SB Nation - Derek Lee

Just Like They Drew It Up. Reds Win 7-5 to Break 5-game Losing Streak.

Slyde — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 21:01:24 -0000

More photos » by Jim Prisching - AP

Yer a....GULP....mmmmmm.

Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

Drew Sutton. Sutton only saw three pitches all day, but that was enough as his 2-run pinch hit double in the 9th inning was the difference for the winning squad.

Key Plays

The story of the day today was base runners, as in the Reds had 21 of them when you add up the 10 hits, 8 walks, and 3 errors by the Cubs. Thankfully, they managed to get some hits today with runners on base, going 5 for 13 with runners in scoring position.

The Reds put their first two runs on the board due to the Cubs fielding incompetence. Three errors in the 3rd inning allowed the Reds to load up the bases and score a run before Brandon Phillips singled in a second run to put the team up 2-0.
The Reds added 3 more runs in the 4th inning after Adam Rosales and Drew Stubbs singles put runners at 1st and 3rd. Darnell McDonald followed with one of his two hits on the day to drive in Rosales. Joey Votto did the same to drive in Stubbs. Consecutive walks to Phillips and Scott Rolen put another run on the board and the Reds led 5-0.
While all of this was happening, Johnny Cueto was cruising right along, allowing just 1 hit and 2 walks through the first 5 innings. He ran into trouble in the 6th though, walking lead-off hitter Ryan Theriot and back-to-back singles Derek Lee and Aramis Ramirez, the latter scoring Theriot. Geovany Soto ended Cueto's day with a double that plated Lee and moved Ramirez to third base.
Daniel Ray Herrera relieved Cueto but allowed a sacrifice fly to score Ramirez and a walk and was replaced with Ramon Ramirez who induced a flyout from Jeff Baker to end the inning.
The Cubs rallied again in the 7th a walks to Kosuke Fukudome and Lee put runners on 1st and 2nd with one out. Nick Masset came to the game to face Aramis Ramirez who promptly singled to load the bases. Masset struck Milton Bradley out, but then gave up another double to Geovanny Soto. Both Fukudome and Lee scored, but a nice relay from Stubbs to Paul Janish to Corky Miller nailed Ramirez at the plate, preserving a 5-5 tie.
The 8th inning was quiet on both sides, and it looked like the Reds would stall out in the 9th as Rolen grounded into a double play after a Phillips single. However, 2-out walks to Jonny Gomes and Kevin Barker left the door open for Drew Sutton to be a hero, and Sutton didn't disappoint. His double into right field plated both runners and gave the Reds a 7-5 lead.
Francisco Cordero made quick work of the Cubs in the 9th, throwing just 9 pitches in a 1-2-3 inning.

via www.fangraphs.com

Other Notes

The win today still leaves open the possibility that the Reds could finish this road trip with a split. As bad as they played during the 5-game losing streak, a split would feel like a freaking miracle.
The Reds had 10 different players reach base via a hit or a walk.

The Continuing Struggles of Jesse Crain

Jesse — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 22:46:48 -0000

More photos » by Nam Y Huh - AP

6 months ago: Minnesota Twins' Carlos Gomez celebrates after hitting a solo home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs in Chicago, Sunday, June 14, 2009. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

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It has to break your heart, just a little bit.

The biggest problem with following a team this closely and caring as much as you do is that it could turn you prematurely gray. I'm legitimatey worried about this happening. True, I'm an admitted optimist, but that doesn't stop me from gritting my teeth. Averting my eyes? Out of the question. For better or worse, I witness the train wrecks with my eyes wide open.

Little known fact: Ron Gardenhire is just 22-years old. The stress has turned his flowing locks and trademark facial hair a snowy white. And yes, this means he's been managing a major league baseball team since he was a sophomore in high school.

