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Watching a pitcher like Al Reyes take over the Devil Rays closer role this season has been a nice surprise.

Reyes has comeback after missing the 2006 season because of Tommy John surgery he had in October of ‘05.

He does it with basically two pitches, which he has excellent command of and throws with purpose.

Over the course of Reyes’ career, he’s always been a very effective reliever who could get the first few batters out. His career stats show that from pitches 1-15 of each appearance, Reyes held batters to a .202 average, struck out more than half than he walked, and held an ERA at 1.90. From pitches 16-30, those numbers ballooned up to a 5.69 ERA and 1.39 WHiP. Since it should take a good pitcher about 15 pitches to get through an inning, these splits are useful when looking at what unproven closers could succeed in the role.

So that got me thinking about what other players are out there who have the ability to close out games. The ability to finish the final three outs against an opposing team requires more than just a high rating across a simple stat line. But if you look at the same lines for the top closers of today, it’s clear that the 1-15 pitch mark is as important as any.

Here’s a table I put together quickly that lists some career numbers for some of the top non-closing relievers in the game today. The table is sortable, and is listed by default in no real order. So click on the headers to sort.

PITCHER IP BB K ERA WHiP OpBA
Duchsecherer 150.1 24 124 1.68 1.18 .265
Calero 150.1 36 161 2.69 1.06 .223
Farnsworth 353.0 150 372 3.14 1.31 .235
Rodney 114.0 54 96 2.29 1.50 .261
Turnbow 151.0 66 154 3.16 1.18 .204
Shields 256.0 78 227 2.00 1.10 .218
Broxton 82.2 34 98 0.98 1.32 .237
T. Pena 48.0 15 29 0.56 1.10 .218
Betancourt 176.0 27 182 2.05 1.11 .246
Capps 99.2 11 66 1.99 1.04 .253
Rauch 105.0 40 90 1.89 1.29 .237
Soriano 106.2 31 106 1.69 1.04 .204
Wise 130.2 31 93 3.72 0.99 .210
Linebrink 246.2 73 199 1.64 1.22 .245
H. Bell 81.1 22 79 2.99 1.29 .268
Franklin 216.2 57 105 3.07 1.29 .262
Proctor 125.1 42 103 3.02 1.28 .248
Howry 371.0 122 296 2.09 1.26 .249
Qualls 166.1 49 117 2.71 1.29 .266
J. Smith 22.1 7 25 2.01 1.16 .232
Fultz 300.2 108 230 2.84 1.29 .252
Sherrill 81.1 36 81 2.99 1.19 .210
Marte 253.1 105 264 2.63 1.27 .236
Speier 339.2 94 278 2.20 1.17 .238
Otsuka 166.2 55 137 1.24 1.16 .222
Yates 81.1 36 75 1.99 1.27 .223
Meredith 66.0 10 50 1.23 1.05 .237
McCarthy 54.0 21 35 4.33 1.22 .225
Guerrier 103.1 26 55 2.79 1.11 .231
Villarreal 148.2 51 105 1.94 1.35 .264
Riske 255.2 95 224 2.64 1.28 .245
Heilman 130.2 35 107 2.07 1.09 .225
Seanez 319.0 142 323 2.65 1.40 .249
Wheeler 206.0 52 174 2.62 1.31 .270
Wuertz 123.0 54 127 2.34 1.17 .206
Rincon 221.1 88 226 1.99 1.27 .234
Spurling 126.1 28 56 2.42 1.11 .241
Donnelly 210.2 64 191 1.92 1.14 .225
Crain 144.1 41 74 2.24 1.12 .230
M. Gonzalez 123.1 61 129 1.31 1.29 .219

Some names are familiar and have already been given a chance to close. Some names some are not at all familiar and may earn a chance soon.

I purposely included a few like Capps and Otsuka to show what they’ve done to earn their roles. McCarthy was added because I think he’ll end up getting a chance to close games soon. But it’s the guys like Chris Spurling, Michael Wuertz, and Rafael Betancourt who may surprise us one day just as Al Reyes has.

Incidentally, the Phillies’ recent move to closer of Brett Myers, who’s career numbers in this category are 129.2 IP, 5.55, 1.38, .249, looks even more suspicious.

