{"id":368,"date":"2008-04-14T07:30:57","date_gmt":"2008-04-14T14:30:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/2008\/04\/14\/diamond-rundown-edition-two\/"},"modified":"2008-04-14T08:50:26","modified_gmt":"2008-04-14T15:50:26","slug":"diamond-rundown-edition-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/2008\/04\/14\/diamond-rundown-edition-two\/","title":{"rendered":"Diamond Rundown – Edition Two"},"content":{"rendered":"

Facts, figures and other tidbits from the second week of the \u00e2\u20ac\u212208 major league baseball season.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Home Opener Curse: <\/strong>Pirates\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 new manager John Russell lost 10-8 on April 7. Back to the 1960s, every new Pirates manager has lost their home opener. The last new manager to win was Larry Sheppard in \u00e2\u20ac\u212268.<\/p>\n

Notable Quotable I: <\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to win the World Series this year. I told you guys that in spring training.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d The Orioles\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Kevin Millar after a four game sweep of the Seattle Mariners on April 7.<\/p>\n

Notable Quotable II: <\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Who cares? He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s out.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Philadelphia\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Brad Lidge on whether or not the pitch he threw to Cincinnati\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Javier Valentin for a called third strike in the Phillies’ 5-3 win over the Reds on April 7.<\/p>\n

Ball Magnet: <\/strong>The Phillies\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Chase Utley tied a major league record after getting hit by pitch three times against the Mets on April 8. However, it was the fourth time that was the charm. With the bases loaded and Utley on first, Ryan Howard hit a sure double play grounder to Carlos Delgado. Delgado\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s throw to second hit Utley and bounced into center field allowing two runs to score. Then, Utley scored on a Jayson Werth single to put the Phillies up 3-2 and they eventually won 5-2.<\/p>\n

Notable Quotable III: <\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I look forward to all our hits with the bases loaded that we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not getting. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to be exciting.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Manny Acta on leaving the bases loaded nine times in their first eight games.<\/p>\n

Golden Sombrero: <\/strong>Alex Rodriguez went 0-for-4 with 4 strikeouts against the Royals on April 8.<\/p>\n

Gutsy Performance: <\/strong>The Diamondbacks\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Doug Davis pitched 6 innings and gave up just 2 runs with 7 strikeouts in Arizona\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 10-5 win over the Dodgers. Davis, due for surgery for thyroid cancer, also added two hits and an RBI on April 8.<\/p>\n

Older Than Dirt: <\/strong>Maybe not that old but the Phillies\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Jamie Moyer, the only active pitcher older than Shea Stadium, helped spoil the Mets\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 final home opener at Shea on April 8.<\/p>\n

Firsts: <\/strong>Reds\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 rookie Johnny Cueto became the first pitcher since 1900 to strike out 18 without a walk in his first two starts. His third start on Sunday was a bumpy one and he finally walked a player after striking out 22. Cueto is 1-1 with a 3.72 ERA.<\/p>\n

Milestone: <\/strong>Detroit\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Ivan Rodriguez became the 87th<\/sup> player to reach 2500 hits after a 0-for-15 slump against Boston on April 9.<\/p>\n

Notable Quotable IV: <\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I told Griff if I get 12 a night, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be a pretty good pitcher this year.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Cincinnati\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Josh Fogg after their 12-4 win over the Brewers on April 9.<\/p>\n

Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t Tug On Superman\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Cape: <\/strong>After a heated pregame exchange with Houston\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Brandon Backe over a play at the plate, Albert Pujols bombed two homers in their 6-4 win over the Astros, his first two of the year. Despite Pujols\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 apology to catcher J.R. Towles for the previous night\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s play, Backe was not satisfied.<\/p>\n

Disturbing Update Of The Week: <\/strong>Buried in every AP recap of Astros\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 games, there was a daily update of Kaz Matsui\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s status. Matsui suffered an anal fissure which required surgery. Currently, Matsui is in Corpus Christi on a rehab assignment where he is healing on schedule.<\/p>\n

In A Pinch: <\/strong>Inserted as a pinch runner in the bottom of the seventh, San Francisco\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Dan Ortmeier was caught stealing trying to get in scoring position to break a 0-0 tie. In the ninth, Ortmeier got an opportunity to redeem himself after Rajai Davis was inserted into the game as a pinch runner for Bengie Molina and stole second. Ortmeier delivered a double and the Giants won 1-0 over the Padres on April 9.<\/p>\n

Notable Quotable V: <\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Man, they booed you worse than they booed me. That was tremendous!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Ken Griffey, Jr. to Francisco Cordero after Cordero appeared against his former team, the Milwaukee Brewers, and notched a save in Cincinnati\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 4-1 win.<\/p>\n

What A Difference A Season Makes: <\/strong>Tampa Bay\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Edwin Jackson pitched 8 innings and gave up just two hits with 6 strikeouts to help the Rays over the Mariners 7-0 on April 10. He threw just 99 pitches and 61 strikes to get to 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA. He didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t register his first victory in 2007 until June 24 and was 1-9 before getting victory #2.<\/p>\n

