Playoff Picture - Cruchtime

Looks like th six playoff squads in the AL are determined. Jacksonville's magic number to is 2 with 9 to play, and should clinch within the next few cycles.

Cincinatti is 1 up on Augusta, but both teams have clinched a postseason berth. Augusta currently has the upper hand in the first two tie-breaker scenarios, but not by much. They are 4-3 against Cincy and 15-9 within the division. The Sexton's division record is 14-10. They play head-to-head in the second-to-last series of the season. Neither are in good position for a first round bye.

The top seed and bye was clinched by LA. Charlotte's magic number to clinch the second seed and bye is 3 with 9 to play.


Not so settled in the NL, as half of the six playoff spots have been claimed, but the other three are wide open. Tampa, St. Louis and Burlington are all in as division winners. For the two byes, Tampa's magic number is 3 and St' Louis's 4 with 9 to play.


In the NL North, Chicago has taken a 2 game lead over both Milwaukee and Tacoma with 9 to play. They hold first tiebreaker over Milwaukee by virtue of their 7-3 record head to head. The Blagos are only 2-5 against Tacoma, however, and their final series of the season should be huge. In second tiebreaker, Chicago's record within the division is 15-9, Tacoma's 16-8 with 6 games left.

Milwaukee's head to head record against Tacoma is 4-3 with one more series between the teams. This is important for the wild card scenario as well. Where Milwaukee has a distinct disadvantage is in the second tiebreaker, which is record within the division. Milwaukee is only 11-13, while Tacoma's 16-8 would be almost impossible to overcome.

Tacoma can help themselves greatly with some solid play down the stretch, as they get to face both Milwaukee and Chicago for a series each before it's all over.

For the wild card, Iowa is 2 games back with 9 left. They finished 5-5 against both Tacoma and Milwaukee, but only 2-8 against Chicago. Iowa needs Chicago to win the division to better their own chances. Iowa's divisional record is 15-9, and looks to have the distinct advantage in a tie with Milwaukee.

New Britain has a great chance to play spoiler in some of these important divisional games. In may in fact come down to second tiebreaker. They play 3 at Chicago and 3 at Milwaukee.

And lets not write off Vancouver just yet.  The Shock are 4 games back with 9 left but miracles do happen.  The only thing going in the Shock's favor is they have the most favorable schedule down the stretch with 3 against Scranton, Helena and Las Vegas each.  As for the tie-breakers, da Couv was 5-5 against Tacoma and Mil-e-wau-kee "which is El Gonquin for the good land",  6-4 against Chicago and 7-3 against Iowa.  Bigparb13 and his Shock need Chicago to win the North in impressive fashion and then to close his eyes and pray.  Did I mention Vancouver is only 10-14 in division---the worst of all contending team (Damn you St. Louis!!!)

Good luck! This should be fun!

NL Playoff Picture

The NL West has St. Louis in front by a comfortable margin. Their magic number to clinch is 9. They've gotten a typical award-caliber seasons from slugger Louie Santiago and SP Alex "Toquino" Torres. Chuck Merrick has become an unlikely candidate for gold-glove at catcher in the latter stages of his career, as he continues to maintain his prowess at the plate.

In the South, Tampa's hot streak has widened their division lead. Their magic number to clinch is 5. Jamie"The Fire" Byrne has emerged as a serious contender for MVP, and when Harry "Met Sal" Lee recently won his 15th game, he was thrust into the mix for Cy Young. Midseason pick-up SP Cody Sanders has provided a lift with a 5-0 record and 1.88 era since joining the club.

Burlington maintains a healthy lead in the East, as their magic number to clinch is 11. Donte Zoltan is 17-5 with a 2.61 and a 1.08 WHIP to lead a star-studded rotation. Sandy "Center" Fielder's production has dipped slightly this season, but is still the premier all-around CF in the league.

