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11-20-2005, 12:25 PM
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#1 (permalink) |
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Minors (Triple A)
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The 1995 Seattle Mariners
Hi everyone!
Sorry, that it took so long to continue but that crash caught me pretty off-guard and I was very frustrated after it happened. I got over it and I'm hopefully ready to get in a adequate posting rhythm now. Some preliminary remarks for this new thread though: - I will do a lot of reposting in the beginning. Here in the 1995-thread as well as in the original thread. This thread will start with the 1995 Free Agent signings. - The link to the original thread "The 1994 Seattle Mariners". At the Moment it stops in late August 1994 but I hope it will be complete in a few weeks. Sorry again for all the reposting. I know it might be boring for all those who followed in the first place but I don't like unfinished work and at the moment it just looks like a train wreck (btw the 1994 season had such a great postseason that I think it is worth it  ).O.k., like I said the 1995 season started with the free agent signings .... M |
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11-20-2005, 12:30 PM
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#2 (permalink) |
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Minors (Triple A)
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Free Agent signings 1995
The 1995 season started with the free agent signing period and I had to turn this over my mind over and over. I really didn't want to make any moves but I had a lot of money available and realized my rotation wasn't so stable as I thought it would be. Well, here is the first part of what happened in the free agent draft (at least the most interesting signings):
Day 2 : Seattle : P Chuck Finley, 7,350,000 per year, for 4 years. Phew, that was some signing. I hope it turns out o.k. Chuck Finley pitched a healthy 3.85 ERA for the Angels last year. He had a record of 12-15 but he was 10th in strikeouts and had a WHIP of 1.19. With a rotation featuring Jason Bere, Chris Bosio and Roger Salkeld we needed another lefty and Chuck Finley was definitely the best on the free agent list. He wanted just 5.5M $ but I offered him 7.35M $ right away (Randy Johnson earns 7.5M $ and I definitely didn't want to give him more than Randy) to avoid abiding war and he signed the next day .Toronto : LF Glenallen Hill, 4,709,000 per year, for 3 years. The Cubs' starting leftfielder from last season will start as a backup to Chris James for Toronto but has a good chance of making the lineup over the course of the season. Los Angeles : 1B Todd Benzinger, 2,047,000 per year, for 3 years. This signing seems strange. Eric Karros is healthy again but still rots in AAA. This has to be something personal between him and his coach cause his numbers are alright (36 HR in 287 AB?) Day 3 : California : P Dave Stewart, 485,800 per year, for 1 year. I'm happy for Dave Stewart that he found a job once more. I'm also happy that he went to California because there's a reason I didn't resign him  .Montreal : SS Jose Vizcaino, 1,932,300 per year, for 4 years. Jose Vizcaino was the other player I focused on. He might have been an upgrade to Felix Fermin but now that he's gone (I wouldn't have paid 1.9M $ anyway) Felix has the job one more year. Day 4 : Minnesota : SS Shawon Dunston, 5,482,600 per year, for 5 years. Minnesota : CF Darryl Hamilton, 2,086,000 per year, for 4 years. Wow. Two big signings from the Twins. Shawon Dunston was the best shortstop on the list but he's 31. Darryl Hamilton is a great outfielder and both will improve the Twins' lineup. Day 5 : Florida : P Greg Hibbard, 1,851,300 per year, for 4 years. After his great season with us and the Giants (14-9, 3.72 ERA) Greg was offered a relatively big contract by the Marlins. I wish for both of them that it turns out well. San Francisco : P Stan Belinda, 7,446,100 per year, for 3 years. Stan Belinda was pursued by 23 clubs and finally ended with the Giants. It's always questionable if a relief pitcher earns that much money but he was definitely the best MR on the list. There are still Juan Gonzalez, John Burkett or Chris Hoiles to go. Update follows. M |
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11-20-2005, 12:36 PM
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#3 (permalink) |
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Minors (Triple A)
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Day 7 :
St. Louis : P Randy Myers, 806,600 per year, for 3 years. Mentioning this is more a concession to all the Cards fans out there . Yes they 'resigned' Randy Myers who will be again a solid contributor to their rotation.California : P Mike Fetters, 4,030,000 per year, for 4 years. Grrr, O.k. if the Angels can't get good starters they at least acquire one of the best relievers on the market. Day 8 : Florida : P John Burkett, 21,124,000 per year, for 7 years. Again wow! The Marlins get John Burkett! One of the best 3 pitchers in the National League for 21M $! It's a lot of money but he will contribute a lot to the team. Now Florida is in the race with Rob Nen and John Burkett and a solid lineup. Very interesting. Cleveland : SS Jeff Blauser, 13,260,500 per year, for 4 years. After they let both Shawon Dunston and Omar Vizquel go to free agency they needed another shortstop and they got the best there was. Oh, I already said this about Dunston. Nevermind, Jeff Blauser is better. Fielding, power hitting, drawing walks - he can do it. Boston : 1B Eddie Murray, 3,036,700 per year, for 2 years. Eddie Murray is 38-yrs old but he is still one hell of a hitter. Since Mo Vaughn fields first base Eddie will be the DH and that will help Boston a lot. New York (A) : 1B Hal Morris, 2,995,900 per year, for 3 years. Luckily for the Yankees Hal Morris had a bit of an off-year batting only .266 so they got him relatiely cheap. He will do a very good job replacing Don Mattingly. Day 9 : Texas : P Andy Benes, 1,257,200 per year, for 3 years. In RL the Mariners acquired Andy Benes in mid-season which was viewed by most as the turning point in their run for the pennant. If we want to repeat this we have to contact the Rangers' Front Office this year  . Andy Benes had a good year in 1994 (12-9, 4.42 ERA) and he will be a good addition to a rotation ancored by Kevin Brown.Philadelphia : 1B Eddie Williams, 937,400 per year, for 3 years. Eddie Williams hit 18 homeruns last year for the Padres and will backup John Kruk in Philadelphia at first base .... until Kruk gets "too old for this $#!t". Houston : C Damon Berryhill, 448,000 per year, for 1 year Finally Houston got a backup catcher for Scott Servais. And, I might add, one who is nearly as bad as Servais so Berryhill might have a chance to get the starting job eventually. Day 10 : Atlanta : CF Steve Finley, 3,734,600 per year, for 4 years. The "Ryan Klesko Situation" is still not solved in Atlanta but at least they have a replacement for Deion Sander who is still in the free agent pool. Steve Finley hit 20 homeruns and drove in 82 last year for Houston despite an average of just .258. He would have to improve dramatically in order to make up for his subpar defense. Chicago (A) : LF Rob Ducey, 752,100 per year, for 3 years. Free Agent Rob Ducey landed in the windy city to back up Keith Mitchell (ex-mariner), Dan Pasqua or 35-yr old Tim Raines. His chances at a starting job definitely improved. Juan Gonzalez, as you might expect, is still driving up his price at the moment .M |
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11-20-2005, 12:44 PM
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#4 (permalink) |
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Minors (Triple A)
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Free Agent Signings 1995
Day 11 :
St. Louis : P Chuck Mcelroy, 6,252,500 per year, for 3 years. Chuck McElroy is a skilled lefty who went 11-4 with a 3.58 ERA last year for Cincinnati and St. Louis. He won't go deep into games but still provide a lot of good starts for the Cards. Atlanta : 3B Tim Wallach, 7,481,700 per year, for 2 years. After they signed Steve Finley the Atlanta Braves add Tim Wallach, coming from a carrer year, to play third base for them. It's unlikely that he will put up the numbers he did for the Dodgers last season but for the time being (he's 37) he will replace 34-yr old Terry Pendleton who hit .290 with 10 HR and 63 RBI last year. Houston : RF Bo Jackson, 1,795,500 per year, for 4 years. We seriously considered him when the Angels offered him to us last season. This year he signed with the Astros. He didn't hold the starting job for long as you can see below but even though he will provide a very good pinch hit bat. Minnesota : C Lenny Webster, 698,400 per year, for 4 years. Well, Matt Walbeck isn't ready yet. But at age 25 he might blossom into the starting role over the year behind 30-yr old Lenny Webster Day 13 : St. Louis : LF Juan Gonzalez, 14,824,300 per year, for 3 years. So here he goes ... *drum roll* ... to St. Louis! The most feared hitter in the free agent pool changes leagues (*phew*) ... and kicks Bernard Gilkey out of the lineup??? Well at least it gives the Cardinals the best bench in the league I think. Nonetheless their (non-DH) 1 to 6 in their lineup are really scary ... and they have the 5th pick in the upcoming draft! San Diego : CF Lance Johnson, 9,123,000 per year, for 5 years. After Chicago got hold of Keith Mitchell they let Lance Johnson go to free agency and it was tensely awaited where one of the best lead-off hitters would end up. San Diego was a bit of a surprise as they already had Bip Roberts but nonetheless it gave them a fast man at the top of the order and (if Phil plantier can get it together) a good 3-4-5 lineup. They pick 