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Daily ArchiveMonday, May 1st, 2006



Posted on May 1, 2006 by Andrew Flynn

Under the Knife

Will Carroll has an update on Kerry Wood:

Kerry Wood is a Lugnut. The plan is for him to be a Lugnut for a day, making his rehab start at Single-A on May 7th. He’ll follow that with an outing at Triple-A Iowa. Lansing gets Wood based more on schedule than anything; the team will be at home while the Cubs’ other lower affiliates are on the road. Wood is expected to go between 60 and 75 pitches in this outing, and he’ll throw all his pitches. It’d be interesting to know how teams fare in rehab starts. Does the team with the rehabber get the talent boost or does it throw their rotation/lineup off? Does the opponent step it up for the big leaguer (and scouts) or do they get blown away? We’ll have some sources in Lansing watching closely.

Posted on May 1, 2006 by Andrew Flynn

Overnight Dispatches

From RotoWorld:

The Mets are expected to option Victor Diaz back to Triple-A Norfolk after tonight’s game to clear a roster spot for John Maine, according to the New York Daily News. Diaz was just recalled on Friday.

Although Cody Ross was able to take some swings in the batting cage prior to Sunday’s game, he probably remains a day or two away from being available for pinch-hitting duty, according to the Cincinnati Post. Ross was clipped on his left pinky by a pitch on Friday, though X-rays were negative. “It feels better than it did (Saturday),” said Ross. “It’s still sore, still some swelling.

Ryan Zimmerman left the Nationals last night to fly to Detroit so he could attend his grandmother’s funeral, according to the Washington Post. He’ll miss today’s game but hopes to be back with the team tomorrow. Damian Jackson probably will start at third base in place of Zimmerman on Monday.  Zimmerman went 2-for-4 with his fourth homer of the season on Sunday. Zimmerman has driven in 17 runs, drawn 12 walks, and hit four homers and doubles thus far. He’s even added two stolen bases in three attempts. His only flaw has been that he’s hitting .242 thanks in large part to 27 strikeouts in 95 at-bats. The strikeouts should come down and the average should come up a little, but Zimmerman may not be ready to hit .280 at the big league level.

Juan Cruz performed well enough in his first major league start since 2003 on Saturday that he earned another start on Thursday, according to the Arizona Republic. “As of right now, Cruz is still in there,” manager Bob Melvin said. Cruz allowed just one earned run on two hits over five innings and allowed just one run. As long as he is in the rotation he will have value in NL-only leagues.

Moises Alou felt “a twinge in his left hip” in the ninth inning of Sunday’s game and said he’d likely need a day or two off. Look for Steve Finley to start Monday against the Padres.

Danys Baez was charged with a blown save after allowing two runs in the bottom of the ninth against the Padres on Sunday.  Lance Carter began the ninth in a 5-0 game by allowing all three batters he faced to reach base. Baez was called upon with the bases loaded and nobody out. A single, two walks, and two sacrifice flies scored all three inherited runners as well as two of his own. Baez was then removed for Tim Hamulack who struck out pinch-hitter Doug Mirabelli with the winning run on second. Hamulack went on to allow the winning run to score in the 10th.

Brandon Webb held the Giants to two runs in eight innings of work on Sunday to improve to 4-0 on the season. The Diamondbacks were up 7-1 in the top of the eighth with a runner on third and one out. Rather than pinch-hit for Webb manager Bob Melvin allowed him to deliver a sacrifice fly to make it 8-1. Webb had already thrown 93 pitches and the team was up seven runs, so we’re not quite sure why he needed to go out for the bottom of the eighth in an April game.

Johnny Estrada went 4-for-4 with a homer and four RBI as the Diamondbacks defeated the Giants 8-2 on Sunday. Estrada raised his average from .250 to .300 with the outing. All 13 RBI and three homers he’s collected this season have come in the last 11 days.

Taylor Buchholz recorded his second straight win by limiting the Reds to two runs in 6 1/3 innings of work on Sunday.  Buchholz left with runners on first and second with one out in the seventh, but reliever Chad Qualls quickly ended the rally. Buchholz wasn’t as sharp as he was last time out while walking four, striking out two, and throwing only 50-of-90 pitches for strikes, but his owners will certainly bank the outing. Despite his early successes, you’ll want to bench him for his next start in Coors Field against the Rockies.

Posted on May 1, 2006 by Andrew Flynn

May 1st - Standings and Statistics

Standings: 5th Place - 71 points
9 out of first
GOK 80 / SJ 76.5 / C0 74 / X 72 / AARR / Pi Train 69.5

HR   AVG   RBI   R   SB    W   ERA   WHIP   K'S   S
--   ---   ---  ---  ---  ---  ----  -----  ---  ---
40  .2643  173  161  26   12   3.59  1.328  143   8
T-4  9TH   1ST  T-2  1ST  T-7  3RD   5TH    9TH  T-4

BOX SCORE FOR 04.30
Atomic Roadrunners            ab  r  h  bi | bb so    avg
---------------------------------------------------------
Johnny Estrada       Ari  C    4  2  4   4 |  0  0   .300
Prince Fielder       Mil 1B    4  0  1   0 |  1  1   .344
Jeff Kent            LAD 2B    5  0  0   0 |  0  1   .183
Ryan Zimmerman       Was 3B    4  2  2   1 |  0  2   .242
Khalil Greene         SD SS    2  1  0   1 |  2  0   .200
Adrian Gonzalez       SD 1B    1  0  0   0 |  0  0   .256
Adam Dunn            Cin OF    4  1  1   2 |  0  0   .265
Victor Diaz          NYM OF    1  0  0   0 |  0  0   .182
Moises Alou           SF OF    4  0  1   0 |  0  0   .360
Dave Roberts          SD OF    3  0  0   0 |  1  0   .231
Jose Reyes           NYM SS    2  1  1   1 |  3  0   .250
---------------------------------------------------------
Totals                        34  7 10   9 |  7  4   .294
---------------------------------------------------------
RBI: JEstrada 4(13), RZimmerman 1(17), KGreene 1(13), ADunn 2(17),
JReyes 1(12)
2B: PFielder 1(5)
HR: JEstrada 1(3), RZimmerman 1(4), ADunn 1(9)
GIDP: KGreene 1(4), MAlou 1(5)
CS: JReyes 1(3)

PITCHING                          ip  h  r er bb ibb so bf    era whip
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Brandon Webb      W(4-0)         8.0  5  2  2  1   0  5 29    2.25 0.75
Danys Baez        BS(2)          0.7  1  2  2  2   0  0  5   25.71 4.29
Taylor Buchholz   W(2-1)         6.3  3  2  2  4   0  2 25    2.86 1.11
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals                          15.0  9  6  6  7   0  7 59    3.60 1.07
----------------------------------------------------------------------

RESERVE HITTING               ab  r  h  bi | bb so    avg
---------------------------------------------------------
Rich Aurilia         Cin 2B    1  0  0   0 |  0  0   .296
---------------------------------------------------------
Totals                         1  0  0   0 |  0  0   .000
---------------------------------------------------------

RESERVE PITCHING                  ip  h  r er bb ibb so bf    era whip
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Matt Herges                      2.0  1  1  1  1   0  3  7    4.50 1.00
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals                           2.0  1  1  1  1   0  3  7    4.50 1.00
----------------------------------------------------------------------