Around the majors reports--Sep 21

[nyy26wc]

1) Yesterday's results--

AL
Whitesox 7, Yankees 5
Twins 3, Tigers 0
Angels 6, Mariners 3
Royals 4, Indians 2
Redsox 2, Devil Rays 1
Orioles 12, BlueJays 6
A's 7, Rangers 2

NL
Cubs 6, Reds 5
Astros 5, Giants 4 (10)
Cardinals 9, Pirates 1
Expos 8, Rockies 3
Braves 5, Phillies 1
Dodgers 3, Diamondbacks 2 (13)

2) Standings--

AL EAST WON LOST PCT GB HOME ROAD EAST CENT WEST STREAK
Yankees 88 58 .603 - 46-26 42-32 46-17 20-13 12-20 LOST 1
Redsox 74 70 .514 13 39-35 35-35 35-29 14-16 15-17 WON 1
BlueJays 72 74 .493 16 36-39 36-35 33-33 15-11 16-20 LOST 1
e--Orioles 56 89 .386 31 1/2 27-43 29-46 24-35 16-16 10-26 WON 1
e--Devil Rays 51 95 .349 37 29-41 22-54 18-42 13-19 10-26 LOST 1

AL CENTRAL WON LOST PCT GB HOME ROAD EAST CENT WEST STREAK
Indians 84 63 .571 - 41-34 43-29 20-10 42-25 15-17 LOST 1
Twins 78 69 .531 6 44-31 34-38 13-19 40-21 16-20 WON 1
Whitesox 75 72 .510 9 41-34 34-38 16-13 34-30 13-23 WON 1
e--Tigers 58 88 .397 25 1/2 33-39 25-49 13-17 20-46 15-17 LOST 1
e--Royals 58 88 .397 25 1/2 30-41 28-47 13-19 23-37 14-22 WON 1

AL WEST WON LOST PCT GB HOME ROAD EAST CENT WEST STREAK
x--Mariners 106 41 .721 - 52-22 54-19 33-12 31-10 30-13 LOST 1
A's 89 58 .605 17 45-28 44-30 31-14 27-14 19-24 WON 1
Angels 74 73 .503 32 38-34 36-39 24-17 24-21 16-27 WON 1
e--Rangers 67 80 .456 39 38-38 29-42 21-20 17-28 21-22 LOST 1

NL EAST WON LOST PCT GB HOME ROAD EAST CENT WEST STREAK
Braves 79 67 .541 - 34-38 45-29 33-27 22-14 15-17 WON 1
Phillies 78 69 .531 1 1/2 44-31 34-38 37-30 15-15 19-13 LOST 1
Mets 74 73 .503 5 1/2 40-32 34-41 36-28 14-19 14-18 WON 3
Marlins 68 78 .466 11 40-30 28-48 26-34 19-17 11-21 LOST 1
e--Expos 63 84 .429 16 1/2 33-42 30-42 27-40 13-20 15-14 WON 2

NL CENTRAL WON LOST PCT GB HOME ROAD EAST CENT WEST STREAK
Astros 87 59 .596 - 41-31 46-28 18-12 44-27 16-14 WON 4
Cardinals 83 64 .565 4 1/2 50-26 33-38 19-11 39-30 17-16 WON 7
Cubs 80 66 .548 7 42-29 38-37 16-14 40-28 15-18 WON 2
e--Brewers 63 84 .429 24 1/2 32-40 31-44 15-15 35-43 08-16 LOST 5
e--Reds 59 88 .401 28 1/2 25-50 34-38 12-09 29-49 14-19 LOST 2
e--Pirates 55 92 .374 32 1/2 35-40 20-52 05-22 31-41 11-22 LOST 5

