Heading North.

[Lobsteve]

No! Stop! Not -that- far north!

Once upon a 2K3 I started my first Dynasty in Seattle, and now the randomness has come full circle and I've gone back.

Once upon a time Seattle was the powerhouse of the west, but now (mainly due to various levels of insanity) the Mariners have fallen on rough times which have left the Moose crying in the dugout.

Poor Moose.

We'll have to do something about that.

[Lobsteve]

Notes and Settings: Default DB.

Starting April 1, 2005. Injuries -40% (at which there are still plenty, but not killing anyone). Salary requests -20%. League Revenue +10%. I figure that will help out the small market teams and make thing more challenging as a whole. I can always change it later.

Trouble in Coffee Town
There are alot of problems in Seattle as
I take over the team. Shall I enumerate
them? Everyone likes numbers don't they? Sure, why not. But only five, otherwise we'll be here all day.

1. I suck at negotiating. Let's get that out of the way to begin with.
Of course I'll get better, but to start off I'm still rather bad at it.

2. Future talent is still developing. While there is a bunch of young talent in the minors there are still large upsides floating around. Plus, half of these kids are shortstops. What am I going to do with 4 shortstops with a peak of 85+! Other than sell them off I mean. Mind you, switch positions around and I might have the best infield on the planet in 3 years.

3. Is Ichiro's Time Up? His contract certainly is. The question is: will I be able to afford him at the end of the year?

4. Who's pitching anyways? It
can't be anyone in this roster. With Sasaki somehow still around and, even more surprisingly, useful, plus Guardado
the short relief is gold, but nothing else is. And what use is golden relievers if you can't get to them.

5. The DH. Can anyone replace Edgar?


Pre-Season
Well, there's two things that need attending to. The free-agent list and ditching half of my minor-league hangers-on.

Free-Agents
There are a couple of good ones out there. Torii Hunter could be had for 10M. Brad Fullmer could be a half-decent DH for 3M. We could even resign Olerud.

Unfortunately with Randy Winn about to
have a breakout year (and this neat kid named Jeremy Reed in the minors) Hunter's position is full up. Fullmer is tempting though. But right away the guy I'm interested in is catcher Robby Hammock.

Dan Wilson is about to hang them up and is in need of a successor. He has fantastic defensive number and his offense is solid. Unfortunately he doesn't think we are "committed to fielding a competitive team". Not that that's going to stop us. But it will probably cost us a no-trade clause. *shrug*

Once the dust clears he is signed for 7 years at 1.8M (PO: 2.8 for 2 years. TO:
2.3 for 1. NoTradeClause), which was a
little more than I had originally intended, but I made a couple mistakes.
The options worry me of course, but I'll bite the bullet in the long run. And, in spite of his wish to be playing for a contender, he is satisfied enough here to refuse to be traded at the moment.

So, having signed The Hammock, I took another look at Fullmer. He's got to have another 2003 in him at some point. And as a DH he can't hurt that much. No Edgar I expect, but better than anyone I've currently got that isn't tied up with fielding necessities. So he's
locked up at 3M for 4 years with a player option for another 3M year and a no-trade clause because he insisted. And I did much better with this one than I did with Hammock.

The Trades
Well, when the dust cleared the following names (along with a bunch of guys who don't really deserve names) have moved around.

Gone from Seattle
Aaron Sele (SP)
Ryan Franklin (Middle Relief)
Shigetoshi Hasegawa (RP)
Ron Villone (RP)
Scott Spiezio (3B)
Ricky Gutierrez (2B)
Pokey Reese (SS)

Will anyone notice? Well, probably not.

Though Sele was friends with half of anyone. A little late to notice that now.

Arriving on the next plane.
From The Yankees: Tyler Clippard (SP 65OA/80P)

From Washington: Tony Armas Jr. (SP 74OA/74P 2.1M salary) I figure Armas has to have another good year in him. What? He hasn't -had- a good year yet! My goodness. Well, we'll see then.
Idiot Alert!: Immedeately having aquired Clippard I tossed him back out the door to the Nationals for Armas. That was a mistake.

From Atlanta: Gregor Blanco (RF 72OA/92P) With a little luck he can replace Ichiro in a couple of years. Well...not exactly replace, but I'm sure he can play RF.

From Kansas City: Dan Tamayo (SP 65OA/78P) 90 control and 90 movement at 26...but no AA/A/R success....yet.

From Milwaukee: Gary Glover (RP 77OA/77P) Making .66M until the end of the year. A bit of a veterean (7 seasons) to help out for a while.

To Sum Up
I didn't get rid of nearly as many players as I would have liked. In particular I still seem to be stuck with Richie Sexson's 12.5M contract which, unsurprisingly, no one else will even touch. He'd better play his nuts off this year.

The Players
*=Rookie. $=Last Year of Contract. +=Up For Arbitration.

The Lineup
1. $+Ichiro Suzuki (RF)
2. Randy Winn (CF)
3. Adrian Beltre (3B)
4. Richie Sexson (1B)
5. Brad Fullmer (DH/1B)
6. Bret Boone (2B)
7. Raul Ibanez (LF)
8. Robby 'The Hammock' Hammock (C)
9. Ramon Santiago (SS)

The Bench
*Justin Leone (3B)
*Jamal Strong (CF)
Bucky Jacobsen (1B)
Willie Bloomquist (Wherever)
$Dan Wilson (C)

The Starting 5
1. $+Joel Pineiro
2. *Felix Hernandez
3. $Jamie Moyer
4. $+Gil Meche
5. Tony Armas Jr.

The Bullpen
CL. $+Kazuhiro 'The Kaz' Sasaki
ST. Eddie Guardado
SH. *Cha Baek
MD. Rafael Soriano
LG. *George Sherrill
AT. $+Gary Glover

Minor League Hitters
AAA: Miguel Olivo (C), Gregor Blanco (RF), Ismael Castro (2B), Shin-Soo Choo (RF), Michael Morse (SS), Jose Lopez (3B), Jeremy Reed (CF), Rene Rivera (C)
AA: Asdrubal Cabrera (SS), Wladimir Balentien (CF), Adam Jones (SS), Yung Chen (2B)

Minor League Pitchers
AAA: Bobby Livingston (SP), Cha Seung Baek (SP), Matt Thornton (SP), Bobby Madritsch (SP), J.J. Putz (RP), Thomas Oldham (SP), Scott Atchison (RP), Clint Nageotte (RP), Tim Rall (RP), Rett Johnson (SP), Julio Mateo (RP), Randy Williams (RP), Chris Buglovsky (SP), Jon Huber (RP)
AA: Dan Tamayo (65)


Finally, I can actually start playing a game or two :)

[Lobsteve]

April 3rd, 2005: Boston and the Yankees kick off the season. The Red Sox, led by Curt Schilling, stick it to their rivals 3-0 to begin the improbable defense.

April 6th - Vs Minnesota (0-0)
W3-1, W9-1, W7-6
Speaking of improbably, how about sweeping the Twins to open the season. Back-to-back brilliant starts from Pineiro and Hernandez, plus a Moyer outing that really made him look like the 42 years he is running around with. All the same he was able to hand it over to the pen who, after mucking about, handed it over to Kaz to neatly finish it off.
Adrian Beltre went a little nuts in the second game with 2 3-run shots for 6 RBI.

April 10th - Vs Texas (2-1) 2nd
W5-1, L9-1, L13-6
We really shouldn't have been able to touch Texas at all. And after a game they realized that as well.

Random Milestones
April 9th: Frank Catalanotto (TOR) hits for the cycle.
April 11th: Kevin Appier (KC) throws strikeout 2000, and it looks like the victim was Ichiro. Also on the 11th Craig Biggio (HOU) knocked in his 1000th RBI.

April 13th - Anaheim seems to think that Omar Daal is going to cure all their problems for 1.4M a year. I've got news for them...

April 14th - At Kansas City (3-3) Tied 2nd
W4-1, L6-1, W9-5
As was mentioned Appier struck out Ichiro for #2000 in game 1. Not that it helped him any. He was pulled after 5.
And a tough game to finish off the trip to Kansas but The Kaz remains absolutely perfect (0.00 ERA, 3 saves.) as he bails us out.

April 17th - At Chicago White Sox (4-5) tied 2nd with the rest of the Central.
W3-1, L5-4, L4-1
Well, game two was weird. Somebody explain to me how Moyer lost this one:

SEATTLE ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA
J. Moyer 5.0 5 4 1 3 3 4 92 3.20
C. Baek 2.0 3 1 1 2 2 0 34 11.00
Looks to me like it was Baek's loss. But I could be wrong. Not that it affects the fact that we waited until the last two innings to score our 4 tallies.
In other news I really pissed Gil Meche off in contract negotiations, which really didn't seem to help his game face and so out he goes and loses game 3. DOH!
WORD OF WARNING!: Don't ever use the 'just kidding' button in contract negotiations. You'll get hosed, just like I have. I had him down from 1.75M to 1.4, wasn't sure so use the 'J-K' and he went all the way to a smug smirk to and outright scowl.
BLAST!

Trade - April 16th
To Toronto: Kevin Millar (1B) and Ramon Vazquez (SS)
To Boston: Eric Hinske (3B)
Analyze This: Kinda looks like Hinske was begging for a trade to the Bo-Sox (to be with some friend of his....his only friend at that) and Toronto caved. And didn't get a bad deal out of it either. Millar is probably just a backup, but Vazquez can provide quality help at SS and anywhere else in the infield.
Somebody Must Win: Toronto, just because they'll get immedeate use out of Millar and Vazquez whereas Boston has tossed Hinske down to the minors with no further ado.

April 19th - At Anaheim...or is it LA? (4-8) 4th.
L9-7, W12-7
Well, Cha Baek blew another one allowing 5 runs in just .2 of an inning. He's going to the minors. To the minors he will go.
A small amount of revenge though as we lit up Jarrod Washburn in the second game. He didn't even last an inning as Ichiro singled and stole second. Jamal Strong (who mysteriously replaced Randy Winn) walked. Beltre, wisely I think, walked, and Sexson smacked a Grand Slam. Oh, and then The Hammock singled home a run as well.
So, Scott Atchison is up to replace Baek. He's pitching a very solid 2.45 in AAA.And 10 Ks in 14.2 innings. He's actually much better than I had initially thought. But the attitude. There are alot of frowny faces down in the minors. SUCK IT UP YOU !@#(*&&(***!!S!.

April 21st - Vs Oakland (7-7) 2nd
L9-0, W4-3 (10 innings)
Scott Atchison was immedeately thrown to the wolves, AKA the Athletics. He had a rough inning and a half in the first game, allowing 2 runs. But that was still better than most, and then in game two he nicely preserved the tie, picking up from Moyer and taking us to the 10th without a hitch.
In between games I got the best trade offer so far: Outstanding LF prospect for Armas Jr. and Guardado. Well, they can't have Guardado, but I'm sure we can work something out....

Trade - April 20th
To Kansas City: Tony Armas Jr. (SP), Shin-Soo Choo (RF) and 'Call me' Ismael Castro (2B)
To Seattle: Shane Costa (LF) and *Dr. Evil impersonation* One-MILLION-Dollars.
Summary: I was probably undervaluing Castro myself, but he really doesn't fit in the organization with so many young infielders coming up out of the minors soon. Armas, well he'd only gotten one game so far, and I'm probably better off without his salary anyways. And Choo? Who?
In return for the immedeate help the Royals get from Armas and Castro I pick up a valuable LF prospect who will be ready to go in a couple years, if not sooner.
Shane Cost (71OA/94P) 23 Y.O. LF.
Arbitration in 2008
Contact: 80
Power: 71
Speed: 61
Eye: 75
Fielding: 75
Doesn't like Seattle.

WHY MUST THEY ALL HATE ME!

PS: Bobby 'The Doctor' Livingston is up from AAA to fill Armas' spot. Gary 'I have delusions of being a starter' Glover wanted it, but that's tough beans.

April 24th - Vs Cleveland (8-8) tied 2nd
W2-1, L7-0, W7-3
Well, Gil Meche is out of his funk as he stuck it to Cleveland for the 2-1 win walking just 2 and striking out 6. I may even be brave enough to reopen negotiations if this keeps up.
On the flip side, Livingston had a rough first major-league outing. Well, it wasn't that bad. 4 runs in 6 innings is pretty good for a first time up.
And then we come to the Adrian Beltre show: 2 homers, 4 RBI to finish up the third game, including a two-runh shot in the fifth to pave the way for another single for an RBI in the 7th and setup Sexson's game-sealing 2-run homer. All of which made Pineiro look pretty good.

Trade - April 22nd
To St. Louis: Ryan Meaux (SP) and Josh Fields (3B)
To Chicago White Sox: Jason Pearson (RP), Cody McKay (C), Garrett Stephenson (SP) and Reggie Sanders (RF)
The Goods: Not an uninteresting little trade. Meaux and Stephenson are interesting acquisitions for either team, and the inclusion of Sanders is really cool, if only for the Markout value, though Chicago seems to agree with him as he's hitting .429 in his first two games with the W.Sox.
Winner: The White Sox because of the geek in me.

April 28th - At Texas (9-11) tied 3rd
W7-4, L4-2, L4-2
We was robbed! Eddie Guardado blew up in the bottom of the 8th in the second game to lose it for us and Richard Hidalgo lit up Gil Meche for a grand slam to run away with game 3 leaving me with only the solace of a 3 RBI show from both The Hammock and Adrian Beltre in our win.

April 26th - Randy Johnson gets win #250. Hey, only another 34 until you hit the top-21 Randy. The win came against Anaheim.

May 1st - At Oakland (10-12) 3rd
W8-7 (10 Innings), W8-5, W3-0
Kaz Sasaki blew his first game of the year (and allowed his first run) in the 10 inning battle, but stayed in to pick up the win as well. No save for him in the next game though as, after allowing another run in the 8th he was pulled in favor of George Sherrill who saved the game. And then Felix Hernandez had the shutout and complete game to finish the series. And the month.

So, you think you like April eh.
The Record: 15-10 (14-10 plus the win on May 1). Which puts us on top of the West 2.5 clear of Texas (13-13) while Oakland and Anaheim are tied with a 10-15 record.

Elsewhere Cleveland leads at 14-11. New York is wel ahead at 17-8 (well no well ahead, Boston is just 2 back and Toronto of all people just 2.5). Philadelphia is riding Jim Thome to the top of the NL East (15-10). Houston leads at 15-9. And the Dodgers are at 16-8.

League Leaders
And how The Mariners match up.

Avg: Todd Helton (COL), .434!
->Bret Boone has a neat .345.
HR: Joe Crede (CHW), 13
->Beltre isn't far behind with 10
RBI: Toy Glaus (ARI), 39
->Beltre again with 25
SB: Tony Womack (NYY), 10
->Some love for Ichiro with 8.

W: Curt Schilling (BOS) and Mark Prior (CGC) tied with 5.
->Joel Pineiro and Felix Hernandez both have 4.
Sv: Billy Koch (TOR), 9
-> The Kaz with 6.
ERA: Mark Prior (CHC), 0.44!
->The Kaz again with 1.93, but Moyer leads the starters with an even 3.00.
K: Craig Wilson (PIT), 39
-> Pineiro and Meche both have 27.

The Important Review of the Minors
AAA
Batters: No one is under a .250 average which is nice to see. Standouts are the big two outfielders, Jeremy Reed (.324 with 4 steals) and new acquisition Shane Costa (.306 and .324 OBP). While Jose Lopez (moved from SS to 3B) leads in homers with 5.

Pitchers: No super stats down here, but Matt Thornton has a nice 5-0 record and 3.72 ERA. Clint Nageotte is doing nicely as well with a 3.09 ERA.

AA
Batters: Mediocre performances all around, but Wladimir 'St. Wlad' Balentien is doind pretty well with 5 homers and 3 steals.

[argh1]

love it so far!

[Lobsteve]

May 4th - Vs Anaheim (10-15) tied 3rd
W4-1, W7-0, L5-2
News flash for Anaheim, which confirmed my initial suposition: OMAR DAAL WILL NOT SAVE YOU! Nor did he in game 1. Neither did Bartolo Colon in game 2. And if it hadn't been for 'The Doctor' Livingston giving up 5 runs in 5 innings to end Anaheim's visit on a high note, John Lackey wouldn't have helped either.
Livingston should probably be put back in AAA, but I'm determined to get him a win first.
Fortunately with Moyer having some sort of second coming and Gil Meche making me wish I had the guts to talk to his agent I can wait a bit.

Milestone - On the 3rd Ray Durham got run #1000. And in other news the Yankees have been close to signing the only free-agent left worth having, Torii Hunter, for two weeks.

May 8th - At Boston (19-10) 2nd
L4-3, W6-4, L8-6
I look on all that as a moral victory. Did you know that Schilling is alread 6-1 on the season? That's disturbing.

Trade - May 7th
To Kansas City: Anibal Sanchez (RP)
To Boston: Damian Jackson (2B), Sean Lowe (RP), Alexis Gomez (LF), Tom Prince (C) and Rich Thompson (RF)
What the hey?: Boston trades a pretty decent young reliever for a lousy reliever and a lot of minor-league filler. They must be crazy.

May 11th - At New York Yankees (21-11) tied 1st
L11-6, L5-4 (10 innings), L6-3
-That- was a bad trip. There were only three highlights: Fullmer with a three-run shot in game 1. Beltre with a three-run shot in game 1. And The Hammock with a three-run shot in game 3. That was it. And to cap it off, just as Ramon Santiago comes back from injury Willie 'Boom-Boom' Bloomquist hits the DL for 12 days. Luckily he was playing in place of Santiago, but I'll miss his .327 avg off the bench.

May 9th: Jim Edmonds with run #1000. Woo.

May 15th - Vs Boston (22-13) 2nd
L10-0, L-2, W3-2
Tell me that didn't just happen. We got handed a 2-hit performance by Matt Clement, and never mind the 10 runs they scored. And in the end all we could get out of them was a squeak of a win off of Wakefield, and that seemed pretty lucky. But you know it's going to be a bad month when you see both the Yanks and the Sox back-to-back, and then back-to-back again. Oi. It wouldn't be so bad if they hadn't knocked us out of our division lead quite so quickly. And in other bad news Bret Boone is out for a couple days. Michaeld Morse gets shuffled up from AAA, over to 2B for a couple games.

May 18th - Vs New York Yankees (24-14) tied 1st
W3-2, W13-2, W2-1
Believe the HYPE! We knocked around the bottom of the Yanks rotation and then on the strength of that beat Arch-Nemesis #1 Randy Johnson to finish the sweep.
Couple points:
1. 'Doctor' Livingston got moral victory #1 though not the win as we didn't score the winning run until the ninth when Guardado was in.
2. Monster 6th inning culminating in Brad Fullmer's GRAND SLAM! That boy has been on fire since he picked up HR #1 of the season last week.
3. Hey-hey! Hernandez! Nice duel to stick it to Johnson.
Random Injury(ies): Ramon Santiago, having the brains of a mule goes and hurts himself again. What a nice guy, gives young Michael morse another chance to stay up (he had 1 good game replacing Boone managng a run and an RBI), but of course he goes an hurts himself as well. So that means.....uh, something.

Milestone Trevor Hoffman picks up his 400th save. And in other news Torii Hunter STILL hasn't signed, though apparently the Yankees have him down to 7.2M from his initial 9.5.

May 22nd - Vs San Diego (18-23) 4th
L6-3, W8-1, W4-3
But for a 5-run fifth in the first game it would have been back-to-back sweeps.
BLAST!
Adam Jones, up from AA for the injured Michael 'The Code' Morse is doing fantastic. Sure, it was only three games, but a .400 avg, 2 RBI and a stolen base is pretty darned good.
Good Ole 'Doc' Livingston seems to have the worst luck. Once again he pitched a very good game only to have the bullpen steal the W from him.
Milestone! - Just to make the 8-1 victory sweeter Bret Boone launches a 3-run round-tripper, and with that swing notches his 1000th RBI.

May 21st - Trade
To Arizona: Beau Kemp (RP), Andy Fox (2B) and J.C. Romero (RP)
To Minnesota: Luis Terrero (CF) and Craig Counsell (SS)
I Sum Up: On first sight I was sure this was a smooth deal for the Twins, picking up Counsell for valuable playoff experience. But looking at Kemp and Romero I see that it's a fair deal. And may actually favour Arizona a shade.

May 26th - At Baltimore (20-24) 5th
L6-2, W17-6, W9-3
Things got a little bonzo-gonzo there in Baltimore. 17 runs, phew. Bit of sweat there.
Willie Bloomquist is back in at shortstop, his batting average earning him the starting spot over Santiago.

May 29th - At Tampa Bay (24-24) 4th
W5-4 (18 Innings), L9-2, W4-1
Believe it. Eighteen innings of work. Until finally in the top of the 18th we play small-ball the way it's meant to be played:
Adrian Beltre works the count and walks.
Ramon Santiago lays down the bunt to move him over (Santiago on in the 8th to play 1st?)
Bucky Jacobsen, who started at DH for sme reason, gets on base for the first time with an intentional walk (why I don't know).
And Bret Boone singles for the winning run (that's RBI #1010).
There's always a flip side though, Randy Winn, clearly exhausted, blows a knee and won't be back for 30 days. So Jamal Strong moves to CF having put up good numbers from the bench and Gregor Blanco will provide outfield bench-work with Winn on the DL.
In Other News: I was sad that there was no Mr. Unger at 1st base. Sigh.

June 1st - Vs Toronto (26-24) 3rd
L8-5, L5-1, W5-1
Bad mojo all around as Toronto stuck it to us. Meche bailed us out, but boy is Gil still mad at me. He wants out, but I'm not going to let him go.

The Lovely Month Of May
Monthly Record: 14-13
Overall: 29-23 Now 1 back of Texas.
I knew that it would be a tough month when I saw that we played either the Yankees or the Bo.Sox for two straight weeks. That was a long haul.
On the other hand we are well above what Pythagoras thinks we should be doing. So SUCKS TO YOU DEAD MATH GUY!

Team Leaders
Avg: Ichiro and Boone are the only two over .300 at .304 and .302 respectively.
HR: Adrian Beltre is tied for #2 in baseball with 17.
SB: Ichiro is naturally way ahead at 17.
RBI: Beltre has 42.

ERA - Starter: Gil Meche leads the lot at 2.83...by a long ways.
ERA - Reliever: Kazuhiro Sasaki is squashing everyone and everything with his 0.96 ERA.
Wins: Joel Pineiro, 6-4
Ks - Starter: Meche again has the lead with 46 (76.1 IP)
Ks - Reliever: Rafael Soriano has 23 in just 28 innings of work.

I like to Talk AAA
Jeremy Reed is cleaning up down in Tacoma. .316, 27 RBI, 31 Runs scored and a .369 OBP. Very nice indeed. He's shaping into a guy who should be in the number two spot in the lineup very quickly.

Michael 'The Code' Morse's time in the bigs seems to have agreed with him. His peak is now up to 95 and he has improved to 87 OA. Now, should his AAA stats rise a bit I might consider him immedeately.

Adam Jones has the same problem as Morse, his peak jumped way up there to 100. But he's still a 69 OA so is time won't come yet. But what do I do with two great shortstop?!

[Lobsteve]

May 30th - Trade
To Pittsburgh: Travis Lee (1B) and Jon Switzer (RP)
To Tampa Bay: Ben Grieve (RF), Matt Lawton (LF) and Salomon Torres (RP)
Big Names. Any substance?: In one move Tampa rebuilds their outfield. Inexplicably Greive has only played in AA this year, but he's still MLB quality. Really the only consideration here is money. Tampa didn't give any big salaries away, but pick up Lawton's 4.4M and Torres' 2.05M which must have put a dent in their budget. And Grieve is on the DL for another 25 days to top it off. BUT! If T-Bay can afford it, they really cleaned up here. They gave away next to nothing and got two-and-a-half big names in return.
And now I have to play them.

June 5th - Vs Tampa Bay (26-28) 4th
W4-3, W9-7, W3-1
Without looking too hard I can tell you exactly where Tampa's troubles are. Forget their bolstered outfield, they need some relief pitching. D. Baez blew two saves in a row, their starters were inneffective against the middle of my order, and the long relief got shelled.
But, talking about my team, what is it with Eddie Guardado that makes him steal wins from young starters? First it was 'Doctor' Livingston, but he was injured for a couple days, so Matt Thornton gets a start and wouldn't you know it, Guardado gets the win!
Small lineup change at the end of this series, Ramon Santiago is back in at SS. His defense is just that much better than Bloomquists.

June 8th - Trade
To Cleveland: Jake Blalock (LF) and Todd Pratt (C)
To Philadelphia: David Lee (RP) and Casey Blake (3B)
Cleveland, Eh.: Good move both ways I think. Lee and Blake are both good players who can work their way into the Philly lineup right away whereas they were bench players in Cleveland. And the Indians get a decent backup for Victor Martinez and a future starting LF. Well, they're starting him right now, I think they should wait a year. But he'll be good either way.

June 9th - At Florida (29-27) 2nd
L8-0, W3-1, W4-1
Guardado is at it again! Matt Thornton pitched 7 innings of 1-hit ball and AGAIN Guardado gets the win. Of course it's not really his fault, we would wait until the ninth to score all of our runs. It just doesn't seem fair to the kids. But Thornton has a 1.98 ERA, he'll get that win.
Ichiro Suzuki, close to a whole bundle of personal milestones (nearing RBI #300, SB #200 etc.) just got started with hit #1000. Didn't waste any time either as he got it on the first pitch of the first inning of the first game in Florida. Woo.
Also, Gil Meche allowed just 4 hits in his start which may mean I'll have to meet his 1.85M demand. I can't believe I ticked him off. BLAST!
And finally, as revenge for shutting us out, somone stomped Al Leiter's foot and he's out for two weeks. That'll learn ya Al.

June 12th - At Washington (31-29) 2nd
L4-2, W7-3, L3-1
The Bret Boone show was back in town in game 2 with 2 3-run homers as he put in a 6 RBI performance.
But don't let anyone tell you that moving the 'Spos to Washington was a mistake. They have a quality team going on there, and are making money hand over fist.
Entirely unrelated, but Torii Hunter is -still- available and now for a bargain 5.8M. Very tempting. Not a deal I can seem to make myself try though.

June 16th - Vs Philadelphia (36-28) 1st...Uh...1st?
I think someone turned the NL East standings upside down.
W6-4, L5-2, L8-4
Well, Brad Fullmer was happy to be back in the lineup, but I don't think anyone else really cared enough to pull this series out of the fire. All the same we actually gained a game on Texas. HA! Take that.

June 15th - First Manny Ramirez launches HR #400 and later the same day Torii Hunter -finally- signs a deal. He goes to Anaheim for 5.5M a year for 7 years. I knew I should have signed him. Maybe I can make a straight-up deal for Randy Winn....Nope, not all my millions (all 12 of them) will make Anaheim pull the trigger.

June 19th - Vs New York Mets (33-33) 3rd
L2-1, W3-1, L4-1
I tell you why we lost that first game: The Hammock had sprained something and Dan WIlson was up, but I hadn't moved a minor-league catcher to fill the bench. Dan Wilson busted his nose and so Bucky Jacobsen had to play catcher. Bad. Very bad. Don't ask about game 3.

Milestone: Boston is doing well. 4 days after Ramirez's 400th round-trip Johnny Damon crosses the plate for the 1000th time.

June 23rd - Vs Oakland (31-37) 3rd
L8-3, L5-3, W7-6, W5-2
Nothing remarkable about this visit from Oakland other than them being a bit better than I had anticipated. Eh, we still gained another half-game in the division lead.

June 26th - At San Diego (25-48) 5th
L2-1, L7-4, W10-3
Tough loss for Matt Thornton in game 2 as he allowed all 7 runs before we took pity and pulled him. He's going back to AAA having had his fun up here. I just can't seem to get those young pitchers any wins. It's distressing.
On the upside a minor change in the lineup (ie. moving Bret Boone one spot up in the order) ignited the 10 run lashing.

June 24th - Trade
To Oakland: Mark Hendrickson (SP) and Chris Singleton (CF)
To Tampa Bay: Marco Scutaro (2B)
The Final Word: Today's word is: FAIR. As in: This is a FAIR trade. Hendrickson looks to be a marvel of uselessness, but Singleton is a good leadoff man and Scutaro is a fine defensive 2B.

Milestone: On the 25th Ken Griffey Jr. notches is 2500th RBI. The first good thing that has happened to him since leaving Seattle.

June 26th - Trade
To San Francisco: Victor Zambrano (SP)
To New York Mets: Brett Tomko (SP) and Brian Cooper (P)
The Good Word: Well, I don't know which of these I would want the least either. So I guess San Fran got the best of it because they only wound up with one of them.

June 30th - At Oakland (34-41) 3rd
L6-5, W6-5, L8-4
The Athletics pulled us back to the pack, curse them. We just couldn't score early or often enough against the Oakland crew. Sad really.
Lineup Change: Because Gary Glover has been bugging me all season he will finally get his shot at starting. He's been moved to the 5th spot in the rotation as Matt Thornton is back in AAA. Clint Nageotte (he of the 4-1 AAA record) is now our Alternate out of the 'pen.

No More June
June Record: 13-13
Overall: 41-36
And that has us just in front of Texas. Just a half-game infront. Barely a sneeze. We will start July with them visiting us, so maybe we can regain some ground.

Around The League
AL East: Boston (53-24) put the pedal down and are now 11.5 ahead of Wildcard leader New York.

AL Central: Cleveland (41-37) has a 3 game lead over the White Sox.

NL East: Philadelphia (46-33) is 4.5 up on Washington. It really is upside down over there. Atlanta is in the basement. The Mets 4th and Florida 3rd. That isn't right.

NL Central: A tight race, as usual, between St. Louis and Chicago. In fact they are tied at 45-33 with Houston just 2 games back.

NL West: The Dodgers are the Red Sox of the NL with a 53-25 record and 11 game lead over Arizona.

League Leaders
Average: Pujols (STL) is WAY up on everyone with a .377.
Homers: Eric Chavez (OAK) leads with 28.
ERA: Mark 'Call Me Amazing' Prior (CHC) may have a record going with a 0.92 ERA.
Wins: Curt Schilling (BOS) has 14.

Team Top 5s

Average
1. Ichiro, .310
2. Adrian Beltre, .309
3. Bret Boone, .300
4. Richie Sexson, .279
5. Brad Fullmer, .264

Home Runs
1. Richie Sexson, 21
2. Adrian Beltre, 20
3. Bret Boone, 16
4. Brad Fullmer, 5
5. Randy Winn, 7 (PS: I should have signed Hunter.)

RBIs
1. Adrian Beltre, 55
2. Richie Sexson, 52
3. Brett Boone, 49
4. Robby Hammock, 29
5. Ichiro, 27
(The Hammock is doing very well.)

Stolen Bases
1. Ichiro, 23
2. Willie Bloomquist, 9
3. Jamal Strong, 4
4. Robby Hammock, 3
5. Ramon Santiago, 3
(Excellent work from Strong off the bench.)

ERA
1. Kazuhiro Sasaki, 1.44
2. Gary Glover, 1.76
3. Gil Meche, 2.90
4. Rafael Soriano, 3.49
5. Scott Atchison, 3.86
(You of course notice that only 1 full-time starter is there, right?)

Strikeouts
1. Gil Meche, 71 (108.2 IP)
2. Felix Hernandez, 61 (103.2 IP)
3. Joel Pineiro, 57 (95.2 IP)
4. Jamie Moyer, 54 (96.2 IP)
5. Rafael Soriano, 30 (38.2 IP)

Minor-League Bests
Avg: Jeremy Reed (AAA,CF), .316
HR: 'Saint' Wladimir Balentien (AA,CF), 17
SB: Yung Chen (AA,2B), 14
ERA: Randy Williams (AA), 4.15
W: Rett Johnson (AAA), 8
Saves: Cha Baek (AAA), 5

[Lobsteve]

Milestones: Juan Gonzalez (CLE) with his 2000th hit. And, Shawn Green (ARI) with HR #300.

Mass of Contract Signings hits Seattle as GM Opens Pocket-Book!
1. Rafael Soriano caves easily and gets a 3-year extension.
1.15M->2007. 2008 PO->1.45M. 2008 TO->1M

2. Next on my list, the ever angry-faced Gil Meche. Well, it was the right thing to do, having annoyed him so much last time. And to think I could have had him much much cheaper if I hadn't messed up. Still, he's a much happier camper now, ever though he still doesn't like Seattle.
2M->2011. 2012-2013 PO->2.5M. 2012 TO->2.5M

3. You know as well as I do that Ichiro is a fan favorite, even if he doesn't have that coveted thumbs-up quite yet. He was getting a little disapointed in Seattle until the contract was signed, but he was willing to take the pay cut.
A simple 6.1M->2008

4. Another important guy to sign was Sasaki. That he's still healthy in this database is a bit of cheat really, but one that I might as well exploit. However, he is getting older, so no options for him, but I did take a bit of a hit upwards because of it.
2.2M->2007

All of that leaves just four players without a contract at the end of the year: Pineiro, Gary Glover, Dan Wilson and Jamie Moyer. Wilson and Moyer won't be getting extensions because it's really time for them to hang it up, so that leaves me with just two.

NOTE: Signing people to contracts makes them pretty frickin' happy.

Milestone: On July 2nd, Tino Martinez with Run #1000.

July 3rd - Vs Texas (41-37) 2nd
L7-4, L4-2, L6-4
Man, did we look like a bunch of idiots there. The only person who was worth mentioning was Gary Glover who pitched a very worthy 5 innings in the first game.
Needless to say Texas has taken over first.

July 6th - At Kansas City (34-46) 5th
L4-3, W12-8, L5-4 (10 Innings)
Things are rapidly slipping away from us. Inspite of the 12-8 win our pitching has been really rocky ever since the start of the month. Sasaki even picked up his first loss of the season in the last game.

July 10th - At Anaheim (36-48) 4th
W1-0 (12 Innings), W8-2, L11-2, L10-3
That's only our 3rd shutout of the year there, and it only came because everybody's buddy, Benji Molina, allowed a passed ball in the top of the 12th.
Though we started off with great pitching, Pineiro with 8.2 innings of shutout ball, Hernandez with 5, Moyer (who is really looking older) and Meche (his first rough outing in almost a month) looked very shaky.

July 12th - The Amazing Homer Run Derby!
Close your eyes and cross your fingers....B....Be.....Bel....Belt....Beltr....Belre! Adrian is hitting with the big boys. And doing quite well.

Round 1
1. Pat Burrell (PHI) - 8
2. Shawn Green (ARI) - 7
3. Adrian Beltre! - 6
4. Joe Crede (CHW) - 6
Everyone Else:
Bonds (SFG,5), Javy Lopez (BAL,5), David Ortiz (BOS,4), Todd Helton (COL,3), Griffey Jr. (CIN,3), Eric Chavez (OAK,2)
NOTE: Chavez currently leads the majors with 32. Jim Thome, who is second, apparently doesn't love the derby.

Round 2
1. Pat Burrell - 3
2. Adrian Beltre - 3 Believe it baby!
Other: Joe Crede (2), Shawn Green (1)

Das Der Finals
1. Pat Burrell - 1. Uh. 1?
2. Adrian Beltre - 1. Hmmmmm.

Extra Innings
1. Pat Burrell - 4
2. Adrian Beltre - 3. BLAST!

Commentary
We were shafted. But what can you do when Burrell leads from start to finish. Final totals, Burrell 16, Beltre 13.

July 13th - The All-Star Game!
Kinda a fitting number for the game to fall on. Mwhahahahaaaaaa.

Would you believe, by the way, that only Beltre gets to go to the game? Bah. Ichiro should have made it as well. It's all politics. And naturally, having made it, Beltre doesn't get to play. Fools, you could have had it all! Instead you lose 3-1 and Bonds is named MVP.
For shame.

July 17th - Vs Baltimore (42-46) 3rd
L7-5, L5-4, W8-7, L4-1
Bad? Meet worse. Pleased to meet you, have you seen any of my work? Yes, you're doing fine stuff, playing with people's minds and such. That means so much coming from an expert like you. You're too kind. No, no, I mean it, you've done some fantastic stuff yourself. Well, don't let anyone know, they'll all want some. Of course, your secret is safe with me. Secret? Sure. Whatever.

July 21st - At Toronto (43-49) 4th
L8-3, W7-4, L3-2
Trouble.
The wheels are falling of the cart and the horse is sprinting down the road.
Trouble.
4.5 Games back of Texas and we seemed to have stopped fighting as hard as we were. It worries me.
What worries me even more is that at the height of this crisis, Robby hamnmock goes and breaks his ankle and is out for 22 days.
Problem: I have no reliable backup. Dan Wilson is ready to retire and the highest rating any of my minor-leaguers have is 70. Well, Miguel Olivo better learn quick, because catching isn't my biggest problem. For 8M+ Randy Winn is suddenly, post injury mind you, hitting just .207.

Milestones: Jason Giambi with 1000 RBI and then, just three days later, with Homer Run #300. Good week for Giambi.

July 24th - At Cleveland (50-46) 1st
W4-0, W3-2, L5-4
I make one lineup change, Jamal Strong in for the slumping Randy Winn, and look what happens:
1. Gil Meche has what is most likely is best outing of the year. He pitches 8.2 innings (before Kaz sneaks out for the last out) and allows just 8 hits and contrives to strikeout 11.
2. Gary Glover makes a very convincing argument for his continued employment as a starter as, though his endurance is obviously still lacking, he manages 5 innings while allowing just a single run. He's turning out well. And in the same game Jamal Strong increases his average to a consistant .235 and Miguel Olivo dazzles with a solo-HR and moves his average to .250 making him a surprise success.
3. But then Joel Pineiro makes me wonder why I should sign him again. 5 innings, 5 runs allowed, including 4-homers. That's too much.

Trade Talk: I'm trying desperately to find a move that will rid me of Randy Winn, but nobody will touch him. Ditto for Eddie Guardado and his 6.04 ERA. I'm sure that if I kept them that they will turn it around, but the multi-million salaries for a lack of immedeate help are burning holes in my pockets.

July 27th - Vs Detroit (45-53) 4th
L8-1, W9-8, L2-0
What to say. What to say.
Fullmer with 4 RBI in game 2. That about sums it up.
And, in my continuing quest to annoy my pitchers, I seriously ticked off Glover in contract negotiations. BLAST!

Milestone: On the 26th Curt Schilling notched his 200th win vs the Devil Rays.

July 31st - Vs Cleveland (53-49) 1st
L3-0, L5-1, W13-9, W6-5 (12 Innings)
Wow, my motivational techniques seem to be quite lopsided. The pitching tanked and the batting slumped and then suddenly went nuts.
All 13 runs from game 3 were generated by the middle 4. Beltre with 2 RBI. Sexson 3-4, a HR and 5 RBI. Boone with a couple dingers and 4 RBI. And the Fullmer with the other 2 ribbies. Amazing what happens when that lot comes uncorked.

The Last of July
July Record: 10-17 (worst so far)
Overall Record: 51-53
So, not only do we fall below .500 (curse you Pythagoras!) we are now 6.5 games back of Texas. AND, to make a bad situation worse, Oakland has sneaked past us into second.

Trade Rumors
I chickened out and couldn't pull the trigger on a Guardado or Winn trade. With unproven minor-leaguers that would have to fill any empty spots I felt it was just way too risky.

Team Leads
A quick one before we hit the trade news.

Avg: Ichiro, .327
HR: Beltre with 28
Steals: Ichiro, 27
ERA: Gil Meche, 3.32
Wins: Felix 'The Cat' Hernandez, 10
Saves: The Kaz is up to 22 now.

Who needs a AAA?
Jeremy Reed would probably like to have my adams-apple for not ditching Winn and sticking him in the lineup. he's hitting .321 with 8 HR and 15 steals. Next year kid.

Shane Costa is doing well with a .289 average.

So is Gregor Blanco with a .278 average and 12 steals. Well, my future outfield is setup. Shame that Ichiro will steal one of their spots for a while longer.

Now if only my pitching prospects were any good we'd have a serious team in a couple years.

[Lobsteve]

Put your pencil behind your ear. It's time for the Super-Collossal! Trade Show!

July 1st
To Detroit: J.R. House (C) and Bobby Hill (2B)
To Pittsburgh: Jason Johnson (SP), Ryan Raburn (2B) and Shane Loux (SP)
The blockbuster here is the Pirates picking up Raburn. Superstar in 4 years. Guaranteed. Johnson would be huge as well if he hadn't busted his back on June 20th or something. Though really, nothing huge about this trade other than it was the first in July on the first of July.
The Win!: Randomly to Detroit for the markout value of Bobby Hill.

July 6th
To Washington: Miguel Ojeda (C) and Geoff Blum (3B)
To San Diego: Jeffrey Hammonds (CF) and Nick Johnson (1B)
I can't believe the 'Spos game up Johnson, who appeared to be their starter at first, for two guys who won't make it off the bench. Seems a bit strange.
To The Victor...: Well, the 'Spos get nothing and San Diego picks up and instant starter in Johnson, you do the math.

July 7th
To Cincinnati: Carlos Febles (2B)
To Kansas City: Mark Watson (RP)
WHAAAT! A straight-up trade!? Those can happen? I had no idea. Unfortunately since it's so incredibly dull no one will duplicate it.

July 12th
To Cleveland: Ben Petrick (LF), Mike Maroth (SP) and Gilberto Mejia (2B)
To Detroit: Bob Wickman (RP), Scott Sauerbeck (RP) and Coco 'The Cereal' Crisp (CF)
This would be a blockbuster because Crisp has huge talent on the defensive end. But there's one problem: HE BROKE HIS NECK A WEEK LATER! Mind you, Detroit probably couldn't predict that, so good trade for them.

July 16th
To Toronto: Mike Hampton (SP) and Tom Martin (RP)
To Atlanta: Doug Creek (RP), Doug Linton (RP) and Reed Johnson (LF)
Toronto may have made a critical error: They may be out of Dougs! A quick check confirms this. Luckily there are plenty of other Dougs out there to be acquired, so Toronto can still hold out hope.
Ignoring that though, Atlanta may have made a mistake here in giving up a quality starter for two relievers who are over 35 and a LF who's only stat of note is a .245 average.

July 18th
To San Francisco: Jim Serrano (RP) and Keiichi Yabu (SP)
To Oakland: Brandon Villafuerte (RP)
Shuffle those AAA pitching lineups boys. Though, on second thought, send me Serrano first.

July 19th
To Oakland: Dave Veres (RP), BARRY BONDS! (LF), Travis Ishikawa (1B) and Alfredo Simon (SP)
To San Francisco: Esteban German (3B) and Mark Hendrickson (SP)
The Giants must know something I don't. Two very good pitchers in Veres and Simon, a decent 1B prospect and Bonds who was hitting .320 and is a fan-favorite for them for a nothing 3B and an even iffier pitcher.
But they may have been savvier than we know. In 11 games in Oakland Bonds is hitting .200 without a homer and just 2 RBI. Is it all over?!
For the record: Bonds is stuck at 728.
VERDICT!: BLOCKBUSTER! And 5-stars for shock value.

July 22nd
To Houston: Tetsu Yofu (RP) and Scott Podsednik (CF)
To Chicago White Sox: Mike Lamb (3B)
Coming off the Bonds trade this is quite a letdown and only serves to remind me that I should have made a move along the lines of: Winn for Podsednik.

July 23rd
To New York Yankees: Ben broussard (1B) and Brad Snyder (RF)
To Cleveland: Felix Rodriguez (RP), Jason Anderson (RP), Sam Marsonek (RP) and Edwardo Sierra (RP)
Good pickups for New York, especially as their lineup realy is getting a little old, two young guys who could make the lineup in a few years is a big deal. And Cleveland gets a new bullpen.
Yankees Always Win: And they did.

July 25th
To Florida: Dan Plesac (RP)
To Philadelphia: Frank Castillo (SP)
Plesac is 43 and on the DL for another month.
Castillo is just useless.
Winner: Florida.

