Multiple reports came out on Thursday suggesting that no matter what Stephen Strasburg's second MRI says, his season is over. Outside of leagues with a huge bench, it's ok to cut bait with him and grab someone else. Hopefully he'll be healthy come spring training and he can build on a successful but shortened first pro season.
Notables:
-Wandy Rodriguez ignored his terrible home/away splits (2.85/5.30 coming into the day) and limited the Phillies at home to one run over seven innings. Wandy has done a tremendous job of turning things around after a rough start. After a 2.38 ERA during July, he's been even better in August with a 1.63 ERA.
-From the "in case you missed it" department, Kila (not to be confused with Kala) Ka'aihue homered on Tuesday and Wednesday. Hopefully he's found his swing and can do something over the last month.
-Max Scherzer and Edwin Jackson (former tradees) both tossed gems with Max giving up one run over eight while striking out eight. EJax struck out 10 over eight scoreless innings for the ChiSox. Scherzer has a 2.20 ERA since being recalled from his stint in the minors which reminds me of the 2009 version of Ricky Nolasco.
-Justin Masterson was very un-Justin Masterson-like with three ground balls and 11 fly balls. Yet, he allowed only two runs over six innings. Maybe ground balls aren't everything…
-Ian Kennedy tossed an awesome game, striking out 12 and allowing no runs over seven innings. He's gonna be an interesting one to rank next year, he allowed only a single today while he was on the mound.
-Francisco Liriano won the battle of lefties by beating Cliff Lee and the Rangers. Lee actually walked someone and allowed five runs over five innings. Liriano allowed only two runs over seven innings and shows no signs of slowing down despite a big increase in innings pitched this year.
-Logan Morrison went 2-for-2 at the dish and drew two walks. It's a nice story – his father has inoperable lung cancer and made the trip via a 29-hour train ride. If you haven't looked deep into the story it's sad. The guy claims he's never smoked but his parents did and he caught second-hand smoke. He can't go on a plane and breathe recycled air. The guy is only 51 and likely won't be here next year at this time because of his cancer since it's spread to his brain. Luckily, he's gotten to see Logan succeed at baseball's highest level.
Save Chances:
-Chris Perez, converted. I've been telling you, don't sleep on him during drafts next year. 1.2 innings, four Ks and save numero 16. His ERA is down to 2.10.
-Matt Capps, converted. It's his 32nd save and his ERA is now at 2.59. I guess last year was the exception and not the rule.
-Drew Storen, blown. This was coming, he's a rookie and this type of outing will happen. He gave up four runs over one inning but if there's a silver lining he IBB'd Pujols and hit Matt Holliday. Of course actually pitching to them could have been much, much worse.
-Ryan Franklin, blown. Came into the game in the eighth inning and proceeded to give up two runs over two innings. Many were skeptical about him heading into this season and at age 37 (and a half), he may be tiring, as his 5.23 plus ERA the last two months indicates.
Non-Closer Outings:
-I've got to be honest, Kenley Jansen hasn't been on my radar. After today's outing he now has a .77 ERA. His 1.20 WHIP indicates that he |STAR|might|STAR| have been a tad lucky with the ERA so far. He's a converted catcher started pitching just last year. He quickly went through the minors this year and had a 16.7 K/9 at Double-A before his call-up. I rechecked my math on that multiple times and came up with the same answer so that's not a typo. Jansen is only 22 and given Jonathan Broxton's struggles, is it that big of a stretch to give him a shot at closing? Today he threw two scoreless innings, striking out four. I think striking out the side in the second inning he pitched was pretty impressive.
Tough Days:
-Jordan Zimmerman was cruising until the fourth inning when he gave up four runs (five total). He's still a solid prospect and will probably fly under-the-radar with that Strasburg guy on the roster.
-Jonathon Niese gave up seven runs over 5.2 innings. The good news was he struck out eight and is much better than this outing showed.
-Michael Stanton went 0-for-4 on Thursday and is now 0-for-21 over his last six games. He's good; just don't count on batting average with him.
-Sam Demel got lit up for four earned runs while recording only one out. Juan Gutierrez's leash just got a tad longer.
-Just to pour some salt into the wounds – Kevin Correia was tagged for nine runs over 3.1 innings. Ouch.
Injuries/Lineup-ology:
-Brandon Phillips had x-rays taken on his ailing wrist come back negative and he should return to the lineup this weekend. I'm guessing Yadier Molina did not send him a "Get Well Soon" card.
-Billy Butler could be out the entire weekend with a hand issue. I'm not buying the "doubles will turn into home runs" theory next year.
-Dustin Pedroia could be out for the season. The BoSox have been very unlucky this year considering the injuries to him, Kevin Youkilis and Jacoby Ellsbury.
Stolen Bases:
Michael Bourn 2 (44), Matt Kemp (18), Fred Lewis (14), Juan Pierre (50), Alex Rios (26), Nick Markakis (6), Rajai Davis 2 (39), Cliff Pennington (21, a very quiet blackjack at that), Lou Marson (6)
Caught Stealing:
-Ian Desmond (4 – don't forget his name during next year's drafts), Fred Lewis (5), Daric Barton (3), J.J. Hardy (1)
Home Runs:
-Carlos Lee (18), Prince Fielder (26), Casey Blake (13), Delmon Young (16), Alex Rios (18), Jim Thome (18), Vlad Guerrero (24), Jhonny Peralta (13), Jose Bautista (41), Gerald Laird (4), Hanley Ramirez (17), David Wright (21), Stephen Drew (11, that's three in the last two days), Mark Reynolds (28), Adrian Gonzalez (27), Matt LaPorta (8), Rogearvin Bernadina (9 – I mentioned him in this week's Barometer; he's a nice speed/power combo from here on out and is probably on your waiver wire), Albert Pujols (34)