Curveballs for Jobu 6/2/11

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

Today's honorary bat boy is Jason Dellaero.

White Sox 7, Red Sox 3.
The White Sox finished the sweep of their Sox counterpart. Paul Konerko went 3-4 with his 12th home run of the season. He's hitting .310/.381/.516 to follow up his .312/.393/.584 2010 which are the best lines (along with 2006) of his career. Adam Dunn went another 0-4 and his OBP is now higher than his SLG. It's like Jose Bautista sucked all the hit tools out of him.

Yankees 4, A's 2.
Nick Swisher hit a home run. For as terrible as he's been, he's still 0.1 better than replacement level making Adam Dunn 0.5 jealous. The Yanks have opened up a 2 game lead over the Red Sox in the East and a 6 game lead on the Orioles.

Royals 2, Angels 0.
Billy Butler hit the walk-off home run off of Scott Downs who showed up in between DL stints. The Angels wasted 7.2 shutout innings from Tyler Chatwood who is quickly making Scott Kazmir an afterthought. Kazmir gave up 10 runs and walked 6 over 4 hours of sleep last night.

Reds 4, Brewers 3.
Finally, Jay Bruce hit a home run (17). Joey Votto hit his 7th of the season to go with his MVP-esque .338/.468/.532 line. Nyjer Morgan went 2-3 with a picked off.

Diamondbacks 6, Marlins 5.
The D-Backs got back in the win column after my boy Justin Upton hit a walk-off single. Arizona is clinging to a half game lead over the San Francisco Miguel Tejadas.

Rockies 3, Dodgers 0.
Ubaldo Jiminez threw a 4-hit shutout for his first win of the season. I'm entirely too lazy to check on his velocity but I doubt this a corner turner. He was taking on the fierce, Jay Gibbons led offense of the Dodgers.

Other games, but down here...
Rangers 3, Rays 0.
Orioles 2, Mariners 1.
Tigers 4, Twins 2.
Indians 13, Blue Jays 9.
Nationals 2, Phillies 1.
Astros 3, Cubs 1.
Braves 4, Padres 3.
Pirates 9, Mets 3.
Giants 7, Cardinals 5 (11).

Curveballs for Jobu 6/1/11

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

Today's honorary bat boy is Josh Booty.

Marlins 5, Diamondbacks 2.
On the back of Anibal Sanchez, the Marlins snapped the Diamondbacks 7 game win streak and moved within 2 games of the Phillies in the East. Sanchez went 8 innings gave up 2 runs and struck out 8. Justin Upton and Kelly Johnson each homered in the second straight game. The loss really is a shame for the D-Backs as they completely waste a Sean Burroughs pinch hit single.

Nationals 10, Phillies 2.
Cliff Lee got rocked by the Nats in just over 5 innings. He gave up 6 earned on 7 hits and 3 walks. Oh, and Danny Espinosa hit a pair of homers off of Lee. Yikes. There was even a Brian Bixler sighting. Not sure why though.

Brewers 7, Reds 2.
Jay Bruce went a disappointing 1-4 with zero home runs. Cold streak? Zack Grienke gave up both Reds runs and lowered his ERA to 5.29 on the season.

Indians 6, Blue Jays 3.
The Indians got back in the win column thanks to Grady Sizemore and Carlos Santana combining to go 5-7. Jose Bautista failed to homer but his 3-5 gives him an insane .363/.505/.786 line. I think I love him.

Mariners 3, Orioles 2.
Um, what the hell is going on in Seattle? The Mariners have won 11 of 13 and are half a game out of first in the West. And they're doing it with Chone Figgins working on being the worst everyday player in baseball. He did not play last night, by the way. And Ichiro is hitting under .300 along with everyone else in the lineup. Baseball is weird.

Yankees 10, Oakland 3.
Curtis Granderson hit his 17th home run of the year. It was off of Brett Anderson, another lefty. Granderson could never hit southpaws and now he's absolutely mashing them. Baseball is weird.

Other games, but down here...
Cardinals 4, Giants 3.
Padres 5, Braves 4.
Pirates 5, Mets 1.
Astros 7, Cubs 3.
Dodgers 8, Rockies 2.
Royals 7, Angels 3.
Rays 5, Rangers 4.
Tigers 8, Twins 7.
White Sox 10, Red Sox 7.

Curveballs for Jobu 5/31/11

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

Today's honorary bat boy is Paul Spoljaric.

Blue Jays 11, Indians 1.
Our long national (international?) nightmare is over after Jo Jo Reyes snapped his 28 start non-winning streak that spanned nearly 3 years. Reyes got the win by pitching a complete game and allowing just a run. Jose Bautista went 2-3 with a walk to get his OBP back over .500 for the season. The Indians have lost 5 of 6 and I think it's safe to declare the sky is falling.

