Baseball 2005

[Dan Gould]

why is barry coming back with a month left in the season?

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Cuz the team is ten games under .500 ... but only five games out of first place!

Looks like your Indians may be fading. I'm beginning to wonder myself if the A's are gonna play themselves out of the playoffs without Crosby. They were awful without him at the start of the year, and now they're not doing too well with him now, letting the Yanks take over the WC.

[Dave James]

Dan,

That thing you posted...the Pythagorean thing. Are you just trying to get back at me for the Griffey speculation I floated prior to the trade deadline last week?

Up over and out.a

[Dan Gould]

Dan,

That thing you posted...the Pythagorean thing.  Are you just trying to get back at me for the Griffey speculation I floated prior to the trade deadline last week? 

Up over and out.a

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The more you guys win, the better it starts looking for you.

[Dan Gould]

Maybe I spoke too soon. Can it really be? The Devil Rays have clinched the season series with the Bombers? You can bet that if their performance against the D-Rays makes the difference between making the playoffs and missing them, that will really stick in Steinbrenner's craw.

There is good news for the Yanks though: Wang, their pitching saviour from early in the season, has made a surprising comeback from rotator cuff problems and is replacing Leiter in the rotation, starting Thursday.

The bad news is, the Yanks still have 5 games left with those pesky Devil Rays.

[Soulstation1]

if the tribe wins tonight and the yanks lose............

tribe will be in 1st place for the w/c

[Dan Gould]

if the tribe wins tonight and the yanks lose............

tribe will be in 1st place for the w/c

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It certainly looks like the A's are starting to fade. Lots of time still to right the ship though. Go D-Rays!!!

[Dan Gould]

Wang returns to the Yankee rotation but no one can stop those D-Rays against the Yanks, and now with Cleveland winning, its the Indians on top of the Wild Card.

And even if the Yanks manage a sweep this weekend, they can't overtake the Sox. Thinking back to what I said heading into this season-longest homestand, the Sox went 10-4, not quite as good as I'd hoped, but they still come out with a four game lead. They need to make sure the Yanks are a little deeper in the rear view mirror after this weekend.

The pitching matchups:

David Wells vs Smalls on Friday

Schilling vs Chacon on Saturday

Wakefield vs Big Unit on Sunday

I have a hard time not favoring the Sox on Friday and give them a good chance on Sunday with the way Wakefield is pitching. Be real interesting to see how the Sox handle the over-achieving Smalls and Chacon.

[Soulstation1]

hell yeah

[Dan Gould]

Yeah, but you got Santana going tonite for the Twins against your boys. Beyond that, I think you got a good chance, especially with seven left against the Royals. That, and the Yanks still facing the D-Rays for 3, could spell the end of the Yanks run, and maybe the end of Torre's tenure, too.

Gotta get through this weekend though

[Dave James]

If the New York doesn't make the playoffs, Lou Pinella will be running the show next year. You can take that to the bank.

Realistically, if the Yanks don't take 2 of 3 from the Sox this weekend, there will be no AL East pennant. It's that simple. There's just no way they can make up five games with just nineteen left. That leaves the wild card as their only option, but the way Cleveland is playing, that may be an equally steep hill to climb.

Up over and out.

[Dan Gould]

If the New York doesn't make the playoffs, Lou Pinella will be running the show next year.  You can take that to the bank.

Realistically, if the Yanks don't take 2 of 3 from the Sox this weekend, there will be no AL East pennant.  It's that simple.  There's just no way they can make up five games with just nineteen left.  That leaves the wild card as their only option, but the way Cleveland is playing, that may be an equally steep hill to climb. 

Up over and out.

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Actually, I think you need to sweep. Two out of three leaves you three games back, which still isn't exactly ideal.

On the other hand, you won the first game and God only knows which Schilling we get tomorrow. You might have your two wins by tomorrow afternoon.

[Soulstation1]

the native americans are running away with the w/c

go red sox

[Dan Gould]

the native americans are running away with the w/c

go red sox

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Well, a game and a half isn't quite running away, just means you won't fall out of the lead in one day. But with the remaining schedule, if you take care of bidness (like KC) you got an excellent chance.

The interesting thing now is that if everything stays the same here on out, Indians open the playoffs at Fenway (because of the rule about inter-division rivals playing each other in the first round). If its the Yanks, then the Sox would host the West winners.

[Dan Gould]

Well, it took about 90% of the season, but the Yanks finally got the Unit they thought they'd traded for. Its just unfortunate that such a tremendous performance by Wakefield was for naught.

Critical win for the Yanks, as I think everyone agreed that five games with twenty to play was too daunting. But I'll still take three games, and if your a Sox fan, you have to regard three games as "par": if the lead goes above, then the final three games at Fenway won't matter. If the lead goes below, they will, and if it stays the same, then the Yanks will have to sweep at Fenway to steal the division.

