2013 BBA Award Ballot

“Recently I made a chair. When I was finished, I thought it was a good chair. I submitted it to the Indiana Fine Woodworking Association who felt it merited consideration for an award. It’s been a real whirlwind.” - Ron Swanson

I imagine this is how Mike Trout feels around award season. But then the BBWAA gives his award to Miguel Cabrera because the Tigers' back deck didn't collapse when it rained like the Angels' season did. See, in this metaphor baseball is woodworking or... Just go ask Ken Tremendous what point I was trying to make. He writes gooder words than me.

Around this time last year, I submitted my ballot for the BBA (Baseball Bloggers Alliance) and resisted the temptation to vote Mike Trout for every award including Homecoming Queen and best rapper since Biggie. Trout did take home the BBA's Stan Musial for best player and Willie Mays for best rookie. Of course, Miguel Cabrera and his Triple Crown trounced Trout in the BBWAA's voting despite the youngster's historic season. One year later, does Mike Trout face the same fate? You betcha.

AL Stan Musial (top player)
1. Mike Trout
Trout followed the greatest season ever by a 20-year-old with the greatest season ever by a 21-year-old. He improved his walk rate and decreased his strikeout rate and set a new record for the amount of times I just say "Mike Trout" to random people in a year by 250. I have the first recognized case of Trout Tourette. Anyway, Trout led baseball in fWAR again by more than two wins. This year he beat out Andrew McCutchen 10.4 to 8.2 and was the best player in baseball despite an underwhelming defensive season according to advanced metrics.
2. Miggy Cabrera
He's the best hitter in baseball when healthy. And the Tigers make the playoffs. And Topps still prints RBI numbers. So, all of the BBWAA's old school criteria is met. Hand that man another MVP.
3. Josh Donaldson
.301/.384/.499 with good defense and baserunning that did not resemble a sleepy puppy. That gets you a 7.7 fWAR and a top five MVP vote.
4. Chris Davis
5. Evan Longoria
6. Robinson Cano
7. Manny Machado
8. Max Scherzer
9. Felix Hernandez
10. Adrian Beltre

NL Stan Musial
1. Andrew McCutchen
Cutch was second to Trout in fWAR and has a similar skill set. Cutch also has the luxury of not having to get his dress shirts with a customized neck size. Shoulders. Shoulders is Mike Trout's neck size.
2. Yadier Molina
Molina missed time but he's probably being underrated by Wins Above Replacement for his defense. Points deducted for only finishing third in the Molina family pie eating contest. Bengie came in first and second.
3. Clayton Kershaw
4. Carlos Gomez
CarGo 2.0 now with less injuries!
5. Paul Goldschmidt
6. Matt Carpenter
7. Adam Wainwright
8. Joey Votto
9. Troy Tulowitzki
10. Matt Harvey

AL Walter Johnson
1. Max Scherzer
21 wins and a 2.74 FIP. He has something for everyone.
2. Felix Hernandez
3. Yu Darvish
4. Anibal Sanchez
5. Chris Sale

NL Walter Johnson
1. Clayton Kershaw
2. Adam Wainwright
3. Matt Harvey
4. Cliff Lee
5. Jose Fernandez

AL Willie Mays (top rookie)
1. Wil Myers
2. Jose Iglesias
3. Brad Miller

NL Willie Mays
1. Jose Fernandez
2. Yasiel Puig
3. Julio Teheran
3B. Shelby Miller
3C. Gerrit Cole
And that's without Hyun-Jin Ryu. The NL was loaded with rookies.

AL Connie Mack (top manager)
I more or less throw some names into a hat and pick three. Is this Jim Riggleman's year?!?!
1. Joe Maddon
I don't put his name in the hat because he's awesome.
2. John Farrell
3. Terry Francona

NL Connie Mack
1. Clint Hurdle
Hahaha. I really don't put much thought into these. Nor should I.
2. Mike Matheny?
3. Don Mattingly?

