Around the majors reports--Sep 10

[nyy26wc]

1) Yesterday's results--

AL
Yankees 7, Redsox 2
Indians 9, Whitesox 8
Twins 3, Angels 0
Rangers 4, Royals 3 (12)
BlueJays 6, Tigers 3
Mariners 6, Orioles 0
A's 4, Devil Rays 3 (13)

NL
Phillies 12, Expos 4
Reds 5, Pirates 3
Astros 8, Brewers 0
Giants 9, Rockies 4 (11)
Cardinals 8, Dodgers 1
Braves 9, Cubs 5
Marlins 4, Mets 2
Diamondbacks 8, Padres 2

2) Standings--

AL EAST WON LOST PCT GB HOME ROAD EAST CENT WEST STREAK
Yankees 86 57 .601 - 46-26 40-31 46-17 18-12 12-20 WON 4
Redsox 72 69 .511 13 37-34 35-35 33-28 14-16 15-17 LOST 4
BlueJays 70 73 .490 16 34-38 36-35 31-32 15-11 16-20 WON 1
e-Orioles 55 87 .387 30 1/2 27-43 28-44 23-33 16-16 10-26 LOST 8
e-Devil Rays 50 93 .350 36 29-41 21-52 17-40 13-19 10-26 LOST 4

AL CENTRAL WON LOST PCT GB HOME ROAD EAST CENT WEST STREAK
Indians 82 61 .573 - 39-32 43-29 20-10 40-23 15-17 WON 2
Twins 75 68 .524 7 42-30 33-38 13-19 37-20 16-20 WON 2
Whitesox 73 70 .510 9 40-32 33-38 15-11 33-30 13-23 LOST 2
e-Tigers 57 85 .401 24 1/2 33-38 24-47 13-17 19-43 15-17 LOST 1
e-Royals 57 86 .399 25 30-41 27-45 13-19 22-35 14-22 LOST 1

AL WEST WON LOST PCT GB HOME ROAD EAST CENT WEST STREAK
y-Mariners 103 40 .720 - 50-21 53-19 33-12 31-10 27-12 WON 4
A's 86 57 .601 17 44-28 42-29 31-14 27-14 16-23 WON 7
d-Angels 73 70 .510 30 38-33 35-37 24-17 24-21 15-24 LOST 2
e-Rangers 66 77 .462 37 37-36 29-41 21-20 17-28 20-19 WON 1

NL EAST WON LOST PCT GB HOME ROAD EAST CENT WEST STREAK
Braves 78 64 .549 - 34-38 44-26 32-24 22-14 15-17 WON 3
Phillies 75 68 .524 3 1/2 41-30 34-38 34-29 15-15 19-13 WON 2
Mets 71 73 .493 8 40-32 31-41 36-28 11-19 14-18 LOST 1
Marlins 66 77 .462 12 1/2 40-30 26-47 24-33 19-17 11-21 WON 1
Expos 61 82 .427 17 1/2 31-40 30-42 26-38 13-20 14-14 LOST 2

NL CENTRAL WON LOST PCT GB HOME ROAD EAST CENT WEST STREAK
Astros 84 59 .587 - 41-31 43-28 18-12 44-27 13-14 WON 1
Cardinals 78 64 .549 5 1/2 47-26 31-38 19-11 34-30 17-16 WON 2
Cubs 77 65 .542 6 1/2 41-29 36-36 16-14 37-27 15-18 LOST 5
d-Brewers 63 80 .441 21 32-39 31-41 15-15 35-39 08-16 LOST 1
e-Reds 58 85 .406 26 24-48 34-37 12-09 28-46 14-19 WON 1
e-Pirates 55 88 .385 29 35-36 20-52 05-19 31-40 11-22 LOST 1

