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Thursday's Games of the Day

By Jonathan Etkowicz | July 9, 2009 | MLB Notebook

Twelve games are being played on Thursday. I'm trying a new format for Games of the Day. Instead of picking only some of the games, each game will be previewed. Two aces, Tim Lincecum and Felix Hernandez, pitch on Thursday. Roy Halladay may be taking the mound in Tampa Bay as a sort of trade audition. Tommy Hanson will get a test from the Rockies at Coors Field. Paul Konerko looks to continue his hot hitting against the Indians. The Cardinals and Brewers rap up an exciting July series. These games and more can be found below. Toronto at Tampa...

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Alfredo Aceves, Andrew Miller, Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox, Brad Penny, Carl Crawford, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Clayton Richard, Cleveland Indians, Cody Ross, Colorado Rockies, David Price, Felix Hernandez, Florida Marlins, Games of the Day, Houston Astros, John Lannan, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Dodgers, Luke Hochevar, Micah Owings, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, MLB, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Nyjer Morgan, Paul Konerko, Philadelphia Phillies, Rafael Furcal, Randy Wolf, Roy Halladay, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers, Tim Lincecum, Tommy Hanson, Toronto Blue Jays, Washington Nationals

John Kruk Has the Vapors

By Mike Scioscia's tragic illness | July 8, 2009 | Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness

There's a lot going on today, so let's get to it. The quick ones, first: * Clayton Kershaw is awesome... even though the Mets lineup is a joke right now. I had a whole post planned out about how "he's no longer a prospect, but a quality major league pitcher", and then Dodger Thoughts beat me to it. Just look at the ridiculous numbers: In his past five starts, he has allowed two runs in 29 2/3 innings for a 0.61 ERA with 32 baserunners against 33 strikeouts. Since May 1, Kershaw has allowed 17 earned runs in 72 2/3 innings for a 2.11 ERA with 91 baserunners against 69 strikeouts. For the season, Kershaw has allowed 34 earned runs in 93 2/3 innings for a 3.27 ERA with 115 baserunners against 95 strikeouts. Unreal - you could have made a case for him to be on the All-Star team as well,...

Read more | 21 Comments | Tags: Los Angeles Dodgers, MLB, New York Mets

Wednesday's Games of the Day

By Jonathan Etkowicz | July 8, 2009 | MLB Notebook

Six of Wednesday's fifteen games are day games, making Wednesday a getaway day for those twelve teams. Wednesday doesn't feature the best pitching matchups, but does have some good games worth watching. Two All-Star Game bound ten-game winners are pitching on Wednesday. Ryan Sadowski looks to go 3-for-3 in his first three career starts. The Reds and Phillies continue an entertaining series. Oliver Perez returns to the Mets rotation and the NL Central and AL West showdowns continue. Pittsburgh at Houston: The Pirates-Astros series finishes with Charlie Morton and Wandy Rodriguez facing off. If Pittsburgh wins, they'll be only 2...

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Aaron Hill, Arizona Diamondbacks, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Brian Tallet, Chad Guadin, Charlie Morton, Chicago White Sox, Chris Young, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Curtis Granderson, David Hernandez, Detroit Tigers, Florida Marlins, Freddy Sanchez, Games of the Day, Hank Blalock, Homer Bailey, Houston Astros, Jeff Suppan, Jose Contreras, Jose Lopez, Kansas City Royals, Kendry Morales, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Magglio Ordonez, Max Scherzer, Milwaukee Brewers, MLB, New York Mets, Oakland Athletics, Oliver Perez, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, Rodrigo Lopez, Ryan Sadowski, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Scott Kazmir, Seattle Mariners, St. Louis Cardinals, Stephen Drew, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers, Tim Wakefield, Todd Wellemeyer, Toronto Blue Jays, Vernon Wells, Vicente Padilla, Vladimir Guerrero, Wandy Rodriguez, Zack Greinke

Torre would recognize these Mets

By Luke Jamesway | July 8, 2009 | Dodger Dirt

There likely weren't very many kind words for Joe Torre on the other end of the line during his managerial gig with the Mets

Joe Torre has established himself so prominently as a manger over the past 13 years that people sometimes forget he managed 14 years for three teams prior to his run with the Yankees and now Dodgers. And if you were sitting in Shea Stadium sometime between the years of 1978-1981, it would be almost inconceivable that Torre now resides where he does, both literally and within the pantheon of baseball managerial history.Torre was just 4 years removed from his MVP season when he landed with the Mets in 1975. At 34 years old and too much catching in his past, his best years were behind him. But the Mets had built themselves quite a reputation of acquiring players whose best years were behind them (Yogi Berra, Duke Snider, Warren Spahn, Willie Mays) and an almost equally solid reputation for trading away players whose careers were still ahead of them (Nolan...

