Around the Majors: Braves can clinch tonight
1) Yesterday’s scores–
AL
Rangers 5, A’s 4
Yankees 7, Devil Rays 3
Indians 9, Twins 7
Whitesox 7, Royals 6
Orioles 9, Redsox 7
NL
Cubs 6, Pirates 3
Cardinals 4, Brewers 2
Rockies 7, Diamondbacks 1 (1st)
Rockies 2, Diamondbacks 1 (2nd)
Mets 4, Expos 2
Phillies 9, Marlins 8 (10)
Reds 3, Braves 2
Astros 7, Giants 3
Dodgers 9, Padres 6
2) Standings–
AL EAST WON LOST PCT GB HOME ROAD EAST CENT WEST STREAK y--Yankees 96 57 .627 - 54-24 42-33 47-23 17-12 22-14 WON 1 Redsox 91 61 .599 4 1/2 53-25 38-36 41-25 19-13 22-14 LOST 1 e--Orioles 71 80 .470 24 31-39 40-41 33-35 18-15 15-17 WON 1 e--Devil Rays 64 87 .424 31 37-36 27-51 23-47 16-15 10-22 LOST 2 e--BlueJays 64 88 .421 31 1/2 38-40 26-48 26-40 13-19 17-19 WON 1 AL CENTRAL WON LOST PCT GB HOME ROAD EAST CENT WEST STREAK x--Twins 88 65 .575 - 47-31 41-34 19-14 42-28 16-16 LOST 3 e--Whitesox 77 75 .507 10 1/2 44-34 33-41 16-16 34-32 19-17 WON 3 e--Indians 75 78 .490 13 43-35 32-43 17-15 31-36 17-19 WON 3 e--Tigers 68 83 .450 19 35-40 33-43 10-14 34-39 15-21 LOST 2 e--Royals 56 96 .368 31 1/2 32-41 24-55 12-24 30-36 08-24 LOST 1 AL WEST WON LOST PCT GB HOME ROAD EAST CENT WEST STREAK A's 87 65 .572 - 49-25 38-40 23-20 27-16 27-21 LOST 3 Angels 85 67 .559 2 43-35 42-32 25-18 28-15 25-23 LOST 2 Rangers 85 67 .559 2 49-25 36-42 25-18 23-20 27-21 WON 5 e--Mariners 58 94 .382 29 37-42 21-52 13-30 19-24 17-31 WON 2 NL EAST WON LOST PCT GB HOME ROAD EAST CENT WEST STREAK z--Braves 89 64 .582 - 44-31 45-33 46-24 16-17 19-13 LOST 2 Marlins 79 73 .520 9 1/2 42-38 37-35 39-27 15-21 18-14 LOST 4 Phillies 79 73 .520 9 1/2 37-37 42-36 34-35 16-17 20-12 WON 4 e--Mets 67 86 .438 22 35-40 32-46 27-43 13-20 17-15 WON 2 e--Expos 64 89 .418 25 34-40 30-49 25-42 17-19 15-17 LOST 2 NL CENTRAL WON LOST PCT GB HOME ROAD EAST CENT WEST STREAK x--Cardinals 100 52 .658 - 51-26 49-26 19-11 52-31 18-09 WON 2 d--Cubs 86 66 .566 14 43-32 43-34 14-10 49-37 15-15 WON 4 d--Astros 84 69 .549 16 1/2 42-33 42-36 16-14 50-34 11-16 WON 1 e--Reds 70 82 .461 30 39-39 31-43 18-12 32-48 15-15 WON 2 e--Pirates 68 84 .447 32 38-39 30-45 16-11 34-49 16-14 LOST 3 e--Brewers 63 88 .417 36 1/2 35-43 28-45 11-19 32-50 12-15 LOST 2 NL WEST WON LOST PCT GB HOME ROAD EAST CENT WEST STREAK Dodgers 87 65 .572 - 45-29 42-36 14-18 22-14 41-25 WON 1 Giants 86 67 .562 1 1/2 46-33 40-34 19-13 20-16 36-31 LOST 1 Padres 82 71 .536 5 1/2 38-37 44-34 18-14 19-17 37-30 LOST 1 e--Rockies 67 85 .441 20 38-40 29-45 11-21 10-20 38-34 WON 3 e--Diamondbacks 47 106 .307 40 1/2 25-50 22-56 09-23 13-20 19-51 LOST 3
x–clinched the division title
y–clinched a postseason berth
z–clinched a tie for the division title
d–eliminated from winning the division title
e–eliminated from winning the division title and the postseason
3) Wild card standings–
AL WON LOST PCT GB Redsox 91 61 .599 - Angels 85 67 .559 6 Rangers 85 67 .559 6 NL WON LOST PCT GB Cubs 86 66 .566 - Giants 86 67 .562 1/2 Astros 84 69 .549 2 1/2 Padres 82 71 .536 4 1/2 Marlins 79 73 .520 7 Phillies 79 73 .520 7
4) The Yankees clinched a postseason berth.
