Realignment may be dead -- for now. But that fabled "unbalanced"
schedule is coming to a ballpark near you next season. So at least one of
Bud Selig's 2001 dreams will come true.
Here is the way next year's schedule will work, by divisions:
NL East and NL West: Each team plays 19 games
against its four division opponents. Then it plays each of the other 11 NL
teams six games apiece, plus 18 interleague games.
NL Central: Each team plays 17 games against four
of its five division opponents, but only 16 against the fifth team. Then it
plays six games apiece against the other 10 NL teams, plus 18 interleague
games.
AL East and AL Central: Each team plays 19 games
against its four division opponents, plus 18 interleague games. But the rest
of the schedule is a hodge-podge. Of the other nine teams, each club will
play three teams six times apiece, two teams seven times apiece and four
teams nine times apiece.
AL West: This one is really a mess. Each club will
play one division opponent 20 times, the other two 19 times. Then it will
play eight AL teams nine times apiece and two others seven times apiece. And
don't forget those 18 interleague games.
This may seem like gobbledygook -- mostly because it is. But with four
five-team divisions, one six-team division and one four-team division, this
problem would stump any math major.
What makes all this worthwhile, though, is that teams in the same
division now will play each other home-and-home three times during the
season -- early, midseason and September. And that's what everyone wants.
It's a mathematical nightmare. But who can complain about 19
Yankees-Red Sox games, or 19 Mets-Braves games, or 17 Cubs-Cardinals games.
Rivalries are one of the best things in sports. And this schedule, despite
its obvious flaws, makes sure those division rivals meet far more often than
they do now.
But its downside is that teams in the weak divisions have a huge
advantage in the wild-card race. If the Red Sox have to play nearly 25
percent of their schedule against the Yankees and Blue Jays, while the
Indians get to play nearly one-fourth of their schedule against the Twins
and Royals, that opens the door for all kinds of screaming about competitive
disadvantages.
The bottom line, though, is that it's all supposed to lead to the
best team winning the World Series. To do that, you have to beat the good
teams sometime. And it's more fair to have to do it over the long haul than
the short haul.
Plus, under this format, the division races will mean more than they ever
have in the six-division era. And that's the way it ought to be.
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List of the week
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Just to show that no one is immune from getting clobbered these
days, this is a mere partial list of pitchers who have given up nine or
more runs in a game this year:
Kevin Brown
Kevin Appier
Jamie Moyer
Darryl Kile
Kevin Tapani
Pedro Astacio
Matt Clement
El Duque
Roger Clemens
Chris Carpenter
Kelvim Escobar
Sidney Ponson
Brian Moehler
Eric Milton
Tim Hudson
Kent Bottenfield
Randy Wolf
Kevin Millwood
Terry Mulholland
Jose Lima
Scott Elarton
Andy Benes
Pete Harnisch
Ismael Valdes
Brian Anderson
Armando Reynoso
Russ Ortiz
Joe Nathan
Darren Dreifort
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As we reported last week, the interleague schedule
will not rotate next year. So for the fifth consecutive year, it will be
East-East, West-West, Central-Central. The only exception is that the
Rangers and Astros will finally get to play a home-and-home, with Arizona
being matched up against two AL Central teams to allow that to happen.
How will Chipper Jones' new contract (six years, $90
million) affect the future salary market? It establishes both a record for
position players -- and a floor that at least five marquee players will use
as a base for their own negotiations.
Two of the five, obviously, are the biggest names on
this winter's free-agent list: Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez. The others
are three huge names who will be a year away from free agency: Jeff Bagwell,
Sammy Sosa and Derek Jeter. They all figure to average more per year than
Chipper once their deals are done. But the question is: How much more?
"For a player with an MVP award under his belt, I
don't think $15 million would shock anyone," said Ramirez's agent, Jeff
Moorad, "given the explosion we're about to see with some of the players
going on the market."
