The bad swing of fate
Buster Olney
ESPN Insider
BOSTON -- In the broad universe of the Tampa Bay Rays, this will be a very good season. The upcoming draft is regarded by talent evaluators as the best in recent memory and the Rays will have nine of the first 59 picks, a staggering haul of players to be added to the likes of David Price and Jeremy Hellickson and what is already regarded as a strong core of prospects.
But the Rays' enormous challenges at the big league level seem to be overtaking them quickly. Evan Longoria is hurt and will miss most of April; the hitter who was expected to protect him, Manny Ramirez, is gone and won't be back; and their absence is the reason Joe Maddon's lineup had B.J. Upton in the third spot and Dan Johnson in the cleanup spot the other day.
The Rays have been one of baseball's best offensive teams in recent years, but their struggle for runs, so far, is historic.
From Elias: Tampa Bay batters whiffed eight times on Sunday, and they've registered at least seven strikeouts at the plate in each of their nine games this year, the longest such streak to begin a season for any team in baseball's modern era (1900-2011). The Rays' numbers through their first nine games:
Runs: 20
Run differential: -24 (the worst in the majors)
OPS: .515 (the worst in the majors
Strikeouts: 74
The frustration from all this probably fueled Maddon's anger Sunday, as he went toe-to-toe with all four umpires before he was ejected himself.
Notables
• This is not good: Joel Zumaya felt pain during his workout in Florida on Sunday, and the Tigers will hold a conference call that will include Dr. James Andrews, writes Lynn Henning.
• The rain was soft but steady in the seventh and eighth innings Sunday night, and the wind in Fenway Park was brisk -- but the stands remained packed. After the game, I chatted with Red Sox fans who explained that with Boston holding a 1-7 record, they stuck around because the game seemed especially important. Everyone wearing red was feeling the pressure, from those watching to the players.
Which is why Josh Beckett's outing felt so important to them, and was so spectacular. It's been so long since Beckett put together a complete and dominant performance, with a mid-90s fastball and a great curveball and changeup, that there have been serious questions about whether he could be that kind of pitcher again. But he hit the mid-90s consistently, spun the best curveball he's had in years and totally shut down the Yankees, giving Boston a badly needed series win. When Marco Scutaro pulled a ball into the left-field corner in the seventh inning, there was an explosion of sound from the stands -- relief, really. You could see it in the faces of the Boston players afterward. For at least one night, Beckett gave them a moment to exhale, as they work to restart their season.
From Andrew Davis of ESPN Stats & Information, how Red Sox starter Josh Beckett blanked the Yankees:
A. He had great off-speed stuff: Beckett threw 42 off-speed pitches (25 curveballs, 17 changeups) and the Yankees went 0-for-11 with six strikeouts in at-bats ending with an off-speed pitch. For the season, opponents are 0-for-19 with nine strikeouts in at-bats ending with an off-speed pitch and have seen 63 percent strikes (57 percent in 2010).
B. He kept the ball down: Beckett threw 65 pitches down (45 for strikes) and the Yankees went 1-for-17 with seven strikeouts in at-bats ending with a pitch down. The 45 strikes are the most since July 28, 2010.
C. He kept runners out of scoring position: Only two runners reached scoring position, and Beckett stranded them on base (0-for-3). There were only two starts last season in which Beckett didn't allow a runner in scoring position to score.
Only two other Red Sox pitchers have allowed two or fewer hits and struck out at least 10 batters against the Yankees in the live-ball era (since 1920): Pedro Martinez (Sept. 10, 1999) and Ray Culp (Sept. 21, 1968).
Doubts had surrounded Beckett. He was the total package, writes Dan Shaughnessy. Beckett was locked in, writes John Tomase.
Marco Scutaro got a critical hit.
• Phil Hughes is looking for answers about his diminished velocity, so what he worked on in his bullpen session Sunday evening was using the lower half of his body more -- driving more aggressively with his legs toward home plate. There has also been an adjustment in Hughes' regimen between starts: He is throwing less, as the Yankees work to save his bullets and give him a chance to regain arm strength.
