Anyone who thinks the Arizona Diamondbacks are being carried by rookies and only youngsters better take a look at last night’s Arizona box score.

Steve Finley, Luis Gonzalez, and Shea Hillenbrand hitting in the middle of the order, went 7-12, with 6 runs scored, and 4 rbi’s in the win over San Diego. All experienced players.

Couple that hitting with Miguel Batista’s dominating pitching, and you can see why the NL West will be a terrific baseball race to watch for the rest of the season.

Randy Johnson comes back tomorrow from a serious knee injury. He loves to pitch in San Diego and that is why the Arizonans don’t want his debut to be in Pac Bell Monday night. Today is the anniversary of the day Johnson struck out 16 Padres in the completion of a suspended game in 2001 in San Diego.

The Unit flat out can pitch in that park and with Brandon Webb all set to go today, the series with the Giants will be one to watch.

Shawn Chacon comes off the DL to face SF this afternoon. Chacon has handled the Giants quite easily in the past, so Felipe Alou will send out his ace Jason Schmidt to further destroy the Rockies season.

The middle of the A’s batting order continues to struggle.

Click below I have some thoughts on what may ail them. [Read more →]

Seattle keeps looking like a team that is just waiting for something bad to happen. They got their wish last night as the Royals knocked them off 7-1, in a game that wasn’t that close.

Freddy Garcia has trouble with Raul Ibanez (13-18 lifetime off Freddy) and Ibanez did him in last night again. Garcia has now lost three in a row after going 5-0 in June.

The Mariners don’t hit with any authority. Ichiro is batting .354, but he doesn’t drive in many runs. The Mariners are looking for a new third baseman, left fielder, and first baseman, all traditional power spots. Those needs clearly sum up what is wrong with the Seattle offense.

Are they after Aramis Ramirez (I don’t think so, his 22 errors don’t fit on this defensive oriented team), Brian Giles (they don’t have the players to get Giles from Pittsburgh), Reggie Sanders may be more in their league or possibly Juan Gonzalez. GM Pat Gillick isn’t in Billy Beane’s league when it comes to nerve, so I don’t think the Mariners will do much to change their offense.

All this is good news for Oakland. Now, if the A’s could just play good ball on the road they might cut the four game deficit they currently have with Seattle more quickly.

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First of all, I thought the All-Star game was terrific. It had the feel of a very interesting game. Most baseball games really take off once the teams reach the seventh inning, then the wheels start turning and the tension of a baseball game takes hold.

Obviously, this game was played with the idea of getting most of the players into the game. It worked out where the relievers actually were the ones who determined the outcome of the game. Just like during the season.

Hank Blalock simply crushed the ball Eric Gagne threw, another loss for Gagne in a non save situation, something that plagued him against the Giants earlier in the season too.

The players were scrutinized more carefully than ever before in an all star game. There was no room for frivolity. I don’t buy the fact that they were not aware of the consequence of the game, however trivial they would like to make that seem.

The fans took the action more seriously, and the way the players approached the game was clear to me. The atmosphere in the park was electric at the end of the seventh inning, you just had the feeling that this game wasn’t over.

One thing, in a “real” game I think Dusty would have brought in a lefty to face Blalock, but then again Smoltz was out there and available.

Or how about Dontrelle Willis in relief, now I would have enjoyed seeing Willis face Blalock, that would have been an all star moment.

Click below for more on the game and the second half! [Read more →]

Tim Hudson is the best pitcher on the A’s staff right now. Mark Mulder is the best pitcher on the A’s staff right now. Barry Zito is the third best pitcher on the A’s staff right now.

They all are what they are. The best three pitchers on any staff in baseball.

This weekend is strikingly familiar to the Arizona series two years ago when the A’s played an amazing three game set against the Diamondbacks just before the all star game and rode their pitching all the way to the playoffs.

Friday night was the Giants night, the rest of the weekend they will be tested facing Curt Schilling, for at least five innings, and then the hot rookie Brandon Webb.

How far can Minnesota slide, the A’s are hoping very far because they go to Minneapolis for four games beginning Thursday.

Lloyd McClendon gets an extension in Pittsburgh and Randall Simon gets suspended for knocking over a sausage in Milwaukee. How would you like to be a Pirate fan this week?

