Curveballs for Jobu 6/29/11

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

Today's honorary bat boy is Kevin Sefcik.

Phillies 5, Red Sox 0.
The matchup of the night between Cliff Lee and Josh Beckett was one sided as the Red Sox fell victim to another Cliff Lee special. Lee threw a 2-hitter for his 3rd consecutive complete game shutout. He's now allowed 1 earned run over his last 42 innings. It's nearly impossible to score on Lee right now. I can sympathize with opposing teams as I too am currently having trouble scoring. Shane Victorino and Domonic Brown each homered off Beckett who saw his ERA balloon all the way to 2.20.

Giants 13, Cubs 7.
Giants 6, Cubs 3.
The Cubs fulfilled their win quota on Monday so it was back to business as usual on Tuesday.

Rays 4, Reds 3.
Jay Bruce briefly awoke from his June slumber to hit a home run but it wasn't enough. David Price struck out 12 over 7.2 innings and Evan Longoria hit the walk-off homer in front of the dozens of Rays fans brave enough to cross that bridge.

Mets 14, Tigers 3.
Rick Porcello had a rough 3.2 innings giving up 11 of the Mets 18 hits and 7 of the 14 runs. Daniel Schlereth didn't fare much better as both Jason Bay and Carlos Beltran hit grand slams off of him. The Mets are over .500 and somehow not mathematically eliminated from the playoffs yet. I guess I'll have to make fun of how the Dodgers are being run nowadays.

Pirates 7, Blue Jays 6.
Speaking of oddly over .500, the Pirates ran their record to 40-38 thanks to home runs by Andrew McCutchen and Alex Presley. Jose Bautista hit his 24th of the season but his .328/.469/.664 line just doesn't get me as giddy as it did when he was OBPing over .500. I miss Barry Bonds.

Angels 11, Nationals 5.
My Halos took the lead back in the bottom of the 6th and broke it open in the 8th thanks to home runs by Vernon Wells and Hank Conger. Since returning from the DL on June 7, Wells has only been disappointing instead of tear-inducingly awful. So, bully for you, Tony Reagins.

Other games, but down here...
Cardinals 6, Orioles 2.
Yankees 12, Brewers 2.
Twins 6, Dodgers 4.
A's 1, Marlins 0.
Braves 5, Mariners 4.
Rangers 7, Astros 3.
Rockies 3, White Sox 2 (13).
Diamondbacks 6, Indians 4.
Padres 4, Royals 2.

Curveballs for Jobu 6/28/11

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

Today's honorary bat boy is Tarick Brock.

Cubs 7, Rockies 3.
I gave the Cubs the top spot because, let's face it, it's going to be quite some time before the Cubs sit atop a list of other teams. They just aren't good. But on Monday, Aramis Ramirez and Carlos Pena both hit a pair of home runs to get back to 14 games under .500 and 11.5 games out of first. Matt Garza pitched pretty well but he gave up a pair of home runs to Carlos Gonzalez. Actually, it was a good day to be a Carlos in Chicago.

Dodgers 15, Twins 0.
If there's one thing I don't like about Twitter, it's the ability to run a joke into the ground within minutes. So when the Dodgers were up 11-0, the Chapter 11 jokes went from clever to stab-me-in-the-eye annoying within half an inning. In yesterday's Jobu, I mentioned Trent Oeltjen is a real thing. Well, he sure is and went 4-4 with a walk, a triple and a home run.

Angels 4, Nationals 3 (10).
Jordan Walden blew his 2nd save in as many days and 3rd in a row. Danny Espinosa crushed a fastball for his 15th homer of the season to tie the game in the 9th. But Maicer Izturis came through with the walk-off single in the 10th after the Nats intentionally walked Bobby Wilson to load the bases. It was probably the right move since the Angels lead the planet with 437* GIDPs this year. *Actual stats may vary as I've lost the rest of my staff and don't look things up on my own.

