I'll be handling the Thursday nightcap for the foreseeable future to talk baseball. It's been a great day of sports as we got to enjoy the NBA and NHL playoffs, the unpredictable NFL draft and a pretty full day of baseball.
My random observations and thoughts from today:
-Chris Davis was optioned down to Triple-A following the Rangers win over Boston. Davis was batting .200 with 15 Ks and no home runs in 45 at-bats. Justin Smoak (.326 with a 6:16 K:BB ratio at Triple-A) is your new first baseman. Unless you're like Patrick Star (living under a rock), he's good, grab him immediately.
-I sat and watched Justin Verlander's outing and it might be time to be a little worried. He only lasted five innings, throwing 125 pitches. He was not able to control his fastball, something he complained about after the Seattle game. Verlander struck out only four (two of which get a Brandon Wood asterisk) and got worked into many deep counts by the patient Angels hitters. Even more worrisome was how sharp the Angels were ripping the ball to the outfield, even on the outs. It seemed early he was only working in the 93-95 range so it wasn't like he was overthrowing. Oddly, only when Wood came up to bat was when he did crank it up into the high 90s which blew him away. He had a bad start last season before winning 19 games so while it's not quite time to push the panic button, there's some cause here for concern.
-It'll be tough, but we're done with weekday matinee games until next Wednesday. The schedule for the next 6 or so weeks has day games on most Wednesdays and Thursdays with the occasional Friday thrown in. Being a huge fantasy participant, I'm much in favor of day games on regular basis. How great was it Monday to check up on the Rays/Red Sox score at 11 in the morning? Ok, that may be a tad early but it's a nice break during the work day to see what is going on between the teams at play.
-In this economy, isn't it nice to see Vernon Wells (.339./.426/.797) and Barry Zito (1.86 ERA, .080 WHIP) finally earn their respective lucrative contracts?
Notables:
-"I love Pittsburgh!" That's what Ryan Braun must be thinking after ending a three-game series with the Pirates. Braun finished the series going 7-for-11 with two home runs, three stolen bases and eight RBIs. Actually all the Brewers probably have the same thought. Besides the gaudy 20-spot they put up on Thursday, the Brewers scored eight runs in each of the other two games while limiting Pitt to only one run over 27 innings. The 20 runs could have been much, much worse if the Brew Crew hadn't stranded 25 men. Shame on them.
-In the middle of a slow start, Mark Teixeira hit his second home in a losing effort. Patience owners, the hot July/August games at Yankee Stadium are coming; he'll be fine.
-Mitch Talbot threw six scoreless innings against the Twins, lowering his ERA to 2.25. He's worth a look in deep leagues but the 6:8 K:BB ratio scares me.
-Ubaldo Jimenez showed he was human, allowing five hits and two walks over 7.1 scoreless innings. Move over Roy Halladay, you have company in the 4-0 club.
-Clay Buchholz gave Boston fans something to smile about, despite picking up loss. He was dominant through six innings, striking out nine before running into trouble in the seventh when he allowed three earned runs. He ended up with 10 Ks overall and still has a tidy ERA at 2.70. Hard to believe he'd be Boston's most effective starter to start the season.
-C.J. Wilson continued his success story converting from a reliever to a starter, delivering 6.2 scoreless innings against the slumping Red Sox. He only racked up two strikeouts but earned his first win of the year. Something to keep an eye on; he's only thrown 120 innings over the last two years so I'd expect him to wear down as the season moves along.
-Juan Castro has filled in for Jimmy Rollins more than admirably, going 3-for-5 with two runs and an RBI on Thursday. His batting average is now up to .353 and it looks like Rollins will take his time coming off the DL, prolonging Castro's stay in the Philly lineup.
-Andre Ethier homered for the second consecutive game, giving him five on the year. To me he's always been something of an underrated player, possibly due to his outfield teammates. What's looking very promising for him this season? The strikeout rate now sits at 5.4|PERCENT|, a drastic reduction from last year's 19.5|PERCENT|.
