Around the majors reports--Aug 31

[nyy26wc]

1) Yesterday's results--

AL
Yankees 5, BlueJays 4 (11)
Mariners 4, Devil Rays 0
Indians 3, Redsox 1
Tigers 3, Whitesox 1
Royals 2, Angels 1
Rangers 5, Twins 1
A's 15, Orioles 0

NL
Cardinals 13, Padres 3
Astros 6, Reds 1
Cubs 5, Marlins 4
Mets 6, Phillies 2
Expos 4, Braves 2
Giants 13, Diamondbacks 5
Dodgers 5, Rockies 4

2) Standings--

AL EAST WON LOST PCT GB HOME ROAD EAST CENT WEST STREAK
Yankees 78 56 .582 - 43-26 35-30 38-16 18-12 12-20 WON 1
Redsox 71 61 .538 6 36-29 35-32 33-22 13-14 15-17 LOST 5
BlueJays 65 69 .485 13 31-35 34-34 30-30 11-09 16-20 LOST 1
Orioles 54 79 .406 23 1/2 26-41 28-38 23-33 16-16 09-18 LOST 6
e-Devil Rays 48 86 .358 30 28-39 20-47 17-40 13-19 08-19 LOST 2

AL CENTRAL WON LOST PCT GB HOME ROAD EAST CENT WEST STREAK
Indians 76 57 .571 - 37-31 39-26 18-09 36-20 15-17 WON 4
Twins 70 64 .522 6 1/2 40-29 30-35 13-19 37-20 11-16 LOST 1
Whitesox 67 65 .508 8 1/2 35-29 32-36 15-11 27-25 13-23 LOST 1
Tigers 54 78 .409 21 1/2 32-36 22-42 11-13 18-40 15-17 WON 1
Royals 54 80 .403 22 1/2 29-39 25-41 13-19 22-35 11-16 WON 3

AL WEST WON LOST PCT GB HOME ROAD EAST CENT WEST STREAK
Mariners 96 38 .716 - 45-20 51-18 26-10 31-10 27-12 WON 2
A's 78 56 .582 18 38-28 40-28 23-13 27-14 16-23 WON 5
Angels 69 65 .515 27 35-30 34-35 24-17 20-16 15-24 LOST 3
d-Rangers 60 74 .448 36 33-34 27-40 21-20 11-25 20-19 WON 1

NL EAST WON LOST PCT GB HOME ROAD EAST CENT WEST STREAK
Braves 72 61 .541 - 33-36 39-25 30-23 18-12 15-17 LOST 1
Phillies 71 62 .534 1 40-25 31-37 30-23 15-15 19-13 LOST 2
Mets 63 71 .470 9 1/2 38-31 25-40 28-26 11-19 14-18 WON 2
Marlins 62 71 .466 10 37-26 25-45 22-28 17-16 11-21 LOST 2
Expos 57 76 .429 15 29-35 28-41 22-32 13-20 14-14 WON 1

NL CENTRAL WON LOST PCT GB HOME ROAD EAST CENT WEST STREAK
Astros 78 55 .586 - 39-29 39-26 18-12 38-23 13-14 WON 4
Cubs 74 59 .556 4 41-26 33-33 13-08 37-27 15-18 WON 2
Cardinals 72 61 .541 6 45-25 27-36 19-11 34-30 11-13 WON 2
Brewers 59 73 .447 18 1/2 31-37 28-36 15-15 31-32 08-16 WON 1
Reds 53 80 .398 25 21-45 32-35 12-09 23-41 14-19 LOST 3
d-Pirates 49 83 .371 28 1/2 30-33 19-50 05-19 25-35 11-22 LOST 1

NL WEST WON LOST PCT GB HOME ROAD EAST CENT WEST STREAK
Diamondbacks 77 56 .579 - 39-30 38-26 18-14 19-14 33-20 LOST 1
Giants 74 60 .552 3 1/2 42-23 32-37 18-14 18-15 28-26 WON 1
Dodgers 73 61 .545 4 1/2 39-29 34-32 17-15 20-13 30-24 WON 1
Padres 66 67 .496 11 29-36 37-31 17-15 24-12 19-31 LOST 2
Rockies 58 74 .439 18 1/2 32-33 26-41 13-15 21-18 22-31 LOST 1

d--mathematically eliminated from winning the division title
e--mathematically eliminated from the postseason

