Upheaval in Philly

The season is still in it's infancy, but trouble is already abrewin' in Philadelphia.

After moving to a new stadium, oddly enough the manager had no idea his team was utilizing a DH this year. That left fans wondering if the GM had been clued in on this while assembling his squad for the season as line-ups were hurriedly scraped together.

Also, apparently chairs were thrown and tables dumped after a lackluster 5-7 road trip. 2 sweeps left the finicky and fanatical Philly fans puzzled and angry. Word from the front office is no player is safe and all are available. "Heads will roll" was overheard coming from the top brass.

The MSL season is off and running and will be as entertaining as ever so stay tuned.

Cards Win Home Opener

The first game played for April 3rd was the Yanks-Cardinals contest. St. Louis scored 11 runs and notched 15 hits in a 11-6 win over Roger Clemens and the Yankees. Melvin Mora got three hits for the Redbirds.

Strat-O-Matic Report

---

BOXSCORE: 2004 New York Yankees At 2004 St. Louis Cardinals          4/3/2004

 

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

  A.Kearns RF         2  0  1  1 .500     E.Renteria SS       4  0  1  1 .250  

  R.Clayton SS        5  0  2  2 .400     J.Drew RF           5  2  2  3 .400  

  J.Lopez C           4  0  0  0 .000     M.Mora 3B           3  1  3  11.000  

  R.Klesko 1B         4  1  2  0 .500     J.Edmonds CF        3  1  2  1 .667  

  J.Uribe 2B          5  1  1  2 .200     P.Konerko 1B        4  1  0  0 .000  

  S.Stewart LF        5  1  1  0 .200     J.Burnitz LF        4  3  2  3 .500  

  B.Williams CF       3  0  0  0 .000     P.Polanco 2B        4  0  3  0 .750  

  C.Tracy 3B          4  2  3  0 .750     J.Estrada C         4  2  2  2 .500  

  R.Clemens P         2  1  1  0 .500     O.Perez P           3  1  0  0 .000  

  C.Hammond P         0  0  0  0 ----     C.Cordero P         0  0  0  0 ----  

  J.Tavarez P         0  0  0  0 ----                                          

  J.Parrish P         1  0  0  0 .000                                          

  K.Foulke P          0  0  0  0 ----                                          

A-T.Long PH           1  0  0  1 .000                                          

  H.Ramirez P         0  0  0  0 ----                                          

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

         Totals      36  6 11  6                 Totals      34 11 15 11

 

A-Pinch Hit For Foulke In 8th Inning

 

Yankees......... 0 2 0  0 0 0  0 4 0  -  6 11  1

Cardinals....... 1 1 1  0 0 3  2 3    - 11 15  1

 

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

R.Clemens LOSS(0-1)       4 1/3   6   3   3   3   3   1   6.23

C.Hammond                 1       1   2   2   2   1   0  18.00

J.Tavarez                 0 1/3   3   1   1   0   1   0  27.00

J.Parrish                 0 1/3   2   2   2   0   0   0  54.00

K.Foulke                  1       1   0   0   0   0   0   0.00

H.Ramirez                 1       2   3   3   2   0   1  27.00

Totals                    8      15  11  11   7   5   2

 

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

O.Perez WIN(1-0)          7       8   4   4   4   7   1   5.14

C.Cordero                 2       3   2   2   1   2   0   9.00

Totals                    9      11   6   6   5   9   1

 

ATTENDANCE- 46,214 DATE- Wednesday, April 3rd 2004 TIME- Night WEATHER- Average

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

T- 3:44

LEFT ON BASE- Yankees: 9  Cardinals: 9

DOUBLE PLAYS- Yankees: 2  Cardinals: 0

ERRORS- J.Lopez, P.Konerko

DOUBLES- R.Klesko-2(2nd), C.Tracy(1st), M.Mora(1st), J.Estrada(1st)

TRIPLES- J.Drew(1st), J.Edmonds(1st)

HOME RUNS- J.Uribe(1st), J.Drew(1st), J.Burnitz(1st)

STOLEN BASES- M.Mora(1st), J.Edmonds(1st)

