May, 2006 | The Baseball Zealot

5/5/06 Linescore of the Day: Padres Pitching Staff

Chan Ho Park 9 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 4 K Trevor Hoffman 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K Alan Embree 1/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K Scott Cassidy 2/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K Chan Ho Park, who hasn’t had … Continue reading “5/5/06 Linescore of the Day: Padres Pitching Staff”

Chan Ho Park 9 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 4 K
Trevor Hoffman 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Alan Embree 1/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Scott Cassidy 2/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

Chan Ho Park, who hasn’t had a season ERA under 5.46 in 5 years, pitched his heart out last night. Too bad he couldn’t get a win for his efforts. In the short season, Park has a 4.12 ERA. Respectable for most pitchers… Downright fantastic for Chan Ho.

As for the Cubs, they are languishing in a 25 inning scoreless streak. Todd Walker is in a 1 for 14 slump. Not to draw comparisons or wish for snow in the summer but wouldn’t be great if DLee was back now?

Special mention goes to Mets leadoff hitter Jose Reyes who went 5 for 7 in wild one against the Braves. In addition to the 5 safeties, Jose drew a free pass. For all his trouble, he scored 2 runs with no ribbies. The Mets won this one on a clutch double by David Wright in the 14th.

I’m rambling now but was I seeing things when I saw Wright make a good play in the field? I could have sworn he made a great catch. By god, when I watch the Mets when Glavine pitches, I wince when the ball gets hits to DW.

I guess even Wright has a good day in the field.

5/4/06 Linescore of the Day: Miguel Cabrera

3 for 5, 2 2B, 3 runs, 5 rbis Miguel Cabrera had a “perfect” night. Against Nats’ pitching, he managed a 3 for 3 game plus a free pass. The 5 rbis give him 19 for the year. Florida rookie Josh Johnson pitched 5 solid innings for his first win as a starter.

3 for 5, 2 2B, 3 runs, 5 rbis

Miguel Cabrera had a “perfect” night. Against Nats’ pitching, he managed a 3 for 3 game plus a free pass. The 5 rbis give him 19 for the year.

Florida rookie Josh Johnson pitched 5 solid innings for his first win as a starter.

RINGING SUCCESS

On May 1st Assistant GM Roland Hemond made a trip to Napa on behalf of White Sox team owner Jerry Reinsdorf. Dario Lodigian, 89, was due to receive his reward for his years of service. Dario played with theSox in the 40s and has been a scout in the organization for 42 years. After Lodigani got his ring he got a call from Reinsdorf, Dario told the Chairman, “I want to thank you and the White Sox for taking care of me. Thanks a million. This is a day I’ll never forget. LET’S GO WHITE SOX!!!

SHE WANTS THE BIG GUY

Funny thing was when I was at the Cell, DawnS, DonS’ sister in law was in the Philippines, and she was signaling for Bobby Jenks about the same time Ozzie Guillen was bringing Jenks into the game. Weird, huh?

5/4/06: Jose is a Hot Dog

It was Dollar Dog Thursday out at the Cell! Jose Contreras was up to the challenge besting the Mariners 4-1, walking in a run in the 6th. Contreras became the first 5-0 pitcher with a nifty 1.41 ERA. Ozzie Guillen came out to talk to his big righthander, but stuck with him till he got out of the jam. Then he brought on Neal Cotts to gain the lefty pitcher matchup and brought in Bobby Jenks to close it out. This day was a preview of summer. It was really hot (the girls) in the Bleachers, and the weather was too. Got out of the sun after a couple of innings in the outfield and shifted to behind the plate. I know first hand the girls at the Cell have it all over the women of Wrigley. Right next to organist Nancy Faust is a great place to stand and watch the game. If you’re ever at the Cell stop over and say hi.

5/2/06: 0 Those Cubbies

It wasn’t even fair! There was Angel Guzman making his first major league start against Cub killer Zack Duke. Guzman allowed two first inning runs to the Buccos. I was there with the Bud Lite Bleacher Bums. It was a beautiful 70 something degree day with a soft breeze coming out of the North. Former Cub Jeromy Burnitz cut through that breeze with a screamer just inside the RF foul pole. But the story of the game was Zack Duke who shut down Chicago on three hits and one walk for a complete game shutout. In 32 career innings against the Cubs, Duke’s allowed only two runs. Final score 8-0.

