2007 Kansas City Royals - Here we go Again

[Dauis]

4/27/2007
Game #20 – Chicago (A) (J. Vazquez 2-0, 0.36 ERA) at Kansas City (J. Bale 3-1, 4.85 ERA)
Chicago (A) 3
Kansas City 4
W: R. Braun (2-0) L: M. MacDougal (2-3)
HR – CHA: T. Iguchi (2) KC: D. Ross (4), E. Brown (2), S. Spiezio (10), M. Teahen (6)

Yep. 4 solo shots. Teahen hit the game winner in the bottom of the 9th. Vazquez was decent, but not great. I was worried going into the game about trying to avoid the sweep against the hottest pitcher in the majors, but we pulled it out.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCORES
Tampa Bay 5
Toronto 11
W: A. Burnett (2-2) L: J. Seo (1-1) S: V. Zambrano (1)
HR – TOR: V. Wells (3), G. Zaun (5), A. Rios (4)

New York (A) 4
Boston 6
W: T. Wakefield (3-1) L: C. Pavano (1-3) S: C. Hansen (4)
HR – NYA: H. Matsui (4) BOS: D. Ortiz (6), J. Varitek (1)

Baltimore 2
Detroit 6
W: V. Darensbourg (1-1) L: A. Garcia (2-1) S: F. Rodney (1)

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCORES
Atlanta 1
Cincinnati 6
W: S. Kim (2-1) L: R. Rodriguez (0-2) S: E. Guardado (6)
HR – CIN: J. Gutierrez (1)

Los Angeles (N) 3
Philadelphia 2
W: B. Penny (1-1) L: B. Claussen (1-2) S: T. Saito (7)
HR – PHI: R. Howard (7)

[Dauis]

4/28/2007
CONTRACT NEWS
Bobby Abreu and the Yankees have reached agreement on a 3 year, $55.27 million deal. So far this year he’s hitting .355 with 3 home runs, 8 RBIs and 19 runs scored. He’s also walked 21 times and has a .490 OBP.

Game #21 – Oakland (D. Haren 1-2, 5.40 ERA) at Kansas City (Z. Greinke 1-2, 8.63 ERA)
Oakland 4
Kansas City 1
W: D. Haren (2-2) L: Z. Greinke (1-3) S: H. Street (6)
HR – OAK: D. Johnson (1)

Nothing too special about this game. Haren went 8 solid but unspectacular innings for Oakland.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCORES
Seattle 5
Detroit 6
W: F. Rodney (3-0) L: J. Mateo (0-2) S: T. Jones (8)
HR – SEA: R. Ibanez (1) DET: B. Inge (2)

Texas 3
New York (A) 5
W: C. Wang (4-2) L: K. Millwood (2-2) S: M. Rivera (8)
HR – NYA: A. Rodriguez 2 (8), H. Matsui (5), J. Damon (5)

Boston 9
Toronto 3
W: D. Matsuzaka (3-3) L: R. Halladay (2-2)
HR – BOS: M. Ramirez (6), J. Drew (3), H. Choi (1)

Baltimore 19
Tampa Bay 2
W: E. Bedard (3-2) L: S. Kazmir (1-2)
HR – BAL: B. Roberts (2), M. Tejada (6) TB: J. Cantu (4)

Minnesota 1
Los Angeles (A) 4
W: E. Santana (2-1) L: J. Santana (3-2) S: F. Rodriguez (7)
HR – LAA: R. Quinlan (4), C. Figgins (1)

Chicago (A) 4
Cleveland 1
W: D. Bush (2-2) L: C. Sabathia (2-4) S: M. MacDougal (4)
HR – CLE: T. Hafner (4)

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCORES
Milwaukee 0
St. Louis 2
W: C. Carpenter (3-2) L: B. Sheets (4-2)
HR – STL: S. Rolen (7), A. Pujols (3)

Chris Carpenter was amazing, pitching a complete game 2-hitter, striking out 12 and not walking anyone.

Philadelphia 5
Chicago (N) 15
W: C. Zambrano (5-1) L: B. Myers (2-3)
HR – PHI: M. Lieberthal (3), C. Utley (3) CHN: A. Ramirez (6), J. Jones (4), M. Barrett (7)

Houston 4
Pittsburgh 3
W: B. Lidge (2-0) L: S. Torres (0-2) S: T. Miller (1)
HR – HOU: D. Miller (3), W. Young (3)

New York (N) 7
Florida 4
W: P. Martinez (2-3) L: R. Nolasco (4-1) S: B. Wagner (9)
HR – NYN: C. Delgado (6), M. Alou (4) FLO: M. Olivo (5)

Los Angeles (N) 5
Washington 3 (10)
W: T. Saito (2-0) L: L. Ayala (0-1)
HR – LAN: J. Loney (2)

San Francisco 3
San Diego 4
W: C. Young (4-0) L: B. Zito (2-4) S: T. Hoffman (4)
HR – SFN: B. Bonds (5), R. Winn (4)

Arizona 0
Colorado 2
W: L. Hawkins (1-0) L: J. Valverde (1-3)
HR – COL: M. Holliday (6)

Atlanta 4
Cincinnati 1
W: J. Smoltz (3-2) L: A. Harang (2-2) S: B. Wickman (6)
HR – ATL: C. Jones (8), B. McCann (1)

[Dauis]

Weekly Thoughts
Overall, not a great week at all. 2-4 with multiple losses coming while giving up double digit runs. Our pitching staff needs to get back on track. I’m going to make a couple changes and give some of our younger guys a chance. With that said…

We traded MR David Riske to the Phillies today for minor league 2B Hector Made and minor league CF Jorge Padilla. It takes us down to only $500K over budget, and we’ll make room for one of our minor league starting pitchers, Jorge de la Rosa, to come up and allow Dotel to move back to the relief role. He proved he’s been in the relief role too long to be an effective starter again. We also sent down Ryan Braun and brought up Brett Evert, a reliever we got from Milwaukee with Koskie in the Chip Ambres deal.

