2001 PLAYER / PITCHER OF THE WEEK #12

Jim Edmonds hits 2 homers and Palmeiro hits one as well. White gets the win in relief. Norton hits 2 homers for the visitors.

Michigan 9 Danbury 6

This one goes 12 innings. Womack with 3 hits. Nelson pitches 4 innings to get the win.

Danbury 3 Michigan 2 (12)

Lampkin with a homer and 3 RBI for Danbury. Tapani picks up the win.

Danbury 5 Michigan 4

Jim Thome is the star with 3 homers! Biggio adds a tater as well.

Danbury 8 Michigan 4

Bere vs. Penny

Thome and Alou each have 3 hits. Griffey and Shumpert hit homers. Fordyce hits a homer for Michigan.

Danbury wins the very long game.

Danbury 8 Michigan 4 (15)

Michigan’s bullpen is exhausted and Clement has to take on the work and the lumps. Figueroa wins his 2nd. Danbury has 3 homers.

Danbury 14 Michigan 7

The defending MWWL Champions are firmly entrenched back in first place with a five game lead over Monroeville. Meanwhile, the Stealers team has started the teardown looking toward the future. Ironically, the Demolition are lead on offense by Roberto Alomar and on the mound by Darryl Kile, both players who started the season playing for Southlake.

Lets see how it plays out.

The Stealers struck first when Eckstein drew a walk and advanced to third on a perfectly executed Hit and Run from Zeile. With the infield at double play depth, Conine made weak contact and brought in the run on an infield single. They would add two more on a Marlon Anderson single to give the Stealers a 3-0 lead after 3 innings.

Chicago looked as if they were going to answer in the 4th, but a Haynes coaxed a double play ball out of Hocking to end the threat. The Stealers would extend the lead on a solo homerun from Conine, who is starting to heat up.

Chicago would answer this time as Delgado started off the 6th with a solo shot. Later with two outs Conine personally would give back around when he dropped a fly ball. At the end of 6 innings it was now 4-2 Southlake.

Walks to Higginson and Delgado would put two on with two outs in the 7th and Colburn coming to the plate. Sarge stayed with Haynes and Colburn made him pay with that decision. A shot to the gap scored Higginson to cut the lead. Demolition Manager Ron Perranoski3 decided to gamble and sent Delgado too. A perfect throw from Payton to Eckstein to the plate gunned down the tying run. End of threat and momentum to Southlake.

When Kile walked the lead off batter in the 7th, the Domo reached out to Graves, another former Stealer. Graves first pitch was greeted by Eckstein and placed deep into the leftfield stands. Suddenly the game went from possible tie to a 6-3 Stealer lead.

The Stealers went to their new bullpen duo of Hasegawa and Leskanic for the 8th and 9th innings respectively. While Chicago would threaten in the 9th, Leskanic was able to secure that 3rd out for his 4th save of the season.

Stealers with the upset win 6-3.
LP: Kile (9-1)
WP: Haynes (3-4)
S: Leskanic (4)

Once again Southlake lead off the scoring when he took a Clemens faceball deep in the fifth inning to give them a 1-0 lead. The bottom of the 6th the Stealers looked to extend the lead, but a back pick of Zeile at thirdbase by Johnson put that thought to bed.

Alomar took measures into his own hands against his former team. With one out in the 7th he doubled to the gap and immediately stole third. Finley had words for Alomar but words were where the beef ended. Finley with motivation got Delgado on a line drive comebacker and Clark on a grounder to short to keep the score 1-0.

Davis led off the bottom of the 8th with a single to chase Clemens who went 7 innings giving up only 6 hits, but one being a HR. The Demolition went to Zimmerman to hold the lead and give them a chance in the 9th.

With pinch runner Martin on first Zim got Eckstein to fly to left for out number one. Having worked in game one, Sarge gave Zeile the Hit and Run sign and again he executed to perfection hitting it into the hole Alomar vacated. Runners on the corner with one out.

With Chicago back playing for the double play, Zeile took off for second and got in under Johnson’s throw, to put runners onn 2nd and 3rd. With Beltran at the plate the double play was out, but with first base open it also took the bat out of his hands, as he was intentionally walked. Chicago would rather take their chances with Singleton. Singleton would make them pay with a single to give the Stealers a 2-0 lead.

Finley would be the pitcher of the day as he finished out the 9th inning for yet another complete game, his 5th of the year. He gets the shutout, giving up only 3 hits, while striking out 6 and giving up on walks. An impressive game against the hard hitting Demolition.

Final Score 2-0
WP: Finley (5 -6)
LP: Clemens (4-6)

Chicago shuffled their lineup for game three and it paid off immediately when Delgado brought home Conseco to start the scoring early. The Stealers came back in their half of the third inning when Beltran hit a two run homer to give them a 2-1 lead after 3 innings.

