2003 Montreal Expos

[jmshipman]

After months of speculation that the team would be moved, Major League Baseball sold the team to business tycoon Justin Shipman. Shipman believes that if a little money is pumped into the minor league system and a players manager is put into place that there can be success in the future for the Montreal Expos. Shipman will act as owner/general manager. Rumors are flying that Shipman has been in contact with former Major League managers Jim Leyland and Tom Kelly. A news conference is scheduled for later this afternoon.

[jmshipman]

*** News Conference *** - Olympic Stadium

Ladies and gentleman the new owner of your Montreal Expos, Mr. Justin Shipman. Thank you. I bought this team with the dream of turning them into World Series contenders. With the recent success of small market teams such as: Minnesota, Oakland and Kansas City, I know it can be done. We have a lot of arbitration eligible and free agency eligible players but with the help of my assistant, Mr. Jeff Bair, we will evaluate who we need to pursue and who we are willing to let go. Those that we deam to be expendable we will attempt to move before the trading deadline for prospects that are ready to play at the big league level right now. In addition, after talking to several former managers about our manager position, we have decided to stick with Frank Robinson. Mr. Robinson has just agreed to a two-year extension. So Expos fans get ready because the days of eating dirt are over.

[jmshipman]

Starting Lineup & Batting Order (2002 Stats)

CF - Endy Chavez - .296 AVG, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 3 SB
2B - Jose Vidro - .315 AVG, 19 HR, 96 RBI, 2 SB
RF - Vladimir Guerrero - .336 AVG, 39 HR, 111 RBI, 40 SB
3B - Fernando Tatis - .228 AVG, 15 HR, 55 RBI, 2 SB
C - Michael Barrett - .263 AVG, 12 HR, 49 RBI, 6 SB
1B - Brad Wilkerson - .266 AVG, 20 HR, 59 RBI, 7 SB
LF - Wil Cordero - .267 AVG, 6 HR, 30 RBI, 2 SB
SS - Orlando Cabrera - .263 AVG, 7 HR, 56 RBI, 25 SB

Bench (2002 Stats)

C - Brian Schneider - .275 AVG, 5 HR, 29 RBI, 1 SB
1B - Joe Vitiello - Minors
2B - Henry Mateo - .174 AVG, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 2 SB
3B - Jose Macias - .249 AVG, 7 HR, 39 RBI, 8 SB
CF - Peter Bergeron - .187 AVG, 0 HR, 7 RBI, 10 SB
RF - Termel Sledge - Minors

Starting Rotation (2002 Stats)

RHP - Javier Vazquez - (10-13), 3.91 ERA, 49 BB, 179 K
RHP - Orlando Hernandez - (8-5), 3.64 ERA, 36 BB, 113 K
RHP - Tony Armas Jr. - (12-12), 4.44 ERA, 78 BB, 131 K
RHP - Tomo Ohka - (13-8), 3.18 ERA, 45 BB, 118 K
RHP - Livan Hernandez - (12-16), 4.38 ERA, 71 BB, 134 K

Bullpen (2002 Stats)
RHP - Dan Smith - (1-1), 3.47 ERA, 21 BB, 34 K, 1 SV
RHP - Rocky Biddle - (3-4), 4.06 ERA, 39 BB, 64 K, 1 SV
RHP - Britt Reames - (1-4), 5.03 ERA, 38 BB, 76 K, 0 SV
RHP - T.J. Tucker - (6-3), 4.11 ERA, 31 BB, 42 K, 4 SV
LHP - Joey Eischen - (6-1), 1.34 ERA, 18 BB, 51 K, 2 SV
LHP - Scott Stewart - (4-2), 3.09 ERA, 22 BB, 67 K, 17 SV

[jmshipman]

