Thursday, October 14, 2004

Pacific Coast League Championship Series

Minnesota Twins (3-3 Champions of the PCL East) at
Portland Beavers (3-3 Champions of the PCL West)

Game 7
MIN: Santos Matamoros (26-R 16-10 3.88) vs. POR: Frank Flores (25-R 21-7 3.23) All-Star/PCLCS MVP

We won this matchup in Game 3, 3 to 2. Matamoros gave us 3 runs in 7 IP and took the loss. Flores allowed 2 runs in 5 IP and got the win.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS DEF)
MINNESOTA
1: 3B Larry Murphy (24-R .311-602-4-53-.822 86) All-Star
2: SS Dick Henry (26-S .310-562-9-78-.770 91) All-Star
3: CF Marco Manga (25-L .308-445-25-85-.969 63) 2-time All-Star(02-03)
4: C Dave Kiehne (30-R .226-518-11-64-.628 79)
5: 2B Dave Macnaughton (31-R .284-605-20-99-.777 79) 3-time All-Star(02-04)
6: LF Phil Brown (30-R .285-449-13-63-.768 55)
7: 1B Larry Kelm (29-R .263-453-11-54-.723 90)
8: RF Dick Turner (28-R .289-402-2-37-.724 108)
9: P Santos Matamoros (26-S .129-70-1-7-.364 51)

PORTLAND
1: SS Dave Risinger (28-R .276-293-4-27-.723 85)
2: CF Jerry Suazo (30-L .271-443-2-33-.680 71)
3: RF Enrique Ramos (25-L .309-524-24-81-.883 72) Silver Slugger(CF)/3-time All-Star(02-04)/RoY(01)/Gold Glove(LF-01)
4: 1B Glenn Snowden (27-R .323-570-43-139-1.003 65) 2-time Silver Slugger(02-03)/4-time All-Star/Gold Glove(01)
5: C Tim Higbee (21-S .297-562-28-85-.854 53) All-Star
6: 3B Jeff Galka (35-R .234-565-23-89-.721 59)
7: LF Kim Springer (24-L .292-538-16-74-.792 61)
8: 2B A.J. Lee (24-R .284-394-2-42-.696 94)
9: P Frank Flores (25-R .221-77-0-7-.513 33) All-Star/PCLCS MVP

Game Start: 8:05 PM
Ballpark: Metropolitan Stadium
Weather: 55 F, Partly Cloudy, with an 8 MPH wind blowing out to right
Attendance: 45,777

Top of the First:
Larry Murphy grounds out to short. Dick Henry beats out an infield hit. Marco Manga grounds into a force at 2nd, 4-6. He steals 2nd. Dave Kiehne puts a charge into one to center, but Jerry Suazo catches it on the warning track!

Bottom of the First:
Dave Risinger strikes out... Jerry Suazo lines out to 2nd. Enrique Ramos swings at the first pitch and grounds out to short...

Minnesota 0; Portland 0

Top of the Second:
With 1 out, Phil Brown hits a home run down the left field line... 1 to 0, Twins. With 2 outs, Dick Turner draws a walk. P Santos Matamoros, a .129 hitter, loops a hit to right and Turner beats the throw to 3rd... Larry Murphy hits a home run to left center... 4 to 0, Twins. The Bullpen is up...Murphy hit 4 home runs all season... Dick Henry grounds out to the pitcher.

Bottom of the Second:
With 2 outs, Jeff Galka grounds a hit to left. Kim Springer grounds out to 2nd..

Minnesota 4; Portland 0

Top of the Third:
With 2 outs, Dave Macnaughton grounds a hit to left. Phil Brown pops out to center.

Bottom of the Third:
A.J. Lee grounds a hit up the middle. PH Denny Peters (28-S) is sent up. Lee steals 2nd. Peters grounds one to the hole on the right side, but 2B Dave Macnaughton makes a diving stop and throws him out at 1st and Lee goes to 3rd. A wild pitch scores Lee! 4 to 1, Twins. The next two make outs.

Minnesota 4; Portland 1

Top of the Fourth:
New Pitcher: David Cruz (24-R). Larry Kelm draws a walk. The Bullpen is back up. With 1 out, P Santos Matamoros bunts Kelm to 2nd. Larry Murphy grounds a hit to right and Kelm beats the throw home... 5 to 1, Twins. Murphy goes to 2nd on the throw. Dick Henry pops out to right.