Posted in Baseball, General | No Comments »


The law of averages and MLB batting stats

Thursday, June 14th, 2007
Worst MLB batting averages, last 30 days, and who should rebound. So stop tracking who’s already hot, look who’s bound to get hot. Not all of these guys will, so read the notes too.

Julio Lugo (.131)
Lugo is a career .272 hitter who hasn’t hit much since being traded away from the Devil Rays last season. He hit .219 with LA in ‘06 and is at just .211 with the Red Sox so far this season. Lugo had been hitting leadoff all season, but was recently moved to the 9th spot. Perhaps his .263 OBP with bases empty has something to do with that.

Juan Uribe (.157) and Elijah Dukes (.167)
Both players with personal issues getting in the way right now.

Dan Johnson (.170)
The man who couldn’t be stopped since coming off the DL early now has 4 hits in his last 42 ABs (.095). There isn’t much history here to fall back on, but Dan is a career .257 hitter right now who’s currently hitting .256 for the season.

Pat Burrell (.171)
Pat the Bat has hit .174 since May began. He fell in May and June last year as well (.228 combined) and then ‘rebounded’ to hit just .263 the rest of the way. But we’re talking about a career .256 hitter here so unless you have OBP, it ain’t worth it. Pat’s post-June OBP last season was just under .400.

Craig Biggio (.182)
Biggio is a career .282 hitter but he finished last season with a .246 average and the year before that at .264. Stuck at .227 now, the long term upside isn’t there for the 41 year old. But he’s a career .310 hitter in July, so short term looks good.

Geoff Jenkins (.186)
Jenkins’ hot start (.372 April) has really caught up with him. Geoff hit .271 last year and is now at .266 so there’s not much upside here.

Vernon Wells (.192)
Hard to say what’s up with Wells, but he has just 1 HR since April 26. Historically, Wells does his best hitting in June and July, so it’s expected he’ll raise his BA 40 points and still have 20 HRs in him for the rest of the season.

Jeff Kent (.198)
How long have we been waiting for Kent’s age to catch up with him? Is this finally it? Probably not. Kent started with a .319 April, but has gone .219 since. His hot start leaves his upside for the rest of the season at around just 20-25 BA points.

Lance Berkman (.202)
Lance’s mind hasn’t been right this season, but his bat is finally coming around. He hit .244 through April and May but has started June much better (.286). His career numbers show that he’s much more consistent than this. There’s every reason to believe he’ll be raising his BA at least 50 points over the rest of the season.

Frank Thomas (.206)
The big skirt has had a few days of rest as the Jays have been visiting NL ballparks. He had a terrible May (.193) and has already started to raise his average back up (.250 in June). Once he starts getting DH at-bats, his numbers should rise.

Carlos Beltran (.207)
Beltran has been in a steady decline since a .356 April. He has a career history of alternating good months with bad, and his BB/K ratio is still where it needs to be so we should start seeing a rise very soon.

Andruw Jones (.214)
With Chipper Jones coming off the DL, Andruw’s in a perfect spot to get hot. He’s got about 50 points to get back in his average for the season - which translates to something close to 100 hits over his remaining 300 ABs.

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    Mark Teixeira
    Hard to figure what’s going on here. On June 14, I referenced an article about Mark describing how he and his hitting coach had discovered a flaw in his swing. Since that date, Teixeira has gone 23 for 94 (.245). His BB/K ratio, which for his career is near 1/2, was 5/21 between June 14 and the break. But with batters in scoring position, he was 8/20 (.400). The law of averages says that Mark will pick it up in the second half. I’d say if you already have him on your team, what could you possibly trade him for at this point? Keep him, and hope he turns it around.

    Eric Chavez
    A career .293 hitter after the break, Chavez is always a good pick up for the second half of the season. This season, however, Chavez has been “bothered by tendinitis in both forearms and assorted other maladies“. He hit just .240 before the break. August is traditionally his best month, so with a trip to the DL still possible, now is never a better time to grab the A’s third baseman if you’re in a risk all position.