Carlos Gomez' first home run of the season knotted the game at two, landing a temporary dagger in the top of the sixth inning. By this time last season he had five skyjacks, and even after going 0-for-6 was hitting .272/.308/.388. Clearly he's not taken the obvious step forward this season that we were hoping for, but here's the primary difference between Gomez and fellow 23-year old Delmon Young: Gomez doesn't look lost in the field, or at the plate. Over-matched? Sometimes. Inexperience? For sure. But he still looks like a young professional. Delmon's having issues across the board. Cmathewson picked it out in a post last night.

Scott Baker put together his third consecutive impressive start, going seven strong in Chicago. A sac fly in the second scored the first run, and even after a rough start to the fourth inning Baker was able to settle in and battle for the second and third outs of the inning and end the threat. He threw a lot of strikes, taking advantage of an aggressive and struggling Cubs offense and forcing them to hit the ball; 70 called strikes in just 98 pitches. Baker didn't walk a single man, scattering just five hits and matching that number in strikeouts.

On the other side, Ted Lilly was just as impressive. Gomez gave him almost all the trouble he had all day: a second inning double followed by a steal of third base, scoring on a great bunt by Nick Punto. The home run later gave Gomez one hell of a game, and made him one of the only offensive catalysts on the afternoon. Outside of Gomez, Lilly allowed just seven hits and matched Baker's walk total of zero. He was lifted with two outs in the eighth, having struck out six. Over Lilly's last four starts (28.1 innings), he's allowed just four earned runs.

I feel like I'm forgetting something...

Oh yeah, the train wreck. Jesse Crain came on to hold the game in the bottom of the ninth, getting a one-pitch out to kick things off. Things unravelled quickly. Derek Lee hit one hard to the left side for a single before Geovany Soto knocked what probably should have been a routine ground ball to Matt Tolbert. Even playing toward the end of the infield dirt, a diving Tolbert was unable to come up with the ball. Six years later, Young fielded the ball in shallow left. A hard throw made it a close play at third base on Lee, but he made it under the tag.

According to the play-by-play, it sounds like Young was playing extraordinarily deep in left field; warning track deep. Whether he made this adjustment himself or he was positioned there by his coaches, this move gave the Cubs an extra base and changed the game's aspect. An intentional walk of Mike Fontenot loaded the bases. Two pitches later Crain induced a bouncing grounder off Ryan Theriot, but it found space through the right side of the infield, and Lee came in to score the winning run.

Crain's season is killing the bullpen. He's continually put into high-leverage situations, even now, after he's proven that he's unable to handle that kind of situation. His line drive rates aren't the problem (16.1%), it's a number of other things.

The walks have been on the rise every year since '06, and this season he's walking a sickly 5.71 per nine innings.
He's stranding just 54.3% of his base runners. I'm not really sure how this is even possible.
Crain's slider, which he'd been throwing about 25% of the time over the last two years with an average velocity of about 89.3 mph, is broken. He now throws the slider just 12% of the time, with an average velocity of 84.7 mph.

Something with Crain has to change, and quickly. I'm not opposed to giving him opportunities to work through this, but those opportunities have to stop happening with the game on the line. Over the last few weeks a number of bullpen arms have stepped up to the plate and started delivering results, meaning Gardenhire should feel free to change the heirarchy of his 'pen.

The good news is that the Twins managed to swipe two of three on the road, against the Cubs. Bring on the Pirates.

Additional Twins/Cubs coverage from SB Nation.
The best Chicago Cubs coverage on the net.

Stars of the Game
#3: Luis Ayala (1 IP, K, .110 WPA)
#2: Carlos Gomez (2-for-4, 2B, HR, RBI, 2 R, SB, .077 WPA)
#1: Scott Baker (7 IP, 5 H, 5 K, 0 BB, 2 R, .192 WPA)

Causes of Premature Gray Hairs
#1: Jesse Crain (0.1 IP, 3 H, BB, R, -.357 WPA)
#2: Brendan Harris (0-for-4, 2 K, -.169 WPA)
#3: Justin Morneau (0-for-5, -.195 WPA)

Swarzak, Bullpen Blank Cubs

Jesse — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 23:44:56 -0000

More photos » by Jim Prisching - AP

6 months ago: Minnesota Twins', from left, Delmon Young, Carlos Gomez and Jason Kubel celebrate their 2-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs in a baseball game on Saturday, June 13, 2009, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Jim Prisching)

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Minnesota offense manages just a pair of runs, but one goes deeper than the seats.

