The Pennant Race - 9/26

The Mets may very well have saved their season last night. Heavy rains could have an affect on this weekend's series with the Marlins, but the Mets would have been in even deeper water, or something else, had they not won last night's game with the Cubs. Trailing 6-3, the Mets rallied back and then won the game in the bottom of the 9th when Carlos Beltran's line drive ticked off the end of the glove of a diving Micah Hoffpauir at 1st base. Jose Reyes raced home with the winning run in a 7-6 victory. It overshadowed a big game by Hoffpauir, who was playing in just his 31st big league game. The rookie homered twice, doubled, and drove in 5 runs.

The Mets bullpen, for once, was key, holding the Cubs over the final 2.2 innings after a shaky start from Pedro Martinez. It kept the Shea inhabitants in a tie with the Milwaukee Brewers, who also won in dramatic fashion, for the wildcard lead, and moved them to within one game of the idle Phillies in the NL East. Martinez left to a standing ovation, which he admittedly realized could be his last.

Knowing that the Mets had already won, the Brewers were locked in a 1-1 battle with the Pirates. The key to the 10th inning win came down to one at-bat. With two men aboard and two outs, Dale Sveum sent up Craig Counsell to pinch-hit for Bill Hall. Rookie Jesse Chavez walked him, meaning he had to face Ryan Braun. Moments later Bernie Brewer was going nuts, as was the rest of Miller Park, as Braun hit a walk off grand slam. Kudos to the Brewers pitchers, all eight of them, that held the Pirates to one run.

Bullpens were huge in the White Sox-Twins game last night as well. The White Sox built up a 6-1 and looked like they would remain in first place in the AL Central, but the Twins rallied against the Chicago pen, while their own relievers shut down the White Sox after the 4th inning.

An RBI triple by Carlos Gomez and a run scoring double by Denard Span cut the White Sox lead in half in the fourth. Down 6-4 in the eighth inning, the two struck again. Gomez's RBI single off of Bobby Jenks narrowed the deficit to a run, and moments later Span tripled to score Gomez and knot the game at 6-6. In the 10th, Nick Punto drew a one out walk, moved to second on Gomez's ground out, and advanced to third on Jenks' wild pitch. After Span was intentionally walked, Alexi Casilla singled home Punto with the game winner and vaulted the Twins into first place by a half-game.

The Dodgers clinched the NL West when the Cardinals pounded the Diamondbacks 12-3 Thursday afternoon, but held off celebrating until after they lost last night's game with the Padres, 7-5. Joe Torre and Manny Ramirez made the difference with this bunch, which took advantage of a collapsing Dbacks squad.

The Red Sox moved back to within 2 games of the Rays with a 6-1 win over the Indians. Jon Lester and three relievers combined on a 2-hitter and Kevin Youkilis hit his 28th home run. Meanwhile, the Rays fell to the Tigers, 7-5, as Scott Kazmir was tagged for four of the five home runs Detroit hit. Rookie Armando Galarraga won his 13th game for the Tigers.


News and Notes

The Padres clung to their slim playoff hopes with an 8-6 win over the Reds. Roy Oswalt won his 17th game. Oswalt went 8-2, 1.70 in his last 10 starts.

Vlad Guerrero's 3-run home run yesterday gave him at least 90 RBI for the 10th time in his career.

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Around the Horn - 7/26

The Dodgers, looking to strengthen their infield, have acquired Casey Blake from the Indians for prospects RHP Jon Meloan and catcher Carlos Santana (can he play guitar too?).

The Mets won again last night and are now 23-12 under Jerry Manuel. They also have a 2 game lead in the NL East after the Phils got drubbed by the Braves 8-2. The Mets will be without Pedro Martinez, due to the death of his father. Boston's David Ortiz paid tribute to his friend by putting RIP 45 on his helmet.

Despite rumors to the contrary, the Twins not be promoting Francisco Liriano for Sunday's game. Liriano has talked about bringing action against the Twins for not promoting him sooner.

Rangers pitcher Kevin Millwood is headed to the DL for the umteenth time with a groin injury. His teammate Josh Hamilton reached the 100 RBI mark last night before any other ALer reached 80 RBI.

The Astros expect Roy Oswalt back from the DL on Monday.

Twins outfielder Carlos Gomez was released from a Cleveland area hospital after crashing into the wall last night against the Indians. Gomez injured his lower back and was given a pain injection. He's not expected to miss significant time.

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Around the Horn - 5/8

You can tack another loss on to Barry Zito's record. The Giants gave Zito a start yesterday and held their breath. Throwing 99 pitches in 5 innings is not good, but he gave his team a chance to win by allowing 2 runs in 5 innings. But the Giants bats couldn't do anything against Pirates starter Phil Dumatrait and the bullpen. They finally broke up the shutout in the 9th, but still lost, 3-1.

