Yardwork: Sweeps Galore
Baseball May 23rd. 2008, 10:33am
Braves 4, Mets 2: Atlanta finished off a sweep of New York in the battle of once-great American League pitchers. Tim Hudson moved to 7-3, downing his ERA to 2.97, while Tito’s cousin Johan Santana fell to 5-3. Chipper Jones won his moment of truth with Santana in the 7th with the go-ahead RBI single.
Sweep: Check
Red Sox 11, Royals 8: Dice-K moved to 8-0 with 5 2/3 innings of three-run ball. JD Drew and Mike Lowell each hit grand slams, which is kind of neat when you think about it.
Sweep: Check
White Sox 3, Indians 1: Carlos Quentin moved to 40 RBI on the season with an 8th inning 2-run single off Aaron Laffey for Chicago’s 8th straight win. Any time I hear the name “Carlos Quentin,” I’m obligated to my inner-child to recall former “Rated Rookie” Carlos Quintana. I think I saw him selling pork steak sandwiches down the street last night.
Sweep: Check
Tigers 9, Mariners 2: Matt Joyce and Magglio Ordonez each contributed two hits and two RBI. After losing six of seven and only scoring 14 runs in the process, the Tigers scored 30 runs in the three games with Seattle.
Sweep: Check
Marlins 4, Diamondbacks 0: Andrew Miller tossed seven shutout innings, striking out nine and walking one; quite a feat considering his ERA is still 5.33. Arizona scored three runs in three games with Florida.
Sweep: Check
61 Responses to “Yardwork: Sweeps Galore”
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May 23rd, 2008 at 10:35 am
Dice-K is the worst best pitcher in baseball, or the best worst pitcher. I haven’t figured out which one yet.
May 23rd, 2008 at 10:35 am
Division winner with the worst record? Chicago White Sox
Division winner with the biggest lead? Chicago White Sox
God bless the AL Central.
May 23rd, 2008 at 10:36 am
I meant ‘leader’ and not ‘winner’ but the point remains.
May 23rd, 2008 at 10:37 am
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: The Braves own the Mets. Gotta like what you’re seeing out of Atlanta right now especially if you consider all the injuries!
May 23rd, 2008 at 10:39 am
Sweep! If I had made one of those dumb bets Hef would be commenting as Scott Olsen’s Sphincter right now.
May 23rd, 2008 at 10:39 am
The Yankees didn’t sweep the O’s at least, that’s something to build on.
May 23rd, 2008 at 10:40 am
Hudson is just amazing over the last couple years. I love fantasy baseball. Oh and the Tigers can sweep the Rangers and the Mariners and an injured Yankees squad, but what about those pesky Royals?
May 23rd, 2008 at 10:42 am
I still think the Braves are the team to beat in the East.
May 23rd, 2008 at 10:42 am
Why in the name of shit won’t my gravatar change? Hef, I never knew this bet would be forever.
May 23rd, 2008 at 10:43 am
How bout ESPN sucks off Kenny Williams and Ozzie Guillen for a change. I think at this point they deserve a little pat on the back for the offseason moves and making things happen for the South Siders.
May 23rd, 2008 at 10:44 am
Division winner with the worst record? Chicago White Sox
Division winner with the biggest lead? Chicago White Sox
God bless the AL Central.
Ditto
@Dr. C: Ditto? Ditto you provincial putz?
May 23rd, 2008 at 10:44 am
I’ve got friends with the boys over at gravatar.com. They owe me one for all of the NL West bets I made with them.
May 23rd, 2008 at 10:45 am
Imig – Javier Lopez is going to carry them.
May 23rd, 2008 at 10:46 am
I hope they can pull it out this year. Gotta get better in the close games…last night was a good start.
