Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Cardinals Post Dramatic Win








The streaking St. Louis Cardinals defeated the New York Yankees 9-5 for a dramatic victory at Yankee Stadium. Jim Edmonds, taking the day off, came off the bench in the ninth and hit a 3-run pinch hit homer off Dave Veres to send the game into extra innings. Then, the Cardinals scored four runs in the12th. The St. Louis bullpen pitched six innings of one-hit ball for the win.



Strat-O-Matic Report








BOXSCORE: 2003 St. Louis Cardinals At 2003 New York Yankees 5/2/2003



Cardinals AB R H RBI AVG Yankees AB R H RBI AVG

E.Renteria SS 7 1 1 1 .342 R.Klesko DH 4 2 1 1 .244

C.Baerga 2B 6 0 3 0 .500 S.Stewart LF 6 0 1 0 .310

M.Mora CF 5 0 1 0 .375 A.Soriano 2B 6 1 2 2 .319

B-P.Polanco 3B 1 1 1 0 .354 A.Berroa SS 6 0 1 1 .262

B.Fullmer DH 4 0 0 0 .375 R.Sexson 1B 5 0 1 0 .300

F-M.Difelice PH 1 1 1 0 .500 R.Ventura 3B 5 0 1 0 .223

J.Drew RF 6 2 4 2 .318 B.Williams CF 5 0 1 0 .226

J.Payton LF 6 2 4 1 .364 A.Kearns RF 5 1 1 0 .188

B.Broussard 1B 4 0 1 0 .349 E.Guzman C 3 1 2 0 .147

E-P.Konerko PH,1B 2 0 0 1 .238 C-E.Burks PH 1 0 0 0 .213

M.Lecroy C 5 1 1 1 .310 D-J.Lopez C 1 0 0 0 .340

V.Castilla 3B 3 0 0 0 .250

A-J.Edmonds PH,CF 2 1 1 3 .329

-- -- -- --- -- -- -- ---

Totals 52 9 18 9 Totals 47 5 11 4



A-Pinch Hit For Castilla In 9th Inning

B-Subbed Defensively (3B) For Mora In 9th Inning

C-Pinch Hit For Guzman In 9th Inning

D-Subbed Defensively (C ) For Burks In 10th Inning

E-Pinch Hit For Broussard In 10th Inning

F-Pinch Hit For Fullmer In 12th Inning



Cardinals....... 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 4 - 9 18 1

Yankees......... 0 0 0 0 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 - 5 11 1



Cardinals (20-4) IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA

W.Williams 6 10 5 4 1 3 0 5.40

C.Eldred 2 0 0 0 0 4 0 1.35

D.Marte 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.71

J.Nelson WIN(3-0) 2 1 0 0 0 3 0 3.38

T.Percival 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 2.57

Totals 12 11 5 4 2 13 0



Yankees (21-18) IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA

K.Snyder 7 6 1 1 1 3 1 5.23

K.Foulke 1 3 2 2 0 0 1 5.40

D.Veres BS(1st) 0 1/3 2 2 2 0 0 1 9.00

M.Rivera 1 3 0 0 0 1 0 4.15

M.Gallo LOSS(1-1) 2 2/3 4 4 4 1 0 0 6.00

Totals 12 18 9 9 2 4 3



ATTENDANCE- 54,296 DATE- Thursday, May 2nd 2003 TIME- Day WEATHER- Good

UMPIRES- Brian O'Nora, Dan Iassogna, Mark Hirschbeck, Wally Bell

T- 3:49

LEFT ON BASE- Cardinals:10 Yankees: 8

DOUBLE PLAYS- Cardinals: 1 Yankees: 2

ERRORS- E.Renteria, A.Berroa

DOUBLES- J.Drew(3rd), S.Stewart(11th), A.Soriano(15th), A.Kearns(2nd),

E.Guzman(3rd)

HOME RUNS- E.Renteria(4th), J.Drew(4th), J.Edmonds(9th)

SACRIFICE FLIES- M.Lecroy

WALKS- B.Fullmer, J.Edmonds, R.Klesko-2

STRIKE OUTS- B.Fullmer, B.Broussard, M.Lecroy, V.Castilla, S.Stewart-3,

A.Soriano, A.Berroa-4, R.Sexson-2, B.Williams-2, A.Kearns

GIDP- B.Fullmer, P.Konerko, B.Williams



J.D. Drew had 4 hits and 2 RBI as the streaking St. Louis Cardinals outscored

the New York Yankees in 12 innings 9 to 5.



Both teams were tied at 5 runs apiece after nine innings. St. Louis ended up

winning it in the 12th inning. St. Louis had 18 hits for the game and New

York had 11.



Jeff Nelson(3-0) got the win allowing no runs in 2 innings. The losing pitcher

was Mike Gallo(1-1) in relief. He was knocked around pretty good, giving up

4 runs in 2 and 2/3 innings.



With the win, St. Louis continues their noteworthy winning streak.









Players of the Block - Block 1

CARLOS DELGADO (ANA) -- AL Batter of the Block
Anaheim's Carlos Delgago earns the AL honors for the first block by batting .368, hitting 6 home runs, and driving in 23. He also scored 15 runs and had an OBP of .495.

JAY PAYTON (SLN) -- NL Batter of the Block
Jay Payton had an impressive debut block for St. Louis. He batted .380 with a slugging percentage of .704 (5 doubles, 3 triples, 4 home runs). He drove in 20 while also scoring 18 times.

RYAN FRANKLIN (SEA) -- AL Pitcher of the Block
Seattle starter Ryan Franklin was 4-0 in block 1 with an ERA of 2.53. In 42 2/3 innings of work he showed great control, walking only 7 and striking out 26.

CARLOS ZAMBRANO (OAA) -- NL Pitcher of the Block
Oakland starter Carlos Zambrano had 2 shutouts in block 1. He was 3-1 for the period with an ERA of 1.78. He struckout 27 in 30 1/3 innings of work.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Blue Jays Squad Improving


Last season, the Toronto Blue Jays were not a very good ball club. Last in the league in runs allowed and 19th in runs scored, the Blue Jays lost a league record 122 ball games. But this season is different - Toronto has started out with a respectable 9-12 record. Toronto's nucleus of young players Sabathia, Wells, Cabrera, Peralta, N. Johnson, and K. Greene appears solid and will be around for many seasons to come.

