First half awards, except Manager of the Year which I could careless about. The smart managers are usually smart every year and the dumb managers are usually dumb every year. The award itself is striclty based preseason predictions and who exceeds them.
National League
Starting with the MVP of course in my view it is still Albert Pujols' award to lose but in the view of the baseball writer's it appers to be David Wright's award to lose. If the Mets continue to blow away the rest of the N.L. and Wright continues to hit as his current pace he many win the award rather easiy. As you'll see I don't even consider Wright the best player on his team in the first half. Carlos Beltran is getting zero respect simply because he signed a huge contract and because he underachived last year. You'll hear Jose Reyes' name mentioned for MVP more than Beltran's.
10. Nick Johnson, Nationals
.295/.421/.538, 65 RC, .319 EQA, 33.8 VORP, 16 Win Shares
9. Carlos Lee, Brewers
.290/.353/.563, 69 RC, .297 EQA, 27.8 VORP, 17 Win Shares
8. Bobby Abreu, Phillies
.293/.447/.467, 69 RC, .312 EQA, 27.8 VORP, 17 Win Shares
7. Jose Reyes, Mets
.300/.357/.481, 71 RC, .285 EQA, 34.5 VORP, 17 Win Shares
6. Brandon Webb, Diamondbacks
183 ERA+, 4.90 K/BB, 1.11 WHIP, 51.2 VORP, 15 Win Shares
5. David Wright, Mets
.316/.386/.575, 75 RC, .310 EQA, 36.8 VORP, 17 Win Shares
4. Miguel Cabrera, Marlins
.334/.442/.566, 73 RC, .325 EQA, 42.2 VORP, 16 Win Shares
3. Lance Berkman, Astros
.317/.405/.607, 77 RC, .320 EQA, 36.9 VORP, 19 Win Shares
2. Carlos Beltran, Mets
.279/.388/.606, 69 RC, .315 EQA, 38.7 VORP, 20 Win Shares
1. Albert Pujols, Cardinals
.316/.435/.703, 79 RC, .350 EQA, 46.4 VORP, 22 Win Shares
For Cy Young this was a pretty easy choice of Brandon Webb as he's been a cut above the competition all year. Jason Schmidt is not getting any notice because of a 6-5 record but he's been dominant. For 3rd it was a toss up between Chris Capuano and Bronson Arroyo but I gave the nod to Capuano for his K/BB ratio.
3. Chris Capuano, Brewers
141 ERA+, 4.48 K/BB, 1.18 WHIP, 39.0 VORP, 13 Win Shares
2. Jason Schmidt, Giants
163 ERA+, 2.50 K/BB, 1.11 WHIP, 44.4 VORP, 12 Win Shares
1. Brandon Webb, Diamondbacks
Rookie of the Year is another fairly easy choice of Dan Uggla although if I had to bet I think Ryan Zimmerman may end up emerging as the top rookie by the end of the year. Prince Fielder has only 8 Win Shares and a .320 OBP in case you were wondering where he is.
3. Hanley Ramirez, Marlins
.271/.337/.413, 50 RC, .268 EQA, 19.1 VORP, 10 Win Shares
2. Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals
.287/.350/.478, 58 RC, .278 EQA, 15.3 VORP, 13 Win Shares
1. Dan Uggla, Marlins
.307/.366/.510, 61 RC, .292 EQA, 30.0 VORP, 13 Win Shares
American League
Travis Hafner I think deserves the crown as the most underrated player in baseball now. He's arguably been the best hitter in baseball not named Albert Pujols over the last two and a half years yet he still has yet to make an All-Star team. The race is wide open but Hafner doesn't have a prayer unless the Indians go on another second half run and even then it seems highly unlikely they'll get close enough to the Tigers and White Sox for anyone to really notice. Where's David Ortiz? This was actually the first time all year I even gave consideration to Ortiz but he ended about 12th for me. The writers love him because he's "clutch" yet he's hitting a modest .280 with RISP and of course because he leads the leauge in the almighty RBI. Manny Ramirez is besting him in AVG/OBP/SLG and has hit .303 with RISP.
10. Curtis Granderson, Tigers
.278/.367/.462, 64 RC, .285 EQA, 23.1 VORP, 17 Win Shares
9. Carl Crawford, Devil Rays
.319/.359/.521, 72 RC, .297 EQA, 28.9 VORP, 17 Win Shares
8. Jason Giambi, Yankees
.260/.415/.611, 70 RC, .329 EQA, 33.5 VORP, 15 Win Shares
7. Johan Santana, Twins
155 ERA+, 5.75 K/BB, 1.00 WHIP, 42.9 VORP, 15 Win Shares
6. Derek Jeter, Yankees
.345/.427/.462, 68 RC, .314 EQA, 42.0 VORP, 16 Win Shares
5. Jermaine Dye, White Sox
.318/.397/.646, 66 RC, .326 EQA, 36.2 VORP, 16 Win Shares
4. Manny Ramirez, Red Sox
.306/.434/.615, 70 RC, .335 EQA, 38.4 VORP, 17 Win Shares
3. Joe Mauer, Twins
.378/.447/.535, 60 RC, .331 EQA, 44.2 VORP, 18 Win Shares
2. Jim Thome, White Sox
.298/.414/.651, 80 RC, .334 EQA, 43.4 VORP, 18 Win Shares
1. Travis Hafner, Indians
.322/.461/.650, 88 RC, .361 EQA, 55.8 VORP, 17 Win Shares
For Cy Young there are three candidates that are head and shoulders above everyone else. I couldn't put Liriano over Santana and Halladay because Liriano has thrown 40+ fewer innings. If they were hitters he'd have about 120+ less plate appearances. That's tough to make up.
3. Francisco Liriano, Twins
250 ERA+, 4.43 K/BB, 0.97 WHIP, 41.9 VORP, 14 Win Shares
2. Roy Halladay, Blue Jays
164 ERA+, 4.50 K/BB, 1.03 WHIP, 44.0 VORP, 14 Win Shares
1. Johan Santana, Twins
ROY was a pretty easy list to put together. Myself personally I think both Liriano and Papelbon will level off in the second half as there is no way two rookie pitcher's are going to be this unstoppable all year long. Papelbon's ERA+ is insane but he'll have some bad luck eventually that will shoot that ERA up.
3. Justin Verlander, Tigers
147 ERA+, 2.09 K/BB, 1.17 WHIP, 35.4 VORP, 12 Win Shares
2. Jonathan Papelbon, Red Sox
803 ERA+, 5.88 K/BB, 0.72 WHIP, 28.3 VORP, 12 Win Shares
1. Francisco Liriano, Twins
After the 2001, 2002, 2003 ALDS and a choke the last week of the season in 2004 I'm a little weary whenever the A's make things more interesting than it neeeds to be as I showed last night. But tonight they made it easy. Angels lose before the A's game ends and the A's crush the Mariners 12-3 for division title #14. Congratulations to Jason Kendall and Mark Kotsay on their first trip to the postseason.
For work and family reasons I can't make it to the ALDS but I am going to purchase ALCS tickets just in case. Hey they got to get out the division series eventually, right?
There's a new Sports Illustrated poll of 470 Major League players asking who are the most overrated and most underrated players in baseball. Stuff like this is incredibly subjective as someone may consider one player underrated while the other considers that same player overrated. My assumption is that the player's perspective would be how they feel the media and fans view the player and that will influence their opinion on whether or not they consider someone overrated or underrated. So here's the Top 10 for both lists with my comments on what I think of each player and I throw in a name at the end of who I considered the most overrated and most underrated players of last season.
Most Overrated
1. Derek Jeter - Too obvious but facts are he is overrated by New York media/fans and major media outlets like ESPN. I have said in the past though that I feel Jeter is almost slightly underrated by non-Yankee fans at this point. You can tell Jeter is overrated just by how the New York media and ESPN are all up in arms (well from what people are saying on the board) over him topping the list as some how it is inexcusible that Baseball Jesus is on the list at all.
2. Carlos Beltran - This seems a bit odd to me, I suppose probably because of the contract he signed and he had a bit of an off year last season. Coming into this season though I'd consider him underrated by how much criticism he was getting.
3. Alex Rodriguez - Truly laughable for him to be this high. One of the true elite players in the game yet he typically doesn't get the credit he deserves and any failure he has in the "clutch" his magnified ten fold. Sure no player deserves the contract he got but not his fault the Rangers were stupid enough to give it to him.
4. J.D. Drew - Again no reason for him to be on the list and he is almost certainly underrated. He's a great hitter but is always hurt and many discard anything good he has done due to his injury problems. He showed in 2004 the type of numbers he can put up in a full season.
5. Nomar Garciaparra - How can he be underrated when he's be the subject of ridicule due to his injury problems? What because he was once great and now isn't that makes him overrated? Really makes no sense.
6. A.J. Burnett - Have to agree on this one but he's a "victim" of starting pitchers being overrated in general.
7. Jason Kendall - A common theme seems to be obscene contracts and Kendall certainly isn't worth what he makes. I doubt many still view Kendall as a good player anymore so my guess is the general view of him currently is probably neither overrated or underrated. Trust me though A's fans know he sucks.
8. Kerry Wood - Man players are just cruel as at least according this poll any player with a history of injuries is overrated.
9. Josh Beckett - Interesting. Maybe a tad overrated because of the 2003 postseason which tends to happen to any player who has a strong postseason.
10. Johnny Damon - I'd agree to a certain extent though his last two years he really was good but this also comes from the contract he signed. Probably more overrated circa 2003 than he is now.
My 2005 Most Overrated Player: Scott Podsednik - Remember he tought the White Sox how to bunt so they won the World Series. We don't need those meaningless homeruns!
Most Underrated
1. Michael Young - See now this is a player who I could see being overrated a couple of years from now. Players who everyone says is underrated eventually go the other way.
2. Bobby Abreu - Certainly not nearly as underrated as he was two or three years ago. I'd say he's probably fits into neither category.
3. Garret Anderson - Now this what I was talking in term of Young as personally I view Garret Anderson as overrated now. A few years back I considered him underrated. He gets on base at a poor rate and he has below average power for a corner outfielder.
4. Mark Loretta - Probably true to a certain extent. His great 2004 season went largely unnoticed. He's on the Red Sox now so he'll probably be overrated by the end of the year.
5. David Eckstein - Okay very good 2005 season no doubt by the "scrappy" Eckstein is probably a bit overrated because he's "scrappy."
6. Bill Mueller - I'd say he doesn't fit either category.
7. Chone Figgins - I'd say neither tilting towards slightly overrated.
8. Vernon Wells - You know he really hasn't done a whole lot at the plate the last two seasons, although off to a great start this year. He does get his just due when it comes to his defense.
9. Raul Ibanez - What? He's had a couple of good years by far from a star. I don't know do most view him as a scrub or something? Very odd he's on the list.
10. Melvin Mora - I'd agree with this one although his numbers were down last year, still were pretty good and his name doesn't really come up often when talking about the better 3rd basemen in the league.
My 2005 Most Underrated Player: Brian Giles - I ranked him as the best right fielder in baseball last season but because he plays in a park that is death to hitters his counting numbers just didn't look impressive.
I needed content and I wanted to do something related to the very competitive decade of the 1980's for baseball so I've decied to run a 64 team tournament between the top teams of the 1980's. Ya 64 is way too many but I'm Bored. I'll be using the computer version of Strat-O-Matic Baseball to run the tournament. I'll be simulating the games and the only thing I'll determine before the games is who the starting pitcher will be for each game. It will just be like the NCAA College Basketball tournament where I'll have four regions, or four divisions if you will, with teams seeded from 1 to 16 with each match-up being determined by a best-of-seven series.
Now for deciding how to do the seedings and who gets in I went the simple rout. First teams who won the World Series will be seeded highest, then teams who lost in the World Series, then teams who lost in the LCS, then the top 2nd place teams by record, and finally an "automatic berth" for the best team of the decade for a franchise who didn't have a team fit into the other categories so every franchise will have a representitive.
