When Terry Porter went away, so did the Suns defense. But apparently, the fast-paced offense that made fans all over the nation love the Suns — before GM Steve Kerr imploded the team and Mike D’antoni went to the Knicks — is back. Before Sunday’s contest against the Celtics, the Suns had scored 140+ points in each contest since the All-Star break, going an impressive 3-0 under new coach Alvin Gentry. Of course, that included back-to-back games against the Clippers and then one against the Thunder, and neither of those teams exhibit what would be anyone’s idea of tight D.

Sunday started off on pace for another 140 point performance despite the Suns missing superstar Amare Stoudemire, who is out eight-to-10 weeks after eye surgery, and the Celts missing Kevin Garnett, who is also out at least two weeks, courtesy of a knee injury.

That being said, the lack of defense for the Suns stuck out like a stupid twist in an M. Night Shyamlanan movie. Despite giving up a monster 38 points to the KG-less Celtics in the first quarter, they trailed by only five thanks to another solid early shooting performance by Leandro Barbosa. The second quarter saw the sizzling Suns cool off, which makes it difficult to stay in the game with their lack of defense. The Celtics continued shooting well, outscoring the Suns 30-21 in the quarter, led by Rajon Rondo’s 14 points, to enter halftime with a commanding 68-54 lead, with eyes on a blowout.

The third quarter featured the trading of baskets by the two teams as the Suns could never cut the lead down under 11, and Phoenix entered the fourth quarter trailing by 13, clearly suffering the loss of Stoudemire more than the Celts were missing The Big Ticket.

The game was essentially over as the Atlantic-leading Celts pulled away and cruised to a 128-108 victory behind 89 points from Rondo, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce. For the contest, Boston shot a ridiculous 63 per cent from the field. Hey Suns fans, at least you’re back to that D’antoni offense you all missed!

By the way, with both Rondo and Allen going for over 30 points, it marked the first time that both members of the Boston’s starting backcourt scored at least 30 in the same game since January, 1977, when — ghet ready for it — Jo Jo White and Charlie Scott turned the trick. How’s that for some retro Beantown love?

Who to Watch

Rajon Rondo, PG: He’s already obviously a must-start in any fantasy league, but Sunday was just more evidence of how fast-rising this young superstar is. And he did it all on his 23rd birthday, no less. With KG out, he picked up the slack, scoring a career high 32 points while also dishing out 10 assists, giving him his fourth double double of the month (including a triple double). With Garnett expected at least a couple of weeks, Rondo will likely up his scoring greater than his season average of 11 (and, in fact, he’s scored at least 15 points in each of the past three games). He also shot an impressive 13-for-18 from the field on Sunday, although he did, as usual, struggle from the line, going only 5-for-9. Unless you are intentionally trying to throw the league, start Rondo and expect a boost in production. Is it just me, or has Rondo become a serious leader on this team of leaders?

Brian Scalabrine, C: Give the big red head some love! He takes a lot of bashes for being a waste of space, but the he can produce when asked upon. With Garnett out, Scalabrine showed he might be somewhat useful, pouring in 14 points and hitting a pair of treys. However, I’d like to see more than two boards from my big man. If you’re worried about rebound production with KG out, Scalabrine might not be the best option as he’s a bit more of a perimeter player, but if he gets you close to 10 points a game, that might prove useful in a very deep league. He might be a reach, but if he continues to have games like Sunday I’d say he’s worth watching, at the very least.

Leandro Barbosa, SG: The Brazilian Blur is finally an offensive threat again after the wheelchair Porter offense was removed. Of course, the loss of Stoudemire and his shifting into the starting lineup sure helps, too. After scoring a career-high 41 against the Clippers in his last contest, Barbosa had a more modest showing on Sunday going for 18 points, four rebounds, two assists, three steals one three-pointer and even a block, to fill the stat sheet. A rarity on a team that doesn’t play much defense, Barbosa will get you some steals with that crazy speed and he’s shown since the break that he is capable of putting up crazy good numbers in the Gentry era. If you have him and haven’t reinserted him into your lineup get your head out of your you know what and put him back in. And if you’re in a shallow league, check the wire to see if he’s been dropped; it’s possible, considering what a disappointing season it’s been up until now for Barbosa.

Louis Amundson, PF: Amundson figures to get a lot of playing time with Stoudemire out, but he better not piss off any more of the league’s thugs like he did to Zach Randolph of the Clippers or he’ll expect another “POW! right in the kissa.” Amundson didn’t see enough PT to be useful e on Sunday, going 2-for-4 from the field for four points and only one rebound. He’s only averaged 3.6 points and 3.3 rebounds this season, but the 26-year-old UNLV product had a nice showing on Tuesday, when he got smacked by Randolph, but still dropped in 13 points with eight boards. Don’t pick him up yet, but monitor the next few games to see how his PT progresses, and if he can average closer to 25 MPG, he might be worth a pick up, especially if you are one of the unfortunate few to have been playing Stoudemire.

The Detroit reserves helped cut the lead to 45-42 late in the second quarter, but the Blazers scored the last five points of the half to enter the locker room with an eight-point lead at 50-42.

The third quarter saw the teams trade basket for basket as Rip Hamilton knocked down a jumper at the end of the period to cut the lead to six at 70-64. The Blazers then went on to control the fourth quarter, outscoring the Pistons 26-21 as LaMarcus Aldridge went on a scoring run to help seal the deal in a 96-85 victory. He finished with 27 points, and is clearly over his early-season struggles.

Portland has won four straight and is now 11-3 since its 1-3 start to the season, pushing its overall record to 12-6, good for a share of first place in the Northwest Division. Better yet, by beating the Pistons in Detroit, Portland got a much needed road win against a good team. The only other strong club the Blazers have beaten on the road this season is Orlando. If the Blazers can’t beat any decent Western teams on the road, this is going to be a problem come playoff time.

Detroit has fallen to 10-6, putting it in second place in the Central Division.

Fantasy Factor

Rudy Fernandez, SG: The Spaniard rookie has shown he can hit the three. In fact, he has hit a three in every contest this year, making him just the third rookie in the last 12 NBA seasons to connect from downtown in 18 straight games. While Sunday wasn’t his best performance by a longshot as he went only 1-for-4 from the field, he is getting consistent playing time and shooting an effective 43 per cent from downtown. Fernandez’s 11.6 points per game and nearly 95 per cent free throw clip make him a valuable commodity so if he is not starting yet, it can’t hurt to put him with his 20 minutes per game and effective shooting percentage. In the upcoming week, keep your eye on his tender ankle, which he hurt Friday night, although he remained in the game. He’s winding up on the waiver wire in some leagues, but I think Fernandez still has plenty of value — just ride out his current slump if you can.

Nicholas Batum, SF: Another Portland rookie import, this time from France, Batum earned the start on Sunday and put up decent numbers, chipping in seven points, seven rebounds, four assists and a block. This 19-year-old (he’ll be 20 in a couple of weeks) has been earning more playing time of late, capped by a 15-point performance against Miami on Wednesday. If he is available in your deep league, it can’t hurt taking a look at him as the Blazers continue to experiment with their influx of young players. Batum has the talent, but might take sometime to develop. If he’s going to continue to get 30+ minutes like he did Sunday afternoon, however, that development may accelerate.

Rodney Stuckey, PG: The second-year guard out of Eastern Washington University, so highly touted coming into the season, has started to turn in more effective efforts recently, some might say even more than Iverson at this point. Sunday was no different, as he poured in 15 points and added six rebounds, five assists, a steal and a block in 26 minutes. Despite the trade for Iverson, Stuckey is the first man off the bench and is contributing positive numbers, although I’d like to see his accuracy improve. AI’s body typically takes a beating through the year so there is the potential of Stuckey getting enough minutes throughout the season and if that is the case you can feel confident in starting him on your squad as he is showing the ability to score and dish out assists. Many gave up on him after a sluggish start, but if you stuck with Stuckey, you’re being rewarded now.

Kwame Brown, C: Brown got the start on Sunday and showed why he has been one of the biggest busts of the last 10 years. In 20 minutes he scored just six points and only hauled down two rebounds, although he did record a block for the second straight game. As soon as Antonio McDyess rejoins the Pistons (which he’s already said he’ll do), don’t expect Brown to get much playing time as he has been ineffective in his role thus far with the Pistons, averaging 4.1 points and only 3.6 rebounds. Once upon a time, he did some decent work on the offensive glass for the Wizards, but of course he was playing twice as much as he is now. Do not start him! In fact, unless you’re in one of those super jumbo leagues (say, 25 teams or more) do not even own him.

What are the Pistons doing on Saturday nights, by the way? They’ve lost four straight Sunday games. On any other day, they’re 10-2, but on Sundays they are getting bitch-slapped by an average of 17 points. Are they all on the ‘Sheed schedule?

Portland’s starting five outscored Detroit’s starters 74-52, while the Pistons’ bench outgunned the Blazer bench by 11. Parallel universe? Wasn’t the bench the Achilles’ Heel for Detroit for the past several years?

Brandon Roy had a rather pedestrian line (for him), especially since he went nuts Friday with 25 points and a season-high 10 assists. Roy’s shooting is much better from beyond the arc this season (38 per cent) and that’s helped him up his scoring, but his owners have to be a bit upset that his steals, assists and rebounds have all slipped.

It looks like Greg Oden is finally getting acclimated to the NBA. He recorded his second double-double in the past three games, pulling down a career-best 13 rebounds while also swatting a trio of balls and stealing one. Better yet, he got to play 30 minutes or more for just the second time, as coach Nate McMillan slowly loosens the reins.

Hamilton wound up with 18 points. Just another day at the office, right? Maybe not — this was his best point total in two weeks, if you can believe that. Rip’s shot just isn’t falling this season, but if you’re seeking a sign that he’s coming out of it, he’s hit exactly half of his shots over the last three games. Buy-low candidate?

Iverson is in a serious funk in Motown. He drained a mere 2-of-9 shots for nine points — the second time in his last four games he failed to reach double digits. In fact, Iverson hasn’t topped 17 points since November 19. It’s pretty obvious he won’t be delivering late-first/early-second round value as long as he’s a Piston.

Could it be time to take another look at Amir Johnson, also a fantasy darling heading into the season? In 23 minutes off the bench Sunday, he sunk 4-of-5 for eight points and added eight boards. If he can consistently get around 25 minutes, he’s worth owning for those blocks and boards.

Arron Afflalo has been seeing more action off the bench recently, and he had enjoyed back-to-back strong games until throwing up a stinker Sunday (0-for-2, two points in 20 minutes). Keep him on your radar, and if his PT continues to rise, Afflalo could be a sleeper, but for now, leave him where he is — on your waiver wire.

Steve Blake wasn’t at his best Sunday, managing just one three pointer and 10 points, but he did drop seven dimes and pull down a couple of boards in a hefty 36 minutes. Clearly, the job remains his, despite occasional flashes of brilliance from Sergio Rodriguez. Although he only made one trip to the charity stripe Sunday, Blake is getting to the line a bit more this year and has been absolutely lights out (96 per cent). In fact, the dude hasn’t missed a FT in three weeks. Still, he’s a marginal fantasy player, not picking up enough assists or scoring enough to be truly useful, but maintaining some value because of his 3-point shooting.

Anyone notice that Tayshaun Prince was stapled to the bench for much of the game? He played a mere 22 minutes — the first time all season that he hadn’t gotten at least 30 minutes, and Detroit coach Michael Curry wasn’t shy about the reason why: “He just wasn’t playing well.” Overall, however, Prince has been strong, averaging career highs with 15.1 PPG and 6.5 RPG.

The Mets started things off early with a one out single in the second by Endy Chavez. Brian Schneider then singled followed by a Perez sacrifice and a Jose Reyes walk to load the bases. Luis Castillo then legged out an infield single to put the boys from Queens up early, 1-0.

The third inning saw the recently rejuvenated Carlos Delgado hit a solo home run to push the score to 2-0, which would prove to be enough support for Perez.

Perez sailed through the first six innings, not running into any trouble until the seventh inning when Yankee reserve Wilson Betemit hit a solo home run, providing the only run the Yankees would score on this day. Despite a Reyes error that followed, Perez was able to finish out the frame to cap a very strong outing.

For having such a sparkling ERA on the season (1.91), Met closer Billy Wagner has an unusual amount of blown saves with five. The usually reliable Wagner has struggled at times this season and the ninth inning Sunday was no exception as he allowed a leadoff single to Derek Jeter followed by a wild pitch that allowed the Yankee captain to advance to second. Wagner was able to compose himself and retire Alex Rodriguez, Jorge Posada and Betemit in order to finish off his 18th save of the season as he closes in on an 11th 20-save season.

Fantasy Factor

Perez has had an up and down season, but Sunday was definitely an up (as it usually is vs. the Yanks, whom he is now 5-1 in his career against). With the win, he pushed his record to 6-5 on the season and with eight strikeouts he catapulted his season total to 76 through 90 1/3 IP. It was his first win since June 13 at Texas and he finished the month off with a 2-2 and an ERA over five and a quarter. After such a strong comeback season in 2007, right now, Perez just isn’t showing signs of consistency, so it is a big risk to put him in your lineup unless you are in dire need of strikeouts which he will indeed get you (although, again, not at the same pace he did last year). In many leagues, in fact, Perez has found himself on the waiver wire.

Castillo has had a worse year than Hillary Clinton as he currently sits at only .260 on the season. But if Sunday was any indication, he might be heating up as he went 3-for-5 with a RBI. While Castillo sports a career average of .293, his current BA of 33 points below that hurts especially, given his constant lack of power production with only three home runs and 26 RBI (although, believe it or not, that puts Castillo on pace for career highs in both departments). On the plus side, with 13 steals on the season, he’s on pace for his finest running year since he was a Marlin. Keep one eye on him in case Sunday’s three hit-performance and Friday’s career-high five-run game are any indication of things to come the second half of the season, but keep him far far away from your lineup right now.

Ryan Church made his return from the DL Sunday with two base hits to push his batting average over the .300 barrier. He has ten home runs and 35 RBI on the season and has been one of the many fantasy surprises of 2008. Church showed on Sunday that rust will not be a factor after a brief stint on the DL. He is a nice all around player so if a spot is open, go ahead and put him in your lineup. There’s a slim chance he is still available on your wire, but that will likely vanish very shortly.

