Tall Tales: The Andrew Zarzour Story

[AZTarHeel]

Hamilton hits first HR, but Chipper hits for the cycle
Dodgers lose for 10th time in 14 games

July 31, 2000

Chipper Jones batting for the cycle upstaged the first career home run by Josh Hamilton last night. Jones' team, the Atlanta Braves, also had the upper hand on Hamilton's LA Dodgers 11-4.

Jones got his first hit, an RBI triple, in the third inning off Dodgers' starter Ted Lilly. He singled in the fifth, stroked an RBI double in the sixth and homered to complete the cycle in the eighth.

Hamilton's home run came as pinch hitter in the bottom of the ninth. The two-run shot just leaped over the left-field wall, covering a distance of 344 feet.

As a whole, though, Hamilton's move to the Big Club has been a struggle. Going into tonight's game, the 19-year-old left-fielder is hitting just .125 (4-for-32). Three of his hits have been for multiple bases, two doubles and a homer. Hamilton has seven strikeouts.

While the Braves increased their lead in the NL East to nine games, the Dodgers remain three games behind the San Diego Padres.

Notebook: All quiet on the trade front in LA ... The Dodgers did ink a three-year extension for SP Ismael Valdes, worth about $4.8 million a year ...

[AZTarHeel]

From: "Andrew Zarzour" AZarzour72@earthlink.net
Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2000 11:45 PM
To: "Brandon Weaver" BManWeaver@yahoo.com
Subject: News from New Mexico

Hey Brandon, thanks for your email earlier this week. It was good to hear from you. Sorry it has taken me a few days to get back to you.

Yeah, you are right, the Albuquerque Dukes can't seem to score runs when I pitch. You'd think with an ERA of 3.28 I'd have a better record than 9-8. It's tough when you're tagged with a loss after striking out 14 with only two walks. But the Big Club did take a couple of our big bats (Josh Hamilton and Andy Tracy), and 3B Cole Liniak has been out for a few weeks with some elbow problems.

No excuses, though, if we only score two runs, I can't let the other team score three. I've got to hold them to zero or one.

Speaking of the Big Club, if you've got any ideas on how those guys can snap out of their funk, please, please, please get in touch with manager Davey Johnson. This is unbelievable. Since the trading deadline, LA is 1-7. Swept by the Brewers. Lost two of three to the Diamondbacks. And the Cubs still have Kerry Wood. Maybe it was a mistake not to go harder after him, even if it meant giving up Mike Piazza. Of course, I might be a Cub right now if that deal went through.

Still, heads might roll if the freefall continues... I went back and looked at LA's schedule, and the team is 4-16 in the last 20 games. Yikes. Now eight games back of San Diego, with San Fran now only one back. Playoffs seem way out of the picture now.

Thanks for sending me some of your stories from your time as "summer intern" at the Zebulon Record. I especially liked your piece on the little league baseball team winning the district title and going on to the state tournament. That brought me back to the days when we used to play all-stars. Great photo of Zeb's little brother pitching. Great expression. He's probably a little too young to throw a curve ball but it's still a good shot by you.

I also liked your story on Carolina Mudcats 3B Josh Booty. I didn't realize that he had been considering leaving baseball to go play college football. Hope he finds some success staying with baseball. I'll be pulling for him, unless I ever have to pitch against him.

Have fun packing to go back to college. So, you're staying in the dorms one more year at least? Ah, you college crazies. If you ever score Carolina-Duke hoops tickets, hook me up!

Take care. Here's hoping I'll be packing for LA sometime in the near future...

Your friend,
Andrew ("moose")

[AZTarHeel]

Ring, ring, ring

"Hello?"

"Timmy! Hey it's Andrew. How are you?"

"Hey, Big Brother. I'm OK. How's the wild, wild West?"

"Are mom and dad there?"

"Yeah, we're all right here eating dinner. I'll put you on speaker. What's going on?"

"Hey everyone!"

"Hey, son! We were just talking about you."

"Are you guys still planning on coming out to that timeshare in Albuquerque next week?"

"You bet, son. We've already starting packing. We can't wait."

"Well, is there any chance you get another time share, one that's a little closer to Los Angeles?" ...

