Yardbarker: Seth McClung

NL Dogfight: September 21st

Sun, 21 Sep 2008 10:35:20 -0500

With eight days left in baseball's regular season, the playoff races have yet to be settled. While the Cubs have wrapped the National League Central, and the Dodgers are on the verge of taking home the National League West, the National League East and the Wild Card remain up for grabs. With only two spots available, three teams have their sites set on October baseball. The Milwaukee Brewers, the New York Mets, and Philadelphia Phillies all find themselves within three games of each other with just over a week of baseball left to play. Recap of Saturday's Action: Both the Mets and Phillies got a boost on Saturday. The Cincinnati Reds scored 3 runs in the sixth inning off CC Sabathia (pitching on three days rest), as they beat the Brewers for a second consecutive day 4-3. Rickie Weeks went 3 for 3 with a home run, triple, and two RBI's in the Brewers loss. The Mets also lost last night against a Braves team looking to play spoiler. Pedro Martinez did his part, allowing 4 runs and 9 hits over six innings. He also contributed at the plate, driving in 2 with a double in the fifth. Josh Anderson went 3 for 4 for Atlanta with a clutch RBI off Martinez in the sixth inning. The Phillies found themselves in a nail biter facing a hot Marlins team, winners of nine in a row. Greg Dobbs bloop single in the sixth inning plated Ryan Howard, and the bullpen pitched four shutout innings as the Phillies beat the Marlins 3-2. The bullpen came up big for the Phillies getting out of jams in the eighth inning (second and third, no outs), and the ninth (man on second, one out), but Brad Lidge shut the door for his 39th save of the season. After last night's action, the Phillies lead the NL East by a half-game over the Mets, and a three game lead over the Brewers. Magic Numbers: Phillies - 5 Playoffs, 8 Division Mets - 6 Playoffs, 9 Division Brewers - 11 Playoffs Sunday's Preview: Brewers @ Reds – The Brewers need a win and they need it bad. Their September collapse has run to 4-14 and the firing of Ned Yost didn't motivate the team to play inspiring baseball. Seth McClung (5-6, 4.22), takes the mound for the Brewers. McClung, who is filling in for an injured Ben Sheets, has been used as a reliever for a good part of his career. He last started on July 21st where he allowed two runs over five innings against the St. Louis Cardinals, while not factoring in the decision. Taking the mound for the Reds is Bronson Arroyo. Arroyo (5-10, 4.57), has had a disappointing season in the Queen City, but has turned it around lately. He's only allowed 3 earned runs in the month of September (20.1 innings). Mets @ Braves – Given the up and down season the Mets have had this season, they have to be proud where they are. With the cushion they have on the Brewers, there is some comfort and a loss wouldn't be the end of the world. Last season's collapse is still in the mind of the Mets and every game is a must win. While winning the Wild Card could be nice, taking the division form the Phillies would be sweeter. Mike Pelfrey will take the mound this afternoon for the Mets. This season has been a success for Pelfrey as he's started to show the Mets why he was once a top prospect. His 13 wins and 3.67 ERA rank both second on the Mets behind Johan Santana. Rookie James Parr will start for Atlanta. Parr has had success in his limited action this season going 1-0 with a 2.20 ERA. He began his Major League career with a 12 inning scoreless streak. In his last start Parr got roughed up, when he allowed 10 hits and 4 runs over 4.1 innings against the Phillies. Phillies @ Marlins – The Marlins are not mathematically out of contention, but four and a half games out of the Wild Card is a slim chance. In saying that the Marlins believe they can do what the Rockies did at the end of last season and make it a four-team race. The Phillies plan to put and end to that. Jamie Moyer starts for the Phillies, who is a career 10-1 with a 3.07 ERA against the Fish. His lone loss came in his last outing against the Marlins where he went five innings, allowing 2 runs. Top pitching prospect Chris Volstad will take the mound for the Marlins. Volstad (5-3, 3.07), has looked more like a seasoned veteran this season, then a 21 year-old rookie. Volstad has faced the Phillies twice this season and is 1-0 with a 1.00 ERA.

Game 151 Recap: Cubs 7, Brewers 6 (12 Innings)

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 21:29:10 -0500

Brewers Give the Cubs a Game, Cubs Happily Accept

W - Wood (5-4), Rob G's childlike faith in spells, fairies and magical comebacks

L - Villanueva (4-7), Brewers' base-running coaches.

Box Score, Photos

Things to Take from This Game

1. Harden reprises Marquis

Like Marquis the night before, Harden got into all sorts of trouble in the first before settling down. The difference between the two starts being that Harden escaped with only one run allowed. Three very economical innings allowed him to get to the fifth, where Harden again struggled. There he snuck out of a bases loaded jam with 115 pitches thrown, and just the one run from the first. Velocity looked good, but Harden had no command on the fastball. 6 walks, 9 K's

2. DeRosa struggles at 2nd, Cubs struggle in 6th.

DeRosa had a throwing error in the first as he chose to try to turn a very tough DP instead of going to first. The first run of the game scored on the play. A bobbled grounder in the sixth helped spark a big inning for the Brewers, abetted by Samardzija's struggles to throw strikes.

3. Solo Scoring

Edmonds and Ramirez hit solo home runs, ~~but that was the extent of the Cubs scoring~~.

4. Crazy-ass rally.

The Brewers ran into two outs on the basepaths in the top of the ninth, squandering a chance to blow the game out. Instead it's "just" 6-2. Bottom of the ninth, two outs, and Ramirez squeaks a double just under Braun's glove. Edmonds and DeRosa single, scoring Ramirez. Soto, who had made a nice block of the plate and nice throw in the top of the inning, takes the first pitch from Salomon Torres and hits a game-tying 3-run homer.