In the North, 2 games separate the top 3 teams, and the last place club, New Britain, is only 6 out. These teams will all play each other for one more series before season's end. so this will be fun to watch! It's probably pointless to list the current standinds, as they'll probably change before this gets published, but steady Milwaukee has the lead over unrelenting Chicago (1 back) and red-hot Tacoma (2 back.) New Britain has played solidly all year, save for a horrible 6-week midseason stretch which saw them lose 7 in a row, followed by losing 19 of 21. At a quick glance, it appears Chicago has the easiest remaining schedule, as there is no opponent over .500 except their division foe-match-ups. Milwaukee adds a series against Tampa, while Tacoma has series against St. Louis and Iowa.
Milwaukee has put themselves in good position by getting Cy Young worthy seasons to-date from both "Don" Juan Bennett (17-6, 2.78/1.04) and "Hit Me" Chief Lecroy (48 saves.) Geraldo Valdes and Miguel Cruz continue to get on base for Edge Edwards and Juan Alarcon.
In Chicago, MVP candidate Raymond "Magic" Brock went down for the season with an injury, but the team has rallied and are still playing great ball. Word on the street has it that Brock may be in a position to return for the first round of the playoffs, should they make it. Benito "Bam Bam" Rijo has been slugging from the SS position, and the resurgence of embattled closer Carlos "Exxon" Valdes (who had converted 16 straight before blowing one yesterday) has kept the Blagos in good position.
Tacoma has a Cy Young contender in vet closer Howard Taylor, who has buckled down 33 of 35 save opportunities. A couple of young sluggers have contributed nicely, including ROY candidate Andy Jacobs (25 HR/19 SB) and 2nd year slugger Art Krauss (36 bombs.)

Like the North Division race, the wild card race is going to be a dogfight. The entire North division is in that mix, but since they're all playing each other, it'll be tough to get two additional North teams into the playoffs. Chicago leads the wild card pack with Tacoma in the second spot. Iowa is 3 games back of Tacoma for that second spot, while Vancouver and New Britain are 4 back. Scranton is still in the mix, 6 behind, but must outperform 4 other teams to make it. If Vancouver can get through a very tough stretch of schedule, where they play Scranton twice, and a series each against St. Louis and Burligton, they'll end the season with series against Vegas and Helena. Iowa has a tough remaining schedule too, with Tacoma, New Britain, Burlington and Tampa still on tap. New Britain must face Iowa in addition to all 3 division opponents. Scranton has the 2 series against Vancouver and a season ending series with Burlington still on their schedule.
It's strange not to see Iowa with Cy Young contender at this point in the season, but if not for a hard-luck 10-12 record, Gio "The Hybrid" Hernandez would be partof the pack. Hank Roberts has been a sparkplug, getting on base at a .354 clip and stealing 39 bases. John Ueno has seen his production slip slightly, but the good news is that his protection in the line-up and superstar in his own right, "Lil E" Emmanuel Aquino is back for the stretch run!
Vancouver has a sparkplug of their own in Alvin "The Run" Logan, who has scored 100 and stolen 60 bases, all due to fact that he gets on base at a .362 clip. He gives Vincente Bennett (20 HR/92 RBI) and Joaquin James (.907 OPS) plenty of chances to drive him in. Danny Tazawa has led the staff with a 12-4 record, and 23 year-old reliever, Ronn Aumont has siezed the closer's job by going 8 for 8.
New Britain has gotten plenty of production from "Skip to my" Lew Evans, Kid Flair and Pablo Marques, who all have at least 30 homers, led by Evans's 42. They have two ROY candidates in SP's Clarence Clemens and Placido Balentien who each have 9 wins. Ken Priest has 35 saves, and Miguel Santana may well win the gold-glove in CF.
Scanton's Pat "The Baker" Dougherty has been insane while posting a 1.049 OPS! He's hitting .333 with 46 HR and 115 RBI. They also have three others with at least 29 HR in Carlos Blanco, RA Tucker and Alfredo Alcantara (.916 OPS.) Super longman Dan Lane is 12-1 with a 2.09 era in relief.

The two teams that would qualify for the first round byes are Tampa and St. Louis. These two teams have another series left with other, which could help determine who gets the time off. Burlington is right behind, just 4 games out of the second seed. Milwuakee is 7 back.

Good luck to the multitude of teams still fighting!