Indians 5, Diamondbacks 4.
The Lonnie Chisenhall era began for Cleveland and the 3rd base prospect went 2-4 with a double. Unfortunately for their other star prospect, Orlando Cabrera hit the go ahead home run in the top of the 9th to keep Jason Kipnis in the minor leagues for another week.

Other games, but down here...
Tigers 4, Blue Jays 2.
Reds 5, Rays 0.
Braves 3, Mariners 1.
Padres 4, Royals 3.

Curveballs for Jobu 6/27/11

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

Today's honorary bat boy is Len Matuszek.

Dodgers 3, Angels 2.
Vernon Wells hit a home run to give the Angels the lead in the 9th but then Jordan Walden happened. Walden walked the first two batters he faced, gave up a run on a sac fly and the go ahead on a Tony Gwynn Jr walk-off single. Clayton Kershaw got the win after going the distance and striking out 11. Jered Weaver surrendered one run in 7 innings but ended up on the no decision end of the ace duel. Leave it Tony Gwynn Jr to avoid the sweep. Trent Oeltjen is a real thing.

Phillies 3, A's 1.
Roy Halladay gave up 8 hits and 1 run on the way to his 5th complete game of the season. Of course, it was against the A's so Doc's numbers are rather disappointing. You'd think Halladay could strike out more than 4 minor leaguers. Chase Utley: DNP.

Rays 14, Astros 10.
Pitching took the day off in Houston and Evan Longoria filled up a stat sheet. The Rays third baseman went 4-6 with a double and 2 home runs for 5 RBI and 3 runs scored. Carlos Lee hit a triple which I assume got lodged in a wall or Tampa only deployed one outfielder that inning.

Giants 3, Indians 1.
Madison Bumgarner rebounded nicely and struck out 11 over 7 innings. He infamously surrendered 8 runs in a third of an inning in his last outing. It's good to see it didn't shatter his confidence and leave him with the mental capacity of a 3-year-old. I almost didn't recover from watching that start.

Mariners 2, Marlins 1.
The Marlins, bored with losing the conventional way, found an exciting way to throw away Sunday's game. Dustin Ackley scored the game winner after Florida reliever Steve Cishek managed to throw a wild pitch during an intentional walk. I can't wait to see what the Marlins do next.

Other games, but down here...
Padres 4, Braves 1.
Tigers 8, Diamondbacks 3.
Orioles 7, Reds 5.
Nationals 2, White Sox 1.
Royals 6, Cubs 3.
Yankees 6, Rockies 4.
Mets 8, Rangers 5.
Red Sox 4, Pirates 2.
Brewers 6, Twins 2.
Blue Jays 5, Cardinals 0.

Off Base 2011 AL All Stars

For some reason, the Baseball Bloggers Alliance granted me membership and occasionally asks me to vote on things. This time it's for the All Star Game.

Disclaimer: I may tend to overemphasize WAR (Wins Above Replacement) but at least I'm not some homer voting for Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

Catcher: Alex Avila, Detroit
9 HR, .300 AVG, .373 OBP, .532 SLG, .390 wOBA, 2.5 WAR
Avila is having a pretty good season which is more than you can say about the majority of catchers in the AL. Plus, his presence keeps the Tigers from having to stick Victor Martinez behind the dish.
Next In Line: Pass
If forced to choose, I suppose it's Carlos Santana.
10 HR, .232 AVG, .360 OBP, .414 SLG, .341 wOBA, 1.8 WAR
Santana has been a disappointment this year and I was tempted to put Matt Wieters here until I looked up his on base percentage. Woof.
Fans Pick (6/21): Russell Martin, New York
Yeah, yeah. He's not having a bad season but Avila is better. I'm actually a little surprised that Avila is second in voting.

