Brandon Webb- ARI- Cold- Something is going on with Webb. Maybe he is having some fatigue issues. Earlier in the season he had a few starts where his pitch count reached above 110. He didn't seem to have any carryover effects from those outings. Webb's last 6 starts, though, have alternated between quality starts of over 100 pitches and appearances of noticeably less effectiveness. He has also had a tougher time finding the strike zone. In Webb's last two starts he has walked 8 in 15 innings. In his start before last night's, even though he pitched 7 shutout innings, he allowed 5 walks and threw 49 balls out of 115 pitches. Yesterday, Webb got roughed up, allowing 5 runs in 6 IP on 7 hits and 3 walks while striking out 4. Webb looks like a player that could use the rest the All Star break provides. Watch his last start of the first half to see if he shows any other signs of wearing down.
Braden Looper- STL- Hot- Looper looked like he just ran out of gas in his first start in a couple of weeks. He retired 15 of the first 16 batters he faced but then got touched for 3 runs in the 6th inning, his last of the night. Looper gave up 4 hits, walked 1 and didn't record any strikeouts while throwing 76 pitches. He reportedly felt no problems in his shoulder, which is good news.
Jesus Colome- WAS- FYI- There is no estimated date for Colome's return from, well, let's let Nats' GM Jim Bowden describe it, "It was a large buttocks problem."If you are a major league GM, shouldn't you be able to choose your words wisely? Bowden did go on to say (probably after there was laughter from whoever got the quotes and those around him), "The infection is serious. He was kept in the hospital for a number of days with IV. It was a serious situation." I have a "large buttocks problem."Colome had a cyst that needed to be removed. Big difference.
Brian Giles- SD- Hot- Giles has done what he's supposed to do at the top of the order and doesn't seem to be hampered by the bone bruise on his knee that landed him on the DL. In the 3 games since he was activated, he has gone 4-for-10 with 2 doubles and 3 runs scored. He has also walked 5 times.
Carlos Lee- HOU- Hot- Lee went 2-for-4 with a homer, 2 RBI, a run scored and a walk. He is pretty darned close to matching his performance from last year in many respects, on pace to be almost identical with his batting average, OBP, SLG, Batting EYE, and runs scored. Lee is a little off in homers and his steals are down, but is ahead of his RBI pace. Lee has shown a tendency to surge in the second half, so he may end up improving on his 2006 numbers, when all is said and done.
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