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Week 11 MLB Review
Who’s in first?
AL East: Red Sox (39-28)
AL Central: Tigers (46-24)
AL West: Athletics (38-31)
NL East: Mets (43-25)
NL Central: Cardinals (42-26)
NL West: Dodgers & Padres (36-33)
Who’s in last?
AL East: Devil Rays (29-41)
AL Central: Royals (19-49)
AL West: Angels (31-38)
NL East: Braves (30-40)
NL Central: Pirates (26-44)
NL West: Rockies & Giants (34-35)
Pink slips: Minnesota gave third baseman Tony Batista his unconditional release last week after Batista’s return to the majors produced far less than satisfying results.
Washington was one of two teams to fire assistant coaches when the Nationals booted bullpen coach John Wetteland. Manager Frank Robinson cited Wetteland’s inability to get the relievers to focus on the game instead of focusing on “practical jokes.” A veteran of 12 MLB seasons, Wetteland recorded 330 saves over the course of his career that included three seasons with the franchise when it was in Montreal. Wetteland is probably best remembered for being the 1996 World Series MVP with the New York Yankees.
San Diego let hitting coach Dave Magadan go after the Padres got off to another horrible start offensively. Padres GM Kevin Towers said the decision, “…came down to results.” San Diego replaced Magadan with Merv Rettenmund.
This week's dogs: While I hate to list a team in this category two weeks in a row, there’s just no getting around Atlanta’s doggish ways right now.
The Braves lost all six games they played on last week’s slate, and now own a 7-game skid with an MLB-worst 2-15 record so far in June. They were swept in Florida and then at home over the weekend by the Red Sox to drop into last place in the AL East.
It won’t get much easier this week as they host the Blue Jays during the continuation of interleague play. At least the Braves and Blue Jays share one recent trend that being the Toronto is coming off a sweep at the hands of the hot Marlins over the weekend. The Braves hit the road after their series with the Blue Jays, traveling to face the Devil Rays and Yankees.
Speaking of the Marlins…: Florida is the hottest team going after sweeping both Atlanta and Toronto for a 6-0 week to give them a 12-3 record so far in June. The back-to-back sweeps gave the Fish an 8-game winning streak as they head out on the road to face the Orioles and Yankees. They’re doing it with some fine pitching, holding their opponents to an average of just two runs per game over their most recent 11 contests.
Rookie Josh Johnson, a big ol’ corn fed lad of 22 out of Minnesota, has been outstanding since joining the rotation for good back in early May. He is 5-2 in nine starts with an ERA of 1.62 in over 55 innings during that span. Dontrelle Willis, who will open the series in Baltimore on Tuesday, also seems to be coming out of his early season funk with the team picking up dubya’s in each of his last three starts.
Miguel Cabrera continues to be the stud on offense, and has been getting assistance from Dan Uggla and Cody Ross of late.
Injury & Trade News: The biggest two names to come off the DL last week were Cubs right-hander Mark Prior and Astros right-hander Roy Oswalt. Others to get off the injured list were Mets outfielder Xavier Nady, Pirates right-hander Kip Wells, Twins DH Ruben Sierra, Yankees outfielder Bubba Crosby, Red Sox right-hander Mike Timlin, Angels OF/1B Darin Erstad and Blue Jays infielder John McDonald.
Finding their way to the major league MASH facility in Week 11 were Glendon Rusch (CHC-back), Victor Santos (PIT-shoulder), Brandon Claussen (CIN-shoulder), Cliff Floyd (NYM-ankle), John Thomson (ATL-blister), Matt Clement (BOS-shoulder), John Wasdin (TEX-thumb), Casey Blake (CLE-oblique), Frank Thomas (OAK-quad), Chris Reitsma (ATL-arm), Jay Gibbons (BAL-knee), Josh Willingham (FLA-hand), Tyler Walker (TAM-elbow) and Keith Foulke (BOS-elbow).
The White Sox and Red Sox completed a trade during the week when Chicago sent lefty reliever Javier Lopez to Boston for right-handed reliever David Riske. Lopez was once a Rule V draft pick by Boston when they snatched him from the Diamondbacks in 2003.
