"First I think, 'I hope they don't hit it to me.' Then I think 'I hope they don't hit it to Killebrew.'"

Birthday Team:
C/Manager: Wilbert Robinson
1B: Pedro Guerrero
2B: Heinie Reitz
3B: Harmon Killebrew
SS: Burgess Whitehead
LF: Bobby Veach
CF: Larry Stahl
RF: Joe Inglett

SP: Dizzy Trout
SP: Rick Honeycutt
SP: Bob Shaw
SP: Ed Seward
SP: Patsy Flaherty
RP: Jack Sutthoff

He's no Dummy: Peter Hoy
Fun name: Farmer Steelman

I think I'm coming more and more to the conclusion in my old age that the fans shouldn't even have the right to pick the All-Star Game position starters, or at least not the exclusive right.

I mean, Rafael Furcal is going to be the N.L.'s starting shortstop, seriously? Jed Lowrie and Ian Desmond have both blown this guy out of the water this season. I know the Cardinals fans are the "greatest fans in baseball" and all that rubbish, but give me a freaking break.

I disagree. I think the All-Star game should be mostly players people have heard of.

Although there have obviously always been bad fan picks, I didn't have a problem with it back when the game meant nothing at all other than a little bit of league bragging rights.

But now that it has been decided that the game is going to determine who has home-field advantage in the World Series, I think it has become too important to let these positions be determined by a bunch of provincial hayseeds.

Managers and coaches do a bang-up job with the Gold Gloves. They should pick the AS starters as well.

But now that it has been decided that the game is going to determine who has home-field advantage in the World Series, I think it has become too important to let these positions be determined by a bunch of provincial hayseeds.

HFA has mattered in only one of the last 8 WS. It's really not that big a deal.

And now all the fatties on the 1912 Naps are dead. My doctor was right.

In other news, Jeter just tied Ripken for #14 on all the all-time career hits list, and #2 for primary shortstops.

Jeter's #6 among primary shortstops in home runs. Two more and he'll tie- you guessed it- Jose Valentin.

I mean, Rafael Furcal is going to be the N.L.'s starting shortstop, seriously? Jed Lowrie and Ian Desmond have both blown this guy out of the water this season. I know the Cardinals fans are the "greatest fans in baseball" and all that rubbish, but give me a freaking break.

First, you mean this HALF season.
Second, Furcal is certainly more of a STAR than Lowrie or Desmond.
Finally, I think most people understand the All-Star game is not the THIS HALF-SEASON ONLY stars.

Oh, please. If you really believe that the All-Star Game is a career award, then it ought to go to Jimmy Rollins, who not only is having a better year than Furcal, but has had a more valuable career. And if you believe that it should go to the guy who is truly the best player at the position now, then it should go to Tulowitzki.

As it is, Furcal isn't even one of the top four NL shortstops this season. You're obviously a Cardinals fan hayseed who is trying to justify a bad selection.

How about a panel of three sportswriters? Say, Plaschke, Mariotti, and Bayless.

Finally, I think most people understand the All-Star game is not the THIS HALF-SEASON ONLY stars.

Someone should really tell the managers. Such massive stars as Mark Redman, Jason Dickson, Shawn Estes, Ken Schrom, Gary Matthews Jr., and Hideki Okajima have been named to All Star teams.

Not to mention the infamous Jack Armstrong start in the 1990 ASG.

As of yesterday, Pujols got his average up to .270 for the first time since mid-April.
Since May 15: .338 / .413 / .636. The Beast Awakes!

Since May 15: .338 / .413 / .636. The Beast Awakes!

What's amazing to me is that this line isn't so much a "hot streak" from Pujols as it's simply a return to normal. From 2001 - 2010, Pujols overall line was .331/.426/.624. He's just gone back to being his old self.

Game of the day (yesterday): Rockies 11, Nationals 10 (11). Josh Outman retired the Nationals 1-2-3 in the first inning. I think he made Coors Field angry, and Edwin Jackson took the brunt of the wrath.

The first eight Colorado hitters reached base. It went: Dexter Fowler single, Marco Scutaro single, Carlos Gonzalez single (RBI), Todd Helton walk, Chris Nelson single (RBI), Tyler Colvin home run (3 RBI), Wil Nieves single, Jonathan Herrera walk. The first batting out he recorded (Gonzalez was thrown out trying to score on Nelson's hit) was the opposing pitcher. Fowler then struck out to end the inning, but the damage was done and then some, with the Rockies ahead 5-0.

Naturally, Outman was perfect again in the second, and the Rockies went back to work. Scutaro struck out, but Gonzalez singled and moved to second when Adam LaRoche missed a pickoff throw. Helton flied out, and then Nelson doubled and Colvin singled to stretch the margin to 7 runs.

