2001 PLAYER / PITCHER OF THE WEEK #05

Given the momentum of the Chicago Mobsters and their strong home performance, they might be slight favorites in this series. However, the Iowa Giants’ road prowess cannot be underestimated, which could make the odds quite tight. A hypothetical line might place the Mobsters at -130, with the Giants close behind at +110, reflecting the competitive nature of this matchup. Remember, actual betting odds would be set by sportsbooks and could vary.

The decisive moment came in the 8th inning when P. Nevin hit a solo home run to give the Demolition a 3-2 lead. Despite a late rally attempt by the Giants, Arthur Rhodes secured the save, his third of the season, ensuring the victory for Chicago. Danny Graves was credited with the win, improving to a 3-1 record with a 3.52 ERA, while Eddie Guardado took the loss, dropping to 0-1 with a 2.63 ERA.

Final Score: Chicago 3 – Iowa 2

Win: Danny Graves 3-1 (3.52)
Loss: Eddie Guardado 0-1 (2.63)
Save: Arthur Rhodes #3

Final Score: Chicago 2 – Iowa 1

Win: Kevin Millwood 1-3 (5.79)
Loss: Bud Smith 0-2 (5.09)
Save: Arthur Rhodes

The Demolition took the lead in the 7th with a solo home run from D. Justice, and added an insurance run in the 8th with a homer by P. Nevin. The Giants fought back to tie the game at 4-4 in the 9th after an error by E. Renteria allowed two runs to score. The game remained tied until the bottom of the 11th when C. Delgado hit a walk-off home run for the Demolition, sealing their victory.

Final Score: Chicago 5 – Iowa 4 (11 Innings)

Win: Billy Wagner 2-0 (0.00)
Loss: Chad Bradford 0-1 (1.13)

Final Score: Iowa 3 – Chicago 0

Win: Greg Maddux 3-2 (1.89)
Loss: David Cone 3-2 (5.47)
Save: Rich Garces #2

The 2nd inning saw the Demolition extend their lead with a flurry of activity, including a double by S. Stewart that drove in a run, and a lined shot by B. Higginson that scored two more. The Giants’ only run came in the 4th inning when J. Offerman hit a triple to bring home S. Javier. However, the Demolition’s offense was relentless, adding another run in the 5th inning to solidify their lead.

Darryl Kile‘s strong performance earned him the win, improving his record to 3-0 with a 3.15 ERA. On the other side, Jeff Weaver took the loss for the Giants, falling to 2-2 with a 4.02 ERA after being pulled early in the game. The Demolition’s bullpen held strong, with Danny Graves and Jeff Fassero closing out the game without conceding any further runs.

Final Score: Chicago 7 – Iowa 1

Win: Darryl Kile 3-0 (3.15)
Loss: Jeff Weaver 2-2 (4.02)

Final Score: Chicago 8 – Iowa 6

Win: Jeff Zimmerman 1-0 (1.62)
Loss: Chad Bradford 0-2 (3.26)

W-Ismael Valdez 1-2, Dotel S2
L-Al Reyes 0-1

The Mauler bats are silenced by Valdez scattering 4 hits over 7IP. Dotel on for the Penguins to shut the door and preserve a 5 hit shutout with 3 of those hits collected by Bernard Gilkey. The Penguins lineup smacked Al Reyes around like a ping pong ball for 14 hits HRs by Jose Cruz(2), Miguel Tejada, the score could have been a lot worse.

Bernard Gilkey 3-4
Raul Mondesi 2-6, Jeff Kent 2-5, Albert Pujols 3-5, Jose Cruz 2-4 HR 2(5) RBI 4(11), Doug Mirabella 2-5

W-Weber 1-1, Dotel S3
L-Lieber 1-3

Back and forth scoring then HOU plates the go ahead run in the top of the 9th Dotel on for the save in back to back games.

Glaus 2-4 2B(11)
Mondesi 2-5 2B(2) RBI (9), Kent 2-4 HR(3) RBI 2(11)

W-Rueter 1-2, Dotel H1, Riske S2
L-Oliver 2-3

The Penguins plate an impressive 90% hit-to-run ratio including a Grand Slam by Jeff Kent! The Mauler bats finally awake in the 5th but to no avail as Ray King continues to pitch poorly (ERA 12.66) allowing the insurance HOU needed. Maulers scatter 12 hits and LOB:7 but finally a big game for the dynamic duo of Guerrero & Glaus but it wasn’t enough.

Varitek 2-5, Catalanotto 3-5, Guerrero 2-4 2B(8) RBI 2(15), Glaus 2-4 2B(12) HR(4) RBI 3(16)
Lawton 2-5, Kent 2-5 HR(4) RBI 4(15), Jose Cruz 2-4 2B(6)

W-Tavarez 2-4
L-Lilly 0-3

Julian Tavarez goes the distance scattering 6 hits and it’s finally HAMMERING TIME! As the Maulers pound out 11 hits and 8 runs. Frank Catalanotto & Troy Glaus are the hitting stars.

