he'll be a legitimate ace.

Ron Villone made his 2003 debut tonight for the Houston Astros. He just came out after 6 1/3 innings with men on first and second. It was a strong outing, allowing 5 hits and 2 walks while striking out 6. If Lidge can get him out of this inning, he'll be in line for a win.

My good friend Jim Storer pointed out to me that last night, Brooks Kieschnick, a Brewer's pitcher, pinch hit and got two AB last night. (Aside: he batted twice in the inning, so the 2nd AB was without a position.) Peter Gammons wrote about Kieschnick in February. He's batting .375 as a hitter, 9 for 24 with 2 HR. He's gotten 8 AB as a pitcher, 8 as a DH and 7 as a pinch hitter. He hasn't pitched that badly despite a 4.91 ERA. He's only walked 3 in 18 1/3 innings. He essentially gives the Brewers a 26-man roster.

Great game by the Cubs bullpen tonight. Clement pitched a strong six, striking out 9. Farnsworth, Alfonseca and Borowski then combined for three 1 hit innings with 4 K. They threw 46 pitches, 29 for strikes. The Cubs relievers had the 2nd lowest BA allowed (.213) in the majors, trailing only the Dodgers.

Tom Glavine, not Seo got the start against Dontrelle Willis, and Glavine has to wonder what Willis was bringing to the plate. Willis was nearly perfect, allowing only 1 hit and 1 walk, both to Ty Wigginton. Cliff Floyd contributed 3 of Willis' 8 strikeouts as he beat the Mets 1-0. The only run came on a four-bagger by I-Rod. The Florida battery provided all the juice tonight.

Michele offers her thoughts on the Clemens Hall of Fame hat. Also, be sure to read the excellent comments.

Update: James Joyner disagrees with Michele.

Roger Clemens wants to go into the Hall of Fame as a Yankee, and is threatening to boycott the induction ceremony if the Hall chooses another hat. You can blame it on Dan Duquette:

"I became a Hall of Famer here," Clemens added. "If I'd have listened to people there [in Boston], then I'd have been done. Not people. One person that evaluated my skills and he didn't take the time to get to know me."

Clemens left Boston as a free agent after the 1996 season when general manager Dan Duquette and the Red Sox figured that his best years were behind him. Clemens then signed with the Blue Jays and won the Cy Young in each of his two years in Toronto. He was then traded to the Yankees.

I think it's a little early for Clemens to be worrying about this. As certain as his election is (and I'm pretty sure it was certain when he left Boston), he still hasn't been elected. Also, the Hall of Fame appears not to need to answer to anyone, so my guess is Clemens will be welcome to come or not.

Matt Kinney, in his third ML season has quietly become the best starter on the Brewers. He won today, and now has a 3.92 ERA and a .229 opposition batting average. This is the 2nd year in a row he's upped his innings pitched and lowered his ERA.

Billy Wagner's first pitch was 100 miles an hour.

I don't think anyone was surprised by this. This, however, doesn't make a lot of sense:

To replace Acevedo, the Yankees have their sights set on Texas Rangers closer Ugueth Urbina, according to reports. A baseball official close to the situation told the Newark Star-Ledger that the Yankees have spoken with the Rangers about a deal for Urbina, even though the teams just struck a deal for outfielder Ruben Sierra last week.

I don't know how much interest Urbina has in becoming a set-up man. Of course, a couple of years ago, the Yankees were trying to get him.

According to this NY Times story by Tyler Kepner, Clemens and Stottlemyre talked before the 7th inning:

Clemens suggested it might be wise to have some relievers ready. He was dominating the Cubs and protecting a 1-0 lead, but he did not have much left.

That was the reason for the quick hook.

Anthony McCarron of the NY Daily News goes into even more graphic detail:

Roger Clemens had beaten an upper respiratory infection for nearly seven innings. He had thrown as fast as 99 mph, confused the Cubs with a diving splitter and held a one-run lead.
Now, however, Clemens was breathing hard and coughing, and the adrenaline he relies on was becoming more of an enemy than an ally. The seventh inning began spinning out of control with Sammy Sosa hitting a single after an at-bat that lasted eight grueling pitches.

Clemens tried to regain some energy as pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre visited the mound, a meeting meant only to give Clemens some rest. It didn't help.

His 300th win was so close and he couldn't catch his breath to pitch for it, even though he had thrown just 84 pitches. He lasted one more batter, walking Moises Alou to put runners on first and second and his lead in jeopardy.

Then he watched in horror as reliever Juan Acevedo gave up a three-run homer to Eric Karros on his first pitch, the key blow in the Cubs' 5-2 victory over the Yankees. It destroyed Clemens' third attempt at the milestone that means so much to him, setting up a fourth attempt either Friday or Saturday against the Cardinals at the Stadium.

Jason Schmidt pitched another nice game for the Giants today. He's among the NL leaders in ERA, BA against and K per 9. He's not 25-11 in his career for the Giants with a 3.18 ERA. I bet the Pirates and Braves wished they had kept him.

Chris George went five innings today and gave up seven runs -- and won! That's Coors Field for you. I wondered how rare that is; only one other pitcher this year has allowed 7 runs and won a game. Roy Halladay on June 1st allowed 7 runs in 6 2/3 innings and got the win. George had a game score of 24 today, that's the lowest game score for a winning pitcher this year. In case you were wondering, the lowest game score to win a game since 1987 is 12 by Woody Williams on 4/7/2001.

Sidney Ponson continues to impress. He shut down a very good Cardinals offense today, a complete game seven-hitter with eight strikeouts. The Orioles used a HR barrage (four in the game) to score five of their eight runs.

The Orioles are now only two games under .500, and only 5.5 games out of first place. They are one of the few organizations that has the money to make a deal to help the team now. They could really use another quality starter; with their offense scoring well, another pitcher with a decent ERA would make a big difference.

Antonio Alfonseca pitched out of a tough jam in the 2nd. He came in with men on 2nd and 3rd and 1 out, K'd Mondesi, semi-intentionally walked Matsui, then K'd Rivera. A nice bit of pitching.

Braden Looper comes into the Marlins game with men on 2nd and 3rd and no out and gets a hard grounder to first and two K to get out of the inning without allowing a run. If that's not a save, I don't know what is.

Jason Jenning has thrown 74 pitches through four innings for the Rockies. His ball-strike mix is 35-39. He's losing 2-1, but I'm surprised it's not by more. He's walked three batters, but only one has come around to score.

Greg Maddux also had an extremely efficient outing. Maddux went eight innings, using only 71 pitches, 53 for strikes. What I don't understand is why Smoltz pitched the ninth. Sure it was a save opportunity, but does that mean you have to use the closer? Maddux could have thrown 30 pitches in the ninth and not been tired.

Byung-Hyun Kim pitched a fine game for the Red Sox tonight. One run in seven innings, and more importantly, he only threw 83 pitches. If he can continue to be efficient like that, he'll be a very valuable starter for the Sox, and keep the bullpen rested.

Manny Ramirez was one base short of the cycle with a single, two doubles and a HR.

Nice job of hitting by Andy Pettitte with the bases loaded. He's thrown a sinking curve ball, goes down to get it and golfs it into the outfield for an RBI single. That gets back the run the defense allowed.

Mark Mulder is being taken to school by the Marlins. He's given up 10 hits in three innings, including two doubles, a triple and a HR. Mike Lowell has a double and HR, half-way to the cycle.

