Thames Delivers for Yankees; Wainwright, Rasmus Lead Cards Back to First Place

Players of the Day for Wednesday, August 11, 2010 American League Marcus Thames must feel like the forgotten man. Seldom having had the opportunity to play full time - either with the Tigers or his current team, the Yankees - Thames doesn't make any noise about playing time; he just goes out and does his job. While the Yankees made moves to acquire Austin Kearns and Lance Berkman recently and amid talk that the Yanks are looking for yet another bat in their lineup, Thames quietly rode the bench and got his chance Wednesday night, replacing Mark Teixeira in the 3rd spot in the lineup while the regular first baseman was with his wife as she gave birth to the couples third child. Thames took the DH spot, while Berkman played first, and the slugging righty made the most of the opportunity, going 3-for-5 with a home run, two runs and two RBI, including the go-ahead RBI single in the 9th that won the game, 7-6. Having an excellent year at the plate despite getting only 114 at-bats this season, Thames upped his average to .321. The Yankees only need to look at Thames' stats from the two years he had the most playing time - both with Detroit. In 2006 he hit 26 homers and drove in 60 runs in 110 games. In 2008, he had 26 jacks and 56 RBI in 103 games. The win kept the Yankees 1 1/2 ahead of Tampa Bay and 5 up on the charging Red Sox, who have won three straight. National League St. Louis completed their sweep of the Reds in dominating fashion, taking over sole possession of first place in the NL Central, as Adam Wainwright (left) and Colby Rasmus (right) led them to a 6-1 win at Cincinnati. Wainwright was locked into a scoreless pitcher's duel with Brandon Arroyo when Rasmus provided a winning blast - a grand slam dead-center jack that put the Cards up 4-0. Rasmus also singled and scored the last of the Cardinal runs while Wainwright dominated the Reds, allowing just two hits over seven full innings without a walk, getting 14 of his 21 outs on ground balls. He struck out 4, improving his record to 17-6, tying Colorado's Ubaldo Jimenez for the most wins in the majors. The win completed the three game sweep which brought the Cardinals from two games down in the standings to one game ahead of the Reds and in command of the division which they have dominated the past decade.

A-Rod, Thames Crush Red Sox in 9th; Ryan Howard Getting Into the Swing

Players of the Day for Monday, May 17, 2010 American League When the Yankees and Red Sox get together, fans normally expect something of a wild time, so the opening of a two-game series at New York - a highly-anticipated event - did not disappoint as the hitters had their way with starting pitchers Daisuke Matsuzaka and New York's Phil Hughes. Matsuzaka lasted only 4 2/3 innings, while Hughes managed to get through five, with neither earning a decision. The Red Sox forged an early 6-1 lead and eventually knocked out 5 homers against Yankee pitching, but it was the home team's two home runs - both coming in the 9th inning off closer Jonathan Papelbon - which carried the day and extended the Yankee home winning streak over the Sox to eight straight with an 11-9 victory. With Boston clinging to a 9-7 lead, Alex Rodriguez (left), who had singled in a pair of runs earlier, tied the game with his 5th home run of the season, a 2-run shot to the deepest part of the park. Papelbon managed to get Robbie Cano, but plunked Fancisco Cervelli, setting the stage for Marcus Thames (right), who did what he does best, hammering a Pepelbon offering into the left field stands for a 2-run, walk-off homer. The blast was Thames' second of the season, in limited playing time. Both Thames and Rodriguez collected 4 RBI on the night. The Yanks kept pace with Tampa Bay, who also won, maintaining their 2-game lead on New York. Boston dropped 8 1/2 off the pace, mired in 4th place in the division. National League Ryan Howard hasn't been lighting up opposing pitchers too often this season, though he'd been having a decent year heading into the opener of a quick, two-game set with the Pittsburgh Pirates. On Monday, Howard broke out the good wood, singling twice - one driving in a pair of runs - before putting the game on ice with his 7th bomb of the year, a grand slam that completed the final score of 12-2, and another Philadelphia win, their 4th straight and 8th of their last 10. Howard, the 2006 NL MVP and a candidate for the award every year, is beginning to pick up the leaders in the power categories, with little doubt that he'll be among the top three or four in RBI and home runs by season's end. He's four behind Andre Ethier and Kelly Johnson in the HR race, and his 29 RBI have him tied with another power player, St. Louis' Albert Pujols. Both are chasing Ethier, who has amassed 38 in an early display of West coast domination. Ethier and the Dodgers have won 8 straight and are within 2 games of division-leading San Diego, with the Giants sandwiched in between, 1 1/2 out. The Phillies, meanwhile, are threatening to turn the NL East into their own private show, leading the rest of the division by 5 games. They've won the division three straight years.

