Mormon Baseball

The Oakland A’s Adam Rosales sat down a bit this past week, and it made a big difference. The A’s put him on the bench for much of the week—he only had 12 at bats—but those at bats were profitable. Rosales got 5 hits (.417), walked three times, and would have had a game-tying home run if umpires had made a correct call. The home run was the subject of controversy last week as commentators claimed that Rosales and the A’s had been robbed.

Rosales was almost the only Mormon position player to have a good week, the other exception being Kansas City backup infielder Elliot Johnson, who finally got a chance to start some games. And his batting average promptly rose to .375 for the week  as Johnson got 6 hits in 16 at bats, scored twice and stole a base. Even so, its unlikely that Johnson will get a starting spot, at least not yet.

Among pitchers, the Philliess’ Roy Halladay joined the Blue Jays’ Josh Johnson on the DL, but expectations for their return are very different. Johnson has been on the DL since April 29th, and is expected to be ready for a rehab start on May 21st. After a couple of rehab starts he will likely rejoin the team. Halladay, on the other hand, will have surgery on his shoulder after MRIs revealed a bone spur and partially torn rotator cuff. While Halladay is optimistic for his return before the end of the year, that may not be possible. More information will be available after the surgery on Wednesday, May 15th.

But while Halladay and Josh Johnson struggle with injuries, Jeremy Guthrie continued his strong start, winning again this past week, giving up just one earned run in 6 innings (1.50 era). He now has 5 wins and a 2.28 era, the Royals are 6-1 when he starts.

And among relievers, Brandon Lyon and Clayton Mortensen both had strong weeks, Mortensen winning a game and Lyon blanking opponents over 1 2/3rds innings work for the week.

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Hitting Stats Leaders:

• John Buck — 10 home runs (tied 5th); 29 RBIs (9th)
• Bryce Harper — 10 home runs (tied 5th); 1.006 OPS (7th); .619 Slugging (6th)
• Jacoby Ellsbury — 12 stolen bases (tied 1st)

Pitching Stats Leaders:

• Jeremy Guthrie — 5 wins (tied 5th); 1 complete game (tied 4th)
• Roy Halladay — 1 complete game (tied 4th)

Fielding Stats Leaders:

• Jacoby Ellsbury — 38 games & games started (tied 1st); 338.2 innings (8th)

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Current Roster Players:

• Darwin Barney—second base—Chicago Cubs
  2 for 15 (.133), 2 runs, 0 rbi, 0 hr, 3 bb, 0 sb, 1 so
  YTD: .154, 6 runs, 3 rbi, 1 hr, 11 bb, 1 sb, 8 so in 78 at bats.
• John Buck — starting catcher — New York Mets
  2 for 19 (.105), 2 runs, 0 rbi, 0 hr, 1 bb, 1 sb, 10 so
  YTD: .231, 18 runs, 29 rbi, 10 hr, 6 bb, 1 sb, 32 so in 117 at bats.
• Jacoby Ellsbury — starting outfielder — Boston Red Sox
  5 for 31 (.161), 2 runs, 1 rbi, 0 hr, 3 bb, 0 sb, 4 so
  YTD: .257, 21 runs, 13 rbi, 1 hr, 13 bb, 12 sb, 23 so in 167 at bats.
• Kyle Farnsworth — reliever (right handed) — Tampa Bay Rays
  1-0, 5.40 era, 5 hits, 1 er, 0 bb, and 1 k in 1.2 innings
  YTD: 2-0, era 6.48 14 hits, 6 er, 3 bb and 3 k in 8.1 innings
• Jeremy Guthrie — starting pitcher (right handed) — Kansas City Royals
  1-0, 1.50 era, 7 hits, 1 er, 3 bb, and 3 k in 6.0 innings
  YTD: 5-0, era 2.28 42 hits, 12 er, 14 bb and 30 k in 47.1 innings
• Roy Halladay— starting pitcher (right handed) — Philadelphia Phillies
  15-day DL – did not pitch
  YTD: 2-4, era 8.65, 33 hits, 33 er, 17 bb, 35 k in 34.1 innings.
• Bryce Harper — left field — Washington Nationals
  1 for 9 (.111), 2 runs, 3 rbi, 1 hr, 2 bb, 0 sb, 3 so
  YTD: .297, 22 runs, 21 rbi, 10 hr, 18 bb, 1 sb, 23 so in 118 at bats.
• Elliot Johnson — infielder — Kansas City Royals
  6 for 16 (.375), 2 runs, 0 rbi, 0 hr, 0 bb, 1 sb, 4 so
  YTD: .275, 6 runs, 2 rbi, 1 hr, 1 bb, 3 sb, 13 so in 40 at bats.
• Josh Johnson — starting pitcher (right handed) – Toronto Blue Jays
  15-Day DL — Did not pitch, available May 14th
  YTD: 0-1, 6.86 era, 28 hits, 15 er, 19 k, 9 bb in 19.2 innings.
• Matt Lindstrom — right handed bullpen pitcher – Chicago White Sox
  0-0, 3.38 era, 2 hits, 1 er, 3 k, 2 bb in 2.2 innings
  YTD: 1-2, 4.20 era, 10 hits, 7 er, 13 k, 8 bb in 15.0 innings.
• Brandon Lyon — right handed bullpen pitcher — New York Mets
  0-0, 0.00 era, 1 hits, 0 er, 1 k, 1 bb in 1.2 innings
  YTD: 1-1, 3.86 era, 13 hits, 6 er, 11 k, 3 bb in 13.0 innings.
• Clayton Mortensen — right handed bullpen pitcher —Boston Red Sox
  1-0, 2.25 era, 2 hits, 1 er, 2 k, 2 bb in 4.0 innings
  YTD: 1-2, 3.93 era, 14 hits, 8 er, 17 k, 7 bb in 18.1 innings
• Adam Rosales — 2B — Oakland A’s
  5 for 12 (.417), 1 runs, 0 rbi, 0 hr, 3 bb, 0 sb, 4 so
  YTD: .313, 5 runs, 3 rbi, 1 hr, 5 bb, 0 sb, 11 so in 48 at bats.
• Eric Sogard — infielder — Oakland A’s
  3 for 13 (.231) 1 run, 1 rbi, 0 hr, 1 bb, 0 sb, 2 so
  YTD: .233, 11 run, 3 rbi, 0 hr, 6 bb, 2 sb, 12 so in 86 at bats