1985 And Beyond-An MLB Dynasty

[PhillieFever]

Just a note on one little house rule I've created for myself.When attempting to make a trade,I will only trade for players who at one time or another actually played for the Phillies in real life.I do not find dominating a league or a division for that matter to be fun,and by doing this I should avoid that.

[PhillieFever]

MLB Weekly Wrap-Up
Week Ending April 28,1985

Chicago White Sox star RF Harold Baines terrorized American league pitching this week,batting a ridiculous .600(15 for 25) with 3 homers,and 12 RBI while leading his team to a 5-1 record.For his heroics,baines was named the American League player of the week.

Atlanta Braves RF Claudell Washington was scary good this past week,collecting a .379(11-29) batting average,with 5 home runs,1 RBI and 9 runs scored,earning himself this week's national League player of the week honors.

MLB Standings

[PhillieFever]

MLB Game Of The Day
Monday April 29,1985
AT
Royals Stadium,Kansas City,Mo.

In a hotly contested ballgame here in Kansas City,the Royals and Indians took a 5-5 tie into the bottom of the 8th inning,where Royals slugger Steve Balboni put KC ahead 6-5 with a massive home run off of Indians starter Neal Heaton,but in the 9th the Tribe came right back,when following a Jerry Willard single and his subsequent replacement on the base paths by Tony Bernazard,Mike Hargrove came to the plate and tied the game on an RBI single off of Royals closer Dan Quisenberry forcing extra innings and setting the stage for Andre Thornton's dramatic two out home run in the top of the 11th that gave Cleveland the stunning 7-6 victory over the seemingly snake bitten Royals.

Today's Injuries
None

MLB News And Notes
The Expos David Palmer(1-1) pitched 8 innings of 1 hit shutout ball,and closer Jeff Reardon shut the door as Montreal defeated Philadelphia 2-0.Andre Dawson homered for the Expos.

MLB Scoreboard

[PhillieFever]

MLB Game Of The Day
Tuesday April 30,1985
AT
Anaheim Stadium,Anaheim,Ca.

Here at The Big A,Boston quickly jumped out to a 2-0 first inning lead on the strength of RBI doubles by Wade Boggs and Jim Rice,giving the Red Sox an early 2-0 advantage.It wouldn't last long though,thanks to a Bobby Grich two run homer in the bottom of the 2nd which knotted the game at two all.In the 6th,with the score still tied at two and the bases loaded with one out,Boston SS Jackie Gutierrez gutted out a teriffic at-bat,fouling back 6 straight pitches before finally getting a pitch he could lift,driving it deep enough to score C Rich Gedman on the sacrifice fly to make it 3-2 Boston.In the 8th,following the departure of Sox starter Bruce Hurst,who was simply fantastic,relief man Steve Crawford entered the game and immediately gave up a game tying home run to Brian Downing making it 3-3.Crawford's woes would continue,when following back to back singles by Reggie Jackson and Bobby Grich,Darrell Miller came to the plate and hit an RBI sac fly to center that scored Jackson and put California ahead for the first time 4-3.In the 9th,Angels closer Donnie Moore needed just 9 pitches to set the Red Sox down in order and preserve the Angles 4-3 victory.

Today's Injuries

Braves LF has been diagnosed with a mild case of tendinitis in his throwing shoulder and will be out for about 3 weeks.

Royals starting pitcher Mark Gubicza strained his right biceps tendon in today's game against the Indians and will be out for about a month

A's LF Steve Henderson suffered a mild oblique strain and will be out for 3 days.

MLB News And Notes

White Sox 3B Luis Salazar was 3 for 5 with a home run,4 RBI and 3 runs scored as Chicago buried Baltimore 13-5

Brewers RF Paul Householder led the charge,going 3 for 4 with a double,a home run, 3 RBI and 2 runs scored in Milwaukee's 8-2 victory over Seattle.

The Train keeps a rollin'.Tigers LF Nelson Simmons was 3 for 5 with a double and 4 RBI as Detroit drubbed Minnesota 14-2.

Today's MLB Scoreboard

[PhillieFever]

Award Winners For April 1985

MLB Rookies Of The Month
Braves rookie pitcher Joe Johnson has been named the National League's rookie of the month for April thanks to a month in which he went 3-0 while holding opponents to a .200 average over 20.1 innings pitched

Pale Hose SS Ozzie Guillen has been awarded the American League rookie of the month for April.Guillen,had a .319 batting average with 5 doubles,a triple,2 home runs,9 RBI and 12 runs scored in 17 games played.