    Todd Helton
    It’s been a disappointing and troubling season for Helton, but the Rockies 1B hasn’t finished a season below .300 in any of his 8 full seasons in the majors. Helton hit .348 in June and .347 in April. The only reason his average is so low is the .233 month of May he had - which is attributed to the mysterious illness he suffered. The 40 HR power potential seems gone, but Helton hit .367 after the break last year and I suspect he’ll finish this season with a .330 average and 20-25 total HRs. That turns out to be some very strong 2nd half splits.

    Jonny Gomes
    The Rays’ DH looks like a .265 hitter to me and right now he’s at .250. A road trip to NL parks helped Gomes get some much needed bench time during June as he struggled to break out of a long slump. In 8 July games before the break, Gomes hit .273 and added a homerun. I don’t expect anything crazy, but a .280 average and 12 homeruns from now until the end of the season isn’t bad.

    Jimmy Rollins
    It’s easy to remember the second half Rollins put up last season. His 2005 streak actually started in June, when he hit .304; followed by a .313 July, and a .402 September. Only an abysmal .188 month of August ruined an above .300 season. This year, Rollins again started slowly but put up another strong month of June. Rollins career splits show that he’s steals about 20 bases before the break, and 20 bases after the break. Add that to a career .281 second half average, and he’s a good pick up at his current value (.259 BA)

    Aramis Ramirez
    Derrek Lee was out from April 20th to June 24th. Over that stretch, Ramirez hit:
    215AB 57H 11HR 36RBI 15BB 16K for a .265 average. Since Lee’s return, Ramirez has picked it up:
    59AB 17H 3HR 11RBI 5BB 10K for a .288 average. Ramirez’s career splits are evenly distributed between before and after the break, but he does have streaky months. He’s been a +.300 hitter the previous two seasons; something tells me that his current average of .259 won’t stay that low for long.

    Randy Winn
    Winn is a career .286 hitter who has averaged .298 after the break over his 9 year career. More notable is that over the last three seasons, after the break Winn hit .330 in 2003, .294 in 2002, and .354 last season. A .297 average this past June showed promise of another second half surge, but those banking on it may be worried about a 9/39 first week of July.

    Richie Sexson
    I wouldn’t expect too much return here, but Sexson is a career .266 hitter who has hit .285 after the break and is at just .218 so far this season. I’d expect at least .265 and 15-20 HRs.

    Jhonny Peralta
    There aren’t many stats to look back on for Peralta, but he really turned it on over the last two weeks. Since June 15th, Peralta is 31/93 (.333) with a .581 sluggng percentage. Jhonny has struggled this season with runnings in scoring position (.221); a spot he did well in last season (.302). His numbers after the break last season were similar to his numbers before. Peralta finished the 2005 season at .292 with 24 HR and those numbers were probably a little bit lucky.

    Juan Pierre
    Another player we can track with and without Derrek Lee in the lineup. Without Lee, Pierre was 58/246 (.238). Since Lee’s return: 28/66 (.424). On top of that, Pierre for his career is a .320 hitter after the break (.288 before). Pierre is easily one of the top value players to have going into the season’s second half.

    Jorge Cantu
    It’s probably too late to steal Cantu now, but this guy can really hit. In case someone you know doesn’t think so, get him. There’s no way his average ends up less than it is right now (.275) and with the lineup the DRays have, Cantu will drive in plenty of runs for a 2B from the 3-4-5 spot he’s been in all season.

    To finish things off here are some links to search queries to share. Since 2000, the best hitters for the month of July, August, and September.

    Taking things one month at a time, here are the top names since 2000 for the month of July:

    Ichiro Suzuki .342
    Juan Pierre .342
    Luis Castillo .334
    Todd Helton .333
    Magglio Ordonez .331
    Placido Polanco .330
    Derek Jeter .329
    Albert Pujols .328
    Johnny Damon .326
    David Ortiz .325
    Lance Berkman .321
    Gary Sheffield .320
    Moises Alou .319
    Randy Winn .318
    Omar Vizquel .317
    Edgar Renteria .315
    Jeff Bagwell .315
    Ivan Rodriguez .314
    Alex Rodriguez .311
    Shea Hillenbrand .310

Posted in Baseball, General | 3 Comments »


Baseball Daily - Thursday

Thursday, July 6th, 2006

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    The best left fielder in baseball stole home Wednesday night against the Red Sox.