5. Lee wins it.

With runners on 2nd and 3rd in the bottom of the 12th, Lee singles up the middle to drive in the winning run. The Brewers had 25 (yes, TWENTY FIVE) runners LOB to the Cubs' 11, plus the running gaffes. The Cubs certainly had their issues between Harden's wildness and DeRosa's early-game defense, but overall the Brewers deserved to lose this.

The almost-there details, below.

Game Recap

Messmer belts out the anthem, and my mlb.tv feed seems willing to play ball today. woo.

Inning 1 - Top

Harden starts 3-0 on Cameron before throwing a 90mph fastball for a strike
91mph for ball four.
90mph fastball inside corner for strike one to Durham.
Durham with a nice bunt down the 3b line, Ramirez waits for it to roll foul, just a few feet before reaching the 3b bag.
full count to Durham
and ball four.
Nice slider to start off Braun, swing and miss.
deep fly to center, Edmonds catches it and Cameron goes to third. Change up got elevated. Sounded ominous off the bat, wind held it up.
Fielder rolls one into the hole between 1st and 2nd, DeRosa gets there, and makes an ill-advised choice to spin, throw to second avoiding the runner. Poor throw, (can't quite tell on my feed, but told it hit the runner) ball gets away from Theriot. Cameron scores from third while Durham and Fielder are safe at 2nd and 1st. 1-0 Brewers
Harden walks Hardy. 29 pitches so far. One out.
Bases loaded, and Hart K's on three pitches. elevated fastball for strike 2, changeup low and away for strike 3.
2-2 on Counsell. Fans really in to the AB.
3-2. Harden then K's Counsell on pitch number 38, a high fastball at 94. Good damage control, actually, but horrid pitch count.

Inning 1 - Bottom

Soriano bounces out to second.
and Theriot flies to Cameron
and Lee K's looking. Helluva start to this game.

Inning 2 - Top

3-2 on Kendall, before a swinging strike out. 3 Ks in a row for Harden, still has the no-hitter going.
Brenly not sure if fastball is up on purpose, or due to wildness.
and K's Bush swinging.
0-2 to Cameron. Bottom of the lineup allowed Harden to find himself?
95 mph just off the outside corner. Crowd boos. Slider, er, change, off the corner.
Foul-tip K, 5 Ks in a row for Harden. 54 pitches

Inning 2 - Bottom

Ramirez with a sharp bouncer to Counsell, makes the play
Edmonds takes a slow, 70 mph curve up in the zone, blasts it out to just left of center, high up in the bleachers.
DeRosa K's
Soto flies out, Hart makes a nice running, diving catch in the right-center gap

Inning 3 - Top

Durham flies to left
Theriot with a nice diving stop, Braun out at first
3-2 on Fielder, fastball 94 mph inside corner and Fielder goes down swinging. 10 pitch inning.

Inning 3 - Bottom

Fukudome flies to Braun
Harden bounces back to Bush
3-0 on Soriano
3-2 count, Soriano takes a close pitch just off the plate for ball four.
Soriano caught stealing by the suddenly strong-throwing Kendall.

Inning 4 - Top

Hardy flies out to about two steps short of the ivy in center. Wind blowing in helps, again.
Hart K's looking. Wow, Hart is just lost up there.
From behind in the count, Counsell comes back to work a BB. Breaks a string of something like 10 straight set down by Harden.
Kendal flies out to right. Harden still has a no-hitter, oddly.

Inning 4 - Bottom

Theriot grounds to Hardy
Lee hits one that sounds good off the bat, crowd roars, and Cameron catches it several feet short of the warning track.
Ramirez hits a rolling..... something.... into the left field well bleachers. Another lined bullet, very similar to the HR from last night. 2-1 Cubs.
Edmonds flies out to Braun, just short of the warning track.

Inning 5 - Top

Gyeh. Count goes full to Bush, and Harden walks him. Not the way to start the first inning where the Cubs have a lead in a game and a half. 8 pitches to Bush
Harden at 94 pitches, and no one up in the bullpen.
Cameron with a tapper up the line, Harden takes it to the bag. Bush to second.
Fly down the right field line, Kosuke either misplayed it, or deked Dave Bush into thinking he was going to catch it. Brenly and Kasper think the later. If so, it worked: Bush stayed at third on the Durham double. No-hitter over, and finally the bullpen gets moving. My mlb.tv feed isn't good enough to allow me a judgment on the play.
Braun pops to Lee in foul territory.
which allows Harden to IBB fielder. Bases loaded for Hardy.
Harden at 107 pitches
3-1 pitch, Hardy check-swings at a called strike.
115th pitch, a long full-count battle ends as Hardy flies to the warning track in right.
(It won't show up in the box score, but that deke did save a run, which, as I write this part in retrospect, was pretty crucial.)

Inning 5 - Bottom

DeRosa pops to Hardy
Soto K's looking
From 0-2, Fukudome works a walk. Good to see it.
Hoffpauir hits for Harden. Samardzija to pitch
Hoff flies to right

Inning 6 - Top

Samardzija in, Hart grounds to Theriot.
sweet, I know how to spell Samardzija by memory.
A Cubbie Blue and White beachball is on the outfield track. How embarassing.
Counsell walks on a 3-2 pitch
Kendall hits into a potential 4-6-3 DP, but DeRosa bobbles a tricky hop. Everyone safe.
Lamb hits for Bush, runners on 1 and 2
Lamb rolls one to Theriot a bit towards the hole, gets the force at second. 1st and 3rd with two outs for Cameron
Cameron singles to left, run scores. 2-2 game. Samardzija hasn't thrown a first-pitch strike yet.
and Durham rolls one through the right side for a single. Lamb scores from second, Cameron goes to third on Durham's single. 3-2 game.
Braun floats a single into right. The throw goes to third, is offline and hops away from Ramirez a bit, letting Braun go to second. 4-2
Fielder intentionally walked, again, and loads the bases, again.
Samardzija out, all runs so far are unearned.
Randy Wells in to face Hardy with the bases loaded and 2 outs.
Four straight balls. 5-2 game
Hart is a total disaster right now. After 4 pitch walk issued by a new, MLB inexperienced pitcher, he flies out to right on the first pitch he sees. Inning over.