Notable Quotable VI: <\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The guy was out. He didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make it. Maybe Ted wanted to go home. He told me he got there first. Maybe he ought to go look at it.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Philadelphia\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Charlie Manuel on umpire Ted Barrett\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s call on a close play at the plate in the twelfth that gave the Mets the win when Barrett declared Jose Reyes safe on Angel Pagan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s single on April 10.<\/p>\n

Record Books: <\/strong>The Marlins hit a team record 6 home runs against the Astros on April 11 including 4 off of Houston\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ace, Roy Oswalt.<\/p>\n

Minor Woes: <\/strong>First, the Braves found out that their hot prospect Jordan Schafer was suspended for 50 games in accordance with the minor league drug policy for HGH use. Then, they released Scott Spiezio because he was not ready to play after pleading guilty to misdemeanor drunken driving.<\/p>\n

Who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d A Thunk It?: <\/strong>The Royals have the lowest ERA in the American League at 2.58 and have committed just 3 errors so far. Brian Bannister is leading the staff with a 3-0 record and a 0.86 ERA.<\/p>\n

Notable Quotable VII: <\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It was miserable, wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t fun, and as cold as its ever been for me playing ball. The hardest part was when the wind kicked up. You didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to be on defense too long.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Oakland\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Mark Ellis on the 38-degree weather accompanied by a 28-degree wind chill on Sunday in Cleveland. The Athletics lost 7-1.<\/p>\n

Welcome Back, Kapler: <\/strong>Last year, Milwaukee\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Gable Kapler managed Class A Greenville. This year he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hitting .423 with 4 homers and 11 RBIs.<\/p>\n

Notable Quotable VIII: <\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Really? You mean the umpires were wrong?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d The Cubs\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Lou Piniella after being told by reporters that the home run Mark Derosa hit in the sixth inning was actually foul. Piniella\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Cubs benefited from the call and won in extra innings 6-5.<\/p>\n

Streaking: <\/strong>Pittsburgh\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Nate McLouth and Kansas City\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Billy Butler both have 12-game hitting streaks to open the season. McLouth is hitting .400 to Butler\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s .386 average.<\/p>\n

Erasing Barry Bonds: <\/strong>San Francisco\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s John Bowker became the first Giant to hit home runs in their first two games with the club. There were seven players that had hit home runs in their first game with the club before Bowker did it. One of those players was Bonds.<\/p>\n

The Numbers Game<\/u><\/strong>
\n<\/u><\/strong>1: <\/strong>San Francisco\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s wins in day games this year. They were 0-6 going into Sunday before beating the Cardinals.
\n3: <\/strong>The number of steals the Royals\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Joey Gathright had against the Yankees on April 8.
\n4: <\/strong>Florida\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Jorge Cantu\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s errors as the new third baseman this season.
\n6: <\/strong>The number of unearned runs scored by the Nationals against the Marlins on April 7.
\n11: <\/strong>Boston\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Jacoby Ellsbury\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s career stolen bases. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s never been caught stealing.
\n12: <\/strong>The length of the Yankees stolen base-less streak, their longest since 1948. It ended when Johnny Damon stole a base in Sunday\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s loss to the Red Sox.
\n18: <\/strong>Phillies\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Charlie Manuel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ejections in his four seasons in Philadelphia after being run on Sunday for disputing a home run call on Sunday. Replays showed Charlie\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s argument had merit as the ball was obviously foul.<\/p>\n

Grand Slams<\/u><\/strong>
\n<\/u><\/strong>Torii Hunter, LA Angels <\/strong>vs. Cleveland (4\/7)
\nMike Napoli, LA Angels <\/strong>vs. Cleveland (4\/9)
\nJason Kubel, Minnesota <\/strong>vs. Chicago (4\/9)
\nPaul Konerko, Chicago White Sox <\/strong>vs. Detroit (4\/13)
\nJoe Crede, Chicago White Sox <\/strong>vs. Detroit (4\/13)<\/p>\n

Walk-Off Archive<\/u><\/strong>
\n<\/u><\/strong>Walk: None<\/strong>
\nSingle: Rickie Weeks, Milwaukee <\/strong>vs. Cincinnati (4\/8); Angel Pagan, NY Mets <\/strong>vs. Philadelphia (4\/10)
\nDouble: Dan Ortmeier, San Francisco <\/strong>vs. San Diego (4\/9)
\nTriple: None<\/strong>
\nHome Run: Miguel Tejada, Houston <\/strong>vs. St. Louis (4\/7); Torii Hunter, LA Angels <\/strong>vs. Cleveland (4\/7); Bengie Molina, San Francisco <\/strong>vs. San Diego (4\/8)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Facts, figures and other tidbits from the second week of the \u00e2\u20ac\u212208 major league baseball season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/48"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=368"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}