3) Today's schedule--

AL
Yankees (Roger Clemens 17-1) at Redsox (Frank Castillo 8-7), 7:05 PM
Tigers (Steve Sparks 9-8) at BlueJays (Kelvim Escobar 6-5), 7:05 PM
Mariners (Aaron Sele 13-4) at Orioles (Calvin Maduro 2-4), 7:05 PM
A's (Cory Lidle 8-6) at Devil Rays (Bryan Rekar 1-11), 7:15 PM
Indians (Steve Woodard 3-2) at Whitesox (Dan Wright 2-2), 8:05 PM
Rangers (Rick Helling 9-9) at Royals (Kris Wilson 6-4), 8:05 PM
Angels (Ismael Valdes 8-8) at Twins (Brad Radke 11-8), 8:05 PM

NL
Expos (Mike Thurman 6-10) at Phillies (Nelson Figueroa 4-4), 7:05 PM
Pirates (Todd Ritchie 10-11) at Reds (Chris Reitsma 6-13), 7:05 PM
Marlins (Brad Penny 7-7) at Mets (Al Leiter 9-10), 7:10 PM
Cubs (Juan Cruz 1-1) at Braves (John Burkett 11-8), 7:35 PM
Astros (Dave Mlicki 4-1) at Brewers (Jamey Wright 9-8), 8:05 PM
Diamondbacks (Curt Schilling 18-6 and Brian Anderson 3-9) at Padres (Brett Jodie 0-0 and Kevin Jarvis 11-9), DH, 8:05 PM
Cardinals (Woody Williams 10-9) at Dodgers (Eric Gagne 4-6), 10:10 PM
Rockies (John Thomson 1-5) at Giants (Russ Ortiz 14-7), 10:35 PM

4) Yesterday's HRs--

Todd Helton--#41
Carlos Delgado--#38
Troy Glaus--#35
Gary Sheffield--#33
Bret Boone--#31
Rich Aurilia--#29
Jose Cruz Jr.--#26
Fred McGriff--#23 (#4 in NL)
Eric Chavez--#21 & #22
Pat Burrell--#21
Brian Jordan--#20
Ray Durham--#17
Roberto Alomar--#16
David Bell--#15
Mike Lowell--#15
Preston Wilson--#15
Craig Paquette--#14
John Vander Wal--#14
Jeff Cirillo--#14
Adam Dunn--#13
Doug Glanville--#13
Adrian Beltre--#12
Edgar Renteria--#10
Shane Halter--#9
Tsuyoshi Shinjo--#9
B.J. Surhoff--#9
Rickey Henderson--#7
Mike Matheny--#6
Bill Mueller--#6
Carlos Febles--#5
A.J. Pierzynski--#5
Fernando Vina--#4
Greg Colbrunn--#4
Chad Kreuter--#4
Enrique Wilson--#2 (#1 in AL)
Jason Schmidt--#2
Bill Haselman--#1

5) HR leaders--

AL
1) Jim Thome--43
2) Alex Rodriguez--40
3) Manny Ramirez--39
4) Carlos Delgado--38*
5) Rafael Palmeiro--36
6) Troy Glaus--35*
7) Jason Giambi--32
T8) Juan Gonzalez--31
T8) Bret Boone--31*
10) Tino Martinez--29

NL
1) Barry Bonds--56
2) Sammy Sosa--52
3) Luis Gonzalez--50
4) Shawn Green--42
5) Todd Helton--41*
T6) Larry Walker--33
T6) Jeff Bagwell--33
T6) Richie Sexson--33
T6) Phil Nevin--33
T6) Gary Sheffield--33*

*--hit 1 yesterday

6) The Mets passed the Marlins into 3rd place in the NL East.

7) The Devil Rays were actually eliminated winning the AL East on Wednesday. While, as of that date, they could have tied the Yankees for 1st, such a scenario would have led to the Redsox passing the Yankees and the Devil Rays could not then pass or tie the Redsox.

Meanwhile, the Devil Rays were mathematically eliminated from the postseason yesterday.

8) The Pirates were mathematically eliminated from winning the NL Central.

With a 49-83 record, the Pirates could theoretically go 79-83, so they could pass the Astros, who have 78 wins. But, the Astros have 7 games remaining against the Cubs, so it is mathematically impossible for the Pirates to pass both the Cubs and Astros.

9) The Angels will be mathematically eliminated from winning the AL West if they lose to the Twins and the Mariners beat the Orioles.

10) The Yankees and Redsox start a 3 game 1st-2nd place series tonight in Fenway Park. The Yankees come into the series with a 6 game lead.

11) Rickey Henderson passed Bob Johnson, Hank Sauer and Del Ennis into 98th place on the all time HR list, with 289.

[nyy26wc]

1) The Mariners set the major league record for winning or tying 27 consecutive road series, breaking the mark of 26, set by the 1906-07 Cubs.

Meanwhile, the Mariners have 51 road wins, putting them 4 shy of the AL record of 55, set by the 1971 A's. The major league record is 60, by the 1906 Cubs.