Inning 6 - Bottom

Coffee in for Bush
Soriano with a soft liner past Hardy for a single.
Theriot hits into a 5-4 force, as my computer freezes up.
I'm told Lee GIDP, 5-4-3. A very quick and futile inning for the Cubs and my internet connection.

Inning 7 - Top

Wells stays in, Counsell rolls out to DeRosa
and mlbtv loses sound. Hah. I'm told there were cheers for DeRosa making the routine play
woo, sound returns.
DeRosa with a backhanded 4-3 putout of Kendall
Big Brad Nelson pinch hits for Coffee, lazy fly out to Edmonds on the first pitch
some random hockey players sing the stretch. Incredibly slow tempo

Inning 7 - Bottom

Gagne in for Coffee
Ramirez rolls one to first, Fielder leisurely tags him out.
Edmonds bounces back to Gagne
and DeRosa flies to Cameron on the warning track. Very quick inning.

Inning 8 - Top

Wells still in, Cameron flies to Soriano close to the left field line, in the shadows
Durham bounces into an easy 4-3
Braun breaks a bat, Ramirez with a nice play to his right, easy 5-3, easy inning for Wells

Inning 8 - Bottom

Mota in for Gagne
Soto flies out toward the right field line, Hart catches it
Fukudome K's swinging
Fontenot in to hit for Wells, walks.
Soriano K's swinging

Inning 9 - Top

Neil Cotts in for Wells
and first pitch, Fielder just misses an opposite field HR, doubling high off the wall in left, close to where the well begins.
Cotts out, Wuertz in.
Hardy bunts one up the first base side. Wuertz fields, might not have had a good grip, can't flip to first as he's running in that direction, finally decides to take it to first himself, is late. Runners at 1 and 3
Hart splits the left-center gap, ball goes to the wall. Fielder scores, Hart tries to score from first, is easily out on a nice relay throw from Soriano to Theriot to Soto. 6-2 gam.
Wuertz bounces one way in front of Soto. Hart tries for third, Soto guns him down. Replay suggests he may have been safe.
Counsell pops to DeRosa

Inning 9 - Bottom

Salomon Torres in. Torres, Mota, Gagne... The Brewers bullpen could be a The Surreal Life: Relief Pitcher Edition cast.
Theriot lines to Hardy
Lee flies to Hart.
Ramirez with a sinking liner right at Braun, it sinks just below Braun's glove, goes through his legs to the wall. Braun had been playing very deep, normally that's caught easily. Ruled a double.
Edmonds bounces one off the mound, it gets into center. Ramirez scores, 6-3 game.
DeRosa singles to right-center, runners at 1 and 3. Tying run comes to the plate.
First pitch to Soto, he hits a shot out to left-center for a game-tying home run. Four runs with two outs in the ninth.
Fukudome grounds to Hardy.

Inning 10 - Top

Marmol in.
Kendall rolls out to DeRosa, nice backhand play by DeRo.
Rickie Weeks makes his first appearance of the series, pinch-hitting for Torres. Looks at strike three.
Cameron K's looking at a slider on the outside corner.

Inning 10 - Bottom

Seth McClung in for Torres
Reed Johnson in for Fukudome and a double-switch, Marmol hitting eighth, Reed hitting ninth and leading off the inning.
Reed called out on a check swing at a ball in the dirt. Might not have swung, but home plate ump made the call on his own
Soriano also called out on a 3-2 check swing.
Theriot K's swinging at a high fastball. Nice inning by McClung.

Inning 11 - Top

Wood pitching.
Durham K's looking at a tough breaking pitch
Braun K's looking at a nasty curve over the outside corner. Rapuano has been calling the outside corner pretty consistently.
Wood absolutely blows away Fielder on three pitches. Big rising fastball for the wiff.

Inning 11 - Bottom

Lee K's swinging.
Ramirez wails at a 3-1 pitch, just misses it, fouling it off
And then walks.
After looking at a called strike 2 that probably was wide outside, Edmonds makes a few remarks to Rapuano, who quite suddenly tosses Edmonds from the game, mid-AB. Kasper thinks Edmonds was saying "that's a ball." Strike one was also a called strike that likely was outside, too.
Pie takes over the 1-2 count as he comes in to hit.
Pie bounces to Fielder, tries for the 3-6-3, but Pie safe at first.
DeRosa lines a sharp single to left, Pie gets to third easily. Runners at corner, two outs for Soto
DeRosa takes second uncontested
Soto flies out to center, just short of the warning track. Nuts

Inning 12 - Top

Wood out for another inning.
Hardy singles back up the middle
Hart hits an 0-2 pitch into the left-center gap. Hardy to third, Pie gets to it, almost gets Hart at second. But it's a double, 2nd and 3rd with no outs.
Marshall and Howry warming up.
They pitch to Counsell, with 1st open and Kendall, Pitcher's spot up.
Infield in, Counsell grounds to DeRosa. 1 out, runners hold.
Kendall up, bounces to Ramirez. Ramirez bobbles it in his glove, but is able to get Hardy in a run down. Throws toSoto, then back to Theriot at third for the out. 2 outs, runners now at 1 and 2 for the pinch hitter, Joe Nelson. Horrible, Horrible base-running by the Brewers today.
Blazing 95 mph fastball, 0-2 on Nelson
Nelson just barely checks his swing on a high fastball. Reed Johnson was called out for less.
Grounds out to Theriot, 6-3. Huge escape by Wood, with help from the Brewers.

