- According to Vlad Guerrero, “beisbol es loco.” After watching the Angels and Dodgers showdown in La-La Land on Saturday night, that sentiment is a tough one to argue. Jered Weaver and Jose Arredondo combined to throw a no-hitter, but the Angels still lost the game! This is the fifth time in baseball history that a team threw a no-hitter and failed to pick up a W. It was the first time we’ve seen this since 1992, when Matt Young, pitching for the Red Sox, threw eight no-hit innings, but ultimately took the loss to the Indians, largely because of his inability to throw strikes (7 walks) and hold the runners he put on base (6 stolen bases). The Sox lost 2-1. In both instances, the losing team was also the visiting team, and only pitched eight no-hit innings because home team had a lead going into the bottom of the 9th, eliminating the need for their final at bats.
- According to MLB.com, Andruw Jones will resume everyday duties in the Dodgers’ outfield when he returns from the disabled list, leaving Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier in a platoon. I wonder if Ned Coletti & company read Jayson Stark’s book about baseball’s most overrated and underrated players before they signed him to a contract that pays an average of $18 million per season. Now might be a better time than any for Joe Torre to pick the book up, before the Dodgers make the mistake of inserting Jones’s atrocious .165 batting average back into the everyday lineup and cutting the playing time of two very productive hitters, as he plans to do.
- Francisco Liriano Watch: Liriano got torched again, giving up 5 earned runs and serving up two homers over 5-1/3 innings. He only struck out only three batters in this outing. The good news for the Twins is that they will not be forced to move Liriano up any time soon, thus avoiding an arbitration case between the two parties after the 2008 season. Liriano is slated to take the mound again on Monday.
- Johnny Cueto pitched a gem against Cleveland on Saturday. It appears that he is beginning to harness his tremendous talent, and has himself back on track to becoming the pitcher we heard all the hype about prior to opening day.
- A.J. Burnett boosted his trade value on Sunday, throwing seven shutout innings, while striking out eleven en route to a 1-0 victory over the Atlanta Braves. Despite the high ERA on the season, Burnett is striking out nearly a batter per inning. If Burnett stays healthy, he has a history of being a stronger pitcher in the second half of his previous seasons. This could be especially true this season if he is dealt to an NL contender before the trade deadline.
- We may be seeing the roots of a very impressive general manager tree in Boston.
- Buster Olney polled 25 players, scouts and baseball execs this week and asked who are the most dominant pitchers in the Major Leagues is right now. The Results:
- Felix Hernandez
- Tim Lincecum
- Josh Beckett
- Rich Harden
- Edinson Volquez
Honorable mention: Dustin McGowan, Jake Peavy, Cole Hamels, Scott Kazmir, Clay Kershaw, Joba Chamberlain, C.C. Sabathia, Fausto Carmona, Johan Santana, Ervin Santana, Roy Halladay, Carlos Zambrano, Zack Greinke, John Lackey.
1 Comment
July 1, 2008 at 12:20 am
Excellent post. Quality in an entertaining fashion, while writing informative blurbs. My personal favorite was the mention of Jayson Starks’ book, a masterful pin-point analysis and true fact.