Bottom of the Fourth:
3-4-5 hitters for us go down 1-2-3....

Minnesota 5; Portland 1

Top of the Fifth:
They go down in order for the first time today.

Bottom of the Fifth:
With 1 out, Kim Springer lines a hit to left. A.J. Lee swings at a 3-2 pitch and grounds into a 6-4-3 double play...

Minnesota 5; Portland 1

Top of the Sixth:
They go down in order.

Bottom of the Sixth:
Time is getting short... PH Juan Rojas (25-S) grounds out to 3rd and we go down in order.... 3 hits today... Pretty sorry showing by this offense this series...

Minnesota 5; Portland 1

Top of the Seventh:
New Pitcher: Denny Jennissen (31-R). P Santos Matamoros beats out an infield hit... The second hit of the day for a career .117 hitter.... With 1 out, Dick Henry grounds into a force at 2nd, 6-4. Marco Manga draws a walk. Dave Kiehne swings at a 3-2 pitch and misses.

Bottom of the Seventh:
3-4-5 hitters up for us. Enrique Ramos doubles to center. Glenn Snowden takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. Tim Higbee swings at the first pitch and lines a rocket down the 1st base line, but Larry Kelm catches it and throws to 2nd to double off Ramos... Jeff Galka strikes out...

Minnesota 5; Portland 1

Top of the Eighth:
They go down in order.

Bottom of the Eighth:
With 2 outs, PH Jack Hinckley (28-R) strikes out looking...

Minnesota 5; Portland 1

Top of the Ninth:
New Pitcher: Ramon Andrade (30-R). With 1 out, PH Jim Reyes (32-L), 0 for 2 this series, grounds out to 2nd. Larry Murphy grounds one to 1st, but P Andrade drops the toss from Glenn Snowden for an error.. Call to the Bullpen: Steve Stewart (25-L). Dick Henry flares a hit to right and Murphy goes to 3rd without a throw... Marco Manga strikes out.

Bottom of the Ninth:
New Pitcher: Tom Cruzan (27-R), making his third appearance of the series. In 3 scoreless innings, he has given us 1 hit and 2 walks and struck out 3. Dave Risinger swings at a 3-2 pitch and misses... Jerry Suazo strikes out looking on 3 pitches... Enrique Ramos lines a hit to left. Glenn Snowden lines out to 1st...

Lost - 5 to 1

112 wins and we don't even make it to the World Series...
We lose 3 games at home...
Where we won 61 games during the regular season....
We scored 20 runs in 7 games...
We were out-homered, 7 to 3...

We had 5 whole hits and made 1 error
Minnesota had 8 hits and made no errors

Frank Flores (L 1-1) went 3 innings, allowed 4 runs, 5 hits, 2 home runs, 1 walk and struck out no one.
RHP David Cruz went 3 innings, allowed 1 run, 1 hit, 1 walk and struck out 1.
RHP Denny Jennissen went 2 scoreless innings, allowed 1 hit, 1 walk and struck out 2.
RHP Ramon Andrade got 2 outs and made an error.
LHP Steve Stewart got 1 out, allowed 1 hit and struck out 1.

Santos Matamoros (W 1-1) went 8 innings, gave us 1 run, 4 hits, 1 walk and struck out 4. He threw a WP (else, we would not have scored at all). At bat, he was 2 for 2.
RHP Tom Cruzan went 1 scoreless inning, gave us 1 hit and struck out 2.

RF Enrique Ramos had 2 hits with a double.

For Minnesota, 3B Larry Murphy had 2 hits with a home run and 4 RBI.

SP Richard Oliver (34-R), who was 2-0 with a 5 hit shutout, was named the PCLCS MVP.

Saturday, October 16, 2004

World Series

Toronto Blue Jays (92-70 .568 Champions of the National League) at
Minnesota Twins (99-63 Champions of the Pacific Coast League)

Game 1
TOR: Kevin Allen (24-R 12-7 2.57) All-Star vs. MIN: Richard Oliver (34-R 12-12 3.38) PCLCS MVP/Silver Slugger

The Blue Jays won, 5 to 2
They lead the series, 1 game to none.

