I don't know how many of you have attended a postponed game, but let me tell you, it is quite the disappointing experience. I attended my first yesterday, expecting to experience my first game at Wrigley Field since defecting from the Cubs to the White Sox in 2000. It only felt like a steady drizzle, almost undetectable to an individual who partook in a few pregame beverages. A pair of players in blue started playing catch outside the home dugout. "That looks like a good sign," my friend said. Turns out it was not. Within a matter of seconds, the man on PA informed the drenched crowd the game between the White Sox and Cubs had been cancelled, and encouraged us to visit Cubs.com. Not fun. Not fun at all.
Onto tonight's action. Somewhat of a lighter load than most Wednesdays, as two games were played in the afternoon.
Here is what the RW army and I will be watching:
ATL @ CIN
Javier Vazquez v Micah Owings
You'd think holding the Pirates to two hits in eight innings would earn Mr. Vazquez the win… Not the case June 11, as he earned the no-decision even with 12 K's… That brought his season total to 105, tops in the NL… He also ranks second in K/BB (6.563) and second in WHIP (1.032)… He left all four of his no-decisions with the game tied or with his team in the lead… Mr. Owings has been hard-pressed for a win since he threw the final 5.2 innings of a 16-inning game against San Diego May 16… He is 0-3 in the five starts since then with a 21:17 K:BB rate and .293/.403/.455… To make matters worse, Mr. Owings is only slugging .486 with one home run through 35 at-bats… Those kinds of numbers will not earn him any DH time when the Reds play in AL parks
MIL @ CLE
Jeff Suppan v David Huff
Mr. Suppan beat the White Sox in his last start, holding them to two runs in 6.2 innings… It was his second start of the season in which he did not walk a batter, but the ChiSox have drawn a below-average 210 walks this year… The start was only the fourth time all season he pitched into the seventh inning, and he has yet to reach the eighth inning… He averages 5.64 pitches per out, but has only crossed 100 pitches in four starts… Oddly enough, none of those four starts were the ones in which he saw the seventh inning… Mr. Huff won his last two starts (STL, @CHI-A), evening his six-start record to 2-2… This will already be his fourth start of June… He had 13 strikeouts to five walks in 17.1 innings and 64 percent of his 306 pitches have gone for strikes (compared to 58 percent in his three May starts)… The most encouraging stat about Mr. Huff's win over the Cardinals was his 7.1 innings, which was by far the deepest he had worked into a game… He could be in a competition to keep his job when Jake Westbrook and Aaron Laffey return by late-June/early-July
NY-N @ BAL
Tim Redding v Koji Uehara
Mr. Redding remains winless through five starts with the Mets, though his two June starts are marked improvements over his three May ones… He has allowed a total of four earned runs on 12 hits through 13 innings, and he has struck out eight to two walks… Six of those K's came against the Phillies (Chase Utley, Jason Werth twice, Raul Ibanez twice, Ryan Howard)… He should enjoy some good job security, barring a trade… Mr. Uehara's first start back a hamstring injury started well, but he may have lost some focus after a rain delay… Two of his three strikeouts came before the delay, but six of his seven hits allowed and all four runs surrendered came after the delay… He has not won a game since his second start of the season (April 13)… Mr. Uehara has a 38:7 K:BB in the 45.2 innings until now, with only four home runs allowed
WAS @ NY-A
John Lannan v Chien-Ming Wang
Mr. Lannan has only allowed three runs (two earned) in 15 June innings… He only owns four strikeouts to five walks in those two starts… His 4.4 K/9 this year is a disappointment from last year's 5.8… He averaged 6.3 over parts of three minor league seasons, so we would hope it would start climbing…He averages just under six innings per start (5.92)… He faces his childhood team in the Yankees… This may be Mr. Wang's last shot to prove he should remain in the Yank's rotation… He has a 21.60 ERA in 13.1 innings as a starter (five starts) compared to a 2.25 in eight innings (three games) of relief… 10:10 K:BB as a starter, 7:2 in relief… His wife gave birth to their first child Tuesday, but hopefully he got enough rest… He has yet to last more than 4.2 innings in a start
