{"id":433,"date":"2008-05-05T03:37:07","date_gmt":"2008-05-05T10:37:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/2008\/05\/05\/diamond-rundown-%e2%80%93-edition-five\/"},"modified":"2008-05-08T13:22:54","modified_gmt":"2008-05-08T20:22:54","slug":"diamond-rundown-%e2%80%93-edition-five","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/2008\/05\/05\/diamond-rundown-%e2%80%93-edition-five\/","title":{"rendered":"Diamond Rundown \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Edition Five"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Notable Quotable I<\/u><\/strong>: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I’ve got to find my house key. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been so long since we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been home, we just assumed we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to another hotel.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Yankees\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Mike Mussina<\/strong> after notching his 253rd<\/sup> career win on Monday in Cleveland. The Yankees had played 18 of their last 20 games on the road.<\/p>\n

Singled Out<\/u><\/strong>: <\/strong>The Yankees plated 4 runs on just 4 singles in the 6th<\/sup> inning with just one getting out of the infield. Melky Cabrera <\/strong>legged out a single to short stop, Derek Jeter <\/strong>singled to third base and Bobby Abreu <\/strong>loaded the bases with the only outfield hit, a single to left. Then, Alex Rodriguez <\/strong>forced in a run after getting hit by pitch, Jason Giambi <\/strong>ground out to score Jeter, Hideki Matsui <\/strong>grounded out to score Abreu and Morgan Ensberg <\/strong>finished the soft-hitting scoring barrage with an infield single to the pitcher. The Yankees won 5-2 over the Indians.<\/p>\n

Tough Luck<\/u><\/strong>: Toronto\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Roy Halladay <\/strong>pitched his 4th<\/sup> straight consecutive game on Tuesday but lost his 3rd<\/sup> of those 4 as the Blue Jays lost to the Red Sox, 1-0.<\/p>\n

Beyond The Box Score<\/u><\/strong>: Seattle\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Arthur Rhodes <\/strong>had an odd looking box score line on Tuesday. He pitched 2\/3 innings with 0 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks and 0 strikeouts and threw 6 pitches with 6 strikes. For his efforts, Rhodes received a blown save. Rhodes was brought in with no outs in the 8th<\/sup> and got Travis Hafner <\/strong>to ground out which scored the tying run. Then, after Rhodes got Victor Martinez<\/strong> to pop out and was removed in favor of Mark Lowe. <\/strong>Lowe got the last out of the inning and the Mariners scored in the top of the 9th<\/sup> and went on to win 7-2 over the Indians giving Lowe, not Rhodes, the win.<\/p>\n

Not On My Watch<\/u><\/strong>: <\/strong>The Dodgers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Russell Martin<\/strong> gunned down Florida\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Hanley Ramirez <\/strong>twice in the Dodgers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 7-6 win on Tuesday. Ramirez was 9-for-10 in \u00e2\u20ac\u212208 in steal attempts and 111-for-141 in his career.<\/p>\n

Mr. Perfect?<\/u><\/strong>: Mets\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 closer Billy Wagner <\/strong>kept his 0.00 ERA despite blowing a save in the 9th<\/sup> when he gave up a game-tying single to Pittsburgh\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Freddy Sanchez <\/strong>after throwing a wild pitch earlier in the inning. The Mets ended up winning the game in 11 innings by a score of 5-4.<\/p>\n

Glitch<\/u><\/strong>: Maybe his cold bat caused it. Cincinnati\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Ken Griffey Jr. <\/strong>was misrepresented on the scoreboard in his first at-bat in St. Louis. The AP reported that the photo might have been of Dan Driessen<\/strong>. Driessen may have been a welcome replacement as Griffey went 0-for-4 in the 7-2 loss to the Cardinals on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Costly Toss<\/u><\/strong>: The Rangers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Ian Kinsler <\/strong>lost his 26-game on-base streak when he was ejected in the first inning for arguing a called third strike in their 9-5 loss to the Royals on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Dazzling Debut<\/u><\/strong>: Arizona\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Max Scherzer <\/strong>retired all 13 batters he faced on Tuesday. He struck out 7 of the batters he faced and registered a 98-mph fastball. It is so far, so good for the Diamondbacks\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 1st<\/sup> round pick in 2006.<\/p>\n

The Sultan Of Swat?<\/u><\/strong>: Diamondbacks\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 pitcher Micah Owings <\/strong>hit a pinch 2-run home run in the 6th<\/sup> inning to tie the game. Arizona beat the Astros 8 to 7. Owings, the \u00e2\u20ac\u212207 Silver Slugger winner, was hitting .421 at the end of Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Notable Quotable II<\/u><\/strong>: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen a guy like this. I mean, Babe Ruth? That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s really all that comes to mind. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pretty impressive.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Arizona\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Conor Jackson <\/strong>on Micah Owings <\/strong>who is 4-0 and has 5 homers in 79 at-bats in his major league career.<\/p>\n

