Standings

              Harris
                         W   L   PCT   GB  Home    Road    1-run   Extra   vs RHP  vs LHP  ShtOut
San Diego Padres        31  22  .585   --  18-11   13-11   11-7     3-2    25-13    6-9     3-3
Houston Astros          30  22  .577  0.5  14-10   16-12    6-9     2-4    21-16    9-6     4-0
Washington Senators     24  28  .462  6.5  13-11   11-17    5-9     4-1    18-21    6-7     1-2
San Francisco Giants    25  32  .439  8.0  11-13   14-19    4-10    0-3    16-25    9-7     4-2
Philadelphia Phillies   19  29  .396  9.5  10-14    9-15    5-5     2-1    12-19    7-10    0-3

               Rickey
                         W   L   PCT   GB  Home    Road    1-run   Extra   vs RHP  vs LHP  ShtOut
Baltimore Orioles       19  17  .528   --   8-8    11-9     5-4     3-2    13-12    6-5     1-1
Los Angeles Dodgers     26  26  .500  1.0  12-16   14-10    7-9     2-2    19-20    7-6     3-3
Toronto Blue Jays       24  24  .500  1.0  16-12    8-12   10-7     4-2    17-17    7-7     3-2
New York Yankees        23  29  .442  4.0  12-16   11-13    5-9     1-2    16-20    7-9     0-1
Saint Louis Cardinals   16  32  .333  9.0  10-18    6-14    4-5     1-2    11-23    5-9     0-2

               McCarthy
                         W   L   PCT   GB  Home    Road    1-run   Extra   vs RHP  vs LHP  ShtOut
Montreal Expos          27  21  .562   --  17-11   10-10    8-4     4-0    21-17    6-4     1-2
Kansas City Royals      29  23  .558   --  15-13   14-10    9-4     1-3    25-16    4-7     2-1
New York Mets           23  25  .479  4.0  11-13   12-12    5-3     5-2    19-19    4-6     0-3
Minnesota Twins         21  27  .438  6.0  10-14   11-13    8-9     2-4    14-20    7-7     0-1
Oakland Athletics       17  35  .327 12.0  10-18    7-17    7-14    2-5    14-24    3-11    3-1

               Hornsby
                         W   L   PCT   GB  Home    Road    1-run   Extra   vs RHP  vs LHP  ShtOut
Anaheim Angels          36  16  .692   --  17-7    19-9    11-4     5-1    24-13   12-3     0-1
Milwaukee Brewers       27  17  .614  5.0   8-8    19-9     6-5     0-1    20-10    7-7     3-2
Seattle Mariners        28  24  .538  8.0  11-13   17-11    3-4     2-3    21-16    7-8     2-2
Chicago Cubs            25  23  .521  9.0  12-12   13-11   10-6     2-2    17-17    8-6     3-1
Atlanta Braves          27  25  .519  9.0  10-14   17-11    6-8     0-3    19-21    8-4     3-3

Team Articles

PHILLIES CONTINUE SLIDE INTO MEDIOCRITY PHILADELPHIA - The Phillies put in more unremarkable performances during the month of April. Manager Al Newman is clearly frustrated with his team's lackluster play, and has vowed to make several changes. For the third time in less than a year, the Phillies management, led by GM Ray Luca, is contemplating major organizational changes. According to Luca, "the axe may soon fall." It remains unclear, however, as to who will get whacked. The Phillies began the month with twelve-game road trip to Kansas City. Clearly attempting to address the lack of runs scored by the offense, Newman attempted to press the Royals' defense by ordering all players to sacrafice whenever possible. This strategy met with mixed results, as the teams split the four-game series. 3B Jeff Cirillo, who is clearly emerging as the team's star this year, hit three homers in game three, lifting the Phils to a 10-3 victory. LF Dante Bichette enjoyed his best run this season while filling in for the injured Orlando Merced, hitting .400 for the series with a pair of homers and five runs batted in. Bichette clearly resented Newman's orders to sacrafice twice in the series, noting "that bastard wants us to play like he had to when he was in the majors. Why do we have to sacrafice just because he couldn't hit a fucking home run when he was playing?" SP Denny Neagle was denied a victory in game two, despite throwing nine innings, giving up only one earned run, and recording nine strikeouts while walking none. SS Chris Gomez put in some brilliant work, twice denying Royals runs with some excellent play in the field. The Phils then took the redeye to Baltimore to face the unpredictable Orioles. Once again, the series resulted in split, with Cirillo leading the way on offence, hitting .353 for the series with another home run and four RBIs. SP Pedro Astacio turned in the first of several solid performances in April, picking up a win after fanning eight Orioles in eight innings while surrendering only three runs against an impressive Baltimore lineup. C Benito Santiago led the way on defense and handled pitching strategy superbly. It was on to Toronto for the final leg of this grueling road trip. The roof caved in for the Phillies at Skydome as they were swept by the Blue Jays. This disaster marred the solid performances by the team in the previous two series, and Newman's frustration clearly became evident as he snapped at Toronto reporters. 