The Blue Jays scored 4 runs in the 4th. LF Steve Ward hit a 3 run home run and drew a walk. Rookie 2B Jose Viera (25-R) had 3 hits with a double, stole a base and scored 2 runs. P Kevin Allen (24-R) went 7 innings, allowed 2 runs, 6 hits, 2 walks and struck out 4. At bat, he had 2 hits, scored a run and had 2 RBI.

For Minnesota, P Richard Oliver (34-R), who stymied us, gave up 5 runs and 10 hits in 4.2 IP with 4 walks. RF Dick Turner had 3 hits and scored a run.

W - SP Kevin Allen (24-R) (1-0)
SV - Howie Benkowski (22-R) (1)

L - SP Richard Oliver (34-R) (0-1)

Sunday, October 17, 2004

World Series

Toronto Blue Jays (1-0 Champions of the National League) at
Minnesota Twins (0-1 Champions of the Pacific Coast League)

Game 2
TOR: Pete Kinser (31-R 10-15 3.53) 2-time All-Star(02-03) vs. MIN: Paul Jasper (32-R 4-6 4.59)

The Blue Jays won, 9 to 8 in 14 innings.
They lead the series, 2 games to none.

CF John Kiszka (25-L) had 3 hits, stole a base, scored a run and had an RBI. Rookie 2B Jose Viera (25-R) had 4 hits with 2 walks, scored a run and had an RBI, but was caught stealing twice. PH Jeff Wagner (26-L) hit a 2 run home run. The go ahead run in the 14th was scored on a wild pitch.

For Minnesota, RF Dick Turner had 3 hits with a triple and a walk, scored 2 runs and had 2 RBI. CF Marco Manga hit a 2 run home run in the bottom of the 9th to tie the game.

W - Rookie RP Trevor Shannon (27-L) (1-0)

L - RP Mike Pugh (26-R) (0-1)

Tuesday, October 19, 2004

World Series

Minnesota Twins (0-2 Champions of the Pacific Coast League) at
Toronto Blue Jays (2-0 Champions of the National League)

Game 3
MIN: Santos Matamoros (26-R 16-10 3.88) vs. TOR: Larry Ryan (22-R 14-10 3.19)

The Twins won, 5 to 4.
The Blue Jays lead the series, 2 games to 1.

3B Larry Murphy (24-R) hit a triple and a home run, scored 2 runs and had 2 RBI. SS Dick Henry (26-S) hit a home run and had 2 RBI.

W - SP Santos Matamoros (26-R) (1-0)
SV - RP Rick Wells (21-R) (1)

L - SP Larry Ryan (22-R) (0-1)

Wednesday, October 20, 2004

World Series

Minnesota Twins (1-2 Champions of the Pacific Coast League) at
Toronto Blue Jays (2-1 Champions of the National League)

Game 4
MIN: George Johnson (27-R 17-8 3.03) vs. TOR: Craig Daly (27-L 12-8 3.52)

The Twins won, 14 to 3.
The Series is tied, 2 games all.

RF Marco Manga (25-L) had 3 hits, scored 2 runs and had 3 RBI. 2B Dave Macnaughton (31-R) had 4 hits, scored 2 runs and had an RBI. C Dave Kiehne had a hit and 3 RBI. 1B Larry Kelm (29-R) had 3 hits with a double and scored 2 runs. CF Dick Turner (28-R) had 4 hits with a double, was hit by a pitch, scored 2 runs and had 4 RBI. He has 11 hits in the Series. The Twins had 20 hits in the game.

For Toronto, LF Steve Ward (34-R) had 3 hits and scored a run. RF Phil Ilievski (25-S) hit 2 triples, scored a run and had 2 RBI.

W - RP Ben Blachford (28-R) (1-0)
SV - RP Joe Sarette (31-R) (1)

L - SP Craig Daly (27-L) (0-1)

Thursday, October 21, 2004

World Series

Minnesota Twins (2-2 Champions of the Pacific Coast League) at
Toronto Blue Jays (2-2 Champions of the National League)

Game 5
MIN: Richard Oliver (34-R 12-12 3.38) PCLCS MVP/Silver Slugger vs. TOR: Kevin Allen (24-R 12-7 2.57) All-Star

Toronto won this matchup in Game 1, 5 to 2.

The Twins won, 3 to 1.
They lead the Series, 3 games to 2.