[AZTarHeel]

Dodgers call up two farmhands from Albuquerque

Wednesday, Aug. 13

The Big Z is coming back to LA.

The Dodgers couldn’t wait until September to bring up the 7-foot-2 left-handed pitcher from Albuquerque. They made a move yesterday to add him to the Big Club roster, hoping to shore up the bottom half of their starting rotation. Hideo Nomo, who just hasn’t been the same since having his jaw broken by a line drive late last season, will shift to Triple A. Nomo leaves with a 5-13 record, having lost five of his last six starts.

Zarzour has spent the entire season to this point with the Dukes of the Triple A Pacific Coast League. He posted a 10-8 record, with an ERA of 3.21. Dodger execs liked that he had 256 strikeouts through 22 starts, more than 10 K’s per game.

“We think Andrew is ready to be here, and we sure need his arm,” Dodgers manager Davey Johnson said when announcing the transaction. “He’ll fill the No. 5 hole in our rotation right now. As for Hideo, we’re hoping a few weeks with Albuquerque will help him get some confidence back and that he’ll be a new man when he comes back up in September. He just needs a little work with his mechanics."

Zarzour is expected to join the club Saturday in Cincinnati (LA plays at Chicago tonight and will have a travel day tomorrow) and likely will be penciled in to start the Aug. 20 game at home against Pittsburgh, Johnson said.

In another transaction by the Dodgers, infielder Cole Liniak will move up with Zarzour to the Big Club. He’ll fill the spot on the roster held by 2B Wilton Guerrero, who was lost for the season after tearing his thigh muscle.

The Dodgers are still chasing, without much success, the San Diego Padres in the NL West. LA trails the Pads by six games going into tonight’s game against the Cubs.


********

Got an e-mail recently saying Zarzour’s duration had improved. Nice! But his ability to stop HR’s isn’t so great and went down a bit earlier in the season. This will be interesting to watch … (fingers crossed)... I plan to play out Zarzour's first start with the team, rather than just sim the day!

[AZTarHeel]

Aug. 21, 2000

Breaking down the Big Z's first start of 2000

OK, Dodger fans, Andrew Zarzour didn’t get the win last night in his first game with the Big Club this season. But there was a lot to like from the 7-footer in the 3-1 loss to the Pirates. In today’s blog, we break down the Big Z and his debut performance:

Let’s start with the basics, his pitching line:

8.0 IP, 9 hits allowed, 3 runs, 1 earned run, 8 Ks, 1 walk, 1 HR … Of his 96 pitches, he threw 55 for strikes. Oh, and 0-for-2 from the plate.

Like we said, not bad. The game basically turned on one sequence in the third inning. Paul Lo Duca bobbled a sure out from his first base spot, allowing Andres Galarraga to get on to start the frame (part of what you sacrifice to have Paulie and Piazza on the field at the same time). Z then gave up an RBI double to Tony Womack. Brady Anderson then went long later in the inning. LA never could get out of the 2-0 hole.

Zarzour was gritty the rest of the way but got almost no help from his offense (much like his time in Albuquerque). Los Angeles managed just three hits all night.

Probably the only other bad pitch Zarzour threw came against pitching comrade Jon Lieber to lead off the sixth. Lieber (who was masterful from the mound himself) got aboard and eventually came home on a fielder’s choice.

Zarzour had three strikeouts in the sixth. The Dodgers turned three double plays with Z on the mound. Zarzour finally got lifted in the bottom of the eighth, with ironically, his good buddy from North Carolina, Josh Hamilton, pinch-hitting for him. Hamilton nearly tied the game up, but a deep shot to left field – that would have been a two-run homer – was caught at the warning track. That would have been something for one 19-year-old from NC to get another 19-year-old off the hook for the loss.

Bottom line: We liked Zarzour’s first effort a lot. He did give up a homer, and that will be something to watch. Scouts who watched him a lot in Albuquerque said he would strike out 10 or 15 a game but give then up two homers. So hold onto your hats. It could be a roller coaster of emotions when he's on the hill. It won’t be boring, that’s for sure.

If the Dodgers run him back out there in five days – and we don’t see why they won’t – he’ll be going up against the San Francisco Giants in what should be a pivotal game to the playoff drive...