July 26th
To Boston: Danys Baez (RP) and Robert Asanovich (2B)
To Tampa Bay: Wade Miller (SP), Jack Cressend (RP) and Phil Seibel (RP)
Very good move by Tampa. They give up their achilles heel in Baez who'd been having a terrible year and a half-decent prospect to rebuild their pitching staff with a new #3 starter in Miller and two guys to shore up the short relief. The most strategic move I've seen.

July 27th
To Florida: Jim Chamblee (3B) and Rob Stratton (LF)
To Cincinnati: Joshua Johnson (SP), Paul Lo Duca (C) and Travis Smith (SP)
Florida got ripped off. Chamblee and Stratton are duds, but they game up a bonified starter in Johnson and another in LoDuca. Mistake.

July 28th
To New York Mets: Rod Beck (RP) and Brian Giles (RF)
To San Diego: Mike Glavine (1B), Pat Strange (RP) and Brett Tomko (SP)
This goes to show one thing: No one wants Brett Tomko and will do almost anything to get rid of him. But in this case the Mets got way more than they gave, those sly cats.

July 28th
To Detroit: Rodrigo Lopez (SP)
To Baltimore: Ramon Martinez (SS), Vance Wilson (C), Warren Morris (2B) and Jamie Walker (RP)
In all of this Detroit managed to give up just one good player...and I can't tell who it is. But Detroit did get a good starter in Lopez. Whoever the good player was, he was worth it.

July 29th
To Detroit: Wiki Gonzalez (C)
To San Diego: Nate Cornejo (P)
You see what happened here?! Do you see?!
This is superior AI at work. First, detroit picks up J.R. House earlier this month. Ah, the rebuilding begins.
Then they drop Vance Wilson off on an unsuspecting Orioles team leaving a hole in AAA for them.
So here we go, they pick up another catcher, a better catcher than Wilson.
It's such a brilliant, and yet subtly evil, plan.

July 29th
To Washington: Keith Bucktrot (RP) and Frand Castillo (SP)
To Philadelphia: Jeremy Fikac (RP)
No, no, nononono. DON'T DO IT WASHINGTON!
Well, at least Florida realized it's mistake from earlier and got rid of Catillo. But, on the other hand, Fikac isn't much better.

July 30th
To Minnesota: Curtis Granderson (CF), Don Kelly (SS) and Alan Levine (RP)
To Detroit: Juan Rincon (RP), Matt LeCroy (1B)
Man, Detroit just doesn't let up do they. This is the 5th trade they've made this month. And there's still another day.
Let me quickly check...
No, that's it.
At first I wasn't sure why they'd give up Granderson, but I see now, LeCroy is an excellent acquisition and Rincon is a solid RP. So good move all around.
But no evil plan.

July 31st
To Chicago White Sox: Toby Borland (RP) and Angel Molina (C)
To Florida: Kelly Dransfeldt (SS) and Mike Spidale (LF)
And this is how you run up to the trading deadline, with the most NOTHING trade of the month. I should just delete this one, it's just filler after all.

The BIG Summary
A blockbuster in the move of Bonds, but not many big names were tossed about during the month. Just hinted at.
I'm still a little disapointed that I wasn't able to deal Winn or Guardado, but there's always the off-season. Which, at the moment, looks like it may come a little earlier than we would like. Stay tuned for the next episode of:
As the MOOSE TURNS!...

[Lobsteve]

August 4th - At Detroit (47-57) 4th
W8-2, W4-3, W5-3
The Trouble With Gary Glover
I told you that I had really made him mad (my first blue frowny face). So I went back to check on him and now he thinks he can be the fourth starter for Colorado. What's with the ego Gary? Seriously. Earlier this year it was: Why can't I be a starter. Now it's: I want to be higher in the rotation. But the dude has an Endurance of 52, I kid you not. And sure it's going up as he learns to be a starter, but he's still pitching limited innings and why would I move him up in the rotation so he can pitch more? It just doesn't make sense. Unfortunately he's also pitching very well, which will make me weep a little when I release him at the end of the year.

August 7th - At Chicago White Sox (51-57) Tied 2nd
W7-2, W4-1, W2-1
Gas pedal, meet Mr. Foot. This sweep (punctuated by beautiful pitching from the starters) runs the winning streak to 8. Unfortunately Texas is also going strong as, in their last 8, are 7-1. DOH!
And yes, we do have to catch Texas. The Yankees lead the wild card race and are better than any other division leader at 64-46.

August 10th - Vs Minnesota (54-57) 2nd
W12-0, L5-1, W8-3
Gary Glover got his first shutout and his first performance over 7 innings all in the first game here as he allowed 8 hits in a complete-game. And with out continued high performance play we're creeping back towards Texas.
Good thing we have another month though.
To make things slightly harder GIl Meche is out for a month. Gary Glover gets his wish to move to #4 (though now he wants to join a team that can win the world series) and Bobby Madritsch will get a chance at #5.

Milestones: Within a day of each other, Jason Isringhausen (STL) and Keith Foulke (BOS) both hit 200 saves.

August 14th - Vs Anaheim (49-65) 4th
W5-4, W7-1, W8-7
Would you believe that having been back in the lineup for all of 2 days Robby Hammock goes and injures himself for another month. And he wonders why I'm going bald.
This time it's Rene Rivera who is up from AAA to replace him. My selection criteria is simple: Whoever has the best defense. Cram them at the bottom of the order and pray.
Done.
Gary Glover has his second straight complete game to win 7-1. This guy seems to pitch really well when mad at me.
MEMO: To G.Glover. I'm not resigning you. Sorry.
With another sweep we're just 2 back of Texas.
Also, with his win against the Twins, Felix Hernandez has 12 wins and moves into the top-10.
Sexson and Beltre are both showing up as top-10ers for HRs and Ichiro is naturally in for batting average.

BUT, more importantly than all that, Jamie Moyer has hit win #200 by beating Anaheim in game one there. Sweet action.

Another Milestone: Frank Thomas (CHW) cashes in RBI #1500.

August 17th - Vs Kansas City (48-69) 5th
W11-1, W8-1, W3-1
7 game winning streak this time (though my mentioning it, as usual, means that it's close to ending). And the exciting moment and the Royals was a homer from each of Strong, Beltre, Sexson and Boone in game 1. They amassed 10 RBI between them.
And the pitching this series was fantastic. Pineiro especially seems to have turned his game around just as it begins to really matter since we're now just 1.5 back of Texas.

August 21st - At Minnesota (57-63) 3rd
L5-3, L3-2, W2-1, W10-7 (13 Innings)
See, I thought I was halucinating, but I did mention something about a winning-streak, there's the proof in that first loss.
The 13 inning marathon came to an end with a towering Adrian beltre 3-run shot after Ichiro and Strong had lined the base paths to lead off. It was a perfect cap to the perfect night for Beltre as he finished with 2 homers and 6 RBI.

Milestones: Because they are all that's interesting. No trades in August.
-Jose Vidro just hit for the Cycle.
-And Mike Piazza hit his 400th homer.

August 25th - At Texas (70-54) 1st *Series #2*
L3-1, W10-5, W5-3
With that first loss I thought I was going to be in for a repeat of our first meeting with the Rangers. But it appears that Gary Glover's assessment of their pitching (and his ability to be a #4 starter therein) is quite correct, and we got them. HA!

Milestones: This time it's Eric Crozier (TOR) hitting for the cycle, and 'Slammin' Sammy Sosa (BLA) with his 600th homer.

August 28th - Vs Chicago White Sox (59-67) 3rd
W7-3, L2-1, W6-5
We ran into former Mariner Freddy Garcia as he took that one game from us. Otherwise a very successful series that has put us back in the lead of the West by a half-game.
Hey, it's not pretty, it's the playoffs.

September 1st - Vs New York Yankees (76-54) 2nd
L17-1, W5-3, W5-2, L5-2
Is there any better way to demonstrate what kind of a roll we're on other than to take 2 of 4 games off the second best team in the American League? I don't think so. Though, admitedly, that first game was more than a little weak (at least they didn't score in the 3rd or 7th) we're on the right track. And, in fact, gained a game on Texas.

Take -THAT- August!
August Record: 22-6! Best. Record. Ever.
Overall Record: 73-60 and we're back where we belong, on top of the West.

Top-10s
Hand-in-hand with our great August are a bunch of individual performances that are among the best in the majors. And the winners are:

*Ichiro's .325 average is 8th.
*Adrian Beltre is 8th with 36 HRs, and Richie Sexson isn't far behind at 10th with 35.
*Sexson (64, 6th) and Beltre (68, 4th) are well up in Extra Base Hits.
*Ichiro leads everyone with 191 hits and Beltre is 4th with 172.
*Felix Hernandez has more innings than most and is 10th with 184 overall.
*Ichiro is 3rd with 623 plate appearances.
*Adrian Beltre and his even 100 RBI are 10th.
*Robby Hammock has thrown out 40% of the base stealers he's seen.
*Ichiro is tied for 4th with 8 sacrifice hits.
*The Kaz and his 31 saves are 9th. And his 91.2% save success is 10th.
*Richie Sexson has a very nice .564 slugging percentage which is good for 10th.
*Ichiro (does his name come up often enough?) is 2nd with 35 steals.
*Robby Hammock has only allowed 0.29 steals per 9 innings. (2nd)
*Ichiro stries out only 9.2% of the time. (9th)
*Adrian Beltre is ahead of everyone with 312 total bases.

Around The Minors
Top 5 Averages
1. Jeremy Reed, .316
2. Jose Lopez, .297
3. Shane Costa, .294
4. Gregor Blanco, .279
5. Michael Morse, .272

Top 5 Homers
1. Jose Lopez, 24
2. Miguel Olivo, 21
3. 'Saint' Wladimir Balentien, 20
4. Michael Morse, 16
5. Adam Jones, 11

Top 5 Steals
1. Jeremy Reed, 22
2. Yung Chen, 22
3. Gregor Blanco, 15
4. Miguel Olivo, 11
5. Shane Costa, 7

Top 5 ERAs
1. Bobby Madritsch, 4.06
2. J.J. Putz, 4.14
3. Matt Thornton, 4.22
4. Bobby 'Doctor' Livingston, 4.46
5. Julio Mateo, 4.59

Top 5 Wins
1. Chris Buglovsky, 11
2. Rett Johnson, 10
3. Matt Thornton, 9
4. Julio Mateo, 8
5. Tim Rall, 7

Top 5 Strikeouts
1. Rett Johnson, 96
2. Cha Seung Baek, 96
3. Thomas Oldham, 92
4. Chris Buglovsky, 85
5. Julio Mateo, 81

[Lobsteve]

September 4th - At Anaheim (53-80) 4th
L9-6, W5-1, W15-6
Sure, we started the month 0-2, but that was one heck of a fourth day! We were down 6-2 heading to the seventh. Well that won't do, so: 8 runs. EIGHT. Then three in the eigth and another two to finish the game.
Best moment: Justin Leone's pinch hit 3-run triple.

September 7th - At Oakland (71-65) 3rd
L5-4, L11-4, L4-1
And now we're in trouble. Texas is back in the lead, up on us by 2.5 games as they went on a streak just as we hit the wall.
And we're double in trouble, the injuries hit as well.
Ok, so Gary Glover isn't a huge loss for 14 days with his fat frown there.
But Richie Sexson is! 36 home runs out for the rest of the month (23 days). Willie Bloomquist takes over at first base, but he's not the run generating machine that Sexson has been this year.

September 11th - Vs Baltimore (68-72) 3rd
W6-5, L5-0, W12-6
The injuries keep coming, more than I will bother to keep track of. Just little ones though, and a couple days here and there won't kill us...hopefully.
Conceivably we could also steal the wild-card from the Yankees, we're only 2.5 games behind them. I'd rather have the division though.
Playoff Watch
Anaheim and San Diego are the first teams to be officially eliminated.

September 14th - Vs Anaheim (58-84)
L5-4, W6-5, L9-2
Close first two games that could have gone either way, then Guererro stepped up and struck us down, his 2 homers and 3 RBI single-handedly winning the game, and earlier in the week he'd hit homer #300.
What a guy.
Playoff Watch
More eliminations in the NL as Colorado (58-87) and Pittsburgh (60-86) are both out. And Los Angeles (95-50) is the first team to clinch as they have an incredible 26.5 game lead over Arizona.

September 18th - At Texas (81-65) 1st *Meeting Of The Third*
L4-3, W4-2, L5-3, L6-2
NO!!!! The one series when I need something big. And instead we slip to 4.5 back, and down into 3rd as Oakland passes us.
*banging head on wall*
Playoff Watch
Tampa (70-80), Kansas City (60-88), San Francisco (65-84) and Arizona (69-81) are all gone. And Philadelphis (90-60) clinches the NL East.

Milestones: A couple I missed earlier...three in fact...Danny Graves (CIN) notched save 200. Austin Kearns (CIN) hit for the cycle and Jim Edmonds (STL) got his 1000th RBI.
And a couple of recent ones: Carlos Lee (MIL) with 4 homers in a game and Shawn Green (ARI) with 1000 runs....not in one game.

September 22nd - At Toronto (70-78)
L7-6, L6-5 (10 innings), L7-5, L7-2
While that debacle hasn't officially eliminated us, the spectre of doom hangs over our heads as we only have 9 games left and 6 games to make up. We need alot of luck.
I would like to single out for general mockery: Scott Atchison who single-handedly lost two games. Allowed two runs in game 1 and no less than 6 in game 3. SUCKS TO YOU ATCHISON!
Playoff Watch
Boston (94-58) clinches top spot in the AL East. While elsewhere in the east Baltimore (73-80) and Toronto (74-78) are out.
Over in the NL Cincinnati (68-84), Atlanta (75-78), Washington (74-79) and The Mets (72-80) are all done.

September 25th - At Detroit (69-83) 4th
W5-3, L9-7, W7-4
We regained a single game in the race for top spot, and now with 6 games left we have 5 to make up. We are a single loss away from elimination as the next team we play is Texas. We MUST sweep them if we hope to stay alive in this race.
Playoff Watch
Detroit (70-85) and The White Sox (72-83) are done. And St. Louis (94-63) has, finally, clinched the NL Central.

September 29th - Vs Texas (86-70) 1st
L6-5, L10-4, L8-5
Well, if the first loss didn't eliminate us, the last two certainly did. What a way to end such a good year.
DEATH TO SEPTEMBER!
Playoff Watch
Obviously we're out, but as Minnesota (82-77) clinches so is Cleveland (76-83). And did I mention Milwaukee (81-78) being done? If not, they are.
The Wildcards come down to two teams in each league. In the NL, Houston and Chicago are tied at 89-70 and actually play each other in the last meeting of the year.
In the AL New York has a 2 game lead over Oakland, but Oakland may have a slight edge as they play me and we've been slumping all over the place, while New York has to deal with first place Boston.

October 2nd - Vs Oakland (86-73) 2nd
L10-3, W5-2, L7-6
The only important thing here is that Oakland doesn't wind up in the wildcard spot. And with that loss they realy didn't. Though New York (managing a 2-1 series against Boston) had that extra game ahead anyways.
Playoff Watch
It's all over!
As mentioned the Yankees make the playoffs. And over in the NL Chicago takes 2 of 3 from Houston to head to the post-season.

About September 2005
Record: 8-20
Overall: 82-80
And lets never mention it again.

[Lobsteve]

Regular Season Stats

Final Standings

American League

EAST W L PCT GB AVG HR SB ERA
Boston 99 63 .611 -- .300 223 84 4.45
New York 90 72 .556 9.0 .265 236 60 4.12
Toronto 81 81 .500 18.0 .265 182 44 4.10
Tampa Bay 78 84 .481 21.0 .260 197 67 4.34
Baltimore 77 85 .475 22.0 .268 214 74 5.03

CENTRAL W L PCT GB AVG HR SB ERA
Minnesota 84 78 .519 -- .280 193 104 4.47
Cleveland 77 85 .475 7.0 .270 189 69 4.56
Chicago 75 87 .463 9.0 .272 224 71 4.26
Detroit 74 88 .457 10.0 .282 174 78 4.61
Kansas City 65 97 .401 19.0 .271 182 50 5.32

WEST W L PCT GB AVG HR SB ERA
Texas 89 73 .549 -- .271 221 49 4.25
Oakland 88 74 .543 1.0 .269 206 51 4.36
Seattle 82 80 .506 7.0 .274 189 102 4.50
Anaheim 71 91 .438 18.0 .249 153 90 4.31


National League

EAST W L PCT GB AVG HR SB ERA
Philadelphia 93 69 .574 -- .259 221 81 3.59
Florida 85 77 .525 8.0 .250 160 101 3.84
Atlanta 80 82 .494 13.0 .260 180 89 4.25
New York 78 84 .481 15.0 .251 165 114 4.25
Washington 78 84 .481 15.0 .255 143 48 4.19

CENTRAL W L PCT GB AVG HR SB ERA
St. Louis 95 67 .586 -- .255 151 62 3.50
Chicago 91 71 .562 4.0 .251 219 53 3.74
Houston 90 72 .556 5.0 .268 179 69 3.83
Milwaukee 82 80 .506 13.0 .253 183 67 3.89
Cincinnati 76 86 .469 19.0 .264 218 90 4.60
Pittsburgh 70 92 .432 25.0 .241 155 54 3.88

WEST W L PCT GB AVG HR SB ERA
Los Angeles 103 59 .636 -- .251 193 77 3.50
Arizona 76 86 .469 27.0 .254 201 46 4.15
San Francisco 71 91 .438 32.0 .261 162 63 4.62
Colorado 68 94 .420 35.0 .270 208 49 5.02
San Diego 64 98 .395 39.0 .257 164 75 4.90

Individual Stats
AL
HR: Eric Chavez (OAK), 53
Avg: Manny Ramirez (BOS), .340
RBI: David Ortiz (BOS), 154
SB: Ichiro Suzuki, 39 Didn't expect that.
ERA: Roy Halladay (TOR), 2.33
K: Randy Johnson (NYY), 235
W: Curt Schilling (BOS), 20 Would you believe that only 2 players won 20?
Sv: Francisco Cordero (TEX), 41

NL
HR: Jim Thome (PHI), 47
Avg: Todd Helton (COL), .333
RBI: Scott Rolen (STL), 134
SB: Juan Pierre (FLA), 62 !!
ERA: Mark Prior (CHC), 1.32
K: Mark Prior, 236
W: Mark Prior, 22 Yes, that's the tri-fecta for Prior. A pitching triple-crown!
Sv: Eric Gagne (LAD), 42

The Playoffs, 2005 Edition
I forgot to do predictions for the playoffs this time.
Foreshadowing: But I did think LA was going to give it a long run.

Division Series
Texas Rangers (89-73) vs New York Yankees (90-72)
Results
Game 1: Texas 8-0 New York
Game 2: Texas 6-7 New York (11 Innings)
Game 3: New York 1-7 Texas
Game 4: New York 3-6 Texas
The Rangers Win 3-1.
Series MVP: Richard Hidalgo (TEX,RF)

Boston Red Sox (99-63) vs Minnesota Twins (84-78)
Results
Game 1: Boston 6-0 Minnesota
Game 2: Boston 9-6 Minnesota
Game 3: Minnesota 10-5 Boston
Game 4: Minnesota 0-3 Boston
The Red Sox Win 3-1.
Series MVP: Curt Schilling (BOS,SP)

Los Angeles Dodgers (103-59) vs Chicago Cubs (91-71)
Results
Game 1: Los Angeles 2-4 Chicago
Game 2: Los Angeles 8-4 Chicago
Game 3: Chicago 0-9 Los Angeles
Game 4: Chicago 8-3 Los Angeles
Game 5: Los Angeles 2-5 Chicago
The Cubs Win (thanks to Prior and some luck) 3-2.
Series MVP: Kerry Wood (CHC,SP)

St. Louis Cardinals (95-67) vs Philadelphia Phillies (93-66)
Results
Game 1: St. Louis 4-2 Philadelphia
Game 2: St. Louis 1-7 Philadelphia
Game 3: Philadelphia 4-6 St. Louis
Game 4: Philadelphia 2-1 St. Louis
Game 5: St. Louis 2-1 Philadelphia (17 Innings
The Cardinals Win 3-2
Series MVP: Mark Mulder (STL,SP)

League Series

Texas Rangers vs Boston Red Sox
Results
Game 1: Boston 13-12 Texas (12 Innings)
Game 2: Boston 4-5 Texas
Game 3: Texas 4-1 Boston
Game 4: Texas 7-1 Boston
Game 5: Texas 4-0 Boston
Texas crushes the Official Defense 4-1.
Series MVP: Richard Hidalgo (TEX,RF)

Chicago Cubs vs St. Louis Cardinals
Results
Game 1: St. Louis 2-7 Chicago
Game 2: St. Louis 6-5 Chicago
Game 3: Chicago 2-7 St. Louis
Game 4: Chicago 2-6 St. Louis
Game 5: Chicago 6-8 St. Louis
The Cardinals Win 4-1
Series MVP: Mark Mulder (STL,SP)

THE WORLD SERIES!!

The Texas Rangers vs. The St. Louis Cardinals
Results
Game 1: St. Louis 2-1 Texas
Game 2: St. Louis 6-1 Texas
Game 3: Texas 2-6 St. Louis
Game 4: Texas 8-6 St. Louis
Game 5: Texas 3-9 St. Louis
The St. Louis Cardinals are your 2005 World Series Champions!
World Series MVP: Scott Rolen (STL,3B)

End Of The Year AWARDS!

American League
Cy Young: Curt Schilling (BOS)
Player of the Year: David Ortiz (BOS)
Rookie Of The Year: Joe Mauer (MIN)

Gold Glove (P): Roy Halladay (TOR)
Gold Glove (C): A.J. Pierzynski (CHW)
Gold Glove (1B): Mark Teixeira (TEX)
Gold Glove (2B): Orlando Hudson (TOR)
Gold Glove (3B): Eric Chavez (OAK)
Gold Glove (SS): Edgar Renteria (BOS)
Gold Glove (LF): Gabe Gross (TOR)
Gold Glove (CF): Mark Kotsay (OAK)
Gold Glove (RF): Richard Hidalgo (TEX)

National League
Cy Young: Mark Prior (CHC) Crazy season for Prior.
Player of the Year: Todd Helton (COL)
Rookie Of The Year: Josh Willingham (FLA)

Gold Glove (P): Odalis Perez (LAD)
Gold Glove (C): Brian Schneider (WAS)
Gold Glove (1B): Brad Wilkerson (WAS)
Gold Glove (2B): Abraham Nunez (STL)
Gold Glove (3B): Scott Rolen (STL)
Gold Glove (SS): Orlando Cabrera (LAD)
Gold Glove (LF): So Taguchi (STL)
Gold Glove (CF): Andruw Jones (ATL)
->Why does everyone seem to thing Andruw is all but done?
Gold Glove (RF): Miguel Cabrera (FLA)

PS: Forget crappy shortstops, how about STELLAR Catchers winning the ROY awards in both leagues. Bet that has never happened before.
PPS: Wheres the love for Ichiro? No way is Hidalgo a better fielder.

Waving Goodbye and Burning Contracts
Arbitration: Ramon Santiago wants 5.75M. Hint for Ramon, you are in an infielder heavy environment and can't hit. It's almost sad because he's only worth 2M at most. Gone.

Arbitration: Willie Bloomquist seems to have a more realistic attitude and only wants .45M from me. For the sake of keeping a veteran around on the bench (and he did perform best off the bench all year) I offer .4 and keep him for another year.

Contract Expiration: Dan Wilson wants very little at 1.1M but is released because he's not really useful any more, sorry Dan.

Arbitration: Joel Pineiro seems to thing his 4.53 ERA entitles him to 3.75M. Lets talk about that Joel. First, you crazy. Second, GET OUT! We should have given him to the White Sox instead of Freddy.

Contract Expiration: Fan Favorite Jamie Moyer is headed for retirement wanting 1.5M. Too bad really.

Arbitration: Gary Glover, who I have annoyed twenty ways to Sunday, seems to think I'm going to give him 2.56M while I listen to him whine about how much he hates Seattle all year. Not so.

Elsewhere.....
After the flurry is over, here are the top 10 free-agents as ranked by peak.

Top-5 Position Players
1. Miguel Cabrera (RF) 93OA/99P Asking 7.5M for 4 years.
Plus: 2005 Gold Glove
Minus: 19 Errors nets a Gold Glove?

2. Adam Dunn (LF) 93OA/98P Asking 7.5M for 5 years.
Plus: Just off back-to-back 100+RBI seasons.
Minus: Spotty batting average.

3. Mark Teixeira (1B) 93OA/93P Asking 12M for 4 years.
Plus: More batting that you can shake a stick at.
Minus: He used to play in Texas. Urgh.

4. Austin Kearns (RF) 88OA/93P Asking 4.5M for 4 years.
Plus: Hit for the Cycle in 2005
Minus: It will never happen again.

5. Aaron Rowand (CF) 92OA/92P Asking 6.1M for 5 years.
Plus: Has never hit less than .250
Minus: Despite the average, hasn't produced all that much.

Top-5 Pitchers
1. Jason Schmidt (SP) 94OA/94P Asking 13M for 4 Years.
Plus: 15+ wins in each of the past 3 years.
Minus: Could bomb at any moment.

2. Mark Prior (SP) 93OA/93P Asking 16.5M for 4 years.
Plus: As though the 1.32 ERA wasn't good enough.
Minus: He missed out on the Gold Glove in 2005, but did win everything else.

3. Ben Sheets (SP) 93OA/93P Asking 11.7M for 4 Years.
Plus: Was a standout in Milwaukee of all places, and if he can do that....
Minus: Milwaukee? It must have been a fluke.

4. Brad Lidge (RP) 92OA/92P Asking 7.7M for 4 years.
Plus: 1.70 ERA and 33 saves. How often do you see a reliever this high up in a free-agent list?
Minus: Is 7.7 too much for a reliever not named Gagne?

5. Oliver Perez (SP) 88OA/92P Asking 9.1M for 4 years.
Plus: Very nice 2.18 ERA with 10 complete games.
Minus: A severed knee ligament (that sounds nasty just reading it) has him out for another 137 days.

Thoughts
In the interests of strengthening my pitching staff wich I just decimated by releasing 3 of my starters, I think I will go out on a limb and sign either Mark Prior or Oliver Perez.
Oh, that's just silly.
Sign both.
Negotiations with the Moose are next.

[Lobsteve]

He's No Easy Mark
I did say I'd go after Mark Prior. But how much can I really afford of his 16.5M asking price? Well, I did make 9.8M last year. But that would still leave me a bit short. Currently the payroll is at 58.7M and the payroll budget at 57.9, so another 16, plus the 7 for Perez...well it puts me over.
THOUGHT! If I get rid of Winn and Guardado, there's Prior's salary. And then I can take a small hit like another 7. Hmmm, interesting.

Anyhow, the negotiations:
Well, as has been forshadowed a few times, Prior is asking 16.5, and he also seems very insistent on a no-trade clause. Of course, having won every award he could, I don't blame him.
First Offer: 13.5M 6ys, TO-15M 2ys, PO: 16.5M 1y.
Of course I risk insulting him, but risks are good for your blood pressure.
Reply: 'Top it off with some cash and we've got a deal'. Well I'm at a loss to think what it is we've been doing.
Counter Offer: 14M-6ys. TO: 15.5M-1y PO: 17M-2ys
Well, that's more reasonable that I would have thought. But I don't really like the player option being so long soooo..
Second Offer: 13.5M-7ys TO: 15.15M-2ys PO: 16.75-1y
Incremental, obviously.
Reply: 'That offer seems fair but it's still not good enough.'
Counter-Offer: 13.6M-7ys TO: 15.25M-2ys PO: 16.8M-1y.
That I can live with. Accepted.
Of course all that comes with the No-Trade Clause.

And Add A Little Oliver
Out of the rest of the top-10 pitchers, this Oliver Perez guy strikes me as the most interesting. The pas two years he's been wonderfully under the 3.00 ERA mark. And with Pittsburgh of all people. So he's money. But he does have that knee problem so it really does become something of a risk to see how he'll recover from that. It also puts his recovery date fairly close to season opening, but all-in-all I think it's a fair risk. Especially since he should be undervalued with the injury.

Asking: 9.1M-4ys +NTC.
First Offer: 3.25M-5ys TO: 5M-1y PO: 5.5M-1y
Reply: 'Call me back when you get a clue.'
Hmmm, that's probably a bad start.
Counter-Offer: 8.8M-5ys PO: 11.05M-3ys
And the rumor on the street is that 'We missed our chance to sign Perez at a fair price.
Second Offer: 4.25M-3ys TO: 6M-1y PO: 7M-1y
Reply: 'If you're no longer interested, please don't waste our time.'
Another bad sign, and may be a deal breaker.
Counter-Offer: 9.15M-4y PO: 11.9M-3ys
Yup, it's a bust. I break off negotiations and run. He's pretty greedy for a man with one leg I must say.

Well, we'll come back after the draft.

The Draft Preview
A quick look at the top-10 available picks

1. Christopher Lund (SP) 93oa/99p
2. Enrico Estrella (SP) 94oa/99p
3. Tucker Amsler (SP) 75oa/94p
4. Lou Hawley (RF) 68oa/93p
5. Richard Mitchell (LF) 68oa/93p
6. Mark Eldred (SP) 72oa/93p
7. Marc Weeks (SP) 87oa/93p
8. Ben Walters (2B) 70oa/92p
9. Willie 'I need a nickname' Canal (RP) 84oa/92p
10. Ivan Prieto (1B) 64oa/92p

At the moment we are scheduled to draft 18th or 19th depending on how ties are broken (tied with the Twins I think). So right now, if everyone went in order, those two picks are:
18. Tony Palmer (RP) 79oa/89p
19. Brian MacNeil (RP) 79oa/89p

Scarily identica, no?

Where the top-10 Free-Agents went
In 1 day all but 1 are signed.
Batters
1. Miguel Cabrera to Arizona at 7.5M-4ys
2. Adam Dunn to Chicago Cubs at 7.3M-6ys
3. Mark Teixeira to New York Yankees at 12M-4ys
4. Austin Kearns unsigned before the draft, though talking to the Yankees.
5. Aaron Rowand to Cleveland at 6M-5ys

Pitchers
1. Jason Schmidt to Chicago Cubs at 13M-4ys
2. Mark Prior -> If you're not sure where he went, you aren't reading carefully enough.
3. Ben Sheets to Philadelphia at 11.7M-4ys
4. Brad Lidge to Boston at 8.3M-3ys
5. Oliver Perez to Atlanta at 9.7M-3ys

I'm a weak, weak man
That is, if it can be considered weak to sign Victor Martinez to a 5-year deal.
I thought you'd agree. A quick negotiation with The V. He saw my way and took a 3.85M-4ys contract with NTC and player option for a year at 5M. I call that cheap for one of the best catchers around.

The Amazing Something-Or-Other Draft

1. (SDP) SP Christopher Lund Texas 94oa/99p
2. (KCR) SP Enrico Estrella Dominican Republic 94oa/99p
3. (COL) SP Marc Weeks Illinois 87oa/94p
4. (PIT) SP Tony Tsargorodsky California 85oa/89p
5. (ANA) RP Willie Canal Mexico 84oa/92p
6. (SFG) 2B Ben Walters California 70oa/92p
7. (DET) RP Pete Brockel Texas 80oa/91p
8. (CHW) SP Mark Eldred Pensylvania 76oa/93p
9. (ARI) CF Brian Huff Conneticut 68oa/92p
10. (CIN) 2B David Smith Ohio 62oa/79p

Seattle's Picks
You're going to see me try to rebuild my pitching staff in one draft. Try not to wince too much.

19. (SEA) SP Scott Wollen 67oa/88p
18yo B: San Diego, CA H: 5'10" W: 174lbs P: Charitable
2005 HS Stats: 5-0, 2.96 ERA, .228 OBA, 37K in 73IP.
Endurance: 80
Control: 92
Power: 70
Movement: 75
Defense: 92
Future Roll: Give him 2 years to buff up in the minors then it's straight to the starting lineup. Hopefully I'm willing to wait that long.
Default Assignment: Tacoma Rainiers (AAA)

49. (SEA) SP Ian Samuel 42oa/84p
18yo B: Chicago, IL H: 6'5" W: 203lbs P: Aloof and even-tempered
2005 HS Stats: 7-4, 3.05 ERA, .221 OBA, 52K in 73.2IP
Endurance: 92
Control: 74
Power: 80
Movement: 68
Defense: 81
Future Roll: Right behind Wollen. Man, I need to put some money in AAA because these guys could be very good.
Default Assignment: Everett AquaSox (R)

79. (SEA) 3B Glenn 'G-Spot' Gilfix 52oa/92p
18yo B: Alice,TX H: 6'4" W: 207lbs P: Silly and generous
2005 HS Stats: .323 avg, 9 HR, 33 RBI in 124 ABs
Contact: 50
Power: 71
Speed: 75
Eye: 67
Fielding: 68
Future Role: I know, I know, I don't need any more infielders. But I'm not thinking 3B for him, more like DH. And with an upside like that he has to become something...eventually.
Default Assignment: Everett AquaSox (R)

109. (SEA) SP Colin Leak 50oa/76p
18yo B: Allentown, PA H: 6'1" W: 173lbs P: Generous
2005 HS Stats: 3-1, 4.02 ERA, .261 OBA, 26K in 62.2IP
Endurance: 74
Control: 87
Power: 68
Movement: 73
Defense: 80
Future Role: He might wind up in the #5 spot, but more likely long or middle relief.
Default Assignment: Everett AquaSox (R)

139. (SEA) SP Greg Eisenbraun 52oa/67p
20yo B: Little Rock, AR H: 6'2" W: 194lbs P: Generous
2005 Coll Stats: 7-2, 4.23 ERA, .252 OBA, 29K in 78.2IP
Endurance: 70
Control: 92
Power: 65
Movement: 84
Defense: 77
Future Roll: I think Greg missed his calling. He doesn't look like a starter to me, but more like short relief. So that's what we'll try if he improves a bit.
Default Assignment: Everett AquaSox (R)

169. (SEA) SP George Laroche 45oa/62p
22yo B: New York, NY H: 6' W: 173lbs P: Gregarious
2005 Coll Stats: 9-4, 4.78 ERA, .255 OBA, 41K in 81IP
Endurance: 80
Control: 84
Power: 70
Movement: 80
Defense: 74
Future Roll: I don't know wether to trust his ratings or his stats. But I think he'll be quickly on his way out.
Default Assignment: Everett AquaSox (R)

[Lobsteve]

Two Trades
Yes, just two. Honest.
The whole point here being to free up salary so I can wedge Prior into the rotation without his salary weighing too much on my mind. Also without trading Sexson or Beltre with whom I am generally please, except that they both make far too much. 12M+ each.

May 1st - Trade #1
To St. Louis: Eddie Guardado (RP), Tim Rall (P), Jon Huber (RP), Bobby Madritsch (SP), Randy Williams (RP) and George Laroche (SP)
To Seattle: Blake Hawksworth (SP)
Summary: Other than Guardado there isn't much Salary going to the Cards. Upon review I have this suspiscion that I'm underating Madritsch more than I usually underate mid-AAA pitchers. But the rest can go, no questions asked. It also gets rid of a large amount of 'frowns' from AAA which is probably good....somehow.
Blake 'The Hawk' Hawksworth 82oa/88p
2005 AAA Stats: 2-2, 4.41 ERA in 62.1 IP
2005 MLB Stats: 1-1, 7.71 ERA in 14 IP
So he isn't quite 'there' yet. And my scouts second that, saying that he has 'alot to prove'. However, he'll probably wind up as pitcher #4 or #5. (Though he already has the attitude that he could be number 4 on the Yankees. Bah.)
Endurance: 88
Control: 83
Power: 76
Movement: 95
Defense: 84
Comment: I'd be stupid not to start him, wouldn't I?

May 1st - Trade #2
To Chicago White Sox: Randy Winn (CF), Miguel Olivo (C), Greg Eisenbraun (SP) and Cha Seung Baek (SP)
To Seattle: Arnie Munoz (SP)
Summary: Jeremy Reed is coming along so quickly that Winn just wouldn't get into the starting lineup this year. Never mind that Jamal Strong was playing better off the bench at center than Winn was doing starting; I just can't justify paying a guy 8M plus to sit on the bench. I can't! I won't! So he and more whinny minor-leaguers go whine somewhere else.
Arnie Munoz 75oa/90p
2005 AAA Stats: 4-4, 5.40 ERA, 60Ks in 81.2IP
2005 MLB Stats: 0-1, 5.14 ERA in 7 IP (2 Games).
Well, another guy who isn't superb yet, but could be in a year or three. His only real problem is that he "Might be more productive on a team that was more boring." Uh-huh.
Endurance: 69
Control: 77
Power: 80
Movement: 85
Defense: 71
Comments: He could become a strikeout machine! Well, a guy can dream can't he?

Random Headline
HEY! I just noticed a headline that says:
Pineiro Turns Down Mariners Contract.
YOU SO-AND-SO! I KICKED YOU OUT!
And I'd do it again, and again.
He's pitching in San Diego now and I call down the wrath of a just world to drop a meteorite down his jockeys.

On Through Spring Training!

One last minute trade.
Just a quick one before the season actually starts. I really wanted to promote Shane Costa from the minors, and that means that Ibanez had to go. But alone I couldn't get rid of him so...

April 1st - Trade #3
To Anaheim: Raul Ibanez (LF) and Bucky Jacobsen (1B)
To Seattle: Jake Woods (SP)
Jacobsen had a whole .125 average off the bench last year. Sure, limited playing time, yada yada yada. Though he's rated at 80oa by my scouts he hasn't given any reason not to toss him out.
So toss I did.
Jake Woods 74oa/80p
2005 MLB Stats: 2-1, 3.00 ERA, 7K in 24IP
2005 AAA Stats: 1-6, 6.61 ERA 40K in 79IP
Well, obviously I didn't pick him up for his AAA performance. I really have gone whole hog with the pitching though.
Endurance: 79
Control: 80
Power: 66
Movement: 93
Defense: 80
Know Your Role: His playing time this year will entirely depend on injuries. But at the moment he's about 4th in the line of succession.

Opening Day Roster
*-Rookie $-Contract up. +-Arbitration
Any stats mentioned are from this spring.

Lineup
1. Ichiro Suzuki (RF) .352 avg.
2. Victor Martinez (C) .403 OBP
3. Adrian Beltre (3B) 16 RBI
4. Richie Sexson (1B) Only 5 ABs in the spring?
5. Bret Boone (2B) 19 RBI
6. Brad Fullmer (DH) 18 RBI
7. Jeremy Reed (CF) .298 Avg
8. *Shane Costa (LF) .299 Avg
9. *Michael 'The Code' Morse (SS) .300 Avg
Notes: We'll see how long V-Mart lasts in the second spot. The next logical choice if he doesn't keep up his end if Jeremy Reed for the speed factor. Bret Boone (and Sexson and Fullmer for that matter) are going to have to perform early and often if they don't want to lose their spots to the bevy of youngsters who are itching to get out of the minors.

Bench
Justin Leone (3B) .500 avg, but only 6 ABs
$+Willie Bloomquist (IF) Didn't play in the spring?
Jamal Strong (CF)
*Wladimir Balentien (CF) .236 avg.
Robby Hammock (C)

The Starting 5
1. Mark Prior 4-0, 3.48 ERA
2. Felix Hernandez 1-0, .216 OBA
3. Blake Hawksworth 0-2, .189 OBA
4. Gil Meche - Didn't play this spring.
5. Matt Thornton 2-1

The Bullpen
CL: Kazuhiro Sasaki 4 saves.
ST: Scott Atchison 0-1, .222 OBA
SH: Rafael Soriano 2-1
MD: J.J. Putz .174 OBA
LG: George Sherrill
AT: Cling Nageotte

Notes: Weirdly weak bullpen in the spring. Hopefully they'll wake up before it's too late. No stellar ERA from the starters either. I hope Prior wasn't a fluke last year.

The Minors
AAA: Jose Lopez (3B,75oa/80p), Gregor Blanco (RF,77oa/92p), Rene Rivera (C,77oa), Adam Jones (SS,71oa/96p), Yung Chen (2B,70oa/84p), Thomas Oldham (SP,80oa), Cha Baek (RP,80oa), Arnie Munoz (SP,75oa/86p), Julio Mateo (RP,77oa), Bobby Livingston (SP,73oa), Jake Woods (SP,74oa/80p)

AA: Asdrubal Cabrera (3B,64oa/77p), Scott Wollen (SP,66oa/88p), Chris Buglovsky (SP,74oa/75p), Rett Johnson (SP,74oa/75p), Dan Tamayo (SP,73oa)

R: Glenn 'G-Spot' Gilfix (3B,52oa/86p), Ian Samuel (SP,48oa/84p), Colin Leak (SP,52oa/76p)

[Lobsteve]

April 7th - At Boston (0-0)
W4-2, W4-3, L9-3
Prior started off where he left off last year striking out an incredible 11 in 7 innings of work. And his performance has apparently inspired others as Felix managed 7 strikeouts in 7.2 innings himself. (Well, inspiring until Hawksworth started game three and gave up 8 in 3.2 innings. How's that 19.64 average looking Mr. I Could Start 3rd For The Yankees!) Very good start to the season in any case. And my worry about the bullpen seems unfounded, thank goodness.

April 10th - At Tampa Bay (2-1) 2nd
L4-1, L7-5, W2-1
Guess who got the win. It's obvious of course. Prior was dominant again, striking out 10 over 8 innings for his second win.
But wait! A Message from the front: 'Dear Sir, the bottom 3 in the rotation stink. Please send help. Message ends.'

Well, what can I do. Nageotte to 3rd in the rotation. Meche stays where he is. Whiny Hawksworth down to fifth where he can continually compare himself to the Yankees and Thornton down to the Alt spot out of the 'pen.

Milestone: Amidst a ton of contracts Shawn Green (Still with Arizona) knocks in RBI 1000.

April 13th - Vs New York Yankees (4-2) 3rd
W5-4, L8-4, L6-3
Well, despite the quick change to the rotation we're still in the same hole. Mark and Felix are doing quite nicely while everyone else blows games like...well I probably can't mention it.

April 13th - Trade
To San Diego: Ryan Rupe (SP) and Paul Lo Duca (C)
To Los Angeles: Paul Shuey (RP), Phil Nevin (1B) and Enrico Diaz (RP)
Lo Duca seems to be everyone's whipping boy recently. Wasn't he traded twice last year? Well, once at least.
Really nothing to mention here. The only player I'd want is Shuey, and I can't think why; maybe it's the 40 saves in 2005.

April 17th - Vs Anaheim (7-2) 1st
W10-2, W9-6, W6-4
Would you believe it? I wouldn't. But you must! Someone other than Mark or Felix won a game. The Hawk pitched a complete-game 4-hitter to kick things off. I was sure it couldn't be done. I may have to listen to his own hype.
Game 1: Hits for everyone! (Beltre with 4 RBI.)
Game 2: Richie Sexson = Grand Slam. And even though Prior got lit up he still got the win.
Game 3: Felix has troubles out of the gate but still hangs on for the victory as the top-3 hitters deliver.
But someone tell me how Anaheim wound up with a 7-2 start with kelvim Escobar second in the rotation. Something weird there.

April 14th - Trade
To Pittsburgh: George Kottaras (C), Mark Loretta (2B), Mike Bynum (SP) and Casey Fossum (SP)
To San Diego: Dave Williams (SP)
Somebody is making a mistake here. It's either the Pirates in giving away Williams for so little in the first place (not that Fossum is all bad), or the Padres for sticking Williams in AA when he should be their #3 starter. 80 Control, 80 Power and 86 Movement....Uh, can I have him?
On the other hand, smart of San Diego to ditch Kottaras who was immedeately disgruntled when they acquired Lo Duca. Too many catchers.

