Posada Leads Braves into World Series

The Atlanta Braves defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 4 games to 2 to advance to the MSL World Series. Braves catcher Jorge Posada has hit .417 in the postseason and starter John Thomason is 3-0 and carried a no-hitter into the 6th inning of the final deciding game. Click on the this link for all boxscores. A recap of the games:

Series is tied 1-1 so far....

Game 3 Zito v Harden..... Pirates get 2 in top of 1st but Atl answers with 3. Atlanta batters Zito and everyone else throwing a pitch. Atl gets 4 HR's in a 15-5 win. Durham has 4 rbi. Series is 2-1 ATL.

Game 4- Benson v Millwood.... a close game but Pitt gets the 3-2 lead going into the 7th and adds another run. The Pitt bullpen takes over for the last 2 1/3 and Lidge will close out a 4-2 win for Pitt. Series tied 2-2

Game 5- Oswalt v Lackey.... Pitt has the better SP going but they can't field a groundball. Errors by Guillen, Vidro and 2 by Oswalt stake the ATL to a 5-3 lead after 3. Lackey gives it back and its 5-5 after 6. Atl will get 2 in the 7th on a Posada 2-out, 2 rbi 2b for a 7-5 lead. Atlanta adds another in the 8th. Rusch is flawless through 2 and Gordon shuts them down in the 8th. Gordon starts the 9th with a 8-5 lead but Pitt will load the bases chasing Gordon and Takatsu can't hold the lead. Pitt scores 3 in the 9th to tie it at 8. Atlanta gets their opportunity in the 9th and Posada and then Mirabelli get on base. DaVanon pinchruns for Posada and they are bunted over to 2b and 3b. Reed Johnson then hits a walkoff single to end the game 9-8 and give Atlanta a 3-2 series lead going back to Pittsburgh.

Game 6 was a rematch of Game 2 with Clement vs. Thomson. However it was more like Game 3 because the Braves scored early and often as they pounded the Pirates, 12-4 to move on to the Championship series. Frank Thomas hit a homerun in the 1st, a double to drive home Jeter in the 3rd, and then a 9 run 5th inning put away the Pirates. John Thomson had a no-hitter into the 6th as he won the game.

Braves-Buccos Series Tied at 1-1

John Thomson improved to 2-0 in the post season as Atlanta beat Pittsburgh 6-3 in Game 2. The Series is now tied at 1-1 and will head to Atlanta for Game 3.......

Strat-O-Matic Report

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BOXSCORE: 2004 Atlanta Braves At 2004 Pittsburgh Pirates            10/2/2004
 
  Braves             AB  R  H RBI AVG     Pirates            AB  R  H RBI AVG
  J.Davanon RF        5  0  1  3 .286     J.Kendall C         4  0  1  0 .282  
  D.Jeter SS          3  0  1  0 .316     R.Winn CF           4  0  0  0 .237  
  C.Jones 3B          4  1  0  0 .143     C.Guillen SS        3  2  2  0 .353  
  A.Jones CF          4  0  1  0 .257     B.Giles RF          3  1  2  3 .375  
  J.Posada C          5  1  2  1 .462     B.Broussard 1B      3  0  0  0 .345  
  R.Palmeiro 1B       3  1  1  0 .308     E.Alfonzo 3B        4  0  3  0 .281  
  M.Tucker LF         5  1  1  0 .265     R.Freel LF          4  0  1  0 .400  
  S.Takatsu P         0  0  0  0 ----     L.Rivas 2B          3  0  0  0 .200  
  R.Durham 2B         2  2  1  1 .375   D-J.Vidro PH          1  0  0  0 .200  
  J.Thomson P         1  0  0  1 .000     M.Clement P         2  0  0  0 .000  
  T.Tucker P          0  0  0  0 ----     R.Choate P          0  0  0  0 ----  
B-F.Thomas PH         1  0  0  0 .200   A-P.Nevin PH          1  0  0  0 .222  
  M.Stanton P         0  0  0  0 ----     K.Wood P            0  0  0  0 ----  
  T.Gordon P          0  0  0  0 ----   E-C.Wilson PH         1  0  0  0 .000  
C-R.Johnson LF        0  0  0  0 .250                                          
                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---      
         Totals      33  6  8  6                 Totals      33  3  9  3
 
A-Pinch Hit For Choate In 7th Inning
B-Pinch Hit For Tucker In 8th Inning
C-Subbed Defensively (LF) For Gordon In 9th Inning
D-Pinch Hit For Rivas In 9th Inning
E-Pinch Hit For Wood In 9th Inning
 
Braves.......... 0 0 0  3 0 1  1 1 0  -  6  8  1
Pirates......... 1 0 0  0 0 2  0 0 0  -  3  9  1
 
