2003 PLAYER / PITCHER OF THE WEEK #19

NAME	TEAM	AVG	SLG	G	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	R	RBI	K	W	IW	SB	CS	HBP
BLALOCK,Hank	SSS AL	.429	1.238	5	21	9	2	0	5	7	14	4	3	0	0	0	0

NAME	CLUB	G	W	L	S	ERA	IP	R	ER	H	K	BB	IBB	WP	BK	HB	HR
MADDUX,Greg	DEW AL	2	2	0	0	2.25	12	3	3	7	12	2	0	0	0	1	1

NAME	TEAM	AVG	SLG	G	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	R	RBI	K	W	IW	SB	CS	HBP
EVERETT,Carl	HLW NL	.421	.895	6	19	8	0	0	3	3	10	5	2	0	0	0	0

NAME	CLUB	G	W	L	S	ERA	IP	R	ER	H	K	BB	IBB	WP	BK	HB	HR
MULDER,Mark	HLW NL	2	2	0	0	1.84	14.2	3	3	9	6	2	0	0	0	0	1

Long Beach Titans @ Hampton Huskies
Series Preview:	First-place Long Beach slums it out with the last place Huskies.
Game #1:	JD Drew smacked a two-run shot off Rheal Cormier in the bottom of the 12th to give Hampton a 3-1 extra-inning walkoff win. Marcus Giles had five hits for Hampton.
Game #2:	Rod Barajas blasted a solo shot off David Riske in the bottom of the 11th for a second consecutive walkoff win as Hampton downed Long Beach 7-6. Carlos Lee had four hits and drove in two for Long Beach,
Game #3:	Jay Payton doubled twice and drove in three runs while Jose Vicro had four hits and drove in two runs as the Titans easily crushed the Huskies 11-3.
Game #4:	Brandon Webb won his 13th after holding Long Beach to just one hit in a 2-1 complete game win for Hampton. Carlos Lee homered for Long Beach while Ryan Ludwick homered for Hampton.
Game #5:	David Eckstein‘s throw into the dugout ended the game in the bottom of the 10th as Hampton won its third extra-inning game in the series with a 4-3 win over Long Beach. Robb Quinlan had four hits in the game and drove in one run for the Titans. Reed Johnson had two hits and drove in two runs for Hampton.
Game #6:	JD Drew smacked a three-run homer in the 7th to lead Hampton to a 6-4 win over Long Beach. Jay Payton and BRian Buchanon homered for the Titans.
Series Summary:	An uber close series that saw Hampton win three times in extra innings to escape with an undeserved 5-1 win in the series.

Danbury Mad Hatters @ Hollywood Vampires
Series Summary:	Hollywood sweeps. The series was a lot closer than it looks. After game 1 the games were competitive.