NL WEST WON LOST PCT GB HOME ROAD EAST CENT WEST STREAK
Diamondbacks 82 65 .558 - 41-31 41-34 18-14 19-14 38-29 LOST 3
Giants 80 67 .544 2 46-29 34-38 18-14 18-18 34-30 LOST 3
Dodgers 79 68 .537 3 42-33 37-35 17-15 23-16 33-28 WON 1
Padres 73 73 .500 8 1/2 32-40 41-33 17-15 24-15 26-34 WON 3
e--Rockies 64 82 .438 17 1/2 36-38 28-44 13-16 21-18 28-38 LOST 1

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

3) Wild card standings--

AL WON LOST PCT GB
A's 89 58 .605 -
Twins 78 69 .531 11

NL WON LOST PCT GB
Cardinals 83 64 .565 -
Cubs 80 66 .548 2 1/2
Giants 80 67 .544 3
Dodgers 79 68 .537 4
Phillies 78 69 .531 5
Mets 74 73 .503 9
Padres 73 73 .500 9 1/2

4) The BlueJays will be mathematically eliminated from winning the AL East and from the postseason if they lose to the Devil Rays or the Yankees beat the Orioles.

5) The Angels will be mathematically eliminated from the postseason if they lose to the Rangers or the A's beat the Mariners.

6) The Royals tied the Tigers for 4th place in the AL Central.

7) Mariners watch--they have to go at least 11-4 in their remaining 16 games to break the 1906 Cubs's record of 116 wins

8) Magic numbers--

AL East--Yankees, 5
AL Central--Indians, 10
AL wild card--A's, 5

NL East--Braves, 15
NL Central--Astros, 12
NL West--Diamondbacks, 14
NL wild card--Cardinals, 14

9) Race for postseason seeds--

AL--The Mariners have clinched the top seed. The Yankees have a 4 1/2 game lead over the Indians for the 2nd seed.

NL--The Astros have a 5 1/2 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
Yankees (Mike Mussina 15-11) at Orioles (Rick Bauer 0-2)
Devil Rays (Bryan Rekar 1-13) at BlueJays (Brandon Lyon 5-2)
Tigers (Heath Murray 1-4) at Redsox (Casey Fossum 1-1)
Indians (C.C. Sabathia 15-4) at Twins (Rick Reed 3-3)
Angels (Ismael Valdes 9-10) at Rangers (Rob Bell 4-4)
Royals (Kris Wilson 6-5) at Whitesox (Dan Wright 4-2)
Mariners (Paul Abbott 15-3) at A's (Cory Lidle 10-6)

NL
Marlins (A.J. Burnett 9-11) at Phillies (Omar Daal 12-6), 7:05 PM
Rockies (Jason Jennings 3-1) at Expos (Tony Armas Jr. 9-12), 7:05 PM
Cardinals (Darryl Kile 14-10) at Pirates (Bronson Arroyo 4-6), 7:05 PM
Braves (Jason Marquis 3-6) at Mets (Bruce Chen 7-6), 7:10 PM
Cubs (Juan Cruz 2-1) at Astros (Ron Villone 6-6), 8:05 PM
Reds (Lance Davis 6-3) at Brewers (Ben Sheets 10-9), 8:05 PM
Giants (Jason Schmidt 11-7) at Padres (Brian Lawrence 4-3), 10:05 PM
Diamondbacks (Tony Batista 9-8) at Dodgers (Terry Mulholland 1-0), 10:10 PM

11) Yesterday's HRs--

Barry Bonds--#64
Luis Gonzalez--#53
Shawn Green--#47
Rafael Palmeiro--#42
Tino Martinez--#33
Magglio Ordonez--#29
Mike Sweeney--#28
Garret Anderson--#27
Eric Chavez--#27
Mark McGwire--#25
Fred McGriff--#25 (#6 in NL)
Pat Burrell--#24
Tony Batista--#23
Marty Cordova--#19
Jeff Cirillo--#16
Javier Lopez--#16
Rondell White--#15
Adam Dunn--#14
Jacque Jones--#12
Chad Kreuter--#6
Warren Morris--#2
Calvin Pickering--#1
Wilton Guerrero--#1

