Thursday, May 22, 2008
Sheets tallies complete-game victory
PITTSBURGH -- Ben Sheets made sure the Brewers didn't need a closer on Wednesday night. While Eric Gagne traveled back to Milwaukee for an examination of his ailing shoulder, Sheets shouldered the load for the Brewers, pitching his second complete game of the season for a 4-1 win over the Pirates at PNC Park that guaranteed the team's first series win here in nearly two years. Ryan Braun stayed hot with a go-ahead triple and Rickie Weeks hit a solo home run and scored twice for the Brewers, who won consecutive road games for the first time since April 17-19. They had not won a series in Pittsburgh since taking two of three from the Pirates in August 2006, and on Thursday will try to finish their first-ever sweep at PNC Park. It has been a sudden turnaround for a team that entered the series on a five-game losing streak and a nine-game road skid and was 20-42 at PNC Park since 2001. It has been built mostly around solid starting pitching; Manny Parra worked 5 2/3 scoreless innings in Tuesday's series opener before Sheets twirled his gem on Wednesday. "Huge. Beyond huge," Braun said of the role Parra and Sheets have played. "Coming off that last series [three losses in Boston], we were far from where we wanted to be, and now we have won the series. We want to come out and get the sweep [on Thursday], but this gets us headed in the right direction." The Brewers pulled within two games of .500 at 22-24. But Sheets wants more. "You have to add on," he said. "These two wins are nothing now, because they're done." As encouraging as the Brewers' bounceback has been, it was just as dramatic for Sheets, who worked six shutout innings against the Dodgers in his previous start before surrendering six runs and three home runs in the seventh. He called it the worst inning of his career, and had few answers as to why he suddenly was leaving everything up in the strike zone. "One inning made it look like I was awful in the whole game," Sheets said of his outing against L.A. "I was a little embarrassed by what happened. My main goal today was to get through seven [innings], have that clean seventh and show myself I could do it. Tonight was better than that." Sheets scattered 11 hits in the 15th complete game of his career, including Xavier Nady's fourth-inning solo home run on a hanging changeup. Sheets struck out five, did not walk a batter and threw a season-high 123 pitches. He worked without his dominating fastball, instead relying on low-90s heat for most of the night and throwing a hefty dose of two-seam sinkers. Sheets also was able to throw his signature curveball for strikes. "We've faced him before where he can't get it over the plate and you only have to worry about one pitch," Pirates first baseman Adam LaRoche said. "Tonight, he was dropping the curveball in for strikes and then throwing that fastball at 93-94 [mph]. We still got some hits off of him. We just didn't put them together in the same inning." "Anytime a starter can get you deep into a game, it's great," Brewers manager Ned Yost said. "Any time he goes nine, wow." Sheets was the beneficiary of a couple of defensive gems. In the sixth, second baseman Weeks was shielded by the umpire and had to handle a high hop, but snared a Nady grounder and initiated a 4-6-3 double play. Center fielder Mike Cameron, who overran a double in the third inning, atoned with a catch at the warning track before crashing into the outfield wall in the fifth. In the eighth, left fielder Braun slid a bit too far into foul territory, but nonetheless made the inning-ending grab. "Your teammates have a lot with you going the complete game, too," Sheets said. "That's what people overlook. They think it's just the pitcher." Sheets struck out six and didn't walk a batter to improve to 4-0 with a 2.29 ERA on the road this season. His back stiffened up while the Brewers sent seven men to the plate and scored a pair of runs off losing pitcher Ian Snell (2-3) in a long top of the fifth inning, but Sheets retired the side in order in the bottom of the frame, getting help from Cameron's defensive gem for the second out. "I felt good," Sheets said. "My back tightened up in the fifth, but it went away. I went back out there and felt great. My arm felt great the whole time, and I think that's a big plus because I threw a lot of pitches [123, a season high]. I felt the same, and that kind of excites me." Snell allowed four runs, two of them earned, in six innings and lost his third straight decision. The Brewers collected nine hits against Snell and two more against Pirates relievers, giving them 52 hits over their last five games. Nine of those belong to Braun, who made some headlines over the weekend when he said the Brewers "didn't expect to win" during their Interleague matchup against the world champion Red Sox. Since Braun spoke his mind, the team is 2-0. "Everybody has been supportive," Braun said. "We talked about it a little bit and everybody was on the same page. We recognized where we were at and nobody was content with where we were at. I think we all recognized that we needed to make a change, and I think over the last few days we have made a change. It's helped. It's shown."
