Some odds and ends from around the majors....
Ron Gardenhire pulled Kevin Slowey after seven innings of no-hitter against Oakland. Slowey had skipped his previous start with elbow tendinitis. John Rauch immediately lost the no-hitter, and then the shutout, but the Twins came away with the win.
It was two former Jays accounting for much of the damage as the Braves stomped the Dodgers 13-1; Troy Glaus and Alex Gonzalez each drove in four runs. The Braves maintained their two game lead on Philadelphia in the NL East. The Phillies are locked in a virtual dead heat with St.Louis and San Francisco for the Wild Card, and all three divisions promise to go right down to the final week.
Speaking of former Jays, the Reds moved one game in front of St. Louis (who were busy losing to the Cubs), thanks largely to Miguel Cairo... hang on, Miguel Cairo? He's still playing? Sure - he's only 36 years old. He just seems older because he's played for pretty well every franchise in the majors. Cairo made his ML debut with the Blue Jays back in 1996. They were already the third organization he'd been with, having been originally signed by the Dodgers and traded to Seattle. He came to Toronto in the Bill Risley trade, and was traded to the Cubs after the season. Tampa took him in the expansion draft, and he's been in the majors ever since: Tampa (three years as Rays regular second baseman), Oakland (traded before he played there), Cubs, St. Louis (two and a half years), Yankees, Mets, Yankees again, St. Louis again, Seattle (in the majors this time), Philadelphia, and this year's he's in Cincinnati. He was filling in for Scott Rolen yesterday, and his two-run homer provided all the offense in a 2-0 victory.
Two more former Jays hooked up in Kansas City, where everything is always up to date, and the hard luck loser was Talented Bonehead A.J. Burnett. Claiming his first major league victory, by a 1-0 score, was none other than Bryan Bullington, who pitched out of the Jays bullpen for a couple of weeks last season. Bullington, of course, was the very first player selected in the 2002 draft - so that win was a long time coming indeed. That draft is remembered as: a) the Moneyball draft, and b) the three high school pitchers selected after Bullington who have turned out pretty nicely: Zack Greinke, Scott Kazmir, and Cole Hamels. On the other hand, Bullington now has more major league victories than two of the high schoolers selected right behind him in that same draft: Christopher Gruler (third overall) and Clint Everts (fifth), who have yet to make a major league appearance. And Adam Loewen, drafted fourth overall, is through as a pitcher (with 8 career wins) and trying to reinvent himself as an outfielder.
Being drafted by the Pirates couldn't have helped, but Bullington seemed to be moving steadily through the system until his shoulder started to bother him in 2005. He began that year on the DL, but pitched well in his first exposure to AAA. He was summoned to Pittsburgh to make his ML debut that September, but immediately afterward he was shut down for the year and in October he had surgery to repair the posterior labrum. He missed all of 2006, and returned to AAA in 2007. The Pirates brought him back up in September to make his first ML start. He started 2008 in AAA again, and after a shaky start to his season was pitching very well when the Pirates called him up at the end of May. He sat around for two weeks without getting into a game, and was sent back to AAA. A month later, the Pirates designated him for assignment and lost him when Cleveland claimed him on waivers. He didn't pitch particularly well for Buffalo, and the Blue Jays claimed him on waivers that October. He spent most of last season in Las Vegas, working out of the bullpen for the first time in his career. He had a decent enough year in the PCL and the Royals signed him as a free agent after the season. They sent him to Omaha to start the 2010 season. The Royals did bring him up in May for a quick look, but he got hammered in three relief appearances. But Bullington was very good at Omaha: 8-2, 2.82 (and Omaha is also in the PCL, although it's not one of the extreme hitter's locales.) and the Royals brought him back two weeks ago. After a pair of relief appearances made his first Royals start against the Angels. He gave them a Quality Start, although he took the loss; yesterday, he made his second start as a Royal.
And who knows - he may have more wins in front of him than... Scott Kazmir?
