Lloyd-Trout Engagement Announcement

Anaheim Angels outfielder Mike Trout, the "pride of the Anaheim Angels outfield", has accepted a marriage proposal from 44-year old M.J. Lloyd of New Orleans. The two have known each other since Trout's senior year at Millville High School in New Jersey when Lloyd showed up to the school's prom with a cardboard cutout of Trout glued to his bare chest.

"It was a match made at my Uncle Murray's house," said Lloyd at the time. "That's where I had the cutout made and Murray did the gluing in the driveway before the limo came."

The two drifted apart after Trout was selected in the first round of the 2009 MLB Draft by the Angels and Lloyd began his career as an Applebees hostess impersonating an Elvis impersonator, coining the phrase "thank you, thank you very much for coming."

Trout would become one of the top players in baseball, while also becoming one of the country's most eligible bachelors, finishing first in his living room for five consecutive weeks on the reality TV show Watching 'The Bachelor'.

Little did Trout know, but his old flame was also watching Trout's television, from a Japanese maple, on the reality show Watching Mike Trout Watch Things. The two have been inseparable ever since.

"His eyes were so bloodshot, I had him come inside and I picked all of the leaves out of his ears. Then I realized how much I had missed him," said Trout. "Also, he had a fun size Butterfinger in his beard, so, he asked me to share a meal, and his life."

The pair hasn't yet set a date for the wedding, though Lloyd has suggested February of 2015, after his team's two decade-long wiffle ball season finally commences. Lloyd is his team's all-time leader in outfield fall downs with 117 and hangons (66), including a league-record 28 Hang On I Think I Was Stung By Somethings.

Pastor Irving Fleisch

is expected to preside over the wedding.

Curveballs for Jobu 5/22/11

Curveballs for Jobu is Offbasepercentage's daily trip around the ballparks.

Today's honorary bat boy is Joe Slusarski.

Blue Jays 7, Astros 5.
Jose Bautista finally stopped dicking around and went 3-4 with 2 more home runs. Joey Bats was homerless in his 4 previous games (5 if you count a rain out, which I do for some reason). He now has 18 home runs, a .364/.509/.841 line and, if the folklore is accurate, a giant blue ox. Bautista's agent is Bean Stringfellow. Can't make that kind of stuff up. I laughed for 12 minutes.

Giants 3, A's 0.
Tim Lincecum is really good at throwing baseballs. The A's lineup is really bad at hitting them. That matchup resulted in 9 shut-out innings from Lincecum. He allowed just 3 hits with zero walks and 6 strikeouts. At one point, he retired 21 straight Athletics (if you can call them that). Lincecum is sitting at 2.06/2.63/2.75 (ERA/FIP/xFIP) with a 9.64 K/9 this year and is back in the discussion for best pitcher in baseball.

Yankees 7, Mets 3.
Curtis Granderson hit his 15th home run of the season off of Chris Capuano. Granderson now has more home runs against southpaws (8) than northpaws (7). He's still just hitting .255/.314/.809 against lefties but the power surge seems legit which is good news for the Yankees. Russell Martin (8), A-Rod (9) and Mark Teixeira (12) also went yard against Capuano who failed to make my Wiffle Ball team last year.

Phillies 2, Rangers 0.
Cliff Lee got an umpire with a reasonable strike zone and went 8 shut-out innings allowing 3 hits and 2 walks while striking out 10 former teammates. By the way, Lee has been fantastic this year metric wise (2.31 FIP, 2.45 xFIP, 10.53 K/9) but probably doesn't look like a Cy Young contender to the SportsCenter crowd (3-4, 3.38 ERA).

Mariners 4, Padres 0.
What an amazing rivalry. Thank you interleague play. Michael Pineda gave up 2 hits in 7 innings for the M's and is now 6-1 with a 2.16/2.26/2.99 (ERA/FIP/xFIP) pitching line. It's possible the 22-year-old is even better than advertised. He has to be the front runner for the AL ROY and is one of two reasons to turn on a Mariners game (King Felix being the other).

Braves 4, Angels 3 (12).
Fernando Rodney pitched a perfect third of the 7th inning. No hits, no runs and no walks. Color me impressed.

Other games, but down here...
Brewers 3, Rockies 2.
White Sox 9, Dodgers 2.
Cardinals 3, Royals 0.
Orioles 8, Nationals 3.
Indians 2, Reds 1.
Cubs 9, Red Sox 3.
Marlins 5, Rays 3.
Pirates 6, Tigers 2.
Diamondbacks 9, Twins 6.

