It's Millar Time, As Eric Gagme Blows Another
One...

post from SawxBlog on 13 August 2007 09:49:00 AM. © SawxBlog

Remember when Millar used to do this for the good guys? (AP Photo)Posting today is no easier then it was yesterday, and now...yes, I'm beginning to panic a little bit. I wouldn't necessarily allow myself to call it panic before, but how we lost the two[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://www.sawxblog.com/2007/08/its-millar-time.html

Add to del.icio.us

Digg this

Post to Furl

Add to reddit

Add to myYahoo!

Your Girlfriend is Better

post from Baseball Musings on 13 August 2007 09:39:00 AM. © Baseball Musings

Dodger Thoughts presents a thorough review of how the Dodgers got to this point, while 6-4-2 notes that the front office designed the team poorly: The comment by baseballfiend was so blatantly absurd it required a response in the post...

Read The Full Article:
http://www.baseballmusings.com/archives/022307.php

Digg this

Pickoff Moves, Lunchtime Edition

post from 6-4-2 — an Angels/Dodgers double play blog on 13 August 2007 09:22:00 AM. © 6-4-2 — an Angels/Dodgers double play blog

The Urgency (Or Lack Thereof) Of Mike Napoli's Return

I recall a couple days ago that the Angels broadcasters relayed Mike Scioscia's equivocation on Mike Napoli as the team's starting catcher upon his return. I've spent the last couple days with this thought in the back of my head, and it's hard to square this with the fact that he'll be coming back without a rehab stint first. Possible scenarios:

Scioscia likes Jeff Mathis better as a game-caller and/or defensively.
He's uncertain about Napoli's ability to adjust to major league pitching having been out so long, but then, why not leave him at Rancho for a game or three while that's going on?
Jeff Mathis needs a day off, Ryan Budde isn't up to the task, and he dares not say so in public. (Of course, he gets today off, so that doesn't get a lot of play.)

The latest in the Times is that Napoli's return date is now next weekend following an unsuccessful attempt at running full speed on Sunday.

Roster Notes

Those who think Bartolo Colon can still have a positive impact on the Angels' fortunes will be cheered to read that he threw a 30-pitch bullpen sesson Sunday and felt good afterwards. He'll throw a 45-pitch session Wednesday and could start a rehab assignment on the weekend.
There's still no word about Matt Harvey, the Angels' top pick in the 2007 draft.
Tony Abreu's agent, Scott Boras, is steaming that Abreu was sent to AAA rather than placed on the DL with an injury. A similar incident between Anibal Sanchez and the Marlins ended up with the players' union filing a grievance and Sanchez being reinstated.

How Chone Figgins Got His Swing Back

I saw this piece about Chone Figgins and how he got his swing back after a miserable April and May in the Sunday Times and forgot to link to it:

Nothing worked.
His fingers felt strange. His swing felt funky.
He groped, lurched and looked lost. He swung hard and just knew that this would be the hit that broke his slump. Then he watched, horrified, as another baseball smacked off his bat and curved into an infielder's glove.
Since 2002, Chone Figgins has been an Angel in Anaheim. He was doing well, and he was ready. This would be his breakout season. Instead, what he got was a nightmare.
First, he hurt his right hand. Then, all at once, he could no longer get a hit. Fans started calling for his head. There were rumors that the Angels would get rid of him. A trade.
His numbers told the story. On May 1, his batting average stood at .125. Twenty-eight days later, it had climbed -- by .008.
One hit for roughly 10 times at bat. Great odds for the lottery, awful for a baseball player.
Worst of all, Figgins, who pronounces his first name like Shawn, simply had no clue.
What was wrong?
We've all been there: nothing going right, no end in sight. Maybe there was something here all of us could learn.
Some baseball players don't like to talk about things like this, good or bad. If they're cursed, then talking about it might make things worse. On the other hand, if they're charmed, then talking about it might make the magic disappear.
Figgins isn't like that.
We sat in the empty stands at Anaheim last week, just before batting practice. Figgins is 5 inches less than 6 feet tall, unimposing enough that you could easily mistake him for a dentist. But his brow was furrowed, his voice anxious. He sounded like a skier talking about a chain-reaction collision at Mammoth. "Man," he said, "it just snowballed.
"I'd have a good at-bat, and then I'd tinker. I'd think, 'Oh, if I get out in front of the ball a little. . . ,' or, 'Oh, if I stay back a little.' It was like I was sort of lost."

Eric Gagne: Game Over, Over?