CAUGHT STEALING- R.Clayton, J.Uribe, B.Williams

SACRIFICE HITS- P.Polanco, O.Perez

SACRIFICE FLIES- E.Renteria

WALKS- A.Kearns-3, J.Lopez, R.Klesko, M.Mora-2, J.Edmonds-2, P.Konerko,

       J.Burnitz, J.Estrada

HIT BY PITCH- B.Williams

STRIKE OUTS- R.Clayton, J.Lopez-2, R.Klesko, J.Uribe-2, S.Stewart, R.Clemens,

             J.Parrish, E.Renteria, J.Drew, P.Konerko, J.Burnitz, P.Polanco

GIDP- P.Konerko

PASSED BALLS- J.Estrada

 

The St. Louis Cardinals had very little trouble at Bank One Ballpark downing

the New York Yankees.  The score was 11 to 6.

 

J.D. Drew made sure the St. Louis fans enjoyed themselves.  He smashed a

bases-empty 'big-fly' (his 1st of the season) in the 1st inning and tripled

bringing in two baserunners in the 6th inning.  St. Louis had many

opportunities throughout the game and scored in 6 separate innings.  

 

Odalis Perez(1-0) was the winner allowing 4 runs in 7 innings. Roger

Clemens(0-1) was the losing pitcher.  He surrendered 6 hits and 3 walks in 4

and 1/3 innings.

• Go to Strat-O-Matic Homepage

2004 Season Preview

The big question going into this season is, will Arizona win it's 3rd straight title and make it 4 in 5 years? Or will another team be able to win the World Series and end the D-Back's run?

Here is a look at some teams that I think will have a chance at going all the way to the World Series this year.

Florida Marlins

Led by a potent lineup of Mike Lowell, Derek Lee, Adam Dunn, Victor Martinez, Eric Byrnes and last but not least Vladimir Guerrero, this offense should be lighting up the scoreboard every night. The pitching isn't too bad either with Jake Peavy, Jon Garland and A.J. Burnett in their starting rotation. They should be the favorites to win the Brock division this year.

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers finished 2nd last year with a 80-82 record but Adrian Beltre looks primed for a breakout season to lead his team into October. He has a good supporting cast with Shawn Green and Gary Sheffield to back him up in the lineup. They also have a rising star in Chase Utley who will have many years ahead of him at 2nd base. The starting rotation is led by Olympic gold medalist Ben Sheets and lefty Oliver Perez.

Minnesota Twins

Minnesota finished with the same record as the Dodgers but finished in 4th place in the tough Aaron Division last year but things seem to be looking up in the twin cities this year. David Ortiz' .316 average and 43 homeruns from last year could be topped this year as he will in the middle of a strong lineup. Carlos Lee and Hideki Matsui will be able to provide protection for Big Papi as they both could hit over 30 homeruns this season. The Twins also have maybe the best starter in the league, Johan Santana to pitch every 5th day.

Montreal Expos

Montreal could have 8 players hitting more than 20 homeruns this season, led by Todd Helton, who is a lock to hit over .300 also. Their defense is superb with gold glovers from Helton at 1st, Brett Boone at 2nd, Orlando Carbera at short and Scott Rolen at 3rd. The pitching staff will definitly be able to stop rallies from relying on the defense behind them. Their bullpen is anchored by Francisco Cordero, who saved 36 games for them last year.

Philadelphia Phillies

After an upset loss in the 1st round to Anaheim last year Philadelphia moved into Yankee Stadium and look to put the past behind them in 2004. It does help that you have the batting champion from last year, Albert Pujols (.381 and 56 HR's), to lead the charge, and of course Miguel Tejada at short and Eric Chavez at 3rd base. The pitching staff should be helped by not playing in the thin air of Coors Field as Freddy Garcia, Jeff Suppan and Brad Penny look to lead the rotation.

St. Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals who come off a World Series loss to Arizona look to be just fine with Jim Edmonds, J.D. Drew and Jeremy Burnitz in the outfield. The infield isn't too bad either with Paul Konerko at 1st, Placido Polonco at 2nd, Edgar Renteria at short and Vinny Castilla at 3rd. Their pitching staff has a good blend of righties and lefties, led by Jake Westbrook, Woody Williams and Odalis Perez. The only problem is that they play in maybe the deepest division, Aaron, along with the Phillies and the Twins.

Round 1 Recap

Round 1 of the 2004 draft was very friendly to hitters, as Matt Holliday was drafted by Montreal with the 1st overall pick.

