Friday, June 03, 2016

The Indians Are World Champions!

The Cleveland Indians won their first Millennium League World Championship with a convincing four games to one victory over the San Francisco Giants.  A summary of the series:

SF 8, CLEV 6 - The Giants jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead and Max Scherzer pitched just good enough for the win.  Coco Crisp drove in 4 runs via a pair of singles.

CLEV 3, SF 1 - Ricky Nolasco (3-0, 2.63 ERA in the post season) was brilliant as he a fired a complete game 6-hitter while fanning 9.  Jay Bruce hit a 2-run shot for the Tribe.  Adam Wainwright, who was undefeated in this postseason prior to this game, took the loss.

CLEV 3, SF 0 - Jhoulys Chacin (3-0, 0.36 ERA) pitched 7+ innings of scoreless ball.  Pedro Alvarez, batting .349 this postseason, had a pair of hits, drove in a run and a scored a run.

CLEV 6, SF 5 (13) - The Giants' Scherzer had a one run lead going to the 9th, but Craig Kimbrel failed to notch the save as the Tribe scored a run in the 9th and then the game winner in the 13th.  The Indian bullpen tossed 8 innings of scoreless relief as Tim Stauffer got the win.  Justin Wilson took the loss as he threw a wild pitch in the 13th scoring Brian McCann.

CLEV 3, SF 2 (10) - Ben Revere drove in the winning run off loser Craig Kimbrel in the top of the 10th as the Cleveland Indians won their first championship.  The Tribe's only other World Series appearance was in the 2000 season as they lost in four games to the Arizona Diamondbacks.  Congratulations Mike Petersen and his team!

Houston Astros: A Year by Year Recap

Houston Astros Year by Year Recap
Millennium Strat League

2013
94-68, 1st Killebrew Division
Beat Toronto 4 games to 3 in 1st round of playoffs
Lost to San Francisco 4 games to 3 in 2nd round of playoffs

The Astros advance to the 2nd round of the playoffs after winning the Killebrew division. Leading the way was Clayton Kershaw. He won his 2nd Cy Young going 19-6, with a league record 1.60 ERA. He pitched 258 innings, striking out 231, 0.87 WHIP and threw 6 more shutouts which now gives him the MSL record for career shut outs with 18. Eric Stults (19-7, 3.21, 3rd round pick) tied Kershaw and 2 others for the league lead in wins. Homer Bailey (11-11, 4.27, 199 K), Kyle Kendrick (12-7, 4.62) and Jeremy Hellickson (8-7, 4.81, 4th round pick) rounded out the rotation. 2nd round pick Yordani Ventura (0-1, 6.57, 2 starts) looks to be a strong presence in the future. Bryan Morris (7-6, 5.08) and Jerome Williams (4-4, 5.20) struggled in relief. Tony Watson (6-6, 2.79) and Ernesto Frieri (1-1, 3.06) were excellent in the set up roles. Edward Mujica (2-5, 3.05) set a MSL record with 51 saves. Billy Hamilton (.167-0-1, 23 stolen bases) was the team's 1st round pick and Kris Davis (.186-6-18) showed some speed and power. 2012'2 1st 2 round picks Adam Eaton (.187-1-9) and Yasmani Grandal (.225-0-4) both struggled in 2013 but hope to contribute in 2014. Mike Napoli (.230-32-90, 32 doubles) and Giancarlo Stanton (.249-31-94) led the team in home runs. Ian Desmond (.252-21-78, 35 doubles, 14 stolen bases), Todd Frazier (.247-23-81, 34 doubles) and Matt Wieters (.220-28-58) also provided pop for Houston. The Astros trade former 1st round pick Freddie Freeman (.316-13-37, 72 games) for Gerardo Parra (.308-5-35, 78 games) and Jason Kipnis (.221-5-22, 65 games). Jacoby Ellsbury (.328-8-51, 96 runs, 40 stolen bases) set a club record with 206 hits. Omar Infante (.301-8-30) may have seen his last days in Houston. Josh Hamilton (.234-9-49) struggled as injuries may have finally gotten the best of him.

