Rodeos and Goat Ropin':
-The shocker of the day was easily the Braves/Reds game where the Reds blew a eight-run lead. The bullpen gave up seven runs in the bottom of the ninth, prompting the Braves/Fox South announcer to exclaim, "I've been to two rodeos and three goat ropin's but I've never seen anything like this". I think that sums it up.
-The Rays took advantage of Yankee Stadium's reachable right centerfield porch, hitting a total of four home runs. Will this spark Carlos Pena (two homers) out of his slump?
-Ubaldo Jimenez went for his eighth win and looked to add to the Cy Young resume. Let's say he was successful (see below).
Notables:
-Luke Hochevar tossed a complete game four-hitter, unfortunately one of those hits was a two-run homer to Jhonny Peralta.
-Adam Wainwright pitched another gem, throwing six scoreless innings after allowing two runs in the opening frame. He's got one of the best curveballs in the game and improved to 6-2 with a 2.49 ERA.
-James Shields continued his solid run, holding the Yankees to three runs over 7.1 innings. He improved to 5-1 with a 3.08 ERA.
-Jon Lester threw a complete game against the Twins, holding them to two runs. He struck out nine and walked none and looks ready to repeat his season from a year ago when he started slow.
-Ubaldo Jimenez improved to 8-1 with a .99 ERA tossing seven one-hit innings. Of mild concern here is a minor injury he appeared to sustain running out of the box after an at-bat. He was able to stay in the game and pitch but we'll see what the Rockies say in the upcoming days.
-Jeremy Bonderman picked up the win, allowing only one run over six innings. After a rocky start, this was the sixth straight outing he's lowered his ERA (now at 4.43).
Save Chances:
-Jose Contreras, converted. Jose made things interesting, hitting Alfonso Soriano and allowing a single to Mike Fontenot. Just as the wheels looked like they were coming off, Contreras settled down and struck out Starlin Castro and Aramis Ramirez before getting Geovany Soto to pop out to first. The outing lasted 30 pitches but he got the job done. If I had to choose between Alfredo Simon or Contreras going forward (the assumption that neither Mike Gonzalez or Brad Lidge won't return – which isn't the case), I'd want Contreras without thinking twice.
-Francisco Cordero, blown/loss. To Cordero's credit, he probably should have been brought into the game instead of Nick Masset, who took had taken the loss in Wednesday night's game. Luckily for owners, Cordero only took one earned run off the grand slam which was barely over the wall.
-Ryan Franklin, converted. Mr. Unspectacular-yet-I-get-the-job-done tossed a scoreless frame with both a K and BB to get his 10th save.
-Kevin Gregg, blown. I haven't been a huge Gregg fan ever, maybe I can't get past the glasses. It would be easy to pick on him now after he retired only one batter and gave up three earned runs. But the guy has been spectacular and I'm mad at myself for not doing my due diligence on him. Last year he was off as some advanced stats will tell. His 1.70 HR/9 ratio was his highest ever for a season (by .55) and his HR/FB ratio was 15.3|PERCENT|, almost double his career mark of 8.5|PERCENT|. This year he's had a high strand rate (85.2|PERCENT|) but he's also had an unlucky .292 BABIP, higher than his last three years (.272, .261 and .277 – last year). I'd be shocked if he doesn't get to at least 30 saves with decent peripherals, even in the AL East.
-Rafael Soriano, converted. Soriano entered the game after Randy Choate allowed a couple base runners with a four-run lead. After the two inherited runners scored on a Derek Jeter double, he got the final outs and lowered his ERA to 1.50.
-Brian Fuentes, converted. Threw a scoreless ninth but got three flyouts, not an encouraging sign from your closer.
-Carlos Villanueva, converted. It was speculated that he would get the first save opportunity and he didn't disappoint. Trevor Hoffman is supposedly working out his mechanics but for now it looks like it is Carlos' job.
-Jose Valverde, converted. Jose was a little wild issuing two free passes but got out of trouble and lowered his ERA to 0.48.
Other Closer Outings:
-Neftali Feliz recorded one out to end the game, inducing a pop-up. Kudos to Ron Washington, who got him in the game with the Orioles threatening instead of waiting until it was a save situation.
-Manny Corpas threw a scoreless ninth inning with the Rockies up four runs. Huston Street suffered a setback with his groin so expect Corpas to remain the closer for a couple of more weeks.