Darrell Rasner had another decent but not spectacular start for the Yankees on Sunday going five innings while allowing only two runs, as his record slid to 4-6 on the season, while his ERA shrunk slightly to 4.42 ERA. Rasner is relatively young – only 27 – but hasn’t shown many flashes of brilliance other than a seven inning shut out performance against Baltimore on May 21. In ten starts, Rasner has factored into the decision every time while lasting at least five innings in each contest except one. Rasner might have better long-term value than short term as he continues to work throughout the summer to improve his stuff. In keeper leagues, it might be worth trying to acquire him but in a non-keeper league his value is not much this season. I’d recommend either dumping him or benching him until he shows more consistency.

Melky Cabrera had another less than stellar outing going 0-for-3 dropping his average to .246 midway through the 2008 campaign. His power numbers aren’t vastly different than last year’s output of eight home runs and 73 RBI, but his batting average sits 27 points below last season’s mark. Cabrera is also only getting on base at a .312 clip, which definitely hurts for those of you in leagues which take OBP into account. Keep him as far away from your lineup as possible right now and consider dumping him should a more attractive outfield option present itself.

Jason Giambi came in as a pinch hitter on Sunday and flew out, but overall he has a solid comeback season. The Giambino currently has the most home runs on the Yankees with 17 and is getting on base at a .396 clip, so you know he’s receiving plenty of free passes. While his .262 batting average is not spectacular, it is much better than the paltry .236 Giambi hit last season. If your league takes OBP into account, and you need some power production, start Giambi as his fantasy value has reemerged throughout the course of this season. Notwithstanding a recent slump, he’s enjoyed a very fine June as he continues to put an abysmal April in the rear view mirror.

The Yanks finally cooled off David Wright, although despite an 0-for-3, he did manage to drive in his 64th run in 80 games with a sac fly. Wright has been backsliding since the season began, but his play over the past week (.476, three homers, eight RBI) suggests that July could be the start of a huge second half. Note that he’s been a significantly stronger second-half player in the last three years, so if his owner is a bit frustrated with Wright’s first half, now is a perfect time for you to make an offer.

Yankees reliever David Robertson made his big league debut, giving up four hits, a wild pitch and a run in two innings. He whiffed one and walked none. Just 23, Robertson has fanned 169 batters in 125 career minor league innings for a K/9 of 12.17. A closer at Alabama in college, Robertson has future closer written all over him, so keeper league owners pay attention.

Do you think Reyes is a factor in the Mets’ fortunes at all? He has scored at least one run in each of the team’s last 13 wins. He’s enjoying a strong year, but has just one extra-base hit in the past week. Still, he has a career high in OBP and is on pace to match his career high in runs, and that’s what you need from your lead-off man.

Joe Saunders continued his surprising breakthrough season for the Angels by tossing 7 1/3 innings, scattering six hits while striking out three for his tenth win. Jorge Campillo was almost as impressive in his seventh start of the season for the Braves, hurling a complete game seven-hitter, fanning seven and walking none.

The Braves threatened in the first inning after a Yunel Escobar lead-off single was followed by a Kelly Johnson single, putting runners on first and second with no outs. But early season NL MVP favourite Chipper Jones struck out in the next at bat followed by a Mark Teixeira double play grounder that ended the threat. Unfortunately, this was likely the best chance Atlanta had all day to get on the board.

The teams continued to toss goose eggs at one another be scoreless until the fifth inning when the Halos tallied the only two runs of the game. Vladimir Guerrero (who’s heating up, having hit safely in a season-best seven straight games) led off with a double, but after a Torii Hunter strike out, Casey Kotchman , one of the season’s most pleasant surprises, stepped up to the plate and whacked his seventh home run of the season (but first since late-April), putting the Angels up 2-0 and starting and ending the scoring on the day with one swing of the bat.

The Braves threatened one more time in the sixth with another single by Escobar as well as a single by Teixeira. A Saunders wild pitch by Saunders advanced the runners to second and third with two outs, but Jeff Francoeur harmlessly flied out to end the inning, effectively ending the threat for the Compton South Dakota Angels of California.

Francisco Rodriguez relieved Saunders in the ninth and mowed down the side for his major league leading 28th save, pushing the Angels record to 42-28, while the Braves slid to 34-36, dropping into a tie with the Mets for third place in the NL East.

Fantasy Factor

Escobar, a Cuban defector, has quickly become a major fantasy factor among other emerging young shortstops around the majors. He is making the Braves’ front office look smart after dealing away Edgar Renteria this past offseason. Escobar has already topped his rookie totals with six dingers and 30 RBI, while batting a very solid .303. In keeper leagues, it’s worth your while to try to acquire him him in the long run as he is only 25 years old (well that’s his listed age, anyways; maybe he’s 38 a la Miguel Tejada) and is producing in only his second year in the majors. While finding him on waivers in any league would be next to impossible, make sure this guy is in your starting lineup constantly as he is getting on base at an impressive .379 clip and will only continue to improve with each game.

Francoeur has been struggling mightily this season. For the second straight year, he looks headed for under 20 home runs, as he has only bashed eight this season, and with a .253 BA, the progress he made in his hitting last season has been lose. After a horrid May, he’s been slightly better in June, but at .264 with only two round trippers, I’d hardly term it a recovery. With his OPS sitting at only 722, it might be time to sideline the young the outfielder until he starts performing at the level you drafted for. This is especially an issue if your fantasy league factors in OBP, where his currently sits at a putrid .303. July is historically Francoeur’s best month, so try to be patient.

Johnson, the Braves’ keystone corner man, has been putting up respectable numbers that could definitely help out your fantasy team. While he only went 1-for-4 on Sunday, and is in a mini slump the past few days, he’s batting .283 for the year, with a respectable seven home runs, putting him on pace for a new career high in dingers. Johnson will steal you a handful of bases, accumulating six so far on the season, also well on pace for a new career best in that department. He is just 26, so if you are in a keeper league it’s definitely worth your while to hold on to him as the middle infield tandem of Escobar and Johnson has plenty of room for growth.

Saunders is having a monster season, moving into a tie for the league lead in wins on Sunday. A 10-3 record with an ERA of just 3.06 will likely land him a spot on the All-Star roster as well as a potential big contract down the road. He won’t strike out many (only 46 on the season, and a declining K/9 for the second straight year), but thanks to the Ws and his control (leading to a nice WHIP), Saunders has been a major fantasy find this year, so kudos to those of you who had the foresight to jump on his early in the season. Prior to this season, Saunders, who turns 27 today (Happy Birthday Joe!) had a career high of just eight wins, set in 2007. Well, not only has he already surpassed that this season, but he’s headed for a ridiculous 23 wins. If you have the pieces, take a look at trading for this stud as he might be reaching the peak of his pitching in the next couple of years. Given his weak K totals, Saunders is a true stud in 4 x 4 leagues.

If you didn’t already know that K-Rod is a stud, then you’ve been in hibernation for the greater part of this decade. This season, even though his K rate is uncharacteristically low, he is really dominating, leading the majors with 28 saves while chalking up a miniscule ERA of 2.03. I’m not even going to give you advice about him fantasy wise because if you need it, you shouldn’t be playing fantasy baseball. Unless it’s involving a trade. Then, I’ll help you.

Gary Matthews, Jr. is showing that his career season two seasons ago might have indeed been a little PED-induced (at least if just looking at his BA). In the Angels’ logjam of an outfield, he is batting only .243 which is by far the worst among the underperforming star outfielders. Matthews’ seven home runs and 31 RBI put him just a bit off the pace of his career year with the Rangers in which he belted 19 home runs and knocked in 79 while batting .313, the season that earned him a huge contract from the Angels. Fortunately, Matthews is headed in the right direction, batting .348 in June with a couple of stolen bases already. Given how hot he’s been, he’s worth another look on the waiver wire and if you already own him, Matthews should be a regular in your lineup as he could give you a power boost as well as offer some help in the always-hard-to-find stolen base category.

It’s conceivable (but highly unlikely) that depending how big your league is, Kotchman could be out there, as he’s cooled off considerably this month. Take a peek; you don’t want to miss an opportunity if some bonehead dumped him.

Scot Shields tossed his ninth straight scoreless outing, trimming his ERA to a sparkling 2.81 through 25 2/3 IP. After enduring a rough May, Shields is rolling, making him a superb target in AL-only leagues, especially those tracking holds.

Atlanta youngster Brandon Jones smacked a single to give him a 6-for-11 series against the Halos. Time to invest in this kid in NL-only leagues, and definitely in any keeper league.

Erick Aybar is making progress in his rehab, so it won’t be long until Maicer Izturis’ fantasy use could wane. Stay on top of this situation as Aybar was enjoying somewhat of a breakout before busting a digit last month. Izturis, by the way, has been heating up big time, but his 13-game hitting streak came to an end Sunday.

Since coming back from his quad injury, Chipper is just 2-for-15, dropping him to a mere .402. What a stiff, eh?

With the Dodgers already training 1-0 in the bottom of the first, LA lead-off man Juan Pierre singled. Pierre promptly stole second, and after Andre Ethier popped out, Pierre made it to third on a Geovany Soto throwing error. The man with the porn ’stache, Jeff Kent, then followed up with an RBI groundout, scoring Pierre and pushing the Dodgers back to a 1-1 tie after the Cubbies tallied in the top of the first thanks to a Mark DeRosa round tripper.

From there on, the Dodgers bats were quieter than a silent film as they managed a measley three hits over the final eight innings, not being able to touch Marquis or relievers Carlos Marmol and Kerry Wood.

The Cubs’ bats came alive again in the fifth when DeRosa knocked in his second run of the game, scoring Alfonso Soriano. That was followed by an RBI double from third basemen Aramis Ramirez. This was more than enough run support for Marquis as he pitched one of his best games of the young season and the Cubs continued their hot streak and pursuit of their first title since 765 B.C. (or around there).

Fantasy Factor

Soriano went a modest 1-for-5 in Sunday’s contest, dropping his batting average to a still decent .279. Soriano is never going to win a batting title, but from a fantasy standpoint, he’s all about his high homer numbers and ability to steal bases. On the season, he sits at a robust 15 dingers and a solid 40 RBI, tops for all lead-off hitters in baseball. If you can afford to take a hit on that .320 OBP (only a factor in OBP leagues), then he remains fantasy gold as his power and speed will pay nice dividends.

For the past few seasons, DeRosa has been a great super-sub type to own, but this year he’s enjoying a serious breakout. He went 3-for-5 on Sunday with two RBI, pushing his average over the .300 barrier at .303. With eight home runs and 34 RBI on the season, he is near the top of heap for second basemen in production. Combine that with his .391 on-base percentage and this guy is easily having a career year. If he continues at this pace, DeRosa could finish the season with around 20 home runs and 90 RBI, more than solid numbers for a second baseman.

Marquis had a solid start, only allowing one unearned run for his 89-pitch effort, while issuing just one walk — a nice recovery after he experienced a serious breakdown in his control the last time out. Marquis pushed his record to 4-3 on the season, lowering his ERA to 4.54. Dating back to May 18 in a game against Pittsburgh, Marquis hasn’t allowed more then three earned runs in a contest, going at least five innings in each of those five starts. While Marquis will never be your ace, if you are thin in the starting pitching department it can’t hurt to take a look in NL-only leagues since he is on a strong Cubs team and should continue to rack up more Ws as long as the Cubs stay hot.

While Dodger starter Brad Penny managed to toss his second straight quality outing Sunday, he still took the loss falling to 5-8 on the season with a Roseanne-like ERA of 5.38. Shockingly, in just 14 starts, Penny has double the losses he suffered in 33 starts in all of 2007. He allowed only three runs in six innings of work, but was unable to receive any run support and that lead to his ultimate downfall. After a 5-2 start, Penny has lost his last six decisions, and something just isn’t gelling right now (perhaps that 8.82 May tipped you off?). Is he hurt? I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up on the DL sooner rather than Later. Despite being a solid proven starter, you can’t rely on him on your staff right now. I like the fact that he’s turning it around so far in June, but it sure would be nice to see some Ws.

You take what you can get with Pierre. He will get you a handful of hits and a decent average, but will produce little to no power numbers (in fact, he’s headed for the worst full-season slugging mark of his career this year). He went 2-for-4 on Sunday with his usually Speedy Gonzalez stolen base (that’s 23 on the season now). His .281 batting average won’t hurt your team, but his zero home runs and weak 18 RBI won’t exactly help. If you need stolen bases and a slight average boost, Pierre’s your man.

At the age of 40, has Kent finally passed his twilight? He went 0-for-4 on Sunday, dropping his average to a Seattle Mariner-like .251 on the season, not good for a number three hitter (where he’s hit in the past few games), let alone a hitter in the nine hole. For the season, he does have eight home runs and 29 RBI, better power numbers than we’ve seen from him the past couple of years, but he’s been very inconsistent. At this stage of career, he is not reliable and you would be better suited starting someone else at second base if you have that luxury.

But that may have changed last week. On Tuesday, the Reds called up the number one prospect in baseball, Jay Bruce, and it paid huge dividends all week as the team capped off a 5-1 week on Sunday by beating the Atlanta Braves.

Rookie Johnny Cueto hurled a gem, allowing only two runs in seven innings on 100 pitches.

The Reds started things off early, tagging Atlanta ace Tim Hudson for three runs in the first four innings. Hudson was able to last another three-plus innings, only allowing one more run, but an error by Yunel Escobar in the seventh led to two unearned runs off Blaine Boyer, pushing the lead to 6-2 after the Braves had cut the lead to 3-2 in the previous inning behind back-to-back homers by Mark Teixeira and Brian McCann.

Reds’ reliever Jared Burton came in for Cueto in the eighth and scattered two hits in two innings to close the game for Cincy, finishing a noisy week which saw rookie sensation Bruce bat .591 in his first six big league games (all of which he started in right field).

The Reds record currently sits at 28-29 and they are 7.5 games back of the Cardinals, but with an impressive 7-3 run in their last ten, they’re making some noise. Bruce’s promotion has clearly provided a spark, so look for things to potentially heat up in Reds’ land.

Fantasy Factor

How can I not talk about Bruce? Just looking at his first six boxscores makes me blush. After a half dozen games in the majors, he has a six-game hitting streak and a .591 batting average with two home runs, six runs batted in, and an impressive six walks, showing he has a keen eye at the plate — rare footage for a youngster. While most were surprised, frustrated, even angry when he wasn’t named to the Opening Day roster, fear not because Bruce time is here and if his first week is any indication of what is to come then we have something special on our hands. If he is not claimed in your fantasy league yet, don’t be foolish; pick him up and start him now.