Starting with the N.L. East which features three World Champions including the team who had the best record in the decade, the '86 Mets. The Mets have the most teams in the region with five, followed by the Cardinals with four. The Pirates are the only team with just one rep as the '88 team was their best of the decade. Here's just a quick rundown of all the teams and the first round match-ups.
#1
1986 New York Mets (108-54, defeated Boston 4-3 in World Series)
OPS+: 116 (1st)
ERA+: 114 (t-1st)
DefEff: .709 (4th)
Best Player: Keith Hernandez
Best Pitcher: Bob Ojeda
#2
1982 St. Louis Cardinals (92-70, defeated Milwaukee 4-3 in World Series)
OPS+: 103 (5th)
ERA+: 108 (2nd)
DefEff: .710 (2nd)
Best Player: Lonnie Smith
Best Pitcher: Joaquin Andujar
#3
1980 Philadelphia Phillies (91-71, defeated Kansas City 4-2 in World Series)
OPS+: 102 (6th)
ERA+: 110 (1st)
DefEff: .701 (4th)
Best Player: Mike Schmidt
Best Pitcher: Steve Carlton
#4
1985 St. Louis Cardinals (101-61, lost to Kansas City 4-3 in World Series)
OPS+: 108 (t-1st)
ERA+: 113 (2nd)
DefEff: .718 (1st)
Best Player: Willie McGee
Best Pitcher: John Tudor
#5
1987 St. Louis Cardinals (95-67, lost to Minnesota 4-3 in World Series)
OPS+: 94 (10th)
ERA+: 106 (3rd)
DefEff: .696 (t-6th)
Best Player: Jack Clark/Ozzie Smith
Best Pitcher: Todd Worrell
#6
1983 Philadelphia Phillies (90-72, lost to Baltimore 4-1 in World Series)
OPS+: 102 (t-5th)
ERA+: 106 (t-2nd)
DefEff: .685 (12th)
Best Player: Mike Schmidt
Best Pitcher: John Denny
#7
1988 New York Mets (100-62, lost to Los Angeles 4-3 in NLCS)
OPS+: 117 (1st)
ERA+: 110 (3rd)
DefEff: .707 (t-8th)
Best Player: Darryl Strawberry
Best Pitcher: David Cone
#8
1984 Chicago Cubs (96-65, lost to San Diego 3-2 in NLCS)
OPS+: 105 (4th)
ERA+: 104 (4th)
DefEff: .690 (10th)
Best Player: Ryne Sandberg
Best Pitcher: Rick Sutcliffe
#9
1989 Chicago Cubs (93-69, lost to San Francisco 4-1 in NLCS)
OPS+: 104 (t-3rd)
ERA+: 110 (2nd)
DefEff: .708 (6th)
Best Player: Ryne Sandberg
Best Pitcher: Greg Maddux
#10
1981 Montreal Expos (60-48, lost to Los Angeles 3-2 in NLCS)
OPS+: 99 (8th)
ERA+: 106 (3rd)
DeffEff: .715 (t-3rd)
Best Player: Andre Dawson
Best Pitcher: Bill Gullickson
#11
1985 New York Mets (98-64, finished 3 games behind St. Louis)
OPS+: 105 (4th)
ERA+: 111 (3rd)
DefEff: .716 (2nd)
Best Player: Gary Carter
Best Pitcher: Dwight Gooden
#12
1981 St. Louis Cardinals (59-43, best overall record in N.L. East)
OPS+: 108 (3rd)
ERA+: 98 (t-8th)
DefEff: .715 (t-3rd)
Best Player: Keith Hernandez
Best Pitcher: Bruce Sutter
#13
1987 New York Mets (92-70, finished 3 games behind St. Louis)
OPS+: 116 (1st)
ERA+: 99 (9th)
DefEff: .696 (t-6th)
Best Player: Darryl Strawberry
Best Pitcher: Dwight Gooden
#14
1980 Montreal Expos (90-72, finished 1 game behind Philadelphia)
OPS+: 106 (t-3rd)
ERA+: 103 (4th)
DefEff: .698 (9th)
Best Player: Andre Dawson
Best Pitcher: Steve Rogers
#15
1984 New York Mets (90-72, finished 6 ½ games behind Chicago)
OPS+: 101 (5th)
ERA+: 98 (9th)
DefEff: .694 (9th)
Best Player: Keith Hernandez
Best Pitcher: Dwight Gooden
#16
1988 Pittsburgh Pirates (85-75, finished 15 games behind New York)
OPS+: 107 (3rd)
ERA+: 99 (7th)
DefEff: .715 (4th)
Best Player: Andy Van Slyke
Best Pitcher: Doug Drabek
1st Round Match-ups
'88 Pirates vs. '86 Mets
'89 Cubs vs. '84 Cubs
'87 Mets vs. '85 Cardinals
'81 Cardinals vs. '87 Cardinals
'85 Mets vs. '83 Phillies
'80 Expos vs. '80 Phillies
'81 Expos vs. '88 Mets
'84 Mets vs. '82 Cardinals
I'll complete the 1st round match-ups for this region/division, posting the results in the next entry, and then move on to the next region/division. Not sure how long I'll take to finish each round.
For the first time in 35 years the NBA Finals will feature two franchises who have never reached the Finals before. So like I did for the Clippers after their historic playoff series win, here are the Top 10 individual seasons for both franchises according to the basketball version of Win Shares.
I guess it shouldn't be surprising that the best individual season for both franchises are from this past season. The Mavericks list is dominated by one player who may end up holding the 10 best seasons in franchise history by the time he's done and appears on his way to becoming one of the greatest players of all-time.
Dallas Mavericks Top 10 Individual Seasons
1. Dirk Nowitzki, '05-'06, 52 Win Shares
26.6 PTS, 9.0 REB, 2.8 AST, 0.7 STL, 1.0 BLK, 1.9 TO
2. Dirk Nowitzki, '04-'05, 47 Win Shares
26.1 PTS, 9.7 REB, 3.1 AST, 1.2 STL, 1.5 BLK, 2.3 TO
3. Dirk Nowitzki, '02-'03, 45 Win Shares
25.1 PTS, 9.9 REB, 3.0 AST, 1.4 STL, 1.0 BLK, 1.9 TO
4. Dirk Nowitzki, '00-'01, 43 Win Shares
21.8 PTS, 9.2 REB, 2.1 AST, 1.0 STL, 1.2 BLK, 1.9 TO
5. Dirk Nowitzki, '01-'02, 42 Win Shares
23.4 PTS, 9.9 REB, 2.4 AST, 1.1 STL, 1.0 BLK, 1.9 TO
6. Dirk Nowitzki, '03-'04, 33 Win Shares
21.8 PTS, 8.7 REB, 2.7 AST, 1.2 STL, 1.4 BLK, 1.8 TO
7. Steve Nash, '02-'03, 32 Win Shares
17.7 PTS, 2.9 REB, 7.3 AST, 1.0 STL, 0.1 BLK, 2.3 TO
8. Steve Nash, '01-02, 31 Win Shares
17.9 PTS, 3.1 REB, 7.7 AST, 0.6 STL, 0.0 BLK, 2.8 TO
9. Rolando Blackman, '83-'84, 30 Win Shares
22.4 PTS, 4.6 REB, 3.6 AST, 0.7 STL, 0.5 BLK, 2.1 TO
10, Derek Harper, '89-'90, 30 Win Shares
18.0 PTS, 3.0 REB, 7.4 AST, 2.3 STL, 0.3 BLK, 2.5 TO
Miami Heat Top 10 Individual Seasons
-Yes Udonis Haslem but no Glen Rice. I've said before I'm not sure how reliable this is.
1. Dwyane Wade, '05-'06, 41 Win Shares
27.2 PTS, 5.7 REB, 6.7 AST, 1.9 STL, 0.8 BLK, 3.6 TO
2. Tim Hardaway, '96-'97, 39 Win Shares
20.3 PTS, 3.4 REB, 8.6 AST, 1.9 STL, 0.1 BLK, 2.8 TO
3. Alonzo Mourning, '99-'00, 38 Win Shares
21.7 PTS, 9.5 REB, 1.6 AST, 0.5 STL, 3.7 BLK, 2.7 TO
4. Tim Hardaway, '97-'98, 33 Win Shares
18.9 PTS, 3.7 REB, 8.3 AST, 1.7 STL, 0.2 BLK, 2.8 TO
5. Anthony Mason, '00-'01, 33 Win Shares
15.9 PTS, 9.5 REB, 3.0 AST, 1.0 STL, 0.3 BLK, 2.2 TO
6. Shaquille O'Neal, '04-'05, 32 Win Shares
22.9 PTS, 10.4 REB, 2.7 AST, 0.5 STL, 2.3 BLK, 2.8 TO
7. Dwyane Wade, '04-'05, 32 Win Shares
24.1 PTS, 5.2 REB, 6.8 AST, 1.6 STL, 1.1 BLK, 4.2 TO
8. Alonzo Mourning, '96-'97, 27 Win Shares
19.8 PTS, 9.9 REB, 1.6 AST, 0.8 STL, 2.9 BLK, 3.4 TO
9. Udonis Haslem, '04-05, 27 Win Shares
10.9 PTS, 9.1 REB, 1.4 AST, 0.8 STL, 0.5 BLK, 1.4 TO
10. Alonzo Mourning, '95-'96, 26 Win Shares
23.2 PTS, 10.4 REB, 2.3 AST, 1.0 STL, 2.7 BLK, 3.7 TO
Ohhhhhhh what a finish! Okay not really as all races were decided before the last day of the season. But we did have a surprise as the '03 Tigers, losers of 119 games, will not advance to the postseason as they were beat out by the '88 Orioles for the Loser Card. All the division races went to those who have been "leading" most of the year. Here are your A.L. playoff match-ups.
'88 Orioles vs. '79 A's
'79 Blue Jays vs. '82 Twins
And let's recognize those who were the best of the Loser League on the A.L. side.
C: Jeff Newman, '79 A's
1B: Eddie Murray, '88 Orioles
2B: Bobby Grich, '80 Angels
3B: Carney Lansford, '80 Angels
SS: Cal Ripken, '88 Orioles
LF: Albert Belle, '91 Indians
CF: Roberto Kelly, '90 Yankees
RF: Emil Brown, '05 Royals
SP: Roger Clemens, '92 Red Sox
RP: Mark Clear, '80 Angels
FINAL STANDINGS/LEADERS
TEAM WON LOST BATTING AVERAGE HOME RUNS RUNS BATTED IN
1990 NYA 93 69 R.Carew LAA .339 E.Murray BAA 40 A.Belle CLA 124
1992 BOA 87 75 E.Brown KCA .337 A.Belle CLA 38 E.Brown KCA 116
2002 TBA 84 78 T.Long KCA .334 K.Maas NYA 36 E.Murray BAA 114
1988 BAA 74 88 R.Kelly NYA .334 K.Hrbek MNA 35 C.Baerga CLA 112
1979 TOA 59 103 K.Hrbek MNA .332 C.Ripken BAA 32 OTHERS TIED W 105
1989 CHA 86 76 WINS SAVES ERA
1991 CLA 82 80 R.Clemens BOA 19 T.Niedenf BAA 36 R.Clemens BOA 2.13
2005 KCA 81 81 F.Tanana LAA 16 E.Yan TBA 29 C.Hough TEA 2.18
2003 DEA 75 87 C.Hough TEA 15 B.Thigpen CHA 28 F.Viola BOA 2.76
1982 MNA 69 93 G.Swindel CLA 15 G.Harris TEA 27 D.Aase LAA 2.89
OTHERS TIED W 14 M.Macdoug KCA 24 F.Bannist SEA 2.95
1980 LAA 100 62
1985 TEA 83 79 CUR HIT STREAK STOLEN BASES STRIKEOUTS
1980 SEA 76 86 K.Witt DEA 12 A.Sanchez DEA 65 R.Clemens BOA 226
1979 OAA 69 93 D.Slaught TEA 9 R.Kelly NYA 63 T.Underwo TOA 201
E.Murray BAA 8 A.Cole CLA 50 F.Bannist SEA 187
M.Lewis CLA 8 O.Guillen CHA 41 D.Darwin BOA 170
OTHERS TIED W 7 OTHERS TIED W 38 G.Swindel CLA 169
The '81 Cubs reversed the curse of the goat! Most of the season it was the '91 Astros and '85 Pirates fighting over the bottom of the N.L. Central but the Cubs blew past them with a clutch September record of 4-21 and ending the season on a 13 game losing streak! Truly remarkable. No surprises in the other races as the '98 Marlins did eventually pass up the '88 Braves for the league's worst record but as expected the Loser Card comes out of the East. Here are your N.L. playoff match-ups.
