Around the majors reports--Aug 15

[nyy26wc]

1) Yesterday's results--

AL
Yankees 5, Devil Rays 3
Orioles 5, Royals 2
Angels 7, Tigers 1
BlueJays 6, A's 3
Mariners 6, Redsox 3 (11)
Indians 8, Twins 7 (11)
Whitesox 7, Rangers 4

NL
Phillies 10, Brewers 4
Cubs 3, Astros 1
Cardinals 7, Reds 1
Rockies 5, Braves 4 (10)
Padres 6, Mets 0
Diamondbacks 4, Pirates 3 (10)
Expos 4, Dodgers 1
Giants 13, Marlins 7

2) Standings--

AL EAST WON LOST PCT GB HOME ROAD EAST CENT WEST STREAK
Yankees 70 49 .588 - 38-23 32-26 34-15 18-12 08-14 WON 1
Redsox 65 52 .556 4 34-26 31-26 32-20 13-11 10-13 LOST 1
BlueJays 56 63 .471 14 29-32 27-31 26-28 08-08 14-17 WON 1
Orioles 50 69 .420 20 25-34 25-35 20-27 15-15 09-15 WON 1
Devil Rays 42 78 .350 28 1/2 24-34 18-44 15-37 10-16 07-17 LOST 1

AL CENTRAL WON LOST PCT GB HOME ROAD EAST CENT WEST STREAK
Indians 66 52 .559 - 31-29 35-23 15-09 34-20 10-12 WON 2
Twins 64 55 .538 2 1/2 37-22 27-33 11-14 34-18 10-14 LOST 5
Whitesox 58 59 .496 7 1/2 33-26 25-33 13-10 22-23 11-20 WON 1
Tigers 48 69 .410 17 1/2 28-32 20-37 11-13 15-37 12-11 LOST 5
Royals 48 71 .403 18 1/2 25-33 23-38 12-18 20-27 08-16 LOST 1

AL WEST WON LOST PCT GB HOME ROAD EAST CENT WEST STREAK
Mariners 86 33 .723 - 40-18 46-15 21-07 26-08 27-12 WON 3
A's 68 51 .571 18 35-24 33-27 19-12 21-10 16-23 LOST 1
Angels 63 56 .529 23 32-26 31-30 21-13 17-11 15-24 WON 2
Rangers 52 67 .437 34 29-31 23-36 15-16 09-22 20-19 LOST 2

NL EAST WON LOST PCT GB HOME ROAD EAST CENT WEST STREAK
Phillies 66 52 .559 - 37-21 29-31 29-21 13-09 17-11 WON 4
Braves 64 54 .542 2 29-30 35-24 29-21 18-12 08-12 LOST 6
Marlins 59 59 .500 7 35-21 24-38 22-28 16-14 09-11 LOST 2
Mets 54 65 .454 12 1/2 31-28 23-37 26-25 11-19 07-13 LOST 4
Expos 50 69 .420 16 1/2 27-31 23-38 20-31 12-18 10-10 WON 2

NL CENTRAL WON LOST PCT GB HOME ROAD EAST CENT WEST STREAK
Cubs 67 51 .568 - 35-21 32-30 11-07 32-23 15-15 WON 1
Astros 67 52 .563 1/2 32-28 35-24 16-11 29-21 13-14 LOST 1
Cardinals 63 55 .534 4 38-24 25-31 16-11 30-25 09-12 WON 6
Brewers 49 67 .422 17 27-33 22-34 14-14 23-29 07-14 LOST 2
Reds 48 70 .407 19 18-41 30-29 10-08 20-32 14-19 LOST 3
Pirates 45 73 .381 22 27-30 18-43 05-19 23-27 09-20 LOST 2

NL WEST WON LOST PCT GB HOME ROAD EAST CENT WEST STREAK
Diamondbacks 68 51 .571 - 33-29 35-22 16-12 14-12 31-19 WON 5
Giants 67 52 .563 1 39-21 28-31 12-08 18-15 27-24 WON 3
Dodgers 65 54 .546 3 36-24 29-30 10-10 20-13 29-22 LOST 5
Padres 58 60 .492 9 1/2 26-34 32-26 10-10 23-10 19-31 WON 1
Rockies 50 68 .424 17 1/2 29-31 21-37 09-11 19-17 20-30 WON 2