AL Goose Gossage (top reliever)
1. Koji Uehara
2. Greg Holland
3. Drew Smyly

NL Goose Gossage
1. Craig Kembrel
2. Kenley Jansen
3. Trevor Rosenthal

Curveballs for Jobu

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

Today's honorary bat boy is Marty Clary.

Rockies 12, Braves 10
Reds 12, Giants 11 (12)

In Colorado, everything was coming up Rafael Belliard as the Braves led 10-1 in the fourth. It was 10-2 when Colorado scored three runs in both the fifth and sixth to cut it to 10-8. Kyle Farnsworth, auditioning for the Indians' 7th-inning role in 2011, was involved in the four-run meltdown in the eighth as Troy Tulowitzki singled in the go-ahead run to match the biggest come back in club history.

More horrifying pitching out in San Fran. The Reds also led 10-1 before the Giants clawed back with four runs in the fifth and sixth innings, then ordered the usual: a Juan Uribe three-run home run (known as the "No. 83" in San Francisco). 10-8. 76-year old Arthur Rhodes relieved and two singles, a double and a sac fly later, the Giants led 11-10. Cincy tied it in the ninth, then with Barry Zito pitching out of the bullpen in the 12th, Joey Votto singled in the go-ahead run to complete the UpBigDamnitWeStunkAndLostTheLeadButWaitWeTiedItAgainHeyThatGuySingledWeWon victory. Blog favorite Buster Posey: 0-for-6.

Royals 4, Tigers 3 (12). KC manager inserted Willie Bloomquist into the third spot in the order to attempt to spark the offense, which is like saying I added motor oil to my plate of spaghetti to give it more flavor. Yost also guaranteed reporters before the game that Bloomquist would get "a couple hits". Yost was right: Bloomquist DID get a couple of hits...two...in six plate appearances. But one of the hits was a go-ahead, solo home run in the 12th, so that should signal the beginning of NeddyYostSmartBall.

Cubs 4, Nationals 0. Mike Quade is 3-0 as interim manager and is the first Cubs' skipper to win his first three since Jim Riggleman went 4-0 in 1995. In a related story, Jim Riggleman's Washington Nationals fell to 53-74 with Wednesday's loss to Chicago.

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 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 Kal Daniels



Pirates 9, Astros 0. We didn't need Ernie the Intern Hippo to search the CFJ archives and see if this would be Paul Maholm's first time making the roundup. It's like when I was a kid and I hadn't yet tried salami. Finally, on a hot summer day I got to taste the goodness and later in the evening I three-hit the Astros. In RBI Baseball. Sunday, Maholm had his salami, pitching a complete game, three-hitter to lead the Bucs to that magical 32-win plateau. The southpaw seems to have shaken the stench of his start against the Phillies July 3 (3 IP, 7 ER), throwing Sunday's shutout after allowing two earned in seven against the Brewers July 9.

Indians 7, Tigers 2. We're back to daily Indians recaps until they lose. Jeanmar Gomez, who struggled for Triple A Columbus but didn't allow an earned run in a seven-inning, big league debut, helped the Tribe sweep a four-game series. Luis Valbuena: DNP.

Mets 4, Giants 3 (10). New York closer Francisco Rodriguez blew a two-run lead in the bottom of the ninth, but Ike Davis doubled off Brian Wilson in the top of the tenth for the winning run. Rodriguez: 2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, WIN!

Bluejays 10, Orioles 1. Yunel Escobar has enjoyed his short stay in Toronto. After a trade brought him from Atlanta, Escobar is 6-for-13 (.462) in three games and Sunday hit his first career grand slam. Baltimore has scored 16 runs in nine games (all losses) against Toronto this season.

