MVP front-runners? Cabrera and Votto
There are six weeks of baseball remaining, a quarter of a season, in which a lot can change. In 2004, Vladimir Guerrero mashed his way to the American League MVP Award by hitting .363 in September and hoisting the Angels onto his back: He generated 11 homers and 25 RBIs in that late push.
There is a lot more baseball to play in 2010. But as of today, here's how we'd handicap the races for the two major awards in each league.
AL MVP
<!--INLINE MUG-->
Cabrera
<!--END INLINE MUG-->1. Miguel Cabrera, Tigers. He leads the majors in OPS and RBIs and is tied for second in the AL in homers, all the while playing half his games in a pitchers' park.
2. Josh Hamilton, Rangers. He's hitting .375 since the All-Star break, and .396 overall in home games.
3. Robinson Cano, Yankees. The most important player in this lineup in 2010, and he has been excellent defensively.
Others in the conversation: Delmon Young, Twins; Adrian Beltre, Boston; Evan Longoria, Rays; Paul Konerko, White Sox. But to be clear, there is an enormous gap between the top two candidates and the rest of the field.
<OFFER>NL MVP
<!--INLINE MUG-->
Votto
<!--END INLINE MUG-->1. Joey Votto, Reds. His numbers are basically running neck-and-neck with those of Albert Pujols -- and Votto's team is in first place, which will count for something in the voting.
2. Adrian Gonzalez, Padres. Numbers do not fully reflect what he means to San Diego's success, between his defense and what teammates perceive to be an extraordinarily unselfish approach.
3. Pujols, Cardinals. He's having another great season.
Others in the conversation: Aubrey Huff, Giants; Carlos Gonzalez, Rockies; and the Nationals' Ryan Zimmerman, who will get a lot of top 10 votes. Again, there is a major gap between the top tier of candidates -- Votto, Gonzalez and Pujols -- and the rest of the field.
AL Cy Young Award
<!--INLINE MUG-->
Lee
<!--END INLINE MUG-->1. Cliff Lee, Mariners/Rangers. His WHIP is a major league best 0.95.
Here's one barometer of just how good Lee has been, from Daniel Braunstein of ESPN Stats & Information:
The lowest percentage of pitches thrown on 2-0, 3-0 or 3-1 counts:
<!-- begin inline 1 --><TABLE><THEAD><TR><TH></TH><TH>Pct.</TH><TH>K/BB</TH></TR></THEAD><TBODY><TR class=last><TD>Cliff Lee</TD><TD>3.53</TD><TD>14.50</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Roy Halladay</TD><TD>4.21</TD><TD>7.20</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Ricky Nolasco</TD><TD>4.72</TD><TD>4.90</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Scott Baker</TD><TD>4.92</TD><TD>3.90</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Kevin Slowey</TD><TD>4.99</TD><TD>3.92</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Phil Hughes</TD><TD>5.00</TD><TD>3.05</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Carl Pavano</TD><TD>5.14</TD><TD>3.45</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Josh Johnson</TD><TD>5.14</TD><TD>4.26</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Roy Oswalt</TD><TD>5.20</TD><TD>3.36</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Dan Haren</TD><TD>5.25</TD><TD>4.94</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- end inline 1 -->
For the sake of comparison, the highest percentage of pitches thrown on 2-0, 3-0 or 3-1:
<!-- begin inline 2 --><TABLE><THEAD><TR><TH></TH><TH>Pct.</TH><TH>K/BB</TH></TR></THEAD><TBODY><TR class=last><TD>Gio Gonzalez</TD><TD>9.93</TD><TD>1.81</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Tim Lincecum</TD><TD>9.38</TD><TD>2.73</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Wade LeBlanc</TD><TD>9.15</TD><TD>2.11</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Derek Lowe</TD><TD>9.07</TD><TD>1.87</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>C.J. Wilson</TD><TD>8.81</TD><TD>1.80</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Joe Saunders</TD><TD>8.66</TD><TD>1.62</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Jaime Garcia</TD><TD>8.50</TD><TD>1.94</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Brandon Morrow</TD><TD>8.44</TD><TD>2.55</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Trevor Cahill</TD><TD>8.43</TD><TD>.95</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>CC Sabathia</TD><TD>8.37</TD><TD>2.34</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- end inline 2 -->