Yankees 5, A's 0.
I'm sold. Shoot me up with some stem cells. Even though it was the dismal A's offense, Bartolo Colon threw a 4-hit, complete game shutout while striking out 6 and walking none. Colon has a 3.26/3.35/2.91 (ERA/FIP/xFIP) line as a 38-year-old. *googles shady doctors in my area*

Angels 10, Royals 8.
Ervin Santana got off to a rough start but the Angels bats were able to bail him out. Santana's first 6 pitches went for a leadoff home rum, four pitch walk and a 2-run home run. But the Angels managed to battle back to overcome a 5 run deficit with home runs by Mark Trumbo and Peter Bourjos in the 8th and took the lead with a 2-run homer by Torii Hunter in the 9th. It was Hunter's second of the game and his 1,000 career RBI. Royals struggling closer Joakim Soria lost his job to Aaron Crow after blowing the save. This, kids, is why you don't change your nickname if it's something badass like the Mexicutioner.

Diamondbacks 15, Marlins 4.
Arizona mashed their way to 7 straight wins on the backs of Justin Upton (5-5, 2B, HR) and Kelly Johnson (4-7, 2B, 3B, 2 HR). Willie Bloomquist, Sean Burroughs and Xavier Nady also had plate appearances.

Reds 7, Brewers 3.
Jay Bruce just keeps crushing everything. Bruce went 3-4 with a triple and home run. He leads the National League in 2 of the 3 Triple Crown categories but I wouldn't hold my breath on him making up that 50 points of batting average he's down.

Phillies 5, Nationals 4.
Roy Halladay surrendered 10 hits including 3 home runs but he and the Phils both survived the un-Doc outing with a win. Chase Utley went 0-3 with 2 walks. I sense a hot streak right around the corner. Livan Hernandez tossed his automatic 6+ innings giving up 8 hits and 4 runs. You can pencil that in for almost every start.

Other games, but down here...
Tigers 6, Twins 5.
Mariners 4, Orioles 3.
Rangers 11, Rays 5.
White Sox 7, Red Sox 3.
Padres 3, Braves (10).
Astros 12, Cubs 7.
Giants 7, Cardinals 3.
Mets 7, Pirates 3.
Dodgers 7, Rockies 1.

Editor's Meeting

MTD lives in New Orleans and Derwood built a cabin out of sticks and mud in Conyers, Georgia, so occasionally they have to communicate through text message. Here's the latest back-and-forth entitled "All the Joses of our Lives".


MTD (3:34 p.m. EST): So, Jose Bautista. Man, Superman, or a figment of my imagination? I have Joey Bats as the fourth-greatest hitter of all time. But I'm delusional.

Derwood Morris (3:38): Fourth of all time is Darrin Erstad. Hmmm....Bautista? Not sure. He's like me but with talent and another foot of height. But I have a salami sandwich.

MTD (3:44): Yeah, aside from the talent and the sandwich, you guys are nearly identical. But he's having a Bondsian season; better than last year. He makes Corey Patterson a better hitter.

DM (3:48): He makes Corey Patterson a better hitter. OK, just had to type it out once myself. In a recent game against the Yankees, the Nos. 4 and 5 hitters behind Bautista in the Toronto lineup were Juan Rivera and Jose Molina. Funny thing was, that's the same two guys who were on registers 4 and 5 at the Ingles by my apartment last winter.

MTD (3:56): I knew that was Juan Rivera working register 5. He consistently missed the scanner.

DM (4:01): And then he slipped and fell trying to pick up an orange he had dropped. But enough about how much we dislike Juan Rivera/Ingles. Jose and Ozzie both injured in the first doubleheader of the season for Yuma. Thoughts?

MTD (4:04): First thought: how did it take this long to talk about it. Secondly, why can't I pay to get Yuma games on TV? Ozzie got thrown out of their third game for yelling at an ump Jose was yelling at. I love them.

DM (4:09): To paraphrase Kids in the Hall character Jerry Sizzler: but I love them. I mean, Ozzie got thrown out for Jose's arguing? These guys can't do anything right.

MTD (4:14): Or do they do everything right? Jose, via Twitter, said he was with a bunch of players on some street and invited girls to come party. That's a good manager.

DM (4:18): He was on some street and invited girls to come party. Translation: they were wandering around in the Yuma suburbs and they found a mother/daughter who recognized Jose as "the guy from the energy bar commercial on the public access channel", they all went to a Golden Corral and ate a lot of macaroni and cheese, then went back to the hotel and Jose and Ozzie butchered an Abbot and Costello routine while the ladies did each other's hair.

Happy Birthday To Us

Offbase officially turned one today. Hard to believe just 366 days ago, our site was little more than a Jose Canseco joke scribbled on a bar napkin. But here we are: closer to a year and one day old than a year old. Since May 30, 2010, MTD and Derwood have shared with you their thoughts on everything from Barry Bonds possibly humping raccoons to the Scottsdale Community College Artichokes.

We even spent a snowy Christmas Eve morning introducing the world to the Steve Balboni Fan Club.