3) Today's schedule--

AL
Devil Rays (Joe Kennedy 5-7) at Yankees (Roger Clemens 15-1), 7:05 PM
Twins (Joe Mays 12-10) at Indians (Chuck Finley 4-5), 7:05 PM
A's (Barry Zito 8-7) at BlueJays (Kelvim Escobar 3-5), 7:05 PM
Angels (Ismael Valdes 8-6) at Tigers (Steve Sparks 8-7), 7:05 PM
Royals (Kris Wilson 6-2) at Orioles (Jose Mercedes 6-13), 7:05 PM
Mariners (Freddy Garcia 13-4) at Redsox (Frank Castillo 7-6), 7:05 PM
Rangers (Rick Helling 9-9) at Whitesox (Sean Lowe 6-3), 8:05 PM

NL
Cubs (Jon Lieber 7-9) at Padres (Kevin Jarvis 9-9), 7:05 PM
Phillies (Omar Daal 10-4) at Brewers (Jamey Wright 8-7), 8:05 PM
Reds (Chris Reitsma 5-12) at Cardinals (Woody Williams 9-8), 8:10 PM
Braves (John Burkett 9-8) at Rockies (Mike Hampton 12-8), 9:05 PM
Pirates (David Williams 1-4) at Diamondbacks (Curt Schilling 17-5), 10:05 PM
Mets (Al Leiter 7-9) at Padres (Kevin Jarvis 9-9), 10:05 PM
Expos (Carl Pavano 0-0) at Dodgers (Giovanni Carrara 2-1), 10:10 PM
Marlins (Brad Penny 7-6) at Giants (Russ Ortiz 13-6), 10:15 PM

4) Yesterday's HRs--

Barry Bonds--#51
Luis Gonzalez--#45
Sammy Sosa--#43
Todd Helton--#36
Carlos Delgado--#34
Rafael Palmeiro--#29
Tino Martinez--#27
Brian Giles--#27
Bobby Abreu--#25
Garret Anderson--#23
Jose Cruz Jr.--#20 & #21
Craig Biggio--#19
Edgar Martinez--#18
Mike Cameron--#18
Marty Cordova--#15 & #16
Doug Mientkiewicz--#15
Derek Jeter--#14
Carl Everett--#13
Cal Ripken--#11
Damion Easley--#11
Craig Paquette--#11
Damian Miller--#10
Randy Velarde--#7 & #8
Jason Kendall--#8
Olmedo Saenz--#7
Royce Clayton--#7
B.J. Surhoff--#7
Wiki Gonzalez--#6
Mike Matheny--#5
Eric Davis--#4
Chad Kreuter--#3
Carlos Febles--#1

5) HR leaders--

AL
1) Jim Thome--39
2) Manny Ramirez--37
3) Carlos Delgado--34*
4) Alex Rodriguez--33
5) Troy Glaus--32
T6) Jason Giambi--29
T6) Rafael Palmeiro--29*
8) Juan Gonzalez--28
9) Tino Martinez--27*
10) Bret Boone--26

NL
1) Barry Bonds--51*
2) Luis Gonzalez--45*
3) Sammy Sosa--43*
4) Todd Helton--36*
5) Shawn Green--32
T6) Jeff Bagwell--31
T6) Phil Nevin--31
T8) Chipper Jones--30
T8) Larry Walker--30
T8) Lance Berkman--30

*--hit 1 yesterday

6) Barry Bonds watch--hit #51, is on pace for 69

Bonds hit #545 and is 3 behind Mike Schmidt for 8th place

Bonds tied the NL record for HR in a season by a left handed hitter, tying the mark set by Johnny Mize, in 1947.

Bonds reached 100 RBI for the 10th time and 2nd consecutive year. He's the 10th player with at least 10 years of 100+ RBI.

7) The Cubs passed the Astros into 1st place in the NL Central.

8) Cal Ripken passed George Brett into 13th place on the all time H list, with 3155.

9) The A's re-signed LF Terrence Long to a 4 year, $11.6 million contract extension.

