• Diamondbacks at Cubs, 3:00 p.m. PT — The good news, if you’re a Cubs fan, is that this one’s in Chicago. The bad news is that Livan Hernandez gets the start for Arizona. Yeah, he’s got an ERA near 5.00 and his peripherals are nauseating, but the guy has been lights-out in the playoffs throughout his career (the World Series is a different story, but we’re not there yet). Plus he’s got the most ridiculous curve ball ever. Rich “Ya Shoulda Seen Me in April” Hill goes for the Cubs in his postseason debut. The playoffs are so weird. Last year we had Yadier Molina. This year it’s… Augie Ojeda?
• Phillies at Rockies, 6:30 p.m. PT — The hottest team in baseball comes home needing to win one out of its next two games against a team with inferior pitching. Jamie Moyer has experience on his side, but this may not be enough to overcome a potent offense and what promises to be a raucous crowd.

As always, happy watching!

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Meanwhile, here are the games that matter:

• Marlins at Mets, 10:10 a.m. PT — Dontrelle Willis vs Tom Glavine. I can’t think of a better pitcher to make this start for New York than Glavine. To say the guy is well prepared for this situation is to make a colossal understatement. He’ll face a tough Florida lineup, but also a pitcher in Willis who has been a disaster in the second half (batters are hitting .315/.383/.522 against him since the All-Star break).
• Nationals at Phillies, 10:35 a.m. PT — Like the Mets, the Phillies play a lousy team at home. Like the Mets, they’ll send out a 40-something left-hander (Jamie Moyer) to get the job done. Jay Bergmann counters for Washington, and all of his splits come up bad. He’s much less effective on the road, in the second half, and against left-handed batters (hello Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, and Ryan Howard).
• Padres at Brewers, 11:05 a.m. PT — How has San Diego’s season come to depend on Brett Tomko? I’m pretty certain that wasn’t in the script. The Padres also have the pleasure of facing a playoff-caliber club on its home turf. Jeff Suppan, who has been stronger at home and in the second half, gets the call for Milwaukee.
• Diamondbacks at Rockies, 12:05 p.m. PT — Arizona has already clinched the NL West. Although the Snakes own the best record in the league, they also don’t have much incentive to play their regulars. The Rockies, meanwhile, have won 15 of their last 20 games and have shown no interest in going home for the winter. Two young right-handers, Yusmeiro Petit and Ubaldo Jimenez, hook up in this one.

There you have it. Fire up a pot of coffee and plant your posterior on the couch. It’s gonna be a fun morning…

Post from: Knuckle Curve

American League

• Angels at Mariners, 1:35 p.m. PT — Division rivals, great pitching matchup (Jered Weaver vs Felix Hernandez). Most days this would be a no-brainer as the game to watch, but there are several good ones today.
• Red Sox at Yankees, 4:05 p.m. PT — Josh Beckett goes up against Roger Clemens. Advice to hitters: look for the fastball. The AL East is slipping away from the Yankees, as they are now 8 games back with 31 remaining. They’re only 2 behind Seattle in the wild card.
• Twins at Indians, 4:05 p.m. PT — Minnesota is hanging in the NL Central race, albeit just barely. They’re 6 1/2 back of Cleveland and 4 back of Detroit. This is a dream pitching matchup: Johan Santana vs C.C. Sabathia. Santana is becoming one of those guys who are trapped by their own success. “Wow, he’s only 14-9 with a 2.97 ERA? What’s wrong with him?” What’s wrong is that he’s better than everyone else, that’s all. Anyway, Sabathia is enjoying a fine season as well. What blows me away about his game is how dramatically he’s improved his control since coming into the league. As a 20-year-old rookie back in 2001, Sabathia walked 4.74 batters per 9 innings. This year he’s at 1.32. Sure, he’s more hittable, but he’s also a lot more efficient (4.10 P/PA in ‘01 compared with 3.65 in ‘07), which allows him to go deeper into games (about 7 innings per start now vs just over 5 1/3 back then).

National League

• Mets at Phillies, 4:05 p.m. PT — Don’t look now, but Philadelphia is only 5 games out of first place in the NL East. Could you find two more different left-handers than Oliver Perez and Jamie Moyer? Well, maybe Cloris Leachman and Paul McCartney, but we’re talking about pitchers here.
• Brewers at Cubs, 5:05 p.m. PT — Another fun matchup: Ben Sheets and Carlos Zambrano. Too bad Milwaukee is 16-26 since the All-Star break. The Brewers are in serious danger of being overtaken by the St. Louis Cardinals for second place in the NL Central. How very disappointing.
• Diamondbacks at Padres, 7:05 p.m. PT — After taking the first two games, San Diego is now in a position to recapture a share of first place with a victory on Wednesday. Slugger Micah Owings gets the start for Arizona, while the Padres counter with the venerable Greg Maddux.