Game 1: Montreal 6, Atlanta 4

We are able to kickoff the season with a win! Atlanta got on the board first with a two-run double in the bottom of the 1st from RF Gary Sheffield. LF Wil Cordero leadoff the 3rd inning with a double to the gap in right-center and scored on SS Orlando Cabrera's single to left, cutting the Braves lead to 1. We would add two more in the 4th. RF Vladimir Guerrero struckout to begin the inning, then we got consecutive singles from 3B Fernando Tatis and C Michael Barrett. 1B Brad Wilkerson would come up and hit a two-run double to give us a 3-2 lead. Barrett finished the game 3-4 with a run scored. Guerrero would come up again in the 6th and hit a solo homerun (1) 438 feet to dead center, putting us up 4-2. CL Scott Stewart would relieve RP Britt Reames in the 9th, after Reames pitched two scoreless innings. Stewart gave up a leadoff single to 2B Mark DeRosa and C Javey Lopez came to the plate and hit a two-run game tying homerun (1). Stewart would then retire the Braves in order. With the game tied 4-4 in the top of the 10th, 2B Jose Vidro and Guerrero get back-to-back singles to start the inning. Tatis would drive them in with a two-run double that put us back on top 6-4. RP Joey Eischen would pitch the the bottom of the 10th for his first save. Marcus Giles was ejected in the 6th for arguing a strike three call. Fernando Tatis was injured while running the bases. He is listed as day-to-day with a strained hip muscle.

Record: (1-0)

POG - RF Vladimir Guerrero: 2-5, 2 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI

League News:

- Chicago (N): Sammy Sosa hits his 500th career homer!!

- Trade between Los Angeles and San Francisco :
San Francisco gets :
1B Mike Kinkade
Los Angeles gets :
P Felix Rodriguez
LF Dan Ortmeier

- Cincinnati: Free agent P Travis Phelps has been signed to a minor league contract.

Injuries:

- Montreal: Fernando Tatis was injured while running the bases.
Diagnosis: Strained Hip Muscle.
He is day-to-day, but full recovery will take 6 days.

- New York (A): Jason Giambi was injured being hit by a pitch.
Diagnosis: Bruised Hand.
He is day-to-day, but full recovery will take 3 days.

[jmshipman]

OFF DAY

League News:

- Boston: Byung-hyun Kim pitches a NO-HITTER against Tampa Bay!!

- Trade between Florida and Anaheim :
Anaheim gets :
C Ramon Castro
Florida gets :
P Scot Shields
3B Dallas McPherson
LF Josh Gray

Injuries:

- Seattle: Mark McLemore was injured while running the bases.
Diagnosis: Bruised Ankle.
He is day-to-day, but full recovery will take 4 days.

[jmshipman]

Game 2: Montreal 2, Atlanta 0

We get a brilliantly pitched game from SP Orlando Hernandez in his first start of the season. Hernandez gave us a strong 8 2/3 innings, allowing five hits, no earned runs, walking two and striking out five. In what proved to be a pitchers dual, neither team scored until the 3rd inning. 3B Jose Macias, starting for an injured 3B Fernando Tatis, leadoff the inning with a walk from Atlanta SP Mike Hampton. SS Orlando Cabrera would follow with a fly out to left. Hernandez would try to bunt with two strikes and the ball rolled foul for the second out of the inning. Manager Frank Robinson would put on the hit-and-run and CF Endy Chavez would single to right and Macias would reach third. Hampton then threw a wild pitch that allowed Macias to score from third base, giving us a 1-0 lead. That score would stand until the 8th inning when C Brian Schneider hit a solo homerun (1)to rightfield. Hernandez would cruise until the bottom of the 9th when he got into some trouble. He got the first two batters of the inning before allowing a single to RF Gary Sheffield, hitting 2B Ramon Castro with a pitch and letting C Javy Lopez reach on an infield-hit. So with bases loaded and two outs, Robinson went to our CL Scott Stewart. After blowing the save in the first game of the season, Stewart got PH Mark DeRosa to strike out looking. Stewart picked up his first save of the season.

Record: (2-0)

POG - SP Orlando Hernandez: 8.2 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K

League News:

- Ellis Burks hits a 495-foot homerun!!

Injuries:

- Houston: Kyle Logan was injured while running the bases.
Diagnosis: Inflamed Hip Muscle.
He is out for about 1-2 weeks.