AL Player of the Week
RF Jermaine Dye (CHA) .391, 4 HR, 12 RBI, 7 R

NL Player of the Week
1B Ryan Howard (PHI) 26 AB, 5 R, 13 H, 1 2B, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 2 BB, 5 K, .552 OBP

[Dauis]

4/30/2007
Game #23 – Oakland (S. Komine 4-0, 0.60 ERA) at Kansas City (J. Gobble 1-2, 3.13 ERA)
Oakland 5
Kansas City 3
W: S. Komine (5-0) L: J. Gobble (1-3) S: H. Street (7)
HR – OAK: J. Gomes (7)

The A’s jumped on Gobble early, starting off the game with a single, a HBP, 2-RBI double, 2-run home run. We were down 4-0 before even recording an out. Needless to say, that’s not going to cut it when going against someone in Komine’s kind of groove.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCORES
Seattle 4
Detroit 10
W: J. Verlander (1-4) L: J. Weaver (0-5) S: F. Rodney (2)

Texas 0
New York (A) 8
W: M. Mussina (5-1) L: J. Wright (0-4)

Mussina was in a groove tonight, allowing only 5 hits and striking out 12.

Boston 6
Toronto 7
W: J. Accardo (2-1) L: C. Hansen (0-2)
HR – BOS: M. Ramirez (7), D. Ortiz (7), D. Pedroia (1)

Toronto scored 4 in the bottom of the 9th to win, scoring the last 2 runs on bases-loaded walks.

Baltimore 5
Tampa Bay 2
W: C. Ray (1-0) L: B. Stokes (0-3) S: D. Baez (5)
HR – BAL: R. Hernandez (3)

Minnesota 9
Los Angeles (A) 10
W: S. Andrade (1-0) L: J. Nathan (2-2)
HR – MIN: J. Morneau (5), M. Cuddyer (4) LAA: R. Quinlan (5), P. Konerko (4), V. Guerrero (3), M. Napoli (5)

Chicago (A) 6
Cleveland 3
W: M. Buehrle (3-2) L: R. Betancourt (0-3) S: B. Jenks (2)
HR – CHA: J. Dye (8)

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCORES
Milwaukee 3
St. Louis 5
W: B. Chen (2-2) L: C. Vargas (1-3) S: B. Looper (7)
HR – MIL: C. Hart (5), G. Gross (2) STL: S. Rolen (8), C. Duncan (9)

Philadelphia 3
Chicago (N) 4
W: J. Marquis (3-2) L: B. Sanchez (0-1) S: B. Howry (4)
HR – CHN: D. Lee (4), A. Soriano (5)

Houston 7
Pittsburgh 3
W: C. Sampson (2-2) L: V. Santos (2-2) S: D. Wheeler (5)
HR – HOU: D. Miller (4) PIT: J. Bay (5)

New York (N) 2
Florida 4
W: P. Astacio (2-2) L: J. Maine (2-2) S: J. Julio (7)
HR – NYN: C. Delgado (7) FLO: M. Olivo (7)

Los Angeles (N) 10
Washington 5
W: B. Tomko (1-2) L: J. Williams (0-4)

[Dauis]

AL Batter of the Month
RF Jermaine Dye (CHA) .357, 8 HR, 23 RBI, 20 R, .407 OBP

NL Batter of the Month
CF Lance Berkman (HOU) .365, 11 HR, 23 RBI, 23 R

AL Pitcher of the Month
Shane Komine (OAK) 5-0, 1.19 ERA, 37.2 IP, 16 K

NL Pitcher of the Month
Ben Sheets (MIL) 4-2, 1.43 ERA, 44 IP, 46 K

AL Rookie of the Month
SP Shane Komine (OAK)

NL Rookie of the Month
CF Mike Vento (WSH) .270, 1 HR, 11 RBI, 12 R, 5 BB, .302 OBP

[Dauis]

Standings as of 5/1:

AL East                W  L   PCT   GB   G   Last 10   Streak
Baltimore Orioles     17  8  .680  ---  25       8-2       W3
New York Yankees      17  9  .654  0.5  26       6-4       W3
Boston Red Sox        11 12  .478  5.0  23       3-7       L1
Toronto Blue Jays     11 12  .478  5.0  23       7-3       W1
Tampa Bay Devil Rays  10 15  .400  7.0  25       4-6       L5

AL Central             W  L   PCT   GB   G   Last 10   Streak
Minnesota Twins       14 10  .583  ---  24       5-5       L3
Detroit Tigers        14 11  .560  0.5  25       5-5       W5
Kansas City Royals    12 11  .522  1.5  23       4-6       L3
Chicago White Sox     12 12  .500  2.0  24       6-4       L1
Cleveland Indians      8 17  .320  6.5  25       4-6       L1

AL West                W  L   PCT   GB   G   Last 10   Streak
Oakland Athletics     17  8  .680  ---  25       7-3       W3
Los Angeles Angels    12 13  .480  5.0  25       6-4       W3
Texas Rangers         11 15  .423  6.5  26       4-6       L4
Seattle Mariners       6 19  .240 11.0  25       1-9       L3

NL East                W  L   PCT   GB   G   Last 10   Streak
New York Mets         15 10  .600  ---  25       5-5       L2
Florida Marlins       12 13  .480  3.0  25       5-5       W2
Philadelphia Phillies 12 13  .480  3.0  25       4-6       L5
Washington Nationals  11 13  .458  3.5  24       3-7       L5
Atlanta Braves        10 16  .385  5.5  26       3-7       L1

NL Central             W  L   PCT   GB   G   Last 10   Streak
Chicago Cubs          17  9  .654  ---  26       7-3       W3
Cincinnati Reds       14 11  .560  2.5  25       6-4       W1
Houston Astros        14 11  .560  2.5  25       6-4       W4
Milwaukee Brewers     14 11  .560  2.5  25       6-4       L3
St. Louis Cardinals   13 10  .565  2.5  23       7-3       W5
Pittsburgh Pirates     8 17  .320  8.5  25       3-7       L3

NL West                W  L   PCT   GB   G   Last 10   Streak
Los Angeles Dodgers   15 10  .600  ---  25       7-3       W3
Colorado Rockies      14 12  .538  1.5  26       4-6       L2
San Diego Padres      12 13  .480  3.0  25       6-4       W4
Arizona Diamondbacks  11 14  .440  4.0  25       5-5       W2
San Francisco Giants   8 17  .320  7.0  25       4-6       L4

Woohoo! I finally fixed it!

