1985 And Beyond-An MLB Dynasty

[PhillieFever]

MLB Report
September 5,1985

AL East

With their sweep of a two game series in Arlington,the Boston Red Sox have now won 9 of their last 10 games to take a commanding 9.5 game lead on the faltering Yankees,who lost two of three at home to the Seattle Mariners.

AL West

After dropping two of three at home to the Brewers,the Minnesota Twins continue to leave the door open for no less than 4 other teams,including California,who are now just 3 back thanks to taking 2 for 3 from the Tigers in Detroit.Also in contention are: Texas(3.5 back),Chicago(4 back), and surprisingly Kansas City, who with their sweep of Chicago have won 15 of their last 19 games to move to within 8 games of first place.

NL East

The New York Mets,have really struggled as of late,dropping 12 of 15 including their last 3 to the Padres,fortunately for them though,no one has really stepped up and the Cardinals still remain 4 games back.The Pirates(8 back) and the Cubs(9 back) still have an outside chance of challenging.

NL West

It's all over pretty much here.The Los Angeles Dodgers have proven once and for all to be the best team in the National League.They're 11-3 in their last 14 games and have taken an incredible 11 game lead on 2nd place Atlanta.The Reds,who have struggled since early September have fallen out of contention at 11.5 back.

[EMSoccerCoach]

The HoJo injury not helping the Mets at all. Hold on, boys, hold on!

[PhillieFever]

Originally Posted by EMSoccerCoach

The HoJo injury not helping the Mets at all. Hold on, boys, hold on!

I'm really surprised,I thought it was a foregone conclusion that the Dodgers and Mets would meet up in the NLCS,now,I'm not so sure,St Louis is coming hard.

[EMSoccerCoach]

Originally Posted by PhillieFever

I'm really surprised,I thought it was a foregone conclusion that the Dodgers and Mets would meet up in the NLCS,now,I'm not so sure,St Louis is coming hard.

Is Johnson done for the year?

[PhillieFever]

MLB Series Spotlight
AT
Busch Stadium,St.Louis,Missouri
September 6th-8th,1985

September 6th- Braves-4 Cardinals-3
SS Rafael Ramirez went 2 for 4 with a double and 3 RBI,including the game winner,while starting pitcher Len Barker(win,10-8) battled his way through 7 tough innings,allowing 2 runs on 8 hits while walking 0 and striking out 3 as Atlanta defeated the hometown Cardinals by the score of 4-3.Closer Bruce Sutter(save,27) made it interesting,allowing 3 hits and a run in the 9th,but he came through when it mattered,inducing a game ending Tommy Herr ground out with the tying run just 90 feet away.

September 7th- Cardinals-6 Braves-5 (12 Innings)
In a game that the Cardinals had to have,1B Jack Clark made sure it happened,going 4 for 6 with a double,2 RBI,a run scored and a game winning walk off homer in the bottom of the 12th,giving the Cardinals a dramatic 6-5 win in front of 31,025 screaming fans here at Busch Stadium.Second baseman Tommy Herr also played well,going 3 for 6 with a triple,2 RBI and a run scored.On the mound,closer Jeff Lahti(3-2) was phenomenal in relief,pitching two scoreless innings to get the win.Claudell Washington had a homer and 3 RBI for the Braves.

September 8th- Cardinals-3 Braves-2
For the second straight day,Jack Clark took the cardinals on his back and willed them to victory,going 3 for 4 with a home run,2 RBI and a run scored,as St Louis just barely edged the Braves 3-2.Starting pitcher Bob Forsch(win,14-6) was just awesome,allowing 2 runs on 5 hits,along with 3 walks and 3 strikeouts over 8 innings pitched.Closer Jeff Lahti,did the job once again,pitching a scoreless 9th to earn his 13th save of the season.

Around The League

The New York Mets dropped two of 3 to the Dodgers over the weekend,allowing St Louis to move within 3 games of first place.

In a key divisional matchup,the Chicago White Sox took two out of three from the Rangers in Arlington to move to within 4 games of first place Minnesota.

The Twins and Angels both dropped two of three in their respective series,Minnesota to Toronto,and California to Baltimore

Boston Red Sox RF Dwight Evans has agreed to a 4 year contract extension worth a whopping $3,010,000 per season.The deal makes Evans the 5th highest paid player in the Majors,behind Rickey Henderson,Eddie Murray,Kirk Gibson and Fred Lynn.

MLB Injury Report

Braves relief pitcher Al Holland blew out his shoulder in today's game against St Louis.He's been disgnosed with a torn rotator cuff and will be out for 10 long months.

Tigers 1B Barbaro Garbey has a sports hernia and will be out for 7-8 weeks.

Reds SS Dave Concepcion has a strained left shoulder and will be out for 2 weeks.

Dodgers 1B Al Oliver has a left intercostal strain and will be out for about two weeks.

