Curveballs for Jobu 4/14/11

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

Today's honorary bat boy is Rusty Greer.



Yankees 6, Orioles 4. Alan James Burnett moved to 3-0 with a solid outing against the now-tied for first place Orioles. Burnett gave up a pair of two-run home runs in the seventh, but it overshadowed an overall-solid performance: 6 1/3 IP, 5 K. Alex Rodriguez hit a 3-run shot in the first and Jorge Posada hit a solo in the fifth, the fourth tater of the season for each. Baltimore starter Chris Tillman smelled like Steve Balboni's tube socks after a doubleheader (1 2/3 IP, 9 H, 6 ER).

Marlins 5, Braves 1. Josh Johnson, not to be confused with Jack Johnson, or Joe Johnson, or Jake Jackson, or Jesper Jensen, had a no-hitter broken up with one out in the eighth by Freddie Freeman, who blooped a double to left field. It's the second time the Marlins' ace has had a no-no broken up. On opening day he blanked the Mets for six innings until recent Sombreroist Willie Harris doubled. It wouldn't have mattered anyway because in the new rule book, no-hitters against the Mets are actually recorded as four-hitters. Johnson still tossed 7 1/3, one-hit innings and struck out nine Wednesday, and Chris Coghlan had three hits and a pair of RBIs. The welcome home that was scheduled next week at the Miami airport for Johnson was canceled due to lack of care, and poster board.

Brewers 6, Pirates 0. John Bowker: DNP

Tigers 3, Rangers 2. Detroit did it again, beating Texas in its last at bat for the second consecutive day. This time it was Brandon Inge, who took the first pitch he saw from 67-year old Darren Oliver and ripped a solo shot in the bottom of the ninth.

Royals 10, Twins 5. It's only April 14, but KC is three games better than the two-time defending Central champions. Minny starter Francisco Liriano did a little bit of everything Wednesday and everything was terrible as he allowed seven earned runs and eight hits in five innings. In the Royals' six-run fourth, Liriano gave up six consecutive hits, including back-to-back hits to Jeff Francoeur and Wilson Betemit, which is a $75 fine in the Netherlands.

Padres 3, Reds 2. Brad Hawpe: 0-for-0, walk.

Phillies 3, Nationals 2. Roy Halladay (CG, 6 H, 2 ER, 9 K) is just better than all of us. It's time we excepted it and moved on to documenting the career of Dave Lapoint for a future biography, which I may or not be doing.

Devilrays at Redsox ppd urine puddles in concourse behind home plate


Other games, but down here....

Athletics 7, Whitesox 4 (10)
Bluejays 8, Mariners 3
Rockies 5, Mets 4
Angels 4, Indians 3 (12)

Curveballs for Jobu

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

Today's honorary bay boy is Kazuo Matsui and he's here to remind you that Hideki Matsui (no relation) is still productive sometimes.

Hey kids, I'm doing some late night house keeping so I can concentrate on the first week of my fantasy football leagues. I'm also very busy studying for a fantasy hockey draft that will probably never happen. All of my old Jobu rules apply, so let's get to it...

Rockies 2, Diamondbacks 1. Rox continue to get top bill, extending their winning streak to 9 with a perfect September. Ubaldo Jimenez went 6 innings surrendering a run while striking out 8. Colorado remains 2.5 games out of first in the West while the Padres and Giants duel it out. New blog favorite Troy Tulowitzki went a disappointing 0-4 and CarGo only saw action as a defensive replacement.

Rangers 7, Yankees 6. Another one run game in the ALDS preview series and the Rangers won again. The Rangers used all of their relief pitchers last night and resorted to beer and cotton candy vendors to close the door on the Yanks. Doug from section 112 was especially effective tossing 0 innings of 0 hit ball.

Reds 5, Pirates 4 (10). Joey Votto went 1-3 with a solo shot. There won't be a Triple Crown winner this season. Unless Pujols has a falling out with Tony La Russa and CarGo gets to play the rest of his games at Coors Field. The MVP voting should be interesting though and whatever the outcome is, I'll disagree.

Angels 7, Mariners 4. Hideki Matsui went 1-1 with a home run and a pair of walks. Coming into tonight's game, Matsui was hitting .381/.500/.524 in September. With the Angels a mere 10 games out of the West, Matsui picked a great time to get hot. Thanks for costing the Angels the 12th pick overall next year, jerk. King Felix gave up 4 earned in a messy start dooming his Cy Young chances. He's still the best pitcher in baseball but at 11-11, good luck sir.

Royals 8, White Sox 2. The Royals offense, inspired by the Pat White signing, unloaded all over Edwin Jackson. Wilson Betemit and Kila Ka'aihue both went 3-4 and Kyle Davies even scored a win. Royals 2016!