MLB Batters Of The Month
Dodgers slugger Pedro Guerrero was an absolute terror this past month,collecting a .338 batting average with 5 home runs, 16 RBI and 12 runs scored,easily earning himself the National League's batter of the month for April

Thanks to a month in which he hit a league best .423 with 3 home runs, 18 RBI and 9 runs scored, Chicago's Harold Baines earned himself the American League's batter of the month award for April

MLB Pitchers Of The Month
In his 5 starts this month,the Dodgers Fernando Valenzuela went 4-1 with 35 strikeouts and a stunning 1.09 ERA,good enough to earn him the National League's pitcher of the month award for April.

46 year old Yankees pitcher Phil Niekro confounded the American league this past month with his devastating knuckleball,and for his efforts earned himself the American League pitcher of the month for April.In his 5 starts this season,"Knucksie" went 4-0 with a 1.58 ERA and a .232 batting average against in 40.1 innings pitched

[PhillieFever]

American League Leaders

[PhillieFever]

National League Leaders

[PhillieFever]

MLB Game Of The Day
Wednesday May 1,1985
AT
Memorial Stadium,Baltimore,Md.

Two run home runs by Chicago's Carlton Fisk and Tim Hulett were not enough to overcome the heroics of the Orioles Eddie Murray,who went 3 for 5 with two home runs including a game winning walk off 2 run homer with two outs in the bottom of the 9th that gave the Orioles the dramatic 6-5 victory here in Memorial Stadium.Heading into the 9th trailing 5-4 with the Sox Bob James(1-3) on the mound the O's quickly were down to their last out following fly outs by Mike Young and John Shelby.RF Lee Lacy then came to the plate and ran the count to 3-2 before finally drawing a base on balls.Murray then came to the plate,and with the count 2-2, he crushed a James slider over the wall in right center field to seal the victory.O's reliever Don Aase(2-0) pitched an inning of scoreless relief to get the win,while James took the loss.

Today's Injuries
White Sox starting pitcher Britt Burns will be out of action for up to 7 weeks with what's being described as "shoulder inflammation"

Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Steve Carlton had to leave today's game due to upper back tightness.he'll be out of action for a day or so.

Expos 1B Dan Driessan twisted his ankle in today's game against the Phillies and will be out for 4 days.

MLB News And Notes
Twins pitchers Mike Smithson,Rick Lysander and Ron Davis combined to hold the Tigers to just 4 hits and 2 walks in Minnesota's 1-0 victory over Detroit.LF Randy Bush's solo homer in the 2nd turned out to be the lone run of the game.

MLB Scoreboard

[PhillieFever]

MLB Standings

[PhillieFever]

Turmoil In KC! Howser Explodes Following Brutal 8-0 Loss To Tribe

Kansas City,Mo.-Kansas City Royals manager Dick Howser has seen enough.Following today's ugly 8-0 loss to the Indians,Howser immediately called a closed door meeting and blasted his listless team which has fallen to an incredulous 5-15,worst in the Majors.The numbers,are just downright ugly.Team batting average .241 Last in the league, OBP .289 13th, SLG. .357 LAST, runs scored 61 LAST.Pitching wise, starter's ERA 5.06 LAST. All this from a team that has finished no worse than 2nd since 1975,won 5 division titles and one AL Pennant(1980) over the last several years.When the doors to the clubhouse were opened again,George Brett had this to say: "I take full responsibility for the way this team has started,as a leader on this team its up to me to make sure this team is ready to play,and I haven't done that"

[PhillieFever]

MLB Game Of The Day
Thursday May 2,1985
AT
The Kingdome,Seattle,Wa.

A pair of three run homers from the bats of Ivan Calderon and Kenny Phelps as well as an RBI single from Darnell Coles was more than enough for Mariners starter Bill Swift(3-2),who went 6 and a third innings,allowing 2 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks while striking out 6 in Seattle's 7-3 victory over the visiting Red Sox.Boston starter Bruce Kison(1-1) lasted just two and two thirds innings,allowing 7 runs on 7 hits and a walk before finally getting the hook from manager John McNamara.LF Jim Rice was the lone bright spot for Boston,going 2 for 4 with a homer and 2 RBI.

Today's Injuries
Angels SP Geoff Zahn tweaked his shoulder in today's game against Toronto,he'll be out foe about 3 days.

MLB News And Notes
The Kansas City Royals,looking to send a message,have traded 33 year old catcher Jim Sundberg to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for 30 year old relief pitcher Dave Geisel.

The Texas Rangers have traded 28 year old starting pitcher Dave Stewart to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for veteran starter Jerry Koosman.In his long and storied career,Koosman has amassed 216 wins and has a career ERA of 3.32.As for the 28 year old Stewart,he's put up a 31-30 career record with an ERA of 3.71

The Baltimore Orioles have come to terms with relief pitcher Carlos Diaz on a one year contract extension worth $758,400

MLB Scoreboard

[PhillieFever]

MLB Game Of The Day
Friday May 3,1985
AT
Veterans Stadium,Philadelphia,Pa.

