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Larry Ness Tuesday
Weekly Wipeout Winner - MLB
The Nationals went 81-81 back in 2005 but it's been all downhill since. The team averaged 93.7 wins per season these last three years (2006-08), going a collective 88-155 (.362) on the road. The 2009 season may be even worse. The Nats currently own a ML-worst 13-31 (.302) mark, which puts them on pace to lose more than 110 games. At 6-15 on the road, only the Padres have a worse road record this year, as the Nationals are allowing 6.71 RPG away from home. I guess that figures, as Washington owns a ML-worst 5.62 ERA, including a ML-worst bullpen ERA of 6.15 ERA. The Mets are batting .284 as a team (2nd-best in MLB) but have had trouble scoring runs lately, partly due to mounting injuries and partly due to a lack of timely hitting. However, the Mets managed nine hits and five runs on Memorial Day, beating the Nats 5-2. Carlos Delgado is on the DL with hip surgery, Jose Reyes has missed eight of 11 games with the nagging calf strain and now Carlos Beltran will have an MRI on his sore right knee on Tuesday. Gary Sheffield has stepped into the starting lineup for New York and is starting to make a difference. He homered last night and he's batting .395 with three HRs, nine RBI and 14 runs scored in 11 games since replacing Delgado as the team's cleanup hitter (he's raised his batting average from .178 to .277.). Sheffield and the rest of the Mets will face Washington rookie Craig Stammen. Stammen made his major league debut last Thursday at home vs the Pirates and retired the first 12 batters he faced before running into trouble. He left the game after giving up four ERs in 6.1 innings but failed to get a decision in Washington's 5-4 win. Nationals manager Manny Acta liked what he saw. "Stammen didn't look intimidated the whole night," Acta said. "He attacked the strike zone, worked fast, had very good sink on his fastball and just made it look easy. As he found out later, it's not that easy, but he did a very nice job for us." All that may be true but Stammen will pitch in front of MLB's worst team plus when he's "out of gas," he'll hand the ball over to MLB's worst bullpen (not much of a recipe for success). As for the Mets, they will counter with Livan Hernandez, who's been a pleasant surprise in 2009. Hernandez is sure no rookie and speaking of rookie years, he was MVP of both the NLCS and World Series as a rookie (9-3 with a 3.18 ERA in the regular season), helping the Marlins "win it all" that 1997 season. However, pitching for first Minnesota and then Colorado last year, Hernandez had a truly 'ugly' season. He made 31 combined starts, allowing 257 hits in 180 innings while posting a 6.05 ERA. Incredibly, he finished 13-11 and the two teams combined to go 18-13 in his starts (how?). Still, he won a spot in New York's rotation this spring and enters this game 3-1 with a 4.93 ERA in eight starts (5-3). He's struggled badly in two day starts this season (7.84 ERA) but in six night starts, owns a respectable 4.08 ERA. Hernandez spent three-plus season with the Nationals (who relocated from Montreal prior to the start of the 2005 season) and still has the most wins of any Nationals pitcher (24) in Washington. He lost his first game against his ex-teammates in 2006 but since then he's posted a 3.34 ERA while winning five straight starts against them.
Weekly Wipeout Winner on the NY Mets
Larry's 7* Pitching Mismatch
The Astros will take a five-game losing streak into tonight's game at Great American Ballpark with the Reds. The Astros have batted .282 as a team during their slide but are not scoring, averaging just 3.2 PPG. They should however, find Reds pitcher Micah Owings to their liking. Owings is better known for his prowess at the plate, than he is for his success on the mound. He went 8-8 with a 4.30 ERA for the D'backs in 2007 and then 6-9 with a 5.93 ERA last year. The team was 21-24 in his starts for the two years, which included a 7-11 mark last year when the D'backs won his first four starts but then went 3-11 after that. The slump caused his trade to the Reds near the end of last season, although he didn't pitch for Cincinnati. He did however, make a few appearances at the plate. His totals for the 2007 and 2008 seasons combined read like this, 116 ABs with a .319 BA, five HRs and 21 RBI. In 24 ABs this year, he's batting .292 with one HR and four RBI. His mound work is about the same, as he's 3-5 with 4.70 ERA in eight appearances. The Astros should get to Owings but the really good news for Houston is that Roy Oswalt 'OWNS' the Reds. It's not been a good year for Oswalt in 2009, as he owns just one win on the season. He's got only two losses, with six no-decisions plus a suspended game in 10 starts. One could point out that Oswalt hasn't lost in eight consecutive starts (since April 11) but in fairness, he hasn't been the "Oswalt of old." Here's a guy who will take a career 130-66 (.663) mark into this game, with a 3.17 ERA. He's 1-2 with a 4.47 ERA in 2009, allowing 61 hits in 56.1 innings. However, when it comes to facing the Reds, Oswalt is a remarkable 23-1 with a 2.35 ERA. His lone loss to the Reds came back on April 28, 2006 and in 10 starts against them since, he's 8-0. The only two games he didn't win in that span did come this season, though it should be noted that Oswalt has allowed just one ER over 13 innings in those two games. On April 17 in Houston, the Astros led 1-0 in the ninth but Cincy's Ramon Hernandez hit a two-run HR which barely cleared the fence in right field, giving the Reds a 2-1 win (and 'stealing' a win from Oswalt). Then 10 days later here in Cincy, Oswalt allowed just one run in seven innings, leaving with the game tied 1-1. However, this time it was the Astros who won it in the ninth, scoring three times for a 4-1 win (another no-decision for Oswalt). The 2009 season has been a struggle for Oswalt but the Reds always "bring out the best in him" plus Houston should give him plenty of run support against Owings.