Holliday showed he's ready to be an impact player as he had 12 homeruns and 72 rbi's for the Tulsa Drillers last year.

With the 2nd pick, David Wright went to the Chicago White Sox. Wright and Jose Reyes (2nd pick in 2003) will be cornerstones for Chicago's infield for years to come.

Kansas City, with the 3rd pick of the draft, solidified their catchers position with Joe Mauer. Mauer seems destined to be a .300 hitter and solid defender in upcoming years.

Seattle chose the first pitcher in the draft, Scott Kazmir, with the 4th pick. Atlanta drafted center fielder Grady Sizemore and then slugging first baseman Ryan Howard was selected by Toronto with the 6th pick.

The other pitchers selected were: Chris Young (Oakland), Justin Duchscherer (Houston), Zach Grienke (San Francisco), Erik Bedard (Florida), Chad Cordero (St. Louis) and Dave Bush (Arizona).

Phillies Move to Yankee Stadium

Philadelphia (AP) - Ruth, Mantle, Maris.....these sluggers all had the priviledge to play in historic Yankee Stadium. Now a new set of sluggers will play in the ballpark for the 2004 season which include Pujols and Tejada. Philadelphia vacates Coors Field and moves to Yankee Stadium for the upcoming season.

Six Returning Pitchers Look to Make Impact

Six pitchers who missed the 2003 season, look to rebound in 2004:

Toronto's Chris Carpenter began the 2003 season on the disabled list as he continued his recovery from shoulder surgery and was forced to undergo arthroscopic surgery for his ailing shoulder on July 29 to remove scar tissue. In three seasons with the Blue Jays, Carpenter is 9-26 with a 6.39 ERA.

Another Blue Jay, Bronson Arroyo, was selected in the 1st round of the 2002 draft. But, he only saw limited action in 2002: 0-2, 9.39 ERA in 7 innings. Bronson did not see action in 2003, but was protected on Toronto's roster for the 2004 campaign.

In 2002, Paul Byrd had one of the best pitching seasons ever in the Millennium League: 24-10, 3.78 ERA in 245 innings pitched. Byrd's 24 wins still holds the single season record. But, knowing that Byrd needed Tommy John surgery, the Yankees traded Paul for a lowly 7th round draft pick to the Royals. Kansas City then kept Byrd on the roster throughout the 2003 season even though he was not able to pitch.

After compiling a 30-19 record in two seasons with Atlanta, Jon Lieber was traded to the White Sox in 2002. Lieber compiled a 10-5 mark with a 4.45 ERA in 129 innings. But, Jon also was victim of Tommy John surgery and missed the entire 2003 season.

Anaheim's Trevor Hoffman is currently 7th in all time saves (92) but missed the 2003 season due to shoulder surgery. The Angels are counting on Trevor and their 2003 1st round draft pick Joe Nathan to anchor the back end of their bullpen for the upcoming season.

Finally, A. J. Burnett has been a "charter member" of the Marlins. He has a career 23-25 mark and a 4.15 ERA for the Fish but missed all of last season due to arm problems. Florida is counting on A. J. to rebound in 2004.

Harang Sent to Twins

Minnesota (AP) - The Twins added another front line starter to their pitching staff by acquiring pitcher Aaron Harang from the White Sox. To complete the deal Minnesota also received Chicago's second round pick (21st overall) in exchange for the Twins first rounder (9th overall). In two seasons with Chicago, Harang has gone 3-8 with a 6.45 ERA in 83 innings of work. The White Sox now own the 2nd and 9th picks in the upcoming 2004 draft.

Ryan Drese Traded to Arizona

Millennium League Champs Arizona wasted no time in upgrading their pitching staff for the 2004 season by trading for starting pitcher Ryan Drese. The D-Backs sent the Phillies catcher Damian Miller and a fifth round draft pick for Drese.

Drese was selected in the 16th round of the 2001 draft by the St. Louis Cardinals and finished with a 4-1 mark and a 3.13 ERA in 37 innings. He was released at the end of the season and was then re-drafted in the 15th round by Philly for the 2003 campaign. However, he did not see any playing time last season.

-

Arizona's Damian Miller has been with the D-Backs for the past four seasons and has three World Series rings. In 374 games, Miller has hit 39 homers and has a career .235 batting average.

Snakes Win Again!