TOR @ PHI
Scott Richmond v Jamie Moyer
Mr. Richmond makes the spot start in place of the hobbled Roy Halladay (groin)… Halladay should be back this weekend, so this could be Mr. R's only turn in the rotation… He has pitched almost exclusively from the bullpen since May 31, as the team has not needed a fifth starter…. He made a start on June 6 against the Royals… He only lasted 4.2 innings in that game, allowing five runs on five hits… He has struck out 18 to six walks over his past five games (three starts) and has held opposing batters to a .217 avearage… I just read Mr. Moyer is the Mariners' career innings pitched leader… He has thrown a bit better since he won the 250th game of his career May 31… He has 0-0 in the two starts since, but has not issued a walk… 62 percent of his 200 pitches went for strikes and opposing batters have an OBP under .300… Since a four-walk game on May 2, he has not issued more than two in a game… He only averages 2.2 BB's per nine
FLA @ BOS
Andrew Miller v Brad Penny
Mr. Miller struck out eight in his June 11 start against the Cardinals… He walked away with a no-decision after the Marlins' bullpen blew his lead… He allowed a home run in the game, but it was only his second one allowed all year… He has gone 2-1 with a 34:15 K:BB in the six starts since he returned from the DL May 16… Batters have only hit .242 and slugged .364 in those starts… Mr. Penny shut out the Yankees over six innings and struck out five in his last start… He has a stellar 22:3 K:BB over his past four starts… He has only allowed three home runs in six starts at Fenway in 2009… His name should get bandied about in trade rumors for the next few weeks
DET @ STL
Edwin Jackson v Todd Wellemeyer
I'm a fan of Mr. Jackson's story (high school outfielder turned 18-year-old pitching phenom turned washed up prospect turned swing man turned Ray turned Tiger turned All-Star?)… He has allowed only six home runs in 13 games… His five-inning performance against the White Sox June 11 was his shortest since April 23… He had averaged 7.16 innings per start between April 23 and June 11… June 11 was also the first time all season Mr. Jackson posted a negative K:BB ratio… Mr. Wellemeyer dealt with some velocity problems in his June 11 start against the Marlins… His fastball, can touch mid-90s, barely broke the 90 mph mark… He paid for the drop to the tune of 11 hits in six innings and only one strikeout… Mr. Wellemeyer's velocity chart on FanGraphs shows his velocity has been a bit below average this season, but noticeably lower in his last start… He owns a career 6.1 K/9 as a starter, but that number is down to 5.5 in 2009
HOU @ TEX
Russ Ortiz v Matt Harrison
Mr. Ortiz was dropped from the Astros' rotation to start the month of May, but this will be his second straight spot start… How's that for alliteration?… He threw 5.1 scoreless against the Cubs, allowing three hits and three walks while striking out five… He has now thrown 17.2 scoreless innings, a span that stretches to May 22… Opposing batters have hit .217/.299/.233 during the streak… He will likely hold onto a rotation spot for as long as Felipe Paulino (groin) remains on the DL… Mr. Harrison will be activated from the 15-day disabled list prior to the game… He had been placed on that list May 29 because of shoulder inflammation… Mr. Harrison made two rehab starts with Double-A Frisco, holding opposing batters to a .240 OBP but issuing four walks in seven innings… He had lost the two starts prior to the DL stint, including an 11-hit, seven-run five-inning outing against the Yankees May 25…
TB @ COL
David Price v Aaron Cook
