Around the Horn - 5/27

Willie Randolph survived a Monday meeting with management, but for how long?. The verdict, "he's still manager, for now". That's not a rave. Then the Mets went out and looked flat against the NL East leading Marlins and lost 7-3. Luis Gonzalez drove in 3 runs to out do Jose Reyes who hit a pair of solo home runs. Mike Pelfrey was awful yet again in taking the loss. Perhaps he's been vastly overrated by Mets management.

Another manager hanging by a thread is Mariners skipper John McLaren. And you can understand how the front office would be upset with him after his handling of young gun Felix Hernandez yesterday. Hernandez and Bartolo Colon were locked in a great pitchers duel as the Mariners and Red Sox met. The game was tied 1-1 in the 8th when The King rang into trouble.

Sean Casey singled before Hernandez got 2 quick ground outs. It appeared he might escape trouble and maybe that's why McLaren left him in so long. Dustin Pedroia's ground rule double scored pinch-runner Julio Lugo to put the Sox up 2-1. The Mariners elected to walk David Ortiz and pitch to Manny Ramirez. That backfired when Ramirez singled to right. 3-1 Sox. Maybe a good time to take Hernandez out. No? An infield single by Mike Lowell made it 4-1. Okay, pull him now. No? A J.D. Drew single loaded the bases. You have to take him out now. NO???

McLaren finally pulled Hernandez after he walked Jason Varitek to force in a run. Great job taking a kid's great game and turning it into a fiasco. The Mariners scored twice in the bottom of the 9th, but it was too little too late at that point. Perhaps it might not have been had McLaren had the smarts to go to the bullpen about 4 batters earlier.

Clint Hurdle and the Rockies front office must be wondering what happened to their playoff team from a year ago. Granted the Rockies weren't much better at this time last year, just 3 games ahead of their current (20-31) pace. But the great pitching they got in '07 has not been there. Yesterday they were pounded by the Phillies 20-5. Chase Utley homered and drove in 6 runs and Chris Coste and Pedro Feliz knocked in 4 runs each. Jamie Moyer picked up career win #235.

No such outburst in Anaheim, where it took 12 innings before anyone scored. The Angels pulled out a 1-0 win over the Tigers when Garrett Anderson drew a bases loaded walk. Jose Arredondo picked up his first major league victory. Starters Kenny Rogers and John Garland both threw 7 scoreless innings. Gary Sheffield had to leave the game with an oblique injury and will be re-evaluated today.

Eric Hinske belted a 3-run home run to help boost the Rays to a 7-3 win over the Rangers. The victory moved the Rays to 11 games over .500. Scott Kazmir was dealing- 3 hits and 10 Ks over 7 innings. Meanwhile Sidney Ponson crashed back to earth with a 5 inning, 5 run, 12 hit performance.

Derek Lee and Aramis Ramirez homered and Ryan Dempster improved to 6-2 in the Cubs 3-1 win over the Dodgers. Kerry Wood picked up his 11th save.

Team meetings don't always work. Royals manager Trey Hillman tried it before yesterday's game with the Blue Jays. But a few hours later the Royals had lost their 8th straight, 7-2. Marco Scutaro and Greg Zaun homered to help Shaun Marcum improve to 5-3, 2.64.

Gabe Kapler's 11th inning single gave the Brewers a 4-3 win over the Nationals.

The Indians and White Sox went 12 innings before the Chisox scored 3 times for a 6-3 win. Starters Javier Vazquez and Paul Byrd each allowed 3 runs in 6 innings. The Indians had to know they were in trouble when they put Scott Elarton into the game to start the 12th.

The Braves beat the Diamondbacks 7-3 to hand Brandon Webb his second consecutive loss. The right-hander allowed 7 runs, 4 of them earned, in just 4.1 innings pitched. Jair Jurrjens couldn't go 5 to get the win, but the Braves bullpen did an excellent job over the final 4.1 innings. Mark Texeira lead the offense with 4 RBI and Brian McCann homered.

News and Notes

Mets outfielder Ryan Church will be examined by a neurologist today due to lingering effects from the concussion he suffered last week.

The Reds are reportedly calling up top prospect Jay Bruce today which could mean the end of Scott Hatteberg's days in Cincy.

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Around the Horn - 5/14

Good NL East battle last night between the Braves and Phillies. Atlanta jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the 1st, but Jayson Werth came up big in 3 spots for a 4 RBI night in the Phillies 5-4 win.