2. Felix Hernandez, Mariners. He's been absolutely dominant in the second half, with a 1.93 ERA.
3. David Price, Rays. Fifth in ERA and tied for second in wins with 15.
3a. Trevor Cahill, Athletics
Others in the conversation: CC Sabathia, Yankees; Clay Buchholz, Red Sox; Jered Weaver, Angels.
The competition for this award is completely wide open, much like last year's NL Cy Young Award.
NL Cy Young Award
<!--INLINE MUG-->
Wainwright
<!--END INLINE MUG-->1. Adam Wainwright, Cardinals. He has gotten better and better and better as the season has progressed.
2. Tim Hudson, Braves. Having an incredible bounce-back season.
3. Roy Halladay, Phillies. He has a shot at 20 wins in his first season with the Phillies.
Others in the conversation: Mat Latos, Padres, who has posted the lowest opponents' OPS; Josh Johnson, Marlins; Ubaldo Jimenez, Rockies, who once appeared to be a prohibitive favorite for this award.
Felix Hernandez continues to push his way into the Cy Young conversation: He dominated the Yankees on Friday night, Geoff Baker writes. He was not surprised he was pulled without being given a chance for a complete game.
•Trevor Hoffman feels like this season has happened for a reason -- and he wants to reach 600 career saves before retiring. You get the clear impression from reading this Bill Center story that Hoffman -- who is a future Hall of Famer -- intends to retire after this season. From the story:
<!-- begin inline 3 -->Buster's new book
Buster Olney is the author of the forthcoming book "How Lucky You Can Be" about basketball coach Don Meyer, whose life changed dramatically -- and who made life changes -- after a horrific accident on Sept. 5, 2008. Meyer was the subject of an "E:60" piece in April 2009 and was honored at last year's ESPYS. "How Lucky You Can Be" is due for release in September.
<!-- end inline 3 -->During his final years with the Padres, Hoffman had been coy about his ultimate career goal. "There's a number out there I'd like to reach," he'd say, without ever disclosing the actual figure.
Friday afternoon, the Padres legend identified the number.
"We're about two away," he said.
Does that mean that if Hoffman reaches 600 saves by the end of this season that'd he'd retire?
"Right now is not the right time to think about the future," he said. "It's unfair to everybody to think about what decisions might be made when we're still in the middle of something." Then he laughs. "I might be back. I don't know."
I think the Brewers are going to make sure he gets in position to get those final two saves.
•Manny Ramirez could be back in the Dodgers' lineup on Saturday.
•Tyson Gillies, one of the prospects acquired by Philadelphia in its Cliff Lee deal with Seattle, was charged with a felony after allegedly being found with cocaine in June. Not good. The Phillies had no comment.
•The Marlins' Ronny Paulino was busted for performance-enhancing drugs. Paulino said he is ashamed and saddened.
NL East
Watched the Braves-Cubs game on Friday and Carlos Marmol had the strangest inning of relief, in trying to protect a one-run lead -- striking out Derrek Lee and Melky Cabrera with six fastballs in the mid-90s along the way, but also filling the bases with three walks. And then, with a 2-2 count, he hung a slider to Rick Ankiel, who jumped it -- and cleared the bases with a triple that turned out to be the game winner. Time will tell whether the Braves will finish off their season by playing in October, but they have a relatively easy schedule ahead of them and a really good vibe going right now -- and Ankiel feels it, too. Ankiel, from the David O'Brien story linked above: "It's almost like we get extra adrenaline or whatever you want to call it when it comes to late in the game. It's a special feeling. It just always feels like we're never out of it, no matter what."