2012
91-71, 2nd Killebrew Division
Lost to Oakland 4 games to 3 in 1st round of playoffs

For the 2nd straight year the Astros finished 2nd in the Killebrew Division and for the 2nd straight year, the Oakland A's dispatched them in the 1st round of the playoffs. Josh Hamilton (.282-58-128, 116 runs) set a club record in home runs. Giancarlo Stanton (.323-47-121, 97 runs, 43 doubles) had a breakout season and along with Hamilton helped the Astros finish 293 dingers which was 2nd all time to the Mariners 301 in 2008. Shortstop Ian Desmond (.306-37-84, 109 runs, 38 doubles, 14 stolen bases) had a wonderful season as well giving the Stros their 3rd player with 37 or more home runs. Omar Infante (.299-11-65, 39 doubles), Scott Hairston (.283-21-54, 290 AB), Matt Wieters (.266-22-68), Todd Frazier (.259-19-56, 10 triples), Freddie Freeman (.251-27-78) and Cameron Maybin (.225-14-37, 18 stolen bases) all had at least 11 long balls. Mike Napoli (.191-9-35) struggled. Adam Eaton (.095-0-0, 1st round pick) and Yasmani Grandal (.236-5-19, 2nd round pick) didn't get much playing time but hope to be in Houston's future plans. Jacoby Ellsbury (.264-3-18, 11 stolen bases) fought injries and appeared in only 70 games. Clayton Kershaw (17-10, 3.00, 243 IP, 223 K, 1.00 WHIP) fell off just a bit but still threw 5 shut outs. Homer Bailey (12-10, 4.82), Brandon McCarthy (9-5, 5.01), Matt Harrison (12-11, 5.12), Joe Blanton (8-9, 5.38) and Jeff Turner (4-2, 5.79) were the other starters. Tim Blackley (3-2. 3.71) was a late call up and spot starter but threw the Astros 2nd ever no hitter. Matt Thornton (2-2, 4.58), Tony Watson (4-1, 4.15), Alex Burnett (8-2, 4.02), Edward Mujica (2-2, 3.04), Ronald Belisario (5-3, 2.88) and Casey Fien (1-5, 2.64) pitched well and bridged the gap between the starters and closer Ernesto Frieri (2-5, 3.44) and his 28 saves.

2011
96-66, 2nd Killebrew Division
Lost to Oakland 4 games to in 1st ound of playoffs

After 6 long years the Astros finally made it back to the playoffs. Mike Napoli (.314-43-109, 401 AB) had his best year as a pro and the best year for an Astro in 2011.Jacoby Ellsbury (.291-29-90, 120 runs, 37 stolen bases) and Cameron Maybin (.281-14-48, 88 runs, 12 triples, 38 stolen bases) patrolled the outfield with slugger Giancarlo Stanton (.235-34-96, 90 runs, 11 triples). Matt Wieters (.263-21-53), Omar Infante (.277-8-51) and Ian Desmond (.216-10-39, 17 stolen bases) were stellar up the middle. Josh Hamilton (.263-25-85, 33 doubles) battled through nagging injuries to DH and help the offense. Houston continued to stock it's stable with 1st baseman Freddie Freeman (.262-21-61, 35 doubles) and 3rd baseman Todd Frazier (.167-6-13, 84 AB). Mark Reynolds (.190-37-97) was big or bust in 2011. He struck out a league record 232 times. Ladies and gentlemen please welcome the arrival of Clayton Kershaw. The 2011 MSL Cy Young winner went 24-7 with a 2.52 ERA. He threw 7 shut outs and struck out 238, 1.03 WHIP. He tied the MSL record for wins and set the MSL record for shutouts. Homer Bailey (10-7, 4.78), Matt Harrison (14-9, 3.05), Brandon McCarthy (9-7, 3.86) and Colby Lewis (10-10, 4.53) were solid for Houston. Despite being nearly 300 years old, Livian Hernandez (8-8, 6.18) still made 16 starts. Ryan Madson (4-5, 3.19) reclaimed his closer role with 36 saves from Matt Thornton (2-1, 2.24). Rafel Perez (3-1, 1.87), Kyle Farnsworth (0-2, 3.21), Edward Mujica (1-2, 3.90) and Enersto Frieri (4-3, 3.93) helped bridge the gap.

