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

        

World Series Recap

I'd like to think that this series was closer than the four game sweep would indicate, given the fact that total run differential for the series was only 6, but this was pure domination by Jackson over Tampa. Jackson's got it all; great starting pitching, timely hitting, near-flawless fielding, and tremendous work from their bullpen. 

 

In game 1, Sobolewski was cruising through 6, staking Tampa to 2-1 lead. He loaded the bases in the 7th, and Wes Dickerson got the huge, timely hit in this one, a grand slam no less, to lead the Colonels to a 5-4 victory. Game 2 was the heartbreaker for the Dons, as they built a 7-0 lead after 2, only to see the relentless offensive attack of Jackson come back with 5 runs in the 6th, the last two coming on a clutch two-out hit by Ralph "Billy the Kid" Kydd. After Jamie " The Fire" Byrne tacked on a solo homer to give Tampa's closer Les "Fat" Albers a three-run lead to close out, Dan Blair hit a solo homer, and Dickerson again connected for a huge, game-tying two run shot to send the game into extra innings. Ellie Crandall, who had cluch hit after clutch hit during the playoffs, drove in the game-winner in the 10th to send Tampa reeling into an 0-2 hole. Jackson got 7 and 2/3 innings of 1 run ball from their pen, with rookie Grant Mercedes earning his 5th win of the playoffs. In game 3, Mercedes again pitched 2 innings of scoreless relief in support of starter Uegeth Nunez who went 6 strong for the 3-1 win. As great teams will do, Jackson took advantage of a Tampa error in the 7th of a tie game to score the 2 deciding runs. Carlos "Exxon" Valdes worked around a Jackson error in the ninth for the save. Game 4 saw Roy "Purple" Hayes win the clincher with 6 solid innings, while protecting the 5-1 lead his teammates built for him, by way of a three-run blast by light-hitting/slick-fielding SS Ceasar Cordero, and a two-run shot by Kydd. Valdes gives up hits to the first two batters in the 9th of of 2-run game, but gets tough-out Byrne to ground into a DP to squash the potential rally, earn his 7th save of the playoffs, and send Jackson home with the trophy. Dickerson gets series MVP honors for his go-ahead slam in 1, and his game-tying shot in the 9th of 2.

Congratulations to Jackson for a season for the ages. Including the playoffs, they went 123-52, for a scary win % of .699! Not only did they put together a 25 game winning streak during the season, but won an amazing 9 in a row in the playoffs against the best competition in the World. Even if you took out the 25 game win streak (but heck, why would you?), they compiled a .653 winning percentage, which would have still made them the best team in the league. In the American League rankings, they were great in every facet of the game; 4th in total runs scored, 1st in runs against, 2nd in fewest errors and fielding %, first in plus plays, and 1st in fewest minus plays. They have the winner of the Cy Young, rookie of the year, and fireman of the year. Add in a silver-slugging catcher and a gold-glove 1B, and you get a world-class team. Great job building this powerhouse, ml4ku! It should be fun for the rest of us to try to knock you off.

Congratulations to all for a successful season 20 in A.Rod. There are a lot of teams that were in rebuilding stages that have seemed to make progress, and I think we can expect the competition to just keep getting tougher and tougher. I look forward to 21 and beyond!