Mariners 2, Angels 1 (10). I thought Jim Riggleman was managing in Washington now, just what in the name of Don Slaught is Jose Lopez, and his .345 slugging percentage, doing batting clean up? It worked Sunday as Lopez delivered a go-ahead single in the 10th to give Seattle its first win in its last nine games against Anaheim. Seattle Mariners Horrifying Statistic of the Day: Part-time player Ryan Langerhans has a higher OPS+ (120) than every single regular position player.

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: Ricky Jordan




Orioles 7, Nationals 6. I knew this series was going to be special. Baltimore trailed 6-0 after four, but came all the way back to beat its arch rival in a game seen in more than 100 countries. Washington made four errors, the last of which forced home the winning run in the bottom of the ninth. Soon-to-be-fired Nats manager Jim Riggleman: "It's not football. I can't put a defensive team and an offensive team out there. It's the major leagues and we have to play major league defense." If anyone can put both an offensive and defensive team on the field at different times, it's Riggleman.

Reds 10, Indians 3. Everyone's talking about Edwin Jackson's no-hitter, but did you see Cleveland pitchers Aaron Laffey and Joe Smith combined to throw a 10-hitter? No? Well, did you see Teen Wolf Too? Outstanding film.



Athletics 14, Pirates 4. I'm completely out of Pittsburgh Pirates' jokes. Oakland starter Ben Sheets, who struck out nine in six innings and got the win, said Coco Crisp (3-for-5 in his third game back from the disabled list) gives the A's a "true leadoff hitter". I'm sorry, sir, that's incorrect. Crisp, career .331 on-base percentage and an average of 28 walks per season, gives you a person to bat in the leadoff spot. He gives you a true second ninth hitter.

Rockies 4, Angels 3 (11). Anaheim spoiled a great outing by Jered Weaver-7 IP, 2 ER, 11 K-and Colorado won on Robb Quinlan Bobblehead Night.

Astros 7, Rangers 4. How to stop your opponent's 11-game winning streak: you hand Brian Moehler the ball, sit back and watch the magic unfold. Moehler allowed two earned runs in five innings as Houston finally avenged its June 25, 2008 loss to Texas.

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: Bill Doran



Whitesox 6, Nationals 3. Lost in the Strasburg mania this weekend was the realization that Washington is managed by Jim Riggleman and therefore stinks. That's six consecutive Rigglemans and eight Rigglemans out of nine for the Nats. Chicago got seven innings of three-run ball from Freddy Garcia, and with John Danks and Jake Peavy and Mark Buehrle looking better with each start, the Palehose are legitimate contenders in the Central. Unless of course Ozzie Guillen keeps playing Smart Ball, then Chicago is screwed.



Twins 4, Phillies 1. Blog enemy Carl Pavano pitched 45 2/3 innings in his two seasons with the Yankees. Sunday for Minnesota he pitched nine, nearly 20% of his total innings in two full seasons in New York. If I ever see Carl Pavano in person, I will lob a sock full of mustard at him and laugh from a secure location.

Mariners 1, Reds 0. Ryan Rowland-Smith pitched six shutout innings for his first win of the season, but the real story continues to be Arthur Rhodes. Forget small sample sizes, Rhodes is 40 and in 30 2/3 innings has allowed one earned run and 25 base runners (0.29 ERA, 0.81 WHIP). He also pitched in three different post-seasons on teams that were eliminated by the Yankees. That made me feel better after the Pavano stuff.

Rangers 5, Astros 4. Are families in the state of Texas divided over the Texas-Houston baseball rivalry? Has interleague play lost the luster it never really had in the first place? Will the Astros win 55 games? If Texas wins the AL West and no one cares, did it really happen? For more of Questions No One Is Asking, tune in to Jobu June 26 for our next Astros-Rangers recap.

Curveballs for Jobu

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

Today's honorary bat boy: Ozzie Virgil




Nationals 7, Pirates 5. A day after a sellout crowd watched Strasburg dominate, just 18,876 came out for Brad Lincoln's debut. Good thing, because the No. 4 overall pick in 2006 wasn't very good Wednesday. He allowed five earned runs in six innings, while the Nats pen allowed four base runners in 4 1/3 scoreless innings. Jim Riggleman keeps his condo for at least one more day.

