The biggest story in baseball today is the blown call by Jim Joyce in the Tigers game last night. Umpires make mistakes, it’s a fact of baseball, but it’s rarely a mistake this huge that costs a man history. Armando Gallaraga, for his part, is taking it in stride. He says he knows he did it, so he doesn’t care, but I’m more concerned with the fact that: 1. The history books will say he didn’t, and 2. Something needs to change. Bad umpiring has been a story in baseball since last year’s World Series and it’s not getting any better. I think that MLB needs to do something to increase the accountability of its umpires. I kind of understand why it is that they try and keep umpire disciplining on the down low (votes of confidence and all that), but that needs to change. In this case, it doesn’t really matter anyway. Diehards will remember Jim Joyce long after this game is done. He will probably be booed every time he shows his face in Detroit. I would feel worse for the guy if he hadn’t made such a terrible call, but I just can’t feel sympathy for him yet. Not this close to botched history.

2 June

NPB
Hiroshima Carp (2) at Nippon-Ham Fighters (2). With Maeda on the mound, you know you’re getting something good and he didn’t disappoint. He gave up only two over the 8 innings that he pitched and neither pitcher (or the subsequent relievers) yielded, keeping the score deadlocked into the 12th for a tie. Hiroshima’s record is now 21-31-1 in fifth.

Hanshin Tigers (7) at Rakuten Eagles (3). The Tigers win it in the 9th thanks to a bullpen implosion by Tsuyoshi Kawagishi, who gave up five in the ninth. Their record falls to 25-29-1, dropping them back into fifth.

MLB
Baltimore Orioles (1) at New York Yankees (9). Why do I even bother with Orioles scores? Dave Trembley is going to lose his job soon. It’s sad. 15-38.

Tampa Bay Rays (7) at Toronto Blue Jays (3). Price gives up two unearned over eight for yet another dominant win. This was the pitcher Tampa Bay signed up for. The Rays are up to 36-18.

Miwaukee Brewers (7) at Florida Marlins (4). Volstad only gave up one this game, but, in Marlins fashion, the team imploded on his night and the bullpen blew game wide open. The Fish are now in third with a 27-27 record.

Washington Nationals (1) at Houston Astros (5). An anemic offensive effort by Washington saddles them with the ‘L’ against one of the worst teams in baseball. The Nats are now two games under 0.500 with their 26-28 record.

Three of my teams managed to notch wins in the final innings of their respective games. It takes a lot of luck and skill to take a game in the 9th. Bravo, teams.

1 June

NPB
Hiroshima Carp (5) at Nippon-Ham Fighters (4). Eishin Soyogi gets the walk-off RBI single in the 9th to push the Carp ahead while Ryuji Yokoyama holds on for the save. Hiroshima’s record rises to 21-31-0 after the tilt.

Hanshin Tigers (2) at Rakuten Eagles (3). TEPPEI! Ok, so his cheer isn’t really conveyed with that text, but Teppei Tsuchiya made himself known with a single up the middle to win the game in the bottom of the 9th. Rakuten’s record improves to 25-28-1, tying them for fourth.

MLB
Baltimore Orioles (1) at New York Yankees (3). Last night was Baltimore’s big chance. The starters get harder from here. Tough break for Brian Matusz whose rookie season is not going how he anticipated it would. Baltimore drops to 15-37.

Tampa Bay Rays (7) at Toronto Blue Jays (6). Former Marlins closer Kevin Gregg blows the save in the 9th, allowing the Rays to pull ahead in a dramatic fashion thanks to a Sean Rodriguez bases-loaded double. This wild game also got Joe Maddon and Kevin Gregg ejected in the 9th. It was a fun one to watch. Tampa’s record improves to 25-18, putting them only 2.5 ahead of those accursed Yankees.

