- Francisco Liriano generates missed swings with 34 percent of his pitches, which is by far the most in the majors; Aaron Harang of the Reds is second, at 26 percent.
- Jeff Francis last week became the third Rockies pitcher to toss a two-hitter this year, joining Jason Jennings and Josh Fogg. In their first 13 years, the late Darryl Kile was the only Rockies pitcher to perform the feat.
- The next Twins pitching phenom to arrive should be right-hander Matt Garza, a former first-rounder from Fresno State. Garza, who started the year in A-ball, hit 97 mph in the ninth inning last week in a 1-0 shutout for Triple-A Rochester. Overall this year Garza is 13-4 with a 2.03 ERA and 10.3 strikeouts per nine innings.
- The Padres have hit 51-homers at Petco Park this season. They hit 54 there last year and 57 in 2004, its first season.
- Johan Santana has a 1.35 ERA in his last 10 starts against the White Sox.
- Chris Young hasn’t lost a road game since June 20, 2005.
- If the Orioles really did turn down the rumored Tejada for Ervin Santana, Erick Aybar and Casey Kotchman deal, then they are even more insane than I gave them credit for.
- Sean Casey hasn’t homered against a right-handed pitcher in 144 at-bats this season.
- The Yankees’ first six hitters in their batting order have the following OBPs: Damon .372, Jeter .427, Abreu .427, A-Rod .383, Giambi .402, and Posada .389. How does Joe Torre do it? Amazing what he can get out of such deficient talent in a team devastated by injuries. Maybe the fact the Yankees have $100 million more in payroll than any other team in baseball has something to do with it, but you can’t be sure. And if I hear one more “analyst” say Corey Lidle was the more important piece of the Abreu trade, I’m going to be forced to choke myself. Hope none of you expected a playoffs without the Yankees involved, because there’s zero chance of that happening.
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