The Arizona Diamondbacks defended their championship crown in splendid fashion as they disposed of the St. Louis in four games. Arizona won three straight one run games which included a 2-run rally in the bottom of the ninth and a 15-inning contest. A recap of the series:

Game 1 (Arizona 4, St. Louis 3) - Nomo is cruising along, until the D-Backs pinch hit B. Jordan to keep an inning alive and Jordan delivers a surprising 2 run homer to tie things up in the 7th. Top of the 9th, Brousard quickly scores after a lead off hit and then the call goes to Percival to close the 9th. Percival faces 3 batters and gives up 3 hits including a lead off hr to Pierzynski and the game is over.

Game 2 (Arizona 2, St. Louis 1) - This one goes 15 innings. Broussard ties the game for Stl with a solo shot in the top of the 9th and then neither side can score again until Fordyce (the last hitter on Arizona's bench) delivers a pinch hit single in the bottom of the 15th.

Game 3 (Arizona 3, St. Louis 2) - Another one-run game. Shields pitched seven strong innings giving up just one run while Matt Morris gave up two runs in the sixth which proved to be the difference. Redbirds hit into two rally-killing double plays.

Game 4 (Arizona 11, St. Louis 4) - Cards had an early 4-1 lead, but D-Backs put up a 5-spot on Nomo in the 4th to grab the lead and they never looked back. Furcal hit a key two-run triple in the inning. Brian Lawrence went 4-0 in the playoffs. Edmonds, who seemingly carried St. Louis all season, hit just .250 in the series with no homers and no RBI's.

2003 Season Records

RECORDS BROKEN:
(Single Game)
Most Hits (Team) in a Game - 31, Houston
Most Hits in a Game - 9, L. Berkman (Houston)
Most RBI's in a Game - 11, L. Berkman (Houston)

(Season)
Most Doubles (Team) - 389, Philadelphia
Batting Average - .373, A. Pujols (Philadelphia)
Hits - 252, A. Pujols (Philadelphia)
Doubles - 67, A. Pujols (Philadelphia)
Runs - 161, A. Pujols (Philadelphia)
Total Bases - 491, A. Pujols (Phildelphia)
Games Pitched - 90, D. Graves (Toronto)
Shutouts - 6, M. Mussina (Los Angeles)

RECORDS TIED:
(Single Game)
Most At Bats in a Game - 9, G. Anderson (Anaheim), J. Pierre (San Francisco), and J. Kent (San Francisco)
Most Walks in a Game - 5, B. Kielty (Seattle)
Most Homeruns in a Game - 4, R. Hidalgo (Anaheim)
Most Runs Scored in a Game - 5, L. Berkman (Houston), M. Kotsay (Houston), C. Wilson (Pittsburgh), and M. Ramirez (Cleveland)
Least Hits Allowed in a Game - 0, J. Contreras (Anaheim) and D. Dreifort (San Francisco)

(Regular Season)
Most Shutouts (Team) - 17, Oakland
RBI's - 162, J. Thome (Cleveland)

It's D-Backs and Cards in World Series!

Arizona's Magglio Ordonez had three home runs and nine RBI's to help lead the D-Backs to a four games to one series win over the Cleveland Indians. This was defending league champs Arizona's fifth straight series win and they are now 9-1 (33-18 overall) in playoff series - an incredible record and best in the league. Arizona now faces St. Louis for the League Championship. A recap of the games:

Game 1 (Arizona 11, Cleveland 6) -Arizona chases Mark Prior early after scoring 5 runs. Cleveland gets within a run later in the game, but Arizona piles on a bunch more to make it a confortable game 1 victory.

Game 2 (Cleveland 4, Arizona 3) - Cleveland up 4-0 after 8 innings, thanks to home runs from Manny Ramirez and Geoff Jenkins. The 9th turned into a nail bitter, with Arizona scoring 3 but they leave the tying run on 2nd base.

Game 3 (Arizona 7, Cleveland 5) - Arizona was up 7-1 after 7, Mantei made it interesting in the 9th, but too little too late for Cleveland.

Game 4 (Arizona 10, Cleveland 0) - Prior again is terrible. On top of his pitching performance he committed an error and 2 wild pitches, Lawrence in his typical Jeckyl/Hide role throws the complete game shut out after not going 5 innings in game #1.