Milwaukee Brewers (4) at Florida Marlins (6). Nolasco has another night where he’s not super sharp, but the bats that awoke last night remain clubbing. Cogz (Chris Coghlan) managed three hits last night, including a home run, which is so reassuring to those of us who were worried about his huge slump. Sure, .237 isn’t .321, but there’s a lot of season left. Florida’s record improves to 27-26, good for third. When did the Phillies drop to second?

Washington Nationals (7) at Houston Astros (8). You can’t lose to Houston if you want to compete, Nats. Storen is still a little wild, Capps blows another save, and the Nats just can’t hold on in this wild one. Their record falls to 26-27 in last.

With that out of the way, the Nationals have finally announced the official first start of rookie Stephen Strasburg. He will get his first chance to strut his stuff on 8 June against the Pittsburgh Pirates, a home game that shouldn’t provide too much of a challenge. I’m gonna try to get tickets myself, but we’ll see if I can afford them.

In other prospect news, the Marlins are very close to calling up Mike Stanton, who has already hit 20 homers in the minors this year. Where he will go is anyone’s guess, but it’ll have to be Coghlan, Maybin, or Ross who is replaced.

San Francisco also finally called up Buster Posey whose bat presence will help the offensively struggling team. Will it help to propel them past the Friars? We shall see.

I don't have any pictues of Kenta Maeda to put up, so this is the next best thing.

I don’t know why I’m surprised to see Maeda pitched when I see the Carp played a shutout. He really is the best pitcher in the Central League so far.

27 May

NPB
Chiba Lotte Marines (0) at Hiroshima Carp (3). Maeda scatters four hits over 8 while Yokoyama notches the save. This brings Hiroshima’s record up to 20-29-0 in fifth.

Rakuten Eagles (3) at Yakult Swallows (3). Both teams battle into a tie in the 12th, unable to break the deadlock. Rakuten’s record kind of rises to 22-28-1, tying them with the Fighters in fifth.

MLB
Washington Nationals (4) at San Francisco Giants (5). The Nats lose the game in a disastrous 7th inning pitched by Stammen, Burnett, and Walker. Their 24-24 record ties them for fourth with Florida.

Oakland Athletics (7) at Baltimore Orioles (5). Mark Hendrickson blows this game in the eighth by giving up three. It’s no wonder the Marlins got rid of him. Baltimore’s record falls to 15-33 on the year in last.

Atlanta Braves (8) at Florida Marlins (3). Ricky Nolasco has a mediocre start cut short at four innings by a rain delay and the Marlins relief corp couldn’t hold on. Their bats couldn’t contribute either, so the Fish went down, yet again, to the accursed Braves. They are now playing 0.500 ball again at 24-24

Chicago White Sox (1) at Tampa Bay Rays (5). It’s important to establish dominance yet again after the embarrassing sweep the Rays just suffered. Not to mention the fact that Jeff Niemann is the last remaining lossless starter in the American League. He holds on to that title, improving to 5-0 while the Rays increase to 33-15.

After embarrassing the team, acting like a primadonna, insulting the manager, and making everyone involved look bad, Hanley Ramirez either apologized to his teammates or the team has decided not to make a fuss about it, because he was back in the lineup last night doing fairly well. Thank god that’s over. The Marlins are rarely in the news, but I don’t want them in there because of this.

19 May

NPB
Hiroshima Carp (8) at Orix Buffaloes (2). Eric Stults notches his first win as the Carp manage to come out of their ten-games-under-0.500 hole for a day. Their record rises to 17-26-0 at a manageable 10.5 games back. That was sarcasm.

Yokohama BayStars (3) at Rakuten Eagles (2). Darrell Rasner actually tosses a great game against Yokohama, but the runs he gives up are just enough to combine with an unearned for the loss. Rakuten falls to 19-26-0, tying them with the 19-26-1 Fighters.

MLB
Tampa Bay Rays (10) at New York Yankees (6). Wade Davis and the powerful Rays offense combine to push this game increasingly out of New York’s reach. The lead rises to four games as Tampa Bay moves to a 29-11 record.