    And rumor has it that Ozzie Guillen is going to pick Magglio Ordonez to take Manny Ramirez’s spot on the All-Star team. I don’t expect better from Guillen, but he’s an idiot. Cause he’s an idiot.


    I do regret my tivo not letting me go back more than a half hour to record the fly ball he caught off Kevin Youkilis that bounced off the Trop B ring and made CC change directions and sprint 15 yards to his left to make the out.

    By the way, Crawford is the first MLBer to steal 2nd, 3rd, and home since Eric Young did it on June 30, 1996.

Posted in Video, Baseball, General | 1 Comment »


Baseball Daily - Wednesday

Wednesday, July 5th, 2006
  • Josh Hamilton was re-instated last Friday, and had this to say recently:
    “There’s no way I should be in the shape I am in as much as I abused my body unless God wanted it to be that way,” Hamilton said. “I was down to 180 now I’m at 230. My injuries are all better. I am not worried about breaking down soon.”
  • Matt Clement had a setback.
  • Matt MacDougal earned a save on Tuesday in AAA.
  • Freddy Garcia is working to make adjustments in order to help limit stolen bases.
  • Chris Burke hopes a special shoe will help his sprained left foot. He should be able to play soon.
  • Jeff Francoeur is frustrated with pitchers throwing at his head.
  • Ben Sheets threw 45 pitches yesterday and the Brewers will decide today what’s next for him.
  • The Cards are looking to get rookie Chris Duncan more at bats.
  • Juan Pierre is hitting .447 since Derrek Lee returned.
  • Dave Roberts is back with the Padres.
  • Ryan Wagner is still struggling, even in AAA where he has a 6.56 ERA.
  • Ramon Hernandez expects to return tonight.

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Baseball Daily - Independence Day

Tuesday, July 4th, 2006
  • Brendan Donnelly is having neck problems that is limiting his throwing motion.
  • Rich Harden still isn’t ready to throw until at least another week.
  • Vernon Wells returned, but Alex Rios is still in the hospital.
  • Shin-Soo Choo has been recalled to take Jeremy Reed’s place in center.
    “We went with the hot bat in Triple-A,” Bavasi said of Choo, who was hitting .327 with the Rainiers but .452 in his last 24 games.
  • Corey Patterson has turned things around:
    Patterson credits his turnaround to working on his mental edge more than fundamental skills, something the Orioles coaching staff helped him with in Spring Training.
  • Juan Encarnacion returns.
  • Jose Valverde is heading to the minors.
  • Rafael Furcal was moved to the 7th spot in the lineup.
  • Ryan Klesko update.
  • About Scott Kazmir, cross posted in the swamp:
    Had the pleasure of sitting 7 rows behind home plate again last night to watch Scott Kazmir pitch. He’s not as good as Johan Santana, but he’s damn close.

    The change and the slider had Ortiz looking foolish all night and when Varitek picked up the sombrero, we made sure to let him know it. He went back to the dugout with the best expression on his face.

    A day after being named to the all-star team, with about 20 family members in attendance and one of the largest crowds of the season on hand, Kazmir came up with a big effort in a big game. And he did it with a big smile on his face too. It must suck for Boston to be dominated by a high school pitcher like that.

    As for Tampa, for those who bash and haven’t been by lately, the team and the fans are turning around. So many people I talk to say that at some point they vowed to never attend another game as long as Namoli was the owner. This season, attendance is up 20%, the crowds during BOS and NYY aren’t as one-sided in favor of the visitors, and the Rays fans who do show up are beginning to wear team colors, cheer when things are happening and when things are about to happen, and overall they try to make the place not so friendly for opposing teams and the loudmouth fans they tend to bring.

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Baseball Daily - Thursday

Thursday, June 29th, 2006
  • Today is the last day to get your 25 All-Star votes in.
  • Baseball Musings has some stats that point out that the AL dominance in interleague this season may not be as dominant as their win total may indicate.
  • Cole Hamels struggled again, just when it looked like he might be turning things around. Here are a few thought from Hamels:
    The biggest thing for Hamels is that he senses Major League hitters sitting on his devastating changeup, widely-known as his bread and butter. In an attempted counter-attack, Hamels is trying to be too fine with it.