Braves (5-3)             IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA
J.Thomson WIN(2-0)        5 1/3   8   3   3   0   2   1   3.14
T.Tucker HOLD(1st)        1 2/3   0   0   0   0   2   0   3.24
M.Stanton                 0       1   0   0   2   0   0  27.00
T.Gordon HOLD(3rd)        1       0   0   0   0   0   0   0.00
S.Takatsu SAVE(3rd)       1       0   0   0   0   0   0   0.00
Totals                    9       9   3   3   2   4   1
 
Pirates (5-3)            IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA
M.Clement LOSS(1-1)       6 1/3   6   5   5   7   6   0   6.05
R.Choate                  0 2/3   0   0   0   0   0   0   0.00
K.Wood                    2       2   1   1   1   4   0   5.40
Totals                    9       8   6   6   8  10   0
 
ATTENDANCE- 43,263 DATE- Saturday, October 2nd 2004 TIME- Night WEATHER- Average
UMPIRES- Chuck Meriwether, Tim Timmons, Tim Tschida, Greg Gibson
T- 3:12
LEFT ON BASE- Braves:10  Pirates: 7
DOUBLE PLAYS- Braves: 3  Pirates: 0
ERRORS- J.Posada, C.Guillen
DOUBLES- J.Davanon(2nd), C.Guillen(2nd), E.Alfonzo(2nd)
TRIPLES- R.Durham(2nd), B.Giles(1st)
HOME RUNS- B.Giles(4th)
STOLEN BASES- D.Jeter(2nd), R.Durham(1st), C.Guillen(2nd)
CAUGHT STEALING- J.Davanon
SACRIFICE HITS- J.Thomson
WALKS- D.Jeter-2, A.Jones, R.Palmeiro-2, R.Durham-2, J.Thomson, B.Giles,
       B.Broussard
HIT BY PITCH- C.Jones, J.Kendall, C.Guillen
STRIKE OUTS- J.Davanon, C.Jones, A.Jones, J.Posada, R.Palmeiro, M.Tucker-2,
             R.Durham, J.Thomson, F.Thomas, R.Winn, B.Broussard-2, P.Nevin
GIDP- R.Winn, R.Freel, L.Rivas
WILD PITCHES- K.Wood
 
Catcher Jorge Posada had 2 base hits as the Atlanta Braves beat the Pittsburgh
Pirates by a score of 6 to 3.
 
Atlanta had 3 runs cross the plate in the 4th inning when they had 3 base
hits.  The crucial at-bat was provided by Jeff Davanon who disappointed the
partisan crowd when he doubled scoring two baserunners.  Shingo Takatsu
relieved and was untouched by Pittsburgh as he recorded the save, his 3rd.
 
The win was credited to John Thomson(2-0) who went 5 and 1/3 innings allowing
3 runs. Matt Clement(1-1) took the loss.  He pitched 6 and 1/3 innings giving
up 6 hits and 7 walks.

• Go to Strat-O-Matic Homepage

Mariners Hold On to First Pick

Seattle (AP) - Mariner manager John Ferraro was all smiles tonite as Seattle held on to the first pick in the upcoming 2005 draft. Last season, Seattle selected lefty starter Scott Kazmir (4th pick overall) with their first pick. The lottery for the second pick will be conducted tomorrow night....

Durham's Homer in 11th Gives Braves Playoff Series Win

 GAME 6:

Braves.......... 3 0 0  0 0 0  2 0 0  0 1 -  6 12  0

Marlins......... 2 0 2  0 0 1  0 0 0  0 0 -  5 14  1



The score was knotted at 5 after nine innings.  Atlanta came out on top in the

11th inning.  Ray Durham cracked a solo homerun (his 1st of the season).

Mike Lamb struck out, unable to help the rally.  One out later, Derek Jeter

stepped in and he lined a one-base hit.  Chipper Jones followed and he

stroked a base-hit.  Atlanta finished with 12 hits in the victory.



The winning pitcher was Glendon Rusch(1-0) who allowed no runs in 2 innings.

Rusch got help from Shingo Takatsu who earned his 2nd save.  Rheal

Cormier(1-1) was tagged with the loss in relief.



The Braves advance to the Semi-Finals and will meet the Pittsburgh Pirates.

2005 Draft Lottery Info

We will be conducting our draft lottery on Wednesday, March 18th and Thursday, March 19th.....

The “Pennsylvania Daily Number Evening” 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.