Catalanotto 2-4 HR2(4) RBI 2(9), Glaus 4-4 2B(13) Ward 2-4 2B(3)

W-Buehrle 3-2
L-Brower 0-2

A complete game 4 hit gem by Mark Buehrle stifles the Mauler bats as the Penguins quietly plate 4 runs for the victory.

Reese 2-3 2B(2)
Kent 2-4 RBI (16), Jenkins 2-4 HR (3)

What’s a manager to do when your defense implodes allowing 3 unearned runs while your ace is trying to salvage some face. At the same time the Penguins pound out 12 hits for 10 runs with an explosive 5 run 6th inning then adding 2 more in the 7th to seal the deal. Pujols hits his 8th HR of his rookie campaign.

Jeff Kent 4-5 2B2(11), Albert Pujols 1-5 HR(8) RBI2(18), Jose Cruz 2-5

A disappointing home performance for the Maulers in all facets of the game, as the Penguins take us to school winning 5 out of 6. MVM having to rest a number of starters just couldn’t get consistent hitting, pitching or defense for that matter, from the bench, enough said for a downright embarrassing bush league performance Grrrr!

Jeff Kent monster series – 13-26 .500/.846/1.346 / 2B-3 / HR-2 / RBI-7
Frank Catalonatto – 10-24 .416 improves his BA to .347 for the season

Michigan gets on top in the first with a Jim Edmonds two run blast. The Bandits come back to tie it in the 5th and go ahead as well. Michigan ties it up in the bottom of the 7th with 2 runs. In the top of the 9th, the Bandits push across a run to win the game. Hernandez with a homer and 3 RBI for Blarney Drive.

Blarney Drive 6 Michigan 5

W, Tam 1-0
S, Weathers 6
L, Beck 0-1

Marquis throws a strong 6 innings to pick up his 4th win of the year. Green hits a grand slam and Giles hits a homer as well. For Michigan, they get Nick Johnson‘s first career homer. Surhoff adds a homer.

W, Marquis 4-1
L, L. Hernandez 1-3

Blarney Drive continues their excellent hitting and pounds out 18 hits. Mike Hampton throws an effective 6 innings. Shawn Green continues to be hot with 2 homers, 4 hits, and 5 RBI. Selby adds a homer. Michigan gets a homer from Cristian Guzman and Jim Edmonds. Orlando Hernandez gets roughed up.

W, Hampton 2-3
S, Groom 1
L, O. Hernandez 1-1

Michigan gets 2 runs in the first, but the Bandits counter with a 2 run Klesko homer in the 2nd. Spivey hits a homer in the 6th inning to break the tie. His homer is the last run in the game and the Bandits relieving corps does the rest.

W, Reitsma 1-1
S, Weathers 7
L, Sheets 0-3

Its a pitching duel until Klesko knocks in a run in the 6th inning. Paquette adds a homer in the 8th. Randy Johnson gives up 2 hits after 7 and is lifted for David Weathers who gives up no hits over 2 innings.

W, Johnson 5-0
S, Weathers 8
L, Penny 2-2

Both game 1 pitchers start this game.

Brian Giles cranks a 2 run homer for the Bandits in the 1st inning. Brady Anderson hits a triple to knock in 2 to tie the game. Castilla hits a single to knock in Anderson. In the 3rd, Anderson comes up big with a double to knock in 2. Ordonez hits a homer in the 4th to narrow the Michigan lead. And, Hernandez hits a bomb after Ordonez. In the bottom of the 4th, Fordyce hits a homer for Michigan.

Michigan wins their only game of the series. Castilla comes up big with 2 homers and 6 RBI. Anderson had 2 triples, 1 double and 5 RBI.

W, Clement 1-2
L, Wells 1-1

What? Im sorry, what did you say? I thought I heard you say Division Leading Stealers. Am I that drunk already?

Yes you probably are, and yes they are definitely leading the Central.

After spending the past 3 weeks on the road, Southlake Returns home to their new stadium in first place, despite in a surprise move they traded away their only true starter in Darryl Kile to division rival Chicago just two weeks into the season.

MWWLPA Player Rep Jeff Conine has said the union is monitoring the situation but has not decided if they will formally ask the commissioners office to investigate if Tanking is actually taking place. Meanwhile Governor John Engler is not waiting for the Union. He has already instructed the State Treasury Department to look into if any action has taken place that would allow him to revoke the Tax Abatement and/or Bonds issued that assisted in the building of the new stadium on the Shores of Lake Huron.