1B Larry Kelm (29-R) hit a home run. SP Richard Oliver (34-R) went 7 innings, allowed 1 run, 2 hits, 1 home run, 4 walks and struck out 2.

For Toronto, 1B Jerry Isom (26-R), the NLCS MVP, hit a home run to account for all of their scoring. RF Phil Ilievski (25-S), was 1 for 1 with a double and 3 walks. SP Kevin Allen (24-R) went 8 innings, allowed 3 runs, 5 hits, 1 home run, 3 walks and struck out 8.

W - SP Richard Oliver (34-R) (1-1)
SV - RP Rick Wells (21-R) (2)

L - SP Kevin Allen (24-R) (1-1)

Saturday, October 23, 2004

World Series

Toronto Blue Jays (2-3 Champions of the National League) at
Minnesota Twins (3-2 Champions of the Pacific Coast League)

Game 6
MIN: Paul Jasper (32-R 4-6 4.59) vs. TOR: Pete Kinser (31-R 10-15 3.53) 2-time All-Star(02-03)

Toronto won this matchup in Game 2, 9 to 8, in 14 innings.

The Twins won, 6 to 5, in 11 innings.
They win the Series, 4 games to 2.

They are the 1st PCL team to win the World Series.

The Twins scored 3 times in the bottom of the 9th to tie the game. C Dave Kiehne (30-R) singled home RF Marco Manga (25-L) with no outs to win the game in the bottom of the 11th.

For Toronto, SS/3B Dick Parrish (25-S) had 2 hits with a double and a walk, stole a base and scored 3 runs. SP Pete Kinser went 7 innings, allowed 2 runs, 3 hits, 1 walk and struck out 2.

W - Rookie RP Mark Borkowski (33-R) (1-0)

L - RP Juan Diaz (26-R) (0-1)

RF/CF Dick Turner (28-R) was named the World Series MVP. He had 12 hits (.462) and 7 RBI.

Monday, October 25, 2004

Winter Plans

We have 1 player who's contract is running out, RP Denny Jennissen (31-R). I would not mind having him back, but he wants too much money for the 4th option out of the Pen, so he will be allowed to walk.

Other players who will be non-tendered and are arbitration eligible:
1B Oscar Trejo (31-R). His demise left us with a big hole in the pinch-hitting department that must be filled this Winter. Hopefully, we can end up with 2 good hitters on the bench, instead of the zero we had this season.
LF Carlos Lopez (29-L), who made $140,000 this season hitting .159 at Vancouver (A).
RP Jon Weekley (28-R), who made $472,000 pitching in the minors. We may be able to trade him.
OF Jack Hinckley (28-R), who made $220,000 for a .568 OPS. He may also get some trade interest.

In my dream scenario, we will get a center fielder, a shortstop, 2 pinch-hitters, a backup catcher and a pair of relief pitchers, at least one a lefty.

None of the players currently playing short and center field are elite level defenders and I want elite level defenders there. 2nd Base and 3rd base were not particular strong spots for us this year, but we have a pair of elite prospects (2B Dave Maynard (22-R) and 3B Brent Edwards (23-R)) that should be able to fill those spots, if not this coming season, then certainly by 2006. CF Jayson Pemberton (21-R) would qualify as an elite level defender, but his bat looks several years away from being useful. We also have a shortstop, Darrell Grigg (22-L), who can pick it, but only hit .250 with a .610 OPS at Vancouver this year and projects to be a good backup, rather than an All-Star.

We need another lefty in the Pen and someone to replace Ramon Andrade (31-R), who will be given to anyone who wants him and Denny Jennissen (31-R), who is turning Free Agent.

With us picking last in the B Leagues Draft this January, we will not likely be able to get anyone who will help us immediately.

To accomplish all this, new owner, Dave Leadbeater (50), has given me a budget of $12.6 million, up from the $10.8 million we had to work with this season! That moves us up to 29th of the 32 teams! Boston leads the way with a $21.4 million budget. We have a lot of young players that will be getting raises in Arbitration, though, so we are probably losing ground relatively speaking.

Tuesday, October 26, 2004

Trade #56
RP Ramon Andrade (30-R) to Pittsburgh for C Jay Kerksieck (27-R)

Andrade wore out his welcome. He was signed specifically because he did not allow hardly any home runs, only 3 in 3 years for Miami, but he gave up 5 for us and proved to be an easy touch for left-handed batters (.776 OPS).