NL WEST WON LOST PCT GB HOME ROAD EAST CENT WEST STREAK
Diamondbacks 81 62 .566 - 41-31 40-31 18-14 19-14 37-26 WON 2
Giants 80 64 .556 1 1/2 46-26 34-38 18-14 18-15 34-30 WON 2
Dodgers 78 65 .545 3 41-30 37-35 17-15 23-16 32-25 LOST 2
Padres 70 73 .490 11 32-40 38-33 17-15 24-15 23-34 LOST 2
e-Rockies 62 80 .437 18 1/2 34-37 28-43 13-15 21-18 26-37 LOST 2

d--mathematically eliminated from winning the division title
e--mathematically eliminated from the postseason
y--clinched a postseason berth

3) Wild card standings--

AL WON LOST PCT GB
A's 86 57 .601 -
Twins 75 68 .524 11

NL WON LOST PCT GB
Giants 80 64 .556 -
Cardinals 78 64 .549 1
Dodgers 78 65 .545 1 1/2
Cubs 77 65 .542 2
Phillies 75 68 .524 4 1/2
Mets 71 73 .493 9
Padres 70 73 .490 9 1/2

4) The Mariners will clinch a tie for the AL West title if they beat the Angels and the A's lose to the Rangers.

5) The Rangers were mathematically eliminated from the postseason.

6) The Brewers were mathematically eliminated from winning the NL Central. They will be mathematically eliminated from the postseason if they lose to the Cardinals.

7) The Cardinals passed the Cubs into sole possession of 2nd place in the NL Central.

8) Magic numbers--

AL East--Yankees, 8
AL Central--Indians, 13
AL West--Mariners, 3
AL wild card--A's, 8

NL East--Braves, 17
NL Central--Astros, 15
NL West--Diamondbacks, 18
NL wild card--Giants, 19

9) Race for postseason seeds--

AL--The Mariners have a 17 game lead over the Yankees for the top seed. The Yankees have a 4 game lead over the Indians for the 2nd seed.

NL--The Astros have a 3 game lead over the Diamondbacks for the top seed. The Diamondbacks have a 2 1/2 game lead over the Braves for the 2nd seed.

10) Today's schedule--

AL
Redsox (Casey Fossum 1-1) at Yankees (Roger Clemens 19-1), 7:05 PM
Whitesox (Dan Wright 3-2) at Indians (Bartolo Colon 12-10), 7:05 PM
Twins (Joe Mays 14-13) at Tigers (Steve Sparks 10-9), 7:05 PM
Mariners (Freddy Garcia 15-5) at Angels (Ismael Valdes 9-9), 10:05 PM
Rangers (Aaron Myette 3-3) at A's (Barry Zito 12-8), 10:05 PM

NL
Reds (Chris Reitsma 7-14) at Cubs (Jon Lieber 17-6), 8:05 PM
Cardinals (Darryl Kile 13-10) at Brewers (Jamey Wright 9-10), 8:05 PM

11) Yesterday's HRs--

Barry Bonds--#61, #62 & #63
Sammy Sosa--#54
Rafael Palmeiro--#40 & #41
Jeff Bagwell--#36
Phil Nevin--#36
Juan Gonzalez--#35
Bret Boone--#35
Rich Aurilia--#33
Tino Martinez--#32
Andruw Jones--#31
Magglio Ordonez--#28
Jim Edmonds--#26
Moises Alou--#25
Edgar Martinez--#21
Carlos Beltran--#19
Ruben Sierra--#19
Richard Hidalgo--#17
Jose Canseco--#15
Matt Stairs--#14
Kenny Lofton--#12
Greg Norton--#12
Damian Miller--#12
Orlando Cabrera--#11
B.J. Surhoff--#10
Olmedo Saenz--#9
Dan Wilson--#8
Todd Hundley--#8
J.T. Snow--#8
Mike Matheny--#7
Marcus Giles--#6
Fernando Vina--#5
Brad Ausmus--#5
Mark Johnson--#3
Omar Vizquel--#2
Toby Hall--#2
Nick Johnson--#1
Matt LeCroy--#1

12) HR leaders--

AL
1) Jim Thome--46
2) Alex Rodriguez--44
3) Rafael Palmeiro--41**
4) Manny Ramirez--39
T5) Carlos Delgado--38
T5) Troy Glaus--38
T7) Bret Boone--35*
T7) Juan Gonzalez--35*
9) Jason Giambi--33
10) Tino Martinez--32*