Moorad wasn't anxious to define what he means by
"explosion." His interpretation of what that meant: "Let's just say there's
a much-anticipated class of free agents who, by virtue of their
accomplishments, are set up to establish new parameters."
There's a fascinating scenario unfolding in
Cleveland, where the Indians are openly campaigning against their players'
use of a "nutritional" supplement known as Ripped Fuel. The Indians believe
the supplement has been a factor in Manny Ramirez's chronic hamstring
problems this year, as well as those of Sandy Alomar and Enrique Wilson.
So they've asked their players to stop using it.
There has been a lot of attention paid to Cal
Ripken's future in Baltimore. But in San Diego, there's a similar situation
developing around Tony Gwynn. Gwynn, like Ripken, has been hurt much of the
year but expects to return in September. Like Ripken, he also wants to play
in his hometown next season.
But in the prolonged absence of both men, their teams have
begun the evolutional process of moving toward life without them. Gwynn has
a $6-million option for next year, with a $2-million buyout. And if this
were anyone else, the Padres no doubt would pay the buyout and play highly
regarded rookie Mike Darr in right field.
But this is Tony Gwynn. So while he almost certainly will be
back, his contract situation could make this very uncomfortable. Stay tuned.
One of our readers, Richard Courtens, decided before
this season that it was unfair for the MVP race to be decided on an
arbitrary basis by voters at season's end. So he devised a mathematical
formula designed to determine, on a game-by-game basis, which players
actually have the biggest hand in the greatest number of their team's wins.
The AL top five, through the first week of August: 1. Jason
Giambi, 2. Bernie Williams, 3. Pedro Martinez, 4. Frank Thomas and 5. Darin
Erstad.
The NL top five: 1. Sammy Sosa, 2. Todd Helton, 3. Jeff
Kent, 4. Eric Karros and 5. Jim Edmonds.
Junior Griffey was sixth, while the
current MVP favorite, Mike Piazza, was tied for 11th with Jeff Cirillo.
For more info, e-mail courts@juno.com.
While the White Sox may have signed Ken Hill for
insurance, it was not with the intention of throwing him into the rotation.
After all of Hill's health problems, and his release by the Angels, the
White Sox want him to make some minor-league starts and prove he can help
before they bring him to the big leagues, probably in September. The White
Sox still hope Cal Eldred will be back. He was scheduled to throw off a
mound Saturday, Monday and Wednesday. Then they hope he can start a rehab
option. But given Eldred's shaky history, that's no certainty, either.
People talk about the Mets' pitching depth, top to
bottom, as the biggest reason they'll be dangerous going down the stretch.
But Al Leiter thinks there's another reason these Mets are more of a threat
to win it all than last year's Mets: They're a team now.
"Before last year, as a team, we'd never done it," Leiter
said. "We had individuals who had won. But it's something we'd never done as
a unit. The Braves do it every year. But we'd never been through it together
before. Now we have, and I think that will help us."
Publicly, the Phillies' brass keeps saying manager
Terry Francona is in no danger. But there are indications they could
re-evaluate that position over the winter. Francona's players generally
continue to like and support him. But he is being booed so relentlessly by
what fans the Phillies have left that they may have to consider firing him
for public-relations reasons, if nothing else.
One of Francona's ex-players, Curt Schilling, rose to his
defense this week after the Diamondbacks swept the Phillies in Philadelphia,
saying: "It's not the manager's fault. No one wants to hear that, but it's
not his fault. He's a players' manager, but he says some things when they
need to be said. This is not a day-care center. It's the big leagues. It's
his responsibility to put the lineup out there, and they play hard. Since
the day he walked in there, every team played their butts off. And you
always see that. ... But when you're losing, people don't look at effort.
They look at results."
Nevertheless, with a bullpen that has a 7.58 ERA this month
(worst in baseball), the Phillies have no chance to get any result other
than disaster.