'88 Braves vs. '81 Padres
'98 Marlins vs. '81 Cubs
Here's the All-NL Loser League team.
C: Craig Biggio, '91 Astros
1B: Eddie Murray, '93 Mets
2B: Jeff Kent, '93 Mets
3B: Scott Rolen, '00 Phillies
SS: Jay Bell, '98 Diamondbacks
LF: Bernard Gilkey, '95 Cardinals
CF: Ray Lankford, '95 Cardinals
RF: Bobby Bonilla, '93 Mets
SP: Mike Krukow, '85 Giants
RF: Gregg Olson, '98 Diamondbacks
FINAL STANDINGS/LEADERS
TEAM WON LOST BATTING AVERAGE HOME RUNS RUNS BATTED IN
1993 NYN 94 68 A.Galarra CON .379 R.Lankfor SLN 39 S.Rolen PHN 134
2008 WAN 90 72 J.Mabry SLN .359 B.Bonilla NYN 38 R.Lankfor SLN 123
2000 PHN 88 74 C.Biggio HON .336 E.Murray NYN 33 D.Bichett CON 110
1988 ATN 66 96 B.Gilkey SLN .325 S.Rolen PHN 33 E.Karros LAN 108
1998 FLN 63 99 C.Guzman WAN .325 E.Karros LAN 31 OTHERS TIED W 104
1995 SLN 99 63 WINS SAVES ERA
1982 CIN 89 73 M.Krukow SFN 21 M.Dejean MLN 45 M.Krukow SFN 2.07
2002 MLN 85 77 G.Rusch MLN 18 G.Olson ARN 42 R.Reusche PIN 2.48
1991 HON 75 87 M.Soto CIN 17 T.Henke SLN 41 D.Gooden NYN 2.48
1985 PIN 72 90 R.Reusche PIN 17 S.Garrelt SFN 33 R.Person PHN 2.64
1981 CHN 67 95 OTHERS TIED W 16 D.Holmes CON 31 O.Daal ARN 2.75
1985 SFN 96 66 CUR HIT STREAK STOLEN BASES STRIKEOUTS
1992 LAN 88 74 D.James ATN 14 B.Butler LAN 61 M.Soto CIN 278
1998 ARN 85 77 B.Jordan SLN 11 V.Coleman NYN 58 D.Gooden NYN 200
1993 CON 81 81 OTHERS TIED W 9 S.Finley HON 56 B.Sheets MLN 200
1981 SDN 74 88 E.Young MLN 55 P.Harnisc HON 198
E.Young CON 51 B.Berenyi CIN 194
Oh ya I still need to complete this. The Loser League goes out with a whimper which should have been expected.
1988 Atlanta Braves def. 1988 Baltimore Orioles 4 games to 0
Game 1: Braves 5, ORIOLES 3
Game 2: Braves 11, ORIOLES 1
Game 3: BRAVES 5, Orioles 4
Game 4: BRAVES 5, Orioles 4 10 innings
The series ended on a Gerald Perry RBI single off of Tom Neidenfuer (man never count on this guy in the postseason) to complete the sweep and crown the 1988 Baltimore Orioles as the Worst Team of My Lifetime. Congratulations guys!
1982 Minnesota Twins def. 1988 Baltimore Orioles 4 games to 2
Game 1: Twins 6, ORIOLES 4 10 innings
Game 2: Twins 3, ORIOLES 2
Game 3: TWINS 7, Orioles 1
Game 4: Orioles 7, TWINS 5
Game 5: Orioles 6, TWINS 2
Game 6: Twins 7, ORIOLES 2
After dropping their first six games of the postseason the '88 Orioles made a spirited comeback but all it meant was that they forced their fans to see another home game. Eddie Murray may be in the Hall of Fame but he takes Least Valuable Player honors in this series he scrapes together only 2 hits in 25 at bats.
1981 Chicago Cubs def. 1988 Atlanta Braves 4 games to 2
Game 1: BRAVES 7, Cubs 4
Game 2: Cubs 7, BRAVES 4
Game 3: Braves 5, CUBS 3 12 innings
Game 4: CUBS 2, Braves 1 10 innings
Game 5: CUBS 4, Braves 3
Game 6: Cubs 3, BRAVES 0
The Cubs once again can't even win the big one as they eliminate themselves from the Loser League setting an all 1988 match-up to crown the worst team of my lifetime. After hitting .480 against the Padres in the previous round, Ron Gant takes the LVP by hitting .115 and committing three errors which reminds you why he was moved to the outfield.
Not a whole lot of movement in the A.L. as the division "leaders" are still the '79 Blue Jays, '82 Twins, and '79 A's with the '03 Tigers holding down the Loser Card spot. Only in the Loser League could Emil Brown lead the league in RBI.
TEAM WON LOST BATTING AVERAGE HOME RUNS RUNS BATTED IN
1990 NYA 63 46 A.Huff TBA .362 A.Belle CLA 30 E.Brown KCA 87
2002 TBA 56 52 E.Brown KCA .343 E.Murray BAA 26 A.Belle CLA 83
1992 BOA 56 53 R.Kelly NYA .342 A.Huff TBA 24 A.Huff TBA 82
1988 BAA 49 60 R.Carew LAA .342 K.Hrbek MNA 22 J.Barfiel NYA 80
1979 TOA 37 71 T.Long KCA .329 K.Maas NYA 22 B.Grich LAA 77
1989 CHA 59 49 WINS SAVES ERA
2005 KCA 60 50 F.Tanana LAA 14 T.Niedenf BAA 24 C.Hough TEA 1.70
1991 CLA 51 57 C.Hough TEA 13 G.Harris TEA 19 R.Clemens BOA 2.39
2003 DEA 46 63 R.Clemens BOA 12 B.Thigpen CHA 19 G.Swindel CLA 2.96
1982 MNA 41 67 F.Martine LAA 11 E.Yan TBA 19 F.Martine LAA 2.99
T.Sturtze TBA 11 M.Macdoug KCA 19 R.Langfor OAA 3.04
1980 LAA 71 37
1985 TEA 56 53 CUR HIT STREAK STOLEN BASES STRIKEOUTS
1980 SEA 51 57 R.Kelly NYA 19 R.Kelly NYA 41 R.Clemens BOA 160
1979 OAA 47 60 C.Fisk CHA 16 A.Sanchez DEA 41 F.Bannist SEA 135
D.Young DEA 12 A.Cole CLA 32 T.Underwo TOA 133
S.Sax NYA 9 S.Sax NYA 31 D.Darwin BOA 117
A.Sanchez DEA 9 J.Cruz SEA 29 C.Hough TEA 116
YESTERDAY'S GAMES TODAY'S SCHEDULE AND PROBABLE STARTERS
DEA 5 at CLA 1 OAA-McCatty(5-7, 3.44) at BOA-Viola(9-9, 3.17)
CHA 10 at MNA 0 CHA-Hibbard(6-7, 4.15) at KCA-Greinke(7-7, 6.17)
LAA 5 at NYA 6 CLA-King(7-9, 4.71) at MNA-William(6-9, 6.13)
SEA 3 at TEA 4 LAA-Martine(11-0, 2.99) at NYA-Cary(3-7, 3.80)
BAA-Ballard(6-6, 3.95) at SEA-Abbott(8-8, 3.45)
DEA-Maroth(10-7, 5.32) at TBA-Sturtze(11-4, 4.28)
TOA-Underwo(9-12, 4.28) at TEA-Hough(13-5, 1.70)
YESTERDAY'S BEST PERFORMANCES
BATTER TM OPP AB R H RB BB Ks HR SB
B.Bochte SEA TEA 4 1 3 2 0 0 1 0
D.Gallagher CHA MNA 0 2 0 0 4 0 0 0
B.Grich LAA NYA 4 1 1 2 1 2 1 0
C.Fisk CHA MNA 5 1 3 4 0 1 0 0
C.Monroe DEA CLA 4 1 1 2 0 0 1 0
PITCHER TM OPP INN H R ER BB Ks HR WLS
E.King CHA MNA 9.0 7 0 0 2 4 0 W
E.Plunk NYA LAA 4.0 1 0 0 3 7 0
D.Righetti NYA LAA 0.2 0 0 0 0 2 0 W
M.Sarmiento SEA TEA 2.0 1 0 0 1 3 0
D.Schmidt TEA SEA 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 S
WHO'S HOT - BEST IN LAST 10 DAYS
BATTER TM AVG AB H RB BB HR PITCHER TM IP H ER BB Ks HR WLS
T.Armas OAA .281 32 9 10 3 4 A.Sisco KCA 5 1 0 0 5 0 000
B.Grieve TBA .343 35 12 11 6 3 G.Harris TEA 5 0 0 3 8 0 101
C.Fisk CHA .459 37 17 14 3 2 R.Clemens BOA 18 10 1 5 16 0 200
S.Cox TBA .429 21 9 6 4 1 G.Cadaret NYA 15 5 1 6 12 0 201
R.Johnson MNA .318 22 7 4 4 2 J.Kennedy TBA 17 10 1 1 9 0 110
WHO'S NOT - WORST IN LAST 10 DAYS
BATTER TM AVG AB H RB BB HR PITCHER TM IP H ER BB Ks HR WLS
C.Wilkerson TEA .114 35 4 2 1 0 R.Hernandez KCA 9 14 14 6 3 6 020
J.Browne CLA .120 25 3 2 1 0 B.Havens MNA 12 25 16 2 8 2 020
G.Wright TEA .167 30 5 0 3 0 J.Tibbs BAA 6 11 9 5 6 0 020
O.Guillen CHA .212 33 7 1 1 0 D.Carrasco KCA 7 10 8 6 2 2 020
E.Williams CHA .182 22 4 0 3 0 P.Huffman TOA 6 16 10 5 5 0 110
INJURY REPORT
D.Murphy, Oakland - 9 more games
M.Edwards, Oakland - 3 more games
B.Campaneris, California - 6 more games
J.Cruz, Seattle - 6 more games
J.Anderson, Seattle - 5 more games
M.Tettleton, Baltimore - 5 more games
S.Lyons, Chicago (AL) - 3 more games
T.Hall, Tampa Bay - 3 more games
C.Pena, Detroit - 2 more games
B.Higginson, Detroit - 11 more games
E.Kingsale, Detroit - 4 more games
In the N.L. the only change was the '98 Marlins finally wrestled away the bottom of the N.L. East away from the '88 Braves although still both are very much on their way to postseason. The '81 Padres are only five games under .500 yet have now built a six and a half game "lead" in the West over the '93 Rockies but if you are under .500 in this league you really do suck.