2B Mark Lewis led an otherwise pathetic offensive attack - the team batted .163 for the series - by hitting .500 with his first homer of the season and a pair of RBIs. Lewis is turning out to be the best hitter in the lineup; though he is currently hitting .393, Newman insists on using him against left-handed pitching only, despite the fact that 2B Fernando Vina (used against righties) is struggling with a .237 average. Previously disappointing SP Mike Grace picked up his fifth loss, despite striking out nine in eight and a third innings and surrenduring one earned run. Gomez again was invlauable in the field, as he stole a pair of runs from the Jays with two spectacular plays at short. Jays CF Chuck Carr, who was traded for Gomez in the off-season, was clearly worried about his personal safety in the wake of a death threat received prior to game two. The Gambino Group has categorically denied making any such threats, although Luca maintained that "the guy might run into some bad luck." The weary team headed back to the rather unfriendly confines of the Vet after their 4-8 road trip to face the high-flying Los Angeles Dodgers. The series clearly demonstrated the two teams' respective levels of talent, as the Dodgers took three of four with vastly superior pitching. Returning after a 34-game hiatus, Merced led with offense with a .750 average, a double and an RBI. Astacio was fired up to face his former teammates, and picked up the sole win of the series with an eight-inning, five-strikeout performance that saw him give up only one run. C Jorge Fabregas was splendid behind the plate as he filled in for Santiago during the latter's five-game injury. The second half of the eight-game homestand saw a much-hated and former rival New York Mets squad arrive at the Vet. Despite going 1-7 in their past two series, the Phillies were clearly fired up, and won three of four games in the set. Santiago led the way on offense, batting .400 for the series with a double, triple and home run and a trio of RBIs. Grace turned in another solid performance, pitching eight innings and striking out five while giving up two earned runs, but the result was the same as in Toronto - another loss. Merced made his return felt in right field with some spectacular catches. The highlight of the series was undoubtedly game one, when SP James Baldwin got Albert Belle to ground into a 5-4-3 triple play. The month's final series saw the Phils host the Seattle Mariners. The Phillies were not able to continue their winning style of play, however, and split the four-game set with the M's. Game three promised to be one of the highlights of the season, as the Phils overcame a three-run deficit against closer Mark Wohlers. All scoring occurred with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, and was capped with a Cirillo three-run triple. Closer Dan "the Gas Can" Plesac could not hold the Mariners in the top of the tenth, however, as Seattle scored six runs and won the game, 13-7. The game's guest of honor, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, former National Security Adviser, and presidential hopeful, General Colin Powell (USA, ret.), said after the game: "I've served two tours in Vietnam, seen war in the Middle East, and spent 25 years in the United States Army, but that was the closest thing to a fuel-air explosion I've ever seen on a baseball diamond. Plesac self-immolated like a Vietnamese monk. It looked like Baghdad in January 1991." The game also saw Baldwin garner ten strikeouts, though he departed after six innings without a decision. Vina provided a rare hitting spell, batting .333 with a double and a stolen base in the series. Santiago was once again intimidating behind the plate as he gunned down two of three Mariners attempting to steal. Thus the Phillies ended the month at 19-29, with a series at Milwaukee yet to be reported. HIT LIST: Brewer SP Kevin Brown's remarks about his improved performance under non-Gambino ownership clearly irked the denizens of Hunting and Fishing Lodge no. 509 in downtown Philadelphia, widely reputed to be the operations center for the Gambino Group. A Mr Holman, president of Holman Entertainments, Inc., a Gambino subsidiary and close "family" friend, alleged that he had seen Kevin Brown entering a known "alternative" venue in Milwaukee called "Guys for Guys" with FBI informer Sammy "the Bull" Gravano. Denying rumors that he was performing surveillance of Gravano's activities, Holman said it was unfortunate that the "rat" no longer chose to live under the protection of the federal Witness Protection Program, and added that something "could go wrong at any minute for those two lovebirds." Luca reacted angrily to the publication of Brown's remarks by the MBL Commissioner's office, and has filed a grievance on behalf of the Brewers...Player of the Month is 3B Jeff Cirillo, who is tied for the team lead in games played (48), triples (2) and home runs (11), and leads the team in runs (32), hits (53), RBIs (35) and hit batsmen (2)...A sad farewell to 1B Desi Wilson, who was cut from the team roster at the end of April. Taking the starting position from Eric Karros against righties, Wilson hit an impressive .288 with a pair of homers and 13 RBIs in 43 games. Good luck, Desi. ---Todd Clark WHERE ARE THE DEFENDING CHAMPIONS? The Los Angeles Dodgers are off to their worst start in years. They find themselves with an unfamiliar record in a familiar place. They are at a modest 26-26 on the season but still in first place in the dismal Branch Rickey division in the MBL. It's hard to believe the division could get any worse but with no team taking advantage of the others slow start, the Rickeys' have become the laugh of the league. Not much has changed in the Dodger offense. It is about the same as last year with the team hitting at a .265 clip. Mike Piazza and Rafeal Palmeiro are the foundation to a solid offense that will only get better when the top of the lineup starts getting on base and making things happen. The problem seems to lie in the melting pot pitching staff assembled by the team. The starting rotation consists represents 4 countries and the bull pen another 3. Regular catcher, Mike Piazza is having trouble communicating with them. "I wasn't aware I would have to get a tutor to teach me all these damn foreign languages," commented Piazza. "Wouldn't it be easier to get one guy in here to teach these bastards how to speak English? I don't know how much longer I can keep up this pace. I mean they want me to talk to these pitchers and carry them with the bat. Something's got to give." The lack of closeness has contributed to the Dodger woes. The pitching staff is sporting a lofty era of almost 4 runs a game. Last year the staff collectively was a run a game less. Hideo Nomo has been the only one to let his arm do the talking. He is 6-1 with an era of 2.20. Through a translator Nomo said, "Not to brag but if I weren't around, this team could easily be mistaken for a bunch of Yankee or Cardinal rejects. Pitiful." Todd Worrell and John Wetteland are both trying to win the job as the Dodger closer job. The job was Wetteland's early on. He proceeded to blow 33 percent of his saves to go with two losses. His era was approaching 5.00 when the job was handed over to Todd Worrell, the Dodger insurance policy. He didn't fair much better. His era of over 7.50 per game isn't the makings of a stopper. He was part of the trade where the Dodgers sent Pedro Martinez to San Diego for Pedro's older brother Ramon. Ramon Martinez has gone 1-6 as a Dodger Starter. One player who wants to remain anonymous was asked about the trade and he said, "We got fucked." The other trade involving a starter from last year was that of Pedro Astacio, a promising young right-hander. Kevin Seitzer came from Philadelphia in that trade. Seitzer is a expected to be a key to the lineup batting third in front of the killer P's. He is hitting .290 which is slightly less than his career average. With the way the starting staff is throwing the ball so far this year, Astacio would have surely be in the Dodger rotation right now. Manager Ken Phelps, who is on the hot seat, was the driving force behind the Pedro trades. It seems Phelps wasn't able to concentrate on his duties as manager. As a child, Ken was the target of much ridicule from the neighborhood bully, Pedro Martin. He was having recurring nightmares about his pitchers and convinced management that they were a detriment to the team. As Martinez and Astacio prosper with other franchises, Phelps hopes their replacements are able to start producing or else he may be looking for employment elsewhere. ---Bob Biermann CUBS PRIVATE PARTS What is the record for most solo homeruns by a team? Something I had not thought about until I noticed that stat on our home page for individual players. For the first time as owner of the Cubs one of my players was at the top of a stat column. Sammy "Salsa" Sosa was leading the league in solo shots, how depressing. Timing is everything. The first series I played after this enlightenment was against the reigning world champion Dodgers. Game 3 of the series I win 5-4, a dramatic come from behind ninth inning win. How did I win? Five, count them five, solo homeruns, with three of them coming in the ninth. Sorry, Bob. Of course, this is bound to happen then you put together a line up including no .300 hitters, no one with a .400 OBP, but includes four batters who had 30 or more homers. During my two home series in the second half of this month, I played a total of eight games against LA and SD. My team hit 18 homers over these eight games, 15 of which were solo shots. I have never hit that many homeruns in that number of games, in any league or with any game. Wow I guess the wind was really blowing out and worst of all I only won four