[RoyalsBlue]

looking good, dauis! Only 1.5 games out after a month. woo hoo!

[Dauis]

Thanks, RB. I think I'm going to skip over the stat leaderboards on a month-to-month basis, unless I get requests for it. And as always, if there's anything anyone wants to know, just say something.


Now time for a summary of the team.

As a team we're hitting .260, which is 12th in the American League, and our team ERA is 5.82, which is 14th in the American League. Our Pythagorean Record is only 9-14, so I expect a pretty good sized regression unless we can improve.

German, Spiezio, Teahen, and Koskie are leading our offense. German is hitting an outstanding .363 from the leadoff spot. Spiezio is hitting .302 with 10 HR and 26 RBI. Teahen is hitting .322 with 7 HR and 20 RBI, and Koskie is hitting .269 with 4 HR and 13 RBI. We'll have Spiezio patrolling the outfield through at least next year, and Koskie will more than likely be gone before the trade deadline as he wants to test the market.

On the pitching side, Gobble and Bale are the only 2 starters with an ERA under 7.5. Gobble has a 3.81 ERA and Bale has a 4.64 ERA. Perez is 3rd with a 7.52 ERA. I think we've found the biggest problem of this team. I need my prospects to develop quickly.

I've built our minor league system up to 5th in the majors, trailing only the Mets, Reds, Braves, and Twins. Mark Teahen is already playing every day in the majors, hitting .322 with 7 HR and 20 RBI.

In AAA, we have Alex Gordon, who is only hitting .213 with 2 HR and 6 RBI, and LF Chris Lubanski, who is hitting .269 with 4 HR and 17 RBI.

In AA, we have some outstanding prospects. Billy Butler is hitting .377 with 2 HR and 13 RBI. Next is SS Chris McConnell, who is struggling a bit, hitting .237 with 1 HR and 6 RBI. On the pitching staff in Wichita we have Mark Rogers, Blake Johnson, and Beau Jones. Rogers is 1-2 with a 1.64 ERA, 8 BB, 31 K. Johnson is 4-0 with a 1.82 ERA, 5 BB, 10 K. Finally, Jones is 4-0 with a 0.69 ERA, 7 BB, 21 K.

It looks like we'll have a great team in a couple years if they keep developing. Listen to me. I'm officially part of the Royals culture.

[Dauis]

5/1/2007
Bill Bavasi sent me a trade proposal today, and I got quite a laugh out of it. He offered me 2B Mike Morse, who is ok, can hit the ball a little bit, and would be a decent bench player. In return he wanted Chris Clapinski, who I’m most likely going to get rid of anyway. So far so good, right? Well, he also wanted BILLY BUTLER!!! Amazing, huh? I hope the hysterical laughter that I burst into won’t affect our future negotiations.

Game #24 – Kansas City (O. Perez 2-1, 7.52 ERA) at Cleveland (J. Westbrook 0-2, 7.43 ERA)
Kansas City 13
Cleveland 15
W: J. Borowski (1-2) L: O. Dotel (1-2) S: R. Betancourt (5)
HR – KC: D. Ross (5) CLE: E. Byrnes (2), G. Sizemore (3)

We scored 6 runs in the top of the 1st, and I should’ve known it was too good to be true. DeJesus went 3-3 with a double, 3 runs, 3 RBI, and 2 walks. Grady Sizemore of the Indians went 3-4 with a home run, 3 runs scored, 4 RBI, and 1 walk. I can’t even explain how frustrating it is to score 13 runs and lose.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCORES
Minnesota 5
Detroit 2
W: C. Silva (4-1) L: N. Robertson (3-2) S: J. Nathan (8)
HR – MIN: T. Hunter (4), J. Mauer (5)

Minnesota has lost 3B Mike Lowell for at least 3 weeks after he strained his MCL.

Boston 3
New York (A) 4
W: L: Vizcaino (1-0) L: C. Hansen (0-3)
HR – NYA: H. Matsui (7)

Toronto 7
Baltimore 9
W: O. Moreno (2-0) L: J. Baldwin (0-1) S: D. Baez (6)
HR – TOR: V. Wells (4) BAL: M. Mora (1)

Seattle 0
Tampa Bay 2
W: J. Shields (2-3) L: J. Washburn (2-4) S: A. Reyes (2)
HR – TBA: J. Cantu (5)

Texas 2
Chicago (A) 10
W: J. Contreras (3-1) L: K. Loe (2-4)
HR – TEX: A. Hyzdu (2) CHA: J. Fields (3), T. Iguchi 2 (4)

Oakland 5
Los Angeles (A) 2
W: E. Loaiza (2-3) L: K. Escobar (2-2) S: H. Street (8)
HR – OAK: J. Gomes (8)

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCORES
Philadelphia 4
Washington 5
W: J. Bergmann (1-0) L: J. Moyer (1-3) S: L. Ayala (7)
HR – WSH: R. Castro (1)

Cincinnati 8
Pittsburgh 18
W: J. Grabow (1-0) L: B. Arroyo (4-1)
HR – CIN: A. Dunn (5) PIT: J. Bay (6), T. Graffanino (3), A. LaRoche (7), R. Paulino (4)

Atlanta 2
New York (N) 7
W: A. Heilman (1-1) L: K. Davies (0-2)
HR – NYN: J. Reyes (6)

Chicago (N) 5
St. Louis 4 (13)
W: M. Wuertz (2-0) L: R. Springer (1-2)
HR – CHN: A. Ramirez (7), D. Ward (3) STL: Y. Torrealba (2)

Houston 8
Milwaukee 6
W: D. Borkowski (1-0) L: D. Marte (0-2) S: B. Lidge (1)
HR – HOU: C. Lee (8), M. Ensberg (4)

San Francisco 2
Arizona 3 (10)
W: J. Valverde (2-3) L: A. Benitez (0-2)
HR – ARI: C. Quentin (3)

San Diego 0
Colorado 8
W: R. Lopez (3-2) L: J. Peavy (1-4)
HR – COL: G. Atkins 2 (7), B. Hawpe (4), M. Holliday 2 (8), R. Spilborghs (1)

Rodrigo Lopez only gave up 1 hit, which was a double to Peavy in the 3rd inning, struck out 10 and walked 1.