First Base: Adrian Gonzalez, Boston
15 HR, .359 AVG, .410 OBP, .609 SLG, .437 wOBA, 7.4 UZR, 4.4 WAR
Gonzalez is having the monster season everybody expected out of him and might be the first half AL MVP. It's really hard to find a flaw in his game. I hate Boston and their tremendously run front office.
Next In Line: Miguel Cabrera, Detroit
15 HR, .327 AVG, .449 OBP, .580 SLG, .434 wOBA, -2.3 UZR, 3.2 WAR
Miggy is the model of consistency. He might have some off the field issues but once the season starts all he does is rake. Paul Konerko has been fantastic this season but Cabrera has 50 points of on base on him.
Fans Pick (6/21): Adrian Gonzalez, Boston
And, of course, Mark Teixeira is second in voting.

Second Base: Dustin Pedroia, Boston
6 HR, .274 AVG, .390 OBP, .397 SLG, .360 wOBA, 8.6 UZR, 3.5 WAR
I really struggled between three players here but ultimately chose Pedroia because of his on base percentage and fielding. But it could have gone in another direction...
Next In Line: Howie Kendrick, Orange County
7 HR, .305 AVG, .364 OBP, .481 SLG, .374 wOBA, 7.8 UZR, 3.2 WAR
I might be cheating a little bit here because only 4.2 of Kendrick's UZR has come at second base since he's also played some first and outfield. Ben Zobrist was the other guy I liked but he's outclassed in OBP by both Pedroia and Kendrick even though Howie hates walking.
Fans Pick (6/21): Robinson Cano, New York
Not surprising at all. He certainly hits for power and the Yankees clearly don't care about middle infield defense.

Third Base: Alex Rodriguez, New York
13 HR, .296 AVG, .375 OBP, .510 SLG, 6.9 UZR, 3.6 WAR
What can I say? A-Rod is having a really nice season.
Next In Line: Kevin Youklis, Boston
11 HR, .279 AVG, .395 OBP, .506 SLG, .395 wOBA, -3.1 UZR, 2.8 WAR
He has a great OBP as usual and is the best of the rest. Evan Longoria has struggled since returning from his injury, Adrian Beltre has a .306 OBP and Alberto Callaspo is Alberto Callaspo.
Fans Pick (6/21): Alex Rodriguez, New York
Yeah.

Short Stop: Asdrubal Cabrera, Cleveland
12 HR, .296 AVG, .345 OBP, .498 SLG, .378 wOBA, -5.0 UZR, 2.8 WAR
Cabrera is having somewhat of a breakout season. He's already doubled his previous season high in home runs. I am surprised UZR doesn't much care for his defense.
Next In Line: Alexei Ramirez, Chicago
6 HR, .289 AVG, .348 OBP, .423 SLG, .341 wOBA, 5.9 UZR, 3.0 WAR
Ramirez has similar stats to Cabrera but might be the best fielding short stop in the AL. A flip flop of the two for the top spot wouldn't bother me. What bothers me is...
Fans Pick (6/21): Derek Jeter, New York
If Jeter is the starting short stop, I might skip the ASG. Jeter's 0.5 WAR is tied with Elliot Johnson. This is why you can't have fan voting and make the ASG count for something. Side note: somebody sent me a Jeter biography to review and I lost it.

Right Field: Jose Bautista, Toronto
22 HR, .325 AVG, .470 OBP, .654 SLG, .474 wOBA, -4.7 UZR, 4.5 WAR
Joey Bats has cooled off some since I was school girl giddy over his .500+ OBP but he's still a beast. The Blue Jays are talking about moving him back to third.
Next In Line: Carlos Quentin, Chicago
17 HR, .256 AVG, .358 OBP, .535 SLG, .389 wOBA, 0.4 UZR, 2.2 WAR
Matt Joyce with his higher average and on base is also an acceptable answer.
Fans Pick (6/21): Jose Bautista, Curtis Granderson, Josh Hamilton
They got Joey Bats right.