6th in the draft and if they do good LA and San Francisco should be aware. Chicago (N) : C Chris Hoiles, 14,863,400 per year, for 3 years. This was the second best hitter in the Free Agent pool and definitely the best hitting catcher. What use he is to Chicago is anybody's guess cause they already have the second best catcher with Rick Wilkins. O.k., he batted just .197 last year with 13 HR and just 52 RBI but Chris Hoiles also hit just .229 and drove in 60. He hit 26 HR but the question remains what they do with Wilkins now. The only good it does them is that nobody else gets Hoiles. What a waste. California : 2B Harold Reynolds, 1,715,400 per year, for 4 years. *sigh* Mariner-legend Harold Reynolds 'resigns' with California and is still just second to Damion Easley. Almost makes me regret that I didn't put in an offer for him. A shame. Day 14 : Houston : CF Marquis Grissom, 4,071,000 per year, for 3 years. Marquis Grissom is the reason that Bo Jackson will probably see just very limited playing time. Although Marquis isn't a good outfielder, he can hit (.276 with 14 HR and 70 RBI last season). If this helps the Astros has to be proven. Atlanta : SS Gary Disarcina, 403,200 per year, for 2 years. With Jeff Blauser gone the Braves acquired Gary DiSarcina for what he does best: fielding the shortstop position. He hit just .184 in the last season but did it in just 266 AB. Maybe he does better this year. Day 16 : California : P Mark Guthrie, 15,241,700 per year, for 3 years. Another (overpaid,) very good reliever for the Angels. In the process Mike Fetters moved to the starting rotation (for the time being). Day 17 : Los Angeles : CF Deion Sanders, 8,709,700 per year, for 4 years. Deion Sanders also left for a club who already have a superior lead-off man in Delino DeShields. Fortunately Deion also has some pop in his bat which makes him a very good No 2 hitter and additionally those two will steal bases like there's no tomorrow. Don't look for many double plays with this team. M |
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11-20-2005, 12:49 PM
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#5 (permalink) |
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Minors (Triple A)
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Free Agent Signings 1995
Day 19 :
Houston : SS Bill Spiers, 4,842,000 per year, for 3 years. Houston acquired Bill Spiers last season from Milwaukee and now 'resigned' him as a free agent for nearly 5M $. This move again keeps Andujar Cedeno and Orlando Miller from seeing much playing time. Day 20 : Minnesota : P John Wetteland, 20,155,400 per year, for 7 years. Notwithstanding his historic performance in game 2 of the NLCS against the Braves, John Wetteland also had a great 1994 season which earned him the second highest offer in free agency in 1995. Minnesota now has a great 1-2-3-4 punch in their rotation with Mike Trombley, John Wetteland, Eddie Guardado and Scott Erickson. Day 21 : Philadelphia : 1B John Olerud, 19,797,400 per year, for 3 years. Well this signing probably marks the end of one of my favorite players in the 90s cause John Kruk won't see much playing time behind maybe the best contact hitter in the game (and he's just 26 yrs old). Nonetheless the Phillies lineup now looks much more balanced than it did last year. Day 22 : California : P Bob Ojeda, 625,000 per year, for 2 years. I just had to put this in. Bobby Ojeda got signed by the California Angels. It doesn't help us though as he stays in AAA for the time being.Day 24 : California : SS Omar Vizquel, 1,995,500 per year, for 3 years. I'm happy for Omar as he finally gets a shot at the starting job at shortstop for the Angels. He's quite a mess at his position but neither Rod Correia nor Spike Owen are much better and at least Omar has some base running ability. Detroit : C Chad Kreuter, 4,569,300 per year, for 3 years. Maybe Detroit would have got Chad Kreuter cheaper if they had just resigned him but now that he came back he takes over the starting catcher's job from Mickey Tettleton who had a horrble season last year. On day 30 there happened some minor singning mainly for the purpose of backing up a position and two trades .... M |
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11-20-2005, 12:52 PM
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#6 (permalink) |
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Minors (Triple A)
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Off-Season Trades
Wednesday 3/3/1995 :
Trade between Cincinnati and New York (A) : New York (A) gets : LF Steve Pegues Cincinnati gets : 1B Don Mattingly This has to break the heart of every Yankee-fan (hey, it even makes me sad) and I'm sorry but last years demotion of Donnie Baseball was equally heavy-hearted. In Cincinnati he backs up 30-yr old Lenny Harris at first base. New York traded veteranship for youth but Steve Pegues is already 26 and was put into double A. Nonetheless, he should be in AAA soon and if he gets some playing time in the big leagues he might be a valuable outfielder for the Yankees some day. Trade between Florida and Cleveland : Cleveland gets : 3B Kurt Abbott P Kurt Miller Florida gets : P Eric Plunk $2,500,000 cash. Hmmm, interesting trade. Florida gets a very good reliever (who is post season proven ) and some money. They can use him as 3 of their starters are still not very durable. Giving up Kurt Abbott hurts but they have a deep infield in their organisation so it isn't really a problem. Cleveland on the other hand gets a promising third baseman (he will start at SS and newly acquired Jeff Blauser will move to third base) and give Herb Perry another year to develope in AAA.Next up: the first-year player draft ( it may take a day or so as I have to evaluate my possibilities ).M |
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11-20-2005, 12:58 PM
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#7 (permalink) |
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Minors (Triple A)
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First-Year Player Draft 1995
Round 1:
Kansas City pick: RF Brian Giles. Boston pick: 1B Jason Giambi. Colorado pick: C Jorge Posada. Detroit pick: 3B Phil Nevin. St. Louis pick: RF Jon Nunnally. San Diego pick: 1B Tony Clark. Milwaukee pick: 2B Mark Loretta. New York (N) pick: SS Derek Jeter. California pick: RF Matt Lawton. Pittsburgh pick: 3B Edgardo Alfonzo. Houston pick: 1B Mike Sweeney. Los Angeles pick: LF Bobby Higginson. Florida pick: P Andy Pettitte. Chicago (A) pick: 1B Mark Sweeney. Philadelphia pick: P Hideo Nomo. Seattle pick: 2B Quilvio Veras. Baltimore pick: P Billy Wagner. Cincinnati pick: C George Williams. San Francisco pick: RF Mike Cameron. Minnesota pick: CF Shannon Stewart. Texas pick: C Gregg Zaun. Oakland pick: SS Rich Aurilia. New York (A) pick: CF Johnny Damon. Atlanta pick: 2B Ray Durham. Toronto pick: 1B Joe Vitiello. Chicago (N) pick: 1B Matt Franco. Montreal pick: RF Michael Tucker. Cleveland pick: C Scott Hatteberg. Round 2 : Kansas City pick: LF Ozzie Timmons. Boston pick: CF Marvin Benard. Colorado pick: LF Todd Hollandsworth. Detroit pick: P Jason Schmidt. St. Louis pick: 3B Shane Andrews. San Diego pick: C Chris Widger. Milwaukee pick: LF Marty Cordova. New York (N) pick: RF Rudy Pemberton. California pick: RF Lyle Mouton. Pittsburgh pick: RF Alex Ochoa. Houston pick: RF Roger Cedeno. Los Angeles pick: P Mariano Rivera. Florida pick: LF Ruben Rivera. Chicago (A) pick: LF Kevin Sefcik. Philadelphia pick: P Mike Sirotka. Seattle pick: P Carlos Perez. Baltimore pick: P Troy Percival. Cincinnati pick: 2B Craig Counsell. San Francisco pick: P Ugueth Urbina. Minnesota pick: 3B David Bell. Texas pick: 3B Chris Stynes. Oakland pick: P Brad Radke. New York (A) pick: P Paul Byrd. Atlanta pick: P Matt Mantei. Toronto pick: 2B Jason Bates. Chicago (N) pick: P Esteban Loaiza. Montreal pick: 1B Mark Johnson. Cleveland pick: 3B Freddy Garcia. M |
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11-20-2005, 01:23 PM
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#8 (permalink) |
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Minors (Triple A)
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Division Preview 1995
The NL East:
Atlanta Braves Code:
Whom They Lost: Whom They Acquired:
2B Rafael Belliard (Free Agent, 2B Jose Lind (Free Agent
signed by Chigago(N)) from Kansas City)
RP Mike Bielecki (Free Agent, 2B Rene Gonzales (Free Agent
signed by California) from Cleveland)
SS Jeff Blauser (Free Agent, CF Steve Finley (Free Agent
signed by Cleveland) from Houston)
RP Kent Mercker (Free Agent, 3B Tim Wallach (Free Agent
signed by Chicago(N)) from Los Angeles)
C Charlie O'brien (Free Agent, SS Gary Disarcina (Free Agent
signed by Houston) from California)
CF Deion Sanders (Free Agent, 2B Ray Durham
signed by Los Angeles) RP Matt Mantei
RP Scott Sullivan
C Sandy Martinez
SP John Wasdin (all via Draft)
Philadelphia Phillies Code:
Whom They Lost: Whom They Acquired:
RP Larry E Andersen (retired) 1B Eddie Williams (Free Agent
RP Roger Mason (retired) from San Diego)
1B Ricky Jordan (Free Agent, RP Jeff Russell (Free Agent
signed with Baltimore) from Kansas City)
LF Randy Ready (Free Agent, 1B John Olerud (Free Agent
signed by Florida) from Toronto)
SP David West (Free Agent, SS Mike Benjamin (Free Agent
signed by Colorado) from San Francisco)
SP Hideo Nomo
SP Mike Sirotka
SP Robert Person (all via Draft)
Montreal Expos Code:
Whom They Lost: Whom They Acquired:
CF Marquis Grissom (Free Agent, SS Jose Vizcaino (Free Agent
signed by Houston) from New York(N))
C Lenny Webster (Free Agent, CF Darrin Jackson (Free Agent
signed by Minnesota) from Chicago(A))
SP John Wetteland (Free Agent, RP Donne Wall (via Draft)
signed by Minnesota)
Florida Marlins Code:
Whom They Lost: Whom They Acquired:
SP Charlie Hough (retired) SP John Burkett (Free Agent
C Ron Tingley (retired) from San Francisco)
