Justin Morneau, of the Minnesota Twins, has gone one for 12 since the trade deadline frustrations were expressed by Johan Santana and himself. It may be coincidence, or it could be the result of a veteran team unexpectedly finding out that they are sellers. Hopefully, Morneau will end this mini-slump soon enough, but it is noteworthy considering Santana doesn't seem to be posting his typical numbers for this time of the year. A disheartening move at the trade deadline can lead to a mutiny in the clubhouse and that can lead to unpredictable results, so keep an eye on Morneau for now. The 2006 American League Most Valuable Player is now batting .294 with 28 homeruns and 89 runs batted in.
Joe Blanton, of the Oakland Athletics, will take the mound today against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and he will be in search of his first win since July 3rd. Not long ago Blanton was one of the hottest starting pitchers in the game, so what is it going to take to get him back on track? Probably, a win! But it isn't going to be easy, today, against the Angels. Blanton is currently 8-8 with a 3.82 ERA, 3 CG, 1 SHO, a WHIP of 1.17, and he is recording 5.50 K/9. Those numbers are still respectable, but he needs to get back on track soon. It will not get any easier with his next start coming against the Detroit Tigers.
Daisuke Matsuzaka, of the Boston Red Sox, will be going for his 13th win of the season today, against the Seattle Mariners. This will be the fourth time that Matsuzaka has faced Ichiro and the Mariners. In his three previous starts he is 0-1 with a 4.95 earned run average, but he has a WHIP of 1.15 and a BAA of .216 in those three starts. In addition to the contrast in those statistics Dice-K threw eight innings and allowed only one run on three hits while striking out eight and walking only one in his last start against the Mariners back on June 27th. Expect Dice-K to perform well and give himself and the Red Sox a chance to win.
Javier Vasquez, of the White Sox, has been pitching very well lately. Vasquez was a tough luck loser in his last start, but he is 5-1 with a 2.56 ERA in his last eight starts. In addition to an impressive win-loss record and earned run average Vasquez has made seven of eight quality starts in that span, he has a K/9 clip of 8.60, and a WHIP of 0.99. Vazquez will square off with Jeremy Bonderman, today in Detroit.
The Chicago White Sox have been playing much better baseball lately and it should come as no surprise that at the same time Jermaine Dye started hitting. The White Sox have won five of their last eight and Dye is batting .458 with five homeruns and seven runs batted in over his last seven games. This is the way Dye is supposed to perform, maybe all the trade talk got him going. For the season Dye is batting .240 with 22 homeruns and 57 runs batted in.