Center Field: Curtis Granderson, New York
21 HR, .278 AVG, .356 OBP, .584 SLG, .401 wOBA, 1.3 UZR, 3.9 WAR
Granderson, all of a sudden, learned how to hit lefties and hit them hard. That was always the major flaw in his game and now he looks like a star. I mean, he does still strikeout at a 27% clip. But he hits lefties now!
Next In Line: Jacoby Ellsbury, Boston
8 HR, 24 SB, .310 AVG, .372 OBP, .374 wOBA, 1.5 UZR, 3.1 WAR
As much as I wanted to put Denard Span and his silly 10.2 UZR in this spot, I couldn't put him past an Ellsbury who gets on base 37% of the time. That's a dangerous guy.
Fans Pick (6/21): Jose Bautista, Curtis Granderson, Josh Hamilton
The fans have two right.

Left Field: Brett Gardner, New York
4 HR, .286 AVG, .363 OBP, .432 SLG, .347 wOBA, 13.2 UZR, 2.8 WAR
Gardner won't make the All Star team and Yankees fans are always looking for ways to upgrade left field but Gardner might be a star in another market. He's a natural center fielder and is spectacular in left. He is in the top ten in voting but I doubt he finishes there. Those might be some of the kindest words I've ever written about a Yankee.
Next In Line: Brennan Boesch, Detroit
10 HR, .300 AVG, .359 OBP, .485 SLG, .364 wOBA, 0.3 UZR, 1.8 WAR
Boesch won't make the team either but he's having a nice season. I'm not sure if anyone outside of Detroit or fantasy circles realizes it though.
Fans Pick (6/21): Jose Bautista, Curtis Granderson, Josh Hamilton
Sure, this would probably be Hamilton's spot if he hadn't missed a month with an injury. He's still going to make the team and is having a really good season. He just missed a lot of time.

DH: David Ortiz, Boston
17 HR, .313 AVG, .391 OBP, .586 SLG, .421 wOBA, 2.6 WAR
Big Papi has looked like he was finished on a few occasions over the past couple of seasons. But in 2011, Ortiz is raking again. He's hitting so well that he's driving Terry Francona to the brink of insanity in considering playing Adrian Gonzalez in the outfield during interleague so Ortiz can play first base.
Next In Line: Victor Martinez, Detroit
6 HR, .332 AVG, .383 OBP, .498 SLG, .381 wOBA, 1.6 WAR
After Ortiz, it's not a great year for the designated hitter. There aren't even that many full time DH's. Martinez has played 20 games behind the plate but I'm counting him so I dont have to plug in Billy Butler or Bobby Abreu.
Fans Pick (6/21): David Ortiz, Boston
No way to argue with that.

Starting Pitcher: Jered Weaver, Orange County
2.01 ERA, 2.48 FIP, 3.41 xFIP, 3.7 WAR
I can make a case for four or five other guys but, let's face it, I love Weaver. And with the lowest FIP and second lowest ERA, he deserves it too.
Next In Line: Justin Verlander, Detroit
2.54 ERA, 3.04 FIP, 3.09 xFIP, 3.0 WAR
Verlander has one no-hitter this year and fell just short of picking up a second. Verlander and Weaver were both first round picks in 2004 along with number one overall pick Matt Bush.

Relief Pitcher: Jordan Walden, Orange County
2.45 ERA, 2.01 FIP, 3.08 xFIP, 1.3 WAR
Sure, he walks too many hitters but he throws 100 MPH on the reg and is fun to watch.
Next In Line: Al Alburquerque, Detroit
2.05 ERA, 1.78 FIP, 2.38 xFIP, 0.9 WAR
His name is Al Alburquerque. I rest my case.

Off Base 2011 NL All Stars

For some reason, the Baseball Bloggers Alliance granted me membership and occasionally asks me to vote on things. This time it's for the All Star Game. Next time I hope it's about dogs wearing hats.