Kerksieck is a quality backup catcher who is better than a lot guys who are starting in other cities.


Trade #57
RP Jon Weekley (28-R) to Kansas City for 1B Steve Hermanson (27-S)

Hermanson does not come cheap and the Royals were willing to give him away for just about anything we wanted to give them, but we wanted to get Weekley's salary off the books. He is going back from whence he came.... Hermanson will hopefully fill the role of our primary pinch-hitter that we sorely lacked this year and also be decent injury insurance for Glenn Snowden.

Friday, October 29, 2004

Trade #58
CF Larry Ballard (25-L) to Baltimore for RP Dave Briggs (27-L).

Briggs is the best I could come up with without having to trade an elite player for a reliever. Quality left-handers are very rare.


That is all the trading for now. It does not look like we will get a new shortstop or center fielder this Winter. There will be none better than what we already have on the Free Agent market and there are only a handful of players that I would even want in existence, but they are too expensive to acquire. Their teams all only wanting SP Barry Phillips (21-R) or 1B Glenn Snowden (27-R). So we will wait until after the B Leagues Draft to see what we can get for P Frank Flores (25-R).

Tuesday, November 2, 2004

The Gold Gloves were announced today:

National League
P Vic Harrington, St. Louis (37-R) Rookie Now a Beaver!
C Darrell Milewski, Baltimore (33-R) ex-Beaver
1B Roberto Perez, St. Louis (33-L)
2B Sid Rasho, Detroit (24-R)
3B Rich Aycock, Baltimore (26-L) 2-time winner(1B-03)
SS Mike Kernen, Boston (29-S)
LF Pete Hudson, Brooklyn (23-L) 2-time winner(03)
CF Gerry Hawkins, Chicago (25-L) 2-time winner(03)
RF Larry Vandergriff, Washington (27-L) 2-time winner(03)

Pacific Coast League
P Mitch Bagley, San Antonio (23-R) 2-time winner(03)
C Tim Higbee, Portland (21-S)
1B Bill Lunsford, San Diego (22-L)
2B Adam Carter, Seattle (28-R)
3B Gene O'Connor, San Antonio (24-R) Rookie
SS Dick Henry, Minnesota (26-S)
LF Dave Bafaro, San Diego (30-L) 2-time winner(CF-01)
CF Ken Shepherd, San Antonio (29-R)
RF Tom Boyles, Denver (25-R)

Higbee is a big surprise to us in Beaverland, because we never thought he was very good, but though he does have his problems throwing the ball, he only allowed 3 PB all season.

Wednesday, November 3, 2004

The Fireman Trophy's were announced today.

National League
Howie Benkowski, Toronto (22-R) 8-5 1.53 ERA 33 SV (Votes: 12-111)

Others receiving votes:
Roy Huls, New York (23-R) 7-4 1.43 35 SV (13-104) ex-Beaver
Miguel Galvez, Miami (26-R) 7-2 0.67 3 SV (6-54)
Jimmy Taylor, Atlanta (31-R) 7-1 1.85 35 SV (1-17)
Alex Mendoza, St. Louis (31-L) 2-2 1.57 8 SV (0-1)
Buster Wallace, Miami (25-R) 6-6 2.88 39 SV (0-1) Rookie

Pacific Coast League
Leonardo Sanchez, Portland (25-R) 7-1 0.85 ERA 6 SV (19-130)

Others receiving votes:
Javier Fernandez, Hollywood (24-R) 5-3 1.00 46 SV (13-120)
Hal Ockey, Los Angeles (29-R) 6-3 1.53 30 SV (0-38)

Sanchez winning it is stupid...

Thursday, November 4, 2004

The Silver Slugger teams were announced today.