• Matt Holliday returned to the lineup and the Cardinals picked up a badly needed victory, scoring three runs in an inning for the first time.
• Asdrubal Cabrera continues to show he is an excellent player, and the Indians have a seven-game winning streak. Manny Acta says the Indians' defense and pitching are for real, as Paul Hoynes writes.
Here are the numbers for the 25-year-old Cabrera, whom the Indians got in a trade for Eduardo Perez:
Games: 9
Extra-base hits: 5
RBIs: 9
OPS: .947
• If I were to do a power ranking right now, I'd have the Rangers first among the 30 teams. And if Derek Holland continues to throw the way he did Sunday, they may stay near the top all year.
From Elias: The Rangers are the first defending league champion to begin a season with eight or more wins in their first nine games since the 2004 Marlins (8-1), and they're the first defending American League champ to do so since the 1998 Indians (8-1).
Dings and dents
1. Ryan Zimmerman doesn't know when he'll be back.
2. Todd Helton's back is feeling better.
3. Ubaldo Jimenez will throw a game in extended spring training April 13, and then he'll be evaluated -- which means he could be back next week.
4. Mike Stanton is having a hard time running, and Hanley Ramirez hopes to return Tuesday.
5. Alex Rodriguez, a late scratch from Sunday's lineup, hopes he can be back in the lineup Tuesday.
6. Johnny Cueto and Homer Bailey are getting closer to coming back.
Moves, deals and decisions
1. The Angels made some surprising roster changes, as Mike DiGiovanna writes.
2. Ryan Franklin will remain as the Cardinals' closer, partly because St. Louis doesn't have a lot of options.
3. Jason Jaramillo will be out of a job when Chris Snyder comes back.
4. Jason Isringhausen has been summoned to the big leagues.
5. Clay Buchholz got paid.
6. Trevor Cahill's new contract is expected to fall along the lines of the Jon Lester or Ricky Romero contracts, at about five years and $30 million, with some option years and a $1.5 million buyout.
Sunday's games
1. The Rockies are backing up a strong spring training with a strong start, as Jim Armstrong writes.
2. Jered Weaver was The Man for the Angels, dominating the Jays. How Weaver beat the Jays:
A. Location of strikeouts: 12 of Weaver's career-high 15 strikeouts were on pitches away. Nine of the 15 strikeouts were down and away. He averaged 3.1 strikeouts per game on pitches away and 1.7 down and away respectively in 2010 starts.
B. Pitches to get strikeouts: Weaver had six strikeouts with his fastball. In 2010, he had eight starts in which he recorded at least six strikeouts with his fastball. He also struck out six with his slider. In 2010, Weaver's highest strikeout total with the slider was four (done three times).
C. Type of strikeouts: Nine of the strikeouts were swinging, with seven coming on pitches out of the zone. The six strikeouts looking all came on 0-2 or 1-2 counts.
D. He generated lots of swings and misses: Weaver recorded 25 swinging strikes (46 percent of total strikes), his highest total since 2007. Fifteen of the 25 swinging strikes were on pitches out of the zone.
Weaver's 15 strikeouts are the most by an Angels pitcher since Chuck Finley had 15 against the Yankees on May 23, 1995. Weaver is the first Angels pitcher to finish with 15 strikeouts in a game in which he pitched fewer than eight innings.
3. Watched a lot of the Phillies-Braves game and Cole Hamels was outstanding; he was definitely ready to pitch, said Charlie Manuel. How Hamels beat the Braves:
A. He had an effective fastball: Hamels threw 52 fastballs (two- and four-seam), and Braves hitters went 1-for-9 in at-bats ending with the fastball. Hamels had the most success throwing over the middle and away with the fastball as the Braves went 0-for-7 in at-bats that ended with a fastball in those quadrants.
B. He had an even more effective changeup: Hamels threw 26 changeups down, which is more than any start in 2010 or 2011. While he threw more pitches in that zone, it was the success that showed. Braves hitters went 0-for-7 with six strikeouts in at-bats ending on changeups down.