TEAM WON LOST BATTING AVERAGE HOME RUNS RUNS BATTED IN
2000 PHN 62 46 A.Galarra CON .386 R.Lankfor SLN 34 S.Rolen PHN 100
1993 NYN 60 49 J.Mabry SLN .367 S.Rolen PHN 26 R.Lankfor SLN 95
2008 WAN 57 51 C.Biggio HON .343 B.Bonilla NYN 25 D.Bichett CON 81
1988 ATN 42 66 B.Gilkey SLN .341 E.Karros LAN 24 C.Cedeno CIN 75
1998 FLN 42 68 B.Butler LAN .340 E.Murray NYN 23 E.Karros LAN 75
1995 SLN 61 50 WINS SAVES ERA
2002 MLN 59 50 B.Sheets MLN 13 G.Olson ARN 30 M.Krukow SFN 1.65
1982 CIN 57 53 R.Reusche PIN 12 M.Dejean MLN 30 D.Bird CHN 2.45
1981 CHN 53 56 M.Krukow SFN 12 T.Henke SLN 25 J.Jones HON 2.50
1991 HON 50 57 K.Gross LAN 12 D.Holmes CON 23 D.Gooden NYN 2.51
1985 PIN 49 60 OTHERS TIED W 11 G.Lucas SDN 22 R.Person PHN 2.53
1985 SFN 65 42 CUR HIT STREAK STOLEN BASES STRIKEOUTS
1998 ARN 59 49 J.Ray PIN 14 E.Young MLN 42 M.Soto CIN 174
1992 LAN 59 49 J.Clark CON 13 V.Coleman NYN 41 P.Harnisc HON 151
1993 CON 59 51 L.Mazzill PIN 11 B.Butler LAN 40 B.Sheets MLN 149
1981 SDN 52 57 K.Caminit HON 11 A.Sanchez MLN 37 B.Berenyi CIN 129
E.Murray NYN 11 S.Finley HON 35 D.Gooden NYN 129
YESTERDAY'S GAMES TODAY'S SCHEDULE AND PROBABLE STARTERS
CHN 5 at MLN 6 PIN-Rhoden(6-11, 5.53) at CHN-Bird(8-5, 2.45)
SLN 9 at ATN 0 MLN-Rusch(11-9, 4.30) at ATN-Smith(9-5, 2.72)
CON 5 at FLN 4 CON-Harris(10-8, 4.75) at FLN-Meadows(5-10, 5.17)
ARN 5 at LAN 4 NYN-Gooden(7-5, 2.51) at HON-Harnisc(10-8, 3.12)
PHN 1 at WAN 9 ARN-Anderso(9-7, 3.25) at LAN-Ojeda(4-6, 4.05)
PHN-Wolf(11-5, 3.58) at SLN-Osborne(5-3, 3.54)
SFN-Krukow(12-3, 1.65) at SDN-Eichelb(5-11, 4.98)
CIN-Soto(11-9, 3.37) at WAN-Bergman(8-4, 3.82)
YESTERDAY'S BEST PERFORMANCES
BATTER TM OPP AB R H RB BB Ks HR SB
J.Flores WAN PHN 3 2 2 4 1 0 1 0
T.Blackwell CHN MLN 3 2 1 3 1 1 1 0
D.White ARN LAN 4 2 2 1 0 0 1 0
T.Lee ARN LAN 4 1 1 3 0 1 1 0
G.Zaun FLN CON 3 1 1 2 0 1 1 0
PITCHER TM OPP INN H R ER BB Ks HR WLS
T.Redding WAN PHN 9.0 2 1 1 0 4 0 W
D.Holmes CON FLN 3.0 1 0 0 1 5 0 S
A.Watson SLN ATN 8.2 6 0 0 1 1 0 W
C.Puleo ATN SLN 2.0 0 0 0 1 3 0
A.Benes ARN LAN 5.0 2 2 2 1 2 1 W
WHO'S HOT - BEST IN LAST 10 DAYS
BATTER TM AVG AB H RB BB HR PITCHER TM IP H ER BB Ks HR WLS
R.Lankford SLN .325 40 13 15 6 5 C.Politte PHN 9 2 0 2 14 0 000
T.Blackwell CHN .286 21 6 5 6 2 M.Mantei FLN 8 1 0 2 5 0 003
D.Driessen CIN .323 31 10 11 4 3 J.Parrett SLN 5 3 0 0 6 0 000
C.Cedeno CIN .364 33 12 12 2 3 D.Tidrow CHN 9 5 0 1 8 0 101
P.Householder CIN .310 29 9 8 4 3 J.Gott SFN 18 8 1 7 9 0 200
WHO'S NOT - WORST IN LAST 10 DAYS
BATTER TM AVG AB H RB BB HR PITCHER TM IP H ER BB Ks HR WLS
J.Orsulak NYN .156 32 5 1 1 0 K.Coffman ATN 8 7 9 12 5 1 020
K.Reitz CHN .208 24 5 0 1 0 M.Portugal HON 8 19 12 6 7 2 110
M.Trillo SFN .233 30 7 0 1 0 J.Deshaies HON 5 7 7 9 1 0 010
K.Jordan PHN .130 23 3 1 2 0 J.Smoltz ATN 10 14 10 3 5 2 020
J.Leonard SFN .171 35 6 3 1 0 O.Daal PHN 10 14 11 5 9 1 020
INJURY REPORT
T.Fernandez, New York (NL) - 2 more games
T.Pagnozzi, St. Louis - 4 more games
G.Pena, St. Louis - 2 more games
M.Redmond, Florida - 5 more games
D.Lee, Florida - 1 more games
A.Boone, Washington - 2 more games
C.Guzman, Washington - 1 more games
The boxscore of the month for July again features the '82 Twins getting lit up and it was appropriately on the 4th of July this time in a 16-3 drubbing at the hands of the '91 Indians. Starting pitcher John Pacella's line: 5 2/3 IP, 13 H, 13 R, 13 ER, 7 BB, 3 SO. On top of that he was left out there for 142 pitches! He must have fucked Twins manager Billy Gardner's wife or something to be made to suffer like that. Albert Belle hit three home runs for the Tribe.
BOXSCORE: 1991 Cleveland Indians At 1982 Minnesota Twins 7/4/2008
Indians AB R H RBI AVG Twins AB R H RBI AVG
A.Cole CF 6 1 1 1 .268 M.Hatcher RF 5 1 2 2 .220
J.Browne 2B 5 3 3 2 .243 D.Engle LF 4 0 0 0 .288
C.Baerga 3B 6 3 4 3 .307 K.Hrbek 1B 4 0 3 0 .353
A.Belle LF 5 4 3 6 .326 T.Brunansky CF 4 0 0 0 .300
M.Whiten RF 4 1 0 0 .274 G.Gaetti 3B 3 0 1 0 .210
C.James DH 6 1 3 2 .257 J.Vega DH 4 0 0 0 .283
M.Aldrete 1B 4 0 2 0 .242 T.Laudner C 4 1 1 0 .265
J.Skinner C 4 2 1 1 .249 R.Washington SS 4 1 2 1 .308
F.Fermin SS 5 1 3 1 .282 J.Castino 2B 4 0 0 0 .275
-- -- -- --- -- -- -- ---
Totals 45 16 20 16 Totals 36 3 9 3
Indians......... 2 0 2 2 1 6 2 1 0 - 16 20 0
Twins........... 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 - 3 9 0
Indians (39-48) IP H R ER BB SO HR PC ERA
G.Swindell WIN(7-5) 9 9 3 3 1 7 1 144 2.75
Totals 9 9 3 3 1 7 1
Twins (33-53) IP H R ER BB SO HR PC ERA
J.Pacella LOSS(1-2) 5 1/3 13 13 13 7 3 3 142 7.16
P.Redfern 1 3 2 2 0 0 1 19 4.69
P.Boris 2 2/3 4 1 1 0 0 0 54 4.54
Totals 9 20 16 16 7 3 4
ATTENDANCE- 11,478 DATE- Friday, July 4th 2008 TIME- Night
T- 3:25
LEFT ON BASE- Indians: 9 Twins: 7
DOUBLE PLAYS- Indians: 0 Twins: 1
DOUBLES- A.Cole(8th), J.Skinner(15th), K.Hrbek(19th), T.Laudner(23rd)
HOME RUNS- C.Baerga(11th), A.Belle-3(27th), M.Hatcher(2nd)
STOLEN BASES- J.Browne(2nd)
WALKS- J.Browne, A.Belle, M.Whiten-2, M.Aldrete-2, J.Skinner, G.Gaetti
STRIKE OUTS- J.Browne, A.Belle, M.Whiten, K.Hrbek, G.Gaetti, T.Laudner-2,
R.Washington-2, J.Castino
GIDP- A.Cole
It's playoff time for the Loser League and remember it will be loser advances. There's only one Losertober!
1979 Oakland A's def. 1988 Baltimore Orioles 3 games to 0
Game 1: A'S 24, Orioles 4
Game 2: A'S 11, Orioles 3
Game 3: A's 7, ORIOLES 3
That Game 1 score is not a misprint as this series reminds you why Baltimore lost 21 games to start the 1988 season. Baltimore's team ERA for the series was 14.40 as the A's hit .374 as a team. No word yet if Cal Ripken will request to pull himself out of the line up for the next series.
1979 Toronto Blue Jays def. 1982 Minnesota Twins 3 games to 1
Game 1: TWINS 6, Blue Jays 1
Game 2: Blue Jays 3, TWINS 0
Game 3: BLUE JAYS 7, Twins 6
Game 4: BLUE JAYS 5, Twins 4
Do you believe in miracles, eh? The '79 Blue Jays were the only team to top 100 losses in the Loser League and were the runaway favorite to take the title entering the postseason but they shock the world but beating the '82 Twins. The Jays mounted a five run 8th inning comeback in the deciding Game 4 to send the Twins to the Loser Championship Series and many of their players to suicide.
1998 Florida Marlins def. 1981 Chicago Cubs 3 games to 2
Game 1: Marlins 4, CUBS 1
Game 2: CUBS 10, Marlins 6
Game 3: MARLINS 5, Cubs 4 12 innings
Game 4: Cubs 5, MARLINS 1
Game 5: Marlins 6, CUBS 4
Cubs' fans this might be your year! No team was happier that two months of the 1981 season was wiped out by a player's strike than the Cubs and it almost seems cruel to make them keep playing. I don't know if Bartman stole a foul ball from Steve Henderson in the deciding game.