One other interesting note from last night: Both managers got tossed from the game at different times. You don't see that happen much... Also, Hideo Nomo pitched 7 shutout innings and got the win in his first start for Triple A Albuquerque, proving that he is where he should be right now...

Tomorrow: we'll answer the burning question of whether Dodger Dogs are as good as they used to be ...

[AZTarHeel]

Tar Heel connection in LA
Hamilton, Zarzour, both 19, steal show in win over Giants

Aug. 27, 2000

Dodgers pitcher Andrew Zarzour stuck out his tongue at Josh Hamilton in the post-game locker room after last night’s win against the visiting San Francisco Giants.

“Ha, I have a better batting average than you, hot shot,” Zarzour teased.

“Yeah, but I was the MVP tonight, moose man,” Hamilton fired back.

Ah, kids.

Technically speaking, Zarzour’s right. His season average at the plate is a cool .333 whereas Hamilton’s hitting .156.

Of course, Zarzour has only had three at-bats since joining the Big Club a few weeks ago. Hamilton’s had a quite a bit more.

But the two 19-year-olds together stole the show in LA’s 5-4 win over the Giants. Zarzour pitched – and hit – like a Big Leaguer. And Hamilton showed signs of being one of the top prospects in the game, going 2-for-3 and batting home a key run (earning player of the game status). The victory helps LA keep the San Diego Padres within reach in the NL West.

“The future is now,” catcher Mike Piazza said. “It was a good night for the Tar Heel boys, that’s for sure. We needed their spark.”

Zarzour, making his second start from the mound since getting pulled up from Albuquerque, didn’t get credited for the win. It's too bad. Aside from one bad pitch that got away, for a three-run homer by Chris Richard in the second inning, Zarzour was a Randy Johnson reincarnate. He struck out 11 against only two walks. He allowed just four hits. He mezmorized hitters with his fastball, a nasty splitter and an effective change.

“I was most proud that Andrew regained his composure after the home run,” LA manager Davey Johnson said. “He struck out four of the next seven batters he faced. That’s a good sign. Young guys like that, you never know if they're going to fold after giving up a big shot.”

Zarzour helped himself at the plate in the bottom of the third, sacrificing Cole Liniak and Hamilton into scoring position with a well-placed bunt. Both men score to make it a 3-2 game San Fran.

In the fourth, Hamilton and Zarzour had back-to-back RBI singles in the fourth inning that helped put LA up 4-3. Zarzour later gave up the tying run, but an RBI triple by Todd Hollandsworth in the eighth gave the Dodgers the victory. Kazuhiro Sasaki earned the win, with Dennis Reyes getting the save (Trevor Hoffman was tired and took the night off)...


*****

First, let me say: I'm proud of my little 7-foot-2 creation...

I simmed this game out as well. I was worried with both of Zarzour's starts that he would get shelled. But he did remarkably well. For the heck of it, in this game, I started all the young guns - Hamilton, Zarzour, Cole Liniak, Andy Tracy. Maybe this is the future for the Dodgers... Hope Big Z giving up one homer per game isn't a trend...

Simming a few games, though, helps me see why the Dodgers aren't leading the NL West. The offense is definitely hit and miss. When you're relying on Zarzour to get RBIs, that's not a good sign...

Zarzour's hit came against Chris Carpenter by the way ... Stay tuned for what could be a fun stretch run of the 2000 season...

[AZTarHeel]

Here come the Dodgers!
LA trails Padres by 2 going into big NL West series

Sept. 10, 2000

Despite last night’s loss at Philadelphia, a red-hot Dodgers team will roll into San Diego for a key NL West series today. Los Angeles has won five of its last eight games, while the Padres have lost five in a row.

Ismael Valdes will get the start tonight for LA, facing Tyler Green for San Diego.

Fans surely will be eager to see tomorrow night’s pitching duel between Andrew Zarzour (2-1, 3-45 ERA) and San Diego’s ace David Weathers (13-7, 2.23 ERA).