    “I’m trying to be better than I really am,” Hamels said. “I’m trying to be too good. I just need to be myself.”
  • The Cubs have no plans to remove Ryan Dempster as their closer. And just like that, he picked up a save last night.
  • Dan Uggla expects to return on Friday.
  • Oliver Perez is moving to the bullpen.
  • Todd Helton, who’s hitting .372 in June, feels like he’s got his strength back, but the right kind of strength:
    This year, Helton stayed healthy all offseason and trained hard on the weights. Although a stomach ailment forced him out of action from April 20 to May 4, and his timing was off after his return, Helton wonders if the offseason muscle was an impediment to his swing and his timing.

    “I guess it is about strength in one regard,” Helton said. “But I’m redneck strong. I’m not weight-room strong. I’ve always hit better late in the season because I don’t really work out during the season. I start using my little muscles and using my swing instead of trying to use my big muscles that came from working out in the offseason.
  • Matt Wise is on the DL because of some salad tongs.
  • Lyle Overbay is on a roll.
  • Dioneer Navarro made his first start for Tampa Bay last night, and during the game announcer Joe Magrane was a little critical of past Rays catchers for their lack of ability to frame a pitch well. Magrance argued that the catcher is able to get those close calls from the umpire by receiving the pitch a certain way. After one night of results, it’s hard to argue with the former pitcher.
  • News on Mike MacDougal:
    Closer Mike MacDougal, on the 60-day disabled list since March 24 with a strained right shoulder, made his fifth rehabilitation appearance last night at Omaha.

    “He’s fine,” Bell said. “He’s on course to come back on time after the All-Star break. Anytime you lose your closer, that’s going to have a big effect on your team.”

Posted in Baseball, General | 2 Comments »


Baseball Daily - Tuesday

Tuesday, June 27th, 2006
  • Baseball Musings on Curtis Granderson:
    The Tigers continue to roll through the National League, taking the opening game of their series with the Astros 10-4. Curtis Granderson drove in three from the leadoff spot with a 2 for 5 night. He’s now hitting .298 with a .388 OBA. As a part time player last season, his batting average and slugging averages were there, but he just didn’t get on base. Jim Leyland saw something, and the walks came this season, and Granderson turned into a fine leadoff hitter. Granderson came into today third in the majors in OBA among leadoff hitters with 200 plate appearances.
    And THT Daily weighs in as well:
    Curtis Granderson is adjusting to major league pitchers just as he did with hurlers in Double-A and Triple-A each of the previous two seasons. He started hot but cooled off this season, and his average was in the .260s earlier this month. In each of his previous two seasons, Granderson figured out how he was being pitched and countered at midseason, ending up with a good batting average.
  • The news on Kerry Wood isn’t as bad as it could have been:
    What Kremchek discovered is that Wood has a small imbalance between the anterior and posterior muscles in his shoulder, although O’Neal said most pitchers experience this.
  • Cole Hamels will make his 7th start of the season tonight against Baltimore. After a popular debut, Hamels has fallen off the radar rather quickly. But he’s greatly lowered his walks in recent games and had a strong outing his last time out (7IP, 6H, 2ER, 3BB, 6K) vs NYY. Rookie pitchers are roller coasters, and I think Hamels might be in for a good streak.
  • Eric Gagne will probably not be back until at least after the all-star break.
  • Rays rookie Jamie Shields earned his first lost last night, but it was really his defense that let him down. He still made good pitches and deserved a better fate. Perhaps the troubles the Rays had getting down to Miami has something to do with their mistakes.
  • One positive Rays’ note is that attendance is up more than 20%.
  • Detroit is denying they are interested in Bobby Abreu.

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Baseball Daily - Monday

Monday, June 26th, 2006
  • Jake Peavy’s MRI showed nothing wrong and his recent improvement leads to the possibility that he may return to be a dominant pitcher soon.
  • J.J. Hardy’s season may be over.
  • Jose Valverde still isn’t getting his job back anytime soon.
  • The Dodgers have Cesar Izturis playing 3B.
  • SF Closer news:
    Closer Armando Benitez has a slight right elbow sprain and was unavailable to pitch on Sunday. With Monday’s off-day, the Giants expect he might be better on Tuesday night against Texas.

