September is one of the more exciting months of the baseball season. It’s right before October which means September is the last full month of the regular season. It’s the month that crushes dreams and witnesses miracles in pennant races and sets the stage for the postseason.
It’s exciting stuff.
This year is no different. Aroldis Chapman is throwing 103 mph heaters consistently out of the Reds bullpen. His teammate Joey Votto and Cards star Albert Pujols are locked in a race for the Triple Crown and MVP award. Manny’s being Manny again. And too many pitchers to count are baffling hitters [...]

Can the 2010 season for the Colorado Rockies get any more strange?With a 4-3 victory over the San Diego Padres on Friday night, the Rockies moved closer in the standings to the Padres in the West than they are to the Phillies in the Wild Card. All of t…

Bob Goughan is anything but a rookie in baseball even though this is his first season as general manager at Bridgeport, and even though he has eight previous championship rings it would have extra meaning if he could add one with the Bluefish.
“It (…

  Luke French pitched another gem tonight against the visiting Cleveland Indians who did not get a hit until the  seventh inning off of French who got lots of help from his defense, and just enough from the offense who scored one run in the first inning.   The Mariners got their lone runner in the first inning off [...]

Where have you been Mark Prior? I’ll never forget that fateful day in the summer of 2003 as you collided with Marcus Giles running the bases. I was sitting in the upper deck at Wrigley Field and the entire stadium went absolutely silent as you fe…

Good to see Mark Prior back on track for the majors. And glad we’re not talking about the towel drill! Prior joins Triple-A Oklahoma City, a Rangers affiliate, this weekend. The 30-year-old envisions his comeback as a reliever, not a starter. The obvious health questions aside, Prior has a tough road to reach the Rangers’ [...]

First-round draft pick Eric Hosmer has lived up to the hype with strong play at two levels of the minor leagues this season.

Tyrell Jenkins hasn’t been a Cardinal for very long, but he is already making his way up the prospect lists.

Last time Matt Garza faced the Baltimore Orioles, he was torched for seven runs in 6.1 innings including back-to-back-to-back homeruns to Luke Scott, Ty Wigginton, and Adam Jones .  Before tonight’s game, he had this to say:

“I’m going to go in there, hair on fire, like I have been and go after them and say, ‘Hey, you got me the first time, well I’m going to shove it down your throat this time.’ “

via TampaBay.com

From this quote, I expected Garza to come out challenging guys with one 95MPH fastball after another, but, as it turned out, he baffled the O’s, and me, by relying heavily on his changeup instead.  In his last three starts (Boston, Texas and Oakland) Garza relied on his fastball, only throwing his changeup 6.9% of the time, at most.  Tonight, he pulled the string a whopping 25 times (26.3%)!  For an O’s squad expecting hair on fire, they certainly got doused with cold water. 

Later into the night, Garza was a bit erratic, throwing two wild pitches–one leading to a Felix Pie sacrifice fly in the fourth.  After walking Scott and Patterson in the sixth, Joe Maddon pulled Garza for Chad Qualls.  Qualls, Choate, Benoit, and Soriano closed out the game with little effort.  Another fine job by the bullpen.

O’s starter Kevin Millwood pitched in typical Millwoodsian fashion tonight (5.2 IP, 7H, 5BB, 4ER) and didn’t seem to fool the Rays hitters, especially Carl Crawford.  Crawford had two of his three hits off Millwood, a first inning triple and a third inning RBI single.  Evan Longoria followed up with a double, scoring Crawford from first base.  Both hits came with two outs.

In the fourth, after Reid Brignac singled in Matt Joyce on a bloop to left, John Jaso walked to load the bases with one out.  Ben Zobrist hit a sac fly to center, but Crawford couldn’t make the two out magic happen again, and struck out looking to end the inning.  It’s a bit disappointing to only come away with one run with the bases loaded and Millwood struggling, but I’m really just grasping at straws, here.

The Rays stay 1.5 games back of the Yankees who beat the Jays earlier in the day, and move up to 7.5 games ahead of the Red Sox who didn’t want to play in the rain. Bullets after the jump.