Since it's the game of the day (and yesterday was a very good day for only having 12 games), you know the score can't stay like this for long. Tyler Moore led off the third with a walk for the Nats, and one out later, Jackson (hitting for himself for some reason) added an infield single. Danny Espinosa followed with a hit of his own to load the bases, and after Bryce Harper struck out, Ryan Zimmerman singled in two runs and Mike Morse followed with a 3-run homer, reducing the lead to 7-5. Jackson took his turn at working a perfect inning in the bottom of the third, and Outman was lifted to start the fourth for Josh Roenicke, who erased Moore's leadoff single by later picking him off of second to end the inning.

Jackson gave up a leadoff hit to Scutaro in the fourth and was pulled for Tom Gorzelanny, who quickly wild pitched Scutaro to second. Gonzalez followed that with an RBI single, and after a pair of groundouts, the first of which moved Gonzalez to second, Colvin's triple brought him the rest of the way around the bases with Colorado's ninth run. The Nats countered in the fifth, starting with Espinosa's leadoff double. Harper singled to bring him home, and moved to third one out later when Morse reached on an error. LaRoche's sac fly scored Harper, and Ian Desmond followed with a homer that scored both Morse and himself, tying the game at 9.

It was probably a bad omen when Gorzelanny, presented with the game's first tie since Colorado's third batter, committed one of baseball's cardinal sins. He didn't walk the opposing pitcher - he hit him. Fowler followed that with a double, Scutaro walked to load the bases, and Gonzalez hit into a double play; that defused the rally, but it also brought in the go-ahead run.

And then, oddly, the scoring stopped. There were still hits - the Rockies got a pair of singles to start the sixth, the Nats had a two-out hit in the seventh, the Rockies had a double and a walk in the bottom of the inning, and the Nats put runners on the corners with two out in the eighth - but none of them circled the bases. The 10-9 lead was preserved until the ninth, when Rafael Betancourt came in to close it out.

Of course, Bryce Harper led off the inning with a home run. Why not? Betancourt retired the next three Nats on 12 pitches; Craig Stammen gave up a single and a walk in the bottom of the inning, but got Scutaro to hit into a double play to send the game to extras with Gonzalez left on deck. Ian Desmond led off the tenth with a double, but Adam Ottavino rallied to strand him there; Helton singled with one out in the bottom half, but his teammates couldn't advance pinch runner Jeremy Guthrie. Ottavino added a flawless eleventh, which brought Stammen back to the mound for his third inning of work.

He never finished it. Herrera doubled with one out, pinch hitter Jason Giambi walked behind him (and was lifted for Colorado's second pitcher pinch runner of the day). Fowler flied out deep enough to advance Herrera to third, and Scutaro worked a full count and then singled home the winning run.

This is quite a game. There were 19 runs in the first 5 innings, then 2 in the next 6. Tyler Colvin came within a double of the cycle and drove in 5 runs, and did not lead his team's hitters in WPA. The pitchers combined for a slight positive WPA as hitters. There was a game-tying home run in the ninth, and it was by Bryce Harper. And, in a shocking development, the team that started off behind 7-0 eventually lost the game.

What's amazing to me is that this line isn't so much a "hot streak" from Pujols as it's simply a return to normal. From 2001 - 2010, Pujols overall line was .331/.426/.624. He's just gone back to being his old self.

Ah bleev it is jes' zackly so.

Cliff Lee will hit July without a win. He had bad luck early but he has been plenty lousy recently.

Game of the day (last year): Rockies 3, White Sox 2 (13). Colorado's Jason Hammel worked an efficient first, retiring the side on 7 pitches. Chicago's Gavin Floyd did him one better, giving up a leadoff single to Carlos Gonzalez, but coaxing a Chris Nelson double play grounder to help him get three outs on only 6 pitches. Hammel was quick again in the second, using only 8 pitches; unfortunately for him, Alexei Ramirez hit the fourth one over the left-center field wall to give the Sox a 1-0 lead. Floyd slacked off in the bottom of the inning, needing 12 pitches to set the Rockies down in order.

Hammel's third inning was a bit more adventurous; Gordon Beckham led off with a single, moved to second on a sac bunt and third on a hit by Juan Pierre before Brent Morel grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning (11 pitches). Floyd cut through the bottom of the Colorado order with ease (10 pitches), bringing the Sox back to the plate in the fourth, which was led off by a Carlos Quentin double. Quentin would be stranded on second, however, as the next three hitters for the Chisox failed to get the ball out of the infield (13 pitches).

