• The Mets beat the Marlins, 7-2. The planet’s best pitcher against a Triple-A squad — who could’ve have anticipated such a result? Uh, everyone.
• The Pittsburgh/Atlanta game was insane. The Pirates took a 9-4 lead into the bottom of the ninth, but the Braves tied. Then the Bucs jumped ahead in the 12th, 12-9, before allowing two runs in the bottom half and hanging on for a 12-11 victory. Xavier Nady, whom I’ve been following since he took home Cal League MVP honors in 2001 while playing for a great Lake Elsinore Storm club (Peavy and Mets left-hander Oliver Perez also played on that team, which went 91-49), knocked two homers, including the game winner.
• The Giants really stink. Good thing they’re paying Barry Zito all that money.
• The Brewers and Cubs ran a clinic on how not to close a game. Locked in a scoreless tie headed to the ninth, Milwaukee plated three runs in the top half off “closer” Kerry Wood, then watched “closer” Eric Gagne cough up three of his own in the bottom half. The Brewers scored in the top of the 10th and hung on to win, 4-3. Who got credit for the victory? The least deserving guy in the ballpark, of course: Gagne. The next time someone tries to tell you that a pitcher is good because of his won-loss record, remind them that the rules dictating how a win is “earned” don’t necessarily correlate with actually contributing to victory.
• Break up the Nationals. With Monday’s 11-6 drubbing of Philadelphia, they’re assured of finishing no worse than 2-160 this year.
• Livan Hernandez pitched well in his Twins debut. Actually, for all the grief Minnesota took in signing him, he matched Johan Santana’s line — two runs in seven innings — and got the win. Not that he’ll keep pace with Santana beyond, oh, right about now, but still…
• The White Sox seem to be a sexy dark horse candidate this season, but I just don’t see it. By my count, they’ve got about three or four good pitchers, depending on whether you believe Octavio Dotel can stay of the disabled list. One of them (Mark Buehrle) got absolutely pounded at Cleveland. Granted, the Indians will do that to a pitcher, but if the White Sox can’t win behind Buehrle, then what are they going to do when, say, Gavin Floyd toes the slab?

Good times, my friends. Good times…

Post from: Knuckle Curve

I can’t imagine being unable to perform such a routine activity (and one so vital to my job) for 17 years. It’s great to hear that Sasser, who now is a community college coach (whose duties include throwing batting practice), is good to go again.

Post from: Knuckle Curve

The Mets are down, 7-1, after two innings. They are running their third pitcher of the morning out there now.

[Update: This game is now a final: Florida has won, 8-1, and the Mets' season is finished.]

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

The AL race is (or should be) a slam dunk. I’m fascinated that some folks have voted against A-Rod in our poll. I’d love to hear reasons behind that (”Yankees are teh suck” isn’t a reason).

I also find it surprising that Chase Utley still ranks so highly in the NL race. There’s no way he’ll win it, and if the Mets somehow slip out of a playoff spot, I’m not sure about David Wright either. I agree with VW’s assessment of Matt Holliday (who is getting some love in our NL poll):

He’s been good (and those 131 RBIs are going to be real tough for the voters to pass up if the Rockies somehow sneak into the playoffs), but he really doesn’t belong in the MVP discussion.

Holliday has had a monstrous (.357/.434/.833) September, and I suspect that if Colorado plays even one postseason game, he’s the winner. I remain in the Wright camp, despite his team’s late collapse.

[Update, Sep 29, 2007: An AP article doesn’t even mention Wright as a possibility.

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Teams are running out of time to make their move. The AL West and Central have been decided — if not mathematically, then practically speaking. The AL East is still up for grabs, but unless you’re a fan of the Red Sox or Yankees, that’s not a particularly compelling story line seeing that the runner-up almost certainly will win the wild card.

In the National League, things are a little more interesting. The Mets continue their free fall and now are just 1 1/2 games ahead of Philadelphia in the East. The Mets head to Florida for a series with the Marlins (hopefully in front of more than 375 people), while the Phillies are in Washington to face the Nationals. Advantage? Well, someone has the opportunity to make up ground in the wild card race.

The same 1 1/2 game gap separates the Cubs from second-place Milwaukee in the Central. Chicago plays host to the Pirates, fresh off losing four straight in San Diego; the Brewers face the Braves in Atlanta. This could be a great chance for the Cubs to get some separation headed into the final week.