Los Angeles (N) 10
Florida 0
W: J. Schmidt (5-0) L: A. Sanchez (1-3)
HR – LAN: N. Garciaparra (3), R. Furcal (1)

[Dauis]

5/2/2007
Game #25 – Kansas City (J. Bale 3-1, 4.64 ERA) at Cleveland (J. Sowers 1-2, 6.75 ERA)
Kansas City 3
Cleveland 6
W: J. Sowers (2-2) L: J. Bale (3-2) S: J. Borowski (1)
HR – CLE: T. Hafner (5), H. Luna (4)

We got out to a 2-0 lead after 3. Cleveland tied it with 2 in the bottom of the 4th, then ran away with a 4-run 6th. Bale’s ERA ballooned to 5.40 after this game, after giving up 6 runs on 6 hits in 5.1 innings. Hafner went 2-3 with a home run, 2 runs scored, 2 RBI, and 1 walk to lead Cleveland.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCORES
Minnesota 4
Detroit 6 (10)
W: J. Zumaya (1-0) L: D. Reyes (0-2)
HR – MIN: J. Morneau (6) DET: M. Ordonez (4), B. Inge (3)

Boston 6
New York (A) 2
W: T. Wakefield (4-1) L: C. Pavano (1-4) S: J. Tavarez (1)

Toronto 1
Baltimore 2 (16)
W: J. Walker (1-0) L: P. Walker (0-1)

Seattle 0
Tampa Bay 7
W: J. Seo (2-1) L: H. Ramirez (1-2)

Jae Seo held the Mariners to 5 hits. He struck out 7 and walked 1.

Texas 0
Chicago (A) 7
W: J. Vazquez (3-0) L: B. Anderson (3-2)
HR – CHA: F. Catalanotto (2), J. Fields (4)

Vazquez is continuing his domination over the rest of the league, pitching a complete game 5-hit shutout. He finished with 7 strikeouts and 1 walk. So far this season he is 3-0 with a 0.86 ERA.

Oakland 7
Los Angeles (A) 5 (11)
W: K. Calero (2-0) L: S. Shields (2-1)
HR – OAK: J. Gomes (9), M. Bradley (8) LAA: B. Wood (2)

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCORES
Philadelphia 5
Washington 4
W: B. Claussen (2-2) L: F. Diaz (0-1) S: T. Gordon (4)
HR – PHI: M. Sweeney (1) WSH: F. Lopez (3)

Mike Sweeney hit a pinch-hit solo shot in the top of the 9th to break the tie.

Cincinnati 5
Pittsburgh 12
W: T. Armas (2-1) L: S. Kim (2-2) S: S. Burnett (1)
HR – PIT: J. Bay (7), R. Doumit (1)

Pittsburgh 2B Freddy Sanchez is day-to-day with a strained rib cage muscle.

Atlanta 14
New York (N) 3
W: J. Smoltz (4-2) L: A. Sele (3-1)
HR – ATL: C. Jones (9), W. Aybar 2 (2) NYN: C. Delgado (8)

Willy Aybar of the Braves was on fire today, going 5-6. He singled in the 1st, hit a solo shot in the 3rd, grounded out in the 4th, singled in the 6th, hit a 2-run triple in the 7th and hit a 2-run homer in the 9th.

Chicago (N) 12
St. Louis 8
W: R. Dempster (2-1) L: R. Rincon (0-1)
HR – CHN: A. Soriano 2 (7)

Houston 2
Milwaukee 5
W: Z. Jackson (3-0) L: P. Barzilla (0-2) S: F. Cordero (2)
HR – MIL: P. Fielder (4)

San Francisco 2
Arizona 1
W: B. Zito (3-4) L: Y. Petit (3-2) S: A. Benitez (6)
HR – SFN: E. Alfonzo (5) ARI: C. Tracy (2)

San Diego 7
Colorado 9
W: T. Martin (4-0) L: S. Cassidy (1-1) S: B. Fuentes (6)
HR – SDN: J. Rodriguez (1) COL: T. Helton 2 (5), C. Barmes (1), M. Holliday (9), J. Piedra (1)

Los Angeles (N) 7
Florida 2
W: B. Penny (2-1) L: J. Johnson (0-3)
HR – FLO: M. Cabrera (10)

[Dauis]

5/3/2007
Game #26 – Kansas City (Z. Greinke 1-3, 7.76 ERA) at Chicago (A) (D. Bush 2-2, 5.67 ERA)
Kansas City 1
Chicago (A) 7
W: D. Bush (3-2) L: Z. Greinke (1-4)
HR – CHA: S. Podsednik (1), J. Thome (5)

What can I say? We were dominated from the start. Bush shut us down, going 7.1 innings, allowing only 3 hits and 1 walk while striking out 9.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCORES
Boston 1
Baltimore 4
W: E. Bedard (4-2) L: D. Matsuzaka (3-4) S: D. Baez (7)
HR – BOS: D. Pedroia (2) BAL: C. Patterson 2 (4)

Toronto 5
Tampa Bay 4
W: V. Zambrano (1-1) L: A. Reyes (2-2) S: B. League (3)
HR – TOR: F. Thomas (4), T. Glaus (7), R. Shealy (2) TBA: E. Hinske (5)

New York (A) 6
Seattle 2
W: C. Wang (5-2) L: M. Batista (1-3)
HR – NYA: J. Giambi (6)

Texas 2
Minnesota 1
W: K. Millwood (3-2) L: J. Santana (3-3) S: E. Gagne (6)

