ARIZONA WINS AGAIN!

For the second time in three years, the Arizona Diamondbacks have won the World Series!

Game 1: Boston 7-3
Boston opened up a close game late with 2 pinch hit homeruns and Glavine gave up just 1 er in 6 ip's. Schilling turns in another subpar playoff performance.

Game 2: Arizona 2-1
Randy Johnson got the cg victory. He went 8 scoreless before allowing a pair of doubles in the top of the 9th that knotted the game at 1-1. Arizona won it in the bottom of the 9th with a run scoring pinch ht single by Fick. Lowe pitched very well for Boston allowing just 1 hit in 6 ip's.

Game 3: Boston 2 - 0
Pedro Martinez pitches 7 scoreless innings, and then Timlin and Smoltz pitched 2 innings of relief to win it. Eric Young scored the winning run in the 7th as he pinch ran for Mike Sweeney, then stole second and came home on a Ken Griffey, Jr base hit.

Game 4: Arizona 4 - 0
Curt Schilling made up for his "subpar" performance in game 1 as he pitched 8 innings of 1 hit shutout baseball. He struck out 10 in the win.

Game 5: Arizona 9 - 5
Tom Glavine only lasted 2 innings giving up 5 runs on 3 homeruns by Diamondback hitters. Rafeal Furcal and Doug Mientkiewicz, batting 1 and 2, went 5 for 9 with 3 runs scored and 2 rbi's, to pace the Arizona attack.

Game 6: Arizona 4 - 3
Lowe pitched 6 great shutout innings for Boston but was lifted for a pinch hitter in the 7th. Yan came on in relief and proceeded to blow the 3-0 lead. Arizona's bullpen pitched 4 2/3 scoreless innings. Weber got the win and Shuey got the save.

It's a Arizona - Boston World Series

The Red Sox - Pirates series went to the 7th and deciding game in a hard fought series, as Boston edged out the Pittsburgh Pirates 4 games to 3. They advance to face Arizona for the championship!

Game 1: Roy Oswalt pitched 8 shutout innings to beat Boston, 4-0.

Game 2: Nomar Garciaparra hit 2 homeruns and Derek Lowe went 7 innings for a 8-7 win over the Pirates to send the series to Boston, tied at 1-1.

Game 3: Pedro Martinez went 7 and 2/3 innings throwing 5 hit shut out baseball as Boston won 3-0 over Zito and the Pirates.

Game 4: Matt Clement and B.K. Kim edged out the Red Sox, 3-2. Clement had 9 strikeouts in the win.

Game 5: The game was tied 1-1 going into the bottom of the 10th when Boston loaded the bases with 2 outs. Ramon Vazquez stepped in and took ball four to force in the winning run as the Red Sox sent the series back to Pittsburgh, up 3 games to 2.

Game 6: Pittsburgh, with their backs to the wall sent Kerry Wood to the mound, and with only 1 run in the first, beat Boston to tie the series at 3-3, with a 1-0 win.

Game 7: In a rematch of Game 3 with Pedro and Zito matched up again. Pedro Martinez pitched 7 perfect innings and John Smoltz capped it with 2 no-hit innings of his own, as Boston won the game and the series, 1-0, on a combined no-hitter! In the series, Pedro Martinez went 14 2/3 innings, giving up only 5 hits, 2 walks and 14 strikeouts.

Indians Announce New Manager

Cleveland (AP) - Former Seattle Mariners manager Michael Petersen was hired yesterday to manage the Cleveland Indians.

Introduced at a late-afternoon news conference, Petersen said, "I am looking at this challenge with great enthusiasm."

Petersen most recently managed the division rival Seattle Mariners for 3 seasons. In that time, the Mariners won the MSL Championship in 2001 and were eliminated in the first round of the 2002 playoffs. He agreed to a long term contract, but the details were not immediately available.

"I want to thank the Indians for giving me the opportunity to come to Cleveland," he said.

Arizona Defeats Phils in 7 Games

In an extremely hardfought series, Arizona came from a 3-0 series deficit to win the series 4 games to 3. The series featured several highlights including an incredible bases loaded triple play turned by Arizona in the critical 6th game. A brief game recap follows:

Game 1 @ Arizona: Philly 4-2
Randy Johnson pitched 11 strong innings versus the highpowered Philly attack. He gave up a 2-run shot to Mike Lieberthal in the top of the 11th. Pujols added a homerun and the Philly bullpen pitched 5 scoreless for the winners.

Game 2 @Arizona: Philly 9-2
This one was decided early. Schilling got hit hard and was behind 8-1 by the time the dust cleared in the 5th. Chavez and Hatteberg homered for Philly and Rodrigo Lopez gave up just 1 er in 6 ip's for the win.

