Dodgers react to potential Maddux trade
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. -- Although the Dodgers did not make an official announcement about acquiring future Hall of Fame pitcher Greg Maddux on Monday night, that did not stop players at the team's charity bowling event from getting excited about the potential acquisition.
"We don't know if it's really true or not yet, it's kind of circulating around, but if that is the case that's awesome," pitcher Clayton Kershaw said of a Maddux deal that's close to being completed. "That's going to be a huge bonus for the Dodgers."
Dodgers manager Joe Torre often describes each of Kershaw's starts as just another learning experience for the 20-year-old phenom.
Although Kershaw is a power lefty and Maddux is a command and control righty, the rookie plans on learning all he can from Maddux.
"If he does get to come, I definitely would ask him as many questions as I can," Kershaw said. "Hopefully he likes answering questions, because I'm definitely going to be doing a lot of that.
"He obviously has a lot to teach. He's been out there so long. He knows a lot more about the game than I do right now, so I'm definitely going to just try to listen to him, pick his brain."
Maddux, who has won 353 games in his 22-year career, provided a positive influence to pitchers such as Derek Lowe and Brad Penny when the Dodgers acquired the four-time Cy Young Award winner for the stretch run in 2006.
Penny said he would work well with Los Angeles' younger pitchers such as Kershaw and Chad Billingsley.
"You can learn a lot off him," Penny said. "He knows how to pitch, and he's been through it. He just knows how to set up hitters, what pitches to throw when."
Russell Martin knows what Maddux can bring to the Dodgers, having caught him during his rookie season two years ago.
Martin called the veteran right-hander one of the easiest pitchers he's ever caught, joking he can even close his eyes with Maddux on the mound because of his pinpoint control.
"He's the type of guy that just makes everybody better around him," Martin said. "He has so much knowledge, and besides the fact that he's still a great pitcher, just everything that he knows can help our young team. He's a great guy to have on the team, no doubt."
If the Maddux deal does come to fruition as expected it would mark the second future Hall of Famer Los Angeles has acquired this season after dealing for slugger Manny Ramirez at the trade deadline.
Third baseman Casey Blake, also a midseason pickup, likes the sound of that.
"He's an outstanding pitcher, unbelievable career," Blake said. "When you throw a guy like that into a rotation it just bolsters a team that much more, so we just have more firepower now. It was cool for me just to be able to face him, but now to be a teammate of his obviously to get to play with a couple Hall of Famers on the same team, it's cool."
Copyright 2001-2008 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
Vazquez shuts down Royals in opener
CHICAGO -- For Tuesday's series opener between the White Sox and Royals, Kansas City catcher Miguel Olivo stayed on the bench, D.J. Carrasco remained situated in the White Sox bullpen, and just as manager Ozzie Guillen predicted long before this contest began, there was no carryover from the fisticuffs between the two teams during the game played at Kauffman Stadium on Sunday, Aug. 3.
In fact, Javier Vazquez pretty much took the fight out of the Royals from the first pitch.
The White Sox right-hander stymied Kansas City on five hits, striking out 10 and walking one in eight innings, as the South Siders cruised to a 9-0 whitewash before 31,099 at U.S. Cellular Field. It was quite a different display for Vazquez (9-10) as compared to his last eight starts, during which he posted a 1-5 record with a 5.88 ERA.
"I felt good," said Vazquez, after picking up his first home victory since June 17 against Pittsburgh. "I threw strikes, got ahead in the count. That's the combination you should have every time."
"He was great," Guillen added. "He has good enough stuff that when Javy pitches like that, well, you see the result."
During his pregame chat with the media, Guillen pointed to throwing strikes and getting ahead of hitters as the biggest keys for a Vazquez turnaround. Throwing 81 of his 109 pitches for strikes certainly allowed the right-hander to answer his manager's challenge.
Kansas City (54-65) posted Alex Gordon's triple in the second and Mike Aviles' double in the third off of Vazquez, but both came with two outs. Vazquez proceeded to hold the Royals hitless from that point until the seventh, when Jose Guillen and Ross Gload delivered singles. But John Buck grounded back to the mound to end the mini threat.