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Recap: Mets Outclassed in Loss to NL Best Dodgers

By Andrew Rizzi | July 8, 2009 | Take the 7 Train

The Dodgers beat the Mets 8-0 at Citi Field Tuesday night to hand the Amazins their 4th straight loss and 9th in their last 11 games. Clayton Kershaw got the win by throwing 6 shutout innings, and Mike Pelfrey falls to 6-4 taking the loss. Pelf went only 3-plus innings, allowed 8 hits and 5 runs (4 earned), and walked 3 despite pitching with good stuff. But a bases loaded walk to Orlando Hudson and a blooped 2-run broken bat hit by Manny Ramirez helped send Big Pelf to the showers down 5-0.With the way the Mets offense is playing now that was basically the ball game. The team managed only 4 hits, and once again did not manage anything more than a single. They have now trailed in 35 of their last 36 innings, and the only one they did not trail was the 1st inning tonight which ended...

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Johan and the disappearing strikeouts

By Charlie Saponara | July 7, 2009 | Fantasy Baseball 365

When you invest a top 3 round pick on a starting pitcher, you expect that pitcher to be one of the best, most consistent arms in the league all season long. Johan Santana has been that pitcher year in and year out, but last season something changed. His strikeout numbers took a substantial dive from their previous levels. All was forgiven, however, as Johan managed a 2.53 ERA and 1.15 WHIP. To start the 2009 season, Johan looked like his old self again collecting at least 7 strikeouts in 9 of his first 10 starts. Since May 27th, the last game where his strikeout total was over 4, something has changed in Santana's game. Something has wreaked havoc on his strikeout totals and in the minds of his fantasy owners. At one point in the middle of June, there was a noticeable dip in Johan's velocity. This could have been a sign of the classic "dead arm" period that many pitchers go through at one point throughout the season. During this time the strikeouts did fall off. However, since that time his velocity has crept back up, yet the strikeouts remain down. Interestingly enough, it may not be Santana's fastball that is the cause of concern. It's the way he uses it. In many cases this season we've seen the addition of a two-seam fastball (or sinking fastball) work in favor of guys like Jarrod Washburn, Zach Duke and Nick Blackburn. What we are seeing in Santana is a new two-seam fastball and an upward trend in usage of that pitch. Consequently we are seeing a downward trend in the use of his four-seam fastball. Below are his pitch usage charts per month. NOTE that I could not find data for his April 6th start. For argument sake, when looking at the fastball chart I plugged in 44 fastballs for the April 6th start (the lowest amount he had thrown in that month) just to emphasize the decrease in June with regards to the use of his four-seamer. You can also see a noticeable increase in the use of his two-seam fastball and changeup. Fastballs per start April May June July 57 58 34 42 44 65 44 65 52 45 71 56 42 237 64 56 44 295 33 281 254 2-seam fastballs per start April May June July 11 10 18 22 26 15 6 10 23 6 6 5 17 53 13 24 66 32 103 Changeups per start April May June July 24 21 13 29 27 18 20 23 20 18 21 32 29 95 30 24 121 36 140 Sliders per start April May June July 6 12 17 8 5 10 9 6 6 13 3 20 10...

Read more | 1 Comment | Tags: Fantasy, Fantasy Baseball, Johan Santana, MLB, New York Mets

Rebuilding and the Mets

By Zach Sanders | July 7, 2009 | MLB Notebook

New York Times:Teams in New York, where fans expect winners year after year, have been brutalized when they overhauled their clubs. Shea Stadium turned into a ghost town for seven years after the Mets traded Tom Seaver and Dave Kingman in 1977. When the Knicks finished in last place two seasons ago, there were thousands of empty seats at Madison Square Garden and chants of "Fire Isiah," referring to Isiah Thomas, then the team's president.It's true. The Yankees tried to "rebuild" a couple of years ago, but were so worried about winning, they spent lots of money this offseason anyway....