Disclaimer: I may tend to overemphasize WAR (Wins Above Replacement) but at least I'm not some homer still voting for Buster Posey.

Catcher: Brian McCann, Atlanta
13 HR, .305 AVG, .380 OBP, .532 SLG, .386 wOBA, 2.8 WAR
McCann has been the best catcher in baseball but has an easier path to the ASG with Buster Posey out for the season. There shouldn't even be a question about this selection.
Next In Line: Miguel Montero, Arizona
9 HR, .278 AVG, .354 OBP, .483 SLG, .364 wOBA, 2.4 WAR
Montero appears pretty close to McCann in WAR but evaluating catcher defense is a tricky thing. Even though Dave Cameron explained it to me in 140 characters or less, I'm still not sure how they calculate defense for catchers into WAR. McCann is clearly the superior hitter. Montero is underrated though.
Fans Pick (6/20): Brian McCann, Atlanta
Too easy to screw up.

First Base: Prince Fielder, Milwaukee
20 HR, .306 AVG, .426 OBP, .608 SLG, .439 wOBA, 0.6 UZR, 3.7 WAR
Fielder might not be the prettiest site at first base but he's absolutely mashing at the plate. I think he's eating cheeseburgers again.
Next In Line: Joey Votto, Cincinnati
9 HR, .318 AVG, .440 OBP, .489 SLG, .406 wOBA, 2.7 UZR, 3.2 WAR
Votto is probably the best first baseman in the NL. It was hard for me to pick Fielder over him but the 100+ points of slugging won me over even though Votto is the better OBPer. It's also worth noting that Votto's .377 BABIP looks sustainable compared to his MLB track record.
Fans Pick (6/20): Albert Pujols, St. Louis
This should come down a bit after the injury. Votto is second in voting.

Second Base: Rickie Weeks, Milwaukee
14 HR, .287 AVG, .356 OBP, .498 SLG, .375 wOBA, 1.9 UZR, 3.3 WAR
A healthy Weeks is great player. He's not Chase Utley in the field but he's not terrible either.
Next In Line: Danny Espinosa, Washington
13 HR, .242 AVG, .321 OBP, .464 SLG, .348 wWOBA, 4.9 UZR, 2.8 WAR
He doesn't walk much and strikes out a lot but he has some serious pop for a second baseman. It seems like he's being overlooked outside of fantasy circles.
Fans Pick (6/20): Brandon Phillips, Cincinnati
Weeks is second and, because it's fan voting, Utley is third. I'd like to see Espinosa get some more love.

Third Base: Chase Headley, San Diego
2 HR, .295 AVG, .389 OBP, .402 SLG, .357 wOBA, -2.7 UZR, 2.0 WAR
It is a wasteland for National League third baggers. Headley hasn't shown the usual power for the hot corner spot this season but he's a solid OBPer even if the BABIP comes down a little. It's hard to imagine Headley is a below average fielder after posting an incredible 16.5 UZR last year.
Next In Line: Ryan Roberts, Arizona
10 HR, .258 AVG, .345 OBP, .458 SLG, .354 wOBA, 0.7 UZR, 2.1 WAR
Talk about criminally overlooked...
Fans Pick: Placido Polanco, Philadelphia
Well, he does play for a team people have heard of.

Short Stop: Jose Reyes, New York
3 HR, 26 SB, .338 AVG, .382 OBP, .511 SLG, .395 wOBA, 0.7 UZR, 4.3 WAR
He's arguably your first half NL MVP. And if he keeps this up, some team is going to significantly over pay for a career slugging percentage and one year of good health.
Next In Line: Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado
13 HR, .274 AVG, .338 OBP, .488 SLG, .357 wOBA, 7.2 UZR, 3.0 WAR
Tulo has cooled off after his ridiculous start and fallen well behind Reyes as the top NL short stop even though he's much slicker fielder.
Fans Pick (6/20): Troy Tulowitzki
I fully expect Reyes to have passed Tulo when the next update comes out. Yuniesky Betancourt is in 5th. Hahahahaha.

