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July 2009 - Posts
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Houston Astros (51-51); Tied for Third Place -- 4.0 GB
Last Week’s Record: 2-5
Last Week’s Opponents: New York Mets (1-2); Chicago Cubs (1-3)
Transactions:
Designated RHP Chad Paronto for assignment.
Activated RHP Chris Sampson from the 15-Day DL.
Placed RHP LaTroy Hawkins on the 15-Day DL with shingles.
Called up RHP Bud Norris from AAA-Round Rock.
Optioned 2B Edwin Maysonet to AAA-Round Rock.
Activated RHP Doug Brocail from 15-Day DL.
Released RHP Russ Ortiz.
Recalled RHP Samuel Gervacacio from AAA-Round Rock.
Who’s Hot?:
Carlos Lee -- .308/.367/.577, 8 for 26, 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 3 BB, 0 K
Wandy Rodriguez -- 0-0, 7.0 IP, 6 H, ER, 2 BB, 7 K
Who was Not?:
Ivan Rodriguez -- .136/.136/.136, 3 for 22, RBI, 0 BB, 7 K
Mike Hampton -- 1-1, 9.2 IP, 16 H, 13 ER, 8 BB, 8 K, .400 Opp. BA
Crash and burn. That’s the week the Astros had. There were plenty of opportunities for them to save it, but the loss of Lance Berkman and collapse of Mike Hampton as a productive starter has me wondering if these guys are going to make me a fool for talking them up all month. At least the front office finally came to their senses when they released Russ Ortiz. Bud Norris will finally get his opportunity to take over. The big problem is the possible loss of Roy Oswalt who needed a cortisone shot in his back after leaving his start early on Tuesday. Age appears to be catching up to this elderly team.
It’s a bit surprising that the Astros didn’t make a splash at the trade deadline, but at the same time it’s not. They have so much money locked up in guys like Berkman, Lee, Tejada and Oswalt, they’re unable to take up any contracts despite the overwhelming need for starters. What’s sad is that it took a week like this to push out guys like Ortiz for younger talent with slightly higher upsides. There’s a good chance the Astros will be able to hang around when Berkman and Oswalt get back, but they could have gotten a head start if the front office wasn’t so scared of the youngsters. Look for Bud Norris and Yorman Bazardo (The likely call up if Oswalt hits the DL) to get serious looks over the next few weeks.
Who’s Next?
The Astros can put themselves right back in the race this weekend with a good performance in St. Louis with an epic pitching matchup between Carpenter and Rodriguez on Saturday. They’ll return home Monday to start a three game set against a revamped San Francisco Giants offense.
Cincinnati Reds (45-56); Fifth Place -- 9.5 GB
Last Week’s Record: 1-6
Last Week’s Opponents: Chicago Cubs (0-3); San Diego Padres (1-3)
Transactions:
Activated SS Alex Gonzalez from the 15-Day DL.
Optioned SS Drew Sutton to AAA-Louisville.
Placed RHP Jared Burton on the 15-Day DL with right shoulder fatigue.
Recalled RHP Josh Roenicke from AAA-Louisville.
Placed RHP Micah Owings on 15-Day DL with a ‘tight’ right shoulder.
Placed OF Chris Dickerson on the 15-Day DL with a bruised right rotator cuff.
Recalled SS Drew Sutton from AAA-Louisville.
Traded RHP Robert Manual to the Seattle Mariners for OF Wladimir Balentien.
Called up RHP Justin Lehr (former Brewer) from AAA-Louisville.
Who’s Hot?:
Jerry Hairston -- .333/.333/.600, 5 for 15, 2B, HR, RBI
Homer Bailey -- 1-02, 7.1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, BB, 4 K
Who was Not?:
Willy Taveras -- .160/.160/.160, 4 for 25, 0 BB, 2 K, 2 RBI
Johnny Cueto -- 0-2, 11.0 IP, 18 H, 10 ER, 5 BB, 7 K, .375 Opp BA.
The Reds weren’t ever a great team with their current roster, but with Edinson Volquez, Bill Bray, Jared Burton, Chris Dickerson, Ramon Hernandez, Jay Bruce and Micah Owings on the disabled list, they’re not much of a team at all. The 1-6 record is indicative of as much. Sadly, this overwhelming amount of injuries may save Dusty Baker’s job at the end of the season. The veteran manager has been destroying pitchers’ arms and blocking good ball players with bad ones for years. I thought the collapse this season would be enough to push him out, but he suddenly has an excuse.