SS Mario Diaz (Free Agent, RP Eric Plunk (Free Agent
signed by Oakland) from Cleveland)
SP Dave Otto (Free Agent, SP Andy Pettitte
signed by Kansas City) SP Bill Pulsipher (all via Draft)
New York Mets Code:
Whom They Lost: Whom They Acquired:
SS Jose Vizcaino (Free Agent, SS Derek Jeter
signed by Montreal) RF Rudy Pemberton
SP Shawn Estes
SP John Ericks
SP Brian Keyser (all via Draft)
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11-20-2005, 01:45 PM
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#9 (permalink) |
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Minors (Triple A)
Join Date: Mar 2004
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Division Preview 1995
The NL Central:
Chicago Cubs Code:
Whom They Lost: Whom They Acquired:
LF Glenallen Hill (Free Agent, RP Kent Mercker (Free Agent
signed by Toronto) from Atlanta)
RP Stan Belinda (Free Agent, C Chris Hoiles (Free Agent
signed by San Francisco) from Baltimore)
C Mark Parent (Free Agent, SS Rafael Belliard (Free Agent
signed by San Francisco) from Atlanta)
SP Mike Moore (Free Agent, 1B Matt Franco
signed by Montreal) SP Esteban Loaiza
SP Ariel Prieto
RP Brad Clontz (all via Draft)
Cincinnati Reds Code:
Whom They Lost: Whom They Acquired:
RP Steve Howe (Free Agent, SP Xavier Hernandez (Free Agent
signed by Houston) from New York (A))
SP Chuck Mcelroy (Free Agent, C Tom Prince (Free Agent
signed by St. Louis) from Los Angeles)
1B Hal Morris (Free Agent, 1B Don Mattingly (Acquired from New York
signed by New York(A)) for LF Steve Pegues)
LF Jerome Walton (Free Agent, LF F.P. Santangelo
signed by Colorado) RP Tim Crabtree
RP Juan Acevedo (all via Draft)
Houston Astros Code:
Whom They Lost: Whom They Acquired:
RP Tom Edens (Free Agent, RF Bo Jackson (Free Agent
signed by New York (A)) from California)
CF Steve Finley (Free Agent, CF Marquis Grissom (Free Agent
signed by Atlanta) from Montreal)
SP Andy Benes (Free Agent, 1B Mike Sweeney
signed by Texas) RF Roger Cedeno
SP Dustin Hermanson
SP LaTroy Hawkins
RP Jason Christiansen (all via Draft)
Pittsburgh Pirates Code:
Whom They Lost: Whom They Acquired:
C Lance Parrish (retired) 3B Edgardo Alfonzo
SP Jeff Ballard (Free Agent, RP Mike Mimbs
signed by Atlanta) RP Marc Valdes (all via Draft)
3B Jeff King (Free Agent,
signed by Boston)
CF Gary Varsho (Free Agent,
signed by St. Louis)
St. Louis Cardinals Code:
Whom They Lost: Whom They Acquired:
RP Rick Sutcliffe (retired) SP Chuck Mcelroy (Free Agent
RP Bob Ojeda (Free Agent, from Cincinnati)
signed by California) LF Juan Gonzalez (Free Agent
CF Gerald Young (Free Agent, from Texas)
signed by Boston) RF Jon Nunnally
SP Danny Darwin (Free Agent, SP Joe Borowski
signed by New York (A)) SP Steve Sparks
RP Ron Rightnowar (all via Draft)
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11-20-2005, 01:56 PM
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#10 (permalink) |
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Minors (Triple A)
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: BO, Germany
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Division Preview 1995
The NL West:
Colorado Rockies Code:
Whom They Lost: Whom They Acquired:
C Joe Girardi (Free Agent, SP David West (Free Agent
signed by Boston) from Philadelphia)
SS Walt Weiss (Free Agent, LF Jerome Walton (Free Agent
signed by Florida) from Cincinnati)
C Jorge Posada
1B Dan Masteller
RP Mark Brandenburg
SP Brian Boehringer
RP Tim Harrikala (all via Draft)
Los Angeles Dodgers Code:
Whom They Lost: Whom They Acquired:
SP Tom Candiotti (Free Agent, 1B Todd Benzinger (Free Agent
signed by Atlanta) from San Francisco)
SP Mike Jeffcoat (Free Agent, CF Deion Sanders (Free Agent
signed by San Francisco) from Atlanta)
SP Orel Hershiser (Free Agent, SP Mariano Rivera
signed by Colorado) SP Al Reyes (all via Draft)
C Tom Prince (Free Agent,
signed by Cincinnati)
3B Tim Wallach (Free Agent,
signed by Atlanta)
San Diego Padres Code:
Whom They Lost: Whom They Acquired:
SP Wally Whitehurst (Free Agent, CF Lance Johnson (Free Agent
signed by Boston) from Chicago (A))
1B Eddie Williams (Free Agent, RP Greg Hansell
signed by Philadelphia) RP Jamie Brewington (all via Draft)
San Francisco Giants Code:
Whom They Lost: Whom They Acquired:
SS Mike Benjamin (Free Agent, RP Stan Belinda (Free Agent
signed by Philadelphia) from Chicago (N))
1B Todd Benzinger (Free Agent, SP Jim Abbott (Free Agent
signed by Los Angeles) from New York (A))
SP John Burkett (Free Agent, SP Ugueth Urbina
signed by Florida) SP Mike Grace
SP Greg Hibbard (Free Agent, RP Mike Myers (all via Draft)
signed by Florida)
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11-20-2005, 02:08 PM
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#11 (permalink) |
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Minors (Triple A)
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: BO, Germany
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Division Preview 1995
The AL East:
Baltimore Orioles Code:
Whom They Lost: Whom They Acquired:
CF Lonnie Smith (retired) 1B Ricky Jordan (Free Agent
C Chris Hoiles (Free Agent, from Philadelphia)
signed by Chicago (N)) RP Billy Wagner
3B Tim Hulett (Free Agent, RP Troy Percival
signed by Oakland) 3B Chris Snopek
RP Tony Fossas (Free Agent, SP Frank Rodriguez
signed by Milwaukee) C Mike Hubbard
RP Joe Hudson (all via Draft)
Boston Red Sox Code:
Whom They Lost: Whom They Acquired:
RF Andre Dawson (retired) RP Jose Mesa (Free Agent
SS Scott Fletcher (retired) from New York (A))
C Damon Berryhill (Free Agent, C Joe Girardi (Free Agent
signed by Houston) from Colorado)
2B Greg Litton (Free Agent, 3B Jeff King (Free Agent
signed by Detroit) from Pittsburg)
RP Sergio Valdez (Free Agent, 1B Eddie Murray (Free Agent
signed by Texas) from Cleveland)
SP Wally Whitehurst (Free Agent
from San Diego)
1B Jason Giambi
CF Marvin Benard
RP Rick Huisman (all via Draft)
Detroit Tigers Code:
Whom They Lost: Whom They Acquired:
3B Skeeter Barnes (Free Agent, 2B Greg Litton (Free Agent
signed by California) from Boston)
RF Junior Felix (Free Agent, 3B Phil Nevin
signed by Oakland) SP Jason Schmidt
CF Dwayne Hosey
SP Terry Adams (all via Draft)
New York Yankees Code:
Whom They Lost: Whom They Acquired:
RP Jeff Reardon (retired) 1B Hal Morris (Free Agent
SP Jim Abbott (Free Agent, from Cincinnati)
signed by San Francisco) RP Tom Edens (Free Agent
SP Xavier Hernandez (Free Agent, from Houston)
signed by Cincinnati) SP Paul Byrd
RP Donn Pall (Free Agent, RP Felix Rodriguez
signed by Chicago (A)) RP Larry Thomas (all via Draft)
RP Jose Mesa (Free Agent,
signed by Boston)
Toronto Blue Jays Code:
Whom They Lost: Whom They Acquired:
1B John Olerud (Free Agent, LF Glenallen Hill (Free Agent
signed by Philadelphia) from Chicago (N))
SP Jason Isringhausen
RP Bill Simas
RP Chris Nichting (all via Draft)
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11-20-2005, 02:20 PM
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#12 (permalink) |
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Minors (Triple A)
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: BO, Germany
Posts: 206
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Thanked 0x in 0 posts
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Division Preview 1995
The AL Central:
Chicago White Sox Code:
Whom They Lost: Whom They Acquired:
SP Scott Sanderson (retired) LF Rob Ducey (Free Agent
CF Darrin Jackson (Free Agent, from Texas)
signed by Montreal) RP Tony Castillo (Free Agent
CF Lance Johnson (Free Agent, from Texas)
signed by San Diego) RP Donn Pall (Free Agent
from New York (A))
SP Jeff Suppan
RP Mike James (all via Draft)
Cleveland Indians Code:
Whom They Lost: Whom They Acquired:
SP Dennis Martinez (retired) SP Bobby Witt (Free Agent
SS Alvaro Espinoza (Free Agent, from Oakland)
signed by Texas) SS Jeff Blauser (Free Agent
2B Rene Gonzales (Free Agent, from Atlanta
signed by Atlanta) 3B Kurt Abbott (Acquired from Florida
SS Shawon Dunston (Free Agent, for Eric Plunk and cash)
signed by Minnesota) RP Dean Hartgraves (via Draft)
1B Eddie Murray (Free Agent,
signed by Boston)
SS Omar Vizquel (Free Agent,
signed by California)
Kansas City Royals Code:
Whom They Lost: Whom They Acquired:
3B Gary Gaetti (retired) RF Brian Giles
LF Dave Henderson (retired) RP Jim Mecir
2B Jose Lind (Free Agent, RP Joe Roa (all via Draft)
signed by Atlanta)
RP Jeff Russell (Free Agent,
signed by Philadelphia)
Milwaukeee Brewers Code:
Whom They Lost: Whom They Acquired:
RP Mike Fetters (Free Agent, RP Tony Fossas (Free Agent
signed by California) from Baltimore)
CF Darryl Hamilton (Free Agent 2B Mark Loretta
signed by Minnesota) LF Marty Cordova
RP Antonio Osuna
SP Jimmy Haynes (all via Draft)
Minnesota Twins Code:
Whom They Lost: Whom They Acquired:
RF Dave Winfield (retired) SS Shawon Dunston (Free Agent
RP Mark Guthrie (Free Agent, from Cleveland)
signed by California) CF Darryl Hamilton (Free Agent
from Milwaukee)
C Lenny Webster (Free Agent
from Montreal)
SP John Wetteland (Free Agent
from Montreal)
SP Alan Benes
SP Rick Krivda (all via Draft)
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11-20-2005, 02:28 PM
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#13 (permalink) |
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Minors (Triple A)
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Division Preview 1995
The AL West:
California Angels Code:
Whom They Lost: Whom They Acquired:
SS Gary Disarcina (Free Agent, SP Mike Fetters (Free Agent
signed by Atlanta) from Milwaukee)
SP Chuck Finley (Free Agent, RP Mark Guthrie (Free Agent
signed by Seattle) from Minnesota)
RF Bo Jackson (Free Agent, SS Omar Vizquel (Free Agent
signed by Houston) from Cleveland)
SP Felipe Lira
RP T.J. Mathews
SP Vaughn Eshelman (all via Draft)
Oakland Athletics Code:
Whom They Lost: Whom They Acquired:
SS Jeff Schaefer (retired) SS Rich Aurilia
RP Bobby Witt (Free Agent, SP Brad Radke
signed by Cleveland) SP Bryan Rekar
