Around the majors reports--Aug 22

[nyy26wc]

1) Yesterday's results--

AL
Rangers 13, Yankees 3
Devil Rays 8, Orioles 4
Whitesox 6, Royals 1
BlueJays 7, Twins 5
Redsox 8, Angels 5
Marines 4, Tigers 1
Indians 2, A's 1

NL
Brewers 3, Cubs 1
Pirates 4, Diamondbacks 2
Giants 10, Expos 2
Dodgers 5, Marlins 4
Mets 5, Rockies 2
Cardinals 11, Reds 6
Astros 8, Phillies 2
Padres 3, Braves 1 (10)

2) Standings--

AL EAST WON LOST PCT GB HOME ROAD EAST CENT WEST STREAK
Yankees 74 52 .587 - 41-25 33-27 36-15 18-12 10-17 LOST 1
Redsox 69 55 .556 4 36-29 33-26 33-22 13-11 13-14 WON 2
BlueJays 60 66 .476 14 31-35 29-31 26-28 10-08 16-20 WON 2
Orioles 53 72 .424 20 1/2 26-35 27-37 22-29 16-16 09-15 LOST 1
Devil Rays 45 81 .357 29 25-34 20-47 16-39 12-17 07-17 WON 2

AL CENTRAL WON LOST PCT GB HOME ROAD EAST CENT WEST STREAK
Indians 70 55 .560 - 34-31 36-24 15-09 36-20 12-15 WON 1
Twins 65 61 .516 5 1/2 38-26 27-35 12-18 34-20 10-14 LOST 3
Whitesox 61 63 .492 8 1/2 35-29 26-34 13-10 23-24 13-23 WON 1
Tigers 52 72 .419 17 1/2 31-34 21-38 11-13 17-38 14-13 LOST 1
Royals 51 75 .405 19 1/2 26-34 25-41 13-19 22-30 08-16 LOST 1

AL WEST WON LOST PCT GB HOME ROAD EAST CENT WEST STREAK
Mariners 90 36 .714 - 41-19 49-17 24-09 27-09 27-12 WON 1
A's 73 53 .579 17 36-25 37-28 20-13 25-11 16-23 LOST 1
Angels 66 60 .524 24 32-28 34-32 21-15 20-13 15-24 LOST 2
Rangers 55 71 .437 35 30-32 25-39 18-18 09-24 20-19 WON 1

NL EAST WON LOST PCT GB HOME ROAD EAST CENT WEST STREAK
Braves 68 56 .548 - 29-31 39-25 29-21 18-12 12-14 LOST 2
Phillies 67 57 .540 1 37-22 30-35 29-21 14-14 17-11 LOST 5
Marlins 59 65 .476 9 35-22 24-43 22-28 16-14 09-17 LOST 8
Mets 57 68 .456 11 1/2 32-28 25-40 26-25 11-19 10-16 WON 3
Expos 53 72 .424 15 1/2 27-32 26-40 20-31 12-18 13-13 LOST 1

NL CENTRAL WON LOST PCT GB HOME ROAD EAST CENT WEST STREAK
Astros 72 53 .576 - 36-29 36-24 17-11 33-22 13-14 WON 5
Cubs 69 56 .552 3 36-23 33-33 11-07 34-25 15-18 LOST 2
Cardinals 69 56 .552 3 43-24 26-32 19-11 33-26 09-12 WON 1
Brewers 55 69 .444 16 1/2 28-34 27-35 15-15 28-30 07-14 WON 2
Reds 49 76 .392 23 19-45 30-31 10-08 21-38 14-19 LOST 1
Pirates 46 78 .371 25 1/2 28-30 18-48 05-19 23-31 10-21 WON 1

NL WEST WON LOST PCT GB HOME ROAD EAST CENT WEST STREAK
Diamondbacks 72 52 .581 - 37-29 35-23 16-12 18-13 31-19 LOST 1
Giants 71 54 .568 1 1/2 42-23 29-31 16-10 18-15 27-24 WON 2
Dodgers 68 57 .544 4 1/2 38-27 30-30 13-13 20-13 29-22 WON 1
Padres 62 62 .500 10 29-36 33-26 14-12 23-10 19-31 WON 1
Rockies 53 71 .427 19 32-33 21-38 12-14 19-17 20-30 LOST 1

3) Today's schedule--

AL
Orioles (Sidney Ponson 5-9) at Devil Rays (Ryan Rupe 5-10), 7:15 PM
Yankees (Mike Mussina 12-10) at Rangers (Darren Oliver 9-8), 8:05 PM
Whitesox (Dan Wright 2-1) at Royals (Chris George 1-4), 8:05 PM
BlueJays (Esteban Loaiza 9-9) at Twins (Rick Reed 1-2), 8:05 PM
Redsox (Tim Wakefield 8-8) at Angels (Ramon Ortiz 11-7), 10:05 PM
Tigers (Jose Lima 4-4) at Mariners (Paul Abbott 12-3), 10:05 PM
Indians (Dave Burba 9-8) at A's (Erik Hiljus 2-0), 10:05 PM

