Standings with 2 weeks to go

‘37 Reds take 2 of 3 from ‘98 Spos

9/17-9/18 - Crosley Field
GAME 1 - Reds 4, Expos 1
Paul Derringer (3-4, 4.36) easily tamed the toothless Expo offense that managed just 2 hits.  #'s 4 and 5 hitters, Vlad Guerrero and Shane Andrews fanned a combined 5 times.  Dustin Hermanson (0-3, 5.06) had another poor outing as the Expos fell further out of contention and Cincy moved closer to keeping pace with the Padres.  Cincy posted 12 hits with Kiki Cuyler being the only regular not to hit his way on base. The top of Cincy's order was on base early and often.  Lead off man Les Scarsella was 3 for 4 with 3 runs scored and #2 guy Ival Goodman was 5 for 3.

GAME 2 - Expos 3, Reds 1 (10 inn)
Mike Thurman and Peaches Davis locked up in a classic pitcher's duel that saw the Reds carry a 1-0 lead into the top of the 9th when Vlad Guerrero led off the inning with a triple.  Rondel White's grounder to short would score Vlad to tie the game, which would eventually go to extra innings.  Expo reliever Miguel Batista led off the bottom of the 10th with a walk off of reliever Paul Gehrman.  Mark Grudzielankek would successfully bunt Batista over to second where he looked to be stranded after Cabrera made the 2nd out of the inning.  By this point Johnnny "Double-No-Hit" Vander Meer was on the mound for Cincy in hopes of getting the final out of the inning in the form of Montreal's lone threat Vlad Guerrero.  Vander Meer worked Vlad to perfection by getting him to chase a curve in the dirt for strike 3.  Unfortunately for the Reds the ball bounced away from backup catcher Spud Davis and Vlad was able to bust it up the line to put runners on the corners.  Vlad would then take second on catchers indifference which setup the turning point of the game.  Rondel White lined an 0-2 changeup into left center to score both Batista and Vlad to give the Expos a 3-1 lead.  Batista would start the bottom of the 10th, but was on a very tight leash.  Once he walked Cuyler and allowed Cuyler to steal second the hook came fast and Ugueth Urbina was summoned to get the save.  Urbina quickly dispatched of Lew Riggs by causing the Red third sacker to fly out to shallow center.  Next up was pinch hitter Chick Haffey who followed suit and flew out to center as well.  The final out came when Buck Jordan fanned on three straight pitches as Urbina notched his league leading 10th save.

9/19 - Olympic Stadium
GAME 3 - Reds 2, Expos 0
Al Hollingsworth went 7 2/3 innings without allowing a run before he tired and was replace by Jake Mooty who closed the door on the offensively anemic Expos.  Cincy would score their two runs in the first 2 innings before Carlos Perez, who took his first loss of the season (6-1, 2.22), settled down.  Ival Goodman tripled with 1 out in the first then scored on a wild pitch.  In the second Goodman doubled home Hollingsworth, who reached base thanks to an error by Expo secondbaseman Wilton Guerrero.  Neither team score in the final 7 frames.  Montreal's only scoring opportunity came in the third when they had runners on the corners and Shane Andrews flew out to center to end the inning.  Montreal did get their first two hitters on to lead off the 9th, but Mooty shut the door by getting Henley to line out to right and fanning Seguignol and Cabrera to end it in style.

‘68 Chisox sweep ‘98 Tigers to move over .500

9/17-9/18 - Comiskey Park
GAME 1 - White Sox 4, Tigers 2
Tommy John (1-4, 6.27) finally put it all together and began to live up to his potential.  After losing his first 4 and ballooning his ERA past 7.50 John finally showed the potential that his real life 10-5, 1.98 ERA reflected.  John benefited by being staked to a 3-0 lead after 2 innings of play.  Ken "F-Troop" Berry led off the bottom of the 2nd with a blast that just cleared the left center wall to make it 1-0.  A walk to Pete Ward and a perfectly executed hit and run by Duane Josephson put runners on the corners with nobody out.  Wayne Causey executed a perfect squeeze play to score Ward to make it 2-0.  Luis Aparicio singled to right to plate Josephson and the Chisox were up 3-0.  Tiger starter Brian Moehler settled down after the 2nd and began ripping through the Chisox order.  Detroit would get on the board with a solo run in the 5th thanks to a two out RBI double by veteran backstop Joe Oliver.  Bobby Higginson would hit into a rally killing DP in the 6th, but Deivi Cruz would score on the play and the Chisox lead would be cut to 3-2.  In the bottom of the 8th the well traveled Tommy Davis would single home Aparicio for a much needed insurance run.  Davis would not fare as well when trying to score from first on a long double by Tommy McCraw one batter later.  Higginson would throw a pea to the plate and nail Davis by 2 strides to prevent Chicago from adding a tack on run.  Chicago's pen would preserve John's lead as Don McMahon would toss a perfect 8th and Hoyt Wilhelm would throw a scoreless 9th for his 7th save of the season.