1981 San Diego Padres def. 1988 Atlanta Braves 3 games to 2
Game 1: Braves 4, PADRES 2
Game 2: Braves 6, PADRES 4 11 innings
Game 3: Padres 8, BRAVES 3
Game 4: Padres 4, BRAVES 2
Game 5: PADRES 9, Braves 8 18 innings
Go Braves! After dropping two at home the Padres make a remarkable comeback and in Game 5 defeated the Braves in an 18 inning classic or really 6 hours and 26 minutes of torture if you had watch these two teams play. The game ended on an Ozzie Smith RBI single off rookie Tom Glavine who was forced into the game as a pinch hitter and remained in the game to pitch after the Braves bench and bullpen had been used up. Here's the boxscore:
BOXSCORE: 1988 Atlanta Braves At 1981 San Diego Padres 10/6/2008
Braves AB R H RBI AVG Padres AB R H RBI AVG
R.Gant 3B 7 1 2 1 .480 O.Smith SS 9 2 3 1 .278
D.James LF 9 2 3 2 .304 R.Jones CF 6 0 1 1 .167
G.Perry 1B 7 0 1 1 .167 J.Curtis P 0 0 0 0 ----
D.Murphy RF 7 1 1 2 .238 N-S.Swisher PH 1 0 0 0 .000
O.Virgil C 9 2 4 1 .348 S.Mura P 0 0 0 0 .000
A.Thomas SS 8 1 2 0 .120 P-D.Gwosdz PH 1 0 1 01.000
M.Lemke 2B 3 0 1 0 .357 C.Welsh P 0 0 0 0 .500
A-J.Blauser PH 1 0 1 1 .286 G.Richards LF 9 2 3 0 .261
B-L.Smith PR 0 1 0 0 .250 T.Kennedy C 8 1 4 2 .346
E-J.Royster 2B 5 0 1 0 .200 B.Perkins 1B 6 0 1 1 .125
T.Blocker CF 7 0 1 0 .222 K-J.Moreno 1B 2 1 1 0 .500
R.Mahler P 3 0 0 0 .000 J.Lefebvre RF 7 2 2 0 .188
C-P.Runge PH 0 0 0 0 ---- L.Salazar 3B 7 0 3 2 .476
D-A.Hall PH 0 0 0 0 .167 J.Bonilla 2B 5 0 2 1 .500
G.Jimenez P 0 0 0 0 ---- M-T.Flannery PH,2B 2 0 0 0 .200
F-B.Benedict PH 1 0 0 0 .000 J.Eichelberger P 3 0 0 0 .000
J.Alvarez P 0 0 0 0 ---- D.Boone P 0 0 0 0 ----
H-T.Simmons PH 1 0 0 0 .500 J.Urrea P 1 0 0 0 .000
C.Puleo P 0 0 0 0 ---- T.Lollar P 0 0 0 0 ----
P.Assenmacher P 0 0 0 0 ---- G-B.Evans PH 1 0 1 0 .385
L-J.Acker PH,P 1 0 1 01.000 J.Littlefield P 0 0 0 0 ----
B.Sutter P 0 0 0 0 ---- G.Lucas P 0 0 0 0 ----
O-T.Glavine PH,P 1 0 0 0 .000 I-R.Bass PH 0 0 0 0 .000
J-D.Edwards PH,CF 3 1 2 1 .308
-- -- -- --- -- -- -- ---
Totals 70 8 18 8 Totals 71 9 24 9
A-Pinch Hit For Lemke In 8th Inning
B-Pinch Ran For Blauser In 8th Inning
C-Pinch Hit For Mahler In 8th Inning
D-Pinch Hit For Runge In 8th Inning
E-Subbed Defensively (2B) For Smith In 8th Inning
F-Pinch Hit For Jimenez In 9th Inning
G-Pinch Hit For Lollar In 11th Inning
H-Pinch Hit For Alvarez In 12th Inning
I-Pinch Hit For Lucas In 13th Inning
J-Pinch Hit For Bass In 13th Inning
K-Subbed Defensively (1B) For Perkins In 15th Inning
L-Pinch Hit For Assenmacher In 15th Inning
M-Pinch Hit For Bonilla In 15th Inning
N-Pinch Hit For Curtis In 15th Inning
O-Pinch Hit For Sutter In 17th Inning
P-Pinch Hit For Mura In 17th Inning
INJURY: Broderick Perkins INJURED (for 0 more games) in 14th inning
Braves.......... 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 - 8 18 1
Padres.......... 1 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 - 9 24 2
Braves (2-3) IP H R ER BB SO HR PC ERA
R.Mahler 7 12 5 4 0 3 0 109 3.75
G.Jimenez 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 24 5.68
J.Alvarez 3 1 0 0 2 3 0 48 4.00
C.Puleo 1 1/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 20 5.40
P.Assenmache 1 2/3 1 0 0 2 2 0 38 0.00
J.Acker 0 2/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 12 0.00
B.Sutter 1 1/3 3 1 1 2 2 0 31 3.00
T.Glavine LOSS(0-1) 1 2/3 5 3 3 1 0 0 39 5.40
Totals 17 2/3 24 9 8 8 10 0
Padres (3-2) IP H R ER BB SO HR PC ERA
J.Eichelberg 7 7 4 4 3 4 1 134 3.75
D.Boone HOLD(2nd) 0 1/3 1 1 1 0 1 0 8 3.86
J.Urrea BS(1st) 1 1/3 2 0 0 2 0 0 30 0.00
T.Lollar 2 1/3 1 0 0 0 3 0 34 0.00
J.Littlefiel 0 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 7.36
G.Lucas 1 2/3 0 0 0 0 3 0 20 0.00
J.Curtis 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 25 2.45
S.Mura 2 1 1 1 0 1 1 33 4.91
C.Welsh WIN(1-0) 1 3 2 2 0 0 1 21 6.43
Totals 18 18 8 8 5 12 3
ATTENDANCE- 24,996 DATE- Monday, October 6th 2008 TIME- Night WEATHER- Average
T- 6:26
LEFT ON BASE- Braves:17 Padres:19
DOUBLE PLAYS- Braves: 0 Padres: 1
ERRORS- R.Mahler, O.Smith, L.Salazar
DOUBLES- O.Virgil(2nd), O.Smith(1st), R.Jones(3rd), T.Kennedy(3rd),
J.Moreno(1st), J.Bonilla(3rd)
TRIPLES- D.Edwards(1st)
HOME RUNS- D.James(1st), D.Murphy(1st), O.Virgil(1st)
STOLEN BASES- R.Gant-2(5th), D.James(2nd), G.Richards(1st), L.Salazar(1st),
D.Edwards(1st)
CAUGHT STEALING- G.Richards, J.Bonilla
SACRIFICE HITS- R.Gant, L.Salazar
SACRIFICE FLIES- R.Gant, D.Murphy, T.Kennedy, L.Salazar
WALKS- G.Perry-2, D.Murphy, A.Thomas, T.Blocker, O.Smith, R.Jones, B.Perkins,
J.Lefebvre-2, J.Bonilla, T.Flannery, D.Edwards
HIT BY PITCH- A.Hall
STRIKE OUTS- R.Gant-2, D.James, G.Perry, D.Murphy-2, O.Virgil-3, A.Thomas,
T.Blocker, R.Mahler, O.Smith, R.Jones, G.Richards, T.Kennedy,
J.Moreno, J.Lefebvre, L.Salazar, J.Eichelberger-2, D.Edwards
GIDP- T.Blocker
With a month left in the season the '79 Blue Jays have an outside chance of losing more games in the Loser League than they did back in 1979. That would truly be an astonishing feat of futility. We finally had a "lead" change in the West as the '80 Mariners eeked by the '79 A's by one game setting up what should be a thrilling finish. The '03 Tigers still cling to the Loser Card by two games over the '88 Orioles.
TEAM WON LOST BATTING AVERAGE HOME RUNS RUNS BATTED IN
1990 NYA 79 58 R.Kelly NYA .339 A.Belle CLA 36 A.Belle CLA 109
2002 TBA 75 61 E.Brown KCA .339 E.Murray BAA 33 E.Brown KCA 109
1992 BOA 74 63 R.Carew LAA .337 K.Maas NYA 32 J.Barfiel NYA 100
1988 BAA 61 76 A.Huff TBA .334 K.Hrbek MNA 31 B.Grich LAA 92
1979 TOA 47 90 J.Orsulak BAA .329 A.Huff TBA 27 K.Hrbek MNA 92
1989 CHA 74 62 WINS SAVES ERA
2005 KCA 69 68 F.Tanana LAA 16 T.Niedenf BAA 30 C.Hough TEA 2.16
1991 CLA 68 68 R.Clemens BOA 15 E.Yan TBA 25 R.Clemens BOA 2.27
2003 DEA 59 78 F.Martine LAA 13 G.Harris TEA 24 F.Martine LAA 2.64
1982 MNA 54 83 C.Hough TEA 13 B.Thigpen CHA 24 F.Viola BOA 2.87
G.Swindel CLA 13 M.Macdoug KCA 22 D.Aase LAA 2.88
1980 LAA 86 50
1985 TEA 70 68 CUR HIT STREAK STOLEN BASES STRIKEOUTS
1979 OAA 63 74 A.Sanchez DEA 18 A.Sanchez DEA 53 R.Clemens BOA 197
1980 SEA 62 74 M.Lewis CLA 13 R.Kelly NYA 48 T.Underwo TOA 172
C.Baerga CLA 12 A.Cole CLA 45 F.Bannist SEA 160
B.Higgins DEA 12 S.Sax NYA 36 D.Darwin BOA 146
A.Berroa KCA 11 OTHERS TIED W 33 M.Perez CHA 144
YESTERDAY'S GAMES TODAY'S SCHEDULE AND PROBABLE STARTERS
CHA 4 at BOA 5 BAA-Bautist(8-6, 3.24) at BOA-Hesketh(7-5, 3.83)
SEA 3 at CLA 6 CHA-King(9-8, 3.66) at CLA-Nagy(10-13, 5.22)
KCA 3 at DEA 8 SEA-Honeycu(9-12, 4.11) at TEA-Hooton(7-5, 5.32)
TEA 2 at LAA 8
TOA 3 at NYA 12
MNA 3 at OAA 4
BAA 1 at TBA 8
YESTERDAY'S BEST PERFORMANCES
BATTER TM OPP AB R H RB BB Ks HR SB
B.Higginson DEA KCA 3 2 1 2 2 1 1 1
W.Morris DEA KCA 5 2 3 3 0 0 1 0
J.Barfield NYA TOA 5 1 3 3 0 2 1 0
O.Velez TOA NYA 3 1 2 1 1 0 1 0
B.Grich LAA TEA 5 2 2 2 0 2 1 0
PITCHER TM OPP INN H R ER BB Ks HR WLS
D.Heaverlo OAA MNA 4.0 1 0 0 0 2 0 S
P.Quantrill BOA CHA 3.1 1 0 0 0 2 0 W
T.Felton MNA OAA 3.0 0 0 0 0 1 0
T.Phelps TBA BAA 2.2 1 0 0 1 3 0 S
D.Pall CHA BOA 4.0 2 2 0 3 3 0
WHO'S HOT - BEST IN LAST 10 DAYS
BATTER TM AVG AB H RB BB HR PITCHER TM IP H ER BB Ks HR WLS
C.Pena DEA .344 32 11 7 8 4 D.Schmidt TEA 5 1 0 1 4 0 100
K.Maas NYA .321 28 9 6 5 4 J.Bautista BAA 9 3 0 1 4 0 100
G.Ward MNA .462 39 18 7 3 4 B.Milacki BAA 9 3 0 3 10 0 100
B.Higginson DEA .371 35 13 10 8 2 D.Heaverlo OAA 11 5 0 2 7 0 102
E.Brown KCA .400 35 14 11 2 3 R.Langford OAA 23 22 4 1 12 1 200
WHO'S NOT - WORST IN LAST 10 DAYS
BATTER TM AVG AB H RB BB HR PITCHER TM IP H ER BB Ks HR WLS
R.Velarde NYA .148 27 4 1 0 0 M.Mason TEA 6 11 12 7 1 1 010
M.Mendoza SEA .143 35 5 1 1 0 Z.Greinke KCA 12 25 15 3 4 5 010
S.Sax NYA .160 25 4 0 1 0 R.Dressler SEA 10 20 8 1 3 2 020
R.Washington MNA .211 38 8 0 0 0 C.Knapp LAA 7 9 7 4 5 1 010
L.Sheets BAA .179 28 5 0 1 0 M.Norris OAA 6 9 7 5 4 2 000
INJURY REPORT
P.Stanicek, Baltimore - 4 more games
D.Pasqua, Chicago (AL) - 3 more games
J.Browne, Cleveland - 11 more games
S.Sax, New York (AL) - 1 more games
E.Munson, Detroit - 6 more games
We have a three dead horse race in the N.L. Central as the '91 Astros pulled ahead of the '85 Pirates but a half game with the '81 Cubs making a late season charge, sitting three games back. Surprising development in the East as the '88 Braves and '98 Marlins haven't complete sucked ass in the last couple of months where there's now a chance the Loser Card might not come out of the division. Could this be a major choke job? And in the West the '93 Rockies are chipping away at the '81 Padres lead, now within three games going into the final month.