The Phillies kept pace behind another strong effort from Roy Halladay, who has been every bit as good as Philadelphia had expected. Ryan Howard took another step toward getting back to the big leagues.
Tommy Hanson, who starts today, has been pitching well but doesn't have anything to show for it. The parking lot attendant played a joke on Derrek Lee.
AL East
Boston's injury situation got even more ridiculous when Dustin Pedroia had to be placed on the disabled list, again. Pedroia feels like he let everybody down, Nick Cafardo writes. And the Red Sox got absolutely wrecked.
A.J. Burnett's consistency was an issue again -- and it looks like A-Rod is going to miss some more games, Anthony McCarron writes.
Ben Zobrist made a pivotal error and the Rays lost and Tampa Bay missed an opportunity. After the game, the Rays sent Jeremy Hellickson to the minors, as expected, to work out of the bullpen. Wade Davis and Jeff Niemann are set to rejoin the Rays' rotation.
NL Central
Since that sweep in Cincinnati, the Cardinals have basically collapsed, and they got pushed another game back in the wild-card race by the Giants, Rick Hummel writes.
The Reds picked up a game on St. Louis, behind a strong outing from Homer Bailey. How Bailey won, from Doug Kern of ESPN Stats & Info:
A) He worked down and away: 80 of 114 pitches qualified as one or the other, with 29 qualifying as both. He surrendered just two singles, and recorded five of his six strikeouts, on pitches in those zones.
B) He shut the door: The Dodgers were only 1-for-15 after an at-bat went beyond the third pitch. He threw 37 fastballs, and only eight off-speed pitches, in late counts.
C) He threw a season-high 61.4 percent of all pitches in the strike zone, yet got only 11.8 percent swings and misses (second lowest). The Dodgers couldn't get around on his heat; the 26 foul balls were also the second highest for Bailey this year, with 19 of those being fastballs.
Johnny Cueto returns to the Cincinnati rotation today.
AL Central
Brian Duensing is proving again to be pretty good in a pennant race: He shut down the Angels and the Twins picked up a half-game in the standings. He has turned into a real find for the Twins, Kelsie Smith writes.
How Duensing won:
A) He threw 39 off-speed pitches and did not allow a hit (0-for-9) on any of them. Only six of those 39 came when Duensing was behind in the count. His first-pitch strike percentage (65.5) was his highest since becoming a starter, and he also threw 81 percent strikes on the second pitch. That give him a lot more freedom to go to his slider and changeup.
B) The Angels chased 43 percent of pitches outside the strike zone, again Duensing's most as a starter. That included a whopping 61.1 percent against off-speed pitches -- most of those changeups and not sliders.
C) He did not go to a single three-ball count, even 3-2, the entire game. Had only one 2-0 count, to Bobby Abreu, who later grounded out. The Angels were only 1-for-10 with runners on base, and failed in only three chances with runners in scoring position.
The White Sox were rained out and their rotation was thrown into a jumble, Mark Gonzales writes.
J.J. Putz says his sore right knee should be fine. The time has come for Ozzie Guillen to zip it, writes Rick Morrissey, because Guillen is losing credibility.
NL West
Madison Bumgarner had a really strong outing and shut down the Cardinals, Henry Schulman writes. The Padres' pitchers had a bad day, and San Diego lost a game in the standings, Bill Center writes.
Moves, deals and decisions
1. The Rangers might consider picking up Brad Hawpe, Jeff Wilson writes.
2. The Jays batted 1.000 in the draft, Bob Elliott writes.
3. Dusty Baker doesn't have a contract for 2011, but he's not thinking about managing any team but the Reds. If Joe Torre leaves, then the Dodgers should consider Dusty, Vicent Bonsignore writes.