"You can stay mostly away from the big innings when you get the leadoff guy out, and I did that tonight," said Vazquez, who allowed one leadoff hitter to reach in eight innings, as he produced the 37th double-digit strikeout effort of his career and fourth this season.
"We needed a guy to go out and give us innings to save the bullpen, but hopefully it gives him confidence for the last month and a half," added White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski of Vazquez. "We need him to pitch like he did today."
All of the White Sox runs scored off of Brian Bannister (7-11) came via the home run. Jermaine Dye put the White Sox on the board in the first inning with his 28th long ball, scoring Orlando Cabrera ahead of him. Nick Swisher launched a solo shot in the fifth, his 17th, and Pierzynski added his 10th home run in the sixth.
"That's the only way we are going to win," said Guillen with a laugh, after watching his team raise its Major League-leading home run total to 168 and improve to 18-4 when homering at least three times. "This team is built around home run hitters. One thing about it, I always hope people are on base when we hit those home runs. That's the way you will add runs in this ballpark."
A relatively close contest turned into a White Sox blowout via their five-run rally off of Josh Newman in the eighth. Pierzynski and Dye, who each had two hits, drove in runs with bloop singles, while Brian Anderson came off the bench to add a run-scoring double to left.
Even Chris Getz, the utility infielder who joined the team on Sunday, came through with his first Major League hit and RBI. Getz, the one-time University of Michigan standout, came through off Newman, the former Ohio St. pitcher, on a 1-1 offering with two outs in the eighth. He stayed in the game and got to make a play at second base to end this affair in 2 hours, 13 minutes.
"When I came in and got my glove, I was running on the field and Jermaine was with me, and I told him that I hope I can throw the ball and I happened to get it," said Getz with a laugh, mentioning that he couldn't feel his legs when he rounded first after his single to right.
With the victory, the White Sox (66-52) improved to 5-3 on this 10-game homestand. They now stand atop the American League Central with Minnesota losing to New York in extra innings. This marks the fifth straight day with a new leader in the division.
Meanwhile, the White Sox threw no punches or purpose pitches inside to retaliate after Olivo charged the mound two Sundays ago and Zack Greinke later hit Swisher with a pitch and was ejected. Their best revenge was an easy victory to start this series.
"It's not about revenge. It's about winning games," Pierzynski said. "We don't care about revenge or any of that stuff. It's way overrated. We can't afford a fight and to lose someone or get someone suspended. We are in a pennant race, and that's the most important thing."
"All of that off the field stuff only can get you in trouble," Guillen added. "Believe me, I don't want anybody to get hurt. The last thing I want as a manager, when I leave here, is to say somebody got hurt because of me."
Copyright 2008 Sporting Life UK Ltd, All Rights Reserved.
Ludwick saves game when 'pen can't
ST. LOUIS -- It was an ugly win, except for one thing. There are no ugly wins in a pennant race in August.
The Cardinals did it the harder-than-hard way, but they did the one thing that mattered on Tuesday night, defeating the Dodgers, 6-4, in 11 innings. Ryan Ludwick jacked a two-run home run to let the St. Louis bullpen off the hook, but it was too late for Chris Carpenter to secure a well-deserved win.
In June, a ninth-inning collapse by Ron Villone and Jason Isringhausen might have been cause for concern. And in some quarters, it still was. But on the fifth day of August, with the Cards one-half game out of a playoff spot and only 47 games left on the schedule, winning wasn't everything -- it was the only thing.
"We have had some heartbreaking losses," said manager Tony La Russa. "If we had lost that one, that would have been up there as high, higher than any of them because of everything that was transpiring and the way that game went. You can just taste that win. Those are the toughest. We'll see the next few days how much it means to us, but it definitely gets us off the first game of the series."
Until the ninth, Carpenter appeared to be well on his way to his first win since Sept. 16, 2006. He pitched five shutout innings on 51 pitches, lifted only because of a rain delay that made the Cards' field staff nervous about his surgically reconstructed elbow. Carpenter departed with a 1-0 lead, and the margin had stretched to four runs by the time Villone entered the game in the ninth.