More trouble in Baltimore, where new Orioles pitcher
Lesli Brea -- the key man in the Mike Bordick deal -- told the media he was 26
years old, not 21. Oops. Meanwhile, pitcher Luis Rivera -- the pivotal player
in the B.J. Surhoff trade -- still has shoulder tendinitis and hasn't been
able to pitch. And pitcher Mark Nussbeck, the main returnee in the Mike
Timlin deal, also has been shut down with shoulder trouble. Meanwhile,
shortstop Melvin Mora, who at least is playing, had made an error in five
straight games, through Friday. Outside of that, though, those trades have
turned out great.
Useless information dept.
Maybe saves are overrated. The Cardinals just went a month without one -- and stayed in first place. The Elias Sports Bureau's Randy Robles reports that since the invention of the modern save rule, only two teams have ever had longer spans without a save and finished that span still in
first place: The Dodgers (35 days, in April-May, 1975) and Cardinals (35, in
April-May, 1974). Hard to do.
Last Sunday in Philadelphia, Jeff Bagwell drove in
seven runs to tie the Astros' all-time record for one game. But Bagwell
also knocked in a run in each of five different at-bats -- an incredible
feat. Only one other player has done it this year, according to the Elias Sports Bureau: Sosa,
on May 14. And only one did it in each of the previous two seasons: Jermaine
Dye last year, Eric Karros in 1998.
When Junior Griffey pulled into the NL Central, it
seemed to set the stage for lots of fun home-run duels between Griffey, Sosa
and Mark McGwire. But when Griffey and Sosa homered in the same game at
Wrigley Field last weekend, it was only the third time this year that two of
the big three had gone deep in the same game. The others: April 9 in
Cincinnati (Sosa-Griffey) and May 5 in Cincinnati (McGwire-Griffey).
Maybe McGwire's home-run record won't fall this
year. But Bert Blyleven's is still endangered. Jose Lima has coughed up 38
gopherballs. And on this date in 1986, on the way to 50, Blyleven had
allowed only 37. He didn't get to 40 that year until Sept. 13. But he gave
up five that day to get to 44. Then he served up one on Sept. 19, one on the
24th, three on the 29th and No. 50 on Oct. 4. By the way, only one active
player homered off Blyleven that year: Jay Bell (No. 47, on the first pitch
of Bell's career).
Speaking of the Astros, they were so hot Sunday and
Monday (when they scored 30 runs in two games against Philadelphia and
Pittsburgh) that they actually had more batters reach base in those two
games (51) than make outs (48).
We keep finding out how amazing Joe DiMaggio's
56-game hitting streak really was. Gabe Kapler became the first Texas player
ever to get halfway to DiMaggio. But all of these teams still have never had
a 28-game hitting streak (listed is current record streak):
White Sox: 27 games (Albert Belle, Luke Appling).
Oakland A's: 25 games (Jason Giambi).
Mariners: 24 games (Joey Cora).
Devil Rays: 18 games (Miguel Cairo).
Rockies: 23 games (Dante Bichette).
Marlins: 22 games (Edgar Renteria, Luis Castillo).
Astros: 23 games (Art Howe, Luis Gonzalez).
Mets: 24 games (Hubie Brooks, Mike Piazza).
Pirates: 27 games before 1900 (Jimmy Williams), 26 since '00 (Danny
O'Connell). Doesn't count a 30-gamer over two seasons (Charlie Grimm).
San Francisco Giants: 26 games (Jack Clark).
So Ken Griffey Jr. thinks ESPN never reports
anything good about him? How about this? For all the talk of his
"disappointing" season, only once in his career did he get to to 100 RBI on
an earlier date than he did this year -- in 1997 (Aug. 2). Next earliest:
Aug. 12 (2000), Aug. 15 (1998), Aug. 16 (1996), Aug. 17 (1999).
Russ Ortiz now has made two starts this year of six
or more innings in which he allowed only one hit. Only other pitcher to do
that this year, according to Elias' Ken Hirdt: Tim Hudson. But Ron Villone
did it three times last year.
Kris Benson has made four straight starts in four
different time zones: home in Pittsburgh (ET), then at San Francisco (PT),
at Colorado (MT) and at Houston (CT). Oh yeah. He went 0 for all four time
zones.
