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COPYRIGHT 2001 Sporting News Publishing Co.
Arizona
18-18: T 4th
Club keeps pipeline to D.L. flowing ailing Reynoso
Less than six weeks into the season, the Diamondbacks have used the disabled list eight times. Last Saturday, RHP Armando Reynoso became the sixth pitcher--and fifth starter--to go on the D.L. this season. Since Reynoso has not made a start since May 4, he likely will make a minor league rehab start before rejoining the club. He likely won't be activated until May 24 or later. RHP Miguel Batista will get his third spot start, Saturday at Chicago, to help fill the void.... To fill Reynoso's roster spot, RHP Erik Sabel was called up for the second time this season. After pitching in seven games for the Diamondbacks' division-winning 1999 squad, he went 4-11 with a 7.23 ERA at Class AAA in 2000. The problem? He had elbow pain beginning in May but didn't reveal it until August. He had surgery last September 13 and has since recovered.
SCOUTING REPORT: Sure, RHP Randy Johnson can throw 98 mph consistently. But the pitch that makes him a complete pitcher--and the key to his 20-strikeout game on May 8--is his slider. He throws it 88 to 89 mph and it looks like a fastball coming out of his hand. But when it's sharp, it breaks down and in toward righthanded hitters' shoe tops, making it very tough to hit once the batter commits to swinging. Because Johnson throws so hard, he gives up some home runs. And because he is 6-10, even a slight mechanical problem can result in poor command. But he has underrated command and a decent pickoff move.
SEE A DIFFERENT GAME: Extra adrenaline is not necessarily a good thing RHP Curt Schilling was admittedly anxious for his start Friday against the Phillies, his former team. But if being pumped up gave Schilling any extra velocity, it also may have hurt his command. Schilling didn't pitch with his usual precision that night. Not only did he match his season high with two walks, Schilling gave up four hits after getting two strikes on hitters, proving he was wild in the strike zone and unable to make the pitches he wanted to finish off hitters. --Ed Price
TSNumber
.444
The team's winning percentage against lefty starters. It was 55-33 (.625) in such games the past two seasons, but Tony Womack, Damian Miller and Mark Grace are struggling this year.
BATTERS AVG G AB R H HR Dellucci(+) .424 20 33 12 14 4 Gonzalez(+) .331 36 139 34 46 17(a) Durazo(+) .324 20 34 7 11 4 Bell .307 32 114 21 35 5 Sanders .286 28 98 22 28 10 Grace(+) .268 33 112 17 30 3 Williams .268 34 127 16 34 4 (*)Barajas .267 15 30 5 8 3 Counsell(+) .259 26 58 7 15 2 Bautista .250 22 40 1 10 Miller .241 29 87 11 21 1 Womack(+) .222 28 108 18 24 Finley(+) .216 34 125 15 27 1 Colbrunn .200 22 35 3 7 1 BATTERS RBI OBP SB K BB E Dellucci(+) 11 .525 6 6 1 Gonzalez(+) 36 .411 23 14 Durazo(+) 11 .368 7 3 Bell 21 .396 20 17 1 Sanders 28 .340 3 32 6 Grace(+) 13 .359 10 14 1 Williams 20 .319 20 8 5 (*)Barajas 4 .313 7 2 Counsell(+) 2 .377 6 10 Bautista 3 .250 5 Miller 9 .295 18 7 3 Womack(+) 3 .294 5 13 9 5 Finley(+) 12 .300 2 22 15 1 Colbrunn 4 .282 6 3 GRAND SLAMS: Sanders (1) PITCHERS ERA W-L IP H R ER (*)Prinz 0.00 1-0 6.2 4 Johnson(+) 3.26 3-3 60.2(a) 43 22 22 Schilling 3.34 5-1 59.1 58 23 22 Batista 3.86 1-2 25.2 23 13 11 Kim 4.12 2-1 19.2 12 9 9 Swindell(+) 4.38 0-1 12.1 11 6 6 (*)Brohawn(+) 4.50 1-1 12.0 9 6 6 Ellis 4.88 3-1 31.1 31 17 17 Reynoso 6.40 1-4 32.1 42 24 23 Springer 7.24 0-0 13.2 15 13 11 Anderson(+) 7.36 0-3 25.2 38 26 21 PITCHERS HR K BB SV AVG. (*)Prinz 3 2 3 .167 Johnson(+) 8 92(a) 15 .201 Schilling 13(a) 66 7 .253 Batista 2 10 8 .256 Kim 1 24 14 .190 Swindell(+) 3 7 1 .244 (*)Brohawn(+) 6 6 1 .237 Ellis 12 14 .274 Reynoso 8 11 8 .321 Springer 3 8 4 1 .273 Anderson(+) 6 8 9 .345 SHUTOUTS: Johnson, Schilling (1) COMPLETE GAMES: Johnson (2), Schilling (1) (*) Rookie (+) Lefthanded (#) Switch hitter (a) League leaders in bold Statistics provided by STATS Inc. through Saturday, May 12.