Best. Wiffle Ball Pitcher. Ever.

*sigh* I used to be proud of my Wiffle Ball pitching prowess in the early 90s. Then Hardball Talk alerted me to the greatest Wiffle Ball pitcher in the history of everything. It made me happy and sad quicker than when I saw Bambi when I was five. Let's go to the tape...



I struck out seven times watching that.

I'm also inclined to believe my grandma was just placating my ego back during my playing days. She struck out a lot but blamed it on not being able to see and being old. Now I have to question my ability.

This turn of events has shaken my baseball knowledge to its core. Does Jack Morris belong in the Hall of Fame now? I'm so confused.

Send Me Your Extra Angels Giveaway Swag

It's been a rough Hot Stove League for Angels fans unless you really dig 35-year-old middle relievers. Then this offseason was like Christmas took your birthday out to a nice dinner at In-N-Out Burger and then made sweet love to it in the back of a station wagon. After the Angels finished below .500 for the first time my attention deficit riddled brain can ever remember, owner Arte Moreno declared the team would make a big splash in free agency and he was willing to hand out some straight cash homey. But the Halos were left holding only lefty relievers Scott Downs and Hisanori Takahashi after the whirlwind of $100 million contracts settled.

Before you panic and trade your season tickets for bags of oranges on the freeway, my fellow Angels fans, I have good news. What Arte didn't spend on improving the team, he's making up for in kick-ass giveaways. They might not be as cool as the Pirates offering season ticket holders the opportunity to bat cleanup on Sunday games or run the franchise day at the trade deadline but the Angels are giving away some pretty nice keepsakes. The full list of promotions can be found here. What follows, dear Anaheim readers, is the list of crap I want and what I'm willing to pay for it...

5/10/11 Angels Wrestling Mask - Full shipping and I'll write 150 words about whatever you'd like me to. That could be anything from a post here to your E-Harmony profile to the eulogy for your uncle Clint. Let's face it, he's not doing so hot.

5/24/11 Kendry Morales Bobblehead - 1/2 shipping for broken leg model, one free rental at Blockbuster for healthy two legged model.

7/5/11 Angels Sock Monkey - Full shipping and an autographed picture of me from my high school roller hockey MVP season OR an autographed Wiffle Ball from the summer of 1993 when I struck out 39 hitters during a double header.

8/4/11 Angels Flat Billed Plaid Hat - You pay shipping and I agree never to wear it in public.

8/18/11 Angels Gnome Bobblehead - The rest of an authentic New Orleans muffuletta that I was eating until I realized I don't like olive salad. I'm willing to autograph the sandwich if you plan on incasing it in plastic instead of finishing it.

8/23/11 Angels Rally Monkey Chia Pet - This is my second favorite next to the wrestling mask so I'll pay the shipping. Plus I'll write a post about how sick I get after I try to smoke the Chia clippings.

9/24/11 Angels Gumball Machine - You pay airfare, food and liquor and I'll come live in your basement for a week.

If any of these wonderful prizes pique your interest, feel free to email me at mtd@offbasepercentage.com or DM me on Twitter @mnkysthrwngdrts.

Prices and participation may vary. Offers are subject to change without notice.

Happy Labor Day Or Happy Birthday To Me!

I'm sure there is some reason behind Labor Day (please don't email me, I'll google it if I really want to know) but for most of us it's day off of work so we can eat, drink and play Wiffle Ball. It's basically the end of summer Fourth of July. For me, however, it's also occasionally my birthday. On this special day, I like to imagine that you're all celebrating me. But I have a massive ego (that's what she said) and I'm wildly delusional. So while you're trying to figure out how to wrap that steak in hot dogs, let's take a look at my birthday game plan...

1. Finish writing this while enjoying a delicious breakfast of Popeye's fried chicken and scotch. It both warms and stops my heart.

2. Shave my arm hair for a more wind resistant Wiffle Ball bat swing.

3. Apply Bryce Harper/Ultimate Warrior eye black. Do push up to psych myself up.

4. Nap.

5. Put sheets in the washing machine, I got eye black everywhere.

6. Head over to the party house/Wiffle Ball backyard.

7. Drink more rum than Captain Morgan.

8. Strike out 12 with my devastating riser.

9. Declare war on Vermont.

10. Hit on a fire plug I mistook for a short redhead.

Then I'll probably pass out about three feet from the couch. Jealous?