Series moves to Philadelphia with Phils up 2-0

Game 3 @Philly Philly 4-0
The Arizona bats remained silent and Philly took a huge lead in the series 3-0. 3's were wild as 3 Philly hurlers limited Arizona to 3 hits and 3 Philly batters hit triples.

Game 4 @Philly Arizona 8-2
D'Backs erupt for 8 runs and 13 hits and avoid the sweep! Randy Johnson pitches another CG. This one the 9 inning variety. He allows 2 er's and k's 15. Matt Williams homered for Arizona and Vlad added a shot for the Phils.

Game 5 @Philly Arizona 11-5
Hmm ...2 games in a row for D'Backs? Arizona cracks out 14 more hits enroute to their 2nd victory in the series. Schilling picks up the win and 4 Arizona relievers slow the Philly attack.

Series returns to Arizona with Phils holding 3-2 game lead

Game 6 @Arizona Arizona 8-2
Brian Lawrence pitched 4 innings allowing 1 run. 5 more D'Back relievers limit Philly to 1 er over the next 5 innings. The highlight of this game was a 4-5-4 Triple Play turned in the top of the 5th to stimy a Philadelphia threat! J Hairston set the tone early with a leadoff homerun for Arizona.

Arizona has fought back from a 3-0 deficit and head to game 7 with the Unit on the hill.

Game 7 @Arizona Arizona 4-3
Randy Johnson throws his 3rd complete game of this series. He goes 9 full, allows 2 er's and k's 12. Steve Finley hit a 2-run homer for the D'Backs and Magglio Ordonez added a run scoring triple and a double. Mark Bellhorn and Vlad went long for Philly.

An incredible series. This was 1 of those times that it really was too bad someone had to lose. Rick and his Philadelphia team gave the D'backs all they could handle. Arizona heads to the finals hoping to win the title for the 2nd time in 3 years.

2nd Round Preview & Playoff Predictions

Three of the four remaining playoff teams are from the tough Koufax Division. My predictions:

#5 Pittsburgh vs. #8 Boston (season series: ties at 9-9) - Pittsburgh handled 1st playoff opponent New York by scoring runs in abundance as Brian Giles had a monster series. Boston's pitching gave up a mere 13 runs to Atlanta. Something has to give. This series will feature some tight low scoring ballgames. However, the Pirates have a strong pitching staff of their own . . . . . . . .

Prediction: Buccos end Red Sox season with convincing win PITTSBURH WINS IN 5 GAMES

#2 Arizona vs. #6 Philadelphia (season series: Arizona 5-1) - The D-Backs cruised through their first playoff opponent Giants via their bats and not their pitching. Look for stronger performances from Johnson and Schilling this time around. Philadelphia almost blew a 3-0 series lead to Seattle before finally winning the finale. The Phillie bats are the best in the league, but good pitching usually beats good hitting. . . .

Prediction: Phillies worn out from series with Mariners ARIZONA WINS IN 6 GAMES

Buccos Turn Back Yanks

NEW YORK - The Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the New York Yankees 9-2 last night in game six to win the playoff series 4 games to 2. Complete box scores can be obtained by clicking here. Other highlights:

"Yanks won game one in convincing fashion and it was all downhill from there as the Pirates won four of the next five to take the series. Yanks tag team closer duo (Rivera-Foulke) was lit up for 8 hits 6 runs and three homers in a little over three innings, it was an ugly pitching performance by New York.

Brian Giles was the hitting star, three homers, 8 RBI, 2 doubles, a triple and a 391 Avg. Oswalt, Zito and Wood combined for an ERA over 9.00, but the Pirates still cruised to victory; their bullpen allowed only15 hits in 28 innings with a 2.20 ERA."

Cabrera Figures to be High Draft Pick

Highly touted 20 year old infielder Miguel Cabrera figures to be a high draft pick in the upcoming 2003 Millennium League. Cabrera minor league career included playing for the Jupiter Hammerheads in 2002. Other highlights:

Made the move from SS to 3B with Jupiter (A), playing in a career-high 124 games... hit .274 and set career bests in at-bats (489), runs scored (77), hits (134), doubles (43), homers (nine), RBI (75) and steals (10)... ranked first in the Florida State League in doubles and third in extra-base hits (53)... registered a .936 fielding percentage in his 88 games at 3B (16 E in 235 TC)... participated in All-Star weekend, as he played for the World Team in the Radio Shack All-Star Futures Game, July 7, 2002 at Miller Park.

White Sox Looking to Rebound in 2003

The Chicago White Sox have finished last in the Aaron Division in each of the last two seasons. However, this coming 2003 season, Chicago has stockpiled quite a few early draft picks: two first round picks and three second round picks. Considering the fact that this coming draft is the deepest ever for the Millennium League, should bode well for the White Sox. Click here to see a complete list of draft picks owned by each team.

