Pss…ball’s behind you, Jamey.

Marlins 5, Dodgers 4

Moving the Needle: Jamey Carroll can’t handle the slow bouncer, -.437 WPA. The Dodgers appeared to have this one. They staved off a rally in the eighth and then sent out Jonathan Broxton to close it in the ninth. He got the first two guys, but then walked Emilio Bonifacio. How one does that, with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, I do not know. That set up Hanley Ramirez to pinch hit, and he delivered a single to put runners on first and third. Scott Cousins came up next, and he hit a slow bouncer to short. But Carroll whiffed on it, allowing the tying run to score. Two batters later, Omar Infante delivered the single that won it for the Marlins.

Notables

Chris Coghlan: 3 for 4, 2 HR, 1 BB. The walk was an intentional one in the ninth, which was a smart move, considering his two previous homers and the open base at first (and the meaninglessness of Coghlan’s run).

Jon Garland: 7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 2 HR. The two Coghlan homers were all he surrendered.

Also in this issue: Angels 5, A’s 0 | Diamondbacks 4, Phillies 0 | White Sox 2, Yankees 0 | Rockies 5, Cubs 3 | Blue Jays 6, Rangers 4 | Reds 9, Brewers 5 | Pirate 4, Nationals 2 | Padres 5, Braves 3 |

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Jorge Posada doesn’t always get hits, but when he does they’re home runs.* In his 67 PA so far this season, all from the DH spot, Posada has managed a mere nine hits, good for a .153 batting average. As Bradley wrote last week, that gives him a “laughably terrible BABIP,” which is now down to .086. That might seem a bit odd at first glance. A .154 BA against a .086 BABIP? That’s what happens when six of your nine hits clear the fence. It’s clear that Posada will still run into one from time to time. Unfortunately, similar to Vladimir Guerrero, about whom I wrote last week, Posada has looked a bit washed up at the plate.

*Gotta credit River Ave. Blues commenter whozat for this one.

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Marlins over Rockies, 2 games to 1

Moving the Needle: Mike Stanton gets his groove back with a monster three-run shot, +.379 WPA. As we see so often, the Sunday rubber match between the Rockies and the Marlins proved the main event. Three times the WPA swung more than 25%. Omar Infante provided the first score in the fifth. He came to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs, scored tied at zero. A triple cleared the bases and put the Marlins ahead. Then, in the top of the eighth, Troy Tulowitzki — who else? — doubled home the tying run. Finally, in the bottom half the Marlins put a couple of runners on with two outs for Mike Stanton, who hit one way out to left. It was technically only the third-longest of the day, at 420 feet, but it seemed like it was a lot further than that.

Notable Pitching

Anibal Sanchez: 9 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 9 K. He held his no-hitter through eight, and still managed to complete the game.

Jason Hammel: 6.2 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 0 HR, 11 GB. A fine performance in a game where the Rockies just couldn’t afford to give up many runs.

Josh Johnson: 7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K. The question is now whether any of Johnson’s starts won’t make the notables section.

Marlins 4, Rockies 1
Rockies 3, Marlins 1
Marlins 6, Rockies 3

Also in this issue: Red Sox over Angels | Dodgers over Cubs | Yankees over Orioles | Marlins over Rockies | Tigers over White Sox | Brewers over Astros | Twins over Indians | Mets over Diamondbacks | Rangers over Royals | Cardinals over Reds | Rays over Blue Jays | Phillies over Padres | Braves over Giants | A’s over Mariners |

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The idea of expanding the baseball playoffs to 10 teams has made its rounds during the past year-plus. In late 2009, Commissioner Bud Selig formed a committee to discuss a number of issues, which included expanding the playoffs. Reports from those closed-door meetings made it sound as if expanded playoffs were a real possibility. Selig then made it seem like an inevitability in October, when he said that expanded playoffs could come in 2011. That won’t happen, of course, but yesterday Selig spoke again on the subject, and what he said has reignited the debate.

“The more we’ve talked about it, I think we’re moving inexorably to that,” Selig said of expanding the playoffs. There is certainly a case to be made for adding two teams to the playoff pool, but it creates more problems than it solves. There are alternatives that could provide similar effects while keeping the same number of teams in the playoffs every year.

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Yeah, that wasn’t predictable

Dodgers 5, Braves 3

Moving the Needle: David Ross puts the Braves ahead with a two-out, RBI single, +.619 WPA. Really, I covered the entire story here. It was a huge moment for the Braves, as they came back after having none on and two outs against the Dodgers’ ace. But it ended in tragedy when their own manager made a questionable decision in extras.

Notables

Clayton Kershaw: 8.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 HR, 4 BB, 7 K, 1 HR. Really, this would have looked a ton better if Mattingly had removed Kershaw after eight. But he had allowed so few baserunners to that point — just two hits and a few walks — that the decision was understandable.

Casey Blake: 3 for 6, 1 HR. I think that every time Blake does something awesome from now on someone will bring up the Santana trade. It was just that ridiculous.

Matt Kemp: Again, read the above-linked story for the story of Kemp’s walk-off bomb.