Chaos and Drama though have taken a back seat these past few weeks as Southlake returns having won 7 of their past 10.

Castle Rock having made it to the WC Round last year, has added even more Amory to their team. Castle Rock is second in the AL in Batting Average, 1st in HRs, 1st in OBP, 1st in Slugging, and 1st in scoring.

Luis Gonzalez has come out of Spring Training En Fuego, slashing 385/429/780. Mike Sweeney has been deadly as well hitting .313 with a .627 Slugging. If you happen to get lucky and not get beat by either of those guys, CRH simply trots out there a young fellow by the name of Barry Bonds with an otherwordly .505 OBP. In fact Gonzalez and Bonds are 1and 2 in Runs Created this year.

This is the type of lineup that causes Pitchers to lose their hair early. Vegas must agree with the bald guys. With the departure of Kile they give SouthLake’s staff no chance of competing this week. The wise guys have CRH as -350 to sweep the series and an unreal -1750 to win or tie the series.

Game 1 will take place Friday night and feature Staff Ace Chris Carpenter and his microscopic 1.88 ERA against the Fat Toad Irabu. With the wind coming in off the lake it may be chilly forcing the roof to be closed. You can follow the action on PASS Sports.

Darr proved getting smarter was not in his playbook. After leading off with a single and moving to third on a double by Alomar, he tried to test the arm of Dye on Beltran’s pop up to right field. The result of that decision? Two outs and no runs. Darr was definitely testing Sarge’s patience level. 2 – 0 CRH after 1.

CRH added another run in the third thanks to a Catchers Interference call to extend the inning. Unlike Darr, Davis made up for his mistake with a lead off homerun to start the bottom of the third. But Southlake wasnt finished in the inning. A base hit by Martin, a walk to Alomar and a single by Beltran added another run. With two outs an infield single off the leg of the pitcher Carpenter kept the inning going. The leg pain must have been on the pitcher’s mind as he promptly gave up a single to Nunez which added two more. At the end of 3 innings Southlake lead 4 – 3.

Castle Rock threatened in the fifth but Irabu got into a grove and out of the inning with no damage. In the bottom of the 5th, Alomar led off with a single, stole second, went to third on a Beltran single and scored on a ground out. With the pressure mounting that was the end of the night for Carpenter having gone just 4.2 and giving up 5 runs. With a chance to open up the lead against the reliever Bailey, the Stealers again shot themselves in the foot. Nunez popped up on a squeeze play, effectively killing the rally. End of 5 it was now Southlake holding onto a 5-3 lead.

Irabu had done a good job after the rough start. He had a few jams but worked out of them. The final line on him was 6 innings giving up 3 runs on 7 hits as Sarge told him to hit the showers and brought in Paul Shuey to start the 7th.

It looked like the right move as Shuey struck out the first batter. Feeling a big confident from that first out he challenged Bonds unlike Irabu who had walked him twice already. Like most times when you challenge Bonds you look like an idiot. NASA reported seeing the ball leaving the atmosphere for destinations unknown. The lead had been cut down to just one.

With the lefty Ryan on the mound, Sarge went to the bench. The righthanded hitting Encarnacion led off with a single, Eckstein added a one out single allowing Sarge to bring in the righthanded swinging Wooten. Shawn did his job with a basehit to score Juan, getting back the run Shuey yielded in the top of the inning. After seven innings of play it was 6-4 Stealers.

Sarge went with his strength and brought in Baez for the 8th. Having not surrendered a run all season, he is the team MVP. Or should i say WAS. A lead off HR by Dye followed by a pinch hit HR by Gant, and just like that it was tied with no one out yet. A walk to first baseman Petrick followed by back to back triples from Guerrero and Easely scored two more and CRH now had the led.

Sarge went to the mound and what can only be described as a heated discussion ensued, with Shuey getting the hook. Grant Roberts came in to close the door. He struck out Bonds, walked Gonzalez and gave up a double to Sweeney scoring two more. CRH and that incredible offense now led 10-6.

Castle Rocks bullpen did the rest as they brought the game to a close. After the game Sarge Stauffer was salty to say the least “How many freakin times do we need to keep shooting ourselves in the foot before we figure this game out. Just stupid, stupid baseball, by stupid stupid boys. When the make a movie about this team we can have Daniel Day Lewis portray our players. He was awesome in that movie My Left Foot, because that is all we will have left. We are just dumb.”

He then stormed out of the press conference telling Al Ackerman to kiss his ass as he pushed him aside while leaving the podium. Something tells me Sarge will be getting mail from the commissioner office in the form of a fine for his performance post game.

