1999 PLAYER / PITCHER OF THE WEEK #1

NAME	TEAM	AVG	SLG	G	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	R	RBI	K	W	IW	SB	CS	HBP
BAINES,Harold	MTC AL	.400	.900	5	20	8	1	0	3	4	9	0	3	0	0	0	0

NAME	CLUB	G	W	L	S	ERA	IP	R	ER	H	K	BB	IBB	WP	BK	HB	HR
HERSHISER,Orel	CBL AL	1	1	0	0	0.00	7.2	0	0	5	7	1	0	0	0	0	0

NAME	TEAM	AVG	SLG	G	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	R	RBI	K	W	IW	SB	CS	HBP
VENTURA,Robin	WGE NL	.409	.909	5	22	9	5	0	2	5	10	0	1	0	0	0	0

NAME	CLUB	G	W	L	S	ERA	IP	R	ER	H	K	BB	IBB	WP	BK	HB	HR
ALVAREZ,Wilson	DMH NL	1	1	0	0	0.00	9	0	0	3	6	1	0	0	0	0	0

Danbury Mad Hatters @ Michigan Mauraders
Series Preview:	Opening series for both clubs.
Game #1:	Bell hits 9th inning 2 run HR for the walkoff win. Mad Hatters 8-7
Game #2:	Ripken, Williams and Anderson all have 3 RBIs for Mich. Michigan 12-3
Game #3:	Michigan scores 3 in top of 6 and hold on for the win. Michigan 10-9
Game #4:	Mercer gets complete game victory.Griffey has 4 Rbis with a double and HR. Danbury 10 – 2
Game #5:	Rubber game goes to the MH. Alvarez throws a 3 hitter and Griffey hit walkoff HR in the 9th. Danbury 1 – 0
Series Summary:	Encouraging series for the 2nd year team.

DeWitt Tigers @ Corktown Bootleggers
Series Preview:	The opening day festivities in Corktown began with the 1998 World Series rings presented as well as the banner being revealed. The fans and the organization believe they hve another run in them, but first they must take back the East. It starts with a familar foe about an hour away in Dewitt. The Tigers have been improving every season since joining the league and have built an impressive core.
Game #1:	No World Series hangover for the Champs today. They gave the fans a lot to cheer about today. The Bootleggers got all over Bartolo Colon today. Corktown 7-3 W. Omar Daal 1-0 L. Bartolo Colon 0-1
Game #2:	Corktown jumps all over the Tigers pitching and takes a quick – lead. Dewitt began to chip away starting in the 6th and actually took the lead in the 8th 7-6. Corktown was able to tie the game in the 9th and eventually walked it off with an Alex Rodriguez HR in the 11th. Dewitt showed a ton of heart in the Tigers loss. Rookie Billy Koch took a tough L blowing the save (solo HR) and giving up the winning HR. Corktown 8-7 (11) W. Troy Percival 1-0 L. Billy Koch 0-1
Game #3:	Corktown starts game 3 like they did in game 2, but this time they held onto a 6-1 lead from the 3rd inning on. Steve Treshel gave the Bootleggers a very impressive 8 innings of 1 run ball. Corktown 6-1 W. Steve Trachsel 1-0 L. Esteban Loaiza 0-1
Game #4:	Corktown flexing their muscles in game 4. Corktown 11-0 W. Orel Hershiser 1-0 L. Paul Byrd 0-1
Game #5:	This game wasn’t close either, but this time it was all Tigers. Dewitt 6-0 W. Sidney Ponson 1-0 L. Joe Mays 0-1
Series Summary:	None of the games were really close, aside from 1, but this does not show the talent that is in that Dewitt organization. Long season for these 2 AL East teams.

Long Beach Titans @ Winnipeg Goldeyes
Series Summary:	Long Beach opens the season by taking 3 of 5 from Winnipeg.