[jmshipman]

Game 3: Atlanta 4, Montreal 2

We wrapup the three game series with the Braves with a loss. We just couldn't get our bats awake in this game. SP Tony Armas Jr. pitched decent giving up four earned runs in 7 innings of work. Atlanta got on the scoreboard first with a solo homerun (1) from 3B Mike Hessman in the bottom of the 3rd. It was the first of his young career. We would counter in the top of the next inning with a solo homerun (1) from C Michael Barrett. SP Paul Byrd would then get 1B Brad Wilkerson to ground out before walking LF Brian Schneider. 3B Jose Macias then singled to shallow center and SS Orlando Cabrera followed with a single to rightfield. With bases loaded and one out, Armas Jr. grounded into a fielders choice but it allowed Schneider to score from third and gave us a 2-1 lead. It would be short lived as the Braves teed off on Armas Jr. in the bottom of the 4th with a two-run homerun (1) from RF Gary Sheffield and a solo shot (1) from 2B Marcus Giles, giving the Braves a 4-2 lead. That score would prove to be the final but we take 2 out of 3 from Atlanta and now travel to New York (N) for three against the division leading Mets.

Record: (2-1)

POG - SP Paul Byrd: 7 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K

League News:

- Boston: Manny Ramirez hits 3 homers against Tampa Bay.

Injuries:

- Florida: Brad Penny was injured while pitching.
Diagnosis: Strained Bicep Tendon.
He is day-to-day, but full recovery will take 4 weeks.

- Colorado: Dennis Stark was injured while pitching.
Diagnosis: Blister On Finger.
He is day-to-day, but full recovery will take 6 days.

- Seattle: Mike Cameron was injured while making a catch.
Diagnosis: Bruised Ribs.
He will be OK in about one week.

[jmshipman]

Game 4: Montreal 1, New York (N) 0

This was your classic pitchers dual. New York SP Steve Trachsel pitched 7.1 innings and allowed just one earned run, unfortunately our SP Tomo Ohka pitched 8 innings, allowing only three hits, NO earned runs, walking two and striking out seven. The lone run of the game came in the top of the 5th. LF Wil Cordero leadoff the inning with a single. SS Orlando Cabrera followed with a single down the rightfield line, that allowed Cordero to reach third base. Ohka would lay down a sac bunt and Cabrera would move over to second. CF Endy Chavez would then ground out to the first baseman and that allowed Cordero to score from third. CL Scott Stewart pitched the 9th for his 2nd save.

Record: (3-1)

POG - SP Tomo Ohka: 8 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K

League News:

None!

Injuries:

- New York (N): Scott Strickland was injured while pitching.
Diagnosis: Inflamed Back Muscle.
He is day-to-day, but full recovery will take 1-2 weeks.

- Boston: Manny Ramirez was injured while running the bases.
Diagnosis: Inflamed Anterior Cruciate Ligament.
He is out for about 4 weeks.

[jmshipman]

Game 5: Montreal 5, New York (N) 3

We take game two of the series by a final of 5-3. SP Javier Vazquez pitched another strong game but this time he picked up the win. He pitched six innings, gave up four hits, one earned run, walked two and struck out three. CF Roger Cedeno leadoff the bottom of the 1st with a double. He would reach third on a sac fly from RF Timo Perez and would score on a ground out by LF Cliff Floyd, putting the Mets up 1-0. Mets SP Aaron Heilman would hold us scoreless until the top of the 7th. RF Vladimir Guerrero leadoff the inning with a solo homerun (2). Heilman would get C Michael Barrett to fly out before plunking 1B Brad Wilkerson with a pitch. Frank Robinson would bring in PR Orlando Cabrera to run for Wilkerson and Cabrera would steal second. Heilman would intentionally walk PH Brian Schneider to get to 3B Jose Macias. That turned out to be a mistake, because Macias triples down the rightfield line and it scored Cabrera and Schneider and gave us a 3-1 lead. We would get to Heilman again in the top of the 8th. CF Endy Chavez leadoff the inning with a single to left-center. 2B Jose Vidro would sac bunt him over to second. Heilman would again issue an intentionally walk to Guerrero. Heilman would throw a wild pitch and both runners moved up a base. Barrett got a pitch he could handle and singled to the gap in right-center, scoring both runners and putting us up 5-1. Heilman would be charged with a five runs. RP Dan Smith, making his first appearance of the season, came in to pitch the 8th. PH Raul Gonzalez leadoff with a single. Smith then got Cedeno to ground into a fielders choice and Gonzalez was out a second. Cedeno would advance to second on a Perez ground out to second. So with two outs, Smith gives up a single to Floyd that would score Cedeno. Robinson would pull Smith and bring in RP Joey Eischen to face C Mike Piazza. Eischen would walk Piazza and give up a run scoring single to PH Tsuyoshi Shinjo, cutting our lead to 5-3. That would be all the scoring though, as CL Scott Stewart gets the Mets in order in the 9th for his 3rd save.