In the bottom of the fourth, Floyd decided that my pitch counting gag was going to get stale and decided to use a few more. After a pair of groundouts started the inning, he gave up a hit to Todd Helton, walked Troy Tulowitzki, and allowed a game-tying RBI single to Seth Smith before ending the inning on a Ty Wigginton flyout (20 pitches). Hammel had a similar inning in the top of the fifth, allowing a single to Beckham and walking Floyd before Pierre doubled to drive in the go-ahead run. Morel walked to load the bases before Quentin hit into a double play to end the inning (23 pitches).

Floyd worked a quick fifth, using only 9 pitches despite Hammel reaching on a two-base error. Hammel did nearly as well on the sixth, earning successive groundouts to third, short, and second (11 pitches). Through five and a half innings, the two pitchers had combined for 130 pitches, an average of less than 12 per half-inning. The game's longest plate appearances had lasted 6 pitches each.

That changed in the bottom of the sixth. Nelson led off with a single, and Helton then worked a 9-pitch walk. Tulowitzki hit into a force at second, moving the lead runner to third, and he'd score from there on Smith's sac fly, which capped a 7-pitch AB. Wigginton's groundout ended a game-tying, 25-pitch inning from Floyd, the game's longest so far. Hammel kept it that way by setting the Sox down in order on 9 pitches in the seventh, and Floyd worked around a pair of singles in a 12-pitch bottom half of the inning.

Both starters were removed at this point; that'll become significant later. For now, Matt Belisle pitched the eighth for Colorado and worked around a one-out hit by Morel, while Chris Sale worked a briskly perfect bottom half. Huston Street sent the Sox down 1-2-3 in the ninth, with the help of a pair of strikeouts, and Sale worked around a Charlie Blackmon single in the bottom of the inning, mostly because he quickly picked Blackmon off of first.

Extra innings started much like regulation ended. Matt Reynolds replaced Street, who must have been exhausted after his 12-pitch outing, and worked another scoreless inning, allowing only a Pierre single. Matt Thornton came in on a double switch to start the bottom of the inning (Morel removed, Omar Vizquel taking over at third) and quickly retired all three Rockies, and Rafael Betancourt did the same in the eleventh after walking Quentin to start the inning. Thornton allowed a hit to Helton to start the home eleventh and was pulled for Jesse Crain, who cut through the next three hitters with relative ease, and Matt Lindstrom did the same to the Sox in the twelfth.

Crain remained in the game to start the twelfth. Blackmon led off the inning with a single, and moved to second on a sac bunt by Chris Iannetta. Will Ohman then replaced Crain (on Chicago's second double switch of the day, which yanked Vizquel in favor of Mark Teahen at third and sent the pitcher's slot back to #9), and pinch hitter Jason Giambi grounded out to push Blackmon to third. Gonzalez was then intentionally walked and took second on defensive indifference, and Nelson struck out to end the inning.

Rex Brothers pitched a perfect thirteenth for the Rockies. In the bottom of the inning, Tulowitzki worked a one-out walk, and then according to the play-by-play, scored from first on a one-out single by Wigginton. Does anyone remember this play? Was it Wigginton just stopping at first on what would have been an extra-base hit under normal circumstances? Because, given that it's a walkoff, it could easily be a grand slam single situation.

The best thing about this game isn't the length, although 13 innings is a nice length. It's not the impressive efficiency of both pitching staffs, although that's amusing enough as well. Nor is it the fact that the batting WPA leaders for the two teams are the always imposing Juan Pierre and Ty Wigginton, respectively.

No, the best thing about it is the lines of the two starting pitchers. Here they are:
7 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 0 SO

That may look like it's only one line. In actuality, it is both of them, because they were EXACTLY THE SAME.

(Also, neither of them had a single strikeout. When's the last time both starting pitchers lasted at least 7 innings and neither of them struck anyone out? Seriously, I'd like to know.)

So, yeah, it's not necessarily an utterly classic game, although you can't go 13 innings without being at least a pretty good one (#51 on the year so far). But it also gives us one of the freakiest coincidences of the year, and that's got to be worth something.

In the bottom of the inning, Tulowitzki worked a one-out walk, and then according to the play-by-play, scored from first on a one-out single by Wigginton. Does anyone remember this play?

Yeah, I remember it, in part because you still see it on some Rockies highlight packages. You're a little confused because you got one detail wrong - it was two outs, not one, and a 3-2 count on Wigginton, so Tulo was off with the pitch. Wigginton hit a little pop fly into short centerfield, and Tulo just went screaming around the bases. The Sox centerfielder - I see it was Brent Lillibridge - kind of nonchalanted the ball, assuming the Rockies were going to settle for first and third, but Tulo kept going all the way, and slid across home just ahead of the throw. It was a legitimate single; Wigginton, under other circumstances, might have had a shot at making it to second, but probably not.