Too Close For Comfort<\/u><\/strong>: The Atlanta Braves fell to 0-9 in one-run games on Wednesday after blowing a 1-run lead in the bottom of the 12th<\/sup> to the Nationals. They are also 0-3 in extras.<\/p>\n

It Had To Go Up Eventually<\/u><\/strong>: Cleveland\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Cliff Lee<\/strong>, the A.L.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Pitcher of the Month in April, tripled his ERA in his 5th<\/sup> straight win on Wednesday. He gave up a 3-run homer in the Indians\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 8-3 win over the Mariners raising his ERA from 0.28 to 0.96.<\/p>\n

Oddity<\/u><\/strong>: It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s rare that any team would hit 5 home runs in a game. It is just strange that one of those would get booed by the team\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s own fans but that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what happened when Milton Bradley <\/strong>launched the first of five home runs by the Rangers on Wednesday. While Bradley rounded the bases, the team announced that the normal post-HR fireworks would not be set off due to high winds.<\/p>\n

The Other Santana<\/u><\/strong>: While the Mets\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Johan Santana struggles to notch wins despite pitching well, the Angels\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Ervin Santana <\/strong>went to 5-0 and lowered his ERA to 2.48 on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Notable Quotable III<\/u><\/strong>: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153You damn right I thought about it. You think I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m stupid or something? God darnit.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Cubs\u00e2\u20ac\u2122manager Lou Piniella<\/strong> after being asked if he considered moving Reed Johnson <\/strong>to left to replace Alfonso Soriano<\/strong> when Reed was instead pulled for Felix Pie <\/strong>as a defensive replacement. Some thought Soriano should have been subbed for after he failed to catch a Gabe Kapler <\/strong>double during a 9th<\/sup> inning rally where Milwaukee roared back with 3 runs to win 4-3 on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Reigning In Seattle<\/u><\/strong>: The Yankees\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Chien-Ming Wang <\/strong>has been impressive this year. He moved to 6-0 on Friday. Even more impressive is his ownership of the Mariners. Wang is 7-0 in 7 starts vs. Seattle.<\/p>\n

Fulfilled Promises<\/u><\/strong>: Houston\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Miguel Tejada <\/strong>promised 8-year-old Jacob Scott, a little boy with muscular dystrophy, that he would hit him a home run on Friday. Later that day, Tejada delivered with a home run and Lance Berkman <\/strong>and Carlos Lee <\/strong>followed Tejada with home runs of their own for back-to-back-to-back homers. The Astros won 7-4 and somewhere Jacob Scott was smiling.<\/p>\n

Notable Quotable IV<\/u><\/strong>: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Hill can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t start like that in the big leagues. Every time he starts, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an adventure. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know what the solution is but I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t start him anymore.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Cubs\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 manager Lou Piniella <\/strong>after Rich Hill <\/strong>struggled again. He walked 4 in the first inning after Piniella skipped him in the rotation the last time through. The Cubs lost in extra innings to the Cardinals of Friday, 5-3.<\/p>\n

Broken Cycle<\/u><\/strong>: The Mets\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Jose Reyes <\/strong>wanted it but was denied. Needing a home run for the cycle in the 8th<\/sup> inning, Reyes tried for an inside-the-park home run but was thrown out at home in their 7-2 blowout win against the Diamondbacks on Friday. Reyes had to settle for a single, a double and 2 triples in his 4-for-5 performance.<\/p>\n

Silencer<\/u><\/strong>: It seems Mets\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 manager Willie Randolph <\/strong>has grown tired of hearing Billy Wagner<\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s opinion. Randolph met privately with Wagner after he ripped teammate Oliver Perez <\/strong>earlier in the week and asked him to keep his critical comments to himself. Wagner opinionated? No way!<\/p>\n

Notable Quotable V<\/u><\/strong>: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not terrible right now, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re just good enough to lose.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d White Sox\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Paul Konerko <\/strong>after losing to the Blue Jays 5 to 2 and 7 of their last 10 on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Backe To Back<\/u><\/strong>: In an unlikely back-to-back duo, Houston\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pitcher Brandon Backe <\/strong>and Michael Bourn <\/strong>hit back-to-back homers in their 6-2 win over the Brewers on Saturday. The two had a combined 5 career home runs in 316 at-bats entering the game.<\/p>\n