Michigan Marauders @ Baltimore Blue Crabs
Series Preview:	The Michigan Marauders, 48-57 2nd Place N.L. Central, invade Baltimore to face the 62-43, 2nd place N.L. East, Blue Crabs
Game #1:	Baltimore pounces on Michigan starter Jeremy Bonderman, scoring 7 runs on 5 hits in 1+ innings and the Crabs roll in the opener, 10-5. Jorge Posada led the way with a 3 for 3 day, including a homerun, and 3 RBIs. Jim Edmonds hit 2 homeruns for the Marauders in the loss. MARAUDERS 5 / 11 / 0 CRABS 10 / 11 / 0 WP – Myers (7-5) LP – Bonderman (1-14)
Game #2:	Crabs build a 7-0 lead and hold on for a 7-4 win. Geoff Jenkins hit 2 homeruns and knocked in 3 for Baltimore. MARAUDERS 4 / 7 / 0 CRABS 7 / 9 / 1 WP – Zambrano (4-4) LP – Sheets (8-6) S – Fuentes (5)
Game #3:	ivan Hernandez yields only a Chipper Jones RBI single and a Jorge Posada solo homerun, but Tim Hudson is just a little stingier, holding Michigan to a single run on 4 hits, going the distance to earn his 12th win of the season. MARAUDERS 1 / 4 / 0 CRABS 2 / 7 / 1 WP – Hudson (12-7) LP – Hernandez (6-9)
Game #4:	Miguel Tejada clubs a 3-run homerun and Junior Spivey adds a solo shot during a 4-run Baltimore 5th and the Crabs are well on their way to a 4th straight win. BUT … Michigan chips away, cutting the lead to 4-3 heading to the 9th where Bernie Williams delivers a 2-run homerun propelling the Marauders to a 5-4 victory. MARAUDERS 5 / 6 / 1 CRABS 4 / 6 / 0 WP – Wendell (5-3) LP – Worrell (4-1) S – Embree (2)
Game #5:	Preston Wilson singles, homers, and knocks in 4 and Barry Zito tosses 7 strong innings as the Crabs win it, 6-2. MARAUDERS 2 / 7 / 1 CRABS 6 / 11 / 1 WP – Zito (14-6) LP – Radke (8-5)
Game #6:	This one couldn’t have gone much worse for Baltimore. Crabs’ starter Brett Myers can only get one out and Michigan scores 5 runs in the first, making it a bullpen game for Baltimore. Michigan goes on to score in each of the first 6 innings and they win a laugher, 15-4, pounding out 21 hits. To make matters worse, Baltimore loses two regulars to injuries, Geoff Jenkins (7 days) and Junior Spivey (16 days). Bret Boone, Vinny Castilla, and B Schneider each had 4 hits for Michigan. MARAUDERS 15 / 21 / 0 CRABS 4 / 11 / 0 WP – Bonderman (2-14) LP – Myers (7-6)
Series Summary:	It was a costly 4-2 series win for Baltimore.

Blarney Drive Bandits @ Flora-Bama Mullets
Series Preview:	Always a wacky lefty fest with Blarney Drive and Flora-Bama square off. 9 of the 12 starters used this series will be lefties.
Game #1:	Lopez knocked a two run homer in the first and the Mullets added more in the second sending Ortiz to the showers. Wolf went the distance for his second complete game of the season. Flora-Bama 10-3
Game #2:	Another Lopez bomb in the first gave Ramirez all he needed for the W. Flora-Bama 7-2
Game #3:	No early Lopez magic this time as the Big Unit struck out the side to start the game. Huff started the scoring with a two run homer in the 2nd. Berkman added a rbi single in 5th. Johnson left after five innings with 10 SO. Bandits got one on Becket in the 6th and one in the 8th to make it tight. Ross solo shot in 8th gave the pen a little more room. Flora-Bama 4-2
Game #4:	Hunter smoked a three run homer in the 3rd and Moyer tossed a complete game two hit shutout. Flora-Bama 4-0
Game #5:	Bandits jumped out to a 3-0 lead on a Green rbi triple after a costly error. An Itchy 3 grade Rusch must have been doing voodoo every time the Mullets put runners on base. He recorded eight shutout innings and turned it over to Cruz in the 9th with a 7-0 lead. Cruz promptly let the first five hitters reach. Weathers came on with the 7-2 lead and the bases loaded. He got the first two hitters and then gave up a grand slam to Lopez to make it 7-6. David Ross doubled to put the tying run 2nd, but Weathers had just enough left to strikeout Palmeiro for the save. Blarney Drive 7-6
Game #6:	Blarney jumped on Wolf for a quick 5-0 lead capped by a three run homer from Green in the 4th. Palmeiro chipped away at the lead with a two run homer in the 4th. In the 7th, the Mullets hit back to back to back homers by Berkman, Kent and Lopez to take the lead on a five run rally. Mullets then added six more in the 8th capped by a Rowand homer. Flora-Bama 13-5
Series Summary:	The Bandits barely avoided blowing a seven run lead in the 9th of game five to escape a series sweep. Flora-Bama’s offense scored 40 runs during the series and Javy Lopez picked up four more homeruns for a league leading 40.