of the eight games. This year we cut our rosters back by five players. The waiver list should be full of potential. Not so. After going over every player on the list who is on an active roster, I could only find two number five starters to take a chance on. The list is full of relief pitchers who in '97 have pitched less than 10 innings so far. It is much too early to guess on them. I attribute the Cubs horrible '97 start to the fact that they found out that I had dropped their franchise in favor of the Indians. It is truly painful to watch the infielders throw the ball around like a bunch of pee wee leaguers. Since Chris has already laid claim to being the MBL's official Gillian Anderson fan (but does he have Gillian's picture as his Windows wallpaper, the X-Files calendar next to his computer, a screen saver that scrolls "Trust No One", and a homemade collage of a dozen pictures of Gillian smiling, this collage was made one day when my boss said, "Yea, she's pretty good looking, but she never smiles."), I guess that I will have to become the MBL's official fan of someone else. I declare myself the Molson Baseball League's official Howard Stern fan. I figure that since I am the only league member in the entire southeast that I can not alienate myself any further than I already have. Yes, I admit in this public forum that I listen to his radio show in the mornings, stay up late to watch his show on E!, have read both of his books, enjoyed his movie very much, and am listening to the movie sound track as I write this. It is a sickness. ---Walt Bick OAKLAND WARRIORS? I've been going through a real crises lately, and thought I'd share it with the league. I simply don't give a shit about modern baseball. I have developed a very keen interest in pro basketball lately (I did have one when I was younger) and that might be part of the problem. See, until the end of the basketball playoffs, if there is a basketball game on TV, I'll watch that, and I'll have no interest to watch a baseball. How are the Mets doing? Well, outside of Izzy's flirtation with serious illness and metal garbage cans, I don't know. How are the A's doing? Well, last I looked, they were in last place. Are they still? I don't know. Jason Giambi hit a 9th inning homer the other day, and the A's beat the Orioles. How do I know this? I was watching ESPN sport center to find out how the Suns-Sonics game turned out. Cheaney I can tell you how many minutes Calbert Cheaney played for the Bullets this year, because he's my third-string shooting guard on my Strat-O-Matic basketball team. But, do I even know whether my third-string catcher on the A's (Sal Fusano) is even in the majors this year? Haven't a clue. Meanwhile, I've joined a Philadelphia A's nostalgic fan club, recently purchased a photographic portrait of the 1930 A's for $105, and continue to work on old-time baseball sets for Diamond Dreams. What is it about the modern baseball game that I find bores me to tears? I don't know. I remember a phone call from my former partner last fall, after the beta set had come out. He was complaining (Mike was very good at that, you know) once again, this time about Nefi Perez's DPs. He said something about the DPs in x amount of innings, and I thought that the guy was a pitcher and Mike was saying that Nefi should have more DPs on his pitching card. So, I replied that with so few innings (70 or so) I didn't think he deserved a full DP on his pitching card. Well, you know the punch line here. Nefi is a short stop, and I had no idea that was the case. Mike was complaining about a short stop's DP rating. Did I feel silly? You bet. It is true that my stat source gives me all the files with ID numbers with the stat lines, not names, so it is easy for me to miss a player or two. But, the fact that I had no idea about this guy at all worried me. Is is just me that finds the adventures of F.P. Santangelo to be lacking in interest? Or is it that baseball had just pissed me off one too many times. Maybe it is just a phase, and when the basketball playoffs are done, I'll be turning in Bob Murphy once again. But what if it is not? ---Chris Klug INCHING TOWARDS .500 After a very dissapointing opening month which saw the Washington Senators go 10-16, the club bounced back with a much better month of April improving to 13-12 and starting the month of May with a 10-0 trouncing of the Braves to finish off that series. The team continues to be plagued by a very dissapointing performance from first round draft choice Jose Valentin who now has a dreadful .239 OBP and is slugging? just .367. Also, neither Jose Canseco nor Jim Thome are providing the power hoped for, slugging just .430 and .468 respectively. Among the pitchers, Darren Oliver is sporting a nifty 8.07 ERA after 10 starts -- on the plus side, Roger Pavlik is 7-1 through the first two months. WIth the non-divisional portion of the schedule complete, the