And this time, they really did. Yesterday’s report was wrong, since I didn’t realize that the source I was using considered clinching a tie to be the equivalent of actually clinching.
5) The Braves clinched a tie for the division title and will clinch if they beat the Marlins.
6) The Cardinals reached 100 wins for the 7th time and first since 1985.
7) The Rangers tied the Angels for 2nd place in the AL West.
8) The Phillies tied the Marlins for 2nd place in the NL East.
9) Magic numbers–
AL East–Yankees, 6
AL Central–Twins, clinched
AL West–A’s, 9
AL wild card–Redsox, 5
NL East–Braves, 2
NL Central–Cardinals, clinched
NL West–Dodgers, 9
NL wild card–Whatever happens happens. Once of these days, someone will clinch. At the moment, the Cubs are in the lead, so they have a magic number. But, in another day, the Giants could be back in the lead and they’ll have a garbage number.
A reader said it best yesterday–“One of the issues I have with magic numbers is that they’re often not true. For example, even though you have the NL wildcard magic number as 11, the Cubs would actually be the wild card winner if they win 9 games due to the Giants and Dodgers playing each other. Therefore, even if the Giants should go 11-0 to get their magic number you wrote, the Giants would win the West and the Cubs would be the wild card winner should they go 8-3 or better.”
Since sometimes magic numbers are real ones, sometimes they are fake ones, I’m considering either “forgetting” to include the magic numbers for the rest of the season, or maybe just “forget” to include them for the wild card.
10) Race for the postseason seeds–
AL–The Yankees have a 8 game lead over the Twins for the #1 seed. The Twins have a 1/2 game lead over the A’s for the #2 seed.
NL–The Cardinals clinched the top seed. The Braves have a 1 1/2 game lead over the Dodgers for the #2 seed.
The Cardinals had clinched the top seed on Wednesday, due to the tiebreaker rules.
11) Today’s schedule–
AL
Twins (Johan Santana, 2.65) at Indians (Kyle Denney, 9.72), 7:05
Yankees (Mike Mussina, 4.60) at Redsox (Pedro Martinez, 3.69), 7:05
BlueJays (Josh Towers, 4.92) at Devil Rays (Scott Kazmir, 6.38), 7:15
Tigers (Jason Johnson, 5.02) at Orioles (Bruce Chen, 2.45), 7:35
Mariners (Bobby Madritsch, 2.99) at Rangers (Chris Young, 4.50), 8:05
Royals (Jimmy Gobble, 5.32) at Whitesox (Freddy Garcia, 3.86), 8:05
A’s (Rich Harden, 4.06) at Angels (Kelvim Escobar, 3.75), 10:05
NL
Phillies (Brett Myers, 5.31) at Expos (Sun Woo Kim, 4.75), 7:05
Reds (Aaron Harang, 4.94) at Pirates (Ryan Vogelsong, 6.19), 7:05
Cubs (Glendon Rusch, 3.69) at Mets (Kris Benson, 4.44), 7:10
Marlins (Ismael Valdez, 4.95) at Braves (Russ Ortiz, 4.01), 7:35
Astros (Roger Clemens, 3.00) at Brewers (Doug Davis, 3.52), 8:05
Cardinals (Jeff Suppan, 4.05) at Rockies (Jason Jennings, 5.66), 8:05
Diamondbacks (Mike Gosling, 3.77) at Padres (Brian Lawrence, 3.92), 10:05
Dodgers (Odalis Perez, 3.39) at Giants (Kirk Rueter, 4.82), 10:15