Hampton Huskies @ Manhattan Gas Hornets
Series Preview:	The defending NL champion Manhattan Gas Hornets open the new campaign hosting Hampton. Biggest concerns in the Big Apple are the starting staff. Morris is on the mend from TJ surgery, and the starters were rough in spring, can they be better. The team will need the offense firing on all cyclinders every game.
Game #1:	Well the Gas Hornets offense was definitely off and firing in this one. 17 hits, 12 runs, homers from Derek Jeter (1) and Matt Stairs (1). And to top it off, Sterling Hitchcock tosses an 8 inning 4 hitter and Manhattan wins it 12-0. Ricky Gutierrez gets half the Huskies hits. HAM 0-4-0 LP Jamie Wright (0-1) MGH 12-17-0 WP Hitchcock (1-0)
Game #2:	Hampton bounces back in the 2nd game with Tony Jr. Armas tossing a CG 5 hit shutout! Only problem is, after the game he reported to the trainer that he felt something in the arm give and most likely is done for the season. But it was a good effort! Henry Rodriquez gets 3 hits and Brian Daubach also for 3 for 4 in spearheading the attack that led to a 4-0 Huskies win. HAM 4-9-0 WP Armas (1-0) MGH 0-5-0 LP Brian Moehler (0-1)
Game #3:	OK – both teams score in this one (and the next 2 to boot). Neither starter will figure in the decision but only because John Wetteland blows the save in the 7th when he gives up 2 runs (knew he was in too long). Hampton gets on the board first in the 3rd on a Jeremy Burnitz homer (1). Then the good guys score 3 in the 4th and another in the 5th. Adrian Brown has a good day for Manhattan, 3 for 4, 2 rbis. Hampton scores 2 in the 6th making it 4-3 Gas Hornets, but Matt Stairs homers (s) in the bottom half for 5-3 lead. Then the blown save (error aided), but Manhattan then scores 1 in the 7th and 2 more in the 8th to pull ahead and win it 8-5. HRod (hotRod or Henry Rodriguez) goes 3 for 5 with a run and rbi, while Burnitz, Greg Vaughn, Mark Redmond and Billy Spiers each get 2 hits in Hampton’s 13 hit attack. HAM 5-13-1 LP Terry Mathews (0-1) MGH 8-11-1 WP Wetteland (1-0) BS (1), S Mantei (1)
Game #4:	Oh how the teeter totters – HRod (HotRod or Henry Rodriguez) must have gotten fired up in the last game because he has a 3 for 5 day (again) but this tie with a double and 2 homers (2) and 6 rbis!! He propelled the team to a big 10-1 lead after 7 – along with the stellar pitching of Juan Guzman (7 ip, 5 hits, 1 run). Kind of spoiled the day for Tim Wakefield who took the brunt of the run giving (7 ERs in 6 ip). B.J. Surhoff helped a bunch too with a 3 for 5 day and Brian Daubach kept hitting the Gas Hornet pitching getting 2 more hits. Ray Durham (1) and Andy Fox (1) each hit very late 2 run homers to make it look a lot closer than it was. HAM 10-11-0 WP Guzman (1-0) MGH 5- 9-0 LP Wakefield (0-1)
Game #5:	See-saw, Margery Daw, and all that. So of course, the Gas Hornets come back to win the finale. And they did it in a style familiar with the rest of the series. Score a lot before the other guys and hope it holds up. And you could really say the game belonged to Todd Pratt. He launches a grand slam (1) in the 2nd. Then adds a solo shot (2) in the 4th, and to add icing to the cake, he hits a 2 run single in the 5th. 3 for 3 day with a walk, 2 runs, 7 rbis and 2 homers. Not bad for a fill-in. The 8 run lead was enough to protect us from Brian Daubach who goes 2 for 3 with a double, homer (1) and 3 rbis. We had 1 fewer hit (8) than we did walks (9) – and we had Pratt (and he got 1 of the walks!!). HAM 3-9-1 LP Rolando Arrojo (0-1) COL 8-8-0 WP Nelson P. Cruz (1-0)
Series Summary:	Series ends up 3-2 Manhattan with a few pitching gems (or dogs if you were the other team) and lots of bat action. In fact, read below: Some pain in the butt Huskies: Brian Daubach hits .500 for the week in 4 games with an OPS of 1.342! However, his teammate Henry Rodriguez (HRod or HotRod) hits a bit better in his 4 games – .529, 6 runs, 7 rbis, and ops of 1.556. Or course it’s early but it says there is some muscle in Hampton or little pitching in Manhattan.

Blarney Drive Bandits @ Hollywood Vampires
Series Summary:	Hollywood gets back to where they started from in 1971, the NL West. They win the first 2 games and drop the last 3 to most likely the NL World Series representative.

California Quakes @ Fort Worth Panthers
Series Summary:	California takes 3 of 5 from Fort Worth to start the season.