May 23rd, 2008 at 10:46 am
I don’t even know what to say…the pitching was good on both ends last night…the Mets lost because of Overzealous defense (Luis Castillo throwing home with 2 outs when he had the guy at first, D Wright’s bunt defense) and secondary leads (The Beltran play at second and the deadly getting double off first by D Wright in the ninth) It was unbelievable..even when the team is aggressive they make bad plays…hell some plays that didn’t burn them looked bad…Endy throwing home or to third when he needed to hit the cut off man…My anger is so intense I can’t even put it into words anymore…they are slowly gutting out my insides and will commence on eating my intestines this weekend in Colorado which coincidentally started last years slow decline into mediocrity
May 23rd, 2008 at 10:47 am
The AL central looked really good on paper on the way into the season, but then they started playing and beating up on each other… and the Tigers are dreadful. I’m okay with it, being a White Sox fan and all, let’s not forget that their starting pitching has been ridiculously good, so we can’t really credit them being in first solely on everyone else being bad, but it doesn’t hurt.
May 23rd, 2008 at 10:47 am
CRM I was thinking Jeff Blauser, but you could be right.
May 23rd, 2008 at 10:47 am
Maggs…I have seen nothing but Michigan the entire time
May 23rd, 2008 at 10:48 am
I think the Mutts are D-U-N DONE.
May 23rd, 2008 at 10:49 am
Joe Girardi, huge fan of Lou Pinella.
May 23rd, 2008 at 10:50 am
At what point do we start taking the Marlins seriously? They have just beaten Webb and Haren in consecutive games on the road.
May 23rd, 2008 at 10:50 am
The way I see it, Twins were on the way out when Santana moved. Detroit is unexplainable. The Indians can pitch the hell outta the ball as the Whitesox, but have NO clutch hitting at all. The Royals are resurgent, good moves in the offseason. It’s not the worst division in baseball. That goes to the NL East. Or NL West, who cares.
May 23rd, 2008 at 10:52 am
@johndewar- the Marlins won this series @ home, not on the road
May 23rd, 2008 at 10:55 am
The Marlins are shocking the shit outta me. Florida comes to Philly next Friday. Gonna be some wrastlin gopin on.
May 23rd, 2008 at 10:56 am
Mags…if youre using Firefox…try clearing your cache.
May 23rd, 2008 at 10:56 am
ALl I see every day is an old stupid D-Backs logo. The D is made out of a snake! Oh how very clever! Stupid Arizona.
May 23rd, 2008 at 10:56 am
@gonzo- Mike NYC still hasnt been on here yet and thats what types of bets i like. One month of not commenting or no bet at all
so yes or no on next weekends series?
May 23rd, 2008 at 10:56 am
Don’t help him. Do you want to see the Michigan logo again?
May 23rd, 2008 at 10:57 am
@spencer
I don’t even know what that means.
May 23rd, 2008 at 10:57 am
Marlins have got my attention BUT their pitching still concerns me…each team in this divison has a fatal flaw…Marlins have bad defense, Braves have an awful Bullpen, Mets have a bad offense and Aaron Heilman, Phillies have weake starting and bad middle relief…now the numbers do not reflect some of these things right now…but they will eventually
May 23rd, 2008 at 10:57 am
You’re obviously a product of the Pennsylvanian public school system.
May 23rd, 2008 at 10:58 am
When they win the World Series? That’s how it usually works with the Marlins, right?
May 23rd, 2008 at 10:59 am
We will start taking them seriously when they start playing Maybin. I drafted him for a reason you know and it isn’t to play AAA ball.
May 23rd, 2008 at 11:01 am
and then they trade away the team and become a joke again.
May 23rd, 2008 at 11:04 am
Phillies have weake starting and bad middle relief
Roman, the starting pitching scares the hell outta me, but the relief has been tremendous. Gordon, Condrey and Lidge are shutting them down. It’s the relief pitching that has kept us in the race.