Right Field: Justin Upton, Arizona
12 HR, .301 AVG, .382 OBP, .521 SLG, .397 wOBA, 2.9 UZR, 3.3 WAR
Still just 23-years-old, Upton is on the verge of super stardom. Is what my keeper league team is hoping for.
Next In Line: Carlos Beltran, New York
10 HR, .276 AVG, .370 OBP, .479 SLG, .372 wOBA, -0.3 UZR, 2.3 WAR
I don't love this pick and could easily be talked into three or four other guys here. Lance Berkman has the best season stats but I can't, in good conscience, stick a traffic cone in right field for the ASG.
Fans Pick (6/20): Ryan Braun, Lance Berkman, Matt Holliday
They really need to designate outfield spots.

Center Field: Matt Kemp, Los Angeles
20 HR, 21 SB, .328 AVG, .420 OBP, .620 SLG, .452 wOBA, -8.3 UZR, 4.2 WAR
He's flat out raking. I haven't watched enough of him to know if Kemp is the disaster in center that the metrics make him out to be.
Next In Line: Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh
1o HR, .289 AVG, .393 OBP, .474 SLG, .388 wOBA, 6.5 UZR, 4.0 WAR
He's really, really good. Kemp just has him blocked.
Fans Pick (6/20): Ryan Braun, Lance Berkman, Matt Holliday
Oddly, not a center fielder among them.

Left Field: Ryan Braun, Milwaukee
15 HR, .309 AVG, .395 OBP, .550 SLG, .417 wOBA, -4.2 UZR, 3.4 WAR
The Brewers don't run the best defensive club out there but they sure can hit.
Next In Line: Michael Morse, Washington
13 HR, .306 AVG, .352 OBP, .546 SLG, .383 wOBA, -3.0 UZR, 1.5 WAR
Okay, Matt Holliday is probably more deserving and will get voted in anyway but Morse has been fun this season. Sue me.
Fans Pick (6/20): Ryan Braun, Lance Berkman, Matt Holliday
Braun and Holliday are getting in for sure.

Starting Pitcher: Roy Halladay, Philadelphia
2.51 ERA, 2.17 FIP, 2.35 xFIP, 4.2 WAR
He's still the best but...
Next In Line: Cole Hamels, Philadelphia
2.51 ERA, 2.21 FIP, 2.48 xFIP, 3.6 WAR
Eerily similar.

Relief Pitcher: Jonny Venters, Atlanta
0.57 ERA, 1.99 FIP, 2.23 xFIP, 1.5 WAR
Venters has been the Braves workhorse, pitching 47.1 innings so far. He's been lights out just like his bullpen counterpart...
Next In Line: Craig Kimbrel, Atlanta
2.84 ERA, 1.75 FIP, 2.34 xFIP, 1.4 WAR
Kimbrel also has an insane 13.74 K/9.

Curveballs for Jobu 6/24/11

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

Today's honorary bat boy is Greg Pirkl.

Nationals 1, Mariners 0.
Seattle's rookie phenom pitcher, Michael Pineda, was on the no decision end of a 7 inning, 4 hit, 9 strikeout performance. The 22-year-old lowered his ERA to 2.45 and his FIP to 2.92 but is now on pace to throw over 200 innings. The kid is quickly becoming must see TV which is the exact opposite of what Chone Figgins has melted down into. Figgins pinch ran and, frankly, I'm amazed he didn't find a way to cost his batting average 10 points doing so. Oh, and the Nationals won. Speaking of the Nats, the Futures Game participants were announced and the United States will have Bryce Harper and Mike Trout in the same outfield.