2010
67-95, 5th Killebrew Division

For the 1st time in 5 years, Houston did not break the century mark in losses. Josh Hamilton had a year for the ages. He batted .369 with 43 home runs, 115 RBI, 102 runs, 198 hits and 41 doubles. He was not only chasing the league batting average record but also the triple crown but fell short on both instances. Jack Cust (.269-20-54), Russell Branyan (.251-31-83) and Mark Reynolds (.162-21-60) hit some tape measure shots during the year. The Astros continue to collect young talent as Giancarlo Stanton (.211-28-75, 384 AB) showed raw power despite not batting well. He joins Ian Desmond (.241-10-48), Matt Wieters (.241-11-31), Omar Infante (.290-6-37) and Jacoby Ellsbury (.000-0-0) for a bright future. Mike Napoli (.235-19-48), Brandon Inge (.210-13-47) and Johnny Gomes (.205-10-32) provided some power. Matt Thornton (1-1, 1.69, 33 saves) took over the closer role with outstanding success. Aaron Heilman (3-1, 3.44), Logan Ondrusek (4-2, 3.62) and Edward Mujica (2-4, 3.84) were solid in the set up role while Nick Masset (1-6, 5.37) fell apart in 2010. Homer Bailey (8-5, 5.04) and Clayton Kershaw (11-16, 4.35, 222 K) are progressing nicely and wouldn't be surprised in one of them has a break out year in 2011. Colby Lewis (14-8, 4.24, 205 K) and Livian Hernandez (9-13, 4.60) provided solid starts. Armando Gallaraga (3-9, 5.57), Kevin Correia (3-12, 7.79) and Manny Parra (1-6, 9.54) were horrible.

2009
52-110, 5th Killebrew Division

Houston was once again a powerful team with 219 home runs. Mark Reynolds (.268-50-116, 101 runs, 30 doubles, 86 walks, 225 K, 13 stolen bases) had a career year hitting the 50 mark in taters. Rookie Matt Wieters (.318-17-50) was great in his 108 games. Jack Cust (.234-16-45), Josh Hamilton (.234-13-32), Mike Napoli (.225-23-60), Johnny Gomes (.223-25-50) and Brandon Inge (.219-31-83) all had power but couldn't hit the ball consistently with the highest average at .234. Jacoby Ellsbury (.285-7-40, 88 runs, 88 stolen bases) was electric on the base paths as he set a MSL record with 88 stolen bases. Omar Infante (.273-0-15) and rookie Ian Desmond (.263-1-7) look to be the future up the middle. Clayton Kershaw (5-16, 4.73, 199 K) and Homer Bailey (5-9, 7.84) struggled again but Houston still has high hopes for both of these young pitchers. Livian Hernandez (6-16, 5.58), Kevin Correia (7-16, 6.17) and Brad Penny (9-17, 6.92) started 97 games with a combined record of 22-49. Matt Thornton (2-3, 2.49), Nick Masset (5-3, 3.01) and Todd Coffey (2-2, 3.64) pitched well out of the pen. Closer Ryan Madson (5-10, 5.19, 17 saves) and Phil Coke (0-0, 5.62) were terrible. Youngster Matt Harrison (0-8, 9.86) was winless in 12 starts.

2008
55-107, 5th Killebrew Division

Houston's 241 team homer were 2nd in the league in 2008. Lance Berkman (.289-32-94, 96 runs, 45 doubles) had another magnificent season in Jeff Miller's 1st season as owner of the Astros. Josh Hamilton (.270-33-89, 95 runs) and Mark Reynolds (.229-33-105, 226 K) both joined Berkman in the 30 home run club. Mike Napoli (.260-20-50, 235 AB), Jim Edmonds (.240-26-66, 29 doubles , 350 AB) and Jack Cust (.219-26-63, 108 walks, 205 K) each went over 20 dingers. Garret Atkins (.272-14-41), Richie Sexson (.252-12-26, 155 AB) and Mark Ellis (.226-14-43) hit double digits in home runs. Jacoby Ellsbury (.259-9-52, 41 stolen bases) and Omar Infante (.271-4-29) look to have secured positions up the middle. With a 6.04 team ERA the Astros pitching staff was once again bad. However with the additions of Homer Bailey (2-3, 9.17, 7 GS) and Clayton Kershaw (3-12, 8.33) there is hope for the future. Brad Penny (7-4, 4.45) wasn't too bad but Vincente Padilla (9-13, 5.21), Tim Redding (5-15, 6.37) and Livian Hernandez (4-19, 7.99) weren't good. Closer Billy Wagner (2-4, 2.81, 26 saves) was very good. Ryan Madson (2-7, 3.58), Willie Ohman (4-3, 3.93) and Matt Thornton (4-2, 4.10) pitched okay out of the pen.