Dwight Gooden collected one of those rarified
four-inning saves Tuesday. Only four other relievers have had one this year:
Mike Morgan, Alan Mills, Elmer Dessens and LaTroy Hawkins. (Gooden's was the
fifth four-inning save out of 864 total saves this year, according to
Elias). Last year, there were 14 four-inning saves out of 1,217.
When the Rockies actually scored 10 runs-plus in
back-to-back road games in Montreal last weekend, it was only the second
time they'd scored in double figures on the road two straight days in
franchise history. The other: May 4-5, 1999, at Chicago. (They scored 12
runs, then 13 -- but lost the first game, 13-12). They've scored 10-plus on
back-to-back days at home 36 times.
The Blue Jays hit their 200th homer of the year on
Aug. 18 -- the second-earliest date ever. The fastest previous dates in
history, according to the Sultan of Swat Stats, SABR'S David Vincent:
Oakland 8/16/1996 (finished with 243).
Baltimore 8/21/1996 (257).
Seattle 8/23/1997 (264).
Seattle 8/28/1996 (245).
Seattle 8/28/1998 (234).
Aramis Ramirez's interesting season totals: six home
runs, two of them grand slams. Fewest homers in a season by a guy with more
than one slam, according to Vincent: Two, by Bert Cunningham in 1899, for
Louisville. Since 1900: three, by Bob Zupcic ('92 Red Sox), Fritzie
Connally ('85 Orioles), Kurt Bevacqua ('85 Padres) and Gene Moore ('32
Braves).
Let's hear it for Brian Bohanon, the fifth Rockies
pitcher to homer somewhere other than Denver. The others: Roger Bailey (July
20, 1996), Kevin Ritz (Sept. 2, 1996), Mark Thomson (April 15, 1997) and
Jamey Wright (Aug. 5, 1998).
The Detroit Free Press' John Lowe reports that when
Steve Sparks shut out the Mariners on Tuesday, he became the oldest pitcher
in 42 years to throw his first big-league shutout. The last guy that old or
older to do it, according to Elias: Fellow knuckleball king Hoyt Wilhelm,
who was 12 days older than Sparks when he threw a no-hitter for the Orioles
on Sept. 20, 1958.
Another amazing irony of baseball life, courtesy of
John Lowe. Tigers Double-A pitcher Nate Cornejo had these two starts
back-to-back: Eight innings, no runs in the first start, then eight runs, no outs
in the second. Hard to do.
Also in farm land, Potomac outfielder Esix Snead
became the first minor leaguer since 1985 to steal 100 bases. Here are the
others to do it in the last 20 years, from Howe Sportsdata:
NAME TEAM LEAGUE YEAR SB
Vince Coleman Macon SAL 1983 145
Donell Nixon Bakersfield CAL 1983 144
Jeff Stone Spartanburg SAL 1981 123
Alan Wiggins Lodi CAL 1980 120
Marcus Lawton Columbia SAL 1985 111
Len Dykstra Lynchburg CARO 1983 105
Donell Nixon Chattanooga SOU 1984 102
Vince Coleman Louisville AMAS 1984 101
Albert Hall Durham CARO 1980 100
Esix Snead Potomac CARO 2000 100
The Blue Jays recently signed long-lost
39-year-old pitcher Mark Eichhorn. And incredibly, Eichhorn just finished a stretch
in Triple A in which he went 15 straight appearances (July 8- Aug. 11)
without giving up a run (13 2/3 innings, only three hits).
Finally, here's the minor-league
promotion of the week (non-horse division). At Charleston, S.C., this week,
the River Dogs had Tonya Harding Night. Tonya herself showed up to sign
autographs. They even gave away mini-bats. What a world.
Jayson Stark is a senior writer at ESPN.com. Rumblings and Grumblings will appear each Saturday. | |
ALSO SEE
Jayson Stark archive
Stark: Week in Review
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