Game 5 (Arizona 2, Cleveland 1) - Tight one all the way through, aggressive Cleveland base running cost them in the late innings (Lofton pinch ran in the 8th, didn't get lead with 95% chance so stole with 70% chance and was thrown out. Randa leads off the 9th with a walk and is picked off.

Edmonds Leads Redbirds Past Halos

Jim Edmonds hit three homeruns and drove in eight runs to help St. Louis defeat Anaheim 4 games to 0 in their Semi-Final playoff series. A recap of the games:

Game 1 - Cardinals 11, Angels 5 (St. Louis came out blazing, scoring three times in the 1st and seven more in the 2nd. Paul Konerko connected on a 2-run HR in the opening frame and a grand slam in the 2nd. Troy Glaus also had a GS for Anaheim)

Game 2 - Cardinals 7, Angels 5 (Jim Edmonds ripped a 2-run HR in the 13th after delivering an RBI double in the 7th to tie the game. Richard Hidalgo had given Anaheim a 3-0 lead with a HR in the 1st. After the Cards tied it in the 4th, Cesar Izturis' 2-run single in the 6th gave Anaheim a 5-3 advantage. Jay Payton homered in the bottom of the inning to set up Edmonds' heroic efforts in the 7th and 13th)

Game 3 - Cardinals 7, Angels 6 (Edmonds snapped a 6-6 tie with his second HR of the game in the 8th inning. The Angels had fought back from a 6-4 deficit on a HR by Garret Anderson in the 5th and a sac fly by Anderson in the 7th)

Game 4 - Cardinals 4, Angels 3 (Jeremy Burnitz hit a 2-run PH HR in the 9th. The Angels led 1-0 into the 5th when a pair of bases loaded walks gave the Cards a 2-1 lead. Anaheim regained the lead in the 7th on a sac fly by Izturis and a HR by Anderson)

St. Louis now advances to the World Series for the first time in their history and will face the winner of the Arizona-Cleveland playoff series.

White Sox Nab 2nd Pick

Chicago, last place finisher in the 2003 season, secured the second draft pick. (For a complete history of draft lottery results, click here.) The White Sox appear poised to start turning around their past seasons performances based on an influx of new talent. Chicago had three picks out of the first 23 players selected in last season's draft and came away with Jose Reyes (#2 selected player), Jeremy Bonderman (#14) and Brandon Phillips (#23). In the upcoming draft, Chicago once again has a few extra picks: a #2 and #4 from Arizona in the A. J. Pierzynski deal and an extra #3 in the Sammy Sosa trade with Montreal. It will be interesting to see how the White Sox team improves in the the upcoming season.

O Canada!

The Montreal Expos, with just a 3% chance of snatching the top lottery pick, beat the odds and won tonite's draft lottery. Montreal finished 8th worst in last year's standings and had a very small chance in winning the pick. This was the first time in league history that a team higher than the "fourth slot" won the #1 pick. The Expos will have an opportunity to draft a player from a strong pool that includes David Wright, Ryan Howard, Scott Kazmir and Matt Holliday.

Arizona Advances

Millennium League defending champs Arizona defeated Florida 4 games to 1 in their Quarter-Final playoff series.

In game 1, Arizona rallied for 3 runs in the 7th which was aided by a costly Alex Gonzalez error as the Diamondbacks won 4-3. The Marlins evened up the series in game 2 by a 11-4 score behind Mike Lowell's five hits (with two home runs) and four RBI's.

The series moved to Florida for game 3 and Curt Schilling fired a 4-hitter with 11 K's to give Arizona a 2-1 win. Then, the D-Backs took a commanding 3-1 series lead as Brian Lawrence won his 2nd game of the series in a 5-3 Arizona win. Finally, it was all Arizona in game 5, as the D-Backs closed out the series with a 12-5 win. Steve Finley, who hit .391 in the series, had 4 hits which included two doubles and a triple.

Arizona now advances to meet the Cleveland Indians in the Semi-Finals.

Draft Lottery to be Held Next Week

We will be conducting our draft lottery on Wednesday, June 25th and Thursday, June 26th.....

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.