Castle Rock Hounds @ Portland Mavericks
Series Preview:	Castle Rock Hounds visit the Portland Mavericks to start out the year.
Game #1:	Portland jumps out to 2-0 lead in the first inning, but JT Snow hits a solo dinger to halve the lead in the top of the third. Castle Rock ties it up 2-2 in the top of the 4th. Jose Valentin his a solo HR for Portland in the bottom of the 6th inning to give Portland the lead.Todd Hundley then slugs a 2-run blast in the bottom of the 7th to give Portland some insurance. POR 5 CRH 2. In the top of the ninth with two outs, Portland makes an error giving up a run. Barry Bonds steps up with Tatis and Petrick on. Bonds hits it deep… but not deep enough. (Need just a little more power Bonds things, I wonder what could help with that?) POR 5 CRC 3
Game #2:	Hounds strike first getting 3 runs in the 3rd. Portland get 1 run back with a Zeile RBI single in the 4th. After Hounds notch another run in the 5th, Jose Valentin hits a two run blast. 4-3 Castle Rock. Bonds then shows some increased strength as he blasts a solo shot, and Sweeney follows up with one of his own. 6-3 Hounds. Portland gets one more run, but the Hounds get the win. CRH 6 POR 4.
Game #3:	Bonds hits a 2-run blast in the first inning, and the Hounds never look back from there… running away with the easy win. Portland has three injuries for the game: Ziele 4 days, Beltran and Hunter 5 days. CRH 9 POR 3
Game #4:	Both pitchers are locked in with no runs through 6 innings. Hounds get one run in the 7th off a Portland on an error, and that was all they would need for the win. CRH 1 POR 0
Game #5:	Hounds with a 2-0 lead, before back-to-back homes from Tatis and Bonds make it 5-0 in the 3rd. In the bottom of the 8th Portland starts to make a run, and tie the game up at 7 on a wild pitch by Elarton. Either team scores in the 9th and we are on to extras. In the top of the 11th, Bonds hits his 4th home run on the year. Dye follows it up and hits a two-run HR . CRH 10 POR 7 (11)
Series Summary:	Castle Rock Hounds come in to Portland and win 4 of 5 to start the season off nicely.

Baltimore Blue Crabs @ Santa Rosa Beach Bums
Series Preview:	Santa Rosa Beach welcomes the Baltimore Blue Crabs to opening day on the Emerald coast for a 6 game set. The Bums and Crabs battled for the division cellar last year. Bums are looking for a better season this year with some shake-ups in the front office.
Game #1:	The Crabs send rookie Hudson to the mound to face veteran righthander Smoltz (14-8, 3.17) coming off a stellar season. The Crabs strike first as Jones bangs a three run shot in the 3rd. Followed by a Wilson dinger, Crabs 4-0. In the 4th Jones rolled a single after a McLemore double chasing Smoltz. In the 4th Bums Alomar reached on a error, Rios doubled and Sanders singled them home, Crabs 5-2. Thomas and Loretta walked to fill the bases with 1-out. And Encarnacion grounded into a double play. After only giving up 2 runs on 3 hits Crabs pull Hudson. Bums Encarnacion and Reed immediately drew walks and Perez went deep to tie it up in the 8th. Game reset. In the 11th Bums Thomas lead off with a double, Caminiti was intentionally walked and Loretta beat out a bunt to fill the bases. Lopez pinch hit for Cruz and Ducey on third pinch ran for Thomas. Clontz is in to pitch. Crabs play the infield in. Lopez struck out! And Reed is walked. Bums 6-5 in 11. Crabs 5 12 2 LP: Munoz 2b: McLemore; HR: Jones, Wilson. Bums 6 6 0 WP: Karsay 2b: Rios, Thomas; HR Perez: SH: Loretta.
Game #2:	The Crabs try to rebound with Suppan (1-1, 3.20) against Bums Rosado (7-12, 4.42). Crabs start off first again in the 1st with Wilson ripping a 2-out solo shot. Bums tie it up in the 4th as Thomas doubled and Koskie singled him home. Koskie advanced to second on the throw home and scored when Gonzalez threw errant on a Loretta grounder. Bums 2-1. In the 6th Crabs Casey walked, Widger banged his second double and Gonzalez made-up for his error with a 2-run double. Crabs 3-2. With 1-out in the 8th Alomar, Sanders, and Thomas singled to fill the bases. Crabs Boehringer then proceeded to nail Koskie. Game Reset. Boehringer copied that on Loretta. Bums 4-3. Loretta needs to leave the game and Boehringer is ejected. Must be some bad blood. Encarnacion banged a single to left scoring a couple and breaking the game open. Pinch Runner Ducey scored on a Perez 2-out single. Bums take a 7-3 lead on a 5 spot. Crabs 3 10 2 LP: Boehringer 2b: Widger 2, Wilson, Gonzalez; HR: Wilson; Sb: Johnson, Kapler. Bums 7 10 0 WP: Sims 2b: Thomas HBP: Koskie, Loretta; Sb: Encarnacion
Game #3:	With tempers a little edgy and Crabs defense a little shakey, the Crabs call on Williams (9-13, 4.04) and the Bums Ortiz (4-2, 3.87). Bums start first this time with a 2-out solo shot by Sanders. In the 3rd with 2-out Sanders drew a walk, stole and scored on a Koskie single, Bums 2-0. Bums score again in the 5th, Perez doubled and advanced to third and home on sacrifice flies by Ducey and Sanders. Ortiz gives up a no-hitter in the 8th on a leadoff single to Winn. Crabs 0 1 0 LP: Williams 2b: Merced. Bums 3 7 0 WP: Ortiz 2b: Perez 2, Hidalgo; HR: Sanders; IBB: Alomar; SF: Sanders; Sb: Sanders.
Game #4:	Crabs call on Dempster (1-6, 11.17) to turn things around and the Bums first year man Rapp (10-16, 6.28) whom California dropped after last season. In the 3rd Crabs McLemore singled, Jones reached via error advancing McLemore to third and Wilson lifted a sacrifice fly. In the 7th Casey and Brogna singled and with 2-out Santiago got his mit in the way to fill the bases and Posada went deep for a GRAND SLAM, Crabs 5-0. Crabs 5 5 2 WP: Dempster HR: Posada; SF: Wilson Bums 0 3 2 LP: Rapp Sb: Sanders.
Game #5:	Crabs call x-Bum Appier (0-1, 6.60) and the Bums call on Smoltz (0-0, 12.27) hoping to work out some cobwebs, Smoltz faded late in the season last year. Let’s hope there’s not a carry over. Alomar and Rios leadoff the bottom of the 1st with singles and Caminit doubled them home. In the 3rd Rios doubled and Caminit brought him home on a 2-out 2-base error by Young, Bums 3-0. Crabs Young makes up for the error with a solo shot in the very next at bat. In the bottom half Perez got a Little League homer on a single and 3-base Wilson error, Bums 4-1. With 2-out and Caminiti on first in the 8th Encarnacion ripped a double down the left field line for an RBI. Followed by a Reed RBI single. Crabs Posada strikes again with a 2-run homer in the 9th, 6-3 with 2-out. Crabs 3 5 3 LP: Appier HR: Young, Posada. Bums 6 8 1 WP: Smoltz 2b: Caminiti, Rios, Encarnacion; H Almanza, Jones.
Series Summary:	Bums start the season strong at home taking 4 of 5. Encarnacion and Perez were strong at the bottom of the order.