RP Tavo Alvarez (all via Draft)
. Their lineup remains pretty similar to last season's but Rich Aurilia might have a chance to gain the shortstop position from Mike Bordick.Texas Rangers Code:
Whom They Lost: Whom They Acquired:
LF Butch Davis (retired) SP Andy Benes (Free Agent
RP Rick Honeycutt (retired) from Houston)
LF Rob Ducey (Free Agent, SS Alvaro Espinoza (Free Agent
signed by Chicago (A)) from Cleveland)
LF Juan Gonzalez (Free Agent, C Gregg Zaun
signed by St. Louis) RP Jay Powell (all via Draft)
RP Tony Castillo (Free Agent,
signed by Chicago (A))
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11-20-2005, 02:36 PM
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#14 (permalink) |
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Minors (Triple A)
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The 1995 Seattle Mariners
I give you the lineup first since it's very much the same as it was at the end of last season:
The Lineup: 1. 2B Rich Amaral 2. C .Mackey Sasser 3. DH Edgar Martinez 4. CF Ken Griffey Jr. 5. 3B Alex Rodriguez 6. RF Jay Buhner 7. 1B Tino Martinez 8. LF Mark Leonard 9. SS Felix Fermin ...C Dan Wilson ...1B Reggie Jefferson ...3B Mike Blowers ...LF Eric Anthony ...LF Luis Sojo A-Rod's defense at third base dropped in the offseason but I have to put him somewhere and hope that Felix Fermin can help him out at shortstop. I plan on giving Dan Wilson a lot of playing time (~30%) but Mackey Sasser's ability to avoid strikeouts was pretty useful last season. I just look how good they get off the starting block and then react. Much of it will depend on the pitching staff which looks a little different from last years: The Pitching Staff: SP Randy Johnson SP Chuck Finley SP Jason Bere SP Chris Bosio SP Roger Salkeld MU Jim Converse MR Bill Risley MR John Cummings MR Jim Converse SU Bobby Ayala SU Tim Davis CL Jeff Nelson All-in-all I'm very happy with this staff. The rotation has a wonderful 1-2-3 combo and the bullpen is very versatile with two lefties (Davis and Cummings). Unfortunately both are no strikeout-pitchers and all right-handers are  . Well you can't have it all Although I will start the season relatively unchanged I don't expect it to stay that way. Unlike last season I will look to make some trades early in the season and if some of the drafted rookies perform exceptionally well I will also have to react. But for the moment I just let them "hit away" .So the season starts on 4/02/1995 with the Marlins hosting the Mets. The Mariners begin the season on the next day with a 3-game series in Toronto against the Blue Jays. Not an easy start for sure. After an Off-Day we start a 3-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers at home. I hope I covered everything of interest. If not (like always) just ask .Upcoming: 4/03: @ Blue Jays* 4/04: @ Blue Jays 4/05: @ Blue Jays 4/06: OFF DAY 4/07: vs. Brewers* 4/08: vs. Brewers 4/09: vs. Brewers 4/10: OFF DAY 4/11: vs. Blue Jays* * will be played out M |
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11-20-2005, 03:14 PM
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#15 (permalink) |
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Minors (Triple A)
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Week 1 - 04/12/1995
The 1995 season has started and we're back to the usual format (phew, nice to walk a familiar path again
). The first week had an unpleasant surprise in store for us ...This Week In Review: 4/03: @ Blue Jays loss 5-6(10): In front of a sellout crowd in the Skydome we managed to draw first blood in the top of the 2nd. With two outs Tino Martinez hit a grounder which 2B Roberto Alomar mishandled, Mark Leonard drew a walk and Felix Fermin singled Tino in. The bottom of the inning was ill-fated. First Randy Johnson gave up the lead when Shawn Green hit a 2-run homer and after he struck out Paul Molitor for the second out of the inning he squirmed with pain and after a short pause he had to be taken out of the game. Later it became apparent that he injured his shoulder and will miss the next 6 weeks. He was replaced by John Cummings who pitched the next 5.1 innings without giving up a run and allowed just 2 hits. The second error of the game by Roberto Alomar set the table for Edgar Martinez 1-out game tying sac fly and after reliever Aaron Small hit Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez hit a 3-run homer to deep left field for a 5-2 lead. In his first relief appearance ever Tim Davis entered the 8th to preserve the lead and allowed a 1-out single to Carlos Delgado. 3B Felix Fermin bobbled a ground ball by Shawn Green and the next batter Chris James hit a 2-run double to cut the lead to one run. One out later Jeff Nelson replaced Davis and gave up the game tying single to PH Joe Carter. After a scoreless 9th Shawn Green led off the 10th with a double and after Jeff Nelson's wild pitch moved him to third a sac fly by Darnell Coles ended the game. 4/04: @ Blue Jays WIN 9-5: With Randy Johnson out, Chuck Finley moved to the No 1 spot in the rotation. In his first start for the Mariners he didn't pitch like a staff ace but nonetheless went 6.1 solid innings and surrendered 3 runs on 5 hits and struck out 8. Luckily by the time Finley gave up a 2-RBI homerun to Chris James in the 6th we had already built a comfortable lead. A RBI-single by Edgar Martinez in the 1st and a 2-out 2-run homer by Tino Martinez in the 4th gave us a 3-0 lead and we managed to add 4 more runs in the top of the 6th which was highlighted by a lead-off double by Edgar Martinez and a 2-RBI double by Felix Fermin. After the BLue Jays scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 6th, Tino Martinez' and Mark Leonard's back-to-back triples in the 8th gave us a deciding 9-3 lead. 4/05: @ Blue Jays loss 3-6: Toronto's Juan Guzman struck out 11 Mariners in his 7.1 innings of work and allowed no hits other than a Jay Buhner solo homerun in the 2nd. Jason Bere on the other hand surrendered all 6 runs in the 3rd on a Grand Slam to Chili Davis which was followed by a 2-run homer by Shawn Green. Bill Risley relieved him after that and held the Blue Jays scoreless for the rest of the game but the damage was already done. Junior's first homerun of the season off of reliever Paul Spoljaric made it 6-3 in the 9th but A-Rod grounded out to end the game. 4/06: OFF DAY 4/07: vs. Brewers WIN 4-3: The game started perfectly with a lead-off single by Rich Amaral followed by a 2-run shot by Mackey Sasser. Starter Chris Bosio also had a nice start into the season going 7.1 innings and giving up just 1 run on 3 hits and 4 walks while striking out 7. A sac fly by Rich Amaral plated Mark Leonard in the 8th and gave us a 2-run lead. Jeff Nelson entered the 9th and made short shrift with the first two batters but for the second time this week he still blew a save as he walked John Jaha and surrendered a game tying homerun to Dave Nilsson. He could count himself lucky as he nonetheless got the win when Alex Rodriguez hit a 2-out walk-off homerun in the bottom of the inning. 4/08: vs. Brewers loss 1-6: Dave Fleming was called up after Randy Johnson went down and encountered some tough luck in his first start. In his 7 innings of work he gave up 4 hits and just 2 walks but two of those hits were homeruns by Troy O'Leary and John Jaha, respectively to give Fleming 4 ER. His counterpart Angel Miranda also gave up 4 hits but he walked 7 in 7.1 IP. We had our chances with the bases loaded and just one out in the 5th or in the 8th when two men were on with one out. In the 9th Ken Griffey Jr. hit a 1-out bases loaded single for our only run but both Edgar and Tino Martinez popped out to end the game. 4/09: vs. Brewers loss 3-4: Another tough 1-run loss cost us our first home series. Chuck Finley started the game by giving up a lead-off homer to John Jaha but held the Brewers' lineup in check for the next 5 innings. After Mackey Sasser's RBI-single tied the game in the 5th, Chuck got into trouble in the 7th when B.J. Surhoff led off with a triple and Troy O'Leary's 2-run double was followed by a sac fly from John Jaha which made it 4-1. We managed to cut the lead to 1 run after PH Reggie Jefferson and Mackey Sasser both hit RBI-singles in the bottom of the inning but Graeme Lloyd earned his 3rd save of the season by holding our lineup scoreless for the last 1.1 innings. 4/10: OFF DAY 4/11: vs. Blue Jays WIN 12-6: Jason Bere and Juan Guzman faced each other again and after a shaky start by both pitchers, Jason Bere settled in first. With the score 3-2 Mariners, Juan Guzman walked Tino Martinez, Mark Leonard and Rich Amaral to load the bases. Edgar Martinez and Alex Rodriguez then both hit 2-RBI singles to put us 7-2 in front and sent Juan Guzman off the mound after just 3.2 innings in which he gave up 8 walks. While Jason Bere found his rhythm and pitched a perfect 5th and 6th inning, Guzman's replacement Paul Spoljaric allowed 5 more runs to put the game out of reach. Rich Amaral, Tino Martinez and Mark Leonard all scored 3 runs while Mackey Sasser drove in 3 and was named PoG. Great. Just great  . So we have to do without the Big Unit for April and probably most of May. In view of Randy's absence I'm relatively pleased with the first week although the series loss against Milwaukee isn't what I expected after winning the series opener. If Dave Fleming starts struggling I might call up rookie Carlos Perez to start a few games.Around the league: Monday 4/12/1995 : American League-Player of the Week: 1B Mark Mcgwire (OAK)! He batted .333 in 21 AB, with 4 HR and 11 RBI. National League-Player of the Week: RF Raul Mondesi (LAN)! He batted .522 in 23 AB, with 1 HR and 8 RBI. While his team lost their two first series against Cleveland and Detroit and are currently in 4th place with a 3-5 record, "Big Mac" had a pretty good start into the season winning his first PotW-Award in more than a year. April 5th he went 2-for-3 with 2 HR and drove in all runs for his team in a 5-4 victory over Cleveland that avoided a sweep. Raul Mondesi's great week was a result of a 3-for-3 performance against Houston on April 7th and a 4-for-4 perfromance on April 11th against Florida. Surprisingly the Dodgers lost both games and currently have a 4-4 record and are 1.5 games behind the San Diego Padres. In the Spotlight: The Houston Astros are off to a pretty good start after the first week and are 1.5 games ahead of Chicago and Pittsburgh with a record of 5-2. Leading the team in most offensive categories is rookie catcher Mike Sweeney whose .423 AVG is third in his league and his 2 HR (along with 11 RBI) helped him to a league leading 1.252 OPS as well as a also league leading .769 SLG. The Astros can't rely on him leading the team over the whole season but it's definitely a pleasant surprise. Upoming: 4/12: vs. Blue Jays (rec: 4-4/4th/series: 2-2) 4/13: @ Brewers (rec: 5-2/1st/series: 1-2) 4/14: @ Brewers 4/15: @ Brewers 4/16: @ Brewers* 4/17: OFF DAY 4/18: @ Indians* (rec: 2-5/4th/series: 0-0) *will be played out The Brewers are off to an unusual good start as well. Hopefully we are able to stop them. We should be even without Randy Johnson. M |