Rich Harden was the story going into today's game. One of baseball's enigmas, fresh off the disabled list and ready to go; it's hard not to be drawn in by the idea. To his credit, Harden didn't disappoint. Over six innings he struck out nine, including the big three lefties that sit in the middle of the lineup. And Anthony Swarzak. Twice. Harden was exclusively fastball-changeup-slider, and what we saw was proof of how well a three-pitch starter can look with quality pitches.

Sound familiar?

For his part, Swarzak matched Harden in results, if not in aura. Carlos Gomez made a beautiful diving catch, running in and slightly to his right in the bottom of the first inning; a play that singularly defines exactly why he should be starting in center everyday in Denard Span's absence. But the rookie made the most of his time, even without spectacular plays from his defense. He worked his fastball-curveball-change combination in the same way he has since coming up from Rochester, with 70 selections being his fastball. His first two strikeouts came on two-strike curveballs, which didn't just show that Swarzak felt good about his breaking ball this afternoon but it showed how solid he can be when that curve works the way he wants it to.

The defining moment of the game ultimately came early, in the top of the second inning. Harden delivered a belt-high fastball to Jason Kubel; Kubel delivered a ball that left Wrigley Field over the right field bleachers and onto Sheffield Avenue. It gave the Twins just a 1-0 lead, but it was the deciding run.

With rain having an effect on the grass throughout the game, Minnesota's insurance run was the biggest result of the weather-worn grass. Joe Mauer's hard ground ball through the right side of the infield slowed as it spun through the grass, allowing Nick Punto to score easily from second base in the third inning. Had the grass not been wet, it's likely Mauer's grounder reaches right field much quicker and Punto is held at third base.

Milton Bradley and Derek Lee put together back-to-back singles in the fourth inning, but it was the last time they would put two runners on base in an inning until the bottom of the ninth, when Joe Nathan made things interesting.

After getting ahead of Bradley 0-2, Nathan threw four called balls (ball three was clearly strike three for anyone actually watching the game, but it's a moot point now) to put him on. Lee then scorched one down the left side; Joe Crede managed to get a glove on it before booting it, but by the time Brendan Harris picked up the ball there wasn't a play to be made. With nobody out in the inning, the Cubbies were in business.

Following an Andres Blanco sacrifice bunt that advanced both Bradley and Lee, Kosuke Fukudome struck out on three straight; it's fair to point out that home plate umpire Dan Bellino had gone back to giving the pitcher the outside of the plate in this plate appearance, as Nathan's first slider was called a strike even though it definitely wasn't in the zone. Ryan Theriot then ended the threat with a lazy fly to Kubel in right field.

With a well-earned victory under his belt, Swarzak is now on his way back to Rochester. Glen Perkins will be back with the Twins for his start on Tuesday. To help with the shortage of bench options (Michael Cuddyer's hand in general, and Span's dizzy spells causes for concern), Jose Morales is being recalled. This should give the Twins the opportunity to DH Mauer more often, and give Morales the opportunity to prove that Mauer isn't the only catcher who can hit better than .350.

Additional Twins/Cubs coverage, from SB Nation .

Stars of the Game
#3: Joe Nathan (1 IP, H, BB, K, .097 WPA)
#2: Jason Kubel (1-for-4, HR, RBI, R, .042 WPA)
#1: Anthony Swarzak (7 IP, 4 H, 6 K, BB, .455 WPA)

Keppinger a hero in his first Astros Game; Astros get first win of the season

DyingQuail — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 03:37:46 -0000

More photos » by Pat Sullivan - AP

Hunter Pence looks goofy doing just about anything on the field—except for jacking solo-shots. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)

Browse more photos »

The picture on the left will lead you to a glorious slide show of sultry AP-licensed photographs from tonight's game (give a hearty thanks to the tech team and network management for making this possible).

