Michael Young

post from Baseball In-Depth on 25 August 2011 11:56:00 PM. © Baseball In-Depth

Michael Young: ML Rank (2003-present)
#1 30+ 2B (9)
#2 H (1775)
#2 200+ H (5)
#2 PA (6200)
#2 2B (339)
#3 G (1373)
#9 R (848)

.310, 800+ R, 100+ HR (2003-present)
Albert Pujols
Miguel Cabrera
Michael Young
Derek Jeter

Hits (Age 26-34)
1833 Paul Waner
1824 Pete Rose
1805 Ichiro Suzuki
1794 Lou Gehrig
1785 Stan Musial
1775 Michael Young

Seasons w/ 200+ H (since 1935)
10 Ichiro Suzuki
10 Pete Rose
7 Wade Boggs
7 Derek Jeter
6 Steve Garvey
6 Stan Musial
5 Michael Young
5 Kirby Puckett
5 Tony Gwynn

Michael Young is quietly having another excellent season, and has a decent shot at his 2nd batting title if Adrian Gonzalez falters down the stretch. He has been a hit machine for nearly a decade, and has over 2000 hits to show for it.

For most players, having 2000 hits at age 34 would not bode well for reaching 3000, but Michael Young has shown no signs of slowing down, having one of his best seasons this year. The only other active player under 35 with 2000 hits is Albert Pujols. If he doesn't get 3000 hits, he's probably not going to the Hall of Fame, but it is striking to see some of the company he is in even today.

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http://www.baseballindepth.com/2011/08/michael-young.html

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Arizona routs Nationals, win streak at 3 (AP)

post from MLB News Blog on 25 August 2011 11:46:29 PM. © MLB News Blog

Ah, the memories the Arizona Diamondbacks will take home from their trip to the nation’s capital. “It’s amazing what an earthquake will do,” said bench coach Alan Trammell, a smile on his face as he strode down the hallway outside the clubhouse. “It shook us up.” So did three days without batting practice.

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http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2011/08/26/arizona-routs-nationals-win-streak-at-3-ap/

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Gonzalez powers Red Sox by Rangers again (AP)

post from MLB News Blog on 25 August 2011 11:30:31 PM. © MLB News Blog

Adrian Gonzalez homered twice to give him five in four games, Andrew Miller pitched three-hit ball in a spot start and the Boston Red Sox beat the Texas Rangers 6-0 on Thursday night. Miller threw 6 1-3 impressive innings and the Red Sox took the final three matchups in a four-game series between AL division [...]

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http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2011/08/26/gonzalez-powers-red-sox-by-rangers-again-ap
/

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A few grand slams and another Globe item

post from lenNY's Yankees - A Bronx Bombers Blog on 25 August 2011 11:03:05 PM. © lenNY's Yankees - A Bronx Bombers Blog

The Yankees scored 22 runs today for Phil Hughes and he didn?t pick up the win. ? In other news, I helped put together this gallery for Boston.com that compares the Yankees and Red Sox down the stretch. Lots of good info on their remaining[...]

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http://www.lennysyankees.com/2011/08/few-grand-slams-and-another-globe-item.html

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Jim Thome Traded To Indians

post from Sliding Into Home: A Yankees Blog on 25 August 2011 11:01:28 PM. © Sliding Into Home: A Yankees Blog

According to many reports via Twitter, the Indians have re-acquired slugger Jim Thome for a player-to-be-named.

Thome was placed on waivers by the Twins a few days ago and the Indians, the team he played for from 1991-2002, had shown strong interest along with his other former team (2006-2009), the Chicago White Sox.

Thome recently hit his 600th home run and is one of the true class acts in baseball. I wish him the best of luck in Cleveland where he'll be welcomed back with open arms, and will be thrust right back into a pennant chase.

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SlidingIntoHome/~3/mWAr_xKP3cw/jim-thome-traded-to
-indians.html

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Royals Hold Off Pesky Blue Jays in Canada

post from Royals Review on 25 August 2011 11:01:26 PM. © Royals Review

Toronto managed six runs in the last three innings, but it was not enough to defeat our Royals, who held on for a 9-6 victory.

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http://www.royalsreview.com/2011/8/25/2385318/royals-hold-off-pesky-blue-jays-in-
canada

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Beltran Finally Makes Impact

post from The Giants Baseball Blog- A San Francisco Giants Blog and Fan Website on 25 August 2011 11:01:26 PM. © The Giants Baseball Blog- A San Francisco Giants Blog and Fan Website

In his first start since coming off the 15-day DL, Carlos Beltran finally showed why the Giants sent their top pitching prospect to the New York Mets for the All-Star right fielder.

