ATM report--Cardinals clinch

[nyy26wc]

1) Yesterday's games--

AL
Redsox 4, Orioles 2
Devil Rays 11, BlueJays 7
Whitesox 10, Twins 2
Indians 6, Royals 2
Yankees 5, Tigers 1
Angels 8, Mariners 1
A's 4, Rangers 2

NL
Pirates 5, Cubs 4
Phillies at Reds--PPD
Expos 6, Mets 1
Marlins 6, Braves 2
Cardinals 9, Astros 3
Giants 5, Brewers 1
Rockies 9, Diamondbacks 4
Padres 8, Dodgers 4

2) Standings--

AL EAST         WON  LOST  PCT  GB      HOME   ROAD   EAST  CENT  WEST STREAK
z--Yankees       96   57  .627   -     50-27  46-30  41-28 27-07 17-15 WON  1
Redsox           87   66  .569   9     40-38  47-28  46-24 18-15 18-14 WON  1
e--BlueJays      71   83  .461  25 1/2 36-39  35-44  37-34 13-16 12-24 LOST 1
e--Orioles       67   86  .438  29     34-41  33-45  26-41 18-14 14-22 LOST 3
e--Devil Rays    52  101  .340  44     29-50  23-51  22-45 13-19 10-26 WON  2

AL CENTRAL      WON  LOST  PCT  GB      HOME   ROAD   EAST  CENT  WEST STREAK
x--Twins         89   64  .582   -     49-26  40-38  15-17 45-22 19-17 LOST 1
e--Whitesox      77   77  .500  12 1/2 43-33  34-44  16-13 38-33 15-21 WON  1
e--Indians       69   85  .448  20 1/2 36-42  33-43  19-17 32-36 12-20 WON  2
e--Royals        59   95  .383  30 1/2 34-42  25-53  10-22 30-38 14-22 LOST 1
e--Tigers        54   99  .353  35     33-45  21-54  11-20 28-44 09-23 LOST 3

AL WEST         WON  LOST  PCT  GB      HOME   ROAD   EAST  CENT  WEST STREAK
y--A's           97   57  .630   -     52-27  45-30  23-22 32-09 26-24 WON  3
w--Angels        96   58  .623   1     52-26  44-32  28-13 30-15 27-23 WON  1
d--Mariners      88   66  .571   9     44-32  44-34  25-20 23-18 29-21 LOST 2
e--Rangers       70   84  .455  27     40-35  30-49  25-16 18-27 18-32 LOST 1

NL EAST         WON  LOST  PCT  GB      HOME   ROAD   EAST  CENT  WEST STREAK
x--Braves        96   56  .632   -     51-27  45-29  42-25 24-12 15-16 LOST 1
e--Expos         78   76  .506  19     45-30  33-46  35-36 18-15 13-19 WON  7
e--Phillies      75   78  .490  21 1/2 39-39  36-39  32-38 19-14 14-18 LOST 1
e--Marlins       74   80  .481  23     44-34  30-46  31-37 18-18 15-17 WON  1
e--Mets          73   80  .477  23 1/2 36-39  37-41  33-37 20-13 10-22 LOST 1

NL CENTRAL      WON  LOST  PCT  GB      HOME   ROAD   EAST  CENT  WEST STREAK
x--Cardinals     90   63  .588   -     45-27  45-36  11-19 53-31 18-09 WON  4
d--Astros        81   73  .526   9 1/2 45-33  36-40  16-14 46-39 14-13 LOST 2
e--Reds          75   78  .490  15     38-40  37-38  12-12 47-40 14-16 WON  1
e--Pirates       68   86  .442  22 1/2 35-41  33-45  14-13 41-44 10-20 WON  1
e--Cubs          64   90  .416  26 1/2 34-41  30-49  12-18 33-49 13-17 LOST 4
e--Brewers       54   99  .353  36     31-48  23-51  07-23 33-50 12-16 LOST 1

