This player was known as one of the nicest (and slowest) players in the game during his time.

Games of Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Astros 7, PADRES 1 Not Exactly a Heads-Up Play
Houston sprinted out to a big early lead by scoring six times in the fourth. The Astros scored three the conventional way, then got three more when San Diego third baseman Chase Headley uncorked the mother of all wild throws, allowing all three runners on base to score on Brian Moehler's grounder. Feel-good story subject Walter Silva lost his second against no wins in his five starts this year, with his ERA bloating to 8.86.

CARDINALS 2, Giants 1 (10) Rasmus Takes Advantage of Second Chance
By all rights, Colby Rasmus shouldn't have been the hero in the Cardinals' 10-inning win. But Rasmus's at-bat was extended when Pablo Sandoval dropped his foul pop, and the St. Louis center fielder found a pitch he could drive into the right-center field bleachers for the game-winner. For six innings, it appeared that Ryan Ludwick's RBI single in the bottom of the first would be enough for the Cards, but the Giants finally got on the scoreboard in the eighth when Bengie Molina's sacrifice fly plated Fred Lewis to tie it up.

RANGERS 9, Angels 7 Blalock's Blasts
Hank Blalock's second homer of the night, a two-run blast in the bottom of the ninth, enabled the Rangers to pull to within a half-game of the Angels in the AL West. The Rangers were one out away in the top of the inning, but Frank Francisco couldn't escape a jam of his own making. Francisco walked two of the first three hitters he faced, then coughed up a three-run homer to Juan Rivera with two out. This was after Texas had scored five in the sixth to go ahead 7-1, only to see the Angels score three in the seventh to come within striking distance.

REDS 1, D'backs 0 Cueto Cuts Off Snakes
Reds starter Johnny Cueto walked four in the first two innings, but rebounded to give up just one hit in the next four frames. He wound up the winner when Joey Votto singled in Chris Dickerson in the bottom of the sixth with the game's only run. Arthur Rhodes loaded the bases in the seventh, but got Felipe Lopez to fly to right to end the threat. David Weathers and Francisco Cordero then combined to retire six in a row to end the contest.

YANKEES 4, Mariners 2 Y's Down M's
Alex Rodriguez gave the Yankees their seventh straight victory, clubbing a long two-run homer to deep center in the bottom of the sixth inning to break a 2-2 tie. Winner Andy Pettitte (8-3) had allowed two runs in the previous three frames, but retired the side in order in the seventh inning (his last). Alfredo Aceves and Phil Coke combined to pitch a perfect eighth, then Mariano Rivera retired the side in order in the ninth for his 20th save. Ken Griffey Jr. had two hits, including his fourth home run in the last two weeks, for Seattle.

Cubs 4, PIRATES 1 Lee Leads Cubs
Derrek Lee's two-run bomb in the top of the first sparked the Cubbies to victory. Even though rookie Randy Wells gave one of them back in the bottom of the first on a single to Brandon Moss, Chicago successfully righted the ship, limiting the Pirates to just four safeties the rest of the way. The Cubs added a run in the sixth on a homer by Kosuke Fukudome and another one in the eighth when Geovany Soto singled in Milton Bradley. Carlos Marmol was again wild, hitting the first batter he faced in the eighth before striking out two in the inning; Kevin Gregg saved the game with a perfect ninth.

White Sox 6, INDIANS 2 Castro Convertible
A four-run sixth, highlighted by Ramon Castro's three-run blast, proved too much for the Indians to overcome. Shin-Soo Choo's double in the bottom of the sixth made it 5-2, but the Indians managed only one more hit after that. Jose Contreras was the winner, striking out eight while allowing only five hits and two runs in eight innings. Jeremy Sowers, who lost for the sixth time, was tagged for 11 hits in six innings.

BRAVES 11, Phillies 1 Hamels Hammered in Atlanta
The Braves rocked Phillies ace Cole Hamels for nine hits and seven runs in just four-plus innings. Chipper Jones drove in three of those seven with a single in the first and a two-run double in the fifth. Matt Diaz had three hits, including a two-run homer in the fifth, and Martin Prado had two hits, two RBIs, and scored three times for the Braves. Jair Jurrjens evened his record at 6-6 by allowing only one hit and an unearned run in seven innings.

