A Record Breaking Year to Forget?

Antonio Perez on Thursday went 0-for-3 in the A’s 2-0 loss to the Angels, dropping his season average to a mere .102 (10-for-98) on the season.  It was just the 6^th day this season that Perez’ batting average ended the day above .100 despite his having been on Oakland’s 25-man roster every single day since opening day.  He did, however, go 1-for-4 (a triple) on Wednesday to raise his average back up to.105, tying his high water mark for the year.  Oddly enough, of his 10 hits, 7 have gone for extra-base hits (5 DBL, 1 TPL, 1 HR), though he has also struck out 44 times in his 98 AB.  This remarkable display of hitting ineptitude – coming a year after batting .297 for the Dodgers in 259 AB – leaves Perez on the verge of posting one of the most historically inept offensive seasons the game of baseball has ever seen.  Since 1900, the lowest single season batting average by any non-pitcher with at least 100 at bats belongs to Ben Egan of the 1915 Cleveland Indians, a soft hitting catcher who batted just .108 in 120 at bats that season (it was the last of Egan’s four major league seasons in which he batted a combined .165 in 352 career AB).  Only 14 pitchers in history have even ever garnered at least 100 AB and failed to get on the interstate.  By going 0-for-3 or worse to finish the year, Perez can become the first position player in history to achieve the dubious feat of hitting under .100 in over 100 at bats.

Inept Hitting Trivia Question – Including pitchers, can you name the player with the lowest single season batting average (minimum 100 AB) in major league history?  (answer below)

Pedro Done – A tear in the tendon in Pedro Martinez’ left calf will force the Mets ace to miss the entire post-season, the club announced on Thursday.  Orlando Hernandez and Tom Glavine were announced as the starters for the team’s first two playoff games, but Martinez is done for the year after an MRI taken on Thursday revealed the tear in his calf. 

O(‘s) So Close – Orioles pitcher Daniel Cabrera came within two outs of throwing the second no-hitter in baseball this season Thursday night against the Yankees.  Robinson Cano – the second leading hitter in the AL at .343 – broke up the bid for a no-no with one out in the ninth inning though Cabrera then induced Bobby Abreu to ground into a game ending double play to seal the O’s 7-1 win over New York.  Ramon Hernandez recorded his fourth two-homer game of the year to back his battery mate.  Despite allowing just the one late hit, New York was able to score in part due to three errors committed by Oriole fielders.  In Cabrera’s previous 25 starts, the Orioles defense had committed a total of just 3 errors.  Cabrera also walked two in his final outing of the year and now leads the AL with 104 walks issued.  DN&N’s preseason pick to lead the league in BB?  Daniel Cabrera with 103. 

Fit to be Tied – Though both Detroit and Minnesota have clinched spots in the playoffs, the Minnesota Twins continued their remarkable run towards their improbable 4^th division title in the last 5 years by getting a two-out, game tying ninth inning home run from MVP candidate Joe Mauer to send the game into extra innings.  Jason Bartlett then came through with the game winner as the Twins knocked off Kansas City 2-1.  In doing so, Minnesota tied the Tigers for the Central division lead.  It was Minnesota’s 51^st come-from-behind win of the season.  Mauer’s dramatic blast came off of Joe Nelson, who blew his first save in 10 chances since taking over the role of closer in the Royals’ bullpen on August 15.  The loss for Kansas City was their 100^th of the season, marking the 4^th time in the last five years that the Royals have lost as many as 100 games.  The game featured 5 remarkable 3-hit innings and just 1 un-earned run from Brad Radke, who was making just his first start since August 25.  He has been out with a stress fracture in his right shoulder socket and a partially torn labrum, and is now in line to start the Twins’ 3^rd playoff game. 

The Twins’ ascension into first place for the first time this season – albeit a tie for first – was made possible by the Tigers 8-6 loss earlier in the day to the Blue Jays.  Kenny Rogers gave up 7 runs (5 earned) on 8 hits in just 3.2 IP as Detroit continued to limp to the finish line.  The Tigers’ record in September is just 12-13, and they are just 25-29 since the end of July.  A.J. Burnett got his 10^th win of the season for Toronto in the victory. 