MLB Standings

[PhillieFever]

Originally Posted by EMSoccerCoach

Is Johnson done for the year?

As of September 8th,it says 3-4 weeks left on the injury report.Mookie Wilson BTW has two weeks left.Believe it or not,pitching has been hurting the Mets lately,with 94 runs allowed in their last 16 games

[PhillieFever]

MLB Players Of The Week,For Week Ending September 8,1985

[Bumstead]

Do you have a Pete Rose update?

[PhillieFever]

Originally Posted by Bumstead

Do you have a Pete Rose update?

Absolutely.On August 20th,Pete became the all-time hit king,with a 9th inning double off of Pirates starter Rick Reuschel.This season,Pete is batting .300 on the nose with 18 doubles,1 triple,4 homers,40 RBI,49 runs scored and 10 stolen bases.Rose has an OBP of .416 and a slugging % of .394 his OPS is .810 and he has 134 total bases.For his career,Pete stands at 4,199 hits.

[PhillieFever]

MLB Series Spotlight
AT
Anaheim Stadium,Anaheim,Ca.
September 9th-11th,1985

September 9th- Royals-7 Angels-1
Led by Craig Reynolds,who went 4 for 5 with 2 doubles,a home run,4 RBI and 2 runs scored along with the always dangerous George Brett,who went 3 for 5 with a home run,2 RBI and a run scored,the Kansas City Royals entered Anaheim Stadium and easily dispatched of the California Angels 7-1.Starting pitcher Mark Gubicza(win,5-9) was effective throughout,allowing a run on 4 hits,while walking 5 and striking out 4 over 8 and a third innings pitched for just his 5th win of the season.Darrell Miller provided the lone California outburst,with a solo homer in the 6th

September 10th- Royals-6 Angels-4
Kansas City continued their late season surge,winning for the 16th time in their last 22 games,defeating the California Angels 6-4 here in Anaheim.Trailing 3-0 in the 6th,the Royals put up a 4 spot,thanks to an RBI double by George Brett,followed by a two run double by Hal McRae and then an RBI single by Billy Almon.Still clinging to a 4-3 lead in the 8th,the Royals got some much needed breathing room,when RF George Bell launched a two run homer to left off of Angels reliever Greg Harris,making it 6-3 KC after 8.In the 9th,the Angels Bobby Grich made it a 6-4 game with his 21st homer of the season,but it was too little too late,and KC went on to win 6-4.

September 11th- Angels-3 Royals-2
Thanks to a tremendous pitching performance by starter Kirk McCaskill(win,13-9),who pitched 8 fantastic innings,allowing 2 runs on 7 hits,the California Angels avoided the sweep,defeating the visiting Royals 3-2.Leading 2-1 in the bottom of the 6th,Angels RF Juan Beniquez connected on what proved to be the game winning hit,when he lined a double down the right field line,scoring Rod Carew,and putting California ahead 3-1 after 6.Entering the 9th down 3-2,and facing Angels closer Donnie Moore,the Royals got the tying run all the way to third base,but Moore was just too much,as he struck out the Royals John Wathan ending the game,and giving Moore his 29th save of the season.

Around The Horn

In a key divisional matchup,the St Louis Cardinals went into Shea Stadium,and took 2 of 3 from the stumbling Mets to move to within 2 games of first place.

In the AL West,the Minnesota Twins went on the road in Chicago,and took 3 of 4 from the White Sox,keeping them 3.5 games ahead of 2nd place Texas.

Thanks to another impressive performance by their young fireballer Roger Clemens,the Boston Red Sox destroyed the Baltimore Orioles 15-0,giving them a 13 game lead in the AL East,with just 22 games remaining.Clemens(13-6),twirled his first complete game shutout of the year,allowing 4 hits while striking out 10.

MLB Injury Report

Indians 2B Alan Wiggins has been diagnosed with torn ligaments in his left thumb,and will be out for the rest of the season.

Angels RF Tim Corcoran has a strained ACL,and will need 5-6 weeks of recovery time,effectively finishing him for the season.

Blue Jays pitcher Jimmy Key has developed tendinitis in his throwing shoulder and is out for 2-3 weeks.

Expos 3B Tim Wallach is done for the year with a fractured ring finger.Recovery is expected to take 4 weeks.

Rangers 3B Buddy Bell has a sprained right thumb,and is out for 3-4 weeks.

MLB Standings

[Bumstead]

Originally Posted by PhillieFever

Absolutely.On August 20th,Pete became the all-time hit king,with a 9th inning double off of Pirates starter Rick Reuschel.This season,Pete is batting .300 on the nose with 18 doubles,1 triple,4 homers,40 RBI,49 runs scored and 10 stolen bases.Rose has an OBP of .416 and a slugging % of .394 his OPS is .810 and he has 134 total bases.For his career,Pete stands at 4,199 hits.

