Monthly ArchiveApril 2006
Posted on April 30, 2006 by Andrew Flynn
Overnight Dispatches
Courtesty of RotoWorld:
Jason Vargas was pulled after giving up four runs — three earned — in 2 1/3 innings against the Rockies on Saturday. All four runs scored in the third. Ricky Nolasco came on, and the Marlins got out of the jam with a caught stealing and a fly out. That Vargas couldn’t do better than this against Colorado is discouraging, but NL-only leaguers will want him active for his upcoming start at Washington.
Thanks to Randy Winn’s defense in left field and Moises Alou’s walk-off homer, Armando Benitez picked up the victory in the Giants’ 3-2 defeat of the Diamondbacks on Saturday. In the top of the ninth, Winn made a sliding catch of a Shawn Green fly to left field and then went over the fence to rob Eric Byrnes of a homer, allowing Benitez to pitch a scoreless inning. Alou won it in the bottom of the ninth with a solo shot. We’re still not thrilled with the way Benitez is throwing, but he hasn’t allowed a run in 4 1/3 innings since coming off the disabled list.
Juan Cruz allowed one run and two hits over five innings against the Giants Saturday in his first major league start in 2 1/2 years. Cruz struck out three and walked none. He’s quite a sleeper now that he’s in the rotation, and it’d be a good idea to pick him up in any NL-only leagues in which he’s still available. That said, it probably isn’t worth using him right now.
Prince Fielder hit two of the Brewers’ six homers in a 16-2 shellacking of the Cubs on Saturday. Rickie Weeks, Bill Hall, Carlos Lee and J.J. Hardy also homered. It was Fielder’s first ever two-homer game. Both homers came off Glendon Rusch, so four of his five homers this year have come off lefties. He’s batting .348.
Doug Davis walked five more batters today, but he only gave up one run in 6 1/3 innings against the Cubs. That was more than good enough to earn him his first win of the season. Davis still won’t be recommended until he demonstrates better command. He’s walked 26 batters in 31 innings.
Tom Glavine pitched seven innings and combined with Aaron Heilman and Billy Wagner on a five-hitter as the Mets beat the Braves 1-0 on Saturday night. Glavine earned this after taking a loss in a duel with Tim Hudson 10 days ago. He barely outpitched John Thomson for the win tonight, making him 3-2 with a 2.29 ERA.
Posted on April 30, 2006 by Andrew Flynn
April 30th - Standings and Statistics
Standings: 3-Way Tie for 4th Place - 69.5 points, with Pi Train and X-Men 8.5 out of first GOK 78 / C0 75.5 / SJ 74.5 / 3-Way Tie / Maxell 65 HR AVG RBI R SB W ERA WHIP K'S S -- --- --- --- --- --- ---- ----- --- --- 37 .2633 164 154 26 10 3.59 1.348 136 8 5TH 9TH 1ST 2ND 1ST 9TH 3RD 6TH 9TH T-4 BOX SCORE FOR 04.29 Atomic Roadrunners ab r h bi | bb so avg --------------------------------------------------------- Mike Lieberthal Phi C 3 0 1 0 | 0 1 .296 Prince Fielder Mil 1B 5 3 2 3 | 1 0 .348 Jeff Kent LAD 2B 2 0 0 1 | 1 0 .195 Ryan Zimmerman Was 3B 4 0 0 0 | 0 0 .231 Khalil Greene SD SS 3 0 1 0 | 0 0 .205 Adrian Gonzalez SD 1B 3 0 0 1 | 0 1 .258 J.J. Hardy Mil SS 5 1 2 4 | 1 0 .281 Adam Dunn Cin OF 3 2 1 0 | 1 2 .266 Moises Alou SF OF 4 1 1 1 | 0 0 .366 Dave Roberts