Out west, meanwhile, Arizona’s lead over the Padres has slipped to a half game, while the Rockies — a long shot — find themselves five out and playing excellent baseball. The Diamondbacks are at home against the stumbling Dodgers. Here in San Diego, two of the hottest teams in the National League square off in what could be the Rockies’ last grasp at a playoff shot — a tremendous run considering their extreme youth and relative inexperience.

The real question is how much pride the Dodgers will play with now that they’re essentially out of the race. If you’re a fan of the Padres or Rockies, you hope LA will come out fighting. The Dodgers have been so inconsistent that it’s impossible to say which team will show up over the weekend.

Whatever happens, we’ve got some potentially exciting matchups. Seriously, is this the best time of the season or what?

Post from: Knuckle Curve

American League

• Mariners at Blue Jays, 4:07 p.m. PT — This is the only weekend series in the AL that features two winning teams. You’ve also got the whole “battle of ‘77 expansion teams” going in this one. Whatever happened to Leroy Stanton and Otto Velez, anyway?

National League

• Mets at Braves, 4:35 p.m. PT — The Mets just got swept in Philadelphia and now lead the Phillies by a mere 2 games. The Braves, for their part, are only 4 1/2 back in the NL East. If the Mets are going to win the division, it sure isn’t going to be easy. The opener in this weekend showdown features right-handers John Maine and Tim Hudson. Maine’s overall numbers (13-8, 3.68) obscure the fact that he’s been brutal (3-4, 5.94) since the All-Star break. He’s allowed six runs in three of his last five starts. Hudson, meanwhile, has enjoyed a terrific resurgence this year. The guy we saw from 2001 to 2003 most likely is gone forever, but even if he continues to perform at 2004-2005 levels, that’s pretty darned good.
• Dodgers at Padres, 7:05 p.m. PT — This divisional showdown features a truly dreadful pitching matchup, so what else is going on here? David Wells faces his former team for the first time since leaving, as does Milton Bradley on the other side. Bradley, in case you didn’t get the memo, has been terrorizing NL pitchers since coming to San Diego on July 7. He’s hitting .345/.441/.655 in 33 games with the Padres (compare with the more ballyhooed Mark Teixeira’s .327/.416/.664 in 27 games with Atlanta).

I’ll be keeping an eye on the Padres, of course. If you have no general rooting interest, though, and are looking for a potentially great game, go with the Mets and Braves.

Happy watching…

Post from: Knuckle Curve

American League

• Red Sox at Yankees, 10:05 a.m. PT — This series doesn’t need any more hype. Either you love it or you don’t care. Watch (or don’t) accordingly.
• Mariners at Indians, 4:05 p.m. PT — Playoff implications in this one, plus a potentially volatile pitching matchup. Two finesse lefties — the execrable Horacio Ramirez and the too-unknown-to-have-an-unflattering-adjective-attached-to-the-front-of-his-name Aaron Laffey — hook up in this one. Philosophical question for the day: When does batting practice end and game begin?

National League

• Mets at Phillies, 10:05 a.m. PT — We’re all anxious to know whether Philadelphia can reach the post-season with two guys named Kyle in the rotation. Orlando Hernandez goes for the Mets. Your grandkids will be telling you about him one day.
• Diamondbacks at Padres, 7:05 p.m. PT — The preview says that Livan Hernandez is pitching for Arizona, but he started on Monday; it’s actually left-hander Doug Davis. San Diego counters with Chris Young, who missed his previous start due to a bad back. These two teams find themselves in a virtual tie for first place in the NL West with a month to go. The Padres are one game up in the loss column.

As you know by now, I’m very biased, but I honestly believe that the NL West race is the most compelling in baseball right now. It certainly is the closest. If you have to choose one game to watch, I recommend Arizona vs San Diego, although the Mariners and Indians could be “interesting” — any chance they could get that game moved to Coors Field?

As always, happy watching…

Post from: Knuckle Curve

American League

• Devil Rays at Tigers, 10:05 a.m. PT — Yeah, the Rays are a crap team going nowhere fast, but they have some terrific young talent, and Scott Kazmir vs Jeremy Bonderman is a fun pitching matchup.

National League

• Braves at Mets, 9:10 a.m. PT — As was the case on Wednesday when these two teams hooked up at Shea, we have a game with potential playoff implications and a great matchup. Tim Hudson is pitching better than he has at any point since 2003, the last time he garnered any support for the Cy Young Award, while John Maine has enjoyed a serious coming-out party this year. Did the Orioles really give up this guy to get Kris Benson? Yuck.

Once again, my choice would be Braves and Mets. Yesterday’s game was a dandy, and today should be no different.

Post from: Knuckle Curve