NLCS Recap

This great six game series between Tampa and Burlington was full of drama, and was still hanging in the balance right up till the final pitch. Game 1 featured a match-up of CY Young hopefulls Rich "Say it Ain't" Soboleski and "The Fireball Kid" Larry Kile. Tampa scored 6 runs in the second on 5 consecutive hits, sending Kile to the showers, while Sobolewski pitched 7-and-two-thirds, giving up 2 runs and striking out 7 in earning the win. In game 2, it was Burlington that jumped out to the quick lead, courtesy of the Cam Connection. Cam "Da Wild" Weston blasted a two run homer in the 2nd, and Cam Lewis pitched 6 brilliants innings, taking a 3-1 to the 6th. In the hopes of adding some insurance in the 6th, Burlington's bottom of the order started a rally. And when Harry "Met Sal' Lee intentionally walked 8th place hitter Whitey "Black" Holzemer to load the bases, pitcher Lewis did the unimaginable and blasted a grand slam to all but secure the win to tie the series. In support of Lewis, Andruw George and Doc Figga combined for 3 scoreless 2-hit innings of relief. Game 3 saw Tampa's bullpen pitch great, as four relievers go 4 scoreless innings in support of Doug "Buck" Rogers in the 3-1 victory. Hi Shouse hit the go-ahead solo homer in the 6th, and scored an insurance run after hitting a triple in the 8th. Burlington leaves 14 men on base, including the bases loaded twice. Game 4 saw Tampa's Einar Tavarez do his best Greg Maddux impression, pitching 8 innings of 1-run ball on only 85 pitches! Ala Maddux, he added an RBI single in support of his 6-2 win. Veteran Eugene Moreno hits a 2-run homer. Game 5, a rematch of game 1's starters, was the classic-type pitchers' duel that we'd expected earlier. Sobolewski again did his part by throwing 6 shut-out innings, but Kile shows up this time as well. Kile's only blemish through 6 strong innings was a solo shot given up to Jamie "The Fire" Byrne in the 3rd. Kile appears to be the hard-luck loser, as Tampa turns the 1-0 lead over to fireman of the year, Les "Fat" Albers in the 9th. With Tampa two outs away from securing a trip to the Series, Wilbur Servais cracks a 2-run, walk-off homer to extend the series.
MLB network would be showing game 6 tomorrow, as it became an instant classic. An early Dioner "Big Claw" Moreno two-run homer for Burlington helps create a 2-2 tie. In the fourth, pitcher Cam Lewis drives in his team leading fifth RBI of the series to give Burlington the 3-2 lead that they would hold until the 7th. Mr. Clutch, Jamie Byrne hits a three-run homer in the 7th to give Tampa the 2 run lead with 6 outs to go. The Booya load the bases in the 8th, but Graham Oliver hits into an inning ending DP to kill the rally. In the ninth, Moreno's second HR of the game cuts the defecit to 1, and then Albers blows his second staight save by surrendering the game-tying hit to his game 5 nemesis, Wilbur Servais. In the bottom half, Byrne hits into a twin-killing to squash a rally and send the game to extras. In the 12th, the Booya load the bases with no outs, but get just one on a Brennaman single, to turn the game over to super-swingman, Carlos Tavarez. Tavarez, who did not blow a save all year, loads the bases with 1 out on two hits and a walk, then fans one of the toughest guys in the league to strike-out, Tom Hardtke. Hi Shouse comes up big with the 2-out, game winning 2 run single to send Tampa to their first World Series in franchise history. Shouse gets series MVP honors. Burlington collected 20 hits and left 18 men on base in game 6, and were just one timely hit away from forcing a game 7. Congrats to the Booya; I have a feeling those big hits will come next year, and for many, many more. Great Series. Tampa moves on to face Jackson, against whom they went 2-1 in interleague play during the season.

ALCS Recap

As far a four game sweeps go, this was a much better series than you would think. There were two games with a 3-2 final, and another that was 2-1 in the ninth. Game 1 wasn't really close, however, as Jackson got out of the gate quickly and lead 7-0 after three. The offense was provided by Dan Blair (HR, 3 hits, 3 RBI), and unsung hero Ellie Crandall (2 hits, 2 RBI.) Reese "Smokin'" Hemphill was a little shaky coming back on only 2 days rest after his game 5 clincher out the pen in the Division Series, but he got through 7-and-a-third to pick up the win. On again/off again Flip McCartney suurendered 9 runs. Game 2 was a classic pitchers' duel as Hector Batista threw 9 strong innings to keep Jackson in contention through regulation. His only blemish was a 2 run homer surrendered to Javy Alvarez. Not to be outdone, Calvin "Sweet as" Sugawara tossed an unheard of 10 innings to keep his team in a 2-2 tie! Augusta had a chance to make Sugawara the hero, but failed to score with the bases loaded in the 10th, during which former Gold-glover Cooper Rhodes was lifted for a pinch hitter. That move would prove costly, as his replacement, utility-man Jon Little, made the error that set up Wes Dickerson's walk-off sac fly in the 11th. In game 3, Pedro "High" Sierra pitched 6 innings, giving up 1 run on 2 hits and 8 k's. Ceasar Julio tacked on 2 perfect innings to send Augusta to the ninth with a 2-1 lead, the go-ahead RBI courtesy of a Cooper Rhodes single. But closer Albert Jackson gives up the tying homerun to Dan Blair, the first batter of the inning. The go-ahead run was manufactured by some great baserunning by PR Emmanuelle Alarcon. Playoff hero Crandall, tacks on a couple insurance runs with a 2 run single, and Jackson goes on to take the commanding 3-0 series lead. Augusta leaves 14 men on base, including the bases loaded in three different innings. 

 

Division Series MVP, Ralph "Billy the Kid' Kydd, got game four's scoring started with a 2 run single in the second. Augusta answered with 2 of their own in the third in yet, another pitchers' duel. The good Flip McCartney showed up, pitching 7 innings, but surrendered a Steve Scott solo homer in the 6th to put Jackson ahead to stay. Jackson got four scoreless innings from its pen, including a drama-free 1-2-3 ninth from closer Carlos "Exxon" Valdes to secure the win for starter Roy "Purple" Hayes. Dan Blair is named series MVP for batting .368, 2 HR, 5 RBI and 5 runs. Jackson breaks its spell of hardluck playoff losses, and advances to the World Series for the first time under the ml4ku regime. Congratulations to Augusta for a great season, and for an absolute dog-fight of a series, despite the sweep.