Though LA lost the first time Zarzour took the hill, the Dodgers are 3-0 in his past three starts. Big Z got his first win in a 10-5 decision against Colorado. In that game, Zarzour surrendered two home runs, the second being a three-run shot by Jeremy Burnitz that tied the game 5-5.

But Zarzour earned redemption, taking advantage of a communication error between himself and bench coaches. With the score still 5-5 in the bottom of the sixth, Zarzour was supposed to be called back from the on-deck circle with one out and Todd Zeile on second base. But Z thought his coaches were just giving him hitting instructions and stepped to the plate. He got a hit, moving Zeile to third, where he later come home on an RBI single by Raul Mondesi. (Note: I hit the "Hit Away" button by accident rather than the button that would have brought the substitution page up. I gasped at first but then cheered in delight when he got a hit).

That put LA ahead to stay. Zarzour now has two hits in six season at-bats.

Big Z got another win five days later when the Dodgers beat the Florida Marlins in Miami 5-2. Zarzour went 8.1 innings, struck out five and gave up just five hits. The one worry, he gave up yet another home run (his fifth in four starts).

Hey, we’ve got a pennant race in the NL West! Dodgers are creeping closer to Cincy in the wildcard chase as well (three back).

September call-ups included Hideo Nomo (3-0, 1.40 ERA in Albuquerque), MR Ryan Franklin (4-1, 1.47 ERA), RF Thomas Howard (35-year-old gets what could be his last shot in the Bigs!), C Ben Molina (obtained in a trade earlier in the season) and MR Antonio Osuna …

Nomo has pitched once since getting called back up, and the Dodgers lost 7-0 to Philly. In 5 IP, Nomo gave up six hits, four walks and four earned runs. Arrgg.

[AZTarHeel]

It's about 2 a.m. on the West Coast. The Dodgers are coming off a humbling 8-1 loss to the San Diego Padres in the first of three games between the NL West contenders. Andrew Zarzour, who will pitch for LA in the game later today is fast asleep in his hotel room when his phone rings.

A dazed Zarzour punches his alarm clock a few times trying to stop the annoying racket, but the noise doesn't stop. Finally, he comes out of his slumber and realizes it's his phone.

"Uh, yes, hello?"

"Andrew! Hey big brother, it's Timmy? I just had to call you. It's the coolest thing in the whole world. We saved a man's life tonight, man. He wasn't breathing after the wreck and Big Ed inserted a little tube into his airway and he could breathe again and it was the coolest thing ever and we saved his life, man, and I was there, like, keeping everybody calm and everything and it was such a rush. Dude, I just had to call and tell you."

"You saved a man's life? Wasn't breathing? Huh, what? Back up and start over. And slow down this time. Do you know what time it is?"

"It's 5:07 a.m. here, so that means it's 2:07 where you are. Big brother, it was such a rush. You remember Big Ed, right? He's the guy from the fire and rescue squad with the thick New York accent who mentored me during my community service time. Well anways, we've stayed friends. And since mom and dad are in San Diego watching your games, I crashed at his apartment tonight. I'm sitting there on the couch watching a movie and then all of the sudden, bam, I'm out cold for awhile. Then all of the sudden I hear Ed's police scanner go off. The dispatcher calls in a 10-50 P.I. right near where we are."

"A 10-50 what?"

"It's police code for a car wreck, with personal injury. Hence, the P.I. Anyways, we rush out there and we're like first on the scene. Dude, it was bad, man. Glass all over the place. Steam and smoke coming out of the engines. Stuff ripped all over the place. It was a head-on collision. Well, there's one dude who's still trapped in his car. We help pry the door open and get him out. He goes unconscious on us and Ed notices that suddenly the guy can't breathe right. Well, Ed starts working on him and does this little mini surgery that inserts a tube in his airway so he can get air again. It was awesome, man. I was there helping Ed and keeping the other folks calm and stuff. Whew..."

"It sounds like you guys had a big night."

"Yeah, that was the coolest thing ever knowing that he's going to live. He's got some broken bones and stuff, but he's not dead or anything."

"Wow, little brother, tell me more..."

[Ragin Cajun]

And a corner is turned in Little Z's life...where will this new path take him....

