Shirt Sanfu

post from Baseball Musings on 23 August 2008 12:09:00 PM. © Baseball Musings

It's a good thing some on my commenters didn't see this....

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Pavano: Im not here to make amends (Yahoo!
Sports)

post from MLB News Blog on 23 August 2008 11:55:06 AM. © MLB News Blog

Carl Pavano knows that his New York Yankees ‘ tenure has been one long running joke. But when he takes the mound…Read the full story.

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Bronx Banter: Kick in the Pants

post from Bronx Banter on 23 August 2008 11:45:00 AM. © Bronx Banter

There has been a lot of talk lately that none of this slumping would have ever happened to Robinson Cano had Larry Bowa still been around. I don't know that I disagree but man, that really doesn't say a whole heck of a lot about Cano, does it? He's not a college athlete after all, he shouldn't need a coach to keep him in line. But as Jack Curry points out in a post over at Bats, Bowa really did have an impact on Cano.

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Game 129: Yanks @ O's

post from Sliding Into Home: A Yankees Blog on 23 August 2008 11:41:00 AM. © Sliding Into Home: A Yankees Blog

Regular Season Game 129
Yankees (68-60) @ Orioles (61-66)
Camden Yards - Baltimore, MD
Game Time: 7:05 p.m.
TV: YES - MLB.TV | Radio: WCBS 880

Here are the lineups:

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

Carl Pavano RHP (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

ORIOLES

Jeremy Guthrie RHP (10-9, 3.15 ERA)

Notes: Carl Pavano makes his first start in 501 days today. In he career against the O's he's 2-2 with a 3.14 ERA, but he hasn't beaten them since 2000. ... Jeremy Guthrie is 2-1 with a 3.90 ERA in 6 games against the Yanks. 1-1 with a 2.70 ERA this season.

Yanks vs. Guthrie:
AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS J. Damon 15 5 1 0 1 2 0 3 .333 .333 .600 .933 D. Jeter 14 4 0 0 0 1 0 2 .286 .267 .286 .552 R. Cano 14 1 0 0 0 1 0 5 .071 .071 .071 .143 A. Rodriguez 13 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 .154 .313 .154 .466 B. Abreu 12 2 1 0 1 1 2 2 .167 .286 .500 .786 H. Matsui 11 3 1 0 0 0 1 1 .273 .333 .364 .697 J. Posada 8 2 0 0 0 1 1 5 .250 .333 .250 .583 I. Rodriguez 6 3 0 0 1 2 0 2 .500 .500 1.000 1.500 J. Giambi 6 2 0 0 1 2 0 2 .333 .333 .833 1.167 J. Molina 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 .250 .250 .500 X. Nady 2 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 .500 .667 2.000 2.667 W. Betemit 1 1 0 0 1 2 1 0 1.000 1.000 4.000 5.000 Totals1062730613722.255.310.453.763
Orioles vs. Pavano:
AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS J. Payton 13 7 0 0 1 1 0 0 .538 .571 .769 1.341 A. Huff 12 3 0 0 1 3 0 2 .250 .250 .500 .750 K. Millar 11 3 1 0 0 1 3 3 .273 .429 .364 .792 B. Roberts 8 4 1 1 0 2 0 0 .500 .556 .875 1.431 A. Cintron 6 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 .167 .167 .167 .333 R. Hernandez 5 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 .400 .400 .600 1.000 M. Mora 4 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 .500 .600 .750 1.350 J. Castro 2 2 2 0 0 1 0 0 1.000 1.000 2.000 3.000 L. Cormier 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 .000 Totals62246121037.387.441.6131.054
Stick around and discuss the game
as it happens in the comments section.

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l

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Talkin' Cubs Live - Cubs vs. Nationals - 08/23/08

post from ChicagoCubsOnline.com on 23 August 2008 11:00:00 AM. © ChicagoCubsOnline.com

Game One Hundred Twenty-Nine: Cubs (78-50) vs. Nationals (46-83)
Game Time - 12:05pm C.T.
Coverage - TV: Comcast SportsNet - Radio: 720 WGN, XM Radio Channel 184
Location - Wrigley Field, Chicago

Ryan Dempster (14-5, 2.92/1.16) vs. Odalis Perez (5-9, 4.06/1.45)

It is a new day and the Cubs must bounce back from the embarrassment that was Friday afternoon at Clark and Addison. The Cubs appeared to let the foot off the pedal after the 5th inning and ended up allowing a season-high 13 runs to one of the worst teams in all of baseball. While the Cubs might not have taken the Nationals 'lightly' or for 'granted', the end result was a loss at home while the Brewers and Cardinals both took care of their business the way the should at home....in impressive fashion. The Cubs lost a game to both of the teams that are chasing them in the standings.

The Washington Nationals have a winning record against the Chicago Cubs this season, 1-3, and in order to break even on the season with the Nats, they must post a win today behind Ryan Dempster.

Alfonso Soriano, Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez and Kosuke Fukudome have not played well this week and while Fukudome might get another day off against the southpaw Odalis Perez, the other big bats must start carrying their weight. Soriano, Lee and Ramirez have not contributed much since the start of the homestand and this is the time of the season that the big boys must show up and do their job.

Today is a rematch of the series opener in D.C. back on April 25th and the Cubs offense must return to the formula that has led to so many wins this season. The Cubs are not taking as many pitches in this homestand as they have throughout the year. The current slump is very similar to the one they started the second half with and what got them out of it was....taking pitches. If the Cubs can make Perez work, they will pick up an important win and most importantly score a few runs after the 5th inning.