ATHLETICS 5, Tigers 1 J&J Boys
Jason Giambi and Jack Cust each clubbed two-run circuit clouts as the Athletics bested Detroit ace Justin Verlander. The Tigers scored first when Gerald Laird doubled in Ryan Raburn with two out in the top of the second. But it was all Oakland after that. Cust hit his homer in the fourth and Giambi belted his in the sixth. Kurt Suzuki closed out the scoring in the eighth with an RBI double. Dallas Braden won his sixth by allowing five hits in seven innings.

DODGERS 1, Rockies 0 Blue Squeaks By Purple
Pinch-hitter Rafael Furcal's one-out single in the eighth plated the game's only run, making a winner of reliever Ramon Troncoso. Brad Ausmus led off the bottom of the eighth with a single and was sacrificed to second by Juan Castro. Russell Martin came in to run for Ausmus and scored on Furcal's single to right. LA starter Clayton Kershaw wasn't sharp, walking five in five innings, but he escaped without allowing a run by giving up just one hit. Ronald Belisario threw two innings of shutout relief of Kershaw, followed by Troncoso and Jonathan Broxton, who saved his 19th. Loser Jason Hammel went the distance for Colorado, giving up five hits and just the one run.

Twins 5, ROYALS 1 Twins Are a Royal Pain
The Twins were easy winners, thanks to three hits by Joe Mauer and two RBIs from Michael Cuddyer on a solo homer in the second and a bases-loaded walk in the eighth. Glen Perkins wasn't stellar, allowing 10 hits in seven innings, but he pitched well enough for his fifth victory. Joe Nathan got the game's final out, coming in in with two on and two out in the ninth for his 21st save.

Mets 1, BREWERS 0 One and Done
Mike Pelfrey, Sean Green, and Francisco Rodriguez combined to blank the Brewers on seven hits. The Mets' strong pitching was needed as Brewers starter Yovani Gallardo struck out 12 in seven innings while giving up just one run. That lone tally by Luis Castillo, on a Ryan Church single in the sixth, was the only run of the game. The Brew Crew had some chances in the late innings, but Prince Fielder was caught trying to steal third with no out in the seventh, and Milwaukee left two on base in the eighth. K-Rod pitched the ninth for his 21st save.

Red Sox 6, ORIOLES 5 (11) BoSox Turn Tables on Birds
A day after rallying from a nine-run deficit in the eighth to beat Boston, Baltimore returned the favor by blowing a four-run lead in the ninth and ultimately losing the contest in the 11th. The O's led 5-1 after eight, but a two-run homer by Kevin Youkilis and a two-run single by Rocco Baldelli off Balto closer George Sherrill tied it in the ninth. Boston then won it in the 11th when Julio Lugo singled in Jacoby Ellsbury. That made a winner of Ramon Ramirez and allowed Jonathan Papelbon to record his 20th save.

BLUE JAYS 5, Rays 0 Romero Romps
Rookie Ricky Romero extended his scoreless innings streak to 20 with eight goose-egg innings. Romero, who improved to 6-3, now has allowed only six hits in his last 15 innings. Rod Barajas, Adam Lind, and Scott Rolen all hit solo homers for Toronto, which is just two games behind the third-place Rays in the AL East.

MARLINS 5, Nationals 3 Nats Not Much Different
Washington's newest relief pitcher didn't prove to be any better than its holdovers. Pittsburgh refugee Sean Burnett blew a save opportunity in his first game with the Nationals by allowing a solo homer to Cody Ross in the seventh inning. The Marlins scored the winning runs an inning later when Julian Tavarez put two runners on in the eighth and Mike MacDougal let them score. Ross and Hanley Ramirez both drove in two for the Fish.

He led all NCAA Division I ballplayers in batting during his junior season, and wound up being a second-round draft pick of the Indians in 1995.