P-Bruins Fall To Pirates 3-2 P-Bruins Defeat Pirates 4-0 No news is good news with Sheets’ arm Soriano, seventh lead Cubs over Snakes
Dig In: Experience MLB.com, get free stuff
In the first quarter of this Major League Baseball season, you might have:
• Bought one of those Yankees customized home jerseys that features the commemorative All-Star Game logo patch on one sleeve and Yankee Stadium logo patch on the other -- the hottest-selling item right now at the MLB.com Shop.
• Ordered those increasingly popular "All You Can Eat" tickets specials from the Dodgers' or Pirates' club sites, spent hours on your home computer planning summer trips and clicking around your team's online ticket center, and turned to StubHub when you found that seats for an upcoming game were scarce.
• Showed off your mobile phone to friends just so they would know that Asdrubal Cabrera's unassisted triple play or Kosuke Fukudome's big hit had just showed up as a Video Alert moments after the play happened.
• Watched your favorite team live over your computer with MLB.TV, contributing to the record number of signups for that service.
• Entered this unprecedented early-season array of major contests and sweepstakes for the chance to win unreal prizes like a million bucks or trip giveaways to see the Midsummer Classic or a game at the 2008 World Series.
• Stopped and thought how much fun it is to be a baseball fan in the digital world.
At the quarter mark of this Major League Baseball season, fans are well on their way toward a fifth consecutive overall attendance record and demonstrating again how technology changed the whole experience for the better. You saw the words "Dig In" splashed all over MLB.com around Opening Day, and you did just that. As another certain summer of competitive balance unfolds and Lance Berkman makes an early bid for a Triple Crown, here is what's hot among your peers:
MLB.com Mobile Video Alerts.
Brad Spahr is a lifelong Cardinals fan living in Los Angeles. Originally from Red Bud, Ill., a small town outside of St. Louis, he has gone to Cardinals games for as long as he can remember. "My grandparents have had season tickets since the days of Sportsman's Park," Spahr explained via email, "so Cardinal history goes back a long way in my family."
After moving to L.A., he became an MLB.TV subscriber so he could follow his Redbirds. This year, Spahr added Video Alerts, using his Sprint wireless service. Clips are cut and sent about three minutes after the play occurs. You typically get up to five videos per game, chosen by MLB.com editors, available on select Verizon, AT&T and Sprint handhelds including smart phones. For $3.99, fans like Spahr get text and video alerts if they have a phone capable of streaming video. The iPhone is now supported as well.
"I am a huge fan of the Video Alerts service," he said. "The Cardinals are off to an unexpectedly hot start this year, and now I can watch key plays on my cell phone within minutes of the play happening in the game. My schedule keeps me busy and I often can't be at a computer or television when the Cardinals are playing.
"My favorite mobile moment of the season was last week when I got an alert that said, 'Ankiel shows off his arm' -- with a link to a video clip of Rick Ankiel gunning down a runner at third from center field in a huge inning-ending double play. That play has since become not only the play of the week, but one of the top plays of the year. To have access to that clip on my cell phone, within minutes of it happening, is remarkable."
To get your Video Alerts, just sign up by texting "GET Club name" to 65246. For example, if you are a Mets fan, you send the text "get mets" to 65246. Once you sign up for the text alerts, MLB.com will send eligible fans a second text message offering the Video Alerts service. The price hasn't changed, so this was a throw-in. As always, you can manage your Team Alert selections in the "m-dash" (Mobile Dashboard).
Ten ways to win
There is a definite trend happening around MLB.com and it has to do with you. It seems like every day brings a new major sweepstakes or contest to these pages, usually tied to an important fan-participation element, and the prizes are huge. In past years, these tend to swell up in late summer as the pennant races take shape. It has something to do with more people than ever following Major League Baseball.