SD OF 4 0 0 0 | 0 0 .240 Jose Reyes NYM SS 3 0 0 0 | 1 0 .245 --------------------------------------------------------- Totals 39 7 8 10 | 5 4 .205 --------------------------------------------------------- RBI: PFielder 3(16), JKent 1(12), AGonzalez 1(12), JHardy 4(13), MAlou 1(24) 2B: JHardy 1(3), ADunn 1(2) HR: PFielder 2(5), JHardy 1(4), MAlou 1(7) ERRORS: PFielder 1(2) PITCHING ip h r er bb ibb so bf era whip ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Doug Davis W(1-2) 6.3 5 1 1 5 0 2 28 1.43 1.59 Armando Benitez W(1-0) 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0.00 0.00 Aaron Heilman Ho(5) 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 0.00 0.00 Jason Vargas 2.3 6 4 3 3 0 3 16 11.74 3.91 Danys Baez S(8) 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0.00 0.00 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Totals 11.6 11 5 4 8 0 8 53 3.10 1.64 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- RESERVE HITTING ab r h bi | bb so avg --------------------------------------------------------- Rich Aurilia Cin 2B 4 1 1 1 | 0 0 .300 --------------------------------------------------------- Totals 4 1 1 1 | 0 0 .250 --------------------------------------------------------- RBI: RAurilia 1(12) HR: RAurilia 1(4) GIDP: RAurilia 1(1) RESERVE PITCHING ip h r er bb ibb so bf era whip ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Juan Cruz 5.0 2 1 1 0 0 3 19 1.80 0.40 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Totals 5.0 2 1 1 0 0 3 19 1.80 0.40 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted on April 29, 2006 by Andrew Flynn
Overnight Dispatches
The Mets recalled Victor Diaz from Triple-A Norfolk Friday. Diaz was hitting only .188 in 32 at-bats before the promotion. Diaz is back with the Mets after 11 days in Triple-A, but it may be a short-term move, as the club will need to add a starter next Wednesday. In the meantime, he’ll serve as a reserve corner fielder and pinch-hitter.
Cody Ross was hit on the left hand while striking out swinging as a pinch-hitter Friday night, according to the AP. X-rays found no fracture. Ross, who was making his first appearance with the Reds, is day-to-day with a bruised hand.
Kerry Wood is scheduled to throw four innings Tuesday in a rookie-league game in Arizona, according to the AP. If he doesn’t have any problems, the Cubs hope to send him on a minor-league rehab assignment after thatRyan Zimmerman finished 2-for-5 with a two-run homer in Friday’s win over the Cardinals. Zimmerman still isn’t hitting particularly well, but he’s driven in 16 runs in 23 games. Because Nick Johnson has done such a tremendous job of getting on base and Jose Guillen never drives in anyone himself, Zimmerman has hit with RISP an awful lot this month.
Jeff DaVanon went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts on Friday and is in a 4-for-28 slump. Now that DaVanon has cooled off, it figures that Eric Byrnes will resume seeing more time in center field.
Moises Alou went 3-for-4 with a three-run homer, four RBI and a walk on Friday night. The homer followed an eighth-inning intentional walk to Barry Bonds and gave the Giants a 10-2 lead. With Bonds healthy, Alou has driven in 23 runs in 18 games.