[AZTarHeel]

Padres tag Zarzour with three homers
San Diego one win away from sweep of Dodgers

Sept. 12, 2000

SAN DIEGO — A promising start gave way to a familiar ending for Los Angeles pitcher Andrew Zarzour.

Through four innings, the 19-year-old left-hander had masterfully struck out seven San Diego batters and held the Padres to just a few hits. But then, Zarzour started giving up long balls again.

San Diego hit three out of the park in all — including a three-run shot in the fifth inning by Greg Vaughn followed by a solo homer by Rusty Greer — en route to a 6-1 victory. It was the second straight loss by the Dodgers to the Padres, who now lead the NL West by four games with less than a month to play. Zarzour has given up at least one home run in every start but one since joining the Big Club in mid-August.

Zarzour's final line wasn't that bad — scattering six hits with 7 Ks and only two walks. But when three balls leave the yard, accounting for five of the six runs, that spells trouble. A forlorn Zarzour just sat in the dugout after getting yanked in the sixth inning with a towel over his head.

"One of my teammates told me while I was sitting there that if a Big Leaguer hit a home run off me then I must be in the Big Leagues," Zarzour told reporters after the game. "Well, I guess I can take some solace in that. I'm here in the Big Show. But we need wins, and I didn't do my part tonight. I just need to get better and pitch smarter."

Zarzour's 19-year-old teammate, left-fielder Josh Hamilton, went 2-for-4, batting home the Dodgers' only run with a late-inning double. Hamilton seems to be finding more of a groove at the Major League level. His batting average is just .176 at this point but climbing steadily. Manager Davey Johnson has talked of Hamilton becoming the every day starter in left for the final four weeks of the season.

******

A few notes: LA went on to lose all three games to the Padres, putting them five back in the NL West. Raul Mondesi went 5-for-6 in game three, an extra innings affair. Hideo Nomo had an OK start but the bullpen didn't help him out.

Checking the box score from his most recent start I see that Zarzour got a hit against San Diego, putting his average at .273. I find this interesting since I didn't do anything to his ratings for hitting. Maybe if pitching doesn't work out he can play first base or something ...

The Dodgers had best be careful, as the San Francisco Giants are moving up the standings quickly. If the slump continues, LA could slip to third in the division...

[AZTarHeel]

1000 Elysian Park Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Sept. 15, 2000

Mr. Andrew Zarzour
414 Esplanade Street
Redondo Beach, CA* 90277

Sept. 15, 2000

Dear Andrew,

It is with great pleasure as General Manager of the Dodgers to watch your rapid progress through our farm system and onto the big stage of the Major Leagues. You have done admirably well for us and persevered through some of the rough patches with maturity beyond your 19 years. We are confident that you have a bright future as a Major Leaguer and hope you will enjoy a long and prosperous career here with the Dodgers.

To that end, I wanted to inform you of our plans for you this off-season. We are assigning you to participate in the Arizona Fall League, based in the metro Phoenix area. The league is designed for prospects like yourself to refine their skills and perform in game settings in front of major and minor league baseball scouts and team executives. Some call it the "finishing school" for MLB elite prospects.

Play will begin shortly after the MLB regular season ends. The fall season will last roughly 30-32 games, with a post-season series to follow for the top teams in November.

There are six teams in the Arizona Fall League made up of prospects from each of teams in the Majors. Typically a franchise designates six players to their Arizona Fall League team. This year, the Dodgers are affiliated with the Mesa Solar Sox, along with the Houston Astros, Chicago Cubs, New York Mets and Minnesota Twins. The team will play its games at HoHoKam Park. Other teams include the Grand Canyon Rafters, Peoria Javelines, Peoria Saguaros, Phoenix Desert Dogs and Scottsdale Scorpions.

Others from our organization tentatively scheduled to join you in the Arizona Fall League include SP Randy Keisler, MR Demaso Marte, CF Rod Lindsey, 2B Mike Young and C Angel Pena. These names are subject to change as we review our off-season assignments and goals.

Again, we wish you the best of luck for the remainder of the regular season with the Big Club and look forward to your continued improvement in the fall and winter. Thank you for your contributions to the Dodgers.