Senators are looking forward to locking horns with their rivals in the mighty Harris Division. Both the hated Padres and the equally hated Phillies are scheduled to make appearances at RFK in May. The fans are hyped, all 10 games are sold out and the pay-per-view numbers are looking good too. There is much speculation in DC about whether Padres owner/carpetbagger Jack Buchanan will show his face at RFK to watch his Padres. Sources say that he has been afraid to do so in San Diego ever since he announced his intention to move the team to Ted Kennedy land. Word on the street is that Buchanan and Kennedy reached an agreement whereby Kennedy used his influence to peddle a sweetheart deal on the lease at Fenway in exchange for Buchanan making yet another hefty contribution to Kennedy's campaign coffers. Said Da'Guvnah upon hearing these rumours; "I'm not surprised that Buchanan and Kennedy are bedfellows but it's nice to see Jack finally come out of the closet and quit living the lie. Look at the facts. He married a woman from New England. He roots for the Blues. Hell, he probably reads the New York Times. For all I know, he's tri-sexual. If you ask me, it's a marriage made in hell. Here's hoping he lets Ted drive the team bus late one night." As for the Phillies, Da Guvnah can't wait for their arrival. After glancing at the schedue for the month he was heard to say "Hopefully their visit will enable us to crawl over the .500 mark". In an innovative promotion, the Senators have started a "Guess the Winning Margin" contest for the Phillies series. Fans are encouraged to guess the winning margin in each of the games the Senators are going to sweep. The winning entry gets to sit with Mr. Fitgerald in the owner's private box for four of the five games when the Phillies return to RFK to get killed again in early August. For the other game, the lucky winner gets to manage the team. As Mr. Fitzgerald put it, "Hell, we could beat the Phillies even if Chuck Engle was managing the team". ---Gord Fitzgerald

THE TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF PAT HENTGEN The Blue Jays came into the season with great hopes and expectations for Pat Hentgen. During spring training, Pat kept nearly all opposition hitters guessing and, upon occasion, could blow his fast ball by for critical strikes. Unfortunately, in his spring training start, a line drive caught him squarely on the tip of Bursa region of his pitching shoulder. Pat just hasn't looked as sharp since. So, we decided to continue our one person perspective on the baseball year by interviewing Pat. HPP: Let's start with the obvious question. How's the shoulder? PH: It's fine until I get on the mound. [Laughs.] No, seriously, it still hurts quite a lot when I start throwing at the beginning of a game. That's why you're seeing the other teams scoring early. HPP: So, then once you've pitched for a while it stops hurting? PH: Well, it goes down to a dull ache that I've pitched with before -- like most of last season. HPP: Why don't you take more warm up throws then, or something like that, to get past the early pain? PH: It's a balancing act betwen getting tired too early and trying to get through the first inning plus mostly unscathed. So far, the entire coaching staff would rather I try the latter. Both Candy [Tom Candiotti] and Jimmy [Key] admit that they're hard pressed to pitch 7 innings, so the bullpen guys are a bit worn by the time I'm back up in the current 4 man rotation. HPP: So they want you to try to finesse your way throught the early stiffness and hope you get strong as you go? PH: You got it. Because of this view, they are including full force warm up throws into my game total pitch count. HPP: I assume you're getting cortisone shots for the shoulder too. PH: No. Cortisone is for reducing inflamation. I've not had a lot of that any more. HPP: I assume the counting is also going towards a total fatigue evaluation because no one on the teams wants you worn out before the season's done... PH: [interrupting] I guess that is part of it. HPP: So, why do you already have 5 complete games this year? PH: To be honest, only two are complete games in my mind. [The wins.] The others were game I let get away. So, I pitched out the string in those games. Believe it or not my shoulder actually hurt less after those games... HPP: [interrupting] Because you were saving yourself, as the dead ball era pitchers used to say, and not pushing it except in critical situations. PH: In a way. But, I also wanted to keep the relief staff fresh for games where we had a chance. HPP: Does this pitching out the string philosophy include the opening day complete game loss in Wrigley? PH: No. I was pitching well. The guys were having trouble pushing runners ahead or getting the ribbie hit. HPP: Your mid-April starts looked pretty impressive. Getting over the pain faster? PH: Yeah. The beginning of game pain