Posted on April 29, 2006 by Andrew Flynn
April 29th - Standings and Statistics
Standings: Tied for 5th Place - 66.5 points, with Pi Train 14.5 out of first Shoeless 75 / X 68 / AARR / Pi Train / Maxell 60.5 HR AVG RBI R SB W ERA WHIP K'S S -- --- --- --- --- --- ---- ----- --- --- 33 .2655 154 147 26 8 3.62 1.330 128 7 6TH 9TH 1ST 2ND 1ST T-9 4TH 5TH 9TH T-6 BOX SCORE FOR 04.28 Atomic Roadrunners ab r h bi | bb so avg --------------------------------------------------------- Johnny Estrada Ari C 3 0 1 1 | 0 2 .250 Mike Lieberthal Phi C 3 0 0 1 | 0 1 .294 Prince Fielder Mil 1B 4 0 0 0 | 0 3 .345 Jeff Kent LAD 2B 4 0 1 0 | 0 0 .200 Ryan Zimmerman Was 3B 5 2 2 2 | 0 1 .241 Khalil Greene SD SS 3 0 1 0 | 0 0 .200 Adrian Gonzalez SD 1B 3 0 1 0 | 0 0 .267 J.J. Hardy Mil SS 3 0 1 0 | 1 0 .274 Adam Dunn Cin OF 3 1 1 0 | 2 1 .263 Moises Alou SF OF 4 1 3 4 | 1 0 .373 Dave Roberts SD OF 3 0 0 0 | 1 1 .254 Jeff DaVanon Ari OF 4 0 0 0 | 0 2 .311 Jose Reyes NYM SS 4 2 2 1 | 1 1 .253 --------------------------------------------------------- Totals 46 6 13 9 | 6 12 .283 --------------------------------------------------------- RBI: JEstrada 1(9), MLieberthal 1(6), RZimmerman 2(16), MAlou 4(23), JReyes 1(11) 2B: KGreene 1(4) 3B: JReyes 1(3) HR: RZimmerman 1(3), MAlou 1(6) GIDP: MLieberthal 1(2), JDaVanon 1(3) SB: JReyes 1(11) PITCHING ip h r er bb ibb so bf era whip ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Danys Baez S(7) 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0.00 0.00 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Totals 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0.00 0.00 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- RESERVE HITTING ab r h bi | bb so avg --------------------------------------------------------- Rich Aurilia Cin 2B 5 2 3 0 | 0 0 .303 Cody Ross Cin OF 1 0 0 0 | 0 1 .467 --------------------------------------------------------- Totals 6 2 3 0 | 0 1 .500 --------------------------------------------------------- RESERVE PITCHING ip h r er bb ibb so bf era whip ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Matt Herges L(0-2) 1.0 1 1 1 3 1 2 7 9.00 4.00 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Totals 1.0 1 1 1 3 1 2 7 9.00 4.00 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted on April 28, 2006 by Andrew Flynn
Overnight Dispatches
Juan Cruz has moved into the starting rotation for the Diamondbacks and will start on Saturday, taking Russ Ortiz’ slot in the rotation. Cruz has been a starter in the past and has a very lively arm, and could be worth a look in NL-only leagues. He will likely be held to about 80 pitches while making his first start since 2003 on Saturday. With Cruz now slated to start against the Giants on Saturday, Brandon Webb will have his next start bumped back to Sunday. Webb is 3-0 this year with a 2.21 ERA in five starts.
Aaron Cook was credited with his second win after allowing three runs — two earned — in seven innings versus the Phillies on Thursday. Jon Lieber matched Cook, but the Rockies went ahead with two runs off Ryan Franklin in the top of the eighth. Cook is 9-1 with a 3.33 ERA in his last 15 starts on the road.
Victor Diaz was expected to travel to Atlanta as a hedge in case the Mets placed Carlos Beltran or Brian Bannister on the disabled list, but there’s no guarantee that he will be activated, according to the New York Daily News. Even if Diaz was officially recalled, he might only stay active through Monday, when the team would then bring up a pitcher. If Brian Bannister is forced to go on the DL, the Mets could pull Aaron Heilman or Darren Oliver out of the bullpen to make a start. They could also choose to call someone up from the minors to take the ball.
Posted on April 28, 2006 by Andrew Flynn
April 28th - Standings and Statistics
Only two games yesterday, so the stats are a little light.