Braves 6, Cardinals 3 (12). Jason Heyward went 1-4 with a home run while Albert Pujols went 1-3 and didn't hit a home run. Who's the Pujols now, Pujols?

Twins 1, Indians 0. Something funny. I'm tired.

Royals Moving To Spread Offense

Kansas City is headed toward their 5th consecutive season finishing in the bottom 5 in runs scored in the American League. I should note that I only went back 5 years so that stat might be somewhat of an understatement. In times like these, it's important to shake things up. So the Royals signed former Miami Dolphin and West Virginia quarterback Pat White to run their new-look spread offense which I can only assume means trying to get hit by a pitch and then stealing second, third and home. It should be an exciting new brand of baseball in Kansas City.

GM Dayton Moore hasn't had much success in putting together an offensive juggernaut that doesn't strike out or get on base. They're going to finish with the fewest team strikeouts and actually will finish above league average in OBP this year but will still finish next to the bottom 5 in scoring. How does that happen to a team that has a league average .301 BABIP? I'm sure the guys at Fangraphs could tell you but I figure it's a second to worst Home Run/Fly Ball ratio of 6.3% and Yuni Betancourt. Brandon Wood would like to know why Yuni Betancourt has a starting short stop gig in the majors. But I digress.

The Royals have a pretty good looking minor league system and I like Moore's new fangled approach toward former prospects. I don't know what he's been feeding Wilson Betemit this year but of all of sudden Betemit has 10 homers and a .297/.383/.522 line in 240 PA. Is Pat White ever going to contribute at the major league level? I don't know. He was drafted by the Angels coming out of high school in the fourth round in 2004. The Angels drafted him again in 2007 followed by the Reds in 2008 and the Yankees in 2009. He's a huckuva athlete (quote sponsored by John Madden) and probably would do less damage than Yuni Betancourt if the Royals plugged him into short tomorrow.

The Royals will allow Pat White to continue his pursuit of playing professional football but I'm rooting for him to make it to the majors and make an impact for the Royals. Just imagine the thousands of words Joe Posnanski could write about him.

[alternate WVU image, SFW but still fun]

Curveballs for Jobu

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

Today's honorary bat boy is Quinton Antoine "True QAM" McCracken and he's here to tell you that Carlos Gonzalez is good at baseball.

What's up kids? I'm bringing you a super late edition of Jobu today because Derwood spent all day at a bindle packing seminar at the ATL hobo conference. I'll probably be in charge tomorrow too seeing as how they have a big canned bean exhibit.

Rockies 10, Dodgers 5. The aforementioned CarGo went 3-4 with 2 home runs taking him to 29 on the season. Gonzalez is hitting .326/.360/.595 for the season and makes the Rox a dangerous team next year if Tulo can stay healthy. Manny Ramirez was ejected after the first pitch he saw when he pinch hit in the 6th inning. A classic Manny send off for his final Dodgers' plate appearance.

Orioles 1, Angels 0. Jered Weaver gave up the lone run in 8 innings of 11 strikeout ball. He was no match for the Buck Showalter express though. Showalter is now 6-0 against the Angels this season which makes me both drink and cry.

Phillies 5, Padres 0. Cole Hamels cruised through 8 innings of 4-hit shutout ball and it's a good thing because Chase Utley isn't helping at all. Utley continues to struggle after his return from the DL going 0-4 with 2 strikeouts. He must still be hurt, there's no other explanation.

Royals 6, Indians 2. Wilson Betemit went 0-2 with 3 walks and has a .420 OBP this year. That is all.

Mets 5, Astros 1. Who would have thought R.A. Dickey and Josh Thole would be dragging the Mets to wins in late August? Thole went 2-3 with a home run. Dickey went 2-3 with 2 RBI and pitched 7 innings of 1 run ball. I have got to learn how to throw a knuckleball before I turn 35.

Curveballs for Jobu

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

Today's honorary bat boy is Giomar Guevara and he's here to wish Sweet Lou a happy retirement. I think, I don't understand the Spanish.

Hey kids, I'm back with another uplifting version of Jobu. Let's see how many games I can get through before I mention a relief pitcher melting down. I'll set the over/under at 0.

Braves 16, Cubs 5. Jason Heyward and Omar Infante crashed Lou Piniella's retirement party by both slugging a pair of homers. Heyward went 4-4 with 2 home runs, 4 RBI and 2 walks. Infante went 4-6 with 2 home runs and 4 RBI. Justin Berg relieved any doubts Piniella might have had about retiring as the pitcher threw 1.1 innings giving up 5 runs on 5 hits and a walk. For those keeping score at home, I made it through half of a game so I hope you took the over.