May 23rd, 2008 at 11:06 am
I am not talking the backend…I am talking the 6th and 7th inning guys..teh have a tendancy to take a small margin, being down 1 or 2 runs and making it 5 or 6
May 23rd, 2008 at 11:06 am
@gonzo- i take that as a no about the bet
May 23rd, 2008 at 11:07 am
with your starters, you go to the pen early…it leaves the 5th 6th and 7th open to lose a game…I like Lidge…I am luke warm or Gordon but the 8th is his spot…so thats my thought
May 23rd, 2008 at 11:10 am
Lidge has a good shrink. He’s completely gotten over Albert Pooholes.
May 23rd, 2008 at 11:10 am
RWH – Braves have an awful bullpen? Woah…the same bullpen that just concluded a 19 inning scoreless streak? The same one that expects to get John Smoltz, Mike Gonzalez, and Rafael Soriano added to it over the next few weeks?
May 23rd, 2008 at 11:11 am
@ Cuz: You’re a jerk. You should do a Marlins post on our site.
@ Irish: if I stay off of here for a month, everyone loses. Who else is gonna do this…
The D is made out of a snake! That’s what she said.
May 23rd, 2008 at 11:12 am
I can’t find it anywhere online, but I thought I heard the Braves had the best (or maybe 2nd best) bullpen ERA in the league.
May 23rd, 2008 at 11:13 am
Beat me to it. Looking forward to having Gonzalez and Soriano back. Don’t know if I like the whole Smoltzie to the bullpen idea…
May 23rd, 2008 at 11:16 am
ATL, I can’t find that stat either, but I know the Phils are up there as well in bullpen ERA.
May 23rd, 2008 at 11:17 am
Agreed, Deion – although it’s not like Smoltz really has a choice.
RWH – the Braves definitely have flaws (the Marlins, the Nationals, playing on the road), but bullpen is NOT one of them.
May 23rd, 2008 at 11:19 am
atlana boys…my statement also said that the stats my not back up my points yets…what about all those games the bullpen blewn in April..they don’t count? Mike Gonzalez has not pitched in over a year..you are expecting greatness? Smoltz still is feeling stiffness…are we so sure he will be their soon? Same commetn for SOriano…I am not killing your team..your just killed mine…I am pointing out each team in the NL East has a fatal flaw..like the Marlins fielding has been real good..do you expect that to hold up?…take your sensitivity away..you know I am right…
May 23rd, 2008 at 11:20 am
ATL..if the bullpen has no flaw…why are you pulling acosta in the 9th? If he is your guy..why is bobby pulling him
May 23rd, 2008 at 11:20 am
Id’ be worried about Brad Lidge and Flash Gordon closing out games. Seeing as they both have always pretty much sucked balls. Brad Lidge, shouldn’t his face be burried in a pillow somewhere crying about the nightmares of 3 run homers from the 2005 playoffs against the Cards and Sox?
May 23rd, 2008 at 11:20 am
I still contend:
The Dbacks offense is settling into its normal rhythm.
Sorry, Hef.
May 23rd, 2008 at 11:25 am
On and my Atlanta friends…you know which bullpen had the third best ERA going into September last year? The Mets and we know how that worked out. Remember, relievers don’t get charged with runs that their starters leave on base…which is why ERA for bullpens is a misleading stat.
May 23rd, 2008 at 11:25 am
Found them. Philly has the 2nd best bullpen ERA in the NL and ATL has the 3rd best.
RWH: Manny Acosta? Really? You’re going to pick ONE game, when the top 3 guys in our bullpen are all injured, and use that as the basis for your argument?
It’s not sensitivity at all. I’m as objective a fan as you’ll find on here. But it’s a well-known fact that our bullpen has been one of the few dimensions (up until this last week or so) that has performed, and they’ve done it with their three top guys (Soriano, Gonzalez, Moylan) being out. I’m not expecting greatness with Mike Gonzalez, but I expect him to be as good, if not better, than what we have there now.
As I said, the Braves definitely have flaws. Definitely. But the bullpen isn’t one of them.
May 23rd, 2008 at 11:26 am
Swandog, as someone who watches this team every day, I give a sigh of relief when Gordon and Lidge come into the game. It’s the starters that drive me up a wall.
