Nationals vs. Tigers

The Nationals fell to the Tigers 8-3 Wednesday night. Washington jumped out to an early lead with home runs by Adam Dunn in the 1st inning and Roger Bernadina in the 2nd.  Detroit responded in the bottom of the 2nd, scoring four runs on a single by Gerald Laird and a sacrifice fly by Don Kelly.  Down 5-2 in the 6th, Ivan Rodriguez drove in Christian Guzman with a single.  It wasn’t enough though as Detroit scored three more runs in the 7th on a Brennan Boesch home run.

Livan Hernandez took the loss, tossing 6.2 innings and giving up eight runs on seven hits. Justin Verlander got the win for the Tigers going 8 innings and allowing three runs on seven hits.

For more on the Nationals, check out Centerfield Gate.

Mets vs. Indians

The Mets beat the Indians 8-4, winning their sixth game in a row. The game was scoreless until the 3rd inning when Angel Pagan drove in Ruben Tejada on an RBI double starting off a five-run inning. Pagan went 3-5 with three RBIs on the night. In the bottom of the 4th, Shelley Duncan put the Indians on the board with a two-run homer. Top of the 6th, the Mets scored three more on RBI singles by Jeff Francoeur and Pagan. The Indians would go on to score another run in the eighth on a sac fly by Jhonny Peralta.

Jon Niese got the win for the Mets, going 7 innings and giving up three runs on eight hits. Mitch Talbot took the loss, lasting only 5.2 innings and allowing eight runs on 13 hits.

Go to the Real Dirty Mets Blog for more info.

Phillies vs. Yankees

The Phillies took game two against the Yankees, winning by a score of 6-3. Philadelphia got on the board first in the 2nd inning. Shane Victorino drove in three runs with a triple. The Phillies got two more in the 4th with back-to-back home runs by Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth. The Yankees scored in the 2nd and 5th innings on home runs by Robinson Cano and Jorge Posada respectively.

Jamie Moyer got the win for the Phillies, throwing 8 innings and giving up two runs on three hits. A.J. Burnett took the loss, going only 3.1 innings and allowing six runs on six hits.

Check out Phillies Phandom for more.

Marlins vs. Rangers

The Marlins lost their second in a row to the Rangers by a score of 6-3. The Rangers scored early and often with a run in each of the first three innings. Hanley Ramirez drove in a run in the 3rd cutting the Rangers lead to 3-1. Chris Coghlan doubled in the 5th inning to make it 3-2 Rangers. The Marlins bullpen was shaky giving up two runs in the 8th and a home run to Josh Hamilton in the top of the 9th.

Anibal Sanchez kept the Marlins in the game, but got the loss, going 6 innings and allowing three runs on eight hits.  Rangers starter Tommy Hunter lasted only 2.1 innings. He wound up with a no decision. Darren O’Day got the win for the Rangers, while Neftali Feliz got the save.

Check out Fish Guts for more.

Braves vs. Rays

The Braves beat the Rays 6-2, keeping themselves atop of the NL East. Troy Glaus drove in two runs in the 3rd to make it 3-0 Braves. In the bottom of the 8th the Braves scored two more runs on RBI singles by Melky Cabrera and Martin Prado. The Rays bats were quiet most of the night until the top of the ninth when they scored two runs on a single by Ben Zobrist and a double by Dioner Navarro.

Tommy Hanson threw 7 innings of shut out baseball to get the win for the Braves. He allowed no runs on three hits. Wade Davis got the loss, going 5 innings and giving up three runs on seven hits.

For more on the Braves, go to Braves Baseball.

Wednesday’s games:

Mets vs. Indians

Jon Niese (3-2) and the Mets go for win number five on the road as they continue their series against Mitch Talbot (7-4) and the Indians. Game time is 7:05 p.m. in Cleveland.

Nationals vs. Tigers

Livan Hernandez (5-3) takes the mound for the Nationals as they take on the Tigers. Justin Verlander (7-4) gets the start for the Tigers. First pitch is 7:05 p.m. in Detroit.