(Nearly) Fit to be Tied – The Cardinals’ 8^th loss in 9 games combined with the Astros 9^th straight win on Thursday left a mere half a game separating the two teams in the suddenly tight NL Central division race.  Houston – attempting to pull off another remarkable comeback to make the playoffs – has knocked 8 full games off of the Cardinals’ lead in just 9 days to stir up memories of the ‘64 Phillies historic collapse.  Houston beat Pittsburgh 3-0 behind Roy Oswalt’s 15^th win of the year after a nearly 3 ½ hour rain delay.  According to reports, only about 200 people stuck around through the delay to watch the Astros shut out the home nine with Oswalt allowing just 4 hits in 7 innings.  Pittsburgh did not score in the final 19 innings of the series after failing to score in the final ten innings of their 15 inning affair on Wednesday.

St. Louis, meanwhile, fell behind big early and never recovered, losing 9-4 to Milwaukee on Thursday. Jason Marquis gave up 6 runs in 2 innings to take his 16^th loss of the season and up his ERA to 6.02 in 194.1 IP.  Since 1900, only three pitchers have ever finished a season with an ERA over 6.00 and more than 200 innings pitched (Guy Bush 6.20 in 1930, Pat Caraway 6.22 in 1931 and Pedro Astacio 6.23 in 1998).  In the first inning of his 33 starts, Marquis has an ERA of 8.18 (33 IP, 42 H, 30 R, 30 ER, 24 BB, 16 K).  The Cardinals were unable to take advantage of 8 walks by Brewers starter Doug Davis who allowed just 2 hits in 6 innings to up his record to 11-11 on the year.

The Chase is Wild

James Loney’s record tying 9 RBI Thursday against the Rockies kept the Dodgers within 1 game of San Diego in the NL West and combined with Philadelphia’s 3-1 loss to the Nats helped L.A. extend their lead in the Wild Card to 2 full games with 3 to play.  Loney hit two home runs – including a grand slam – and was a triple shy of the cycle while tying Gil Hodges’ 56-year-old single game club record in the Dodgers 19-11 win over Colorado.  The win was L.A.’s 15^th in 19 contests with the Rockies this season.  Kenny Lofton also homered and stole the 597^th base of his career in the win.

Philadelphia was forced to wait out a 4 ½ hour rain delay before falling 3-1 in Washington.  Ryan Church hit his 9^th home run of the year in the win and is batting .306 in September (11-for-36).  The loss leaves Philadelphia’s back against the wall as they enter the final weekend of the season.  They will finish up with three against the Marlins while Los Angeles will finish with three games in San Francisco. 

Barry Bonds is expected to play Friday night after missing the final two games of the Arizona series after the team was eliminated on Monday.  He is not expected to play on Saturday but manager Felipe Alou – who could be managing his final games this weekend – told reporters that Bonds will probably play on Sunday in what could be the likely Hall of Famer’s final game in a Giants uniform.  DN&N was there for Bonds’ first home game as a Giant in 1993 and will be there on Sunday to salute the greatest player these eyes have ever set upon. 

San Diego meanwhile needs just one win or one Philadelphia loss to guarantee a spot in the playoffs after their 12-4 win over Arizona Thursday.  Jake Peavy won for the 4^th time in his last 5 decisions to up his record to 11-14 and lower his ERA in his last 13 starts to 2.64.  The Friars lead Los Angeles by 1 game in the West.

Anatomy of a (Giant) Meltdown – The San Francisco Giants went into their September 15 showdown with the St. Louis Cardinals just 2 ½ games behind the San Diego Padres for the Wild Card lead.  Eleven days later – after 9 losses in 10 games – the Giants were eliminated from playoff contention.  How did it all happen so quickly? 

After posting a major league best record of 20-9 since August 14 – and going 8-4 in 12 September games to that point – the Giants embarked on a scheduled 10 game road trip through St. Louis, Colorado and Milwaukee clinging to very real playoff hopes.  They returned home to Willie Mays Field on the 25^th where – after losing 7-1 to Arizona – their post-season dreams came to a screeching halt.  During that road trip (cut short to 9 games mercifully by a rainout in St. Louis that curiously enough may yet need to be played), the Giants hitters scored 5.2 runs per game while batting a respectable .265 and slugging 13 home runs.  They didn’t exactly perform like the ’27 Bombers, but then they certainly didn’t cause this mess either.  So just what did cause it all to collapse so quickly?