2007
53-109 5th Killebrew Division

With a .269 batting average and 210 homers, the Astros can still hit. With 12 players hitting 10 or more homers being led by long time Astro Lance Berkman (.252-32-89), The Astros hit 210 team dingers. Moises Alou (.344-20-51, 317 AB), Josh Hamilton (.322-14-51, 270 AB), Kat Matsui (.313-10-46, 412 AB, 24 stolen bases)) and Jose Molina (.303-2-17) all batted over .300. Mark Ellis (.291-11-22), Brad Hawpe (.280-17-52), Jeremy Hermida (.271-19-71), Damon Easley (.270-10-28), Garrett Atkins (.260-12-64), Mike Napoli (.258-12-32), Ryan Spilborghs (.252-14-28) and Willy Mo Pena (.249-11-33) a;; went into double digit in long balls for the Astros. Sammy Sosa (.266-8-33, 192 AB) and Craig Biggio (.261-1-6, 69 AB) both played sparingly despite their illustrious careers. Pitching was once again a disaster for Houston. Starters Todd Wellmeyer (3-4, 4.15), Darrin McGowan (3-8, 4.68), Scott Baker (9-12, 4.92), Woody Williams (2-21, 6.21), Ervin Santana (1-16, 6.97) and Jonathan Danks (3-17, 8.01). The last 3 had 92 starts and went a combined 6-54. Carlos Marmol (5-2, 3.05, 14 saves), Mitch Guerrier (4-4, 3.81) and Jason Grilli (7-4, 3.97) were decent out of the pen while Shawn Chacon (2-9, 5.90, 69 games, 102 IP) was very bad.

2006
47-115 5th Killebrew Division

The Astros saw a catastrophic dip in 2006. They dropped 35 wins from the previous year. They still batted .267 with 187 home runs. Garrett Atkins (.318-23-68, 43 2B) had a spectacular season for the Stros. Mike Piazza (.288-27-75) and Lance Berkman (.272-35-84) both provided power for the Astros. They had 5 other players who hit at least 11 home runs. Moises Alou (.275-11-35), Juan Encarnacion (.254-13-50), Mike Sweeney (.233-12-37), Cliff Floyd (.226-17-42) and Mike Napoli (.206-12-29) were on that list. David Eckstein (.291-2-27) and Mark Kotsay (.270-6-48) also contributed for Houston. Pitching was flat out bad. The starting staff of Claudio Vargas (5-15, 5.73), Steve Trachsel (5-14, 5.83), Tom Glavine (10-12, 6.08), Vincente Padilla (8-21, 6.56) and Cole Hamels (3-13, 6.57) has to be among the worst of all time They started 136 of the 162 games. The relievers weren't much better. H Carrasco (2-8, 4.95, 91 IP), Matt Thornton (1-2, 5.17), Charles Gaudin (2-3, 4.42) and R Bauer (3-4, 3.93) were set up men/mop of men for closer Billy Wagner (1-8, 3.91, 19 saves).

2005
82-80 3rd Killebrew Division

The Astros finished 3rd in the Killebrew Divison, ending their two year run of winning the Division. They continued to be a hitting team, batting .271 with 182 long balls. They had 8 players hit 10 or more homeruns. Mike Sweeney (.276-25-67, 41 2B) led the team with 25 homers. David Eckstein (.318-13-61, 99 runs) lead the team in runs, hits, ba tting average, triples, HBP and stolen bases. Moises Alou (.301-21-60) and Lance Berkman (.298-17-70, 38 2B, 83 BB) are long time Astros who helped contribute this season. Luis Gonzalez (.295-6-57), Mark Kotsay (.287-17-87), Larry Walker (.277-15-48), Brad Hawpe (.261-10-29) and Mike Lieberthal (.247-17-60) all chipped in on offense. Houston had 5 pitches win at least 10 games in 2005. Justin Duchscherer (10-4, 2.53, 97 K, 85.1 IP, 8 sv) was spectacular out of the pen to win his 10 games. Shawn Chacon (12-6, 4.85, 2 sv) split time between the starting rotation and the pen for his 12 wins. Jason Johnson (10-12, 4.71), Tom Glavine (11-14, 5.53) and Jeff Weaver (11-12, 5.86) were the starters in double digits. Toma Ohka (9-11, 4.26) and Rodrigo Lopez (4-12, 7.13) were the other two full time starters with Hector Carrasco (7-3, 2.94) getting almost a dozen starts. Billy Wagner (4-0, 0.76, 26 sv, 29 hits, 9 BB, 54 K in 47.1 IP) was nearly unhittable in the 9th inning of games.

