Daily Baseball Update: 8/24

Did You Know

With his August 24th home run off of rookie Cole Hamels in 2006 and a subsequent 8-game home run drought until the end of the season, Michael Barrett became the first and only player in history to hit exactly 16 home runs in 3 straight seasons. After a 16 HR, 65 RBI, .287 AVG 2004, Barrett went 16-61-.276 in 2005 to set up a career and record setting year in 2006. Barrett hit 16 home runs, knocked in 53, and batted .307 in only 107 games. Barrett has 98 career home runs. 

This Day in Baseball History

8/24/1919: Ray Caldwell incurs one of the most interesting injuries of all time.   With 2 down in the top of the 9th, Caldwell is struck by lightning and knocked unconscious. He refused to be taken out of the game, and recorded the out for the complete game, 2-1 win over the A's. Caldwell would finish the season, the last of the Dead Ball Era, 12-5 with a 3.11 ERA.  

News

Paul Konerko (White Sox) recorded his 2,000th career hit. Rockies claimed Wandy Rodriguez (9-9, 3.31 ERA, .247 BAA, age 32) off of waivers from the Astros. This means the Rockies have until Thursday to work out a deal. A's traded Kevin Kouzmanoff (4 HR, 17 RBI, .221 AVG, 2 SB, age 30) to the Rockies for a player to be named later or cash. Diamondbacks traded Kelly Johnson (18 HR, 49 RBI, .209 AVG, 13 SB, age 29) to the Blue Jays for Aaron Hill (6 HR, 45 RBI, .225 AVG, 16 SB, age 29) and John McDonald (2 HR, 20 RBI, .250 AVG, 2 SB, age 36). Craig Kimbrel (Braves) tied the rookie saves record of 40 set by Neftali Feliz (Rangers) last year. Kimbrel has not given up a run since June 11th, a stretch of 31.2 innings. Sean Burroughs (Diamondbacks) hit his first home run since 2005. Prince Fielder (Brewers) was the first player to 100 RBI. 

In acquiring Kevin Kouzmanoff, the Rockies are looking for the Crushin' Russian (who is actually Macedonian) to return to the form that helped him crush 59 home runs from 2007-2009, topping out at 23 in 2008. Colorado has been struggling to find someone to hold down the third base position, as Ty Wigginton, Ian Stewart, Jose Lopez, Jonathan Herrera, Chris Nelson, Alfredo Amezaga, and Chris Ianetta have all seen time at the hot corner.

This deal draws its roots from Stephen Drew's season-ending injury, causing a void in the D-Backs infield. In acquiring 2 for 1, the D-Backs garner both a starter (Hill) and a back-up (McDonald). Kelly Johnson will look to rebound in Toronto after following up a career year with a sub-par season. Johnson, who hit 26 home runs with a .284 AVG in 2010, has not seen a dip in power numbers (18 home runs with more than a month to go), has seen his AVG drop 75 points to .209, 51 points below his .260 career AVG. The D-Backs' main return, Aaron Hill, is also looking for a rebound after a 2009 Silver Slugger award. In 2009, Hill hit 36 home runs with 108 RBI and a .286 AVG, but has batted .213 with 32 home runs since. Still 29, Hill still has plenty of time to rebound. McDonald provides infield depth and 13 years of experience to a young D-Backs team.  

Game Scores

Braves (78-52) beat the Cubs (56-73) 5-4.  Red Sox (78-50) beat the Rangers (74-56) 11-5. Diamondbacks (70-59) beat the Nationals (62-65) 2-0. A's (58-70) beat the Yankees (77-49) 6-5. Dodgers (59-69) beat the Cardinals (67-62) 13-2. Phillies (83-44) beat the Mets (60-68) 9-4.  

Top Scorer: Dodgers beat the Cardinals 13-2. Longest Winning Streak: Braves, 6 games. Longest Losing Streak: Marlins, 6 games.  

Standings

AL East: Yankees (77-49, .611 WPCT). AL Central: Tigers (70-58, .547). AL West: Rangers (74-56, .569).

NL East: Phillies (83-44, .654). NL Central: Brewers (78-53, .595).  NL West: Diamondbacks (Diamondbacks (70-59, .543). AL Wild Card: Red Sox (78-50, .609).  NL Wild Card: Braves (78-52, .600). Bottom Team: Astros (42-87, .326). 

League Leaders

Offensive: Adrian Gonzalez (Red Sox), .346.  Home runs: Jose Bautista (Blue Jays), 36.  RBI: Prince Fielder (Brewers), 100.  Stolen bases: Michael Bourn (Braves), 47.Pitching: Wins: Justin Verlander (Tigers), 19.  K's: Justin Verlander, 212.  ERA: Johnny Cueto (Reds), 2.03 (133.1 innings, 30 earned runs).  Saves: Craig Kimbrel (Braves), 40. 

Top Performers

Offensive: Adrian Gonzalez (Red Sox): 3-4, 2 home runs (20), 3 RBI, 3 runs, walk, AVG up .003 from .343 to .346, hitting streak to 3 games (5-10, .500). Pitching: Alfredo Simon (Orioles): Win (4-6), 8 innings, 1 earned run, 3 hits, 1 walk, 8 K's (51), ERA drop: 0.38 runs from 4.68 to 4.30. Worst Pitching Performance: Zach McAllister (Indians): Loss (0-1), 3.1 innings, 10 runs (8 earned), 9 hits, 2 walks, 2 K's (6), ERA jump: 7.77 runs from 4.50 to 12.27. 

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Teams followed in this update: Boston Red Sox, Washington Nationals, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves

If your team is not included or you would like to be included on the original email that I send out every morning, please leave a comment and I will take care of it.

HR: home runs. RBI: runs batted in. AVG: batting average. SB: stolen bases. ERA: earned run average.  BAA: batting average against. K's: strikeouts. WPCT: winning percentage