New York Mets (3) at Washington Nationals (5). Liván Hernández continues his dominant streak as he holds down the Mets for Drew Storen to come in for the win for Washington, boosting them out of their five game losing streak. The Nats record increases to 21-20 in third place.

Baltimore Orioles (3) at Texas Rangers (4). Guthrie puts together quite the game, but the Orioles bullpen can’t hold on, giving them their 28th loss.

Florida Marlins (5) at St. Louis Cardinals (1). The back-to-back shutout is prevented, but that doesn’t mean that Aníbal Sánchez didn’t have electric stuff last night. Florida’s off-field woes stayed off-field as Hanley went 3-5 with an RBI and the rest of the team contributed as well. Florida’s 22-19 record is good enough for second, but with the Nats breathing down their necks can they hold on against Adam Wainwright tonight?

Dave doesn't care much for baseball, but he loves the beach as much as the next guy.

The beach was a success, but I’m dead tired after my travels last weekend. Did I forget to mention that there was also a PERFECT GAME?! Too bad it was against the wrong team…

7 May

NPB
Hiroshima Carp (6) at Hanshin Tigers (10). Not the ideal start to a short series, but not terrible either. At least they’re scoring runs.

MLB
Florida Marlins (4) at Washington Nationals (2). The Marlins start the series off on the right foot with a strong outing by Volstad.

Tampa Bay Rays (4) at Oakland Athletics (1). Another series that started strong, but didn’t end quite how I’d like it to.

8 May

NPB
Rakuten Eagles (0) at Nippon-Ham Fighters (1). Darvish pitches a gem that’s won in extra innings. Is this Rakuten’s first loss to the Fighters?

Carp (11) at Tigers (8). Nothing like smacking the Tigers back down to feel better about the night before. Just gotta keep the momentum going into Sunday.

MLB
Marlins (4) at Nationals (5). Now it starts to get ugly for Florida. Close game blown by the bullpen. I mean, come on Pinto! Don’t blow the game by beaning a run in!

Baltimore Orioles (7) at Minnesota Twins (3). I’m always shocked when Baltimore wins. Taking at least one in three may not be great for the Birds in the long run, but it’s a start.

Rays (2) at Athletics (4). This road trip kind of spiraled out of control for Tampa Bay. The bats diminished in this game and couldn’t quite put it together.

Orioles (1) at Twins (6). Doubleheader thanks to a postponed game on Friday. Baltimore doesn’t take this one.

9 May

NPB
Golden Eagles (3) at Fighters (7). Wow, I wouldn’t expect two straight losses to the Fighters. Rakuten closes out the weekend in fifth with their 16-23-0 record.

Carp (3) at Tigers (4). A heartbreaking loss, but the Carp do seem to be improving to me. Regardless, their record drops to 15-22-0 in fifth at the end of the weekend. I take consolation in the fact that it’s better than the Swallows, but it needs to improve!

MLB
Marlins (2) at Nationals (3). The Fish tie it up against Livo’s relief only to give up the go-ahead home run. I can live with this game only because Chris Coghlan finally pushed his batting average above 0.200 by going 3-4. If we can get Maybin’s strikeouts down now too, we might actually have a team going. The Fish are in fourth with their 14-17 record while the Nats are tied for second with their 17-14 record.

Orioles (0) at Twins (6). The Birds get shut out, but it’s not as bad as the next game I’m gonna mention. Not by a long shot. Last place, 9-23.

Rays (0) at Athletics (4). Look, a perfect game is a fantastic achievement and Dallas Braden deserves ridiculous praise for this. I just wish it wasn’t the second perfect game thrown against the Rays in back-to-back years. Congratulations Mr. Braden, you’ve done something so special only 18 other men have done it. Tampa Bay remains in first by half a game with their 22-9 record. I hope they move forward and win a few to make up for this.

New Arizona laws state that he might have to prove that he can legitimately be in the state at any time.

Here at IBNttT we do not support Orwellian laws designed to penalize native born or immigrant Latino populations. I don’t support boycotting the Diamondbacks over this, but I do support moving the All-Star game out of Arizona until this law is repealed.