Just to help your own chances, here's a top 10 (alphabetically) you should enter:
• Bank of America All-Star Game Sweepstakes. Win a trip to the 2008 All-Star Game.
• Beat the Streak presented by Mitchum. Win $1 million. That's right.
• Chevy MLB World Series Sweepstakes. Win 2008 World Series tickets and All-Star Game Shop prizes.
• Indiana Jones Legends Sweepstakes. Win a trip to see your favorite legend on screen and on the field.
• Monster's All-Star Game Experience. Win a trip to New York for the 2008 All-Star Week, spending cash, on-field press credentials and your own special MLBlog. Vote first.
• Palm Centro Get To The Game Sweepstakes. Win a trip to the 2008 All-Star Game.
• Pepsi Clutch Performer Sweepstakes. Win a trip to the 2009 All-Star Game.
• Rookie of the Month Award presented by Gillette. Vote and win tickets to the 2008 All-Star Game or a 2008 World Series game.
• State Farm Call Your Shot Sweepstakes. Win a trip to the 2008 All-Star Week, then stand at home plate and tell David Ortiz where to hit one out before the State Farm Home Run Derby. You could win a Chevy Tahoe hybrid.
• Take Me Out To The Ball Game Video Contest presented by Baby Ruth. Upload your version now and you could sing that song in the seventh-inning stretch July 15 at Yankee Stadium.
MLB.TV and MLB.TV Premium
MLB.TV has reached unprecedented levels so far this season. During the first two games of this season alone, MLB.TV delivered more than 1.7 million live game video streams and adding nearly 36,000 subscribers. To make it even more irresistible, the price was just lowered this past week. It's now $14.95 a month or $79.95 a year for MLB.TV, and $19.95 a month and $109.95 a year for MLB.TV Premium. Both are great, both come with MLB.com Gameday Audio, and the latter comes with special features including TV-quality picture capability and the MLB.TV Mosaic app that lets you see up to six live games simultaneously. It's become a staple of modern baseball fan life.
Sales and patches
The MLB.com Shop just introduced a Tee and Cap Sale on Tuesday, so you can buy one and get the second half off. This is the perfect time to load up on summer gear to wear to the ballpark, like The Vote T-shirts by Majestic Athletic or On Par Ball Marker Adjustable Caps from New Era.
What's been hot in the first quarter of this season the Shop? Think All-Star Game and patches. After that aforementioned Yankees jersey, the top five is rounded out by: Dodgers Authentic Personalized COOL BASE Jersey with 50th Anniversary Patch; Yankees Authentic Game Performance 59FIFTY On-Field Cap with 2008 All-Star Patch; Yankees Authentic Therma Base Premier Road Jacket; and Mets Authentic Johan Santana Home Jersey with 2008 Shea Stadium Commemorative Patch.
Yes, that's a lot of New York. But both stadiums are on the way out, an All-Star Game is on the way in, and that's representative of what fans have craved most the first quarter. Those same items are available for other clubs, and just take one look at the ballparks and you can see what's in for summer fashion. The Shop is the easiest place to get it.
MLB.com Gameday
Gameday is more addictive so far in 2008, if anything. The 750 players on Major League rosters are the main reason why, of course. Fans worldwide sit there with their app on the desktop and wait to see where that next pitch shows up in the virtual strike zone, and it is surrounded by real-time data such as the live box, the play-by-play, and the Pitch-f/x technology to provide speed and trajectory in the pitch sequence. You've watched it incorporate Real Time Highlights, you've seen it integrate with text like in-depth Game Previews, and it has applied your constructive input via the Gameday blog. Now get ready for more because Cory Schwartz, MLB.com's director of statistics and a familiar face of fantasy analysis on this site, says another key addition is coming soon.
"We tweaked the footprint considerably so Gameday would fit better on the user's screen, but without having any less information," Schwartz said. "We tweaked the pitch type software so the results are much more accurate now. And the treatment of the in-game videos has gotten a lot of love and now looks spectacular, in my humble opinion. 3D pitch displays will be rolled out near the end of the month and are insane."