Interesting to note the home/away splits for the remainder of the year (both teams are currently two games under .500 away from home):

Red Sox: 11 games at home, 9 away

Yankees: 7 games at home, 13 away

That's going to be a tough road for the Yanks, unless the Jays and Orioles roll over and play dead for 'em.

[Soulstation1]

native americans still have the AL w/c lead...

they are playin' some ball

barry's back

2006 NL comeback player of the year

[Man with the Golden Arm]

Astros 10, Marlins 2

Clemens Pitches Hours After Mother Dies

Pat Sullivan/Associated Press

Roger Clemens started in Houston, allowing one run and five hits over six and a third innings in the Astros' 10-2 rout of the Marlins.

 

By LEE JENKINS

Published: September 15, 2005

HOUSTON, Sept. 14 - Roger Clemens always had the game face to go along with the fastball, the high-and-tight persona to match the high-and-tight heater.

Clemens is perhaps the most intimidating pitcher of his generation, but as he sat in a back room of Minute Maid Park late Wednesday night, recounting the final hours he spent with his 75-year-old mother, the famous scowl was finally broken.

Bess Clemens died at 4:30 a.m. Wednesday of complications from emphysema, but not before she quizzed her son about Andy Pettitte's troublesome elbow. Not before she asked if the Astros would make the playoffs. Not before she told everyone in the family to go to work. As Clemens recalled her last lines, he laughed and then he cried.

"She was my strength," Clemens said. "She was my will."

She was usually his first phone call after games, so he had no one to dial after a 10-2 victory over the Florida Marlins on Wednesday night. That Clemens would choose to pitch on the day his mother died, and that the Houston Astros would let him, illustrated both the family's passion for baseball and the importance of this game to the National League wild-card race.

"I planned on pitching the whole time," Clemens said. "No way I was going to run out on the team."

When Clemens first got to the mound, he felt lost. When he allowed one run in the first inning, he felt relieved. Working with a sore left hamstring and a self-diagnosed heavy heart, he surrendered one run in six and a third innings. He drew a bases-loaded walk at the plate and turned a line drive into a double play in the field. After the sixth inning, he walked to the dugout with his right fist raised. He left having thrown 83 pitches, an earlier departure than usual, but later than anyone could have reasonably expected.

"It's heroic," General Manager Tim Purpura said. "He understands the meaning of duty. His mother taught him about duty."

The Astros, who have been shut out seven times this season in games Clemens started, including five 1-0 losses, picked an apt moment to support him. At the end of the game, players from both sides lingered on the field for a sentimental video tribute to Clemens's mother. He watched from a room in the home clubhouse, no sound, just pictures. "I still need to say a few more goodbyes," he said.

Much of the baseball public was introduced to Bess Clemens when she followed her son's quest for 300 career victories with the Yankees in 2003. She would sit in the stands, often accompanied by an oxygen tube, inspiring her son with her presence. Clemens has always believed he inherited his mother's sense of determination. She worked three jobs to rear six children after her husband died. She smoked for more than 40 years, yet quit the day she was found to have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the umbrella term for chronic bronchitis and emphysema.

"I wanted to thank her properly at the Hall of Fame," Clemens said. "But I keep playing this silly game."

Clemens came out of retirement and joined the Astros in 2004, partly because his mother lived in Georgetown, Tex., about 125 miles from Houston and 25 miles from Austin. She made frequent visits to Minute Maid Park and quickly became a team mom. During the All-Star Game last year, she was a regular at the parties. Over the weekend, she had her son send Pettitte an e-mail message checking on his arm strength before his next start.

Clemens spent the past few days flying back and forth between Houston and Austin, staying away from the stadium and cutting off contact with many in the organization. Late Tuesday night, the family huddled around Bess, trying to make her laugh, trying to keep her awake. Clemens asked if she had ever seen the movie, "Field of Dreams." She replied: "Shoeless Joe Jackson."

Then Clemens asked if she was in "the field." She responded: "I think I am."

As he told the story at a news conference, his family cried softly in the back. He wiped his eyes with a workout towel. The Astros are a half-game out of the wild-card lead, and their ace is only beginning the grieving process. "I've lost a little of my fire," Clemens said.

He flew from Austin to Houston on Wednesday in a private plane. He was greeted by a small but warm ovation from the crowd. No one knew quite what to expect, given that he allowed five runs over three innings in his last start. And, yet, everyone knew exactly what to expect, considering it was Clemens. "I think this is the best place for him," Pettitte said.

For all the players who skip games to witness the birth of their children, Clemens has joined a long tradition of athletes to compete shortly after a parent has died. Asked whether the game was for his mother, Clemens said, "They're all for her."

Despite the Astros' meager offense and recent struggles, they remain the popular choice to capture the wild-card berth, considering their favorable schedule and premier pitching staff. Houston has scripted its rotation through the end of the season so that its best three starters - Clemens, Pettitte and Roy Oswalt - will take the mound on the final weekend.

Of course, Bess Clemens probably knew that.

