With six games, today’s edition of One Night Only is ideal for the indecisive — or, maybe it isn’t.

Texas at Detroit | 1:05pm ET
Starting Pitchers
Rangers: Dave Bush
157.0 IP, 5.50 K/9, 3.04 BB/9, 4.86 FIP, 119 FIP- (ZiPS)

Tigers: Max Scherzer
170.0 IP, 9.69 K/9, 3.34 BB/9, 3.26 FIP, 80 FIP- (ZiPS)

Notes
• The Rangers have been successful in helping both C.J. Wilson and, in a smaller sample, Alexi Ogando transition from relief to starterdom.
• Today, Dave Bush — relegated to the bullpen — will attempt to make it three for pitching coach Mike Maddux.
• In math, it’s a well-known fact: three = a charm.

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Tigers 5, Rangers 4

Moving the Needle: Of course Miguel Cabrera was going to bring home the winning run with the bases loaded, +.340 WPA. Neftali Feliz pitched in both Sunday’s and Monday’s games and was probably not available in this one. Or, at least, not available in a tie game on the road. Feliz’s absence left the 4-4 tie in the hands of Darren O’Day, and, somehow, kept it in his hands as he loaded the bases and had to face Miguel Cabrera, who, if you haven’t noticed, has been hitting covers off baseballs. We were two balls from shrimp, but Cabrera mooted that point when he socked a single and ended the affair.

Yes, Josh Hamilton got hurt in this one. Yes, he shamelessly blamed his third base coach. He’ll have a couple months to think about that.

Notables

Michael Young: 3 for 3, 1 SB. That was nearly 4 for 4 with a homer, but…

Ryan Raburn: 2 for 4, 1 2B, 1 BB. He also made a tremendous catch to rob Young of a home run. A sac fly was all he’d get.

Also in this issue: Angels 2, Indians 0 | Diamondbacks 13, Cardinals 8 | Rays 3, Red Sox 2 | Braves 5, Marlins 0 | White Sox 6, A’s 5 | Astros 11, Cubs 2 | Nationals 7, Phillies 4 | Twins 4, Royals 3 | Reds 8, Padres 2 | Mariners 3, Blue Jays 2 | Giants 5, Dodgers 4

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Building a roster is tough. Rebuilding one is even tougher. Not only does a team need to adhere to a strict game plan in acquiring the right mix of talent at both the major and minor league levels, but it must also resist the urge to break away from a strategy if the returns are not immediately satisfactory. Sometimes multiple roster turnovers are needed before a competitive team emerges. I bring this up because the Mets currently find themselves in a strange situation, the gray area between competing and rebuilding.

Their roster was originally constructed with a win-now mentality. But a slew of serious injuries and the regression associated with various players aging kept them from seriously competing in years past. These same factors have also rendered them unlikely to battle for a playoff berth this season. The extremely high cost of several players, acquired under previous management, mixed with the financial troubles of ownership has made budgeting a serious consideration. The Mets simply cannot spend like they used to.

Without a dynamite farm system, and with high-priced players on the books, it could be particularly difficult for the team to get where it needs to be, even with a solid front office featuring Sandy Alderson and Paul DePodesta.  How can the Mets right the proverbial ship? Here is a brief overview of do’s and dont’s that could help vault the team back to the top of the competitive spectrum.

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Thus far, 2011 has not been kind to the Boston Red Sox and Daisuke Matsuzaka. Through two turns in the rotation, Matsuzaka has given up more earned runs than innings pitched. After allowing three runs on six hits in five innings during his first start, he lasted just two innings last night; surrendering seven runs on eight hits and two walks.

Full small sample size disclosure, but in seven innings of work, opposing lineups have 10 earned runs on 14 hits, and five walks against Matsuzaka. He has just four strikeouts and served up three home runs – including one to Sam Fuld. In addition to some rather alarming results, the process at which he’s going about it also leaves something to be desired.

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The Mariners completed one massive comeback last night against the Blue Jays. Down 7-0 in the seventh inning with one out already, the Mariners had a win expectancy of 0.3%. They came all the way back and won it with a walk-off “single” in the bottom of the ninth. What sparked their comeback was the eighth inning when, with the bases loaded, Octavio Dotel entered the game and walked Luis Rodriguez and Milton Bradley. Dotel was yanked for Marc Rzepczynski but he walked Jack Cust next. Three straight hitters drew bases-loaded walks. That piqued my interest. How often does that happen?

As it turns out that feat is not unheard of, though certainly rare. As far back as our Retrosheet data goes, there had been 108 games featuring at least three consecutive walks or hit batters (also known as “free passes”) with the bases loaded. Read the rest of this entry »

The Cleveland Indians have scored the third-most runs per game in the American League. That’s one line I never expected to type, no matter how early in the season. What’s more, they’ve already swept the Boston Red Sox, and have won their last eight games after dropping their first two. While the pitching staff has certainly done its job, the offense has stepped up big time. A number of guys are contributing in big ways, but perhaps none has advanced his team more than Asdrubal Cabrera.

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Last year, Joey Votto put up the kind of year that is hard to live up to, winning the NL MVP with a monster +7.4 win season and carrying the Reds to the NL Central title. He hit .324/.424/.600 and was essentially Pujolsian throughout the summer. He hit for average, hit for power, took his walks, and stole 16 bases to boot. If you wanted to find a flaw in his game, you’d have to nitpick at things, and maybe you’d start with his slightly elevated strikeout rate, which suggested that he probably couldn’t keep hitting .320+ while racking up 100 whiffs per year.

So, rather than watch his average regress, Votto has apparently decided to just do away with the strikeouts instead. Through the first ten games of the season, Votto has come to the plate 46 times, but struck out on only four occasions. While the sample is obviously too small to draw any firm conclusions, the zone data suggests that pitchers are being far more careful with Votto this year, and he’s adjusted quickly to being pitched around.

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Today’s games prove what has long been suspected: you can have your druthers and eat them, too.

Oakland at Chicago Americans | 8:10pm ET
Starting Pitchers
Athletics: Trevor Cahill
194.7 IP, 5.50 K/9, 3.10 BB/9, 4.43 FIP, 108 FIP- (ZiPS)

White Sox: Edwin Jackson
205.7 IP, 7.18 K/9, 3.50 BB/9, 4.42 FIP, 108 FIP- (ZiPS)

Regarding Trevor Cahill, Part I
A thing that, like, 55-year-old women say when they see something and are seriously impressed by it, is they say, “I watched it breathlessly.”

Regardless of your age and/or gender, breathlessness was the only reasonable reaction to the two-seam fastball Cahill was throwing in his last appearance at Toronto — a game during which he posted this line: 8.0 IP, 27 TBF, 7 K, 0 BB, 11 GB on 20 batted balls (55.0%).

Though the two-seamer got just two whiffs of the 54 Cahill threw, it was a great joy to watch. Per Texas Leaguers, the pitch averaged close to 11 inches of armside run and almost zero “rise” against Toronto — relative to league averages of 9.36 and 3.87 inches, respectively.

A brief inspection of Cahill’s use of the pitch in the chart below (against right-handed batters) reveals the righty’s main intent — mainly, to keep it low and outside:

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