Yankees 10, Mariners 0. Robinson Cano led the offensive onslaught of the Bronx Bombers against the hapless M's. Cano went 2-5 with a home run and 6 RBI. CC Sabathia tossed 6 shutout innings while striking out 8 for his 17th win of the season. If CC can sink his ERA below 3.00 and hit 20 wins, I bet he undeservedly wins the Cy Young.

Phillies 6, Nationals 0. Roy Oswalt threw 7 shut out innings on 5 hits and 1 walk while striking out 8. See, I occasionally mix in some good pitching with the ugly. The explosive Nationals' offense led by Roger Bernadina and Adam Kennedy couldn't get much momentum going so they comfortably remain the third worst team at scoring in the National League. Chase Utley: DNP.

Royals 3, White Sox 2 (10). The 2 teams that strikeout the fewest combined for 19 yesterday. Zack Greinke struck out nine in 8 innings while John Danks, Bobby Jenks and Scott Linebrink teamed up to strikeout 10 Royals. Wilson Betemit hit his 8th home run of the season and owns a .346/.425/.577 line. Somewhere Derwood shakes his head in confusion.

Shot Of The Night

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.

Shot of the night is late because I've been fighting with insurance people all morning. And I couldn't write it last night because of all the drunken arguing I was doing. I'm pretty sure I had a Barry Bonds debate with a piece of lawn furniture. Last night's shot of the night was The Gold, The Bad, and The Ugly: 1 1/2 oz Kahlua® coffee liqueur, 1 oz Bailey's® Irish cream, fill with milk, 1 1/2 oz Goldschlager® cinnamon schnapps and it's mainly in honor of Trevor Cahill.

The Gold
The A's 22-year-old All Star pitcher threw a complete game shutout. He gave up more walks (4) than hits (3). Cahill is having a great year on paper with an 11-4 record and 2.72 ERA. But his .206 BABIP and 4.18 xFIP suggest he's not actually quite this good.

The Bad
While Cahill shutout the Royals in real baseball, I'm confident I could shut that lineup out in Wiffle Ball. If I had m good riser working that day. When you're lineup starts with Chris Getz and Jason Kendall, you know you're in for a rough day. Kila Ka'aihue: 0-1. Wilson Betemit: 1-2.

The Ugly
Brian Bannister. I really like Brian Bannister but he's not a good pitcher. He went 5 innings and surrendered 5 runs on 7 hits while walking 4 and striking out 4. Banny has embraced sabermetrics more than any other player in the MLB. So maybe he can take some comfort in knowing that his xFIP (4.85) suggests he's not as terrible as his ERA (5.95) implies.

Curveballs for Jobu

Curveballs for Jobu is Off Base Percentage's daily trip around the ballparks.

Today's honorary bat boy is Archi Cianfrocco and he's here to remind you about the Seibu Lions.

Well kids, I'm in charge again which can only mean two things: Jobu is late and the Angels are up first.

Angels 4, Rangers 1. Jered Weaver out dueled Cliff Lee to give me just a little hope that the Angels can still make the playoffs. Weaver went 7 innings and gave up 1 unearned run while striking out 7. Then Fernando Rodney and Brian Fuentes somehow managed to get through 2 innings without giving up a run. Lee, of course, pitched all 8 innings for the Rangers but allowed 4 runs on 9 hits and 2 walks. Weird. The Angels play the Rangers in 7 of their last 14. So you're sayin there's a chance.

Giants 2, Dodgers 0. Matt Cain out dueled Clayton Kershaw. New Dodgers Scott Podsednik, Ryan Theriot and Octavio Dotel all pitched in for the Dodger loss. Blog favorite Buster Posey disappointingly went 0-3 with a walk.

Royals 5, Orioles 4. The more I look at these teams the more I think I was wrong at the beginning of the year. I thought the O's were developing into a nice young team. Now I think the Royals have the more immediate brighter future. Hosmer and Moustakas are on their way and Kila Ka'aihue just got called up. Plus they have Wilson Betemit. Crazy stuff from this game included Bruce Chen getting the win and Alex Gordan hitting a home run.

Astros 5, Brewers 2. The new look Astros starring Humberto Quintero just keep winning. The Astros finally gave up and decided to rebuild and have won 5 in a row. Former Cardinals/A's/Blue Jays prospect Brett Wallace went 1-2.

Curveballs for Jobu

Curveballs for Jobu is Off Base Percentage's daily trip around the ballparks.

Today's honorary bat boy is Jim Vatcher. He's here to remind you that the Braves traded Dale Murphy.

Curveballs for Jobu thought about playing hooky today but I caught it smoking cigarettes behind a dumpster and made it come in to work. I'm at the helm today because Derwood doesn't have the Internet. He moved into a neighborhood that AT&T only offers dial-up. Which, I assume, means he moved to some jungle community in South America.