I'm not sure how many Yankee fans feel this way, but Michele at A Small Victory is a Yankee fan that does not like Roger Clemens. My uncle Anthony feels the same way. I wonder if this is common among Yankee fans?

Al Leiter is up 4-0 in the fourth. He's having an interesing game, as he's walked 4 through three innings, but has only allowed 1 hit and struck out five. Leiter has walked a lot of batters this year, (31 in 60.1 innings coming into tonight). All last year he only walked 69. He was 7th in walks in the NL coming into tonight.

Robert Tagorda has an excellent post at his Priorities & Frivolities blog comparing Gagne and Smoltz.

The Dodgers are 14-6 in May and have climbed back into the NL West race on the strength of their starters' arms. In March/April, the starters pitched well, posting a 3.55 ERA, but with the Dodgers scoring only 3.4 runs per game, the starters only had a 9-10 record. With the Dodger offense still stalled (3.3 runs per game in May), the staters lowered their ERA to 2.52 in May, and have a 13-2 record. I like their philosophy; if the batters aren't scoring enough, just pitch better. :-)

You're probably a pretty good pitcher if your batting average times 10 is higher than your ERA. Jeff Suppan went two for three tonight to raise his BA to .294, and after allowing three earned runs over seven innings, his ERA stands at 2.72.

Mussina extended his record to 7-0 last night. He pitched brilliantly, striking out 12 in eight innings and only allowing five hits and no walks. I found this paragraph in the ESPN game summary interesting:

Mussina snapped Seattle's four-game winning streak and became the first Yankees pitcher since Bob Turley in 1958 to win his first seven starts in a season. Mussina beat the Mariners for the fourth straight time, including once last week in New York.

Bob Turley is one of those pitchers whose record makes you think he's better than he was. The Yankees seemed to stock their staff with guys like this in the 1950's. He walked a ton of batters and struck out about as many. (Career, 1068 walks, 1265 K). However, in his best seasons he didn't give up many hits, and Casey Stengel had a philosophy that it's okay to give up a walk as long as you get ground ball double plays. Casey always made sure he had excellent defense in the middle of the diamond, so the walks hurt his teams a lot less than hits would. (Pick up Bill James' book The Managers sometime to learn more about this.) Andy Pettitte would be a perfect Stengel pitcher.

Loaiza did not pitch brilliantly, but he pitched darn well. Most managers will take allowing 2 runs over six innings. Loaiza is now 6-1; the rest of the Chicago starting staff is 7-12.

Brad Lidge picked up his third win of the season in relief for the Houston Astros. Lidge gives them another strikeout artist in the bullpen. He's now struck out 21 in 19.2 IP this year, and 32 in 28.1 IP for his short career.

Van Poppel wasn't stellar in his season debut, but he could have been worse. He was wild early, walking the first two batters, but that was it. He threw a lot of pitches (74) for four innings. He probably earned a chance for another start.

Pedro pitched about as well as someone can pitch today. A complete game five hitter, twelve strikeouts, no walks. If the bullpen doesn't get it's act together, they are going to have to get more of these efficient complete games out of Martinez.

The Red Sox, down 5-0 in the 7th, score six runs in the bottom of the inning to take a one-run lead. After Tolar gets the first out, Mendoza and Embree have been lit up. Neither has gotten an out so far, and Twins have taken back the lead and then some. It's 10-6, and the Twins are still batting in the 8th. On top of the bad pitching, the Sox defense is being very sloppy, letting runners take extra bases.

Looking at Cory Lidle's stats for the year, his ERA seems high to me. Turns out, he's great until he gets a man on base, and then he falls apart. Coming into today, with none on, the opposition is batting just .213. But with men on, opponents are batting .356. Tonight, he's had only 1 AB with men in scoring position, and the Angels did not get a hit. He's pitching like the Oakland Lidle tonight.

Joaquin Benoit is pitching a fine game for the Texas Rangers in his first appearance of the year. He's given up 2 hits and struck out 6 through 5. In his past two seasons, he's been a typically bad Texas pitcher. He's 25, so maybe he's finally come of age. Texas needs someone who can pitch like this.

Jarrod Washburn has pitched six innings without a strikeout. He's only given up three hits and has a shutout going. Starters who have gone six innings or more without striking out a batter have a 3-1 record this year with four no-decisions.

Justin Wayne has a heavy burden tonight. After yesterday's 20 inning marathon, Wayne has to go deep into the game to give the Marlins bullpen a rest. So far, however, he's averaging 20 pitches an inning, and he's not throwing a high percentage of strikes. At this rate, they may have to pull him in the 6th.

Craig Damon writes with this interesting observation:

Just a quick observation. Grady Little needs to not pitch Chad Fox following Pedro. Its not the Chad Fox is bad, his stuff just looks too hittable when batters have been trying to adjust to Pedro all day. Consider the following appearances:

                  G  IP  ER  W+H    WH/9    ERA
after Pedro       5  4    4   11    2.75   9.00
not after         5  5.1  0    7    1.31   0.00

More evidence? Fox's only good appearance in a game started by Pedro was the game that wasn't really Pedro. When Pedro had bad stuff (his 10 run game), Fox pitched a perfect inning. His next best outing was 4 base runners in 1 2/3 innings. McNamara never figured out that Calvin Schiraldi could not pitch after Clemens. He was perfect in save opportunities (until the W.S.) following other starters, but blew over half his save opportunities following Clemens. Both learned the same pitches from the same college coach and were about the same size. Schiraldi had good stuff, but looked too much like a tired Clemens. Hopefully Grady Little (or the Red Sox brain trust) will figure this one out real soon.

Yes, if you were going to replace Clemens with someone who pitched like Clemens, you'd want someone who throws even faster. It's an interesting theory, and I wonder what other people think of it?

Aaron Gleeman is upset that A.J. Burnett may be out for the season. And it seems he predicted it a year ago. (The permalink doesn't work, so scroll down to the post titled Okay, now I'm pissed.

Jay Jaffee at Futility Infielder has an excellent post on pitch counts.

John Lackey just gave up his 7th HR of the year, a 2-run shot by Manny Ramirez. Lackey gave up 10 in 108 1/3 innings last year.

I guess all Randy Johnson needed was a little rest. He pitched 6 innings in the night-cap of the DBacks-Mets doube header, and managed to strike out 12. He did, however, give up 9 hits. But all-in-all, a very positive start for the Big Unit.

Mets struck out 27 times in the two games.

Esteban Loaiza is now 5-0. And this isn't luck, he's been pitching great. Like Mark Redman, Loaiza has suddenly figured out how to strike out batters. He struck out eight today in seven innings, giving him 35 K in 36 IP (his career K per 9 is 5.5). He has a 1.25 ERA, and the opposition is hitting .151 against him. This may turn out to be one of the great minor league signings of all time.

Sidney Ponson did everything right today. He pitched into the 7th, threw 71 of his 99 pitches for strikes, struck out 7 and walked only 1. He got the win in the Orioles 7-4 beating of Tampa Bay.

Shawn Chacon won his fourth game of the season today, and continues to pitch impressively, even at Coors. I've joked in the past that any Rockies starter who can put up an ERA under 4.00 for a season should automatically get the Cy Young Award. Well, Chacon currently has an ERA of 1.04, and he's started four of his five games in Denver! A great start for the young hurler.

