Yardbarker: Aaron Miles

Adam Kennedy Asking for Trade

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 21:52:56 -0500

St. Louis 2B Adam Kennedy had a huge day-a grand slam and 5 rbis just one day after requesting a trade because of reduced playing time. Since acquiring Felipe Lopez and using Aaron Miles with more frequency, Kennedy has seen hi splaying time go way down. GM John Mozeliak agreed to look at his options after the season ends.

Game 153 Recap: Cubs 5, Cardinals 4

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 21:11:16 -0500

Cubs Clinch Division, First Back-to-Back since 1907-1908, Earliest since 1932

W - Lilly (16-9), You, Me, Santo, Harry, 104-year-old-dude-who-threw-out-the-first-pitch, all Cubs fans.

L - Pineiro (6-7), the rest of the NL Central

S - Wood (32)

Box Score, Photos

Things to Take from This Game

1. A bases loaded three-run single for Soriano

Well, two rbis and an error leading to the third run. In the bottom of the second Soriano lined a single right at Brian Barton in left. The ball kicked off his glove and rolled to the wall, clearing the bases. The Cubs raced out to a 3-0 lead.

2. More fielding problems, more runs.

The Cubs got two more runs in the fourth, as Soto began the inning by smashing one through Glaus at third. DeRosa hit a double high off the ivy to score Soto, and after advancing to third on a Fukudome ground out, scored on a nicely executed suicide squeeze by Lilly. 5-0 Cubs through four innings.

3. Glaus homers in 4-run Sixth

Lilly looked great, very economical, through five. In the sixth Felipe Lopez gets an RBI single on a smash up the middle off Theriot's glove, and Glaus unloads a no-doubt three-run home run into the left field well. Suddenly we had a close game. 5-4 through six.

4. Lilly Recovers, Marmol and Wood close it out

Other than a leadoff walk to Glaus in the ninth, the last three innings passed uneventfully as Lilly pitched the seventh, with Marmol and Wood doing their jobs to close out the game. A soft fly out to Edmonds off the bat of Aaron Miles ended the game, and a happy Cubs team celebrated between the pitcher's mound and first base.

The Back-to-Back NL Central Champion Details, below.

Game Recap

Oh my god, can we just declare that FOX has no pretensions towards actually concentrating on the game? We get some WWE Diva giving us the cardinal lineup, which amounts to her plugging the WWE, mentioning that Pujols is good, and flirting with Tim McCarver. Eww.

Inning 1 - Top

First pitch of the game, Izturis pops up to straight behind home plate. Ridiculously easy first out
Ludwick lines a shot over Soriano's head for a double. Looks like it would have been uncatchable regardless, but Soriano also misjudged it a bit, leapt for it without a shot
Pujols rolls out easily to Short. Nice scoop by Lee. McCarver wanted to IBB Pujols. Idiot.
Strike 3 called on Felipe Lopez. I know that all the studies show that "protection" for a slugger is a myth, but really, Felipe Lopez hitting fourth, behind Pujols? 13 pitch inning for Ted.

Inning 1 - Bottom

Hey, how about it: Jeff Samardzija gives the Cubs lineup, and actually, you know, provides information. But God Bless Fox, they misspell it "Smardzija." Poor Fox: so far from journalism, so close to remedial freshman english class.
Soriano with a check-swing tap-back to Pineiro
Theriot rolls out to Lopez at second.
Lee lines one off the base of the ivy in straight-away center. Looks like Ludwick also had some trouble judging that liner.
My God, McCarver is a moron. Just listening to him discussing whether to pitch Sabathia on short rest makes my mind want to shrivel up and die.
Ramirez lines out to right, inning over

Inning 2 - Top

Everyone, take another shot for a 1908 reference from Josh Lewin
In fact, the entire "what was going on in 1908" graph.
Glaus K's swinging at a fastball
Adam Kennedy is playing RF? Ouch. A check-swing right back to Lilly, two outs.
Brian Barton bounces one just outside of Lilly's reach, over his head up the middle for a single.
McCarver tells me Barton was an aerospace engineer major, lived in Addis Ababa for a time. Cool.
Pineiro flies to center, Edmonds battles the sun, makes the catch.