And after a career that included numerous trips to the DL, right-handed pitcher Steve Karsay officially hung ‘em up over the weekend when he announced his retirement with the Oakland Athletics. Originally a 1st-round pick out of high school by Toronto in 1990, Karsay was traded from the Blue Jays to Oakland as part of a deal for Rickey Henderson in 1993, and made his major league debut with the A’s in August that year. Karsay would eventually wear uniforms belonging to the Indians, Yankees, Braves and Texas along the way, hitting a career high with 10 wins for Cleveland in 1999 and 20 saves for the Tribe the following season. His lifetime numbers include 348 games, 40 of them starting assignments, a 32-39 record with 41 saves, and a 4.01 ERA in just over 603 innings. Karsay was 1-0 with a 5.79 ERA for Oakland this year in nine relief outings, and made the decision to retire a day after earning the win in Oakland’s 17-inning defeat of the Dodgers. It was Karsay’s first win since Sept 11, 2002, when he was with the Yankees.
Fantasy Studs & Duds: Even though the Dodgers have dropped five of their last six, including being swept in Oakland over the weekend, Nomar Garciaparra managed to move into the lead of the NL batting title race with a .333 week (8-for-24).
Joe Mauer, Minnesota’s wunderkind behind the plate, remains on top of the AL batting race despite hitting just .316 (6-for-19) last week. Mauer presently owns a .380 average and will get to try out Houston’s park this week when the Twins visit the Astros.
A couple of wily old southpaws became the first 10-game winners in the majors over the weekend. Mets lefty Tom Glavine made it 8-straight winning decisions in New York’s 9-4 win over Baltimore Sunday, a streak that dates back to a 1-0 win over his old mates in Atlanta back in late April. Glavine is currently 10-2 with a 3.48 ERA in 15 starts this year.
Detroit’s Kenny Rogers followed Glavine to the 10-win plateau Sunday as the Tigers thumped the Cubs, 12-3. Rogers is 7-1 since a loss in Anaheim on April 24th, and 10-3 with a 3.17 ERA in his 15 assignments for 2006.
Rumors of Jason Isringhausen losing his closer’s status in St. Louis appear to be unfounded after the Cardinals right-hander converted all four save chances he was handed last week. Since blowing a save against the Reds on June 5th, Izzy has converted all six save opportunities he’s had, walking just one and striking out nine in 6.1 IP. Isringhausen currently leads all closers with 24 saves on the year,
Quote(s) of the Week: "We’re still hopeful because I think it’s really good for the game. Everyone likes it. The owners. The players. The sponsors. It just adds a lot of meaning." - - - MLB commissioner Bud Selig on the idea to have the winning league from the All-Star Game assume home field advantage in the World Series.
"I just couldn't put up with it anymore. I talked to John on a number of occasions and told him flat-out what I needed and how I wanted things done. He just didn't seem to understand." - - - Washington Nationals manager Frank Robinson discussing why bullpen coach John Wetteland was fired.
"I don't want to go out there and embarrass myself and be the guy who's just trying to hold on." - - - Oakland right-hander Steve Karsay when announcing his retirement on Sunday (June 18).
On Deck: Interleague play continues with a few marquee series during the week. The Angels visit San Francisco to take on the Giants in a reprise of the 2002 World Series. That series begins today (Mon., June 19) with Kelvim Escobar on the hill for Anaheim opposite Matt Cain for the Giants. Tuesday’s pitching matchup pits John Lackey against Matt Morris, with Jeff Weaver and Noah Lowry slated for Wednesday’s series finale.
The Reds and Mets meet in New York to start the week, with Monday’s pitching matchup taking on a bit of a Red Sox-Yankees flavor. Bronson Arroyo goes for Cincinnati while Orlando Hernandez toes the rubber for New York.
The Yankees travel to Philadelphia for a 3-game set against the Phillies beginning Monday. Randy Johnson leads the series off for New York against the Phils’ Brett Myers. Mike Mussina and Corey Lidle go at it on Tuesday with Jaret Wright and Cole Hamels the scheduled starters for the series finale on Wednesday.
The Phillies then head to Boston over the weekend to face the Red Sox. Struggling to at least keep the Mets in sight in the NL East, it’s a huge week for the Phils taking on the top two teams from the AL East.
Next weekend finds several ‘geographical rivals’ squaring off. The Nationals skip over to Baltimore to take on the Orioles, the Reds bus to Cleveland to face the Indians, the Braves trickle down to Tampa to face the Devil Rays and the Athletics scoot across a bridge into San Francisco to go at it with the Giants.
Last year’s World Series is also revisited as the Astros make their second trip in the past couple of weeks to Chicago to face the White Sox. Houston hopes for a better outcome than the 4-game sweep they suffered in the 2005 Fall Classic, and will send Andy Pettitte, Taylor Buchholz and Roy Oswalt to the mound for the 3-game set. Chicago counters with Jose Contreras, Jon Garland and Javier Vazquez.
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Originally Posted by Willie Bee