Standings: Tied for 5th Place - 65.5 points, with Maxell 18 out of first X 73.5 / Shoeless 72 / AARR / Maxell / Pi Train 62.5 HR AVG RBI R SB W ERA WHIP K'S S -- --- --- --- --- --- ---- ----- --- --- 31 .2647 145 141 25 8 3.63 1.337 128 6 6TH 9TH 1ST T-2 1ST T-9 3RD 6TH 9TH T-7 BOX SCORE FOR 04.27 Atomic Roadrunners ab r h bi | bb so avg --------------------------------------------------------- Ryan Zimmerman Was 3B 3 1 0 0 | 1 0 .232 --------------------------------------------------------- Totals 3 1 0 0 | 1 0 .000 --------------------------------------------------------- ERRORS: RZimmerman 1(1) RESERVE PITCHING ip h r er bb ibb so bf era whip ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Gary Majewski 1.0 3 3 3 2 0 1 8 27.00 5.00 Aaron Cook W(2-3) 7.0 6 3 2 1 0 5 28 2.57 1.00 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Totals 8.0 9 6 5 3 0 6 36 5.62 1.50 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted on April 27, 2006 by Andrew Flynn
BP Two-fer
In today’s Baseball Prospectus:
Will Carroll details the latest with Kerry Wood in Under the Knife:
If I told you who gave me the details on Kerry Wood, you wouldn’t believe me. Wood threw 39 pitches in a three-inning stint in Arizona giving up just one hit, striking out five and walking one. That’s not only good, it’s efficient. Doing that against Rookie Leaguers isn’t the same as doing it against major leaguers, but it’s certainly a promising start. It’s clear now that the setback Wood had was minor and that he is now ready for his first rehab start. Expect Wood to head to Double-A West Tenn sometime early next week to make the first of two rehab starts. If all goes to plan, Wood should be back in Chicago around May 12th.
Meanwhile, Christina Kharl details two moves in Transaction Analysis:
Reds - acquired OF-R Cody Ross from the Dodgers for a PTBNL
Scratch one old administration mistake, and kudos to GM Wayne Krivsky for making the right call. The decision to pick up Womack was indefensible from day one, especially since it cost the team Kevin Howard, when at most it should have been doing the Yankees a favor. To Krivsky’s credit, he nabbed Brandon Phillips when the Tribe gave up on him, giving the Reds an equally interesting prospect at the keystone. Add in that the Reds are replacing Womack on the active roster with a decent fourth outfield candidate in Ross, and it’s a roster move with all sorts of nice little gains to brag about. Ross isn’t like Phillips, a potential regular picked up before he hit the discard pile, but he does have more upside than any of the veteran stiffs the organization has had to use to stock the upper levels of their farm system. Since they’re comfortable with Ryan Freel in center, I wouldn’t second-guess their decision to leave Chris Denorfia in an everyday role in Louisville.
Padres - Activated CF-R Mike Cameron from the 15-day DL;
Just like that, the Pads have their outfield they way the initially wanted it, with Cameron in center, a semi, sorta, kinda top o’ the order platoon of Dave Roberts and Eric Young in left. It isn’t like anybody’s run away with the division in the meantime, and the only loose end left in the lineup is whether or not Adrian Gonzalez hits for power before Ryan Klesko comes back. If there’s a surprise, it’s that they still have Ben Johnson up in this situation, because it doesn’t seem likely that he’ll get all that much playing time as a fifth outfielder. Since this club still lacks a solid lefty bat off of the bench (curse you for leaving, Mark Sweeney), I wouldn’t be surprised at all if they end up eventually exchanging Johnson for Terrmel Sledge.
Posted on April 27, 2006 by Andrew Flynn
Overnight Dispatches
From RotoWorld:
Kerry Wood (shoulder) threw three scoreless innings during a rehab appearance with the rookie league Mesa Cubs on Wednesday. Wood reportedly touched 95 mph on the radar gun. He allowed one hit, one walk, and struck out five while throwing 39 pitches. This is a major step for Wood. If he has no soreness from the effort he could be out on a minor league rehab assignment very soon.
Victor Diaz is expected to join the Mets for this weekend’s series in Atlanta. Diaz will be on hand in case the Mets decide to put Carlos Beltran on the DL. Diaz will likely be sent back to Triple-A on Tuesday when the Mets activate a starting pitcher to fill in for Brian Bannister.
Despite three walks, Armando Benitez pitched two scoreless innings of relief Wednesday against the Mets. Benitez entered in the ninth with the Giants down by three. After the club tied it against Billy Wagner, he stayed in to work the 10th. It was Benitez’s first appearance since he earned a save on Saturday.
Jose Reyes went 2-for-5 with two walks and two stolen bases against the Giants on Wednesday. The two stolen bases give Reyes a major league-leading 10 on the season. He’s also walked seven times thus far after not walking more than eight times in any single month in 2005. Continued improvement in his plate discipline will lead to more stolen base opportunties in addition to more runs, so it’s something his owner should root for.
