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Operation Shutdown · 02-02-2004, 04:06 PM

Week 14
The Pirates are just past the halfway point and have a record of 42-40 and find themselves 5 games back of the first place Cubs in the central division. This week they start off with the Montreal Expos, who are 35-45. This will be the first time these two teams meet this season. The Expos have a good pitching staff that just hasn't been performing to expectations. All three of their top starters, Javier Vazquez (7-6 4.57), Seung Song (6-4 4.07), and Orlando Hernandez (6-8 5.33) are putting up numbers much worse than their career averages. They have a pretty solid lineup with superstar Vladimir Guerrero (.301 16 48) surrounded by Jason Hart (.302 9 49) and Brad Wilkerson (.329 14 57).

Game 83: Pirates 11 Expos 3 Baseball Cap Day at Olympic Stadium
The Pirates winning streak was extended to five games thanks in large part to a crushing offense and good solid pitching from VanBenSchoten. John went a total of seven innings, giving up just two runs to earn his seventh win of the season. Chris Young had a decent game for the Expos, giving up four runs, three earned, in six innings but it wasn't good enough as he picked up his 2nd loss of the season. The Expos closed to within three runs in the bottom of the eighth, scoring quickly off of Jimenez, but Williams came in and got one out and Mann picked up the other two outs to curb the damage. The Pirates then broke away, scoring five runs in the top of the ninth. Mann picked up the save for the Bucs, his 21st of the season.

June Wrapup
Despite winning their last five games, this month was the worst this season for the Bucs as they went 12-15 this month to finish with a record of 43-40. VanBenSchoten (3-2 2.75), Dave Williams (3-0 1.58), and Sean Burnett (2-3 3.53) all had a superb month for the Bucs, while ace Rodrigo Lopez (2-4 5.98) seemed to struggle for the first team this season. Vic Butler seems to be starting to find his groove in the majors, after hitting 0.297 with a 0.357 OBP with 4 HRs and 10 RBIs this month. Ryan Doumit (0.370 2 10) and JJ Davis (0.281 6 20) also hit pretty well this month, while Marshall McDougall (0.222 1 6) continues to struggle and Xavier Nady (0.224 2 11) also struggled this month.

Boston is leading the AL East, with a record of 51-31, by 4.5 games over the defending champion Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Cleveland has held on to their lead in the central with a record of 48-35, though the White Sox have narrowed the gap to just 3 games back. Texas leads the AL West and now has the distinction of holding the best record in MLB with a record of 51-30 and lead both Anaheim and Seattle by 9 games. In the NL, the Phillies are up 3.5 games on the Marlins, with a record of 47-35. In the central, the Cubs hold a 3.5 game lead over the Cardinals with a record of 46-34. Lastly, in the west, the Padres have gone on a huge decline and has given up the lead to the Arizona Diamondbacks, who lead the Dodgers by 5.5 games with a record of 51-33.

AL BOM - Justin Morneau hit 0.412 with 10 HRs and 31 RBIs
NL BOM - Brad Wilkerson hit 0.379 with 4 HRs and 23 RBIs
AL POM - Gil Meche went 5-0 with a 1.99 ERA striking out 26
NL POM - Jake Joseph went 4-1 with a 1.32 ERA striking out 36

There were a number of minor trades this month.

Cincinatti sent 3.5 star prospect SP John Koronka to the Oakland A's in return for 2.5 star SP Wayne Franklin. The next day Oakland turned around and sent Koronka to the Royals in exchange for 2.5 star RF Alexis Gomez.
Milwaukee sent 2.5 star RF Jason Dubois to the Cubs in exchange for 3 star SP Ben Hendrickson.
Atlanta sent oft-injured 2.5 star SP Adam Wainwright to the Dodgers in return for 2 star 3B Chris Woodward.
Lastly, Colorado and Milwaukee swapped pitchers with the Rockies getting 3 star SP Ismael Valdes and the Brewers picking up 2.5 star SP Omar Daal.

Game 84: Pirates 1 Expos 5
Williams struggled a bit in this outing, giving up five runs in four innings for the loss. The Pirates managed to get 8 hits off of Vazquez, but was only able to score one run off of him in nine innings. Wilkerson hit a three run homerun in the fifth to seal the deal for the Expos.