April 17th - Trade
To Washington: Randy Williams (RP) and Mark Grudzielanek (2B)
To St. Louis: Joey Eischen (RP)
Washington must be on crack. They don't need another starting 2B since they still have Vidro. And they give up Eischen who must be well up in their bullpen.
THIS TRADE MAKES NO SENSE! Tell the world!

April 19th - At Texas (5-8) 4th
L4-0, W3-1
A horrible defeat! Limited to just three hits by a guy who couldn't throw his way out of an apple pie.

Mmmmmm, pie.

April 21st - At Oakland (7-7) 3rd
W16-3, W5-1
I was briefly sorry that it was Rich Harden that we shellacked in game 1. Really, an entire moment of sorrow. He lasted all of 2.1 innings, it was pathetic. The Hero Of The Day was Brad Fullmer with 2 homers and 6 RBI. I was just looking, and if one of those homers had just stayed in he would have hit for the cycle; he was a triple short.
Oh, and Mark Prior stuck it to them to take the second game.

April 24th - At Anaheim (11-5) 1st How do they keep getting there?
W15-1, W16-7, L10-3
So, Felix has his usual fantastic game (never mind the 5 RBI for both 'The Code' and Shane Costa). And then we won one because the hits just kept coming and made Nageotte's short-fallings seem much less. But look what happens when the bats disapear, Gil Meche gets rocked and it stands out like a sore thumb when I look around to place blame.

A Bunch Of Milestones: Did I mention Todd Helton, still in Colorado, with 300 homers? How about Santiago Perez who hit for the cycle last week. And what of good old Moises Alou (SFG) with a 300th home run of his own down by the bay.

April 27th - Vs Detroit (8-11) Tied 2nd
W2-1, W4-3, W9-2
1.Complete game for The Hawk and a Sexson 2-run shot.
2.Win #5 for Prior and save 7 for Sasaki.
3.And #4 for Felix and Fullmer with 4 RBI.
I'm beginning to really like having The Hawk down in the 5th spot. Sure the middle of the rotation is full of holes (two of them), but Hawksworth is shaking off his rocky first start and really putting on a good show in spite of his constant complaints of how he could be starting 3rd for the Yankees...oh, sorry, it's 4th for the Orioles now. CRAM IT HAWK!

April 25th - Trade
To New York Mets: Edwards Guzman (3B), Henry Mateo (2B), Alejandro Machado (SS) and Masao Kida (RP)
To Washington: Kazuo Matsui (SS), Juan Padilla (RP) and Vic Daresbourg (RP)
Wow! Our first Big Name of the year in Machado...just kidding, I do mean Matsui.
The Nationals cleaned up, they really did. They give up Guzman who hasn't played in the majors since 2003, but the Mets seem to think he'll solve their 3B problem...think again. And the rest are just minor league fodder anyways.
And in return Washington solves any conflict at short for the next two years. Brilliant move.

Random Note: Hey! Pythagorus says I'm right on target! First time ever. .682 winning percentage and a 15-7 record. If this keeps up it's right-angled triangles on everyone's uniform.

May 1st - Vs Oakland (10-11) 3rd
W5-0, W8-7, W7-3
WHOA! Where did -THAT- come from! Nageotte with the complete-game 4-hitter shutout! His best outing of the year, obviously. Then Meche even had a half decent outing....no, no that must have been Boone with the Grand-Slam, because Meche allowed 6 runs in 3-something innings and we had to score 3 in the bottom of the 9th to win. That's not good. But The Hawk managed his umpteenth good start to complete the sweep.
And now for the bad news: Felix is out for 7 days and 'Doctor' Livingston who I would have liked to use as a replacement is out for 4. DOH! So I guess it's Matt Thornton and his bad attitude to the recue. (Man, what is it with Baltimore, they need to get some pitchers, Thornton wants to go there as well.)

First Month Under Our Belts
April Record: 17-7
That puts us 4 games ahead of Anaheim (who seem to be our whipping boys, though I have to ask again: HOW DO YOU GET ON TOP OF THE DIVISION WITH A 5.26 TEAM ERA?!?!?!?!? Oi.)

The MLB Round Up
*Baltimore, despite various rumors about lousy pitching, are ontop of the AL West by a game over Tampa.
*The Twins lead the central by 5, and lead the AL in batting average at .305.
*Duh, we lead the West, pay attention, I just said that.
*Over in the NL Philadelphia leads the Mets in the East by 4.
*Last year's World Champion, St. Louis is up 5.5 over both Chicago and Houston.
*And the Dodgers lead San Dieago of all people by 3.

Avg: Nick Johnson (SDP) is well ahead with a .412, and though that won't last I bet Washington regrets trading him last year.
HR: Eric Munson (MIN) with 12 is just one ahead of both Miguel Cabrera (ARI) and Carlos Delgado (FLA)
ERA: Ben Sheets (PHI) is this year's starter to be off his gourd. He has amassed a 0.78 mark.
Wins: HEY! How about this, Mark Prior's 5 lead the majors. The Hawk and Felix are both in the top-10 as well with 4.

Around Seattle

Player of the Month: Michael 'The Code' Morse is doing disturbingly well down there at the bottom of the lineup hitting an amazing .337 with 2 homers and a stunning 13 RBI. Unfortunately for him he's just one Bret Boone falter away from being shifted to second, just because Adam Jones is such a stellar prospect at SS and doesn't have the chops to switch to 2nd. But for now 'The Code' is doing all too well. (I will now begin a small, soft chant for ROY.)

Pitcher of the Month: This obviously belongs to Prior. And though I really respect the efforts Felix and The Hawk have put in, I have to give it to The Amazing Mark. And it's not just his salary talking. It's the 47ks in 35.1 innings. It's the mere 2.29 ERA and the 5 wins. It's the *WICKED* .165 OBA. The guy is just stellar.

Team Tops
Avg: A double take is needed here because Michael 'The Code' Morse leads with his .337.
HR: Three way tie at 7 between Sexson, Boone and Fullmer.
RBI: Victor Martinez and Adrian Beltre both have 22.
SB: Ichiro had to get mentioned somewhere, and here he is with 5.
ERA (SP): Mark Prior is almost a full 1.00 ahead of Felix at 2.29.
ERA (RP): Sasaki continues to pour it on. 1.08
K: Mark Prior again at 47. It's just wrong.
Svs: Sasaki, of course. 7.

[Lock]

i like it, good, humorous, a fun read indeed ;)

[Lobsteve]

Thanks Lock, I appreciate that. Unfortunately now I'm trying to be funny, and, just like announcing a winning-streak, I'm sure it'll blow up in my face.

May 4th - Vs Texas (12-14) 3rd
W10-6, W9-0, L15-8
Mark Prior really got knocked up in game one. So much so that someone stepped on his knee, and now he's out for 8 days. DOH!
Fortunately I have this guy named Thornton who just pitched a 5-hit shutout.
'Dear Mr. Thornton, Please bring some more game. Thank you, Signed: Management.'

BUT WAIT! Stop everything! Mr. Bret Boone, he of second base replacement rumors, is making me regret my hasty words on his position in the organization! By crossing the plate twice in game 1 against the Rangers, Booney has reach the 1000 Run mark!
Please send money.

PS: That was Nageotte who got knocked-up for 6 there to finish it all off.

FUDGE! I didn't notice, but 'The Code' is out for 6 days as well. BLAST AND DARN IT! Oh well, that's why I have Adam Jones. Yay.

May 4th - Trade
To St. Louis: John Buck (C) and Jarrod Patterson (3B)
To Kansas City: Rhett Parrott (SP) and Abraham Nunez (2B)
Memo to the Cards: I can see no logic in this. You give up Parrott who was running along with a 1.38 ERA and a perfect record of 2-0 in his 2 major league starts (admitedly last year), but is still a solid guy. And to top it off you give up Nunez who is probably the best defensive replacement you've got. Well, with talent like that you must be getting something in return like....Oh. A mediocre backup catcher and a even less impressive backup third-baseman.
I'm not feeling it.

Two Trades and a Milestone
Sandwhiched around Mike Piazza's 1000th Run are the following:

May 5th
To Texas: Jim Mann (RP), Daryle Ward (1B), Jason Johnson (SP) and Frank Brooks (RP)
To Pittsburgh: Carlos Almanzar (RP) and Rod Barajas (C)
Oh Texas, thank you for making my life out in the West easier. I certainly don't fear your new acquisitions. Not even Frank Brooks and his 79 Power rating. The only thing that could make this better is if you make him your closer...Well, I guess I can't have everything, but Brooks is in at Long Relief, that's kinda funny.

May 8th
To San Diego: Keiichi Yabu (RP) and James Garcia (RP)
To San Francisco: Jay Gibbons (RF)
Easily forgettable if it weren't for Gibbons' defensive ability.
Rated as: Sleep Inducing. Take it on your next flight.

May 8th - At Baltimore (19-9) 1st. But I don't -want- to go to Baltimore!
L4-3, W12-8, L5-2
I'm not quite sure what route to take in this case. The sarcastic is very tempting, but the anger is also an attractive route. Interesting choices. But perhaps I'll just ignore it and move on. I like that.
One good thing: We managed to gain another game on Anaheim and now lead by 5. Someone must have told everyone else that Anaheim's pitching stinks. (Though it's not quite as bad as Toronto's, or most of the Central division's.)

May 11th - At Toronto (12-20) 5th
W7-3, W9-3, L6-4
Felix The Cat is BAAAACK! And pitching just like when he left. Nice 7-3 win to take him to #5. The Nageotte had a half decent game, strangely enough he's beginning to look like a half-decent pitcher.
And then there's Gil Meche. Gil 'I haven't won a game, and darned if I ever will this year' Meche.
I can't take it any more Gil. I just can't. Down to the alternate spot with you. I'll have Thornton as my #3. Nageotte in 4 and The Hawk still as #5.

Losing to Toronto, that's just inexcuseable.

Milestone: David Wells makes the list this week with strikeout #2000.

May 15th - Vs Baltimore (25-10) 1st
W3-2, W8-4, L15-5
15-to-5? What's up with that. Oh, I see, Meche was called up out of the bullpen.
As the fans yell: TRADE! TRADE HIM NOW!
Prior and Felix are both 6-0.
Sasaki's ERA is all of 0.77.
But that darned Meche. You'd think he was that guy from the Simpson's who can't get a break.
And to cap off the Marvelous 15-5 Day, Adrian Beltre goes and hurts his elbow (probably missed Meche's head and hit the wall) and is sitting for 4. Jose Lopez is up from the minors. And Fullmer will hit from the 3-spot for a bit.

Hunting For The Perfect Move
The Proposition: Gil Meche, Cha Baek and Julio Mateo.
Interesting Offers
1. From Kansas City: RP Max Pilaria
2. From Colorado: Marc Weeks

Well, Pilaria is a close personal friend of George Sherrill, who happens to be in my bullpen (what a coincidence), so that would make George happy. And Max isn't so sloppy himself. The Royals 2nd round pick (32nd overall), he certainly has the arm to make it to the bigs, which he's proving by showing off his Single-A 3.25 ERA and .194 OBA in 36 innings.
Colour me interested.

On the other hand, Marc Weeks was the 3rd overall pick this year. He's got a 91 peak, and is 80 overall already...wait! That's 7 less than what he was drafted at! Even if my scouts are on crack, there's a more obvious reason: He's already been injured twice this year. Practically opening day and he was already out for 2 weeks. And the scarely managed 5 starts (no wins, 10.58 ERA in just 24.2 IP...does have 31 strikeouts though) before he goes and Severs His Knee Ligament! That sounds painful. He's out for the duration, only another 256 days left.
So that's probably a black mark against him. Hard to say though. If he could stay healthy he'd be huge.

For a minute I thought I could work it out so as to grab both, but no dice, I'd have to give up too much. So in the end I just can't justify giving up anyone, even someone as lousy this year as Meche, for a guy who's injured every two minutes.

To Kansas City: Gil Mech (SP), Cha Baek (SP) and Julio Mateo (P)
To Seattle: Max 'Milaria' Pilaria (RP)
Random Pilaria Facts:
Drafted 32nd overall.
70oa/81p
Endurance: 24
Control: 77
Power: 84
Movment: 77
Defense: 62
Currently: AA.
In the Future: Maybe middle relief.

With Meche gone, Thomas Oldham moves up to the Alternate spot. He hasn't been doing too badly down in AAA this year. the 5.47 ERA is a little higher than I'd have liked, but he does have a perfect 1-0 record in 4 starts....hmmmm, wait, that isn't -that- great. Oh well.

May 18th - Vs Toronto (15-23) 5th
W14-4, L7-3, L5-1
Wow, that was surreal. Nageotte performs and The Hawk and Prior both let me down. That sort of thing I expect from The Hawk, but from Prior? Isn't he supposed to be perfect?
Hey, how about Jose Lopez, 8-for-8 in the first two games in lieu of Beltre.

May 17th - Trade
To Anaheim: Shawn Williams (CF), Chad Harville (RP), Ramon Ortiz (SP), Dave Matranga (2B) and Nate Bland (RP)
To Houston: Esteban Yan (RP), Frederic Hurtado (RF) and Steven Shell (SP)
Not a bad move for Anaheim if they were looking to shore up their bullpen. I don't know if giving up Shell was worth it, but they do get a fairly good deal with Harville and Ortiz...just so long as they can take the hit in losing a quality starter.

May 18th - Trade
To Detroit: Jamie Burke (C) and Toby Borland (RP)
To Chicago White Sox: Fernando Vina (2B), Jim Brower (RP) and Agatamore Tsudaka (LF)
Two quality relivers change hands, but the White Sox have the better deal by picking up Vina, still a quality defensive player, as well.

May 22nd - At Los Angeles Dodgers (21-19) 3rd
L7-5, L7-1, W6-2
Watch out for the NL West, they're a bit strong. Just a bit.
What about Jeremy Reed with his first career Grand Slam to make it close in game one. Huh?
And what's going on with Nageotte? That's two games in a row.

May 20th - Trade
To Houston: Matt Diaz (LF) and Erubiel Durazo (1B)
To Tampa Bay: Peter Munro (RP)
Probably the best move Tampa has ever made. Unfortunately Munro is still next to useless and they game up a good possible DH in Diaz. Tsk.

May 22nd - Trade
To Texas: Brian Bruney (RP), Mike MacDougal (RP) and Brian Roberts (2B)
To Arizona: Ramon Nivar (CF), Jason Botts (1B) and Vince Sinisi (LF)
The media seem to think that Jason Botts is somebody special, but I don't see it. If Arizona is lucky he'll be average, and they certainly god a better deal in Nivar. But whatever. Good move by Texas as well to retool the bullpen...if only they were in some othe division.

May 26th - At Tampa Bay (23-22) 4th
W6-3, L5-1, W6-2
That makes two very ordinary performances in a row from Prior. It's creepy how quickly all this came about after his 8-day injury.
GET IT TOGETHER, MARK!

May 26th - Trade...Is it July already?
To Milwaukee: Adam Harben (SP), Craig Counsell (SS), Jim Berry (RF) and Matt Moses (3B)
To Minnesota: Carlos Lee (LF) and Glenn Woolard (RP)
The Twins ran away with this one just by getting Carlos Lee. Even if they had given up any talent in return they probably would have come out on top because Woolard isn't too shabby either.
I do hear, though, that the Brewers are planning to install a pool near third.
Coincidence?
Probably not.

May 29th - At Cleveland (24-23) 2nd
W8-3, L2-1, W6-5
So, maybe this is why Prior wasn't pitching so well: He's out for 13 days with a foot stress-fracture. That'll cramp anyone's style.
In the meantime, Jake Woods is up from the minors to give the majors a try. He's got a perfect 4-0 AAA record.

June 1st - Vs Tampa Bay (25-26) 4th
L13-5, W3-2, L9-2
So, Jake Woods' first start didn't go quite so well as I had hoped. Mind you, he only gave up 2 runs in the first. That wasn't so bad. It was the 7 in the second that really hurt. I'll still give him another chance, just because I'm that kind of guy...
...a sucker.

[Lobsteve]

Respect The May
May Record: 15-12
Overall: 32-20
All that leaves us just 2.5 ahead of Anaheim. Our batting is rocking the West (.285 to everyone else's .261...well, Texas is at .265, but I just don't respect that either), however our ERA has blossomed to a 4.60 which leaves us well behind everyone but Oakland.

Around the Majors
AL West: Baltimore is 4.5 ahead of both Boston and New York as they have entirely turned around from last year.
AL Central: Minnesota is 6 clear of Cleveland in the most boring race in baseball.

NL West: The Mets are 6.5 ahead of...Washington? What's going on there. Probably money.
NL Central: St. Louis is 6 ahead of The Cubs but that can't last. Even without Prior the Cubbies still have some of the best pitching in the majors.
NL West: This is crazy. LA and San Diego are tied for the division lead with San Francisco just a game behind. With the rest of the division no really competing my bet is on LA with the major league lead in ERA at 3.11. That's just sick.

Stats
Avg: Joe Mauer (MIN) at .390 is .017 ahead of Todd Helton (COL).
HR: Todd Helton has his reveng as he leads all comers by at least 4 with his 24 total.
ERA: Pedro is loving the Mets and leads with a 1.51.
Wins: HAHA!! Take that! Felix Hernandez of Seattle leads with an 8-1 record.

I MOCK YOU ALL!

That probably wasn't a good idea.

I Hear Seattle Smells Great Too
Avg: Swinging from the #2 spot, V. Martinez has a .307 average to lead the team.
HR: That's 16 for Richie Sexson. Booney is close behind (still playing for the job, Bret) at 15.
RBI: Martinez and Sexson both have 41. Which begs the question: How do you get 41 from the #2 spot in just two months?
SB: Ichiro, of course, at 11.

ERA (SP): Not Jake Woods. Instead it's Felix Hernandez with a 3.63 ERA narrowly edging out Mark '10 Days Till I'm Back' Prior and his 3.67.
ERA (RP): No contest. 'Krazy' Kaz Sasaki has a 0.61 ERA. That's just sick.
Top 5 K-totals
1. Mark Prior, 68 in 56.1IP
2. Felix Hernandez, 48 in 69.1IP
3. Clint Nageotte, 40 in 62.1IP
4. Blake 'The Hawk' Hawksworth, 36 in 58.2IP
5. Scott Atchison, 29 in 28.1IP

Show some respect for the Minors
Best Performance in a Lead Role: Jose Lopez with a .294 avg and 10 homers.

Best Performance in a supporting role: Gregor Blanco just sneaks past Adam 'Top Prospect' Jones with a .263 average, 6 homers and 6 steals. Hey, the 6/6 club.

Best Impersonation of a doctor: 'Doctor' Bobby Livingston, 2.20 ERA and a 2-0 record in....wait for it....2 games.

[Lock]

just a quick question, is all your medical,farm,and scouting systems rated 1? or really high up?

btw- nice new stuff

[Lobsteve]

Well, it was at the start of 2005. But I haven't played with that yet (mainly because Prior's salary leaves me too far in the hole).

Current Financial Mumbo-Jumbo:
Tickets: $20 Could probably be a bit higher, but at least I'm selling out the stadium. League Avg: is $23.05

Hot Dogs: $2.50 (-23%)
Da Beer: $2.00 (-58% and lots of profit for the local cops post-game...haven't worked out a kick0back scheme yet)
Scream: $2.25 (-10%)

Normal Broadcast making $86,876 average for 2006 so far, which is actually down from 2005...more people at the park I think.

Farm System: 7mill (15th, 1st costs 16M)
Scouting: 7Mill (15th, 16M for 1st)
Medical: 5mill (12th 14M for 1st)
Player Salaries: $59,349,834 (17th)

Probably more than you wanted to know, but there it is anyways.

[Lobsteve]

June 5th - Vs New York Yankees (29-24) tied 2nd
W10-1, L4-3, L8-5, L5-2
Not a very good four games. The Yanks are jsut too good. Kinda makes me fear meeting Baltimore if they're on top of the East...which they are.

June 3rd - Trade
To St. Louis: Trever Miller (RP), Ivan Rodriguez (C) and Bobby Higginson (RF)
To Detroit: Jimmy Journell (RP)
Though it's an interesting move to grab Pudge and Higginson for a playoff run, I don't know if swapping Miller for Journell in the bullpen will help the Cards in the long run.

June 5th - Trade
To Kansas City: Brady Clark (RF) and Andrew Ray (2B)
To Texas: D.J. Carrasco (RP)
Getting rid of Clard and Ray would help any team. I wish it hadn't helped Texas.

June 9th - At Florida (24-33) 5th
W6-3, L4-1, W7-6
Two more scoreless innings from the Kaz. Allow me to explain how well things are going for him this year. Bottom of the ninth of game 1. He starts off by walking a Mike Lowell. For most people this would be a problem. Not for The Kaz. he simply pulls out a hat-trick of strikeouts to retire the side. No problem.

But there is a problem, Texas has won 13 in a row and is now tied with us for first. 13 in a row? Aren't there laws about that?

June 7th - Trade
To Houston: Hector Mercado (RP), A.J. Hinch (C) and Ryan Howard (1B)
To Philadelphia: Juan Cruz (RP)
Why are all these relievers swapping teams? Seems like everyone is trying to clear out the bullpen while there's still time.
Good on Houston to pick up Ryan Howard, he's a defensive dynamo with alot of power...but apparently blind in both eyes.

June 12th - At New York Mets (36-23) 1st
L1-0, W10-1, W3-0
'Doctor' Livingston got the first start because I figured it was bad for moral to keep James Woods and his 29-whatever ERA in there for much longer. Good move, if I do say so myself. The Doctor allowed 3 hits over 6 innings before Rafael Soriano blew it in the 7th. Not that it mattered, the Mets had some hot pitching as well as we got just 6 hits ourselves. And then the next day we find out that The Doctor is out for 27 days. That's life for you. Good thing Prior is finally back.
Felix the cat is up to 9 wins. Nice.
And then Matt Thornton, obviously inspired by Livingston, goes and out-duels Pedro Martinez himself for 8-innings of shutout ball before allowing The Kaz in for another brilliant 9th inning.

June 16th - Vs Atlanta (31-32) 4th
L6-3, L9-4, W5-0
It took Mark Prior to get us a win over Atlanta. That's not good. What else...oh, we've dropped out of top spot in the West and now cling to the Wild Card instead. DOH!
And Nageotte is out for 13 days. If Thomas Oldham performs well in two or so starts from the starting rotation...well Nageotte may not be back.
Adrian Beltre drove in all 5 runs via 2 homers to win us game 3. He had 4 homers on the series.

June 19th - Vs Washington (35-32) 3rd
W3-0, W4-2, W3-2 (10 innings)
Back to back SHUTOUTS! WOO!
Win #10 for Felix 'The Cat' Hernandez!

Woo!

Plus, the Kaz gets win #2 with another shutout inning in game 3.

Oh, and Matt Thornton did very well in game 2, as did Oldham in game 3. Nageotte's job looks to be rocky.

We're also back in first. Take -that- Texas.

June 17th - Trade
To Boston: Nate Robertson (SP) and Chad Fox (RP)
To Chicago Cubs: Travis Batrouny (RF), Mark Malaska (RP) and Tony Hanson (LF)
Boston gets Nate Robertson in the midst of a career year, and the Cubs get Batrouny who is a stellar prospect.
The rest is filler.

Milestone: Raul Mondesi - He's still alive? - crosses the plate for the 1000th time. Also, one I missed earlier, Eric Gagne notches save 200.

June 23rd - At Oakland (34-33) 4th. No one under .500 in the West!
L7-2, L5-0, W9-5, W14-9
NO! Mark, NO! You're the one who's supposed to get the shutouts, not the other way around. Why do I have to explain this to you?

Brad Fullmer with 6 RBI in game 4.
Plus, Hernandez with win #11.

June 20th Trade
To Baltimore: Chris Magruder (RF)
To Cincinnati: Sean Aide (RF)
Strange to see a simple trade like this. I'm not sure I even know quite what to say about it. Bench staltwart (Magruder), for potential bench staltwart (Aide). Not a trade I would have made.

June 22nd - Trade
To Washington: Pedro Feliciano (RP) and Ramon Ramirez (RP)
To New York Yankees: Jon Rauch (RP), Matt Cepicky (LF) and Bryan Hebson (RP)
Not much either way here. I suppose Cepicky could be good enough to make a MLB lineup, but I'm dubious. Pencil him as a defensive replacement. Montreal does get a credible reliever in Feliciano, but he hasn't done anything INcredible since 2003.

June 26th - Vs Los Angeles (39-32) 2nd
L4-1, L2-1, L1-0 (11 Innings)
Would you look at that. The best pitching we've had all season and we can't score any runs. Prior actually struck out TWELVE in game three over just 8 innings. And then we can't get anything up on the board for him, plus really letting Sasaki down as he picks up his first loss of the season on a lucky infield single with the bases not-so-luckily loaded.

June 30th - Vs Oakland (37-37) 4th
L9-6, L6-5, L3-2
Would you believe that? Rafael Soriano lost us the first two games, giving up 4 runs in the 8th of game one, and 2 runs in the 6th of game 2. That's horrible. And a really lousy way to close out the month.

So, that was June.
June Record: 11-16
Overall: 43-35
That leaves us, incredibly, just 4 games back of Texas, and even more so just a game back of Baltimore for the Wild Card. Still, that was far too many losses to end the month.

Player Of The Month: Victor Martinez has been making the money I'm giving him worthwhile. For most of the month he was on-top of the team average list. Plus he has a rather buff 13 homers from the #2 spot as well as 54 RBI and having crossed the plate 50 times himself.

Pitcher Of The Month: Kazuhiro Sasaki. He gave up 1 run all month (only the second all year) and is putting everyone else in the bullpen to shame with his 0.77 ERA. Wow. What a guy. His only problem is that he isn't getting many appearances. Having appeared in 26 games, he only has 23.1 innings of work, even though he's made the most of them.

Team Bests
Avg: Brad Fullmer has a .001 lead over V-Mart at .295
HR: Richie Sexson, 22
RBI:
SB: Ichiro has 18 but down at the mini-top-of-the-lineup (by which I mean the bottom) Jeremy Reed has 10, having stolen 5 or so in June.

ERA (SP): Mark Prior, 3.08
ERA (RP): Sasaki, 0.77
Best K to IP Ratio: Mark Prior, 96K in just 79IP. That's just incredible.
OBA: I thought it would be someone random, but it's not. Sasaki is, obviously, in front at .152. Prior is doing well also with a .203.

Around The Majors
AL East: Boston is 1.5 up on Baltimore. The Yankees have seemingly fallen away and are 5 back.
AL Central: Minnesota is running away with it as they are 9.5 ahead of Cleveland. Next closest is Chicago at 14 behind.
AL West: Let's not recap June's failure shall we?

NL East: The Mets are 1.5 up on Philadelphia, and Atalanta has a ways to go at 5.5.
NL Central: St. Louis is ever so slowly pulling away and now have a 4.5 game lead over the Cubs. Houston is 6.5 back and everyone else might as well be eliminated already.
NL West: The tightest division in baseball! San Diego is just a game up on LA. San Fran is just 4.5 back, and seem to be fading due to their 5.32 team ERA. Arizona is 6 back and realistically should pass San Fran. And the closest last place team is Colorado, just 10.5 back, but have the worst ERA in baseball with 6.16. And I thought I had problems.

Stats
Avg: Todd Helton, .373
HR: Todd Helton, 31 (Triple Crown Favorite! He also leads with 86 RBI.)
ERA: Pedro Martinez, 1.45
Wins: Felix The Cat is tied with Mark Mulder, both with 11.

[Lock]

Yeah that was what i was asking, so do you intend to get into first place with the farm, scouting, and medical, cuz in my own game, that takes up a lot of payroll budget, but seattle should be better than others.

[Lobsteve]

I'm not sure how concerned I am about being #1 in the Farm/Scout/Med.

I suppose there are two ways to go about it:
1) I can toss the money into these now (which at last count would cost me another 27million), the end result of which would be to land me in the hole financially. Maybe not this year, but certainly next year especially with Prior's contract and No-Trade-Clause. That would of course mean that not one of the youngsters who will eligible for Arbitration and such would wind up staying on the team.

2) I can put it off, slowly increase expenditures in the 3 categories while, at the same time, carefully placating my young stars and keeping them around for as long as I can manage.

Personally, I prefer option #2. It's all about how you want to win the game. Some are content to win the World Series their second or third year, whatever the consequences. I prefer to carefully construct a dynasty that will ring down throughout the ages...or at least the 'Mogul Hall Of Fame'. In order to get there requires posting a large numberof wins each year. In order to do that there can be very few 'down/rebuilding' years when talent is tossed out in exchange for cash.

So, though it will be nice to get near the top in these things (Priority: Scouting, Farm, Medical), there really is no rush. My primary concern is making sure that I have the resources to keep Jeremy Reed, Michael Morse, Shane Costa, Adam Jones, Jose Lopez, Scott Wollen, Felix Hernandez, Ian Samuel and Arnie Munoz around for quite a while.

That's a whole bunch of agents that need bribing.

[Lobsteve]

July 3rd - Vs Detroit (31-47) 4th
L8-4, W4-3, W6-4
See Hawk, -this- is why you sit in the number 5 spot. INCONSISTENCY! GET IT TOGETHER MAN! Not that yelling at him has ever worked. He just keeps dreaming of the rotations of some other team. This week it's Tampa Bay.

In injury news, Brad Fullmer is out for a couple of weeks. Instant move off the bench for Jamal Strong (who, after a couple of starts at DH, is now hitting an incredible .421). And Gregor Blanco is up out of AAA to fill the hole on the pine.

July 7th - At New York Yankees (43-39) 3rd
L1-0, L3-2, L7-4
We get two great games out of Thornton and Oldham, but get stuck on the receiving end of two Even Better Games from Yankee pitching! Particularly MIKE MUSSINA in game one who threw, of all things: A NO-HITTER. First one in the majors this year, by the way. He did walk 6 though...not that it's any consolation.
And to top it all off Richie Sexson is out for 24 days as of game 2. Jose Lopez is up from AAA to play first in the interim. It's rough though. In the space of a week we've lost 37 homers in Sexson and Fullmer. That's hard to replace.

Milestones: In addition to Mussina's No-Hitter (great, I can't mention that enough, rub the salt in), John Smoltz (still a closer in Atlanta) gets save 200. And Barry 'Still Juiced' (though really I shouldn't start in on Barry, innocent until proven guilty, right) Bonds gets RBI #2000. Also of note, though it didn't appear in the transactions list, earlier this year Bonds passed Hank Aaron for the All-Time Home Run Lead. He now has 759.

July 10th - At Detroit (33-51) 4th
L3-1, W1-0, W8-3
No worries, Prior didn't get the loss in game 1. It was, once again, Scott Atchison who managed to blow this one by allowing 2 runs in the bottom of the 8th. That's 4 on the season for Atchison. Way to go. *****.
SHUTOUT FOR FELIX! Hernandez also had the complete-game allowing just 4 hits while also acumulating an equal number of walks (that's 4 incidentally) as well as 6 strikeouts.

After this series was over we get a small couple of changes in the pitching order. Bobby 'Doctor' Livingston is back off the DL and, as a reward for his one great start, he gets another as he replaces Blake Hawksworth in the 5th spot. Hawk winds up as Alt for a bit, much to his chagrin. Also, J.J. Putz moves up to become our new setup man with Atchison moving to short relief and Rafael Soriano becoming the middle reliever.
I hope that all helps.

JULY 12TH - YES! That's right! It's the HOME RUN DERBY!
Woo!

And, making a random appearance, is BRET BOONE! I didn't expect that. He's only got 19, that's not even really close to the top-10 in the majors. But I'll take what I get.

Round 1
Booney only racks up 3 though which is good enough not to move on. Instead we get the following top-4:
Miguel Cabrera (ARI) 7
Jim Thome (PHI) 6
Mark Teixeira (NYY) 5
Troy Glaus (ARI) 4
Hmmm, Arizona must just be pounding the ball this year.

Round
And Arizona will continue to pound as Glaus and Cabrera finish 1-2 (5 for Glaus, 3 for Miguel) in the second round as Teixeira and Thome can only manage 2 a piece.

The Finals
This will be two years in a row that we wind up in extra-innings as Glaus and Cabrera tie at 3 in the finals. And extra-innings almost don't solve anything either as Glaus very narrowly edges his teamate to win 4-3.

Totals: Glaus 16 - Cabrera 16

Anyone else want to start rooting for Arizona? I can feel the band-wagon getting closer.

July 13th Yes! The ever anti-climactic ALL-STAR GAME!

TWO Mariners take a run out to the game. By virtue of being voted in as starting second baseman with 702,533 votes, Mr. Bret Boone!
And by virtue of simple being amazing (as well as having 13 wins (the most, by the way), Mr. Felix Hernandez!

Of course, being the way of All-Star games, Hernandez doesn't get to play, even though we're in a NL park and there were pinch-hitter about and 6 pitchers used.

Boone, obviously, starts and gets 3 at-bats in, sneaking a single through and then striking out. Not an impressive showing.

All in all it was probably better that Hernandez stayed on ice as the AL got shelled 13-1. DUCK!

Top Vote Getters
Thought this might be interesting

AL: Mark Teixeira, 1,520,651
NL: Todd Helton (He still on a run for the Triple-Crown), 1,907,967

Though Helton was the overall favorite, only one other NL player (Miguel Cabrera) wound up with over a million votes. Whereas over in the AL 4 players topped the one-million vote mark.

July 17th - Vs Texas (51-36) 1st
W5-4, W4-1, W9-8 (15 Innings), W7-2
That was a particularly sweat sweep as we move back into a first place tie for the division lead.
A surprising win from Oldham to start the series. Then Prior puts on his normal show; it's nice to see him recovering so well from injury. (And speaking of injuries, having had one start, Oldham is out for 14. Bring back the Hawk!) Then in game three the Kaz blows his first game of the year, robbing Hernandez of win #14. But we have vengeance as Michael 'The Code' Morse, who manages not to have a hit all 15 innings, sents a sacrifice fly out into left with the bases loaded. Game. And then Thornton finished it off in style.

July 20th - At Anaheim (47-45) 4th
W8-4, L8-2, L8-5
MAN! Sasaki blew hsi second game in a week to cost Prior the win in game 3. That just stinks!
Is it too late to get a new closer?
Not quite, but the prospects are unlikely.
Random Note: Dallas McPherson, you know, the guy who had the HR Derby named after him in an Alternate Universe! Well, he knocked 3 out of the park in that last game. Two off Prior, including a 3-run shot, and then the solo, walk-off dinger to win the game. I sense a certain event needing a new name in a few yars.

Milestones: Raul Mondesi, still a productive member of Atlanta (though I don't believe it), tosses in home run number 300. While in New York, Mariano Rivera throws save #400. Also in New York, Gary Sheffield tosses in RBI 1500. That's alotta ribby.

July 24th - At Texas (52-42) Tied 1st
W5-2, L3-2, L7-3, L7-5
Sasaki had his owrst outing of the season in game 4, allowing 4 runs and blowing the save. Horrible. It instantly made me forget all about Clint nageotte's great start in game one in place of the injured Felix.
Another injury comes though, 'Doc' Livingston is out for 14. Doctor, Heal Thyself indeed!

July 27th - Vs Cleveland (50-49) 2nd
L5-4, W5-1, W1-0 (10 Innings)
So, Mark Prior had a really bad week. First he mistakenly gets the loss in game 1 despite handing a 4-3 lead over to the bullpen who allow a run in the 8th to tie, and another in the 9th for the loss. And yet Prior gets the loss. I'm asking for an official review, but I doubt it will happen, these things always get lost in the paper shuffle.
But, to make matters worse, a nagging hip injury which has plagued the ever so expensive Prior all year has flared up again. The Seattle Specialists estimate he will be back in 122 days.

That's right, 122. One-Hundred and Twenty-Two. Though the doctors 'foresee no permanent damage'. To him or to me?

So, irregardless of the fine work put in by Felix 'Win #14' Hernandez and Matt Thornton, I now need a #1 starter. Nageotte has done some fine work, but he's not nearly ready for such a responsibility. In a couple years I'll have some people ready in the minors, but not now, just not enough seasoning.

All the free-agents have been signed by now as well, which makes finding a diamond in the rough a little difficult.

And there just aren't any blockbuster trades to be pulled off that leave me in any position to suffer any further injuries gracefully. Never mind leave the rosters intact for the future.

So the solution is this:
1. Felix Hernandez
2. Matt Thornton
3. Jake Woods
4. Blake Hawksworth
5. Clint Nageotte
Alt: Thomeas Oldham

And that will have to do.

July 31st - Vs Minnesota (56-45) 1st
L16-4, W6-2, W4-2
I blame the loss on the shock value of Prior's injury. Yes. Shock value.
Good try, right?
Two pluses: Sexson is back from the DL. He only managed 1 hit in his return, but even so, it's good news. Also, Felix Hernandez, fresh to the #1 spot, claims victory #15 and continues to lead everyone in baseball.

The Summer Begins to Wind Down
July Record: 14-12
Overall 57-47
July wasn't quite as good as I'd hoped for. But it was quite a ways up from June. Injuries all over the place and we still kept our heads above water.

Player Of The Month: Doing a fantastic job replacing Sexson, Jose Lopez gets the not this month with his fantastic .393 average and .427 OBP. That's a big help.

Pitcher Of The Month: And, for his impersonation of a superstar, Felix Hernandez! Though it may turn out that this is no impersonation. Felix The Cat may be The REAL DEAL!
DOH! Quick! Erase that! What do you mean it's too late!

Team Bests
ERA: The Injured Mark Prio with 3.15 still leads the team.
Wins: Felix, obviously, he's only the best anywhere. 15.
Saves: Kazu has 18 on the year, but has blown 2, both in July.
Average: Jeremy Reed, of all people, is ahead at .290.
Homers: With Sexson out, Beltre has reclaimed the team lead with 24.
Steals: The obligatory mention of Ichiro here with 24.

Quick! To the Trade show!

[Lobsteve]

I Guarantee That You Can't Handle The Trades!

June 29th
To Baltimore: Brad Hawpe (RF), Cory Vance (SP) and Andy Tracy (3B)
To Colorado: Nate Spears (2B), Adam Loewen (P) and Nick Markakis (RF)
Colorado trades for the future, and Baltmore for the now. Hawpe and Vance are solid starters right out of the blocks. And Nate Spears is a future star.

July 1st
To Houston: Chris Singleton (CF), Jack Cust (LF) and Micah Bowie (RP)
To Oakland: Brian Meohler (SP) and Daniel Wheeler (RP)
Alot of veterans trade places here. And the only one of note is Wheeler. The rest have their best seasons WAY behind them. Wheeler might be able to put together one more....maybe.

July 2nd
To Milwaukee: Mike Koplove (RP), Chad Tracy (3B) and Jeromy Burnitz (RF)
To Arizona: Adam Harben (SP), Derrick Turnbow (RP) and Jeff Housman (RP)
Not much here. With the move of Burnitz you'd think this would be huge, but he's been relegated to bench work this year and hasn't really shown any reason to put him back in the starting lineup.

July 3rd
To Baltimore: Lincoln Holdzkom (RP), Josh Raschig (2B) and Howard Solis (3B)
To Florida: Javier Martinez (RP), Karim Garcia (RF), Cory Vance (SP), Val Majewski (CF) and Marc Lorenz (1B)
Interesting moves for Baltimore to get a solid reliever, a so-so 2B prospect who's injured for the duration of the year, and a STELLAR 3B Prospect with a 92peak.
They may regret giving up Vance however. Cory Vance didn't have any playing time with Baltimore in 2006, but so far with Colorado (take a look back to the June 29th trade) and Florida he's a perfect 3-0.

July 16th
To Minnesota: Alan Benes (RP) and Santiago Perez (SS)
To Texas: Garrett Jones (1B) and Armando Rios (CF)
The Twins sneak this one out by grabbing the under-valued Perez who is hitting .348 off the bench. That's a valuable comodity in my opinion.

July 7th
To Anaheim: Jack Cressend (RP) and Brent Clevlen (RF)
To Detroit: Jay Wright (C) and Jeffery Baikalova (SP)
Though there's really nothing of interest here, bonus points are given because it involves the only player of Russian descent...well, he must have some Russian in there somewhere with a name like Baikalova...I've ever seen.

July 18th
To New York Yankees: Mike Koplove (RP), Juan Pierre (CF) and David Manning (SP)
To Milwaukee: Aaron Looper (RP), Ben Julianel (RP) and Ben Broussard (1B)
Brilliant move by the Yankees to get the speedster Pierre. It was worth bringing the two duds along with him. And giving up two potential short-relievers. Though Pierre only has 21 steals this year, he's still one of the better CFs out there, and certainly the biggest name so far this month.

July 19th
To Baltimore: Steven White (SP), Jorge DePaula (RP) and Mike Koplove (RP)
To New York Yankees: Zach Dixon (SP) and Larry Bigbie (LF)
New York ditches the deadwood from their bullpen (though deadwood from them really isn't that bad elsewhere it seems), and notice who quickly they fired Mike Koplove back out the door, and in return take a decent starter to replace Steven White and a quality LF to either platoon or work off the bench.

July 20th
To Detroit: John Thomson (SP), Kyle Davies (RP) and Gabe White (RP)
To Atlanta: Marcus Thames (LF) and Russ Branyan (3B)
I can't believe Atlanta gave up so much just to get Russ Branyan. It seems more than a little strange I assure you.

July 22nd
To Detroit: Omar Quintanilla (SS)
To Oakland: John Thomson (SP) and Jimmy Journell (RP)
Well, that settles it, Detroit has gone MAD! MAD I SAY!
Journell is rated at 84. Thomson at 77. Well, what about Quintanilla? Try 73 with a 77 peak. To top it off he was injured two weeks before the trade and is still on the DL.
Very, very bad move for the Tigers.

July 26th
To Oakland: Jerry Hairston (RF) and Jon Garland (SP)
To Chicago Cubs: Bobby Kielty (LF), Kiko Calero (RF), Adam Morrissey (3B) and Brian Moehler (SP)
Well, Calero is alright, but I'd pass on the rest of them. Hairston is having an off-year though, so he might turn it around.

July 27th
To Washington: Mike Williams (RP), Shawn Wooten (1B) and Tomas Perez (3B)
To Philadelphia: Ron Calloway (RF) and Britt Reames (RP)
I fail to see the reason for this trade, unless it was to get rid of Reames' salary, but it isn't really that much at just .5M. Still, there must be a reason that I don't see. Maybe both teams felt that their minor-leagues just weren't full enough?

July 29th
To Detroit: Blaine Neal (RP) and Reggie Willits (CF)
To Anaheim: Gary Glover (SP)
Hey! It's Gary Glover! Hmmm, welcome back to the division Gary. I see your attitude hasn't improved any. Though he's actually having a pretty good year with a 7-4 record and roughly 4.00 ERA. Not that I have any regrets about kicking him out the door. Well, maybe 7.

July 30th
To Atlanta: Tetsu Yofu (SP) and Franklyn German (RP)
To Houston: Roman Colon (RP)
I'd be more excited about Yofu if he wasn't 33 and hadn't made it out of the minors yet. Because of that, and because German is useless, Houston looks brilliant for grabbing the 80-overall Colon who is having a very good year.

July 30th
To Cleveland: Dan Miceli (RP) and Shawn Green (1B)
To Arizona: David Riske (RP)
Wow! Big name Number Two in this one with Shawn Green, still a creditable power-hitter, switching teams. The real deal here is jouney-man Dan Miceli who has been having a second youth with all sorts of excellent play. Not quite the best of his career, but very good all the same. Certainly a better year than David Riske who the Indians are probably well rid of with a 9.09 ERA.

July 31st
To Minnesota: Casey Kotchman (1B)
To Anaheim: Joe Roa (RP), Jose Morales (C), Carlos Pulido (RP), Augie Ojeda (2B) and Jacque Jones (RF)
The Twins just got ripped off. Usually when you see a trade like this it's a bunch of scrubs for a brilliant player. Not so. Kotchman isn't a bad prospect, 76oa/92p but is hardly worth another excellent prospect in catcher Jose Morales, and an established star in right in Jacque Jones. Bad move, on the whole, for the Twins, but brilliant steal by the Angels.