Inning 12 - Bottom

Ward hits for Wood, Villanueva in to pitch
full count to Ward, he walks on a close pitch. Marquis runs for Ward
Reed bunts him over. One out, runner on 2
Soriano intentionally walked. Theriot's had a tough day, comes up with runners on 1 and 2, 1 out
Theriot flies to Hart, Marquis tags and goes to third with ease. First and third, two outs for Lee
Soriano takes second uncontested
Lee lines a slider up the middle, a bit towards shortstop, and into center for a single that scores Marquis without a play. Cubs win as the team comes out to celebrate and the fans sing.

Parachat Recap

Inning 1

Me and blockhead sit around and wait for more parachatters.
Real Neal helps pick up the slack. tips on parachatting and watching mlb.tv at same time.
America's Next Top Model.
New theories on Fielder's expanding girth.
DeRosa's fielding decision.
Following a tense half-inning
Evaluating Dave Bush: Real Neal and I actually say intelligent things. No kidding.
The socialization of AIG.

Inning 2

Carlos reduces the heat on the political/economic debate. Boobs. And Bees.
Monitoring Harden
A Recap Exclusive: first ever video of me in real life, up on you-tube
Insulting communication profs. and majors.

Inning 3

The Chad School of Test Prep.
Jesus was fat?
Will this be Harden's last start? Will Z start again? (They'll both start one more time, working about half of a normal load. Mark it down.)
Astonishment at Kendall's newfound ability to throw
mocking playoff baseball network broadcasters

Inning 4

an illegal use of "oh, fuck"?
FUDGE!
What's clogging Rob's shower drain?
Blockhead informs us Harden is on pace for a 184 pitch no hitter with 9 BB on 16 K
Sheets' elbow.

Inning 5

big heads and the hats that pop off of them.
Rob identifies the sign behind home plate: Allied Waste: Official Waste Hauler of the Chicago Cubs.
Johann with the early standard in Allied Waste Jokes. Allied Waste: We Got Rid of Izturis for You.
The alleged Fukudome deke.
Following the tough top of the fifth.
Carlos's personal updates.

Inning 6

Mocking the Palins
Oh dear god.
Rob socializes with bloggers
Rob's like the Foster Wallace of Cubs Bloggers: brilliant but slutty. - Andrew
- I wish I knew who Foster Wallace was.
Redneck-powered Internets.
Extending the franchise to the world.
My crappy upstairs neighbors have awoken for the day. I know because they're playing their latest re-mixing of 8 crappy frat-party songs from 1992. Hooray for apartment-living in Arkansas
Groaning at the top half of the sixth.
And more general expressions of frustration.

Inning 7

Critiquing the 7th inning stretch performance
Columbia grads.

Inning 8

Fernando Perez of the Rays is "articulate." Discussion ensues.
More insulting of communication majors.
Rob tries to provide boobs, fails.
- Rob redeems himself
Zack Hample?
Catching balls at games.

Inning 9

Rally Caps? ehh.
RALLY CAPS? Sure.
Lex Lugor
Rob G is a Prophet.

Inning 10

explaining what happened to those who missed it
bad Blackberry updates.
I am informed I missed a "douchebag tourny."

Inning 11

Everything we know about Seth McClung.
24-0 Cubs games.
Gossip Girls
Hawkeye likes his women like his whiskey. 16, Irish, and with coke. Oh my.
Juvenile Wood puns.
Go, Cubs, Go! Turned into No, Carlos, No!

Inning 12

gurf.
Amazed at the brewers' running.
Cheering on Wood, infield-in defenses.
BABIP
Parachat speculates that the brewers would be better off pitching to Soriano than Theriot, as Theriot makes more contact. Not too sure that I agree on that one.
Pleading for a hit.
Cheering for the hit.

The Cubs improve to 12-6 in games recapped.

Game 150 Recap: Cubs 2, Brewers 6

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 23:26:25 -0500

Wait 'Till... The Weekend

W - DiFelice (1-0)

L - Marquis (10-9), drinking champagne on a thursday afternoon

Box Score, Photos

Things to Take from This Game

1. Horrid first four for Marquis

Marquis loaded the bases with a single and two walks, and Fielder cleared them with a double. After that, Marquis settled down well enough, but the Cubs never overcame the deficit

2. Short-Sheeted

Ben Sheets left after two innings due to tightness in his right forearm. The Brewers emptied the bullpen, and they pitched very well. Six relievers in six innings, no runs added on to the solo homer Ramirez hit off of Sheets. The Cubs manage one run off of Torres in the ninth, but there never really was a sense of an imminent comeback. Before the ninth, the Cubs had eeked out just four hits on the game.

3. Who Cares, Our Magic Number Still is 4.

The rather uninspired details, below...

Game Recap

Inning 1 - Top

Hah. Just as the game starts, my computer crashes. Maybe it's an omen that tonight isn't the night for my return...
While it's rebooting, Cameron lines a 2-2 pitch into the left center gap. Edmonds cuts it off, keeps him to a single
2-0 on Durham, Soto goes out for a chat.
Cameron steals second. Replay shows that Soto's absolutely perfect throw just did get Cameron at second, but he's called safe
and Durham walks.
as does Braun. This is not good. Missing with the fastball. The walk comes after a very, very generous strike call by Joe West on a 3-1 count.
Fielder then lines a double down the left field line, all three runs come around to score. 3-0 Brewers with no outs.
Hardy grounds out to third
and Hart K's swinging. With that, I'm back up to speed. phew. stupid computer.
and Counsell K's swinging. 31 pitch first inning. Yeah, I think it was an omen.