Sincerely,

Kevin Malone
General Manager
Los Angeles Dodgers

[Mattymo]

Originally Posted by AZTarHeel

1000 Elysian Park Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Sept. 15, 2000

Mr. Andrew Zarzour
414 Esplanade Street
Redondo Beach, CA* 90277

Sept. 15, 2000

Dear Andrew,

It is with great pleasure as General Manager of the Dodgers to watch your rapid progress through our farm system and onto the big stage of the Major Leagues. You have done admirably well for us and persevered through some of the rough patches with maturity beyond your 19 years. We are confident that you have a bright future as a Major Leaguer and hope you will enjoy a long and prosperous career here with the Dodgers.

To that end, I wanted to inform you of our plans for you this off-season. We are assigning you to participate in the Arizona Fall League, based in the metro Phoenix area. The league is designed for prospects like yourself to refine their skills and perform in game settings in front of major and minor league baseball scouts and team executives. Some call it the "finishing school" for MLB elite prospects.

Play will begin shortly after the MLB regular season ends. The fall season will last roughly 30-32 games, with a post-season series to follow for the top teams in November.

There are six teams in the Arizona Fall League made up of prospects from each of teams in the Majors. Typically a franchise designates six players to their Arizona Fall League team. This year, the Dodgers are affiliated with the Mesa Solar Sox, along with the Houston Astros, Chicago Cubs, New York Mets and Minnesota Twins. The team will play its games at HoHoKam Park. Other teams include the Grand Canyon Rafters, Peoria Javelines, Peoria Saguaros, Phoenix Desert Dogs and Scottsdale Scorpions.

Others from our organization tentatively scheduled to join you in the Arizona Fall League include SP Randy Keisler, MR Demaso Marte, CF Rod Lindsey, 2B Mike Young and C Angel Pena. These names are subject to change as we review our off-season assignments and goals.

Again, we wish you the best of luck for the remainder of the regular season with the Big Club and look forward to your continued improvement in the fall and winter. Thank you for your contributions to the Dodgers.

Sincerely,

Kevin Malone
General Manager
Los Angeles Dodgers

just curious, are you doing this manually?

[AZTarHeel]

Originally Posted by Mattymo

just curious, are you doing this manually?

I'm going to try ...

[kreitena]

If I were Big Z I wouldn't go. I don't trust Kevin Malone.

[AZTarHeel]

Dodgers stay atop NL West with latest win
Zarzour improves to 4-2 with triumph over Astros

Sept. 21, 2000

HOUSTON — OK, so the big fella gives up home runs nearly every time out. Andrew Zarzour, all of 19 years old, is making positive contributions to the Dodgers drive for another NL West title.

The 7-foot-2 left-hander overcame giving up three long balls last night, and Los Angeles topped the Houston Astros 11-6. Zarzour struck out six over 6.1 innings and walked two in improving to 4-2 on the season. He also had a hit, a run and an RBI on the offensive side, helping the Dodgers to win their sixth game in a row.

Los Angeles improved to 80-69 overall, tied with the Padres a top the NL West standings and one game ahead of the San Francisco Giants, who joined the pennant race with a surge of their own over the last few weeks.

"I'm tired of seeing balls leave the yard when I'm pitching," Zarzour said. "I'm just glad my teammates were there to pick me up tonight. What did we have tonight, 15 hits?"

Sixteen, actually. Edgar Renteria, Paul Lo Duca, Mike Piazza and Todd Hollandsworth all had three hits apiece. Josh Hamilton went 2-for-4, improving his average to .214. That doesn't sound like much of an average, but considering it has jumped about 100 points in the past few weeks, he's surging along with the club as a whole.

Hamilton has been an every day player for the past week.

Zarzour has won his last two starts since getting beaten soundly by the Padres. He gave up just seven hits and two runs in a 7-3 win over the Diamondbacks last week (picking up the first game MVP award of his career — in that game Hamilton was 3-for-4 with an RBI.).

After finishing up with Houston, Los Angeles hosts Chicago, then visits St. Louis.

"We've just got to keep winning," Zarzour said. "And I've got to keep balls in the park more."

