- If nothing else, Jeff Niemann believes in the baseball version of Darwinism. His three best starts have come against the Mariners, Royals, and now Athletics; that triumvirate equates to the three worst offenses in the American League. I'm not complaining, Niemann did flash some things tonight that I hope to see more often from him. In quick, weekend form:
- 31% breaking pitches
- 14 GB: 9 FB
- 8.5% whiffs
That's it Jeff! By golly, that's everything I've ever wanted from you.
- Welcome Evan Longoria back to the homer column. We were a week away from hitting the month mark. Maybe the hamstring is getting better.
- I'm contemplating whether Gio Gonzalez or Oliver Perez is the worst case scenario for David Price. One on hand: reliever, on the other: Oliver Perez.
- Pat Burrell with a pair of extra base hits tonight. Woo.
- The Red Sox beat the Royals 1-0 and the Yankees lead the Angels 4-0 early on. Good news/bad news today for the Rays on the Angels front. Good news: they lose arguably their best hitter in Torii Hunter and further the Rays gap on them. Bad news: this happens when they play the Yankees, the team that refuses to lose at this point.
- Dioner Navarro has officially taken Tomas Perez' spot as Executive of Pie.
- Yuniesky Betancourt and Jeff Francoeur were both traded today. Surprisingly, Dayton Moore only acquired one of these players. He must be heartbroken.