12) HR leaders--

AL
1) Jim Thome--47
2) Alex Rodriguez--46
3) Rafael Palmeiro--42*
4) Manny Ramirez--40
T5) Carlos Delgado--38
T5) Troy Glaus--38
T7) Bret Boone--35
T7) Juan Gonzalez--35
T9) Jason Giambi--33
T9) Tino Martinez--33*

NL
1) Barry Bonds--64*
2) Sammy Sosa--54
3) Luis Gonzalez--53*
4) Shawn Green--47*
5) Todd Helton--43
6) Jeff Bagwell--37
T7) Richie Sexson--36
T7) Phil Nevin--36
T7) Chipper Jones--36
10) Albert Pujols--35

*--hit 1 yesterday

13) Barry Bonds watch--hit #64, is on pace for 71

Bonds hit #558, is 5 behind Reggie Jackson for 7th place

14) Mark McGwire watch--hit #579, is 7 behind Frank Robinson for 4th place

15) Rafael Palmeiro and Fred McGriff tied Dave Kingman for 25th place on the all time HR list, with 442.

[nyy26wc]

1) Mark McGwire tied the major league record by homering in his 39th different stadium, tying Ellis Burks.

2) The FAA issued an order that prohibits aircraft from flying within a 3 mile radius of a stadium or below an altitude of 3,000 feet for all "major" sporting events.

In terms of making stadiums safe, this is a useless piece of paper. There will be no efforts to actually stop planes from crossing over the air space.

The interesting part of the order is the FAA will not let pilots know what constitutes a major sporting event and the prohibited areas, while their spokesman merely says, "We're hoping pilots have enough situational awareness."

However, planes will continue to be able to fly around Shea Stadium, since there is an exception in the order that allows planes to retain their existing flight patterns for the purposes of landing and taking off.

3) Magglio Ordonez reached 100 RBI for the 3rd time and 3rd consecutive season.

Ordonez is having a very good year, hitting .534 SLG, .377 OBA, .911 OPS, 39 RCAA, .677 OWP, 8.30 RC/G, 118 RC in 145 games. He's working on career highs in OBA, RCAA, OWP, RC/G and RC and has a chance at career highs in SLG and OPS.

4) Mariners 2B Bret Boone needed crutches, for a bruised right heel, and could miss at least the team's series with the A's.

During his career year, Boone has hit .577 SLG, .366 OBA, .943 OPS, 47 RCAA, .703 OWP, 8.27 RC/G, 125 RC in 145 games. In his 9 previous years the only time he's had a positive RCAA was 1994, while he's only had positive RCAP figures in 1994-95. Boone had come into the year with a .725 career OPS, compared to his league average of .770 and his positional average of .736.

5) Yankees CF Bernie Williams left yesterday's game, after being hit in the head by a pitch in the 1st inning, and he will be reevaluated today.

Williams is hitting .503 SLG, .393 OBA, .896 OPS, 36 RCAA, .678 OWP, 8.21 RC/G, 108 RC in 133 games. He could have his 6th consecutive year with a .900+ OPS, 6th consecutive year with a .500+ SLG and his 4th overall .400+ OBA. Williams also leads the Yankees in RCAA, by a 36-35 margin over Derek Jeter, and leads Jeter, .896-.865, for the team OPS lead. Williams led the Yankees in RCAA for 4 consecutive years, 1995-98, and led in OPS in 1996-98 and 2000.

6) Cardinals 2B Fernando Vina had to leave yesterday's game, due to a bruised right hand. X-rays were negative.

Vina's hitting .407 SLG, .356 OBA, .762 OPS, 0 RCAA, .498 OWP, 5.86 RC/G, 90 RC in 142 games.

7) The Angels says Matt Wise will replace Pat Rapp in their rotation.

In 7 games (6 starts), Wise has a 3.90 ERA and 4 RSAA, along with a 1-3 record.

Rapp has a 4.80 ERA and 2 RSAA in 28 starts, along with a 5-12 record. He came into the year with a career total of -31 RSAA and is working on a positive RSAA for just the 2nd time in the past 6 years.