has finally started to ease. Now, all I have to do is get through the first 3-4 batters as opposed to 6-8 batters. I do that then I really start to roll. HPP: That sound more like a confidence, or lack thereof, issue than a playing hurt one. PH: Pitching's always a confidence issue. Jays Chatter: Talk about turn-around. After going 7-17 in March, the Jays were 17-7 through 26 April . . . after having closed door discussions with manager Buddy Bell, Joe Carter, Travis Fryman, and Geronimo Berroa started to find their hitting strokes . . . Chuck Carr is redemanding his personal masseusse be brought along on road tips as a team expense; meanwhile, young Quinton McCracken, who was brought up for a DL'd Jose Hernandez, impressed everyone with his hustle and work ethic. ---Joe Samocha GAMBINO IN ACTION? Pitching, pitching, pitching was the word of the day in the offseason, but unfortunately the hope of January and February has turned to horror in March and April. Cito Gaston has been driven to the bottle by the nightly fireworks provided by opposing lineups. 20-1? Before the Orioles came to town that was more like your odds of being shot in D.C., but no more. Yes, 20-1 was the result of game 2, at home, against the Angels. Made the game 4 result of 13-2 seem almost respectable. With a team ERA well over 5, Owner Marge Schott is rumored to be considering selling off some of the higher priced talent, perhaps even the whole team. James Baldwin obviously doesn't have many happy memories of Baltimore, or maybe Gotti's poisened his mind, but next time he comes to Baltimore he'll have to be watching his back. In game 4, with his Phillies well ahead of the Orioles, Baldwin threw at ex-Phillie Eric Young, knocking him out of the game and the next series. Rumors of substance abuse had already been swirling around him ever since he came to Baltimore. Missed practices, flights .... Pitcher of the month was an easy choice, as Nagy has the most wins (6), complete games (5) and lowest ERA (3.98). Ventura has kept the O's in a lot of games they should have lost, and has helped make up for Hundley's continued slump. ---Nat Bailey YANKS AWAIT "WEAK SISTERS" The Yankees continue their lackadasical play during April. The only bright spots have been the outstanding play of left fielder Ellis Burks and first baseman Hal Morris. Ellis is hitting .337 and has an slugging percentage of .645. Morris is hitting a torid .376. Hal has been hampered by some nagging injuries, but once he overcomes them he should make a run for the batting title. The biggest problem is the Yankees pitching staff. They continue to get bombed every night. Pitching Coach Ron Guidry said ," Our pitching will come along fine. We have an upcoming streak where we play the weaker sisters of our division. Engle's Cardinals can't hit shit. If we play one or two day games after a night game, we will probably throw a no-hitter. The Cards would be so hung over from their late night they could possibly even forfeit." The Yankees host their Canadian neighbor the Jays and also travel to the O's as they face them for the first time as division rival. Yankees owner Sotolar extends his congrats to the Dodgers on winning their first MBL Championship. "Even though the victory was tainted, Congrats go to the Dodgers on their big win. It is good for our division to have LA win the title. I feel every team in our division played such a big part in letting LA win 100 games we should all get Championship Rings." Sotolar went on to say," If LA had to play the Mets under their old ownership things would have been different. We would not have seen Albert Belle making a fool of himself behind homeplate." YANKEE DOODLES:Question of the Month..... Since Ellen has finally come out of the closet, isn't it about time a couple of players from the Dodgers also come out of the closet and tell the world? Not to mention any names but just look at first base and behind the plate.........The Yankees have announced they have purchased the St. Louis Blues and they will play in the innagural MHL. They will start their season this fall and will no doubt beat up on fellow owners Biermann, Engle and Fitzgerald {Editor's note: I guess Buchanan, Melby, and Conner are safe!