GAME 2 - White Sox 3, Tigers 0
Call this event the Joe Horlen (4-1, 2.98) show.  Chicago's veteran hurler tossed a tidy 3 hitter as he went the distance vs Motown.  The Pale Hose broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the 4th when Dick Kenworthy singled home Duane Josephson two pitches after Kenworthy botched a hit and run and the lead footed Josephson miraculously stole second on a errant throw by Paul Bako.  Two innings later Ken Berry would hit his second homer in as many days to make it 2-0.  Berry would get another RBI in the 8th when Tommy Davis would score on his grounder to second.  Horlen looked like he was tiring in the 9th when Higginson hit a warning track shot that would have been out of most normal sized parks.  Tony Clark followed that with a single and immediately there was action in the Chisox pen.  Horlen was able to get a second wind and get Frank Catalanotto and Luis Gonzalez out to end the game and preserve his complete game shutout.

9/19 - Tiger Stadium
GAME 3 - White Sox 8, Tigers 1
Chicago set their sites on the series sweep and delivered the knock out blow by battering Tiger starter Frank Castillo (3-2, 2.84).  After recording 2 easy outs in the top of the 1st Castillo gave up a single to Tommy Davis.  Tommy McCraw hit a 2 out RBI double to score Davis, who was moving on the pitch, to make it 1-0.  Ken Berry continued his hot hitting with an RBI single of his own to make it 2-0.  Chisox starter Jack Fisher would take the mound with a 2-0 lead, which would probably be all the run support he would expect and most probably need.  The Chisox lineup decide to deliver an early Christmas present to Fisher by gift wrapping a 6 run outburst in the 5th inning to put the visiting team up 8-0.  10 batters would come to the plate in that inning that included some hard hit balls and some bad fielding by Catalanotto at third base.  Chicago would have 4 singles, a walk and a lead off double by Jerry McNertney to surround Catalanotto's big miscue.  Fisher  would finally yield his first hit in the bottom of the 5th to Paul Bako who led off the inning.  Luis Gonzalez would walk and both runners would move up 90 feet on a Catalanotto ground out.  Robert Fick would would hit a one hopper to Sandy Alomar at second to score Bako for what would be Detroit's only tally of the game.  In fact, Bako's hit would be the Tigers' only hit of the game as Fisher went the distance allowing just 1 run on 1 hit to improve his record to 3-2, 2.23.  Both Davis and McGraw had 3 hits on a day where the normally hitless Chisox banged out 14 safeties.

Angels sweep 3 game set from the Devil Rays

September 17 - Anaheim Stadium

’80 California 12, ’07 Tampa Bay 6

Chris Knapp pitched his strongest outing of the season, yielding only 1 hit in 5 innings of work. The Angels’ 17-hit attack was led by Rick Miller, who had 4 hits, and Jason Thompson, who had 3. Akinori Iwamura had 2 hits for Tampa Bay, including a triple. But none of the Devil Rays pitchers were particularly effective, allowing the Angels to pull away as the game progressed.

September 18 - Anaheim Stadium

’80 California 3, ’07 Tampa Bay 2 (10 innings)

The best game of the series. Devil Rays centerfielder B.J. Upton hit his league-leading 11th HR in the 3rd inning to give Tampa Bay a 2-0 lead. California starter Alfredo Martinez bent a lot – yielding 5 hits and 4 walks in 6 innings – but never did break. Meanwhile, Tampa Bay starter James Shields held the Angels to only 1 hit – a lead off double by Rick Miller in the 3rd inning, which California turned into a run thanks to a Ty Wiggington error and a Jason Thompson sacrifice fly. The Angels then managed to tie the game in the 7th without the benefit of a hit. Don Baylor reached on a HBP with 2 outs, and the next 3 batters walked.

