Tuesday Update

The two worst teams in the AL could end up playing large roles in the Wild Card picture this week:

• The league-worst Royals meet the Wild Card-leading Twins for three games starting tonight. The Royals are throwing staff ace(?) Mark Redman (5.85 ERA) up against youngster Matt Garza (6.59 ERA), who is coming off of his first successful major league start. Since the All-Star break and more importantly the emergence of third baseman Mark Teahen, the Royals haven't been as dreadful as many people give them credit for. True, their pitching is still abysmal most of the time, but the lineup has some interesting pieces in David DeJesus and the aforementioned Teahen. Teahen hasn't been merely good since his return from Omaha, he's been incredible. Since his callup, Teahen is hitting .324/.401/.585 and posting a fielding RATE of 109. Not all is depressing in KC.

• The Devil Rays are by all accounts a horrible team, although the discarding of Russell Branyan and callup of Delmon Young are steps in the right direction. Once retreads like Travis Lee and Greg Norton are excorsized from the roster, the team can really start to look towards, say, not losing 100 games every year. The White Sox host the D'Rays tonight as Casey Fossum takes on Freddy Garcia. The White Sox pitching woes have kept them a game behind the Twins in the Wild Card to this point, and things aren't looking too rosy for Ozzie's Sox. Care to field a guess on who possesses the lower ERA between tonight's two starters? A hint: it's not Freddy Garcia.

Monday Update

• David Wright had a good day today, notching an RBI in a Mets win over the Phillies. However, Wright hasn't enjoyed many good days at the plate since his torrid first half. Looking over the splits, the discrepancy between Wright's first-half numbers and his numbers since the All-Star break is glaring. Pre All-Star, Wright posted a line of .316/.386/.575 with 20 home runs. Since then the Mets' third baseman is hitting .241/.331/.358 with only two home runs. Essentially, a third of Wright's production has been shaved off. Since posting a 1.049 OPS in June, Wright has steadily declined, case in point being his .563 mark in August. Around the trade deadline much was made of Bobby Abreu's atrophied skillset and the home run derby's effect on his power numbers. It appears David Wright may have the same problem to a much greater degree. Wright hasn't been horrible in the on-base department, but his .358 slugging percentage since the break speaks volumes about his power struggles. Wright's difficulties lead me to wonder why we heard so much about the "failure" that was Alex Rodriguez and his .694 OPS in June. Could be the salary, but still...I'd rather be a Yankee fan than a Mets fan right now.

• The Red Sox have their backs against the wall tonight as they head to Oakland for the first of three. Tonight has bad news written all over it for the Sox considering Jon Lester has been scratched and is being replaced by emergency callup Kason Gabbard. True, Lester hasn't been good in a few starts, and the rest is probably a good call after taking into account the hopelessness of the Red Sox' situation. Boston will have its hands full against Esteban Loaiza tonight. The usually horrible Loaiza has been strangely outstanding of late, heading into tonight hoping to finish August without a loss. Loaiza has held hitters to a .229 batting average in the last month, ceding only 1.77 earned runs per nine innings. After stringing together three months worth of atrocious pitching and effectively scutting the A's chances every fifth day, Loaiza's hot streak has helped the A's take a strong hold of the AL West playoff spot.

Sunday Update

• The Cardinals have an opportunity to put even more distance between themselves and the pack in the NL Central tonight. The Reds suffered a defeat at the hands of the Giants for the third straight day. With a win, the Cardinals will move three games up on the Reds and seven up on the third-place Astros. Tonight's assignment isn't the toughest, as the Cubs are throwing yet another rookie on the fire in the guise of Les Walrond. I'm rooting for the 29 year-old Walrond tonight not only because he's been an organizational soldier for forever and a day but because he is a former Kansas Jayhawk. I've been waiting all year for the Cubs to call Walrond up to assist their depleted pitching staff, and it appears today is the day. Walrond has been decent if a bit wild in the minors this year, and he hasn't been too horrible tonight. He's a lefty with a pretty good curveball and a low-90's fastball that lacks movement. Walrond has given up two runs in just over two innings thus far, although the runs came on an egregious Jacque Jones error out in right field. I'm also rooting vehemently against the Cardinals because Tony LaRussa is using Preston Wilson in the leadoff spot tonight. Tony LaRussa: complete idiot.

• The Phillies picked up another ancient but useful part today, stealing Jeff Conine from the Orioles for cash considerations. The Orioles had no use for Conine, so it was nice of them to let him finish up with a contender. The Phils aren't weak at the corner outfield spots, but they could use some depth off of the bench to counteract Charlie Manuel's regularization of the uber-horrible Abraham Nunez. At this point in his career Conine is suited perfectly for this sort of role, and the Phillies are certainly the better for this acquisition.