It was Carpenter's first home start since his Tommy John reconstructive elbow surgery, and it was a big night for the right-hander.
"It's always fun pitching here, and I was looking forward to getting back out on this mound," Carpenter said. "The fans gave me a nice welcome, even when I was walking out to the bullpen to start getting loose. That's always appreciated, and it makes this place special."
For three innings, the Redbirds' relief corps worked seamlessly behind Carpenter. Brad Thompson tossed a perfect sixth, then was removed for a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the inning. Kyle McClellan allowed a hit and a walk over two scoreless innings, getting the game to the ninth, and Albert Pujols' two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh made it a four-run game -- not even a save situation.
But things unraveled quickly in the ninth. Villone allowed a leadoff pinch-hit homer to Andruw Jones, only the third of the year by the former slugger. Isringhausen retired Matt Kemp before allowing singles to Andre Ethier and Russell Martin, and walking Manny Ramirez.
James Loney hit a slow roller that could -- and probably should -- have gone for the second out, but Isringhausen couldn't make the play. Jeff Kent followed with a single that made it 4-3, and Isringhausen was chased. The Dodgers scored the tying run on a sacrifice fly against Ryan Franklin, but Franklin and Jaime Garcia held on through the 11th.
That's when Ludwick delivered his second walk-off home run of the year, giving Garcia his first Major League win and the Cardinals their second win in eight home games. Ludwick has been absolutely scorching the ball, going deep in four straight games.
"I'm just trying to get pitches to hit and drive them," he said. "Tonight, up until that at-bat, I didn't do a real good job. It was nice to see Carp do what he did tonight. He looked great out there. It's always a good sight, seeing him on the bump, doing what he's doing. I'm just glad I could contribute a little bit."
The Cardinals remained 5 1/2 games behind the first-place Cubs in the National League Central, and one-half game behind the Wild Card-leading Brewers.
Copyright 2001-2008 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
Carpenter solid in season debut
ATLANTA -- Cardinals manager Tony La Russa delighted in having his ace back. The only thing he could have without is "that look."
Blame Chris Carpenter's 80-pitch limit for that one.
Carpenter, making his first Major League game appearance since Opening Night 2007, pitched four effective innings in the Cardinals' 7-2 win over the Braves on Wednesday. After Carpenter threw 67 pitches to get those 12 outs, La Russa and pitching coach Dave Duncan decided it was time to lift Carpenter, whether he wanted out of the game or not.
"That was enough," La Russa said. "If he goes out for the fifth, you're really pushing it. He gave me a look that I haven't missed. I told him I haven't really missed that look of, 'You're taking me out?'"
Forgive Carpenter. He was just having too much fun for it to be over. After 16 months of rehabilitating his injured elbow, and 12 months of recovery from Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery, the pitcher's mound at Turner Field was the only place he wanted to be.
"It's fun to get out there and compete at this level," he said. "This is what it's all about. I worked hard to get here and I was excited about this game. When I go home tonight, I'm going to be excited about what I did."
Carpenter lacked at times for sharpness and command, but his velocity and stuff were plenty good. He consistently pitched at 91-93 mph on his fastball, with his cut fastball checking in at 86-88 mph. His curveball stayed up too much, but he compensated for that with outstanding action on his changeup.
The final line was one run on five hits, with two strikeouts and two walks. Of Carpenter's 67 pitches, 36 went for strikes.
"My stuff was there," he said. "But I'm used to being able to locate and the ball is going where I want it to go. When you're trying to throw the ball down and away, and the ball is middle-in, that makes it a little bit more difficult to pitch. But I did everything I could to give our team a chance and get out of the situations we were in."
As for his team, it was thrilled to have its ace back. Though the term is often overused, Carpenter is unquestionably a leader in the Cardinals' clubhouse, along with being one of the finest pitchers in baseball. His return had been on the minds of the Redbirds since the day he first went down, early last season.
"That's the shot in the arm that we needed," said outfielder Skip Schumaker. "To see him throwing 91-93, with his cutter, that's a huge thing for us. It was a lot of fun to watch and play behind. Knowing that we have him now is huge for us."