Control problems fated Mr. Price to a brief outing (4.1 innings) in his last start… He threw 105 pitches (61 for strikes) and struck out and walked six… Low inning counts and high strikeout numbers result in a preposterous 12.3 K/9… The same is true for walks, and he averages 8.5 per nine… The high walk numbers mean he has a 1.632 WHIP, but a 0.897 strand rate allows him to enjoy a sub-2.50 ERA… Mr. Cook held the Brewers to one run on seven hits in six innings June 11 to pick up his second straight win… He struck out a season-high seven even though less than 60 percent of his pitches went for strikes… He has only allowed two home runs over his past eight starts… A good trend for a guy who plays his home games in Denver… He has held opposing batters to a .246/.288/.338 line over his past five starts (35 innings) and struck out 18 to seven walks…
AZ @ KC
Mr. Scherzer has yet to allow a run in June, throwing five scoreless against the Padres and 7.2 against the Giants… He struck out six and allowed three hits in each of those games… Even though he went 2.2 more innings in the second start, he only faced four more batters… Location was that big of an issue against the Padres, as he walked five… Mr. Greinke has been something of a mortal in his past three starts, posting a combined 5.12 ERA and .291 BAA… He still struck out 16 over those three games to four walks… He remains one of the most automatic of plays in fantasy leagues
SEA @ SD
Garrett Olson v Chad Gaudin
Mr. Olson continues to start for the Mariners while the team waits for Ryan Rowland-Smith to work out his control issues at Triple-A Tacoma… He picked up his first win of the year in his last start, holding the Orioles to two runs on five hits in five innings… He walked three and allowed a Luke Scott home run in the game… He exhibited perseverance by continuing to pitch after nearly a 30-minute rain delay, but a 3:1 BB:K is not very good… He only has a 1.11 K/BB in his four starts… That number grows to 2.33 when tallying relief appearances, but then it's only 7:3…. Mr. Gaudin was called on to pitch two innings of an 18-inning game on June 7, which may have messed with his funk for his June 12 start… He lasted only three innings against the Angels on that day, allowing eight runs on 10 hits and two home runs (Torii Hunter and Kendry Morales)…. Those were season-high totals for runs and hits, though he had previously posted simlar numbers (seven runs to Arizona, eight hits to the Dodgers)… The start broke something of a good strikeout streak… He only K'd two in that game, but struck out 21 over his previous three starts
PIT @ MIN
Ian Snell v Fracisco Liriano
Mr. Snell has not won a game since April 18 and has compiled a 1-7 record… He held the Tigers to two runs in seven innings in his June 12 start, but he allowed 10 hits and walked two… Only 59 percent of his pitches have gone for strikes since that last win… He has only allowed four home runs since then, but it has to be hard for batters to hit it deep when the ball hardly reaches the zone… His name has come up in two hot rumors (to the Rockies and to the Rangers) in the past week, and it would not be surprising to see some contender add him to the back of its rotation… He is due the rest of his $3 million for 2009 and then only $4.25 million in 2010 with club options in 2011 and 12… Mr. Liriano has also had a hard time raising his personal "W" flag, failing to earn a win since May 9… He makes Wednesday's start on nearly a week of rest, his longest stretch between starts all season… He struck out seven A's in six innings in his June 10 start, but he has walked six in 12 June innings… I think that's about all I'll talk about Liriano. I've already made enough fun of him in earlier posts.
OAK v LA
Trevor Cahill v Hiroki Kuroda
Mr. Caill has not lost in three June starts… He has allowed seven runs in 18.2 innings in the month, and he has held opposing hitters to a .270 OBP… He has struck out 20 in 32 innings since a zero-K game on May 17… Eight of his 10 home runs allowed have come against batters who hit fifth or lower and only three home runs scored more than one run… Mr. Kuroda has gone 0-2 in the three starts since returning from the 15-day DL June 1… That has more to do with the Dodgers scoring all of four runs in those three games than with the way he pitched… He delivered 17 strikeouts in 16.1 innings and only walked six… He did not walk a Ranger over 5.1 innings in his June 12 start, but he was pulled in the sixth inning after allowing a leadoff home run and two one-out singles (both of which scored)… He has not thrown more than 96 pitches since returning from the DL