A successful debut for Claudio Vargas today for the Montreal Expos. Vargas pitched 6 innings, and only allowed 2 hits in 20 AB against him. He was a little wild, but walked four and struck out seven. He's another good addition to the team with the best ERA in the majors.

Mike MacDougal picked up his 10th save in 10 opportunities today. He has real interesting stats. In 12 innings, he's only give up 5 hits (for a .139 opposition BA), but has walked 9. But when he gets in a jam he gets really tough. He's only allowed 1 hit in 11 AB and 2 walks with men in scoring position. Ten saves a month is more than enough to break Bobby Thigpen's record of 57.

Update: From 1974 on, the most saves in March/April is 13 by Sasaki in 2001.

Tom Holmer writes:

I have been following with interest the various blogs and the conversations regarding pitch counts. Personally, I think that reliance on pitch counts are more a method of laziness, than they are concerned with a performers endurance.

Take the controversy over Mark Prior's pitch counts. Now here you have a man who delivers the ball effortlessly. He relies mainly on his fast ball and has an incredibly consistent release point. I contend that Mark Prior's reliance on fastballs, along with his delivery puts less stress on his arm in 130 pitches than a pitcher who relies on a splitter for his out pitch, does in 80.

Most of the people who are concerned about Prior's pitch count often cite his team mate Kerry Wood and his arm problems. I had the good fortune of videotaping Kerry's 20 strikeout performance against the Astros and I can tell you with utmost sincerity, that the kid was destined for arm surgery. His release point was all over the map and it was the "slurve" that was doing him in. Even after his surgery, Kid K still has release problems and he will probably incur more arm injuries if you do not keep his pitch count down (he should pitch around 95 pitches per game).

Bottom line, if your pitcher has good mechanics and relies on his fastball, it is safe to go with your gut when you pull him...otherwise, you may find some value in pitch counts, although a manager could just as easily monitor velocity and placement to get a good handle on the arm stress of a pitcher.

It's very similar to the relief pitcher strategy. Give everyone roles, use them in those roles, and the press won't blame the manager if things go wrong. But try using relievers creatively, and everyone blows up at you.

Same here. Yes, there should be limits, but they should be flexible based on age, mechanics, etc. However, I'd much rather have managers err on the side of too few pitches, especially with young arms.

Jesus Colome is pitching in the 7th for the Devil Rays. When are they going to make him a closer so the announcers can say, "Jesus saves!" :-)

Al Bethke reminds me that the last time he pitched, Ryan Drese threw 137 pitches, the most in the majors this year. I was concerned about that pitch count this early in the season. Drese got rocked today, only lasting two innings, giving up five hits and four walks.

Wade Miller did not have his control tonight. He only lasted three innings, walking 4, hitting a batter and throwing two wild pitches. Miller had much better control the last two years, and the difference is showing in his ERA. (3.40 in 2001, 3.28 in 2002, 5.47 in 2003).

Byung-Hyun Kim and Javier Vazquez are locked in a fierce pitcher's duel tonight in Montreal. Vazquez has held the DBacks scoreless through 7, but he's thrown 122 pitches and that may be it for him. Kim is pitching in the 7th, and hasn't allowed a run either. Kim has only given up three hits, and has thrown only 79 pitches.

Update: Vlad the Impaler homers off Kim in the 7th to give the Expos a 1-0 lead.

Mark Redman has his strikeout pitches working this year. He has 5 strikeouts through five innings tonight, and 27 in 28 2/3 innings on the season. For his career, he's K'd 5.86 per 9. If this represents a new level of performance for Redman, I'd expect a big improvement in his ERA also.

Shawn Bernard sent me this link to an article by Jack McDowell complaining about managers being too inflexible with pitch counts:

The baseball world seems obsessed with pitch counts these days. I admire the concern and work that goes into minimizing injury, but don't be fooled. Pitch counts will never be a valid measure of potential injury.

When is 100 pitches really 100 pitches? Let's use one example. Pitcher A will throw against pitcher B in today's game. Pitcher A throws 50 warm-up pitches prior to the game, while pitcher B throws 70. Do those count? Not the last time I checked! That's a 20-pitch difference that is never taken into account.

Well, do those count? I don't know. It looks to me that when pitchers are warming up, they are not throwing the same way they throw during the game. They look more relaxed, and they look like they are not throwing as hard. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'd love to hear what other people think about this article.

Damian Moss went to 4-0 today with a 3-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Moss now has a 2.35 ERA. He gave up 5 hits and 3 walks in 7 innings, but the Pirates could not deliver with men in scoring position, going 1 for 8. Barry Bonds returned to the lineup and had an RBI single and an intentional walk.

Greg Maddux pitched 7 shutout innings tonight. Maddux gave up 3 hits, walked none, but only struck out 1. Maddux, for his career has K'd 6.3 per 9. He also threw 54 of 76 pitches for strikes.

Update: The Braves pen did a good job of trying to blow this game. Darren Holmes came in with a four-run lead in the ninth and gave up a walk and a HR. Smoltz then came into a save situation, got runners on 2nd and 3rd with two outs, and got a fly ball to Andruw Jones to end the game. Braves win. Cardinals fall below .500.

Chris Reitsma is pitching a dandy game tonight. He's given up four hits, and only had one situation with a Dodger in scoring position. This is the 3rd game since the big Reds shakeup, and the last two have been excellent starts.

Bartolo Colon finally gave up a HR tonight. Coming into tonight, only Pedro Martinez had thrown more innings in the AL without giving up a HR. Jeff Conine took him deep to give the Orioles a 3-0 lead.

What is it about Wrigley Field? Adam Eaton and Kerry Wood have combined for 21 K through the top of the 7th. Even without this game, Wrigley Field has the highest average K per 9 in the majors this year, 9.05. Skydome is the next closest park at 8.16. In case you were wondering, the place you are least likely to see a K is Edison Field, averaging 4.85 K per 9.

Update: I just want to clarify this post. When I say K per 9, I mean strikeouts per 27 outs. So the total average strikeouts in a game at a park would be double the number I list above. By the way, the game just ended. 27 K total.

David Cone pitched two poor innings tonight and left the game with a sore hip. He took the loss and now has a 6.75 ERA. According to this article, he could be out of a job when Astacio returns. It was a nice try, but I think this comeback was too late.

Despite not allowing an earned run tonight, Pedro was not that impressive. He walked six in a game for the first time since Sept. of 1998! That's 13 he's walked in the last 3 games. He got lucky that he got away with this lack of control against a good offensive team like Texas. Something is off with Pedro.

Tomo Ohka is having an excellent season throwing strikes. Comming into tonight, he's thrown 66.4% of his pitches for strikes. The NL average is 61.4. He has a shutout through five innings tonight, and has thrown 41 of 60 pitches for strikes.

Only Baseball Matters prints a letter from Steve Shelby:

John, I have been trying to make sense of what you wrote today about the number of hits and walks the Giants have allowed. The Giants rank 20th in WHIP. However, I can't figure out why they have not allowed more runs. I thought that maybe the Giants are allowing a low slugging rate. But, no, that's not it. I thought that maybe they are allowing a low batting average with RISP. Again, no, it's higher than their overall BA allowed.

Steve is looking in the right places, but I think he misinterprets the slugging number. Slugging can be thought of as the minimum average distance a runner is moved by a batter in an AB. But slugging has two components; part of it is batting average, and part of it is extra bases per AB, also known as isolated power. You can see this by looking at the formulas for slugging. The definition is:

(Singles + 2*Doubles + 3*Triples + 4*HR)/AB

But the efficient way to calculate the quantity is:

(Hits+Doubles+2*Triples+3*HR)/AB

OR

Hits/AB + ExtraBases/AB

So you can have a high slugging percentage by having a high batting average, or getting a lot of extra bases on your hits.