Inning 2 - Bottom

Edmonds nearly hits one out at the left field well. hits maybe a foot away from the basket, instead it's a double.
Soto walks
DeRosa bounces into a potential 4-6-3, but there's a bobble on the turn, DeRosa safe at first by a half step. Pineiro not happy about it.
Fukudome walks, bases loaded for Lilly
McCarver shills for budweiser.
Pineiro continues to look a bit annoyed by things.
Lilly battling nicely.
Finally K's swinging. Soriano up, 2 outs, bases loaded.
Soriano singles to left on an inside fastball, and the ball bounces off the heel of Barton's glove, rolling to the wall. 2 RBIs with the third run being credited to the error. 3-0 Cubs
Theriot flies to Kennedy in right.

Inning 3 - Top

Jason LaRue (hitting 9th) up. Gentle pop-up to Lee on a big curveball
Izturis with a slow bouncer up the middle. Theriot makes a pretty sweet sliding stop on it, but no chance on the throw.
Everyone, take a shot for the Bartman reference.
Ludwick grounds into a very easy 6-4-3, out of the inning. 37 pitches for Lilly on the day

Inning 3 - Bottom

Lee flies to Kennedy in right
FOX cries crocodile tears for Derek Jeter as he misses the playoffs
and Ramirez grounds to short. two pitches, two outs
Edmonds K's swinging, five pitch inning

Inning 4 - Top

3-2 pitch to Pujols, he lines a shot to Ramirez's left. He makes a great diving stop for it, the throw is up the first bas line, and Lee manages to barely tag Pujols on the leg as he lunges for it. Out. Very nice set of plays by Ramirez and Lee.
Lopez squibs one to Lee, unassisted.
Maybe it's time to listen to the Pat and Ron audio while watching the FOX telecast.
Glaus pops to Theriot.

Inning 4 - Bottom

Soto rips a grounder right at Glaus, who can't handle it. Well hit ball, but certainly an error.
DeRosa then smashes one high off the ivy in the left field well. Looks like a fastball that tailed back over the plate. Barton gives it a good try, but no luck. Soto scores, 4-0 Cubs.
DeRosa to third as Fukudome grounds out to second.
Suicide Squeeze play. Lilly bunts, a nice one to the left of Pineiro. DeRosa is breaing for home on the play, Pineiro tries for the glove-hand toss to LaRue, but it's not even close. Lilly safe at first, 5-0 Cubs. Pineiro really letting himself get rattled by his D.
DeRosa flies out to Kennedy
FOX shows a highlight of Brewers game: Fielder trying to score on a hit to the outfield, is going to be out by a mile, so he just PUNCHES the catcher as he runs into his tag a few feet up the line from home. What a monumental collapse...
Theriot grounds out to second

Inning 5 - Top

Kennedy with a soft liner to DeRosa, first pitch. FOX keeps getting back to the game late from commercials
Barton flies to left, and Pineiro flies out to the warning track in left. I think it was something like a five pitch ining. 56 for the game

Inning 5 - Bottom

Lee flies to Kennedy
Ramirez lines a single to left center
Edmonds bounces into a 4-6-3 DP

Inning 6 - Top

LaRue with a soft fly out to Edmonds.
Izturis with a soft liner into right-center for a single
Ludwick K's flailing at a curve.
Pujols gets pitched around, walks on five pitches.
Double-steal, uncontested. Gyeh.
Lopez smashes one to Theriot's left. Makes a nice stop to keep it from getting to the outfield, but can't get Lopez at first. One run scores, first and third, two outs.
Glaus then crushes one out into the left field well bleachers. 5-4 game.
Ron Santo is Sad.
Full count, Kennedy walks.
Cotts and Samardzija up for the Cubs, McClellan for the Cards. 0-2 on Barton
Crowd gets up.
Barton with a bouncer to Theriot. Handles the in-between hop, gets Barton by a step.