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Tuesday's Games of the Day

By Jonathan Etkowicz | July 7, 2009 | MLB Notebook

Tuesday brings a full schedule for our viewing pleasure. The day starts with the Reds and Phillies facing off in a game the Reds hope does not turn out the same way as Monday's game. The Rays and Blue Jays jockey for third place positioning in the AL East. Tuesday's schedule also contains games for two series' that will help determine division leaders heading into the All-Star break. Those games and more can be found below. Cincinnati at Philadelphia: The Phillies crushed the Reds 22-1 on Monday and look to continue that dominance against Aaron Harang on Tuesday. Hopefully they...

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Aaron Harang, Adam Wainwright, Baltimore Orioles, Barry Zito, Cincinnati Reds, Clayton Kershaw, Cody Ross, Detroit Tigers, Dustin Nippert, Erik Bedard, Florida Marlins, Games of the Day, JA Happ, John Lackey, Jonny Gomes, Josh Johnson, Justin Verlander, Kansas City Royals, Kendry Morales, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Mike Pelfrey, Milwaukee Brewers, MLB, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays, Yovani Gallardo

MLB Great Debates: Which Playoff Contender Needs a Trade to Stay in the Race?

By Staff Report | June 26, 2009 | MVN Outsider

MLB Outsider's Jaymes Langrehr and Kurt Evans debate the issue: Which contending team most needs to make a deal before the July 31 trade deadline in order to stay in the race? Jaymes Langrehr argues that the Brewers desperately need starting pitching:As we get closer to the trade deadline, a good number of teams are developing clear needs that need to be addressed if they're going to stay in playoff contention. Some teams will be able to cope with their weaknesses and still make the playoffs due to their other strengths. Other clubs will need to make a move if they have any chance at contending in the second half.The Milwaukee Brewers are a prime example. Heading into this season, they knew that their pitching wouldn't be as good as it was down the stretch last season. Given the strength of their offense, however, they figured to be in okay...Read more

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MLB Outsider - Hurdle Out to Competition Edition

By Kurt Evans | June 15, 2009 | MVN Outsider

We're now roughly a month away from the All Star Game and while the season is unfolding in a somewhat predictable manner, there have been more than a few unexpected developments. For example -- the Cubs. Sure, we all know that they're the Cubs (aka the Chicago Invent New Ways to Lose Surprisinglys) but did anybody expect them to have such a crappy offense? Certainly not I. But more impressive than the Cubs' historic burn-out have been the teams we'd traditionally expect to be finished due to their Rockie start only for things to develop unpredictably. (See what I did there? "Rockie" start? I'm a genius!) Let's look closer in this week's Stock Market.RisingColorado RockiesAs a simple baseball fan, I have a few rules I try to follow. When it comes to playoff expectations, I never give up on a team before September until they are either 10 games under...Read more

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Cleveland Indians, Colorado Rockies, New York Mets, NL Central, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays

Fantasy Baseball: New York Mets P Livan Hernandez

By Brad Berreman | June 12, 2009 | MVN Outsider

Livan Hernandez has been a pleasant surprise so far in 2009 for the New York Mets. Signed to a minor league deal in February, he made the team out of Spring Training and has gone 5-1 with a 3.88 ERA in 11 starts (67.1 innings) so far this season. In his most recent outing, last Sunday against the Washington Nationals, Hernandez went seven innings and allowed just four hits. In his last seven starts, he has a 3-0 record along with a 2.54 ERA. Hernandez has exhibited good control this season (2.7 BB/9) and has seen his strikeout rate rebound some this season after years of decline (5.3 K/9 this season), but he is still not overpowering. His value, in real and fantasy baseball, has always been attached to the reliability and durability he has displayed throughout his career. In each season from 1998-2008, he has made at least 30 starts and thrown at least 200 innings in all but two of those...Read more

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MLB Top 10: No Clear Number One?