Game 85: Pirates 3 Expos 2
Bullington pitched a very good game, scattering seven hits and giving up just two runs in six innings, while Song went seven innings, while scattering six hits and giving up just one run, though neither starter pitched well enough for the win. The Pirates scored two runs in the top of the ninth inning off of Shannon Stewart to take the lead, and Mann closed out the bottom of the ninth getting three quick outs for the save.

Game 86: Pirates 7 Expos 4
Burnett continues to dazzle in his rookie season, giving up just one run in 6 2/3 innings of work for his 5th win of the season. Veteran Hernandez continues to struggle however, giving up five runs in five innings for the loss. The Expos started to mount a comeback in the eighth when Wilkerson hit a three run two out homerun off of White. Jimenez then gave up a walk but Mann came in to finish the eighth and then got three quick outs in the ninth to earn his 23rd save of the season.

The Pirates have announced that they have signed 1B Craig Wilson to a three year extension worth $2.5M per year and MR Gabe White to a two year extension worth $2.25M per year. Also, SP Rodrigo Lopez' agent has announced that he has cut off talks with the Pirates concerning a contract extension and announced Lopez will become a free agent unless the Pirates trade him.

Next up, the Pirates return home to face their division rival Cincinatti Reds who are 42-43 and whom the Pirates are 2-5 against this season. With the exception of their top starter, Ty Howington (8-4 3.80), the rest of the Reds pitching staff, including Wayne Franklin (3-10 6.05), O.J. King (2-6 5.79) and Ted Lilly (2-9 5.96), has been pitching very poorly. Their lineup consists of heavy hitting Bobby Kielty (0.341 14 51), Erubiel Durazo (0.247 18 251), and former Pirate Mark Kotsay (0.258 8 40).

Game 87: Pirates 7 Reds 1Noddin Head Doll Day at PNC Park
Lopez seems to be bouncing back from a poor month, pitching a complete game and not giving up a run until the ninth when Mohr hit a solo homerun. Basham gave up five runs, four of them earned, in five innings of work for the loss. Nady and Davis both hit solo homeruns for the Bucs.

Game 88: Pirates 8 Reds 9
The Pirates began the game scoring five quick runs off of Ty Howington. The Reds responded in the second inning, scoring two runs off of VanBenSchoten. The Pirates then scored one more run in the bottom of the second, chasing starter Ty Howington after he completed just 1 1/3 innings. The Reds then responded in the third inning, by scoring four runs off of VanBenSchoten and chasing him from the game after just 2 2/3 innings pitched. In the top of the 4th, the Reds took the lead, scoring three runs off of Ryan Vogelsong to take a 9-6 lead. The Pirates got one back in the bottom of the fifth, but there was no more scoring until the ninth. Hill and Butler led the bottom of the ninth off with walks, but Nady then grounded into a double play. Wilson then singled home Bobby Hill, but the rally was stopped when Cota flew out to deep right-center field. Vogelsong got the loss for the Bucs while Hudson picked up the win and Riedling got the save.

Game 89: Pirates 5 Reds 4
Williams didn't have the greatest game but did fairly well, giving up four runs in seven innings and earning his 6th win of the season. Franklin didn't do as well, giving up five runs in five innings for the loss. JJ Davis and Marshall McDougall homered for the Bucs while Dunn homered for the Reds. Mann picked up his 24th save of the season, pitching a scoreless ninth inning.

Around the league this week, there were a number of injuries. On Monday, Oakland lost it's ace starter Barry Zito who will likely miss the next six weeks with a ruptured tricep tendon. On Friday, doctors discovered bone chips in the shoulder of Boston's Derek Lowe who will miss the rest of the season. Also on Friday, Giants' right hander Scott Hardcastle tore his bicep muscle and will also miss the remainder of the season. On Saturday, Minnesota's Beau Kemp left the game early with back spasms and will likely miss the next five weeks. Also on Saturday, St. Louis' Toby Hall roped five hits against the Cubs. Lastly, on Sunday, Yankees' shortstop Derek Jeter hit a single off of Derrick Van Dusen for his 2000th career hit.