Also in this issue: Red Sox 4, Angels 2 | Reds 7, Diamondbacks 4 | Twins 3, Orioles 1 | Marlins 9, Pirates 5 | Royals 3, Indians 2 | Mariners 1, A’s 0 | Mets 9, Astros 1 | White Sox 9, Rays 2 | Cardinals 5, Nationals 0 | Phillies 3, Padres 0

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In a couple of hours, for The Morning After, you’ll see the story of the Dodgers and Braves playing a fun, exciting, memorable game. It featured pitching dominance, comebacks, clutch two-out hits, and a walk-off. The game went 12 innings, but it could have gone longer. It probably should have gone longer, really. But Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez made a decision in the 12th that, I think, cost his team the game.

Criticizing the manager is as old as baseball itself, and most of the time it amounts to petty bickering. Armchair managing is easy, because the moves never blow up in our faces. But every once in a while there is a move so painfully wrong that a comment from the ivory tower is warranted. This is one of those instances. I simply cannot understand why Gonzalez would pitch to Matt Kemp in the 12th.

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The news this afternoon broke seemingly out of nowhere. Ryan Braun had just signed a five-year, $105 million extension that locks him in through the 2020 season. If it feels as though we just experienced a similar situation, it’s because we did. The Rockies signed Troy Tulowitzki to a six-year, $119 million extension in November even though he was under contract through 2014. Similarly, Braun’s current contract with the Brewers runs through 2015.

Before we dive into what this means for the Brewers, I suggest taking a moment to re-read Dave’s article on the Tulowitzki extension. It helps put in perspective part of the Brewers’ motivation for enacting this deal now and not a few years down the road. If they’re not betting on significant inflation affecting the market in the next four years, then their motives become a bit more questionable.

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Sometimes a running narrative can really help a player. This offseason, Vladimir Guerrero took advantage of his bounceback 2010 and turned it into a one-year, $8 million contract with the Orioles. It’s a bit less than he sought early in the offseason, but it was a win for the aging DH. Cases in point: Hideki Matsui, who produced similar numbers to Guerrero last year, got just $4.25 million. Jim Thome, better than Vlad last year, got $3 million. But because Vlad’s narrative involved him bouncing back for a pennant-winning team, he ended up commanding far more than his peers. But that deal isn’t looking so swell for the Orioles right now.

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Cubs 2, Padres 1

Moving the Needle: Reed Johnson walks off with a home run, +.354 WPA. The Cubs appeared well on their way to a 1-0 victory in this one. Carlos Marmol came on for the top of the ninth, but couldn’t close the door. Cameron Maybin’s walk and stolen base, followed by Will Venable’s bunt single — ballsy move with the tying run in scoring position with one out — led to Jason Bartlett’s sac fly, which put this one into extras. The Cubs avoided disaster in the 10th and the 11th. Johnson made sure that they couldn’t blow it in the 12th. On a 1-1 pitch he took Luke Gregerson deep, giving the Cubs the win.

Notables

Matt Garza: 6 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 9 K. That’s now 34 strikeouts in 24.2 innings this season. The solid game helps get the old ERA in line with the FIP.

Dustin Moseley: 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 9 GB. The ground balls have come in quite handy for Moseley this season. Also, the four strikeouts he recorded were as many as he did in his first three starts combined.

Also in this issue: Orioles 5, Twins 4 | Indians 7, Royals 5 | Padres 5, Cubs 4 | Red Sox 5, A’s 3 | Diamondbacks 3, Reds 1 | Tigers 3, Mariners 2 | Rockies 10, Giants 2 | Rays 4, White Sox 1 | Marlins 6, Pirates 0 | Angels 4, Rangers 1 | Dodgers 6, Braves 1 | Yankees 6, Blue Jays 2 | Astros 4, Mets 3 | Phillies 4, Brewers 3 | Nationals 8, Cardinals 6 | Cardinals 5, Nationals 3

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Snider channeled this anger into the game-winning hit.

Blue Jays 6, Yankees 5

Moving the Needle: Travis Snider walks off with a double int the gap, +.433 WPA. It doesn’t happen often, but it happened last night. Mariano Rivera blew a two-run lead in the ninth — and was lucky to escape a bases-loaded, one out jam with the winning run on third. But the Jays came back the next inning and knocked around Ivan Nova a bit. Snider’s double scored Edwin Encarnacion all the way from first, giving the Jays a much-needed win.

Notables

Jose Bautista: 1 fot 3, 1 HR, 2 BB. His homer opened the scoring, and his ninth-inning run, on a John McDonald bunt, tied the game at five.

Curtis Granderson: 2 for 5, 1 HR. Continues to have as many homers as singles (5). Eight of his 13 hits have gone for extra bases.

Also in this issue: Orioles 11, Twins 0 | Diamondbacks 5, Reds 4 | Royals 5, Indian 4 | Giants 6, Rockies 3 | A’s 5, Red Sox 0 | Marlins 6, Pirates – | Mariners 13, Tigers 3 | Braves 10, Dodgers 1 | Rays 2, White Sox 1 | Astros 6, Mets 1 | Angels 15, Rangers 4 | Brewers 9, Phillies 0 |

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