    “He had a little discomfort the next morning after his outing [on Friday night],” said trainer Stan Conte, adding an MRI confirmed the diagnosis on Saturday.

    “It showed a little bit of inflammation,” said Conte. “It was a little sore, but it’s much better today. We’ll wait for the stiffness to go away.”

    Manager Alou says he’ll use right-hander Jeremy Accardo as Sunday’s closer.
  • Freddy Sanchez’s success this season doesn’t sound like a fluke, if you listen to his manager:
    According to Tracy, what makes Sanchez so good is his body control.

    “He has the ability to get his body in position to almost always get the barrel of the bat on the ball,” Tracy said.

    Tracy also thinks that with his work ethic, Sanchez is only going to get better.

    “Freddy loves to learn,” Tracy said. “He’s out there every day trying to learn new things to make himself a better hitter.”
  • The Reds have a red hot catcher.
  • Brandon Backe is on pace to return in mid-July.
  • Eric Chavez has tendinitis in both forearms. He’s hitting just .255 this season.
  • Aubrey Huff:
    Aubrey Huff is 11-for-19 (.579) on the current homestand with two doubles, a home run and six RBIs, hiking his average from .200 to a season-high .238. Though the results are different, Maddon said that he hasn’t noticed Huff doing anything different from when he was not doing as well.

    “When a guy slumps, normally you look at his slump tapes and his post-slump tapes, and they pretty much look the same,” Maddon said. “A lot of times, you’re not fouling off your pitch, you’re seeing the ball better, you’re not trying to do as much. There are a lot of intangibles, subconscious things going on that sometimes impact a negative situation from an athletic performance standpoint. I think he’s fine. I don’t see a whole lot being different. I just see his confidence being better.”
    Maddon may not see much difference in Huff’s swings, but I do. Huff had a knee injury early in the season and it’s just now healed. He uses his legs a lot in his swing to stay even with the ball and when Huff struggles, he will constantly top the ball to the first and second basemen. When he’s on, Huff isn’t rolling over his hand on pitches but instead gets better leverage under the ball because his legs are strong enough to create torque on his swing. Or something like that. The point is, he’s healthy, and is in line for a big second half of the season in the suddenly powerful DRays lineup.
  • Baltimore has signed Russ Ortiz.
  • The Cubs haven’t rulled out using Phil Nevin in the oufield.

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Baseball Daily - Friday

Friday, June 23rd, 2006
  • Nick Johnson doesn’t think his recent back problems will land him on the DL.
  • Mark Mulder is on the DL and says his recent struggles have been a result of some injury:
    “I can’t get my arm up,” Mulder said. “It’s pretty obvious when you watch me pitch. So I’ll go back tomorrow and see what’s going on.”
  • Brett Tomko will start tonight despite the fact that he admits he has a sore arm:
    “It’s not too bad. I think I could have gone out there [Thursday],” said Tomko. “It’s sore, but I should be good tomorrow. If it’s up to me, I’ll pitch.”
  • Indians prospect Andy Marte is starting to hit the ball at AAA, and apparently, the weather was a big reason for his early struggles:
    During Marte’s brief, 57 at-bat big-league trial with the Braves, he played a few games in northern cities; he had appearances in Cincinnati, New York and Philadelphia. But consistently playing in cold weather was new to Marte.

    “I don’t like to make excuses,” Marte said, “but it’s tough when it’s 40 degrees and a breeze into your eyes, and the guy’s throwing 95, 94 mph … I’m not going to lie to you, it’s tough. It’s not just [tough] for me, it’s for every hitter.”
  • Depite a recent turn around, Jose Valverde is still a long way away from getting his closers role back.
  • Aramis Ramirez, who’s hitting just .261 this season, is 23/73 (.315) in June and looks like he’s finally over his terrible start.
  • Troy Glaus now has 5 starts this season at SS.