In a game that quickly brought to mind their classic battle in the 1980 NLCS,the Phillies and Astros waged another ferocious battle which wouldn't be decided until the game's final pitch.Early on,it was all Phillies,as they took advantage of a shaky Joe Niekro to quickly jump ahead 4-0 after two.In the third though,the Astros struck back,getting a two run single from Jose Cruz followed by an RBI single by Pete O'Brien to make it 4-3 after three.Still trailing by a run in the top of the 6th,the Astros took their first lead of the game when CF Jerry Mumphrey crushed a two run bomb off of Phillies starter John Denny to make it 5-4 Houston.In the 7th,Phillies slugger Mike Schmidt lead off the inning with his 5th homer of the year,a solo shot to left center,which tied the game at 5-5.Still tied at 5-5 entering the bottom of the 9th,the Astros brought in closer Dave Smith,who gave up back to back singles to Mike Schmidt and Glenn Wilson before walking Rick Schu and loading the bases with no outs for catcher Ozzie Virgil,who popped-up to 2nd for the first out of the inning.Steve Jeltz came to the plate next,and Smith got him to pop-out as well,and suddenly the Phils were down to their last out with pinch hitter Johnny Wockenfuss coming to the plate for just the 4th time this season.Wockenfuss though made the most of it,smashing a clean single to right,scoring Schmidt and giving the Phillies the 6-5 victory.

Today's Injuries
Expos 1B Dan Driessan sustained an awful injury today,rupturing a tendon in his left foot which will keep him out of action until spring training of next year.

Angels pitcher Urbano Lugo suffered a mild hamstring strain and will be out of action for 3 days

A's CF Dwayne Murphy severely sprained his finger while making a catch in today's game.He'll be out for about 2 weeks.

MLB News And Notes
Rangers 3B Buddy Bell reached an important milestone today,collecting the 2,000th hit of his career on a 3rd inning single off of Indians starter Bert Blyleven.Bell would go on to get one more hit on the day but it wasn't enough as Cleveland defeated the Rangers 7-6.

The Yankees Phil Niekro(5-0) became the Majors first 5 game winner following today's 5-3 victory over the Royals in which Niekro went 8 innings,allowing 3 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks.Don Mattingly's homer in the 7th put the game away for New York.

MLB Scoreboard

[PhillieFever]

MLB Game Of The Day
Saturday May 4,1985
AT
Riverfront Stadium,Cincinnati,Oh.

22 year old Reds CF Eric Davis made history today,hitting for the cycle while going 4 for 4 with 4 RBI,a stolen base and 3 runs scored to lead the Reds past the always tough New York Mets 10-7.Davis,tripled in the 2nd,doubled in the 5th,singled in the 6th,and knocked in the eventual game winning runs with a grand slam in the 7th off of the Mets Ed Lynch.Thanks to the heroics of Davis,Reds starter Jay Tibbs(3-2) was able to collect his 3rd win of the season despite a shaky start in which he allowed 5 runs(3 earned) on 7 hits and 4 walks,while striking out 5.Reliever John Franco got the save.For the Mets,1B keith Hernandez paced the offense,going 3 for 4 with a homer an RBI and a run scored,while starting pitcher Rick Aguilera(1-3) lasted just 6 innings,allowing 5 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks while striking out 6,dropping his record to 1-3.

Today's Injuries
None

MLB News And Notes
Despite getting homers from George Bell and Jorge Orta,the Royals continued to slide,losing to the Yankees 4-3 on a Mike Pagliarulo RBI double in the bottom of the 13th inning.

Rumors are rampant in the Toronto clubhouse,that disgruntled 1B Willie Aikens is close to being dealt by the team.Aikens had no comment.

Two run homers from Jody Davis and Ryne Sandberg combined with a stunning performance by Steve Trout(2-2) who allowed just 1 run on 3 hits over 8 innings pitched gave the Cubs a 4-1 victory over defending NL champion San Diego.Lee Smith got the save,his 10th.

MLB Scoreboard

[PhillieFever]

MLB Game Of The Day
Sunday May 5,1985
AT
Three Rivers Stadium,Pittsburgh,Pa.

An RBI double by Dodgers SS Mariano Duncan was all the offense that the Dodgers could muster off of Pirates starter Rick Rhoden(2-4),but a nearly unhittable Fernando Valenzuela(5-1) made sure it was enough,as Los Angeles defeated Pittsburgh 1-0.Valenzuela,pitched 8 shutout innings,allowing just 3 hits and 1 walk while striking out 6 before leaving the game for a pinch hitter in the 9th.Closing the game out was reliever Tom Niedenfuer,who pitched a perfect 9th to earn his 7th save of the season.