-Jake Peavy had an ugly outing against arguably the hottest team in the majors, the Tampa Bay Rays. Peavy had a lack of control, allowing seven walks over only 4.1 innings. He now has a 15:15 K:BB ratio and 7.66 ERA on the season and I'm not optimistic for a huge rebound.
Save Chances:
-Andrew Bailey, converted. He allowed only a hit and no runs to grab his second save. While the saves have been few, be patient since the Athletics will be involved in many low-scoring affairs this year.
-Franklin Morales, converted. Just what the doctor ordered to right the ship, the Washington Nationals-this is his second straight successful save. The Nats got only a hit off him and he struck out one.
-Francisco Rodriguez, the rare five-out variety, converted. K-Rod inherited a based-loaded jam in the eighth inning, allowing only a run off a sacrifice fly before retiring the side in the ninth.
-Darren Oliver, converted. Ok, maybe the five-out save isn't so rare. Neftali Feliz owners need not be concerned, he was unavailable after throwing 18 pitches over two innings on Wednesday night. Oliver struck out two and allowed only one hit in the scoreless 1.2 innings.
-Francisco Cordero, converted. Cordero made things interesting, allowing a walk and single after getting Casey Blake to pop out. He retired the final two batters to avoid any damage and pick up his sixth save.
Other Closer Outings:
-Octavio Dotel was (of course) lit up in a non-save situation, allowing two runs on five hits and a walk. He had to throw 30 pitches so if he gets the call tomorrow, I'd expect him to be unavailable on Saturday. If that were to happen (and it could against the equally hapless Astros) look for Brendan Donnelly (2.57 ERA) and not Joel Hanrahan (15.75) to get the save chance.
-Jon Rauch and Chris Perez each pitched a scoreless inning to get some work in during the same game. Rauch allowed no base runners and recorded a K while Perez allowed one hit with no Ks.
Non-Closer Outings:
-Manny Parra went under the radar in the blowout discussed to keep his scoreless streak intact. He's now thrown 5.2 scoreless innings with a 4:0 K:BB ratio. That's right, zero free passes allowed so far. More impressively is his 6:1 GB:FB ratio which limits the damage home runs have done against him in the past. Last night Jeff Erickson suggested the Carlos Zambrano move to the bullpen move could see him closing in the future. Similarly, it's not a stretch to think Parra could be closing next season when Trevor Hoffman's contract expires.
-Joel Hanrahan was already mentioned and here was his stat line-one inning, six hits, one walk and six earned runs. His ERA is now 15.75. I'll take a wild guess and say he's not the closer-in-waiting should anything happen to Octavio Dotel.
Lineup-ology:
-Greg Dobbs got the start for Placido Polanco and went 2-for-3 before getting replaced by Wilson Valdez.
-Even though he seemed to break out on Wednesday, Sean Rodriguez was back on the bench in favor of Reid Brignac. Brignac delivered a two-run double but left six base runners, struck out and committed his first error. John Jaso got the start at catcher over the slumping Dioner Navarro.
-Hong-Chih Kuo made his return to the Dodgers looking to bolster a bullpen with a 5.66 ERA. Kuo showed some rust, retiring only one batter while allowing two earned runs. As long as there aren't any setbacks, he'll be a solid middle reliever for holds and strikeouts.
-Tim Wakefield was Thursday's casualty of the day for "starter to the bullpen". Daisuke Matsuzaka will take his spot in the rotation.
-Vladamir Guerrero got a routine day off and was replaced in the lineup by Nelson Cruz, who was replaced in the outfield by David Murphy.
Injuries:
-Jacoby Ellsbury has four hairline fractures of his ribs which could prolong his DL-stint. He was supposed to return next week but it's looking like it'll be safer to play another option.
-Andy LaRoche missed his fifth straight game with a back injury. Oh, so this is why the Pirates are slumping.
-J.A. Happ was placed on the 15-day DL with a forearm injury.
-Carlos Guillen appeared to injury his hamstring rounding third in the fifth inning. Guillen is no stranger to the DL so there's a good chance he lands there.
That's it for me, I'm not quite the night owl I once was and it's after midnight on the East coast. The Tigers/Angels game going into the sixth inning and I'll add some updates in the morning.