Diamond Rundown – Edition One

Facts, figures and other tidbits from the first week of the ’08 major league baseball season.

First Pitches:  Kirsten Haglund threw a strike on her Opening Day ceremonial pitch in Detroit.  Plus, she sang the National Anthem and “God Bless America”.  Take that President Bush!

Opening Day Iron Man:  Gary Sheffield’s appearance in the starting lineup for the Detroit Tigers brought his consecutive opening day start streak to 20 – the most amongst active players.  He has started for 7 different teams (Milwaukee, San Diego, Florida, Los Angeles, Atlanta, NY Yankees and Detroit) and at 5 different positions (SS, 3B, RF, LF and DH).  After going 0-for-1 with 4 walks, Sheffield is hitting .254 on opening day.

Dazzling Debut I:  Kosuke Fukudome’s debut was the one bright spot of the Cubs opening day at Wrigley.  He went 3-for-3, hit a double and a 3-run homer that tied the game in the ninth.  The Cubs lost in extras to the Brewers, 4-3.

Torii Who?:  Carlos Gomez, Torii Hunter’s replacement in Minnesota, helped spoil Torii Hunter’s immediate return to the Metrodome by going 2-for-3 with 2 stolen bases and 2 runs scored as the Twins beat the Angels, 3-2. 

Sputtering Start:  Last year, the Pirates’ Damaso Marte gave up 12 earned runs in 45 1/3 innings.  In his first two ’08 outings, he gave up 6 earned runs in 2/3 innings.  In his third game, he pitched 1 2/3 innings with 4 strikeouts to lower his ERA from 81.00 to 23.14.

‘Pen Pals:  In the first six games, the Braves have gone to their bullpen 37 times including 20 times in their 3-game series with the Pirates.

Notable Quotable I:  “I’m glad he had tough luck.  I don’t know if he’s going to stay with me.”  Jake Peavy after outpitching his close friend, Roy Oswalt in addition to picking up an RBI sacrifice fly, an RBI single and a walk on March 31.  Oswalt stayed with Peavy and his family during his trip to San Diego.

Getting Their Money’s Worth?:  At $14 million-plus, the Astros are probably expecting better decision making from Miguel Tejada this season.  Down 4-0 in the ninth against the Padres, Tejada roped a single to center to lead off the inning but was gunned down by Scott Hairston trying to stretch it to a double.

Notable Quotable II:  “It’s probably one of the dumbest ejections I’ve ever had.”  Ed Montague on his ejection of Dodgers’ third base coach Larry Bowa for refusing to stay in the coaches’ box on April 1.

Small-Ball Spotlight I:  In the ninth inning, the Dodgers’ Rafael Furcal broke a 2-2 tie by scoring on an infield single by Delwyn Young… from second base.  Ray Durham was unable to throw out Young at first and then Rich Aurillia’s throw to home was late.

Streak Snapped:  The Mariners had not blown an eighth inning lead since September 27, 2006.  They had won 78 consecutive games before J. J. Putz blew a save on April 1 when the Mariners lost 5-4 to the Rangers.

Milestone:  Boston’s Kevin Youkilis broke Steve Garvey’s errorless game streak at first base with his 194^th consecutive game without an error on April 2.

Small-Ball Spotlight II:  Down one run in the eighth on April 2, Houston’s Lance Berkman took advantage of the Padres’ poor arms behind the plate and stole third then scored on a sacrifice fly by Miguel Tejada to tie the game.  The play got lost in the box score when the Padres took the lead in the bottom of the inning.  Then, Berkman showed his other side in the ninth with a three-run homer to give the ‘stros the eventual win.

How Many Nationals Does It Take To Pitch A One-Hitter?:  Tim Redding, Luis Ayala and Jon Rauch combined for a one-hitter in the Nationals’ 1-0 win over the Phillies on April 2.

Teflon Man:  We knew Fausto Carmona was unaffected by bugs but who knew he was resistant to cold, too?  Carmona took the hill in 20-degree weather in short sleeves for the Indians and pitched 7 innings of 4-hit ball in the Indians 7-2 win over the White Sox.

Small Ball Spotlight III:  The Angels beat the Twins on April 2 without an RBI.  Their lone run was scored when Howie Kendrick reached on an infield single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, advanced to third on a ground out and scored on a wild pitch by Nick Blackburn.

The X-Files I:  Here’s a mystery that someone needs to solve.  Tim Lincecum and Chad Billingsley were scratched from their starts on April 2 when the forecast called for rain right around the start of the Giants-Dodgers game.  Both teams used their bullpens for the first three innings.  Despite the fact that it started to rain both teams brought Lincecum and Billingsley into the game in the fourth and at the end of the fourth, there was a rain delay.  After the delay, Billingsley was removed but Lincecum stayed in and pitched through the 7^th inning.  The Giants ended up winning the game 2-1.