Inning 1 - Bottom

Soriano bounces out to Counsell at third on the first pitch.
ESPN observes that Cameron has some sort of defensive positioning guide in his back pocket that he's consulting. Their crew hasn't seen that before, neither have I.
Fontenot K's looking.
as does Lee. easy first for Sheets, 14 pitches.

Inning 2 - Top

Kendall grounds to Theriot.
As does Sheets. trots down to first on what might have been a bit of a tough charging play for Theriot.
Cameron lines a fastball on the outside corner right to Fontenot. Decent recovery inning for Marquis, only 11 pitches.

Inning 2 - Bottom

Ramirez with a really funky home run. Wails at the first pitch, an inside fastball that looks like it tied him up, and lines it on a frozen rope into the first couple rows of the bleachers, just to the right of the left-field well. Dave O'Brien is three types of astonished at how fast it left the park, says Braun didn't even get his head around before it was out of the park. That's only a slight exaggeration. 3-1Brewers
DeRosa lines to Braun.
Sut thinks Soto is a top 10 MVP candidate
as Braun did, Soto begins trotting to first on ball four, only for Joe West to call it a strike
lines a drive to the right field warning track, Hart catches it.

Inning 3 - Top

Durham taps one up the first base line. Marquis fields, tags Durham out.
Braun fists one inside-out to the right-side hole. Goes over Lee, but Fontenot makes a great diving catch on the shallow outfield grass
and wow, some no-name is warming up in the Brewers pen. Must be something wrong with Sheets?
Fielder walks
Hardy lines one through Fielder's legs, as he leaps up to avoid it. Single to right, Fielder to second.
Hart grounds into a 6-4 force.
Sheets appears to be leaving the game.

Inning 3 - Bottom

Mark DiFelice in to pitch. Sheet on the bench looking on.
Theriot K's looking on what was also a check swing. K-zone suggests, yet again, that Joe West missed the call.
Marquis lines a bouncer off Fielder's glove. Recovers, takes it to the bag.
Soriano lines one to the warning track just left of center. Cameron is there for the out.

Inning 4 - Top

Report is tightness of right forearm for Sheets.
Counsell K's swinging
Kendall floats one to shallow right, Fontenot races out and to his left, makes a great diving effort, but it's just out of his reach. A single.
DiFelice bunts Kendall over.
Cameron lines a sharp grounder to Fontenot's right, picks it easily, out at first.

Inning 4 - Bottom

Fontenot bounces out to Durham.
Lee K's on a low and away slider
Ramirez walks
Edmonds had been 0-21 against Sheets, now lines one up the middle for a single. Ramirez to third. Durham had shaded him way around towards first to pull.
DeRosa rolls into a 6-4 force out

Inning 5 - Top

Durham flies out to the wall, just short of the ivy in right.
Braun also flies to DeRosa.
Fielder smokes one off the top of the ivy just right of center. Hit very hard, Edmonds might have a shot at getting Fielder at second. Makes a slight bobble in glove-to-hand, Fielder makes it in easily.
Hardy with a sharp liner into right, Fielder has to hold as DeRosa charges it well.
Hart with a lazy fly to right, Marquis escapes with no damage

Inning 5 - Bottom

Todd Coffee in.
Full count, Soto walks.
Theriot with a shallow chop to third. Counsell goes to second, can't get much on the throw, Theriot safe at first.
Sutcliffe mentions Z left the game today due to some concern with a grandparent. Best wishes, Z.
Marquis with a nice bunt to third, Theriot to second.
Called strike to Soriano, who becomes the latest to lok back at Joe West's call.
swinging at a slider in the dirt, 0-2
and K's swinging at another bouncing slider. Boo.

Inning 6 - Top

Counsell with a sharp grounder to Lee's right. Nice pick, throws to Marquis for the out, nicely executed.
Kendall walks. Gyeh.
Joe Nelson in to pinch hit for Coffee, 2-0 count to start him out.
Kendall runs, Marquis with a wild pitch, and Kendall to third. Infield comes in, 2-2 count on Nelson
and Nelson walks. End of the game for Marquis, Angel Guzman in.
Sutcliffe compares Guzman to Mariano Rivera.
Cameron K's swinging at a high 96 mph fastball.
Durham pops out just behind home place. Another threat avoided. Cubs really ought to pull this one out.

Inning 6 - Bottom

Carlos Villanueva in to pitch.
Fontenot K's looking, insider fastball.
Annnnnnnnnnnd we have our first Bartman reference of the night. Everyone take a drink.
Cameron makes a nice running, shoe-string catch on a sinking line-drive by Lee.
Ramirez rips one past Counsell for a single.
Mitch Stetter in, a lefty to fast edmonds
Correction, a side-arming lefty.
Edmonds rolls out to second, inning over.

Inning 7 - Top

Guzman hits Braun with a fastball, looks like it caught a forearm.
Fielder lines one into center, Braun to third. Runners at corners, no outs.
Hardy hits one into the right field gap, Braun scores, Fielder to third, double for Hardy. 4-1 Brewers, nuts.
Kevin Hart warming up. A sign LouPa is willing to treat this one as kind of over?
It might be. Corey Hart lines a single to left, Fielder and Hardy in, 6-1
Kevin Hart in.
Corey Hart runs, Counsell is HBP, but it sure doesn't look like it on the replay.
Kendal drops down a bunt, runners to 2 and 3.
Lamb hits for Mitch Stetter
Lamb flies to shallow-mid left, Soriano throws, Hart is called out. It's just another in a long line of calls that Joe West missed tonight.
Wow, was Hart safe.