July 31st
To Houston: Doug Mirabelli (C)
To Boston: Jordan Parraz (CF)
A pretty fair trade I suppose. A nobody in Parraz who will maybe make the bench someday. And a catcher on his way out in Mirabelli who is 35 and will likely retire once his contract is up at the end of the year.

July 31st
To New York Mets: Beau Vaughn (SP)
To Boston: Felix Heredia (RP), Joe Nelson (RP), Curt Solovieff (SP) and Andy Dominique (1B)
Vaughn isn't any super ball-of-fire, but probably worth about what Boston got for him. End of story.

[Lobsteve]

August 4th - At Chicago White Sox (45-59) 3rd
L4-0, L8-3, W5-3, W8-2
Well, that was par for the course. And hey! Look at that, starting game 3 for the White Sox is our good friend Cha Baek. And way to handle him boys, homers for both Beltre and Sexson.
Heh, suckers.

August 7th - At Kansas City (34-74) 5th
W10-4, W11-3, W8-3
Just the sort of series we needed to get back into first place. Of course it's also the kind of series that people usually go to sleep for, but obviously we didn't.
Best performance: 6 RBI, 2 homers (including a grand slam) from Brad Fullmer in game one.
Also Of Note: Felix The Cat with his 16th win with a 3-hit performance.
Milestone: In game 2 Bret Boone launches home run #300. And with that homer comes a thumbs up from the fans. I don't think that it was there before. So, to sum up: YAY BOONE! Too bad you'll be on the bench sooner than later.

August 11th - Vs Anaheim (56-55) 4th
W5-4 (10 innings), L3-2, W11-7
Felix's 3rd loss of the season, bad luck. And even more as he's out for 3 days. Not a crisis though, and he won't miss his next start. And, in a horrible twist of fate, it was Gary Glover who beat us. There's not justice, obviously.
And we definately came back strong in the game after the loss. Well, except for J.J. Putz who blew a 7-5 lead and made us scramble for 4 runs in the bottom of the ninth.

August 14th - Vs Chicago White Sox (49-65) 3rd
W9-2, L9-2, W5-3
Hey, Hawk. You aren't making a good case for keeping your sorry carcas around. Hmmm?
Sexson and Boone are the stars in the two wins. 6 runs between them. Oh, and Beltre tossed in 4 as well.

Milestones: Juan Pierre (NYY), steal 300. Derek Jeter, who is still alive in New York, hit 2000.

August 17th - Vs Boston (63-55) 3rd
W9-3, W9-8, W11-3
A lucky sweep of the Bo.Sox leaves us 2 games ahead in the division race.
BUT! Bad news, two days after his game 1 17th victory, Felix Hernandez suffers a ruptured knee ligament and is done for 26 days.
If this doesn't inspire me to pour more money into the medical staff this off season, I don't know what will.
So now we will have a platoon at the #1 spot. Mainly because I can't decide between Thomas Oldham, Dan Tamayo, Arnie Munoz or Jake Woods.
By lottery, Woods gets the first start.

Having tossed some long-balls around recently, Beltre and Sexson are 8-9 on the Home Run Top 10 with 33 and 32.

August 21st - Vs Kansas City (39-81) 5th
W11-10, W3-2, W4-2
Well, we won't be seeing George Sherill again (though some may argue that we never really saw him at all in any case), he apparently had his arm ripped off by an angry bear at the zoo. Diagnosis: Torn Rotator Cuff. 313 days. He was actually playing pretty well in a quiet sort of way. 63.2 innings so far this year with a 3.82 ERA, .237 OBA and 55 strikeouts. That's quality work from the long relief spot.
So Dan 'Tomato' Tamayo fills in at long relief for the rest of the year, or until he blows it big time.
My minor league pitching roster is looking thin.
Speaking of which: Jake Woods, complete game in his first appearnce (game 2). And when I say first I mean 4th start of the year. At least he finally got it right.

August 25th - At Minnesota (68-55) 1st
L3-2, L4-1, W1-0
Man, that was bad for the first two games. Brad Radke, in particular, schooled us in game 2. I guess it helps to face MORONS! though. Doctor Livingston and The Hawk had lousy outings. Nageotte was gold in the final game though. It was really about an inning of work for both teams. We scored the first run unearned (error puts Ichiro on second and then a double by Victor Martinez) and sat back and snoozed.

Milestone: Juan Gonzalez of Anaheim knocks in RBI #1500. And a few days later: Barry Bonds grabs his 3000th hit.

August 29th - At Boston (64-63) 4th
L6-5, W6-4, L8-2, L9-5
And welcome to all-sorts-of-wrong land. Population: Me.
And now we're stuck leading the wild card. Stupid Boston.

September 1st - At Anaheim (66-64) 4th
W5-4, L11-6, L3-0
Man, what went on in game 2? I'll tell you what: The Revenge Of Gary Glover! Part 2! Ever since we clocked him the first time we saw him this season he's had our number. And, with all the injuries, I wouldn't mind having him back. There, I said it.
Michael Morse is done for 22 days, just to add to my troubles. Willie Bloomquist gets a chance to play for a contract.

The End Is Near! Hope For the Stay-Puff Marshmallow-Man!
September Record: 18-10 <-Oh! That was pretty good actually.
Overall Record: 75-58
That's pretty good as well, but we're still stuck at the top of the Wild Card standings as Texas is edging me by half a game for top in the West.

Around The League
AL East: New York has a 6 game lead over Toronto, which pretty much gives them the division ;).
AL Central: The Twins are 6.5 up on Cleveland and I think things are sown up there as well, though Minnesota has been in a bit of a slump in the past 20.
AL West: We have two more series against the Rangers, and given our history with Texas, I think we should hope for the Wild Card.
AL Wildcard: We're not doing too badly here. We have the best ERA and 2nd beat team average of all the close teams. Oakland and Toronto are nearest, 5 games back.

NL East: New York leads here as well, 5.5 up on Philadelphia. It could be alot closer than that, Philly is playing pretty well. Mind you, so did the rest of the division, and they're nowhere.
NL Central: St. Louis is 8.5 up on the Cubs and it looks to be pretty done. The Cardinals are on a 10-0 run, disgusting.
NL West: Los Angeles leads here (with the best ERA in baseball, 3.07), 5.5 games up on San Diego. No one is going to catch a 3.07 ERA.
NL Wildcard: Chicago and Philadelphia are both tied up top with 75-58 records. Atlanta is 3rd, 5 games back and San Diego is 6 back.

Already Eliminated: Yes, it's true. Kansas City (43-90, and 30 games back) are already eliminated from the postseason. Detroit (49-84, 24 back) are probably next. Also, Cincinnati (51-83), Milwaukee (60-73) and Pittsburgh (61-73) won't last much longer either. The only reason they have an outside shot is that the NL Wildcard isn't as far away.

Stats
Avg: Todd Helton (COL), .374
HR: Todd Helton, 48
RBI: Todd Helton and Mark Teixeira (NYY), 136
-> Uh, Triple Crown? The only person close enough to upset Helton in the NL is Jim Thome with 43 homers. Albert Pujols (STL) could make a run in Avg (.355), but Helton would really have to start slumping.

Wins: Felix Hernandez (SEA), 17. He's still got a 2 win lead. BWA!
ERA: Roy Halladay (TOR), 2.33
Ks: Ben Sheets (PHI), 206

Mariner's Player of the Month: It's a toss up between a few people. Victor Martinez is on a hot streak recently. Adrian Beltre has really been hitting hard. And Jeremy Reed is making a believer out of me. So, all the names get stuck to the Moose's antlers and we spin him around and randomly pick one: It's Victor Martinez! YAAAAAAAY!

M's Pitcher of the Month: The winner of the 'Injured Pitcher Sweepstakes' is.....CLINT NAGEOTTE! Dude has risen to the occasion and gotten the win in his last 3 starts and now sports a nice little 12-4 record.
I BELIEVE!

[Lobsteve]

September 4th - Vs Baltimore (69-65) 4th
W6-3, W6-5, L5-3
Having named Nageotte pitcher of the month, he promptly went out and lost us the game that would have put us back on top of the West. Way to go Clint.
Random note of interest: As we played game three Texas lost as well, being fleeced by Kansas City, of all teams, 17-4.
Playoff Watch: Detroit is indeed the second team to bail out of the post-season.

Milestone: Pedro Martinez (NYM) just picked up his 200th win. He's also 20 strikeouts away from 3000, so we may be hearing from him again this year. Mind you, he hasn't played that much, only 15 starts in an injury plagued season.

September 7th - Vs Oakland (71-65) 3rd
W3-2, L7-3, L2-1
That wasn't how this was supposed to work! And certainly not how I wanted to go into our first series of the month against the Rangers.

Milestones: A couple of thousands to report from the RBI department. First, Ryan Klesko (SDP), then later the same day, Valddy Guerrero (ANA) does the same.

September 11th - At Texas (80-60) 1st, 1.5 games ahead.
L6-3, W4-1, L3-0
Again, not the way that was supposed to happen. Even though we got a STELLAR start from James Woods in game 2, the Hawk was horrible in game 1, and then we ran up against some fantastic defense in game two as they really stole it. So we wind up falling another game back of these yahoos. I'm not a happy camper.
On the up-side, the only upside, Felix The Cat is almost back from injury.

Playoff Watch: Over in the NL, Florida and Cincinnati have both given up the ghost.

Milestone: Roger Clemens (DET) notches win #350.

September 14th - At Cleveland (71-72) 2nd
L6-4, L6-5 (11 innings), L4-1
Horrible Luck! Even Fabulous Felix picked up a loss in this debacle. We still lead the wild card though, if just by 2 game over Oakland. We. Must. Hang. On.
A small shuffle in the pitching: The Hawk has been relegated to Long-Relief and Dan 'The Tomato' Tamayo will try his luck from the fifth spot allowing Clint Nageotte to move up to 4.
Willie Bloomquist is trying to make himself expensive, he's hitting .298

Playoff Watch: NL teams dropped like flies as Pittsburgh and Colorado join the less than october bound teams.

September 18th - At Toronto (75-70) tied 2nd
W5-2, W4-2, W7-6, L10-0
Fantastic work from Thornton and 'Doctor' Livingston in the first two games, and then Nageotte contrived to win ANOTHER game even though it was hardly his best outing as he gave up 5 runs. The bats managed some fine work as well with Martinez, Fullmer, Beltre and Sexson contributing homers to the cause.
And then there's Dan Tamayo. The experiment may not be working. Allowed 7 runs, made me curse like a monkey. Not a good start.
We are creeping back though. We're 3 clear of Oakland and just 3.5 back of Texas. So it's very doable. We just need some luck. Luck and some brilliant pitching.
In the top of the 6th on the 17th of September, Bret Boone singles to right to notch his 2000th hit. The only minor downer is that it didn't come at home.
Another milestone to watch for: Sasaki is 5 saves away from 200.

Playoff Watch: The White Sox and the Devil Rays are both done in the AL. And over in the NL Washington, Milwaukee and San Francisco all bow out for sure. We also have our first clincher as St. Louis secures their spot on top of the Central.

September 21st - Vs Chicago White Sox (67-81) 3rd
L6-0, W3-0, L10-7
Felix has his second bad outing coming back from that latest injury. He now sits at 17-5 and won't be my first 20 game winner. I think the sudden pressure of becoming the #1 with Prior out is the problem. Yes, -that's- why.
The next series makes or breaks us as we face Texas for the last time this season. We can move to a half-game of the division lead.
In contract news, Scott Atchison has just become eligable for arbitration. He wants .55M to sign this instant...I think I'll wait.

Playoff Watch: Just under two weeks left in the season. Houston is out and The Mets have clinched.
Quick Roundup
NL East: Mets win.
NL Central: Cards win.
NL West: LA almost a certainty, they're 7 up on Arizona.
NL Wildcard: Piladelphia 5 up on the Cubs.

AL East: Yankees are almost there, 8.5 up on Baltimore.
AL Central: The Twins have a 5.5 game lead.
AL West: Texas is 3.5 up on me. Hopefully tenuous.
AL Wildcard: We have Baltimore 2.5 back, Boston 3.5, Toronto 4, Oaklank 4.5 and Cleveland 5.5. The Phillies are just plain lucky.

September 25th - Vs Texas (87-66) 1st
W1-0 (11 Innings), W1-0, W11-2
Great guys, make me nervous. A Brad Fullmer single scores The Hammock - who somehow took over for Martinez - in the bottom of the 11th. A Jeremy Reed single scores Jamal Strong - pinch running for Richie Sexson - in the bottom of the ninth. And...FINALLY! The BATS are BACK in SEATTLE!
Oh, Nageotte, brilliant but doesn't get the win bevause of extra innings and Sasaki grabs it.
I caved and let the Hawk back in and stuck Tamayo back in the 'pen, and it paid off as the Hawk throws the complete game shutout.
And Fabulous Felix has returned, win #18.

Playoff Watch: The Yankees have clinched. Atlanta and San Diego are out. We move a game up and are 3.5 ahead of Baltimore. And the Phillies are 6 up on the Cubs.

Milestone: Pedro hurls strikeout #3000.

September 29th - Vs Anaheim (79-76) 4th
L7-4, W7-5, W5-4 (10 Innings), W3-2
Guess who was pitching for the Angels in game 1. Come on, there's a prize. Well, not really. And besides, it's a no brainer. It was the forever hated Gary 'Public Enemy Number Thirteen' Glover. Mind you, we almost had him. We were tied 4-4 until Scott 'Please Give Me A Contract' Atchison came on. 3 runs later Scott ensured that he'd ne released at the end of the year. You have no one to blame but yourself Scott.
Game 2: Not a bad game, until the later innings, by Doctor Livingston. And then very nice combo of J.J. Putz and Sasaki to put it away.
Game 3: Mr. Fan Favorite, Bret Boone grounds out to start the bottom of the 10th, but hey, that's why we have Brad 'Clutch' Fullmer. Solo shot to right field! No chance for Guererro. Game over. And great job from the relievers (including Atchison, but he's done all the same) to hold it together after Nageotte gave up 4.
Game 4: Was that the second straight decent outing from The Hawk? Huh, how about that.
All of this leaves us tied with Texas for top spot in the West. With three games each left it comes down to who can win more. They host Anaheim (do I have to cheer for Glover?). And we head to Oakland.

But....: It's all for position anyways. The playoffs are all set up.

Playoff Watch
AL East: Yankees
AL Central: Minnesota
AL West: Up for grabs, me or Texas.
AL Wildcard: Ditto.

NL East: Mets
NL Central: St. Louis
NL West: Los Angeles
NL Wildcard: Philadelphia

October 2nd - At Oakland (82-77)
The Fight For First!
Game 1
*Seattle 5-4 Oakland (12 Innings)
->We win with a Beltre home run. Another great job from the bullpen to hold us in after alot of scoring on both sides in the first 5. Even Atchison might be off my bad list.
*Texas 5-2 Anaheim
-> No recaps from this game, I forgot to turn it on.

Game 2
*Seattle 6-3 Oakland (12 Innings)
->At first I thought this had been a safe win. Not so much. But we did take Jimmy Journell to school in the 12th.
Fullmer walks.
Reed sac bunt.
Costa Ks.
Morse intentionally walked.
Ichiro singles for 1 run.
The Hammock singles for another.
Beltre singles for one more.
Done deal.
And the Rafael Soriano to polishes off the win.
*Texas 6-0 Anaheim
-> No help to be had from Gary 'You Dork' Glover. He lasted 6 innings. Victor Santos had a 4-hitter for Texas.

Game 3
*Oakland 2-0 Seattle
-> That did it, we ran into a very hot John Thomson who, while allowing 7 hits, still finished the game without a hitch. Doctor Livingston had the same; 7 hits allowed, unfortunately for him he got into trouble in the 6th and allowed 2.
*Texas 5-3 Anaheim.
-> Did I honestly expect anything else from the Angels? No. Thanks for folding guys.

END Of The Regular Season
September/October Record: 15-13/1-1
Overall Record: 91-71
That's a really good record to get stuck in the wildcard. But we had a couple off months. September really wasn't looking at all good until the last couple weeks when we turned it on to secure the playoff spot. And after all, that's what matters.

Final Standings


Final Stat Leaders
American League
HR: Mark Teixeira (NYY,1B), 52
Avg: Joe Mauer (MIN,C), .348
RBI: Mark Teixeira, 155
SB: Scott Podsednik (TOR,CF), 49
ERA: Roy Halladay (TOR), 2.13
K: Jake Peavy (ANA), 177
W: TIE: Brad Radke (MIN) and 'Fabulous' Felix Hernandez (SEA), 18
SV: Mariano Rivera (NYY), 45

National League
HR: Jim Thome (PHI,1B), 55
Avg: Albert Pujols (STL,1B), .362
RBI: TIE: Todd 'What Happened!?' Helton (COL,1B) and Albert Pujols, 153
SB: Nick Punto (SDP,2B), 47
ERA: Curt Schilling (WAS), 2.27
K: Jason Schmidt (CHC), 234
W: Carlos Zambrano (LAD), 18
SV: Billy Wagner (PHI), 43

How Seattle Stated Up
HR: Richie Sexson, 41
Avg: Adrian Beltre, .295
RBI: Adrian Beltre, 126 (career high)
SB: Ichiro, 33
ERA: Felix Hernandez, 3.46
K: Mark Prior (Believe it, even after all that time on the DL), 130
W: Fabulous Felix, 18
SV: Kazuhiro Sasaki, 31

[Lobsteve]

2006 Playoffs!

The St. Louis Cardinals (104-58) Vs. The Philadelphia Phillies (92-70)
STL Stats Avg: .269, ERA: 3.62, RS: 812, RA: 626
PHI Stats Avg: .257, ERA: 4.04, RS: 791, RA: 733
Prediction: St. Louis in 4.
Results
Game 1: St. Louis 4-9 Philadelphia
Game 2: St. Louis 6-4 Philadelphia
Game 3: Philadelphia 4-1 St. Louis
Game 4: Philadelphia 6-5 St. Louis
The Phillies win, 3-1.

The New York Mets (99-63) Vs. The Los Angeles Dodgers (91-71)
NYM Stats Avg: .254, ERA: 3.53, RS: 729, RA: 637
LAD Stats Avg: .247, ERA: 3.12, RS: 689, RA: 542
Prediction: The Dodgers win in 5.
Results
Game 1: New York 4-2 Los Angeles
Game 2: New York 0-2 Los Angeles
Game 3: Los Angeles 6-5 New York
Game 4: Los Angeles 6-5 New York
The Dodgers Win, 3-1

The Texas Rangers (92-70) Vs. The Minnesota Twins (90-72)
TEX Stats Avg: .275, ERA: 4.32, RS: 813, RA: 756
MIN Stats Avg: .285, ERA: 4.72, RS: 888, RA: 829
Prediction: Pitching tells. Texas in 5.
Results
Game 1: Texas 5-8 Minnesota
Game 2: Texas 3-6 Minnesota
Game 3: Minnesota 7-1 Texas
No, I was wrong, hitting tells, much to my delight.
The Twins SWEEP!

The New York Yankees (94-68) Vs. The Seattle Mariners (91-71)
NYY Stats Avg: .272, ERA: 4.44, RS: 852, RA: 766
SEA Stats Avg: .273, ERA: 4.14, RS: 782, RA: 709
Season Series: Yankees won 8-2.
Preview and Thoughts: Well, just by stats we should just squeak this one out. We will need Nageotte and Fabulous Felix to continue their hot finish to the season as well as some really good work from either Matt Thornton or Bobby 'Doctor' Livingston. The Hawk will not pitch. The rotation is really my only worry. If we can get to the Putz-Sasaki combo we're good. And the lineup is relly quite solid. Check out the HR totals from the middle 5: V. Marinez-24, Beltre-38, Sexson-41, Boone-34, Fullmer 23. That's power throughout the lineup if there ever was any.
Not that the Yankees are anything to sneeze at. I particularly worry about Mark Teixeira who had an MVP-caliber season.
History is also against us as Seattle has always had a bad record against the Yankees when it comes to October.

Results
Game 1: New York 8-3 Seattle
*Quickly off to a rough start. Nageotte got roughed up right off the bad for 5 runs and we only managed 6 hits all game. That's tough.

Game 2: New York 4-2 Seattle
*Fabulous Felix held his own through 8 innings and we went to the bottom of the 9th tied 2-2 and sent J.J. Putz on in relief. And one more Teixeira 2-run homer later....over.

Game 3: Seattle 7-2 New York
*Matt Thornton pitched a gem and Sexson provided the 3-run homer to win the game, making me a much happier camper. Much happier.

Game 4: Seattle 7-6 New York
*Doctor Livingston was hardly brilliant as he allows 5 runs. Things are looking rough as we send Putz out in the top of the ninth and he allows another one to score. Dan 'Tomato' Tamayo finishes off the ninth and we head to the bottom down 6-1. Cue the comeback as So-Do Mo-Jo re-enters the building.
*Bret Boone draws a leadoff walk and then, at his age, steals second.
*Mark Teixeira boots the ball and Fullmer reaches on the error as Boone advances to third.
*Jeremy Reed flies out. Booney tags up and scores. 6-2.
*Shane Costa draws a walk.
*Michael 'The Code' Morse draws a walk to load the bases.
*Ichiro singles up the middle for 2 ribbies, 'The Code' advances to second. 6-4.
*Beltre doubles to the corner in left field for another 2 runs. Tied at 6.
*The Yankees finally make a pitching change and Colter Bean takes the hill.
*Jamal Strong pinch runs for Beltre.
*Beltre would have made it anywas as Sexson doubles to the right field gap and Strong scores. Game Over! We'll play one more.

Decision Time: Have to choose between Nageotte and Fabulous Felix. Felix would be nice to have on the mound to start the next series and has been a bit shaky in September, but had a great start in game 2. Nageotte has had a hot hand all September but got roughed up in game one when our batting couldn't catch up.
With the season on the line you have to go with your number 1. Fabulous Felix gets the go ahead.

Game 5: New York 8-1 Seattle
*Maybe I should have gone with Nageotte. But I have a feeling it wouldn't have mattered. Back on their home turf the Yankees bats game alive again and took 6 runs of Felix while we just couldn't buy a run off of Chien-Ming Wang, then Yankees' Ace.
And so ends a season.
Yankees win, 3-2.

The League Championships

The New York Yankees Vs. The Minnesota Twins
Prediction: Let's go Twi-ins, Let's go! *thump* *thump*. I think I'm biased. Twins in 5.
Results
Game 1: New York 8-5 Minnesota
Game 2: New York 7-2 Minnesota
Game 3: Minnesota 7-6 New York
Game 4: Minnesota 2-3 New York
Game 5: Minnesota 4-10 New York
The Yankees win 4-1.

The Philadelphia Phillies Vs. The Los Angeles Dodgers
Prediction: The Dodgers just got by the Mets while Philly hammered the best team in baseball. Phillies in 6.
Results
Game 1: Los Angeles 5-9 Philadelphia
Game 2: Los Angeles 6-1 Philadelphia
Game 3: Philadelphia 8-4 Los Angeles
Game 4: Philadelphia 3-2 Los Angeles
Game 5: Philadelphia 2-6 Los Angeles
Game 6: Los Angeles 5-7 Philadelphia
As predicted, The Phillies win 4-2.

The WORLD SERIES of Baseball

The New York Yankees Vs. The Philadelphia Phillies
Prediction: Cinderella and Giant Killer, Philly takes the Yanks as well, in 7 though.
Results
Game 1: Philadelphia 3-2 New York
Game 2: Philadelphia 5-3 New York
Game 3: New York 2-4 Philadelphia
Game 4: New York 2-3 Philadelphia
WOW! They didn't waste any time.
The Phillies SWEEP!

Your 2006 World Series Champions! The Philadelphia Phillies!

[argh1]

great season, really enjoyed your writeups..

[Lobsteve]

I hate how we lost game 5 though. Not even close which was rather disapointing.

[Lobsteve]

Individual Awards

American League
Cy Young: Roy Halladay (TOR)
Player of the Year: Mark Teixeira (NYY)
Rookie Of The Year: Dan Johnson (OAK)

Gold Glove (P): Daniel Cabrera (BAL)
Gold Glove (C): Joe Mauer (MIN)
Gold Glove (1B): Daryle Ward (TEX)
Gold Glove (2B): Placido Polanco (BAL)
Gold Glove (3B): Andy Phillips (NYY)
Gold Glove (SS): Michael 'The Code' Morse (SEA)
Gold Glove (LF): Charles Thomas (OAK)
Gold Glove (CF): Vernon Wells (CHW)
Gold Glove (RF): Ichiro Suzuki (SEA)

National League
Cy Young: Carlos Zambrano (LAD)
Player of the Year: Albert Pujols (STL)
Rookie Of The Year: Christopher Lund (SDP)

Gold Glove (P): Anthony Lerew (ATL)
Gold Glove (C): Chris Snyder (ARI)
Gold Glove (1B): Brad Wilkerson (SFG)
Gold Glove (2B): Marcus Giles (ATL)
Gold Glove (3B): Yurendell De Caster (PIT)
Gold Glove (SS): Orlando Cabrera (LAD)
Gold Glove (LF): Geoff Jenkins (MIL)
Gold Glove (CF): Carlos Beltran (NYM)
Gold Glove (RF): Juan Rivera (SDP)

Yes indeed! Two golden gloves for the boys. Ichiro is, of course, no surprise, but 'The Code' is a pleasant name to find in the middle of all that.
Michael Morse: 1051 Innings at SS, 430 Assists, 241 Put outs, 85 double plays and just 10 errors. .985 Fielding% and a 5.82 Range-whatever it is.

Ichiro was equally crazy. 1439 innings, 13 assists, 275 put-outs, 2 double plays and a single error. .997 fielding%. 1.80RF.

Contract Negotiations
Just two arbitration cases for me to deal with.

Willie Bloomquist, a valuable bench warmer really, is asking for $550,000. I win arbitration for $450,000.

Scott Atchison, who I have forgiven during the playoff run, wants $600,000. How about $500,000? And yes, I do win again. Duh-duh-duuuuh!

Top 5 Free-Agent Position Players
1. Austin Kearns (RF) 91oa/96p. Asking 10.4M for 5yrs
2. Barry Bonds (LF) 92oa. Asking 9.7M for 2 yrs
3. Lance Berkman (RF) 92oa. Asking 9.5M for 6yrs
4. Eric Hinske (3B) 90oa. Asking 4.3M for 4yrs
5. Gary Sheffield (RF) 90oa. Asking 2.7M for 3yrs.

Also out there: Jason Bay, Justin Morneau, Jim Edmonds, Nomar Garciaparra and Ken Griffey Jr.

Rumors: Apparently the Yankees want a new outfield, they're after Keanrs, Berkman and Sheffield already.

Top 5 Free-Agent Pitchers
1. Brad Radke (SP) 90oa. Asking 4.5M for 4yrs
2. Curt Schilling (SP) 89oa. Asking 8.8M for 2yrs
3. Chris Carpenter (SP) 89oa. Asking 7.6M for 5yrs
4. Roger Clemens (SP) 85oa. Asking 2.1M for 2yrs
5. Chris Capuano (SP) 79oa/80p. Asking 5.3M for 4yrs

Also: Kevin Appier, Hideo Nomo, Mike Mussina, Troy Percival and Tom Glavine.

Rumors: The Red Sox want Radke. The only person not talking to a team in Clemes it seems. Maybe he'll finally retire.

Draft Preview
The Top Ten rated players from the year's draft. (In brackets, the team picking at that spot.)

1. Chuck Fagnanad (3B) 71oa,99p (KCR)
2. Steve Finacchiaro (1B) 55oa,99p (DET)
3. Steve Olsen (SP) 74oa,98p (CIN)
4. Bradley Melenores (C) 64oa,98p (TBD)
5. Mike Grove (CF) 74oa,96p (FLA)
6. Elvis 'The King' Lee (C) 64oa,96p (COL)
7. 'Little' Timmy Ludwigson (SP) 89oa,96p (PIT)
8. Luke Bryant (CF) 68oa,96p (SFG)
9. David Vanemon (1B) 49oa,96p (CHW)
10. Donald Bruno (3B) 68oa,93p (MIL)

I am currently slated to pick 25th I believe. That would leave me, if everything goes by the list of course, with Alfredo Pina (CF) 62oa,92p. While he isn't all that bad a player, I really don't need another OF. And he really isn't that stellar stat-wise anyhow. Nothing over a .245 average and never more than 18 RBI or 4 HR. Not fantastic. All the same, he probably won't be around come pick 24 anyways.

Free-Agent Signings

Well, I've made good use of the free-agent list so far, so what's another try.

I went right after Chris Carpenter. Looking at his stats I have this sinking suspicion that that he may be good just because he was playing in St. Louis as his numbers in Toronto aren't that spectacular, but then again we're better than Toronto as well. Sure, he might only win 12-13 here rather than the 17 he got with the Cardinals, but that would still be a big help. In any case, he's coming off back-to-back stellar years. In 2005 he set a personal best with a 2.85 ERA, and in 2006 a best with 17 wins.
So, once all the shouting was done, he is signed at 5.5M through 2012 with a No-Trade Clause and a Player Option for 6.55M in 2013. Even though he's NTC he's already allowing trades to the Chubs, White Sox, Athletics and Pirates where, coincidentally, all his friends are.
He's thrilled to be in Seattle where, apparently, we're commited to winning.
2006 Stats: 17-7, 3.26 ERA, 212.1IP, .235 OBA
Endurance: 83
Control: 93
Power: 78
Movement: 89
Defense: 84
Health: 71....whooops.

The Draft

Top-10

1. (KCR) Timmy Ludwigson (SP) 89oa,97p
2006 HS Stats: 5-1, 1.80 ERA, 70 IP, 61 K, .171 OBA
B: Inglewood,CA H: 5'10" W: 145lbs P: Charismatic but Practical

2. (DET) Leon Feigenbaum (SP) 83oa,93p
2006 HS Stats: One of those -1 game winners. 2.17ERA, .146 OBA
B: Van Nuys,CA H: 6'4" W: 173lbs P: Peaceful but media-friendly

3. (CIN) James Waterston (SP) 84oa,92p
2006 Coll Stats: 5-2, 2.80 ERA, 93.1 IP, 59 K, .193 OBA
B: Chicago, IL H: 6'0" W: 157 lbs P: Quiet

4. (TBD) Gary Fraham (RP) 80oa,92p
2006 Coll Stats: 7-3, 1.93 ERA, 42 IP, 41 K, .182 OBA, 28 Svs, 0 BS.
B: Pax, WV H: 6'2" W: 191lbs P: Serious

5. (FLA) Chuck Fagnand (3B) 67oa,99p
2006 Coll Stats: 183 AB, 9 2B, 6 HR, 38 RBI, .372 AVG
B: Scottsdale, AZ H: 6'3" W: 184 lbs P: Boring

6. (COL) Brian Siebott (SP) 84oa,91p
2006 Coll Stats: 8-4, 2.83 ERA, 117.2 IP, 100 K, .211 OBA, 1 CG
B: Tinley Park, IL H: 5'10" W:183 lbs P: Serious and even-tempered

7. (PIT) Steve Olsen (SP) 84oa,98p
2006 HS Stats: 5-0, 2.30 ERA, 66.2 IP, 30 K, .209 OBA, 1 CG
B: Edmonton, Canada H: 6'7" W: 209 lbs P: High-strung and media-friendly
NOTE: He will be a Seattlelite sooner or later. *Ominous music*

8. (SFG) Raymond Brasher (SP) 75oa,92p
2006 Coll Stats: 11-6, 3.14 ERA, 94.2 IP, 64 K, .207 OBA
B: Birmingham, AL H: 6'0" W: 153 lbs P: Practical

9. (CHW) Doug Michels (RP) 71oa,92p
2006 Coll Stats: 4-1, 2.36 ERA, 45.2 IP, 30 K, .225 OBA, 1 Sv
B: Alexandria, VA H: 6'6" W: 207 lbs P: Quiet

10. (MIL) Bradley Melenores (C) 64oa,97p
2006 HS Stats: 126 AB, 9 2B, 7 HR, 22 RBI, .310 Avg
B: St. Louis, MO H: 6'3" W: 191 lbs P: Gluttonous

Seattle's Picks

25. Steve Finacchiaro (1B) 55oa,99p
2006 HS Stats: 104 AB, 9 2B, 14 HR, 30 RBI, .346 Avg
B: Detroit, MI H: 5'8" W: 153 lbs, P: Quiet but serious
Seems weird that a 99p is still sitting around come pick 25, and even more so since I ranked him #2 in the preview. But it no one else wants him, I'll take him, no problem. Probably the 55oa is scaring everyone off. And I can sort of understand that. But I'm in no rush and can wait for him to get better.
Contact: 50
Power: 84
Speed: 50
Eye: 67
Fielding: 67
Default Assingement: Everett AquaSox (R)
Future Role: If he ever develops he could be my franchise player at 1st.

55. Kevin Galica (RP) 61oa,84p
2006 HS Stats: 6-6, 4.18 ERA, 32.1 IP, 24 K, .176 OBA, 9 Svs, 0 Blown
B: Aktus, OK H: 6'4" W: 211 lbs P: Reticent but charismatic
I'm sure he won't be the salvation of my bullpen, but he could be a solid middle- or short-reliever. Another guy who needs alot of time to develop I should think.
Endurance: 21
Control: 67
Power: 89
Movement: 75
Defense: 67
Default Assignment: Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (A)
Future Role: Bullpen staltwart, but probably won't be a closer.

Asside: Timber Rattlers? What ever happened to Timber Wolves? Or just Rattlers? Timber Rattlers indeed!

85. Jose Rafael (SP) 45oa,78p
2006 Coll Stats: 7-5, 4.83 ERA, 72.2 IP, 48 K, .281 OBA, 3 CG
B: Dominican Republic H: 6'0" W: 184 lbs P: Generous and earnest
Why did I draft another mediocre starter? Could someone explain that to me, I'm not sure I've quite figured it out for myself.
Endurance: 77
Control: 93
Power: 70
Movement: 78
Defense: 65
Default Assignment: Everett (R)
Future Role: AAA call-up/Trade Fodder.

115. Alex 'AA' Aselstine (2B) 51oa,77p
2006 Coll Stats: 158 AB, 8 2B, 3 3B, 4 HR, 35 RBI, .430 Avg
B: Roxbury, MA H: 5'7" W: 139 lbs P: Boastful and earnest
He's boastful, but at least he's earnest about it. I love these nearly contradictory personalities! Seriously.
Even more seriously, what on earth do I need with another infielder? Huh?
Contact: 61
Power: 64
Speed: 84
Eye: 67
Fielding: 66
Assignment: Everett (R)
Future Role: Bench, if he sticks around.

145. Giovanni Jara (SP) 50oa,71p
2006 Coll Stats: 7-5, 4.91 ERA, 69.2 IP, 31 K, .223 OBA
B: Sonora, Mexico H: 6'2" W: 185 lbs P: Quiet
It really seems like you need to grab a pitcher in the first round, or at least the early second if you want anyone with a sub-4 ERA. Not that these types can't become valuable members of society, it's just that it takes soooo much longer. Hmmm, I'm sounding a bit impatient there.
Endurance: 65
Control: 89
Power: 65
Movement: 80
Defense: 78
Assignment: Everett (R)
Future Role: Might wind up in the bullpen. His Control and Movement inspire a bit of hope.

175. Kelvin Reed (SP) 45oa,67p
2006 Coll Stats: 1-4, 5.70 ERA, 83.2 IP, 57 K, .232 OBA
B: Mojave, CA H: 6'0" W: 166 Lbs P: Gluttonous but practical
How can a guy be a glutton and only weigh 166? That's one heck of a metabolism I would think.
Endurance: 78
Control: 77
Power: 78
Movement: 58
Defense: 67
Assignment: Everett (R)
Future Role: Apparently a taste-tester for some sort of fast-food joint.

[Lobsteve]

Trades and Attempted Madness

I mentioned I wanted Steve Olsen, didn't I. Well, here he is.

To Pittsburgh: Kelvin Reed (SP), Giovanni Jara (SP), Chris Buglovsky (SP), Dan Tamayo (SP), Rett Johnson (SP) and Alex Aselstine (2B)
To Seattle: Steve Olsen (SP)
I'd say Steve is worth all that. Good Canadian kid that he is. To get rid of the bad attitudes of Buglovsky and Tamayo is especially satisfying. Whine at me will you! Ha! As for the rest, what do I need with low-round draft picks anyways? And another infielder? Superfluous! He'd never even see the bench for the next 8 years at least.
As for Olsen, he had a perfect record in high-school in 2006 and in 2004. '06 was his best year as far as ERA goes, shedding a full 2.00 off 2005, but he's got the skills. Mad skills.
84oa,98p
Endurance: 77
Control: 88
Power: 66
Movement: 85
Defense: 84
Role: The only debate here is whether or not I should stick him in the rotation right off the bat. But I don't think I will as it's pretty full up. Prior, Hernandez and Carpenter are mortal locks for the top 3. Then it's a platoon between Thornton, Nageotte, Livingston and Hawksworth. Never mind Oldham, Woods and Munoz sitting in AAA. Thornton and Nageotte especially deserve some reward for their excellent performance last year. So I guess that settles it. Olsen waits until I see him put up some incredible AAA stats.

The Fight for Position

There's a changing of the guard at second base. Bret Boone isn't really useful anymore. Not on the defensive end. In the offseason his stats plumeted to the following:
Contact: 66
Power: 77
Speed: 66
Eye: 70
Arm: 71
Range: 47
Fielding: 67
The range stat is particularly alarming. I certainly can't play him full-time anymore. It's time for him to ride the pine.
But who can fill his shoes?
I've got 1 2B down on the farm, but he's stuck at 67oa and could really use some more time.
The other option is to move Michael Morse from Short to Second and bring up Adam Jones from AAA to play short. Jones sits at 71oa but has alot of upside to reach his 98 peak. He also had a very good AAA last year hitting .253 (119 hits in 119 games) with 66 Ribbies. But he did have a rough time when he was called up to fill in for Morse, hitting just .179 in 15 games in the bigs. Though he was stellar in an '05 callup.

All in all, it's decided by my wanting to see Morse win a Gold-Glove at two positions. So off he goes to 2nd.

You knew I was going to do that anyways, didn't you.

Opening Day Roster
All stats from spring training.
*-Rookie, $-Contract expiring, +-Arbitration looming, !-Fan Favorite

Lineup
1. Ichiro Suzuki (RF) .333 avg, 15 RBI
2. Victor Martinez (C) .343 avg, 12 RBI, 1 HR
3. Adrian Beltre (3B) .288 avg, 18 RBI, 3 HR
4. Richie Sexson (1B) 3 AB, 2 BB, 0 Hits
5. Brad Fullmer (DH) .262 avg, 16 RBI, 8 HR, but his stats are beginning to plummet.
6. Jeremy Reed (CF) .292 avg, 11 RBI, 7 HR, 4 SB (also 4 CS), 15 R
7. Michael 'The Code' Morse (2B) .289 avg, 15 RBI, 5 HR, 13 R, 11 2B...11?!?!
8. Shane Costa (LF) .311 avg, 13 RBI, 1 HR, 12 R
9. Adam Jones (SS) .244 avg, 9 RBI, 2 HR

The Bench
Jose Lopez (3B) .250 avg, 1 RBI, 4 AB
Jamal Strong (CF) .273 avg, 2 RBI, 11 AB
Justin Lenoe (3B) 1 AB, 0 everything else.
!Bret Boone (2B) 5 AB, .200 avg
Robby 'The Hammock' Hammock (C) 8 AB, .500 avg, 2 R, 1 RBI

Starting Rotation
1. Mark Prior 2GS, 1-0, 3.86 ERA, 14 IP, 17K, .192 OBA
2. 'Fabulous' Felix Hernandez 3GS, 1-0, 4.71 ERA, 21 IP, 20K, .213 OBA
3. Chris Carpenter 3 GS, 1-1, 4.87 ERA, 20.1 IP, 16 K, .256 OBA
4. Matt Thornton 1 GS, 0-1, 10.38 ERA, 4.1 IP, 6 K, .435 OBA OUCH!, but 6 strikeouts all the same.
5. Clint Nageotte 2 GS, 1-0, 3.77 ERA, 14.1 IP, 12 K, .189 OBA

The Bullpen
CL: $Kazuhiro Sasaki 4.05 Avg, 13.1 IP, 16 K, .200 OBA, 2 Svs, 2 Blown
ST: J.J. Putz 3.57 ERA, 17.2 IP, 10 K, .243 OBA
SH: $+Scott Atchison 3.68 ERA, 7.1 IP, 4 K, .214 OBA
MD: $Rafael Soriano 4.50 ERA, 12 IP, 10 K, .182 OBA
LG: Blake 'The Hawk' Hawksworth - Didn't play this spring.
AT: Bobby 'Doctor' Livingston 4 GS, 2-0, 4.15 ERA, 30.1 IP, 12 K, .242 OBA

The AAA
Willie Bloomquist (3B) 71oa
Rene Rivera (C) 77oa
Yung Chen (2B) 66oa, 80p
Gregor Blanco (RF) 74oa, 92p. Ready to step in should Ichiro falter.
'Saint' Wladimir Balentien (CF) 70oa, 75p
Thomas Oldham (SP) 77oa
Jake Woods (SP) 80oa, 84p
Arnie Munoz (SP) 76oa, 86p
Steve Olsen (SP), 74oa, 95p
Max Pilaria (RF) 77oa
Scott Wollen (SP), 70oa, 87

Double-A
Asdrubal Cabrera (3B) 64oa, 76p

Single-A
Kevin Galica (RP) 61oa, 81p
Colin Leak (SP) 59oa, 74p

Rookie League
Glenn 'G-Spot' Gilfix (3B) 56oa, 77p
Steve 'Finnigan' Finacchiaro (1B) 56oa, 99p
Ian Samuel (SP) 50oa, 75p
Jose Rafael (SP) 48oa, 80p

The Expense Sheet
A couple changes to what I'm spending where. I've pumped up my Farm spending to 15-million, first in the league. Scouting goes up 1M to 8M (12th), and Medical spending up 2M to 7M (10th). That about blows my profit from last year.

We also raised ticket prices by $.50 to $20.50. League average is 22.78. Cheapest ticket in the majors is Toronto for 17.50. Most expensive is Oakland at an even 29.

[Lobsteve]

Two-Thousand, And Seven
April 8th - At New York Yankees (0-0)
W17-2, W3-1, L10-3
Game 1: That's for knocking us out of the playoffs you ***#$!%!%^^#$#@^(*&!@!s.
Everyone had at least two hits. 5 RBI for Fullmer. Oh, and Prior likes to pitch. 6 Ks in 6.2 innings. Sweet.

Fabulous Felix picked up where he left off last year with a complete-game to open the 2007 campaign.

Chris Carpenter was doing pretty good in his first start, holding us in a close 3-3 ballgame until the bullpen ruined it for us. CURSE YOU SCOTT ATCHISON! I should have let him go.

Early Milestone: Jeff Kent = 2000 hits.
And 4 days later, Johnny Damon = 2000 hits as well.

Former Mariner Alert: Captain bad mo-jo (ie: never leave Seattle), Ken Griffey Jr. is on the receiving end of the nastiest sounding injury yet: A Ruptured Cervical Disc.
My back hurts as a matter of course, but not like that!

April 10th - At Baltimore (1-2) 3rd
W9-2, L5-0, W3-0
Matt Thornton gets some love from Adrian Beltre as the Big-B cashes in 5 runs in the last two innings to cap off an 8-run rally to get Matt the win. 'The Code' Morse had a three-run shot to win game 3 in the middle of a Prior complete-game shutout (9 Ks). Which just leaves Nageotte out in the cold. Poor Clint, he got the hook after 4 and a bit innings. No luck to start the year.