______________
Note: not bad for a couple of 19-year-olds, eh? ... it's been fun to have a three-team pennant race ... After Sept. 18 games, all three teams were tied for first ... Atlanta is running away with the NL East (about 10 games up). Houston and Cincy are battling hard in the NL Central. The 'Stros lead by one ... Boston and New York should make the playoffs from the AL, with Chicago White Sox and Seattle the other two teams ...

Zarzour's pitching line right now: 4-2 with a 4.31 ERA ... He's got a .222 batting average, still better than Hamilton's

Zarzour's lone hit against Houston scored his buddy Josh from second base ... It was Z's second RBI of his career. Z later came home on an Edgar Renteria hit. That was part of a six-run fifth inning that put LA up 11-4... thank goodness for offense...

[AZTarHeel]

Triple A Dukes win PCL championship

September 22, 2000

The Albuquerque Dukes went out on top.

The franchise that will be no longer in 2001 won the '00 Pacific Coast League regular season championship with an 85-53 record.

The Dukes, an affiliate of the Dodgers since 1972, will move to Portland for the 2001 season, leaving Albuquerque without professional baseball for the first time in decades. The Dukes won their first league title since 1994.

Some notable performances from the Dukes' final year of existence:

• LF Matt Luke had the most RBIs (74), the second most home runs (19) and the fourth best slugging percentage (.454) among National League Triple A players. Luke is 29 and hit .272 for the season. Interestingly, the Dodgers never called him up, preferring to pull up 19-year-old LF phenom Josh Hamilton instead.

• Pitcher Andrew Zarzour, a July call-up to the Big Club, led the Pacific Coast League with 256 strikeouts. His 10 wins tied him for seventh best among Triple A players with National League franchises. Zarzour's ERA of 3.21 was sixth best among National League Triple A pitchers. He had five complete games, third best in the PCL.

• RF Rod Lindsey finished with the seventh best batting average among Triple A teams in the National League, .317. Thomas Howard was ninth at .308.

The Dodgers have announced their revamped Minor League affiliates for the 2001 season:
• Las Vegas 51s, Pacific Coast League (AAA)
• Jacksonville Suns, Southern League (AA)
• Vero Beach Dodgers, Florida State League (A-Advanced)
• Wilmington Waves, South Atlantic League (A)
• Great Falls Dodgers, Pioneer League (Rookie-Advanced)
• GCL Dodgers, Gulf Coast League (Rookie)

(Hopefully, Josh Hamilton and the Big Z won't have to worry too much about these teams in 2001. But you never know... The meek Big Z in Las Vegas? Now that would be something...)

[AZTarHeel]

From: "Andrew Zarzour" BigZBigBlue@yahoo.com
Sent: Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2000 9:44 AM
To: "Jeff Innis" BunnBaseballCoach@aol.com
Subject: The Big Fade in LA

Hey Coach Innis, Andrew here. Thanks for your emails the past few months. It's always good to hear from Bunn Wildcat Country! Glad to hear fall workouts are going well. And glad to hear my brother showing up some of the time. Do you really think he could be an all-state catcher this coming spring? If he commits to baseball with all his heart, maybe. But that's the big question mark, right?

Well, was that the biggest collapse you've ever seen by a team or what? Good grief, the LA Dodgers just hit the wall with about two weeks left to play, losing seven of our last 10 games and each of our last five. To be in the thick of the NL West title chase in mid-September and then to finish six games out (and to slip to third behind San Francisco), uggg. What can I say? I know we never tanked like that during my time at Bunn, that's for sure...

There has been chatter that Davey Johnson will be ousted as manager for our collapse. I don't know how you can blame him. We were the ones who didn't get the job done. But oh well. No announcement yet, but we're expecting one at any time. I enjoyed playing for him, but apparently he doesn't get along too well with the chiefs in the front office.

Our GM (Malone) also has been talking about "revamping some things around here" -- his words. We've got some money to spend, so we could be going shopping for some big names in the free agent market. All I know is that I've got work to do if I want to stay in the rotation next year. Like you said, maybe I was throwing too many strikes, thinking I could just blow the ball past people. I might sneak two strikes past but then *whammy* the next ball was out of the park. One newspaper goof wrote something about my whiplash from watching so many balls leave the yard being worse than my concussion in Triple A. For some reason that really upset me. I've never even talked to that dude. But I guess the criticism comes with the territory.