Cueto started the year off masterfully and nearly every owner was rushing to get him after he allowed only three runs in 13 1/3 innings. He then hit a slump, common to many rookies, as his ERA ballooned to way over the five barrier. But Cueto has shown he has good stuff still as he has allowed just four earned runs over his last two starts, resulting in two victories. He might be too inconsistent this season to be a huge fantasy factor, but look to this young hurler in the future to be a successful strikeout pitcher as he definitely has good stuff.

A few weeks ago, the rumors ran rampant that Griffey might be traded back to his first team, the Seattle Mariners. But now that the Reds are making a play towards respectability and the Mariners sit with nearly the worst record in baseball, this is more than likely not going to happen and Griffey will stick with this surging Reds’ team. His batting average is lower than one would like at a mere .255, but he has shown signs of heating up as he hit his 599th career home run on Saturday and went 3-for-9 over the weekend.

He also still sports a respectable .343 OBP, so at least he’s getting on base at a decent clip. I wouldn’t recommend him as a top outfielder but as a fourth or fifth outfielder on your team, he should be just fine.

Jerry Hairston Jr., the lesser known Jr. on the Reds, is the third shortstop the team has employed this season and, like the ones before him, is producing nicely. In 96 at bats, he is batting .344 with one home run and 11 RBI. Factor that in with a .390 OBP and it looks like you might have yourself a decent leadoff hitter. Don’t expect Hairston to bat at this clip all year as his career batting average sits at only .256. But he might be a viable short-term replacement option, especially if you were starting Jeff Keppinger at short.

Is Chipper Jones’ run for .400 finally winding down? Jones went 0-for-4 on Sunday, dropping his batting average to a pathetic .405, meaning he just barely finished May with his average over .400. That is just awful, I would cut him right away. Okay, kidding aside, Jones is completely locked in despite his 0-fer on Sunday. He probably won’t bat over .400 for the season, but it definitely looks like he is having a career year at the ripe age of 36.

With 12 home runs and 35 RBI, he is the best run producer for the Braves right now. He is also sporting a Barry Bonds-esque .489 OBP, meaning he is almost getting on base one out of every two at bats for you non-math majors. The point here is keep him in your lineup. He is a machine this year.

In his fourth year in the league, McCann is poised to take over as the best offensive catcher in baseball, and many scouts say he even remind them of Mike Piazza in his heyday. McCann went 1-for-4 on Sunday with a homer, his tenth jack of the season while also sporting a beefy 33 runs batted in. That puts him perfectly on pace for his first 30-homer, 100-RBI campaign. If you can find a way to get him on your team, do it, because he is a bona fide stud.

Hudson hit a rut on Sunday, surrendering four runs — three earned — in six innings as his record dropped to 7-4 on the season. Despite that, his ERA sits at a very nice 3.01 for the season and he is continually one of the leaders of a solid Braves’ staff. Unfortunately, he left the game with a tweak of his left hamstring on Sunday, so keep your eyes open on news alerts to monitor his progress and find out whether he can make his next start. If he can start, make sure he is in your lineup as he has had a great year.

Cleveland, the defending Eastern Conference Champions, was not really given much of a chance to get back to the Eastern Finals by most, but a tremendous defensive effort kept this team in this series and allowed the Cavs to take Boston to the brink.

Of course, the fact that Boston still hasn’t won a road game in the playoffs sure helps, doesn’t it?

Boston jumped out to a nice lead early, courtesy of a 12-0 run. But Cleveland burst right back with its own 9-0 run. Celts led by five, 18-13, at the end of one, with both teams shooting like crap. It looked like we had another defensive tussle on our hands. Super.

Yet again, Ray Allen was a non-factor, finishing 1-for-6 for four points and finding himself mired to the bench for much of the fourth quarter. Allen continued his ridiculously amazing free throw shooting – he’s now 32-for-33 (97 per cent) in the playoffs to lead the NBA – but he’s simply been unable to find his range from the floor in the postseason.

While he enjoyed a nice effort in Game Four against Atlanta, Ray Ray has been almost invisible otherwise. Without him, Boston is going to be in big trouble against a well-rested Detroit team in the Eastern Finals.

Paul Pierce looked determined to match LeBron James shot for shot Sunday, and he almost did. Pierce hasn’t actually been that much better than Allen in the playoffs, but he has enjoyed a few fine games. Sunday, however, he came out like gangbusters, sinking 4-of-8 for nine points in the opening quarter, and The Truth kept canning them, going 13-for-23 overall for 41 points – his finest game of the postseason at the most opportune time.

He sunk four treys, dished five dimes and picked up a couple of steals. Pierce’s offensive heroics were definitely needed with both Allen and Kevin Garnett (to a lesser extent) struggling. While KG pulled down 13 rebounds en route to his third double-double in the past four games, he wasn’t sharp from the field, sinking just 5-of-13 for 13 points.

Pierce’s explosion also helped offset that monster James game the Celts have feared was coming. King James nailed 14-of-29 shots for 45 points, and after a sluggish start to the series, LeBron really turned it on over the final three games, but it was not enough.

As per his claim, LeBron James and the Cavs never appeared desperate as they whittled the Celtic lead to three points late, but Boston was able to thwart the upstarts, setting up the Eastern Conference final against Detroit that seemingly the whole world has been projecting for months.

For Boston, Rajon Rondo’s shooting troubles continued, as he went just 5-for-16 over the final two games after stringing together solid efforts in both Game Four and Five. On the plus side, Rondo helped out across the board with eight assists, eight rebounds, a steal and even a block. This kid is maturing into a fine point guard before our eyes, averaging 6.5 APG during the playoffs. I don’t like his chances going head-to-head against Chauncey Billups in the next round, but the beauty of the Boston attack is that it does not rely strictly on Rondo as a facilitator.

Unsung hero of the day for Boston: P.J. Brown. The veteran stepped up when the Celts needed it down the stretch, with ten points, six boards, a steal and an assist. But the rare scoring burst only told a fraction of the tale, as Brown turned in several hustle plays, including a huge tip to keep a drive alive late.

Cleveland’s lack of secondary scoring doomed the team again. Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who came up big against the Wizards and was so good in the first two games in Boston, disappeared again. He went just 2-for-8 for eight points with just one block. And unlike Friday, when at least he played a key role on the glass, Sunday he managed just five boards. To his credit, Big Z was giving it his all, diving on the floor to force a jump ball with a minute to play. Still, 10-for-34 shooting for the past four games is not what the Cavs were counting on from their big man.

Delonte West continued to impress me, sinking 4-of-8, including two treys, for 15 points with five assists and a steal. I was very down on West, believing he just didn’t have what it took to be a one, while perhaps lacking the shooting touch to play the two guard spot. Clearly, he was lost in Seattle, a team so desperate for a point guard. But in Cleveland, where he is not expected to be the primary ball handler because James will carry that load, he’s found a home and surprised me with his steady play. The key for West has been his aggressiveness, as he’s doing a superb job of getting to the line. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that he’s sinking 85 per cent of his freebies, either. If you’re looking for a 2008-09 sleeper, add West to your list.

Wakefield only lasted 2 2/3 innings, giving up seven runs — six earned — raising his ERA on the season to 4.25. The Red Sox bats heated up briefly with one run in the third and three in the fourth, but the bullpen couldn’t hold the Twins in check, giving up runs in the fourth and the seventh innings. The Sox scored twice more in the seventh on Kevin Youkilis’ two run double, as the Youk-dog continued his torrid May similar to what he did last season. He’s batting .359 so far this month, with five doubles, six homers, ten runs, 14 RBI and six walks. It’ll do. Of course, the Greek God of Walks hit over .400 with six dingers last May, so he’s clearly a May man.

The BoSox entered the top of the ninth down three runs against the usually unhittable Joe Nathan and made some noise. They quickly collected three hits and scored two runs, but stranded the tying runner on base as Nathan was able to barely escape out of the inning for his 12th save of the season.

The win pushed the surprising Twins to 19-17 on the season, one game ahead of Cleveland for first in the AL Central, while the Sox fell to 24-16 with their lead over the Tampa Bay Rays shrinking to only 1.5 games. That’s right, the Rays. Seriously. I’m not joking. And it’s May.

Fantasy Factors

Youkilis has been putting on a rare display of power and production with an OPS of 1384 for the month and it looks like he might be on his way to becoming a top five fantasy first baseman. He went 2-for-5 on Sunday to raise his overall average to .319 on the season. Continue to ride Youkilis’ hot bat, but don’t be surprised if his power numbers start to level out as he is not typically known for the long ball (last season, he hit a career-best 16). May is clearly his month, so either start him on your team or sell him while his stock is high.

The real David Ortiz is finally starting to show up. After a dismal April in which he batted under the Mendoza Line at .198, Big Papi currently sits at .241 on the year, thanks to a .368 mark for the month of May. And to think Sox fans were worried! Ortiz currently has seven homers and 28 ribbies, and with his batting average still being lower than usual, you might be able to steal him from other owners. Big Papi just had a bad month, but trust me when I say…actually, when I guarantee…he will finish with 30+ home runs and 100+ RBI. Don’t say I didn’t tell you so when September comes around.

Wakefield finally put up a serious stinker. Prior to Sunday’s game, his worst outing was an eight inning performance in which he gave up five runs. Normally, he does very well in the Metrodome, heading in with a career mark of 7-3 with a 3.95 ERA. Owners shouldn’t be worried though, because from time to time the knucklers are going to get rocked. Half the time, they don’t even know where their pitch is going to end up. I wouldn’t start Wakefield unless you have a big time pitcher on the DL, in which case he is a nice fill in. Otherwise, his 27 Ks to 23 BB is not enough to make up for the fact that he’s a good source of Ws, likely headed for 15 wins on the season.

Joe Mauer is being outhomered by Ichiro Suzuki right now, 2-0. Now, that’s no knock on Ichiro as we all know he has some power, but the point is Mauer is batting in the three hole for the Twins and while he is hitting a superb .330, one would think he would have at least one dinger by now. He is sporting an excellent .409 OBP with a modest 15 RBI, and he went 1-for-4 again on Sunday, continuing a solid May. Mauer is one of the best catchers in the game, so obviously start him and hope he begins to mash a few home runs and produce some more RBI.

Craig Monroe went 2-for-4 with a grand slam in Sunday’s contest, raising his average to .284 on the year. Despite having a nice game, do not count on Monroe as he is a streaky hitter who is currently splitting time at DH for the Twins.

Justin Morneau’s average isn’t quite where we want it to be yet (.284), but he took a step in the right direction on Sunday, going 3-for-3 with a walk. Canada’s finest has a respectable six home runs on the season to go along with his 27 RBI, but has yet to go yard and has only produced five RBI so far this month . He is going to give you plenty of power, but unless he gets that batting average and OBP up a little bit, it might be worth looking at another option for first base.

Manny Ramirez, nursing a sore hammy, got the day off, but the fact that he pinch-hit in the ninth suggests he’ll be okay. Hopefully some down time with help ManRam redisover his early-season stroke. A 1-for-15 skid has him under .300 for the first time since April 15. Contract year, baby!

Mike Lamb enjoyed a nice weekend, going 5-for-9, but please remind me why the Twins signed this guy again? A 556 OPS? Uh, right. And the Twins actually believed this dude could be an everyday player.

With Manny sitting, Jacoby Ellsbury shifted over and handled left field. He took an 0-for-4, capping an ugly 1-for-12 weekend. The rook is playing, but not hitting particularly well so far this season. Coco Crisp, meanwhile, was in centrefield for the second straight day, and he went yard for the second straight game. He also tripled, stole a base and drove in three runs on Sunday. It’s about time to consider Crisp as a fantasy option, in AL-only leagues at the very least. He’s earned more PT, and if Ellsbury keeps flailing, Crisp will get it.

Matt Tolbert, an early season revelation, continues to struggle. He’s been playing second with Brendan Harris nursing a sore right hamstring, so Adam Everett has been manning short. But Everett hasn’t exactly taken his chance and run with it. He was 1-for-4 Sunday to get back to .200 on the year. Woo hoo! I’d say Tolbert needs not worry, about Everett at least.

Alex Cora returned from a DL stint because of his elbow. He’s been out almost a month, and got the start at short, lashing three hits, including a double. With Julio Lugo still dealing with the after effects of his concussion, and Jed Lowrie sent back to the minors, Cora could see some action this week.

Rookie Nick Blackburn earned the win for the Twins. He wasn’t overly sharp, giving up nine hits and four runs in six innings, but he walked just one and struck out five — his most in over a month. Blackburn is now over .500, but his ERA is approaching 4.00. He’s a decent option in deep AL-only leagues, but because of his lack of Ks, he’s best used in 4×4 leagues.

Mike Timlin appeared in his 1,032nd career game, moving him past Lee Smith and Jose Mesa into eighth place all-time. Unfortunately, after a solid 2007 campaign, the 42-year-old righty looks to be on his last legs, having giving up 16 hits and ten runs in nine innings this year. Start watching for a passing ice floe to toss the oldtimer onto.

Silva, who had previously shined since signing a four-year contract with the Mariners in the offseason, was clobbered by the Yankees as it appeared Hank Steinbrenner might have injected his whole squad with HGH prior to the third inning. The Pintripers posted six runs in the third and followed that up with two more in the fourth, knocking Silva out in his poorest performance since becoming a Mariner.

After the two-run first inning, the Mariners bats went cold again. Like their previous four contests, they could not get anything started as they managed just five hits over the final eight innings and were stifled by Darrell Rasner, making his first start this season.

In another rare showing, the Mariner bullpen actually held steady, not allowing another run the rest of the contest. But the eight runs tacked on Silva’s stat sheet were more than enough as the Yankees finished off their Seattle sweep.

