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Pain or Gain

post from Baseball Musings on 06 September 2008 05:16:00 PM. © Baseball Musings

The Diamondbacks are skipping Randy Johnson's turn in the rotation due to a sore shoulder: "We talked earlier in the season that if we ever got in a position with Randy, whether it was his back or shoulder, we don't...

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http://www.baseballmusings.com/archives/028815.php

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First Base

post from The Chuck Knoblog on 06 September 2008 05:10:00 PM. © The Chuck Knoblog

Next year the Yankees have the opportunity to shake up their first base situation and get rid of a huge contract in Jason Giambi. The question is, should they? Here are their options for first base next year:

Resign Abreu to a multi-year deal and move Nady or Damon to first base. Giambi leaves.
Sign Mark Texiera to a long term deal. Both Giambi and Abreu leave.
Resign Giambi to a short one or two year deal for a discount. Abreu leaves.

Keep in mind this is all assuming we don't magically pull off a trade. I didn't list this because of its unlikeliness and also because its impossible to predict what we would give up.

I`m leaning towards the third one.

I don't want Abreu back. First of all, he`s a big defensive liability and he would force somebody to play out of position at first base. Believe it or not Giambi would probably be a better fielder at first then Nady or Damon. More importantly though I think Giambi is a better hitter than Abreu. EQA (which takes into account pretty much every offensive stat) has Giambi ahead over the past three years. Giambi beats Abreu in 2008 and 2006. As an added bonus Abreu will be a type A free agent while Giambi will only be a type B.

Although Texiera would fill the first base spot perfectly I would stay away from him. He`s looking for a ten year deal. In my opinion their are very few guys in baseball who are worth that. They need to focus as much money as possible on Sabathia. It would be great to have him but at what cost?

At the start of this year I was looking forward to Giambi being gone. However, he`s been one of the few guys on this team that actually hit. They can get him on a one or two year deal and he wants to be back so they may get him on a discount.

I`d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section. Thanks :)

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http://thechuckknoblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/first-base.html

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Game 142: Reds vs Cubs

post from Red Reporter: Front Page Posts on 06 September 2008 05:00:05 PM. © Red Reporter: Front Page Posts

Next Game

Chicago Cubs
@ Cincinnati Reds

Saturday, Sep 6, 2008, 7:10 PM EDT
Great American Ball Park

Jason Marquis vs Johnny Cueto

Mostly clear. Winds blowing in from left field at 5-15 m.p.h. Game Time temperature: Around 80.

Complete Coverage >

W-L ERA WHIP K BB 2008 - Jason Marquis9-84.461.408255

W-L ERA WHIP K BB 2008 - Johnny Cueto8-124.651.3614658

Johnny's quest for 10 wins continues. After missing a start because of pitching for the Reds, he's back and hopefully pitching for a super-cautious manager. I'd like him to get to 10 wins as much as the next guy, but I'd like him to get to 20 wins next season even more.

I don't know if you've noticed, but the offense has actually been performing very well over the last week. Granted it was mainly against the Giants and the Pirates, but a .317/.413/.552 batting line over a week of games isn't anything to be ashamed of. At least it makes the team much more interesting to watch.

This is the second to last time the Reds play the Cubs this season. Hopefully it's also the second to last time the Reds beat the Cubs this season.

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http://www.redreporter.com/2008/9/6/608682/game-142-reds-vs-cubs

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Eye Line

post from Baseball Musings on 06 September 2008 04:57:00 PM. © Baseball Musings

A new study reveals why line drives hit right at an outfielder are so difficult to catch: Then they presented their subjects with two targets moving at the same speed -- one laterally and one in depth -- and asked...

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http://www.baseballmusings.com/archives/028814.php

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The Chuck Knoblog Minor League Awards: Best
Breakout Candidate

post from The Chuck Knoblog on 06 September 2008 04:46:00 PM. © The Chuck Knoblog

And the Knobby goes to...
Austin Romine, C, 19, Low A Charleston
Austin Romine was a second-round pick in the 2007 draft. In his first year of full-season pro baseball, he was solid, with a .778 OPS in a pitchers park, in a pitchers league. He was a highly-regarded prospect coming out of high school, and the main reason he got so little publicity this year is that he spent this season in Jesus Montero's rather large shadow. The two split catching and DH duties. He has a good contact rate, and a decent walk rate, which should improve. Considering his 35 extra base hits in a pitchers park, his .437 slugging percentage should improve. Next Romine should be in a more hitter friendly league, and has a good chance at putting up an OPS over .800. Romine does not have the ceiling of Jesus Montero, but could become the Yankees' catcher of the future if Montero is moved to first base.

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http://thechuckknoblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/chuck-knoblog-minor-league-awards-bes
t.html

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Bronx Banter: The Melky Way

post from Bronx Banter on 06 September 2008 04:35:00 PM. © Bronx Banter

The Yankees called up Melky Cabrera before last night's game, but according to Pete Abe's article on Melky this morning, that had as much to do with the team's concern over Bobby Abreu having jammed his wrist sliding into second base on Thursday night as with Cabrera's performance over his three weeks with triple-A Scranton.

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http://bronxbanter.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1120921.html

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Ryan Ruins Marcums Efforts

post from Jays Nest on 06 September 2008 04:30:18 PM. © Jays Nest

Shaun Marcum did his job for the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday. B.J. Ryan didn’t. And because of that, Marcum had nothing to show for his fine efforts.Marcum, making his first start since being recalled from Triple-A, pitched shutout ball against[...]