Rangers 3, A's 1. Cliff Lee threw another 9 inning, no decision game for the second time in three starts. He struck out 13 while shockingly not walking a batter. His strikeout to walk ratio is now a silly 16.29. Nelson Cruz hit a walk-off 2-run home run in the 10th to improve my fantasy team's playoff hopes while dashing the Angels' playoff hopes.

Twins 11, Royals 2. Blog enemy Carl Pavano just keeps on winning. He went 5 innings but he only surrendered 1 one and ran his record to 13-6 and is tied for the AL lead in wins. I may have to get Derwood sedated when Pavano receives CY Young votes this year. Bruce Chen only need 113 pitches to give up 11 hits, 6 runs and 3 walks in one of his more impressive outings. Wilson Betemit: 1-4.

Nationals 3, Braves 0. Stephen Strasburg was scratched before the game but I'm pretty sure he still struck out 5. Miguel Batista is apparently still playing pro ball and got the start in Strasburg's place. He combined with Sean Burnett, Drew Storen and Matt Capps to blank the Braves.

Mets 8, Cardinals 2. Adam Wainwright got lit up to the tune of 6 runs over 5 innings and his ERA ballooned to 2.23. Jeff Francoeur homered and only saw 9 pitches in his 4 plate appearances. Francoeur was in a hurry because he was trying to get home in time for the new episode of Louie. Can't say I blame him either.

Curveballs for Jobu

Curveballs for Jobu is Off Base Percentage's daily trip around the ballparks.

Today's honorary bat boy is Dallas McPherson. He's here to remind baseball that Angels prospects don't pan out.

Hey gang, sorry for the late Jobu but I'm in charge again because the Canadian mafia is holding Derwood hostage. The negotiations aren't going well either. They're demanding Chase Utley and I'm not giving him up. Let's take a look at some of yesterday's games while I try to convince these gansters to take Yuniesky Betancourt instead...

Rangers 6, Angels 4. Scot Shields was still really effective in 2008. The last 2 seasons he's just made me sad. Last night was no different when he managed to walk 3 batter in 2 innings. The Angels fell 7 games back of the Rangers but heisted Dan Haren from the D-Backs. I covered the trade here and also a little bit here.

Yankees 12, Royals 6. Curtis Granderson and Scott Podsendik each hit 2 home runs. Wilson Betemit stopped the world from imploding by going 0-4 with 2 strike outs.

Dodgers 1, Mets 0. Clayton Kershaw shut the Mets down over 8 innings allowing 7 hits and 1 walk but only struck out 3. He did lower his ERA to under 3. R.A. Dickey was also throwing a gem until he was injured in the 6th inning. Dickey tossed 5+ innings of shut out ball while striking out 6 before hurting his leg.

Brewers 8, Nationals 3. The Brewers ruined Ross Detwiler's 2010 debut by scoring 5 runs off of the young starter. Actually, the Nationals ruined his debut. All 5 runs were unearned as the Nats kicked the ball around the field. The staff at Off Base got a nice treat though. It appears the Nats will retain manager Jim Riggleman for next season. Derwood especially is a huge Riggleman fan. I can never find the sarcastic font.

Curveballs for Jobu

Curveballs for Jobu is Off Base Percentage's daily trip around the ballparks.

Today's honorary bat boy is Gary Disarcina.

Alright gang, Off Base is gearing up for some big coverage of the All Star Game. Which means Derwood is probably taking a nap. Plane rides make him sleepy. I'll be handling Jobu again so there will be lots more drinking and anger. I'm exactly like your step-dad.

Orioles 6, Rangers 1. Cliff Lee debuted for the Rangers and, surprise, threw a complete game and didn't walk a batter. He did, however, surrender 6 earned and 3 home runs. Cesar Izturis hit one of those home runs after being reminded he was still on a major league roster.

Giants 10, Nationals 5. Off Base favorite Buster Posey continues to flat rake. Posey went 4-5 with another home run and 3 RBI. In the past week, Posey has a .536/.563/1.107 slash line to go with 5 homers. Which begs the age old question, Bengie Molina?

Phillies 1, Reds 0. Pretty much covered this one in Shot of the Night

Diamondbacks 5, Marlins 4. Chris Coghlan made a ridiculous catch to rob Chris Snyder of a home run as he tried to make up for a pitiful 0-5 day at the plate. Snyder would get his revenge, though, and blast one well over Coghlan's head in the 6th. Mark Reynolds had a shocking zero strikeouts.