You're welcome for the day off and celebrate my birthday responsibly. No drinking and driving kids. Uncle MTD will be too drunk too bail you out of jail. I've been informed I'm not allowed back on the Internet today so I'll see you guys tomorrow when I manage to get my eyes to function.

Curveballs for Jobu: Nyjer Morgan Edition

Curveballs for Jobu is Offbasepercentage's daily trip around the ballparks.

Today's honorary bat boy is Tim Belcher and he's here because he's still upset about being drop kicked by Chan Ho Park.

Hey kids, I'm covering Jobu today because I know a little more about bench clearing bralws than Derwood. The summer of '93 was not a good time to be playing Wiffle Ball in my backyard.

Marlins 16, Nationals 10. Nyjer Morgan is having an interesting week. He might still end up being suspended for firing a ball into the face of a fan in Philly. Then he ran over 2 different catchers in shady at best behavior and cursed out a fan in Florida. But his coup de gras was his instigation of a benches clearing brawl that contained actual fighting.

Chris Volstad hit Morgan in the 4th and threw behind him in the 6th. Morgan charged the mound, grazing Volstad with a punch. Gaby Sanchez, running over from first base, hit Morgan with a closesline before looking to climb up on the top turnbuckle for his finishing move. Benches cleared, managers yelled and players were ejected. I don't even know if there was any baseball played.

Twins 2, Tigers 1 (10). Max Scherzer continued his hot streak post All Star break. He went 9 innings while giving up 1 run and striking out 9. In his last 83 innings, he has a 1.73 ERA and 76K/29BB. But it wasn't enough for the Tigers last night, the Twins would get a walk off single from Danny Valencia in the 10th.

Reds 6, Brewers 1. Aroldis Chapman got his first career win pitching a clean 7th inning, striking out 2. He would celebrate the win by lighting up a cigar and throwing a ball into the moon. Weeks, Hart and Braun combined to go 0-11 with a walk.

Man In Underwear Beaten With Wiffle Ball Bat

Every once in a while, I come across a post that writes itself. Those are good days to be a blogger. Today, my friends, is one of those days. A man dressed only in his finest underpants was severely beaten with a Wiffle Ball bat after refusing to put on clothes...

Police say Fehr was sitting on his porch in his underwear when he was approached by 19-year-old Hector Morales Jr. and two other men. Morales told Fehr his girlfriend was coming over, and said Fehr was "being disrespectful" and told him to put some clothes on. When Fehr refused, Morales allegedly assaulted him with the bat, then began punching Fehr when the bat broke.

Normally I'd feel bad about making fun of man getting his jaw broken and teeth knocked out in a semi-random act of violence but a Wiffle Ball bat was involved. This story is so absurd, I don't even know where to start but let's see what happens...

1. How was Fehr being disrespectful by hanging out on his porch in his underwear? Massively obese? Sasquatch-esque body hair? Third nipple? I have a friend who refuses to wear a shirt at night and I own a Wiffle Ball bat. I've yet to assault him for lack of clothing with a flimsy plastic bat. But now the thought is firmly planted in my head.

2. When you're on your way to threaten your naked-ish neighbor, how is a Wiffle Ball bat the weapon of choice? You really couldn't find, um, a stick?

3. I throw a nearly un-hittable riser.

4. Was the bat half filled with sand for maximum weight transfer to add some power to the swing? I've said too much.

5. How drunk were all parties involved? On a scale of 1 to blind, I'm guessing Ray Charles.

6. Hahaha.

7. Will Fehr try to avenge his beating by running his attackers down in his Power Wheel?

8. How hot did that make Morales' girlfriend? I'm assuming she's batshit crazy.

9. Fehr had it coming. His pitch count was high and he was losing his command. The beating was inevitable.

Ah, good times. I'm hoping this story will help me get my Major League Wiffle Ball league up and running. The MLWB will take any publicity we can get.

Curveballs for Jobu

Curveballs for Jobu is Offbasepercentage's daily trip around the ballparks.

Today's honorary bat boy is Mike Gallego.

Nationals 11, Cardinals 10 (13). Albert Pujols became the third-fastest to 400 home runs (Alex, Grifey Jr.) Thursday, but Ian Desmond stole the potato with a walk-off single in the 13th.

Tigers 7, Bluejays 1. Brady Anderson hit his 41st home run for Toronto.