Rangers 12, Mariners 2. MTD and I had a long Vlad Guerrero-is-a-first-ballot-Hall-of-Famer discussion Wednesday, but what we didn't discuss was Ian Snell's candidacy. Quick prediction of our probable Thursday Snell-for-HOF conversation: it isn't likely. While Vlad was busy going 3-for-5 with 2 RBIs, Snell was busy putting together his worst start since last August 13: 1 2/3 IP, 7 ER, and the Mariners remained absolutely horrible for the 47th consecutive season.

Diamondbacks 2, Braves 1. Gerardo Parra must've read Jobu June 1, because he hit and two-run, inside-the-park home run in the eighth inning to lead the Flying Parras to at least a split of a four-game series with Atlanta. True, Nate Mclouth fell down in what looked to be excruciating pain after colliding with Jason Heyward on Parra's fly ball, but any hit counts when you have a .278 on-base percentage. Parra, not Mclouth (.299 OBP).

Indians 11, Redsox 0. The Tribe got their first good news since Willie Mays Hayes scored from second on Jake Taylor's bunt as former Boston pitcher Justin Masterson pitched a two-hit shut out. Travis Hafner blasted a grand slam in an eight-run eighth inning to help Cleveland win for the first time against Boston since May 6 of last year.



Cubs 9, Brewers 4. Geovany Soto and Marlon Byrd hit two home runs each and Derrek Lee hit his 300th career home run (126th player to reach that mark) as the Cubbies remained three games ahead of Milwaukee for third place in the race for the team that's going to finish the season third in the NL Central.

NL East Full of Phenoms

When Washington called up Stephen Strasburg and Florida promoted Mike Stanton Tuesday, the pair joined Atlanta's Jason Heyward to form a electric trio in the NL East.

Stanton



All the 76th pick in the 2007 draft did in his first full minor league season was hit 39 home runs with a .993 OPS. He did strike out 153 times, but as the saying goes, chicks don't give a shit about strikeouts as long as you're a ridiculous power hitter. Last season, Stanton split time between Jupiter and Jacksonville and in about the same number of at bats, dipped to just 28 combined home runs and a .341 OBP. But Stanton wasn't fooling around when the Jacksonville season began this spring. He hit 21 home runs, the OBP shot back up to .441 (OPS: 1.167) and the Marlins couldn't wait any longer, calling him up for his big league debut Tuesday.

Heyward



Also a member of the '07 draft class, Heyward went from the No. 14 overall pick out of Henry County High School (McDonough, GA) to the starting right fielder on opening day in two years. He was a sandlot legend during his youth baseball days and the Braves always scout heavy in their own state. So it was no surprise when Atlanta chose the 6-5, 240-pounder with its first pick. In his first full year of pro ball with the Rome Braves, Heyward tore up the Sally League, collecting 217 total bases, a .323 batting average and a .388 OBP in 120 games. His promotion to Myrtle Beach was brief, and uneventful (22 at bats), but in 2009 Heyward split time between Myrtle Beach, Mississippi and Gwinnett and hit a combined .323 with a .408 OBP. The Braves thought he was ready, he broke camp with the big league club this spring and is the current favorite to win the NL Rookie of the Year.

Strasburg



Unless this guy wins it. Strasburg has been hyped so much that after his big league debut, someone said Strasburg and Walter Johnson in the same sentence and didn't include the words "has always been a fan of". That debut was sparkling-7 IP, 14 K, 0 BB-and while its only one start, it's clear Strasburg has stuff, mainly a blazing fast ball and a filthy curve ball, that's there with the best in baseball. I would have a detailed account of Strasburg's journey to the big leagues, but there's not much to say. He was drafted No. 1 overall in 2009, made 11 starts combined at Harrisburg and Syracuse this spring, allowing eight earned runs in 55 1/3 innings (1.30 ERA), and the Nats called him up faster than you can say we need to try and save Jim Riggleman's job!