May 23rd, 2008 at 11:29 am
Gonzalez and Feliciano are awesome. There I said it. They scare me more than their respective teams closers.
May 23rd, 2008 at 11:29 am
@RWH – I’ll give you that ERA isn’t the best way to judge a bullpen’s performance; it’s just the only stat I can find right now. I’d like to see the Braves bullpen’s stats when they come in at the beginning of an inning, rather than with guys on base. There was a time earlier in the season when it seemed like everytime Resop came in he’d allow whatever runners were on base to score. But I still think that, given the bullpen’s collective performance over the last few weeks, and the addition of three proven guys in the coming weeks, we’ll be okay.
May 23rd, 2008 at 11:37 am
I think this is going to be a dogfight for the NL East..the first to 90 wins…I think my team might do everything possible to get take themselves out but…I stand by what I say…the make up the bullpen is pretty similar to last years..Smoltz ads a good element…but Soriano is not Mariano Rivera, Moylan is good but not great..Acosta has his moments…and as this season goes on they are going to be used alto especially with the Glavines of the World giving you 5 solid a start…
May 23rd, 2008 at 11:41 am
@ Gonzo.
You will not feel any relief at the sight of them IF you make the playoffs I fear. Brad Lidge is spoiled milk. He just ain’t good.
May 23rd, 2008 at 11:43 am
I agree with you on the division. No one is running away with it. But you’re off on the bullpen thing. Moylan is good, but not great? First, Moylan is out for the season, so he has no bearing on 2008. But he’s pretty damned great. 80 games, 90 IP, 1.80 ERA? Most teams would take that. And I never said Soriano is Mariano Rivera…don’t subscribe to the Colin Cowherd School of Broadcasting where you create a silly argument out of thin air just so you can win. Soriano, like Gonzalez, I think is going to be good…not awesome, not Rivera-like, but good. At least as good, and probably better than, what we have out there now.
May 23rd, 2008 at 11:44 am
I don’t see anyone running away with the NL East either…but I’ll take the Braves lineup against any of ‘em. I can’t say that the pitching overall makes me real comfortable to be honest, but I’ll just ignore that and focus on the sweep of the Mets, the bullpen’s recent performance, solid outings by Huddy, Jurrjens and Campillo (sleeper SP?), Chipper hitting .400, Big Tex heating up and getting the bullpen studs back!
May 23rd, 2008 at 11:50 am
@RWH – let me make myself clear. Just because we’ve had a good week, I’m not acting like all’s well and we’re the team to beat all of a sudden (or that the Mets are done, as many people are saying. WAYYYYY too early to call that). We obviously have durability issues (Chipper may go on the DL if a stiff wind blows through Turner Field), and our starting pitchers have to start pitching more innings; what you said about them wearing out our bullpen could be true. Also, I’ve got to believe that many guys that are flying high right now (Chipper, Kotsay, Kelly Johnson, Jurrjens, Campillo, etc.) are going to come back down to earth. But we’re in the thick of things, and we’ve got some reinforcements on the way, and I like our chances.
May 23rd, 2008 at 11:56 am
ATL…I love Jurrjens…he is the real deal…Campillo pulled a Met special..a nobody comes out and befuddles them (I mean they kill Brad Penny but lose the the Campillos of the world..Jesus tell me why?) Kelly Johnson is a new Met Killer, Kotsay is OK not great..Larry Jr. has been unreal but as he falls off having Tex heat up is huge and if Frenchy is really banged up (as I heard in the game) Bobby should rest him more. I need more out of Yunel to give him props but he is getting there…I like your lineup..hell they kill my team…as for my team…they are playing listless baseball..this is beyond their talent…this is a true mental breakdown and I don’t know how to fix it
May 23rd, 2008 at 12:02 pm
@ Gonzo
Sorry for the late arrival, but we’re going to light-up Lidge here pretty soon. Big Puma has watched that big slider almost daily for half a decade, and he’ll go Pujols on it if he gets a few more chances!