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The Full Count: A’s finally clinch


1. All in: In the National League only one team has clinched a playoff berth. But in the AL, all four playoff teams are already in. They are the Yankees, Tigers, Twins, and after last night, the A’s. Oakland won 12-3 against Seattle to finally clinch the AL West after four days of trying. Rich Harden pitched well and improved to 4-0 this year. Harden, who has been injured most of the year, will certainly help the A’s in the playoffs. So the A’s, at 91-66, are in. That means that the Angels are outta here. Anaheim/LA had made a remarkable comeback after starting off the year in last place. They were just unable to hold off the superior A’s.

2. They just can’t win: The Cardinals have looked absolutely horrendous this past week. While all they’ve needed to do is just cruise and win half their games to make the playoffs, the Cards have lost 7 in a row. Yesterday was seemingly a good situation for a St. Louis victory, with Cy Young candidate Chris Carpenter on the mound. But Carpenter blew a three-run lead in the seventh in what was his worst outing of the month. The opposing Padres took advantage by winning 7-5 and keeping their two-game lead in the NL West. If the Cardinals can’t win, the Astros will be more than happy to take their division title. Houston has won seven in a row.

3. Chase for the title: The Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers are both in the playoffs already. But they both are continuing to win in the quest for the AL Central title. Each team has won 4 games in a row, including yesterday. The Tigers handled the Blue Jays by a count of 4-3, with Jeremy Bonderman earning his 14th victory. Detroit stands at 95-62. Meanwhile, the Twins edged the Royals 3-2. Johan Santana went eight innings to advance to 19-6. He maintains the lead in each Pitching Triple Crown category, and currently would be leading the National League as well. The Twins are just one game back at 94-63.

4. Great player, extraordinary season: David Ortiz is having one of the best unaided seasons of our era. Ortiz, despite the Red Sox’s elimination from playoff contention, is still mashing the ball. He has 5 homers in the past week alone, and 54 on the season. He leads the AL in homers and RBIs, with 137. He manages to get on-base at a .407 clip despite the infamous “Ortiz shift” by the opposing team. Just so you know, he’s recorded the 18th-most homers of any player ever in a single-season, though taking out the clear roiders he’s in the top 10. Will this be enough for an MVP? Somehow, probably not.

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The Full Count: Twins in, White Sox out


1. Twins are in: The Minnesota Twins became the third AL team to clinch a playoff berth. With an 8-1 victory over the Royals, they secured at least the Wild Card title. They could still win the overall division title, though that really wouldn’t do much for them. The 93-63 Twins continue to win even with injuries to stud starters Francisco Liriano and Brad Radke. That’s because of a dominant Johan Santana, a resurgent offense, and a capable bullpen. Joe Nathan has been the most underrated closer in baseball this season, with 35 saves, 6 wins, and a 1.65 ERA. On offense, players like Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau have been getting most of the attention, and they deserve it. But Torri Hunter and Michael Cuddyer have really stepped up the second half. Cuddyer in fact is having the most unknown 100-RBI season in baseball this year, while Hunter is having a career best season with 30 and 95. It’s all the little pieces that keep the Twins going and that make them the most dangerous team heading into the playoffs.

2. Unable to defend: The White Sox have gone from the best team in baseball to completely out of the playoff race. The Twins’ clinching of a spot yesterday meant that the ChiSox were eliminated from postseason contention. They got blown out 14-1 by the Indians in their final meaningful game of the season. The White Sox’s downfall was starting pitching. Contreras, Buehrle, Garcia, and Garland have all gone from ERA’s in the 3s last year to plus-4 ERA’s this season. While their offense has been one of the best in baseball, that hasn’t been enough to produce wins down the stretch. The team’s collapse even cost Jermaine Dye an MVP award. Expect to see a vastly different White Sox team take the field next season.