By Jaymes Langrehr | June 1, 2009 | MVN Outsider

The past few weeks, it's been pretty easy to pick out baseball's hottest teams -- we've seen ridiculously long win streaks, surges to the top of divisions, and outstanding performances catapult teams to the top of these rankings. This week, however, was a bit more difficult. Heading into Monday, no team had a win streak longer than three games. So who do you turn to in that case? How about baseball's best team to this point?1. Los Angeles Dodgers - 35-17Two things remain constant in LA -- the Dodgers are still hot, and Bill Plaschke is still outraged (OUTRAGED, I SAY!) that Manny Ramirez is allowed to disgrace the city...you have to wonder how he'll react if the Dodgers win the World Series with Manny's help once he returns. Will he demand that they hand the trophy back? They had a solid week, getting Clint Hurdle fired in Colorado after...Read more

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MLB Outsider - It's Not "Early" Anymore

By Kurt Evans | May 31, 2009 | MVN Outsider

June tends to be the month where the talented baseball teams separate from the pretenders. It's not that the playoff picture will suddenly become clear, but rather the mediocre teams will stop competing with the half dozen good teams vying for the four playoff spots available to each league. Two easy examples: in the AL East, we've already seen the Toronto Blue Jays, once invincible-looking, lose 9 straight as they plummeted to a 2nd place tie with Boston. In the AL Central the pesky Royals, who were once 18-11, have gone 5-14 since May 8th and will either be made or broken by the month of June.But rather than look at early team accomplishments that will ultimately mean nothing, we instead will focus in this article on individual feats. There's always that one guy who looks as if he might challenge for the homerun record, or for a .400 AVG,...Read more

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MLB Great Debates: The Ballpark Experience

By Staff Report | May 26, 2009 | MVN Outsider

MLB Outsider's Jaymes Langrehr and Kurt Evans debate the issue: Which experience is better, going to a Major League Baseball game or going to a minor-league one?Jaymes Langrehr says MLB's quality is top-notch:Where I grew up, I was about a three-hour drive east away from Milwaukee County Stadium, and a three-hour drive west away from the Metrodome. I was literally stuck in the middle of nowhere when it came to the MLB map, and looking back, I was definitely jealous of the kids who were able to spend their summers buying cheap Brewers tickets and move their way up to field level (because it's not like anyone was sitting in those seats, anyway). Still, the few major-league games that I was able to attend were incredible -- even though the home team almost always got crushed. Even when your team stinks, there's something special about a Major League game that...Read more

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Fantasy Baseball: New York Mets SS Jose Reyes

By Brad Berreman | May 22, 2009 | MVN Outsider

New York Mets SS Jose Reyes left Wednesday night's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers after aggravating his right calf injury. He had not started the first five games of the team's West Coast road trip due to the injury, making one pinch-hitting appearance over that stretch, but returned to the starting lineup on Tuesday. Reports suggest that an MRI showed Reyes has tendinitis behind the calf and is considered day-to-day. Reyes has had a somewhat disappointing start to 2009, hitting .279 with two home runs and 15 RBI along with 11 stolen bases and 18 runs scored. In 2008, he hit .297 with 16 home runs, 68 RBI, 56 stolen bases and 113 runs scored. The Mets will most likely turn to Ramon Martinez if replacing Reyes at SS becomes necessary. He had a .290 average in 35 at-bats in Triple-A this season, but has only 12 at-bats with the Mets to this point since he was only recently...Read more

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MLB Top 10: Red Hot Rangers

By Jaymes Langrehr | May 18, 2009 | MVN Outsider

A baseball season is kind of funny in some ways -- what you see in April may be drastically different from what you see a month later in May. That's what we're getting right now, as two of baseball's hottest teams -- the Rangers and Brewers -- were well below .500 in the early going. Now? They're seemingly unbeatable and on extended hot streaks. It's no surprise that they occupy the top two spots this week, but who else fills out the Top 10?1. Texas Rangers (23-14)Texas was #4 on last week's list, but they haven't stopped winning -- seven straight wins gets them to the top of the list this week, and they're opening up a comfortable lead on the rest of the AL West. They now lead the Angels by 4.5 games, thanks to a weekend sweep of the Halos. Let's see how they fare this week, when...Read more

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