NL
Brewers (Mac Suzuki 2-3) at Cubs (Kevin Tapani 8-10), 2:20 PM
Cardinals (Darryl Kile 13-7) at Reds (Lance Davis 5-2), 7:05 PM
Giants (Shawn Estes 8-7) at Expos (Javier Vazquez 12-11), 7:05 PM
Astros (Wade Miller 13-6) at Phillies (Robert Person 10-6), 7:05 PM
Padres (Brian Tollberg 6-3) at Braves (Greg Maddux 16-7), 7:05 PM
Dodgers (Terry Adams 9-5) at Marlins (A.J. Burnett 8-9), 7:05 PM
Diamondbacks (Albie Lopez 2-3) at Pirates (Joe Beimel 5-9), 7:05 PM
Rockies (Shawn Chacon 6-7) at Mets (Kevin Appier 6-10), 7:10 PM

4) Yesterday's HRs--

Alex Rodriguez--#38
Carlos Delgado--#36
Rafael Palmeiro--#33
Mike Piazza--#30
Gary Sheffield--#29
Rich Aurilia--#26
Jose Cruz Jr.--#24
J.D. Drew--#23
Mark McGwire--#22
Tony Batista--#22
Raul Mondesi--#22
Jose Valentin--#19
Jim Edmonds--#19
Ken Griffey Jr.--#17
Jeff Kent--#17
Ruben Sierra--#15 & #16
David Justice--#16
Jeff Liefer--#14
Tim Salmon--#13
Craig Paquette--#13
Kevin Millar--#13
Juan Encarnacion--#12
Shannon Stewart--#9
Frank Catalanotto--#9
Adam Dunn--#9
Brian Buchanan--#8
Randy Winn--#6
Chris Gomez--#6
Doug Mirabelli--#6
Brady Clark--#6
Chris Singleton--#5
David Eckstein--#4
Mark Sweeney--#3
Larry Bigbie--#2
Mike Matthews--#1

5) HR leaders--

AL
1) Jim Thome--42
T2) Manny Ramirez--38
T2) Alex Rodriguez--38*
4) Carlos Delgado--36*
T5) Troy Glaus--33
T5) Rafael Palmeiro--33*
T7) Jason Giambi--29
T7) Juan Gonzalez--29
9) Tino Martinez--28
10) Bret Boone--27

NL
1) Barry Bonds--54
T2) Luis Gonzalez--46
T2) Sammy Sosa--46
T4) Todd Helton--37
T4) Shawn Green--37
6) Jeff Bagwell--32
T7) Phil Nevin--31
T7) Chipper Jones--31
T7) Lance Berkman--31
T7) Larry Walker--31

*--hit 1 yesterday

6) Mark McGwire watch--hit #576, is 10 behind Frank Robinson for 4th place

7) Rafael Palmeiro passed Sammy Sosa into 28th place on the all time HR list, with 433.

8) Mike Piazza and Gary Sheffield both passed Al Simmons, Greg Luzinski and Ellis Burks and tied Jay Buhner for 82nd place on the all time HR list, with 308.

Piazza reached 30 HR for the 8th time and 7th consecutive year. He also hit his 300th HR as a catcher.

9) David Justice passed Jimmy Wynn and tied Rusty Staub for 95th place on the all time HR list, with 292.

10) Craig Paquette hit his 100th career HR.

[nyy26wc]

1) If the Mariners beat the Tigers and the Yankees beat the Rangers, the Rangers will be mathematically eliminated from winning the AL West title.

2) The Cardinals tied the Cubs for 2nd place in the NL Central.

3) Diamondbacks C Mike DiFelice was arrested yesterday, on two counts of simple assault and one count of indecent assault, recklessly endangering another person and disorderly conduct. This was from an incident early yesterday morning in which DiFelice alleged attacked two women and a parking attendant outside a nightclub.

Meanwhile, DiFelice and Pirates 1B Kevin Young were both suspended for 2 games, for an August 14 fight. They're both appealing.

4) Mariners OF Stan Javier says he'll retire at the end of the season.

Javier apparently forgot that he already made this announcement. The following item appeared in the ATM reports, from June 30--"10) Mariners OF Stan Javier says he will retire at the end of the season."

Either Javier forgot, or maybe he's an egomaniac who just wants more attention for retiring. But, this time, he's leaving open the possibility of coming back next year, if the Mariners win the World Series.

5) Padres P Adam Eaton had Tommy John surgery and is expected to miss all of next year.