Fantasy Factor

• Robinson Cano of the Yankees has been mired in a god awful slump to start the season, entering Sunday’s contest batting at a .151 clip. While he only went 1-for-4, he did belt a home run, something that could potentially reestablish some confidence he lost in April. It might be too early to reinsert him into your starting lineup, but keep a close eye on Yankee box scores in case Cano starts to wake up and hit at his usual .300 clip. This dude is way too good for this to continue much longer.
• Third basemen Adrian Beltre has enjoyed a solid start to the season and continued this on Sunday as he belted a two-run homer to account for the Mariner offense. He finished 2-for-4 on the day, and is up to .283 on the season with six home runs. Right now he is one of the few Mariners who is producing consistently. Leave him in your lineups.
• Derek Jeter had a monster afternoon, going 4-for-5 to raise his batting average above the .300 mark (.313). He could be labeled as Mr. Consistent in regards to fantasy baseball, and there’s no reason to not start him right now. It looks as if his injury is all healed up and he is ready to continue to produce good numbers in a powerful Yankee lineup.
• Signing his new three-year contract recently apparently did not cause backstop Kenji Johjima to remember how to hit the ball. He is batting a measly .184, going only 3-for-23 over his last nine games. He has been consistent in his three years in Seattle, but will soon turn 32 years old, which is getting a bit long in the tooth for catchers known for their offense. Maybe the Mariners gave him a contract extension too soon? We will see, but for now keep him on your bench as there are plenty of catchers who will at least bat over .200 for you!
• If you have not done so yet, pick up Rasner. Since Phil Hughes is out until at least July with a broken rib, and Ian Kennedy has not thrown the ball well (earning himself a demotion back to the minors), Rasner is almost guaranteed to stay in the rotation and he pitched great Sunday. Granted, the Mariner offense has been struggling mightily, but Rasner only allowed two runs in six innings on 76 pitches. If you need pitching help, he’s worth taking a look at.
• Ryan Rowland-Smith, who briefly had value when he was getting save chances with J.J. Putz out, has been horribly inconsistent, but he tossed two shutout frames Sunday. This Aussie showed promise as a rookie last year, but his command has been awful so far in 2008, making him a very shaky bet even in deep AL-only leagues.
• Kyle Farnsworth has pitched well this year — especially lately — so it’s surprising more owners aren’t giving him a longer look, particularly in leagues that track holds. After a down year in 2007, Farnsworth has improved his control, and is back to striking out over a batter per inning. Do note, however, that he will be called on the carpet Tuesday to hear his appeal of a three-game suspension he earned after throwing behind the head of Manny Ramirez last month. If Farnsworth’s suspension holds up, he won’t be seeing much action this week.
• Richie Sexson, who looked like he was getting his shit together recently before taking an 0-for-7 in the first two games of this series, was given a day off. Jose Vidro manned first in his place. Sexson has been healthy so far this season, and he’s recovered somewhat from his disastrous 2007 campaign, but he’s still nowhere near the slugger he was when he first arrived in Seattle and the years leading up to that. Still, an improved walk rate has allowed Sexson to lift his BA up to the point where at least he’s not straddling the Mendoza Line anymore. Hey, it’s something.

Welcome to the debut of Game Report, our periodic column that’s going weekly. Every week, I’ll focus in on one game and provide you with all the relevant fantasy tidbits from it. This week, we caught Sunday’s game with the Angels, who have been rolling without their top two starters, taking on the Tigers, off to a very sluggish start, but showing signs of life.

It has been the same story for Tiger starter Justin Verlander all year long. He starts off cruising and then abruptly smashes into a wall. Nothing was different on Sunday.

Verlander only gave up two runs through five innings and then was torched for four earned runs in the sixth, leading to his exit and, ultimately, a 6-2 victory for the Angels over the Tigers.

Torii Hunter, signed as a free agent this offseason, led the way for the Angels, going 2-for-4 with a bases-clearing triple and three RBI. Surging shortstop Erick Aybar also provided a nice punch, going 2-for-3 with three RBI to raise his average on the season to a robust .346.

Los Angeles starter Jered Weaver was as equally impressive on the mound as were his teammates at the plate. He allowed only two runs on four hits in 6 1/3 innings, raising his record to 2-3 on the season and lowering his ERA to 4.21.

Outside of outfielder Magglio Ordonez, the Tigers struggled to get anything going at the plate. Maggs went 2-for-2, but the rest of the lineup was only 3-for-24 and was unable to crack Weaver’s code.

The always reliable Scot Shields came into the game in the eighth inning and wrapped things up with two innings of shutout ball.

The Los Angeles Angels of Southern California Orange County Near Anaheim towards Tijuana now sit at 16-10, tied with the upstart Oakland Athletics in the AL West, while the Detroit Tigers (hey, what a simple name) sit at 11-15, mired in last place in the AL Central. I guess money doesn’t buy championships, but then again if you have seen the Yankees the last eight seasons, you already knew that.

Fantasy Factor

• While Weaver has gotten off to a mediocre start, he flashed his brilliance again Sunday which is why everyone is so high on the 25-year-old righty (that and the fact that he is not his gawd-awful brother Jeff). Continue to ride Weaver as he heats up right along with the weather.
• On the flip side, owners might want to bench veteran Gary Sheffield as he is batting a putrid .159 with only one home run. He is bound to pick it up eventually, but plug a different solution into your lineup in the meantime.
• Maicer Izturis, only playing because Howie Kendrick is hurting, left the game early with back spasms. This may be a blessing in disguise for fantasy owners, as Izturis has been awful, and this injury may precipitate the promotion of Brandon Wood. Chone Figgins shifted over to second when Izturis went down. As for Kendrick and is hammy, he’s expected to be activated this week.
• Edgar Renteria’s seven-game hitting streak was snapped, but he produced his 16th RBI of the year on a sac fly. He’s on pace for his second 100-RBI year and is batting .324. It’ll do.
• With another two hits Sunday, Casey Kotchman wrapped up a 5-for-11 series. We’ve been waiting on this breakout forever, and now it’s here as this kid is on pace for 200 hits. You want contact hitting? You got it. Kotchman has now gone six straight games without whiffing.
• Carlos Guillen (knee) was back in action after missing three games and it’s great to have him back considering he’s off to a monster start and was one of the only Tigers who was actually hitting when they started so weakly. Of greater interest from a fantasy perspective is the fact that Guillen was playing third base in place of Brandon Inge. Instead of shifting Miguel Cabrera back to third, Detroit opted to put a gimpy Guillen there. Interesting indeed. If nothing else, for leagues where only one game is necessary, Guillen now qualifies at third base, in addition to shortstop (from last year) and first base, making him an incredibly versatile commodity.

We were able to make it down to two of the three Red Sox-Jays games this week, and I have to admit to some confusion. I thought TBS only showed Braves’ games, but after witnessing this series I’m pretty damn sure I was watching TBS (as in the “Total Bitch Slapping” network). How else do you qualify such a sound thrashing? But I’m getting ahead of myself here. Let’s set the stage.

The Bosox came into the game comfortably in first place in the AL East, with half as many losses as the last-place Jays had accumulated. And of course, they had taken the first two games of this set by a combined 18-5 count. In going for the sweep, the Bosox’ opposing starter kept getting harder it seemed. First they were to take on Tomo Ohka, but he was moved up to face the music Wednesday, leaving Dustin McGowan to pitch the finale for the Jays. But that was switched and instead, Toronto sent its ace out in the form of Roy Halladay. Taking the third wasn’t going to be easy. Or maybe it was.

The Jays — in the midst of an eight-game losing skid (their worst in over five years) — desperately needed Doc to rebound from the shellacking he took in his previous outing. Saturday, Texas tagged Halladay for nine runs and a dozen hits (which tied the most he’s ever given up) in just 5 1/3 innings. If Toronto’s perennial Cy Young contender isn’t able to give the beleaguered bullpen a rest every five days, then this team is in real trouble.

Prior to that ugly start on the weekend, Halladay had been money, tossing quality starts in all six of his outings.

Game observations:

• John McDonald and Adam Lind were seen laughing together during the pre-game warmups. I’m surprised McDonald is still talking to the kid after Lind almost ended his career on Wednesday by undercutting him on a sliding play in which he didn’t call off the shortstop. Thursday, McDonald could clearly be seen mimicking going back on a fly ball and trying to explain to the rook, no doubt, that he can’t see anything behind him and has to count on the outfielder taking charge. I feel like I can’t say this enough: Lind is perhaps the best pure hitter the Jays have produced since Vernon Wells, yet he is a DH waiting to happen. Explain to me again why Toronto locked up Frank Thomas for two years?
• Speaking of Thomas, he was doing some signing before the game. A little girl ran over to him with a glove in her hand for him to autograph. The Big Hurt took one look at it and asked ‘what’s this thing, kid?’
• As part of the Cops for Cancer campaign, a police dude was getting his head shaved during the pre-game festivities. You should have seen the locks on this guy. He was a cop? Must have been in the undercover narc group or something. Scary stuff. Anyways, reliever Casey Janssen helped out with some shearing. I was shocked that Janssen didn’t cut the poor guy’s ear off or something. Jays’ pitchers don’t tend to have much control these days.
• Oh ya…you gotta love Sox fans. Some hottie walks up the aisle wearing a T-shirt that says “Love me, Ortiz me.” Uh, yeah. Sign us up for that.
• Halladay came in with a winning record (9-7) in his career against the Sox, but with a 4.46 ERA over 29 appearances (26 of them starts), he’s had some problems with Beantown. Of course, he’s been lights out this year, with a 1-0 mark and 2.93 ERA in his two starts against Boston.
• Lineup changes for the Sox: Kevin Youkilis is back after getting nailed by a pitch on Tuesday and sitting Wednesday with a sore leg, so he’s taken back the two-hole, shifting Coco Crisp back to seventh. With Tim Wakefield toeing the rubber, Doug Mirabelli is behind the dish and batting eighth, and Alex Cora is spelling Dustin Pedroia at second, a bit surprising as Pedroia has been on a tear, with hits in five straight games, including 9-for-14 over the past four. But Cora is swinging a mean stick himself, so what to do? More on Cora’s exploits later.
• The dude sitting beside me calls the beer guy over and pays for it with cash he just removed from a Led Zeppelin wallet. You know the type with the velcro? We all had them in 1983. Please tell me they don’t still make those things.
• The Jays bring out another choir for the national anthems. Someone please explain to me the obsession this organization has for marching dozens of people out onto the field before games. There were so friggin’ many people out there last night that they had to delay the first pitch. Halladay turned around and stared out towards the centre field fence, waiting for them to shut the door so he could get going. Of course, slamming the door on this losing skid proved more difficult.
• Youkilis wasted no time getting back into the groove, cracking a out-one double to right field. With You at second, Halladay and catcher Sal Fasano are having a bitch of time getting their signals straight. Halladay stares in for a long time and then shakes him off and gets Fasano to re-do the sequence. Finally, Fasano has to come out to the mound to discuss things. We’re two batters into the game and things are unravelling already. It gets worse when Halladay spins and fires the ball into centre field. That’s helpful. Youkilis scampers over to third and then scores on David Ortiz’s groundout.
• Wakefield struggles in the first inning, loading the bases with one one. But Thomas fanned and Troy Glaus was caught napping on first base to end the threat. What a horrible play. Of course, Glaus was not yet done with the ugliness.
• After the top of the second there is a promo for Shrek 3. They’re giving away these awesome little stuffed Shreks, but damn…they aren’t anywhere near my section.
• With one out in the bottom of the second, Aaron Hill strikes out and the ball goes to the screen. Mirabelli runs it down and throws him out. Wakefield’s personal catcher gets plenty of practice pulling this particular manoeuvre.
• It’s then Mike Lowell’s turn to flash the leather, stretching out to his left to spear a hot smash and throwing out the runner to end the second inning.
• Wakefield has settled down nicely after his first-inning struggles. He had come into this game with a 13-9, 3.86 mark in 42 career games (32 starts) against the Jays, however, he’s had his difficulties in the hitting-friendly confines of this park (5-3, 4.51 in 22 games, 15 of them starts). This year, he’s 1-1, 2.77 vs. Toronto.
• In the top of third, the Jays finally make a nice play. Cora slices one of the other way down the third base line that McDonald runs down (thankfully, Lind is not there to smash into him) and he makes an awesome play to hold Cora to a single.
• Youkilis then continues his mashing ways, smacking a liner up the middle that McDonald gets the tip of his glove on, but it scoots through for an RBI single. Ortiz’s gap shot on the very next pitch makes it 3-0 Sox.
• Boston adds another couple of singles for a fourth run and then Lowell comes up. Halladay gets ahead of him 0-2, but Lowell fights back and winds up launching a three-run homer. Bang. It’s 7-0 Boston, and — if you can believe this — fans start to leave. It’s the third inning.
• Damn, even the ineffectual Crisp is getting in on the fun, smoking a screaming double after Lowell’s long ball. That has the fans bellyaching for the bullpen to get going. Uh, hello? Have you guys seen the Jays’ pen? Besides, after Victor Zambrano couldn’t get out of the third on Tuesday and Ohka failed to go five Wednesday, there are some tired arms out there.
• As promised, more sparkling play from Glaus, who loses a Julio Lugo one-hopper in the lights in the top of the fourth. Something tells me he won’t be making appearances in the outfield any time soon. Lugo then steals second. Stealing a base with a 7-0 lead? Whatever. I’m surprised the Jays don’t throw at someone after that.
• Youkilis follows with another crushed ball, sending a double off the left field wall to make it 8-0.
• Wakefield has it on cruise control. After that skittish first, he doesn’t give up another hit until Vernon Wells leads off the seventh with a single. Glaus follows with a double play grounder to erase that mini threat. Like I said, great all around game for Glaus, who flashed all his deficiences on Thursday. The only thing he missed doing was striking out, a long time trait, but admittedly, something he’s been much better at during his quick start this season.
• The Jays have recently instituted a chili pepper race for the middle of the fourth inning akin to Milwaukee’s classic seventh-inning sausage race. It’s pretty lame. There’s only three of them, they run about 150 feet from the left field corner to third base and it’s totally staged as they are hamming it up and pretending to fall, etc. The best part Thursday was when some dude pulled a Randall Simon and reached over from the stands to drill one of them with his inflatable bat.
• All I can is thank Pink Floyd that Fasano’s handlebar ’stache is back. When he shaved it off because he became a Yankee it was a dark day for Hog-driving dirtbags everywhere.
• In the top of the sixth, Cora smacks a double. Did I mention he’s been killing the ball lately? Um, urine test, please. The dude is slugging .775. His career mark? Try .351.
• Youkilis hits a flare to second to end the sixth. It’s the first time the Jays have got him out this series. He was 3-for-3 with a hit by pitch Tuesday and was 3-for-3 Thursday before this at-bat. Give him four RBI in the past three games.
• Obviously I’m enjoying this beat down as a Sox fan, but not to sound like a jerk, honestly, I would prefer to see closer games than I’ve seen this week. The April series was far more entertaining. Again, not to be an ass, but there’s only so much enjoyment you can extract from totally pummeling your opponent.
• Manny Ramirez’s solid single in the top of the seventh is a good excuse to pull him and get Wily Mo Pena some action. Pena doesn’t get an at-bat, but I sure love watching him take BP. What a show he puts on. He does get to make a defensive play almost right away in the bottom of the seventh when Thomas rips a sinking liner that Pena scoops off the turf for the final out of the inning.
• In the eighth inning, the fans around me are talking about how good the Jays will be next year. Um, it’s May 10, people. Isn’t it a bit early to give up on this season? Of course, minutes later, those same people are overheard asking “who’s that?” when an ad appears on the Jumbotron for the upcoming Roger Waters concert. Uh, yeah. That rock you’re living under looks a bit big for me to help you.
• Hill fouls one back and McDonald has to dodge out of the way. Are the Jays trying to tell him something?
• It’s the top of the ninth and the Jays trail 8-0. That must mean it’s time for “closer” Jason Frasor to enter the game. Oh man.
• Eric Hinske pinch hits for Big Papi and the ensuing boos are the loudest the crowd has been all night. I already got on my soapbox about this last year, so no point in belabouring this particular issue.
• In the middle of the ninth the scoreboard prompts the crowd to “Make Some Noise.” Um, right. The reaction is tepid at best.
• Lyle Overbay smacked a pair of long balls Wednesday, indicating perhaps he was awakening from his funk. Uh, maybe not. He took an 0-for-3 and fanned twice last night. Toronto needs him flashing his 2006 form.
• How about Alex Rios? He goes 4-for-4 with a walk Wednesday and then takes and 0-for-4 Thursday, fanning once.
• So how many of you expected Wakefield to dominate Halladay? Wakefield threw seven shutout innings and rode a six-run third inning to an easy win. That third inning included 10 batters and six straight hits. The final carnage? 8-0 Sox. Three game totals for the sweep: 26-5 Boston. Wow.
• Wakefield, despite battling an illness, has enjoyed back-to-back lines of seven shutout innings with three hits allowed. He fanned five last night after managing just two in his last start and is now 4-3, 1.79 for the year. I love the fact that he walked only one — a season-low. If he isn’t walking anyone and not giving up hits, well…it doesn’t take a rocket scientist, does it? This is the Sox’ fourth starter, right? Now 40, what a great bounceback year it’s been for Wakefield. A rib cage injury caused him to struggle through a horrific 2006, but today, he is the AL’s ERA leader.
• That’s seven wins in the past eight games for Boston. Talk about teams heading in seriously opposite directions. For the Sox, it’s their first sweep in Toronto since July 2003.
• Halladay lasted just five innings, and was again shelled for 11 hits and eight runs — seven earned. In the last two starts, he’s given up 17 runs. Seventeen. He says he’s healthy, and judging by his stuff, the velocity of which is in his usual range, we don’t doubt it. But mechanical issues have him pitching all over the place and missing up in the zone way too much to survive.
• Halladay (4-2) hadn’t lost since August 31. Now he’s dropped two straight starts and remains stuck on 99 career wins.
• Leave it to Toronto to help get Manny going. He homered Wednesday in his favourite park and then smoked a pair of hits last night, his first multi-hit game since the weekend. He’s up to .250 now.
• How about Papi? After going hitless for three straight games, he’s driven in five runs in the past two games to reach 30 for the year. That puts him on pace to nearly duplicate his career high set in 2005.
• How much did Lowell enjoy his soujourn to the Northlands? He homered in every game of the series — the first time he’s gone yard in three straight games in four years. Boston was ready to deal him this winter and now he’s headed for a career-high 35 homers.
• Struggling Lugo scored a run in each of the last two games, the first time he’s scored in consecutive games since mid-April. Right now, his woes are lost in the bonanza of runs around him, but Lugo needs to pick things up out of the leadoff spot.
• Hideki Okajima completely had the Jays baffled in a perfect eighth inning appearance. Of course, he’s completely baffled the entire league so far, hence an ERA hovering just over half a run per game and 21 Ks in 17 IP. I guess he’s not just “that other Japanese pitcher” the Sox signed anymore.
• Boston is getting offensive contributions up and down the lineup currently. Last night, every starter except Mirabelli had at least one hit and seven different players scored runs. It’s all about balance, baby.
• Of course, the Red Sox are getting unbelievable pitching as well. In the last six games, they have not surrendered over three runs once. With Wakefield earning his fourth win, he joins Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Curt Schilling with at least that many wins. No other team in baseball has a quartet of four or more game winners already.
• The Jays’ last win came on April 30, when Halladay beat the Rangers. With nine straight losses, they have now matched their longest skid since the beginning of May 2002. I think after GM J.P. Ricciardi’s recent revelations about B.J. Ryan’s injury, his job has to be less than secure, but it’s definitely time to add manager John Gibbons to the death watch list.
• Speaking of Ryan, the bad news day continued as he underwent Tommy John surgery yesterday, ending his 2007 season. He may not be right until the All-Star break 2008 or later. Of course, J.P. saw this coming back in spring, didn’t he? And remind me what he did to prepare himself for this eventuality? Oh right…he let Francisco Rosario go.
• During this losing streak, the Jays have been outscored 72-27. There’s something symmetrical about that, isn’t there? I doubt they’re extracting any consolation from that, however.
• Are you wondering what the team record for consecutive losses is? That’s a reasonable question with the streak perilously close to double digits. The Jays dropped 12 in a row back in 1981. Next up is a three-game set at the Rogers Centre against Tampa Bay. It’s the battle for last in the AL East and if the Jays get swept by the Rays, they don’t deserve to get out of the cellar.
• On the bright side, this is the first time the Jays have been shut out this year. I think that’s the bright side, isn’t it?
]]> http://www.rotorob.com/2007/05/11/red-sox-heap-on-the-humilation-for-the-jays/feed/ 1 http://www.rotorob.com/2007/02/08/courtside-raptors-magic-report/ http://www.rotorob.com/2007/02/08/courtside-raptors-magic-report/#comments Thu, 08 Feb 2007 23:06:38 +0000 RotoRob http://www.rotorob.com/basketball/courtside-raptors-magic-report/
Since T.J. Ford got hurt, Jose Calderon has proved there’s nothing he can’t do, and yes, that includes seal tricks.

