San Francisco Giants at Houston Astros, Aug 29,
2012 7:05 PM CDT

Current Series

Giants lead the series 1-0

San Francisco Giants McCovey Chronicles
@ Houston Astros The Crawfish Boxes

Wednesday, Aug 29, 2012, 7:05 PM CDT
Minute Maid Park

Barry Zito vs Dallas Keuchel

Partly cloudy,rain. Winds blowing in from right field at 10-15 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 90.

Complete Coverage >

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Jeff Conine 1996 Leaf Signature Series Certified
Autograph Bronze

Jeff Conine 1996 Leaf Signature Series – Certified Autograph – Bronze I don’t have too many certified autographs of any Florida or Miami Marlins players. Actually, I believe that with the acquisition of this card below, this now makes four. … Continue reading →

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http://bapple2286.wordpress.com/2012/08/30/jeff-conine-1996-leaf-signature-series
-certified-autograph-bronze/

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Philadelphias Utley considering third base
(Yahoo! Sports)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Ten years later, Chase Utley is considering the hot corner again.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2012/08/29/philadelphias-utley-considering-third-base-
yahoo-sports/

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Heisey, Navarro hit HRs to rally Reds past
D-backs (Yahoo! Sports)

PHOENIX (AP) — Chris Heisey hit two of Cincinnati’s four home runs, including the tying two-run shot in the seventh inning, to rally the Reds to a 6-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2012/08/29/heisey-navarro-hit-hrs-to-rally-reds-past-d
-backs-yahoo-sports/

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Game 129 Open Thread - Detroit Tigers at Kansas
City Royals

Starters:

Sanchez (2-3, 6.33 ERA) vs Chen (9-10, 5.41 ERA)

Book Review

"Wherever I Wind Up" by R.A. Dickey

Thumps Up. It was a well written book with many different stories that had morals tied back into them (unlike Willie Aikens' book). I could see why some people may not like the book though. Dickey's handling of sexual abuse and finding God are two continuous themes in the book. They may not be everyone's favorite topics, but they make the book feel real to me.

The book covers R.A.'s life from childhood to the 2011 season such as his struggles of growing up and trying to make a MLB team, especially after being converted to a knuckle baller once doctors find out he has no UCL. It was one of the best autobiographies I have read in a while.

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Dodgers 10, Rockies 8: Two Disastrous Innings
Bury Rockies

Two big innings of Dodger offense buried the Rockies too deeply for late inning heroics to overcome. Starter Drew Pomeranz began the game strongly, but fell apart in the third. Four singles around a sacrifice bunt, compounded by a Jordan Pacheco error, began the inning, with a Hanley Ramirez homer capping off the six run inning. Pomeranz' line of six hits and no walks over four innings could be worse, but the compounded nature of the offense's timing punished the lefty strongly. He was saddled with his eighth loss on the season.

Adam Ottavino continued to be effective in the piggyback tier of pitching, tossing three innings, allowing just two hits and a walk during that period, striking out three. He escaped early trouble in both of his first two innings. Meanwhile, Joe Blanton put together his best start in a Dodger uniform, suppressing the Rockies offense all the way until the seventh inning. Blanton was his usual hittable self, allowing ten singles, but one walk and five strikeouts continued his trend of improvement in those areas.Blanton would get his ninth win on the season, first as a dodger.

In the seventh, Charlie Blackmon and Tyler Colvin manufactured a run, each singling with a Dexter Fowler walk in the middle advancing Blackmon to second base, thus preventing the shutout. But things would get a lot worse in the top of the eighth. Will Harris entered the game, promptly allowing two walks and a single. James Loney's heir apparent A.J. Ellis was next to the plate, and promptly extended the Dodgers lead by four with a grand slam.

If one thing was clear about the end of this game, the Rockies really, really wanted this series. After seven innings of light production, the offense exploded in the bottom of the eighth. Four straight singles, a walk and another single, followed by a hit by pitch made up the four runs lost by the grand slam, but it didn't end there. Andrew Brown would score on a Josh Rutledge groundout. Fowler and Rutledge would score on a Carlos Gonzalez single, extended into a two-bagger on a Shane Victorino error. Dodger relievers Shawn Tolleson and Randy Choate were unable to record outs in the inning. Ronald Belisario was responsible for the final two outs.