Final Score CRH 10 Stealers 6
WP: Ryan 1-0
LP: Baez 1-1
Big Boy Restaurant’s Big Boy of the game: Barry Bonds 2/3, 3 Runs, 2 Walks, and a RBI

Join us tomorrow afternoon down at the ballpark as a couple of crafty veteran southpaws go at it. It will be Pettite toeing the rubber for Castle Rock while Schoeneweis, winner of his last three, gets the ball for Southlake.

CRH kept swinging and finally put together something in the 3rd. With two down Bonds drew a walk and Gant singled for this third consecutive hit against SL, bringing up another one of yesterday’s heroes Dye. Dye did not disappoint singling home Bonds to tie the game. Oh Boy, do Gant and Dye love hitting against the Stealers. End of three we are tied at 1 a piece.

Aftrer the solo shot in the first Petite settled down by breezing through the next two innings. Things began to unravel in the bottom of the fourth. A one out walk to Alomar, a single by Beltran, followed by a single from Wooten gave the Stealers a lead. An infield single by Encarnacion loaded the bases. Then a Travis Fryman grounder to short brought in another run. Eric Owens followed with yet another single to plate Wooten. End of 3 its now Stealers 4-1.

A three run lead with six innings to go can feel like an eternity against the Rock Hounds lineup. No need to wait long today, as CRH answers with a lead off single by Easley, a walk to Bonds and yet another Gant single will cut the lead to 2. That would be the end of the day for Schoeneweis as Sarge went to Hasegawa in the 4th with two on and still no outs.

Dye would ground out to Fryman for the first out but it scored one run. Gonzalez would continue with his MVP candidacy season by singling home yet another Rock Hound, and just like that the score was tied in the middle of the fifth inning 4-4.

With two down and Wooten on first, Encarnacion would hit one to left field. The slow running Wooten had a full steam going. They wouldnt be dumb today and challenge the outfielder would they? They certainly are that dumb. But the gamble paid off as Gonzalez’s throw was just up the line and a head first slide by Wooten gave the Stealers the lead at the end of five innings 5-4.

After a lead off double in the top of the 6th, the Rock Hounds went small ball. However, Polanco could not get the bunt down and the inning fizzled. They would not play small ball in the 7th however. With two gone Gonzalez crushed one to deep centerfield and like that the Hounds had answered once again. Hounds 5 Stealers 5.

Carlos Beltran showed why he too is in the MVP conversation by matching Gonzo with a solo shot of his own giving the lead back to Southlake who need just 6 more outs for the Victory.

Sarge was going to make a risky move asking Nenn to come in for a 6 out save. He made it look easy for the first 3 of them. The Stealers offense gave Nenn some breathing room by adding on a run in the bottom of the 8th. How much breathing would Nenn need?

A lead off double by Easley brought Bonds to the plate as the potential tying run. Nenn got him on a change up. With one out Gant came to the plate. Yep, the same Gant who has destroyed the Stealers this weekend. He would continue to do so with his 4th hit of the day, a double to cut the lead to one.

That brought up Dye who already had two RBIs on the day. Nenn pulled the strings for his 3rd strike out of the day. Things would surely get easier now. Nope, that brought up league leader Gonzo.

Sarge went for the Lefty/Lefty matchup and signaled for Gabe White out of the pen. White got Gonzalez to slap a bouncer toward the mound. It took a bounce and got past White. Gant was off on contact with two outs, looks like a tie game. Then Eckstein came out of nowhere across the diamond. Grabbed the ball in the air barehanded and with one motion whipped it to first to get Gonzo by a half step. Game over, game over, game over. What a play.

Final Score: Southlake 7 Castle Rock 6 series tied a game a piece

WP: Hasegawa 1-0
LP: Quantrill 2-1
H: Nenn (3)
S: White (1)
Big Boy Restaurants’ Big Boy of the Game — Carlos Beltran 2/4, 2 Runs and 1 RBI

Game goes 17 innings

Carlos Guillen shows up as injured for 4 games for the Titans; I didn’t see an injury actually happen, so I suspect this is an AIM injury imposed after Game #6 ended.
For Gladstone, Chuck Knoblauch got hurt for 7 games and will miss the next series.

DeWitt 4
Dondero 3 (10)

W: A. Levine (1-0)
L: G. Carrara (0-1)

DeWitt 6
Dondero 4

W: P. Byrd (2-3)
L: K. Jarvis (1-3)
S: A. Alfonseca (5)

DeWitt 15
Dondero 2

W: B. Colon (5-0)
L: J. Santana (1-3)

DeWitt 17
Dondero 7

W: E. Milton (4-1)
L: P. Wilson (2-3)

Dondero 4
DeWitt 0

W: J. Acevedo (1-3)
L: A. Levine (1-1)

DeWitt 12
Dondero 3

W: T. Aramas (1-3)
L: J. Jennings (0-3)