Registration
Around the clock every day, fans continue to register at their favorite club site for a variety of benefits. It's free and easy, and it is the gateway to many things that happen during the course of the year -- from ticketing and Shop offers to contest prizes to All-Star voting to blogging and posting messages to subscription signups and more.
Scoreboard, Standings, Stats, Schedule
The four S's are still the bread-and-butter for the typical baseball fan. Nothing changed about that in the first quarter of this season. More people than ever wanted to know the score, wanted to shake their head over the standings, wanted to check on stats for their fantasy rosters or to see how long Chipper Jones can stay above .400, or to check that schedule. Life kind of revolves around the four S's much of the time.
Hal Bodley
A lot of people have noticed during the first quarter of this season that the much-read and much-respected baseball writer is on our team now -- along with those 30 team beat writers who have held the attention of the average fan during this first quarter as well.
Blogging for free
On Opening Day, MLB Advanced Media removed the subscription cost for its MLBlogs community, and there have been more blogs created in this first quarter than there were the first three years of MLBlogs. Fans like you are starting up MLBlogs around the clock, and then using them for a wide variety of reasons -- some just to chronicle every game of the season like the pros, some to let you know if the roof is open or closed, and some to present great photography. It's where you can blog alongside people like Mark DeRosa, top draft prospect Brett Wallace of Arizona State, Bengie Molina, Jeff Francoeur, the Phillies Ballgirls, Alyssa Milano, the Tigers front office.
Will that Tigers blog be telling a fan base later this year about how to get playoff tickets? Or is Detroit's tough first quarter a telltale sign? Will fans like Brad Spahr still be loving those daily Video Alerts later this summer in the heat of a pennant race? Will everyone in the crowd at Yankee Stadium on July 15 be wearing one of those customized jerseys with the two logo patches? Will you be the one who wins one of those amazing sweepstakes prizes and perhaps going to the All-Star Game or World Series for free?
There are so many questions still to be answered.
There is such a long summer and fall of baseball ahead.
It's a good thing fans have technology to make it even more fun.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Leyland fires back on Grilli's remarks
DETROIT -- Tigers manager Jim Leyland has spent the season exercising extreme patience with his struggling club. When it comes to players talking about the team atmosphere and teammates, however, his patience runs out quickly. Frustrated Penguins look to regain game, eliminate Rangers from playoffs Rookie impresses amid Galaxy stars Tigers’ Cabrera settling in at first base
After former Tigers pitcher Jason Grilli was among those dissecting what's wrong with the Tigers in a Tuesday piece by Bob Nightengale in USA Today, Leyland fired back, saying Grilli should worry about Colorado. Then he turned his attention to his current players.
Grilli was quoted in the USA Today article calling the clubhouse atmosphere in Detroit "stale and stagnant." He also said that not re-signing Sean Casey had affected them.
"It seems like they kind of broke up our team chemistry when they got rid of Sean Casey and good people like that," said Grilli, who was traded to Colorado at the end of April after two-plus seasons in Detroit. "You wanted guys like that around. You wanted a guy like [Brandon] Inge playing behind you, knowing he would go through a brick wall.
"Talent-wise, on paper, that is one of the greatest teams assembled, but the atmosphere was stale and stagnant. You kept losing, losing and losing, and everybody became distant. I have good friends over there, and I feel badly for them."
Leyland has never been a big believer in clubhouse chemistry affecting a team, and those remarks didn't sit well with him.
"I find that hard to believe that that has anything to do with somebody not getting a run in," Leyland said Tuesday afternoon. "I mean, would I like this to be a little more close-knit? Yes. A lot of people when they start talking about that, and some of it comes from players, I think they ought to look at themselves in the mirror. I think it's diversionary tactics, and I really take offense to Jason Grilli's thing about not having Sean Casey.
"You have to be kidding me. I mean, please. Jason Grilli ought to just worry about Colorado. Jason Grilli's not here any longer because Jason Grilli didn't pitch good under pressure situations and didn't pitch very well in Detroit. You want to tell it like it is? When players want to start talking, I'll start talking. But I'm very reserved about stuff like that. Jason Grilli ought to worry about Colorado, not Detroit.