And it really does matter. I made the statement above that slugging percentage is as the minimum average distance a runner is moved by a batter in an AB. But the longer your hit, the more likely a batter is to move a long way. So a slugging percentage of .450 that is based on a .350 BA isn't as effective in moving runners as a .450 slugging percentage that's based on a .250 BA. In other words, it's real tough to drive in a runner from first with a single.

That's what's happening with the Giants opponents. Their slugging percentage allowed looks high, but they are allowing a high BA, or more precisely, a lot of singles. The Giants are 6th in the NL in singles allowed, but 12th in the NL in extra-bases allowed. Yes, they are getting hit, but they are not getting hit hard.

Theo Epstein is not gloating about the recent success of the Red Sox relief pitchers:

``The perception is that things have stabilized, but I don't buy into that because we don't make snapshot evaluations,'' general manager Theo Epstein said late yesterday at Fenway Park, where the Sox posted a 7-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. ``We know we have a good club, but we don't get caught up in too much during a six-game winning streak. We'll get ourselves in trouble if we make evaluations on a snapshot basis.

``It was just a matter of time. It was inevitable,'' continued Epstein, referring to the efficiency with which his team now seems to be operating. ``We haven't given up a run in the bullpen for the last four or five days, but that's not going to keep up, either.

``Things will even out.''

Indeed they will, but right now, the Red Sox are doing a lot right. The next few weeks will be an interesting time in the schedule, however. Starting Tuesday, and up until they meet the Red Sox on May 19th, the Yankees will play the four AL West teams. Meanwhile, the Red Sox, while not an easy schedule, face Texas, Anaheim, KC, Minnesota and Cleveland. It's an opportunity for the Red Sox to take advantage of the schedule to gain ground before they host New York for the first time.

From the boxscore, there was nothing very encouraging about Mike Hampton's start tonight. He went five innings and threw 86 pitches, but gave up 4 runs. Worse, his control was not good, walking four and only striking out one.

Meanwhile Vincente Padilla put on a clinic. His complete game shutout was accomplished with 107 pitches, 82 of them for strikes! He only gave up four hits, all singles while walking no one. He's now made four solid starts, and won three of them.

Even though he didn't get the win in the Astros-Brewers game, Mike DeJean deserves part of the W. He threw 3 strong innings using only 32 pitches, 22 of them for strikes. John Foster then came in and pitched 2 shutout innings to pick up the win.

Armando Benitez of the Mets blew his fourth save of the year today. That's as many as he had all of last year. His career high was 6 in 1999. He's striking out people; he as 12 in 10 1/3 innings. But when he's not getting the K, he's getting hit. Opponents have a .362 BA against him this year. For his career, that number is a paltry .188.

Nelson Cruz only went five innings today. He did give up two HR to account for the three runs off of him. His control was very good today, throwing 43 of 61 pitches for strikes. At the moment, I don't know why he came out of the game. He batted in the bottom of the fifth, but they did not come out to start the sixth. I wonder if he was hurt?

The Cincinnati Reds, after a second poor outing by Ryan Dempster, now have the highest ERA by starters in the majors, 7.83. That's getting very close to an earned run per inning. Paul Wilson, with a 3.86 ERA is the only one who's come close to pitching well, but his hits, HR and BB allowed don't impress me much. All other starters have an ERA over 6.00. Cincinnati starters are 1 1/2 runs worse than the Texas starters! I don't know who decided on this rotation, but I suspect their job is in jeopardy.

Last year, Rodrigo Lopez went 6-0 with a 2.57 ERA in July, and if it were not for Pedro Martinez, he would have been pitcher of the month. He hasn't been able to build on that month, however. He was 3-6 with a 4.94 ERA in August and Sept, and now is off to an 0-3 start with a 7.66 ERA. One difference is that last year batters hit .254 with runners in scoring position against him. This year they are 9 for 25 against him, .360.

Another good outing by the Red Sox bullpen today. Since Mendoza's 4 run performance on the 15th, Red Sox relievers have pitched 12 1/3 innings, given up 7 hits, 1 BB, struckout 9 and have an ERA of 0.00. That's five different pitchers with 9 appearances. Looks like the pen is starting to shape up.

Bartolo Colon pitched a complete game win tonight. His line consisted of 3's and squares of 3. 9 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3K. The White Sox become the 4th AL team to reach 10 wins.

Eric Gagne continues his near perfect season for the Dodgers. He picked up his fourth save in four tries last night. He's made eight appearances, pitched 10 innings and has allowed no runs. Opponents have reached base four times against him, twice on singles and twice on walks. Meanwhile, he's stuck out 14. Exactly what you want in a closer.

Kinney threw seven shutout innings for the Brewers tonight. What's more significant is that he only walked 1. In his career, he had averaged nearly 5 walks per nine innings. We'll see if this control lasts.

I notice Jung Bong is in pitching for the Braves. In one inning so far, no hits and two strikeouts. I'd be worried that people would get a lot of hits off him. :-)

Giles just drove in the go-ahead run with his fourth hit of the night, his second double to go with a HR and a single.

Earlier today, I said these were the games to watch. Pedro had a good outing, allowing 0 runs and only 2 hits in seven innings. He did walk 3 while only striking out 3, however, so he's not back to normal. But Sox fans will take that outing anytime. Offensively, Kevin Millar hit his fourth HR of the season to keep his win shares high. He's now slugging .755.

Curt Schilling does appear to be back to normal. Complete game, 10 K, 0 BB and a solo HR allowed. He was even very efficient, using only 102 pitches to record the win. He also got plenty of support as Carlos Baerga (I'm always amazed that he's still playing) hit two HR.

Update: Noah Pan pointed out an error I made in this entry. I had Pedro with 2 unearned runs, when he actually allowed 0 runs and 2 hits. I've made the correction.

The A's pitchers did not have an A's-like game today. They walked 9 batters! That's somewhat unusual for them. The did have a ten walk game last year, but they also had 14 games in which they did not issue a walk at all. So far this year, they have not gone a whole game without walking a batter. The Yankees, on the other hand, already have four game where none of their pitchers issued a walk.

Ryan Drese threw 137 pitches today. That's the most thrown by a starting pitcher this year. That seems awfully high this early in the season. Drese is 27, so it's not like you're ruining a kid's arm, but so many pitchers have had bad outings after that many pitches that I'm wondering what Showalter was thinking. Just to see how far out it is, here's the distribution of number of pitches made by starters this year.

Chris George gave up four home runs today. He's the second pitcher to allow that many in a game this year; Ryan Jensen gave up four to the Brewers in Milwaukee on April 4th. Last year there were 30 such performances during the year, or about five a month.

Pete Walker is throwing strikes today. Through two innings, he's only thrown 31 pitches, 23 for strikes. The Yankees have 1 hit and no walks.

William Canby points out an error in this post:

"The Diamondbacks have not won a game started by Johnson or Schilling this year."

I keep reading and hearing this -- I think maybe Baseball Tonight started it. It isn't true:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/boxscore?gameId=230401129 (April 1st.)

What I should have said is that neither Johnson nor Schilling has won a game that he has started. Thanks, William!