Time for just one? You know my bias, but that Santana/Sabathia matchup has the potential to be brilliant. If I had no other attachments to any of the teams, that is the one I’d watch.

Like what you’re reading at Knuckle Curve? Why not subscribe…

Post from: Knuckle Curve

• Yankees at Tigers, 4:05 p.m. PT — It seems like these two teams are always playing each other. Anyway, Roger Clemens and Andrew Miller makes for an interesting matchup. Aside from the fact that Clemens is twice as old as Miller, it’s also worth noting that lefties are hitting just .140/.241/.180 against the young southpaw. Granted, it’s in all of 60 plate appearances, but yikes.
• Blue Jays at Angels, 7:05 p.m. PT — Roy Halladay and Jered Weaver hook up at Anaheim. If I didn’t have a softball game, I’d make the drive up for this one. Ah, who am I kidding; I’d pass out on the couch while watching Painkiller Jane or some nonsense.
• Padres at Phillies, 4:05 p.m. PT — Greg Maddux? Jamie Moyer? Stop it, please; my hip hurts…
• Dodgers at Mets, 4:10 p.m. PT — Two playoff contenders and a good pitching matchup (Brad Penny vs Oliver Perez). I’ve been watching Perez since he pitched in the California League. If he ever figures out how to get below 3.5 walks per 9, he could be scary good. Nice to see him at least moving in the right direction.
• Pirates at Astros, 5:05 p.m. PT — Just kidding; there’s no reason to watch this.
• Cubs at Diamondbacks, 6:40 p.m. PT — Two pennant contenders send 24-year-olds out to the mound. Arizona right-hander Micah Owings gave up three runs in his last start on August 18 in Atlanta. He also knocked two homers and drove in six. It’s not even 50 plate appearances, but the kid is batting .273/.298/.568. Half of his 12 big-league hits are for extra bases. Maybe if the pitching thing doesn’t work out, he can go the Rick Ankiel route.

There it is. Happy Friday, happy watching!

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Looking for games with the biggest playoff implications? Try the Yankees at Indians (Andy Pettitte vs Jake Westbrook, 10:05 a.m. PT), or Braves at Phillies (Buddy Carlyle vs Jamie Moyer, 5:05 p.m. PT).

Enjoy…

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Not that it took a genius to figure out that Felix Hernandez/Daisuke Matsuzaka would be a great matchup, but a one-hitter from Hernandez? Against that lineup? Yesterday I said, “…and if something should happen to Johan Santana, Hernandez could garner some Cy Young support.” I’d like to remove the qualifier from that statement. You dominate the Red Sox in their house, and you’re something special.

And the Justin Verlander/Adam Loewen matchup turned out to be a dandy as well. Both struggled with control a bit, but kept the game scoreless. Actually, the game remained that way till the 12th inning, when Craig Monroe knocked a grand slam. We were out at the Padres game last night. I pointed to the scoreboard and said to my wife, “Look, it’s 0-0 in the 11th.” She said, “yuck,” or some such. Needless to say, we have slightly different tastes in what makes for a good baseball game.

I would also point out that the Brewers/Marlins game was pretty good, but I think I’ve already strained something while patting myself on the back. Let’s move on to Thursday’s games, shall we?

American League

• Tigers at Blue Jays, 4:07 p.m. PT – This isn’t really my kind of game, but with Mike Maroth and Tomo Ohka on the mound, the runs could be flowing in a big way. I’ll go out on a limb and say it won’t be tied 0-0 in the 11th.

National League

• Phillies at Mets, 4:05 p.m. PT – Jamie Moyer made his big-league debut June 16, 1986, against his current team while pitching for the Chicago Cubs. When Moyer signed his first pro contract after being a sixth-round pick in the ‘84 draft, current teammate Cole Hamels was just 5 1/2 months old. Moyer, now age 44, starts for the Phillies, while Tom Glavine goes for the Mets. The 41-year-old southpaw made his big-league debut August 17, 1987, against the Houston Astros. A second-round pick in that same ‘84 draft, Glavine was selected by the Braves before current teammate Lastings Milledge was born.

Okay, now I feel old. Speaking of which, another future Hall of Famer is pitching at 4:35 p.m. PT. John Smoltz takes the hill for Atlanta against the hapless (really, they have no haps) Nationals. The game will be brutal, so I cannot in good conscience recommend it, but maybe tune in every now and then to watch Smoltz abuse the Washington batters. You know, if you’re not too squeamish that way.

Happy Thursday, folks. Enjoy!

Post from: Knuckle Curve