"Don't misunderstand what I'm saying. I miss Sean Casey. But Sean Casey doesn't have anything to do with the fact that the Tigers are where we're at. Now let's get that straight right now."
That was Leyland's point about Grilli, but he was just getting started.
Leyland also took offense to remarks from current players, especially a quote from third baseman Carlos Guillen.
"We never said we were going to win 100 games," Guillen told USA Today. "All we said was that we have a good team with good players. That was the [sports] media and fans doing the talking. You don't win games looking good on paper. You've got to do it on the field. That wasn't fair to us."
Without mentioning Guillen by name, Leyland scoffed at that notion.
"It isn't fair all of a sudden for people to have expectations?" Leyland asked. "Well, why wasn't it fair? What are you talking about, it wasn't fair? You're supposed to love the expectations. You're saying it wasn't fair to have expectations? What are you talking about? I'm a grown man. I can take my heat, and I deserve some for the performance of this club. But you better be careful when you're a player. If you're hitting .200 and .220 and striking out or hitting .200 and .215, you shouldn't be popping off, in my opinion, about other situations. You ought to be taking care of your own business.
"If they want to play games, I'll play games, and it won't be long [before] I'll put names to it, if they want me to. I'm not quite to that point yet. They want to play games, I'll play games. I'll quit protecting some of these guys night after night after night after night. And I'll put some names to it."
When asked what kind of effect that would have on a club, Leyland went on.
"I don't give a [care] what [effect] it has," he said. "When people start making weak excuses in the newspaper, diversionary tactics and [stuff], that rubs me wrong. I don't give a [care] what effect it has. It can't have a bad effect, because we've been as [bad] as you can be. So it can't hurt. I'm not looking for problems here, but I'm a man. I look in the mirror. When I'm [bad], I'm [bad]. And there's a few [players] in that clubhouse right now that are [bad] too. And they need to look in that mirror. Don't look at mine, look at theirs. And don't look at the guy next to them. Look in the mirror yourself. Don't be pointing fingers over here and why we're not doing well. That's all weak [stuff]. Grilli's [stuff], some of that other [stuff] I read in the paper today, that's weak [stuff]. Weak."
The Tigers began a six-game homestand on Tuesday with the American League's worst record at 17-27, having lost 12 of their last 15 since sweeping the Yankees at the end of April. Their offense struggled to score 12 runs over their just-finished six-game road trip to Kansas City and Arizona, and he has bemoaned the struggles pointedly in recent days, saying he's out of answers for why they've been shut out seven times through 44 games.
"We're stagnant between the lines," Leyland said. "The clubhouse hasn't changed a bit. We come to the clubhouse and do everything we've always done in the clubhouse. They sit in the lunch room and [talk] with each other. They walk around and do whatever ... they do. They look at film. They look at tape. They hit extra. They do the same thing they've always done.
"Grilli should worry about Colorado. I mean, if Jason Grilli had done a better job, he'd still be here. I don't want to hear any weak [stuff] from Jason Grilli. But that's not any concern of mine now either, because he belongs to somebody else. My concern is the guys out there that are talking weak [stuff]. And they'll know about it today."
After talking with the media, Leyland had a closed-door meeting with his players before batting practice.
"Look in the mirror," Leyland continued. "Look at the numbers. And you're worried about the clubhouse? Take care of the clubhouse then. You want me to run out there like a schoolteacher every two minutes, make sure the clubhouse is good? These guys are grown men. That's weak [stuff]."
Youth of the Nation: Lester follows Clay
BOSTON -- In a clubhouse full of veteran pitchers with years of experience and accomplishments, the only hurler who could put the proper perspective on Jon Lester's no-hitter on Monday night was the only pitcher on the staff younger than the 24-year-old.
"I was trying to think along with him, but I think I was a little more nervous for his than I was for mine," said Clay Buchholz, the 23-year-old right-hander who threw a no-hitter on Sept. 1, 2007, at Fenway Park in his second Major League appearance.