The loss of some of their best players as the Reds 15th out of 16 teams in the NL in BA (.244) and 14th in OBP and SLG (.313/.388). You could have the best pitchers in the league put a rotation together and still lose games with those numbers. The only team with lesser numbers is the San Diego Padres, and they nearly swept Cincinnati. With Johnny Cueto starting to struggle, the Reds aren’t too far away from being worse than the Nationals. That’s not saying much about the Brewers.
Who’s Next:
The Colorado Rockies are in Cincinnati this weekend for a three game set and will be followed by the Chicago Cubs for another three. Everyone in the Central appears to have a day off on Thursday.
Pittsburgh Pirates (43-58); Sixth Place -- 11.5 GB
Last Week’s Record: 1-5
Last Week’s Opponents: Arizona Diamondbacks (1-2); San Francisco Giants (0-3)
Transactions:
Traded RHP Ian Snell and SS Jack Wilson to the Seattle Mariners for 1B/C Jeff Clement, SS Ronny Cedeno, RHP Aaron Pribanic, RHP Brett Lorin and RHP Nathan Adcock.
Traded LHP Tom Grozelanny and LHP John Grabow to the Chicago Cubs for RHP Jose Ascanio, RHP Kevin Hart and minor league INF Josh Harrison.
Traded 2B Freddy Sanchez for minor leaguer RHP Tim Alderson.
Activated and recalled OF Lastings Milledge from AAA-Indianapolis.
Who’s Hot?:
Ryan Doumit -- .333/.318/.381, 7 for 21, 2B, RBI
Zach Duke -- 1-0, 13.1 IP, 16 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
Who was Not?:
Andrew McCutchen -- .120/.179/.200, 3 for 25, 2 BB, 8 K
Virgil Vasquez -- 0-1, 3.0 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
The Pittsburgh Pirates that started the 2009 season are no longer the same. Four of the team’s starting nine are playing for new teams, including another from the starting rotation. Every move, however, made a lot of sense. The Pirates have no chance of competing this season, but there is not a single big contract left in clubhouse, no whiners and a lot of talent with a lot of potential. That’s an enormous improvement. The key for Pittsburgh the rest of the season will just be learning. They’ll need to figure each other out and develop some chemistry.
In the mean time, they’re going to be a bunch of pushovers. Much of the talent they acquired this week is unproven with little to no Major League experience, weeks like this aren’t so surprising. Nevertheless, it’s still very fun to follow this team as Garrett Jones and Andrew McCutchen bring two completely different types of play to the field. Zack Duke seems to have figured things out, while the youngest guys in the bullpen, Evan Meek, Jesse Chavez and Donald Veal, appear to be the most interesting. Tim Alderson is probably a few years away, but when he does arrive, the Pirates will have money to lock him up and the rest of the players who impress throughout the next few seasons. Congratulations Pittsburgh, you may struggle for a bit longer, but you got all the guys you need to be on the right track.
Who’s Next:
The Pirates’ season may be over, but they’ve got a lot to prove on behalf of Neil Huntington. This is a good week for that to start as they start a 13 game home stand this weekend. It starts with four games tonight against the Washington Nationals and three games starting Tuesday against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
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In an extremely underwhelming move, the Brewers acquired right-hander Claudio Vargas for minor-league utility fielder/catcher Vinny Rottino. Vargas will join the Brewers tomorrow in San Diego. Claudio has only thrown eleven innings with the Dodgers this season, all as a reliever, but has posted a nice 1.64 ERA with ten strikeouts. Prior to that, he compiled a 3.46 ERA in thirteen innings for Triple-A Albuquerque, so his arm is extremely fresh. I would not obviously not expect anything under a 4.00 ERA in a starter role, but Claudio could provide a better stopgap than Mike Burns in the rotation. It is unclear whether the Brewers will send Burns back to Nashville after this acquisition. The Brewers promoted him late this morning because nothing else appeared to be in the works, but Doug Melvin throws a curveball and acquires the former-Brewer Vargas. More importantly, the Brewers acquired a stopgap starter that did not cost anything important -- no offense to Vinny Rottino, who is a nice utility player. I must admit that I am pleasantly surprised with the Vargas acquisition. He is unlikely to be fantastic in the starting rotation, but his velocity has been up around the 94 MPH mark in his recent relief outings -- which suggests it will settle in the 90 MPH range as a starter. Vargas at least has a higher upside than Kevin Correia in my mind and costs far less.
