The Weekly Rundown 08.08.08: August and Everything After
Posted by A.J. Stevens on 08.08.2008
This article was written for the pitcher in all of us. Come on inside and run down last week in baseball with us!
LEADING OFF
Tampa Bay still in first place.
No, seriously. It's the first week in August, and the Rays are in first place. Still. With recent developments on the injury front in the AL East (see below), the Rays' stock just keeps climbing. This is a crucial time for our formerly-fishy friends: of the 42 games they have left, 3 are against the Angels, 3 are against Minnesota, 3 are against the White Sox, 6 are against the Yankees, and 6 are against Boston. These are all potential playoff matchups. Over half of these remaining games are on the road as well, and this season has not been kind to road teams, with only the Yankees, Angels, Phillies, Brewers, and Cardinals having a winning record on the road.
In the meantime, the Rays keep finding ways to win. If the Rays can find a way into home field advantage for at least the ALDS, they have a legitimate shot at winning it all.
Trivia question: Who, 10 years ago, would have taken Rays-Cubs in the 2008 World Series? Anyone? Yeah, me neither.
BATTING SECOND
Two comments from one reader.
Sav wrote in twice about the Cubs' recent pitching acquisitions: Harden and Gaudin have a combined 1.25 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 5.8 to 1 K/BB ratio and .172 opponents' batting average with the Cubs.
And later, after I clarified that I was comparing them with CC Sabathia...
As a Brewer, Sabathia has 1.82 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 3.4 to 1 K/BB ratio and .209 opponents' batting average.
Thanks for writing, Sav. You make very good points. I will concede that Harden has been mowing down batters (at press time: 5-1 K/BB ratio and 215 ERA+). What worries me is how deep he is going into ballgames. In his five starts since switching teams, Harden has barely made it to the 7th inning only twice. Compare this with Sabathia, who has made it to the 9th inning on four occasions (including 3 CGs) out of six starts with the Brewers. Neither team has the most effective bullpen in the world, so when a stud pitcher is acquired at the trade deadline, one of the things he is expected to do is pitch deep into games and "prove his worth," as it were, to the rotation. Sabathia has done that; Harden hasn't.
Now, to be fair to CC, this could be a case of manager Ned Yost knowing that there is no chance on Earth that Sabathia returns to the Brewers next year. With that knowledge, Yost might feel a little more free to work CC harder and not worry about arm trouble later on in his career. That said, from the perspective of a pitcher coming in and picking up not only a rotation but an entire pitching staff, CC gets the edge here.
THIRD UP
Manny fits well in Dodger lineup.
After 5 games, he's .600/.636/1.100. My gracious. He wants $100MM for 4 years for his next contract, and I don't think he's going to get it, especially in the NL where his defense is more and more of a liability as he gets older... but if this isn't the definition of playing like a new man(ny), I don't know what is.
What is inexplicable is that he's still not managing to keep people like Juan ".325 OBP" Pierre and Andruw "I lost 25 lbs. in the offseason and still can't hit my weight" Jones out of the lineup. This, combined with Angel Berroa still being the Dodgers' shortstop, cannot bode well for the boys in blue. While Manny may be doing his best impression of 2004-era Carlos Beltran, I think these shortcomings will be too much for the Dodgers to overcome.
THE CLEANUP HITTER
Fielder, Parra scuffle in dugout.
Here's Manny Parra's line from August 4: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 6 R (6 ER), 4 BB, 6 SO, 1 HR, 1 PO'ed 1B. Prince Fielder, frustrated about another losing streak from the Brewers, scuffled a bit with Parra before being restrained by teammates. Parra, for his part, just sat on the bench after the altercation, looking stunned that he would be attacked by the 5-11, 270lb Fielder. After the altercation, both Fielder and Parra stated that there were no hard feelings and that the situation was "taken care of." Fielder offered a more in-depth apology, stating that he "misdirected his frustrations."
This is the second dugout altercation in as many years for the Brewers, with eerie similarities. Last year, catcher Johnny Estrada (now of the unemployment line) and manager Ned Yost got into an argument that spilled into the dugout tunnel and finished with several players intervening. The cause for that? A 4-10 run that dropped the Brewers out of first place on August 2. This time, the Brewers are fighting for first place in the NL Wild Card race, and certainly don't want to feel the pressure that another collapse in the stretch would give.