• Reid Brignac needs to thank Matt Joyce’s heads up base running for his RBI in the fourth.  Joyce read the ball perfectly as it fell in front of Pie in left field.  He busted around third and challenged Pie to make a perfect throw at home–which he couldn’t.  I love that gutsy running.
• While Millwood didn’t fool the Rays hitters, Mark Hendrickson certainly did.  Hendrickson pitched three innings in relief and only allowed two hits and at one point struck out four Rays in a row.  Does not compute.
• Matt Garza exchanged a few words with Joe Maddon as he was taken out of the game.   After the inning, Maddon could be seen barking at Garza who seemed to be ignoring the manager to the best of his ability.  We all know Garza’s an emotional guy, and I’m sure this will all be fine in the morning.  (At least I hope so.)

The Bucs returned home after yet another rough road trip and immediately started to play better at PNC Park, cruising to an 8-5 victory over Washington Friday night. Clearly, it was the amazing crowd of 19,734 drawn in by the Fleecie (basically a Snuggie) giveaway night that spurred them on. The offense had plenty of [...]

Daniel Hudson, Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher and NL Rookie of the Month…and rightfully so.
Hudson has been nothing short of outstanding since being traded from the Chicago White Sox in July.  The 4-1 rookie pitcher has made it into the seventh inning in every start so far.  He takes the mound tonight once again, against the Houston Astros.
I would love to see Hudson stick it to the Astros.  He is well on his way to the 2011 rotation.  I look forward to getting out and watching him at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale in March and then next season at Chase Field.  [...]

WILD, WEST SHOWDOWN: The Padres begin a 10-game homestand with the first of three against Colorado tonight…following the weekend set, the club will host the Dodgers for three (9/6-8) and the Giants for four (9/9-12) before hitting the road again…Sa…

Quick Game Notes: Final Score: Mets 6 – Cubs 7 Box Score: Click here for the complete box score. Mets Record: 66-69 Key Moment In The Game: In my opinion the key moment was the bottom of the 6th inning when the Cubs scored 3 runs from a Blake DeWitt home run. It was the [...]

A golden sombrero is awarded to a player who manages to strike out four times in a single game (real golden sombrero not included). It’s quite the feat unless you’re Ryan Howard or Mark Reynolds. Unfortunately, cycles and no-hitters are all the rage no…

By Rob MacDonald – AngelsWin.com Contributor
Pitching
Can we sign Weaver to a long term deal?
Do we go with the kids in the pen?
Who is the 2011 number five pitcher?
Jered Weaver is under team control through the end of the 2012 season which is the go…

This has to have been one of the more boring baseball days in recent memory. But the Yankees did win earlier, pushing their win streak to 7. Which is good, because after this homestand ends Wednesday, the rest of the schedule gets pretty brutal. Here’s…

Game 134: Nationals at Pirates ©2010 Raise the Jolly Roger. All Rights Reserved..

Here is your Padres Daily Farm Round Up for September 2, 2010
Stansberry becomes Beav’s all time hits leader
 
 

Current Series

3 game series vs Orioles @ Oriole Park at Camden Yards

Tampa Bay Rays DRaysBay @ Baltimore Orioles Camden Chat
Friday, Sep 3, 2010, 7:05 PM EDT Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Matt Garza vs Kevin Millwood
P…

This according to the latest Newberg Report:According to at least one local report, the Rangers have signed righthander Mark Prior to a minor league contract for 2011. The 29-year-old ex-ace hasn’t pitched in a major or minor league game since 2006….

 Billingsley threw a shutout at the Gigantes on July 21.
The door has been left open for the Giants to make a run at the National League West title. That means now would be a good time for Barry Zito to get back on track.

The struggling former Cy …

A day off to refocus and hopefully collect ourselves for a big series in Oakland. Both teams are tied for wins in the division, and 10 games behind the Texas Rangers, who are in Minnesota for the next couple of days. Again, another big opportunity to make up some ground on Texas.

Nationals (57-77) at Pirates (44-89) 7:05 PM EST–PNC Park, Pittsburgh Here is the MLB.com Gameday TV: FSN Pittsburgh, MASN 2 Nyjer Morgan has changed a lot. Remember, back before he was traded to Washington for Lastings Milledge (plus the Burnett/Hanrahan swap), when he was a Pirate fan favorite? “Tony Plush” was the coolest guy around, [...]