Yucaipa Badgers @ Corktown Bootleggers
Series Summary:	Yucaipa walks into Corktown and takes care of business winning 4 of 6

California Quakes @ DeWitt Tigers
Series Summary:	Dewitt takes 5 of 6 from California.

Monroeville Maulers @ Fort Worth Panthers
Series Summary:	Panthers take 4 of 6.

Castle Rock Hounds @ Iowa Giants
Series Preview:	Castle Rock record 56-49 Iowa sits with a 48-56 record.
Game #1:	CRH 7-9-0 WP Pinerio 12-7 IOW 0-6-0 LP Lidle 5-6 Pinerio 8 innings 5 hits no runs Bonds Mayne both homer
Game #2:	CRH 7-12-1 WP Bauer 3-2 SV Quantrill 16 IOW 6-12-0 LP Guardado 3-2 L Gonzalez and Hammock both hit 3 run shots in 8th and 9th inning to get win.
Game #3:	CRH 4-9-0 WP Rodgers 7-9 SV Quantrill 17 IOW 1-4-1 LP Davis 8-7 B Wilkerson 2-3 2 homers 3 rbi’s K Rodgers 6 1/3 innings 4 hits 1er
Game #4:	CRH 5-12-0 WP K Lohse 8-9 SV Contreras 5 IOW 3-7-0 LP Weaver 5-11 Wilkerson Simon homer
Game #5:	CRH 0-1-2 LP D Davis 8-7 IOW 3-7-2 WP Lidle 6-6 Corey Lidle wow 9 innings 1 hit no runs 6 k’s Kapler Bragg Molina all rbi’s.
Game #6:	CRH 2-8-0 LP Pineiro 12-8 IOW 5-7-1 WP Graves 10-6 SV Guardado 19 Choi 2-2 3rbi’s 2 doubles
Series Summary:	Highlight Iowa Corey Lidle 9 inning 1 hit shutout the series was alot closer then Iowa only winning two

Southlake Stealers @ Houghton Penguins
Series Preview:	The AL leading Southlake Stealers look to steal the milk money from the AL basement dwelling Houghton Penguins who’s bats are hibernating for the winter.
Game #1:	The first three innings was a good old pitcher’s duel between Sidney Ponson and Mark Buehrle. However, in the top of the 4th Hank Blalock gives Southlake’s Ponson all the run support he will need with a 3-run homerun. The Stealers tack on 2 more runs late as Ponson pitches a 3-hit shutout, 5-0. WP: Ponson (11-5) LP: Buehrle (9-9) Homeruns: Stealers: Blalock
Game #2:	The Stealers jump out to a 3-0 lead again on a 3-run homerun by Blalock, this time in the first inning. They go on to tack on 6 more runs before allowing Albert Pujols to pad his stats with an 8th inning homerun late in the game for the Penguins. Ron Villone pitches 6 shutout innings for the Stealers, extending their starting pitcher’s scoreless streak to 15 innings. WP: Villone (7-5) LP: Oliver (5-11) Homeruns: Stealers: Blalock Penguins: Pujols
Game #3:	Southlake’s Carlos Beltran leads off the game with a homerun, but Houghton does their best to keep it close until the Stealers score 4 runs in the final 4 innings to win 9-4. Albert Pujols has another homerun for the Penguins continuing his strong series. WP: Alvarez (7-2) LP: Benoit: (2-7) SV: Mota: (5) Homeruns: Stealers: Beltran Penguins: Pujols
Game #4:	The Stealers jump all over the Penguins pitching for 16 hits, including 8 extra-base hits, a grand-slam by Matt LeCroy, and 2 homeruns by Hank Blalock increasing his total in the series to 4. However, only 5 of the Stealers’ 11 runs were earned, it would have still been enough to beat the Penguins, since the final score in this game was 11-3. The Penguins’ Ted Lilly picks up him 16th loss on the season despite having a respectable 4.50 ERA on the season. WP: DuBose (7-5) LP: Lilly (4-16) Homeruns: Stealers: LeCroy (Grand Slam), Blalock (2)
Game #5:	The Penguins flip the script and jump out to a 1-0 lead in the 2nd inning, but it evaporates on another 3-run Hank Blalock 3-run homerun for the Stealers in the top of the 3rd inning. In the 3rd inning, Dave Dellucci gets injured in the outfield and is expected to miss the next 3-4 weeks. This may cause him to be cut by the Penguins after this season for his lack of performance. He has missed too much time already. Mark Prior cruises to his 17th win on the season as the Penguins cannot put anything together after the 2nd inning. WP: Prior (17-2) LP: Harang (2-11) Homeruns: Stealers: Blalock
Game #6:	Wade Miller pitches 7 strong innings for the Stealers, and is given a 3-0 lead entering the 8th inning. However, he given up back-to-back homeruns to Pujols and Cabrera (something to look forward to for Penguins fans in the future?) in the 8th inning to cut the lead to 3-2. John Smoltz comes in to save the game in the bottom of the 9th and gives up the game tying run. It is for naught, however, as the Stealers score a run on the 11th inning to win the game, 4-3. WP: Mota (6-1) LP: Ford (0-1) Homeruns: Stealers: Suzuki Penguins: Pujols, Cabrera
Series Summary:	The Stealers sweep the Penguins 6 games to 0. The only real close game was a 4-3, 11-inning 6th game of the series. It was a real nail-biter. Hank Blalock put on a show for the Stealers and Albert Pujols was the only offense for the Penguins.