2005 Lottery Drawing Chances:

000 to 249 – Seattle (47-115)

250 to 449 – Chicago (61-101, 4-2 vs. Cleveland in tie-breaker)

450 to 604 – Cleveland (61-101)

605 to 724 – Kansas City (65-97)

725 to 814 – New York (68-94)

815 to 879 – Montreal (76-86)

880 to 924 – Toronto (78-84)

925 to 954 – Oakland (79-83)

955 to 974 – Boston (80-82)

975 to 986 – Anaheim (81-81, 5-1 vs. Los Angeles in tie-breaker)

987 to 994 – Los Angeles (81-81)

995 to 999 – San Francisco (90-72)

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

Pirates Send Phillies Packing

The old adage good pitching beats good hitting played out in Pittsburgh's first round victory over Philadelphia. Pirate pitchers held the heart of Philadelphias lineup to a .192 average in beating the Phillies 4 games to 2. Once more, Philadelphia exited in the first round of the playoffs.

With the Pirates leading the series 2 - 0, the series switched to Pittsburgh. Philadelphia looked as if it might make a run, as they took games 3 and 5. However, Pittsburgh showed its tenacity in holding off the Phillies in game 6, winning 11-10 in 14 innings.

Game 3 - Philadelphia 5 Pittsburgh 2. Phils chip away at Zito, and Aaron Rowand has 4 hits. Two unearned runs in the top of the 9th add some comfort to a very close game.

Game 4 - Pittsburgh 11 Philadelphia 1. Pirates blow it wide open with 5 runs in the 8th against overmatched Dave Burba. Ben Broussard has 2 homeruns and 7 RBIs in a one man show.

Game 5 - Philadelphia 6 Pittsburgh 2. In an amazingly sloppy game, in which only 2 of the 9 runs were earned, Philadelphia staved off elimination. Kirk Reuter was the winner, going 5 innings.

Game 6 - Pittsburgh 11 Philadelphia 10 (14). Pittsburgh fought off a resilient Philadelphia team with 4 runs in the top of the 14th. Several times in the game, it appeared the Pirates had the Phils on the rope, and each time the Phillies battled back. Pittsburgh got to Brad Penny with 3 runs in the top of the 4th. However, Philly countered with 4 in the bottom. The score stayed knotted until the 9th when Pittsburgh battered the season long stalwart of the Philadelphia bullpen Jason Frasor, scoring the tieing run. Both teams went down fairly quietly until the top of the 11th when Pittsburgh scored 3 runs. Amazingly enough, Jim Thome hit a 3 run shot in the bottom of the 11th, tieing it once again. Neither team scored again until the wild 14th. Pittsburgh scored 4 in the top of the 14th, to take a seemingly secure lead. However, as the Pirate bullpen tired, the Phillies started back again. They scored 3 runs, and with two on, no outs, once again the game was in the hands of the toughest part of the Phils order - Pujols and Thome. However, in an eerie repeat of game 2, Pujols struck out. Thome struck out. Clutch hitting Sol Taguchi, one of the few bright spots in the playoffs ended the game, and Phillies hopes for a game 7. At least he didn't strike out.

Philly Phans Phume!

Philly fans took to the streets, incensed their team once again, exited the playoffs in the first round after a successful season. Said one fan - "It is a given the Phillies will be in the playoffs - but this is ANOTHER [expletive] choke. What do we we pay these guys for?" Another put the blame soley on the shoulders of manager Rick Cornell. "Fassero? @#$%ing Fassero? My son's Little League coach could have done just as good of a job as Cornell!" When pressed for comments Phillies manager Cornell stated - "All I can do is put guys on the field that I believe give us the best chance of winning. I can't hit the ball, throw the ball or catch the ball for them. It was a tough loss.

Pittsburgh showed a weakness against lefties. Hindsight is 20/20." Pitcher Jeff Fassero, the easy target of blame for yet another Philly failure simply said "I gave it my best. Obviously it wasn't enough. I don't know..." his voice trailing off as he headed for the showers..

The 2004 Phillies boasted one of their strongest lineups this year, but it was that very heart of the lineup that failed them. Eric Chavez, Mark Loretta, Torii Hunter, Miguel Tejada and superstar Albert Pujols were held to a measely .192 average in the six game set (24-125). Pujols a subject of an earlier article publicizing his drive for a pennant was woeful - hitting .208 with just one double. Hunter (.120) and Tejada (.154) were deplorable. Staff ace Brad Penny could not go more than 4 innings without giving up a slew of runs.

As fans nearly rioted, Philly ownership is left looking confused and incompetent. Only Aaron Rowand could hold his head up high, as he played flawless defense and hit .400 in the series. (10-25). However as one can expect, Rowand stated "Yeah, I guess that's nice, but I would gladly give up everyone of those hits if we could have just won the series."

Braves - Marlins Series

At last report, Atlanta leads the series over Florida 3 games to 2. . . .Game 6 returns to Florida at Fenway Park. . . .