Diamondbacks 11, Padres 5. It's time for the San Diego Padres to re-evaluate the direction of the organization because Ian Kennedy just threw seven, one-hit innings and struck out 12. That's like when MTD mowed through the Vennington subdivision lineup in the district wiffle ball finals in 1995. Everyone thought he was a bum and his career was over, but he struck out 14 that day with his famous Booger Ball.

Dodgers 7, Brewers 1. Any time you can get 4 1/3 one-walk innings out of George Sherrill, Kenley Jansen, Octavio Dotel and Jeff Weaver, something went right that day. Weaver's performance was the most baffling: he faced three batters and got each one of them out.

Marlins 11, Mets 4. The magical season in Flushing continued Thursday as Jonathan Niese put on a one-man show called Do I Smell Like Andy Hawkins Yet?, firing 5 2/3 innings of seven-run ball. Hanley Ramirez had a decent three-game series, going 10-for-15.

The Sky Is Falling: Stephen Strasburg

It looks like freshman phenom/future Hall of Famer, Stephen Strasburg, will be headed to the disabled list for the second time this season. Yet, that collective exhale of breath you felt earlier did come from Washington D.C. Strasburg left Saturday's game in the 5th inning after grimacing from an apparent arm injury. Early half-glass-emptiers suspected Strasburg may have torn a tendon which would result in surgery and a year layoff. From my quick math, that would be the equivalent to the strike-shortened 1994 season for the Montreal Expos. Almost certain financial doom, years in last place and eventual relocation to some crime laden southern city, let's say Virginia Beach.

But fortunately for the "fans" who sell out Nationals Park only when Strasburg pitches, the kid's tendon didn't fall out of his arm...

Strasburg strained a tendon in his right forearm over the weekend, and Nationals manager Jim Riggleman said Monday the team would "proceed with caution" with the prized pitcher.

If by "proceed with caution" you mean shut him down for the year, I completely agree with this decision. Sure the Expos Nats will lose some pretty good revenue from the one or two more home starts he could make this season but Strasburg has already thrown more innings than he did last year. Unless Dusty Baker is consulting on pitcher usage, it's time to shut the kid down and build toward next season.

The Sky is Falling
A second DL stint for the 22-year-old can't be exciting news. I'm no scout but I haven't heard or seen anything about a hitch in his mechanics that suggests a proneness to injuries. Hopefully it's just some randomness even though he said he pitched through a similar injury in college. As a hopeful new Nationals fan, I'm hoping he shrugs this off and cruises past Cy Young's win record and Nolan Ryan's strikeout record in the next, um, 30 or so years of world dominance. As a glass-half-empty guy (what?, I'm thirsty), I'm afraid of a Ben McDonald/Mark Prior fall from relevance.

Let's all hope for the best because he's good for baseball. 92 strikeouts in 68 innings as a rookie is exciting stuff. I should know, I struck out 68 hitters over 3 months in the summer of 1991. I threw a devastating Wiffle Ball slurve.

[awesome drawing from Francis Hogan via Fedral Baseball]

Curveballs for Jobu

Curveballs for Jobu is Offbasepercentage's daily trip around the ballparks.

Today's honorary bat boy is Kevin Flora and he's here to remind me that the 1995 Angels' season was more soul crushing than this year.

Hey kids, I'm in charge of Jobu again while Derwood is hard at work. And by work, I mean hunting empty cans in downtown Atlanta to finance his box wine addiction. Let's take a look at a few of yesterday's highlights while I try to contain my excitement for tonight's fight between Jacare and Tim Kennedy...

Rangers 2, Orioles 0. I was relying on the Buck Showalter express too much to help save the Angels season and it was no match for C.J. Wilson. The former set-up man pitched 8.2 innings of 3-hit shutout ball while striking out 12. Neftali Feliz would relieve Wilson and throw 4 pitches to pick up his 30th save of the season. Nick Markakis and Ty Wiggington combined to go 0-6 with 5 strikeouts.

Mets 7, Pirates 2. Sweet sassy molassy get out the checkbook and pay grandma for the rub down! The Pirates are now officially participating in their 18th consecutive losing season. In 1992 the Pirates had their last winning record. Also in 1992, George H.W. Bush vomited on Japan's Prime Minister, Mike Tyson was convicted of rape, Silence of the Lambs won Best Picture and swept the Academy Awards, John Gotti was sentenced to life in prison, Johnny Carson retired from the Tonight Show and Brett Favre made his first start with the Packers. In other 1992 baseball news, I hit a back door Wiffle Ball slider out of my backyard into the neighbors' above ground pool.