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Baseball Daily - Thursday

Thursday, June 22nd, 2006
  • The Futures Game has announced this year’s roster.
  • THT points out that Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, and Jose Valentin are all hitting worse at Shea than they are on the road.
  • Brett Tomko will miss his next start because of a bruised foot. He probably needed te break.
    The next start for Tomko is a big one, because he’s had six consecutive ineffective outings that have sent his ERA from 2.88 May 15 to 5.45 currently.
    Derek Lowe will start Thursday night in place of Tomko.
  • Updates on Matt Clement and Keith Foulke: nothing new.
  • John Patterson will start for WAS on Friday vs Baltimore.
  • Adam Eaton could be back with the Rangers by the end of July.
  • Josh Willingham will be activated today.
  • Mark Loretta will see some time at 1B as a backup now that JT Snow has been designated for assignment.
  • Jorge Sosa is back in the bullpen.
  • The Rays are also thinking about trying Edwin Jackson as their closer, but for now, it’s Brian Meadows taking the job in place of Tyler Walker.

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Baseball Daily - Wednesday

Wednesday, June 21st, 2006
    I’ve decided to keep the Baseball Daily around for a while longer. I stilll intend to be starting the NFL Offensive Coordinator preview in July (one of my favorite things to do), but I think I can still maintain a limited version of the BD. It probably won’t have the individual stat breakdowns of the day’s games, but I do want to keep tracking important news that doesn’t always make it on the front pages of most other sites.
  • Juan Pierre is hitting “344 with a .417 OBP over the last eight games” and has made a career of second half surges. Lifetime, he’s a .320 hitter after the all-star break, and just a .284 hitter before.
  • Baseball Musings has an interesting note about Adrian Beltre’s return to Dodger Stadium. Despite having a .243 batting average this season, Beltre is hitting .293 from the #2 hole. On the flip side, he hasn’t stolen a base from that spot in the lineup.
  • Derrek Lee took batting practice on Tuesday.
    Asked if Lee could return this week, Baker said, “I can’t answer that. I’ll have to see him hit.”
  • The Rays sent Seth McClung down to AAA to see if he has a future as a closer. His stuff in certainly good enough for that, but McClung is a very kind, very easy-going guy who doesn’t fit the typical mold of a game finisher. He also has a 8.45 career ERA in pitches 1-15, and a 10.56 career ERA in pitches 16-30. It’s hard to say this experiment will succeed.
  • Ken Macha had some words about Colorado’s humidor:
    “I still feel the (humidor) should be investigated,” Macha said. “Maybe we ought to do that at our ballpark. The ball’s the same weight, but they are sitting in there and getting moisture, so I don’t understand that. It’s like getting your golf ball out of the water - find one out of the water - and you hit that.”

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Baseball Daily - Wednesday

Wednesday, June 14th, 2006
  • Mark Teixeira:
    With an assist from hitting instructor Rudy Jaramillo, Rangers first baseman Mark Teixeira said he’s identified the mechanical issue in his swing that has caused a significant drop in run production.

    Now comes the tough part: fixing it.

    Teixeira and Jaramillo spent a lot of time together on the just-completed road trip trying to create a little more lift when Teixeira hits the ball. Teixeira said his swing is flattening out as he approaches balls, and the head-on impact leads to line drives, but not fly balls that can carry.
  • I’ve noted a couple times (1, 2) recenetly that Chris Burke was getting more time to play and that he’s a good hitter. Last night’s 4/4 performance came with an interesting comment from his manager that makes Burke even more of an attractive fantasy pick up.
    He’s been playing regularly for just over a week, and, not so coincidentally, the Astros have won seven of their last eight games. Not even a dislocated shoulder and a numb left elbow are enough to slow Burke, who began the season without a regular position but seems to be settling in nicely in center field.

    “We sense he likes to play in that game situation,” manager Phil Garner said. “He wants to be the guy that gets to the plate in the ninth inning with the tying run on base, or the winning run on base. He really likes that. He’s been playing with a lot of enthusiasm, and he’s been doing a good job of it.”
  • MLB has an article from Protrade about the value of six young pitchers: Kazmir, Liriano, Papelbon, Johnson, Hamels, and Verlander.
  • Mark Prior was strong last night.
  • Josh Willingham’s ‘minor’ hand injury now has him going to the DL.
  • John Patterson will instead throw on Saturday in Class A.
  • Jonny Gomes will probably sit during the DRays’ upcoming games at NL parks.
  • Rocco Baldelli’s only been back a week, but he’s hitting .429 so far (9/21).
  • Another hot hitter is Justin Morneau, who’s 40/136 since May 1 (.294).
  • Enrique Gonzalez has made three impressive starts this season, and Johnny Estrada likes what he see’s:
    “I think he’s just scratching the surface right now, to be honest with you,” Johnny Estrada said after catching Gonzalez’s seven-inning, one-hit display that translated into the second career victory for the 23-year-old Venezuelan.