Inning 6 - Bottom

Soto with a slow roller to third. Glaus charges, bare-hands, it kicks away. Soto singles.
DeRosa flies to center.
Soto isn't being held on (well, Pujols is a foot or too off the bag, between Soto and the bag) and Soto, with a modest lead, takes off for second. Thrown out by a mile. Seems to be explaining himself to someone in the dugout. Two outs.
Pat and Hughes assume Fukudome missed a hit and run sign. Since I'm not listening to the Fox-cast, and since I can't fathom Soto straight-stealing there, I'll go with that theory.
Fukudome K's swinging at a pitch inside.

Inning 7 - Top

Josh Phelps hits for Piniero, K's looking at a fastball
LaRue K's swinging.
Izturis bounces out to Theriot. Nice comeback by Lilly

Inning 7 - Bottom

Ryan Franklin in to pitch.
and Fontenot hits for Lilly
and rolls out to Pujols
Soriano flies to Kennedy. Sun still looks really tough today. Santo with a loud "gyeah!" about it, I'm not sure why.
Theriot swings and misses at three straight. Really struggling the last few days.
Very, very quick inning

Inning 8 - Top

Marmol in.
From 3-0 to 3-2 on Ludwick, he flies easily to center.
Pat really getting into it on the radio broadcast
Pujols reaches for a slider, gently pops to DeRosa, two outs.
Lopez bounces to Lee way behind the bag and on the line. Waits for Marmol to get over, tosses, inning over. Three outs to go!

Inning 8 - Bottom

Ludwick to left, Baron out of game Schumaker comesin to play center.
Lee K's swinging at an inside fastball
Pat tells me this would be the earliest Cubs clinch since 1932.
Wood warming up to face Glaus, Kennedy, Schumaker, and a bear-hug from Soto.
Ramirez K's swinging
and Edmonds bounces out to Lopez
Pat - "Time to fasten those seatbelts!"

Inning 9 - Top

Crowd on its feet at the start of the inning. 3-1 count to Glaus, Wood hitting 96 on gun. Glaus walks
Brendan Ryan runs for Glaus
Taps one slowly to DeRosa. He goes to second for the force,Theriot throws, quite late, back to first. Nice work by DeRosa on a relatively tough 4-6 force to get the lead runner
FOX informs me that wood has a 9.82 era in september. ohh boy.
1-1 on Schumaker. 2-1, fastball just off the outside corner. Bit of a tough strike zone, today.
2-2 count.
Wood drops a gorgeous slider down the middle of the plate, bottom of the zone. Strike 3
Miles hits for franklin. First pitch, skies it to Edmonds in shallow left, an easy out.
The team gathers between pitcher's mound and first base bag. Santo is hollering on the radio broadcast.
All told, a rather subdued celebration after a few seconds of group-hug-jumping. Everyone hugs, handshakes each other.

Inning 9 - Bottom

Parachat Recap

Inning 1

Chad gripes about Theriot
We gripe about Fox, McCarver
we mock Fox, McCarver
how we know who Rob G's wife thinks is cute.
Whether it's smart or not for the Brewers to pitch Sabathia today on short rest

Inning 2

Cubs offseason SP rotation moves.
Brewers game updates
Wes arrives. People surprised to see him and me at the same time. Harrumph.
Prominent Cardinals free agent signings
What to do when life hands you tomato juice. Good suggestions from me, H. Vaughn, Andy
Our newly socialized economy.
Ethnically stereotyped pronunciation jokes. Go, Parachat, Go.
The Blink 182 Drummer's plane crash
- meh
We don't care about the AL
Who gives fucks?
Celebrating the lead

Inning 3

Since evidently people are sad when I don't give them shout-outs, here's who we have cheering along in Parachat right now: Rob, Andrew, Andy, bizmarquis2, crunch, cubs.com, H_Vaugh, HollywoodChad, MorningtonCrescent, nohit, osiris, The_Real_Neal, THUD, me, and Wes. And every single one of them has said something witty and funny for which they should be eternally commemorated in the internet ether.
Who is Mischa Barton?
Who is Brian Barton?
When Andrew's in Rome...
The Virgin Mary doesn't ring anyone's bell.
- wait, are we back to talking tomato juice, or rome, or sex?
- I'm so confused.
More fox-mocking.