Dave Roberts returned to the lineup after missing Tuesday’s game with swelling in his left knee and singled once in four trips to the plate. He was expected to miss just one day with the injury, so he should be fine.
J.J. Hardy, who sat two of the last three games, returned to the starting lineup today and went 2-for-3 with a walk against the Braves. Hardy entered the day with a .256/.280/.397 line, so he’ll be happy with the two hits even if they were just singles. He was also caught stealing in the contest, but he’ll probably play over Bill Hall on Friday.
Mark Mulder held the Pirates to two runs in 7 2/3 innings of work on Wednesday but was not involved in the decision. Mulder left a 3-2 game in the eighth inning with a runner on first and Jason Bay at the plate. Reliever Braden Looper retired Bay to end the inning, but closer Jason Isringhausen blew his second save of the season in the ninth when he yielded a two-out solo homer to Jose Hernandez. Mulder put 10 men on base in the outing, but he held the Pirates to just the two runs thanks to four double play balls. He’s 2-0 with a 3.53 ERA in five starts this season.
Posted on April 27, 2006 by Andrew Flynn
April 27th - Standings and Statistics
Standings: 5th Place - 66 points, 19 out of first Shoeless 68 / AARR / Maxell 65 / Pi Train 61 HR AVG RBI R SB W ERA WHIP K'S S -- --- --- --- --- --- ---- ----- --- --- 31 .2656 145 140 25 8 3.63 1.337 128 6 6TH 9TH 1ST 2ND 1ST T-9 3RD 6TH 9TH T-7 BOX SCORE FOR 04.26 Atomic Roadrunners ab r h bi | bb so avg --------------------------------------------------------- Mike Lieberthal Phi C 4 1 3 1 | 0 0 .312 Prince Fielder Mil 1B 4 0 1 1 | 0 0 .361 Jeff Kent LAD 2B 1 0 0 0 | 0 0 .197 Ryan Zimmerman Was 3B 3 0 1 0 | 0 1 .241 Khalil Greene SD SS 2 0 0 0 | 1 2 .194 Adrian Gonzalez SD 1B 4 0 0 0 | 0 2 .265 J.J. Hardy Mil SS 3 0 2 0 | 1 1 .272 Adam Dunn Cin OF 5 1 3 0 | 0 1 .260 Moises Alou SF OF 6 1 3 2 | 0 0 .349 Dave Roberts SD OF 4 0 1 0 | 0 0 .265 Jeff DaVanon Ari OF 5 0 0 0 | 0 2 .333 Jose Reyes NYM SS 5 1 2 1 | 2 0 .242 --------------------------------------------------------- Totals 46 4 16 5 | 4 9 .348 --------------------------------------------------------- RBI: MLieberthal 1(5), PFielder 1(13), MAlou 2(19), JReyes 1(10) 2B: MLieberthal 1(6), MAlou 1(2) SB: JReyes 2(10) CS: JHardy 1(1) PITCHING ip h r er bb ibb so bf era whip ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Dan Wheeler 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 0.00 1.00 Armando Benitez 2.0 1 0 0 3 1 2 10 0.00 2.00 Aaron Heilman BS(1) 2.0 2 1 1 1 0 3 9 4.50 1.50 Mark Mulder 7.7 5 2 2 5 0 1 29 2.34 1.30 Matt Wise Ho(4) 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 0.00 0.00 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Totals 13.7 9 3 3 9 1 8 55 1.97 1.31 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- RESERVE PITCHING ip h r er bb ibb so bf era whip ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Matt Herges Ho(4) 0.3 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0.00 0.00 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Totals 0.3 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0.00 0.00 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted on April 26, 2006 by Andrew Flynn
RotoAuthority Notes
Tim Dierkes has some notes on the Roadrunners, including some perspective on Doug Davis:
Doug Davis has made five starts, and in only one of them has he kept his walks to an acceptable level. With a 1.95 WHIP, Davis could throw a perfect game and still have a WHIP over 1.40. Has Davis ever had a month this bad before? Well, he had a 5.40 ERA and 1.61 WHIP in April of 2005. He also had a 5.46 ERA and 1.50 WHIP in April of 2004. Good pitchers can have lousy months. Time for Mike Maddux to earn his paycheck and turn this thing around. Davis gets too many Ks to consider cutting.
