Monday, August 26, 2013

MONDAY, August 26th, 2013


The Marlins lost two out of three this weekend to the Colorado Rockies, losing yesterday’s series finale 4-3.  Nolan Arenado hit a tie-breaking double in the seventh inning for the winning margin.  Justin Ruggiano connected long distance and finished with two RBI in the loss.  Jacob Turner took the loss, after giving up four runs (three of them earned) in 5 2/3 innings.  Another day of wasted opportunities for the Fish, who, after tying the game in the fourth inning, loaded the bases with nobody out, but didn’t score.  The Fish are off today and they head to Washington to take on the Nationals in a three-game series.  The pitchers for the series against the Nationals:

TUES Nathan Eovaldi vs Ross Ohlendorf 7:05 pm
WED Henderson Alvarez vs Stephen Strasburg  7:05 pm
THURS Tom Koehler vs Gio Gonzalez 7:05 pm

The Fish will then head to Atlanta to take on the Braves over the weekend.  Jose Fernandez will be on the mound on Friday against Julio Teheran.

Fernandez is making a case to win the NL Rookie of the year award.  The 21-year-old phenom is 10-5 with the third-best ERA in the majors (2.30).  He has even been better recently, having given up two runs or less in eight straight starts.

Of course, the Fish remain at the bottom of the list in runs scored in MLB, with 415 runs in their 129 games, an underwhelming 3.22 runs per game.  They are not in any danger of losing their position. Here are the rest of the bottom-dwellers, who now have a new member in the group - the San Diego Padres:

TEAM W-L Runs
Marlins 49-80 415
White Sox 54-75 484
Giants 58-72 494
Phillies 59-71 496
Padres 59-71 501

In contrast, the Detroit Tigers (77-53) lead MLB with 662 runs scored and the Boston Red Sox (77-55) have plated 661.  The Sox have played 2 more games than the Tigers. 

In the Major Leagues yesterday, first in the National League,

Brewers 3 Reds 1
Marco Estrada threw seven innings of one-hit ball.  Caleb Gindl connected long distance with a runner on.

Phillies 9 D-Backs 5
The sheriff is back in town.  Doc Halladay returned to action after three months on the DL after having right shoulder surgery.  Halladay gave up two runs and just four hits in six innings.  

Braves 5 Cardinals 3
Mike Minor gave up one run in his seven innings of work, improving his season record to 13-5.  Andrellton Simmons homered, as the Braves avoided the four-game sweep.  They still lead the NL East by 13 games over the second-place Nationals. 

Giants 4 Pirates 0
Ryan Vogelsong threw eight shutout innings.  Pablo Sandoval drove in two runs with a triple.  The Pirates and the Cardinals are tied for first place in the NL Central.

Tigers 11 Mets 3
Miguel Cabrera and Andy Dirks both homered with a man on.  Miggy still leads the AL in batting with a .360 average, leads in RBI with 128, and is second in HRs with 42, 4 behind Chris Davis of the Orioles.  

Padres 3 Cubs 2 (15 innings)
Nick Hundley had the game-ending RBI single.  After playing 12 scoreless innings, the Cubs took a 2-0 lead in the top of the 13th, but gave it up in the bottom of the inning.

Red Sox 6 Dodgers 1
Mike Napoli, Jarod Saltalamacchia, and Shane Victorino all connected long distance and Jake Peavy dominated, throwing the complete game and allowing only three hits.  

Over in the American League,

Yankees 3 Rays 2 (11 innings)
Curtis Granderson’s sacrifice fly in the top of the 11th inning was the difference.  Mariano Rivera retired the Rays 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning to register his 38th save of the season.  

Indians 3 Twins 1
Drew Stubbs homered in the eighth inning.  Nick Swisher and Jason Kipnis drove in the other runs for the tribe, who have now won five out of six.

Orioles 10 A’s 3
JJ Hardy, Nick Markakis, and Nate McLouth connected long distance.

Ehite Sox 5 Rangers 2
Jordan Danks went 2-3 with a homer and the White Sox are on fire, winning 8 of their last 9.  

Blue Jays 2 Astros 1
Moises Sierra and Ryan Goins each drove in a run in the ninth inning.

Angels 7 Mariners 1
Chris Nelson drove in a pair of runs, Kole Calhoun homered with a man on.

Royals 6 Nationals 4
Salvador Perez drove in three runs, including the go-ahead run in the eighth inning.  The Royals ended a seven-game losing streak.