The Stealers would chase Millwood the next inning when they plated 4 to give them a 6-1 lead. They would add 3 more off the bullpen in the 5th.

That is all the Stealers would need on this day. Schoeneweis would almost pitch the second consecutive complete game, but the Skipper needed Gabe White to get that third out in the 9th inning. Final Score Southlake 9 – Chicago 4

WP: Schoeneweis (5-5)
LP: Millwood (4-6)

After getting the first two outs in the bottom of the 2nd, a single, a walk, an error followed by yet another walk brought in the first run for the Stealers. Chicago would waste no time answering. Denny Hocking led off the third with a solo shot to tie the game.

Things got interesting in the bottom of the 4th. With two outs, Nunez blooped a single to the outfield. A misplay by Justice would be the third error by Chicago on the day and Nunez would end up standing on third. Arrojo must have been upset with his defense because he failed to notice the huge lead Nunez had on third base. As he lifted his leg to go home Nunez did as well. A head first slide to the front side of the plate resulted in a safe call by the umpire and a steal of Home.

The crowd was in a frenzy as the Stealers had taken the lead 2-1. The lack of focus continued for Arrojo has he flipped a curveball that hung over the plate for Davis to plant in the seats extending the lead to 3-1.

Arrojo got the first two outs of the fifth inning, but Chicago wanted to look at matchups and went with Danny Graves. His return to Southlake has not been pleasant. Marlon Anderson met him with a double and Singleton singled making it a 4-1 Stealers lead.

Chicago needed something to change and an error in the 6th would be the thing they needed. Davis misplayed an easy pop=up resulting with Stewart standing on second base. Singles by Higginson and Alomar would score one run and chase Glover on the day.

Gabe White having finished the previous game was called on again. Delgado hit on to the deepest part of CF, but it didn’t have the distance. Tony Clark decided to keep the ball on the ground for a single scoring Higgy. White would get Justice swinging and a flyout to end the threat in the 6th making the score 4-3 Stealers.

In the bottom of the inning, a two out single by Conine would bring Zimmerman in form the pen. Conine read the pitcher and took off to get his 3rd steal of the season. With a runner in scoring position, Singleton hit a seeing eye ground ball to give the Stealers a 5-3 lead.

The Stealers starting pitching has been suspect. The team has a 5th worst ERA of 5.12. But the bullpen has been a lone bright spot. A two run lead was all they would need to bring this one home as well. Leskanic, with a WHIP near 0.50 since joining the Stealers, would pitch the 7th and Smoltz would take care of the 8th and 9th for just his 2nd save of the year.

Final Score Stealers 5- Chicago 3
WP: Glover (3-3)
LP: Arrojo (1-3)
S: Smoltz (2)

Terry Adams would get the unfortunate task of trying to match Pedro. For the first five innings he had done just that. Five consecutive hits in the top of the 6th by the Demolition gave them a 3-0 lead. The lead may have well been 103 – 0 with Pedro on the mound. He went a solid 7 innnings, while Fassero and Zimmerman would complete the shutout for Chicago.

What can you say Pedro is Pedro. Final Score Chicago 5-0.

WP: Martinez (5-2)
LP: Adams (2 – 3)

The Demolition would take advantage of a tired Smoltz and put one run on the scoreboard in the first inning when Tony Clark singled home Higginson. This time the Stealers answered when Macias brought home Singleton in the 2nd to tie the game, followed by a Davis single to score Anderson and give the Stealers the lead 2-1.

The Demolition put the first two runners on in the 5th. Smoltz looked exhausted. With the game on the line, he dug deep and got Stewart swinging, Higgy to pop up to the infield and capped the inning with a strikeout of his old teammate Alomar.

Alomar would exact revenge in the bottom of the fifth. With runners on second and third, Anderson popped up down the right field line. Alomar would make the catch in foul territory, turn and throw home to get Conine at the plate. Score remained 2-1 after 5 innings.

Smoltz was rejuvinated by the way he would close out the fifth. He would go into cruise control until Stewart singled with two out in the 7th for his 3rd hit of the night. Paul Chop Shuey would load the bases but get out of the inning to keep the lead intact.

The Stealers had the chance to put the game away in the 8th. With two outs Anderson singled, giving the Stealers the opportunity to bring Beltran off the bench to pinch hit. On a two ball and one strike count, Anderson stole 2nd base. With first base open, the Demolition elected to walk Beltran. The Stealer skipper had taken the bat out of his best players hand with that steal of second. When Payton failed to produce the lead remained at one.

With Smoltz having started and Nen down on the farm for some unknown reason, the Stealers turned to Hasegawa to close it out. A two out walk to Higginson was the life the Demolition needed. Alomar followed that up with a single against the player he was traded for. Then Colburn would rocket one past Zeile to bring both runners home. Alomar swiping the plate with his hand then pounding on it for emphasis afterward.