TEAM WON LOST BATTING AVERAGE HOME RUNS RUNS BATTED IN
2000 PHN 79 58 A.Galarra CON .386 R.Lankfor SLN 36 S.Rolen PHN 116
1993 NYN 77 60 J.Mabry SLN .356 B.Bonilla NYN 30 R.Lankfor SLN 111
2008 WAN 71 66 B.Gilkey SLN .340 S.Rolen PHN 30 A.Galarra CON 96
1998 FLN 57 81 B.Buckner CHN .339 E.Karros LAN 28 D.Bichett CON 96
1988 ATN 55 82 S.Rolen PHN .329 E.Murray NYN 27 E.Karros LAN 94
1995 SLN 80 57 WINS SAVES ERA
1982 CIN 75 63 M.Krukow SFN 18 G.Olson ARN 36 M.Krukow SFN 1.86
2002 MLN 70 66 R.Reusche PIN 16 M.Dejean MLN 36 R.Reusche PIN 2.50
1981 CHN 63 74 M.Soto CIN 15 T.Henke SLN 33 R.Person PHN 2.65
1985 PIN 60 76 O.Daal PHN 14 S.Garrelt SFN 29 D.Gooden NYN 2.67
1991 HON 60 77 B.Sheets MLN 14 D.Holmes CON 28 T.Candiot LAN 2.73
1985 SFN 81 55 CUR HIT STREAK STOLEN BASES STRIKEOUTS
1998 ARN 74 62 E.Karros LAN 20 B.Butler LAN 53 M.Soto CIN 236
1992 LAN 73 64 S.Rolen PHN 10 E.Young MLN 51 P.Harnisc HON 178
1993 CON 70 68 B.Jordan SLN 9 V.Coleman NYN 49 B.Sheets MLN 173
1981 SDN 66 70 A.Cedeno HON 8 S.Finley HON 47 D.Gooden NYN 168
OTHERS TIED W 7 A.Sanchez MLN 43 OTHERS TIED W 160
YESTERDAY'S GAMES TODAY'S SCHEDULE AND PROBABLE STARTERS
LAN 2 at ARN 3 SLN-Morgan(10-5, 3.66) at ARN-Sodowsk(7-3, 4.43)
SFN 4 at CIN 9 HON-Deshaie(6-12, 5.55) at CHN-Krukow(12-13, 3.55)
NYN 2 at FLN 3 SFN-Krukow(18-3, 1.86) at CON-Harris(11-11, 4.87)
SLN 6 at HON 0 ATN-Mahler(9-14, 4.56) at FLN-Larkin(3-6, 5.75)
MLN 5 at PIN 6 SDN-Wise(6-7, 3.11) at LAN-Hershis(10-9, 4.37)
CON 3 at SDN 2 NYN-Tanana(8-8, 4.68) at MLN-Quevedo(9-9, 5.43)
ATN 4 at WAN 3 PHN-Wolf(13-9, 4.04) at WAN-Perez(7-9, 3.79)
PHN 5 at CHN 4
YESTERDAY'S BEST PERFORMANCES
BATTER TM OPP AB R H RB BB Ks HR SB
T.Pena PIN MLN 5 2 4 4 0 1 1 1
A.Trevino CIN SFN 4 2 2 4 0 0 1 0
L.Smith ATN WAN 3 2 1 1 1 1 1 1
T.Kennedy SDN CON 3 1 2 1 0 0 1 0
B.Brenly SFN CIN 4 1 1 3 0 0 1 0
PITCHER TM OPP INN H R ER BB Ks HR WLS
M.Petkovsek SLN HON 9.0 3 0 0 0 5 0 W
T.Glavine ATN WAN 7.0 3 1 0 2 4 0 W
L.Hernandez FLN NYN 8.0 5 2 1 3 7 0 W
A.Holland PIN MLN 3.0 2 0 0 0 2 0 W
D.Capilla CHN PHN 2.0 0 0 0 1 2 0
WHO'S HOT - BEST IN LAST 10 DAYS
BATTER TM AVG AB H RB BB HR PITCHER TM IP H ER BB Ks HR WLS
T.Pena PIN .375 32 12 11 3 4 M.Petkovsek SLN 11 5 0 0 7 0 300
B.Jordan SLN .300 30 9 10 3 4 R.Delucia SLN 5 1 0 1 5 0 000
E.Karros LAN .400 35 14 10 5 3 P.Byrd PHN 8 4 0 1 8 0 100
D.Strawberry LAN .500 24 12 10 2 1 V.Padilla PHN 6 2 0 0 2 0 000
B.Gilkey SLN .370 27 10 6 6 2 B.Anderson ARN 13 8 1 0 2 0 100
WHO'S NOT - WORST IN LAST 10 DAYS
BATTER TM AVG AB H RB BB HR PITCHER TM IP H ER BB Ks HR WLS
K.Orie FLN .057 35 2 0 0 0 B.Caudill CHN 8 21 15 7 9 1 020
J.Clark CON .214 28 6 0 0 0 J.Sanchez FLN 8 13 11 7 5 1 020
L.Gonzalez HON .143 35 5 2 2 0 J.Alvarez ATN 8 14 12 3 7 2 010
O.Smith SDN .222 36 8 2 0 0 J.Cabrera MLN 5 11 7 1 2 2 011
D.Hansen LAN .179 28 5 2 1 0 C.Puleo ATN 7 14 9 3 5 0 000
INJURY REPORT
T.Blackwell, Chicago (NL) - 3 more games
R.Jones, San Diego - 3 more games
B.Evans, San Diego - 1 more games
E.Davis, Los Angeles - 1 more games
C.Hayes, Colorado - 2 more games
D.Sheaffer, St. Louis - 8 more games
T.Pagnozzi, St. Louis - 5 more games
G.Zaun, Florida - 3 more games
M.Lieberthal, Philadelphia - 2 more games
A.Sanchez, Milwaukee - 1 more games
A.Kearns, Washington - 14 more games
Now granted the '88 Braves have scraped together some wins lately but they still are the Braves and they are featured in our boxscore of the month for August. They were drubbed by that juggernaut that was the '08 Nationals 18-2 on August 29th as the Nats banged out 24 hits.
BOXSCORE: 1988 Atlanta Braves At 2008 Washington Nationals 8/29/2008
Braves AB R H RBI AVG Nationals AB R H RBI AVG
J.Morrison 3B 4 0 1 0 .138 W.Harris 2B 6 4 3 2 .260
D.James LF 4 0 1 0 .263 C.Guzman SS 6 4 5 1 .319
G.Perry 1B 4 1 0 0 .331 D.Young 1B 4 2 2 2 .270
D.Murphy RF 3 1 1 0 .241 L.Milledge CF 5 0 5 5 .286
A.Thomas SS 4 0 2 0 .261 A.Gonzalez 3B 6 0 0 1 .183
O.Virgil C 4 0 2 2 .294 J.Flores C 4 2 2 1 .275
A.Hall CF 3 0 0 0 .238 E.Bonifacio RF 4 3 3 0 .305
J.Blauser 2B 4 0 1 0 .243 R.Bernadina LF 5 1 2 2 .381
K.Coffman P 0 0 0 0 .143 T.Redding P 5 2 2 2 .107
C.Puleo P 1 0 0 0 .118 M.Estrada P 0 0 0 0 .000
A-P.Runge PH 1 0 0 0 .136
J.Alvarez P 0 0 0 0 .273
B-L.Smith PH 1 0 0 0 .248
R.Mahler P 0 0 0 0 .045
C-T.Simmons PH 1 0 0 0 .203
-- -- -- --- -- -- -- ---
Totals 34 2 8 2 Totals 45 18 24 16
A-Pinch Hit For Puleo In 5th Inning
B-Pinch Hit For Alvarez In 7th Inning
C-Pinch Hit For Mahler In 9th Inning
Braves.......... 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 - 2 8 0
Nationals....... 1 5 4 0 5 2 0 1 - 18 24 0
Braves (54-81) IP H R ER BB SO HR PC ERA
K.Coffman LOSS(5-4) 1 1/3 5 6 6 2 0 0 45 6.00
C.Puleo 2 2/3 8 4 4 0 3 0 64 5.60
J.Alvarez 2 9 7 7 1 2 1 71 4.52
R.Mahler 2 2 1 1 1 1 0 38 4.56
Totals 8 24 18 18 4 6 1
Nationals (70-65) IP H R ER BB SO HR PC ERA
T.Redding WIN(10-7) 8 8 2 2 1 2 0 122 2.88
M.Estrada 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 3.12
Totals 9 8 2 2 1 2 0
ATTENDANCE- 33,441 DATE- Friday, August 29th 2008 TIME- Night WEATHER- Bad
T- 3:18
LEFT ON BASE- Braves: 7 Nationals: 8
DOUBLE PLAYS- Braves: 2 Nationals: 1
DOUBLES- D.Murphy(41st), C.Guzman(36th), L.Milledge(22nd), J.Flores(17th),
R.Bernadina(4th)
HOME RUNS- W.Harris(17th)
STOLEN BASES- W.Harris(17th)
SACRIFICE FLIES- L.Milledge
WALKS- A.Hall, D.Young-2, J.Flores, E.Bonifacio
HIT BY PITCH- D.Murphy
STRIKE OUTS- J.Morrison-2, J.Flores-2, R.Bernadina-2, T.Redding-2
GIDP- D.James, A.Gonzalez-2
WILD PITCHES- K.Coffman-2, J.Alvarez
PASSED BALLS- O.Virgil, J.Flores
WEB GEMS- Bot 4th: Jeff Blauser robbed Tim Redding of a base hit.
kkk mentioned in his blog about how former players he watched becoming general managers and presidents of teams makes him feel old. For example Chris Mullin was the identity of the Golden State Warriors when I was growing up and now he's their general manager. But there's another general manager (and now part owner) in Oakland that everyone knows, Billy Beane, but unlike Mullin he's far better known for his work in the front office than as a player. In fact you'd probably have barely even noticed the guy when he played. Although I didn't happen to learn this until many years later but I actually had been witness to his last at bat in the Majors.
As I mentioned in my first entry I had very few memories at all about my first baseball game. In fact as great as the A's were in the late 80's I have very few in game memories about them even though I went to probably 6-7 games a year. One game that I do sorta remember was on October 1, 1989. October 1st happens to be my birthday and from '87 to '89 I had my birthday party at the A's game. Really the only thing I remember about the game itself was Mark McGwire homering (his birthday too) and the A's beating the Royals on the final day of the regular season. A couple of years ago on another nostalgia trip I was looking at the boxscore and play account for game. Being that it was the last day of the regular season and the A's had wrapped up the A.L. West they pulled all their starters during the middle of the game. It went into extra innings and in the 11th inning with it tied 3-3, Billy Beane came up with a runner on 2nd and no one out. If you know anything about the Beane-era A's is that they rarely bunt, as they shouldn't as it's fairly useless strategy in the American League. But what did they ask the young Beane to do on this date?
Yup, Beane's last at bat in the Majors was a bunt and I was there to witness "history"....not that I remembered it.
Fun fact: The Royals DH in this game was Bill Buckner, just like my first game.
As I'm sure anyone who follows sports knows that the Los Angeles Clippers won a playoff series for the first time in 30 years and the first time ever since they've been the Clippers. Outside of a very brief glimmer of hope in the early the 90's they have been the model of futility in professional sports. Since I root for the New Clippers (YOUR Golden State Warriors) I figured I might as well jump on their bandwagon. I do have reservations though what with the gratuitous shots of Billy Crystal that will only increase with them into the next round and Donald Sterling getting credit for anything.
Now for a "tribute" to the Clippers I present the Top 10 best individual seasons by Clippers players since they became the Clippers in 1978 using the basketball version of Win Shares. Again I preface as always I have no idea how reliable this stat is. What this list does show is that Elton Brand has already become the franchise's greatest player, not that this franchise has been full of great players. In fact this past season Brand had the best season ever by a Clippers player.
What other blog will you find Swen Nater content?