Dontrelle Willis will make the all star game worth watching.

The Orioles need two more starting pitchers and one big bopper in the lineup and they might be able to play in the AL East. Problem for them is deciding what to do with free spirit Sidney Ponson. They don’t want to sink 40 million into this potential headcase who right now is one of the best pitchers in the league.

Someone will and will get one helluva pitcher.

The Angels keep winning, don’t discount the talent on this club.

Former Cardinal Bill White described how the Cards sneaked to the pennant in 1964. He said they were so far back, about ten games in August, that no one noticed them. All of a sudden, the leaders (Phillies and Reds) faltered in September and they found themselves in the race. They just kept playing solid baseball along the way and the flag fell into their lap.

Take heed: Florida, Colorado, and Anaheim all may not be lost.

That’s baseball.

See you on the 17th.

Marty Lurie [Read more →]

During this time of year don’t be surprised when your favorite pitcher gets knocked around. Most pitchers who have been working in the regular rotation have now logged over 100 innings. The weather is warming up in the midwest and east, so get used to seeing your guy getting knocked out of the box.

The real test of the 2003 season will begin after the all star break. Most teams will have played over 90 games by next week’s all star game, this means there will be around 70 games to go until the end of the season. With ten weeks to play seventy games, there won’t be many off days, meaning the standings can change dramatically as teams wilt during the dog days of summer.

Arizona is playing real well right now. Everytime they go to the minors for a player, they come up with what looks like a gem. Last night was no exception as sidewheeling lefty Chris Capuano threw seven major league innings at the Padres for his first major league win.

What’s up with the Padres Jake Peavy? He gave up four homers last night. I pointed out last week that the veterans are doing the job for Arizona and that one shouldn’t look at the Diamondbacks as some rookie heavy team. Homers last night from Craig Counsell, Luis Gonzalez, Steve Finley, and Shea Hillenbrand, all established major leaguers should open the Giants eyes, if they aren’t open already.

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Barry Zito gave up 15 hits and seven runs to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays Tuesday night in another mystifying performance for the reigning Cy Young award winner.

In Zito’s last three starts he has surrendered thirty five hits.

How come?

Zito has given up a number of cheap hits, but that doesn’t account for his problem. His fastball location does. Zito hits about 88 MPH on his heater, not a lot by major league standards. Consequently, when he puts it over the plate he gets hit. Zito has not been able to throw the fastball without getting creamed.

Zito lacks command of his pitches right now, his curve ball is still superb, but major league hitters can eventually sit on a pitch if they know that is the only one you can throw when the going gets tough.

I don’t think there is anything wrong with Zito other than his being human. With all the hits he has given up, he still has pitched 126 innings and been tagged for only 111 hits, pretty good.

More importantly, he has to figure out a way not to let big league hitters foul off so many of his pitches, so he can still be in the game in the eighth inning, he needs to keep his pitch total down.

The Yankees lost Alfonso Soriano and Derek Jeter for a couple of games at least, when both were hit by Pedro Martinez fastballs on the hand in Monday’s game.

Martinez pitches up and in, these hitters dive over the plate, the collisions are inevitable. That’s baseball, when Martinez is on the hill, you don’t dive across the plate, Don Drysdale did the same thing to batters, so did Bob Gibson and they are in the Hall of Fame.

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The triple crown run of Luis Pujols is one of the quietest in baseball history. Carl Yastrezmski did it last in 1967 for the Red Sox. Leading the league in batting average, runs batted in, and homers is simply amazing in today’s game of big time sluggers. Pujols is doing Mickey Mantle stuff with his .378 average, 26 homers, and 80 RBI’s heading into the game at Wrigley today.

The guy might hit .400 too, which is another complete story.

Until the Cradinals do something about closing a game with Jeff Fassero, Esteban Yan, and Cal Eldred I can’t take them all that seriously.

I’m just curious is Erubiel Durazo trying to hit all those balls the other way, is he only seeing pitches on the outside part of the plate, or is his bat speed slower than I think?

I know his average doesn’t reflect it, but Jermaine Dye has hit some balls very hard lately. His knee injury has sapped him of his ability to lift the ball regularly, but he can hit some shots for doubles and contribute to the team if this trend continues.