Inning 4

Facing your prostate issues
for celebration purposes, should we root for the Brewers to win their games, so that the Cubs have to clinch by winning it on their own? (ehh, never root for your opponents.)
What are we drinking for the clinching celebration?
Evaluating the New Commisky/Cellular ballpark
Rob G starts counting the outs remaining in the game.
Talking to people about their itches in Manhattan
Cubs Game Plan: Aim for Between Their Legs - The Real Neal
Cheering on the squeeze play
amazed at Fielder's cheap-shot.
Should Theriot rest/be dropped in the order? (Yes, and No.)

Inning 5

Erudite ostrich-eating tailgaters. I think it was Brick who brought up this crucial demographic.
Discussing life in North Carolina
and my modest love life. (
- Osiris preemptively complains about my censorship of this discussion in the recap.
Trust-fund bums
my story of Henry the Handwiper

Inning 6

Facebook, MySpace
Not Trans's MySpace Page.
Angst. Chad. Chad. Angst.
Who is using LinkedIn for sex?
Who is Fred Gwynn, and is he as stiff as Troy Glaus?

Inning 7

Interesting trivia: Josh Phelps is one of Alaska's 15 men who haven't impregnated the governor - John Beasley
- I almost feel bad for recapping that.
- Almost.
is it true that Jason LaRue is singing in a Motorhead cover band during the off-season - Real Neal

Inning 8

Brewers updates
that Fielder cheap-shot.
Discussing the Micah Owings PH RBI in Cincy
Naked old men in a balloon.
Last year's parachat on clinching day.

Inning 9

The top of the ninth starts with a big parachat crowd of: Rob, Andrew, Andy, Biittner, biz, brick, crunch, cubs.com, H Vaughn, Chad, John Beasley, mattralph, MorningtonCrescent, nohit, osiris, real neal, me, Wes, lowitzki.
A picture is worth a thousand words.

Cubs record in games recapped goes to 13-6

Adam Kennedy Asking for Trade

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 15:14:01 -0500

Game 152 Thread / Cardinals @ Cubs

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 20:29:58 -0500

Game Chat | Press Pass | BR Preview

SP	Adam Wainwright	SP	Carlos Zambrano
	9-3, 3.20, 84 K, 26 BB, 121 IP		14-5, 3.41, 127 K, 65 BB, 182.1 IP

CF	*Skip Schumaker	LF	Alfonso Soriano
LF	Ryan Ludwick	SS	Ryan Theriot
1B	Albert Pujols	1B	Derrek Lee
2B	Felipe Lopez	3B	Aramis Ramirez
3B	Troy Glaus	CF	*Jim Edmonds
RF	*Adam Kennedy	RF	Mark DeRosa
SS	*Aaron Miles	2B	*Mike Fontenot
P	Adam Wainwright	C	Henry Blanco
C	Jason Larue	P	#Carlos Zambrano

In his post-game press conference Thursday, a giggly Lou Piniella implied he was planning to go out last night to tie one on in celebration of the spectacular comeback victory. (I believe the exact quote was, "This is going to be a bad night for me.") It's a relief then, looking at today's lineup, to see Lou didn't stumble into the lockerroom still drunk and blindly pencil Koyie Hill into the leadoff spot as his second baseman or give a spot start to Michael Wuertz.

Geovany Soto gets the day off owing to irritation of a joint in his left hand. He is listed as day-to-day.

Our man Zambrano makes his first start since last Sunday's no-no at Milwaukee. I took a look at the last ten National Leaguers to throw complete game no-hitters before Zambrano to see how they fared in their very next outing.

First of all, the ten pitchers constitute a fairly motley crew, with luminaries like Randy Johnson, A.J. Burnett, and Kevin Brown mixed in with much lesser lights like Bud Smith and Jose Jimenez. In other words, the ten are hardly are a perfect list of comparables for Zambrano.

Anyway, in their first, post-no-hitter starts, these pitchers averaged a little over 6 IP, with about 6 hits and 3 ER allowed, for a cumulative ERA of 4.18. Combined they won 5, lost 3, and had a couple of ND's. Also, these 10 NL pitchers, who averaged 112 pitches in their respective no-hit games, averaged about 104 pitches in their first games following.