Thames, Thomas Terrifying Tigers; Ludwick Carries the Load for Cards

Players of the Day for Sunday, July 12, 2009 American League At the All-Star break, the Tigers own a 3 1/2 game lead over the white Sox in the AL Central after scuttling the Cleveland Indians, 10-1. Justin Verlander earned his 10th win against 4 losses with 7 innings of shutout ball, but the victory belonged to two part-time players, Clete Thomas (left) and Marcus Thames (right) who victimized Cleveland pitchers all afternoon. Thomas was the most destructive force in the Tiger lineup, going 3-for-4 with a single, triple and home run, five RBI and a pair of runs scored. Thomas has played in just 37 games in 2008, and Sunday's was his most productive. In just 127 at-bats, Thomas has produced: 5 homers and 23 RBI. Thames showed the poise and steadiness that may eventually earn him a starting job in Detroit or elsewhere, knocking 4 hits in 4 at-bats (3 singles, double), scoring three times and driving in one. Like Thomas, Thames has had limited playing time. In 125 at-bats he has 9 homers and 22 RBI. Contributions from these players has been key in Detroit's rise to the top and certainly will be a factor the rest of the season. National League After splitting both their 4-game series and Sunday double-header at Wrigley, the Cardinals retained their 2 1/2 game lead over Milwaukee in the NL Central and stayed 3 1/2 ahead of the third place Cubs. The Cards dropped the first game, 7-3, but came back in the nightcap, winning 4-2, as Adam Wainwright imporved to 10-5 and Ryan Ludwick accounted for all of the Cardinal runs. Ludwick went 2-for-4 in the opener, but neither scored nor drove in any runs. He continued to bear down in the later game, going 3-for-4 with a double and a pair of 2-run homers, his 14th and 15th of the season. That was all the cards needed as Wainwright allowed just 2 earned runs over 8 innings and Ryan Franklin picked up his 21st save by striking out the side in the ninth. NOTES: Division leaders stretched out heading into the mid-season break. The slimmest lead is in the AL West, as the Angels have the Rangers by 1 1/2 games. Boston leads New York by 3 in the East after the Yankees were swept three straight by the Angels; Detroit is 3 1/2 up on Chicago in the Central. In the NL, Philly is up by 4 over the Marlins; the Cards are 2 1/2 to the good over the Brewers and the Dodgers upped their lead in the West to 7 with a win at Milwaukee. Current wild card leaders are the Yankees (51-37) and Giants (49-39). The Red Sox have the best record in the AL at 54-34. The Dodgers lead the majors at 56-32.