Well, dog gam (sorry, Ron Artest). It’s been forever since I did a good old fashioned game report. And with the fantastic buzz the Raps are generating these days, what better a time to check in on them than when they went head-to-head against one of their Eastern Conference rivals?

Suffice to say that Toronto withstood a game, but shorthanded Orlando squad 113-103 to win its season-best fourth straight game.

As someone who’s watched this team closely from Day One, it’s safe to say it’s playing its best ball in five years.

And what made last night so special was that Dwight Howard, Orlando’s brilliant young man-beast, went off for a career night offensively with 32 points. How many times in the past could the Raps possibly expect to pull out a W under those circumstances?

Fortunately, the Raps had their own All-Star to answer back. And answer Chris Bosh did, to the tune of 41 points, also a career best. He wasn’t about to be outdone by his U.S. national teammate.

So the winning streak continues, making it nine of last 11 games in which the Raptors have emerged victorious. Can you feel it yet? Go ahead. Say it. P….pl…..playoffs. There. That wasn’t so hard, was it?

With 26 wins in 49 games now, Toronto remains in charge of the Titantic Division, three and a half games ahead of the Nets, who managed to keep pace last night by barely holding off the Hawks.

After winning three straight twice over the past couple of weeks, Toronto finally got over the hump for its first four-spot of the year. I guess we better enjoy this one for now with the Lakers and Pistons on tap this weekend.

Still, with the LA game at the ACC, don’t bet against the Raps. At 10 games over .500 at home, they need not fear anyone in their own house these days. It will be good acid test to finish this three-game homestand before a brief, but tough road trip.

Time for some in-game observations:

• Howard is freaking unbelievable. He sunk 13-for-14 shots and was basically unstoppable near the bucket. Already a dominant rebounder, his offensive game has grown by leaps and bounds this season. If Shaq had any class, he’d say ‘hey, kid, take my starting spot at the All-Star game.’
• While Toronto couldn’t match the season-best 122 points it dropped on the Clips on Sunday, 113 is nothing to sneeze at. That’s four straight games with at least 103 points.
• So that’s three games over .500. The last time Toronto enjoyed such a lofty perch? November 10, 2004, after a 4-1 start that got fans excited for about a week. But come on. We’re now almost 60 per cent through this season. Big difference. Anyone can go 4-1 for a week and change.
• Bosh was having a pretty good game with 10 points at halftime. Ya, that’s not bad. Then he dropped 31 in the second half. Thirty-one! That’s sick. He only managed eight boards, still good enough to pace the team, but it continued a run of four games without him topping 10. It’s kind of hard to moan about his work on the glass not being up to snuff when Bosh is throwing down points like a man possessed. Those ‘MVP! MVP!’ chants from the crowd in the fourth quarter obviously suggest that local fans agree.
• So we were talking about holding off the Nets earlier. Screw that. Let’s look up instead. Detroit, the top team in the East, suddenly looms just four games ahead of the Raptors. Maybe Saturday is shaping up like a statement game. Let’s hope it goes better than the last time the Raps had a statement game (January 9, when they lost 101-86 in New Jersey with first place in the Atlantic on the line). Of course, that seems like small potatoes in retrospect. Not to write off the Nets or anything, but they are in serious trouble right now, while Toronto is on cruise control.
• The last time the Raps were above .500 this late in the season? Try 2001-02, also the last time they made the playoffs, when the team finished 42-40. This group is acting and playing like a team, and it’s making everyone on the club better.
• Home cookin’, baby. Give the Raps six straight wins at the ACC. Go ahead. Just try to beat this team in Toronto. I dare you.
• Bosh had a tough time keeping a straight face when the fans started declaring him the MVP. And why not? He admits it’s a goal and if he gets there one day, it will be because he strapped the Raptors on his back and took them someplace significant. You get the feeling that process is well underway already.
• Home cookin’, Part II: Toronto now has more wins at home this season (17) than it achieved last year (15). And we’re barely past Ground Hog Day.
• Bosh shot well again, 13-for-25 from the field and 15-for-17 from the line as he passed his previous best of 37 set in December 2005 against the Pistons. Let’s hope the first-time starting All-Star has another big show in store for Detroit this weekend.
• Howard was also below his usual rebounding level. He managed nine, but, like Bosh, has seen a decrease in boards of late. He’s fallen off pace in his quest to become the youngest rebounding champion in NBA history, dropping to 11.9 RPG. Howard hasn’t had as many as 12 boards in a game in over two weeks after racking up some absolutely ridiculous totals earlier this year.
• So while Toronto surges, Orlando is crashing and burning. Injuries have played a major role, but this team has now dropped 11 of 14 to fall to .500 — the first time they’ve been even since November 10. The Magic is over is Mickey Land.
• Home cookin’, Part III: This home winning streak is the Raptors’ longest since they ended the 01-02 season with eight straight.
• Howard’s previous best offensive game was on January 10, when he enjoyed his first ever 30-point game against the Warriors. But scoring points isn’t really what makes Howard a dominant player. It’s his ability to control the glass, and dominate the paint with his shot-blocking and altering skills.
• The Raps shot “only” 52 per cent last night. I guess we were spoiled by that franchise record 70 per cent first half on Sunday. No one was particularly lights out Wednesday, but let’s give a shout out to Jose Calderon and his 3-for-3 night. He’s now shooting 52.9 per cent for the year. But as we all know, this is the weak part of his game.
• Howard had some complimentary things to say about Bosh, calling him a two man in a four man’s body. He even dropped by the Toronto locker room to visit with Bosh.
• I am loving how aggressive Toronto is looking on offense. The way the team moves the ball to get open looks — and is actually sinking them lately — is very impressive.
• For the Magic, the All-Star break can’t get here fast enough. This team needs some regrouping time. And getting back some of their wounded wouldn’t hurt, either. Grant Hill and Keyon Dooling are about a week away. Tony Battie needs to be checked out today to find out how bad his hand injury is, and Trevor Ariza is likely out until next month.
• Toronto is starting to get Orlando’s number. The Raps downed the Magic in Orlando in December 91-84 without Bosh in the lineup, and they have now beaten Orlando six of the past eight overall including five straight times in Toronto.
• Calderon was starting over T.J. Ford again, but honestly, at this point, it’s all good. Each of them had 10 points and 11 assists. The guard play from the Raptors right now is completely off the charts. I’d expect Ford to get the call to start Friday, but like I said, these two seem like interchangeable parts now.
• What’s happened to the Magic defense? Surrending 113 to the scorching Raptors is one thing, but they gave up 116 points to a struggling Bucks’ team on Tuesday. Like I said, it’s time for a break.
• The Magic made a game of this, pulling within two on a trey from J.J. Redick with under 7:30 to go. But Bosh, Calderon and Ford teamed up to answer. Bosh’s emphatic dunk that stretched the lead to eight with 6:30 left had a last nail in the coffin feel to it. It was too early for Chuck Swirsky to summon his salami and cheese, of course, but that didn’t stop me from wolfing down a snack of beef jerky and cheese doodles.
• Speaking of Redick, he still hasn’t found his Blue Devil touch, but he did nail a trio of treys on his way to 14 points in 29 minutes — both career highs for the rook.
• There’s nothing wrong with Orlando’s sights in general. It shot 50.6 per cent from the field after nailing 53 per cent on Tuesday. But the Magic let four Bucks score 20 or more and last night the Raptors had six players in double figures. Like I said, defensive struggles.
• But the real problem is that the Magic roadshow has turned pretty sour of late. This team started 7-4 away from home, but they’ve now lost three straight and 11 of 13 on the road. Small wonder Orlando has fallen back to .500 with that kind of road act.
• Battie, out with a bone chip in his hand, is the latest victim of the recent run of Magic injuries. His streak of 195 straight games came to end last night, but it was good news for Darko Milicic owners, as the big Yugoslavian got the start. Darko’s been putting up some nice offensive numbers of late and really deserves a chance to run with the PF job for a while. Battie’s injury could provide the impetus for a long-term switch.
• I get the sense Howard enjoys going up against the Raps. In eight previous tries, twice he’s had 20-rebound games and last time out he racked up 17 points with 13 rebounds, although he failed to show the shooting touch (6-for-17) he did last night.
• Andrea Bargnani absolutely posterized Bo Outlaw to start the second quarter, pulling the Raps within one and energizing the crowd. Bargnani is clicking really well with Bosh these days. Remember on draft day when analysts were left scratching their head wondering why Toronto would draft someone who played the same position as Bosh, saying the pair would never be able to play together? Not an issue, obviously.
• Anthony Parker puts up another strong game with a dozen points, although he was quiet in the second half. He had eight points with over four to play in the half after knocking down a huge 3-pointer to tie the game.
• Keith Bogans, who averages less than one 3-pointer per game, nails a buzzer beater from long distance at the end of the first quarter. Then he does it again to close the half. Crazy.
• Outlaw is still an aggressive defender, but at 35, he’s obviously lost a step or two over the years.
]]> http://www.rotorob.com/2007/02/08/courtside-raptors-magic-report/feed/ 0 http://www.rotorob.com/2006/12/24/courtside-raptors-sonics-report/ http://www.rotorob.com/2006/12/24/courtside-raptors-sonics-report/#comments Sun, 24 Dec 2006 18:30:57 +0000 RotoRob http://www.rotorob.com/basketball/courtside-raptors-sonics-report/ I suppose I should have seen this coming. Maybe I was too excited by back-to-back dramatic victories and five wins over the past six games. Or maybe I was just drunk.