Phillies vs. Yankees

Jamie Moyer (6-6) and the Phillies look to bounce back and take game two against the Yankees. A.J. Burnett starts for the Yankees. Game time is 7:05 p.m. in the Bronx.

Braves vs. Rays

Tommy Hanson (6-3) goes for win number seven as he and the Braves take on Wade Davis (5-6) and the Rays. Game time’s set for 7:10 p.m. in Atlanta.

Marlins vs. Rangers

The Marlins look to take game two against the Rangers. Anibal Sanchez (6-3) starts for the Marlins, while Tommy Hunter (2-0) starts for the Rangers. First pitch is 7:10 p.m. in Florida.

The life of a fan whose team is out of the money is sometimes pretty hard to bear. Sitting on the couch wondering what might have been while you stare bleary-eyed at out of towners all enjoying their minutes in the sun. Sometimes though, it’s actually not so bad. Last night was one of those times where I sort of felt safe in the confines of my living room watching games that don’t matter to me except to provide fodder for my blogging imagination. Last night, watching Matt Holliday drop that fly ball in left, I thanked the God of all that is holy that I wasn’t a Cardinal fan and that he wasn’t MY left fielder and that I didn’t just go down 2-0 to the Dodgers in the NLDS on a misplayed 3rd out that would have ended the game. Because if that was Fernando Tatis out there for the Mets dropping the 3rd out with K-Rod on the mound about to close out a beautifully pitched game by Johan Santana, I wouldn’t have come to work today. No, I’m pretty sure I’d be holed up in a bar on the Upper East Side cursing the sunlight right about now.

I wonder if Cardinal fans are as crazy as me, though. Something tells me they’re not. I know that they’re The Most Knowledgeable Fans In The Game (TM) and all that, and players just love getting dealt there so they can chat with these fans over the railing between innings about the suicide squeeze, wood bats and the works of Tom Robbins, but I have an inkling that fans all over Missouri got up today and went to work like normal people. Pissed, to be sure, but dignified. Just thankful to be here. Fully expecting to be back again if not next year, then soon thereafter. Because that’s what midwestern fans are like. Patient.

NL East fans just aren’t like that. Not in our DNA. We’re about triumph and tragedy. Highs and lows. Delight in the misfortune of others and unrepentant gloating at even the most routine of triumphs. Phillies fans booed Mike Schmidt, or so the story goes. As well as Santa Claus himself.

So watching last night as Ryan Franklin followed up Holliday’s error by walking Casey Blake, allowing an RBI single by Ronnie Belliard, throwing one past his catcher allowing the runners to advance, walking Russell Martin and finally giving up the game-winning run on a hit by the shell of a player that used to be known as Mark Loretta….I sat back and smiled. This didn’t happen to me this year. It may happen next year. In fact, I’m certain it will. Likely not in the post-season because the Mets aren’t making the post-season next year, but at some other time when I least expect it, they’ll pull the football away from me as I run up to kick it like Lucy did to Charlie Brown all those times in those Peanuts cartoons. But not this year. This year, it’s the Cardinal fans who get to eat the shit sandwich, and I tell you what, I don’t feel so bad about it.

That’s it from the underground today. Tonight I guess I’ll watch the Yanks and pray for a rain delay to screw up Burnett’s mechanics or something. I’m grasping at straws, I know it. This winter’s going to be very long indeed.