2004 Lottery Drawing Chances:

000 to 249 – Chicago (47-115)

250 to 449 – Kansas City (57-105)

450 to 604 – Seattle (69-93)

605 to 724 – Atlanta (72-90)

725 to 814 – Toronto (78-84)

815 to 879 – Oakland (79-83, 21-15 vs. Boston/Montreal in tie-breaker)

880 to 924 – Houston from Boston (79-83, 19-17 vs. Montreal/Oakland in tie-breaker)

925 to 954 – Montreal (79-83)

955 to 974 – Minnesota (80-82, 4-2 vs. Los Angeles in tie-breaker)

975 to 986 – Los Angeles (80-82)

987 to 994 – New York (82-80)

995 to 999 – Pittsburgh (84-79)

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

Angels Upset Phillies

The Angels, who needed a one-game playoff victory just to reach the post-season, knocked off top-ranked Philadelphia in an exciting seven-game series. The Angels had a .324 team batting average in the series, which helped offset a 7.26 ERA. The Phillies were about the same (.320 and 7.36). Carlos Delgado was voted the series MVP as he hit .357 with 5 HRs and 14 RBIs. Richard Hidalgo, who was hot and cold after being acquired at midseason, hit .429 with 4 HRs and 7 RBIs.

Game 1 -- Angels 9, Phillies 7 (Rob Mackowiak and Adam Kennedy hit 2-run HRs and Pudge Rodriguez went 4-5)

Game 2 -- Phillies 10, Angels 3 (Torii Hunter hit a pair of homers)

Game 3 -- Phillies 8, Angels 5 (The game went extra innings after Tike Redman robbed Mark Loretta of a game-winning HR in the 9th. However, the Phillies scored four times in the 10th, sparked by Brad Wilkerson's 2-run double)

Game 4 -- Angels 6, Phillies 5 (Philly jumps to a 4-0 lead in the first inning, but Redman delivers an RBI double and DElgado a 3-run HR in the 3rd to tie it. Mike Lieberthal puts the Phils up 5-4 with an RBI single in the 7th, but the Angels tie the series by scoring twice in the 9th, first on Redman's RBI single, then on Kennedy's RBI double)

Game 5 -- Angels 14, Phillies 12 (The first of two wild offensive games. Loretta's 2-run single in the second helps the Phils take a 5-2 lead. However, Anaheim responds with six in the 3rd, capped by Kennedy's 2-run single. Lieberthal and Eric Chavez homer for Philly in the 4th to cut the deficit to 8-7. Hidalgo homers in the bottom of the 4th and Garrett Anderson hits a 2-run shot in the 5th for an 11-7 Anaheim advantage. Aaron Rowand's HR sets off a 5-run 7th for the Phils and they're back on top 12-11. However, Anderson's RBI single in the bottom of the inning ties it and Delgado's 2-run HR puts them up for good)

Game 6 -- Phillies 10, Angels 9 (Fourteen homers are hit -- 12 of them solo. Miguel Tejada hits three for the Phils, who trailed 8-6 after another Delgado 3-run shot. However, Chavez responds with a 3-run HR of his own and Tejada a solo shot in the 7th. The Angels have 1st and 3rd with no outs in the 9th, but after an RBI grounder, David Weathers retires Delgado and Hidalgo).

Game 7 -- Angels 5, Phillies 2 (Kind of anti-climactic after the previous two games. Phils have early 1-0 lead, but an Anderson RBI and a WP give Angels 2-1 lead in the 2nd. Anderson hits solo HR in the 6th and Hidalgo adds icing with 2-run shot in the 9th)

Players of the Block - Block 9

EDGAR GONZALEZ (SEA) -- AL Batter of the Block
Seattle DH Edgar Gonzalez ended the 2003 season with some impressive numbers. He batted .487 (19 for 39) with an AL leading 18 RBIs. His OBP was .592 and he also scored 15 times.

ALBERT PUJOLS (PHN) -- NL Batter of the Block
Philly slugger Albert Pujols had another impressive block. He led the NL with his .442 average for the block while also reaching base at a .500 clip. He drove in 10 and scored 13 times.

KIP WELLS (HON) -- AL Pitcher of the Block
Kip Wells, starter for the Houston Astros, was 2-0 in 3 starts in the final block. In those starts he had an ERA of 0.86 while striking out 16 in 21 innings.

JASON SCHMIDT (OAA) -- NL Pitcher of the Block
Jason Schmidt led the Oakland rotation with a strong block. In 23 2/3 innings he allowed only 12 hits while striking out 25. In those games he recorded an ERA of 0.76 and 2-1 record.