AL Playoff Picture

As we head into the final month of the season, here's where we stand;

In the North, Augusta holds a 2 game edge over Cincinatti. Both teams have been playing well, and neither one has given into the pressure of the other. Augusta seems to have the tougher schedule down the stretch as they have 3 left against Charlotte and 4 left against LA. Cincinatti has to face Jackson for one more 4 game set, but the biggie looks like the second to last series of the season. Cincinatti will host Augusta for a 3 game set, that may well in fact, determine the outcome of the division and the higher seed. The not-so-bad consolation prize will most likely be one of the two wild card spots, as both teams appear to be headed to the post season. Augusta is getting terrific production from MVP candidate Javy "The Kid" Alvarez and OF Marvin "King" Crabtree. Cincy has a CY Young candidate in Craig Jones and is getting an MVP type performance from CF Burt McCartin.

In the East, Jacksonville has seemed to get back on track after experiencing a midseason swoon. Their hot streak has built them a 5 game lead over both Syracuse and Trenton. Jacksonville appears to have the easiest remaining schedule, as ther only remaining opponent with an above-.500 record is Sante Fe. Trenton has the toughest, as they must play both Jackson and Charlotte before it's all over. Syracuse has to play a series against Charlotte. Jacksonville continues to get great run-scoring production from lead-off man Mark Kojima. Syracuse has unveiled a young up-and-comer with 24 year-old rookie pitcher Royce "The Clam" Holt, who is 16-8 for a sub-.500 team. For Trenton, MVP candidate Nick "Big Show" Jacquez continues to tear it up, as he strives to lead his team into the play-offs.

Charlotte has held onto their lead in the South, which is currently 6 games over Jackson. They don't seemed to be fazed by the loss of slugger Santos "Angel" Torres to injury, as they've just reeled off a 13-4 run without him. What it does hinder is their quest to blast 300 HR as a team for the season. Their current pace will now leave them just shy. We'll keep an eye. If Jackson can make up some ground over the next few series, they'll put themselves in a position to perhaps steal the division when the two teams play each over in the second-to-last series of the season at Jackson. If Jackson can't overcome their division defecit, they will still likely reach the post-season as a wild card. Jackson is getting an MVP caliber season from Ralph "Billy the Kid" Kydd and a Cy Young quality season from Reese "Smokin" Hemphill. The division leaders have Carlos "Exxon" Valdes battling for the MVP award and closer Charles "1001 way to" Dye vying for CY Young.

The LA Dodgers have officially clinched the West in part to huge seasons from likely MVP Pedro "Hack" Bonilla, and Cy Young hopefulls Morris James and closer Travis Jones, who has amazingly blown only 1 save opportunity all year. Rick Poppel recently tossed a no-no and is a 15 game winner. They also have two gold-glove candidates at defensive positions with Tony Bennett and Rodney Meulens.

LA is currently the front runner for top seed and a bye with 94 wins. Charlotte would receive the second seed and a bye if the season ended today with their 88 victories. Augusta is not far behind, and could pull out second seed with some great play down the stretch. Their 84 wins puts them 4 back of Charlotte. If Cincy can overtake Augusta first, they would then need to catch Charlotte for a chance for the second seed. Their 82 wins puts them 6 behind.

Sante Fe is the only real hopefull for making a run at a wild card spot, but have to make up 10 games on either Cincinatti or Jackson.

AL Playoff Picture by cebola

The AL North has been the scene of one of the more dramatic turn-a rounds in A.Rod in several seasons. If Cincinnati maintains its current pace, they'll finish 20-something games better than they did last season. They currently hold a two game lead on Augusta, who has had the division lead for most of the season to date. The Sextons are 3rd in runs scored, which makes sense playing in their bandbox of a park. But they are 4th in runs against as well, while making the 2nd fewest errors in the league. Their staff is led by Richard Lennon (11-6) and Craig Jones (12-6). The primary components of their closer-by-committee are 21 for 25 in save opportunities. They also added vet Stu Magee for the stretch run. For the offense, newcomer Burt McCartin has been a huge difference maker with his speed/power/defense combination. Cutter Darr is doing his usual thing, hitting 20 HR, knocking in 71 and swiping 12, all while manning the SS position. Emmanuel Estrada has pitched in as well, with 16 HR and 62 RBI.