Detroit 7
Oakland 5
W: J. Mesa (1-0) L: H. Street (3-1) S: T. Jones (9)
HR – DET: R. Raburn 2 (3) OAK: B. Kielty (2), J. Gomes (10), N. Swisher (10)

Los Angeles (A) 6
Cleveland 2
W: S. Shields (3-1) L: R. Hernandez (0-1)
HR – LAA: J. Mathis (1) CLE: D. Dellucci (4)

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCORES
Florida 4
Philadelphia 3 (10)
W: J. Julio (2-1) L: C. Hamels (0-2)
HR – FLO: D. Uggla (7)

Chicago (N) 7
New York (N) 8
W: T. Tucker (2-0) L: C. Zambrano (5-2) S: B. Wagner (10)
HR – CHN: A. Ramirez (8), J. Jones (5), A. Soriano (8) NYN: J. Reyes (7)

Colorado 2
Milwaukee 3
W: B. Sheets (5-2) L: B. Fuentes (1-2)
HR – COL: T. Helton (6)

Cincinnati 8
Houston 4
W: A. Harang (3-2) L: R. Oswalt (3-2)
HR – CIN: R. Freel (2), A. Dunn (6), J. Keppinger (3) HOU: L. Berkman (12), C. Burke (2)

Pittsburgh 2
Los Angeles (N) 1 (11)
W: M. Capps (2-0) L: T. Saito (2-1) S: B. Bullington (1)

St. Louis 0
Arizona 1
W: B. Webb (3-3) L: C. Carpenter (3-3)
HR – ARI: R. Garko (3)

Brandon Webb pitched a 4-hit gem. He struck out 5 and didn’t walk anyone. This year he’s 3-3 with a 2.08 ERA and 34 strikeouts.

San Diego 0
San Francisco 15
W: M. Cain (3-2) L: C. Young (4-1)
HR – SFN: B. Molina (1), R. Aurilia (3), O. Vizquel (3)

Washington 5
Atlanta 0
W: J. Patterson (4-2) L: C. James (3-3)
HR – WSH: R. Zimmerman (3)

[Dauis]

5/4/2007
Game #27 – Kansas City (J. de la Rosa) at Chicago (A) (J. Garland 1-3, 5.81 ERA)
Kansas City 1
Chicago (A) 8
W: J. Garland (2-3) L: J. de la Rosa (0-1)
HR – CHA: T. Hall 2 (2)

Not the best debut for de la Rosa. He lasted a whole 2/3 of an inning, giving up 5 runs on 4 hits and walking 2. Garland pitched a complete game for the Sox, giving up 1 run on 8 hits, walking 2 and striking out 3. Looks like that regression I predicted a few days ago is happening.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCORES
Boston 3
Baltimore 6
W: S. Trachsel (4-0) L: C. Schilling (2-1) S: D. Baez (8)
HR – BOS: M. Ramirez (8), D. Ortiz (8) BAL: J. Gibbons (4)

Toronto 4
Tampa Bay 6
W: D. Waechter (2-1) L: J. Thomson (0-3) S: A. Reyes (3)
HR – TOR: F. Thomas (5) TBA: C. Pena (4)

New York (A) 0
Seattle 6
W: F. Hernandez (2-5) L: K. Igawa (2-1)
HR – SEA: A. Beltre (3), R. Sexson (3)

Texas 8
Minnesota 4
W: V. Padilla (3-1) L: B. Bonser (2-2)
HR – TEX: M. Teixeira (9), A. Hyzdu (3) MIN: J. Morneau (7)

Detroit 2
Oakland 10
W: R. Harden (4-0) L: M. Maroth (2-2)
HR – DET: C. Guillen (3) OAK: M. Ellis (3)

Los Angeles (A) 11
Cleveland 3
W: J. Weaver (4-1) L: P. Byrd (3-2) S: D. Oliver (2)
HR – LAA: J. Rivera (4), O. Cabrera (1)

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCORES
Florida 0
Philadelphia 1 (13)
W: G. Geary (1-0) L: R. Messenger (2-1)
HR – PHI: W. Lydon (2)

Chicago (N) 4
New York (N) 10
W: S. Schoeneweis (2-0) L: T. Lilly (2-2)
HR – CHN: D. Lee (5) NYN: D. Wright (2)

Mets reliever Pedro Feliciano will miss the next 3 weeks with a strained bicep muscle.

Colorado 2
Milwaukee 0
W: J. Francis (2-4) L: J. Suppan (0-4) S: L. Hawkins (1)
HR – COL: M. Holliday (10)

Cincinnati 4
Houston 5
W: D. Borkowski (2-0) L: E. Guardado (0-3)
HR – CIN: B. Phillips (2), E. Encarnacion (5) HOU: W. Young (4)

Pittsburgh 4
Los Angeles (N) 7
W: J. Lieber (3-3) L: P. Maholm (0-6) S: T. Saito (8)
HR – PIT: T. Alvarez 2 (5)

St. Louis 6
Arizona 3
W: G. Meche (4-0) L: E. Gonzalez (1-2) S: B. Looper (8)
HR – STL: A. Pujols (4) ARI: C. Quentin (4), S. Drew (2)

San Diego 16
San Francisco 3
W: C. Carillo (4-1) L: N. Lowry (1-5)
HR – SDN: M. Cameron (2) SFN: R. Aurilia (4)

Washington 3
Atlanta 4 (11)
W: M. Gonzalez (1-3) L: E. Fruto (0-1)
HR – WSH: M. Vento (2), R. Zimmerman (4) ATL: E. Renteria (4), M. Diaz (3)

[Dauis]

5/5/2007
Trade
The Mets today traded CF Endy Chavez to the Brewers for SP Chris Capuano and $1,525,000. This season Chavez has hit .319 with 1 homer and 9 RBI and scored 15 times in limited duty. Capuano is 2-1 with a 4.09 ERA.