Inning 7 - Bottom

Gagne relieves Stetter
DeRosa flies out to Braun.
Soto looks at a curveball on the outside corner, strike three
Theriot grounds to short

Inning 8 - Top

Sean Marshall in.
Cameron with a sharp liner to Edmonds
Durham hits a sharp one hopper at Ramirez that eats him up. Generously ruled a base hit, although it was a tough play
Braun lines out to third
Fielder pops foul to third

Inning 8 - Bottom

Mota in for Gagne, Hoffpauir hits for Marshall
and K's swinging
Soriano walks.
Fontenot flies to Braun
Lee with a nice single, Soriano to second.
and on the first pitch, Ramirez rolls right to hardy, 6-4

Inning 9 - Top

Randy Wells in.
Hardy K's swinging, Hart grounds to Theriot
Pujols tells us that we're getting bored with Pujols. Speak for yourself.
Counsell grounds to Fontenot, very quick inning.

Inning 9 - Bottom

Salomon Torres in, seventh reliever in seventh inning for the Brewers.
Edmonds rolls out to second
DeRosa singles sharply right up the middle.
Soto rolls one up the middle, first and third.
Theriot rolls into an easy 6-4-3, but Fielder drops the ball at first - it was a low throw, but didn't bounce, just sort of missed it off the tip of the glove. Run scores, 6-2 game.
Ward hits for Wells
and weakly bounces out to Weeks. Game over.

Parachat Recap

Inning 1

How do we know it's really me?
- Mockery ensues.
Palin
- Mockery ensues
How do we know it's really Carlos?
- Mockery fails to ensue. What gives?
The Z/Fontenot routine.
huh?

Inning 2

How's the economy treating you?
- poorly.
That last pitch Wood threw to Fielder last night
The home run.
Proper uses of ~thunder~
Carlos claims to have seen a black neo-nazi.

Inning 3

RBI opportunity stats
Fontenot's nice catch.
I am introduced to cakefarts. No good comes of it.
Crunch helps the terrorists.
Conspiracies of cartographers.

Inning 4

Brewers future
Super-sized Romo's relations with Jessica Simpson
Beer
Cheese.
With my cooking skills, someone will be lucky to have me for a wife. - Brick

Inning 5

Trans in love.
WOMD.
Punctuality.
"Wrigley rotated a bit when Fielder put on the brakes." - brick.
Bad moments to be caught putting in your contacts in a restroom.
Likelihood of a Soriano homer.

Inning 6

Faux Cubs Pessimism from Whip.
Rediscovering Angel Guzman
Does Marquis make the post-season roster? (no.)
Parachat makes fun of my antiquated vocabulary.
The American League is the league of cutters. They need help. Brick is on fire, tonight.
Bonnie Tyler
Bonnie Rait
Steven Tyler
80s female pop singers
Whip explains to us, once more, what good music is. :)
- Air Supply, evidently.
Domo Aryagato, Mr. Fontenot. And Aramis Morisette.
Yoko Ono
Seth McClung
- Oddest Parachat pairing ever: Ono and McClung?

Inning 7

Rob's fantasy league.
Porno Dave compliments me, and Rob shoots me down. Now I'm sad.
how dumb was it to send the runner on Lamb's fly ball?

Inning 8

I fight Whip.
Things that have happened since I last did anything at TCR
oh god, not this cakefarts thing, again
The Mike C of Music?!?!! ROFL. God, the things I missed.
Trying to persuade me not to post this recap.
Who should rule TCR?

Inning 9

My Future.
- Reality TV
Carlos is a dirty terrorist with an ape's penis.

Cubs record in games recapped falls to 11-6 on the season. How pathetic, I've only done 17...

Milwaukee swept by the Mets

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 21:44:29 -0500

Wednesday's game against the Mets was over for the Brewers almost before it had a chance to begin. The Mets put up six runs in the first inning on Brewers starter Dave Bush. Bush lasted five innings as his record fell to 9-10 on the season but manager Ned Yost should have lifted him in the first. Bush was getting hit hard and the highlight of the inning for the Mets was a grand slam by Ryan Church. The Mets wound up winning the series finale 9-2 against the Crew.

Sweep Emotion

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 17:20:33 -0500

The Brewers beat the Nationals 7-1 on Monday to complete a four game sweep over the lowly Nats. Dave Bush improved to 7-9 on the season with the win. Bush pitched 6 1/3 innings and struck out six. He gave up a lone run on five hits. Brian Shouse, David Riske and Seth McClung finished out the game for the Crew.

Brew Ha-Ha (8/9)

Sat, 09 Aug 2008 03:10:50 -0500

Brew • Ha • Ha, -noun 1. A recurring listing of news, blog linkage and personal takes relating the Milwaukee Brewers and NL Central, compiled by Bugs & Cranks newbie Tyler Maas. What better place to begin this periodic feature than to mention the utter excellence of CC Sabathia? The burly southpaw scattered five hits to earn his fifth win and second shutout as Brewer, along with his NL-leading fourth complete game as Milwaukee took game one of a four game homestand against the Nationals. Mike Cameron and J.J. Hardy homered for Milwaukee. • Two Fisted Slopper calls this short Brewers homestand "The 'Better Win 3 of 4' Series": The Nationals came in hot, already riding six August wins, but three wins for the Crew isn't too much to ask. One down. • How does one know they've truly arrived as a big league superstar? Being named Rookie of the Year? Being voted to an All-Star Game starting lineup? Nope: Ryan Braun co-stared with supermodel Marisa Miller for a YouTube exclusive ad for Remington. Check out this last ditch effort to appeal to a youthful audience from the Kia of hair clippers. It hits the Web this fall. • MLB.com officially delivers the deathblow to the horse that is Monday's Prince Fielder/Manny Para dugout incident, but provides a twist (via an unnamed scout) – the team has more vital issues in the form of pitching, defense and "some guys who have cooled off.": Sheets does need to step up, but Suppan has washed off the stink of terrible post-DL starts and been good over his last two outings. Edgar "Ned" Yost has put the kibosh on the unorthodox Seth McClung and Dave Bush starting platoon, and Bush has made good on the permanent promotion.