Arizona's Championship Run Ends

The Arizona Diamondbacks’ six straight playoff series wins and two straight league championships came to an end last Sunday Night in PNC Park. St. Louis knocked off #1 seed Arizona in six games. This was a rematch of the 2003 World Series in which Arizona swept the Redbirds. This is the third straight year that the #1 seed has fallen to the #8 seed (Anaheim over Philly in 2003 and Boston beat Atlanta in 2002). Complete box scores are available by this link. A recap of the series:

Game #1 AZ 10, STL 6 - The Cards put up a four spot in the first inning off Randy Johnson, but Jake Westbrook could not hold the lead as he gave up seven runs in 4+ innings. After the 1st inning, the Big Unit pitched scoreless ball all the way into the 9th as he struck out 11 along the way… AJ Pierzynski hit two homers for the D-Backs

Game #2 STL 4, AZ 3 - Curt Schilling vs. Dontrelle Willis…..With the Cards clinging to a 4-3 lead, embattled reliever Armando Benitez was brought in to close out the ninth. Benitez got the first two outs but then gave up a pair of singles and a walk to load the bases. However, Armando got the final out to preserve the win in a tense finish. Cards felt fortunate to gain a 1-1 split vs. Johnson and Schilling…..off to St. Louis for game 3…..

Game #3 STL 13, AZ 4 - Redbirds scored nine runs off Al Leiter in 3+ innings. A pivotal moment was when pitcher Woody Willams hit a two-out bases loaded single in the 2nd that scored the first two runs of the game. Melvin Mora drove in three more runs (7 RBI’s in 3 games) and is now hitting .583 in the series.

Game #4 STL 1, AZ 0 - In the most exciting game of the series, Randy Johnson and Jake Westbrook put up goose eggs over the first eight innings. St. Louis pinch hit for Westbrook in the bottom of the eighth and then brought in Benitez who pitched a scoreless ninth. The D-Backs pinch hit for Randy Johnson in the ninth and brought in Scott Shields for the bottom of the inning. Shields gave up a hit and a walk and was relieved by Gagne. With runners on 1st and 2nd and no outs, Konerko bunted the ball and beat out the play at first to load the bases. Now with the Bank One Ballpark rocking, Gage walked Edmonds to force in the winning run.

Game #5 AZ 3, STL 2 - Curt Schilling turned in a gutty performance as he went all the way in a 3-2 D-Back win. Schilling allowed just four hits and struck out nine. Arizona scored the winning run on a two-out bases load error by Renteria in the top of the eighth innning. Schilling made the run stand up as manager Mark Childs stayed with Schilling in the 9th rather than bringing in his closer. Series goes back to Arizona for game 6.

Game #6 STL 9, AZ 5 - The Cardinals jumped on Brian Lawrence (the star of the 2003 post season) with nine hits and six runs to take a 6-4 lead. Two key moments occurred in the 8th…..With no out and a runner on, Paul Konerko attempted (another) bunt and got two strikes on him. The bunt sign was then taken off and Konerko connected on the next pitch for a 2-run homer to make it 8-4. In the bottom of the 8th, the D-Backs had the bases loaded with two out and run already in. Bruce Chen, making his first appearance in the series, got David Newhan to end the threat. Armando Benitez pitched another scoreless inning to finish up the series.

The bullpen was the story – St. Louis had a 2.25 ERA while Arizona’s bullpen was 6.55 ERA. . . . St. Louis now advances to meet Houston in the semi-Finals…..

Astros Defeat Twins in Six Games

The Houston Astros won their first playoff series by eliminating the Minnesota Twins in six games. Complete box scores are available by this link. A recap of the series:

Game 1 (8-7 Hou.): Down 6-2 in 6th, John Mabry hits grand slam off Santana and Triples in GW in 8th.

Game 2 (8-4 Minn.): Twins score 3 in 8th and 3 in 9th. Alex Cora homers and knocks in 4.

Game 3 (9-7 Hou.): Mabry 2 RBI, Todd Walker and Berkman hit homers. Matsui and Lee knock in 2 for Minn.



Game 4 (12-0 Hou.): Tom Glavine magnificent in tossing 2-hit shutout. Kotsay 4 RBI, Burroughs 4 hits.

Game 5 (8-7 Minn.): Jose Hernandez PH HR ties game in 9th, Graffanino wins it w/ 2-out, 2-run walk-off 1B in 13th.

Game 6 (7-5 Hou.): Russ Adams 2-out, 2-run PH 1B in 7th puts Astros ahead and Wagner closes out series w/ his 2nd save.



For Hou:
Series MVP John Mabry - HR, 7 RBI, .333 in just 12 AB's
Moises Alou - 2 HR's, 7 RBI, .482 in just 13 AB's
Shane Burroughs - .600 (12-20)

For Minny:
Hideki Matsui - 3 HR's, 5 RBI, .391
Jose Hernandez - 2 HR's, 3 RBI, .400
David Ortiz - just 1 HR 4 RBI, .238

Pittsburg Puts Philly in an Early 2-0 Hole

The Pittsburgh Pirates pitching gave the Phillies very little to work with over the course of their two game sweep in Philadelphia Sunday night 5-3 and 7-6.