Since 1997 only one National League East team has managed to win multiple World Series titles. That team is the Florida Marlins. Despite existing in a league that features the high spending New York Mets, the consistent Atlanta Braves, and the offensive juggernaut known as the Philadelphia Phillies, Florida has managed to remain competitive and successful.
The Florida Marlins are a remarkable story not because they win but because of how they win. The Florida Marlins operate with the knowledge of two incontrovertible facts. First, the team will not spend a tremendous amount of money in the free agent market or on payroll, period. Second, low attendance at home games does not present a financial problem due to league revenue sharing and a low payroll. Thus, it is possible to still make money as a business despite the fact that no one really wants to buy your product.
However, simply having a low payroll does not necessarily equal success. The key to the Marlins success is that the Marlins maintain the team’s low payroll by combining young players still playing out their rookie contracts and questionable veterans who are willing to play for short, minimum contracts. The inherent quality in both of these types of players is that they have the need to prove themselves. Young players know that the Marlins have no desire to pay top dollar for a valuable player, but the organization is more than willing to either flip that player for prospects or let the player leave during free agency and recoup draft picks. Thus, it is in the player’s personal interest to perform at his highest possible level to ensure continued, gainful employment as a professional baseball player. The same can be said about veteran players. Guys brought in on one or two year deals for about the league minimum know that if they want to continue playing and/or get paid more money, they have to take the opportunity given by the Marlins to show that they can produce.
For example, players such as Miguel Cabrera (traded to the Detroit Tigers, signed to 8yr/$153.5 million), Dontrelle Willis (traded to Detroit Tigers, signed for 3yr/$29 million), Josh Beckett (traded to Boston Red Sox, signed for 3yr/$30 million), Mike Lowell (traded to Boston Red Sox 3yr/$37.5 million), Cliff Floyd (traded to Expos for package of prospects including Carl Pavano), Luis Castillo (traded to Minnesota Twins, signed by New York Mets for 4yr/$25 million), Preston Wilson (traded to Colorado Rockies for Juan Pierre and Mike Hampton), and Derek Lee  (traded to Chicago Cubs, signed 5 yr/$65 million) all represent the Marlins’ plan to allow young players to develop and then trade them when they are at or near peak value. These players have then received more valuable contracts than the Marlins would have ever been willing to offer. In addition, players such as Ivan Rodriguez, Armando Benitez, and Todd Jones are examples of veterans who used their time as Marlins to procure more lucrative long-term deals.
Admittedly, the ability to continue to find successful and talented young players is vital for this type of organizational approach. However, to simply say that the Marlins have a talented scouting department dismisses the fact that when the Marlins trade talented players, they usually receive numerous prospects in return; thereby increasing the chance that at least one of those prospects will turn out to be talented. Prior to the 2002 season, the Marlins traded Matt Clement and Antonio Alfonseca to the Chicago Cubs for Julian Tavarez, Dontrelle Willis, Jose Cueto, and Ryan Jorgensen. Only Dontrelle Willis developed into an upper echelon player, albeit for a limited amount of time. Further, that same season, Cliff Floyd was traded back to the Expos for Carl Pavano, Justin Wayne, Mike Mordecai, Graeme Lloyd, Don Levinski, and Wilton Guerrero. Ryan Dempster was also traded for Juan Encarnacion and Ryan Snare. The point of this is to demonstrate that the Marlins turned 4 players into 12 players, but only two or three of those players turned out to be valuable. By trading valuable young talent at the right time, the Marlins were able to increase the quality and quantity of the talent they received in return, thus minimizing the impact of failed prospects.
This is one of the reasons that differentiate the Marlins from the Royals, Pirates, and Orioles. These organizations wring their hands when it comes to trading players away for fear of angering their fanbase. Thus, players are held onto longer and the team loses leverage when dealing with other teams. Another major reason these organizations have not found the success that the Marlins have is that they attempt to sign high priced free agents to give hope to their beleaguered fan bases. Without analyzing the moves of each organization, suffice to say that by paying someone drastically more than the rest of your team does not fuel the players desire to prove themselves, but rather creates questions like, “If they have the money to pay Player X, why am I not getting mine?” Not to mention that by allocating valuable resources of a small market team into such a limited asset the organization is prevented from investing throughout the team. Lastly, the Marlins traditionally do not trade for established talent by giving up prospects but vice versa. This way, the farm system of the Marlins is constantly infused with young players.
Now, this is not to say that the Marlins have not signed a high priced free agent, ex. Carlos Delgado, or that they will trade away every promising player. It is simply a unique organizational approach that may or may not change with the building of a new stadium and higher expectations. Thus, it should come as no surprise when the Marlins find success despite a meager payroll. Its not that the Marlins win, but how they win that makes them an organization that should be emulated by small market teams in both the National and American leagues.