}. Especially the minor league team from Chicago, the Hawks. ---Chip Sotolar WILL APRIL SHOWERS BRING MAY FLOWERS? Houston cruised into April playing solid baseball with a 16-8 record and success both at home and on the road. Results were considerably more spotty in April as the 'Stros limped to a .500 record, not inspiring much confidence for their run at the league title. "We're missing the clutch hits, and the bullpen, other than Billy Wagner, has been entirely unreliable. Injuries during the month to starters Royce Clayton, Luis Gonzalez, Eric Davis, and Brian Jordan did not help. Of particular concern was a 4 game home series against the Royals which Houston lost 3-1. The Astros were blown out in games one and three, lost a big lead in game 2, and only won the finale on a two run ninth inning homer by Sandy Alomar Jr. For the series KC hit over .350. Down on the farm the AAA Astros appear to be loaded. Outfielders Bob Abreau, Ray Montgomery, and Richard Hidalgo are primed to make the big club while ss/3b Russ Johnson is also prized. Roberto Petagine was the spring's last cut and is a sure bet to gain a promotion soon. Among pitchers, Donnie Wall continues to stake a claim to a starting spot along with Chris Holt. Relievers include Matt Mantei and Armondo Benitez. And finally the Sun Stros of the Florida senior's league start play this month with a brand new lineup of ex-Astros. This year's starters are 1b- Franklin Stubbs, 2b- Bill Doran ss- Craig Reynolds (but we're just waiting for you, Walt Weiss) 3b- Mike Pagliarullo lf- George Bell, cf-Robin Yount rf- Jeff Leonard c- Mike FItzgerald. Staters include Charlie Leibrandt, Jim Deshailes, and Bill Gullickson (remember when he went 3-22 or something) and the pen houses Ed Nunez, (ambidexterous) Greg Harris, and Dave Rhigetti. Finally, the Stros will be gone from May 8 until the 20th. We will send out all road instructions early and hope to get the first set of May series completed before our departure. ---Rich Polin BRAVES BESET BY INJURIES The Atlanta Braves, expected to contend for the Hornsby Division Title, have been beset by injuries in the first two months of the season. As a result, they have been remaining around the .500 mark. Pitching has stayed injury-free with the exception of Randy Johnson who strained his back lifting a suitcase. Unfortunately for the Braves, their hitters have not had the same luck. Every player in hteir starting lineup has been injured at least once, if not twice. The Braves started the second half of the month with 5 players injured, not counting David Justice who hurt his elbow swinging the bat on the on-deck circle. This made it very hard for manager Hank Aaron as he had only two players available for pinch-hitting. Fortunately, the games were being played in Atlanta so a DH was not being used which would have depleted the bench even more. In the stat department, Chipper Jones has been on fire, driving in 51 runs, more than twice the next leading RBI producer. He has accomplished this while only hitting 9 HR. John Smoltz finished April at 10-0. Unfortunately, Tom Glavine is only 7-6 with an ERA just under 4. The two newest Braves, Robbie Alomar and Trevor Hoffman, have both excelled. While the Braves management was extremely reluctant to part with Andruw Jones, this deal was just too good to pass up. The team has not had a reliable closer in years. Management just wishes that the rest of the bullpen was half as good as Hoffman. They have been looking into the possibility of cloning Hoffman but have yet to receive any good news on that front. ---Steve Sargent INJURY BUGABOO VEXES MARINER STARTERS (AP) Seattle - by Spike Jones Special to the Home Plate Press The Mariner starting corp is a discouraged bunch as the season neared the 50 game mark. Of the 5 starters from the season opening series against Baltimore, only Todd Stottlemyer and Felipe Lira have made all his scheduled starts. Justin Thompson has been pounded and was sent out for more seasoning. That's normal. Thompson was philosophical about his demotion, "I have to be philosophical about this. I just have to learn how to keep the ball down in this ballpark. It's an adjustment I've got to work on down at Tacoma. I never seen such little mistakes fly so far!" Bob Woolcott got hurt early on and is now just coming back. Woolcott's condition was described as a tender elbow. Pitching coach Scott Bankhead claims that the sharpness of Woolcott's breaking ball had been affected by the injury and the rest has served the young rightie. Woolcott was activated Saturday and started against Washington. Results were generally positive. He struck out 7, indicating that he has not lost velocity on his fast ball and that the curve ball had pretty good spin. He was the beneficiary of a Mariner onslaught and won easily 11-4. Two hangers were treated rudely by Dave Martinez and flew into the right field seats. But as Manager Pat Barry noted, "That type stuff happens here." The scariest day of the season was when the ace of the staff, Juan Guzman, was struck in the pitching hand by a line drive. Blood was everywhere and a compound fracture was feared. Yet, in the end it was just a few torn fingernails and a broken pinkie finger - a three week stint on the disabled list, but it could have been worse. Asked why he tried to field it barehanded, Guzman remarked, "It was the second inning and I still had a perfect game. I had to try to knock the ball down. It was ticketed toward center field." During his rehabilitation, Guzman will likely be required to see the training film, "Your Glove and