In the first game Roy Oswalt held the Phils to just 3 hits over 7 innings and road a 4 run second inning to the win. Giles and Nevin connected for home runs, while Tejada had a solo shot for the Phils. Philadelphia had come within 1 on Tejada's solo shot in the 7th, but Nevin countered in the top of the 8th with a blast off of Lance Carter. Philly threatened in the bottom of the 9th getting two on, but was unable to score as Lidge recorded the save.

The second game saw the Phillies come out fast, scoring 4 runs in the second inning. Brad Penny seemed to be on the way to getting the Phils even up in the series when disaster struck in the 4th. The Pirates narrowed the gap to 2 with a couple early runs, but then Ben Broussard hit a 3 run shot to wipe out the deficit and give the Bucs the lead 5-4. Stunned, Penny was pulled after 3 2/3 innings. Pittsburgh scored what turned out to be the winning runs in the top of the 9th, making the score 7-4. However, Philadelphia managed to answer with two of their own to make it 7-6. With two outs, two on, the heart of the Phils order was due up - Pujols and Thome. Pujols drew a walk to load the bases. Thome then watched a called third strike.

As has been the case in the past as its star Pujols goes, so go the Phillies. Pujols has been held to two meaningless singles in the first game and is but 2 for 9 thus far. Philadelphia has hit just .185 over the first two games. Pittsburgh's Brian Giles has led his team with a .500 average (4-8) with two doubles and two homeruns.

The series moves to Pittsburgh, resuming Wednesday evening.

2004 Playoff Preview

Continuing a tradition.........my humble predictions........

#1 Arizona vs. #8 St. Louis (season series: Arizona 5-1) –
The Diamondbacks beat the Cardinals in the 2003 World Series four games to none. Ironically, these teams meet again to open up the playoffs this year. Arizona and St. Louis are remarkably different - Arizona was #1 in team ERA and #13 in Runs Scored; St. Louis finished #17 in team ERA and #1 in Runs Scored. Should be an interesting series. . . .

Arizona had two 20 game winners this season - Randy Johnson (23-5 1.92 ERA and Curt Schilling 21-11 2.95 ERA). Pitching is vital in the playoffs and the Diamondbacks are ready to make another run at a championship with these two horses. The D-Backs finished a torrid 34-11 the final two months of the season. Arizona made a late season trade acquiring Eric Gagne, Al Leiter, Lew Ford and Jermaine Dye - all four players made significant contributions down the stretch for Arizona. Centerfielder Steve Finley (.273 31 HR's 113 RBI's) played steady all season. Arizona has been the most successful team in the Millennium League holding a whopping 41-18 record in the post season. In fact, the D-Backs are an amazing 10-1 in overall playoff series.

It took a final regular season game loss by San Francisco to Seattle that allowed St. Louis to sneak into the playoffs. This was supposed to be St. Louis' strongest season but it never panned out, largely due to inconsistent pitching. Cardinal GM-manager John Helmbrecht acquired Armando Benitez (2.98 2-5 20 Saves) during the season that had mixed results. Benitez recorded 20 saves, yet coughed up several walk off homers in devasting losses. Besides Jake Westbrook (16-12) and Dontrelle Willis (11-8), pitching is thin. But, this team was built on offense and the Redbirds have much to offer: JD Drew (.312 41 HR's, 101 RBI's, 132 Runs), Jim Edmonds (.298 47 HR's 136 RBIS's), Melvin Mora (.304 24 HR's 95 RBI's), Jeremy Burnitz (33HR's 105 RBI's), and Paul Konerko (44 HR's 122 RBI's). Oh, and by the way, Edgar Renteria and Placido Polanco combined to hit 31 HR's and 125 RBI's between them. The Cards have been involved in six playoff series - five of them ended in sweeps. St. Louis is 12-13 overall in the postseason. Prediction: D-Backs "Dynamic Duo" will shut down Redbird offense ARIZONA WINS IN 5 GAMES

#2 Florida vs. #7 Atlanta (season series tied 3-3) –
The Marlins finished strong the second half of the season going 53-26 since July 1st. Jake Peavy is the ace of the staff finishing 17-5 with a 3.19 ERA. Jon Garland was the only other pitcher in double digit wins with a 15-10 mark. Juan Rincon anchors a deep bullpen with a 2.64 ERA and 22 Saves. Vlad Guerrero, acquired in a 2003 trade with Philly, posted big numbers: .342 42 HR's 133 RBI's. Six other Marlins hit 20+ homers: Lowell (36), D. Lee (30), Dunn (28), A.Gonzalez (25), Baldelli (21), V. Martinez (20). Florida is 1-4 in the post season - losing to champs Arizona last season in their only post season appearance.