I'm not sure how instructive any of this is—as I said, it's not a great list of comps for Zambrano. What's more I don't know that any of these pitchers was fresh off a bout with rotator cuff tendinitis, which raises what is probably the most important aspect of this afternoon's game as it relates to the Cubs' World Series-winning prospects: gauging how well Zambrano has bounced back after a 110-pitch start.

One other thing to keep your eye on in this series: whether or not Tony LaRussa, who strikes me as being insane, decides to exact "revenge" on the Cubs and Ted Lilly, Saturday's scheduled starter, for Lilly's clean takedown of Cards catcher Yadier Molina last week in St. Louis. (I put revenge in quotes because I don't personally understand why a completely fair home plate collision would beg for some sort of vengeance, but I believe in TLR's world, it just will.)

Brooms!

Sun, 14 Sep 2008 19:02:14 -0500

Who saw this coming?
The Cards come in to Pittsburgh, desperately needing wins......and get swept by a team coming off a miserable stretch??
Yeah, it happened.
-
Jason Davis only lasted 3 innings but didn't pitch awful. TJ Beam relieved and got the win, thanks to 6 Pirate runs in the first two innings. Lots of singles today (the Bucs had 15 hits) but Nate McLouth did homer.
-
Apparently Doug Mientkiewicz started a mini-scrum by knocking the ball away from Aaron Miles on an attempted tag late in the game. Nothing really happened except a bunch of shouting, though.
-
The rest of the bullpen allowed no runs, although Hansen did walk two. And Andy LaRoche had three hits!

Top 7 :: Modern-Day Franchise Players

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 00:58:02 -0500

In honor of one such player going down for the year this past week, the Top 7 looks at the biggest franchise players in sports. Here's a very loose definition: if you took the player off of the team, they become horrible, and almost unwatchable. You would have nearly no interest in their games even if you were a fan of the team, and absolutely zero if you are a casual fan. Obviously, the all-time franchise player is Michael Jordan, but these are just current franchise players.

7. Albert Pujols

Really die-hard Cardinal fans will say that they could never stop watching their team, but it's easy to forget years like 1995 when they have had success for nearly ten years. But when Albert Pujols is on the DL or taking a day off, you realize how much he means to the team. Having Skip Schumaker, Aaron Miles, and Cesar Izturis in your daily lineup is much easier to overlook when Pujols is in there too. And just to follow up on last week's list, Pujols is still the National League MVP. Now you hear people talk about CC Sabathia or Manny Ramirez being involved in the discussion, proving there is no real low to the level of people's stupidity.

6. Tom Brady

Here's a question for Patriots fans: do you REALLY want the Pats to continue to do well this year? Doesn't Brady's legacy mean more than that? Let's say that they go 13-3 and make the Super Bowl. Do you really want to hear people saying that it may be more the system than it is Tom Brady? It would be like hearing about how the titles were tainted because of the spying controversy, only much worse. Just wondering.

5. Peyton Manning

Anyone who had anything at all on last year's Week 17 Colts/Titans game knows how much Manning means to the Colts. They looked like a team barely able to compete in the local flag football finals. Even if he is only 60% like he was this past week, its still better than Jim Sorgi or anything else that they would throw out there.

4. Kobe Bryant

If you took Kobe off of the Lakers, they become the Grizzlies, especially since there are no lakes in L.A. and no bears in Memphis. The seats at home games would stay empty the entire game instead of until halfway through the second quarter. It would be like Wendy's getting rid of the spicy chicken combo. Sure, the fries are still a little tasty, and they know how to carbonate a beverage, but it's nowhere close to the same. (Editor's note: Joe Mustache deems the Wendy's comparison inaccurate and chooses the Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger and Frosty as the franchise combo.)

3. LeBron James

Lance Alfred, Daniel Gibson, J.J. Hickson, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Darnell Jackson, Tarence Kinsley, Sasha Pavlovic, Eric Snow, Wally Szczerbiak, Billy Thomas, Anderson Varejao, Ben Wallace, Delonte West, Mo Williams, Lorenzen Wright. These are the other players on LeBron James' team. Yes, he is a franchise. It's like that old-school Bulls "six-pack" shirt that had five Michael Jordans and a Bulls fan on it. They should bring those six-pack shirts back, those were awesome.