Cards Fast Start Out Of The Gate


The St. Louis Cardinals are off to the fastest start in Millennium League history with an early 14-4 record. "The team has been a surprise so far - but, when you hit .323 as a team, you don't lose many ball games," said Redbird skipper John Helmbrecht. The Cards currently lead the league in batting and are ranked third in team ERA (3.86), behind Oakland and Pittsburgh. However, a quick glance at the accompanying chart will show that a fast start does not always guarantee overall success. . . . . .




Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Big Papi Drives in Eight Runs in Twins Win


Minnesota's David Ortiz had a monster game for the hometown fans in a big win over Atlanta on April 19. Ortiz, who hit .265 with 19 homers in 388 at bats last season, seems posed to have a breakout season. Ortiz drove in 8 runs (the Millennium record is 9 by K. Caminiti) that included a grand slam.


Strat-O-Matic Report








BOXSCORE: 2003 Atlanta Braves At 2003 Minnesota Twins 4/19/2003



Braves AB R H RBI AVG Twins AB R H RBI AVG

D.Jeter SS 2 0 0 0 .263 I.Suzuki RF 4 4 3 0 .571

A-J.Carroll PH,SS 3 0 1 1 .200 C.Biggio CF 4 2 2 0 .500

R.Durham 2B 2 0 0 0 .313 D.Ortiz LF 3 4 3 8 .800

B-J.Spivey PH,2B 3 0 1 1 .250 C.Lee SS 5 1 2 1 .333

C.Jones DH 4 0 2 1 .389 C.Koskie 3B 5 0 3 3 .333

R.Palmeiro 1B 5 0 0 0 .100 H.Matsui 1B 4 1 1 1 .143

J.Posada C 3 2 0 0 .294 P.Lo Duca C 5 0 0 0 .000

A.Jones CF 5 0 1 0 .143 C.Stynes 2B 4 1 1 1 .143

W.Helms 3B 3 2 2 0 .375 A.Cora DH 5 1 1 0 .125

M.Tucker RF 3 0 0 0 .214

C-E.Perez PH,RF 1 0 1 11.000

R.Johnson LF 1 1 0 0 .200

-- -- -- --- -- -- -- ---

Totals 35 5 8 4 Totals 39 14 16 14



A-Pinch Hit For Jeter In 5th Inning

B-Pinch Hit For Durham In 5th Inning

C-Pinch Hit For Tucker In 8th Inning



Braves.......... 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 - 5 8 0

Twins........... 1 6 0 3 0 1 3 0 - 14 16 1



Braves (2-3) IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA

K.Millwood LOSS(0-1) 5 2/3 12 11 11 3 5 1 17.47

A.Lopez 2 1/3 4 3 3 1 0 1 8.10

Totals 8 16 14 14 4 5 2



Twins (1-1) IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA

J.Beckett WIN(1-0) 6 2/3 6 3 3 2 7 0 4.05

M.Guthrie 0 2/3 2 2 2 1 1 0 10.80

E.Guardado 1 2/3 0 0 0 0 3 0 0.00

Totals 9 8 5 5 3 11 0



ATTENDANCE- 13,200 DATE- Friday, April 19th 2003 TIME- Night

UMPIRES- Laz Diaz, Mike Reilly, Jeff Kellogg, Eric Cooper

T- 3:03

LEFT ON BASE- Braves:10 Twins: 7

DOUBLE PLAYS- Braves: 0 Twins: 0

ERRORS- C.Lee

DOUBLES- E.Perez(1st), C.Lee(2nd)

HOME RUNS- D.Ortiz-2(2nd)

STOLEN BASES- C.Koskie(1st), H.Matsui(1st)

SACRIFICE FLIES- D.Ortiz

WALKS- C.Jones, J.Posada, W.Helms, C.Biggio, D.Ortiz, H.Matsui, C.Stynes

HIT BY PITCH- J.Posada, R.Johnson-3, I.Suzuki

STRIKE OUTS- R.Durham, J.Spivey, C.Jones-2, R.Palmeiro, J.Posada, A.Jones-2,

M.Tucker-2, R.Johnson, C.Lee-2, C.Koskie, H.Matsui, A.Cora

PASSED BALLS- J.Posada



David Ortiz smacked 2 homeruns as the Minnesota Twins topped the Atlanta

Braves by a score of 14 to 5 at Tropicana Field.



Ortiz was really 'in the zone'. He emptied the bases with a Grand Slam

homerun in the 2nd inning, slapped a single in the 6th inning and lost the

ball over the fence for three runs (his 2nd of the season) in the 7th inning.

Minnesota ended up with 16 hits for the game while Atlanta had 8.



Josh Beckett(1-0) got credit for the victory, pitching 6 and 2/3 innings and

allowing 3 runs. Kevin Millwood(0-1) was charged with the loss. He was

unable to control the Minnesota offense and allowed 12 hits and 3 walks in 5

and 2/3 innings.



'Ortiz led the way - we just jumped on his back and let him take us,' Beckett

said. 'I'm glad I don't have to face him. I'm glad he's on my team.'










Buccos Win 1-0 Thriller Over Boston in Playoff Rematch


The last time Pittsburgh and Boston met, Red Sox pitched Pedro Martinez walked off the mound with the first post season no-hitter in Millenium League history.
Pirates Carlos Guillen helped turn the tables with a dramatic RBI double in the bottom of the 10th to give Pittsburgh a thrilling 1-0 win over Boston. Guillen, in his fourth season with the Pirates, hit .255 with 6 home runs last season.