So here was my final pitching line: 4-4 record with a 3.98 ERA in 10 Major League starts. I guess I can't feel too bad about that. I'm still a "kid" right? But I also allowed 16 HRs, 11 of them to right-handed hitters. I struck out 70 in 72.1 innings but walked 22. I don't remember walking that many in my whole Bunn High career.

I am proud of one thing. My final batting average was .231 -- only trailing Josh by one point. One lousy point, and I would have been the 19-year-old batting champ for the Dodgers! Ha. I had six hits in 26 at-bats and finished with a whopping two RBIs. I don't think I had two RBIs as a senior in high school. Not sure why I hit it at key times. I just see the ball well I guess.

In a few days, I'm off to Phoenix to play in the Arizona Fall League. That should be fun. There will be six of us from the Dodgers organization playing for the Mesa Solar Sox. Also will be good to play some guys from other teams. And we're going to sight-see some (Grand Canyon, Sedona, Tucson, etc.) during our off days. Wahoo. Maybe I'll finally meet a girl that sticks around for more than a date or two.

When I'm home for Christmas, we'll talk about Bunn coming back to Vero Beach for spring break 2001. Provided something crazy doesn't happen between now and then, of course. There could be some major shakeups coming in our organization, so none of us feel too comfortable right now. Though most have assured us "young guns" that management is planning to build around us. Wonder if Piazza will get traded or maybe some of the other vets liks Eric Young, Todd Zeile or Steve Finley? Wonder, too, if they'll go after any more veteran pitching? No offense to my superiors but I'd rather be in LA next summer rather than Las Vegas...

Take care, coach. And thanks for supporting me during my up and down year in the "Bigs". Just remember, there will be always be tickets for you and your wife anytime you want to see the Dodgers play. I'll make sure of it. Thanks for all you do for Bunn High both in baseball and in the classroom. You were one tough history teacher but I learned a lot from you.

Your friend and a grateful former player,

Andrew "Big Z"
Bunn High Class of 1999

_____________

I thought Big Z was going to finish the season on a winning/impressive note. In a meaningless season finale against the New York Mets (LA was already way out of the NL West race), Z and Al Leiter were duking it out in a 0-0 pitcher's duel through seven innings.

I should have pulled Zarzour out at that point, but left him in. He struck out Russ Davis looking to start the eighth, then gave up a single to Damian Jackson. I should have hooked him at this point, but he ended up walking the next two guys. Alan Embree comes in and throws a wild pitch, then the Dodgers commit an error that allows a second run to score. Embree later gives up an RBI double to Butch Huskey and a two-run homer to Javier Valentin. New York wins 5-0, and Zarzour is tagged with a frustrating loss (but hey, no home runs given up )

I may decide not to sim out the fall league season. I started working on setting that up over the weekend, and it took me awhile to pull everything together for just one of the teams... Plus I'm eager to get going on the 2001 season. The Dodgers have some sweet free agents to bid for!

[AZTarHeel]

Hello all, I have decided to try my hand at "playing out" Zarzour's Arizona Fall League season ... I have been working on choosing players for each of the teams the past few days, and it's actually been a lot of fun. One team has like no first basemen while another has four or five. I've learned a lot about the state of teams (and the Dodgers) in the process. Not sure if Andrew's fall team will be that good to be honest.

While sorting through all the minor league rosters, I've discovered that the Diamondbacks will be a team to watch in the next few years, as they've got some monster pitching prospects in their farm system right now (Zito, Mulder, etc.).

It may take me a little time to get my little experiment set up the way I want it (as I'm doing everything manually with my old-fashioned OOTP version) but hopefully will make for a fun twist to the story. I'll post some year-end stats here shortly as well. Anything else people want to see? Just let me know...

[hayesb26]

still reading, and enjoying, the story. keep it up. fall league sounds exciting!

[AZTarHeel]

Originally Posted by hayesb26

still reading, and enjoying, the story. keep it up. fall league sounds exciting!

Thanks for following along. The fall league will be a little tedious to get set up but it will be neat to see how a "prospects league" will play out. From a selfish perspective I can scout out some potential future talent for the Dodgers Haha