Dodgers bring Maddux back into fold
LOS ANGELES -- General manager Ned Colletti did it again on Tuesday, re-acquiring pitcher Greg Maddux from the Padres, hoping the future Hall of Famer can help lead the Dodgers to the postseason again.
Maddux was acquired by the Dodgers from the Cubs two years ago and went 6-3, a key reason why the Dodgers rallied to qualify for the playoffs as the NL Wild Card.
This time they need him to replace Brad Penny, who is back on the disabled list after making only two starts over the past two months because of persistent shoulder problems.
"It's very rare that you get the opportunity to add a pitcher like Greg even one time, let alone twice," Colletti said in a club release. "He's one of the greatest pitchers of all time and we've already seen what he can add to a team, both on the field and in the clubhouse."
To get Maddux, the Dodgers sent the Padres two Minor Leaguers to be named or cash considerations, probably after the season ends. The teams will share the cost of the remaining $2.3 million of Maddux's $10 million contract. Maddux had a no-trade clause, but told the Padres he would waive it for the Dodgers so he could remain close to his Orange County home.
Maddux went a tough-luck 6-9 with 11 no-decisions and a 3.99 ERA for San Diego. Penny's spot comes up again on Saturday in Philadelphia, although Maddux could be slipped into the rotation as early as Wednesday night against Colorado. He last pitched on Friday night, when he allowed the Phillies one run over seven innings and lost, 1-0.
He has 353 career wins, four Cy Young Awards and 17 Gold Gloves. He joins a rotation that includes Derek Lowe, Chad Billingsley, Japanese rookie Hiroki Kuroda and 20-year-old rookie Clayton Kershaw.
Talks with the Padres for Maddux had reached an impasse at the recent Trade Deadline. But they were revived on Monday after Colletti watched James McDonald struggle in a Sunday night start for Triple-A Las Vegas that amounted to an audition to replace Penny in the rotation.
Colletti has a long history with Maddux from their days with the Cubs, when Maddux was just starting his career. At the Trade Deadline in 2006, Colletti sent infielder Cesar Izturis to the Cubs for a 40-year-old Maddux, who nearly threw a no-hitter in his first game for the Dodgers and went 6-3 with a 3.30 ERA as the club reached the playoffs.
"He's not what he was when he was winning Cy Young awards, but he'll still keep you in the game," Colletti said two years ago. "He's one of the smartest players I've ever been around. He'll figure out a way."
Even at his age, Maddux not only is considered an upgrade on the mound for a pressure-packed final six weeks, but an undisputed leader in the clubhouse. Lowe often talks about the positive effect Maddux had on him that year. Lowe went 8-1 over the final two months of that season and hasn't had a similar run since.
Copyright 2001-2008 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
Angels use long ball to drop Mariners
ANAHEIM -- The Orange County Express rolls on.
Homers by Juan Rivera, Vladimir Guerrero and Garret Anderson powered the Angels to a 7-3 decision over the Mariners on Tuesday night in front of 42,086 at Angel Stadium.
Jon Garland went seven innings to claim his 11th win in 18 decisions, and Francisco Rodriguez got one out for his 46th save.
The Angels erupted for four fifth-inning runs against Jarrod Washburn and three more in the eighth against reliever Mark Lowe to win for the 18th time in 23 games since the All-Star break. The Halos extended their American League West lead to 15 games over second-place Texas.
Having launched his 387th career homer to tie Jason Giambi at No. 50 on the all-time list, Guerrero was feeling chipper in the afterglow.
"This is the best I've felt all season," Guerrero said through broadcaster Jose Mota's translation.
He said nothing about it at the time -- it's not his style -- but Guerrero now can admit that he wasn't himself during an uncommonly quiet first half. A right-knee ailment prevented him from driving the ball in his familiar manner.
"I feel very strong on my back leg," Guerrero said, attributing the improvement to following an exercise regimen and treatment. "Last year, it wasn't an issue, but earlier in the year I was thinking about it. My strength is the back leg, and more than half the games -- about 60 percent of the time -- it was uncomfortable.
"Thank God it's not an issue any more. I feel I have full strength again."
Guerrero certainly convinced Washburn when he leaped on a changeup and sent it rocketing deep into the left-field seats to turn a one-run deficit into a one-run lead in the fifth.
"It was a changeup, and I had the bat speed to get in front of it," Guerrero said.
The fifth started with Rivera lifting a towering homer to left, his seventh of the season. After an error by shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt on Jeff Mathis' sharp grounder, Chone Figgins singled and Erick Aybar bunted them along.