Most importantly, though, we made these t-shirts:



But this isn't about scaring everyone under the age of 10. It's about celebrating. Like those guys impersonating Kool in the Gang at the burger place last fall said: celebrate good things, come on.

Grady Sizemore'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, no-hitters and Brian Wilson's beard 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.

Starting in 2005, Grady Sizemore was one of the most exciting young players in baseball and looked like a future MVP. A legit 30-30 guy, Sizemore posted a 5.8 WAR in 2005, 8.0 in 2006, 6.2 in 2007 and 7.4 in 2008. In 2009, injuries started derailing his career. He made it to the plate just 140 time in 2010 and, with one DL trip in the books, ZiPS projects 378 plate appearances for 2011. And he wasted 4 of them on Sunday. But I feel bad for Grady so here's a sad dog wearing a sombrero.

Top 2nd: Sizemore struck out swinging against Jeremy Hellickson. To be fair, Hellickson had some pretty good stuff.

Top 4th: Sizemore struck out swinging against Hellickson again.

Top 7th: Sizemore struck out swinging against Hellickson. Sizemore struck out 3 times, the same way against the same pitcher which is an MTD Hat Trick. Why isn't this catching on yet? Somebody get Baseball Tonight on the phone.

Top 9th: Sizemore struck out looking against Cesar Ramos. Sizemore watched 3 straight pitches to end the game.

Curveballs for Jobu 5/30/11

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

Today's honorary bat boy is Hanley Frias.

Diamondbacks 4, Astros 2.
The D-Backs have won 6 straight to take over first place in the NL West. And I have no clue how it happened. I wasn't even sure they were still playing in MLB. Arizona's third basemen include Melvin Mora and Sean Burroughs. That's silly.

Dodgers 8, Marlins 0.
Clayton Kershaw dazzled with a 2-hit, 10 strikeout shutout. Ricky Nolasco had the opposite of Kershaw's day giving up 15 hits and 8 runs in 5 innings. That kind of pitching line gets, you guessed it, the Scott Kazmir nod of approval.

Braves 2, Reds 1.
The Reds couldn't solve Jair Juerrjens and wasted great performances from Johnny Cueto and Jay Bruce. Bruce went 2-3 with his 15th and NL best home run. May has been quite nice for him now let's see if the streaky one can carry it over into June.

Blue Jays 13, White Sox 4.
Jose Bautista went 1-4 without a home run but that's okay because something has rubbed off on Corey Patterson. Patterson went 4-5 with a homer and has 9 hits in his last 2 games. Dallas McPhearson pinch hit-struck out for the White Sox. I keep forgetting he's on an MLB roster.

Rays 7, Indians 0.
Jeremy Hellickson shut out the Tribe over 7 innings to best Justin Masterson. Cleveland is just 5-5 over their last 10 but that is still a better mark than the rest of the AL Central.

Angels 6, Twins 5.
The Angels bullpen, always the adventure, managed to get a clean inning from Fernando Rodney before Jordan Walden did his best Rodney impression. Walden gave up 2 runs on 2 hits and 2 walks before recording the save. Mark Trumbo absolutely wrecked a ball into the second deck. Jeff Mathis went 2-4 to raise his slash line to .204/.233/.276 for the season. How can we get him more starts?

Other games, but down here...
Mets 9, Phillies 5.
Padres 5, Nationals 4.
Brewers 6, Giants 0.
Cubs 3, Pirates 2.
Cardinals 4, Rockies 3.
Red Sox 4, Tigers 3. Part 1
Rangers 7, Royals 6.
A's 6, Orioles 4.
Yankees 7, Mariners 1.
Tigers 3, Red Sox 0. Part 2

Paul Maholm'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, no-hitters and Brian Wilson's beard 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 missed writing up the 3 golden sombreros from Friday night because the weekend is when I meditate and focus on self-improvement. Or recover from hangovers if you want to be more specific/accurate. Plus my boy Mike at The Golden Sombrero does an excellent job recording every sombrero and it looks like we're going to have a ton of them again this season. But I won't miss the opportunity to write up a pitcher golden sombrero. There's something magical about them like a first kiss or remembering where you parked. I think it's because pitchers usually don't get 4 plate appearances in one game and there's a 74.3% chances they'll be bunting in one of the at bats.

But Pat Maholm on Saturday was just as terrible at the dish as he was brilliant on the mound. Maholm threw a 3-hit shutout while walking none and striking out 4. The same number of times he struck out at the plate. Just the perfect storm of dominance and futility. I'd totally send Paul an Off Base t-shirt if they weren't fictional. Let's check out Maholm's hitting prowess...

Top 3rd: Maholm struck out swinging against Randy Wells. He fouled one off and took two balls before going down swinging so better than what I would have done.

Top 4th: Maholm struck out swinging against Wells. Basically the same at bat he had in the previous inning.

Top 6th: Maholm struck out swinging against James Russell.

Top 8th: Maholm struck out looking against Scott Maine.