The Rockies looked like they were going down to defeat again after the Cards' Adam Wainwright shut them down for 7 innings. But Kyle McLellan, Randy Flores, and Jason Isringhausen each did their part to blow the game. The Rocks scored 4 times off of the 3 Cards pitchers in the 8th inning with Chris Ianette delivering the decisive blow- a 2-run game winning triple.

The Astros won their second straight over the Nationals in their final at-bat. In both cases, Carlos Lee delivered the game winning hit. Tuesday night Lee doubled in a pair with the Astros trailing by a run. Last night's game was tied in the bottom of the 9th when Lee singled home Kaz Matsui with the winning run a 4-3 contest.

The Marlins moved 5 games over .500 with a 6-2 win over the Brewers. Jorge Cantu and Dan Uggla each homered against a Brewers team that fell back under the .500 mark.

The Mets took out their frustrations from the prior two games and pounded the Dodgers 12-1. Four different Mets drove in 2 runs each and John Maine came within 2 outs of a complete game shutout.

Tim Hudson picked up his 140th career win in the Braves 5-2 thumping of the Padres. The game was tied 2-2 in the 7th when newly acquired Greg Norton put the Braves ahead with a pinch-hit single. The Padres fell to 12-23, but got to watch Bobby Cox get ejected for the 137th time in his managerial career.

As we told you yesterday, Joey Votto smacked 3 home runs and the Reds totalled 7 in all in a 9-0 whitewashing of the Cubs.

The Phillies came back from 3-1 and 4-3 deficits to beat the Diamondbacks 5-4. Eric Bruntlett and Chase Utley each knocked in runs in the go-ahead 8th inning.

Carlos Gomez hit for the cycle in the Twins 13-1 win over the White Sox. Gomez had the two hardest hits, a home run and triple, by the end of the 5th inning. He's the first Twin to achieve the feat since Kirby Puckett in 1986. Meanwhile the White Sox have dropped 7 out of 8.

Detroit blew a 3-run lead, but rallied against Jon Papelbon in the 9th inning to beat the Red Sox 10-9. Curtis Granderson tied it with an RBI ground out before Placido Polanco's 5th hit brought home the game winner for the Tigers. Kevin Youkilis homered twice for Boston.

Mark Ellis belted a walk-off home run in the A's 6-5, 10 inning win over the Orioles. The loss was a season high 5th straight for the O's.

Zach Grienke improved to 4-1 (1.80 ERA) and David DeJesus belted a 3-run HR in the Royals 9-4 thumping of the Angels. Jered Weaver was tagged for 8 runs in just 3.1 innings.

Shaun Marcum allowed just 1 hit over 8 innings before losing the shutout in the 9th, but he came away with the win in the Blue Jays 6-2 triumph over the Rays. Scott Rolen hit his 2nd home run in Jays uni.

Vincente Padilla won his 3rd straight game as the Rangers blanked the anemic Mariners 2-0. Padilla has allowed just 1 earned run over his last 21.2 innings Erik Bedard took the hard luck loss and is just 2-2 despite a 1.99 ERA. The Mariners, who have scored 2 or less runs in 6 of their last 7 games, dropped into sole possession of last place in the AL West.

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Around the Horn - 4/5

The Tigers skid to start the season was extended to 4 games yesterday when the White Sox beat them 8-5. A.J. Pierzynski drove in 5 runs, including the game winning 3-run home run in the 8th. Starters Jose Contreras and Nate Robertson both stunk.

Ramon Hernandez, Kevin Millar, and Melvin Mora homered in the Orioles 7-4 win over the Mariners. Former Mariner set up man George Sherrill picked up his 2nd save as the O's closer.

Shaun Marcum limited the Red Sox to 3 hits over 7 innings in the Blue Jays home opening 6-3 win.

The Twins got a new centerfielder and lead off man, Carlos Gomez, in the Johan Santana deal. Last night he gave the Twins what they were hoping for-3 hits, 2 stolen bases, and a run scored. The Twins beat the Royals 4-3, handing KC their first loss.

Angels starter Dustin Moseley beat out highty touted prospect Nick Adenhardt for the 5th starter's spot. Moseley may be looking over his shoulder after allowing 5 runs in 5 innings while Adenhardt tossed 5 shutout innings inTriple-A. Ben Broussard took Moseley deep for a grand slam in the Rangers 11-6 win.

Justin Duscherer has been a reliable set up man in his brief career, but last night he limited the Indians to 1 run in 5 innings of work before leaving with bicep tightness. The A's beat the Tribe 6-3, but they have to be concerned about closer Huston Street. He's allowed at least 1 run in each of his 3 appearances and has given up a home run in each game.

Bill Hall homered twice and drove in 6 runs in the Brewers 13-4 drubbing of the Giants.

Miguel Tejada tripled in the go-ahead run in the Astros 4-3 win over the Cubs. Rookie of the year candidate J.R. Towles hit his 1st home run of the year.