29 April

NPB
Rakuten Eagles (0) at Softbank Hawks (4). Another series sweep, but the bad way. Rakuten is having an awful season (but not as bad as the Fighters!) and falls to 12-19-0 in fifth.

Yokohama BayStars (8) at Hiroshima Carp (0). Another series lost to a Yokohama team that has a lot more life than last year’s. Hiroshima takes another hit to 11-17-0, putting it in last place below the Swallows.

MLB
New York Yankees (4) at Baltimore Orioles (0). At least the Orioles didn’t get swept. The series went exactly as I predicted, dropping Baltimore to 4-18, a staggering 10.5 games back from first in April.

Kansas City Royals (1) at Tampa Bay Rays (11). The Rays are on a tear right now. Granted, beating up on the Royals is like beating up on the Orioles, everyone’s doing it thanks to a terrible bullpen. Tampa Bay’s record rises to 17-5, putting them 2.5 ahead of the Yankees in first.

I bet it was this partly this guy's fault, too.

When you have a series against the Giants (and you’re the Hiroshima Carp), things can get ugly. PYS 2010 has taught me that as well, where my version of the Hiroshima Carp are barely a fourth place team.

23 April

NPB
Hiroshima Carp (4) at Yomiuri Giants (10). The Giants offense is potent, to say the least.

Nippon-Ham Fighters (2) at Rakuten Eagles (11). Hokkaido really can’t catch a break, can they?

MLB
Los Angeles Dodgers (1) at Washington Nationals (5). Luis Atilano makes his MLB debut for the Nationals and manages to notch his first win in the same day. Congratulations, Luis.

Baltimore Orioles (3) at Boston Red Sox (4). What’s good for Boston is always considered bad to me. The Orioles continue to get a tough break.

Toronto Blue Jays (6) at Tampa Bay Rays (5). Not how I would have wanted it, but there’s still two games left in the series.

Florida Marlins at Colorado Rockies. Postponed for rain.

24 April

NPB
Fighters (0) at Eagles (3). I can’t complain about how well Rakuten is doing against Hokkaido.

Carp (4) at Giants (7). Hiroshima answers back with some runs, but the Fish can’t notch quite enough for the win.

MLB
Dodgers (4) at Nationals (3). LA comes back right away to win a close one.

Marlins (4) at Rockies (1). Game 1 of the series made up from yesterday. Get ready for a doubleheader.

Blue Jays (3) at Rays (9). Tampa Bay answers back with some serious run support.

Orioles (6) at Red Sox (7). So close! Baltimore is really struggling to get another win.

Marlins (1) at Rockies (8). The Fish get knocked around by the mountains.

25 April

NPB
Fighters (3) at Eagles (4). Rakuten completes the series sweep, which is great for their record and should push them further up in the standings. The Golden Eagles end the week at 12-16-0, still in fifth.

Carp (2) at Giants (8). Like the Eagles, the Giants sweep the Carp, devastating their place. Hiroshima closes the week at 10-15-0, surprisingly just a game back from the fourth place Swallows.

MLB
Orioles (7) at Red Sox (6). It’s funny when an Orioles win provides so much excitement, but that’s what happens when your team is only 3-16 in dead last.

Dodgers (0) at Nationals (1). These are the types of games that Washington has to win if they want to compete. The Nats are putting together quite the season with their 10-9 > 0.500 record so soon in the season. New York also had a good weekend while Florida had a poor one, which means all three of those teams are tied at 10-9, 1.5 games back on the Phillies in second.

Blue Jays (0) at Rays (6). If David Price keeps pitching like this…Wow. Nice work. Tampa Bay’s 14-5 record is good enough a 1.5 game lead on the Yankees for first place.

Marlins (4) at Rockies (8). Another series loss for Florida. Just a little disappointing, but at least they’re still only 1.5 GB from first with that same 10-9 record as everyone else.

