"June 2009" Monthly Archives

  • Entertainment
    NL Player Spotlight - July 1, 2009

    Craig Stammen (SP – Nationals) Despite early indications to the contrary, Craig Stammen will remain in the rotation upon the return of Scott Olsen, while Shairon Martis is sent down to Triple-A. I am a bit more bullish on Stammen...

  • Entertainment
    NL Player Spotlight- June 30, 2009

    Dan Haren- ARI- Caution- At this point last season Haren had hit or exceeded the 110 pitch mark twice. So far this year he has done it 5 times. For a pitcher who has exhibited a noted second half fade...

  • Entertainment
    AL Player Spotlight

    Scott Rolen - The 34 year old Rolen is having one of his best years (sans power, of course) ever in 2009, courtesy of a line drive rate that rivals the game's best. His .360 BABIP is actually quite a...

  • Entertainment
    NL Player Spotlight - June 29, 2009

    Ryan Sadowski (SP-SF) – The Giants have an enviable top four in their rotation, but the No. 5 spot has been a black hole this year due in large part to Jonathan Sanchez. Sadowski will attempt to plug that hole...

  • Entertainment
    AL Daily Notes - June 29th, 2009

    John Danks: Since my June 1st post on Danks suggesting a buying opportunity had been created, Danks has been spectacular. His peripherals haven’t changed much in that span (.92 K Rate, .35 BB Rate compared to .90 K Rate, .36...

  • Entertainment
    NL Player Spotlight

    Pablo Sandoval - Sandoval blasted two more homers yesterday against the Brewers, giving him 11 for the year. Sandoval has basically come out of nowhere to become the Giants' best hitter by far....he did virtually nothing in 2006 and 2007,...

  • Entertainment
    Prospect Central '09 Week 11

    The preliminary rosters for this years Futures Game have been released. Let's start by taking a look at some of the players on the US team that we haven't talked about yet this year... Kyle Drabek - Starting Pitcher Philadelphia...

  • Entertainment
    AL Player Spotlight - June 28th, 2009

    Kevin Slowey (SP—Twins)—I’m a little perplexed by Kevin Slowey. I can’t really decide what kind of season he is putting together. Yes, he is tied for the major league lead in wins at 10, so he has been getting the...

  • Entertainment
    AL Player Spotlight - June 27, 2009

    Robinson Cano (OF – Yankees) A bounce-back season was predicted from Cano in ’08. This projection was largely based on an unlucky BABIP of .286 in ’08, but we have seen more than just regression to the mean from Cano...

  • Entertainment
    NL Player Report - June 27, 2009

    Chris Young: Young, who has been out with a shoulder injury, is not expected back until after the All-Star break. Before hitting the DL, Young was struggling, 4-6 with a 5.21 ERA, and the drop in his skills, 2008/2009 K/9’s...

  • Entertainment
    NL Daily Notes - June 26th, 2009

    Casey McGehee: McGehee stayed hot on Thursday knocking out his 3rd HR of the season in a 1-4 effort. He’s now hitting .414/.469/.672 here in June with 9 extra base hits in 58 AB’s (15.5% exbh rate). Unfortunately while the...

  • Entertainment
    Prospecct Spreadsheet Updates - June 25, 2009

    American League 36 Tyler Flowers CHW C B .311/.411/.607 in June after a poor May. Just .239 vs. RHP vs. .361 vs. southpaws. 38 Brandon Allen CHW 1B B Promotion to AAA looks well-deserved: 8-for-17 with a HR there. Konerko's...

  • Entertainment
    AL Player Report - June 26, 2009

    Yuniesky Betancourt: Betancourt will likely land on the DL with a hamstring injury. Despite having great contact skills, 92% Ct%, Betancourt is a hacker, 4% BB%, with little power, 2 home runs in 224 AB, or speed, 3 steals. Even...

  • Entertainment
    AL Player Spotlight- June 25, 2009

    Luke Hochevar- KC- Hot- Hochevar turned in an impressive performance last night, allowing 2 runs on 3 hits and a walk while striking out 4 in 7 IP. This follows up a disaster his last time out, when he gave...

  • Entertainment
    NL Player Spotlight - June 25th, 2009

    Matt Lindstrom (RP—Marlins) -- I know closers are hard to come by, at least reliable closers. You just can’t turn the corner and find a Rivera or a Papelbon standing on every street corner. But at the rate that Matt...

  • Entertainment
    AL Player Spotlight - June 24, 2009

    David Price (SP - Rays) - David Price's night ended early. After hurling 88 pitches in 4.1 IP, Price left with a 5 ER, 7 hit, 2 BB line. He actually left the game with the score 10-0 in favor...

  • Entertainment
    NL Player Spotlight - June 24, 2009

    Ian Snell (SP – Pirates) Kudos to Paul for predicting the bomb of a start that Snell tossed up against the Indians last night. Snell needed 70 pitches to labor through just 2.2 innings while walking 3 and striking out...

  • Entertainment
    NL Player Spotlight- June 23, 2009

    Max Scherzer- ARI- Caution- With the Rangers coming to town starting tonight, it’s time to take a quick look at Scherzer’s home/road splits. They are not pretty for someone facing the Texas lineup in his home park, if you have...