Indians Eliminate Giants

Cleveland (AP) - The Cleveland Indians advanced to the Semi-Finals with a convincing 4 games to 1 win in their playoff series. In the series opener, Mark Prior outdueled Livan Hernandez as the Indians won 4-2. Manny Ramirez had three hits which included a homer and a double to account for most of the Cleveland offense. In Game 2, Esteban Loaiza fired a complete game and Jim Thome picked up where Ramirez left off with his first homer of the series as he drove home three runs in a 10-4 Cleveland win. Barry Bonds hit his first homer of the series for San Fran.

The series moved to San Francisco for game three and the Giants rewarded their faithful with a 8-3 win behind the strong pitching of Russ Ortiz. Ortiz also contributed with his bat by driving in three runs. Cleveland took a commanding 3-1 series lead by winning game 4 by a whopping 16-5 score. Ramirez and Thome, who carried Cleveland all season offensively, drove in six runs between them. In the final game of the series, Jim Thome (who else?!) singled home Kenny Lofton in the top of the 10th inning to give the Indians a 4-3 victory.

Cleveland advances and will play the winner of the Florida-Arizona playoff series.

2003 First Round Draft Picks - Final Stats

CLASS OF 2003:
_
  NAME               BAVG  GM  AB   R   H 2B 3B HR RBI  BB  SO HB SH DP  SB CS  E
 1-M.Cabrera,TOA     .273  90 311  56  85 28  5 13  47  32  83  2  0 12   0  0  8
 2-J.Reyes,CHA       .321  49 215  33  69  4  4  2  19  13  25  0  1  3  18  3  5
 4-C.Figgins,MON     .277  62 242  30  67  4  4  0  13  13  50  0 11  0  20  7  1
 5-C.Utley,LAN       ----   0   0   0   0  0  0  0   0   0   0  0  0  0   0  0  0
 6-M.Teixeira,HON    .302  32  86  14  26  5  1  5  13   4  15  2  0  0   0  0  8
   M.Teixeira,BOA    .233  81 313  47  73 17  1 10  45  24  66  8  0  9   0  0  5
 7-V.Martinez,FLN    .294  28 102   6  30  2  0  0   5   3  15  0  0  4   0  1  1
 9-J.Bay,CLA         .400  47  45  10  18  7  2  3  21   8   9  1  0  2   2  0  0
10-H.Matsui,MNA      .266 162 638  81 170 42  2 15  78  69 116  3  0 19   3  2  3
13-J.Morneau,SFN     ----   0   0   0   0  0  0  0   0   0   0  0  0  0   0  0  0
15-S.Podsednik,SEA   .282 137 511  84 144 27 11  8  51  70  76  2  8  5  37  4  2
19-G.Atkins,BOA      ----   0   0   0   0  0  0  0   0   0   0  0  0  0   0  0  0
   G.Atkins,HON      ----   0   0   0   0  0  0  0   0   0   0  0  0  0   0  0  0
20-F.Sanchez,ARN     ----   0   0   0   0  0  0  0   0   0   0  0  0  0   0  0  0
_
_
  NAME                ERA  W  L   PCT   G GS CG SH SV    IP   H   R  ER HR  BB  SO
 3-B.Webb,OAA        4.93  8  9  .471  26 25  2  1  1 157.0 146  91  86 22  77 152
 8-D.Haren,KCA       6.20  2  6  .250  21  5  2  0  1  61.0  71  47  42  9  27  38
11-D.Willis,SLN      4.56 11  5  .688  25 25  2  0  0 158.0 163  84  80 22  58 161
12-J.Nathan,ANA      3.74  6  1  .857  65  0  0  0  3  84.1  64  36  35  6  42  79
14-J.Bonderman,CHA   6.32  5 13  .278  22 22  3  0  0 132.1 149  99  93 22  60  70
16-R.Harden,ATN      6.49  1  2  .333  25  0  0  0  0  69.1  79  60  50  8  43  52
17-S.Trachsel,MON    3.58  8 10  .444  25 25  3  0  0 158.1 135  65  63 20  61  70
18-B.Lidge,PIN       6.05  5 10  .333  56  0  0  0  3  80.1  77  54  54  9  56  95