3. It’s not over–yet: Amazingly, the Houston Astros are still in the playoff hunt. After beating the Phillies yesterday in the opener of a pivotal series, the Astros improved to .500 for the first time in a long time. At 78-78, they are 2.5 games back from the division-leading Cardinals. Compare this to about a week ago, when they trailed the Cards by 8.5. Winning the division is about their only hope of making the playoffs, as they still trail by four games in the Wild Card hunt. Keep an eye on the Astros, but don’t expect much from this inconsistent team.

4. Will you win already?: The A’s have been sitting around with a magic number of 2 for the last few games. They have lost three in a row while the barely-alive Angels have won three in a row, meaning they still have to win to get in. While Oakland will still make the postseason barring an improbable collapse, it’s never good to be terrible at the end of the regular season. They allowed 21 hits yesterday in a 10-9 loss to Seattle. The Angels beat the Rangers, but are still five games back.

5. Junior ties Reggie: Ken Griffey Jr. tied Reggie Jackson at #10 on the all time HR list with three run pinch-hit dinger. At 563, he needs another 7 to pass Rafael Palmeiro for 9th place. The Reds have been out of the playoff race for some time now but it’s good to see Griffey reinforcing his stature as a Hall of Fame player.

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The Full Count: Trevor Hoffman is the all-time saves leader



Someone get him some coffee

1. 479: Is Trevor Hoffman the best closer ever? It’s a tough argument, but Hoffman now has the ultimate in closing records: the all-time saves record. Hoffman saved his 479th career game on Sunday, breaking Lee Smith’s mark. It was his 43rd save of the year, which has arguably been the second-best season of his career (in 1998 he saved 53 in 54 chances). He closed out the last two games of the Padres sweep of the Pirates, giving the team a one-and-a-half game lead in the division. Hoffman deserves some serious consideration for the NL Cy Young; he has a 1.95 ERA, .93 WHIP, and .198 opponent’s batting average. Even more impressive, he’s done all this as a 38-year old without a true out pitch. One pitch, a changeup, has made Hoffman an all-time record holder.

2. Speaking of closing: The A’s have almost clinched the AL West division title. The Angels, the only team that could possibly pass Oakland, stayed alive for two more days. They beat the A’s twice in a row over the weekend to keep them from clinching the West. Oakland’s magic number remains at 1.

3. The Inevitable: Detroit has been leading the American League Central division every single day since May. Though they had been the best team in the MLB most of the summer, the Tigers had been fading recently. Still, they were able to finally clinch a playoff spot yesterday, finally securing what had seemed inevitable for a while. They clinched the postseason after a three-game sweep in Kansas City, routing the Royals a combined 33-11. Justin Verlander, who has led the Tigers for most of the season, improved to 17-9. Detroit, who is 94-62, still hasn’t wrapped up the division. They likely will, though, and in they will probably face the A’s in the first round of the playoffs.

4. The only race left: Almost every postseason spot has been clinched or is on the verge of being clinched. The lone race remaining is the three-team shootout for two NL playoff spots. The Phillies, Dodgers, and Padres are going at it for the Wild Card and the West division title. All three teams won yesterday. The Phils hit five homers, including two by Chase Utley, to rout the Marlins 10-7. Jamie Moyer, the former Mariner, improved to 4-2 as a Phillie. The Dodgers won in more dramatic fashion. They were tied with the D-Backs 1-1 in the ninth inning. Then Nomar Garciaparra hit a walk off grand slam, his 19th homer of the year. Garciaparra is the obvious choice for NL comeback player of the year and has produced many clutch hits this year. He’s kept the Dodgers, who are a half-game back of the Phillies, in the race.

5. The Braves are officially done: With only six games left, the Braves were officially eliminted from the postseason for the first time in 14 years with a loss to the Rockies. Even with a 7-0 lead in the fourth, the Braves couldn’t hold on to win. The chances of Atlanta making the playoffs were slim to none but now Slim has officially left the building.

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MLB Power Rankings Roundup for Sep 22 2006

Well, only one more week left in the season and we’re down to the teams that really matter in the top ten. The Twins have been rising rising rising and have inexplicably come within 1/2 a game of the central lead as of press time. Their rankings around the web have likewise risen. As for the White Sox, does a team that won’t even make the postseason belong in the top 10?

