Taking First and Clearing the Bases

Free Passes
A reliever's role is to enter the game and prevent runs from scoring and hitters from reaching base. The Cubs' Carmen Pignatiello definitely failed on that last part in yesterday's game against the Pirates. He entered the game and walked two batters by throwing nothing but balls for 8 pitches:

                   IP    H   R   ER  BB  K   HR
C. Pignatiello     0.0   0   0   0   2   0   0

Pitches-strikes - C Pignatiello 8-0.

Tim Tankersley did the same thing in yesterday's Marlins/Nationals game, but he only walked one batter:

                   IP    H   R   ER  BB  K   HR
T. Tankersley      0.0   0   0   0   1   0   0

Pitches-strikes - T. Tankersley 4-0.

Grand Slams
Congratulations to Joe Crede of the White Sox for powering his team to a win in yesterday's game against the Twins. Crede hit a 2-out grand slam against reliever Pat Neshek:

HR - J Crede (2, 7th inning off P Neshek 3 on, 2 Out).

Also, congratulations to Torii Hunter for hitting a walk-off grand slam to get the win for the Angels over the Indians. It was his second home run of the game:

HR - T Hunter 2 (4, 8th inning off R Betancourt 0 on, 0 Out,
                   9th inning off J Borowski 3 on, 1 Out).

Home Run Happy
The Astros beat the Cardinals 5-3 yesterday. That's not terribly surprising. What IS surprising is how they scored their runs.

Neither team scored any runs until the 7th inning, when Lance Berkman and Carlos Lee hit back-to-back solo home runs to make the score 2-0 for the Astros:

HR - L Berkman (2, 7th inning off T Wellemeyer 0 on, 0 Out),
    C Lee (3, 7th inning off T Wellemeyer 0 on, 0 Out).

In the next inning, the 8th, J.R. Towles hit a solo home run to push the score to 3-0 for the Astros:

HR - J Towles (2, 8th inning off K Jimenez 0 on, 0 Out).

The Cardinals tied the game in the top of the 9th inning, but Miguel Tejada added yet another home run in the bottom of the 9th, to walk off the field with the victory:

HR - M Tejada (2, 9th inning off K McClellan 1 on, 0 Out).

Four home runs across the last three innings accounted for all five of the Astros runs.

Miserable Day and a Movie-Like Comeback

Lugo's Long Day
I'm guessing that Julio Lugo wishes yesterday would become a distant memory fast. Not only was he the only Red Sox player to go hitless in yesterday's Red Sox/Blue Jays game, he also committed three errors while in the field:

               AB  R   H  RBI  BB  K  LOB
J. Lugo ss     4   0   0   0   0   0   2

E - J Lugo 3 (4, ground ball, throw 2).

His only saving grace was being one of only two Red Sox players (with Dustin Pedroia) to not have a strikeout.

If You Can't Hit the Plate, Hit From the Plate
Roughly 5 years ago, Rick Ankiel's baseball career was on the ropes. He became a full-time starter for the Cardinals in 2000 and had a respectable 11-7 record with a 3.50 ERA and 1.30 WHIP. He struck out 194 batters in 175.0 innings, a ratio only put up by the most elite of strikeout pitchers, but he also had 90 walks and 12 wild pitches.

When 2001 rolled around, Ankiel put up a 1-2 record with a 7.13 ERA and 2.08 WHIP in 24.0 innings. Though he had struck out 27 batters to that point, his 25 walks and 5 wild pitches were enough to alarm even the most unobservant of coaches. His ratios would have translated to 197 strikeouts in the same 175.0 innings from 2000, but they also would have translated to 182 walks and 36 wild pitches.

Ankiel was sent to the minor leagues to straighten things out, namely, his pitches. He recovered at Rookie-Level Johnson City (5-3, 1.33 ERA, 0.68 WHIP, 87.2 IP, 18 BB, 158 K, 8 WP), but surely the coaches were wondering if this was more a result of the competition or actual improvements.

2002 was lost to left elbow tendinitis and 2003 started Ankiel's nightmare all over again. At AA-Level Tennessee, Ankiel went 2-6 with a 6.29 ERA and 1.73 WHIP. In 54.1 innings, he struck out 64 batters (again, an astonishing rate), but he also walked 49 and threw 10 wild pitches. Again adjusting to 175.0 innings, that's a rate of 206 strikeouts, 158 walks, and 32 wild pitches. His season was cut short by Tommy John surgery and he only recovered in time to pitch 33.2 innings across four levels of baseball in 2004.

Spring Training opened in 2005 and Ankiel shocked most everyone when he announced that he was giving up pitching and becoming an outfielder. Most people thought he was nuts and others thought he would would have a harder time finding the ball as a hitter than he would have finding the plate as a pitcher. I'm sure a few thought he'd have just as hard of a time finding the plate.