[Soulstation1]

very sad story for the rocket-man

Edited September 15, 2005 by Soulstation1

[Man with the Golden Arm]

Was just thinking about this this morning and happy to find that the Globe put it all in writing for me:

... the argument that a DH can't be an MVP? A full-time DH, after all, has never won the award.

''That would be very unfair," Francona said.

Ortiz is building a case, day by day, putting on a September show much like Vladimir Guerrero did last September in capturing the award.

Consider the following:

Ortiz has hit three game-deciding home runs in the last nine days -- Sept. 6 vs. Los Angeles in the bottom of the ninth, Monday night vs. Toronto in the 11th, and last night in the eighth. All three came with the game tied. He homered four times in this three-game series and has homered 16 times in his last 30 games.

Of his 42 home runs -- a career high -- 18 have tied games or put the Sox ahead, nine of those in the seventh inning or later.

He has 18 game-winning RBIs. In the seventh inning and beyond, he's hit 17 home runs and knocked in 45 runs. Of his major-league leading 130 RBIs, 41 have tied games or put the Sox ahead.

In clutch situations (seventh inning on, one run ahead to two runs behind or representing at least the tying run), he's hitting .329 with 9 home runs and 26 RBIs.

sheesh!

[Dave James]

As ya'll know, I'm no fan of the Red Sox, and I love what Alex Rodriquez is doing this year, but if David Ortiz isn't the American League MVP, then the system is broken. I know he doesn't have the defensive presence of ARod and he DH's some of the time, but you absolutely cannot ignore his ability to rise the occasion and carry his team. The guy just gets big hit after big hit after big hit. Without him, the Sox are no where near the top. Isn't that what being an MVP is all about?

Up over and out.

Edited September 15, 2005 by Dave James

[MartyJazz]

I totally agree. It seems like every time I see the Red Sox are in a tight game, he comes up with the winning hit in the 9th or extra innings. Plus his overall stats are awesome. He should be the first DH to win it, certainly if I had a vote.

On another issue, do you realize that we're 2-1/2 games behind the Red Sox and if we had simply just taken care of business against the Devil Rays, i.e., win 2 of 3 over 19 games, we'd be 3 games up?! Boggles the mind.

[Dan Gould]

On another issue, do you realize that we're 2-1/2 games behind the Red Sox and if we had simply just taken care of business against the Devil Rays, i.e., win 2 of 3 over 19 games, we'd be 3 games up?!  Boggles the mind.

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And one more to go tonite. If any team should bring Mr. Small back to Earth, shouldn't it be the D-Rays?

Of course I agree with my Yankee friends that Papi is the very definition of an MVP. To get hosed because he DHs (and it really isn't some of the time, I think he's DH about 125 out of 140 games or so) is ridiculous. His stats in clutch situations are just plain sick. I think I saw he's slugging 1.000 after the seventh inning? And with his recent surge he now leads the league in 2/3 of the Triple Crown categories, and his RBIs actually lead the majors. One thing that will work in his favor is Manny's up and down year. While his power numbers are where you expect, his average isn't and no one speaks of Manny as an MVP candidate. So there shouldn't be any splitting of votes like there was last year.

That's what bothered me about last year's MVP balloting. Sheffield bitching about not winning it? Head to head, Sheffield was beaten by both Manny and Ortiz last year, it was only vote splitting that put him ahead of the two-headed MAHNSTER in Boston.

As far as being DH, the ironic thing is that as we saw in St. Louis last year, he really isn't a bad first baseman. He's got very soft hands on grounders and low throws, his one shortcoming is being so big and not particularly athletic on dives, so his range is limited.

[BERIGAN]

Ortiz made a good point in his defense saying basically no one gets the MVP for being a gold glover if he is hitting .230....

Speaking of MVP's, it's gotta be Andruw Jones, right? I mean Albert Pujols is a great player, but with the lead the Cards have, they most likely would win without him, the braves would not be in the lead right now, Jones carried the team when Chipper was out, and all these rookies were starting....Plus, he is the best center fielder in baseball.

[Dave James]

To me, the MVP award boils down to which player his team could least afford to be without. That's why the word "valuable" and not the word "best" is part of the equation. Not to mention the fact that "Most Best Player" is a train wreck from a grammatical perspective. While I think Pujols is extremely valuable to the Cards, without Andruw Jones, there's no way the Braves would be poised to win another division championship. I don't give a rip if he's only hitting .270. He's the glue that held this whole thing together while the rookies got their sea legs. There's plenty of veteran leadership on the Cardinals and not too many young kids getting their first taste of The Show. Nope, to me, this goes to Jones for the same reason Ortiz gets it in the AL. Without these two guys, it just doesn't get done.

Up over and out.

Edited September 16, 2005 by Dave James

[Soulstation1]

the native americans are the hottest team in all of baseball

[Johnny E]

Al. Don't miss the Rangers/Mariners game tonight. This felix Hernandez kid is the next Doc Gooden, I'm tellin' ya'.