"I can't give you all that information," Gardenhire, the Twins manager, said of his No. 3 hitter. "You'll write it and then other people might figure it out."
So you know, Ron, how to get him out?
"Hell, no, I don't! That's why I don't want to say anything.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action with a quick nod to what is ahead.
You Oughta Know ...
That Zack Greinke is doing everything in his power to win the American League Cy Young Award.
The Royals ace will not get anywhere close to 20 wins, but he did pick up his 16th of the year with seven innings of one-run ball against the Twins. He's now won five straight decisions dating back to Aug. 25 and his ERA is down to 2.06. As pointed out by FanHouse's Jacob Wheatley-Schaller, if Greinke pitches seven shutout innings in his final start of the year next Saturday in Minnesota, he'll finish the year with his ERA under 2.00.
Only one AL pitcher in the last 15 years -- Pedro Martinez in 2000 -- has thrown more than 200 innings in a season and finished with a sub-2.00 ERA
The Giants will have a pretty big decision to make this offseason regarding Tim Lincecum. Do they sign the insanely talented righthander to a long-term contract extension to buy out his arbitration years or do they let him go to arbitration and continue going the one-year contract route to avoid being on the hook for big money if something untoward happens to Lincecum's arm?
You'd imagine they'd opt for the long-term deal, so his answer to a question about a willingness to sign an extension was likely met with some smiles.
Yes," Lincecum said Thursday. "I definitely like San Francisco. I've seen nothing but positive things as far as my personal experiences. It's where I see myself being for awhile."
So the deal's getting done, right? Sadly, it won't be quite that easy for the Giants.
From the Windup is Matt Snyder's weekly look at some aspect of America's pastime.
Zack Greinke has been the best pitcher in the majors this season.
That statement wouldn't be disputed by anyone other than people who look only at won-loss record and nothing more. I'm not suggesting you throw that stat out the window, but you can take Greinke's 15-8 record, combine it with everything else, and still come to the conclusion that the best pitcher in 2009 plays for the Kansas City Royals.
With that in mind, I wanted to create a starting rotation from the past decade of pitchers who were similarly plagued by a less-than-stellar record, while also sporting filthy numbers elsewhere. It's the Zack Greinke Tribute Team.
Poppin' out of the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
Before the season started, I was rough on Derrek Lee. I named him the biggest bust on the Cubs for this coming season and included him on the list of "five guys to lose" your fantasy league. I even predicted Mike Fontenot would hit more home runs than Mr. Lee. Obviously, it sounds outlandish now, in hindsight, as Lee clubbed his 35th home run Tuesday night. In the process, he established a new career high in RBI with 109. His OPS is the second-highest it's ever been -- trailing only his insane 2005 season when he did an Albert Pujols impersonation.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
You Oughta Know ... The names Hal McCoy and Ernie Harwell.
Both were honored at ballparks on Wednesday, and their absence from the game will be felt by fans in Cincinnati and Detroit.
Harwell, the long-time Tigers radio announcer, has inoperable, terminal cancer. So the team chose Wednesday night to honor him at Comerica Park, and after a video tribute in the third inning, he thanked the fans:
Poppin' out of the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
On Sunday, Ichiro Suzuki became the second fastest player to ever reach the 2,000 hit milestone as he doubled in the first inning and later scored.
It took Suzuki 1,402 games to reach 2,000 hits. The fastest was Al Simmons who did it in 1,390 games. Suzuki needs five more hits to reach 200 for the season, which would break the record he shares with Willie Keeler at nine consecutive seasons with 200.
As milestone talk goes, Ichiro is playing second fiddle to what's about to happen in New York.
The news of Moore's extension is bound to get mixed reviews from Royals fans who have watched the team suffer through another losing season, but it's apparent that team owner David Glass still believes that Moore is the right man to help turn the franchise around.
Poppin' out of the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
John Lackey threw eight innings on Sunday, striking out six and not surrendering an earned run. It was his 100th career victory. He should have been the man of the hour, right?
That would have been the case had Kendry Morales not jacked his 30th home run of the season and stolen the show. At least among fantasy circles, anyway.
Morales had twelve career home runs entering the 2009 season and big shoes to fill as the Angels handed him the keys to the kingdom at first base as Mark Teixeira left for the Yankees. He's handled the task admirably batting .311 and is fast approaching the 100-RBI mark. He's also leading the league in RBI since the all-star break with 45.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action with a quick nod to what is ahead.
The Giants will have a pretty big decision to make this offseason regarding Tim Lincecum. Do they sign the insanely talented righthander to a long-term contract extension to buy out his arbitration years or do they let him go to arbitration and continue going the one-year contract route to avoid being on the hook for big money if something untoward happens to Lincecum's arm?
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
Poppin' out of the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
As was reported by FanHouse's Ed Price last week, the Kansas City Royals are set to announce a contract extension for general manager Dayton Moore, possibly as soon as Monday night. The tentative agreement would keep Moore in Kansas City through 2014.