You". Guzman is scheduled to come off the DL on May 7. As Guzman and Woolcott were breaking down, Manager Barry was applauding himself for having the foresight to claim Billy Swift and Kevin Foster off waivers. Manager Barry's euphoria with himself did not last long. Swift pitched to the tune of an 11.66 ERA and Foster was less than dazzling with an ERA of 5.66. Then both were disabled. Swift's rotator cuff was found to need surgery. He is out for at least 80 games and will likely miss the remainder of the season. Foster has tendinitis and needs rest. He is scheduled to come off the disabled list May 3. Only the heroic pitching of Felipe Lira (5-3 2.25 ERA) and the workhorse efforts of Todd Stottlemyer (5-3 4.69 ERA 80.2 IP) have provided encouragement to the Mariner fans. The team's record is 26-22 despite the wreckage in the rotation. If the team can get its starters in order by mid-season, perhaps a run at the playoffs might yet be made on a wing and a prayer. So far the Mariner staff has more prayers than wings. Mariner Moments: Apparently, the Mariner injury jinx is not just for pitchers. Designated hitter Ryan Klesko has been forced to don a first baseman's mitt again. Paul Sorrento and Mark Johnson have been hit with hamstring injuries and have been disabled. Ricky Otero has been called up and will see significant at bats while the first basemen heal. The black hole between the starters and Mark Wohlers has been adequately filled. Incumbent middle relievers Eddie Guardado and Jeff Nelson have been joined by Terry Mathews and Mike Dyer. The quartet has a record of 5-3 and have gotten most leads to Wohlers. Lest we forget what the Mariners are about, the offense has been phenomenal. Ken Griffey (.341 10 HR 33 RBI), Edgar Martinez (.312 16 HR 45 RBI), Ryan Klesko (.340 8 HR 34 RBI) and Alex Rodriguez (.323 12 HR 36 RBI) have paced a fearsome attack. The Ms have five game winning homers in their last licks, including grand slams by Griffey and Klesko. Biggest road trip of the season commences April 27 as team travels to Philly and then on to divisional rivals Anaheim and Atlanta before ending the trip in Kansas City. It may well tell the Mariner's fortunes for the season. ---Pat Barry PADRES CONTINUE MASQUERADE The surprising 1996 Padres continued in April to gear up for what could be an interesting last few months at the Murph. A strong month of play helped catapult the Padres into first place in the Harris Division over the Astros. Most importantly, the team was still healthy and playing well. "The bats have really been coming through for us," Herr remarked. "Freddy and Julio have beem a magnificent combination at first, each with averages in the high 300s and OPS scores over 900. I'm not sure if it's been the fact that we're leaving, the possible deals involving them or what, but they've sure turned it on. Reggie has been a big boost for us off the bench as well with 3 pinch homers, two of which came with the bases juiced." Padre starting pitching is beginning to look stronger. Beginning with the division opener in Washington, pitching coach Bob Gibson announced that Scott Sanders (1-2, 3.65) would replace Mark Langston in the rotation. "Scotty has been throwing the ball really well for us. I think he'll be able to step right in and produce." Langston (4-3, 4.95) took the demotion to Pawtucket as best as can be expected, although he will likely be recalled after a few weeks. Rookie sensation Jeff D'Amico's fast start has cooled now that teams have gotten a second look at him. Most worrisome, he's coughed up 21 gopher balls in 64 innings. "Luckily he's been able to isolate the power against him or his ERA (5.74) and record (2-5) would be much worse," noted Gibson. Padre fans were treated to an extraordinary series in April when the Cardinals visited from the 13th through the 17th. Celebrating the San Diego SPCA, fans were invited to bring their dogs to the game. All the excitement in the stands must have distracted the Cards as they lost 11-10, 12-3, 11-4, and 11-10. The 45 runs in four games are believed to be a franchise record. "The Cards starters were distracted and kept running to the dugout for five minute breaks," said one fan. "It was unbelieveable." PADRE CONFESSIONS: Visitors to the Murph in May include the Giants (7-11), Dodgers (23-27), and Phillies (28-June 1). To commemorate Weaver's Beavers' move to Florida, patrons bringing a dead fish to the Murph will get to throw it at their favorite Giant without fear of expulsion. Pedro Martinez is looking forward to seeing his brother when the defending champions roll into town. Finally, fireworks can be expected when Gambino comes to play. John Ericks, Jeff D'Amico, and the other trees on the staff are ready and waiting. "Heads will roll," promised Ericks. "We'll take at least four from 'em." ... The Padres are in the market for a closer for the mid-season run. ---Jack Buchanan