Thank you! Guess I somehow missed that...I love remembering all these guys from the 80's!

Bum

[PhillieFever]

MLB Series Spotlight
AT
September 13th-15th,1985

September 13th- Mets-1 Expos-0
In a hotly contested pitcher's duel,Mets catcher Gary Carter provided the game's lone run,with a 7th inning home run off of Expos starter Bryn Smith(loss,12-11),giving the Mets a much needed 1-0 victory over lowly Montreal.Starting pitcher Sid Fernandez(win,15-8) was fabulous for New York,twirling 7 shutout innings,while allowing just 2 hits, with 3 walks and 9 big strikeouts.Jesse Orosco collected the save,his 29th.

September 14th- Expos-3 Mets-2 (10 Innings)
In another game dominated by pitching,the Montreal Expos took a 2-1 lead into the 9th inning,only to see the Mets George Foster tie the game at 2-2,with a solo homer off of Expos closer Jeff Reardon(win,5-4) forcing extra innings,where in the bottom of the 10th with one out,Mets reliever Wes Gardner walked the Expos Alex Trevino with the bases loaded,bringing in Andre Dawson and giving Montreal the stunning 3-2 win.Reardon,who blew his 4th save of the season in the 9th,bounced back well,holding the Mets scoreless the rest of the way to earn his 5th win of the season.

September 15th- Mets-2 Expos-0 (16 Innings)
Following 15 innings of scoreless play,the Mets finally broke through for 2 runs in the 16th,on a Lenny Dykstra RBI single,followed later by an error on Montreal 2B Fred Manrique,which allowed Dykstra to score from 2nd,putting New York ahead by the eventual final score of 2-0.In the bottom of the inning,Mets reliever Doug Sisk(win,1-1) pitched his 2nd straight inning of scoreless relief to earn his first win of the season.

Around The League

The St Louis Cardinals took two of three from the Cubs in Wrigley to remain two games back of New York.

Kansas City continued to creep into the picture,taking 4 straight from Oakland to move within 7.5 games of first place Minnesota

Minnesota took 2 of 3 from Cleveland to hold the rest of the AL West at bay

The Texas Rangers took two of three from the Angels to remain 3.5 games out of first as they prepare for their monstrous 3 game set in Minnesota

In the Royals 4-2 victory over the A's on Saturday,Kansas City DH Hal McRae became the newest member of the 2,000 hit club,with an 8th inning single off of the A's Bill Krueger.In his 1,925 game career,McRae is a .289 lifetime hitter,with 2,000 hits,457 doubles,68 triples,177 home runs,1,009 RBI and 913 runs scored.

MLB Injury Report

Yankees 1B Don Mattingly has a bone bruise in his right wrist,and is all but done for the season.Recovery is expected to take 3-4 weeks.

Cubs LF Davey Lopes has a sprained left thumb and will be out for 2-3 weeks.

Angels 2B Bobby Grich will be out for 3 weeks with a grade I oblique strain

Dodgers CF Ken Landreaux has a torn abdominal muscle and is out for 5 weeks.

MLB Standings

[PhillieFever]

MLB Players Of The Week For Week Ending September 15th,1985

[PhillieFever]

MLB Series Spotlight
AT
HHH Metrodome,Minneapolis,Mn.
September 16th-18th,1985

September 16th- Twins-5 Rangers-2
In game one of a series thick with playoff implications,the Minnesota Twins,behind the clutch hitting of Kent Hrbek(1 for 3 3 RBI) and Kirby Puckett(2 for 3,a double,2 RBI,run),took the all important first game,defeating the visiting Rangers by the score of 5-2.Starting pitcher Ken Schrom(win,6-8) did just enough to win today for Minnesota,allowing 2 runs on 10 hits over 7 and a third innings pitched before handing the ball off to reliever Rick Lysander,who earned his 4th save of the season,by holding Texas scoreless over the final inning and two thirds.Second baseman Toby Harrah led the way for Texas,going 4 for 4 with 2 doubles,an RBI and a run scored.

September 17th- Rangers-4 Twins-2
In a game that Texas needed to have,RF Larry Parrish's 3 run homer in the top of the 1st proved to be enough,as the Rangers held off the Twins by the score of 4-2.Starting pitcher Mike Mason(win,15-10) was solid throughout,allowing 2 runs on 8 hits while walking 2 and striking out 3 over 8 innings pitched.Closer Dave Schmidt took over from there,pitching a scoreless 9th for his 31st save of the year.For the Twins,starting pitcher Frank Viola(loss,13-7) pitched valiantly in defeat,going the distance,while allowing 4 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks with 7 strikeouts.