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http://mvn.com/mlb-bluejays/2008/09/06/ryan-ruins-marcums-efforts/

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Talkin' Cubs Live - Cubs vs. Reds - 09/06/08

post from ChicagoCubsOnline.com on 06 September 2008 04:30:00 PM. © ChicagoCubsOnline.com

Game One Hundred Forty-Two: Cubs (85-56) vs. Reds (63-78)
Game Time - 6:10pm C.T.
Coverage - TV: Comcast SportsNet - Radio: 720 WGN, XM Radio Channel 189
Location - Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati

Jason Marquis (9-8, 4.46/1.40) vs. Johnny Cueto (8-12, 4.65/1.36)

One of two things will happen tonight. Either the Cubs will end their six game losing streak or it will stretch to a season-high seven games. But whether the Cubs win or lose, they must start playing better ball. While winning is a cure all and losing can magnify any problem, the bottom line is this team is just not scoring runs but they are not even putting good wood on the ball right now. The Cubs have been outscored 36-14 over the last 6 games, and that is to be expected. They have managed 12 hits in the last two games with 11 singles and a double by Koyie Hill....of the 11 base hits, only 4 of them have left the infield.

Jason Marquis' job is simple, keep his team in the game and give his offense a chance to string hits together....as well as score a few runs. The Cubs must be patient against Johnny Cueto and make him work. He is only 6 innings short of his career high in innings pitched (161 career high, thrown 155 this season) and is showing signs of a pitcher toward the end of his first full big league season.

The Cubs enter play tonight 4 games ahead of the Brewers and in need of not only a win but of their first good performance in over a week. They were pulling out games at the end of August when the team-wide slump was in its early stages. A couple of well hit balls as well as a few breaks will go a long way in relaxing the entire team....

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http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Chicagocubsonlinecom/~3/385251207/2008cubslive142.
php

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Frankie Owes Scioscia Six Innings: White Sox 7,
Angels 6 (15 Innings)

post from 6-4-2 ? an Angels/Dodgers double play blog on 06 September 2008 04:08:00 PM. © 6-4-2 ? an Angels/Dodgers double play blog

The Angels threw away leads of three and one runs, by John Lackey and K-Rod, respectively. Brandon Wood homered off Bobby Jenks, and any time that happens, kittens and puppies are happy. Torii Hunter couldn't get a hit to save his damn life, and welcome to your new postseason suckage, Angels. Mike Scioscia made an inexplicable switch to get Mike Napoli out of the game for Reggie Willits, and yanked Juan Rivera for Jeff Mathis.

Good news: Jason Bulger provided three excellent innings of relief.

Yahoo box

Read The Full Article:
http://6-4-2.blogspot.com/2008/09/frankie-owes-scioscia-six-innings-white.html

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Game 142: Yanks @ Mariners

Regular Season Game 142
Yankees (75-66) @ Mariners (55-85)
Safeco Field - Seattle, WA
Game Time: 10:10 p.m.
TV: YES - MLB.TV | Radio: WCBS 880

YANKEES
Johnny Damon CF
Derek Jeter SS
Bobby Abreu RF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Jason Giambi 1B
Xavier Nady LF
Hideki Matsui DH
Robinson Cano 2B
Ivan Rodriguez C

Sidney Ponson, RHP (7-5, 5.13 ERA)

MARINERS

Ryan Rowland-Smith, LHP (4-2, 3.56 ERA)

Notes: Sidney Ponson is 3-4, with a 4.54 ERA in 13 career games (12 starts). This season he's 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA in 1 starts against them. ... Ryan Rowland-Smith is 0-0 with a 12.27 ERA in 4 career games (3.2 IP) against the Yankees. This season he's 0-0 with a 4.91 ERA in three games. ... Toronto won today, so if the Yankees lose tonight they will fall to 4th place in the AL East. The last time the Yankees have been in 4th place this late in the year was 1992, a year they finished in 4th.

Yanks vs. Rowland-Smith:
AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS I. Rodriguez 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .667 .667 .667 1.333 R. Cano 3 2 1 0 0 2 0 0 .667 .667 1.000 1.667 B. Abreu 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 .500 .500 1.000 H. Matsui 2 1 0 0 0 2 2 1 .500 .750 .500 1.250 M. Cabrera 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 J. Damon 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 J. Molina 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 C. Moeller 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 .000 J. Giambi 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .000 1.000 .000 1.000 Totals156100442.400.526.467.993
Mariners vs. Ponson:
AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS R. Ibanez 32 8 3 0 2 9 3 4 .250 .306 .531 .837 M. Cairo 27 8 3 0 0 0 0 2 .296 .296 .407 .704 I. Suzuki 18 10 1 1 0 3 2 2 .556 .571 .722 1.294 J. Lopez 12 4 1 0 0 1 1 2 .333 .385 .417 .801 A. Beltre 10 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 .000 .167 .000 .167 Y. Betancourt 6 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 .333 .333 .667 K. Johjima 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000 .000 .000 .000 M. Morse 3 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 .333 .333 .333 .667 W. Balentien 3 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 .667 .667 1.000 1.667 J. Reed 2 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 .500 .667 1.000 1.667 J. Clement 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .333 .000 .333 W. Bloomquist 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 1.000 1.000 2.000 Totals12237101215914.303.351.451.802

Stick around and discuss the game
as it happens in the comments section.