That's three potential superstars in a division that already includes Hanley Ramirez and will soon include Bryce Harper.

Bryce Harper's Interesting College Career

Power hitting phenom, Bryce Harper, will be the number one pick by the Nats at Monday's amateur draft. The 17-year-old took an interesting path to the draft by exploiting a loophole. Harper dropped out of high school, got his G.E.D. and enrolled in a junior college. MLB happens to let JUCO kids into the draft after just one season. A smart move in Harper's case. But I did question how many delusional parents will follow The Harper Path.

Harper goes to school. Harper enrolled at the College of Southern Nevada for the sole purpose of mashing homeruns for the Prostitute Killers [ed.-may not actually be CSN's mascot, little research was done]. And Harper mashed away to the tune of 29 hrs and .442/.524/.986. During the JUCO World Series he managed to go 6-7 and hit for the cycle, only to go 6-6 the next day with 4 homeruns. A similar feat to what I accomplished in the magical summer of '92. Sure, some will say I had a short porch in left in my backyard or that I filled my Wiffle Ball bat with sand, but you'll never take it away from me!

Harper giveth, Harper taketh away. In the 5th inning of Southern Nevada's JUCO World Series game, Harper was called out on strikes. Harper drew a line in the dirt, presumambly to show the umpire where he thought the pitch was. The umpire immediately ejected him, presumably so the world would know the name Don Gilmore. And you shall know my name is Don Gilmore when I eject Baseball Jesus with the toss of a finger. Surprisingly, the Harperless team would go on to lose that game. Since it was Harper's second ejection of the season, he was suspended for two games. Southern Nevada would get knocked out of the tourney the next day.

Harper's Bad Attitude. Of course, now there are some scouts that question Bryce Harper's makeup and have labeled him a hot-head. Obviously, none of that will cost him the top slot in the draft, the kid absolutely rakes. But I think it's interesting. The kid, from all accounts, received the ball well this season and Jim Callis called him the greatest power hitting prospect of all time in a recent chat. Are some scouts just looking for something bad to pin on him? Bryce Harper was on the cover of SI at 16. In the new era of Twitter and the Internet of every phone, he's getting to be more hyped than LeBron James was when he came out of high school. Yeah, the kid has some growing up to do. Let's see if we can allow him to do it. If I had had all of that press by 17, my head would have exploded. And I would have quit baseball due to all of the, um, let's call it, female attention.

Bryce Harper gets rich Monday. Harper will get drafted first overall by the Washington Nationals on Monday. He will be the second consecutive, Boras represented, once-in-a-lifetime prospect the Nationals drafted. They drafted Strasburg last year in case you don't watch baseball or have the Internet. In which case, you're not exactly our target audience. Harper will likely sign the day before the deadline for somewhere between Mark Teixeira's $9.5 million deal and Strasburg's $15.67 million deal from last year. Boras will obviously push for a record breaking deal because he doesn't have enough money yet to build his TIE Fighter to fight George Lucas in space. Either way, Harper will be one rich kid. As strange as it sounds, he will join a promising Washington Nationals franchise. Nah, they'll screw it up. Riggleman'd.

Curveballs for Jobu

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

Today's honorary bat boy: Lenn Sakata




Tigers 12, Indians 6. Russell Branyan hit a one-out single into center field in the second inning, though replays showed it was clearly a ground out to second base, and Rick Porcello lost his perfect game.

Astros 6, Nationals 4. Cristian Guzman made three errors, the last of which came after he was moved from shortstop to right field (Riggleman'd) and helped Houston tie the game in the ninth. A batter later, Carlos Lee ripped a two-run home run, handing Washington its third consecutive loss. We predicted this would happen.