8) Dodgers MGR Jim Tracy says Kevin Brown will be shut down for the season if the team falls out of the playoff race.

Injuries have limited Brown to just 110 2/3 IP and 18 starts, in which he has had a 2.68 ERA and 20 RSAA, along with a 10-4 record. His 6 year streak of finishing in the top 10 in the league in ERA and RSAA will end.

9) Whitesox P Rocky Biddle will have arthroscopic surgery next week, to determine how damaged is labrum is. GM Kenny Williams says he expects Biddle to be ready by spring training.

In 30 games (21 starts), Biddle had a 5.39 ERA and -9 RSAA, along with a 7-8 record.

10) Indians 3B Travis Fryman had to leave yesterday's game, due to tightness in his lower back.

Fryman's hitting just .330 SLG, .320 OBA, .65O OPS, -14 RCAA, .352 OWP, 4.08 RC/G, 34 RC in 87 games. He's working on his 3rd season with a double digit negative RCAA and is doing it for the 2nd time in the past 3 years, while his .650 OPS is more than 50 points below his previous career worst figure of .719, in 1999.

[nyy26wc]

1) With 207 runs created, Barry Bonds has set the modern day NL record and is on pace for 228, which will put him 2nd all time, to Ruth's 243, in 1921.

Bonds also a .500 OBA, exactly right on the nose, which is a mark which hasn't been reached since Ted Williams and Mickey Mantle did it in 1957.

Bonds walked twice yesterday, giving him 153 for the season. He broke his own Giants season record, of 151, in 1996, and is on pace for 169, which is 1 shy of Ruth's record, set in 1923.

2) Reds INF Pokey Reese has been out of the lineup for the past 5 games. A MRI on his shoulder was negative and he is day to day. But, there is speculation that his absence from the lineup isn't injury related, but instead he's lost the starting job to Juan Castro.

Reese is having an awful season, hitting .346 SLG, .285 OBA, .631 OPS, -28 RCAA, .301 OWP, 3.79 RC/G, 48 RC in 128 games.

Castro is also having an awful year, hitting .315 SLG, .268 OBA, .583 OPS, -20 RCAA, .229 OWP, 3.10 RC/G, 21 RC in 92 games and only a 471-249 gap in PA is preventing his RCAA from being worse than Reese's.

This is the 3rd time in the past 4 years that Castro's had -20 RCAA or less, with only a 1 PA season in 1999 interrupting the streak. He came into the year with a .550 career OPS, compared to a league average of .775 and a positional average of .699.

This is Reese's 3rd season with -20 RCAA or less during his 5 years in the majors, with his -28 beating his -27, from 1997, for his career worst figure. He came into the year with a .683 career OPS, compared to a league average of .786 and a positional average of .750.

3) The Brewers will activate Ben Sheets from the DL today. He's expected to be limited to just 50-60 pitches in his first game back, which is tonight.

4) Cubs C Joe Girardi left the team, to be with his family while his father has bypass surgery. He's expected to miss part, or all, of their series with the Astros.

Girardi's hitting .343 SLG, .312 OBA, .655 OPS, -11 RCAA, .328 OWP, 4.02 RC/G, 24 RC in 69 games. He's had a negative RCAA every year in his 13 year career, with this being his 10th with a double digit negative figure. Girardi came into the year with a .674 career OPS, compared to a league average of .761 and a positional average of .714.

5) Rangers P Justin Thompson was going to pitch in the Instructional League, but shoulder soreness makes him questionable for that.

6) A's 2B Frank Menechino was hospitalized with food poisoning, but was then able to make the team's trip back home to Oakland. His status for today's game is uncertain.

Menechino's hitting .381 SLG, .372 OBA, .753 OPS, 2 RCAA, .512 OWP, 5.65 RC/G, 72 RC in 127 games.

7) Rockies C Sal Fasano suffered a pulled calf muscle on Wednesday night and didn't travel with the team to Montreal.