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I should have time to get out part two this afternoon, but no promises.
Chicago Cubs (54-46); First Place -- 0.0 GB
Last Week’s Record: 6-1
Last Week’s Opponents: Cincinnati Reds (3-0); Houston Astros (3-1)
Transactions:
Placed LHP Ted Lilly on the 15-Day DL with left shoulder inflammation.
Recalled RHP Justin Berg from AAA-Iowa.
Activated RHP Ryan Dempster from 15-Day DL.
Optioned RHP Justin Berg to AAA-Iowa.
Optioned RHP Jeff Stevens to AAA-Iowa.
Recalled RHP Mitch Atkins from AAA-Iowa.
Traded RHP Kevin Hart and RHP Jose Ascaino to the Pittsburgh Pirates for LHP John Grabow and LHP Tom Gorzelanny.
Placed OF Reed Johnson on 15-Day DL with a fractured left foot.
Recalled RHP Jeff Stevens from AAA-Iowa.
Optioned RHP Mitch Atkins to AAA-Iowa.
Who’s Hot?:
Aramis Ramirez -- .520/.586/1.160, 13 for 25, 4 2B, 4 HR, 4 BB, 7 R
Randy Wells -- 2-0, 14 IP, 13 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, .250 Opp BA
Who was Not?:
Ryan Theriot -- .200/.265/.267, 6 for 30, 2 2B, 5 RBI, 5 R
Ryan Dempster -- 0-0, 5.0 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
The Cubs look really hot right now, but I’m still not buying them as legit. It’s going to sound a little crazy too, since Chicago hit the crap out of the ball this week. After all, what struggling team goes 6-1 in a week, right? Try the one that got all the right matchups at all the right times. The only respectable pitchers the Cubs got to see this week were Johnny Cueto and Wandy Rodriguez. They pounded on Cueto, but managed just one run in seven against Wandy and it stayed that way through 12. It took a walk-off grand slam by Alfonso Soriano in the 13th for it finally go their way. Their bullpen is usually not good enough to pull that off. The next day they were to face Roy Oswalt, but the Astros ace had to leave after just a couple of innings because of back problems. They still managed to lose that game against the Astros taxed bullpen.
Okay, so anyone can find some stats or matchups to go against a team, but I think this upcoming week of games will tell the whole story. The Cubs are headed on a nine game road trip that starts in Florida against a Marlins team that is pitching prett well. Jim Hendry appears to be unsure his team can keep it together as he traded two solid prospects for a decent LOOGY and a poor left handed starter. Word is he’s also looking for another outfield bat with Reed Johnson going down, and Milton Bradley refusing to play to his mean. Granted, if Aramis Ramirez, Alfonso Soriano and Derek Lee continue to hit the way they’ve been hitting, it doesn’t matter who else is in the line up.
Who’s Next?
It doesn’t hurt to repeat that the Cubs head to Florida this weekend to start three against the Fish, but they got lucky again because Josh Johnson is not scheduled to take the mound. On Monday they’ll head to Cincinnati to try and build on their three game sweep of the Reds this past week.
St. Louis Cardinals (56-49); Second Place -- 0.5 GB
Last Week’s Record: 4-3
Last Week’s Opponents: Philadelphia Phillies (1-2); Los Angeles Dodgers (3-1)
Transactions:
Activated SS Julio Lugo after trading for him.
Optioned RHP P.J. Walters to AAA-Memphis.
Traded 3B Brett Wallace, OF Shane Peterson, RHP Clayton Mortensen to the Oakland Athletics for OF Matt Holliday and cash considerations.
Optioned INF Brian Barden to AAA-Memphis.
Traded RHP Jess Todd to the Cleveland Indians to complete the DeRosa deal.
Recalled RHP Blake Hawksworth from AAA-Memphis.
Optioned RHP Josh Kinney to AAA-Memphis.