Strat-O-Matic Report








BOXSCORE: 2003 Boston Red Sox At 2003 Pittsburgh Pirates 4/3/2003



Red Sox AB R H RBI AVG Pirates AB R H RBI AVG

J.Damon CF 4 0 1 0 .250 R.Winn CF 5 1 2 0 .400

C.Everett LF 3 0 0 0 .000 C.Guillen SS 4 0 2 1 .500

N.Garciaparra SS 4 0 2 0 .500 J.Vidro 2B 4 0 1 0 .250

M.Sweeney 1B 3 0 1 0 .333 B.Giles LF 4 0 0 0 .000

A-E.Young PR 0 0 0 0 ---- R.Sanders RF 3 0 1 0 .333

B-S.Spiezio 1B 1 0 0 0 .000 E.Durazo 1B 4 0 1 0 .250

J.Varitek C 4 0 0 0 .000 J.Kendall C 1 0 0 0 .000

J.Gibbons RF 4 0 0 0 .000 E.Alfonzo 3B 4 0 0 0 .000

D.Bell 3B 4 0 0 0 .000 B.Zito P 3 0 0 0 .000

M.Kata 2B 4 0 0 0 .000 C-P.Nevin PH 1 0 0 0 .000

P.Martinez P 2 0 0 0 .000 B.Kim P 0 0 0 0 ----

J.Colome P 0 0 0 0 ----

-- -- -- --- -- -- -- ---

Totals 33 0 4 0 Totals 33 1 7 1



A-Pinch Ran For Sweeney In 7th Inning

B-Subbed Defensively (1B) For Young In 7th Inning

C-Pinch Hit For Zito In 9th Inning



Red Sox......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 4 0

Pirates......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 - 1 7 0



Red Sox (0-1) IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA

P.Martinez 9 5 0 0 4 12 0 0.00

J.Colome LOSS(0-1) 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 ----

Totals 9 7 1 1 4 12 0



Pirates (1-0) IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA

B.Zito 9 4 0 0 1 4 0 0.00

B.Kim WIN(1-0) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00

Totals 10 4 0 0 1 4 0



ATTENDANCE- 21,683 DATE- Wednesday, April 3rd 2003 TIME- Night WEATHER- Average

UMPIRES- Randy Marsh, Marty Foster, Ron Kulpa, Mike Van Vleet

T- 2:55

LEFT ON BASE- Red Sox: 5 Pirates: 9

DOUBLE PLAYS- Red Sox: 0 Pirates: 0

DOUBLES- C.Guillen-2(2nd)

STOLEN BASES- J.Damon(1st)

CAUGHT STEALING- E.Young

SACRIFICE HITS- C.Guillen

WALKS- P.Martinez, R.Sanders, J.Kendall-3

HIT BY PITCH- C.Everett

STRIKE OUTS- C.Everett-2, M.Sweeney, J.Varitek, C.Guillen, J.Vidro-3, B.Giles,

R.Sanders-2, E.Durazo, E.Alfonzo, B.Zito-2, P.Nevin



Barry Zito pitched 9 strong innings as the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the

Boston Red Sox in 10 innings 1 to 0 at Miller Park.



Neither team managed to score in the first nine innings. Pittsburgh won the

game in the 10th inning. Randy Winn banged out a single. Carlos Guillen

came to the plate and doubled giving Pittsburgh the victory and sending the

21,683 home-town fans home happy. Boston was out-hit by Pittsburgh, 7 hits

to 4.



The victory went to Byung-Hyun Kim(1-0) who went 1 inning, allowing no runs.

The loss was charged to Jesus Colome(0-1) in relief. He allowed 2 hits and

no walks without retiring a batter.











Hudson Helping A's to Fast Start


The Oakland A's are off to a fast 14-4 mark mainly due to their stellar starting pitching. Athletics starter Tim Hudson leads A's hurlers with a 3-0 record, 0.38 ERA, and just 13 hits allowed in 24 innings. Sporting a formidable staff that includes Hudson, C.Zambrano, Schmidt, Mulder and Webb, Oakland figures to vastly improve over last season's 66-96 record.

Standings Midway Thru Block 1




Strat-O-Matic Report






LEAGUE STANDINGS FOR 2003 Millennium League

Brock WON LOST PCT GB MAGIC#
2003 Florida FLN 12 6 .667 ---- 148
2003 Anaheim ANA 11 7 .611 1.0
2003 Seattle SEA 3 3 .500 3.0
2003 San Francisco SFN 5 10 .333 5.5
2003 Cleveland CLA 2 10 .167 7.0

Killebrew WON LOST PCT GB MAGIC#
2003 Houston HON 9 6 .600 ---- 151
2003 Atlanta ATN 8 7 .533 1.0
2003 Toronto TOA 3 3 .500 1.5
2003 Los Angeles LAN 5 7 .417 2.5
2003 Kansas City KCA 5 10 .333 4.0

Koufax WON LOST PCT GB MAGIC#
2003 Oakland OAA 14 4 .778 ---- 147
2003 Arizona ARN 3 3 .500 5.0
2003 Boston BOA 6 9 .400 6.5
2003 Montreal MON 1 2 .333 5.5
2003 Pittsburgh PIN 2 4 .333 6.0

Aaron WON LOST PCT GB MAGIC#
2003 St. Louis SLN 10 2 .833 ---- 151
2003 New York NYA 4 2 .667 3.0
2003 Minnesota MNA 6 6 .500 4.0
2003 Philadelphia PHN 7 8 .467 4.5
2003 Chicago CHA 4 11 .267 7.5



OVERALL RECORD
Team WON LOST PCT HOME ROAD LEFT RIGHT EXTRA 1-RUN LAST 10 STREAK
ANA 11 7 .611 1- 2 10- 5 3- 2 8- 5 0- 2 2- 2 0-10 Lost 0
ARN 3 3 .500 3- 3 0- 0 1- 0 2- 3 0- 1 1- 1 0-6 Lost 0
ATN 8 7 .533 4- 2 4- 5 1- 1 7- 6 0- 0 1- 1 0-10 Lost 0
BOA 6 9 .400 2- 4 4- 5 1- 4 5- 5 1- 2 2- 4 0-10 Lost 0
CHA 4 11 .267 0- 3 4- 8 0- 7 4- 4 0- 0 0- 2 0-10 Lost 3
CLA 2 10 .167 1- 5 1- 5 0- 2 2- 8 1- 2 0- 5 0-10 Lost 0
FLN 12 6 .667 9- 3 3- 3 2- 0 10- 6 3- 0 7- 0 0-10 Lost 0
HON 9 6 .600 3- 0 6- 6 2- 1 7- 5 0- 0 0- 1 0-10 Lost 0
KCA 5 10 .333 0- 0 5-10 0- 2 5- 8 0- 0 0- 1 0-10 Lost 0
LAN 5 7 .417 5- 7 0- 0 1- 1 4- 6 0- 0 1- 0 0-10 Lost 0
MNA 6 6 .500 6- 6 0- 0 1- 1 5- 5 0- 1 1- 2 0-10 Lost 0
MON 1 2 .333 1- 2 0- 0 0- 0 1- 2 0- 0 1- 0 0-3 Lost 0
NYA 4 2 .667 4- 2 0- 0 2- 1 2- 1 2- 0 2- 0 0-6 Lost 0
OAA 14 4 .778 3- 0 11- 4 3- 1 11- 3 1- 1 4- 1 0-10 Lost 0
PHN 7 8 .467 6- 6 1- 2 0- 1 7- 7 1- 1 2- 3 1-9 Lost 1
PIN 2 4 .333 2- 4 0- 0 0- 0 2- 4 1- 1 1- 1 0-6 Lost 0
SEA 3 3 .500 3- 3 0- 0 0- 2 3- 1 0- 0 2- 1 0-6 Lost 0
SFN 5 10 .333 1- 2 4- 8 2- 2 3- 8 2- 1 2- 7 0-10 Lost 0
SLN 10 2 .833 5- 1 5- 1 2- 0 8- 2 0- 0 4- 1 5-5 Won 4
TOA 3 3 .500 3- 3 0- 0 2- 1 1- 2 0- 0 0- 0 0-6 Lost 0
TOTAL 120 120 .500