Werth with a big game

Jayson Werth went four for four at the plate with a walk, three runs scored and three RBI for Philadelphia yesterday on the to a 10-0 victory.  Fueled by two four run innings from the offense, J.A. Happ(5-0) stayed undefeated and went the distance for the win.  Brad Mills(0-1) lasted only four innings while giving up eight earned runs while taking the loss for the Blue Jays.  This was the first time in the five times the teams met so far this year that Toronto did not win.  The interleague schedule ends for these teams today as Jamie Moyer goes up against Brian Tallet for the Jays.

Redding can't do much without offense

The New York Mets “B” team seems to be really getting the effect of playing versus other Major League teams now.  The New York Mets have now gone down in order in eighteen out of twenty-three of their last offensive innings, and scored 1 run in that time on a home run by Gary Sheffield.  Last night A.J. Burnett(6-4) worked seven innings of one hit ball, before being relieved for the final two innings of perfect relief in a 5-0 Yankees win.  Tim Redding(1-3) worked into the sixth inning but it all fell apart in that inning as he gave up five earned runs in the loss.  The Mets hope to salvage a game of this series tonight at 8PM on ESPN when Chien-Ming Wang goes up against Livan Hernandez.

Tampa Bay celebrates a walk off win

J.P. Howell(4-2) is getting used to these wins in relief lately, as he was the benefactor in a 3-2 Rays walk off win in Tampa last night.  Willy Aybar came up big again as he hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth inning scoring Carlos Pena for the Rays sixth win in their last eight games.  Burke Badenhop(5-3) took the loss in the ninth for the Marlins in the game.  The fish will look to salvage the final game of the series today as Andrew Miller takes on David Price at 1:38PM EST.

Braves lose a tough one

The Atlana Braves had a tough offensive game yesterday, as they couldn’t muster up a run while losing 1-0 to the Boston Red Sox.  Three Boston pitchers combined in a four hit shutout, including Tim Wakefield(10-3) pitching six strong for the win and Jonathan Papalbon pitching the ninth inning to get his eighteenth save of the season.  Javier Vazquez(5-7) pitched into the eighth inning while only giving up 6 hits and one earned run and took a tough loss.  The series concludes today at 1:30PM EST with Brad Penny for the Sox taking on Tommy Hanson of the Braves.

Rookie Reimold has a big game

Rookie Nolan Reimold hit his ninth home run of the year and contributed three RBI to help the Baltimore Orioles beat the Washington Nationals 6-3.  Greg Zaun and Aubrey Huff also contributed home runs during the win in Baltimore last night as Jeremy Guthrie(6-7) pitched the minimum five innings for the win.  Sharon Martis(5-3) took his third loss in a row after going five straight decisions in his career without a loss for the Nats last night.  The Nationals will hope to avoid the sweep as John Lannon takes on David Hernandez at 1:35PM EST today.

Mighty Howard Strikes out

The Phillies traveled north of the border to Canada to play the final three games of Interleague play against the Blue Jays.  Things didn’t get much better for the struggling Phils, as the Blue Jays won again and even did it against the Phillies ace.  Cole Hamels(4-4) couldn’t get out of the fifth inning as he gave up four runs on eight total hits on the way to a 6-1 Phillies loss.  Ricky Romero(5-3) got the win with seven impressive innings while only giving up two hits in the game.  The series continues today with J.A. Happ going for the Phillies against Brad Mills for the Blue Jays at 1:07PM.

Pelf hopes his defense is awake

The Mets couldn’t get out of their own way while continuing the Subway Series in Queens on Friday night.  The Mets made three errors in the secocnd inning, allowing four runs to score and basically put the game out of reach.  Pelfrey(5-3) still managed to finish five innings while only allowing two earned runs in a 9-1 Mets loss.  C.C. Sabathia(7-4) went seven strong innings allowing only three hits including a solo home run to Gary Sheffield in getting the win.  Tonight A.J. Burnett goes to the mound against Tim Redding for the Mets at 7pm.