Mariners 6, Yankees 0. Felix Hernandez keeps dominating in his quest to contend for the Cy Young with around 10 wins. He struck out 11 in his 8 innings of 4-hit shutout ball. A-Rod returned to the lineup for 30 seconds. Rodriguez grounded out on the only pitch he saw and "felt something pull" before exiting the game. There's a possibility A-Rod might have a DL stint in his future. Now who wishes they didn't let Andy Marte go? Oh, nobody?

Phillies 1, Nationals 0. Roy Halladay keeps cruising. He allowed 7 hits and 3 free passes over his 7 innings but he struck out 5 and didn't give up a run. His 16-8 record and 2.16 ERA have everything Cy Young voters will be looking for towards the end of the season. Kevin Mench: 0-1 with a strikeout.

White Sox, Royals: DNP

Shot Of The Night: A-Rod's Paying

Shot Of The Night is Off Base Percentage's toast to a player who had an exceptionally good or bad night. There's always a reason to drink.

We'll occasionally bring back the shot of the night when someone really causes us to drink for good or ill. Tonight we celebrate. The shot of the night is Slugger's Delight: 1 shot 151 proof rum, 12 oz Rock and Rye® liqueur and it's in honor of Alex Rodriguez.

A-Rod murdered the ball tonight for the Yankees going 4-5 with 3 home runs that laughed at the outfield wall while sailing over it. A-Rod warmed up by crushing a solo shot 412 feet off of Sean O'Sullivan in the 6th inning. The next big fly came off of Kanekoa Texeira in the 7th inning and went 419 feet. But the slugger saved his best performance for Greg Holland in the 9th. A-Rod crushed the 2-0 offering from Holland 439 feet into the Kansas City water falls. Despite my general dislike for all things Yankee, I remain a big time A-Rod supporter. I look forward to covering A-Rod's chase for history even if Bud Selig plans on turning a cold shoulder to the offensive monster.

Honorable Mention: Bobby Wilson
The hitting challenged Angels catcher somehow managed to hit 2 home runs off of Blue Jays pitching prospect Brett Cecil. Meanwhile, Brandon Wood pinch hit and went 0-1 lowering his slash line to .166/.183/.223 continuing to disappoint the Angels, his parents, scouts and yours truly. I've recently reached out to Wood's agent to see if he has any interest signing on with my Wiffle Ball team. We only pay in potato chips but we're prepared to make a very generous offer. Perhaps even sour cream.

Wild And Careless Trade Speculation

In full disclosure, I have no inside information or contacts. Unless you count the left field security guard at Turner Field. Even then, Rodney can really only tell me what the bat boy schedule looks like. Since we're a general baseball blog, I also don't know your team's specific needs and minor league system as well as you do. But let's do some wild and careless trade speculation anyway.



Adam Dunn
The slugger finally gets dealt from the Nats to the White Sox for Edwin Jackson. I know this one isn't exactly wild or careless but I promise they're coming. I don't like Edwin as much as the Nats do but then again neither does anyone else but his parents. Dunn loves Washington for some reason and could be brought back in the offseason.

Cody Ross
While not available, he gets dealt to the Braves for a prospect package built around one of the Braves top 10 pitching prospect. I don't understand why teams are fawning over Ross and his 94 OPS+ but I guess he can play all 3 outfield spots. The Braves could use another outfielder after sending Nate McLouth to AAA for being as terrible as we all expected.

Carlos Zambrano
The Cubs trade their clinically insane former ace to the South Side where Kenny Williams doesn't mind bringing on bad contracts of formerly good pitchers. Zambrano is so bad though, the Cubs will still eat a good bit of the contract and receive only a broken pitching machine and a tarp that has several gaping holes in it.

Scott Downs
This one has also been rumored but seems wild. Toronto deals Downs to the Yankees for Joba Chamberlain. The Yanks would basically be replacing Joba's role with Downs. Toronto would be buying low again with Joba and maybe they could give him another turn at starting. They couldn't screw him up any worse than the Yankees did.

Mike Lowell
The Red Sox finally deal the oft-injured hitter to my backyard Wiffle Ball team. We were short on power and were convinced he could still play third. We end up being wrong and regret sending the 80 buffalo wings and gallon of daquiris to Boston.