TEAM -APRIL MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT+ InDiv OutDiv InterLg
ANA 11- 7 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 6- 3 1- 2 4- 2
ARN 3- 3 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 1- 2 2- 1 0- 0
ATN 8- 7 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 3- 3 3- 3 2- 1
BOA 6- 9 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 6- 9 0- 0 0- 0
CHA 4-11 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 3- 9 1- 2 0- 0
CLA 2-10 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 6 0- 0 2- 4
FLN 12- 6 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 7- 2 3- 3 2- 1
HON 9- 6 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 5- 4 2- 1 2- 1
KCA 5-10 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 5- 7 0- 0 0- 3
LAN 5- 7 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 5- 7 0- 0 0- 0
MNA 6- 6 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 2- 1 0- 0 4- 5
MON 1- 2 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 1- 2 0- 0 0- 0
NYA 4- 2 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 2- 1 0- 0 2- 1
OAA 14- 4 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 9- 3 0- 0 5- 1
PHN 7- 8 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 1- 2 0- 0 6- 6
PIN 2- 4 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 1- 2 0- 0 1- 2
SEA 3- 3 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 3- 3 0- 0 0- 0
SFN 5-10 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 2- 4 0- 0 3- 6
SLN 10- 2 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 7- 2 0- 0 3- 0
TOA 3- 3 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 3- 0 0- 0 0- 3


WINS ARE ACROSS, LOSSES ARE DOWN:

TEAM ANA ARN ATN BOA CHA CLA FLN HON KCA LAN MNA MON NYA OAA PHN PIN SEA SFN
ANA - 0 0 0 0 3 1 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 2 0
ARN 0 - 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
ATN 0 0 - 0 0 0 3 2 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
BOA 0 2 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 0
CHA 0 1 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
CLA 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0
FLN 2 0 3 0 0 3 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2
HON 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 - 3 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
KCA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
LAN 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 1 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
MNA 1 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
MON 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 1 0 0 0 0
NYA 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0
OAA 0 0 0 7 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 - 0 0 0 0
PHN 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0
PIN 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 1
SEA 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 2
SFN 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 1 -
SLN 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 3
TOA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

TEAM SLN TOA
ANA 0 0
ARN 0 0
ATN 0 0
BOA 0 0
CHA 1 0
CLA 0 0
FLN 0 0
HON 0 0
KCA 0 0
LAN 0 0
MNA 0 0
MON 0 0
NYA 0 0
OAA 0 3
PHN 1 0
PIN 0 0
SEA 0 0
SFN 0 0
SLN - 0
TOA 0 -








Monday, November 26, 2007

Redbirds Win Road Opener




Woody Williams and the St. Louis Cardinals defeated division rival Philadelphia 5-4 at Coors Field spoiling the Phillies home opener. . . . . .


Strat-O-Matic Report






BOXSCORE: 2003 St. Louis Cardinals At 2003 Philadelphia Phillies 4/3/2003

Cardinals AB R H RBI AVG Phillies AB R H RBI AVG
E.Renteria SS 4 1 1 0 .375 L.Matos CF 2 2 1 0 .379
C.Baerga 2B 3 1 1 2 .333 M.Loretta 2B 4 0 1 1 .323
B-P.Polanco 2B 1 0 0 0 .214 A.Pujols LF 4 0 0 0 .462
J.Drew RF 4 0 0 0 .083 V.Guerrero RF 4 0 1 1 .259
J.Edmonds CF 4 1 0 0 .286 M.Lieberthal C 4 0 1 0 .259
J.Payton LF 4 1 1 1 .267 B.Surhoff 1B 4 1 0 0 .273
B.Broussard 1B 3 0 1 1 .400 M.Tejada SS 4 0 0 0 .385
D-P.Konerko PH,1B 1 0 0 0 .500 E.Chavez 3B 4 1 1 1 .400
V.Castilla 3B 3 1 1 1 .214 J.Vazquez P 1 0 0 0 .167
T.Hall C 3 0 0 0 .308 R.Dickey P 0 0 0 0 ----
W.Williams P 3 0 0 0 .000 A-B.Wilkerson PH 1 0 0 0 .429
C.Leskanic P 0 0 0 0 ---- J.Brower P 0 0 0 0 ----
D.Marte P 0 0 0 0 ---- C-A.Rowand PH 1 0 1 1 .200
M.Remlinger P 0 0 0 0 ----
-- -- -- --- -- -- -- ---
Totals 33 5 5 5 Totals 33 4 6 4

A-Pinch Hit For Dickey In 6th Inning
B-Subbed Defensively (2B) For Baerga In 7th Inning
C-Pinch Hit For Brower In 7th Inning
D-Pinch Hit For Broussard In 9th Inning

Cardinals....... 0 0 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 - 5 5 0
Phillies........ 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 0 0 - 4 6 1

Cardinals (4-0) IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
W.Williams WIN(1-0) 6 2/3 6 4 4 0 4 0 5.40
C.Leskanic HOLD(1st) 1 1/3 0 0 0 1 2 0 0.00
D.Marte SAVE(1st) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Totals 9 6 4 4 1 6 0

Phillies (4-3) IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
J.Vazquez LOSS(1-1) 4 2/3 5 5 3 0 3 2 5.71
R.Dickey 1 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 9.35
J.Brower 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.45
M.Remlinger 2 0 0 0 0 3 0 2.84
Totals 9 5 5 3 0 7 2