Long isn't having a good year, hitting just .412 SLG, .325 OBA, .737 OPS, -5 RCAA, .468 OWP, 5.17 RC/G in 119 games. As a rookie last year, he posted just a .788 OPS and 0 RCAA.

10) The Astros sent P Brian Powell to the minors and called up P Carlos Hernandez.

Hernandez, 21, was ranked as the Astros's #14 prospect by Baseball America and was given a B- grade by the Minor League Scouting Notebook. He came into the season with either a 3.04 career ERA in 2 minor league seasons or a 2.82 ERA in 4 seasons, depending upon which book is accurate. There is both a disparity between the books in terms of whether he pitched in 1997-98 and what his 1999 ERA was.

Hernandez had a 3.69 ERA in AA this season and both books agree this is his first year above A ball.

[nyy26wc]

1) Yankees MGR Joe Torre says Chuck Knoblauch's lost his LF job to Shane Spencer, for now.

Knoblauch's having the worst year of his career, hitting .349 SLG, .335 OBA, .684 OPS, -9 RCAA, .434 OWP, .476 RC/G in 108 games. In the past 5 years, this is the 4th time in which his SLG, OBA, OPS and RCAA have all declined from the previous year.

But, at least Knoblauch's -9 RCAP puts him comfortably behind league leader Tino Martinez's -24, on the league's ineptitude list.

Spencer, who followed his storybook 1998 late season heroics with -9 RCAA in 104 games in 1999-2000, isn't having a good year, either. He's hitting just .426 SLG, .304 OBA, .730 OPS, -3 RCAA, .439 OWP, .481 RC/G in 48 games.

2) The Padres sent P Rodney Myers to the minors and called up P Jeremy Fikac.

Fikac, 26, wasn't ranked among Baseball America's top 30 prospects for the Padres and was given a C grade by the Minor League Scouting Notebook. Despite his age, he never pitched above Hi-A ball before this year. He had a 1.97 ERA as the closer in AA this year.

3) Astros P Roy Oswalt left yesterday's game after the 6th, since his elbow started to bother him. Oswalt told MGR Larry Dierker he could continue to pitch, but to be safe, Dierker took him out.

4) BlueJays SS Felipe Lopez left yesterday's game in the 2nd, due to flu-like symptoms.

It seems like I never see a report that says a player actually got the flu. Instead, everyone only gets flu-like symptoms. Could there be a league wide conspiracy among team doctors to only look for symptoms and never make a flu diagnosis?

5) The Angels activated OF Jeff DaVanon from the DL and placed INF Jose Nieves on the DL.

Nieves has a slight tear in his shoulder.

6) Twins OF Chad Allen suffered a knee injury yesterday, which forced him to be carried off the field on a stretcher and be taken to the hospital for X-rays. I don't have a report yet on its severity, but he could be out for the season.

7) The Pirates placed 2B Warren Morris on the 15 day DL and called up INF Mendy Lopez, who then had just claimed off waivers from the Astros.

Morris is recovering from surgery on his left big toe.

8) Orioles 1B David Segui was scratched from yesterday's lineup, due to him feeling ill.

There is no word on whether he was suffering from flu-like symptoms.

9) Orioles SS Mike Bordick had season ending shoulder surgery, on his torn labrum.

10) The Brewers placed P Ben Sheets on the 15 day DL, retroactive to August 6, and recalled P Brandon Kolb.

Sheets has tendinitis in his rotator cuff.

He's struggled his 5 starts since the All Star break, with his 8.90 ERA during that span raising his season figure to 4.79 and dropped his RSAA to 0.

[nyy26wc]

1) Astros 2B Craig Biggio has led off the 1st inning with a HR in 3 of the past 4 games, and 8 times this year. Biggio's career total of 29 is 1 shy of Bobby Bonds's NL record.

After his poor 2000 season, Biggio's having a very good comeback year, hitting .496 SLG, .391 OBA, .887 OPS, 19 RCAA, .600 OWP, 8.00 RC/G in 114 games. He's closing in on 100 runs created (he has 96) and this will be the 8th time in the past 9 years he's reached that figure.

Biggio's 341 career RCAA currently rank him 6th all time among 2B. But, Roberto Alomar, who has 49 so far this year, is quickly gaining on him.