4. Omar Vizquel would like to play another year.
5. The Giants placed a blocking claim on Cody Ross to keep him out of the hands of the Padres, Andrew Baggarly writes.
6. The Orioles may call up Nolan Reimold in September.
Dings and dents
1. Edwin Encarnacion was a late scratch from Friday's game.
2. Carlos Gomez is set to come off the disabled list today.
3. Nick Punto landed on the disabled list, La Velle Neal writes.
4. Conor Jackson went back on the disabled list.
5. Jordan Zimmermann is close to returning to the big leagues, as mentioned in this Gene Wang notebook.
6. Jason Bay may or may not play the rest of the year.
Friday's games
1. C.J. Wilson stopped the bleeding for the Rangers.
2. Anibal Sanchez was The Man for the Marlins.
3. The Jays paraded around the bases in Fenway Park, Morgan Campbell writes.
4. The Brewers' offense had a really good day against the Padres.
5. The Indians had no answers against Armando Galarraga.
6. Armando Galarraga thought he was throwing the ball better than in his perfect game, Mark Snyder writes.
7. Rockies manager Jim Tracy closed the clubhouse doors and turned up the volume before Friday's game, Jim Armstrong writes -- and then they lost a lead in the ninth inning. The Rockies got hammered by injuries early in the year, but they have been relatively healthy in the second half and have just played poorly.
8. The Athletics have been getting exceptional starting pitching, and in contributing a quality start on Friday, Vin Mazzaro helped Oakland tie a record, Steve Kroner writes.
9. My god, the Cubs are really bad right now.
10. A throwing error took down the Dodgers, Ben Bolch writes.
11. The Angels lost again with Dan Haren on the mound.
12. Buck Showalter was ejected.
13. Jason Marquis was outdueled.
14. The Mets had a good day.
15. The Pirates are absolutely falling apart in the final weeks of the season and have a 40-82 record now. They clinched a losing year faster than ever before, Dejan Kovacevic writes. The team's play this year is an embarrassment to the city, says Frank Coonelly.
<!-- begin inline 4 -->Patience Index
Most pitches per plate appearance Friday (mininum of three):
<TABLE><THEAD><TR><TH>Hitter</TH><TH>Pitches</TH><TH>PA</TH><TH>P/PA</TH></TR></THEAD><TBODY><TR class=last><TD>Ryan Hanigan</TD><TD>27</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>6.75</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Shin-Soo Choo</TD><TD>25</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>6.25</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Chase Utley</TD><TD>24</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>6.0</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Jamey Carroll</TD><TD>18</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>6.0</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Pat Burrell</TD><TD>29</TD><TD>5</TD><TD>5.8</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>B.J. Upton</TD><TD>23</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>5.75</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Brandon Inge</TD><TD>23</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>5.75</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- end inline 4 -->Other stuff
Roger Clemens is headed for a showdown, Bob Hohler writes. Said lawyer Alan Dershowitz within this piece: "I think he has a good shot at beating the charges. … If he testifies, he will lose."
There is a serious question in play, a lawyer tells Michael Schmidt: Why was the congressional committee investigating in the first place?
The Rocket can't save Clemens, Richard Griffin writes. John Danks hopes that Clemens is exonerated. Clemens is locked into a self-made solitary confinement, Joel Sherman writes.
Andy Pettitte had nothing to say about his testimony, Ben Shpigel writes.
•Torii Hunter likes Target Field better than Yankee Stadium, Joe Christensen writes.
•Billy Butler is in pursuit of a dubious record, Daniel Paulling writes.
•B.J. Upton is on an upswing, Roger Mooney writes.
•Tim Lincecum is paying a price for the heavy workload early in his career, Tim Kawakami writes.
•Jhonny Peralta is happy to be a Tiger.
•Todd Frazier will have his eye on the Little League World Series.
•Barry Enright is set to face another ace today, Jim Gintonio writes.
•Joe Saunders has had to change his approach since being traded to the NL.
•A Cardinals broadcaster will miss a couple of games after being charged with DUI.