Harper Woods Expos @ Stockton Wings
Game #1:	STO 3 – HWE 2 WP: J. Anderson LP: Mussina (CG) SV: Garces HR: HWE–Grissom STO scored two early on a Troy Glaus double, only to watch HWE tie it with single runs in the next two innings. Pokey Reese drove in the eventual winner with a 7th inning double, one of three hits for him. Mike Mussina went the distance in a losing cause for HWE.
Game #2:	STO 3 – HWE 2 WP: BJ Ryan LP: Gagne HR: STO–Glaus (walk-off) HWE took a 2-1 lead in the 6th inning, but saw STO tie it up in the bottom half. It stayed that way until Troy Glaus walked it off with his second career HR.
Game #3:	STO 6 – HWE 5 (11 inn.) WP: R. Harris LP: J. Christianson HR: HWE–L. Walker, Helton; STO–V. Guerrero STO put up a five-spot in the 5th inning, but a Larry Walker HR tied it up in the 7th for HWE. Frank Catalanotto was the walk-off hero this time, with a run-scoring single in the 11th.
Game #4:	STO 4 – HWE 1 WP: Schmidt LP: Oquist SV: BJ Ryan HR: HWE–Larkin; STO–Guerrero HWE took an early 1-0 lead on Barry Larkin‘s HR, but couldn’t hold it. The bottom of the STO did most of the damage, with four hits and three RBI. BJ Ryan got the save with two hitless innings.
Game #5:	STO 7 – HWE 6 WP: Garces LP: Mecir HR: HWE–Lampkin, L. Walker, Grissom; Glaus, V. Guerrero (walk-off) THis time, STO couldn’t hold an early lead, giving up a 5-3 lead on a Larry Walker game-tying HR in the 7th. HWE took a one-run lead in the top of the 8th, but STO tied it in the bottom. For the third time in the series, STO got a walk-off hit, this time a Vlad Guerrero blast.
Series Summary:	STO sweeps the series, 5 games to 0 There were four on-run games, and three of them were won on walk-off hits (two of them HRs). STO’s Rich Garces and BJ Ryan both had a win and a save. Vlad Guerrero hit .315 (6-19), with 4 runs, 6 RBI, 2 BB, and 3 HRs Larry Walker (HWE), Marquis Grissom (HWE), and Troy Glaus (STO) all hit two HRs in the series.