NL WEST         WON  LOST  PCT  GB      HOME   ROAD   EAST  CENT  WEST STREAK
w--Diamondbacks  94   59  .614   -     51-26  43-33  21-11 23-10 39-31 LOST 1
Giants           88   66  .571   6 1/2 45-31  43-35  17-14 18-13 45-29 WON  1
Dodgers          86   68  .558   8 1/2 42-33  44-35  20-12 20-16 34-34 LOST 1
e--Rockies       70   84  .455  24 1/2 45-34  25-50  18-14 17-19 28-40 WON  1
e--Padres        65   89  .422  29 1/2 41-38  24-51  16-16 13-23 28-40 WON  1

x--clinched the division title
y--clinched a postseason berth
z--clinched a tie for the division title
w--clinched a tie for a postseason berth
d--mathematically eliminated from winning the division title
e--mathematically eliminated from winning the division title and the postseason

3) Wild card standings--

AL              WON  LOST  GB
Angels           96   58    -
Mariners         88   66    8
Redsox           87   66    8 1/2

NL              WON  LOST  GB
Giants           88   66    -
Dodgers          86   68    2
Astros           81   73    7

4) The Cardinals clinched the NL Central title.

5) The Yankees clinched a tie for the division title. The Yankees will clinch the division title if they beat the Tigers or the Redsox lose to the Orioles.

6) The A's clinched a postseason berth.

7) The Angels clinched a tie for a postseason berth. They will clinch a postseason berth if they beat the Mariners.

8) The Diamondbacks clinched a tie for a postseason berth. They will clinch a postseason berth if they beat the Rockies or the Dodgers lose to the Padres.

9) The Mariners were mathematically eliminated from winning the division title.

10) The Astros will be mathematically eliminated from the postseason if they lose to the Cardinals and the Giants beat the Brewers.

11) The Dodgers will be mathematically eliminated from winning the division title if they lose to the Padres or the Diamondbacks beat the Rockies.

12) The Brewers clinched last place in the NL Central.

The Brewers also set the franchise record with their 99th loss, breaking the record set when they were the Seattle Pilots, in 1969.

13) The Marlins passed the Mets into 4th place in the NL East.

14) Magic numbers--

AL East--Yankees, 1
AL Central--Twins, clinched
AL West--A's, 7*
AL wild card--Angels, 1

*--the A's magic number to finish 1st by themselves is 8. But, if they finish tied with the Angels for 1st, the A's will get the tie breaker by virtue of a better head to head record. When teams finish tied for 1st, they would only play an additional game to break the tie if the loser goes home. Since both teams would qualify for the playoffs, it triggers the tiebreaker.

NL East--Braves, clinched
NL Central--Cardinals, clinched
NL West--Diamondbacks, 3
NL wild card--Giants, 7

15) Race for the postseason seeds--

AL--The A's lead the Yankees by 1/2 game for the #1 seed. The Yankees lead the Twins by 7 games for the #2 seed.

NL--The Braves lead the Diamondbacks by 2 1/2 games for the #1 seed. The Diamondbacks lead the Cardinals by 4 games for the #2 seed.

NOTE--Comparisons are just between division leaders.

16) Today's schedule--

AL
Yankees (Andy Pettitte) at Tigers (Jason Beverlin), 1:25
Twins (Brad Radke) at Whitesox (Jon Rauch), 4:05
Rangers (Colby Lewis) at A's (Cory Lidle), 4:05
Angels (John Lackey) at Mariners (Freddy Garcia), 4:10
BlueJays (Pete Walker) at Devil Rays (Joe Kennedy), 7:15
Redsox (John Burkett) at Orioles (Jason Johnson), 7:05
Indians (Cliff Lee) at Royals (Darrell May), 7:05

NL
Phillies (Hector Mercado and Randy Wolf) at Reds (Elmer Dessens and Danny Graves), DH, 12:05 and 7:10
Marlins (Brad Penny) at Braves (Kevin Millwood), 1:25
Diamondbacks (Brian Anderson) at Rockies (Denny Neagle), 3:05
Astros (Wade Miller) at Cardinals (Matt Morris), 4:10
Giants (Jason Schmidt) at Brewers (Ben Diggins), 7:05
Cubs (Pat Mahomes) at Pirates (Kip Wells), 7:05
Expos (Javier Vazquez) at Mets (Pedro Astacio), 7:10
Dodgers (Hideo Nomo) at Padres (Jake Peavy), 10:05