And today will be better than yesterday.
There are six weeks of baseball remaining, a quarter of a season, in which a lot can change. In 2004, Vladimir Guerrero mashed his way to the American League MVP Award by hitting .363 in September and hoisting the Angels onto his back: He generated 11 homers and 25 RBIs in that late push.
There is a lot more baseball to play in 2010. But as of today, here's how we'd handicap the races for the two major awards in each league.
AL MVP
<!--INLINE MUG-->
Cabrera
<!--END INLINE MUG-->1. Miguel Cabrera, Tigers. He leads the majors in OPS and RBIs and is tied for second in the AL in homers, all the while playing half his games in a pitchers' park.
2. Josh Hamilton, Rangers. He's hitting .375 since the All-Star break, and .396 overall in home games.
3. Robinson Cano, Yankees. The most important player in this lineup in 2010, and he has been excellent defensively.
Others in the conversation: Delmon Young, Twins; Adrian Beltre, Boston; Evan Longoria, Rays; Paul Konerko, White Sox. But to be clear, there is an enormous gap between the top two candidates and the rest of the field.
<OFFER>NL MVP
<!--INLINE MUG-->
Votto
<!--END INLINE MUG-->1. Joey Votto, Reds. His numbers are basically running neck-and-neck with those of Albert Pujols -- and Votto's team is in first place, which will count for something in the voting.
2. Adrian Gonzalez, Padres. Numbers do not fully reflect what he means to San Diego's success, between his defense and what teammates perceive to be an extraordinarily unselfish approach.
3. Pujols, Cardinals. He's having another great season.
Others in the conversation: Aubrey Huff, Giants; Carlos Gonzalez, Rockies; and the Nationals' Ryan Zimmerman, who will get a lot of top 10 votes. Again, there is a major gap between the top tier of candidates -- Votto, Gonzalez and Pujols -- and the rest of the field.
AL Cy Young Award
<!--INLINE MUG-->
Lee
<!--END INLINE MUG-->1. Cliff Lee, Mariners/Rangers. His WHIP is a major league best 0.95.
Here's one barometer of just how good Lee has been, from Daniel Braunstein of ESPN Stats & Information:
The lowest percentage of pitches thrown on 2-0, 3-0 or 3-1 counts:
<!-- begin inline 1 --><TABLE><THEAD><TR><TH></TH><TH>Pct.</TH><TH>K/BB</TH></TR></THEAD><TBODY><TR class=last><TD>Cliff Lee</TD><TD>3.53</TD><TD>14.50</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Roy Halladay</TD><TD>4.21</TD><TD>7.20</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Ricky Nolasco</TD><TD>4.72</TD><TD>4.90</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Scott Baker</TD><TD>4.92</TD><TD>3.90</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Kevin Slowey</TD><TD>4.99</TD><TD>3.92</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Phil Hughes</TD><TD>5.00</TD><TD>3.05</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Carl Pavano</TD><TD>5.14</TD><TD>3.45</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Josh Johnson</TD><TD>5.14</TD><TD>4.26</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Roy Oswalt</TD><TD>5.20</TD><TD>3.36</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Dan Haren</TD><TD>5.25</TD><TD>4.94</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- end inline 1 -->
For the sake of comparison, the highest percentage of pitches thrown on 2-0, 3-0 or 3-1:
<!-- begin inline 2 --><TABLE><THEAD><TR><TH></TH><TH>Pct.</TH><TH>K/BB</TH></TR></THEAD><TBODY><TR class=last><TD>Gio Gonzalez</TD><TD>9.93</TD><TD>1.81</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Tim Lincecum</TD><TD>9.38</TD><TD>2.73</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Wade LeBlanc</TD><TD>9.15</TD><TD>2.11</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Derek Lowe</TD><TD>9.07</TD><TD>1.87</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>C.J. Wilson</TD><TD>8.81</TD><TD>1.80</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Joe Saunders</TD><TD>8.66</TD><TD>1.62</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Jaime Garcia</TD><TD>8.50</TD><TD>1.94</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Brandon Morrow</TD><TD>8.44</TD><TD>2.55</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Trevor Cahill</TD><TD>8.43</TD><TD>.95</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>CC Sabathia</TD><TD>8.37</TD><TD>2.34</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- end inline 2 -->