Record: (4-1)

POG - SP Javier Vazquez: 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K

League News:

- Arizona: Randy Johnson strikes out 15 against Colorado.

- Trade between Toronto and Texas :
Texas gets :
2B Orlando Hudson
Toronto gets :
P Joaquin Benoit
P Andrew Tisdale

Injuries:

- Florida: A.J. Burnett was injured while pitching.
Diagnosis: Stiff Shoulder.
He is day-to-day, but full recovery will take 1-2 weeks.

[jmshipman]

Game 6: Montreal 10, New York (N) 0

We finish up our series in New York with a thumping of the Mets 10-0. SP Livan Hernandez was untouchable for us as he pitched a complete game shutout, allowing only three hits, walking one and striking out five. Mets SP Tom Glavine lasted only 4.2 innings and gave up six earned runs. RF Vladimir Guerrero sparked the offense, going 4-5 with three runs scored and a double and a triple. 3B Fernando Tatis did his part to help Vlad as he also went 4-5, with a double, a homerun (1), four RBIs and two runs scored. 2B Jose Vidro hit a two-run homerun (1) to help out. We now travel to Chicago to do battle with the Cubs.

Record: (5-1)

POG - SP Livan Hernandez: 9 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K

League News:

AL-Player of the Week:
LF Ellis Burks (CLE)!
He batted .519 in 27 AB, with 1 HR and 5 RBI.

NL-Player of the Week:
RF Sammy Sosa (CHN)!
He batted .423 in 26 AB, with 4 HR and 7 RBI.

- Philadelphia: Released P Rheal Cormier, he refused assignment to minors.

- Milwaukee: Released P Dave Burba, he refused assignment to minors.

- Baltimore: Released C Izzy Molina.

- New York (A): Released LF Erold Andrus.

- Tampa Bay: Released P Todd Williams.

- Tampa Bay: Released 1B Brian Lesher.

- Toronto: Released P Trever Miller.

- Cleveland: Released P Jason Boyd.

- Cleveland: Released C Tim Laker.

- Oakland: Released P Jose Silva.

- Florida: Released P Doug Bochtler.

- Florida: Released RF Gerald Williams.

- Florida: Released 3B Mike Mordecai.

- New York (N): Released LF Esix Snead.

- New York (N): Released P Dave Weathers, he refused assignment to minors.

- Chicago (N): Released C Mike Mahoney.

- Milwaukee: Released C Keith Osik.

- Milwaukee: Released C Eddie Perez.

- Colorado: Released C Bobby Estalella.

- Los Angeles: Released P Agustin Montero.

- San Francisco: Released 1B Andres Galarraga.

- San Francisco: Released P Joe Nathan.

- Seattle: Free agent P Greg Swindell has been signed to a contract of $359,100 per year, for 1 year.

- Houston: Free agent P Rett Johnson has been signed to a minor league contract.

- Florida: Free agent P David Thorne has been signed to a minor league contract.

Injuries:

- Cleveland: Josh Bard Bard was injured in a collision at home plate.
Diagnosis: Knocked Out Teeth.
He is day-to-day, but full recovery will take 4 days.

