Greinke moves to 8-0 at home, beats Bucs (AP)

Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder hit back-to-back homers and Zack Greinke remained perfect at Miller Park to lift the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers to a 7-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night. Braun and Fielder homered in the eighth after the Pirates had chased Greinke (11-4) with two runs earlier in the inning.

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http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2011/08/13/greinke-moves-to-8-0-at-home-beats-bucs-ap/

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Zambrano walks out, talks retiring (AP)

Chicago Cubs manager Mike Quade said pitcher Carlos Zambrano cleaned out his locker and “walked out” on the team after giving up five homers in Friday night’s 10-4 loss to the Atlanta Braves. Quade said Zambrano was talking about ending his playing career. “I’m really disappointed,” Quade said.

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http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2011/08/13/zambrano-walks-out-talks-retiring-ap/

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Strasburg Ks 5 in 3 scoreless in Class A (AP)

When a pitcher throws as well as Washington Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg did Friday night, it takes some pressure off his catcher. “When you throw 98 or 99 (miles per hour), it’s easy to catch,” said Sandy Leon, catcher for the Class A Potomac Nationals. “He puts the ball where he wants it.” Strasburg showed [...]

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http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2011/08/13/strasburg-ks-5-in-3-scoreless-in-class-a-ap
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Stiff shoulder hampers Hamels in loss (AP)

Cole Hamels shrugged off a stiff shoulder that got his manager worried a bit. Livan Hernandez pitched 6 2-3 strong innings and drove in two runs with a pair of singles, helping the Washington Nationals beat the Philadelphia Phillies 4-2 Friday night. The Phillies have a healthy lead in the division and lead the majors [...]

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http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2011/08/13/stiff-shoulder-hampers-hamels-in-loss-ap/

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Rays hit 5 solo HRs off Sabathia in win (AP)

Be certain, Joe Maddon was impressed with all the homers the Rays hit. David Price and a few big plays in the field, though, is what really got him excited. Johnny Damon, Casey Kotchman and Kelly Shoppach all connected in the third inning for three of Tampa Bay’s five solo home runs against CC Sabathia, [...]

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http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2011/08/13/rays-hit-5-solo-hrs-off-sabathia-in-win-ap/

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Nats Hernandez outpitches Phils Hamels (AP)

Livan Hernandez had a feeling in batting practice that he would do some damage at the plate. Oh, by the way, he did just fine on the mound, too. Hernandez pitched 6 2-3 strong innings and drove in two runs with a pair of singles, helping the Washington Nationals beat the Philadelphia Phillies 4-2 Friday [...]

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http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2011/08/13/nats-hernandez-outpitches-phils-hamels-ap/

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Houston Astros at Los Angeles Dodgers, Aug 12,
2011 9:10 PM CDT

Current Series

3 game series vs Dodgers @ Dodger Stadium

Houston Astros The Crawfish Boxes
@ Los Angeles Dodgers True Blue LA

Friday, Aug 12, 2011, 9:10 PM CDT
Dodger Stadium

Bud Norris vs Nathan Eovaldi

Partly cloudy. Winds blowing out to right field at 5-10 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 70.

Complete Coverage >

Bud Norris

#20 / Pitcher / Houston Astros

Height: 6-0

Weight: 220

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Mar 02, 1985

Nathan Eovaldi

#50 / Pitcher / Los Angeles Dodgers

Height: 6-3

Weight: 195

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Feb 13, 1990

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Braves Honor Bobby Cox with a 10-4 Win Over the
Cubs

The Braves and Dan Uggla took little time to get things going for the Braves, tonight. After going down in order in the first, Uggla crushed one of his trademark Uggla Smashes into the left centerfield seats to extend the streak and start the scoring for the Braves. Chipper and David Ross both followed up with singles to put men on the corners for Constanza. He was called out for going out of the baseline on a drag bunt, but drove in Chipper to give the Braves an early 2-0 lead.

Chicago tried to battle back in the third, as Jeff Baker doubled in the top of the third and advanced to third base on a Castro goundout. Reed Johnson sent him across the plate with a base hit to Prado to cut the Braves lead to 2-1. Chipper, however, wasted no time in grabbing a bit of history himself. His 1000^th career extra base hit was a deep three run no-doubter to straightaway center to give the Braves a 5-1 lead.

The derby continued. In the fourth, Constanza followed up with a homer of his own to the opposite field that sent him around the bases in inside-the-park-home-run time. Freeman crushed one out in the following inning, that was then followed immediately by another Uggla Smash to bring the total to 8-1 in favor of the good guys. The back to back homers were followed by one of the most cowardly, uncalled for things I’ve ever seen on a baseball diamond. Zambrano threw two pitches directly at Larry Wayne Jones Jr. though both avoided his fragile knees. Zambrano’s ejection was accompanied by a nonchalant stroll into the visiting clubhouse, making his intentions of removing himself from the ballgame blatantly obvious.

Mike ran into some minor trouble in the sixth when he gave up two singles and a double to Alfonso Soriano that sent Prado into the wall and cut the Braves lead to 8-3. Martinez got the one out that he was assigned before the Braves drove in two more runs in the bottom half behind a Brooks Conrad pinch hit single and a Michael Bourn sac fly. The onslaught was relentless, and deservedly so for Carlos Zambrano.

Arodys Vizcaino pitched two scoreless innings and Anthony Varvaro gave up just a Starlin Castro solo shot to end the game at a score of 10-4. Mike Minor earned a very solid win, Dan Uggla extended his streak to 32 games behind two homers, Chipper Jones hit his 1000^th extra base hit, and Braves Country honored the greatest man to ever manage the franchise. It was a pretty solid evening for the 50+ thousand that came out to Turner Field tonight.