2004
95-67 1st Killebrew Division
Beat Minnesota 4 games to 2 in 1st round of playoffs
Lost to St. Louis 4 games to 1 in 2nd round of playoffs

The Houston Astros defended their division title in 2004 and won their 1st playoff series before bowing out in the 2nd round. The Astros batted .279 as a team with 218 home runs. 1st baseman Jeff Bagwell (.273-14-49) had a down year. Other infielders included 3rd baseman Sean Burroughs (.268-3-46), 2nd baseman Todd Walker (.232-17-57) and former 1st round draft pick David Eckstein (.280-1-52, 15 SB) at short stop. Eli Marrero (.419-11-56, 21 2B 198 AB) dazzled in a limited role. Lance Berkman (.305-32-108, 114 runs, 40 2B, 126 BB, 10 SB) led Houston in 8 offensive categories. There were a total of 10 Astros who hit double digit in home runs. Eli Marrero, Lance Berkman, Miguel Ojeda (.303-13-37, 132 AB), Mike Sweeney (.286-24-83), Mark Kotsay (.285-14-63, 38 2B, 82 runs), Moises Alou (.273-26-83, 88 runs, 34 2B), Junior Spivey (.263-15-34, 160 AB), Mike Piazza (.258-20-68) and Todd Walker all eclipsed the double digit barrier. The franchise's very 1st pick, Larry Walker (.254-8-41), continued to struggle in Houston. The Stros had 5 pitchers win at least 12 games. Jaret Wright (13-7, 3.33) emerged as the star of the staff. Jason Johnson (12-9, 4.68), Rodrigo Lopez (12-10, 4.73), Tom Glavine (14-9, 5.17) and Jeff Weaver (15-12, 5.33) all had records above .500 depite having poor ERAs. Billy Wagner (1-3, 2.45, 35 sv) and Octavio Dotel (6-3, 3.89, 9 sv, 98 K, 78.2 IP) anchored the bullpen once again, this time with help from Akinori Otsuka (2-3, 2.86, 2 sv)

2003
82-80, 1st Killebrew Division
Lost to St. Louis 4 games to 1 in 1st round of playoffs

2003 saw the Houston Astros only go 82-80. However that record was good enough for Houston to win their 2nd division title in 3 years. The Astros got back to their hitting ways by batting .273 with 198 home runs. Lance Berkman (.316-23-104, 107 runs, 43 2B), Moises Alou (.313-13-45, 278 AB), Bo Hart (.313-1-34, 10 T, 275 AB), Ramon Vazquez (.309-5-41) and 1st round draft pick Mark Teixeira (.302-5-13, before being traded to Boston along with Houston's 2nd and 3rd round pick in 2004 for Mike Sweeney (.299-8-32), Tom Glavine (1-2, 7.04), Garrett Atkins and Boston's 1st round pick in 2004) all batted over .300 for Houston. Jeff Bagwell (.260-46-136, 107 runs) topped the 40 home run mark for the 3rd time in 4 years. Sean Burroughs (.275-9-41), Mark Kotsay (.270-19-79), Alex Cintron (.265-15-48), Mark Piazza (.260-19-42, 250 AB) and Larry Walker (.249-15-68, 34 2B) rounded out the offense. Kip Wells (11-13, 5.04), Wade Miller (14-12, 5.11), Jae Seo (10-11, 5.29) and Brian Anderson (13-12, 5.48) all won over 10 games despite each of them having an ERA of over 5. The strength of the pitching staff was in it's bullpen. Tom Martin (1-3, 2.49, 2 sv), Billy Wagner (6-1, 2.61, 33 sv, 73 K, 51.2 IP), Octavio Dotel (6-7, 3.07, 4 sv, 103 K, 88 IP) and Matt Herges (4-2, 3.57, 4 sv) protected leads late to help the Astros finish out games.