"I had more time to think about [his]. I went out just trying to throw strikes and get guys to swing and get outs. That's what his main thing was, to go out there tonight and get outs, throw pitches in the zone, pound the zone, and get some swings out of it. And he went out there and did his job and got rewarded for it."
At the time of Buchholz's no-no, as a September callup shutting down the Orioles, the rookie was still adjusting to being a big leaguer.
"I was speechless [after the game]," he said. "I didn't know what to say, second game up here and something like that happens. He's been around a little bit longer than I have so he might know how to handle it a little bit better. But I really couldn't tell you what I was thinking, who the first person I talked to was. It was all a blur for me. But he seems to be taking it pretty well."
In Buchholz's no-hitter, it wasn't until the sixth inning when he realized what was going on.
"The pressure for me wasn't the ninth," he said. "It was after they told me I was throwing six innings that day, give them a good six innings and I'd be done. And I sat down on the bench, and nobody came and talked to me after the sixth inning. I looked up on the scoreboard, and that's when I saw it and I went, 'Oh, God, here we go.' So for [Lester], he looked a little nervous going out for the ninth, but after the first batter -- he walked him -- I saw him sort of take a deep breath, and [he] went back to work and did what he had to do."
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For Buchholz, it was easier to be the pitcher than to watch his teammate.
"Being the pitcher, I didn't find myself thinking a whole lot about the game," Buchholz said. "I was thinking about what I was doing. Then being on the bench, you know what's going on and you know everybody around you knows what's going on. It might be a little bit more tough being on the bench and watching, because you know all it takes is one pitch and it could disappear just as quick as it appeared. So, for me sitting on the bench, I was a little nerve-wracked there for a while."
As were several of his teammates. Dugout superstitions were checked and rechecked to ensure the gem for Lester.
"You really don't say too much to him," said Jacoby Ellsbury, whose sterling catch in center in the fourth inning helped to ensure the no-no. "You just kind of let him be. Whatever his routine is, no one really wants to say anything to him, just kind of let him be.
"I remember when Clay had his, we just kind of left him on his own. I don't think anybody was within five or six feet of him. And Jon, he was relaxed. If I was a spectator watching him, I wouldn't have known if I hadn't looked at the scoreboard that he had a no-hitter going. He was pretty relaxed."
"I don't know how [Lester] can be more nervous than I am," said Josh Beckett. "It was like that with [Curt Schilling's one-hitter in Oakland last season] and Buchholz's. I'm sure everybody else on the bench is feeling the same way. It makes me want to puke, how nervous I am. I can't imagine actually going out there.
"I think I had a no-hitter in the first [inning] one time, so I don't really know. I haven't ever really taken one that deep. So I just can't imagine, because he's got to be a little more nervous than we are.
"Me and some of the guys were joking about it. We didn't know what to do. Do we stand up? Do we sit down? What are we supposed to do? If we're eating a candy bar and we figure out he has a no-hitter, do we keep eating candy bars? Who knows?"
Who knows? But on Monday night, whatever they decided, it worked.
Monday, May 19, 2008
A-Rod set to be activated Tuesday
TAMPA, Fla. -- Although Monday was an off-day, the Yankees got some much-needed good news, as Alex Rodriguez confirmed his rehab stint was a success, and would be activated from the 15-day disabled list for Tuesday's game vs. Baltimore. Mo Williams Reinjures Abdomen, Sat Out Sunday A-Rod given go-ahead to begin rehab A-Rod to play in St. Pete on Saturday
The three-time American League MVP was 2-for-6 with a run scored in his final extended spring game at the Yankees' Himes Complex, the Minor League facility where Rodriguez has been testing his strained right quadriceps.
Coming off Sunday's full workout, in which Rodriguez said it was the "best" he's felt since the injury, the third baseman breezed through about five innings on Monday, and overall said he was happy with the work done in Florida.
"I'm excited to get back into Yankee Stadium and play baseball," said Rodriguez. "It's where I belong."
That's good news for the Yankees, who are currently last in the AL East and have dropped five of their past six games.
Rodriguez acknowledged that he had been watching the games, and while he has "no predictions" for what will happen when the club inserts his powerful right-handed bat into the lineup, he did note that it has been "tough to [just] watch."