Billy Wagner would come in for the 21st time this year. He has not allowed a run all season. The Stealers would not break that streak, as Wagner put them down 1-2-3 for the save, allowing Chicago to escape with a 3-2 win and put them back on a winning streak.

WP: Vosberg (3-0)
LP: Hasegawa (1-1)
S: Wagner (1)

Finley was impressive in game 2 as he has a shot at Pitcher of the week, along with Pedro from game 5. The Stealers despite being in tear down mode win another series. This team may be looking to unload a few more assests in the weeks leading up to the trade deadline.

W-Eric Gagne 4-6 (CG 3 Hitter)
L-Julian Tavarez 4-8

The Hammering time lineup stifled by a dazzling performance from Eric Gagne as the Expos lineup provides adequate run support aided by 2 MVM errors leading to 2 unearned runs. HWE 4-0.

Todd Walker 3-5 2B(8) HR(6) RBI(25)

W-Darren Oliver 7-4 (CG 6 hitter Grade 20)
L-Ricardo Rincon 1-1

Teams exchange shutouts and what a pitchers shoot out it was! Kerry Wood hurls 7 IP, 3 hits and 10Ks! Darren Oliver whose been baffling the APBA computer gods all season goes all 9 IP with 8 Ks of his own, scattering 6 hits and obtaining Grade 20 status. Darryl Ward pinch hits in the 9th for a struggling Jacque Jones and comes through in the clutch getting the walk off hit to score Pokey Reese who PR for Troy Glaus after he patiently takes ball 4 to get on base any way he could. The Maulers continue to struggle at the plate but manage a victory in an unconventional “unhammering” time way. MVM 1-0.

W-Jason Christiansen 3-4, Jim Mecir H(4), Ricardo Rincon S(8)
L-Jon Lieber 5-5

Pitching, pitching, pitching as both teams offenses are tepid at best and Harper Woods comes out on top 3-2 lead by 2 solo HRs from Martinez and Gomez. Its 2-2 after 7 and the Expos plate the winning run in the top of the 8th on the solo HR by Martinez. Where have the Maulers bats gone???. HWE 3-2

Chris Gomez 2-4 HR(4) RBI(21), Ramon E. Martinez 1-4 GWHR(4)
Troy Glaus 2-3 2B 2(25)

W-Jim Brower 2-2 (CG 5 Hitter)
L-Jason Christiansen 3-5

How does a team commit 6 errors yes count them 6! And still come out on top? A stellar starting performance by Jim Brower that’s how, baffling the Expos lineup scattering 5 hits as HWE LOB 9. Maulers have just enough offense and this time get a GWHR from Russ Branyan. Overall, the Mauler offense is no where to be found but have managed to split the first 4 games. On to the double header! MVM 2-1.

Doug Mientkiewicz 2-4 RBI(42)
Russ Braynon 1-3 GWHR(11) RBI(25)

W-Jarrod Washburn 4-5
L-Jason Schmidt 8-5

The Expos continue to hit the ball out of the park smacking 2 more HRs this time off of the Maulers ace Jason Schmidt. The Maulers struggle to make it close being gifted 2 unearned runs and fall short. HWE 3-2

Todd Walker 3-4 2B 2(10) HR (7) RBI 2(28)
Doug Mientkiewicz 2-3 2B(17) RBI (43)

W-Ray King 2-0, Ramiro Mendoza H(4)
L-Kerry Ligtenberg 1-2

Finally, some offense from both teams! But the hammering time lineup prevails to gain a series sweep. The lead see-sawed until the 6th when the Maulers pound out 5 runs, with 10 extra base hits overall. HWE continue with the long ball as Larry Walker and Bob Mueller have a huge performance in a losing effort. MVM 13-8.

Todd Walker 2-5
Todd Helton 2-4 2B(16)
Larry Walker 2-4 HR(13) RBI 3(50)
Bill Mueller 2-4 HR 2(4) RBI 5(21)

Frank Catalanotto 2-4 2B(12) 3B(4)
Doug Mientkiewicz 2-5 2B 2(19) RBI (44)
Alfonso Soriano 4-5 2B(18) RBI (40)
Jacque Jones 3-4 2B(13) HR (5) RBI 3(19)
Felipe Lopez 2-4 HR (2) RBI (6)

Series split and based upon the pathetic offensive and defensive performance by the Maulers, I’ll take it. So much for continuing to make up ground in the division after last week’s 5 out of 6. In reality The Expos didn’t light up the offensive fireworks much either although they did hit 7-HRs. All in all, both teams evenly matched each other’s pathetic offensive and defensive performances lack there of cost each team victories. Pitching was king this series notable performances:

HWE Eric Gagne Game 1 CG 3 Hitter
HWE Kerry Wood Game 7IP 10-Ks 3 hitter (loss)
MVM Darren Oliver Game 2 CG 6 Hitter 8-Ks
MVM Jim Brower Game CG 5 Hitter