In 25 games with the Rockies, Fasano has -4 RCAA.

8) The Astros called up P Ricky Stone.

9) Cubs MGR Don Baylor says he doesn't know when Tom Gordon will be able to pitch again. According to Baylor, "He hasn't thrown from the mound yet. He's going to have to do that. I don't want to take the chance. He has a history. He's going to have to tell me, and he didn't tell me [Tuesday] that he was ready to pitch."

Gordon has a 3.38 ERA and 7 RSAA in 47 games this season. He came into the season with a 4.15 career ERA, vs. a league average of 4.41, and 71 career RSAA.

10) Pirates P Marc Wilkins has shoulder problems and will miss the rest of the season.

Wilkins had a 6.75 ERA and -4 RSAA in 14 games this year. He came into the season with a 4.12 career ERA, vs. a league average of 4.37, and 9 career RSAA.

[nyy26wc]

1) Redsox GM Dan Duquette spoke with Carl Everett's agent yesterday, to discuss getting rid of him. Everett has asked to be traded. according to the Boston Globe, "The team cannot summarily lock out Everett without inviting a fight from the union. But even if Everett insists on rejoining the Sox tomorrow after his club-imposed four-day suspension, the team is steeled against allowing him on the field until he consents to at least several requests he apparently has repeatedly rebuffed.

"Chief among the team's concerns are Everett's tardiness, his vitriolic harangues against managers Jimy Williams and Joe Kerrigan, and his steadfast refusal to accept psychological counseling.

Meanwhile, "But if Everett remains with the team, there is another concern. When he left the Sox last week rather than fly from Baltimore to Providence - on the team's 28-hour trek by bus, train, and plane from St. Petersburg, Fla. - he vowed never again to board an aircraft, according to teammates.

"Everett cited the terrorist attacks last week as his reason for refusing to fly in the future. That would sharply diminish his ability to play a 162-game baseball schedule. But as one teammate said yesterday, 'It might just be his gig of the week. That could change.'"

2) Dodgers P Chan Ho Park had to leave yesterday's game, after 7 innings, due to stiffness in his right elbow.

Park has a 3.30 ERA and 25 RSAA in 32 starts, along with a 13-11 record. Park came into the year with a 3.88 ERA, compared to a league average of 4.39 and 21 career RSAA, while this is 2nd consecutive year with 25 RSAA.

3) The Padres aren't expected to use Mike Darr or Mark Kotsay in the lineup for the rest of the season. But, Darr, who has a sprained elbow, is available as a pinch runner.

Kotsay's hitting .441 SLG, .366 OPS, .807 OPS, 12 RCAA, .582 OWP, 6.55 RC/G, 72 RC in 114 games. This is the first time in his 5 year career that he's had a positive RCAA or a .800+ OPS.

Darr's hitting .339 SLG, .359 OBA, .698 OPS, -4 RCAA, .459 OWP, 4.99 RC/G, 39 RC in 99 games. He came into the season with a .797 OPS and -4 RCAA in 281 career PA.

4) Twins 2B Luis Rivas set the team rookie record with 26 SB, breaking the mark of 25, by Willie Norwood, in 1978, and Chuck Knoblauch, in 1991.

Rivas is hitting .364 SLG, .316 OBA, .680 OPS, -19 RCAA, .386 OWP, 4.56 RC/G, 65 RC in 138 games.

5) Yankees 2B Alfonso Soriano set the team rookie record with 42 SB, breaking the mark of 41, by Bert Daniels, in 1910, when the team was known as the Highlanders.

Soriano's hitting .444 SLG, .309 OBA, .753 OPS, -4 RCAA, .479 OWP, 5.22 RC/G, 77 RC in 144 games.