Nevertheless, Ankiel went on to post a respectable .810 OPS at AA-Level Springfield. He missed all of 2006 to patellar tendonitis in his left knee, but came back in 2007 to post an .882 OPS at AAA-Level Memphis with 32 home runs in 389 at bats. Finally, towards the end of the 2007 season, he got his call to the big leagues again, but this time he'd be facing pitches instead of throwing them. In 172 at bats with the Cardinals, Ankiel managed an .863 OPS, with 11 home runs.

All this leads up to 2008, where Ankiel now finds himself with a 1.226 OPS just 6 games into the season. In 23 at bats, he's hit 2 doubles and 3 home runs. He hit one of each in yesterday's game against the Nationals and accounted for 2 of the Cardinals 3 runs:

                 AB  R   H  RBI  BB  K  LOB
R. Ankiel cf     4   1   2   2   0   0   1

2B - R Ankiel (2, J Lannan).
HR - R Ankiel (3, 3rd inning off J Lannan 0 on, 2 Out).

This is the kind of story that movies are made of.

One Pitch and One At Bat

One-Pitch Save
The Washington Nationals were trailing the Cardinals 5-2 in the 9th inning of yesterday's game. A Jesus Flores home run made it a 5-4 game and Randy Flores was brought in to close out the game for the Cards. One pitch later, the game was over and Flores had the easiest Save a pitcher can get:

                     IP    H   R   ER  BB  K   HR
R. Flores (S, 1)     0.1   0   0   0   0   0   0

Pitches-strikes - R Flores 1-1.

Pinch-Hit Grand Slam
A few days ago, I wrote about a pinch-hit home run. In a clear attempt to one up Jeff Salazar, Kelly Johnson entered yesterday's Mets/Braves game in the 7th inning as a pinch hitter with the bases loaded. He promptly went yard against Jorge Sosa for a pinch-hit Grand Slam:

                  AB  R   H  RBI  BB  K  LOB
K. Johnson ph     1   1   1   4   0   0   0

HR - K Johnson (1, 7th inning off J Sosa 3 on, 2 Out).

Slow Day for Nuggets

Yesterday was a surprisingly slow day for box score nuggets. The best one I could find was Scott Hairston's almost-cycle in the Astros/Padres game. Instead of missing it by a triple, as it seems most players do, he missed it be a home run:

                   AB  R   H  RBI  BB  K  LOB
S. Hairston cf     3   2   3   0   1   0   0

2B - S Hairston (1, S Chacon).
3B - S Hairston (1, O Villarreal).

Double Plays, One Hitters, and Empty Seats

Baseball's New Sad Lexicon?
To any hardcore baseball fan, the phrase "Tinker to Evers to Chance" is synonymous with baseball's double play. Yesterday, Twins fans had to feel like they were watching a modern day version of the trio as Howie Kendrick, Erick Aybar, and Casey Kotchman completed four double plays in the EXACT same order during the Angels/Twins game:

DP - 4 (H Kendrick-E Aybar-C Kotchman 4).

What's even more miraculous is that the Twins only had a total of 6 baserunners.


Beaten by One Hit and a One-Hitter
Generally, when a pitcher goes for 8 innings and only gives up 5 hits, 2 walks, and one run, they get the win. Occasionally, the pitchers that relieve him will mess things up, but when that's not the case, they usually get the win.

That was not the case for Cole Hamels in yesterday's Nationals/Phillies game, despite Hamels having a great game, including 71 of his 103 pitches thrown for strikes:

                        IP    H   R   ER  BB  K   HR
C. Hamels (L, 0-1)      8.0   5   1   1   2   6   1

The problem was that Tim Redding, Luis Ayala, and Jon Rauch combined for a one-hitter:

                        IP    H   R   ER  BB  K   HR
T. Redding (W, 1-0)     7.0   1   0   0   3   2   0
L. Ayala (H, 2)         1.0   0   0   0   0   0   0
J. Rauch (S, 1)         1.0   0   0   0   0   0   0

And Ryan Zimmerman hit a solo home run for the game's only score:

                    AB  R   H  RBI  BB  K  LOB 
R. Zimmerman 3b     4   1   2   1   0   0   2

HR - R Zimmerman (2, 6th inning off C Hamels 0 on, 0 Out).

Empty Seats
This wasn't discerned from the box score, but I heard on the radio that the attendance at yesterday's Rays/Orioles game was the lowest ever since the opening of the new Camden Yards (April 6, 1992).

Attendance: 10,505.

That's a far cry from their capacity of 48,876.

It's No Joke

In case you missed it, Alex Rodriguez, at $28 Million/year, now makes more than the entire Florida Marlins team (opening-day roster and disabled list), at $21.8 Million/year. You won't find that in a box score anywhere, but you will find these nuggets.

Busy Infielders
Jon Garland pitched his first game of the season in last night's Angels/Twins game. He threw 95 pitches over eight innings and allowed just one run to pick up the win. But that just tells part of the story.

The other part is that over 2/3 of his pitches were for strikes (67.4%) and yet he didn't record a single strikeout. Instead, he had the opposition hitting a LOT of groundballs.