Beltran had his best day as a Giant, hitting a Tim Stauffer sinker on a line into the arcade above the right field wall. Beltran finished the day 2-4 with his first home run since July 20th, and it couldn't have come at a better time. The Giants got yet another outstanding performance out of their ace right hander, as Timmy shut down the surging offensive juggernaut that are the San Diego Padres. Although they've had a down year all the way around, ever since the Padres inserted former Giant farmhand Jesus Guzman into their lineup, they've turned into a team to be reckoned with when at the plate. Not to mention, they always seem to play their best ball against the Giants, but Lincecum had their bats quiet all night, going 8 strong innings, allowing just 4 hits with 7 strikeouts. The one number that was a little high for Timmy and cost him his shot at a complete game were the 5 free passes he handed out to San Diego. Outside of that, he was his typical Timmy self, and if you take away that little blooper down the right field line that Beltran nearly came up with, he would have had his shutout. In this save situation, Boch went with Santiago Cassilla, and there aren't many relievers in baseball having the type of year Cassilla is, so I'd expect to see him stick in that role until Wilson or Romo return. If your wondering about Heath Bell, who the Giants claimed off waivers yesterday from San Diego, I wouldn't expect him to head north to San Fran. They did it more so to block him from Arizona rather than take him for themselves. He certainly would make the bullpen freakishly strong, especially if Wilson comes back strong soon, but he won't come cheaply.

The other standout offensively on Wednesday night was Brandon Belt, who continues to impress with the more consistent playing time he's getting. He played left field and did so in front of perhaps the greatest left fielder of all time, certainly the best in Giants history, in attendance. Barry Bonds was in the first row next to the Giants dugout and was getting about as much camera time and attention from fans as the actual ballgame itself, and just maybe he is the Giants good luck charm. The new left fielder had another multi-hit game, going 2-3 with a double and a run scored. Belt's average is slowly but surely climbing, and he's now sitting at .243, so it's good to see Bochy recognizing that and making it a point to get the giraffe into the lineup. He's again in the lineup Thursday night and hitting in the 7th hole. Also in a new spot in the lineup is shortstop Orlando Cabrera, who I've been lobbying for to get a shot in the leadoff spot. He got on just one time in 4 at-bats Wednesday, but I just think he's a much better option there than guys like Rowand, Ross and Mike Fontenot. Bochy again has Cabrera in the leadoff spot Thursday, so he's another guy to keep an eye on to see if he could possibly be the Giants answer at leadoff where they've been below league average all year long. With a few days left for waiver trades to go down, I'd love to see the Giants snag a center fielder/leadoff man, so hopefully Torres returns strong, or Cabrera works out, cause you don't win a division or get very far in October if your leadoff guy is hitting .230.

Why Heath Bell Won't Be a Giant: Like I said at the top of the post, I highly suspect the Giants only had intentions of keeping Bell away from Arizona by claiming him, but it just so happens, they could actually use a guy like Bell right about now. Still though, San Diego is looking at two supplemental picks if they hang onto him and he inks elsewhere this winter, but the risk there for SD is that he accepts arbitration and wins $15+ million. So there is incentive for the Pads to deal him rather than risk him accepting arbitration, but they'd still want at least one top prospect, a la Eric Surkamp or a Gary Brown-type guy, and he's just not worth it for a month rental.

Read The Full Article:
http://giantsbaseballblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/beltran-finally-makes-impact.html

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Houston Astros at San Francisco Giants, Aug 25,
2011 9:15 PM CDT

post from The Crawfish Boxes on 25 August 2011 11:01:25 PM. © The Crawfish Boxes

Current Series

4 game series vs Giants @ AT&T Park

Houston Astros The Crawfish Boxes
@ San Francisco Giants McCovey Chronicles

Thursday, Aug 25, 2011, 9:15 PM CDT
AT&T Park

Henry Sosa vs Ryan Vogelsong

Clear. Winds blowing out to center field at 5-10 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 60.

Complete Coverage >

Fri 08/26 9:15 PM CDT Sat 08/27 8:05 PM CDT Sun 08/28 3:05 PM CDT

Henry Sosa

#65 / Pitcher / Houston Astros

Height: 6-1

Weight: 205

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Jul 28, 1985

Ryan Vogelsong

#32 / Pitcher / San Francisco Giants

Height: 6-4

Weight: 215

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Jul 22, 1977

Read The Full Article:
http://www.crawfishboxes.com/2011/8/25/2385222/houston-astros-at-san-francisco-gi
ants-aug-25-2011-9-15-pm-cdt

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Arizona offense erupts, win streak at 3 (AP)

Wade Miley threw six scoreless innings to get his first major league victory, and Chris Young and Paul Goldschmidt homered as the Arizona Diamondbacks ended their road trip with an overdue burst of offense Thursday night in an 8-1 win over the Washington Nationals. Miley (1-1) allowed five hits, struck out four and walked four [...]

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http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2011/08/26/arizona-offense-erupts-win-streak-at-3-ap/

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Thome accepts deal, returning to Indians (AP)

Jim Thome has swung back to the Cleveland Indians. The slugger accepted a trade from Minnesota on Thursday night to return to the Indians, the team he started with and one hoping its career home run leader can help them run down the first-place Detroit Tigers in the AL Central. A unexpected season full of [...]

Read The Full Article:
http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2011/08/26/thome-accepts-deal-returning-to-indians-ap/

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