Ramirez stays hot

The bat of Hanley Ramirez wasn’t enough on Friday night in Tampa Bay.  The Marlins couldn’t take advantage of a chance to tie for first place with the Phillies as they fell to the Rays 7-3.  Renyell Pinto(2-1) took the loss for the Marlins bullpen which is struggling with injuries currently while giving up two runs in an inning of work.  J.P. Howell(3-2) got the win in relief for the Rays, as the series continues tonight at 7:08 in Tampa with Chris Volstad taking on newly off the disabled list Scott Kazmir.

Bobby Cox arguing?

The Atlanta Braves lost their third straight game and fifth in their last six last night to the Red Sox.  Jurrjens(5-6) went eight strong innings giving up 3 earned runs and four overall in a tough loss.  Josh Beckett(9-3) got his ninth win of the season pitching seven shut out innings for the Red Sox.  Wakefield goes up against Vazquez this afternoon at 4pm in the second game of the series.

A rough outting for Detwiller

Ross Detwiler(0-4) and the rest of the Nationals pitchers had another rough outting last night.  Detwiler couldn’t get his first win of the season and managed five innings of five run ball as the Nats lost 11-1 to the Baltimore Orioles.  Brad Bergesen(5-2) got the win for the Orioles going six innings and only giving up a single run as the offense made it easy for him.  Sharon Martis goes up against Jeremy Guthrie at 7:05 in Baltimore tonight.

If interested in helping the NLEC, please contact mrose@nleastchatter.com

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Howard Hits a 3 run home run

6-20-09:In the 7th inning on Saturday night, Ryan Howard hit a pinch hit three run home run off Oriole reliever Danys Baez after being hospitalized with flu symptoms.  It looked like Philly may have finally found the magic they had in 2008, but this was before the 9th inning.  Still filling in as the closer for Brad Lidge, Ryan Madson(2-3) blew yet another save while giving up a solo home run to Greg Zaun and a 2 run shot to Brian Roberts which proved to be the game winner.  Mark Hendrickson(2-4) pitched the final 2 outs of the 8th and got the win while George Sherill pitched a perfect 9th for his 14th save.

Brian Roberts hurts the Phils again

6-21-09: Sunday did not bring much relief for the Phillies and their home woes.  Cole Hamels(4-3) was the victim of a lack of offense as he went 8 strong innings, giving up only 2 runs on 9 hits including 10 strike outs.  Jeremy Guthrie(5-7) was just a bit better, going 7 strong innings only giving up 3 hits, one being a solo home run and the only run he surrendered for the win.  The phaithful have resorted to booing 2007 MVP Jimmy Rollins.  The Phillies have now lost 8 of their last 9 and will be happy to travel to Tampa Bay for a World Series rematch this week.

Mets fans have that same look

6-20-09: Johan Santana(8-5) pitched 7.1 innings on a rainy Saturday afternoon at Citi Field, giving up only 2 runs.  The problem was that James Shields(6-5) went 7 innings while only giving up one run, including setting down his final 14 who faced him on route to the win.  The Mets can be happy that Santana had a nice bounce back start, but it is bittersweet since they still lost the game 3-1.  J.P. Howell got his 4th save in the 9th inning of the game.

Schneider with another 3 run HR

6-21-09: On Sunday, The Mets offense came to play, the problem was that the pitching decided to stay home.  Seven Mets pitchers stumbled through the game, giving up leads two separate times en route to a 10-6 loss.  The loss gets pinned on Bobby Parnell(2-3) who looks to be worn out lately after a blazing start to the season.  The Rays relief pitching wasn’t up to par either, but the hitting bailed them out.  Joe Nelson(2-0) got the win while giving up an earned run on a 3 run home run to Schneider in the 6th with two men on.  The Mets will now welcome in the NL Central Division leading Cardinals for a four game set.  For all Mets info, visit The Real Dirty Mets Blog.