NL
1) Barry Bonds--63***
2) Sammy Sosa--54*
3) Luis Gonzalez--51
4) Shawn Green--46
5) Todd Helton--41
T6) Richie Sexson--36
T6) Jeff Bagwell--36*
T6) Phil Nevin--36*
9) Chipper Jones--35
T10) Albert Pujols--34
T10) Gary Sheffield--34

***--hit 3 yesterday
**--hit 2 yesterday
*--hit 1 yesterday

13) Barry Bonds hit 3 HR in a game for the 2nd time this season. Bonds set a major league record for HR in a season by a left handed hitter, with 63, breaking the mark of 61, set by Roger Maris, in 1961.

Bonds is on pace for 71 and reached 557 career HR, which is 6 behind Reggie Jackson for 7th place.

14) Rafael Palmeiro passed Sammy Sosa and tied Fred McGriff for 26th place on the all time HR list, with 441.

Palmeiro reached 40 HR for the 3rd time in his career.

15) Juan Gonzalez passed Joe Carter into 36th place on the all time HR list, with 397.

16) Moises Alou hit his 200th career HR.

17) Bobby Abreu reached 100 RBI for the 1st time in his career. His previous career high was 93, in 1999.

[nyy26wc]

1) According to AP's game notes, "Rey Ordonez, who homered off A.J. Burnett Friday, was last in the league with a combined on-base plus slugging percentage of .632. That's a combination of his slugging percentage and on-base percentage."

It's a good thing we're told that a combined on base percentage and slugging percentage is a combination of the player's slugging percentage and on base percentage. Otherwise, how would someone know that?

2) Cardinals P Dave Veres has a strained right hamstring and is expected to miss at least 7-10 days.

Veres has a 3.73 ERA and 7 RSAA in 65 appearances. In his 8 year career, he's had a positive RSAA every season, with 3 years with a double digit figure.

3) The Cubs called up OF Roosevelt Brown and Ps Carlos Zambrano and Scott Chiasson.

4) Yankees LF Chuck Knoblauch had to leave yesterday's game, due to a slightly strained left rib cage.

Knoblauch's having a bad year, hitting .347 OBA, .338 SLG, .685 OPS, -9 RCAA, .443 OWP, 4.84 RC/G, 67 RC in 123 games. It's his 2nd consecutive year with a negative RCAA and this will be the 3rd time in the past 4 years that his OPS was under .775.

5) Devil Rays 2B Brent Abernathy had to leave yesterday's game, due to an ankle injury.

In his rookie season, Abernathy's hitting .393 SLG, .331 OBA, .724 OPS, -5 RCAA, .435 OWP, 4.95 RC/G, 33 RC in 62 games.

6) Padres CF Mark Kotsay had to leave yesterday's game, after aggravating a hamstring injury.

Kotsay's hitting .441 SLG, .366 OBA, .807 OPS, 12 RCAA, .581 OWP, 6.55 RC/G, 72 RC in 113 games. This will be his first year with a positive RCAA and his OBA, OPS, OWP and RC/G are all career highs, while he's getting close in RC and SLG.

7) Pirates SS Abraham Nunez suffered a strained right hamstring on Saturday and could be out for the rest of the season.

Nunez is having a rotten season, hitting .336 SLG, .326 OBA, .662 OPS, -13 RCAA, .365 OWP, 4.36 RC/G, 37 RC in 115 games. He came into the season with a terrible .570 OPS, compared to his league average of .789 and SS average of .714, and -37 RCAA in 512 PA.

8) Expos P Tony Armas Jr. had to leave yesterday's game, due to a strained muscle in his left lower back.

Armas has a 3.75 ERA and 20 RSAA in 31 starts, in his first full year in the majors.

9) BlueJays 1B Carlos Delgado reached 700 career RBI.

Delgado's having another outstanding season, hitting .563 SLG, .411 OBA, .975 OPS, 54 RCAA, .727 OWP, 9.62 RC/G, 130 RC in 143 games. He's working on his 3rd 50+ RCAA season in the past 4 years, Delgado's passed 100 RC for the 4th consecutive year and with a hot last few weeks, he can have his 2nd consecutive 1.000+ OPS.