2) The Phillies activated P Dennis Cook from the DL, where he had been after he left the team for personal reasons.

3) The New York Daily News reports Mets 3B Robin Ventura has cleared waivers, but other teams aren't currently interested in trading for him. Meanwhile, the paper also reports the Mets are interested in trading for Phillies 3B Scott Rolen, but the Phillies aren't currently interested in trading him.

4) Royals 1B Mike Sweeney has missed the past 3 games, due to a wrist injury.

Sweeney's having another very good year, hitting .573 SLG, .370 OBA, .943 OPS, 32 RCAA, .670 OWP, 8.52 RC/G. He's already reached 100 RC for the 3rd consecutive year, while he's also working on his 3rd consecutive year with a .900+ OPS and 30+ RCAA.

Sweeney's 42 2B puts him on pace for 57, which would break the team record of 54, set by Hal McRae, in 1977.

5) Redsox P Rolando Arrojo is expected to miss at least 1 start, due to a sprained shoulder. He'll have a MRI today and could be headed for the DL.

Arrojo's having a good year, with a 3.29 ERA and 18 RSAA in 36 games, 9 as a starter.

6) The Dodgers sent OF McKay Christensen to the minors and recalled OF Bruce Aven.

7) Rockies 3B Jeff Cirillo, who missed 2 games last week due to a back injury, was removed from yesterday's game in the 9th, due to tightness in his back.

It's bad enough that Cirillo has -14 RCAA, which is the worst figure in the NL for a 3B. But things get worse for the Rockies when you consider a couple of other players on the team, Juan Pierre (-16) and Ben Petrick (-18) are worse, while a 3rd, Terry Shumpert, matches Cirillo's figure and for most of the year, they were burdened by a 4th, Neifi Perez, who did an incredibly impressive job costing the team runs, with a -21 figure in just 89 games.

8) Jim Hughes died of a heart attack on Sunday, at the age of 78.

Hughes pitched for the Dodgers from 1952-56, before finishing '56 with the Cubs and pitching the next year with the Whitesox. During his 6 year career, he had a 3.81 ERA, compared to his league's average of 4.04, and had 10 RSAA in 172 games, all but 1 in relief.

9) Brewers hitters reached 1000 SO for the season and are on pace for 1397. The major league record is 1268, by the 1996 Tigers. Meanwhile, Richie Sexson is on pace for 190, which would break the record of 189, set by Bobby Bonds, in 1970.

[nyy26wc]

10+ YEARS WITH 100+ RBI

T1 Jimmie Foxx 13
T1 Lou Gehrig 13
T1 Babe Ruth 13
4 Al Simmons 12
T5 Hank Aaron 11
T5 Goose Goslin 11
T7 Barry Bonds 10
T7 Joe Carter 10
T7 Willie Mays 10
T7 Stan Musial 10

[nyy26wc]

MOST RCAA, CAREER, 2B

1 Rogers Hornsby 951
2 Eddie Collins 752
3 Nap Lajoie 703
4 Joe Morgan 686
5 Charlie Gehringer 444
6 Craig Biggio 341
7 Roberto Alomar 338
8 Lou Whitaker 274
9 Cupid Childs 259
10 Larry Doyle 253

Only counts seasons in which the player's primary position was 2B.

[nyy26wc]

WORST OPS, SEASON, 100+ RBI

YEAR OPS RBI
1 Ruben Sierra 1993 .678 101
2 Joe Carter 1990 .681 115
3 Joe Carter 1997 .683 102
4 Joe Pepitone 1964 .698 100
5 Tony Armas 1983 .707 107
6 Heinie Zimmerman 1917 .709 102
7 George Bell 1992 .712 112
8 Glenn Wright 1927 .716 105
9 Maurice Van Robays 1940 .718 116
10 Del Pratt 1916 .722 103

[NetShrine]

Lee wrote: "BlueJays SS Felipe Lopez left yesterday's game in the 2nd, due to flu-like symptoms. It seems like I never see a report that says a player actually got the flu. Instead, everyone only gets flu-like symptoms. Could there be a league wide conspiracy among team doctors to only look for symptoms and never make a flu diagnosis?"

More so, they just hate to say, he had the runs - - so, the flu-like thing works.