Between a recession and a struggling team, fans are staying away from Chase Field in droves in 2009. The Diamondbacks averaged nearly 31,000 fans a game in 2008, but that average has dropped to 26,000 through 43 home games this season.

The Phoenix area has been hit hard by the mortgage foreclosure crisis, with home prices there dropping about half from their high points during the housing bubble. But surely a woeful home nine has a lot to do with the drop in attendance. The Diamondbacks are nearly 20 games out of first place already and sport the second-worst record in the National League (behind the abysmal Washington Nationals). Even worse, the D-backs are just 15-28 in home games this season, giving fans little reason to cheer if they come to Chase Field.

He received a cup of coffee from the Indians in 1997, but never played again for the Tribe. Cleveland traded him the day before the start of the 1998 campaign for the other club's announced Opening Day starter.

A new book on baseball's Hall of Fame hit the shelves yesterday, but this one takes a slightly different approach. Zev Chafets' Cooperstown Confidential: Heroes, Rogues, and the Inside Story of the Baseball Hall of Fame doesn't just focus on the players in baseball's hallowed Hall, but goes into detail about who got in and who got left out--and why. Chafets' first non-fiction book about baseball covers steroids, race relations, and everything in between, including how being one of the lucky few to receive induction means a sharp increase in the value of said player's memorabilia and appearance fees.

Chafets talks about the book, available from the large online sellers for about $20, in a brief promo clip on YouTube.

Sean Thomas Casey, also known as The Mayor because of his outgoing personality, was born on this date in 1974 in Willingboro, New Jersey. Casey was a standout collegiate player at the University of Richmond, where he led the NCAA in hitting in 1992, batting .461 in his junior season. Casey was drafted in the second round by Cleveland in that year's draft and hit at least .329 at every stop in the minor leagues. The left-handed hitter and made it to the big leagues in just two years, getting a September audition of 10 at-bats in 1997.

He never played another game for Cleveland, however. The Indians, needing another starting pitcher, dealt Casey to Cincinnati for Dave Burba on the eve of the '98 season. The swap caused a furor in the Queen City, as Burba was scheduled to be Cincinnati's Opening Day starter the next day. Jim Bowden, then the Reds' GM, tried to placate the hometown fans by all but guaranteeing Casey a spot in Cooperstown. He compared the young first baseman to Fred McGriff and claimed the inexperienced 23-year-old was the second-best hitter on the squad.

Casey hit just .272 in his first year with the Reds, but finished fourth in the NL in batting in 1999 with a .332 average while nearly leading Cincy to the postseason. He clubbed 25 home runs that year and 20 the next before his power mysteriously disappeared. He hit 13 homers in 2001 and just six in '02 and would slug better than .423 only once more in his career.

Casey never led the Reds to October glory and wound up being traded to Pittsburgh before 2006 in a cost-cutting move by Cincinnati. He played only two-thirds of a season for the Bucs, who dealt the popular veteran to Detroit late in the season. Casey played another year for the Tigers before finishing his career as a part-timer with the Red Sox in 2008.

During his time with the Reds, Casey became known as "The Mayor," or alternately, "The Mayor of Riverfront," because of his gracious nature and willingness to please the fans. It wasn't just the Cincinnati faithful that felt that way; in a 2007 poll of major league players conducted by Sports Illustrated, 46 percent of those responding felt Casey was the nicest player in the game. Jim Thome finished second in the poll with only seven percent.

The Baseball Early Bird is a free daily newsletter published jointly by the two leaders in the field of baseball reference: Sports Reference LLC--which produces Baseball-Reference.com--and 24-7 Baseball, L.L.C.--which produces the ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia and the ESPN Pro Football Encyclopedia.

Gary Gillette, who couldn't believe that the Tigers stuck with Sean Casey so long, is the Early Bird's Executive Editor and Co-Publisher. He also edited today's issue.

Sean Forman is the Early Bird's technical guru and Co-Publisher.

Doug White, a/k/a the "Mayor of Muncie," wrote today's issue.

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