Mariners 4, Twins 1. King Felix allowed Justin Morneau's RBI-single in the first and nothing else, going eight in a nine-strikeout victory. The M's ran a lot on blog enemy Carl Pavano and Joe Mauer, picking up five stolen bases, three by Suzuki, Ichiro.

Athletics 9, Redsox 8. Tim Wakefield in his last two starts against Kansas City and Oakland: 9 2/3 IP, 20 H, 15 ER. Simply Irabuian.



Angels 5, Royals 4. Anaheim got back to .500 with the win, but Brian Fuentes almost let it get away. The Angels closer gave up a pinch-hit, two-run home run to Willie Bloomquist (OPS+ of 54 before Thursday's game), walked two, and nearly allowed another home run to Yuniesky Betancourt before finally getting the save. Zack Grienke (6 IP, 10 H, 4 ER) has allowed four or more runs in four of his six home starts, and 11 runs total in his six road starts. I don't think he would have this problem if KC ownership would use my suggestion and instead of water, fill the outfield fountains with mustard.

Curveballs for Jobu

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

Today's honorary bat boy: Wayne Tolleson




Pirates 3, Cubs 2. All the Pirates do is beat the Cubs. Native Pittsburghian Neil Walker's two-run home run off Theodore Lilly in the eighth was the difference. Meanwhile the Cubs got a single from Xavier Nady in the seventh, then the vaunted trio of Javier Lopez, Joel Hanranhan and Octavio Dotel retired the final seven in order. They're already calling them JavHanTel at PNC Park.

Rangers 9, Whitesox 6. Another scoreless outing with two strikeouts for Darren Oliver, who at 72-years old is having the best season of his career.

Darren Oliver Fact of the Day

Oliver signed with Arizona on April 12, 2005, was released by the Diamondbacks, May 3, signed with the Cubs on May 7 and released on May 20. That's like in 1995 when I worked three days at Wendys, quit because I saw a guy pick a piece of meat off his shirt and toss it into the chili, started working at the Italian restaurant the next day, but Mr. Anotelli was always yelling at me, so after my second day, I quit.

Astros 8, Nationals 7. If I know Jim Riggleman, and I like to think that I do, this should be the start of a long losing streak for the Nationals.

Braves 7, Phillies 3. Are the Braves the best team in the National League? Certainly seems that way, and it's painful to say that because I don't want anything good to happen to Chip Caray.


Good Carrey


Bad Caray

Curveballs for Jobu

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

Today's honorary bat boy: Billy Jo Robidoux




Pirates 2, Cubs 1. The first of an estimated four mentions of the Buccos here at CFJ over the course of the next four months. Pittsburgh beat Chicago for the eighth time in the last nine meetings, dating back to last September. The last time the Cubs beat Pittsburgh, Sam Fuld doubled off Eric Hacker in an at bat the Fuld and Hacker families still talk about.

Rockies 4, Giants 0. Ubaldo Jimenez-CG, 4 H, 9 K-has allowed seven earned runs this season. Somewhere, Dave LaPoint is sanding his deck.



Nationals 14, Astros 4. A team managed by Jim Riggleman is 26-26 and 3 1/2 games out of first.

Bluejays 3, Devilrays 2. Is there a stat more ridiculous than the hold? You know what a hold is? A save, but smellier. Scott Downs came on in the 8th with Toronto up 3-0. He struck out Gabe Kapler, but allowed a triple to B.J. Upton, who scored on a Willy Aybar ground out after Shawn Camp relieved Downs. That's one out recorded, one triple scalded, and two runs scored-one his own, which = 13th hold of the year for Downs.

Dodgers 5, Diamondbacks 4. The Diamondbacks not only employ Gerardo Parra, but have allowed him to bat 94 times, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that LA won when Esmerling Vazquez balked home the winning run in the bottom of the ninth. Good news for Vazquez, though: he's only the 14th-worst pitcher to toe the rubber for Arizona in 2010.