Chicago Demolition @ Dondero Oaks
Series Preview:	Chicago heads to Dondero for 6 as they try to keep pace with Southlake.
Game #1:	Chicago 5 Dondero 2
Game #2:	Chicago 12 Dondero 2
Game #3:	Chicago 6 Dondero 3
Game #4:	Chicago 6 Dondero 4
Game #5:	Chicago 12 Dondero 9
Game #6:	Dondero 3 Chicago 2 (10 innings)
Series Summary:	Chicago does what it needs to and takes 5 of 6 from the lowly Oaks.

Gladstone Gladiators @ Manhattan Gas Hornets
Series Preview:	So many series now are must win if Manhattan wants to creep into a wild card spot. We’re 4 games behind the Blue Crabs – and in the same division, but our pitching is THIN and seemingly getting thinner. This week we host the Central Division leading Gladstone Gladiators – the only bright spot is they carry a losing record – but not by much and they have some clout…..
Game #1:	We use a 5 run 2nd inning (lot of walks by Gladiators starter Russ Ortiz – 5 in 4.1 innings) to propel us to an opening win: 9-6! Yes, we needed more runs. Top of the order got us the hits – Jason Kendall 4 for 5, 3 ribs, Derek Jeter 3 for 4, 2 rbis, 3 runs, homer (9). Casey Fossum gets the support he needed because he gives up the 6 runs (4 earned) in 6.1 innings. Seems like Gladstone could go long – Mark Loretta (13), Jeff Bagwell (27) and Richard Hildago (16) all took Fossum over the wall accounting for 5 of the 6 runs. GLG 6- 9-1 LP Ortiz (10-7) MGH 9-11-1 WP Fossum (6-6) S Gordon (29)
Game #2:	No such luck for the good guys in game 2 – Javier Vazquez is electric going 7.1 innings, 4 hits, 1 run, 7 ks. It looked good for 4 innings, tied 1-1 with both teams scoring in the 4th, but then Gladstone scores 2 in the 5th and 3 more in the 7th for the easy 6-1 win. Defense does us in as 4 of the 6 runs were unearned (wouldn’t have mattered – but ….). Big game for Richard Hildago, 5 for 5 (that’s 5 hits including 2 doubles. NO RBIS – but 2 runs scores. Jose Uribe has 3 singles and 3 rbis! GLG 6-12-1 WP Vazuez (14-6) MGH 1- 4-2 LP Brian Tallet (1-2)
Game #3:	A lot less scoring in this one, with DaVanon singling in the 1st run in the 3rd for Gladstone and then Ruben Sierra (5) hits a 2 run homer in the 4th and Jeff Conine also takes one downtown (14) in the same inning for a 3-1 lead. And that was all the scoring. Geremi Gonzalez had a tough 4.1 innings, but his bullpen shut us down. Tim Wakefield was strong throughout tossing a 1 hit 7.1 game with Guthrie and Gordon finishing it off. HOWEVER – a collision in RF is costly for Manhattan and their playoff hopes. Out for 7 days is Matt Stairs who has been wielding a big stick lately (hitting .332 when he went down) and Ray Durham – ouch, he’s out for 24 days. DL trip coming up for him!! GLG 1-1-1 LP Gonzalez (7-11) MGH 3-9-0 WP Wakefield (12-6) S Gordon (30)