[jmshipman]

Game 7: Chicago (N) 4, Montreal 0

Our only trip to Chicago on the year didn't start off as planned. Three Cubs pitchers combined for a six hit shutout. SP Kerry Wood went six strong, allowing five hits, walking three and striking out four. He improved to 1-1 on the year. Chicago scored all four of their runs in the bottom of the 3rd off SP Orlando Hernandez. Hernandez started the inning by walking SS Alex Gonzalez and C Damian Miller. Wood then layed down a sac bunt and both runners moved up. LF Moises Alou then walked before Hernandez gave up a RBI single to 2B Mark Grudzielanek. CF Corey Patterson followed with a two-run single and 1B Hee Seop Choi later drove in another with a single, giving the Cubs a 4-0 lead. That would prove to be the final score as we never got anything going on offense. LF Wil Cordero did breakout of his recent hitting slump, going 4-4.

Record: (5-2)

POG - SP Kerry Wood: 6 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 K

League News:

- Rich Rundles was sent down from AAA Edmonton Trappers to A Brevard County Manatees.

- Shawn Hill was promoted from A Brevard County Manatees to AA Harrisburg Senators.

- Anthony Pearson was promoted from AA Harrisburg Senators to AAA Edmonton Trappers.

Injuries:

None!

[jmshipman]

OFF DAY

League News:

- Trade between Seattle and Atlanta :
Atlanta gets :
1B Greg Colbrunn
SS Michael Garciaparra
Seattle gets :
P Mike Hampton

Injuries:

- Kansas City: Mike Difelice was injured while running the bases.
Diagnosis: Torn Thigh Muscle.
He will be OK in about 6 weeks.

[jmshipman]

Game 8: Chicago (N) 2, Montreal 1

We drop another heartbreaker to the Cubbies by a score of 2-1. Not a very exciting game on either side. The Cubs got solo homeruns from LF Moises Alou (2) and Hee Seop Choi (1). All of our offense came from 3B Fernando Tatis, who hit a solo homerun (1). SP Matt Clement gave Chicago a great outting as he lasted eight innings, giving up three hits, one earned run, walking three and striking out eight. SP Tony Armas Jr. pitched very well for us but took the loss and drop to 0-2 on the season. We will try to salvage the last game of this series.

Record: (5-3) 1st place - .5 lead on Florida

POG - SP Matt Clement: 8 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 8 K

League News:

None!

Injuries:

- Baltimore: Buddy Groom was injured while pitching.
Diagnosis: Torn Back Muscle.
He is definitely out for the season!

- Texas: Alex Rodriguez was injured while throwing a ball.
Diagnosis: Sore Back.
He will be OK in about one week.

- Saint Louis: Edgar Renteria was injured while running the bases.
Diagnosis: Pulled Abdominal Muscle.
He will be OK in about 1-2 weeks.

[Long_Long_Name]

Now this is one dedicated man.

Or the future writer of "How to become an OOTP Hall of Famer in 3 MONTHS!!!"

[jmshipman]

Game 9: Montreal 2, Chicago (N) 1

In the final game of the series, we were able to pull out the win by getting only two hits in the game. 2B Jose Vidro hit a solo homerun (2) and SS Orlando Cabrera drove in a run with a sac fly in the 5th inning. The Cubs lone run came in the 6th on an RBI single from C Damian Miller. SP Tomo Ohka picked up his 2nd win of the season. Ohka pitched seven innings, giving up ten hits, one earned run, walking two and striking out six. We now go to Montreal for our home opener against the Mets. As a side note, 3B Jose Macias got punched in a bar fight after the game while in a downtown Chicago nightclub. He is day-to-day with a swollen eye.

Record: (6-3) .5 game lead on Florida

POG - SP Tomo Ohka: 7 IP, 10 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K

League News:

- Boston: Pedro Martinez fans 18 batters against Toronto.

Injuries:

- Montreal: Jose Macias was injured in a bar fight.
Diagnosis: Swollen Eye.
He is day-to-day, but full recovery will take 6 days.