Right-hander Adam Wainwright, a Carpenter protégé, watched with particular interest. The Cards hope that Wainwright's return from a finger sprain follows soon after Carpenter's reinstallation in the rotation.
"It's exciting that he's back," Wainwright said. "It's exciting that we won the game he started, to get him a positive feel for it. And it's exciting to see him throwing 93 miles an hour."
For the first two innings, Carpenter missed his spots a good bit, but missed down more often than up. He allowed a walk in the first and three singles in the second, but minimized the damage. In the third, Carpenter's command appeared even rockier than in the first two frames, and he needed 26 pitches to escape the inning.
Finally, in the fourth, he locked in. He threw 11 pitches, seven of them strikes, got a pair of strikeouts and a groundout, and generally felt he was headed in the right direction. Then he was out of the game.
"In the fourth, I went out there and I was able to get the ball going downhill," he said. "I was getting the ball down, and my cutter was better and my breaking ball was better. My location on both sides of the plate with my fastball was better. But by that time, I'm out of pitches. Hopefully, next time out, I can find a way to start that from the first."
Carpenter will pitch again in six days, on Tuesday in the Cardinals' series opener against the Dodgers. He'll likely be on a higher pitch count in that game, and he'll be expecting to find his best command a little quicker. Either way, he'll again be happy to be on the mound, and his team will be happy to have him there.
"It was fun," he said. "It was something I've been looking forward to for a long time. It was just fun to get back out there and compete at this level."
Copyright 2001-2008 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
Kinsler sparks Rangers to victory
NEW YORK -- They went into the ninth inning tied at Yankee Stadium, and both managers used their closers.
One is headed for the Hall of Fame. The other is a relative novice on the job. This time the novice emerged victorious, and the Rangers have now taken two straight from the Yankees with a 3-2 victory on Tuesday night.
The Rangers beat Mariano Rivera with the help of some daring baserunning by Ian Kinsler, and C.J. Wilson closed it out in the bottom of the ninth for his third save in three days and his 19th on the season. This is only the second time in 14 years that the Rangers have been able to pin a loss on Rivera in his home park.
"We came up against the best closer in the history of life," Wilson said. "To score one run off him is pretty sweet. Obviously, Mariano is a guy I've looked up to for a long time. But we knew he can't hold everybody scoreless forever. He's only human."
The Rangers, with two straight one-run victories in the Bronx, have now won four of their past five games to move three games over .500. The Rangers entered this series with a 13-35 record in one-run games at Yankee Stadium going back to 1972.
"We have to be pleased to hold them to three runs in two games," manager Ron Washington said. "You have to give credit to our own pitching staff. They've been outstanding."
Rangers starter Kevin Millwood limited the Yankees to one run in five innings but couldn't quite shake off the effects of a hard ground ball from Robinson Cano that he took off the right shin in the second inning. Millwood battled through five innings but finally had to come out after throwing just 84 pitches.
"It's frustrating," Millwood said. "I felt like I was actually pitching. I felt like I had good stuff. My leg just got stiff and sore. I didn't feel I could give us a real good chance, so I let them know it was bothering me."
Turning it over to the Rangers bullpen is not a bad thing. Millwood left with a 2-1 lead, and the Yankees tied it up with three straight two-out singles in the bottom off the sixth off of Josh Rupe. But Rupe, Frank Francisco and Wilson held the Yankees to just one infield single and a walk over the final three innings.
That left it tied at 2 when Rivera came through the bullpen doors with some 50,000 fans roaring and "Enter Sandman" rocking the ancient stadium. But the Rangers also had the top of their lineup coming up. That starts with Kinsler, who was already 1-for-2 with two walks and two stolen bases in the game.
"I was just thinking I didn't want to foul a ball off my shins," Kinsler said. "I did that last year against him. He pounded me with a couple of cut fastballs then threw the sinker. I don't want to say I was sitting on it, but I was thinking about it because that was the pitch that I fouled off my shins. He put it in a good spot, and I got good wood on it."