Brad Penny has thrown six shutout innngs tonight, but he's already up to 101 pitches. That makes it hard to finish a game, and when the score is 3-0 and you are turning it over to your bullpen against an offense like Philadelphia's, you have to wonder if you are going to get a decision out of the game.

Brandon Lyon just picked up the first save of his career. The Red Sox pen pitched the way they are supposed to; 3 pitchers, 2 1/3 innings, 1 hit, 0 runs. That performance allowed the Red Sox to come back in the eighth with 4 runs to win the game.

Just thought you'd like to know that the pitcher with the most win shares (short form) is Runelvys Hernandez of the KC Royals with 4.0. Todd Helton leads all players with 4.5. Bernie Williams and Kevin Millar are tied for the AL lead with 4.2.

Randy Johnson has a swollen knee and will miss his next start.

The soreness is the product of wear and tear over Johnson's career, Lessard said.

"The undersurface of the kneecap has been worn down, for lack of a better term," Lessard said. "He had shaving done there in the past, so the lining is a little thinner than you or I have anyway. The fact that he really torques on it just irritates it. It's more of a repetitive thing vs. a one-time thing."

The goal is to prevent it from being an ongoing problem. "It's something we need to address now, rather than worry about it the whole year," Lessard said.

This is very interesting. It's not a sudden injury that can heal and Johnson will be okay. This is an injury that appears to be caused by Johnson pitching. My guess is that we now know how the Big Unit's career will end. Eventually, this knee will get so bad that he won't be able to land on that leg. At least now we have an explanation for his poor start this year.

Shane Reynolds debuted for the Braves tonight and gave them five shutout innings. Unfortunately for him, Tony Armas, Jr. pitched seven shutout innings. Braves finally won it in ten, 2-1. With the Braves staff as bad as it's been this year, this solid outing all around has to be taken as a huge positive for Braves fans.

Three starts, three wins, no earned runs in the last two. Twenty five K in twenty two innings. It's starting to look like last year was a fluke and not a sign of decline.

Ramiro Mendoza had another bad outing in the Red Sox win tonight. 0 IP, 4 hits, 4 earned runs. His ERA is not 16.71. The Red Sox bullpen ERA has now risen to 6.90, worst in the majors.

The question now is, does a bullpen by committee cause the pitchers to be bad, or does the bullpen by committee not work if you have a lousy bullpen? If you have a bunch of pitchers who can't get outs, it doesn't matter if you have a closer or not. I don't see how suddenly naming Lyon as the closer would make the rest of the staff pitch better. It looks more and more like the Red Sox just did a poor job of gathering talent for their relief corps.

The Danny Graves as starter experiment continues to fail. Graves gave up a solo HR to Sammy Sosa, then the flood gates opened and the Cubs scored 4 more runs in the inning. Graves is still in there and the Cubs continue to get hits. Meanwhile, Shawn Estes still has not allowed a hit through 5, and continues to average 12 pitches per inning.

Estes is off to a great start today. Three innings, three K, no hits and only 36 pitches. He's already lowered his opposition batting average from .356 to .296.

The Cubs pitching staff came into tonight's game leading the majors with 9.6 K per 9 IP. That's almost 2 per 9 better than the 2nd place Yankees (7.87). No team in the modern era (1900 on) has had a K per 9 over 9.0. The 2001 Cubs set the record in 2001 with a mark of 8.42. Prior has 6 K though 6 innings tonight, but once again, errors have allowed 2 extra runs to score. It's 5-1 Reds in the 6th.

Kevin Brown is winning but struggling tonight. He's in the fifth tonight, and he's already walked 5 and thrown over 100 pitches. He just walked Bonds and gave up a run scoring triple to Snow. He's been a bit lucky tonight, since SF is only 1 for 5 with runners in scoring position. They are leaving him in to face Torrealaba, and he bunts to drive in Snow. I think the Dodgers went to far with Brown, and now he probably won't win.

Greg pitched six Greg Maddux like innings today. He only gave up 2 hits, walked none and threw 40 strikes out of 59 pitches. It was odd he came out so early, but this article claims it was due to him pitching on three days rest for the 2nd consecutive outing. Still it seems Cox is babying him a little too much. Still the Braves have to be happy he's straightened himself out.

What we saw from the Boston Red Sox pitchers today is what I believe management wanted to see all year. Lowe pitched seven solid innings; Baltimore was not able to get a hit with runners in scoring position. Wakefield came in for two innings and shut them down for the save. We'll see if it spreads to the rest of the staff.

A more typical first inning for Greg Maddux today. Three up and three down, and only 8 pitches thrown.

Mark Hendrickson is off to a good start today. Through 2 innings, he's K'd 3 and allowed 1 hit vs. the Twins. One more K and he'll have equaled his total for his first two starts of the year.

Livan Hernandez must feel at home pitching in Puerto Rico. He went six innings allowing 8 hits and striking out 6. The .243 career hitter also had a hit and an RBI.

Everyone talks about Washington or Portland as a home for the Expos, but if San Juan embraces this team, why not there? Of course, if the Cubans could get rid of Castro, Havana would make a great major league city.

Pedro Martinez gave up 10 runs, all earned. That's the most he's ever given up in a game, earned or otherwise. The most runs he's ever given up in a game was 9, and the most earned runs he's ever given up in a game is 7. The Orioles collected 9 hits, but Pedro was also wild, walking 4. Disappointing opening night at Fenway.

The Royals won their 9th straight game today. Their bullpen went 3.2 innings with 0 ER to lower their ERA to 1.63, 2nd in the majors behind the Seattle relievers. In 27.2 IP, the pen has allowed only 15 hits and 12 walks, while striking out 35! Exactly what you'd like from your relief corps.

Randy Johnson has now made three poor starts this year. The question now appears to be, is this a decline that will end his career? Was the contract extension too generous for someone his age? As I'll argue in my radio interview at 3 PM Eastern time today, we'll have to watch his strikeouts to know for sure. When the Red Sox let Clemens go to the Blue Jays, because they thought his career was nearing its end, Bill James argued that Clemens high K per 9 proved he could still pitch. Let's look at Johnson's K per 9 by year:

Randy Johnson
Year	K per 9
1988	8.65
1989	7.28
1990	7.95
1991	10.19
1992	10.31
1993	10.86
1994	10.67
1995	12.35
1996	12.47
1997	12.30
1998	12.12
1999	12.06
2000	12.56
2001	13.41
2002	11.56
2003	9.87

So his strikeouts have fallen off, but they remain high. I'm not ready to close the book on Johnson yet. He's going through a rough patch, but at this point, I think it's a rough patch from which he can recover.

In last night's A's-Angels game, two pitchers in particular showed they are not meeting expectations. Tim Hudson had his 2nd bad outing vs. the Angels. He's being very un-A like, now with nine walks and six strikeouts in 19 innings.

Meanwhile, K-Rod is in fact human. Yes, he's striking out batters (7 in 6 innings), but he's also getting hit and giving up runs. (2 HR, 6 ER in 6 innings)

Something to worry about? Not yet, it's still early. But it's a trend to watch.

Randy Johnson gave up five runs in the first inning tonight, all earned. He was a bit wild, walking one, hitting a batter and throwing a wild pitch. His ERA is now 6.75.

Paul Wilson had a good outing wasted by the Reds bullpen. Wilson allowed 1 run over six innings, but the pen has come in and allowed the game to be tied at 5, although none of the runs appears to be earned. However, there was only one error, so it wasn't like it was all the fielder's fault.