Tampa Bay had runners on each inning, but could never get the hit they needed to push across another run. Finally, in the bottom of the 10th inning, Rod Carew lead off with a walk, and scored the winning run moments later when Bobby Grich doubled. It was only the second Angels’ hit of the entire game. But it was nevertheless a walk-off at that.

September 19 - Tropicana Stadium

’80 California 10, ’07 Tampa Bay 6

California completed the series sweep scattering 11 hits, earning 10 walks and scoring in 6 different innings. The Angels gradually built an 8-3 after 7 and a half inning. But the Devil Rays scored 3 in t he bottom of the inning, sparked by a Johnny Gomes triple, to pull within 2 runs. But California iced it with 2 more insurance runs in the top of the 9th and Andy Hassler closed the game with his 5th save. Don Aase improved his W-L record to 5-1.

Series note: The Devil Rays inflicted a lot of self-damage, with only 3 successful steals in 11 attempts, and yielding a staggering 26 walks.

--submitted by Douglas Zaner--

‘82 Twins sweep ‘90 Bronx Bumblers

9/13-9/14 - Yankee Stadium
GAME 1 - Twins 9, Yankees 1
The fans didn't even get a chance to walk across the street from Stan's Sports Bar and Grill before the Twins unloaded on Mike Witt.  The aforementioned hurler didn't even register an out before yielding 6 runs on 4 hits and hitting the showers.  Eric Plunk was called on to replace him and he barely fared better giving up 3 runs (2 earned) in 1 inning worth of work.  Minnesota scored 7 in the 1st and 2 in the second to make it an easy day for starter Darrell Jackson (2-0, 1.76).  Gary Ward, who hit his 6th homer of the season also had 2 RBI.  Steve Sax, who has been suffering from the "Yipps" all season made 2 more errors at second base, although he did account for 2 of New York's 5 hits.

GAME 2 - Twins 4, Yankees 2
Andy Hawkins (3-2, 1.77) served up a 4 spot in the top of the 3rd and his offense was never able to overcome it.  Alvin Williams tossed 8 solid innings (2 runs allowed) before giving way to former Yankee setup man Ron Davis who notched his second save of the season.  Gary Ward hit a 2 run shot in the 2nd (his second in consecutive games) and Tom Brunansky hit his 2 run shot 4 batters later to seal Hawkins and the Bombers' fate.  Once again New York was only able to muster up 5 hits.

9/15 - HHH Metrodome
GAME 3 - Twins 9, Yankees 7
After 5 1/2 innings of play the Yankees rallied to tie the score at 5 after being down 5-2.  Minnesota struck right back with 3 runs of their own in the bottom of the 6th to go ahead for good.  Yankee starter Dave LaPoint (1-5, 7.90) was putrid.  8 runs in 5 1/3 innings worth of work is not a quality start in anyone's book.  New York staged a comeback to bring it to within 2 runs, but could not overcome the burial job LaPoint did to the team.  Jesse "the arm" Barfield hit 2 round trippers for 4 RBI, but that didn't matter one bit.  Gary Gaetti was the hitting star for the Twins going 2 for 3 with 3 RBI's, 2 runs scored and a homer.  Bruno, who is hitting .341, somehow managed to stave off the golden sombrero with a sac fly in the 6th that almost went yard.

‘65 Bosox take 2 of 3 from ‘68 Pale Hose

9/13-9/14 - Fenway Park
GAME 1 - White Sox 4, Red Sox 2
A rain delay that last over an hour in the middle of the 5th inning ended the day for White Sox hurler Jack Fisher and his opposing number from the Red Sox, Jim Lonborg.  At that point the game was tied a 1 all.  Chicago took a 2-1 lead in the 6th when backstop Duane Josephson singled home Russ Snyder with 2 outs.  The Pale Hose would protect that slim 2-1 lead until the bottom of the 8th when Yaz doubled home Felix Mantilla with nobody out.  Amazingly Chicago's knuckleball specialist Wilbur Wood was able to wiggle his way out of a bases loaded jam without allowing anymore runs.  That set the stage for a 2 run top of the 9th.  Buddy Bradford led off with a double and Josephson singled to put runners on 1st and 3rd.  A wild pitch would score Bradford to make it 3-2.  Pinch hitter Leon Wagner grounded out to second and advanced Josephson to third, which enabled him to score on Luis Aparicio's grounder to short.  Hoyt Wilhem would pitch the 9th and garner his 5th save of the season.