Mariners 4, Yankees 1. Remember when Joba Chamberlain was a dominant reliever? Then a starter, then a reliever, then a starter, then a reliever, then a starter? Well, now he's a reliever again and not very good. Joba took the loss after giving up a grand slam in the 8th to Jose Lopez. King Felix tossed a complete game allowing 1 run and striking out 9.

White Sox 5, Royals 1. Wilson Betemit went 2-2 as a pinch hitter and then DH. Wilson Betemit the DH. *shakes head*

Weekly Cup Of Joe: LeBron James Edition

I prefer to think of this as more of a tribute to Fire Joe Morgan than a blatant ripoff. But who are we really kidding here?

Joe was off on Tuesday or thought today was Tuesday, an easy enough mistake to make with the holiday weekend thing. So he did his Joe Chat over at the Four Letter today. Last week's Cup of Joe came with a disclaimer and so does this one. Last week I went a little nerdy with all of the UZR/150 and Gold Glove voting. This week, we're talking LeBron mania! So if you're already sick of all the Lebron talk you might want to come back in a little while but come on, you want to know Joe's take on the situation. Let's grab that nugget of wisdom...

Rob (NY)

Hey joe lets get a LeBron prediction from a fellow beloved ohio ballplayer

Joe Morgan (11:27 AM)

First of all, I am a HUGE NBA fan. But I will say this: I am personally turned off by all of this. In my opinion, if LeBron goes and plays in Miami and Wade and Bosh, then he's throwing his teammates in Cleveland under the bus as if it were their fault that they didn't win in the NBA last year. I've always talked with Bill Russell, the greatest champion in team sports, and he always said it was his duty to make his teammates better. If LeBron goes to Miami, he's saying it wasn't his fault, it was someone else's. I would not want to have that opinion of LeBron.

Joe Morgan (11:28 AM)

If Kobe, LeBron, Wade, Bosh and Dwight Howard all went together, they'd probably win a championship. So, if you can orchestrate who you can play with at the right time, anybody can win a championship.

Okay, this LeBron stuff is suffocating, so I'm sorry for piling on. On the other hand, his hour long announcement special tomorrow night is must see TV. What is he going to do for an hour to announce what will literally take less than 10 seconds to say? Personally, I'm hoping for ventriloquism with the Nike puppet. Or magic. The Penn and Teller kind, not the Laker kind.

On to Joe's point. Isn't the point of sports to win or impress women? LeBron's best chance to win multiple titles is to have other great talent around him. He makes his teammates better. You're a fool if you don't believe that. Without Lebron, a Delonte West led Cavs team wins, what, 12 games? I think their free agent summit was genius. If the Heat can find a way to give all these guys max deals (oh yeah, pro athletes also like the proverbial fat cash), then good for them. Doubt it happens, though.

And this stuff happens in baseball too. Why do you think players have no-trade clauses? Players want to play with other good players so they can win. Nobody wants to be a Royal. Except for maybe Wilson Betemit.

Bonus Poor Grammar Question:

Ryan (PA)

Am I the only person who would prefer players from their team not make the All-Star game? I would rather have them have a couple days rest, especially the pitchers from the team I route for.

Oh, Ryan. Route? That one stung my brain.

Curveballs for Jobu

Curveballs for Jobu is Off Base Percentage's daily trip around the ballparks.

Today's honorary bat boy: Francisco Cabrera




Rockies 12, Cardinals 9. In the words of noted scholar Oscar Rainbow, this one was poddy nonsense. St. Louis led 9-3 heading into the bottom of the ninth and Liza Manelli's version of Rocky Mountain High was ready to go on the Coors Field cassette player. But Melvin Mora wouldn't let this game end without a solid single and Miguel Olivo scored on a passed ball, 9-4. Ryan Franklin came into the game for the Cards and that's where things got smelly. Chris Iannetta ripped a three-run home run, 9-7, still just one out. Dexter Fowler doubled and moved to third on pinch-hitter Brad Hawpe's ground out. Down to their last strike, the Rocks got a single from Carlos Gonzalez, his fourth hit of the night, 9-8. The Giambino ripped a single and Gonzalez came around to score the tying run on right fielder Randy Winn's error. Tie game. After Olivo singled for the second time in the inning, sending pinch-runner Aaron Cook, a starting pitcher, to third, you know what happened next: Seth Smith happened next. Three-run home run, ball game. Not Franklin's best night: 1/3 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 2 HR, 1 HORRIFYINGGOATEE.



Royals 8, Mariners 6. I'm still waiting for KC to win four or five in a row and really make it a four-team raccoon toss in the Central. But nine of twelve isn't bad. While seven innings, no earned runs and nine strikeouts from Zack Greinke is hardly a surprise, Wilson Betemit picking up three hits, one his fourth home run, and three RBIs is like the time I thought I could fit into the fireplace in my apartment: if I drink several 22-oz bottles of Mickeys Malt Liquor and pass out on the couch, I can pretend it never happened.