2. Felix Hernandez, Mariners. He's been absolutely dominant in the second half, with a 1.93 ERA.
3. David Price, Rays. Fifth in ERA and tied for second in wins with 15.
3a. Trevor Cahill, Athletics
Others in the conversation: CC Sabathia, Yankees; Clay Buchholz, Red Sox; Jered Weaver, Angels.
The competition for this award is completely wide open, much like last year's NL Cy Young Award.
NL Cy Young Award
<!--INLINE MUG-->
Wainwright
<!--END INLINE MUG-->1. Adam Wainwright, Cardinals. He has gotten better and better and better as the season has progressed.
2. Tim Hudson, Braves. Having an incredible bounce-back season.
3. Roy Halladay, Phillies. He has a shot at 20 wins in his first season with the Phillies.
Others in the conversation: Mat Latos, Padres, who has posted the lowest opponents' OPS; Josh Johnson, Marlins; Ubaldo Jimenez, Rockies, who once appeared to be a prohibitive favorite for this award.
Felix Hernandez continues to push his way into the Cy Young conversation: He dominated the Yankees on Friday night, Geoff Baker writes. He was not surprised he was pulled without being given a chance for a complete game.
•Trevor Hoffman feels like this season has happened for a reason -- and he wants to reach 600 career saves before retiring. You get the clear impression from reading this Bill Center story that Hoffman -- who is a future Hall of Famer -- intends to retire after this season. From the story:
<!-- begin inline 3 -->Buster's new book
Buster Olney is the author of the forthcoming book "How Lucky You Can Be" about basketball coach Don Meyer, whose life changed dramatically -- and who made life changes -- after a horrific accident on Sept. 5, 2008. Meyer was the subject of an "E:60" piece in April 2009 and was honored at last year's ESPYS. "How Lucky You Can Be" is due for release in September.
<!-- end inline 3 -->During his final years with the Padres, Hoffman had been coy about his ultimate career goal. "There's a number out there I'd like to reach," he'd say, without ever disclosing the actual figure.
Friday afternoon, the Padres legend identified the number.
"We're about two away," he said.
Does that mean that if Hoffman reaches 600 saves by the end of this season that'd he'd retire?
"Right now is not the right time to think about the future," he said. "It's unfair to everybody to think about what decisions might be made when we're still in the middle of something." Then he laughs. "I might be back. I don't know."
I think the Brewers are going to make sure he gets in position to get those final two saves.
•Manny Ramirez could be back in the Dodgers' lineup on Saturday.
•Tyson Gillies, one of the prospects acquired by Philadelphia in its Cliff Lee deal with Seattle, was charged with a felony after allegedly being found with cocaine in June. Not good. The Phillies had no comment.
•The Marlins' Ronny Paulino was busted for performance-enhancing drugs. Paulino said he is ashamed and saddened.
NL East
Watched the Braves-Cubs game on Friday and Carlos Marmol had the strangest inning of relief, in trying to protect a one-run lead -- striking out Derrek Lee and Melky Cabrera with six fastballs in the mid-90s along the way, but also filling the bases with three walks. And then, with a 2-2 count, he hung a slider to Rick Ankiel, who jumped it -- and cleared the bases with a triple that turned out to be the game winner. Time will tell whether the Braves will finish off their season by playing in October, but they have a relatively easy schedule ahead of them and a really good vibe going right now -- and Ankiel feels it, too. Ankiel, from the David O'Brien story linked above: "It's almost like we get extra adrenaline or whatever you want to call it when it comes to late in the game. It's a special feeling. It just always feels like we're never out of it, no matter what."