Mark Teixeira's infield out scored one run, and Guerrero accounted for two more with his tremendous drive. His 22nd homer of the season gave him a club-high 69 RBIs.
Extending his hitting streak to a season-high 17 games, Anderson banged his 13th homer, hiking his RBI total to 67, in the eighth after a walk to Torii Hunter. Rivera doubled to right-center to score Howie Kendrick, who singled.
"My first at-bat, he got me [to pop up] with a cut fastball," Rivera said. "I was going to look for a cutter and try to get some lift on the ball. He wanted the pitch more to the inside and missed, and I was able to connect."
Garland endured some early difficulties and made it through seven innings, yielding three earned runs on nine hits while walking one and striking out four.
"I'm always upset at myself when the other team scores first," Garland said. "Percentage-wise, it doesn't work out in your favor. But the past month, it seems like even if you do give up runs, you're going to get them back."
His center fielder, Hunter, came to Garland's defense in the second inning, throwing out Jeff Clement trying to score from second on Wladmir Balentien's single with a perfect delivery to Mathis.
In the fifth, it was third baseman Figgins making a fine stab on a Jose Lopez bullet to leave runners stranded at the corners.
Garland had weathered a storm of singles -- five of them in a six-batter span -- during the three-run third inning, leaving runners stranded at the corners by retiring Clement. He settled into a groove after that, and the Angels came alive in the fifth against Washburn (5-12), their former ace.
"Wash is one of the best competitors in this league," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "Obviously, Juan, Vlad and GA driving the ball out of the park was big from the offensive side.
"As for Jon, early in the game, he had a great down angle, a good sinker. He started to get the ball elevated a little bit, especially out of the stretch. But he made adjustments and brought his breaking ball down, and after that Jon was terrific."
Garland, who averages 6 1/3 innings per start, maintained his consistency by pitching at least six innings for the 17th time in 24 outings. On nine occasions he has pitched at least seven innings.
Angels starting pitchers lead the Majors with 59 wins and 753 innings pitched.
"I'm happy with going deep and being consistent," Garland said. "But I'm not happy with putting my team down. They showed up for me tonight."
Scot Shields worked a scoreless eighth inning and Jose Arredondo got two outs in the ninth before Rodriguez finished the job. K-Rod struck out Raul Ibanez with two runners aboard to move within one save of his own club record and 11 away from the all-time saves record for a season -- Bobby Thigpen's 57 for the 1990 White Sox.
The Angels are 75-43 -- their best record in franchise history after 118 games.
Copyright 2008 Sporting Life UK Ltd, All Rights Reserved.
Cardinals sign infielder Lopez
ST. LOUIS -- Following the Cardinals' game on Tuesday night, the club announced it had signed free-agent infielder Felipe Lopez.
"It's something that we've been paying attention to," general manager John Mozeliak said. "We even considered it a little bit at the Deadline."
Lopez, who has had an off season with the bat, struggled before he was given his release from the Nationals on July 31. Finishing his season in Washington with a .234 batting average, Lopez only hit .203 in June.
However, Lopez brings a little bit more power than current Cardinals infielders Cesar Izturis and Adam Kennedy. Averaging slightly over 10 home runs a year, Lopez knocked two out of the park in Washington this year, along with 25 RBIs.
"If you think about what he's done over the last few years, he's been a fairly productive offensive player," Mozeliak said. "Now, this year he's having a down year. But I think when you look at the numbers a little bit more than just the baseball-card stats, you see that there's maybe a little more to it. I think getting in this environment will put him in a better situation."
Mozeliak added the decision was primarily based on Lopez's versatility and because he brings "a different element to the offensive side of things."
In 2005, Lopez made his only appearance on the All-Star team as a member of the Cincinnati Reds. Hitting a career-high 23 home runs, Lopez also batted .291 with a .352 on-base percentage.
Lopez spent time with the Toronto Blue Jays (2001-2002), the Reds (2003-2006) and most recently since 2006 with the Nationals, who currently sport the worst record in the Majors at 42-71.
Brendan Ryan, who was optioned to Triple-A Memphis on Tuesday, also struggled mightily throughout the second half of the year. Batting as high as .316 in the middle of May, Ryan slumped over the next two months to a .242 average. Lacking a power bat -- he had no home runs and nine RBIs this year -- the move will give him some time to rediscover himself in Triple-A.
"[Lopez] provides a better player for that spot," said manager Tony La Russa. "Brendan is a young guy with a lot of future. When he was playing enough, it was kind of acceptable. But now, he isn't playing enough. Felipe is a better fit, ... Brendan's got his whole career ahead of him."