April 13th - Vs Boston (4-2) 1st
W1-0, L4-1, W8-5
Very nice win from Fabulous Felix...naturally. And just 3 hits allowed.
Not no one has any love for Chris Carpenter yet. Mind you, things were going well until the top of the 9th. Yes, the top of the ninth. Where Boston scored their 4 runs. FOUR! I may have to twiddle with the innings pitched strategy if this is how it's going to be. 1-0 into the top of the ninth, I expect Sasaki to be blowing people away, not 4 runs.

April 17th - Vs Texas (3-6) 4th
W4-3, W5-4, L4-2
Note that, on this day, the 16th of April, Adrian Beltre's batting average finally dips below .400 for the first time this year. That's just disgusting.
Also, Fabulous Felix got tagged for his first loss of the season. But it was a fake! FAAAAAKE! If a guy only gives up two runs, and we lose 4-2, how does he pick up the loss? I don't get it.
Well, I'll allow, but I won't like it.
Ok, ok, fine. Fine.
He can have a loss. Just so long as this is the only one. Deal?
Important Milestone: The Amazing Kaz picks up save #200 in game 1. He managed it allowing a double, but getting 3 ground-outs. Which was strange, he usually racks up a K a game.

Milestones: Andruw Jones accumulates RBI #1000, which seems a long time coming. And Manny Ramirez grabs hit #2000.

April 15th - Trade
To Arizona: Rocky Biddle (RP) and Antonio Osuna (RP)
To Washington: Shawn Estes (SP), Koyie Hill (C) and Mike Crudale (RP)
I'm not sure how clairvoyant Washington is feeling, but this certainly looks like a fabulous trade on paper.
Biddle hasn't played in the majors since '04 and probably won't ever again. Osuna had two great years in Washington, but it looks like those are behind him now. So the Nationals deal two aging, mediocre, at best, relievers in return for...
Estes who is a mediocre starter, if they're lucky I mean.
Ok, so that wasn't so great, but Koyie Hill is an excellent backup catcher who can really work a game. And Crudale is a very capable reliever which should fill the hole left by Osuna.
Good move Washington.

April 19th - At Anaheim (6-7) 3rd
Chris Carpenter gets his first win and Beltre moves back to the .400 plateau....and then immedeately goes back under as Jarrod Washburn throws a 3-hitter. 2 for Ichiro, naturally, and a solo shot by Victor Martinez.

April 21st - At Oakland (8-6) 2nd
W9-6, W7-0
Clint Nageotte is quickly becoming Mr. Risky. Both his wins this year have been very close, and then there was that 5-0 loss early. Still, wins are wins.
And an absolutely MONSTER game from two people to end this short series. First is obviously Prior who throws the complete-game, 3-hit, 10-K, shutout for win #4 (which leads the majors, incidentally). This effort was aided, and abbeted, by Mr. V. Martinez who, in addition to calling a fantastic game, goes ahead and provides 5-7ths of the run support with just 2 doubles and a sac-fly.

April 24th - At Texas (7-9) 4th
L2-0 (10 Innings), W5-1, W6-4
Fabulous Felix makes up for the undeserved loss by missing out on one that was really all his fault. Mind you, who leaves a starter on in the 10th inning? Honestly.

April 27th - Vs Detroit (8-11) 4th
W3-2, W11-1, W3-2
Ok, this really was a no-brainer, but it was still alot of fun, even if it was only Detroit (sorry). We even had a 9-run inning in that second game, capped off by Michael 'The Code' Morse's GRAND SLAM.
Oh, and Prior stuck out 13. THIRTEEN! And allowed just 3 hits as well. Very nice.
And how about Nageotte? 3-1 on the season now after game 1. Though another close one. What's with this guy?

May 1st - Vs Oakland (10-11) 2nd
L5-2, W3-2 (11 Innings), W4-3
More bad luck for Chris Carpenter as he picked up his first official loss of the season. He managed to pitch the one game the Oakland batters were really hot.
No series would be complete without another close win from Nageotte. He had alot of help from Robby Hammock though. The Hammock started his first game of the year and went 4-4 with a homer and 2 RBI. And fair enough, he is a great player, and if he were just a bit more consistent as a hitter, he'd be the full-time catcher instead of Martinez. But when you can put a slugger like Victor in your lineup you do it, and you don't ask any silly questions about defense, because they're close enough.

First Month of 2007...April, duh.
The Record: 18-7
Team ERA: 2.96 (1st in the AL, St. Louis and LA are a bit better (2.91 and 2.72))
Team Average: .282 (5th in the AL)

Player Of The Month: It's a toss up between Jeremy Reed and Michael 'The Code' Morse as to who is the leader of the bottom half of the lineup. Reed is hitting .301 with 12 RBI and 5 steals. But Morse is at .299 with 3 homers and 19 RBI.
It's a tie, I love these guys.

Pitcher Of The Month: If you thought I was going to say Mark Prior...well you're right, it's Mark Prior. He was 5-0 in April with a 1.37 ERA and 40 Ks in 39.1 innings while only walking 10. Whoooops, I almost mentioned 'it'. And sure, his comeback from 'it' is really fantastic. But still, let's not have the baseball gods beating me with a stick.
That's just unpleasant.

Team Leaders
Avg: Adrian Beltre, .343
HR: Richie Sexson, 7
RBI: (tie) Adrian Beltre and Michael Morse, 19
SB: Ichiro, 6
ERA: 'Fabulous' Felix Hernandex, 1.05
W: Mark Prior, 5
K: Mark Prior, 40
Sv: Kazuhiro Sasaki, 9

Among the Best?
Well, already Prior leads everyone with his 5 wins. And Fabulous Felix is on top with that 1.05 ERA. But who's counting so early in the year anyways.

Early Leaders
AL East: Toronto (17-8)
AL Central: Cleveland (17-8)

NL East: Atlanta (16-9)
NL Central: Pittsburgh (18-7) Uh, Pittsburgh? Reality Check. 1. 2.
NL West: Los Angeles (19-5)

[Lobsteve]

May 1st - Trade
To Tampa Bay: Dan Miceli (RP), Jeff D'Amico (SP), Kenny Lofton (CF) and Carl Sadler (RP)
To Cleveland: Salomon Torres (RP), Danny Baez (RP) and Damon Hollins (LF)
3 veterans in exchange for 4 veterans. Tampa managed to pick the better ones though. I'm not sure I understand this move at all. Especially since everyone except for Dan Miceli winds up in the minors.
If Tampa were anywhere near a playoff spot, this would make sense. But as it stands the Indians just ditched their vets in order to......Well, just let it go.

May 4th - Vs Anaheim (11-15) 4th
W6-2, L2-0, W9-4
Big series for Beltre. 5 RBI, 2 HR in game 1. Then another 3 RBI and a homer in the final game. Well, it's no longer a tie for the team lead in ribbies.
Fabulous Felix picked up the one loss as we got shut down, just 3 hits, against Damian Moss.

Milestones: Johnny Damon steals his 300th base. I wonder where he keeps them?
And Scott Rolen crosses the plate for the 1000th time.

May 8th - At Toronto (19-9) Tied 1st
L11-1, W6-3 (16 Innings), L9-0
Well, apparently Toronto isn't as bad as they were last year. They really roughed up Matt Thornton, and Felix didn't have much luck either. Even Prior was robbed of a win, but only because it went 16. That's obscene by the way. And disgusting that the bullpen couldn't hang on in the 13th...or whenever it was.
All-in-All, a bad trip to Toronto.

May 11th - At Tampa Bay (13-19) 4th
W3-0, L6-5, L4-2
Chris Carpenter's first easy win led us off, but then...the collapse. In general it would be easy to just blame the bullpen and leave it at that, but certainly Thornton and nageotte had rough games, and the lineup suddenly falling silent in late innings really didn't help either.
Lobsteve is getting upset!
Losing to Tampa, that's just cruel.

May 15th - Vs Toronto (22-13) 2nd
W5-2, W4-1, L7-6
THings were going well, sure, we didn't get to Halladay until the 8th in game one, so Prior didn't get his 7th win of the year, but Fabulous Felix was justly named with a complete game. And then we hit the 9th inning of the third game. Carpenter had pitched well against his original team and we were up 5-3 and called Kaz out of the bullpen. But Kaz is apparently getting older faster than one would think and blew his second save of the year, allowing 4 runs. The shame. We did claw one run back, but when you need 2 it becomes rather hard to win on one.
This has really made me think about the following problem: Who Replaces Sasaki?
Right now the only reliever in the minors is Kevin Galica, and he won't likely be ready before Sasaki retires. The next closest thing I have to a closer is Rafael Soriano, and he's a bit inconsistent for that. So is Scott Atchison. Putz might be able to do it, but he doesn't really have the power that I like in a closer.
And speaking of retirement, not only is Kaz's contract up this year, but so are those of Putz, Soriano and Atchison. The bullpen could be very empty...

Milestone: Big Miguel Tejada swatted RBI #1000. Ryan Klesko notches home run 300. No one notices.

May 18th - Vs Tampa Bay (16-22) 4th
W5-4, W5-3, L5-0
Shane Costa is the Sultan Of Swat this series as he launched a three-run shot in the bottom of the ninth to win the first game. Then Nageotte had the safest win he's managed all year. And then, despite striking out ELEVEN, Mark Prior winds up on the losing end of a pitching duel. Mainly because, out of five hits, we couldn't get a runner past second. Embarrasing.

May 22nd - At Colorado (18-21) 2nd!?
W3-1, W7-6, W3-1
All close games, but Sasaki managed the save in each without difficulties. The best part about playing in Colorado is all the people who don't hit homers elsewhere suddenly arrise in droves. Shane Costa, Jeremy Reed, and even Ichiro all launched one against the Rockies.

May 26 - At Baltimore (18-27) 5th
L7-3, L10-5, W6-3
Scott Atchison allowed 7 runs in the first two games. Not that it would have mattered in the first, but he cost Prior the win in the second game. He is hereby dubbed Captain Inconsistent. Problem solved.

May 29th - At Minnesota (22-25) 2nd
W5-4, W6-3, L3-0
That was weird, the hitting never appeared until the seventh inning, if it appeared at all, when it would suddenly get quite good. As a result neither Chris Carpenter nor Matt Thornton were able to grab a win off of their rather deent starts. At least the bullpen played well this time.
Also: Johan Santana is very good.

May 29th - Trade
To Toronto: Wily Mo Pena (RF) and Travis Chick (SP)
To San Diego: Corey Thurman (SP), Jeff Tam (RP), Wade Rigby (SP), Corey Koskie (3B), Simon Pond (LF) and Dave Maurer (RP)
Wow, first trade in a while and they make it a big one...at least in size. Mind you, the Blue Jays pick up a very decent outfielder and what should turn into a quality starter. And they really didn't give up that much. Certainly nothing in the way of developing talent, and only a couple guys rated in the 80s (Koskie and....no just Koskie, my mistake, not that Rigby and Tam are anything to sneeze at).

June 1st - Vs Baltimore (22-29) 4th
L4-2, L3-2, L5-0
Wow, what happened there? Our first sweep the wrong way this year. And with my top three pitching as well.
One of those series where you look around and say: What?

Note: Cancel May next year
May Record: 15-12...actually, not that bad.
Overall: 32-20
Which means we're still 4 game up on Anaheim in the West (and 5 on Oakland, and 5.5 on Texas). On the other hand, we have just lost 4 in a row, that's trouble.

Player Of The Month: Adrian Beltre leads the team in...yes, pretty much everything except stolen bases. That's very impressive.

Pitcher Of The Month: Fabulous Felix has been doing really...average lately, which is better than the rest of the staff. Very good Felix, please rub some luck on everyone else.

Minor Leaguer Of The Month: Willie 'Can't I play with the big boys?' Bloomquist is the top minor-leaguer with a .283 average. Why did I raise my spending again?

Around The Majors
AL East: The Yankees are back on top and lead the AL wiht a 38-15 record. Blast.
AL Central: Cleveland (33-19) is doing very well on top a division without another +.500 team.
The AL West is the only division where all the teams are +.500, if just barely.

NL East: Atlanta is 4 up on the Mets with a 33-19 record.
NL Central: The Cardinals are better than everyone except the Yankees with their 35-18 record.
NL West: LA continues their dominance of the West with a 31-22 record, another team ontop of a division without another +.500 team.

[Lobsteve]

June 5th - Vs Boston (29-24) 2nd
W6-5 (11 Innings), L5-4, W1-0, W3-2
We were all over the Red Sox relievers all series. About half our runs were scored in the final innings. Only one real standout batting effort, Adrian Beltre had 4 RBI including the 11th inning winner in the first game. Other than that it was small ball all around, with carefully crafted singles.
Mark Prior added another 10 strikeouts to his total in game 3 in a 6-hit effort, only 1 walk as well. As a sidenote to that 10 Ks, Prior now has 988 on his career.
And Fabulous Felix was in good form as well to finish it up.

June 9th - At Philadelphia (32-25) 3rd
W7-6, W4-1 (10 Innings), L3-1
Shane Costa launched a game winning Grand Slam in the 7th to get us out of game 1 safely. It was too close for comfort though. That goodness for The Kaz.
Weirdest 10th inning ever, by the way. After Matt 'Needing a Quality Nickname' Thornton had 10 strikeouts, and only allowed 1 run, we were still off to extras. So Shane Costa lines out, and Adam Jones grounds out. So I'm thinking about the 11th, as is everyone else.
But Jose Lopez pinch hits for Putz (darned NL parks) and immedeately launches one to straitaway center field. 1 up.
Then Ichiro Walks, Martinez doubles scoring another run. Adrian Beltre gets the intentional wlk. Sexson single to right to load them up and Billy Wagner goes and throws a wild pitch. 3 runs. And done.

June 6th - Trade
To Los Angeles: Gregg Johnstone (P)
To Chicago Cubs: Richy Ledee (CF) and James Loney (1B)
Gee, I thought Ledee and Loney were better than they are. Good move by LA to get a half-decent player out of this. I mena, honestly, does anyone remember when Ledee had any market value? Oh, there it is, 2004 he hit .284 in 70-odd games witht the Phillies, and then .117 in 30 with the Giants. And he's never cracked the .250 mark otherwise. Useless.
Loney, though a dynasty ago, he was crushing the ball on a regular basis, he now seems to be minor-league fodder. Well, he's had some limited success in single-A, but otherwise no good.
After all that a second round pick looks really good. Even one with a 6.35 ERA in the rookie league this year.

Jun 12th - At New York Mets (35-24) Tied 1st
W4-1, L6-4, L4-2
Hey, once again it's the MARK PRIOR SHOW! What was that Mark? 12 strikeouts? 2 hits (one a solo home run)? Just one walk? You disgusting little fellow you. And what does he do to cap it off? Drives in a run. That's just sick.
Sadly Fabulous Felix is losing his luster, mind you his only problem in game 2 was the Grand Slam...but that's a big enough problem.

Milestones: Bobby Abreu (PHI) got his 1000th run on the 10th. And Armando Benitez (SFG) notched save #300. That's alot of saves.

It turns out that 1000 strikeouts isn't a milestone, but I'll mention that Prior is sitting right at an even thou anyways.

June 16th - Vs Washington (29-34) 5th
L3-2, W5-3, L3-2
The win went to Nageotte, who's only problem is allowing too many hits. How does 10 strike you? No, not that fantastic. But he keeps winning.
Prior had a fairly good performance in the final game, but we couldn't score and J.J. Putz wound up getting tagged witht he loss after giving up the winning run in the 7th.

June 14th - Trade
To Milwaukee: Todd Van Poppel (RP), Jose Parra (RP), Steve Trachsel (SP) and Alfonso Soriano (2B)
To New York Mets: Jayson Durocher (RP) and Geoff Jenkins (LF)
I call this a great move for the Mets and a big gamble by the Brewers.
Milwaukee picks up a bunch of aging pitchers (most of whom haven't played in the majors since 2004) and Soriano who had a broken back in 2005 and hasn't been the same since.
Going the other way, Durocher is a decent long reliever and Jenkins is a very steady defensive outfielder.
Tough luck Milwaukee.

Contract Extension: I just inked J.J. Putz for another 2 years at 1.1M, plus a Player Option for another year at 1.3M. Very quick little negotiation.

June 19th - Vs Florida (35-32) 4th
W10-1, L6-5, W2-1
Jeremy Reed picked up the big swat in the first game as he launched one in the first inning. And that was about all Fabulous Felix needed, even though we piled on 6 more anywasy. Mostly from the bottom of the order.
Richie Sexson had two solo homers in the second game, not that it helped in the end....he needed 4. J.J. Putz, who surrendered the losing run, is actually doing quite well otherwise. He's 7-3 on the season, which is better than alot of starters I can think of, and yet the loss seems a heck of a way to repay me for giving him a nice extension.

June 19th - Trade
To Houston: Avery Thomas (3B), Mike Tonis (C), Vicente Padilla (SP) and Shin-Soo Choo (RF)
To Kansas City: Ronnie Martinez (SP)
I'm really seeing that you have to look for the trade-within-the-trade when trying to figure out what the other teams are doing. In this case it's really Padilla for Martinez. And if that was it, it's an entirely fair move. No advantage. But then Houston goes and says, 'Sure, tack on 3 useless veterans who aren't even good enough for the Rookie-League any more.' And there it is.

June 23rd - At Oakland (37-30) 2nd
L4-3, W15-3, L1-0 (12 Innings), W1-0
Nageotte had a bit of a rough time, but it was Putz who picked up his second post-contract loss in the bottom of the ninth. And really that's just bad luck. Just a walk-off solo-homer. Nothin unusual. Oi.

Then the the bats limbered up and only Octavio Dotel got away unscathed, and he only pitched to two batters, and still gave up a hit before ending the game with a strikeout.
Beltre: 2 homers, 4 RBI
'The Code': 1 homer, 3 hits, 4 RBI
Costa: 1 homer, 2 hits, 4 RBI
And that's just 12. Just.
Good game from Prior as well. 8 strikeouts over 6 innings, very good. And The Hawk pitched very well out of the bullpen for the last 3 innings, so well he may have to replace Nageotte.

FANTASTIC game from Fabulous Felix, and Putz, and Sasaki as they combined for 11 scoreless innings. Then my favorite whipping boy came on and lost us the game. Way to go Atchison. Came in for the bottom of the twelfth, hits a batter, walks another, and another, and another to score the winning run. That idiot.

It all averages out though, because Chris Carpenter ROCKED THE JOINT! 8.2 innings before he let Sasaki pick up the save. Chris allowed just 7 baserunners (4 hits, 3 walks) and struck out a Prior-esque 12 batters. TWELVE.
That's wild.
Plus, Ichiro, first batter, first inning, solo home run. Game over.

Milestone: Jim Thome records his 2000th hit. Not bad. Thome is probably about the happiest guy in baseball as well. Thumbs up, and a giant, red happy face. That's some complexion.

June 26th - Vs Colorado (35-36) 3rd
L5-2, W5-2, W9-0
Nageotte must have heard about the rumours of The Hawk returning to the starting rotation because he put together a very good game in our 5-2 win. Well not really spectacular, it certainly falls under the category of '7 innings of rock solid work'. And we even got him some run support.
Of course, Mark Prior doesn't need no stinkin' run support, but he got it anyways while allowing just 5 hits and striking out the same, which is, I think, a season low for him.

June 30th - Vs Oakland (42-32) 2nd
W3-2, W3-0, W5-2
We were very close to back-to-back shutouts by Chris Carpenter and Matt Thornton, but Matt kinda lost it a bit in the 9th inning of the last game and allowed the two runs, prompting the Kaz to appear. It's like a rain dance. But, runs asside, we got three great pitching performances in a row. And that's how you gain three games on the 2nd place team.

Ah, June
June Record: 16-11
Overall Record: 48-30
While we're far from the best team in the AL, we seem to have a strangle-hold on the West with 5.5 games on Oakland who we just swept. And we do have the best team ERA in the AL at 3.17 a full 0.55 better than Texas who are second at 3.72. Only two other AL teams are under 4, New York (3.85) and Oakland (3.93). So my plan to improve pitching has been quite successful it seems. And a quick check show that only the Cubs are better than us in the NL as well at 3.15. That's pretty good.

Player Of The Month: I was thinking about this one for a while. There have been plenty of stellar performances this month, 4 RBI games etc. But for consistency Shane Costa can't be beat in June. So many of those 4 RBI nights started off a bottom-of-the-order single of his. So, there you go.

Pitcher Of The Month: Mark Prior really doesn't need another award, but I'm going to stick this one on him anyways because he really does deserve it. 122 strikeouts in 114 innings, that's what you need out of your money pitcher.

Two Trades to end the Month

June 27th
To Washington: Gary Matthews (RF)
To Texas: Pedro Feliciano (RP) and Ramon Ramirez (RP)
Good move both ways. The Nationals get a decent RF (who, in two games, is hitting .457 for them!). And Texas shores up their relief staff. One problem, Texas isn't using either of these guys yet. Don't know quite how to read that. If they don't plan on using them then they gave up way too much. But even if they get a combined 9 innings of shutout ball from those two it's a good trade.

June 30th
To Detroit: Jason Hammel (SP), Jorge Cantu (2B) and Neifi Perez (SS)
To Tampa Bay: Ryan Bukvich (RP) and Gidayu Furukawa (LF)
A very fair trade. Hammel for Bukvich is fine and dandy, and then Cantu and Perez, both quality veterans for the young prospect Furukawa is a very decent deal as well. But, in the end, not really

[JustinM]

Originally posted by Lobsteve
K: Craig Wilson (PIT), 39
-> Pineiro and Meche both have 27.

Being a Pirates fan, I found that amusing...

Wilson is not a pitcher. :) He's a 1B/OF kinda guy.

Anyway, just wanted to mention that I'm halfway through reading this, and I do believe I laughed hard enough that something fell off at some point. I just hope it's not because I'm tired. :p

[Lobsteve]

It took me a while to find where I had written that. A long while. It's like some strange trivia quiz: What was Lobsteve's weirdest error.

But you're quite right, Craig Wilson is an outfielder, now with the Dodgers having been released by the Pirates at the end of '05. And darned if he didn't strikeout alot in 2005.

The closest pitcher I could find was Kris Wilson who retired in '05, but I'm pretty sure he didn't play for the Pirates.

So I imgine what happned is when I was looking at the stat heading I picked 'Strikeouts' rather than 'Strikeouts Pitched' and never noticed.

Anyhow, good catch.

[JustinM]

Originally posted by Lobsteve
Anyhow, good catch.

Thanks. Looking forward to your next update. :)

[Lobsteve]

July 3rd - Vs Detroit (39-39) 2nd
W4-3, W7-2, W3-2
Don't ever tell me giving Costa PotM honors wasn't a good idea. He was 7-10 against the Tigers with an RBI a game.
A different pitcher of mine makes the news today, picking up a win in the first game, J.J. Putz has amassed win #10 (yes, more than anyone else on the team other than Prior) and finds himself tied for 6th in the majors. Seriously. First time I've ever seen a reliever in the Wins list this deep in a season.

And in injury news, George Sherrill is finally off the DL. He gets a stint in AAA to see if he can still play before he comes back to the bullpen replacing either Soriano or Atchison. Atchison, despite my constant complaining, is actually doing better than you'd think: 5-2 with a 3.92 ERA vs Soriano who is 1-1 with a 4.30 ERA.

Milestones: Within a week of each other, both Jan Uribe (HOU) and Sean Casey (CIN) hit for the cycle. 'Pudge' Rodriguez (STL) launched his 300th homer. Andruw Jones (ATL) got his 1000th hit. And Ray Durham (SFG) tops that with hit #2000.

July 7th - At Boston (41-41) 3rd
W9-6, L4-3, L13-10
Well, so much for many of the good ERA in my bullpen. Games 1 and 3 saw to that. Putz also managed to pick up both losses to give him 6 to go with his 10 wins.
Shane Costa had a 4-multiple-hit-game streak going until the first loss, but immedeately started again with a 2 hit performance to close out the series.
To Sum Up: I hope we don't meet them in the playoffs.

July 10th - At Detroit (40-44) 2nd
W10-1, W3-0, W10-1
Eric Munson managed to get Detroit it's only run of the series with a solo home run off of Prior. But even after all that, the Tigers still managed to hold on to second place in the central. That's a bad division if there ever was one.
Fabulous Felix and Chris Carpenter picked up the shutouts.

July 12th - THE Home Run Derby/The Slugging Showdown/Festival of Swat

In spite of being second in AL Homers to only Manny Ramirez, Adrian Beltre and his 24 dingers do NOT get an invitation to the Derby. I am vastly insulted.

Round 1
Eric Chavez (OAK) - 9
Andruw Jones (ATL) - 9
Adam Dunn (CHC) - 8
Scott Rolen (STL) - 8
Also Appearing: Mark Teixeira (NYY), Eric Munson (DET), Manny Ramirez (BOS), Miguel Cabrera (ARI), Corey Patterson (CHW) and Albert Pujols (STL)

Round 2
Andruw - 3
Dunn -3
Chavez - 2
Rolen - 2

Final
Adam Dunn - 5
Andruw - 2
I admit that was a pretty close one till the end, but I'm still miffed that Beltre wasn't included in the fun.
(OVERALL, for those who don't want to add themselve - Dunn: 17, Andruw: 14)

July 13th - The All-Star Game

The Score: AL 7-6 NL
The closest all-star game I can recall...of course I only remember this one.

The winning pitcher? Mr. MARK PRIOR! A just reward for pitching a scoreless 7th. Very sweet.

Fabulous Felix and Victor Martinez were both representing Seattle at the game as well, but neither got to play.

Interesting moment: Miguel Tejada actually had a Grand-Slam shot off of T. Tsargorodsky in the 6th inning, which raises the interesting question: WHO IS T. TSARGORODSKY?!?!?! Other than the losing pitcher I mean.

For some reason Aubrey Huff was the MVP. I don't know why either. He only had 2 RBI, no homers and wasn't, in any way, involved in the winning run. Strange.

July 17th - Vs Anaheim (44-43) 4th
W2-1, W4-2, W14-5, W7-5
Wins for everyone! Well, not Nageotte, the All-Star game conspired against him and his start got skipped in favor of Prior. But wins for all the starters anyways. And the bats sat back and let the big guns do all the work. Beltre won us games 1 and 2. Sexson had 6 RBI to pretty much win us game 3. And then, just in time to end the series, everyone else woke up as well and got a few hits, which is a good thing because neither Sexson nor Beltre had an RBI in game 4.
With his 13th win in game 2, Mark Prior is all alone on top of the Wins column. He's 3rd overall in ERA as well, and the only other AL pitcher with an ERA to threaten him is Fabulous Felix.
Just noticed, as an added bonus, in game one we stuck it to Gary 'Former Mariner and Wish I was Still There' Glover. SHAZAM!

July 20th - At Texas (49-43) 3rd
W9-7 (10 Innings), W7-6, W7-4
Those were tough games. How tough? Prior only lasted 4 innings in the last game. Too bad, he would have had another win if he'd stuck around another 2 innings for our bats to wind up.
Sasaki actually blew a save in game 1, lucky for him we bounced right back and won, otherwise people would be rather disapointed. His second blown save on the year to go with 32 saves (one more than last year's total, and the MLB lead). Of course he did turn right around and back up our solid ninth inning in game two with a 1-2-3 inning to get save #31, so all is forgiven. And ditto in game 3 for save #32.

July 24th - At Anaheim (47-47) 4th
L9-7, W3-0, W6-2, L3-1
Fabulous Felix had a really rough outing in game one which was a bad time to do that as we scored almost at will against the Angels. Excellent game from Chris Carpenter for the shutout. We scored all our runs in the two wins in the first three innings which must be a confidence booster to any pitcher.
No one say the name Gary Glover again, by the way.

July 27th - Vs Minnesota (39-60) 4th
W5-1, W9-8, W3-2
After the solid win by Prior (14) we had two squeakers that have left my nails in tatters. Both finished in spectacular fashion mind you, but we shouldn't have to wait until the bottom of the 9th for a Beltre GRAND SLAM! or a Sexson 2-run homer to win the game. Seriously.
However, wins asside, crisis has struck the house that Edgar built (as judged by the number of Edgar bobble-head days). Fabulous Felix tried feilding a ball with his head and is out for 69 days with a fractured skull. I say he got off lightly.
But who can I use to replace him?
The Options
The hawk has been doing well as a long reliever, but can you really judge form in 22.2 innings?
The same thing goes for 'Doctor' Livingston who has been our 'alternate'. He has just 11.1 innings, but is perfect, having not allowed a run.
I'm very tempted to give a AAA-er a shot, but not one of them has an ERA under 4, except for George Sherrill who is a reliever.

The Move
Well, alright, George moves to long-relief by virtue of having a higher endurance than the rest of the bullpen. 'Doctor' Livingston stays where he is and The Hawk moves to 3rd in the rotation and Chris Carpenter moves up a spot to second and will likely start on short rest. But what can you do.
If the Hawk can't get it done it will fall to either Jake Woods, Arnie Munoz of Steve Olsen.

To sum up: I hate decisions.

July 31st - Vs Chicago White Sox (41-60) 3rd
L8-5, W5-4, W4-0
To start off with, inspite of a Brad Fullmer Grand-Slam in the first inning, we lost to Jermaine Dye...though I'm sure there were a couple others involved in lighting up Matt Thornton, but not too many more. Then Freddy Garcia (Traitor #5) couldn't contain our offense and we stuck it to him in the first two innings. Then, as usual, we bring on the Mark Prior show. Complete game. 4-hits. 1 walk. 13 Ks. Done.

Mid-Summer Madness!
July Record: 21-5
Overall: 69-35
An INSANE July has left us ontop of the baseball world. Of course all this was led by Prior, but now that Fabulous Felix is out until the playoffs (likely) I wonder how the rotation will hold up under the strain. We can stand a bit of tragedy as we're 11 games up on Oakland. It's all because of the pitching: at 3.31 we have the best ERA in baseball....er, in the AL, the Cubs have a 3.28 mark.

Player of the Month: I'm very tempted to give Shane Costa some more loving, but today we will focus instead on Jeremy Reed and his team-leading 17 stolen bases. It's nice to know that if Ichiro ever retires that Reed is my lead-off-man in waiting. The lineup is really in two parts, the veterans lead off the top half (Ichiro, Martinez, Beltre, Sexson, Fullmer) and then there's the 'Mini-lineup' with the young guns (Reed, 'The Code', Costa and Jones).

Pitcher of the Month: I was scouring the bullpen for a deserving recipient since I've been acknowledging the starters so often, and J.J. Putz really stands out as the man in the pen. With 12 wins he's the second-winningest pitcher on the team, and also the second-losingest with 6 loses. But that just means he's seing lots of action, and really he's comporting himself very well.

Team Leaders
Avg: Shane Costa, .306
HR: Adrian Beltre, 27 (9th in the majors)
OBP: Victor Martinez, .375
SB: Jeremy Reed, 17 (tied for 9th)
RBI: Adrian Beltre, 82 (Tied for 6th)
R: Adrian Beltre, 71

ERA (SP): Mark Prior, 2.03 (2nd to Anthony Reyes of the Cardinals, 1.91)
ERA (RP): Bobby Livingston, 0 (11.1 Innings) (Sasaki has a 2.40 in 45IP)
W: Mark Prior, 15 (leads the majors)
Saves: Kazuhiro Sasaki, 34 (leads the majors)
K (SP): Mark Prior, 158 (159.1 IP) (4th in the majors)
K (RP): J.J. Putz, 50 (58 IP)
OBA (SP): Mark Prior, .196 (tied for first)
OBA (RP): Blake Hawksworth, .183 in his 22.2 IP.

Minor League Leaders
Avg: Willie Bloomquist, .281
HR: Wladimir Balentien, 20
OBP: Gregor Blanco, .384
SB: Yung Chen, 26
RBI: Wladimir Balentien, 78
R: Gregor Blanco, 85

ERA: Scott Wollen, 3.70
W: Tie: Ian Samuel and Thomas Oldham, 9
K: Thomas Oldham, 116 (141 IP)
Saves: Kevin Galica, 17

[Lobsteve]

The Giant Trade Thing

July 10th
To Cleveland: Jason Jennings (SP) and Ryan Shealy (1B)
To Colorado: Josh Bard (C), Mike Aubrey (1B), Jason Davis (SP), Aaron Boone (3B) and Angel Santos (2B)

So, Cleveland trades away pretty much their entire infield (minus Travis Hafner it seems) for, essentially, one player. Sure, Shealy is one very GOOD (93p) player, but is it worth it? Probably not. Lots of good stuff given away as well, Bard is a good defensive catcher, Aubrey and Boone are in their prime and Santos is not too shabby either.
Verdict: A steal for Colorado.

July 11th
To Chicago Cubs: Jack Cressend (RP), Jacque Jones (RF) and Cory Vives (LF)
To Anaheim: Kiko Calero (RP)

Just a simple exchange of relievers would have sufficed. Jones is not doing very well of late (though he doesn't seem to have suffered any career ending injury or anything like that, just bad luck I guess) and Vives is barely out of the rookie league. So, two half-decent relivers switch hands.
Verdict: I guess Anaheim knows what they're doing in dumping a couple under-acheiving outfielders and not really losing anything in the long run.

July 13th
To Philadelphia: Sean Casey (1B) and Brett Myers (RP)
To Cincinatti: Eric Junge (RP), Britt Reames (RP), Bobby Seay (RP), Jim Crowell (SP) and Brian Hitchcox (SS)

Wow, looks like the Phillies ditched most of their bullpen to pick up to 80oa players. Casey, though the papers are all excited about him, doesn't really look that great to me, he's had very up-and-down years with no real consistency in any aspect of his game.

July 14th
To Oakland: Jose Cruz Jr (CF), Craig Counsell (SS), Jeff Austin (RP) and Rondell White (LF)
To Cincinatti: Jason Kendall (C) and Mark Ellis (2B)

Ahhh, now it all makes sense. The Reds ditch the underacheiving outfielders (and company) and grab a underated catcher and 2B. Kendall immedeately goes on a tear for the Reds and is hitting .443 for them. Ellis isn't doing nearly as well at the plate, but is doing good work with the glove. This makes the previous trade absolutely brilliant as the Reds clear out salary space to pick up Kendall and Ellis.
Verdict: Alone either of the two Cincinatti trades is pretty good, but together they are really quite awe inspiring. I should try for more trades like this.

July 16th
To St. Louis: Chad Zerbe (RP), Kevin Knoph (SP), David Aardsma (RP), Jim Franklin (RF), Brian Dallimore (2B), Todd Linden (LF), Try Flannery (1B) and Trey Lunsford (C)
To San Francisco: Jason Marquis (SP) and John Buck (C)

WHOA!!! Markquis moves to the GIANTS! Why wasn't -THIS- in the paper, but Sean Casey gets a full page spread? Sure, I guess he's underated by his lack of power, but even so.
Not that the Cards didn't get any talent in return, Zerby, Knoph, Flannery and Lunsford are all talented, though I don't think all of them are worthy of a starting spot, but they could all be usefull.
Verdict: Good move for the Giants to get a quality starter for some young talent.

July 17th
To Kansas City: David Stuckey (C) and Nick Gorneault (LF)
To Anaheim: Denny Bautista (SP)

From the largest trade to the smallest...Both Gorneault and Bautista are rated at 80oa (and Stuckey is really no good at all) but Anaheim really got robbed as Bautista hasn't gotten out of the 5.00+ ERA realm, well, ever. Gorneault immedeately starts for the Royals and is hitting, get this, .444 in 14 games.
Verdict: Poor Anaheim, it must be rough to be sucker-punched like this.

July 18th
To Houston: Chris Smith (SP) and Rich Thompson (RF)
To Boston: Esteban Yan (RP), Chris Enochs (RP), Fernando Nieve (SP), Eric Bruntlett (SS) and Doug Mirabelli (C)

My eyes hurt now because I spent so long staring at this one, desperately wondering why anyone would give up the Rich Thompsons of this world for a pack of useless pitchers and a couple of mediocre position players.
It seems to me that this may have been a trade to make Thompson happy, and he's very happy now.
Verdict: Anyone who gets stuck with Esteban Yan deserves what they get. That may be needlessly harsh, but I will quote one stat for you as proof: 6.02 (his ERA in 2003 with St. Louis.)

July 22nd
To San Francisco: Jaw Powell (RP), Eddie Perez (C), Chad Meyers (LF) and Matt Esquivel (CF)
To Atlanta: Tyler Walker (RP), Chad Moeler (C) and Carlos Mica (SP)

Pretty good pickups for Atlanta, but even better drops. Powell has a 13.50 ERA with the Giants and the others are in the minors (Perez is a sometimes callup). The Braves timed the ditching of their veterans to a tee it would seem.
Verdict: Quite the bone-headed move from the Giants. Though, Esquivel could turn out into something decent given a few years.

July 26th
To Minnesota: Matt Miller (RP) and Jason Jennings (SP)
To Cleveland: Scott Tyler (RP), Michael Ryan (LF) and Mike Redmond (C)

That Michael Ryan is the star of this trade says something about it's quality. Sure he's rated at 80oa, but it's not really deserved. He had a great year back in 2003, but that's as far as it's gone. Now he seems to be a sometimes call up from AAA, or, at best, a bench-warmer. Still, Cleveland could have done worse.
Verdict: I'm sure no one cares that Jennings is being traded left, right and center. I sure don't.
Dud.

July 26th
To New York Mets: Tony Pena (SS) and Kip Wells (SP)
To Atlanta: Jorge Velandia (SS) and Scott Stewart (RP)

Wow, that's a weird one. The Mets grab the young and talented Pena along with the aging Wells. Atlanta gets the aging Velandia and the experienced (but still with some gas in the tank) Stewart. I hope Atlanta has their SS position well covered though because Pena could be great.
Verdict: The Mets might have a steal in Pena.

July 27th
To Oakland: Carlos Rivera (1B) and Brian Schneider (C)
To Pittsburgh: Jason Perry (RF)

I was surprised to find that Schneider is only 30 years old; hasn't he been around forever? And he can really still play as well. Sure, the Pirates get an overly happy Jason Perry, but giving up Schneider may not be worth it.
Verdict: Usually receiving more players means you lost the trade, but not this time.

July 28th
To Philadelphia: Ben Petrick (LF), Jose Morban (SS), Mike Maroth (SP) and Greg LaRocca (3B)
To Cleveland: Juan Cruz (RP) and Amaury Telemaco (RP)

Verdict: I'm sure that if this trade had never happened....well, really no one cares anyways, so why bother.
Boring as anything so far this year. But my isn't Cleveland busy.

July 28th
To Texas: Steve Domagal (RP) and Al Leiter (SP)
To New York Yankees: Frank Brooks (RP)

Well, Leiter did have to retire somewhere, but if you were Texas would you give up a talented 28 year old releiver who is just about to make the big-time for him? Of course not. I think that the Yankees hire a hypnotist.
Verdict: Hypnotism works.

July 29th
To Anaheim: Jeremy Hermida (RF) and Taylor Tankersley (RP)
To Florida: Kiko Calero (RP), Kevin Jepsen (SP) and Adam Riggs (LF)

Another bit of a dud, though the Tankersley for Calero bit isn't bad...well, not for Anaheim, I certainly don't want to see Tankersley ever. 88 power and 93 movement. Yikes.
Verdict: RP Shakeup, but pointless otherwise.

July 30th
To New York Mets: Travis Harper (RP)
To Arizona: Nicholas Blatt (SP)

Verdict: Dead heat as to who is more futile. My vote is with Blatt.

July 31st
To Cincinnati: Chad Cordero (RP) and Francis Beltran (RP)
To Washington: Jesse Gutierrez (1B), Jermaine Clark (RF) and Jason Kendall (C)

Washinton may have given up two quality relievers, but they certainly gained quality in return. Gutierrez is instantly their first-baseman of the future and Jason Kendall is still one of the more solid catchers around. Is it worth losing the 88 peak of Francis Beltran? Only time will tell. But Washington is traditionally weak at catcher, so this trade at least solves that.

Verdict: Watch out for the Reds bullpen in 2 years.

July 31st
To Houston: Eliezer Alfonzo (C)
To Florida: Jakub Burdick (3B) and Phil Norton (RP)

Verdicy:Nothing special here, move on.

July 31st
To San Francisco: Craig 'Colonel' Sanders (1B), Jimmy Serrano (RP) and Terrence 'Teddy' Long (LF)
To Kansas City: Aaron Harang (SP) and Chris Woodward (SS)

If you wanted to give me Jimmy Serrano for Chris Woodard, I'd take it. So I can't really blame San Fran here, nor can I very well blame the Royals for picking up a solid veteran CF, even if Harang is a bit of a nothing, he still might do some good in long relief....I suppose.
Verdict: Two nicknames in one trade?!?! This is GOLD.

July 31st
To San Francisco: Jeff Bajenaru (RP)
To Chicago White Sox: Jim Serrano (RP) and Mike Cervenak (3B)

Don't confuse Jim Serrano with Jimmy Serrano, they are two entirely different Serranos, possibly seperated at birth, but different none-the-less. Most importantly, Jim is a next-to-mediocre rookie and Jimmy is a quality RP. I can only surmise that, having one too many, the Giants were forced by some obscure 'No Serranos' rule (they can have one) to divest themselves of Jim.
Verdict: Jim jim jimmy jim jim.

[Lobsteve]

August 4th - At Cleveland (63-41) 1st
W9-1, W5-3 (10 Innings), W5-0, L15-0
Chris carpenter stepped up in game one and performed better than I would have hoped. Sure, we probably can't expect that every game, but even just this once, against the best team in the AL Central it was very welcome.
Clint Nageotte wasn't alone in giving up alot of runs in the final game, everyone who pitched got stuck with at least one except Scott Atchison who faced all of 2 batters. Where the run support went, I don't know.

August 7th - At Kansas City (34-74) 5th
W2-1, W5-1, L8-3
Prior: Win, though he didn't manage to stay around the whole game and was yanked for Sasaki's 36th save after allowing the one run in the ninth.
Carpenter: Second straight complete, 1-run game. This time he added 10 strikeouts to make it a real doozy. Doozy.
The Hawk: Whooops, there's the streaky sun-of-a-gun I remember. It might be back to the 'pen if he doesn't shape up. (Reminds me of something: 'Shape up or you don't eat.' Can't recall where that's from.)
And hey, Victor Martinez won both games for us, or so it would seem. Solo shot in the first inning of game 1 and a three run bomb to close out the second. Nice.

Milestones: Vladimire 'The Impaler' Guerrero crosses home for the 1000th time. And, just to be on the same bandwagon, so does Edgar Renteria.

August 11th - Vs Texas (57-54) 3rd
L4-3 (11 Innings), W4-2, L9-7
It was a bad series for Sasaki. Mind you, any time your closer is in three games in a row disaster could always strike. Game 1 he picked up the loss giving up a two run homer. We almost clawed back but came up just short. Not really his fault, just bad luck.
Then he picked up the game 2 save to mop up after Mark Prior's 12 strikeout show. The bats were hoping early as well as Ichiro homered his first at bad and Sexson launched a two-run shot moments later.
Then, returning to the poor Kaz, he blows his 3rd save of the season, allowing 5 (FIVE!!!!) runs in the top of the ninth after I was sure it was all over.

NO HITTER!: Roy Oswalt (HOU) just threw one against the Cubbies. 2 walks away from a perfect game and struck out 8 in just 119 pitches. To top it off Oswalt was 1-3 from the other side of the plate and drove in 2 runs to help his cause.

August 14th - Vs Cleveland (68-46) 1st
W8-6, W8-1, W17-1
Ok, so after game 1 (in which The Hawk had another flip-flop and gave up just 3 runs...that means he should sit next time right?) we discover that shortstop Adam Jones has broken his fibula and is out for 120 days. Remember when I had more SSs than I could shake a stick at? Well aparently they've all gone into hiding, Jones is the only one left.

But maybe he should break his fibula more often! Bret Boone started one game a short and hit two homers including a grand slam.

Then I moved Yung Chen up from the farm into the SS spot, making him the real replacement because Boone's defense is full of holes (49 range at SS? No thanks.) and Chen picks up 4 RBIs on 2 hits. Good grief.