I love competitive players, but there is a time and a place for players to vent their frustrations, and it's not in front of the cameras. When people spend eight months out of the year together, there's bound to be some built-up tensions, and it's better to have those tensions blow up in a more controlled environment. Now, it's up to the Brewers to put their competitive energy where it counts -- and that's hitting with runners in scoring position.
BATTING FIFTH
Ryan Ludwick homers in five straight games.
...this is another article idea that has, unfortunately, died at conception. Upon checking the scoreboard, it turns out that the Cards only scored one run in Thursday's game, and it was not on a Ludwick homer. Such is the luck of a writer on a deadline.
IN THE SIX-HOLE
Waiver trades heat up.
The "second season" of trades is starting to heat up, as teams now have about one month to shore up their rosters for the postseason. Waiver-wire trades are a bit more difficult to make, as teams will often "block" (issue claims on players they otherwise have no interest in) rival teams from making trades. August deals are much more difficult to predict, owing to the fact that the "waiver wire" is not made public. Therefore, we can only look back on events that have passed, not speculate on what might come (which is half the fun of sportswriting). Here are some trades that have already went down:
Chad Bradford to the Rays. Tampa adds a bullpen arm with proven postseason experience. True, Chad Bradford may be a journeyman, but he is an effective one. UPGRADE.
Scott Eyre to the Phillies. Eyre was waived by the Cubs when Kerry Wood returned from the DL earlier this week. This is a pickup that screams: our bullpen needs lefty help. Left-handed relief pitchers are in short supply and high demand, so it's no surprise that someone like Eyre was able to find a job somewhere, although it will probably not last beyond the end of the season. DESPERATE.
BATTING SEVENTH
D-Backs extend Haren through 2012 with option for 2013.
This is a big fat win for the Diamondbacks. I was talking with a friend of mine who is a huge D-Backs fan, and he marveled at the fact that they have not one, but two legitimate Cy Young candidates this season... and that's not even counting Randy Johnson. If they could get their offense together, the sky would seriously be the limit for this team.
BATTING EIGHTH
Joba Chamberlain to the DL.
(I already have a pitcher piece and didn't want to lead off with Yankees stuff. Sue me.) When word got out that Joba Chamberlain was headed to visit renowned sports medicine surgeon Dr. James Andrews, the hearts and souls of Yankee fans around the country trembled in fear. Not only was the possibility of Chamberlain missing the rest of the season very real, there was also the chance that he could need surgery that would put him out of commission for an extended period of time.
Joba going on the DL sounded the death knell for the Yanks' playoff hopes this year. While we've all been pleasantly surprised by the transition Joba made from the bullpen to the rotation, the Yankees' weakness this season has been their pitching. With Chamberlain out, there are not many people out there who can fill the hole. When your pitching hopes rest on sketchy Sir Sidney Ponson and a faint hope that Carl Pavano might survive his latest rehab assignment without breaking in two, you have slim hopes indeed. The Yankees are very close to finishing somewhere they haven't been acquainted with in 16 years: 3rd place in the AL East.
BATTING NINTH Or, the pitcher.
Livan Hernandez was finally let go from the Twins, about a month after everyone expected him to be. While El Caballo Cubano has never been known for a low ERA and a low WHIP (career averages of 4.32 and 1.44), he is generally a welcome addition to a team that needs a professional innings eater who can occasionally help out at the plate (averaging 228 innings/year; career OPS of .556). Unfortunately for him, he wasn't able to swing the bat much this year, and wasn't pitching too well, either.
Livan's getting a second chance this year, by returning to the NL West and pitching for the Rockies. This is a good thing for him, as he'll spend the majority of his remaining starts in the spacious NL West parks, which should help him get more outs faster. This is also a good thing for the Rockies, as they have picked up someone who can go deep into games and give their overworked, beleaguered bullpen a break as they make a run for the completely-up-for-grabs NL West pennant.
To replace Hernandez on the roster, the Twins have called up pheenom Francisco Liriano, who has been loudly languishing at AAA Rochester after starting the season 1-3. Liriano has been nothing short of dominant in the minors this year, and as the Twinkies look to outpace the White Sox in the AL Central, will be a welcome improvement to the Twins' rotation.
CLOSING IT OUT
That's it for me again this week, baseball fans. Jump on in and leave me some feedback below or at 411baseball@gmail.com. Let's meet here again next week, okay? -AJS