Giants 2, Twins 1.
Topping the list of must see TV pitchers is still Tim Lincecum. He might not be throwing as well as he did in 2008 and 2009 but he is still a lot of fun to watch. He struck out 12 in 7 innings Thursday night. Check this out, I can spell Nate Schierholtz. Okay, I copy and pasted it.

Mets 4, A's 1.
Chris Capuano threw 6 innings of 5-hit, shutout ball while striking out 7. He also grounded into a double play. Lucas Duda. That is all.

Diamondbacks 5, Royals 3.
It's good to have Wily Mo Pena back in the big leagues. He possesses two of my favorite abilities in hitters. He has light tower power and, if a game goes into extra innings, there's a chance he could strike out 6 times. The latter was closer Thursday as Pena went 1-4 with 3 strikeouts. He also manned the position for which he is best suited for the Diamondbacks, DH.

Other game, but down here...
Cardinals 12, Phillies 2.

Curveballs for Jobu 6/23/11

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

Today's honorary bat boy is Gookie Dawkins.

Yankees 4, Reds 2.
Reds 10, Yankees 2.
I'm just going to skip over the Freddy Garcia and Mike Leake duel from game one to get to the good stuff. In the second match, my good friend Mevs from Diamond Hoggers enjoyed watching his boy Chris Heisey go crazy. Heisey hit 3 home runs including one to lead off the bottom of the first. Jay Bruce, perhaps the streakiest player in baseball, was a combined 1-7 as he continues to take the month of June off after his torrid May. If history has taught us anything, Bruce is in for a big July. Or not, what am I, a scientist?

Mets 3, A's 2 (13).
I love zany baseball and we got a small dose of it Wednesday night. Justin Turner produced the walk-off win in the 13th by a good old fashioned, bases loaded hit by pitch. Not quite as exciting as the walk-off balk but it will do. Brad Ziegler had trouble locating the strike zone and grazed Turner after giving up 3 hits and walking 3 in 1.2 innings. In 13 innings, the 2 teams only managed to use 12 pitchers which is roughly how many Tony La Russa uses in a normal 9 inning game.

Giants 5, Twins 1.
I don't what kind of smoke and mirrors are being deployed by Ryan Vogelsong but he tossed another 7 inning, 4 hit, 1 run gem to lower his ERA to 1.86 on the year. Coming into the game, Vogelsong was sporting a 1.92 ERA but his FIP said he was more of a 2.93 pitcher which is still quite impressive. His xFIP suggests he will be more of a 3.37 guy which is also still pretty good. I can't explain it but I am pretty lazy and didn't take more than a cursory look at his numbers.

Padres 5, Red Sox 1.
Clearly the Padres just have the Red Sox number. That or the 15 rain delays lulled the Red Sox to sleep.

Astros 5, Rangers 3.
Matt Downs hit a pinch hit home run in the 9th off of Neftali Feliz because baseball is a weird, weird game. The Astros scored 4 in the 9th to win Wednesday's battle of Texas. The Astros remain frighteningly terrible though.

Angels 6, Marlins 5 (10).
Hanley Ramirez is 4-9 after being benched by Jack McKeon and then plugged into the cleanup spot. I'd like to think McKeon has used his century of baseball experience to light a fire under Hanley but I suspect Ramirez is just high off of that old man smell. Either way, a single by Mark Trumbo in the 10th took a bad hop over Ramirez, who made a few nice defensive plays earlier, to score Bobby Abreu for the go ahead run. Torii Hunter is day-to-day after getting crushed by the outfield wall following a running catch. I'm almost positive that Mike Trout is, right now, the best outfielder the Angels have at any level.

Other games, but down here...
Phillies 4, Cardinals 0.
Indians 4, Rockies 3.
White Sox 4, Cubs 3.
Diamondbacks 3, Royals 2.
Pirates 5, Orioles 4.
Braves 5, Blue Jays 1.
Rays 6, Brewers 3.
Tigers 7, Dodgers 5.
Nationals 2, Mariners 1.

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.