C. He controlled righties: After giving up six hits to Mets right-handed hitters in his previous start, Hamels allowed only one hit (Alex Gonzalez seventh-inning single) in 13 at-bats (.077). In at-bats ending with a pitch down, the Braves' right-handed hitters went 0-for-8 with five strikeouts.
4. Aaron Harang is 2-0, while pitching for his hometown team, as Don Norcross writes.
5. The Diamondbacks won a confidence-booster.
6. The White Sox continue to roll.
7. The Astros produced some season highs in runs, hits and ejections.
8. This time, it was Brandon McCarthy who pitched shut-down baseball, as Susan Slusser writes.
9. Pudge Rodriguez was The Man for the Nationals.
10. A Pirates pitcher is frustrated with himself, writes Colin Dunlap.
11. The Orioles couldn't muster any offense. Jeremy Guthrie gutted it out, as Peter Schmuck writes.
12. The Marlins got a sweep, but no revenge.
13. The Royals keep on winning: They held off the Tigers, and felt like they passed a minor test, writes Bob Dutton.
14. Rick Porcello, a linchpin guy for the Tigers, had a bad game and acknowledged that he's got to get better. I don't know long the Tigers will wait before shuffling the deck chairs with their rotation, because Andy Oliver is ready to go in the minors. Jim Leyland says he didn't think Porcello's teammates gave him a lot of help.
15. The Mets blew a lead, after Chris Young threw well.
16. Rajai Davis lost his focus, and it cost the Jays, writes Mike Rutsey. Read this story and you can tell there's something percolating right below the surface for the outfielder. The Jays punched out 15 times.
17. Erik Bedard wasn't good, and the Mariners' losing streak has reached seven.
18. The Dodgers were shut down.
19. The Minnesota pitchers are walking too many guys. And their offensive problems so far have been stunning: As with Boston, the talent and pedigrees don't seem to match the numbers, and because of this, scapegoats of years gone by are having their say, through Jim Souhan. Jim Thome did manage to hit career homer No. 590 with a monster shot.
20. Casey McGehee got a big hit for the Brewers, as Todd Rosiak writes.
Patience Index
<!-- begin inline 1 -->
Waiting to Scratch That Pitch
These hitters saw the most pitches per plate appearance Sunday:
<TABLE><THEAD><TR><TH>Hitter</TH><TH>PA</TH><TH>Pitches</TH><TH>P/PA</TH></TR></THEAD><TBODY><TR class=last><TD>Mark Teixeira</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>25</TD><TD>6.3</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Daric Barton</TD><TD>5</TD><TD>30</TD><TD>6.0</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Ryan Raburn</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>24</TD><TD>6.0</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Allen Craig</TD><TD>5</TD><TD>29</TD><TD>5.8</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Jack Cust</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>23</TD><TD>5.8</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Rod Barajas</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>17</TD><TD>5.7</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Brad Emaus</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>17</TD><TD>5.7</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Wes Helms</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>17</TD><TD>5.7</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Adam LaRoche</TD><TD>5</TD><TD>28</TD><TD>5.6</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- end inline 1 -->
Other stuff
• Buster Posey was honored on Sunday, as John Shea writes.
• A Jim Slaton record is in jeopardy.
• Jose Tabata has been a hit in the leadoff spot for the Pirates, writes Ron Cook.
• The top of the batting order is making a huge difference for the White Sox, says Paul Konerko.
• Matt Garza's pitching coach took his comments -- seemingly critical -- in stride, writes Gordon Wittenmyer.
• Joe Girardi is managing legends, writes Joel Sherman.
• The Diamondbacks are looking to stay aggressive.
• The time has come for a blossoming Padre, as Tim Sullivan writes.
• Michael Saunders is making a bid for more playing time.
• Dan Uggla's defense has not been a problem.
• Bernie Miklasz liked the "60 Minutes" piece on Albert Pujols.
• Willie McCovey was given a ring.
• Deciding who belongs in the Hall of Fame is difficult, but Manny Ramirez has made this easy, writes Bud Shaw.
• It's the 21st century, but somebody in Augusta didn't get the memo.