September 18th- Rangers-7 Twins-4
A balanced Texas attack,led by RF Reggie Jackson who was 3 for 5 with an RBI and a run scored and 2B Toby Harrah,who went 2 for 4 with a double,a stolen base,an RBI and 2 runs scored along with a solid pitching performance by starter Jerry Koosman(8 IP 6 H 4 ER 1 BB 7 K) was too much for the Twins to overcome,as the Rangers won for the second straight day,this time by the score of 7-4.Today's victory leaves texas just 2.5 games behind Minnesota,with 16 games left on the schedule.

Around The League

The St Louis Cardinals dropped both games of an abbreviated series to the Pirates,dropping to 3 games behind the first place Mets

The Kansas City Royals swept right through the Seattle Mariners to improve their record to 77-69,five and a half games back of Minnesota.This from a team that was 47-58 on August 5th.

MLB Injury Report

Yankees LF Ken Griffey has a left knee contusion,he'll be out for about 2 weeks.

Brewers RF Mike Brown has a severely bruised right foot,he'll be out for about 2 weeks.

Yankees CF Omar Moreno has been slow to recover from a fractured right hand,he will not return this season.

MLB Standings

[EMSoccerCoach]

Hoping the Mets can hang on!

[PhillieFever]

MLB Report
Week Ending September 22,1985

Pennant Race Battles

In a key AL West divisional battle,the Minnesota Twins went into Kansas City and took two of three games from the blazing hot Royals,all but ending their hopes of a division crown

The Rangers continued to keep pace with Minnesota,taking two of three from Seattle to remain two and a half games behind the Twins.The teams will meet this week for a three game series in Arlington

Thanks to taking two of three from the Tigers,the Boston red Sox have dropped their magic number to 1.

In three excruciatingly close games,including two 1-0 affairs,the New York Mets took two of three from Pittsburgh,putting the Pirates 5 games back in the NL East

The St Louis Cardinals remained two back of the Mets,by taking two of three games from the Expos.

By taking two of three from the Giants,the LA Dodgers have whittled their magic number down to three.

MLB News

The Philadelphia Phillies have agreed to a 3 year contract extension with SP/MR Dave Stewart.The deal is said to be worth a total of $1,525,000

The Kansas City Royals and reliever Randy Niemann have agreed on a 3 year contract extension worth a total of $2,145,000

MLB Injury Report

Cubs reliever Dick Ruthven will be out of action for up to a year with a torn rotator cuff.

Reds 3B Nick Esasky will be out for two weeks with torn ligaments in his thumb.

Giants starter Jim Gott is done for the season with an avulsion on his right middle finger.He's expected to be ready for spring training.

Brewers 1B Ted Simmons is done for the season with a right hip strain.Recovery is expected to take about a month.

Padres reliever Tim Stoddard needs surgery to remove scar tissue from his shoulder,he's done for the season.

Dodgers 1B Al Oliver will miss an additional two weeks with a left intercostal strain.

MLB Standings

[PhillieFever]

MLB Players Of The Week For Week Ending September 22,1985

[PhillieFever]

MLB Report
September 25,1985

Pennant Races

The Boston Red Sox became the first team to qualify for the post season on Tuesday,with a 10-3 victory over the visiting Blue Jays,giving them their first AL East division crown since 1975.

With Cincinnati's victory over Atlanta on Wednesday,the Los Angeles Dodgers became the NL Western division champions for the 3rd time in the last 5 seasons

With 4 straight losses to the Phillies and Cubs,the New York Mets have fallen into a 1st place tie with the Cardinals.

After two straight wins against Pittsburgh,the Cardinals promptly dropped two straight to the red hot Phillies,but still managed to claim a share of first place in the NL East

With two straight wins over the Expos,the Pittsburgh Pirates remained alive,climbing to within 3 games of both New York and St Louis

The Texas Rangers took two of three from the Twins,to move within 2 games of first place in the AL West

MLB News

The Boston Red Sox and star pitcher Bruce Hurst have come to terms on a 6 year contract extension that will pay the 27 year old hurler $9,660,000 over the life of the deal

With his 2-0 shutout victory over the Dodgers on Wednesday,Houston twirler Mike Scott has now gone 22 straight innings without giving up a run,and 13 straight starts without absorbing a loss.

MLB Injury Report

Dodgers catcher Mike Scioscia is out for 5 weeks with a PCL strain in his right knee

Brewers pitcher Danny Darwin has been shevled for the season with a strained right triceps

Red Sox RP Rob Woodward will be out for about 3 weeks with tendinitis in his shoulder

Royals CF Willie Wilson is done for the rest of the season with tendinitis in his right shoulder

Expos 3B Tim Wallach has had a minor setback in his recovery from a fractured finger,he'll remain out for the rest of the season.

MLB Standings

[EMSoccerCoach]

Aw crap...what do the final 9 days look like?

[William Foster]

A couple of nail-biters there with the Twins/Rangers and 3 of the NL East