Game #4:	Things begin to tighten up. Gladstone jumps to a 3-1 lead with a 2 runs in the 3rd – sparked by Jeff Bagwell who gets 2 doubles and drives in 3 in the game. But Manhattan comes back with 3 in the 4th to flip the lead – Garrett Anderson adding a 2 run homer (19) to the fray, followed by a solo shot from Wil Cordero (8). Tino Martinez doubles in an insurance run in the 8th fortunately because the Gladiators tally once in the 9th, but fall 1 run short. GLG 4-6-0 LP Williams (5-7) MGH 5-9-1 WP Morris (10-7) S Kim (1)
Game #5:	So how do you follow a tight one game – with another one! This time the Gas Hornets get off to a quick lead, 2 in the 1st and another in the 2nd including a David Bell solo homer (3). Richard Hildago drives in 1 in the 6th on a SF and then Jose Uribe homer (6) off reliever Lance Carter in the 8th making it 3-2. We get that fortunate insurance run again in the 8th and again it’s a good thing as Kielty drives in one in the 9th, but again the Gladiators fall 1 run short. GLG 3-7-0 LP Helling (10-11) MGH 4-7-1 WP Anderson (8-6) S Gordon (31)
Game #6:	Any more close games? Yup. This time it’s Gladstone scoring 3 times in the 1st off Casey Fossum – again he gives up a bunch of runs, 4 in the 5 innings (3 earned) and he leaves trailing 4-1. Russ Ortiz is a bit more in control – well, just a bit. He gives up 5 hits and 4 walks in 5.2 innings, but it was the 6th inning that did him in for the game. Manhattan erupts for 4 runs including a 3 run Wil Cordero homer (9) and that gives Manhattan the 1 run lead. Another one run game? Yes – Guthrie, Carter and the Gordon shut down the Gladiators after taking over in the 6th – NO HITS, NOT WALKS and Gordon fans the side in the 9th (that’s a switch). GLG 4-6-0 LP Ortiz (10-8) MGH 5-6-1 WP Guthrie (4-1) S Gordon (32)
Series Summary:	So, as they said in Baltimore this week, it was a winning series (5-1 in our case) but costly with the injuries to Stairs and Durham. Stairs will miss the 1st 3 games of next week’s series in Michigan, but Durham is going on the 15 day DL with almost 3 weeks left! And it looks like we’ll try some changes in our pitching strategies….

Valdosta Bombers @ Winnipeg Goldeyes
Series Preview:	Two rebuilding teams.
Game #1:	Burkett goes 8 shutout innings as Winnipeg wins 7-0.
Game #2:	Sexton big game as Valdosta wins 9-5.
Game #3:	Meche sucked Winnipeg wins 8-4.
Game #4:	Paul Wilson lives up to draft hype throwing a 3 hitter 8-0 Winnipeg.
Game #5:	Cabera grand slam and Chavez huge game 10-4 Valdosta.
Game #6:	Burkett murdered as Valdosta hits 4 homers and scores 10! Ohka goe s9 in the 10-2 win.
Series Summary:	Series ends in a 3-3 split. Paul Wilson 3 hits 9 innings 6 K’s is a pitcher of the week chance.