[jmshipman]

Game 10: Montreal 5, New York (N) 4

So far on the year we are 4-0 against the Mets. We took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 2nd on a solo homerun from 1B Brad Wilkerson. SP Livan Hernandez would take that lead into the top of the 5th before he ran into some trouble. 3B Ty Wigginton started things off with a double to the gap in left-center. Hernandez then intentionally walked 1B Vance Wilson. He got 2B Marco Scutaro to strike out before allowing a two-run double to SS Jay Bell. Hernandez then got SP Tom Glavine to strike out and then gave up an RBI single to CF Roger Cedeno. RF Vladimir Guerrero would pull us back to within one, with a solo homerun in the bottom of the 5th. Livan would cruise until the top of the 7th, when he allowed a solo homerun to Bell. The offense was able to save Hernandez in the bottom of the 7th from his first loss. PH Joe Vitiello pinch hit for Hernandez and struck out. CF Endy Chavez singled and stole second before 2B Jose Vidro grounded out. Guerrero then stepped to the plate and hit a two-run 418 foot homerun to tie the game. It was Guerrero's 4th of the season. Our bullpen would shutdown the Mets from that point and PH Michael Barrett would deliver an RBI single in the bottom of the 8th to give us a 5-4 lead. CL Scott Stewart pitched a scoreless 9th for the save, his 5th of the year. 3B Fernando Tatis went 3-3 to raise his average to .367.

Record: (7-3) - .5 game lead on Florida

POG - RF Vladimir Guerrero: 2-4, 2 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI

League News:

None!

Injuries:

- Baltimore: John Stephens was injured while pitching.
Diagnosis: Tender Elbow.
He will be OK in about one week.

- Detroit: Russ Koenig was injured while pitching.
Diagnosis: Pulled Bicep Muscle.
He is out for about 4-5 weeks.

[jmshipman]

Game 11: Montreal 5, New York (N) 3

We continue our dominance over the Mets, as we rally from 3-0 deficit to win 5-3. SP Javier Vazquez started off shaky, giving up 3 runs in the first three innings. The Mets started the game with three straight singles, capped off by an RBI single from LF Cliff Floyd. The Mets would score their second run in the 2nd when SS Jose Reyes reached on an infield single, stole second and scored on a SP Aaron Heilman single. The Mets would again score in the third off Vazquez. RF Timo Perez and C Mike Piazza opened the inning with singles that put men on 1st and 3rd with one out for the Mets. 1B Mo Vaughn singled to score one before Javier got the next two batters. So trailing 3-0 entering the bottom of the 5th, 1B Joe Vitiello delivered his first hit of the year, a solo homerun to make the score 3-1. We would not get on the board again until the bottom of the 7th. SS Orlando Cabrera was the second batter of the inning and hit a double down the leftfield line. PH Brian Schneider hit a single that allowed Cabrera to score our second run, pulling us to within one. Still trailing by one going into the bottom of the 8th, our guys put on the rally caps. RF Vladimir Guerrero opened with a double off RP Jason Middlebrook. Middlebrook then intentionally walked 3B Fernando Tatis. C Michael Barrett would ground out and the runners would move up before Middlebrook issued an intentional walk to PH Brad Wilkerson. So with the bases loaded and one out, LF Wil Cordero hit a two-run single to give us a 4-3 lead. The Mets would bring in RP John Bale and Cabrera would hit a sac fly to score Wilkerson from third. CL Scott Stewart would again pitch a scoreless 9th for his NL leading 6th save. RP Dan Smith picked up the win in relief.

Record: (8-3) - .5 game lead on Florida

POG - SS Orlando Cabrera: 2-3, R, 2B, RBI, SB

League News:

- Chicago (N): Kerry Wood pitches a 1-hit shutout against
Pittsburgh!!

- New York (N): Released 3B Jay Bell, he refused assignment to minors.

Injuries:

- Texas: Colby Lewis was injured while pitching.
Diagnosis: Strained Back Muscle.
He is day-to-day, but full recovery will take one week.

- Colorado: Larry Walker was injured while making a catch.
Diagnosis: Broken Finger.
He will be OK in about 4 weeks.