As an addendum: Great stuff from Thornton and Nageotte!

Milestone and Stupidity: Well, Javy Lopez (BAL) just hit his 300th homer. About time.
And Cincinnati's management just went off the deep end signing Pat Hentgen (42oa), Robert Person (43oa), Carlos Baerga (62oa), Tanyon Sturtze (55oa) and Tom Glavine (66oa) to one-year contracts. Amazingly Baerga is actually still good enough to work from the bench, but the rest...YOU IDIOTS! WHY ARE YOU PAYING MONEY TO LET THESE GUYS RETIRE!!!

*Cough*

August 17th - Vs New York Yankees (74-44) 1st
W4-2, W9-2, L6-4
Yup, there it is, The Hawk performed as expected. I *should* have taken him out for that game. Mind you, we'll see if the pattern continues I suppose.

Prior grabbed win #18 in game 1. I swear I'm not going to count how many starts he has left, that would jinx the whole thing.

And, with a flurry of recent dingers, Richie Sexons has moved to 4th in the majors (and first in the AL) with 32 home runs.

August 21st - Vs Kansas City (39-81) 5th
W4-3, W6-0, W8-7
Sasaki made both saves this time, though the last one was close as he gave up a run. But still, good enough.
It also appears that Bret Boone should have been the DH this year. Appearing in this series for the last two games as Michael 'The Code' Morse was out with a pinched back nerve, Boone hit two homers and accounted for 5 RBIs. That's pretty good.

Oh, and Prior had another win. 4-hit shutout with his standard 12 Ks.

And, hey! It's Gil Meche starting against us in game one. Sorry Gil.

August 25th - At Chicago White Sox (51-72) 4th
W4-1, L4-2, L2-1
Man, those White Sox can pitch. Which meant bad luck for Thornton and Nageotte as our bats couldn't put together a win for them, inspite of pretty decent performances on the mound. Even The Hawk in his good-start phase was alost down for the count until we scored the 4-spot in the top of the ninth.

August 29th - At New York Yankees (78-49) 1st
W6-4, L14-3, L12-5, W6-2
Wow, those middle two games were BAD! Where the pitching went, I don't know. I expected it in a minor way from the Hawk who had the start in game 3, but not to the extent it went. 26 runs in two days, that's enough to make you take to drink...and speaking of drinks, excuse me.

Prior got win #20 though. YAY!

Also, Shane Costa single-handedly whupped the Yankees in the first game batting in 5 runs. Look out.

September 1st - At Texas (67-63) 4th
W2-1, W5-0, L12-3
So, Nageotte had a strong 8 innings and the bottom half of the lineup cobbled together the two runs. Then Prior goes and racks up his 5th shutout of the season on the strength of two 2-run homers by Beltre and Fullmer.
But what is wrong with Chris Carpenter? That's two in a row! He's making me nervous!

A Rocky End To August
August Record: 19-9
Overall: 88-45
While we remain ontop of the baseball world (just one game ahead of the Mets who have a 87-47 record) those blowout losses have left me a bit shaky and perhaps not so confident in a 2-3 punch of Carpenter-Hawksworth.

Around The Majors
Stats
Average: Miguel Cabrera (ARI) leads all with a .350 average, but Aubrey Huff (CLE) isn't far behind at .346.
Homers: Cabrera is also ontop with 39, but here he's tied with Rob Stratton (FLA) with Andrum Jones (ATL) 3 back at 36
RBI: Uh, triple crown threat going on. Cabrera is on top again with 114. A-Rod (NYY) is just 4 back.
So, possible NL Triple Crown for Cabrera if he can hold off Stratton in the home run race.

It's all Prior on the pitching side.
DOH! Of course now that I've said that trouble will brew but...
ERA: 1.86 for Mark with Carlos Zambrano (LAD) and Anthony Reyes (STL) in second with 1.97. Prior is also the only AL pitcher in the top 10.
Wins: Prior again, his total of 21 is a couple up on Kelvim Escobar (ANA).

Standings
AL East: The Yankees (83-51) have a 15 game lead over Toronto (68-66) and have no worries.

AL Central: The Cleveland Indians (76-57) have even fewer worries than the Yankees with an 18.5 game lead on Minnesota (58-76). Must be nice to be the only team over .500 in your division.

AL West: Guess where all the wins are? That's right, not a single team under .500 in the West. In fact, Texas, at 68-65 and dead last in the West, is better than any other team that isn't a division leader. We lead by 8 games over Oakland (80-53)

AL Wildcard: Top three are Oakland, Anaheim and Texas, but Oakland has a big 10 game lead and this too may be a moot point.

Already Gone: Kansas City is already out of the playoff picture at 42-91 and likely won't win 60 games this year. But it really look s like things are already sewn up in the AL and there won't be much competition for playoff honours, unless Anaheim can catch Oakland.

NL East: The Mets (87-47) top the list here with a 5.5 game lead over Atlanta (81-52). Could wind up being interesting with a streak one way or the other.

NL Central: St. Louis (86-48) are 7 up on the Cubs (79-55). Don't know if the Cubs can make a run for it, but they do own the second best ERA in the majors at 3.31 (The Dodgers are 1st at 3.28). Sadly for Chicago, the Cards aren't too shabby either with a 3.46 mark and have a much better batting average a .260 compared to the Cubs .246.

NL West: The closest race in the majors is going on here. The Dodgers (79-54) and their ridiculous ERA are just 4 games ahead of Miguel Cabrera and the Arizona Diamondbacks (75-58) This is definately the race to watch.

NL Wildcard: It's pretty close between Atlanta and Chicago, just 2.5 games seperate them. But it's really a two-horse race. I don't think Arizona will catch up from 6 games back.

Already Gone: The owners of the worst record in baseball, the Cincinnati Reds (35-98) are 50.5 games back in the Central. That has to sting a little.

[JustinM]

Originally posted by Lobsteve
(Reminds me of something: 'Shape up or you don't eat.' Can't recall where that's from.)

"Shape up, or you don't eat."

--Rudy Miller, I Want to Go Home

After Pirates/Orioles game is over (Ollie Perez pitching!), I'll read the rest of the post. :)

[Lobsteve]

To quote another famous literary character:
That's it!
-Charlie Brown

Of course you're right Justin, I don't know why I didn't remember that. The book is sitting on the bookshelf right next to me after all. Ah well.

[JustinM]

Don't thank me; thank Google. :) That's one book I haven't read. Yet.

Keep up the good work!

[Lobsteve]

Thank you Google.

Contract Update: Matt Thornton and Clint Nageotte are both up for arbitration now. So as it stands now the list goes like this...
Contract up, no Arbitration
Kazuhiro Sasaki (RP), I may have to sign him on for another year, never mind his age, based on his 44 saves so far this year. Tough to let him go.
Making: 2.2M
Asking: 2.9M for 2 years.

Rafael Soriano (RP) He's done a fairly creditable job at middle relief but he may just stand out because Atchison has been so spotty (as has George Sherrill since his return from disabled land). However, I do have a serious lack of relievers in the minors, so he may have to be kept around just to fill a spot.
Making: 1.15M
Asking: 1.6M for 4 years.

Contract up plus Arbitration
Scott Atchison (RP) His spotty showings haven't really impressed anyone. He's sandwiched between Putz and Soriano in the bullpen which make him look even worse. At 31 years-old and 77oa he isn't likely to get any better. He will be sent packing.
Making: .5M
Asking: .98M for 2 years.

Willie Bloomquist (3B) With Bret Boone really reaching the end of his string (now down to 52oa and it's all batting) Bloomquist will be around again next year to work off the bench, which he has proven he can do very well. Really it was a shame I had to put him in AAA this year anyways.
Making: .45M
Asking: .47M for 4 years.

Straight Arbitration
Justin Leone (3B) A solid player off the bench, but with Beltre signed for another 3 years it's unlikely that anyone will see much playing time at third. Leone has done some good work in any case but at 80oa he's asking more than I'd really like to pay a bencher, especially with Bloomquist just itching to have a go.
Asking: .88M for 3 years.

Jamal Strong (CF) Jamal has a spot all locked up just because he's really the only outfield replacement I have. He's really a perfect bencher at 79oa. Good enough to put up solid numbers but not good enough to break the bank.
Asking: .35M for 3 years.

Matt Thornton (SP) Here's where the decisions get tough. Thornton has been pretty darned good (84oa) and probably deserves to be kept on, but, by the same token, he is getting a little expensive. I should probably have shopped him around near the end of July, but then I wouldn't have him for the playoffs when I need him. It's a tough one, but he may be too good to keep.
Asking: 3.1M for 3 years.

Clint Nageotte (SP) Really the same situation as I face with Thornton. Except Clint isn't nearly as good. I DEFINATELY should have shopped him around in July and got something for him. As it is I'll have to release him outright.
Asking: 3.7M for 3 years.

George Sherrill (RP) Since coming back from the disabled-list, Sherrill hasn't really been half as good as he was before the torn rotator cuff. Still, his stats look like he should still be good enough to cut it. His performance in September (and October) will have to decide his future.
Asking: .65M for 2 years.

Pitching Change: I've played the 'Hawk' card far too often, and have been getting very lucky I think, so it's time for a shuffle of the deck.
Thomas Oldham moves to the #3 spot in the rotation. The Hawk is back in long relief. Sherrill moves to short relief and Atchison goes down to the farm.

Spetember 4th - Vs Toronto (68-66)
W6-4, W5-4, W2-1
Close games, but the bottom of the order came through with style.
Thomas Oldham pitched a much stronger innings than the score would indicate in game 1. Sasaki gave up the second two runs in relief as Oldham picked up the win.
The the second game the bullpen looked like it was returning to form, Sherrill especially looking much more comfortable in the short relief spot as he threw two scoreless innings.

Playoff Update: Two more bit the dust as Baltimore and San Francisco officially bow out.

September 7th - Vs Oakland (81-55) 2nd
W8-4, L6-5, L6-4
Man, sometimes everything just works right except for one or two things, and that's what messes everything up. In this case it's the 2-3 spots in the rotation. It's brutal. Carpenter is struggling mightily and Oldham showed his inexperience in his second start.

September 11th - At Anaheim (73-67) 3rd
L8-3, L5-0, L2-0
Well, that will teach me to ever praise anything about this team. They turn on you so easily.

September 14th - At Minnesota (61-82) 3rd
W4-2, W2-0, L10-9 (10 Innings)
A good start by Oldham as The Code cashed in 2. An even better start by Matt Thornton with Beltre providing the offense. And then a bad bullpen strategy sank us as George Sherrill gave up two runs in the bottom of the 10th after we had a one-up lead. Why Sasaki or Putz didn't get the nod to mop things up I'll never know.

Playoff Update
Well, Tampa Bay is out, as well as the rest of the Central (Chicago White Sox, Minnesota and Detroit) as Cleveland has clinched. The Yankees have clinched a spot as well. In the NL no one has secured their ticket, but Houston, Milwaukee, Florida, Washington and San Diego are all definately not going.

September 18th - At Tampa Bay (67-78) 4th
W5-3, W10-0, W8-2, L5-4
I feel a bit bad for Matt Thornton as he's the only guy not to pick up a win in this series. Everyone else had a fine time. Chris Carpenter even looked good out there. Never mind Mark Prior and his FOURTEEN strikeouts. That's obscene.

More Eliminations Etc.
Boston is officially out. So is Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The Mets and St. Louis have punched their tickets. And, wait for it, so have we. yes the Mariners are in. Which is actually a bit suspicious, Oakland (and we) both have thirteen games to go. Since we're only 11 games ahead they could, mathematically, still make it. As unlikely as that sounds.

September 21st - Vs Cleveland (84-64) 1st
L5-2, W6-0, W3-1
Another good outing from Carpenter really lifts my spirits in that last game. Maybe those two incredibly horrible starts are behind him for good.
Prior notched win #24 on the season, which is amazing to me. But, get this, Kelvim Escobar (ANA) has 22 and Pedro (NYM) has an even 20. I can't imagine 3 20+ game winners happens all that often. Matt Desalvo (19,NYY) has a good shot at it as well. As does (choke) Gary Glover with 18. Also at 18 are Jake Stevens (ATL) and Jeff Weaver (LAD)

Playoff Update and Milestones
Toronto is officially out fo the wildcard hunt.

Javy Lopez (BAL) just racked up RBI 1000.
And Manny Ramirez (BOS) just got to RBI 1500.

September 25th - Vs Anaheim (81-71) 3rd
W11-2, W10-3, L8-7
Well, we were able to put the kybosh on Gary Glover, very satisfying, in game 2. What? Gary says he isn't so fond of Shane Costa as he used to be. Shane being the fellow who had two two-run doubles.
Again Nageotte was the guy who got drew the short straw and had to go up against Kelvim Escobar. That's 23 for Kelvim. Too bad it wasn't one day later, it could have been Escobar Vs. Prior, and that would have been something to see. Though it would probably be too stressful to watch.

Playoff Update
It's all over but the cheering in the AL. Oakland has clinched the wildcard berth, which means Anaheim and Texas are done.
And in the NL the only race left to be decided is in the West. Atlanta has the wildcard. The Mets and Cards own the East and Central; which leaves Arizona 5 games back of the Dodgers with 7 to play. LA has to duel the Mets and Nationals; while Arizona is up against the Giants and Padres. Slight advantage to the Diamondbacks.

September 29th - Vs Texas (81-74) 4th
W5-0, W12-1, W6-5, L7-6
Tough loss to end the series as we game up a 6-run inning. That was the only hiccup.
Win #25 for Prior led things off. I'm not giving him a chance for 26, I need him to rest for the playoffs more than I need the another win.
And Chris Carpenter made it 3, or is it 4, in a row with another excellent outing. I have no more fear, especially with Fabulous Felix returning in 5 days, just in time for the playoffs.

A Final Playoff Update
Arizona went out with a whimper, losing 2 of 4 to the Giants. In the meantime LA won 3 straight against the Mets to seal the deal and win the West.

October 2nd - At Oakland (89-70) 2nd
W17-5, L8-5, L7-5
Wow, that first game was wild! Everyone had a hit. Heck, everyone had an RBI except for Yung Chen (consolation prize of going 3-5 though).
And then I payed the price for resting Prior and Carpenter as Livingston and The Hawk didn't really step up their games. No worries though, no worries at all.

End Of The Year
September Record: 17-11
October Record: 0-2
Overall: 105-57
The Wildcard last year, the division title this year. I'm a happy camper.

Player of the Year
Adrian Beltre hit 42 homer and notched 122 RBI.
Richie Sexson also had 42 homers (that ties them for 4th in the majors, incidentally) and racked up 104 ribbies.
But I expect that for 12M a year.
The guy who really elevated his game this year and was really invaluable was Shane Costa. Sure, he only hit 9 homers. Sure he only had 90 RBI (actually that's really freakin' good from the 8-spot in the lineup). But whenever we needed a late-game hit/run/rbi/anything Shane always came through. He certainly anchored the bottom of the lineup and deserves more recognition than his position would indicate.

Pitcher of the Year
There's not even a contest here (though I may have to make a reliever of the year category just to nod at Sasaki); Mark Prior was HUGE all year long. And to finish with 25 wins and a 1.86 ERA (never mind 253 strikeouts in 246.2 IP) is just icing on the cake.
Break out the CHANTS!

[Lobsteve]

The Playoff Edition

Round 1: Division Series

The St. Louis Cardinals (102-60) vs. The Atlanta Braves (98-64)
Prediciton: St. Louis in 4.
Season Series: 3 wins each.
Results
Game 1: St. Louis 2-5 Atlanta
Game 2: St. Louis 2-0 Atlanta
Game 3: Atlanta 1-5 St. Louis
Game 4: Atlanta 5-0 St. Louis
Game 5: St. Louis 3-2 Atlanta
The Cardinals win 3-2.
Series MVP: Brad Thompson (SP,STL)

The New York Mets (105-57) vs. The Los Angeles Dodgers (96-66)
Prediction: LA in 5.
Season Series: Mets 4, Dodgers 2.
Results
Game 1: New York 5-0 Los Angeles
Game 2: New York 4-3 Los Angeles
Game 3: Los Angeles 3-4 New York
The Mets Sweep!
Series MVP: Pedro Martinez (SP,Mets)

The New York Yankees (100-62) vs. The Oakland Athletics (91-71)
Prediction: The Yanks in 4.
Season Series: Coming as a surprise to me, Oakland won the season 6-4.
Results
Game 1: New York 1-0 Oakland
Game 2: New York 4-8 Oakland
Game 3: Oakland 1-4 New York
Game 4: Oakland 3-4 New York
The Yankees win 3-1.
Series MVP: Abel Gomez (SP,Yankees)

The Seattle Mariners (105-57) vs. The Cleveland Indians (90-72)
Prediction: I'm going to hedge my bets and say that we take it in 4. Just because I'm uncertain how well Fabulous Felix will perform given that he hasn't started in 3 months.
Season Series: Would you believe 8-2 in our favor?
Results
Game 1: Seattle 5-4 Cleveland
Much closer than I would have liked, as the Indians charged back in the second half of the game. Beltre launched a 3-run moon-shot and Shane 'Call Me MVP' Costa had a 2-rbi hit as well.

Game 2: Seattle 2-1 Cleveland
Another great start from Carpenter (really justifying his salary) as he held Cleveland to just 8 hits and the single homer.
Sasaki is now 2-for-2 in the save department.

Game 3: Cleveland 3-5 Seattle
Fabulous Felix handled himself very well giving up just two runs. All the same, it took until the top of th ninth for the offense to kick in as we scored 5. Then the Kaz allowed one homer before shutting the door. Game, Set and Match.
The Fateful Ninth:
Fullmer grounds out.
Reed Walks and former Mariner Aurthur Rhodes takes the mound.
The Code strikes out.
And Costa draws a walk.
Justin Leone pinch hits and doubles for 2 runs.
Ichiro is intentionally walked.
Rhodes, losing his mind, throws two wild pitches in one at bat, cashing in a run.
Victor 'The White Knight' Martinez smokes one to deep right...very deep right which makes, in total, 5 runs.

Seattle SWEEPS!
Series MVP: Chris Carpenter.

Round 2: League Championships

The New York Mets vs. The St. Louis Cardinals
Prediction: Mets in 5.
Season Series: Mets took it 7-3. And swept the final series of the season.
Results
Game 1: New York 0-1 St. Louis
Game 2: New York 7-9 St. Louis
Game 3: St. Louis 5-2 New York
Game 4: St. Louis 6-0 New York
The Cardinals SWEEP! Wow! I didn't see that one coming.
Series MVP: Albert Pujols (1B,STL)

The Seattle Mariners vs. The New York Yankees
Prediction: Seattle in 6. Sure, why not.
Season Series: We took it 6-4, but they did blow us out twice in a row in August..revenge for us smacking them around on opening day I suppose.
Results
Game 1: Seattle 0-6 New York
Yikes! Priors first bad start in a long while. He lasted just TWO INNINGS giving up all 6 runs in the second before he was able to get out. And though Nageotte was able to come on and pitch 7 innings allowing just one hit the offense could never get going against Able Gomez who game up just 4 hits.
The Yankees lead 1-0.

Game 2: Seattle 4-9 New York
Things were going well until the 7th. Carpenter hand given up just 3 runs and we were close, trailing 3-2. Then Goerge Sherrill showed up. The second 6-run inning in as many games and it was all over.
The Yankees lead 2-0

Game 3: New York 2-7 Seattle
Now we're turning things around! Fabulous Felix is back in the house! Allowing 5 hits and two solo-shots through 7 innings Fabulous Felix got us right back on track. Add 3 RBI by Adrian Beltre and one each for the trio of Reed, Morse and Costa and things are looking much better.
The Yankees lead 2-1

Game 4: New York 0-1 Seattle
Paging Matt Thornton, your playoff magic has just arrived at gate four, please come and pick it up.
And just in time. 8.2 innings of 4-hit ball for Matt and The Kaz picked up another save. We got lucky though, we scored our only run on an error by, of all people, Derek Jeter with the bases loaded.
Series tied 2-2.

Game 5: New York 1-5 Seattle
There's the Mark Prior we know and love. He allowed just 4 hits in all and just a single home run (by Public Enemy #1, Alex Rodriguez) in the bottom of the ninth before letting The Kaz finish things off. Ichiro, Sexson and Fullmer homered for the good guys.
Seattle leads 3-2.

Game 6: Seattle 6-0 New York
Chris Carpenter, ladies and gentleman! What a guy! Two fantastic rebounds from Prior and, as I say, Carpenter. Complete-game, 6 hits, 4 walks; not solid gold, but certainly the next best thing!
The bottom of lineup cleaned up as well. While the Big Four (Martinez, Beltre, Sexson and Fullmer) were held hitless the bottom half looked like this:
Reed: 2-3, 1BB, 2R
Morse: 3-4, 2R, 2RBI
Costa: 3-4, 1R, 1RBI
Chen: 3-3, 1BB, 1R, 2RBI
And Ichiro had an RBI on his lone hit as well.
Game, Set and Match.
Seattle wins 4-2.
Series MVP: Clint Nageotte. And well deserved I should think. He didn't allow a run in any of his 8.2 innings. Mind you, I would have given it to Carpenter for the final game.

THE WORLD SERIES

The Seattle Mariners vs. The St. Louis Cardinals
Prediction: Seattle in 7.
Random Note: Something's messed up here, the AL won the All-Star game this year, but we're still stuck playing in St. Louis to start the series. What's with that?
Results
Game 1: St. Louis 4-6 Seattle (10 Innings)
Prior gave up 3 runs, 2 unearned on 2 errors, over the course of the game. And it was those unearned ones that stuck us in to extra innings. We scored 3 in the first and then had to wait until the top of the 10th to get another sniff. Shane Costa immedeately homered off of Jason Isringhausen. Chen doubles, Jose Lopez (pinch hitting for Putz in the, inexplicable, NL park) single to score Chen. Isringhausen then threw a wild pitch to move Lopez into scoring position and Beltre cashed him in 2 batters later.
Sasaki came in to close out the game, and did so well though Pujols gave me a scare with a solo-shot.
Seattle leads 1-0

Game 2: St. Louis 5-8 Seattle
We're liking the NL parks, I must say. Chris Carpenter pitched 7 strong innings and Richie Sexson had 4 RBI as it was never all that close.
Seattle leads 2-0

Game 3: Seattle 2-7 St. Louis
Scott Rolen gave Fabulous Felix a rough time going deep twice for 5 RBI. And we couldn't seem to touch Adam Wainwright, though Shane Costa did manage 2 RBI.
Seattle leas 2-1

Game 4: Seattle 5-3 St. Louis
Matt Thornton is showing more poise than anyone else on the team. Just amazing. He worked 6 innings before turning it over to the pen, and sure he allowed all 3 runs, but it was a very well pitched 6 against a the likes of Rolen and Pujols.
Seattle leads 3-1

Game 5: Seattle 3-1 St. Louis
And it all came down to the best pitcher on the planet: Mr. Mark Prior. He took the mound against Mark Mulder and then showed everyone how it's done allowing just 4 hits over 8 innings, walking 3 and striking out 6. The Kaz was in for the last save of the year and wasted just 13 pitches in doing so.
Jeremy Reed was the offensive hero swatting in all three runs with a 2-run homer and a seeing-eye single up the middle with the bases loaded.
World Series MVP: Chris Carpenter.

SEATTLE WINS 4-1
THE MARINERS ARE THE WORLD CHAMPS!!!

[Lobsteve]

Season Recap

Stat Leaders - NL
Avg: Miguel Cabrera (ARI,RF), .343
HR: Rob Stratton (FLA,LF), 49
RBI: Albert Pujols (STL,1B), 137
SB: Crl Crawford (LAD,LF), 42

ERA: Carlos Zambrano (LAD), 1.85
K: Pedro Martinez (NYM), 255
W: Pedro Martinez (NYM), 20
Sv: Scott Stewart (ATL), 44

Stat Leaders - AL
Avg: Aubrey Huff (CLE,3B), .338
HR: TIE (get this) Richie Sexson and Adrian Beltre, 42. (Way. No way. Waaay.)
RBI: Richard Hidalgo (MIN,RF), 126
SB: Willie Harrie (TBD,2B), 51

ERA: Mark Prior, 1.86
K: Mark Prior, 253
W: Mark Prior, 25
Sv: Kazuhiro Sasaki, 50 (his best ever, and now tied for 10th all-time in a season with Mariano Rivera).
Yes, that's a sweep! And the second time in his career that Prior has managed the Pitching Triple-Crown.

Final Standings

AMERICAN LEAGUE

EAST W L PCT GB AVG HR SB ERA
New York 100 62 .617 -- .278 235 89 3.94
Toronto 80 82 .494 20.0 .260 202 94 4.52
Boston 78 84 .481 22.0 .280 165 81 4.77
Tampa Bay 73 89 .451 27.0 .252 170 114 4.61
Baltimore 68 94 .420 32.0 .262 226 54 5.31

CENTRAL W L PCT GB AVG HR SB ERA
Cleveland 90 72 .556 -- .282 211 62 4.62
Chicago 72 90 .444 18.0 .253 200 61 4.40
Minnesota 71 91 .438 19.0 .281 170 71 4.61
Detroit 68 94 .420 22.0 .273 206 53 5.25
Kansas City 59 103 .364 31.0 .256 159 46 5.16

WEST W L PCT GB AVG HR SB ERA
Seattle 105 57 .648 -- .276 169 89 3.55
Oakland 91 71 .562 14.0 .274 187 39 4.12
Anaheim 86 76 .531 19.0 .269 229 58 4.14
Texas 84 78 .519 21.0 .269 182 62 4.06


NATIONAL LEAGUE

EAST W L PCT GB AVG HR SB ERA
New York 105 57 .648 -- .264 212 73 3.49
Atlanta 98 64 .605 7.0 .263 191 34 3.70
Philadelphia 85 77 .525 20.0 .246 196 42 3.66
Florida 77 85 .475 28.0 .242 171 65 3.96
Washington 74 88 .457 31.0 .250 135 90 4.19

CENTRAL W L PCT GB AVG HR SB ERA
St. Louis 102 60 .630 -- .263 194 52 3.45
Chicago 90 72 .556 12.0 .246 216 63 3.39
Pittsburgh 84 78 .519 18.0 .263 187 45 4.18
Houston 72 90 .444 30.0 .248 169 67 4.38
Milwaukee 71 91 .438 31.0 .241 153 69 4.20
Cincinnati 46 116 .284 56.0 .246 107 79 4.79

WEST W L PCT GB AVG HR SB ERA
Los Angeles 96 66 .593 -- .251 184 90 3.22
Arizona 91 71 .562 5.0 .272 223 44 3.79
Colorado 87 75 .537 9.0 .272 217 57 4.16
San Francisco 65 97 .401 31.0 .248 129 60 4.77
San Diego 62 100 .383 34.0 .254 138 70 4.50

Individual Awards
AMERICAN LEAGUE (2007)

Cy Young: Mark Prior (SEA)
Player of the Year: Mark Prior (SEA)
Rookie Of The Year: Erick Aybar (ANA)

Gold Glove (P): Manny Delcarmen (BOS)
Gold Glove (C): Victor Martinez (SEA)
Gold Glove (1B): Daryle Ward (TEX)
Gold Glove (2B): Robinson Cano (NYY)
Gold Glove (3B): John Hattig (TOR)
Gold Glove (SS): Ramon Vazquez (TOR)
Gold Glove (LF): Gabe Gross (TOR)
Gold Glove (CF): Torii Hunter (ANA)
Gold Glove (RF): Richard Hidalgo (MIN)

YEE-HAAAAW! As they say in places other than Seattle. Mark Prior, MVP. I had the Cy Young chant working, but I didn't even think they'd give him the MVP as well. Though, in retrospect, it does make sense.
And a nice nod to Victor with the Gold Glove.

NATIONAL LEAGUE (2007)

Cy Young: Pedro Martinez (NYM)
Player of the Year: Miguel Cabrera (ARI)
Rookie Of The Year: Josh 'Call me Riker' Frakes (COL)

Gold Glove (P): Manon Aldo (PHI)
Gold Glove (C): Hector Gimenez (HOU)
Gold Glove (1B): Albert Pujols (STL)
Gold Glove (2B): Nick Punto (SDP)
Gold Glove (3B): Mike Lowell (FLA)
Gold Glove (SS): Wilson Betemit (ATL)
Gold Glove (LF): Geoff Jenkins (NYM)
Gold Glove (CF): Jorge Piedra (COL)
Gold Glove (RF): Timo Perez (CIN)

Contract Negotiations
Justin Leone (3B) 80oa
Making: .316M
Asking: 1M in Arbitration
As predicted he's just asking too much. He won't ever get off the bench unless Beltre is seriously injured (knock on wood) so away he goes.
No offer made. Released.

Jamal Strong (CF) 76oa
Making: .316M
Asking: .4M in Arbitration
He's a steal at the price. I'll lower the team offer to ~.375M but even if I don't get it it's a good deal.
Team Offer: .35M
Result: We win arbitration.
Deal: .35M for one year.

Willie Bloomquist (3B) 71oa
Making: .45M
Asking: .55M in Arbitration
Worth every penny as he'll be the main infield relief next year. The 71oa doesn't worry me at all, he's been playing well above that for years.
Team Offer: .5M
Result: We win arbitration.
Deal: .5M for one year.

Matt Thornton (SP) 80oa
Making: .316M
Asking: 3.35M in Arbitration
It does seem a little steep, though not up much from what he wanted at the beginning of September. With his performance in the playoffs he could certainly have asked for more. A must-keep now.
Team Offer: 2.9M
Result: We win arbitration.
Deal: 2.9M for one year.

Clint Nageotte (SP) 80oa
Making: .316M
Asking: 3.8M in Arbitration
He was really good in the playoffs, but not good enough in the regular season to make keeping him around worth it. Especially not with a ton of talent in the minors.
No offer made.
Released.

Kazuhiro Sasaki has declined his Player Option to renew his contract. So we deal.

Kazuhiro Sasaki (RP) 80oa
Making: 2.2M
Asking: 3.05M for 2 years.
This is a tough one. Sure, he just came off a career high 50 saves, but will he, at age 40, be just as good in 2008? I say we resign him and hope for the best.
Team Offer: 2.75M for 1 year plus a Team-Option for 3M for 1 year more.
Result: We need a bit more to make the numbers work.
Counter Offer: 3M for 2 years. TO: 3M for 1 year.

Team Offer: 2.9M for 1 year. TO: 3M for 1 year.
Result: That's a tempting offer but I think we'll pass.
Counter Offer: 3M for 2 years. PO: 3.1M for 1 year. TO: 3M for 1 year.

Team Offer: 3M for 2 years. TO: 3.2M for 1 year.
Result: That seems fair.
Signed Deal.

George Sherrill (RP) 80oa
Making: .316M
Asking: .85M in Arbitration
Though he had several good innings I just don't think George is really the same after all that injury time. I'd rather make room for the young talent.
No offer made.
Released.

Rafael Soriano declines his Player Option to renew his contract. However, we also happen to have a team option on Soriano for One Year at 1M. As I'd likely not get better than that in Arbitration...
Seattle Exercises their Team Option.
Deal: 1M for one year.

Scott Atchison (RP) 77oa
Making: .5M
Asking: 1.2M in Arbitration.
No deal. Get off my team!
No offer made.
Released.

Free-Agents
I think I need to fire my scouts.
Clint Nageotte heads the free-agent list with a peak of 90. A far cry from what I was showing.
George Sherrill is second with 90oa!
Oh well, I made my decisions and I will live with them.

But hey, Aubrey Huff is available for 8.6M a year. Very tempting. But I must resist.

Draft Preview
1. Max Leon (2B) 71oa,99p
2. Rob Wohlfeil (1B) 62oa,99p
3. Roger Davis (1B) 53oa,99p
4. Brendan Young (SP) 82oa,98p
5. Jeff Schultz (2B) 62oa,98p
6. Carlos Tavares (RP), 79oa,96p
7. Nate Marek (RF) 68oa,96p
8. Isidro Gallardo (CF) 70oa,96p
9. Dane Worth (2B) 62oa,96p
10. James Ahlert (RF) 69oa,96p

We draft dead last, naturally. And, by Peak-ordered rank, we would wind up with:
Ramon Oliva (RP) 75oa,85p
2.88 ERA last year in College. I could live with that. But nothing ever goes as planned.

If I had my choice I would probably take Either Leon, Wohlfeil or Davis and groom them as 3B to eventaully replace Beltre. But, it is not to be.

A couple of Europeans in the top-30 which strikes me as unsual. Fran Tinsley hails from Salzburg, Austria. While Steve Kramer (Kramer!) is all the way from Karlskrona, Sweden. Kramer is ranked 29th which means I might have a shot at him. I'd take it. Tinsley is ranked too high to be around late in the first round at 92p. But everyone in the top 30 is 89+ in that area, so a good draft all around.

[Lobsteve]

Where Did All the Free-Agents Go?

Most of them went to Cincinnati. Seriously. The Reds signed 12 players for a total of about 17+ million including: Corey Koskie (4.2M), Aurthur Rhodes (1.95M), Frank Thomas (2.15M), Carl Everett (1.65M) and Trevor Hoffman (1.85M). Seriously.

Aubrey Huff went to Los Angeles for 8.3M which should keep him out of trouble for about 5 years.

As for the former Seattle-ites:
*Clint Nageotte signed with the hated Yankees for 2 years at 4 million a year.
*Scott Atchison is also with the Yankees for 1.1M and 2 years.
*Justin Leone shuffled off to Boston for a cool 1.3M; a 4 year deal.
*George Sherrill goes to the Giants at 1.25M for 3 years.
*And a blast from the past, Miguel Olivo goes to play for the Padres at 3.15M for 5 years. That's a good deal for a streaky catcher.

The Draft

1. (CIN) Brendan Young (SP) 87oa,99p
2007 HS Stats: 7-0, 1.97 ERA, 68.2 IP, 60K, .165 OBA
B: Paducah, KY (18 y.o.) H: 6'2" W:178 lbs P: Earnest and Charitable
*7-0? That's some excellent stuff. And hey, one of his best buds is Yung Chen of Seattle. I expect a trade offer next week Cincinnati.

2. (KCR) Jose Espinosa (RP) 81oa,94p
2007 HS Stats: 3-1, 1.48 ERA, 30.1 IP, 31 K, .157 OBA, 5 Saves
B: Matanzas, Cuba (18 y.o.) H: 6'4" W: 190 lbs P: Serious but gregarious

3. (SDP) Carlos Tavares (RP) 79oa,94p
2007 HS Stats: 6-0, 2.45 ERA, 33 IP, 37 K, .161 OBA, 2 Saves
B: Havana, Cuba (19 y.o.) H:5'11" W: 158 lbs P: High-Strung but Gregarious

4. (SFG) Chris Evans (SP) 81oa,89p
2007 Coll Stats: 9-3, 2.32 ERA, 108.2 IP, 70K, .183 OBA
B: Louisville, KY (21 y.o.) H: 6'1" W: 184 lbs P: Boastful

5. (BAL) Fran Tinsley (RP) 80oa,94p
2007 HS Stats: 5-0, 2.08 ERA, 26 IP, 23K, .250 OBA, 0 Saves
B: Salzburg, Austria (18 y.o.) H: 6'2" W: 171 lbs P: Silly
*You can't go wrong with these exotic Austrians. No sir.

6. (DET) Bryan Lane (SP) 74oa,94p
2007 Coll Stats: 5-0, 3.48 ERA, 82.2 IP, 50 K, .205 OBA, 3 CG
B: Simpsonville, SC (21 y.o.) H: 5'10" W: 142 lbs P: Zany but Charitable

7. (MIL) Ramon Oliva (RP) 75oa,89p
2007 Coll Stats: 2-1, 2.88 ERA, 40.2 IP, 34 K, .225 OBA, 0 Saves
B: Caracas, Venezuela (22 y.o.) H: 6'2" W: 170 lbs P: Generous but Peaceful
*I'm impressed that he went so early, of course it may have something to do with the amazing hard-on for pitchers that everyone seems to have.

8. (MIN) Max Leon (2B) 67oa,99p
2007 HS Stats: .491 AVG, .537 OBP, 30 R, 6 HR, 34 RBI, 5 SB, 25 G
B: Samana, Dominican Republic (18 y.o.) H: 5'8" W: 179 lbs P: Serious but Modest
*Finally the guy I ranked as #1 overall gets picked. Come on, a .491 avg has to beat out a 1.97 ERA, doesn't it?

9. (CHW) Isidro Gallardo (CF) 75oa,97p
2007 Coll Stats: .301 AVG, .403 OBP, 60 R, 12 HR, 54 RBI, 9 SB, 53 G
B: Arroyo Seco, Dominican Republic (20 y.o.) H: 6'1" W: 198 lbs P: Egotistical but Silly

10. (HOU) Clay Scott (SP) 75oa,92p
2007 Coll Stats: 7-1, 3.04 ERA, 80 IP, 63 K, .179 OBA, 1 CG
B: New Haven, CT (20 y.o.) H: 6'3" W: 178 lbs P: Charismatic

Other Notables
Steve Kramer, the Swede, remember, went 15th overall to Toronto.
Florida picked the only catcher in the top 20 choosing Gustavo Iglesias 13th overall.
Rob Wohlfeil went 29th overall to the Mets despite being ranked #2 in the preview.

Seattle's Picks

Even picking 30th I'm left with alot of choice...when it comes to position players at least. Only 9 have been picked so far leaving me with 3 of the original top-10. There is also one pretty good starting pitcher left and a pretty decent reliever from Japan. So there is much to agonize over.
So I went to look at my Top Prospects list and this is what I see:
Steve Finacchiaro (1B)
Steve Olsen (SP)
Gregor Blanco (RF)
Glenn Gilfix (3B)
Arnie Munoz (SP)
So, realistically, I could use a decent reliever, especially since Max Pilaria and Kevin Galica are the only relievers I have in the minors.
But I also wouldn't mind a strong 2B or SS to fill a perceived gap in that area. Though, between Morse, Jones and Chen I may have plenty already.

30 (SEA) Jeff Schultz (2B) 72oa,98p
2007 Coll Stats: .281 AVG, .323 OBP, 35 R, 7 HR, 26 RBI, 3 SB, 54 G
B: Phoenix, AZ (21 y.o.) H: 6'3" W: 179 lbs P: Prim and Earnest
*It was an agonizing decision. Roger Davis was also available and but has shown some streaky tendancies.
Dane Worth hit .465 in High-School last year, but will probably never play a complete season due to injuries.
And Lee Roskowinski hit, get this, .486 in COLLEGE last year and has a 92-rated Eye already and broke the .400 mark in 3 of his 4 high-school years. Definately the best hitter in the draft, but I just couldn't bring myself to pick....wait, why didn't I pick him?
Oh well, Schultz is the chosen one.

Contact: 69
Power: 64
Speed: 71
Eye: 74
Fielding: 74
Health: 92 <- Well, we won't have to worry about him hurting himself.
Future Role: I'm uncertain actually. He could turn into something very special, or I could wind up trading him for a superstar reliever. Who knows.

Update: Roskowinski went to the Reds first thing in the second round. Worth to the White Sox 9th. And the Yankees picked Davis 27th.

60. (SEA) Zach Haluska (3B) 55oa,92p
2007 Coll Stats: .302 AVG, .376 OBP, 42 R, 4 HR, 35 RBI, 53 G
B: Sacramento, CA (22 y.o.) H: 5'10" W: 161 lbs P: Gregarious and Even-tempered
*It turned out to be another pretty tough decision as the five best left were all 92 peakers and 4 of the five were infielders. Not much to choose between the lot but Haluska seems to have the best stats and the best consistency overall.

Contact: 65
Power: 72
Speed: 70
Eye: 75
Fielding: 65
Future Role: Hopefully he will develop into someone I can start at third.

90. (SEA) Dan Sparling (RP) 50oa,84p
2007 Coll Stats: 4-2, 4.50 ERA, 48 IP, 30 K, .222 OBA
B: Antioch, TN (20 y.o.) H: 6'4" W: 199 lbs P: Egotistical
*By far the best pitcher available in the third round and could very well wind up filling a need for a short-reliever down the road. He has had a few excellent years in High-School, though he hasn't been super at the college level.

Endurance: 27
Control: 73
Power: 79
Movement: 61
Defense: 75
Future Role: If he makes it to the bigs I expect to see him at Short Relief, if not as the setup man.

120. (SEA) Justin Hendrickson (2B) 56oa,77p
2007 Coll Stats: .231 AVG, .328 OBP, 25 R, 2 HR, 19 RBI, 2 SB, 48 G
B: Holyoke, MA (20 y.o.) H: 5'8" W: 159 lbs P: Aloof
*Already we've reached the 'Whatever, just grab the best of what's left' section of the draft. What makes Hendrickson the best rated player available...well, I'm not sure. It must be his hair.

Contact: 55
Power: 61
Speed: 74
Eye: 65
Fielding: 62
Future Role: I'm already planning the trade.

150. (SEA) Jose Casald (RP) 50oa,72p
2007 Coll Stats: 3-1, 3.63 ERA, 52 IP, 28 K, .214 OBA
B: San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic (22 y.o.) H: 6'0" W: 167 lbs P: Gluttonous
*The second year in a row in which I've drafted a guy with the Gluttonous trait who hardly weighs anything at all. Heck, I'm six-feet and I hardly weigh less than this guy....Wait! Maybe I'm gluttonous. I hadn't thought about that.
Still, I was surprised to find that someone this deep in the draft might actually be able to pitch for me. Happy days.

Endurance: 39
Control: 92
Power: 73
Movement: 76
Defense: 75
Future Role: Might make a good middle-reliever.

180. (SEA) Eric Stout (3B) 51oa,51p
2007 Coll Stats: .362 AVG, .450 OBP, 57 R, 10 HR, 64 RBI, 60 G
B: Holland, MI (22 y.o.) H: 6'6" W: 186 lbs P: Sloppy and Media-Friendly
*I had to dig a long way down to find this guy. Think 6th from dead-last. That's a long way down. Still, he has NEVER hit under .300 so why not. And who knows, he could be the first 51oa player to hit the majors. No, no that doesn't sound likely at all.

Contact: 63
Power: 71
Speed: 52
Eye: 69
Fielding: 64
Future Role: I have NO idea.

[Lobsteve]

A Few Negotiations

Ichiro Suzuki (RF) 81oa
Making: 6.1M
Asking: 4.85M for 5 years.
*How could I ever ditch Ichiro. Sure his '07 campaign wasn't his best. For the first time he failed to reach the 200 hit/100 run plateau and only managed to hit .277, which probably means that his time is coming. However, he's still the 900-pound Gorilla of RF defense, no matter what the morons handing out the Gold Gloves say.
So, you want a salary cut to continue doing your thing: Granted.

Rumors: Ichiro feels that the Mariners are committed to putting a competitive team on the field.

Initial Offer: 4M for 4-years. TO: 4.1M for 1 year. No-Trade Clause.
Result: We need a bit more to make the numbers work.
Counter Offer: 4.3M for 5 years. TO: 4.35 for 1 year. PO: 4.25 for 2 years. No-trade Clause.

Second Offer: 4.5M for 3 years. TO: 4.25M for 2 years. No-Trade Clause.
Result: That's close. Give us a tad more to work with.
Counter Offer: 4.75M for 4 years. TO: 4.55 for 1 year. PO: 4.75 for 3 years. NTC.

Third Offer: 4.6M for 3 years. TO: 4.5M for 2 years. NTC.
Result: We need a little more money to close this deal.
Counter Offer: 4.65M for 5 years. TO: 4.55M for 1 years. PO: 4.65M for 2 years. NTC.

Fourth Offerr: 4.65M for 4 years. TO: 4.65 for 1 years. PO: 4.65M for 1 years. NTC
Result: It was good working with you.
Deal Signed.