The Phillies victory moved them to within a game and a half of the first place Marlins after Florida lost to the Reds 5-3. Josh Hamilton is leading the AL in RBI, but no one in Cincy is complaining about the deal that brought them Edinson Volquez. The 24-yr old improved to 6-1 last night and has a 1.12 ERA. The news wasn't all good for the Reds though. Starting shortstop Jeff Keppinger broke his kneecap after fouling a ball off of it. Keppinger was hitting .324 and was third in the NL with RISP.

The Mets got a big time performance from rising star John Maine, who limited the Nats to 2 hits over 6 innings. The Mets took the game 6-3 thanks to Ryan Church's 4 RBI. There was a lot of criticism from Mets fans when the team dealt Lastings Milledge for Brian Schneider and Church, but there's nary a peep now. Church is in the top 10 in the NL in RBI and is hitting .324.

Sean Estes hadn't won a major league since 2005 and hadn't even seen a major league mound in 2007. But that all changed last night when he got the start and the win in the Padres 4-3 victory over the Cubs. Khalil Green's 3-run home run gave Estes the support he needed. Alfonso Soriano homered for the 2nd straight game for the Cubbies and is 8-14 over the last 3 games.

Ryan Braun stayed red hot, doubling in a pair of runs in the 5th to put the Brewers ahead for good in a 5-3 win over the Dodgers. Eric Gagne returned to the closer's role with mixed results. He nailed down the game without allowing a run, but did give up a hit and a walk.

The Pirates are within a game of .500 after pasting the Cards 8-4 in 10 innings. Adam LaRoche drove in 3 runs and Nate McLouth hit his 10th home run. That's tied for 4th best in the NL. The Cardinals have dropped 6 of 7.

Stephen Drew hit a 3-run home run to help Randy Johnson win his 287th career win in the Diamondbacks 8-4 win over the Rockies.

Matt Cain homered and went 8 innings to help the Giants snap the Astros 4-game winning streak.

Ryan Garko hit a 3-run home run and Paul Byrd tossed 7-plus innings in the Indians 4-0 over the A's. The Indians starting staff hasn't allowed an earned run in 34 innings.

Mark Teahen's 8th inning single snapped a 2-2 tie and the Royals sent the Tigers to their 8th loss in 11 games.

Hand Josh Beckett a 3-0 lead in the 1st inning and you figure the Red Sox have themselves a win. That wasn't the case last night when Luke Scott belted a 3-run home run and the Orioles pulled out a 5-4 win. The Sox have dropped 3 straight and 4 of 5.

Ramon Vazquez drove in 2 runs to help the Rangers beat the Mariners 5-2. The loss dropped them M's 11 games under .500. Eddie Guardado pitched the 9th to pick up his first save since 2006.

Jesse Litsch improved to 5-1 and Matt Stairs homered in the Blue Jays 5-3 win over the Twins.

John Danks and Jered Weaver (7 IP 1 H) hooked up in a good pitcher's duel as the White Sox and Angels were scoreless through 7.5 innings. Mike Napoli and Rob Quinlan each drove in a run in the 8th inning to give the Angels 2-0 win.

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Not Ever Lastings

The Mets finally gave up on highly touted prospects Lastings Milledge, sending him to the Washington Nationals yesterday for catcher Brian Schneider and outfielder Ryan Church. Milledge's name had been mentioned in the past for 'A' list players such as Dontrelle Willis, but on- and off-field transgressions upset GM Omar Minaya and manager Willie Randolph.

The final straw may have occurred during the 2nd to last game of this past season, when the Mets were battling the Phillies for 1st place. Milledge and Jose Reyes went over the top in home run celebration dances and the next day the Mets were clobbered by the Florida Marlins, eliminating from a chance at the playoffs. While it obviously wasn't a cause and effect situation, there was thought that Milledge didn't take things seriously enough.

Nat's GM Jim Bowden is certainly not afraid of taking on players with questionable or bad reputations. Dmitri Young was released by the Tigers during their run to the World Series in 2006 and won the comeback player of the year award for the Nats in 2007.

If Milledge can still show off all of the tools rather than being a tool, Bowden will have gotten him and given up next to nothing. Schneider is a very good defensive catcher, but hit just .235 this past season. Church is an average hitter, who is most likely best suited as a 4th outfielder.

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