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Lohse, Pujols power Cards past Rockies (AP)

Kyle Lohse worked into the seventh inning after a week between starts and Albert Pujols followed up a 4-for-4 game with two hits and the go-ahead RBI to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 6-1 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Friday night. David Freese had two hits and three RBIs, two of them [...]

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http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2011/08/13/lohse-pujols-power-cards-past-rockies-ap/

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The SABR Spotlight: Curtis Granderson

The Power of the Spotlight is growing...as @COSFBA points out "Five SABR reports; 2 DL stints. I'll be sure not to suggest you write about any of my studs."

So...40% of the SABR Spotlight articles have ended in a DL stint? This is what I get when I return from vacation? Yikes... Well, at any rate, back to baseball...

There are very few sportscasters that I can stand listening too these days. Either they speak in monotone or they are such big homers it's impossible to listen and enjoy at the same time. I can't even stand listening to my own hometown broadcasters, Dick Bremer and Bert Blyleven. Two sportscasters that really stick out as exceptionally annoying in my mind are John Sterling and Ken "Hawk" Harrelson. The reason I bring this up, is because a lot people have been singing praises about this weeks SABR Spotlight candidate. Even though I'm not a fan of John Sterling, the guy knows how to turn a home run or great catch into a phrase that will stick with a player for the rest of his career. The Grandy Man Can...and thats why this week we shine the SABR Spotlight on....

Curtis Granderson, OF New York Yankees

I don't think anyone doubted Grandersons potential or skillset. He was a 30-20 guy in 2009 with the Tigers, and he was headed to the powerhouse Yankees. Everyone in pinstripes seems to increase their HR numbers. So what happened to Granderson in 2010? He posted career lows in AVG and OBP, and his lowest RBI and SB numbers since 2008. What gives? Wasn't Granderson supposed to hit the ground running in the Big Apple and become one of the games elite 5-tool players?

There was probably a lot of factors that lead to Grandersons disappointing 2010 campaign. Exactly a year ago, Granderson was on the bench (he was benched 8/10/10 and 8/10/11) and was in danger of becoming part of a platoon with Marcus Thames. Maybe it was the fact that he was thrust into the spotlight in New York, and he wasn't ready for it? Maybe pitchers picked up on a hole in his swing and were exploiting him. What a world of difference one year makes. Granderson is hotter than Waco, TX!

It's clear that Granderson's approach at the plate is the cause for the new found success. Granderson is all but officially a pull-hitter now. Don't believe me? Take a look at the below spray charts, courtesy of Texas Leaguers. The top one is Granderson in 2010 and the bottom is this season so far.


It's pretty obvious that over half of Grandersons hits are coming down the right field line, and a good portion of them are clearing the fence. Grandersons ground-outs are nearly identical between 2010 and 2011, and the vast majority of them are going to somewhere between 1st and 2nd base. Don't think this looks like the typical pull hitters spray chart? Do me a favor, and look up Jim Thome's spray chart, or Mark Teixeira from the left side of the plate.

So Granderson likes to pull the ball. Pitchers should pitch outside with off speed stuff to keep him off balance and prevent him from turning on the ball right? Well, maybe they are, but Granderson is hitting them just the same. Take a look at the heat chart from Fox Sports. I'm no expert, but it looks to me like Granderson is actually hitting pitches middle-away better than inside pitchs. This allows him to extend his arms and get more force into the ball.

Ok, it's reasonable to assume that Granderson has changed his approach at the plate, but that doesn't always translate into success, so what do his peripherals tell us? Maybe Granderson is just having one of those years, and is getting lucky? It wouldn't be the craziest thing that's ever happened *cough - Brady Anderson - cough*.

You might be surprised to find out that Grandersons BABIP isn't all that high. Sure, it's about 20 points higher than his career average (.308 in 2011, .286 over career), but if you were to take out 2009 and 2010 (.275 in 2009, .277 in 2010), it's actually the lowest of his career. Grandersons K% is also at a career high, and his IFH% (Infield Hit Percentage) is the second lowest it's ever been. This doesn't sound like someone who is getting lucky to me, it sounds like someone who is hitting the ball with authority and pitchers haven't adjusted well to his new approach.

Another interesting data set is Grandersons career trends for GB%, FB% and how they relate to his ISO. It appears as though these numbers have been trending, pretty steadily and consistently, over the course of his career.
It's hard to say what Granderson's true value is. In the future, should we expect similar numbers to what he posted last season, or is he closer to the player that he's been this season? I think that his value is somewhere in between, but closer to how he is performing now. Granderson is 30, so it's not as if he's just entering the prime of his career now, so you should temper your expectations for the coming year. I do however, expect him to be a solid keeper or dynasty pick next season.

But wait, what should I do with him if I have him on my roster?

I'm glad you asked! If I were you, I would sell like I've never sold before. I would be willing to bet that by seasons end, Granderson will post his best career numbers. Not to date, rather the best he will post in his entire career. I don't see Granderson ever hitting 40 HR after this season. His counting stats are through the roof, and I've heard of people offering trades including everything but the kitchen sink to get Granderson. If you can get 1st round value for him, now is the time to make that deal. If your in a single season, non-keeper leauge, you might want to ride him out, as I said, he's having the best year of his career.

Have a question or comment? Want to suggest the next player featured in The SABR Spotlight? Leave a comment below or drop me a line on Twitter @SillyLittleGame.

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/COSFBA/~3/UbLlgDe1rqs/sabr-spotlight-curtis-grande
rson.html

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