Senior Editor Mark Haverty's work has regularly appears in such places as FOX Sports and Sporting News, where Mark is one of TSN's lead minor league analysts. Mark has also been featured in multiple print publications and as a featured guest on multiple radio shows.
Down below, we have a "hot" section and a "not" section. Guess which section Carlos Zambrano is in? Hint: not the hot.
Tuesday means Bullet Points day here at SG, so let’s dive right in…
Homer Bailey has been shut down for the rest of the season. Bailey has been rehabbing a groin injury down in Single-A, but one has to wonder why the Reds were trying to get him back in the first place. What are the Reds playing for that they need to get him back? More importantly, why was he even brought up at all this year? For one, the Reds were already in a significant hole when they brought him up, and he did little to change that. Secondly, this is a franchise that screams “small market” whenever they can, yet they started the arbitration clock on Bailey for no reason – for this team to win, they need to develop, and keep, in-house talent, and wasting time on the clock is not how you do that. Third, Bailey’s development would have been much better served had the Reds left him in Triple-A for a full season. There is something to be said for letting someone learn how to win rather than throwing them into a losing scenario.
Sticking with injury concerns, Roger Clemens is off to get an MRI on his elbow. With his age and how he was pitching before he left the game, this does not look good. This does get Mike Mussina back into the rotation for now, but that might not be a good thing, as Mussina looked far from sharp in relieving Clemens yesterday. Proceed with caution on both of these players.
One player returning from an injury is Tim Wakefield, who says that he is ready to return to the rotation after missing his last start due to his back. Manager Terry Francona is a little more cautious, and has said that he wants to see Wake through 20 or so pitches on the side today before he deems him ready. For now, you should too, as back injuries do not just disappear, and this could be a lingering problem for Wakefield the rest of the season.
While Tim Wakefield recoups, Daisuke Matsuzaka struggles. Dice-K was staked to a 10-1, but almost gave it away, as he was tagged for ten hits, one walk, and seven earned runs. Matsuzaka has now allowed at least five runs in three of his last four starts, and while the Red Sox and Dice-K would like to protest to the contrary, it appears that he is indeed hitting a wall, as the longer, harder American schedule is starting to drag Dice-K down. Looking for safer options, especially in head-to-head leagues where playoff time is coming or already here, is advised.
En Fuego
The best trades are sometimes the ones not made, and that is certainly true for Boston, where Mike Lowell was almost shipped to Colorado in the aborted Todd Helton trade. Lowell is the RBI leader on the Sox – quite impressive when you consider who else is in the lineup – and he has been red hot of late, hitting .481 with 13 runs scored and 16 RBI over the last two weeks.
In the National League, Freddy Sanchez must have read the criticism of him being all-glove, so-so bat and unworthy of being on the All Star team (yeah, like I was the only one to say that) and he has responded by going off at the plate over the last two weeks. In 56 at-bats, Sanchez is hitting .429 with 15 RBI and 10 runs scored. I still think he did not deserve to be an All Star, but at least he is finally hitting like one.
El Hielo
Two AL batters that should not be getting at-bats, for completely different reasons, make the cut here. For Jason Giambi, the Yankees had said that they were not going to rush him back into the lineup and that at-bats would not be a guarantee. They should have stuck to that. In 30 at-bats over the last two weeks, Giambi is hitting just .133, worst in the league. Once an on-base machine, Giambi’s on-base during the week was a pathetic .161, also worst in the league. The other is Cameron Maybin, who would have been much better off having not been rushed to the majors. Maybin is no longer playing every day and he hit just .148 in 27 at-bats last week.
In the National League, our coldest player is one who just picked up some mad money, Carlos Zambrano. No longer as driven, Zambrano has yet to win since signing his megabuck extension. In the last 14 days, Zambrano has gone 0-3 with a 9.56 ERA. It is hard to say that one should bench Zambrano, but it is getting darned close to that point.
What to Watch
In the American League, the big series is the Yankees and the Mariners in the Bronx. With their win yesterday, the Mariners ended a nine game losing streak and pulled to within one game of the Wild Card. The Yankees need to win at least one of the remaining two to stay ahead, and their best chance comes today, with Chien-Ming Wang (16-6, 3.79) facing off against Horacio Ramirez (8-4, 6.55). Tomorrow, the Yankees have to feel far less comfortable, as they face Jarrod Washburn (9-12, 4.37) while sending rookie Phil Hughes (2-3, 5.65) to close out the series for them.
In the National League, the most compelling series is the Rockies at home taking on the Giants. The Rockies are within four games now of the playoffs, and they send rookie Franklin Morales (0-2, 4.40) to the mound to face fellow rookie Tim Lincecum (7-4, 3.94). Tomorrow, it is Kevin Correia (3-6, 3.77) and another Rockies’ rookie, Ubaldo Jimenez (3-2, 4.03).
That wraps up BP for today – tomorrow, be back for some Treasure Hunting.