Today's Injuries
Tigers RF Rusty Kuntz has been diagnosed with sinusitis,and will be out for about 4 days.

MLB News And Notes
Mets starter Dwight Gooden shackled the Reds hitters today,going the distance while holding them to 3 hits and a walk while striking out 7 in the Mets 6-0 victory

MLB Scoreboard

[jtb]

Awesome write-ups! Now I want to run a historical league.

Thanks,
JTB

[EMSoccerCoach]

Seven bombs for HoJo already. A bit earlier than in real life...could help them in the next few years!

[PhillieFever]

Thanks guys,I really appreciate the kind words,makes me feel like its worth the time I'm putting in.As for the Mets,they are just stacked.Right now,I can't see them not pulling ahead at some point,they're just too talented.

[PhillieFever]

MLB Weekly Wrap-Up
Week Ending May 5,1985

MLB Players Of The Week
The Orioles Eddie Murray has been named this week American League player of the week.Murray,batted .375(9 for 24) for the week,with 3 homers and 8 RBI while leading the O's to 3 wins in their last 4 games.

At the age of just 24,the Mets Howard Johnson is quickly becoming a star in this league,and with a week like this past one there's no wondering why.Johnson batted a lusty .471(8 for 17) this week,with 2 homers and 4 RBI,earning himself his first ever National League player of the week award.Something tells me it won't be his last.

MLB News And Notes

The Montreal Expos and starting pitcher David Palmer have come to terms on a 3 year contract extension worth $4,147,500.The deal will keep Palmer in Montreal through the 1988 season.

MLB Standings

[PhillieFever]

MLB Game Of The Day
Monday May 6,1985
AT
Busch Stadium,St Louis,Mo.

After being held to just two hits over the first five innings,but trailing just 1-0 the Cardinals finally got to San Diego starter Dave Dravecky(1-4),getting an RBI single by Tommy Herr followed by a two run double by Darrell Porter and then an RBI single by Lonnie Smith,putting the Redbirds ahead 4-1 after six.From there,it was all pitching,as Bob Forsch(2-3) and Jeff Lahti combined to hold the Padres to just 2 hits and 0 runs over the final three innings,preserving the Cardinals 4-1 victory.Forsch got credit for the win,his 2nd while Lahti got the save,his 6th.

Today's Injuries
Dodgers reliever Brian Holton tweaked his hamstring in today's game against the Cubs and will be out for about a week.

MLB News And Notes
The Cubs Jody Davis went 3 for 4 with 2 homers,4 RBI and 2 runs scored while Leon Durham added 3 hits and 3 RBI as the Chicago Cubs defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-4 in a battle between the NL's top two teams.On the mound,the Cubs Scott Sanderson improved to 5-0 while LA's Rick Honeycutt fell to 1-4

MLB Scoreboard

[PhillieFever]

MLB Game Of The Day
Tuesday May 7,1985
AT
Arlington Stadium,Arlington,Tx.

The World Champions continued their early season dominance of the American League today,getting a strong pitching performance by Dan Petry(5-1) who went 7 and two thirds innings,allowing 2 runs on 4 hits while walking 4 and striking out 6 in the Tigers 5-2 victory over the Texas Rangers.After a scoreless 1st inning,Detroit struck for two runs in the top of the 2nd on a RBI triple by Nelson Simmons followed by an RBI single by Larry Herndon.In the 3rd,the Tigers tacked on two more,scoring on an RBI sac fly by Darrell Evans and a wild pitch by Charlie Hough(4-2) that allowed Lou Whitaker to score from 3rd to make it 4-0 Detroit..In the bottom of the 3rd,Texas cut the lead in half,getting a two run homer by Wayne Tolleson to make it 4-2 after 3.Thanks to some tremendous pitching by Hough and Petry,neither team would score again until the 9th,where the Tigers Lance Parrish connected on a solo homer to left-center making it 5-2.Willie Hernandez took over from there,holding Texas scoreless in the bottom of the 9th for his 6th save of the season.

Today's Injuries
Astros RF Terry Puhl seriously injured his knee today,tearing his ACL attempting to beat out a double play,he'll be out for around 9 months.

MLB News And Notes
Royals starter Bud Black went the distance, holding the Orioles to just 3 hits while walking 1 and striking out 4 in KC's 11-0 demolition of Baltimore.Sluggers George Brett and Jorge Orta each had a homer and 2 RBI to pace the offense.

In an exciting end to a great ballgame,Mets LF George Foster scored the game winning run on a Lenny Dykstra fielder's choice in the bottom of the 11th to give New York the 5-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves and move them to within a game and a half of first place Chicago.

MLB Scoreboard