Josh Johnson stifles another NY team

6-20-09: The Marlins rebounded from a loss to the empire on Friday night with a lights out performance from Josh Johnson.  Johnson(7-1) went 7 innings giving up just 3 hits in earning another victory against a team hailing from New York.  A.J. Burnett(5-4) was hurt by bad play in the field by Johnny Damon and was collared with a tough loss.  Matt Lindstrom worked the 9th inning on only 6 pitches for his 13th save of the season.

Girardi argues a double switch

6-21-09: Sunday brought another 35,827 (Yankee) fans to Land Shark Stadium in Florida, hoping to see their former home town Yankees win with the ace on the mound.  They saw nothing like that, including Sabathia leaving after only 1.1 IP and giving up 1 earned run with tightness in his left biceps.  The bullpen managed to piece it together pretty well for the rest of the game, except for Brett Tomko(0-2) who gave up 3 runs in two innings to take the loss.  The Marlins and starter Chris Volstad(5-7) who got the win, took advantage of a rough day for Yankee pitching and took 2 out of 3 this weekend.  Matt Lindstrom got his 14th save of the season, but he left the tying and go ahead runs on base when Derek Jeter made the final out.  The Yankees are protesting the game though because of a lineup mixup in the 8th inning, so we will keep an eye on that, odds are nothing changes.  The Marlins will welcome in the suddenly hot Orioles to Miami this weekend, after the O’s have won 5 in a row against the Mets and Phillies.

Lowe gets a nice ovation, and a loss

6-20-09: Fresh off a great start by Kawakami on Friday night, the Braves hoped to have another top notch performance by their ace, Derek Lowe.  Unfortunately, they saw another masterful performance by a former NL East foe, Josh Beckett.  Josh Beckett(8-3) continued his resurgence this season with a complete game 5-hit shutout of the Braves on Saturday night while striking out 7 and giving up 11 hits.  Derek Lowe pitched into the seventh inning while being charged with all 3 runs but received a great ovation by the Boston faithful when he left the mound.

Bobby Cox gets tossed...again

6-21-09: Sunday brought a common site to Brave fans, as Bobby Cox was tossed yet again.  The Boston Red Sox won in walk off fashion on a Nick Green hit an unexpected home run in the bottom of the 9th.  Jonathan Papelbon(1-1) got the win in teh back and forth game, as Braves reliever Jeff Bennett(2-4) gave up the homerun to Green for the loss.  The tough loss gave the Red Sox the series victory and the Braves missed another chance to gain ground on both the Mets and the Phillies in the NL East.  The Braves return home to face the Yankees on Tuesday night, and visit The Braves Baseball Blog for more Braves news and info

Alberto Gonzalez reacts to another walk off

6-20-09: The Washington Nationals are getting used to this walk off thing and this winning thing!  The Nats won their second straight game in walk off fashion and the fourth overall.  In the bottom of the 12th inning, after failing to move Alberto Gonzalez over on a sacrifice bunt, Willie Harris decided to end the game himself.  Harris hit his 2nd home run of the year, and sent Scott Richmond(5-4) to the loss in the 12th inning.  Julian Tavarez (3-4) got the win after pitching 1.2 innings of scoreless relief for the Nationals.

Acta is still the manager!

6-21-09: Over a week after reports surfaced that his job was in jeopardy, Manny Acta was managing and going for a series sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays at home.  He should just be glad he still has a job, as the Blue Jays were able to manage a win and avoid the sweep of the last place Nationals.   Behind 9 runs and 5 RBI from Lyle Overbay, Ricky Romero(4-3) got the win on 7 strong innings of 2 run ball.  Nationals rookie Sharon Martis(5-2) took only his second loss of the year, despite an ERA over 5.  The Nats welcome in another big task as the Boston Red Sox come to town this Tuesday night.  Check out CenterfieldGate for more information on the Nats.

For more information on the National League East this week, stop back for the NL East Series preview later today.

Special thanks to Mr North Jersey for design help. Again, if interested in helping the NLEC, please contact mrose@nleastchatter.com