Cubs 6, Diamondbacks 4. Attention, Offbase readers: Aramis Ramirez was found alive and helping his team win a baseball game at Chase Field, Phoenix, AZ. Ramirez, who before Tuesday's game was scorching it at a .178/.243/.296 clip, popped two home runs as the Cubs won their fifth straight against Arizona.

Rays 3, Redsox 2. Jonathan Van Every: DNP

Curveballs for Jobu

Curveballs for Jobu is Off Base Percentage's daily trip around the ballparks.

Today's honorary bat boy: Mike LaVailliere

All right boys and girls and mainly shut-ins, I'll be handling Jobu for Derwood today while he's out having fun. I lost the Rock, Paper, Scissor contest when I fired off double birds and claimed Stone Cold Steve Austin beats Rock. Then I got disqualified for making a bad wrestling joke. Let's try to shake that off and go to some baseball.

Nationals 6, Mets 5. Strasburg got off to a rough start walking 3 in the first inning. He made it through 5 innings and allowed 2 runs while striking out 5. The Nats would get him off the hook and win it when K-Rod completely melted down in the 9th. K-Rod pitched 1/3 of an inning and gave up 3 walks, 3 hits and 3 runs. And had this to say...

"The freakin' worst performance I ever had in my entire life," K-Rod said. "I should be ashamed of myself. So embarrassing."

I'd like add that you should also be ashamed of that beard.

Tigers 6, Mariners 1. Verlander cruised through 7 innings while striking out 10 and only allowing 1 earned run. The win moves the Tigers into a first place tie in the Central. The loss gets Cliff Lee one game closer to getting his escape from Seattle.

Yankees 11, Blue Jays 3. The Yanks exploded for all 11 runs in the 3rd inning led by an improbable grand slam by Brett Gardner. Even Teixeira chipped in going 2-3 with 2 RBI. His batting average then skyrocketed to .236. Kendry Morales still has a higher WAR than Tex despite missing over an entire month. Just sayin. Jose Bautista hit his major league leading 21st home run of the season. When reached for comment, Chris Shelton mumbled some expletives and said, "It won't last."

Royals 4, Angels 2. Bruce Chen retired the first 18 Angels he faced and Jeff Mathis hit a home run. Nothing in this game made any sense. In fact, you had to watch this game through one of those pinhole eclipse viewers to prevent going blind. Wilson Betemit, 0-4.

Giants 11, Rockies 8. The offensive juggernaut know as the San Francisco Giants roughed up NL Cy Young leader Ubaldo Jimenez to the tune of 7 earned runs over 6 innings. Zito wasn't much better allowing 6 runs over 5+ innings. But the next 4 Rockies' pitchers were outclassed by the next 5 Giants' pitchers to earn the win.

Curveballs for Jobu

Curveballs for Jobu is Off Base Percentage's daily trip around the ballparks.

Today's honorary bat boy: Juan Berenguer




Royals 2, Angels 1. Lefty Joe Saunders was good-8 IP, 1 ER-but the Anaheim bullpen was not-Brian Fuentes blown save, Scot Shields blown nose. KC has won six of eight and is nine games back in the Central on July 3, the closest to first the franchise has been on this date since the 2003 team was in first place, 2 1/2 games up. Wilson Betemit: 1-for-4, single.

Reds 12, Cubs 0. Solid day for the Cubbies. The offense picked up a pair of singles against Bronson Arroyo (6 IP), then Cincy exploded for nine runs in the seventh off Ryan Dempster and a little leaguer named Zach.

Diamondbacks 12, Dodgers 5. The Kirk Gibson era got off to a nice start as Arizona rolled over Hiroki Kuroda (1 2/3 IP, 6 ER) and Jeff Weaver (1 1/3 IP, 3 ER). Any time Jeff Weaver is prominently involved in an embarrassing loss, I'm delighted.

Whitesox 5, Rangers 3. KenHarrelsonVoice™ returns:

"The bad guys led 3-1 after six, but the Sox got a little bingo goin' in the seventh, tell you what. Like the ghost of Scotty Pods, Gordo started the inning with a duck snort, attaboy Gordo. Then Juan, the crew's pick to click, singled. Alex and Pauly drove in runs and all of a sudden the good guys were tied. Ninth inning, bad guys have hard throwing Neftali Perez in the game, but the Sox have Kotsy on the roster for a reason: ninthinningbigtime. Kotsy drove a double into the gap, scoring two and the Palehose took their first lead. Bottom 9? He gone! Wimpy's pick to click, Andruw Jones didn't play."