Atlanta is making their first playoff appearance since 2002 when the Braves finished with 103 wins. The Braves are just 9-10 in the post season, despite being the #1 seed in both 2000 and 2002. Atlanta is hoping for better results out of the #7 seed this year. Atlanta boasts three strong starters: Rich Harden (3.24 13-10), John Lackey (3.88 11-8) and John Thomson (14-5). Harden was the Braves 2003 #1 draft pick and Lackey was the 2002 #1 draft pick. "Mr. Captain" - Derek Jeter led the team in many batting categories: .308, 212 Hits, and 67 doubles. Jeter's doubles total far exceeding 2nd place Pujols who finished with 53. Chipper Jones quietly hit 35 HR's and drove in 96 RBI's. Atlanta sputtered the final two months of the season going just 23-22.
Prediction: Braves starters are strong as Marlins are upset ATLANTA WINS IN 7 GAMES

#3 Philadelphia vs. #6 Pittsburgh (season series tied 3-3) –
Philly finished 32-16 the final two months to win the division. Despite three division crowns, the Phillies are still looking for that elusive championship as they have just a 15-15 mark in the post season. The Phillies have steadily improved their pitching staff and now have some quality arms: Greg Maddux (3.86 15-6), Freddy Garcia (4.22 16-9), Brad Penny (4.27 8-6) and Javier Vazquez (11-10). Unsung Jason Frasor had 24 saves and a sub 2.00 ERA. The Phils always have hitting and were led this season by Mr. Pujols (.342 56 HR's 154 RBI's), Mark Loretta (.336), Miguel Tajada (38 HR's 130 RBI's) , Eric Chavez (29 HR's) and Tori Hunter (27 HR's).

The Pirates are the coldest team coming into the playoffs as the Buccos went 12-16 in August and 8-9 in September. Pittsburgh has just a 7-6 post season record as they only qualified in 2002. Brad Lidge was the Pirates #1 draft pick and he saved 34 games this year despite a high ERA (4.59). Pittsburgh has notable starters: Roy Oswalt (17-11), Kris Benson (3.86 13-9), Matt Clement (18-9) and Kerry Wood (8-1). Carlos Guillen (.344) and Randy Winn (.325 109 Runs) led the hitting.

Prediction: Phillies hitting and pitching too strong PHILADELPHIA WINS IN 6 GAMES

#4 Houston vs. #5 Minnesota (season series tied 3-3) -
Houston is another red-hot team entering the playoffs going 34-15 the final two months. The Astros can certainly put up some runs as they finished second in runs scored to the Cards. The Astros offense revolves around Lance Berkman (.305 32 HR's 108 RBI's). Lance finished second in the league in walks (128) to Barry Bonds. Moises Alou (26 HR's) and Mike Sweeney (24 HR's) added some long ball power. The 'Stros had five starters with double digit wins: Jeff Weaver (15), Tom Glavine (14), Jaret Wright (13), Jason Jonson (12) and Rodrigo Lopez (12). Billy Wagner tied for the league lead in saves (35). Houston has never won a playoff series going 5-12 in the post season.

The Twins were a remarkable story in 2004 and certainly look to be a team to be reckoned with in the future. Minnesota has a strong nucleus of good players: Ichiro (.367 116 Runs), David Ortiz (.335 53 HR's 128 RBI's), Hideki Matsui (.316 36 HR's), Johan Santana (2.80 17-8), Roy Halladay (8-4) and Josh Beckett (9-9). The Twins have never been in the post season before..
Prediction: Looks to be a real even series.... I'll go with MINNESOTA TO WIN IN 7 GAMES

Pujols Looking For Championship Ring

Philadelphia (AP) - Albert Pujols led many hitting categories last year: Batting Average(.387), Hits (252), Doubles (67), and Slugging Pct (.754). Albert continued his batting assault this year as he led the league runs scored (141), Homers (56) and RBI's (154).

However, Pujols wants a championship. Last season, Pujols hit .387 in the Phils' Quarter-Final playoffs vs. Anaheim in a losing effort (Anaheim upset Philadelphia 4 games to 3). Pujols hit just .233 in the 2002 post season as Philly was knocked out by Arizona in the Semi-Finals.

This season, Phils skipper Rick Cornell has the Phils running on all cyclinders as they overtook Minnesota and St. Louis the final month of the season. And Pujols is ready to lead his team into the playoffs. Will this be the season?

