That is insane. Who’d have guessed out of all those teams, the Phillies would be the team under .500?
(BTW the reason I wasn’t certain was CBS hadn’t updated their standings yet when I wrote that)
Good on the Jays for cooling off those White Sox. Because the Indians were aw.ful. against the White Sox, Royals and Twins. Yes even the Twins! So we lost our huge lead on the AL Central and fell behind the Chi Sox.
But for some reason we’re slapping the Tigers around this year. Now have beaten them 5 games in a row, hoping to complete the second sweep tomorrow afternoon.
So if those Jays could just beat the Sox one more time, I do believe we’d be back in first when we go off to St. Louis this weekend (eep!)
I’ve been watching the Dodgers/Phillies game this afternoon. Interesting that, according to the tv broadcast, if the Dodgers win this game today, this would be their first 4 game sweep in Philadelphia since moving to LA.
I know the 4 game series isn’t common, but this is still an interesting stat.
Since before then. 1946.
Here’s hoping.
Whee! The Dodgers get the sweep. Now if the Giants could all just die in a fire, I’ll be momentarily satisfied.
**MLB News Release: **
That one seems potentially broad.
I hope Eric Hanhold gets a parade. (He was “Mr Irrelevent” in the draft)
How is it when I get to watch the Dodgers they look like the Isatopes getting kicked around by the Rockies but as soon as they leave my city they go on to a 4 game sweep. So far the dodgers are 2-4 at Coors field.
On the other hand that’s a pretty cool record to have and some how they’re 5-2 with out kemp this stretch after going 9-5 without him the last time.
Depressing loss for Toronto last night.
Prediction: Henderson Alvarez is going to get beaten like a pinata at some point this year and has at best a 50/50 shot of staying on the big league roster. The relevant evidence:
79 innings pitched
83 hits, 18 walks, and 13 home runs allowed
23 strikeouts
Nobody can strike out so few batters and succeed in the big leagues. It cannot be done. You will not find a single starting pitcher in the last thirty years who struck out fewer than 3 men per nine innings and who was successful for longer than four or five months, because it’s impossible to do that. Jamie Moyer was the junkiest junkballer I ever saw, and he consistently got 4-5 guys per 9 innings, at the very WORST; that’s the absolute lower limit you can get and be successful and that’s if you’re an ultra-crafty lefty with forty-three different breaking pitches.
It’s utterly miraculous Alvarez’s ERA is only 3.76; he has been very, very lucky. The gopher balls are going to catch up to him.
I like his style and his stuff, but he was brought up too young and he needs to go back to AA/AAA and learn how to strike guys out.
Just checked for the knuckleballer exception, and Wakefield checks in at 6 per 9 and Charlie Hough at 5.6 per 9 (to Moyer’s 5.4) for their careers, so that sounds about right.
Edited to add: John Halama: 4.9 for the crafty-ish lefty division.
Dang, Kevin Millwood had a no-hitter through 6 for the Mariners (against the Dodgers!), but had to come out of the game with a big blister on his finger 
Correction on update: “Minor groin strain” not “blister”.
The Mariners are bringing in pitcher #5 in their attempt at a combined no-hitter. This is just a weird game.
And here comes Mariner Pitcher #6 for the 9th inning with the Mariners up 1-0.
And it’s official - 6-pitcher combined no-hitter!
Mariners are on a tear the last couple weeks.
And they did it – Mariners no-hit the Dodgers using six pitchers. Apparently the 9th combined no-hitter in history, and the first time the Dodgers have been no-hit since 1994.
On the plus side, the Giants lost, so it doesn’t cost the Dodgers anything in the standings. 
Albert Pujols seems to have gotten over his slow start. Since the middle of May, he’s hit .341/.411/.681 with 8 HR and 24 RBI.
In related news, the Angels are 15-8 over that stretch, after starting the year 16-21.
I had to check twice. The Yankees are playing the Mets today and it is not ESPN’s Sunday Night game. They’re showing the Tigers and Reds against no major sports competition tonight
Speaking of that… SWEEP!!