02-02-2004, 04:06 PM	#16
Operation Shutdown All Star Reserve Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Pittsburgh PA Posts: 912	Week 14 The Pirates are just past the halfway point and have a record of 42-40 and find themselves 5 games back of the first place Cubs in the central division. This week they start off with the Montreal Expos, who are 35-45. This will be the first time these two teams meet this season. The Expos have a good pitching staff that just hasn't been performing to expectations. All three of their top starters, Javier Vazquez (7-6 4.57), Seung Song (6-4 4.07), and Orlando Hernandez (6-8 5.33) are putting up numbers much worse than their career averages. They have a pretty solid lineup with superstar Vladimir Guerrero (.301 16 48) surrounded by Jason Hart (.302 9 49) and Brad Wilkerson (.329 14 57). Game 83: Pirates 11 Expos 3 Baseball Cap Day at Olympic Stadium The Pirates winning streak was extended to five games thanks in large part to a crushing offense and good solid pitching from VanBenSchoten. John went a total of seven innings, giving up just two runs to earn his seventh win of the season. Chris Young had a decent game for the Expos, giving up four runs, three earned, in six innings but it wasn't good enough as he picked up his 2nd loss of the season. The Expos closed to within three runs in the bottom of the eighth, scoring quickly off of Jimenez, but Williams came in and got one out and Mann picked up the other two outs to curb the damage. The Pirates then broke away, scoring five runs in the top of the ninth. Mann picked up the save for the Bucs, his 21st of the season. June Wrapup Despite winning their last five games, this month was the worst this season for the Bucs as they went 12-15 this month to finish with a record of 43-40. VanBenSchoten (3-2 2.75), Dave Williams (3-0 1.58), and Sean Burnett (2-3 3.53) all had a superb month for the Bucs, while ace Rodrigo Lopez (2-4 5.98) seemed to struggle for the first team this season. Vic Butler seems to be starting to find his groove in the majors, after hitting 0.297 with a 0.357 OBP with 4 HRs and 10 RBIs this month. Ryan Doumit (0.370 2 10) and JJ Davis (0.281 6 20) also hit pretty well this month, while Marshall McDougall (0.222 1 6) continues to struggle and Xavier Nady (0.224 2 11) also struggled this month. Boston is leading the AL East, with a record of 51-31, by 4.5 games over the defending champion Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Cleveland has held on to their lead in the central with a record of 48-35, though the White Sox have narrowed the gap to just 3 games back. Texas leads the AL West and now has the distinction of holding the best record in MLB with a record of 51-30 and lead both Anaheim and Seattle by 9 games. In the NL, the Phillies are up 3.5 games on the Marlins, with a record of 47-35. In the central, the Cubs hold a 3.5 game lead over the Cardinals with a record of 46-34. Lastly, in the west, the Padres have gone on a huge decline and has given up the lead to the Arizona Diamondbacks, who lead the Dodgers by 5.5 games with a record of 51-33. AL BOM - Justin Morneau hit 0.412 with 10 HRs and 31 RBIs NL BOM - Brad Wilkerson hit 0.379 with 4 HRs and 23 RBIs AL POM - Gil Meche went 5-0 with a 1.99 ERA striking out 26 NL POM - Jake Joseph went 4-1 with a 1.32 ERA striking out 36 There were a number of minor trades this month. Cincinatti sent 3.5 star prospect SP John Koronka to the Oakland A's in return for 2.5 star SP Wayne Franklin. The next day Oakland turned around and sent Koronka to the Royals in exchange for 2.5 star RF Alexis Gomez. Milwaukee sent 2.5 star RF Jason Dubois to the Cubs in exchange for 3 star SP Ben Hendrickson. Atlanta sent oft-injured 2.5 star SP Adam Wainwright to the Dodgers in return for 2 star 3B Chris Woodward. Lastly, Colorado and Milwaukee swapped pitchers with the Rockies getting 3 star SP Ismael Valdes and the Brewers picking up 2.5 star SP Omar Daal. Game 84: Pirates 1 Expos 5 Williams struggled a bit in this outing, giving up five runs in four innings for the loss. The Pirates managed to get 8 hits off of Vazquez, but was only able to score one run off of him in nine innings. Wilkerson hit a three run homerun in the fifth to seal the deal for the Expos. Game 85: Pirates 3 Expos 2 Bullington pitched a very good game, scattering seven hits and giving up just two runs in six innings, while Song went