GAME 2 - Red Sox 8, White Sox 4
With the potent lineup the Bosox feature all they need is half  decent pitching.  Earl Wilson gave them just that and a bit more with this complete game effort where he gave up 4 runs (3 earned) on 7 hits.  Wilson, as usual, chipped in with the stick going 2 for 4 with an RBI.  Rico Petrocelli hit a 2 run shot to put the Sahx up 2-1 in the first.  Tony C would hit his 7th off of embattled Chisox starter Joe Horlen in the 6th.  Horlen gave up 7 runs on 12 hits in 6 innings worth of work.  Three unearned runs were directly attributed to his shortstop Luis Aparicio, who did not have his normal gold glove day with 2 miscues.  Jim Gosger was the only Red Sox to not get a hit in this 14 hit effort.  Boston now has 5 everyday players hitting over .300 and a team BA of .283.  Jerry McNertney, who was pressed into action when Duane Josephson crashed into the backstop on a foul pop up, went 1-3 with a bases clearing double that provided Chicago with 3 of its' 4 runs.

9/15 - Comiskey Park
GAME 3 - Red Sox 5, White Sox 4
The rubber match would have to go 10 innings before it was decided.  The normally light hitting Pale Hose staked lefty Gary Peters to a 3-1 lead after 1 inning of play.  Typically the Chisox will win when they can score more than two in a game, but today would not be that "A" typical day vs Boston's potent lineup.  With all those great names in the Boston lineup today would be the day that the unsung heros would do in the Pale Hose.  Tony Horton would go 3 for 5 with 2 RBI's to boost his season average to .410.  Chuck "don't call me Curt" Schilling went 2 for 4 and scored a run, but the real unsung hero was banjo hitting catcher Bob Tillman, who went 2 for 4 with 2 RBI and a big 2 run shot in the second off of Peter, which tied the game at 3.  Horton's RBI double  in the 4th would give the Bosox a one run lead that evaporated on one swing of Pete Ward's bat in the bottom of the 8th on an errant pitch by the normally reliable Bill Monbouquette.  Flame thrower Dick Radatz was summoned from the pen to finish out the 8th and carry the Bosox the rest of the way.  Since neither team scored in the 9th the game went to extra innings where Horton shined one more time.  This time he lined a 2 out RBI single to left center to score Schilling of the ever so tough Hoyt Wilhelm.  Radatz would fan Ken Berry to lead off the bottom of the 10th, then get Ward to fly out to right for out number two before fanning Buddy Bradford for the final out.

‘07 Rays take 2 of 3 from ‘86 M’s

9/13-9/14 - Tropicana Field
GAME 1 - Mariners 7, Devil Rays 3
Milt Wilcox fought off father time for 5 2/3 innings of 2 run ball before handing it off to Mike Trujillo who went the final 3 1/3.  With the score tied 2-2 after 5 the M's took the lead for good with a solo run in the 6th courtesy of a suicide squeeze bunt by Spike Owen, which scored Danny Tartabull who had two doubles on the day and miraculously only struck out once.  Seattle would score 2 in the 8th and 2 in the 9th to put the game out of reach.

GAME 2 - Devil Rays 6, Mariners 2
Tampa scored all the runs that they would need over the first 3 innings.  A Carlos Pena 2 run shot in the first broke the ice and a breakout 4 run inning in the 3rd put the game out of reach.  Scott Kazmir (3-1, 2.76) was the beneficiary of his team's offensive explosion.  Michael Moore (2-3, 3.47) was the generous hurler who took the loss for the M's who managed just 5 hits.  Pena's homer was his 7th of the season.

9/15 - Kingdome
GAME 3 - Devil Rays 6, Mariners 4 (13 inn)
Down 4-3 and facing their final 3 outs the M's finally got to Tampa reliever A. Reyes, who had pitched 2 scoreless innings to that point.  Jim "don't call me Elvis" Presley grounded out to third to lead off the inning.  Alvin Davis, pinch hitting for Spike Owen, doubled to right and moved to 3rd on a Scott Bradley single.  Ninth place hitter Harold Reynolds hit a pop up to center that was medium length, but Davis chose to test his arm and when all the dust settled he was called safe and the game was tied.  The game headed toward extra innings and neither team could score.  Tampa threatened in the 12th with runners on 2nd and 3rd with 1 out, but Carlos Pena fanned and Delmon Young popped up to short to end the threat.  The 13th inning would see J. Wilson double home B.J. Upton who walked and stole second.  B. Harris would then single Wilson home for the second run of the inning off of Michael Young, who had pitched 3 scoreless innings to that point in relief.  Wheeler, who got the final 2 outs in the 12th would pitch a perfect 13th to notch the win.