A clean ninth from Matt Belisle kept the Rockies in striking position, and a one out single from Chris Nelson raised hopes, but in the end, a DJ LeMahieu double play would end the game, the massive third and eighth innings too much to overcome. The Rockies did manage to put a scare into the Dodgers, but that's it. Interestingly, the Rockies did not put up a single extra base hit in the game, instead producing 15 singles. Aside from the Ramirez and Ellis homers and a Juan Rivera double, the Dodgers were limited to singles as well. In all, 24 singles were hit in the game combined.

With an off day tomorrow, the Rockies continue the homestand on Friday against the San Diego Padres, who have been on fire lately. Alex White will take on Clayton Richard at 6:40 PM Mountain.

via www.fangraphs.com

WPA Heroes:
- Carlos Gonzalez
- Chris Nelson
- Tyler Colvin

WPA Zeroes:
- Drew Pomeranz
- DJ LeMahieu
- Jordan Pacheco

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Open Thread 8/29: Braves at Padres

First pitch between Tommy Hanson and Eric Stults is set for 6:35 PM ET. Braves lineup:

1. Michael Bourn, CF
2. Reed Johnson, LF
3. Jason Heyward, RF
4. Chipper Jones, 3B
5. Martin Prado, 1B
6. David Ross, C
7. Dan Uggla, 2B
8. Paul Janish, SS

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Guillen says hell be less patient with injuries
(Yahoo! Sports)

MIAMI (AP) — With his team in last place, Miami Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen says he’ll make at least one change in his approach next year: He’ll be less patient with injured players.

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http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2012/08/29/guillen-says-hell-be-less-patient-with-inju
ries-yahoo-sports/

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Blanton, Ellis lead Dodgers over Rockies 10-8
(Yahoo! Sports)

DENVER (AP) — Joe Blanton pitched effectively into the eighth inning for his first win with the Los Angeles Dodgers and A.J. Ellis hit his first career grand slam in a 10-8 win over the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday.

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http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2012/08/29/blanton-ellis-lead-dodgers-over-rockies-10-
8-yahoo-sports/

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Game 131: Washington Nationals @ Miami Marlins,
Game Thread and Ichthyomancy

Current Series

Marlins lead the series 1-0

Washington Nationals Federal Baseball
@ Miami Marlins Fish Stripes

Wednesday, Aug 29, 2012, 7:10 PM EDT
Marlins Park

Ross Detwiler vs Jacob Turner

Partly cloudy. Winds blowing in from right field at 5-15 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 85.

Complete Coverage >

Get out the tiny brooms, because the Miami Marlins are going for a mini-sweep!

Truthfully, the Fish are happy to even get a game out of this short two-game series versus the Washington Nationals. The surprising thing was that the game came last night, in a matchup betwen Ricky Nolasco and Stephen Strasburg. The Marlins inexplicably won 9-0 in one of the team's most complete performances, and they did so against one the league's elite pitchers.

If we were going to salvage a game, you thought that it would come tonight, with the Nats sending out Ross Detwiler versus the rookie Jacob Turner. Turner impressed in his last start and he looks to continue the good luck tonight.

Jacob Turner had as good a debut numbers-wise as Marlins fans could have expected after his mostly mediocre 2012 year in Triple-A. While his ERA remained flashy in the minors, his peripherals were pedestrian at best, and the Fish had to be happy with the first major league results of his Marlins career. He posted six innings with only three runs allowed, striking out five batters while giving a lone home run that proved to be his undoing. Still, the signs were so encouraging that the Fish decided to keep him in the rotation for another start before he would have undoubtedly been promoted, so the team must like what they see. Hopefully he can deliver again tonight.

Detwiler figures to play a more prominent role when the Nationals finally shut down Stephen Strasburg, as he may even get a start or two in playoffs. He has also really performed well this season, finally living up to his draft status. He's done his work by avoiding homers and getting more ground balls, which is always a good thing from someone who lacks elite strikeout stuff.

Lineup

Bold Prediction: Nationals def. Marlins 5-3

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