Pitching is the name of the game, and pitching was the primary cause of this Giant collapse.  During the month of August, the Giants’ pitching staff ranked fourth in the NL with an even 4.00 ERA.  Through the first twelve games of August, the Giants’ pitchers lowered that mark to 3.80.  Then came the road trip from hell. 

Over the course of their next 10 dream-crushing games, the Giants pitching staff put together an atrocious 10.54 collective ERA, while opposing hitters during that span batted a whopping .338 against them with 16 long balls.  Giant pitchers allowed nearly 13 hits (12.95) per 9 innings pitched while walking over 5 a game as well (5.38).  Oddly enough, in their only win during that stretch they were able to overcome an astounding 11 free passes issued. 

Breaking it down a bit further, we find both the starters and relievers deserve blame for the mess, although the starters much more so.  During those ten games, the Giants’ starting pitchers routinely put their hitters behind the 8-ball, allowing 26 first inning runs (23.40 ERA) and posting an combined ERA of 12.29 while allowing over 2 base runners per inning (2.19), including nearly 15 (14.71) hits per 9 innings.  The bullpen was only marginally better, posting an 8.44 ERA while allowing 10.85 hits and 5.79 walks per 9 IP. 

Pitching is the name of the game in baseball, and when your pitching staff implodes in September like the Giants’ staff did, the results are quite predictable and you can bet you’ll be fishing come mid-October.

Inept Hitting Trivia Answer – Randy Jones batted just .058 (6-for-103) for the San Diego Padres in 1976 to post the lowest single season batting average in major league history with at least 100 at bats.  His pathetic batting mark broke the previous record of .064 (7-for-110) set in 1963 by HOFer Sandy Koufax.  The difference between the two essentially was a home run by Koufax – his only extra-base hit – which left his SLG % at .091 compared to Jones’ .058 (0 extra-base hits).  Koufax, in fact, has two of the five worst single season marks in history, having batted just .076 (9-for-118) in 1966.  Mind you, Koufax also won the Cy Young Award in both ’63 and ’66.  Jones however – when it comes to hitting at least – gets the last laugh with his career batting mark of .132 (79-for-599) compared to Koufax’s lifetime mark of just .097 (75-for-776). 

Quick Hits

Despite having his 16-game hitting streak snapped on Wednesday, Adrian Beltre a night earlier became the first player this season with two hitting streaks of 15 games or longer.  Beltre hit safely in 15 straight games from August 5 through August 19 before beginning his 16-game stretch on September 11.  Beltre narrowly missed turning the trick three times this year, also hitting safely in 14 straight games from June 16 through July 1.

Chris Gomez’ hitting streak is up to 17 straight games.  He is batting .418 (28-for-67) since the streak began. 

Salomon Torres needs two appearances in the Pirates’ final three games to tie Kent Tekulve’s team record of 94 set back in 1979.

Sean Casey, despite going 2-for-3 with a home run on Thursday, is batting just .184 (14-for-76) in the month of September.

Kazuo Matsui is batting .353/.404/.480 in 102 at bats for Colorado.

Jason Phillips has walked just once and struck out only 3 times in 44 plate appearances this year for Toronto. 

Ramon Hernandez committed his 12^th and 13^th passed balls of the year on Thursday, tying Jorge Posada for the league lead.  Hernandez had committed 8 PB though May but just 3 since then until Thursday.

Octavio Dotel – DN&N’s preseason pick to be the AL’s Most Disappointing Player – pitched one inning in his 14^th appearance on the year on Thursday and allowed 2 runs on 3 hits.  In 10 IP this year, he has allowed 13 runs (12 earned) on 18 hits and 11 walks for a 10.80 ERA. 

NL West                     NL Wild Card NL Central                 AL Central

San Diego 86-73          Los Angeles 85-74       St. Louis 81-77            Detroit 95-64

Los Angeles 85-74       Philadelphia 83-76        Houston 81-78             Minnesota 95-64

San Diego 3 @ San Diego

Los Angeles 3 @ San Francisco

Philadelphia 3 @ Florida

St. Louis* 3 vs. Milwaukee

Houston 3 @ Atlanta

Detroit 3 vs. Kansas City

Minnesota 3 vs. Chicago

* St. Louis and San Francisco will play a make up of their September 17 rainout on Monday in St. Louis only if necessary.

DN&N would like to wish you a fantastic final weekend of the 2006 season.  We’ll be back on Tuesday with a wrap up of the intriguing Free Swinger race.