On the surface, Toronto should have been able to emerge from Em City victorious last night. After all, the Raptors were playing their most inspired basketball in recent memory and Seattle had not only dropped six straight, but were going to be without Rashard Lewis, one of its top players, and indeed one of the most underrated players in the game. How could Toronto lose?

What I failed to factor in (probably because of the euphoria of recent Raptor events and too much Christmas cheer) was that this was our fourth game in five nights to wrap up yet another tough Western swing. Of course, who expected a slumping Sonics team to come out with such life, mostly thanks to the return of their superstar, Ray Allen? Allen had been out nine games with a bone contusion in his ankle, didn’t show a hint of rust and, that, combined with some incredibly weak perimeter defense on the part of Toronto, spelled doom on this night as the Sonics came away 110-97 victors.

Seattle decided to shake things up in an effort to snap its season-worst losing skid against the first-place Raptors (damn, even if it’s the Titanic Division, that sounds sweet), as embattled coach Bob Hill tinkered with his lineup. Injuries and ineffectiveness have forced his hand, so he deciced to sit Damien Wilkins, who had been starting for Allen, and insert Earl Watson at the two guard spot. Allen shifted over to small forward for the injured Lewis (out two months after having surgery Friday to repair an injured tendon in his right hand), while Danny Fortson (also back from an extended injury absence) got the start at centre for Andreas Glyniadakis.

The smaller lineup worked against the Raptors, who we must remember are still the possessors of a losing record (12-16) regardless of their lofty perch in the standings.

Allen was money right from the opening tip, and wound up with 28 points on 9-of-15 shooting with six boards and five assists. The dude was absolutely blazing from downtown, draining five of six.

Game observations:

• Andrea Bargnani hit the game-winning bucket with four seconds to go in OT Friday night, but early foul trouble and cold shooting negated his contributions off the bench on Saturday.
• T.J. Ford has absolutely strapped the Raptors to his back on this trip. In the absence of Chris Bosh (knee), Ford hit the buzzer beater to beat the Clippers on Wednesday, had 23 points and 10 assists and was absolutely dominant in overtime in Friday’s win, and did his thing again last night. He shot 9-of-15 from the field for a team-high 24 points (16 in the second half) with nine assists and three steals. How about 2-for-2 from beyond the arc? If Ford adds an outside touch to his game, he will truly ascend to elite status among floor generals.
• Luke Ridnour, coming off a big 21-point, nine-assist performance in Wedneday’s loss against Dallas, did his part again last night, with 18 points and two steals. His reads in transition are phenomenal.
• Chris Wilcox continued his maddeningly inconsistent play. After going off for 18 points with nine boards Wednesday, he shot just 4-of-12 from the field for a mere 12 points and five rebounds last night. In his defense, Wilcox got beat up pretty bad last game, as an errant elbow found its way into his face, causing a split lip and a jaw that required X-rays. Still, his inability to duplicate his breakout play down the stretch after getting dealt to Seattle last year (play, that incidentally earned him a sweet contract), has definitely been a factor in the Sonics’ early-season woes this year. I’ll give him this: he shows nice footwork underneath the basket. I definitely think he can be a serious player, but he’s got to bring it every night.
• Even with the loss last night, a 2-2 Western swing has to qualify as a fantastic road trip for Toronto. Losing to Phoenix is no shame, considering how hot the Suns have been, and last night’s effort was impressive given how physically demanding this trip has been (not to mention how hard it must be to get up for that final game before the holiday break).
• Allen was the man, but six Sonics were in double figures, so this wasn’t simply a case of ’stop Allen and stop the Sonics.’ For one night, anyways, this look like an inspired team that was actually interested in saving their coach’s job (rumored to be in major jeopardy after plenty of losing and controversy as Hill and some of the Sonics have sniped at each other through the media).
• For a good part of the night, it seemed like a morgue in Key Arena. There were only 14,611 fans in attendance as Seattle continues to struggle with sparse attendance with the future home of the club still up in the air.
• How bad are the Sonics going to miss Lewis? He is having a career year, with personal bests across the board at 21.9 points, almost seven boards and 2.4 assists per game.
• Is the tempermental and injury-prone Fortson the answer at centre for Seattle? This has been an absolute sore spot for the Sonics after projected starter Robert Swift tore his ACL in preseason and was forced to undergo season-ending surgery. Since then it’s been a revolving door at the starting centre position: Mouhamed Sene, Johan Petro, Wilcox, Petro again, Nick Collison, Glyniadakis, Collison again, Glyniadakis again and now Fortson, back from an 18-game absence because of a sore right knee. In just his second start for Seattle in two and a half seasons and 93 games, Fortson came out strong with six boards in the opening quarter. He wound up playing 14 minutes, and pulling down nine rebounds. The 30-year-old Fortson is nothing if not a wide body, combining with Wilcox to form an intimidatingly large frontcourt (from an east-west perspective, at least). However, if Hill thought Collison was undersized at centre at 6′9″, Fortson is just 6′8″. Yes, he makes up for it with his aggression and rebounding prowess, but Fortson is just a shell of the player he was earlier in a career that’s been ravaged by injuries.
• Collison was given a chance at the job, and he’s a strong defender, and while he’s shown modest improvements in his offensive game, he has yet to display the kind of game he had as a Jayhawk. I keep waiting for the breakout, but no sign yet.
• Allen continued to impress as a tremendous open court player, nailing his first four shots as ther Sonics grab an early 20-10 lead. This is what Seattle has missed in his absence — good starts. But how do you leave such a gifted catch and shoot man open like Toronto did early on?
• Raptors fans could get the ultimate Christmas present this year as Bosh is hoping to return Wednesday against Minnesota. The weird thing is, the team is playing so well right now that getting Bosh back in will actually require an adjustment period. He’s missed nine games, but the team has really grown up quick, going 5-4 without their main man.
• You could definitely see the effect of four games in five nights on the Raps in the opening quarter. All that was missing were the oxygen masks.
• Fred Jones, especially huge in the first half, had another big game with 19 points, as he’s starting to roll on this trip and has clearly shaken off the calf injury. He’s a decent fantasy pickup right now considering the offense he’s providing off the bench.
• How sweet was it to see Jose Calderon back on Friday after last weekend’s scary episode? Last night, he did his thing by dropping a season-high 10 dimes.
• Toronto surrendered 36 points in the opening quarter as Seattle drained 16-of-25 (64 per cent) from the field to take a 14-point lead. Like I said, lethargic. Toronto was guilty of hoisting a lot of quick shots and it took the Raptors until 3:50 left in the quarter before getting back-to-back buckets. They also failed to get to the line once. For the Sonics, those 36 points represented their best quarter all season.
• By halftime, the lead has been whittled down to 64-55 Seattle, but it’s still the most points the Sonics have had at halftime this year. Nice D, guys.
• Jorge Garbajosa was hustling all night, making a great save in the second quarter. After that play, the team showed him some love and gave him the rock and he promptly sunk the jumper. The Raptors are leaning on Garbo lately; he’s played 84 minutes over the past two.
• We had a Lenny Wilkins sighting. He’s now the vice chairman of the Sonics’ ownership group and is doing radio work for the team. How long until he replaces Hill as the head coach? Hill, by the way, scares the bejeezus out of me. His head always looks like it’s seconds away from exploding.
• Every time the Raps made a run, Seattle had an answer. Toronto trailed by 16 in the first half but got back within 64-59 early in the third quarter. The Sonics called time, regrouped, and went on a 10-0 run keyed by two 3-pointers by Allen. Just like that, the lead was back to 15.
• Joey Graham looked aggressive taking it to the hoop on one play. Unfortunately, that was a rare sight from him on this night. He needs to play that way more consistently or he will lose his lose PT. With Bosh expected back Wednesday, Graham will likely head back to the bench anyways. But if he wants some minutes with the second unit, he better step up. He’s just been too invisible on this trip.
• Nothing like get thrown back into the fire. What? You missed nine games, Allen? Tough luck…now get out there and play 41 minutes. To his credit, if he was tired it didn’t show, and that’s something that usually manifests itself in missed shots.
• Toronto is shooting 51.1 per cent at the half. Sweet, eh? The only problem is the Sonics are at 60.5 per cent.
• Both of Ford’s treys came in the final 30 seconds of the third quarter, pulling Toronto to within 84-81 heading into the final stanza.
• Speaking of outside shooting, the Sonics were on fire, nailing 7-of-12. Inability to play perimeter defense is a sure sign of a tired team. Allen’s trey (off the glass…come on!) with just over seven to play was a backbreaker, making it 95-87. Calderon was alll over Allen on that shot, but he did what pure shooters do and found a way to sink it. But when Allen set up Collison for a dunk to make it 97-88 with under six to play, it was over. The Raps couldn’t get any closer than eight points over the final five minutes. Big fourth quarter play has been sadly lacking in Emerald City this year.
• The guy is an unsung hero, so let’s give Rasho Nesterovic some love. He looked solid again. Try 12 points, seven boards, three blocks and an assist. His improved play of late has been one of the biggest factors in this Raptor run.
• If you like defense, this was not a game for you. The Sonics finally cooled off a bit late in the third, but Toronto missed several open looks at that time before Ford’s flourish to end the quarter. The final five minutes or so of the third represented the Raptors’ best chance to really take control of this game.
• For Seattle to consistently find production to replace Lewis it’s going to have to be a group effort. Last night it was Collison (15), Watson (12) and Petro (10), but this is going to be a rough stretch for the Sonics without their number two man.
• The Raps are still shooting over 50 per cent heading into the fourth. Nothing wrong with the offense on this night.
• Petro is looking very good off the bench. I’m not sure why Seattle is so reticent to hand the starting centre job to the Eiffel Tower on a more permanent basis. There’s talk the Sonics are interested in disgruntled Bull P.J. Brown.
• Remember the Raptors’ last Western swing? They stunk it up at 0-5 and it was not pretty. Comparing the two road trips really shows the progression this team is making.
• It is just me or has Morris Peterson disappeared from the rotation? He has only played 46 minutes in the past three games, and sat the entire fourth quarter last night after playing 10 minutes in the first half. Obviously Jones’ solid play is a factor here, but what’s up with that?
• Penny Hardaway worked out for the Sonics Monday and reportedly was very impressive, but there’s still no word on whether they plan to sign him. If so, Seattle will likely wait until January 5, when teams can start issuing 10-day contracts.
• Mickael Gelabale has been getting plenty of burn off the Sonic bench lately. I’m impressed by his quickness. He also managed to fill the stat sheet last night with six points, nine rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block. Sleeper alert.
• Last time the Raps were first in the Atlantic? November 25, 2003, when their stellar 6-7 record had them atop the division.
• In the fourth quarter, Toronto stopped driving to the hoop, settling for long bombs and they weren’t sinking them like they did Friday. That hurt and resulted in the team’s FG percentage slipping to 46.5 per cent for the game.
• With under 90 seconds to play, Seattle has a 13-6 edge in second chance points.
• The Raps never led in this game as Seattle had a big edge from the line (19-of-21, 90.5 per cent) and on the glass (45 rebounds, +11).

Alright, so here we are, at the X-Mas break, just past the one-third mark of the season. You can’t help but be stoked by how well things have gone considering Toronto has played 18 out of its first 28 on the road, the most in the league. Now, it’s home sweet home for five of the next six and 11 of the next 16. The Raps have a real opportunity to actually build up a lead in the Atlantic with this run over the next month.

]]> http://www.rotorob.com/2006/12/24/courtside-raptors-sonics-report/feed/ 0 http://www.rotorob.com/2006/09/26/the-battle-for-second-part-iv/ http://www.rotorob.com/2006/09/26/the-battle-for-second-part-iv/#comments Tue, 26 Sep 2006 17:58:00 +0000 RotoRob http://baseball.rotorob.com/misc/the-battle-for-second-part-iv/ As we made the depressing walk through a throng of Jays’ fans in the “Skywalk,” we were treated to chants of “We’re number two, we’re number two!”

That’s right. Monday’s 5-0 loss to Toronto, Boston’s third straight setback after taking Friday’s series opener, left the team a half a game behind the Blue Jays for second place in the American League East.

Pass the paper bags, both for wearing on my head and for emptying the contents of my stomach (i.e., incredibly overpriced Rogers Centre fare) into.