Stephen Drew, Diamondbacks, SS. With his cheap contract, good defense, and decent on-base skills, Craig Counsell should be dealt by Arizona this summer. Drew will become the full-time shortstop at that point. If his .309/.351/.588 line (6 HR) is any indication, he’ll start hitting right away.
Posted on April 26, 2006 by Andrew Flynn
Overnight Dispatches
From RotoWorld:
Kerry Wood (shoulder) will pitch in a rookie league game for the Mesa Cubs on Wednesday. This appearance should be limited to around 60-70 pitches. If it goes well his next outing could be lengthened to around 80 pitches. He remains on pace to be back in the majors by mid-May at the latest.
Brewers manager Ned Yost has Bill Hall starting over J.J. Hardy for the second time in three games tonight. Hardy, who struggled throughout the first half of 2005, is currently batting .256/.280/.397. The Brewers aren’t going to give Hall the starting job, but Hardy could sit two or three times per week until he starts producing.
Padres CF Dave Roberts was out of yesterday’s lineup due to swelling in his left knee. He is expected back Wednesday.
Posted on April 26, 2006 by Andrew Flynn
April 26th - Standings and Statistics
Standings: 7th Place - 65 points, 16.5 out of first Maxell 68 / Shoeless 66.5 / Pi Train 65.5 / AaRr 65 HR AVG RBI R SB W ERA WHIP K'S S -- --- --- --- --- --- ---- ----- --- --- 31 .2614 140 136 23 8 3.76 1.339 120 6 6TH 9TH 1ST 2ND 1ST 9TH 3RD 7TH 9TH T-7 BOX SCORE FOR 04.25 Atomic Roadrunners ab r h bi | bb so avg --------------------------------------------------------- Johnny Estrada Ari C 3 0 0 1 | 1 0 .245 Mike Lieberthal Phi C 0 0 0 0 | 0 0 .273 Prince Fielder Mil 1B 4 0 1 1 | 0 0 .367 Jeff Kent LAD 2B 5 0 1 2 | 1 1 .200 Ryan Zimmerman Was 3B 3 1 2 2 | 1 0 .237 Khalil Greene SD SS 3 0 1 0 | 0 0 .200 Adrian Gonzalez SD 1B 4 0 0 0 | 0 1 .278 Adam Dunn Cin OF 2 2 0 0 | 1 1 .235 Moises Alou SF OF 2 0 1 0 | 1 1 .333 Jose Reyes NYM SS 4 1 1 0 | 0 0 .233 --------------------------------------------------------- Totals 30 4 7 6 | 5 4 .233 --------------------------------------------------------- RBI: JEstrada 1(8), PFielder 1(12), JKent 2(11), RZimmerman 2(14) 2B: KGreene 1(3) HR: RZimmerman 1(2) GIDP: PFielder 1(2), RZimmerman 1(2) SB: RZimmerman 1(2), JReyes 1(8) PITCHING ip h r er bb ibb so bf era whip ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Dan Wheeler Ho(5) 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0.00 0.00 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Totals 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0.00 0.00 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- RESERVE HITTING ab r h bi | bb so avg --------------------------------------------------------- Rich Aurilia Cin 2B 4 2 2 0 | 0 0 .279 --------------------------------------------------------- Totals 4 2 2 0 | 0 0 .500 --------------------------------------------------------- 2B: RAurilia 1(4) SB: RAurilia 1(1) RESERVE PITCHING ip h r er bb ibb so bf era whip ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Gary Majewski 1.7 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 0.00 0.00 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Totals 1.7 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 0.00 0.00 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted on April 25, 2006 by Andrew Flynn
Jose Reyes’ Appointment with Destiny
Baseball Prospectus writer Jim Baker had this tidbit in Prospectus Matchps:
All this talk of batting lines has gotten me to thinking about what Jose Reyes has been up to. Until he did not start Sunday night’s game in San Diego, he was on a streak that saw him make at least three outs in 13 consecutive games. This is nothing like a record, but it shows that Reyes has not lost his out-making touch. Last year, he tied for the third-most outs in a single season:
Top 10 Outmakers of the 20th & 21st Centuries
551: Omar Moreno, Pittsburgh (1980)