                         IP    H   R   ER  BB  K   HR
J. Garland (W, 1-0)      8.0   6   1   1   1   0   0

Pitches-strikes - J Garland 95-64.

Ground balls-fly balls - J Garland 17-7.

It's Still Early
It's still early in the season, so it's understandable that teams need to shake off some of the rust from Winter. Maybe that's the reason the Rangers and Mariners had such a hard time with fielding last night and had a combined five errors.

E - I Kinsler 2 (2, catch, ground ball);
   M Young (2, throw).

E - F Hernandez (1, throw);
   R Sexson (1, ground ball).

Busy Opening Day/Night

Yesterday was Opening Day/Night for most of MLB. With all that action underway and many players getting their first taste of "for real" action, there was bound to be a number of box score nuggets to find.

Almost Cycles
Three players came within one hit of completing a cycle with Kosuke Fukudome almost completing one in his first career MLB game. All three players came up short by a triple:

                    AB  R   H  RBI  BB  K  LOB
K. Fukudome rf      3   1   3   3   1   0   0

2B - K Fukudome (1, B Sheets).
HR - K Fukudome (1, 9th inning off E Gagne 2 on, 0 Out).

                   AB  R   H  RBI  BB  K  LOB
J. Dye rf           4   2   3   1   1   1   0

2B - J Dye (1, C Sabathia).
HR - J Dye (1, 9th inning off J Borowski 0 on, 1 Out).

                   AB  R   H  RBI  BB  K  LOB
X. Nady rf          7   4   4   4   0   2   5

2B - X Nady (1, C Resop).
HR - X Nady 2 (2, 8th inning off M Acosta 0 on, 0 Out,
               12th inning off B Boyer 2 on, 2 Out).

The games: Brewers/Cubs, White Sox/Indians, Pirates/Braves

Pinch Hit Home Run
It's probably every manager's dream for them to pinch hit their starting pitcher and have the pinch hitter smack a home run. At that point, who can complain about the decision, right? Bob Melvin did just that in yesterday's Diamondbacks/Reds game and Jeff Salazar came through:

                   AB  R   H  RBI  BB  K  LOB
J. Salazar ph       1   1   1   1   0   0   0

HR - J Salazar (1, 7th inning off J Burton 0 on, 2 Out).

Nobody Likes First Anymore?
In last night's Angels/Twins game, the Twins seemed to have a strong dislike for first base. They managed 10 hits for the game, two of which were double. The other eight were all singles. With half of those singles, in just 6.1 innings of the game when Jared Weaver was the pitcher, the Twins stole second base:

SB - C Gomez 2 (2, 2nd base off J Weaver/M Napoli 2),
    D Young (1, 2nd base off J Weaver/M Napoli),
    M Cuddyer (1, 2nd base off J Weaver/M Napoli).

Here We Go Offense, Here We Go
The Texas Rangers have not been known for their pitching for a while; maybe even since Nolan Ryan last pitched for them. It was only a small surprise then when every single Mariners player reached base via a hit or a walk in last night's Rangers/Mariners game. Interestingly, no player reached base more than twice through a hit or walk.

What an Opening

The Washington Nationals opened up their shiny new ballpark last night and they did it in style. It's not often that a team:

• opens a new stadium
• gets a walk-off home run
  
• gets a walk-off home run with two outs
• gets a walk-off home run from their franchise player

Despite the odds against any of those four situations occurring, that's exactly what happened in last night's game between Atlanta and Washington:

HR - R Zimmerman (1, 9th inning off P Moylan 0 on, 2 Out).

Ryan Zimmerman, the Nationals' franchise player, hit his walk-off home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to secure a win on Opening Night at the new Nationals Park. It doesn't get much better than that for Nationals fans.

Domo Arigato Major League Baseball

It's March 25th and the start of the baseball season is upon us. It feels weird to have actual MLB games being played this early, but the Opening Day in Japan has come and gone and the Red Sox and Athletics are both officially 1-1 on the season.

And it's not all that surprising that neither game really offered much in the way of box score nuggets. It's hard enough to find some within a full slate of games, but to glean something from two games across two days is just downright tough.

The "real" regular season kicks off this Sunday -- again, with one game -- and then gets fully under way on Monday, so I'll be back on Tuesday.

Spring Training 2008 Starts Tomorrow

Pitchers and catchers have reported. So, too, have the infielders, outfielders, managers, bat boys/girls, and everybody else. In just under 18 hours, the Reds will take the field against the Phillies and the Mets will take on the Tigers to kick of 2008's Spring Training games.

Much like the 2007 Atlanta Braves, this blog started off with a fervor, then quickly died. The reasons for that are many and varied, but I'm going to try to pick things back up this year and see how it goes.

I'll do light coverage of Spring Training games, then really kick things off with the Regular Season. There will be a planned 2-1/2 week hiatus in April, but other than that I hope to post regularly.