Bobby Abreu, Hideki Matsui
The Angels send the pair to the Yankees for old time's sake. After the Yanks acquired Lance Berman, they decide to go get all of the remaining old players who can't play the outfield anymore. In exchange, the Angels receive a ball signed by Mickey Mantle and George Costanza.

Prince Fielder
The Brewers trade the massive slugger to the Angels for all of their minor league pitchers who weren't drafted over the past two years. The Angels swoop in out of nowhere again and pay the big fella arbitration next season while he DH's and Morales comes back to play first base. The Angels forgo signing Fielder to an extension after he rediscovers his love of meat and leaves a wake of destruction at every In-N-Out Burger in Southern California.

Wilson Betemit, Andy Marte
Are not only traded for each other but are then immediately traded back for each other. Derwood writes 2,000 words about it.

Ted Lilly
Despite being bankrupt and not allowed to add any payroll, the Rangers swing yet another deal to add Lilly to their rotation. Then sign him to a massive extension. I never know what they're doing down there.

Koyie Hill's Golden Sombrero

A golden sombrero is awarded to a player who manages to strike out four times in a single game (real golden sombrero not included). It's quite the feat unless you're Ryan Howard or Mark Reynolds. Unfortunately, cycles and no-hitters are all the rage nowadays. Not for me, though. I will pour over the box scores to bring you the finest at swinging and missing.

Koyie Hill, where should we start? I never thought I'd get to award him with a Golden Sombrero because I never thought he was going to get the necessary 4 plate appearances in a single game. But Sweet Lou, who has nothing left to play for, is just going through the motions and stuck Hill behind the plate long enough to strikeout 4 times today. Thanks Lou, I'm sending you a big basket of retirement bran muffins.

Hill went 0-4 with the 4 strikeouts while managing to only see 16 pitches. I simply adore that kind of performance. He's now hitting .204/.242/.269 for the season. Only Brandon Wood is impressed by that slash line. Let's break out the Costco tequila and take a shot every time Hill struck out swinging...

Bottom 2nd: Hill struck out looking against Brett Myers.

Bottom 4th: Hill struck out swinging against Myers. Phew, that took for ever. I never thought we were going to take shots of cheap tequila. Drink up and click on some ads so we can afford Patron.

Bottom 6th: Hill struck out swinging against Myers again. In 2008, Koyie Hill had a -40 OPS+ for the Cubs. But in the winter of 2008, he had 4 OPS+ in my backyard Atlanta Wiffle Ball league. His defensive metrics held him back because I subtracted 130 points of OPS+ for his passed ball that allowed Derwood to reach first after I struck him out.

Bottom 9th: Hill struck out swinging against Matt Lindstrom. He did bunt foul twice before going down swinging so, um, that's something?

Jason Kubel's Golden Sombrero

A golden sombrero is awarded to a player who manages to strike out four times in a single game (real golden sombrero not included). It's quite the feat unless you're Ryan Howard or Mark Reynolds. Unfortunately, cycles and no-hitters are all the rage nowadays. Not for me, though. I will pour over the box scores to bring you the finest at swinging and missing.

I didn't have to wait long for the first Golden Sombrero of the second half thanks to Jason Kubel. The Summer of Strikeouts continues! Kubel had a breakout/anomaly season last year hitting 28 home runs and .300/.369/.539. Kubel has taken a step back to his more normal .263/.343/.438 slash line this season. He went 1-5 last night with 4 strikeouts. This just happens to be Kubel's first career Golden Sombrero, so I think I owe him something special for his first time. I blended up some margaritas and now it's time for, wait for it, pinata bloopers...



My favorite was the girl that just kept hitting the wall with the broom. Now that we all had some laughs together, let's see how Kubel achieved hat history...

Bottom 2nd: Kubel stuck out swinging against John Danks. To Kubel's credit, he did single earlier in the 2nd inning. So 1-2 isn't so bad. It would not get that good again.

Bottom 5th: Kubel struck out swinging against Danks. He took ball 1 before it all fell apart over the next 3 pitches.

Bottom 7th: Kubel struck out swinging against Matt Thornton.

Bottom 9th: Kubel struck out swinging against Bobby Jenks.

Everybody has one of those days. Mine came in the summer of 1993. Jeff Young really had his stuff that day. His rising Wiffle Ball was unhittable and his off speed stuff was ridiculous. Even with my Wiffle ball bat filled with sand, I struck out swinging 4 times. See Jason, it happens to the best of us.