In the East, Jacksonville has nursed their early season 12 game winning streak to maintain a 4 game lead over Trenton. Syracuse is still in the mix at 6 back. Jacksonville has a solid front three in their rotation, with Kip Lincoln starting to show the promise that has been expected of him. He's 7-4 with a 3.01 era. He's backed by Ronald "Third Degree" Byrne (9-5, 4.15) and Dario Caldwell (10-6, 3.87). Solid closer Ronnie Roberts is 18/21 in save opportunities. There's plenty of balance in the line-up, as 6 guys have at least 10 HR, and 4 have at least 55 RBI, led by Ariel Rosa with 16 and 62. There's plenty of speed to go around, with Rosa's 21/22 in stolen base attempts, and Mark Kojima stealing 39 and scoring 58 from the lead-off spot.

In the South, it's clear that Charlotte intends to bash their way to the title. They currentlly hold a 6 game lead over defending champ Jackson. The Minute Men are on pace to smash over 300 long balls for the season! They lead the AL in runs scored, led by Carlos Valdes, having an MVP type season with a line of .318/40/103. Santos Torres is .300/26/75 and Dennis Lawson has a season's worth of runs scored after 106 games (he has 95), while going 40/41 in SB attempts. They acquired Phillip Bryant and Pat Combs to bolster their rotation for the stretch run. Combs has been impressive winning his first 3 starts with his new club.

If the South intends to be won with offense, how the West was Won was with pitching and defense. And I say "was" only because the Dodgers hold a 24 game division lead. LA has the best team era and fewest runs allowed in the league. They also boast the best fielding % and best ratio of + to - plays. Their staff's ace is Cy Young candidate Morris James, who's 13-3 with a 2.03 era. Rick Poppel backs him up at 12-5/3.89, and closer Travis Jones is a perfect 35 for 35 in saves. All 5 SP's have a WHIP of 1.22 or lower. Their slightly above average offense is led by Pedro "Hack" Bonilla, who doesn't seem to care in what park (or on what planet) he hits. The perrenial MVP candidate has 31 HR, 82 RBI and an obscene 1.008 OPS. Andrew Gipson has 38 HR and 84 RBI, and the versitile Tony Bennett (who boasts the best MTV Unplugged CD ever, in my opinion) gives steady production with 68 runs scored with 23 HR and 68 knocked in.

In the Wild Card race, Augusta would hold the top spot. They're steady, unrelenting attack has been led by Javy Alvarez hitting .277 with 30 HR 86 RBI. Peter "Crazy Ole Building & Loan" Bailey has been ringing bells and giving out wings with his line of .292/24/69, and Marvin Crabtree is hitting .347 with 13 HR, 56 RBI and 64 runs scored.

Jackson would be the 2nd wild card entry as their solid line-up and deep pitching staff has kept them in the hunt. They're 4th in runs scored, and 2nd in both era and runs against. The big difference from their dynamo performance from last season seems to be their dip into the middle of the pack defensively, and perhaps the regression of last season's rookie-of-the-year, Grant Mercedes, who currently resides in Triple-A. All 5 SP's have at least 9 wins, with Reese "Smokin'" Hemphill leading the way at 10-5/3.40 and Roy "Purple" Hayes at 12-4/2.96 6 players in the line-up have at least 62 RBI, led by Dan Blair's 78. Ralph Kydd has scored 85 runs while hitting .330 with a .904 OPS.

Sante Fe has gone on a hot streak to get into striking distance. They get on base at the highest rate in the league, and steal a bunch of bases (tops in the league). That strategy has made them second in the league in runs scored. Vet RJ Ordonez is having a tremendous season, hitting .329 with 30 HR and 85 RBI, and fellow slugger Marc Clark is hitting .316/27/81. Sante Fe has given up the 3rd most runs in the league, however. They do have a solid closer in Sammy Guevara, who is 21/23 in save opportunities.