ATTENDANCE- 32,040 DATE- Wednesday, April 3rd 2003 TIME- Night WEATHER- Average
UMPIRES- Terry Craft, Phil Cuzzi, Paul Schrieber, Tim McClelland
T- 2:36
LEFT ON BASE- Cardinals: 1 Phillies: 4
DOUBLE PLAYS- Cardinals: 0 Phillies: 0
ERRORS- M.Tejada
DOUBLES- J.Payton(2nd), V.Guerrero(1st), E.Chavez(3rd)
TRIPLES- M.Loretta(1st)
HOME RUNS- C.Baerga(1st), V.Castilla(1st)
WALKS- L.Matos
HIT BY PITCH- L.Matos
STRIKE OUTS- E.Renteria, P.Polanco, J.Drew-2, J.Edmonds, J.Payton, W.Williams,
L.Matos, M.Loretta, A.Pujols, V.Guerrero, M.Lieberthal, J.Vazquez
WILD PITCHES- J.Vazquez
WEB GEMS- Bot 2nd: Edgar Renteria robbed B.J. Surhoff of a base hit.
Top 7th: Mark Loretta robbed Vinny Castilla of a base hit.
Top 9th: Mike Remlinger robbed Paul Konerko of a base hit.

One run was the difference at Coors Field as the St. Louis Cardinals defeated
the Philadelphia Phillies 5 to 4.

Woody Williams(1-0) delivered a fine performance for St. Louis. He
surrendered 6 hits and no walks in 6 and 2/3 innings. Damaso Marte was great
in relief and recorded his 1st save.

Javier Vazquez(1-1) was hit with the loss. He allowed St. Louis 5 runs in 4
and 2/3 innings of work.








Contreras Spins No-Hitter



Anaheim (AP) - Anaheim's Jose Contreras pitched the season's first no-hitter against the Houston Astros. Contreras, the Angels' 2nd round selection in the 2003 draft, paid instant dividends with his fine outing. Jose pitched nine sparkling innings in baffling Houston batters all night. Contreras struck out nine and walked five.

Amazingly, of the seven no-hitters pitched in the Millennium League, three of the games have been tossed by Angels' pitchers.

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Boston and Garret Atkins Agree on Multi Year Deal


Garret Atkins started out in A ball with the Portland Rockies and has since played his way up to AAA, where he will play for the next two years. Even though Atkins will play in the minors, Boston expects that Atkins will be a major contributor at 3rd base for a long time. In the meantime, the Red Sox will go with a committee led by David Bell.

Rounding Out Top Five Picks


Our remaining top five picks were infielders Chone Figgins selected by Montreal and Chase Utley picked by the Dodgers.

Figgins, a somewhat surprising pick by the Expos, played all last season with the Salt Lake Stingers of the AAA Pacific Coast League. Chone hit .305 with 39 steals in 125 games for the Stingers.

Chase Utley, just 23, played his entire 2002 at AAA Scranton-Wilkes Barre. He hit .263 with 17 homeruns while playing for the Red Barons.




Sunday, November 11, 2007

Webb First Pitcher Taken in Draft


The Oakland A's continued building their impressive pitching staff with another blue chipper - Brandon Webb with the third pick in the draft. Brandon, born and raised in Ashland, Kentucky, attended the University of Kentucky.
Last season with the Double A El Paso Diablos of the Texas League, Brandon compiled a 10-6 record with a 3.14 ERA in 152 innings. Webb was then promoted to the Triple A Tuscon Sidewinders late last season.
Webb continues to live in Ashland, Kentucky and is looking forward to joining the A's formidable starting staff. . .

Friday, November 09, 2007

Cabrera & Reyes Go 1 & 2 in 2003 MSL Draft

Make no mistake about it - the Blue Jays and White Sox improved their teams by selecting some high quality talent with their first round selections. A year ago, the first two draft picks were pitchers - Carlos Zambrano (Minnesota) and Mark Prior (Cleveland).

This season, the first two picks went to infielders: Miguel Cabrera, a young hard hitting third baseman selected by Toronto and Jose Reyes, a slick fielding, superfast shortstop by Chicago.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Phillies Trading Frenzy


The Philadelphia Phillies have been the most active trading in this offseason. The Fightin' Phils acquired starting pitcher Javier Vazquez, second basemen Mark Loretta and utility infielder Juan Castro in separate transactions.
Vazquez, who has pitched the last three seasons with Montreal, had won 36 games for the Expos. Loretta was selected by Oakland as the 57th player in the 2000 draft. He appears to be coming into his own and will solidify second base for Philly. Finally, Castro has been a reserve player for both Atlanta and Houston.


To acquire these three players, Philadelphia gave up their first, second, third and sixth round draft picks. Only time will tell if these trades pan out. . . . .

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Astros Looking Forward to New Stadium



The Houston Astros Look forward to playing their 2003 season in the Sky Dome. SkyDome fun facts:

The SkyDome JumboTron is a 115-foot-by-33-foot video display board that has 420,000 light bulbs, making it the largest scoreboard in the world.

A 348-room hotel is located in center field. Seventy of those rooms have views of the field.


When the roof is open, the closed end of the stadium causes a downdraft in the outfield that tends to prevent home runs.

Biggio Traded to Twins












HOUSTON (AP) - The Houston Astros cut ties with their long time second baseman, Craig Biggio last night in a trade with Minnesota. Biggio played three season with Houston and hit a dissapointing .246 with 47 homeruns. Houston acquired Minnesota's fourth round draft pick in the trade.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Phils Acquire Freddy Garcia



Philadelphia (AP) - The Phillies have announced that they have sent pitcher Jason Jennings and third basemen Morgan Ensberg to Seattle for pitcher Freedy Garcia.
Jennings was a Phillies sixth round draft pick in 2001; Philadelphia drafted Ensberg as the eighth player selected in last year's draft.
Garcia, who has pitched for Seattle for three seasons, sports a 36-27 career record.

Monday, October 08, 2007

Expos All Set For New Ball Park


(Fans toured the seating areas at Great American Ballpark during this weekend's open house.) Montreal's Cinergy Field is no more - the Expos will be playing in their brand new stadium for the coming 2003 season.
At 217 feet, 9 inches (66 m) wide, the scoreboard is the third largest in Major League Baseball; only the scoreboards at Coor's Field and Comerica Park respectively, are larger.





Chase Utley Available in 2003 Draft


After spending his minor league career as a second baseman, Chase Utley jumped from A-ball to Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre in 2002 and spent the year playing third base. He hit 17 home runs in 461 at-bats. However, Utley made 28 errors and posted a .918 fielding percentage in 123 games.
Nevertheless, Utley figures to be a high first round draft pick for some patient manager.