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11-20-2005, 03:35 PM
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#16 (permalink) |
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Minors (Triple A)
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Week 2 - 04/19/1995
This Week In Review:
4/12: vs. Blue Jays loss 4-5: We started great scoring 3 runs in the 1st and adding another run in the 4th on a double by Rich Amaral to make it 4-0. Starter Chris Bosio silenced Toronto's bats in the first 4 innings before he gave up a run-scoring single to Ed Sprague in the 5th. Unfortunately a 2-out 3-run homer by Glenallen Hill in the top of the 7th spoiled his otherwise great performance and tied the game at 4. Aaron Small pitched a scoreless 7th for the Blue Jays and after Chris Bosio struck out two and gave up a walk in the 8th, Bobby Ayala came in and allowed the game-deciding run-scoring double to the firt batter he faced. Pat Hentgen worked a perfect 9th for already his 3rd save. 4/13: @ Brewers loss 5-6(10): Another quality start, another tough loss. Dave Fleming held the Brewers scoreless over 6 innings and A-Rod's third homer of the year which led off the 3rd gave us a 1-0 lead. Dave Fleming got into trouble in the 7th when PH Turner Ward doubled in the tying run and a walk later A-Rod mishandled a possible double play to load the bases. Milwaukee's first round pick Marty Cordova stepped up and hit a Grand Slam homerun which barely cleared the wall at the rightfield foul pole. Nonetheless our batters fought back in the 8th when 5 consecutive 2-out singles off of three different pitchers brought us within 1 run and Edgar Martinez solo shot off of closer Graeme Lloyd in the 9th tied the game and sent it into extra innings. The first batter reliever Bill Risley had to face in the bottom of the 10th was again Marty Cordova who hit his second homer of the day to give his team the win and earned him PoG-honors. 4/14: @ Brewers WIN 6-2: Chuck Finley lasted just 5.1 innings and gave up 2 runs (on a 1st inning homerun to Greg Vaughn) on 4 hits and 3 walks. Luckily our offense scored early as well. RBI-doubles by Edgar Martinez and Alex Rodriguez in the 1st and 2nd, respectively, tied the game and Milwaukee starter Angel Miranda started the 3rd by loading the bases which led to 2 more runs. After Chuck Finley left the game Bill Risley came in and somewhat redeemed himself for the day before by pitching 3 innings of no-hit ball. We added 2 insurance runs in the 8th when PH Reggie Jefferson hit a sac fly and Mark Leonard's double scored Tino Martinez. 4/15: @ Brewers loss 4-5(13): Rookie Roger Salkeld made his first start of the season and allowed just 2 runs in 6.1 IP, striking out 9. Other than that the game painfully remainded of the series opener. Ken Griffey Jr.'s solo shot tied the game in the 6th and after Bobby Ayala surrendered a 2-run homer in the 8th A-Rod hit a 2-run shot of his own to tie the game in the top of the 9th sending the game into extra-innings again. Despite his lapse in the 8th Bobby Ayala held the Brewers scoreless through the 11th and we even had runners on first and second with just one out in the 12th but couldn't take advantage. In the bottom of the 13th Jeff Nelson turned the ball over to Tim Davis with runners on the corners and two out. The next batter, Jody Reed, then hit a grounder which Tino Martinez, playing third base, mishandled, allowing John Jaha to score from third. What is this? A walk-off error??  4/16: @ Brewers loss 3-4(11): Again: quality start - loss. At least I can take some credit for it this time Jason Bere allowed 2 runs on just 3 hits and 3 walks over 6 IP. A-Rod's 5th homerun of the year scored Junior and gave us a 2-0 lead in the 7th which was immediately erased in the bottom of the 7th. Reliever Jim Converse was very wild and surrendered 5 walks in just 1.2 IP. One of them was a bases loaded walk in the 8th which again tied the game after PH Reggie Jefferson had singled Ken Griffey Jr. in in the top of the inning. Jeff Nelson held the Brewers scoreless in the 9th and 10th before a lead-off triple by Pat Listach broke his back in the 11th.4/17: OFF DAY 4/18: @ Indians WIN 6-1: Starter Chris Bosio pitched our first complete game of the season and allowed just 1 run on 7 hits and just 1 walk. The offense jumped on Indians' starter Mark Clark early and often scoring 5 runs in the first 3 innings. It might have benefitted us that their best hitter Jim Thome argued a strike three in the very first inning and got tossed. Alex Rodriguez had another good game going 3-for-5 and raised his average to .308. ... and here we go again. Four 1-run losses and we are already 2 games behind our Pyt.Rec. *sigh*. It's obviously not a rotation problem as they pitched quality starts in all four losses and three went into extra innings. We could use some relief pitching but I shudder at the thought of dealing Tino Martinez for a middle reliever. I mean nobody deals for middle relievers, right? Well, I just have to look around. Around the league: Monday 4/19/1995 : American League-Player of the Week: RF Dan Pasqua (CHA)! He batted .520 in 25 AB, with 1 HR and 5 RBI. National League-Player of the Week: 1B Mike Sweeney (HOU)! He batted .370 in 27 AB, with 2 HR and 9 RBI. In 5 of his 6 games he played this week Dan Pasqua had more than 1 hit and while he hit 2 triples in the last season he already hit 2 triples just in the past week (which resulted in a .920 SLG pct.). Despite Dan Pasqua's performance, Frank Thomas' power outburst (4 HR, 10 RBI) and Tim Raines second place in AVG (.407 with 2 triples) the White Sox didn't have a good start into the season with a 4-10 record because their starting pitching is pretty slumping at the moment with Roberto Hernandez as the only starter with an ERA below 6 (2.77). After his spotlight appearance last week Mike Sweeney didn't slow down .. at least not much. He went 3-for-4 twice this week and earned his PoG-honors #3 and 4 in these games. and is now batting .396 with 4 HR and already 20 RBI which leads the NL by 7 points! News: - We're not the only ones with injury woes as Boston lost 1B Mo Vaughn for 6 weeks last week. It doesn't necessarily pose a problem for them as they still have Jason Giambi and Eddie Murray in their lineup. - Cal Ripken Jr. certainly won't accomplish the consecutive games record in this reality (due to A.I. and game restrictions) but he tries to get everything else instead. Last year he had the best performance by a hitter on September 14th when he hit 3 homers while going 6-for-6 with 4 RBI. This year he added the cycle on April 16th. What's left? In the Spotlight: The 10-4 record the Houston Astros as well as the Milwaukee Brewers have is easy to explain: Houston has Mike Sweeney and Milwaukee played 7 games (2-5) against us  . But what about the third best team in the majors, Texas Rangers (8-4)? Aside from Jose Canseco (5 HR, 12 RBI), David Hulse (.333, 5 SB) or Will Clark (1.096 OPS, 12 RBI), they have a 27-yr old starter named Jamie McAndrew whom they drafted in the 6th round of the draft. He is their No 5 starter so he started just two games but he managed to limit the Red Sox in both games to a .180 AVG and just 2 runs in 14.2 IP overall for a 1.23 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP. I think you can't ask for much more from a 6th round pick.Upoming: 4/19: @ Indians (rec: 6-7/3rd/series: 1-0) 4/20: @ Tigers (rec: 8-5/2nd/series: 0-0) 4/21: @ Tigers 4/22: @ Tigers 4/23: @ Tigers* 4/24: OFF DAY 4/25: vs. Indians* (rec: 6-7/3rd/series: 1-0) *will be played out Last year the Indians dealt us a hefty blow by sweeping us twice at the end of the season. At least we have won the first game this year . Detroit is off to a good start although their lineup still doesn't hit. Nonetheless their rotation with Wells, Schmidt and Bergman is scarry.M |
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11-20-2005, 04:01 PM
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#17 (permalink) |
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Minors (Triple A)
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Week 3 - 04/26/1995
This Week In Review:
4/19: @ Indians WIN 5-3: The Indians outhit us 13-5(!) but we still came up with the win. Starter Chuck Finley surrendered all three runs on 10(!) hits over 6.1 IP but also struck out 9 and in doing so he was overly clutch. After he gave up back-to-back homers to Jim Thome and Albert Belle in the bottom of the 1st, he struck out Kenny Lofton and Carlos Baerga with two men on to end the 2nd, struck out Paul Sorrento with a runner on second to end the 3rd and also struck out Manny Ramirez with runners on the corners to end the 5th. Mark Leonard started the rally in the 5th with a RBI-double and Alex Rodriguez followed with a 3-run homerun in the 6th which put us 4-2 in front. He also added another solo shot in the top of the 8th for an insurrance run and was also named PoG. 4/20: @ Tigers loss 4-5: The next day we did the outhitting (11-4) but lost the series opener to the Tigers. Dave Fleming held Detroit's lineup to just 4 hits in 7 innings but walked 5 while striking out 6. Jay Buhner's 3-RBI tater in the 4th gave us a 3-2 lead after Detroit's 2-run 1st but Travis Fryman hit a 3-run homer of his own in the bottom of the 6th to restore the 2-run lead for the Tigers. Edgar Martinez cut the lead to one run in the the 8th with a RBI-single but after Reggie Jefferson and Rich Amaral hit 2-out singles in the 9th off of closer Mike Henneman, Mackey Sasser grounded out to end the game. 4/21: @ Tigers WIN 8-5: Cecil Fielder's 2-out 2-run homer in the bottom of the 1st was immediately countered by Alex Rodriguez' 8th homerun of the season in the top of the 2nd, a 2-run shot to deep righth field. In the 5th it was the Tigers who responded to two RBI-singles by Rich Amaral and Mackey Sasser in the top of the inning with 3 runs and thus took a 5-4 lead. After an utterly mediocre 5 R/5 IP performance Jason Bere was replaced by Bill Risley who pitched perfect ball in the 6th and 7th and got the win because 3 doubles by Tino Martinez, Mark Leonard and again Mackey Sasser gave us a 6-5 lead and another single by Mackey Sasser scored 2 insurance runs in the 8th giving Sasser 4 RBI for the day and PoG-honors. Mark Leonard also went 3-for-4 and Jeff Nelson retired the last five batters in a row for his second save lowering his ERA to 3.48. 4/22: @ Tigers loss 3-4: Once again we had more hits than the Tigers but 4 walks by our starter, Roger Salkeld cost us the game. Dan Wilson's first hit of the year, a solo shot in the 3rd, tied the game at 1 after a homerun by rookie Phil Nevin had put the Tigers in front. Roger Salkeld got in trouble again in the 5th when 2 walks and 2 singles scored one and loaded the bases and Salkeld also walked the next batter to make it 3-1. Edgar Martinez' run-scoring double in the 6th brought us within 1 run but despite striking out the side in the 8th, reliever Bill Risley surrendered a single and a double for the Tiger's 4-2 lead. Reggie Jefferson hit a 2-out RBI-single in the 9th but Luis Sojo grounded out to end the game with runners on the corners. A-Rod nevertheless went 3-for-4 to power his average to an improbable .338. 4/23: @ Tigers WIN 7-1: For his second start in a row Chris Bosio went the distance and allowed just 1 run on just 4 hits and 2 walks while striking out 7. A-Rod went just 1-for-5 but he sparked the offense with a 3-run homerun in the 3rd. In the next inning after Rich Amaral's triple had scored two more runs, the Tigers commited two errors on two consecutive plays giving Alex the chance to add a fourth RBI for the day which he seized with a RBI-groundout and gave us a comfortable 7-1 lead. 4/24: OFF DAY 4/25: vs. Indians WIN 6-2: Being afraid of the late season surge of the Indians our team piles up the wins against them early in the season. Chuck Finley held the Indians to just 2 unearned runs and Rich Amaral made a point early by leading off the game with his first homer of the season. Mackey Sasser and Edgar Martinez followed with back-to-back doubles for a 2-0 lead. Alex Rodriguez drove in his league leading 24th run in the 3rd and after Tino Martinez drew a walk to lead off the 4th, Mark Leonard followed with his second triple of the season and scored himself to give us a 5-2 lead. Mark Leonard had a pretty good game as he went 3-for-4 and also hit his 8th double of the season in the 8th which resulted in another run for a comfortable 6-2 lead. This was a nice 4-2 week so I will focus on the negative sides. Grrrrr, we outhit the Tigers twice this week and lost both games by one run! O.k., at least we outhit them, which is good. Tino Martinez batted just .111 this week and will be benched for the next games. Reggie Jefferson will take over first base and if our bullpen continues to struggle a trade of Tino Martinez is more than likely. We already started the trade talks .Around the league: Monday 4/26/1995 : American League-Player of the Week: LF Albert Belle (CLE)! He batted .591 in 22 AB, with 1 HR and 5 RBI. National League-Player of the Week: RF Gary Sheffield (FLO)! He batted .444 in 27 AB, with 3 HR and 16 RBI. Albert Belle started the week with a 4-for-4 performance against us, hitting his sole homerun of the season so far and added two 3-for-4 games against Texas. Nonetheless the Indians recorded just a 2 wins out of 6 games this week. The Florida Marlins are riding a 6-game winning streak at the moment and share the first place of the NL East with the reigning world champions, the Montreal Expos. Framed by two wins against St. Louis, they swept the San Diego Padres in four games and Gary Sheffield was a huge factor in this. He won three PoG-awards in the series and went 10-for-18 (.556) with 3 HR and 15 RBI all-in-all. He was exceptionell good in the last game of the series when he went 5-for-5 with 2 homeruns and scored 4 runs driving in 8 runners. News: - Gary Sheffield wasn't the only player this week with a 5-for-5 output as Cincinnati's Bret Boone also accomblished this feat in 15-6 win over Los Angeles on Monday. - Cal Ripken Jr. made the headlines once again as his single in the 4th inning of sundays game against the Kansas City Royals marked his 2000th carrer hit. What's next? Five hits? Check. 3 Homers? Check. Cycle? Check. Maybe he should learn to pitch .Trade News: Wednesday 4/21/1995 : Trade between St. Louis and Baltimore : Baltimore gets : LF Bernard Gilkey $2,100,000 cash. St. Louis gets : P Mike Oquist P Edwin Hurtado So here's the first trade of the season and one might say it's quite predictible. After St. Louis signed power hitter Juan Gonzalez, Bernard Gilkey was left out in the cold. Since he's far too valuable to be just a pinch-hitter Baltimore acquired him to replace Mark McLemore in leftfield. They gave up 26-yr old Mike Oquist (and 7th round pick Edwin Hurtado) but they won't really miss him with a bullpen that features Armando Benitez, Troy Percival and Billy Wagner. St. Louis did exactly what I'm still afraid to do: trading a very good hitter they don't need to bolster their bullpen. In the Spotlight: The current (6-game) losing streak of the Atlanta Braves helped the New York Mets to get out of last place in the NL East. Their centerfielder Ryan Thompson is not only one of the best defensive outfielders in the game but also starts to come through with the bat. Last season, at age 26, he batted .260 with 18 HR and 50 RBI. So far he batted .338 in this April but since it's improbable that he will keep this up, he already hit 7 HR and drove in 19 and is on pace to hit ~40 HR and 100+ RBI. Upoming: 4/26: vs. Indians (rec: 8-11/3rd/series: 3-0) 4/27: vs. Tigers (rec: 10-10/4th/series: 2-2) 4/28: vs. Tigers 4/29: vs. Tigers 4/30: vs. Tigers* 5/01: @ Rangers (rec: 10-9/1st/series: 0-0) 5/02: @ Rangers* *will be played out The auspices couldn't be more favorable. The Indians are in a slump and couldn't get anything going against us and the Tigers, although better than last year, got their two wins against us with sheer luck. Hopefully Reggie Jefferson can give us the edge to win the series this time. After that we start to play our divisional rivals and we are just one game behind the Rangers. M |
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11-20-2005, 04:10 PM
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#18 (permalink) |
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Minors (Triple A)
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April 1995
April 1995 Interlude:
Standings: Code:
American League Standings Eastern Division Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run Baltimore 15 9 .625 - 15-9 0 6-5 9-4 2-0 5-4 Toronto 15 9 .625 - 13-11 2 9-3 6-6 1-0 7-2 New York (A) 13 10 .565 1.5 14-9 -1 7-5 6-5 1-1 3-7 Detroit 12 13 .480 3.5 10-15 2 7-4 5-9 1-1 6-2 Boston 11 12 .478 3.5 11-12 0 4-7 7-5 1-1 3-2 Central Division Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run Milwaukee 14 10 .583 - 13-11 1 6-5 8-5 4-0 6-2 Kansas City 13 11 .542 1.0 13-11 0 7-5 6-6 0-2 5-6 Cleveland 11 13 .458 3.0 12-12 -1 6-6 5-7 1-1 4-4 Minnesota 9 14 .391 4.5 8-15 1 7-6 2-8 1-2 7-4 Chicago (A) 8 17 .320 6.5 9-16 -1 3-10 5-7 1-2 1-2 Western Division Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run Seattle 13 11 .542 - 16-8 -3 7-4 6-7 0-4 1-8 Texas 12 12 .500 1.0 11-13 1 5-8 7-4 0-0 3-3 Oakland 11 13 .458 2.0 12-12 -1 6-7 5-6 1-0 4-7 California 10 13 .435 2.5 10-13 0 6-6 4-7 1-1 2-4 National League Standings Eastern Division Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run Philadelphia 16 11 .593 - 18-9 -2 9-5 7-6 0-2 4-3 Montreal 14 11 .560 1.0 16-9 -2 9-4 5-7 1-1 1-3 Florida 13 12 .520 2.0 14-11 -1 10-4 3-8 2-1 4-6 New York (N) 12 13 .480 3.0 13-12 -1 5-5 7-8 1-0 3-6 Atlanta 11 14 .440 4.0 7-18 4 4-8 7-6 1-1 5-5 Central Division Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run Houston 18 7 .720 - 16-9 2 11-2 7-5 2-0 7-3 St. Louis 13 12 .520 5.0 13-12 0 7-6 6-6 1-2 5-2 Chicago (N) 14 13 .519 5.0 13-14 1 7-6 7-7 1-1 4-3 Cincinnati 11 16 .407 8.0 15-12 -4 4-10 7-6 1-1 2-6 Pittsburgh 8 17 .320 10.0 9-16 -1 3-10 5-7 1-1 2-4 Western Division Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run San Francisco 14 11 .560 - 14-11 0 9-4 5-7 1-0 8-7 Los Angeles 14 12 .538 .5 13-13 1 6-7 8-5 0-1 7-1 San Diego 12 13 .480 2.0 10-15 2 7-4 5-9 1-1 2-5 Colorado 8 16 .333 5.5 7-17 1 6-6 2-10 1-2 4-4 Baltimore and Florida are (like I suspected) in the midst of the pennant races while Milwaukee, Kansas City and especially Houston are a surprise. Houston can ascribe their recent success to the unexpected performance of Mike Sweeney. The rookie still leads the league in RBI(30) and is fourth in SLG(.613) and eighth in OPS(.979). Awards Of The Month: Saturday 5/1/1995 : American League-Pitcher of the Month: Mike Magnante (KCA)! He had a record of 2-0 in 3 games started, with an ERA of 1.16 and 1 shutouts. American League-Batter of the Month: Alex Rodriguez (SEA)! He batted .300 in 100 AB, with 10 homers and 27 RBI. National League-Pitcher of the Month: Rheal Cormier (MON)! He had a record of 3-0 in 4 games started, with an ERA of 0.36. National League-Batter of the Month: Raul Mondesi (LAN)! He batted .372 in 94 AB, with 5 homers and 26 RBI. Kansas City's No 5 starter, Mike Magnante started just 3 games this month but pitched a complete game 4-hitter and a 8.2 inning shutout among them. The Kansas City Royals are off to a much better start than last year thanks to Hipolito Pichardo (2-1, 2.45 ERA), Tom Gordon (3-0, 2.12 ERA) and Mike Magnante.  