Braves Most Improved Team in 2004

The Atlanta Braves were the most improved team in the Millennium League this past season. In the 2003 season, the Braves finished a distant fourth (72-90) in the Killebrew Division. But, Atlanta finished the 2004 season with 92 wins - an improvement of 20 wins. Here is the list of all the teams and how they compared vs. the 2003 season:

Net Change in Wins vs. Previous Season:

+ 20 Atlanta
+ 14 Chicago
+ 13 Houston
+ 13 Minnesota
+ 11 Arizona
+ 8 Kansas City
+ 8 Pittsburgh
+ 2 Florida
+ 1 Boston
+ 1 Los Angeles
EVEN Oakland
EVEN San Francisco
EVEN Toronto
- 3 Anaheim
- 3 Montreal
- 6 St. Louis
- 8 Philadelphia
- 14 New York
- 22 Seattle
- 35 Cleveland

Big Unit Leads League Hurlers

There is no doubt about it - Randy Johnson is back. After struggling through an injury plagued 8-7 mark last season, Arizona's "Big Unit" returned back to his dominating self this season. Johnson compiled gaudy stats this season: 23-5, 1.92 ERA, 5 shutouts and 323 strikeouts - leading the league in all of these categories. Randy is fast closing in on

being the first pitcher in the Millennium League with 100 wins. After his third 23 game win season this year, he now has 98 career wins. He is expected to get the call in game one of the upcoming quarter-final playoffs vs. the Cardinals. . . . .

2004 Playoff Teams

Seedings have been determined for the 2004 playoffs:

1. Arizona (98-64) Division Winner
2. Florida (97-65) Division Winner
3. Philadelphia (95-67, wins tied at 3, outscored Houston 37-35) Division Winner
4. Houston (95-67) Division Winner
5. Minnesota (93-69)
6. Pittsburgh (92-70, wins tied at 3, outscored Atlanta 37-29)
7. Atlanta (92-70)
8. St. Louis (91-71)

Playoff Bracket can be viewed at: http://home.comcast.net/~helmbrej/msl/2004playoffs.htm

Ichiro Wins Batting Crown

Minnesota (AP) - Ichiro Suzuki has won the 2004 Millennium League Batting Crown. Playing for the Twins, Ichiro hit .367 which placed third all-time in Millennium League history (Pujols hit .387 in 2003 and Bonds hit .368 in 2002). Ichiro broke the single season mark for hits with 264 - previously this was held by Albert Pujols with 252 in the 2002 campaign. Suzuki was the second player taken in the 2001 draft. He looks forward to making his first post season appearance in the upcoming playoffs.

Playoff Teams Set

Barring player usage playoff penalties, post season qualifiers are now set: Division Winners: Florida, Houston, Arizona and Philadelphia. Wild Card Teams: Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Minnesota and St. Louis.

Playoff seedings will be announced shortly. . . . .

Phils Outlast Twins and Cards For Division Crown

The Philadelphia Phillies clinched the Aaron Division with a final record of 95-67. Two games back was Minnesota at 93-69 and St. Louis finished four games behind at 91-71. All three teams have qualified for the playoffs.

This was probably the closest and best three team division race in recent memory. The Phils wrapped up the crown by going 12-5 in September while Minnesota and St. Louis both logged 9-8 marks in September games.

The pennant race ebbed and flowed all season with each of the teams spending time in first place. Just like last year, St. Louis started out of the gate fast which included a blistering 23-8 May before giving the lead up in June as they posted a dismal 9-18 record. The Twins actually held the lead for a good portion of the summer months before losing out to the Phils in the final two weeks of the season. Interestingly, the Twins had a commanding 14-4 head-to-head record vs. the Phils this season.

Congrats to all three teams for an exciting finish!

Lowly Mariners Knock Giants Out of the Playoffs

Seattle scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth in the last game of the season to knock San Francisco out of the playoffs. With the loss, the Giants finished one game behind St. Louis for the 8th and final playoff spot.

Strat-O-Matic Report

---

BOXSCORE: 2004 San Francisco Giants At 2004 Seattle Mariners        9/17/2004
 
  Giants             AB  R  H RBI AVG     Mariners           AB  R  H RBI AVG
  J.Pierre CF         4  1  1  0 .353     M.Ensberg 3B        4  1  1  0 .277  
  E.Hinske 3B         5  1  1  2 .245   D-D.Roberts PR        0  1  0  0 .290  
  B.Bonds DH          3  0  2  0 .347     J.Olerud 1B         4  0  0  0 .295  
  J.Michaels RF       5  0  1  0 .251     A.Rodriguez SS      2  2  1  1 .260  
  J.Snow 1B           2  1  1  0 .335     R.White LF          5  1  2  1 .279  
  J.Kent 2B           5  1  1  0 .252     S.Hillenbrand DH    5  0  1  1 .264  
  J.Lugo SS           5  0  3  2 .265     G.Williams RF       4  2  2  2 .355  
  A.Melhuse C         4  1  2  1 .315     F.Lopez 2B          2  0  0  0 .247  
  C.Crisp LF          5  1  1  1 .294   A-T.Wigginton PH,2B   2  0  1  0 .225  
                                          D.Wilson C          2  0  0  0 .201  
                                        B-R.Sanders PH        0  0  0  0 .291  
                                        C-B.Ausmus C          1  0  1  1 .233  
                                          M.Cameron CF        4  0  2  1 .196  
                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---      
         Totals      38  6 13  6                 Totals      35  7 11  7
 