Saturday Wrapup

For the second straight day, things didn't go all that well for the top two teams in the AL East.

• The Yankees lost to the Angels, bringing their season mark to 3-6 against Los Angeles. The Yankee hitters did an admirable job of playing catchup all day but the New York pitching proved too abysmal to overcome. Cory Lidle had his first disaster as a Yankee, leaving in the 4th after allowing five across the plate. Aside from recent callup Brian Bruney, the New York relievers were miserable as well. Four Yankee pitchers allowed seven runs in four and a third innings, allowing twelve baserunners in the process. It looks like the Yankees' pen problems can be traced back to the lack of rest that last weekend's monster series in Boston allowed for. Normally accountable pitchers like Ron Villone and Mike Myers have been horrid of late, today being the most recent example. Matt Karstens is scheduled to start tomorrow for the Yankees, but I don't think the bleeding will stop until the team gets a day off to rest their weary arms.

•  Fortunately for the Yankees, the Red Sox are in a vessel in a similar state of disrepair. However, the Red Sox' boat has already taken on about five and a half games of water. For the second straight night, the Red Sox failed to defeat a fairly mediocre Seattle team. The Red Sox didn't crush the ball by any means today, picking up seven hits and three runs. It was the pitching that was most frustrating for the BoSox, however, as they surrendered the lead on three different occasions en route to a 4-3 loss. David Wells, who seems to be rounding (har har har) into playing shape, gave Boston seven good innings but Mike Timlin let the M's back into the picture on the shoulders of an Adrian Beltre home run and a sacrifice fly. The 40 year-old Timlin has looked weary of late, perhaps because of last weekend's marathon series. No matter how you slice it, the Red Sox and Yankees are both struggling. Thanks to a fairly plush cushion of five and a half games, however, the Yankees don't have nearly the cause for panic that the Sox do.
  

The Angels and the Mariners are most likely not playoff-bound. However, they aren't bad teams in any way, shape, or form. Teams with good bullpens and decent lineups can and will turn out to be pretty darn annoying to the contending teams as we move into the final month of the season.

Friday Update

• The huge - nay, gargantuan series of the weekend starts tonight in Chicago where the Twins will try to flip the AL Wild Card over and take the lead over the White Sox. Tonight it's 'Advantage: Twins' with the steady Brad Radke throwing against Javier Vazquez. Vazquez has often been shaky this season as his 5.13 ERA suggests. His performances against the Twins haven't been pretty by any account, as he's racked up an ERA of 6.87 in six career starts. Watching Vazquez work, it's apparent that he is a decent enough pitcher. He gets many strikeouts, generally issues few walks, and has great movement on his fastball. His problem area has been the gopher ball, as he has given up more than one per 9 innings for five straight seasons. The Twins' lineup is not overly power-centric, but Justin Morneau and Torii Hunter are both in the midst of hot streaks and could do some harm to Vazquez if he doesn't work down in the zone. Brad Radke, a 33 year-old in what appears to be his last season, has enjoyed a successful and resurgent campaign in 2006. After an abysmal start to the season, Radke has righted both his own ship and the team's, using his pinpoint control and mean change-up to put up another year of league-average or better performance. Wracked by injury, Radke is clearly not the same pitcher he has been, as his .303 BAA and 4.8 K's per 9 IP suggest. However, he's been an important a cog as any in a Minnesota machine that could very well be playoff bound.

Thursday Wrapup

A quick rundown of today's happenings:

• The Twins kept pace with the White Sox, beating up on Kris Benson and the O's to remain half a game back in the Wild Card. Rookie Boof Bonser threw his finest game thus far, going 6+ with only two runs allowed.
• Much thanks to Bill Hall and Prince Fielder's home runs, Tomo Ohka survived a rough start against the Rockies as the Brewers pulled off the sweep with a 12-6 victory.
• The Cubs absolutely annihilated Cole Hamels and his Phillie phriends, hitting four home runs and scoring 11 times. Hamels didn't register a strikeout in what was an ugly 2+.
• Pittsburgh took the first of a four game series, coming from behind against the desperate Astros. Wandy Rodriguez was decent but the Houston offense couldn't solve Pat Maholm. Maholm is one of a few good young arms up in Pittsburgh (Gorzelanny, Duke, Snell).
• The Cardinals once again proved horrible in a 6-2 loss to the Mets. The loss means that with a win tonight in San Fran, the Reds will move into a tie for the NL Central lead. Marquis was bad in this one, as he always is.
• Having become irrelevant in the AL West race, the Rangers salvaged the final game of four in Tampa Bay. Robinson Tejeda was strong for the second straight start. There's always '08.
• Kansas City hung tough with Cleveland for most of the game but lost 8-4 thanks to an ugly showing by bullpen-er Ambiorix Burgos. Indians' youngsters Andy Marte and Ryan Garko enjoyed solid nights, going a combined 5-of-8 with four RBI.
• The Giants are staying hot, beating Cincy 3-2 in the 6th. As mediocre and geriatric as San Fransico is, a series sweep would bring them even with Cincinnati.
  