Redbird Randoms ... Cards/Brewers series probables

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 22:32:09 -0500

News regarding the St. Louis Cardinals.

Redbird Randoms ... Bring on the Brewers

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 22:23:02 -0500

News regarding the St. Louis Cardinals.

AccuScore: MLB Trade Market

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:51:32 -0500

Rarely do you have a trade where both parties agree to the original offer. Chances are one owner wants one thing, while the other owner has a different approach in mind.

Breaking Down The Wagerline Numbers: June

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 23:34:05 -0500

I did this for April/May, and thought it was worth doing again. This time the discrepancies we'll see are based more on actual results, rather than preseason perceptions.

I'm skipping right past the average percentages, and straight to the adjusted ones. The line on the game explains about 63% of the variation of which team the public is going to bet on, so any unadjusted list is just going to include lots of bad pitchers on one end, and studs on the other.

First, June's most undervalued starters; the guys who have gotten significantly less public backing than we'd expect from their game lines (min. 5 June starts):

Bedard's reputation has taken an extremely sharp downturn; I guess that's what happens when you get traded to Seattle. A year ago he struck out 15 Rangers in one game, and was on his way to putting together 5/6 of a Cy Young campaign before getting injured. At the beginning of last month, he was 4-4 with a 4.47 ERA. That drop in the perception of him caused the above gap, and he's actually been quite good in his last five starts (1.82 ERA). Of course, with that offense behind him, the Mariners are only 3-2 in those games.

Some of these are pretty standard; Harang and Jimenez are pitchers who have been significantly better than their record would indicate. Billingsley is 8-7 now, but that's because he's won his las four starts. It's unlikely there will be value in betting on him, and his 9.3 K/9, for long, so enjoy it while it last, until people catch on.

Joba is a surprise here. It's possible that he is so overhyped that pretty much everybody realizes it, and they forget that he's actually pretty damn good. He needs to get the walks down, but in 35 innings as a starter, he's struck out 37 and allowed just one home run.

It's not entirely clear why Hamels was undervalued, as the ace of a team with one of the best records in baseball. I suppose he was only 5-4 with a 3.73 ERA through the first two months, but that's not exactly awful. I guess that's kind of the point, though.

Here are the most overvalued, based on the opposite criteria:

Despite allowing 12 homers and striking out just 24 in his first 59.1 innings, Byrd had a 4.10 ERA through the first two months. People saw right through that, and they've been rewarded, as he has a 7.85 ERA and a stellar 15:11 K:HR ratio since. I would advise any GMs considering trading for him to ignore the previous two sentences, and instead recall this dominance.

Saunders is a good candidate to be high on this list again in July; he's 12-4 with a 3.04 ERA, yet his FIP is 4.50, barely better than the 4.92 PECOTA had him at coming into the year. The two other Angels are in the same boat, if to a lesser extent, as their records aren't nearly as gaudy, and their ERAs aren't as unsustainably low.

There's not much more to be said about Floyd; 6.0 K/9, 3.3 BB/9, 40% GB%. His ERA is one of the more impressive flukes of the first half.

Now, the most underappreciated teams:

On June 1, these five teams were a combined 116-171, good for an impressive .404 W%. Obviously, not many people were all that interested in betting on them at that point. They've slightly improved since, winning at a .428 clip, but not by much.

Finally, the most overrated teams:

Again, no surprises here. The Angels are way ahead of the pack; that'll happen when you're 10 games over .500 despite outscoring your opponents by only five runs in the first two months.

The Cubs and Red Sox are no strangers to 'overrated' lists, and the hot starts of the White Sox and Cardinals caused them to be overvalued by the general public. Notable in their absence are the Yankees. That's partially because they're in third place, but they also don't seem to have any particular pitchers that the public gets extremely excited about.

A team to watch for in the coming months is everybody's current darlings, Milwaukee. Part of it is the addition of Sabathia, who people are obviously very excited about, but, as MoneyLine pointed out today, there also seems to be a residual effect. Sabathia is good, yes, but it's unclear why 74% of people jumped on the Seth McClung bandwagon on Monday night.

All data taken from Wagerline.

The 'Sabathia Got Traded' Post

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:54:18 -0500

The whole world is reporting that the Indians have traded C.C. Sabathia to the Brewers, so even though the specifics of the deal are unclear, I guess it's time for a post.

There have been strong rumors about a trade between these two teams for awhile now, and for good reason. Both teams are, essentially, trading from a position of excess. The Indians are giving up a 2008 asset (expendable when you're 14 games out of first in July), and the Brewers are trading a potent bat that comes with a questionable glove (valuable, but less so when you're in the NL and already have Braun, Fielder, and Mat Gamel).

The Brewers are seizing their opportunity this season, as it looks to be their best in the near future. Although they will likely benefit from Yovani Gallardo's return next year, ace Ben Sheets will be a free agent this winter; combined with Sabathia's expected departure, the 2008 Brewers rotation is looking a whole lot more formidable than next year's staff.