17) Yesterday's HRs--

Sammy Sosa--#48
Jim Thome--#47
Ellis Burks--#29
Carlos Delgado--#29
Scott Rolen--#29
Todd Helton--#29
Jim Edmonds--#28
Luis Gonzalez--#28
Cliff Floyd--#27 (#6 in AL)
Garret Anderson--#27
Jay Gibbons--#26
Carlos Lee--#25
Jose Valentin--#24
Tim Salmon--#21
Robert Fick--#17
Brad Fullmer--#17
Aramis Ramirez--#16
Eli Marrero--#16
Rich Aurilia--#14
Eric Karros--#13
Corey Koskie--#12
Mark Grudzielanek--#9
Mark DeRosa--#5
Brian Hunter--#3

18) HR leaders--

AL
1) Alex Rodriguez--56
2) Jim Thome--47*
3) Rafael Palmeiro--42
4) Alfonso Soriano--39
5) Jason Giambi--38
6) Eric Chavez--34
7) Manny Ramirez--33
T6) Magglio Ordonez--33
T9) Miguel Tejada--31
T9) Tony Batista--31

NL
1) Sammy Sosa--48*
2) Barry Bonds--44
3) Shawn Green--42
4) Lance Berkman--41
T5) Vladimir Guerrero--37
T5) Pat Burrell--37
7) Jeff Kent--36
8) Brian Giles--35
9) Albert Pujols--33
T10) Mike Piazza--31
T10) Andruw Jones--31

*--hit 1 yesterday

19) Barry Bonds watch--

OBA--.581, on pace for a new record; current record--.553, Ted Williams, 1941
SLG--.801, on pace for #4 all time; record--.863, Barry Bonds, 2001
OPS--1.382, on pace for a new record; current record--1.379, Babe Ruth, 1920 or Barry Bonds, 2001*
RCAA--155, currently #5 all time, on pace for 164 which would rank #3; record--169, Barry Bonds, 2001
BB--188, new all time record, on pace for 198; old record--177, Barry Bonds, 2001

20) Sammy Sosa watch--hit #498, is 2 away from 500.

21) Ellis Burks tied Ron Santo for 66th place on the all time HR list, with 342.

Correction from yesterday--The Royals beat the Whitesox, 2-1, on Thursday, not the other way around.

[nyy26wc]

1) Cardinals P Woody Williams had to leave yesterday's game, due to tightness in his back.

After 3.75 ERA/9 RSAA and 4.05 ERA/1 RSAA the past 2 years, Williams is off to a 2.53 ERA/16 RSAA start in his first 17 starts. He has a 4.07 career ERA, compared to his league average of 4.52, and 46 RSAA in 273 games.

2) Twins P Rick Reed left yesterday's game, due to a hyper extended left knee. It was a precautionary move.

After 4.11 ERA/5 RSAA and 4.05 ERA/4 RSAA the past 2 years, Reed's off to a 3.71 ERA/15 RSAA start in his first 31 starts. He has a 3.92 career ERA, compared to his league average of 4.39, and 41 RSAA in 244 games.

3) The Rockies are shutting down P Mike Hampton for the rest of the season, due to strained ligaments in his right foot.

After 3.14 ERA/29 RSAA and 5.41 ERA/-1 RSAA the past 2 years, Hampton finishes with a 6.15 ERA/-21 RSAA in 30 starts. He has a 3.98 career ERA, compared to his league average of 4.54, and 74 RSAA in 303 games.

4) Cubs 2B Bobby Hill had to leave yesterday's game, due to a strained neck.

The 24 year old rookie is off to a .370 SLG, .326 OBA, .696 OPS, -1 RCAA in his first 53 major league games.

5) The Angels traded minor league P Pedro Liriano to the Brewers as a player to be named later in the Alex Ochoa trade.

Liriano had a 3.60 ERA in A ball.

6) The Royals called up Ps Ryan Bukvich and Wes Obermuller.

7) The Tigers activated P Matt Anderson from the DL and moved P Oscar Henriquez from the 15 to the 60 day DL.

