Seamheads Laundry League - NL Report, 12/5/12
The
Seamheads Laundry League (SLL) National League races have begun to open up since the last report: all three division leaders are up by at least six games each as of July 5. The Pittsburgh Pirates have regained the top record in the entire SLL (53-28), while the teams at the bottom of the standings have fallen further behind: the St. Louis Cardinals are 21.5 games behind the Pirates while the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Francisco Giants are 20 and 22.5 games, respectively, behind the San Diego Padres.
The Cardinals received some bad news on June 14 when they found out that left fielder Babe Ruth's shoulder injury would keep him out of the lineup for three weeks; he was among the team's top hitters at the time. "Babe Ruth going down is unfortunate , but I think we can make some adjustments and be okay," Cardinals GM Bill Ivie said at the time. "Honestly, we need our pitching staff to step up and pick up the hitters for a few weeks." Unfortunately, the Cardinals are coming off a 3-7 skid.
Injuries have also plagued the Giants, who learned on June 19 that Rogers Hornsby would be sidelined for six to seven weeks. "Losing someone of Hornsby's caliber is a big blow to our team," Giants GM Steve Corino said. "He is a leader on the field and in the locker room, but we have faith in Dan Uggla, and believe he is going to do a great job." Corino's faith has been rewarded: Uggla has hit .333, with three home runs, during his past six games.
The Giants' pitching staff has continued to struggle, but a pair of Corino moves in that area have also paid off and will hopefully spread to the rest of the team: Dontrelle Willis and Gary Nolan have 3-1 and 2-1 records, respectively, in the five starts each has made since moving from the bullpen to the starting rotation.
Even the resurgent Pirates aren't immune to injuries, as GM John Farris noted: "One of the biggest problems we've had in this stretch has been some inopportune injuries. We had Braun and Tris Speaker on the DL during that rough stretch, and had to deal with a few slumps as well. We've made a few changes to regain our momentum, including placing Fred Toney in our 3rd starter spot from spot starter/bullpen. He's responded well, and our batting lineup changes have helped."
Farris added: "Our hitting is helping our starters out quite a bit, but we're going to keep watching the lineup and rotation over coming month, and who knows - we may be looking at a couple of deals before the deadline."
As this article was posted, the Padres found out they have lost first baseman Fred McGriff to a season-ending injury. He had primarily served as DH against right-handed starters, posting a .251 average with 7 home runs and 25 RBI.
Other NL News of Note:
Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Smoky Joe Wood and Minnesota Twins center fielder Matt Kemp each earned eight-game suspensions for their fight on June 17. In the bottom of the third inning, Wood allowed a first-pitch three-run home run to Darrell Evans to open up a 3-1 lead for the Twins. Wood ran the count to 1-2 against the next batter, Kemp, before plunking him with a pitch. Kemp charged Wood, but order was quickly restored. Both players were ejected; the Brewers came back to win the game, 6-4.
On June 21, three-game suspensions were handed down to the Colorado Rockies' Burt Hooton and the Texas Rangers' Larry Walker after the two were involved in another fight following a hit batter. In that situation, Hooton surrendered a solo home run to the Rangers' George Brett in the bottom of the first inning. Walker was the next batter and was hit on a 1-1 pitch that likely got away from Hooton, but he charged the mound anyway. Both players were ejected, and the Rangers went on to win, 2-1.
The SLL NL Batter of the Month Award for June went to the Chicago Cubs' Lou Boudreau, who hit at a .400 clip with 3 home runs, 23 RBI, and 25 runs scored.
The SLL NL Pitcher of the Month Award for June was handed to starter Harry Breechen of the Padres. He notched a 5-0 record with a 1.35 ERA in 40 innings pitched.