Here’s what we came away with in this game:

• Finally, manager Terry Francona relented and made his favourite player Gabe Kapler sit. Prospect David Murphy got the start in centre in Kapler’s place. I wonder what the woman wearing a shirt that said “Kaplar” on the back thought of this. (I kid you not; I didn’t have the heart to tell her it was misspelled.) I was a bit surprised to see Kevin Youkilis not get yanked after Sunday’s debacle; Wily Mo Pena obviously had a bench view after his brutal showing.
• So Youkilis, hurting back and all, was back out there. You know that artificial turf can’t be helping his back, right, Terry? I have played a couple of tourneys on that thing…believe me, it is not easy on your legs or back.
• We were treated to a very scary view of Eric “Save me room at the buffet table” Hinkse’s butt when he was warming up just a few feet from us. I’m sorry, but it’s so huge, we couldn’t help notice. I tried to avert my eyes, but it was like trying to avoid staring at a planet. Even the RotoWidow was naseauted by this image. Good thing for those paper bags.
• In the first inning, Youkilis struck out swinging and was clearly adjusting his back on the way to the dugout. Hey, Terry…are you even watching your players? The guy is hurt!
• Back to Hinske for a moment. A comment needs to be made for all those dumb-ass Jays’ fans who were booing him all series. Do you even know why you’re booing him? Here’s a guy who won Rookie of the Year for you in 2002, got hurt, had his career kind of spiral, received a reduced role and bounced around the field each subsequent season and…never once complained. I saw him many times earlier this season when he was with the Jays, and despite very limited opportunities, Hinkse always was ready to play and that is not an easy thing to do — especially when you’re used to being a starter. He did not ask for a trade, did not rock the boat (like Shea Hillenbrand, for instance), did not show up his manager (like, say, Ted Lilly). All he did was be ready to contribute when asked. Teams need players like this. So why the hell are you booing him? You should be so friggin’ lucky to get a few more players willing to put the team first like Hinske did. Okay, off the soapbox.
• Shaun Marcum really doesn’t seem to have stuff that dominant, but he had the Bosox baffled all night.
• Alex Rios was completed overswinging his first couple of at-bats against Tim Wakefield’s knuckler, but he sure made an adjustment later.
• I thought this game, pitting the unremarkable Marcum, and Wakefield, who’s struggled badly since coming off the DL, was going to be one of those four-hour 11-10 type of games. Through three innings, neither pitcher had given up a hit. Are you kidding me?
• Rios kept the no-no going with a fantastic sliding catch to rob Mark Loretta.
• The “Where’s Manny” watch continues as Trot Nixon is the third different clean-up hitter the Bosox have used in this series. But Nixon is just a shell of himself these days. He is no longer much of a power hitter, slugging barely over .400. Boston will offer him a token one-year deal, but some dumb team — the Pirates or Royals or some such organization — will probably offer him three years and the kind of money usually targeted at a real power hitter.
• Speaking of Manny, some kid behind me asks what’s wrong with Manny. Where do I start, kid?
• It’s 7:58 p.m. (game time was 7:07) and four innings are done. This simply isn’t AL ball. But it sure helps that neither pitcher has yet to give up a hit.
• In the bottom of the fifth, the RotoWidow suddenly decided she would leave a no-hitter in progress to head out the hallway. That’s not a good idea. With two outs, Jason Phillips — the goggled one himself — stroked a clean double into the left field corner to break it up.
• Wakefield then walked Russ Adams (never a good idea, considering he can’t hit his way out of a paper bag) and Rios made him pay, staying back on one of those knucklers and crushing a three-run homer to left. Poof! No-hitter gone; shutout out gone. I’m not superstitious or anything, but c’mon…clearly the RotoWidow dropped the ball on that one.
• Marcum continued to have the Red Sox off balance. He started 11 of the first 17 and 15 of the first 23 batters off with strikes, proving that the old adage, “the most important pitch in baseball is strike one.”
• With one out in the sixth, Alex Cora slaps an infield hit that Aaron Hill made a great diving stop on, but had no chance to throw him out. There goes the no-hitter on a cheesy hit. Too bad.
• After Marcum pitched around that and completed his sixth shutout inning, the RotoWidow turned to me and asked “Who is this guy?” Yes, who indeed.
• As I mentioned in my previous reports from this series, Lyle Overbay can’t be stopped right now. Hell, even a knuckleballer can’t get him off his game. In the sixth, Overbay ripped a solid line drive to extend his hitting streak to 15 games.
• Let’s give him his props: Youkilis looked much steadier in left field on Monday. Obviously, he was getting some pointers from Manny.
• We would have loved to see David Ortiz break the AL record for most home runs on the road, in this, Boston’s final road game of the season. But alas, the closest Papi came was when he launched a ball about 20 feet foul — into the upper deck at the Rogers Centre. For those of you who have never been to the snore-dome, that’s a long way up. Ortiz had one more chance, coming up with two outs in the top of the ninth, but he struck out swinging. Ah well…maybe next year. You could say that about a lot of things for the Red Sox in 2006.
]]> http://www.rotorob.com/2006/09/26/the-battle-for-second-part-iv/feed/ 3 http://www.rotorob.com/2006/09/25/the-battle-for-second-part-iii/ http://www.rotorob.com/2006/09/25/the-battle-for-second-part-iii/#comments Mon, 25 Sep 2006 15:07:00 +0000 RotoRob http://baseball.rotorob.com/misc/the-battle-for-second-part-iii/ Oh man, what a mess.

On Sunday afternoon, the Red Sox treated us to one of the worst displays of outfield play ever seen and some seriously horrible pitching didn’t help matters, as the Jays molested Boston 13-4. This is supposed to be the best defensive teams in baseball, but you would have never known it watching yesterday’s debacle.

With the Jays now sitting just a half a game back of Boston, second place in the AL East is on the line tonight.

I haven’t slept in days, so we’re again limiting today’s posts to observations from the ballpark:

• Big Papi went yard in the first and the place went crazy. After that celebration, it was really hard to wrap our heads around the fact that this was a road game. Ortiz now has 32 home runs on the road, tying him for the most ever by an American Leaguer. The record was first set in 1927 by some dude named Ruth. I think he used to play with the Sox.
• Kevin Youkilis made another great catch, snagging Vernon Wells’ sinking liner with a shoestring grab. He should have taken himself out of the game right then and there, because it got seriously ugly after that.
• Reed Johnson continues to impress, making a tremendous catch against the wall to rob Wily Mo Pena of extra bases.
• Lyle Overbay is simply killing the Red Sox, and everyone else lately. Everything he hits is hard. Youkilis robbed him Saturday on perhaps the hardest ball he’s hit in this series.
• Youkilis made a nice catch up against the wall, but he looked like he hurt his back again. With Youkilis clearly struggling, why the hell the Bosox aren’t putting David Murphy out there is anyone’s guess. Don’t they want to know what they have on their hands with this kid?
• After Youkilis’ catch against the wall, the trouble started. The next inning, he couldn’t track a ball that was smoked over his head. It was doubtful that anyone would have made that play, but Youkilis looked sluggish backpeddling on the ball. He then allowed a sinking liner to go right through his glove, a play somehow not ruled an error.
• The Bosox were obviously tired of allowing Overbay to smack the ball all over the field. In the third inning, he was intentionally walked with first base open but just one out. That’s respect that early in what was at the time a one-run game.
• Unfortunately, the strategy backfired when Bengie Molina, clearly sitting on starter Kyle Snyder’s curveball, smoked a line drive to centre for an RBI single.
• Speaking of Snyder’s curve, it’s fantastic, but is simply not complemented by a fastball hard enough to give hitters much to think about. Major league hitters are good enough to sit on his curve and adjust to his fastball, which tops out at 90 mph. Snyder can’t succeed as a starter without a harder heater or quality third pitch that will keep hitters from waiting on that curve. It wasn’t until the third inning that he finally showed a third pitch, uncorking a changeup. Snyder gave up seven hits and four runs in three innings, burning his last chance to impress the Bosox for a 2007 role.
• After Snyder was sent to the showers, Kason Gabbard made his return. He’s another in the endless list of Boston players who’s been out with an injury. Gabbard looked great, fanning two in a perfect fourth inning. The other out was a long fly ball to left centre that Youkilis was able to run down, but it sure looked like centre fielder Gabe Kapler’s ball. He does not have centre field range anymore.
• The lefty Gabbard even made left-handed hitting Overbay look bad, a seemingly impossible task these days. Overbay is batting almost .285 against lefties, but he looked overmatched in that at-bat.
• Next, it was Pena’s turn to screw things up in right field. Molina hit an easy line drive right at Pena that he somehow dropped and allowed to skip past him for a two-base error. With anyone else running, they make it to three, but luckily, Molina is only slighty faster my 95-year-old grandmother (assuming she’s running the bases with two 40-pound bags of potatoes, that is). Gabbard was able to pitch around Pena’s miscue.
• In the sixth, Pena couldn’t come up with a ball against the wall. Now this was no easy play, but he looked simply awful trying to corral that hit.
• Youkilis then got back into it, completely muffing an opposite field flare by Overbay that he allowed to skip past him when he tried to barehand it on a hop. C’mon. I know he doesn’t have a lot of experience playing the field, but anyone knows that when a lefty hits a slicing ball to left, it will skip to the right of the left fielder. This isn’t a new concept. RotoRob is fairly certain he could have made that play and half expected his cellphone to ring and for him to be summoned into the game by Terry Francona at that point. Alas, it did not happen. Instead, Youkilis’ screw up (again, not charged as an error), allowed another run to score en route to a four-run inning by the Jays.
• Brandon League is going to be one hell of a pitcher. He brings it at 98 mph but complements that with a seriously nasty slider. He struck out Mark Loretta with an 87 mph slider that was downright Brad Lidge-esque (that would be the 2005 version of Lidge, by the way). Expect League to emerge as a top set-up man next season.
• In the seventh inning, Wily Pena was doing his Wile E. Coyote impression again, screwing up a shoestring catch that was by no means easy, but he played it poorly, allowing it to skip past for a double. This is supposed to be the man that will replace Trot Nixon in right field next year, but the Boston brain trust must have been second guessing that idea after yesterday’s game.
• I was left craving a groundball pitcher a la Derek Lowe as Boston’s outfield was turning everything into an adventure.
• Lenny DiNardo came in and was simply firestarter. Now, he wasn’t helped out by his outfield, but DiNardo looked like he was tossing BP. Just awful. You have to wonder what his role will be next season after that bitch-slapping.
• In the top of the ninth, even though the Bosox are down by nine runs, what do the first two hitters do? Kapler swings on a 1-0 count, grounding it right to third base for the out. Then Alex Gonzalez does him one better by hitting a lazy fly ball on the first pitch. Maybe I’m old school, but I’ve always been taught that when you’re losing in the ninth — regardless of how bad the score is — you’ve got to take a few pitches.
• Murphy, Boston’s young outfield prospect, was probably the only person connected with the Red Sox that was happy about yesterday’s misadventures. Suddenly, he has to have moved up the depth charts in terms of Red Sox flyhawks. Youkilis has no business playing left field and Pena — who was actually in centre field on Saturday — looks like a DH waiting to happen.
]]> http://www.rotorob.com/2006/09/25/the-battle-for-second-part-iii/feed/ 2 http://www.rotorob.com/2006/09/24/the-battle-for-second-part-ii/ http://www.rotorob.com/2006/09/24/the-battle-for-second-part-ii/#comments Mon, 25 Sep 2006 01:28:00 +0000 RotoRob http://baseball.rotorob.com/misc/the-battle-for-second-part-ii/ On Saturday afternoon, we were back down at the Rogers Centre for Act II of the Battle for Second Place. It’s late, and I’m running on fumes, so just so quick observations from the action:
• Devern Hansack took the mound for the Bosox. Who? Ya, don’t worry. Plenty of people were left scrambling for their Baseball America Prospect Handbook for this one. The 28-year-old really did come out of nowhere this year, pitching well at Double-A Portland and then getting rewarded by the Bosox with his first major league start. And wouldn’t you know it? He pitched very well. He threw strikes, not walking a single batter through five, and let his defense do its thing. Hansack features a fastball in the 91 to 93 mph range and a good slider, but he had trouble getting his split-fingered fastball over the plate. So at best he looks like a future reliever given his modest two-pitch repertoire. But Hansack did not look intimidated in the least and really impressed me, making just two mistakes that were deposited back-to-back over the wall for solo shots.
• Dustin Pedroia, all (supposed) 5′9″ of him, cranked a home run to lead off the game. The kid’s got a bit off pop.
• David Ortiz had a check swing single down the third base line against the shift. I love when he does that. This is one superstar slugger who’s ego isn’t so big that he won’t do what’s in the best interest of the team.
• In the top of the seventh, we had a Manny sighting. Despite “Dr.” Julian Tavarez’s declaration that Ramirez would not be getting another at-bat this year, there he was, whipping the pro-Boston crowd into a frenzy. I have never seen this kind of excitement at the Dome/Rogers Centre for a non-playoff game. In a key situation in the game, with the Bosox down a run and the tying run on first with one out, the crowd had an electricity to it rarely seen in Toronto. I mean, everyone was on their feet and there were actually camera flash bulbs popping off all over the stands for Manny. I was shocked! It was as if Elvis was batting or something. Manny walked, was replaced by a pinch runner, and returned to the bench. A little anticlimatic, but what a moment that was when he emerged from the dugout. Love him or hate him, but this man has serious star power.
• Kevin Youkilis redeemed himself after his lacklustre fielding showing Friday with an unbelievable running catch, twisting his body to snare a sure RBI double by Lyle Overbay. Of course, Sunday was less than impressive, and we’ll fill you in on that debacle tomorrow.
• Jason Varitek looks lost with the stick. He’s taking horrible swings.
• Wily Mo Pena finally took the bat off his shoulder, with mixed results. He smoked a solid single in the second inning but then fanned in the fourth and seventh (swinging, at least) before hitting a cheesy infield fly to end the eighth with two runners in scoring position.
]]> http://www.rotorob.com/2006/09/24/the-battle-for-second-part-ii/feed/ 1 http://www.rotorob.com/2006/09/23/the-battle-for-second/ http://www.rotorob.com/2006/09/23/the-battle-for-second/#comments Sat, 23 Sep 2006 15:50:00 +0000 RotoRob http://baseball.rotorob.com/misc/the-battle-for-second/ Talk about a letdown.

When the RotoWidow and I bought tickets for this weekend’s Boston-Toronto series way back when, we were expecting this to be a very exciting weekend. Would the AL East be on the line? At the very least, we assumed, the Wild Card could be decided by these four pivotal games.

Instead, we are treated to the battle for second place in the AL East. Whoop-de-freakin’-doo!