Non-Closer Outings:
-Craig Kimbrel picked up his first win during the improbable comeback by the Braves. Keeper-league owners need to watch Kimbrel; he'll likely be the closer in Atlanta next year.
Lineup-ology:
-David Wright returned to the Mets lineup after getting a day off to clear his head. He responded with a 1-for-4 day with four RBI doing most of the damage with a bases-loaded double on his first at-bat.
Tough Days:
-Mitch Talbot gave up six runs in six innings. You aren't going to be a good pitcher when you give up more walks than strikeouts.
-Tommy Hanson must have gotten off the wrong side of the bed. His final line was 1.2 innings, eight earned runs, eight hits and two walks. After the game he complained of feeling light-headed which hopefully is some type of illness or lack of correct nutrition before the game. Just a bump in the road; realize you aren't going to be able to buy-low just off one terrible outing.
-Francisco Liriano surrendered two homers over 4.2 innings and ended up getting tagged for a total of five earned runs. Just a tough day on the road in Boston, his six Ks indicate he's just fine.
-Mike Leake allowed only one run over six innings and even went 2-for-3 at the dish with a double. With an eight run lead, I'm sure most had the win penciled in. Enter the Reds recently shaky bullpen and adios 5-0 start.
-Sticking with the Reds, four errors on defense. Ironically, Miguel Cairo was inserted into the starting lineup over Scott Rolen and committed a costly error in the ninth inning.
-Tim Lincecum was chased after five innings, giving up five runs over five innings. It's worth noting that his control has off; he's now allowed 10 walks over his last 13 innings after allowing only 10 walks over his first 41.1 innings. He actually received solid run support and was in line to get the win until the bullpen coughed up the lead.
Injuries:
-Magglio Ordonez (heel) returned to the lineup and went 2-for-4. This doesn't look like any type of significant injury.
-Ian Stewart (hand) returned to the lineup and could have played on Wednesday night had that been necessary.
-Miguel Olivo (nose) was back in the lineup for a second straight day and will likely not be trying any hands-first slides.
-Gregg Zaun left the game due to a shoulder injury, not from getting hit on the finger while batting. Prospect Jonathan Lucroy (I initially wrote Matt LeCroy, accidentally) could be called up from Triple-A.
-Kyle Blanks (elbow) was officially placed on 15-day DL. The MRI only showed inflammation which is the good news. Blanks performance this year to date, not so good.
-Jorge Posada (broken foot) officially placed on the 15-day DL. He's expected to miss 3-4 weeks, although he thinks it will be sooner. I'm thinking the doctors are right on this one.
-Manny Ramirez missed the Dodgers game after banging his pinkie toe on a table in the training room. I'm guessing he'll be back soon.
-Carlos Gomez is due back in the lineup tomorrow (Friday).
Stolen Bases:
-Shin-Soo Choo (9), Mike Fontenot (1), Darnell McDonald (2), Elvis Andrus (15), Conor Jackson (3, he's got legit double-digit potential here), Erick Aybar (6), Alex Avila (1), Carlos Gonzalez (5), Dexter Fowler (6), Will Venable (12), Caesar Izturis (3, 4)
Caught Stealing:
Home Runs:
-Jhonny Peralta (3), Jose Guillen (9), Alberto Callaspo (7), Brooks Conrad (3, Game-Winning Grand Slam!), Joey Votto (10, Grand Slam!), Laynce Nix (2), Ben Zobrist (1, Finally!), Juan Miranda (2), Troy Tulowitzki (2, a slow starter, if you can get him 90 cents on the dollar, do it), Adrian Beltre (3), Kevin Youkilis (8), B.J. Upton (5), Jose Bautista (12), Carlos Pena (6, 7, Ahh, the wonders of Yankee Stadium), Derrek Lee (5), Kosuke Fukudome (6), Jimmy Rollins (2), Chase Utley (10), Nelson Cruz (8), Vladimir Guerrero (9), Mark Treanor (2), Juan Uribe (5), John Bowker (3), Mark Reynolds (10), Juan Rivera (6), Miguel Cabrera (10), Rod Barajas (10)
Pickups?!:
-I participate in a few extremely deep leagues so I'm always looking for under-the-radar kind of guys. Here's a couple I currently like:
-Juan Miranda homered for the second time in three days and has some pop for the injury-riddled Yankees. He also had a pseudo-triple (Upton lost it in the lights) and is a sneaky short-term play.
-Andres Torres has two homers in his last five games and can run a bit too. He doesn't hit in the greatest park but he's been tagging everything he's seen lately.