‘07 Rays take 2 of 3 from ‘53 Browns

The 2007 Tampa Rays dropped a 4-3 decision in the opener of a three game series against the 1953 St, Louis Browns, but recovered to take the next two and stay in contention in the AL East. The Browns continue to play better than manager Bike Mike predicted at the start of the season, as they are holding at the .500 mark at 12-12.

In game one, Mike Blyzka made his first start for St. Louis,  and pitched 8 effective innings surrendering 8 hits and 3 runs, 2 earned. The Browns pushed a run across in the bottom of the eighth on a bases loaded walk to break a 3-3 tie, and Marlin Stuart came on to pitch a scoreless ninth and earn his 3rd save.

The Rays cruised to an 8-0 win in game 2, although the score was only 1-0 after 7. A six run eighth blew the game open. The top of the Rays order was lethal, as Upton, Iwumura, and Young  had two hits apiece, and number two hitter Carl Crawford had three hits, a stolen base, and two RBI.

Crawford kept up his hot hitting in game 3, going 4 for 4 with a double and another stolen base, and BJ Upton had two more hits as well leading the home club to a 6-2 victory. James Shields bested Bobo Hollomon, as this young Rays team showed signs of some good things to come.

--submitted by BikeMike--

‘80 Angels take 2 of 3.

September 10 - Anaheim Stadium

’80 California 4, ’65 Boston 2

The Red Sox led 2-0 after 6 and a half innings thanks to a Bob Tillman solo HR off Angels’ starter Frank Tanana. But the Halos scored 4 times in the bottom of the 7th inning off reliever Bob Duliba to take a 4-2 lead. Rick Miller and Joe Rudi each had 2-run singles to spark the rally. Mark Clear pitched the final two frames for the save.

September 11 - Anaheim Stadium

’80 California 6, ’65 Boston 4

Facing Cy Young candidate Bill Monbouquette, California managed to build a 4-1 lead after 5 innings, thanks in part to a Jason Thompson 2-run HR. But Boston rallied to tie the game with a 3 spot in the top of the 6th. Two singles sandwiching 3 consecutive walks did the trick, with Lenny Green knocking in 2. But in the bottom of the inning Carney Lansford belted a 2-out, 2-run home run to give the Angels a 2 run cushion that held up for the rest of the game. Reliever Ed Halicki picked up the win and Mark Clear his second save in as many games.

September 12 - Fenway Park

’65 Boston 7, ’89 California 5

Back in the confines of home, the Red Sox finally broke out of their collective slump. The bats came alive in the bottom of the 3rd inning, as the Sox scored 5 runs on 2 singles, 2 triples and a Lee Thomas 2-run HR. Felix Mantilla’s solo HR helped extend the lead to 7-2 after 5 innings. California managed to crawl back into it to make it a 2-run game after 7 innings. But reliever Dick Radatz pitched 2 scoreless innings to preserve the win and earn his 6th save.

--submitted by Douglas Zaner--

Sparky Anderson hospitalized

http://www.freep.com/article/20101103/SPORTS02/101103019/1398/Sparky-Anderson-in-hospice-care

Normally I would never use the blog to post info that is not league related, but I thought I’d share this one with all of you who love baseball and the good people who make the game so great.

Legendary manager Sparky Anderson was put in hospice for dementia.  That means that his time left on the planet is numbered.  For those of you who do not know about the disease, it is a cruel disease that robs the victim of their memory slowly but surely.  I watched my wife’s grandfather suffer from it over the course of 2-3 years.  I saw a robust story teller turn into a couch potato who slowly slipped away from us.

Sparky is only 76, which isn’t exactly ancient in today’s world.

It would be cool if everyone could post back on the blog a Sparky story or a story about the great and not so great teams that he managed.

I loved what he said during his HOF induction speech.  He said, “the players play their way into the HOF, not managers”.

One this is for sure…he loved his players and he loved the fans.

‘87 Padres take 3 of 4 from ‘91 Astros

Houston’s Mike Johnson submitted this FOX 26 sports recap of the series.