1. Elton Brand, '05-'06, 41 Win Shares
24.7 PTS, 10.0 REB, 2.6 AST, 1.0 STL, 2.5 BLK, 2.2 TO
2. Elton Brand, '01-'02, 36 Win Shares
18.2 PTS, 11.6 REB, 2.4 AST, 1.0 STL, 2.0 BLK, 2.2 TO
(couldn't find an image of a Clippers card)
3. World B Free, '78-'79, 33 Win Shares
28.8 PTS, 3.9 REB, 4.4 AST, 1.4 STL, 0.4 BLK, 3.8 TO
4. Danny Manning, '91-'92, 29 Win Shares
19.3 PTS, 6.9 REB, 3.5 AST, 1.6 STL, 1.5 BLK, 2.6 TO
5. Elton Brand, '04-'05, 28 Win Shares
20.0 PTS, 9.5 REB, 2.6 AST, 0.8 STL, 2.1 BLK, 2.3 TO
6. Elton Brand, '03-'04, 26 Win Shares
20.0 PTS, 10.3 REB, 3.3 AST, 0.9 STL, 2.2 BLK, 2.8 TO
7. World B Free, '79-'80, 25 Win Shares
30.2 PTS, 3.5 REB, 4.2 AST, 1.2 STL, 0.5 BLK, 3.4 TO
8. Swen Nater, '80-'81, 24 Win Shares
15.6 PTS, 12.4 REB, 2.4 AST, 0.6 STL, 0.6 BLK, 2.6 TO
9. Mark Jackson, '92-'93, 24 Win Shares
15.2 PTS, 5.0 REB, 9.3 AST, 1.7 STL, 0.2 BLK, 2.8 TO
10. Corey Maggette, '03-'04, 23 Win Shares
20.7 PTS, 5.9 REB, 3.1 AST, 0.9 STL, 0.2 BLK, 2.8 TO
I'm not someone to get overly sentimental about someone famous dying. If I didn't know someone personally I just don't have a lot of emotions. Sure it's sad they died but in the end I can't feel an overt emotional connection to them, whether it be Eddie Guerrero or now Kirby Puckett. Being that I'm 27 years old, Puckett was of course in his prime when I was a kid. I personally don't have any unique Puckett memories, everyone remembers his Game 6 homerun against the Braves, and my perspective on him is a little odd being an A's fan. The Twins were their biggest rival during the late 80's and early 90's in what was really a great, forgotten rivalry. Naturally I couldn't stand the Twins or Puckett and I would dread the A's every trip to the Metrodome.
So in an attempt to do some sort of "memory" post I figured I'd go to retrosheet.org and scan Puckett's daily lines and pick out some of his great games.
May 8, 1984 - Twins 5, Angels 0
Puckett's MLB debut where had four hits. He'd hit safely in 19 of his first 20 games.
April 22, 1985 - Twins 9, Mariners 5
Puckett hits his first career homerun off of Matt Young after not hitting one his rookie year, he went 3 for 5 on the day.
July 18, 1986 - Twins 7, Orioles 3
Puckett's first multi-homerun game, leading the game off with a homerun off of Scott McGregor.
August 1, 1986 - Twins 10, A's 1
In the same game where Bert Blyleven gets his 3,000th strikeout, Puckett hits for the cycle getting it with a homerun in the 8th off of Darrel Akerfelds.
August 30, 1987 - Twins 10, Brewers 6
After going 4 for 5 with two homeruns the previous day he follows that up with a 6 for 6 two double, two homeruns performance.
October 24, 1987 - Twins 11, Cardinals 5
Goes for 4 for 4 as the Twins force a Game 7.
May 13, 1989 - Twins 10, Blue Jays 8
Puckett goes 4 for 5, all of his hits are doubles.
June 26, 1989 - Twins 4, A's 3
Puckett goes 3 for 5 and hits a walk off homerun against Todd Burns in the 10th inning.
October 13, 1991 - Twins 8, Blue Jays 5
Went 4 for 5 the previous game, hits a 1st inning homerun off of Tom Candiotti, finishes this game 3 for 5 as the Twins win the ALCS and he wins the series MVP.
October 26, 1991 - Twins 4, Braves 3
Needs no introduction.
August 14, 1992 - Twins 9, Mariners 6
Hits two homeruns, six RBI, includes a grand slam in the 3rd inning off Brian Fisher.
July 13, 1993 - American League 9, National League 3
Wins All-Star game MVP, 2 for 3 with a homerun off Terry Mulholland.
August 15, 1993 - Twins 12, A's 5
Goes 5 for 5 with a two homeruns in the second game of a double header.
August 10, 1994 - Twins 17, Red Sox 7
Matches his career high with seven RBI, which he did against the Red Sox earlier in the season, hitting two homeruns with a grand slam in what would end up being their last game of the '94 season before the strike.
Puckett's Year-by-Year Win Shares
1984: 16
1985: 19
1986: 26
1987: 29
1988: 32
1989: 27
1990: 22
1991: 21
1992: 31
1993: 18
1994: 20
1995: 20
Travis Fryman - Third Baseman
Detroit Tigers 1990-1997
Cleveland Indians 1998-2002
Awards
1992 A.L. Silver Slugger - SS
2000 A.L. Gold Glove - 3B
All-Star Selections: 5 (1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 2000)
League Leader
None of note
Career Ranks
None of note
Best Performance
July 28, 1993 - New York at Detroit
Hit for the cycle (5 for 5, 4 RBI) although in a losing effort against the Yankees.
Hall of Fame Stats
Black Ink: Batting - 2 (582) (Average HOFer ≈ 27)
Gray Ink: Batting - 20 (991) (Average HOFer ≈ 144)
HOF Standards: Batting - 26.4 (371) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Batting - 36.0 (491) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Batters in HOF: None
Top 10 Similar Batters: Ken Caminiti, Bret Boone, Vern Stephens, Miguel Tejada, Larry Parrish, Benito Santiago, Doug DeCinces, Gus Bell, Richie Hebner, Bobby Grich
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3)
1990: 8/3.6
1991: 17/4.3
1992: 19/9.0
1993: 28/9.7
1994: 15/6.4
1995: 19/9.4
1996: 17/8.1
1997: 17/7.8
1998: 18/6.6
1999: 7/1.8
2000: 22/6.8
2001: 5/0.1
2002: 7/0.8
Career Win Shares: 198
Career WARP3: 74.4
My Stupid Opinion
He was to be the heir apparent to Alan Trammell at shortstop in Detroit but eventually ended up at hot the corner where he became a very good defensive third baseman. Outside of an outstanding 1993 season at age 24 he never quite became the offensive threat some thought he would be but was a very solid, consistent performer through out the decade. Nagging injuries cut his career short at age 33.
Wrapping up the 2007 Hall of Fame Ballot with the two slam dunks on the ballot and barring a major upset the only two who will be elected on Tuesday. Since there is no real suspense in whether or not these two will be elected I figured I'd just group them together. Sure one could argue than one or the other was overrated in their own right and there will of course be those who will leave them off their ballot just to make sure no one ever gets 100% of the vote. But no one can make a legitimate argument that either is not deserving of being a member of the Hall of Fame. Obviously they are easy "yes" votes from me.
Tony Gwynn - Rightfielder
San Diego Padres 1982-2001
Awards
1984 NL Silver Slugger - OF
1986 NL Gold Glove - OF
1986 NL Silver Slugger - OF
1987 NL Gold Glove - OF
1987 NL Silver Slugger - OF
1989 NL Gold Glove - OF
1989 NL Silver Slugger - OF
1990 NL Gold Glove - OF
1991 NL Gold Glove - OF
1994 NL Silver Slugger - OF
1995 NL Silver Slugger - OF
1997 NL Silver Slugger - OF
All-Star Selections: 15 (1984-1987, 1989-1999)
League Leader
1984: Batting Average, Hits
1986: Hits, Runs
1987: Batting Average, Hits
1988: Batting Average
1989: Batting Average, Hits
1994: Batting Average, Hits, OBP
1995: Batting Average, Hits
1996: Batting Average
1997: Batting Average, Hits
Career Ranks
AVG: 20th
Games: 61st
Hits: 18th
Runs: 84th
2B: 22nd
TB: 50th
RC: 41st
Hall of Fame Stats
Black Ink: Batting - 57 (18) (Average HOFer ≈ 27)
Gray Ink: Batting - 155 (78) (Average HOFer ≈ 144)
HOF Standards: Batting - 53.9 (57) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Batting - 277.5 (13) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Batters in HOF: 9 (Zack Wheat, Rod Carew, Paul Waner, Wade Boggs, Sam Rice, Roberto Clemente, Heinie Manush, George Silser, Sam Crawford)
Other Similar Batters: Vada Pinson
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3)
1982: 7/1.8
1983: 10/3.0
1984: 35/10.2
1985: 20/7.3
1986: 29/10.8
1987: 29/12.1
1988: 23/6.6
1989: 30/9.3
1990: 17/6.4
1991: 22/6.7
1992: 18/5.3
1993: 18/6.1
1994: 17/10.0
1995: 23/8.1
1996: 17/4.6
1997: 39/7.9
1998: 19/3.8
1999: 18/3.0
2000: 3/0.6
2001: 4/0.8
Career Win Shares: 398
Career WARP3: 124.3
Cal Ripken - Shortstop
Baltimore Orioles 1981-2001
Awards
1982 AL Rookie of the Year
1983 AL MVP
1983 AL Silver Slugger - SS
1984 AL Silver Slugger - SS
1985 AL Silver Slugger - SS
1986 AL Silver Slugger - SS
1989 AL Silver Slugger - SS
1991 AL MVP
1991 ML Sporting News Player of the Year
1991 AL Gold Glove - SS
1991 AL Silver Slugger - SS
1992 AL Gold Glove - SS
1993 AL Silver Slugger - SS
1994 AL Silver Slugger - SS
All-Star Selections: 19 (1983-2001)
League Leader
1983: Hits, Runs, Doubles, Runs Created
1991: Total Bases
Career Ranks
Games: 8th
Hits: 14th
Runs: 31st
2B: 13th
HR: 37th
RBI: 20th
BB: 61st
TB: 13th
RC: 30th
Hall of Fame Stats
Black Ink: Batting - 19 (112) (Average HOFer ≈ 27)
Gray Ink: Batting - 116 (171) (Average HOFer ≈ 144)
HOF Standards: Batting - 58.3 (33) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Batting - 236.0 (25) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Batters in HOF: 7 (Dave Winfield, Robin Yount, Al Kaline, Eddie Murray, Carl Yastrzemski, George Brett, Tony Perez)
Other Similar Batters: Craig Biggio, Harold Baines, Andre Dawson
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3)
1981: 0/-0.6
1982: 23/8.2
1983: 35/13.9
1984: 37/15.0
1985: 25/10.9
1986: 28/12.5
1987: 20/7.2
1988: 25/9.7
1989: 26/10.1
1990: 20/9.4
1991: 34/17.0
1992: 21/6.8
1993: 17/5.9
1994: 18/7.7
1995: 16/7.5
1996: 22/7.0
1997: 18/5.0
1998: 13/4.6
1999: 12/4.2
2000: 8/3.8
2001: 9/3.4
Career Win Shares: 427
Career WARP3: 169.1
Todd Stottlemyre- Starting Pitcher
Toronto Blue Jays 1988-1994
Oakland Athletics 1995
St. Louis Cardinals 1996-1998
Texas Rangers 1998
Arizona Diamondbacks 1999-2002
Awards
None
All-Star Selections: None
League Leader
None
Career Ranks
None of note
Best Performance
August 26, 1992 - Toronto at Chicago
Carried a no hitter into the 8th inning before a Dan Pasqua double with one out breaks it up. Finished with a complete game, one-hitter.
Hall of Fame Stats
Gray Ink: Pitching - 28 (812) (Average HOFer ≈ 185)
HOF Standards: Pitching - 13.0 (582) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Pitching - 15.0 (716) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Pitchers in HOF: None
Top 10 Similar Pitchers: Darryl Kile, Woody Williams, Livan Hernandez, Pat Hentgen, Ron Darling, Kevin Tapani, Mike Krukow, Tim Belcher, Pedro Astacio, Mike Hampton
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacment Level (WARP3)
1988: 0/0.0
1989: 6/2.7
1990: 9/4.9
1991: 15/6.0
1992: 7/3.1
1993: 7/3.1
1994: 10/6.2
1995: 10/5.4
1996: 14/5.7
1997: 11/5.3
1998: 14/4.8
1999: 6/2.0
2000: 6/3.0
2002: 0/-0.1
Career Win Shares: 115
Career WARP3: 54.0
My Stupid Opinion
If you look up "Middle of the Rotation Starter" in the dictionary you'll probably see Stottlemyre's face. He's this year's "Why the hell is this guy on the ballot?" winner as there's nothing in his career that stands out. Now he was a better pitcher than Bobby Witt who was on last year's ballot and freakin' Gary DiSarcina was on the 2006 ballot so there have been worse nominees. He did pitch for two World Champions in Toronto (he was out for the season during the D-Backs 2001 run) but in his only World Series start he was shelled, the infamous 15-14 slugfest in Game 4 of the '93 Series.