Curveballs for Jobu

Curveballs for Jobu is Off Base Percentage's daily trip around the ballparks.

Today's honorary bat boy: Dane Iorg



Yankees 8, Dodgers 6 (10). Sunday's game was a strange one for me as a Yankees fan. I went through a wide range of emot...anger and object-throwing as LA basically took a five-run lead on bunts and a home run by Ronnie Belliard. Not a pleasant beginning of the night in the Derwood bunker. Meanwhile, Clayton Kershaw pitched well-7 IP, 2 ER, 5 K, 0 BB-and a 6-2 deficit in the ninth looked like a 10-2 deficit with the way the Yankees had been hitting and with Jonathan Broxton (no runs allowed in last 14 appearances) sweating on the mound. But then it happened. After Mark Teixeira struck out looking on ball two, Alex singled and Robbie Cano doubled, 6-3. Jorge Posada followed with one of the best at bats I've seen him have in a long time-fouled off pitches and didn't bite on pitches Jorge usually bites on-singling to right to chase Cano to third. Curtis Granderson polishes off another great at bat with a walk and the bases are loaded. What followed made me feel like a proud father whose sons were all raised by different men and then started pro baseball careers and whom I've never actually met. Rookie Chad Huffman served a 1-1 pitch into right field to score two and cut the lead to 6-5, then fellow rookie Colin Curtis had the best at bat of the night, capping a 10-pitch trip that included four straight stay-alive foul balls with a 3-2 count, with an RBI-groundout to first. 6-6. Any fan who didn't have the MUTE button on all game could hear the air being sucked out of half-empty Dodger Stadium. Mariano Rivera pitched two scoreless innings, half of the LA team was ejected for arguing balls and strikes, Cano launched a two-run home run off George Sherrill's goatee in the 10th, and the Yankees secured one of the more satisfying victories I've witnessed in 30 years as a fan. Now, what happened to that hole puncher I destroyed in the 3rd?


Oh, I'm sorry, were other games played Sunday?


Royals 10, Cardinals 3. What the hell is going on in Kansas City these days? Bruce Chen allows two earned runs in five innings for the win, Crazy Kyle Farnsworth throws two shutout frames and Wilson Betemit homers and drives in three as the Royals win a series against St. Louis. Silly times.

Rangers 10, Astros 1. Can you put in a request to play Houston or is the schedule already set in advance? Texas stayed hot, winning its 16th in 18 games, and Josh Hamilton continued his torrid run. The left fielder hit the second longest home run in the history of the Ballpark at Arlington, and during his current 21-game hitting streak, he's hitting .465 with nine home runs.

Orioles 4, Nationals 3. Somebody break up the Baltimore Orioles! That wasn't a contraction joke. Baltimore had its third consecutive come-from-behind victory against Washington and won its fourth consecutive game. Parade scheduled for Tuesday morning. How many times a day do you think Jim Riggleman thanks Stephen Strasburg for being alive, 500? Because without Strasburg, Riggleman would be managing the Medferd Bobcats, a fictional team I just made up.

Curveballs for Jobu

Curveballs for Jobu is Off Base Percentage's daily trip around the ballparks.

Today's honorary bat boy: Al Pedrique

Diamondbacks 10, Yankees 4. This game ended at around 1:00 a.m. eastern time, right now it's 11:17 a.m., and I just finished vomiting chicken wings. A.J. Burnett, who lately has been making a habit of pitching like Murray Burnett (9.40 ERA for Big Creek Middle School in 2008), "pulled another Murray" against Arizona. He retired the first two batters before the Flying Parras had six consecutive hits, three of which were home runs, and that's pretty much all you need to know about this one. Oh, you need to know one other thing: the Yankees popped up 147 times in a nine-inning game, a new major league record.

Nationals 2, Royals 1. You want to know how easy it is to keep your job if you're a major league baseball player or manager? Monday, a Jim Riggleman-managed team beat a team Bruce Chen was pitching for. Wilson Betemit update: struck out pinch hitting in the seventh, average down to .438, ladies heart's broken: 31.

Reds 6, Athletics 4 (10 inn.). Cincy clubbed three home runs - Ramon Hernandez, Joey Votto and Scott Rolen - in the top of the 10th off two A's relievers who wish to remain nameless. Unofficially, 17 people in Oakland were "visibly upset" (Off Base Times).

Curveballs for Jobu

Curveballs for Jobu is Off Base Percentage's daily trip around the ballparks.

Today's honorary bat boy: Chris Sabo




Yankees 9, Astros 5. Before Saturday's game, Jorge Posada hadn't hit a grand slam since 2004, so naturally he hit one Saturday, then ripped another one Sunday to push the Yankees into a first-place tie with Tampa Bay for the first time since April 22. Posada has caught several times since 2004, but Sunday's game was his first behind the plate since May 19.