Buster Olney
ESPN Insider
BOSTON -- In the broad universe of the Tampa Bay Rays, this will be a very good season. The upcoming draft is regarded by talent evaluators as the best in recent memory and the Rays will have nine of the first 59 picks, a staggering haul of players to be added to the likes of David Price and Jeremy Hellickson and what is already regarded as a strong core of prospects.
But the Rays' enormous challenges at the big league level seem to be overtaking them quickly. Evan Longoria is hurt and will miss most of April; the hitter who was expected to protect him, Manny Ramirez, is gone and won't be back; and their absence is the reason Joe Maddon's lineup had B.J. Upton in the third spot and Dan Johnson in the cleanup spot the other day.
The Rays have been one of baseball's best offensive teams in recent years, but their struggle for runs, so far, is historic.
From Elias: Tampa Bay batters whiffed eight times on Sunday, and they've registered at least seven strikeouts at the plate in each of their nine games this year, the longest such streak to begin a season for any team in baseball's modern era (1900-2011). The Rays' numbers through their first nine games:
Runs: 20
Run differential: -24 (the worst in the majors)
OPS: .515 (the worst in the majors
Strikeouts: 74
The frustration from all this probably fueled Maddon's anger Sunday, as he went toe-to-toe with all four umpires before he was ejected himself.
Notables
• This is not good: Joel Zumaya felt pain during his workout in Florida on Sunday, and the Tigers will hold a conference call that will include Dr. James Andrews, writes Lynn Henning.
• The rain was soft but steady in the seventh and eighth innings Sunday night, and the wind in Fenway Park was brisk -- but the stands remained packed. After the game, I chatted with Red Sox fans who explained that with Boston holding a 1-7 record, they stuck around because the game seemed especially important. Everyone wearing red was feeling the pressure, from those watching to the players.
Which is why Josh Beckett's outing felt so important to them, and was so spectacular. It's been so long since Beckett put together a complete and dominant performance, with a mid-90s fastball and a great curveball and changeup, that there have been serious questions about whether he could be that kind of pitcher again. But he hit the mid-90s consistently, spun the best curveball he's had in years and totally shut down the Yankees, giving Boston a badly needed series win. When Marco Scutaro pulled a ball into the left-field corner in the seventh inning, there was an explosion of sound from the stands -- relief, really. You could see it in the faces of the Boston players afterward. For at least one night, Beckett gave them a moment to exhale, as they work to restart their season.
From Andrew Davis of ESPN Stats & Information, how Red Sox starter Josh Beckett blanked the Yankees:
A. He had great off-speed stuff: Beckett threw 42 off-speed pitches (25 curveballs, 17 changeups) and the Yankees went 0-for-11 with six strikeouts in at-bats ending with an off-speed pitch. For the season, opponents are 0-for-19 with nine strikeouts in at-bats ending with an off-speed pitch and have seen 63 percent strikes (57 percent in 2010).
B. He kept the ball down: Beckett threw 65 pitches down (45 for strikes) and the Yankees went 1-for-17 with seven strikeouts in at-bats ending with a pitch down. The 45 strikes are the most since July 28, 2010.
C. He kept runners out of scoring position: Only two runners reached scoring position, and Beckett stranded them on base (0-for-3). There were only two starts last season in which Beckett didn't allow a runner in scoring position to score.
Only two other Red Sox pitchers have allowed two or fewer hits and struck out at least 10 batters against the Yankees in the live-ball era (since 1920): Pedro Martinez (Sept. 10, 1999) and Ray Culp (Sept. 21, 1968).
Doubts had surrounded Beckett. He was the total package, writes Dan Shaughnessy. Beckett was locked in, writes John Tomase.
Marco Scutaro got a critical hit.
• Phil Hughes is looking for answers about his diminished velocity, so what he worked on in his bullpen session Sunday evening was using the lower half of his body more -- driving more aggressively with his legs toward home plate. There has also been an adjustment in Hughes' regimen between starts: He is throwing less, as the Yankees work to save his bullets and give him a chance to regain arm strength.