Trenton is still in the hunt in both the division and WC races. Nick Jacquez leads a deep line-up with a .337 average with 16 HR and 83 RBI. 5 other players have at least 10 HR. Former CY Young winner Karl Hurst is having a hard-luck season, as he's only 5-8, but has been his usual outstanding self, boasting a 1.09 WHIP and 3.65 era. Trenton's staff has given up the most HR in the league, which is an alarming stat for playing in a neutral park.

Good luck to all contenders as we head down the stretch!

NL Playoff Picture by cebola

At the break, here's how things are shaping up...

The NL North features the best four-team division in the league. The River Rats, with a 3 game lead, are liking their new digs in New Britain, as their park change coincides nicely with the fruits of their rebuild. Lew Evans doesn't seemed fazed by the more spacious grounds, as he's bidding for back-back MVP awards with 30 HR and 70 RBI. International fire-balling phenom Clarence "Nat-King" Coleman is 7-1 with a 2.19 era and 1.10 WHIP in his first half of United States ball. SP Luther Baker is having a strong sophomore season as a follow up to his 12-6 rookie campaign.

Chicago and Milwaukee are banging on the door at 3 games back, and Tacoma is laying in wait, 5 games behind.

The East has Burlington in front of Scranton by 6 games. Dante Zoltan seems to be fully recovered from his career threatening injury a couple seasons back, and is making a strong bid for the Cy Young award with a 13-2 record, 2.04 era and 1.05 WHIP. All 5 starting Booya pitchers boast era's of 2.58 or less. Graham Oliver is having his standard spectacular year, and may in fact, top his career high 26 HR, as he has 15 at the break. Spark plug Sandy Fielder combines speed, power and defense to help lead the attack with another great season so far.

In the South, Tampa currently has a 3 game lead over Iowa in what's been a see-saw race all year. Newly acquired 2B Eduardo Melendez is having a nice season, combining speed and power at the top of the order. Vet Jamie "The Fire" Byrne is having a solid season in the middle of the line-up, hitting .309 with 16 HR and 66 RBI. A deep pitching staff, including new acquisition Rob Cormier (9-4), and solid defense is keeping Tampa in games.

In the West, St. Louis is again leading by a healthy 9 game margin over 'Couv. The middle of the line-up features the potent 1-2 punch of former MVP Louie Santiago and Rip Anderson, who's having his best season since his rookie-of-the-year campaign in 17. Stud Alex Torres is looking to add to his healthy collection of hardware with another Cy-worthy campaign, at 9-2, 3.23 era and 1.23 WHIP. SP Ruben Calderon has been a nice signing, as he boasts a solid 8-3 record with a 3.76 era and 1.23 WHIP.

The top Wildcard spot would go to Iowa. Emmanuel Aquino doesn't seem to be slowing down any, and John Ueno is having another solid season. How in the world of A.Rod is Gio Hernandez only 5-9!? He has a 3.08 era and 1.10 WHIP. Vet SP's Sam Wilson and Elrod Coke (2.77 era/1.15 WHIP) are having solid seasons at 9-5 and 6-3 respectively.

The Blagos share a lead for the second Wildcard spot. Sluggers Benito Rijo, Ray Brock and Les Callaway keep cranking out the run production. The starting pitching staff is aging and the window is closing, but they're all solid and all have proven track records. If closer Carlos "Exxon" Valdes (or a knockin' Cesar Julio?) can right the ship and be a stopper, this is a very dangerous team.

Milwaukee is the other team tied for the second spot. This is a team with a solid one-two punch at the top of the rotation, and a nicely structured line-up. Miguel Cruz and Geraldo Valdes have done a great job as table setters at the top. Juan Alarcon is having a career year at age 32 with 28 HR and 61 RBI from the clean-up spot. Last season's ROY SP Juan Bennett is a serious contender for the Cy Young, going 10-4 with a 2.73 era and 1.09. Very impressive for pitching in a hitters' park. Another second-year SP, Stu McCurry is 10-5. Another vet having a career year is closer Chief "Hit Me" LeCroy, who is 33/35 in save opps, with a miniscule 0.93 WHIP.