After 4.72 ERA/0 RSAA and 4.82 ERA/-2 RSAA the past 2 years, Anderson's off to a 6.75 ERA/-3 RSAA start in his first 10 games. He has a 4.71 career ERA, compared to his league average of 4.60, and -1 RSAA in 220 games.

8) Giants C Benito Santiago dropped his appeal of his 2 game suspension and started "serving" it yesterday. He was going to be given a day off with a day game after a night game, so now was a convenient time to sit out.

9) Pirates SS Jack Wilson was given yesterday off, for mental rest, and may also be given today off.

After a .550 OPS/-35 RCAA as a 23 year old rookie in 2001, Wilson's off to a .335 SLG, .302 OBA, .637 OPS, -29 RCAA start in his first 140 games.

10) Tigers LF Bobby Higginson's strained abdominal muscle could be a season ending injury. The team says he's going to miss at least 5 games and since they only have 9 left, they may just shut him down for the rest of the season.

11) The Marlins are removing Julian Tavarez from the rotation, to take a look at some other pitchers.

But, Josh Beckett and A.J. Burnett are staying in it.

After 4.42 ERA/23 RSAA (Coors) and4.52 ERA/-6 RSAA the past 2 years, Tavarez is off to a 5.32 ERA/-22 RSAA start in his first 27 starts. He has a 4.59 career ERA, compared to his league average of 4.51, and -8 RSAA in 425 games.

12) Royals C Brent Mayne was suspended for 2 games, for making contact with umpire Jerry Crawford earlier in the week. He's appealing.

After -20 RCAA/.799 OPS (Coors) and -20 RCAA/.678 OPS the past 2 years, Mayne's off to a .309 SLG, .309 OBA, .618 OPS, -26 RCAA start in his first 98 games. He has a .690 career OPS, compared to his league average of .764, and -137 RCAA in 1080 games.

13) Yankees 1B Jason Giambi missed yesterday's game, due to a stiff back, and may also be kept out of today's game.

After 100 RCAA/1.123 OPS and 103 RCAA/1.137 OPS the past 2 years, Giambi's off to a .582 SLG, .431 OBA, 1.013 OPS, 66 RCAA start in his first 149 games. He has a .965 career OPS, compared to his league average of .778, and 384 RCAA in 1102 games.

14) The Devil Rays claimed P Dan Reichert off waivers from the Royals and designated P Jason Jimenez for assignment.

After 4.70 ERA/7 RSAA and 5.63 ERA/-10 RSAA the past 2 years, Reichert, a former 1st round pick, is off to a 5.32 ERA/0 RSAA start in his first 30 games (6 starts). He has a 5.53 career ERA, compared to his league average of 4.63, and -20 RSAA in 109 games.

15) Expos 2B Jose Vidro left the team, to attend to a family matter, and isn't expected to return until at least tomorrow.

After 30 RCAA/.918 OPS and 9 RCAA/.856 OPS the past 2 years, Vidro's off to a .484 SLG, .371 OBA, .855 OPS, 24 RCAA start in his first 146 games. He has a .830 career OPS, compared to his league average of .783, and 44 RCAA in 713 games.

16) The Devil Rays reportedly wanted to place C John Flaherty on the 60 day DL, due to his broken finger, but he refused. So, officially, he's day to day.

If Devil Rays fans are lucky, Flaherty will have worm up his welcome with the team and he'll be gone next year. What's left for him to accomplish there other them to see if he can extend his team record of 4 seasons with an OBA under .300 with 250 PA, while nobody else has more than just 1.

I know it's going to be tempting for someone to ask what why am I talking about Devil Rays fans. There can't actually be any. Well, I know there is at least 1 on this list.

[gyb13]

Originally posted by nyy26wc
14) The Devil Rays claimed P Dan Reichert off waivers from the Royals.

After 4.70 ERA/7 RSAA and 5.63 ERA/-10 RSAA the past 2 years, Reichert, a former 1st round pick, is off to a 5.32 ERA/0 RSAA start in his first 30 games (6 starts). He has a 5.53 career ERA, compared to his league average of 4.63, and -20 RSAA in 109 games.

is there any hope for him to turn things around?