Tim Raines - Leftfielder
Montreal Expos 1979-1990, 2001
Chicago White Sox 1991-1995
New York Yankees 1996-1998
Oakland Athletics 1999
Baltimore Orioles 2001
Florida Marlins 2002
Awards
1986 N.L. Silver Slugger - OF
1987 All-Star Game MVP
All-Star Selections: 7 (1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987)
League Leader
1981: Stolen Bases
1982: Stolen Bases
1983: Runs, Stolen Bases
1984: Doubles, Stolen Bases
1986: Batting Average, OBP, Runs Created
1987: Runs
Career Ranks
Games: 48th
Runs: 46th
Hits: 68th
TB: 100th
BB: 33rd
SB: 5th
RC: 51st
Best Performance
April 18, 1994 - Chicago at Boston
Hit three homeruns against the Red Sox.
Hall of Fame Stats
Black Ink: Batting - 20 (105) (Average HOFer ≈ 27)
Gray Ink: Batting - 114 (176) (Average HOFer ≈ 144)
HOF Standards: Batting - 46.8 (91) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Batting - 90.0 (175) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Batters in HOF: 5 (Lou Brock, Max Carey, Fred Clarke, Harry Hooper, Enos Slaughter)
Other Similar Batters: Kenny Lofton, Willie Davis, Jimmy Ryan, Jose Cruz, Julio Franco
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3)
1979: 0/0.0
1980: 0/0.1
1981: 18/5.6
1982: 21/5.5
1983: 29/9.1
1984: 32/9.0
1985: 36/11.8
1986: 32/9.9
1987: 34/10.3
1988: 19/6.4
1989: 25/8.1
1990: 19/5.1
1991: 19/6.5
1992: 28/10.2
1993: 19/5.9
1994: 14/4.6
1995: 14/4.8
1996: 7/2.1
1997: 9/3.3
1998: 11/3.3
1999: 1/0.6
2001: 3/1.4
2002: 0/0.1
Career Win Shares: 390
Career WARP3: 123.9
My Stupid Opinion
Second greatest lead off hitter of all-time who should be a slam dunk, first ballot Hall of Famer this year but won't be. In The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, which was published in 2001 right near the end of Raines' career, James ranked Raines as the 8th best leftfielder of all-time behind Ted Williams, Stan Musial, Barry Bonds, Rickey Henderson, Carl Yastrzemski, Joe Jackson, and Al Simmons. You could make a legitimate argument that from 1985 to 1987 Raines was the MVP of the National League each season yet he failed to crack the Top 5 in the writer's vote in those years. Playing his prime years in Montreal and being overshadowed by Henderson certainly hurt the national media's perception of him. Maybe also hurt by that he probably hung around a few years longer than he should have but he'd hardly be the first HOF to do that. The very small sample of writer ballots that have become public are at least semi-encouraging as it appears he'll probably end up on between 30-40% of the ballots which isn't bad for someone the writers don't view as a first ballot HOF.
Shawon Dunston - Shortstop
Chicago Cubs 1985-1995, 1997
San Francisco Giants 1996, 1998, 2001-2002
Pittsburgh Pirates 1997
Cleveland Indians 1998
St. Louis Cardinals 1999, 2000
New York Mets 1999
Awards
None
All-Star Selections: 2 (1988, 1990)
League Leader
None
Career Ranks
None of note
Best Performance
June 4, 1989 - Chicago at St. Louis
Hit two homeruns and a triple in a rout of the Cardinals.
Hall of Fame Stats
Gray Ink: Batting - 6 (1622) (Average HOFer ≈ 144)
HOF Standards: Batting - 16.9 (835) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Batting - 14.0 (950) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Batters in HOF: None
Top 10 Similar Batters: Jim Fregosi, Juan Samuel, Terry Steinbach, Carlos Baerga, Phil Garner, Greg Gagne, Bill Freehan, Granny Hamner, Hubie Brooks, Daimon Easley
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3)
1985: 8/3.2
1986: 14/4.7
1987: 5/2.2
1988: 13/5.2
1989: 18/6.1
1990: 15/3.6
1991: 14/4.1
1992: 1/0.6
1993: 1/0.2
1994: 8/2.5
1995: 16/4.9
1996: 8/3.4
1997: 11/3.7
1998: 3/0.1
1999: 8/1.8
2000: 4/1.2
2001: 4/1.7
2002: 0/-0.8
Career Win Shares: 151
Career WARP3: 48.3
My Stupid Opinion
Gives Todd Stottlemyre a run for his money for the weakest player on the ballot honors. Decent player in the late 80's and early 90's but back surgery basically wiped out two seasons for him in 1992 and 1993. Had decent power for a shortstop but never saw a pitch he didn't like (.296 career OBP, 203 walks in 6276 plate appearances) and was a mediocre defensive shortstop. He lasted 18 years but the second half of his career was as a utility player and clubs loved his "veteran presence", especially the Giants.
Only eleven first ballot candidates this year and I already made it known in the Hall of Fame Ballot thread that Tim Raines is the only one deserving to get in, not that that is any great insight. But I'll still run through all eleven newbies but a little different from last year when I was going through the whole ballot and ended each entry with my opinion of whether they'd get my imaginary vote or not. Instead I'll just give "My Stupid Opinion" on each player. Also this year I'll throw in a link to the boxscore of each player's "best" performance, although really I'm not putting that much research into it. For the order of players I'll again go in reverse order of career Win Shares.
Rod Beck - Closer
San Francisco Giants 1991-1997
Chicago Cubs 1998-1999
Boston Red Sox 1999-2001
San Diego Padres 2003-2004
Awards
1994 N.L. Rolaids Relief
All-Star Selections: 3 (1993, 1994, 1997)
League Leader
None of note
Career Ranks
Games: 78th
Saves: 23rd
Best Performance
April 18, 1993 - Atlanta at San Francisco
Notches five strikeouts in pitching a shutout 9th and 10th (struckout the side) in a 13-12, 11 inning thriller against the Braves.
Hall of Fame Stats
Black Ink: Pitching - 1 (818) (Average HOFer ≈ 40)
Gray Ink: Pitching - 23 (946) (Average HOFer ≈ 185)
HOF Standards: Pitching - 13.0 (582) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Pitching - 63.0 (188) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Pitchers in HOF: None
Top 10 Similar Pitchers: Jeff Montgomery, Armando Benitez, Robb Nen, Troy Percival, Keith Foulke, Jason Isringhausen, Todd Worrell, Gregg Olson, Tom Henke, Ugueth Urbina
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacment Level (WARP3)
1991: 3/1.2
1992: 16/4.9
1993: 16/5.9
1994: 7/4.2
1995: 7/3.1
1996: 10/4.9
1997: 12/4.5
1998: 13/6.0
1999: 3/1.0
2000: 5/1.7
2001: 7/3.5
2003: 6/4.3
2004: 0/-0.1
Career Win Shares: 105
Career WARP3: 45.1
My Stupid Opinion
Due to his death earlier this year the five year rule was waived for Beck. A fan favorite who will be better known for his appearance and personality than his pitching prowess. A very good closer in his prime but rarely dominate and no where near the elite the closers of all-time. Maybe deserves a special spot in the Hall of Fame for overdosing on cocaine that he snorted off his own baseball card, which I'm pretty sure is the Score 1994 card pictured above.
Robb Nen - Closer
Texas Rangers 1993
Florida Marlins 1993-1997
San Francisco Giants 1998-2002
Awards
None
All-Star Selections: 3 (1998, 1999, 2002)
League Leader
2001: Saves
Career Ranks
Saves: 15th
Best Performance
October 26, 1997 - Cleveland at Florida
In Game 7 of the 1997 World Series, with the Marlins down a run he comes into the top of the 9th with runners at the corners and one out and gets the Marlins out of the jam who then tie the game in the bottom of the inning. He proceeds to strikeout the side in the 10th (Omar Vizquel, Manny Ramirez, David Justice) as the Marlins win the Series in the 11th.
Hall of Fame Stats
Black Ink: Pitching - 3 (541) (Average HOFer ≈ 40)
Gray Ink: Pitching - 24 (925) (Average HOFer ≈ 185)
HOF Standards: Pitching - 15.0 (471) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Pitching - 92.0 (112) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Pitchers in HOF: 1 (Bruce Sutter)
Other Similar Pitchers: John Wetteland, Tom Henke, Troy Percival, Jeff Montgomery, Todd Worrell, Armando Benitez, Rod Beck, Ugueth Urbina, Jason Isringhausen
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3)
1993: 0/-0.2
1994: 11/5.4
1995: 8/4.4
1996: 19/6.4
1997: 11/4.1
1998: 19/8.9
1999: 8/4.1
2000: 15/7.5
2001: 14/6.3
2002: 15/7.0
Career Win Shares: 120
Caeer WARP3: 53.9
My Stupid Opinion
Anyone else feeling old by the fact that someone who debuted in 1993 is already on a HOF ballot? Nen's career was cut short by a torn rotator cuff and his last appearance happened to come in the 2002 World Series. He was similar to undeserving HOF closer Bruce Sutter in that they both had short careers but were dominate in their roles while they were active. The big difference between the two is Sutter pitched in the pre-Dennis Eckersley era of closers as he threw 327 1/3 more innings than Nen in only 18 more games pitched. Given that HOF voters are more open to closers getting in now and the "heroic" nature of him pitching in the '02 World Series with his shoulder being mush I wouldn't be surprised if he received the necessary 5% to stay on the ballot.
Jose Rijo - Starting Pitcher
New York Yankees 1984
Oakland Athletics 1985-1987
Cincinnati Reds 1988-1995, 2001-2002
Awards
1990 World Series MVP
All-Star Selections: 1 (1994)
League Leader
1991: W/L Pct., WHIP
1993: Strikeouts, K/9
Career Ranks
K/9: 34th
K/BB: 90th
Best Performance
September 25, 1993 - Cincinnati at Colorado
Pitched a complete game, one hitter in Mile High Stadium with a Charlie Hayes single in the 2nd being the only hit.
Hall of Fame Stats
Black Ink: Pitching - 9 (250) (Average HOFer ≈ 40)
Gray Ink: Pitching - 93 (228) (Average HOFer ≈ 185)
HOF Standards: Pitching - 20.0 (289) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Pitching - 28.0 (446) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Pitchers in HOF: None
Top 10 Similar Pitchers: Sid Fernandez, Bruce Kison, Gary Peters, Ray Culp, Bob Veale, Bob Ojeda, Mike Scott, Don Wilson, Sonny Siebert, Joe Horlen
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3)
1984: 1/0.8
1985: 4/2.3
1986: 5/2.2
1987: 0/0.0
1988: 15/6.3
1989: 9/3.8
1990: 17/6.4
1991: 17/6.9
1992: 19/7.6
1993: 26/11.5
1994: 11/6.1
1995: 4/1.8
2001: 2/0.3
2002: 2/1.1
Career Win Shares: 132
Career WARP3: 57.1
My Stupid Opinion
This is Rijo's second different appearance on the HOF ballot as he was also on the 2001 ballot (received just one vote) but he made a comeback with the Reds later that year. Very good pitcher in the early 90's including a Cy Young caliber year in 1993 but the 257 innings he pitched that season probably did in him as his elbow was never the same. Ended up having four different Tommy John surgeries so he belongs in the infirmary wing of the HOF.