Saturday, October 06, 2007

Byrd Out For Season - Traded to Kansas City


What a difference a year makes!.....last season, Yankees' pitcher Paul Byrd finished with a league leading 24 wins. This coming 2003 season, Byrd will be out for the season with "Tommy John" surgery to reconstruct the elbow and replace ligaments.

Consequently, in an effort to pare down to the 18 player roster limit, the Bronx Bombers decided to ship off their former 2001 #1 draft pick to the Royals for a 2003 seventh rounder.

Friday, October 05, 2007

White Sox Move Up To Second Pick

Chicago moved up a slot to the second pick by winning tonite's lottery draft. (The winning number was 5-0-3.) Oakland will move down to the third selection. So the first three picks in the 2003 draft will be: 1. Toronto 2. Chicago 3. Oakland

Thursday, October 04, 2007

Blue Jays Secure 1st Pick

Congratulations to the Toronto Blue Jays for winning tonite's lottery and the first pick in the 2003 draft. The winning number was 0-5-8. The lottery for the second pick in the draft will be conducted tomorrow night.

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

Draft Lottery to be Held on Thursday, Oct 4th & Friday, Oct 5th

We will be conducting our draft lottery on Thursday, October 4th and Friday, October 5th.....


The “Pennsylvania Daily Number NITE” lottery (http://www.palottery.state.pa.us/) on subsequent nights (7PM EST) will be used to decide who gets the #1 and #2 picks in the first round only. If the second pick yields the same result as the first night, then a third night’s lottery drawing will be used. The remaining 10 teams will draft in reverse order of record. So, the team with the poorest record can do no worst than pick third in the first round.



2003 Lottery Drawing Chances:

000 to 249 – Toronto (40-122)

250 to 449 – Oakland (66-96)

450 to 604 – Chicago (69-93)

605 to 724 – Montreal (73-89, outscored Los Angeles 31-27 in tie-breaker)

725 to 814 – Los Angeles (73-89)

815 to 879 – Houston (74-88)

880 to 924 – Florida (75-87, defeated Kansas City 4 games to 2 in tie-breaker)

925 to 954 – Kansas City (75-87)

955 to 974 – Cleveland (79-83, defeated Minnesota 4 games to 2 in tie-breaker)

975 to 986 – Minnesota (79-83)

987 to 994 – St. Louis (82-80)

995 to 999 – Anaheim (84-78)

(Click here for a history of previous lottery numbers selected.)

Friday, September 21, 2007

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.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

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.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

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.

Saturday, September 15, 2007

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.

Saturday, September 08, 2007

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."

Friday, September 07, 2007

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.

Thursday, September 06, 2007

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.

Monday, September 03, 2007

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.

Friday, August 31, 2007

Red Sox Upset Braves in 6 Games


For the first time in Millennium League history, a #8 seeded team has knocked off the #1 seed. Boston, in the playoffs for the first time, defeated Atlanta 4 games to 2. The Red Sox strong starting pitching (Martinez, Glavine and Lowe) shut down Atlanta by allowing only 13 runs in 6 games. Click here for the boxscores. A summary of the series:
Boston travels to Atlanta for games 1 and 2.

Game 1: Glavine vs Millwood.... The Red Sox strike in the 1st inning thanks to Johnny Damon and Nomar. That 1-0 lead holds up until the 5th inning as Jeter, Chipper and A Jones all drive in runs to take a 3-1 lead and it would hold up. Atlanta takes game 1 3-1.

Game 2: Pedro v Maddux... a nice pitching matchup but Maddux doesn't hold up his end of the bargain and Boston hits 4 HR's to win 7-2.

The series is tied at 1-1 and goes to Boston.

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The series shifted to Boston, tied at 1-1.
Game 3: Derek Lowe pitched 7 innings giving up only 2 runs, and Nomar Garciaparra, up 1-0, hit a 2 run single in the 5th that gave Boston enough for the victory, as they won 3-2. John Smoltz pitched a perfect ninth for the save.
Game 4: Damian Moss and Tim Wakefield squared off for 8 innings in a pitchers duel that Atlanta came out on top, as they tied the series at 2, with a 3-0 win. Andruw Jones hit his 1st homerun of the series, against Wakefield. Juan Acevedo pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for the save.
Game 5: In a rematch of Game 1, Millwood and Glavine faced each other again. Boston scored 1 run in each of the first 2 innings, and the score remained the same until the 5th. In that inning the Red Sox had 1st and 3rd with 2 outs when Jason Varitek hit a 3-run homerun to make it 5-0. Atlanta couldn't muster much against Glavine, until the 8th, when Rafeal Palmiero walked to load the bases. Esteban Yan came in to face Adruw Jones, and got him to pop out to end the inning. Timlin came in to pitch the 9th and got the Braves 1-2-3 to give Boston a 6-0 win, and a 3-2 series lead going back to Atlanta.

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Boston travels to Atlanta hoping to clinch the series...

Pedro v Maddux.... Boston strikes in the 2nd inning for a 2-0 lead and extends the lead off Maddux to 3-0 after 4 innings of play. Pedro is taking a no-hitter into the 5th before giving up a solo HR to Palmeiro. Atlanta ties the game in the next inning at 3 as Chipper knocks in a couple. The game will stay tied after regulation. Boston takes a 4-3 lead in the 11th on David Bells SF. Boston turns it over to Smoltz who puts the nail in the coffin for Atlanta's season. Boston wins 4-3 and knocks off the top-seeded Atlanta Braves.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

1st Round Playoff Preview & Predictions

OK, I know ----- prognosticating is not my strength, but I'll give it a try!

#1 Atlanta vs. #8 Boston (season series: Atlanta 4-2) - The Braves led wire-to-wire in the weak Killebrew division and sport a balanced attack by finishing fourth in the league in runs scored and fourth in runs allowed. Atlanta has an abundance of homerun power with A. Jones (41HR's), Palmeiro (32), C. Jones (23), Jeter (21) and Posada (19). Pitching is equally balanced with Millwood (15-6 3.92), #1 draft pick Lackey (9-3 3.70), Maddux (10-11 4.00) and Moss (12-4 2.96). Atlanta finished 46-26 against teams within their division, but just 23-19 vs. the other playoff teams.