Kinsler drove it into the left-field corner for a double, and the Rangers were in business. But Kinsler wasn't done with Michael Young at the plate. As Young went to work, Kinsler got the sign from first-base coach Gary Pettis that Rivera was taking 1.6 seconds to throw his pitch to the plate. In relative terms, that's slow.
"That's more than enough time for me to steal the base, and I didn't want to lose this game," Kinsler said. "So I was going."
Kinsler was in a similar situation in the seventh inning, but Washington wouldn't let him go. This time Kinsler had the green light if he wanted to try it, and it's no time to be faint-hearted with Rivera on the mound.
"With Rivera on the mound, you've got to get as close to home as you possibly can," Washington said. "He has that high leg kick, and Kins exploited it."
The Yankees were forced to bring the infield in, and Young bounced a single up the middle to bring home the winning run. It's only the fourth time in 35 games that Rivera has given up a run, and it drove his ERA up from 0.74 to 0.96.
"I have never been shy about saying how much respect I have for Mariano Rivera," Young said. "He's done things in this game no other closer has ever done, so it was nice just to be able to score off him."
It was enough for Wilson. He did walk Wilson Betemit on four pitches to start the ninth, but then he got Melky Cabrera to hit a perfect double-play grounder to Young at short. Johnny Damon then grounded out to first baseman Chris Davis to end the game.
"C.J. walked Betemit, but I didn't see him panic," Washington said. "We were sitting in the dugout saying, 'Get the ground ball for the double play,' and I'll be darned if he didn't get it."
Wilson, despite a few rough spots mixed in, has now converted 11 straight save opportunities. He hasn't officially blown a save since May 19 against the Twins.
"It's not an easy job to do," Millwood said. "He's been kind of thrown into it and he's done a good job. Everybody has a lot of confidence in him and wants him to do well. He's struggled at times, but show me a guy who hasn't."
Wilson didn't struggle Tuesday night. Instead, the best in the game did.
Copyright 2001-2008 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
Hansen, Delcarmen share similar paths
BOSTON -- There have been good and bad days for Craig Hansen and Manny Delcarmen over the past three years. Spending time in the bullpen both with Triple-A Pawtucket and the Red Sox can do that to a pair of relievers.
But what makes this tandem different is that they've been through it all together. Hansen and Delcarmen took their trips back and forth from the PawSox to the Major Leagues, becoming good friends while turning into reliable forces in a bullpen stocked with overpowering hurlers.
"Yeah, we've been through the highs, lows, good stuff and bad stuff," Hansen said.
The good being the present, as Delcarmen is currently in the midst of a streak where he hasn't allowed an earned run since May 24 against Oakland, a span of 11 appearances. He's accumulated more holds (five) than hits allowed (three) since the beginning of June.
Hansen showed equally impressive mechanics in back-to-back games against St. Louis over the weekend, even throwing 1 2/3 scoreless innings on Sunday and keeping the Sox in prime position for a come-from-behind, 5-3 win over the Cardinals.
The two combined to pitch 1 2/3 innings on Wednesday -- a 5-0 win over Arizona -- allowing no runs and combining for three strikeouts in the process. Though Hansen allowed two walks and a weak infield single, manager Terry Francona said Delcarmen was dazzling on the hill.
"That's as good as I've seen Delcarmen," Francona said. "That ball came out of his hand today about as good as I've ever seen."
It hasn't always been that rosy for this duo, and you need not look further than a Triple-A showdown between Pawtucket and Buffalo on May 5, 2007, to see it.
The PawSox harbored a 14-6 lead in the bottom of the ninth when Hansen came in to finish off the Bisons. But Hansen left the game with two runners on, no outs and had already given up five earned runs.
In came Delcarmen, who eventually issued a walk with the bases loaded to end the contest -- Buffalo won, 15-14.
It's a distant memory, but one that certainly isn't forgotten.
"What game?" Hansen joked. "We've been able to help each other out. He knows how I pitch, I know how he pitches. It's pretty cool to be able to help each other out, and that's how the whole bullpen works."