Game #28 – Kansas City (J. Gobble 1-3, 3.81 ERA) at Minnesota (P. Munro 0-1, 4.81 ERA)
Kansas City 2
Minnesota 6
W: P. Munro (1-1) L: J. Gobble (1-4)
HR – MIN: J. Morneau (8), A. Machado (1)

Another game, another loss. Munro went 8 innings and gave up 6 hits and a walk and struck out 4 for the Twins.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCORES
Los Angeles (A) 3
Boston 10
W: J. Papelbon (2-2) L: B. Colon (0-5)
HR – LAA: J. Rivera (5), C. Figgins (2) BOS: D. Ortiz (9), J. Drew (5), H. Choi (2), D. Pedroia (3)

Toronto 3
Seattle 1
W: J. Towers (3-0) L: J. Weaver (0-6) S: B. League (4)

Cleveland 3
Chicago (A) 4
W: M. MacDougal (3-3) L: C. Lee (2-4) S: B. Jenks (3)

White Sox SP Mark Buehrle will be out the next 1-2 weeks with dead arm syndrome. He is 3-2 this season with a 2.68 ERA and 24 strikeouts.

Detroit 3
Texas 2
W: J. Verlander (2-4) L: J. Wright (0-5) S: T. Jones (10)
HR – DET: M. Hessman (1), B. Watson (1)

Tampa Bay 5
Oakland 4
W: S. Autrey (3-0) L: H. Street (3-2) S: R. Lugo (2)

New York (A) 6
Baltimore 2
W: M. Mussina (6-1) L: J. Acevedo (3-3)
HR – NYA: J. Damon (6)

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCORES
Colorado 5
Philadelphia 8
W: F. Garcia (4-2) L: B. Kim (1-3) S: T. Gordon (5)
HR – PHI: P. Burrell (2), R. Howard 2 (9)

Florida 4
New York (N) 1
W: P. Astacio (3-2) L: J. Maine (2-3) S: S. Olsen (1)
HR – FLO: M. Jacobs (7)

Cincinnati 2
Washington 3
W: F. Diaz (1-1) L: E. Guardado (0-4)
HR – CIN: B. Phillips (3) WSH: R. Belliard (2)

Houston 12
Los Angeles (N) 0
W: C. Sampson (3-2) L: B. Tomko (1-3)
HR – HOU: C. Lee (9), W. Young (5)

Houston starter Chris Sampson threw a 4-hit shutout, striking out 2 and walking 1. This year he is 3-2 with a 4.78 ERA in 6 starts.

Pittsburgh 5
Arizona 2
W: V. Santos (3-2) L: L. Hernandez (3-2) S: M. Capps (3)
HR – PIT: T. Alvarez (6)

Pittsburgh 2B Freddy Sanchez will miss 2 weeks with a strained hamstring muscle. So far this season he has hit .269 with no homers and 13 RBI, scoring 7 times.

St. Louis 1
San Diego 2
W: G. Maddux (2-2) L: B. Chen (2-3) S: T. Hoffman (5)
HR – STL: J. Edmonds (2) SDN: G. Sheffield 2 (4)

Milwaukee 2
San Francisco 4
W: B. Hennessey (2-2) L: C. Vargas (1-4) S: J. Taschner (1)
HR – MIL: B. Hall (10) SFN: E. Alfonzo (6)

Chicago (N) 1
Atlanta 5
W: M. Redman (1-1) L: J. Marquis (3-3) S: B. Wickman (7)
HR – ATL: B. McCann (4)

[RoyalsBlue]

Hit a bit of a rough stretch, Dauis. Hang in there, it'll get better.

I do have a question though. How's John Buck doing? He's my favorite current Royal player, IRL. Thanks!

[Dauis]

5/6/2007
Game #29 – Kansas City (O. Perez 2-1, 8.48 ERA) at Minnesota (C. Silva 4-1, 1.93 ERA)
Kansas City 2
Minnesota 13
W: C. Silva (5-1) L: O. Perez (2-2)
HR – MIN: J. Lane (5)

Ugh. This pitching staff is sickening to watch sometimes. Jason Lane of the Twins had a field day, going 3-5 with 2 doubles, a homer, 3 runs scored, and 3 RBI.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCORES
Los Angeles (A) 5
Boston 1
W: K. Escobar (3-2) L: T. Wakefield (4-2) S: F. Rodriguez (9)
HR – LAA: P. Konerko (5), S. Hillenbrand (1), V. Guerrero (4), J. Mathis (2) BOS: J. Lugo (1)

Toronto 7
Seattle 5
W: V. Zambrano (2-1) L: M. Lowe (0-1) S: B. League (5)
HR – SEA: R. Ibanez (2)

Cleveland 1
Chicago (A) 3
W: J. Contreras (4-1) L: J. Westbrook (0-3) S: B. Jenks (4)
HR – CHA: T. Iguchi (5)

Detroit 11
Texas 2
W: N. Robertson (4-2) L: K. Loe (2-5)
HR – DET: R. Raburn (4) TEX: P. Nevin 2 (4)

Tampa Bay 4
Oakland 1
W: J. Shields (3-3) L: E. Loaiza (2-4) S: A. Reyes (4)
HR – TBA: F. Tatis (1)

Tampa Bay third baseman Eric Hinske, who is hitting .294 with 5 home runs this season, will miss the next week after suffering a bruised cheekbone.

New York (A) 3
Baltimore 4 (18)
W: C. Bradford (1-0) L: M. Myers (0-1)
HR – NYA: J. Posada (7) BAL: N. Markakis (2), E. Torres (1)

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCORES
Colorado 1
Philadelphia 2
W: J. Moyer (2-3) L: R. Lopez (3-3) S: G. Geary (1)
HR – PHI: C. Utley (4)

Florida 2
New York (N) 1 (10)
W: J. Julio (3-1) L: B. Wagner (0-1)

Cincinnati 2
Washington 1
W: G. Majewski (1-1) L: S. Hill (3-2) S: M. Stanton (1)
HR – CIN: M. Lawton (4) WSH: R. Zimmerman (5)

Houston 6
Los Angeles (N) 4
W: D. Borkowski (3-0) L: J. Schmidt (5-1) S: D. Wheeler (6)
HR – HOU: C. Lee (10) LAN: N. Garciaparra (4)

Dodgers RF Andre Ethier suffered a hyperextended knee and will miss the next 2 weeks. He’s had a decent season so far, hitting .292 with 1 home run, 14 RBI, and 16 runs scored.