Boston made a late season push to make the playoffs finishing 44-35 the last three months of the season. One of the reasons for the late season turn around was a trade that acquired Damon and Sweeney. Pitching is the Red Sox' strength: Martinez (12-6 2.60), Lowe (19-4 2.76), Wakefield (12-7 3.06) and Glavine (14-12 3.53) and #1 Pick Smoltz (35 Saves).

Prediction: Red Sox Pitching gives Braves all that they can handle in tough series ATLANTA WINS IN 7 GAMES

#2 Arizona vs. #7 San Francisco (season series: Arizona 5-1) - Having Randy Johnson (23-8 2.15) and Curt Schilling (22-11 3.11) on the league's best pitching staff is certainly the D-Backs strength. Arizona finished with a league leading 3.42 ERA with a league record 17 shutouts. Paul Shuey supports the back end with 33 saves. Magglio Ordonex lez Arizona with 32 HR's and 93 RBI's

San Francisco is counting on Bonds to carry them through the playoffs. Barry set league records in batting average (.368) and slugging percentage. Overlooked player Ellis Burks hit .310 with 25 HR's and Jeff Kent had a monster year: .278, 44HR's and 140 RBI's. Livan Hernandez (18-12 3.70), Joel Pineiro (16-9 4.13), and Rob Nenn (36 Saves) led the pitching.

Prediction: Arizona combo of Johnson and Schilling just too tough ARIZONA WINS IN 5 GAMES

#3 Seattle vs. #6 Philadelphia (season series: Philadelphia 4-2) - Although his average was down, A-Rod had an incredible season: 59 HR's and 160 RBI's. A-Rod's 160 RBI's placed second in league history. But Seattle's offense is not just limited to A-Rod as Olerud (.316 30 HR's 107 RBI's) and Marinez (.304 22 HR's 79 RBI's) can also do some damage. Seattle placed fourth in team ERA and are led by O. Hernandez (15-5), C. Lidle (14-8), Moyer (18-12) and Garcia (11-12). Sasaki chipped in again with 30+ saves.

The Phillies, playing in Coors Field, have an offensive minded team: Guerrero (.352 44 HR's 147 RBI's), Pujols (.337 36 HR's 124 RBI's), Tejada (.305 29 HR's 104 RBI's), Chavez (.302 31 HR's 102 RBI's) and the list goes on.....But this season, Philly has good starting pitching with Lopez (17-4), Jennings (16-5) and Redman (16-10). Vizcaino got 32 saves, but also lost 10 ballgames.

Prediction: Philly batters wear down Seattle's starters PHILADELPHIA WINS IN 6 GAMES

#4 New York vs. #5 Pittsburgh (season series: Pittsburgh 4-2) - The Yankees have had a remarkable run this season - Paul Byrd's 24 wins, a 53-28 home record, and second in the league in runs scored (908). New York has three players with 30+ homers: Soriano (35), Klesko (33) and Ventura (39). However, besides Byrd, only Valdes has double digit wins. New York has one of the strongest bullpens in the league with Rivera and Foulke. The Yankees made several trades during the season picking up D.Wells, Foulke, Valdes and Klesko. New York only finished 27-27 against playoff teams.

Pittsburgh has five starters with 10 wins or more: Oswalt (15), Wood (15), Zito (13), Clement (13), and Baez (11). Despite an 0-6 record, B. Kim notched 37 saves. On offense, Brian Giles led the Buccos with a .291 average, 41 HR's, 124 RBI's and 124 Walks.

Prediction: Two evenly matched teams in an exciting series; I'll go with PITTSBURGH TO WIN IN 7 GAMES

New Players Coming Into the League for 2003 Season

The coming 2003 Draft promises to be one of the strongest drafts in the Millennium League's History. Players that will be available to be drafted include: Dontrelle Willis, Mark Teixeria, Jose Reyes, Brandon Webb, Miguel Cabrera, Brad Lidge, Hideki Matsui, Jason Bay, Chris Capuano, Khalil Greene, Danny Haren, Rich Harden, Justin Morneau, Chase Utley, Freddie Sanchez, Lyle Overbay, Victor Martinez, Jeremy Bonderman, Garrett Atkins, Chone Figgins, Ryan Freel, Brandon Phillips, Jose Valverde, Rocco Baldelli, Reed Johnson, and Casey Blake and Joe Nathan.....Whew!