Atlanta
17-20: 2nd
Top of the order fails to give C. Jones RBI opportunities
SS Rafael Furcal's six-week slump, which cost him his leadoff job, and CF Andruw Jones' recent skid are the primary causes of the team's offensive inconsistency. No one knows that better than 3B Chipper Jones, who hits behind the pair in the No. 3 hole. Through last Saturday's games, Chipper Jones was batting .321 with runners in scoring position and had 11 home pans, matching his total from the first two months of last season, yet had only 29 RBIs. If Furcal or Andruw Jones were reaching base consistently, Chipper Jones would be within easy reach of the league RBI lead. Since making an adjustment in his bat angle three weeks ago, he has been the team's hottest hitter.... 1B Rico Brogna, who lost his job for a few games to rookie Wes Helms, insists he is coming out of his slump. Brogna has studied his swing on videotape and corrected a couple of flaws. But the biggest influence on Brogna has been what he terms "good pressure"--the threat of losing even more playing time to Helms.
SCOUTING REPORT: Aside from RHP Greg Maddux, RHP John Burkett arguably has been the team's most consistent starter. So what's the secret behind Burkett's resurgence at age 36? 1) Increased arm strength, thanks to a long-toss program suggested by former Devil Rays manager Larry Rothschild. 2) Improved conditioning, thanks to strength and conditioning coach Frank Fultz. Between starts, Burkett plays catch from 150 feet, making 30-to-40 throws to build his arm strength. While it hasn't increased his velocity, it has done something more important--add late movement on his pitches.
SEE A DIFFERENT GAME: Bobby Cox's decision to demote Furcal to the No. 8 spot and move 2B Quilvio Veras to the leadoff spot was not unexpected. Furcal had just 30 hits in 142 at-bats (.211) before the move, and his on-base percentage was only .276. He has studied videotape of last year's swing but croft find any glaring differences. Veras, who says hitting eighth is tough duty, was happy to return to the leadoff role. But if he doesn't hit, Cox's experiment won't last long. --Bill Zack
TSNumber
.201
The club's batting average with runners in scoring position. The only regulars hitting .300 or better in those situations are CF Andruw Joins, 1B Rico Brogna and 3B Chipper Jones.