National League
(Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS)
P Gary Trader, Cincinnati (33-R .328-64-0-5-.770 1 SB)
C Tom Cooper, Miami (29-L .299-472-14-75-.774)
1B Alex Urias, Atlanta (39-L .304-602-51-132-1.024) 2-time winner(01)
2B Mike Paterson, Chicago (22-L .305-436-17-73-.893)
3B Bill Commisso, Pittsburgh (26-R .280-589-24-94-.823) 2-time winner(03)
SS Mark Flynn, Cincinnati (24-R .293-615-16-82-.816 28 SB)
LF Fernando Mexicano, Cleveland (24-L .309-495-34-108-.991) 2-time winner(3B-02)
CF Gerry Hawkins, Chicago (25-L .256-663-23-82-.746)
RF Dick Panos, Atlanta (28-R .290-606-31-111-.838)

Pacific Coast League
P Hal Kestler, Dallas (27-R .271-70-1-8-.629)
C Joe Taylor, Denver (23-R .325-551-34-116-.933)
1B Glenn Snowden, Portland (27-R .323-570-43-139-1.003) 3-time winner(02-03)
2B Greg Hobbs, Milwaukee (30-R .287-467-26-81-.879 29 SB) 3-time winner(SS-01,2B-03)
3B Larry Murphy, Minnesota (24-R .311-602-4-53-.822 45 SB)
SS Dick Henry, Minnesota (26-S .310-562-9-78-.770)
LF Kevin McKinney, Denver (24-R .366-648-37-117-1.084 32 SB)
CF Clay Laurence, San Francisco (25-R .314-653-19-100-.878 38 SB) 4-time winner(RF-01,CF-02,LF-03)
RF Ken Manning, Kansas City (26-R .326-592-30-110-.947 28 SB)

Friday, November 5, 2004

The Rookie of the Year awards were announced today.

National League
1B Vinny Michel, Pittsburgh (27-R .312-388-15-59-.875) (Voting: 23-142)

Others receiving votes:
LF Terry Nix, Chicago (23-L 303-584-18-77-.815) (9-90)
2B Jesus Lopez, Miami (23-S .291-412-6-35-.771 33 SB) (0-56)

Pacific Coast League
CF Eric Daniels, Denver (22-L .284-645-17-80-.807 33 SB) (27-150)

Others receiving votes:
LF Ray Knowles, Sacramento (21-L .325-554-4-49-.853 61 SB) (5-106)
2B Kevin Shellhammer, Houston (26-R .272-349-5-35-.727) (0-28)
SP John Krawczyk, Portland (25-L 8-7 2.93 22 GS 141.1 IP, 134 H, 4 HR, 33 BB, 82 SO) (0-4)

Saturday, November 6, 2004

The Cy Young Awards were announced today.

National League
SP Carlos de Santiago, Brooklyn (24-L 18-10 2.60 ERA 34 GS, 260 IP, 221 H, 10 HR, 62 BB, 165 SO) (14-166)

Others receiving votes:
SP Jerry Sullivan, Washington (30-L 17-13 2.47 ERA 36 GS, 266 IP, 237 H, 11 HR, 41 BB, 166 SO) (12-148) 02 winner
SP Javier Meneses, Washington (22-R 14-12 2.39 ERA 33 GS, 241 IP, 228 H, 8 HR, 47 BB, 105 SO) (1-60)
SP Raul Alvarado, Montreal (28-L 15-13 3.07 ERA 36 GS, 260.2 IP, 220 H, 8 HR, 121 BB, 247 SO) (2-45) 03 winner
SP Felipe Diaz, Baltimore (28-R 17-12 2.58 ERA 33 GS, 240.1 IP, 199 H, 10 HR, 57 BB, 127 SO) (0-42)
SP Bob Showalter, Brooklyn (31-R 18-8 2.36 ERA 33 GS, 244.1 IP, 202 H, 17 HR, 54 BB, 103 SO) (1-36)
SP Kevin Allen, Toronto (24-R 12-7 2.57 ERA 26 GS, 189.1 IP, 137 H, 20 HR, 65 BB, 194 SO) (2-32)
SP Dave Little, Pittsburgh (22-L 15-14 2.57 ERA 35 GS, 252.1 IP, 217 H, 9 HR, 62 BB, 130 SO) (0-8)
SP Jeff Kintz, Detroit (27-R 16-13 2.98 ERA 36 GS, 257 IP, 217 H, 15 HR, 83 BB, 151 SO) (0-7)

Pacific Coast League
SP Barry Phillips, Portland (21-R 19-4 2.18 ERA 33 GS, 231 IP, 182 H, 8 HR, 70 BB, 129 SO) (29-215)