530: Horace Clarke, New York Yankees (1970)
529: Jose Reyes, New York Mets (2005)
529: Omar Moreno, Pittsburgh (1982)
529: Sandy Alomar, California (1971)
528: Omar Moreno, Pittsburgh (1979)
528: Sandy Alomar, California (1970)
526: Juan Samuel, Philadelphia (1984)
525: Alfredo Griffin, Toronto (1980)
521: Bobby Richardson, New York Yankees (1964)
521: Roger Metzger, Houston (1972)This season, Reyes has an outside shot of bettering them all, even the grand imperial high-exalted most excellent master himself: Omar Moreno. A number of things have to align just so for Reyes to make this happen. His manager,Willie Randolph, must continue to ignore all appeals to reason and bat him leadoff. He has to start every day and refrain from walking–something he hasn’t had a problem with in the past. He himself has to maintain a batting average in the .240 range. The Mets need to score enough runs so that he’s getting five at bats rather than four (or play a lot of extra inning games). Reyes is a high-percentage base stealer, something Moreno was not, so he’s not going to generate many outs that way. At this moment, projecting from what Reyes has done in the first 19 games, he would make 554 outs in 2006, a new all-time record. (Yes, it’s a small sample size, but it’s one that does not run counter to past performance.)
There really isn’t a lot of play there, so it seems unlikely he’ll achieve outmaking immortality in 2006. A more likely eventuality is that he betters last year’s total but falls short of Moreno’s grandeur. In other words: look out Horace Clarke!
Of course, this doesn’t mean as much in Rotisserie, where his steals make him quite valuable, hence the $38 price tag this season.
Posted on April 25, 2006 by Andrew Flynn
Overnight Dispatches
From RotoWorld:
Victor Diaz could be called up if the Mets decide to put Carlos Beltran on the DL. Diaz would likely get the nod over top prospect Lastings Milledge, who would have to be added to the 40-man roster if they called him up.
Moises Alou went 3-for-4 with a home run and five RBI in the Giants’ 6-2 win over the Mets on Monday night. Both Alou’s three-run homer and his two-run single immediately followed intentional walks to Barry Bonds. Tom Glavine’s move to walk Bonds in the first wasn’t completely intentional, as the at-bat was only conceded after Bonds got to three balls. The seventh-inning walk was intentional all the way, even though Lance Niekro was on first at the time. This is how Alou was expected to benefit when he agreed to join the Giants prior to last season. He’s driven in 17 runs in 15 games in 2006 after managing just 63 RBI with Bonds missing most of 2005. Alou probably won’t remain healthy enough to play in more that 130-140 games, but 100 RBI could be within reach anyway, assuming that Bonds also stays relatively healthy.
Brandon Webb pitched into the ninth and allowed just one run in a win over the Padres on Monday night. Webb was removed after back-to-back singles from pinch-hitter Mark Bellhorn and Dave Roberts to begin the ninth. Jose Valverde came on to strike out Josh Barfield and Brian Giles before a flyout to left from Mike Piazza ended the game. Webb is 3-0 with a 2.21 ERA. He’s fanned a surprisingly low 20 batters in 37 2/3 innings, but he’s also walked only five. It’s a good trade-off.
Johnny Estrada doubled twice and drove in two runs against the Padres on Monday night. After a dreadful start, Estrada has two homers, three doubles and seven RBI in five games. Even though he won’t start versus left-handers, he should remain a reliable fantasy catcher in NL-only leagues and two-catcher mixed leagues.
Even though he was magnificent against the Pirates two days ago, Taylor Buchholz won’t make his next start until Sunday. He’ll be working on seven days’ rest because of Thursday’s off day. The Astros will keep skipping starters when possible, but it figures to be Fernando Nieve who is moved back most of the time.