How long before we start calling Runelvys Hernandez "The King?" He's been incredibly efficient. Through 6 innings tonight, he's pitched a total of 19 innings this year, and has thrown 238 pitches. That's 12.5 pitches per inning. He's going to keep the KC pen well rested if he keeps that up.

Update: Hernandez finished with 7 IP, 88 pitches. For tonight, that's 12.6 pitches per inning. His ERA is now 0.45.

Cory Lidle should have a much better ERA than he does. Coming into this game, he had pitched 13 innings with 13 hits, 1 BB and 14 K. Tonight, through 4, he's K'd 6 and allowed 4 hits. The problem is that he gives up long hits. Eight of the 17 hits he's allowed this year have been for extra bases. So while he doesn't let many runners on, he does allow them to advance around the bases a long distance.

Kurt Ainsworth pitched a great game vs. the Giants archrival LA Dodgers last night, beating them 2-1. One way of evaluating a pitcher is to look at the stats of the batters against him, and ask yourself if you would want that batter on your team. If the answer is no, you have a pretty good pitcher. Right now, hitters against Ainsworth are batting .240, with a .264 OBA and a .380 slugging percentage. I would not want a hitter like that on my team. He's given up two HR, but since he's so good at keeping men off base, those have both been solo shots.

After wins today, the KC Royals and Montreal Expos are tied for best ERA in the majors at 2.57. Tony Armas, Jr. continued the K parade from yesterday with 11 today. D.J. Carrasco pitched three hitless innings for KC, allowing no hits and striking out 6. In 4.1 innings, he now has 8 K. Maybe Joe Posnanski was right about Sweeney needing to be positive.

Just as a follow up to this post, Jeff Bennett, researcher for Baseball Tonight tells me that's the most K in a game without a walk since 1900.

The Atlanta Braves have signed Shane Reynolds. Reynolds has not pitched that well for 3 years. His strikeouts have fallen off over 2 per 9 innings from the 1992 through 1999 period (7.8 through 1999, 5.6 since). I'm not optimistic about his success with the Braves.

Wells is perfect through 3 IP. He's being extremely efficient; 9 batters, 27 pitches, only 1 strikeout. His ball-strike count is 11-16 which means that he's not so sharp, but the Twins are putting anything good they see into play rather than letting Wells get himself into trouble falling behind in the count.

Greg Maddux blames poor location for his drubbings:

"I'm fine," he said. "I feel good. I'm just not throwing it where I want to, and they're not missing. My location is terrible, and when your location is terrible, it's tough to pitch.

"It doesn't do you any good to know how to pitch when you don't know where the ball is going."

At least he's honest. It also confirms in my mind this post. It's most likely some subtle mechanical movement that is off. I bet Mazzone is working overtime trying to figure it out.

In his first start of the year, Todd Ritchie walked four and hit two batters. Tonight, no one reached by base on balls or HBP, he allowed only 2 runs and got the win.

Eric Gagne is off to a near perfect start with the LA Dodgers; 6 IP, 1 hit, 1 BB, 9 strikeouts and 2 saves. He's throw 64 pitches, 48 for strikes, 75%.

Dennis Tankersley will not be confused with Dennis Eckersley. Tank has the line of the day so far:

San Diego                    IP    H  R ER BB  K #Pit   ERA
Tankersley (L,0-1)            0    3  7  7  4  0  33      ∞

Don't you hate it when you have an infinite ERA?

Greg Maddux is having another bad outing. Three of the six runs scored against him have been unearned, thanks to three errors (including one of his own), but he hasn't pitched well. Through five innings, he's given up eight hits and three walks, and another HR. That's not Greg Maddux. Through last year, for his career, hitters had a .242 BA against Maddux. This year it's .373, including tonight through 5. Something he did that used to fool batters is no longer working. Couple this with the injuries to Byrd and Hampton, and the Braves staff is looking very weak.

Update: Maddux finished the game with 7 ER in 5.2 IP. His ERA for the season is now 11.05. He's still striking people out (7 tonight), but when players get their bat on the ball, they seem to be finding the holes (or the stands).

Ramiro Mendoza just gave up a grand slam to Vernon Wells. Another reason to complain about the bullpen by committee.

I'm listening to the Yankees game, and Andy Pettitte did what he does so well, get the double play after allowing a runner to reach first. Between the DPs he induces and his high number of pickoffs, Pettitte can tolerate a higher OBA against than most pitchers.

Kevin Brown is having a good outing for the Dodgers, making them look like a strong contender this year. Through 5 innings he's struck out 3, walked none, and only allowed 3 hits. He's averaging 14 pitches an inning, so he should be able to go 7 easily. Two of three hits off Brown are by Luis Gonzalez, who came into the game batting .340 in his career against Brown (16/47). Now batting .367 against Brown, that would be the highest BA Gonzalez has against any pitcher, minimum of 45 PA.

Armando Benitez blew a save today. He gave up 4 runs in 1 inning. Now, that's fine, because Benitez is a closer. So it's not Art Howe's fault if Benitez stinks, because he's the closer. But if Art Howe brought in the the pitcher who he thought was the best, or took Benitez out when he thought he was not doing well, that would be terrible. Winning or losing with a closer just gives the manager cover. Grady Little should get the credit for taking those decisions on himself.

Tim Hudson isn't having a typical Oakland game. He's walked 5 and struck out none in 4 innings. In his career, Hudson has over a 2 to 1 K/BB ratio. The Angels have taken advantage of this loss of control for 4 runs tonight.

Terence Moore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution thinks he knows what happened to Greg Maddux last night. Aliens:

Here was the first clue that maybe a group of aliens kidnapped the real Greg Maddux, the Braves' starter. Marlins center fielder Juan Pierre, with the power of a dead lightning bug, slammed the second pitch of the game toward the base of the right-field warning track. It quickly got worse for the Braves when they played slopball around more jumbo blasts off Maddux.

Ivan Rodriguez's rocket still is soaring toward the planet of those aliens. Mike Lowell and Alex Gonzalez also homered. Like Rodriguez, they did so in the second inning, when the Marlins scored six times against Maddux after they clobbered the guy for three runs in the first.

These are the same Marlins who've built their present and their future around pitching, defense and speed instead of power.

Needless to say, Maddux was yanked early enough to have the choice of watching most of the Final Four from the clubhouse TV sets. If you add that to the pounding he suffered on opening day against the Montreal Expos, his ERA is 11.00.

The rest of the article is very upbeat about the Braves chances, arguing that they got off to a bad start last year, and they still have a very good pitching staff. I don't know. Maddux needs to be invincible on this team. If he's lost some movement on his pitches, if he's lost some speed on his fast ball, if he's tipping his pitches, he could be in trouble. My guess is that he will find the problem and fix it. But he turns 37 on the 14th, and some decline is inevitable. We may be seeing the start of that.

Or maybe he misses his batting practice buddy, Tom Glavine.

Randy Johnson now has made two starts and has not picked up a win. His ERA is astronomical for him, 4.26. He only gave up 2 hits today, but both were home runs.

The DBacks are not hitting yet. I've wondered for a couple of years why this team hit as well as it did. Maybe luck and age are finally catching up with them. However, it probably just a small sample of games.

Jason Johnson is having a fine outing against the Red Sox and Pedro Martinez. He's only allowed 1 hit, but has walked 3. He hasn't been as efficient as Pedro, but the result is the same so far, 0 runs allowed.