Carrying three other middle infielders in Izturis, Kennedy and Aaron Miles, who are all producing in different aspects of the game, La Russa said Ryan just happened to be the odd man out.
"The second baseman played pretty well today, the other guy is hitting .300 and Cesar is picking everything in sight," La Russa said of Kennedy, Miles and Izturis, respectively. "[Lopez] can play some outfield, play some second, short, he can also play third base. We'll see when he gets here."
Copyright 2001-2008 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
Marlins acquire Rhodes from Mariners
MIAMI -- An offer that was on the table for four or five days was finally accepted on Thursday, enabling veteran lefty Arthur Rhodes to join the Marlins for the second-half stretch run.
The 38-year-old reliever comes to Florida from the Mariners for Minor League pitching prospect Gaby Hernandez.
"We added some depth to our bullpen," Marlins president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest said.
The Marlins were hopeful of making a bigger splash before Thursday's 4 p.m. ET non-waiver Trade Deadline.
The club was in the mix of a three-way trade for slugger Manny Ramirez, but that fizzled early Thursday afternoon. And Beinfest said the team explored about a "half dozen" scenarios for a veteran catcher.
Nothing was able to be worked out, other than adding Rhodes to one of the most heavily-used bullpens in the big leagues.
All season the Marlins had good scouting reports on Rhodes, who was 2-1 with a 2.86 ERA in 36 games with the Mariners.
The Marlins reinforced their opinion of Rhodes during an Interleague series at Seattle, June 16-18.
During that series, Rhodes' fastball was clocked in the 93-94 mph range.
Rhodes' success against the Marlins played a part in the evaluation process.
Rhodes broke into the league with the Orioles in 1991. He's logged 689 games in the big leagues.
The addition of Rhodes should help ease the workload of lefty Renyel Pinto, who has appeared in 58 games.
To acquire Rhodes, the Marlins parted with Hernandez, a promising 22-year-old from Miami who was in Triple-A early in the season before being sent down to Double-A Carolina.
"Great kid. We felt like we were dealing from an area of strength," Beinfest said of Florida's abundance of Minor League pitching. "We wanted to get the reliever in here. We wanted to add depth."
Catching depth remains a challenge.
The Marlins had explored a number of options, including talking with the Tigers regarding Ivan Rodriguez, who was dealt to the Yankees on Wednesday.
The Marlins also coveted San Francisco's Bengie Molina, Texas' Gerald Laird and Baltimore's Ramon Hernandez.
Right now, with Matt Treanor on the disabled list with a strained left hip, John Baker and Paul Hoover are handling catching duties.
The team is hopeful to get Treanor back, perhaps as early as next week.
Beinfest admitted the search for catching help was challenging.
"It's an area that there is not a lot of depth from within the game," Beinfest said. "Trading for even a backup this time of year is tough because so many teams are in it. They need to keep their backups as well, because they don't have extra inventory in the Minor Leagues.
"In some catching markets, people believe there is enough of a catching need, and they want to maximize it. They didn't feel July 31 was the time to maximize it. They wanted to wait until the winter."
Copyright 2001-2008 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
Sanchez hit in the leg against Cards
ST. LOUIS -- Mets reliever Duaner Sanchez was struck on the inside of his left knee by a line drive on Tuesday. He remained on the ground for several minutes while the team's training staff attended to him, then walked off the field under his own power.
The Mets classified the injury as a bruise, and Sanchez should not miss any time.
"It's a little bit sore right now," Sanchez said after the game against the Cardinals. "It should be fine."
With two outs in the eighth inning, Yadier Molina lined a ball off the inside of Sanchez's left knee. He immediately dropped to the ground in pain, tried to get up, and could not. So he remained on the ground until the pain subsided.
"I was in pain right away," Sanchez said. "I tried to get up, and I just couldn't."
Sanchez, 28, is 3-0 with a 3.79 ERA for the Mets. He missed the second half of 2006 and all of last season with two separate shoulder injuries. After missing the first two weeks of this season, however, he has managed to remain healthy, even reclaiming his old role as the eighth-inning setup man. Sanchez cringed at the thought of another serious injury.
"There's a lot of things going through your mind," he said. "I thought it got me right in the kneecap, but I'm glad it didn't."
Copyright 2001-2008 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
Hill lands on 15-day DL
WASHINGTON -- The Nationals placed right-hander Shawn Hill on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to June 25, with a right forearm strain and activated left-hander Odalis Perez from the 15-day DL. Washington also transferred first baseman Nick Johnson from the 15-day to the 60-day DL.