A-Rod earnes the first non-pitcher monthly award for the Mariners. His 10 HR are the most in the majors and his 27 RBI are only topped by Houston's Mike Sweeney with 30 RBI. Alex had a 11-game hitting streak between 4/13 and 4/25 but significantly 10 of those games where on the road as he displays a meekly .190 AVG at home.Montreal's 28-yr old lefty Rheal Cormier allowed just 1 earned run (5 runs all-in-all) in his 4 starts this month and earned PoG-honors twice. The defending World Champions had a 6-game winning streak in the middle of April but ended the month with 4 straight losses at Wrigley Field. Although San Francisco currently ride a 8-game winning streak, the Dodgers are just a half game behind them. Raul Mondesi contributed a lot and won already his second BotM-Award. He's second in the National League in AVG and RBI and third in SLG (.617) and OPS (1.025). In the Spotlight: AL: The 13.2M$ the Indians pay Jeff Blauser already seem to pay off as he leads the league in AVG (.297) and is third in OBP (.457). Still the Indians trail the Brewers by 3 games as Manny Ramirez hits just .202 with 2 HR and just 7 RBI. NL: In the National League Central the Houston Astros dominated the first month of the season. Everything that went wrong last season seems to click at the moment: Aside from the bats of Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell Mike Sweeney's 30 RBI lead the majors and newly acquired LF Marquis Grissom features a solid .287 AVG in addition to his 6 stolen bases. In their rotation rookie Dustin Hermanson is a pleasant surprise (4-0, 2.53 ERA) but especially Darryl Kile had a great start into the season with a record of 3-0, a 2.50 ERA and a WHIP of 0.97. His last game (a 5-hit shutout against San Diego on 4/26) sparked their current 5-game winning streak and gave them a nice 5-game cushion in their division. M |
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11-20-2005, 04:40 PM
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#19 (permalink) |
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Minors (Triple A)
Join Date: Mar 2004
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Week 4 - 05/03/1995
This Week In Review:
4/26: vs. Indians WIN 4-2: We managed to keep our record clean against the Indians and improved to 4-0 against them. Their starter Chad Ogea pitched a complete game but gave up a 2-run homerun to Mackey Sasser in the 1st and allowed 2-out solo homers by Ken Griffey Jr. in the 3rd and Eric Anthony in the 4th which gave us a 4-0 lead. Jason Bere started for us and held Cleveland's lineup scoreless through the first 4 innings before a 2-out single by Kurt Abbott scored Albert Belle in the 5th and Jim Thome added another run with a 2-out solo shot the next inning. Bill Risley replaced Bere and worked a perfect 7th but surrendered a lead-off single in the 8th. Tim Davis came in and walked Kenny Lofton before striking out Carlos Baerga. After that he was relaced by Jeff Nelson who walked Jim Thome to load the bases but got out of the inning when slumping Manny Ramirez grounded into a double play. A 1-2-3 9th earned him his 3rd save and us another 2-game sweep against the reigning AL champs. 4/27: vs. Tigers loss 0-4: Dave Fleming surrendered 4 or more runs in every start since he was called up to fill the open spot in the rotation left by Randy Johnson. This game made no difference as he gave up 4 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks in 7.1 IP. His counterpart David Wells also gave up 8 hits but while Dave Fleming allowed 3 doubles and a homerun (to Eric Davis in the 6th), Wells' allowed just one extra-base hit (a 1-out double by A-Rod in the 4th) and pitched 8 innings of shutout-ball. 4/28: vs. Tigers WIN 9-0: Chris "The Boss" Bosio pitches like his nickname implies at the moment and recorded his third consecutive complete game win, a 4-hitter, allowing just 1 walk and striking out 11. It was the second best performance by a pitcher this season. Back-to-back doubles by Reggie Jefferson and Mark Leonard led off a 6-run 3rd and Edgar Martinez and Ken Griffey Jr. went yard back-to-back in the same inning. Junior also hit a 2-RBI double in the 5th and scored himself on another double by Jay Buhner which added 3 more runs for a staggering 9-0 lead. 4/29: vs. Tigers WIN 7-3: Rookie Roger Salkeld pitched 7 solid innings giving up 3 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks, striking out 8 Tigers and finally earned his first win. A 2-RBI single by Chad Kreuter put the Tigers in front in the 2nd but Detroit's starter Mike Gardiner (who replaces injured Sean Bergman in the rotation) started the bottom of the inning with three consecutive walks which resulted in two runs of our own. Eric Davis' solo shot in the 5th gave the Tigers a 1-run lead but we managed to respond again in the same inning and this time we did better than just tie the game. With two men on Junior's double brought Dan Wilson home and A-Rod followed with a 2-run triple. Eric Anthony singled him in and two outs later Felix Fermin's double plated Mark Leonard to give us the 7-3 lead. Jim Converse and Jeff Nelson shut the Tigers down in the last 2 innings and gave us a 2-1 series lead. 4/30: vs. Tigers WIN 5-1: Another strong outing by Chuck Finley who surrendered just 1 run on 4 hits and 3 walks in 7 IP, and a homerun in each of the first three innings was all we needed to take the series as well as the division lead. Ken Griffey Jr.'s 2-out shot gave us the lead in the 1st and A-Rod led the 2nd off with his 10th homerun of the season. We added three more runs in the 3rd which was highlighted by a 2-run homer by Mackey Sasser to give us a 5-0 lead and we neer looked back. Cecil Fielder's solo tater in the 5th was the only extra-base hit the Tigers accomblished and Tim Davis seems to get gradually comfortable with his bullpen role as he held the Tigers scoreless in the 8th and 9th. 5/01: @ Rangers WIN 6-2: We took an early 3-0 lead in the 1st when Edgar Martinez' double set the table for Junior's 2-RBI single, who scored himself on a Reggie Jefferson-ground out. Our starter Jason Bere had a pretty strange game. He allowed just 3 hits but also lasted just 5.2 innings as he also walked 6. He started the game with two walks and a single to load the bases but then struck out Jose Canseco and eventually got out of the inning giving up just 1 run. After Oddibe McDowell's 2-out solo homer in the 2nd he gradually settled down and struck out 6 Rangers in a row in the 4th and 5th after Edgar's 2-RBI double gave us a reassuring 5-2 lead in the top of the 4th. We added another run in the 7th and Bill Risley didn't allow a hit and struck out 5 in his 3.1 innings of work after he relieved Jason Bere. 5/02: @ Rangers WIN 12-6: An (even for Mariners-standards) unusual power-outburst combined with Dave Flemings' first quality start prolonged our current winning streak to 5 games and secured us the series win against the Rangers. We scored in every inning until the 6th and Ken Griffey Jr. doubled in his first three at bats. Additionally both Jay Buhner and Mike Blowers (playing for the resting Rich Amaral) went yard twice and Mackey Sasser also hit his 4th homerun of the year. Dave Fleming on the other side pitched 7.1 strong innings giving up 1 run on 4 hits and 3 walks. With the game already out of reach John Cummings relieved him and managed to give up 5 runs in 1.2 IP. 6-1? Wow, and additionally by beating the Rangers, we're 3 games ahead in our division. This is a pretty new situation to me and to be honest I hope I don't screw this up somehow. Alex and Mark Leonard cooled off this week but in Jay Buhner, Mackey Sasser and Ken Griffey Jr. we had three regular starters this week with a 1.000+ OPS.Around the league: Monday 5/3/1995 : American League-Player of the Week: CF Ken Griffey jr. (SEA)! He batted .429 in 28 AB, with 3 HR and 12 RBI. National League-Player of the Week: P Darryl Kile (HOU)! He won 2 games, with one shutout, pitched 16 innings with an ERA of 0.00, fanning 11. Two days after Alex Rodriguez received his BotM-Award, another Mariner was honored with the PotW-Award. Junior hit just .233 in April but picked up speed at the end of April and is currently on a 8-game hitting streak. He also leads the AL in runs (22) and is tied for 5th in walks. Darryl Kile extended his winning streak to 3 wins in a row and also kept the winning streak of the Houston Astros (6 games now) alive. He followed his 5-hitter from Monday with 7 innings of 3-hit ball against the Cubs on Sunday. He allowed just 1 unearned run and lowered his ERA to 2.09 (5th in the NL). He's also the only pitcher in the National League who posted a quality start in every one of his 6 starts. News: - Philadelphia's lead-off hitter, Mickey Morandini, went 5-for-5 on April 27th, scored 3 times and drove in 2. He currently hits .261 with 2 HR and 12 runs scored. Trade News: Tuesday 4/27/1995 : Trade between Detroit and Texas : Texas gets : SS Alan Trammell Detroit gets : C Gregg Zaun P Terry Burrows Tiger legend Alan Trammell gets another chance to play one more year in the majors with the Rangers but it's doubtful if he will be there for long. He's 37 and is batting .202 at the moment. At least he's better than Manuel Lee and his .188 AVG but this can hardly be called an improvement. At least the Rangers did only give up a 24-yr old prospect who plays a position which is covered by Ivan Rodriguez for years to come, and thus expendable. In the Spotlight: Erik Hanson started the season equally dominant as he was last season and is just the second pitcher in the NL to record 5 wins. The other one will surprise many and especially his own club, the New York Mets who drafted Brian Keyser in the 6th round of the draft. Brian started the season with 5 wins in 5 starts including a 4-hitter against Pittsburgh on April 19th. He is now the Mets' No 2 starter and features a record of 5-1 with a 2.68 ERA and a WHIP of 1.12. Upoming: 4/26: @ Rangers (rec: 12-14/3rd/series: 2-0) 4/27: OFF DAY 4/28: @ Angels (rec: 11-14/4th/series: 0-0) 4/29: @ Angels 4/30: @ Angels* 5/01: OFF DAY 5/02: @ Athletics* (rec: 12-14/2nd/series: 0-0) *will be played out At the moment everything is going nicely. We're 3 games ahead of the rest of the division and accomblished this even without the Big Unit. We already won the series against the Rangers so the question for the last game is just if we manage to sweep them or not. The Angels have a pretty good lineup but their rotation doesn't look too impressive. We'll see if we still hold the lead after this week. M |
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11-20-2005, 05:03 PM
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#20 (permalink) |
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Minors (Triple A)
Join Date: Mar 2004
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Week 5 - 05/10/1995
This Week In Review:
5/03: @ Rangers loss 0-1: Texas' rookie Jamie McAndrew outdueled red-hot Chris Bosio to avoid the sweep in the third game of the series. He pitched 7.2 superb innings and allowed just 3 hits and 3 walks while striking out 4. Chris Bosio on the other side pitched his fourth complete game in a row and surrendered no walks and fanned 6 Rangers while giving up just 4 hits but one was a 2-out double to Will Clark in the 4th which was followed by Jose Canseco's RBI-single for the only run of the game. Ken Griffey Jr. hit a double in the 4th for our only extra-base hit and Tom Henke pitched 1.1 perfect innings for his 9th save. 5/04: OFF DAY 5/05: @ Angels WIN 6-5: Chuck Finley gave up a season-high number of runs (5) against his former team but still got away with his league-leading 6th win, thanks to a 3-run homerun by Reggie Jefferson which highlighted a 5-run 6th inning. After Finley surrendered 2-run shots to Jim Edmonds in the 1st and Lyle Mouton in the 4th, Dan Wilson started the top of the 6th with a single, and two singles (by A-Rod and Jay Buhner) and a J.T. Snow-error later, Reggie launched a 441-ft blast to deep centerfield which put us 5-4 in front. Junior added a solo shot of his own an inning later which was badly needed as Finley gave up a 1-out sac-fly in the 8th to Greg Myers (plating Tim Salmon from third) before he was removed from the game, giving up 10 hits and 2 walks while he struck out 6. Luckily Jeff Nelson is his old self again and recorded his 4th consecutive save with 1.1 perfect IP. 5/06: @ Angels WIN 10-4: Both Edgar Martinez and Jay Buhner hit a 2-run homer in the top of the 1st and so gave us an early 4-0 lead and after the Angels responded with 2 runs of their own in the 2nd, it was again Edgar Martinez whose 12th double of the season in the 3rd resulted in our fifth run. Starter Jason Bere lasted just 5.2 innings and surrendered two more runs but also struck out 8 batters. Bill Risley relieved him in the 6th, inheriting a close 5-4 lead and kept the Angels's bats in check for the rest of the game earning his 2nd save of the season. Ken Griffey Jr.'s 3-run homer in the 7th off of reliever Russ Springer blew the game wide open and Mark Leonard added a 2-run homerun in the next inning for the final 10-4 score. 5/07: @ Angels WIN 15-5: Although the score looks like another blowout, our bats took their time to come through. The game was tied 4-4 after the 4th inning and we led just 6-5 after the 6th before we scored 9 runs in the last 3 innings. Mackey Sasser, Reggie Jefferson and Mark Leonard each had 3 hits (the later with a double and a homerun) and Luis Sojo hit a 3-run homer in a 5-run 9th. But the star of the game was once again Ken Griffey Jr. who went 4-for-5 with 4 runs, 5 RBI and he became the first player of the season to hit 3 homeruns in a game (and the first since Cal Ripken did it on 9/14/1994). It was the second best performance by a hitter this season aside from Gary Sheffield's (reported here). 5/08: OFF DAY 5/09: @ Athletics loss 7-9: After he was dominant in the second half of April, pitching 3 straight complete game wins, Chris Bosio took a tough 1-0 complete game loss to start May and this seemed to have it's affect on his confidence as he gave up 7 runs (5 of them earned) and 8 hits in just 4.2 IP in this game. 1B Reggie Jefferson went 3-for-5 with a solo-homerun in the 4th and was named PoG but aside from a Alex Rodriguez-double we had no other extra-base hits while Mark McGwire and Ruben Sierra homered for the A's. Reliever Jim Converse allowed two more runs in 3 innings of work to make it 9-4 but Oakland's Billy Taylor surrendered just one unearned run in the 9th for his 10th save of the season. At least Ken Griffey Jr. extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a single in the 5th. Well, we're still 2 games ahead of the Oakland A's in our division although our starting pitchers didn't perform very well this week. Most of the time the hitters bailed them out especially Junior who homered in every game of the 3-game sweep against the Angels and put some icing on the cake with his extraordinary performance in the last game of the series. Mark Leonard and Tino Martinez-replacement Reggie Jefferson both had 1.000+ OPS this week and Alex Rodriguez (although striking out 8 times) continued to hit .300. Around the league: Monday 5/10/1995 : American League-Player of the Week: 1B Cecil Fielder (DET)! He batted .458 in 24 AB, with 5 HR and 6 RBI. National League-Player of the Week: LF Moises Alou (MON)! He batted .429 in 21 AB, with 4 HR and 8 RBI. It's astounding. After upgrading their rotation with Jason Schmidt and Terry Adams in the offseason (which helps them a lot) their position players continue to struggle at the plate. As a matter of fact Cecil Fielder is their best hitter by far at the moment and the only regular starter with an average above .250 (.289 to be precise). He also leads his team in HR (12), RBI (23) and even runs (19). The 37-yr olds Kirk Gibson and Lou Whitaker fail to contribute as well as the younger guys like Eddie Zambrano or Travis Fryman. Mickey Tettleton even lost his starting job to John Flaherty after he took several talent hits. Maybe this PoW-award for Cecil Fielder sparks something in his teammates. They could surely use it. So far the NL East seems like the closest division in the Majors as the last placed Atlanta Braves trail the Florida Marlins and the Philadelphia Phillies by just 3 games. The Defending World Champions are just 1 game behind the two leaders and still feature one of the best teams in baseball. Cliff Floyd, playing his first full season at centerfield, sports a healthy .336 AVG and newly acquired SS Jose Vizcaino's .312 AVG also shows how well they improved their offense in the offseason. Although Moises Alou leads the team in most offensive categories (and leads the Majors in runs scored and is second in OPS) he doesn't do it by a large margin. On this team everyone is hitting and although the division will be close it's likely that the Expos will have a say regarding it's outcome. News: - Another first in this universe as Minnesota's Kent Hrbek hit his 2000th hit on 5/7/1995, a feat he never accomblished in RL because he chose to retire after the 1994 season. The Twins are 5.5 games behind Kansas City and Milwaukee at the moment but the offseason acquisitions Darryl Hamilton, Shawon Dunston and starter John Wetteland seem to motivate Kent to take one last shot at playing in the postseason as he displays his best numbers of his carreer so far: .324 AVG/.372 OBP/.480 SLG Trade News: No Trades this week, but it's interesting that Detroit released C Gregg Zaun on 5/5. Just a week after they acquired him in a trade with the Texas Rangers. In the Spotlight: After posting a record of 8-9 with a mediocre 4.30 ERA last season, San Diego's ace Tim Worrell is off to a much better start this season. At the moment he leads the league in ERA (1.20) as well as AVG, OBP and SLG against (.130/.201/.221). It doesn't do the Padres any good though as they also have Mike Hampton (1-4/ 5.49 ERA), Andy Ashby (1-4/ 5.14 ERA) and Scott Sanders (0-3/ 9.78 ERA) in their rotation and so are last in the NL West, trailing the LA Dodgers by 5 games. Upoming: 5/10: @ Athletics (rec: 17-16/2nd/series: 0-1) 5/11: @ Athletics 5/12: vs. White Sox (rec: 12-20/5th/series: 0-0) 5/13: vs. White Sox 5/14: vs. White Sox* 5/15: OFF DAY 5/16: @ Royals* (rec: 18-14/1st/series: 0-0) *will be played out Oakland is just 2 games behind us so one or even two wins would be nice and are crucial to retain the lead in our division. The White Sox on the other hand are off to an unusual bad start and I hope we can take advantage of this. It might be possible as it seems like we don't have to face their ace Roberto Hernandez. Plus: Randy Johnson gets back from the DL in four days (although I intend to give him one or two AAA starts before I call him up again). M |
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