2. Tiger Woods

Television ratings don't lie (at least, I don't think that they do). When Tiger Woods is in the finals of a major, ratings skyrocket. If he isn't involved, even the announcers have a hard time getting up for what is going on. Why else would they still show his final round even if he's down by 27 strokes? Until Tiger comes back, golf returns to its mid-1990s level of interest in casual sports fans, which is extremely close to zero.

1. The United States

This one is for the Olympics. If the U.S. is not involved in the event (or ok, fine, an extremely fast Jamaican trained in the United States), "Race to the White House 2016" on C-Span gets higher ratings. An example: you turn on swimming, you look for the flags at the start of the race next to their names. If you don't see the stars and stripes, you look for a Full House re-run. Did you ever turn on midday coverage this past summer and it was something like Greece versus Italy in water polo? You probably asked "what the eff is this?" and turned it off immediately. It must be tough to live in a country that only gets five medals in an entire Olympics. I wonder what they watch instead.

The Top 7 is written by Jason Major. He watched the broadcast of Croatia/Italy fencing match because he thought the fencers were actually beekeepers. Email him at jason@joesportsfan.com.

Game 146 Thread / Cubs @ Cardinals (3 of 3)

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 20:34:49 -0500

Game Chat | Press Pass | BR Preview

SP	Rich Harden	SP	Todd Wellemeyer
(NL)	4-1, 1.50, 75 K, 18 BB, 54 IP		12-6, 3.74, 116 K, 51 BB, 168.1 IP

LF	Alfonso Soriano	SS	*Skip Schumaker
SS	Ryan Theriot	LF	#Aaron Miles
1B	Derrek Lee	1B	Albert Pujols
3B	Aramis Ramirez	RF	Ryan Ludwick
RF	Mark DeRosa	3B	#Felipe Lopez
2B	*Mike Fontenot	2B	*Adam Kennedy
C	Geovany Soto	C	Jason LaRue
CF	Reed Johnson	P	Todd Wellemeyer
P	*Rich Harden	SS	#Cesar Izturis

The Cubs last game for at least two days as they'll head home after the game and wait out Hurricane Ike. Rich Harden returns after skipping a start, now ready to throw 110 mph and strike out the 27 batters on 81 pitches...anything less would be disappointing.

Brewers and Phillies start a four game set, so there's a good chance one of the Cubs magic numbers will go down today although the playoff magic number is now muddled by the Cardinals and Astros who are tied with the Phillies in the lost column. The best thing is to just win tonight - let's say 15-0 - and then let the other teams duke it out while the Cubs watch the carnage over the weekend.

Pujols' protection must come from front side, too (two)

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 14:33:47 -0500

Most of the protection theories are dominated by clean-up, five, six strategies. That's okay, but not if the front door is left unguarded. (photo by Barbara Moore)

Wild 9th Inning Leads to Cards Sweep

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 00:43:13 -0500

Riding a wild roller coaster is nothing new for the St. Louis Cardinals. Tied 5-5 in the 9th, St. Louis' Aaron Miles hit a walk-off grand slam home run to give the Cards' a 9-5 victory and a four-game sweep of the Padres.

I Cannot Watch Another Game

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 23:55:57 -0500

My best friend since 3rd grade got married this weekend. As a Woman of Honor, I had a plethora of duties. Just getting to the location involved an 8 hour drive. So starting this past Thursday at 7 am until 9 pm tonight, I've been running around like a lunatic. It was a blast, but [...]

Miles' walk-off grand slam sweeps Padres

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 18:06:45 -0500

Troy Glaus was the hero, but only for one inning. Then Aaron Miles stepped up to the plate after Padres' manager intentionally walked two hitters to get to him. Aaron answered Black in grand style.