Tom Glavine had a much better outing today than he had on opening day. All the hits he gave up save one were singles, and he didn't walk any batters. The double he allowed was Vlad driving in a run, which chased him from the game. He had thrown 96 pitches at that point, and wasn't out of the 6th. With bullpen help, he should get the win.

Pedro Martinez is taking no prisoners today. Through three innings, he's thrown 38 pitches, 28 for strikes and has four K. At 13 pitches an inning, you would think he could go eight innings today.

Steve Parris is out of the game after throwing 101 pitches to the Yankees through 5. One thing that make teams like the Yankees dangerous is by using a lot of pitches, they force the starters out early, and then the offense can really tee off on the weak middle relief of most teams. We'll see how McClung does.

Update: Not good for McClung. Two batters, two hits, 1 run.

It's cold in the East tonight. David Cone, in this weather, is making his return to the majors. So far, so good. He's gone 5 innings and thrown a lot of pitches (84, 51 for strikes). He's only given up 2 hits, both to the opposing pitcher Tomo Ohka.

After not having pitched in the majors since 1997, Salomon Torres was called up last September by the Pirates. He paid dividends today, pitching 3 hitless innings in relief. He did walk three, so I won't call it a stellar performance, but if he can be succesful as a long reliever, he'll be another piece in an improving picture for the Pirates.

In looking at the St. Louis boxscore, I see Cal Eldred pitched in relief. I thought he was out of baseball. I remember when he was a promising young pitcher for the Brewers, starting his career 13-2, with an 11-2 record and 1.79 ERA in 100.1 innings in 1991. In each of the next four seasons, he would have a .500 record, and in 1995 injuries would start eating at his career. He had not pitched since 2001, and the way he pitched today, he may not last long this year. Either that, or he's a mole for his former team. :-)

He's perfect so far through 4 for the Twins. And he really is coming close to perfection. He's being efficient, throwing 46 pitches, 32 for strikes. He's shown a little power with 3 strikeouts. The Tiger team is batting .117 coming into this game, and no Tiger has more than 1 hit. And you thought they started badly last year when they lost 11 in a row.

Kevin Brown is wasting no effort in putting down the DBacks today. He's thrown 66 pitches through 6 innings while striking out four. Dodgers fans have to be extremely happy to see Brown back and pitching well.

The Pirate bullpen keeps the Bucs in the game with 3 one-hit innings. The Pirates were able to score 4 in the 8th to win their 2nd game of the year.

Red Sox bullpen looked strong tonight. Timlin threw two no-hit innings, and Fox got the save in the ninth with little trouble. Lowe gets the win despite a poor outing.

Update: On the other hand, the Yankees pen continues to be a problem. A 9-4 lead is now down to 9-7 after Contreras gave up 3 runs in 2/3 of an inning.

Travis Harper is keeping the Devil Rays in the game. In three innings of relief, he's K'd 5 and and allowed 1 hit and no walks. An effective long reliever, or future starter?

Williams pitching extremely well through 5. He hasn't given up a hit, has 5 K's and 1 BB. Cardinals up 4-0.

Kevin Brown had a nice return, with a 1-2-3 first and two strikeouts. Green has gone deep to give the Dodgers an early 1-0 lead.

Randy Wolf has a gem going for the Phillies tonight. The Marlins are hitting the ball, but usually at someone. The Marlins also helped Wolf by hitting into a double play and having a runner removed with a CS.

Bonderman only lasted 4 innings, giving up 9 hits and 6 runs. On the positive side, he K'd 5 and only walked 1.

Horacio Ramirez has settled down and is pitching well. He's walked 1 and struck out 5 through 4.1 IP, and hasn't given up another run. But the Braves hitters can't figure out Zach Daywho's given up 1 hit and 2 walks with 0 K. It's still 2-0 Expos.

Bonderman is not off to an auspicious start. In two innings he's given up 3 runs, including a HR to Jacque Jones. Joe Mays, his opponent, looks sharp with four strikeouts through 2 innings on only 26 pitches.

Derek Lowe is having control problems in the first inning. He's given up 2 walks, a wild pitch and 3 runs so far, and has not looked sharp. He's throwing as many balls as strikes.

Horacio Ramirez is making his major league debut as the Braves #2 starter. He received a rude welcome. Chavez singled, and Vidro followed with a HR. Braves down 2-0.

The KC Royals are off to a good start. One thing they've been doing is throwing strikes. In two games they've thrown 259 pitches, 172 for strikes, 66.4%. That's very good for a team number. It appears to be something they were emphasising this spring, as this article about Miguel Asencio indicates:

"First year in the big leagues, I'm sure he was nervous," Cumberland said. "But for him to make the club, he's going to be like everybody else. He's going to have to throw strikes.

"Get ahead and put the hitter away. His pitches are good enough to do that."

Strikes, strikes, strikes. The Royals never cease hammering that message at Asencio.

It appears they have hammered this message into everyone.

Although the focus of this game was going to be Bartolo Colon, Jeremy Affeldt is pitching a good game through five innings. He's averaging 14 pitches per inning (that's low) and 69% of them are for strikes. He's struck out 4 and walked one. I don't know how his endurance is, but KC fans have to be happy with the outing so far.

Yesterday we had "Loser by committee." Today, Dave van Dyck of Foxsports.com gives us "bullpen-by-combustion".

"Before it's all over, they're going to have to make one of them the closer. That's just the way it works," said a third former manager and front-office guy.

Well, that's the way it always has worked. But new Boston general manager Theo Epstein and his hired hand, statistical guru Bill James, have reinvented the idea that is time-tested.

James' theory, strongly supported by Epstein, is that the "save" statistic is overrated, that the seventh inning is as important as the ninth inning, that a bullpen-by-committee contains interchangeable parts to be used as necessary.

Boston isn't the first team to go with bullpen-by-committee, just the first to do it by design rather than by necessity.

Well, the bullpen has flunked two tests, getting two blown saves in its first two games, despite Tuesday's game being a victory.

What gets me is that most of the anti-Epstein quotes are from unnamed former managers. I assume they are former managers and former front office people because they didn't do a very good job when they were current managers and front office people. And why the secrecy? If they are right, and are looking for a job, correctly criticizing a system that doesn't work can only enhance their reputations. Dave van Dyck, who are these former managers? If it's Davey Johnson and Whitey Herzog, then the statements have a lot of credibility. If it's Dallas Green or Tony Muser, I would not put a lot of stock in them.

I felt that through natural selection the Sox would settle on a closer, or at least a stopper; the pitcher you go to in the tough situtation. That process is happening now. Two games is not enough to know if it works or not, but I'm rooting for Theo and James.

Sean Horgan of the Dallas Morning news spells out the problem that is Chan Ho Park:

So now what do the Rangers do for Chan Ho Park? Petition to have all their games played in Korea? Have a night-light installed on the mound for those games Park pitches?

The Rangers have to be running out of ideas for ways to get Park back into his comfort zone, or maybe that comfort zone no longer exists – and there's a less-than-comforting notion to the Rangers less than two years into Park's five-year, $65 million contract.

Whatever the Rangers plan to do, they'd better hurry. Forget Park's psyche; the team's psyche might not withstand many more starts like Tuesday night.