Today in MLB, in the National League,

Reds @ Cardinals 7:05 pm
Mike Leake vs Tyler Lyons

Phillies @ Mets 7:10 pm
Cliff Lee vs Zach Wheeler

Giants @ Rockies 8:40 pm
Barry Zito vs Juan Nicasio

Padres @ D-Backs 9:40 pm
Tyson Ross vs Brandon McCarthy

Cubs @ Dodgers     10:10 pm
Jake Arrieta vs Zack Greinke

Over in the American League,

Rays @ Royals 2:20 pm
Jeremy Hellickson vs Jeremy Guthrie

Yankees @ Blue Jays 7:07 pm
Phil Hughes vs RA Dickey

A’s @ Tigers 7:08 pm
AJ Griffin vs Anibal Sanchez

Astros @ White Sox 8:10 pm
Brett Oberholtzer vs Andre Rienzo

Rangers @ Mariners 10:10 pm
Travis Blackley vs Joe Saunders

Derek Jeter will be back with the Yankees tomorrow after yet another rehab stint.  Here’s the story in the NY Post:


A lot has been written and talked about regarding shutting down young pitchers after a certain number of innings.  The Mets are going to use a slightly different approach with their studs, Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler:


The Braves continue to struggle offensively, especially BJ Upton.  David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has more:


Note:  With all their “struggles” and all their injuries, Fredi Gonzalez has his team sitting atop the NL East with a 13 game lead, and the best record in the major leagues.  CAN YOU SAY “MANAGER OF THE YEAR”? If they get cracking offensively . . . look out.

The race is on in Los Angeles . . . who gets fired - Angels Manager Mike Scoscia or GM Jerry Dipoto?  Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports chimes in:


This is straight from a movie.  A young fan in Cleveland suffering from cerebral palsy asked Carlos Santana and Jason Kipnis to hit home runs for him in Saturday night’s game.  What happened?  Here’s Yahoo! Sports:


David Schoenfield of ESPN.com has ten predictions for the stretch run in MLB:


TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION:  Miguel Cabrera is only the third player in MLB history to reach the .360 average, 42 homers, and 128 RBI through 130 games.  Who are the other two? The answer comes later, alligator.   

Here are the latest trade rumors around the majors:


Here is ESPN chiming in with their gossip:


Here are the up-to-the-minute standings in MLB:


Here are the individual league leaders in MLB:


News from the gridiron . . .

The Herald’s Manny Navarro and Susan Miller Degnan have the latest scoop from the University of Miami as the Canes prepare for their first “game” this Friday night against the University of Boca Raton (FAU):


Here’s David Neal’s reports from FIU:


Lots of freshmen are expected to see considerable action for FIU this season - a season that, at this point, looks to be a LOOOONG  season.


Here’s the latest from Tallahassee and FSU:


We have to include the Gators, right?


Dolphins lost against the Bucs, but there’s no reason to frown.  Unless we talk about their Red Zone offense, or lack thereof.


Here is Armando Salguero’s daily Dolphin report from the Miami Herald:


The Fins close out their preseason this Thursday, August 29 against the New Orleans Saints here at the Seven Names Stadium.  Channel 4 in Miami will handle the telecast, game time is 7:30 pm.

Miami opens the regular season in Cleveland against the Browns on Sunday, September 8, at 1:00 pm.  

Here are the details and summaries of this past week’s games:


Here is the schedule for the last week of preseason football:

THURSDAY

Detroit Lions @ Buffalo Bills                      7:00 pm
Indianapolis Colts @ Cincinnati Bengals      7:00 pm
Philadelphia Eagles @ NY Jets                   7:00 pm
New Orleans Saints @ Miami Dolphins         7:30 pm
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Atlanta Falcons        7:30 pm
Pittsburgh Steelers @ Carolina Panthers       7:30 pm
NY Giants @ New England Patriots              7:30 pm
Washington Redskins @ Tampa Bay Bucs      7:30 pm
Cleveland Browns @ Chicago Bears             8:00 pm
Houston Texans @ Dallas Cowboys            8:00 pm
Green Bay Packers @ Kansas City Chiefs      8:00 pm
Tennessee Titans @ Minnesota Vikings         8:00 pm
Baltimore Ravens @ St. Louis Rams            8:00 pm
Arizona Cardinals @ Denver Broncos            9:00 pm
San Francisco 49ers @ San Diego Chargers 10:00 pm
Oakland Raiders @ Seattle Seahawks         10:00 pm

Here’s ESPN’s NFL Nation Blog, with news from all around the league:


We can all continue to sleep at night, knowing full well that Hernandez remains in jail, where he belongs.  

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NOTE TO ALL KIDS AGES 5-16:

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I’m selling three lots totaling a little over five acres in the beautiful North Carolina mountains, overlooking the New River, a quick 35-minute drive from Boone and Blowing Rock.  Click here to see some photos and feel free to contact me if you have any questions: 


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THE ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION:  Miguel Cabrera is only the third player to reach the .360 average, 42 homers, and 128 RBI through 130 games in baseball history.  Who are the other two? 

A couple of “no-names” - - - Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth, and both of them did it twice in their careers.

Behave yourselves, and always remember that tomorrow will bring us a brand new day. 

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