Miguel Tejada is a tough out, but he still looks like he is very uncomfortable once he has to make up his mind as to whether or not to swing at the pitch. It seems to me his head is up in the air instead of buried in his shoulder immediately after his swing.

Eric Chavez will hit 35 homers, drive in over 100 runs, but will still not be a 3 or 4 hitter. Amazing that he hasn’t stepped up his game in this his fifth year in the majors.

Folks therein lies the story of the A’s 3,4,5,and 6 hitters. Don’t blame the lack of little ball or any other supporting member of the offense, the big guys need to get it done just like they do it in NY, Boston, Toronto, Anaheim, and Seattle.

The A’s have 76 games to get it together, so all is not lost, but they sure don’t look like champions right now.

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Today, July 5th, is the anniversary of the day Larry Doby broke the color line in the American league in 1947. Just 11 weeks after Jackie Robinson integrated the National League, Bill Veeck brought Doby, a tremendous athlete into Cleveland.

Doby’s teammates looked the other way when introduced to him. Doby had not been part of the team in spring training like Robinson had for the prior two springs.

Doby played nine innings at first base for the Indians and then only pinch hit for the rest of the season.

In 1948, with the friendship of second baseman Joe Gordon helping him, Doby played a major roll getting the Indians to the world series against the Braves.

It was not easy for any man of color in those days to do anything significant in America’s white society, but Larry Doby stood tall and paved the way, just as Jackie Robinson did, in waking up America to the inequites of racial prejudice.

He did it on a baseball field in Cleveland July 5th, 1947.

Now, folks question why the Giants are doing so well in the NL West. Two words. Barry Bonds. As Ed Stern pointed out wisely in his commentary the other day, the opponent’s must always be aware of Bonds at every turn of the batting order. He makes everyone a better player, and when he is hot, which he is right now, he is the “Man”.

Jesse Foppert and Damian Moss are the two weak links on the team right now and will cost the Giants if not replaced.

Click below for a look at baseball today. [Read more →]

I always wondered as I grew up why the veteran baseball writers made such a big deal of who was leading the race on July the 4th.

They had all sorts of statistics demonstarting that the leaders on the holiday would be meeting in the world series that fall.

More often than not, they were wrong and some Cinderella team arose from the doldrums and charged to the pennant, erasing an 8 or 9 game deficit along the way.

There is some validity to looking at the teams that are in the hunt on July 4th because we have just passed the literal half way point of the season and you can get a pretty fair idea of why a team is either struggling or playing well.

Of, course all this can change quickly. My good friend Leonard Koppett always told me that as long as a team’s record was .500 on August first, they were in the race. He amended that date to September first because of the wild card, which allowed teams at the break even point heading into the last month to be within striking distance of the newly created way into the playoffs.

With that in mind let’s look at the leaders on the 4th and see who may catch them.

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If you saw Ted Lilly pitch last night you saw a very inconsistent young major league pitcher.

Keep in mind that Ted Lilly’s delivery had been reworked by A’s pitching coach Rick Peterson, just this past winter and spring.

At times, Lilly has the correct release point which propels his pitches to the exact point of the strike zone intended. At other times, Lilly can’t find his release point causing his breaking stuff to hang directly over the hitting zone (5 homers versus Atlanta).

Lilly has been tagged for many critical homers, then he turns around and strikes out five in a row. A frustrating pattern for all involved.

What to do?

The first option is that Lilly should work out of the bullpen until he can throw with the consistency necessary to be a major factor on this pitching staff. It is no disgrace to work out of the pen when one is struggling.

The second option, the A’s send Lilly to AAA to give him a chance to really learn his new delivery without the pressure of a pennant chase.

Rick Peterson is a very technical pitching coach, insisting on sessions in the videoroom, countless discussions about pitching, and studying computer enhanced images of ones delivery. Perhaps Lilly isn’t suited for Peterson’s methods. A trade in his future?

In any case when Lilly gets in trouble his mechanics are out of whack because he isn’t comfortable with his new delivery, baseball is muscle memory, acts repeated countless times, Lilly’s muscle memory only goes back to March, not a very long time in baseball.

He needs to work it out somewhere before his confidence is completely shot.

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