[nyy26wc]

MOST RUNS CREATED, SEASON, NATIONAL LEAGUE

1 Hugh Duffy 1894 222
2 Billy Hamilton 1894 214
3 Barry Bonds 2001 207
4 Rogers Hornsby 1922 204
5 Stan Musial 1948 194
T6 Hack Wilson 1930 193
T6 Mark McGwire 1998 193
T6 Todd Helton 2000 193
9 Joe Kelley 1894 192
10 Chuck Klein 1930 191

[nyy26wc]

MOST RUNS CREATED, SEASON, NL, SINCE 1900

1 Barry Bonds 2001 207
2 Rogers Hornsby 1922 204
3 Stan Musial 1948 194
T4 Hack Wilson 1930 193
T4 Mark McGwire 1998 193
T4 Todd Helton 2000 193
7 Chuck Klein 1930 191
T8 Rogers Hornsby 1924 190
T8 Rogers Hornsby 1925 190
10 Larry Walker 1997 189

[nyy26wc]

200+ RUNS CREATED, SEASON

1 Babe Ruth 1921 243
2 Babe Ruth 1923 227
T3 Tip O'Neill 1887 222
T3 Hugh Duffy 1894 222
5 Babe Ruth 1920 216
6 Lou Gehrig 1927 215
7 Billy Hamilton 1894 214
T8 Babe Ruth 1927 211
T8 Jimmie Foxx 1932 211
10 Babe Ruth 1924 209
11 Barry Bonds 2001 207
T12 Rogers Hornsby 1922 204
T12 Lou Gehrig 1936 204
14 Ted Williams 1941 202
15 Lou Gehrig 1934 200

[nyy26wc]

.500+ OBA, SEASON

1 Ted Williams 1941 .551
2 John McGraw 1899 .547
3 Babe Ruth 1923 .545
4 Babe Ruth 1920 .532
5 Ted Williams 1957 .526
6 Billy Hamilton 1894 .523
7 Babe Ruth 1926 .516
8 Ted Williams 1954 .513
9 Babe Ruth 1924 .513
10 Babe Ruth 1921 .512
11 Mickey Mantle 1957 .512
12 Rogers Hornsby 1924 .507
13 John McGraw 1900 .505
14 Joe Kelley 1894 .502
15 Hugh Duffy 1894 .502
T16 Ed Delahanty 1895 .500
T16 Barry Bonds 2001 .500

[nyy26wc]

MOST WALKS, SEASON, GIANTS

1 Barry Bonds 2001 153
2 Barry Bonds 1996 151
3 Barry Bonds 1997 145
4 Eddie Stanky 1950 144
5 Willie McCovey 1970 137
6 Barry Bonds 1998 130
7 Eddie Stanky 1951 127
8 Barry Bonds 1993 126
9 Willie McCovey 1969 121
10 Barry Bonds 1995 120

[Duque]

Any other year, Sosa wins the NL MVP. But Bonds is having one of the greatest seasons in history.

It's a shame that Gonzalez, Sosa, and Bonds all play in the same league, since all are having better years than just about any MVP candidate in the AL.

[NetShrine]

See Pendleton (sic?) - Bonds MVP race.
Don't count Sammy out. The Press is fickle.

[BuzzBuzzard]

Originally posted by Duque
It's a shame that Gonzalez, Sosa, and Bonds all play in the same league, since all are having better years than just about any MVP candidate in the AL.

Better than A-Rod and/or Thome?

[NetShrine]

A-Rod is having the best year that no one ever heard about. That's what you get going to Texas. Even in Seattle, with Griffey there, he got enough press.

[nyy26wc]

Originally posted by NetShrine
See Pendleton (sic?) - Bonds MVP race.
Don't count Sammy out. The Press is fickle.

I've given a lot of consideration to renaming the BBWAA's MVP award the CRAP--the crazy reporters' asinine pick.

[NetShrine]

Originally posted by nyy26wc

I've given a lot of consideration to renaming the BBWAA's MVP award the CRAP--the crazy reporters' asinine pick.

Actually, that would be good. It would eliminate those debates each year - is it the "Most Valuable" or the "Best Player"? - Then, it would clearly just be the "Asinine Pick." End of debate.