Prior to the injury, Rodriguez was hitting .286 with a .495 slugging percentage and 11 RBIs in 24 games. During his rehab stint, the slugger not only took swings in the batting cages, but also received an ample amount of both live and simulated at-bats.
After going 5-for-15 with a home run in a Sunday's simulated game, and getting another one over the wall during Saturday's five plate appearances, Rodriguez hopes he is beyond the point where his injury makes him hesitant.
"Yeah I think so," he mused. "[It's] one day at a time, though. You keep building that certainty every day [and] as you get stronger, you move forward."
Moving forward is exactly what the Yankees, currently four games under .500, aim to do. With the addition of Rodriguez, the club will slide him back into the hot corner and create a defensive pillar, coupled with shortstop Derek Jeter, on the left side of the field.
The injury occurred running out a ground ball vs. Baltimore on April 28, and Rodriguez said on Sunday that he had no pain running. He also tested his quadriceps with several slides during Monday's contest. Despite opportunities to advance two bases on a single, Rodriguez said afterward that he was specifically instructed to take it "base-by base."
With concerns about the quadriceps injury limiting his movement, the third baseman said that one of his rehab goals was to be able to field comfortably to his left and right, as well as to come forward for slower ground balls.
Mission accomplished, as Rodriguez answered a resounding "yes" when asked if he had hit his mark, adding, "I think I got every one of [my fielding goals], so I'm happy about that."
So are the Yankees.
Peavy to miss next start with sore elbow
SEATTLE -- When Jake Peavy first experienced soreness in his right elbow three weeks ago, he opted to skip his bullpen sessions between starts with hopes the pain would go away.
But the pain hasn't gone away, which means that instead of making his scheduled start on Monday against St. Louis, the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner will have an MRI exam to determine what's wrong with his elbow.
Peavy will miss at least one start and could very well be a candidate for the disabled list, which isn't something the Padres -- who carried a Major League-worst 16-28 record into Sunday's game in Seattle -- want to think much about.
"It's to the point where we need to step back," Padres manager Bud Black said.
Left-hander Wil Ledezma will start in place of Peavy on Monday. There are no current plans as to when Peavy will go back into the rotation. That will depend on the results of the MRI, which should be known before Monday's game at PETCO Park.
As for Peavy, he sounded cautiously optimistic that he won't need to go on the disabled list. He's uncertain as to when his elbow first started to bother him, saying that the pain has bothered him for his last "three or four starts."
"I just felt something in there and we haven't really had progress with it," Peavy said before the start of Sunday's game against the Mariners. "It's not normal soreness. It's sore all the time. That's the reason we are missing the start."
Peavy, who is 4-3 with a 2.91 ERA in nine starts this season, has allowed two or more runs in each of his last five starts after allowing a combined four runs in his first four starts this season.
Peavy allowed four runs in four innings -- his shortest start of the season -- on May 14 against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Peavy said that the elbow soreness has occasionally left him without a full arsenal of pitches on any given game.
He indicated that the last time he felt fine was likely during an April 27 start against Arizona.
The Padres first tried to treat the soreness internally and by having him skip his usual bullpen sessions between starts. But that didn't work.
Peavy has some history with problems in his right arm as he missed five weeks in 2004 with a strained flexor in his right forearm. He returned to go 10-3 with a 2.18 ERA in his 18 starts after returning from the disabled list.
Peavy and the Padres are certainly hoping that he won't land on the disabled list and that the right-hander will miss just the one start Monday.
"It's early in the season ... hopefully we can figure out what's wrong, treat it the right way and get back out there," said Peavy, who agreed to a four-year, $52 million deal before the season.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Dodgers solve Santana, Angels
ANAHEIM -- It takes a team to win a game, and the Dodgers were in full collaboration Saturday afternoon. Rockford ties series with crucial 3-2 win Hogs Are Winless In Rosemont No More Error opens door for Mets’ win Beltran waiting for something to click
Seven of nine players in the lineup either scored a run or drove one in, while three pitchers pooled their efforts to secure a victory in a place that has lately been tortuous for the Dodgers.