The Phillies kept pace behind another strong effort from Roy Halladay, who has been every bit as good as Philadelphia had expected. Ryan Howard took another step toward getting back to the big leagues.
Tommy Hanson, who starts today, has been pitching well but doesn't have anything to show for it. The parking lot attendant played a joke on Derrek Lee.
AL East
Boston's injury situation got even more ridiculous when Dustin Pedroia had to be placed on the disabled list, again. Pedroia feels like he let everybody down, Nick Cafardo writes. And the Red Sox got absolutely wrecked.
A.J. Burnett's consistency was an issue again -- and it looks like A-Rod is going to miss some more games, Anthony McCarron writes.
Ben Zobrist made a pivotal error and the Rays lost and Tampa Bay missed an opportunity. After the game, the Rays sent Jeremy Hellickson to the minors, as expected, to work out of the bullpen. Wade Davis and Jeff Niemann are set to rejoin the Rays' rotation.
NL Central
Since that sweep in Cincinnati, the Cardinals have basically collapsed, and they got pushed another game back in the wild-card race by the Giants, Rick Hummel writes.
The Reds picked up a game on St. Louis, behind a strong outing from Homer Bailey. How Bailey won, from Doug Kern of ESPN Stats & Info:
A) He worked down and away: 80 of 114 pitches qualified as one or the other, with 29 qualifying as both. He surrendered just two singles, and recorded five of his six strikeouts, on pitches in those zones.
B) He shut the door: The Dodgers were only 1-for-15 after an at-bat went beyond the third pitch. He threw 37 fastballs, and only eight off-speed pitches, in late counts.
C) He threw a season-high 61.4 percent of all pitches in the strike zone, yet got only 11.8 percent swings and misses (second lowest). The Dodgers couldn't get around on his heat; the 26 foul balls were also the second highest for Bailey this year, with 19 of those being fastballs.
Johnny Cueto returns to the Cincinnati rotation today.
AL Central
Brian Duensing is proving again to be pretty good in a pennant race: He shut down the Angels and the Twins picked up a half-game in the standings. He has turned into a real find for the Twins, Kelsie Smith writes.
How Duensing won:
A) He threw 39 off-speed pitches and did not allow a hit (0-for-9) on any of them. Only six of those 39 came when Duensing was behind in the count. His first-pitch strike percentage (65.5) was his highest since becoming a starter, and he also threw 81 percent strikes on the second pitch. That give him a lot more freedom to go to his slider and changeup.
B) The Angels chased 43 percent of pitches outside the strike zone, again Duensing's most as a starter. That included a whopping 61.1 percent against off-speed pitches -- most of those changeups and not sliders.
C) He did not go to a single three-ball count, even 3-2, the entire game. Had only one 2-0 count, to Bobby Abreu, who later grounded out. The Angels were only 1-for-10 with runners on base, and failed in only three chances with runners in scoring position.
The White Sox were rained out and their rotation was thrown into a jumble, Mark Gonzales writes.
J.J. Putz says his sore right knee should be fine. The time has come for Ozzie Guillen to zip it, writes Rick Morrissey, because Guillen is losing credibility.
NL West
Madison Bumgarner had a really strong outing and shut down the Cardinals, Henry Schulman writes. The Padres' pitchers had a bad day, and San Diego lost a game in the standings, Bill Center writes.
Moves, deals and decisions
1. The Rangers might consider picking up Brad Hawpe, Jeff Wilson writes.
2. The Jays batted 1.000 in the draft, Bob Elliott writes.
3. Dusty Baker doesn't have a contract for 2011, but he's not thinking about managing any team but the Reds. If Joe Torre leaves, then the Dodgers should consider Dusty, Vicent Bonsignore writes.
