Ubaldo F@$%ing Jimenez.....

Gonna try a little something new on the blog here: random daily recaps of games I choose from the day before.

• Ubaldo Jimenez, the Coors Field Wizard, was at it again last night. Though he allowed what is now an uncharacteristic 6 hits, he also struck out 3 and once again allowed no runs, lowering his league leading ERA to 0.88. He also won his league leading 9th game of the season. NL All Star starter and Cy Young candidate anyone?
• In his first start since making it apparent he wanted to be traded, Roy Oswalt had his 10th consecutive quality start since the beginning of the season, continuing his team record. With only 4 hits allowed and 9 strikeouts over 8 shutout innings, he is making a tough case to be traded (and making other teams realize how expensive he is going to cost).
• The always erratic Bronson Arroyo held it together for 7 2/3 innings of shutout ball against the Pirates. He allowed only 5 hits, while lowering his ERA to 4.12. A bright spot for the upstart Reds, they need continued production from their SP to keep themselves at the top of the NL Central.
• New York Mets off-season import Hisanori Takahashi helped the Mets blank the Phillies for the 2nd consecutive night. It was Takahashi's 2nd big league start and the 2nd time he allowed no runs over 6 innings in those starts. Takahashi may have found himself a spot in the Mets rotation with his pitching in these two starts.

• AJ Burnett flashed his inner brilliance, holding the Twins to no runs on 3 hits over 5 innings, with the Yankess relief core handing the ball over to Mariano Rivera in the 9th to close it out (which would be his first of two saves on the night).

This was an all pitcher update because, well,the pitchers were quite fantastic yesterday. With so many great pitching lines, it was tough to really pay attention to any hitting.