Richie Sexson (1B) 76oa
Making: 12.5M
Asking: 8.8M for 5 years.
Sexsons ratings have fallen rapidly through the off-season. However, I still need him at first base for another season, and since he to wants a cut in pay, it might very well be worth it to see if I can slice 4+ million off his salary and then trade him at the end of '08. Mind you, the big question there is if he'll still be a useful contributor at the end of the year. Not that I could unload him in any case with a 12M salary.

Rumors: Richie feels that the Mariners are committed to putting a competitive team on the field.

Initial Offer: 7M for 3 years. TO: 8M for 1 year. PO: 8.25M for 1 year.
Result: You'll have to give us more than that to make this deal happen.
Counter Offer: 8.35M for 5 years. PO: 9.55M for 3 years.
*NOTE* The total of 8 years from this deal would put him at 41 years old.

Second Offer: 7.5M for 3 years. TO: 8.5M for 1 year.
Result: If you're not going to meet us halfway, we're not going to cooperate.
Rumors: Richis Sexson isn't going to stay in Seatle unless he gets the respect he feels he deserves.
Counter Offer: 8.65M for 5 years. PO: 8.6M for 3 years.

Third Offer: 8M for 4 years. TO: 9M for 1 year. PO: 8.5M for 1 year.
Result: That's a fair deal, but I think you can do better.
Rumors: Richie Sexson will sign with whoever offers him the most money. It's that simple.
Counter Offer: 8.4M for 5 years. PO: 8.9M for 3 years.
*Very quickly reaching hte point where it would be easier to trade him. But I'll make one more offer.

Fourth Offer: 8.25M for 4 years. TO: 9M for 1 year. PO: 9M for 1 year.
Result: Just a little more money should clinch it.
Counter Offer: 8.3M for 5 years. TO: 9.1M for 1 year. PO: 9.1M for 3 years.

No Deal.
I can just see what will happen. He's going to drop into uselessness, be untradeable and then, in five years, pick up his option for 9.1 million and be a blot on my payroll for the duration of his career in the minors.
The sticking point here wasn't really the salary, but the length of the contract. Especially the 3 year player-option. There's no way I'd sign a deal like that. And the initial 5 years is also longer than I'd like.

The Trade Blockage
January 17th
To Chicago Cubs: Richie Sexson (1B), Eric Stout (3B), Jake Woods (SP) and Jose Casald (RP)
To Seattle: Ivan Martinez (C)
Never mind the comments about having two catchers named Martinez. I don't want to hear them.
It was alot of work to ditch Sexson. Giving up both Casald and Woods really rubs me the wrong way. But I suppose it had to be done.
I hadn't gone out and looked specifically for a young catching prospect, but when the Cubs offered their first round pick from earlier today I had a look at my roster and realized I could really use said catcher. Sure, Victor and The Hammock have done some fantastic work, and that end of things is fine; but down on the farm I have exactly one catcher, Rene Rivera, and though he can really catch a game, he is all but useless if he isn't crouched behind the plate.
So Ivan Martinez is a welcome addition.
2007 Coll Stats: .491 AVG, .557 OBP, 38 R, 13 HR, 59 RBI, 46 G
Contact: 69
Power: 74
Speed: 62
Eye: 75
Fielding: 74

April 1st - Trade
To Detroit: Blake Hawksworth (SP)
To Seattle: Bryan Lane (SP)
Detroit gives up the future for the present. Sure, The Hawk isn't the best pitcher on the planet, but he does have some talent when he isn't stinking up the place and could easily have a place in the weak Detroit rotation. I, on the other hand, could really use some room for the Steve Olsens and Scott Wollens of this world (never mind the Arnie Munozs), so the removal of The Hawk gives me all sorts of pleasant possibilities.
Brian Lane is a very good talent. As you may recall Detroit grabbed him 6th overall in January. Though he may be the smallest pitcher to ever come out of South Carolina, he may also be the best.
2008 Spring Stats: 1-1, 5.09 ERA, 23 IP, 12 K, .258 OBA
Endurance: 75
Control: 94
Power: 75
Movement: 91
Defense: 73

Opening Day Roster
All stats are from spring training.
$-Contract Up. +-Eligible for Arbitration. *-Rookie. ^-Red faced with Joy.

Starting Lineup
1. Ichiro Suzuki (RF) .324 Avg
2. Jeremy Reed (CF) .264 Avg, 7 SB
3. Victor Martinez (C) .279 Avg, 12 RBI
4. Adrian Beltre (3B) .304 Avg, 19 RBI, 3 HR
5. $Brad Fullmer (DH) .295 Avg, 17 RBI, 5 HR
6. Shane Costa (LF) .313 Avg, 14 RBI
7. Michael 'The Code' Morse (2B) .337 Avg, 16 RBI
8. Adam Jones (SS) .244 Avg
9. *Steve Finacchiaro (1B) .200 Avg

The Bench
Jose Lopez (3B) .667 Avg (3 AB only)
^$+Jamal Strong (CF)
$+Willie Bloomquist (IF) Didn't play this spring
*'Saint' Wladimir Balentien (CF) .257 Avg, 12 RBI
Robby Hammock (C,1B) 1 AB, 1 Hit, 1.000 Avg, 2 RBI

Starting Rotation
1. Mark Prior - 2-0, 1.93 ERA
2. ^Chris Carpenter - Got only 1 start in the spring.
3. 'Fabulous' Felix Hernandez - 0-1, 5.95 ERA in 3 starts.
4. $+Matt Thornton - 0-0, 4.44 ERA in 4 starts.
5. Steve Olsen - 3-0, 4.70 ERA

The Bullpen
CL: ^Kazuhiro Sasaki - 3.60 ERA, 3 Svs
ST: ^J.J. Putz - 1-1
SH: $Rafael Soriano - .194 OBA
MD: ^Bobby 'Doctor' Livingston
LG: Thomas Oldham
AT: Arnie Munoz

Random Commentary
The lineup was the hardest to juggle. Having traded Sexson I realized that leaving Beltre in the 3rd spot made no sense and didn't really offer him much protection. So Reed, with his team-leading steals total from last year gets the bump to #2 and Costa is moved to provide protection for both Beltre and Fullmer. I wonder how long Fullmer can provide a decent bat, so if he falters it's a small thing to switch him and Shane. The only worry I have is the weak batting of Jones and the inexperience of Finacchiaro at the bottom of the lineup. I don't expect much from either of them but I wonder if I'll even see a .230 average.
The pitching really took care of itself as there weren't really any changes, the #5 spot in the rotation will, I'm sure, be a revolving door for any of 4 guys, 3 of whom are stuck in the bullpen a the moment.

The Minor Leagues
AAA: The Tacoma Rainiers
Yung Chen (2B) Could easily find himself back in the lineup though.
Bret Boone (2B) Waiting to retire.
Rene Rivera (C) Waiting to be traded.
Gregor Blanco (RF) Waiting for Ichiro to go.
Ivan Martinez (C) Ripening.
Bryan Lane (SP)
Max Pilaria (RP) Could easily slide into the 'pen before the end of the year.
Scott Wollen (SP)

AA: The San Antonio Missions
Asdrubal Cabrera (3B) Will likely be pakaged with Rivera
Jeff Schultz (2B) And the race for who will be the next IF sensation is on!
Kevin Galica (RP)

A: The Wisconsin Timberwolves
Jose Rafael (SP)
Colin Leak (SP)

R: The Everett AquaSox
Glenn Gilfix (3B)
Zach Haluska (3B)
Justin Hendrickson (2B)
Ian Samuel (SP)
Dan Sparling (RP)

[Lobsteve]

Wow, let this be a lesson to all of us: Staring at the 'World Series Champions' screen can be addictive. Say no to pixelated addictions. Anyhow, having overcome the craving (only by wanting more mind you), weeeee're back.

Hall Of Famers
I just realized that I haven't mentioned anyone who has recently got the nudge into the hall. So here's the list from wherever I started until now. (Name (Position) - Year of Induction - Voting %)

Randy Johnson (SP) 2011 88%
Rafael Palmeiro (1B) 2012 81%
Roger Clemens (SP) 2012 92%
Barry Bonds (LF) 2012 96% (Finished with 783 Homers, best ever, obviously)
Tom Glavine (SP) 2016 76%

2008
April 7th - Vs Anaheim (0-0)
W14-4, W4-1, L3-1
Game 1: The most impressive single performance by one player that I've ever seen. No, not Mark Prior, though his 11 strikeouts through 7 innings was a fine way to open the season. Not Prior, but rather Beltre.

SEATTLE ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg
A. Beltre (3B) 4 3 1 3 3 9 1 0 .750I know, it looks like a joke. First inning: 2-run Homer. Third Inning: 3-run Homer. Fourth Inning: Grand SLAM.
The Seattle papers don't even notice the 9 ribbies, but rather focus on his 3 hits. No 'milestone' either. Nothing for 3 homers in a game, nothing for 9 RBI. Kinda disapointing.

Game 2: HEY! Look! It's Gary Glover! Buh-bye Gary.

April 10th - Vs Chicago White Sox (0-3) Tied 4th
L3-2, W4-2, W3-0
A rough outing for Thornton to start his season as he gave up 3 runs. Steve Olsen had more luck, puttin gin a solid 6 innings in his first career apearance. And, of course, Mark Prior was gold once more, striking out 10 on his way to his first shutout of the season. Prior also out-dueled former Mariner Freddy Garcia. Tough beans Freddy.

Milestones
A-Rod knocked his 500th home run out of Yankee Stadium.
Edgar Renteria (now with Boston) notched his 2000th hit on the 8th day of April.

April 13th - At Anaheim (2-4) 4th
W5-3, L7-0, W3-1
The Good: Michael 'The Code' Morse launched a GRAND SLAM off of Gary 'Public Enemy #Somthing' Glover in the fourth inning to seal up game one.
The Bad: Kelvim Escobar has turned into a superstar and shut us out allowing just 4 hits. Ouch.
The Ugly: The Angels giving up the winning run in game three on a error.

April 12th - Trade
To Cincinnati: Pedro Feliz (1B)
To San Francisco: Eric Milton (SP)
Well, I think the Giants got ripped off. Milton hasn't broken the 4.00 ERA mark since 2003, and then he only pitched 3 games. Not inspiring.
Feliz, on the other hand, is valuable with just his defense, having given up just a single error in each of the past two seasons. And even though his contributions in the batting department aren't as great he probably isn't worthy of this move.

April 17th - At Texas (4-5) 3rd
L6-3, W7-3 (11 Innings), W8-7
No joy for Steve Olsen in his second start, and none for Mark Prior either as he struck out 11 before we had to head to extra Innings where Sasaki picked up the win.

Milestone: Tom 'Flash' Gordon (NYY) just threw his 2000th strikeout. Good timing as well wince he's 40 and may never get another shot.

April 19th - Vs Oakland (8-4) tied 1st
W2-0, W3-2 (13 Innings)
Brad Fullmer wins game 2 with a RBI double to seal the deal in the lucky 13th inning.

But there is real news to impart, not just a 13th inning win. Fabulous Felix started the first game and I was worried as he, sneakily, was 0-2 on the season. No more worries about that though, because:

HE THREW A NO HITTER!!!!!
NO HIT-TER!
That's right. His line, for those who like that:

F. Hernandez 9.0 0 3 0 0 0 9 125 3.38
TOTALS 9.0 0 3 0 0 0 9 125
And that makes the first No-Hitter of this dynasty...though I thought I remembered another one, but apparently I was channeling another story.

MILESTONE: On April 18th Fabulous Felix Hernandez threw a no hitter, making Oakland look quite silly and tossing the Mariners back tot he top of the AL West.
SHA-ZAM!
The Seattle Times put it like this: Seattle Wins 2-0 To Take First. Seattle's Felix Hernandez dominated the Oakland lineup through nine innings of pitching. He allowed no hits, three walks and no runs.
Kind of a lack-luster review, but it's clear, by their eyes, what they really mean: SHA-frickin-zickin-ZAM!

April 18th - Trade
To Florida: David Newhan (RF)
To Pittsburgh: Marc Lorenz (1B) and Ben Wallace (2B)
I guess the Marlins really needed a right-fielder as Newhan is already starting for them at 74 overall. And just so you know, the recipe is this: to get one mediocre RF stir together one iffy 4th round pick (Wallace) and one ghastly 6th rounder (Lorenz).

April 21st - Vs Minnesota (7-7) 2nd
W3-0, W2-1
Two great pitching performances from Steve Olsen and Mark Prior. Olsen's first career shutout, and first career complete game.
Robby Hammock took the start in game one and had two solo-homers. Indeed we scored all three runs in that game by the long ball as Ichiro also tossed one out.
Minor disaster in the injury department as Steve Finacchiaro is out for 12 days. So, in a move of either faith or insanity, Asdrubal Cabrera (he of the years in AA) will be brought up to play across the infield from his usual thirdbase position.

April 24th - Vs Texas (5-11) 4th
W8-0, W6-2, L6-4
Great outings from Chris Carpenter and Fabulous Felix. I'm particularly glad to see Felix is back in form after a poor start.
Asdrubal Cabrera did rather well in his first series, picking up first in hits (obviously) runs, doubles and RBI.
The only low spot is that the news got out that Mark Prior will be out for 4 days, missing his next start. Thomas Oldham will get the call.

Milestone: Miguel Tejada with home run #300. Already with 1000 RBI his next milestone will (baring disaster) be 1000 runs scored (curently 983). Then 2000 hits, though that will have to wait till next year. But 1000 Ribbies and 1000 runs all in under 2000 hits...that's something.
Disgusting is the word I think I was looking for.

The Karma Department: Freddy Garcia is out for 7 weeks with a dislocated hip. And George Sherrill is out for 2 months with a chipped knee cap.

That'll learn them.

April 28th - At Boston (13-6) 1st
W3-2, L10-4, W8-6
Thomas Oldham had no problems with the Red Sox as he handily led us through 8 innings of the first game. The same can't be said for Chris Carpenter who is had nothing but problems, lasting just 3 innings.
Adrian Beltre then had 2 homers in a game where everyone had a hit.

May 1st - At Kansas City (9-13) 2nd
W12-4, W7-4, W4-0
Both Beltre and Fullmer had 4 RBI performances in the first game. And it was Jeremy Reed with 3 ribbies in the second. Then Mark Prior, just to cap it off, pitched 8 innings and struck out 10 en-route to the shutout while Asdrubal Cabrera had his first career homerun.

Finally we're through April
Seattle's Record: 19-6
This leaves us first overall in the West, and the best team in the AL...and in all of baseball it seems.
With a 3.04 team ERA we are best in baseball by .04 over Pittsburgh (seriously). And the .277 Average isn't bad either.

Player of the Month: Michael 'The Code' Morse is playing ridiculously well. He leads the team with a .379 average and is tied with Beltre for the team lead in homers with 8. Never mind the team lead in RBI with 25. Wow.

Pitcher of the Month: No, not Prior this month. Perhaps next month instead. This time I'm going to give it to The Kaz. The 40-year-old Sasaki has 10 saves already, and hasn't messed up a single one, along with a 0.63 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 14 innings. Nice.

Team Leaders
Avg: Michael Morse, .379
HR: Beltre and Morse, 8
RBI: Morse, 25
OBP: Michael Morse, .427
SB: Ichiro, 5

ERA (SP): Mark Prior, 1.37
ERA (RP): Kazuhiro Sasaki, 0.63
W: Mark Prior, 4
Sv: Sasaki, 10
K (SP): Mark Prior, 46 (39.1 IP)
K (RP): Sasaki, 15 (14.1 IP)

League Leaders
Avg: Willie Harris (TB), .404
HR: A-Rod (NYY), 13
ERA: Bryan Bullington (PIT), 0.90
W: Jeff Weaver (LAD), 6

[Lobsteve]

April 29th - Trade
To Colorado: Wilson Alvarez (RP), Matthew Peahl (RP), Fuhito Ishikawa (1B) and Jose Guillen (LF)
To Los Angeles: Angel Santos (2B) and Josh Bard (C)
Seems to be a pretty good pick-up for Colorado by getting Guillen who is at the peak of his career. Mind you, they get a lot of junk, and lose Josh Bard who is a very capable catcher. C'est la vie.

May 4th - At Oakland (16-9) 2nd
W7-4, W7-2, L5-4
Chris Carpenter gor robbed of the win to start the series as we had to claw back to score 3 runs in the 9th to win it, courtesy of Victor Martinez's 3-run homer. And Fabulous Felix followed that showing up with an 11 strikeout performance to clean up the As in game 2. Then, in spite of homers from Martinez, Beltre and Morse, we couldn't stay close after a Jose Cruz Jr. Grand Slam.
To cap off a great May 4th, Steve Olsen, as it turns out, is out for 11 days with a sprained back. So, Thomas Oldham gets to pitch 5th in the order, and Scott Wollen will fill in as the alternate starter.

Milestones
Dontrelle Willis (LAD) threw a no-hitter on the 3rd and was just one walk away from the perfect game.
And on the same day, Public Enemy #1, Ken Griffey Jr. (DET) notched his 1500th run.
While in Philadelphia, Nomar Garciaparra grabbed his 1000th run.

May 8th - Vs Cleveland (19-9) 1st
W9-8, W10-0, W5-2
A rough three and a bit innings for Prior in game one, but we were still able to come out on top with Beltre's 3 RBI.
In game two we had a total of SEVEN doubles to shadow Chris Carpenter's shutout.
And then a nicely done third game to complete the sweep.
Very cool when everything works, but would you believe that in all that Jeremy Reed only managed to get on base once? And that with a walk. SLUMP!

May 11th - Vs Minnesota (16-15) 2nd
L9-3, W6-5, W10-3
To start off with Matt Thornton was #8 in the Twins win streak. A bad day for Matt as he only lasted 2.2 innings.
Steve Olsen missed his second win by allowing 4, unearned mind you, runs. But the offense saved the day, as usual. All sorts of unearned runs though. We gave up four and the Twins tossed 2 freebies our way. Also, Jeremy Reed broke out of his slump with a single.
Oh, and Mark Prior won another one.

May 15th - At Cleveland (20-15) 1st
L5-4, W8-3, W6-3
NO! Kaz! Say it ain't so! The sure thing just blew his first save of the year in game one. Much fist waving and various and also much cursing.
Of course then he had to go and redeem himself by notching save #15 in game 3 after Robby Hammock had swatted a three-run homer to give us the lead in the top of the ninth.
In other news, Steve olsen is back and finds himself in the #4 spot with Matt Thornton being pushed to the bullpen because of Thomas Oldham's good work as a starter.
In real news, there are three Mariners in the top 10 batting averages. Michael 'The Code' Morse (2nd, .380), Ichiro (4th, .366) and Shane Costa (7th, .349).

Milestone: Val Pascucci (WAS) just hit for the cycle. I don't know who Val Pascucci is either. Neither did the Washington papers.
Hmmm, further research shows that Pascucci is their starting RF and also probably the franchise.

May 18th - At Minnesota (18-19) 2nd
W8-2, W6-0, L5-4
Thomas Oldham, returning the favour that left him in the rotation, turns in a show where he allowed just a single home-run...of course there was a guy on base at the time which was awkward. Still, 4 hits over 8 innings is nothing to sneeze at, so I won't.
Mark Prior allowed just 6 hits in his outing, and had a strikeout an inning through the complete game. 'The Code' could not be solved as Morse launched 2 homers and watched his average settle in around .390.
Currently Morse is 2nd with a .392 average, just .001 behind Boston's Dustin Pedroia. Pedroia, surprisingly to my mind, has never hit under .300 in 3 full seasons with boston. 96 in both contact and eye probably helps. But .393 is a bit of a jump from .317 last year.

Oh, and you know how I was singing about Asdrubal Cabrera when he was up as a replacement? Well aparently it was a well deserved tune as he's hitting .400 in 10 games with AAA Tacoma. Saucy.

Milestone: Wasn't I talking about Miguel Tejada and his upcoming milestones not long ago? Yes, I believe I was, well here's the next one: 1000 runs.

May 22nd - At San Diego (17-23) 5th
W4-1, W15-7, W8-4
Performance of the series goes to Shane Costa who drove in about half the runs in game two for a total of 7 RBI including a grand-slam in the fourth inning.
Sure, Fabulous Felix, Steve Olsen and Thomas Oldham were all good as well. But this time the bats made the pitching look ordinary.
Ichiro had at least 2 hits in each game, capping it off with a 3-run homer to get the scoring started in game three.
Adam Jones launched the first home run of his career, a three-run shot as well, in the middle of the series.
Actually, the only guy who didn't have a great series was Adrian Beltre. Sorry Adrian, next time.

There are now 4 Mariners in the top-10 in average. 'The Code' (.382) and Ichiro (.356) are 1-2 with Shane Costa (.339) 8th and V. Martinez (.338) bringing up the tail end with the 10 spot.

May 21st - Trade
To New York Mets: Joe Williams (LF), Rajai Davis (CF), Willis Roberts (RP) and Travis Hafner (1B)
To Pittsburgh: Craig Pellack (SP), Brian MacNeil (RP), Brett Harper (1B), Daniel 'SG-1' Jackson (2B) and Prentice REdman (CF)
Wow, this is a big one. The move of Hafner has to count as a semi-colossal improvement for the Mets. Ok, sure he's been far off his Cleveland pace with the Pirates, but who wouldn't be. He still has the power numbers. But the Mets didn't stop there, they grabbed a decent CF in Davis and an experienced reliever in Roberts. Experienced in a good way.
But they had to give as well, and Pittsburgh stole some good stuff. Brian MacNeil is going to be a star some day. Actually, if it wasn't the Mets he'd been playing for he'd probably be their star closer already. And, very quietly, Prentice Redman could turn into a very solid outfielder.
Win-win trade.

May 26th - Vs Detroit (19-25) 3rd
W6-2, W4-3, L7-2, L6-3
Ugh, well, it was too good to last anyways. But why did hey have to light up on Fabulous Felix like that? WHY!!!
And guess who won game four for the Tigers. Why strike me with a cantaloupe if it wasn't Blake Hawksworth. That slug.

Milestone: Frank Thomas (CIN), who surprised me by being only 29, crossed the plate for the 1500th time.
And Pudge Rodriguez (StL) had his 2500th hit. Uh, Hall-Of-Fame anyone?

May 25th - Trade
To Chicago White Sox: Bobby Estalella (C) and Shaun Marcum (SP)
To Toronto: Sam Talsky (RF) and Doug Michels (RP)
Chicago gets a catcher who hasn't hit over .200 since 2005 and a reliever who's best characteristic is that he isn't allowing many baserunners....in AAA (.199 OBP). To be fair, he is having his best year ever in the majors as well (2.20 ERA), but that's just in 4 appearances.
Toronto gets a RF prospect who will be lucky to get out of AA for more than two minutes (he's hit 3 homers in his career, 1 in college and 2 in high-school), and the best pitcher in the trade, a 91-peak reliever with mid-80 stats who had his best year LAST year with 8.1 shutout innings of work. Now he's pitching in AAA with a 4.60 ERA.

May 29th - Vs Chicago White Sox (19-28) 4th
W6-2, W3-0, W5-3
Michael Morse is in a bit of a slump, not having had a hit in, oh, four games. Not that he isn't drawing plenty of walks, but it's still a bit of a blow. Not that it hurt us here.
Thomas Oldham is now 4-0. Mark Prior had another 10 strikeouts. And Chris Carpenter benefited from Adrian Beltre's 17th homer for the final win.
And Steve Olsen pulled something and will miss his next start. *sigh*. Matt Thornton is the obvious replacement.

June 1st - At Detroit (24-27) 2nd
W4-2, L9-4, L5-3
It was all going so well until we faced Blake Hawksworth again in game 2. He's moved up the list and is now...PUBLIC ENEMY #13!!!!
The worst news of all, other than the loses, which I can sort of stomach, is that Mark Prior IS OUT for THIRTEEN! days with a Sprained Ankle. Well, Brian Lane (top pitching Prospect) will get his chance. But I hate these sort of situations.

This, The Month of May
May Record: 21-7
Overall: 39-14
We haven't been able to make any inroads into our lead over Oakland. The As stay an annoyingly close 4.5 games back. However, we don't have to worry about the rest of the division as Texas and Anaheim are a comfortable 15.5 and 16.5 games behind with very disapointing results so far.

NL West
The Dodgers hold a 4 game lead over Arizona and also happen to have the best ERA in the NL at 3.13.

Player Of The Month
Michael Morse was going to grab it again until his unexpected slump to end the month. And so it seems that the only person to have a very consistent month has been Victor Martinez. His average has improved nicely to .337. He's on base more than anyone with a nifty .410. So, all-in-all, a very nice second month for the Victornator.

Pitcher Of The Month
Slow starter of the year award (ie: the May POTM) has to go to Fabulous Felix who had everyone worried in April, and now has a 2.91 ERA and a 7-3 record. No complaints from me.

[JustinM]

Keep going! I'm still reading. :D

[CC2009]

Lookin Hawt

[Lobsteve]

I am still going, though I've had a few setbacks due to one or two of the updates where I've lost most of June because I don't save nearly enough. And then morale was low after a 22-something shelacking, but that's another story. Anyhow, never fear, there is another update out there.

Lobsteve.

[Lobsteve]

June 5th - At Baltimore (23-30) 4th
W6-3, W4-3, W6-5
Three close games in a row, three saves for Sasaki in a row.
Adrian Beltre was on form as well hitting four homers over the course of the seies and raising his total to 21 on the season. That puts him 2nd overall, just 2 behind A-Rod.

Milestone: Carlos Beltran earned run #1000 on the 4th.

June 8th - At Philadelphia (28-28) 3rd
L6-3, W14-5, W5-3 (11 Innings)
We seem to be getting into alot of 'hitters-series' where the outcome is only decided by the bats (and by Sasaki).
I was quite disapointed with Fabulous Felix in game one. He only managed to stick around for 4.2 innings and threw NINETY-ONE PITCHES! That's too much!
Game two we welcomed the Adrian Beltre show to Philadelphia. Adrian tossed two balls out of the yard and amassed 5 RBI. The capper being the grand slam in the 9-run 5th where he hit both 2nd and 11th, the second time being the Grand Salami.
And then we had to go 11 innings, much to my dismay. But we won.

June 12th - At Florida (29-30) Tied 3rd
W7-3, W3-2 (10 Innings), W1-0
1: Brian Lane gets his second straight win. And Adrian Beltre launches homer #24 on the year and moves into first place ahead of A-Rod. Of course it seems that he must have HOMERED OFF HIS THICK HEAD! as he will miss three games with a concussion. Oh well.
2: 'The Code' hit the game winning homer to save everyone from my wrath...or maybe Chris Carpenters wrath. It does stink to have pitched well for 8 innings only to not pick up the win.
3: Fabulous Felix looked fabulous with, I think, his first shutout of the year. 3-hits and 1-walk allowed.

Milestone: Albert Pujols hits Home Run #300 on the 10th of June.
Along that line of thought, where do people stand on the All-Time Home-Run List.
1) Sammy Sosa (who is just sitting on the Free-Agent list and who will likely retire at the end of the year) has a grand total of 621, but won't get to Mays' 660. But 621 is still good for 5th.
2) Ken Griffey Jr. is 6th behind Sammy with a total of 589 and counting as he plays out the string with Detroit. (Imagine if he'd stayed in Seattle. What a shame.)
3) Jim Thome is two away from catching Reggie Jackson (561 and 563 respectively), I imagine he can do it and that would put him 10th all-time.
4) Alex Rodriguez is just 2 dingers away from passing the boys at 521 (Ted Williams and Willie McCovey). And at the tender age of 32 and at his current pace of at least 35 a year since 1998 and giving him another 6 years, that would put him at: 730 for the career...which would only be good enough for 3rd. Yeah, that would suck.
5) Finally we come to Frank Thomas (another guy who will likely hang it up after this year). Currently at 514 I don't think he'll make it to 520 and that would leave him in 19th all-time.

June 15th - Vs Washington (24-39) 5th
W7-1, L9-4, L22-3
No, that's not a horrible, horrible vision. Washington cleaned house on us. But why did they have to take it to Prior?!?! WHY!!!! The poor guy only lasted two innings. He doesn't deserve a 2.18 ERA, he's just an innocent man!
Actually, most teams would kill for a 2.18 ERA. But still, my point stands.
To make things worse (and entirely overshadow Steve Olsen throwing a 3-hitter) Thomas Oldham is out for 17 days. Paging Brian Lane.

Milestones: On the same day, June 15th, both Nomar Garciaparra (Phi) and Magglio Ordonez (Det) rack up RBI #1000.

June 15th - Trade
To Arizona: Carl Sadler (RP), Christian Miller (SP), Jim Gregorich (SP) and Gidayu Furukawa (LF)
To Tampa Bay: Conor Jackson (LF) and Jonathan Zeringue (RF)
Not much going on here. Sadler's last full (and best) season was in 2003, and that's about the pick of the pile right there. There's not even any money being thrown around. In fact this whole thing has been a waste of our time.

June 19th - Vs Atlanta (40-25) 1st
W7-1, L5-4, W5-1
I guess that's about as mad as we ever get in Seattle, two excellent games from Carpenter and Olsen and then a mediocre showing that made me wonder what the point of gettting shelled from all sides by the Nationals was for. Isn't a lopsided loss like that supposed to be the trumpet that rallies the troops? Aren't we supposed to turn the corner and step on these guys? I guess only for two of three games. Mind you, I suppose Atlanta is ontop of the NL East for a reason.

Milestone: Edgar Renteria stole his 300th base. I was curious as to where that put him against the all-time leaders and I see he's nowhere even close. So the real question is: How the snot did Rickey Henderson manage to steal all of those? Huh? That's just scary.

June 19th - Trade
To Chicago White Sox: Todd Wellemeyer (RP) and Ben Davis (C)
To Chicago Cubs: Endy Chavez (CF)
Huh, a subway trade. Don't see that too often.
I'm not sure what the White Sox want with Wellemeyer, he's no good to anyone (though playing well in AA). And Ben Davis was one of Seattle's rejects for a reason. The scouts are right to say 'A bit iffy as a day-to-day player'.
And yet the Cubs still manage to get an EXCELLENT starting CF. Chavez is rated at 88oa and really is that good. Why he hasn't played in every game this year is unknown to me, but in his 28 appearances he has a .369 average...oh, sorry, a little dyslexia there, how about .396. Impressed yet? What do you mean 'only by the White Sox's stupidity'?

June 22nd - Vs Anaheim (34-34) 3rd
W4-3, W7-1, W4-2
The Kaz almost blew it in game one as he allowed 2 runs in the ninth, which almost spoiled Mark Priors 11 strikeout showcase, a fine rebound from 'The Game That Must Not Be Mentioned'.
Chris Carpenter is certainly on a roll, I'd have to go back to check how many in a row this makes, but it was definately another good one. And Adrian Beltre notched his 27th homer on the year to make it that much sweeter.

June 22 - Trade
To New York Yankees: Chad Bradford (RP), Brian Schneider (C), Kirk Saarloos (SP), Jeff Austin (RP) and Daniel Bevilaqua (SP)
To Oakland: Scott Atchison (RP), Zach Dixon (SP), Frank Brooks (RP) and Don Spry (RP)
You'd think it was July the way teams are pulling the trigger.
Even the papers took notice of this one, though it was mainly curses from Yankee fans following Zach Dixon on his way out the door. Ignoring the lousy filler of this trade (almost everyone), it wound up being a pretty fair deal for both sides.
Brian Schneider is still a very decent catcher, particularly from the defensive side of things. He's only 31 after all, and signed through 2010 at 2.15M. That's a deal as far as I can tell, though he hasn't had much playing time recently, bouncing between Oakland and Pittsburgh after Washington released him.
Oakland gets something back in Frank Brooks who is a quality reliever, though his minor league numbers don't show it. In 5 appearances in 2007 he had a 1.93 ERA. Then in 2006 he had 20 games with Texas and a very nice 2.43 ERA. That's gold; though he is up for arbitration soon.
We will only mention Scott Atchison in the context of Adrian Beltre swatting a couple out of the yard.
Deal?
Deal.

June 26 - Vs San Diego (33-38) 3rd
W6-0, W6-0, W3-1 (12 Innings)
Huh, how about that.
Steve Olsen with the 2-hit shutout.
Prior with a 5-hit shutout.
And Chris Carpenter was robbed of his win by the 12 innings, though he pitched brilliantly, his third straight game allowing just a single run.
That third game could have gone longer but for an error by the Padres CF David DeJesus with the bases-loaded which cost them the two runs.

Milestone: Jim Edmonds gets his 2000th hit. And if he wasn't 37 I'd say he has a shot at 500 homers as well, but I think, at 435, he's just too far away.

June 30th - At Anaheim (37-37) 3rd
W8-3, W9-8, L8-6, L6-5 (14 Innings)
Not a low-scoring afair, was it?
The highlight: Michael Morse hooking a Grand Slam around the left-field foul pole in game 2.
The Lowlight: Steve Olsen giving up 8 runs in two innings, also in game 2.

And That's What I Call June
June Record: 19-7
Overall: 58-20
If you're waiting for the other shoe to drop, you're not alone. We are 9.5 games clear of Oakland, who aren't doing badly themselves at 48-29. 48-29 would be good for 1st anywhere but in the West. I don't think it hurts that we've had a fairly easy first half of the season, and been very lucky against all the right teams.

Around the Majors
NL East: Atlanta (45-33) leads the Mets by 2.5 games. A two horse race here.

NL Central: St Louis (50-29) is rolling over the rest of the Central and lead both Pittsburgh (surprise!) and Chicago by 6.5.

NL West: Another two horse race as LA (46-31) are holding off Arizona by the tune of 2.5.

NL Wildcard: A REALLY close one so far with Arizona, Chicago, Pittsburgh, New York and Houston all within 2 games of each other.

AL East: The Yankees (48-31) have a 5 game lead on Tampa. This could change rapidly as the Yankees are 3-7 in their last 10, and Tampa 7-3.

AL Central: Minnesota (42-36) are in a dog-fight with Cleveland and lead by just 1.5. Third place Detroit isn't out of the picture yet either, they're just 5 back.

AL Wildcard: Oakland holds a dominant 6 game lead over Tampa Bay. Dominant because they have a better ERA and Team Average than every other team in the race.

Stats Leaders
Avg: Ichiro has taken over the top spot with a .345 average. Albert Pujols (STL) is just .001 behind though. And Dan Johnson of Oakland is at .343.
HR: Adrian Beltre continues to lead A-Rod by 1 (27-26).
ERA: Yusmeiro Petit of the Mets has a commanding 1.54 ERA which pretty much kicks everyone elses teeth in.
Wins: Dan Meyer of Oakland leads the way with 12 and has little competition.

[Lobsteve]

July 3rd - At Chicago White Sox (28-49) 5th
W9-2, W7-2, W4-3
Chris Carpenter continues his hot streak into July with the win in the first game as we stuck it to Freddy Garcia. And apparently Carpenter's hot streak is catching on as Fabulous Felix and 'Edmonton' Steve both pitched very well to complete the sweep.

July 6th - Vs Kansas City (29-51) 4th
W8-3, W4-3 (12 Innings), W5-4
Well, that was to be expected. Neither the White Sox or the Royals have very good teams at the moment, so I guess we call these ones confidence builders and carry on.
For the second straight time Mark Prior had a potential win taken away by the necessity of extra-innings.
Adrian Beltre had a homer in each game raising his total to 31 on the year. But, just to show the 'What A Guy' aspect of Beltre, he also layed down the sacrifice bunt that moved Victor Martinez to second base in the bottom of the twelfth. Which allowed us to put Jamal Strong on as a pinch runner. Who then stole third and scored on a wild pitch.

Milestones
1) Adam Boeve (LF, Pit) hit for the cycle. Very nice. And the first thing of note he's ever done.

2) Curt Schilling (WAS) throws a NO HITTER! At 41 does this make him the oldest guy to have a no-hitter? Either way, that's a highlight of a below average season for him.

3) Much closer to home, in the final game of the KC series, Adrian Beltre launches his 300th Home Run. Of course, as mentioned previously, that gets him nowhere as to eternal recognition, as impressed as I am.

July 10th - Vs Oakland (51-32) 2nd
L11-5, W2-1, W11-5, W9-3
I thought this was going to be a tough series, and for the first two games I was quite right. It took the offense to wake up in the third and fourth to set us straight again. In the meantime we'd seen Fabulous Felix get hammered (along with most of the bullpen) in the loss, and the best duel I've seen all year between two Canadians, Rich Harden and Steve Olsen. Both teams scored in the 2nd inning, Jose Cruz Jr. with a homer and then Steve Finacchiaro drew a bases loaded walk. Having given up a token run each Olsen and harden settled in for the long haul. Harden allowed just 6 hits over 7 innings and Olsen was right there as well with 7 hits over 7.2 innings. In the end we got them, though, as Adam Jones drove in the winning run in the 6th.

July 12th - The Home Run Derby

The Amazing Snub
Never mind that he's leading everyone else in baseball by at least 4 homers, Adrian Beltre did not get a Derby Nod. That is just messed up.

But, 'The Code' is there, not that it's the same.

Round One
Daric Barton (OAK) 8 (7th in the top 10 of HR-dom)
Miguel Cabrera (ARI) 5 (3rd)
Ryan Howard (HOU) 5 (5th)
Andy Phillips (NYY) 4 (Not Ranked)

Others: 4 tied with 3 homers (Guerrero (ANA,8th), Morse (SEA,NR), Frank Thomas (CIN,9th) and Pujols (STL,NR)) Scott Hairston (ARI,6th) with 2 and Dan Johnson (OAK,10th) with 1.

Round Two
Daric Barton - 4
Migueal Cabrera - 3
Ryan Howard - 2
Andy Phillips - 1

The Final Round (of doom)
Miguel Carbrera - 4
Daric Barton - 3

Ha, didn't see that coming did you. Things would have been different with Beltre there though. In fact, of the top 10, three aren't there. Particularly Beltre and his MLB leading 31 and A-Rod and his 2nd place 27.

July 13th - The ALL-STAR GAME!

The Final Score
The National League had their day as they squished the AL 11-4. Yeah, that stings. Particularly since half my team was there.

Seattle's Representation
1. Michael 'The Code' Morse was voted in (second overall with 1,373,234 votes. Dan Johnson of Oakland had 1,591,173) as the starting 2B, impressive for his first all-star game. Sadly he was shut out, 0-3 with a strikeout.

2. Ichiro appeared in his 5th all-star game (and his first since 2004) just barely edging out all competition with just 646,911 votes. Put in the leadoff spot for the AL, he was also shut out, 0-4 with a strikeout. Not a good day for Seattle at the All-Star Game so far.

3. Mark Prior was naturally at the game, his 4th appearance, and pitched 3rd for the AL. He pitched 2.1 innings, and in keeping with the lousy lousy day we've been having, gave up 5 hits, a walk, a homer, 4 runs and struck out just 1 batter. Yikes.

4. Chris Carpenter had one of the better days of any AL pitcher in his first summer classic (excepting Octavio Dotel who pitched the 9th and didn't allow a run at all, a rarity this year). Carptenter allowed just a single homer and just 2 hits over 2 innings while striking out 1 as the second pitcher in the game. (As another kick to my teeth, Blake 'The Hawk' Hawksworth was the starting pitcher for the AL. Though he didn't do any better than anyone else with 3 hits, 2 homers and 3 runs allowed.)

5. J.J. Putz came on right after Prior and got the AL out of the 7th inning, though gave up 2 runs while doing it (3 hits and a homer in .2 innings). Still, we'll chalk that up to first all-star game appearance jitters....right?

6. And, in already his 3rd All-Star Game, Fabulous Felix Hernandez kept the bullpen warm for the revolving door out there on the mound. Yay, Felix.

Not the best All-Star game, for Seattle, or really anyone from the AL, but there were certainly alot of people there.

Scott Hairston of Arizona was named the game MVP as he racked up 2 homers, 3 runs, 4 hits and 5 RBI. Which, you will admit, was quite disgusting.

And, just to add insult to injury, guess where the game was held. Come on, guess.
Yeah, right here in Seattle.

July 17th - At Kansas City (33-54) 4th
W8-0, L9-8, W10-3, W4-2
Chris Carpenter strung together his umpteeth stellar game in a row, striking out 6 and allowing just 6 hits and 2 walks for the shutout to open the procedings.
And Fabulous Felix hasn't been having much luck recently. Our two loses this month have been his.
But there's nothing like a little comback to make everything better. We won the third game with a 7 run 8th inning capped by Shane Costa's Grand Slam.

A bit of a blow here as Adam Jones will be out for 33 days with a torn elbow ligament. While that stinks (he was really turning out pretty well, hitting .250 with 2 homers, a .304 OBP, 34 RBI and 2 steals after a very slow start), it does mean I get to bring up Yung Chen who is just languishing in AAA.

Milestone: Carlos Beltran (NYM) has recorded his 300th (and 301st) career stolen base. Definately not bad. Wow, he's really good. Really really really. Next up on his milestone list: 2000 hits (1587 now). 300 doubles (currently 271 and averaging about 30 a year..well, maybe 25). 100 triples (now 86). 300 homers (245, but only averaging 25 a year). And 1000 RBI, just a hundred more to go (909).

July 20th - Vs Texas (42-49) 4th
W4-2, L7-5, W5-3
Well, it had to happen eventually, Chris Carpenter had an off-night. And even then he didn't pick up the loss as J.J. Putz had that dubious distinction. All this inspite of Victor Martinez's GRAND SLAM, and Adrian Beltre's 32nd homer.
Also, with the 4-2 win in, Mark Prior moves into first in the ERA category with 2.44, and slips into second place in wins with 12.

Would You Like Sauce With That Contract
I thought I would try and make my life easier to signing a couple of people right now.

1) Jeremy Reed is a must sign, my leadoff-man of the future.
The Deal: 2.5M through 2012. PO: 2.45M for 1 year. TO: 2.65M for 1 year.

2) 'Fabulous' Felix Hernandez. Another must sign as he keeps the trio of Prior, Carpenter and Hernandez alive. And, while he could command much more, he likes being in Seattle and was willing to shade his price.
The Deal: 4.35M through 2013. PO: 5M for 1 year. TO: 4.6M for one year.

Milestones: News out of New York: A-Rod (NYY) picks up his 1500th run, and Brian Giles (NYM) grabs his 1000th RBI.

July 24th - Vs Boston (43-51) 3rd
L8-0, W3-0, W2-1, L10-6
Boston's pitching was really on in this series as we hardly had any run support until the final game, and then Chris Carpenter fell apart and looked more like a seive than a pitcher.
It's also not very often that you win a game on just 3 hits, but that's what happened in game 3. Boston managed 8 off of Prior, but couldn't score.

July 28th - At Tampa Bay (52-46) 2nd
W11-7, W6-3, W4-1
You know, there are just certainly things you don't see everyday. Three of them are:
Ichiro hitting a Grand Slam to top off a 7 run inning.
4 runs scored in the 9th, three of them with two outs as we salvage the game.
And Thomas Olham allowing just 6 hits.

July 31st - At Boston (47-54) 3rd
W6-5, L8-2, W9-2
I was beginning to think that having a good game against Boston would prove to be an impossibility, but there it was, the final one of the month. And Fabulous Felix's 13th win on the year. Huzzah.

Summer Is Winding Down
July Record: 21-6
Overall: 79-26
Oakland is falling off the pace a bit (though they could still lead either of the other two divisions) and we now own a 14.5 game lead.
I tried long and hard to find a worthwhile trade throughout July, but there just isn't one to be had for the few players I'm actually willing to deal.

Just to make a point as to why things are going so well:
Seattle Team ERA: 3.43
-> Next best AL Team: New York Yankees, 4.10
-> Next best Team: Chicago Cubs, 3.64

Seattle Team Avg: .285
-> Next best Team: Cleveland: .284

Player Of The Month: Ichiro gets the Sentimental Favorite nod, just because he was able to swat the Grand Slam against Tampa. I've never seen him do that before.

Pitcher Of The Month: Best month goes to Fabulous Felix this time, narrowly beating out the slumping (at the end) Chris Carpenter.

[Lobsteve]

Top Tens
With two months left I always begin to wonder how things stand.