Ron Gardenhire pulled Kevin Slowey after seven innings of no-hitter against Oakland. Slowey had skipped his previous start with elbow tendinitis. John Rauch immediately lost the no-hitter, and then the shutout, but the Twins came away with the win.
It was two former Jays accounting for much of the damage as the Braves stomped the Dodgers 13-1; Troy Glaus and Alex Gonzalez each drove in four runs. The Braves maintained their two game lead on Philadelphia in the NL East. The Phillies are locked in a virtual dead heat with St.Louis and San Francisco for the Wild Card, and all three divisions promise to go right down to the final week.
Speaking of former Jays, the Reds moved one game in front of St. Louis (who were busy losing to the Cubs), thanks largely to Miguel Cairo... hang on, Miguel Cairo? He's still playing? Sure - he's only 36 years old. He just seems older because he's played for pretty well every franchise in the majors. Cairo made his ML debut with the Blue Jays back in 1996. They were already the third organization he'd been with, having been originally signed by the Dodgers and traded to Seattle. He came to Toronto in the Bill Risley trade, and was traded to the Cubs after the season. Tampa took him in the expansion draft, and he's been in the majors ever since: Tampa (three years as Rays regular second baseman), Oakland (traded before he played there), Cubs, St. Louis (two and a half years), Yankees, Mets, Yankees again, St. Louis again, Seattle (in the majors this time), Philadelphia, and this year's he's in Cincinnati. He was filling in for Scott Rolen yesterday, and his two-run homer provided all the offense in a 2-0 victory.
Two more former Jays hooked up in Kansas City, where everything is always up to date, and the hard luck loser was Talented Bonehead A.J. Burnett. Claiming his first major league victory, by a 1-0 score, was none other than Bryan Bullington, who pitched out of the Jays bullpen for a couple of weeks last season. Bullington, of course, was the very first player selected in the 2002 draft - so that win was a long time coming indeed. That draft is remembered as: a) the Moneyball draft, and b) the three high school pitchers selected after Bullington who have turned out pretty nicely: Zack Greinke, Scott Kazmir, and Cole Hamels. On the other hand, Bullington now has more major league victories than two of the high schoolers selected right behind him in that same draft: Christopher Gruler (third overall) and Clint Everts (fifth), who have yet to make a major league appearance. And Adam Loewen, drafted fourth overall, is through as a pitcher (with 8 career wins) and trying to reinvent himself as an outfielder.
Being drafted by the Pirates couldn't have helped, but Bullington seemed to be moving steadily through the system until his shoulder started to bother him in 2005. He began that year on the DL, but pitched well in his first exposure to AAA. He was summoned to Pittsburgh to make his ML debut that September, but immediately afterward he was shut down for the year and in October he had surgery to repair the posterior labrum. He missed all of 2006, and returned to AAA in 2007. The Pirates brought him back up in September to make his first ML start. He started 2008 in AAA again, and after a shaky start to his season was pitching very well when the Pirates called him up at the end of May. He sat around for two weeks without getting into a game, and was sent back to AAA. A month later, the Pirates designated him for assignment and lost him when Cleveland claimed him on waivers. He didn't pitch particularly well for Buffalo, and the Blue Jays claimed him on waivers that October. He spent most of last season in Las Vegas, working out of the bullpen for the first time in his career. He had a decent enough year in the PCL and the Royals signed him as a free agent after the season. They sent him to Omaha to start the 2010 season. The Royals did bring him up in May for a quick look, but he got hammered in three relief appearances. But Bullington was very good at Omaha: 8-2, 2.82 (and Omaha is also in the PCL, although it's not one of the extreme hitter's locales.) and the Royals brought him back two weeks ago. After a pair of relief appearances made his first Royals start against the Angels. He gave them a Quality Start, although he took the loss; yesterday, he made his second start as a Royal.
And who knows - he may have more wins in front of him than... Scott Kazmir?