Disappointed, but undaunted, as the soldiers that we are we were still compelled to head down to the Rogers Centre and do our part to cheer on the Bosox. Out came the Red Sox jerseys and caps. I swapped in my Bosox shoelaces into my shoes. (Well, truth be told, I hadn’t actually switched back to my regular shoelaces from the last series in Toronto. A friend of mine had needed an extra pair of shoelaces — you don’t want to know why — so I gave him my regular ones.)

We enjoyed last night’s 7-1 romp by the Bosox, and are heading down shortly for game two, with Sunday and Monday still on tap. So needless to say, my time is limited this weekend, so I will curtail my post to quick observations from last night. Let’s get to it, as there’s a street dog with my name on it waiting for me:

• Ted Lilly, until recently a major pain in the neck for the Bosox, looked sharp to start, getting the Bosox in order in the first. He then began to have major control problems in the second and really racked up his pitch count quickly. Although he pitched well — if not for a key error by Lyle Overbay, Lilly would have escaped with much less damage — by the time there was one out in the fourth, he had already thrown 100 pitches. He was racking up the Ks, fanning four straight at one point, but John Gibbons, perhaps fearing he’d have to lay another beating on Lilly, seemed hesitant to pull him. In what could very well be his final start as a Jay in Toronto, Lilly was allowed to throw 122 pitches over 5 1/3 innings in what essentially was a meaningless game (not for Lilly, though, pitching for a contract next year). I did find it humourous when, for the second straight start, the entire infield converged on the mound when Gibbons did finally emerge with his hook to take Lilly out (so to speak). The RotoWidow and I had a good chuckle over this.
• When David Ortiz came to bat in the first inning, I felt compelled to give him a standing ovation, given his record-setting exploits Thursday. I wonder if he noticed the one guy in the stands giving him his props. I am a pretty loud clapper.
• Kevin Youkilis does not exactly strike fear as a cleanup hitter behind Ortiz. But man, he knows how to get on base, battling back from 0-2 to draw a leadoff walk in the second that started a Bosox three-run inning.
• Mike Lowell cashed Youkilis with a two-run homer, but really, he should have been out. Three pitches earlier, Lowell fouled one that Overbay couldn’t corral right in front of the steps to the Bosox dugout. It was not an easy play, but an error was given, and all three runs that scored later were unearned. Lilly said thanks to the scorer, no doubt. Anyways, after getting a second life, Lowell fouled another back and then ripped another foul ball straight back. I turned to the RotoWidow and said “man, he was right on that one.” So it was no surprise when Lowell parked Lilly’s next offering over the left field fence for a two-run shot.
• Lilly started his control problems after that. He began pitching high and tight on a couple of hitters and walked Wily Mo Pena on four straight pitches. Pena, by the way, made his return to the lineup after missing a couple of games with hammy issues, but how disappointing. With Manny out doing his Manny thing, I was hoping to see Pena lose one. However, after getting that walk in his first PA, he proceeded to strike out looking three straight times. The man never even put a ball in play. C’mon Wily! No one is paying to see you take walks or watch third strikes. Swing the damn bat.
• Troy Glaus is playing through knee problems for the rest of the year. It’s admirable, but it is just painful to see how much he’s labouring around the bases.
• On the only run the Jays scored, a potential double-play ball skipped past Dustin Pedroia. Yeah, it would have been a tough play to make, but he would have had plenty of time to turn two and end the inning. If you want a job next year, kid, you better make the plays. Something tells me your .183 average isn’t going to guarantee you playing time.
• Youkilis was also making his return to the lineup after missing a pair because of his back. In the third, he swung and missed at strike three and was in obvious pain. But he stayed in the game. Will he and fellow Jewish Red Sox Gabe Kapler take today (Rosh Hashanah) off? Hell, I’m not, why should they? Of course, I’m sort of the anti-christ. But we’ll leave that for another discussion on another forum.
• Lowell had looked so good on Lilly’s offerings, fouling several straight back (which always tells you a player is right on the pitch) in addition to smoking the home run. But in the third, he got absolutely vapour-locked on a 75 mph curveball for strike three. You could see his knees buckle. Baseball is a humbling game. Hero one inning; looking like a fool the next.
• Lilly allowed the first two batters to get on in the third, and then struck out the side to get out of trouble. Impressive. Even Gibbons was probably ready to smack…er…pat him on the butt…er…congratulate him after that showing.
• Lilly had seven Ks through five. Nice work, but too bad about that pitch count.
• In the bottom of the third, Youkilis, playing left, and Kapler, in centre, had a moment. They completely butchered a flyball, allowing it to drop between them. Both were calling for it, but they both watched it drop. That’s what you get when you have a first baseman and a part-time player trying to man the outfield. Of course, regulars Manny Ramirez and Coco Crisp are both out. Crisp’s finger is screwed up again, and Manny apparently feels like giving the finger to the rest of the 2006 season.
• Julian Tavarez was shaky to start, giving up six hits through three, but he only gave up one more hit after that and managed his second career complete game. Where was that all season? Tavarez was simply brilliant, keeping his pitch count way down and letting his record-setting infield do its thing. It was fitting that he induced a double-play ball to end it.
• Kapler had two hits, but so did not impress me. He looks lost at the plate much of the time, taking very weak swings in less than two-strike counts. Ugh. Of course, as I’m writing disparaging notes about him, I look up to see him stroke a nice single to left to load the bases up as part of Boston’s big four-run sixth.
• The fan beside me was bemoaning the loss of Shea Hillenbrand (apparently Jays’ fans like malcontents who destroy team chemistry), and had nothing good to say about Jeremy Accardo. I tried to explain that Accardo has tremendous potential and will prove to be a steal, but considering he was at that very moment giving up three straight hits that led to another two runs, my argument seemed shaky. Still, I do believe in this kid. He has a live arm, and that’s a tough thing to teach. Once he harnasses it, look out.
• I know he stole a base last week (sign one of the Apocalypse, no doubt), but Bengie Molina continues to amaze me with his lack of speed. In the bottom of the fourth, he hit a slow, high chopper to Lowell that was somehow turned into a double play. Molina is the only major leaguer that would have been doubled up on that play. Hell, Johnny Pesky, about to be honoured on Wednesday with the official renaming of the right field foul pole for his 87th birthday, would have beaten that out. I mean now…not when he was a star player back in the 1940s.
]]> http://www.rotorob.com/2006/09/23/the-battle-for-second/feed/ 0 http://www.rotorob.com/2006/07/08/reds-let-rip-with-huge-inning/ http://www.rotorob.com/2006/07/08/reds-let-rip-with-huge-inning/#comments Sat, 08 Jul 2006 22:23:00 +0000 RotoRob http://baseball.rotorob.com/misc/reds-let-rip-with-huge-inning/ The Reds used a 10-hit onslaught in the second inning last night to help beat the Braves and put the skids on a six-game losing streak that had threatened to remove them from the NL Central race.

Thankfully for Cincinnati, the Cards have also been struggling, so the Reds remain just two games back and very much alive as we head into the second half.

Cincy rode a season-best eight-run explosion in the second inning to grab a 9-0 lead and ultimately a 10-5 victory over Atlanta, which had been playing better of late, but is a club still very much in trouble.

Not much is going right for the Braves this year. But Chipper Jones has continued his hot play, going 2-for-4 including his 11th dinger of the year, to stretch his hitting streak to 11 games. Don’t look now, but Chipper, batting just .275 on June 25, is now hitting .309. If that foot of his can stop from tearing apart, Jones is in line for a huge second half.

The Reds got to show off their shiny new toy, Eddie Guardado, just acquired Thursday for a minor league hurler. Cincy was in desperate need for some relief for its relief corps. With 13 blown saves and a collective ERA of almost five and a quarter, Everyday Eddie’s presence is most welcome, indeed. So Manager Jerry Narron wasted no time in getting him in there, bringing him in to protect a 10-5 lead in the ninth. Guardado responded with a perfect inning, fanning lead-off man Marcus Giles to end the game.

Giles, by the way, is having a very forgettable season as the new lead-off hitter for Atlanta. That’s 60 times he’s fanned now, and with a BA under .250, he really needs to get his act together. He’s admitted he hates batting at the top of the order, but Atlanta really doesn’t have anybody else suited better for the job at this time.

Edgar Renteria, on the other hand, has provided a huge boost to the Braves. Having happily escaped the American League, he’s had a triumphant return to the senior circuit. Last night he smoked a double to extend his hitting streak to a dozen games. Renteria has moved into the NL top 10 in hitting now.

That 10-hit display by the Reds in the second inning marked the most hits they’ve had in any inning in 17 years, since a 16-hit, 14-run inning in August, 1989, which marked the most hits any team has had since 1900.

Thanks to jumping out to a huge early lead, the Reds were able to get Ken Griffey, Jr., some rest, putting DeWayne Wise in as a defensive replacement in the fourth inning. Griffey was the only starter for Cincy who didn’t have a hit by the end of the second inning. Hell, even pitcher Eric Milton, a .167 hitter, smoked an RBI single in the big inning.

Milton was the beneficiary of all that scoring, going to 5-4 with the win. But he didn’t exactly pitch a gem: six hits and five runs allowed in 6.1 IP. Milton’s control this year has been excellent, but he’s still coughing up those long balls, so his ERA is up to 5.24 now. He’s started to lose his value even in deeper NL-only leagues.

Back to that huge second frame, though. The Reds opened the inning with six straight hits and that was enough to knock out Horacio Ramirez (4-3). Ramirez owners must be going batty. He’s now bookended two horrific outings with a run of three fantastic starts in which he won two, had one no-decision and gave up just four earned runs. Yesterday’s debacle (1+ inning, seven hits, seven runs), pushed his ERA from 3.47 all the way up to 4.83. In recent weeks, Horacio has been a decent pickup, even garning interest in very large mixed leagues. Take solace in the fact that a hamstring tweak at the end of the first inning was affecting his location. So before you give up on Ramirez, watch another start.

After Oscar Villarreal came in to surrender another four hits in the second inning, which included a two-run jack by Rich Aurilia, Kevin Barry got in some great work. It’s hard to believe in a game in which your team surrenders 10 runs and 13 hits that you could have a pitching highlight. But Barry threw four hitless innings, walking just one and striking out five. In three games since being recalled, Barry has now racked up nine shutout innings, giving up a mere two hits. In a Braves’ pen where opportunity knocks for anyone who can record outs, Barry could rapidly find himself in a key role. Watch and act accordingly.

]]> http://www.rotorob.com/2006/07/08/reds-let-rip-with-huge-inning/feed/ 0 http://www.rotorob.com/2006/07/02/despite-fultz-ed-up-rotation-phils-salvage-finale/ http://www.rotorob.com/2006/07/02/despite-fultz-ed-up-rotation-phils-salvage-finale/#comments Sun, 02 Jul 2006 23:04:00 +0000 RotoRob http://baseball.rotorob.com/misc/despite-fultz-ed-up-rotation-phils-salvage-finale/ So that was the Philadelphia offense I had heard so much about.

You figured the Phils would enjoy this pit stop in Toronto, considering they managed to avoid Roy Halladay.

But the Phillies’ bats were in absentia most of the weekend, dropping the first two games without so much as a whimper from their supposed mighty lumber. This afternoon, however, they finally erupted to the tune of 11 runs and 17 hits, good enough to beat the Jays into submission 11-6 and avert the sweep.

Of course, wouldn’t you know it that the fireworks came against the top pitcher they had to face in the series? With A.J. Burnett on the mound, squaring off against Aaron Fultz, the matchup looked like a mismatch.

After all, Burnett has been lights out since coming off the DL, while Fultz had never before started a major league game in his seven seasons in the bigs. In fact, Fultz had never pitched more than three innings in any outing, so it wasn’t a big shock when he was lifted after recording just five outs and throwing a mere 41 pitches.

The book on Fultz: he’s essentially a two-pitch pitcher, with a fastball that ranges from 83 to 87 mph and a changeup that sits in the 69 to 79 mph range. He mixed in a couple of 80 mph sliders in the second inning, with poor results. In 1.2 IP, Fultz surrendered four hits, three runs and two walks while fanning a pair. I wouldn’t be rushing to scoop him off the waiver wires.

]]> http://www.rotorob.com/2006/07/02/despite-fultz-ed-up-rotation-phils-salvage-finale/feed/ 0 http://www.rotorob.com/2006/07/01/overbay-and-out/ http://www.rotorob.com/2006/07/01/overbay-and-out/#comments Sun, 02 Jul 2006 03:37:00 +0000 RotoRob http://baseball.rotorob.com/misc/overbay-and-out/ Well, at least the Jays fans had a happy Canada Day.

In part deux of the Phillies-Jays series at the Rogers Centre this afternoon, Toronto won its season-high fifth game in a row, 5-2, as the Phils’ supposed potent offense was again shut down.

I’ve been keeping my eye on Jays first baseman Lyle Overbay. He’s simply been molesting the ball the past few games (and no, I don’t mean in Brett Myers kind of way). Friday night, he put on an impressive power display, jacking one out to right centre and another to left centre to give him five dingers in five games.

While the Phils kept him in the yard today, Overbay still managed his sixth straight multi-hit game. In fact, he now has multiple hits in eight of the past 10 games. Scorching.

And he’s just jumping all over pitches. Overbay attacked the first pitch all four times today and why not? The damn thing must look like a beach ball to him right now. Thanks to Troy Glaus ending a pair of innings, Overbay had to lead off his first two trips to the plate. In the second, he crushed a line drive to the left-centre gap for a double, but was stranded. And in the fourth, he hit a hard grounder, but right at Chase Utley for an out.

In the sixth, Overbay again came up with the bases empty as Glaus, Mr. All or Nothing, had just gone yard. This time Overbay fouled the first pitch off and then actually took a pitch before hitting a sinking liner to centre field which was snared on a dive by Aaron Rowand, robbing him of a single. That was some rare footage there. When Overbay falls behind 0-1, he’s hitting .370 this year.

Finally, with two outs and noboby on in the seventh, southpaw Rheal Cormier was brought in to try to neutralize Overbay. It didn’t work. He mashed a solid single to centre to cap a 2-for-4 day.

For the year, Overbay is now batting .304 with 14 dingers, putting him on pace for a career high 29 homers and 99 RBI.

We’re back down to the Centre tomorrow afternoon as the Phillies look to salvage the series finale. Look for more tomorrow night on this series.

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