Sigh Young<\/u><\/strong>: Many predicted either Detroit\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Justin Verlander <\/strong>or Cleveland\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s C. C. Sabathia <\/strong>would win the Cy Young in the American League in \u00e2\u20ac\u212208. After both lost their decisions on Saturday, they both fell to 1-5 on the season.<\/p>\n

Paging Gus Frerotte<\/u><\/strong>: Sorry, Gus, you still have the dumbest sports injury of all-time but Kansas City\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s John Bale<\/strong> didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want you to be alone on the list. Already on the disabled list with a sore shoulder, Bale broke his pitching hand when he punched a door at the team\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hotel.<\/p>\n

Welcome To The Club<\/u><\/strong>: The Yankees scored 6 runs in the third inning vs. Seattle on Sunday. They became the last team in the majors to score 5+ in an inning according to the Elias Sports Bureau.<\/p>\n

A Good Week For Joe<\/u><\/strong>: The Angels\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Joe Saunders <\/strong>became the second pitcher in Angels history to go to 5-0 in April on Tuesday matching Frank Tanana <\/strong>in 1978. Then, Saunders notched win #6 on Sunday after going the minimum, 5 innings, and was supported by the Angels\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 bullpen who combined for 4 innings and gave up just one run in their win over the Orioles on Sunday. The Angels used Darren O\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Day<\/strong>, Darren Oliver<\/strong>, Justin Speier<\/strong>, Scott Shields <\/strong>and Francisco Rodriguez <\/strong>(who earned his 17th<\/sup> save) to close out the game.<\/p>\n

Are Carrots Next?<\/u><\/strong>: The Dodgers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Andruw Jones <\/strong>has been struggling so much this season (he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hitting .163 in 98 at-bats) that the team has revealed they have had his eyes examined\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 several times!<\/p>\n

Numbers Game<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

2<\/strong>: Houston\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Carlos Lee <\/strong>failed to deliver with his bat on Sunday. He left 6 runners on base including 4 on base in his 0-for-5 performance. However, Lee contributed with his arm, notching his 2nd<\/sup> and 3rd<\/sup> assist of the season when he threw out Prince Fielder <\/strong>at third and Ben Sheets <\/strong>at home in their win over the Brewers.
\n5<\/strong>: Angels\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Vladimir Guerrero<\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 5-game hitless streak was the first of his career.
\n6<\/strong>: Arizona\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Augie Ojeda <\/strong>set a new career-high for RBIs in a game with 6 to help Brandon Webb win his major league-high 7th<\/sup> win of the season on Saturday.
\n20 1\/3<\/strong>: Dating back to last season, the Athletics\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Santiago Casilla<\/strong> has not given up a run in 20 1\/3 innings pitched. So far in \u00e2\u20ac\u212208, he has not given up a run in 16 1\/3 innings.
\n30<\/strong>: Philadelphia\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Pat Burrell <\/strong>has reached based in 30 consecutive games. Teammate Chase Utley <\/strong>is on his heels as he has reached base in 25 straight.
\n31: <\/strong>Dodgers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Rafael Furcal <\/strong>one-upped Burrell by reaching safely in his 31st<\/sup> consecutive game, 3 shy of tying Duke Snider<\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s team record, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
\n500<\/strong>: Phillies\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 manager Charlie Manuel <\/strong>registered his 500th<\/sup> career win in style as the Phillies came back to win 6 to 5 on Sunday.
\n1000<\/strong>: Cubs\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Ted Lilly <\/strong>recorded his 1000th<\/sup> career strikeout in the Cubs\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 9-3 win over the Cardinals on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Grand Slams<\/u><\/strong>
\n<\/u><\/strong>Josh Hamilton, Texas <\/strong>vs. Kansas City (4\/30)<\/p>\n

Walk-Off Archive<\/u><\/strong>
\n<\/u><\/strong>Walk: None<\/strong>
\nSingle: David Wright, NY Mets <\/strong>vs. Pittsburgh (4\/29); Kevin Youkilis, Boston <\/strong>vs. Toronto (4\/29); Jason Varitek, Boston <\/strong>vs. Toronto (4\/30); Felipe Lopez, Washington <\/strong>vs. Atlanta (4\/30); Asdrubal Cabrera, Cleveland <\/strong>vs. Seattle
\nDouble: None<\/strong>
\nTriple: None<\/strong>
\nHome Run: Pat Burrell, Philadelphia <\/strong>vs. San Francisco (5\/2); Skip Schumaker, St. Louis <\/strong>vs. Chicago Cubs (5\/2); Hunter Pence, Houston <\/strong>vs. Milwaukee (5\/4)
\nError: Geoff Jenkins, Philadelphia <\/strong>vs. San Francisco (5\/4) <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Facts, figures and other tidbits from the fifth 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-433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t