4. Omar Vizquel would like to play another year.
5. The Giants placed a blocking claim on Cody Ross to keep him out of the hands of the Padres, Andrew Baggarly writes.
6. The Orioles may call up Nolan Reimold in September.
Dings and dents
1. Edwin Encarnacion was a late scratch from Friday's game.
2. Carlos Gomez is set to come off the disabled list today.
3. Nick Punto landed on the disabled list, La Velle Neal writes.
4. Conor Jackson went back on the disabled list.
5. Jordan Zimmermann is close to returning to the big leagues, as mentioned in this Gene Wang notebook.
6. Jason Bay may or may not play the rest of the year.
Friday's games
1. C.J. Wilson stopped the bleeding for the Rangers.
2. Anibal Sanchez was The Man for the Marlins.
3. The Jays paraded around the bases in Fenway Park, Morgan Campbell writes.
4. The Brewers' offense had a really good day against the Padres.
5. The Indians had no answers against Armando Galarraga.
6. Armando Galarraga thought he was throwing the ball better than in his perfect game, Mark Snyder writes.
7. Rockies manager Jim Tracy closed the clubhouse doors and turned up the volume before Friday's game, Jim Armstrong writes -- and then they lost a lead in the ninth inning. The Rockies got hammered by injuries early in the year, but they have been relatively healthy in the second half and have just played poorly.
8. The Athletics have been getting exceptional starting pitching, and in contributing a quality start on Friday, Vin Mazzaro helped Oakland tie a record, Steve Kroner writes.
9. My god, the Cubs are really bad right now.
10. A throwing error took down the Dodgers, Ben Bolch writes.
11. The Angels lost again with Dan Haren on the mound.
12. Buck Showalter was ejected.
13. Jason Marquis was outdueled.
14. The Mets had a good day.
15. The Pirates are absolutely falling apart in the final weeks of the season and have a 40-82 record now. They clinched a losing year faster than ever before, Dejan Kovacevic writes. The team's play this year is an embarrassment to the city, says Frank Coonelly.
<!-- begin inline 4 -->Patience Index
Most pitches per plate appearance Friday (mininum of three):
<TABLE><THEAD><TR><TH>Hitter</TH><TH>Pitches</TH><TH>PA</TH><TH>P/PA</TH></TR></THEAD><TBODY><TR class=last><TD>Ryan Hanigan</TD><TD>27</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>6.75</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Shin-Soo Choo</TD><TD>25</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>6.25</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Chase Utley</TD><TD>24</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>6.0</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Jamey Carroll</TD><TD>18</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>6.0</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Pat Burrell</TD><TD>29</TD><TD>5</TD><TD>5.8</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>B.J. Upton</TD><TD>23</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>5.75</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Brandon Inge</TD><TD>23</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>5.75</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- end inline 4 -->Other stuff
Roger Clemens is headed for a showdown, Bob Hohler writes. Said lawyer Alan Dershowitz within this piece: "I think he has a good shot at beating the charges. … If he testifies, he will lose."
There is a serious question in play, a lawyer tells Michael Schmidt: Why was the congressional committee investigating in the first place?
The Rocket can't save Clemens, Richard Griffin writes. John Danks hopes that Clemens is exonerated. Clemens is locked into a self-made solitary confinement, Joel Sherman writes.
Andy Pettitte had nothing to say about his testimony, Ben Shpigel writes.
•Torii Hunter likes Target Field better than Yankee Stadium, Joe Christensen writes.
•Billy Butler is in pursuit of a dubious record, Daniel Paulling writes.
•B.J. Upton is on an upswing, Roger Mooney writes.
•Tim Lincecum is paying a price for the heavy workload early in his career, Tim Kawakami writes.
•Jhonny Peralta is happy to be a Tiger.
•Todd Frazier will have his eye on the Little League World Series.
•Barry Enright is set to face another ace today, Jim Gintonio writes.
•Joe Saunders has had to change his approach since being traded to the NL.
•A Cardinals broadcaster will miss a couple of games after being charged with DUI.
And today will be better than yesterday.