With a 6-3 advantage over the Angels on a sweltering and cloudless day at Angel Stadium, the Dodgers earned their third victory in their last four games, but only their second in their last 11 games in the Interleague Series against the crosstown Angels.
"It feels good. I know we got swept here last year. It is a big win," said Juan Pierre, who scored twice, including in the seventh as Russell Martin engaged the defense in a rundown. "The guy who was pitching is having a good year. We scraped our way to a victory."
The Dodgers hung the first loss of the season on Angels starter Ervin Santana (6-1), as rookie Blake DeWitt went 2-for-4 and belted his fourth home run of the year, and Martin went 3-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to six games.
But the mound also proved to be a bright spot on a day Los Angeles was forced to scratch Brad Penny from his scheduled Sunday start due to arm stiffness. He'll go Monday against the Reds, with Derek Lowe pitching the series finale against the Angels.
Taking the ball in a spot start Saturday was Chan Ho Park, who had been pitching exclusively from the bullpen, but was called to start his first game since April 30, 2007, and first for the Dodgers since Oct. 5, 2001.
The right-hander shook off a walk to the first batter and then cruised through three scoreless innings before running into trouble in the fourth that was extended by James Loney's throwing error.
Park allowed two runs, one earned, on three hits and two walks over four innings, and he went deep enough to bridge the gap to Hong-Chih Kuo, who came on in relief and tossed four scoreless frames. Takashi Saito allowed a run in the ninth.
"That is the second time he's done that. He came on and he dominated," manager Joe Torre said of Kuo (3-1). "Park did a great job. He just had to get too many outs. It was a long inning."
Torre had earmarked Park for 85-90 pitches on the afternoon, and the veteran ended up tossing 82, but the long fourth ended his day and likely cost him the victory.
Park hit Vladimir Guerrero with a pitch with one out in the fourth inning, and Garret Anderson followed with a single to right that advanced Guerrero to third. Casey Kotchman then hit a chopper to first that appeared to be a double-play ball to end the inning, but Loney airmailed the throw over the head of shortstop Chin-lung Hu, who was covering second.
"That's just experience," Torre said. "Normally, lefties don't have trouble with that throw, but it sailed on him."
Guerrero scored and Anderson went to third on the play, and he later scored on a similar ground ball by Maicer Izturis, with Loney making the throw for the sure out at second on the fielder's choice.
Robb Quinlan followed with a base hit and Jeff Mathis walked before Park got Erick Aybar to bounce into a fielder's choice to end the inning, but the hot day had taken its toll.
Martin said Park's command was sharp, but he was more effusive in his praise of Kuo, who gave up three hits, struck out four and did not walk a batter to pick up the win.
"Kuo comes out of the bullpen throwing 95 [mph] and hitting his spots," Martin said. "He gets himself in trouble, but when he's like that, he is a dominating pitcher."
DeWitt continued his impressive run through the first few weeks of his big league career, adding a two-out, two-run homer in the top of the second that also scored Andruw Jones.
A fan appeared to make an attempt to catch the ball at the top of the wall in right, but the ball fell to the ground. First-base umpire Gerry Davis immediately ruled the ball a homer, and Angels manager Mike Scioscia argued without success.
"Blake has been great. He has a personality and a calmness about him that doesn't fit," Torre said of DeWitt's maturity. "You say to him, 'You start the season at third base and we don't even want to know you're there. Just don't hurt us.' But he has done a lot to help us win games."
Keeping that never-say-quit attitude was the tandem of Pierre and Russell in the seventh. Pierre got aboard on an error by Izturis and stole second before advancing to third on Andre Ethier's fly ball to center.
Martin was walked intentionally, and with Loney at the plate and a 3-1 count, Martin took off on a hit-and-run -- except Loney froze and didn't swing. Martin was caught in a rundown, but forced the Angels to make four throws, and on the last, Pierre took off for home and scored.
"That is one of those things that is just instinct. Russell did a good job staying in the rundown," Pierre said. "Scoring a run without getting a hit, that is what I like to do. I like to make things happen."
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