Here are your MLB Power Rankings by top sites this week.

Rank Sportscolumn ESPN FoxSports Sportsline USA Today TSN.ca
1 Yankees Yankees Mets Yankees Yankees Yankees
2 Mets Twins Yankees Twins Mets Mets
3 Twins Mets Tigers Mets Tigers Twins
4 A’s A’s Twins A’s Twins Dodgers
5 Tigers Angels A’s Tigers A’s Padres
6 White Sox Padres White Sox Dodgers White Sox A’s
7 Angels Tigers Angels Padres Cardinals Angels
8 Cardinals Phillies Blue Jays Phillies Dodgers Tigers
9 Dodgers Dodgers Rangers Angels Angels White Sox
10 Padres Cardinals Red Sox Cardinals Padres Blue Jays
11-30 more more more more more more

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The Full Count: NL Wildcard race is coming down to the wire



Phils try to sneak in

1. Still up for Grabs: While the Twins or Tigers have the American League Wild Card wrapped up, the National League’s Wild Card is still wide open. San Francisco, Atlanta, and Florida are all within striking distance, but really it is down to three teams: the Padres, Dodgers, and Phillies. Two of those teams will make the playoffs, as one will win the NL West, but the other will have to go home. Yesterday the Dodgers and Padres played while the Phillies were off. The Dodgers won 5-2 over the Pirates to put the pressure on the Phils with a half-game lead. Takashi Saito, LA’s unknown closer, saved his 20th game of the season and has only blown two. With 10 games left in the season and the Phils and Dodgers virtually tied, this race will come down to the finish line.

2. You shall not pass: The Minnesota Twins could have taken the AL Central lead last night. With a Tigers loss and Johan Santana on the mound, it seemed like they might have a good chance of doing so. But the Boston Red Sox, who are out of contention, outplayed them in every way. David Ortiz hit two homers, no. 51 and 52 on the season, and went 3-3 to lead the charge. Santana just lasted five innings, allowing four runs but only two earned. The unearned runs were off of Johan’s own throwing error. He was hit with his first loss since the All Star break, but is still 18-6 with a 2.79 ERA. The Twins offense could muster nothing against Josh Beckett on the night, and the team fell 6-0.

3. Leading but not leading: The San Diego Padres are still leading their division by a half-game. But their most important player is just shy of another lead. Trevor Hoffman saved his 41st game of the season last night, putting him within one of Lee Smith’s all time saves record. He has 477 career saves and should break the record by the time the season is over. Would that make Hoffman a Hall of Famer, even though Smith isn’t? He should make it in, though he probably won’t. By the way, the rest of San Diego’s schedule looks like this: Pittsburgh at home, then St. Louis and Arizona on the road.

4. An Underrated Player: At 5.5 games out of the Wild Card race, there is little chance Houston will make the playoffs. But the accomplishments of one player are worth stating. That player is Lance Berkman, and he has received little attention despite a monstrous campaign. Yesterday he hit two homers and four RBIs to single-handedly beat the Cardinals. This is nothing new to Berkman, who has carried the Astros offense the entire season. Berk’s hitting .315, with 43 homers and 126 RBIs. His OPS of 1.049 ranks third in the league. And, due to an outrageous number of walks, he’s done this in just 498 at-bats. What an incredible player. If Berkman played for a contending team, people might realize he’s been just as good with the bat this season as Albert Pujols.

5. The Race for #30: The playoff races are interesting as always this year. But how about this: the Devil Rays and Royals are tied for the honor of worst MLB team. While Kansas City seemingly had this wrapped up months ago, the D-Rays have fallen after a 1-9 skid. The Royals have been outscored 708-900, while the D-Rays are slightly better with a 647-808 margin. Both teams stand at 58-94, and both will likely reach 100 losses. With either of these franchises ever succeed? It’s hard to imagine a turnaround, though this year’s Tigers proved that is possible.