Since then, the two have encountered similar paths to where they are today. Delcarmen began 2007 with Pawtucket before making a strong impact on the Sox down the stretch -- appearing in 44 games, working 44 innings and owning a 2.05 ERA.
When Francona sent Hansen back down to Triple-A to begin the 2008 campaign, he said during Spring Training that he envisioned him to be the "Manny Delcarmen of this year." Turns out, Francona was right.
"Last year, it's been well-documented that the time [Hansen] spent [in Triple-A] the entire season he learned more about his delivery, himself as a pitcher and as a person," said pitching coach John Farrell. "It's been a little bit of a reference point where at times he's been a little bit hit and miss here. But as of late his confidence has continued to grow."
Hansen's first appearance this season was in a 6-4 defeat against the Los Angeles Angels. He allowed a run in 1 2/3 innings pitched and was saddled with the loss.
That was compounded by a 6.30 ERA over the month of May. Delcarmen was in a similar situation to begin this campaign, as the 26-year-old pitched 10 2/3 innings in April and compiled a 6.75 ERA.
But both turned that around come June, where the tandem, along with Javier Lopez, David Aardsma and Hideki Okajima, are bridging an important gap between the starting pitcher and closer Jonathan Papelbon.
"I'm just glad to get the ball in those situations," Delcarmen said. "My confidence right now is pretty good. I feel good, and everything is going forward."
The team might be gaining that confidence, too. Boston is 8-2 in June when Hansen makes an appearance, and 7-1 with Delcarmen.
"It's amazing how when your bullpen is throwing well, the team looks like a good team," Francona said. "And when they aren't throwing well in the bullpen, things have a way of coming undone."
The two help each other along the way, knowing they perhaps understand each other's mechanics just as well as anyone.
"Me and Manny go all the way back to when I was drafted," Hansen said. "We've always been able to help each other out with things on the field. If certain things change with his mechanics and I can see it, I'll go up to him and vice versa."
Hansen said the comfort level to go into a game in any situation and still find a way to get the job done is increasing throughout the season.
"As a reliever, you're going to go into the game and have different situations each time," Hansen said. "You're going in there, you might have a fresh inning to start with or you might have two outs, one on. You just got to have the same mentality and basically get your outs to matter how you can get them."
And for a team that has aspirations for World Series contention again this season, and the depth to do it, Hansen and Delcarmen are becoming team essentials in the middle innings.
"Both guys will continue to be key parts of our bullpen," Farrell said.
Copyright 2001-2008 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
Reyes leaves with stiff hamstring
ANAHEIM -- One at-bat into his new role as Mets interim manager, Jerry Manuel had a decision. Certainly, Manuel was tempted to leave Jose Reyes in the game, even though his shortstop pulled up lame at first base after singling to open Tuesday's game against the Angels.
"But me, this being my first game, I didn't want to lose Jose Reyes for an extended period of time," Manuel said. "I said, 'No, I don't care how much you squiggle and squirm, you're getting out of here tonight. You can be mad all you want to.'"
And Reyes was mad -- all he wanted to. He flung his helmet to the ground as he left the field, then stormed into the visitors' clubhouse.
Some time later, Manuel joined him there, where Reyes apologized for his actions. Then he came back out to the dugout to apologize to his teammates.
"I'm hungry for the game," Reyes said. "I just want to stay in the game in that situation, but he made the best decision there because it's a long season. He'd like me to stay healthy all season long."
The injury is a tricky one for Reyes, who has battled hamstring troubles throughout his career. This time, it was his left hamstring that stiffened up -- the same muscle that forced him to miss two games in April.
Yet Reyes said he felt fine after the game, and he expected to play in the series finale on Wednesday.
"I know my body now," Reyes said. "I know when it's worse, when it's so-so and when it's good. It's not that bad."
One bullet dodged, one to go. The Mets received another scare in the eighth inning, when Gary Matthews Jr. banged into Luis Castillo's left wrist while sliding into second base. Castillo suffered a contusion of the wrist, but he remained in the game.
Castillo, too, said that he expected to play on Wednesday.
"I can move my hand, and I feel fine right now," Castillo said.
Copyright 2001-2008 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
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