6) The Marlins placed P Vic Darensbourg on the 15 day DL and called up P Benito Baez.

Darensbourg has left shoulder inflammation.

Baez, 24, wasn't ranked on the Marlins's top 30 prospect list from Baseball America and wasn't included in the Minor League Scouting Notebook. He came into the year with a 4.52 career ERA in 7 minor league seasons, in the A's organization, with all of his experience being in AA or below, except for 11 AAA games in 1999. The Marlins signed him as a 6 year minor league free agent and he had a 3.03 ERA in AAA this season.

7) The Cubs placed P Felix Heredia on the 15 day DL and called up P Juan Cruz.

Heredia has soreness in his shoulder.

8) Pedro Martinez will return to the Redsox rotation on Sunday.

9) The Expos activated OF Curtis Pride from the DL and sent OF Brad Wilkerson to the minors.

10) Mets 3B Robin Ventura was scratched from the lineup yesterday, due to discomfort in his left hand, and he is expected to return today.

[nyy26wc]

1) The Yankees activated P Orlando Hernandez, called up 1B Nick Johnson and sent Ps Ted Lilly and Randy Choate to the minors.

Johnson, 22, was ranked as the Yankees's #1 prospect by Baseball America and was given a B+ grade by the Minor League Scouting Notebook, which ranked him as the 26th best prospect in baseball. Three of Baseball America's editors presented their 50 prospect lists and Johnson ranked 8th, 12th and 18th on those lists.

Johnson came into the year with a .954 career OPS (.460 OBA, .494 SLG) in 4 minor league seasons. He had an incredible .525 OBA, along with a .548 SLG, in AA in 1999, but had to miss the entire 2000 season, due to a wrist injury. This season, Johnson had a .867 OPS (league leading .407 OBA, .462 SLG) in AAA.

2) Redsox SS Nomar Garciaparra missed yesterday's game, after playing 3 days in a row. According to MGR Joe Kerrigan, "That seems to be his limit."

Meanwhile, Manny Ramirez's hamstring injury will keep him out of the team's entire series with the Angels and he could miss 7-10 days, with the team not certain yet whether he'll have to go on the DL.

3) Padres 3B Phil Nevin missed yesterday's game, to be with his wife, who was expected to give birth.

4) Braves 2B Marcus Giles and C Javier Lopez both had to leave yesterday's game in the 1st inning. Giles fouled a pitch off his ankle and Lopez was hit in the head by Damian Jackson's bat. They're both day to day.

5) The Expos are expected to activate OF Tim Raines from the DL today. Meanwhile, Raines played against his son, Tim Jr., in a AAA rehab game yesterday.

6) Whitesox MGR Jerry Manuel says if Kip Wells continues to pitch well in the bullpen, he may be considered as a future closer.

7) Indians MGR Charlie Manuel says he has enough faith in John Rocker that's willing to put his job in Rocker's hands. According to Manuel, "You can second-guess me all you want, but John Rocker is going to pitch. If John Rocker gets me fired, so be it."

8) The Reds signed OF Damon Buford to a minor league contract.

9) Braves 3B Ken Caminiti says he's still bothered by his strained left hamstring and he fears it could pop at any moment.

10) After missing the past 10 games due to a concussion, Expos 2B Jose Vidro returned to the lineup yesterday.

11) I received a few inquiries yesterday regarding how Tino Martinez could lead the AL in worst RCAP. A couple of them were mere inquiries, while others were hate mail questioning how I could be brain dead enough not to acknowledge that Martinez is one of the best players in the league.

For those who are interested in how the stat was computed, here's the full details--

1) According to Bill James's runs created formula, Tino Martinez has created 76 runs for the Yankees.

2) Martinez has used up 357 outs.

3) The average for AL 1B is .288 runs created per out. That comes to 103 runs for a 1B with Martinez's number of outs.

Over the past 5 years, Yankee Stadium has reduced scoring by 6% over Yankees road games. Since teams play half their games, we reduce the 103 figure by 3%. That gives us 100.

Since Martinez has created 76 runs, while the average player at his position, using up the same amount of outs, would have created 100 runs, Martinez has cost the Yankees 24 runs.

12) Reds P Justin Atchley had season ending shoulder surgery and is expected to be ready for spring training.

[nyy26wc]

300+ HR WHILE PLAYING CATCHER

1 Carlton Fisk 351
2 Johnny Bench 327
3 Yogi Berra 306
4 Mike Piazza 300

[NetShrine]

Indians MGR Charlie Manuel says he has enough faith in John Rocker that's willing to put his job in Rocker's hands. According to Manuel, "You can second-guess me all you want, but John Rocker is going to pitch. If John Rocker gets me fired, so be it."

And so it shall be.............;)
Hasta Charlie.