It came to my attention this week that a newspaper was looking for a new beat writer � not just someone who will write a game story, but someone who is actually at the game and even interviews the players in the clubhouse afterwards. With that in mind I file this report, consider this as my audition tape�
Barry Bonds hit his second dramatic extra-inning walk-off home run of the series as the San Francisco Giants defeated the Atlanta Braves 4-3 in the teams final game before a possible matchup in the National League Championship Series. Bonds ripped a first pitch offering from Braves reliever Trey Hodges (3-2) into the center field stands to set off the wild celebration. The home run moves Barry to within 14 of reaching 666 for his career. The game went into extra innings after the Braves rallied for three runs, thanks in part to a throwing error by the newly acquired Eric Young, off closer Tim Worrell in the ninth � costing ace Jason Schmidt a win despite a very impressive outing.
Schmidt answered all questions about his elbow tendonitis by shutting the Braves down on just three hits and a walk over eight innings. Schmidt threw 105 pitches, 70 for strikes. When asked if he wanted to go out for the ninth to attempt the complete game shutout Schmidt replied �Sure, any pitcher would want the ball in that situation. But it�s all about the team right now. Tim has been strong all year and we trust him in the ninth inning. It was just unfortunate that he got bit by a couple of bloopers and a throwing error. They�ve got a good team over there, and they take advantage of those kind of breaks. Fortunately, Barry was able to come through for us.� When asked if his performance helped his Cy Young candidacy, Schmidt said �That kind of talk is premature, just like my bald spot. Our focus right now is not on individual awards, but getting to the playoffs and getting back to the World Series.'
The Braves played without the services of All-Stars Chipper Jones (knee) and Javy Lopez, who fouled a pitch off his shin last night. Despite the swollen leg that was heavily wrapped, Lopez vowed to be back in the lineup Friday night in Denver v. the Rockies. With a grin, Lopez says �I can�t miss Colorado � whether I am hurt or not I�m going to play. No one can miss an opportunity to pad their stats for three games�. When told that Greg Maddux would be starting Friday night, which would automatically relegate Lopez to the bench, Javy replied �Whoops, maybe we can have someone kidnap him for the weekend��
NOTES: Bonds home run ball was initially caught by Timi Wusu of Palo Alto, but lost possession after being crushed by a swarm of fans. The ruling is that anyone attempting to catch a home run ball must demonstrate complete possession and be able to make �a football related move� before he/she can become the undisputed owner of the ball � that is of course pending any other legal challenges along with court costs that will no doubt exceed the cost of the ball, even it were #666.
The preceding recap wasn�t written anywhere near Pac Bell Park. In addition all of the quotes were either made up, or taken directly off an existing AP wire story. But it sure the hell sounded good!!!!!!
While Schmidt proved himself to be apparently healthy and fit, there are a slew of other star pitchers whose status is suddenly iffy coming into the stretch run, included on that list are�
Kerry Wood � Things have not gone well for baseball�s strikeout leader in the past week. As if shelling Dontrelle Willis was not enough, the Dodgers would go on to tag Wood for 5 ER in just 2 2/3 IP. Wood also walked four in the brief outing before being removed for what was described as a sore lower back. Wood did make his following start in Houston but was tagged again for 5 ER in just four IP, raising his ERA for the year to an almost unacceptable 3.80.
Mark Mulder � Majors complete game leader leaves game in Boston after three innings with what was described as a strain right hip which would land him on the disabled list. The team stresses that Mulder will not miss more than the mandatory 15 days. Still, Mulder is definitely out for the upcoming week.
Tim Hudson � Got nailed in the pitching hand last weekend, and was thus pushed back in the rotation. Hudson could go possibly as early as this Sunday, if not early next week.
Rich Harden � There was actually talk of skipping Harden in the rotation to give him some rest before Mulder and Hudson went down. But Harden wound up taking Hudson�s start on Thursday and was smoked for eight ER by the Red Sox in just 2 2/3 innings. More alarming was the fact that seven walks were involved, which Harden chalked up with just trying to be too careful. I wouldn�t read too much into this, utilizing a opposing pitcher in Boston this year (where the Red Sox are hitting .323) is every bit as risky as using a pitcher for a start in Coors Field. Just keep in mind that despite the hype Harden is still only a 21-year old rookie and you need to pick and choose where to start him.
Pedro Martinez � Was scheduled to face Harden on Thursday, but was a last minute scratch due to a sore throat/upset stomach. Right now it�s assumed that he will be fine to start early next week and could even be a two-start possibility. Pedro�s 2.32 ERA is very much in line with recent years but his ratio has gone up slightly to 1.06.