Avg.: Shane Costa, #2, .346; Ichiro, 10th, .333
HR: Adrian Beltre, Tied #1, 34
ERA: Mark Prior, #1, 2.54
Wins: Mark Prior and Fabulous Felix, Tied #2, 13
DIPS ERA: Mark Prior, #3, 3.27 <- Well, now I know how good the D is.
Doubles: Shane Costa, Tied #6, 29
GIDP: Victor Martinez, Tied #5, 19
Extra Base Hits: Adrian Beltre, #3, 56
Fielding Avg (2B): Michael Morse, #2, .995
Fielding Avg (RF): Ichiro, #3, .995
GIDP Induced: Fabulous Felix, Tied #5, 18; Steve Olsen, #10, 17
Hits: Ichiro, #1, 151; Shane Costa, #3, 139
Hits/9IP: Mark Prior, #7, 7.42
Hit By Pitch: Brad Fullmer, #1, 15; Adam Jones, Tied #5, 11 <- Ouch
Home Run%: Adrian Beltre, #2, 8.2%
Innings Pitched: Chris Carpenter, #3, 152.1; Fabulous Felix, #5, 150
Innings Per Game: Chris Carpenter, #8, 6.92; Mark Prior, #9, 6.89
Isolated Power: Adrian Beltre, #3, .303; Michael Morse, #5, .275
Opp. Batting Avg: Mark Prior, #8, .220
Opp. On Base: Mark Prior, #7, .282
Opp. OPS: Mark Prior, #4, .607; Fabulous Felix, #9, .628
Opp. Slugging: Fabulous Felix, #5, .323; Mark Prior, #8, .325
Plate Appearances: Ichiro, #2, 501
Quality Starts: Chris Carpenter, Tied #7, 15
Range Factor (3B): Adrian Beltre, #6, 3.27
Range Factor (SS): Adam Jones, #10, 5.56
Range Factor (LF): Shane Costa, #5, 1.86
RBI: Adrian Beltre, #3, 92
Runners/9 IP: Mark Prior, #8, 10.24
Runners Thrown Out: Victor Martinez, Tied #6, 17
RTO%: Victor Martinez, #3, 38.6%
Runs: Ichiro, #1, 85
Runs Created: Ichiro, #5, 87
Saves: Kazuhiro Sasaki, #1, 32
Save Success: The Kaz, #5, 94.1%
Shutouts: Mark Prior, Tied #1, 3
Slugging%: Adrian Beltre, #4, .584; Michael Morse, #5, .581
Steals: Ichiro, #7, 20
Steals Allowed/9 Innings: Victora Martinez, #4, 0.29
Strikeouts Pitched: Mark Prior, #9, 128
K/9IP: Mark Prior, #9, 8.79
Stikeout%: Ichiro, #6, 8.8%
Total Bases: Adrian Beltre, #2, 241; Ichiro, #10, 217
Triples: Ichiro, Tied #6, 7
Winning%: Mark Prior, #1, .929; Chris Carpenter, Tied #4, .769; Steve Olsen, Tied #4, .769

Seattle Top-5s
Average
1. Shane Costa, .346
2. Ichiro, .333
3. Victor Martinez, .319
4. Michael Morse, .306
5. Jeremy Reed, .284

HR
1. Adrian Beltre, 34
2. Michael Morse, 20
3. Victor Martinez, 19
4. Shane Costa, 9
5. Jeremy Reed, 9
6. Ichiro, 9

RBI
1. Adrian Beltre, 92
2. Victor Martinez, 77
3. Shane Costa, 60
4. Michael Morse, 60
5. Ichiro, 59

Runs
1. Ichiro, 85
2. Adrian Beltre, 71
3. Brad Fullmer, 63
4. Shane Costa, 60
5. Victora Martinez, 59

ERA
1. J.J. Putz, 1.78
2. Mark Prior, 2.54
3. Thomas Oldham, 2.61
4. Kazuhiro Sasaki, 2.88
5. Fabulous Felix, 3.30

Strikeouts
1. Mark Prior, 128
2. Fabulous Felix, 114
3. Chris Carpenter, 113
4. Thomas Oldham, 56
5. Kazuhiro Sasaki, 52

[Lobsteve]

Please Pass The Trade-Kabob

July 3rd
To Philadelphia: Coco Crisp (CF) and Dave Benjamin (2B)
To Chicago Cubs: Brian Wade (RP), Bud Smith (SP) and Dean Elliot (LF)
The Cubbies didn't take much in the way of talent in return as they shipped out Crisp's 3.75M salary. Seeing as how he's probably only worth half that, good deal. But I hope they don't except Elliot to fill in at CF.

July 5th
To Houston: Seth Schemm (3B) and Aaron Rowand (CF)
To Cleveland: Royce Huffman (1B), James Ferguson (SP), Chris Burke (2B) and Micah Bowie (RP)
This one is more than a little lopsided. Schemm is a very good (for a 4th rounder) third-base prospect and Rowand is a star CF (92oa). So Cleveland gets rid of two very talented individuals and acquire: NOTHING!

July 21st
To Arizona: Sly Khaiman (C), Jose Santiago (RP), Tomas Perez (3B) and Pedro Lopez (2B)
To Chicago White Sox: Junior Spivey (2B), Carlos Quentin (LF) and Justin Cook (RP)
Eh, almost nothing going on here, though the White Sox acquire a creditable 2B in Spivey, but don't get anything else to help them out...not that there's much help for anything in the AL Central Cellar.
And Arizona doesn't seem to mind getting a couple of veterans in return.

July 24th
To Boston: Bradley Sullivan (SP) and Brandon Villafuerte (RP)
To Oakland: Matt Clement (SP) and Jay Payton (CF)
Well, my eyes went right to Matt Clement on this one. And I wasn't entirely wrong, because he really is the star of this trade. However, he isn't really the star I thought he was. He hasn't really had a great year since 2005 (16-4, 3.06) and has seen his health drop to a 63 rating with an major injury per year. That's a big risk to take.
And here's the kicker: Boston released him earlier this year (during an bout with the diabled list) then resigned him at a 4.4M salary and then, less than a month later, the trade. Wow, welcome to soap-opera town.
Anyhow, now that he's in Oakland he's already playing much better (2-0, 3.46) than he has in the past 3 years. So it may be a great deal after all.
(Though maybe not for me.)

July 26th
To Cincinnati: Ryan Drese (SP)
To San Francisco: Bobby Seay (RP)
I'm a little surprised the Giants moved Drese seeing as how they were getting some very good stuff out of him the odd time he was called up. But they do make a potential improvement to their bullpen in Seay, who may have much better stuff than Drese.

July 28th
To Arizona: Christopher Kolkhorst (CF) and Justin Cole (SP)
To San Diego: Greg Aquino (RP), Matt Kata (2B) and Doug DeVore (LF)
The interesting bit of all this is Kolkhorst who seems to be too talented to be involved in this mess, but is also so gloomy he may be better off with any other team but the one he's on.
But, by far, the most amusing part is the following comment by Kolkhorst's agent: ...would like to be traded to the Dodgers so he can be with Steve Schmoll.
I would never have thought it possible.

July 29th
To Houston: Thomas Mastny (SP), Randy Vibulatd (LF), Ron Fisher (2B), John Niemiec (RF), Kaz Tadano (RP) and Felix Rodriguez (RP)
To Cleveland: Joseph Tinker (LF), Erubiel Durazo (1B) and Ben Zobrist (SS)
And with a single trade Cleveland solidifies their hold on the AL Central. First they clean out alot of their mediocre players, which is always a help, and then they get Zobrist and Durazo in return, two quality players (and Zobrist could be a real star) to round out the infield.

July 29th
To Houston: Andres Blanco (SS)
To Kansas City: Todd Self (1B) and John Riedling (RP)
Obviously the Astros had to turn around and pick up another short-stop seeing as how they gave Zobrist away to Cleveland. But I don't think that they did themselves any favors here. Certainly not immedeately at least as Blanco probably has another 3 years before he's super-productive. Mind you, they didn't give up anything they can't live without.

July 30th
To Cincinnati: Craig Hadleman (3B), Jeff Keppinger (2B), Edwin Almonte (RP) and Herb Perry (1B)
To New York Mets: Adrian Crim (RP)
I was hoping this would be the blockbuster trade this July has lacked. Quite the oposite though. Exactly oposite, as there isn't a single one of these guys who are rated above 71. That hurts.

July 30th
To Cincinnati: Stephan Capezzera (SP), Paul McAnulty (1B) and Alex Sanchez (CF)
To San Diego: Trevor Hoffman (RP), Ray Olmedo (SS), Toby Hall (C) and Stephen Smitherman (LF)
Well, then surely this must be the blockbuster. Right? Cincinnati couldn't make two lousy moves all in one day, could they? And it does involve Hoffman, right?
Well, I still wouldn't call it a huge trade, but it isn't bad. And if it were huge it wouldn't be because of the 40-year-old Hoffman, it would more likely be because of Stephan Capezzera (and this trade was likely made because I find it hard to type Capezzera) and Ray Olmedo.

July 30th
To Arizona: Sean Thompson (SP), Jason Szuminski (RP) and Brandon Puffer (RP)
To San Diego: Carl Sadler (RP) and Juan Brito (C)
Ok, sure there are a bunch of half-decent pitchers in this trade, but the real deal is Brito. You just don't get a catcher with that kind of skill every day. His worst year was way back in 2004 and he has only been getting better since. Add in the 93 handling stat and you've got the real deal.

July 30th
To Baltimore: Jake Westbrook (SP) and Carl Pavano(SP)
To New York Yankees: Mike Koplove (RP) and Billy Koch (RP)
So the obvious side of this is the Yankees moving their older starters for some older relievers. But the not so visible side is that Baltimore got hosed in the salary department. Neither Pavano or Westbrook are rated over 80 anymore, and they are both being paid through the nose. Westbrook's 4.6M contract lasts through 2010, and, as something of a blessing, Pavano's 9.45M deal ends this year. But still, that's a lot of cash.
And in return the Yankees get Koplove (.45M until 2011) and Koch's 2.95M deal that lasts through 2009. That must be hard for Baltimore to swallow. Especially since they just helped out their division rival.

July 31st
To Milwaukee: Clayton Beatty (C), Chadd Blasko (RP), Kevin Collins (LF), Speedy Aguilar (SP), Jose Macias (3B), Gabe Molina (RP) and Tike Redman (CF)
To Chicago Cubs: Alfonso Soriano (2B), Nelson Cruz (RP) and Milton Bradley (CF)
And there's the BlockBuster.
Honestly though, I was quite surprised to find the Brewers with a trio such as Soriano, Cruz and Bradley and still languishing down at the bottom of the NL Central with the worst batting average in the league to boot.
Well, the Brewers get a bushel of not-bad players for 3 stars. It's not actually a bad deal when you consider the salaries involved either.
And now the Cubs have really made themselves a much bigger threat to the Cardinals.
Nelson Cruz (76oa) isn't the biggest and baddest reliever you're going to find, but he was throwing a 3.60 ERA in Milwaukee of all places. A good addition to a bullpen in perhaps a middle-reliever role.
Alfonso Soriano (82oa) has been plagued by injuries and hasn't managed to play a full season since 2004. The trouble started with a four month layoff when he broke his back. That'll cause trouble. So he's not the superstar he was originally predicted to be. But he's still a very solid short-stop in a 'could break something else at any moment' kind of way.
The BIG deal is Milton Bradley (88oa), especially on defense. The last time he made more than 5 errors out in the vast reaches of center field it was 2005 (and he also had FIVE double-plays to his credit as well. How do you even DO that from center?!?). Last year he had a career-high 308 put-outs and 14 assists. The batting isn't quite as spectacular as the glove, but still very solid.
A HUGE deal for Chicago.

[JustinM]

2) Curt Schilling (WAS) throws a NO HITTER! At 41 does this make him the oldest guy to have a no-hitter? Either way, that's a highlight of a below average season for him.

I'm not sure whether to be surprised or not, but no, 41 is not the oldest.

Q: Who was the oldest pitcher to throw a no-hitter?

A: On June 11, 1990, at the age of 43 years, four months, and 12 days, Nolan Ryan became the oldest pitcher to toss a no-hitter when he did it against the Oakland Athletics. He walked only two, struck out 14, and needed only two hours and forty-nine minutes to complete the masterpiece. Ryan became the first pitcher to throw a no-hitter for three different teams, and also the first pitcher to do it in three different decades. What made it all the more amazing was that it came in just his second start after coming off the DL.

The next season, at the age of 44 years, three months and one day, Ryan threw the seventh and final no-hitter in his career, a 3-0 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.

[Lobsteve]

Huh, no wonder he has all those records. That's crazy.

Mind you, Julio Franco was quoted as saying he wants to play until he's 50. That seems a bit weird to me as well.

Thanks for the answer Justin.

[Lobsteve]

August 4th - Vs New York Yankees (62-43) 1st
W12-5, L8-4, W7-1
A tough loss for Thomas Oldham in the second game, but otherwise everything else went well.
Beltre with homer #35.
And Prior with the game 2 win allowing 5 hits and striking out 10, which, as the newspapers will point out, puts him at a career 1288 Ks.

Milestone: The one run in that game on the 4th was driven in by A-Rod, which put him at 1500 RBI for the career.

August 7th - Vs Toronto (44-65) 5th
W2-0, W3-2, L8-1
It was bad news for Steve Olsen as, having rolled over for Carpenter and Fabulous Felix, Toronto came out of nowhere to pile on the 8 runs, half being stuck to Steve in 5 innings. That has to sting a bit.
Adrian Beltre homered in the first two game to, once again, give him a lead in the HR race as Miguel Cabrera had snuck up and tied him at 35 for a day.

Milestone: Oakland's Octavio Dotel recorded his 200th save on the 6th. Oakland is still the 2nd best team in the AL. If they can get by the Yankees I can't wait to meet them in the ALCS.

August 11th - At Texas (51-60) 4th
W4-1, W5-1, L...PSYCH! W6-3
Prior: Complete game. 5 hits, 7 Ks
Carpenter: Complete game. 7 hits, 5 Ks
Fabulous Felix: Not quite a complete game. But 7IP, 4 hits and 4 Ks
And Beltre notched another as he tossed a three-run shot out just to tease me into thinking he had had a grand-slam in the 4-run 8th of game 3.

Milestone: Todd Helton (COL) has made it to 2000 career hits. He's also very close to 400 homers (383). He's down to his last year in Colorado I think, his 11.3M contract is up at the end of the year and I can't imagine him staying.

August 14th - At Oakland (72-41) 2nd
L5-3, 6-1, W5-1
Steve Olsen gets the short end of the stick here while Matt Thornton, a quick sub for a briefly injured Thomas Oldham, and Mark Prior both picked up some very respectable wins.
What really made me happy is that we racked up Dan Meyer, the MLB Wins leader, for 5 runs in just 3.1 innings. Meyer's loss combined with Prior's win ties them at the top of the list with 16 each.
And, incidentally, our loss came at the hands of newly acquired Matt Clement who really is doing very well with Oakland.

Milestones: Albert Pujols has very quickly gotten to RBI #1000, he shall now be known as 'The Phenom'.
Also, Eric Chavez (OAK) dinged us for homer #300.

August 17th - Vs Tampa Bay (57-60) 2nd
W6-5, L5-4, W6-2
Except for the last game, the whole series was much too close for my liking. I mean, how on earth do you lose to Tampa?!
It's just not fair.

August 21st - Vs Baltimore (54-65) 4th
W5-2, W12-1, W8-1, W4-2
Oldham, Prior, Carpenter and Hernandez all win. But the performance of the series goes to Adrian Beltre in game 2. For the second time this year he launched 3 homers and ran up 9 RBI in a single game (you may recall the season opener where the same thing happened). This time it was done with even more style than before with TWO GRAND SLAMS, and in back-to-back innings as well.
The Line Of Doom
SEATTLE ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg
A. Beltre (3B) 5 3 0 3 3 9 1 0 .294

August 25th - At New York Yankees (74-50) 1st
W6-4, L11-2, W4-1
In his first game back off the DL Adam Jones swatted a three-run homer to lead the way in the first game. That makes a whole three on the year. Yeah, he's a stud.

Contract Talk: Bad news from the contract front. Michael Morse and Shane Costa have both hit the end of their first contrcts and are now eligible for arbitration.
'The Code' is asking for 5.5M over 3 years and, much to my disgust, would apparently rather be playing for the Angels.
Costa is aking for a little less at 4.75M for 3 years, and again the word on the street is disapointing as he seems to want to be traded to the Astros so he can be with Rob Stiehl.
Tough luck boys, you're staying right where I can keep an eye on you.
Of course the tough decision is wether to sign them right away and avoid arbitration entirely, or to let it go before the arbitrator and see if I can shade them down a bit.

Playoff Update: Milwaukee has become the first team eliminated from playoff contention. At 37-90 they're only 43.5 games behind St. Louis.

August 28th - At Toronto (47-81) 5th
L2-1, L5-4, W5-4
Wow, who knew the Blue Jays had such a potent starting rotation! Their bullpen is nothing special, but it hardly gets used! The real treat was watching Carpenter vs. Dustin McGowan in game one. That was quite the duel.

September 1st - Vs Texas (59-70) 4th
W8-4, W3-2, W1-0
The second consecutive pitching duel for Chris Carpenter in game 3. This time he went up against Wade Miller and got lucky as 'The Code' singled in Fullmer in the bottom of the ninth to end it. All the same, Carpenter allowed all of 4 hits which is quite impressive.

Something About August
August Record: 20-7
Overall: 100-33
Things are going well. Not much more can be said other than that.

Player of the Month: Adrian Beltre shocked the world with his second 3-homer game in August. Fan-Freakin'-Tastic. And well derserving of the POTM honor.

Pitcher of the Month: Oh, lets pick one of the top 4 out of a hat. Saaaaaaay, Steve Olsen, just because I can. And hey, he's from Edmonton.

[petrel]

When you're 100-33 for the year, the only things you should be worried about are, "Should we put diamonds in our World Series rings, or would emeralds look cooler?"

-Pet

[nomar363]

must have update...

[Lobsteve]

Yeah, tell that Lobsteve guy to hurry it up. Lazy Lobsteve.

;)

[Lobsteve]

September 4th - Vs Oakland (84-49) 2nd
W3-1, L6-5 (11 Innings), L4-3 (10 Innings)
Ugh, two overtime losses in a row as the Kaz takes the hit both times.
Fabulous Felix snagged the win in his 4th complete game on the year.

Playoff Update: Toronto (51-87) has been officially eliminated, 32.5 games back of the Yankees. And Washington (53-84) are out as well, 29.5 back of Atlanta.

September 8th - At Baltimore (59-77) 4th
W3-1, W8-7, L3-2
With the win in game 1, Mark Prior records his second straight 20-win season, and third in four years.

Milestone: Adrian Beltre doubled to center in the first inning on the 7th of September to collect his 1000th RBI. (He only has 125 on the season. Not bad.)

Playoff Update: Baltimore (60-79), Kansas City (51-88), The Chicago White Sox (51-88) and Texas (63-76) are all out of the AL playoff picture.
Over in the NL Florida (59-81) and Cincinnati (58-82) have also called it quits.

September 11th - At Detroit (60-79) 3rd
W6-5, W4-1, L3-2 (10 Innings)
Steve Olsen beat out Blake Hawksworth in game one, which, of course, had me doing a little dance of joy.
A fantastic game out of Thomas Oldham made my day as well. Nothing hugely spectacular, mind you, but a very solid game on his part.
And again Prior was robbed of a win by Extra Innings.

September 14th - At Oakland (90-52) 2nd
W6-3, L4-3, W9-7
We were absolutely taken apart by Dan Meyer in game 2. Sure, we scored three runs, but had only 4 hits. That's just not good enough. Mind you, he did give up 4 walks as well, that helps our side quite a bit, but really that only makes the offense look worse.

Playoff Update: Boston (67-78) has given up the Ghost. San Diego (63-82) has also packed it in.

September 18th - Vs Cleveland (80-65) 1st
W2-0, W7-2, L6-4, W6-2
Two great starts in a row from Oldham, I sure didn't see that one coming. If he keeps it up I'll have to have a 5-man playoff rotation. How strange would that be.
Prior notches win #21. The amazing thing is that, in 28 appearances he's managed to acquire just 1 loss. Six no-decisions though, that's annoying.
We should have swept the whole thing except Sasaki blew up on us in the 9th inning and allowed 3 runs for the Cleveland win. That makes his 3rd blown save on the year. Which isn't actually that bad.

Playoff Update: Tampa Bay (69-79) is out. Which means New York (88-61) has clinched the AL East. Oh, and we've sewn up the AL West. Both us and the Yanks are 17 games ahead of the respective 2nd places. There are only two teams left chasing Oakland for the wildcard: Minnesota (78-71, 15 games back. Forget it) and Anaheim (89-61, 4.5 back). Could still be interesting.
Atlanta (94-56, 9 games ahead) has clinched the NL East, though not quite mathematically. They also, on an unrelated topic, have a 10-0, 17-3 streak going, which I find amazing.
St. Louis has also clinched, being 14 games ahead over there in the NL Central.
The NL Wildcard remains a ****-shoot.

A Whole Mess Of Milestones
Eric Chavez (OAK), fresh off 300 homers, now has 1000 RBIs as well. Next up, 1500 hits, if anyone will notice. Only 9 more. And 1 more double for 300 of those as well.
Francisco Cordero (TEX) just racked up his 200th save. He could probably make 1000Ks on his career as well, he's already at 541 10 seasons in.
Nomar Garciaparra (PHI) whacked homer #300. Wasn't he just up for RBI 1000? I seem to remember typing that. So the reverse of Chavez. Nomar needs another 53 hits for 2000. Probably early next year for that.
And, finally, Ken Griffey Jr. (who I will admit to admiring while he was in Seattle) has just hit Home Run #600. Yes, 600. The real question is how many seasons he has left in him. At least one as he's signed through 2009. But I think he'll need two to get to the next set of milestones: 3000 hits (2521 now), and 2000 RBI (1717 now). And that would need to see him back at his peak. A shame about those 'wasted' (I mean 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, and partly 2005) years in Cincinnati.
600 homers leaves him sitting in 6th all-time behind Sammy's 621.

September 22nd - Vs Anaheim (89-61) 3rd
W8-2, W4-0, W8-4
It's almost getting routine.
Prior with his 22nd win (I don't think he'll quite get to 25, not enough starts left) with the nifty little 3-hit shutout.
And Adrian Beltre looped his 45th homer in game 1.

Playoff Update: Los Angeles (93-54) has clinched the NL West with an 11.5 game margin over Arizona. Houston (79-75), Philadelphia (73-80), San Francisco (73-79) and Colorado (77-75) are all out.
AL Wildcard: Oakland has expanded the lead over Anaheim (and it's all my fault) to 8 games.
NL Wildcard: For a while it looked like Pittsburgh would catch the Mets, but they've fallen to 5.5 back and look to be almost through.

September 25th - Vs Toronto (60-93) 5th
L9-4, L12-4, L5-3
Now, -THAT- was unexpected. Apparently the trend coming down to the wire is to get really sloppy. I'M TALKING TO YOU, BULLPEN!!
That stank.
Our first 3-loss streak all year I think. And certainly our first time being swept.

Playoff Update: It's all over in the AL. Oakland has clinched the Wildcard. And though it looks like Minnesota has an outside shot at the AL Central still (even though I said that Cleveland had clinched...apparently I was mistaken), I think it's safe to say that they won't make it.
And it's REALLY all over in the NL. The Mets clinch the wildcard.

September 29th - At Texas (73-78) 4th
W6-4, L5-3, W5-2, W6-5
Well, none of that was particularly pretty. I'd just as soon go back and forget the entire week back to the beginning of the series with Toronto. However, I am informed that that is just not possible.
Of the starters, only Fabulous Felix managed to salvage a win (game 3) as everyone else fell pray to the loss (Carpenter) or another no-decision (Prior).

Year Ending Milestones: Eric Gagne (LAD) racks up svae #300. And Derek Jeter (NYY) scores RBI #1000.

October 2nd - At Anaheim (91-68) 3rd
L6-4, W5-2, L3-2
Thomas Oldham ensures he won't get a playoff start with the first loss. And Chris Carpenter disapoints me with the second. Sandwhiched in between is Mark Prior's 23rd win of the year.
All we want now is the ring.

End Of The Year
September Record: 17-11
October Record: 1-1
Overall: 117-45
Well, we missed out on the prestigious 120 win plateau. Somehow I think that we'll survive.

End Of The Season Stats Leaders
AL
HR: Adrian Beltre, 45
Avg: Dustin Pedroia (BOS) .347
RBI: Eric Chavez (OAK) 139 (Beltre 1 behind)
SB: Scott Podsednik (TOR) 51
ERA: Mark Prior, 2.15
K: Johan Santana (MIN) 237
W: Mark Prior, 23
Saves: Kazuhiro Sasaki, 53

NL
HR: Andy Marte (ATL) 45, yes, we had a tie.
Avg: Carl Crawford (LAD) .329
RBI: Miguel Cabrera (ARI) 136
SB: Carl Crawford (LAD) 56
ERA: Bobby Bradley (PIT) 2.62
K: Jason Schmidt (CHC) 251
W: Neal Musser (NYM) 20
Saves: Scott Stewart (ATL) 39

[Lobsteve]

The Playoff Edition

Round One: Divisional Series

The St. Louis Cardinals (102-60) Vs. The New York Mets (94-68)
Prediction: The Cardinals in 4.
Results
Game 1: St. Louis 3-5 New York
Game 2: St. Louis 0-2 New York
Game 3: New York 10-6 St. Louis
The Mets SWEEP!
Series MVP: Neal Musser (SP, NYM)

The Atlanta Braves (103-59) Vs. The Los Angeles Dodgers (97-65)
Prediction: The Braves Sweep. Maybe. If it doens't go five.
Results
Game 1: Atlanta 3-2 Los Angeles
Game 2: Atlanta 6-2 Los Angeles
Game 3: Los Angeles 2-6 Atlanta
The Braves SWEEP!
Series MVP: Marcus Giles (2B, ATL)

The New York Yankees (92-80) Vs. The Oakland Athletics (101-61)
Prediction: It must suck to be 101-61 and still be 2nd. Mwhahahaaaa. Oakland in 4.
Results
Game 1: New York 0-9 Oakland
Game 2: New York 12-2 Oakland
Game 3: Oakland 2-1 New York
Game 4: Oakland 5-3 New York
The Athletics with 3-1
Series MVP: Matt Clement (SP, OAK)

THE Seattle Mariners (117-45) Vs. The Cleveland Indians (89-73)
Prediction: Sweep, baby.
Results
Game 1: Fabulous Felix vs. C.C. Sabathia
Seattle 10-0 Cleveland
Fabulous Felix doubly earns his name with a One-Hit Shutout! Two walks and 5 Ks as well. Amazingly, with all the power in the lineup, we don't manage one homer, weird.

Game 2: Steve Olsen vs. A. Miller
Seattle 2-3 Cleveland
Not what I'd call a pitching duel. And when it came down to it, J.J. Putz blew it, allowing the winning run in the top of the ninth. The nut.

Game 3: D. May vs. Mark Prior
Cleveland 3-11 Seattle
We crushed D. May early and chased him after 4.1 innings. Prior had 7 strong innings allowing 2 runs and Michael Morse (4) and Beltre (3) combined for 7 ribbies.

Game 4: A.J. Burnett vs. Chris Carpenter
Cleveland 5-6 Mariners (13 Innings)
Yes, 13 Innings.
Tied at 3 after the lucky 9 we duke it out (the relievers doing a particularly good job, by the way) until the 13th. Jose Lopez comes in to pinch hit for Adam Jones and immedeately launches a three-run homer as we take the lead.
In the bottom of the 13th Bobby Livingston almost blows it as he allows two RBI hits (a single and a double for those of you keeping score) to make it look close. And to practically give me a heart-attack watching the thing.

Seattle Wins 3-1.
Series MVP: Fabulous Felix (SP)

League Championship Series

The Atlanta Braves vs. The New York Mets
Prediction: Atlanta takes it in 7.
Results
Game 1: Atlanta 5-4 New York (14 Innings)
Game 2: Atlanta 7-3 New York
Game 3: New York 1-5 Atlanta
Game 4: New York 9-6 Atlanta
Game 5: New York 7-6 Atlanta
Game 6: Atlanta 1-6 New York
Game 7: Atlanta 4-3 New York
The Braves Win 4-3.
Series MVP: Anthony Lerew (SP, ATL)

The Seattle Mariners vs. The Oakland Athletics
Prediction: I can't say it'll be a sweep, Oakland is just a little too good for my liking. So how about 6?
Results
Game 1: Mark Prior vs. Matt Clement
Seattle 6-0 Oakland
We kick the series off with another fantastic performance from the game 1 starter. Prior gives up just 3 hits and 3 walks while striking out (wait for it) FOURTEEN. The only guy who had his number was Daric Barton (the catcher) who had two of those hits, and one of the walks. Totally owned was Angel Berroa who stuck out in all four of his at bats.
On the flip side both Victor Martinez and Adrian Beltre homered (and doubled) to lead the way.

Game 2: Chris Carpenter vs. Dan Meyer
Seattle 4-0 Oakland
Back-to-Back shutouts. Nice. And this one included Back-to-Back homers by Shane Costa and Michael Morse. Woo!
Carpenter allowed 9 hits over 9 innings and only allowed 1 extra-base hit (a triple). Dominant.

Game 3: M. Lynch vs. Fabulous Felix
Oakland 3-2 Seattle
Fabulous Felix kept us close for six innings and we went to the bottom of the ninth tied at two, neither team having scored since the 5th. It's all up to Rafael Soriano (where Sasaki is no one knows) and everything is going well as the first two batters ground out. Then disaster strikes! Daric Barton gets plunked! Well, that's it for Soriano, so in comes J.J. Putz (again we can't find Sasaki, he must have gone to the gents...of all the times...). Two pitches later, Eric Chavez hooks a double to the left field corner to cash in the winning run.
I'm sick.
Positively sick.

Game 4: S. Bondurant vs. Steve Olsen
Oakland 0-1 Seattle
I was wondering when the pitching duel would turn up, and there it was. Each side got their fair share of hits, but there were certainly alot of scoreless innings there.
The only run came in the top of the 8th, and that in just the first two batters. Victor Martinez doubles to be followed up with a Beltre RBI single for what would be the winning run.
Alot of poise by Olsen. Didn't know he had it in him.

Game 5: Matt Clement vs. Mark Prior (Round 2. RING THE BELL!)
Oakland 1-8 Seattle (10 Innings)
Sounded like a blowout didn't it? Well, it wasn't the fault of the starters. Prior and Clement give up one run each (Clement actually pitching all 9 innings) before turning it over to the bullpens. And that's where things go horribly wrong for the Athletics.
The top of the tenth was just a shooting gallery.
Adam Jones pops out to short to make it look like it's going to 11.
Steve Finacchiaro doubles.
Ichiro gets plunked.
Jamal Strong hits and infield single to load the bases and willie bloomquist goes on as a pinch-runner for Finacchiaro.
Victor Martinez hits an infield single, scores a run, and beats out the throw.
Adrian Beltre grounds into a fielder's choice and scores another run.
Pitching change.
Brad Fullmer eats horse-hide to load the bases again.
Shane Costa with the 3rd infield single as he beats ou the throw and scores a run.
Michael Morse doubles for 2 RBI.
Adam Jones, as we bat around, also doubles for 2 RBI.
Finally Willie Bloomquist strikes out.
That was SEVEN runs.

Seattle Wins 4-1!
Series MVP: Mark Prior (SP)

The World Series

The Seattle Mariners Vs. The Atlanta Braves
Prediction: Seattle in 6. I hope.
Results

Game 1: Mark Prior vs. Tim Hudson
Seattle 8-0 Atlanta
Prior throws his second shutout of the playoffs and is dominant yet again as he allows just 2 hits narry a single walk and strikes out TEN.
In contrast we lit up Hudson for 5 runs in 4.1 innings and then applied similar wood to the relief corps.
Beautiful.

Game 2: Chris Carpenter vs. R Aguilar
Seattle 2-1 Atlanta
Wow, that was close. Carpenter allows a single, un-earned run in the 5th and Sasaki returned from the Latrine just in time to close it out in 17 pitches.
Well, I guess it wasn't as close as it looked, but I was still worried.

Game 3: A. Lerew vs. Fabulous Felix
Atlanta 2-1 Seattle
I suppose it's only fair that they return the favour. Last game Aguilar went 8 innings, allowing two runs and lost. Now it's Felix's turn to do the same. Just 3 hits he allows (and 3 walks), but the two-run homer to Wilson Betemit kills him in the end.
Lerew allowed a single homer to Victor Martinez in the 4th and then settled in for the long haul, only stepping aside for the closer.

Game 4: J. Stevens vs. Steve Olsen
Atlanta 6-2 Seattle
Did we have to come all the way to Atlanta? Couldn't we have stayed in Seattle? I was much happier there...obviously.
It was all over when K. Mench swatted a 3-run dinger in the 5th to put the Braves up 6-0. We never came close.

Game 5: Tim Hudson vs. Mark Prior (The Grudge Match)
Atlanta 3-2 Seattle
Wilson Betemit lights up Prior for two homers and all 3 RBI.
Uh, I'm going to need my skybox to be cleaned out. Is there a janitor in the building?

Game 6: Chris Carpenter vs. R. Aguilar
Seattle 7-5 Atlanta (10 Innings)
Please, no more extra innings. My stomach just can't take the stress any more.
It was tied at 4 after regulation, which was actually a pretty good show by both starters. The Braves score 1 in the top of the 10th via a sacrifice fly.
Cue the come-back.
Victor Martinez pulls the lead-off homer out of his back pocket to put us on even terms once more.
Beltre flies out, but Fullmer (now really making me wonder if I can let him go) singles.
Shane Costa doesn't do me any favors (I forgive him), but Michael Morse treats a pitching change to a rude welcome with a 2-run, game-winning homer.

Game 7: Fabulous Felix Hernandez vs. A. Lerew. Winner takes all.
Seattle 9-1 Atlanta.
Screw the details, we all know what matters.
Series MVP: Mark Prior (SP)

The World Champions Of Baseball: YOUR SEATTLE MARINERS!!!!!!!

Man that's some good mo-jo.

[rbregnard]

I'm surprised that a team that almost hit 120 wins had such trouble in the World Series. One thing I've noticed is that whenevr you go into September with the chance to have a really high 120 or even 130 win year the team always seems to bomb the month. Probably because the computer puts in a bunch of backups to avoid injuries.

[Lobsteve]

Final Standings
AMERICAN LEAGUE

EAST W L PCT GB AVG HR SB ERA
New York 92 70 .568 -- .270 220 91 4.42
Boston 79 83 .488 13.0 .277 189 67 4.96
Baltimore 73 89 .451 19.0 .260 198 78 4.84
Tampa Bay 73 89 .451 19.0 .265 155 101 4.75
Toronto 67 95 .414 25.0 .254 176 94 5.26

CENTRAL W L PCT GB AVG HR SB ERA
Cleveland 89 73 .549 -- .286 196 53 4.64
Minnesota 87 75 .537 2.0 .278 183 61 4.41
Detroit 69 93 .426 20.0 .254 193 62 4.73
Chicago 63 99 .389 26.0 .256 197 51 5.21
Kansas City 59 103 .364 30.0 .261 134 88 5.25

WEST W L PCT GB AVG HR SB ERA
Seattle 117 45 .722 -- .285 175 81 3.44
Oakland 101 61 .623 16.0 .285 216 50 4.20
Anaheim 93 69 .574 24.0 .285 253 64 4.30
Texas 75 87 .463 42.0 .277 179 72 4.82


NATIONAL LEAGUE

EAST W L PCT GB AVG HR SB ERA
Atlanta 103 59 .636 -- .262 253 34 3.35
New York 94 68 .580 9.0 .254 215 89 3.77
Philadelphia 76 86 .469 27.0 .250 172 36 4.43
Washington 68 94 .420 35.0 .250 115 48 4.09
Florida 68 94 .420 35.0 .236 145 69 4.44

CENTRAL W L PCT GB AVG HR SB ERA
St. Louis 102 60 .630 -- .266 170 51 3.89
Chicago 89 73 .549 13.0 .249 217 65 3.67
Pittsburgh 83 79 .512 19.0 .260 167 42 3.92
Houston 82 80 .506 20.0 .258 176 83 4.04
Cincinnati 67 95 .414 35.0 .249 127 94 4.62
Milwaukee 49 113 .302 53.0 .230 123 57 4.67

WEST W L PCT GB AVG HR SB ERA
Los Angeles 97 65 .599 -- .264 187 107 3.88
Arizona 87 75 .537 10.0 .263 192 41 4.08
Colorado 81 81 .500 16.0 .282 227 62 4.88
San Francisco 77 85 .475 20.0 .262 178 67 4.45
San Diego 70 92 .432 27.0 .249 157 65 4.35

Individual Awards

American League
Cy Young: Mark Prior (SEA)
Player of the Year: Eric Chavez (OAK)
Rookie Of The Year: Steve Olsen (SEA)

Gold Glove (P): Omar Daal (ANA)
Gold Glove (C): Joe Mauer (MIN)
Gold Glove (1B): Paul Konerko (CHW)
Gold Glove (2B): Michael Morse (SEA)
Gold Glove (3B): Andy Phillips (NYY)
Gold Glove (SS): Ramon Vazquez (TOR)
Gold Glove (LF): Gabe Gross (TOR)
Gold Glove (CF): Mark Kotsay (OAK)
Gold Glove (RF): Richard Hidalgo (MIN)

Second straight Cy for Prior (no MVP this time though, I guess I can't have everything) which is 3 on the career.

A well deserved ROY for 'Mr. Edmonton' Steve Olsen. I think that makes him the world's best acquisition. Sorry Pittsburgh, not that he would have won the ROY witht he Pirates.

And Michael 'The Code' Morse does what I hopped he would have done last year, win a Gold Glove at both SS (his GG in '06) and 2B. Hmmm, maybe I should move him over to 1B now....nah.

National League
Cy Young: Neal Musser (NYM)
Player of the Year: Miguel Cabrera (ARI)
Rookie Of The Year: Jakub Burdick (FLA)

Gold Glove (P): Rob Bell (ATL)
Gold Glove (C): Jason Kendall (WAS)
Gold Glove (1B): Brad Wilkerson (SFG)
Gold Glove (2B): Marco Scutaro (STL)
Gold Glove (3B): Joe Crede (HOU)
Gold Glove (SS): Tony Pena (NYM)
Gold Glove (LF): So Taguchi (STL)
Gold Glove (CF): Christopher Kolkhorst (ARI)
Gold Glove (RF): Juan Rivera (SDP)

Contract Fun

Michael Morse (2B) 93oa
Making: .316M
Asking: 8.1M via Arbitration.
An absolute *MUST SIGN*. My star 2B.
Team Offer: 7.45M
Result: Seattle wins arbitration. Morse is signed to a one-year deal worth 7.45M.
->Not that it really matters what it's for, I'm just going to go an resign him long-term in the off-season.

Shane Costa (LF) 89oa 97p
Making: .316M
Asking: 5.6M via Arbitration
Another must sign. He lead the team in average this year with a .334, which isn't fantastic, but not bad either. So he stays. Even if I have to bleed.
Team Offer: 4.6M
Result: Seattle wins Arbitration. Costa is signed to a one-year deal worth 4.8M
-> 2 for 2. Again, another guy I will almost immedeately sign long-term.

Good News: Brad Fullmer has declined his player option to renew his 3M contract.

Brad Fullmer (1B/DH) 82oa
Making: 3M
Asking: 4.95M for 5 years.
Rumors: Money isn't Brad's number one priority.

Fullmer's production was WAY down last year hitting what were near career lows in many categories. On the other hand, he was invaluable in the playoffs, picking up where Beltre left off in the regular season. Even so, I just can't see my way to resigning him. Too much of an asking price, and too little incentive. Plus, he's one of the only players I can move asside to bring up someone from the farm.

Team Offer: No-offer made.
Released.

Jose Lopez (3B) 82oa
Making: .316M
Asking: 1.9M via Arbitration
I'm not sure if this is supposed to be a good deal or not.
Team Offer: None made.
Released.

Jamal Strong (CF) 74oa
Making: .350M
Asking: .6M via Arbitration
Just like Lopez. Neither of these guys are going to ever find their way into the starting lineup, and there's too much talent underneath them. Good day.
Team Offer: None made.
Released.

Willie Bloomquist (3B) 70oa
Making: .5M
Asking: .65M
Now, the Bloomer is a bit of a different situation. He obviously doesn't have the raw talent to make the starting lineup, and probably knows it. He's alos still very good as a defensive replacement, irregarless of what the numbers say.
Team Offer: .55M
Result: We win again. Signed to a one-year deal worth .55M. Tah-dah.

Bret Boone (2B) 45oa
Making: 1.95M
Asking: .6M for 2 years.
Rumors: The Mariners are the kind of team that Boone likes playing for.
->Yeah, but Bret, you're entirely useless to me now.
Team Offer: None made.
Released.

Rafael Soriano (RP) 80oa
Making: 1M
Asking: 2.65M for 5 years
Rumors: Rafael Soriano has very little wiggle room in his asking price.

->Well, we'll give it a try anyways.

Team Offer: 1.75M for 5 years. TO: 2M for 1 year. PO: 2.25M for 2 years.
Result: If you won't give a little, we won't either.
Counter Offer: 2.55M for 5 years. PO: 2.75M for 3 years.

GM Commentary: I know Soriano is a pretty good pitcher. I just think that I can find someone better for a little less. As well as he's done in key situations, his best ERA here has been 3.34 back in '06. That's just not impressive enough for me.

Team Offer: No second offer made.
Released.

Matt Thornton (SP) 82oa
Making: 2.9M
Asking: 3.35M via Arbitration.
No. Way.
Team Offer: None made.
Released.

The Annual Draft Preview!
1. Daniel Moseley (2B) 67oa 100p
2. Ty Chapman (LF) 86oa 100p
3. Max Perez (SS) 71oa 97p
4. Bryan Butcher (CF) 69oa 97p
5. Zack Wallace (SP) 75oa 97p
6. Marv Stephens (SP) 71 oa 97p
7. Frank Heath (SP) 78oa 97p
8. Elvis 'He Lives!' Escriva (SP) 77oa 97p
9. Mario Pinedo (SP) 82oa 96p
10. David Martell (2B) 50oa 96p

If Chapman doesn't get picked first then there's no justice in this world.
A quick line for him: 190ab, 79R, 85H, 19Doubles, 1Triple, 23HR, 81RBI, 111BB, 14K, .447avg. YIKES!

[Lobsteve]

I'm surprised that a team that almost hit 120 wins had such trouble in the World Series.

Actually, we did have one injury that I managed to forget about: Jeremy Reed was lost in the middle of the opening series against Cleveland and we had to suffer along with Jamal Strong the rest of the way. That certainly didn't help.

You'll also notice that the home team won every game in the World Series. I think the lack of DH really hurt us as Beltre just wasn't putting out so much in the playoffs as he was in the regular season and Fullmer was really filling that gap, so remove Brad from the equation and that's where the trouble started.

Atlanta was also the best team in the NL and second best overall. Notably they had the best ERA of any team at 3.35 which beat out my own 3.44. That counts for alot.

Sure, it could have been easier, but it was the two best teams in baseball going at it, and it was pretty darned good.

[oriole^]

A couple of Europeans in the top-30 which strikes me as unsual. Fran Tinsley hails from Salzburg, Austria. While Steve Kramer (Kramer!) is all the way from Karlskrona, Sweden. Kramer is ranked 29th which means I might have a shot at him. I'd take it. Tinsley is ranked too high to be around late in the first round at 92p. But everyone in the top 30 is 89+ in that area, so a good draft all around.

I do like that name (http://www.guisarme.net/~scooter/) - though I'm from Baltimore, not Sweden!