seven innings, while scattering six hits and giving up just one run, though neither starter pitched well enough for the win. The Pirates scored two runs in the top of the ninth inning off of Shannon Stewart to take the lead, and Mann closed out the bottom of the ninth getting three quick outs for the save. Game 86: Pirates 7 Expos 4 Burnett continues to dazzle in his rookie season, giving up just one run in 6 2/3 innings of work for his 5th win of the season. Veteran Hernandez continues to struggle however, giving up five runs in five innings for the loss. The Expos started to mount a comeback in the eighth when Wilkerson hit a three run two out homerun off of White. Jimenez then gave up a walk but Mann came in to finish the eighth and then got three quick outs in the ninth to earn his 23rd save of the season. The Pirates have announced that they have signed 1B Craig Wilson to a three year extension worth $2.5M per year and MR Gabe White to a two year extension worth $2.25M per year. Also, SP Rodrigo Lopez' agent has announced that he has cut off talks with the Pirates concerning a contract extension and announced Lopez will become a free agent unless the Pirates trade him. Next up, the Pirates return home to face their division rival Cincinatti Reds who are 42-43 and whom the Pirates are 2-5 against this season. With the exception of their top starter, Ty Howington (8-4 3.80), the rest of the Reds pitching staff, including Wayne Franklin (3-10 6.05), O.J. King (2-6 5.79) and Ted Lilly (2-9 5.96), has been pitching very poorly. Their lineup consists of heavy hitting Bobby Kielty (0.341 14 51), Erubiel Durazo (0.247 18 251), and former Pirate Mark Kotsay (0.258 8 40). Game 87: Pirates 7 Reds 1Noddin Head Doll Day at PNC Park Lopez seems to be bouncing back from a poor month, pitching a complete game and not giving up a run until the ninth when Mohr hit a solo homerun. Basham gave up five runs, four of them earned, in five innings of work for the loss. Nady and Davis both hit solo homeruns for the Bucs. Game 88: Pirates 8 Reds 9 The Pirates began the game scoring five quick runs off of Ty Howington. The Reds responded in the second inning, scoring two runs off of VanBenSchoten. The Pirates then scored one more run in the bottom of the second, chasing starter Ty Howington after he completed just 1 1/3 innings. The Reds then responded in the third inning, by scoring four runs off of VanBenSchoten and chasing him from the game after just 2 2/3 innings pitched. In the top of the 4th, the Reds took the lead, scoring three runs off of Ryan Vogelsong to take a 9-6 lead. The Pirates got one back in the bottom of the fifth, but there was no more scoring until the ninth. Hill and Butler led the bottom of the ninth off with walks, but Nady then grounded into a double play. Wilson then singled home Bobby Hill, but the rally was stopped when Cota flew out to deep right-center field. Vogelsong got the loss for the Bucs while Hudson picked up the win and Riedling got the save. Game 89: Pirates 5 Reds 4 Williams didn't have the greatest game but did fairly well, giving up four runs in seven innings and earning his 6th win of the season. Franklin didn't do as well, giving up five runs in five innings for the loss. JJ Davis and Marshall McDougall homered for the Bucs while Dunn homered for the Reds. Mann picked up his 24th save of the season, pitching a scoreless ninth inning. Around the league this week, there were a number of injuries. On Monday, Oakland lost it's ace starter Barry Zito who will likely miss the next six weeks with a ruptured tricep tendon. On Friday, doctors discovered bone chips in the shoulder of Boston's Derek Lowe who will miss the rest of the season. Also on Friday, Giants' right hander Scott Hardcastle tore his bicep muscle and will also miss the remainder of the season. On Saturday, Minnesota's Beau Kemp left the game early with back spasms and will likely miss the next five weeks. Also on Saturday, St. Louis' Toby Hall roped five hits against the Cubs. Lastly, on Sunday, Yankees' shortstop Derek Jeter hit a single off of Derrick Van Dusen for his 2000th career hit. __________________ "And Shepherds we shall be, For thee, my Lord, for thee. Power hath descended forth from Thy hand, Our feet may swiftly carry out Thy commands. So we shall flow a river forth to Thee, And teeming with souls shall it ever be. In Nomeni Patri Et Fili Spiritus Sancti."