• Matt Holliday returned to the lineup and the Cardinals picked up a badly needed victory, scoring three runs in an inning for the first time.
• Asdrubal Cabrera continues to show he is an excellent player, and the Indians have a seven-game winning streak. Manny Acta says the Indians' defense and pitching are for real, as Paul Hoynes writes.
Here are the numbers for the 25-year-old Cabrera, whom the Indians got in a trade for Eduardo Perez:
Games: 9
Extra-base hits: 5
RBIs: 9
OPS: .947
• If I were to do a power ranking right now, I'd have the Rangers first among the 30 teams. And if Derek Holland continues to throw the way he did Sunday, they may stay near the top all year.
From Elias: The Rangers are the first defending league champion to begin a season with eight or more wins in their first nine games since the 2004 Marlins (8-1), and they're the first defending American League champ to do so since the 1998 Indians (8-1).
Dings and dents
1. Ryan Zimmerman doesn't know when he'll be back.
2. Todd Helton's back is feeling better.
3. Ubaldo Jimenez will throw a game in extended spring training April 13, and then he'll be evaluated -- which means he could be back next week.
4. Mike Stanton is having a hard time running, and Hanley Ramirez hopes to return Tuesday.
5. Alex Rodriguez, a late scratch from Sunday's lineup, hopes he can be back in the lineup Tuesday.
6. Johnny Cueto and Homer Bailey are getting closer to coming back.
Moves, deals and decisions
1. The Angels made some surprising roster changes, as Mike DiGiovanna writes.
2. Ryan Franklin will remain as the Cardinals' closer, partly because St. Louis doesn't have a lot of options.
3. Jason Jaramillo will be out of a job when Chris Snyder comes back.
4. Jason Isringhausen has been summoned to the big leagues.
5. Clay Buchholz got paid.
6. Trevor Cahill's new contract is expected to fall along the lines of the Jon Lester or Ricky Romero contracts, at about five years and $30 million, with some option years and a $1.5 million buyout.
Sunday's games
1. The Rockies are backing up a strong spring training with a strong start, as Jim Armstrong writes.
2. Jered Weaver was The Man for the Angels, dominating the Jays. How Weaver beat the Jays:
A. Location of strikeouts: 12 of Weaver's career-high 15 strikeouts were on pitches away. Nine of the 15 strikeouts were down and away. He averaged 3.1 strikeouts per game on pitches away and 1.7 down and away respectively in 2010 starts.
B. Pitches to get strikeouts: Weaver had six strikeouts with his fastball. In 2010, he had eight starts in which he recorded at least six strikeouts with his fastball. He also struck out six with his slider. In 2010, Weaver's highest strikeout total with the slider was four (done three times).
C. Type of strikeouts: Nine of the strikeouts were swinging, with seven coming on pitches out of the zone. The six strikeouts looking all came on 0-2 or 1-2 counts.
D. He generated lots of swings and misses: Weaver recorded 25 swinging strikes (46 percent of total strikes), his highest total since 2007. Fifteen of the 25 swinging strikes were on pitches out of the zone.
Weaver's 15 strikeouts are the most by an Angels pitcher since Chuck Finley had 15 against the Yankees on May 23, 1995. Weaver is the first Angels pitcher to finish with 15 strikeouts in a game in which he pitched fewer than eight innings.
3. Watched a lot of the Phillies-Braves game and Cole Hamels was outstanding; he was definitely ready to pitch, said Charlie Manuel. How Hamels beat the Braves:
A. He had an effective fastball: Hamels threw 52 fastballs (two- and four-seam), and Braves hitters went 1-for-9 in at-bats ending with the fastball. Hamels had the most success throwing over the middle and away with the fastball as the Braves went 0-for-7 in at-bats that ended with a fastball in those quadrants.
B. He had an even more effective changeup: Hamels threw 26 changeups down, which is more than any start in 2010 or 2011. While he threw more pitches in that zone, it was the success that showed. Braves hitters went 0-for-7 with six strikeouts in at-bats ending on changeups down.