Redbirds Expected to Release Vina

ST. LOUIS - Contract negotiations broke down last night with starting Cardinals second baseman Fernando Vina. It has been widely speculated that St. Louis will be releasing Vina to make roster room for other players.

A very popular player in St. Louis, Vina played in all 162 games each of the past two seasons. Fernando's best season was 2001 - when he hit .307, 16HR's and 60 RBI's. Last season, Vina numbers dropped to .278, only 1 HR and 48 RBI's. Also, Vina committed an uncharacteristic 20 errors at second base. For the coming 2003 season, it has been believed that Placido Polanco will be moving from third to second base to make room for Vinny Castilla and possibly Melvin Mora.

While St. Louis management has made no official comment on the matter, they did acknowledge that contract discussions have broken off.

"St. Louis has been a fun place to play and the Cardinals management have treated me well", said Vina sounding like someone expecting to play for a different team in 2003.

Mariners part ways with manager

SEATTLE--Michael Petersen didn't take any questions on Thursday after the Mariners announced they were not renewing his contract. There was nothing left to be said.

Petersen is gone after three seasons in Seattle, guiding the Mariners to the MSL Championship in 2001 and ending this season with a first round playoff elimination. The Mariners were 282-204 (.580) under Petersen.

"I'd just like to tell everybody that I'd like to thank the organization for giving me the opportunity to come here and win this thing," Petersen said Thursday to a packed media throng in the interview room. "I wish we could've gotten it done this season, and we didn't. I guess all good things must come to an end, and all things come to pass."

What's next for Petersen?

"I fully expect to stay in MSL in some capacity," he said. "I'm not exactly sure with which team. Perhaps the phone might ring and someone ask me to do something. My time in Seattle was a very good time."

Philly Knocks Defending Champs Out of Playoffs

Well, it wasn't easy - but, the Philadelphia Phillies have advanced to the Semi-Finals with a playoff series win over defending champs Seattle.

Philadelphia won the first three games to take a commanding 3-0 lead. But, the Mariners, backed by strong starting pitching (Lidle, Garcia and Moyer), won three straight to send the series to a deciding 7th game.

In the finale, Phillies' Eric Chavez hit a big three run homerun to pave the way for a 4-1 victory for Philadelphia. Click here for complete box scores. Philadelphia will now meet Arizona in the next playoff round.

Arizona Advances

This was a great series of games. Arizona manages to advance by winning the series 4 games to 2. Barry Bonds was a huge factor and if SF's defense had not been so porous( 7 errors and many more balls that were not reached due to poor defensive range ratings) the results would have been much different. For complete box scores, click here.

Game 1@ Az: Pineiro outpitched Schilling as SF won 7-3. The big blow came in the 4-run 6th inning when Geoff Blum hit a 2 rbi triple.

Game 2@ Az: D'backs expected to rebound behind ace pitcher Randy Johnson. Unfortunately, the Unit gave up 7 runs in just 2 innings. The D'back offense was also busy, scoring 8 runs of their own in the 1st 2 innings. The pitching duel was 8-7 after 2! The score went back and forth until Arizona tacked on 6 more in the bottom of the 8th and came out on top 15-10.

The series moves to San Fran tied at 1 apiece.

Game 3@ SF: Finally a well pitched game as Lawrence and Ortiz both go deep into the game and allow just 1 run apiece. The D'backs take advantage of the SF bullpen in the top of the 8th when Jose Hernandez strokes a 2-run homerun. Shields and Shuey shut down San Fran and Arizona wins it 4-1.

Game 4@ SF: Curt Schilling performs a little better his 2nd time around in the series and outpitches Livan Hernandez enroute to a 6-5 victory and a 3-1 game series lead. Arizona built a 5-1 lead, San Fran picked away at the lead, but couldn't quite come all the way back.

Game 5@ SF: Joel Pineiro picked up his 2nd win of the series in the CG 4-hitter. Randy Johnson got hit hard again and finishes the 1st round of the playoffs with an e.r.a. just shy of 13! ouch! Barry Bonds hit a pair of homeruns, San Fran wins 5-2 and the series returns to Arizona with SF down 3 games to 2.

The series moves back to Arizona.

Game 6@ Az: Lawrence versus Weaver in a great game. Both starters went deep into the game and the score was tied at 2 after 9 innings. San Francisco struck for 2 in the top of the 11th and it looked like the series was going to a 7th game..........until Luis Gonzalez's game winning grand slam off of Rob Nen in the bottom half of the 11th wins it for Arizona and puts them into round 2 of the playoffs. Arizona wins game 6 by a score of 8-4.

Barry Bonds was a 1-man wrecking crew. He finished the series batting .435, with an obp of .519, a slugging % of 1.043 and an obs of 1.562.