Others receiving votes:
SP Greg Ware, Oakland (28-L 17-14 2.33 ERA 35 GS, 262.2 IP, 232 H, 13 HR, 59 BB, 195 SO) (2-112) 03 winner
SP Hal Kestler, Dallas (27-R 16-9 2.21 ERA 27 GS, 207.2 IP, 169 H, 14 HR, 28 BB, 111 SO) (0-85)
SP Al Johnson, Kansas City (24-R 19-9 2.67 ERA 34 GS, 256.1 IP, 218 H, 12 HR, 41 BB, 129 SO) (0-38) 01 & 02 winner
SP Bobby Johnson, Portland (25-R 19-7 2.77 ERA 35 GS, 237.1 IP, 197 H, 14 HR, 54 BB, 131 SO) (0-30)
SP Vic Kyzer, Milwaukee (26-L 22-10 3.26 ERA 36 GS, 248.1 IP, 236 H, 20 HR, 55 BB, 219 SO) (1-24) ex-Beaver
SP Jesus Benitez, Houston (24-R 15-10 2.57 ERA 33 GS, 245.1 IP, 203 H, 10 HR, 69 BB, 164 SO) (0-22)
SP Sergio Peralta, Kansas City (29-R 17-9 2.62 ERA 31 GS, 233.2 IP, 208 H, 10 HR, 41 BB, 116 SO) (0-8)
RP Rich Larkin, Portland (25-R 5-4 1.63 ERA 27 SV 58 G, 83 IP, 62 H, 2 HR, 22 BB, 88 SO) (0-6)
SP Frank Flores, Portland (25-R 21-7 3.23 ERA 35 GS, 222.2 IP, 230 H, 12 HR, 45 BB, 90 SO) (0-2)
SP Antonio Gonzalez, Hollywood (25-L 11-4 2.03 ERA 33 GS, 177.1 IP, 137 H, 7 HR, 35 BB, 140 SO) (0-2)

Sunday, November 7, 2004

The MVP Awards were announced today.

National League
1B Alex Urias, Atlanta (39-L .304-602-51-132-1.024) (18-378)

Others Receiving Votes:
1B Roberto Perez, St. Louis (33-L .344-620-38-122-1.034) (14-358)
1B Dave White, Boston (27-L .325-573-28-102-.998) (0-249) 02 & 03 winner
LF Fernando Mexicano, Cleveland (24-L .309-495-34-108-.991) (0-229) ex-Beaver
LF Dave Pass, Cincinnati (30-L .307-583-31-127-.922 22 SB) (0-182)
1B Burt McTyre, Cleveland (31-R .316-655-22-115-.864 22 SB) (0-170)
LF Mark Montana, Baltimore (26-R .290-631-26-84-.825 39 SB) (0-81)
RF Dick Panos, Atlanta (28-R .290-606-31-111-.838) (0-67)
SS Mark Flynn, Cincinnati (24-L .293-615-16-82-.816 28 SB) (0-64)
CF Lorenzo Ocampo, Pittsburgh (24-L .319-571-3-46-.779 56 SB) (0-22)
2B Mike Paterson, Chicago (22-L .305-436-17-73-.893) (0-19)
C Tom Cooper, Miami (29-L .299-472-14-75-.774) (0-18)
RF Willie Gonzalez, Miami (26-R .292-613-18-102-.794 43 SB) (0-14)
CF Gerry Hawkins, Chicago (25-L .256-663-23-82-.746 55 SB) (0-13)
3B Bill Commisso, Pittsburgh (26-R .280-589-24-94-.823) (0-11)
LF Steve Ward, Toronto (35-R .268-601-26-85-.813) (0-4)
3B Ruben Campos, Toronto (31-R .271-605-20-70-.758) (0-3)
1B Buddy Vernon, Cincinnati (25-R .317-561-14-91-.850 41 SB) (0-3)
SP Jerry Sullivan, Washington (30-L See Cy Young voting) (0-2)
LF Artie Hawkins, Miami (30-R .305-560-12-76-.808 33 SB) (0-1)

Pacific Coast League
LF Kevin McKinney, Denver (24-R .366-573-37-117-1.084 32 SB) (28-428)