C. He controlled righties: After giving up six hits to Mets right-handed hitters in his previous start, Hamels allowed only one hit (Alex Gonzalez seventh-inning single) in 13 at-bats (.077). In at-bats ending with a pitch down, the Braves' right-handed hitters went 0-for-8 with five strikeouts.
4. Aaron Harang is 2-0, while pitching for his hometown team, as Don Norcross writes.
5. The Diamondbacks won a confidence-booster.
6. The White Sox continue to roll.
7. The Astros produced some season highs in runs, hits and ejections.
8. This time, it was Brandon McCarthy who pitched shut-down baseball, as Susan Slusser writes.
9. Pudge Rodriguez was The Man for the Nationals.
10. A Pirates pitcher is frustrated with himself, writes Colin Dunlap.
11. The Orioles couldn't muster any offense. Jeremy Guthrie gutted it out, as Peter Schmuck writes.
12. The Marlins got a sweep, but no revenge.
13. The Royals keep on winning: They held off the Tigers, and felt like they passed a minor test, writes Bob Dutton.
14. Rick Porcello, a linchpin guy for the Tigers, had a bad game and acknowledged that he's got to get better. I don't know long the Tigers will wait before shuffling the deck chairs with their rotation, because Andy Oliver is ready to go in the minors. Jim Leyland says he didn't think Porcello's teammates gave him a lot of help.
15. The Mets blew a lead, after Chris Young threw well.
16. Rajai Davis lost his focus, and it cost the Jays, writes Mike Rutsey. Read this story and you can tell there's something percolating right below the surface for the outfielder. The Jays punched out 15 times.
17. Erik Bedard wasn't good, and the Mariners' losing streak has reached seven.
18. The Dodgers were shut down.
19. The Minnesota pitchers are walking too many guys. And their offensive problems so far have been stunning: As with Boston, the talent and pedigrees don't seem to match the numbers, and because of this, scapegoats of years gone by are having their say, through Jim Souhan. Jim Thome did manage to hit career homer No. 590 with a monster shot.
20. Casey McGehee got a big hit for the Brewers, as Todd Rosiak writes.
Patience Index
<!-- begin inline 1 -->
Waiting to Scratch That Pitch
These hitters saw the most pitches per plate appearance Sunday:
<TABLE><THEAD><TR><TH>Hitter</TH><TH>PA</TH><TH>Pitches</TH><TH>P/PA</TH></TR></THEAD><TBODY><TR class=last><TD>Mark Teixeira</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>25</TD><TD>6.3</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Daric Barton</TD><TD>5</TD><TD>30</TD><TD>6.0</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Ryan Raburn</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>24</TD><TD>6.0</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Allen Craig</TD><TD>5</TD><TD>29</TD><TD>5.8</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Jack Cust</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>23</TD><TD>5.8</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Rod Barajas</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>17</TD><TD>5.7</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Brad Emaus</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>17</TD><TD>5.7</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Wes Helms</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>17</TD><TD>5.7</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Adam LaRoche</TD><TD>5</TD><TD>28</TD><TD>5.6</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- end inline 1 -->
Other stuff
• Buster Posey was honored on Sunday, as John Shea writes.
• A Jim Slaton record is in jeopardy.
• Jose Tabata has been a hit in the leadoff spot for the Pirates, writes Ron Cook.
• The top of the batting order is making a huge difference for the White Sox, says Paul Konerko.
• Matt Garza's pitching coach took his comments -- seemingly critical -- in stride, writes Gordon Wittenmyer.
• Joe Girardi is managing legends, writes Joel Sherman.
• The Diamondbacks are looking to stay aggressive.
• The time has come for a blossoming Padre, as Tim Sullivan writes.
• Michael Saunders is making a bid for more playing time.
• Dan Uggla's defense has not been a problem.
• Bernie Miklasz liked the "60 Minutes" piece on Albert Pujols.
• Willie McCovey was given a ring.
• Deciding who belongs in the Hall of Fame is difficult, but Manny Ramirez has made this easy, writes Bud Shaw.
• It's the 21st century, but somebody in Augusta didn't get the memo.