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G129: Texas opens Indians series with 7-5 loss

post from Rangerfans.com on 23 August 2008 10:48:00 AM. © Rangerfans.com

I did not see or hear any of this game. I was down at the Starplex watching Black Sabbath play (they currently go by the name Heaven & Hell, they're with Dio again). Due to this, I'll skip all commentary on the game, as I need to recover from the concert. :) I don't know if you know, but I do Black Sabbath's website too - you can see it here: http://www.black-sabbath.com. Doing that affords me the luxury of doing things like watching the gig from on stage. Here was my vantage point. :)

So yeah, I missed Hank Blalock's debut at first base. I was busy backstage with the band after the show, so by the time I finally got back home, I was in no shape to start watching a Texas Rangers game. :)

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-5_loss.html

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This Just In

post from SABR Neighbor on 23 August 2008 10:41:59 AM. © SABR Neighbor

Carl Pavano is slated to start for the Yankees today, as long as he doesn’t slip on a tangerine peel coming out of the clubhouse.In related news, I’ve started drinking again….[...]

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Well Pitched West

post from Baseball Musings on 23 August 2008 10:29:00 AM. © Baseball Musings

A number of pitchers turned in fine performances out west Friday night. Aaron Harang went into Coors and reversed his troubles, tossing six scoreless innings as the Reds won 8-5. Harang labored a bit, throwing 115 pitches. Given that he...

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Mets Offices at Citi Field Set To Open

The Mets announced that the front office staff will be moving into their new offices at Citi Field on September 18th. It?s the start of the transition that the Mets [...]

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Wakeup Wahoo: Peralta could hold onto the 4 spot

With the impending returns of Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez. Hafner was 1-5 last night with an RBI by the by. The good news is he played the entire game. Josh Barfield played second and got two at bats.

Anyway with those returns imminent. Jhonny Peralta could still command the 4 spot.

"[Peralta's] blossomed in that four-hole," Wedge said. (Indians.com)

Can you disagree with that statement?

This statement doesn't really make much sense though.

"We've talked about it briefly," said manager Eric Wedge. "We can work Vic and Hafner around Jhonny. We could hit Hafner and Vic three and four and Jhonny in the fifth spot. One thing we haven't decided is that we're just flat-out going to move him out of the No. 4 spot. I'm still thinking that through. That's a heckuva credit to Jhonny." (Plain Dealer)

Dadgumit.. Wait a second here Wedge.. Why not keep him there? He will only get better having Victor Martinez hitting 3rd and Travis Hafner hitting 5th! That's some protection there.

One thing Wedge said was numbers don't always dictacte where you hit a player, and I agree with that all the way. I'm big against hitting Grady Sizemore in the three hole because I think he's dangerous enough in the leadoff spot. It seems like Wedge is handling this issue more than he handles any other question.

"The only way we'd consider that is if we had somebody capable of hitting leadoff," Wedge said. "You've got to have a leadoff hitter. You have to have somebody there. He enjoys doing it and he's good at it -- he's one of the best."(Indians.com)

Hey if he's working there, why screw it up? Its an advantage to have that type of hitter up there, a guy who gets on base and can actually hit the home run. It works for the Cubs with Soriano, why do you think they haven't moved him. Sure they got a pretty good lineup, but with Hafner and Victor coming back and Peralta's emergence, I think Grady is fine in the leadoff spot. Francisco can fit in the 2 hole now and then Garko et al will fill in behind Hafner.

According to Stats inc, in the last 25 years, Cliff Lee has the highest percentage of a teams wins, excluding Randy Johnson. Johnson had 31% of Arizona's wins in 2004, but he was also 16-14. Cliff Lee is freaking 18-2 with 30%..

The road woes aren't really a big deal to Eric Wedge, he is looking at the full picture and not just how the team plays compared to the venue.

"I don't think of it as home or road," Wedge said. "We've just been playing better baseball. We have younger guys playing significant time for us and they're starting to adjust to this level." (Indians.com)

Maybe Texas should make a run for Fausto Carmona, considering he might be the one pitcher who could have success there.

"I like pitching here because it's always hot and I like the hot weather," said Carmona. "I was getting ahead of the hitters and I was keeping the ball down. I came inside against a lot of them so they couldn't lean out over the plate. That helped me." (Plain Dealer)

Fausto likes hot weather, bugs, all sorts of stuff when he pitches. You know Carmona is at his best when the bill of his hat is dripping in sweat.

Gotta love the moxie Jensen Lewis showed facing Josh Hamilton, the tying run at the plate, and striking him out.

"He's not exactly the guy you want to face with the tying run right there," Lewis said. "That was a big out. It kind of got the momentum back in our favor. He's such a good hitter with anything in the zone. I didn't want him to get extended, so I tried not to throw anything over the plate." (Indians.com)

Finally, it looks as if there is a coup going on in the Indians clubhouse. Jamey Carroll, a huge Indianapolis Colts fan as we know, has overthrown Pronk as the Fantasy Football Commissioner. Hafner did his draft from Buffalo online, but this should give him even more motivation to go for the what I believe will be a three-peat in the Championship. I'd love to see how the teams shook out and what Sal Fasano's team name is... Maybe the Mutilating Mustachios.