10) On Saturday, the Giants tied the major league record with their 14th pinch hit HR of the season, tying the mark set the Diamondbacks, this year.

[nyy26wc]

1) The Redsox say Pedro Martinez's season is over, unless the team manages to get back into playoff contention.

With his season being over, Martinez finishes with a 2.39 ERA and 34 RSAA in 18 starts.

2) Derrek Lowe will move into Martinez's spot in the rotation, with MGR Joe Kerrigan saying he's auditioning for a spot in next year's rotation.

Lowe has a 4.04 ERA and 8 RSAA in 64 relief appearances this season. His streak of consecutive years of 20+ RSAA will come to an end.

3) Royals 3B Joe Randa had to leave yesterday's game, due to a strained hamstring.

Randa's having a terrible year, hitting .366 SLG, .301 OBA, .668 OPS, -24 RCAA, .354 OWP, 4.15 RC/G, 61 RC in 133 games. This will be the 3rd time in the past 4 years that Randa's had a double digit negative RCAA.

4) Yankees RF Paul O'Neill injured his foot while running the bases on Friday. X-rays were negative, but his status for this week is unknown.

In what could be the final year of his career, O'Neill's hitting .458 SLG, .328 OBA, .786 OPS, 8 RCAA, .544 OWP, 6.04 RC/G, 83 RC in 133 games.

5) The Reds are expected to call up P Joey Hamilton today.

Hamilton had a 5.89 ERA and -14 RSAA in 22 starts with the BlueJays this season, before being released. This is the 5th time in the past 6 years that he's had a negative RSAA.

6) Royals SS Neifi Perez will have surgery, on September 24, to repair a torn ligament in his left thumb and he'll miss the final week of the season.

Since the trade, Perez is hitting .305 SLG, .274 OBA, .579 OPS, -16 RCAA, .212 OWP, 2.81 RC/G, 15 RC in 42 games. With his -21 RCAA with the Rockies, Perez has cost his teams 37 runs this season and still has time to join the -40 club for the 4th time in his 4 years as a starter.

7) The Indians are sending Dave Burba to the bullpen again, with Ryan Drese taking his spot in the rotation, beginning on Wednesday.

Burba's having a terrible year, with a 6.41 ERA and -24 RSAA in 30 games (24 starts). His streak of 3 consecutive years with a double digit positive RSAA will end. Burba started the season with 23 career RSAA and is in danger of finishing the year with a negative figure.

8) The Orioles have moved Jose Mercedes to the bullpen, with John Bale being the top candidate to move into the rotation. But, Bale has nagging shoulder stiffness and if he can't make it, Sean Douglass could be next in line.

Mercedes is having a terrible year, with a 6.11 ERA and -26, to along with a 7-17 record, which put him in danger of having a 20 loss season.

9) BlueJays RF Raul Mondesi left yesterday's game, due to a bruised left shoulder, and is day to day.

Mondesi's hitting .460 SLG, .346 OBA, .806 OPS, 7 RCAA, .537 OWP, 6.11 RC/G, 91 RC in 136 games.

10) The Tigers have a team meeting in which almost the entire team told P Jeff Weaver he has to grow up. The team is rumored to be looking to trade him, while the Whitesox could be interested.

Weaver has a 3.95 ERA and 17 RSAA in 29 starts this season. It's his 2nd consecutive year with a double digit RSAA.

[nyy26wc]

1) The Yankees reportedly put in a waiver claim for Tigers 1B Tony Clark, with their main intention to block the Mariners and Braves from acquiring him. The teams spoke about a potential trade, but nothing was worked out.

Meanwhile, the Tigers aren't expected to bring re-sign Clark when he becomes a free agent at the end of the season and the Yankees were rumored, earlier in the year, as a team that could have interest in him.