2) Ted Williams returned home yesterday, after a stay in the hospital. Williams, who had open heart surgery in January, also celebrated his 83rd birthday.

3) On Wednesday, Whitesox RF Magglio Ordonez became the 2nd 20-20 man in Whitesox history. Ordonez currently has 26 HR and 20 SB and joined Tommie Agee, who had 22 HR and 44 SB in 1966.

Meanwhile, Ordonez is having another good year, hitting .524 SLG, .372 OBA, .896 OPS, 32 RCAA, .662 OWP, 8.04 RC/G, 103 RC in 130 games. This is Ordonez's 3rd consecutive year with 100+ RC and a .500+ SLG. Meanwhile, Ordonez came into the year with 16 career RCAA, a figure that was brought down by -14 in his rookie year in 1998, while his 32 RCAA exceed his 1999-2000 total of 27.

4) According to ESPN.com's notes, Tigers "Manager Phil Garner said that with Roger Cedeno eligible for free agency, he will spend the rest of the season experimenting in CF. 'I know that Wendell Magee can play out there, but I want to see if Jose Macias can do it.[ Macias played CF Wednesday, while Magee was there on Thursday. Garner said that he is not considering moving Juan Encarnacion back to center, where he started the season before moving to right."

5) On Wednesday, Twins P Eddie Guardado set the team record with his 491st appearance, breaking the mark of 490, set by Rick Aguilera.

6) Royals RF Mark Quinn finally had an unintentional walk, for the first time in 241 plate appearances.

7) Yesterday, I reported that Albert Pujols was the first Cardinals rookie to reach 100 RBI since Ray Jablonksi had 112 in 1953. Not only is the Pujols the first to do it since Jablonski, but they are also the only rookies to do it for the Cardinals.

8) Mets C Mike Piazza missed yesterday's game, due to a lower abdominal strain, and says he plans on playing today, regardless of how he's feeling. According to MGR Bobby Valentine, "It's been lingering. It's something he can play with. We'll see if the day off doesn't help him."

Piazza's having another good very good year, hitting .556 SLG, .381 OBA, .937 OPS, 30 RCAA, .675 OWP, 8.45 RC/G, 92 RC in 116 games.

Piazza came into the season as the all time leader in RCAA among catchers and his 42 RCAP this year has allowed him to break Bill Dickey's catchers record. Piazza's also closing in his 8th 100+ RC season and already holds the catchers record in that department.

9) Fred McGriff reached 80 RBI for the 14th consecutive year. Hank Aaron, who had a 17 year streak, from 1955-71, is the only other player to have a 14+ year streak.

10) Dodgers LF Gary Sheffield reached 1000 career RBI.

[nyy26wc]

1) Reds RF Adam Dunn set the NL record for most HR in any month, with 12, breaking the mark of 11, set by Frank Robinson, in August 1956. The only other rookies to hit more HR in a month were Rudy York (18--August 1937), Mark McGwire (??--May 1987) and Jimmie Hall (13--August 1963).

Neither AP nor ESPN.com chose to give McGwire's total. It's must not be important for an obscure punch and judy hitter like him.

2) The Dodgers sent P Luke Prokopec to the minors and called up 3B Phil Hiatt.

Hiatt, 32, is a 11 year minor league veteran, plus a season in Japan, and came into the season with a .812 career OPS (.489 SLG, .323 OBA). He also had 140 games of major league experience, with the 1993 and 1995 Royals and 1996 Tigers, posting a .637 OPS and -27 RCAA.

In the favorable hitting conditions in the PCL (AAA) in 2001, Hiatt had a 1.128 OPS (.722 SLG, .406 OBA), with 44 HR and 99 RBI, while in 11 previous games in the majors this year, he was 1 for 15.

3) Dodgers MGR Jim Tracy announced the team's September callups.

On Saturday, they'll call up INF Chris Donnels, OF McKay Christiansen and P Dennis Springer, while P Jesse Orosco will come off the DL. On Tuesday, SS Tim Bogar, C Brian Johnson, 2B Jeff Branson and Ps Jeff Williams, Prokopec and Al Reyes will be called up.

4) The Orioles traded minor league 1B Calvin Pickering to the Reds for future considerations.

Pickering, who turns 25 late in September, was once a prized Orioles prospect, but weight problems and a serious torn quadriceps injury led to a sharp decline in his stock. He wasn't on Baseball America's top 30 prospect list for the Orioles and received a C grade by the Minor League Scouting Notebook.

Pickering had a .942 career OPS (.537 SLG, .405 OBA) in 6 minor league seasons coming into 2001, but just
.864 (.396 OBA, .468 SLG) and .699 (.339 OBA, .360 SLG) figures in AAA in 1999-2000. In 2001, Pickering had a .852 OPS (.379 OBA, .473 SLG) in AAA and is leading the International League with 98 RBI.