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MLB.com presents Take a Convict to School Day


Not to be outdone by the NFL and their “Take a Player to School” contest, MLB.com is offering you the chance to take Darryl Strawberry to school for an appearance of up to one hour.


This auction features the opportunity to have Darryl Strawberry come to YOUR school! The winning bidder of this auction will have the chance to have New York Legend Darryl Strawberry attend your school for a special appearance for up to an hour. Strawberry will also give a short speech to your school on valubable life lessons. Don’t miss out on this rare opportunity to have a super star like Daryl Strawberry come to YOUR school!

The opening bid was $250 and the current bid is… $260. Just for the sake of Strawberry’s self esteem, people better start bidding up this auction. (Remember, this is a guy who once told a judge he’d lost the will to live.) For a guy who used to make millions, if the price people are willing to pay for his appearance is less than what you’d take out of an ATM before a big Saturday night…. man that’s just sad.

Links:
[MLB.com]: Have New York Mets Legend Darryl Strawberry Come to your School
[Wikipedia]: For you youngins, the story of Darrl Strawberry

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MLB General

More on the Pete Rose "apology" ball



Pete Rose is sad

Earlier this week, we told you about Pete Rose signing 300 balls to be auctioned off with the inscription “I’m sorry I bet on baseball”. The auction house was set to sell them for $1000 each. But why pay $1000 when you can get it direct from Charlie Hustle himself for only $349 (+ $4.99 S/H)?

And that’s not all! If you act now you can get it personalized with your name. If your name is Bob, they already have a ball ready for you. Now, who wants to be the first to order up one addressed to “God”?

Links:

[Pete Rose.com]: Pete Rose Personalized Autographed Baseball with “I’m Sorry I Bet on Baseball” Inscription

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MLB General

The Full Count: Watch out for the Twins


1. The Most Dangerous Team: Going into the playoffs, the scariest team in the American League isn’t even a division leader. It is the Wild Card-leading Minnesota Twins, who have been rolling since the All Star break. Even with only one great starter in Johan Santana, their pitching staff has found a way to get the job done. Yesterday, Boof Bonser won his third straight decision to lead the Twins to an 8-2 victory over the Red Sox. Torri Hunter continues to be a man on a mission and has hit 5 homers and 15 RBIs in his last 10 games. Despite David Ortiz’s 50th homer of the year, the Red Sox lost again and are virtually out of the playoff hunt. The 90-61 Twins, meanwhile, will win the Wild Card barring a total collapse. Watch out for this team in the postseason.

2. The Last Battle: The Detroit-Chicago season series has finally come to a close. Chicago beat them 12 out of 19 times, but take out the first five games between these teams and they each won 7. The Tigers got the last laugh, as they won the final series 2-1. They beat the White Sox 6-2 yesterday behind a strong outing from starter Jeremy Bonderman. Bonderman, who had been inconsistent recently and lost 4 of his last 5 decisions, pitched six innings, allowed two runs, and got just enough run support to get the job done. Pudge Rodriguez and Magglio Ordonez each homered for the Tigers, who got 12 hits and 5 runs off the White Sox’s best starter, Jon Garland. The ChiSox are 5.5 games out of the Wild Card with 10 games left to play, meaning they have virtually no chance. The Tigers are just holding off the Twins by a half game.

3. Tying it up: The Phillies had been looking for the Wild Card lead for a while, and now they’ve finally found it. The Phils tied the Dodgers and Padres, who each share the WC lead at this point. Philly beat the Cubs yesterday 6-2 behind an outstanding pitching performance by Brett Myers. Myers went for a complete game, allowing 2 runs and striking out 12 in the process. He got homeruns from Chas Utley and Pat Burrell, which was enough for the Phils to win. But can they hold onto the Wild Card? Probably; the team plays Florida six times, Washington three times, and Houston once the rest of the season. If they take seven of those games, the Phillies will make the postseason.