A-Pinch Hit For Lopez In 7th Inning
B-Pinch Hit For Wilson In 7th Inning
C-Subbed Defensively (C ) For Sanders In 8th Inning
D-Pinch Ran For Ensberg In 9th Inning
 
Giants.......... 0 0 0  0 1 2  0 3 0  -  6 13  0
Mariners........ 0 0 0  1 0 0  1 3 2  -  7 11  0
 
Giants (90-72)           IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA
R.Villone                 6       3   1   1   3   1   0   3.21
S.Williamson HOLD(3rd)    1       1   1   1   2   1   0   7.27
F.Rodriguez               0 2/3   4   3   3   0   0   1   3.86
T.Worrell L(4-5) BS(5th)  1       3   2   2   2   1   0   3.92
Totals                    8 2/3  11   7   7   7   3   1
 
Mariners (45-108)        IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA
C.Lidle                   6 2/3   9   3   3   4   4   1   6.44
D.Miceli                  1       1   2   2   1   1   1   3.74
C.Eldred WIN(4-4)         1 1/3   3   1   1   1   2   1   4.95
Totals                    9      13   6   6   6   7   3
 
ATTENDANCE- 10,123 DATE- Tuesday, September 17th 2004 TIME- Day WEATHER- Average
UMPIRES- Chris Guccione, Rich Rieker, Paul Emmel, Gerry Davis
T- 3:46
LEFT ON BASE- Giants:12  Mariners: 8
DOUBLE PLAYS- Giants: 2  Mariners: 2
DOUBLES- J.Pierre(30th), B.Bonds(28th), J.Kent(28th), J.Lugo(46th),
         G.Williams(9th)
HOME RUNS- E.Hinske(16th), A.Melhuse(10th), C.Crisp(11th), A.Rodriguez(35th)
STOLEN BASES- D.Roberts(35th), R.White(3rd)
WALKS- J.Pierre, B.Bonds-2, J.Snow-2, A.Melhuse, M.Ensberg, J.Olerud,
       A.Rodriguez-3, G.Williams, R.Sanders
HIT BY PITCH- J.Snow
STRIKE OUTS- E.Hinske, J.Michaels-2, J.Snow, J.Lugo, C.Crisp-2, M.Ensberg,
             J.Olerud, R.White
GIDP- J.Kent-2, M.Ensberg, S.Hillenbrand
WILD PITCHES- C.Lidle, C.Eldred
 
With the hometown crowd on the edge of their seats, Seattle Mariners came from
behind to top San Francisco Giants, 7 to 6.
 
Seattle came up with the deciding runs in the bottom of the 9th inning with 2
runs using 2 hits.  Morgan Ensberg led off and started the rally when he drew
a walk.  After an out was recorded, Roberts took off for second and slid in
with a stolen base.  Alex Rodriguez then drew a walk.  Rondell White was a
strikeout victim, unable to help out.  Shea Hillenbrand stepped into the box
and singled bringing in a run.  Gerald Williams kept the inning going and
stroked a base-hit giving Seattle the victory as 10,123 happy fans celebrated
wildly.  Seattle rapped out 11 hits for the afternoon.  
 
The victory went to Cal Eldred(4-4) who went 1 and 1/3 innings, allowing 1
run. Tim Worrell(4-5) ended up with the loss in relief.  John Ferraro was all
smiles after the ballgame, 'It sure was looking pretty dim there for a while,
but our guys never gave up - and neither did our fans - they kept cheering us
on.  What a sweet win!'

• Go to Strat-O-Matic Homepage

Marlins, Astros and D-Backs Clinch Division Titles

From the Commissioners Office: The Florida Marlins, Houston Astros and Arizona Diamondbacks have all clinched their repective divisions. Florida, sporting a
6 1/2 game lead over San Fran with just three games to play will be making their second straight post season appearance. Since July 1st, Florida has had a 51-25 record. The Marlins lost to league champs Arizona in last season's opening playoff round.

Houston put together a 32-13 final two months to overtake Atlanta for the Killebrew divsion crown. The Astros were also in last season's playoffs - losing to St. Louis in the opening round.

Finally, Arizona is back for another run at a championship. The D-Backs seem poised again with their two big guns - Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling to defend their title. Arizona currently has a 96-63 record with a 5 1/2 game lead over the Buccos.

Current Standings:
Florida 95-64
San Fran 90-72 6 1/2 GB

Houston 93-66
Atlanta 92-70 2 1/2 GB

Arizona 96-63
Pittsburgh 92-70 5 1/2 GB

Philly 92-67
Minnesota 93-69 1/2 GB
St. Louis 91-71 2 1/2 GB