BATTERS AVG G AB R H HR Martinez(+) .333 27 42 9 14 C. Jones(#) .318 37(a) 129 23 41 11 Jordan .277 34 130 12 36 3 Gilkey .273 6 11 1 3 1 A. Jones .264 37(a) 144 19 38 7 Lockhart(+) .256 25 43 3 11 (*)Giles .250 7 8 1 2 Brogna(+) .242 31 95 7 23 1 Furcal(#) .230 37(a) 152(a) 17 35 2 Lopez .228 32 114 9 26 3 Surhoff(+) .226 35 115 14 26 3 (*)Helms .224 22 49 5 11 2 Veras(#) .192 27 99 10 19 3 Bako(+) .095 9 21 3 2 1 BATTERS RBI OBP SB K BB E Martinez(+) 1 .429 4 7 C. Jones(#) 29 .434 1 18 28 3 Jordan 14 .309 17 6 2 Gilkey 2 .333 3 1 A. Jones 14 .340 2 23 17 3 Lockhart(+) 1 .333 4 5 (*)Giles .333 1 Brogna(+) 10 .314 2 24 10 Furcal(#) 14 .269 5 27 10 5 Lopez 10 .276 21 5 Surhoff(+) 12 .302 15 12 (*)Helms 9 .264 14 3 2 Veras(#) 12 .273 1 23 8 1 Bako(+) 1 .240 7 4 GRAND SLAMS: None PITCHERS ERA W-L IP H R ER Cabrera 0.90 1-0 10.0 6 1 1 Marquis 2.04 0-0 17.2 7 4 4 Maddux 2.45 3-3 47.2 39 16 13 Remlinger(+) 2.49 1-1 21.2 17 6 6 Burkett 3.02 2-4 53.2 46 19 18 Rocker(+) 3.78 2-0 16.2 17 8 7 Glavine(+) 4.26 4-2 50.2 43 24 24 (*)Seelbach 5.40 0-0 5.0 3 3 3 O. Perez(+) 6.32 2-4 31.1 38 23 22 Ligtenberg 8.68 0-2 9.1 10 10 9 Whiteside 16.20 0-1 3.1 8 6 6 PITCHERS HR K BB SV AVG. Cabrera 6 5 .182 Marquis 2 14 9 .121 Maddux 2 43 4 .222 Remlinger(+) 4 27 3 .210 Burkett 4 44 10 .230 Rocker(+) 1 21 9 9 .266 Glavine(+) 6 32 32(a) .239 (*)Seelbach 1 5 3 .167 O. Perez(+) 1 21 19 .304 Ligtenberg 2 9 8 .270 Whiteside 3 3 .444 SHUTOUTS: Burkett, Maddux (1) COMPLETE GAMES: Burkett, Maddux (1) (*) Rookie (+) Lefthanded (#) Switch hitter (a) League leaders in bold Statistics provided by STATS Inc. through Saturday, May 12.
Chicago
21-15: 1st
Stairs is favorite to secure full-time job at first base
The team needs to do something with its three-headed monster at first base. In late March, the team planned to platoon lefthanded-hitting Matt Stairs and righty Ron Coomer. But Coomer had knee surgery in April, so Julio Zuleta was called up from Class AAA Iowa. Entering the week, Zuleta was batting .254 with four homers. Stairs was at .229 with two homers. Coomer was at .267 with no homers. With the team facing so much righthanded pitching, Stairs has the inside track at winning the full-time job. But it's hard to ignore Zuleta. Hitting coach Jeff Pentland has been working daily with the 6-5 Zuleta on handling inside pitches.
SCOUTING REPORT: LF Rondell White has gamed respect not only for his play, but for his work habits. White had arthroscopic knee surgery last fall and spent most of the offseason rehabbing at the Cubs' spring-training facility in Mesa, Ariz. White now looks like his old self, at the plate and in the field. He's an aggressive, slashing batter who hits wicked line drives. His career high for homers is 28, coming for Montreal in 1997. It's possible he could reach that at Wrigley if he remains healthy. White has had hamstring problems in the past, and he suffered a dislocated shoulder last August. White never has been afraid to dive for balls or run into walls, but the team would like him to use more caution.
SEE A DIFFERENT GAME: Even when RHP Kyle Farnsworth, 25, has failed, manager Don Baylor has promised to stay with him. And confidence has been a big key in Farnsworth's development. Even though he possesses a fastball that ranges in the mid-to-upper 90s, Farnsworth appears to be learning that he doesn't have to blow it by hitters. And he no longer falls to pieces when he gives up a hit. Farnsworth has been able to locate his fastball and mix in his breaking pitch and devastating split-finger to keep hitters from sitting on...
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