Unrelated picture of Hanley Ramirez and his sweet glove.

I don’t feel very good today, but that won’t keep me from posting scores.

21 April

NPB
Hiroshima Carp (2) at Hanshin Tigers (1). I love seeing the Carp win the close ones. Hiroshima is 10-12-0 and only half a game away from third.

Chiba Lotte Marines (6) at Rakuten Eagles (0). Rakuten seems to only be able to put together solid performances a few times a week (notably when Iwakuma and Tanaka pitch). They won’t make the Climax Series this way. Rakuten falls to 9-16-0 and I’m quite frankly surprised that the Fighters are still doing worse.

MLB
Colorado Rockies (4) at Washington Nationals (6). Another game I was there for and the first Nats win I’ve seen in person this year. The Nats are now 8-7 and tied with Florida for third.

Florida Marlins (4) at Houson Astros (5). I thought this would be a much easier series for the Marlins, but they seem to keep dropping games to one of the worst teams in baseball. Pull it together Florida, you’re already tied with Washington with your 8-7 record.

Tampa Bay Rays (12) at Chicago White Sox (0). A nice drumming of my least favorite AL Central team. Tampa Bay rises to 11-4, half a game back from the first place Yankees.

Baltimore Orioles (1) at Seattle Mariners (4). As I predicted, King Felix held them down. Baltimore is down to 2-14 and still looking awful.

They may not be able to get the president to toss the first pitch out in Japan, but I don't think they mind.

8 April 2010

NPB
Hiroshima Carp (4) at Yakult Swallows (0). Another fine start for Kenta Maeda who is proving to be their best pitcher. Also their first shut out of an opposing team. The Carp rise to 3-8-0 and actually have some hope of getting out of last for once if they can take their upcoming series against the Baystars.

Rakuten Eagles (4) at Nippon Ham Fighters (8). Can’t always beat the Fighters. The Eagles are now 5-9-0 and are 2.5 games away from fourth.

MLB
Florida Marlins (3) at New York Mets (1). A better pitched game by the Florida bullpen. This is what I like to see. They head home to face the Dodgers for their home opener tonight. Florida is 2-1 and tied for first.

Baltimore Orioles (5) at Tampa Bay Rays (4). History almost repeated itself thrice, but the Rays couldn’t capitalize on their bases-loaded situation in the bottom of the 9th this time. Tampa Bay faces the Yankees at home tonight. The Rays fall to 2-1 and are tied for first.

Philadelphia Phillies (5) at Washington Nationals (6). A real nailbiter that the Nats managed to hold on to for the win. Way to go Nats! This win puts them at 1-2 and tied for last with the Mets. Tonight they face the Mets at Citi Field and hope to get in as many wins as they can before they have to face Johan.

I guess it gets right to the point...

Despite their motto for the year, visible in the picture above, the Carp have not managed many wins this season.

7 April 2010

NPB
Hiroshima Carp (1) at Yakult Swallows (7). The Carp fall to 2-8-0 in last. Go Carp!

Rakuten Eagles (6) at Nippon Ham Fighters (3). The Eagles continue to hammer the Fighters. Nice work guys. 5-8-0 in 5th, two wins back from 4th.

MLB
Florida Marlins (7) at New York Mets (6) in 10. Don’t even get me started on this game. Despite a 6-1 lead going into the 7th, the Fish managed to walk or balk in runs up to 6. I don’t think the Mets had one clean hit that lead to an RBI, everything was sac fly balls, walks, and balks. The Marlins climb to 1-1 and are in 3rd.

Baltimore Orioles (3) at Tampa Bay Rays (4). Isn’t this what happened yesterday? This time the Rays have the lead for more of the game and win, yet again. Longoria homered for the second time of the season too. Can’t be disappointed about that. The Rays are 2-0 and in first in the AL East.

Philadelphia Phillies (8) at Washington Nationals (4). Much closer than the home opener, but it seems that the Nationals pitching staff can’t handle Ryan Howard. When is Strasburg coming up again?