5) If Cal Ripken plays in 27 of the Orioles's final 29 games, he'll become the 7th player to reach 3000 career games. MGR Mike Hargrove says, "Cal is going to play as much as Cal's stamina and health will let him play. If that means that he gets 3,000, then I'm all for it. If he doesn't, then that's just the way it is.

"I'm certainly not going to hold Cal out of the lineup arbitrarily. But we are trying to win ball games, and Cal is retiring for a reason. On that one, the chips will fall where they may."

Meanwhile, Ripken will pass Dave Winfield into sole possession of 8th place on the all time G list, with his next appearance.

6) On Wednesday, Dick Selma died from liver cancer, at the age of 57.

Selma had a 3.62 ERA, -9 RSAA and a 42-54 record during his 10 year career, from 1965-74. He pitched for the Mets, Padres, Cubs, Phillies, Angels and Brewers.

7) Tony Gwynn needs surgery to repair torn cartilage in his right knee, but says he will wait until after this season, which his final one.

According to Gwynn, all of his previous knee problems involved the left knee.

8) The Padres called up P Brett Jodie.

Jodie, 24, was acquired from the Yankees in the Sterling Hitchcock trade. He was ranked as the Yankees's #23 prospect by Baseball America and was given a C grade by the Minor League Scouting Notebook. Jodie came into the year with 3.00 career ERA in 3 minor league seasons, with all but 3 games below AA. In AAA in 2001, he had a 3.36 ERA.

9) According to the Dallas Morning News, the Yankees and A's are interested in trading for Rangers 2B Randy Velarde. Meanwhile, the NY press is also reporting the Yankees are interested.

10) Redsox CF Carl Everett was given a day off yesterday, to rest his sprained right knee.

11) BlueJays 1B Carlos Delgado tied George Bell's team record, with his 471st career extra base hit.

12) BlueJays CF Jose Cruz Jr. tied the team record with his 12th HR in August, tying the mark Carlos Delgado's record. He hit the HR as a pinch hitter, as his strained lower right abdomen kept him out of the starting lineup for the 3rd consecutive day.

[nyy26wc]

MOST RCAA, CAREER, CATCHERS

1 Mike Piazza 406
2 King Kelly 343
3 Bill Dickey 339
4 Yogi Berra 312
5 Mickey Cochrane 303
6 Gabby Hartnett 254
7 Johnny Bench 251
8 Ted Simmons 216
9 Carlton Fisk 215
10 Buck Ewing 206

Ivan Rodriguez only ranks 48th, with 52. Meanwhile, Jorge Posada ranks 44th, with 60.

[nyy26wc]

MOST CAREER RCAP, CATCHERS

1 Mike Piazza 481
2 Bill Dickey 473
3 Yogi Berra 432
4 Mickey Cochrane 425
5 King Kelly 398
6 Gabby Hartnett 364
7 Carlton Fisk 359
8 Johnny Bench 352
9 Ted Simmons 322
10 Gary Carter 256

Ivan Rodriguez is just 22nd, with 187.

[nyy26wc]

CATCHERS WITH MULTIPLE 100+ RC SEASONS

1 Mike Piazza 7
T2 Mickey Cochrane 5
T2 King Kelly 5
T4 Johnny Bench 4
T4 Fred Carroll 4
T4 Bill Dickey 4
T4 Ivan Rodriguez 4
T8 Yogi Berra 3
T8 Roy Campanella 3
T10 Gary Carter 2
T10 Darren Daulton 2
T10 Buck Ewing 2
T1O Carlton Fisk 2
T10 Jason Kendall 2
T10 Jim O'Rourke 2
T10 Ted Simmons 2
T10 Joe Torre 2

Jorge Posada has 81 RC and can join this list this season.

[nyy26wc]

MOST CAREER GAMES PITCHED, TWINS

1 Eddie Guardado 492
2 Rick Aguilera 490
3 Jim Kaat 468
4 Jim Perry 376
5 Mike Trombley 360
6 Bert Blyleven 348
7 Al Worthington 327
8 Ron Davis 286
9 Frank Viola 260
10 Dave Goltz 247

Walter Johnson holds the all time franchise record, with 802, while the team was the Washington Senators.

[nyy26wc]

MOST CAREER GAMES

1 Pete Rose 3562
2 Carl Yastrzemski 3308
3 Hank Aaron 3298
4 Ty Cobb 3034
T5 Eddie Murray 3026
T5 Stan Musial 3026
7 Willie Mays 2992
T8 Dave Winfield 2973
T8 Cal Ripken 2973
10 Rickey Henderson 2954