Pittsburgh 2
Arizona 7
W: R. Johnson (2-2) L: Z. Duke (1-3)
HR – ARI: C. Snyder (4), S. Drew (3)

St. Louis 1
San Diego 9
W: J. Peavy (2-4) L: A. Wainwright (1-4)
HR – SDN: K. Greene (3), M. Cameron (3), R. Branyan (5)

Milwaukee 4
San Francisco 5
W: M. Morris (1-3) L: S. Narron (0-1) S: F. Cabrera (1)
HR – SFN: E. Alfonzo (7)

Chicago (N) 7
Atlanta 1
W: R. Hill (2-2) L: K. Davies (0-3)
HR – CHN: A. Ramirez (9), M. Barrett (8)

[Dauis]

Weekly Thoughts
Nothing like an 0-7 week to extend our losing streak to 9. We are now 12-17, 5.5 games back and in 4th place. Our pitching staff continues to be terrible, but unfortunately I think we’re stuck with most of them for now, as our prospects are still a little ways off. There is a lot of dead weight on this roster that I would like to get rid of, and I plan on getting rid of as much of it as I possibly can. We continued our purging by releasing 2B Alex Prieto. We tried to trade him, but couldn’t find any suitable offers. RF Chad Allen will be called up, and CF Jorge Padilla will be added to the 40-man roster.

AL Player of the Week
1B Jim Thome (CHA) .565, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 8 R

NL Player of the Week
SS Brandon Phillips (CIN) .571, 2 HR, 7 RBI

[Dauis]

RB,

With the acquisition of David Ross, Buck has had very few ABs. He's appeared in only 5 games, going 2-11 with 1 run, 2 RBI, and a K. Ross isn't hitting this season either, though, hitting .161 in 27 games. Honestly, I'm not sure either has much of a future with the team.

[Dauis]

5/7/2007
Game #30 – Kansas City (J. Bale 3-2, 5.40 ERA) at Minnesota (R. Ortiz 0-1, 4.95 ERA)
Kansas City 6
Minnesota 8
W: P. Neshek (1-0) L: O. Dotel (1-3)
HR – KC: D. DeJesus (4) MIN: J. Morneau 2 (10)

I foolishly thought we were going to get a win being up 6-4 going into the bottom of the ninth. However, Dotel came in to pitch and walked Bellhorn. Bartlett hit a double, moving Bellhorn to third. Cirillo had a base hit, scoring 2 and tying the game. Peralta came in to pitch and on his second pitch to Morneau gave up the walk-off 2-run shot. It was a waste of a decent start by Bale, who pitched 8 innings and gave up 4 runs.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCORES
Los Angeles (A) 4
Boston 3
W: J. Lackey (2-2) L: D. Matsuzaka (3-5) S: F. Rodriguez (10)
HR – LAA: P. Konerko (6), M. Napoli (6)

Toronto 4
Seattle 5
W: J. Woods (1-1) L: J. Accardo (2-2)
HR – SEA: R. Durham (6)

Toronto joins the heartbroken today, giving up all 5 runs in the bottom of the 9th.

Cleveland 11
Chicago (A) 4
W: J. Sowers (3-2) L: J. Vazquez (3-1)
HR – CLE: T. Hafner (6), E. Byrnes 2 (4), J. Barfield 2 (2) CHA: J. Dye (9)

Detroit 2
Texas 8
W: B. Anderson (4-2) L: J. Bonderman (1-3)
HR – DET: C. Monroe (2), M. Thames (3) TEX: M. Teixeira (10), B. Wilkerson (5)

Texas C Gerald Laird fractured his ribs in a collision at home plate. He will miss the next 4 weeks. He is hitting .324 with 3 home runs, 11 RBIs, 6 walks, and 18 runs scored.

Tampa Bay 0
Oakland 2
W: B. Halsey (1-1) L: S. Kazmir (1-3) S: H. Street (9)

New York (A) 11
Baltimore 10
W: L. Vizcaino (2-0) L: O. Moreno (2-1) S: M. Rivera (9)
HR – NYA: H. Matsui (8) BAL: M. Mora (2), K. Millar (3), J. Gibbons 2 (6)

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCORES
Colorado 2
Philadelphia 8
W: B. Claussen (3-2) L: L. Hawkins (1-1)
HR – PHI: J. Rollins 2 (5), M. Lieberthal (5)

Florida 8
New York (N) 9
W: A. Sele (4-1) L: J. Frasor (0-1) S: B. Wagner (11)
HR – FLO: M. Cabrera (11), M. Jacobs (8)

Cincinnati 9
Washington 6
W: G. Majewski (2-1) L: M. O’Connor (1-2) S: E. Guardado (7)
HR – CIN: A. Machado (1), R. Sanders (1), J. Keppinger (4) WSH: N. Logan (1)

Houston 1
Los Angeles (N) 2
W: B. Penny (3-1) L: P. Barzilla (0-3) S: T. Saito (9)
HR – HOU: C. Lee (11) LAN: M. Kemp (1)

Pittsburgh 3
Arizona 0
W: T. Armas (3-1) L: Y. Petit (3-3) S: S. Torres (5)
HR – PIT: J. Bay (8)

St. Louis 7
San Diego 4
W: R. Franklin (2-0) L: E. Ramirez (0-2) S: B. Looper (9)
HR – STL: S. Rolen (9), A. Pujols (5), J. Encarnacion (4), C. Duncan (10) SDN: J. Cruz Jr. (2), A. Gonzalez (5)

Milwaukee 2
San Francisco 3
W: B. Zito (4-4) L: F. Cordero (0-2)
HR – SFN: B. Bonds (6), R. Winn (5)

Chicago (N) 1
Atlanta 0
W: W. Miller (3-1) L: J. Smoltz (4-3) S: B. Howry (5)
HR – CHN: J. Jones (6)

[Dauis]

5/8/2007
Game #31 – Detroit (D. Wells 2-2, 5.01 ERA) at Kansas City (Z. Greinke 1-4, 8.33 ERA)
Detroit 4
Kansas City 6
W: Z. Greinke (2-4) L: D. Wells (2-3) S: B. Evert (1)
HR – DET: C. Granderson (4) KC: S. Spiezio (11), M. Teahen (8)

We won! We won! We won! It was scoreless until the 7th, when we put up all 6 of our runs, including a grand slam by Teahen, followed immediately by a solo shot by Spiezio.