People complain about A-Rod's contract, but at least he's more than lived up to his end of the bargain. But $13 million a year for Park is money down the drain. And the Rangers should have seen it coming. Park is a Dodger Stadium pitcher. In his eight year there, he had a 2.98 ERA at home, 4.74 on the road. With Texas, he has a 6.84 ERA at home, 5.21 on the road. If this keeps up, Park will join Damion Easley in the no work and pay category.

Schmidt is throwing a gem for the Giants tonight. Seven innings, 7 K, no walks and only 85 pitches, 61 for strikes. Very efficient for so many strikeouts. Three shutsouts on the west coast as I write this.

Schilling, who had pitched a superb game through 7, fell apart in the 8th. He gave up a single and a walk, then a HR to Dave Roberts. Schilling gives up a lot of HR, but usually there's no one on base. After he left the game, Green drove in the tying run. Schilling will not get a decision.

Victor Zambrano loaded the bases in the fourth with one out, then struck out Mirabelli and got Damon to ground out. Nice pitching in a jam. Sox are now 2 for 7 with runners in scoring position in the game.

Wakefield is throwing the knuckler for strikes, 32 of 49 pitches for strikes through 3.

Not suprisingly, the Boston News Media is piling on the Red Sox bullpen. We start with the Globe, which has two articles on the subject. The first is the game summary, titled "Case Isn't Closed:"

A real weakness here with Riveria and Karsay out. If this were a close game, the Yankees would be in trouble. I wonder if Torre is going to try going longer with the starters until the relievers are healthy again?

I was wondering earlier how soon this article would appear.

Nice debut for Jose Contreras. After giving up a leadoff double, he strikes out the side. Maybe the game has to matter to him for him to be effective. :-)

Roger Clemens threw a strong game today. Six shutout innings, five K's, 1 BB. Clemens looked strong, and looks strong enough to get to 300 wins this year.

What a great game by Hideo Nomo. Seven K, 1 BB, only 103 pitches. A very efficient game, and a sweet victory vs. the Big Unit. A good day for the Japanese, as Matsui has an RBI for the Yankees as well.

The Devil Rays score five in the ninth as Crawford hits a three-run walk off HR. I can't wait to see the articles blasting the Red Sox for not having a legitimate closer. Embree gave up 3 hits, but Fox gave up the game winning HR. It could also be argued that Nomar should have turned a DP on a ground ball up the middle that he fielded on the bag, but the runner from first was coming in hard and Nomar couldn't get rid of the ball in time. A great way for Lou Piniella to start his career in Tampa Bay.

Pedro and Nomo
Each have a no-no.
Through three-o.

Rey Ordonez has drawn a walk vs. Pedro Martinez. For that reason alone, Pedro does not deserve the Cy Young award this year. :-)

Old buddies Glavine and Maddux are not having good first innings today.

Urbina comes in with a 3 run lead and facing the bottom of the order. Saves don't get any easier than this.

The Rangers finally get a pitcher in with a fast ball. Cordero K's 2 in his 1 inning. I assume we'll see Urbina in the 9th.

Despite not striking out a lot of batters, the Rangers have been throwing strikes. They thrown 103 pitches through 8 innings, only 31 for balls.

Last year, Lackey started to tire between the 45th and 60th pitch. He had 56 going into the fourth and got hit.

Valdes has not struck out a batter yet. He's walked a batter and hit one here in the third, and now another ball in play goes through for a single and a 2-1 Angels lead. Non-strikeout pitchers are going to have a real tough time with the Angels this year.

Ismael is not fooling anyone. He's throwing strikes, but the Angels are meeting the ball and putting it in play for hits. It's 1-1.

Not a great first inning for Lackey. He was a bit wild, walking 2 and striking out 1. He also threw 27 pitches, which may limit how long he can stay in the game. The Rangers showed a lot of selectivity at the plate, a good sign for the offense.

Mike Hampton will start the season on the DL. He injured himself on a treadmill. The good news is that he shouldn't be out long.

This came out of nowhere. Shane Reynolds has been released by the Houston Astros. He had given up 9 HR in 23 innings. The rest of the team had given up 17. My guess is that someone will pick him up for the minimum and try him in the rotation.

To paraphrase Chico Escuela, baseball's been very very good to Randy Johnson.

Johnson didn't pitch in the majors until he was 25. Can you imagine if his career came together then, rather than when he was 29? Unfortunately, I no longer have access to the STATS database, but I'm guessing Johnson will be the greatest old pitcher ever. Just compare his last 5 years to Ryan at the same age:

Age 34-38	Johnson, 1998-2002	Ryan, 1981-1985
Record	100-38	63-49
ERA	2.63	3.03
K	1746	974
K/9	12.3	8.7

Ryan pitched another 8 years from this point in his career. Maybe the DBacks should have signed him for even longer.

James from Outside the Beltway has this post about Braves prospect Jung Keun Bong and the political situation in Korea.

I don't pay much attention to spring training numbers. There's just too many factors to make the really meaningful. But the Royals have the best record in the cactus league, and this article gives you the latest information on how their pitching staff is shaping up.

Hideo Nomo will be the opening day pitcher for the Dodgers vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks and Randy Johnson. I don't expect too many balls to be put in play in that game. They are very proud of Nomo in Japan.

Nomo has won the honorable place for the second time after being awarded the Detroit Tigers' season-starting pitcher in 2000.

Norm Charlton has been released by the Mariners, but has been offered a job by the team.

Randy Galloway of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tells us how he really feels about the Rangers pitching:

Welcome to the worst ever. Even for the Rangers, the worst ever.

The end of the major-league pitching world starts right here, right now.

You think last season was bad, pitching-wise? The season before? And for the franchise's 31 years of existence, how often was the pitching ever good?

Regardless, there has never been an arms alarm to compare to this current spring-training shelling.

For those desiring three decades of statistical data to back up such a gloomy opinion, you have come to the wrong column. I don't do research. If you can't believe your eyes, why trust in numbers? The eyes have it, including the eyes of new manager Buck Showalter, and even Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan.

Almost daily, the often-bemused facial expression of Showalter explains everything. Showalter has the hardest job in baseball this spring. First, he has to watch this pitching he inherited. Second, he has to fake diplomacy in his postgame comments to the media.

Buck is actually good at it. Funny, too.

"Buck, how bad is your pitching?"

"What do you want me to say?" he replied Wednesday. Then answering his own question, added, "No, I'm not going to say it."

Ryan, the Rangers' mound god of another era, is in camp this week, serving as a special pitching instructor. But Nolan is lucky. He leaves today, returning home to Round Rock.

"Nolan, have you ever seen anything this bad?"

"Have you tried my beef yet?" he answered, or something like that.

Maybe they can score ten runs a game. :-)

Twins reliever Johan Santana has gotten over the Kenny Rogers signing.

Time apparently was all Twins pitcher Johan Santana needed to heal his wounded ego.

Five days after saying he felt "screwed" by the team's decision to sign veteran Kenny Rogers to join the starting rotation, Santana settled back into his role as a set-up reliever by striking out five Boston batters over two innings during a 7-6 victory over the Red Sox on Tuesday at Hammond Stadium.

Santana, 24, still aspires to be a starter but said until then he'll maximize his opportunities.

"I'm just looking for a chance to make the team, and right now I'm a part of the team. So somehow I've got to help the team," he said. "You just have to keep going, and keep my head up, and keep doing the same things I did last year."

He then broke into a wicked guitar solo of Bach's Prelude and Fugue in E flat. :-)