Chicago Demolition @ Southlake Scorpions
Series Preview:	Opening series of the 1999 MWWL features the Chicago Demolition traveling to the southern tip of Lake Michigan to take on the Southlake Scorpions.
Game #1:	Game 1 features Pedro Martinez for Chicago versus David Cone for Southlake. The Scorpions get out the gate quick with 4 runs of Pedro in the last of the 1st. They add 2 more in the second as they chase Martinez. Scorpions add a single run in the 3rd, 2 in the 4th and 6 more in the 5th. Demolition add 3 in the 4th but are blanked after that. Bagwell, Bichette and Russ Davis each with 3 RBI as the Scorpions tally 20 hits in the win. Final Scorpions 17, Demolition 3.
Game #2:	Game 2 features Kevin Millwood versus Andy Ashby. Eli Marrero hits a 2-run HR in the top of the 11th to lead the Demolition to the win. Chicago runs wild with 7 SB. Millwood goes 10 for the win while John Rocker take the loss. Final Demolition 5, Scorpions 3.
Game #3:	Game 3 features Pete Harnisch for the Demolition versus Ismael Valdez for the Scorpions. Southlake tallies single runs in the 1st, 4th, 5th and 6th and then push across 2 in the 8th for the win. Valdez goes7 for his initial win of the season. Tony Clark with 2 doubles to lead Chicago. For Southlake, Miguel Cairo has 3 hits and Mike Benjamin with 4. Final Southlake 6, Chicago 3.
Game #4:	Roger Clemens versus Mike Thurman for game 4. Troy O’Leary smacks 2-run HR in last of the 10th for the walk-off win for Southlake. Clemens pitches 7 strong but Zimmerman blows save by allowing 2 runs in the last of the 8th. Rocker with the win in relief. Final Southlake 5, Chicago 3.
Game #5:	Final game of the series featured Todd Stottlemyre against David Cone. Tight game as Demolition push across a run in the 8th to tie it at 3. Demolition tally 1 in the top of the 12th to take the lead. Unfortunately for them Billy Wagner could not hold the lead. Dante Bichette leads of the last of the 12th with a 1B and Kevin Young follows with a monster 2-run HR for the second walk-off win of the series for the Scorpions. Final Southlake 5, Chicago 4.
Series Summary:	Southlake opens their 1st season of MWWL with winning 4 of 5. Demolition steal 16 bases in the 5 games but only hit .200 as a team. Southlake hits .297 as a team. Bagwell with 2-2B,2-HR and 6 RBI. Dante Bichette was 9-23 and Russ Davis was 8-14.

Newark Bears @ Valdosta Bombers
Series Preview:	Newark visits Valdosta to open the season.
Series Summary:	Bombers beat the Bears 3-2 in a series that featured LOTS of HR’s (21 in the series!). The Bears played some really sloppy defense, committing 10 errors, which was the real key to the series win by Valdosta.

Houghton Penguins @ Montreal Canadiens
Game #1:	The Canadians win their home opener 10-6 over Houghton. Harold Baines (2-4 4 RBIs and a HR), Mike Kotsay (2-4 2 RBIs and a HR) provided offence. Greg Maddux collect his first win (1-0, 6,00 ERA) and Guardard got the save (1 Save)
Game #2:	Houghton got revenge with a 13 to 3 route of Montreal Houghton had offence from Jenkins (3-6, 2 RBIs) and Stevens (2-4, 2 RBIs), while Fryman added 3 RBIs Kurt Rueter got the win (1-0, 1,29 ERA)
Game #3:	Montreal turn for revenge with a 14-4 pounding of Houghton Jose Offerman (3-5 3 RBIs), Mark Grace (2-5 4 RBIs), Harold Baines (2-5 3 RBIs 2 HRs) had strong offensive contribution Sele got is first win (1-0, 3.86 ERA)
Game #4:	Houghton even the series with a 9-5 win in game 4 Jeff Kent (3-6 2 RBIs a HR), Andrews (2-5 4 RBIs a HR) and Otis Nixon (2-3) They helped Lilly get the win (1-0 5.14 ERA)
Game #5:	The Canadians take the series with a 10-3 victory in game 5 Offensive production from Harold Baines (1-3 2 RBIs), Jose Offerman (2-5 2 RBIs a SB) and McEwing (3-4 a RBI) Jeff Weaver collect the win (1-0 2.57 ERA)
Series Summary:	Montreal On Top 3 Wins in 5 Games