4. Falling in: Would you celebrate in this circumstance? The Yankees lost 3-2 to the Blue Jays yesterday, but they clinched the AL East division title via a Red Sox loss. While it’s hard to celebrate after a loss, this would be the best time to do so. This is the team’s ninth straight year winning the division, and they certainly deserve it. Despite the losses of Gary Sheffield and Hideki Matsui in addition to a somewhat mediocre pitching staff, this team is as good as any. The Yanks are 92-60 and should be a force come the playoffs. If only people would just shut up and realize that A-Rod is a damn good player. He has more RBIs than any other thirdbaseman in the game. With 34 homers, 116 driven in, and 14 steals, A-Rod is still one of the best all-round threats in baseball. The media should just let him play like everybody else.

5. Wait till next year: The Braves are officially done this year. But what will the team look like in 2007? Their bullpen at least will have a closer. That’s because Bob Wickman just re-signed with the team through next season. This means they probably won’t be amongst the league leaders in blown saves anymore. Wickman has saved 15 games in 16 chances for the Braves this year and has a 1.19 ERA since joining the team. The team’s biggest problem will be a former strength: starting pitching. They have no one reliable outside of John Smoltz, and he is getting older. There’s one thing for sure though: the team will not be as bad as this year’s mediocre 74-78 club.

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The Full Count: Padres strike back



Padres take 1 game lead

1. The Western Roller Coaster: On Monday the Dodgers took the NL West lead in incredible fashion. Yesterday, the lead was back in the hands of the Padres. Can somebody just clinch this one already? The Padres defeated the Diamondbacks 5-2 in what was pretty much your average game. Mike Cameron and Adrian Gonzalez homered for San Diego, and starter Clay Hensley remained hot with another win. Trevor Hoffman recovered from his Monday meltdown with his 40th save of the year. He’s at 476 career saves, two behind the all time record, and yet this is still not a more major story. This bugs us. Wouldn’t somebody chasing the all time homerun or wins record get unprecedented attention? And yet Hoffman is still pitching in relative obscurity in a pure case of East Coast bias. Whatever. Hoffman’s Padres are back on top.

2. Next to clinch: Yesterday the New York Mets clinched the first playoff spot and the NL East division title. Today the New York Yankees can do the same. Their magic number is just 1 after they beat the Blue Jays for the second straight day. Bobby Abreu hit a two-run homer in the seventh to break a 3-3 tie. Hideki Matsui, who returned from the DL a couple weeks ago, hit another homerun. He has two homers, five runs driven in, and is hitting .409 since his return from the DL. The Yanks won 6-3 to take their fifth straight game against the Blue Jays. They still have the AL’s best record.

3. Setback: The Tigers could have virtually eliminated the White Sox with a win against them yesterday. But with Freddy Garcia’s marvelous start and the usual homer-happy offense, the Sox crushed the Tigers 7-0. Garcia pitched 8 innings, allowing just two walks and one hit. It was his second straight eight inning, no run start as Garcia improved to 15-9. Offensively, Jim Thome hit his 41st homer of the season and Jermaine Dye hit his 43rd. AJ Pierzynski added four RBIs, and the ChiSox improved to five games back of the Tigers. However, the Twins won, so they are still four games behind them.

4. The Winners once again: The St. Louis Cardinals are just games away from clinching their third straight NL Central title. They’re seven games up on the Reds after both teams won yesterday. The Cards shellacked the Brew Crew 12-2, with good work on the mound and in the batter’s box. Jeff Weaver, who has slightly improved from his pitiful state earlier in the year, improved to 4-4 since joining St. Louis. He pitched six decent innings and got plenty of help from the team’s bats. Albert Pujols, who ranks in the NL’s top 10 in virtually every category possible, went 2-5 and had 2 RBIs. Ronnie Belliard went 3-4 with 4 runs, and Aaron Miles had a 4-6, three-RBI day. The Cards are 80-69 and have looked pretty good this month. They’ll go into the playoffs as a dangerous threat to the supremacy of the Mets.