Why does Glavine K this year?

Tom Glavine did it again. He threw seven shutout innings with ten strikeouts against the Pirates en route to a 6-0 win for the Mets. Do a search on Glavine on the ‘net and it’s full of stories of “he’s not a strikeout pitcher” and “what’s gotten into him?”. Of course, this is all referring … Continue reading “Why does Glavine K this year?”

Tom Glavine did it again. He threw seven shutout innings with ten strikeouts against the Pirates en route to a 6-0 win for the Mets.

Do a search on Glavine on the ‘net and it’s full of stories of “he’s not a strikeout pitcher” and “what’s gotten into him?”. Of course, this is all referring to his newfound ability to strike batters out.

Yes, it’s true. Glavine never was a strikeout pitcher relying on finesse and location (and forgiving umpires). The last three years (all full seasons), Glavine struck out 82, 109, and 105 batters respectively. After 46 1/3 innings this season, he has struck out 41. That’s a pretty formidable number.

Now Tom Glavine is on my APBA team and therefore one of my favorite pitchers so I’m not trying to take anything away from him. But maybe we’re barking up the wrong tree when we’re trying to find the answer to this interesting question.

Consider the teams that Glavine has faced up until this point. Of the seven teams that Glavine has faced, four are in the top 3 in batters’ strikeouts (he faced Atlanta twice). Pittsburgh is seventh. Only Washington’s (13th) and San Francisco’s (26th) hitters are less prone to strike out as a team.

Could it be that he’s just faced those hitters with a higher probability to strike out?

Final Home Series for the Illini this Weekend

Another Big Ten series this weekend and if you want to see the Illini baseball team in action, this is your final chance. The Michigan series is the last home series for Illinois. Friday is Hawaiian night… wear your brightest duds to get in free. Saturday is Dog Day… bring your dog for free admission. … Continue reading “Final Home Series for the Illini this Weekend”

Another Big Ten series this weekend and if you want to see the Illini baseball team in action, this is your final chance. The Michigan series is the last home series for Illinois.

Friday is Hawaiian night… wear your brightest duds to get in free. Saturday is Dog Day… bring your dog for free admission.

For the year, the Wolverines are 14-6 and tied for first with the mighty Wildcats of Northwestern. Meanwhile, the Illini are kissing their sister at 10-10.

Good Luck Team!

5/3/06 Linescore of the Day: Pablo Ozuna

2 for 2, 2B, HR, 2 runs, 1 rbi That’s Oz-un-a, as in Oz-un-a you put me in, Coach, we’ll win this one. (groan) Pablo Ozuna’s sense of timing is impeccable. His first career homerun couldn’t have come at a better time. That tied the Sox with the Mariners in the bottom of the ninth. The … Continue reading “5/3/06 Linescore of the Day: Pablo Ozuna”

2 for 2, 2B, HR, 2 runs, 1 rbi

That’s Oz-un-a, as in Oz-un-a you put me in, Coach, we’ll win this one.

(groan)

Pablo Ozuna’s sense of timing is impeccable. His first career homerun couldn’t have come at a better time. That tied the Sox with the Mariners in the bottom of the ninth. The double that came after was pretty timely, too. Uribe singled him home for the winning run.

Pretty good work considering he didn’t enter until the ninth inning.

What Cost Team Loyalty?

This is for DonS who recently wrote about the futility of the Royals. Apparently, he’s not the only one who feels this way. Chad Carroll auctioned off 25 years of loyalty to the Royals.

Frustrated with the Powder Blue? Sure sounds like it. Carroll used Ebay to auction his long-time loyalty off.

What amazes me is that he actually found a bidder. According to the Star, a group of nine friends pooled their money and raised $278.47 and were the winning bidders. Carroll was happy.

“It really does feel like a big weight has been lifted,” said Carroll, 34, who lives in Maryland. “I can’t tell you how good it feels. I really can’t.”

Yeah, I’ll bet.

Carroll plans on giving up all memorabilia including signed baseballs and a signed Brett jersey to his brother who remains a KC fan.

/hat tip Baseball Musings for the link