Micah Owings got a hit as usual, but it was his pitching, 2 hits allowed, 9 Ks in 6.2 innings that dominated the Reds. The Diamondbacks got home runs from Justin Upton and Mark Reynolds in their 8-1 win.

The Dodgers scored 6 runs in the 7th to beat the Padres 7-1 making Hiroki Kuroda's MLB debut a successful one. The Japanese born right-hander limited the Pads to 3 hits in 7 innings.

The Cardinals improved to 3-1, beating the Nats 5-4 behind Rick Ankiel's HR and Braden Looper's pitching.

Chase Utley just keeps on hitting. The 2nd Baseman, off to a .357 start, homered twice in the Phillies 8-4 win over the Reds.

The Mets and Braves were rained out, delaying Tom Glavine's start against his last team.

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Breaking Down the Santana Trade

When we first heard the Johan Santana deal announced yesterday, we reacted with a combination of relief (that the Red Sox hadn't landed him) and shock (that's all the Twins got?!). There are a couple of factors though that can play into our final feelings on the trade.

La Velle E. Neal III (what a name!) of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune is reporting that Johan Santana told the Twins he would not waive his no-trade clause if he was not dealt by Tuesday (yesterday). Santana has completely denied similar ultimatums that were attributed to him during this whole process. If it's true than the Twins did indeed have their hands tied in making a deal.
Peter Abraham of the Journal News reported that Twins' GM Bill Smith went back to both the Yankees and Red Sox in one last attempt to get the best deal possible. Both Brian Cashman and Theo Epstein said no to lower packages.

So Smith took the Mets deal which was no fantastic assortment of players. Carlos Gomez, Phil Humber, Kevin Mulvey, and Deolis Guerra. Let's take a look at each of them.

Carlos Gomez has the too much bandied about tag of "5-tool player" thrown around his neck. For those of you who don't know, a 5-tool player is one who grades at high skills in hitting for average, hitting with power, speed, defense, and arm strength. It can pan out in a player like Alex Rodriguez, but more times than not it usually results in players like Michael Coleman, who never translate minor league success to the majors.

Gomez hit .232 in 58 games with the Mets in '07 with 12 stolen bases in 15 attempts. His minor league numbers have never shown the power potential of a 5-tool player, and unless this 22-yr old bulks up, he's not going to either. Like a lot of Latin American ball players, Gomez is a free swinger who strikes out too often, and doesn't walk enough for a guy with his speed.

Whether or not the Twins make him their immediate replacement for Torii Hunter, remains to be seen. Gomez could probably use a full-season at Triple-A, or at the very least, platoon with a left-handed hitter (he only hit .212 against righties) his first year in Minnesota.

Mets fans have been hearing about Phil Humber for quite some time now. The 25-yr old spent 3 season at Rice University before joining the Mets in 2005. In 3 minor league seasons, Humber has a 4.11 ERA. In '07, his first at Triple-A, he went 11-9, 4.27 with 44 walks and 120 Ks in 139 innings pitched. Despite some moderate success, the Mets didn't think he was the answer to their starting rotation woes last season.

Humber did come up for a couple of looks the past 2 years, including a start in the heat of the pennant race in late September. The Nationals tagged him for 5 runs on 6 hits, including a home run, in 4 innings pitched. He'll probably start the season at Triple-A.

Kevin Mulvey is a New Jersey boy, who spent 3 years at Villanova. He split 4 games in '06 at Rookie ball and Double-A, and spent all but one game at Double-A in '07. His numbers weren't overly impressive at 'nova, but he showed promise at Binghamton last year, going 11-10, 3.26 with 43 walks and 110 Ks in 151.2 IP.

Mulvey obviously wasn't in the Mets system long enough to get a real idea of what he can do. He'll join Humber in Triple-A.

Deolis Guerra will turn just 19 on April 17 and has spent 2 years at the 'A' and advanced 'A' levels. The Venezuelan born right-hander went 9-14, 3.28 with 68 walks and 135 Ks in 178.2 innings pitched. It will be a few years before Guerra will have an impact at the major league level. He should start the season in Double-A.

On paper, it looks like the Twins got hosed, but time will tell. Though they will be paying a small fortune to Santana, this was an excellent deal for the Mets.

The only real downside for Yankees fans is having to listen to obnoxious Mets fans crow about Santana on WFAN. But at least we still have Phil Hughes.

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Breaking News: Mets Acquire Santana

Better the Mets than Boston. That's the feeling right now after hearing that the Mets have acquired Johan Santana from the Twins for a group of prospects. According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, outfielder Carlos Gomez and pitchers Phil Humber, Deolis Guerra and Kevin Mulvey are heading to Minnesota in exchange fo the two-time Cy Young winner.

The deal is pending the Mets ability to sign Santana to a long term contract. It's expected that the Mets have from 48-72 hours to get something done with the left-hander's reps.

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