    “He has just an array of pitches that he mixes in, keeps the hitters off balance. He has just got great stuff. He’s going to be a very good pitcher once he puts it all together.”

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Baseball Daily - Tuesday

Tuesday, June 13th, 2006
  • Today’s THT Daily has some encouraging news about Johnny Peralta:
    the top 20 batters in pitches per plate appearance generally have high On Base Percentages, with the striking exception of Cleveland shortstop Jhonny Peralta. Peralta’s .225 batting average is to blame, though his line drive percentage (21%) hints that he’s not swinging the bat that poorly.
    Peralta ranks 4th in the league in pitches per plate appearance, with 4.33.
  • AJ Burnett was “dominant” and could pitch for Toronto on June 22.
  • More from mlb.com on Joe Mauer’s season and here from Aaron Gleeman.
  • John Patterson could pitch this saturday against the Yankees.
  • Troy Glaus at shortstop?:
    When third baseman Troy Glaus started at shortstop on May 26, Gibbons said the move was a “one-night deal.” On Monday, Toronto’s manager said that deal could be off. With more Interleague games around the corner, Glaus may have some more starts at short in his future.

    In order to keep more offense in the lineup, Gibbons is considering playing Glaus at the position a few times and having Shea Hillenbrand — who typically serves as the designated hitter, which isn’t permitted in National League parks — start at third base.
  • Brandon Duckworth is back in the majors… well, Kansas City.
    • STL at PIT
  • Carpenter:
    2-0, 14.0, 1.29, 0.86, .200 this season vs PIT
    3-1, 31.0, 4.06, 1.23, .250 this season away
    3-1, 29.0, 2.79, 0.83, .176 career at PNC
  • Perez:
    2-3,. 32.0, 6.19, 1.91, .302 at home this season
    2-4, 56.1, 5.11, 1.47, .278 career vs STL
    (vs Pujols: 9/24, 3 HR)
    • NYM at PHI
  • Glavine:
    1-0, 7.0, 3.86, 1.00, .167 this season vs PHI
    5-1, 39.1, 4.81, 1.22, .241 away this season
    1-1, 20.0, 5.40, 1.30, .233 career at Citizens Bank Park
  • Madson:
    3-1, 23.2, 6.46, 2.11, .365 at home this season
    0-1, 7.0, 1.29, 1.14, .167 vs NYM this season (at Shea)
    • ATL at FLA
  • Smoltz:
    2-1, 43.0, 4.60, 1.35, .286 away this season
    5-3, 64.2, 3.62, 1.30, .266 career at Dolphins Stadium
  • Johnson:
    2-1, 26.0, 1.04, 0.85, .165 at home this season
    1-0, 11.0, 1.64, 1.27, .250 vs FLA this season
    • MIL at CIN
  • Davis:
    2-2, 32.0, 7.31, 1.75, .302 away this season
    1-1, 12.0, 3.75, 1.67, .186 vs CIN this season
    3-1, 41.0, 3.07, 1.12, .234 career at Great American
  • Arroyo:
    4-0, 43.2, 2.06, 0.94, .213 this season at home
    2-0, 15.0, 1.20, 0.93, .214 this season vs MIL
    • BOS at MIN
  • Schilling:
    0-0, 3.2, 0.00, 0.82, .154 carer at Metrodome
    40-25, 561.1, 3.05, 1.08, .235 career indoors
    4-2, 51.1, 4.73, 1.15, .254 away this season
  • Santana:
    3-0, 41.1, 3.27, 1.11, .253 at home this season
    3-3, 37.2, 4.06, 1.22, .245 career vs BOS
    (1-2, 10.2, 8.44, 1.88, .341 career at Fenway)

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