• Jarrod Washburn just exited in the 7th after striking out 10 Yankees and yielding only 2 runs. The M's lead 4-2.
• David Ortiz' 46th homer stands as the difference in the Boston-Los Angeles matchup, 2-0 in the 7th.

• The Mets stayed busy, DFA'ing recent pickup Ricky Ledee after picking up Shawn Green. Ledee was bad - this makes sense. Lastings Milledge was sent down to AAA. Michael Tucker is bad - this does not make much sense. Ramon Castro, one of the better backup backstops in the bigs, heads to the 60-day DL, replaced by Kelly Stinnett.
  

Thursday Update

• Jermaine Dye absolutely exploded today, hitting two home runs and a double in the White Sox' 10-0 obliteration of the AL Central-leading Tigers. Although Jon Garland's complete game shutout might have been the White Sox' best individual performance today, Dye's big day is important. Having lost Jim Thome for a few games with some sort of leg injury, the White Sox needed someone to step into the #3 hole vacated by Thome. Dye accepted the invitation and more. What was an incredible 3-4-5 mix with Thome, Konerko, and Dye is only slightly less dangerous with the shuffling-in of third baseman Joe Crede. Crede, though normally a #6 or #7 place hitter, is no slouch. He and his .540 slugging percentage certainly can drive in some runs. Also looking up for the White Sox: Brian Anderson. After catching everything in his general vicinity but struggling to stay above .200 for the first several months of the season, his hitting is finally catching up with his glove work. Anderson's OPS has increased steadily with each passing month this season, rising from an anemic .572 May figure to the considerably more passable .797 and .801 in July and August, respectively. Chicago GM Kenny Williams should be commended for his persistence in sticking with the much maligned Anderson, even when the press was calling for a veteran import via trade. I still like the Twins' bullpen, but the White Sox have got some darn good hitters.
  

Wednesday Wrapup

• Matt Garza gave the Twins exactly the lift they needed today with six strong innings and his first big league win. Garza only struck out one Oriole hitter, but worked in and around the strike zone and only threw a total of 80 pitches. Regardless of the Twins' problems at the back end of the rotation, they possess something that few teams do: a serviceable bullpen. Tonight, Ron Gardenhire threw his 'big-game' guys at the Orioles, sending Pat Neshek, Dennys Reyes, Juan Rincon, and Joe Nathan to the hill. All of these guys have been more than solid this season, and they all possess ERAs below 2.44. Nathan is easily the most underrated closer in the bigs, ranking second to Jonathan Papelbon in WXRL while only earning half the accolades pitchers like Bobby Jenks (6th in WXRL) and Billy Wagner (7th) have garnered. The AL Central race is split between three teams with above-average bullpens. The White Sox have shut down set-up men Riske and MacDougal, the Tigers' Fernando Rodney and Joel Zumaya, and the Twins the reliable Nathan. The Tigers are by far and away the best complete team of the three, but if the Wild Card ends up being decided by the bullpens, I'm definitely not putting my money on Bobby Jenks and Co.

• As I guessed in the previous post, Mark Mulder didn't have a good night in New York. Mulder was shelled to the tune of nine runs in three innings. The Cards' bullpen kept them in the game, but the Mets pulled a second straight win from under the Cardinals, who should feel lucky they don't have any good teams nipping at their heels.
  

Wednesday Update

Two big-name starting pitchers, Mark Mulder and Gustavo Chacin, make their returns from the DL this evening. The Blue Jays are out of the AL picture, but the Cardinals still have some baseball to play between now and the postseason.

• The day began with the Cardinals only one game up on Cincinnati, trying to recover from a come-from-behind beating at the hands of Carlos Beltran. However, the Reds managed to fall to the Astros this afternoon, giving the Cards a bit of reprieve. All signs point to tonight's game being an ugly one for Mulder. The big lefty struggled all season leading up to his injury, pitching his way to a 6.09 ERA with the help of a mediocre 4.9 strikeouts per 9 innings. Mulder looked rusty in two Triple-A rehab starts, allowing 11 hits and issuing nine walks in eight innings of work. On top of all of this, Mulder's only previous experience at Shea stadium was a shellacking that resulted in six runs being scored over the course of five innings. This game certainly means a bit more for the Cardinals than for the Mets, who recieved some good news concerning Tom Glavine and their chances in the playoffs.