Fortune Cookie:  Mariners’ fifth starter Miguel Batista’s fortune cookie at the pregame dinner said “Someone will need your help this month.”  And manager John McLaren called on Batista to successfully save their April 2^nd game with J. J. Putz on the disabled list and Mark Lowe unavailable.

Dazzling Debut II:  Johnny Cueto picked up his first major league win in his first ever start as he shut down the Diamondbacks on April 3.  Cueto gave up just 1 hit and struck out 10 in 7 innings in the Reds’ 3-2 win over Arizona.

The Least Shocking Moment Of The Week:  Pedro Martinez’s hamstring injury did not surprise anyone but Mike Hampton refused to be outdone.  Scheduled to make his first start since ’05 on Thursday, Hampton grimaced throwing a warm-up pitch in the bullpen before the game and was unable to start.  Before the end of the night, Hampton headed back to the DL.

Small-Ball Spotlight IV:  In the tenth inning on Thursday, the Phillies’ Jimmy Rollins went from first to third on a sacrifice bunt by Shane Victorino.  This forced the Nationals to intentionally walk both Chase Utley and Ryan Howard and then Nats’ pitcher Jesus Colome issued a bases loaded walk-off walk to Jason Werth earning the Phillies their first win of the season.

Notable Quotable III:  “We just look like dead.”  Jim Leyland after being swept by the Kansas City Royals.

Dazzling Debut III:  Hiroki Kuroda made Dodgers’ fans believers on April 4.  The 33-year old rookie pitcher from Osaka, Japan picked up his first major league win against the San Diego Padres.  He went 7 innings and gave up just 3 hits and 1 run with 4 strikeouts.

The X-Files II:  In the Braves-Mets game on April 5, umpire Bruce Dreckman declared that Mark Kotsay caught a fly ball with the bases loaded that replays showed was trapped.  Kotsay then threw the ball to second to double up Angel Pagan to end the inning.  The teams exited the field but Mets’ manager Willie Randolph argued the call with Dreckman who refused to reverse the call because he didn’t know where to put the runners despite knowing the ball was not caught.  Eventually, Dreckman asked for help and the call was reversed.  The play was further complicated by the fact that Pagan ran past Ryan Church at third base during the play.  Bobby Cox then argued that Pagan should have been called out but lost his argument and the Braves took the field again and the Mets returned to their bases. 

Notable Quotable IV:  “I felt like Rob Deer for a minute.”  Athletics’ Mark Ellis after hitting his second home run of the season after going 0-for-18 following his home run in his first at-bat of the season.

Family First:  Marlins’ bench coach Carlos Tosca missed Saturday’s game to watch his son, Matt, perform at Carnegie Hall in New York.

His Own Worst Enemy:  The Giants’ Aaron Rowand was out for two stretches in ’06 with the Phillies after breaking his nose crashing into the outfield wall and breaking his ankle crashing into Chase Utley.  On April 4, Rowand injured his ribs in a 13-4 loss diving for a ball in center field and missed a few games.

Notable Quotable V:  “I feel like a monkey now.”  Carlos Zambrano after being asked about his banana intake on Friday and Saturday after tests revealed he had a low potassium level.

The Buck Stops Here:  Travis Buck has followed his solid rookie season in ’07 with an 0-for-21 start as the lead-off hitter for Oakland.

Notable Quotable VI:  “I’ve never seen those stats on the back of anybody’s baseball card.”  Bill Hall after being asked about his homer-less spring training following his 2 home run game against the Giants on April 4.

The Numbers Game
0.96:  The patched together St. Louis Cardinals starting rotation’s ERA after 6 games.
25: The Phillies and Nationals may have combined for 15 runs but they left a combined 25 left on base on April 3.
195:  The American League record for most games played without a complete game by the Texas Rangers.  The string was snapped when Kevin Millwood went the distance on April 5.  The last time a Rangers’ starter went the distance was August 29, 2006 by Kevin Millwood.
212:  The National League record for most games played without a complete game by the Washington Nationals.  The Nationals have used their bullpen in every game since Pedro Astacio pitched a two-hitter on August 15, 2006.
10,505:  The smallest crowd ever recorded at a game at Camden Yards when the Orioles took on the Rays on April 2.

Grand Slams
Ben Broussard, Texas vs. LA Angels on April 4
Mike Jacobs, Florida vs. Pittsburgh on April 5
Kelly Johnson, Atlanta vs. NY Mets on April 5
Frank Thomas, Toronto vs. Boston on April 6

Walk-Off Archive
Walk:  Jayson Werth, Philadelphia vs. Washington (4/3)
Single:  Delwyn Young, LA Dodgers vs. San Francisco (4/1); Paul Bako, Cincinnati vs. Philadelphia (4/5); Luis Hernandez, Baltimore vs. Seattle (4/6)
Double: None
Triple: None
Home Run: Ryan Zimmerman, Washington vs. Atlanta (3/30); Robert Andino, Florida vs. NY Mets (4/1); Edwin Encarnacion, Cincinnati vs. Arizona (4/2); Mike Jacobs, Florida vs. Pittsburgh (4/4)