Eric Gagne isn't getting it done in Boston, having failed at his appointed middle-relief task in his last two appearances. There were suggestions in the BTF thread on this article that his WHIP rate is up from his glory days with the Dodgers. In fact, it's a perfect 3.00 with the Red Sox, and a 1.259 overall, a figure he hasn't approached since 2001 when he was still thought of as a starter. That the O's, hardly a big-hitting team, knocked him around made the failure even more painful.

OT: You Oughta Write A Book

Matt Welch has did, this one about John McCain, the man who would be President. You can pre-order the thing on Amazon (link above); Welch engages in some self-promotion at his blog.

Read The Full Article:
http://6-4-2.blogspot.com/2007/08/pickoff-moves-lunchtime-edition_13.html

Digg this

Monday Update

post from Baseball Musings on 13 August 2007 09:06:00 AM. © Baseball Musings

The Day by Day Database is up to date....

Read The Full Article:
http://www.baseballmusings.com/archives/022306.php

Digg this

Maybin Mashing in Erie (8/12 Recaps)

post from MLB News Blog on 13 August 2007 07:48:30 AM. © MLB News Blog

Cameron Maybin has been playing in Erie less than a week, and he’s already making a name for himself at the Double-A level. On Sunday, Maybin blasted the game winning homer for the ‘Wolves, already his third long ball for Erie.Read the full story.

Read The Full Article:
http://mlbnewsblog.com/2007/08/13/maybin-mashing-in-erie-812-recaps/

Digg this

Bronx Banter: Homina, Homina, How Sweep it is

post from Bronx Banter on 13 August 2007 07:22:00 AM. © Bronx Banter

"I feel like we're the team, you know?" Pettitte said Sunday. "It doesn't surprise me. I'd be extremely disappointed if this team didn't get to the playoffs. That's just kind of the way I feel." (Tyler Kepner, N.Y. Times)

Read The Full Article:
http://bronxbanter.baseballtoaster.com/archives/762026.html

Digg this

This Weekend in Baltimore; Red Sox Nation Takes
Over - THIS HAS TO STOP

post from Oriole Post - The World of Baseball and Beyond on 13 August 2007 06:38:00 AM. © Oriole Post - The World of Baseball and Beyond

For those of you who do not live in Baltimore, or did not to come out and see the team, this is what life was like outside Camden Yards and in the ballpark.

This is why more than ever, we have support the Orioles.

Let us put the hatred for Peter Angelos aside when the Yankees and Red Sox come into town.

When Russell St, looks like Kenmore Square and the Inner Harbor is awash in red and blue, we have problems.

I am not putting the blame on Sox fans (actually, most of them are good people and have to no choice to come here to see their team because of the cost of Fenway); however, we Oriole fans need to stand and rise up.

The reality is that the hardworking people of Oriole-land (except for the die-hards) should not be blamed for the apathy they have for the team.

Why should people invest their hard earned money and emotions for a team that has been mediocre for a decade. Furthermore, some fans can profit from selling their tickets on StubHub or Ebay and sit at home and watch the game from the comfort of home.

Granted, the Orioles are looking much better than they have in the past; however, the front office needs to do something --- put a winning team on the field.

Only then will the ratio of fans change when the Red Sox and Yankees come to town.

Read The Full Article:
http://oriolepost.blogspot.com/2007/08/this-weekend-in-baltimore-red-sox.html

Digg this

Mark McGwire and Me

Let me set the stage. The date: October 1998. The New York Yankees had swept the San Diego Padres in the World Series. Although the Bronx Bombers had won 114 games during the regular season and went 11-2 during the post-season, the biggest story of[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://baseballanalysts.com/archives/2007/08/mark_mcgwire_an.php

Digg this

Diehard Q&A: Aaron Bates

Diehard spoke with the newest member of the Sea Dogs, Aaron Bates, after the Futures at Fenway minor league doubleheader Saturday. In this premium-only Q&A, Bates discusses the ankle injury he suffered last month, his outstanding season at Lancaster, his four-homer game, how his confidence has improved as a professional and the possibility of making [...]

Read The Full Article:
http://mlbnewsblog.com/2007/08/13/diehard-qa-aaron-bates/

Digg this

Giles suddenly wielding big stick as Padres make
up ground in NL West (AP)

If the San Diego Padres are going to make a run at the NL West, Brian Giles apparently wants to lead the charge. Giles hit two home runs for the second consecutive day, backing another strong outing from Jake Peavy, and the Padres routed the lowly Cincinnati Reds 10-4 on Sunday at hitter-friendly Great [...]

Read The Full Article:
http://mlbnewsblog.com/2007/08/13/giles-suddenly-wielding-big-stick-as-padres-mak
e-up-ground-in-nl-west-ap/

Digg this