Hill, 27, last pitched on Tuesday against the Angels. He gave up eight runs -- six earned -- in three innings. Hill went to the Mayo Clinic the next day. A bone scan and an MRI were performed on Hill's forearm. The doctors found no evidence of structural damage and attributed Hill's pain to irritation of the right forearm muscles. The doctors advocated a period of rest, followed by rehab and a throwing program.
On Tuesday, Johnson, 29, had surgery to repair a small split tear in a ligament on the ulnar side of his right wrist. He is expected to miss the rest of the 2008 season and be 100 percent for Spring Training.
Perez, 30, will get the starting nod on Friday night against the Orioles at Nationals Park. Perez was 2-5 with a 4.09 ERA in 13 starts with Washington before being placed on the DL on June 14 with left shoulder tendinitis.
Copyright 2001-2008 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
Mariners break out of hitting slump
SEATTLE -- Five runs certainly don't count as an offensive outburst by normal standards, even when they come from a sizable 13 hits. But for the Mariners, who had scored just five runs in the past three games, it was enough with their ace on the mound.
Scoring early to build a lead, a rare concept in Seattle this season, the Mariners rode an effective and sometimes dazzling Felix Hernandez start to beat the Marlins, 5-4, on Tuesday night and stop an eight-game home losing streak in front of a crowd of 20,214 at Safeco Field.
Runs came early, starting with an Ichiro Suzuki single and Jose Lopez double to open the bottom of the first inning and give the Mariners an early lead. Two more hits in the inning would get another run, and Seattle added two in the fourth and one in the fifth to open up a 5-1 lead that would hold up.
It was a typical Seattle offensive "barrage." The 13 hits are plenty for one game, but only three of them were for extra bases -- including two Lopez RBI doubles. The statistic is not surprising for a team with one of the worst slugging percentages in the Major Leagues. It was nearly a repeat performance of Friday's game against the Nationals, when Seattle scored just six runs on 15 hits and lost, 7-6.
"We had some timely hitting there," manager John McLaren said. "I thought we should have had some more, but I'm not complaining. We just need to get better at it. Runners on third base, you've got to find a way to get them in."
Seattle's inability to string those hits into a big inning has hurt it this season. Although on Tuesday, Ichiro did bring home a run in the fourth on a sacrifice fly with runners on second and third with one out. He was followed by a two-out RBI double from Lopez.
"We just haven't been getting it done in that situation," Adrian Beltre said. "It's not one or two guys, it's the team overall that's missing that."
Lopez, Beltre, Raul Ibanez and Willie Bloomquist all recorded multihit games, but the total on the scoreboard didn't quite reflect the individual production -- although it was much improved from the previous three games.
"Before we were getting hits, but we weren't getting hits at the right time -- that's where we're missing," Beltre said. "And today was a little better. Our offense was a little better."
But on Tuesday, the big inning was not needed with Hernandez on the mound.
The only batter he did not retire in the first five innings was Florida second baseman Dan Uggla, who nailed a homer over the left-field fence in the second inning to break up Hernandez's streak of 22 1/3 innings without giving up an earned run.
After getting a groundout to start the third, Hernandez struck out the next six hitters. That included fanning the three hitters in the fourth inning on nine total pitches -- only the 13th time in American League history that a pitcher has done so.
Hernandez's struggles came in the sixth, when four consecutive Florida singles to begin the inning helped score two runs before he was able to quiet the rally with two strikeouts to end the inning. He finished with nine for the game.
Even after that strenuous inning, he was able to battle into the eighth before he left with one out and a 5-4 lead.
"I had enough to keep going, but my leg was bothering me again," Hernandez said, referring to his troublesome right calf.
Still, he left the Seattle bullpen only five outs to get for the victory.
"It's huge," McLaren said of the innings Hernandez gave him.
"When you gotta spread the game out ... go with the bullpen the middle of the fifth on, a lot of things gotta go right, and very few things go wrong."
Hernandez handed the baton off to a bullpen that was up to the task on Tuesday. Sean Green and Arthur Rhodes finished the eighth inning with consecutive strikeouts, and Brandon Morrow made his appearance as the replacement closer for the injured J.J. Putz with a one-run lead. The new role had the same old result -- just a couple of high-90s strikeouts and another scoreless inning.
"The seventh, I could see it coming -- there was a couple butterflies, but I got up in the eighth a little bit, too," Morrow said. "Once I got up throwing, everything was fine, no difference."
Copyright 2001-2008 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
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