Greinke pitched well, going 8.2 before handing it off to the bullpen, which is when it got a little hairy. Greinke gave up a leadoff double to Shelton, then got Raburn to ground out, moving Shelton to 3rd with one out. Vance Wilson flew out to center, scoring Shelton, making it 6-1 with 2 outs. Inge followed with a base hit, and Nunez came in to pitch. Nunez walked Watson before giving up a 3-run homer to Granderson, making it 6-4.

Soria came in to face Pudge, and Pudge hi a double. Soria then walked Guillen on 4 straight pitches, and also walked Thames to load the bases for Chris Shelton. He got Shelton to strike out to end the game, but hurt himself on the last pitch, which is why I assume Evert got credit for the save.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCORES
Chicago (A) 6
Seattle 3
W: D. Bush (4-2) L: M. Batista (1-4) S: B. Jenks (5)
HR – CHA: J. Dye (10)

Tampa Bay 6
Texas 3
W: J. Hammel (1-0) L: K. Millwood (3-3) S: A. Reyes (5)
HR – TB: C. Pena (5) TEX: A. Brown (1), B. Wilkerson (6)

Los Angeles (A) 0
Boston 2
W: C. Schilling (3-1) L: E. Santana (2-2) S: C. Hansen (5)
HR – BOS: K. Youkilis (2)

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCORES
Los Angeles (N) 0
Cincinnati 1
W: A. Harang (4-2) L: J. Broxton (0-1) S: E. Guardado (8)

St. Louis 4
San Diego 3
W: M. Mulder (1-0) L: S. Strickland (1-3) S: B. Looper (10)

[Dauis]

5/9/2007
Game #32 – Detroit (M. Maroth 2-2, 3.04 ERA) at Kansas City (J. de la Rosa 0-1, 67.57 ERA)
Detroit 4
Kansas City 5
W: O. Dotel (2-3) L: T. Jones (1-1)
HR – DET: C. Guillen 2 (5) KC: M. Teahen (9)

Two in a row! We jumped out to a 4-0 lead after 3, then watched as the Tigers came back and ended up tying it up in the 9th. Then, with 2 on and 1 out in the bottom of the 9th, Emil Brown delivered the game-winning hit to drive in Clapinski. Jorge de la Rosa did much better in his second start, going 6.1 innings, giving up 3 runs on 8 hits, walking 3 and striking out 6.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCORES
Tampa Bay 1
Texas 4
W: V. Padilla (4-1) L: B. Stokes (0-4) S: E. Gagne (7)

Cleveland 0
New York (A) 7
W: C. Wang (6-2) L: C. Sabathia (2-5)
HR – NYA: A. Rodriguez (9)

Chien-Ming Wang shut down the Indians, giving up 6 hits while striking out 3 and walking 2. So far this season Wang is 6-2 with a 2.56 ERA, 29 strikeouts and 15 walks.

Baltimore 8
Toronto 6
W: E. Bedard (5-2) L: R. Halladay (2-3) S: O. Moreno (1)
HR – BAL: N. Markakis (3) TOR: F. Thomas 2 (7), V. Wells (5)

Oakland 5
Boston 3
W: D. Haren (3-2) L: D. Hansack (0-1) S: H. Street (10)

Los Angeles (A) 3
Minnesota 7
W: J. Santana (4-3) L: J. Weaver (4-2) S: J. Nathan (9)
HR – LAA: V. Guerrero (5)

Chicago (A) 2
Seattle 3
W: F. Hernandez (3-5) L: J. Garland (2-4) S: J. Woods (1)
HR – CHA: J. Crede (5)

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCORES
New York (N) 2
Philadelphia 10
W: B. Myers (3-3) L: P. Martinez (2-4)
HR – NYN: C. Delgado (9) PHI: J. Rollins (6), M. Lieberthal (6), P. Burrell 2 (4), C. Utley (5), R. Howard (10)

Florida 0
Washington 9
W: J. Patterson (5-2) L: D. Willis (2-3)
HR – WSH: N. Johnson (2), M. Vento (3)

Arizona 10
Chicago (N) 6 (12)
W: D. Davis (1-0) L: M. Wuertz (2-1)
HR – ARI: E. Perez (2) CHN: J. Jones (7), A. Soriano (9), D. Ward (4)

Atlanta 6
Pittsburgh 4
W: C. Hammond (1-0) L: S. Torres (0-3) S: B. Wickman (8)
HR – ATL: B. McCann (5) PIT: A. LaRoche (8), R. Davis (1)

Milwaukee 9
San Diego 6
W: M. Wise (2-0) L: H. Bell (1-2) S: F. Cordero (3)
HR – MIL: B. Hall (11), P. Fielder (5) SDN: K. Greene (4), R. Branyan (6)

Houston 6
San Francisco 3
W: R. Oswalt (4-2) L: M. Cain (3-3) S: D. Wheeler (7)
HR – HOU: C. Lee (12)

St. Louis 8
Colorado 10
W: A. Reyes (3-2) L: B. Thompson (1-1) S: R. Ramirez (2)
HR – STL: A. Pujols 2 (7), J. Encarnacion (5), P. Ozuna (1), P. Wilson (2) COL: G. Atkins (8), M. Holliday (11), C. Iannetta (3)

Los Angeles (N) 5
Cincinnati 6
W: G. Majewski (3-1) L: Y. Brazoban (2-1) S: D. Weathers (2)
HR – CIN: B. Philllips (4), A. Dunn (7)