Miles, Ludwick, Glaus go deep in Cards win

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 17:14:24 -0500

The Cardinals scored as many runs today as they did in last night's game, but had to wonder if the Bucs' bats heat up to ruin their offensive work. (photo by David Watson)

NoteCARDS v Pirates Final Cards 11, Bucs 6

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 15:47:48 -0500

Inning notes from today's Cardinals/Pirates game.

MLB Sets New Interleague Attendance Record

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:36:12 -0500

Major League Baseball has set new records for total and average attendance during Interleague Play (8,893,312 and 35,573, respectively), eclipsing the previous marks (8,795,939 and 34,905) set last season. It marks the third straight season that MLB has set new highs for attendance during Interleague Play and the fifth straight year that the total Interleague attendance has increased. One Interleague game still remains (the July 10th make-up of the June 26th NYY-PIT rainout). The 2008 Interleague average of 35,573 per game is 15.9 percent higher than this season’s current intraleague average of 30,689 per game. Since its inception in 1997, Interleague Play has drawn 12.5 percent more fans than intraleague games; Interleague Play has averaged 33,250 fans per game, compared to the intraleague average of 29,563 fans per game during the same span. Overall this season, MLB’s cumulative average attendance is 31,687 fans per game (38,784,809 fans over 1,224 dates), representing a 0.6 percent increase over the same date during the record-breaking 2007 season and currently putting MLB on track for a fifth consecutive year of record overall attendance. Thus far, the American League has posted 149-102 record in Interleague Play, marking the fifth straight season in which the A.L. has won the season-series and extending its all-time Interleague lead to 1,536-1,419 (.520). Eleven of the A.L.’s 14 Clubs finished over .500. A.L. Clubs collected a .275 batting average with 1,247 runs scored, 276 home runs and a 3.69 ERA, compared to the N.L.’s .251 batting average, 1,010 runs scored, 251 home runs and 4.56 ERA. With a 2.44 team ERA, the Minnesota Twins earned the top Interleague record with a 14-4 (.778) mark, followed by the Detroit Tigers and the Kansas City Royals, both of whom went 13-5 (.722). Overall, A.L. Central Clubs went 58-32 (.644) in Interleague Play, with four of its five Clubs going 12-6 or better. The New York Yankees, who were 10-7 in Interleague Play this year, have baseball’s best all-time Interleague record at 123-86 (.589), followed by the Oakland Athletics (10-8) at 123-89 (.580). The Cincinnati Reds and the New York Mets tied for the N.L.’s best Interleague mark with 9-6 records. The Florida Marlins, who went 5-10 in Interleague Play this year, still have the National League’s best all-time Interleague record at 110-91 (.547). Interleague Play’s all-time statistical leaders include Albert Pujols with a .350 batting average; Derek Jeter with 278 hits; Jim Thome with 55 home runs; Carlos Delgado with 153 RBI; Mike Mussina with 21 wins; Johan Santana with a 2.49 ERA; and Mariano Rivera with 55 saves. The Interleague leaders in 2008 were Aaron Miles of the St. Louis Cardinals with a .463 batting average; Dustin Pedroia of the Boston Red Sox with 36 hits; Jermaine Dye of the Chicago White Sox with eight home runs and 23 RBI; Mark Buehrle (4-0) of the White Sox, Andy Sonnanstine (4-0) of the Tampa Bay Rays and A.J. Burnett (4-1) of the Toronto Blue Jays with four wins; Jair Jurrjens of the Atlanta Braves with 0.00 ERA (min.: 1.0 IP per team’s games played); and George Sherrill of the Baltimore Orioles and Joakim Soria of the Kansas City Royals with seven saves apiece. Select Read More to see additional statistical data on 2008 Interleague Play.

JoeSportsFan On the Airwaves

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:13:14 -0500

Earlier this morning, Matt Sebek continued the weekly excellence in radio broadcast segments known as "Let's Go Blogging" on Team 1380 AM in St. Louis. We've politely provided you the bulk of the interview, which includes talk of the New Year's Day hockey game at Wrigley Field, the trade of C.C. Sabathia and a quick note on Aaron Miles' number one female fan (ahem).

Get to clickin' ya filthy animals.

Let's Go Blogging :: 07/08/08

[Interview run time under six minutes]