I just saw a Bowman commercial touting Tim Lincecum as being drafted after some 1400 players. How can they get away with that? The year he signed he was a top 10 pick.

Think that's true for him out of HS. Tiny size, weird delivery, high price tag ($1m, iirc) - he was tabbed (by cle?) on the grounds that if he changed his mind about $ - they'd be there w his rights.

Yeah, I remember it, in part because you still see it on some Rockies highlight packages. You're a little confused because you got one detail wrong - it was two outs, not one, and a 3-2 count on Wigginton, so Tulo was off with the pitch. Wigginton hit a little pop fly into short centerfield, and Tulo just went screaming around the bases. The Sox centerfielder - I see it was Brent Lillibridge - kind of nonchalanted the ball, assuming the Rockies were going to settle for first and third, but Tulo kept going all the way, and slid across home just ahead of the throw. It was a legitimate single; Wigginton, under other circumstances, might have had a shot at making it to second, but probably not.

Thanks, Tom. That's pretty awesome. I always enjoy writing up Rockies games, because I know you can be counted on to pop in with some detail that's not in the raw PBP account. (FWIW, Tulo did walk with one out; Seth Smith struck out before Wigginton's hit.)

No time for GotD today, thanks to a fairly substantial bit of real life interference; I'll try to at least put up links to yesterday and today's best boxscores tomorrow, but can't promise much more than that.

Games of the days:

6/29/11 - White Sox 3, Rockies 2. Ubaldo Jimenez and Mark Buehrle trade 7 innings of fine pitching; Jimenez gives up two in the fourth on BB-HBP-1B-2B, and Buehrle gives them back on homers by Jason Giambi and Ty Wigginton in the sixth and seventh, respectively. The Sox break the tie in the ninth on two singles and a sac fly by AJ Pierzynski. These two teams would play an even better game the next day, but it still wasn't as good as...

6/30/11 - Cubs 5, Giants 2 (13). Carlos Zambrano was pulled from this one after giving up a run when the first three hitters reached in the second; ESPN's game recap cites lower back soreness. That removal allowed the game to feature the rare pitcher's duel between a starter (Matt Cain, 7 innings, 4 hits, 1 walk, 6 K's, no runs) and a reliever (Marcos Mateo, 5 innings, 2 hits, 0 walks, 6 K's, also no runs). The 1-0 margin was preserved into the ninth, when Aramis Ramirez went deep against Brian Wilson to tie the game. The Cubs put two on with one out in the tenth, and the Giants loaded the bases with one away in the twelfth, but the scoring didn't resume until the thirteenth, when Pablo Sandoval homered against John Grabow to put the Giants back ahead. Ramon Ramirez retired the first two Cubs in the bottom of the inning, but then Jeff Baker doubled, Darwin Barney singled in the tying run (and took second on the throw home), Starlin Castro was intentionally walked, and pinch hitter Geovany Soto hoisted a 3-run walkoff homer to left. #21 game of 2011 to date.

6/29/12 - Orioles 9, Indians 8. Went from 1-0 Cleveland to 3-1 Baltimore to 5-3 Cleveland to 7-5 Baltimore to 7-7 to 9-7 Baltimore to 9-8. Only three starters between the two lineups went hitless, and both hitless Orioles scored runs; JJ Hardy in particular went 0/5 but both scored and drove in a run, thanks to a first-inning ROE that would have scored the runner from third anyway. Derek Lowe started for Cleveland, and I'm pretty sure this isn't the first GotD he's participated in this year in which both starters have gotten crushed (-.627 WPA for Lowe, -.410 for Jake Arrieta).

6/30/12 - Mariners 3, Red Sox 2 (11). Much like last year's entry, it's an extra-inning game in which the winning team had its starter leave early. Seattle's Erasmo Ramirez was pulled after retiring the first eight Red Sox; the hopes of a second combined no-hitter by the Seattle pitching staff lasted as long as it took for Charlie Furbush to give up a hit to the first man he faced. Josh Beckett and the Mariner bullpen kept the game scoreless until the bottom of the sixth, when Seattle loaded the bases on two singles and a walk and John Jaso doubled home a pair of runners. The Sox tied it a half-inning later, loading the bases on three hits and scoring on a forceout and a Miguel Olivo passed ball (thank goodness that bum Montero wasn't back there). The score remained 2-2 despite the occasional rally until the eleventh, when Dustin Ackley and Olivo hit back-to-back one-out singles, and Chone Figgins brought Ackley home on a sac fly.

The Rockies just brought up ace-starter-in-exile Drew Pomeranz again. Either he is now the finished article, or they just couldn't stand to see Guillermo Moscoso give up eight runs per inning any more. After their pitching coach unilaterally demoted himself after Moscoso's last start, perhaps this was inevitable.