Royals 7, Reds 3. Zack Greinke pitched his first complete game of the year, a five-hitter, striking out 12 and not allowing a walk. He threw 105 pitches in nine innings, and didn't let anyone in the Cincy lineup see more than 3.7 pitches per plate appearance. And the Royals finally scored some runs for the youngster! Billy Butler who is quietly (even for a Royals player) having a huge season, had a 4-for-5, 4 RBI day to lift his batting average to .335 and his OBP to .388, much higher than his career marks (.296 and .352, respectively). Also Wilson Betemit continued to put his name in the discussion for various post-season awards with a 2-for-4 night, raising his seven-game totals to .500 AVG (5-for-10) and three doubles, which leads all Betemits.

Mets 11, Orioles 4. I don't think Kevin Millwood is enjoying himself so far in 2010. The 35-year old is still winless with a 5.16 ERA and 1.49 WHIP in 14 starts after Sunday's 8-ER, 3-HR debacle. The Mets swept their first road series since September 1-3, 2008 against Milwaukee. Robinson Cancel, who played with the Brewers in 1999 and not again until the 2008 season, caught the middle game of that '08 Milwaukee series, one of the 27 games he got into that year. Then he batted once in 2009 and hasn't been heard from since. His baseballreference transaction page is bizarre. Anyone who knows where Cancel is, email derwoodmorris@offbasepercentage.com

Braves 7, Twins 3. I would like to take this morning's Jobu to formerly apologize to Troy Glaus. In early-April I might've made a comment about his body odor and related it to his hitting. But that was April, this is mid-June, and Glaus is right now the biggest weapon in Atlanta's lineup. After a 194/.310/.292 April, Glaus, who went 4-for-5 with 2 home runs Sunday, has hit 11 long balls in 41 games in May and June, and those triple slash numbers are up to .290/.382/.504.

Curveballs for Jobu

Curveballs for Jobu is Off Base Percentage's daily trip around the ballparks.

Today's honorary bat boy: Andres Thomas




Twins 2, Braves 1. Francisco Liriano is officially back. The Twins' lefty dominated in his rookie season (2006), then had Tommy John surgery and missed the 2007 season. He struggled in '08 and really struggled a year ago-nearly 10 hits allowed per nine innings and a 1.55 WHIP-before returning to his '06 form through this season's first two months. He handcuffed the Braves over eight innings, fanning 11, and in his 12 starts, Liriano's had two hiccups, against Baltimore May 8 and Boston May 20, but the other 10 have been excellent.



Redsox 12, Phiilies 2. When Jamie Moyer broke into the big leagues, women weren't even allowed to brush their teeth, let alone vote. That's why tonight's outcome is so shocking. Moyer's one inning, nine-earned run performance was the worst start of his 59-year career. If you're a left-handed pitcher, you throw 75 miles per hour, you're starting at Fenway Park, and you don't have good stuff and can't locate anything, it's going to be a very short outing.

Royals 6, Reds 5 (11). Wilson Betemit drew a walk; Kyle Farnsworth threw two scoreless innings. I don't know what the hell is going on, but if Breyers Cookies & Cream ice cream isn't still delicious, then I know something is wrong.





Cardinals 5, Diamondbacks 2. I don't know how he did it, but Rodrigo Lopez got Albert Pujols to look silly in three at-bats (strike out looking, infield pop up and ground out). Unfortunately for Lopez, whose career has gone south since an excellent rookie year in 2002, Skip Schumaker and Brendan Ryan are just much better players than Pujols. Schumaker got the scoring started with an RBI-double in the second and Ryan's three-run home run in the seventh helped St. Louis pull away.

Giants 6, Athletics 2. This Tim Lincecum youngster is going to be just fine. The two-time defending Cy Young winner hadn't looked himself in his previous handful of starts, but tonight he pitched eight strong for the win. Buster Posey Watch: 1-for-4, RBI-triple. Season: .461 OBP, 21-for-49 (.428).

Wilson Betemit Hits Home Run

Wilson Betemit is not only alive, he has a home run tonight for the Kansas City Royals.

From cbssports.com:

Wilson Betemit (1) solo shot to right off Baker.

I had to look twice to make sure it was the right Betemit until I realized there aren't any other Betemits.

It's Betemit's first long ball since September 13, 2008 when as a Yankee he took Matt Garza deep in a game no one has been talking about.


** UPDATE 10:58 p.m. **

Unbelievable. Betemit not only stayed in the game after his home run, but just homered again.

Wilson Betemit (2) solo shot to left center off Duensing.

KC up 9-6 on the Twins in the top of the ninth on Wilson Betemit Night.