2002
74-88 3rd Killebrew Division

The 2002 version of the Houston Astros missed the playoffs for the 1st time in MSL history managing to win only 74 games. After hitting at least .270 with at least 240 homers in each of the 1st 2 years, they only batted .252 with 161 longball in 2002. Larry Walker (.303-29-89) and Moises Alou (.303-6-19) were the only 2 Houston players to bat over .300. Power was supplied by the Killer B trio of Jeff Bagwell (.287-36-95, 105 runs, 33 2B, 91 BB), Lance Berkman (.257-32-91, 88 runs, 34 2B) and Craig Biggio (.210-19-75, 19 HBP, 10 SB). 2nd year second baseman David Eckstein (.271-6-35, 84 runs, 11 T, 34 HBP, 26 SB), Chris Singleton (.256-11-43, 15 SB) and Jeff Cirillo (.208-4-28) all played roles for the Astros. Wade Miller (11-4, 3.36) was the only starter to have a winning record. Brian Anderson (8-9, 4.37), Jason Johnson (8-12, 5.14), Kevin Appier (6-15, 5.31), Josh Fogg (4-11, 5.40) and Ryan Dempster (5-8, 6.11) all brought the stank on a nightly basis. Octavio Dotel (5-4, 1.93, 11 sv, 90 K, 74.2 IP) and Billy Wagner (1-4, 2.93, 22 sv) were excellent out of the pen. David Eckstein set a ne league record with 34 HBP.

2001
98-64 1st Killebrew Division
Lost to Oakland 4 games to 3 in 1st round of playoffs

The Astros won their 1st division title in the 2nd year of the MSL. This team once again were hitters batting .270 with 244 home runs. 2000 1st round draft pick Larry Walker (.317-32-85, 36 2B, 116 runs) led the team in batting average. The Astros also had 3 other players batting over .300. Lance Berkman (.316-32-104, league leading 52 2B, 116 runs), Jeff Bagwell (.307-43-123, 125 runs) and Jeff Cirillo (.307-20-68) all eclipsed that mark with Moises Alou (.298-24-89) just missing it at .298. Craig Biggio (.255-18-67, 97 runs, record 29 HBP), Greg Norton (.260-14-39, 123 AB), Joe Liefer (.253-24-61, 277 AB) and Ben Petrick (.231-11-30) all were over 10 homers giving the Astros 9 players in double digits after having 10 of them the year before. 1st round draft pick David Eckstein (.246-4-41) led the team with a franchise record 27 stolen bases. We then have the curious case of Richard Hildago who had a spectacular inaugural MSL season (.296-51-159) just to see a historical drop off in 2001. Hildago batted .248 with 7 home runs and 31 RBI. All 5 starters won in double figures despite all of them having ERAs over 4 with one being over 6.50. Wade Miller (19-6, 4.06), Albie Lopez (17-12, 4.33), Kevin Appier (12-10, 4.57) and Jimmy Anderson (13-11, 4.86) were all solid for Houston. Ryan Dempster (12-9, 6.53) is now 29-21 for his career despite having an ERA of over 6. The Astros had 5 pitchers out of the pen that contributed heavily to the success of the team. Octavio Dotel (6-1, 1.79, 5 sv, 112 K, 90.2 IP), Bobby Witt (5-2, 1.91, 3 sv, 33.2 IP), Billy Wagner (1-4, 2.93, 42 sv, 77 K, 58.1 IP), Mike Remlinger (3-2, 3.41, 1 sv, 86 K, 63.1 IP) and Vladimir Nunez (5-1, 3.73, 100 IP) went 20-10 out of the pen to help the Astros to the division title. Wade Miller (.760 winning %), Billy Wagner (42 saves) and Craig Biggio (29 HBP) all set new single season records.

2000
93-69 2nd Killebrew Division
Lost to Arizona 4 games to 1 in 1st round of playoffs

This team flat out hit. With a .278 team batting average and 248 home runs they demolished teams along the way. The Astros had 10 players with more than 10 home runs. Richard Hildago (.296-51-159, 127 runs, 35 2B) ended up 5th in the league in home runs and 2 in RBI. Hildago ended up with the painful distinction of leading the league with 28 HBP. Moises Alou (.330-19-88) and Jeff Bagwell (.316-41-109, 141 runs, 40 2B, 104 BB) both ended up batting over .300. Jeff Cirillo (.291-19-47, 47 2B), Lance Berkman (.290-20-68), Joe Girardi (.284-10-56), Mike Bordick (.283-30-98, 104 runs), Craig Biggio (.278-10-46), Ron Gant (.272-15-41, 191 AB) and Brook Fordyce (.258-14-30, 159 AB) all hit the double digit mark in longballs. 1st round draft pick Larry Walker (.260-7-62) had an average season. Ryan Dempster (17-12, 5.70, 217 K), Jose Mercedes (10-7, 3.53), Kevin Appier (15-8, 4.21) and Albie Lopez (15-8, 4.64) paced a solid yet unspectacular starting staff. Mike Remlinger (1-1, 2.80, 32 saves) and Paul Shuey (4-2, 2.22) anchored the bullpen.