  • Entertainment
    AL Player Spotlight - June 22, 2009

    Scott Kazmir (SP - Rays) - Its time to turn your attention back to Scott Kazmir. He begins a rehab assignment on Monday and is scheduled to throw 85 pitches. Monday should be telling if the right quad strain has...

  • Entertainment
    NL Player Spotlight - June 22, 2009

    Skip Schumaker (OF-STL) – No sense writing about Albert Pujols and his two homers / six RBI day, as we all know how good Pujols is. Instead, let’s look at Schumaker, who went 2-for-4 with a double, walk, RBI, and...

  • Entertainment
    Prospect Central 09 Week 11

    Vince Mazzaro - Starting Pitcher Oakland A's Vince Mazzaro was one pitcher in the A's organization that didn't get a lot of hype entering the 2009 season but Oakland's 3rd round pick from 2005 has jumped 3 levels in less...

  • Entertainment
    AL Player Spotlight - June 21st, 2009

    David Aardsma (RP—Mariners)—OK, let’s get real here for a second. Prior to this season, David Aardsma had a career ERA of 5.29, had a BB/9 of 5.6, an H/9 of 9.3, a WHIP of 1.65 and never had saved a...

  • Entertainment
    NL Player Report - June 21, 2009

    Manny Corpas: Corpas has bone chips in his elbow, which will likely lead to a stint on the DL. His 5.40 ERA is misleading as he is showing good skills, 6.5 K/9, 1.7 BB/9, and a 49% GB%. A low...

  • Entertainment
    AL Player Spotlight - June 20, 2009

    Alexei Ramirez (SS - White Sox) - Alexei has been hot and cold the last few weeks, hitting only .182 over the last 7 days, but with 4 HR and 2 SB in the month of June. He looked to...

  • Entertainment
    NL Player Spotlight - June 20, 2009

    Nate McLouth (OF - Braves) - McLouth hit his 12th HR of the season last night (and his 2nd of the week) to bring his RBI total to 42 and his average to .260. He might be on track to...

  • Entertainment
    NL Daily Notes - June 19th, 2009

    Adrian Gonzalez: Gonzalez busted out of a slump in a big way on Thursday going 4-4 with a 2B, HR, and 2 RBI’s. As usual he was the majority of the Padres offense accounting for half the Runs scored and...

  • Entertainment
    AL Player Report - June 19, 2009

    Roy Halladay: Halladay was placed on the 15-Day DL retroactive to June 13th with a groin strain. He should return as soon as he is eligible on June 28th. Considering that he probably has the best skill set of any...

  • Entertainment
    AL Player Spotlight- June 18, 2009

    Joba Chamberlain- NYA- FYI- In 12 starts this year, Joba has walked at least 4 batters 5 times. None of those outings was longer than 6 IP. This indicates some real problems at times locating the strike zone. Joba still...

  • Entertainment
    NL Player Spotlight - June18th, 2009

    Mike Hampton (SP-Astros)—it’s hard to be surprised that Mike Hampton has returned to the disabled list on Wednesday, this time with a groin injury. Hampton has done decently for the Astros this season from time to time, holding his own...

  • Entertainment
    Prospect Spreadsheet Updates - June 17, 2009

    American League 22 Ben Revere MIN OF B+ Just .222 in June after a .388 May, but did have 3 hits on Tuesday, so perhaps a surge? 26 Chris Carter OAK 1B B+ .321 with 3 HR in June but...

  • Entertainment
    AL Player Spotlight - 6/17/09

    Jhonny Peralta (SS - Indians) - Peralta was benched by manager Eric Wedge on Tuesday. His season-long slump continues, as he is currently mired in a terrible 5-for-35 slump. You can hear the frustration in Wedge's quotes, making you wonder...

  • Entertainment
    AL Player Spotlight

    Hank Blalock - Blalock has definitely flown under the radar a bit this year, but the 28 year old has had a much better year than meets the eye. What's killing his stat line is twofold: a drastic reduction in...

  • Entertainment
    NL Player Spotlight- June 16, 2009

    Dave Bush- MIL- Cold- Despite being 29 years old, Bush may still be affected by high pitch count games. He has not thrown a quality start in his last 5 outings, the first of which was a 116-pitch effort. Last...

  • Entertainment
    NL Player Spotlight - June 15, 2009

    Chris Coghlan (OF-FLA) – Playing left field with Josh Willingham out, Coghlan was one of eight hitters with at least two hits on Sunday, going 2-for-4 with a double and a pair of walks Sunday against the Blue Jays. Most...

  • Entertainment
    AL Daily Notes - June 15th, 2009

    Brett Anderson: The results weren’t particularly great for Brett Anderson on Sunday, but the peripherals continue to show improvement. Anderson was battered around for 8 hits in just 4 innings which turned into 6 ER’s and resulted in his 7th...

  • Entertainment
    NL Player Profiles

    Zach Duke - Zach Duke is, to put it simply, a microcosm of pitching in general. In 2005 (8-2, 1.81 ERA, .296 BABIP, 26.4% LD) you saw extremely lucky Duke. In 2006 and 2008 (15-29, 4.62 ERA, .327 BABIP, 20.4%...