• Speaking of the Mets: New York acquired outfielder Shawn Green from the Diamondbacks for a Triple-A pitcher yesterday. Shawn Green isn't much of a hitter (.259 Park-Adjusted EQA), and he's a horrid fielder (91 RATE), but with Cliff Floyd's health remaining a question mark, Green represents a viable alternative to Endy Chavez/Michael Tucker. Looking forward, the Mets are only paying approximately half of Green's 2007 salary, and he's a guy who could be useful in a reduced role while Lastings Milledge rounds into form. If anyone loses in this deal its the Diamondbacks, who waited about a month too long to unload Shawn Green. Carlos Quentin is obviously now and forever the better player. More playing time for Quentin earlier in the season may have resulted in more runs scored, more wins, and a smaller deficit in the Wild Card race.
  
  

Tuesday Wrapup

• The Texas Rangers entered the week with an outside shot at a playoff berth, but have effectively dashed any hope by dropping two straight to the Devil Rays. The Rangers wasted a decent outing from Vicente Padilla tonight, failing to plate a single run against an atrocious Tampa Bay bullpen. Padilla, true to form, hit two D-Rays with pitches and allowed 10 hits but kept Texas in the game and headed for the showers with the score a three-all tie. Ron Mahay gave up a solo shot to Travis Lee to begin the 8th, putting the game out of the Rangers' reach. One thing that occurred to me in looking over this box score is the divide between good, young players and bottom of the barrel veterans that populate the Tampa Bay roster. Some of the more exciting young players in the AL reside in Tampa, with speedsters Rocco Baldelli (.289/.331/.452) and Carl Crawford (.313/.360/.495), prospects B.J. Upton and Ben Zobrist, and the hugely underrated Scott Kazmir. In several weeks the D-Rays could also bring the always psychotic Delmon Young into the fold. These youngsters are juxtaposed with some of the trashiest of the trashy. The bottom of the Tampa Bay lineup features Travis Lee, Russell Branyan, Damon Hollins, and Tomas Perez. Throw Johnny Gomes into the mix, and you've got yourself five regulars on the same team who are all struggling to stay above the mendoza line. In late August.

• The Twins and White Sox both shot themselves in the foot tonight with weak offensive showings. The White Sox were stymied by Kenny Rogers and Fernando Rodney, while the Twins had the displeasure of facing rookie Adam Loewen at his best. The Tigers don't look to be in any danger of coughing up their division lead, so Detroit and Chicago are going to battle it out for the Wild Card. Who will take the prize is anyone's guess at this point.

• I'm watching Jeff Karstens' debut, and I'm impressed. The 23 year-old Yankee isn't exactly a top-flite prospect, coming from the 19th round of the draft and posting fairly pedestrian numbers at every stop on the farm. Karstens really needs to work on making sure he keeps his fastball down in the zone, because when elevated, its a pretty easy pitch to hit, as Richie Sexson and Adrian Beltre can attest. However, his curveball is excellent and he doesn't seem to have any trouble throwing it for a strike. Karstens' track record says #4 or #5 starter, but his stuff projects favorably.

Tuesday Preview

• The AL Central/Wild Card race stays interesting today, as the White Sox have a much tougher draw than the Twins this evening.
• In a battle of two second-half stragglers, Mark Buehrle faces Kenny Rogers tonight in Detroit. After punching the White Sox around yesterday, the Tigers hold a 6.5 game lead and plenty of confidence. The White Sox are only half of a game up on the Twins and coming off of a fairly brutal series loss in Minnesota. It's fair to say that this game is big for the Sox and Buehrle, who is trying to dig up some of the success he has enjoyed at earlier points in his career. Though Mike Maroth's rehab is taking a bit longer than expected, the Tigers' pitching situation is looking good, with Rogers being the least effective of the bunch. Despite being the weakest link in the Tigers' chain, Rogers is still a useful pitcher who can be counted on to at least keep things close for five innings every time out.
• The Twins are granted a prime opportunity to leapfrog the White Sox with a series in Baltimore. Admittedly, Baltimore hasn't been shabby of late, taking two of three from both the Yankees and Blue Jays in the past week. Carlos Silva meets Adam Loewen in a matchup that could result in some serious runs being plated. Despite his generally ugly numbers, the 22 year-old Loewen has improved his ERA every month this season, and has shown the ability to pick up strikeouts at a decent clip (8.1/9 IP).