Final Stats For 1st Round Picks

CLASS OF 2002:
_
NAME BAVG GM AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO HB SH DP SB CS E
3-T.Hafner,TOA .228 48 57 7 13 1 1 1 5 8 10 0 0 0 0 0 0
4-C.Crawford,BOA .311 61 196 33 61 8 2 1 15 7 25 3 1 4 15 3 1
C.Crawford,KCA .320 9 25 5 8 1 1 0 3 1 3 0 0 0 5 0 0
8-M.Ensberg,PHN .258 35 97 13 25 4 0 4 14 12 16 2 0 2 0 0 5
10-A.Kearns,NYA .295 124 387 65 114 24 1 14 66 57 81 4 0 19 4 0 0
11-H.Blalock,KCA .143 6 21 1 3 1 0 0 2 2 4 1 0 2 0 0 1
12-C.Crisp,SFN .221 40 122 17 27 9 3 1 11 11 24 0 2 2 5 0 3
13-B.Hall,LAN .217 6 23 4 5 0 1 2 5 1 7 0 0 0 0 0 1
19-O.Hudson,OAA .269 41 78 10 21 3 2 0 5 7 14 0 0 1 0 0 0
20-D.Roberts,SEA .251 120 379 59 95 12 4 4 40 50 41 1 6 3 42 10 0
_
_
NAME ERA W L PCT G GS CG SH SV IP H R ER HR BB SO
1-C.Zambrano,MNA 5.34 5 11 .313 20 20 1 0 0 111.1 115 81 66 13 90 94
2-M.Prior,CLA 4.23 8 4 .667 15 15 5 0 0 104.1 100 53 49 11 57 130
5-J.Peavy,FLN 5.29 4 2 .667 13 13 1 0 0 80.0 95 49 47 11 29 70
6-J.Beckett,MNA 4.05 6 8 .429 17 17 0 0 0 102.1 104 54 46 8 44 101
7-F.Rodriguez,PIN ---- 0 0 ---- 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
9-J.Lackey,ATN 3.70 9 3 .750 16 16 3 0 0 107.0 98 45 44 6 37 71
14-K.Lohse,MON 6.27 5 9 .357 18 16 0 0 0 99.0 116 70 69 17 62 75
15-B.Myers,ANA 5.30 4 6 .400 15 14 1 1 0 74.2 65 46 44 13 39 18
16-A.Harang,HON 3.54 2 1 .667 3 3 0 0 0 20.1 14 10 8 4 11 23
A.Harang,CHA 6.52 1 3 .250 5 5 0 0 0 19.1 25 14 14 6 10 13
17-O.Perez,TOA 4.54 4 7 .364 12 12 2 2 0 73.1 72 39 37 12 35 76
18-B.Arroyo,TOA 9.39 0 2 .000 2 2 0 0 0 7.2 11 8 8 0 5 5
C.Crawford originally drafted by Boston
A.Harang originally drafted by Houston
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CLASS OF 2001:
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NAME BAVG GM AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO HB SH DP SB CS E
1-A.Pujols,PHN .337 156 623 126 210 28 3 36 124 64 90 9 0 29 0 1 10
2-I.Suzuki,MNA .294 154 653 86 192 29 13 6 70 42 84 10 5 12 33 12 3
4-A.Dunn,FLN .238 132 403 57 96 28 3 17 59 78 117 12 1 7 7 2 3
5-V.Wells,TOA .290 145 606 84 176 24 5 20 70 23 100 2 1 10 5 4 1
6-M.Young,KCA .240 126 458 57 110 32 9 6 51 36 68 0 5 12 7 1 26
10-S.Hillenbrand,SEA .264 160 621 73 164 28 2 22 98 25 99 11 0 24 1 0 26
12-M.Giles,OAA .167 54 186 25 31 7 0 9 16 12 33 1 0 1 1 1 4
15-D.Eckstein,HON .271 154 598 84 162 12 11 6 35 48 55 34 5 6 26 3 11
16-J.Guillen,ANA ---- 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
17-B.Wilkerson,PHN .224 130 526 107 118 19 8 26 64 66 178 2 1 9 11 5 9
19-J.Randa,CLA .293 84 181 26 53 14 1 1 15 10 19 3 0 2 1 0 6
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NAME ERA W L PCT G GS CG SH SV IP H R ER HR BB SO
3-R.Oswalt,PIN 3.65 15 8 .652 35 35 1 0 0 234.1 224 111 95 27 74 184
7-J.Smoltz,BOA 2.70 1 6 .143 58 0 0 0 35 66.2 55 22 20 5 19 62
8-P.Byrd,NYA 3.78 24 10 .706 39 39 2 1 0 245.0 215 109 103 34 60 131
9-C.Sabathia,TOA 6.68 5 23 .179 31 31 3 0 0 184.2 222 146 137 31 98 127
11-B.Sheets,LAN 6.86 5 19 .208 32 32 2 1 0 189.0 236 152 144 28 78 125
13-J.Pineiro,SFN 4.13 16 9 .640 32 32 2 0 0 200.2 196 98 92 27 66 143
14-O.Perez,SLN 3.24 18 4 .818 29 29 11 3 0 233.1 197 88 84 34 43 159
18-T.Gordon,ATN 9.39 0 2 .000 18 0 0 0 0 30.2 45 32 32 3 16 33
20-B.Lawrence,ARN 4.72 11 13 .458 35 35 0 0 0 204.0 239 114 107 24 60 147
A.Pujols originally drafted by Montreal
V.Wells originally drafted by Kansas City
M.Young originally drafted by Toronto
C.Sabathia originally drafted by Chicago



Many New League Records Set

Quite a few league records were broken or tied in the Millennium League this season. You can see the full updated record book by clicking here.

Batting Average - .368, Barry Bonds (SFN)
Slugging Average - .788, Barry Bonds (SFN)
Wins - 24, Paul Byrd (NYA)
Losses - 23, C. C. Sabathia (TOA)
Winning Pct - .826, Derek Lowe (BOA)
Fewest Hits Per 9 Innings - 5.49, Randy Johnson (AZN)
Shutouts - 4, Randy Johnson (AZN) & Tomo Ohka (LAN)
Team Losses - 122, Toronto
Team Shutouts - 17, Arizona
Most Hits - Both Teams in a Game - 50, San Francisco vs. Kansas City

RECORDS TIED:
Most At Bats In A Game - 9, Trott Nixon (BOA) & Carlos Beltran (KCA)
Most Hits In A Game - 6, Ellis Burks (SFN) & Terrence Long (SFN)
Most Runs In A Game - 5, G. Lombard (KCA)
Least Hits Allowed In A Game - 0, Randy Johnson (AZN)
Walks Allowed In A Game - 11, Chuick Finley (CLA)

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Eight Teams Advance Into Playoffs

The 2002 regular season has completed and eight teams have advanced into the Millennium Playoffs:

Atlanta is the #1 Seed by winning 103 games this season and their division by a whopping 28 games. Atlanta last made the playoffs in 2000 when the Braves won a league record 105 games. The Braves are 7-6 in playoff games with a series win over the Giants and a loss to Arizona.

#2 Seed Arizona has made the playoffs in all three Millennium seasons, winning the league championship in 2000. The D-Backs beat out a strong Pirate ballclub by three games for the division crown. Arizona is 17-9 in total playoff games.

2001 Championship winner Seattle is the #3 Seed. The Mariners, who took over the lead in their division on August 3rd, finished strong by winning their division by 10 games. Seattle is 12-1 in playoff games in their only playoff appearance in 2001.

The final division winner, #4 Seed New York, is making their first playoff appearance. The Yankees, engaged a battle for the division crown with the Phillies all season. New York's Paul Byrd broke a league record this season by winning 24 games.

Sporting an identical record as the Yankees, #5 Seed Pittsburgh is a team to be reckoned with. The Buccos starting staff of Zito, Oswalt, Wood and Clement is formidable. Pittsburgh is also making their first playoff appearance.

High powered offense #6 Seed Philadelphia is back in the playoffs. With an offense of Pujols, Guerrero, Tejada and company, the Phillies are a unique team. Philadelphia is 5-4 (series win over St. Louis and series loss vs. Cleveland) in their 2000 playoff games.

#7 Seed San Francisco and Barry Bonds is making their second playoff appearance. The Giants are 2-4 in the playoffs based on their 2000 series loss to the Braves.

Finally, #8 Seed Boston is no pushover. Making their first playoff apearance, the Red S0x placed three starters in the top 10 in ERA this season: Martinez, Lowe and Glavine.