Randy Johnson � Pitched reasonably well this week (2 ER in 6 IP) but is clearly not his old start, with a 4.90 ERA with opposing batters hitting .285 � as opposed to .208 as recently as just last year. Is he still not 100 percent or is this the beginning of the end. Unit turns 40 in a few weeks.The brass Sunday move of the week goes for those who benched Albert Pujols after falling ill and missing the team�s Sunday Night game. The Cards were already scheduled for an off day on Monday and Pujols still had that two-game suspension hanging over his head. Sure enough, Pujols drops his appeal on Tuesday and sat out through Thursday with a fever that was reported to have spiked as high as 103 degrees. The good news was that Pujols did take batting practice Thursday night and hit four of 15 balls out. Perhaps Pujols should be sick more often, one teammate said �we�re spoiled watching him�. On the surface, Pujols is not looked at someone who could serious challenge DiMaggio�s 56-game hitting streak due to the fact that he�s right handed without much speed. But he is currently as fine a hitter as anyone, with a .390 BA with 26 runs and 29 RBI during his current 30 game run. Don�t be surprised to see his current streak get into the 40-45 game range, a standard not seen since Pete Rose 25 years ago.
Retract what I said earlier in the year about Alex Rodriguez having an off year, which in the first place was kind of like talking about Tiger Woods �slump�. Arod has homered in his last five games, driving in 11 runs in the process. Since July 19th, Arod is hitting .380 with 15 HR, 39 runs and 33 RBI � not a bad month.After you finally find that patch for the sobig virus, you can patch up your lineup viruses this weekend, as CDM owners are allowed to expand their rosters by two players (2nd season players can expand by one). With the aforementioned spate of pitcher injuries, expect starters to be popular selections. If looking for a SP go with someone who will make two starts either this week or next, which projects out to seven starts for the final five weeks. Outfielders will also be an area of need, as an injury involving Cleveland outfielder Milton Bradley (out 3-5 weeks), which will challenge many teams from a salary cap perspective.
The most popular pick-ups should be as follows�
Gary Sheffield/Marcus Giles/Javy Lopez (ATL) � Many have jumped on the bandwagon of all three throughout the year. Don�t let the Braves projected early clinching shy you away too much from these three. Atlanta�s schedule calls for games v. the Mets and Pirates over the next two weeks, before closing out with PHI, FL, and MTL to finish the season.
Albert Pujols � Must if you need help in batting average. Cards will be fighting for a playoff spot until the final weekend. An eight game slate in Week 23 along with seven games at home (four v. MIL) in Week 25 should be huge weeks for Al. Only sour spot is the Cards only play five games in the final week.
Carl Crawford � An old unwritten rule in CDM is not to pick up a player you may have dropped earlier in the season. You may want to amend that for Crawford, who has more SB�s in the last month than anyone � and that includes Juan Pierre. Word of warning though, 26 of the final 33 D-Ray games will be against Seattle, Oakland, Boston, and the Yankees.
Estaban Loaiza � As is the case with the Cubs, the White Sox are in a wicked three team divisional race destined to go to the final weekend and perhaps beyond. A testy start this week in New York, but the rest of Loaiza�s starts will be favorable.
Roy Halladay � The Jays have home and homes v. DET, BAL, CLE, and TB down the stretch. Look for a dominating finish from Roy.
Chris Reitsma (CIN) � It looked like this may have been the year we go without a listed starter ending up as a closer. That was until Reitsma came around, who is three for four in save opportunities in the past week. Myself, I only like utilizing the fifth closer when it involves either the dominating likes of Eric Gagne (last year), John Smoltz (late 2001), or Tom Gordon (1998). For every converted starter who excels as a closer there is a Dustin Hermanson (2000) or Tim Wakefield (1999) who fail in a similar conversion. Reitsma is good for saving cap room but I only recommend if you are desperate to catch up in saves.
PHI, MTL, MIL, CIN, SEA, BAL, NYY, and OAK will be the only teams playing seven games, everyone else plays six. Teams at home for most or all of the week include BOS, KC, SEA, OAK, HOU, PIT, CIN, and AZ. Teams playing on the road include BAL, TB, CWS, MN, PHI, MIL, SD, and SF. Probable two-turn pitchers include Pedro Martinez, Esteban Loaiza, Rich Harden, Kevin Brown, Mark Prior, Woody Williams, Odalis Perez, and Randy Johnson. Beware on Jason Schmidt, his start is in Colorado � so you might want to take him out this week and put him back in Week 23, where he would go twice.
The CDM Free Agent list is as follows�
C � Greg Myers (750) � I talked about his career year at age 37 a few weeks back, but has cooled considerably since.