The Yankees had a peculiar lineup today, but it didn’t affect the expected outcome lately. Without Derek Jeter, Nick Swisher or Alex Rodriguez, the Yankees powered their way past the Blue Jays to a 7-3 win. Best of All: Curtis Granderson had h…

Cory Robert Luebke
Bats: Right, Throws: Left Height: 6′ 4″, Weight: 215 lb.Born: March 4, 1985 in Coldwater, Ohio, USDrafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 18th round of the 2004 MLB June Amateur Draft, the Texas Rangers in the 22nd round of the …

Ricky Nolasco will have season ending surgery to repair a torn menial meniscus in his right knee.
Nolasco went 14-9 with a 4.51 ERA, 147 strikeouts, and just 33 walks in 2010. You can’t argue with the decision to cut his season short, the Marlins are …

The only audible sound in the Phillies clubhouse was Roy Halladay carving up an apple with an extremely dangerous hunting knife.

Oakland’s longest tenured-player, Eric Chavez, has said that he’s most likely done for the remainder of the 2010 season. Despite this news however, the A’s Gold-Glove winner, has not announced his retirement just yet. Chavez, who is in his final year of the six-year deal he signed back in 2004, has an option for 2011, but the A’s are figured to just buy it out for $3 million.
Chavez, 32, has played in just 154 games since the start of the 2007 season, and has not been healthy since 2006. In his career, Chavez has hit .267/.343/.478 with 230 home runs [...]

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Greg Fiume – Getty Images

about 1 month ago:

BALTIMORE – JULY 21: B.J. Upto…

Angels make their third visit to Oakland this season. The ballclub has an 11-5 record at the Oakland Coliseum since the start of 2009. Angels are 11-6 in last 17 games vs. A?s and 7-6 this season. Angels have not lost…

Angels make their third visit to Oakland this season. The ballclub has an 11-5 record at the Oakland Coliseum since the start of 2009. Angels are 11-6 in last 17 games vs. A?s and 7-6 this season. Angels have not lost…

Angels make their third visit to Oakland this season. The ballclub has an 11-5 record at the Oakland Coliseum since the start of 2009. Angels are 11-6 in last 17 games vs. A?s and 7-6 this season. Angels have not lost…

Angels make their third visit to Oakland this season. The ballclub has an 11-5 record at the Oakland Coliseum since the start of 2009. Angels are 11-6 in last 17 games vs. A?s and 7-6 this season. Angels have not lost…

The Marlins have an interesting situation on their hands with regards to their situation at first base. Gaby Sanchez is the current starter at the position, and the Marlins are fairly happy with his performance. As an apparently average defensive first baseman, a .287/.353/.472 slash line and .362 wOBA is more than enough to make him an effective hitter. In fact, Sanchez may be able to break the 3.0-WAR barrier this season, as he currently has 2.7 WAR according to FanGraphs. On the other hand, the club also has Logan Morrison on their hands, a top Marlins prospect who has [...]

Having an 8 game lead heading into St. Louis with 29 games to play evokes a feeling of euphoria. This feeling hasn’t surrounded the Reds in a while. It feels different, sure, but it’s a good kind of different.
Of the Reds 29 remaining games, only 10 are against opponents with winning records (St. Louis – 3, Colorado – 4, San Diego -4). All 10 are on the road where the Reds are 37-28 (.569) this season. The Cardinals don’t really have it so easy. They have 31 games left and play 15 against winning teams (Reds – 3, Atlanta – [...]

Lake Elsinore Storm outfielder Jaff Decker came into the San Diego Padres organization as the 42nd pick (1st round supplemental) of the 2008 draft. A graduate of Sunrise Mountain High School in Peoria, AZ and only 18 yrs old, the left-hander began his …

Ben Goessling of MasnSports.com reports that Nyjer Morgan has been suspended eight games by Major League Baseball in light of his recent aggressive behavior:
“Nationals outfielder Nyjer Morgan was suspended eight games for “three separate incidents” i…