Ubaldo Jimenez

ant among all the flame-throwing hurlers who took the mound on Tuesday night were not the starters, Ubaldo Jimenez and David Price.  The best of the best were Florida’s Josh Johnson, who looked strong in retiring all six hitters he faced – all of them starters for the American League – and Detroit closer Jose Valverde, who struck out the side in order in the top of the ninth to at least give the AL a chance to make a dramatic comeback.  Roy Halladay, Justin Verlander, and Phil Hughes, like Jimenez, each gave up a couple of hits and Jonathan Broxton, who earned the save all showed they are not untouchable. 

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A league of his own

How good has Ubaldo Jimenez been this season?  Quite simply, he’s been absolutely extraordinary.  He has made 11 starts and allowed runs in only five of them.  In 80.1 innings pitched, he has given up just one home run (a solo shot to Adam Dunn).  He has pitched at least six innings in every start and has thrown two Complete Game shutouts.

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Both baseball men will be missed.

How ‘bout that?

How about Ubaldo Jimenez?  In addition to throwing a no-hitter in his third start of the season, Jimenez has held opponents to a .182 batting average and owns an outstanding 0.87 ERA to go with a perfect 6-0 record.  If not for the six walks he allowed in his no-hitter, Jimenez’s WHIP (1.02) would be under one.  In the first month of the season, Jimenez has been better than excellent; in a word, he has been exceptional.  He is the main reason the Rockies have a .500 record (14-14).  If the season ended today, Jimenez would deserve not only the Cy Young Award but also serious consideration for the NL MVP.

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As if Ubaldo Jimenez’s no-hitter was not enough excitement for one day, the Mets and Cardinals took part in a marathon contest, playing a 20-inning game Saturday in St. Louis.  If that does not…, the most remarkable part of the monumental occasion was that the two teams went scoreless through the first 18 frames!  That’s like back-to-back shutouts being thrown by both teams!  In a game that took nearly seven hours and featured an astounding 18 pitchers (two of whom were actually position players that Cardinals manager Tony La Russa sent to the hill), three Met hitters – Jose Reyes, Jason Bay, and Jeff Francoeur – went a combined 0 for 21.  That is an ugly line in the box score for three of the team’s four best offensive players.

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either of them has a terribly good ERA at Coors (Astacio, 7.32; Francis 4.48).

Then there’s Ubaldo Jimenez, the lanky Dominican with a thunderbolt for an arm. He’s the Next Great Thing for Colorado, the guy who dazzled in Colorado’s magical 2008 postseason (their best trick was disappearing in the World Series). Jimenez, like the rest of the team, was lights-out before the Series—but unlike them, he did pretty well against Boston. In two games before the Series, he gave up two runs and eight hits over eleven innings; in the Series itself, he gave up two runs over four-and-two-thirds innings, though that saddled him with the loss. His final postseason line was 0-1 with a 2.25 ERA; his only real black eye was the 13-13 K:BB ratio. 

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