Others receiving votes:
1B Glenn Snowden, Portland (27-R .323-570-43-139-1.003) (4-308)
RF Ken Manning, Kansas City (26-R .326-592-30-110-.947 28 SB) (0-229)
CF Clay Laurence, San Francisco (25-R .314-653-19-100-.878 38 SB) (0-209) 03 winner
C Joe Taylor, Denver (23-R .325-551-34-116-.933) (0-168)
LF Dave McDowell, San Francisco (34-R .273-589-42-134-.914) (0-147) 10 & 02 winner
C Tim Higbee, Portland (21-S .297-562-28-85-.854) (0-118)
C Charlie Allen, Los Angeles (33-S .290-517-29-82-.891) (0-110)
CF Marco Manga, Minnesota (25-L .308-445-25-85-.969 22 SB) (0-91)
RF Enrique Ramos, Portland (25-L .309-524-24-81-.883) (0-27)
SP Barry Phillips, Portland (21-R See Cy Young voting) (0-26)
RF Jerry Serrano, San Francisco (30-R .317-656-13-61-.818 25 SB) (0-15)
3B Larry Murphy, Minnesota (24-R .311-602-4-53-.822 45 SB) ((0-4)
2B Greg Hobbs, Milwaukee (30-R .287-467-26-81-.879 29 SB) (0-3)
SP Greg Ware, Oakland (28-L See Cy Young voting) (0-3)
SP Hal Kestler, Dallas (27-R See Cy Young voting) (0-2)

Editor's Note: I do not pick any of the awards, nor do I vote for them. They are all strictly chosen by the A.I.

Monday, November 15, 2004

Arbitration Hearings

We have 10 cases that went to arbitration (we did not try to sign anyone to an extension as our budget was up against the limit). 1B Oscar Trejo (31-R), LF Carlos Lopez (29-L), CF Jack Hinckley (28-R) and RF Jose Julio (29-R) were all non-tendered.

Results:
POS NAME (Age-T/B) 2003 Salary/Club Offer/Player's Offer/Winner
SP Frank Flores (25-R) $50K/$600K/$625K/PLAYER
SP Bobby Johnson (29-R) $400K/$600K/$739.5K/PLAYER
RP Rich Larkin (25-R) $50K/$300K/$356.25K/PLAYER
RP Leonardo Sanchez (25-R) $120K/$360K/$433.8K/PLAYER
C Rick Mansoor (31-R) $50K/$65K/$106.5K/TEAM
1B Steve Hermanson (27-S) $670K/$750K/$937.5K/TEAM
2B A.J. Lee (24-R) $50K/$240K/$287.4K/TEAM
2B Juan Rojas (25-S) $50K/$75K/$118K/TEAM
SS Denny Peters (28-S) $52.5K/$150K/$152.625K/PLAYER
SS Dave Risinger (28-R) $320K/$380K/$450.3K/TEAM


Not a bad result; split down the middle between Team and Player. We only have to pay about $300K more than we were offering.

Monday, November 29, 2004

The World Champion Minnesota Twins signed NL MVP 1B Alex Urias (39-L) of Atlanta to a 2-year contract at $2.58 million per season. The 2nd year is contingent on him playing 135 games in 2005. He set the all-time record with 51 HR this season. Their lineup, which finished 2nd in the PCL in scoring last year, just got a whole lot better...

Wednesday, December 1, 2004

The two best relievers on the market were snapped up today.

RP Danny Mathies (31-R) of Kansas City, who had 33 SV and a 2.01 ERA in 2004, was signed by Boston to a 3 year contract at $740K per season.

RP Hal Ockey (29-R) of Los Angeles was signed by San Diego to a 2 year contract worth $1.61 million. He had 30 SV and a 1.53 ERA in 2004 and had 135 SV in 4 years with 1.84 ERA for the Angels.

3B Rod Splinter (38-R) of Miami was signed by Philadelphia to a 2 year contract at $1.29 million per season. The 2nd year requires that he get 550 PA in 2005. He hit .230-513-12-73-.743 last season.

2B Rick Coleman (29-R) of Los Angeles was signed by Cleveland to a 3 year contract at $990K per season. I am glad to see him out of the PCL as he was a particular thorn in our side.

Saturday, December 4, 2004

2B Buddy Potts (29-R) of San Diego was signed to a 3 year contract at $1.07 million per season by the Oakland Oaks. He hit .274-543-12-61-.747 with 27 SB this season.

SS Alex Garrido (27-L) of Cleveland was signed to an 8 year contract worth $16.01 million by the Los Angeles Angels. The final year is a player option. He hit .273-633-7-72-.721 with 29 SB this season.