Clark's hitting .469 SLG, .374 OBA, .843 OPS, 18 RCAA, .613 OWP, 7.02 RC/G, 79 RC in 122 games. Clark's -4 RCAP make this the 3rd consecutive year he's had a negative figure. And Yankee fans' love of 1B with negative RCAP (see Martinez, Tino and Mattingly, Don (4 of his last 6 years)).

2) Dodgers LF Gary Sheffield missed yesterday's game, due to a migraine headache, and is day to day.

Sheffield's having an outstanding season, hitting .595 SLG, .417 OBA, 1.012 OPS, 58 RCAA, .765 OWP, 10.39 RC/G, 122 RC in 124 games. Sheffield came into the year with an outstanding .912 career OPS, compared to his league average of .754 and positional average of .778. This is his 4th year with a 1.000+ OPS and 4th year with 50+ RCAA.

3) Pirates MGR Lloyd McClendon says even though Bronson Arroyo will probably be in the bullpen the rest of the season, he is a candidate for next year's rotation. Meanwhile, P Ryan Vogelsong had to leave yesterday's game, with an elbow injury.

4) The Astros called up P Scott Linebrink.

5) Mets SS Rey Ordonez missed yesterday's game, due to back stiffness.

[nyy26wc]

MULTIPLE 3 HR GAMES IN A SEASON

PLAYER YEAR TEAM
Johnny Mize 1938 Cardinals
Johnny Mize 1940 Cardinals
Ralph Kiner 1947 Pirates
Ted Williams 1957 Redsox
Willie Mays* 1961 Giants
Willie Stargell 1971 Pirates
Dave Kingman 1979 Cubs
Doug DeCinces 1982 Angels
Joe Carter 1989 Indians
Cecil Fielder 1990 Tigers
Geronimo Berroa 1996 A's
Steve Finley 1997 Padres
Mark McGwire 1998 Cardinals
Jeff Bagwell 1999 Astros
Carlos Delgado 2001 BlueJays
Sammy Sosa 2001 Cubs
Barry Bonds 2001 Giants

*--one of Mays's games was a 4 HR game

[nyy26wc]

MOST HOMERUNS, SEASON, LEFT HANDED HITTER

1 Barry Bonds 2001 63
2 Roger Maris 1961 61
3 Babe Ruth 1927 60
4 Babe Ruth 1921 59
T5 Ken Griffey Jr. 1997 56
T5 Ken Griffey Jr. 1998 56
T7 Babe Ruth 1920 54
T8 Babe Ruth 1928 54
T9 Johnny Mize 1947 51
T9 Luis Gonzalez 2001 51

[NetShrine]

Yankees RF Paul O'Neill injured his foot while running the bases on Friday. X-rays were negative, but his status for this week is unknown.

In what could be the final year of his career, O'Neill's hitting .458 SLG, .328 OBA, .786 OPS, 8 RCAA, .544 OWP, 6.04 RC/G, 83 RC in 133 games.


When he reached 20-20 in Cally recently, O'Neill was quoted as saying he hopes he can do as well next year. 'Tho, he's been known to change his mind on returning/retiring by the day and sometimes the AB.

The Tigers have a team meeting in which almost the entire team told P Jeff Weaver he has to grow up. The team is rumored to be looking to trade him, while the Whitesox could be interested.

Weaver has a 3.95 ERA and 17 RSAA in 29 starts this season. It's his 2nd consecutive year with a double digit RSAA.

Weaver and possible Wells in 2002? Good luck Manuel! I recently read that Weaver (as he did Sweeney) curses opponents on the field routinely - - and shows up teammates on the field just as often. At this stage, if he doesn't get it, he never will. The highlight of his career may just be the cameo that he did as a bouncer on the Springer show.

Unrelated, yesterday, I was flicking channels and I came upon a repeat of show (then unknown as to what show) but, it had Barry Bonds playing a baseball player on a golf course. Soon, I found out that it was a "90210" repeat - - as such, I quickly was forced to change the channel - - - - I have a personal lifetime streak of having never watched any of the FOX prime time soaps for more than 30 seconds, which I wanted to remain intact.

Still, Barry sure looked a lot smaller back then. ;)