Jim Tracy tinkered with his lineup yesterday. It looks even better today. Ubaldo Jimenez and Cliff Lee are your starters in this tilt. The Phils are up two games to one, and the winner will face Los Dodgers. It's Angels Yankees for the ALCS.
Can't believe it let me do that.
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All of a sudden, the baseball-in-the-daytime slates are just jumping with action. Before you know it, unprofessional sports bloggers will have put together consecutive days with nothing else written about besides day baseball....chirp....chirp....
But enough about that. Let's forget all that's going on in baseball and talk about one lone douche nozzle in his one lone team uniform. I'll say this: I'm impressed that said guy tallied three hits yesterevening and went ahead and tied the durn thing. That way, after his next hit, the story will go away.
Your day baseball three-piece, a click away.
Minnesota @ Toronto, 11:35 Central: The right-handed Scott Baker takes the hill for the Twinkies today at the Rogers Centre. He looks to guide Minnesota to that familiar September spot known as second place in the A.L. Central. He'll also be seeking win number 14 on the season. Brett Cecil represents the home team today. He's gone 1-2 in his last three starts with a 10-plus E.R.A. His Blue Jays are good and buried in the East, a solid 28 games behind the Yankees. That, of course, is a stat no one cares about since everyone's too busy spanking it to Derek Jeter and Lou Gehrig. But this baseball game, which is actually already a few pitches underway, can be heard on XM 176.
Detroit @ Kansas City, 1:10: Don't look now Minnesota, but the Kansas City Royals are doing what they frequently tend to in September: help you out. The Royals have taken two of the first games against division-leading Detroit. In the heated desperation of avoiding 100 losses, KC has put together a little three-game win streak that started with their first win of the season (1-9) against the Angels. It's looking like Gil Meche and Brian Bannister might, and probably should, get shut down for the season, and so they seek starting help elsewhere, like Robinson Tejeda -- consecutive impressive starts with five IsP, six Ks, two BBs, and no hits on Friday; six IsP, eight Ks, two BBs, and one run last night -- and Lenny DiNardo, who gets the start today, having gone 10-5 with a 3.32 in AAA Omaha. His counterpart will be Jarrod Washburn of the Tigers, who seeks win number 10, and a chance to take one in the series. Also noteworthy: Billy Butler, who has four three-double games this season, now has 45 two-basers so far, joining the ranks of very few to tally that many at age 23 or younger. The list includes Lou Gehrig. (Editor's Note: B-more Oriole Brian Roberts joined even eliter company last night, become only the fourth player in history to have at least 50 doubles in three different campaigns. Lou Gehrig hit 52 of 'em in 1927.) DirecTV invites you aboard the Royals-Tigers express for a watch on the ol' 721. XM has it on 177.
Cincinnati @ Colorado, 2:10: A pair of under-.500 righties bring up the day-baseball caboose out at Coors Field. Jose Contreras gets the nod for the home team. Kip Wells goes for the Reds. These pitchers are noteworthy for two reasons: Contreras is possibly uglier than Vicente Padilla; Wells is a living example of what not to name your kid. What's more important, though, is that the Rockies are three games back of the Dodgers, so let's keep rootin' for these guys. And just for the record, SethfuckingSmith is hitting .317, slugging .566, second-best and best on the team, respectively. Eighty years ago, Lou Gehrig hit an even .300, slugged .584 on the season. In case you were wondering. Two-thirteen and 722 are your DirecTV notches. Catch the audio on XM 183.
That's your light-free three-piece suit of baseball. Enjoy.
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Howdy, folks. As you well may know, we're three days into September, which means we're four weeks away from playoff baseball. Now, that might be exciting to you if you root for a good team. I do not, so therefore, I have looked ahead to the football and hockey seasons, where I'll also root for not good teams. I'm hoping the Chiefs might go 8-8, but then Peter King is predicting just that, so it probably won't happen. He's also predicting five wins out of Denver, four out of Oakland, and for the Cleveland Browns to assume the old 2-14 role, which I've come to know somewhat well. Elsewhere in Sports Illustrated writing is this month-old piece. Not a bad read.
Cleveland @ Detroit, 12:05 Central: Kicking things off today is our lone American League match. Sort of. It features Fausto Carmona on the visiting hill for the Tribe. Nate Robertson and his Kyle Farnsworth glasses gets the nod for the home team at Comerica Park. Nobody's quite sure what to make of Carmona these days. He sports a 3-9 record, a 6.20 E.R.A. Robertson, however, is making just his second start o' the season, and his earned-run average is inching towards seven. In this fine contest of American League Central clubs, Detroit, as mentioned earlier in the week, keeps coasting along in first. Cleveland looks to avoid the series sweep. DirecTV will feature the tilt on 721, 723. XM carries it on channel 176.
