Bichette	Kendall	McGwire	Grudzielanek	Abreu	Dempster

TEAM: Thewsker Dus
OWNER: Perry Thew
ESTABLISHED: 1989
CHAMPI0NSHIPS: 0
YEARLY FINISHES: 2, 5, 9, 9, 4, 2, 6, 10, 5, 10, 3
MANAGER:Leo "The Lip" Durocher
HISTORY: The Thewsker Dus, named after the band Husker Du, entered the league as an expansion team in 1989. They immediately shocked the league by finishing an unheard of second. Led by find of the year Lonnie Smith for $3, the Dus had immediately built what they thought was an early foundation for greatness. All was good in Thewville!

However, GM Perry Thew was called into military service following the season and an interim GM was called into duty. The Dus held tough until the trading deadline when Perry returned but made two disastrous trades (see below), dooming them to fifth place, just two points out of the money.

1992 was completely a year to forget for the Dus as they finished last, 11 points out of even eighth. Last place finishes in RBI and all the pitching categories typified the Dus season.

1993 was the year that wasn't for the Du's. On paper the Du's looked solid with many multifaceted players. However, substantial injuries and a lack of depth placed them in a disappointing ninth.

Never has a team done so much with so little effort by the GM than the '94 Thewsker Du's. Unbelievably, the Du's slipped into fourth place on the final week of the season despite little attention at all from the GM. The Du's were spearheaded by a strong starting rotation.

Once again in 1995 the Du's attacked the season with a hands-off approach. This time it proved costly. The Du's finished in second place just one point out of first, yet the title was easily in grasp as the Dus were just 2 homers away from gaining 2 more points, 1 steal away from another point, and 2 wins away from 2 more points. One simple replacement for Moises Alou could have given them their first title.

The 1996 Dus proved to be the classic middle finisher, failing to distinguish themselve in any category other than home runs (second) on their way to a respectable sixth place finish. The highlight of the year may have been the return of franchise MVP Ryne Sandberg to the fold.

Despite some shrewd building of the bullpen (DiPoto, Urbina, and Loiselle were all acquisitions), the Thewsker Dus suffered a poor season again in 1997, finishing a distant 10th. The lead-footed Dus (last in steals) limped their way though much of the season as player after player was demoted to the minors or the AL.

The �98 version of the Thewsker Dus returned to contention, yet could not get over the hump as they finished in the bride�s maid position of 5th. They featured some solid hitting and very good speed (3rd place) although a mediocre bullpen and a bad ratio managed to hindered them enough to keep them out of the money. The star of the year for the Thewsker Dus was without a doubt Mark McGwire, who shattered the BLOBB record for homers in a season with 70, though finishing second to Sammy Sosa for the MVP award.

There is no other way to characterize the 1999 Thewsker Dus other than mediocre. They boasted a top flight bullpen in closers John Rocker, Armando Benitez, and Wayne Gomes and Big Mac, Mark McGwire but little else. The Dus were never a serious threat to finish in the money.

The Thesker Du�s of 2000 continued their recent trend of one year on, one year off, with a solid 3rd place finish. The Dus were a balanced club, with 7 of the 8 categories gaining between 7 and 10 points. They got big years from Mark McGwire (in half time) and Geoff Jenkins with the bats, and Ryan Dempster and Daryl Kile on the mound.

BEST TRADE: The Thewsker Dus trade first half flash Francisco Cordova to the Ticks for closer Rich Loiselle. Cordova notches only 6 more wins from that point, registering a miserable 5.16 ERA while Loiselle delivers 23 solid saves for the Dus.

WORST TRADE:The previously mentioned Stan Belinda and John Kruk for Vicente Palacios, Ken Oberkfell, Pedro Guerrero, and Mark Gardner disaster. After hearing of the trade, Sums rival in the standings, the Pauly Ticks, demanded Bruce Hurst for similar trash. Unwilling to upset the delicate competitive balance, the Dus complied. Although not a trade per se, an honorable mention must go to the Thewsker Du's release of Jeff Branson while picking up Manny Lee in 1995. Lee never does get an at bat for the Du's while Branson has a season that would have given the Du's the championship (.265, 11, 45, 2).

FRANCHISE MVP:Ryne Sandberg

CAREER LEADERS:

AB			H			HR			RBI				
R. Sandberg	2643	R. Sandberg	746	M. McGwire	165	R. Sandberg	387		
T. Fernandez	1704	T. Fernandez	460	R. Sandberg	98	M. McGwire	364	
Ma.Grace	1421	Ma. Grace	455	S. Sosa	        79	S. Sosa	        255	
J. Kendall	1394	J. Kendall	453	K. Caminiti	66	K. Caminiti	224	
S. Sosa	        1352	S. Sosa	        372	B. Bonds	59	B. Bonds	223			

SB			AVG			IP			W			
B. Bonds	92	K. Mitchell	.341	G. Maddux	693.3	G. Maddux	56
J. Kendall	70	W. Joyner	.334	D. Neagle	478.3	D. Neagle	34
S. Sosa	        69	D. Bichette	.329	P. Harnisch	423.3	A. Leiter	27
R. Sandberg	67	J. Kendall	.325	J. Smiley	376	J. Smiley	24
D. Sanders	65	Dw. Smith	.323	S. Fernandez	373.7	K. Hill		22		

SV			RAT			ERA
A. Benitez	63	G. Maddux	0.92	R. McDowell	1.96
J. Rocker	60	A. Benitez	1.03	G. Maddux	2.04
J. Franco	59	S. Fernandez	1.05	F. Cordova	2.15
R. Loiselle	41	C. Lefferts	1.16	A. Benitez	2.22
C. Lefferts	40	D. Darwin	1.16	S. Radinsky	2.51