Who’s Hot?:
Matt Holliday -- .500/.606/.808, 13 for 26, 5 2B, HR, 6 RBI, 5 R, 6 BB, 6 K
Joel Pineiro -- 2-0, 14 IP, 10 H, ER, 3 BB, 10 K, .204 Opp BA, 26:14 GB-FB
Who was Not?:
Yadier Molina -- .136/.269/.406, 3 for 22, 3 RBI, 4 BB, 4 K
Todd Wellenmeyer -- 0-1, 6.0 IP, 12 H, 7 R (5 ER), BB, 3 K, .414 Opp BA
This is the team to beat right now in the NL Central, and they proved as much by nearly sweeping the Dodgers in a four game series at home. The acquisition of Matt Holliday will prove to be huge. The slugging outfielder’s numbers have dropped since leaving Colorado, but was starting to come alive when the Cardinals traded away to of their best prospects to rent his services for the remainder of the year. Holliday hasn’t disappointed, hitting based on the numbers reported above. That’s more than made up for the ‘slump’ Albert Pujols is having. I can’t imagine the trouble when he returns to form. What was most surprising this week was the sudden offensive surge of Julio Lugo, who hit .393/.414/.714 with two doubles, two triples and a home run. This has taken away playing time from Skip Schumaker, who has suddenly become a replacement player. But if Skip is the first player off your bench, you’re doing just fine.
Lost in all of the hoopla of the trades to improve the offense is the continued success of the Red Birds rotation. While the bullpen isn’t all that impressive, they don’t have to do about much when everyone is going seven innings, well everyone except Todd Wellenmeyer. No need to fret Cardinals’ fans. Tony LaRussa is finally thinking about removing him from the rotation. The options aren’t very good, though, with Brad Thompson being the logical favorite. But I suspect Blake Hawksworth couldn’t do any worse. With everything going full throttle, I expect Cardinals to start pulling away slowly, but not before making a small move to get a bullpen arm later this evening.
Who’s Next:
The Cardinals get a chance to redeem themselves this weekend against the Astros, who recently swept the Red Birds before Matt Holliday came to town. Interestingly, they follow the three game set with a day off, two games at the Mets and another day off. And no, there isn’t a long stretch of games to finish the month. It’s a pretty nice schedule for these guys.
Milwaukee Brewers (51-51); Third Place -- 4.0 GB
Last Week’s Record: 3-4
Last Week’s Opponents: Atlanta Braves (1-2); Washington Nationals (2-2)
Transactions:
Placed RHP Seth McClung on 15-Day DL with a right elbow sprain.
Recalled RHP Tim Dillard from AAA-Nashville.
Optioned RHP Mike Burns to AAA-Nashville.
Recalled LHP R.J. Swindle from AAA-Nashville.
Placed RHP Jeff Suppan on 15-Day DL with a sprained left oblique.
Optioned UTI Bill Hall to AAA-Nashville.
Recalled 2B Hernan Iribarren from AAA-Nashville.
Who’s Hot?:
Ryan Braun -- .423/.483/1.077, 11 for 26, 2 2B, 3 3B, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 7 R
Yovani Gallardo -- 2-0, 14.1 IP, 9 H, 3 ER, 5 BB, 17 K, .191 Opp BA.
Who was Not?:
Jason Kendall -- .143/.217/.190, 3 for 21, 2B, RBI, 2 BB, 2 K
Jeff Suppan -- 0-1, 5.1 IP, 10 H, 10 ER, 4 BB, 4 K (To the DL)
The Crew has a lot of work ahead of them after narrowly spiraling out of Wild Card contention. I specifically say the Wild Card because there’s no way this team can surge it’s way back to the top of the division without some help on the mound. The Brewers team ERA this past week was a whopping 6.86. Sadly it wasn’t just one game or one area that was the problem. With the exception of Yovani Gallardo, Todd Coffey and Trevor Hoffman, everyone on this staff, starter or reliever, has struggled over the past two weeks. And it’s dug this team a giant hole with a very slim chance to climb out.