5. Teams still alive: Here are the only teams still alive mathematically for the postseason. In the AL, the Yankees, Tigers, and A’s are leading their divisions, while the Red Sox (at least right now), Angels (only barely), White Sox, and Twins still have a shot. In the NL, the Mets are in, while the Cards are close. The Dodgers and Padres both refuse to claim the NL West, while the Phillies, Giants, and even the Marlins still have hope left. So there you have it. Those are the only teams still worth paying attention to.

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The Full Count: Mets clinch the NL East



2006 NL East Champs

1. We are the Champions: The first playoff spot in baseball has been clinched. Not surprisingly, it went to the New York Mets. The Mets had had a magic number of 1 for four straight days until they finally won against the Marlins yesterday. The win clinched the division title for them, and officially ended the Braves’ streak of 14 straight division titles. Steve Trachsel pitched shutout ball for six-plus innings to improve to 15-7, and Jose Valentine homered twice in their 4-0 win. At 91-58, New York has the best record in baseball, and they’ve been the only team in the league to score more than 750 runs and allow less than 700. And they’ve done all this with their highest-paid player, Pedro Martinez, on the DL for most of the year.

2. Game of the Year: Possibly the best game of the season played out yesterday between the Padres and the Dodgers. Los Angeles, who was down a half game in the division to the Padres, retook the lead with a 10 inning, 11-10 win that featured a crazy back-and-forth scoring battle. Going into the ninth inning, the Padres were up 6-5, and they padded their lead with three runs. But the Dodgers did something that no team had done since 1964. They hit four straight homeruns in the bottom of the ninth–an incredible rally that tied the game up. No team had hit four in a row in any inning during the last forty years, but the Dodgers did it in the ninth to tie the game at 9-9. But Josh Bard hit a single in the 10th that drove in a run for the Padres. Then Nomar Garciaparra responded with a big-time, two-run homerun that won the game for Los Angeles and finally ended the 3 hour, 53 minute game. This was the final game of the season series for these two clubs, and they sure ended it well.

3. Different Directions: The season’s final battle between the Tigers and White Sox is underway. These two teams were once thought to be the best in the MLB; now they rank 3rd and 6th in terms of record respectively. The Tigers were able to win yesterday, putting them six games above the White Sox in the division. The ChiSox have now lost four in a row and likely won’t make up the ground necessary for a playoff spot. Meanwhile, the 90-60 Tigers are still leading the division, 1.5 games above the Twins (who didn’t play yesterday). Detroit won 8-2 after another great start from Kenny Rogers, who allowed no earned runs for his fourth time in his last eight starts. Magglio Ordonez led the charge offensively with two solo homeruns, and Craig Monroe hit a three-run jack in the ninth to seal the deal. It appears the Tigers will be on their way to their first playoff spot in years, and they’ve already clinched a winning season.

4. Scoring is easy: Just ask the Rockies, who put up a rare 20-run effort against the Giants yesterday. They scored in each of the first six innings, and in seven of the eight in which they batted. Underrated Garrett Atkins had a career day with a 4-5, 6 RBI performance. Atkins has gone almost unnoticed despite the .324, 110-RBI season he is having. Also, .332-hitting Matt Holliday went 3-4 and drove in three runs himself. Todd Helton put up two hits, runs and RBIs. But the greatest Rockie on the day was outfielder Jeff Baker, who was called up from the minors a couple weeks ago. Baker had two homeruns, three runs, and drove in six on the day. Colorado’s offensive machine was reminiscent of the old days at Coors Field, when there was a double-digit scoring effort almost every other night. A game like this hadn’t happened this year. By the way, the once-soaring Giants are now back down to earth and back under .500.

5. More popular than ever: Have you been to a minor-league baseball game lately? If not, than you can consider yourself in the minority. Minor league baseball drew a record 41 million fans this season, breaking the record for the third year in a row. Many leagues such as the Pacific Coast league, the Texas League, and the South Atlantic league set individual record to help the cause.