12) Yesterday’s HR–
Jim Thome–#42
Hank Blalock–#32
Brad Wilkerson–#30 & #31
Miguel Tejada–#30
Miguel Cabrera–#30
Lance Berkman–#29
Craig Wilson–#28
Geoff Jenkins–#25
Derek Jeter–#23
Aaron Rowand–#22
Bobby Crosby–#21
Alex Gonzalez (Marlins)–#21
Joe Crede–#18 & #19
David Bell–#18
Matt Stairs–#17
Mark Kotsay–#15
Chase Utley–#13
Jimmy Rollins–#12
Adam Melhuse–#11
John Flaherty–#6
Ross Gload–#5
Cesar Izturis–#4
Grady Sizemore–#3
Hector Luna–#3
Robby Hammock–#3
Gerald Williams–#3
Josh Bard–#1
Yadier Molina–#1
Lenny Harris–#1
Victor Diaz–#1
13) HR leaders–
AL
1) Manny Ramirez–41
T2) Paul Konerko–40
T2) David Ortiz–40
4) Mark Teixeira–37
5) Gary Sheffield–36
6) Alex Rodriguez–35
7) Vladimir Guerrero–33
8) Hank Blalock–32*
T9) Carlos Delgado–30
T9) Miguel Tejada–30*
NL
1) Adrian Beltre–47
2) Albert Pujols–44
3) Barry Bonds–43
T4) Jim Thome–42*
T4) Adam Dunn–42
T4) Jim Edmonds–42
-) Carlos Beltran–38 (not officially in the top 10, since 15 in the AL)
T7) Moises Alou–37
T7) Jeromy Burnitz–37
T9) Steve Finley–34
T9) Aramis Ramirez–34
*–hit 1 yesterday
14) Barry Bonds watch–
OBA–.612, Bonds holds the major league record with .582, in 2002
SLG–.830, on pace for 4th all time, Bonds holds the major league record with .863, 2001
OPS–1.442, Bonds holds the major league record with 1.381, in 2002
RCAA–149, is 6th all time, Bonds holds the major league record with 169, 2001
BB–215, new major league record
BB above average–184, new major league record
career HR–has 701, is 13 behind Ruth, is 54 behind Aaron
career HR above average–has 459, 2nd all time, Ruth holds the record with 622
career RCAA–1493, 2nd all time, Ruth holds the record with 1795
15) Yankees SS Derek Jeter hit his 150th career HR.
After 23 RCAA/.794 OPS and 24 RCAA/.844 OPS seasons, Jeter is hitting .475 SLG, .355 OBA, .829 OPS, 15 RCAA in 147 games. He has a .849 career OPS, compared to his league average of .776, and 252 RCAA in 1359 games.
16) Whitesox 3B Joe Crede hit his 50th career HR.
After -7 RCAA/.741 OPS in his first year as a starter, Crede has a .407 SLG, .397 OBA, .704 OPS, -25 RCAA in 136 games. He has a .733 career OPS, compared to his league average of .767, and -33 RCAA in 364 games.
Correction from yesterday–Yesterday’s report implied that Giants P Dave Burba is eligible for the postseason. He isn’t.
1) Dodgers 1B Shawn Green will miss Saturday’s afternoon’s due, due to Yom Kippur, but will play today’s night game that is also during Yom Kippur. It’s the equivalent of deciding that a religious holiday only applies to one game of a doubleheader.
After 42 RCAA/.944 OPS and 15 RCAA/.814 OPS seasons, Green is hitting .464 SLG, .352 OBA, .816 OPS, 8 RCAA in 149 games. He has a .865 career OPS, compared to his league average of .779, and 223 RCAA in 1506 games.
2) Reds OF Wily Mo Pena (mildly strained right hamstring) and P Danny Graves (strep throat) are both expected to miss a minimum of 5-7 days and might just be shut down for the rest of the season.