Tacoma and Vancouver are 2 games in back of Chicago/Milwaukee; Scranton 3 GB; Vegas 4 GB, and New Orleans 5 GB.

There's been lots of movement to this point, and there's lots of ball to still be played! Good luck to all!

AROD Vlog

Hall of Fame - S21

I failed miserably to get 5 guys into the HOF last year, only getting sure fire choice Marvin Punto.  I attempted to make an impassioned plea to get 5 deserving players into the HOF and I fell on my face.....throw me a bone this year fellas........no more random votes for guys who will never make it........lets get these 4 guys in the HOF!!!


1)  LF Bill Malone -  Bill "Sam" Malone made his name as part of the legendary Colorado Ballvalanche team that includes other monsters such as Roy "The Natural" Bell and "The Big O" Omar Castillo.  Malone helped his team to a World Series ring in S7 and then took home the AL MVP in S9 when he hit 63 HR's and had 189 RBI's, to go along with a .370 BA and a sick 1.249 OPS, not to mention 172 Runs and 207 hits; did I forget to mention 36 of 43 SB's?  Over his career Malone picked up 5 All-Star nods and 3 LF Silver Slugger awards.  In the end, Malone did it at the plate and on the bases and was one of the biggest bats in the biggest offensive juggernaut this world has ever seen.  His final number are as follows:

Season	Fran	Level	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Career	Totals	ML	1882	7223	1650	2310	431	73	552	1708	860	1153	207	68	.320	.394	.629	1.023

2)  Closer Matt Kelly   -  Mr. Kelly is the first closer in world ARod to reach the magical number of 500 career saves.  Kelly racked up 6 All-Star appearances and earned the S11 AL Fireman of the Year award.  And don't think Mr. Kelly was doing all of this in obscurity...oh no, he was the finisher on two World Series winners in S9 and S11 for legendary owner gydk and his once might Psychos.  Kelly's best season wasn't the one where he got the most saves, but instead in S8 he closed 22 of 24 games, held opponents to a .177 batting avg, had a WHIP of 0.81 and an ERA of 1.56.  This kind of magic led to gydk trading for him and the rest is history

Season	Fran	Level	G	GS	CG	W	L	SV	SVO	Inn	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	OAV	OBP	SLG	WHIP	ERA
Career	Totals	ML	817	9	0	36	57	500	580	936.0	806	387	358	118	299	918	.227	.294	.356	1.18	3.44

3) SP Johnny Vernon  -    Meet the man who teamed up with HOFer Marvin Punto as one half of the most dominant pitching combination the World of ARod has ever seen, Johnny "Mount" Vernon.   Vernon was nothing short of fantastic during the Mets magical run as he picked in the S1 NL Rookie of the Year and then followed that up with 4 straight NL Cy Young awards, not to mention the 5 All-Star nods he was awarded.  "Mount" Vernon's line in S2 just might be the best this world have ever seen:  24-2, .096 whip, 1.88 ERA, 215.2 innings pitched, 27 of 32 were Quality Starts, and teams on hit .192 off of him.  Sick.

Season	Fran	Level	G	GS	CG	W	L	SV	SVO	Inn	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	OAV	OBP	SLG	WHIP	ERA
Career	Totals	ML	374	302	6	163	62	3	3	2033.2	1697	744	685	191	637	1594	.224	.289	.337	1.15	3.03

4) 1B Alfredo Sosa   -   Alfredo "Say it Ain't" Sosa is one of the true smash brothers that have come thru this world.  Looking at his stats from S3 thru S11, it's truly shocking that Sosa only picked up 1 MVP---S5.  Despite not picking up a few more MVP's, Sosa definitely pickup up plenty of accolades along the way: S3 AL Rookie of the Year, 6-time All-Star, 2-time Home Run Derby Champ and 4 Silver Slugger awards.  Think about this; Sosa averaged 60 Hr/year during the first 10 years of his career, and ranks 3rd all-time with 718 career bombs.  That's not all he did though---see the .315 career BA.

Season	Fran	Level	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Career	Totals	ML	1900	7537	1552	2374	338	19	718	1869	854	1073	2	24	.315	.385	.651	1.036