Curveballs for Jobu 6/22/11

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

Today's honorary bat boy is Nelson Santovenia.

Nationals 6, Mariners 5.
Wilson Ramos hit the walk-off home run to finish off the 5-run comeback in the 9th inning against the Mariners. My immediate thought was why would the Mariners let Chone Figgins pitch the 9th but it was actually Brandon League and David Pauley with an assist from a Justin Smoak error combining to spoil a solid outing from Doug Fister.

Marlins 5, Angels 2.
The Angels get the dubious honor of halting the Marlins 11 game losing streak and handed Jack McKeon his first managerial win as an octogenarian. The Marlins celebrated by giving McKeon an Ensure shower. Javier Vasquez got the win by managing to allow zero runs on 10 hits over 5+ innings. The Angels continue to find new ways to make me sad during the 2011 campaign.

Rangers 5, Astros 4 (11).
Mitch Moreland hit his second bomb in as many days. Tuesday's was the walk-off variety in the bottom of the 11th. The Astros remained competitive against C.J. Wilson by knocking him around for 4 runs on 11 hits in 6+ innings. I think the Astros could turn things around by following in the Marlins footsteps. Perhaps they could hire a cardboard cutout of Casey Stengel to manage the team.

A's 7, Mets 3.
The Athletics have won 7 in a row thanks to Bob Melvin or, more likely, interleague play. Jemile Weeks went 1-3 with 2 walks, 2 stolen bases and 3 runs scored. Jason Bay went 3-3 with a triple and a home run. With that offensive outburst, Bay was able to keep his slugging (.322) above his on base (.320) but at least he's only making $18M.

Padres 5, Red Sox 4.
That's gotta be a typo.

Brewers 5, Rays 1.
Zack Greinke struck out 10 over 7 innings and Yuniesky Betancourt even accidentally hit a home run. The Royals made the Brewers take on Betancourt as part of the Greinke trade and Yuni has been every bit as bad as everyone knew he'd be. His .229/.251/.339 line gets the Brandon Wood nod of approval. Which might get renamed the Hanley Ramirez nod of approval.

Other games, but down here...
Phillies 10, Cardinals 2.
Rockies 4, Indians 3.
White Sox 3, Cubs 2.
Diamondbacks 7, Royals 2.
Pirates 9, Orioles 3.
Braves 5, Blue Jays 1.
Yankees, Reds PPD.
Dodgers 6, Tigers 1.
Twins 9, Giants 2.

Yuni Betancourt And Pitcher Traded To Brewers

I'm still trying to process the move that Kansas City made late last night. I mean, surely this is the year Yuniesky Betancourt breaks the 25 walks barrier. But the Royals decided to build a package around him and sent him to Milwaukee for fellow short stop Alcides Escobar and three Brewers' prospects. Congratulations are in order to blogger Jim Breen of Bernie's Crew for breaking the story yesterday. I broke a news story once and, damn, it felt good. But enough about me, let's get to the trade.

What in means for the Royals
The Royals upgrade their short stop position by trading for an actual short stop. Escobar is great in the field but is still a work in progress at the dish. As brain cramping as it is to imagine, Escobar couldn't even out on base percentage Yuni last season tying him with a walk refusing .288 OBP. Escobar just turned 24 so Royals fans can be at least a little optimistic about some room for growth and can take comfort in the fact they'll no longer be running out a traffic cone in the field.

The Royals also get the Brewers number one prospect in RHP Jake Odorizzi. Odorizzi was the Brewers top prospect for roughly a week after Milwaukee sent Brett Lawrie to Toronto. Toolsy center fielder Lorenzo Cain is the only other confirmed prospect in the package. Early reports had RHP Jeremy Jeffress in the deal but he's now apparently been replaced with the famous PTBNL. That could potentially be good news for the Royals since Jeffress projects as a reliever and already has a 100 game suspension under his belt.

What it means for the Brewers
The Brewers continue to gut their farm system in an effort to go all in for Prince Fielder's last season in Milwaukee before he packs up all the cheese he can and files for free agency. The Brewers are getting $2 million which is what it would cost to buy out Yuni's contract just in case they find an elderly lady in the stands with better range at short stop.

The Brewers will also acquire Zack Greinke pending a physical. Grink? Am I saying it right?

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.

Tonight's shot of the night is a Walk in the Park: 1/3 Drambuie Scotch Whiskey, 1/3 Benedictine Herbal Liqueur, 1/3 Green Chartreuse. And it's in honor of Edwin Jackson.

Edwin Jackson had a career day at the park. He tossed a no-hitter and threw a career high 149 pitches. He's probably going to need the booze because his arm might fall off in the next couple of days. He managed to walk 8 batters in his no-hitter, good for third most in no-no history. Get it? Walk in the Park? I'm here all week kids, try the Teriyaki wings.

Honorable Mention: Jimmy Rollins
J-Roll fresh off of another one of his seemingly endless DL stints went 0-1 with 4 walks. Four walks in one game. Yuniesky Betancourt disapproves.

Come on Yuni, bring your .292 OBP and let's go drink. I'll drive since we all know you aren't walking. *rim shot*