Thames Hammers Brewers; Ludwick, Rasmus Lead Cards

Players of the Day for Friday, June 19, 2009 American League The Tigers beat back the Brewers, 10-4, in a rain-shortened, 7-inning affair in Detroit which featured a pair of two-run home runs by one of baseball's hardest-hitting batters, the seldom-used Marcus Thames. Thames got the scoring started with a bomb in the first with Curtis Granderson aboard and capped the night with a another mash in the seventh, this time with Miguel Cabrera on base. Having played in just 19 games this season, Thames has 3 homers in his 54 at-bats. He missed much of the season with a strained rib cage and has suffered assorted injuries in his five years in the bigs. When he's otherwise healthy or in the lineup, he's a bona fide masher. Of his 327 career hits, almost half - 163 - have been for extra bases. Thames has knocked 67 doubles, 3 triples and 93 home runs in his major league days. The Tigers remained 2 games ahead of the Twins in the AL Central with the win, their second straight and first in their weekend series hosting the Brewers. National League Colby Rasmus (left) went 4-for-5 and Ryan Ludwick (right) smashed his first career grand slam as the Cardinals downed the Royals, 10-5, in Kansas City. Rasmus doubled and stroked three singles, scored twice and drove in a pair of runs as the Cards pounded out 14 hits. Ludwick only had one hit in his four at-bats, but it was a big one, produced after the KC brain trust decided to walk Albert Pujols to load the bases in the third inning. Ludwick's four-run blast was just the first of three homers in the frame. After his bomb, Rick Ankiel and Kahlil Greene hit back-to-back solo shots. With Milwaukee losing to Detroit, the Cardinals gained to within 1/2 game of the NL Central leaders. By the end of the weekend, the Cardinals, who play KC twice more, may find themselves atop the division. NOTES: Break up the Nats! The Washington Nationals took the final two games of their series with the Yankees and went up to Toronto on Friday to take the opener of their three-game series, 2-1, in 11 innings. It marked the second time this season that the Nationals have won 3 straight, the other back in May, when they took the finale in LA and then went to Arizona to take the first two games of their series. If the Nats win on Saturday, it will be the longest winning streak of their season. Meanwhile, a couple of teams that are truly hot reside in - of all places - the NL West, for years one of the weakest divisions in baseball. The Rockies won their 3rd straight and 14th of their last 15, with a 7-3 win over Pittsburgh. Colorado is finally over the .500 mark, at 34-33, 9 1/2 behind the Dodgers in the division. Just ahead of them, the San Francisco Giants - 8 games back - have been pretty good since late May, posting a 16-9 record recently to put themselves into at least a widl card contending position and with a possibility of running down the Dodgers.

Howard Hits His Stride; Thames Homers 4th Straight Game; Mets Relieve Randolph

Players of the Day from Monday, June 16, 2008 American League Marcus Thames is finally getting the playing time he deserves and he's delivering for the Tigers. In Monday night's 8-6 loss at San Francisco, Thames homered twice, driving in three runs in 4 at-bats. It was the fourth straight game in which Thames has homered, and his 7th home run in his last 9 games. He has 12 on the season. Notes: The Tigers' loss snapped a six-game win streak, the longest of the season for Detroit, which is in 4th place, 6 1/2 behind the White Sox in the AL Central. National League Notorious for getting off to slow starts, the Phillies' Ryan Howard was batting just .184 with 9 homers a month ago. Since then, the average has rounded up to .224 and he's socked 10 more home runs, including the two that left the yard in Monday's 8-2 bombing of the Red Sox. Howard also tripled, going 3-for-5 with 4 RBI, giving him 62 on the season, tying him with teammate Chase Utley and San Diego's Adrian Gonzalez for the NL lead. He's also tied with Gonzalez for second in home runs, at 19, three behind Utley. Notes: After weeks of speculation, the Mets finally disposed of manager Willie Randolph, turning the team over to Jerry Manuel following the Mets' 9-6 win over the California Angels. Sadly, the Mets' brass saw to it that Randolph was given his walking papers far from the bright lights of Broadway, in an LA hotel room a continent away from home. Randolph probably isn't to blame for the collapse of the Mets last season, for losing in seven games to the Cardinals in the NL Championship Series in '06 or for the 34-35 record this season, but, eventually, he became the guy who took the heat for this underperforming bunch. Manuel may do better, he may not. If the Mets win the East, the front office can pat themselves on their collective backs. If the Mets continue to play uninspired, sub-par baseball with a team loaded with talent, then letting Randolph go will be seen as a mistake. Only time will tell whether it was Randolph, the front office or the players who let Mets fans down. For now, he looks like a scapegoat for mismanagement that covers the entire organization.