By acquiring Sabathia right now, Milwaukee is maximizing his value, as he'll be able to make two starts before the All-Star break. That means he'll make approximately 15 regular season starts as a Brewer. Either Dave Bush or Seth McClung will be moved out of the bullpen; it doesn't particularly matter, as an ERA of about 4.60 would be expected out of either. In the NL, the over/under on Sabathia's ERA would likely be around 3.10. Over half a season, that upgrade is worth about 1.5 wins, plus the substantial value he'd potentially provide in the playoffs. Add to that the two compensation picks Milwaukee stands to receive if they don't re-sign Sabathia, and it's easy to like this deal from their perspective.

In terms of impact on the National League pennant race, the team most adversely effected by this trade is likely the Cardinals. Sabathia makes the Brewers the clear frontrunner for the Wild Card (not that they weren't already), and possibly even the second most likely NL playoff team.

It would be a mistake to not mention Sabathia's hitting prowess, as he boasts a career line of .300/.317/.475 (in an outrageously small sample size of 42 PAs, of course). His 440-foot bomb against the Dodgers provided one of the few highlights of Cleveland's 2008 campaign.

Sabathia's departure probably won't register to Indians fans until he takes the mound in Milwaukee on Tuesday night. Ever since his debut at the age of 20, he's been a valuable member of the rotation, posting at least average ERAs in each of his eight seasons. His value as an Indian peaked last year, both in reality (241 IP, 143 ERA+, both career highs) and perception (Cy Young award).

Sabathia's poor performance at the outset of the season (18 IP, 27 R, 14 BB, 5 HR in four starts) made headlines and, other than in trade talks, he hasn't been in the news much since. However, he's been as good as anybody since mid-April, posting a 2.16 ERA and 109:20 K:BB ratio in 104.1 innings. His 2008 QERA--even including those first four starts--is an impressive 3.44.

Unfortunately, this is how a team with the Indians' resources is forced to do business. From a business perspective, drafting Sabathia is likely one of the smartest things the organization has ever done. They turned a #20 pick in the 1998 draft and about $30MM into 1,528.2 innings of a 115 ERA+, and the four prospects they'll receive from Milwaukee.

The headlining prospect is Matt LaPorta, a 23-year old out of the University of Florida. Last winter, Kevin Goldstein ranked him as the #1 prospect in the Brewers organization, and Keith Law had him 37th in all of baseball. This year, he's hit .291/.404/.584 in 296 ABs at AA Huntsville. He'll likely report to AAA Buffalo, and could contribute to the big club as early as August. He'll likely end up at first base, a position that has emerged as a weakness for the Indians in 2008, as Ryan Garko has managed only a .243/.324/.342 line.

The details beyond LaPorta are not entirely clear, but reports indicate the Indians will be receiving LHP Zach Jackson, RHP Rob Bryson, and a PTBNL.

Jackson doesn't look to be anything to write home about, as he's a 25-year old with a 7.83 ERA at AAA Nashville, with 33 Ks and 9 HRs allowed in 56.1 IP.

Bryson is a 20-year old currently a single-A West Virginia, with a considerable amount of upside. He was moved to the bullpen after five starts, and has recorded 73 Ks in 55 innings, while walking 20 and giving up three homers. Back in February, Goldstein described him as "[offering] plenty to dream on."

The fourth prospect sounds like it may end up being 21-year old Taylor Green. He primarily played second base in 2006, but was then moved to third, apparently because of Rickie Weeks' presence presence on the Brewers. The thinking is that the Indians would like to get a good look at him at second before committing to him, as he'd theoretically be more valuable there. In 2008, Green has put up a line of .297/.381/.452 with Brevard County, with 10 homers in a park that significantly suppresses power.

The Indians and Brewers matched up very well, which of course is why this deal happened in the first place. The Indians got a high impact bat that will be able to contribute to the 2009 club. They also received potential long-term solutions for second base and the rotation, although the probabiliity of those two is significantly lower. I'm in no real position to value prospects, but this seems like a pretty decent haul, especially considering the heightened (perceived) value of prospects over the last few years.

Related:
The Big Trade, Part I [Let's Go Tribe]
Meet Matt LaPorta [The Cleveland Fan]
Keith Law [ESPN]
All about LaPorta [CastroTurf]

CC Sabathia is a Milwaukee Brewer

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 18:57:57 -0500

Yes, Brewers fans, celebrate the night away! CC Sabathia is now a Milwaukee Brewer pending paperwork and an exchange of medical records. Sabathia is expected to start his first game for the Brewers on Tuesday night versus the Rockies.

AccuScore: Waiver Wire Wonders

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 14:36:26 -0500

If you are in need of pitching, but missed out on early season Waiver Wire Wonders like Justin Duchscherer or Jair Jurrjens, AccuScore fantasy expert Tim Williams has a few options for you, and suggests patience is the key to realizing their long term value on your team.

AccuScore: Waiver Wire Wonders

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 08:35:30 -0500

At this point it's impossible to find players on the waiver wire who can help you in all five stat categories. You are better off finding several individual players who are great at producing in one specific category. AccuScore fantasy expert Tim Williams takes a look at some of those players in this week's Waiver Wire Wonders.

MLB Free Agent Specialty - Week 12

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 07:18:56 -0500

Not quite like Waiver Wire, this piece examines potentially available players that focus on a specific category. If you need some power, we have a suggestion. If you need some speed, we have a suggestion. If you need some K's, we have a suggestion. Unfortunately, these players will not help your fantasy team (most of the time) outside of the category they are listed.