Pitching Mismatch on the Hou Astros
Weekly Wipeout Winner - MLB
The Nationals went 81-81 back in 2005 but it's been all downhill since. The team averaged 93.7 wins per season these last three years (2006-08), going a collective 88-155 (.362) on the road. The 2009 season may be even worse. The Nats currently own a ML-worst 13-31 (.302) mark, which puts them on pace to lose more than 110 games. At 6-15 on the road, only the Padres have a worse road record this year, as the Nationals are allowing 6.71 RPG away from home. I guess that figures, as Washington owns a ML-worst 5.62 ERA, including a ML-worst bullpen ERA of 6.15 ERA. The Mets are batting .284 as a team (2nd-best in MLB) but have had trouble scoring runs lately, partly due to mounting injuries and partly due to a lack of timely hitting. However, the Mets managed nine hits and five runs on Memorial Day, beating the Nats 5-2. Carlos Delgado is on the DL with hip surgery, Jose Reyes has missed eight of 11 games with the nagging calf strain and now Carlos Beltran will have an MRI on his sore right knee on Tuesday. Gary Sheffield has stepped into the starting lineup for New York and is starting to make a difference. He homered last night and he's batting .395 with three HRs, nine RBI and 14 runs scored in 11 games since replacing Delgado as the team's cleanup hitter (he's raised his batting average from .178 to .277.). Sheffield and the rest of the Mets will face Washington rookie Craig Stammen. Stammen made his major league debut last Thursday at home vs the Pirates and retired the first 12 batters he faced before running into trouble. He left the game after giving up four ERs in 6.1 innings but failed to get a decision in Washington's 5-4 win. Nationals manager Manny Acta liked what he saw. "Stammen didn't look intimidated the whole night," Acta said. "He attacked the strike zone, worked fast, had very good sink on his fastball and just made it look easy. As he found out later, it's not that easy, but he did a very nice job for us." All that may be true but Stammen will pitch in front of MLB's worst team plus when he's "out of gas," he'll hand the ball over to MLB's worst bullpen (not much of a recipe for success). As for the Mets, they will counter with Livan Hernandez, who's been a pleasant surprise in 2009. Hernandez is sure no rookie and speaking of rookie years, he was MVP of both the NLCS and World Series as a rookie (9-3 with a 3.18 ERA in the regular season), helping the Marlins "win it all" that 1997 season. However, pitching for first Minnesota and then Colorado last year, Hernandez had a truly 'ugly' season. He made 31 combined starts, allowing 257 hits in 180 innings while posting a 6.05 ERA. Incredibly, he finished 13-11 and the two teams combined to go 18-13 in his starts (how?). Still, he won a spot in New York's rotation this spring and enters this game 3-1 with a 4.93 ERA in eight starts (5-3). He's struggled badly in two day starts this season (7.84 ERA) but in six night starts, owns a respectable 4.08 ERA. Hernandez spent three-plus season with the Nationals (who relocated from Montreal prior to the start of the 2005 season) and still has the most wins of any Nationals pitcher (24) in Washington. He lost his first game against his ex-teammates in 2006 but since then he's posted a 3.34 ERA while winning five straight starts against them.
Weekly Wipeout Winner on the NY Mets
Larry's 7* Pitching Mismatch
The Astros will take a five-game losing streak into tonight's game at Great American Ballpark with the Reds. The Astros have batted .282 as a team during their slide but are not scoring, averaging just 3.2 PPG. They should however, find Reds pitcher Micah Owings to their liking. Owings is better known for his prowess at the plate, than he is for his success on the mound. He went 8-8 with a 4.30 ERA for the D'backs in 2007 and then 6-9 with a 5.93 ERA last year. The team was 21-24 in his starts for the two years, which included a 7-11 mark last year when the D'backs won his first four starts but then went 3-11 after that. The slump caused his trade to the Reds near the end of last season, although he didn't pitch for Cincinnati. He did however, make a few appearances at the plate. His totals for the 2007 and 2008 seasons combined read like this, 116 ABs with a .319 BA, five HRs and 21 RBI. In 24 ABs this year, he's batting .292 with one HR and four RBI. His mound work is about the same, as he's 3-5 with 4.70 ERA in eight appearances. The Astros should get to Owings but the really good news for Houston is that Roy Oswalt 'OWNS' the Reds. It's not been a good year for Oswalt in 2009, as he owns just one win on the season. He's got only two losses, with six no-decisions plus a suspended game in 10 starts. One could point out that Oswalt hasn't lost in eight consecutive starts (since April 11) but in fairness, he hasn't been the "Oswalt of old." Here's a guy who will take a career 130-66 (.663) mark into this game, with a 3.17 ERA. He's 1-2 with a 4.47 ERA in 2009, allowing 61 hits in 56.1 innings. However, when it comes to facing the Reds, Oswalt is a remarkable 23-1 with a 2.35 ERA. His lone loss to the Reds came back on April 28, 2006 and in 10 starts against them since, he's 8-0. The only two games he didn't win in that span did come this season, though it should be noted that Oswalt has allowed just one ER over 13 innings in those two games. On April 17 in Houston, the Astros led 1-0 in the ninth but Cincy's Ramon Hernandez hit a two-run HR which barely cleared the fence in right field, giving the Reds a 2-1 win (and 'stealing' a win from Oswalt). Then 10 days later here in Cincy, Oswalt allowed just one run in seven innings, leaving with the game tied 1-1. However, this time it was the Astros who won it in the ninth, scoring three times for a 4-1 win (another no-decision for Oswalt). The 2009 season has been a struggle for Oswalt but the Reds always "bring out the best in him" plus Houston should give him plenty of run support against Owings.
Pitching Mismatch on the Hou Astros
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