Jason Vargas pitched one-hit ball over 6 1/3 scoreless innings versus the Cubs in a no-decision Monday. Matt Herges and Josh Johnson combined to blow a three-run lead. Vargas walked four and hit a batter, preventing him from lasting longer. He currently has an 11/17 K/BB ratio in 21 1/3 innings. As a rookie in 2005, he finished at 59/31 in 73 2/3 innings. Vargas should have value in NL-only leagues this year, but he’s a questionable start against better offensive teams at the moment. Fortunately, he gets the Rockies in Florida next.
Reds acquired outfielder Cody Ross from the Dodgers for a player to be named. Ross’ ability to play all three outfield spots makes him useful as a fifth outfielder, though he wouldn’t be a good choice to play center field on any sort of regular basis. He may have some fantasy value if Ken Griffey Jr. gets hurt again, but the Reds will likely continue to go with Ryan Freel as Griffey’s primary backup, and should another spot open up, Chris Denorfia could be an option over Ross.
Posted on April 25, 2006 by Andrew Flynn
April 25th - Standings and Statistics
Standings: 4th Place - 69 points, 14 out of first HR AVG RBI R SB W ERA WHIP K'S S -- --- --- --- --- --- ---- ----- --- --- 30 .2624 134 132 21 8 3.78 1.347 119 6 6TH 9TH 1ST 1ST 1ST T-8 3RD 6TH 9TH T-6 BOX SCORE FOR 04.24 Atomic Roadrunners ab r h bi | bb so avg --------------------------------------------------------- Johnny Estrada Ari C 4 0 2 2 | 0 0 .260 Mike Lieberthal Phi C 3 0 0 0 | 0 0 .273 Prince Fielder Mil 1B 3 1 3 0 | 0 0 .373 Jeff Kent LAD 2B 3 1 0 0 | 1 1 .200 Ryan Zimmerman Was 3B 4 0 0 0 | 0 0 .219 Adrian Gonzalez SD 1B 3 0 0 0 | 0 1 .293 J.J. Hardy Mil SS 4 0 0 0 | 0 2 .256 Adam Dunn Cin OF 4 0 0 1 | 0 1 .242 Moises Alou SF OF 4 1 3 5 | 0 0 .327 Dave Roberts SD OF 4 0 2 0 | 0 0 .266 Jeff DaVanon Ari OF 5 1 1 0 | 0 0 .365 Jose Reyes NYM SS 4 1 1 1 | 0 1 .232 --------------------------------------------------------- Totals 45 5 12 9 | 1 6 .267 --------------------------------------------------------- RBI: JEstrada 2(7), ADunn 1(15), MAlou 5(17), JReyes 1(9) 2B: JEstrada 1(2) HR: MAlou 1(5) GIDP: JKent 1(2), AGonzalez 1(3), ADunn 1(1) SB: PFielder 1(2), JReyes 1(7) CS: DRoberts 1(1) PITCHING ip h r er bb ibb so bf era whip ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Dan Wheeler 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 2 4 0.00 1.00 Aaron Heilman 0.7 1 0 0 1 1 1 4 0.00 2.86 Jason Vargas 6.3 1 0 0 4 0 2 25 0.00 0.79 Brandon Webb W(3-0) 8.0 6 1 1 0 0 4 28 1.12 0.75 Matt Wise Ho(3) 1.0 1 1 0 1 0 0 5 0.00 2.00 Danys Baez S(6) 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.00 0.00 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Totals 18.0 10 2 1 6 1 9 68 0.50 0.89 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- RESERVE HITTING ab r h bi | bb so avg --------------------------------------------------------- Rich Aurilia Cin 2B 1 0 0 0 | 0 0 .263 --------------------------------------------------------- Totals 1 0 0 0 | 0 0 .000 --------------------------------------------------------- RESERVE PITCHING ip h r er bb ibb so bf era whip ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Matt Herges Ho(3) 0.7 1 2 2 1 0 1 4 25.71 2.86 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Totals 0.7 1 2 2 1 0 1 4 25.71 2.86 ----------------------------------------------------------------------