Unfortunately, this is the time teams should start selling, and while Doug Melvin would love to move some expiring contracts, nobody is biting. That’s really hard to believe since guys like Mike Cameron and JJ Hardy could really help out teams in contention. It’s possible Melvin’s asking price may be too high, but we can never be sure. With the trade deadline tonight, the worst thing that could happen to this team is nothing. They would get no opportunity to check out Alcides Escobar, no help to fix the bleeding rotation and no salary relief to produce themselves options next season. The only true positive of staying pat is it give us followers a lot to talk about during the Winter Meetings.
Who’s Next:
The Brewers have that always dreadful West Coast road trip ahead of them. It starts tonight against the San Diego Padres and ends in LA on Wednesday after three against the Dodgers.
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On my way into work this morning I heard that INF Hernan Iribarren was called up to replace Bill Hall on the roster. However, I was unable to catch the second roster replacement for Jeff Suppan. When that information becomes available, we will relay it to you. Chances are it will be Jesus Colome or Mike Burns. Keep an eye out for Part I of our weekly NL Central review within the hour.
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Nashville Sounds (56-49), -- GB | Cmpl. Early: Rain | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | | R | H | E | New Orleans
| 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | | 7 | 11 | 0 | Nashville
| 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | X | | 4 | 11 | 2 |
LHP Chase Wright: (L, 6-6) 7.0 IP, 10 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 1 HR -- 4.21 ERA
RHP John Axford: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K -- 4.40 ERA
2B Hernan Iribarren: 2-4, 2 1B, R -- .313 AVG
CF Jason Bourgeois: 3-5, SB (31), R -- .305 AVG
Huntsville Stars (14-20), 4.0 GB RHP Mark Holliman: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K -- 4.94 ERA
RHP Robert Hinton: (L, 0-5) 2.2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K -- 3.95 ERA
2B Shane Justis: 1-3, BB, K -- .305 AVG
C Jon Lucroy: 1-4, RBI, K -- .248 AVG
Brevard County Manatees (19-12), 2.5 GB RHP Evan Anundsen: (L, 8-6) 7.0 IP, 5 H, 5 R (2 ER), 0 BB, 6 K -- 2.74 ERA
RHP Brandon Rapoza: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R (0 ER), 1 BB, 2 K -- 2.05 ERA
1B Chris Errecart: 2-4, 2B, RBI, R, K, 2 E (4, fielding, fielding) -- .253 AVG
CF Logan Schafer: 2-5, R, K -- .309 AVG
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (13-19), 6.0 GB | Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | | R | H | E | Wisconsin
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 2 | 6 | 4 | Fort Wayne
| 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | X | | 9 | 12 | 1 |
RHP Trey Watten: (L, 4-11) 4.1 IP, 6 H, 5 R (1 ER), 4 BB, 0 K -- 4.47 ERA
2B Brett Lawrie: 2-4, SB (17), R -- .268 AVG
DH Mike Vass: 1-4, 2B, RBI -- .237 AVG
1B Brock Kjeldgaard: 1-4, 2B, R, 3 K -- .215 AVG
Helena Brewers (18-17), 2.0 GB | Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | | R | H | E | Great Falls
| 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 3 | 4 | 1 | Helena
| 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | | 4 | 10 | 0 |
RHP Hiram Burgos: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K -- 9.82 ERA
LHP Jonathan Pokorny: (W, 2-1) 3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K -- 2.41 ERA
2B Cutter Dykstra: 2-4, HR (3), RBI, R, K -- .239 AVG
1B Kyle Dhanani: 2-4, 2 2B, RBI, R, 2 K -- .265 AVG
CF Chadwin Stang: 2-4, 2B, RBI, 2 K -- .243 AVG
AZL Brewers (1-3), 2.0 GB
RHP Stosh Wawrzacek: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K -- 5.23 ERA
RHP Caleb Thielbar: (W, 4-1) 7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K -- 2.05 ERA
RHP Andrew Sauter: (S, 1) 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K -- 4.32 ERA
RF Max Walla: 2-4, 2B, RBI, R, 2 K -- .234 AVG
DH Brandon Sizemore: 2-3, BB, R -- .274 AVG
DSL Brewers/O's (23-29), 14.0 GB RHP Jamie King: 3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K -- 3.86 ERA
RHP Edwin Linares: (W, 4-4) 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K -- 1.77 ERA
LF Deibisson Rozon: 2-4, 2B, K -- .182 AVG
DH Joan Abreu: 2-4, RBI, BB, K -- .206 AVG
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