Wandy pitched phenomenally through six innings; Sampson was nails in his inning; Hawkins finally give up a run as an Astro; and we displayed uncharacteristic (from last year) patience at the plate.

As AstrosAndy pointed out in the comments of the Game Thread:

1 down, 89 to go!

If we're going to actually accomplish that feat, here's a laundry list of:

Things Cecil Cooper needs to stop doing, already:

Having a foolishly aggressive running game.
Batting Ivan Rodriguez second. Dude won't get on base, therefore Lance will never have anyone to knock in because Kaz will have been thrown out during Pudge's at bat.
Batting Hunter Pence seventh. If you want to keep him down in the line up, it's dumb, but fair enough. Though come on—seventh? Behind Blum?

via www.fangraphs.com

Topsy-turvy baseball, I like it. Keppinger's broken bat single came at point in the game we're that final run was worth the equivalent of 5.53 runs in the forth (tons of leverage) and capped the final 16.4% of the Win Expectancy necessary to win the game. Not a bad way to arrive.

Cafardo's Deep Postseason Wisdom

0157H7 — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 18:32:48 -0000

Merriam-Webster defines depth as, among other things:

"the quality of being profound (as in insight) or full (as of knowledge)..."

To be honest, I had a hard time conceptualizing this, at least until I saw the picture of Boston Globe sportswriter Nick Cafardo next to the definition.

Cafardo writes in his weekly Baseball Notes column on postseason performance. In keeping with the fine tradition of his work on the 2003 draft, he displays superb wit and acumen in the article.

For many teams, it's about getting deep into the postseason, winning it all. Yet how much thought goes into rosters to make sure teams have the players that will perform once they get there?

This is a great question. My guess: three whole minutes of thought. Let's keep going.

Since 2002, the Angels have been a consistent division winner, but they never seem to get very far. Why is that?

Another searching question from St. Nick. Let's anticipate his answer:
1) The Angels front office builds teams that emphasize making outs (steals, squeeze plays) rather than doing things that are more consistent with scoring runs (hitting homers, getting on base consistently).
2) Mike Scioscia's overrated managing and philosophy of aggressiveness actually hurts the team. See 2008 ALDS, Game Four.
3) It's pretty easy to win a division when there are only three other teams in it. And when two of them are the Mariners and Rangers. And when the third team (Oakland) averages $40 million less in payroll than your team does, and is constantly rebuilding.

Are we right?

Do they have players that just can't come up big in the biggest moments?

Huh? Is Nick Cafardo, exemplar of all that is great in sports writing, inspiration of little children, and defender of the game of baseball, truly judging players on just a handful of playoff at-bats?

The Angels added Mark Teixeira in late July and he provided some much-needed thump to their lineup. While Teixeira did more than his teammates in the playoffs (seven singles and one RBI in 15 at-bats), it wasn't enough.

Teixeira didn't pick up the ball and throw 18 shut-out innings, while hitting five homeruns, to win Games Four and Five. All he did was hit .467 / .550 / .467, and constantly get on base. Clearly the sort of guy you don't want to re-sign.

Respected Indians general manager Mark Shapiro says identifying solid postseason players is difficult.

Shapiro then launched into a long discussion of player evaluation, and how judging a player based on a few dozen postseason at-bats is misguided and foolish. But Little Nicky was bored and fell asleep, so rather than try to digest what was written, he just copied and pasted it from the email.

"In this market and in my opinion, [seeking good postseason players] is one small attribute that could be an added bonus but not a real driver in a decision," he wrote in an e-mail. "Postseason experience and, really, pennant race experience is meaningful in the ups and downs of a pennant race but difficult to quantify, and the bottom line is performance.