Milwaukee @ St. Louis, 1:15: We go from A.L. Central to N.L. Central in an hour and change in day baseball. At Busch Stadium today, Manny Parra goes for the Brew Crew; some guy named John Smoltz goes for the first-place Redbirds. St. Louis is pretty much a lock to take this division with a 10 and-a-half-game lead going into today. Milwaukee faded down the stretch quicker than a can of Beast Light exits the bowels the morning after a beer bender. Parra hopes to bring his record to .500. Smoltz is hoping to just not get lit up. See what happens on DirecTV 723, 724, or listen in on XM 185.
Chicago @ Chicago, 1:20: Here's where things get interesting: It's a little Interleague play sprung upon the day baseball fans, out of nowhere, and landing in the friendly confines of Wrigley Field. Un cabron by the name of Carlos Torres seeks win number one in his third big-league start. He's not yet taken a loss, but his E.R.A. has taken a beating. He'll represent the visitors today and aspire to secure himself a job in the White Stockings future rotation. On the mound for the Cubbies is Ryan Dempster who's put together an 8-7/4.15 campaign. The righty has also fanned 129 while walking 56. Both Chicago clubs could make a run at a wildcard spot, but they'll need some serious ass-kicking medicine to kick in. See who's got the edge on DirecTV 307, 725, or 726. If you're listenin', it's XM one eight five.
New York @ Colorado, 2:10: Finally, Los Mets visit SethfuckingSmith and the Colorado Rockies in a pitching duel that features lefty Pat Misch for the Metropolitans, Jason Marquis for the home team. Heading into today, New York has lost eight of their last 10, and have now won only eight more ball games than the Kansas City Royals. The magic eight ball says, "Your future looks cloudy." Colorado on the other hand, can't decide if they'll catch the Dodgers or just float kinda motion-like on a breeze in hopes for a post-season gift. And speaking of post-season gifts, this makes me puke, not in my mouth, but projectile-style, on my shoes. If you think that's an improvement over Dane Cook, feel free to check yourself in to the nearest community mental health center, pronto. Anyway, the home team's hurler, Marquis, has gone 14-9 this season while keeping his E.R.A. under four. The Rox have put together two straight wins, but they still sit four-plus back of the N.L. West lead. Watch this game on DirecTV 213 or 727. Catch the audio on XM 184. And if you'd like, read this SI piece, and rip the author a new one for failing to mention SethfuckingSmith. Dude calls himself a writer. Oh well. At least he remembered to boldface all his names.
There's your friendly foursome of day baseball. Get out there and represent, represent.
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I am, for the second time this week, stepping in for Old No. 7 in the day-baseball rotation so's that he may complete this week's installment of The HoG 25. On Monday, when I was ungratefully accused of "stealing beats," we had a pair of National League games. Today, it's an American League two-fer.
Now, in order to keep the theme alive, I should attempt to analyze a few things that Old No. 7 has already communicated to me, things that I imagine he would touch on were he in the BitD seat this morning. The first is the ManChild (Editor's Note: Fuck you, Sean Kemp. Fuck you right in the face.) Seth Smith. He, along with other Rockies, i.e. Ryan Spilborghs, and Troy Tulowitzki have come up huge in the past four days. And their pitching continues to look good, too. But, really, it's always been about SethfuckingSmith. Look at his numbers. Well, not all of them. Don't look at batting average. That's for retards. Oh Pee Ess. Now that's the shizzle: he's at .904. Nice, nice. He's slugging .511, has 11 jacks, has only struck out five more times than he's walked, and his BB number, by the way, isn't bad: 37 in 237 ABs. Eleven doubles and three triples, with 35 RsBI? Not too shabby.
Anyway, the Rockies are now two games back of Los Angeles, and it just so happens that their next two contests are at Coors Field, against Los Dodgers de Humberto. If I were Seven, I'd now insert seven other paragraphs that nobody reads. Instead, I'll take us into the jump by saying it'd be rad if Colorado could go into September with the N.L. West lead.
Cleveland @ Kansas City, 1:10 Central: Well, the Royals won a game last night, and stopped a five-game skid, so that was nice, not to mention Zack Greinke's new franchise-record 15 strikeouts. So KC and the Tribe will play a rubber match today at the K. Lefty Aubrey Huff and righty Luke Hochevar are your hurlers. Both are .500. Both could use better E.R.A.s. I heard an interesting tidbit last night, when the Royals were still 47-77: The KC bullpen has given up less than four runs 47 times this year; they've given up four or more in 77 games. Nutty. Anyway, catch today's action live at the Truman Sports Complex, on DirecTV 721, or on XM 176.
Detroit @ Los Anaheim, 2:35: It's righty-on-lefty action again, this time in the form of Edwin Jackson for the visitors, Joe Saunders for the home team. Both are plus-.500 as starters for first-place teams. The Tigers and the Angels have both won six of their last 10, and look to keep distancing themselves from clubs like Texas, Chicago, and Minnesota. DirecTV has this one on 722, 723. XM says 177's a good frequency.
That's your A.L. two-fer for today. Buy your neighbor some peanuts and Cracker Jack, and enjoy the game.
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