In his first year as a starter, Pena has a .527 SLG, .316 OBA, .843 OPS, 6 RCAA in 110 games. He has a .771 career OPS, compared to his league average of .777, and -5 RCAA in 203 games.
After 3.19 ERA/14 RSAA and 5.33 ERA/-20 RSAA seasons, Graves has a 3.95 ERA/1 RSAA in 68 games. He has a 3.89 career ERA, compared to his league average of 4.38, and 48 RSAA in 465 games.
3) Padres P David Wells was scratched from yesterday’s start, due to a sinus infection, and will try to pitch today.
After 3.75 ERA/14 RSAA and 4.14 ERA/5 RSAA seasons, Wells has a 3.50 ERA/9 RSAA in 28 starts. He has a 4.02 career ERA, compared to his league average of 4.49, and 137 RSAA in 585 games.
4) The Brewers removed minor league INF Matt Erickson from the 40 man roster.
Erickson went 1 for 6, with -1 RCAA, in his first 4 career games.
5) The Redsox activated DH Ellis Burks from the DL and released minor league P Phil Seibel.
After 27 RCAA/.903 OPS and 4 RCAA/.779 OPS seasons, Burks has a .258 SLG, .257 OBA, .515 OPS, -4 RCAA in just 10 games. He has a .874 career OPS, compared to his league average of .751, and 278 RCAA in 1999 games.
6) On Wednesday, Redsox 2B Mark Bellhorn set the team record for SO in a season.
After 25 RCAA/.886 OPS and -12 RCAA/.646 OPS seasons, Bellhorn is hitting .444 SLG, .368 OBA, .812 OPS, 7 RCAA in 129 games. He has a .764 career OPS, compared to his league average of .770, and 3 RCAA in 500 games.
The new top 10–
STRIKEOUTS YEAR SO 1 Mark Bellhorn 2004 164 2 Butch Hobson 1977 162 3 Tony Armas 1984 156 T4 Mo Vaughn 1997 154 T4 Mo Vaughn 1996 154 6 George Scott 1966 152 7 Mo Vaughn 1995 150 8 Manny Ramirez 2001 147 T9 Dick Stuart 1963 144 T9 Mo Vaughn 1998 144
Bellhorn is 3rd vs. the league average–
STRIKEOUTS YEAR DIFF PLAYER LEAGUE T1 Jimmie Foxx 1936 76 119 43 T1 Butch Hobson 1977 76 162 86 3 Mark Bellhorn 2004 74 164 90 4 Mo Vaughn 1997 64 154 90 5 Tony Armas 1984 63 156 93 6 Jimmie Foxx 1941 61 103 42 7 Mo Vaughn 1995 58 150 92 8 Manny Ramirez 2001 57 147 90 9 George Scott 1966 56 152 96 10 Mike Easler 1984 54 134 80
7) Redsox CF Johnny Damon was out of yesterday’s lineup, due to a sore back and right hand, and is expected to return today.
After 24 RCAA/.799 OPS and 2 RCAA/.750 OPS seasons, Damon is hitting .468 SLG, .384 OBA, .853 OPS, 23 RCAA in 142 games. He has a .781 career OPS, compared to his league average of .775, and 70 RCAA in 1399 games.
8) Brian Roberts set the Orioles record for doubles in a season.
After -4 RCAA/.704 OPS in his first year as a starter, Roberts is hitting .387 SLG, .353 OBA, .740 OPS, -7 RCAA in 149 games. He has a .696 career OPS, compared to his league average of .768, and -27 RCAA in 374 games.
The new top 10–
DOUBLES YEAR 2B 1 Brian Roberts 2004 48 2 Cal Ripken 1983 47 3 Cal Ripken 1991 46 T4 Roberto Alomar 1996 43 T4 Delino DeShields 2000 43 T6 Cal Ripken 1996 40 T6 Rafael Palmeiro 1996 40 T8 Brady Anderson 1997 39 T8 Jay Gibbons 2003 39 T8 Melvin Mora 2004 39
Including when the team was the St. Louis Browns, Beau Bell holds the record with 51, in 1937.
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