"We look at a lot of variables in the decision-making process - primarily subjective (scouting), objective (statistics), medical, financial, mental makeup, and personality. The experience you mentioned could fit in as a small, positive intangible that helps shape decisions but not impact them in a meaningful way."

All work and no play makes Nicky a very dull boy. All work and no play makes Nicky a very dull boy. All work and... Hey, let's talk about the Yankees!

This offseason, the Yankees went wild with the signings of Teixeira, CC Sabathia, and A.J. Burnett. Sabathia's postseason history is poor - 2-3. 7.92 ERA. Burnett has never pitched in the postseason. Incumbent Chien-Ming Wang, a two-time 19-game winner, is 1-3 with a 7.58 ERA in four postseason starts. Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, arguably the best all-around player in the game, is hitting .159 in his last 44 postseason at-bats with one homer and one RBI.

Let's not mention that Sabathia has been worked to the bone each of the past two seasons. Or that A-Rod's career postseason line is .279 / .361 / .483, or that he hit .421 / .476 / .737 in the 2004 ALDS? Spoils the mood, doesn't it?

Speaking of playoff failure, how 'bout them Cubs?

The Cubs have fizzled in their last two playoff appearances because of a lack of offense. Derrek Lee hit .545 (6 for 11) against the Dodgers in last season's Division Series, but didn't drive in a run.

Funny, I thought the Cubs lost because Ryan Dempster and Carlos Zambrano combined for 11 runs in 11 innings. Nick Scratch knows better - it was because Lee didn't hit a homerun in every at bat. Choker.

The Red Sox won the World Series in 2004 and '07 because they had players such as Curt Schilling, Derek Lowe, Manny Ramírez, David Ortiz, Johnny Damon, Bill Mueller, Mark Bellhorn, Mike Lowell, Josh Beckett, and Jonathan Papelbon who...

Let's play Fill In the Answer. Which of the following completes the sentence:
A) "were good or great players at the top of their game."
B) "made fewer mistakes and got luckier in a small sample size."
C) "stepped up their games when it counted most."

Time's up! Nick chose C. See me after class, son. Bring your parents. And a belt.

I want to stop, but I can't. It's like I've crossed the event horizon and can't escape the gravitational pull of this column's stupidity.

"[Identifying good postseason players] is certainly not a primary consideration - more of a secondary factor at best," said Sox GM Theo Epstein. "Ted Williams didn't perform in the postseason . . . I would take him!"

Epstein then explained to Nick that Ted Williams was one of the greatest baseball players ever, and he only ever had 25 playoff AB in his 21 year career. But Nick just covered up his ears and started singing "My Humps" at the top of his voice.

Well, Nick, we're having fun with your piece, but could you make it more poignant? Maybe suggest that the Sox won't win a World Series without Manny, or something?

In the playoffs is when the Sox will miss Ramírez most.

Hallelujah!

In 2007, they had a fearsome threesome of Ortiz, Ramírez, and Lowell. Intimidating to any pitcher, no matter how good.

Whereas Ortiz, Bay, Lowell is only mildly off-putting, only slightly vexacious. And since we're judging players by small sample sizes, Bay's .341/ .471 / .634 postseason line (41 AB) is especially tepid.

There's much more (Geovany Soto + Aramis Ramirez = unclutch?!), but I want to skip ahead to the "juicy" finale...

Of course, players can reverse their fortunes [in the playoffs]. Barry Bonds hit .196 in his first 97 postseason at-bats with one homer and six RBIs, before he exploded for eight homers and 16 RBIs in the 2002 playoffs, including a .471 average in the World Series with four homers and six RBIs.

Bonds' improvement was a real shot in the arm for the Giants. The team was really in the clear when they saw Bonds creaming the ball. I wonder what changed things around for him. I seem to recall some big news story about that, maybe hearings in Congress, possibly some report. Of course, I wouldn't expect a luminary like Cafardo to worry about such trifling facts.